#drawing people from the side my arch nemesis

[sanemistar]

too close — sanemi shinazugawa

contents ★ fem!reader, fluff, enemies to lovers, wc: 1.k ﾉ requested for my milestone event. note: this turned out to be much longer than i intended to omg event m.list ★ kny m.list

you had no idea how you ended up in this position with sanemi of all people, he was the very last person you had in mind when imagining scenarios like that. yet there you were, leaning so close to him, a little too close. the very little distance between two of you was so alarming to the point where you could feel his every hot breath fanning against the skin of your face, sending shivers down your spine. your eyes directly staring into his own deep lilac ones in a painfully prolonged gaze, as if you were seeing through each other’s souls. the surrounding air was filled with tension that was so intense and so strong. it was so silent that you could hear the sound of your own heartbeat as you heart raced like crazy like it was about to burst out of your chest and explode.

“you’re way too close…” sanemi finally spoke up in an irritated tone, breaking the thick layer of awkward silence around you. his eyebrows furrowed in perplexity as a confused expression made its way onto his face. by then, you would’ve immediately leaned back, walked away from him, and acted like nothing had ever happened. but for some odd reason, your feet were still heavily glued to the ground, not daring to move an inch as your face became even closer to his. like if there was some sort of gravity drawing you in, pulling you closer towards him.

“and if i get closer, will you push me away?” you replied back in a somewhat teasing tone, which was probably just to get a reaction from him before he’d get you off of him and leave. you enjoyed seeing his mad reactions, he was your rival after all. but instead of getting the usual mad reaction you had expected, sanemi fell silent. as if he was contemplating on what to say next, which was quite unlike him. the sanemi you knew would’ve pushed you to the side and stormed off without a second thought, so the way he reacted made you feel a little nervous, a little unsettled. like why was he still close, why was he still there? questions and rampant thoughts were running wild in your head.

“you want me to? or do ya want us to kiss or something?” he asked back as the saga of questions continued. until a strange, unfamiliar desire suddenly hit you upon hearing his words. and before you had realized that you had no control over your body, it moved on its own. closing the whatever remaining distance left between you and him as your hand quickly grabbed his shirt and smacked your lips on top of his, pulling him into a quick kiss that only lasted for just mere seconds. it was clumsy, hasty and full of uncertainty, completely different from what you had in mind. maybe because you weren't kissing someone you had a crush on, but a person you thought of as an enemy.

you didn’t know what possessed you back then when you did that, you weren't the type to act on impulses. every single move you took, no matter how small, was carefully calculated, you never acted recklessly. and for the first time in your life, you defied your logic and broke your own rules as you allowed yourself to act upon your emotions in the heat of the moment. you were overwhelmed with a mix of new emotions you never thought you would feel, and you couldn’t believe yourself. the man in front of you whom you just kissed was your foe, your arch-enemy, your nemesis. you were supposed to hate, and even regret initiating it. but surprisingly, the only thing you regretted was breaking the kiss too quickly and abruptly.

who would've thought that kissing one's enemy would be so good, was what you thought.

you were certain that your face was flushed in embarrassment and was as red as a tomato. he'd probably laugh at you and tease you about it for as long as you lived, you basically gave him an opportunity on a golden plate.

or at least, that was what you thought was the case.

what you never saw coming though was that, instead of him acting in his usual aggressive attitude, his eyes were wide open, clearly taken aback by the sudden action. he was showing a softer expression, one that you'd never seen before. a slight tint of red decorated his scarred face. it got you thinking that maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all.

"i dunno what have you done to me, but i wanna kiss you again." sanemi admitted as he leaned close to you once again, and you'd nodded in agreement before you locked your lips with his again for a second time. this time, it was a slow, passionate kiss. completely different from the first one. and you made sure to take your sweet time savoring his taste. unexpectedly, he tasted like ohagi, so sugary and sweet. contrasting his standoffish, scary demeanor.

you hadn't realized that you two had been kissing for quite some time until you felt yourself unable to breathe properly as your chest rapidly moved up and down, and that your lungs were practically begging for air. the two of you pulled away, panting as you desperately needed some air. your head was still spinning and dizzy as an aftermath of that intimate kiss, it was much better than the first one that you were left wanting more.

"i think i'll like you, so how about a third kiss?" you softly whispered against his ear as he slightly flinched. "you know the saying, third time's the charm." coaxing him to go in one more time.

before that day the thought of you kissing sanemi would've never crossed your mind, let alone liking him. but if you could go back in time, you'd still choose him, your dear nemesis, again and again. in a heartbeat.

taglist: @sylusdoll @ayrastv @spkyssn @stunies

[black-and-yellow]

The walk home from UA

[silviakundera]

Are You The One very spoilery drama review

"Do you remember the archenemy I mentioned? ...Three years ago I played against (him). I lost that time. It was my first defeat in life. Strangely, I didn't feel sorrowful. Instead, I felt a kind of joy in meeting a worthy opponent. Since then, I've played against (him) several times. We're almost even. Each game is a battle of wits and courage, thrilling and intense. Rather than seeing him as an arch enemy, I consider him a close friend. I enjoy each game against (him). As long as he's my rival, the result doesn't matter."

Imagine you're a protagonist making THAT speech about his nemesis... then encountering said nemesis with injuries & amnesia, presuming this person is actually your nemesis's lover (because rumors/secret identity/sexism), and fake marrying them as a pretense to draw out and capture..... the person who is now your fake wife that you're falling in love with! Cause you were half in love with your nemesis already lmao. 🤡🤡🤡

Welcome to the set up of Are You The One, a costume drama romance with situational comedy and a dark under belly (as both ML and FL are ruthless schemers with blood on their hands).

The circumstances are inherently hilarious and the comedy revolves around the Shakespearean absurdity of the situation the characters find themselves in. This tends to be my preferred style of humor, in comparision to the comedy stylings of pratfalls, pranks, and goofy insults. Anyone who read my fanfics back in the day knows that I enjoy throwing my couples into ridiculous situations and then watching them have to deal with it in all seriousness (and fall in love in the meantime.)

Per usual for me in a narrative that's primary-romance, what matters most is that A) I understand why these 2 people match each other; B) by the time we reach the end, the otp are equal partners; C) BLOOD LUST (look I just enjoy an otp who will both stab an enemy in the gut, it is very sexy of them ok? ok)

Things that make me rabid about this drama:

At first he doesn't even register how beautiful she is, while canonically people are staring at her in the street, she's so lovely. This is because he is so fixated on this rival that he admires, who he has been battling for 3 years, that he only registers her as a pawn in their game

Very romantic & sexy to me that his connection & attraction to her build from him growing to understand her personality and admiring her qualities

Zhang Wanyi handles situational comedy tbh much better than I expected (having previously enjoyed him in a tragic role and then an angsty melo). Both Zhang Wanyi and Wang Churan very much embodied their characters, both the dark and light sides.

True enemies to lovers because he falls in love with all the qualities that he'd admired in his respected enemy: her decisiveness, her clever scheming, her loyalty, her meticulous nature. He is drawn to her as someone who is his equal and could be a true confidant - the same thing she sees in him.

By episode 7, he's started falling for her and the audience can see how it happened and why.

It was so good for me that when her memories secretly awaken, he senses this by observing, "Lately, I've always felt that there is someone who understands my thoughts, spies on my actions, and constantly leads me by the nose. Even if I gain something like today, it's because (he) made me this way. I haven't felt this way for a long time." / "When did you last have this feeling?" / "The last time was when I dealt with Lu Wen. Lu Wen should have returned."

We can also see why FL is falling for this person who lets her take charge and likes it, who enjoys her wits and starts backing her play.

The narrative structure is not just in medias res... It's truly atypical: we're dropped into this story 3 years in and because the perspective in the first third of the drama is the ML's, we share his narrow viewpoint and naturally presume that he's the protagonist hero of this tale, the morally grey but capable prince who is defending his province against bandits while fending off a royal court threatened by his military power.

But oops, what if it turns out that basically you're the sheriff of Nottingham and you've been battling Robinhood, who's actually your hot & brilliant fake-wife. And when you unknowingly captured Robinhood, it was too late -- she'd already been secretly supporting The Rightful King™ for years, and now she's a hero who helped the monarch rise to the thrown, and to an outsider you would be considered the dastardly scoundrel in this tale. 🤡

So IS he a villain? No, not really. He can coldly have his enemies killed and he certainly originally intended to kill FL, and then dispose of her bloodlessly, and then... (ANYWAY, yeah bro is Going Thru It™)

But everything he does is within the rights & privileges of his role, as ruler of the province and subject only to the emperor/empress dowager.

A man accostomed to wealth & power who was jaded and obviously just going thru the motions, fulfilling his responsibilities and resigned to being suspected by a weak ruler & conniving court, marrying a cousin who just wants his title, and protecting his borders out of duty. Until 3 years ago, when he starts battling against bandit leader Lu Wen. Now he's awake, he's excited, he has news to look forward to.

It's hilarious how he doesn't even see it in the initial episodes, the way he's accidentally moved that person in and now he's having to constantly maneuver around this person's decisive actions, and it's invigorating him. It's emotionally and mentally stimulating.

And then it's flipped where FL now has to come to the realization that life is more rewarding when she has ML to plan with, more satisfying than going it alone.

As a hater of amnesia plotlines, why didn't it repel me? 1) when we meet the character, she already has the memory loss; it's a defining trait and 2) she doesn't lose her intellgence with the memory loss and become pliant and just malleable like portrayed in other dramas - what makes the first 17 episodes a cat vs mouse cat game is that even with her memories stripped away, this person who's been told she's a merchant's sickly wife is still clever, conniving, and assertive... and we even see the willingness to get ruthless & violent if needed.

She's understandably infuriated & resentful upon regaining her memories -- such a proud & capable & independant person with big plans just manipulated for a year, tricked into giving care and affection to her enemy. But when she dismisses ML's now sincere feelings as, "What he wants to marry is not me, but the canary he has raised." ....the script has provided substantial evidence that in actuality he has a total complex about his mysterious nemesis; the real her inside, that couldn't be erased, is what he has always liked.

And then he gets the chance to prove it and finally openly express that to her.

After 17 episodes of her under the thumb of manipulation, the drama provides another 15 or so where she is in control of her own life and given the agency to decide if they could work, and she waits to be certain that ML doesn't want the canary in a cage after all. 👌 👌

I just very much appreciate dramas that show instead of tell, and earn the relationship. Convince me! The screenwriter shows their work not just on the main ship and secondary ships, but also the friendship between FL and the He merchant daughter. (The way they shift her from 'love rival' to empathizing w each other and actual friends was great - lol reminds me of Qin Zhenzhen from Princess Royal; sorry not sorry, my love rival actually likes me best now 😜)

Also also the emperor and empress slow burn ship in the 2nd arc of the drama was good stuff, I quite liked them.

Also also ALSO the main otp get 20+ minutes devoted to their (real) wedding in the final episodes. We get a proposal, marriage certificate signing, and one of the longest wedding ceremonies I've seen in a cdrama. Giving the people what they want!

[summerofofelia]

15 day BL challenge time!

OG here 🧡

Day 8 - The trope you hate except when it’s “this series”.

Throughout the course of my twenties, due to a combination of working with incredibly difficult people (never work in Australian media y’all) and navigating personal drama, I have learned that the best way to interact with people is through direct, honest communication. I have learned how to be gently confrontational, I am comfortable being uncomfortable and saying to someone, “hey, can we sit down and have a chat?” And as a result, I find myself huffing impatiently when miscommunication rears its ugly head.

Looking at you buddy

Ah yes, miscommunication. My arch nemesis. Miscommunication is the rotten toenail of tropes. So often it feels like a cheap way to manufacture drama because the writer was too lazy to come up with something more original.

If the central conflict of your story stems from a miscommunication that could be resolved if the characters had a two minute conversation, but instead you stretch this petty misunderstanding out for an infuriatingly long amount of time… ya boring. Go back to the drawing board. Think of how else you can create tension and obstacles that compel the audience to care.

So which show is my only exception?

BL: My Personal Weatherman.

My Personal Weatherman, for those unfamiliar, is essentially a story about two emotionally constipated dumbasses that are desperately in love with each other.

And I adore it.

So what makes their miscommunication different?

This is not a surface level miscommunication that can be solved with a simple conversation. It requires serious introspection, recognition of fears, voicing insecurities and allowing vulnerability. These are not things that happen overnight.

Yoh has incredibly low self esteem and believes he has nothing to offer Segasaki. He constantly downplays his abilities, despite the fact that throughout the series we see him being Segasaki’s safe space.

He can’t bring himself to be honest about his feelings to Segasaki (except when he’s drunk). He is confused by Segasaki’s actions and finds himself becoming resentful, finding reasons to hate Segasaki because he thinks his heart is the only one that races when they’re together.

Segasaki, on the other hand, wears a mask around others, feeling like Yoh is the only one that understands him. He can pretend with everyone else, but with Yoh he is utterly defenseless. Since day one he has been captivated by this man that sees right through him to his very core.

Segasaki desperately needs Yoh to be by his side, he craves him, and yet it takes seven episodes for him to finally break and say, I can’t breathe without you. Even after this declaration we see him tying Yoh up in an attempt to keep him from leaving, begging telling Yoh to be his and his alone, his insecurity palpable (also, he never actually tells Yoh about his insecurities, he just tortures himself in private). This moment of vulnerability is a turning point in their relationship.

And all this is externalised through a lack of communication, and not just that, but a lack of understanding about different communication styles. Segasaki is taken aback when he finds Yoh drunk and sullen, proclaiming that he will earn enough money to move out because Segasaki only sees him as a slave. Meanwhile Segasaki is like, wow, okay, first of all rude to say that to your husband.

But after this, Segasaki specifically takes Yoh out and they experience all these cute little date moments. It’s super sweet and everything is going well, until Yoh says, “hey, if you want to do something without me you can”, leading Segasaki to walk away despondently (and lie about having other plans) because he clearly thought they were on the same page (however, he still uses this time to buy Yoh a jumper while Yoh goes off to buy more sheets so they can fuck be intimate more often (because they’re both dumbasses who haven’t heard of a dryer)).

Through Segasaki’s actions, he thought he was clearly saying, “hey, I like you.” And yet, the lack of literal vocal communication meant these gestures went completely over Yoh’s head (literally at one point he says, this guy really needs to use more words!!). His low self esteem has created a barrier in their relationship. He doesn’t understand that Segasaki actually wants to be with him. How could this amazing man ever actually want him? And it’s understandable that he’s struggling, because Segasaki can be quite ambiguous with his words.

Now could all of this be resolved in one conversation? Not exactly, no. It’s more complicated than that. Which is why it works. Because there is something far deeper going on.

In order for these two to find each other, they have to overcome their own insecurities. They are each fighting an internal battle and don’t actually understand how to vocalise their needs and fears to each other.

It’s hard, but they get there eventually.

Dumbasses (affectionate).

[shygirl4991]

True Color

Summary: SMG3 was told by eggman to kill SMG4 his ex rival, deep down he knew he couldn't bring himself to harm someone he grew close to so he comes up with a plan to trick eggman. Except SMG4 wasn’t a part of the plan, the man on the floor crying not only over his dead meme but at the fact his friend and crush was about to kill him. Will SMG3 be able to live through his fight with Eggman and finally admit his true feelings, he better cause there's no way a great villain like him will lose!

Tags: Fluff and Angst, Attempted murder, love confessions, first kiss, enemies to friends to lovers

SMG3 chuckles to himself dealing with Depresso was nothing, who knew this man was so weak to rats. As he walks outside his old friend Eggman follows, he is sure to be bowing down to the proof that Three hasn't lost his touch when it comes to evil. Eggman smiles, placing a hand on his shoulder “Congrats, SMG3! There’s only one final test before you can be called a true villain again.” Three smirks, this will be easy who said you couldn't be evil and still have your hero friends by your side.

“You must kill your arch nemesis!” He shows his phone revealing footage of his Eggdog cam. How did eggman know about the camera in Four’s room? How long has he been watching the man, he made a mistake putting that camera in his room. He only did it to make sure that nothing would happen to four, now look at what he did. He felt a chill go down his back as it now hit him, Eggman wants him to kill his ex rival. The meme guardian in charge of living memes, his friend. He looks down in shock as Eggman pats his back laughing “Can't wait to see it friend!” 

Three was at his new home, sitting on his bomb chair staring at the gun in his hand. He can feel himself shaking at the thought of aiming it at SMG4, so many years of trying to kill the man and he did it all without any emotion besides anger. Things have changed so much, he remembers when he was about to die when he dropped the character he played as for so many years to finally tell SMG4 that they were friends. The day they did the heist to get his notebook back, how relaxed the two were drinking coffee when he was hit with a drawing idea and doodled the two together with coffee. Then the memory of the day everything changed for him, when him and Four held hands learning about their power and about zero. 

He points the gun at the picture of SMG4 shaking and fires, the moment he pulls the trigger he focuses on his old anger bringing his old character out.  “Finally I have a reason to kill that bozo!” He focuses on the pain he felt on Christmas when SMG4 brought up old memories. He screams as he shoots down the photo of SMG4 letting out all the anger on it, he can do this he can kill that idiot. Eggdog jumps surprised at what his father did during his private bath time, barking at his meme parent annoyed as he watches the man open a chest. “Ooooo i wonder how i should kill him! Dismemberment?” he then takes out gamer bath water out of the chest “Maybe waterboarding?” 

Seeing his father bringing out his old persona makes him start barking furiously at him, SMG3 freezes hearing his son's words before glaring at him “What do you mean? I don't care about SMG4, he sucks!” his mind yelled at him calling him a liar as he crossed his arms “I’ve had no character development with him.” He can't let it fall if he loses character then those feelings come back, he won't be able to impress his old friends. Eggdog had it with his father as he yelled back at him reminding him of all the nights he would gush about SMG4 to him, how he has become happier since the two became friends. It was becoming overwhelming for him as he covered his ears “La la la i can't hear you!

As he leaves his home he stares at the castle, he feels his hand shaking again “Damn it..Eggdog is right what am i doing, why am i trying to impress people from my past?” He remembers how insane SMG4 went trying to make the perfect video to please all his viewers. Three clenches his fist “Right…RIGHT! I can't impress everyone. The person I should be impressing is myself, and I find myself impressive enough!”

He needed a plan, so he walked up to the castle with gun in hand as Eggman walked up next to him “Are you ready?”  Three smirks “Oh yeah, this is gonna be easy!” He was always a fast thinker he knew the moment he stepped into that castle Eggman was done for.  SMG4 was humming happily as he finally learned how to hand craft memes thanks to the help of Three. SMG3 opens the door to the kitchen looking around to figure out a way out of this mess, SMG4 turns excitedly “Oh hey three!” he twitches at the nickname. He wasn't sure when the man shortened his name but everytime he hears it his heart flutters.

“I was just inventing a new meme. I call him, tomato soop and his catchphrase is gonna be BLERHG.” SMG3 stares at the meme as Four was showing it off, the idiot has so much trust in him he wouldn’t see his death coming. His stomach twisted at the thought, then he blinked at the meme. A tomato that when squish color could be mistaken for blood, SMG4 finishes explaining the meme smirking at him hoping his new meme was impressing his crush “Pretty memey right?” 

Three walks forward, his eyes dark as he goes over his plan in his head, on one hand a voice was telling him to do it. SMG4 hasn't done anything for him so why let him live? But that wasn't him that was the old him that he made to protect himself in a world that saw him as evil. SMG4 eyes drop down noticing the gun “Oh a glock!” he starts to get nervous “Whatcha…gonna do with that…” once SMG3 got close enough he decided what he had to do “Oh…something i should have done long ago.” He points the gun at SMG4 causing panic in the man, this couldn't be happening this isn't the SMG3 he knows why would he point a gun at him “THREE WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?” 

Three’s eyes flicker to the newly made meme, he had to do it to protect him, his gaze softened as he looked back at Four “I’m sorry… I have to do this.” SMG4 shakes unsure what was going on then the gun moved slightly to his left and fired, Four blinks and slowly turns to see Three had shot his newly made meme getting tomato juice all over the window. Eggman lets out an evil smile seeing the red splatter on the window, he walks into the castle laughing “Ho hoo good job. I guess I underestimated your evil intentions 3.  I’m glad my old evil buddy is still-” he freezes seeing a tomato with a gunshot wound “Hey what the fuck?” 

