#case in point today is bunny day i have spent the last. two? three? time has blurred. hours collecting eggs and making ugly furniture

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

Animal Crossing does to me what gacha games do to normal people

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

a kiss from the moon | jjk

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: All these years, all these summers, Jeon Jungkook has loved you. His problem? You have no idea. Mostly because he has always said it far too platonically and thrown up in your lap after saying it. Drunk. Fuck. Oh, yeah, and you're also Park Jimin's best friend since preschool. Shit.

warnings: language; alcohol consumption; pining; JK gets distracted by (your) tits during his quest, typical; non-idol!BTS - purple-haired!Jungkook x sleepy af, noona!reader, ft Park Jimin and Kim Taehyung radiating big soulmate energy; childhood friends-to-lovers

yes, it's JK from the 'Butter' beach photos

--

“I love you!”

You lifted your head out of the mountain of pillows, groggy and hazy, squinting at the moonlight filtering through the floating curtains. The night breeze was warm, drifting in softly with the low hum of cicadas. But what was that other sound? That other sound was familiar, wasn’t it?

You heard your name being shouted, followed by, “Wake up!”

You made a face and stumbled out of the bed, sticking your head out of your bedroom window, your own hair flying back and smacking you in the face.

“Yah! Jeon Jungkook, are you trying to wake up the whole damn neighborhood?!”

“Get down here!”

You put on your best disgruntled expression and peered down at the form on your front lawn, shoving your own hair aside.

“What are you going on about?” you muttered, seeing Jeon Jungkook looking up at you, puffing his cheeks, long wet purple hair fading to gray because of the chlorine from swimming all night at that party Park Jimin had invited you to earlier today, to which you had responded, no thanks, I’m going to sleep all day, I worked three double shifts in a row and I have zero desire to be flung into your family’s swimming pool at this time, but I will acknowledge that your offer is very generous, and then promptly passing out for a good – you glanced at your phone with the pink bunny case Jungkook had given you two summers ago – ten hours and it was still not enough for you to comprehend why your best friend’s best friend was standing on your front lawn yelling at your parents’ house that you were watching for a month while they were in Italy getting drunk on far too expensive wine and eating cheese they probably couldn’t pronounce.

Jungkook was shirtless, clad only in orange swim shorts and sandals like a fucking hooligan. He was clutching a plastic red Solo cup and he threw it at the house, yelling your name again.

“Oh my fucking God, don’t litter, you idiot!” you bellowed back, throwing yourself away from the windowsill and crawling on the floor to your bedroom door like the evolution of mankind, making it from all fours to two legs by the time you got to the stairs – good thing too, you might have broken your neck if you were still disoriented – and you dragged yourself downstairs, yanking your white slip dress straight. Not your choice of pajamas. Your mom’s, who told you to be more ladylike, whatever the fuck that meant, and who also informed you in the same breath that it was your only choice of pajamas since they donated all your clothes from high school.

Awesome.

You go to university and your parents yeet all evidence that they had a child and go vacationing.

Good for them.

You wrenched your front door open and shoved your feet into your dad’s giant brown sandals and clapped your way over to the pink-faced, mildly drunk, shirtless man in swimming trunks on your front lawn.

“It’s two in the morning. Why are you standing here drunk and professing your love like some kind of deranged Romeo?” you sighed, rubbing your eyes. “Why aren’t you at Jimin’s?” You spied the red Solo cup and picked it up, whipping your head back to Jeon Jungkook.

He was staring at you with his mouth open.

Charming.

He didn’t say anything for a good ten seconds.

“Alright, fine, let me call my loser of a best friend and tell him to pick up his loser of a best friend, so I can go back to sleep,” you muttered, about to turn around.

Jungkook seemed to sputter back to life. “Wait, um, noona–”

“He speaks! He’s not dead.”

“A… Ah… Um…”

You squinted at him and reached up to knock the side of his head. “Hello? Anyone in there?”

Jungkook blurted out, “I love you.”

His breath smelled a lot like alcohol.

“Yeah, I got that. You also said that when I got you through your Chemistry and World History exams. Both times. You also say that to like, what, six of your guy friends? Don’t get me started on the amount of times you’ve said it and thrown up in my lap right after. Don’t do that this time,” you added sternly, prodding at his chest. “I’ve got one set of pajamas because my mom forgets that human beings change clothes, so throw up on the grass.”

“Uh… that’s pajamas…?”

“Lady pajamas,” you grumbled sarcastically, lifting the lid and chucking the crumpled Solo cup into your parents’ trash can. “Since I’m not lady enough apparently according to my mom, even though I’m ninety-nine percent sure giant band t-shirts are completely unisex but, whatever, it’s just a dress, not a big deal.”

“Um.”

You looked at Jungkook, who looked back at you, who put your hands up and gestured him to say something, who in response rose his hands and flapped them in confusion, giving you absolutely zero helpful communication. The movement reminded you he had gotten his right arm and hand tattooed in the last couple years, the black ink standing out against tan skin. You hadn’t seen him too many times during your university years, too busy completing research papers and staying late nights in laboratories, only to now end up working on hospital software and sitting on your ass all day. Life, eh? These past three days were spent on working through bugs for the next software update and you had maybe lost all social skills as you attempted to unravel lines of code that you stared at for forty-eight out of the past seventy-two hours.

Fun!

“Do you need a cookie? A shower? The Bible?” you offered, waving your hands. “Maybe tell me why you’re here, yes?”

He was staring and you realized you were slightly bent over in your gesture, your breasts firmly pressed into the cups of the slip dress. You straightened and Jungkook’s wide dark brown eyes went back to your face.

“I… I didn’t realize you had come back, noona.”

You raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about? I told Jimin last week. He said he was hanging out with you and Taehyung. I figured he’d just tell you guys then.”

Jungkook shook his head quickly, gray-purple hair flying about. He pointed to the left, where Jimin’s house was several blocks over. “He only mentioned it just now, when he was throwing up in the bathroom from doing eight shots in a row because Taehyungie dared him.”

“…. Maybe he needs the Bible…” you muttered, shaking your head.

Then the realization hit you.

“Did you walk here from Jimin’s and straight up abandon the party?”

Jungkook tilted his head and thought about it. “Yeah.”

You looked around to find the camera and see if you were being pranked, but there was no camera because this life wasn’t purely for entertainment, right? Nah, this wasn’t The Matrix.

Mhm.

“Hah, well, what’s wrong? Are you upset I didn’t go to the party or something? I had three double-shifts this week, I wasn’t going to be any fun passed out before actually drinking–”

“Yoongi-hyung was passed out before drinking.”

“In some ways, I swear that guy and I are the same person,” you laughed, shaking your head. “Anyway, I’m sorry I didn’t go and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I really banked on Jimin not being an airhead, but once again he is, so maybe I should reconsider him as my best friend…”

“Noona, I…”

You looked up from your mental consideration of Park Jimin’s pros and cons, the first pro being he punched that ex of yours that cheated on you with some Tinder hookup and that was already enough to stop contemplating, so you blinked at Jungkook curiously, looking into wide brown eyes, long strands of ash-purple floating around his handsome face from the night breeze, brushing against his parted lips, highlighting the mole underneath them, placed perfectly in the center like a kiss from the moon itself.

“Can I take a shower and sleep it off here?”

You tilted your head. “Yeah, sure. You can borrow my dad’s clothes. You should call Jimin though. You don’t want him to panic that he lost you.”

“Y… Yeah, okay…”

-

Jeon Jungkook really thought he could say it this time.

Collected all his courage and ran, ran as fast as he could, couldn’t believe Jimin had neglected to say she was coming home over the summer for more than a day, days without her reminding Jungkook that he was a coward for not saying it when he could have, having lost his most important person in the world because he was too afraid of telling Park Jimin that he was in love with his best friend.

He remembered that smile wearing nothing but a large t-shirt, sitting on Jimin’s bedroom floor, crushing all of them at UNO and cackling as Jimin blew up for ending up in last place for the third time in a row, yelling that the game was rigged, and Jungkook remembered thinking, I should tell her tonight.

And he didn’t.

He remembered her saying to Taehyung that she just wasn’t into girly things. They were having this argument over pizza and Taehyung was waving his around saying she should at least try a dress on every once in a while, never know, might actually like it, and her rolling her eyes as she shot back that she didn’t have to do anything just because it was stereotypical for her gender. Taehyung told her to stop using big words and waved his hands, accidentally flinging his pizza slice into her lap, and Jungkook remembered thinking, I should tell her after we clean up.

And he didn’t.

He remembered seeing her prepare to leave for university once again, holding a small package from the internet and handing it to her, a small but practical belated birthday gift, both of them surprised when she opened it, not the matte black phone case he had ordered, but somehow mixed up with a pink bunny phone case that had no business being owned by someone who didn’t like girly things.

“Oh, shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t order this–”

And she laughed, shaking her head. “That’s okay, I gotta go, thanks anyway, Jungkook!”

The years went by and every year Jungkook told himself, this is the one, and every year he just couldn’t say it.

He thought he could say it now, drunk and furious at Jimin for not preparing him for this moment, but on his way here Jungkook figured that perhaps this was preferred, that maybe it was better that he couldn’t sit around nervously overthinking what to say.

But, of course, the problem was…

He had already said it in a platonic way.

Shit.

He really fucked himself throughout the years.

Jungkook sighed, now wearing borrowed clothes, holding the note of her handwriting as he rubbed his hair with the towel.

I washed your shorts and they’re hang-drying now. You can sleep in the guest room. I left a glass of water and some hangover meds. If you need anything, I’ll be asleep but you can attempt to wake the dead if you want.

He walked down the hall, towel around his shoulders. Her bedroom door was open. He stood outside the entrance, sighing, seeing her sleeping form and her bedside table, her phone sitting on the charger.

His breath caught in his throat as he recognized that pink bunny phone case.

-

“Where’s Jungkook?”

“Probably at her parents’ place, confessing his love,” Kim Taehyung snickered, picking up the beer bottles left behind next to the pool.

“Hah, of course he would leave without cleaning up,” Park Jimin grumbled, pushing the recycling bin along as Taehyung tossed each bottle inside.

“You think he’s gonna tell her?”

“He didn’t even tell me,” Jimin muttered, shoving used napkins into the bag hanging off the side of the recycling bin that he was going to toss into the trash later. “I had to find out from you. I think he’s hopeless. Why does he like her anyway? She’s fun to be around, yeah, she’s good at school, yeah, knows a lot of random facts, yeah, if you get into philosophy with her like Namjoon-hyung does, you begin to question humanity and reality, yeah, but other than that…”

“You hitting on your best friend, dude?”

“I mean, she’s kinda hot, she wouldn’t say no to me.”

Taehyung snorted.

Jimin smacked him in the ass with the recycling bin.

“Anyway, he’s probably just standing in her bedroom creepily watching her sleeping.”

-

Jungkook stared down at her sleeping form.

He looked up, looking out the window into the late, late night. He was tired, and yet he couldn’t sleep, too busy wondering.

I don’t deserve her if I’m not brave enough to say it.

“Jungkook?”

-

You squinted at the large form in your bedroom.

“Why are you just staring moodily out the window?” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. “Is something wrong? Are you hungry? I can make you a snack…”

“Noona, do you know what the worst feeling in the world is?” he asked softly, still looking out into the warm night.

You grunted and scrunched up your face. “Stepping on a Lego?”

You heard Jungkook laugh and you smiled a little despite your groggy state, hearing a little bit of his old self, the younger Jungkook hanging out with you, Jimin, and, later, Taehyung, the four of you getting up to no good. Somehow, in the past few years, he had gotten quieter and quieter, at least around you, but then again you only came home to visit for a day or two before going back to university.

“Have you ever been in love, noona?”

“Yeah, with the red bean popsicles they used to sell at the ice cream trucks, but then they stopped, those assholes, I’ve never been so heartbroken in my life,” you grumbled, remembering the day where the ice cream man told you they were sold out and your young teenage heart shattering.

“I love you, you know.”

Was this a fever dream? Why did he keep repeating himself? You looked over to his back, still looking outside onto the street, the street where you all used to run and laugh every summer, pretending you were surviving in the wild and not in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, sitting around sipping lemonade and complaining about the heat even though you all could have gone inside, lighting sparklers at night and seeing whose would last the longest even though such a thing was only based on chance anyway.

“Is that the worst thing you’ve ever heard?” he added quietly.

“The worst thing I’ve ever heard was accidentally hearing Jimin jacking off. Twice.”

Jungkook finally turned around, giving you a disgusted look. “What?”

You placed a hand on your face and sighed heavily, trying not to remember. “For some reason he thinks the bathroom isn’t echoey or something, like, at least do it in the shower, so the water masks the sound…” You chuckled, shaking your head. “Anyway, I would much rather hear you say you have love for me than listening to Jimin getting off.”

“I don’t have love for you.”

You raised your hand from your face and shifted your gaze to him, half-smile lingering on your lips from remembering Jimin’s carelessness. You made eye contact the second the words left his mouth, those brown eyes shrouded in shadows, but still so clear, a little helpless, a little sad.

“I’m in love with you,” Jungkook whispered softly.

Your eyes widened.

A soft breeze swept through the window, lifting the purple-gray strands from Jungkook’s face, revealing his lost, desolate expression.

The cicadas hummed.

A car alarm honked loudly, screeching through the night.

Both you and Jungkook jerked to face the window. You bolted out of bed and you both threw your hands onto the edge of the window, yanking it shut, wincing at the loud noise.

“Ah, jeez… what the hell…?” you groaned, slumping to the ground.

“What’s with people…?” Jungkook muttered, falling to the floor beside you, yanking the towel off his shoulders.

-

“Fuck, I pressed the wrong button!”

“Taehyung, what the hell, turn it off!”

“I was just trying to put the tangerines your parents gave me in my car!”

“I don’t care what you were doing, turn it off!”

-

“Anyway, sorry, you were saying something important and you got interrupted by some dumbass,” you sighed, nudging Jungkook with your shoulder.

“Uh… well, that was it…”

You blinked at him, tilting your head. “What, that you’re in love with me?”

“Y… Yeah?”

You blinked some more.

“Not the, want to go to the arcade and see who can get the highest score in PAC-MAN or go watch shitty action movies and rate the unrealistic plot lines or dare each other to eat whatever expired delicacy is in Taehyung’s fridge, kind of love?”

Jungkook made a repulsed face. “I regret eating that tofu. Don’t think I can ever look at uncooked tofu without gagging a little now…”

You leaned over and caught his eye.

“Do you mean the… want to date and get married and make babies, kind of love?”

His lips parted and the moonlight lit the small mole placed perfectly underneath his lower lip.

A delicate kiss from the moon itself.

Then you realized he was staring at your tits.

You yanked the neckline up a little and Jungkook started, looking back up at you with wide eyes.

“Sorry, I’m just not used to you in a dress, sorry, I’m being really rude–”

“It assures me that you’re at least interested in the making babies part,” you chuckled.

His ears turned red and he reached up to cover them, trying not to look down. “S… Sorry…”

“So…?”

He chewed on his lip, messing with his earrings with his fingertips. “Um… yeah, that kind of love. The latter kind.”

You lowered your hand. “You’re not messing with me, right? I swear, if this is one of Taehyung’s elaborate ideas to mess with me, I’m going to ki–”

Jungkook shook his head quickly, purple hair flying about. “I’m not joking around. I wanted to tell you for a long, long time, but…” His eyes darted about, panicking a little, before looking back to you helplessly. “You’re Jimin’s best friend, besides Taehyung, and what if… what if you thought I was gross or something and then I don’t think I could hang out with you guys anymore, but then you went to that prestigious university far away and I thought, I’m so stupid, I should have said something, anything, but every time I could even think about it, I didn’t know what to say, nothing seemed right…”

He let out a big sigh and tapped his head against the windowsill, closing his eyes.

“Also, I said it before and threw up in your lap right after, so that kinda fucked me up.”

“Can’t say I was really feeling the romance, yeah.”

He groaned and covered his face with his hands.

“I’d date you though. For real.”

Jungkook removed his hands and blinked at you. “What?”

You chuckled. “Why are you acting so surprised? I’m not going to date Jimin, blergh, I’ve known that guy since I was in preschool. I’m not dating Taehyung, I’m pretty sure he’s on a different brainwave than other human beings.”

You smiled at him and turned around to pick up your phone, holding it up.

“I don’t like girly things or cute things very much, but I kept your gift because it was from you and, funnily enough, I think it made me realize that I was rejecting femininity because society puts such a negative connotation on things young women like and because my friends growing up were primarily male, thus I wanted to seem cool or relatable so I rejected stereotypically feminine concepts…”

“… What?”

Now it was a confused what.

“Uh, never mind,” you laughed awkwardly, putting your phone back on your nightstand. “Anyway, Jungkook, you made me realize things about myself, and I love being around you, but I thought a handsome guy like you would want to date a pretty girl, and I’m not really that.”

Jungkook furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about? You’re the prettiest girl in the world. No one could ever be prettier than you.”

You felt your neck heat. “Yo, don’t inflate my ego when it’s not the truth,” you chuckled sheepishly, waving a hand. “You’ve been drinking anyway. Alcohol makes everyone prettier.”

“It’s the truth.”

Was he drunk or were you drunk? Why was Jeon Jungkook getting closer?

“Would you really date me?”

You stared into those chocolate eyes and smiled.

“Yes, I would.”

And you leaned forward and kissed him.

His eyes widened, staring at you and you closed your eyes, pressing your lips to his, inhaling his scent, memories of hot summers and mirthful laughter filling your head, standing beside Jungkook and kicking Jimin and Taehyung’s ass at table tennis even though Jungkook was doing most of the work, finishing a movie together after Jimin and Taehyung had passed out on the couch on top of each other and talking excitedly about it until you both fall asleep, getting lamb skewers after Jimin and Taehyung went off to eat ramen in a huff, unable to agree on the same meal as a foursome, but it was fine, no, better than fine, perfect even.

Because you were with Jungkook.

You broke the kiss and opened your eyes, smiling at him.

He blinked slowly, looking down at you.

“Noona…”

His hand raised, fingers spreading out longingly. You quickly reached up and pushed it back down.

“Jungkook, I swear, I do want to touch you in a less than holy way, but maybe not when you’re wearing my dad’s clothes, including his underwear, because that’s really fucking weird.”

Jungkook looked down at the brown t-shirt and beige shorts. “Oh. Yeah. Right.”

“You know, come to think of it, I feel like Taehyung has slowly stolen Jimin from me over the years, so maybe this was fated…” you mumbled, remembering at the moments you had shared with Jungkook were because your other two friends had abandoned you.

“I feel you, sometimes I feel like a third wheel…”

-

“I’m so sleepy.”

“I’ll tuck you in first, but I’m going to get us some water so we don’t die tomorrow morning.”

“Ugh, Jimin, bring another pillow please.”

“Hah, fine, but you’re buying breakfast tomorrow…”

--

masterpost

[s0ulm8s]

boys like you (1.0)

✿ summary : alone and left in a mansion with nothing but your canvases and the dust slowly collecting on the window sills - a commission and a call from a childhood friend completely changes your life.

✿ genre : ot7 x f!reader, poly au, hybrid au, soulmate au, deer!seokjin, black panther!yoongi, great dane!hoseok, wolf!namjoon, calico cat!jimin, tiger!taehyung, bunny!jungkook

✿ warnings : mentions of death, maybe some mentions of assault, some fluff, reader is described as small (i.e smaller than jimin), slight age gap (reader is younger than jungkook)

✿ word count : 2.2K

✿ author’s note : i am inexperienced in hybrid aus, smut, and series so pls bare with me (not proofread yet)

✿ series masterlist! | 2.0

making yourself buckle down and work on the piece in front of you had proven to be more of a task than you had originally anticipated. the wide expanse of blank canvas you had stretched yourself 3 weeks ago, mocked you from the the sun room. it was only four days before you had to deliver your piece that you had really forced yourself to pick up a paint brush and do something useful.

the endless days spent alone in the vast building you now called home was doing a number on your psyche. the sheer loneliness seemed to eat away at not only your sanity but aided to your artist’s block - it was truly a gruesome cycle. locked away in an beautiful estate that you never asked for.

not only that, but working from home and having an all but nonexistent social life in a country you only permanently moved to a year prior was a fate worse than you had imagined.

you huffed, finally setting your small brush down on the easel, stepping back to assess your final draft. despite being so unmotivated and plum out of ideas, you were still proud of what you created - you had promised yourself long ago that you’d never sell a piece you abhorred, and you’d remained true to that promise thus far.

a blaring ring ripped you out of your critical trance trained on the landscape in front of you, startling you as your heartbeat quickened in pace.

“hello?” you answered, soft voice flowing through the other end as you anticipated the response from the unknown caller.

“yah! y/n! is that you?” the voice that responded was loud and excited, the baritone of it something you could never forget. a staple soundtrack from the summers you spent with your father in south korea.

“mingi? how’d you get my number?” you asked, a genuine smile flooding your face at the sound of his familiar laugh on the other end. 

of course, the two of you had stayed in brief contact since meeting as children. but as you grew, you saw less of each other. three years ago he and his boyfriend, yunho, had successfully started their own rehabilitation and adoption center for hybrids. the first year was hard, but the business quickly gained popularity and as the creator - he’d been exceptionally busy since her permanent move to south korea. they had two permanent doctors on staff, kim hongjoong and park seonghwa, along with a 24 hour staff. the workers were really exceptional, but you had only ever met their core group when the business first started. which included: choi san, jung wooyoung, choi jongho, kang yeosang, the two doctors, and of course the two owners.

“you were commissioned by a friend of mine! which is actually why i wanted to reach out.” he answered happily as your breathing evened and heartbeat finally settled.

“it’s good to hear from you, really. what can i do for you?” you asked sweetly, and mingi only briefly thought about teasing you for your soft tone and giving nature.

“would you be able to come to the adoption wing today? i’m working here all day as we’ve some new hybrids ready to find a new home. maybe in about an hour? you could join me on my rounds and we could talk. i’d like to see you, anyways. i’ve missed you.” mingi spoke professionally, but his admission made tears prick at your eyes. he almost sounded like the sixteen year old boy who had stolen your first kiss when visiting your father that summer and the memory of when things were simpler stung in your chest. your cheeks flushed. mingi smiled at your silence, knowing he had flustered his best childhood friend. you narrowed your eyes briefly, as he had tried to convince you many times in the past to adopt a hybrid of your own - but you had declined, not entirely convinced that you could provide an exceptional life for another being. because even though your knowledge on hybrids wasn't nearly as advanced as mingi’s, you still knew the basics. they weren't just animals, they were human. and there was no guarantee there. there never was with humans. you hesitate.

“y-yes. i can come by, i’ve just got to swing by and deliver my painting beforehand.” you answered as you both agreed on the meeting the time. “oh, and mingi? i’ve missed you, too.” you said genuinely as he broke into a toothy smile. it had been ages since he’d seen you, and though he knew he could blame it on his work - he didn’t know how to face you after the death of your father. he couldn’t bring himself to be there for you, to see you so broken, and he had blamed himself for that everyday. it was a relief to hear you say it. you had always been so forgiving, sometimes to a fault.

after bidding your goodbyes to the tall boy on the other side of the phone, you quickly changed clothes into something not completely ruined by the muted pigments of your paint, loaded up in your small suv, and you were off.

the delivery of your piece went smoothly, no heckling or disapproving gazes from the wealthy couple, which made your trip to TWILIGHT that much faster. you pushed open the double doors connected to the building in the right wing, clearly labeled ADOPTION. 

the smell of roses and lavender was strong in the reception area, the scent was welcoming and calming as you walked up to the front desk. 

“y/n!” the dark haired boy behind the computer called, finally rolling away from behind the screen. kang yeosang. “it’s so good to see you!” he exclaimed, eyes scanning your face as he made his way around the counter and pulled you into a soft embrace.

“likewise, yeo! it’s been a while hasn't it?” you ask rhetorically as you stare up at his daunting height.

“mmm” he hummed with a nod, releasing you. “i'll let mingi know you’re here.” he called, returning to his place behind the sleek desk, paging mingi, and then proceeding to catch up with you.

the small conversation didn’t last long before a pair of heavy footsteps drug your gaze to the wide staircase, mingi barreling down them.

you braced yourself as the giant scooped you up into a bone crushing embrace, spinning your small frame around in a circle as he let out a happy laugh. your arms snaked around the man’s neck to secure your place and return the hug.

you giggled happily as mingi finally set you down in your original place, looking down at you excitedly. had he gotten taller? impossible. maybe you had shrunk?

after an exchange of excited greetings, mingi gestured to his clipboard before finally asking, “you ready?”

you nodded softly and followed close behind as he guided you down the halls of the adoption center. he gave you the rundown of their center, showing you the wide expanse of spotless rooms sealed in by plexiglass to show the hybrids ready to be rescued. he explained that most hybrids were separated by predator, prey, species, breed, etc. but many were grouped together with their respective packs. the rooms were quite lavish, but not very homey. but what could you expect from an adoption clinic? the point was to find homes.

you passed many show exhibits, watching intently at the small dogs or tall humans sitting in the rooms patiently, playing with one another or napping quietly. you cooed at a few.

“so i asked to see you because i’d love to have your art displayed in our business.” he propositioned, leading you into an empty room as the automatic doors opened and shut behind you. you nodded, heart lurching a bit as you recalled your artist’s block. you shook the thought away as you observed the room. it was large, littered with scattered pieces of nice furniture and random toys. “ideally, i’d love to have your pieces throughout the whole establishment but this is my main concern.” he finished, gesturing to the empty space on the large wall, the one you’re faced with when first entering.

“are you wanting a mural?” you ask, voice now stable and a bit louder. 

“i'd like the piece to cover the majority of the wall, but i’d rather have it on canvas if that’s doable. in case it needs to be moved.” he explained as you nodded, taking in rough measurements of the space as mingi explained his vision for the space - effectively helping you circulate a few ideas on what you could create. you accepted his offer as he discussed payment and supplies with you, adding in an extra cost at the large measurement of the canvas you’d need custom made.

the air in the room grew a bit thick at the sound of a small beep, alerting the two of you to another door opening. your skin was now a bit hot and you suddenly became very aware of your surroundings. your fingers tingled a bit. usually a foreign feeling such as the one you were experiencing would send you into a panic, but it didn’t. if anything you felt quite calm as you looked on inquisitively at the distant thump coming toward the two of you.

“ah, it’s look like some of our hybrids are finished with their check ups.” mingi announced as you nodded lazily. he turned to you. “we usually send them into the lounge area for about an hour after routine check ups. helps them calm down.”

suddenly, you could pay no mind to mingi’s words as a black bunny rounded the corner, back foot slapping the tile exceptionally hard every so often as you smiled down at the creature happily. it stopped in it’s tracks as it’s gaze landed upon you, rearing up on it’s back legs, and tilting it’s head innocently as it examined you. 

you knelt down to greet him, the bunny immediately approaching you and sniffing your hand before accepting you and nuzzling into you closer. mingi was taken aback as he observed the usually reserved and nervous rabbit.

