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toru-oikawas-milkbread · 3 years ago

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Hustler | Pt.3

Pairing: Rintarō Suna x f!reader

Prompt/summary: Fights were never planned, but neither was Suna’s confession. His admittance to you that something was wrong the night that Matsukawa was over with the two of you. After a whirlwind of emotions between wishing you could get the man to tell you the truth, then regretting ever bringing up the other man again, you finally landed on being glad that you had forced Suna to open up. It was a rare occurrence, but you cherished the times he told you his secrets. A quiet night in has more in store for you than you ever thought it might with your stubborn and closed-off Aquarius friend

Word count: 7.2K

Warnings/contents: Partial smut: Pussy penetration, grinding, pinch of clit stimulation. Kissing, strong language, fluff, pinch of angsty themes with an argument mid-sex, slow burn themes, friends with benefits to lovers theme, 18+

Notes: I had a couple of people tell me that they weren’t sure how this series was going to end and they were really excited to see what I came up with. Truthfully, beyond the first couple hundred words, I had no idea what I was going to do either. This chapter was a sort of improvisation as it went along, unlike the other two that were more thoroughly planned out. So all-in-all, this chapter was more spontaneous and how I felt in the moment like most of my stories are. It still fully connects, but I didn’t want to drop off in words either with how long the other stories were. I felt happy with 7K and I think that it was set up in a nice place to end it. I hope that you all agree as well!

Part 1 (Hustler Pt.1) | Part 2 (Hustler Pt.2) | Part 3 (current chapter)

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A soft moan came from you as Suna kissed your neck, humming as your hands went through his soft hair and gently tugged on it. You looked up, flushing as you made eye contact with yourself in the mirror that was on the ceiling of his new apartment. When he’d put it in, he said he wanted to be the first person he saw in the morning, though he happened to fall asleep on his side or stomach a lot which made it that much funnier to you. The soft purple glow of the LED lights only added to the moment as his lips pressed gently along your neck, his teeth just barely nibbling on your skin.

It was almost hard for you to imagine that less than a week ago, you had gotten so roughly fucked by the man while his business partner was with you two. With how gentle he was being with you now, it almost felt like a vivid dream, but how sore you had been the next couple of days had reminded you of how real it was.

Suna gave your neck one final kiss before he pulled back a little ways and slid his hands up into your slim fitting tank-top that had already showed him how hard your nipples were. Without a word, you sat up with him and lifted your arms, helping him take the clothing off of you. He licked his lips at the sight of your bare breasts, hickey’s still covering your perky chest that he went back in to kiss and suck on gently again. Suna gave one of the largest hickey’s that he’d given you that night a soft suck, his hand cupping around your other breast and teasing your nipple with his fingers in the meanwhile.

Slowly, you relaxed back onto the soft bed. Suna followed your movements, his hands never leaving your breasts as he softly kissed them, though once you were fully laid back on the bed, he cupped his hands around both of them and leaned down uncomfortably so that he could burrow his face between them as he pushed them together. You gave a soft hum, watching the man and biting down on your lip.

His lips grazed over a mark that Matsukawa had left on your skin, pulling back to look at the hickey and then at you.

“Did you like Matsukawa?” He suddenly asked, snapping you out of your trance as your eyes slowly lagged shut.

“Did I like him?” You asked, frowning. “What do you mean, like… in general?” You asked, though he gave a soft shake of his head. “Oh, like… in bed?” He nodded as you thought for a second. “I mean, I- I guess.” You shrugged beneath the man, but it didn’t seem to satisfy him.

“Did you like him more than me?” He asked, watching your eyebrows furrow inwards as you shook your head.

“No, I didn’t.” Suna leaned in, his lips gently pressing to yours, but he pulled back almost as soon as the kiss had begun.

“Did he feel better than me when he was marking up these pretty tits of yours?” Again, you shook your head and looked at the man. “Did you like choking on his dick more than mine?” You shook your head, but gave a huff soon afterwards.

“Why are you asking me all of these questions? It’s been a week.” Suna gave his shoulders a shrug and looked at your breasts instead of your eyes.

“It was just weird.” He said, leaning in and starting to gently kiss your neck. “I didn’t think that he was going to come into the room like that.” You wrapped your arms around the man again, your nails gently sliding along his bare back while he sucked gently on your skin.

“Did you not like it? That he was there, I mean.” You clarified, thinking back to how much more quiet the man had been that night than he ever had been with you. Of course, at the time you had thought that it was simply because he was so different around Matsukawa to begin with, but now you were second guessing your previous thought.

“No.” He said without hesitation, kissing your jaw gently.

“I guess… I thought that maybe… that was what you wanted.” You said as the man slowly kissed along your jaw and towards your mouth.

“It wasn’t.” He pressed a kiss to the corner of your mouth, his eyes still closed as he leaned in to kiss your lips, but you stopped him as you spoke again.

“Are you mad at me?” He stopped, pulling back and opening his eyes to look down at you, his eyebrows furrowing inwards in confusion.

“No, why would I be?”

“Well… I was kind of the one who let Matsukawa come in after all.” You said and Suna gave a soft sigh at you. “I thought that you wanted it and that was why you had brought it up— to prove to him that we weren’t dating.”

“I don’t really give a fuck if he thinks that we’re dating anymore.” He said, leaning down and gently pressing his lips to yours. “But I’m not mad at you. Sorry that you thought I was.” He said, kissing your cheek. “Was it bothering you?” He asked, sort of confusing you before he quickly clarified. “That he didn’t believe us when we said that we weren’t dating.”

“Oh— a little bit,” you said. “But I guess I can realistically see where he was coming from. After all, you don’t like many people.” Suna gave a soft snicker and leaned in, nuzzling his head against your shoulder and relaxing down on top of you.

“I guess you’re right.” He said with a light sigh, giving your neck a soft kiss. “But still, you’d think that Matsukawa would believe me after how long I’ve known him.” He huffed.

“Really?” You asked, genuinely confused as to why he would think that. “You lie, like, a lot. Just for fun sometimes.” You said, making the man snicker. “I’m not surprised he didn’t believe me because he didn’t even know me.” Suna hesitated for a second, a lingering question on his mind that he was certain he didn’t want to know the answer to.

“When Matsukawa went to bring you your clothes did he… did he stick around?” The man asked in a hesitant way.

“No, he left right afterwards.” You said, gently rubbing the man’s tense shoulders. “Why?”

“I just thought that he might stay around.” Suna mumbled, nuzzling closer to you. “He acted like he wasn’t done.”

“Well, if he wasn’t done then he didn’t say anything to me.” You said, and while you knew that there was a sense of hesitancy in the other man, you didn’t want to bring it up. After all, it was done and over with, why cause problems where problems didn’t need to be caused? “Maybe he was just weirded out. I don’t really know him, but he seemed uncomfortable.”

“Then he shouldn’t have joined.” Suna said simply. “It’s not like I wasn’t going to fuck you either way.” He pressed a soft kiss to your neck and pushed himself up to look down at you. “Besides, it was just Matsukawa. He always acts weird.”

“Does he?”

“Well, sort of.” Suna shrugged it off, leaning down and kissing you again. “I don’t want to talk about him anymore.” He said, kissing you right afterwards. You gave into the kiss, wondering if the conversation would be picked up later even though you knew that it most likely wouldn’t be. It was a miracle that he’d talked about it this much with how little he cared about sharing how he felt about things, so even if it was minuscule, you’d take it for the most part.

Suddenly, Suna started to gently grind himself against you, his obvious erection pressing to your clit over the thin underwear that you wore. Since you were supposed to be spending the night with the man, you had brought comfortable sleeping pajama pants that almost matched his own gray plaid ones, though you had been too warm beneath the covers and he hadn’t been opposed to you taking the clothing off in the slightest.

You knew Suna, that was why you knew just where this was going before he’d even taken your shirt off. Of course you’d come to his apartment tonight fully prepared to have sex with the man. Even if the two of you didn’t have sex every single time that you saw each other, it was still a frequent occurrence. You gave a soft sound against Suna’s lips as he rubbed against your clit, not taking his time when it came to teasing you.

Like before, you pushed your hands up into his soft hair as you turned your head into the kiss, keeping the man close even though you knew he wasn’t going to pull away. Suna held himself up on his hands, pressing a knee between your legs and giving a content sigh against your mouth. Without anything said between the two of you, Suna reached down, his fingers reaching into his pants and sliding his dick out.

Knowing what he was doing, you broke the kiss and shifted beneath the man, bringing one of your legs further up off the mans waist while he pulled your underwear to the side. Suna’s lips pressed to your neck as he started to rock himself inside of you, earning a moan from you as you grabbed onto the man’s shoulder with one hand and your leg to keep it out of his way with the other.

The man on top of you pressed his lips back to yours as he started to slowly rock himself inside of you at a steady pace, making your toes curl at the way that he stretched you out in such a familiar way. Suna was big— bigger than anyone else that you’d ever had sex with up until Matsukawa. You swore the two had to be almost the same size, though through the months of having sex with the man, you were used to how it felt to have a thick, lengthy cock rammed inside of you.

You thought back as Suna slowly thrusted inside of you, remembering how hard he’d slammed himself inside of you damn near immediately when the two of you were with Matsukawa. With a soft frown, you broke the kiss and kept the man close so he wouldn’t leave you to kiss your neck.

“Rin?” He gave a soft hum in response, a low sound coming from him right afterwards as he moved inside of you. “How come you were in such a weird mood around Matsukawa in the bedroom?” A soft groan came from the man, though not in pleasure as he pulled back a little bit to look at you.

“I told you I didn’t want to talk about him anymore.” He said, though you decided to challenge his soft frown with a deeper one of your own.

“But I do.”

“If you want to talk about him so bad then why don’t you go talk to him?” He asked with a tone you didn’t frequently hear from the man. Suna was agitated, that much was obvious even as he continued to move inside of you. Despite what he said, it wasn’t an offer and you knew he wasn’t going to let you leave, let alone to see Matsukawa.

“This is exactly what I’m talking about— I thought Matsukawa was your friend and business partner, why do you get so weird around him?” You asked. “The whole fake tired thing, claiming you wanted to get rid of him, inviting him to join and obviously hating it—” You gave him enough reasons to help clarify, though you only earned a deeper frown from the man in return.

“I just don’t like the way that he was with you, alright?”

“What, nicer than you?” You asked with a soft scoff. Suna stopped, his eyebrows twitching though it didn’t look like he was annoyed. “I didn’t mean that.” You were quick to say, not used to seeing him so phased by what you retorted back to him. Sure, the two of you argued maybe once or twice before seriously, though normally your arguments were playful fights. Suna was hardheaded, and as hardheaded as you could be in return, making the man upset didn’t seem worth it.

“What do you want from me?” He asked quietly. “You want me to tell you that I didn’t like Matsukawa being there because I’ve been in love with you this whole time or something?” He asked in a harsh way that made your chest ache for a reason you didn’t want to admit to even yourself let alone out loud; despite how little you wanted to realize it, you did like the hustler you’d met 7 months ago in a bar when you got stood up on a date.

“No,” you said, trying to steady your voice even as his tone had affected you.

“Then just shut up about it, it’s over. Matsukawa isn’t even here anymore.” He frowned down at you in an aggravated way and it made you wish you hadn’t brought the subject up as you clenched your jaw and looked away from the man.

“Fine. It’s over.” You mumbled, knowing that he was still eyeing you with that same agitated look before he gave a soft sigh and moved away from you.

“I’ll be back.” Was all he said, adjusting his pants and walking out of the room. You sat up, giving a soft sigh as you peeked over towards the door and rubbed your eyes.

Truth be told, what were you hoping to come from this conversation? You had no idea. You never pressured the man when it came to admitting why he was aggravated or annoyed with things, maybe that was why he had reacted this way or maybe that was why your feelings were hurt. Still refusing to admit it in your mind that you did want him to tell you that the reason he didn’t want Matsukawa there was because he was jealous and liked you back, you pulled your knees up to your chest and fiddled with your thumbs.

“Shouldn’t have said anything,” you mumbled beneath your breath to yourself. “Everything tonight was so great. Why’d you go and ruin it?” You sighed and placed your head in your hands for a moment before moving to put on your tank-top that was fallen to the floor. Being naked wasn’t exactly how you wanted to feel comforted right now, however the main way you wanted to be comforted nowadays had just stormed out of the room half-naked and frustrated because of a simple question.

Sitting back on the edge of the bed, you wondered if you should leave; if things might be awkward for the rest of the night with the solemn man who didn’t speak unless he felt like it and could ignore somebody, as you’d seen in others, for as long as he felt like ignoring them. He was petty in a way that rivaled even your own pettiness.

Much to your surprise, you heard the floorboards creak by the door much sooner than you expected. You looked over, seeing Suna walking into the room with his head down as he walked towards the bed.

Biting your tongue in a way you’d never do for somebody else, you looked at the man as he sat on the edge of the bed with you and went to speak.

“I’m sorry that I brought him up again after you told me that you didn’t want to talk about it.” You apologized. “I’ll respect it this time if you don’t kick me out.” Suna rubbed his eyes and gave a little sigh as he shook his head. “What do you want me to do, Rin? Do you want me to go?”

“No.” He said quietly. “No. I don’t want you to go.” He finished beneath his breath, looking down at his hands. “Sorry I’m such an asshole, (y/n). I overreacted about the Matsukawa thing.” Fully expecting to leave the man’s apartment saddened and full of regret tonight, you looked at him with a look of confusion and a hint of desperateness on your face.

“I just want to understand.” You said softly. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” With a clenched jaw, though not in an angry seeming way, Suna looked over at you. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” he whispered softly. “Don’t apologize. That just makes me a bigger fucking asshole.” You felt the urge to apologize again but bit your tongue as he continued to look at you. Softly, the man gave his head a shake. “You don’t deserve this, so why the hell are you still here waiting around for me?” He asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“Because, believe it or not, I rather like you.”

“Well, you shouldn’t.”

“But that doesn’t stop it, now does it?” With a soft scoff that almost sounded like a laugh in disbelief beneath his breath, Suna spoke again.

“You could be out there falling in love with anybody, so why do you waste your time with me?” You wondered if he already knew that you were feeling something different towards the man, but you left it in the air as you spoke again.

“Because you were the first person aside from my other friend that’s ever been nice to me. I don’t care if all you see yourself as is a lousy asshole, because that’s not what you are.” This time, Suna did give a laugh in disbelief.

“When you met me, you sure thought I was a lousy asshole.”

“Opinions can change, can’t they?” He was quiet for a moment before he spoke again.

“This one shouldn’t have.” He whispered in a pitiful way.

“But I’m glad that it did.” Suna gave a gentle shake of his head that you almost didn’t see as you swore he leaned closer to you.

“You’re so stupid.” He whispered again, his gaze quickly flicking to your lips before he spoke again. “You should be careful somebody doesn’t take advantage of you.”

“I guess if it were you, I wouldn’t really complain.”

“What is it with you?” He asked softly. “You’re always being stupid. You should just leave. I think you know a guy like me can’t do you any good even if I did like you.” You were hesitant before you spoke.

“And you do?” He raised an eyebrow at your unclear words. “Like me?”

“Of course I do.” You thought about his words and wondered what he meant, though you quickly decided that he meant he liked you in a friendly way. After all, Suna had kept you around for months now, nearing a year before you know it. He wouldn’t keep you around if he thought you weren’t a good friend, right? “But I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.”

“It’s not like I think you like me as more than a friend or anything.” You said, but he was quick to give a shake of his head.

“That’s just it, (y/n),” he said beneath his breath, still looking at you yet speaking so soft you almost didn’t hear him. “You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about calling you and asking you on a date instead of bringing you to my warehouse and now the apartment.” He said with a soft shake of his head. “You don’t know how many times I’ve thought that I could trust you and that I should be open with you, but I don’t want to.”

“You don’t have to be then. You can tell me things whenever you want, I don’t want to or mean to pressure you into talking about things you don’t want to.” You thought back to the few scattered things from his past Suna had told you and wondered if he felt pressured to before he shook his head again.

“That’s not what I meant.” He said. “I want to be open with you,” he clarified quickly, though he kept talking before you could get a word in, “I just… I don’t want to hurt you.”

“What makes you think you could break my heart so easily?”

“I don’t want to risk it.” He said, looking down at his hands. “Being friends with you is the healthiest relationship I’ve ever had. You got me that present for Christmas and I haven’t been able to fucking stop thinking about it since.” He said honestly. “It’s just little things. Being patient with me and making me feel so comfortable so fast.” He mumbled. “There’s just something about you and I couldn’t help how fast I started to like you. I thought about getting rid of you because I was worried, but I couldn’t fuckin’ do it. Every time I tried to ignore your messages I just couldn’t help but respond. I want to be around you because you make me feel welcome in a world that I’ve never felt welcome in.” You stared at the man in awe as he spoke, shocked that he was opening up to you. Suna was anything but open and vulnerable, even as you’d known him for awhile now he’d been closed off when he told you things. “I just can’t let you go.” He mumbled.

“You don’t have to,” you said softly. “I’m not planning on leaving you any time soon. I care about you, Rintarō. And I know that opening up is hard for you, but if it’s me getting scared off that you’re worrying about, you can stop. I want you to want me to care about you, I want you to want to open up to me. I want you to feel comfortable around me. I don’t want you to feel like you’re not important to me, because you are. Maybe other people disappointed you or said you disappointed them, but I want you to feel welcome and wanted around me.”

“I just don’t get it.” He said, finally looking back at you and shocking you as his eyes were sad and you swore there were tears building up in them. “I’m not that nice. I’m not fun like you are, I’m not polite like Matsukawa is, I’m not healthy like other people are. I’m a distant, grumpy, asshole of a fucked up guy and I don’t deserve your attention. I don’t think that I’ll hurt you, you’re stronger than I ever could be, but I don’t want to lose you because I tell you that fucking around isn’t enough because you got me. Because I tell you that I really did like you all along and I was just fucking jealous.” He looked away and gave a little sniffle. “Look at me, I’m a fuckin’ mess. You deserve somebody who can take care of you, I won’t do anything but let you down.”

“You’ve never let me down before.”

“But this is different. It’s not just some friend letting you down.” Carefully, you scooted closer to the man and gently rested your hand down on top of his.

“Rintarō, you’re not some disappointment of a human being.” You said softly. “I know that you have struggles— I do, too. That doesn’t make you less of a person. You shouldn’t talk yourself down like this, you don’t deserve it and I don’t want to listen to it. We’re not just acquaintances, and if you’re jealous of Matsukawa then… you’re jealous of Matsukawa and we don’t have to talk about him.”

“You deserve an explanation.”

“What you gave me is explanation enough.” Suna looked to you, a soft frown on his face as he looked miserable— hurt was more like it. “Simple things are what you deserve. Rin… if you’re worried of my feelings changing about you then it’s pointless. I think you know better than I even want to, but… you say that I got you, but you got me, too.” You said with a little sigh. “I’m not saying I want to marry you and have a house with a white picket fence and kids by the time we’re 30, but if you’re a mess I’m more than happy to be a mess with you.” Suna placed his hand down on yours, looking at your hands.

“I don’t want to drag you down here with me.” You thought for a moment before leaning in and resting your head on his shoulder.

“Then come with me and we go somewhere else.” Suna was quiet for a moment before he moved his hand, bringing it up to your chin and making you look at him.

“Are you sure that you want to do this?” He asked softly. “Maybe it won’t be me hurting you, but… if you’re not sure then I don’t want you to stay here with me.” He said softly. “If you do then I’m gonna get hurt and I don’t want to get hurt anymore than I want to let you go.” Gently, you reached your hand up and cupped his cheek, leaning in to press your forehead to his with your eyes closed.

“I’ve never been so sure.” A shaky exhale left the man in front of you as he leaned into you. “I promise that I won’t leave you and hurt you.” You whispered so softly that you weren’t sure if the man heard. It was a promise to both you an himself, so you didn’t care if he heard it or not, but he replied anyways.

“I won’t hurt you either.” He promised as softly as you had. “I’ll… I’ll trust you if you’ll trust me, too.” You smiled a bit and pressed a soft kiss to the mans lips.

“Consider you trusted.” Suna slid his fingers through your own, leaning down and pressing his head to your shoulder while he held tightly onto your hand. You brought your free hand around his shoulder, hugging the man who wrapped an arm around you back. It felt silent forever before the man finally squeezed you tighter in his arms when you thought that he might pull back. You gave him a light squeeze, wanting his advances to feel as returned as you could make them feel.

It was quiet between the two of you for a moment, a silent and verbal promise made as he snuggled close to you and you tried to keep the man comfortable in your arms. Ultimately, you were happy that you had brought up Matsukawa again. As much as you regretted it at first and as much as you’d wished you’d bitten your tongue, now that Suna was back in your arms, you couldn’t have been more happy.