SMG3 smirks as he charges at Eggman jumping up and kicking him in the face, while he may not be as fast and flexible as his partner he still had his talents in his strength. “Sike Mother fucker!” SMG4 runs to his meme with his eyes starting to water “My tomato soup meme!” SMG3 places his hands on his hips, annoyed at his other half “DUDE! Dont ruin my epic twist! I was actually considering killing you! Like usual…” he added the last bit to make sure he wasn't showing his true emotions. 

Hearing that line made Four forget about his meme as he looked at SMG3 heartbroken “You were actually going to kill me?!” that can be true could it? He felt his tears escape knowing that he would have been dead if SMG3 didn't change his mind at the last minute, what did it mean was everything they went through all for nothing? He starts crying loudly causing SMG3 to smack him, Four was startled from the hit looking at the man who was glaring at the spot Eggman was at.

Eggman gets up “I KNEW YOU DIDN'T HAVE IT IN YOU!”

SMG3 rolls his eyes “Nah i think murder isn't very evil villainy, you people should know all villains have a code. Plus PAIN AND SUFFERING IS MORE MY STYLE!” Eggman looks down at Three who had a huge shit eating grin “Pathetic,” he now knows that SMG3 was a lost cause. But he still had some hope that something would knock common sense back to Three “All villains murder!” he takes out a rocket launcher “Allow me to demonstrate!” He points the rocket to SMG3. The man only smiles at Eggman; he spent his whole life with weapons pointed at him and eldritch gods trying to kill him, an egg-shaped villain doesn't scare him.

That was until the weapon moved targets, his eyes going wide as he watched Eggman point the rocket at SMG4. He growls at Eggman as he dashes at the man moving the rocket to not hit Four, the rocket flies out hitting the roof of the castle, an old man in a bathtub falls down confusing the pair for a moment. Seeing Eggman distracted he turns and punches the man, picking up the man on the floor he smirks ready to give the man a beating for even thinking about killing SMG4. 

“I DON'T NEED TO PROVE SHIT!” he was done with the world making him a villain, he won't let anyone change him again. Eggman, finally understanding his old friend is gone, decides to teach Three a lesson, calling his ride down squishing Three he launches them up in the air “Enjoy your last breath!”

The higher they went the more he was struggling to breath, his vision was getting blurring as he took deep breaths. An idea hits him as he turns trying to keep his breathing steady from the height “Why don't you go and steal the moon or something.” He starts to take apart the vehicle. SMG4 walks outside with his injured meme looking up at the sky confused, scared and nervous about what was going on. SMG3 looks down then back at what he was doing as he removes the last part causing the vehicle to malfunction. SMG3 takes one last deep breath, he was a meme guardian he will trust his power that falling from this height won't kill him. He winks at eggman before letting go and falling off, SMG4 drops his meme running around in a panic trying to guess where the man was going to land.

He dives, catching SMG3 quickly and lifts up the man checking if he is okay. SMG3 coughs trying to bring oxygen to his lungs “SMG4?” he turns and looks at the man's face “Yeah it's me, i don't know what the hell is going on but..i'm so glad you're okay..you are okay right?” Three coughs feeling his lungs burn, the world still looked blurry for him as Four did his best to make sure the man was comfy by laying  him on his lap.

SMG4 starts to cry again feeling so many conflicting emotions he felt he was going to just blow from all of it, he holds Three’s hand shaking slightly “Even after everything…were you really going to kill me…do you still hate me?” Hearing the pain and sadness in Fours voice broke SMG3's character, maybe for once he can let himself show to stop his idiot from crying. Weakly he reaches for SMG4 face “No you idiot, sure it was tempting since on christmas you made a shitty comment without thinking but i could never kill you…you mean too much to me.” Four’s eyes go wide as he wipes his tears, Three coughs annoyed by the pain he feels “HEY STAY WITH ME uh er maybe i have a first aid kit for this wait for me!”  He gently put Three on the floor and was going to run inside only to be stopped. 

He turned to see Three grabbing his hand “Hey..Four..thank you for being my friend.” SMG4 heart flutters finally hearing Three call him by his nickname “Hey now you're not going anywhere,” he wiggles free to sprint inside getting the first aid kit.  After taking care of Three they both sit together outside looking at the sky, Three was starting to feel better as he leaned on Four “I know today must have been a shit show for you, so in short I had old friends try to change me but you know what SMG4?” the man hums as he waters his meme helping it feel better.

Suddenly Three turned his face getting close, Four blushed unsure what was happening “I realized i don't need to prove to anyone how evil i am. I don't need to prove anything because I'm happy just the way I am.” SMG4 smiles softly at him leaning into his touch “heh well i'm happy your you to three, you had me scared you know i really thought i did something wrong or…you lied about being friends again.”

SMG3 frowns at the memory, he did a lot of bad in the past to think he was here at this moment with someone he used to want dead. Now the thought of anything happening to Four made him sick, it made him angry. It then clicked to him all those confusing feelings he had these past months, he was falling for his rival after everything they went through he grew to love the man in front of him. He would kill for this man, he would die for him. Four was giving a confused look to Three wondering why he was still caressing his face only for his eyes to go wide as Three leaned forward kissing him.

SMG4 felt as though his body was being electrocuted from the sparks he was feeling from the kiss, dropping the watering can he turns his body and wraps his arms around Three’s neck kissing him back. Eggman’s plan was to bring SMG3 back to the dark side but all he did was show Three just how amazing the light was, he won't ever let this go no one will ever lay a hand on his SMG4 as long as he lives. 

It was the next day and SMG3 smirks as he traumatizes Steve by telling him his sandwich was made of chicken, he does his evil laugh not noticing his boyfriend was rolling his eyes “I see some things never change huh?” Four pats Three’s back only to get a smirk from the other man “Hey now scrub you say this but you wouldn't have me any other way!”

Four chuckles and nods “I wouldn't want you any other way three, now uh could i get my coffee i have been waiting here for an hour.”

“Nope, just cause you're dating me doesn't mean you can skip the line now go sit and wait or i'm going to make you wait even more!”  Four signs before letting out a smirk he quickly kisses Three’s cheek making the man's face go red “WHAT THE!? THATS IT NOW YOUR NOT GETTING SHIT YOU…YOU…baka.” he lets out a soft smile before going back to work red in the face.

[dandelionflowery]

Intro post!

(breast cancer awareness post here/the legends of tumblr here, variations here and here , alt link for number 7/arch nemesis Cynthia here) [the two topics are wholly unrelated]

HII!!

My name on the internet is Dandelion, but you can call me whatever you like honestly. It's so hard to find a good name around here, the fae keep stealing them

I use any pronouns, online people default to they/them, IRL people default to she/her, you can use whatever you feel like!

I'm aroace 🧡💛🤍🩵💙 and my gender is up to interpretation lol

I'm 17 and I live in France but I have both French and American citizenship (so i do speak both french and english)

I'M A YEAR AWAY FROM BEING AN ADULT HELP

I have both scoliosis (diagnosed, 45°) and probably dyslexia (not officially diagnosed but all the internet tests I did were screaming at me to go get an official diagnosis- as has life lol) and those two really hate each other who deCIDED SCOLISOIS SHOULD BE SPELLED THE WAY IT IS (if i spell it correctly be aware that either I copied it from somewhere, or i thought about it for WAY too long, or it was a monkeys on keyboards thing)

I also probably have some form of undiagnosed neurodivergence, i think autism and some hints of adhd :)

I created a blog just for reblogging shit (aptly named @dandelionflowery-reblogs) but i suck at tagging stuff on most of my accounts 😭

I'm not often super active on here, at least not regularly, mostly because I have way too many classes but sometimes I go absolutely insane and spend like an entire day on here (oops)

actually i'm most active on here I think now lol

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I like:

- Harry Potter (Drarry, Deamus, Romione, Linny are my main ships but there's a decent chance you could get me to like a specific portrayal of just about any pairing lol) [also fuck jkr]

- The Marauders (WOLFSTARRR! Also Jily and aroace Peter and maybe Remadora. Same thing as before: open to other pairings [I know of and appreciate the ships with the girls but usually I'll lean towards the first ones mentioned actually I'll lean towards wolfstar with background Jily and aa battery Peter)

- Reading and books in general

- Fanfics, fanart!! (Both writing/drawing them and reading/simping for them)

Speaking of which, I have a side blog that's actually technically marauders themed! @mybrain-fanficedition

- Interactions on here!!

- there's probably some other stuff I like but I can't think of anything rn

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I don't like:

- Following from above, I said I was open to pretty much any pairing, ... I lied lol

Idk what jegulus did to me but i just don't like it for some reason (jegulily? lovely. jily? fantastic. jegulus? less.)

- Also the usual list of if you're pro-genocide, homophobic transphobic uh racist, pedophile or just a generally mean person

~~☆~~

I like talking to people even if you don't know what to say just say hi!

Also I have other social media, come find me if you want!

@/flowerydandelion, @/dandelionfloweryart and @/wands.swords.and.books on Instagram!

On Ao3 I'm like 90% sure it's DandelionFlowery and uh probably similar usernames on Discord and Reddit [though I'm not often active on there]

Wait if I link my ao3 that means i need to actually post my fics lol

Leave comments if you read my fics, I love feedback!! (or just leave kudos, it makes me irrationally happy lol)

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tags about my current wips featuring really bad summaries:

#third time's the charm- Lily

(not going to be the actual title i think but first i have to write it, we'll worry about titles later)

Lily decides canon sucks and she's going to do something about it

woah i wasn't lying when i said really bad summaries

> Canon happens once, and Lily watches over her son from the afterlife. When canon gets to the scene in DH where Harry gets to see his parents again, something happens and Lily finds herself back in the past, reliving her life from Harry's birth on. She plans, dies and learns. The third time, she's ready.

#our broken hearts- an ode to wolfstar (this one is subject to change bc that title is way too sappy for me)

Sirius dated Peter. And Marlene. And Lily. And James. And then Remus?

>Originally this started in the tags of some post and i mentioned Sirius x Peter, and it blew out of proportion.

>Sirius spends many years finding out who he likes, and ends up with Remus after a lot of experimenting.

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totally normal link trust me :)

if you still trust me (and why shouldn't you?), here's the ULTIMATE PRIDE FLAG lol)

let's see how trustworthy you think i am

wanna see some stuff i wrote? (warning, a friend said it took them half an hour to read just the main bit lmao)

an apology 1 | 2

useful tumblr post about hobbies

SNAIL CROSSING SNAIL CROSSING SNAIL CROSSING

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side blogs: @x-lovegood @xenophilius-quibbler (Xenophilius Lovegood rp) @sybilances (Sybill Trelawney rp) @bleidd-ddyn (Remus Lupin rp)

@antheia-anthousai (nymph oc)

@mybrain-fanficedition (as mentioned above)

@am-i-a-crab (crab army!!)

+ another two gimmick blog but i'm not saying which ones >:) [maybe i should, they're both still active lmao]

small + pink means dead accounts lol

[caes-funnyarc]

oc ask game answers!! (please let me know who posted these originally, as i can't find it ! i will edit and add credit :3)

tw for parental issues / abuse in later questions

- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

🌸Dominic Dotty was inspired because I wanted Dotty to be his name at some point (as he’s covered in freckles) but I eventually figured that it would work better as a last name. I wanted some alliteration, so then I introduced the first name “Dominic” as I think it’s rather silly :]

- How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

🌸He’s about 19 ! He’s one of the youngest on the show, according to my headcanons. :]

- Do they have any love interest(s)?

🌸*cough* shop *cough* keeper *cough cough cough*

 - What is their favorite food?

🌸Rocks. :] Shiny ones.

- What do they do for a living?

🌸Dominic runs a local library! He does it for jokes and favors, similar to Howdy.

- Do they have any hobbies?

🌸He plays a few instruments (cello, piano, electric and bass guitar) and enjoys gardening !

-What do they do best?

🌸Play cello! He’s rather good at it.

-What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

🌸Dominic loves to talk to people he’s comfortable with. He also hates meeting new people who are overly personal with him from the get go! He has issues with certain textures and loud noises, especially piercing ones. Noises that come from scratchy or dry sources especially irritate him.

- What is one of your OC’s best memories?

🌸One of his best memories is when his adoptive father taught him to garden. It’s been a passion for a long time because of it.

- What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

(tw for abuse)

🌸Dominic’s birth parents were the first people to teach him the phrase “Blood is thicker than water.” They were mentally abusive to the point where he no longer felt comfortable being around them. Eventually, when he was six years old, his parents dropped him off in the woods to fend for himself. He was eventually found in critical condition by a hiker and his wife. 

- Is their current design the first one?

🌸Yes and no. His original design had certain patches, but they change per episode. This isn’t exactly super different, but it still pertains to the question.

- What originally inspired the OC?

🌸I wanted a way to channel some feelings I was having, and I also have a Welcome Home hyperfix. You’re welcome. /j

- What genre do they belong in?

🌸In media, video games (like a bad spinoff that has side characters and he’s just a funny joke) and TV (because WH was a show for television lol). In actual literary genre, usually psychological horror, though he has been in comedic pieces too.

- What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

🌸Dominic is FTM trans, demiromantic, and pansexual! 

- How many sibling does your OC have?

🌸 He isn’t sure ! He’s the only child his adopted parents have, and he hasn’t spoken to his biological parents since the incident.

- What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

🌸He loves his adoptive parents to death, and so their relationship is incredible. And of course, his relationship with his biological parents is not good at all.

- What do you like most about the OC?

🌸I love that he gave me an opportunity to channel some hurtful emotions into a character that can heal through my hyperfix. I’m also excited because he’s my first ever arospec character!

- How often do you draw/write about the OC?

🌸I doodle him rather often. Little silly <3

- Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

🌸Only in an AU angst. My little baby man :[[

- Does your OC have any phobias?

🌸He’s terribly afraid of the dark and being alone in the woods. I’ll give you three guesses as to why. (He’s also weirdly afraid of boomboxes. What’s his deal?)

-Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

🌸 The man in the mirror that he sees. He looks just like him, but broader and taller. He looks like a memory. (Three guesses as to who that is, too.)

- How long have you had the OC?

🌸A couple months !! He’s relatively new, but I’m rather fond of him.

again, if anyone knows who originally posted these questions, tag them in replies so that i can edit and tag them as well !! <33

[divineprank]

The normally rude and suspicious little royal listens intently to the explanation given, the cultural education for the Passage that has the bolder Hylians scoff behind their hands, or raise an eyebrow in scorn. Despite how little Zelda trusted the man, she was enraptured by most tales of the desert. They were worth learning to the little scholar. It was only later, as the Gerudo King was preparing to depart in time to make the celebrations, did she tug on his cape.

"...do they really come visit? The dead?" Her childish frown told him she was clearly considering this carefully. "Do... Do you think the Queen would come, if I lit candles too? I'm not sure she would want to see me, but... Maybe it would... help Father."

(legendarylullaby)

As tiny fingers grasp the fabric of his cape, Ganondorf feels a gentle yet insistent pull. The tug is delicate but seems to be motivated by purpose: it's a kind of plea for his attention that would be impossibly cruel for the Gerudo king to ignore. With her little pulls also comes a subtle reminder of the young princess's vulnerability and that in itself is a stark contrast to the poised, yet meddlesome thorn in his side that Ganondorf has grown accustomed to facing throughout his time within Hyrule Castle. If she isn't trying to be a little terror, then who exactly is the Princess of Hyrule?

His gaze turns downward, his eyes a mesmerizing gleam of molten gold that meet a pair of crystalline pools of pure, cerulean blue. Her eyes, bright and earnest, look up to the Gerudo man with a powerful curiosity that reflects her silent need for understanding. The desert king notes her tiny brows that are clearly pinched together in serious thought and as her question meets his rounded ears, Ganondorf turns to her completely, abandoning his preparations in order to offer the young princess his full attention.

"Many of my sisters believe in the power of this sacred celebration. If not in the encounters themselves, then certainly in the solace that honoring our lost ones brings to those of us who are suffering grief." His words are spoken free from their usual guarded edge as Ganondorf's towering frame gracefully sinks down to meet the young princess at her eye level. His powerful presence carries an unexpected grace, like a tall mountain yielding to a fragile cherry blossom. The desert ruler's countenance significantly softens once he reads the frown on her young face and as he considers the words the clever little girl had chosen to use. There's a noticeable pause in Ganondorf as he considers his next words with care.

"...Your mother, Her Majesty," words spoken with a respectful solemnity. "...Yes, I believe it will be through the light of your candles that she will find her way back to you and your father. Even in the realm of the departed, those flames still hold significance, we rely on their light to draw lost souls back home." The royal Gerudo continues speaking, his tone soft and measured. He can see the yearning in the little one's eyes, the longing for a connection with her father, the seeking of a love that seemed just out of her small reach. Perhaps, underneath all of that heavy armor, the ruthless King of Thieves can feel the slightest pinch of sympathy for the young princess and the pain that most definitely lurks beneath her brave façade. A spark of compassion flickers within her arch-nemesis, and respectfully, he urges the little one to consider his people's traditions.

"Light the candles, princess. They are your beacon of love and remembrance; an honorable gesture that will guide your mother's spirit back to where it truly belongs... And if nothing else, the flames will provide a peaceful light show as you reflect."

[justcallmefox89]

Irresistible Force Paradox - An Open Heart Fic

Rory O’Shea begins his first day at Edenbrook and learns that whoever coined the term ‘never meet your heroes’ was absolutely right.  Dr. Ethan Ramsey butts heads with the strong-willed intern, and battle lines are drawn as both men ready themselves to work together for the next three years.

September 13th.  11:30 a.m.

I hate him.  What a smug, condescending, arrogant, handsome… ugh!  How is someone with a personality that repulsive so attractive? He’s definitive proof that God really does have favorites -

“What are we staring at?” someone whispers in my ear, their warm breath tickling the side of my neck.

I let out a startled yelp and drop my charts, drawing the attention of the object of my ire.  Bryce chuckles and bends down to retrieve them while Jackie tries to hide her smile behind her own charts.  Dr. Ramsey glances over at us impassively, meeting my eyes for the briefest moment before turning away.  I continue glaring at him even as I swipe my charts out of Bryce’s hand, trying to telepathically implode his brain with my eyeballs.

“Why are we staring at Dr. Ramsey?” Bryce stage whispers again.

“We are not staring at him. I am trying to explode his big, stupid head with the power of my mind,” I mutter.

“Wow… he really got to you, didn’t he?” Jackie snickers.

I bristle, remembering the emergency thoracotomy in the waiting room earlier that morning and Dr. Ramsey’s subsequent condemnation.  “He did not get to me!  He’s a pompous asshole and I hate him.  I despise him.  I loathe him and his perfect jawline with every molecule of every fiber of my being.”

Jackie arches one eyebrow and smirks, clearly unconvinced.  “You sound like a supervillain right now, Rory.”

Bryce’s eyes light up.  “Dr. Ramsey could be your very first nemesis!”

“And Aurora my second,” I grumble, mentioning the prickly intern I’m partnered with.  

They both make a face.

“How’s that going?” Bryce asks.

I shrug half-heartedly.  “She went to her aunt’s office right after the initial consult with our patient and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Nice to know Princess Nepotism is already living up to her name,” Jackie says snidely, looking down as her pager beeps.  “My test results are in.  See you guys later.”

“So how long are we going to stand here and stare at Ramsey?”

I snort and fight back a laugh.  “You’re ridiculous, Bryce.”

“I’m not the one trying to set my boss on fire with my brain.”  The surgeon smirks at me, brown eyes glittering with laughter.

“Explode, Lahela.  I’m trying to explode him.”

We stare at each other silently for a few beats before we break into a fit of the giggles.

****************************************************************************************

11:30 a.m.

Ethan stands at the nurses station, pretending to look over his charts as he covertly watches the young man who is staring daggers at him from a little further down the hall.  Ever since their encounter that morning as they’d worked together to save the patient who collapsed in the waiting room, Dr. Rory O’Shea had been a distraction.  An insidious little wisp of smoke that continues to invade Ethan’s thoughts in his downtime.  

