#dude imagine living your life and probably wanting to sleep for the next million years but you’ve got a mystery to solve

[thymeisasocialconstruct]

You guys remember that this is the 10 year anniversary of his girlfriend’s death right.

[hiddlestonsbabygirl]

Care For Me (Steve Rogers au) SugarDaddy!Steve

•part one•

An alternative universe where Steve isn’t an Avenger, but rather a CEO of one of the biggest companies in the US. His best friend and business partner Bucky secretly made him an account in an online dating site for sugar daddies and sugar babies, setting Steve up on a date with the only suitable sugar baby he thought was best for his best friend among the million others in his inbox.

It’s you. You’re the sugar baby.

Or,

Where reader is a med student who is badly in need of financial support and resorted to desperate measures by signing up to an online dating site with a little help from reader’s best friend, Nat.

Contains: natasha x reader moment (but platonic!)

A/N: thank you guys for the great reviews on the prologue! I hope you’ll enjoy this one as well! Tags are still open! x

Ps. I’m sorry it took so long for me to update, I’ve been really busy for finals and now that everything’s been put on hold, I can finally focus on this story!

Stay safe you guys! ❤️

•••

“Thanks again for the help, Nat. I’d probably be in the streets by now if you weren’t around.” You thanked before bringing your mug of hot tea to your salty lips. Why, it was because of your crying.

“No need to thank me, (Y/N). You know I’m always one call away.” Natasha replied with a wink, her fit physique sprawled out on her queen-sized bed. You both spent the previous hour gathering your things and bringing it over to your best friend’s house with a little help from her parents. You were like family to them, so when Mr. and Mrs. Romanoff found out that you’ve been kicked out of your apartment they were rushing to your aid in a heartbeat.

“You know, I could work a few extra hours and do some chores around here and help your mom.” You announced and shrugged. “Just a little way of saying thank you to them.”

Nat scoffed. “(Y/N), you could barely even last a week in a job because of your busy schedule in school. Plus, mom wouldn’t let you do that. She’d probably kill me if I let you do house chores.”

“But Nat, this is too much!” You sighed, putting down your mug on the bedside table and joining your best friend on the bed with a little flop, your body bouncing a little as you did so.

Nat sat up and looked you dead in the eyes, her hand hovering above yours. “You’re never too much for mom and dad. They know how hard med school is and they’ve known you since seventh grade! You’re like a second daughter to them!”

You could feel tears prick the corners of your eyes but refused to let them fall. You were tired of crying and you wanted to show your best friend that you’re strong.

“Thank you, Nat. For the millionth time. I could never say it enough because you’ve done so much for me these past few years.” Your voice broke. “You’ve been saving my life ever since.”

As much as you refused, the tears fell. But you weren’t the only one this time. As Natasha pulled you in for a hug, tears welled up in her eyes as well. It hurt her seeing you struggle and try to hide it from her. She knew that you’re strong; you have been ever since. But to see you break down in front of her didn’t fail to ache her own heart, too.

And you both stayed like that for several minutes. You both enjoyed the comforting silence, your best friend’s arms wrapped around you while you calmed yourself as your eyelids began to feel heavy. Just as you were about to doze off Nat jolted upwards and you flinched.

“Holy shit, I have the stupidest but brilliant idea.” She gasped out, her eyes wide and filled with excitement. The emotional, melodramatic feel in the air was gone and was soon replaced by Nat’s excitement.

“Stupid and brilliant? Nat what—“

“You should sign up for an online dating site.” She grinned as she pointed at you, your brows drawn together in confusion as you processed the words that left her mouth.

“Natasha, no. Dating is already heavy work. I don’t need to worry for another human being when I’m struggling to take care of myself and my studies. So no, thank you.”

She rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to worry too much in this kind of relationship, (Y/N).”

Your confusion grew.

“Because he’s gonna take care of you.”

You watched as she took out her laptop and opened it enthusiastically, her fingers running smoothly across the keyboard with each letter she typed until she turned it around so the screen was facing you.

“Sweet as Sugar Online Dating Site.” You read. “Where you’ll find just the right amount of sweetness you look for in a sugar baby/sugar daddy/sugar mommy. Over 1,000,000+ users. Sign up now!”

“Sign up now!” Natasha repeated, an overanimated grin across her lips as she watched your shocked face.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

“Oh, come on! I know what you’re thinking,” she giggled as she turned the laptop to her again and began typing. “Whenever you think of a sugar daddy, what comes to mind is an old, fat man with a boatload of cash. But! With this site, you can fill up a form asking what you want in a sugar daddy.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing right now.

“Come, I’ll show you!” She exclaimed as she patted the space next to her. You shook your head in disbelief as you made your way next to your best friend, watching her fill up your biodata in the pink and purple themed website.

“Nat you can’t be serious.” You tried to laugh, but it came out more of a whine. Natasha ignored you and continued to fill out the form, confident that she knew just what to fill in about yourself.

“Okay, display photo. I think I have a couple of good ones of you saved on my laptop.”

She then proceeded to scroll through her library, pictures of the both of you coming to view from past moments—birthdays, Christmas, school events, and just about everything you’ve shared with your best friend.

She finally decided on a portrait of you, a picture she took just last year when you both went on a vacation in Malibu. You were wearing a white off-shoulder dress, looking away from the camera as you laughed shyly, one hand holding on to your beach hat and the other holding down the hem of your dress to keep the wind from lifting the skirt up.

“Oooh, I like this one! It’s a subtle look, yet it shows your side-profile. Daddies would love to see more of you just from this picture!” She exclaimed, pressing on the photo and it only took several seconds before your portrait was uploaded on the site.

“Nat, this is ridiculous.” You groaned out, leaning back against the headboard as you imagined yourself dating someone ten years older than you, or someone twice your age. It’s not that you were against people in relationships that have big age gaps; you just couldn’t imagine yourself being in one, considering the fact that you were awkward and shy and downright busy.

“Not until you fill up this form.” She returned, putting the laptop on your lap and in front of you was a form asking you what you liked in a person, your preferred age, what type of relationship, the like.

“Dude, you could literally just put 5-years older as your preferred age and it would give you a shitload of results!” Natasha added. “Come on, please? If you can’t find someone you think is suitable for you, then it’s fine. We could delete your account and just drop it off. I just thought we’d give it a go, because you kinda need someone to fill your empty heart as well.”

The teasing grin on her lips made you roll your eyes. “One, my heart isn’t empty. I have you and your family in here. Two, your idea is weird and crazy. And three,”

You looked down on the screen and bit your lip, bracing yourself for what you were about to say next.

“I’m gonna sign up. For you.”

What do you look for in a sugar mommy/daddy?

Someone who can provide for me financially while I study in medical school.

How old is your preferred age?

5 years older than me. No more than that.

What are your hobbies?

Eating, cooking, reading books, watching movies, sleeping

What are your likes and dislikes?

I really love pizza. I like staying up at night, and I really really love stargazing. I also love books and coffee shops. They’re my favorite.

I don’t have many dislikes though, I just hate surprise tests and cramming for exams. I also don’t like being bothered with when I’m studying.

Please choose below what you would likely prefer in a relationship. You can tick off as many as you like.

⚪️ BDSM

🔘 Balanced relationship

🔘 Cohabitation/Domestic Partnership (living in the same household as your partner; no marriage required)

⚪️ Friends with Benefits

🔘 Long Distance Relationship

⚪️ Marriage

🔘 Monogamous (exclusive relationship; only dedicated to one partner)

⚪️ Nonmonogamous (open to more than one partner)

🔘 Platonic

⚪️ Polyamory

⚪️ Sexual Partner

🔘 Temporary Partnership/Relationship

Thank you! Your account will be set up in a few minutes. Please wait.

“Holy shit I’m really doing this Nat.” You gasped as you watched a buffering circle indicating that your account was currently being created.

Natasha cackled next to you. “So you’d like a live-in partner, huh?”

You rolled your eyes. “It could be helpful considering my situation right now.”

A ‘ping!’ sounded from the laptop and it notified that your account has been officially made. You were then directed to a new page. It was your very own profile page, showing your display photo and name at the top, and everything that you answered a while ago followed just below your name. Next to your display photo showed the number of followers and people you’re following, and the topmost right of the page was a white envelope, serving as your inbox.

“Wow,” you breathed out. “That was fast.”

“Okay!” Nat exclaimed enthusiastically. “Now all we have to do is wait!”

You groaned out as Nat took the laptop from your lap and you stretched your legs out, slightly tense from being curled in your recent position. You were starting to feel sleepy, so you decided to push yourself even lower on the bed until your head hit the soft pillow perfectly.

“I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll check on that tomorrow. I’m getting tired.” You announced as you yawned and stretched your arms out, one hand hitting your best friend on the cheek.

“Yeah, okay. We can check this out tomorrow. Tomorrow’s Sunday anyway.” Natasha agreed as she closed her laptop and put it on her bedside table, turning the lamp off in the process.

“Good night, Nat.”

“Good night sugar baby.”

...

Bucky arrived at his condominium, ignoring calls from his best friend. After he suddenly left lunch leaving Steve confused, the man wouldn’t stop calling him and sending him messages. He plopped down his velvet couch, grabbing his laptop that lay untouched on the coffee table, turning it on and became eager to open a website. He learned about this new website when he overheard a co-worker of his talking to another co-worker about some site for sugar babies. He instantly became curious, wanting to see how legit it was and before he knew it he found himself creating an account for his own.

He wants to help his best friend so bad. Steve has been too unyielding and bloody-minded. He doesn’t even try to put an effort when he’s been set up with dates, leaving women sad and disappointed. All Steve needed was the right woman to get him back in the game.

And this website just might help.

He began creating another account, filling in Steve’s biodata without hesitation. He chose a display picture that would surely catch girls’ attention. It was the one where he was invited to a grand opening of a new company owned by a few famous people and paparazzi were there, taking all Steve’s good angles and Bucky had saved one where he loved the most. He wore a suit and his hair was slicked back, his striking blue eyes gleaming in the light and a hint of pink lips protruding from his thick beard.

Once the account has been finally created and ready for matchmaking, Bucky began his search for eligible women that would be just right for his best friend.

...two hours later...

Hopeless. Bucky was beginning to feel so hopeless. Sure, he’s already come across countless of beautiful women but when he read their whole profile he began to hesitate. He wanted a girl that even he would certainly say yes to for his best friend, knowing that Steve Rogers was one picky man.

Just when he was in the verge of tears and about to give up, one girl caught his eye.

She was in the beach, laughing shyly and looking away from the camera, a hand holding on to her off-shoulder dress and the other keeping her beach hat from flying away.

She’s perfect.

She seemed shy and innocent and downright adorable; she’d be perfect for Steve’s dominant and stern facade.

Bucky was quick to send her a message.

Hi :) would you like to meet up sometime? I’m not much of a chatting-type of guy and I’d rather get to know you better in person. How about over a cup of coffee? x

That sounded a bit rushed. But Bucky just cannot wait any longer. He’s just going to hope that this girl knows the ever famous Steve Rogers and would instantly say yes.

............... ............... ............... ............... ............... ...............

Tags: @heyiamthatbitch @little-dark-empress @verdonafrost @fallenoutofrose @janell-r @ctrl-alt-jeon @radi0active-thoughts @veronawrites @art-estrange @polarcrystall @emilypkuzu @arizonalovesher @connerkentx @kovuthebean @sweetlittlegingy @daahlias @astridsagevans @tazzi-baby @laneygthememequeen @spideys-wife @the-thighs-of-betrayal @wxstedhexrt @domolovee @selluequestrian @rootcrop @rororo06 @ashleybang @evansmess @clueless-333 @sp2900 @x-black-haired-emo-x @ashxmarvel @taylorsmakingfuckingmacandcheese @songbirdmia @pepitasab @brokenrogerz @holographic84 @imahoeforbucky @starstruckpersonearthquake @illbethethundertoyourlightning

I’m sorry for those who can’t be tagged, I couldn’t find your account :( hmu if there’s been a mistake! x

[originofjaehyun]

Interlude: No More Drama | Part 9 | Love Song

Interlude: No More Drama Masterlist

Word count: 3,900

Warnings: Angst, language

Part 9 | Love Song

“My steps keep slowing down, I can’t stop, I can’t stop this feeling.”

Prev • Next

You thought you were going to spend only the first night at Doyoung’s, but he insisted you to stay.

“It’s not like I’m lusting over you or I want you to stay with me forever.”

“Doyoung that’s disgusting.”

“Exactly, but now that I know how powerful his family is, I’m not going to let you stay on your own. Jaehyun knows your place, and with his connection, he probably already know mine.”

“Jaehyun won’t do anything that would harm me.”

“Look, I know you love him and I’m sorry for judging him that way but it’s better to be safe than sorry, [Y/N]. At least you’re with me, and I can feel a bit more relaxed.”

You couldn’t argue with him. Who knows, his father might already ask his man to follow you around. Also, you agree with Doyoung about the fact that Jaehyun knows your place. It would probably be best to talk things through, as what you always do with him, but your heart is incapable of even meeting him after the heartbreak. It’s already hard enough for you to leave him behind without any explanation, and it’s going to be even harder if he confronts you.

“Stay for at least a week. Or would you rather hear live porn from Hanbyul and Mingyu’s room?”

“Dude, gross! They’re your friends for fuck’s sake.”

Doyoung laughed, “See, it’s better if you stay with me.”

“Just promise me you won’t bring anyone while I’m here.”

“Never thought you were the jealous type.”

“I don’t have a fetish of hearing other people fucking each other, Doyoung.”

He snorted, “You know I’m not seeing someone. Now clean up before we go to the supermarket to buy your essentials.”