“hello.” you cooed, stroking the bunny effortlessly, careful to avoid his ears and tail, briefly recalling how sensitive they could be. “what’s your name?” you asked as mingi coughed.

“this is jeongguk, he’s one of our younger hyrbrids. the youngest in his pack.” he told you as you picked the bunny up and set him into your small lap. mingi almost gasped at the interaction between you and the rabbit as you pet him happily.

your trance was interrupted at the light purr and brush of a small calico next to you. you instinctively reach out to pet him, as he rubbed into your hand. “and who might you be?”

“this is jimin, the two are in a pack.” mingi attempted to explain, trying to understand the absence of jimin’s usually protective behavior and unable to tell you the full story before you asked him something he was not expecting.

“and they’re ready to be adopted?” you asked softly, not even looking up at mingi as he stuttered. the idea of adopting a hybrid didn’t seem so far-fetched now at how taken you were with the two animals in your lap. you could handle the bunny and cat, without a doubt.

“y-yes but we only adopt out entire packs together and -”

“of course, i wouldn’t dream of separating them. is there anyway i could meet them properly, as soon as i possible i think -” you interrupt. starting to gush a bit, voice hushed and excitable.

mingi cut you off, “no, y/n. you aren’t listening. they aren’t just a pack of two.” he sighed, as your gaze finally met his. “in fact they aren’t just bunny and calico, they’re pack also includes that of a wolf, black panther, deer, great dane, and tiger... their pack has been hard to adopt out as it’s so rare for such a large mix of predators and prey... but they found each other and experienced a lot together... it was only inevitable. and we can’t separate them, we refuse to. and they won’t leave one another.” he finally finished explaining as your expression fell. you let out a breath. seven hybrids. all male. and three apex predators, at that. the thought of suddenly thrusting seven knew faces - seven new men - into your home was intimidating to say the least.

you looked down at the two animals in your lap, the bunny almost looked cresfallen. gauging your reaction as his big brown eyes stared at you expectantly. as if he knew you’d reject him. mingi continued rambling on about how many adopters had expressed interest in at least one of the pack but were never willing to bring in all seven. it hurt your heart as you watched on the bunny and calico.

the estate your father had left you was empty, though. begging to be occupied. you had more than enough room and were blessed with an untouched inheritance. maybe this is what you should use it for. you had always felt too guilty to spend it. but nothing seemed more right, which was a shocking realization to someone who never thought they’d adobt a hybrid.

“could i meet them? the seven of them? i’d at least want to give them a chance... truthfully, i dont think i can leave them behind.” you admitted softly, the bunny and cat both perked up, ears raised and twitching.

“of course. i can arrange a meeting and speak with them tonight... i’ll gather their files for you to take home tonight. can you make it back in again tomorrow?” mingi asked after a deafening pause of hesitation, mouth hanging agape before coming back into reality.

“i’ll be here.”

[geralt-of-baevia]

Happenstance

Summary: Henry is about to go to bed one night when he suddenly gets a text from a random number he doesn’t know. What happens when you accidentally text the star actor of The Witcher? Memes apparently. Lots and lots of memes.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC (Lizzy Moore)

Word count: 1.3K

Warnings: None...yet! Just some fluffy flirting. Well okay and lots of mention of his crotch? 😬😘

A/N: So I’ve had this idea bouncing around in my brain for a LONG time and finally pulled the trigger and wrote it! It’s in texting format, and I hope you like it! This is my first time posting fan fiction on here so I’m nervous and excited!

Beta: Thank you to @avengeful-bunny​ for being my AMAZING beta. I don’t know what I would do without you. 💛💛💛

Tagging: I’m going to tag all those whose work has inspired me to write and post my work! Much love to ALL of you! @littlefreya @dancingwendigo @mary-ann84 @yespolkadotkitty @viking-raider @cavillhoney

Part 1: Oops.

(405:) God, girl. You will not BELIEVE the day I had. I'm pretty sure I lost a pint of blood today from how many times I stabbed myself sewing. 

(405:)

(Henry:) You should probably get a thimble for that. 

(Henry:) Also, I do believe you have the wrong number. Considering you started the text off with 'girl' and I am quite the opposite. But even so, please spill the tea. I’m dying to know about this UNBELIEVABLE day you’ve had. 

(Henry:)

(405:) Oh my god, MR. CAVILL I AM soooo SO SO SORRY. I must have accidentally clicked on your name and not my friend's name. 

(405:) I feel really awkward having your number when you don’t have mine. Do you want me to delete it? Just to make sure this doesn’t happen again? Also so some random crew member doesn’t have your number?

(Henry:) Oh god, please call me Henry. There’s no need for such formalities. And it’s fine, there’s no need to delete it. Since you mentioned crew and sewing, I'm assuming you work for the costuming department? 

(Henry:) Also, I have your number now, don't I? :P

(405:) By it’s fine do you mean this kind of fine?

(405:)

(Henry:) Oh no, it’s LITERALLY fine. I promise. 

(Henry:)

(405:) But to answer your question, yes! I work for the costuming department. I’m newer, so I get to do the usual stuff. Mostly just lots of mending at the moment. And JUST TO BE CLEAR, I won't do anything to abuse this number since you're Henry Cavill.

(405:) And you’re Henry Cavill. Also you are my co-worker, my I’m assuming super rich, god tier co-worker that I’m not supposed to make eye contact with nevermind TEXT. 

(Henry:)

(Henry:) But yes, my name is Henry. Please keep my number, we’re coworkers after all, it’s normal for coworkers to have each other’s numbers. Have we met on set before? 

(405:) We have once or twice, just in passing mostly. Once I brought you clothes to your trailer.

(Henry:) Are you the one with the brown and pink hair? 

(405:) That's me. :)

(Henry:) Don't tell me your name, I know what it is. 

(405:) Are you sure about that? You don't seem too confident :P 

(Henry:) I know it starts with an E. Is it Eloise? Eleanor? I know it was something old fashioned, too.

(405:) Man, you're so close. I mean, kind of. Think of historical dead English queens. Like, for example you were best friends with her dad. You were a fancy Duke who was good with the sword and ladies. Also, I’m sorry, aren’t you supposed to be a big nerd?  

(Henry:) ELIZABETH! 

(Henry:) And I am a HUGE nerd thank you very much. 

(Elizabeth:) Yes, that's my name haha. Also, whoa whoa, settle down there cowboy.  

(Elizabeth:) And it’s just Lizzy, with a Y. The thought of spelling it with an IE makes me cringe. 

(Lizzy:)

 (Henry:) Pretty much everyone? Who doesn't call you Lizzy? 

(Lizzy:) My dad, my grandma, my teachers, my victims, my doctor, the one girl in high school who hated me. 

(Henry:) Haha that's quite the list there Lizzy Borden. I think it’s your turn to settle down. :P

(Henry:) Well then Lizzy with a Y, it's nice to finally talk to you, even though it's over text. 

(Henry:) So I have to ask, I take it they were cracking the whip pretty hard in wardrobe today? 

(Lizzy:) You know, I was doing what I thought was a pretty damn good job of avoiding that subject.

(Henry:) Nope, you can't slip past me. This brain is like an iron trap. 

(Lizzy:) If you MUST know...

(Henry:) I really do. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat in anticipation. 

(Henry:)

(Lizzy:) Okay well that just sounds sarcastic. I don't HAVE to tell you... :P

(Lizzy:) I'm kidding, kidding. Well, since you MUST know, I spent at least half of my day mending clothes, particularly the crotch of multiple pairs of your pants. Also a few pairs had the butt blown out. 

(Henry:) The crotch?

(Lizzy:) Yes, the CROTCH OF YOUR PANTS HENRY. :P Honestly I'm used to it at this point though. It's not the first time, or I'm assuming the last, that I'll have to mend the crotch of your pants. It’s not your fault the studio wants you in tighter fitting clothes that can show off how muscular you are. It’s just my job to fix it. ;) 

(Henry:) I guess I never really thought about who it was having to mend them when that happens. 

(Lizzy:) And it’s not just your crotch area I mend, it’s your inseams as well. I think your thighs got a little bigger since the initial fitting. :P

(Lizzy:) And yes, us little people taking care of you famous movie stars, making sure you stay looking like the heartthrob you are. Since that is your job and all. :P

(Henry:) Hey now, I’m more than just a pretty face. You make me sound like a talentless hack. But thank you. For your sake I'll try and not blow out any more seams, especially the crotch. 

(Lizzy:) You don't need to thank me, it's literally my job. ;) 

(Lizzy:) I mean, if your muscles didn’t rip through clothing on a regular basis I’d be out of a job!  How rude.

(Henry:) Well I mean in that case I COULD make it a habit. ;) 

(Lizzy:) All I have to say is I’m SO glad we don’t have to worry about shirt buttons on you during this. I’ve seen the stress you put on buttons during press junkets. The anxiety I feel, Henry. So much anxiety.

(Lizzy:)

(Henry:) Yeah, those shirts never seem to fit my chest right. I taught myself how to sew buttons on my shirts so I could stop asking others to help. 

(Lizzy:) Okay, the fact that you taught yourself how to sew on buttons because it’s a CONTINUING issue is both hilarious and adorable. :P

(Henry:) 

(Henry:) So I’m curious about something, costume wise.

(Lizzy:) Yes? I’m sure I can answer, costume wise. ;)

(Henry:) How long does it take to sew together a shirt from scratch? 

(Lizzy:) Well, it all depends on the type of shirt, and what it’s for. For the sake of film, there are so many steps. Design, pattern making, grading, construction, fitting. That’s just a fraction of it. It’s a very long process.

(Lizzy:) But if I was at home making a shirt for a friend, I could do it start to finish in a couple of hours. They're not hard. I can sew them together in my sleep.

(Henry:) A few HOURS? That's amazing. 

(Lizzy:) Eh, it's what I went to school for. ;) It’s not that impressive to me. 

(Henry:) Well, to me it is at least.  ;) 

(Lizzy:) 

(Henry:) 

(Henry:) Unfortunately, it's time for me to go to bed. I have an early call time in the morning. 

(Lizzy:) You're going to bed at 6 in the evening? I’m assuming you have a super crazy call time? One time I had a call time of 1 am because there were things that had to be fixed by the time you and Anya got to set at 4 am. Although it does have it’s advantages. I get to have the first pick of craft services, and sunrises are always nice to watch. 

(Lizzy:) But I’m sorry, that sucks. :(

(Henry:) Some days it does, especially when I can't seem to fall asleep. But today was exhausting so I don't think I'll have any issues tonight. Plus Kal has been extra cuddly tonight so I definitely won’t have any issues. 

(Lizzy:) Well then, I guess this is where we say goodnight. I hope you sleep well. :) 

(Henry:) Thank you. I hope you do, too. Hopefully tomorrow will involve less bleeding onto garments. ;P

(Lizzy:) Haha, I mean it really doesn’t matter. If anything it makes the garment just look THAT much more legit. I hope you have a good day on set tomorrow. :) 

(Henry:) Thank you. It was really nice talking to you Lizzy. I hope we talk more again soon. :) 

(Lizzy:) It was nice talking to you, too. And I would really like that. :) 

(Lizzy:) Goodnight, Henry. :) 

(Henry:) Goodnight Lizzy. Sleep well. :)

[empyreanwritings]

Right in Front of You

Pairing: Detective!Bucky Barnes x Detective!Reader

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: mentions of mutilation, murder, canon gore, serial killer shenanigans

Summary: Sometimes the answers to your hardest cases are right in front of your face.

A/N: This is my submission for @barnesrogersvstheworld​ ‘s Halloween writing challenge! I meant to have this up earlier, but I’m constantly paranoid what I write sucks. My legend was The Man with a Hook for a Hand! I literally owe @if-n0t-l8ter-when​ my soul for beta reading this for me and reassuring that this isn’t hot garbage.

Feedback is always welcome and appreciated (:

The flash of evidence's camera blinded you, and you waited for the fuzzy bright spots to leave your vision before you addressed the victim. You couldn't exactly do your best work if you were still trying to get your wits about you.

John Doe looked to be about forty-five to fifty years old - he might have been younger, if he was a smoker. Two teenagers trying to tag the old post office found him by the dumpster. His body had seventeen stab wounds, all to the chest, which was similar to three other murders your department was investigating. But what differed John Doe from the rest was the fact his left hand had been cut off and replaced with a rusted hook.

The hand hadn't been recovered either. Whoever was behind the murders must have kept it as a souvenir.

Your medical examiner concluded the victim must have been killed some time around nine at night based on the amount of blood clotting on his back. She couldn't tell if the stab wounds were what killed him until she did an autopsy, but she had a feeling they were. Your serial killer was consistent with almost everything.

Seventeen stab wounds. Victims always killed at nine and dropped off one block away from where they were originally picked up. They were generally single people with no family in the city. All the small details were consistent.

But the first victim - Vicky Castro - was found in a perfectly clean white dress instead of her work clothes. The second victim - a homeless man who lived in Central Park - had his throat stuffed with unwrapped candy. And the third had a bunny mask nailed into his face.

Now this guy had a hook hand? How did that connect to the others?  

You sighed. You had your work cut out for you.

"The man with a hook for a hand," James, your partner, said as he gestured to the rusty hook.

You gave a small laugh. "Talk about a creepy urban legend."

As the words left your mouth, you froze. Urban legends. You almost slapped yourself for not noticing the connection until this very moment.

"Oh my god, I could kiss you right now!" You grabbed the front of James's jacket, almost letting the temptation to plant one on him take over. He gave you a lazy smile in hopes that you would, but you turned his face back towards the victim instead, "The Hook Man."

"Yeah, I can see that."

"The Woman in White." He looked back at you, his brows furrowed in confusion. "The Candyman. The fuckin' Bunny Man! All of the victims are urban legends!"

James smiled, and he, too, felt the urge to kiss you in this moment. This had been the case that plagued your department for months. Every day that passed, and every new victim that popped up, the people of New York lost their faith in you. The media would have a field day knowing you finally found a connection between all the victims.

Even if it did not seem like a big deal, it was.

"We gotta take this back to the Captain," he said, pulling you right back out of your thoughts.

You nodded. It had already been a long night, and you'd be able to go home knowing there would be a lead waiting for you the next day.

---

Walking into work that morning felt different than usual. The detectives were buzzing with a newfound excitement; they were ready to find another lead and take down the bastard that was giving them so much grief.

You tried to be the rational one in situations like this; the one who refused to get excited until you had a concrete lead, but you couldn't help yourself this time around. You were buzzing just as much as everyone else, if not more. By the end of the day, you wanted the killer in custody with a full confession typed out on your desk. And you were going to make it happen.

James trailed in a few minutes after you, two coffees in his hands. You thanked him as he placed one of them on your desk. He must have known how hard you planned on working today because he didn't start his usual morning small talk. Nothing about his commute or what you had for breakfast - you both dove right into working.

Two other detectives, Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter, were sent out to interview the roommate of your John Doe from the previous night. The medical examiner had spent most of her night trying to get a name from his dental records and sent the results in before you got there. You were a little jealous, since you enjoyed the interview phase, but you tried to shake that feeling off. Captain Fury needed you here to start connecting all the dots.

You pinned the map of the city against one of the white boards and marked the locations where each victim was found. You thought it would help, but it only left you more confused. Nothing about where they were picked up or dropped off related to each other.

The Candy Man and the Woman in White were close to each other. They were found within ten miles of each other, but the other two were farther apart. Practically on opposite ends of the city.

You wanted to scream every time you glanced at the map. Every time you made progress, the bastard seemed to kick you back three spaces. You were almost positive he was somewhere nearby, watching you struggle to connect the dots and laughing at your frustration.

James stood next to you, his body language mimicking yours with his arms crossed over his chest and his brows pulled to the middle of his face. It was wrong of you to be happy that he was as stumped as you. It would have been quicker if one of you could piece together all the clues, but you so badly wanted it to be you. You, selfishly, wanted most of the glory after all the sleep you had lost because of this one person.

"I got nothing," he sighed in defeat. He glanced at the clock and saw it was already seven. "I think it's time to call it quits. Don't stay here too late, okay?"

He patted your shoulder, and you gave him a small smile. James was always a good partner. He spent a lot of his time trying to make sure you ate lunch or dinner and got enough sleep to survive the following day. And he saved your ass more than once because you lacked self-preservation skills. You weren't sure what you would do without him as your partner.

And sometimes you wondered what could spark between you if you didn't always put work first.

"Hey, James?" You called out just before he made it to the door.

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna get breakfast before work tomorrow? It's on me."

He rolled his eyes playfully. "As if I'd let you pay, sweetheart, but yeah. Breakfast sounds great."

You nodded and waved him off, deciding to argue about who was going to pay tomorrow. It wasn't as if it was an official date, so why would he pay? You shook your head. You didn't need to be thinking about that right now.

You turned your attention back to the map. A frustrated breath left your lips and rubbed at your eyes, hoping it would somehow get you to look at it differently.

"Come on," you whined. "Talk to me! I know you want to!"

You leaned your hands back against James's desk, and you cringed when some of his paperwork fell over the edge with a thud!

Most of the papers were weighed down by a book, so it wasn't a lot to clean up, but as you placed everything back on his desk, you couldn't help but stare at the book. James was a reader, so it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to have a book or two at his disposal. It was just the cover - a red book with a black star in the middle - that made you stop and stare.

Your eyes flickered from the star on the cover to the markings on the map, and it clicked in your brain why you couldn't make a connection to them - the map wasn't completed. The killer was trying to complete a five-point star, and he still needed to get the top one. And that was why it wasn't obvious to you right away.

James managed to save the day again without even realizing.

You ripped the map down and spread it across your desk. If you could measure all the points, you'd be able to get a general idea of where the killer was going to strike next. Even if he already picked up his last victim and killed them, at least you would know where to start looking for a body.

The idea of being too late didn't sit well with you, but it was a start.

---

James sent you a text the next morning with an address to a diner he wanted to meet you. It was a little out of your way, but you didn't protest. You were ready to share what you found and driving an extra twenty minutes to get breakfast wouldn't kill the excitement you felt. And he claimed it was one of his favorite spots.

The diner wasn't as busy as you expected for a Wednesday morning, and you smiled when you saw James already grabbed a table off to the side for you. He was always prepared in public; he liked being near the windows, facing the main entrance. Before you could even count how many people in an area, he already knew the possible exits and hiding spots for someone to strike. You assumed that sprang from his military background.

"Mornin'," he kissed your cheek and held out the chair for you, which you thanked him for. "I hope you didn't stay at the precinct all night."

"I didn't!" You laughed. "Okay, I almost did, but I got a full eight hours of sleep, so that counts, right?"

"What ever you say, sweetheart."

He slipped his coat off, and you couldn't help yourself form admiring the way his arms strained the white fabric of his button up. You were shameless with your ogling, letting your eyes trail up from his fit waist to his arms, but you fixated on a dark tattoo showing through his sleeve. You never knew he had a tattoo.

"You didn't tell me you were inked up," you pointed to his arm with a smile. "Were you holding out on me?"

He shrugged. "It's something I got while overseas. Just a stupid star."

You hummed and glanced down at the menu. The address of the diner was printed under the name, and you silently wondered why it seemed familiar. You rarely came to this side of the city, so it wasn't as if you had been here before. But, still, something tugged at the back of your mind - begged for you to remember whatever it was you were missing right in front of your face.

James noticed your shift in mood and asked if you were okay. You smiled over at him in reassurance. You made a joke about possibly being more tired than you thought, and he seemed to accept that without another question.

The name of the street was going to bug the hell out of you. You wanted to know why it was so familiar to -

Chills ran down your spine. The blood in veins froze, spreading from your fingertips to the back of your neck. You gripped the menu tightly between your fists as the realization washed over you; it seemed familiar because this street was one block over from where the next point of the star should be.

And this was a place James admitted he liked to visit often.

James. The one who always seemed to give the clues at the perfect time, especially with the Hook Man. James. The one who loved to read folklore and always kept a book in his desk. James. The one with the star tattoo and the star on his book, which you started to wonder if that was more than just a book. Maybe it was a journal. Maybe it held clues as to where that damned hand was.

You cursed yourself for not seeing what was inside, but you wouldn't have expected your partner to be behind it.

"You sure you're okay?" He questioned, his eyes analyzing every inch of your face. He seemed so concerned, and you were thankful you hadn't eaten yet. You probably would have lost it by now.

"Y-yeah, I'm good."

Your hand instinctively went the gun holstered on your hip, and the realization flashed across his face. Fuck. You shouldn't have been obvious with that.

"Bout time you figured it out, sweetheart," he teased. "I was beginning to wonder whether you were a detective or just an average patrol officer."

Your jaw clenched. "Am I supposed to be your fifth victim?"

"Well, you weren't supposed to be," he sighed dramatically and leaned back in his seat. The smile he gave you was so casual and calm, you wanted to wipe it right off his face. "But I'm starting to think you know too much."

[chimilkie]

highest of highs

pairing; jeongguk x reader

genre; angst + fluff

summary; after he almost kills your ass after you leave work over a piece of chicken, you decide taking him home is a good idea.

warnings; strong language ?? does there need to be a warning for that?? aggressive, like rlly aggressive guk in the beginning

an:// fuckkkkk this gif ;)) also, i feel like it’s safe to point out that sometimes i spell his name jungkook and sometimes i spell it jeongguk,, i haven’t decided which one i like best yet (and probably never will, considering i’m already three years into this bangtan shithole :0 )

life wasn’t the best for you at the moment. but really was it ever good for anyone? you had began college a mere two years ago and were currently diving in a pool of debts on your apartment and your insurance. you had classes in the mornings, were working through the afternoon and then into the nights, and you spent most of the hours after midnight working on all the ridiculous assignments that needed to be completed even though they had nothing to do with your major. sleep was a rare case, but it was helpful when you finally managed to get some.

work hadn't been kind to you today, with angry customers yelling at you over a mistake the chef had made and drinks "accidentally" being spilled on you more than a few times by the one coworker who seemed to hate you more than anything. you just wanted to get home and maybe make yourself a quick meal of cup noodles before falling asleep.

it wasn’t till another ten minutes later that you realized you didn’t HAVE cup noodles at the apartment. or anything else for that matter. with that thought in mind and a roll of your eyes, you turned around and made your way back towards the market a few blocks down.

you didn’t have much money to spend, as your last paycheck went towards rent and the water bill. the market was practically empty when you made it there and the doors were held open with shopping carts, letting the winter air sweep into the front of the building.

you quickly made your way to the produce in the back and grabbed the freshest looking chicken you saw. you ushered out of the building after paying for your meal, not even bothering with small talk as the women at the cash register didn’t seem all that interested either.

you wrapped the bag around your wrist, stuffing your hands into your coat pockets to prevent yourself from getting frostbite and practically dying at the thought of the 15 minute walk ahead of you.

there was a rather large crack in the sidewalk ahead of you so you cut around it, resulting in you walking closer to a dark alley than you would have originally wanted. the closer your feet came to the edge of the large shadow, the more weary you began to feel.

and the sudden bone-chilling growl that echoed into the cold night didn’t necessarily help. you froze, turning to stare into the darkness with eyes as wide as saucers. you frowned, beginning to shuffle backwards before something lunged out and grabbed you roughly, slamming you back against the wall of the alley. you yelped as your head hit the brick and you instinctively raised your hands to push against the strangers chest. your eyes quickly adjusted and you were immediately able to make out the floppy black dog ears atop his head.

"p-please, i didn’t mean to intrude... i was just trying to-" you managed to stutter out before he growled and his gaze shifted quickly down to your dinner around your wrist. he immediately went to grab it from you but you snatched it back towards yourself and lifted your hands once more to his shoulders to try and shove him away. you managed to shove him back a few feet so that you could stumble back into the light on the sidewalk.

he glared at you, not daring to step out from the alley where you could potentially scream to gain the attention of a nearby hybrid catcher, who would probably illegally sell him to a rich man who would only want the dog for his body. you began to walk back preparing to turn and run when you took a good look at the boy in front of you. he looked quite strong, but he obviously hadn't eaten in awhile.

he huffed and seemed to visibly give up, turning away from you and beginning to walk back deeper into the alley. you frowned before scurrying a little closer and placing the bag of chicken on the ground. he stopped, turning to you with a glare before it slightly softened when he saw the chicken being offered to him. you didn't wait to see if he'd take it, you just turned to jog in the opposite direction.

when you finally made it back home, you slammed the door shut behind you before leaning back against it and holding your hand to your chest. you no longer had a dinner, but you were more focused on the fact that a hybrid almost just ripped your throat out over a bag of goddamn chicken.

the next day work and classes went by quicker than they ever had before. you could barely focus on anything other than the stray you had come across the night before. how long had he been there? had he eaten the chicken you left for him? you frowned, shaking your head to think about things that actually needed to get done the next few days.

you didn’t get paid till after the weekend and you were already running way too low on money. your friendly coworker was nice enough to give you a ride how after both of your shifts ended considering it had started to snow heavily. "thank you wooyoung." you smiled him, wrapping him in a quick hug before shutting the car door and jogging up the front steps of your apartment building. you turned to him and waved after scanning your keycard, before turning and making your way through the lobby. you smiled politely at the young security guard and he grinned back.

"evening miss y/n. i’m hoping you had a ride here? it’s getting pretty bad out there." he commented tossing you one of the lollipops from the glass bowl on the front desk.

"ah, yes. wooyoung-ah was kind enough to drive me here from work." you caught the pop and pocketed it.

he nodded. "very well, then. have a good night miss."

you laughed softly and threw up your hand in a quick wave. "you as well, jiwon-oppa."

once you had changed into some cute christmas pajama pants, you microwaved yourself some quick cup noodles that you had found in the back of your cabinet. while you waited for it to heat up you moved towards your small living room. you gripped the red fabric of your curtains before tugging them open and physically feeling your heart drop.

it was practically a blizzard out there in only a matter of minutes and the first thing your mind went to was the hybrid from the night before. was he still out in this? you didn’t stand there any longer to think about it. you turned, slipping on the slippers next to your couch and grabbing the coat from the rack next to you door.

you yanked it over your shoulders and bolted down the stairs, not even bothering to wait for the elevator to reach your floor. once you reached the ground floor, you shoved the staircase door open and ran across the lobby. "miss y/n! where are you going?" you heard jiwon yell out from behind you. you turned to face the young man after reaching the front door.

