#do NOT suggest 'healthy' foods to me youre making it worse.

[gayday]

why food have calorie in it :( "healthy" food is nasty i want 0 calorie cheeburger we went to the moon why cant we make cheeseburger with no calorie in it!!!!!!! i shouldnt ahve to eat things that taste bad to be 'healthy'

[hawkeyedflame]

.

[slytherinshua]

I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU

genre. fluff. sick fic. warnings. reader is sick (fever, headache, nausea). food mention (soup). pairing. sungchan x fem!reader. wc. 754. request. requested by anon: currently dying atm... would live for sungchan taking care of me rn :( a/n. just me continuing to write sungchan as the most boyfriend material™️ to ever exist. also i swear im gonna be finishing those event drabbles soon i'm just sidetracking skdjks help.

“You need to eat, baby.” Sungchan coaxed, holding up a spoonful of soup for you.

“Don‘t want it.” You mumbled in response, close to tears at just the thought of eating anything. 

You had felt nauseous almost all day, accompanied with a raging headache and a rising fever. Sungchan had dropped everything to come take care of you as soon as he heard you were feeling under the weather. You appreciated that you didn’t have to be alone in your misery, but you wished that your boyfriend would yield to your suggestion of just sleeping all day instead of taking medicine and food.

“It’s good for you. Come on, Y/n, please? Don’t make me have to do the airplane.” He held the bowl a little closer to you, hoping that the smell of fresh hot soup would persuade you. It did almost the opposite.

“Eating anything right now sounds like a nightmare, Sungie. Especially this soup…” You wrinkled your nose, trying not to breathe in any more of the aroma that on a normal day would make you salivate. Being sick was the worst.

Sungchan seemed to finally give up on the soup, placing the bowl and spoon down on the bedside table and slumping back to the side of the bed. He reached out for your hand, rubbing his thumb along your knuckles. Just the small gesture made you infinitely more sleepy than you already were. You would’ve just succumbed to the tiredness if Sungchan hadn’t opened his mouth to say something.

“You have to eat later, though. Okay? I can make you something else if you really hate the soup, but your body still needs nutrients.” He frowned at how exhausted you looked, even though you had done nothing but sleep and watch shows for the past day.

“I’ll try.” You closed your eyes again, considering the conversation done for now. You weren’t sure what Sungchan would do now. He had offered to cuddle with you many times, but you had outright refused each time he brought it up. You’d feel even worse if you got him sick, so you were trying to limit your contact as much as you could. 

Plus, from prior experience, you knew Sungchan had the worst cases of man colds known to the universe. Taking care of him when he was sick was listening to him whine and complain 24/7. No matter how much you loved him— even when you had to take care of him— you would always prefer healthy Sungchan.

“You must be cold sleeping by yourself.” The words came almost as a whisper, and much closer to your ear than you anticipated. You were too tired to open your eyes again, but you could feel that Sungchan had gotten on the bed with you, laying behind you to spoon you, one hand on your waist pulling you closer to him.

“Go away, I don’t want you to catch it.” You said meekly. You and Sungchan both knew you wouldn’t fight for him to leave in your state, though.

“I want to nap with you. I’ll keep you warm.” He said softly. He shifted even closer to you so that he could plant a kiss on your shoulder. You could hear him giggle slightly and feel his warm breath hit your skin. 

It felt nice. Even though your body probably felt hot to the touch, you had been freezing under 2 blankets all day. Nothing quite kept you as warm as Sungchan. His bordering on giant height and broad shoulders served their purpose in keeping you embraced completely; like your own personal heater in boyfriend form.

“You’ll get sick…” You mumbled one last time when you felt Sungchan start to press more kisses to your skin. You knew it would accomplish nothing. He was as stubborn as you were, and if it came down to it, he had at least 10 times the physical strength that you did, especially when sick. 

“I don’t care.” He muttered, his kisses steadily trailing up towards your forehead. He pressed a soft kiss to your temple, silently willing your headache to go away. 

You were sure that there was no real way that his kisses could actually relieve the ache in your head, yet in your half-asleep state, you felt as if the pain almost completely went away the second his soft lips came in contact with your burning skin. With the comfort of Sungchan next to you, slipping away to your dreams felt easier than breathing.

↳ riize taglist: @eternalgyu,, @kangtaehyunzzz,, @weird-bookworm,, @haecien,, @seolboba,, @cyberpunksunwoo,, @cosmicwintr,, @chiiyuuvv,, @evalevaeva,, @lecheugo

[b4mpyre-k1zz3s]

Omg Hii!! So I was wandering if you could do a Bam x female reader where they both are mean to each other all the time in a joking way of course and like the others are always wandering how their relationship works and is healthy when they always seem to be doing something??

Bam X Mean!Y/N HC’s!

Bam Margera X Fem!Reader

Warnings: Extremely suggestive content, crude language, playful bullying

An: Thank you so much for this request!! Honestly, I find this kind of dynamic really endearing because it shows how close two people are that they can get away with being kind of mean to each other :D I was inspired to write this after looking Bam’s name up on Urban Dictionary! Anyways, thank you for the request and please keep sending them!!

None of the guys could understand why Bam and you stayed together given the fact you seemingly hated each other’s guts

Making it even worse was the fact that you were on your boyfriend’s level when it came to the maturity (or lack thereof) of your insults.

You weren’t sure what you were originally fighting about this time,

But, like usual with you, it just devolved into name calling and puerile verbal attacks,

“Yeah- I hope you fall on that dumbass belt buckle so I can see it slice your dick off!”

Bam cracked a grin, seeing an opportunity, “Ohh, so you wanna see my dick, huh?” His go to defense in these situations usually was to make things sexual

Which you would meet with disgust, of course, “Ugh! Hell no! Keep that fuckin’ thing away from me.”

That response he found particularly hilarious, as evident by the fact that it was the only response he would give to any question you asked him for the next week, imitating your voice in a high falsetto.

Back and forth, day in and day out- you would think the two of you would eventually get tired of it

But even when you were talking to the other guys, you seemed to have nothing but nasty things to say about each other!

Take, for example, the time you got word that Bam was joking about your sex life with his dumb little buddies.

It was only brought to your attention after Novak pulled you aside one day because he wanted to know if you could really put your ankles behind your head

Rolling your eyes you scoffed, “Seriously? Bam said that?”

“Well, maybe you can ask him if he really sounds like a girl when I blow him.”

Your boyfriend got back at your sass with his pranks and usual bullshit,

Like waking you up at three am by throwing his body on your bed just because he got the urge to tackle you,

Or nabbing food you were making for yourself and scarfing it down right in front of you

With how often you were at each other’s throats, it’s understandable that some of the guys were confused why the hell you were together in the first place, but it was pretty simple:

Besides the fact you had known Bam since forever, you had the same sense of humor.

No matter if it was him and you in freshman year, laughing at Newgrounds cartoons on your family computer or the two of you trying to explain to the comedic nuances of BASEketball and Robin Hood: Men in Tights to Ryan-

Who, despite the both of your explaining it in detail, never heard you out.

But who cares- insulting each other and getting away with it was just how you showed love

[bluehoodiewoozi]

Dreamers

Lee Seokmin (DK) x fem!reader

Genre: mostly fluff, with a hint of anxiety

Word Count: 10.9k

Wanings: food mentions. adult language. a few parts may come off as suggestive, but not really. y/n is an environmentalist but not vegan.

[Series: Serenity Street 17] Sleepwalking is a nasty issue. You find yourself in the correct building but wrong apartment, sharing a room with a ridiculously cute boy who seems to find it amusing.

Note: This one goes out to all of my ambitious girlies! Keep working towards your dreams!

The moment you stepped onto the evening bus you regretted the decision. 

With a bright smile, Sunny greeted you, rushing to move her bags into her lap so you could take the seat next to her, all while never once taking her eyes off you. Her brows rose in a questioning manner. You cursed under your breath as your neighbour’s usual warm smile morphed into a look of disbelief when you sank into the seat next to her.

With a sigh, you raised a hand to silence her. “I know.”

But she didn’t take the hint. “When was the last time you slept? Did you sleep at all last night?”

“Why do you keep asking questions you already know the answer to?” you whined and hugged your bag close to your chest. “I’m sure you heard me showering at 3 am.”

“The bags under your eyes aren’t supposed to make it look like you have a black eye,” she told you as if she hadn’t heard you at all, still eyeing you in worry. “How much did you sleep? You look worse than Jeonghan when he thought I was mad at him.”

“Does it matter?” You huffed. “At least I’m getting some rest.” 

“I think it only counts as rest if you actually get 8 hours of sleep every once in a while,” she countered with a snicker, “which, by the looks of it,” she gave you a once-over, followed by a disappointed a sigh, “you haven’t had in years.”

“I sleep just fine. I’m healthy, I am productive,” you defended and tightened your hold on your bag. “Sleep is for the weak anyway.”

Sunny rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I wonder how you’re friends with me but not Jihoon. Your mentality is almost identical.”

“Listen, somebody has to do the work. And unlike some, I’d actually like my work to amount to something bigger than an average paycheck that barely covers my bills. I have ambitions. I want to make the world a better place.”

“Honey, at this rate you’re not gonna live long enough to see your ambitions come to life,” she grumbled under her breath and linked your arms. “It’s okay to rest every once in a while. Take a week off from work and actually just do something fun for a change.”

You grimaced. “I’d rather not. Messes with my groove.”

Sunny had no words left to say. She stared at you with a wide mouth for a moment before sputtering, “How– How are we friends?”

“Fate brought us together so you could nag me at all possible hours,” you joked, looking out the window now to avoid missing your stop. “But seriously, I don’t need to rest. I love my job and my colleagues and I’m making a change.”

“You should at least go to sleep early tonight.”

“Can’t. I have a big report due next week and I don’t want to miss my deadlines.”

Her gaze hardened immediately as she cursed, “Why, you little–”

“Hey!”

“I’m just worried about you,” she mumbled through a pout just as your bus arrived at your shared destination. With a begrudging sigh, she unlinked your arms and gave you an encouraging pat on the shoulder as the two of you stood up and walked over to the door “Well, I guess it’s your life. But I swear–” she pointed at your face, eyes squinted in a glare; she interrupted herself mid-sentence, “no, I vow that if you collapse under the stress, I’ll personally go and hand in a letter of resignation in your name.”

You scoffed at her empty promises, smiled, and stepped off the bus. You had no doubt you would be just fine and she was overreacting over nothing. She couldn’t wrap her mind around your work ethic and goals – she was built of an entirely different wood.

Then again, you couldn’t deny you often felt a little jealous of her. The nagging feeling hit once again when you looked up to find Jeonghan standing at the gate of your building, his smile widening the closer Sunny and you got to him. You envied that she had found – through trials and tribulations, you’d admit – a perfect man to brighten her days while you had no time to even contemplate romance.

“How was your day, my beautiful lady?” Jeonghan greeted your neighbour with a sweet kiss on her forehead before taking her bag and leading her inside with a hand on her back. He didn’t forget to offer you a welcoming smile and a friendly “good evening” as well, both of which you returned.

“Are you going to the 5th floor tonight?” you asked them as the three of you trudged up the stairs and they made no effort to walk to her apartment. 

Sunny nodded. “It’s movie night and he has the bigger TV.”

Jeonghan let out a loud ‘ha!’ and grinned at her victoriously. “So you admit it. My TV’s better than yours!”

“That’s–” She sighed deeply. “That is not the point right now–”

“How is it not?”

Unable to continue watching their lovers’ quarrel, you hummed and waved them goodbye before promptly unlocking your apartment, walking in, and quickly locking it again as if their bickering or cheesy nicknames could otherwise follow after you. 

You had far more important things to do, after all. 

With a tired sigh, you warmed up some of last night’s leftovers and opened your laptop. The familiar Times New Roman font on your screen prompted a soft groan, but still you squared your shoulders and got to work. 

If you were quick, you’d get this done way before the deadline. Maybe you could even go to work in the morning with a nearly finished report! You smiled at the thought. 

But life doesn’t always go as expected. 

You thought you were old enough to know this fact already. After all, when had life ever followed your expectations? It seemed to enjoy throwing curve balls right at your head.

You woke up with a splitting headache at 7 am, an hour before your usual alarm. It was strange – you concluded so as you stared at the time on your phone through a squint. With a soft huff, you let the phone drop back onto the mattress and your head onto the pillows.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” you then heard a voice.

Your eyes snapped open. There was someone in your room. 

The voice sounded apologetic as it continued in a whisper, “It’s okay. I didn’t mean to make any noise. Sorry. Let me just get my shirt and–”

You sat up abruptly to stare at the intruder – a handsome familiar-looking man shuffled around the walk-in closet. Worst of all – he was shirtless. You dreaded to think of what had happened the night before.

“Who– Who are you?” you stuttered out, instinctively lifting the blanket higher against your torso despite the fact that you were fully clothed. “Why are you in my apart–” 

Then it hit you. The worst of the worst realities. 

“Holy shit, this isn’t my apartment!” you screamed and jumped out of bed to apologise profusely. “I’m so so sorry! I had no idea! I don’t how–”

“Hey, hey!” The man – now wearing a crispy white button-up shirt – walked out of the closet hurriedly, a worried smile on his face as he rushed to comfort you with a gentle hand on your back, leading you to sit back on the bed. “It’s okay.” He let out a laugh. “I was going to let you sleep for a while more. It’s okay.”