That is how you ended up moving temporarily to Doyoung’s apartment. Although Doyoung said it will be OK if you become his housemate, you don’t want to keep bothering him, knowing that he’s still single. You don’t want to be the other woman when Doyoung finally found his significant other. While you still have to pay your apartment’s rent, you were thinking of paying your stay, which he rejected instantly.

“[Y/N], we’ve been best friends for years. I’m more than capable of paying this apartment all by myself. Don’t worry about it.”

“But the utility bill is going to be doubled, Doy. At least let me pay that much.”

He shook his head, “Just treat me for dinners and drinks occasionally. That’s the only payment I accept.”

You finally gave up. Doyoung is a stubborn man, once he made up his mind, it will be a miracle to ever change his decision. 

“Take a week leave first, [Y/N].”

“A week?! I thought you know how busy I am?”

“Look at yourself. Do you think you can concentrate on your work?”

Thank God it was Sunday. You spent all night crying. Doyoung opened his bottle of Soju, and the alcohol helped you to be less tense. You told him everything, how heartbreaking it was to see Jaehyun’s face. The disappointments. How his face was painted in sadness when you left him, and how it was equally painful for you.

You really do love Jaehyun, and you would probably always will. 

But the fear took the best of you. Who would’ve thought your significant other is involved in a world that you could never imagine was real. Of course, you saw articles and news about illegal transactions, but not in a million years did you think it would be that close to you.

Doyoung is right. You look horrendous. Eyes are swollen due to crying, and the darkness that surrounds them, mimicking a raccoon. You’re tired, and it would probably take you a while before you could put yourself together.

“I hope Joy won’t be pissed off when her boss suddenly took a week’s leave.”

–

The first week was like hell.

While Doyoung has been the greatest best friend ever by taking you to dinner –and you finally met Yuta in the process, and he is the sweetest guy with the brightest smile– you haven’t got any proper sleep.

Jaehyun is constantly in your mind, and you always find yourself sobbing at night when you remember him. It’s even harder to fall asleep when your dream is always about him. About how both of you planned for a happily ever after, only for the dream to get dark and cloudy midway. His father would come into the picture, and point his gun at you. When you thought the bullet would hit you, Jaehyun jumped and took it for you.

This always wakes you up, hyperventilated. 

“Hey,”

You flinched, didn’t expect Doyoung to come without knocking. Not that he has to, this is his house anyway and you don’t mind him at all.

“Sorry, I heard you were grunting.”

“You weren’t sleeping?” Your voice was cracking, due to the fact you were just awake a few seconds ago.

“No, I just finished binge-watching Succession.” He said while he approached you, and saw the tears that are apparent at the corner of your eyes. “Another nightmare?”

You slowly nod, “It’s getting worse, Doy. Every night the dream seems to be more vivid.”

Your best friend gave you a deep meaningful look, genuinely concerned. “It’s just a dream, [Y/N]. Everything’s gonna be alright. You have me, and Hanbyul, too. I think Yuta has a thing for you too.”

“Oh come on Kim Doyoung, I just broke up with my boyfriend a week ago.” You jokingly punched him in his arm, replacing the grim atmosphere with chuckles.

“There you go, don’t be all somber and mushy, that’s not the [Y/N] I know. You became so gloomy I got shivers, you know? The last time you were this emo was when you were so in love with Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys.”

“That was a long time ago, OK!”

All the sorrow seems to melt away like snow in spring, relieving you from all the distress inside your brain. You felt grateful for the presence of your best friend, hopeful that better days will come.

That the situation would turn around somehow.

“Thanks, Doy, for being here even at my lowest.”

“Ew, since when are you this sweet?”

“Dude, I’m serious. I really mean it.”

You look at him, hoping that he can see how sincere you are. 

“Please, this is nothing, [Y/N]. I know if I were in your position –and dear Lord please don’t ever let me be in your position,”

You throw your pillow at him, finally annoyed with his never-ending jokes. He chortled before he continued, “That you’ll do the same for me. Don’t think too much about it, yeah?”

“Tomorrow is your first day of work. Make sure you rest well, I’m positive you don’t want the whole office to know that you just had a major heartbreak. Go get some sleep.”

You bob your head, agreeing. He was ready to leave your room before you realized something.

“Shit, I forgot.”

“What?”

“Tomorrow is the first Monday of the month, right?”

He nods.

“That means I have to go to NCT’s office.”

As surprised as you are, Doyoung’s eyes grow bigger, “Any chances that you can send someone else?”

“No,” You shook your head, following it by biting your nails. “I’m the PIC for this, and we’re finalizing a few important things so I have to go there myself.”

“Now, now,” Doyoung returned to where he was, sitting down next to your bed. “You are the toughest working woman I ever met in my life, OK? Remember when you used to whine because of the newbie from your office nagged non-stop about the workload? A friendly reminder, you told me that she should expect at least that much if she’s going to work at any company. What did she expect, coming to work, and having a girl talk?”

You chuckled, his remarks help to calm your anxiety.

“So yeah, you’re going to be fine even if you have to face him tomorrow. You’re meeting Johnny anyway, what is the possibility you’re going to meet him? He’s a busy man after all.”

Knowing that Jaehyun is a COO, not to mention he has his personal business, he must’ve been drowning with work, making you agree with Doyoung’s statement in a heartbeat. Your meeting wouldn’t take the whole day, so if you can wrap them quickly then you could probably avoid meeting Jaehyun.

“You’re right. Thanks, Doy.”

He lets out his gum smile, “Stop thanking me! You’re starting to freak me out!”

–

“Can I light another one?”

You politely asked Johnny whether he still got leeway for the meeting. All that left is to finalize the few details. Yet the nicotine urge seems to be a bit stronger today, as you feel like you are in need to exhale the anxiety away with another puff.

“Sure. Actually, I think I’ll smoke another one too. Too bad I can’t install a balcony at my office. If not we don’t have to go all the way here whenever we need to smoke.”

You smiled, as you ignited the cigarette that hung in between your lips. You stare at the grey smoke blankly, watching it as it fades in the air.

“Hey, uhm,”

Johnny called you, pulling you back to reality. 

“I heard it from Jaehyun.”

You almost choked, and you stared at him widely.

“I’m so sorry it happened.”

“You knew about it, Johnny?”

He nervously nods, to which you reply with a sigh, rolling your tongue over your teeth, pissed.

“God, does everyone think I’m a joke.”

“[Y/N], please, it’s not that.” He begged, scared that he might offended you. “Honestly I asked Jaehyun a couple of times already to tell you about this. But he said the timing was not right.”

“And the right timing happens to be when I managed to find it out myself?”

Johnny squinted his eyes, frustrated, “No, believe me he didn’t mean it that way. I mean, now you know how difficult his situation is.”

The dull orange at the tip of your cigarette glows as you took another drag, “Yeah, and that is the exact reason why I left.”

“You’re stronger than that, [Y/N]. I wouldn’t keep pushing Jaehyun to pursue you if you weren’t. And he loves you for that.”

“As I do, Johnny. In fact, that is the exact reason why I have to leave.”

Johnny slowly blows out a smoke out of his mouth, looking at you confused.

“I’d rather not be the extra luggage he has to carry, John. He already has so much weight on his shoulder.”

“He wouldn’t think of you as an extra luggage, [Y/N]. You know that.”

“Jaehyun would protect me, without a doubt. He’s more than capable of doing so.”

You blows out your smoke, “But do you think he would be able to stand it if I told him that I’m scared on a daily basis? I’m not going to act like a hypocrite and tell him that I’ll be fine –because I would definitely not. It scares me Johnny, his life is. And there’s no way I would lie to Jaehyun about it.” 

The look on Johnny’s eyes that were deep sienna in color marking that he could not debate with your sentences.

“Imagine if I were a part of his life, Johnny. I would constantly tell him that I’m afraid. That fear consumes me, every day. No matter how strong, how reliable he is, eventually he would break and that is the least that I would want. For my loved ones to crumble.”

Though he didn’t say a single word, you appreciate how Johnny attentively listens to you, nodding whenever you reach the full stop.

“Before it happens, I think it's best for me to leave. It is equally as painful for me, Johnny. But do I have another choice?”

Johnny refused to give you a response. He was looking down, biting his lower lip while he’s lost in his thoughts.

“You’re right,” He inhaled the final bit of his cigarette. “I mean, I’m not a part of your relationship so I guess you do know what’s best. But I’m just wishing for my friends’ happiness.”

I would love that, too.

You quietly thought inside your head, extinguishing the white stick that finally reached its end.

“And that includes you, too, [Y/N]. I might be your client at first but I think we’re close enough for me to consider you as my friend. If there's anything that I can do to make this whole breakup process more bearable, I’m just a text away, OK?”

His statement made you smile involuntarily.

“Though, I hope Jaehyun wouldn’t know. He might think that I have another agenda on you.”

The laugh finally thawed the tension away. You’re grateful that you’re surrounded with great people. Even in this situation, Johnny still tries to brighten your day, like a happy vitamin. He smoothly changed the topic on your way to his office, filling the journey with laughter.

That laughter stops once you reach his office.

The tall, pale figure that is dear to you stands up at the sight of you. He looks exhausted, and his beautiful pair of eyes no longer shine as it is now dark and hollow.

“Johnny what is the meaning of this?”

“[Y/N] please, it’s not his fault. I asked him to spare some time so I can talk to you.”

You look at him, before you shift your gaze to Johnny’s. There’s a hint of guilt from his stare, but you can tell it was mostly filled with concerns. “I’m sorry, [Y/N], I’ve promised to Jaehyun. And if I can give my two-cents, I still think it would be better if you guys talk things through.”

You slowly blink as you quietly exhale. You are in your client’s office, and you don’t want to start bawling and appear unprofessional. 

Before you can even let a single word out, suddenly someone barged in, clearly adding more tension to the room.

“Sir.” You can tell Johnny is equally unprepared with his guest.

“Father, what are you doing here?”

“Is it that absurd for a father to seek his son?”

Johnny took a glance at Donghyuck’s direction, telepathically asking him why he didn’t tell him that the founder is coming. Donghyuck just answers him with a ‘how am I supposed to act when he’s also come unnoticed?’ gesture.

While Jaehyun is pissed because his no good of a father interrupts his attempt to talk to you, he calmly asks his father. “Is there a problem, Father?”

“Oh, no, Jaehyun. You’re doing marvelous, as always.” He said, while taking a glimpse at you. “I checked your schedule and this is the only time you’re free. I asked your assistant, Jungwoo, if you’re in your office and he said I could find you at Johnny’s.”

Yeah, because I have something else to take care of.

If only his father could read and understand his mind, he wouldn’t have to act all goody two-shoes to his father. The least that Jaehyun would want is to show his family issues at the office. Knowing how his reputation means everything to his father, you know he would want the same.

“Then why is she here?”

Jaehyun asked about the female that has been standing behind his father. Someone that you never met before. She was dressed to nines, wrapping herself in Fendi’s monogram from head to toe. Her hair was strawberry blonde, flowing softly to cover her breast. Her lips were plump, but you can tell it’s artificial.

“Surely you know Kyungmi from…”

“From Hyun Ventures, yes.”

At this point you shouldn’t act like you’re surprised that Jaehyun is surrounded by big shots. Although the size of the company is not as big as NCT Corp., Hyun Ventures still managed to become the only three venture capitals originated from South Korea that made it to the top 100 venture capitalists.

“I see that you are acquaintanced.” His father says with a pleased tone. “Jaehyun, I’d like you to meet your future wife.”

His statement made you feel like the ground underneath you disappear, sinking your heart. You haven’t even recovered fully from your heartbreak, and this big of a news just added the fuel to the fire.

You don’t even care if you are considered rude, but you quickly texted Doyoung, asking him to come and pick you up as soon as possible, no longer could breath in this vexing room.

“Nice to officially meet you Jaehyun.” The woman spoke, and her voice was piercing the air. “Oh gosh, can we drop the formality? I’ve been waiting for ages to finally talk to you! Your father told me splendid things about you, like how you act like him, being the gentleman you are!”

While she was all giddy, you couldn’t help but to feel uncomfortable. You were about to pull her after-salon hair, for taking something that is yours.

Then it strikes you that he was yours, and you no longer had the right to be territorial.

Johnny noticed how uneasy you are, and he put his hand on your back, trying to ease you. It works, in a sense, with the fact that Johnny is there to support you. However, you felt like Jaehyun would need that more, seeing how tense his jaw is.

“I didn’t hear anything about this, Father. Since when do I have to wed someone?” There are trails of annoyance in Jaehyun’s tone, and he’s not making the effort to conceal it.

“Jaehyun,”  his father retaliates, voice is as cold as ice, “It is important for us to keep our relation to the Hyuns. Kyungmi is a wonderful girl. She’s well educated, takes good care of herself, and most importantly she came from a great family.”

You know his father just sarcastically said that to you. Fumes are almost apparent from Jaehyun’s head. He is ready to throw his fist to his father. He can take all the mockery, but he would not tolerate it if it is targeted towards you.

“Now,” His father cuts off, before Jaehyun is able to react. “Kyungmi, my dear, let’s have a tour at the building, shall we? Today I’ll cover the important places. After all, this will soon be yours.”

It was a cringey affection, but at least he didn’t try to cut her throat like what he did to you. Soon after, both of them left, followed by Donghyuck who guided them outside out of politeness and honestly, he’d rather escape the room that is filled with suspense.

“Johnny, can we continue our meeting via email? Or let’s postpone it to another time.”

You were choking, on the verge of tears, and unmistakably pissed. Johnny, unable to force you to stay, had no choice but agree. You rushed to pack your belongings, before Jaehyun stopped you from going.

The familiar touch.

“Let me go, Jaehyun.”

“That’s all you’ve been saying since last week, and you know I can’t.”

“You’re making it difficult for me. Please let me go.”

Your words are firm, though your tone was brittle.