<>~<2 months later>~<>

The bed beneath you felt more comfortable than ever before as you laid back with a sigh, tired after a long day and barely taking the time to undo your jeans after stripping your work shirt off and leaving you in your tank-top and bra. A soft snicker came from your boyfriend as he got on the bed and rested on your hips.

“Tired?” He asked with a little smile that you were quick to return.

“Exhausted.” Suna leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to your lips before he moved.

“Let me help you,” he offered innocently, starting to slide your work pants off. You lifted your hips to help the man with a soft “Thank you” beneath your breath. He folded the pants up neatly and sat them on the edge of the bed before laying beside you with both of your legs dangling off the bed, though his much more because of how tall he was. “Long day?”

“Long week.” You said with a yawn, moving onto your side and bringing your knee up and onto Suna. The man brought a chilled hand down and placed it on your leg, keeping you close as he pressed a kiss to your head when you snuggled into him.

“Good thing it’s the weekend.” He said, gently rubbing your arm. “Speaking of the weekend, Matsukawa and I have a business trip across Japan to go to that we’re planning on starting Sunday. Sorry it’s such late notice, he just got back to me on when he can go.”

“No worries,” you said with a yawn as you snuggled closer to your comforting boyfriend even if his touch was cold. “Planning on scheming young college students out of their money this early in the year, huh?” Suna gave a little chuckle and nuzzled closer to you.

“You know how it is.” You gave a soft hum beneath your breath and pressed your hand flat to his abs over the shirt that he wore, gently tracing the outline of them over his shirt with your thumb. “You gonna be okay alone for a couple weeks?”

“I made it this long, I think I can go a couple of weeks.” You said with a laugh, though after a moment of thinking, you quickly pushed yourself up onto your arm and looked down at the man with a soft frown. “Wait, how long exactly is a couple of weeks— because last time you said a couple of weeks a few weeks ago, it was only about one and a half weeks, but the other time you said a couple weeks you were gone for almost a month.” Suna gave a soft chuckle at you, reaching his hand up and gently cupping your face in it.

“A couple weeks as in I get back 2 Sunday’s from when I leave.” He said, watching your eyebrows furrow inwards. “What, is that too long for you to be away from me?” He teased, making you give a roll of your eyes even if you knew that you were going to miss the man like crazy by time he got home.

“No, shut up…” You mumbled, making him give another laugh as he laid his head back on the bed.

“Come here.” He said with a smile still on his face, holding his arms out for you. You leaned in immediately, nuzzling close to the man who kissed your head again like the last time you snuggled this close to him, though you wrapped your leg further around the man this time. “It’ll be okay. I’ll call you all of the time.” He promised, rubbing your exposed shoulders gently.

“And what if Matsukawa teases you for calling me so much, hmm?” You asked in a teasing way. Unlike before, Suna didn’t tense when you spoke the other man’s name and instead he gave a soft laugh.

“Matsukawa can get fucked, I think it’s time he finds out.” He said simply. “After all, this time you really are my girlfriend so it won’t annoy me that he doesn’t believe me.”

“What if he doesn’t believe you when you say that I am your girlfriend?” Suna hesitated for a second before frowning in a way you wouldn’t see.

“I swear, that sounds just like something fucking Matsukawa would do.” You gave a laugh, pressing your head close to his chest and laughing against his shirt. “Whatever, if he doesn’t believe me then he doesn’t believe me. And if he thinks we lied and we’ve been dating this whole time, he can think that. I’d have been a lucky guy to just swallow my pride and tell you that I liked you before I went and got jealous of Matsukawa.” You gave a soft laugh and pressed a kiss to the mans neck.

“At least you finally gave it up and admitted it to me in the end.” Suna gave a little smile and ran his fingers along your back over the tank-top that you wore.

“Thank god for that.”

Soft snoring by your ear slowly woke you from your sweet dreams. With a soft groan, you shifted on the bed, a warm arm over you keeping you close. A small smile etched onto your face as you nuzzled closer to the man beside you, amazed at how warm he was feeling; Suna typically ran cold with chilled fingers that you just couldn’t help but wanting to hold onto.

You laid silently for a few more moments with the man before you stretched out your body and reached up to rub your eyes. You thought back to last night, trying to remember why Suna spent the night and what time he had to leave. You remembered him mentioning that Matsukawa lived closer to you than he did to Suna, so he thought that it would be better if Matsukawa could get him from your house this morning and he had the ability to stay one more night with you this weekend before leaving on this bright Sunday morning.

As you moved on the bed, Suna slowly woke up, giving a soft grunt in discontent as the sun shined into the room and buried his face against your neck.

“Too bright,” he mumbled out in complaint against your skin. You yawned, reaching your hand up to play with his soft and messy hair. “Turn it off.” Hesitating, you fought back a little laugh at the man.

“Turn off the sun?” Suna was quiet for a moment before he hesitantly pushed himself up and squinted hard.

“It’s morning already?” He asked. You gave a nod and looked beside you, seeing the alarm clock lighting up the time.

“It’s almost 9:40.” Suna sighed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

“I don’t wanna go.” He said like a kid who as being forced to get up early to head to school.

“Well, it’s a business trip,” you said, sitting up along with the man. “It’ll be fun.” He raised an eyebrow at you.

“Are you coming?”

“No.”

“Then it won’t be fun.” He plopped back on the bed, stealing your pillow that was previously beneath your head and placing it over his face with a groan. “I don’t want to go,” he said again, making you laugh.

“Come on, you should shower before Matsukawa gets here.” You said, giving his leg a pat. Your boyfriend peeked out from beneath the pillow at you.

“Will you shower with me?”

“No.” Suna gave another groan and pushed the pillow onto his face. “Hurry, he’s gonna get here before you know it.” You said, getting out of the comfortable bed and walking to your closet. Suna’s bags were already by the door, though he left a small one in your bathroom with his toothbrush. Since awhile back he’d left shampoo at your house after staying the night on several occasions, it was always in your shower for him.

You grabbed a change of clothes and went to the bathroom while Suna forced himself up out of your bed. You stretched your arms quickly out over your head with a final yawn before grabbing your toothbrush. Dreadfully, your boyfriend trudged into the room and stripped his shirt off, carelessly tossing it aside. You knew he’d pick it up when he finished in the shower, he always did, though this morning you planned on doing it yourself.

By time you finished brushing your teeth, your boyfriend was already in the shower, standing there staring at the water when you peeked back at him through the glass door. You stifled a laugh at him and leaned against the counter.

“Don’t forget to actually do shower things, like, y’know, wash your hair.” You teased, earning a playfully annoyed look from your boyfriend that made you laugh. Quickly changing your clothes while Suna started to wash his hair, you grabbed his sleeping clothes and brought them with you, knowing that they were destined for the dirty hamper now. Occasionally you found some of Suna’s clothes in your own and you’d gotten a call from him on several different occasions saying that he was folding your shirts or pants and wondered when he should come bring them to you.

As annoying as some people found it, you had always thought it was rather endearing to find his clothes in your own dirty hamper.

You walked out of your bedroom, glancing down the hall at your roommates closed door. She was gone for this whole weekend and you were supposed to water her numerous plants for her while she was out with her boyfriend in the islands for a few days. Another reason Suna spent the night here— she wasn’t around to interrupt your snuggling sessions.

The shower turned off shortly after you got to the kitchen, opening your fridge and getting an apple. You weren’t too hungry but you didn’t want to wait around and be angry or easily annoyed because you hadn’t eaten by time lunch came around. You got a knife, washing the apple and carefully starting to cut it. Slice by slice, you set pieces down, occasionally eating one and giving a soft hum at how good it tasted.

Warm arms wrapped around your waist, gently pulling you back against the man who snuck up behind you, though you didn’t so much as flinch. You smiled and relaxed against the man who pressed a familiar kiss to your shoulder.

“I still don’t want to go.” You set the knife down when you finished cutting the apple and reached over for the trash can, tossing the core away and drying your hands off as you spoke.

“I know, but it’s for the best.” You said simply. “Think of all the spare money you’ll make. It’ll be good to get away from this place anyways for awhile.” You said, making the man give a small frown as he nuzzled closer to you.

“Nobody said I wanted to leave you though.” He sighed. “One day, we should just leave this place together and move somewhere better.”

“Agreed,” you turned in the mans arms and wrapped your own around his shoulders, bringing him down for a soft, quick kiss. “But for now, we need money to live and support our own bougie life-styles.” You said, making the man give a little laugh.

“You’re right.” He said. Suna picked you up suddenly, making you give a sound in shock as you clung to the man who gently set you down on the counter and got closer to you. Slowly, Suna leaned in, though not kissing you like you thought he might. Instead Suna pressed his forehead to yours and gave a little sigh as you placed your hand on top of his on the counter beside your legs.

“I’m gonna miss you.” He whispered, making you smile.

“I’ll miss you, too.” You said, reaching up to brush his hair back before pressing a kiss to his nose. “It’ll be over before you know it.” You promised, trying to keep the spirits high since he didn’t want to leave in the first place. As much as Suna seemed to enjoy conning, he never felt like leaving Japan or even places close to home anymore. Unfortunately, traveling was the only way to afford his new rent and being able to pay for food.

“Not if you’re here.” You gave a soft laugh and kissed the man gently.

“Like you said the other night, we’ll talk. It isn’t like this is goodbye or anything.” You promised, but then it hit you as Suna eyed your hand on top of his and fiddled with your other fingers hesitantly. “You… do know that this isn’t goodbye, right?” You asked, wondering if the man was worrying you might move on in the couple of weeks that he’ll be gone.

“Yeah. Of course.” He said in an unconvincing way.

“You know, Rin, you’re irreplaceable.” You promised, pressing another kiss to his face. “When you come back, everything will be the same. I won’t be leaving you.” You worried about aggravating the man with these promises, not wanting him to feel trapped after thinking that he was worrying about you leaving and getting it all wrong, though the way that he looked at you a moment after you stopped speaking diminished your worries.

“You promise?” He asked beneath his breath, as if he was afraid if he said it any louder somebody other than you in your empty apartment might hear him being vulnerable in this intimate moment.

“I promise.” You said back as softly as he had. Suna leaned in, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face against your neck. You smiled, hugging the man back and resting your head on top of his. It was silent for a moment, and you swore Suna had whispered something beneath his breath before there was a knock on the door that stole his attention away from the hug as you tried to process his words. With a soft sigh, Suna hesitantly pulled back from you and offered you a hand.

You let him help you off the counter and walked beside him towards the door. He opened it and there stood Matsukawa, looking around but quickly directing his attention to the boy and then to you. There was a small smile on his face quickly after the door opened.

“Hey, Suna, (y/n).” He greeted. “Are you ready to go?” Suna nodded as he slid his shoes on, moving to grab his bags that were right beside the front door. He turned his attention to you as he walked out of your apartment.

“Bye. I’ll see you soon.” He promised. You sent the man a smile and nodded.

“You guys have a good time on your business trip. Try not to kill each other and good luck selling.” You said, looking between Matsukawa and Suna before your gaze landed on your boyfriend. “Drive safe and let me know when you get there.” You said, something that was always said from you when he left, unknown to Matsukawa who raised a mere eyebrow at the situation before Suna nodded.

“I promise,” your boyfriend said, making a split-second decision and leaning in quickly to press a soft kiss to your lips that you were quick to return even if it had ended seemingly as soon as it began. Matsukawa’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at the two of you frantically, wondering if you two were only fucking with him or if he had hallucinated the situation. Suna turned away and started to head down the stairs without another word as Matsukawa looked at you with a slacked jaw. You sent the man a small smile before shutting and locking the door after you. Matsukawa quickly turned to follow after the man he’d known since right after high school quickly.

“Uh, Suna— mind explaining what the fuck just happened?”

“Remember when I said I’d admit I had a girlfriend when I did?” The man asked without so much as looking back or slowing down for the man who tried quickly to catch up to him.

“Uh, yeah?” Matsukawa said in a confused manner.

“Well, I have a girlfriend.”

You leaned against the front door with a soft sigh. You knew that you were going to miss Suna while he was gone, but you were hoping that he wasn’t kidding when he told you that he’d keep in touch often. You thought back to when Suna was hugging you and tried to think of what you might’ve heard, though a smile was quick to work it’s way onto your face as you grabbed your phone and opened up your messages with Suna.

“I love you, too.”

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu #haikyuu x female reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x reader smut #haikyuu x reader fluff #haikyuu smut #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu rintaro suna #rintaro suna #rintaro suna x female reader #rintaro suna x reader #rintaro suna x reader smut #rintaro suna x reader fluff #rintaro suna smut #rintaro suna fluff #rintaro suna imagines

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pennylaneforthoughts · 4 years ago

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All right the English major in me is coming out to bat, and I can hold it in no longer because my whole darn Honors thesis is on Shakespeare.

So while acknowledging that this is all speculation bc we can't actually know unless Tom and Owen tell us what's up, here's my two cents on the weird Two Gentlemen of Verona thing Tom and Owen evidently have going on.

First of all, y'all should know that it's Hella Weird that this is the play that Owen can quote the first line of. And the reason is that it's Shakespeare's literal worst play. Like not even kidding it's so bad. It's an important play for Shakespeare scholars bc it's his first play, and in it you can see the precursors to his later, much better works like Romeo and Juliet. A sandbox of sorts. But especially in comparison to the rest of his work, it's Really Bad. And because of this, it's not very well known at all, and my Shakespeare professor actively recommended that we not read it for our optional comedy to study.

Let me break it down for y'all.

Basic plot is you've got Valentine and Proteus who have a very homoerotic relationship (if you recall Owen quoting the first line, it's literally Valentine saying "cease to persuade, loving Proteus") but one which is Toxic As Hell, for which Proteus is at fault, stemming from some intense internalized homophobia imo. Valentine leaves Verona, inviting Proteus to come with him, but Proteus is too busy with his fiancée Julia and says no. So off Valentine goes, and he meets the beautiful Silvia and falls in love with her instantly, as you do, but her dad doesn't like it much. Proteus decides he misses his Bro and ditches Julia to go after him. Upon finding Valentine with Silvia, he gets pissed and decides he wants Silvia for himself (tho you could argue this is out of internalized homophobia fueled jealousy) and purposefully gets Silvia's dad to banish Valentine. Sucks to be Proteus tho bc Silvia is Not into him and says as much to a disguised Julia who's followed her deadbeat fiancé and found him with this other girl. Silvia loves Valentine tho so she goes off with Proteus and disguised Julia to go find him where he was banished. Proteus doesn't like this tho and right before they find Valentine, he tries to force himself on her. Thankfully he's stopped by Valentine, but there's a really weird line where Valentine either says "whatever if you want her that bad take her" or "all the love I have for her is yours" depending on how you read it. Either way, it's not great bc it glosses over the whole non-con issue from like 2 minutes ago, Julia also reveals herself and then they go "oh yay we're all here now let's get married" and then Valentine ends up with Silvia and Proteus ends up with Julia.

And like, people have mentioned before that you could technically draw a parallel with Sylvie and Silvia bc their names are similar, and that it's kinda like Loki and Mobius bc Valentine leaves Proteus to go after Silvia, and there's the homoerotic implications for Lokius, but really that's where the similarities stop, and comparing Mobius to Proteus is just an insult to Mobius' character tbh.

If we're gonna draw Shakespeare parallels, we could make a much more compelling argument with Twelfth Night (the m/f twin connection is right there) or even Hamlet or Much Ado About Nothing than with Two Gentlemen, so it doesn't make much sense for Tom and Owen to have this inside joke directly related to the Loki series.

And not only is the play deeply problematic as I've illustrated above, it's also poorly written. It's a bad play y'all. That's why nobody knows it. So there is No Way that of all the Shakespeare plays to want to do, Owen Wilson, who has himself said that he has no real familiarity with the Bard other than a college Shakespeare class, would pick Two Gentlemen as his dream Shakespeare production. It makes exactly zero sense whatsoever. (He'd be much, much more suited for a role like Benedick in Much Ado imo)

We do know, however, that Owen is excellent at improvising and likes joking around and messing with people. So I imagine that rather than being a secret lokius joke, it came into being by way of an interaction along these lines:

Tom: So have you ever played Hamlet?

Owen, shook and kinda laughing: Nah, it's not really my typecast so I've never had the opportunity.

Tom, wanting to be encouraging: Aw I'm sure you'd be great in the role! Though I am curious, if you were to be in any Shakespeare play, what would it be?

Owen, wracking his brain for buried play titles from college like thirty years ago: uhhh Two Gentlemen of Verona, maybe???????

Tom, a Shakespeare nerd who knows the play, suddenly Very concerned but polite: oh,,,, is that so?

Owen, noticing the confusion but deciding it'll be funnier to roll with it: yeah I think it's a really compelling story. One of Shakespeare's finest works if you ask me.

Tom, visibly shaking and in a cold sweat: r-really?,,,??,

Owen, busting up laughing: sskdjskksk no not at all! I know like nothing about Shakespeare, cmon. I was Lightning McQueen! I just vaguely remember reading that play in college.

Tom, sighing in relief: oh thank God I was so worried. That's the worst one!

Owen, amused: is it?

Tom, going into professor mode: well you see--

And so it probably became like a "I'm pretending to be pretentious and cultured" sort of inside joke that played a part in their bonding as coworkers and snuck its way into the documentary bc they thought it'd be funny, and they were right. Tbh the way they talked about it sounded a lot like my and my friends riffing on plays in my Shakespeare class, so I'm inclined to believe that that's what they're doing here.

#This became much longer than I anticipated whoops #But now I want a much ado about nothing lokius AU 👀👀👀👀#Loki #Mobius #Lokius #tom hiddleston #owen wilson #And I guess technically #widdlewow #Though I feel a lil sacreligious tagging that lmaooooooo

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linaselandbasil · 2 years ago

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I uuuuhhhh- had a dream.

So, when I'm dreaming I usually know that I'm dreaming because I pay very close attention to my surroundings at all times and I can tell when things are off. Knowing this about me, it's pretty surprising that I didn't notice it was a dream, since I was on a military mission (I would never contribute to any government, im better than that) that my classmate Tibor dearest was the captain of and Valkyon was literally there in the flesh. I was like, yes, this is normal! Absolutely nothing wrong! (I never dream of things that aren't real, for the record. It's usually real people like my friends and sometimes celebrities, and we do pretty normal stuff. Sometimes, I get a bad dream where I get progressively more fearful and anxious because of the bad vibes, but I hadn't had a real nightmare in years)

Anyway, what's even funnier than this setup is that I fully intended to give him sloppy in this unholy alligator filled swamp and I went: wait, what would Kassvin think? (Kassvin has clearly stated that he's okay with Valkyon fucking around since he's just hip like that) And Valkyon said: Don't humor yourself, everyone knows you're Kassvin.

He read me to filth. I was shooketh. He read me so hard I almost woke up, I couldn't process that! And you know what I love about this? I KNOW EVERYONE KNOWS! I even make fun of myself for it, yet my subconscious still thought I needed this! 💀💀💀

Anyway, this swamp was literally my parents living room (I've spent the majority of the last 3 days there because the electricity was down for a few hours and mom got hooked on the witcher Netflix series. We've been watching four episodes a day since) and I was supposed to be like... not a marine, because as it was pointed out, I was not wearing green but black. I told my classmate that I was not pleased to not only not get to wear my favorite color but also be the only one to not wear my favorite color. And then I said I would really like to not be the only one who's also not in camouflage because whatever we're fighting will murk me first. He disregarded my woe and said that he's completely okay with wearing the black gear. That piece of shit was wearing his green hoodie he wears to school! (I have a simmilar one, I think it's a really good look on him.... he hates my guts but I think he's really cool 😭) I'm the only person who's not in green... great!

So anyway, we make "camp". I'm on the couch, alone, Valkyon and the NPC's are in the kitchen and Tibor dearest is at the dinner table. Mind you, the whole room is a swamp, floor is lava style. Like when you play pretend as a kid but you can't go outside because it's a blizzard or something so you have to make do with the confines of the tidy indoors. Anyway, I busied myself with trying to sort half eaten pastries into nylon bags but I couldn't because my brain was already busy rendering like seven people and the fog particle effect. (There was a legit smoke machine somewhere in the background, it looked like when people are exploring a different planet in retro movies but like the ceiling lamp was on 💀) I think that was when the alligator appeared and I was not dressed for some reason. The alligator was manifested out of existence because I think I was planning to beat the ever loving fuck out of that hissing piece of fat reptilian shit, but it just disappeared and I thought: I'm going to bunk with my boyfriend, this is not a safe environment for a baby person such as myself.