"i’ll be back soon jiwon-oppa! i just have to run a quick errand!" you called, not waiting for the reply before pushing the door open and racing towards the alleyway where you had the altercation with the hybrid the night before.

you hadn't realized how truly cold it was outside until you were running down the inches of snow on the sidewalk in only your bunny slippers - which had turned out to be a horrible idea now that your feet were already freezing and wet.

you had made it to the alleyway in no time sliding to a stop in front of the entrance. you didn’t waste any time, as you knew the longer you stayed out here with barely enough layers on the sicker you would end up. "hello?" you called, tentatively stepping into the darkness. you glanced around a dumpster that was blocking most of the alley only to see nothing behind it.

you were on the verge of turning and quickly making your way back home when you heard something crash and fall farther down the alley. you froze, before slipping around the dumpster and making your way towards a bunch of garbage cans pushed together to make a wall of some sorts. you moved around the cans and stilled when you noticed the hybrid curled into a ball and leaning back against the brick wall.

his eyes locked with yours and a loud growl left his lips. he stood, leaving the safety of the cans and stalking towards you. the closer he got, the more he came into focus. his cheeks and nose were stained a flushed pink and there was snow piling up on his dark black hair.

he grabbed your forearm and shoved you back against the stack of cardboard. another growl left his throat and his glare hardened. "what the hell are you doing here?" he demanded baring what looked like bunny teeth with two sharp canines shining threateningly.

"i-" you got choked up, eyes flicking around the alley trying to find words to say. what had you planned to do? take him home with you? what would you even do then? you didn’t know how to care for a hybrid, much less one who literally wanted to rip your throat out the first chance he got. "it’s really cold out here. and i-it’s snowing really bad. and i was home and thought about you i guess... and i wanted to know if you were still out here i guess."

he scoffed and snapped his jaw at you in defense. "well i’m still out here, girl. you can head home now."

you shook your head and stood you ground. you tried to push him back but failed, only resulting in him tilting his head at you as if requesting you to challenge him. "no, i... i want you to come with me."

he barked out a humorless laugh and threw his head back. "i’m sorry?"

you clenched your hands into fists, and tried to ignore how cold your feet and ankles were. "you can’t stay out here on your own, you need to be inside during the storm. at least take my bed for the night and i’ll take couch. i can’t let you freeze out here, which won’t take long considering what you’re wearing."

the hybrid only had on a pair of black hospital sweatpants and a wet hoodie that he must've stolen from a street shop. he rolled his eyes and turned away from you with a chuckle. "go home, human. i don’t need help from your kind. get out of here before i realize how hungry i am and rip your goddamn throat out."

you stopped, debating your options here. you could continue to pester him and possibly risk him murdering you or you could leave and have him weighing on your conscious. "no!" you cried, you stomped forward and grabbing his shoulder attempting to yank him to fake you. "please. please come with me, you’re going to get hypothermia and that’s if pneumonia and frostbite don’t get to you first. you’re going to freeze just come with me." you begged, grabbing his hand with the one that wasn’t holding his forearm.

he glared, his eyes remaining hard as he eyed you up and down. "you try to turn me in, you call any authority, and you won’t live to tell them about me."

you nodded, releasing a shaky sigh before pulling him behind you. "okay, i won’t. i promise. but come on please, my toes feel like they’re about to fall off."

it took you awhile to get there, trying to navigate your way through the literal snowstorm you were stuck in and also trying to keep more snow for compacting into your slippers. you pushed the door to the lobby open, pulling the hybrid in behind you.

"y/n, thank god i was so worried-" jiwon began but then froze when he saw the growling boy behind you. the man wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you into him tightly keeping his hard eyes on the security guard. "uh... you want to... explain?"

"um..." you faked a yawn, throwing your arms in the air dramatically before grabbing the hybrid's wrist and pulling him after you. "i would love to but i am just SO tired and i’ll have to get back to you on that." you rushed to slip you and the young man into the elevator before hurriedly pressing the seven button repeatedly.

you let out a breath of relief and leaned back against the wall as you watched the numbers tick up as you passed certain floors. you led him out once the doors opened and made your way to the front door of your apartment, slipping your keycard into the slot next to the handle.

once you opened the front door, you were smacked in the face with the hot air from your heater. you listened to the hybrid behind you let out a long breath of relief. "okay, um. i’ll get you a towel and show you to the bathroom so you can shower if you want. you like cup noodles right?" you rushed out, turning to face him once you locked your door and slipped off your slippers and coat.

he glared and backed up once he realized how close you both were. "i’ve never had them." he huffed out.

"oh... well while you take a shower i’ll heat some up for you and set up my bed." you turned to the hallway closet to get a towel for him when you heard him grunt.

"i’ll take the couch."

"no. no, no, no, no, no." you shook your head not even bothering to face him. "i’m not letting you take the couch. besides, i rather like to sleep on the couch. that way i can fall asleep to the television."

he didn’t say anything else after that and you were rather happy about that. after you showed him how to work the shower and what products were for what, you made your way to the kitchen to reheat the noodles for him. it wasn’t long before he made his way into the kitchen with only a towel around his waist. you squeaked when you noticed, quickly rushing out of the kitchen.

"eat those noodles!" you called over your shoulder. "i’ll get you something to wear while you do."

you rushed into your room, looking for the clothes that your best friend's hybrid had left here the last time he slept over. you were glad namjoon had decided to leave a pair of sweats and a shirt - as you were sure the man in your kitchen wouldn’t enjoy joon's usual matching silk pajamas that seokjin insisted on spoiling him with.

rushing back to the kitchen, you watched as he shoveled down the last of the noodles with a content sigh. "hey." he jumped slightly and whipped around to face you, his usual glare settling on his face. "sorry, uhm, here i found you some stuff to wear."

he stood and made his way to you. he leaned down, pressing his nose into the crook of your neck and rubbing gently. he pulled back after a few seconds and grabbed the clothes from your hands before turning towards the direction of your bathroom to change into the set of clothes.

once the bathroom door closed, you rushed to your phone at the counter and quickly dialed seokjin's number.

"hello?" a groggy voice broke through. namjoon.

"hey, joonie! is jin there?" you asked, clutching the phone with both hands.

"not yet, he got snowed into the studio with hobi and yoongi-hyung." he answered. "what did you need?"

"um... well, hypothetically, let’s say a hybrid presses it’s nose to your neck and like rubs? i guess? what does... what does that mean?" you questioned, shuffling your socked feet back and forth against the tiled floor.

namjoon chuckled mischievously on the other side of the line. "it’s called scenting, y/n. it’s like claiming something as yours without voicing it."

"o-oh." you blushed before hearing the bathroom door open. "i have to go, goodnight joonie!"

"have fun!" you faintly heard him cry before you hung up.

"who was that?" you heard him snap roughly from behind you.

you jumped and shrieked before whipping around to face him with a hand on your chest. "oh my god, you scared me. it was my friend, joon. the hybrid that those pajamas belong to. i was asking him if seokjin had arrived home yet."

he nodded before dumping the broth from the noodles into the sink and throwing the empty cup into the trash can. "what's... what’s your name?" you asked him quietly, looking down at your fingers. when he didn’t reply for a good minute you spoke again. "mine is y/n."

it was silent for another few moments before he began to walk down the hall again. "jeongguk." he called quietly over his shoulder before walking into your bedroom and closing the door.

you grinned to yourself. "jeongguk." you repeated just to see how it would roll off your tongue.

the next morning you woke on the couch with the television still on and the curtains pulled closed. you stood up with a yawn while stretching your arms above your head in a stretch. you reached out and shut the tv off before pulling the curtains open with a quick yank. the sky was dark with grey clouds yet the world was covered in a beautiful blanket of snow.

"your bed is really comfortable." you jumped and whipped around to face the young man leaning against the frame of the kitchen doorway.

you smiled and clasped your hands together awkwardly in front of you. "thanks, i guess."

"i’ll be out in a little bit. just let me change into my clothes and i’ll head out." he announced before turning away from you.

"wait." you blanked, rushing forward to grab his hand once more. "where will you stay?"

he shrugged. "i don’t know. but it’s not snowing anymore, i should be fine."

"stay here." you immediately suggested. you told yourself it was because you couldn’t let it weigh on you that you just let him leave. but you were lonely. and you liked him, and wanted to break through his shell and get to know what he was really like. "jeongguk, please."

"why are you begging me? i don’t need your help and i don’t need to be owned by some chick with a hybrid kink." he growled ripping his hand from your grip and walking hurriedly towards your room.

"what? no!" you cried in frustration and threw your hands up in annoyance. "jeongguk, listen. i’m begging because you can’t live out there. if you don’t freeze, you’ll starve. and if you don’t freeze or starve, you’ll be caught and sold. i wouldn’t own you, we'd be equals. this would be your house just as much as it is mine. you’d be free to do as you wanted, just without the threat of everything outdoors."

"deciding when i eat?" he confirmed, raising an eyebrow at you.

"deciding when you eat."

"deciding when i shower?"

"deciding when you shower."

"deciding what i wear around the house?" he smirked, reaching for the hem of his shirt to begin to pull it upwards.

"oh my god!" you rushed to grab the hem of the shirt and hold it down. "within reason, of course!"

he raised his eyebrows before nodding and turning. "okay well, i get the bed."

"what?" you cried, not ready to permanently give up your bed for the couch.

he suddenly turned around once more and walked towards you in a few long strides. "unless, of course..." he leaned in, pressing his nose to your neck once more and gently rubbing. "you want to share the bed with me."

"w-what are you doing?" you stuttered out, face pink with the blush fighting to stain your cheeks.

"nothing." he pulled back suddenly with a smirk, canines poking out from behind his lips. "just making a suggestion."

weeks passed on like that. you took the couch, not wanting to push your boundaries and actually sleep in your own bed with the hybrid that threatened multiple times to end your life. eventually, he opened up to you more.

he no longer growled when you sat next to him on the couch unannounced and he wasn’t jumpy anymore. you could even go as far to say that you both trusted each other quite a lot. one afternoon you walked into your room to see him curled up under your blanket with your phone clutched in his hand. "gukkie?"

"hmm?" he hummed as you laid down next to him, on top of the covers.

"what breed of dog are you?"

"rottweiler." your mouth dropped in realization. now you understood the broad shoulders and how he was still strong when you first met him despite being starved almost half to death.

you nodded and rested your head back against your pillow, curling your legs upwards and getting comfortable. classes had been cancelled thanks to yet another snow storm, but you still had work that night. "gukkie, can you set an alarm for 4 so i wake up when it’s time for work?"

"course." you heard him mumble before he fumbled with your phone so more. you didn’t try to listen much more after that, you just closed your eyes and let sleep slowly overtake you once more.

when you woke up again it was dark and way later than 4 o'clock. your phone was on the night stand, lighting up repeatedly and letting out multiple dings at a time.

you went to sit up and check it, only to realize you couldn’t move. jeongguk was now laying on top of the covers as well but on his back. one arm was thrown over you as if to hold you down and the other one who bent up and tucked under his head.

you frowned, before grabbing his wrist and lifting the arm off of your body. you rushed to grab the phone only to realize it was 7 at night and you had multiple texts from wooyoung and a single voicemail from your boss.

you listened to the voicemail before anything else only to feel your heart drop to the pit of your stomach. you were fired. this couldn’t be happening.

"oh my god." you mumbled, standing and rushing out of the room.

you rushed to dial yoongi's number, hoping he hadn't muted it during his studio session. much to your surprise, he answered on the third ring. "what’s up, y/n?"

"yoongi." you cried into the speaker, already feeling the first few tears leaking down your face.

"what’s wrong princess?" he demanded, seeming much more alert to the situation now.

"i-i fell asleep earlier, me and jeongguk both overslept and i missed work. and my boss called and said my work hasn't been satisfactory lately and that it was unacceptable to skip work without calling out. a-and i don’t know what to do yoongi-oppa! i couldn't even pay bills with the job, what am i going to do now?" you sobbed, covering your mouth with the palm of your hand so you wouldn’t wake gukkie in the room over.

"calm down babe, it’s alright. we'll figure things out. maybe you can help out at hobi and jiminie's dance studio. maybe eve seokjin-hyung can get you a job at his office. we'll figure it out y/n." his soothing voice filled your ears and you nodded, attempting to wipe the endless stream of tears from your cheeks.

"i’m sorry, i’m sorry i panicked. i just don’t know what to do and this is just so overwhelming."

"i know, but it’s okay. you know the boys and i will help if it goes too downhill. and taehyung will always be happy to take jeongguk off your hands until everything is better." you whined slightly at the idea of letting taehyung and jimin take jeongguk from you while you attempted to stand back on your own two feet. "yeah, i know. let’s not separate you two, yeah?"

"yeah." you laughed softly, brightening up a little at the thought of the hybrid currently sleeping in your room.

"i’ll talk to seokjin-hyung and taehyung in the morning, okay? for now, why don't you and guk get some sleep okay?"

"okay. love you yoongi." you whispered.

"love you too, kid. talk to you soon." and with that, you both hung up. you weren’t alone for long however, within moments jeongguk's arms were wrapped around your waist to hold you back against him.

"i’m sorry." he mumbled, rubbing his nose gently against your neck. "i fell asleep before i could set the alarm. i didn’t mean to."

you leaned back into him and tilted your head to the side to allow him to continue to scent you. "it’s okay, gukkie. you didn’t mean to."

he turned you around quickly so that you were still pressed against him. he frowned as he scanned your face for any anger or disappointment. his eyes landed on your lips, and they didn’t move after that. "can i... can i kiss you?" he whispered finally flicking his gaze up to meet yours.

"yeah..." you nodded, grabbing the sides of his neck to pull him down to meet you. his lips were soft against yours and you let out a soft sigh as you felt his arms wrap tightly around your waist.

when you pulled back his eyes had glazed over and he was looking at you in a kind of daze. "thank you. for taking me in that night, i mean. and for letting me stay now."

you rolled your eyes and grinned up at him. "thanks for threatening to rip out my throat, tough guy."

he scoffed before lowering his nose to your neck once more and continuing to scent you once more.

"what’s the point of that anyway?" you knew, of course you knew. but you wanted to hear him admit that he had been doing it since the very beginning.

he smiled against the skin of your neck, leaning closer to press a few kisses around the area where he always scents you. "i’m scenting you. it’s like claiming something."

"you’re claiming me?" you asked, not really expecting him to have been that blunt about it.

"of course. how else do i make sure jimin and hoseok know to back off?" he muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"jimin's mated!" you laughed, holding on to his shoulders for good effect. "so is hoseok!"

"really?" he questioned with a confused tilt of his head. "to who?"

"jiminie and taehyungie have been mated since taehyung parents adopted jimin when they were 16. and yoongi and hoseok mated around two years ago when yoongi saved hobi from a fighting ring." you tilted your head at him, with a small smile.

"oh... i didn’t know they already had mates." he admitted sheepishly.

you giggled, shoving his shoulder lightly before turning to walk down the hall towards your room. "let’s go to bed. tomorrow i have to figure out what to do about the job situation."

he followed after you, seemingly deep in thought. "you know... i want you to be my mate."

you practically choked on your own tongue, turning to face him almost as soon as he said it. "really?"

he nodded and shot you a shy smile before walking around the bed towards the right side. he lifted the covers and slipped underneath, patting the spot next to him. "you coming?"

you grinned and flipped the switch to shut the lights off before making your way to the bed. you slipped underneath the heavy covers and immediately scooted as close to the man as possible. "we'll figure it all out in the morning, i promise." he mumbled into your hair.

you nodded and intertwined your fingers with his. you reached up gently played with one of his floppy ears. you ignored the way he smiled up at you and continued running your fingers through his hair. "okay, sleep well gukkie."

he chuckled and rubbed his thumb against your own before lifting your hand to his lips so that he could press a gentle kiss to your knuckles. "you too babydoll."

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

Monster Part 7

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Damon Salvatore x Reader

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: A tad bit of angst. But that’s it in this one. Next chapter will have more in it. 

Author’s Note: A very last minute post for the night. I apparently forgot to queue up the post and with how much I’ve been running around today, I didn’t realize. XD Anyways, a lot is about to happen in the future chapters. We’ve finally reached the last little bit before we get into the fun stuff.

Feedback gives me life and motivation for future things. ♥

Y/N’s heart was racing as she sat at her desk the next morning. There were so many emotions running through her that she couldn’t get her heart to steady. She was afraid of messing this up. She was afraid of giving away something she shouldn’t have. But no matter how many fears came into her mind, she knew she needed to do this. 

Several lives depended on her doing what she agreed to do. Her father trusted her with this information. She was going to use that to her advantage. All she needed to do was get the plans and pass the information along to the others. 

“Y/N?” Caroline’s voice filled the air, causing Y/N’s head to shoot up at it. She had been so distracted she hadn’t even heard the front door open or hear her walk in. 

“Caroline,” She said as she stood up from her seat and took a step back. She knew her father was watching now. Especially since she had just watched him open his door and step out as she stood up. “How can I help you?”

Her father hadn’t missed how uncomfortable Y/N looked in that moment. It was obvious why she had.  The person standing in front of her was a vampire. While he had a lot of work to do, he needed to make sure that his daughter was safe. 

“Mayor Lockwood had approved my plans for the Founder’s day carnival. I just got a notice that those plans have been canceled?” Caroline was genuinely upset at that fact. She had put a lot of time into those plans and they had been approved months ago. 

“I’m sorry Caroline.” Y/N said trying to stay calm. “Unfortunately Mayor Y/L/N has taken liberty of denying several events after they had already been approved.”

“You’re his daughter.” Caroline noted. “Can’t you talk to him about this? I mean I’ve already started ordering everything and have a committee going to ensure everything runs smoothly.”

Y/N scoffed. “I was Lockwood’s secretary and I am Y/L/N’s secretary. If you have any issues you would like to discuss with him, I can set up a meeting and-”

“That won’t be necessary.” Her father said as he came to stand next to the two. “I can speak with Caroline now about it.”

Y/N’s mouth dropped slightly. “But you have a meeting in five minutes that you said there were not to be any interruptions.”

“We’ll be done beforehand.” He said with a nod before looking over to Caroline. “Mind stepping into my office?” He asked with a hand motioning towards the open door.

Y/N watched as Caroline followed her father into his office. The moment the door closed, she quickly sat in her chair and took a deep breath. It didn’t matter if she had known both sides of the story now. She felt completely on edge. 

“Easy there, Y/N/N. I could practically hear your bunny rabbit heartbeat from outside.” Hearing Damon’s voice has actually scared her.  One moment Damon hadn’t been standing there by the desk and the next he was. 

“Do you need to do that?!” She hissed as she put her hand over her chest. If her heart wasn’t going a mile a minute before, it sure was now. 

Damon chuckled and shook his head. “It’s just so much fun to do.” He shrugged for a moment. “What was Blondie going on about?” 

“Some plans she had, my father cancelled. So now they are talking about it.” She said a few moments later. 

“Perfect. She always makes the best distractions.” He noted. The look he got from Y/N about that had made him roll his eyes. “It’s easier for us to speak freely when your dad isn’t lurking.”

“Damon, you are practically here everyday to speak with me. He’s not going to find that any different than before.” She looked over to her father’s door before back at Damon. “I told you I could handle this.”

Damon ran his fingers along her cheek. “I know. But I want to make sure you are okay. There was a lot thrown on you last night.”

Moving out of Damon’s reach, she shook her head. “You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

After Y/N left the Salvatores last night, her mind had been trying to take in all the information that she had learned, along with everything that happened in the last few weeks. While she had begun feeling something for Damon, it was proved last night that she was being used to get to her father. It hurt for her to realize that. 

Damon sighed as he brought his hand down. “It wasn’t all pretend. There are some things you can’t fake.”

“What part of it was it?” she asked looking up at him. “Because I couldn’t tell the difference. You actually seemed to like me and you went through all of that to be on the ins with the council.”

Damon hadn’t missed the hurt that had been in her voice as she spoke. This was the one thing that Damon wanted to avoid. He knew it was a gamble from the moment he had roped Y/N in their plan. But the time he had spent with her, he had been enjoying it. 

Before Damon could say anything, the office door opened and Y/N’s dad and Caroline walked out. They had been laughing a bit before her father left and headed back into his office. The smile that had been on Caroline’s face had instantly fallen and there was an annoyed look on her face as she looked over at Damon. 

“Ask me to do that again, I will personally bite your head off.” She mumbled as she walked past the both of them and made her way out the door.

Damon rolled his eyes as Caroline left. He turned his attention back to Y/N a moment later. Her eyes had been on the screen in front of her and she began typing away on the keyboard. He huffed and leaned over, turning Y/N’s rolling chair towards him. 

“We need to talk about this.” He said the moment he had her full attention.

Y/N bit on her bottom lip for a moment before she nodded. “We can talk about this later, but for now I really do need to work. He’s got several meetings and a ton of other things I need to work on for the time being. I promise once I get everything I need, I’ll let you know.”

“I see you’ve got my daughter distracted.” Her father’s voice carried over to them, causing Damon to let go of her chair and for Y/N to look over at her dad. 

“Definitely not a distraction.” Y/N said with a small smirk pulling at her lips as she looked at Damon for a moment before looking back at him. “Your early morning meeting is all set in the conference room.”

“Cancel it.” Her father said with a shrug. 

“But they are already here.” Y/N had been confused by the sudden change. Her father had been insistent on that meeting since he had first arrived and now he was telling her to cancel it just as it was to start.

“Make up something.” He nodded his head. “I would like for the three of us to have lunch today and that meeting will just cut into that time. “

“The three of us?” Damon asked to make sure he had heard correctly.

“If you are willing to share family secrets with Y/N and constantly be present while she has work, I believe a lunch is in order.” Her father said, keeping his eyes on Damon. The whole time he could see Y/N roll her eyes at his words. 

“Go to your meeting. I’ll be sure to pull you out of it at Lunch time. “ Y/N said, trying to prevent any awkwardness. “You’ve mentioned time and time again how important this meeting was. I can’t just let you cancel it.”

“Alright, fine.” He said, giving her a small smile. “As long as this isn’t a ploy to avoid lunch.”

She rolled her eyes once more but it was Damon who answered. “If she tries to get out of it, I’ll stop her.”

Her father eyed Damon for a moment before nodding his head. Without another word, he walked down the hall towards the conference room. The moment he turned the corner and heard the door open and shut, Y/N had let out a breath.

“I didn’t know he was going to do that.” She said looking over at Damon.

“Don’t think I’ll be able to handle lunch with your dad?” He asked with an amused smile on his face. 

“We haven’t even spoken about this whole thing between us and you want to go to lunch with my dad?” She was surprised by that. 

Damon sighed and took a hold of her hand. “Wanting to spend time with you in the beginning was the pretend part. But the more I spent time with you and our every few days of drinking turned into nightly venting sessions that I enjoyed more than I ever wanted to. The pretending stopped after the night you told me about your dad leaving.”

Y/N’s eyes widened at that. “I told you he left me hours into us talking for the first time.”

“And I enjoyed going through the Archives together. Watching you get so lost in your work it actually made me stop and think about if hurting you was worth it.” He said softly. 

“And yesterday?” She asked not allowing the words to come out of her lips just in case anyone had been listening. 

“A stupid judgement on my part. I had the rest of the Brady bunch coming down on me on how I hadn’t pulled a typical Damon move. I was beginning to doubt several things at that point in time.” He ran his hand down his face as he tried to clear the thoughts that were in his head. 

Y/N nodded her head. “Okay. Good to know.” That information had helped her. SIt helped her to know that what she had felt wasn’t exactly one sided. But it also just told her that Damon has a problem of self sabotage. “We’ll go to lunch. And after he leaves, we’ll have another venting session and really get things out in the open.”

“I like that plan.” He said with a smile

______

“She’s not coming is she?” Mayor Y/L/N said as he sat across from Damon. 

Y/N had texted that she was running late and would be there at the grille soon. Though that had been almost a half hour ago. It left Damon and her dad sitting there for the first several minutes in awkward silence. 

“I wouldn’t say I blame her if she decided she didn’t want to.” Damon noted as he spun his cup slightly. “You came into town and tried to be her father again, she’s not happy with that.”

“So I’ve heard. Plenty of times.” He said with a nod. “But I am trying to make amends with her. She’s taken a liking to you.”

“If you believe I’d hurt her, this conversation is going to change drastically.” Damon said as he narrowed his eyes at the man before her.

“I’m actually counting on you to keep her safe.” The words had caught Damon off guard. He had expected something different. He expected the usual antics that come with speaking to a father. But this wasn’t it. “Y/N mentioned your parents passed down stories just as mine had. I’m sure you understand that there are some things that hold more truth than others.”

Damon sat back in his seat as he took in the words. If he had no idea he was a vampire, Damon could play this to his advantage. But the details of some things he could slip could mean the end of that conversation. 

“You believe they are back in town.” He said, keeping some words out of his sentence. They were in a public place. There were plenty of other ears that could easily be listening. 

“We both know they are.” He said with a nod. “I could tell you knew from the moment we had our meeting that day.” Mayor Y/L/N began picking at his napkin. “You had been a part of the council that was run by the Lockwoods. While my intention was to cleanse it of past mistakes, I never thought I would find parents hiding the creatures that were once their children.” His eyes looked around the room for a moment before looking back at Damon. “There will be a war soon, Damon. I’m counting on you to keep Y/N safe when that time comes.”

“You know who they are.” It wasn’t a question. Damon could see it in his eyes. 

A smirk pulled at his lips. “There was a long list of possibilities until today. You were even on that list.”

“What changed your mind?” Damon leaned forward in his seat. 

He chuckled a bit. “There were several things. But the main thing being how much you care for Y/N. Not just today, but I’ve seen the way you are with her. Those monsters aren’t capable of loving anyone. My first wife died by a vampire. Apparently she tried befriending one and he turned against her so easily.” He shook his head, almost saddened by the thought. “Sheriff Forbes said you’ve killed a few of them since coming back home.”

“I try to help out where I can.” He said with a shrug. 

“Good because the vampire that killed Y/N’s mother is in town. I would hate for my daughter to get hurt while it is visiting.”

“Understood.” Damon said with a nod. 

____

“I thought you said it would be here?” Elena asked as she rummaged through a filing cabinet

“This is where he had me put them when he finalized the plans.” Y/N said as she looked through another one. 

“Maybe he took them out again?” Elena asked, never taking her eyes off the files in front of her.

“I doubt it.” Y/N shook her head.  She tried to think of where else the plans could have been at. She was the only one to have access to that room, besides her father, and they weren’t in the same place she had put them. “Unless he’s making changes again.”

“We won't have time to search his office.” Elena reminded her. “You are technically supposed to be at lunch with him and Damon.”

“I would feel bad about that, but I don’t think a little interrogation is going to hurt Damon.” Y/N  said as she reached a file. Her head tilted to the side as she took in the file name. 

“Either that or Damon would just kill him.” The words hadn’t even registered to Y/N as Elena had said them. When she turned to look at Y/N she had been looking at a file. “What is it?”

“These files, they are new.” Y/N said as she pulled out a handful. “They are of the founding families.”

“That could just be anything.” Elena said as she took a few of them from her to look at. 

“Damon apparently has been cleared as human.” Y/N said as she looked at the case file. Her eyes scanned the details and her father’s handwriting. Interested in Y/N. Friends with Liz, but that could be a council thing. Nothing has been brought to my attention to say he is one.

Elena huffed a laugh. “That’s probably because he’s compelled his way through a lot of situations.” She looked at the file for her family. “We’ve been cleared as well.”

