#drinking horrible coffee swearing in front of a ten year old working at her computer with her big mud fish in her lap

[indepthpokemonheadcanons]

Rika Headcanons

Rika was born in Paldea, but her father is Unovan and her mother is Hoennese. She has spent a great deal of her life training in different regions around the world, and the result is that - no matter which language she is speaking - her accent is rather unusual and hard to place. 

Because she is so personable and down to earth, challengers are often surprised to discover what a bad loser Rika is. Since becoming an Elite, she has had to learn to be more gracious, but she is still infamous for turning sullen and petulant when beaten. Despite this, when reflecting on prior battles, her favourites are almost always the ones where she was bested.

Rika uses any pronouns. They have no preference for how they are addressed, but most of their colleagues tend to stick with feminine or neutral terms - aside from Poppy, who has always called Rika ‘uncle’.

Rika is exceedingly unimaginative when naming pokémon. Their beloved clodsire is called ‘Clod’. 

As a teenager, Rika took on the Hoenn League and successfully attained all eight Gym badges, but didn’t make it beyond the first Elite - Sidney, at the time. She lost to him twice, but he took a shine to her and kept in touch to offer some coaching. Even though their type specialisations are very different, Rika’s battle style resembles his in many ways -  blunt, slow paced, and occasionally brutal. While Sidney is evasive and Rika more defensive, they both allow opponents to wear themselves out before striking back, and striking hard. 

Rika swears constantly, and is not very good at curtailing their language even in professional contexts. They make a poor guest on pre-watershed shows. Geeta has had firm words with them about this more than once.

Most of Rika’s pokémon have battled alongside her since childhood - she caught her camerupt and whiscash in Hoenn over ten years ago, and her clodsire is even older. In her annual reviews, the League has pressed her to take on and train a greater variety of pokémon, to give her more flexibility in teambuilding and cover some of the gaps in her offense. She is complying, but half-heartedly. She’d rather just battle with her old buddies.  

Her cooking is atrocious. She often forgets to eat full meals, subsisting on cup noodles and coffee.

Rika loves rotation battles more than any other style, largely due to how unpredictable they can be, but they see very little play outside of Unova. She runs occasional classes at Naranja Academy to introduce students to the basics, but it’s a tough sell for most - rotation battles have a very different rhythm to regular ones, and the initial learning curve is steep. There are particular rules pertaining to how and when you are allowed to rotate and attack, and a whole host of fouls and penalities to memorise. But it trains people in how to change strategies at incredibly short notice, and Rika credits it as the reason she is so adaptable in single battles.  

Rika thinks Larry is the bee’s knees, even if he finds her exhausting. Whenever she goes abroad for tournaments she brings back a funky-looking tie for him as a gift, which he inevitably does not wear.  

[linyi-is-dreaming]

The Drop Of A Tear - 15

BTS V x Y/N (Reader)

Summary: Tae meets a woman who is very manipulative. Before he even notices anything, she got him around her finger. He decides to leave his wife Y/N and his four kids to start a new life with the new woman. This perfect house of cards that he had just started to build, starts to unfold as she starts to show her true face. Piece by piece it makes him feel sick. Tae notices his wrong doing as his house of cards starts to fall apart. Regret and hate towards himself makes him wish to turn things around. Will he be able to safe his house of cards and to get back what he once threw away?

CHAPTER 15

“Are you sure I should not come with you?”, Jungkook asks as he talks with Y/N on the phone. He can hear that she seems to have come to a stop as the motor of her car is no longer hearable. “I would only need a few minutes to be there if you want me to.”

“I told you I will do this on my own and now I am already in front of Tae’s house. I will be alright. Plus, I do not know how he will take it if he sees you here with me at this moment.”

“I know you will be alright but if anything is happening that you do not like, text or call me immediately. I do not care what he thinks. You know that.” A small laugh escapes Y/N as she hears the cockiness in Jungkook’s voice.

“Yeah, I know... By the way, I thought you are at Yoongi’s studio today?” Surprised by her question, he looks at Yoongi who shows him with his hand to cut the call. Jungkook watches Yoongi turn his eyes before he turns back to his computer.

“I am. I am at Yoongi’s studio right now.”

“He does not mind that you are still talking to me instead of working?”

“He actually curses at me for the last five minutes…”, he confesses as he mouths a sorry to Yoongi who is turning his eyes once again. Yoongi tries to be as patient as he can but slowly, he is starting to lose any patience he got left. Y/N’s deep breath are clear to hear on the phone. As the need to let out a deep breath himself, he takes a long breath as he sits down on the couch behind Yoongi’s chair. “Do you want me to stay on the phone?”

“You better hang up now. We got work to do. Y/N can take care of herself!”, Yoongi whispers.

“No.”, she answers. “I better get going.”

“Okay.” For a moment it was silent. No one said a word nor did anyone want to hang up the call. The silence on the phone was cut short though when Y/N heard a slap. It sounded like something heavy must either been dropped or thrown. The groan from Jungkook makes her fear that he might got hurt.

“Are you okay?”, Y/N wonders. “What was that slapping sound?”

“Yeah, I am good. Yoongi hit me with a book.”, Jungkook answers as he throws an angry look at Yoongi.

“With a book?”

“I swear, if you both do not say good bye right now, I will not allow any phones in my studio anymore!”, Yoongi yells as he walks to the other side of the room to grab a drink from his little studio fridge.

“I better hang up now.”, Jungkook states as he touches the back of his head.

“Okidoki. I will talk to you later.”

“Call me when you left his place.”

“Will do. Bye.”

“Bye.” As soon as Jungkook said ‘bye’, she hangs up to avoid any possibility of her staying on the phone any longer. As she hangs up, she looks around the neighborhood as another deep breath leaves her lips.

“You got this Y/N.”, she assures herself. Carefully, she picks up the divorce paper. “Just say ‘here are the paper’ and leave. Nothing more. Don't let him talk you into a conversation. Just bring the paper and leave immediately.” The walk from the parking lot in front of his fence to his front door might just take a minute but to her, it felt like an eternity. “Just breath.”, she tells herself as she notices how fast her heart is starting to beat. Nervously, she puts the paper under her left arm as she rings the bell with her right hand. The silence after, was soon disturbed as she hears the key movement at the door.

“I was already waiting for you, Y/N.”, Tae greets friendly as he opens his front door. “You found your way to my new address.” His voice sounds happy, too happy for her taste. ‘Didn’t he know I would come with the divorce papers today’, she wonders. Y/N nods whilst she holds the divorce paper in front of her.

“I came with the paper. The divorce papers.”, she says slowly. “I already signed them.”

“That is why you wanted to meet up?”, Tae asks disappointed as he leans against his door frame.

“I had to give the papers to you personally. I wanted to make sure you would receive them.”

“I see.”, Tae sighs as he stands upright again. “Come in. I will make us something to drink.”, Tae offers as he opens the door widely but Y/N does not look up at him nor does she show any sign to enter his house.  “Don’t you want to come inside? I could make a toast if you are hungry.”

“I don’t want to go inside.”, she says as her fingers start to move nervously. The sound of her fingers tap on the paper is not staying unnoticed by him. He keeps looking between her face and her fingers nervously.