You had no clue how he could be so calm about this. What the hell happened last night?!

You stuttered. You sputtered. You gasped for air like a fish out of the water. You were on the verge of a panic attack at 7 am in the morning and he was smiling, all while patting and rubbing your back like it was the most natural thing. 

“Why am I here?” you eventually managed to breathe out. You hated to admit that his calm and friendly nature was helping you adjust to the situation.

He raised a brow, his soothing movements stopping. “I was hoping you could answer that.” 

When you made no move to do so and only offered him a puzzled look, he shrugged. “I woke up to someone trying to unlock my door at 2 am. Almost cried, actually, but then I heard a knock and Mingyu telling me to open the door, so I did and you…” He gestured widely to his room. “Well, you came in and went straight to bed as if it was your own home. I didn’t know what to do but Mingyu and I figured you needed to rest.”

You stared at him with a dropped jaw. “You didn’t think to call the police?”

“Well,” he grimaced, “I was going to but you really looked like you needed to sleep.” He gave you a worried look, inspecting your face. “You still do, actually. Do you sleep at all, like, outside of my bed?”

“I sleep plenty,” you scoffed and got out of the bed, wiping your face with your sleeves as if to rid it of any evidence that might suggest otherwise. With an awkward look, you bowed and began heading out. “Well, thank you for… your hospitality. I’ll get going. I’m sorry for bothering you. This won’t happen again.”

Before he could say another word, you slammed the door shut behind you and began heading… where were you heading?

You looked around the hallway. It was still your building. You could recognise these hallways even in your sleep. A quick glance informed you that you had just stepped out of apartment 1D – the apartment directly below yours.

You groaned as the realisation sank in that you could never visit the first floor without feeling awkward again. With a sigh, you headed up the stairs to your own apartment.

“Isn’t that Seokmin’s apartment?” Sunny pointed out when you told her of your horrible adventure on the bus home from work later that day. She frowned a little as she tried to recall exactly who lived there. 

“Whoever it was, at least it wasn’t Jihoon.” You shuttered to even think about it.

Sunny grimaced. “Yeah, I’d be bailing you both out of jail right about now.” She then shrugged. “Yeah, I think that’s Seokmin’s apartment. He really just let you stay the night there?”

“Apparently?” You wanted to laugh at the insanity of the situation. “I have no recollection of what happened or how I ended up there. The last thing I remember is working on my report in my kitchen and then waking up in a shirtless man’s apartment.”

“Shirt–” She almost broke her neck at the speed she turned her head to look at you with wide eyes. “He was shirtless when you woke up?!”

“He was getting dressed for work–”

“Well, is he hot?!”

You had never wanted to throw someone out of a moving vehicle so much before. “Is this what you’re focusing on right now? I’m going through a crisis here!”

“Yeah but–”

“You literally have a boyfriend!”

“Yeah, but–” She paused mid-excuse and nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Right. You have a point there.”

“How did I possibly end up in his apartment at night without remembering it?” you contemplated, leaning your head back against the seat. “I can’t think of a single explanation.”

“It is weird,” Sunny hummed in agreement as the bus rolled to your stop. The two of you got off. 

“Where’s Jeonghan?” you wondered in surprise upon not seeing him all the way up to the second floor.

Sunny shrugged, still deep in thought about your predicament. “I don’t know. Probably causing trouble with Junhui again. Possibly getting on Joshua’s or Hyesoo’s nerves. Maybe he stole someone’s mail or took the hinges off someone’s door. Not my problem.”

You could only stare at her in absolute wonder. “He’s your boyfriend.”

“He’s his own person.” She then clapped her hands together in revelation, stopping in her steps in the middle of the hallway. “Didn’t you say you used to sleep-walk as a kid? I swear you mentioned it over coffee once.”

You nodded. “Yeah, but it hasn’t happened in a literal decade.”

“Who’s to say it didn’t happen again last night?” she suggested with a shrug. “By the way, do you wanna come over for coffee and cake? Jeonghan bought one on sale because the expiration date is today, but it’s sort of giant.”

After contemplating for a moment (more of a debate really, won by the grumbling of your stomach), you agreed and followed her into her apartment. 

As the two of you walked into the kitchen, she continued, “All I’m saying is that there’s a lot going on in your life right now and maybe it all worked together – the stress, the lack of sleep, you get the gist – and now you’re sleepwalking again.”

“I sincerely doubt it.”

“You should see a doctor about that,” Jeonghan suggested. You jumped in your spot before finding him sitting at the dining table, fully focused on assembling a lego set. He continued without a care in the world, “Sleepwalking can be a serious issue.”

Your eyes narrowed. “Why are you here?”

He finally glanced up to offer you an amused look and a chuckle. “I’m her boyfriend. Where else would I be?”

“I invited her over for coffee and cake,” Sunny informed him with a kiss on his cheek. “Play nice.”

“Yes, princess,” he spoke in reply before turning back to you. “But I would really go to the doctor if I was you. If it’s bad enough that you wake up in someone else’s apartment, it’s bad enough to warrant a doctor’s visit.”

You felt yourself pale, your blood running both ice cold and lava hot. “How– Why do you know that?”

“It’s the talk of the town,” he joked before waving his joke off. “Just kidding. I met Seokmin on my way to the store earlier and he told me. He seemed worried about you.”

“So it is Seokmin!” Sunny cheered victoriously. “I knew it! I told you!”

Jeonghan raised an eyebrow and laughed. “Good job.”

“Thanks.”

You sat down at the table and slumped in the chair. “But if I’m sleepwalking, why did I go to his apartment?”

“Isn’t it right below yours?” Jeonghan pointed out like it was obvious. “Asleep you probably thought you were going to your own apartment. You just mixed up the floors.”

“So,” you sighed and rubbed the bridge of your nose before meeting his eyes and maintaining eye contact, “what you’re suggesting is that I fell asleep–”

“Yes.”

“–in my apartment–”

“Mhm.”

“–then left my apartment for some reason–”

“That much seems obvious.”

“–and then went to Seokmin’s apartment–”

“For some reason, yes.”

“–one level below my own?”

Eyes widening, he hummed at the slight error in the logic. “You do have a point. Why would you leave your own apartment to go to your apartment?”

“My head hurts just listening to this,” Sunny informed the two of you while serving the cake. As a slice fell over on a plate she quickly assigned to Jeonghan, she suddenly suggested, “What if you thought you were going on a walk and then returned home?”

Jeonghan leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he began recounting, “So, what you think happened is that she fell asleep–”

“I’m going to kick the both of you out if you start again,” his girlfriend declared all of a sudden, pointing a knife in his direction. “I’m serious.”

“It is a reasonable guess though,” you decided as Sunny placed a plate of cake in front of you. “I do love going on walks when I’m stressed.”

“Then–”

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. You watched in mild amusement as Sunny and Jeonghan silently argued over who should open the door and if they should open the door at all. Eventually, to your surprise, Jeonghan relented and got up with a slight groan. The moment he was out of the kitchen, Sunny stole his seat across from you.

“I think the worst part is that I don’t know how to face him again, like ever,” you started the conversation again while taking a bite of the cake. “It was so awkward.”

“Speaking of awkward,” Jeonghan announced and led the newest guest into the apartment. The now familiar feeling of both ice and lava in your veins made a new appearance as you recognised the visitor. Your spoon dropped back on the table.

Seokmin offered you a friendly smile and a wave. “Ah, so that’s where you are. I tried your door but no one answered so I wondered if I had the wrong place.”

“You–” That was the only syllable you managed to voice. Your brain was scattered, filled with pictures of the awkward morning as well as a single fluttering butterfly carrying an obnoxious sign that said ‘he cares’. You gulped. 

Thankfully, Sunny stepped in. She smiled brightly and ushered Seokmin to take a seat while she found an extra plate. 

“I wasn’t going to come and bother anyone–” he tried to reject the offer of cake, but failed to. He was too friendly for his own good – just like the rumours around the building often said. He sat in the seat Sunny had preoccupied just seconds ago, right across from you, and smiled at her. “Well, if you insist.”

“What can I do?” Jeonghan sighed and theatrically looked away as he started his monologue. “Everyone loves my girlfriend so much. How can I possibly keep her–”

“Stop being melodramatic and come eat, idiot,” Sunny laughed and took the seat next to you. “So, Seokmin, what brings you to my friend over here?”

Seokmin opened his mouth to reply before turning to you and softly asking, “Is it okay to talk about it here?”

Sunny chuckled. “About her waking up in your apartment? Go ahead. I think everyone in the building knows already.”

“Oh.” He offered you an awkward-looking smile. “Well, sorry about that. I only mentioned it to Mingyu and Jeonghan but I guess– Nevermind. I just wanted to tell you to not worry about it.” His smile brightened, genuine and full of warmth all of a sudden. “We all have rough days – and rough nights – and I’m just glad you got some rest.”

“I have one question,” Jeonghan raised his arm before asking, “where did you sleep?”

“Me?” Seokmin shrugged. “The sofa. There was a woman in my bed.”

You somehow felt both worse and better than before. At least you knew he didn’t hold a grudge – after all, he seeked you out just to tell you it had been fine – but at the same time: you made this poor man sleep on the sofa instead of his objectively comfortable bed.

“I’m so sorry–”

“I said it’s fine,” he laughed and reached out to pat your hand. “I really don’t mind. You looked like you were sleeping very well. But–” he tilted his head in thought, a slight frown appearing, “–is it possible you were sleepwalking? You didn’t react at all last night, to anything. You just… brushed past us like we weren’t even there. I don’t know if you even had your eyes open.”

Sunny all but slammed her spoon on the table to give you a haughty look. “Yep. Told you. You were sleepwalking.”

You frowned. “I guess it’s possible.”

“Should I…” Seokmin scrunched up his nose in thought. “Should I maybe keep a look out in case this happens again?”

Immediately you shook your head. “No. No need. It was a one-time thing. A fluke. It was nothing. Won’t happen again.” In your attempts to not look at him, you happened to eye the clock. Your jaw dropped. “Oh. I should go home. I have–”

“–a report due in a week and deadlines to meet,” Sunny finished for you with a laugh. “I know, I know. Go.”

Jeonghan spoke up as well, “Take the plate and another slice of cake before you go. I want to know you eat at least a little between your work.”

You did as you were told and made your escape without another word, not even a goodbye to Seokmin. 

You had no time to feel guilty or consider that your heart fluttered a little at the thought of him coming to find you. Once again, you buried your feelings into lines of Times New Roman in your report.

“Oh, you come here too?” you heard his voice just two days later at the grocery store. 

It was a little surprising to find him there: the store was a good mile further from the one closest to your building. Like a startled owl, you stared and blinked at him in the cereal aisle. 

As you opened your mouth to respond, he chuckled and looked away at the cereals. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to talk to me. I just needed to get some Fruit Loops and figured I might as well say hi.” He placed the cereal in question into his basket and offered you one more friendly smile and a playful wave. “So, hi!”

“Hi,” you managed to drag out as you lifted your hand in a wave. 

With a chuckle, he turned and headed away to the next aisle. You thought you were free from him for the day. 

But alas: you found him again when you went to get eggs. He seemed to be contemplating between two brands. You tried your best to go unnoticed as you searched for your favourite local free range brand. To you dismay, he stood right in front of the eggs you seeked. 

“Excuse me,” you started and tapped his shoulder when he didn’t seem to notice.

He smiled upon recognising you. “Yeah?”

“Could you move? I want those eggs.”

“The expensive ones?” He raised an eyebrow and handed you a carton. “They’re almost triple the price of the store brand.”

“But they’re free range and locally sourced. You should try them,” you explained with the slightest bit of enthusiasm before placing eggs into your cart and walking away in the direction you thought him least likely to follow. 

You truly thought you were free of him when you went to the checkout, but once again, as if tasked by god himself to be wherever you went, Seokmin was in front of you in queue, meticulously placing his items on the counter. As he turned to put away his basket, his eyes found yours and a bright smile appeared on his face. “Oh, it’s you again!”

“It’s me again,” you replied with an awkward laugh. 

“Are you leaving too?” he wondered while fishing his bag for his wallet. When you nodded, his eyes lit up. “Do you need a ride home?”

Your eyes widened. “A ride?” 

Why was he offering you a ride home? Why was he so friendly with you at all? You had broken into his apartment – in the eyes of the legal system anyway – and he was smiling at you like you were a beloved friend. 

“Of course. We should stick together, no? We’re neighbours, after all– Hold on,” he interrupted himself to respond to the cashier, “Yes, by card please.Thank you.”

“You might have to wait a moment then,” you finally relented when he turned to you once again, eyes resembling a puppy. His smile widened at your words and he nodded. 

The ride home was short and awkward. You greatly feared he would try to retaliate for the emotional damage you might’ve caused by sleeping in his apartment. To your relief, he did not such thing and only continued cheerfully chattering.

“–but I feel like a dog would be too much work, you know? I love dogs but I don’t have that kind of time.” He offered you a glance. “Do you have any pets?”

You scrunched up your face in thought as the car rolled to a stop in the parking lot of the building. “I have a cactus.”

“... Does it have a name?”

Eager to not disappoint, you blurted out the first name that came to mind: “Bertha.” You shut your eyes in shame.

But as the two of you got out of his small red car, he laughed. “Bertha? Sounds lovely. Is she high-maintenance?”

“Very.”

“Yeah?”