Y/N’s hand began shaking as she took in the next page of the file for the Salvatores. Paper clipped with several pages had been different case file numbers. One of them had included the very file she had seen of her mother’s the night she had been in the city Archives with Damon. 

News footage of Stefan has been found. Apparently someone else had looked into him before I had. Her father’s notes went on about different things. From certain differences in stories of several people on specific events that had included Stefan. But it was the last note on the page that had made Y/N’s eyes water. Responsible for Y/M/N’s death. Eyewitness saw him leave before her body was found. Similar to other bodies found during that time. Here in mystic Falls and in other cities.

“What is it?” Elena asked as she found Y/N tearing up after taking in the notes for the Lockwoods.

Y/N shook her head slightly and closed the case file and put the back. “Nothing, I need to head back out.” She said taking the ones Elena had and putting them back. 

“That doesn’t seem like nothing.” Elena knew something was wrong. She wanted to try and get Y/N to talk about whatever it was she had just seen.

“I know who killed my mother and I’d really like to not talk about it right now.” Y/N said as she began walking out of the room. “I need to get to the Grille before things get too carried away.” 

As she left, she tried to not to let the tears fill her eyes. She didn’t need to let either of them know that once she had arrived that there was something wrong. She’d get that out during her venting session with Damon. She couldn’t let her dad know that she had known that detail. She wasn’t supposed to be going through the files. She wasn’t supposed to be snooping around the office. And because she had, she learned that Stefan Salvatore had killed her mother.

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[hollyhomburg]

Call Me Yours Pt.3

(Ot7 x Reader) (Hybrid Au!) (Blind! Reader)

Summary: You never would have imagined that more love was hidden right next door, just over your garden fence.

Pairings: (Human! Hoseok) x (Human! Reader) x (Wolf hybrid! Namjoon) x (Dog hybrid! Seokjin) x (Cat hybrid! Yoongi) x (Tiger hybrid! Taehyung) x (Bunny hybrid! Jungkook) x (Cat hybrid! Jimin)

Tags: Established relationship, Mentions of Hospitals, Indications of hybrid Mistreatment, Panic Attacks, hurt/comfort 

W/c: 4.5K

A/n: I Had to split this chapter because it started to get way too long! a few reminders- This is a Sequel! All Parts are under my master list as Part of the “Dance To This” universe. ALSO- I do not separate my tag list from fic to fic. there is only one tag list, so if you want to be tagged- go to the link in my bio and like that post. 

- In the next few days after the first impromptu afternoon meeting and the following weeks, the 4 of you become extremely accustomed to the company of Hoseok and his hybrids. 

- Not that you have much of a choice when Hoseok’s three hybrids eventually get bored after they wake up with Hoseok, kiss him goodbye before he goes to work, eat breakfast, play video games, and come over to your house to bother Seokjin, Namjoon, and Yoongi. 

- Luckily this is usually some time after you sequester yourself on the second floor. Usually, you’re Determined to get some work done even if the promise of cuddles and seeing the 6 of them interact is more than a small distraction. The few times you don’t manage to make it up before 11 you end up with a lap full of a very cuddly Taehyung or Jimin for half the day. 

- But, you and Hoseok do need to work, regardless of what you often find each other texting in the morning- though you’re fonder of voice messages. 

- It’s usually a welcomed mid-morning reprieve after the giddiness of 2 cups of coffee has worn off. Which feels ridiculous, because you’d only just seen him last night- it wasn’t like you’d spend any time apart and yet, and yet you’re stopping everything to pick up your phone when it dings. The drone of his office the clicking of pens and shuffling of papers behind him as he breathes into the mic, his voice low enough and quiet enough that it’s husky “I should warn you,”

- “I think Jungkook is going to surprise Yoongi with a water gun today- he shot Jimin with it yesterday and he jumped like 5 feet in the air- and Taehyung and Jungkook spent like 40 minutes laughing at him. Just a polite heads up that Yoongi might be traumatized.” 

- You replay the message at least a half a dozen times before you respond. Happy to hear his voice in your office and imagine for a second, that you worked in the same place. As foolish as it seems. Seokjin tells you that you’ve been watching too many office themed dramas. 

- You giggle at Hoseok’s message- taking a short break to send him a voice note back. “I will do no such thing, but I will have Seokjin video record it for you, and start planning Jungkook’s funeral, did you want lilies or roses?” you text Seokjin. 

- Sure enough, A few hours later. You hear a shriek of Yoongi and a shrill yowls of “you brats!” through your open window as the three younger hybrids (Jimin included because there was no way he wasn’t going to take the opportunity to tease the elder cat hybrid) dash to find a hiding place with Yoongi on the hunt. Taehyung hiding behind Namjoon and Jungkook unceremoniously jumping the fence. 

- Seokjin sends the video to you, and you send it to Hoseok, and he sends you back another message, just him laughing before he rapidly sends another “fuck- I’m so glad that I went to the bathroom before opening it- Jesus Christ my stomach hurts, Yoongi looked about ready to- fuck” he wheezes. And you send back a stream giggles. And Hoseok definitely doesn’t replay the message half a dozen times and wish he could take off early from work just to hear it in person.

- Definitely doesn’t think of doing that- because like, that would be something someone who like- had a crush would do- and Hoseok definitely can’t have a crush on his cute neighbor. Who also may or may not have hybrids that may or may not also have crushes on Hoseok’s hybrids, because that would be ridiculously complicated for a bunch of 20 somethings to handle. 

- Hoseok was just beginning to get the hang of loving 3 people instead of just Jungkook. And loving 4 others would be dizzying, and why the fuck is he thinking about love when it’s obviously just a crush. 

- Especially When Hoseok can definitely definitely not have a crush on his incredibly cute neighbor. So he goes back to work, and concentrate on the stocks and bonds and projected growth estimations over the next quarter. And absolutely does not have the growing pink heart emoji next to his neighbor’s name in his phone (you know- this one 💗 because it’s Hoseok’s favorite emoji, and is also- kind of apt for the situation) 

- Back in Namjoons garden, exactly 43 minutes away from Hoseok’s office if you speed on the highway, The three of them end up in a pile on the grass by the end of the day, all vendettas involving water guns forgotten. 

- Taehyung licking against Yoongi’s hair and grooming him. Jungkook cuddled up with Jimin half in his lap and half in Yoongi’s. They quickly pull Namjoon and Seokjin into the pile, exchanging purr (and chirping crunches in Jungkook’s case) in exchange for a plate of healthy snacks from Seokjin. (Those boys eat way too many bags of chips and chocolate in his opinion). Seokjin falls asleep to the gentle hum of conversation- somehow sleepy despite the fact that it’s barely the afternoon. 

- Seokjin wakes up with his back against that grass, his head moved onto a more bony thigh than Taehyung. A small hand carding through his hair, fingers tracing feather light across his lips, his cheekbones, the arch of his eyebrow. And the sound of muted conversation notable absent. Seokjin cracks his eyes and looks up at Jimin.  From this angle, he looks pouty and soft with his tangled hair, and the light hanging all hazy through the trellises, the white shirt he’s wearing so baggy the sleeves almost go to his elbows. 

- Jimin catches Seokjin’s sleepy staring, brushing his bangs back from his forehead. “How are you so pretty Jin hyung?” Jimin murmurs, something heavy and almost half sad in his when he looked down at Seokjin. Jin smiles, and teases, “a little jealous Jiminie?” Seokjin lets the promise of a question hang in the air- what’s wrong, open up to me, tell me why you look so sad. 

- Seokjin has never ever seen Jimin like this- or ever seen him be anything other than sultry confident, or bratty happy. Jimin sucks in his lower lip. Letting his hands do most of the talking against Seokjin’s scalp, his beautifully pointed years, the perfect silky hair. “No, I’m not it’s just-“ 

- “Jimin I was just teasing.” Seokjin says, nudging his head into Jimin’s hands. the request just as much about comforting Jimin as it is for Seokjin. letting others care for him has always been that way, and screw it, Seokjin loves head rubs. “I know.” Jimin seems like he wants to ask something, looking away from Seokjin “Would you mind if sometimes I-“ 

- Jungkook and Taehyung choose that moment to pounce jumping and picking them up (how the fuck that bunny was strong enough to lift Seokjin- he’d never know) and move them into a sunny spot as Yoongi fluffs out a heavy knit blanket and Namjoon comes out with a box of ice pops. 

- Jimin’s words die alongside Seokjin’s screeching protests at being picked up. To which Jungkook only grins at and proceeds to hold Seokjin more firmly. Leaving the elder to wonder exactly what Jimin had wanted to ask about. 

- In the past few weeks, there is no one that has been a more constant in your house than Jungkook, who will come over to help Namjoon with the garden nearly every day, and will text Namjoon things like Sorry hyung, say hi to the carrots for me, Hobi-Hyung took us all for hair cuts today T_T, but I’m thinking about keeping it long what do you think? if he doesn’t come over before 12.

-  In the mornings Jungkook waits until he hears the slide of your porch door (Nothing could get past those large brown ears) before he bounds over to the fence in excitement, literally hopping and lifting his body over the side instead of going around the corner. 

- “Yah Jungkook you’re going to land on one of the beds!” Namjoon will chide, hair still ruffly from sleep, and Jungkook will happily beam, “I’m a good jumper hyung! I won’t hurt the squash!”

- In the coming months- Namjoon will also go over to Hoseok’s side of the fence and - only with Hoseok’s explicit permission, because Namjoon is nothing if not respectful of the yard that is not his own- erect 4 raised garden beds with the help of Jungkook and Yoongi- who has a new found talent for making things.

- Jungkook loves gardening so much, and spending time with Namjoon just as much, he bugs Hoseok for gardening gear and it’s almost a shock when he comes over one day, with matching green gardening gloves, a canvas apron, and a matching set of green trowels and a straw hat with two holes pierced in the top for his ears (which Hoseok had cut very very carefully). 

- Namjoon can barely look at the bunny; he’s blushing too hard. Last week Seokjin found Namjoon scenting the younger, His lap full of a very happy bunny munching on some of the fresh radishes that Namjoon harvested that morning. 

- Which makes Seokjin coo and squish the Youngers cheeks with how cute he looks. And take about half a dozen pictures of him and Namjoon working in the garden because – wow, just wow, how is Jeon Jungkook so cute with his curly brown hair hanging in his eyes as he diligently weeds the window boxes. 

- Seokjin comes up to your office to tell you such, rolling around a little bit where you’re stretched out on the floor with your computer in front of you (a change of pace to keep you on task) groaning, “ughh he’s just so cute? How do you handle having a crush when you can’t do something about it? Jesus, I thought I was done with this with Yoongi.” (said hybrid has currently disappeared with Jimin and Taehyung somewhere on Hoseok’s side of the fence and it’s a guess as to what they’re doing or where they are)  

- You snort, Seokjin’s thigh pins into some of your papers as he rolls from his back onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow. “That’s easy you just do something about it instead of coming to your girlfriend and gushing about the cute bunny next door.” 

- Your phone dings next to you, another voice message from Hoseok. Seokjin clicks it open and listens to it.

- “Yah you need to stop feeding them so much! I swear they can just get food from my house! They’re gonna eat you out of house and home! I promise the next chance I get I’m going to go to the store and replace all of the food they’ve probably eaten.”

- A laugh ends the message, and before you can stop yourself you’re smiling way too hard. You can tell Seokjin’s smirking before you say it. “Ugh- his laugh is so cute!” Seokjin replays it so you can listen to it again.

- “So gushing about the bunny is apparently less bad than gushing about the cute boy next door?” he teases, you shove his thigh away playfully in reply before he pulls you down, on top of the papers and all. 

- Let’s just say work ends a very different way then you intended. With a shower in the upstairs bathroom after Seokjin explains that they’ll definitely be able to smell him on you if you go downstairs like that. Clothes all skewed and hair all ruffled, a small amount of rug burn in some unfortunate places that Yoongi 100% teases you both about later. Office sex has its downsides. 

- You few stolen moments in the middle of the day, rubbing conditioner out of his hair as he tells you about Jimin and the curious question he’d never finished the day before. “I think Hobi mentioned something about Jimin drawing a lot the other day, that could be it?” 

- Seokjin returns the favor of the conditioner, sliding your hair through his fingers appreciating how long it’s grown. Something primal in him both loving taking care of you, providing like this, and also hating that he has to wash his sent off of you. But it’s not polite to smell like sex around hybrids that aren’t your own. 

- Taehyung will come over to help Namjoon in the garden too- sometimes; Namjoon can sense him watching through the crack in the fence, if he’s feeling bold he’ll peer around the gate by the side. Jungkook does a good job of dragging him over to your side and not leaving him alone. It’s a bit funny to see the massive bunny wrangle the whining tiger. The hybrid is still noticeably shy and quiet to an extreme around them.  

- Especially the first time he tries to go beg pets from you during a workday, with you on an important call upstairs only to be stopped by Seokjin in the kitchen. “You can’t bother her when she’s working Taehyung” he chastises, the tiger’s shoulders dropping terribly low as he makes to leave, assuming that no one wants him here. Really he should just go back home and not be in the way- even if he like- really really wants pets right now, the touch starved ness reaching a fevers pitch inside of him. 

- Seokjin is quick to stop him, hand sliding down to the nape of his neck and making Taehyung shiver. “but I am baking some pies today if you want to help.” The tiger’s ears perk up almost instantly. And though Taehyung might be the messiest cook that Seokjin has ever seen, spilling flower on the floor and getting preserve on his cheeks, it is really nice to have someone to nudge shoulders within the kitchen and show how to knead dough out to the right thickness. Even if Tae barely speaks except to ask careful questions. 

- Hoseok and you have been dancing around each other over the last two months. Seokjin invites him and the hybrid trio over for dinner often enough to try and foster the affection that he can see in both of you. If Hoseok didn’t like you Seokjin would be incredibly surprised. 

- Why else would Hoseok bring you sweet-smelling flowers and little things, stopping by after work with the pastries that Seokjin just happened to mention where your favorite the last time he was over. 

- Why else would he lean in close and blush when you hang out on the back porch, greeting you with a hug instead of a hello. Not that you mind at all- Hoseok had practically grown up with Jungkook, so affection is more usual to him than the absence of it. 

- The first time he hugs you is just after Jimin and Taehyung’s monthly check-up. Taehyung has to get a few shots- he’d missed out on so many of them when he was a hybrid working in the circus industry that the doctors were trying to play catch-up. Hoseok is used to the tantrum that he and Jimin go through every time that the 6th of the month rolls around. and hopes that they’ve forgotten about it. 

- Hoseok had reminded Jungkook about it. In the kitchen the night before when Jimin and Taehyung were upstairs. Taehyung had unfortunately overheard from the hallway. 

- Hoseok has so much trouble just getting him out the door to go to the doctor’s office. (he’d been planning on saying that they were going to the park and then pulling a fast one on them to get them into the car- but Hoseok knows that Taehyung must have found out or something) 

- Jimin locked himself in the bathroom earlier but Jungkook’s managed to extricate him before Hoseok has had a chance to placate the frightened Taehyung and now Jimin stands next to Jungkook, holding his hand, More subdued and more still then he ever is, His tail wrapped around his pant leg for some form of comfort while Hoseok tries to convince Taehyung to let go of the beam in the kitchen. 

- Taehyung has literally wrapped himself around it, “I’m not letting go until you call the doctors and cancel” and maybe Hoseok would be angrier if it weren’t for the fact that Taehyung is trembling- Jimin is too, neither of them wants to go. But they have to, and it breaks Hoseok’s heart to make them go. He reminds himself that he has too- he to not take them is to be like their other owners. 

- So he picks up the phone and calls you. You are such a comfort to Taehyung that he thinks it will be good for him, that you might be able to convince Taehyung to let go of the beam. Of course, Seokjin comes too, walks into Hoseok’s kitchen to Taehyung shaking his head every time Jungkook tries to pull him off. Hoseok honey voice trying to bribe him with a trip to the amusement park (not that Taehyung really knows what that is). 

- All Seokjin has to say is, “Tae, come on.” His voice nothing but a pure command for Tae. All the hybrids to straighten up, Tae has his head down, ears pinned to his hair and his hands sliding off the coulomb to hang by his side. “Yes alpha” he murmurs, suddenly contrite. Much to the wide-eyed surprised of everyone in the room- especially Hoseok.

- “Okay that’s new” Hoseok mentions, only to receive a well-placed elbow from Seokjin, “shut up” he hisses, the blush turning his cheeks bright bright red. Seokjin is definitely not used to being called alpha. No one- not Namjoon or Yoongi has ever referred to Seokjin as such. 

- Hybrid dynamics aren’t all that new to you- but to Hoseok, who had only ever dealt with one other hybrid until recently, it takes some explaining for him to understand the connotation of alpha.  

- (You end up explaining Later though on the phone. Hoseok ends up falling asleep on the other end, tired from the excitement of the day, it’s not the last time he calls, however. 

- You make a habit of it, always after dinner, Hoseok will call you on your house phone and you’ll sit on your bed chatting with him for an hour or two, sometimes he’ll be doing the dishes in the background and sometimes Jimin will steal the phone to gossip about whatever cute thing Yoongi or Namjoon did that day, endlessly telling you about Seokjin and how the way to a hybrid’s heart is through their ears but also stomach.)

- Jungkook decides to stay home as there simply isn’t room in Hoseok’s car for all of them to go to the doctor’s office and you seem to have more of a positive effect than Jungkook does. He’d been looking forward to some music Yoongi wanted to show him anyway. The ride in the back of Hoseok’s car to the doctor’s office is long and bumpy. You sit in the middle back seat so that both of Hoseok’s hybrids can line themselves along your sides. 

- Taehyung folded over your lap and Jimin’s head hidden in your neck.You run your fingers through Tae’s hair and hold onto Jimin’s hand. Murmuring comforting words to both of them the whole way. 

- Even Jimin has lost his sunny disposition by the time you pull into the medical center, folding himself between Hoseok and you, looking small and scared eyes vacant in the wake of so much panic. Murmuring, “Hate this place” every time they pass a doctor and hiding under Hoseok’s shoulder. It doesn’t take much to wonder what happened to them. 

- (Hoseok will tell you later on the phone, that after the circus Taehyung had to get some serious surgery on his knees, while Jimin had been so sick from neglect that he needed to be in inpatient care  and a few rounds of antibiotics to get rid of some serious pneumonia before he could be transferred to the adoption center. 

- You could imagine how traumatic that could be, could imagine that whatever doctor’s had treated them, they probably hadn’t bothered to explain to them why they were doing what they were doing- and left them in the dark about what was happening with their own bodies.) 

- You’re steely and stalwart, holding Taehyung’s hand just as strongly as he’s holding yours, whispering reassurances every few feet. Taehyung’s knees knock the entire time. 

- Through the entire check-up, Taehyung shakes and whimpers, golden eyes wide and terrified of absolutely everyone that approaches him. The only reason why he doesn’t push the doctor away (he’d done that last time and actually climbed on top of the counter) is because both you and Hoseok hold onto both of his hands through it. 

- Seokjin is babbling in the corner, holding Jimin’s hand while he waits for his turn looking like he’s about to head to the gallows rather than the doctors wax paper covered table. Seokjin talks to them about the new videos he’s making for his YouTube channel to distract them. Telling them he’d love it if Taehyung and Jimin guest starred and decorated cookies with him one day. It isn’t a lie- but you can hear the distress In Seokjin’s words, how much he’s trying to comfort the two hybrids. 

- It’s not surprising that Taehyung starts to cry when they give him the first shot, the big fat tears soaking the shoulder of your shirt even has you hum and scratch at his scalp. Jimin too when he gets his a few minutes later- you can tell he tries to hold back the tears before sniffling. Seokjin almost growls, narrowly avoids letting out the noise strangled in his throat. 

- It’s nothing that ice cream can’t fix, though they both hold their arms stiffly and seem a little quieter on the way back. The adrenaline jump and then the come down make them both sleepy but twitchy. Hoseok takes a moment to text Jungkook when he’s a stop to pick up half a dozen ice cream cartons from the store. 

- It takes a few hours and no small amount of cuddling That night on the stoop of Hoseok’s house, 4 of the hybrids piled on Hoseok’s dark blue hammock, the others fallen off on the grass giggling and happy as Jungkook uses his body weight to make it sway this way and that and Jimin cries, “you’re gonna break it!” Yoongi and Seokjin laughing from the grass, ducking to avoid the swinging feet. Already fallen off but punch drunk from a little bit of sangria that Seokjin had supplied and too much rocky road. 

- Hoseok hugs you, startling you a little, but not unwelcome, his whole body lined up against yours, lithe and a little broader than you’d expected but firm and steady under your hands. His hand cupping the back of your head. he speaks through the thickness in his voice, and though you knew hoseok hadn’t been happy to do what he’d done today, you hadn’t realized he was close to tears. “Thank you- I don’t know what I would have done without you today, y/n I-”

- “Hobi” the nickname slips out without you realizing it, “it’s okay- I- I love them too much to let them be so scared on their own like that.” You can almost taste the smile on Hoseok’s mouth when he says that he likes it when you call him that. You pull away but stay a little closer than usual, and maybe it’s Hoseok’s imagination but you look like you’re trying not to show how happy you are. 

- “This is starting to feel a lot like family isn’t It.” he says, you nod agreeing even as Jimin shrieks and falls off the hammock, much much happier than he’d been 5 hours ago. “Yeah,” you say, soft and heavy. And Hoseok can tell that you don’t mind one bit. “Yeah, it does.” 

- Your new closeness isn’t missed by any of your hybrids and even when you go back to your own houses (albeit reluctantly) Jungkook and Jimin smirk at Hoseok, but don’t say anything. 

- For the next few days, every time he thinks about it he groans and slaps his hands over his own flaming cheeks, Jungkook poking at them. Jimin’s sing-song voice teasing of, “Hoseok and Y/n sittin’ in a tree” Jungkook and Taehyung joining in for the k-i-s-s-i-n-g part. They must have heard it at the park the other day because he has absolutely no idea where they would have learned it.

- Hoseok starts to realize, every single time he gets a notification on his phone from you, your name popping up on his home screen, his heart beats quick and heavy. it Dosesn’t matter if it’s Another voice message or a text or a picture that one of them has taken, he can’t help but start smiling.

- One night after you send voice messages back and forth, you end yours with “sorry I’m being dragged away by Yoongi to cuddle, goodnight Bobi! I’ll see you tomorrow” and even after Hoseok sends back a “goodnight! sleep tight! don’t let the bed bugs bite” he still finds himself lying in his bed legs hanging off the side, Jungkook and Taehyung giggling from the bathroom, while Hoseok lies in bed and replays the message again and again just to hear “goodnight Hobi! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

- You know how little kids get? when they get so excited about going to some amusement park or zoo that they can’t fall asleep the night before. So excited for tomorrow to come that today somehow drags. That is exactly how Hoseok feels. Jimin sidles up to the side of his bed, listening to the message twice, 

- “You’re crushed like a grape” Jimin nudging Hoseok’s thigh with his foot when the message ends. “You are so so fucked”  he laughs, Hoseok whines. He replays the message and Jimin smiles, Pressing a kiss to Hoseok’s forehead before he goes to join Taehyung and Jungkook in the bathroom.  Whatever they’re doing it required not one but 2 types of bubble bath and dish soap and would probably inevitably damage Hoseok’s floor. 

- “I feel objectified when you compare me to fruit” Hoseok complains, but Jimin just winks at him from the door, licking his plush lips and eyeing the little bit of skin at Hoseok’s waist where his shirt has pulled up- where Hoseok knows there are still hickeys, barely faded, from a few nights prior. “at least you’re yummy?” he says, before he’s pulled into the room by Jungkook and leaves Hoseok to wallow. “Woh! how did you get the bubbles that big?”

- And when Hoseok takes stalk of his emotions, feels his crush on you multiply, he realizes that he is absolute- irrevocable- pass the point of no return-

- Jimin is right,  Hoseok is royally fucked. 

(Please comment and reblog! Likes are nice, but they do little to support content creators!)

[eastertag]

@hedwigstalons gift for @taylart-x

The prompts used were ‘Annual Tracy egg hunt’ and ‘The ‘rescue bunny’’.

Jeff looked over the reports and frowned.  He was rapidly coming to realise that International Rescue had become an organisation that never slept.  In many cases literally if the frequency of the mission logs was anything to go by.  Birthdays and Christmas, once important events in the Tracy family calendar, were rarely celebrated on the correct day.  He doubted they even knew when Easter fell each year that holiday had fallen so far down the priority list.  The organisation he had returned to, and the men that ran it, were very different to what he had been forced away from by his unexpected exile to the Oort cloud. 

Or perhaps it wasn’t so different from what he had left behind.  It was the same work ethic he himself had thrived on but now he had a better appreciation for finding a balance and spending time as a family.  His boys had an unhealthy tendency to work themselves into the ground.  Individually they might each get some time for relaxation but they were always on call and it was rare to get all five on the same planet.  John’s primary residence was on board Thunderbird Five and while he came home more frequently than before a return to ‘business as usual’ had meant a return to having one son based at the space station.  It had never been Jeff’s intention for the burden of manning the communications satellite to fall solely on the shoulders of one son but it seemed that is what had happened in his absence. 

If his sons’ sense of duty was preventing them from taking a break then he would call upon that same sense of duty and use it to his advantage; pleasure masquerading as work.  A faint smile curled over his features as he formulated a plan. 

Jeff had already discovered that trying to be spontaneous only ended in disaster.  The last time he had sprung a family day on them Scott and John between them had spent so long putting contingencies in place and making arrangements to divert the International Rescue systems that the plans had fallen flat.  This time he would be more prepared. 

xoxoxox

The sight of Thunderbird One and Thunderbird Two parked up on the Domain behind the hospital was a familiar one for the residents of Auckland.  As one of the largest hospitals in New Zealand and the site of the closest major trauma unit to International Rescue’s base of operations Auckland City Hospital played host to the operatives in blue more times than those same operatives would like.  Patches of the open field were permanently scorched from repeated exposure to VTOL, so much so that the craft almost had their own parking bays marked out.

This time though Auckland was not worried about the health of its local heroes; they could see the pilots of the Thunderbirds, or at least four of them, arranged on the staging in front of the Auckland Museum.  The grass in front of the staging was littered with brightly coloured rugs and blankets.  Picnic hampers were dotted about and there was a distinct holiday feeling in the air.

“Tell me again why I agreed to this.”  The voice from inside the rabbit costume was slightly muffled and indistinct but still dripped with exasperation.  As someone who lived most of their life in low Earth orbit, and often had to rely solely on verbal communication, John was able to convey an eye roll just through tone alone.

“Because, Johnny boy, someone had to wear the suit and the alternative is running around with the kids.”  Gordon couldn’t resist the opportunity to throw in the loathed nickname, especially as John was unable to physically retaliate.  A giant bunny smacking an International Rescue operative around the back of head would be bad PR, even if said bunny and operative were brothers. 