“I’m making things difficult? [Y/N], you have no idea how hard it is for me spending a week without you.”

Like a volcano that’s about to erupt, all of the build up tensions in you finally explodes.

“Don’t make it as if it’s not difficult for me, Jae!” Blood rushing to your head, making your neck noticeably red. “Your father just fucking humiliates me in front of you, and that God damn future wife of yours! I bet he knows that we broke up, and that is why he purposely announce your fucking engagement right here right now to mock me!”

He never saw you snapping at him like that. He’s even more baffled when he notices the tears that start to well in your eyes.

“Please don’t cry, love.”

He leans forward to caress your cheek, which you roughly reject.

“Drop the nicknames, Jae. Save it for someone who’s more worthy of standing by your side.”

“Baby, please.” Jaehyun begs, refusing to let you go. “You know you’re the only one for me. I’ve told you millions of times and I’m ready to tell you again if I have to. You’re overlapping inside me, it’s like in my heart you’re just like a moist rain that infused me.”

You can feel the ache in your heart, and it stings. It stings because you know he meant every of his words. It stings, because you know even though the feeling is mutual, you’d wish time had better timing for you and Jaehyun.

You finally look him in the eyes, his eyes are weepy, telling you that he hopes he can change your mind.

“And leave all of these behind? All of these glory?”

You are spoken in riddles, but you know your souls speak fluently. He hesitates, and that’s enough to answer your question.

“See? You can’t, Jae. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but it would be easier if I leave.”

You were about to walk away but he tugs you back, not giving up. “[Y/N], it’s not because of the glory, or the money. I can live without either, honestly, if that could make you stay. But there’s something that I can’t let go of, not yet.”

You are confused, even with all of those layers there are still a part of Jaehyun that you didn’t know. 

“Then let me go.”

“I can’t do that, either.”

“Jaehyun, stop being so stubborn!”

“I am only stubborn when it comes to you, [Y/N].”

“And yet you can’t let go of whatever that shit is.”

You brushed him off, rushing your way to the elevator. There are a few pairs of eyes who looked at you, wondering why you ran out like someone’s about to chase your life, but you couldn’t care less.

Johnny must’ve held Jaehyun off, because he didn’t run after you immediately. You could hear him stopping him, but you were so busy running off that you didn’t pay enough attention. All you hear was Johnny telling Jaehyun not to make a scene.

You reached the lobby, and miraculously saw Doyoung’s car already stationed at the lobby. Sure, his office is only a few blocks away, but that was fast.

The tinted window from the passenger seat rolls down, and you are surprised that the driver was not your best friend.

“Yuta? What are you doing here?”

“Doyoung’s busy. We had our quarterly meeting and I was staying at his office because I’m actually not on the clock today. He told me to pick you up, he said it was urgent. Are you OK?”

“[Y/N]!”

He shouted from afar, and you don’t need to turn your back to know who’s the owner of the voice.

“Let’s go, Yuta.” You hastily enter the car, ignoring Jaehyun who sprinted to stop you.

“Are you sure? He seems like he got something to tell you.”

“Yuta, please, just drive.”

Fears that he might poke into something that is not his business, he reluctantly agrees, closing the window and just enough for Jaehyun to take a peek.

A peek of you with a man that he doesn't know, drifting away.

A/N: dun dun dun dunnn... Also, can you believe we’re only 3 chapters left?! :’’ all I can say is... it’s going to be a roller coaster ride (at least that’s how I felt when I wrote it haha)

[gwentoryfics]

roommates (changgu smut)

Genre | Roommates AU

Pairing | Changgu x Reader

Words | 4k

Summary | You’ve been best friends with Changgu for forever. But can you really be content with being just friends when you become roommates?

Warnings | Sexy times! (aka explicit smut). Some swearing.

Note | I think we all knew this was coming after I got bias wrecked SO HARD at Prism. Please enjoy. ��

Honestly, it really just snuck up on you, the way that Changgu suddenly started catching your eye. You don’t exactly remember when it started happening, but you’d randomly notice the way he ruffled his wet hair after a shower, or the way his arms have started bulging ever since he took up bouldering. 

It freaked you out, actually. You and Changgu had been best friends for years - you were neighbors your whole life, and it felt so natural to live in close proximity. You spent many nights in high school crashing in each other’s bedrooms, and it was never a big deal. He’d come over after going on dates just to tell you what he liked about the girl, and you’d do the same with the guys you dated. You even remember having an incredibly in-depth conversation about sex and intimacy when you visited his bedroom after having sex for the first time. But there was never any sexual tension between the two of you - you just never saw each other that way.

However, it seems that there’s something about being in your early twenties that kind of ruins everything.

All it took was a little over a year of actually living together for you to see how much of a man he was becoming. Your whole life he had been the sweet boy next door (literally), but that image was very quickly dissipating right before your eyes. 

Maybe it’s because you both graduated and started full-time adult jobs.

Maybe it’s because he was wildly passionate about finance, which was, like, the most boring adult thing in the world.

Maybe it’s because he watched you so intently as you ate your dinner, rambling on about the project management strategies you were developing at work.

Whatever it was, something happened that changed the way you saw him.

You realized that your opinion of him was dangerously changing right around the time your lease renewal was due, and you contemplated moving out to live on your own. If those feelings were going to stick around, you didn’t want to risk screwing up your friendship. It seemed like a much better plan to get out while you still could before things got weird.

And then it came time to renew, and Changgu was so enthusiastic about continuing to live together, and… when he smiled at you like that, how could you possibly say no?

So here you are, curled up on the couch as you wait for him to return from war the bouldering gym. Well, you’re not exactly waiting because you’re just casually playing Sims on your laptop, but you do frequently find yourself looking forward to whenever he gets home. 

Gym days are simultaneously the best and worst, because you can’t describe how attractive he is when he’s sweaty, but you also hate yourself for drooling over him.

You’re decorating a new home in your game when he finally arrives, and you’re almost able to keep your eyes glued to the screen.

“Hey, _____!” Changgu cheerfully greets you as he closes the door behind him, locking the deadbolt.

“Sup,” you peek up only briefly, careful not to linger on the sleeveless shirt that clings to his body and the damp hair sticking to his forehead. “Good workout?”

“Yeah, I finally got up that wall that I’ve been stuck on all week.” He disappears momentarily into his room to drop off his climbing bag, then he heads for the kitchen to grab a snack.

“Oh cool! That’s awesome.” You’re too busy scrolling through virtual furniture choices to notice that he has popped into the living room, but you sure as hell realize when he leans over the back of the couch, looking over your shoulder as he bites into his granola bar.

“What are you up to?” A delicious combination of his sweat and his deodorant hits your nose, and you melt.

Pretending like the smell of you isn’t driving me wild right now. “Decorating. I made a new treehouse-inspired cabin.”

“Very cool.” He takes another bite, and you feel granola crumbs hit your shoulder.

“Dude…” You brush it off, fully aware of the fact that the crumbs are now on the couch and will still need to be cleaned up.

Changgu chuckles warmly. “My bad. Hey, I’m gonna jump in the shower. Want to grab some dinner after? Or have you already eaten?”

“I haven’t. Dinner sounds good.”

Changgu ruffles your hair, and it feels like an eternity before he retreats to the bathroom to get showered. And you definitely noticed that he didn’t grab a change of clothes before heading in, which means he’ll re-emerge in nothing but his towel whenever he’s done.

You’re already feeling like a mess, and you know you won’t be able to handle the sight of that.

He usually takes pretty long showers, especially after climbing… which means you’ve got plenty of time to kill before he’s out…

So you lock yourself into your bedroom and surrender to your fantasies.

You hurriedly dig through your nightstand for your favorite vibrator, which you know will have you soaring in mere minutes. Then you collapse back onto your bed, pushing your shorts and panties down to your ankles, your heart racing the more you think about the smell of his sweat. How could he naturally smell so attractive? And how could it affect you this deeply?

As your fingers begin to explore your folds, you can only think of him and his painfully beautiful gaze, how you wish you could watch his eyes travel down your body, full of lust. You want to feel him take in the sight of your naked body and feel just as wrecked as you do whenever he walks around the apartment shirtless. You want to feel his hands grip your hips, his lips latch onto your throat, and his cock thrust deep inside of you.

What would it feel like to fuck your best friend? Would it be awkward? Would it be perfect? Would it be the hottest experience you’ve ever had, or the most boring? What if it was a wonderfully tepid middle ground of fun and sexy, full of sensual laughter and intimate depth?

You would take any and all of it with Changgu.

Finally, you start to tease your entrance with your fingertips, and you simultaneously press small circles into your clit with your vibrator. You sigh deeply into the sensation, and let yourself imagine his kiss and his touch.

Changgu’s hands delicately caress your skin as he kisses you deeply, his body heat enveloping you in warmth. Each kiss makes your walls clench around his cock, his hips gently rolling against yours in a deliciously slow rhythm. Years of lust and platonic love meld into the most beautiful connection of your bodies, and it’s all too easy to forget that this is all just a fantasy.

You bump up the intensity of your vibrator as your fingers bury themselves within you, and you shamelessly finger yourself to the thought of your best friend until you’re teetering on the edge. 

Your chest warms, your walls clench, your pleasure heightens…

“Hey, are you- oh shit!”

You’re abruptly ripped out of your fantasy by the sound of Changgu’s voice, and you see him standing in the doorway. “Changgu?”

His gaze visibly jumps from your hands to your face, his eyes growing wide before he scrambles to pull the door shut.

Embarrassment swallows you whole, and you’re unable to move. Changgu just walked in on you. Oh God, Changgu just walked in on you.

***

If he had to guess, Changgu would say his face is probably the most ridiculous shade of red right now. He stares at her bedroom door from the safety of the hallway, completely unable to unsee everything he just walked in on.

Masturbating is totally normal. Not at all a big deal. Of course she masturbates from time to time. He does it too. But he never in a million years would have thought he’d see it happening one day.

Truth be told, it was incredibly hot to see her like that, and he definitely looked at her longer than he should have. But the desire to watch had so greatly overpowered the common sense that told him to get out - he just wasn’t thinking straight.

And now he just keeps playing it over and over in his head. This isn’t the first time he’s found himself lingering on the thought of her spread out and wriggling in pleasure - it’s just that now he has a very specific, real-life image attached to it.

Changgu hears the buzzing of her vibrator stop, and he hides his face in his hands, trying to get himself focused. He needs to say something to fix this. So he forces out a laugh and goes with, “Dude, lock your door next time.”

“Maybe you should knock!” She hollers from the other side of the door, and he can’t quite tell if she’s angry or just being sassy.

“Sorry, my fault.” He starts cracking his knuckles, still flustered. “Um, just let me know when you’re ready to eat. I’m good to go whenever. Uh, take your time.” This time a more genuine laugh comes out, because this whole situation is so absurdly awkward and it just feels better to laugh about it.

“Oh my God, stop! Go awaaayyyyy,” she groans, but he can hear her laugh too. It’s reassuring, like they’ll both be fine after this.

Now if only he could stop feeling so attracted to her.

***

Changgu thought that everything would be fine, but he was wrong. He had done everything he could at dinner to keep the mood light, but it was still awkward. He hated himself for opening that damn door, because clearly she feels uncomfortable now and who knows how long it’ll take for things to actually repair themselves.

He rubs his eyes and rolls over in bed to check the clock - 11:42. He’s been attempting to sleep for at least an hour, but he just can’t get her out of his head. He just keeps remembering the look of her fingers knuckle-deep inside of her, her face flushed and mouth open with pleasure. She looked absolutely gorgeous and the more he thinks about it, the more he wishes that he wasn’t her best friend.

Maybe if they weren’t friends, he could pursue her. Maybe if they hadn’t agreed to live platonically together for the next year, he could take her out. At the very least, he could present himself as an option in her dating pool. But the fact that they are best friends and roommates means that he has to get himself under control, because nothing more will ever happen between them. 

Even though her crackhead sense of humor never fails to make him laugh.

And the way her eyes crinkle when she smiles is the cutest thing in the whole world.

And she looks so hot in literally everything she wears.

If only things were different.

And then he hears a soft knock at his door, and his mouth goes dry. She asks from the other side, “Are you awake?”

“Yeah.”

“…Can I come in?”

He sits up in bed and turns on the lamp on his nightstand. “Yeah, come in.”

The door creaks open, and she lets it hang ajar as she enters the room, hopping up onto the bed. She looks troubled, her brow furrowed and her cheeks pink, and it causes the biggest lump in his stomach. What could this be about?

“I, um…” She sniffs, and he realizes she may have been crying a few minutes ago. “I thought we should talk. Because things just got so weird and I don’t want it to be weird. I’m so sorry that you saw all of that…”

“You don’t have to apologize, ____. I should be the one apologizing. I’m really sorry that I invaded your privacy like that. I definitely should have knocked.” Changgu scoots closer to her, worried that she’s actually deeply upset by all of this. He obviously didn’t mean to do it, but it’s an accident that must have been too much for her.

“I’m just so embarrassed…” 

Oh, no. He recognizes that face. He sees the tension in her temples, the quivering of her lips - she’s mere seconds away from tears.

Changgu reaches out for her, placing a hand on her upper arm for comfort. “Please, don’t feel embarrassed. It’s totally fine and I won’t judge you for that, okay? I’ll just pretend like I never even saw anything.”

She looks up from her hands just long enough to meet his eyes, and then it’s game over. The waterworks cannot be held back. She starts to cry, and he immediately scoops her up in a hug to try to calm her.

“I just don’t want to… ruin our friendship!” She blurts between sobs. “You’re… my best friend, and… I don’t… want to mess it up!”

“You’re not going to mess it up! Stop saying that,” Changgu holds her tightly, but he’s starting to sense that there might be something else going on. Why is she so worried about their friendship? This isn’t even that big of a deal. “_____, what’s going on? You’re fine. It’s okay.”