“Is everything alright? If your blood sugar is low again, I can get you a snicker or something-”

“No, thanks. I only came to bring you the papers. Our divorce papers, Tae. Just take them., please.”, Y/N interrupts him as she hands him the paper.

“Y/N, please. Let’s think about it some more.”, Tae begs. Even though she is still holding the papers towards him, Tae makes no effort to take them from her. “We do not need to sign those papers. We can make it up on other terms.”

“Other terms? No, the papers have all the regulations required in black and white. Take them.”

“We were so perfect together. You are the best wife and mother I could have even imagined. Let's not rush it.” Angrily, she looks at him. “I do not want to make you angry but, look what our family had achieved together. We were so perfect. Can we try that again? No matter what the rules are, I follow every single one of yours to make this work.”

“You wanted to rush into a divorce first. So, take the papers.”, Y/N says as calmly as she could. She knows if he would get angry, she would have failed for him to take the papers from her.

“Come inside, please. I will make some coffee. My coffee machine makes amazing Cappuccinos. The ones you like with the extra cream on top.”

“Tae, I am not here for a small talk. I just want to give you the papers and leave.”, she explains as she stretches her arms even more to get the papers closer to him.

“Y/N, I love you. I still love you so deeply. How can I show it to you? I really mean when I say-”, his voice shuts down as soon as he sees her hand showing him to stop.

“I am not here to hear you out. Take the papers!”

“Only if you come inside first, please.”

“Just take them.”

“Is it so horrible to come inside and to talk to me? Am I such a nightmare to even look at? You looked at me for maybe ten seconds from the whole time you are here.”

“I should have left already by now. I have to go.”

“I moved for us. For our family. Take a fast tour through the house and you will see how beautiful the rooms for our children have become. The kitchen is a similar to the design of the old house but got all the things you wanted to be added to the old one. All the summer vacation photos are hanging by the stair case. The oldest one is on the bottom and the higher we go, to the latest one-.”

“You mean, just because you are selling our former home and living here, it would change a thing?”, she interrupts. “What about the missing photo of the summer our upcoming divorce went public? What about the summer that your side fling had destroyed for my kids? The summer, when you did not even have the guts to show up because you had to find yourself again? It is always about you. Always about what you want! I have enough. I am done.”

“Y/N, do not say that.”

“Tae, I am so done! Do you have any ideas how much strength it even costs me to stand here? Do you have any idea how much I hate you for everything you have done to us? Our young girl is getting bullied because of what is going on in the news! Her friends turned their backs on her. Do you even know how much she cried when you do not even call her back and how hurt she was when she had lost her friends at the same time? From all the kids, she needed you the most! You were not there for not even one kid!”

“That is not true because I tried my best!”, Tae yells in frustration.

“Not true? Okay, here we go. The older girl noticed way too much of what was happening. Do you have any idea how unhappy she still is? She wishes you were not her father anymore. The worst part, I cannot even blame her. What about the big boy’s game? You will not watch it? Why? Did you forget that you have a son who loves to play for his team and that his game which was set weeks ago would be on that damn weekend? The worst thing about it all, your own toddler does not recognize you as his father!”, Y/N yells. Her yelling is no longer anger, but also pain. The pain, to her frustration, he does not seem to be able to feel. “Do you finally get it? You dropped your kids because you needed time for yourself. You dropped them to have time for this horrible woman. You dropped them as they would not even be your kids. They mean nothing to you. Be honest, just once for the last two years.” Y/N can see the fight in Tae’s eyes before he looks down ashamed. It makes her feel bad to make him feel so low of himself but on the other side she went through so much more, that she starts to believe that this cold truth might help him realize that he is no longer needed around. It might be cold but it would be the best for her kids, Y/n believes.

“I am so sorry. I truly am fucking sorry. I know now, how different I should have had behaved but, I was so stupid.”, Tae says as wipes the tears off his face. “I was too blind to see what I was doing...”

“Way too late, Tae.”

“I know.”, he says as he puts his hands out to take the papers as their eyes meet. In the last second just as he was to grab the papers, he pulls his hands back. “But do you not think, for just one second, that we could start all over again?”

“No, we cannot.”

“I am not home until you are with me, Y/N. I need you and the kids back with me. Without you, there is no home. I regret it all so much. Don’t you see”

“Tae. Just take the papers so that I can leave.”

“I only take them if you come inside first.”

“What do you expect to happen when I come inside? You will only be mad and I will be hurt even more.”, she explains as she wipes the tear that just escaped.

“I am sorry. I know the tears are because of the pain I cost you.”, he sighs as he closes the door behind him. He puts his hand on her upper arm and turns her towards the bench. “Can we at least sit on this bench over there?”, he asks her softly.

“Tae, I really-”

“I am not about to fight with you.”, he assures. “I just want to talk to you, please. I think we have more to discuss than we both thought we would have to.”

“Fine.”, Y/N tells him as she walks over to the bench. “Make it short.” Tae nods as he sits down next to her.

“Thank you.”, Tae says with a relaxed facial expression. “I just want to understand why I was not allowed to pick you and the kids up from your current home? I just do not understand why you would keep me away from your house and not tell me that you are not living at your old one anymore.”

“It is not as I want to keep you away from our house.”, she lies. “I was just thinking about my princess. If you two would bust heads again. The ride in the car would be a mess for everyone involved.”

“I understand that but look, I am trying to figure out how to be alright with my kids again but I need your help to do that.”

“My help?” Y/N notices how nervous he rubs his hands.

“I want my kids to forgive me for destroying our family but they do not care when I am around. I am a ghost to them.”

“They care but they waited so long for you to make a step towards them that they built up a wall to protect themselves. They just do not know how to handle their emotions right now. You must give them time.”

“It’s been almost a year...”, he comments with a sadness in his voice. “Is there anything I can do? Something I did not try yet? I just want to have at least one lovely night of us playing cards and just talk about our day...”

“You can only give them time and space. That is all you can do.” As soon as the word ‘space’ came out of her mouth, Tae looks eye widened at her.

“I will not stop contacting them, if that is what you are telling me!”, he says in a deep voice which sounded like a warning. His face shows the opposite of what his voice sounded like. It looked more fragile and hurt than angry or aggressive.

“That is not what I am saying. If you invite the kids to go the ice cream shop for example, just take the kids who want to go and find something else for the others. Princess used to love to go horse riding with you, maybe you can try that.” Tae nods as he lets the suggested ideas cross his mind. He knows that she might be right. Maybe it is even better not to push them to do activities together but to do something the kids suggest instead.

“Sounds right. I will think about that.”, Tae states as he looks deeply into her eyes. “I missed this. Just to sit with you and to talk with you.” His voice was so warm and calm that she does not even notice that he placed one of her hands in his hands. Even though she is noticing it now, she feels frozen as all the emotions come back up. The soft look in his teary eyes. The careful touch of his thumb on the back of her hand. Y/N cannot help herself as to think back, when they were just engaged. It was after one Tae’s band concerts. The little walk whilst he held her hand. The snowy night on the bench whilst he moved his thumb up and down her hand. How he said that the engagement ring looks so much better on her and how he could not wait to add a wedding ring to it. Only after a blink, she notices that she keeps starring for too long into his eyes.

“I think I should get going.”, she says quietly as she removes her hand from his hands and quickly places the papers on his lap. “Bye Tae.”