Valkyon was like: baby boy. *non threatening hug initiation pose* Then we had to all gather together in front of the tv for an announcement that I didn't pay attention to. I was getting suspicious at this point because I noticed that the walls went missing and it kind of made me think about what fucking business my parents living room furniture had being in Florida in the first place. I started looking around for clues and I noticed that it was really quiet for how the vegetation looked. Tropical plants suggest that there's a lot of resources to support abundant fauna and it should not be quiet. There weren't even any bugs. (I never dream of mosquitoes but if I did it would be a nightmare because those little fucktards are the only non conceptual thing I'm afraid of) I started listening more carefully and I heard my parents talking and I went oh.

Then I went oh.

I don't remember how I ended up awake but I was really happy about this dream. I usually don't remember them because I'm really hard to impress and my dreams are hardly more interesting than my conscious thoughts.

If Freud had a chance to talk to me he'd have a mental breakdown. (Yes he would be the lucky one, I'm the prize in this situation. Him and his silly theories about the subconscious aren't that special. I don't think the conscious even exists bitch! We're not sentient, we're just consequences of consequences.)

Have a nice day besties

#eldarya #unhinged #valkyon #aadiftraf #kassvin of blavio #dream journal #Sigmund Freud slander #sigmund freud #valkyon eldarya

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littlemisslipbalm · 4 years ago

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Little Border Town Pt. II

Summary: Harry starts to find himself more and more drawn to the bookshop owner. She’s maybe not as annoying as he first thought. And maybe Harry isn’t the worst like she thought either. A little notebook, drinks, shoes, and a boat begin to show each other that.

AKA: Harry and Y/N are neighbors that fight all the time, the whole town wants to know when they’ll just fuck.

ello loves, part 2 is finally here pls let me know what you think!! barely proofread sorry... also i think theres gonna be quite a few parts to this because i keep not getting all i want to say said in each part. and im trying to keep the chunks relatively short. — also I made one direction lowkey exist bahaha

Word Count: 9.2k | Warnings: flirty fighting/banter, slowburn

Part 1

The next day Harry found himself walking into the bookshop next door without really thinking about it. He hadn’t seen Y/N again for his early morning run and he had his list for her of the Paul Simon albums he already had. They hadn’t had their windows or shades open last night either so it was the first night he didn’t give her a salute and she didn’t flip him off. The jostle in routine seemed a little weird to him so as he walked through the shop's door and the bell sounded, he thought the smile on his face was because he was well rested and unbothered by anything.

Y/N had slept in this morning. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the beginning of Fall always put her in a cozy sleepy mood. She wanted to go to a pumpkin patch and watch a fire burn out in a fireplace. She wanted to listen to her halloween playlist and plan out an intricate costume with her friends. All of this was a wistful dream though. She had quickly learned that the little border town didn’t celebrate Halloween how they did in the States or any major cities. It was okay, at the end of the day, even if she was a little bummed about it. This was her new life and she would have to adapt to the new customs.

After she walked downstairs and unlocked the door, she went back over to her front counter. Yesterday, right when Harry had come in, she had found a booklet of Marie’s. It was leafed over to the point that all the pages were crinkled and dirtied from hand debris. Each page was filled with her loopy handwriting, all of it in French. She must have only liked blue pens because even if the type changed over different pages, the color was always blue. Each page was headed with a name, a customer’s name Y/N was starting to realize as she leafed through the pages. She sat back on the wooden stool she had gotten for behind the counter and propped the book in her hand. After the name of the customer there were extensive details on them. Not their purchases specifically, but their preferences, their personality, and just tidbits about any quirks they had or interesting things Marie had decided were of note.

She found many names that were now familiar to her after her few months of living in the little border town. There really weren't that many people to get to know and the tourists were starting to die down now that the school year was getting back in. After a few minutes of pouring over Monsieur Friedfrickson’s page, who lives across the street from her and runs the flower and gardening supplies shop, she flips to an even more familiar name’s page.

“Harry Styles.” The page had the name written out in strong tall letters. Marie had used a blue inky pen for his page, not a ballpoint. “Likes Music. Poetry. Love stories. Romance with a happy ending, but also likes the practical love too.” The interests are laid out plain and she purses her lips at the idea that Harry is interested in romance novels. She wondered what type of poetry he liked since Marie didn’t seem to think that had to be elaborated on. “He’s a special one,” it reads and Y/N scoffs to herself, really Marie? She reads on, “His heart is in the right place, but he’s got a mouth on him. Quick-witted and charming, but kind-hearted and sincere.” She pauses, and flicks the page back and forth, checking that it still reads Harry’s name when she gets back to it. Was she really the only one who found Harry vapid and annoying? Sure she had softened a little towards him since she had arrived, but they were by no means friends. “While seemingly perfect in every way, Harry is actually-” it reads and she mutters to herself, “Ok, now we’re getting somewhere.” “While seemingly perfect in every way, Harry is actually scared of his own shadow.” “This can’t be real!” She once again scoffs at the book and looks up to the ceiling like Marie is going to talk back to her from beyond. “His exterior persona is very strong, both physically and in his personality, but it seems like he’s just waiting for that right person that he can really be vulnerable with and let them into what he’s really thinking. He’s looking for his Angie.” Now she’s just confused. Who the fuck is Angie? She almost doesn’t finish reading the page because honestly it’s just making her mad, but there’s only a few more lines. “Lots of tattoos, why so many tattoos? Thinks he’s funnier than he is. Flamboyant Harry is best.” And beside that last sentence is a star. She tries to hold in her laughter. At least it wasn’t a complete page of praise for Harry.

Thinking back to her knowledge of Harry, she realizes that Marie must have known him for about three years. Maybe more if he had come to visit before moving there officially. She agreed with Marie that Harry had a lot of tattoos and that he thinks he’s funnier than he truly is, but she was yet to see flamboyant Harry. She knew he painted his nails and wore rings, as well as interesting clothes, but she wouldn’t say he was particularly flamboyant for any of that. That comment definitely piqued her interest. When would Marie have seen Harry where he was being flamboyant?

Her eyes scan over the page once more and realize that this book is only for the most current year. Marie re-did the customers' outlines every year. So this was this past year before Marie died. She wondered where the other books might be and if Harry’s outline had changed over time and also if her name was in the one from when she had visited. That would be interesting to read. It’s strange to read a dead person’s private musings. To her knowledge, no one else alive knew the contents of these pages and these pages seemed especially personal since they spoke of people’s lives and who they were at their core. Maybe that’s why she didn’t hear the chime of the door this morning when the first customer arrived.

Her eyes don’t shoot up from the page until two ringed hands enter her eye line on the counter. The tanned skin, with the gold and silver dazzling rings on each finger and the cross tattoo all register in her mind as her eyes go wide. She snaps the book shut when her eyes meet Harry’s almost ivy green eyes - they’re darker in the foggy fall light streaming through the window today. She hadn’t even turned on the lights yet in the store, the natural light being enough for her this morning. The book is clutched in her hands as Harry’s smile widens to a grin of amusement.

“What have you got there?”

There’s no cover on the book so he can’t make anything out about it. He assumes it’s some novel she’s embarrassed of and has chosen to slip the cover off of to keep anonymity of it. This assumption is why his tone is so teasing and why she grimaces at him in response. Her cheeks have also tinted themselves, she’s flustered that the man she had just been conversing about with the book was now in the store.

“None of your business.”

“I guess not.” He replies easily when she responds curtly and places the book out of sight somewhere under the countertop.

“Why are you here again?” She’s avoiding his eye contact now, feeling like she’s been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been even though it was perfectly within her right to read something that now belonged to her.

Harry’s smile falters with her followed curt reply. Annoyance settling in, Harry straightens up and removes his hands from the counter. The familiar feeling doesn’t exactly feel nice, but familiarity is better than discomfort. “You wanted a list of my Paul Simon records? So you could order me one I didn’t already have?”

She looks at him curiously as the conversation comes back to her from yesterday morning and she nods. That conversation was real. “Oh yeah, I said that.” She replies, still not looking at him. “Okay,” she says when he doesn’t move or do anything. Her eyes widen, silently asking him to get on with it.

His hands shove into his pockets, searching around for a list he apparently had made. They come out empty. He pats over his jacket pockets and feels nothing but his phone and wallet, no list. “Fuck,” he mutters beneath his breath. She scratches at her eyebrow and sits back on her stool, seeming like she might be waiting awhile. After a few more minutes and no produced list, she sighs. “Do you just want to go next door and grab it since you obviously forgot it?”

“I didn’t forget it…” His voice is low and he shoots a glare at her, the annoyance that had come back had now doubled.

“You did, but it’s okay if you can’t admit that-”

“It must have fallen out of my pocket!” He insists.

She rolls her eyes and stands up. Walking to the front door, she looks on the ground and then a little ways outside. “I don’t see it, just go back and get it. You probably left it in your boudoir, it’s fine.” Her tone is a little less condescending now and more understanding. She forgets stuff all the time and she really wasn’t trying to be rude when he first came in. He had just startled her is all.

He turns around to face her. Her body is now completely out in the open area of the front of the store. His head tilts and one of his loose curls flops over his forehead while he takes in her appearance. “Why do you do that?”

She wets her lips and steps closer to him, more on her way back to the counter than anything. “Do what?” She’s oblivious to what he’s taken note of.

“When you have a conversation in English you’ll swap in some words that are French. They’re easy words to figure out and you don’t do it a lot, but you’ve done it enough times for me to notice.”

“Oh...I don’t know. I prefer French to English. It’s so much sexier.” She walks closer to him and utters her next sentence as she brushes past his shoulder. His gaze follows her every movement. “Would you prefer a girl to whisper in your ear, “let’s go back to my bedroom” or “let’s go back to my boudoir.”?” Her French accent hangs in the air with the word and compared to the hard American accent she had employed for ‘bedroom’, ‘boudoir’ sounds far more dirty this time than before.

A shiver rolls down Harry’s spine, but he doesn’t let it show. She shrugs her shoulders, “I think the answer is clear.” He clears his throat in response and a smile grows on her face. “Don’t you agree, monsieur?” She leans her head into her hand now that she’s behind the counter and looks up at him sweetly. He knows she’s teasing him now, her smile more of a sultry smirk.

“Piccola diavola,” his Italian rolls off his tongue and she squints at his words. She knows “devil” but the first word troubles her - it just means little. Her Italian really wasn’t strong and it hadn’t improved that much since she’d been in the little border town. But she also wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of asking what he had said. Harry chuckles at her confusion and relaxes now that he feels the playing field has leveled once again.

“So your list… Do you want to go grab it? Or if you can just list it off the top of your head? As enthralling as your conversation skills are, I actually don’t have all day.” She trails off again, her questions lilting from her mouth after regaining some composure.

“I wasn’t the one teasing about taking someone up to their bedroom,” he huffs. Her face colors with crimson. While she had been teasing him, she didn’t want to be called out for it.

“Wasn’t teasing…”

“So it was a serious offer?” He inquires with a lop-sided grin, changing the meaning behind her words in one fellow swoop.

“That’s not what I was saying! Shut up and give me your list.” Now her blush was all over her face and neck, and she was totally and completely flustered by Harry. She glanced down at her hands that were fiddling with a pen and paper, ready to write his words down.

“I can either shut up or tell you my list. But it’s sadly one or the other, love.”

She groans and takes her free hand to run it over her face. “Just tell me what you already have, Harry. Please.”

“Okay, okay,” he chuckles and spreads out his hands in front of them both. He crosses back to the counter and leans on it once more. They are in close proximity once again, only the counter between them now and she can feel his hot breath fan over her softly. Smells of wintergreen gum, her favorite.

She glances up at him and their eyes hook together for a moment before she tears hers away to look back at the paper. He rattles off a good amount of Paul Simon’s albums and she nods approvingly as she scribbles the names down. She would have to look through his discography to find the ones Harry didn’t have and she probably could’ve made Harry do that and then give her that list, but she didn’t. It was too late now to do that as well, so she’d just have to live with her decision.

When he finishes, she glances at him once again. His eyes are very large. A detail that isn’t really important about him is seared in her mind. They’re big and they’re staring right at her. His pupils are almost as big as his irises, it was interesting. Her eyes shift under his gaze after a beat and she straightens up again. While they went over his list, she had indulged in the close proximity, the mingling of warm breath and brushed hands as she scribbled and he pondered. She nods a farewell, “I’ll let you know when I order next, but I won’t say what album you’ll get. It will be a surprise.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you,” his smile snaps back to his face and he scratches absentmindedly at his side. He hesitates before exiting the store. “I have a question.”

“Don’t need my permission.”

He emits a half-laugh, half-scoff from his parted lips. “Wasn’t asking for it...How come you never go out?”

She stares at him curiously, her head tilting to the right. “How would you know I don’t get out?” She challenges him.

“There’s only one pub in this little town and I’m your next door neighbor. I know.” He’s insistent on being right.

She scoffs, but only in an attempt to cover up her embarrassment. Her skin had finally cooled from all the excitement that had happened earlier and she wasn’t in the mood to grow red once again. Today was the first day she had ever felt flustered by Harry. It was annoying, it made her feel out of control. She liked to go out well enough, maybe more than the average person. But she’d only been in the little border town for a few months and going out hadn’t been on the top of her list of things to do. Sure, it would be nice to go get a drink out in the town, but she didn’t really have anyone to go with. Meeting people wasn’t hard in the town, but there weren't many people who were her age and she hadn’t particularly clicked with anyone where she would want to go out on the town with them. It was embarrassing to face the fact that she wasn’t flourishing as much as she had hoped. She was happy, but being confronted with the truth that she hadn’t gone out yet dampened her belief in her success in the little border town.

“I - It’s not at the top of my list of priorities,” she stutters, her chin raising a little in indignance.

One of his shoulders shrugs and Harry makes a little face as if he was indifferent to her answer, even though she knew much better than that. Harry always wanted to get a reaction out of her, maybe that was all he gained from their interactions - entertainment. She didn’t know, but she didn’t feel like giving him the satisfaction and left it at that. His eyes meet hers again, his stare far more intense now. “Ciao, diavola.” He simpers, repeating the little nickname. It was far more sultry of a nickname than ‘Shrimp’ but she wasn’t going to complain. She rolls her eyes in response, the only correct one at that.

That night, she found herself feeling pulled to journey down to the pub. It was on the Italian side and like she had acknowledged to Harry, she hadn’t been. She wouldn’t admit to anyone, especially not Harry, that his question had been what had pushed her towards the establishment when night fell. Yet, here she was. Her pants were dark red silk that matched the black tank top with red embellishments that she wore over her chest - the only part of her it really covered. Her boots were a matching black with gold metal bits, they were knock-off horsebit Gucci shoes, the closest she could get to the real thing with her modest budget. She was having to be more frugal lately, after buying her car here in September, she had really seen how little money she truly had.

The heels of her boots clicked against the cobblestones as she stalked up to the front of the bar. There was happy chatter seeping out the open door, the warm but dimmed light also flooding out along with the sounds of people within. Taking a deep breath and fiddling with the waistband of her pants for a second, she made her way into the bar. Stepping off the deep end and making the plunge. She knew there was nothing to be afraid of, but after months of not going there, she felt a little sense of apprehension now.

The warmth was the most surprising bit of the bar that she felt when she stepped past the threshold. Some Italian song was buzzing below the words of the patrons and she smiled at the automatic welcome she felt upon entering.

At the tables, there was a mix of younger and older patrons. At the bar, there wasn’t much of anyone. The young bartender leans across the bar to talk to another man, who had dark brown wavy hair and a dark linen shirt on. He’s seated at the bar and his back is to her so she can’t make out anymore than that. She doesn’t notice the myriad of tattoos gracing the patron’s arm that rests casually on the bar as he laughs at something the bartender had said, just for him.

She smiles, thinking it’s a cute little flirtation between the two and hates that she has to go over to break it up. Her movement gets the bartender’s attention easily and has the patron glancing her way as well. The smile she had once had falters off of her face and her eyes go wide at the realization of who she has settled herself beside. She had left a seat open between her and the man, but now she wished she had chosen a spot across the bar and simply flagged down the bartender. Better yet, she wished she had stayed home. As her smile falls away, Harry’s only grows wider. He’s grinning down at her as he moves his whole body to face her.

“Ciao!” The bartender starters, not noticing her discomfort at seeing Harry. He begins to ask what she would like in Italian, but her eyes widen even further. He’s speaking far too fast for her and she blushed in embarrassment. In her fluster, she forgets to even try French and she just stares dumbfoundedly at the handsome man behind the bar, who’s now looking at her with great curiosity. Harry has watched the entire thing and chuckles behind his glass. She has no attention span left to allow her to even try and guess what he’s drinking.

He interjects for her, actually saving her any more embarrassment, surprisingly. “She doesn’t speak Italian. She’s from the French side and new in town, so she hasn’t been able to refine her Italian.” The bartender gives a smile and nod of understanding in her way and she wishes she knew what Harry had just said. Whatever it is makes the bartender switch to French for her and her jaw goes from being dropped back into a normal position.

“What can I get for you, mademoiselle?” He transitions smoothly and she smiles, his French accent sounding practically perfect. She’s recomposed herself, but Harry is still watching her intently, like a reality television show that he can’t wait for the trainwreck finale to occur on.

After she orders, the bartender gives her a wink and then walks off to get what he needs to begin preparing her drink. Harry slides over, eliminating the courteous one seat between them. Her eyes watch the movement and she refrains from the letting out the sigh festering in her chest. She really had hoped he would not be here tonight, at least that’s what she believed. She truly felt embarrassed that the night after Harry had accused her of never going out, he had seen her out. But it also was nice not to be sitting in the bar alone. It seemed that Harry had been sitting alone at the bar before she had come in, but she also wasn’t Harry and didn’t know how much enjoyment she would have gotten out of being alone.

“I see my words had some effect on you.” He says out of the corner of his mouth after running his tongue over the bottom of his lip. Her scoff once again dies in her throat because she knows he’s right and he knows it too. There is no being proud right now. He essentially caught her red handed.

“Thought I’d come out and see what all the fuss was about. I see you’re alone tonight, but I assume that’s how most nights go.”

“You should know by now that is simply not true.”

“Just because you leave with someone doesn’t mean you come with someone.”

“I guess…” He trails off.

She picks up when he doesn’t seem to have any more of a response. “How do you even meet people here? Isn’t it all locals?”

“Not always. Not all of the people here are locals tonight,” He scans the crowd. “She’s visiting...So is she...that whole group actually. Look French. So we’ve got a group from Nice tonight…” He looks a bit more. “Eh, that looks like it tonight, but still. It’s plenty.” He finishes with a smirk and she grimaces, understanding the meaning behind his words.

The bartender returns with her White Russian, which Harry had cocked his head at, but had kept his opinion to himself for once. Expecting Roman to return to their conversation, Harry turns his attention back to him, but he is only greeted with the side of his head because Roman is still staring at Y/N. He coos something to her in French, that Harry can’t pick up and his nostrils flare when she emits a giggle following their exchange. The two people he was last talking to were now ignoring him to talk to each other. How rude.

After another moment without their attention, he huffs loudly. Roman seems too entranced in Y/N to notice, but her eyes slide over to him. “Yes?” She inquires, albeit disdainfully.

Harry isn’t sure what to say to her now that he’s gained her attention. He was on his second drink and her stare has made his mind go blank. All he had wanted was for her to stop flirting with Roman so that she’d pay attention to him. But he hadn’t thought of his next step yet. He takes a sip of his beer to grant him a little more time and she rolls her eyes at his action. His mind rattles through possible things to say, but every single one is coming up as not good enough.

“I used to be in a band.”

Her head tilts and she swivels more to Harry. His comment is unexpected and rather intriguing. She had expected something annoying or rude. Truly she had just expected him to say “Nothing” once he had swallowed his drink so he could distract her from enjoying her night.

“You were in a band?” She asks incredulously, her voice pitching slightly higher than normal. While Harry was many things, including handsome, she just didn’t think he had the right persona to be in a band. He dressed like a grandfather most days and he tended to a little shoe shop, he didn’t come off as a guy who would enjoy traveling around performing. The constant praise would be on brand though, she conceded.

Harry nods and bites back his smile, knowing he had struck the perfect chord. “I was...it only took off in the UK but we were pretty popular.” He boasts.

“So what do you play?”

Harry’s eyes widen, expecting more of a question about the name of the band or something. “Well, it was, like, a boy band…” He says.

She was taking a sip of her drink and she contained her little laugh behind her glass. Another hum as she swallows the liquid that burns her throat a bit. “Oh. Interesting. So no instruments.”

“Well I can play a bit of guitar and piano!” He adds quickly, seeing her eyes shift away from him, like she thinks the conversation is over. “I was thinking of trying a solo thing, but then plans changed...”

“And now you’re here?”

He echoes her, affirming the question. “Now I’m here and I’m not leaving.”

“You don’t miss it then?”