John had to concede that Gordon had a point.  While he might be feeling the humiliation of playing the Easter bunny his brothers were tasked with being team captains in the upcoming egg hunt.  The thought of being responsible for a score of hyped up and over-sugared children was not appealing.  Nor was the thought of running around in gravity which would likely end up with him eating dirt.  Perhaps the costume was the least embarrassing option after all.  At least he was comfortable.  He had his uniform on under the rabbit suit and the in-built thermal regulation system was keeping him nicely cool in the warm sunshine of early autumn.  He could almost forget he was wearing the thick, furry oversuit.

The other advantage to being inside the suit was that no one could actually see him.  John was never comfortable being in the public eye and being stood up on the staging in front of the arranged children and their families was making his squirm.  He had to resist the urge to claw at the neck of the costume where it joined the oversized head piece.  He also wished his brothers would lay off tweaking his tail.

Casting an eye over the crowd, and judging that any latecomers had been given sufficient time to get comfortable, Jeff stepped up the front of the staging.  A hush settled over the assembled gathering and Jeff’s voice projected clearly; no microphone required.  He was the boss after all.

“Welcome and thank you all for coming.  From the very beginning Tracy Industries has been a family run company and I would like to think that it is still family orientated.  Without your dedication to the company it would not be the success it is today.  You are the most important element in the business.  I have always felt the importance of coming together socially to build our working family outside of the office.  Unfortunately, when my sons relocated head office to Auckland during my unintended absence it seems that these events were not continued.  I feel it is time to resurrect the old traditions so I would like to thank you for coming along to the Tracy Industries Family Egg Hunt.”

There was a smattering applause from the families spread out on the picnic rugs.  The reactions showed a clear division between the polite acknowledgement of those who had joined after Jeff went missing and the more enthusiastic response of those who had moved with the company when it relocated. 

Those who had worked for the company in Los Angeles, or who came from the even earlier days in Kansas, had been thrilled when the memo went round that Jeff was reinstating the holiday event.  The events had been popular.  Their enthusiasm had spilled around the offices and a healthy crowd had turned up to the Domain.

The five assembled sons felt a pang of guilt at their father’s words.  They had done they best they could.  Managing the conflicting demands of International Rescue and Tracy Industries after their father’s presumed death had been difficult.  They had never asked to be thrust into the dual leadership roles so young.  The social events were just one of the elements that had slipped.

“The rules today are simple.  You must find the hidden eggs and return them to your team captain.  You can only carry one egg at a time.  No taking eggs from another player but if you catch an opposing team captain they will forfeit one of their collection and hand it over to you.  No straying outside the playing area.  The team with the most eggs at the end wins the prize.  Now, can all the children taking part please go and join their allocated team captains and collect a coloured sash.”

The four brothers not clad in giant rabbit suits took their cue to jump down and start distributing simple cloth sashes to the excited crowd of children.  Bands of red, yellow, green and blue were hastily shoved on as each child pledged allegiance to their favourite Thunderbird. 

The team captains made their way to the four corners of the playing field, followed by their broods like a troop of mother ducks with their ducklings.  Jeff gave them time to take up their positions before speaking through the comms.

“Is everybody ready?”

He received four responses of “FAB”. 

Knowing how it would delight the children, and how proud Tracy Industries families were of their connection with International Rescue, Jeff started the obligatory.

“Five.  Four.  Three.  Two.  One.”

His own “Thunderbirds are go!” was drowned out by the chorus of the field operatives shouted over the comms system.

Children began spreading out across the field, swooping down on the brightly coloured eggs laying in the grass or hidden at the base of trees.  Three out of the four siblings could also be seen popping up on occasion to receive eggs from their team while trying to avoid being caught by the other players.

Jeff listened to the chatter over the open comms line.  He gave a satisfied smile as the airwaves became filled with breathless laughter and good natured teasing.  There hadn’t been enough laughter in his sons’ lives. 

While he felt it important to restart the Tracy Industries community events he also felt it important to let his sons be children again.  Gone were the serious young men who held the weight of the world on their shoulders.  The operatives, in their distinctive blue uniforms, were the biggest kids out there.  It also gave him an insight into their differing characteristics.

Scott was ever the commander.  His troops were spreading out with military precision.  The blue team systematically swept the field.  No stray egg was left behind as the team scoured first their own quadrant and then the wider area. 

Unfortunately the brave field commander seemed to have forgotten that his brothers were actively working against him rather than for him.

Gordon opened up a private comm line to Alan, temporarily muting their conversation from the wider network.

“Hey, Alan.”

“What‘s up?”

“How do you feel about joining forces and taking our esteemed older brother down a peg or two?”

“Which one?”

“Scott.  But we will need to watch out for Virg too.  I haven’t seen the jolly green giant since we started.”

“Me neither.  So what’s the plan?”

The pair made a hurried plan, knowing that every moment they stayed off the main comms frequency they risked detection through their absence.

Virgil, from his vantage point on high, watched the events unfolding below.  Opting to play a defensive game he had hauled himself up into a tree at the start of proceedings.  One of the older children who had good throwing accuracy was stationed near by, ready to pass up any eggs the team collected.  Let his siblings fight it out amongst themselves.  He intended to keep hold of every single egg claimed by his intrepid green team.  He was quite comfortable settled in the branches.  He had even had the foresight to fill some of the equipment pouches on his uniform with snacks.

Scott has moved too far out into the open as his team performed their methodical sweep of the playing area.  Alan had been able to circle his team behind the unsuspecting commander while Gordon directed his team round in a pincer movement.  The trees and bushes that broke up the field provided excellent cover.

A blood curdling yell filled the air.

Alan, leading his band of red clad troops, broke cover and sprinted towards the unsuspecting Scott.  The red and yellow teams together formed a natural funnel providing only one logical route of escape.  The field commander took off at a sprint.  He knew he would be able to easily out pace his younger sibling.  He just needed to keep ahead until Alan ran out of steam.

What he hadn’t counted on was Gordon.

As he sprinted through a gap between two bushes Scott felt a solid weight slam into his side as Gordon launched himself in a low tackle.  Blue and yellow tumbled into the dirt.  Reflexes honed through years of training that had him rolling with the tackle and no damage was done but his run for freedom was well and truly curtailed.  Not to be left out, Alan launched himself on top of the duo rolling on the floor. 

Children of all factions piled on top of the trio.  All three brothers found their egg collection bags raided and scattered about the surrounding grass. 

Breaking out from the giggling, writhing mass of children the three Thunderbirds dusted themselves off. 

Blue, red and yellow all ended up worse off from the encounter.  The green team, not to be left out, took advantage of the whole situation.  While the other three teams just ended up swapping eggs between them the green team swooped in and carried off a fair portion to be handed to their still hidden captain.

“Well that went well”.  Scott rolled his eyes at Alan and Gordon as all three looked at their much depleted haul.

“Worth it though” smirked Gordon.  “You really are far too predictable.” 

“You do realise Mr I’m-So-Bad-At-Competitive-Games-I’ll-Just-Fake-Having-Something-Else-To-Do is likely to win now?  We will never live this one down.  Is he even still out here or has he sloped off for ice cream?”

“I heard that.”  Virgil’s voice came through loud and clear over the comms.  It was easy to forget they were running an open network and every word was being broadcast to their siblings and father.  “And just for that I think I’ll give a copy of my body-cam footage to Kayo.”

This elicited a combined grimace from the three on the ground.  Kayo would likely have severe words about Scott walking in to such a blatant trap.  Severe words that would likely be punctuated by some very painful training sessions.

The three were about to go their separate ways to continue the game when a new and wholly unwelcome voice graced the airwaves. 

Grandma.

Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but she had stayed home to monitor the International Rescue systems with the help of Eos.  This could only mean one thing.

“I’m sorry boys.  We have a situation.”

xoxoxox

It was a weary set of operatives that trooped into the Tracy Island lounge goodness knows how many hours later.  The incoming rescue call had required the skills of all five siblings and they had left their father behind to deal with the aftermath of the picnic and to make his own way home.  Now all five were running on empty and just wanted to head off to bed but knew they needed to check in first.

“Another successful mission” yawned Scott.  “You really didn’t need to wait up for us.”

“It’s my prerogative to wait up and worry about you” countered Jeff.

He watched with fatherly concern as his boys trailed in behind their leader.  Faces were lined with exhaustion.  Uniforms were soot smudged and dirtied, bearing the marks of hard work and many hours of exertion in the danger zone.  Thankfully none of them were displaying obvious signs of injury

His look of concern changed to one of mild amusement as his final son appeared from the hangers.  Gone was the novelty headpiece and furry gloves but John still had the grey and white rabbit suit on over his uniform.  Except now the costume was grey and more grey.

“Nice to see you keeping in the spirit of the holiday Son, but I think we now owe Tracy Industries a new costume.”

A look of puzzlement crossed John’s face.  He was too tired for riddles.  He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes in an effort to stave off the wave of exhaustion and wiped away some of the soot from his face with the sleeve of his uniform.

Since when had his uniform been furry?

Comprehension dawned as he looked down. 

He shot an accusatory look at his brothers.

“Did no one think to tell me I still had this thing on?”

“Aw c’mon, it suits you.”  Gordon was practically sniggering from the place he had claimed on the sofa.

“It’s hardly professional though.  I mean, what must the local rescue services have though?  No wonder the local police liaison couldn’t look me in the eye.”

“Well the fire chief thought it was cute.  She even went as far as to ask me if our very own rescue bunny was single.”

A faint flush could be seen under the grime that still smeared John’s face.  He quickly turned and stalked off towards his Earthside bedroom.

“So, should I send her your number?” Gordon shouted after him.

“I hate you all” came the distant response.  “Next year I’m staying on Five.”

[heyyyharry]

My Girl Series: Chapter 7 - Birthday Blues

…in which Harry tries to make it up to Y/N for all the birthdays he has missed.

Series description: Y/N falls in love with the older boy next door who doesn’t feel the same, years later they meet again at a funeral.

AU: actor!harry, older!harry, younger!y/n; (4-year age gap)

Chapter 6: This Time - Y/N needs a wedding date, and this time Harry’s not giving up.

wattpad link

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After Harry had left Holmes Chapel, every spark of joy in Y/N's life slowly died out with the part of him inside of her. The day she turned fifteen was also the first time she'd spent a birthday alone. Celine was abroad for a three-month exchange program. Her grandma, who lived in Brighton had just passed away, so both of her parents had to go there for the funeral. Since she refused to come along, they left her home with her mother's younger sister, aunt Lynn, who was only twenty-two at the time and didn't even bother to remember her name.

"Sweet baby, do not tell your parents that I invite some friends over, okay? Your mum is gonna be so mad," the young woman said, holding Y/N by the shoulders and the teenage girl could only pay attention to the sound of her aunt chewing bubble gum. For some reasons, Lynn always had something in her mouth. If she wasn't chewing gum, she had to make sure her mouth was kept busy by eating something, or someone. Y/N had met her three times before but each time she was snogging a different guy. Sadly she was the only option for a 'babysitter', just because Y/N's parents didn't believe their fifteen-year-old daughter was capable of staying home alone.

"But today is—"

"Shit!" The woman exclaimed, holding her head. "You're right! It's Friday night, I should throw a party. Play with your dolls, baby. Your aunt has adult stuff to take care of."

"My dolls?" Y/N muttered under her breath as the bedroom door was slammed shut in front of her eyes. Putting on her favorite song and turning off all the lights, she lied down, staring at the spinning fan above her head.

All the kids her age probably spent their fifteenth getting drunk and making out with their crushes, or losing their virginity without their parents knowing. But there she was, locked in her room while her aunt was having all the fun she was supposed to have. For the first time in her life, she found herself alone. She'd always been a loner, yet she had never actually felt it until that night. She stayed utter still in silence, holding Thumper close to her chest. The stuffed animal could probably hear every sound of her heart cracking open. Her mother wasn't there to tell her what a woman she'd become, nor was Harry to sing her the birthday song. It was just her, alone in the dark, with a purple bunny that still smelt just like him.

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.

.

Celine always said that working in the library was the worst decision Y/N had ever made, because there was no job more boring than organizing dusty old books. But the thing was, Y/N loved her boring job. She mainly got paid for sorting and shelving books according to their categorization, which wasn't really hard work, not to mention that Ms. Florence, the librarian, was really easy-going. Y/N got to spend most of her time in the fiction section, avoiding her responsibilities to read and write as much as she wanted. Besides, she really liked her co-worker, whose name was Alice.

Alice was a year younger than Y/N. She liked to talk and Y/N liked to listen, so they were pretty compatible. Finding a drinking buddy in university was easy, Y/N had plenty of them; the hard part was finding a buddy you could trust. So even though Alice wasn't what Y/N would consider a close friend, she could be someone to count on.

"Why is it that every time I see you, you're reading something?"

Alice's voice pulled Y/N's attention away from the novel on her lap, as she looked up and found the tiny brunette smiling at her. Y/N leaned back against the bookshelf, crossing her legs so there was room on the floor for Alice to sit down as well.

"I have a surprise for you, big sis!" Alice said, making Y/N roll her eyes and chuckle.

"You've found another porn book, haven't ya?"

"No! An actual surprise!" The younger girl giggled, then finally showed Y/N what she'd been hiding behind her back. "Ta-da! Two tickets to see Heathers!"

"Heathers The Musical?" Y/N dropped her jaw when the other girl nodded. "I love Heathers!"

"I bet you do! You seem like someone who enjoys dark comedy with tragic endings."

Alice's comment made her laugh, but she couldn't say it wasn't true. Her life itself was already a dark comedy.

"Are you giving me these for free?" She asked, pointing to the tickets and Alice's lips curved into a smile as she nodded fast in response.

"I bought these to go with a friend next week, but we're both gonna be busy that night. So just consider this as my temporary birthday gift to you. I'll buy you something else tomorrow."

"How do you know today's my birthday?" Y/N's eyes went round as her mouth fell open, yet the grin on the other girl's face only expanded.

"I was cleaning Ms. Florence's desk this morning when I found your CV. I didn't have time to actually get you something so—"

"Alice..."

"I know you hate birthdays, but please accept these tickets or else I'll die!"

Y/N rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit at how dramatic that sounded, but eventually, she accepted the birthday gift from her co-worker, and thanked the girl for being so thoughtful. "By the way, there's really no need to get me something else," she said, making Alice snort.

"Don't be silly! You're getting a proper birthday gift from me." Alice barely stood up when she flopped onto the floor again. "Oh, and one more thing! Do you wanna go out tonight? I know this pub that's—"

"No, thanks. I've got a lot of work to do tonight."

"But it's your birthday!"

Y/N gave the girl a shrug, lifting a corner of her mouth as she replied, "I never celebrate it."

"Boo, you suck!" Like a child, Alice blew up her cheeks, eyebrows knitted together. "But if you change your mind, ring me up, big sis!"

Y/N tried to contain her laughter as she watched Alice hop away and almost fall head first when she tripped over a stool. It was only when her clumsy co-worker had gone out of sight that Y/N finally checked her watch and realized her shift was just over. She rose from the floor to place the book back on the shelf, then put the tickets into her bag before heading out. Usually, she would always be the last person to leave, but since it was her birthday, she still wanted to do something special for herself, even if it was something as simple as going home before Ms. Florence.

Instead of taking the bus, that day Y/N decided to walk home. For the first time in two years living in that city, the girl finally paid attention to what was going on around her; it was also the first time she had realized how boring London had always been. The grey color of concrete dominated the entire city; it was hard to spot a hint of green anywhere, unlike Holmes Chapel, her home.

Y/N missed that place so much, now more than ever.

She missed the meadows behind her house at springtime, when all the wildflowers added vibrant colors to the fading green. She missed the tall pine trees surrounding a field full of white poppies. She used to run across that field, imagining herself in the opening scene of The Sound of Music, and she could still hear Harry's voice calling out "Bambi, wait for me!" as he tried to catch up with her.

He was the green that she missed the most.

The sound of her ringtone cut right through that thought, causing the vivid images before her eyes to fade back to monochrome. His name showed up on the screen, as if he knew she had been thinking about him.

"Hello?" She answered, standing close to the wall on her right so she wouldn't get in the way of the other pedestrians.

"Are you on the way home?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I'm just a few blocks away. Why?"

"I'm coming over."

She snorted, pursing her dry lips. "I'm busy tonight, remember? Birthday dinner with Isaac?" That lie was as smooth as melting butter coming from her mouth, yet her insides were heating up and her hands started to shake. She was glad he couldn't see the way she shut her eyes and pressed her lips into a firm line after lying to him.

"I'll see you in five."

"Wait, I said—" Y/N began, yet couldn't finish. Harry had already hung up on her.

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.

.

The sun was sinking fast now, turning the sky to grey tinged with purple and pink. Harry was already waiting by his car outside the building when Y/N returned, standing with his back facing the ruby-red skyline. With golden-rays casting down upon him, Y/N thought Harry glowed even brighter than the sun itself. But of course, he didn't have to know.

"Happy birthday." His voice was husky and deep as he handed her a white poppy. "Just like the ones back home," he said, and the reluctance from her expression made him feel the need to add, "I didn't buy it. I stole it from a flower shop on the way here."

Y/N didn't know if that was true, but his slop-sided grin made her doubt every single one of his words.

"Headline: Harry Styles stole a flower for a mystery girl!" She said, swiping her hand across the air like she was presenting the idea to him, which only made the beam on his face grow twice as big as he pointed to his car. "Get in, kid," he told her. "Before what you said become reality."

"Where are we going?" She asked in hesitation.

"To your birthday party."

"My birthday party?! But I'm—"

"I'm sure we've got a lot of time before Isaac returns from Italy to take you to dinner."

That one sentence got Y/N tongue-tied. The girl couldn't make a single sound, instead, she was gawking at him like a fool. What did she expect though? He would find out sooner or later because he was still friends with Isaac. So all she could do at that moment was try to come up with an explanation, in case he asked her to tell him why she'd lied. However, he didn't ask her anything. Harry flashed a smile as he walked back to his car and told her to come along. But Y/N refused. She couldn't just follow him blindly without knowing exactly where they were going.

"You're not taking me to a fancy restaurant, are you?"

"Bambi, the last thing I want is for the paps to eat you alive." Harry chuckled and opened the car door for the girl. "Don't worry, kid. It's just gonna be the two of us."

.

.

.

The loud music and laughter from downstairs made it almost impossible for Y/N to even hear the voice inside her head. The birthday blues made it hard for her to stay awake, yet she couldn't sleep either, and there was no way she could talk her aunt into ending the party. Lynn was probably drunk off her ass right now, so Y/N knew the only place for her to be alone with her depressing thoughts was the treehouse. She hadn't gone back there since the night she last saw Harry, but she guessed it had become such a big part of her that she couldn't stay away no matter how much she'd tried.

Still in her pajamas, the fifteen-year-old climbed the rope ladder to get to her childhood spot. The floor was still wet from the rain yesterday, so she leaned against the doorway and stood there to ponder on her own. However, it didn't take her more than three minutes to burst into tears.

Y/N hated crying, it was physically and emotionally painful to cry, and when it was over, what was left was just...nothing. Emptiness. Nevertheless, crying was how Y/N understood herself best. When she cried, she knew who she was. And she had always thought, just like a heartbreak, though crying left her feeling empty when it was over, she would still sigh in relief, because, at least, she knew it was the end.

"Y/N!"

When she heard that voice, the girl stepped closer to the edge of the treehouse and looked down at her neighbor's garden, where she found Harry's big sister with one hand behind her back and the other waving in the air. Y/N quickly wiped away the remaining tears on her cheeks, feeling thankful because if Gemma had come earlier, she might have already seen Y/N bawling her eyes out.

"Gemma! When did you get back?"

"Just a couple days ago. I'm home for two weeks to work on my thesis." The other Styles chuckled. "Glad I found you out here, I was just about to come over."

"To see me?" Y/N lifted both eyebrows, pointing to herself and receiving a nod from her neighbor.

"Yeah, come down here. I have something for you."

The teenage girl hesitated a bit because she couldn't figure out why Gemma wanted to see her and had something for her. Even though she used to hang out with Harry, she was never that close to his older sister. But she climbed down anyway, curious to know what Gemma had behind her back.

"Happy birthday," said the 23-year-old as she handed Y/N the birthday gift she'd been hiding that whole time.

A snow globe.

It didn't have a snowman and a Christmas tree like the ones you normally found in souvenir shops. The one Gemma gave her had colorful glitter inside instead of fake snow; and it was a miniature London, with tiny versions of Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Tower Bridge.

But all Y/N could see, was a person.

"You remember my birthday?" The younger girl asked quietly as she received the gift from her lovely neighbor, who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Of course," Gemma said. "I came to your birthday party every year. But I guess you don't like them anymore, huh?"

"Yeah..." Y/N faked a laugh, hoping her awkward eye-roll didn't give away the fact that she was just lonely.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat but I must get back to work now."

"Sure. Thanks for the nice gift," said Y/N. "Where did you get it by the way?"

"Bought it when I was in London last week."

Y/N didn't say anything else and just watched the older girl walk back to her house. Of course, she wanted to ask Gemma about Harry, but it was so sad to even think about him right now. His sister remembered her birthday and even got her a present, yet she hadn't heard a single word from him since the day he left. He was supposed to be her friend, or was it just another thing she had fooled herself into believing?

Holding the little London between her palms, she thought that maybe it was time to let go of the London inside her heart.

.

.

.

"Don't peek!"

"I'm not peeking!"

Y/N giggled, holding the hand that was covering her eyes as Harry carefully led her up the stairs, giving her directions so she wouldn't trip and cause them both to fall over. She extended her arms once they had reached the top, feeling the cold metal surface in front of them. The creaking sound caused her to flinch, so Harry quickly reassured the girl that it was just him opening the door. She could feel his other hand reaching around her waist to pull the handle, and a cold breeze blew right through her thin shirt. Y/N immediately took a step backward and bumped into Harry's firm chest. She felt the pressure of his fingertips on her hip as he gently pushed her forward, for the third time that night, telling her to trust him.

"If I didn't trust you I wouldn't have walked up all these floors with my eyes closed." She giggled, and his soft laughter sent shivers down her spine.

"Sit," he ordered, holding the girl by the arms to guide her into a chair; and when she was finally seated, Harry leaned in so his lips were close to her ear as he whispered, "open your eyes."

Y/N did what she was told.

Slowly, she opened her eyes.

The girl had begun to envision her surroundings ever since the cool air hit her skin for the first time as she stepped out, yet what she saw was far from her imagination.

They were sitting on a rooftop of a tall building somewhere in London. From her spot, Y/N could see the entire city spread below, tiny vehicles rushing along tangled roads. The city lights looked like stars dropping to the Earth, making her feel as if they were being squeezed between two galaxies. There were no words magical enough to describe what she was seeing, so Y/N didn't say anything, and just took in a deep breath to let it go with the biggest smile on her face.

It was windy on the roof, so Harry took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. They sat side by side on two wooden chairs, staring at the city and the sky above, completely mesmerized by such beauty, which had completely changed Y/N's opinion about London. Maybe from a different and higher view, it wasn't plain and dull after all.

"Almost like Holmes Chapel, huh?" She heard him speak and turned to look at him. Harry was gazing up with a beam on his face as he pointed to the sky, and told her the names of the stars he knew, not aware that she wasn't really listening. She was too busy looking at him, and thinking, maybe somewhere underneath that man was still the little boy she used to know.

"Oh, I forgot!" He suddenly flinched and turned to pick up the box at his feet. "I made this for you. But...the rest of the batch...already ended up in the trash bin."

He opened the box and revealed one single cupcake with a candle on top. It didn't look terrible, still, it wasn't a very pretty cupcake either. But if that was the best out of the whole batch, Y/N couldn't help but snort as she tried to imagine what the other ones looked like.

"Hey, don't laugh at me! At least I tried!"

"Okay, okay." Y/N bit her lip to hold back a smile. She didn't know why it was so endearing that he'd exerted himself to make her one cupcake. Even if he'd got it from a store instead, she would still be overjoyed.

"Can I eat it now?" She asked, but he quickly shook his head no.

"You have to make a wish first."

Y/N giggled, eyes bored into Harry as he looked around to find something else. "Shit!" His jaw went slack. "The lighter! I forgot the lighter."

"Relax, lemme check," Y/N mumbled, reaching inside the inner pocket of his coat to search for the object, and she felt something like a little triangle box, assuming it was the lighter. But when she took it out, both of them froze as they saw what it really was.

A pack of cigarettes.

Y/N's mouth fell open, she was speechless, and so was he. "Harry..." Her voice was quiet when she looked at him. "Do you smoke?"

"No." He shook his head fast. "N-Not anymore."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie?" A blush crept up his face as he made eye-contact with her. "If I still smoked, I would have a lighter with me, right?"

That sounded like a good enough reason for her to believe him. Moreover, he didn't smell like someone who smoked, and she'd never seen him with a cigarette between his fingers before. So apparently he was telling the truth. Y/N inhaled deeply as she nodded, squeezing his hand for more assurance.

"Smoking could kill you. So don't...don't go back to it..." The way she could barely maintain eye contact while saying that to him made his heart flutter somehow. He took her other hand, linking their fingers together as he asked, "are you worried about me?"

"Of course I am," she said without pause. "I can't bear the thought of losing you."

The corners of her mouth turned down and her whole face contorted so he knew she was serious when she said those words. After all this time, he still mattered to her; and knowing that was like getting a heavy weight lifted off his chest.

.

.

.

Harry sank into his chair, holding the mini calendar above his face. "It's already April," he mumbled to himself, but his roommate Isaac assumed Harry was talking to him, so he replied, "yeah, almost time for finals."

It wasn't finals that came to Harry's mind when he thought about April, it was a birthday actually. He rarely remembered birthdays, and sometimes he forgot his own; but for some reasons, he always remembered hers. He hadn't spoken to Y/N since the night he left, and he could never forget the way she looked at him when she asked him to kiss her. It was awkward, yet it was sad. She truly cared about him, and he could never repay the same kind of feelings because she was too young. So he didn't know how to talk to her again after everything she'd confessed. The last thing he wanted was to lead her on and lull her into believing that one day he might feel the same. He knew he could never like her back the way she wanted him to.

However, it would be a lie to say he didn't miss her. He missed her a lot. How could he forget about his little Bambi? She was the only girl he'd spent the best years of his childhood protecting and looking after. She was something more than just the girl next door, and he kept the image on her face on the treehouse that night in his memory as he left Holmes Chapel with no intention of coming back. Every time he thought about her, a part of him wanted to pay her a visit, but he was glad he didn't change his mind. But now her birthday was coming close, and he knew she wanted him to be there with her. He wanted to be there with her. But he couldn't.

"Isaac," Harry broke the silence in the dorm room, turning his head to look at his best friend who was lying on the bed. "What should I give a fifteen-year-old girl for her birthday?"

The sudden question made Isaac lift an eyebrow. "I thought you only had a big sister?"

"Uhm...it's actually for my...my...cousin."

"Well, I'm bad at this stuff. Why don't you ask Niall?"

Harry rolled his eyes and scoffed. "He would just give me crazy ideas."