“Why are you running away?”, he asks as he gets up. She takes two more quick steps before she stops. As soon as she stops in her tracks, he walks up behind her.

“I am not running away.”, she explains. “I just do not know what to feel either. Let’s be honest, we both don’t. What the hell are we even doing? Why did you do that to us? Why did you destroy us?” At her last words, both feel the sadness rushing over them. Tae nor Y/N are able to hide any of their tears as their pain is taking over their bodies.

“I have no answer to why.”, Tae sobs. “I can only tell you that I felt horrible after realizing what I did. I just could not stop. It was selfish, I see that now. Back then-”, he stops himself from talking as he takes a deep breath to calm himself down. “Back then, I did not know what I wanted for us. I felt like I was losing you because you were doing everything at home and all I did was bringing the money home and to be dad for an hour for the kids before their bed time. I was no husband to you. I was a roommate to you. A room mate who became lonely and someone who doubted himself as a father and husband. I tried so hard to be better for all of you, but I failed. I drank too much that one night and one thing led to the other...”

“Why did you say nothing? Why did you never told me how you felt? I was your damn wife, Tae! You should have trusted me as I trusted you! I thought everything was going great between us and that the sadness in your eyes came from working too much. You always said you felt overworked but never that it was because your emotions... Why did you not come to me? I was your wife, your friend and most importantly, your partner. Why did you not talk to me?”

“I do not have an answer for why I did what I did... I guess I felt hurt to not be man enough to be there for you and for our kids. The guilt of having a family that I no longer knew how to be the man of anymore was eating me up.”

“Before you started to... Did you doubt me? Did you think I would have let you down?”

“No, I never had a single doubt in my mind that I could not lean on you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me anything then? I don’t understand you, Tae!”

“Because I could not be who you needed me to be. I was not able to admit it because I was afraid how you would see me if I would. I was so worried that you would pack your stuff and leave.”

“You are so stupid. All I needed from you is to see me as your partner who you could trust. See me as someone you can go to when you feel lost, hurt or any kind of emotion that you need to talk about. I tried so hard to be someone who returns your love and someone you would not be afraid of to tell what is going on. But most importantly, I needed you to be the father our boys could look up to and maybe someone they would like to become. I needed you to be an example to our daughters to see how a real man treats the woman he loves. That is all I needed from you.”, she explains as she sobs. “That is all I ever wanted and needed from you.” As the words leave her lips, she can feel her heart ache once again.

“Do you still love me?”, he asks carefully as he removes her hair from her face. ‘Do I still love him?’, Y/N asks herself as she says nothing whilst looking at him. In hope that there might be a little flame somewhere within her, he places his hand carefully on the side of her neck as he looks deep inside her eyes. As he moves his face closer to hers, something inside her seem to be happy to get close to the one who was such a big part in her life but on the other side, something felt so badly wrong about it. Just before their lips touch, Tae pulls away. “You have no answer as you do not know if you do, right? Is that why you were okay if I would have just kissed you?”, Tae questions as he moves his finger under her chin. “This is why I say we should wait. We both still feel connected to each other. I know you do because I feel it too.”

“Tae, I got to go.”, she says as she touches his wrist to remove his hand from her face. Just as she was about to remove his hand, she keeps looking into his eyes. Those eyes were home to her once, those lips spoke the most calming and romantic words in the most beautiful way. She closes her eyes after realizing how much she keeps staring at his lips.

“I thought you wanted to leave.”, he remembers her calmly as he removes his arm from her.

“I am about to do that.”, she says as her eyes wonder to his chest which was once her pillow at night. All the emotions from the good days start to creep up. The urge to kiss him, feel him close again is starting to grow stronger. All the good memories they shared, flash before her eyes so fast that she has trouble to focus on any of the memories. If it was his scent or just that he was standing so close, Y/N could not say what it is that makes her wanting him. There is just something that makes her want to be closer to him. This feeling is twisted, so twisted that it starts to confuse her. ‘How could I want him now, after everything he did to me? How come I have to fight myself not to give in? What does this mean?’, she asks herself as she looks away.

“Y/N. Why don’t you st-” He stops to speak as he sees her eyes looking deeply into his with an expression he has not seen in a long time. He can clearly see that there is something longing for him within her eyes but he knows, he should not make the first move. Her mind starts to fill with the wish to be adored again, to be loved again. She knows that Tae would never able to give her what her heart desires and that she would never be able to trust him ever again the way she once did. ‘The feeling I have for you, it is stronger than what I ever felt for anybody else.’; Jungkook words were suddenly so clear to hear to her that she notices what she almost wanted to. It was enough though, for her to know what she rather wants and just like a thunder in the sky, her mind starts to clear up. ‘Jungkook.’, a voice in her head repeats. Y/N’s hands push Tae backwards to gain some space as she takes a step back. “That was a mistake.”, she says quietly as Tae steps closer to her. again “No! Stay away. I cannot believe that I almost did that!”, she tells him as tears run down her cheeks. Before Tae has even a chance to say anything else, she runs towards her car.

“Y/N! Y/N! Wait! Let’s talk about this.”, he screams after her as she keeps running faster and faster towards her car. He wants to run behind her, but he knows that she needs space. Space from him no matter how hard it might get for himself. If he really wants his family back, he knows that he needs to put himself back first.  “Stop running from me.”, he says quietly with a broken voice as he watches her getting into her car. For a moment he fights with himself if he should stop her from leaving or if he should just let her go. As she drives off, he looks at the papers in his hand. “I will see you soon, Y/N.” Tae looks one more time after the car before she is out of sight.

As Y/N drives off onto the street, she keeps scolding herself for the desire to be close with the man again, who cheated on her. No matter how much Y/N is thinking about the feeling which made her almost kiss him, she cannot help but cry. Cry in disappointed about herself. The fear of becoming weak for a man who did this to her family makes her wonder, if she could sink any lower than that. Even though she keeps looking for the reason her feelings came back, she cannot help but blame herself to have not listening to Jungkook. Jungkook told her to not bring the divorce papers personally. He warned her and she did not listen. The feeling of having messed up, starts to surface on her mind. “Why am I so stupid?”, she questions herself as she keeps driving along the street. As her view became too blurry to drive, she stops on the side of the road. “Why can I not hate you? I have a right to do so, but I just cannot do it... What the fuck is wrong with me?”, she asks as she leans back into her seat. The tears run down from her face like a waterfall. It feels as she would have betrayed her own kids. She told them, that they will not be one family again and that she will not waste another tear about him. But is somebody to blame for the feeling somebody has for a person who has no control over them? “Why did I want kiss him?”, Y/N wonders quietly to herself. She starts to wonder if she could keep up with all the promises she made. “I just want to forget all the happy times. I want to hate you, Tae. I just cannot do it and I do not know why...” Angrily, she throws her phone onto the passenger seat as she crosses her arms on the wheel. “Not just that I am an idiot for what I did, but what about Jungkook? Why did I drag him into this?”, she questions herself guilty.

💧💧💧

It was not long after Jungkook’s phone call with Y/N, that he left Yoongi’s studio. Nervously, he walks up and down his living room. At first, he was just worried about her but by each hour that passed, he got more and more concerned. “Where are you Y/N?”, he wonders loudly as he checks the time on his watch again. “You wanted to be back before seven pm... It is already past eight-thirty. I hope Tae did not do anything stupid.”, he mutters as he puts his phone down. As his phone rings, he picks up quickly. “Y/N?”