O’Shea is one of those people cursed with a face that perfectly expresses whatever they’re feeling, and right now he’s looking at Ethan like he wishes the older doctor would be hit by a bus.  Ethan remembers how the intern had look after saving that woman, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright with excitement, and how his expression had fallen after Ethan’s harsh criticism.  Hurt, then disappointment, and finally anger flickered over the young man’s face, before he was able to get control over his emotions.

“Maybe you can give me private lessons…”

Ethan’s lips twitch up as he fights to repress a smile at the memory of O’Shea’s words.  He’d flipped the switch from angry to flirty so quickly he’d nearly given Ethan whiplash, and the sultry look in his eyes that was clearly meant to catch Ethan off-balance had nearly drawn him in instead.

Such unusual eyes.

They stand out from behind the round wire-rimmed glasses O’Shea wears, those large, pale green eyes, the same color as the sea glass Ethan used to collect with his father when they would go to the beach.  

A crashing sound draws Ethan’s attention, and he turns his head slightly to watch as one of the surgical interns bends down on one knee and hands O’Shea a pile of charts with a charming smile.  An uncomfortable feeling begins to form low in Ethan’s stomach, but he quickly writes it off as hunger and hurries back to his office for a quick lunch before continuing his rounds.

******************************************************************************************

2:45 p.m.

“Argh!  Stupid, stupid, stupid!”  I aim a kick at a low shelf in the supply closest, nearly breaking a toe when it connects.  “Gah! Motherfucker!”  I swipe angry tears away from my face, still mentally berating myself as I remember Ramsey’s words.  

You need to have a long, hard think about whether or not your ready to be here…  Whether this girl lives or dies is on you…  Nearly killed her…

A sudden wash of fluorescent light interrupts my brooding.

“I feel like I’m interrupting something.”  Bryce says, gazing at me in curiosity and concern.

“In or out, Lahela!  I’m trying to have an existential crisis in peace and you’re distracting me,” I snap.

He steps into the supply closest and pulls the door shut behind him. “Hey, hey, hey.  What’s going on?”

I tip my head back and try to stem the flow of tears, internally cursing myself for being an angry crier.  And a stress crier.  And a sad crier.

Not the time for this.

“Nothing.  I just got reamed out by the man who used to be my medical hero and inspiration for the second time today and I almost killed my first patient.”  The words come out in a rush.  “Maybe he’s right.  Maybe I’m not cut out for this.  Maybe everything that I’ve been working for since I was twelve was all for nothing and I’m going to be the biggest failure Edenbrook has ever seen.”

Bryce blinks.  “Wow. You managed four years of med school, but four hours here and you’re surrendering?  Didn’t take you for a quitter.”

“You just met me.”

“True.  But if every hospital employee who ever hid in a supply closet quit, there’d be nobody here but the patients.”

I narrow my eyes.  “No offense, but what do you know about it?”

“Let’s just say this isn’t the first supply closet I’ve found a stressed out doctor in today.”

“Alright then, scalpel jockey.  What am I supposed to do?”

Bryce grins.  “You’ve got two options.  One, breeze through life with an unshakeable self-assurance like me.”

“I don’t think this hospital would survive two Bryce Lahelas. What’s option two?” I dryly reply.

“Ride it out,” he says, shrugging.

I stare at him blankly.  “That’s not quite the pearl of wisdom you think it is.”

Bryce places his hands on my shoulders and shakes me a bit.  “Of course you’re overwhelmed.  You’re a doctor.  It’s one of the toughest jobs there is, and you’re on your first day.  If you don’t give yourself a chance to make mistakes, to get better… nobody else will.”

I let out an enormous sigh and use the hem of my scrubs to wipe my cheeks dry.  “Fine.  I’ll try.”

“Good.  Because I’d hate to lose you so quick.  Is there anything I can get you?”

“A hug?” I ask tentatively.

“Alright, get over here.”  Bryce smirks and holds out his arms.  He has to stoop a little bit to match my much shorter height, but I manage to lace my arms around his neck and squeeze him gently, resting my head against his chest.  He wraps his arms around my waist and holds me tightly, the slow thumping of his heartbeat and the warm, comforting scent of his amber and sandalwood cologne soothes my frazzled nerves.

“This is nice,” I murmur.  “You’re a pretty good hugger.”

“One of my many talents.”  Even though I can’t see his face I can tell he’s smiling.  “Hey, wait a second.  Was this just a ploy of yours to get me in here alone?”

I tip my head back to look at him, taking in the cocky smirk on his face and the genuine kindness radiating from his warm, brown eyes. Before I can second guess myself, I pop up on my toes and quickly press my lips to his.  His eyes momentarily widen in surprise, but then he’s kissing me back hard, his hands gripping my hips as he pushes me against the shelves, knocking a few boxes to the ground.

“God you’re incredible,” he whispers against my mouth.  Suddenly he lifts me up, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist as he uses his body to pin me to the shelves.  I nip lightly at his lower lip and grind against him, earning a low groan. Bryce’s hands cup my ass, pulling me tight to him as we writhe together, our erections rubbing against each other through the thin fabric of our scrubs.  His tongue slides against mine and one of his hands creeps under my scrub top, warm against the skin of my stomach.  

The door suddenly swings open, light from the hallway spilling into the closet.

“Could we get some privacy, man?” Bryce snaps, turning his body to keep me shielded from whoever has interrupted us.  

“Oh, by all means.  I’m so sorry to intrude.  I’ll just wait out here ‘til you’re done,” an equally irritated male voice retorts. “Or, if I may be so bold… might you hand me a suture kit?”

Still holding me up with one hand, Bryce reaches out and snags a kit from the shelf and tosses it over his shoulder to the other man.

“Much obliged.”  The door slams and we’re alone once again.

Bryce slowly slides me down his body until my feet are back on the floor.

“Maybe we should get back to work,” I say, nervously adjusting my glasses.

“That guy did kinda kill the mood, huh?”

Feeling awkward, I repeatedly tug on a piece of hair at the back of my head as Bryce straightens his scrubs and runs a hand through his hair.

“Hope I cheered you up a little,” he says as he prepares to leave.

“Just a little,” I whisper, praying that the dim light in the supply closet hides my blush.

Bryce gives me wink as he exits the closet, leaving me alone to ponder my future at Edenbrook.

*****************************************************************************************

 9:15 p.m.

I didn’t let him beat me.

I follow Dr. Ramsey out of Annie’s room, grinning to myself.   “So, I’ll fill out a prescription for some extra-strength antihistamines -”

“Don’t bother.  I already have.”

I skid to a stop, my sneakers squeaking against the linoleum. “Beg pardon?”

He hands me a printed out prescription order for the exact medicine I was about to request.  My grin fades and I tilt my head back to stare up at the taller doctor.  

I swear to everything that is holy, his brain will be goo by the time I finish this internship.

“How long have you known?” I manage to grit out between clenched teeth.  “And when were you planning on telling me?”

Dr. Ramsey checks his watch.  “I’d planned to give you another forty-five minutes.  I pulled up Annie’s chart to diagnose it myself, in the likely event you blew it.  But I wanted to give you the chance to right the ship first.”

I am calm, I am a peaceful breeze, I am calm, I am a peaceful breeze… 

“You should have treated her right away.”

He scowls down at me.  “I was giving you an opportunity - ”

“I don’t give a shit about your opportunities,” I hiss, stepping closer to him until we’re toe to toe.  “And I definitely don’t want your charity.  I want my patients to get better.  So next time, take care of the patient first, doctor.”

We’re both breathing quickly, our eyes locked together, neither one of us wanting to be the one to look away first.  I’m intensely away of how much larger he is, and I can feel the heat of his body even through his lab coat and button-down shirt.  Something in his gaze softens and the tension in his body fades a little.

“Rookie…” he says, his voice soft.  “I respect how much you care about you patients’ wellbeing.  But if I don’t push you to grow, then how many lives will be lost down the line because you’re not ready?”

I hate to admit it, but I can understand his reasoning.

I’ll choke and die before I tell him that though.

“Believe me when I say this was not for your sake.  I need good doctors by my side.  There’s only one of me, after all,” he continues.  “But you showed potential.  Not to mention maybe the most important trait a doctor can have.”

I raise my eyebrows, silently prompting him to finish his thought.

“You listened.  You took the time to get to know your patient.  Their story, their hopes, their fears… Sometimes those are the key to saving their life.”

I nod along as he speaks, captivated by the intensity in his blue eyes and the deep timbre of his voice, unknowingly leaning even closer to him.  Aurora suddenly rushes up to us, looking flustered.  Realizing how close we’ve gotten I spring away from Dr. Ramsey, nervously shoving my glasses further up onto the bridge of my nose.  He, on the other hand, seems to be completely unaffected, which sends an irrational spike of annoyance through me.

She looks into the room and sees Annie sitting up and smiling, then turns and glares at me.  “What the hell?  You went ahead and presented without me?”

I widen my eyes and stare at her.  “Excuse me?  In case you - ”

“Annie was your patient as well, Dr. Emery,” Dr. Ramey interrupts me, his voice frosty.  He eyes Aurora with disdain.  What the hell have you been doing while Dr. O’Shea was making a diagnosis?”

Aurora hesitates, glancing over at me.

Oh, I know she doesn’t think I’m going to cover for her.

I clamp my mouth shut and stare her down as she squirms under Ramsey’s glower.  

“That was not a rhetorical question,” Ramsey barks.  “One of you needs to answer me.”

I smirk and continuing silently staring at her, refusing to be the one who breaks first.

Finally Aurora cracks.  “I was in Chief Emery’s office,” she admits sullenly.  “She paged me this morning after we examined Annie.”

“And you’ve been there all day?”  He looks deeply unimpressed.

Aurora gives him a short, stiff nod.

“Dr. Emery, patient assignments are not optional.”  Ramsey scowls at her one final time before stalking off, leaving Aurora and I standing in awkward silence.

“That’s really what you were doing all day?  Just sitting in your aunt’s office?”  I eye her curiously.

Aurora’s expression hardens.  “What do you care?  You clearly didn’t need my help.”

I allow myself a small, pleased smile.  “No I didn’t, did I?”

She whirls around, huffing in annoyance, and stomps away from me.

****************************************************************************************

10:00 p.m.

 After my shift ends I hurry to the locker room, taking just enough time to quickly shower and slip into a clean sweater and pair of jeans, before rushing to meet Sienna in the atrium.  

“You survived!” she exclaims with a big smile.  “Ready to hit the bar?”

“You have no idea,” I sigh, dropping my head onto her shoulder.   An easy feat since we’re roughly the same height.  

She pats my back soothingly.  “Let’s go then.”

Just a few blocks from the hospital, Donahue’s is dingy, dim, and completely packed with Edenbrook staff members.  Sienna confidently leads me through the throngs of people to a booth where Landry, Jackie, and Elijah are waiting for us.  

“Come on!” Landry urges.  “There’s still sixty-seven seconds left in happy hour!”

Elijah rolls his eyes good-naturedly.  “Who cares?  We’re all a hundred-k in debt anyway.”

“Relax, Landry.  I put in quite a few orders before the buzzers.”  Jackie grins as a barback arrives bearing a huge trays of shots.

“You are a goddess.  We lowly beings are not worthy of you,” I praise her as I reach for a shot.  I toss it back and sigh as it burns its way down, erasing some of the stress of my day.

I grab a second glass and the others join me.  We all raise them in the air.

“To the end of our first shift!  And ten hours off the clock!” Elijah proclaims.

We clink our glasses together and throw back our shots.  

Landry gags as his goes down.  “Don’t we have any salt?  Or limes?”

“Doctor up, Landry.  Lime and salt are for wimps,” Jackie retorts, pushing another shot glass into his hand.

We all raise another toast.

“How about… To new friends!” Sienna ventures.

Once again we clink and drink.

Jackie points at me.  “Your turn Rory!”

I grab another shot and raise it above my head.  “To the start of an amazing career, despite Ethan Ramsey’s best efforts!  And in a few years, we’ll take the jobs of every attending who ever treated us like dirt!”

My new friends and I whoop and tipsily giggle as we down another tequila shot.

******************************************************************************************

10:20 p.m.

Ethan quietly nurses his drink at the bar and unobtrusively observes O’Shea pound shots with a booth full of other interns.  Whatever they’re drinking has caused O’Shea’s normally pale cheeks to flush, and he’s taken his hair out of its neat bun, allowing the inky waves to flow over his shoulders and around his face.  The sweater he’s wearing may have been black at one point, but has been washed so many times it’s a faded grey and looks incredibly soft to the touch.  

“See something you like, Ethan?” Reggie asks, leaning over the bar and following the doctor’s gaze.

“Don’t you have other customers to bother?” Ethan responds, downing the last of his scotch.

Reggie just chuckles as he looks at something over Ethan’s left shoulder. O’Shea bounces up to the bar and takes a seat on the stool next to him, legs dangling and feet swinging aimlessly as he waits for Reggie to finish up another customer’s order.

Ethan takes the time to study Rory out of the corner of his eye, noting the way his jeans show off the litheness of his body and the faint smattering of freckles running over the bridge of his nose, making him look even younger than his 28 years.  Then those green eyes flit over to rest on him.

“Can I help you with something, Dr. Ramsey?” Rory asks, blinking at him owlishly through the thick lenses of his glasses.

“Just noticing how… different you look out in the real world.”

Rory leans a little closer, nearly tipping over into the older man’s lap.  “Do you like it?” he whispers playfully.

Ethan’s eyes widen in shock.  If he’d had any doubts before, now he’s absolutely certain the intern is at least mildly intoxicated.  But he can’t deny that the warm weight of Rory leaning against his arm and the smell of his grapefruit and vanilla shampoo is intoxicating.

“What’ll it be?” Reggie asks, tossing his bar rag over his shoulder.

Rory glances over at Ethan’s empty liquor glass, then beckons Reggie closer with a mischievous smile.  He balances precariously on the bar stool, stretching so he can whisper into the bartender’s ear.  In a rare moment of weakness Ethan glances at Rory’s back, admiring the flow of his dark hair over his shoulders, the smooth curve of his spine, and the way the denim of his jeans perfectly frame his high, tight…

Ethan is startled out of his thoughts as Rory’s thumps back down onto his barstool with a self-satisfied smile.  Just a few moments later he learns the reason for Rory’s smirk as Reggie sets down two colorful cocktails in front of them, each garnished with a paper umbrella, an orange slice, and a maraschino cherry.

Ethan physically recoils from the drink as Rory tries to hide his snickering behind his hands.  “What is that abomination?”

“A Sex on the Beach.”  Rory pulls his own drink closer and tastes it with a contented sigh.

The air around Ethan ratchets up a few degrees as he watches Rory’s full lips close around the tip of the straw.  “That’s not what I was drinking.”

“I know,” Rory replies, coming up for air, half of his drink already gone.  “You were drinking scotch, but scotch is gross.  So I ordered you something delicious instead.  You’re welcome.”

“You know I can’t be bribed into favoring you,” Ethan says, eyeing the cocktail with distaste.

Rory’s expression darkens and he visibly struggles to control his delicate features.  He eventually gives Ethan’s a crooked smirk.  “Don’t worry, Dr. Ramsey.  I already know exactly what you think of me.  Enjoy the rest of your night.”

By the time Ethan recovers from his shock Rory has already slipped off of his barstool and rejoined his fellow interns.

“Busy making friends, Ramsey?” Reggie asks, eyeing him curiously.

Ethan is momentarily lost for words.  “I don’t… I… I’m not sure what just happened.”

“I don’t believe that young man likes you very much.”

“I’m his boss.  He doesn’t need to like me.”  Despite his words Ethan feels a pinprick of something… disappointment? at the thought of Rory not enjoying his company.  Belatedly he also realizes that at some point during the evening he had start to think of the younger man as Rory, not just O’Shea.  

Reggie hums non-committally, clearing not believing his words.  Exasperated, Ethan signals for another scotch, hoping to chase away the lingering sense of uneasiness Rory has left him with.  Reggie sets the drink down in front of him and silently moves away, leaving the doctor to his own thoughts.

“Traitor!”

“Get it Lahela!”

Ethan looks towards the far side of the bar, back by the dartboards, just in time to see the handsome surgical intern from this morning dip Rory backwards and kiss him.  The kiss becomes more passionate as Rory threads his fingers through the other man’s hair, and the surgeon, Lahela, presses even closer, until there is no space left between the two.

The same stomach unsettling feeling from this morning comes roaring back, and Ethan turns away, grabbing the drink Rory had bought him. He takes a sip, the fruity drink leaving a bitter taste on his tongue, much like the sight of Rory wrapped up in Lahela’s arms does.

[ezra-writes]

The First Meeting

Rory O'Shea begins his first day at Edenbrook Hospital and learns that whoever coined the term 'never meet your heroes' was absolutely right. Ethan Ramsey goes head-to-head with the new intern as Edenbrook becomes a battleground between the two headstrong doctors.

I hate him.  What a smug, condescending, arrogant, handsome… ugh!  How is someone with a personality that repulsive so attractive?  He’s definitive proof that God really does have favorites -

“What are we staring at?” someone whispers in my ear, their warm breath tickling the side of my neck.

I let out a startled yelp and drop my charts, drawing the attention of the object of my ire.  Bryce chuckles and bends down to retrieve them while Jackie tries to hide her smile behind her own charts.  Dr. Ramsey glances over at us impassively, meeting my eyes for the briefest moment before turning away.  I continue glaring at him even as I swipe my charts out of Bryce’s hand, trying to telepathically implode his brain with my eyeballs.

“Why are we staring at Dr. Ramsey?” Bryce stage whispers again.

“We are not staring at him.  I am trying to explode his big, stupid head with the power of my mind,” I mutter.

“Wow… he really got to you, didn’t he?” Jackie snickers.

I bristle, remembering the emergency thoracotomy in the waiting room earlier that morning and Dr. Ramsey’s subsequent condemnation.  “He did not get to me!  He’s a pompous asshole and I hate him.  I despise him.  I loathe him and his perfect jawline with every molecule of every fiber of my being.”

Jackie arches one eyebrow and smirks, clearly unconvinced.  “You sound like a supervillain right now, Rory.”

Bryce’s eyes light up.  “Dr. Ramsey could be your very first nemesis!”

“And Aurora my second,” I grumble, mentioning the prickly intern I’m partnered with. 

They both make a face.

“How’s that going?” Bryce asks.

I shrug half-heartedly.  “She went to her aunt’s office right after the initial consult with our patient and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Nice to know Princess Nepotism is already living up to her name,” Jackie says snidely, looking down as her pager beeps.  “My test results are in.  See you guys later.”

“So how long are we going to stand here and stare at Ramsey?”

I snort and fight back a laugh.  “You’re ridiculous, Bryce.”

“I’m not the one trying to set my boss on fire with my brain.”  The surgeon smirks at me, brown eyes glittering with laughter.

“Explode, Lahela.  I’m trying to explode him.”

We start at each other silently for a few beats before we break into a fit of the giggles.

*****************************************************************************

Ethan stands at the nurses' station, pretending to look over his charts as he covertly watches the young man who is staring daggers at him from a little further down the hall.  Ever since their encounter that morning as they’d worked together to save the patient who collapsed in the waiting room, Dr. Rory O’Shea had been a distraction.  An insidious little wisp of smoke that continues to invade Ethan’s thoughts in his downtime. 

O’Shea is one of those people who’s cursed with a face that perfectly expresses whatever they’re feeling, and right now he’s looking at Ethan like he wishes the older doctor would be hit by a bus.  Ethan remembers how the intern had look after saving that woman, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright with excitement, and how his expression had fallen after Ethan’s harsh criticism.  Hurt, then disappointment, and finally anger flickered over the young man’s face, before he was able to get control over his emotions.

“Maybe you can give me private lessons…”

Ethan’s lips twitch up as he fights to repress a smile at the memory of O’Shea’s words.  He had flipped a switch from angry to flirty so quickly he’d nearly given Ethan whiplash, and the sultry look in his eyes that was clearly meant to catch Ethan off-balance had nearly drawn him in instead.

Such unusual eyes.

They stand out from behind the round wire-rimmed glasses O’Shea wears, those large, pale green eyes, the same color as the sea glass a younger Ethan used to collect with his father when they would go to the beach. 

A crashing sound draws Ethan’s attention, and he turns his head slightly to watch as one of the surgical interns bends down on one knee and hands O’Shea a pile of charts with a charming smile.  An uncomfortable feeling begins to form low in Ethan’s stomach, but he quickly writes it off as hunger and hurries back to his office for a quick lunch before continuing his rounds.