She takes a moment to gather herself, her tears slowing before she pulls away from him. She wipes at her face, and he just watches her with concern.

“I haven’t been totally honest.” She covers her face, unable to look at him. “So I just have to say it. I… I like you, Changgu, and I’m attracted to you, and I have all of these feelings that I’m not supposed to have, and I swear I’m trying to make it stop because you’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose you by feeling stuff I’m not supposed to feel…”

“Really?” Changgu is stunned by her words. How long has she felt this way?

She nods gently. “But I’m doing everything I can to get it to stop, because I don’t want to screw things up and I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. So please don’t think about it and help me not make this weird by just forgetting that I ever said anything.”

“I had no idea…” Not only is he confused by the sudden reveal of her feelings, but he’s surprised by how happy it makes him feel. And now he knows it’s his turn to ‘fess up. “I, um, I’ve been thinking about you a lot.” 

“In what way?”

“Well, in kind of a naked way after today,” he jokes, and he loves the smile that touches her lips.

“Fuck you, Changgu,” she laughs. “I’m trying to be vulnerable here and you’re making jokes.”

 “Sorry,” he chuckles. “Um, I’ve been thinking kind of the same way about you that you have been about me, apparently.”

Her mood gets a hair more serious. “You have?”

“Yeah. I obviously want you in my life because you’re my best friend, and I care about you with like, all that I am, and… wow, why is this so difficult to say?”

“Because it’s us.”

He meets her eyes, her intense gaze seeing into the deepest part of him, like she always does. 

Because it’s us.

It sounds like they’ve always been together, like they’re meant to be a unit. They’re us.

“I like you, _____.”

There. It’s out.

“I like you too, Changgu.”

His heart absolutely soars. There’s no way this is actually happening.

Her gaze falls to the floor. “What do we do?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do?’”

“This is not how I thought this conversation was going to go.” She rubs her eye. “I wasn’t prepared for this.”

“Neither was I,” Changgu laughs, and the hand he’s been keeping on her arm falls into her lap, clasping one of her hands. It feels clammy, and he’s sure his hand feels dry and rough to her, thanks to all the calluses he’s developed from rock climbing. “We can do whatever we want, right? We get to make the rules.”

She looks down at their joined hands. “So what do you want?”

You. I want you. “I want to kiss you.”

“You do?” Her eyes widen and then she immediately cracks up. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be so surprised. It’s just so weird to hear that from you.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, it’s just… I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time. And I’ve wanted to do… other things. It’s just unreal to hear you say that.”

As soon as she says ‘other things,’ his mind immediately flashes back to the memory of her touching herself. “So, wait, when I walked in on you… Was that because of me?”

She flushes, and it’s absolutely adorable. “I mean, yeah. You’re always so hot when you come back from working out.”

Her words sit strangely in his ears. “I get what you mean, that’s super weird to hear you say.”

“Right?” She laughs loudly. “It’s just… strange.”

“Okay, so now I’m really curious…” Changgu scoots over so that he’s sitting directly across from her, and he reaches up to touch her cheek. “How weird do you think it’ll get…”

Her eyes flutter back up to meet his as he cups her face, and it occurs to him that this really isn’t weird at all. He’s loved this girl his whole life and he’s finally getting to show his true feelings.

And then he does it. He kisses her.

And he kisses her again.

And again.

She tastes like sunshine and rain, like the middle of October. Like the sound of waves crashing and birds chirping. It’s her, and nothing but her, and he’s consumed by it.

Every single kiss is returned with warmth, curiosity, and passion. She cards her fingers through his hair as they kiss, and he pulls her close, wrapping her in his arms. She’s an incredible kisser, and he can’t help but feel like he’s really been missing out all this time.

But it isn’t until she bites his lip that he knows he can’t let her go back to her room tonight.

“How do you feel,” he murmurs against her lips, “about doing other things?”

She pulls back, a sly smile on her lips. “I would love to.”

***

Even with his lips on yours, it’s still impossible to believe that any of this is actually happening. That he would want exactly what you want. That you can finally break through the boundary of being just friends.

Your fantasy is somehow coming true.

You trust Changgu with all of your heart, so you dive in with everything you’ve got. You straddle his lap, delighted when you feel his bulge pressing against your core. It feels like your whole body is electrified by his touch - all you need is more skin.

With your help, his t-shirt is gone in a matter of moments, closely followed by your shirt and both of your bottoms. The two of you rush to undress each other, months (maybe years) of secret pining building up to this moment. There’s no going back - and you don’t want to, anyway.

His hands cover every inch of you, his fingers roughly perking up your nipples and traversing the curves of your ass. By the time he reaches the most sensitive part of you, you’re already a mewling mess. 

“Is this okay?” Changgu’s finger tip delicately swipes over your folds, trailing the wetness gathered there across your clit. 

“Yeah,” you nod, smiling shyly. It’s so insane that he’s actually touching you, that the pleasure you feel is all because of Changgu. You need to return the favor. You drag your hand down his chest to his cock, pleased by the hardness of it as you run your fingers over the head and down the shaft. “And I can touch you, too?”

One of his eyebrows perks up at the touch, and he nods. “Mhm. Let’s lay you down, yeah?”

“Okay.” 

He guides you back down to the bed, continuing to draw circles around your clit as he shifts you around. You let him take control - you’ve always imagined what he might do, so you’re curious to see what the non-fantasy Changgu likes.

And as it turns out, he likes biting your neck, sucking your nipples, plunging his fingers into you, and making you moan.

“Changgu,” you whimper his name as he plants kisses across your stomach. “Do you have a condom? I want you.”

Changgu looks at you like he’s in a trance, like he is completely struck with lust in this moment. “Of course, hang on.” He parts from you only long enough to dig through his dresser drawer (and long enough for you to admire his cute little butt). He returns to the bed with a condom packet in hand. “Now?”

You nod eagerly. “I feel like I’ve already waited forever.”

“I know the feeling.” 

Changgu rips open the packet and easily rolls the condom onto his length. He smiles warmly as he situates himself on top of you. “This is crazy, right?”

“Totally.” You run your nails through his soft hair and tug his earlobes before kissing him once. “But it’s the good kind of crazy.”

His lips crash into yours again as he lines himself up with your entrance, and then all at once he presses into you.

Your breath comes out of you in a stuttering sigh as you take him in, delighted by the feel of him as your bodies connect. As he starts rocking into you, you kiss him long and hard. This is everything you’ve ever wanted, and you’re absolutely overwhelmed by every beautiful sensation he gives you.

You get entirely lost in each other, your hips raising to meet his with every thrust, your lips completely entangled with his. You slip your hand between your bodies to rub your clit, giving yourself the extra bit of stimulation you need for this to be perfect.

“Do you feel good?” He quietly asks, breathing harder and harder with each thrust.

“I feel so good, Changgu,” you reassure him. “It feels so good…”

Nothing has ever felt more right, and you wonder how you convinced yourself for so long that this would be a bad idea. You had been completely, utterly incorrect. This is the best idea.

As you clench down around his cock, you realize that you’re getting alarmingly close to finishing. Maybe it’s because you didn’t get to orgasm earlier, but all of the sudden you’re right there…

A symphony of moans leaves you as you explode with pleasure, the sweet taste of Changgu’s name on your tongue. His hand grips your waist harder as you stutter beneath him, his eyes fixated sweetly on your contorting face. You’ve never felt so vulnerable yet so protected.

“____…” Changgu murmurs your name as the stars fade from your vision, and you realize he’s nearly there, too. 

You reclaim his lips and bite gingerly on his lower lip, earning yourself the same deep growl you got last time. That simple action is enough to spur a fresh burst of energy from him, and the pace of his thrusts increases. His nose crinkles as he nears his orgasm, and then a sweet moan follows as he empties into the condom. 

He hardly gives himself a moment to recover before pulling you into a deep kiss, as if to seal the magical experience you had just shared. And with that kiss, you know the two of you will never be the same.

All Rights Reserved © gwentoryfics. No translations, reposting, and/or modifying of the material is allowed without my direct permission.

[arolla-pine]

No room to swing a Cat? - p.29

(29) – The gift

“I can smell breakfast!” Alya said, standing at the door.

Marinette broke the eye contact with Adrien to look at her friend, a little confused. Somehow her mind kept thinking about the latest confession of love – the one she’d been waiting for years!

“Oh, there you are, sweet lovebirds! Don’t you have enough yet?” Alya sang ironically. “Were we so annoying too, Nino?”

“You still are…” Marinette muttered and turned back to the cooker. Adrien chuckled.

“Don’t be mad, girl!” the friend came closer. “Better look at the beautiful ring I got from my Nino!” She waved meaningfully with her left hand.

“Because you didn’t want to say ‘yes’ without the ring…” the newly minted fiancé commented wryly.

“Oh, come on, babe!” Alya laughed. “I’d accept you anyway! Yet…” she hesitated, still staring at her ring. “I’m glad it’s so beautiful… That confirms myself in the belief that I’ve made a good decision.”

“If I didn’t know you so well, I’d feel offended right now…” Nino commented, kissing his fiancé in her ear. Then he sat down next to Adrien and looked curious at his plate. “What’s there today?”

“Mine!” Adrien moved the plate away from his friend. “Not sharing!”

“You’ve always been so possessive?” Alya joked. “Or it started after your realisation what a precious you’d had just in front of your nose for all this time?”

“The result, not the cause is all that matters now…” Adrien answered back and added in a more serious tone: “Being aware of all those wasted years is painful enough, so let it go, OK?”

“My poor sunshine boy…”

“Here you are!” Marinette cut in by putting a plate in front of Alya, interrupting her bantering.

“So sweet?!” her friend noticed wryly. “Do you want me to drive me into diabetes or to get fat? I’ll have to buy an oversized wedding dress? Really? So envious? You’re going to ruin the most important day of your best friend’s life…” she was mumbling.

Marinette rolled her eyes and just squeezed a lemon over the plate, as she’d done before for Adrien. Alya became speechless – as Adrien before. She was chewing slowly and staring at her best friend in an awe.

“So good?” Nino asked, taking the advantage of sitting between Adrien and Alya.

He didn’t manage to even touch the crepe, because his fiancé moved her plate away from him and mumbled barely understandable “Mine!”, after which the rest burst out laughing.

“Isn’t it like what’s yours it’s his?” Marinette joked.

“We haven’t got married yet! And I want this recipe as a wedding gift!”

“I’ll think about it…” the cook replied and put the last plate in front of Nino.

“Oh, come on! I want that recipe!”

“Geez…” Nino muttered while eating his crepe so fast as if it was a competition. “I want that recipe too!”

“What for?” his fiancé asked in surprise. “You can’t even boil an egg…”

“The secret lies in technique not in the ingredients…” Marinette only smiled. “You’ll be lost with or without the recipe…”

She chuckled, when she heard her friends’ teasing about who was a worse cook. Then she turned back to the cooker, but suddenly the sight of Adrien staring at her with a lovesick smile drew her attention. She leaned in over the countertop, and he whispered:

“One day some man will be thankful to have you…”

She ran out of breath, because she recognised her own words.

“Some man?” she asked ironically, raising her brow.

“Oh, right, my mistake… I will be thankful to have you…” he corrected himself immediately and added with a tender smile: “I’ve already been…”

“Much better…” she stroked his cheek and went back to cooking.

Adrien laughed quietly. He felt like bliss filled him completely. He couldn’t believe that he needed so little to be so happy.

“What’s so funny?” Nino asked, glancing at his friend suspiciously.

“He’s happy because he’ll have these crepes forever…” Alya commented, but after a while she added with satisfaction as if she suddenly found out the solution: “We’ll be dropping in for breakfasts.”

“Dropping in?” Nino spotted. “They’re moving out?”

“Not yet. But how do you imagine it will look like? Where will the kids sleep?”

Nino choked with his crepe and looked at his fiancé terrified.

“Wh-What kids?”

“Our kids, babe. Some day! I’m not telling you we’ll have them now! But some day they will appear. If not ours, there will be theirs for sure.” Alya pointed the other couple who blushed instantly.

“Probably I’ll move out as soon as my home is renovated…” Marinette whispered, suddenly sad. She felt so well in this apartment.

Adrien glanced at her, uncertain. They had had such a great time that he totally forgot about her house. It occurred to him suddenly that Marinette treated her stay at Alya and Nino’s as temporary, so as soon as she could, she’d come back home. That thought was painful for him. Even though her house wasn’t halfway around the world, for him it was like on another planet.

“There’s no room to swing a cat in here…” Marinette whispered in his ear, taking the advantage of their friends’ noisy teasing. “Even though some alley cat told me once that no one would notice…”

Adrien looked at her with hope suddenly awakened in his heart. And then he heard:

“There will always be a room for a certain Cat in my home…”

He smiled in response, feeling like his brain just melted like the butter on a frying pan. Although he was aware that his friends’ apartment had been a safe shelter for him for last few years, he’d never been here so happy as for those last two weeks. Especially from last evening. All in all, it didn’t matter where he was going to live, if only the woman of his life lived there with him.

“What are you whispering there about?” Alya cut in, and Marinette rolled her eyes. Adrien only chuckled.

“We’re planning our future…” Marinette said and went back to cooking.

“Don’t plan too much for the evening!”

“Wait, what?” they both asked in surprise.

“We’re going to have a little celebration of our engagement tonight! With you both.”

“But…” Adrien began, but words died in his mouth. He glanced at Marinette, helpless. They were to have their first date tonight! The first of a million.

“A date will still be there, don’t worry. You can go out tomorrow.” Alya ignored her friends. “Besides, tomorrow we’re out with Nino to celebrate with our families, so you’ll have time for… uhm… dating… Alone…”

“Uhm… Al?” Marinette tried to say something, but her friend had already decided for all of them:

“No more complaints! I’m a bride so you can’t refuse anything I ask!”