“Uhm, maybe you should check who is calling you, Jungkook.” Even as he recognized the voice, he decided to check the caller’s name anyway on his screen. Disappointed about the caller not being Y/N, he sighs lightly as he places the phone in his other hand.

“Princess, did you change your mind? Do I have to come to pick you kiddies up?”

“No. Sis and I got our own room. The boys share the room.”

“Sounds nice.”, he says. “Something wrong because you called me?”

“Not really. I just wanted to let you know that you packed two pajamas for Sis but none for me...” Jungkook slaps himself in his face as he goes through his mind on how he packed the bag for the three older ones to stay the night at Jimin’s house. “I told you, you would need help with packing.”

“I am sorry, Princess. Do you want me to bring you yours or did you find a solution?”

“I am allowed to wear uncle Jimin’s wife pajamas. It is a little big but it is okay.”

“Good.”

“We are going to sleep now. Is mom there?”

“She did not arrive yet.”

“Nevermind. I will tell her tomorrow.”

“Good night!”

“Good night, uncle Jungkook.”, the girls say in unison. The sweet way the girls were speaking, makes him smile as he sits down on the couch. “Y/N, is that you?”, Jungkook wonders as he hears keys at the front door. Happy about her return, he walks towards her. “How did it go?”, he asks curiously as he steps in front of her. “I was already worried because you did not call me.”, he adds as he waits for to have taking off her shoes. As soon as he noticed the redness in her face, the tried tears on her cheek, his voice turns into a very worried one. “What happened? Did he touch you? Did he yell at you?” Whilst Y/N shakes her head to answer him, he pulls her into a tight hug. “You do not have to answer, it’s okay. You are safe here.” In the moment, he puts his hand on the back of her neck, she starts to cry again.

“I am so stupid! Why are my emotions so fucked up?”, she sobs.

“Oh, Y/N... Don’t be so hard on yourself.” He moves his hand along her shoulders as he keeps her tight with his other arm around her waist. “What happened? You said you would only bring the papers.” Y/N nods to answer his question. “Did he hurt you?” This question is breaking her once again as she thinks about the moment, she thought about kissing Tae.

“I am such a fool. I am such an idiot!”, she confesses angrily. “Why did I not handle it differently? I should have just thrown the papers at his feet and leave. Why did I even talk with him?”

“It is okay. Do you want to talk about it?”, he asks as he holds her by her upper arms. His eyes are looking for hers to make eye contact with her but her eyes are more focused on his chest. It took a few more tries to finally make the eye contact happen. Her eye color looks so intense, but so beautiful. It is a few tones lighter in comparison to her eye color when she didn't cry. “You do not need to speak about it, but I just want to help you. I can only help if I know what is going on.”

“I am an idiot, that’s what’s up...” Y/N uses her arm sleeves to wipe her face dry before she looks into Jungkook’s eyes before she looks past him. “I am just so ashamed.”

“What did you do?”, Jungkook wonders as he panics on the inside if she might have forgiven him. Slowly, she removes herself from Jungkook. “Did you two... You know?”

“No, but...”

“But?”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Just tell me, tell me brutally honestly. Why can I not hate him as much as I want to? I want to hate him, so badly, but I just cannot do it... I always said I did, but somehow I realized today that I don’t.”

“Oh, Y/N.”, he sighs.

“Should I not hate him for what he did to me and my kids? He did not only hurt me badly but my kids as well.”

“You will not like my answer.”

“Try me.”, she tells him as she cannot help but sob.

“You are not the person to hate or to wish bad upon someone. That is simply not you.”, he answers as he wipes the tears off her face with his sleeves. “You are just confused and you have a right to be confused.”

“Why am I like this? I do not know what to feel or what is even right to feel anymore.” The speed of her talking makes Jungkook even more worried but he hopes that she will finally say what had truly happened at Tae’s house.

“That is okay. I guess I was no help either with my confession the other night.”

“I wanted to-”, she stops talking as she wonders if she would hurt him by explaining what she had almost done. Her eyes immediately looking for his to see if he noticed what she just tried to tell him. Her eyes immediately look away as the embarrassment starts to grow.

“You wanted to do what?” Y/N starts to play with her arm sleeves as she gets more nervous. “Y/N, what did you just try to tell me?”, he wonders worriedly. A long sigh leaves her lips before she looks back into his eyes.

“I... I...”

“Breath and just tell me.”

“I almost kissed him when my emotions overwhelmed me.”, she explains slowly as her a tear escapes her eye. Jungkook’s facial expression is starting to change. At the beginning he looked worried, now it started to look crushed. “I have no explanation on why I did want to. Those feelings were overwhelming me so strongly. I thought I buried them for good... It felt like when we used to date. Like the time when he walked me home and we had to say goodbye on our first date. I do not know why, but all the emotions, memories came back. I stopped myself before I kissed him. The bad memories and your words from the other night cleared my mind. I cannot explain why I wanted to do that...”

“I already asked you, but what about now?”

“What do you mean about now?”

“Do you still love him?”, Jungkook questions nervously as he keeps staring into her eyes. “Maybe you still do and that is why you are feeling this way. Is there a spot in your heart that still loves him and that wants him back?”

“I do not think so.”

“You don’t think so?”

“I thought I was over him but now I am not sure anymore.”

“Answer my next question without thinking. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I told you how I feel about you but you said nothing in return. Answer honestly! Do you like me more than a friend? Answer in one, two, three.”

“I do.”, she says spontaneously without thinking. “I, I should have not-”

“You, you do?”, he asks as he interrupts her. “Do you really?”

“I kind of do. Lately, I find myself thinking about us. I know, I should not feel this way as you a friend of my soon to be ex but I cannot help it. I thought about us as a fam-”, Jungkook interrupts her words by the touch of his hands beside her jawline.

“If you do not want me to, push me away.”, he says as he leans in to kiss her. The kiss was not a minute but it was enough for both of them to feel the same feeling. Jungkook leans away slowly, while his eyes check her facial expression.

“Did I make your heart beat faster?”, he asks as she keeps looking surprised at him.

“No.”, she answers breathless.

“No?”, he asks as he takes his hands from her.

“It feels as it is about to explode.”, she says as she places her hands on the collar of his t-shirt to pull him closer for a kiss. “This here, makes my heart beat so much faster.”, she says between the kisses. Without saying any other word, Jungkook pulls her closer by her waist. One kiss, turns into more kisses. Neither of them would be able to tell how those three kisses turned into a heated make out but both of them are too lost in the moment to notice that their hands are beneath each other's shirts as Jungkook places kisses along her neck. “Wait. Wait a minute.” Her hands leave his body quickly as she pushed herself off of him. “Are we doing the right thing?”

“Why would it be wrong?”, Jungkook asks as he steps closer her to reduce the distance between them.

“I am still married.”

“This is not adultery as Tae already did that. You have a right to be happy. I want to be your happiness, your shield or even if you want me to be a damn soldier, I would do it for you.”, Jungkook says as he pulls her closer for another kiss on her lips.

“What about him though? If he figures that out?”, she wonders as she kisses him back.