**************************************************************************

“Argh!  Stupid, stupid, stupid!”  I aim a kick at a low shelf in the supply closest, nearly breaking a toe when it connects.  “Gah!  Motherfucker!”  I swipe angry tears away from my face, mentally berating myself as I remember Ramsey’s words. 

You need to have a long, hard think about whether or not your ready to be here…  Whether this girl lives or dies is on you…  Nearly killed her…

A sudden wash of fluorescent light interrupts my brooding.

“I feel like I’m interrupting something,”  Bryce says, looking at me with curiosity and concern.

“In or out, Lahela!  I’m trying to have an existential crisis in peace and you’re distracting me,” I snap. 

He steps into the supply closest and pulls the door shut behind him.  “Hey, hey, hey.  What’s going on?”

I tip my head back and try to stem the flow of tears, internally cursing myself for being an angry crier.  And a stress crier.  And a sad crier.

Not the time for this.

“Nothing.  I just got reamed out by the man who used to be my medical hero and inspiration for the second time today and I almost killed my first patient.”  The words come out in a rush.  “Maybe he’s right.  Maybe I’m not cut out for this.  Maybe everything that I’ve been working for since I was twelve was all for nothing and I’m going to be the biggest failure Edenbrook has ever seen.”

Bryce blinks.  “Wow.  You managed four years of med school, but four hours here and you’re surrendering?  Didn’t take you for a quitter.”

“You just met me.”

“True.  But if every hospital employee who ever hid in a supply closet quit, there’d be nobody here but the patients.”

I narrow my eyes.  “No offense, but what do you know about it?”

“Let’s just say this isn’t the first supply closet I’ve found a stressed out doctor in today.”

“Alright then, scalpel jockey.  What am I supposed to do?”

Bryce grins.  “You’ve got two options.  One, breeze through life with an unshakeable self-assurance like me.”

“I don’t think this hospital would survive two Bryce Lahelas.  What’s option two?” I dryly reply.

“Ride it out,” he says, shrugging.

I stare at him blankly.  “That’s not quite the pearl of wisdom you think it is.”

Bryce places his hands on my shoulders and shakes me a bit.  “Of course you’re overwhelmed.  You’re a doctor.  It’s one of the toughest jobs there is, and you’re on your first day.  If you don’t give yourself a chance to make mistakes, to get better… nobody else will.”

I let out an enormous sigh and use the hem of my scrubs to dry my cheeks.  “Fine.  I’ll try.”

“Good.  Because I’d hate to lose you so quick.  Is there anything I can get you?”

“A hug?” I venture.

“Alright, get over here.”  Bryce smirks and holds out his arms.  His has to stoop a little bit to match my much shorter height, but I manage to lace my arms around his neck and squeeze him gently, resting my head against his chest.  He wraps his arms around my waist and holds me tightly, the slow thumping of his heartbeat and the warm, comforting scent of his amber and sandalwood cologne soothing my frazzled nerves.

“This is nice,” I murmur.  “You’re a pretty good hugger.”

“One of my many talents.”  Even though I can’t see his face I can tell he’s smiling.  “Hey, wait a second.  Was this just a ploy of yours to get me in here alone?”

I tip my head back to look at him, taking in the cocky smirk on his face and the genuine kindness radiating from his warm, brown eyes.  Before I can second guess myself, I pop up on my toes and quickly press my lips to his.  His eyes momentarily widen in surprise, but then he’s kissing me back hard, his hands gripping my hips as he pushes me against the shelves, knocking a few boxes to the ground.

“God you’re incredible,” he whispers against my mouth.  Suddenly he lifts me up, urging me to wrap my legs around his waist as he uses his body to pin me to the shelves.  I nip lightly at his lower lip and grind against him, earning a low groan.  Bryce’s hands cup my ass, pulling me tight to him as we writhe together, our erections rubbing against each other through the thin fabric of our scrubs.  His tongue slides against mine and one of his hands creeps under my scrub top, warm against the skin of my stomach. 

The door suddenly swings open, light from the hallway spilling into the closet.

“Could we get some privacy, man?” Bryce snaps, turning his body to keep me shielded from whoever has interrupted us. 

“Oh, by all means.  I’m so sorry to intrude.  I’ll just wait out here ‘til you’re done,” an equally irritated male voice retorts.  “Or, if I may be so bold… might you hand me a suture kit?”

Still holding me up with one hand, Bryce reaches out and snags a kit from the shelf and tosses it over his shoulder to the other man.

“Much obliged.”  The door slams and we’re alone once again.

Bryce slowly slides me down his body until my feet are back on the floor.

“Maybe we should get back to work,” I say, nervously adjusting my glasses.

“That guy did kinda kill the mood, huh?”

Feeling awkward, I repeatedly tug on a piece of hair at the back of my head as Bryce straightens his scrubs and runs a hand through his hair. 

“Hope I cheered you up a little,” he says as he prepares to leave.

“Just a little,” I whisper, praying that the dim light in the supply closet hides my blush.

Bryce gives me wink as he exits the closet, leaving me alone to ponder my future at Edenbrook.

******************************************************************************

I didn’t let him beat me.

I follow Dr. Ramsey out of Annie’s room, grinning to myself.   “So, I’ll fill out a prescription for some extra-strength antihistamines -”

“Don’t bother.  I already have.”

I skid to a stop, my sneakers squeaking against the linoleum.  “Beg pardon?”

He hands me a printed out prescription order for the exact medicine I was about to request.  My grin fades and I tilt my head back to stare up at the taller doctor. 

I swear to everything that is holy, his brain will be goo by the time I finish this internship.

“How long have you known?” I manage to grit out between clenched teeth.  “And when were you planning on telling me?”

Dr. Ramsey checks his watch.  “I’d planned to give you another forty-five minutes.  I pulled up Annie’s chart to diagnose it myself, in the likely event you blew it.  But I wanted to give you the chance to right the ship first.”

I am calm, I am a peaceful breeze, I am calm, I am a peaceful breeze… to hell with this.

“You should have treated her right away.”

He scowls down at me.  “I was giving you an opportunity - ”

“I don’t give a shit about your opportunities,” I hiss, stepping closer to him until we’re toe to toe.  “And I definitely don’t want your charity.  I want my patients to get better.  So next time, take care of the patient first, doctor.”

We’re both breathing quickly, our eyes locked together, neither one of us wanting to be the one to look away first.  I’m intensely aware of how much larger he is, and I can feel the heat of his body even through his lab coat and button-down shirt.  Something in his gaze softens and the tension in his body fades a little.

“Rookie…” he says, his voice soft.  “I respect how much you care about you patients’ wellbeing.  But if I don’t push you to grow, then how many lives will be lost down the line because you’re not ready?”

I hate to admit it, but I can understand his reasoning.

I’ll choke and die before I tell him that though.

“Believe me when I say this was not for your sake.  I need good doctors by my side.  There’s only one of me, after all,” he continues.  “But you showed potential.  Not to mention maybe the most important trait a doctor can have.”

I raise my eyebrows, silently prompting him to finish his thought.

“You listened.  You took the time to get to know your patient.  Their story, their hopes, their fears… Sometimes those are the key to saving their life.”

I nod along as he speaks, captivated by the intensity in his blue eyes and the deep timbre of his voice, unknowingly leaning even closer to him.  Aurora suddenly rushes up to us, looking flustered.  Realizing how close we’ve gotten I spring away from Dr. Ramsey, nervously shoving my glasses further up onto the bridge of my nose.  He, on the other hand, seems to be completely unaffected, which sends an irrational spike of annoyance through me.

She looks into the room and sees Annie sitting up and smiling, then turns and glares at me.  “What the hell?  You went ahead and presented without me?”

I widen my eyes and stare at her.  “Excuse me?  In case you - ”

“Annie was your patient as well, Dr. Emery,” Dr. Ramey interrupts me, his voice frosty.  He eyes Aurora with disdain.  "What the hell have you been doing while Dr. O’Shea was making a diagnosis?”

Aurora hesitates, glancing over at me.

Oh, I know she doesn’t think I’m going to cover for her.

I clamp my mouth shut and stare her down as she squirms under Ramsey’s glower. 

“That was not a rhetorical question,” Ramsey barks.  “One of you needs to answer me.”

I smirk and continuing silently staring at her, refusing to be the one who breaks first.

Finally Aurora cracks.  “I was in Chief Emery’s office,” she admits sullenly.  “She paged me this morning after we examined Annie.”

“And you’ve been there all day?”  He looks deeply unimpressed.

Aurora gives him a short, stiff nod.

“Dr. Emery, patient assignments are not optional.”  Ramsey scowls at her one final time before stalking off, leaving Aurora and I standing in awkward silence.

“That’s really what you were doing all day?  Just sitting in your aunt’s office?”  I eye her curiously.

Aurora’s expression hardens.  “What do you care?  You clearly didn’t need my help.”

I allow myself a small, pleased smile.  “No I didn’t, did I?”

She whirls around, huffing in annoyance, and stomps away from me.

******************************************************************************

After my shift ends I hurry to the locker room, taking just enough time to quickly shower and slip into a clean sweater and pair of jeans, before rushing to meet Sienna in the atrium. 

“You survived!” she exclaims with a big smile.  “Ready to hit the bar?”

“You have no idea,” I sigh, dropping my head onto her shoulder.  An easy feat since we’re roughly the same height. 

She pats my back soothingly.  “Let’s go then.”

Just a few blocks from the hospital, Donahue’s is dingy, dim, and completely packed with Edenbrook staff members.  Sienna confidently leads me through the throngs of people to a booth where Landry, Jackie, and Elijah are waiting for us. 

“Come on!” Landry urges.  “There’s still sixty-seven seconds left in happy hour!”

Elijah rolls his eyes good-naturedly.  “Who cares?  We’re all a hundred-k in debt anyway.”

“Relax, Landry.  I put in quite a few orders before the buzzers.”  Jackie grins as a barback arrives bearing a huge trays of shots.

“You are a goddess.  We lowly beings are not worthy of you,” I praise her as I reach for a shot.  I toss it back and sigh as it burns its way down, erasing some of the stress of my day. I grab a second glass and the others join me.  We all raise them in the air.

“To the end of our first shift!  And ten hours off the clock!” Elijah proclaims.

We clink our glasses together and throw back our shots. 

Landry gags as his goes down.  “Don’t we have any salt?  Or limes?”

“Doctor up, Landry.  Lime and salt are for wimps,” Jackie retorts, pushing another shot glass into his hand.

We all raise another toast.

“How about… To new friends!” Sienna ventures.

Once again we clink and drink.

Jackie points at me.  “Your turn Rory!”

I grab another shot and raise it above my head.  “To the start of an amazing career, despite Ethan Ramsey’s best efforts!  And in a few years, we’ll take the jobs of every attending who ever treated us like dirt!”

My new friends and I whoop and tipsily giggle as we down another tequila shot.

****************************************************************************

Ethan quietly nurses his drink at the bar and unobtrusively observes O’Shea pound shots with a booth full of other interns.  Whatever they’re drinking has caused O’Shea’s normally pale cheeks to flush, and he’s taken his hair out of it’s neat bun, allowing the inky waves to flow over his shoulders and around his face.  The sweater he’s wearing may have been black at one point, but has been washed so many times it’s a faded grey and looks incredibly soft to the touch.  

“See something you like, Ethan?” Reggie asks, leaning over the bar and following the doctor’s gaze.

“Don’t you have other customers to bother?” Ethan responds, downing the last of his scotch.

Reggie just chuckles as he looks at something over Ethan’s left shoulder.  O’Shea bounces up to the bar and takes a seat on the stool next to him, his legs dangling and feet swinging aimlessly as he waits for Reggie to finish up another customer’s order.

Ethan takes the time to study Rory out of the corner of his eye, noting the way his jeans show off the litheness of his body and the faint smattering of freckles running over the bridge of his nose, making him look even younger than his 28 years.  Then those green eyes flit over to rest on him.

“Can I help you with something, Dr. Ramsey?” Rory asks, blinking at him owlishly through the thick lenses of his glasses.

“Just noticing how… different you look out in the real world.”

Rory leans a little closer, nearly tipping over into the older man’s lap.  “Do you like it?” he whispers playfully.

Ethan’s eyes widen in shock.  If he had any doubts before, now he’s absolutely certain the intern is at least mildly intoxicated.  But he can't deny that the warm weight of Rory leaning against his arm and the smell of his grapefruit and vanilla shampoo is intoxicating.

“What’ll it be?” Reggie asks, tossing his bar rag over his shoulder. 

Rory glances over at Ethan’s empty liquor glass, then beckons Reggie closer with a mischievous smile.  He balances precariously on the bar stool, stretching so he can whisper into the bartender’s ear.  In a rare moment of weakness Ethan glances at Rory’s back, admiring the flow of his dark hair over his shoulders, the smooth curve of his spine, and the way the denim of his jeans hugs his tight, firm…

Ethan is startled out of his thoughts as Rory thumps back down onto his barstool with a self-satisfied smile.  Just a few moments later he learns the reason for Rory’s grin as Reggie sets down two colorful cocktails in front of them, each garnished with a paper umbrella, an orange slice, and a maraschino cherry.

Ethan physically recoils from the drink as Rory tries to hide his snickering behind his hands.  “What is that abomination?”

“A Sex on the Beach.”  Rory pulls his own drink closer and wraps his lips around the colorful straw, tasting it with a contented sigh.

The air around Ethan ratchets up a few degrees as he watches Rory’s full lips close around the tip of the straw.  “That’s not what I was drinking.”

“I know,” Rory replies, coming up for air, half of his drink already gone.  “You were drinking scotch, but scotch is gross.  So I ordered you something delicious instead.  You’re welcome.”

“You know I can’t be bribed into favoring you,” Ethan says, eyeing the cocktail with distaste.

Rory’s expression darkens and he visibly struggles to control his delicate features.  He eventually gives Ethan’s a crooked smirk.  “Don’t worry, Dr. Ramsey.  I already know exactly what you think of me.  Enjoy the rest of your night.”

By the time Ethan recovers from his shock Rory has already slipped off of his barstool and rejoined his friends.

“Busy making friends, Ramsey?” Reggie asks, eyeing him curiously.

Ethan is momentarily lost for words.  “I don’t… I… I’m not sure what just happened.”

“I don’t believe that young man likes you very much.”

“I’m his boss.  He doesn’t need to like me.”  Despite his words Ethan feels a pinprick of something… disappointment? at the thought of Rory not enjoying his company.  Belatedly he also realizes that at some point during the evening he had start to think of the younger man as Rory, not O’Shea. 

Reggie hums non-committally, clearing not believing his words.  Exasperated, Ethan signals for another scotch, hoping to chase away the lingering sense of uneasiness Rory has left him with.  Reggie sets the drink down in front of him and silently moves away, leaving the doctor to his own thoughts.

“Traitor!”

“Get it Lahela!”

Ethan looks towards the far side of the bar, back by the dartboards, just in time to see the handsome surgical intern from this morning dip Rory backwards and kiss him.  The kiss becomes more passionate as Rory threads his fingers through the other man’s hair, and the surgeon, Lahela, presses even closer, until there is no space left between the two.

The same stomach unsettling feeling from this morning comes roaring back, and Ethan turns away, pulling the drink Rory had bought him closer.  He takes a sip, the fruity drink leaving a bitter taste on his tongue, much like the sight of Rory wrapped up in Lahela’s arms does.

[lovesung127]

see you around- j.jh

Inspired by @writing-prompt-s​: You're immortal and have passed the 'hero' phase centuries ago. You enter a small corner shop one day to find it is owned by your millennia-old arch-nemesis. You really, really need milk though.

I tweaked the prompt a little bit :)

Summary: You were once part of the world’s most renowned superhero organization, NCTsuper. Now centuries later, you’re still alive and you don’t know where anyone else is or if they are immortal like you too. The last person you expected to see after all these centuries was a member of NCTSuper, nonetheless your biggest rival within the organization. You really don’t want to talk to him, but you really need that milk.

Genre: enemies to lovers except it's more like one-sided enemies at this point, fluff, angst, attempts at comedy, set in the future, slight fantasy aspect

Warnings: mention of weapons, y/n and jaehyun can be kind of annoying at times, one fight scene with bullets, implied death of three minor characters, and bad grammar? grammarly and my brain can only help me so much T^T. mentions of suggestive activities but no actual suggestive activities,i’m bad at coming up with superhero names (let me know if i missed any)

Pairing:  jaehyun x reader(gender not specified).

Other idols: taeyong, mark, doyoung, seulgi, and yuta are mentioned like very briefly! Not paired with y/n just like other characters

Word Count: 6,995

A/N: Hey the long awaited fic is here lol. tbh idk what i’m doing so i apologize in advance if this is bad hehe. hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I am in no way claiming this is how these celebrities mentioned in my story behave in real life. This story is all fiction.

This is also my original work minus the prompt so please don’t copy or repost (reblogging is fine<3 )

“Yo! Y/N! We ran out of milk!” Your roommate shouted from the kitchen. Your eyes drifted from your computer screen to the door of your room. You paused your drama and walked to the kitchen.

“Why does it matter? We are lactose intolerant anyway,” You sighed as you scanned the fridge for the carton of milk you bought three days ago.

“Yeah I know but I want to bake these cookies for Mark! And the recipe I’m using calls for milk!”

“Oh my god, Veronica,” you surveyed the mess of baking ingredients on the kitchen island. “Why didn’t you check for all the ingredients before you started making the cookies?”

“I know, I know I know! I’m sorry, but can you please go and buy some milk? Pretty pretty, please? You can have 2 of the cookies I bake?” Veronica begged with her best puppy dog eyes.

“Three cookies or no deal,” you bargained as you walked towards your room.

“Okay fine!” Veronica agreed.

“You are lucky that I was planning to go outside anyway,” you called back.

“Omg, thank you so much! Love ya!”

You tucked your phone into your pocket and grabbed your wallet and keys from the stand.

“Can you also buy some gummies?” Veronica asked

“No,” you replied as you shut the door.

Ugh, I can’t believe that decades ago I used to be part of the world’s most renowned superhero organization. Now, I’m helping my roommate run errands. Times really do change.

Here’s the thing, you are immortal or that’s the only conclusion you can draw. Strange right? It’s too confusing to explain, so you refrain from telling people. All you know is that as time passes your loved ones pass along with it, yet you still remain and never age. Being immortal does have some perks to it: you don’t have to worry about running out of time and getting gray hairs. You can also live to see all of humanity’s amazing achievements from sliced bread to smartphones and the more recent flying cars.

Your time under NCTsuper was one you’ll never forget. You were on a task force with people from all over the world. There was a division of NCTsuper all around the world: Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Canada, United States just to name a few. Together you helped fight crime in your respective cities. Your superhero name was Butterfly, due to the butterfly tattoo on your wrist that you derived your powers from. It used to glow, but after you lost your powers it was like any other tattoo. Eventually, the world stopped accepting superheroes, and NCTsuper died out. You were never able to maintain contact with any of the members.

You exited your apartment and walked downtown. You heard of this new store opening within walking distance of your apartment. This is great because even though you are immortal and have all the time in the world, you still have zero clue how to drive a car. Luckily for you, Veronica can drive. But now that there is a store close to you, you don’t need to hail a cab or wait for the bus to get your groceries.

You stood in front of the store. It was much smaller than you expected it to be. You opened the door and felt the cool breeze from the air conditioning hit your bare arms. You shivered a bit as you entered the store and picked up a basket. You walked to the milk section and picked out a carton of milk. You walked around the store and bought a couple of other groceries. You walked into the candy section and picked up a bag of gummy bears. You started to feel the weight of the basket on your arms and decided that it was time to pay. You walked up to the cash register and made eye contact with the cashier.

“You have got to be kidding me,” you huffed.

“Y/N?” he stared at you with equal shock.

“I told you not to call me by my real name, Lightning.”

“Sorry my bad Rollerblades,” he smiled at you with the smile you wished you would never have to see again.

“Oh my god, that was one time-how do you still remember i-” you gritted your teeth.

“Of course, I remember the one time you put on the wrong shoes and ended up wearing rollerblades. Then, you crashed into the formula we were going to protect and burned yourself in the process! How could I forget!” he laughed, his dimples showing.