“Didn’t say that. I miss it at times, but this is where my life took me and I’m happy to be here. Maybe happier than I ever was in the band.” His eyes stare at the liquid in his glass and he swirls it lightly, determined to study the way it moves as he ponders something quite personal to him. He never really talked about his past with anyone here. Saying he was in a band and retrospecting that time are two very different things to share with someone. She’s just watching him now, not trying to make a quip or bug him. His demeanor shows that’s not something he’s very interested in hearing right now.

She experimentally puts a finger on his knee when it seems that he’ll never raise his gaze from his glass. His eyes move down to the tiny pressure he feels and sees her painted nail poking in to him. His tongue darts across his lower lip as he raises his head to meet her eyes. He notices the sparkle in them, she finds amusement in the childish gesture and so does he.

“I do miss the stage though,” he admits, smiling more now. “Performing. It was like nothing else.” Instead of a sad state of mind, his look is far more wistful now and she actually feels the smile growing on her face.

“You’ll have to sing for me sometime, then.” She says resolutely after taking the last bit of her drink and then pushing the glass across the bar. Roman had wandered off, much to Harry’s pleasure, but now they both needed another round so she was looking for him.

Harry slides over a chair so that they’re sat side by side. He had originally done it to reach across her for a napkin, but then hadn’t retreated to his original seat after he was successful. They talk as they drink, but most of it seems to be flirtatious teasing even if neither of them recognize that fully. Harry just wanted her attention earlier and now he found that he wanted to keep talking to her all night. It was a Friday and usually he would be looking for someone to take home. The group of women at a table that he had observed were visitors would be a perfect place to start his quest, but that wasn’t on his mind. He liked watching the different shades of blush Y/N’s face kept turning as she drank more and how silly she was getting with each passing drink.

She was enjoying her time out, she had only gotten wine drunk in the confines of her little home since she’d been in the little border town. And that endeavour was all by herself. It was much more fun when you had someone to talk to, so joking around with Harry was a nice surprise. She no longer felt embarrassed about showing up after he had teased her for never going out earlier today. Now she felt empowered, like she could come to the bar whenever she pleased. He was nicer than she had realized. His hand was quick to encircle her back respectfully when she laughed a little too hard at a joke and began to tip off her stool. His smile was genuine and his eyes didn’t flit over her body more than once. His jokes were funnier than she had first thought or maybe that was just the alcohol clouding her mind, that one she wasn’t sure about. But, truthfully, Harry was exceeding expectations tonight and being a stand up human being for once, in her eyes.

A couple at the end of the bar, locals, watched on as the shoemaker and the bookkeeper threw back their heads in boisterous laughter and placed their hands on each other chastely. The older women smiled to themselves as Y/N smacked Harry’s bicep after an especially cheeky joke he told her. They were going to have a field day with this interaction once they told their friends tomorrow morning.

After drink three, she definitely felt drunk. Not completely out of it and can’t walk drunk, but I haven’t drank anything stronger than wine in months so three cocktails are kind of hitting me drunk. And because of that buzz that’s enclosed her mind and body, it makes perfect sense to her that Harry’s hand is resting casually on her knee as they talk. It also makes perfect sense to her to cross her legs, causing two things to happen. Harry’s hand shifts up further on her thigh and her boot is now dangling right next to Harry’s shin. The fabric of his cream linen trousers look especially soft and so the next logical move in her mind is to rub her foot against the fabric. She hooks around her foot easily and the patent leather of her shoe slips softly against the pant leg that flows over Harry’s calf.

He hums lowly at the feeling, but makes no other notion to acknowledge what she is doing. After the hum he gets back to the story he’s telling her about his boat. She had been extremely interested in the boat initially, but not she was transfixed on the feeling of the fabric slipping past her boot. When he shifts his leg, absentmindedly or not, she almost squeaks because this movement has Harry’s foot brushing around her ankle. The footsy was occurring without any acknowledgement of it besides small sounds the two had made in their chests. No knowing looks, just the presence of each other’s bodies against one another.

He had switched to a Manhattan after his second beer for some reason that she didn’t ask, but he was enjoying it nonetheless. When she slipped her foot against his calf, it had sent a spark of electricity from the point of contact up to his alcohol muddled head. It felt nice so he went with it.

Around midnight the two of them were practically in each other’s laps, nursing their fourth round. Brains a million miles away while their glassy eyes stared at each other. Harry’s arm nestled around her waist while hers played with the stir stick in his glass. Their heads inches away, closer than they’d ever been before.

Somehow they decided they should walk home about then. Maybe Harry had checked his phone and decided he was done. Maybe she had glanced at the clock above the bar and realized she needed to go to bed. Either way, they slammed down the last bits of their drinks and stumbled into the street. With only each other to hold them up, they had some trouble gaining their balance. They could walk just fine if they wanted to be serious, but Harry kept trying to step literally on her toes and she kept throwing all her weight into his side. Both of their actions would cause them to stumble one way or another along the empty streets. Their blurred minds thankfully didn’t get them lost, but the travel time back to their places was far greater than the travel time to the bar initially.

Finally arriving at the border of Italy and France, their shops and homes, she stared up at Harry under the glow of the streetlamp across the street. His hair looked more dark brown than his usual caramel chestnut in the light. His linen outfit billowed across his pectorals that were exposed. A tan golden color that he seemed to maintain from his frequent runs and trips on his boat. His jaw had a bit more stubble on it now, his morning shave no longer sleek on his skin. His mustache was still the most prominent bit of facial hair he had and she wondered what he might look like without it. She also thought if she’d ever kissed a man with a mustache, her mind was pretty sure she hadn’t.

As she stared, she moved from his side and took a step closer to her door. His hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her and bringing her attention to his eyes. He dropped her hand and stepped closer to her. They had been laughing about some weird encounter she had in Nice the other week. But now their laughter had faded out, the conversation all but forgotten.

“Hi.” She says meekly.

“Hi,” Harry laughs.

“I had fun tonight,” she muses and takes a step forward. She began swinging her arms back and forth, rocking on her feet. She felt antsy now that it was so quiet. The silence made her realize it was really just her and Harry together right now. Which wasn’t unusual, they had been alone together plenty of times. Maybe it was the time of night, but it felt far more intimate to her this time which made her squirm a little. Why was she nervous with Harry right now?

Harry nods and laughs again at her actions. “Yeah, you’re not so bad.”

Neither of them realized the proximity of their bodies until her hand swung a little higher and hit Harry’s hip bone. “Oh! Sorry!” She moves to take a step back, but Harry grabs her hand once again and tugs her even closer. Bringing them chest to chest under the lamp light. Her eyes flicker between where their bodies touch and Harry’s face. He’s looking down at her sweetly, gently. She feels safe with the way he’s looking at her. The warmth radiating from him was a nice contrast to the dark cold of night. The open expanse of skin that lived between the two sides of his mostly unbuttoned shirt seemed to have the most heat coming off of it. He had a jade cross that hung between the two muscles and she almost reached out to play with it. If it hadn’t been so dark and she hadn’t been so inebriated she would have realized the color matched his eyes almost exactly.

He’s not quite sure what he’s doing, but for some reason it feels like he might kiss her. The mood that was set by their surroundings made it sound right. Romantic even. Her lips look precious too, plump and puckered, flushed from alcohol and the brisk night air. They look a little glossy too from the last time she had wet them. He wanted to feel them for himself. His head ducks to move his lips to touch hers.

Upon registering his movement, she moves her hand from his grasp and places it on his chest, causing him to take a small step back.

“I think...I think this should be goodnight, Harry.” She breathes out. She’s trying to clear her mind enough to have conviction in her decision.

After a little intake of air, less than a gasp, Harry agrees, running a hand through his hair, “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Her hand slips from his warm chest, immediately curling in on itself to maintain the warmth his body had just provided. She watches her tendons in her hand ripple before looking back at Harry with heavy eyes. He doesn’t seem to want to make eye contact with her, but she’s determined to leave on a good note.

“Thank you, Harry.” He looks up from beneath his lashes at his name, like a shy toddler. “You gave me the push to face a fear of mine.” With her final words she crosses the little distance between them once again and places a chaste kiss to his cheek. Immediately, his cheek flushes and she can feel the heat beneath her lips, as well as the light prickle of his stubble. Harry swallows, causing his Adam's apple to bob quickly, at the contact. His senses get overloaded with the sweet kiss and the smell of her perfume. It all swims through his consciousness.

She smiles as she pulls away and then turns to let herself into her place without another word. Once unlocked, she gives one last glance to Harry who’s also busying himself with opening his door. She doesn’t see that his free hand is caressing over his cheek where her lips had just been.

The next day, she woke up and groaned feeling the stiffness in her body. Especially her head. Oh god, her head. It was like she was back in college, but worse because she wasn’t as young. At least she didn’t have to roll out of bed for an 8 am lecture. For that, she was thankful. Still, the pounding needed to stop or subside at least. Grumbling, she threw her legs off the side of her bed, the fuzzy socks she had slipped on in her drunken stupor settled on the hardwood. She dragged her body to her window and raised the shade. Her window was fogged from the difference in temperature outside and in her room. Kneeling down, she began to pull open the window, in need of the cool fresh air on her clammy skin. Three drinks, or was it four? She couldn’t remember, either way, it was too many.

Her eyes glanced around the view of the window. It wasn’t much since it was so close to the building right next door. Peaking up, she could see the already clouded sky. To the left she could see the street and to the right was more buildings. The scene most easily accessible was the window right across from her. The shade was mostly closed, a little bit of the floor could be seen where Harry hadn’t lowered it completely. It was just the same hardwood as what she sat on staring back at her. She sat there, breathing in the crisp morning air. After a night of drinking, she usually woke up rather early, today was no different.

It dawned on her, far too slowly, that a pair of feet had entered the plain hardwood scene she had been staring at outside her window. A tiny stage now filled with two matching characters. The pair of feet were tanned and large. Little tattoos seemed to be sprinkled both on the toes and the ankles of the feet. She couldn’t read them even if she tried. But upon realizing what these feet might be doing, she had been discouraged from staring any longer. Still, her brain was foggy and her body was not nearly quick enough to hide her from view as the owner of the feet did something to open his shade as well. Then, once again, like deja vu, she was staring at her naked neighbor. Thankfully, this time, he had briefs adorning his hips to keep covering the part of him that would keep her up for weeks trying to forget again. The briefs were, just that. Brief. Low on the hips and barely touching his thighs, it seemed they really only existed to keep that one appendage covered. Still, she had to tear her eyes away from the lower half of his body and let the embarrassment wash over her when she met his eyes.

The knowing smirk of his has him nibbling at the inside of his cheek. She had been checking him out. It was a nice confidence boost after last night. The awkwardness of her stopping him from kissing her had him spiraling in his mind when he went to bed. He didn’t know why he had even tried to kiss her in the first place, probably just because he was drunk. Yeah, he was drunk and feeling needy on a friday night. That’s what it was and she had been there.

He’d have to thank her today for putting a stop to that colossal mistake. They were barely just friends, he hated to think what would happen if he’d done something so reckless as to kiss her out of the blue. Still, he couldn’t shake the thought in the back of his mind that he had gotten the vibe from somewhere. Why else would his drunken mind tell him to kiss her under the glow of the lamp light. He thought back to the bar and what they had talked about. He wouldn’t categorize it as overly flirty. He thought back to their physical interactions at the bar, okay, maybe his hand on her thigh and her playing with his drink was a little flirtatious. But that could be boiled down to him being close to hear her in the bar and her idle fingers wanting something to do while she was drunk. The footsy, though. He wasn’t sure if he could explain that one away. Instead, he would choose to ignore it. If he didn’t think about it, did it actually happen? Was it something he had to worry about? Not in his mind.

Returning his focus to the girl in the window across from him, his smirk was now fully fleshed out on his face. She was still sitting on her knees as Harry looked down at her and if they were in the same room this might have seemed like a rather compromising position. Her cheeks were still red, noticing the difference in height, she clambered to her feet.

“G’morning,” Harry’s voice is groggy and deep. Scratchy almost from the alcohol he had drank last night. It rings through her ears lowly and seems to have her blushing even more. It’s a different feeling than how his voice used to make her feel.

“Hey,” She clears her throat before responding, not wanting her morning voice to crack in front of Harry. Usually she would talk to herself a bit or sing along to her music before going downstairs, not wanting her first customers to hear her as if she just woke up. For some reason, she makes a little wave along with her greeting, feeling especially awkward at this moment. Harry chuckles and repeats her motion. His large hands mimicking the same daunting motion makes her laugh and releases some of the nervous energy she had been holding in her body.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he openly flirts, placing one hand on his naked torso and the other against the frame of the window, leaning towards her. His movement flexes just about every muscle in his body and she keeps her eyes trained on his face, determined not to be caught gawking once more.

A roll of her eyes and she’s back to staring straight into his green ones that he’s still blinking awake. “It’s almost like we’re neighbors.”

He scrunches his nose at her deadpan. “You’re no fun,” he mutters.

She sighs, “I’m fucking hungover after last night…” and runs a hand through her tousled hair.

Her foot rests itself over her other, causing her hip to just out slightly. The movement of her body that accentuated her curves and her words have Harry blushing now. The red flowers at the center of his chest and begins to spread up his neck and cheeks. He’s once again presented with the almost kiss last night.

“Big night out for you,” he laughs, “I’ll admit I don’t usually drink that much, bit of a lightweight myself.”

She only hums in response, her fingers beginning to twiddle with the hem of her t-shirt. It reminds her of what she is precisely dressed in. The big t-shirt and tiny pajama shorts that Harry can’t even see are the only things on her body besides the socks on her feet. She glances down at her legs and takes in the expanse of fleshy skin that is showing just below the shirt. Harry’s eyes follow hers and admires the skin there, wondering what it would feel like underneath his big hands.

“I should probably start getting ready for the day,” She says finally, shaking herself from the random thoughts flitting around her mind about bare thighs and the man across from her. “Are you open today?”

Harry emits a noise from the back of his throat at her question. He draws his arm back from the window and stands up straight. His head tilts as he thinks about her question, his mind still muddled this morning.

“Er..no, actually. I was planning on going out on the boat today, switching my closed day to today instead of tomorrow. Why?”

“I’m in need of shoe repair,” she smiles, her eyes catching the glimmer of the sun starting to peak out. Harry swears it’s her eyes genuinely sparkling on their own accord. “But if you’re out today, it can wait.” She begins to walk away from the window to go to another room in her apartment.

“No!” Harry steps forward, but is restricted by the screen, which keeps him from falling out of his window. She swivels around, looking at him curiously. “I can - you can just come over. I’ll fix it up for you before I head out.”

“Really?” She’s truly surprised that Harry would do such a nice thing for her. She knew they were getting along better, but for him to open shop just for her repair seemed overly nice.

“I mean,” and Harry’s once again blushing under her gaze and he’s hoping she can’t see it. “What are neighbors for?”

“I guess,” she’s still unsure. He seems like he’s nervous, his body tenses and one of his hands twisted in his curls. Harry’s so weird. “Thanks.”

She jogs the short distance from her front door to Harry’s once she’s ready. The pair of deep teal almost navy loafers she needed new soles in - she was pretty sure - in hand. A red pinstripe blouse half buttoned falling over her figure perfectly, hugging the right spots and flowing over the others. She’s in white jeans today that are flared slightly but also cropped. As it gets closer to Halloween she keeps having to remind herself not to dress festive and it’s a struggle everyday.

When she reaches the door, it doesn’t open. The cream door doesn’t budge as she tempts the handle with her free hand. She looks between the handle and the inside of the shop. Her eyes search for Harry’s figure. She had been inside his shop only a handful of times, never for a repair before. Maybe less than a handful, once to check it out and once again when she thought she needed a new pair of shoes and then decided against it. Oh, and that one time she went over to yell at him about something. Maybe the planters, maybe the shade, she couldn’t remember anymore.

Now that she thought about it, she had been in the bookshop once more. Two and a half years ago when she had visited the little border town for the first time. It was a little fuzzy for a memory, but she was sure she had at least peaked into the shoe shop after her lengthy visit with Marie the second day there. It looked just as it did now, maybe it used to be a little more vibrant, but she couldn’t be sure. She remembered an older man in the shop greeting her in Italian and her offering her sad ‘Ciao’. Back then she was even worse at Italian. He had looked at her with kind eyes and a sweet smile. It was a similar lopsided grin that she had now grown accustomed to on another man’s face. After beckoning her over to him the old man had turned away from her and shouted into the back of the store in quick Italian. It blew over her head completely. There must have been someone in the back of the shop who he had talked to. She was sure of it, because after she had perused the cute boots and shoes he kept, she saw a swish of hair coming around the counter. It was just as she was turning around to exit the shop, after she had bid farewell to the man she now connected as Joe. Whoever it was had long hair and was tall, slinking out into the main shop floor. The mysterious stranger was whoever Joe had shouted to in the back.

Y/N wasn’t the quickest when it came to timelines and how people could change over time. She didn’t connect the year she had visited with the year of someone else's arrival or the same chestnut waves cascading around someone’s face, just now much shorter. It made perfect sense who would be in the back of the store, but for some reason the idea of time and hair length were standing in this girl’s way. Oh well, maybe Harry would spell it out to her someday.

Harry finally rounds the counter that separated the back room to the front. The shoe shop was set up a little different from the bookstore. Her counter was right when you came in while Harry’s was about halfway through the shop. He shakes his head and laughs at her expression. The sound brings her out of her memory as well as a grimace on her face.

“Sorry, I was a million years away.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s ‘a million miles away’, love.” Harry continues chuckling while correcting the girl in front of him.

She holds up her pair of shoes, ignoring his teasing. “Fix my shoes, shoe man.”

His smile drops and he walks back from the door. His feet taking back steps as he beckons her into the interior of the shop. When they reach the corner, he takes the shoes from her hands and places them between their bodies. The teal loafers stare up at them. Harry inspects them, a serious expression falling over his features. His brows scrunch together slightly, the wrinkles in his forehead growing more prominent as he examines the shoes. Large hands reach out and begin to finger over the patent leather on the top and the leather soles. After a few minutes of silent deliberation, he places down one of the shoes and then holds the other up as if to showcase it.

“These,” he juts out the shoe in his hand, “need new soles. What did you do to ‘em?”

“I wear them a lot.” She insists while Harry looks on quizzically.

“I’ve never seen you wear these.”

Her brow quirks at his comment. “I wore them a lot before I got here,” she corrects. “They’ve been feeling wonky every time I try to wear them, must be because they need new soles.”

Harry nods, now satisfied with her answer. He hums, regarding the teal shoe in his hand once again. “Alright.”

She looks at him confused once again. “Alright what? Can you fix them?” What does he mean by ‘Alright’? “I’ve honestly missed wearing them these past few months.”

Harry bites his tongue, a quip ready to be voiced. He’d gotten so used to fighting with her, he was confused how it had slipped away all so easily. His fear of them not talking if they stopped fighting didn’t seem to come to fruition so he could rest easy on that front. But now he was going to have to retrain his brain not to be rude after every comment Y/N made.

“Yeah, of course.” He sighs, placing the shoe next to its mate and then turning his face to her. She had been chewing on her bottom lip, actually worried for her shoes. They really were her favorites. She’d had them forever and it would be heartbreaking if they had to be thrown out. If she couldn’t wear them though she was almost sure she’d just let them collect dust in her closet rather than dispose of them if it really came down to it.

“But it’s like a good amount of my day to replace soles…”

Her face falls, but she tries to hide it. She knew Harry was doing a favor by taking a look right now. If he could fix them it didn’t matter when he did it. What he says next though truly throws her off. No normal enemy-ship turned somewhat friendship overnight would engage in what Harry was about to propose. If any such relationship other than her and Harry actually existed.

“Do you want to come out on my boat today?” His brow arches, his lips in a soft smile, he’s being genuine.

“Why would I do that?” Her brows raise along with her voice, taken off guard by his suggestion.

“More fun waiting for me to fix your shoes on a boat than in your shop.” He says simply before taking the shoes and placing them in a little cubby hole behind the counter for safe keeping. “Trust me, you’ll love it.” Her expression doesn’t change. “Just say yes,” He pleads now.

She sighs, “Fine.” All of the reasons not to go out on Harry’s boat are at the forefront of her mind, but she still finds herself saying yes easily. His pleading really wasn’t necessary to get her to agree. The bookstore could live with being closed today, it wasn’t going to hurt anyone.

#harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fic #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader #harry styles fluff #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles angst #harry styles smut #eventually both of those will bop up #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles oneshot #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #feedback pls ❤️#me putting this uo at 12:30 am oops

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incorrectlumityquotes · 4 years ago

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FULL REVIEWS: “Enchanting Grom Fright”

The hype for this episode was unreal. We got the crew telling us that we weren’t ready on social media. It was a madhouse. To think that the little ship that could would have this big a leap in canon is unreal. Let’s just get to it.