“We will hide it from the kids for now just in case someone would say it accidentally. Afterwards we can inform them about it.”, he explains as he breaks their kiss. He leans his forehead on hers as he licks his lips. “In this way, we would make sure Tae and nobody else would know until we want them to.”

“Are you trying to use me for fun or do you really mean it?” Confused, Jungkook moves his head back and puts his fingers under her chin to make her look up at him.

“I am absolutely not using you for my lust or anything like that! When I confessed to you, I meant it. I just wanted to prevent more drama before the divorce has gone through. If I waited any longer, it would have eaten me alive.” The longer she looks into his eyes, the more she wonders how sincere he means it.

“Okay.”, she tells him.

“Okay?”

“Okay, I trust you. I really like you a lot and if you really feel this strong about me, I will give you a chance.” The smile on Jungkook’s face is immediately there. Slowly, Jungkook moves closer to her face to close the gap between their lips once again.

“If you only knew for how long I wanted to hear those words coming from your lips.”

“Are they truly okay of watching over the kids?”, Y/N wonders as she pushes Jungkook away to make him stop kissing her.

“Yeah. Their sons had the idea.”

“What about my little one?”

“He is already sleeping like a bear. I guess, being a singer has its purpose.”

“Did you sing for him?”

“Just a short lullaby.”

“You sang him a lullaby?”

“I do this since I first took care of him.”

“I did not know that you sing to him.”

“Now you do.”

“Let’s eat something. I bet you must be hungry.”

“I actually am hungry.”, she tells him as she pulls him to a tight hug.

“What are you doing then?”

“I am hungry for more kisses.”

“Ask and you will be given.”, he jokes as he leans in. “As long as I can call you my girlfriend, I do whatever... Whenever...”, he says jokingly as he places another butterfly kiss on her lips. “I cannot believe we are doing this right now.”

“Why not?”

“I wanted to be with you for so damn long...”

“I am yours now. So, don’t ruin it. Okay?”

“Do you think I am crazy? I waited almost fifteen years to call you mine.”, he says as he places a long kiss on her lips.

[maemi324]

Black Coffee

Hey there friends! It’s been a while hasn’t it? Today i come at you with a new piece for a new My Hero character! Well new to me writing him.  Here we have....Villain Deku! Inspired by this tiktok! https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJUywn9t/ it just screamed Villain Deku to me. This is my first time writing him, so if he seems a little OOC, that’s probably it.  Here are some songs I listened to while writing this 1. headless waltz- Voltaire 2. Don’t go by the river- Voltaire 3.House of Myth, Such horrible things, Gorey Demise, Grave Robber, Greatest Show Unearthed, Aim for the head, Buried Alive- Creature Feature 4. Spooky Halloween Mashup, Syndicate: Underground- Cover by Peter Hollens. Warnings: Robbery, Guns, violence, let me know if theres more I need to tag please! Only edited by me, so I’ve probably missed some stuff! With that! Let’s get into it!

Dawning light streamed in through the windows, the scent of coffee heavy in the air, steam from the hot drink you made rising softly. Soft music flowed through the room, other employees taking the chairs off the tables and whipping them down. 

You sipped your drink, your eyes barely staying open as you leaned against the counter.  It was far too early to be awake. Pain flashed through your mouth as you reluctantly swallow, your tongue protesting not only being burned but the now cool air that touched it. 

It was too early for your own nonsense. 

As the sun rose in the sky customers began their daily migration to the bean and leaf juice they all craved. Thankfully it was still rather early, only a handful showing up, and even fewer deciding to take a seat and enjoy their purchases. 

“I can help whoever’s next?” you call out, closing the cash register and looking up to the new customer with a bright smile. 

Bright viridian eyes stared back into your (e/c) colored ones, ones that you hadn’t seen in a very long time, since middle school in fact, his green hair cementing just who he was. Recognition dawned in his eyes. 

“Y/N?” “Midoriya?” 

A surprised laugh bubbled up, catching you by surprise, “I haven’t seen you in months- years even!” a short glare from your manager got you ready to enter in his order. Taking a peek behind him you saw that the line had lengthened considerably. “Y-yeah, it has been quite a while hasn’t it?” He stated his order, as you typed it in and gave him the total amount. He must have been pretty tired still as he stared into your eyes. You waved a hand in front of him, snapping him out of his daze as his face flushed a deep red, frantically digging his hand into his pockets to fish out his wallet- where had the damn thing gone- oh it was in his hand already. 

Even after all these years, Midoriya was still just as much of a spaz as he’d always been. He moves to the drink pick up location, leaning against the counter as you made his drink. “I wish I had more time to talk, but with the line growing…” 

“Well What if I came back later today? Or tomorrow?”  You prepped the cup, adding a drizzle of caramel to the sides, offering him a kind smile

“Yeah, I’d like that,” 

You handed him his drink and sent him off with a wave. A disgruntled Karen decided to ring the service bell as you hadn’t jumped back to take her order. 

Why did it have to be a Karen?

Unfortunately you were unable to see him later on that day.

However, just as you turned the sign from closed to open that next morning, you were surprised to see those same bright eyes aimed at you. 

“Well, you’re here quite early” you teased, opening the door for him as you walked in. It would be a while yet before people came into the little shop. He rubbed the back of his neck, eyes looking tired with circles under his eyes, “It’s been a long night,” He laughed off your look of concern, “Just work, nothing too terrible! I just thought I’d swing by earlier before I had to get back to it” 

Your coworkers paid no mind as the two of you walked to the counter as you made him and yourself a drink, taking a seat at one of the tables. No one was here and wouldn’t be here for a good half an hour. 

“So tell me, how have things been? Is your mom alright?” 

“Huh? Oh! Yeah she’s doing fine, still at the same place! She’s retired now actually” “Oh, good for her! I hope she’s enjoying it” you sipped at your coffee, thanking just about everything that you didn’t burn your tongue in front of him. 

“But what about you Midoriya? Last I checked you were wanting to become a hero?” While it would have been hard to be a quirkless hero, It wasn’t impossible. It probably wouldn’t get you ranked in the top five or even the top twenty, but so long as you were a good hero, what did rank matter? 

His eyes shifted from contentment to something a bit more sad, a deep sadness that surprised you. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, a hesitant laugh served as a cover. “Well, I did try, but eventually I just gave up. It just hit me that no matter how much I worked, I’d just be in the way of the pros. I could do some things sure, but...it’s not...it wasn’t enough. So I took a step back and found myself getting into computers, fixing them up, making sure they’re running properly. It’s...It’s nice” 

You place a hand over his, an overwhelming urge to comfort him raced down your bloodstream. His hand jolts at the sudden touch, but he doesn’t bat your hand away. “I always believed you’d make an incredible hero” it made you feel guilty that you hadn’t been there for him when he clearly needed someone, anyone even just to listen to as his one and only dream crashed around him. 

“I know you did, I appreciate it (Y/N),” he offers you a more content smile, “But I’m happy where I am now, really! Plus if I was a hero, I might not have met up with you again” 

You let go of his hand, though not before he gives it a gentle squeeze, picking up your drink and taking another sip. 

“I’m glad to see you're happy though, you said you were fixing computers?”

“Yeah! It’s not a big thing really, just a little repair shop. Clients bring me their various electronics, I clean them and fix them up! It can be really challenging sometimes, especially when it’s an older model! I swear I’ve seen some that I could have sworn were from the early nineties!” 