“It's been centuries, and you still can’t drop that nickname?” you rolled your eyes as you loaded your groceries onto the conveyor belt.

He chuckled, “It was hilarious seeing you get yelled at by Doyoung. Plus, it still has a nice ring to it.”

“Why can’t you just call me by my hero name? It’s there for a reason.”

“You are my favorite rival, I can’t just call you by your hero name, that's so dull.”

“Oh wow, you’re ranking your rivals now?” You scoffed.

“You know you are my number one!” he blew a kiss in your direction.

“Oh my god,” you rolled your eyes “What are you doing here? How-How are you still alive?”

“I could ask the same to you.” He laughed as he scanned your items.

“Just. Answer. The. Damn. Question.” you said through gritted teeth as you grabbed your card from your wallet.

“Still as feisty as ever I see. But to answer your question, I own this shop. I moved here last week. As to why I’m still alive? Uhhh I didn’t die?”

“Hahaha so funny, I’m sooo glad you kept your humor throughout these years,” you remarked.

He laughed, “So what about you, what are you doing here? And ‘why are you still alive?’”

“I live here, and I don’t know why I’m still alive. I guess it’s the same answer as yours ‘I didn’t die.’ I guess I’m immortal or whatever.” you answered as you scanned your card.

“That makes two of us,” he smiled at you.

Why is he always smiling? When you used to be under the same organization, you were both rivals. You don’t know quite how it started. All you remember is that the two of you always clashed heads. Ever since you first met him when he transferred from Korea to the United States branch. He always tried to one-up and teased you any chance he got. Due to this, you guys have this mutual rivalry and hatred towards one another.

“That’ll be ninety dollars,” He said as you snapped out of your thoughts.

“Oh wow, not only did you try to sabotage my mission by popping my tires, but you also overprice your goods,” you scoffed.

“Hey, a man’s gotta make a living,” he held his hands up in defense. You rolled your eyes and loaded up your groceries. You threw the bags over your shoulders and pushed open the door.

“I hope to run into you again Y/N,” he waved you goodbye.

“Not a chance, Jaehyun,” you called back as you left the store.

You can’t believe it. There is no way Jaehyun is still alive. How is he alive? Does that mean other people from NCTsuper are still around? Does Jaehyun still have his powers? How come you are still alive? Does that mean all the villains you fought are also alive? These thoughts and many others race your mind as you opened the door to your apartment.

“Omg, you are back!” Veronica exclaimed. You handed the milk to her in a daze.

“Omg than-” You shoved the packet of gummy bears into her hands. “Oh my gosh, I thought you weren’t going to buy them! Thank you so much!” Veronica’s smile widened.

You don’t hear Veronica as you mindlessly walked to your room. You sat down on your floor without changing into your pajamas. There is no way that was Jaehyun. You leaned your head on your bed. “Agh, I have to be going insane.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You didn’t see Jaehyun for the next three weeks and managed to convince yourself that the whole experience was a fever dream. Even though you did eat three of the cookies Veronica made with the milk you brought. After that interaction, your life stayed pretty much the same. You woke up, went to work, ate, slept, and repeated.

One day, your boss let you and your colleagues leave work early in the afternoon. Due to the fact that the company you worked for was going under some renovations. You missed your daily morning coffee since you were in a rush. You decided to stop by the cafe on the next block for your much-needed caffeine. You weren’t paying attention as you opened the door to the cafe and collided with someone’s chest. A string of apologies fell out of your mouth as you tried to squeeze past the person you bumped into. You soon realized that they weren’t moving. You decided to look up and see who it was.

Wrong move.

“I knew that I would run into you again, Y/N. Although, I did not expect it to be literally,” Jaehyun chuckled.

“Oh my god, not you again,” You groaned as you tried to squeeze past the gap between Jaehyun’s arm and the door frame. But unfortunately, he caught you.

You quickly detached yourself from him, “what do you want Jaehyun?”

“Hmmm, money, world peace, unlimited pieces of vinyl, free coffee for the rest of my life, one of those flying cars! Oh, and you,” Jaehyun jokingly winked.

“Oh my god-”

“Is that the only phrase you know? You have said that twice already,” Jaehyun chuckled.

You rolled your eyes, “Please move. I need my coffee, and I have no patience for you today. I was convinced you were not real, but I guess I was proven wrong.”

Jaehyun would not leave you alone, so that’s how you found yourself sitting at the window seat of the cafe sipping on your coffee.

“Have you tried contacting Doyoung? Or Taeyong?” Taeyong and Doyoung were the leaders of NCTSuper. They were the ones in charge of everything: what weapons you used, who you went with, which missions you went on. You were closer to the former than the latter because Taeyong did more fighting than Doyoung did.

“I have, but I can’t find anything on them. Or NCTsuper for that matter,” Jaehyun answered as he took a sip of his ice americano.

“Hmm, that’s odd. Is it only us then?”

“Probably,” Jaehyun answered mid-bite into his pastry.

“Do you still have any of the numbers of anyone from NCTsuper?” You asked before biting into your cake.

“Yea, but like I said before, no one picks up. It could be due to how phones back then were different than the ones now.” Jaehyun answered

You nodded in agreement. “Jaehyun? Do you still have your powers?”

Jaehyun turned his head to reveal his dull lightning tattoo behind his ear, “nope. They’re all gone.”

“Same.” You showed him the tattoo on your wrist. He nodded.

A silence fell over the two of you. The only thing you could hear was the soft jazz music playing on the cafe’s speakers. As well as, the sounds of indistinct chatter from other cafe goers. You looked at the window and saw that the sky that was once a light blue is now a dark blue, almost black.

You let your thoughts ruminate and it seemed that Jaehyun was doing the same. Your eyes landed on the table next to yours. The young girl was sitting with someone who seemed like her boyfriend. She was drinking a pink liquid. That’s when it hit you.

You didn’t know it at that time but it was your second to last mission. You and Jaehyun were paired together.

“Doyoung! Why do I have to be paired with Jaehyun? You know we don’t get along. You should have paired him with Seulgi. They have similar powers and they get along. I don’t like Jaehyun and we clash all the time. I can’t work well with him.” You huffed into your mic.

“I can hear you,” Jaehyun complained.

“We went over this! Only you and Jaehyun can deliver this potion. If Seulgi and Jaehyun went together and they needed to use their powers it would impact the potion negatively. Just bare with each other.” Doyoung sighed into both of your earpieces.

“Fine,” you relented. Jaehyun parked the car in the back of the alley. You guys got out. The minute you set foot on the pavement the hairs on the back of your neck stood up. Something felt off, but you weren’t sure what. It was in the early hours of the morning, and it was hard to make out your surroundings. The only light you guys had was the moonlight. You walked behind Jaehyun as he led the two of you into the warehouse. The mission was to meet up with Exoplanet, another superhero organization, and bring the potion to them. The potion was two vials filled with a pink odorless liquid. Doyoung told you guys that this potion belonged to the Moonlights, a villain organization, who were going to use the potion to go through with their plan. To this day you still have no clue what the Moonlights’ plan was. You stuck close to Jaehyun as you entered the warehouse. The feeling that something was off was pooling in your stomach; you tightened your hold on your gun. After all, your powers could only help you so much.

“Lighting and Butterfly,” A voice sounded behind you.

You and Jaehyun turned around and were face to face with three of the members of Exoplanet.

“You have the vials right?”

You and Jaehyun nodded; the both of you reached into your jackets for the vials. The feeling in your gut only increased. You were about to hand the vials over when something moved in the corner of your eyes.

“Jaehyun duck,” you whispered.

“What? Why should I duck?” he answered.

“Just do it, something’s up,” you whispered back.

“You’re overthinking, don’t worry about it,” Jaehyun dismissed.

You saw something flash in the corner of your vision, “JAEHYUN DUCK NOW!” before he could retort you pulled him down by his arm, just as a bullet flew past your heads. It would have hit Jaehyun square in the head if he was still standing. You tuck the vial back into your jacket and drag Jaehyun to a place to hide.

“What is going on?” Jaehyun breathed.

“I don’t know, ask Doyoung!” you gritted your teeth.

“Doyoung? What's going on?” Jaehyun growled into his earpiece.

“Doyoung...Doyoung…” you tapped on your earpiece. No response.

Another bullet flew over your heads, you crouched lower and took your gun out.

“There’s no time to wait for Doyoung, turn your earpiece on so Doyoung can hear what we hear!” Jaehyun ordered. You nodded and looked up and saw that the members of Exoplanet were nowhere to be found. You looked around some more and saw that the three members of Exoplanet were lying on the ground unmoving with bullet wounds. “Jaehyun look,” you gestured to where the members of Exoplanet were. Jaehyun’s eyes widened. The two of you slowly emerged from your hiding space.

“Can you guys hear me?” Doyoung spoke into your earpieces.

“Yes,” you responded.

“It seems that Moonlight learned about Exoplanets' attempt to get the potions. You need to get out of there now.” Doyoung informed.

“Well, what do you think we’re trying to do,” Jaehyun rolled his eyes.

You were about to say something when three people emerged from behind you. Before they could do anything, you used your powers to remove the weapons from their bodies.

Everything happened in a flash, people were emerging from everywhere. You and Jaehyun were only two people. Your power was only able to take care of three people at a time. Jaehyun’s power too but you were way too outnumbered.

The both of you were surrounded. “Drink it!” Doyoung’s voice broke in through your earpieces

“What?” You asked while kicking someone’s stomach.

“Just drink it!” Doyoung ordered.

You and Jaehyun made eye contact.

“Why? We don’t know what’s in it!” Jaehyun exclaimed while blocking someone with the butt of his gun.

“Dr-...Drink i...Drink it…” Doyoung’s voice through the earpiece was breaking out. You both heard loud feedback and the line was dead.

“Agh...Doyoung? Doyoung? There’s no response!” You screamed at Jaehyun who was on the other side of the warehouse.

“Just drink it!” Jaehyun shouted back while you saw him already open the vial. He was able to create a shield around him so no one could take his vial.

You followed suit. You managed to push everyone around you away which gave you enough time to time drink the potion.

Everything after that was a blur. Before you knew it, you and Jaehyun were back at headquarters. Your head felt light and heavy at the same time when you opened your eyes.

Jaehyun’s eyes followed your gaze toward the next table's pink liquid. “Jaehyun! Is it because we drank the that pink liquid meant for Exoplanet?!” You exclaimed.

Jaehyun’s eyes widened in realization, “are you saying that pink liquid is what made us immortal?”

“I’m guessing that’s why? Unless you can think of anything else?”

“No. No, what you said makes sense.”

You stared at each other in silence.

“I guess that means everyone else is gone.” Jaehyun breathed.

“Oh my god..” your eyes glossed over with tears.

“You can cry it’s okay, I’ll shield you if you don’t want people seeing,” Jaehyun offered.

You looked at Jaehyun and saw a sad expression that mirrored yours.

You didn’t realize you were crying until you heard splashes coming from your coffee. You wiped your tears away. Jaehyun reached over the table and handed you some napkins. “It’s okay… I’m okay… thanks.” You took the tissues from Jaehyun’s hand. “I have thought about it before that I was the only one left, but it’s…”

“Different now that we have a potential reason,” Jaehyun finished.

“Yea,” you sniffled. “But I am glad… that you are still here… it would be extremely lonely if I was the only one left. At least, now I know that there is someone else who has been through what I have.”

Jaehyun smiled, “I’m glad too.”

You called a taxi home that night. You won’t lie; You felt a weight lifted off your shoulders. You now have the closest thing to an idea of why you were still around. You spent the rest of the night mourning for your lost friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You felt the sunlight on your eyes before you heard the blare of your alarm. You hit snooze and crawled out of bed. You had a pounding headache from crying all night. You slowly crawled out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen.

“Morning!” Veronica greeted, “Is everything alright? You came home crying last night.”

You looked up and saw the concern in Veronica’s eyes.

“No, yeah, I’m fine… ha ha… it’s nothing. just a...rough day at work...but I’m...uh good now,”

“Okay, well…” Veronica still looked unsure before continuing, “Mark and I are going on a date tonight so just cook for yourself.”

You hummed in acknowledgment as you cooked yourself some eggs, “Have fun on your date!”

“I will,” Veronica called back as she left for work.

You heaved a sigh, “what do I do now?”

At that moment, your phone dinged with a notification. You turned your head and saw an unknown phone number on your screen.

+1-214-097-1270: Hey Rollerblades

You: jaehyun?

You: how did you get my phone number?

You: am i getting scammed?

+1-214-097-1270: Yes

+1-214-097-1270: Wait not yes to getting scammed

+1-214-097-1270: I’m not scamming you

+1-214-097-1270: I am Jaehyun.

You: great!😃😑

+1-214-097-1270: I’m so glad you think so! I got your number bc you left your phone unlocked at the cafe and I found your number from there

You: oh god you really have no shame smh

You: I can’t believe after like 100s of years you are still as sneaky and shady as you were before

+1-214-097-1270: HEY! I’m not shady OR sketchy! I'm resourceful mind you

You:🙄🙄🙄

+1-214-097-1270: Rude.

You:🥰

+1-214-097-1270:😑

+1-214-097-1270: Do you want to meet up?

You: why?

+1-214-097-1270: I can’t meet up with an old friend?

You: we are not friends tho

+1-214-097-1270: Well… we can be!

You: yea no thanks <3

You: plus we already met up at the cafe

You: the cafe where you invaded my privacy and got my phone number w/out me knowingfgg

You: so i’ll sit this one out

+1-214-097-1270: BOOOO! Your no fun this is why Yuta rejected you

You: *You’re

+1-214-097-1270: 😑

+1-214-097-1270: You just proved my point

You: that’s it

You: blocked and deleted

+1-214-097-1270: Hey!

+1-214-097-1270: Don’t block me!

+1-214-097-1270: I know you can see this

+1-214-097-1270: You know I can see the read receipts right?

+1-214-097-1270: Hello?

You put your phone face down on your nightstand and collapsed onto the bed. You were not in a mood to deal with anything. Everything felt so surreal. The new information you found out last night still didn't feel right, but it’s the only reason you have. If you and Jaehyun are the last people of NCTSuper around and the only people who are “immortal”, it would be smart to get along. Right? You decided to sleep on that train of thought. Hopefully, more sleep will chase the pounding headache away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks have passed. You have finally been able to come to terms with the fact that you and Jaehyun are the only ones left of NCTSuper. You decided that you might as well take Jaehyun up on his offer. If the both of you will live forever, might as well try and get along with him

You: ughhh fine.

You: i’ll take you up on your offer

You: where do you want to meet up?

The reply comes almost immediately.

+1-214-097-1270: I KNEW IT! You did not block me

+1-214-097-1270: you obviously wouldn’t

+1-214-097-1270: No one can stay away from me for long

+1-214-097-1270: That’s why back in the day, I was such a ladies’ man

You: i think i just barfed in my mouth

You: pls never ever refer to yourself as a “ladies’ man”

You: i actually take back what i said. you are too annoying

+1-214-097-1270: Okay fine my bad my bad

+1-214-097-1270: I get it your jealous

+1-214-097-1270: Not everyone can have as much game as me

You: 😑😑😑

You: yea sure... not because you flirted with anything that moved🙄

+1-214-097-1270: Rude

+1-214-097-1270: Anyways… let’s meet up at the ramen shop around the corner from my store

+1-214-097-1270: Does Friday work for you?

You: yea sure

+1-214-097-1270: Okay, see you then

You: Liked “Okay, see you then”

~

Friday came sooner than you expected. You and Jaehyun decided to meet at 7.

“Are you finally going on a date? It’s about time Y/N,” Veronica said as she walked into your room.

“It’s not a date Veronica,” You said while fixing your hair.

“The way you keep fixing your hair tells me otherwise,” Veronica giggled as she took a seat on your bed. “Your outfit looks great by the way.”

“Thanks and I’m just meeting up with an old…friend.”

“Okay… sure your ‘friend.’ Let’s hope he becomes your BOYfriend,”

“How did you know my old friend would be a guy?” You raised your eyebrows as you put on your earrings.

“Just best friend senses.”

“Sureeee,” You fixed your hair one last time. “Okay, I’m ready to go!”

“You look great,” Veronica smiled.

“Thanks,” you gathered your stuff and left the apartment. Your walk to the ramen shop was a quiet and relaxing one. You arrived in front of the ramen shop shortly after.

The restaurant was a cozy one. The tables were all filled, but the restaurant still managed not to feel too packed. You saw Jaehyun sitting at a table in the corner of the restaurant.

“Hey,” You greeted.

“Oh Y/N! I was really thinking you weren’t going to show up,” Jaehyun chuckled.

“Hey! I wasn’t that late,” You rolled your eyes.

“Yea, I probably got here too early,” Jaehyun muttered.

“Huh?” You questioned while looking at the menu.

“Nothing,” Jaehyun said while he picked up a menu.

You spent your evening eating ramen and talking with Jaehyun. Surprisingly, Jaehyun isn’t all that annoying to be around. Though, there still was the occasional banter. You will never admit it to Jaehyun, but you had fun that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following weeks carried on more or less the same; instead, now you had the addition of going out to eat dinner or lunch with Jaehyun. You’ve managed to start anew with Jaehyun. And to your surprise, you and he make pretty good friends.

“Are you going on yet another date with Mr. Mystery Boy?” Veronica asked.

“It’s not a date” you deadpanned. That’s what you keep telling yourself.

“I’m starting to think you spend more time with him than me! Your roommate!” Veronica dramatically collapsed on your bed.

“What are you talking about? I live with you,” You rolled your eyes as you put on your earrings (the butterfly ones you went to the mall with Jaehyun to buy).

“Ugh, stop lying! I can hear you giggling at your phone every time I pass your room-”

“Who said I was laughing at what he said?” You were definitely laughing at something Jaehyun sent you. Because let’s be real, who else would text you besides Jaehyun and Veronica?

“And I can’t forget that I can hear a man’s voice coming from your room at midnight! And we both know it's not from a booty call!”

Ah yes, the midnight FaceTime calls with Jaehyun. But those are strictly platonic! You are just getting to know Jaehyun beyond the annoying and competitive coworker you had 100s of years ago. Right?

Right.

“Ugh, plus I have never even met this man before! When am I going to see him? I introduced you to Mark after a week of knowing him! You’ve known this mystery dude for like months already!” Veronica threw her arms up in the air for dramatic flair.

“Okay, yea but you liked Mark at the time. He wasn’t just your friend!” You retorted back as you fixed your hair. “I don’t like this guy.”

“Can you at least tell me his name?” Veronica asked.

“Oh yea, it’s Jaehyun. Oops, I forgot to tell you.” You laughed.

~

Unlike you, Jaehyun learned how to drive. He picked you up outside your apartment.

“Jae, you did not tell me where we are going tonight?” You asked as you stepped into the car.

“Well, yea it’s a surprise!” Jaehyun rolled his eyes as he turned on the music.

As the music filled the speakers your eyes widened, “No way you still listen to Chet Baker?!”

“Huh? Oh yeah, his music is still great even after all this time,” Jaehyun said as he turned the volume higher.

Jaehyun ended up taking you to an open field.

“Darn, I knew it was too good to be true. I guess today is the day you finally kill me, “ You dramatically sighed.

“I’m not going to kill you, Y/N,” Jaehyun deadpanned as he opened the trunk.

“That’s what they all say,” You called back as you exited his car. You see Jaehyun carrying a brown basket and holding a rolled-up blanket under his arm.

“I’m here to take you out on a picnic! The weather is perfect! Look, the sun is still out,” Jaehyun gestured towards the sun.

Jaehyun was right, the weather was nice. You felt the warm heat on your neck as you followed Jaehyun into the field. You watched as he set up the picnic blanket. He patted the spot next to him when he finished setting up.

“I hope you still like Mars Bars,” Jaehyun said as he started to unload the basket. There were also sandwiches, fried chicken, fruit salads, french fries, ramen, brownies, and soda.

“Yea, I still love Mars Bars. I’ve been looking for them everywhere! How did you know I liked them?” You asked as you grabbed one of the Mars Bars.

“I remembered you would always eat one before our meetings,” Jaehyun said as he took a bite of the sandwich he packed.

“Oh, you noticed?” You raised your eyebrow.

“Well, yeah. I’ve always been paying attention to you Y/N,” Jaehyun smiled.

Huh? You cleared your throat and grabbed the nearest thing to eat, which was fried chicken, and took a bite.