"Then ask the birthday girl herself." Isaac shrugged, sticking out his bottom lip. "I mean, try to be subtle and find out what she likes without giving away the fact that you don't know what to get her."

If only it was that easy. Harry shook his head and put the calendar back down. He used to be the one who knew about her more than anyone else, probably only second to her mother, he should be able to know what she liked, but right now he didn't. He knew nothing about her anymore. It was only then that he started to feel bad for all the time he didn't spend with her. But had he not kept his distance, their goodbye would've been much harder.

So he tried to think, swirling the pencil in his hand for a couple seconds. And finally, an idea came to his mind. Maybe there could be a way for him to come back to her after all.

.

.

.

For the rest of the night, Harry and Y/N sat in their chairs, eating pizza for dinner while discussing irrelevant topics like the existence of aliens, strange kinds of flowers, as well as their favorite movies, songs, and books. Soon both grew tired so they fell back to silence. He was staring at the city, and she was taking in the sight of him.

"Are you mad that I lied to you?" Her sudden question made him turn around with an eyebrow raised. "You know, about Isaac."

"I'm not mad at you, kid. But I'd like to know what happened..." Harry couldn't say he had heard most of the story from Niall because he wanted Y/N to tell him herself, if she trusted him enough, and of course, he didn't expect her to. But somehow she did. She ended up telling him everything.

"I didn't want Isaac to turn down the job offer for a relationship that would probably never work." She sighed with her chin on her knuckles, hooded eyes staring blankly ahead. "I liked him a lot. And I thought to myself that if he asked me to be his girlfriend, I would say yes immediately. But when it happened, I got scared. I couldn't let him in because I was afraid that if he knew too much about me, he wouldn't like me anymore. I guess I'm just not ready to fall in love again, and I don't want him to wait for me to be ready. My first and only relationship didn't end very well. So I didn't have the heart to let the same thing happen to us." Holding her breath, she said, "He's too good for me anyway. I'm better off alone."

"Nobody is better off alone," Harry spoke at last, a line appeared between his brows. "Everyone needs someone."

"Not me." She shrugged, and the look in her eyes broke his heart in a million pieces. "I'm sorry I had to lie to you...I didn't want you to do anything for my birthday. I've troubled you enough already."

"But you're not troubling me, love. I did all of this because I wanted to. I...I care about you."

She couldn't remember the last time she heard him say those words, or if he'd ever said them at all. So to hear them now made her feel happy and sad at the same time. If there was one thing that she'd learned from their 'relationship' it would be, Harry's words weren't always credible.

"How did you find this place though?" She changed the subject, putting on a smile to lighten up the mood, which had gotten a bit blue since Isaac was mentioned. She could see it from the look on his face that he was also glad she'd brought up something else.

"Niall's uncle owns this building. They're doing some reconstructing so it's closed for a couple months. It might be the only place we could be together without people bothering us."

"Thank you." Y/N took in a long breath as she smiled. "I've never seen London so beautiful."

"Agreed." Harry nodded fast. In this bad lighting, his dimples seemed even deeper than they actually were. "But my favorite is the winter time. The city looks best when it's covered in snow."

Those last words made Y/N's head turn as her eyes went round.

"It was you, wasn't it?" she cried out, causing the man to jump in shock. He was meant to ask, but she didn't even let him have his chance. "The snow globe! You asked Gemma to give it to me, did you?!"

"Ouch!" He yelped when she smacked him hard on the arm. The girl didn't look very sorry when he rubbed the sore spot and his brows drew together in utter perplexity.

"Why did you ask her to lie for you?! I was so sad, I thought you didn't remember my birthday!"

"I thought it was for the best if you forgot about me, after..."

There was a pause, a gap for her to fill in.

"Our first kiss...I know," she mumbled at last.

It was weird to talk about it now, since both of them had been pretending like the kiss she'd stolen from him when she was fourteen had never happened. After all, she was fourteen at the time, he couldn't blame her for acting so impulsive. But recently he'd been thinking about it and wondering if her feelings back then had been all true.

Her eyes darted as she whispered under her breath, but still loud enough for him to hear, "why didn't you send me anything on my birthday next year or the ones after that?"

"I...I wanted to...I almost did." He swallowed hard while fidgeting in his seat. "But Gemma said you were seeing this boy, so I thought I should stay away from your life and let you forget about me for good. Then time passed and I actually didn't think a lot about you, until..."

She nodded without waiting for him to finish, her lashes fluttered as sadness overtook her face. After a moment of thinking, she asked, "if you could turn back time, would you come back to see me?"

"Yes," he answered. "Without a second thought."

Y/N had seen Harry in a lot of different situations, yet she'd never seen him like that, all flustered and ill at ease. She loved the way the rings on his fingers sparkled as he was nervously toying with the hem of his shirt. She loved it when even under the dim lights surrounding them, she could see a blush creep up his face. She knew better, that it was never good when she felt so drawn to him, yet she couldn't stop, so she released a slight laugh, which got his attention.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked.

Shaking her head with the grin still remained, she said, "nothing."

.

.

.

As he walked with her five floors up to her flat, Harry struggled to find something to say so the silence carried on until they reached her front door. He couldn't explain why he was at a loss for words every time he stood in front of her. He knew her well, he'd grown up with this girl. But deep down inside he knew it wasn't like that, not anymore. He knew his heart had more to say about her than it should, and the way it began to race whenever she was around had him frustrated most of the times.

He watched her unlock her front door and turn to say goodbye. But just when she was about to leave, he stopped her by taking her hand. It wasn't the first time they'd held hands, still, he let hers go after about two seconds like it was hot coal burning his skin. Maybe it was, maybe she was, yet he couldn't stay away because he enjoyed the burn. With round Bambi eyes, she stared at him, slightly puzzled by his strange behaviors. Harry asked her to wait. He searched in his pants pocket, finally pulling out a silver locket necklace.

"Your birthday present."

"Harry—"

He shushed her right away, telling her to turn around as he took a step closer to put the chain around her neck. His fingers brushed against her collarbone only once, but it was enough for both of them to flinch at the contact. Y/N gently touched the heart-shaped locket now lying on her chest, then opened it to find a tiny photo of her mother.

"So you could always keep her by your heart," he whispered, his voice was low and hot against her ear.

Slowly, Y/N turned around, but Harry didn't pull away so they were just one step away from pressing against each other. She meant to just thank him and go inside her flat, but as she parted her lip, not a single sound managed to escape. Her cheeks turned pink, her bottom lip was quivering as she batted her lashes. She had never looked into his eyes for that long, and the look he was giving her made her pupils dilated. It was the same look she'd seen him give that blonde haired girl on the treehouse when he was seventeen. He had never looked at Y/N that way before, and now he did. If only she could read his mind, she would know he was also trying to do the same.

Harry knew it was wrong, but he couldn't resist. The last time he had the same feeling, he wasn't thinking straight so he went for it by instinct. Now he knew exactly what was happening, and still, he didn't stop it. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching. He expected her to pull away or even slap him for making that bold move, yet she stayed exactly where she was, chest heaving with anticipation. Her scent was flooding his senses, and the second he finally found the courage to place his hands on her hips, it was she who decided the next move.

Her lips brushed against his. Not innocently, but hot and passionately, he wanted to pull away before he lost control, but like a magnet, she drew him in more and now he was stuck. "Harry," she whispered slowly, making his heart flutter as he clasped his hands on either side of her face.

That kiss wasn't like the first or the second, this time it was an open-mouthed, almost sexual kiss. He pushed her against the door, loving the way her body melted into his as their lips fitted perfectly like they were made for each other. She held his hair and he held her so tight as if he was afraid it wasn't real, and she would disappear the moment he loosened his grip. They broke away after what seemed like ages, and from the look in her eyes, he could tell she expected him to run, just like he had before.

But he didn't. Even if he wanted to, he knew his trembling feet wouldn't let him. She stood with her back against the door, him with one hand on her hip, the other fisted to rest beside her head. He inhaled sharply and she was still trying to steady her breathing. It took almost five seconds for either to open their eyes and look at the other person.

"Goodnight," she mumbled, reaching behind for the doorknob and the next thing he knew, she had fled inside and shut the door right in front of his face. Harry was left standing in the hallway like an idiot, not knowing what to do next. He lifted a fist, about to knock because there were still many things that he wanted to say to her, an apology was one of which. But he thought again and decided that he should probably go.

Harry left the building, stepping out on the street with his head still on the cloud as he kept touching his lips, trying not to smile so big or else people would think he was insane. But maybe he was, because he was too happy to act differently. He got into his car and sat there with both hands on the steering wheel, head tossed back, smiling contently. His whole face was red, but he didn't really mind. He was soaked in the scent of her perfume, and all he could think about was how he could possibly fall asleep with every trace of her lingering on his body.

His phone lit up in the dark, notifying a new text from Bambi which got him to sit up straight at once. His heart could've exploded when he read the first line, if the next one hadn't come on in less than a second.

⌲ Bambi: That kiss was a mistake.

⌲ Bambi: You're gonna have to earn it next time.

⌲ Next time? :)

⌲ Bambi: Don't be smug about it!

⌲ I'm not! But wait, on the scale from 1-10, how great was tonight? (minus the kiss)

⌲ Bambi: 7/10 (including the kiss)

⌲ Heeeeeey!

Sitting at her working desk, chin resting on her palm, Y/N cracked a smile. The birthday surprise, as well as the kiss they'd shared in the hallway,  were definitely 11/10. But she couldn't give it to him that easily. She placed her phone down, leaving his latest message on read as she touched the chain around her neck once again.

The London snow globe was still sitting on her desk, and she hadn't touched it in so long that it was a bit dusty now. She kept it there so it could remind her of the terrible birthday she should already forget, but she didn't want to. It was a way of telling herself that sometimes the people you loved would leave you behind, and that was just a cruel fact of life that one should just accept and carry on. But now that she knew it wasn't all true, the way she felt about the snow globe had also changed.

Quickly, she typed down 'Thank you for the locket' and sent it to him, then while waiting for him to reply, she sent another text right after.

⌲ I have two tickets to see Heathers The Musical

⌲ H: Yes.

⌲ I haven't even asked?

⌲ H: Whatever you're gonna ask, it's a yes.

⌲ Have you even watched Heathers?

⌲ H: There's always Google! Send me the date and time, my assistant will get back to you shortly.

⌲ Haha funny.

Y/N rolled her eyes and giggled as she snapped a quick shot of the tickets Alice had given her and sent it to him.

⌲ H: Wednesday night! I'm free!

⌲ You sure there's not another award show that night? I'm gonna kill you if you skip another one for me.

⌲ H: Nah I'm not supposed to attend any event next week. If you don't believe me, google it!

⌲ Oh God.

⌲ H: Say that instead of my name 'next time'.

Y/N's face turned scarlet when she read that line. She sucked in her bottom lip, face-palming herself with her eyes shut and wishing she hadn't moaned his name into the kiss. That couldn't have been more embarrassing. She typed down a few words, trying to come up with a reply that would save herself from the humiliation, yet she kept typing and deleting for three times or so. Then came two new messages from him.

⌲ H: It's late. Go to sleep Bambi. Good night.

⌲ H: Once again, happy birthday! :)

The twenty-year-old smiled to herself as she sent him back a goodnight text. Y/N knew she should get to bed now if she wanted to wake up early for a class in the morning. But she also knew it would take forever for her to fall asleep. This time, fortunately, it wasn't gonna be the birthday blues that kept her up all night.

[baekterflyeffect]

a beautiful dream / part two

Being a single father is hard. Especially when Baekhyun’s in his early thirties and needing to make a name for himself. Yet his daughter had been his greatest gift and he doesn’t mind if it means exhausting days and hardships to come — as long as he has her. Though fate works in an incredible way when he meets somebody unexpectedly.

characters: byun baekhyun x moon heejin (oc) au(s): singledad!au, lawyer!au, teacher!au genre(s): fluff, slight angst. word count: 4.5k

Heejin.

The name that have always stayed inside Baekhyun’s mind for a good few months now. They don’t make any kind of progress in terms of romantic feelings—though Baekhyun did, his adoration towards her are starting to morph into something crush like—but they stayed in contact throughout the time.

After she has taken care of Soohyun, they grow close. And both her and Soohyun grow inseparable. Sometimes, more often than not, Baekhyun didn’t ask his mom to pick up Soohyun since Heejin offered to play with her instead. Both of the girls went for so many adventures together when Baekhyun is stuck in his office and the courtroom. He was jealous, of course, he wanted to spend the day with his daughter too, and Heejin.

Heejin and Soohyun made a great pair, and most of the time, Baekhyun felt that everything was going too fast, too smoothly, and it makes Baekhyun’s insides filled with anxiety in what if anything goes south and Heejin decided not to be in his life, in Soohyun’s life? He tried to shoo the thoughts away, wanting to only focus on what is currently happening, in hope everything goes well and only the best.

Nonetheless of Baekhyun’s worry, he and Heejin still got closer. From a casual texts to an everyday texts he cannot live without, from accompanying Soohyun during days where Baekhyun can’t, to a late night talk on Baekhyun’s dining table before watching Heejin leave his apartment. From meeting up accidentally to plan out a date only with the both of them.

Things are going too smoothly, for him and Heejin, and for Heejin and Soohyun. And in half a year―Baekhyun realized that he wants Heejin to be in his life, permanently. Baekhyun knows that he grow comfortable way too fast, how can he not, when Heejin had won his daughter’s heart before she won his?

     > Run out of strawberry candies. The kids are whining, do you think you can accompany me later after work?

It was a text from Heejin. Baekhyun smiles, it was one of the rarest moments where he received a text from her and able to reply to her right away. Feeling giddiness inside of him that Heejin asked him to accompany her.

> Sure. Soohyun is with her grandparents today. Tomorrow is the weekend so she asked if she could get away from Daddy a little? > Anyway, haha, where should I pick you up?

He waited, ignoring his important documents that he needed to worry for today. He had memorized and did his research on his recent client the whole day, so it should be enough reason for him to rest a little and talk to Heejin. The three dots that indicate Heejin is typing a text finally appears, even with a little thing like that, it brought a smile to Baekhyun’s face.

> Poor daddy, his princess doesn’t want to spend the weekend with him > At what time would you be finish for today? I’m thinking about having dinner first. I have this restaurant I wanted to try

It was a casual thing. For the both of them to have dinner and spend time together, it bothered Baekhyun a little that he cannot call those as a date. He types in his reply right away―not being afraid that he might come off way too flirty. After all, the two of them have been in a flirty phase for two months without anything going on.

> I have another princess to spend the weekend with, do I not? > I’ll be done around six. Today’s an easy day, anyway. I’ll pick you up at 7. Be ready, dress comfortably!

With that, Baekhyun locked his phone. Focusing on the case he has at hand, his thoughts are filled with happiness and positivity at the fact that he will spend the rest of his evening with Heejin. He only peeked at Heejin’s replies, not wanting to distract himself further.

> That princess you’re going to spend the weekend with better be Moon Heejin or I will sneak in to your apartment and steal your all of strawberry milk so Soohyun will be upset. > K. See you. Work hard. ❤️❤️❤️

Baekhyun find himself in front of Heejin’s apartment door, smiling brightly when Heejin open her door for him.

“It's only six! What are you doing here? I am not ready yet!” Heejin huffs at him, leaving him to laugh to himself as she walked back to her room to get her makeup done. Baekhyun followed her like a lost puppy.

“My meeting finished early, so why not visit you early too? I miss your pretty face.”

Baekhyun know his flirting with Heejin is a dangerous game, but at Heejin’s whine, he just shakes his head to himself. “Stop talking at let me finish my makeup.”

“I just got here, lady. Don’t stop me from talking!”

Heejin just ignored him, focusing on her makeup so that they could leave early. She was excited for another night to spend with Baekhyun, excited to be next to him without thinking of the consequences that might come. She doesn’t realize when Baekhyun stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he nuzzled his nose to her nape, finding comfort in her scent. They have been tiptoeing around for months with their shared touches and shared kisses. Neither of it minded because they knew there's definitely something romantic going with them. After all, it has been close to eight months since they knew each other and hanging out together.

“Are you okay?” Heejin asked, her voice is so soft as she put her brush down, placing her hand on top of Baekhyun’s arm.

“I will be. Don’t worry.”

    Baekhyun find himself walking behind Heejin and Soohyun, admiring the way Heejin holds Soohyun’s hand as they walked towards one of the rides in the amusement park. Heejin was smiling really brightly as she tried her best to listen to Soohyun’s random babbling and explaining to her the things she doesn’t understand.

(The amusement park trip had been planned a few weeks ago out of random conversation with him and Heejin before Baekhyun decided to avoid Heejin - his fault, really, for thinking too much about everything.)

They arrived on the amusement park only fifteen minutes before this, and the first thing they did was to find cute headwear to use. Soohyun right away choose the one with a tiara, and Baekhyun choose for Heejin, a cute big bow to adorned her head. He himself is wearing a bunny hat, courtesy of the girls who convinced him to wear one. Baekhyun’s heart feels full, for some reason.

Baekhyun enjoyed this feeling, not having to worry about work and his clients, as well as being able to spend his time together with his princess and Heejin. For some, it might be frowned upon that Baekhyun is going out for a personal trip together with Soohyun and Heejin, as her teacher, and he might risk Heejin’s career because of that. And he understood law, he knows how wrong it is to develop a personal relation, moreover a romantic relation with his own daughter’s teacher.

That was what made Baekhyun stop in trying to woo Heejin, what stopped him from asking her to go on dinner with him without Soohyun, and also the reason why sometimes late at night, Baekhyun decides to not reply to her text. Byun Baekhyun is anything but irrational. He might have fallen in love way too soon, but he would never contradict his own life and others' lives.

Baekhyun’s thought was washed away when Heejin tucked on the hem of his sleeve shirt, smiling at him as she drags him towards the nearest cotton candy stall. She pointed out at Soohyun who keeps eyeing the maker, eyes sparkling, wanting to eat the cotton candy.

“Can she eat some, Baekhyun?”

He hums to answer her, fishing out his wallet from his pocket though Heejin beats him to it as she ordered one and pays for it right away, leaving him no room to argue with her. He smiles though, letting her do it because he knows Heejin likes to pamper Soohyun (he definitely thought about the amount of hairpins Soohyun owned now, courtesy of Heejin).

“Which ride should we go first?” Baekhyun asked Soohyun, taking her free hand in his to hold it tightly. Soohyun excitedly pointed a ride that have a spinning cup. Baekhyun nods, leading both Soohyun and Heejin there. As the three of them are queueing, Baekhyun take his time to admire the two girls that are standing in front of him, chatting animatedly.

He loves to hear Soohyun’s laughter every time Heejin told her something that is funny, though he could only smile as he watched them. The wind was blowing rather hardly all of sudden, making Heejin’s hair in sort of a mess. Unconsciously, Baekhyun reached his hand out to comb it with his fingers, feeling the softness of her strain of hair. He tried his best to keep a serious face even though the sight of Heejin blushing because of him worth a teasing―things are a little bit awkward with them because Baekhyun has been consciously avoiding her.

“There, there.” Baekhyun smiles, tucking Heejin’s hair behind her ear as he pulled his hand away. Heejin stuttered when she replied to him, “Thank you.” He nods. Giving Heejin’s head one last pat on the head before he was dragged by Soohyun to get inside one of the cups.

“Daddy! You can spin this around!” Soohyun said excitedly, trying her best to spin the wheel on the cup and Baekhyun chuckles at that, removing Soohyun’s hand with his own before wheeling the cup into a spinning motion gently - not wanting the three of them to be dizzy if he wheeled it too fast.

    The day is about to end when they watch the sun goes down. Seated on one of the restaurant as they eat their dinner. For some reason, every time the three of them go out, Soohyun will end up sitting beside Heejin instead of Baekhyun. It becomes a routine.

Despite the happy day they spent―Baekhyun knew he would have to talk with Heejin about them. And it dreads him. He doesn’t know what she feels at him, he doesn’t know what to do if she also developed feelings towards him.

For now, Baekhyun only wants to focus on Heejin's interactions with Soohyun. He won’t lie, the sight of Heejin feeding Soohyun without prompt does make his heart beat rapidly. He loves the sight of it―dreams of it lasting for more than a lifetime.

“Daddy?” Soohyun spoke, her voice soft as she gulp on her strawberry squash. Baekhyun turn to look at her, forcing a slight smile.

“Yes, princess?”

“Are you okay?” ― Soohyun is a smart kid, she is able to read people’s emotions just by their gestures. He nods at her, reaching his hand out to pinch her cheek. “Don’t worry about daddy, princess. Just finish your food!” He scolds playfully, eyeing the almost empty plate of Soohyun’s food.

The dinner goes well too, the difference in this dinner is the fact that Baekhyun barely exchanged words with Heejin, both of them only focusing on Soohyun and her cute babbles. Baekhyun is now carrying Soohyun in his arms - the little princess is tired after her activities today (she has so many energy, running around and not caring about her sweet intakes as Baekhyun and Heejin spoil her with every candy Soohyun wants).

It was comforting to Baekhyun, the way Soohyun is snuggling her face on the crook of his neck and Heejin holding on his free pinky finger, he feels like his world is complete. Baekhyun pushes away every rational thought inside his head when he chooses to intertwine his fingers with Heejin, holding her hand as if he doesn’t want her to let go.

And neither let go of each other's hold even when Baekhyun is driving home. Soohyun is fast asleep on the backseat, and the entire ride to Baekhyun’s apartment - where Heejin’s car is parked - their fingers are still intertwined and Baekhyun is placing their hands on his thigh. Sometimes caressing the back of her palm with his thumb. No words are exchanged, though.

It was Heejin who pulled away first, awkwardly saying that she will be carrying Soohyun and tucking her to her bed - they don’t want to wake up Soohyun, she could wash up in the morning, anyways - and it feels oddly domestic for Baekhyun.

After putting Soohyun to bed, Heejin decided to find Baekhyun on the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee even though he knows it was already late and if he drinks coffee, he wouldn’t be able to sleep. Heejin bit her bottom lip, looking at Baekhyun’s broad back, not knowing what should she do to gain his attention. There are so many thoughts running inside her head, confusion is the biggest one.

Heejin decided to wrap her arms around Baekhyun’s torso, her face is buried on his back. Baekhyun hums in acknowledgment before he put his coffee mug down, turning to look at her, his arms palming her face before he leaned down to press a kiss on Heejin’s forehead.

“Everything okay, baby?” His voice is soft, searching her eyes with his and smiles when she looked back at him. A pout formed on her lips.

“Do you expect everything to be okay when my daddy has been avoiding me?” Baekhyun snorts at that. Heejin always calls him daddy when she wanted something from him, mainly his affection and his kisses. Their closeness has grown into something similar to a relationship, just without the labels and sexual act.

“I’m sorry. Will my big princess forgive me?” He apologized, caressing the apple of Heejin’s cheek in an affectionate manner. Heejin shakes his head at that, and Baekhyun frowned. Why doesn’t she want to forgive him?

“I will only forgive you if you gave me a proper explanation, Baekhyun. Not just you being busy.” Her voice is sharp, leaving no room for Baekhyun to find other useless explanation on why he has been avoiding her.

“You have been avoiding me for two weeks. Don’t you realize? It hurts.”

Heejin is not usually vocal with her thoughts - Baekhyun knows that. When she does, it means she really need to let it out before everything goes south. Baekhyun bit his bottom lip, he then leads Heejin to the couch on the living room, letting Heejin sit beside him as they are facing each other.

“I…”

Heejin waits for Baekhyun to start, taking his hand in hers as she squeezes it gently. Letting him know that she is here for him. Baekhyun heaved out a deep sigh. Biting his lower lip before he starts speaking.

“I think we should stop seeing each other.” Baekhyun said, he was too afraid to see Heejin’s face, he doesn’t want to hurt her - but his rational thoughts let him to do that

“Why?” He could hear the sadness in her voice, and Baekhyun really want to hug her and told her that he doesn’t actually want that.

“Heejin, you’re great. But you are Soohyun’s teacher. We can’t have a relationship when you are his teacher.”

Heejin frowned at his explanation, letting go the hold of Baekhyun’s hand and Baekhyun swears his heart stop beating. Baekhyun braved himself to look at her, and he felt like someone had just hammered him straight on his face.

“That is bullshit, Baekhyun. There is no law that you can not,” Heejin hesitated her words, thinking through it cautiously, “see your child’s teacher in a romantic way. Unless, there is really nothing romantic between us and I grow too confident that you actually developed feelings for me.” She said, anger could be heard through her voice now.

“Heejin,”

“Just-- whatever, Baekhyun. I thought we had mutual feelings - and I am ready to fight for whatever obstacles that we would face if we're together. But it's not mutual with you knowing how easily you gave up without talking to me beforehand.”

With that, Heejin left. She gathers her belonging and just leave like that. And Baekhyun doesn’t chase her.

    “Daddy? When will Teacher Moon visit us again?” Soohyun asked as she is laying her head down on Baekhyun’s bicep―enjoying the father and daughter evening. Baekhyun groaned, pretending to sleep because he doesn’t want to be reminded of Heejin.

It has been three weeks since the last time he saw Heejin, he doesn’t even text her. Even though Soohyun meets Heejin every school day, she was being sulky at the fact that Moon Teacher isn’t hanging out with her outside of school. Baekhyun doesn’t even pick up Soohyun anymore, afraid to see Heejin.

Bawkhyun himself is miserable. He missed her. He missed her warmth, missed her smile, missed her random texts of her students. But Baekhyun promised himself that he is not going to contact her―he was too ashamed of himself that he had hurt her.

And with the realization of Heejin not being together with him, Baekhyun knows he is in love with her. Pretty badly.

“Daddy!” Soohyun whined at him, pressing her palm on Baekhyun’s cheek, trying to make sure her father is awake to answer her question. Baekhyun opened his eyes with a pout. “Hyunee, that’s not good.” Soohyun mirrored his pout, now straddling Baekhyun’s chest and her little hands are squishing around Baekhyun’s face which earns a laughter from him.

“Hyunee, stop, stop!”

Soohyun stops while giggling at him, and Baekhyun smiles. Grateful to have his blob of happiness in front of him that brings a smile to him even though things are not okay.

“Now give daddy a kiss and daddy will answer you.” Her daughter just rolled her eyes and Baekhyun faked an offensive gaze at her, squinting at her. Though she just leaned down and kissed his cheek. Making herself comfortable in Baekhyun’s arms again.

“Teacher Moon is currently busy, princess. Once your holiday starts, we could hang out with her again?”

Baekhyun is thankful that her daughter is the most understanding even at a young age. Soohyun just mumbled an okay and asked Baekhyun to sing her to sleep.

Once Soohyun is asleep, Baekhyun gets with his phone in hand―calling his mother.

“Hyunee?” Was the first word his mom said when she answered the phone, he finds it cute that his mother called him with Hyunee and him calling Soohyun with Hyunee too.

Baekhyun hums to answer her, he doesn’t know what else to say. He is always open with his mother, but for some reason, this problem of his barely can leave his mouth. He heard his mother sigh, and he feels guilty for being old enough yet still seek for his mother’s comfort.