You decided you liked his laughter and the bright smile that came with. “Easier than a dog though.”

He laughed louder at that and handed you your grocery bags. “I bet. Maybe I should get a cactus too.”

“I highly recommend,” you chuckled, finding his laughter contagious. “It’s very fulfilling to watch it do absolutely nothing all-year-round.”

When the two of you got into the hallway, he paused in front of the staircase. As you were about to ask him about it, he asked, “Do you need help with your bags?”

“No, I’m–”

“They look heavy.” He frowned before holding up a single finger, jogging over to his door, dropping his singular bag in front of it, and running back to you. Before you could formally protest, he grabbed the bags from your hands and began the journey up the stairs. When you froze in your spot, he turned to ask, “Well, aren’t you coming? Or were you going to sleep at mine again?”

Your face burned at the teasing comment. You decided following after him was the lesser evil. 

“There we go,” he cheered when the two of you reached your door. He rubbed his hands against his thighs a few times, awkwardly like a schoolboy, before smiling and waving goodbye. “I guess this is goodbye for the day. It was nice talking to you.”

You didn’t manage to even thank him before he was already halfway down the stairs. Maybe you made him as nervous as you made him. As you went to sleep that night, you replayed the interaction over and over again in your head, failing to hide a smile at the memory.

The valley of the mattress had a hold over you. You had never been so comfortable waking up – well, with the exception of maybe once or twice. 

The pillows were the perfect temperature, the blanket hugged you just right, the big teddy bear you hugged to your chest smelled fresh out of the washing machine– 

“Since when do I have a teddy bear?” you grumbled in confusion and pried your eyes open. You felt all blood rush away from your face as you looked at the bear – light brown with a baby blue bow, its eyes shining up at you. 

You had never even seen this bear before.

Cursing under your breath, you glanced around the room. You were back in your very own personal hell full of flowing beige curtains, white unfamiliar sheets, and teddy bears: the hell known as Seokmin’s apartment.

The realisation brought tears of frustration to your eyes, but you were too stubborn to let them loose. It was barely 8 am but you were already on the verge of crying – what a joke.

Wiping your eyes, you all but slammed the bear down on the bed (you’ll never admit you did feel a little bad about it seconds later and gave it a little pat on the head) and stood up. You stumbled out of the bedroom and towards the front door. 

As you reached for the doorknob – the final obstacle on your journey out of hell –, you heard his voice, sweet as honey like always, “Oh, you’re not going to stay for breakfast?”

You froze.

“I made extra waffles and all,” he added, sounding a little dejected. You didn’t have the heart to tell him no, so you sighed softly and turned around to give him a tight-lipped not-quite-genuine smile. His own grin brightened at the sight. “Is that a yes? You’ll stay?”

“Only for the waffles,” you lied and took a seat at his table. 

He laughed and placed a plate of fresh food in front of you before taking the seat across from you. “Not because you don’t want me to feel bad?”

“No,” you grabbed a fork and began filling it with food, “I just don’t like food waste.”

“Oh, right! Minghao said you work for an environmental company. That sounds cool.”

“Yeah?” You swallowed your food. “What about you? What do you do for work?”

He cleared his throat as though the question had caught him by surprise and he was too shy to say. After a moment of silence, he bashfully admitted, “I’m a music teacher at primary school.”

You blinked in surprise. “A music teacher?”

“Well, I wanted to be a singer– a musical actor, actually,” he explained, his voice fluctuating in volume and his ears bright red, “but I’m a little too shy to audition. So I just stuck with teaching others to sing.”

“That’s so cool though,” you told him with a smile. “Are you good at singing?”

His ears seemed to turn an even deeper red. “My friends think so but I don’t know. I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

“Then why not audition? You only live once.”

He seemed thoughtful all of a sudden, watching your increasingly awkward self. You were just about ready to apologise for your possibly intrusive question when he softly asked, “Why not rest and live a little? You only live once, right?” 

The question felt awfully pointed and you didn’t fail to let him know with a glare. 

“I’m serious,” he declared, his lips pouting a little as if he was actually upset at your lack of self-care. “Whenever I see you, you’re always rushing somewhere. The only person you seem to be friends with is Sunny, and maybe Jeonghan by association.”

You opened your mouth to defend yourself. “I’m also friends with Minghao–”

“He barely even leaves his apartment. He doesn’t count.”

“He counts!”

“Do I count?”

“Of course you–” Your eyes widened as did his smile. 

“We’re friends now!” he declared while pointing an accusatory finger at you, his voice raising in excitement. You began to protest but he was having none of it. “No take-backs! We’re friends – you just said so!”

“I didn’t actually–”

“Nope. No. We’re friends.” He narrowed his eyes at you, his smile never fading. “Or do you just sleep in random guys�� beds?”

You wanted to protest, you really did, but there’s only so much you can say to defend yourself against such accusations. Besides, his bright smile at your defeated nod could’ve won awards.

Accidentally waking in his apartment didn’t end. No. In fact, it somehow got worse.

Once every week quickly turned into once every few days. You were tempted to start keeping track of how often you woke up in your own bed but one could assume the numbers wouldn’t be too impressive. 

You grew accustomed to the smell of his detergent and the smell of breakfast in the mornings. Was this what it might’ve been like to be in a relationship? 

“How come you’ve never dated anyone?” he wondered once over breakfast.

You shrugged. “I don’t have the time.”

“Too busy saving the world?” he teased like he often did. Over time you stopped finding it annoying (perhaps because he sounded almost genuinely proud of you every time he said it). 

“I assume you don’t get a lot of dates either,” you bit right back between bites of pancakes.

He seemed to be taken aback by your observation. “What makes you think that?”

“You sleep with a teddy bear, Seokmin,” you deadpanned. 

He pouted. “Fluffy is a premium sleep companion.”

You laughed. “Is he?”

“You steal him every other night!” he accused with a chuckle. “I’m sure you know how great he is by now.”

“He’s truly a– What did you say? A premium sleep companion?”

“That’s what the label said when I got him.”

“Maybe I should invest in a bear too,” you wondered thoughtfully between bites. 

Seokmin raised an eyebrow. “Then why don’t you?”

“No ti–”

“If you make the ‘no time’ excuse again, I will scream,” he said with in utmost seriousness. You promptly shut up: Seokmin’s lung capacity was well-known by everyone in the building.

After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat. “You know, if it’s physical contact that you need to sleep– Nevermind. How are the pancakes?”

Whether it was to save your or his dignity, you chose to ignore his first comment and answered only the last question, “Their colour is nicer than usual. I like the golden colour.”

“I guess the free range eggs really do make a difference,” Seokmin mused with a chuckle. When you offered him a surprised look, he hummed in confusion. “What?”

“You bought free range eggs? Didn’t you say they were too expensive last time?”

He shrugged. “I figured I might as well try to make some more ethical choices while shopping. Besides, you recommended them–”

Your eyes welled up a little. “You bought more expensive eggs because I recommended them?”

“And because I care for animals,” he added in a little too fast. 

You laughed and nodded. “For the animals, right. Me too.”

“Do you ever rest from your work?” he wondered after a moment. “What do you do outside of it?”

“I… don’t know. I read. I like to clean.”

“But what about going to festivals? Swimming? Cycling? Dancing?” He grew more and more desperate as you rejected every hobby he offered. “No wonder you’re so tired all of the time! You’re a workaholic.”

You snorted. “Sunny did say I’m similar to Jihoon.”

“I didn’t think it was this bad.”

“I think he’s worse though.”

“Oh, definitely, but he doesn’t go to sleep in his neighbours’ beds,” Seokmin pointed out with a look of worry. As he watched you for an exactly uncomfortable amount of time, his eyes eventually lit up again. “I have an idea. What are you doing tomorrow evening?”

“Working–”

“I swear if I hear that word one more time, I will scream.”

You, once again, promptly shut up. 

“Great,” he beamed and clapped his hands together, “I’ll text you to details later.”

“You’re not even going to tell me what we’re doing?”

You sighed in disappointment as he smiled brightly and shook his head ‘no’. 

A knock on your door notified you of his arrival. Despite being sure it wasn’t meant to be a date and knowing that Seokmin had seen you in far worse condition, you still took a deep breath and gave yourself a quick once-over at the mirror.

When you opened the door, he smiled at you brightly. “I see you’ve dressed up too.”

“I would hardly call this dressed up,” you told him rather sheepishly, suddenly even more aware of you appearance. “You look very dapper as well.”

“Yep, and do you want to know why?” 

“Why?”

His smile widened so much you worried for his cheeks. “Because you and I are going to the theatre.”

“The theatre?” You paled at the mention and looked down at your outfit. “I feel like I’m underdressed then.”

“You look fine,” he laughed and grabbed your hand. “Let’s go or we’ll be late. And trust me,” he widened his eyes for dramatic effect, “you don’t want to be late.”

You gave in begrudgingly and locked the door as fast as you could while he practically bounced at your side in excitement. 

“What are we going to watch then?” you finally remembered to ask when you entered the theatre less than 15 minutes later. “I swear, if you dragged me here to watch an opera–”

“It’s a musical, actually,” he admitted bashfully. “I love musicals and I don’t know much about other theatre performances so I thought– But if you don’t like musicals, that’s–”

“I don’t mind musicals,” you told him with a little laugh and pat on his shoulder. “But I have to admit, it has been ages since my last time at the theatre, and I haven’t seen a musical in a few years at least.”

“That’s fine. I’ll guide you through it.” And as if the last shy bone had left his body, he grabbed your hand and led you to your seats, all the while widely smiling at you and giving your hand periodical squeezes of encouragement. 

His hand never left yours for the duration of the musical, not even for intermission, not even when he ordered cake from the theatre café to hold you over until after the show. His hand remained warm in yours, fingers squeezing a little tighter every once in a while, his thumb running over the back of your hand. 

It was so warm, so comforting. Just his presence alone was enough to make you dizzy with the feeling of safety and happiness. His touch? You were floating on cloud 9 with zero regard for what was going on below – or on the stage, for that matter.

Frankly, you could barely remember to watch the musical because you were so busy marvelling at the feel of his hand in yours. 

“That was so good,” he excitedly told you as the two of you returned to your apartment. “The music was phenomenal.”

“The actors were very good.” And that was the only contribution you could make to the conversation because you definitely hadn’t paid any attention to the plot and your knowledge of music was simply not there.

But thankfully, that seemed to be far more than enough. His eyes gleamed as he sat onto your sofa and gestured widely while speaking, “Right? The leading woman was just– Incredible, fantastic. Her range! I’m a little jealous, actually.”

You took the seat next to him. To your surprise, his hand found yours once again, wasting no time in interlocking your fingers. And just like that, paying attention to anything else became difficult. 

Were you really developing a crush on him? Just like that? You refused. You were too busy to be pining after a man. 

But when slid closer to your side and looked at you like you were the most wonderful person to ever exist, you suddenly didn’t care about the lack of time. Screw it. You’d make time if it meant you got to see his star-filled eyes again. 

“... Sorry, what?” you coughed out when he paused and looked at you expectantly.

He laughed. “You’re so cute. I asked if you wanted to go see another musical with me someday.”

“I’d love to,” you blurted out without thinking. 

Yeah. Screw deadlines. 

“Okay, perfect!” His smile brightened up the entire room as he rested his head on your shoulder. “Because I heard they’re doing Excalibur next season and I desperately need a friend to go watch it with me. I saw the premise and heard a preview of one of the songs and they’re holding auditions next month and I am already obsessed–”

Your brain was barely functioning at all, and yet you could recall one single memory from the depths of it. A dream he had shared. “Then why don’t you audition?”

He sat up abruptly, looking at you as if you were insane. “I couldn’t possibly–”

“Why not?” you asked. “I heard you singing the other day. You’re really good. I think you could get any part pretty easily.”

His ears turned more red with every word you said. “You flatter me…”

“I’m serious, Seokmin!”

“I’m not that good. And I have zero acting experience, aside from a few courses I did in college. Why would they ever pick me?”

“Why wouldn’t they?” you countered and he scoffed.

“I can think of a few–”

“You never know if you don’t try,” you told him and raised your hand to brush a stray hair off his forehead. “I’m rooting for you.”

As your words faded into the night and your eyes met, you wondered if he could feel the sparks flying and bursting all around you as well. Did he also feel that overwhelming adoration for you? 

He sighed after a while, a bashful smile on his face. “You must be tired. It’s been a long night. Go to sleep.”

“I really should,” you yawned as if on cue. You shared a laugh at the timing.

He squeezed your hand one last time. “Well, good night then. I expect I’ll find you at my apartment in the morning–”

“Or you could stay here and we don’t have to worry about that,” you blurted without thinking. Your face flashed hot right after. 

Had there been any alcohol in that cake he bought for you? Why were you feeling so bold all of a sudden? 

“I–” He seemed speechless.

“I don’t know why I said that,” you rushed out and avoided his eyes. “I think I’m just really tired and work has been stressful and maybe my brain is just broke–”

He placed his hand behind your neck and led your head to rest against his chest as he rubbed comforting circles on your back. You could hear his body rumble with laughter as he held you. “I’d love to stay over. Besides,” he pushed you away just enough to look you in the eyes again, “I think it’s only fair that I get to sleep over this once, because you sleep over at my place a lot.”

You frowned and pouted. “It’s not like I mean to–”

“A lot,” he repeated with wide eyes and a teasing smile before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. “But it’s okay. I don’t mind.”