Jaehyun let out a chuckle and continued to eat. You glared at him before finishing your chicken.

You two spent the rest of the afternoon eating and sharing stories.

“There is no way you were that dumb-”

“Hey! I was young and in love! Don’t tell me you wouldn’t serenade your lover,”

“I would serenade them, but not on a ladder! And I would definitely not fall off of it, “ you laughed.

“You may say it was dumb but she loved it so, ha!” Jaehyun stuck his tongue out.

“Yea, well I also didn’t break my arm because of it!” You jabbed your finger at his forehead.

“Ow!” Jaehyun rubbed his forehead. “In my defense, this was the 80s and I was also carrying a boombox, so my balance wasn’t the greatest!”

You laughed even harder, “Boombox? While standing on a ladder?”

“Okay, yea I know it sounds stupid now, but that is also because it’s like 2050.”

“Well, I’m glad one of us used their immortality to live an…eventful life." You took a bite of the ramen you were sharing with Jaehyun.

“Hey, if you are gonna laugh at me you do not get to eat the ramen!” Jaehyun tried to grab the ramen cup from you.

“No!” You whined while you got up and tried to move away from him. You drank some of the broth to avoid spilling it all over yourself while you ran away from Jaehyun.

Eventually, Jaehyun caught up to you. He wrapped his arm around your waist and in your brief moment of shock, he managed to pry the ramen away from your hands.

“Hey, give me my ramen back!” You screamed while running after him.

You spent the rest of the afternoon under the bright sun eating all the goods that Jaehyun brought.

~

“Hey, it’s getting dark. We should head home,” Jaehyun said as he packed up the picnic blanket.

You got up and watched Jaehyun as he packed everything up. He gave you a dimpled smile when your eyes met. You quickly looked away trying to hide your red flushed cheeks (it didn’t work. Jaehyun saw you).

“Hey Jae, thank you so much! I had so much fun today,” You said while unbuckling your seatbelt.

“Yeah, no problem. Oh before you go,” Jaehyun turned around and grabbed something from the back seat.

“Mars Bars?” Your eyes widened as he placed the entire box into your hands.

“You can take all the Mars Bars,” Jaehyun's eyes crinkled in a smile.

You couldn’t contain your joy and thanked him before heading up to your apartment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If one hundred years ago someone told you that you would be spending your birthday with Jaehyun, you would have written that person off as insane. Yet that is exactly what you are doing. You are turning God knows how old, but to your friends, you are turning 24. How exciting! With how long you have been on Earth, the idea of birthdays isn’t appealing anymore. But you still played along because everyone else seemed to love celebrating birthdays.

You are currently standing in front of your mirror picking an outfit for your small birthday dinner. The only people you invited were Veronica, Mark, and Jaehyun. You heard a knock on your door before Veronica popped her head in.

“Hey, you ready? You are 24 now! Oh my god, this is so exciting!”

“Veronica, it’s not that big of a deal,” You rolled your eyes as you adjusted the hair out of your face. “Okay, I’m ready!”

“Great, I started the car and Mark said he will meet us there,” Veronica said as she locked the door.

You climbed into her car and made your way over to the restaurant. You decided to eat at a high-end Japanese restaurant. When you arrived at your table Mark was already there.

“Happy Birthday Y/N!” He said as he leaned in for a hug.

“Thanks,” you smiled as you hugged him back. You took a seat across from Mark who sat next to Veronica.

“We are just waiting for one more person,” You announced as you started to look at the menu.

“Oh, who are we waiting for?” Mark asked as he picked up a menu.

“We are waiting for-”

“Her boyfriend!” Veronica cut you off.

You narrowed your eyes at Veronica before returning your gaze to Mark, “He’s not my boyfriend. We are just friends.”

“Haha, not dating yet!” Veronica smirked.

Before you could fire back, you felt someone slip into the chair next to you.

“Hey everyone, sorry I am late. The traffic was much worse than I expected. I am Jaehyun by the way, Y/N’s friend.” Jaehyun smiled. He exchanged greetings with the other people at the table before his gaze shifted to yours. “Happy Birthday Y/N.”

You quickly thanked him and reverted your gaze to the menu.

Surprisingly, Jaehyun got along well with Veronica and Mark. You were busy shoveling down your fifth sushi roll when you felt a tap on your shoulder. You turned your head around.

“Hey, can you step outside with me for a minute? I need to give you your present,” Jaehyun whispered.

“Wait, you can give it to me now and I’ll open it at home,” You suggested.

“No, I want to see you when you open it,” Jaehyun said while standing up. You eyed him weirdly.

“I’m going to step out for a bit,” Jaehyun told your table before he got up.

You watched him as he walked towards the exit, “I’m going to step out too.”

Veronica raised her eyebrows at you and smirked.

“Oh my god, Veronica shush!” You rolled your eyes as you pushed your chair in.

“Hey, I didn’t even say anything,” Veronica laughed.

You weaved your way through the various tables and crowds until you reached the exit.

“Jaehyun, what is it?” You asked as you closed the restaurant’s entrance behind you.

“I just wanted to give you your birthday gift!” Jaehyun said as he fished a box from out his pocket.

“Jaehyun? You could have just given this to me inside,” You looked up at him as he placed the box in your hand.

“Yeah, but um… I also wanted to ask you a question.” Jaehyun shifted as he put his hands in his pockets, "but first please open your gift!”

Your fingers lifted open the delicate lid. Behind the lid sat a blue and black jeweled butterfly pendant.

“I’d thought I'd buy you a butterfly necklace to match the butterfly earrings,” Jaehyun mumbled.

“Thanks, I love it,” You smiled while you began to unclasp it.

“Wait! Let me help you put it on,” Jaehyun grabbed the necklace from your fingers.

You smiled softly while Jaehyun put the necklace on for you. You felt the breeze on your neck as Jaehyun placed the necklace around you. But the breeze was not the cause of the shiver you felt run down your spine.

“Okay! All set,” Jaehyun awkwardly clapped his hands together and stepped back.

Your cheeks flushed at the sudden contact from him but you managed out a small “thanks.”

“No problem,” Jaehyun chuckled.

“So is this all you called me out for? Because if so I kinda wanna go back inside. My sashimi platter is calling my name and I simply can not ignore it.”

“I-uh… that is not all. I have uh one more question,” Jaehyun answered as his gaze shifted to his shoes.

“Uh cool. What is it?” You tried to make eye contact with him, but he kept avoiding your stare.

“Well, um… I’ve been wanting to uhm ask you this but uhm the Yuta thing happened and I uh…” Jaehyun stuttered out.

“Spit it out bro. What is it?” You asked tapping your foot jokingly.

“I uh...I like you. I was uhm…wondering if you want to uhm date?” Jaehyun lifted his gaze to meet yours. This time it was you avoiding eye contact.

“Date?” You raised your eyebrows.

“I mean uhm… I kind of always liked you. I thought that you were very cute. I only teased you because you didn’t seem to want to talk to me uhm regularly.” Jaehyun sheepishly smiled.

“Wait. You liked me this whole time?” You asked your eyes popping out of your eye sockets.

“Uhm…yeah. Hehe,” Jaehyun’s gaze shifted from your eyes to the ground.

“I mean-”

“If you uhm want to reject me. You can just do it. You don’t uh have to feel bad,” Jaehyun muttered.

You chuckled before you responded, “I was going to say that I also thought you were cute too.”

“Huh?” Jaehyun’s head snapped up at that.

You had a big smile on your face as you said the next words, “I’d love to date you.”

“What?”

“You heard me Jaehyun. I. Would. Love. To. Date. You.”

Jaehyun took a step closer before enveloping you in a hug. He spoke into your hair with a big smile on his face, “I’m so glad. It would be so awkward having to ask for the necklace back.”

“Wait what do you mean?” You said before placing your hand over the necklace.

“Uh, the necklace was more so kind of gift for us dating. Not a gift for your birthday. So if you said no to dating then I would have to take the necklace back.”

“So what is my birthday gift?”

“Dating me!” Jaehyun said smugly.

“Oh my god, you are so annoying,” You rolled your eyes while hitting Jaehyun’s chest lightly.

“So it’s official? You are officially mine now!” Jaehyun said as he linked your hands together.

“Yep, I guess,” You smiled as you guys walked back into the restaurant together.

“Not my boyfriend, my butt!” Veronica exclaimed when you walked in and she saw your linked hands.

“Hey, he wasn’t at the time.” You said with a roll of your eyes.

“Congrats guys,” Mark said as he lifted his glass.

“Thanks, Mark,” You smiled before raising your glass in return.

You spent the rest of your night with your hands in Jaehyun’s. You and your friends talked about everything and ate the cake Veronica brought.

“Since it’s your birthday, I’ll pay for our meal,” Jaehyun said while taking out his wallet.

“Wait, you don’t need to. You guys came out for me, I can pay,” You said reaching out your hand to stop Jaehyun.

“No, I like where your boyfriend is going with this. Listen to him,” Veronica laughed.

You sighed but quietly agreed.

Jaehyun came back not too shortly after, “Okay, we are all set. Y/N, do you need a ride home?”

“Oh, I’m good. Veronica can drive me home,”

“What are you talking about? I’m not driving you home.”

“Huh? But I thought-”

“I’m going home with Mark.”

“Are you seriously ditching me on my birthday?” You groaned.

“No, I’m allowing you to spend time with your boyfriend hehe,” Veronica said while wiggling her eyebrows.

“You are unbelievable,” You laughed.

“Well, gotta go now! Happy birthday babe, be safe hehe,” Veronica waved goodbye.

“What is that supposed to mean?” You asked while Veronica laughed.

“Happy Birthday Y/N,” Mark said before following after Veronica.

“Bye, Mark,” You waved goodbye.

“Guess you are stuck with me now,” Jaehyun chuckled before relinking your hands.

“Unfortunately,” you joked before pushing open the doors.

“Hey!” Jaehyun whined as he opened the car door for you.

The music from the radio filled the car as you guys drove back to your apartment. Not before Jaehyun stopped by an ice cream shop.

“Can I get one Mars Bar Shake?” Jaehyun asked into the drive-through speaker.

“Shut up! They sell that here?!” You exclaimed.

“Of course sir, that is going to be $6.99. Pull up to the front window.” The voice spoke.

“Thank you,” Jaehyun thanked as he drove to the front window. He turned to you with a big smile. “I saw that they were selling them during this month, so I had to buy one for you.” Jaehyun took the shake from the cashier and handed it to you. “Happy Birthday Y/N!”

“Oh my gosh,” you took a sip from the drink. “Holy! This is so good! Thank you so much Jaehyun!”

“No problem." Jaehyun smiled as he pulled out of the drive-through and drove you back to your apartment.

You arrived shortly after, and you were about to get out of the car when Jaehyun stopped you. He ran around the front of the car and opened the door for you.

“Jaehyun, I have hands. I can open the door myself.” You laughed.

“Oh shush, I’m trying to be romantic,” Jaehyun said as he lead you to your front door.

“I see,” You chuckled. “Well, this is me,”

“Oh, uhm…have a good night Y/N,” Jaehyun slowly unlinked your hands, “see you around.”

You leaned in to kiss his cheek, and Jaehyun cheeks turned a light shade of pink. You giggled at how cute he was. You brushed the hair out from his eyes and met his dimpled smile. You waved goodbye to him as you entered your apartment and couldn’t wait to see that smile of his again.

[marvelgeeklikestowrite]

Okay so I recently finished reading Red White and Royal Blue and I am freaking in love with it.

Some of my favourite bits from the book (spoilers):

1. "So is that what’s happening now?” Alex says “Has he decided to finally shut me up by wooing my sister?”

“Aw, little buddy,” Nora says “It’s cute how you think everything is about you.”

“It should be, honestly.”

“That’s the spirit.”

2.Alex still doesn’t really know what kept drawing him back, only that he would sneak into June’s room and find the page and touch his fingertips to the boy’s hair as if he could somehow feel its texture if he imagined it hard enough.

Alex, honey, I don't know how to tell you this but that sounds kinda gay.

3. “Am I offending you? Sorry, I’m not obsessed with you like everyone else. I know that must be confusing for you.”

“Do you know what?” Henry says. “I think you are.”

Alex’s mouth drops open, while the corner of Henry’s turns smug and almost a little mean.

“Only a thought,” Henry says, tone polite. “Have you ever noticed I have never once approached you and have been exhaustively civil every time we’ve spoken? Yet here you are, seeking me out again.” He takes a sip of his champagne.

“Simply an observation.”

“What? I’m not—” Alex stammers. “You’re the—”

“Have a lovely evening, Alex,” Henry says tersely and turns to walk off.

Again Alex read the para before. You are obsessed with him, mijo.

4. He hears Henry mutter slowly, “Oh my fucking Christ.” He registers dimly that it’s the first time he’s ever heard the prince swear before the flash from someone’s camera goes off.

Sweetie, you just caused an international incident. Maybe worry about your crush, sorry arch-nemesis later?

5. “As your mother, I can appreciate that maybe this isn’t your fault, but as the president, all I want is to have the CIA fake your death and ride the dead-kid sympathy into a second term.”

Dear God, this whole family is dramatic 😂

6.“Look,” Zahra says, “Both sides need to come out of this looking good, and the only way to do that is to make it look like your little slap-fight at the wedding was some homoerotic frat bro mishap, okay? So, you can hate the heir to the throne all you want, write mean poems about him in your diary, but the minute you see a camera, you act like the sun shines out of his dick and you make it convincing.”

Zahra is the icon, the moment.

7. Nora says. “Sworn enemies forced to make peace to settle tensions between their countries? There’s something totally Shakespearean about it.``

“Shakespearean in that hopefully I’ll get stabbed to death,” Alex says.

Maybe if you ask Zahra nicely she'll do it for you.

8. Hey, what do you think Zahra put on my fact sheet?”

“Hmm,” Nora says, sucking her teeth. “Favorite summer Olympic sport: rhythmic gymnastics—”

“I’m not ashamed of that.”

“Favorite brand of khakis: Gap.”

“Listen, they look best on my ass. The J. Crew ones wrinkle all weird. And they’re not khakis, they’re chinos. Khakis are for white people.”

“Allergies: dust, Tide laundry detergent, and shutting the fuck up.”

“Age of the first filibuster: nine, at SeaWorld San Antonio, trying to force an orca wrangler into early retirement for, quote, ‘inhumane whale practices.’”

“I stood by it then, and I stand by it now.”

More of June and Nora roasting the shit out of Alex.

9. “I’m going to throw up on you,” Alex says as soon as Henry is close enough to hear him.

“Hello, Alex,” Henry says. “You look …sober.”

“Only for you, Your Royal Highness,” he says

“You’re too kind,” Henry says.

“This is idiotic,” Alex says, grasping Henry’s hand, “Let’s get it over with.”

“I’d rather be waterboarded,” Henry says. His eyes are big and soft and blue, and

he desperately needs to be punched in one of them. (sometimes I want to punch you in your perfect teeth) “Your Country could probably arrange that.”

Alex throws his head back and laughs handsomely, loud and false. “Go fuck yourself.”

“Hardly enough time,” Henry says

10. He finds Luna in his office, horn-rimmed reading glasses doing nothing to detract from his usual appearance of a movie star who tripped and fell sideways into politics. Alex has always suspected the soulful brown eyes and perfectly groomed stubble and dramatic cheekbones won back any votes Luna lost by being both Latino and openly gay.

How this boy ever thought he was anything but bi surmounts me

11. He clutches his chest. “You wound me.”

“You exhaust me.”

“I enchant you.”

“I’ll call security.”

“Fair enough.”

Luna and Alex <3

12. It’s meticulously scheduled by Shaan, with whom Alex is slightly obsessed, especially when

Henry texts him things like, Did I tell you Shaan has a motorbike? or Shaan is on the phone with Portugal.

Zahra would concur with Alex’s obsession with Mr. Shaan Srivastava

13 Alex rolls his eyes and sends back, the harrowing struggle of managing the empire’s blood money.

Henry’s response comes a minute later.

That was actually the crux of the meeting—I’ve tried to refuse my share of the crown’s money. Dad left us each more than enough, and I’d rather cover my expenses with that than the spoils of, you know, centuries of genocide. Philip thinks I’m being ridiculous.

14. Alex: “Put the turkeys in my room.”

Also, Alex: That night, as Alex stares into the cold, pitiless eyes of a prehistoric beast of prey, he has a few regrets.

THEY KNOW, he texts Henry. THEY KNOW I HAVE ROBBED THEM OF FIVE-STAR ACCOMMODATIONS TO SIT IN A CAGE IN MY ROOM, AND THE MINUTE I TURN MY BACK THEY ARE GOING TO FEAST ON MY FLESH.

15 . “Um,” he says. “How do you get a turkey to gobble?”

“Try gobbling,” Henry says, “and see if he gobbles back.”

Alex blinks. “Are you serious?”

“We hunt loads of wild turkeys in the spring,” Henry says sagely. “The trick is to get into the mind of the turkey.”

“How the hell do I do that?”

“So,” Henry instructs. “Do as I say. You have to get quite close to the turkey, like, physically.”

Alex leans toward the wire bars. “Okay.”

“Make eye contact with the turkey. Do you have it?”

Alex follows Henry’s instructions in his ear “Yeah.”

“Right, now hold it,” Henry says. “Connect with the turkey, earn the turkey’s trust ... befriend the turkey...”

“Okay...”

“Buy a summer home in Majorca with the turkey...”

“Oh, I fucking hate you!” Alex shouts as Henry laughs at his own idiotic prank and his indignant flailing startles a loud gobble out of Cornbread, which in turn startles a very unmanly scream out of Alex. “Goddammit! Did you hear that?”

“Sorry, what?” Henry says. “I’ve been stricken deaf.”

16. “I thought you’d kill me in a more personal way. Silk pillow over my face, slow and gentle suffocation. Just you and me. Sensual.”

“Ha. Well.” Henry coughs.

Alex, please. You are killing him!

17. “Oh my God, this is like all those romantic comedies where the girl hires a male escort to pretend to be her wedding date and then falls in love with him for real.”

“That is not at all what this is like.”

18. “Look, you should have invited him yourself!” June says, “It’s really nice you’re making friends who aren’t us. Remember last year when Nora and I were both out of the country for a week, and you almost got a tattoo?”

“I still think we should have let him get a tramp stamp.”

“It wasn’t going to be a tramp stamp,” Alex says hotly. “You were in on this, weren’t you?”

“You know I love chaos,” Nora tells him serenely.

“I have friends who aren’t y’all,” Alex says.

“Who, Alex?” June says. “Literally who?”

Jeez Nora, don’t call him out like that.

19.He has maybe wanted to kiss Henry for a while. As in, probably this whole time.

He ticks off another list in his head. Henry. Shaan. Liam. Han Solo. Rafael Luna and his loose collars.

Finally Alex's brain has decided to join the program.

20. “Do you mind?” Henry has the nerve to say.

“Shut your face,” Alex says

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?” she says.

“Probably not,” Alex tells her.

“What on God’s earth are you doing?” Henry demands.

“Shut up, shut all the way up, oh my God,” Alex hisses.

“Should we—”

“What?”

“I mean, er, should we, I dunno, slow down?” Henry says, cringing so hard at himself that one eye closes. “Go for dinner first, or—”

Alex is actually going to kill him.

“We just had dinner.”

“Right. I meant—I just thought—”

“Stop thinking.”

“Yes. Gladly.”

“I’m going to die,” Henry says helplessly.

“I’m going to kill you,” Alex tells him.

“Yes, you are,” Henry agrees.

21.“I don’t suppose you’ll be anywhere near Kensington anytime soon?”

“That shithole?” he says with a wink. “Not if I can help it.”

“Oi,” Henry says. He’s grinning now. “That’s disrespect of the crown, that is. Insubordination. I’ve thrown men in the dungeons for less.”

Alex turns, walking backward toward the car, hands in the air. “Hey, don’t threaten me with a good time.”

22. “Hey, Henry, say the name of the house you’re staying at again.”

Pez turns the camera to catch Henry in a half smile.

“Llwynywermod.”

“One more time.”

“Llwynywermod.”

Alex groans. “Jesus.”

Alex is whipped.

23. O,fathers of my bloodline! O, ye kings of olde! Take this crown from me, bury me in my ancestral soil. If only you had known the mighty work of thine loins would be undone by a gay heir who likes it when American boys with chin dimples are mean to him.