You listened as he rattled on about his clients, his eyes lit up, a subtle blush on his cheeks as he talked with his hands. More than once you had to back away from getting a straw to the eye, but you hardly minded. 

It became a regular thing, He’d come to the shop at various hours of the day, typically right at opening, on your break, or right as the last customer shifted out the door. You always had his favorite drink ready for him, though you had to fight him to keep him from paying. You didn’t mind after all, paying for his drink. He somehow always managed to sneak in the exact amount into your pockets or purse before he left, leaving you to discover it when he was far and unable to take it back.

The ass.

The more you met up the more open he became, you both talked about work and your grievances there. Now you were talking about anything and everything, TV shows you’d recently watched, movies you were excited to see, stupid stories about Karen's getting owned was a personal favorite. 

However His favorite happened to be the news. He was still hero obsessed as he’d always been. However, there was a more...critical insight into it. 

“Ugh” he huffed out, turning his attention from the TV, though muted, the subtitles were still on. It was currently showcasing Endeavor, how he rescued some civilians from a collapsing apartment building, from a disgruntled worker who had turned to villainy when kicked out of their apartment. They decided to take revenge on the landlord, though it quickly turned to chaos as the entire complex crumbled.

“What is it?” You paused from chewing on the straw to take a sip, “ is it Endeavor?” You knew damn well it was, but it was better to let him process through his words. “Yes! Look at him, smug as can be. He doesn’t even care about those people he rescued, He’s shown no comfort towards them, not even a glance to the children he’d saved. He acts as if he’s too good for them. A real hero would be reassuring, give a sense of calm to everyone involved in a rather tragic turn of events”  he sipped at his drink angrily, nearly choking on it as you patted his back.

“ You mean a hero like All Might?” you offered, knowing that the hero had a special place in his heart. 

Instead of the perky response you would have expected, his lips turned to a thin line, staring into a far off place beyond the TV.

“Yes....just like All Might” 

Figuring he was still going through the appalled emotions from Endeavor, you didn’t press the matter, turning to focus on something else, his latest client, or even a Karen you had encountered earlier that morning. He took your bait readily, eager to listen.

It took you awhile to notice, but during your lunch breaks, on the days he didn’t come in early, he would always be watching the news. He’d rip them to pieces with a barely concealed snarl. He’d rant and rave, while keeping in mind the other customers. He talked about the villains even, and how they were people as well, forced into unfortunate situations, where were the heroes then?

As much as you would have liked to stay in the hero worshiping normalcy, the more he went on the more you began to realize, heroes were actually rather corrupt. You could feel yourself becoming angry alongside him. Why did they do that? What about the people they were rescuing? What about these so-called villains?

You shook your head from your thoughts, looking down to see your next customer that afternoon, a young girl no more than ten years old just out of school and looking to buy a snack and a small drink. 

You sent her off on her merry way, happily sitting down at a table and munching on her snack. Checking your watch, you realized it was time to take your lunch. You sat down at your usual booth and waited for Izuku, sipping at your own drink.

The bell by the door went off, your eyes instinctively looking to see who had entered. Time slowed down as three men came in, guns at the ready and masks pulled over their faces. The first had a black mask, the second having a red one, and the third having a white one.

“Alright! Nobody moves, and no one gets hurt!” the first one shouted, as horrified shrieks went off in the small shop. “Put your hands up and go over there!” he motioned with his gun to collectively gather in a corner. You obeyed along with everyone else in the shop.

The second one aimed his gun steadily at the barista at the register, “No! Not you, you’re going to fill this with all the money you have!” He threw a bag over at the barista who shakily picked up the bag where it had landed, tears running down her cheeks. 

The third held out a bag to the gathered group, “ Put anything valuable in here! Watches, Jewelry, Money, Phones, all of it!” He shouted, an elderly woman shakily began taking off her earrings, another gentleman taking his wallet out. 

The young girl stared with wide eyes, tears falling rapidly down her cheeks, face red as she tried to be quiet, but her hiccups would not allow her. When red looked over at the little girl, her wails increased tenfold.

“Hey! Shut up before I give you a real reason to cry about. You don’t want that do you?!” he shouted, taking a step forward the girl took an extra step back as she put her arms out in front of her to protect herself.

“I said QUIET!” he raised his hand.

Your body moved on it’s own. 

You took the hit for the young girl, your cheek stinging from the impact. That didn’t matter, not over the safety of the little girl, the roar of your heartbeat thumping against your cheek.

“What the hell?!” “Just leave her alone! She’s a little girl, she’s just scared!” You held your arms out, effectively blocking her from view. The elderly woman took the girl to her side, watching for the slightest movement from the robbers.

“ So you want to take her punishment? Is that it brat? Fine,” He shoved you down to the ground easily, glancing over to the young girl, “Take this as an example of what happens when you disobey me!” 

You couldn’t hear anything, your sight blinded as well as his foot collided with your stomach, sending you rolling across the ground. He pinned you down as he punched you, over and over again, arms, stomach and your face, seeing stars as your head hit the ground.

Izuku...Izuku please....

You didn’t know what you wanted from him, whether it was to save you from the pain somehow, or to not show up at all in fear he’d try something heroic like you did. 

The shop doors burst open, a cloth or tape like substance shooting out from someone you couldn’t see, wrapping quickly around the robbers, dragging them to ram into one another, the shock of it making them let go of the guns they held so tightly onto. You faded in and out of consciousness, even though the sounds of battle continued on.

It was all a blur as you slowly came back into reality, sitting in an ambulance being checked over by a nurse. The other heroes who had arrived stood before you, scolding you for your actions.

“What were you thinking?! You put yourself and the girl at risk! They could have made you watch as they hurt her!” 

What was I supposed to do, let her be beaten?

“There were so many other things you could have done! Next time think through your actions before you do anything!”

What could I have done? You fail to mention what else I could exactly do. I didn’t even know what I was doing.

But you didn’t say that. You took the abuse as the nurse began to shoo them off, proclaiming that they’d made their point, nothing more could be said. It wasn’t long before the nurse gave you your results. You were a bit battered but otherwise alright, you’d bruise like hell but you amazingly didn’t have a concussion. Once you were home you were to Ice the bruising spots. With that they sent you with your things back home.

Upon entering your home you changed out of your clothes, something bubbling under your skin. It felt so up close and in your face you couldn’t decipher it. You changed into some incredibly soft shorts and tank top, wincing as you moved to change. 

The silence was too much in your apartment, with shaking fingers you called the only person you could.

“(Y/N)?” “Izuku..” something in you snapped as you heard his voice, a sharp gasp turning into a sob. “(Y/N)? What is it, what’s wrong?”  “I...Can...can you come over? Please? I...I don’t think I can over the phone”  “What? Yeah, Yeah of course, I’ll be right there!”  You gave him your address and hung up after that, flopping onto your couch and hugging a pillow.

It only took him twenty minutes to arrive, but it felt like forever and a second simultaneously. The swift knock at your door startled you out of your blank and racing thoughts. He was dressed in casual clothing, some jeans and some random white button up, a thin green vest over top. Your vision blurred as he stepped in at your allowance, going head first into his chest as you sobbed. He grunted from the impact, but wrapped his strong arms around you regardless. “ Shhh, shhh, it’s alright, I’m here. I’m here” he cooed softly into your ear, “ Here, let’s go to the couch alright?” You nodded but didn’t let go. You shuffled your way to sit on the couch with him, only parting to readjust his hold.