When you recounted the half-embarrassing and yet half-lovestruck happenings of the previous night to Sunny on the way back from work, she stared at you in bafflement.

“You actually asked him to sleep over?” she gasped, hand over her heart as if she was a peasant woman of the 16th century hearing the most scandalous gossip. “You little vixen!”

“Nothing happened,” you insistently told her as the two of you stepped off the bus.

She huffed. “That’s honestly so boring. I mean, have you seen that man? What I wouldn’t give to–”

“I am once again reminding you that you already have a boyfriend.”

“You don’t know what we’re into in the bedroom,” she countered with a smirk.

You only now realised how much Jeonghan was rubbing off on her. She was becoming a second him, slowly but surely. Couple of the year.

“I’m taking away your friend privileges, Sunny,” you told her at that and rushed ahead to avoid hearing any more weirdly Jeonghan-like jokes from her. 

She laughed at that before running after you. “Okay, okay, no more dirty jokes.”

“Thank god,” you sighed towards the sky.

“So, did any sleepwalking occur?” she then asked before humming in thought. “Well, I imagine if it had, I would’ve heard about it by now. It would’ve been quite a sight to see Seokmin running after an asleep you towards his apartment at 2 am.”

“I didn’t sleepwalk.” 

And frankly, if you had, Seokmin must have done a very good job of getting you back to your own bed because you woke up exactly how and where you fell asleep – wrapped in his arms, head resting in the crook of his neck. 

Sunny suddenly stopped in spot. Her eyes wide, her lips parted. She pointed an accusatory finger at you, “Wait, does that mean you two are dating now?”

You weren’t sure you had the answer. And you wouldn’t have time to find the answer for a while.

“Good morning!” you heard Seokmin’s voice before you even opened your eyes.

Unlike the previous few times, disappointment filled you as realisation hit. You groaned and turned over to bury your face in his numerous pillows, hoping you could suffocate yourself out of a mildly infuriating nightmare.

Seokmin clicked his tongue. “Not quite the greeting I was expecting, especially considering I was greeted with a hug the last time we shared a bed.”

“Shut it.”

“Oh, you’re mean today.”

“Did I fall asleep mid-work again?” you sighed and slowly sat up to glare at nothing in particular. Seokmin went to great lengths to avoid whatever direction to directed your deadly look to. “God, I bet I didn’t even make it to the second graph– I’m not gonna have time to go to the office for work today.”

He stared at you curiously. “So, work from home? I mean, if you have the possibility.”

“Yeah, but then I’ll get distracted and then I still won’t end up doing anything,” you whined before falling back into the pillows. You wanted to cry just at the thought of that stupid report waiting on your idle laptop. 

“Why are you so stressed about this report anyway? I don’t think you were ever this upset over any other reports.”

“If this project report goes through, and we pull off this project – which I still have to plan, oh my god, I am so far behind–”

Seokmin laughed at your frantic movements and moved over to place his hands on your shoulders and keep you still. “Hey, hey, don’t get distracted. If the project goes through…?”

You took a deep breath. “If the project goes well, I will get a promotion. Less hours, better pay.” You sighed. “Then maybe I’ll be able to get a dog like I’ve always wanted.”

“That sounds wonderful! We should celebrate with breakfast,” he suggested with a wiggle of his eyebrows. 

But as tempting as it sounded, you simply didn’t have any time to chat. You had work to do. And so, you stood up, fixed your hair, gave Seokmin an affectionate yet half-hearted pat on the back and headed for the door. 

You couldn’t wait to spend your day in complete lonely misery. At work you at least had friends to talk between sections. All you had in your apartment was Bertha and instant coffee.

And it was as if Seokmin knew it just from the way you spoke to him that morning. 

When the clock struck twelve, you heard a timid knock on your door. Confused at the noise and a little disoriented from the five pages of words you had written, you stood up and went to the door. 

Your heart grew three sizes when you saw him standing there, looking so awfully huggable in his large white hoodie and grey sweatpants, glasses on his nose accompanied by a kind smile. You were so surprised to find him there that you failed to consider why he came. 

He had to nudge you with the plastic bag he was holding for you to even notice it.

“Sorry,” you stammered and stepped aside to let him in, “I’m just a little-”

“Stress? Overworked? Confused because you’ve been staring at a 15-inch screen for the past three hours?” he suggested and brought the bag to the kitchen. “That’s okay. Don’t even mind me.” He smiled as he nodded towards your laptop. “Go on. Work waits. The sooner you get to it, the sooner it’ll be done.”

Disoriented as you were, you didn’t dare argue and slowly walked back to your previous seat at the coffee table, all the while watching him cautiously. 

As your fingers landed on the keyboard, he began lifting things out of the bag. You watched in awe as he stacked snacks and vegetables onto the counter. 

Feeling your eyes on him, he lifted his head to glare at you. “Work.”

“Work,” you repeated on instinct and turned back to your laptop. He laughed a little at your robotic tone. 

Some 20 minutes later, you felt a presence next to you. When you turned to face it, Seokmin was holding an fruit slice up at your lips. 

“Eat,” he told you softly. You did as told.

“What are you doing?” you asked between confused laughter and chewing. Your eyes landed on the bowl of fruits he had placed in front of you. 

He shrugged. “Taking care of you. You seemed so upset this morning… I thought it would be nice to spend my free day helping you.”

Your eyes widened. “It’s your free day? And you’re here? You should be resting!”

“Watching you is all the rest I need,” he winked playfully before lifting another fruit to your lips. “Now, eat up. This is lunch. I’ll make something better for dinner.”

“You don’t have to–” 

He took this chance to shove a piece of apple into your mouth, effectively interrupting your speech. “I will, and I don’t care what you say.”

He glanced around the apartment as you began to eat the fruits on your own. “When was the last time you opened a window?”

You watched curiously as he stood up (with a groan because his bones simply weren’t as nimble as they used to be) and headed over to the windows, opening a few to air out the room. As he did so, he told you, “They say that good airflow and fresh air help the thought process. We air out the classrooms between every lesson so the next students won’t get too tired.”

“I don’t think I’ve opened any windows in here since I first moved in,” you confessed before turning back to your laptop. Before you could your train of thought again, a soft fabric was placed on your shoulders. You looked up to find him smiling at you brightly. “So you won’t get cold.”

“What about you then?”

He shrugged and winked. “I’ll just consider this my daily walk in the park.” He then looked around the apartment again, as if looking for something to do. You couldn’t help but find it endearing. 

“Maybe… you could… make me a cup of tea?” you suggested.

He lit up at the idea. “Coming right up!”

Before heading to the kitchen, he leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead. It seemed almost like a reflex – like he didn’t even need to think about doing it. 

Relishing in the leftover warmth of his lips and the feel of his hoodie on your skin, your work took a backseat for a while. Instead of thinking about your project of a lifetime, your brain was drowning in one singular question. You glanced towards the kitchen to watch him, a smile appearing on your face as you did. 

“Seokmin?” you called out softly after a moment. 

He hummed in response immediately, eyes lifting from the cup he was preparing so he could offer you an encouraging smile. 

You took a deep breath. “What are we?”

He paused. “What do you mean?”

“You and I. What are we to each other?” you wondered, unable to look away from him. There was something you badly wanted to hear him say and yet feared at the same time. “What are you to me?”

The corners of his lips twitched. “I… I’ll be whatever you’d like me to be.”

“Whatever? A friend?”

“If that’s what you wish,” he breathed out, a little shakier than before.

“What about a lover?”

He smiled. “If you so wish.”

“Then… what do you want me to be?” you asked him quietly, a part of you praying your words would go missing in the incoming wind before they reached him. 

“I just…” He bit his lip in contemplation, ears turning red, and avoided your eyes.

“What do you want me to be to you, Seokmin?” you repeated your question, a little bolder this time, hope sparking in your heart.

He looked up again, into your eyes. “Mine.” You let out a breath – of relief or fear, you weren’t sure – but he didn’t hesitate when he repeated, “I want you to be mine.”

You felt guilty for the words you’d utter next. “But we don’t have the time for that…”

“That’s okay,” he assured you with a kind smile. “We’ll take it slow.”

“Slow? How slow do we take it?”

“As slow as you need. I’m not leaving.”

“I signed up for the auditions,” he told you over breakfast a few days later. “Jihoon’s helping me prepare.”

You were still neck-deep in your project, struggling to meet the deadlines and coordinate your team. This seemed to lead the asleep you to Seokmin’s apartment more often than not. It was almost like you woke up in his bed every morning now. 

But even in your despair, you couldn’t help but be excited for Seokmin.

Your eyes lit up and a squeal came out as you grabbed his hand over the table. “Really? You did?!”

He used his free hand to rub the back of his neck bashfully. “Well, you said I should give it a try, right? Who knows,” he shrugged, trying his best to seem nonchalant or even fake a little bit of confidence, “maybe they’ll give me a part.”

“I’m sure they will,” you insisted, squeezing his hand. “Your voice is amazing and you’re so handsome – the ladies are going to swoon when they see you on the stage.”

He laughed. “Will you be one of those ladies?”

“I’ll be in the front row,” you solemnly promised. “At every show. You’ll get sick of seeing me.”

“I could never,” he assured you.

Seokmin’s audition would take place two weeks later. You made sure the mark the day with a big red circle on your calendar – on all three of them, in fact. And now it was time.

Between your seemingly endless stream of project complications and Seokmin’s daytime job and audition preparations, you barely saw him. If it weren’t for your persistent sleepwalking problem, you wouldn’t have seen him at all. And so, the curse had became a blessing. 

“You’ll do great,” you assured him minutes after waking up in his bed. You made sure to give him the warmest hug before letting him leave the room. “I believe in you. And so does Jihoon, apparently.”

Seokmin pouted. “Did he say that or are you lying to make me feel better?”

“We talked yesterday,” you told him, appalled that he’d even accuse you of such atrocities. “He said he has complete faith that you’ll do well.”

“I don’t believe you but–”

“Do you want to fight me? Already?” You raised a brow and he shook his head immediately. “Exactly. Just accept the compliment. And don’t forget to call me when you finish, okay?”

“Of course,” he promised.

He kept that promise. Just as he stepped out of the theatre, his shaky hands picked up the phone and chose your number. 

You answered the call with prep in your voice. It had been a good day so far and you were expecting to hear his no-doubt joyous retellings of the audition.

What you weren’t expecting was: “Can you come get me? I think I might cry.”

“Why, why?” Despite your words, you didn’t hesitate to slam your laptop closed and grab your jacket. “Are you okay? Were they mean?”

“They weren’t mean,” he mumbled on the other side of the line, “but I don’t think I did well.”

“I’m sure you did wonderful,” you spoke while rushing down the street. Thankfully, the theatre was barely a five-minute walk from your office – half that at your current pace. “You’re just putting yourself down over nothing.”

Seokmin whined. “You’re seriously overestimating me.”

“Don’t be silly.”

“No, I’m serious. You overestimate me.”

As you crossed the street, you noticed a familiar figure dragging his feet along the pavement, head low and shoulders slumped. “Now why would I do that?”

“Because you like me a little more than you should,” he suggested while kicking a pebble. You could already hear his voice even without the phone. “I’m sure the directors think I’m a joke or something. God, I am so–”

“Don’t you dare say another bad word about yourself,” you scolded him with a gentle slap against the back of his head. 

He stared at you in bewilderment – both from the fact that you might as well have appeared from thin air and the fact that you just did that. 

But you were unrelenting in your affection for him. “Lee Seokmin, listen to me: you did absolutely great. You did your best. And even if you don’t get a part this time, they’ll value the fact that you now have experience with auditions. Take it in stride.”

Tears gathered in his eyes. Before long, he pulled you into his embrace, holding you impossibly tight. “You’re just saying that… Thank you.”

“That’s what I’m here for, silly,” you laughed and hugged him back just as tightly. “I think we should celebrate this occasion.”

“Even if I screwed up and don’t get the part?”

You scoffed. “Absolutely! A little cake can make everything better, no?”

He sighed. “I don’t think I can eat right now. I might throw up from the nerves.”

“Drink then?”

He contemplated and then straightened up. “I could go for some bubble tea…”

“There we go!” you cheered and gently pinched his cheeks, prompting a small giggle. “My treat because you did so well today and I’m so proud of you.”

This time it was you who grabbed his hand without any hesitation, more than happy to reassuringly squeeze it as you walked and talked. 

“When will you get the answer?” you wondered.

He sucked in a breath. “In about a week, they said. Or maybe never–”

“Seokmin,” you scolded.

“In a week,” he corrected himself with some enthusiasm. “I’ll get answers in a week. And then I might actually cry.”

“And I’ll be there when you cry tears of joy, darling.”

“Tears of joy?” He raised a brow and smiled in disbelief. “You seriously put too much faith in me.”

You nudged his side. “As if you haven’t been equally supportive about my promotion.”

“Oh, right,” Seokmin gasped, “won’t your promotion interview be in a week too?”

You would’ve preferred he didn’t remind you. Then again, you guessed it was only fair. 

“Will you come over to hold me when I cry too?”

“Tears of joy?” he teased and leaned over to kiss your temple. “I’ll be just a call away.”

The week somehow passed at both the pace of a snail and the pace of Junhui on a sugar rush. 

After finding you in his bed every single morning, Seokmin resorted to just sleeping over at your place, tightly cuddling you to keep you in place. He now had a whole drawer dedicated to his things in your bedroom. 