Alex is not the only one who is dramatic.

24 . He notices David Beckham in a well-tailored suit—once again, how had he convinced himself he was straight?

We have been asking that question all along Alex.

25. He snatches a shirt and boxers at random from the floor, shoves them at Henry’s chest, and points him toward the closet. “Get in there.”

“Quite,�� he observes.

“Yes, we can unpack the ironic symbolism later. Go,” Alex says, and Henry does.

26. Ellen: Finally my son is not going to cause any international incidents

Alex: " I kind of … met somebody.”

“It’s, uh,” he interrupts her. “It’s Henry.”

“Henry…?”

“Yeah, Henry.”

“Henry, as in … the prince?”

“Yes.”

“Of England?”

“Yes.”

“So, not another Henry?”

“No, Mom. Prince Henry. Of Wales.”

27. The first slide says: SEXUAL EXPERIMENTATION WITH FOREIGN MONARCHS: A GRAY AREA. Alex wonders if it’s too late to swan dive off the roof.

EXPLORING YOUR SEXUALITY: HEALTHY, BUT DOES IT HAVE TO BE WITH THE PRINCE OF ENGLAND? She apologizes for not having time to come up with better titles. Alex actively wishes for the sweet release of death.

The one after is: FEDERAL FUNDING, TRAVEL EXPENSES, BOOTY CALLS, AND YOU.

28. “Sorry,” Henry says. “I was looking for someone else.Handsome, petulant, short, not pleasant until after ten a.m.? Have you seen him?”

“Fuck off, five-nine is average.”

"You and I both know you’re rounding up.”

29. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Henry says. “Christ, Alex. The whole bloody time.”

“The whole time?”

“Since the Olympics.”

“The Olympics?” Alex yanks Henry’s pillow out from under him. “But that’s, that’s like—”

“Yes, Alex, the day we met, nothing gets past you, does it?” Henry says, reaching to steal the pillow back. “‘What about you,’ he says, as if he doesn’t know—”

“Shut your mouth,” Alex says, grinning like an idiot.

Idiots, both of them.

30. He asked why I was so intent on disrespecting the traditions of the men of this family, and I truly think I dissociated straight (ha) out of the conversation, because I opened my blasted mouth and said, “Because I’m not like the rest of the men of this family, beginning with the fact that I am very deeply gay, Philip.”

Eat shit Philip. Go Henry!

31. “I am your mother. I was your mother before I was ever the president, and I’ll be your mother long after, to the day they put me in the ground and beyond this earth. You are my child."

I fucking love Ellen Claremont, first woman President of the United States of America

32 . “Look, I’m only going to say this once, and if you ever repeat it, I’ll have you kneecapped.” She drops her hand, fixing him with a glare that manages to be both chilly and fond. “I’m rooting for you, okay?”

“Wait. Zahra. Oh my God. I just realized. You’re … my friend.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Zahra, you’re my mean friend.”

“Am not.”

Aww Zahra, you care for him! Alex I know you are happy about it but maybe don't tick her off when you have royally fucked up?

33."You can take your legacy and your decorum and you can shove it up your fucking arse,Philip. I’m done.”

Philip deserves a punch to his stupid face.

33. “So, uh,” Alex attempts. “Are you two in a fight now?”

Zahra looks at him. “No. Why would you think that?”

“Oh. I just thought because—”

“It’s fine,” Shaan says, still typing on his iPhone. “This is why we set rules about the personal-slash-professional lines at the outset of the relationship. It works for us.”

“If you want a fight, you should have seen it when I found out he had known about you two all along,” Zahra says. “Why do you think I got a rock this big?”

“It usually works for us,” Shaan amends.

“Yep,” Zahra agrees. “Plus, we banged it out last night.” Without looking up, Shaan meets her hand in a high five.

They deserve their own book!

34. “Nobody’s saying you don’t deserve to be happy,” Philip cuts in. “First love makes everyone mad—it’s foolish to throw away your future because of one hormonal decision based on less than a year of your life when you were barely in your twenties.”

Henry looks Philip square in the face and says, “I’ve been gay as a maypole since the day I came out of Mum, Philip.”

Again fuck Philip! And damn H!

35. “Of course they do, Mum. Of course the bloody Tories in Kensington and the Brexit fools don’t want it. That’s not the point. Are you so determined to believe nothing could change?

That nothing should change? We can have a real legacy here, of hope, and love, and change. Not the same tepid shite and drudgery we’ve been selling since World War II—”

“You will not speak to me this way,” Queen Mary says icily,

“No respect. Never an ounce of respect for the sanctity—”

“Or, perhaps I should bring some of my concerns to Parliament?” Catherine says, leaning in to lower her voice right in Queen Mary’s face. “You know, I do think Labour is rather finished with

the old guard. I wonder, if I were to mention those meetings you keep forgetting about, or the names of countries you can’t quite keep straight, if they might decide that forty-seven is perhaps enough years for the people of Britain to expect you to serve?”

The tremor in the queen’s hand has doubled. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t I, Mum? Would you like to find out? “Look at them, Mum. They’re not props of a legacy. They’re my children. And I swear on my life, and Arthur’s, I will take you off the throne before I will let them feel the things you made me feel.”

Catherine is amazing. The breakdown of the British monarchy in this book is a joy to read.

36. “Ellen,” Nora practically yells. The room goes silent, and Nora freezes, realizing. “Uh. Ma’am. Mom-in-law. Please, just. You need to read this.”

Nora saves the day!

37. “You are,” he says, “the absolute worst idea I’ve ever had.”

38.“Alex,” Henry tells him, “I can’t move to New York.”

Bea looks up. “Why not?”

“Because I’m the prince of—” Henry looks over at her and gestures at the Orangery, at Kensington, sputtering. “Here!”

Wow H, quite the Wordsworth.

39.“So … you’re afraid of wearing anything too flashy for your first post-coming-out trip home, on account of Texans’ delicate hetero sensibilities?”

Why is Nora fictional?

40. History, huh? Bet we could make some.

41. Do you feel forever about him?

42. "That’s the choice. I love him, with all that, because of all that. On purpose. I love him on purpose.”

43.I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and I had better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire.

And then, inexplicably, you had the absolute audacity to love me back. Can you believe it?

44. “I want you—”

“Then fucking have me.”

45. If there’s any legacy for me on this bloody earth, I want it to be true.

46. As a kid, he dreamed of love like it was a fairytale, as if it would come sweeping into his life on the back of a dragon one day. When he got older, he learned about love as a strange thing that could fall apart no matter how badly you wanted it, a choice you make anyway. He never imagined it’d turn out he was right both times.

[egg-emperor]

I love Eggman's role in Lost World because of how I interpret his actions in a way that actually makes sense. But I get so many comments on my video that are like "Eggman didn't HAVE to save Sonic so that means he cares!" He was literally planning to stab him in the back the whole time and tried to kill him as soon as he got in control of the machine and Eggrobo lmfao

Of course Eggman wouldn't want Sonic to die there and then from that fall, they ended up in that position because the D6 were no longer under his control and were out for the both of them. That would be like he was just handing over his long time arch nemesis to his other enemies that aren't on his side for them to kill for him, taking away the power and victory he'd get to feel if Sonic's death was actually his decision and doing.

Plus, he needed time to reprogram his machine and get the life energy to power his Eggrobo, so he needed Sonic alive to deal with the D6 and hold them back. He said that when he said he needed him to help him get past the Zeti and it was the point in trying to fake his death. He was going to pretend to die and keep Sonic alive for the same reason, to get that part done for him while he sneaks off to the machine, gets his Eggrobo ready, and then actually gets to fight Sonic himself.

If Sonic wasn't alive to hold them back, keep them distracted, and hopefully have them dealt with, he might not have had the chance and he wasn't going to risk that. He kept him alive to stall for time and because he wants to be the one to deal with his arch nemesis, not let his enemies take that victory from him. And him being killed just by throwing rocks and breaking a bridge would be anticlimactic after years of trying to fight Sonic himself, it wouldn't even truly be at his own hands as he didn't plan for it, and he wouldn't be satisfied with the outcome because it's too easy.

It's all seeming real selfish of Eggman when I put it that way, huh? That's because it is and because that's how he's always supposed to be. He's selfish, egotistical, and a liar and those that believe he's genuinely trying to do good are being tricked by his cunning facades. He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants, which includes saving or killing Sonic but he wants to do the latter at the very end no matter what. It all ends with his death because it's the only way he can rule his empire without the blue pest interfering ever again.

Though he'd prefer to draw it out and prove his power and superiority in the most fulfilling way before ridding of him forever, he'll clearly be out for blood in the heat of battle when he yells for Sonic to die and gets so determined to take him out that he takes great risks and even put himself in danger because all that's on his mind is desperation that turns into wanting Sonic dead right there and then. Games like SA2 isn't the only time where he's trying to actually kill Sonic, he's murderous all the time. He wants Sonic dead and saving him in Lost World doesn't suggest otherwise because it was all for deeply selfish reasons as usual.

I want to make a post where I talk about my thoughts and interpretation on everything Eggman does in LW at some point but this is a big one that I wanted to get to already, especially since I keep getting YouTube comments about it. I actually love Lost World's Eggman portrayal but what I don't enjoy is how people take his actions in the game at face value and interpret it in a way that feels OOC for him because it actually isn't until they do that.

[dinosaurtsukki]

[ it takes two to tango ]

pairing: chuuya nakahara x f!reader

word count: 2.4k words

contains: enemies but they flirt a lot basically, so much sexual tension and teasing, flirty!y/n, fight scenes and dance scenes basically carry the same amount of sexual tension and i will die on this hill

summary: chuuya runs into you, his arch-nemesis, again at a masquerade ball on a mission and reluctantly allies himself with you to fulfill the same goal

a/n: okay here’s ANOTHER chuuya fic from your resident chuuya fangirl. this is my first time writing an enemies to lovers-ish fic and i had so much fun with the setting and sexual tension here so i hope you guys like it 

▸ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ◂

chuuya was being watched, he could feel it ever since he walked into the large mansion on undercover mission that mori sent him out to do. at first, he didn’t think much of it since he was going to a masquerade ball, after all. of course there would be a few girls or two who’s eyes he managed to catch. 

except, when he went off on his own inside the mansion to search for info on the enemy faction’s leader, who also happened to be hosting the party, he could tell he was now being followed.  chuuya wasn’t particularly alarmed, he could handle anyone by himself. but he was pretty pissed off when he realized who those familiar footsteps, that grew nearer than ever, belonged to.

without hesitation, chuuya pulled out his knife and whirled around to face a pistol directed at his face. even with the black, feathered mask covering half your face, chuuya would recognize his arch-nemesis anywhere. 

he watched your red lips curl up in a smirk. “fancy seeing you here, nakahara,” you purred.

“fuck, you again?” chuuya growled, not lowering his knife. 

“try as you might, i’m afraid you just can’t avoid me,”  you said, lowering your gun. “so, you’re looking into boss tanaka too, huh? i’m afraid i already searched his office before you came in.” 

“that so?” chuuya snorted, mentally cursing himself for not coming earlier. but then, you were always just one step ahead of him.

you and chuuya had been arch-nemeses ever since you crossed paths at a mission a few years ago. he had never heard of you at all and knew very well that you weren’t part of any organization. rather, you worked alone as a paid criminal: assassinating anyone or stealing information all depending on who your boss was. if you were from an enemy organization, chuuya would have thought better of you. 

“unfortunately not,” you sighed, raising the skirt of your scarlet dress and tucking your gun away in the holster strapped to your thigh. chuuya tried not to let his eyes linger too long on this show off skin and realized, with a lot of discomfort, that you looked really good tonight. the dress you wore complimented the color of your lipstick and fit you like a glove, hugging your curves in all the perfect places. your hair was even done up too.

“like what you see?” you smirked at him, causing chuuya to blush and dart his eyes away, only for you to chuckle at his response. “don’t worry, you’re not the only one enjoying the view tonight,” you winked. unlike chuuya, you were a tad bit more, upfront, about your attraction to him. after all, he was an amazing fighter and ability user, a port mafia executive, and very good-looking to top it all off. and tonight, he was especially stunning in his dark gray suit and the white mask that covered his eyes and part of his left cheek.

oh, if only you two weren’t enemies. but then again, sometimes working together had its benefits.

“boss tanaka’s downstairs mingling with the guests. i recognized a few of his co-executives there with him,” chuuya said, walking ahead down the hallway and back to the dance floor.

“oho? are you suggesting we team up for a bit?” you raised an eyebrow at him.

“only until we get what we need, l/n,” chuuya flashed you a look. “after that, it’s free for all, like always.”

“you got it,” you mused as the two of you entered the ballroom of the masquerade ball. you were thankful for the theme giving you an opportunity to look less inconspicuous after you snuck in uninvited. the two of you scanned the sea of masked guests before spotting the unmistakable large figure and bald head of your target in the middle of the dance floor, chatting with a few of his associates.

“alright, follow my lead,” you said, holding your hand out to chuuya. 

“your lead?” he said, looking at your hand with more than a hint of suspicion. you rolled your eyes at him.

“how do you expect us to get close and listen on him without drawing attention?”

chuuya looked from you to the dance floor and understood what you were talking about. still, “no way am i dancing with you.”

“how come? don’t know how?” you mocked, grinning at the infuriated look on chuuya’s face as he grabbed your hand and pulled you with him to the dance floor. 

“you’re following my lead,” he said lowly, placing a hand behind your back and pulling you close. you two were inches apart and up close, you could smell chuuya’s usual cologne and the faintest hint of cigarette smoke. then slowly, the two of you began to move with the music. 

chuuya had only happened to learn dancing, from koyou-san of course, when he realized it was useful for certain missions and mingling with a crowd. he was confident with his skill and maneuvered the two of you effortlessly through the dance floor and getting within earshot of boss tanaka. the whole point of dancing with you was to get in close and overhear his plans. 

except, chuuya was unbelievably distracted by how close you were to him. everything from your the intensity of your gaze as you listened into your target’s conversation, to the warmth of your bare arm against his, to the scent of your perfume, was enough to make him feel more than a little warm. damn it, was he attracted to you now?

“one a.m., tonight,” you suddenly leaned in to whisper in his ear. with a start, chuuya realized you were relaying the info you just heard. “they’ll leave for yokohama tower and conduct the trade there. they’ve got a buyer for the information we’re after. about no less than a billion yen, would you believe?” you chuckled.

“good,” chuuya nodded, leading you away to the middle of the dance floor when he felt your grip tighten.

“you’re not thinking of leaving me here, are you?” you narrowed your eyes at him.

“why? so that you can screw me over sooner?” 

“there’s still a few hours until one a.m, it would be strange for us to leave, don’t you think?” you said innocently, smiling when the live orchestra began to play a livelier music piece. “we’ve got time to kill.”

talking to you constantly felt like making deals with a devil. previous experience told chuuya to drop you here right here and now. but the need to be kept on his toes around you was terribly exciting. it was a different kind of rush that chuuya couldn’t get from fighting even the strongest of opponents.

and you were the only one who could give it to him.

chuuya noticed the shift in the music at the same time you did and without warning, moved his hand down to your lower back and dipped you close to the floor. reading his movements, you smirked and wrapped your leg around his as chuuya lowered you.

“good choice, nakahara,” you said, drawing out the syllables of his name and leaning in to whisper in his ear. “it takes two to tango, after all.”

...

years of running into each other in missions and having to fight only made you and chuuya familiar with each other’s movements. when you danced, you were in complete coordination that you didn’t even have to think about where to move your feet. the fact that your faces were partially hidden by masks did nothing to remove the intensity behind your gazes and by the end of the dance, both of you were breathless.

dancing was almost no different from fighting. of course there was movement involved, a whirlwind of limbs but this time with weapons in hand. and then, there was trust involved. but the trust you placed in your dance partner to lead was very different in the trust you placed with a rival who happened to be fighting for your side momentarily.

“well, well, guess we have no choice but to beat all these guys up,” chuuya smirked, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it carefully against the fire exit ladder. he wasn’t sure if he was going to get a chance to fight some people tonight but the chance presented itself when you two barged into the trade-off on top of yokohama tower. 

“i’m sure you enjoy that immensely,” you sighed, eyeing all the mafioso members surrounding boss tanaka that now had you and chuuya surrounded on all sides.

“why, tired?” he taunted you.

“no,” you snorted, taking out your pistol and loading a new magazine. “i just bought this fucking dress.” 

“do you two really think you could get out of this situation?” boss tanaka sneered. you and chuuya broke in right before the trade-off actually happened and he tucked the USB containing the information you two were after into his pocket. maybe he was right to think that, after all he had one of the largest organizations in yokohama second only to the port mafia itself. he dealt in the illegal weapons trade in the city and you could bet that your new client and the port mafia were hoping to take over that. 

but you were a highly-paid mercenary for a reason  and chuuya nakahara was the port mafia’s best fighter. this was child’s play at most.

chuuya rolled up his sleeves and got into his fighting stance beside you. “try not to drag me down, l/n.” 

“speak for yourself, nakahara.” 

and with that, the two of you sprung into action. chuuya, not letting his ability to give an unfair advantage, dodged bullets left and right before sending kick after kick, knocking opponents down to the ground. he easily dodged a punched aimed at his jaw and gripped a man’s arm before throwing him over his back. once he pulled out his knife to use it, he was even more deadly.

as much as he hated to admit it, you caught up with him with easily. you had both pistols out at ready, firing them at your opponents without missing a single shot. your movements were practically seamless, filling in for each other’s blind spots and hitting targets with just the briefest of signals.

at one point, chuuya whirled around to find one of your pistols pointed at him. without a second thought, he moved his head a fraction to the side as a bullet whizzed past his cheek to hit someone behind him.

“that was a bit too close, don’t you think?” he growled at you.

“you really think i’d be dumb enough to kill you with a bullet?” you snorted, walking past him to where boss tanaka now lay on the ground, bleeding from the gunshot wound. 

“im- impossible. those were my best fighters,” he coughed, staring up at you.

“well, rest assured, they did put up a fight,” you smiled sweetly before reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out the USB you were after. “what do you think’s in here?” 

“trade routes, probably,” chuuya said, taking his jacket and slipping into it again before stuffing his hands in his pockets and addressing you. “so, how are we going to do this?” 

“well, i was the one who killed boss tanaka,” you raised your eyebrows at him, tossing the USB up and down in your hand. 

“yeah, but i killed more of his henchmen,” chuuya reasoned.

“those are henchmen. everyone knows it doesn’t end until you take the boss.” 

“any one of those henchmen could have killed you if i hadn’t taken them out first.” 

you sighed. “i really don’t feel like fighting you tonight, nakahara.” 

“let’s just get it over and done with then, l/n,” chuuya cracked his knuckles and before you knew it he had you bent over backwards against the railing of the rooftop with his hand wrapped around your neck. you tried to move but the red glow around chuuya’s body and the heaviness around you suggested that it was futile.

“no... fair... ability,” you choked out. now it was chuuya’s turn to smirk as he had you right where he wanted you.

“l/n, you’re the last person who gets to talk to me about what’s fair,” he said, plucking the USB out of your hand and tucking it into the pocket of his shirt before finally letting you go. you gasped for air, massaging your throat as you glared at chuuya. “that’s what you get for double-crossing me last time.” 

“guess i kinda deserve it after slashing your motorcycle tires,” you laughed. 

“go to hell, l/n.” 

“are you asking me out on a date, nakahara?” 

“you wish.” 

“one last thing,” you sauntered up to chuuya, your bodies as close as they were earlier while dancing. he braced himself for anything else you might pull. you raised a hand and for a moment, chuuya thought you were going to make another grab for the USB, only for you to lean in and plant a kiss on his cheek.

he was beyond surprised and it took all of chuuya’s willpower to appear uninterested when he could feel his cheeks burning from the contact. the amused smile playing on your lips only aggravated him more. 

“the hell was that for?” he scowled.

“just wanted to see how you’d react,” you shrugged nonchalantly, sliding your pistols back into their holsters. “until next time, nakahara,” you waved before stopping by the door that you two came in and looking at him over your shoulder. “maybe sooner than you think.” 