The cold open starts with Luz trying to find more glyphs in her off time. I thinks it really shows her development so far. Now she’s willing to do the work to figure out her kind of magic, as oppose to say episode two where she just wanted to be great because she was “chosen.”

“My glyph skills are blossoming”

But then reality ensues...

Using the portal to let the wifi signal into The Owl House is not the dumbest reason I’ve heard to open an interdimensional portal between worlds but it is one of the most mundane. SOMEHOW, Luz can still receive texts from her mom FROM ANOTHER WORLD. Not that it makes too much of a difference since Luz barely answers them.

As much fun as it is to focus on the magic and the shipping and the friendship and the curse, Luz still knows that she’s still lying to her mom. The guilt is there, but luckily being a main character keeps her too busy to think about it.

“Luz, time to fill that darling head of yours with...huuh huuh huuh HAKKK, mmm, mmm, mmh, delicious knowledge.”

Never change, Hooty.

It’s that time of year again that Luz doesn’t know about yet, Grom: The Boiling Isles’ weird version of prom. Every fantasy world has one.

*hiss*

Amity bumps into Luz, and I know this is going to sound weird, but I really like Amity’s “Watch it, nitwit.” Amity’s character has changed and developed from our perspective which is the perspective of Luz and The Owl House fam. But she’s not a completely different character. Amity still has a bit of a temper and gets agitated easily. It makes sense to me and I’m glad I haven’t found anyone be like “Hey if Amity is nicer, why did she get mad when she bumped into someone?”

Amity is nicer to Luz and co. because she’s gotten to know Luz and co. You don’t treat everyone in your life the same. Amity is one of those people that you need to defrost with first. Belief is backed up by experience and so are people’s personas. (Not that persona. I’m being serious here.) Because of Amity’s experiences, she’s believed that in order to survive she has to put people at arm’s length, then when she gets to know you, she’ll decide if she wants to let you in or not. So I guess that means that based on her interactions with Luz, Amity has decided...

You know what? I’ll save that for my Lumity meta.

The popular theory is that Amity was going to put her note in Luz’s locker, hence why she bumped into them. But actually seeing Luz and being announced as grom queen probably made her lose her nerve.

“Embrace your dreams...”

Amity is announced to be this year’s grom queen. Luz is happy for her before Amity runs in shock and embarrassment. Okay.

Luz discovers the gym’s weapons cache (not a thing I thought I would ever type) and Amity explains grom. Since Luz is from the human world and all that.

Grom is a monster that lives under the school and needs to be defeated every year so it doesn’t invade the town. It’s a classic shape-shifting fear monster. Odd are I have (and so have you) at least seen three or four of these in our lives already. Amity doesn’t want to show the entire school her greatest fear, especially since she already knows what it is. Luz suggest talking to Bump and Amity says she’ll try.

Another scene of Eda and King laughing and mocking Luz. Because I liked it so much the first time.

Eda gets dressed up herself because she’s volunteered to chaperone grom. Luz tells her that Amity is grom queen but wishes that she could take her place. We get...you know and Luz walks off.

“I think we should kiss to ease the tension.”

Luz randomly meets up with Amity in the woods because I guess Amity had the same idea to take a walk to clear her head. Whatever. Amity tells Luz that Bump wasn’t going to change his mind unless Amity found a replacement. Luz volunteers because...she’s Luz, friend to all.

Except maybe that spider.

Top 10 Anime Betrayals

The Blight Siblings try to help Luz train against grom only for Eda to find out about their little plan. Here’s where we find out why Eda volunteered to chaperone a Hexside event even though she hates that place:

“What’s the fun in watching a kid get eaten by a monster if it’s my kid?”

That’s hilarious. To me.

Luz and Amity have a moment before Luz’s debut and Amity thanks Luz for everything she’s done. They have more adorable banter before Luz takes the stage.

“Wish me luck.”

“Luck.”

I’m guessing that’s not an expression in The Boiling Isles.

Luz faces Grom and it seems to be going better than everyone predicted until...you know

“Mija, this would be such a good shot for the trailer.”

Yup, we all predicted this. Luz’s greatest fear is her mom finding out that she’s been lying to her. Luz panics and takes off with Eda and Amity to chase after her.

Eda comes in for the save when Amity bursts in the scene saying “Boy let me tell you what.” She doesn’t really I just like saying that. You know, in my head. I mean, if you heard the way I was saying it out loud you’d probably think it was funny too but you know...text.

Grom gets a hold of Amity and transforms into her greatest fear. And we see why Amity didn’t want to face Grom in front of the whole school. She didn’t want everyone to see that Amity’s fear is very...emotional. Not physical. She’s not afraid of a giant spider or anything. It’s a little closer to the heart.

Amity clutching at her dress like a little kid is both the cutest and the saddest thing. This fear of hers is so bad it makes this fourteen year old feel like she’s four. I’m so sure she was about to cry right there. Or maybe that’s me. Could be both.

Luz picks up the note and discovers that Amity was trying to ask somebody out before she was announced as grom queen. Amity was afraid of being rejected. Luz tries to ease her fears by asking her out to grom.

Trying seeing it from Luz’s point of view. She has no idea who Amity wants to ask out. Luz doesn’t even consider that it could be her because again, belief is backed by experience. Luz was considered a weirdo with no friends in the human world. She even said earlier in the episode that she got kicked out of her last school dance for dressing like an otter. Luz has no reason to believe that someone would like her romantically. She would like to. It is a fantasy of hers, but her experience tells her that other people don’t see her that way so she doesn’t consider that Amity wanted to ask Luz out.

I’ll save the rest for another blog post, although I did talk about this last year too.

But since Amity did want to ask Luz out and Luz asked her out instead, Amity’s fears are eased. Grom does what every fear monster does when their target overcomes their fears and says “Screw it, I’m just going to kick your ass!”

And then this happens:

As a Star vs the Forces of Evil fan, let me just say this is our Blood Moon Ball moment. The moment that the show tells the audience in John Oliver’s voice, “Yup this is the ship we’re doing so strap in folks.”

Luz and Amity work together to combine magic to take down Grom. It also helps that they eased each others’ fears. Luz can’t think about her mom if she’s focused on helping Amity.

Luz and Amity defeat Grom in a blaze of glory. Luz being Luz, decides to ask Amity who she wanted to ask out just to see if she would tell you. Amity brushes it off.

“It doesn’t matter. After all, I already got to dance with the girl I like.”

Everyone celebrates but when Luz gets home she’s more tired than anything.

Maybe it was Grom, but Luz decides to give her mom a real answer. It’s been tough but it’s also been fun. There are good and bad days. Sometimes she feels like she doesn’t belong. But she has friends. They care about her, she cares about them, and that’s more than enough reason to stay.

THEN THIS SHIT HAPPENS!

Yeah, the Meteora moment in Star vs the Forces of Evil. The moment where the show went “Never mind that shit. Here comes a complete change in the status quo.”

Someone or something is sending Luz’s mom letters. It’s Luz’s handwriting, but it’s clearly not Luz since she can’t spell her name right. Season one already finished and we still have no idea what this is.

I was all happy a second ago. Now I’m nervous as all hell. It’s a madhouse I tells ya. A madhouse!

FINAL SCORE: 5 - LOVED IT!

Wow. Just wow. This episode had everything. Jokes, plot, romance, character development, cameos, dancing, girls, MOM(?), crashing on your couch because technically I’m homeless.

I shipped Lumity before this, but this was the episode that told me that yes it was going to happen. We’re all in.

But it’s not perfect.

Yeah, did any of you noticed that I didn’t even mention the B-plot? I’m going to be honest. The reason is...

I hate it.

I hate the B-plot so much that I skip it every time I watch this episode. I still don’t think Gus is that funny or interesting. Hell, Skara’s mini plot with her date and/or boyfriend was funnier.

But everything else about the episode more than outshines the B-plot so I still give it a five.

Next time we finish up the lumity trilogy next time.

Dammit I said next time twice.

#the owl house #my works #full review #full reviews

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rouiyan · 4 years ago

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𝘚𝘏𝘖𝘞 𝘔𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌 [ 𝘭.𝘫𝘯 ]

⧏ part of the before i met you collective ⧐

synopsis: after an accidental leak, the news of you and jeno’s relationship becomes the talk of the world. to satiate the incredible curiosity of fans and news outlets alike, the two of you take on a variety show, knowing brother. will this bold move prove to everyone that your relationship is more than just a publicity stunt?

✧ lee jeno x (fem.) reader ✧ idolverse au, knowing brother au, established relationship au

✧ genre : fluff ✧ word count : 1.9k ✧ disclaimers : minor swearing, i talk about eyes a lot lol

✧ author’s note — was supposed to be a short drabble but i got carried away and ended up going into so much unnecessary detail. super fun to write; this idea expertly fought my incoming writer’s block.

you let out a suppressed laugh as jeno profusely denies the apologies that come his way from the girl that just recently joined the makeup team. she had used a much thicker brush than needed on his lips and in turn, they’ve grown almost twice the size, the natural mauve color spilling over the edges. he gives you a pointed look but it’s taken with less seriousness than he’d like, his lips clearly making the expression funnier than intended.

“stop, y/n,” he mumbles, though his face is more of a pout as you crane your neck to watch him, the same girl now fussing with makeup remover blocking your view of him. as she leaves to grab a thinner brush, jeno turns to look at his reflection in the mirror and you make your way across the room to stand next to where he is seated. the both of you stare at each other’s reflections in the mirror, smiles filled with soft adoration. “you nervous?” he speaks, eyebrows shifting up ever so slightly. you swear the way the lights of the vanity reflect off his pupils make it look like he holds the stars in his eyes (and you're sure he does). nodding, you express to him the pressures you’ve been facing, “i hope we do well.”

he hums and removes his stare from the mirror to the actual you, looping his arms around your waist loosely. “we will, babe. we’re unstoppable when we’re together, you know?” he feels more than hears the soft chuckle that you let out and he raises his head to look you in the eyes. “i guess you’re right.”

it’s been a little over a year since jeno asked you out, right outside the convenience store a few blocks down from the nct dream dorm. a chilly two a.m. snack run where jeno had spontaneously been gifted with the confidence to tilt your head up with his index finger and swoop in for a kiss after his heartfelt words were received with tired enthusiasm. he thinks about that night a lot more than he’d ever admit.

he also thinks about a similar night, only three weeks ago from now, outside the same convenience store, this time at three a.m., when his hands intertwined themselves with yours on instinct and when you looked up at him with that pretty little smile of yours. he can still hear the shuffling of feet behind him, the click and flash of a camera following. he can still feel the way his heart stopped as he drew his and your hats lower, turning over his shoulder to be face to face with a camera peeking through the shadows. he can still remember the way his hand unwinded from yours, instead wrapping around your whole frame, bringing you closer to his chest and further away from view. he could still hear your heartbeat against his, erratic, and he still remembers praying to dear god that they didn’t catch your face. he stills feels the guilt gnawing at his gut when he found out that it was too late. what was supposed to be a simple first anniversary was turned into a day of phone calls, pr meetings, frustrated managers, and even worse, angry sasaengs camping outside both of your dorms.

he knows it’s not exactly his fault, though he did admit that to the higher ups much to your dislikes, but he can’t help but feel responsible for all his desperate fans going after your reputation, your job, group, family and friends, and most importantly, you. in all honesty, he also received plenty of backlash from your fans as well but it aggravated him much more than it should’ve that people would dare talk shit about his girlfriend.

making headlines, your relationship with jeno was widely labeled as sm’s bid for attention and monetary gain, however untrue that was. most fans were in denial because of countless other situations where a rumored couple would be later revealed as a publicity stunt, especially since you and jeno were of a big company and from popular groups. of the many game plans that were presented to the two of you, he found this one the most effective. to go on a variety show together and show the compatibility and chemistry between the two of you, to verify your relationship as real and deserving of humanly respect.

jeno is brought back to reality as a colored brush is applied to his lips once again. he looks up to gauge what had happened whilst he was spaced out and sees that you are talking animatedly to the manager that had accompanied you here today, a bright look on your face as your fingers fiddle with a water bottle lid. after getting his makeup done, properly this time, he stands and stalks over beside you, half listening to the conversation about mic settings. with a pout, you hand the water bottle to jeno and he immediately unscrews it, neither of you looking at each other, the act seemingly a casual exchange.

jeno corners you before going on set, hands on your shoulders, to tell you that, “we’re going to do great, princess.” the nickname rolls off his tongue with ease and leaves a pink dust across your cheeks, blooming under the blush that’s applied on top. he gives your shoulders a reassuring squeeze and slips in a few more encouraging compliments (“so pretty,” tucks strand of hair behind your ear, “i got quite lucky didn’t i?”) before the two of you are called on set to start filming.

the cameras start rolling and as the hosts go about their usual introduction banter, you slip a finger into the indent in the door and on cue, slide it open, revealing your smiling face, jeno’s secure hand on your back, reminding you that he is there with every step into unfamiliar territory. the hosts turn and gape at the pair, having not met backstage to save the guests as a surprise. hodong, is the first to talk coherently among all the commotion, “wah, the power couple of the century is here today!” chuckling at his comment, you and jeno take your places behind the podium at the front, wary of their stares on you. for a second, you feel as if you are in an actual classroom, introducing yourself on the first day of your transfer with an uneasy feeling settling in your stomach.

“hi, it’s nice to meet you, i’m y/l/n y/n, from sm high! please take care of me!” your nose scrunches at how cringy the school name sounded in comparison to when you and jeno were making it up back in the dressing room. jeno follows with his introduction after you politely bow, “hi, i’m lee jeno, also from sm high! please take good care of us!” a chorus of applause echoes around the three-walled setup and you feel jeno’s hand move from the small of your back to rest upon your shoulders; unconsciously you lean into his frame, his warmth inviting you in ways you don’t even process.

“so the rumors are true, huh?” you look over at soogeun, one of the hosts that you had chosen to sit next to. he’s kind from what you can tell, and almost exactly like the person you see on tv. the other hosts are busy chatting with jeno and you look over at them before settling on the man speaking to you. “yeah,” your voice is soft, “they’re true.” a smile adorns your face as you say this and the little moment that’s caught on camera is enough to melt the audience, (or so the editors think as they go through the tape after filming).

the hosts inform you that instead of the ‘ask about me’ segment they’re going to, instead, ask the two of you questions, more or less about your relationship. you figure that this has a lot to do with the whole reason you're here and you feel comfortable knowing that you get a chance to explain, to clear the air of assumed rumors.

the first to ask is janghoon, a simple question to start the segment off, “how did you guys first meet?” jeno and you take turns answering the questions, jeno taking the lead on this one. “it was… january of 2015, i think. like, one year before i debuted and y/n was new to the company. i remember that she was chosen to be in a debut group almost instantly after she joined and some of the other boys in my group were talking about how talented she was.” he takes a second to look over at you, seeing the way your eyes light up when they meet his, “i first talked to her at a showcase, i think. she was already pretty close with mark and haechan, from my group, because they trained together for a bit. even then, i remember her being probably one of the prettiest girls i had ever met. and it wasn’t just the looks though, she- y/n’s always been a kind girl and i guess that i always thought she was too good for me… i still do, for the most part.”

your eyes are slightly wide when he finishes and he gives you a questioning look. “wow, i don’t remember talking to you until that one halloween party…” the room falls to silence before everyone laughs at jeno’s bewildered expression, clearly baffled at how you didn’t even remember when the two of you first met.

the show moves on good-naturedly before heechul pops the big question, “do you guys love each other?” he says it rather sarcastically, in case you are uncomfortable in answering, but you take it upon yourself to make this situation into a bit of a turning point in all the fun. “of course, jeno’s a big part of my life. whenever i’m not onstage or working, he’s always the one i’m with. this job, it really isn’t the easiest. besides getting to do what we love we also have to be watched constantly, but it’s okay for me at least, having someone like him by my side makes it all okay.” you can almost imagine the cameras showing jeno’s face at this moment, the little hearts edited into the frame of the captured scene, his expression a mix of shy smiles and lovesick eyes. it’s easy to say when you mean it and you know that it’s also easy for jeno when he simply wraps you up in his arms, with content coating his embrace and without care as to the cameras shooting in all directions.

it’s safe to say that the episode went viral, only a few hours after its airing. most fans gushed over your relationship with jeno, sharing screenshots of you in his arms. jeno loves how some fans are even shaming those who look down upon your relationship and he's even happier that he’s allowed to take you out on dates, to add you as a plus one to special events, and to finally be able to call you his, loud and proud.

(bonus: jaemin is beyond excited to watch the episode right when it comes out, popcorn and lights dimmed in preparation. he even dragged a poor renjun to watch it with him, claiming he needed a shoulder to cry on if you guys were being too sweet. he didn’t actually cry, but renjun practically vomited as he watched jeno hoist you up upon his shoulders to reach the basketball hoop during the game segment. he hurled towards the trash can.)

#nct #nct fics #nct jeno #nct jeno fics #rouiyan fics #rouiyan writes

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moon-stars01 · 4 years ago

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~Sugar Rush~

Hoshi x Reader

Author:pseudomint

Summary: Kwon soonyoung finds himself becoming a regular customer in a local ice cream shop after meeting mingyu’s cute co-worker. Sounds normal—unless you leave out the fact that he dislikes sweets.

Pairing:Hoshi(Svt) x reader

Gene:Collage/University,Ice Cream polar,attempt at humor,flirting,Smitten Hoshi,Mingyu third wheeling,Jun and his pick up lines

Rating:Teen and Up Audiences

Word Count:6100

———————-

~SUGAR RUSH~

Hoshi stares at the cute, pastel building, decorated with stickers of ice cream illustrations on the big, glass windows and door. He checks his phone screen once again, only to see the exact picture of the building he found on the internet glaring back at him mockingly.

This is the place. He finally knows where Mingyu’s secret workplace is. Don’t ask him where he got the address from (he might have.. owed a certain pink haired devil named Jeonghan). All he has to do now is to storm inside the ice cream shop and make fun of Mingyu for all it’s worth.

Being friends with that guy for a long time, Hoshi has a vague idea of why would Mingyu hide his workplace. The guy has always been vocal about his worship for anything hip-related, evident by his love for classic Pop, several ear piercings, and fashion style. He’s studying art so that he can become a tattoo artist. Moreover, he has a history as a delinquent back in middle school.

So, working in a local, cute ice cream shop near their campus might not be included in Mingyu’s list of Top 10 Dream Jobs, even as a part-timer.

Hoshi stifles a grin as he pushes the door open, earning a chime from the bell above. The shop is quite vacant, save for three customers, minding their own businesses in three different seats, the ice cream on their plates or cups half-eaten. One of them is bobbing their head to the popular pop song that is heard through the wall speakers. As Hoshi continues to scan the pastel themed shop, his eyes finally land on the glass display, filled with various flavors and colors of ice cream.Hoshi can already feel a toothache—he’s never been a fan of sweets, after all.

Noticing the absence of the employees behind the counters, Hoshi spots a bell placed beside the cash register. His hand hovers above it, uncertain whether calling the shop clerk with a damn bell is even polite—obviously, this isn’t some kind of five-star gourmet restaurant. Not that Hoshi has ever been into one.

Thankfully, before Hoshi could dive further into his impromptu crisis, an employee emerges from the back door. He’s wearing a pastel blue uniform shirt and a pink apron with the shop’s logo on the left side of his chest. Such soft colors, contrast with the dark scowl on his face.

“What the fuck are you doing here, bastard?” Mingyu snarls, clearly aggravated by the mere of Hoshi’s presence alone.

And Hoshi can’t hold it back anymore. He laughs, folding his body in half, one hand clutching his gut as the other supports himself by gripping the counter. Fuck, this is funnier than he initially thought. No matter how he imagined it, the image of Mingyu and a cute ice cream shop just can’t be merged. Yet, here he is—the reality presented right before Hoshi’s eyes.Hoshi wheezes again.

“Stop fucking laughing,” Mingyu hisses, hands clenching on both of his sides. His face is flushed from anger with a mixture of embarassment. “This is why I’d never fucking tell you about this place!”

“Oh, it’s never about the place, ‘Mingyu,”Hoshi replies, wiping a tear from the corner of his eyes. “It’s always been about you.”

Mingyu growls. “I’m seriously gonna kick you out.”

“I’m a paying customer,” Hoshi smirks back. “Treat me like one.”

“Then act like one,” Mingyu snaps, folding his arms across his chest, frown deepening. “Though I bet you can’t even handle the sweetness.”“Gimme the menu.”

“There’s one behind me, written on the chalkboard, asshole.”

“Wow, brilliant customer service,” Hoshi deadpans. “Don’t you have the printed one or something?”

“Aren’t you spoiled?” the hipster grumbles as he magically pulls out a menu, printed on a laminated paper from behind the counter. He doesn’t miss the opportunity to slap it against Hoshi’s chest.The act, however, is caught by one of Mingyu’s co-worker who’s suddenly coming out of the back room.