The day started okay. You were awoken not by a loud alarm like you had expected, but by Seokmin gently singing you awake. 

For a moment, you thought you had died and gone straight to heaven – maybe working so hard to save the environment had paid off after all, you thought. But no, it was just your reality. 

What a beautiful reality. You couldn’t help but smile as you cuddled into his chest.

“If you keep clinging onto me like that, I won’t be able to make my famous waffles for a lucky breakfast,” he whispered but made no attempt to push you away. 

The delicious breakfast was followed by an encouraging hug on the way out of the building, him to the school and you to the office. You wore a smile the entire time.

Up until you made it to your desk. Then the reality began sinking in. 

This was the day that could make or break your career. The day you had worked so hard for that you neglected your private life for so many years.

As the clock on the wall slowly ticked forward, your hands began to shake. Your throat was dry. Your head was fuzzy, full of nothing but anxiety. If someone had asked you about anything, you would’ve only been able to stare at them with a mouth wide open.

20 minutes until your scheduled interview. You were starting to feel sick. 

When another colleague came to give you a supportive pat on the back, you excused yourself and grabbed your phone to rush outside to the balcony. You sat on a chair and willed yourself to take deep breaths as you tapped on his number.

You wanted to slap yourself when you realised that you hadn’t even bothered to check if he was on break yet.

But he answered on the first ring. “Hey, what’s up? Did you have the interview alread–”

“Seokmin, I can’t do this,” you whimpered into the microphone. “I can’t do this. They’re gonna realise I’m an idiot and they’ll fire me and–”

“Woah, woah, what happened to your positive can-do attitude?” he wondered. “You’ll be fine.”

“No–”

“(Y/n),” he said your voice so firmly that your breath got caught in your throat. “(Y/n), you will be fine. You’ve worked there for so many years, you’ve achieved so many things. If they wanted to fire you, they would’ve done that by now.”

You took a shaky breath. “What if it’s an elaborate prank?”

“Why would– Baby, listen to me. You’ve worked hard. You put everything you had into that project – I was there, I saw it. You and your ideas are invaluable to your company. They’re going to ask you a few questions as a formality and they’re going to give that promotion and then you and I are going to go to a celebratory dinner and it’ll all be over.”

“And I can get a dog?” you whispered, a small smile tugging at your lips.

“You can get two dogs if you want, baby,” he laughed. “You deserve it. Don’t underestimate yourself. I believe in you and I’m sure your co-workers do as well.”

“How do you always know the right words to say?”

He laughed once again. “Baby, I’m a teacher. I’m literally trained to comfort people. I’m just glad I’m able to comfort you as well.”

“Thank you.”

“No need,” he responded, “just go and ace that interview. Okay?”

“And then you’ll come and wipe my happy tears?”

“You already know the answer to that question. But I expect the same treatment when I get my audition results.”

“Will do.”

“Go and get them, tiger.”

You weren’t sure what it was, but something about the conversation seemed to have lifted the weight off your shoulders. When you walked back to the office, the upcoming interview no longer felt as taunting. 

As the clock hit 2 pm, you squared your shoulders, took a deep breath and headed to your manager’s office.

When the day ended, you found Seokmin standing in front of the office building, a blinding smile on his face. 

“Well?” he asked expectantly, though the look in his eyes said that he had every faith that you would only give him good news. You were glad to prove him right. 

Your coy smile was replaced with joyous laughter as you ran to hug him and called out, “I got the job!”

“You got it? You got it!” he cheered with you, jumping up and down with you in his arms, not far from spinning you around in the air. “I knew you would! What did I tell you? Silly you,” he let you out of his hold to place his hands on your cheeks and pull your face closer to his own, “you thought you wouldn’t get the promotion. Look at you now. I’m so proud of you.”

You breathed out in relief. The smile seemed to never stop tugging on your cheeks. “I’m so relieved I could cry.”

“Then who will dry my happy tears?” he teased with a bright smile.

You tilted your head in confusion. “Wait–”

“I got the part,” he whispered, his smile only growing wider, eyes sparkling. “I’m going to become a musical actor, officially.”

“Oh my god!” you practically squealed and now it was your turn to hug him and jump. He was glad to join you, laughing in glee. “I knew you could do it! I knew it!”

As joy got the best of you – and who could blame you: this was the happiest day of your life so far –, you grabbed his face and pulled him closer to you to press your lips against his own. He melted into the gesture, arms wrapping around you tighter as if to will the moment to last forever. 

When you pulled back, just enough so that your noses touched, he laughed in disbelief. “I thought we were supposed to take it slow?”

“Screw taking it slow,” you whispered and kissed him again. “Might as well make it a triple celebration.”

“I like the sound of that.”

BONUS !

While practically leaning out of their open window to watch you and Seokmin kiss under the streetlights on your way home, Jeonghan and Sunny argued.

“I told you they would get together,” Sunny declared, her eyebrows raised as if to dare her boyfriend to prove her wrong. 

Jeonghan scoffed. “Please. They’re just kissing. It could be casual.”

“Just say you don’t want to owe me 20 bucks.”

“I don’t owe you 20 bucks! We have no confirmation!”

“Jeonghan, listen here–”

“No, no, you listen–”

“Both of you listen here!” Chan bellowed from the window above them. “If you don’t stop arguing right now, I will report you both to Jihoon’s parents! Some of us are trying to sleep!” Silence followed. “And pay her the 20 bucks, Jeonghan. They’re clearly together.”

Jeonghan grumbled and glared upwards before fishing a 20 out of his pocket and handing it to his smiling girlfriend.

[pretty-blkgirl]

Let Me Take Care Of You

//black!fem reader x idol!Chan//

Synopsis: You and your boyfriend love each other so much

Genre: fluff

Warnings: tiny bit suggestive towards the end, SICKENINGLY sweet fluff, reader is fem