“It’s okay. I’m listening, Hyunee. You know I will never judge you.”

And with her words, Baekhyun finds himself breaking his walls down. “You know Heejin right? The girl I told you,” with that, he told his mom everything.

He told her how he felt, how much he loved her just by the months they are spending together, he could see a future together with her―at the same time, he was afraid; afraid that Heejin will leave him just like his ex, afraid that Heejin will grow tired of having to take care of Soohyun when she is able to spend her days without any serious attachments. He’s afraid to break the law, to ruin Heejin and his career. He told her how he missed her, how he had hurt her in the ways he thought he wouldn't be able to do it, but he does.

His mom listened to him carefully without saying a word, and once he’s done, she only chuckles.

“I hate that you are too rational sometimes. You haven’t even thought of her not becoming Soohyun’s teacher next year. You told me she’s only teaching first year of elementary class, right?”

With that, Baekhyun wants so smack himself so hard in the face for not realizing sooner.

His mom then continues, “Love outcomes every obstacle, Hyunee. If she loves you, then she wouldn’t leave you. And with the way I saw her treating Soohyun when I visit a few months ago, I know she loves Soohyun too. Now make your mom proud and fix your mess.”

    next >

[09yards]

[5:43 am to the rest of our lives]

Part One of the Adventures Of Parenting (and failing miserably) series

Chapter 1/3: Error: Jaehyun’s brain cells not found

Summary:

Jaehyun and Doyoung are celebrating their wedding anniversary, only they aren’t as far as Doyoung is aware, Jaehyun does the school run and as usual, it doesn’t end well. They have the perfect life, they’re married and happy – despite four children. Jaehyun just has a couple issues here and there (mainly with the school run).

**[5:43 am] I get to love you, it’s the best thing I’ll ever do. Oh, I can’t believe it’s true sometimes. **

If you had told Jaehyun, twenty-two years ago, that he’d be married with four children, he would have laughed in your face (read: full-blown cackled and snorted, extremely un-attractively), especially if you’d told him he’d landed his dream job as a doctor (yes, his parents were very proud and his sister, very jealous) and was actually happy with his life. Let alone if you’d told him he’d be celebrating his eighteenth wedding anniversary with lifelong best friend, Doyoung, and rather than sleeping in and adoring his husband, he was reminiscing while trying to feed the three-year-old currently attached to his hip Nutella and toast before aforementioned husband found out (Nutella or anything ‘too sweet’ wasn’t allowed and Jaehyun would no longer have a head if Doyoung found out, again, especially on a weekday) with the remains of pink glitter and yellow paint on his arms. Doyoung and Jaehyun’s love story was a simple one, they grew up together (childhood best friends and all that) and after waking up next to each other, very, very naked, after deciding to drink copious amounts of alcohol at a welcome week party during their first year (or rather first three days) at university, they decided to see where things went and things never ended. Your classic ‘idiots to lovers’ trope.

Just over an hour and a half later, Jaehyun finds himself at the point of his second failure of the morning. He had two wins, the first, managing to get all four children to eat breakfast without causing a fuss and second, finding Soyeon’s tiny (yes, Jaehyun made a point, every time, about how small they were) football boots placed neatly on the shoe rack, for once. But currently the shouts of “Dad! Have you seen my lyrics and my dance shoes? Never mind, got my dance shoes. Daaad have you seen my lyrics?” and the “Dad where are my boots, they were here the other day?” were not so much a win but rather causing his lovely conscience – otherwise known as the mini Doyoung in his head when the real one wasn’t there (or currently still, somehow, sleeping through the commotion) to nag you – to continuously chant ‘you’re going to be late, you’re going to be late’ in his head. Not fun and not ideal. Jaehyun hadn’t managed to master this morning already but one thing he could count on was Soyeon, smiling away at her father while she happily brushed her teeth, already dressed and backpack all ready to go by the front door. One thing Jaehyun had managed to master on the other hand, is the art of creeping up and down the stairs as well as across their hallway and all of the bedrooms without making the floors creek, enabling him to be able to gently wake up (or in most cases, make sure they stay asleep) the members of their busy household.

“Morning Doyoungie, happy anniversary,” Jaehyun knew better than to wake him up on his day off but desperate time called for desperate measures and a cute but quiet voice (Jisung was still clinging to him, fast asleep) and cuteness was the only way he would get out of this alive, “Doyoungie hyung,” Jaehyun was greeted by a soft grunt in response this time from the mound of duvet (Jaehyun wasn’t entirely sure if Doyoung could breathe under all that, he had clearly taken advantage of Jaehyun vacating the bed), “baby, I know, I’m sorry for waking you; Soyeon’s an angel as usual and is ready to go and I’ve got Jisung but Hyuck’s complaining about not being able to find the lyrics he was using yesterday and Jaemin can’t find his boots for hockey tonight? I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t want to wake you but I suck and never know these things.”

After a yawn and a grumble, the pile of duvet finally spoke, “Hyuck’s lyrics are on the piano, where he left them and Jaemin’s boots are by the backdoor because they stink, tell him to wash them or Renjun can’t come over on Friday, try and sound like you mean it – for once. As much as it pains me to say this, but don’t forget to put a shirt on. You’re making dinner tonight, you’re the better cook anyway. Now shoo, I’m going back to sleep. Don’t drop Jisung off at school late again, please, Jungwoo always says he sees you rushing across the courtyard whenever you do the school run.”

Jaehyun had learnt over the years, before they’d began dating, that arguing with the older, ninety-nine percent of the time, resulted in Jaehyun losing – quite often by a longshot. In fairness, he had always insisted on his mother teaching him all of her staple recipes as he refused to be a father and a husband that didn’t know how to cook or never did menial tasks like the laundry, cleaning and tidying or putting the bins out. He did his fair share – like how his own parents had taught him to do. His mother still nagged him every single time she phoned to make sure he did something nice for Doyoung, rather aggressively telling Jaehyun to ‘make sure you appreciate that husband of yours, not everyone would put up with your disastrous working hours and still agree to have a family with you’. She was right, of course. He had always prided himself on being a ‘good’ husband, spontaneous flowers here and there (never roses, Doyoung hated them, argued they were too cliché and weren’t as endearing as something like almonds – yes, Jaehyun had to google it too), he did the majority of the prep for cooking and Doyoung would do the actual cooking, Jaehyun gave kisses ‘just because’, never let activities be all about him (frankly, he loved making it all about Doyoung, pleasing the elder was one of his favourite pastimes), Jaehyun was a good father too. Doyoung always praised him, mainly his ability to get any of their children to fall asleep shockingly fast against his bare torso when they were young, a sight that Doyoung was more than happy to witness. Maybe, Jaehyun was late once or twice, he wasn’t fit for the school run like Doyoung. He never was able to comprehend how Doyoung, leaving at the same time in the morning (if not later) was always able to get the kids to school on time and then make it into work early. Jaehyun had already called Johnny and Sehun and said he’d be late – after the toast issue this morning, he was no longer up for being optimistic – okay, maybe he had a little hope left. Donghyuck would be late because he couldn’t decide what shoes went best with his outfit today (boy does Jaehyun miss when they had to wear a uniform) and Jaemin spent far too long styling his hair, as it had to be ‘perfect’. Jaehyun couldn’t exactly be mad over the latter as that was a trait most definitely inherited by Jaemin, from himself. They hadn’t been told who was the biological father of any of their children but to the both of them it was obvious, Donghyuck took after Doyoung – with his musical talent but also book smarts and strong wit (read: his desire to always be right and make sure you are fully aware that he is correct and therefore you are wrong) – and Jaemin took after Jaehyun – with his preference for sport over academics (not that he was stupid by any means, frankly he was more intelligent than Donghyuck and had confessed to his father a few weeks ago about his hopes to study medicine but hadn’t known how to do so) and his swoon-worthy smile.

Soyeon is the perfect mix of the both of them, Jaehyun’s dimples but Doyoung’s bunny smile, always organised like Doyoung but still a little firecracker and a ball of energy and fluff – like Jaehyun. But they weren’t sure where her personality came from (not entirely at least), yes Doyoung and Jaehyun were nice, well-mannered citizens but they weren’t gods-gift or anything, Soyeon is an utter angel; they don’t know how they got so lucky with her after the chaos of Donghyuck and Jaemin. Jaehyun didn’t think that maybe it was a girl thing, but it was definitely beginning to feel like a girl thing.

Jisung they hadn’t quite decided on yet, although they were pretty sure he was a genius – at least in their eyes. He started walking and talking much quicker than most, definitely earlier than their three older children, he preferred to complete puzzles (now recommended for ages 9-13), mainly with a little help from Soyeon as she liked to feel as though she was spending time with her younger brother even if they were all very much aware he was capable of doing it by himself, and build complicated structures with Legos without turning the space around him into a Lego minefield (thank the lord for that one, stepping on a Lego is a pain Jaehyun wished upon no-one and had happened to him about three-hundred times too many between their three other children, mainly in the wake of Jaemin’s play time until he discovered technology) rather than wreak havoc around the house with toy cars and dolls. Not that he wasn’t fascinated by watching the cars go around and round again on the Scalextric, Doyoung had told Jaehyun far too many times about how he’d spent three hours just sending the cars round in order to amuse the toddler. Jaehyun thought his personality at least was a nice blend of the two of them, whereas Doyoung placed his bets on Jisung inheriting the swoon-worthy smile, adorable cheeks and complete-utter inability to talk to someone they like (just like Jaehyun and Jaemin). The reality was, Doyoung was hoping all his children would inherit Jaehyun’s beautiful smile, biologically possible or not, it is the smile he grew up with, the one he fell in love with, the one he married, the one he wakes up next to every morning and the one he goes to sleep after seeing. Not that he’d ever tell Jaehyun, but his smile was quite possibly one of Doyoung’s favourite things in the world.

Jisung on the other hand is just cute, there is no other way to describe it. He stared at you with puppy eyes when he wanted something, the king of the pout and slightly furrowed brows combo when he was upset or confused and Jaehyun was a physically strong man, Doyoung could attest to that, as could his hours he tried to spend in the gym, but when it came to his children Jaehyun was, unsurprisingly, a huge softie. Doyoung saw it coming, Jaehyun was too stubborn and had convinced himself (and only himself) before Donghyuck was born that he would be a classic ‘fun dad’ and also a ‘firm but fair’ parent. Donghyuck at seventeen and Jaemin at sixteen, were still able to exploit their father through the use of puppy eyes and a little pout. Doyoung’s new nickname for him is ‘pushover’, much to Jaehyun’s dismay, Doyoung continues to argue that he fits it perfectly – and usually teases the younger about it to no end until Jaehyun demonstrates to Doyoung (and for Doyoung’s eyes only) just how much he isn’t a pushover in certain situations. Doyoung wasn’t the only one who Jaehyun couldn’t understand how the school run ran so smoothly for. Their best friend, Ten, had married an older man a few years after their own wedding and Ten had quickly settled into his role as a self-proclaimed trophy-husband, Kun was wealthy and was more than happy to please Ten through any means necessary, particularly Ten’s favourite - materialistic means; a new bag here, a new car there, jewellery that sparkled far too much to be remotely in anyone other than Kun’s price range for Ten’s birthday (read another birthday present even when his birthday had well and truly passed). This is not to say they weren’t in love by any means, if people thought Doyoung and him were disgustingly in love, they had never seen Kun and Ten. They never seem to be out of the honeymoon phase, despite having adopted their fifthchild. Jaehyun and Doyoung firmly drew the line at four, with the substantial age difference between Jisung and his brothers and a few years after his sister, being settled as Doyoung wanting a baby before he got too old (and coincidentally just after Kun and Ten had just adopted Chenle, a sweet new-born with a charming, chubby cheeked, gummy smile) and Jaehyun was once again, too much of a softie to even think about refusing. Not that he minded, he loved having Jisung, he would happily have had a whole hoard of children, had they spread it across the years they’d been together, unlike Kun and Ten who had four children born within two years of each other, adopting all of them before they’d turned three. Hendery was the eldest when they’d adopted him but Lucas was in fact their eldest. How they handled them, especially five boys, Jaehyun couldn’t begin to fathom it, let alone how Ten managed to get all of them to school on time – a task he was greatly failing at, even if it hadn’t gone completely down the drain just yet, he knew it would be soon. So there Jaehyun stood, the clock in their kitchen reading a quarter to eight, a freshly washed, dressed and sun screened Jisung with his miniature rucksack (triple checked for lunch, a water bottle taken from the freezer earlier this morning to ensure it was extra cold and hat to protect him from the sun, read: if Jisung got in the slightest bit pink, Jaehyun would be a dead man) tugging on his hand, Soyeon waiting patiently, backpack in hand and shoe laces now tied in double knots herself (something she was very proud of and excited to show Jaehyun that she had done it), Jaemin finally having finished his hair and was just grabbing his boots – grimacing when he shoved them into his rucksack at the, frankly, disgusting smell - and Hyuck running down the stairs, tugging on his shoes as he went. If they left now, Jaehyun might actually be able to pride himself, for once, on being on time. Wishful thinking never got Jaehyun far. Apparently, he was yet to actually learn that. It was going so, so well until Jaemin and Donghyuck stared bickering in the car over who’s shoes Hyuck was wearing – Jaehyun managed to usher them out, if he sped slightly, he would still make it! Soyeon was easy, patiently waiting for Jaehyun to open the door to the car and then with a quick kiss to his cheek, a giggle and a ‘good luck!’ she hopped out the car, skipping to join her friends. But trying to get Jisung out of the car caused a lost trainer, resulting in Jaehyun climbing under the car and them being very, very late. Arguably it was not his fault and he definitely felt like an idiot running across the playground with Jisung’s backpack gripped between his teeth. Bordel de merde. And so, the dreaded text came through just as he was getting back into the car.

From Doie [9:14 am]

Care to explain why I just got a snapchat from Taeyong of you running across the playground with Jisung, his rucksack in your mouth and trying to put his shoe on?????

I hope you’re aware that Jisung starts pre-school, promptly at 8:45 and not 9:00

God it’s so embarrassing, at least it’s gone 9 so all the mums have cleared out, I do not need this bringing up at the PTA meeting next month Jaehyun

To Doie [9:15 am]

Funny story!

Have to get to work, have a good day :)

Happy anniversary baby!

Fuck you.

I love you too baby (:

Middle finger emoji

Well fuck, happy anniversary! You’re screwed Jaehyun, so, so screwed.

To Ten [9:26 am]

If I were to say I screwed up this morning, how do I make it better

I’m desperate

Take pity on me hyung

From Ten [9:28]

You’re such an idiot Jae istg

We can take the kids for the night??

We’ve only got the twins and Chenle

Lucas and Hendery are at Johnny’s tonight assuming Hyuck is too?

Are you serious?

And yes, please if you are!

And no, Hyuck is here tonight – somethings going on with him atm

Don’t know what though so don’t press!!

Of course! Doing it for Doie and not for you though!

You will owe me one of course

Renjun and Yangyang are best friends with Hyuck anyway, they’ll be over the moon

Jungwoo says Chenle and Jisung have been getting on well too

(the preschool ta you’ve probably never met, we like him – have possible gossip on him too)

And its Soyeon so, I will avoid that little angel at all costs so I don’t taint her with my evilness

And Kun is already picking out what flavour cookies the two of them are going to make

Okay, harsh. We had shoe issues

We can’t all be you with your ridiculous time management skills

And just because I’ve never met him doesn’t mean it’s because I’m always late

I have a very important job!!

Drop them off this evening, don’t take Doyoung out – he’s too tired

Make that hot pot he likes

Then get busy! Kids free zone for one night only, take advantage

And if I don’t see any suspicious marks on either of you tomorrow morning

I will be disappointed :((

I’m not entirely sure how to respond to that

Nor do I want to

Kun is great, I like Kun, I don’t like you

Thank you and thanks to Kun too :)

I’ll drop them off at 5, gotta blast Johnny is about to kill me

Okay more like 5:30

There are musical rehearsals, hockey practice, football practice and swimming lessons today, kill me now

“Jaehyun, when you said you’d be late I thought that meant fifteen-twenty minutes not an hour!”

“It’s not exactly my fault,” Johnny raised an eyebrow in disbelief, “I took the kids in this morning, Hyuck and Jaemin argued so we were pushed for time and then Jisung lost his shoe getting out the car and then he got all grumpy and then- “

“Shut up. I get it dude; I was just trying to seem like a responsible authority figure. It’s bad enough with just Mark. I think somethings wrong; he’s been extra mopey you know? Before he was always giggling away on his phone at all hours, kept doing the facetime with someone at like midnight! I chickened out of telling him off for it, he seemed happy, you know?”

“Huh, we had the same issue with Hyuck like, last week? I’ll see if Doyoung knows if they’ve got into an argument or something, he usually knows – I on the other hand, never have a clue. Jisung is the only one who talks to me.”

“Jisung is literally three years old, what can he talk to you about?”

“Hey! We had a lengthy discussion on whether or not fruit winders have a different recipe, they don’t taste the same anymore, last week we discussed the new recipe for crème eggs – he’s not convinced on that one, I think he’s too young to remember what they were like before, but I know they’ve changed.”

“Rhetorical question Jaehyun, go do some work and bother Sehun instead, he covered your patients this morning, moved the ones with angry parents who will only work with those dimples. Love ya, thank you. Oh, happy anniversary! Janice will make sure you’re out by five at the latest for whatever plans you’ve got tonight. Oh god, please tell me you have plans – you know what never mind, go do work! And, get the dinosaur off your neck.”

“What- oh.” As per usual, Jaehyun had fallen victim to another of Jisung’s stickers, the toddler was currently obsessed with the packets of rainbow and dinosaur stickers Doyoung’s mother had brought with her a few weeks back, Jaehyun was beginning to think the packet was never-ending.

To say Doyoung wasn’t a fan of his husbands working hours was the understatement of the year. Jaehyun usually left at six-thirty in the morning, kissing Doyoung good bye just as Doyoung was getting up, and would return around eleven, or just as he was drifting off to sleep. Aside from Saturdays (from twelve pm) and Sundays, Doyoung felt like he never saw his partner. Let alone the two of them having time for parent-only activities with four kids constantly keeping their house alive and Doyoung on his toes. Sometimes it began to feel like the two lived alongside one another, no longer together like they used to. Doyoung longed for the days when things weren’t separated between the two of them, in more ways than one. He hadn’t known how to bring the conversation up with the younger but he knew they needed to have a conversation about the time they spent together, they barely made time for one another anymore, let alone the fact Doyoung couldn’t tell you the last time they’d actually managed to have sex (they had tried on multiple occasions, although not for a month or so now, but kept being interrupted by various incidents). Doyoung just wanted to wake up next to his husband, the sun having risen and the both of them colourful with markings of the night before. Maybe it had become some type of sick fantasy but he needed his husband more than ever. Doyoung treasured his days off, he was a vocal coach and with the majority of the trainees being younger than eighteen, he often found himself dealing with their drama – with a seventeen-year old and a sixteen year old at home and having already lived through his fair share of teenage drama, he was more than grateful for the time he spent away from it. He knew he needed to have a conversation with Donghyuck about Mark, the two hadn’t been speaking and Doyoung was well aware of it by now, and not in the slightest bit amused – he liked Mark, he was good for Hyuck and for Hyuck’s grades (yes, Doyoung was a fan of the free maths tutoring Mark gave Donghyuck, Hyuck excelled in most subjects but maths was one that just couldn’t keep up). Doyoung was also waiting for Jaemin to decide to talk to him about his feelings, Jaehyun would call him crazy if he mentioned anything to his husband but Doyoung saw the way Jaemin looked at Renjun, a fact him and Kun very much agreed on (without the knowledge of their husbands) and Doyoung knew the face of a pining-for-your-best-friend Jung very well, having been subjected to it for several years himself. God, Doyoung was not ready for his children to grow up but he knew he had to at some point, he’d had a girlfriend at this age, him and Jaehyun were only eighteen when they got together. Doyoung doesn’t entirely remember the night they first kissed, the night they first slept together, but that was part of the beauty of it – they skipped all the awkwardness and instead woke up the morning after to Jaehyun giggling away to himself, gazing at Doyoung’s still half-lidded eyes, noses a fraction apart, Jaehyun’s breath warm against the cool air of the room, his arm resting over his waist, gently wrapping around his body and his delicate touch caressing the small of his back. As far as Doyoung was aware, they had no plans for their anniversary, honestly Doyoung had thought the younger had forgotten at first – it wouldn’t surprise him anymore. Sure, maybe Doyoung himself could’ve organised something himself but with Jaehyun’s seemingly endless work hours, Doyoung couldn’t cope with the hassle of trying to arrange something around Jaehyun’s late nights and two young children who couldn’t be left home on their own (or in the company of their elder children as Doyoung didn’t entirely trust their babysitting capabilities. The most they’d celebrated their anniversary in the last few years would be Doyoung making something ‘special’ for dinner and Jaehyun bringing him flowers on his way home from work, last year Doyoung was lucky enough to get a blow job out of it too – he wasn’t expecting the same kind of treatment this year, he was expecting much less. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his husband, god he felt like it was beginning to sound like he only had complaints about him, he loves Jaehyun, more than he ever thought possible, but the younger didn’t always play into Doyoung’s complete fantasy and that was something Doyoung felt like he was missing in his life. He knew Jaehyun was perfectly content with where they were at, hence his hesitation to share his thoughts with his partner, maybe it wasn’t necessarily the right way of dealing with things but Doyoung was learning. Jaehyun wasn’t a romantic by any means and never had been for the entire time they’d known each other, sure he was a flirt and a damn good one at that, what with the adorable dimpled smile, drool-worthy abs he still somehow possessed despite being over the age of thirty-five and the smirk, the smirk that was the sole cause for Doyoung to have dropped to his knees on multiple occasions, and Doyoung loved that. But he wanted dinner dates and movie nights where they weren’t accompanied by a three-year old cuddled against Jaehyun’s chest or a seven-year old resting her head against one of Jaehyun’s thighs. For the lack of romanticism, Jaehyun certainly made up for it with how he was with their children. Jaehyun was a loving father, he was a complete softie when it came to their kids and it made Doyoung’s heart skip a beat every time he’d see the younger playing around with any of the kids. Be it lifting and swinging Soyeon around, her heart-warming giggles filling your ears, or eagerly listening to Jisung who was babbling away about his new friends he’d made at school, or playing the piano for and singing with Donghyuck or explaining new medical technology and research to Jaemin – who was actually interested and didn’t yawn unlike Hyuck. Doyoung was completely and whole-heartedly in love with his family, he is in love with his family.

Nevertheless, you can imagine his surprise, and complete confusion, when Jaehyun arrived home with their children at a quarter to five, shouting a quick hello to Doyoung who was currently lazing around on the sofa, watching some random k-drama he found (and was frankly now very invested in), before running up the stairs with Jisung latched to his side, the other children following close behind. His confusion only excelled when they all came back downstairs twenty minutes later, overnight bags in hand.

“Bye-bye appa, have a nice night with daddy. I promise to be good for uncle Ten and uncle Kun! Kun said we-we are going to make cookies!” A grinning Soyeon kissed his cheek, muttering another (adorable) bye-bye.

“I won’t see you until tomorrow evening, I have hockey practice so I’m going straight there with Yangyang,” Jaemin was next in whatever sort of queue of good night’s they had going on, “night appa.”

“I’ll see you in the morning with Jisung and Soyeon, rehearsals are cancelled tomorrow, night appa, have a good night.”

“Jisungie, say night-night to appa for daddy!”

“Nighty-night appa! I can’t wait to see Lele!”

“Jaehyun, care to tell me why our children are saying good night to me at,” Doyoung glanced at his phone resting on the table, “ten past five and look like they’re leaving the house and sound like it too?”

“Oh, right! I forgot to tell you, Kun and Ten have the kids tonight so we have some time to spend our anniversary together, alone.”

“Jesus dad that’s gross, there are children here, how dare you say that in front of Jaemin.”

“Shut up Hyuck, I’m not a baby.”

“Okay! Hyuck, Jaemin, get in the car,” turning his attention back to Doyoung, “I’ll be back soon, I’m making dinner so you stay there and carry on looking pretty.”

“Seriously dad! Gross!”

“Let’s go Hyuck!”

“Ah, good your back. Care to tell me why you’ve whisked my children away without telling me now?” Okay, maybe the bite to Doyoung’s voice was a little unnecessary but he was annoyed, those are his babies (no matter what Hyuck and Jaemin say) and he didn’t appreciate only being told they weren’t staying with them as they were leaving the house.

“I was speaking to Ten this morning and he suggested having the kids tonight, they were down to three so no there isn’t nine children currently wreaking havoc over there, so we could have time together and alone.” There it was, the signature Jung Jaehyun smirk, the one Doyoung was all too familiar with when he wanted a particular something, not that Doyoung hadn’t picked up on what he was alluding to in the first place.

“Oh, kinda sounds too good to be true at this point, god, when was the last time we had the house to ourselves for just an hour?”

“Too long Doie, far, far too long,” Jaehyun was muttering under his breath at this point, now having approached his husband and gave him what intended to be a soft kiss, but hey! Doyoung was needy and he didn’t mean to deepen it so much, nor did he mean to let out a little mewl when Jaehyun ran his hands through his hair. “Okay, more of that later, we have all night, food first baby.”

And so, a meal, plenty of wine, a calm evening and a couple of hours later, Jaehyun now finds himself on top of his husband, laying on their shared bed, lips currently attached to the elders neck (forming some lovely, dark, marks that Doyoung will definitely yell at him for in the morning although he’d decorated the youngers neck, shoulders and chest with the pretty marks) while he moans breathlessly for more. They’re happy, finally a night alone together where they can just be one with each other. Lips on lips, breath mixing, no hushed moans, “add another Jaehyun”, “right there Jaehyun”, “God you feel so good Jaehyun”, it was pure bliss. Jaehyun was all about pleasing his husband tonight, making him feel good, making him feel loved, showing his appreciation. Jaehyun was particularly skilled in the sex department, Doyoung would never attempt to deny that. As cliché as it was, his husband was damn good with his tongue and mouth in general and he knew exactly what to do with his (arguably) great dick. Therefore, you can imagine Jaehyun’s surprise, utter confusion and complete devastation upon the realisation that in the time between Jaehyun having made Doyoung orgasm for the first time that night (and with zero intention of that being the only time) and returning with a condom in hand (less messy), his dearesthusband had fallen asleep. Yes, was giving it big Z’s and all, blissfully unaware of the massive blue balls he’d just left the younger with and the massive pout currently on his face. How, how had the older fallen asleep? The hit to his ego was not good. So, continuing to pout, he cleans them up, tucking his husband under the covers (he was not dealing with the ‘I’m cold and you just left me’ whining in the morning), dealing with himself in a delightful cold shower and begrudgingly going to bed himself. What he definitely hadn’t accounted for would be Doyoung not having and recollection of this come the morning, curling up to the younger, kissing his neck, thanking him for last night, by word saying he was glad they’d finally had sex after so long – he explicitly said sex! Jaehyun couldn’t quite believe it and call him petty (he most definitely is, even if he tries to deny it) but he wasn’t okay with it and far, far, too embarrassed to tell Doyoung that he hadn’t gotten anything out of it. Quickly planting a light kiss to the elder’s forehead before getting out of bed and grumbling about having to go and pick up the kids. “Oh yay! I’m so happy you finally got some, now both of you can stop complaining to me about the lack of sex you’ve had in the past few months.” Clearly Ten was blindsided by the hickeys peaking out from the collar of Jaehyun’s t-shirt and was yet to notice the foul look on his face.