“Mingyu-oppa! Why did you do that to a customer?!” She screeches, horrified at her oppa’s rude behavior. She’s way shorter than Mingyu, and shorter than Kazuya. She has a (h/s) (h/c) hair that somehow looks soft and fluffy as the strands bounce everytime she moves.When their eyes finally meet,Hoshi’s lost the ability to speak.

Now, Hoshi’s never been one to believe in love at first sight, albeit having heard the idea of it in many sappy romance films. Hoshi’s also met many girls he considers as good-looking, but that’s it. There were no imaginary flowers or love-shaped bubbles or sprinkles of glitters around them, like a typical page of shoujo mangas. He didn’t feel his heart pounding harshly against his ribcages. He’s positive that he had never blushed at someone without any good reason.But his cheeks have never felt warmer than this moment.

The girl in front of him is unbelievably cute; she has an air of innocence around her that makes Hoshi want to scoop her up (no ice cream puns intended) in his arms and pinch those slightly chubby, round cheeks. Her cute button nose is perfect for a nose boop, and oh, how Hoshi wishes to nip her pink, plump lips.The girl’s tongue darts out to lick the very same lips, before she opens her mouth.

“Um.. are you okay? Is my co-worker hurting you?” She asks, brows furrowing in worry. Hoshi forces himself to look at her in the eyes, which is apparently a bad decision, because for the love of baseball, he’s never seen someone having such beautiful, molten e/c eyes—

“He’s fine,” Mingyu answers, shooting Hoshi a knowing look. “Sadly, I gotta admit that he’s a friend of mine, so don’t worry about him, y/n.”

“Oh!” Y/n brightens up, giving Hoshi an impression of a cute dog perking up its ears and wagging its tail. “Finally this l/n y/n gets to meet one of Mingyu-oppa’s friends!” She says joyfully with a voice a bit too loud. “May I also have the honor of knowing your name?”

Hoshi briefly glances at Mingyu, as if asking whether he should be concerned of Y/n’s odd, archaic way of speaking, but Mingyu’s expression works as a wordless assurance that it’s nothing to be worried about.Then, after eyeing Y/n’s extended arm as an offer for a handshake, Hoshi takes it firmly with a smirk.

“The name’s Kwon Soonyoung but you can call me Hoshi,” he purrs, his thumb tracing a circle on the back of Y/n’s hand. “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Y/n.”His smirk broadens when a blush blooms on the girl’s cheeks.

“Uh—likewise!” Y/n retracts her hand too quickly. “Um, I’ll let you proceed with your order with Mingyu-oppa—“

“The thing is,” Hoshi cuts her off, leaning on the counter, showing a feigned, saddest expression on his face. “Mingyu was bullying me,” he sighs. The said guy promptly sputters a series of denials. “And this is my first time here. I think I deserve a discount for the bad customer service, don’t you think?”

Y/n lets out a scandalized gasp, giving Mingyu a nasty, chiding glare for treating their customer poorly, even if they’re ‘friends.’ “Then you have my approval!” She declares, jabbing a proud thumb at her own chin. “Don’t worry! I’ll tell boss about the discount later! Now, please pick any flavors!”Hoshi’s mouth twitches as a bubble of laughter arises from his chest. This kid is so gullible, so genuine, so interesting. He almost feels bad for tricking him.Mingyu kicks Y/n’s legs, “Idiot! Can’t you see that he’s tricking you?!”

When y/n shoots a puzzled look at Hoshi, Hoshi’s laughter breaks free from his mouth. In return, he gets a bristling y/n who goes out of her way to be on the other side of the counter just to shake Hoshi’s collar and send him colorful insults. Not the most professional thing an employee should do to a customer, but it’s worth for Hoshi’s own entertainment.In the end, Hoshi’s the one who gets kicked out of the shop before he causes more commotions.

Hoshi comes back at Mingyu’s next shift, mentally convincing himself that he’s here to annoy the hell out of the hipster, not because Mingyu accidentally reveals the fact that y/n has the same schedule with him.Yeah, right.

He peeks over the big windows, and hesitates. The shop is more crowded than his last visit, as expected from weekends. It’s mostly filled with couples and giggling high school girls. Hoshi decides to sit on the unoccupied outdoor seats by the window, waiting for the beeline to lessen.

Fortunately, it doesn’t take long for the patrons to decrease. By the time he enters the shop, the jingle of the doorbell earns him an automatic response from y/n who’s not even looking at the door. “Welcome to—“ she glances at Hoshi, then frowns. “—oh, it’s you.”

“Oh? Do I see another bad customer service?” Hoshi smirks, strutting closer the counter.

“I’ll show you customer service,” Mingyu threatens, glowering at him.

Hoshi holds up his hands in defense, grinning, “easy there, ‘Mingyu”

“So, are you going to order, Kwon Soonyoung?” Y/n squints at him in suspicion. Pushing aside his inner glee of noticing a mundane detail such as Y/n remembering his full name, Hoshi ponders of giving her an honest reply or not. Will they kick him out once again if he admits that he can barely handle sweet things?

“Hoshi?” Y/n’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts, and his previous scorn is replaced with an owlish blinking. It makes Kazuya more aware of how y/n’s long eyelashes brush her cheeks whenever she closes her eyelids for a brief second.Pretty.“Hoshi!”Hoshi coughs and answers distractedly. “Uh, yeah, sure. I’ll order something.”

Mingyu stares at him like he’s grown a pair of horns, but it’s more like that he can’t seem to grasp that Hoshi, of all people, agrees to order something sweet.

“You sound uncertain, but worry not! The ice cream here will change your mind,” Y/n chirps with an eye smile. Hoshi can feel a thousand of cupid arrows piercing through his fragile, gay heart.

“Right, because Hoshi absolutely loves ice cream,” Mingyu mutters under his breath beside his co-worker with a blatant sarcastic tone.Y/n doesn’t seem to hear it, much to Hoshi’s relief.

“So...” Hoshi drawls, scrutinizing the menu near the cash register. “Do you have a flavor that isn’t too...” he grimaces at the next word, “sweet?”

“That’s impossible, go home.”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Mingyu.”

“I can recommend you some,” Y/n replies, ignoring Mingyu and Hoshi’s glaring contest. “We have wasabi flavor, bitter melon flavor—“

“Some extreme recommendations you have there,” Hoshi sweatdrops.

“Hey! They taste fine, I guess,” Y/n looks hesitant herself. Hoshi wonders if the girl even understands basic marketing strategies—she could’ve at least pretended to be confident with her promotion. “I mean, I’m sure they’re better than natto flavored ice cream or anything.”

“You hate natto?” Hoshi smiles in amusement, inwardly happy to know one fact about Y/n.

“I despise it!” Y/n huffs, not even bothering to conceal her disgust. “Anyway! If you’re not interested with our out-of-the-world flavors, maybe you’d love our triple shot espresso ice cream! If you’re still not convinced, we still have a variety of diet frozen yogurts that are guaranteed to be low-sugar!”Hoshi hums at the mention of anything caffeine-related, “triple shot espresso ice cream doesn’t sound bad. Get me the smallest cup, y/n.”

“Roger!” Y/n beams, giving a military salute before she busies herself with Hoshi’s order. Her moves behind the counter are swift, practiced, and surprisingly not clumsy. Her hips sway a little to the beat of the music—whose great idea it is to play a suggestive jazz music at a fucking ice cream shop in Saturday afternoon?—but Hoshi’s not really complaining. In fact, he enjoys the show a bit too much; he doesn’t even realize that he’s been propping one arm on the counter to support his chin while watching y/n with a mushy smile.“Wipe that disgusting expression off your face,” Mingyu comments, unimpressed.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah? As if I could overlook someone who looks like they’re seconds away from jumping my co-worker in public!” Mingyu hisses this time, still considerate enough to lower his volume.“Don’t worry, I’ll do that in private,” Hoshi winks.

“That’s not what I—“

“Do you want any additional toppings, Hoshi?” Y/n unintentionally interrupts their bickering. She’s now holding a small paper cup of a coffee-colored ice cream, head slightly to the side in an adorable manner, waiting for Hoshi’s response.

Although Hoshi’s brain is already short-circuited due to the amount of metaphorical sweetness that Y/n radiates, he still manages to croak out a reply of “almonds are fine”, in hoping that if the ice cream is still too sweet for his liking, the almonds would be able to balance the sugar.

Mingyu handles the payment without initiating any arguments with Hoshi for once, probably wanting to speed up the process of Hoshi leaving the shop. Either way, Hoshi has to leave indeed. He has other things to do, too.

“Thank you for purchasing, please come again~” come a chorus of synchronized phrase from Mingyu and Y/n; the former sounding bored and forced, while the latter sounding more cheerful.“I will,” Hoshi retorts jocosely, then flicks his gaze over Y/n, “if Y/n calls me her oppa, too.”

“Okay, Hoshi-oppa,” y/n breathes out without missing a beat. Her face instantly bursts into a myriad shades of red, complemented by a small, shy smile etched on her lips, and-Hoshi suddenly thinks he has a severe case of heart palpitations.

He inhales sharply, and turns his heels towards the door. “It’s decided, then,” he chuckles over his shoulder, giving his last smirk towards y/n, and exits the shop.

(He eats his ice cream on the way to his apartment and is genuinely surprised at the rich taste of coffee instead of sugar.It adds one more reason to visit the shop again.)

Hoshi’s next visit includes an unwanted guest, much to Hoshi’s distaste.

For a better term, he was following Hoshi in secret. Usually, Hoshi would easily sense something behind his back, but the particular street that the ice cream shop is located at is always busy. It’s to be expected from a street that connects commercial, academic and several residential buildings. That being said, the crowd of people makes it hard for Hoshi to notice whether someone is following him or not.In the end, Jun makes his presence known loudly by the time he enters the shop.

“Oi, Hoshi! You refused to hang out with me just to buy some ice cream?!” he stomps his foot on the ground. “Wait, I thought you don’t like ice—“

Hoshi, who’s currently leaning on the counter right in front of Y/n, automatically massages the bridge of his nose and quickly interjects the purple haired before he spouts something unnecessary. “Jun, did you really follow me all the way here?”

“Does it matter?” the purple haired shrugs, sticking his nose up in the air. “I’m here now. That’s what you get from ditching me.”

Hoshi sighs in exasperation, “I did not ditch you. I told you to reschedule our hang out.”

“Same thing,” Jun scoffs stubbornly.

Mingyu bashes his forehead on the counter, emitting a depressed aura all over the shop. “Great. There goes all of my peace at work.”

“Oh, Mingyu! Fancy meeting you here!” Jun greets with a grin. “So you’re the reason why Hoshi’s here?”

“No,” both Mingyu and Hoshi say flatly.

“Um, are you going to order?” Y/n, who’s been observing the situation, speaks up, attracting a pair of black orbs towards him. Then, Jun regards Hoshi and Y/n, back and forth, in a thoughtful manner.

“Oh ho? I see now,” he grins wickedly, elbowing Hoshi to the side and takes over his place, resulting in the dancer stumbling and hitting the glass display of ice cream. Paying no attention to Hoshi’s heated glare, Jun leans over the counter and brings his face closer to Y/n. “You’re pretty cute, I guess. Hoshi has a good taste.”Y/n makes a choking noise from her throat, and Hoshi’s left eye twitches.

“Who the heck are you?” Y/n scrunches her nose, taking one step backwards defensively.

“Wen Junhui, but you can call me darling,” Jun smiles flirtatiously. Y/n only stares back with a palpable discomfort on her face.

“...Then, are you going to order?” She repeats hesitantly.

“Sure. As long as you’re included as the bonus.”

“Uh,” y/n frowns deeper. “May I know the flavor of your choice?”

“Anything would do,” Jun answers, “but if you were an ice cream, you’d be my favorite flavor.”

“What?”

“And I know you’d like me too,” jun then lowers his voice into a whisper, like he’s going to tell the world’s deepest secret, “because I have an 8” popsicle down there.”

Mingyu’s shoulders are shaking from laughter, finding the whole situation amusing and ridiculous. Any other day, Hoshi would, too, but right now, he only feels a second-hand embarassment from Jun’s abhorrent pick-up lines. Even y/n looks utterly unimpressed by Jun’s flirting.

“Alright, Jun, that’s enough,” Hoshi interjects impatiently. “No one wants to know about your nonexistent 8” popsicle dick.”Mingyu laughs louder.

“Tch, you’re no fun, Hoshi,” Jun glares at him childishly, then whirls his body towards Y/n crossing his arms in his usual bossy manner. “Fine, I’ll order something. Get me a big cup of butterscotch and vanilla ice cream with marshmallows and oreos on top.”

“...Coming right up,” slightly taken aback by the change of attitude, y/n mutters and wordlessly scoops the ice cream into the cup, while Hoshi is inwardly cringing from the amount of sugar Jun’s order has.

The purple haired pays and finally leaves the shop, not before gesturing a V-sign to his eyes and then to Hoshi’s—indicating that their conversation isn’t over.

Hoshi shakes his head. “There’s nothing to be discussed in the first place,” he mumbles under his breath. Jun dragged himself into this situation. Then again, Hoshi’s known Jun long enough to tell that the purple haired wasn’t seriously flirting with Y/n. The dancer could properly make his fangirls swoon if he wanted to.

Looking back to his prior act, however... it’s almost as if he was testing Hoshi, because his eyes were holding a familiar knowing gleam—the exact glint in Mingyu ’s eyes when Hoshi first met y/n.

“But seriously, who is he?!” Y/n fumes. “I can’t believe he made a dick joke straight to my face!”

“He’s Hoshi’s ex,” Mingyu grins, nudging

y/n with his elbow. The younger blanches, mouth gaping upon hearing the information.

“Yup, and I’m totally dating you, Mingyu,” Hoshi rolls his eyes.

“R-really?!” Y/n’s eyes grow as wide as a saucer. Hoshi bites back a grin, almost forgetting how gullible Y/n is.

“Relax, we’re lying,” he snorts. “Can I take my order now?”

“Oh, right!” Y/n straightens her back, although she doesn’t seem to be convinced by Hoshi’s reassurance.

Hoshi selects the exact menu he ordered on his last visit, although this time he chooses a cone rather than a paper cup. He also makes a mental note to try another variety of topping next time.

“You two looks close,” y/n comments all of a sudden as she works behind the counter. It doesn’t take a genius to know who Y/n is talking about.“Jun’s my childhood friend,” Hoshi

smiles, quirking an eyebrow at Y/n’s pout. She’s sulking, for some unknown reason, albeit Hoshi has a silly, vague (and hopeful) idea of it. “Rest assured, there’s nothing between us,” Hoshi continues, watching how Y/n subtly relaxes her shoulders. “That goes for me and Mingyu, too,” she adds as an afterthought. Mingyu has never nodded so aggresively.

“That explains why you guys are on a first name basis,” Y/n says abashedly, avoiding Hoshi’s gaze. “B-but! Your relationship is none of my business, of course! This

l/n y/n was just curious, please forgive me for prying!”

Still blushing, she shoves the cone under Hoshi’s nose. Hoshi chuckles and takes it, purposely brushing their fingers together, deepening y/n’s blush. Satisfaction sprouts inside his chest—even without any cheesy pick-up lines, y/n’s naturally a blushing mess around him.Adorable.

“This is sickening to watch,” Mingyu groans, “now pay up, bastard.”

Out of reflex, Hoshi gives him another snide remarks about bad customer service (again), to which Mingyu retaliates with another empty threats.

The doorbell jingles as two chatting customers enter the shop, and at the same time, it’s Hoshi’s cue to leave. He looks back at Y/n, who’s unexpectedly staring at him in silence, and grins cheekily when Y/n flinches due to being caught.“See you next time,” Hoshi says in soft tone, before he playfully boops y/n’s on the nose.

Y/n doesn’t—can’t—reply because she has to serve the next customers, but she manages to send a meek smile towards Hoshi’s direction.