“You’re sure you know what you’re doing, man?” Adrien joked and earned Alya’s glare.

“I’m okay with that, dude…” Nino muttered staring at his fiancé with admiration.

“So, it’s decided!” Alya summed up and continued her breakfast.

Marinette only exchanged glances with Adrien. Their date had to wait…

—

No room to swing a Cat? p.28  <-  Previous part |  Next part  ->  No room to swing a Cat? p.30 

Start reading from the beginning

[slxyangel]

Unspoken (Tommy Lee x Reader)

Summary: The conversation you had most dreaded had finally arrived, and the outcome was going to be ugly, at the very least.

Wordcount: 2.6k

Warnings: angst, cursing, mentions of violence, literally the SMALLEST mentions of sex, fluffy ending.

A/N: Nothing really. Just don’t judge too hard, I’m new, and English isn’t my first language. Enjoy :)

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!!

Masterlist: https://slxyangel.tumblr.com/post/189625800403/masterlist

The vase flew across the room as flowers and water were scattered all over the floor. It hit the wall right next to Tommy’s head. Shit, that was close.

- WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

- IT MEANS EXACTLY WHAT I SAID, YOU FUCKING HYSTERICAL BITCH- Tommy yelled, with his eyes wide open and his index finger pointing at you - AND STOP THROWING THINGS AT ME.

- I WOULD IF YOU WEREN’T BEHAVING LIKE AN ABSOLUTE DOUCHEBAG - you said as you grabbed a book and threw it in his direction. This time, it hit him on the stomach.Tommy caught the book right before it fell and walked towards you in two impressively long steps, only to grab your wrists before you had the time to throw him the ashtray you were already holding.

- YOU SERIOUSLY NEED TO CALM THE FUCK DOWN Y/N.

- ARE YOU REALLY TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN?? - you argued, unsuccessfully trying to escape from his grip -  REALLY??? AFTER WHAT HAPPENED IN YOUR HOUSE???

- IT’S NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL!!!

- BUT IT IS!!! YOUR PARENTS LITERALLY SPENT HALF AN HOUR SHOWING ME PICTURES OF YOUR EX THAT THEY, FOR SOME REASON, KEEP IN AN ALBUM, REMINDING ME HOW BEAUTIFUL SHE WAS, HOW HAPPY YOU TWO WERE TOGETHER AND HOW MUCH THEY GOT ALONG WITH HER.

- OH MY GOD, AGAIN? THAT HAPPENED A MILLION YEARS AGO. IT’S FORGOTTEN. I AM WITH YOU NOW, I LOVE YOU. SARAH IS OVER, YOU KNOW IT.

- YEAH I SURE AS HELL DO - you yelled back, filled with rage and built-up anger. Your hands were finally free, so you were gesticulating a lot while you spoke - BUT APPARENTLY YOUR MOTHER DOESN’T. SHE FUCKING HATES ME! SHE ALWAYS DID! SHE ONLY SEES ME AS “THE OTHER ONE”, “THE ONE HE’LL EVENTUALLY GET TIRED OF”, “THE WHORE”, “THE GRRRROUPIE” WITH A LOT OF R’S - you said, mimicking her accent - WHEN THAT IS NOT EVEN TRUE. AND WHAT DO I HAVE TO COPE WITH WHEN I GET HOME FROM AN EVENING WITH PEOPLE THAT DESPISE ME SO BAD? EXACTLY! A BOYFRIEND WHO PROJECTS ALL HIS ISSUES ON ME AND COMPARES THIS CRAP WITH THE FACT THAT MY OWN MOTHER ONCE SAID “Oh, you have tattoos” THE DAY SHE MET HIM.

- OH NO NO NO NO - Tommy interrupted - DON’T YOU DARE WALK THAT PATH. IT’S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, YOUR MOTHER IS DISGUSTED BY ME, I CAN SEE IT, HER EYES GIVE IT AWAY. SHE HATES ME BECAUSE I’M THE DRUMMER IN A METAL BAND AND SHE CAN’T STAND THE FACT THAT HER PERFECT LITTLE DAUGHTER IS DATING A DUDE WHO WEARS MAKEUP AND LEATHER PANTS.

- WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN SAYING?? TOMMY. I. AM. A. SINGER. - You paused deliberately between each word. This was ridiculous - HOW THE HELL WAS SHE GOING TO HATE YOU FOR BEING A ROCKSTAR WHEN HER OWN DAUGHTER IS ONE? THAT DOESN’T ADD UP, DUMBASS.

- YEAH, WHATEVER YOU SAY. AT LEAST MY MOTHER IS FUCKING CONSEQUENT WITH WHAT SHE BELIEVES, UNLIKE SOME OTHER HYPOCRITES.

- SEE?? YOU JUST GOT ALL WORKED UP OUT OF NOWHERE JUST BECAUSE I TOLD YOU SOMETHING YOU DIDN’T WANT TO HEAR. YOU ARE SUCH A SPOILED LITTLE BRAT. AND DIDN’T YOU LOVE TO BRAG ABOUT YOUR PERFECT PARENTS AND YOUR PERFECT FAMILY? WELL, THE FACT THAT YOU ARE AN EGOTISTICAL CHILD WITH ANGER ISSUES IS ENTIRELY ON YOUR MOTHER, AND IF I WERE HER, I WOULDN’T EXACTLY BE PROUD OF MY ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS A PARENT.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

You had overstepped. The blatant contrast between a long while of yelling and the absolute silence that now reigned in the living room told you so. And the worst of all was that you had done it consciously.You knew how much Tommy loved his mum and how sacred their bond was to him. For this reason, you were conscious about the fact that particularly this conversation topic was some tricky business, but you couldn’t contain it anymore.

You had sensed in what ways Vassiliki was a loving mother, a caring wife and a good person in general terms. Only you didn’t feel like she acted that way towards you. From the very first time you had met her, you had been able to feel the looks of disdain she often gave you, or the slight but still noticeable shifts in her voice tone when she talked to you. You just didn’t know why. At the beginning you told yourself it was all a product of your imagination, you had been nervous for weeks before meeting Tommy’s parents, so your suggested mind could be playing tricks on you. But within time, you thought maybe it wasn’t exactly like that.

You had been avoiding to tell your boyfriend because you didn’t think it was a major drawback, and you knew how much he adored her. You didn’t want to take the role of the abducting girlfriend who sets her partner against everything and everyone important in his life, so you would just put up with the animosity until it faded away, because it eventually would, right?

That night hadn’t been particularly rough, not rougher than the others in any case, but it was the last straw. After the shitshow that was your family dinner, the ride home was rather silent. Tommy could sense something was wrong. I mean, he was oblivious, but he wasn’t dumb, so once you two got home he asked you why the attitude. After such a long night, the last thing you wanted was to fight with your boyfriend. All you needed was for him to take you upstairs, fuck you senseless and cuddle you until the planet fell from its axis. And although your head was filled with red lights and voices screaming that answering his questions would start a war, Tommy really knew how to push your buttons so, long story short, vases started flying.

And now there you were, standing in front of the love of your life, staring at him and about to deal with the consequences you yourself provoked when you couldn’t bite your tongue hard enough.Tommy was looking at you with widened eyes, a subtle frown and massive amounts of disappointment in his expression. He seemed half surprised, because he would have never expected you to say something like that, half hurt, for obvious reasons. You felt your heart shrinking a little bit just with the look on his face. You had fucked up good and proper.

- Tommy, I’m so so…

But he didn’t give you the time to finish your sentence. He swung the door open and shut it close behind him, living you with a feeling of guilt, the urge to chase after him and the certainty that doing so would be a worse solution than your accusation had been a problem. In the air, the noise of his departure and a million words unspoken.

_____________________

How could she say that? I’m serious, how could she? What kind of abrasive bile must have she had inside of her to be able to say that without even flinching. I was livid.

I am not the biggest fan of leaving problems unsolved and arguments unfinished. Issues need to be addressed and things need to be talked through. Communication is necessary, especially in a romantic relationship, because it means that you trust your partner, and that is the key to it all. It has to be. And boy I fucking know it, my life had taught me the hard way: silence equals death.

Still, even with that mantra smashing my brain like a hammer, I left my girlfriend stranded in our own house in the middle of an argument; in the middle of her sentence. But I had to. I didn’t know what else to do. In fact, I didn’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t left the way I did. I didn’t want to think about it.

I had been driving for almost two hours. My first reflect the moment I stepped out of the house was to get in my car, and since i couldn’t decide where to go in the middle of the mental storm, I would do it along the way. But I hadn’t decided anything, I just drove. Driving always made me feel relaxed; concentrating on all of the small tasks I had to synchronize helped me focus on something other than my thoughts, it gave me perspective, and that was exactly what I needed in that moment.

In fact, now that I saw it coldly, what hurted me the most wasn’t her attack. I mean, come on, we all throw low blows in the heat of an argument once in a while. Or more often than that. I have. I can understand it. But no, what worried me was how come she hadn’t told me before.

For the way she was ranting at home all those things about my mum, it didn’t seem like the problem had only existed since that very night. No, that much anger and rampage had to be coming from a long time ago. But how much? How much time had she been feeling like that, suffering in silence? Dude, I love my mother, but I better than anyone know that sometimes she can be really petty, I inherited that wonderful trait from her. So why didn’t Y/N tell me? Doesn’t she trust me enough? What did she expect me to answer, that made her scared enough to chose to bear with that pain alone? What did I do? What didn’t I do?

Shit, my head was going to explode. I was definitely going to have to face the issue at some point, and I was running out of gas, so I had two options: heading to the nearest gas station and keep wandering around, or going back home. As much as we had a huge fight, I didn’t really feel like ending up in the middle of nowhere, forced to sleep in the car, so it was going to have to be option two. Besides, I was now cold-headed enough to talk things like the adult I sometimes wish I wasn’t.

When I got home, I was received by a darkened room and a silent house. Y/N’s wallet and keys were on the table, so she mustn’t have left. Good. It was past 4 a.m, so she was probably already sleeping. Good. At least I didn’t have to confront her straight away. I turned around to close the main door, when I found a small light-yellow post-it sticked to it.

HELLO

It was Y/N’s handwriting.

In the dim light of the lamp from the hall I was able to see a few more papers sticked to the wall of the stairs in front of me. I reached for the first one and started reading the note on it.

I’M GLAD YOU CAME BACK (cause if you’re reading this it’s because you have), I HOPE YOUR TIME AWAY WAS PRODUCTIVE, OR, AT LEAST, ENJOYABLE.

Yeah, pretty much. All I did was consume the gas tank and get to zero useful conclusions, so I would say we can call that success. I went for the next post-it, climbing a few steps, since I assumed they were in order.

I DON’T KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS, BUT I’M GONNA TELL YOU JUST IN CASE. I LOVE YOU MORE THAN I HAVE EVER LOVED ANYONE IN MY LIFE, TOMMY, SO MUCH IT PHYSICALLY HURTS.

Oh. Well, this wasn’t exactly new, but reading the verbalized, inked, tangible version of it was a whole different thing. Next note.

WHEN YOU LEFT, I THOUGHT THE WORST, I THOUGHT THAT WAS IT, I THOUGHT I HAD LOST YOU BECAUSE I AM A DUMB BITCH WHO CAN’T CONTROL HER MOUTH.

I knew we had something in common, Y/N, I always knew it.

BUT THEN I REALIZED THAT WHAT WAS ACTUALLY PUNCTURING MY SOUL WASN’T THE PERSPECTIVE OF LOSING YOU. IT WAS THE PERSPECTIVE OF HAVING HURT YOU. I SWEAR THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACE IS GOING TO BE TATTOOED INSIDE OF MY LIDS FOREVER.

Fuck.

YOU CAN’T BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND HOW SORRY I AM FOR WHAT I SAID, BUT SPECIALLY FOR HOW I SAID IT, EVEN LESS IF ALL THE EXPLANATION I GIVE YOU IS A FEW SHITTY POST-ITS ON THE WALL.

This was the last piece of paper on the wall, right at the top of the stairs, so it had been more difficult to read only with the weak light from the floor below. I put it in my right hand with the small stack of other notes I had collected, and turned left to go to our room. Sticked to the closed door, I found another post-it.

SINCE IT’S MORE THAN LIKELY THAT BY THE TIME YOU REACH THIS PIECE OF PAPER I AM SOUND ASLEEP (A HOE PLANS AHEAD), ALL I HAVE LEFT TO SAY IS THAT, IF YOU FEEL LIKE IT, YOU CAN WAKE ME UP SO WE PROPERLY FIX THIS. I LOVE YOU.

The first thing I saw when I entered the room was her, in her panties and one of my t-shirts she liked to wear when I was on tour. Instead of occupying her side of the bed, she was in the middle of it, curled up and with her hair sprawled all over her pillow. Her arm was slightly reaching my half of the bed, and her nose softly pressed against my own pillow, as if she wanted to hold on to my scent, to get closer to me, but as if she didn’t dare.

The sight was divine, she seemed so peacefully asleep, and after such a tough night, God forbid I interrupted that, whatever reason I might have for doing so. Communication could wait. I got into bed and cuddled up behind her back, as gently as I could, so that she didn’t wake up.

_____________________

A cold hand ran up my bare thigh and rested on my hip, as I felt a warm breath and a pair of lips grazing the back of my neck.It was him.Slowly, his presence and the memories from a few hours earlier started to drag me away from my sleep. Why was he here? What time was it? Shit, the post-its. Was he waking me up? Was this my cue? What should I say? With a sloppy movement I began to turn around to face him.

- Tommy… - my voice was hoarse because of the crying and the sleeping.