“I wish, you’ll get that from Doyoung at least because he seems to think we slept together last night.”

“What do you mean? How can he think you slept together?”

“It was great, plenty of making out, made him orgasm, went to go get a condom, I come back and he’s fast asleep,” god, Jaehyun was embarrassed, “Ten stop laughing, fucking hell.”

“I-I’m sorry but you’d built this up so much and you’d both been complaining so much and he fell asleep? At least he got an orgasm out of it, can’t say the same for you though, clearly you’re still tense.”

“I hate him. At least I wasn’t inside him but Jesus Christ I’m mortified. He doesn’t know, he thanked me this morning, said how happy he was our draught was finally over. Fuck Ten, what do I do?”

“Honestly, I’m not much help because once we had Lucas and Hendery we laid down ground rules on what we’d do if that ever happened to us and it’s never happened, yet anyway.”

“I can’t tell him what happened, like ‘hey, how are you baby, yes you did leave me with bloody massive blue balls last night – don’t worry though, I really enjoyed my cold shower’.”

“For god’s sake dad, there are children here.”

“Jesus Hyuck, I didn’t think you’d be awake.”

“I am awake, clearly, and scarred for life. Tell appa he’s disgusting for leaving those marks all over you.”

“He can’t do that Hyuck, ‘fraid your appa and dad aren’t speaking.”

“What?! Why?”

“Adult things Hyuck, Ten please stop.”

“For god’s sake dad, that’s disgusting.”

Oh, how did Jaehyun end up here.

[bereft-of-frogs]

Summer Project Check-In - July

How was July simultaneously the shortest and the longest month of the year? Time is a cube.

First off: Camp NaNoWriMo

Unless my math was very, very off (always possible) my July word count was 30,545. Which, I’m pretty happy with!

[And I didn’t count the really random scene that I just churned out in an afternoon that I haven’t posted, and won’t post until the Fall. ;-) ]

Specific Projects:

Marvel Big Bang: [aka ‘the dead reign there alone’ aka the ‘Hela wins AU’] Draft done! Draft is at 14,846 words! Yay!

Thorki Big Bang: [as of yet still untitled] Cleared the halfway point today, at 7,905! I still feel weird talking about this because I don’t normally ‘go here’ (though I do read it quite a bit, just don’t normally write it and I’m not really planning on writing a lot of this ship in future), but I thought it would be a good place to work out some of my own ‘plot bunnies’ and thoughts on what I like about this ship and...yeah. Barely go here, having a great time nonetheless. :-)

‘alone, amidst the ruins’: [aka the Endgame AU of the ‘nine in the tree’ series] Back third is...almost done, and we’re at 17,720. I’m reading a second nonfiction book seeking inspiration. I spent a long time the other day re-organizing and re-outlining things, and I’m confident even though this is slow-going, it will be satisfying in the end.

[latest ‘five minutes late to fandom with Starbucks, pre-Age of Ultron fic]: It’s at 2557 words and I have a lot of work to do but I have one scene I’m really into and when I have that level of ‘damn I like this’ I get determined enough to finish things. So hopefully I’ll get a burst of inspiration and get things done.

[oh god how have I acquired another AU series]: [aka the weird AU that sprung up from the alternate ending to a sickfic where Thor and Loki go the lam post-Avengers 1] I made a deal with myself. Halfway point of Thorki Big Bang, and the last third of the Endgame AU, and I’d write the next oneshot in this series. So, I’ve seen y’alls suggestions and prompts! But I made a deal with myself. ;-)

August is going to be a crazy month, I’m sure. I’m going camping next weekend, and then for the second two weeks of August I’ll be in Europe so I’m going to be on a complete break. Which is going to be great! I’m super excited!

But here’s what I want to accomplish in August:

-First week (pre-camping): Finish Worst Draft of the back third of ‘alone, amidst the ruins.’ That means next ‘oh god I’ve acquired another AU’ oneshot. (And thinking up an actual name for this series.) Depending on time/inspiration, bounce between the two Big Bangs. (I obvious still have half a fic to write for the Thorki Big Bang, and though the draft of my Marvel one is done, it’s, surprise, surprise, part of a trilogy. So I’d like to work a bit on the middle part before I take a break.)

-The like...three days between camping and getting on the plane: I’m really not expecting to get much done, between making sure my apartment’s in a state that I would want to come back to and packing for two weeks living out of a backpack. Rereading, casual editing. That’s really all I’m hoping to do.

-Second half of August: Nothing. Literally nothing. I have no expectations. I’m going to bring a notebook, in case I really feel inspired in between cities or something. But what I really want to do is take a break! Check out some museums! Cathedrals! Ruin bars. (Yes, we’ll be in Budapest for a bit!)

Thanks for putting up with these posts, everyone. I know they’re probably not actually that interesting, but having this kind of structure has helped a lot in an otherwise...aggressively unstructured summer. Which, even though this was The Plan, it’s been kind of hard for me to deal with. I’ve been having a lot of issues with...what defines productivity and what defines usefulness and having these kind of goals and sharing them on this blog has helped to really drive home that this is a kind of work, even if it’s not a kind of work that comes with...things that have traditional value under capitalism. (Money, something to put on the CV, social capital associated with productivity, etc etc etc.)

So yeah, even if these aren’t the most interesting posts, thank you for putting up with them! And thank you to everyone more generally, and especially to people who have chimed in with words of support, or encouragement (even if it’s contributing to me Acquiring More WIPs ;-)  ) or just random conversations. You guys are all so great, seriously. Thank you. <3

[ofsunshine-andrain]

Something More? (Jungkook X Reader)

A/N: This is super short but I decided to make it into maybe a two or three part fanfic. Hope you guys like this!

Genre: Fluff, high school au 

Word Count: 1k+

“Get off of me”

“What are you gonna do if I don’t?” he teased.

“You’re fucking dead once I get hold of you.”

Jungkook ignored your threats and continued to hold you down with tickles. He knew all the right spots where you were ticklish at. The only thought running through your mind at that time was how the hell has he grown so strong in the past few years. It used to be him that you would hold down and tickle.

Jungkook’s ringtone startled the both of you. You ceased the distraction and flipped him over instead.

“Phew, that was easy.” you lied. He was way stronger than you. “Try that again next time and I’ll teach you a lesson.” you said as you got off of him.

He grinned and reached out for his phone on your bedside table. You watched as his face change and knew who the call was from. You bet that it was from his “girlfriend”, Nayeon. You and Nayeon had a constant war against each other. She hated how much time you and Jungkook spent together. Her pretty face was a mask to her bitchy attitude. All the guys were blinded by her beauty to see her for who she is.

Jungkook was one of them.

“I gotta go.”

“Fortnite after school tomorrow?” you asked.

“Yeah sure, see ya.” he said as he left your room.

“Damn, Nayeon.” you thought to yourself. One phone call and he runs to her as if she’s dying or something. You rolled your eyes at the thought of her pretending to be all nice and innocent in front of Jungkook. That girl was the devil’s incarnate to you.

+

“Hey, don’t kill me but I can’t make it after school.”

You placed your textbooks into the locker and shut it. “Why? I was really looking to it? About time I beat your ass in Fortnite.”

“Nayeon has this dance practice thing that she wants me to go to.”

“But we had plans.”

“Sorry, I promise to make it up to you.”

“Fine. You owe me.”

“Thanks, I knew you’d understand.” he said while giving you a hug.

That afternoon, you played Fortnite alone hoping to finally win. You usually enjoyed playing Fortnite but for some reason you just weren’t feeling it. Scrolling through Facebook, you saw Jungkook post a picture with Nayeon.

A pang of annoyance and anger hit you. You didn’t know why you felt so strongly like that. Having a girlfriend doesn’t mean Jungkook have to give up all his friends. It wasn’t the first time that he cancelled plans with you at the last minute. You would get all excited to spend an afternoon with him before he calls and says he can’t make it after all.

The root of the problem - Nayeon.

+

You first met Jungkook when you were six. He had just moved into the neighbourhood and his mum and yours had set up a playdate. At first, you refused to play with him because you didn’t know him. But after he pointed out that the bunny on his shirt looks like your favourite stuff toy, you decided that he wasn’t that bad. By the end of the day, both his and your mum had a whole collection of photos of the playdate that they had secretly taken.

The memories of that day, hangs on the wall of your house stairway. Your mum had a thing where she liked to photograph every birthday, school event and festive season. She would then develop the photographs, frame and hang them on the stairway wall. You liked how it reminded you of happy memories. It was like walking down memory lane.

After the playdate with Jungkook when you were six, the pictures on the stairway wall quickly got filled up with pictures of you and Jungkook. Each birthday party you had, he was sure to be there. When your parents went away for the weekend, you would stay over at Jungkook’s. It was things like that which strengthen your friendship.

You didn’t want to be that friend who gets jealous once her best friend has a girlfriend. But a small part of you felt him change ever since he started dating Nayeon. It was a subtle change but you felt it. 

+

“Class get your lab coats and partner up.”

One of the many things you missed was having Jungkook as your lab partner. Now, he partners up with Nayeon instead. You sat down on an empty seat beside some guy in class. He looked familiar and you’re almost certain you had other classes with him.

“Hey.” you said.

The boy nods instead of saying anything. He introduced himself as Kim Namjoon. You realised what a good choice you made because this was the boy who scores first in every subject. With him, chemistry is gonna be a park in the park. 

Practically every Chemistry class you had, you zoned out. Namjoon was an amazing lab partner because he knew everything he was doing. You, on the other hand, were clueless. It felt like a potion class to you where you had to pour liquids of different colours. 

“Aren’t you tired of staring?” 

“Huh?” you replied.

“At him. You’ve been staring at him for almost half an hour.” He pointed at Jungkook and Nayeon’s direction. “Go confess already.”

“No, I wasn’t. I was looking at the fire thingy in the cupboard behind him.” You started to turn red with embarrassment.

“You mean the Bunsen burner?”

“Yeah the Bo-sen something.”

“Well it must be interesting because you stare at it every week.” he teased.

“No I don’t.” you defended yourself. “Now, what are we doing?” you asked.

That night, you restlessly turned about in bed. You thought about what Namjoon said and it struck you. Do you like Jungkook? It feels impossible because you were there when he wet his bed, when he cried from a horror movie and not to mention his pimply puberty phase. You are his childhood friend. How can you possibly have fallen for him?

After tossing and turning for an hour, you decided to put an end to those thoughts. You grabbed your phone from your bedside table and texted Jungkook.

“Are you awake?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Can I come over? I can’t sleep.”

“Sure.”

Five minutes later, you stood at his front door. You didn’t wanna knock in case you woke his parents up. 

“I’m outside.” you texted him.

Jungkook opens the door and lets you in. Instinctively, you head straight for his room and made yourself comfortable on his bed. He smiles upon seeing you curled up at your regular spot in his room. His house felt like your second home. 

“Whatcha doin?” you asked him.

“Watching youtube. Why couldn’t you sleep?”

You shrugged not knowing if you should tell him what you were thinking about. “Let’s have a sleepover like we used to have.”

“Sure.” he said as he headed to the linen closet. 

After the blanket fort was set up, the both of you laid inside it with a tub of ice cream. It really felt like the old times. Midway of the movie, you decided to ask him a question. 

“Hey, do you love Nayeon?” 

He paused the movie to answer your question. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” 

“I don’t know... its complicated.” 

“You know that smart kid in class? The one I’m lab partners with. He said something weird in class today.” You turned and looked at him.

He stared back wondering what you were going to say.

“He suggested that maybe I liked you.”

Jungkook was surprise to hear that but there was something else that he was more curious to know about. “Well, do you?”

“I mean-” you stammered not knowing how to answer him. To be honest, you weren’t quite sure yourself. That was the whole point of coming over. It was for you to get an answer to that question. 

Lying side by side, the both of you locked eyes. You felt you heartbeat quicken as you stared deep into his eyes. Never once, in the last eleven years have you felt something like that with him. This was a new feeling.

You weren’t quite sure if you liked it. 

“Well, why don’t we find out?” he said as he moved closer to you. Before you knew it, you felt his soft lips on yours. You were too stunned to do anything at first but you slowly melted into the kiss. 

When it was over, you couldn’t help but want more. You got your answer now and you didn’t know what to do with it.

“I gotta go.” you said hurriedly as you left his house. 

Jungkook called out after you but you ignored him. You got home and slumped on your bedroom floor. What the fuck just happened? He had a girlfriend and yet he still kissed you. You weren’t mad with the kiss, you actually kinda liked it but that was besides the point. What was he thinking? What’s gonna happen from here on?

[cherryalt]

Beginning

Intro: Wednesday 05/06/19 - So I’ve been wanting to start a short journal about what I do, how I do it, and just document some things in regards to my life. The issue is I am notoriously known for starting something and never going ahead with the task at hand so, it really wouldn’t surprise me if I give this up after a week or so. Nevertheless I am going to do a beginning post, because why the f**k not never hurt to try something new. It’s currently cold, I’m drinking tea, and wondering how I should upload this cute selfie of myself onto instagram. By the time this post is done, that selfie will be up and... this whole sentence will be pointless :) In this post i’ll go through some pondering things, experiences, and also a bonus paragraph down the bottom :)

Podcast?: I’ve been going to gym for the past three weeks now, just to give myself that little bit of get up and go I really need and... it’s been going surprisingly well. I mean, haven’t been getting out of bed as early as I would like, but I have been getting to the gym and doing a decent amount of cardio. And while exercising I’ve been doing something I don’t normally do. Listen to podcasts, art podcasts in fact, and man - sometimes it really does give me the drive to keep pushing through some of the stuff I’m facing every day. Just hearing some of the misery and hardships that other artists face, is really helping me provide a positive outlook on my day. Especially with the traumatic experience of my last *creative* job, causing me to dive into an existential depression. We live in such a visual culture because of social media applications, where all this status is represented by high living, beauty, and large numbers; and that this is what the actual representation of the artist is. Yet completely ignoring other factors and points which have more importance and significance over the work. And sometimes, so many people just forget having a laugh at all the serious wank that is produced today is more than often really how art should actually be received. And that’s a positive not a negative. I’ll link the references of what art podcasts I’ve been listening to down the bottom.

So this all got me to thinking... what if I did a podcast? Would it be engaging? Would people listen? Is my voice pleasing to the ear? Am I just copying my flatmate, or am I merely just inspired by him? These are all questions I’ve been thinking about, and also... am I as a person with feelings and opinions INTERESTING? ? ? I feel like to some extent I am, maybe, hopefully - is that self-centered to say? I just think I’m over the top, so, charisma I can supply. So I’ve kind of been mentally brainstorming some ideas around about what I could talk about, trending topics, the execution, the attraction - and I think I’m gonna take the dive. I’m inviting my friend Gen along, who I think would really help support the engagement and just keep the whole thing entertaining. Title idea - Shan & Gen Talk About Shiz. It’s a working progress.

Panic Attack: On other news, two nights ago I had the unfortunate experience of having a panic attack completely out of the blue which was definitely not fun. The whole weekend I had been feeling quite shit, some things just weren’t adding up, and for the whole time I was in the state of a bad mood. So before that, me and Gen had spent some time working on the creation of our *handmade* tote bags (which is going very slowly through trail and error). So after that, I came back home and did what I always do - hopped on the computer to do some work. I’m currently working for a small charity and *attempting* to design some motion graphics for them. So while I sat there at my computer looking at the screen, my head just became blank all of a sudden. I was very tired. Very tired. My breathing became slow and hard. The idea of bed wasn’t an option, I had to go to bed. So I slowly, walked up the stairs, jumped into bed, and put myself under the covers. I kept there in silence with my eyes open, for around twenty minutes. I truly believed I was lying. To then shorten things up, I knew I was in a bad place. I don’t know what caused it, how it happened, or why it was happening; but I knew I needed help. So I did what I always do in these situations - I called my mum up. I spoke with her for about an hour, doing breathing exercises and listened to her voice. I then sat up and started building a small nano-block figurine of a sexy bunny girl?? thanks japan. I messaged Gen to get some Valium, so she came over helped me out and just had some casual conversation with me. Thanks to drugs, I ended up falling asleep peacefully in the comfort of my sheets. Luckily the next day I woke up feeling a lil woozy, and a small headache - but recovered from my incident. 

Conclusion: I could write a whole lot more, but I think I’ll keep it short and sweet for now and leave those other topics for another day. This week has been a challenge one for me, and truthfully I feel every week for me is challenging all in different aspects. But it’s nice to know I’ve got people rely on, and come help me when I’m having an emergency. I think lately these downfalls all come to the factor that I am as a person creatively lost a bit. I did a degree which I don’t want to utilize, I had a job which I fucking hated, and the capitalist nature in which our society functions is depressing. So what does this mean for me? Well, I don’t know haha - but I don’t think it hurts to just keep living, trying out new avenues in creativity and just experiment with things. And whilst I’m not making any money off of these little projects, I’m gaining experience in new fields and most importantly having fun with it. Fingers crossed I won’t be receiving any future panic attacks, but *just* in case, I did go to the doctors and have gotten some good stuff for those emergency situations. So until next time, if you’ve made it this far thanks for being fab. I’ll post some cute things below. And if you did read this and enjoy it, please message me and let me know - will actually make my month lol.

Bonus:

PODCASTS:

- Abbi Jacobson, A Piece of Work  https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/pieceofwork (love this, very fun chill and good vibes. Not too intense)

- Honor Eastly, Starving Artist https://starvingartistpodcast.com/ (so grounded, so real. Chill and fun, and hit some pretty cool points. Longer episodes though, so settle in)

- Jennifer Dasal, Art Curious http://www.artcuriouspodcast.com/artcuriouspodcast (some of these I’m so into I am like oh my god, yas yas. Some are a bit eh, boring. But really good to get into if you wanna learn more about art history!)

CURRENT READ:

- Omar Kholeif, Goodbye World! Looking at Art in the Digital Age https://www.amazon.com/Omar-Kholeif-Goodbye-Looking-Digital/dp/3956793099 (trying to get into digital art more as a style, really vibing this book. Good references too! Tad bit expensive though for a small book)

- Lars Martinson, Tonoharu https://www.amazon.com/Tonoharu-Part-One-Lars-Martinson/dp/0980102324 (I don’t know if I recommend this or not! It’s all about that white person living in Japan experience - so I feel if you picked this up and had no knowledge about the situation the whole book would come off as awkward or weird. But I really enjoyed it!)

CURRENT MUSIC:

- Nilufer Yanya, Miss Universe https://niluferyanya.bandcamp.com/album/miss-universe (I really dug this album, its like that digital anxiety themed pop album. which I am so in the mood for right now. It also gives me chill the xx vibes! I recommend)

OTHER:

Pic of me hi xoxo

My nanoblock bunny creation. Complete with cleavage.

[mad-madam-m]

So I'm just curious, how do you get yourself to write? And do you use prompts and if you do where do you get them? I meant to use NaNo to get me to write but it took 4 days into November for me to realize November started so I failed lol. I've been meaning to start this original thing and it's just not...working.

First of all, anon, you could start writing RIGHT NOW (yes, with 10 days left in the month) and you would not fail NaNo. You might not hit 50k (although I know people who have hit 50k in that amount of time, or less), but you won’t fail. NaNoWriMo isn’t about hitting 50,000 words so much as it is about putting a stake in the ground and saying, “Here. Today. I will start writing the project I’ve always wanted to.” And doing it. Doesn’t matter what that project is—original novel, short stories, fic, poetry, revising something, a series of blog posts—NaNo is about just. Fucking. Doing it. And you still have time to Do It.

To answer your questions:

Do you use prompts and if you do, where do you get them?

For original stories, particularly novels, I usually don’t. For fic, particularly short fic I’m writing for events, I do. Tumblr has a wealth of writing prompts that range from “here’s a situation” to “here’s a line of dialogue GO,” and I tend to reblog them under the tags “fic prompts” or “writing prompts.” Honestly, most of them would work for either original fic or fanfic, so if you are a writer who likes to work from prompts, go forth and enjoy!

How do you get yourself to write?

That’s kind of a big question, and uh, the answer to it got long. Very long. (I said once that if you give me half a chance, I’ll talk about writing all the live-long day, and this answer is no exception.)

Different things motivate me for different projects, and as with all writing-related advice, YMMV, but here’s a few things that really help for getting myself to write:

1) Develop your story.

The current original story I’m working on, for example, I have not really had to struggle to get myself to write at all because 1) I’m stupid excited about it and 2) I have developed the hell out of it.

I’ve talked before about outlining my stuff here, so I won’t go too much into it again; suffice it to say that I have done about the same amount of development on my current original story that I had on ADA by the time I started writing. I started around the very end of September developing my characters and spent a good chunk of October working on setting, worldbuilding, plot, and finally my notecards.

Shockingly, having some idea of what’s happening and where I’m going is making this story easier to write.

Right? Like WHO’D HAVE THOUGHT.

Because of that, I’ve been excited about writing my story, so getting myself to write on it has been (comparatively) a cakewalk.

That’s not to say any of the writing is good (oh God no) or that there aren’t parts that need fixing, or that I haven’t been stuck. But it’s been stuck like “how do I describe seeing a tree-covered mountain in the middle of fall from the POV of someone who has never seen something like this” rather than “I have no fucking clue what happens next uh…”

The stories I struggle the most with writing are the ones that I’ve worked the least on developing. The stories that have been the easiest to write have been the ones I’ve spent at least a month doing prep work on before I ever start drafting.

2) Love your story.

Being in love with a story makes it a lot easier to write, at least for me. Because here’s the thing, ideas are easy.

If you’re a creative person, you’re going to end up with a file of story ideas—maybe prompts you liked, dialogue that stuck with you, one of those “humans are space orcs” tumblr posts that’s just really clicking in your brain—that will be longer than you could conceivably write if you had a hundred lifetimes. That’s okay! That’s great. But it means a lot of them are never going to get past the idea stage.

For me, the stories that get finished—the ones that not only get started but actually make it through the first draft and then three rounds of editing and revisions—are the ideas that I’ve been percolating on for months, if not longer. They’ve been cooking in the back of my brain while I’ve been doing other things, sorting themselves out, and most importantly: they will not let me go.

Coming up with ideas is easy. Finding an idea that will last and sustain a story and my interest for at least a year, if not longer? That’s harder.

Y’all know how much I’ve been talking about Tiger & Bunny over the past year? We’re talking that level of obsession with a story that I want to write, whether it’s fic or original. Sometimes it takes months or years for all the puzzle pieces to come together. Sometimes the whole thing will congeal within a few weeks, or there will be one crucial piece of story that will just make EVERYTHING come together, I will literally shout “OH MY FUCKING GOD” and that’s it, I’m off to the races. (In this particular case, it wasn’t anything I’d done in the first two weeks of poking at steampunk-y ideas; it was the realization that I could put a circus on an airship. The whole story just went WHOOSH after that.)

BUT. But. Sometimes you don’t have that. These stories are great and I love them and they remind me why I love writing so much (and if you’re writing something that’s gonna be 90k+, like I have a tendency to do, you need to be in love with it, IMO), but sometimes you’re in situations where you just have to get it done. In those cases:

3) Resort to bribery.

I’ve been poking at the third part of Alpha & Emissary, oh, basically since I posted the second part. My problem is that my fandom focus has been, shall we say, split for the past year. *coughs delicately, shoves Tiger & Bunny fics under the bed*

But here’s the thing: I hate having a published WIP on AO3 (it’s why I don’t publish long!fics until they’re completely drafted and mostly edited). I hate—HATE—having an unfinished series on AO3.

So that’s the rub: I have an unfinished series that I want to finish because I hate that it’s not finished. I also have a new fandom that is wresting my attention and inspiration away from said series. What’s a girl to do?

A girl tells herself she can’t write any more Tiger & Bunny fic until she finishes this one WIP, that’s what she does.

And it’s motivated me to sit my ass down and work on that WIP, because goddammit, I have a “but there was only one bed” TaiBani fic that I would really like to have up by New Year’s.

Your bribery will be different. Maybe you get to watch 1 episode of your favorite show per every 1k you write, or you get to try a new knitting project when you finish this short story. Maybe you binge-watch an entire season of your favorite anime if you exceed your NaNo goal. Or you write 50 words and get a cookie. The point is, find what works for you to get it done.

4) Figure out a minimum daily goal and stick with it.

For me, this was 500 words a day. 500 words. That’s it. That’s one 30-minute word sprint for me. That’s something I can do without stressing myself out.

Because of this point and point 3, I wrote more than 7000 words on a story I’d been stuck on for the better part of a year before I had to stop to work on NaNo stuff. Another 7k, and I’ll probably have it finished.

Your minimum word count will almost certainly be different. Maybe it’s 300 words a day, maybe it’s 1000. Hell, maybe it’s 100 words. Again, find what works for you, what you can write regularly without stressing yourself out.

Another important thing: If I didn’t hit 500 words, I didn’t beat myself up about it. Maybe I wrote 350. Or 220. Or just 93. The point is, did I write? Yes? Then I did good. I got myself a sentence or a paragraph closer to finishing. And it all adds up.

(And hey, you don’t have to write every day. I do, or I try to, because that’s what works for me. If it stresses you out to do so, then find another way to make it work.)

5) Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines.

This one’s hard because I can rarely keep a deadline that’s not set by an external source. If you tell me on December 20 that you need a story by December 22? Then on December 22, you’ll have a story, edited and ready to post. But when it comes to something I set for myself, the chances of a deadline working are 50/50.

That being said, it is something that helps me keep on track and even if I don’t finish something by a self-imposed deadline, it does get me writing.

6) Sprint with friends!

NaNo is really great for this because all your writer friends are coming out of the woodwork going I need to hit 5k by the end of today, will you sprint with me? Sometimes it just helps to have that kind of accountability. You all get together (I’ve used Discord, Google Hangouts, IRC, and Twitter DMs for this), set a timer, and write for 15 minutes or 20 minutes or 30 minutes. Then, when the time’s up, you post your word count, everybody congratulates everybody else, and then you take a break before doing the next one.

Sprints are the reason I’ve been able to make some pretty significant headway on my word counts, and few things get me writing like knowing I’m going to have to tell everybody in my group what my word count is in 30 minutes or less. >.>

Like I said earlier, YMMV on all of these. What works for me may work for you, or it might not. But if you aren’t sure, it’s worth giving it a shot.

Happy writing!