“There was an attempted robbery at the shop today,” you sniffed, resting your head on his shoulder, “ There was a little girl there...she was so scared, she was crying. The...one of the robbers got angry at her, which made her more scared. So I...I took the hit for her”

He lifted your face gently, examining the forming bruise. His frown showed his worry, but he didn’t comment on why you ran to this girls side, “ I was wondering about this black eye I see” You nodded, continuing your story, ���Yeah...He didn’t like that I’d taken the hit for the girl...so as an example he beat me up. I don’t remember too much after the ‘heroes’ arrived.” you spat.

“But the heroes arrived and saved everyone, that’s good right?” he prodded. If you had been more aware, you would have heard the underlying tone in his voice. He didn’t really believe the heroes had done well, not with how you spat their name as if it was venom. 

“They told me i was stupid for putting myself in front of the girl, that I should have done something else! What else was I supposed to do? My body moved on it’s own! They could have tortured the girl to get a rise out of me, or hurt the both of us…” As you said those words, another sob tore from your core. “Maybe they were right, maybe I should have just...I don’t know. I’m so sorry I didn’t think of anything faster.”

Izuku cut you off gently cupping your face in his hands, thumbs softly brushing away stray tears. Your eyes refused to meet his.

“Oh darling, look at me,” hesitantly you looked into his eyes, filled with concern, determination and...something else you couldn’t quite place, but it was so soft...so powerful. “You’ve done nothing wrong, you are perfect darling. Without you, that girl could have ended up beaten, or worse!” 

The endearment was new, but not unwelcome, his words wrapping you in a soft blanket of safety.

“You did nothing wrong, you are perfect, everything about you, you’ve done nothing wrong. So please, don’t apologize” You leaned forward to hide in his chest as his words brought a fresh wave of tears. He gently rubbed your back, taking care if you so much as winced to move his comforting circles. 

“It isn’t right that they lectured you. You had just gone through a traumatic event, you needed reassurance, kindness. You aren’t trained to be a hero, you acted on instinct. An instinct that hardly anyone else in that room had. They acted so wrong to you” he whispered, “Those ‘heroes’ are what's wrong with the hero society as a whole. Things need to change”

“But I don’t know how to do that, or where to even start” you whined, your hiccups slowly dispersing. 

“Join me” 

Wait...what?

“Join you...I don’t...I don’t understand…” You look up at him, searching for any hint that it was a badly timed joke. You found none. 

“When I told you I worked with computers....I wasn’t lying, but only technically. You see, I work with this group, as a hacker. We’re going to show the world what these heroes really are, and the need to fix them. The roaches will have nowhere to hide, not from the public, and certainly not by the hero commission”

That was...quite a bit to process. He was a Villain?! All this time?! 

You were shocked, your heart sinking to your stomach. “Why...why didn’t you tell me?” You knew why the second you said the words...but you needed to hear if those were the same words he’d say back. 

“If I’m being honest darling...I was scared. You were always so kind, so soft hearted, to learn you were talking with a villain? Plus, it wasn’t like I could just...tell you in the shop right?” the corner of his mouth lifted up into a slight smirk, though it quickly vanished.

You thought back to today, how angry the heroes had made you. How many others did they tell the same thing when they were just trying to help? How many children paid the price? How many people? 

But the feeling of fists landing on you echoed back in your rapidly increasing heartbeat. You couldn’t do that again, not against a villain, not against heroes, not against anyone!

“I...I’m not cut out for villain work Izuku, you see what happened to me! I...I couldn’t go through that again...I don’t want to go through that again”

He pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, warmth blossoming from the spot. “You don’t have to, just...supporting me is enough, more than enough” he took your hands in his, gentle circles rubbed into them. “You wouldn’t have to quit your job, or move, or anything, just knowing you support me? It fires me up, I have to do this, for you, for everyone, to right the wrongs that have been done. What do you say?” his green eyes were lit up in hope.

Your hands squeezed his, “I do.”

[its-me-waffles]

The +1 (I)

Summary: You find yourself inviting your colleague to a wedding, and honestly? It’s all your friends’ fault.

(I) (II)

“If there is no stated start date, you always choose “lease start” as your base date, ok? And don’t forget to set type as “rolling” – it means that they can exercise the option at any given time.” You are pretty sure you’ve said that before. Like a million times. But of course not to these people. This particular group heard that maybe ten thousand times. 

The temp whose question prompted your answer nods dutifully and focuses on her screen to correct her errors. You can see the rest of the group frantically scrolling to make sure that they filled the extract correctly.

Glass doors to the conference room open with a quiet whoosh and familiar head appears in the crack. Not that you wouldn’t be able to see him without that since there are no walls in this office. Only glass, glass, and some more glass.

“Psst.” He calls and you don’t know if you should laugh or be annoyed – but you know he is doing it for laughs. But he is distracting your temps, who are curiously looking at him from over their screens. “Got a minute?”

“Go back to work.” You say to your group, and you turn around to face Jongdae. “Why?”

“How is your Portuguese?” He asks in turn and takes a step back. You follow him out and together you walk down the corridor. The office is loud, but that’s to be expected in an open space.

“Good enough.” You say, but you make sure to add a little bit of uncertainty to your voice. “But weren’t you the head of Plaza’s Asian project?”

“That’s the problem.” Jongdae laughs, and since you’ve reached his office he opens doors for you and lets you in. You immediately walk over to his desk and you sit down in his chair, not waiting for him to pull up the site – you can do that yourself. “We’ve got some contracts from Macau and some are written in Portuguese – which, as you can guess, is a little bit annoying.”

You laugh, because, yes, you can understand that. You log onto Jongdae’s managing account (you’ve started back in the same year and you both still use the generic password that was given that year).

“What’s the ID of the contract?”

“1853 dash M.O dash 6788910 to 678814.”

“You remember that?” You glance at him quite impressed, and Jongdae waves a memo at your face. Right.

You pull up the first contract while Jongdae sits down on one of his couches, putting his legs up on his coffee table. Thankfully they are at most 7 pages long so you can do that in an hour.

“Why didn’t you as Angela though? She is back from her vacation.”

“Yeaaah…” He stretches the word long enough for you to look up from the contract. Jongdae shrugs. “I find her kinda creepy and I didn’t want to talk to her.”

“You can’t be serious. I am in charge of teaching new guys for the Spanish team, I can’t be doing side jobs when the person responsible for Portuguese is back at work.” You say that, but you are already filling extracts. You are efficient.

“I know,” he whines, but you only shake your head. “I will do your sorting for ACC Group in turn?”

You look up surprised, but you immediately school yourself. Sorting is a pain in the ass and no one ever wants to do that. No one. So you are not going to say no to such a deal.

“Well, I think we can work something out.”

*

… I know we were supposed to do it together and I swear it wasn’t planned, but it just happened? And I hope you’ll understand me! I am really sorry, but at the same time I just can’t not do it, you know?

There is a knock on your doors and you look up to see Louise in front of your office. You minimize your mail and wave her inside.