- Shhh - he instantly interrupted me with a soft voice, as his arm moved from my hip to my waist and pulled me closer to his chest - it’s okay.

- But…

- I know, I know - he whispered as he peppered soft kisses on the bare skin of my shoulder, exposed by his t-shirt; on the back of my neck and also in my head, sniffing the scent that my hair radiated - sleep now, babe. You can tell me tomorrow, but now sleep. It’s okay, I love you…

His soothing words managed to kill the clouds of confusion that surrounded me in that moment. In my state of semi-wakefulness I wasn’t particularly aware of or integrated with reality, but something in his voice was so deeply calming that I couldn’t help but feel every little thing had somehow fallen into place. So there I was, with his arms around me, his lips against me, inescapably sleepy and undeniably in love.

[sign-from-god-complex]

A Gift From Me To You - Epilogue

Chapter Summary: They were ridiculously domestic, and Patton wouldn’t have them any other way.

Warnings: There’s purely theoretical talk of suicide and major character death (of like, old age) that aren’t actually happening in the story.

A/N: And that’s all he wrote, folks! Thank you so much to all of y’all who’ve followed along with this story and left nice comments (and I do read every tag on all of my writing), it really means the world to me. I’ve put,,, A Lot of effort into this fic and I’m pretty proud of how it’s turned out, all things considered.

I truly hope you’ve all enjoyed it.

AO3 Link //  Link to Chapter One! //  And Two! // And Three! // And Four! // And Five! // And Six! // And Seven! // And Eight!

————————————————

Our final act opens on an apartment located in the centre of town.

It’s a cozy little apartment, collections of pillows and blankets gathered on couches and trinkets covering every surface—a result of the hoarding tendencies of a few of the occupants. The blinds of the outside windows were pulled open, letting the late morning sunlight stream into the living room and illuminating the slightly hectic scene before us.

Patton was curled up in the armchair, watching Roman rush to and fro as he frantically searched for his keys.

He’d basically been at that all morning, having been tricked into sleepy early morning cuddles with Virgil—the way the three of them often seemed to on days they had commitments—and falling behind in his morning routine. Patton wasn’t entirely sure whether it was a coincidence or whether their boyfriend knew they had to get up and be productive but on those days he just seemed considerably more alluring.

Said Virgil glanced up from his phone, disturbing Logan who was resting against his shoulder despite how small the movement was.

“Have you checked the fridge?”

Roman stopped in the middle of rifling through the cupboard near the front door, turning to give his boyfriend a disbelieving look. “The fridge?”

“I dunno,” Virgil shrugged, returning to disinterestedly scrolling through his phone, “That’s usually where my lost stuff ends up. I have a theory that one of us is sleepwalking and moving our shit.”

“Language, Virgil!” Patton chastised.

Virgil muttered through his apologies as Roman rushed into the kitchen. Patton just hoped they hadn’t left any knives out on the counter because at the speed Roman was moving there’s no telling what could happen—they didn’t want a repeat of last year’s Thanksgiving.

After just a moment a triumphant cry was heard, Roman running his way back into the room, his eyes bright. He stopped off at the couch, swooping down to plant a kiss on Virgil’s cheek and delighting at the way his boyfriend immediately began to blush, before looping back around to grab his bag from the hook by the door.

“They were in the fridge! Thank you, my emo nightmare!”

“Yeah, whatever. I wouldn’t even need to suggest it if our shh—” Virgil caught Patton’s mouth tighten out of the corner of his eye. “—hhhtuff didn’t end up in the fridge in the first place.”

The way he said it was slightly accusing, but not in a malicious way, just in a way that indicated that he was tired of having to defrost his belongings every morning.

“Talk to Dr Picani about it at your next appointment,” Logan mumbled. He stretched against Virgil’s side, stifling a yawn. “The onset of sleepwalking could have a psychological basis if it’s not something any of us had previously experienced.”

It was one of Logan’s regulated days off—implemented to ensure that he didn’t overwork himself—so he’d apparently decided to protest by working through the entire evening instead. The three of them had already berated him for that earlier this morning. Now, they were simply trying to convince him to take a nap, though Patton imagined it was hard to stay asleep with Roman buzzing about like a suburban housewife before a dinner party.

“Oh!” Roman exclaimed, “Speaking of Dr Picani, I should head off soon or I’m going to be late. Do any of you need anything while I’m there?”

Logan blinked sleepily and Patton had to fight to not coo at how cute his boyfriend was when he was half-awake. “I… believe I may have left my coat at my last appointment, would you be able to-”

“No problem, specs.”

“Excellent.” Logan evidently decided to take that as the end of his portion of the conversation, as he dropped his head into Virgil’s lap, humming softly as Virgil instinctively went to run a hand through it.

“How about you, Virge?” Roman asked, rocking back and forth on his heels slightly.

“Nah, I’m good. Though—” Virgil looked up from his phone to properly address his boyfriend—“I’ve invited Remy over tonight so if you can pick up some snacks on your way home that’d be cool.”

Roman rolled his eyes with far more intensity than was probably necessary. “Ugh! That asshole?”

“Funny,” Virgil smirked, giving Roman a knowing look, “I distinctly remember someone calling them a "cool dude" the first time we met.”

“Well, that was before I got to know them!”

Virgil studied him for a second, eyes narrowed yet amused. “…You’re still salty that we kicked your ass at Mario Kart, aren’t you?”

A grin broke out on Virgil’s face at the immediate protests from Roman and Logan in the form of both spluttering and a long-winded rant which seemed to only contain a lot of useless excuses—a favourite of Logan’s. It was… ridiculously domestic, and Patton would not have had it any other way.

They still didn’t really understand how or why their soulmarks had developed—Logan had done a lot of research, including discussions with university professors and “soulmark experts” but to no avail, they just hadn’t been able to get a definitive answer. Patton, however, had his own theory.

Things had needed to happen this way and the universe had simply recognised that.

Love is a journey, something you learn to give throughout your life, especially when you’re set to undergo as many challenges as the four of them had. Patton isn’t sure how he feels about fate but he knows in his heart that things would have been… different if they had developed their soulmarks when they were supposed to.

And he was right.

Logan had needed to wait. He’d needed time to develop feelings before his soulmark appeared, needed it to be clear he was the one in control of his own destiny.

There were a billion ways Logan’s story could have ended, but the worst were the ones where he died cold and alone, regretting with every inch of his decaying form that he hadn’t spent more time caring for others. The pursuit of knowledge was all well and good, but it’s little comfort when relaxing into the cold embrace of death.

He would wish for someone to be there with him—someone with a soft, warm smile and compassionate words, someone with large and excitable gestures, ready to tell him a story to soothe his mind, someone soft and quiet, eyes filled with tears and silent acceptance. He would lay there wishing for people who would make him feel loved and fulfilled until he felt finally nothing at all.

There’s no way to know for sure that what he had been given was the best outcome, but there was also no way to know that it wasn’t.

Roman had also needed to wait.

He’d needed to learn that he was a person, first and foremost. He was not one half of a whole, he was a unique individual who may be made better by being in a partnership, but had an intrinsic worth of his own—he may not have quite reached that point by the time he’d met his soulmates, but he’d made a start, and it was enough.

Had Roman developed a soulmark when he was a child the way he “should have” he would have spent his whole relationship basing his self-worth on the love he received from his partners. Fights would have been a nightmare for him, making him feel worthless and unlovable. He would have stormed out a million times, he would have sobbed to himself to sleep, unable to confront the others about the way his heart broke with each criticism and how deep his depression and insecurities actually ran.

In some universes that was all Roman could handle. And they never recovered.

Patton had needed to wait. He’d needed a chance to develop the optimistic outlook that he had, a unique perspective comprised of years of contemplation and familial love.

Not having a soulmark had given him something that had not only altered his view of the world but those around him's too. Patton’s intense empathy and care for others was an integral part of his character, it did not vary too much throughout his different stories, but his success rate did.

Patton had saved people’s lives. Whether this was something he was aware of remained to be seen, however, it was unfortunately not always the case. Sometimes Patton failed—even in the universe that played out, Patton had failed—but his outlook gave him a weapon. It gave him a fighting chance at convincing people to stay, to convince them that they are more than a soulbond—they are a human being.

Sometimes he gave too much of himself away, but he here had the others to keep him grounded and safe.

And lastly, Virgil had needed to wait. Much like Roman, he'd needed a chance to develop a sense of self-worth, but instead of separate from those who may be close to him, separate from societal norms.

Virgil grew up knowing what soulmates were supposed to be like. He grew up knowing the responsibility and the expectations that came with it, hearing all those beautiful love stories of people dying for their soulmates, thinking that’s what you were supposed to do. But now he knew better.

Due to not having a soulmark, Virgil had been removed from the situation. None of those expectations had been placed on him, and he’d come to learn that although rejection is terrifying and people can be cruel, he was allowed to want things for himself. He was allowed to establish boundaries and he was not at the whim of anybody but himself.

Gaining a soulmark when he was a child would have caused Virgil to push himself far beyond what he was ever comfortable with. And Roman—desperately seeking any kind of attention—would have taken and taken and taken without knowing how much it was weighing on Virgil, without ever recognising how drained and miserable his boyfriend had become.

He would’ve found it hard to be happy in his relationship and he would hate himself for feeling that way because they’re his soulmates. He’s supposed to give them everything he has! Even if he’s feeling like he’s running out of things to give.

But none of that happened.

All the ways the events of this story could have played out were not how they played out. The universe knew they had to wait… and so they'd waited.

Their soulmark, though not representing a significant moment in their lives the way they often did, was far from chosen at random—Asters represent love and patience, and after all, the four of them had certainly gained that.

Patton may not know the specifics, but he knew in his heart that the way things had gone resulted in the best possible outcome for all of them. The story may be unconventional, sure, but it was theirs. And he was so incredibly grateful that he got to be a part of it.

“Patton?”

The sound of his name broke Patton free from his thoughts. He jerked his head up from where his gaze had been trailing slow swirls on the carpet, a soft, “Hmm?” pulled from his throat almost instinctively.

Roman was looking at him, head tilted and mild concern painting his features, as Patton belatedly realised he’d been asked a question. Darn.

“I asked if you needed anything while I was with…” Roman trailed off, eyes flickering over his boyfriend’s face as if searching for something. “Are you alright?”

Both of the others were also looking over now, though Logan’s eyes were half closed as he was still partly in the clutches of sleep. Virgil had even placed his phone down, his expression clearly worried, and Patton couldn’t fight the impulse to just soothe their unease.

“Oh! Um, of course, I am!” he answered quickly, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Virgil threw him a disapproving look. Virgil was—Patton might say unfortunately, but he knows he that he shouldn’t—very good at seeing through his lies, so bottling things up wasn’t really an option anymore. Of course, he knows it’s good for his mental health in the long run, but it certainly doesn’t make things easy for him.

“Patton…”

He winced. “Right, right, not hiding my feelings, I know. It’s just-”

He could feel tears building up behind his eyes, threatening to spill out, and Roman strode quickly across the living room floor to kneel in front of him. Taking Patton’s hands gently into his own, Roman pressed a kiss to his palm, pulling them close to his chest and Patton had to bite at his lip to stop from bursting into tears immediately.

“Sweetheart, what is it?” His voice was sweet and understanding and Patton was so full of love for them all that it was overwhelming. “Is something wrong?”

“No! It’s just…” Patton inhaled shakily, eyes scanning over to Virgil and Logan sitting on the couch. Logan had clearly decided this was something worth sitting up for, though he was still leaning against Virgil, who was leaning back into him in turn.

It was sweet just how cuddly Logan got when he was sleepy. Previously, Patton had only had the pleasure of knowing Roman’s level of affection—which was A Lot, All the Time, Yes Please and Thank You—but now he knew Logan’s gentle guiding touches, Virgil’s absentminded petting, the way that sleep made both of them incredibly clingy.

He knew the way Virgil would seek him out after a long day to lie with his head in Patton’s lap, listening to Patton babble on and on to keep his mind off of things. He knew the way Logan would melt if Patton wrapped his arms around him when Logan was working at his desk, all the stress and tension disappearing in the warmth of his touch. He knew how Roman would swirl patterns into his skin as they laid in bed, trying to drift off, never quite settling until all three of them had finally curled up beside him.

He dropped his eyes down to Roman’s chest where his hands were still held, shaking his head slightly in disbelief because this is something he gets to have.

Gods, he was so lucky.

“...You’re all so perfect, you know that?” He looked to meet their slightly stunned expressions, his eyes crinkling at the corners as more tears gathered. “And I love you so, so much.”

The admission prompted a soft, quiet smile to appear on Roman’s face—it was a smile reserved solely for the three of them and it made Patton’s chest lift as tears began to fall. Roman reached out, wiping them away as they made their appearances, pressing lightly against his skin.

“Jeez, Pat, you make it sound like you’re dying,” Virgil joked, but the fond look in his eyes gave him away—he was a sap at heart, even if he’d never admit it.

Patton laughed wetly. “No, no, I’m not dying. ‘m just happy.”

“Well, we love you too, sweetheart.”

Roman leant up to press a kiss to his cheek and Patton felt himself flush slightly at the contact—casual affection was the way to his heart and they all knew it. He did love big displays—it was very sweet when his boyfriends (usually Roman) went to all that effort—but the soft, little everyday things definitely meant a lot to him.

“Of course, we do.” Logan shifted around on the couch, barely stifling a yawn.

Virgil wrapped his arm around Logan’s shoulders, softening as his boyfriend burrowed further into him before gesturing for Patton to move towards them. “Come ‘ere, babe. We demand cuddles.”

Patton giggled, retrieving his hands from Roman and pulling himself up out of the chair. They were all well aware that he could never turn down cuddles. He flopped himself down next to them, seeing the way Logan immediately adjusted to the change, managing somehow to commandeer Patton’s arm and chest as well as Virgil’s in some sort of twisted up human pretzel of a cuddle pile.