Fuck, Hoshi thinks later, as he ambles back to his place. He can’t believe he finally had the balls to nose boop y/n. He can’t erase y/n’s blushing face from his mind. He can’t stop smiling giddily right now—passersby are probably whispering about him, but he couldn’t care less.All he cares is that he’s honestly in some deep shit.

~~~~~~

Hoshi spends the next few weeks coming to the ice cream shop. He sometimes misses a day or two, partially due to being exhausted by dancing practice or just college in general. Another reason is because he’s fed up with eating ice cream (no matter how much he’s come to tolerate it a little ever since coming to the shop) and his diet as an athlete doesn’t allow him to overeat anything sweet. Which is ridiculous, since he doesn’t have other excuses to see Y/n; visiting the shop frequently without buying anything would be weird. Though, as days go by, he becomes more creative with his orders, like switching to low-sugar frozen yogurts or an iced Americano float (with the float being removed, much to Y/n’s confusion). Soon, he also finds out the existence of food—such as toasts and grilled sausages—in the shop’s menu.(“You need to stop ogling at Y/n and pay attention to our menu instead,” Mingyu once chastised wryly.)

Regardless, Hoshi enjoys most of his visits. Y/n is a fun person to talk to; Hoshi is often swayed by her personality and ends up being more talkative than he actually is, earning a frown from Mingyu. Later, Y/n reveals that she’s a dancer at Hoshi and Mingyu’s rival college, and she has jokingly asked Hoshi several times to dance against her.Hoshi’s never given an outright answer, however. As much as he wants to meet up with Y/n outside of the shop, he wants it as a date.

And that’s where the problem lies. He doesn’t know how to properly bring it up. He could ask Y/n in the shop, right beside Mingyu, but getting rejected in public would be awkward. In the end, that thought is always buried to the back of his mind.

Today is no different. Hoshi visits the the shop again—after being absent for a week prior—with no intentions of bringing up the date. As usual, he only wants to see the dancer. Even before stepping his feet inside, his heart thumps in anticipation to Y/n’s welcoming smile. So, as soon as he pushes the door open only to notice the absence of one of the workers behind the counters, his face falls.

“Asshole, I should’ve gotten offended of how disappointed your face is when you saw me instead of Y/n,” Mingyu scowls, to which Hoshi grins sheepishly. “She’s gonna be late today. I know what you’re thinking—she’s fine. There aren’t any dangerous emergencies or something like that, calm down.”

“I am calm,” Hoshi replies, burying his hands into his pockets. “I know she’s gonna be fine. She has such a caring co-worker after all,” he smirks at Kuramochi, who huffs in slight embarassment.

“Shut up. Who knows what stupid thing she’s gonna do,” the hipster’s lips curl downwards, an attempt to hold back his smile. “Anyway, since she’s not here yet, I can finally interrogate you.”

“What is there to interrogate?”

“What is y/n to you?” Mingyu ignores his words, giving him a pointed look instead. “If you’re only playing with her, Hoshi, I swear – “

“Oi, can’t you trust me a little?” Hoshi sweatdrops. “Do I look like some kind of heartthrob? You know me better than that, ‘Mingyu.”

“With your face, it’s easy to become one.”

“Very flattering.”

“Anyway, I’m being fucking serious right now,” Mingyu glowers at the dancer solemnly. “Tell me what you want from her.”

Hoshi eventually sighs, and briefly scans the whole shop. Luckily, it’s one of the weekdays, so there aren’t many customers inside. Besides, they’re too engrossed in their conversations or electronical devices to eavesdrop on Hoshi and Mingyu.

“Look, I don’t want anything from her,” Hoshi begins slowly, but he’s only rewarded with a skeptical look from Mingyu. “Okay, maybe I’ve been meaning to ask her on a date, but—“ he narrows his eyes at the hipster. “Wait, she’s single, right?”

“Isn’t it a bit too late to be asking that?” Mingyu purses his lips into a thin line.

“Oh, Hoshi, you’re here!”

Both the hipster and the dancer whip their head alarmingly to the familiar voice. There stands y/n with her trademark grin, her bag slung around her shoulder. Panic blossoms inside of Hoshi’s chest—he didn’t hear the jingle of the doorbell, and judging from Mingyu’s startled response, he didn’t, too. They don’t know how long has the dancer been standing there. It’d be bad if Y/n managed to hear their conversation.

So, Hoshi studies y/n’s facial expression, searching for something, but the dancer only looks perplexed—probably due to Hoshi’s sudden stillness.

“Hoshi?” Y/n blinks up at him, making Hoshi more conscious of their height difference. Eyes trailing down to her neck, the pastel-colored collar of the shop’s uniform peeks out of her oversized sweater that falls until her mid-thigh, with the sleeves covering up her whole hands.

Sweater paws, Hoshi’s mind shuts down as tiny Hoshi’s inside his brain run in circles, screaming “ABORT! ABORT!” with high-pitched voices. She’s fucking wearing sweater paws.

“Hoshi-oppa!” Y/n frowns, successfully drawing Hoshi’s attention. “Don’t zone out like that, you’re scaring me.”

“Right, sorry,” the dancer mutters as he watches Y/n disappearing into the back room, before she shows up again without her sweater while tying the apron on her lower back.

“I see that you haven’t ordered something!” Y/n grins brightly, this time placing both of her hands on her hips. “So, what are you here for today, Hoshi?”

Hoshi, still distracted, racks his brain to all of the menu he’s ordered in the past. Triple shots espresso ice cream with almonds. Iced americano float, but without the float. Wasabi ice cream because he was feeling adventurous. Hazelnut spread and sliced banana on toast—

No, that’s not What hoshi wants all of this time. He wants—

“You,” he blurts out, mumbling, unaware of Mingyu choking in the background. However, when he notices the lack of response from the dancer, the haze in his brain suddenly dissipates, and everything becomes crystal clear again. “Shit, I mean—“

“Okay,” Y/n says, e/c orbs shyly peeking from underneath her lashes towards Hoshi.

“I was—huh, what?” Hoshi pauses, dumbfounded.

“I said okay,” Y/n averts her eyes, playing with the hem of her apron. “You can have me.”

Hoshi stares and stares, trying to process Y/n’s affirmation. That sounds too suggestive—too good to be true. Maybe his brain is tricking him. Maybe this is only a scene that he unconsciously creates inside his mind which is brought to life in a form of hallucination.

But when Y/n starts to fidget under his gaze, Hoshi lets his brain register the fact that this is, indeed, a reality.

As the gears inside him begin to work again, Hoshi doesn’t pass the chance to poke some fun at Y/n’s answer which basically serves as a free teasing material for Hoshi to use.

“Oh? How bold,” he then comments, smirking in satisfaction as he observes how realization gradually dawns on Y/n’s face.

“I didn’t mean to phrase it like that!” the dancer exclaims defensively, her cheeks now tainted with red. “Y-you were the one who blurted out weird things in the first place!”

“Sorry, sorry~” Hoshi grins unapologetically, to which Y/n pouts at. “But, as tempting as it sounds, you should let me take you on a date first, y’know,” he continues, his playful grin faltering a little due to slight nervousness.

To his relief, Y/n utters a timid “okay” and nods, a tint of pink still decorating her cheeks. At that, Hoshi doesn’t bother to hide the ever-growing smile on his lips and an excited glance to Mingyu who’s pretending to read a magazine and acting all disinterested, albeit the small curl on the corner of his mouth tells otherwise.

The next thing Hoshi knows is him exchanging phone numbers with the dancer and discussing their date in a short stretch of time due to the arrival of a group of customers.

Hoshi doesn’t get any ice cream that day, but he does get something—someone—sweeter in return.

~Three months later~

Hoshi sips on his hot, black coffee, the steam fogging up the lenses of his glasses. He steps aside when a patron comes out of the shop hurriedly, but he manages to halt the door from closing with his right knee. Hoshi then opens the door big enough for his body to get inside as the familiar chime of the doorbell greets his ears. The shop is silent, empty without customers, highly caused by the “CLOSED” sign on the door with a red, thick font.“I’m sorry, we’re already closed—“ Y/n says from Hoshi’s left side while stacking some brochures. When she finally turns her head towards the door, a beatific smile appears on her face. “Oh! Hoshi.”

Hoshi smiles back, placing his coffee on the counter and leans towards Y/n, to which the latter eagerly closes the gap between their mouths. They share a quick kiss as a greeting, before Hoshi withdraws slightly.

“Hey,” he murmurs, lips brushing over

y/n’s. He steals one or two more kisses, just because he can’t help himself.

“Hi to you too,” Y/n whispers, giggling. Hoshi cradles his lover’s cheeks with one of his palms, prompting Y/n to nuzzle against it. From here, he can also make out Y/n’s e/c eyes twinkling in delight—so captivating and blinding that it stupefies him.

“For someone who’s on her last day of work, you sure look happy,” Hoshi comments, arching an amused brow.

“I am happy!” Y/n replies, pulling away fully to finish her tidying duty. She moves swiftly behind the counters, the sole of her shoes creating noisy sounds against the tiled floor. “But not in a way you’re thinking.”

“Enlighten me, then,” Hoshi says, bringing the paper cup of his half-drunk coffee to his mouth and takes a sip.

“I like this job,” Y/n confesses, finishing her work and untying her apron. “My co-workers are nice, and my boss is generous to give me discounted ice cream.”

“I think the latter plays a bigger part,” Hoshi teases, knowing Y/n’s sweet tooth.

“Shut up,” the dancer juts her tongue out. “Meeting you here is what makes this job more special,” Y/n casually states, offering a smug smirk at Hoshi’s flabbergasted expression.

“Wow, Y/n,” he breathes out, before whistling with a shake of head. “You sure become bolder with your words nowadays.”

“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?!”Y/n questions, pupils turning cat-like.Hoshi hums. “Well, you used to blush so much around me—“

“That’s – “ as if on cue, red creeps up to y/n’s cheek. “That’s because you always gave me those kind of eyes and used that kind of voice—!”

“What about now?”hoshi smirks, revelling in the way Y/n gets all worked up because of him. A nasty personality he has, indeed.

“Ugh, I’m not gonna talk about it!” the dancer scrunches her nose, a habit that Hoshi’s taken to notice whenever Y/n is frustrated. “Anyway! I was talking why I feel happy to quit work! It’s because I can spend more time with you now!”If Hoshi’s heart pulsates rapidly due to the abrupt swarm of affections in his veins, he does a great job of hiding it. “The real reason why you quit is because of the upcoming dancer season. We’d still be busy, either way,” he points out instead.

“Must you be so pessimistic, Hoshi?” Y/n pouts, looking a little dejected. Hoshi exhales guiltily.

“My bad,” he chuckles, ruffling the crown of Y/n’s head. “You know that I’d always try to make time for you, right, Y/n?”

“Of course you do, you whipped asshole. Only you would come to a shop that sells something you dislike.”

“Mingyu-oppa!” Y/n jumps due to

Mingyu’s unannounced appearance from the back room, before gawking at his revelation. “Wait, what? Does Hoshi not like ice cream?”

“Ask him yourself,” Mingyu shrugs.

Y/n immediately whirls towards Hoshi, displaying her best puppy face to lure the truth out of her boyfriend. And concede Hoshi does, not before shooting daggers at a snickering Mingyu.

“Yes, y/n, I don’t eat much sweets. You happy now?” he admits reluctantly, tugging the collar of his jacket in embarassment.

“Oh my god, Hoshi!” Sawamura bounces on her feet. “After all of this time, you didn’t come here for the ice cream?!”

Hoshi sighs, not before downing the remnant of his coffee and throwing it in the nearest trash bin. “I don’t see what the issue is. It’s not like I exactly loathe ice cream, I just can’t handle it if it’s too sweet—“Y/n, however, wastes no time to approach Hoshi on the other side of the counter, circling her arms around Hoshi’s neck and kisses him hard on the mouth.

The hipster groans in agony, covering his face with his right palm. “This isn’t the outcome that I wanted,” he bemoans, lamenting in his misery.

Hoshi laughs nasally, eyes closing in pure mirth as Y/n continues to pepper kisses on his face. It eggs Mingyu even more as he seethes in irritation.“Okay, stop it, Y/n! Why the fuck are you so pleased at the idea of Hoshi trying to get himself diabetes for you?”

“Oi, that’s too exaggerating, don’t you think?” Hoshi sweatdrops.

Y/n ends her ministration and frowns at Mingyu. “But Mingyu-oppa! If I were in Hoshi’s shoes, I’d do the same! But currently he’s not working in a natto-based restaurant or something, so I shall reward his bravery in some other way!”

“Don’t do it here,” Mingyu snaps, “I’ve cleaned and locked all shit in the back room while you were busy with that idiot. Grab your bag and sweater and just go home.”Teary-eyed, Y/n beams brightly, “I express my sincerest gratitude for you,

Mingyu-oppa!” She exclaims, before dashing to the back room to collect her belongings.“Yeah, yeah,” Mingyu waves her off, rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t read too much into it. It’s my last day too, figures I’d do more than usual.”

“Aw, it wouldn’t hurt to admit that you care for her, ‘Mingyu,” Hoshi coos.

“And you!” Mingyu then throws the dancer a resentful look. “You owe me for all of the time you’ve made me into a fucking thirdwheel, bastard!”

At that moment, Y/n has come back, already clad in her warm, oversized sweater, and proceeds to stand next to Hoshi. That’s when an idea strikes him.

“Thirdwheel?” Hoshi asks, tilting his head at Mingyu in a faux innocuousness. He pulls his unsuspecting girlfriend closer by the waist, to which Y/n lets out a soft gasp. “Whatever do you mean by that, Mingyu?”

“Huh?” Mingyu croaks out, widening his eyes when Hoshi lowers his head to Y/n’s face with a shit-eating grin.

“What are you – shit, don’t you two dare making out again – give me a damn break, I’m trying to close the shop here! If you two don’t stop right now, I’m gonna kick out both of you with a fucking broom – oi, did you hear me?! Alright, for fuck’s sake, Y/n, save the moan for later and GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE—“

#hoshi-x-reader #hoshi #kpop #seventeen #stories #seventeen fanfic #seventeen fluff #hoshi fanfic #kwon soonyoung

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popwasabi · 4 years ago

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“The Other Guys” wants cops to go after the real criminals

Before director/writer Adam McKay pivoted into populist screed’s against capitalism and political corruption in films like “Vice” and “The Big Short” he was largely known as one of the many “dumb comedy” directors working in Hollywood.

In fact, with major productions such as “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights,” and “Step Brothers” he could almost be billed as THE dumb comedy director or certainly THE Will Ferrell director at least.

(To a certain extent, THE John C. Reilly director too.)

Those movies are certainly divisive amongst some filmgoers, as you either fall into the “turn your brain off and laugh” category or the “this is pure nonsense” crowd. I’m somewhat in the middle on all of it but one McKay/Ferrell vehicle provided a bridge between the “dumb comedy” years and his more serious satires of American politics and that movie was 2010’s “The Other Guys.”

Billed as just another parody of buddy cop flicks, “The Other Guys” is a comedy that still holds up pretty well by today’s standards. Mark Wahlberg in many ways plays an unhinged caricature of every tough guy persona he has ever played in detective Hoitz and perhaps more brilliantly Ferrell, as detective Gamble, is allowed to be the straight man of the duo for change, finding humor in a more subdued performance. Together they form a kinetic duo that play hilariously well off each other in a film that is rarely dull from start to finish.

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(Flawless logic here in the famous Tuna vs Lion debate)

“The Other Guys” takes some decent shots at the violent nature of cop culture from excessive police overreach in the film’s hilarious opening scene to cops’ shoot first ask questions later approach with detective Hoitz backstory involving shooting Dereck Jeter during game 7 of the World Series. In between more typical Ferrell comedy flare involving hot wives and ex-wives, hobo sexy orgies, and TLC references there’s a lot of pointed, tongue-in-cheek humor at the police that one can find great humor in.

It’s a descent satire of the cop movie and the culture around law enforcement on this alone but McKay’s real target isn’t the police so much as it is who the police aren’t going after.

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(For the record, peacocks and cops, for that matter, don’t fly.)

2008 probably feels like eons ago to many of you at this point but it was the year I personally came of age. I had graduated high school, The Lakers were good again, “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” had just come out, I had hopes and dreams as I entered college at San Jose State and oh…the Great Recession had just started!

I’m not going to go into extreme detail here but our economy had it’s worse collapse since the Great Depression caused by the subprime mortgage crisis due to vast widespread failures in financial regulation, breakdowns in corporate governance, vast trading and over borrowing, housing bubbles bursting, and heads of businesses just vastly ill-equipped to handle their hubris in that moment.

Major businesses and banks were on the verge of collapsing and then at the last minute the US government passed a $700 billion, with a capital B, bailout to put them all back in the green.

Corporations like Bank of America, Citi Group, Morgan Stanley etc received between $10-$25 billion each for their struggles and were able to stay alive in the country’s ever worsening state. This was great, except 2.6 million average working-class people lost their jobs during this period, including my father.

By the way, a guy like Joseph Casano, an executive at AIG, got a $34 million bonus for helping lead companies such as his into the recession.

This is McKay’s real target in “The Other Guys.” The satirical cop humor is largely window dressing to draw audiences in to the theaters so that he can show all of them who the real criminals of this country are.

As the plot of the story starts to kick into full gear the more obvious culprits of a typical Hollywood cop movie are dismissed. Though Hoitz is convinced it’s more the usual cop movie style villains of “sex and drug traffickers” at first, Gamble slowly pieces together a plot of dastardly insider trading. What it ends up being is that the bad guy is really just a doofus hedge fund manager named David Ershon played comically by Steve Coogan who made one too many bad investments to bad people.

Ershon has put his people and the people he owes money to deeper into the red, not at all unlike the wealthy CEOs and bankers who messed up the country during the 2008 recession, and it has led him to take desperate action to get everyone’s money back. Ershon, of course, tries to get Hoitz and Gamble off his tale by bribing them in a variety of hilarious ways (one of the funnier sequences of the film) but eventually gets caught up with the SEC and those who prosecute white collar crime (who are unsurprisingly also in bed with the people he owes money to).

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(Somehow, I don’t think this is far off from reality...)

Hoitz and Gamble continue on the case but find that taking on white collar crime is…complicated to say the least but most importantly ineffectual as detailed in this scene.

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(Again, probably not far off from reality...)

The 2008 recession, wiped out millions of jobs, with rural parts of the country getting hit the hardest and in many ways still feeling the effects today. If you were a POC you were even more unlikely to not recover from the crash. Property values plummeted, student high education success rates dropped, opiod overdoses from “unemployment deaths” and many more awful things happened during this period of great economic distress.

And what happened to the folks largely responsible for causing this mess? They got a fat fucking payday and a dismissive finger wag largely by our own government.

“The Other Guys,” more or less, ends the same way. Despite putting away Ershon, the company he was swindling, who gambled their people’s money, was still bailed out by the US government. A real “happy ending” that is played as a dark, matter of fact, joke before the credits roll.

(Again, we laugh but how far off from reality is this really?...)

I graduated from college in 2013, tens of thousands in debt from student loans and trying to navigate a largely bereft job market where wages had largely not changed in as many years. In 2008 average rent cost about $850 a month, by 2013 it was $953, today in 2020 it’s $1,097. The average entry level salary (for a clerical/ office professional) between 2008 and 2018 went from $46,886 to $45,882 showing a decrease in value.

In 2008 the richest man in the world, Warren Buffet, was worth $64 billion. The richest man in 2020, Jeff Bezos, is worth $200 billion.

If the fact that Jeff Bezos is worth more than some countries on this planet doesn’t make you infuriated alone I don’t know what will.

Btw Buffet’s net worth increased as well to $79 billion himself, in case you think it’s “unfair” to compare him to Bezos.

Sometimes I think the reason people aren’t angrier about this worldwide is 1) a bunch of us think we are all one hard working day away from being filthy fucking rich ourselves, one of the many great lies of capitalism and 2) many of us don’t actually know just how big a BILLION dollars is, so here let me help you all out:

With COVID in 2020 we’re seeing it all happen again, just as it did in 2008. Record unemployment rates, small businesses closing, evictions skyrocketing because no one can pay rent and all we got for it was a $1,200 band-aid (assuming you did get yours). Meanwhile billionaire slugs like Bezos and Elon Musk saw their net worth rise sharply during this period, hell even the fucking Lakers got a $4.6 million dollar “small business” loan (though they did return it…only after getting caught…).

The highest sum of cash ever stolen from a bank was $18.1 million (equivalent to roughly $30.1 million now) in 1997. These are the people cops and other “loose cannons” in popular actions movies are usually running up against. If you think stealing $30.1 million is a lot of money worth sending the cops over then $700 billion of our own tax dollars given to people who ruined the lives of millions of Americans should make you fucking furious. The only real difference here is one was made legal by our own elected government.

Adam McKay’s “The Other Guys” may be on its surface just another “dumb comedy” that mostly satirizes cops, but its villains are very real and unfortunately as American as apple pie. Under capitalism our labor only continues to get devalued every year (even the skilled positions), while the richest 1% of the human race only get fatter with their wealth. Things are only getting more expensive and the working man is getting priced out of more and more daily luxuries and even essentials. This way of life is not sustainable, especially for our environment which these dragons continue to plunder, and eventually we will need to actually hold our overlords accountable for letting it get this far.

If we don’t, they will continue to steal every penny in our pocket and bleed us dry until the next disposable drone can fill our place. If law enforcement won’t take this on, sooner or later we might have to…

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Remember, pimps don’t cry...

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donatello-writes · 5 years ago

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What song does each of the boys sing to either their crush or s/o when drunk? And this song they may or may not have practiced in their free time but never planned on revealing to anyone...heehee. p.s. This is my first ask! I hope I did it right!

Nonnie, you did fabulous!!!

I got a little excited with this one, and decided to do three different song choices per turt, depending on their S/O’s gender.

Donnie:

Gender Neutral:

“I Wanna Be Yours” by: Arctic Monkey’s

Major confession time. Donnie will sing this when he’s especially emotional after a few too many drinks. He just needs let out those feelings that he’s been keeping bottled up for quite a while.

Secrets I have held in my heartAre harder to hide than I thoughtMaybe I just wanna be yoursI wanna be yoursI wanna be yoursWanna be yoursWanna be yoursWanna be yours

Female S/O:

“Oh Darling” by: Supertramp

The little nerdle would sing this to his lady when feeling like he needs to fight for you. Perhaps one of his bros was flirting with you, and he gets up onto the table and starts singing. He’s trying to prove just how much he’s head over heels for you, and tell you just what he’s going to do to make you his.

I’m gonna be so busy, oh my prettyLove you night and dayAnd through the rain and shineI’ll make you mineI’ll love you come what may

Male S/O:

“Handsome Man” by: Matt Alber

This song is just so sweet…The violin, piano, tender and poetic lyrics…They just scream Donnie. He’d sing this song to his beau as an unintentional confession when feeling especially romantic after his fourth glass of red wine. He doesn’t know how to express to you just how much he cares for you, so he does it through song.

Cause everybody smiles when my handsome man walks byHe’s got the wind in his hair and the stars all in his eyesThe more I try to tell you, oh, the more I get it wrongSo handsome man I’ll tell you with a song

Leo:

Gender Neutral:

“Latch” by: Disclosure

Nothing is going to stand in between this turtle and winning your heart. And I mean NOTHING. He has his sights set on you, and he’s not going to let you slip through his fingers, not even when he’s drunk.

You lift my heart upWhen the rest of me is downYou, you enchant me, even when you’re not aroundIf there are boundaries, I will try to knock them downI’m latching on babeNow I know what I have found

Female S/O:

“Mine” by: Leven Kali