...

chuuya shrugged out of his jacket and took off his mask as soon as he got into his car. it had been a long night, especially after running into you, and he wanted nothing more than to get home, take a long, relaxing shower, and get as much sleep as he could before going to the office later that day. 

but before all of that, chuuya took out the USB that he had spent all night trying to get and opening his laptop to check its contents. however, when he finally opened it to find a single .txt file inside, he knew something was wrong.

“fucking bitch,” he cursed under his breath, realizing that you must have swapped out the actual USB for one that you brought with you when you kissed him earlier. it was even more frustrating when chuuya remembered that he was caught completely off-guard by it. 

after collecting himself, he finally opened the .txt file, even though he knew it would just contain a gloating message from you. but the message was just two words, typed beside what appeared to be your phone number.

chuuya could almost hear your voice as he read it: call me.

▸ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ┈┈┈┈ 🎕 ◂

taglist (check out my post for details on being part of my taglist): @waitforitillwritemywayout @atsumu-brainrot​ @laure-chan @goodfoodxoxoxo ​ @guardianangelswings @ah-kaashi @amberalisa @whootwhoot​ @liz-multifandom-hotel​ @kac-chowsballs​ @violentfarewll​

[nancywheelxr]

Word of Honor prompt where yby is wkx and zzs’s mailman. he and wkx have a feud (god only knows how it started, but neither of them want to back down first), so yby always leaves packages in the most inconvenient places. wkx tries repeatedly to report him to the mailman board or whatever, but they’re always like yby? no one named yby works here. this is unbelievably irritating to wkx because he knows yby has to work there. how tf else would he have their mail??? well turns out there was a mix up with the addresses and wkx and zzs’s mail has been being sent to yby for years. when yby went to drop off their mail the first time wkx assumed he was the mailman. this pissed yby off, so he decided to retaliate by putting their package next to the wheel of wkx’s car in hopes he’d run it over. and thus, the feud started

another galaxy brain idea, i would expect nothing less 😌

*

“Please,” Zhou Zishu says without looking up from the newspaper, “don’t throw your phone at the wall.”

There’s an angry noise, followed by the loud thud of something being slammed on the table. Better than the wall, he figures. “I wasn’t going to.”

He hums in agreement, adding pleasantly,  “of course not.” 

Is it mean not to engage like this? Maybe, but in his defense, Zhou Zishu has been forced to listen to increasingly angry phone calls for the past weeks on a daily basis, the same answer drifting from the speakers time and time again, so maybe he’s entitled to some bitchiness. 

Also, the way Wen Kexing’s face scrunches up a little, eyebrows furrowing, lips in a pout– he’s cute when he’s annoyed, so what’s Zhou Zishu suppose to do? Not antagonize him?

Case in point: a hand tugs his newspaper down and Wen Kexing comes into view, pouting in a terribly endearing way that Zhou Zishu has never been able to refuse, “A-Xu! Can’t you see I’m in distress? I’m distressed and you’re just sitting here, how heartless!”

“Is that so?” He raises an eyebrow, “I apologize for not coming to save you from the mean lady at the front desk, then. Did her answer change this time? Did someone named Ye Baiyi suddenly appear in their records?”

“No,” Wen Kexing sighs, dropping down on the couch beside him like a puppet with no strings, and Zhou Zishu goes through the motions of huffing exasperatedly, pointedly folding his newspaper, and leaving it on the coffee table. Then, he nudges him closer, a tug at his sleeves and Wen Kexing leans happily into him, face tucked neatly into Zhou Zishu’s shoulder. “I’m going to murder him,” he says.

“No felonies. Have you tried apologizing?”

“Pah,” Wen Kexing tries to sit up in outrage, but Zhou Zishu pulls him down again, hand carding through his hair, “apologize for what? He’s the one not doing his job! A-Xu, it was on the roof this time! On the roof!”

Ah, so they’re not ready for that yet, alright. “Hm. I think both of you need better hobbies.”

“A-Xu, you’re not listening, he’s my arch-nemesis!”

He opens his mouth to remind him it’s the 21st century and people don’t have arch-nemesis, but then, he remembers this is the guy who wakes up at god knows what time to leave their packages in increasingly ridiculous places. “I can’t believe you found the one person who might actually agree with you on this, what the hell.”

“What if we set out traps in the yard?” Wen Kexing muses and Zhou Zishu has a terrible feeling about this– he can foresee trips to the ER in the future and a litany of actually broken packages. 

Also: “Have you seen our children? They’ll get caught in them before Ye-qianbei does.”

“A-Xiang wouldn’t,” he says, but he doesn’t sound so sure anymore, so Zhou Zishu counts as it as a win.

“Maybe, but her boyfriend would and you promised her to stop scaring him off.”

The truth is this: a month ago they ordered a new coffee maker. It would take two days to arrive, great price, good quality. Zhou Zishu had even been looking forward to it! In hindsight, that might have been foolish, when has the universe ever made anything easy for him? No, the two days had come and gone, and on the third day, instead of enjoying as many expressos as his heart desired, he had been forced to witness the start of a trainwreck that’s been dragging ever since– Wen Kexing had been outside, gardening in a very broad sense of the word, when a man had approached their house, a package in his hands.

He had squinted at the yellow chrysanthemums Wen Kexing had been drowning with the hose. “That’s the ugliest flower I’ve ever seen.” 

“Excuse me?” Wen Kexing had smiled. It had been a terrible smile, full of teeth and no real friendliness, and Zhou Zishu had watched from the window and known with a deep-seated certainty that that would escalate out of proportion. 

The mad had scoffed. “Are you deaf besides incompetent? Whatever, just take this so I can stop looking at those flowers.”

“Incompetent?” Wen Kexing’s fingers had tightened around the hose as if he had been calculating the merits of hitting the man with the water spray, “ha! The mailman is late for his delivery and he wants to lecture me on my garden! A-Xu, come listen to this!”

“Mailman,” the man had repeated, face going blank, “the mailman.”

“A-Xu, come tell him my chrysanthemums look just fine!”

Then, he had exploded. “You brat! Who do you think you are? Have you no respect for your elders? Useless child–”

“Elder? Have you taken a look at the mirror? Get off my lawn! Out, out, out! No Old Monsters allowed!”

The man– Ye Baiyi, Zhou Zishu would learn later, after Wen Kexing had gone into his stalking spree trying to find his information to report to his alleged boss– had left. With their coffeemaker. Only to return at some point while they were inside to leave the package just behind the wheel of their car.

One month later and Zhou Zishu is yet to get his goddamn coffeemaker.

“Wen Kexing, you no-good insolent brat!” 

The yelling startles him back to the present, followed quickly by the sound of paper being ripped. At his side, Wen Kexing snickers. “I think he found the sign.”

“Sign? Is that what you and Chengling were doing in the garage last night?” 

“No Old Monsters permitted,” he recites, smug as a cat in the sun, and presses a kiss to his neck, “wasn’t it a good idea? A-Xu, I’m encouraging our son to improve his artistic skills.”

“Quit distracting me,” Zhou Zishu tugs his hair a little, “Lao Wen, you owe me so many cups of coffee.”

Wen Kexing grins, impossibly bright, ridiculously beautiful. “A-Xu ah, what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine, so how can there be a debt? Don’t be stingy!”

“Hm. Lao Wen is very wise, no debt between us, so he won’t mind making dinner tonight again.”

“A-Xu!” The whine comes out half laughter, and Zhou Zishu loves the sound of it, could never get tired of it, so really, he has no choice but to draw his husband closer and kiss the complaints before they even fall from his lips. 

[sorry-i-ship-drarry]

In another life, in another time

Dialogue prompt- 27. what happened to us ? Part - 25 | part 31 coming soon |

TW- HEAVY ANGST | Amnesia | Sorry In advance..

Perhaps in another life, In another time, We'd be together.

The beats thumped louder, the footsteps dissolved somewhere in the big building. Harsh breaths leaving Harry's lips could be hear by anyone sitting besides him, he was grieving perhaps or breathing as a task to stay alive for a mere few seconds, even if he wasn't dying, a part of him was slowly approaching senescence, at least that's what he felt.

And finally he saw the healer's coming out talking to each other, whispering in low tone. He could sense the bad news by the way their faces expressed but he held onto a little hope. Just a little.

" Mr. Potter ?" One of the Healer approached harry as the other one's left offering him a sympathetic smile.

"H-he's fine, he is, right?" His voice came out in tremble with trying to control his trembling hands by his sides.

" he's fine " the healer pressed his lip in a thin line before adding " but -"

" no please. No Buts-"

" I'm sorry Mr. Potter. He- draco have suffered some rare oblivation spell. I'm sorry harry, draco have amnesia, anterograde or retrograde, we're not sure of it as of now "

__________________________________

" I'm very glad we were Able to summon you mr. Potter " the healer offered harry a little smile as he pointed the chair in front of the desk to be attempted.

Harry hummed as he sat down on the chair, Shaking.

" I'm going to ask this as a friend harry, when was the last time you slept ?" He huffed.

Harry leaned back over the chair uncomfortably, gulping " I don't know " he grunted

" harry- y- you have to understand what I'm trying to tell you, alright ?" The healer asked. Harry nodded in soft lazy motions, yawning.

After supposedly half an hour, he walked out, every corner of his mind filled with unblinking thoughts. Draco didn't remember harry, he only remembered parts of harry that seemed much like a dream to him and there seemed little hope that he would but the Healer had suggested harry to try again, after unsuccessful attempts and practically forcing draco to remember him. This time harry was to need to a strategy to help draco remember thing's and the only way to it was by storing away his memories.

He passed by draco's ward watching him look outside the window, sitting on the edge of the bed, all alone. Harry wanted to go inside, try once again but he was sure by his previous Attempts he had scared off draco and harry was probably the last person he wanted to see as of now.

Heavy hearted harry walked home drenching himself in rain unknowningly, thoughts of draco brimming his mind to care about anything else.

" you'll have to try but you have to remember harry, he doesn't remember any part of your relationship and he might not even remember you forgiving him. You'll have to start from scratch. If you want him back harry you need do "

He opened the door to his apartment, memories of theirs of cooking on the kitchen, cuddling in the couch, laughing and throwing at pillows at each other, smiling at each other from across the hall, making out against the wall, all of it lingered in the background as a television show not ready to stop but harry didn't raise an eye as he walked into the shower and sat down with clothes on and remained there, numbness invading his senses until Ron had came to visit harry and had forced him out of the shower, helping him get dried up.

" I know it's hard harry, but he doesn't remember you "

" but we've been together for 5 years, he must remember something, anything ?"

" I'm not sure how but during the time of attack draco might've been trying to conceal his memories of you but instead of locking them away, he might've exposed them. In attempts to conceal them, he gave the attacker entrance to it and he possibly have forgotten everything about the relationship "

" how long were you in the shower for ?" Harry suddenly was broken out of numbness, finding Ron putting food over table.

" when did you came here ?" Harry only asked.

Ron looked at in little shock at harry before he sighed, letting it pass " I got you out of the cold shower "

Harry nodded, watching the food presented before him.

" from the looks of it, you met the healer today, didn't you ?" Ron asked. Harry looked up but didn't answer. He didn't know how to. He wasn't sure he could answer even.

" harry, It's been days. If you can't forget him, don't let him. His entire memory isn't blocked. You can try-"

" I've tried Ron but I gave the love of my life an almost panic attack in Trying to make him remember me " harry yelled

Ron startled and saw harry break down in front of him over the kitchen table, " I miss him, ron, he's here but I miss him "

" you have to try this time more patiently harry. If you want him back, you have to " Ron rubbed Harry's back as he hugged him.

" I- I don't know how to ron. It's hard " harry sobbed

"something is better than nothing. Try harry. Trying Is the only hope you've gotten "

_____________________________

Harry shook his hands by his side violently, trying to shake off his anxiety and practiced deep breaths beforehand he knocked on the door.

" come in " he heard.. harry let out a deep breath before he plastered a smile and finally walked through the door.

" hi " harry waved awkwardly

" you " draco raised an eyebrow at harry. Harry closed his eyes, remembering why he is doing this.

" I was wondering if we could talk about the other day ?" Harry asked not moving a step forward

" haven't you done enough " draco rolled his eyes.

Harry swallowed " I- I just wanted to apologise "

" for which part exactly ? The yelling at me like a baboon or basically causing me a panic attack "

" both " harry sighed " listen, I don't think you understand how hard this is for me-"

" hard for you ? I'm the one who doesn't remember people, I've lost chunk of memories and it's hard for you" draco narrowed his eyes at harry

" I- I understand but you see- well it's not as same as you- but-" but harry couldn't go on. He couldn't and draco only waited for him to go on. He didn't.

" you know what it doesn't matter. Let me reintroduce myself, Hi I'm harry potter, I'm your used to be arch nemesis and i- we- well I'd like to be friends with you "

" friends with me? Like my days have became that had that I'd be friends with you potter!? " Draco Airily laughed " no thanks I'm fine "

If only draco knew what he had done, if he only knew. Harry couldn't stand it. He thought he could but he couldn't. He ran out into the washroom and let his burying feelings evade, breaking into heavy sobs. He couldn't do it. Not when he knew Draco didn't remember anything, that he didn't remember harry.

________________________________

" where did you ran to yesterday ?" Draco asked as harry fetched him water today

" I- I had Somewhere to be " harry cleared his throat as he gave him the glass of water.

" it was weird. You asked me to be your friend, then you ran and yet here you are again. There's something weird about you Potter-"

" harry, please " it hurt even to think of how draco didn't know what he was doing by calling him potter.

" it's weird. I've always called you potter, It'd be weird to call you by your first name. Besides I don't think we are on first name basis " draco shrugged his shoulders as he watched harry leaned against the wall, fumbling with the zip of his jacket.

" right, I forgot "

" weird, you're not the one who have amnesia.. you are acting strange you know that. Pretty weird " draco frowned

" it- well we used to be to- friends. We were friends so it's just weird how now you call me potter when I'm used to being harry for you "

"still weird. I mean I at least remember being with people, but you, no recollections as if we were never even friends. Hope you're not lying potter " draco casually said.

Harry exhaled deeply, tears forming at the brim of his eyes " it's alright. You can call me potter until we become friend's "

" why are you so persistent on being friends with me ? I thought you hated me ?" Draco curiously asked.

" because " harry couldn't go on. He couldn't.

" you need to start finishing your sentences potter " draco raised his eyebrows at harry mockingly.

Harry hummed and just stood there watching draco flip pages of a magazine until Draco asked him to leave. Harry did. He had no other option.

__________________________________

" you didn't come yesterday ?" Draco asked one day, watching harry knit a sweater for him..

" I- I had something " he lied. He was lying in bed haunted by draco visiting his dreams, sitting on an empty date table at their 6th anniversary, day they were supposed to move in together, eating draco's favourite dish, all by himself.

" not very nice of you skip a night if you're trying to be friends " draco teased. Harry looked up at Draco with a small smile before he went back to knitting.

Draco observed harry as if he was a blank canvas waiting to be drawed upon, his glance curious. Draco would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn't curious about why harry was the only one so persistent about being friends, as if there were greater reasons but no matter how hard he tried to remember, he only remembered him apologizing to him after war, and nothing else.

" do you not sleep at all or those dark circles are just fashion ?" Draco asked

"I- have trouble sleeping " harry replied, pressing his lips in a thin line.

" you can sleep around here if you want to you know.. It'll be a secret" he cared. Draco cared and it only offered false hope to harry, one he should've been very much aware of not to fall into trap to.

" I'll keep that in mind " for the first time harry offered draco a warming smile before he began knitting again and draco absent-mindedly flipped pages of magazine again.

________________________________

" wow- such a grand celebration " draco laughed as he saw his friends come in with cakes and balloons

" since you couldn't celebrate your half birthday as you always do, we thought we'd bring it to you " pansy chimed.

Draco laughed and started singing along with them as they sang the birthday song, making draco happier than he had felt in days. And in even so everything, he couldn't stop thinking about harry standing in the background, then walking out in the Middle. Hermione followed him outside and from what draco saw, it seemed like she was hugging him, trying to probably comfort him, but before he Could've stared any longer, pansy forced him to cut the cake.

Something felt missing, there was and it Haunted draco to think of what it was. There was no one more hurt by the fact that he couldn't remember even when he tried so hard. He knew there was something missing, he could feel it, he just didn't know what and for whatever reason, it felt it was related to harry.

" y- that necklace " draco had pointed out at Harry's neck when he was helping draco with adjusting his pillows.

" that-"

" it's yours " harry smiled lightly, helping Draco lean backwards.

" how? How do you have it ?"he asked curiously.

" you gifted it to me, don't you remem- " harry stopped himself.

" you gifted it to me. You can have it back if you want " harry offered as he hesitantly reached his neck to unlock it but draco stopped him.

" it's fine. Keep it. Feels like it holds much meaning to you than to me " draco replied.

Harry gazed at draco softly before he pressed a small kiss on his forehead " it does " harry whispered and left, like a dying wind.

Draco played with the ring on his finger for a larger part of the night, haunted by the fact again that harry had different motives. He Could sense it but the more he tried to think, the more he felt as though he was stepping away, more he was forgetting and it ached draco. He knew it, he felt it but he was too Afraid. He was afraid of hurting even if he didn't know what he'd even do.

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" harry, stop this " one day draco abruptly said while harry was helping With last of draco's bandages

" what? What do you mean ?" Harry asked puzzled

Draco breathed in deeply, gulping, preparing himself to drop the bomb " stop taking care of me, stop trying to do whatever it is you're trying to do, can't you see it already, it's not- it's not what you want "

Harry looked at Draco as the pained expression found his face and he softly whispered " you don't know what this means, do you ?"

Draco shook his head painfully denying.

Harry gave him a sad smile as he sat down on the chair next to draco's bed, his head dropping, a single tear dripping down his eye.

" to you it's just me trying to be friends with you but it's so much more than that. It's more than about just being friends for me " harry whispered.

" it Always have been so much more than that. Yet I've been holding onto the hope all along but -"

" I don't remember " draco finished his sentence somehow knowing harry was about to say that.

" stop doing it to yourself harry " draco sympathetically said

" I- can't. I -"

" you have to " draco raised his voice

" can't you see it, I can't. Do you even realise how much it pains me to see you everyday on the bed, holding onto one single ray of hope that you'll remember. But you, remember nothing. 6 years of memories , gone just like that. You don't get to say any of it draco, you're living it painfully, I walk in everyday to an Empty apartment, crying myself to sleep in just one hope that you'll remember-"

" but that's the thing, I will not harry. i can't and i won't " draco interjected loudly.

" I will not remember harry. Stop hurting yourself " draco whimpered.

Harry looked only once at Draco " I know " before his whispers Turned into sobs and harry was shaking with the pain.

Draco tried to comfort harry, rubbing his back, trying to tell him it's alright but he knew it provided no solace. It didn't mend his broken heart when he was the one causing his heart to break in little fragile fractions of glasses until it was scattered across everywhere.

" I pretended it didn't hurt, but it does. It does so much that I can't even sleep at night" harry whimpered as he hugged draco. Draco rested his chin on top of Harry's head, rubbing circles over his back, providing any comfort he could offer.

They remained like that for several moments until Harry's breathing came to normal and draco finally broke the silence with a painful statment " what happened to us?"

It wasn't a question, it was a statement, a grief to offer, a way to express sorrow, to visit pain. It was to offer solace that draco too regretted and harry knew he did. It was a way of saying that when they expected cherish and Making more memories, living together, waking up next to each other, instead they were fighting through, waking up in hospital bed, grieving on lost memories. Where life landed them.

" I have got to go " harry finally said, Breaking from the little hug.

Draco looked at harry only for a moment before he kissed harry in pity of being unable to give everything to harry he had once promised him and that left him in tears again.

Harry broke free crying, desperately trying to conceal his whines.

" I'm sorry harry, I really am " draco's eyes prickled with tears as the moon danced over them in the late night..

Harry stood there in silence for several moments, packing away the memories,. storing away draco somewhere he'd only visit in dreams until it was time to finally leave and he reluctantly walked towards the door..

" I'd like if we can be friends harry.. " draco offered.

Harry turned around, giving draco a small smile " I'd rather not have you at all than only for a few, draco "

" perhaps in another life, I'm another time we'd be together and neither of us would forget "

And harry walked away, coldness settling in as draco long stared at the doorframe.

I swear I'm sorry. ( Thanks to Tom Odell for putting me in feels )

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