Roman had stood up as Patton had and appeared as if he were about to join them, but was stopped abruptly by Logan’s muffled voice.

“Roman. Appointment.”

Roman’s eyes widened, inhaling sharply in alarm. “Ah, shoot. I’m definitely going to be late. What’s the time?”

Virgil, having decided to give himself up to the cuddling, only muttered something incoherently, so Patton grabbed his own phone out of his pocket, trying his best not to jostle the half-asleep Logan.

“Oh!” Patton lit up as his screen turned on, displaying the time. “11:11! Make a wish!”

Two-thirds of the cuddle pile groaned, with interspersed muttering from Logan about how wishes were illogical and how 11:11 is a no more significant time than any other. For just a moment, though, the apartment fell silent, and Patton knew despite their protests they were wishing still.

And then it passed, Roman startling them out of the quiet with a goodbye, a chaste forehead kiss for each of them—though he couldn’t quite reach Logan’s forehead in the position he was in and had to settle for the top of his head instead—and a slam of the door.

Patton grabbed the remote to switch on the TV, trying to find something to occupy himself until he had to start lunch. Virgil eventually picked his phone back up, sending memes to Roman for him to see after his appointment just in case things got too emotional. Logan, surrounded by the warmth of his boyfriends, finally managed to fall asleep for a short duration, though he was abruptly awoken 20 minutes later by Remy’s arrival.

Patton was always adamant that if you say your wish aloud it won’t come true. As such, the four of them had no way of knowing that at that moment each of them had wished for the same thing—the one thing that they could think to want for.

Logan, vulnerable for the first time in his life, relishing in the way it felt to open up knowing you’re only going to receive love and care in return, knowing that he was safe.

Virgil, comfortable and accepted and far happier than he’d ever thought he could be, aware that finally he’d found his place—somewhere he didn’t have to worry.

Roman, experiencing the security of having people who adored him, making an effort to understand just how wonderful he truly was and how many good things he deserved.

Patton surrounded by all the love he’d ever wanted, feeling bright and hopeful for the rest of their lives together, feeling like he was finally living up to all those expectations he’d put on himself.

All of them, with their eyes shut and their hearts full, had wished only for this happiness to last.

So the universe smiled and gave them all one last gift.

————————————————

Tag list <333 : @bunny222 @jadedfantasies231 @221b-quote @reinefandoms @i-really-dig-the-purple @bionic-egypt @not-so-innocent-bi-sander @mistress-jinx09 @soijusthavetoask @marshmallow-the-panda @the-writersblock @theunoriginaldaisy @therubyjailcell @sandersfandersblog @hghrules @that-smol-tired-gay @sanders-sides-stuff @inan-sanders @frogdog145 @follow-pheonix-inside @forestwulf @coloursintheblur @cosmic-melodies

General tag list: @mutechild @super-magical-wizard @shadowsfromthesun

[disloopy]

remedy for a broken heart pt.2

nafla

genre: angst

word count: 3k

a/n. i’m sorry this look on nafla is superior don’t try to convince me otherwise. this part is soooo long im sorry but i hope its a good finish since you guys have been waiting forever for it.

                                 with a little bit of this, with a little bit of that we gon be alright

Nicholas sighed in exhaustion, plopping down on the couch next to you. The current state of the small studio he shared with the rest of the boys reflected upon the amount of time he spent there, working on songs but never finding one that seemed to qualify his ideals.

“What are the stakes?”

“Hm?”

“I mean if I quite music... can I live?”

You turned to him, setting your phone aside. “Ask yourself... you’re the one who said music is your life.”

“I know... but I’m afraid people here won’t accept me cause I’m not one of their own.”

You laughed. “Babe, it’s always hard at first, I’m sure they’ll eventually learn how amazing you are and will look past the differences.”

“You know,” Nicholas murmured. “Jinyoung hyung suggested we go to Korea for a a while.” He knew he had peaked your interest with those words. “He knows some people there. If we can start a stable career, then it won’t be too hard when we come back here.”

You smiled with a bright “that sounds great!” but there was a hint of worry in your eyes. Nicholas liked that. “Jinyoung is always reliable, isn’t he?” you said, looking away for a second. Nicholas nodded in agreement; trusting Jinyoung would be the only right thing to do in any situation.

“So are you all going?”

“Me and hyung are gonna fly out first, then we’ll get the others to come.” You didn’t say anything for a while so Nicholas reached over to clutch your hand. “When I get back, you’ll be dating a real rapper.” He hoped these words could at least be somewhat comforting to you.

“I already see you as a real artist,” you told him with a smile.

“Dude, what’s the deal?” asked Daniel, walking into Nicholas’s room as he was getting dressed for the day. “Mina just asked me if she can stay in the guest bedroom for the rest of the trip... did y’all fight?”

“We broke up,” Nicholas told him plainly.

“What?” Daniel couldn’t hide his shock. “We literally here to relax and you guys went ahead and made your own drama.”

Nicholas sighed in irritation. “Daniel, I really don’t want to talk about this right now.” The younger boy fell silent, and put his hands in his pockets, staring at the floor. 

“Well damn... so did y’all break up break up or...” Nicholas knew he was referring to the ‘incident’ with you . It wasn’t something he was proud of, the fact that all his friends, who were avid supporters of you, were conscious of the whole thing. 

“Fuck... I don’t know. Girls are so complicated.”

Daniel pressed his lips together. “Really, I think you’re complicated.” The two boys chuckled quietly, unsure of what was funny. “So you still up for tonight?”

“I don’t think it’ll be good if I came.. since Mina...”

“Bro, she’s coming too.”

“Alright, I’ll think about it.”

As Daniel was leaving the room, Nicholas asked him to keep quiet about the whole situation to which he respectfully obliged. Daniel was known to have a big mouth but he was also trustworthy and always had his friends best interests at heart. And with that thought, Nicholas found it might be easier to forget about everything and have a fun night out with the boys instead of moping around like this. His friends would be by his side anyway and maybe that’s what he needed at the moment.

Nicholas left the solace of his bedroom to join the rest outside. “Yo, Mina, I got smth for you,” said Jinyoung, walking over to where she sat next to Daniel. She looked up from her phone, trying to peer around Jinyoung to see what he had hidden behind his back. Nicholas also watched, trying not to look too unhappy.

“You know how you love Post Malone? Well, he’s in the city, performing tonight and we got you tickets.”

Nicholas saw Mina’s expression brighten  as she took the tickets from Jinyoung and jumped up, shaking her hips in delight.

“Oh my gosh, you’re the best!” She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Daniel pulled her back onto the couch.

“Don’t get too excited, you’re going with Owen.”

Mina’s lips parted and she rolled her eyes. “Ugh, are you serious?”

“I heard that!” Owen called from the kitchen to which Mina gave Daniel a sheepish look and he grinned, ruffling her hair. 

Rather than being envious of the way his friends treated her, Nicholas found himself feeling sympathetic. Mina had a way of hiding her emotions ― much like you ― and she was too obviously pretending she didn’t care about what had happened earlier that morning. Her pretense had worked for her in the past but Nicholas knew her too well. 

That night, Jinyoung and Daniel came into Nicholas’s room, informing him that they were leaving and if he’d like to join. “Can I come a bit later? I’m just not feeling it right now,” Nicholas told them, hiding away under his covers where he had been napping in all afternoon after a tiring shopping session with daniel. 

“Bro, you’ve been sleeping all day, what’s wrong with you,” said Daniel, trying to pull his blankets off but Nicholas held on to them tightly in fear his friends might see his phone open to your instagram page which he had been scrolling through for the past hour.

Jinyoung just sighed. “Daniel, leave it. Don’t force him to come.” Nicholas looked at him with grateful eyes and Jinyoung nodded. “I actually gave Mina those tickets so she’d leave you alone tonight,” he chuckled and Nicholas threw a pillow at him. “But you can join us whenever you’d like.”

“Thank you, hyung.”

When everyone left, the house was quiet and Nicholas hated how lonely he felt right now, but he brought it upon himself . He reached for his phone again, refreshing your instagram page to see that you had updated your story. 

Hesitantly, he brought his thumb on top of your profile picture, swallowing hard as your story opened up to reveal a picture of you with your arm draped around an unfamiliar girl, a bottle in your hand, your trademark million dollar smile plastered across your pretty face. You had tagged “Avalon Club” and Nicholas realized it was the same club his friends were going to. That’s why Daniel wanted me to come so bad.

Nicholas closed the story and went through your instagram posts once again. You had changed a lot and the posts showed it clearly. There was a gap in dates wherein you hadn’t posted at all and the posts from before the gap were of him and you, years of memories locked in a couple photos that had been buried under the more recent ones of you looking happier.

“Call when you land, alright?” you said, pulling away from the hug with Jinyoung. You asked him since you knew Nicholas would pass out and forget by the time they go to Korea.

“Don’t worry, I will,” Jinyoung replied, fixing his beanie that had almost fallen off from the contact. You finally moved to Nicholas who was waiting for you with open arms. He pulled you against him, burying his face in your hair ― little did he know, it would be the last time he’d get to do so.

“I’m gonna miss you so much,” you told him with a little pout. Nicholas saw that you were trying hard to hold in your tears and he pulled you closer again so the others wouldn’t see. “Don’t you forget about me while you’re there, okay?”

He moved back, cupping your cheeks. “How could I ever forget about you?”

But the truth is he could, and he did. After going to Korea, Nicholas found himself busier than he would have expected. He made sure to keep you updated for the first couple weeks but after one or two hectic months, he couldn’t find motivation to pick up his phone and call you. His busy schedule kept him occupied but even when he was free, it seemed there was no time for you.

Besides that, Nicholas’s new life presented him with extravagances he could never have imagined of in a thousand lifetimes, nor could he refuse them. Although he had done a very selfish deed and couldn’t muster up the courage to face you after that. 

But the girls that went back and forth from Nicholas’s room didn’t pass without the knowledge of his friends who thought he was being sus and questioned him about it. “Did you break up with Y/N?” asked Jinyoung.

“Uhhh...”

Jinyoung shook his head. “I did not expect this from you... seeing how attached you were to her, I thought you’d be begging to go back to America everyday.”

“Calm down, she’s prolly in another guy’s pants right now too.”

But both men knew you weren’t like that. Nicholas didn’t bother sending a breakup text because you had probably forgotten about him as well. However, you didn’t feel that way at all.

When the crew returned to America after gaining some popularity, you were still there, hitting nicholas up with instagram messages which he didn’t find it in himself to even open because at this point, ignorance was bliss. 

And it seemed like the eye contact he made with you on his first American stage spoke a thousand words, none that either of you could ever speak to each other. To this day, that look still haunted him. It wasn’t any normal “breakup” if you can even call it that. Because sometimes, he found a part of himself was still with you.

Nicholas must have watched your story about a million times, staring at the picture of you for so long his eyes began to hurt. He couldn’t stay here any more. He was pathetic.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Daniel smirked when Nicholas finally arrived at the club. He had already drowned his self-pity in a few drinks when Daniel and Jinyoung found him seated at the bar.

“Having fun?”

“We should be asking you that,” said Jinyoung, propping his elbow on top of the counter. “You look down... was it Mina?” At this, Nicholas’s head snapped toward Daniel who shook his head quickly.

“I didn’t say anything, I swear.”

“Mina told us you guys were having a fight in the car while we were dropping her off,” Jinyoung explained. “What’s gotten into you?”

Nicholas sighed. “Yeah... it was my fault not hers. Did she tell you we broke up?” His relationship with her was on a thin line.

“Uh no, she said you guys were ‘on a break’ or sum like that.”

Though slightly disappointed, Nicholas was relieved that she didn’t want to leave him altogether. His heart already felt weak at the thought of losing yet someone important in his life again.

“By the way... Y/N’s here,” Daniel said quietly. “We wanted to tell you so it doesn’t turn out like last time.” Nicholas faked surprise but in reality, he knew all too well your whereabouts. 

“That’s nice... I don’t really feel like talking to her right now, though.”

“I guess you gotta tell her that yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

Jinyoung cleared his throat, getting up from his seat. “Don’t look now but she’s walking right towards us.” Nicholas froze. That means you were probably right behind him. Nicholas and Daniel smiled and waved at you over Nicholas’s head and then gave him a look before walking away.

“Hey stranger.” Your voice was soft, almost like a melodic tune. He hadn’t heard it in what felt like ages.

Nicholas turned around. “Y/N! I haven’t seen you in forever! Wow, I can’t believe you’re here!” Was that too much? Who cared, he’d already messed up whatever image of himself you had in your mind. You hugged him but it felt like the distance between you two increased and it was like he couldn’t even feel you.

“I came to your concert but I guess your friends didn’t tell you I was there,” you said, sitting down in the seat next to him. “I figured if you did see me, you would have talked to me but you didn’t so...” 

Nicholas laughed in embarrassment but inside a piece of him died. It seemed he had been too obvious with his hesitation. Or maybe he was just an asshole. The latter seemed quite accurate. 

“Anyway, you are you?”

A mess, Nicholas could reply. But instead he said, “I’m good... I mean, I’m better than better.” 

“How’s life as a celebrity?” you asked, laughing. Nicholas couldn’t bring himself to look at you but your laugh felt like medicine all it’s own.

“Wellll, I don’t really feel like one.”

“Really? You sure do act like one.” You murmured the last part. Was this your way of saying ‘fuck you’ to Nicholas? Perhaps Nicholas was thinking about it too much. He needed to drink a little more.

“Can I get you a drink?” he asked and you shook your head. 

“Nah, I was leaving with my friends right now actually... then I saw you.” You started to get up, taking your bag with you. “I’ll see you around then.” 