“Hi,” she greets you absentmindedly and checks something on her phone. “Are Francesco Hidalgo and Amelia… Rias in your training group?”

“I am sure Amelia is, but Francesco… Gimme a moment.” You quickly search for your list and sure enough, they are both in your group. “You need them for Piaza?”

“Yeah, they dumped on us 60 more leases and they want it done by Monday.” You smiled slightly as a way to show your compassion. “I desperately need everyone that speaks French.”

“Sure, I will send them to you. Francesco is good, but keep an eye on Amelia. She is eager, but she forgets everything I tell her as soon as she is done with a task.” Louise sighs and shrugs. Her phone vibrates and she checks it. You reflexively check your own, and you see a reminder of your wax appointment.

Which immediately reminds you of the mail you were reading when Louise came.

“Well, we had worse,” says Louise absentmindedly. “Anyway, please send them to me as soon as possible.”

“You got it.”

Louise walks out of your office leaving door half open, and you feel a pang of annoyance at that, but you focus on your computer. You open slack and message both aforementioned trainees. Then you look up, over your screen to see what’s happening in the conference room where they are sitting. You can see Francesco call Amelia to check her message, and a second later they both look up. They see you staring and Francesco mouths now? at you. You nod and point at French’s team room.

You stare at them for a second longer, making sure that they will take their laptops with them, and then you open your mail one more time.

… but I think he’s the one…

For fuck's sake.

*

Social room is filled with the pleasant smell of fresh coffee. You hum contentedly as soon as you walk in, waving to two members of the Italian team sitting at the table under the window.

“We’ve just made coffee,” laughs Theo. “I knew you’d smell if from afar.”

“Of course, I would,” you laugh, opening the cabinet to grab your cup. It looks like an old boring black cup, but it has a quirky message hidden on the bottom (namely if you tip it to drink people around you can see a middle finger).

You grab an apple and pour yourself the coffee, and immediately you take a satisfying sip. The coffee is good, office not sparing expenses on shared goods.

“I smell coffee, I see Spanish PM – everything is in order.” Ok, your obsession with coffee is not that strong. But you laugh nonetheless moving so Jongdae can also pour himself a cup. Together you join Theo and Norbert – they immediately start talking about football. In this office, every world championship is a serious deal – with so many nationalities mingling together.

“We’ll be playing the game after hours. We have a projector and everything – boss already give his thumbs up.”

“Really?” You have to say you are impressed.

“Yeah! Are you staying? We are ordering pizzas.” Jongdae is wiggling his eyebrows and you just have to laugh.

“Damn, that’s tempting, but I have a previous engagement.” Even saying that makes you feel as if something was weighing you down. It’s not your friend’s fault. You can understand her, but also – you feel betrayed.

Jongdae whines and you shake your head. You stand up patting his arm, you grab your coffee and your apple, and you salute the table going back to work. Your mood is… not good.

So your good friend is getting married. You are slowly entering this age group when people around you start to get married, it’s nothing surprising. It’s also nothing bad that there are people marrying and having children, and also people that can’t find their other half (like you). It’s not a big deal. Months ago when you got an invitation you were panicked. Going to a wedding alone is not a fun thing to do. And it’s frowned upon in your social circle.

But out of your friends, there were two other girls that didn’t have their plus-ones. Together you decided you don’t have to since you’ll have yourselves to have fun with.

The first girl dropped out two months ago. Betty found a partner/boyfriend, but you didn’t worry. There was still the other one. At least you thought so. Until today, when you got a mail saying that she found a partner and that she is leaving you alone to deal with this shit.

Bride already mailed you the updates on your lodgings and stuff, and she was cute enough to include a sublime message that there is still a place for your +1 if you happen to find someone.

Sure. With four days until the wedding.

*

…we will be going there around 2 PM, and we have still two seats left…

You want to rub your eyes, but you know you’ll smudge your makeup. All your yesterday correspondence was about the wedding. Which wasn’t surprising and was to be expected, but everyone was trying to convey to you that yes, you can still invite someone. It’s so annoying because you know that they are worried about you, but at the same time, you can feel that they are pitying you.

At least you are as smooth as a dolphin.

KoreanPM (1-800-call-me-maybe): Did the coffee machine broke again?

SpanishPM (there are stupid questions): No. Why? Wait, did it?

KoreanPM (1-800-call-me-maybe): Dunno, you look down.

You look up, and you see Jongdae in his office. He starts laughing, and:

KoreanPM (1-800-call-me-maybe): Well, now you are looking up. That was easy.

KoreanPM (1-800-call-me-maybe): What’s wrong?

SpanishPM (there are stupid questions): Friends’ stuff. Nothing big.

KoreanPM (1-800-call-me-maybe): Remember the training – if something is wrong, send a ticket to the support.

On the screen appears a pop-out reminding you about training. You gather your things and wave to Jongdae – you can already see your training group sitting in the conference room. All except for French speakers.

On your way to the conference room your phone chimes.

I asked Marie to change your room to double, but with single beds! You can invite a platonic friend!

That is peer pressure.

*

FrenchPM (quand même): She can’t remember a single instruction. Honestly, that is kind of amazing.

SpanishPM (there are stupid questions): Told you.

*

… if you want I can ask him for you?

They’ve started setting you up, which, you are pretty sure, is the most horrible thing they could do. You are so stressed that you can feel the bile in the back of your throat all the time.

Theo_Agosti (laugh, live, lay down): Coffee :coffee:

SpanishPM (there are stupid questions): :kissing_ smiling_eyes:

Theo_Agosti (laugh, live, lay down): :poop:

You stretch and push back in your swivel chair, just as you notice Jongdae in front of your door. He is holding your cup in one hand, and his own in the other. He places both of the cups in one hand and opens the door.

“I love you,” you whisper, outstretching your arms for your cup.

“Yeah, I know, I already called my parents to let them know you want to meet them before we elope.”

It is a joke, but it dampens your mood immediately. You take offered coffee and sigh.

Theo_Agosti (laugh, live, lay down): Better than uber eats :poop:

Jongdae sits down in front of your desk.

“Talk to me,” he says taking a sip. You follow his suit, and yeah, coffee is hot and rich. You cluck.

“It’s nothing big – it’s just…”

Your phone chimes and you see a message that covers you in cold sweat.

Gonna ask him.

“What?” Jongdae sounds lost, but you can just stare at your phone in horror. “What happened?”

Don’t. You. Dare. – You send back, knowing that you’ve reached the bottom.

“Jongdae?” You ask, feeling how your pulse pounds in your ears.

“Yeah?”

“Are you doing anything this weekend?” You can believe what you are doing. Jongdae is a colleague. For all, you know he could have a long time girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. He could be engaged. Hell, he could already be married!

“Nothing special as far I know, why?”

“Would you like to go with me to my friend’s wedding?” You ask, not believing that you are actually doing it. You can want to explain why, and you want to tell him that there will be an open bar and free food, and that you are not a serial murder, and that your situation is desperate – but you can’t find words.

“Oh…” You can’t even look him in the face. He has a girlfriend. He obviously has a girlfriend. And you are only a colleague anyway. Please let it be a girlfriend, not a boyfriend. Or maybe boyfriend would be better. You are losing your mind. “Yeah, ok. That could be fun!”

Wait, what?