This alpha male is determined to make you his, no matter what he has to do. Drunk on love and Sake, he’s determined to get you to admit your shared feelings because he knows you feel the same.

Been a while and I was trying to find the words, babeHow you fly, but you still keep it down to earth, babeI know everybody wanna have the world, babeBut I just wanna hear you say I’m yours

Male S/O:

“Still Mine” by: Alextbh

(That’s right. Another possessive song. C'mon, you know that’s Leo’s style.)

This boy has been PINING over his crush. With all the leg work he’s done up until this point, you are already his, as far as he’s concerned. He’ll sing this under the drunken confusion that you’re seeing another man, and that simply will not do. He will win you back with this tune, for sure.He is possessive and he will make you his again.

You know that I’ve been suffocatingFor thinking who is in your bedYou know I’ve not been thinking straight babeCause you’re still mine inside my head

Mikey:

Gender Neutral:

“You Showed Me” by: The Turtles

Because YES. Having sung “Happy Together” to April on more than one occasion, of course he’s familiar with this band’s other classics. He’s letting you know that he’s aware that you also have a crush on him, and he’s prepared to win you over with this song. He’s completely smashed and ready to give you the best (worst) performance of this song that you’ve ever heard, but it’s still somehow charming.

You showed me how to sayExactly what you sayIn that very special wayOh, oh, oh, it’s trueYou fell for me too

Female S/O:

“(If You’re Wondering if I Want You to) I Want You to” by: Weezer

The silly oddball lyrics are so perfectly Mikey’s style. And sang drunkenly, they sound even funnier. From the use of the word “Girl” to describe his lady, down to the mention of being vegan. He wants you to make the move, ‘cause he’s been making all the moves up until now, and all he needs is for you to meet him half-way.

Girl, if you’re wondering if I want you to (I want you to)I want you toSo make the move (make the move)Cause I ain’t got all night

Male S/O:

“Him” by: Geo Louis

This song is so flirty, quirky, and goofy, it’s right up his alley. He’ll start singing this when he’s feeling especially flirtatious after a few too many fruity mixed drinks. Hanging all over you, he’ll loudly perform this between sips of his drink. And he means every word.

I said I want himI wanna take him home with meI want to make him part of all my dreamsI want him to be everything I needI wanna wrap him up in my bodyI wanna watch him on my T.V. screenI wanna load him like an MP3I wanna take him everywhere with meI wanna be him and me

Raph:

Gender Neutral:

“Fuck ‘em Only We Know” by: BANKS

This song, originally performed by a female singer, somehow works with the burly terrapin’s rugged voice. And explicit lyrics?! FUCK YEAH! It fits him so well. You can’t help but admire his passion as he belts out this song with a bottle of whiskey in-hand. Unfortunately, after singing this…Everyone does now, in fact, know.

I’d run away, I’d run awayIf you would join with meOh I could be a little grumpy, but hold onJust wanna tell you that I see you, baby, do you see me?‘Cause this is special, babyFuck ‘em only we know

Female S/O:

“Vermilion” by: Slipknot

(Yes, I know this song is meant to be about loneliness, but hear me out. The lyrics are so filled with adoration OKAY!)

Sure, it’s not the most romantic song, BUT when you see him drunkenly half-singing it with such fervor, you cannot help but feel touched at the sentiment. And gosh, he’s just pouring his guts out, bareing his heart for the world to see. He’s nervous. Nervous that you won’t return his affections. The good news is: unlike what the ending of the song states…You are real and you do love him back.

She is everything and moreThe solemn hypnoticMy Dahlia bathed in possessionShe is home to meI get nervous, perverse, when I see her it’s worseBut the stress is astounding

Male S/O:

“And I Love Him” by: Benjamin Gibbard

Singing this song, Raph is showing you just how confident he is that this love is mutual. He’s gonna love you so hard, and intends on never letting you go.

A love like oursCould never dieAs long as IHave you near me

#it me #asks #bayverse tmnt #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt donatello #tmnt raphael #tmnt leonardo #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt x reader #alcohol mention #music #yes vermilion for raph what can I tell you I love that song #also #the vegan joke that Mikey made in OOTS is what I was referring to for that Weezer song #your mom cooked meatloaf even though I don't eat meat #I dug you so much I took some for the team #gosh that song is so funny I love it

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rosiethots · 5 years ago

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the count of monte cristo inspired reddie !! please just imagine:

young richie with the rest of the losers, living happily with his friends, cracking jokes. sure he’d get an eye roll or a punch on the arm for some of them but that just made it funnier.

even if no one generally took him seriously, that was okay. he didn’t care for serious.

which is why it got harder for him to be around bill. bill who was way too old for his age. they clashed often, and who could ever forget the summer fight of ‘89?

the rest of the losers had sort of an unspoken agreement to keep bill and richie as far apart as possible ever since then. but sometimes it wasn’t enough.

sometimes richie joked too much. he was too immature. he didn’t know anything about the real world and it’s cruelties.

bill had glared at richie as he was tugged away by mike and bev. richie could hear ben saying to bill,

“don’t be so mean, he’s a nice enough guy.”

nice enough guy, richie scoffed as he stormed away.

he’s alright

an okay kid

kinda annoying

probably won’t make it far

he’s heard it all. from his parents, to his teachers.

he hadn’t realized someone had followed him out of bill’s basement until there came a flick to his arm. the glare he sent to his attacker had no effect at all seeing as it was eddie and all the smaller did was laugh.

“i come in peace.” eddie threw his hands up in surrender.

richie wanted to soften. he was mad at bill, not eddie. but for some reason the line on his forehead wouldn’t disappear.

the world was moving and before he could process the blurred images, he found himself sitting in the grass in bill’s backyard. eddie’s small hands still wrapped around his arm from where he pulled him.

“bill didn’t me-“

“yes he did.” richie was fucking tired. he didn’t meant this, she didn’t mean that.

if they didn’t mean it why’d they fucking say it?

“okay yeah he did. but he wasn’t right.”

richie spared a glance at eddie’s face only to be greeted with wide brown eyes shining with determination and.. something else. richie took note that eddie’s hands still rested on his bicep.

“look, i’m probably the last person you wanna hear this from but, i think you’re great.” eddie admitted softly. “sometimes your jokes are lame, but i’d deal with a day of bad jokes if it meant hanging out with you.”

richie felt his bottom lip wobble but he swallowed the feeling down.

“edward kaspbrak, are you in love with me?”

eddie burned a bright red, snatching his hands from richie’s arm before delivering a tiny punch.

“i’m trying to have a nice moment, jackass.”

richie cackled and threw his hands up in mock surrender before gathering eddie’s squirming form into his arms.

“listen if you wanna go on a date with me all you have to do is ask.”

“in your dreams” eddie grumbled, breaking free from richie’s hug before straightening out his now crumpled shirt. richie chuckled softly as he watched the smaller’s face.

“thank you, eddie. sorry for being a dick. bill just makes me so fucking mad sometimes. like yeah i get it, georgie’s gone, it’s sad. i’m not happy it happened, no one is. but that doesn’t mean the people around you can’t try to move on? enjoy their pathetic lives? make the most out of nothing?”

eddie was quiet for a moment and richie worried it meant he was upset with his confession. he wouldn’t take what he said back, because he knows he’s right. bill has every right to mourn and grieve. but lashing out of people for no fucking reason wont get you far.

a small warm hand rested on richie’s shoulder. richie turned his attention to the owner of said hand.

“for what it’s worth, ever since i’ve met you, i’ve enjoyed life a lot more.”

richie nearly choked on his own breath.

“it’s so fucking sappy i know but i mean it. and you know something? i believe, out of all of us, you’re going to go the farthest. really make something of yourself. i just know it. you’re too amazing not to.”

richie felt his eyes burning but honestly he didn’t care. he was too busy throwing his arms around eddie to care.

more importantly, he was too focused on eddie hugging him back to care.

richie sniffled softly from where his face was buried in eddie’s shoulder.

“i promise you i’ll make something of myself. i’ll get all the way to the top of the world. i’ll even make Bill my servant.”

eddie giggled, albeit muffled since he was pressed against richie’s chest.

“promise you’ll remember me when you’re at the top?”

richie pulled away from the hug, both hands holding onto eddie’s shoulders as he looked the smaller in the eye.

“i’m going to take you to the top with me. you’ll never leave my side. like my lil pocket companion.”

eddie swatted at richie playfully, a bashful smile on his face.

“you promise?”

“fuck yes i promise!” richie exclaimed before digging his hands through his pockets. eddie watched him with a single quirked eyebrow in curiosity. richie huffed as he pulled his hands out empty before zoning in on the frayed part of his shirt. there were several loose strings but there was one particular thread that was longer than the others.

without hesitation, richie reached down and yanked the thread. he ignored eddie’s cries of “be careful richie don’t tear your shirt!” to grab eddie’s left hand and rest it on his knee.

with careful movements, richie tied the thread around eddie’s ring finger before holding his hand up to show eddie his work.

“here. my promise to you, that i’ll take you with me. wherever i go.”

eddie smiled richie’s favorite kind of smile. that one smile where his eyes disappear and his cheeks bunch up.

“i’ll never take it off.”

in that moment, richie feels an urge but he can’t quite put a name to it. but he knows it gets stronger when he looks down at eddie’s lips.

but of course life is cruel.

fast forward a few weeks and richie is coming home to police cars in his drive way. immediately thinking the worse, someone has died, he darts into the house.

his mother is crying as the sheriff squares his shoulders and approaches her son.

“mr. tozier, is it true you attacked bill denbrough?”

richie has no fucking idea where this is coming from. he hasn’t seen bill all day. not to mention, he hadn’t seen the fucker all week.

“no it’s not true. why would i?”

“there’s been reports of you two having previous altercations.”

“well yeah, he’s a dick-“

“richard!” richie flinched at the harsh sharp tone of his father.

“if you don’t mind, i’d like to take you down to the station. for just a few more questions.”

that’s only the beginning. word travels fast in a small toxic town like derry. everyone heard of the tozier boy with a violent nature. even if richie screams it isn’t true.

he sees bill one day, just passing by in school. and richie is honestly surprised by the condition bill’s face is in. someone sure went to town on him. richie normally would be concerned, except for the fact that everyone thinks it’s his fault.

the scrutiny gets so bad that the toziers are practically forced out of town. but at that point richie couldn’t bring himself to care. all he can think about was the last time he would lay eyes on eddie.

the small boy would lock eyes with him in the hallway and make a bee line for him. richie wants to cry because it’s the first time someone isn’t looking at him like he’s a monster.

they’ve almost reached each other when stan plows his way through and crowd to drag a protesting eddie away. richie has half a mind to chase them down but he feels prying eyes on him everywhere.

every move he makes is examined thoroughly out of “the safety of others”. or whatever bullshit. so he watches as eddie is hauled away from richie. and that would be the last image he would have of the small boy.

fast forward 25 years and richie finds himself standing in front of the restaurant.

he isn’t the same richie the rest knew all those years ago.

he made a name for himself.

trashmouth.

it was nearly a household name at this point. he had a faithful fan base following him, a full bank account, and even a solid show on a mainstream channel in the works.

but even with all of that, there were still some loose ends keeping him up at nights.

quickly he found out that he remembered a lot more about the past than the others did, besides mike.

even bill didn’t remember him.

but richie sure as hell remembered. he never let himself forget.

he almost loses himself when he sees eddie, however. even moreso when it’s announced that eddie has since gotten married.

richie finds out why he was falsely accused of bill’s attack. turns out victor, as revenge for henry, planned on seeking out each loser. bill had been the first. victor had broken bill’s nose, collarbone, and one of his ribs. while victor had done his damage, bill manage to wrestle him to the edge of the quarry’s cliff, shoving him off. unfortunately, during winter time in derry, it was cold enough for the lake to freeze over multiple times.

bill had panicked. what would he tell everyone?

richie simply nodded, a calm smile over his lips as bill recalled the story. he’ll take care of that later.

fast forward a bit more, pennywise is successfully laid to rest. eddie narrowly avoids being impales due to richie shoving him out of the way.

a celebration is had down by the quarry and that’s where richie sees it. a piece of thread peeking out from under eddie’s wedding band.

richie corners eddie and forces the ring off of his finger so he could see. eddie lets him.

“i forgot why i had it on, but part of me knew to never take it off. so i never did. but now i know.” eddie cups richie’s face with his free hand.

anyways eddie divorces myra and marries richie. richie gets him a new ring, which eddie wears, but he keeps the thread on as well.

#reddie #eddie kaspbrak #richie tozier #reddie imagine #the count of monte cristo #this was much longer than originally intended #it was supposed to be short #i swear #not fully count of monte cristo #just inspired

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therainroguefanfiction · 5 years ago

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❉ 139 Dreams (Hoshi/Soonyoung Kwon) Essential

📑 Table of Contents

Genre: Comedy, Fluff, Romance ☁

Word Count: 2,095 ☁

Pairing: Reader x Soonyoung ☁

World: Seventeen ☁

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Your birthday was just around the corner, but instead of feeling excited you were feeling worried. Your boyfriend, Soonyoung, was an absolute gem, there was no doubt about that. Talented, confident, hard-working and the sweetest little cinnamon roll you had ever met. He treated you like a goddess, showering you with love and affection when he was around, and spamming your phone with hearts, kisses and sweet words when he wasn’t.

Lately, though, he had been acting distant. You did ask him about it at first, but he just claimed that he was really busy and apologized for not being around as much. You hadn’t missed how nervous he sounded when he answered, though.

Now you’re a pretty reasonable person, understanding that being an idol was hard work and took up most of his time. It was something you had agreed to before you started up your relationship, but this situation just felt… different. You couldn’t put your finger on it and you briefly wondered if it was just your anxiety messing with your mind. Either way, you did your best to ignore it and hide that something was bothering you.

The last thing you wanted was to worry Soonyoung.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

Junhong sat against the wall in the corner of a small cafe, scrolling through his twitter. You returned to the table with the food, setting it down before reclaiming your seat across from him.

Since Junhong was good friends with both you and Soonyoung, you decided to open up to the younger male and explain what you’ve been feeling. At the very least, it would help to get it off your chest. He had been surprised when you told him, but eager to give you a hand in any way he could.

“What are you thinking?” He asked, softly, popping a french fry into his mouth.

“I don’t know anymore,” you sighed, resting your cheek in your palm. “I briefly wondered if he was cheating, but I know he would never do something like that.”

“And you feel guilty for even considering it.”

“Yeah,”

He hummed, looking at his phone again. A light bulb went off in his head when he read a particular comment on twitter. “I have a brilliant idea!”

“Should I be scared?” You joked, earning a pout from him. “Tell me this brilliant plan that may or may not get us thrown in jail.”

“Seventeen is doing a meet and greet not too far from here. Let’s go!”

“Tickets for those events are sold in advance. How are we supposed to get in?”

“I’m an idol, remember?” He paused, suddenly feeling the urge to facepalm. “You forgot I was an idol, didn’t you?”

“Maybe,” you coughed, “Just for a second.”

Junhong laughed, “Let’s go and get us some autographs~”

“Wait, wait, wait! Don’t you think they are going to question why we suddenly showed up? Then what?”

“Hmm, I remember seeing a costume store down the street. We’ll stop by there!”

Unsure about the plan, you quickly threw away the trash and rushed after him. As you followed him through the store, you started to notice that something was off.

“Junhong?”

“Hmm?”

“This is a Halloween store…”

“Yes,”

“It’s July…”

“You’ve heard of Christmas in July, now get ready for Halloween in July!” He struck a pose, using his arms to show off the wall of wigs as if you were suddenly on a game show.

You groaned, suddenly feeling your confidence drop as you kneeled down. “This plan is so gonna fail. He’s going to see right through us and think I don’t trust him.”

“Or~ he could think we were bored and just having fun!”

“You’re right,” you took a deep breath and stood up. “I need to stop worrying so much and just enjoy myself!”

“Of course I’m right!”

Noticing a foam sword on the wall beside you, you grabbed it and brought it down onto his neck. He cried out, falling to the ground dramatically. You did your best to sound serious through your laughter. “Don’t get too cocky, boy.”

You both burst into laughter, making the store clerk look at you both like you were crazy.

You ended up spending longer than you should have in that store, both of you constantly getting distracted by various items. It honestly felt so nice to just goof around and have fun. Life was far too short not to stop and enjoy the little things.

Finally, the pair of you stepped out of the shop, confident and ready to tackle the world. Junhong was sporting a large afro complete with a neon pink bow and matching sunglasses. You were wearing Katy Perry’s wig from California Girls with matching heart-shaped sunglasses. Everyone stopped and stared at you as you walked down the street, the aura of pure confidence making the scene even funnier.

When you reached the venue, it was nearly empty as they were meeting with the last two fans. Your appearance earned everyone’s attention almost instantly, the members crowding around you.

“Why are you dressed like that?” Jeonghan questioned, unable to stop his smirk.

“We’re starting our own group,” You announced confidently. “Katy and the Fro!”

“Wait, why is your name first?” Junhong pouted.

“Because ‘Fro and the Katy’ sounds weird.”

“Good point,”

“Plus I’m cooler.”

“Oi!”

The group started laughing, clapping you on the back. Your smile faltered when you scanned the room. Where was Soonyoung? Junhong met your gaze and you shared a silent conversation. He nodded, grabbing the attention of the group by making up a fake setlist for your first album. You quietly slipped away and headed to the back of the venue.

Soonyoung was on the phone, his back facing you. “No, I wanted the blue ones… right… no, you can’t send them there! It’s essential that she doesn’t find out about this!… yes, that’s fine… I understand, thank you!” With a bright smile, he slid his phone into his back pocket and walked away.

You were suddenly overcome by a pain in your temple. Texting Junhong to let him know that you were going home, you pulled the wig off and left the venue.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

When you woke up the next day, you had to rush to the bathroom, emptying out the contents of your stomach. Your entire body was aching, head throbbing and stomach cramping painfully. Had you eaten something bad? Or was it just a bug?

You tried calling Soonyoung a couple times, but you just got a busy tone. Feeling exhausted, you crawled back into bed, curling into a ball under the fluffy comforter. It wasn’t long before you had fallen asleep.

It was almost four in the afternoon when you woke again. Your body was still achy and your stomach was still unhappy with you, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been that morning. Your phone buzzed on the nightstand but you weren’t fast enough to catch it before it stopped. Before you could retract your hand, it started to vibrate again.

The cold glass felt good against your burning skin. “Hello?”

“Yah! Where have you been?! Do you know how many times we’ve called you?” Jeonghan scolded before pausing. “You sound horrible. What’s wrong?”

“I’m sick,” You muttered.

“Honestly,” he took a breath. “We were all worried about you. We’ve been calling for hours!”

“I’m sorry,” you frowned. “I was sleeping.”

“Soonyoung is on his way to your apartment. He was afraid that something had happened.”

“Oh…” You forced yourself to sit up. “I need to unlock the door…”

“No, no! You lay back down right now, Y/N!” Jeonghan ordered. “He has a key, remember? Just rest and he’ll be there soon.”

“Mmkay,” you mumbled, climbing back under the covers. He told you that he would speak to you later before hanging up the phone. Your eyes drooped, but you forced yourself to stay awake.

The front door opened and shut, rushed footsteps echoing throughout the silent apartment. The bedroom door flung open and Soonyoung ran into the room, yelling out your name. He was breathing heavy from running.

You peeked out from the covers, looking at him through half-lidded eyes. Seeing him made you feel a bit better.

As much as he wanted to throw himself on top of you, Jeonghan had informed him that you were sick and he didn’t want to make you feel worse. Instead, he gently climbed in beside you, bringing you into his arms. The warmth of his body mingling with the scent of his cologne made you feel light-headed.

“My poor baby,” He murmured softly, running his hand across your back.

“Sorry for worrying you, Soonie.”

He quickly shook his head, smiling down at you. “Don’t apologize. I should be the one apologizing… I haven’t been paying much attention to you the past week.”

You snuggled closer to him. “It’s okay, I know you’re busy.”

“Junhong told me that you’ve been worrying… what were you thinking?”

You hesitated, playing with the button on his sweater. “A lot of things. At first, I thought I was just imagining it. Then I thought that maybe you were cheating on me… maybe I had been too clingy and you wanted a break from me. Finally, I started to wonder if you had gotten hurt and were hiding it from me.”

Soonyoung couldn’t believe his ears. He gently pushed you away, shifting so that he was eye-level with you. His eyes were filled with love and his voice was soft. “Let me clear up all of your worries so that they never bother you again. I will never cheat on you or grow tired of you because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You give me the motivation to improve and become a better person. I want you to look at me and feel proud to say, ‘That’s my Soonyoung. My amazing, hard-working future husband’. And if I had gotten hurt, you would know because I’d be clinging to you like glue wanting you to take care of me.”

You giggled, feeling your heart fluttering in your chest. How could this man make you feel so high with just words alone? Your hand rested on his cheek. “How did I manage to get such an amazing man?”

He leaned in, rubbing his nose against your own. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you. Now, would you like to know the real reason that I was so busy?” You nodded. “I was planning a birthday party for you, and…”

“And?” You prompted, curiously.

Soonyoung shifted so that he could pull out a white piece of cloth from his pocket. A blue ribbon was wrapped tight around it. “Open it,”

You slowly sat up, not wanting to jolt your head in case the room decided to start spinning. Once you were steady, you tugged on the ribbon, letting the silk fall onto the comforter. The cloth fell open to reveal a beautiful ring. The stone reflected the light of the setting sun, casting a spectrum of color onto the wall. “It’s… incredible.”

His arms found your body again as he pulled himself closer, resting his chin on your shoulder. “I was planning on putting this into the lotus candle. You know, the one that blooms when you light it? It was supposed to be perfect, but life isn’t perfect and things rarely go as we plan them.” He gently plucked the ring from your hand, looking you dead in the eye with so much love and adoration that it stole your breath away. “Y/N, will you marry me?”

“You don’t even have to ask,” you whispered, fighting back the tears of pure happiness. “Yes, one hundred times yes!”

With a smile that lit up the room, he slid the ring onto your finger before falling back onto the bed, pulling you down on top of him. You were his everything and he was yours. The love between the two of you was eternal and raw, and it was essential to the happiness that you both shared.

“Oh! I almost forgot,” Soonyoung pulled out his phone, scrolling through his gallery before showing you a picture of the cutest white and orange kitten. “I adopted a kitten for you!”

“He’s adorable! But… my apartment doesn’t allow pets.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out after I adopted him… We’ll just have to move to a new apartment!”

“Together?”

“Of course together!” He booped your nose with a smile. “How can I not live with my beautiful wife~?”

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ: *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: . ☁

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