A/N: I LOVE this so much, and I really wanted to make something sweet for our Channie. As you can see, the reader is described as a black female (but of course, anyone is welcome to read).

~~~~|~~~~

You walk into your house, immediately kicking your heels off and walking to your bedroom.

Your feet were hurting and your eyes were heavy after a long day of work. You wanted to jump right into bed and sleep for a hundred hours, but something caught your eye before you made it to your bed.

Chan, your boyfriend, sat at your large vanity mirror. His hair was in its naturally curly state, and you watched him twirl a piece of his hair while staring at himself.

He had been working hard for the newest comeback he and the group were about to have. He rarely gets time off, and his chances of a break get lower during the comeback season. However, he was able to get a few days off this time.

He hadn’t noticed you coming in, so you walked up to him and set your hands on his shoulders. He had a look of distress on his face.

“What’s wrong darling?” You ask, making him take his hand from his head.

“My hair… I don’t know what to do with it.”

“I love it how it is!” you smile, making him let out a shy laugh.

“It’s all..messy though? I feel like maybe I should straighten it or something?”

“If you want” you shrug, “But you know I can help you manage your curls though. All you gotta do is ask sweetheart”

A genuine smile formed on his face as he looked up at you, “I would love that”

You smiled back and leaned down to give him a small kiss on his nose.

You then stood up straight again, looking at your boyfriend and taking in all his beauty.

“You’re so pretty, you know that?”

He blushes, “I should be telling you that. I still don’t know how I got so lucky”

“I’m the lucky one”

“Bullshit. Have you met you?”

You chuckle as he stands and takes you into his arms. He lets out a loud sigh, relaxing in your hold and tucking his face in your neck.

“How was work?” His question is muffled, but you still make out what he’s saying. He asks the same question every day, but you never get tired of it. You know he just wants to hear about your day, and it makes you happy to know he listens to you.

“It was fine. I did argue with Jessica today though”

“Fuck that bitch” He says bluntly. You laugh out loud which launches you both into hysterics.

After a long while of laughter, you walk to the bed and lie down.

“I’m exhausted,” You say, “I just wanna sleep”

“You haven’t eaten yet, though. Let me make you some food”

“No” You protest, sitting up and looking down at him, “You’ve been so stressed from work, and you finally have a day off. Let me take care of you”

“You’ve been stressed out too though. And that bitch Jessica is making things worse”

You laugh again as he sits up to grab your hands.

You stare at his face, again relishing in his beauty.

Everything was so perfect about him. His pretty, brown eyes. His gorgeous nose. His deep dimple that sits on the right side of his face. His perfect, pink, plush lips.

But besides his beauty, you loved his personality. He was so sweet and caring- not just to you- but to everyone he met. He treated you like a princess, making sure to pay attention to your needs and wants.

He went above and beyond to ensure your comfort, well-being, and happiness.

You took care of him too, giving him unconditional love and support. You loved taking care of him because he was so busy taking care of everyone else. Chan was willing to lack if that meant the people he loved had everything they needed.

He didn’t want the people he loved to worry about him- you especially.

But, you always worried about him. You always wanted him to be happy and healthy. You always checked in on your man to make sure he didn’t overwork himself.

If he is in a bad mental state, you would go straight to his studio and pull him out by the hair if you needed to. You loved him too much to see him hurt himself.

All in all, you two were the best couple. You both were amazing together. You knew he was your life partner, and you couldn’t wait to experience every moment -good or bad- with him.

“Baby?” He asked, making you snap out of your thoughts.

“Sorry honey, what were you saying?”

“You were staring so hard” He giggles, “I seen your pupils dilate too, that means you loveeeeee me”

You roll your eyes to try and hide your embarrassment, but Chan notices and starts to tease you more.

“You loveeee meeee, you wanna kiss meeeeee” He sings, making you cover your face.

“Hush!” You groan, taking your hands out your face, “What were you saying?”

He wants to keep teasing but he stops and takes your hands back into his

“I just wanted to say that you should let me take care of you. Let me pamper you.”

You smile, “You already do that bae”

“Yeah but I haven’t been doing it lately”

“Cuz you’ve been working! It’s comeback season”

You take your hands back and hug him, startling him a little bit, but it takes him no time to melt into the hug.

“How about we take care of each other? You can make dinner and I’ll draw us a bath afterward”

“Only if you let me give you a massage when we get back to bed”

You smirk and pull away to look at him, already seeing the mischievous look on his face

“A massage? That’s all you wanna do?”

“I mean, if it leads to something more then….” He shrugs and you playfully hit his chest.

You both get up and he goes to cook while you strip out of your work clothes and put on a T-shirt and some shorts. You then go to the mirror and take your hair down, rubbing at your scalp before grabbing your brush and gel to slick your hair back down.

After a little while, you achieve the perfect slick back puff and do your edges. You go on to grab your scarf and put it on to make sure your hair stays slicked down.

You rush to wipe your makeup off, then run to the kitchen to bother Chan while he cooks.

But he’s not annoyed by you, he only falls more in love.

[thesupreme316]

Hey bestie!

I can't remember if you have done it yet, but how AEW Stars react to when you have really bad period cramps?

Love you boo!

AEW Stars React: You on Your Period

Pairings: MJF x Fem!Reader, Darius Martin x Fem!Reader, Dante Martin x Fem!Reader, Ricky Starks x Fem!Reader, Hook x Fem!Reader, Daniel Garcia x Fem!Reader, Eddie Kingston x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1K

Supreme Speaks: hiii, I thoroughly enjoyed this one! Thanks to @wwenhlimagines for the request (I LOVE YOU BESTIE). As a person currently dealing with this, yes....i also decided just to make it about periods in general to avoid redundancy ALSO EDDIE WON HIS FIRST NJPW CHAMPIONSHIP

Warnings: Period mentions, suggestive mentions, not proofread

Taglist: @wwenhlimagines @hooks-martin @hookerforhook @sheinthatfandom @aew190 @eddie-kingstons-wifey @triscillal

MJF:

“Imagine having that kind of problem”

Will make fun of you (playfully) until you throw a box of pads at him

Is convinced that you are a demon during this time of the month

Will get you an expensive heating pad…and himself one too

Will make sure that you have your favorite candy…and also getting himself some too (its a uterUS)

I feel like Max wouldn’t know what to do emotionally (I can only see him as his gimmick sometimes)

But he is ready to drop a check on anything that you need to

Looks up more products/medication to get you so you can be more comfortable

Almost called 911 when you haven’t moved from an uncomfortable-looking position (almost thought you dislocated your spine)

But don’t tell him he needs to go out at 12 AM to get you something…he’ll say no

Darius Martin:

“What do you need?”

Darius definitely understands you and already has a little kit for you when you come over

He replenishes it every month

Makes you drink water at least every hour

Will give you massages at any hour, he doesn’t care

Darius is one who doesn’t underestimate your pain

Has everything in arms reach for you

Will have the heating pad on standby and will turn the shower to the hottest setting (per your request)

“Hey, I’m not doubting your pain but are you sure that hot lava water will help you? It’s burning me”

Will try to motivate you to exercise to relieve your pain

Dante Martin:

THIS SWEET SUMMER CHILD

I think because of the fact he only has a brother; he doesn’t understand/know the pain of periods

Will just do everything you ask

“Does it have to be this brand-….Yes, I understand but you didn’t need to call me all those names”

Does research and have you take vitamins

Will use another bathroom just to make sure he’s not making you wait or feel uncomfortable

Like MJF, is also scared to see you in a twisted-up position but lets it go when you tell him you feel the least amount of pain

Is also scared of your mood swings (if you have them), but he will quickly understand that you’re not mad at him…you’re mad at Mother Nature

Definitely will ask his brother for tips on how to avoid anything that’ll make you mad

Overall, he will be happy to help you and learn more about you

Hook:

WILL CARRY YOU WITHOUT ANY HESITATION

Tired? Can’t walk due to your period stabbing you in your tummy/uterus?

Call 1-800-SEND-HOOK

Like Darius, is very prepared for your time of the month

Will massage you with a heating pad

I also think he would push for more healthy food and vitamins for you instead of sugars; Mans will have five types of teas for you to try for relief

Will slap your hand if you reach for caffeine

“You’re gonna reach for a Coke when I made this raspberry tea? Don’t complain when your cramps get worse.”

Is not bothered by your period banter; he just remains silent

I’m still deadass about him carrying you everywhere; He’ll do it bridal way or piggyback; it doesn’t matter to him

As long as you are okay and getting better, Hook literally doesn’t care

Daniel Garcia:

I’m convinced that Daniel has tried a period simulator

So safe to know that he understands your pain (it's an uterUS pt.2)

(He was screaming from the pain before it reached level 7)

Will put on your favorite movies to distract you from your pain

Daniel will alter his regular routines to include you and to make you comfortable

Will massage anything you ask him

“You want me to massage your stomach? Done. Now can I massage your tits? Pretty please?”

Will carry you every now and later for your comfort

Doesn’t wanna leave your side until you’re feeling like your old self

“Can I leave? My girlfriend is currently experiencing pain and I’m starting to feel it too.” (Again, uterUS)

Ricky Starks:

Mans is probably the best on this list for dealing with pains and periods (besides Darius)

Ricky does everything to a T

Medication? Has the correct brand of water, pads, and food? Is patient with you? MAN HAS EVERYTHING

But I think, and hear me out

Mans would be into doing the devils tango during this time of the month (don’t know how you feel about it)

“You think a lil blood will stop me? Hell nah! Besides, I heard it really helps with your cramps”

Will continue to do routines with you -self-care with you; face masks, massages

I think he might take you to an acupuncture appointment to help with the pain too

In terms of your mood swings, he will playfully argue with you

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, unless it’s in pleasure…you goblin.”

Eddie Kingston:

“Ight I’m just gonna ask. What size is ya pussy?”

Legitimately doesn’t know what he’s looking for but understands the pain you’re experiencing

Will agree with whatever you say about periods (and will fight anyone who disagrees with you)

Will hog you during this time; just in case you need him at any time

Has everything in a fanny pack or book bag; sometimes will just throw the bag to you so you can grab it

Like the other men on this list, will massage you if you want it

Remember like how I said when you get injured (self-promo) that he will argue as he helps you? Yeah, that doesn’t change

“Get this Eddie. Can you hand me this Eddie? Just m-“ “Are you mocking me?” “No, my sweet!”

Will distract you from your pain with his nonsense

“I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS MONTHLY! BUT I BET ITS CLAUDIOS FAULT!”

[zoeykallus]

Hi Zoey,

Thank you so much for your head cannons.☺️ Our Queen of Head cannons! Anyway today has been kinda a bad day for me; and since your stories have always cheered me up. Some backstory so you can understand what I’m asking: when I have bad days I have a hard time forcing myself to eat. Would you be willing to write a hc about it. That would be wonderful if you would. Gn character with bad batch and anyone else you would like to write with it.😇🤗 Thank you! Even you don’t write it that’s ok.

Aloha! First off, I have to apologize for taking so long. This request dates back to February 😨

Apart from requests piling up, the time between January and April was hard on me. Sorry! Enough with the excuses, let's get to work...

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Take Better Care Of Yourself

Warnings: Suggested Eating Disorder

__________________________

Hunter

As patient as he can be, he doesn't like it when you neglect yourself. Especially when he perceives it repeatedly, he intervenes. "I know you're not feeling very well right now, but you need to keep up your strength". You can argue or whine back and forth all you want, you see Hunter standing in front of you, arms crossed in front of his chest, brows drawn together critically. He won't listen to any excuses. He doesn't want to grumble, and he knows you're not really doing it on purpose, but from his life with his brothers, he only knows the path of severity in situations like this. "Eat at least half, I don't want you to pass out on us here," he finally growls, also making sure you do just that. He takes you aside later, massages your shoulders and talks to you gently, trying to relax you and bring you to other thoughts, hoping that he can drive away the gloomy thoughts and maybe stimulate your appetite again. He will leave no stone unturned to help you.

Echo

He can't take a joke when it comes to food, especially since he puts so much effort into preparing it. And Echo is a fantastic cook. When Wrecker is already reaching for your portion because you're not eating again, Echo slaps him on the wrist. "'Stop that! That's not your plate." "But-" Echo's critical, stern look makes the giant fall silent, pouting. You can't help but feel guilty, Echo has a knack for just looking at you and making you feel guilty about food or generally how well you take care of yourself. However, Echo also knows that he can't force you to do anything and might even make things worse. Instead, he'll prepare a picnic basket filled with all sorts of things you like best and arrange to whisk you away to one of your favorite places together at the earliest opportunity, hoping to stimulate an appetite there. He'll also take you up on that food problem. "How can I help you? What can I do to make you feel better, love?"

Wrecker

At first, he doesn't think much of it. There are rare moments when he loses his appetite, but he has already experienced with his brothers that this can happen. He gladly accepts the extra portion you offer him. But he notices that this pattern repeats itself, and he starts to worry. "You can have my portion too." Wrecker frowns, you see his expression suddenly look worried. "Again? Aren't you hungry?" "Not really," you admit. Wrecker seeks advice from his brothers before discussing the problem with you. He tries everything possible to stimulate your appetite. He gets your favorite snacks, creates a special ambiance, takes you hiking to make you hungry, gives you relaxing massages. Wrecker has no shortage of ideas. Wrecker wants you to be healthy and happy, he makes it his mission to make sure you have everything you need. In this, he is very persistent and lovingly determined.

Tech

The first few times, Tech doesn't say anything, but he notices and makes mental notes. In fact, he keeps a sort of mental log of all your mannerisms and things you do, among other reasons, to better understand you. Finally, you do it again, leave the food, and Tech looks up from his datapad. "You have an eating disorder." Surprised, you look at him. "What?" "Your strange behavior, regarding your food intake, indicates that you have an eating disorder. To be honest, that worries me greatly," he says matter-of-factly, pushing his goggles with his index finger and examining your body with his gaze. He explains to you in gruesome detail how this can affect your health, what diseases and disabilities can be triggered by the lack of certain essential nutrients over time, how they show up, the symptoms, and the less-than-pleasant end results. Tech doesn't hold back on this, even though he sees you squirming. He thinks it's extremely important that you're aware of any consequences. "Perhaps we should consider therapeutic measures before it gets to a point where we may be left with invasive, medical options. Force-feeding, is probably extremely uncomfortable." He may seem very matter of fact and maybe even cruel, but Tech is worried, he is approaching this in such a logical, almost clinical way because that is his way, that doesn't change the fact that underneath the matter of fact facade sits an anxious Tech who is in agony out of fear of seeing you suffer or even losing you. Communicate with him, tell him what is bothering you, what exactly is preventing you from eating. Give him the opportunity to work with you to find a way to address this problem.

Crosshair

He is very attentive and notices your eating behavior immediately. "You're not one of those who stuff themselves with food when no one's looking and then puke it back out, are you?" You look at him in surprise. "What?" Sourly, he says, "I swear, if I catch you doing that then-" Crosshair interrupts himself, he doesn't really know what to threaten you with himself, basically he's just worried and can't really handle it. He's going to ask his brothers and get information elsewhere to find out what he can do. Crosshair wants you to be well, even though it may not seem that way at first. He is not angry at you, but at the helplessness he is pushed into in this situation. It will take a while, but he is adjusting and doing his best to accommodate you helpfully. He will leave no means untouched, whether they are interpersonal, therapeutic, or otherwise medical.

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@pb-jellybeans

@starwarsnerd111

[matchayogitea]

Holding your dreams as you lie to rest

Steve is a sweetheart and comforts Reader who has a bad relationship with food.

Warning: this deals with eating disorders, please don't read it if it might upset or trigger you.

It had been a long night and you were exhausted.

You and Steve had spent some time with the kids - they had insisted on having the two of you over to watch a movie - and there had only been junk food in the house. Popcorn probably had been healthy for a minute, until Dustin and Lucas had slathered it in salt and butter.

Needless to say, you felt guilty as hell for eating chips and ice cream and as soon as Steve had taken you home you had wished, for the first time in your relationship, that he'd leave straight away.

But he had asked if he could stay a while. It wasn't late and your parents knew him, so it wouldn't come as a shock if he hang out a bit. 

There was something you needed to do, though. 

"Make yourself comfortable, I'm just going... to the bathroom for a sec," you told him, handing him the remote control and practically running upstairs. 

When you came back, he eyed you in an odd way. "Are you alright, Y/N?"

"I am. What are you watching?" you sat beside him on the sofa, feeling a bit better and ready to enjoy the rest of the night.

Steve, though, didn't look happy. "Did you..." He seemed unsure and you bit your lip nervously, hoping he wouldn't ask.

But he did.

"Did you make yourself throw up?"

His eyes, so warm and loving, looked sad, worried. And you knew you couldn't lie to him. It was so hard to admit it out loud, though, and you only nodded.

"I... I'm sorry, Steve. I know I told you I was better... I was doing much better, it wasn't a lie, but tonight was just..." you trailed off, lowering your gaze, feeling ashamed. You felt horrible. You felt like a failure.

"Hey, Y/N, look at me. Look at me, it's ok, I'm not judging you or blaming you, alright?"

Steve gently placed his warm, comforting hands on your cheeks, stroking your face softly, and you felt even worse. You tried with all your might to keep it together, because you were so ready to start crying. 

"Come here, Y/N..." He wrapped his arms around you, holding you tight. "It's ok. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, baby..."

"What are you sorry for?" you mumbled, head buried in his shoulder. "I'm the one who should say sorry-"

"No, you don't have to. I'm sorry that healing is so hard, I wish I could do more to help you, I really do." he whispered, stroking your hair and placing gentle kisses on top of your head.

"Steve..." you felt so loved, and yet, you knew he couldn't heal you. He could help, but he couldn't magically make things better. "You're already doing so much..."

"I wish I could fix everything. I wish you didn't have to feel this way. You are wonderful, you are perfect and I love you, you know that?"

You couldn't believe someone like Steve could seriously have those feelings for you. It was hard to believe him, but you trusted him, and you knew he wouldn't lie. "I love you more," you whispered, parting from him slightly so you could look up into his eyes. There was pure adoration there, and you knew that Steve was there for you no matter what, and always would be.

The two of you spent the rest of the evening watching TV absent-mindedly and cuddling, until Steve mentioned it was getting late and he should go home.

You didn't want him to leave. Your parents were upstairs, anyway, and it wasn't a school night so you wouldn't get in trouble for staying up longer than usual.

"Can you stay a bit longer?" You asked softly, raising your head from his shoulder to look into his eyes. They were so gentle, you could get lost in them forever.

Steve moved to face you and placed a soft kiss on your lips. "I guess a bit longer won't hurt. Too bad your parents are home, though..." he winked suggestively.

You laughed and pretended to push him away, then resumed your position from before, snuggling up against him.

You didn't notice you were starting to drift off.

Steve didn't dare to move.

He really had to leave, it was almost two in the morning and he was pretty sure your parents wouldn't appreciate him staying that late (his parents, on the other hand, probably hadn't even realized he wasn't home).

You looked so peaceful, though, so angelic, asleep against him. He hoped you were having a nice dream, getting some respite from reality. You didn't deserve to have such a disordered relationship with food and he hated it. Not that anybody deserves it, he thought, but especially you. He would do anything to help you and he usually was very careful when you two planned out dates - he asked you where you wanted to eat, if you wanted to eat out; he would offer to eat at his place so you could have something not too greasy, not too heavy, and not feel forced to eat junk food at diners in front of everyone else. 

But that night he hadn't thought too much about the food surrounding the movie, figuring it wouldn't be a big deal because you were doing better - you had told him the week before. 

And he was annoyed with himself. But he swore he would be more attentive.

I'd give it all just to make you mine And if you need a minute Honey, I'll give you all my time, all the time

"I will always be here for you, Y/N," he whispered, placing a kiss on your hair. You shifted slightly in your sleep and he thought he could detect a hint of a smile.

I'll put your dreams to sleep With rattling bones So, don't go to sleep, don't rest your head I'll be the pillow, and I'll be the bed Holding your dreams as you lie to rest

He felt his eyelids get heavy and knew he couldn't stay awake much longer. Consequences be damned, he thought, and fell asleep holding you, warm and cozy in your embrace.

Lyrics are from song Evangeline by Stephen Sanchez. I recommend you give it a listen, it's really beautiful and he's SO talented.

[wordbunch]

how the hobbits look after you when you’re sick...

a/n: slightly modified the request by miss @starlady66 so it’s a teeny bit more general. hope y’all like it, let me know about it 💗💗💗 and maybe I’ll do one the other way round, a.k.a. reader looking after them; depends on my time and inspiration... And do you wanna read it👀😁 enjoy 😘

🍃 SAM 🍃

he absolutely goes mother-hen mode and we all knew that already

checks a hundred times if you’re cold, too hot, if your pillows are fluffed perfectly, do you have enough blankets, are you burning up, do you want to eat, drink something?

whatever it is that you need, he’s there

sometimes he even overwhelms you with the questions, but you know he means well and just wants to help

he obviously knows a lot about plants and he knows what tea (or any other herbal thingy) can make you feel at least slightly better

and don’t even get me started on how he makes the most delicious food and wants to feed you all the time so you get healthy and strong again

he can get fussy but he hates it so much when you’re not feeling well

however, you sometimes just want him to keep you company and hold you close - his cuddles are the best, it’s not only his food and drinks that make you feel better

he will cuddle you whenever you ask, he will play with your hair, tell you stories in a quiet, calming voice, whatever helps you relax and take your mind off of pain

very optimistic, he will cheer you up whenever needed, and he also knows that you have to get better soon under his attentive care

🍃  FRODO 🍃 

he would need a bit of time to notice that something’s a bit off with you, because he’s in his head a lot, but as soon as he figures you’re not at 100%, he basically drags you to bed

will want you to tell him what you want and what you think will help, he’s scared of doing something wrong and accidentally making you feel worse (A BABY)

on the outside he’s being very chill and logical, but on the inside he’s actually super worried, even if it’s a very minor cold, or a headache, or just a little bit of a cough

if he knows elvish, maybe he also knows some elvish healing methods or potions or teas?

if he doesn’t, he would try to dig something up from all the books

that would actually help a lot, or maybe it’s just your mind playing a trick on you since you know how much effort he put into it (BABY)

if you crave any specific food, he’ll make sure to get it or make it, if you want the room to be dark in order to be more comfortable, no problem at all, too!

when you’re feeling a bit better, he would entertain you by playing simple games together, like riddles, or some cards, because he won’t let you out of the house right away, but still knows you’re bored

he cannot wait for you to be all healthy again because he’s stressed

but overall he’s very attentive, very helpful, and you’re thankful for all of it

🍃  PIPPIN 🍃 

well he is pretty much lost, but worried to death, which isn’t a good combination, but it’s all out of love!!!

practically glued to your side all the time, even if it’s nothing serious - anything that is hurting you is serious enough to him (at some point you’re uncertain whether he’s not letting go of your hand because of you, or because of himself)

really appreciates it when you directly tell him what you want and need, because then he can actually go and do it and not feel useless, but he’ll try to be as fast as possible so he can return to you shortly

he’ll try to speak very quietly, almost in a whisper, so as to not startle you or cause you any further discomfort (A BABY)

maybe at some point he will ask Sam or Frodo for advice, and Sam sometimes even offers to bring over some food, because Pippin accidentally burning down the kitchen would just complicate things further

lowkey blames himself, because what if he shouldn’t have suggested going for a night walk, and then you got a cold??

what if he was singing too loudly around the house and gave you a headache??

he’ll ask if he may sit on the bed next to you or lie down with you, and you’re like??? of course???

usually he likes to sleep but he can’t when you’re not feeling good, so he will just stay awake and stroke your hair, or hold your hand as you drift off to sleep

if that is okay with you at the moment, he will ramble on about any random topic or sing any song he knows to distract you from whatever hurts

🍃  MERRY 🍃

no way you’ll get out of bed or lift a single finger as long as you’re sick, and he’s around

he’s brilliant at distracting you, if you’re waiting for your fever to go down, or you’re just cranky because of throat pain, he’s ready to make a full performance just to entertain you

he’ll try to guess what you might need, and then bring you stuff, and even if it’s not something that you needed at the moment, you don’t tell him that

he can quickly make you something to eat, but he also tries to get it done fast and come back to keeping his eyes on you

you need a massage? he’ll be more than happy to provide!

he will cuddle you as much as you want to, even if it means that he’ll catch whatever is making you sick (I guess eventually that just gives him an excuse to be babied later...), he will read to you, or you will read together in bed

but he will be the one holding the book, god forbid that you do anything even potentially physically strenuous

a few times he accidentally took a nap during your cuddle session, and then he felt super bad when he woke up, because he was supposed to be the one looking after you!

but you reassure him that it’s really okay and that he also needs to rest and relax

when you’re sleeping in, he will go and pick up random trinkets or snacks to bring you and cheer you up

[ed-recovery-affirmations]

I'm so tired. I feel like my whole life I've been fighting to have a healthy relationship with food and my body, and I just can't do it anymore. I can't fight anymore. And it's so, so easy in comparison to restrict and obsess over tracking everything I eat

I'm dealing with symptoms of a currently unknown disability right now, and I'm so tired. I'm tired of doctors saying "wow, I have no idea what's going on, I've never seen labs like this... but I'm sure losing weight will help!" (Or, worse, "looks like everything's fine, just lose some weight!") It's become this belief that if I was skinny my symptoms would be taken seriously. If I was skinny I'd be able to figure out what was going wrong because doctors wouldn't rely on my weight to explain everything. I know logically there are lots of disabled people who are still ignored while being skinny, who still struggle to be taken seriously, but I can't shake this feeling that everything would be easier if I was skinny

It feels like my life is in the hands of people who don't give a shit about me. And they still probably wouldn't give a shit if I was skinny, but maybe they would. I don't know, I've never been skinny, so I can imagine that everything would be perfect if I was

It's definitely at least partially a desire to have control over my body, too. I can't stop my symptoms, I don't have the tools to figure out what's wrong on my own, but I can starve myself! It seems very silly written out, and it is, but knowing it's silly isn't enough

I saw in your about that you've dealt with comorbid chronic illness and eating disorders, so I guess I'm asking... how? That's probably already on your blog somewhere, actually, so I guess I'm just venting more than anything. Advice would be appreciated, though

God, I feel this so hard, anon. So so hard.

First of all, I am so sorry I have taken so long to get to this ask. Work, ny studies, and my personal life have all been overwhelming lately and I’ve been having to focus on some wellness work for myself.

But yeah. What you’re talking about is a REAL problem, and you are not alone. And the constant medical neglect of fat people and the “I’m sure all your mystery symptoms will go away if you just lose weight” is just the cherry on top of the shit sundae that is chronic illness. It hurts peoples’ lives. It can kill. I don’t have a quick fix for this system, anon, but I just wanted to take a moment to validate you because I know that what you’re going through is so frustrating and draining and soul-sucking. I am mentally sending you strength.

First of all, I might have one suggestion for you: lie. Lie to your medical professionals about just one thing, and no other: tell them you are already on a weight-loss journey, even if you are not. If it gets you the help you need in this system - yeah, fib a little. But then, explain to your doctors that the reason you are seeking treatment for your symptoms so proactively is that they are preventing you from doing what you need to do to lose weight. Yes, of course you really want treatment to improve your basic quality of life, but when you’re talking to your doctor, sometimes you gotta frame it in a way they’ll hear. Explain how each symptom has made you unable to pursue an active lifestyle. Or how you’ve been too fatigued to meal prep, or how your symptoms are costing you so much that you are struggling to budget for dietary changes. You don’t have to actually be planning any of these things, but if it gets them to continue pursuing the source of your symptoms, just lie. I know it’s so triggering and awful to have to do this just to get taken seriously, so set aside time to prioritize something that you find self-caring after this.)

I know you say your desire to control your body seems silly written out, but it’s not silly at all. I get it. I really really do because I have the same impulse. When your body keeps acting out of your control in painful ways, it’ll make you desperate. And when you’ve had the message pushed your whole life that being skinny fixes everything, it tends to stick in your mind. You are not alone. You are desperate and being driven by a valid impulse.

Instead of pursuing an eating disorder, remind yourself that eating disorders only give you the illusion of control. Eating disorders only pave the way for the disorder to get more control over you. Not to mention, starving yourself will likely take even more of a toll on your health, doing lasting damage if you lose a significant amount of weight from starving. You are allowed to love yourself more than that. I know it’s hard. I know it’s hard to keep fighting for yourself.

Are you in any chronic illness support groups, online or in person? If you aren’t, I suggest you find some. You may find a good outlet to vent about symptoms, get advice on what got doctors to take other people seriously, and learn more about your own symptoms.

While I don’t recommend starving yourself, you could try tracking your symptoms in relation to certain foods and see if specific food sensitivities worsened them (this was true for me.) For me personally, it helps to remind myself that these foods aren’t “bad” foods - they’re just not good FOR ME, and choosing the ones that make me feel better is a way of taking care of and loving my body. (If you find your symptoms do not change based on dietary experimentation, you can disregard this advice.) For me, it can be really triggering having to avoid certain foods, so I definitely have to take a pause to calm down and talk myself through it sometimes.

Things like meditation exercises, gentle yoga, de-stressing exercises and therapy will not cure your chronic health condition, but may help keep symptoms from spiking as badly because stress is known to exacerbate physical symptoms. (Easier said than done, I know - what you’re going through is stressful. I am not telling you not to feel stressed, just to try and create small pockets of time where you try to give yourself a break from stress, which may not come naturally and may be hard because you cannot go to a place of escaping your symptoms. Just keep trying patiently and be compassionate with yourself.)

Anon, I really really hope this gives you some sort of help and comfort, even though it’s not a cure-all and I did get to it so late. There’s more I could say based on knowing specific symptoms if you’re okay sharing them, but for now I’ll just leave it at this. Feel free to vent in my inbox any time.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9

Today's (8/1/2024) Episode: Aging Up Is Hard To Do

After Noemi joined Luigi in adulthood, the pair struggled to settle into their new, older, stage of life.

Luigi had been busy after aging up, first grieving and then trying to make Noemi’s birthday perfect. When the vain sim finally checked his mirror, he was horrified by how OLD he looked. Wrinkles and bags under his eyes…!? The self-absorbed sim hated the marks time had left on his face.

It didn’t help his outlook that his eczema and anemia seemed to be getting worse, despite religiously sticking to his tried-and-true maintenance routines. He’d also begun to struggle with excessive thirst. None of it made it easy to meet his own high standards. Luigi was officially in a funk!

As for Noemi, she had finally set a date to start the job that Skye’s birth and her health issues had postponed, but it was messing with her head.

She worried that her social struggles would prevent her from making a good impression on her bosses and new peers. On top of that, her inability to exercise the way she wanted to since Skye’s birth due to her surgeries had left her carrying a lot more leftover baby weight than she liked.

The idea of facing her new co-workers and clients when she feeling far from her “best” kicked her anxiety into high gear.

When Luigi admitted his unhappiness with his new, older look and recent ill health it prompted his fiancée to admit to her own concerns.

Noemi suggested that, since Luigi was feeling under the weather, they start trying to tackle things with a visit to their doctors.

Hopefully, his primary care provider could help him figure out what to do to get his chronic conditions back under control and Dr. Valasquez could help her brainstorm ways to manage her anxiety.

Sadly, the outcome of Luigi’s healthcare appointment only worsened his outlook.

His symptoms and answers to questions about his general dietary habits quickly prompted the doctor to order a panel of bloodwork. This revealed that Luigi’s recent fatigue and dry skin weren’t the worsening of his long-standing medical issues, but a sign that he needed to overhaul his lifestyle once again to deal with a new chronic condition: diabetes.

To keep his blood sugar in a healthy range Luigi would now need to avoid many of his favorite breakfast foods and mixology recipes. He hung up the phone in shock, his natural cheerfulness unable to find any bright side to the grim news. Why did these things keep happening to him!?

Noemi didn’t fare much better. Her therapist wasn’t able to suggest anything she didn’t already know, leaving her no better off than before.

Grabbing a late dinner after putting Skye to bed the couple compared notes and tried to brainstorm. Luigi’s first idea came as he remembered how empowering it had felt for him and his cousins to curate their “new looks” after moving in together. Maybe, he told Noemi, they couldn’t change what was at the heart of their problems, but with a little “fashion magic” they could cover over them a bit. She agreed it was worth a try.

When he went on to bitterly joke: “At least my seldom sleepy trait keeps me mostly awake and alert. If only there was a satisfaction potion of chronic-illness-be-gone!” a lightbulb went off in Noemi’s brain. No satisfaction reward would help him, but there was definitely one for her weight concerns.

When Luigi saw the “Insta Lean” potion pop out of his fiancées inventory he placed a hand on her arm to stop her from chugging it down.

“What?” she asked him “It’s a perfectly safe one time reset. Now that I can exercise again, I’ll easily maintain a weight that makes me happy. Come to think of it, exercising more would be good for both of us. Didn’t the doctor say a regular fitness routine would help you manage your sugar levels?”

“Yes, he did” Luigi replied, “and that’s a great idea. If you’re spending points, do you have enough to pick up Seldom Sleepy too?” At her nod he smiled and continued. “Grab that, and we can burn the midnight oil together, going for late night jogs on the beach and early morning swims!”

Gesturing back at the potion his face got serious as he continued: “I just wanted you to know, before you drink that, that you are beautiful and loved just the way you are. If your new bosses or your bathroom mirror don’t appreciate you, I hope you realize how much I do.”

Noemi leaned across the table and kissed him softly. “I love you too. However much your love completes me though, I want to go into my new job feeling on top of the world. This expensive little cocktail will boost my confidence in the office Monday morning, when I’ll need all the help I can get!” With that, she tipped the glass back, letting the magical concoction slide down her throat with a cool tingle.

With their “fixer upper” plans in place the pair looked forward to a fashion makeover to highlight their new, more mature, and soon sleeker bodies!

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[http-paprika]

Peppers / Alejandro Vargas

pairing alejandro vargas x female!reader / wc 905 / warnings allusions to suggestive content, definitely not a healthy relationship, they talk shit to each other.

summery all he was supposed to be doing was clearing his head, but alejandro ends up getting more than he asked for when an old flame returns to las almas.

notes third poll fanfiction, and second fanfic of the day, done. also, there's no use of y/n and the female insert is from las almas so she's mexican. i threw in a bit of spanish words, but in reality their entire conversations are in spanish, i just wanted to highlight key phrases. also, shout of to sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band which was the music i listened to whilst i wrote this.

⋆★⋆ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ⋆★⋆

The summer sun beat hot against his head as Alejandro slipped through the busy street, ignoring the shouting street vendors, savoring the smell of food cooking along the street. He kept his gaze down, head low to avoid unnecessary conflicts. He was a man with a reputation in his hometown, hated, loved, indifferent. And all Alejandro wanted, was to enjoy his momentary solitude before he’d have to return to the base and continue to tirelessly work, following wasteful leads in search of El Sin Nombre, Valeria, who had disappeared from Las Almas. But her power, influence, and drugs still funneled into his town, and rumors had begun to bubble up that she had found an heir to take up her place in Las Almas. The thought made him boil with frustration and rage, and he needed to focus on moving his feet forward instead of thinking about her.

Looking up from the stones under his feet, another woman catches his eye as he stands on the edge of the busy square, a familiar beautiful face, with a smile and dazzling eyes that even meters away caused Alejandro to stop in his tracks. A haunting phantom who’d left Las Almas years before, a girl he thought he’d never face again. His flaw, his undoing. She still shone brightly like a star as he watched her gossip quickly with the owner of the stall she was standing in front of. As if his body had turned into lead, Alejandro couldn’t get away quick enough, heat rising in his cheeks as she turned and spotted him trying to break away, gazing at him from under those dark lashes. She stood there like a magnet, pulling him in against his will, she’d only grown more alluring since she’d left, with a figure his hands ached to touch and lips he unnervingly wished to kiss. Death disguised as the prettiest woman in all of Mexico. 

“Senorita, welcome back to Las Almas.” Alejandro forced himself to stay curt, holding his tongue back from saying what he thought. She placed her hands on her hips, taking him in now that he stood there in front of her. “Little early for Dia de las Muertos, don’t you think?” 

“Very funny, Alejandro.” She responded, rolling her eyes and making his throat dry up. He felt foolish to think she would’ve called him by the name she’d given him years before, though he was surprised she acknowledged him at all. Considering their violent, colossal past, Alejandro expected her to maim him there on the street for everyone to see. “I see you haven’t changed since I left.” 

“Can’t say that you have either.” He says, a devious smirk painted her face as she turned back to the street vendor and paid for the fresh produce she’d picked out. He eyed the assortment of peppers and greens, clicking his tongue. “So, the cat finally dragged the rat back in?” 

Her eyes flickered briefly with anger but ignored his remark even if she knew she’d have to give him a response eventually. “I grew bored of the South. The men there were worse than dogs.” 

Alejandro scoffs but finds himself following her through the street market, under the colorful banners, and past the church. “Because you’re so much better? El serpiente. You and the rest of your team.” 

“Do you plan on spending the rest of your life harassing me over that, Alejandro? Because it wasn’t that big of a deal, and it’s sad to see you losing your mind that.” She rolls her eyes, her knuckles grazing his from how close the two were. It was intoxicating for him to walk so close to her, like the richest alcohol that he’d ever tasted. She’d left him wasted before, and Alejandro knew if he gave her the chance, she’d do it again, sinking her teeth and nails into him. 

“I’m not losing my mind–” He says through gritted teeth, realizing that his reactions were just feeding her ego. Alejandro could see it swelling up inside of her, eyes burning with hunger, waiting for him to burst. 

“Then why are you following me to my home? Don’t you have a job to do? Shouldn’t you be off playing vaqueros?” She’d always had a talent for taunting, a feverish desire to watch people squirm and shout. It plagued him, causing poison to seep into his veins, and with folly, Alejandro didn’t fight back. They stopped on the uneven steps, in front of a blue house with veins clinging to the walls. Unknowingly, he’d followed her back to her home, just like he used to in the barracks when he was younger. He could already hear the scoldings he’d received from his second command and ignored the internal sirens and alarms as she unlocked the door. 

“I have time to kill.” Those five simple words did him in, an old passion heating his insides and bubbling in his stomach. A wiser man would’ve left, and never given her a second thought. But he disregarded all logic and followed her inside, locking the door behind. His mouth began to water as he watched her in the dim light, she put her things down, kicking off her shoes as Alejandro closed the gap between them, hands finding solace on her hips and his mouth crashing down against hers. She tasted just like he remembered, sweet and spicy just like fresh peppers.

[pyrepostings]

Whumperless Whump Event: In Hot Water

Dangerously high fever / Cool baths / “We have to get that number down somehow.”

Free Birds and Fiddlers

cw: sickfic, starvation (self imposed), suicidal ideation and actions, unreliable narrator

~~~

The thing about starvation is that it is not a quick or clean death. It is also rare that the body simply switches off at the lack of food. No, it cannibalizes itself long before that. One of the first sources of proteins to be broken down and reused is the immune system.

A man wasting away to starvation will often finally succumb to sickness.

And so Kevin, when feeling that first shiver down his spine despite the warm blanket, the first tickle at the back of his throat that suggested a cough, carefully suppressed every symptom. He curled the blanket tighter, and muffled any sounds with a wad of the cloth.

He would not be able to hide it for long, but the longer he keeps his new condition from the guard in the room, the higher the chance it would release him from this prison.

One way or another, he will be free.

By the time Julian came with breakfast, he couldn't hide the shivering, or the sweat. He planned to just drain the broth without fuss and send Julian on his way, or hide beneath the blanket again if the other man decided to linger.

But Julian seemed to have other plans.

"How long have you been sick?"

He sounded almost mad. Scared, maybe? Oh he would be scared for Kevin to just slip out from between his fingers without his say-so.

"It doesn't matter, does it?"

"Yes, it does. Drink." He pushed the stew into Kevin's hands. "And I'm giving you two cups of water before I leave. You need the fluids."

"I don't need shite from-" He was broken off with a coughing fit, Julian steadying the bowl so he wouldn't make a mess.

"And I'll be telling Rynn you're sick. She will want to keep an eye on you for it."

"Oh grand. And what is she going to do that you can't?"

"I imagine she would be able to put an IV in your arm more effectively than I could on my own."

Kevin scoffed. "Like she'd waste limited medical resources on me."

"The only waste in that scenario is you refusing to drink and eat when you are perfectly physically capable of it."

Kevin stared him down. "You'd have to hold or tie me down for that. I'd kick and tear it out."

Julian returned the gaze with a steadiness that surely proved his worthiness to claim the lion moniker. "If that is what it takes to keep you alive, then so be it."

Kevin held his gaze for a few moments longer, considering this, and decided it was in his best interest to drain the bowl of broth.

~

Despite his increased fluids intake, which still fell below the line of what one would consider healthy, his fever flared. Rynn had replaced his heavy winter blanket with a lighter one so as not to incubate the fever. He had cursed her when he realized, his shivering only getting worse.

She increased the number of sponge baths she forced on him, and the water used was noticeably colder. When he refused the tea she brought him, on the grounds that he had agreed to drink water and soup broth and that tea was not a part of it, though really it was because he knew it was likely made with an herb or medicine to bring him from the brink faster. He found his broth next meal time had some new ingredients.

By the time his fever broke, Kevin didn't have the energy to be either glad or angry. He was just tired. Tired of being in pain, tired of the muscle soreness that came with constant shivering. Tired of the sticky sweat that covered his body and soaked into the sheets immediately after they were changed.

He just wanted out. And currently there was no end in sight.

Masterlist

@whumperless-whump-event

[gaykarstaagforever]

Ultraprocessed foods are bad for us.

Thank god CNN has stepped in to help us all out by suggesting healthier diet alternatives:

Get your personal chef to prepare these actual suggestions today!

Quinoa, sorghum, and wheat berries, stewed with fresh milk, honey, fruits and nuts! Assuming it is harvestime on your estate, of course.

Roast chicken and kale ricotta salad! Because the best salads are the ones that cost $12.

Warm ferro grain (?) salad with pomegranate! From your pomegranate trees!

Roasted almonds with za'atar spices! I guess I live in Tunisia now.

Homemade avacado salsa! Use all the acacados you purchased in lieu of a house.

Turkey tacos! (So taco shells aren't ultraprocessed now? Or is one of the tenement villages paying me rent in the form of daily fresh taco shells?)

"Mediterranean" tuna salad, which the author assures us will make EVEN HER like tuna. Because fish is icky. That's why only 98% of the human race eats it almost exclusively. And I assume this isn't canned tuna, but some kind of wild-caught tuna the Tuna Man drops off at the gatehouse on Saturdays.

Don't you dare cheat and eat garbage for dessert, either. Not when you can have strawberry ricotta granola parfaits! Man. Our ricotta cheese bill must be amazing. Or why not just have pears, poached in pomegranate juice or port that I of course juat have, with yogurt? Or just, you know, bake the pears in parchment?

CNN. We aren't all eating ramen and Vienna sausages because it is "easier" than POACHING PEARS IN PORT.

We all eat tons of garbage because it is made at-scale via industrial processes, so it is cheap. It also keeps for ages, so we aren't throwing out $30 of spoiled food every week because our plans changed. Many of us also live in places where we're not getting anything that Dollar General doesn't have. It isn't a good situation, but it is the one more and more of us are finding ourselves stuck in as time goes on, as the rich are increasingly allowed to destroy the world for personal profit.

I'm not picking pizza over ancient grains because I didn't have time to buzz over to the quinoa store. I don't have a quinoa store. And I assume I would, if that stuff was the same price as white rice.

Who is this article for? You have a lot of fucking nerve, acting like I eat like a rat in a dumpster exclusively because I'm too stupid to use all my money to import fresh cheeses from Italy. If the people your reporters are hanging out with are in that specific position, that's unfortunate for them, and embarrassing for the parents who raised them. But that isn't the problem for most of us. Acting like us eating like shit isn't almost entirely a symptom of us being financially exploited is either ignorance on your part, or you intentionally dodging the issue. I'm not sure which is worse.

There ARE inexpensive ways to avoid ultraprocessed foods. Beans are cheap and plentiful, either dry or canned (and you rinse the salt off). Potatoes and onions and rice fill out every meal very cheaply. Adding "spicy" stuff, like chilis and jalapeños and vinegar, to meals, after you gain the taste and stomach for it, makes meals more satisfying and tricks your body into eating less.

And for people worried about ultraprocessed crap, why are you telling anyone to eat meat and milk? Most animal products come from corporate farms and are infused with so many terrible things that no one should be eating.

Americans spend too much on shit food. People in other countries eat better for less. Many poor areas in the US DO now have access to Indian / Latinx / Southeast Asian markets, where many nutritious foods can be bought for very little money, you just have to learn what they are and how to prepare them. Why wasn't that even suggsted?

I'm fat because I used to eat like an American, and our rich are callously murdering us with terrible cheap psuedo-food. I'm sick of it. I'm also poor, so I have to figure this out. I'd love help from qualified experts. Apparently no one at CNN knows any, and doesn't fucking care.

...Also, for the millionth time, fuck kale. Broccoli and spinach are cheap and plentiful and don't taste like leather made of grass. STOP TRYING TO FEED ME KALE.

[bubu-pharmacy-doctor]

What are your thoughts about diets?

Diets are a very complicated topic.

I think the main issue is that people attempt to push specific diets as "The Healthiest" or "The Best" diet.

The best diet for a person is always the healthiest for them, but the healthiest diet for a person is different for every person.

I rarely actually use a diet as a treatment. If I give a patient a diet, it is because the medicine I give them will react with a type of food, but try to base the medicine around their diet, that's why I ask about them.

I only suggest changes if I'm particularly worried about their diet, or I think they're having a mild allergic reaction to something they're eating.

Another issue is that most special diets (so, not vegetarian, pescitarian, vegan, halal, kosher, etc.) don't offer other options. You have to follow a very limited variety of foods. If someone has an allergy to a major part of the diet, there's largely no replacement for it that fits the diet. And people can have allergies to just about anything. A childhood friend of mine is allergic to bamboo, which was a slight issue in Chenyu Vale because that was one of our main foods. I once treated someone who had an allergic reaction to avocado.

I have quite a decent list of foods I can't have or can only have small amounts of thanks to my equally decent list of disability issues. Many diets advertised are not fit for me, I can't follow them.

But, I still have a healthy diet. I just have one that's healthy for me.

In healthy eating this way, but I'm not going to recommend other people do. It's restrictive, there are things I rely on that can be a common allergen.

To make things worse, I have not seen any of those diets that thinks about religious diets. Maybe some of them are fit to be used by someone who also has a religious diet, but that's largely an accident.

If you want to follow a specific diet, that's your choice. But you shouldn't force it onto anyone. Even the non-specific diets I mentioned earlier. You shouldn't force someone to be vegetarian, pescitarian, or vegan just because you are.

You do not know what is healthy for someone else. Even as a doctor, I don't know what a healthy diet would be for someone else. I can only work through trial and error with a patient, which can be rather exhaustive for the both of us, so if they want to stop that, I likely will because the stress will only make their condition worse.

If I followed a vegan diet, I would starve. But that might be a good choice for someone else.