You can’t seriously let her leave like this, Nicholas thought to himself as his chest tightened. This may or may not be the last time he’d get to see you. A part of him wanted to remain that selfish and stupid self and let you go your way, as if just seeing you was closure enough.

But it wasn’t. The conversation was riddled with tension and if he hadn’t known any better, you were surely throwing shade at him for what he had done. If this was the only way to get rid of the guilt, Nicholas had to at least try.

He gulped down whatever was left in his glass and then stopped you. “Wait, Y/N! You got a minute?” You shrugged, sitting back down, clutching your purse tightly. Nicholas took a deep breath. 

“Listen... I don’t want to do this all over again,” he said quietly. “I just want to say I’m so sorry for being the worst boyfriend ever... and for being a dick and-”

“Nick,” you said, cutting him off. “I forgive you.” Nicholas fell silent. Those three words didn’t give him the relief he thought he’d get. A lot of him thought that you’d tell him you missed him and that you waited for him all this time and that you still love him. 

But none of that came. 

“Seriously...? Just... like that?”

You pressed your lips together. “I mean, what do you want me to say? That I still have feelings for you and I want to get back together?”

It sounded weird out loud the more Nicholas thought about it. “I just wanted closure... I mean, I’ve been kinda thinking about it and it was unfair to you.”

“Just forget it, Nicholas. You said you were ‘better than better’, what now?”

“Maybe I was lying,” he murmured and like that the stony expression on your face crumbled, softened to your glowing features as you stared at the glass surface of the counter.

“Maybe I’m lying too,” you said. “I mean, I know I said I forgave you but sometimes, I sit down thinking of you and I hate you.” Nicholas chewed on the bottom of his lip as you spoke. All this time he’d been worrying about his feeling and his guilt that he never thought about you.

“I hate you for not coming back for me when you promised me you would. But you know what, you have new friends, a new girl, a new life... who am I to tell you you can’t enjoy that?” You sat back and then looked at Nicholas and Nicholas looked back at you. It was the first time you two made direct eye contact and it didn’t feel like a knife piercing through him. 

“The last time we were together, I couldn’t help thinking of the future and...” you swallowed hard, taking Nicholas’s hands in yours. Your hands were just as soft as Nicholas remembered. “I knew that this would happen because I know you, Nick. I still let you go and maybe it was stupid but I was right.”

Nicholas held your hands tightly. “I wish that I could go back and change things... I swear I’m not like that any more.”

“Maybe you’re not,” you said, reaching up to touch the side of his face. “I hated you for what you did but I admire you for being able to sit here right now and at least tell me how you feel, even if it’s two years later. You’re not who you used to be, I know that.”

“That’s all I want,” Nicholas whispered. “To know that you don’t hate me.” You smiled and exhaled softly.

“I don’t. And I’m not holding this above you, Nick. We were so good together but we ended and that’s fine too. The best way to move on, though, is to let go of what you can’t control, let go of the past, Nicholas. The universe will align itself.” 

There were some days when Nicholas felt suffocated just thinking about you.You two didn’t end on good terms, if you had ended properly at all. But if this was the last goodbye, then Nicholas felt himself healing a little bit. 

You slid off your seat and kissed Nicholas’s lips. He couldn’t give in and kiss you back, but neither did he have the strength to pull away.

“There. Now we officially broke up,” you giggled, slinging your purse over your shoulder. “Maybe I’ll see you later, or maybe I won’t. Don’t beat yourself up over me.” You began to leave with your friends and turned around one last time to wave goodbye. 

It felt like a certain weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Nicholas didn’t feel guilty anymore, the chains around his ankles were finally free. 

He took out his phone and texted Mina. “I’m sorry for everything.” Nicholas got a reply almost immediately, giving him the impression that Mina might have been thinking of him too.

She texted. “I know, love.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

[freeamoebas]

Bill Cipher was awake, as usual, at 3AM.

He absolutely refused to sleep, the idea of entering the plane of consciousness he used to dominate humiliated and (even if he’d never admit it) terrified him. Occasionally, he’d doze off for a couple hours at most, but that was once every couple days. Plus, those precious couple hours of sleep were usually disturbed by nightmares regarding the axolotl, the second dimension, or worse.

Bill was wrapped up in a fluffy blanket Mabel had provided, rereading Flatland by Edwin Abbott. The story was strikingly similar to how the second dimension actually was, with all the rules about shapes, sides, women, etc. The book reminded him of Liam, his irregular brother, and how he read so many illegal books about the third dimension. Odd that a dimension like this would have books about something as dull as the second dimension.

Bill realized it was probably because humans craved the idea of suffering. Or at least the idea of apocalyptic eras. Funnily enough, they didn’t seem to get too big of a kick out of his Weirdmageddon.

The demon’s body froze up when he heard creaks from the staircase. His heart raced, worried it was Sixer coming back to scold him after their little… argument, which resulted in Bill gouging his own eye out after a complete nervous meltdown. Now he had to wear this dumb piece of gauze to cover the wound up.

He found himself pulling the blankets closer around him, as if it were a shield of some sort. He relaxed when it was just Mabel, going to the kitchen to get some water. “Hi Bill,” she said, her voice thick with sleep. “Shouldn’t you be-” She was cut off by a yawn. “Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Can’t.” Bill held the book close to his chest and warily eyed the girl.

“Why not?”

“Oh, I dunno, Shooting Star, maybe because sleeping wastes ONE THIRD OF YOUR PUNY EXISTENCE, WHICH ISN’T SAYING MUCH CONSIDERING YOU MEAT SACKS LIVE, WHAT, EIGHT OR NINE DECADES BEFORE KICKING THE BUCKET?” Bill’s shrill voice came out louder than anticipated. He hoped the Stan twins wouldn’t wake, he was way too tired to deal with them at that very moment. Mabel simply blinked at the string of words that tumbled out of the demon’s mouth.

“...Does Mr. Grumpypants need someone to stay up with him?”

Bill huffed at that, but made no move to stop her as the teen sat next to him on the couch. She peered over at the book he had still clutched against his chest.

“Yanno, I always see you reading that book. I tried reading it once! It was really boring,” Mabel said, bluntly. She paused for dramatic effect, but noticed the odd, almost irritated look on Bill’s face, and quickly continued. “Why do you keep reading that book over ‘n over again, anyways? I could show you better ones, if you want!”

Bill’s odd expression melted away into something tired and… sad? No way, Bill Cipher’s only emotions were irritating, angry and crazy laughing. Those were totally emotions, at least in Mabel’s mind.

“It makes me feel… nostalgic, I guess,” Bill finally murmured.

“Oh.” Mabel didn’t really know what else to say. How does a dumb confusing book make someone nostalgic? Maybe Bill’s mother- if he even had one- used to read it to him when he was little. That would make a lot of sense, actually. Weirdo.

They sat in silence for a few more moments before Mabel turned to him. “Want me to show you me and Dip Dop’s cool hiding place?” Her mouth stretched into a mischievous grin. She knew Bill had the tendency to hide in odd little spaces. She’d found him in closets, under tables, but usually he’d bundle himself up and hide under the blankets the Pines provided for him. “Blanket town” Mabel had affectionately nicknamed his most common hiding spot.

Bill glared suspiciously at Mabel, clearly not trusting her judgement of what she considered cool. Finally, he shrugged and got up, still keeping the fluffy blanket wrapped around his shoulders. “I literally have NOTHING better to do,” the demon sighed, and followed his ally to a not so trustworthy looking ladder.

The climb to the top was… rigorous, to say the least. Bill nearly fell off the ladder several times, not knowing completely how to put one foot above the other, and occasionally forgetting he had to hold onto the railing. When they finally managed to climb out of the chimney, they sat on the floor of the little flat above the gift shop.

Bill was panting as if he had run a marathon and Mabel was beaming, congratulating him on how well he did.

“Yeah yeah, you don’t gotta BABY ME, yanno.” Bill waved her off with his gloved hand, doing his best to sound irritated. He’d never admit it, but he actually liked Mabel’s pity praises. It definitely beat Sixer’s life lessons about how everything bad that has happened to the Pines family during the past 45 years was Bill’s fault.

Mabel giggled at Bill’s dull attempt at sounding mad and turned her attention up at the starry sky. One thing she adored about Gravity Falls was that there was no more city haze to cover her view of the stars. She could look up, and boom. Thousands upon millions of pretty twinkly dots in the sky, waiting to be stared at.

Mabel turned to Bill. “Do you have any alien friends?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Bill frowned at her, not entirely sure what Shooting Star was implying.

“Sure, kid.”

Mabel gestured for Bill to continue. “C’monnn, didn’t you liberate like… a bazillion dimensions? Tell me about a good one.”

Bill shrugged. “Shooting Star, you gotta remember that what I consider good and what you consider good are LITERAL POLAR OPPOSITES.”

“Okay,” Mabel said slowly. “Tell me about a good dimension… In my standards.”

Bill gave Mabel an exasperated look. He was way too tired to try to remember some puny dimension he had liberated eons ago, especially with his memory failing and all, but at the same time he was way too tired to deal with Shooting Star haggling for a happy story.

“FIIINE,” Bill snapped. He then rested his chin in his hand, trying to think of the best story that would shut Shooting Star up. A small grin appeared on his face and he finger gunned in her direction.

“Did Fordsy ever tell you about GOOD OLE’ DIMENSION 1610?”

And then he continued with an elaborate story about a world where the world hunger issue was solved, the majority of countries allianced with each other under a common socialist society, Bernie Sanders became president, superheroes were real, and much much more. He most of all emphasized how he had influenced the majority of these fortunate series of events, since he wanted at least one good dimension to come out of the countless dimensions he had ruled in the past.

Mabel listened the entire time with round, amazed eyes. Everytime Bill would add a new detail, she would always dramatically react, encouraging Bill to continue.

The story went on for a couple hours at least, Bill staying animated as ever the entire time. When he was finished, the sky was beginning to lighten.

The demon crossed his arms, grinning. One thing that definitely puts him in a good mood was talking about himself.

“So?”

“So…” Mabel’s gaze darkened, giving Bill an extremely serious look, making him worry he said something wrong. “That was… SO FREAKING COOL! And imagine having a superhero boyfriend… Spider-Man… if you’re out there… Why couldn’t you have done that instead of ruining our town?” The girl excitedly rambled.

After a good five minutes of talking, Mabel began to settle down, realizing just how late- or early- it was, and how little sleep she had gotten. She was going to need a lot of Mabel juice today if her and Dipper were going adventuring.

Bill laughed as Shooting Star analyzed his story, with that classic unhinged laugh that always gave her chills no matter how often she heard it. She was a little too tired at the moment to care about just how creepy Bill’s laugh was.

“I just so happen to know a g-” Bill was cut off when Mabel rested her head on his shoulder. His entire body stiffened.

For a split second Bill was tempted to shove the girl straight off the roof, but knew better. Ford would blast his head off without a moment of hesitation. So instead, the demon forced himself to relax and take a few breaths.

He hated being touched, but he realized the only times he’s ever been touched in this new body was when someone was punching him in the nose or yanking his collar so hard he choked. Mabel’s head against his shoulder was… comforting, in a way.

Mabel felt Bill stiffen. She braced herself to have his shoulder yanked away with a snarky comment following. It never came, though, and she let out a small breath of relief.

Mabel talks to Bill the most out of everyone in the Pines family, since she was the most sympathetic. Although, she was very aware to keep a distance, not wanting to be manipulated as Ford had been. Nonetheless, she was glad their friendship had reached a peak from annoying ex-demon living with her family to someone who tells her stories until she falls asleep.

“You know… you’re not that bad of a dude,” Mabel mumbled before her eyelids drooped and she dozed off.

Bill blinked at that final comment, totally taken by surprise. He hadn’t heard someone say that about him in… years. The demon’s heart swelled just a tiny bit, although he wasn’t quite sure what this emotion was called. In the future, he will discover this emotion is called friendship, something the All Seeing Eye hasn’t truly experienced in eons.

[shadowreine]

The Art of Falling in Love - Chapter 4

Fandom: Mystic Messenger

Pairing: V x MC (reader/custom MC)

Chapter Summary: In which MC has a chat with some of the boys.

Note: Finally an update! October was kind of a busy/stressful month, so I apologize for the wait. Thanks so much to everyone who’s been reading/liking/commenting on this fic so far. It means a lot to me. <3

Chapter 4: Candid

Once you returned to your apartment after dinner, you were ready to finally collapse into your bed and sleep, especially after such a long, eventful day. However, sleep eluded you. You lay wide awake, tossing and turning, your mind running at a million miles a second. You thought about the party, what went well and what didn’t, and what suggestions for improvements you could posit to RFA. You thought about the GCA and made a mental checklist of all the paperwork you had to submit in order to obtain a visa for working abroad…which brought to mind the fact that even before you could start that step in the process, you needed to stop procrastinating on working on your lesson plans for the upcoming semester—which was two weeks away, no less—and you needed to do a good job. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be needing a work visa at all. You let out a groan in the darkness of your bedroom, knowing that these anxious thoughts would never let you rest.

Ever since Hana had suggested your class could focus on art this semester, you couldn’t shake the idea. It was a good idea, and you were very low on ideas at the moment. The only problem was that you never really considered art as one of your strong suits, so you didn’t think you could excel at teaching it… But Hana was right, children love doing art. Maybe she was also right about asking Jihyun for a little help…

“Jihyun, Jihyun…” you said out loud, testing out the name. “Jihyun…”

V was a punchy name, short and straightforward. It was a good moniker for a hip photographer. But Jihyun was soft, almost a whisper, a pleasant sound sliding off the tip of your tongue. Now that you thought about it, it suited him better than V ever did.

Part of you regretted declining his offer to have dinner with him because you didn’t know when you’d have the chance to see him in person again. You imagined he’d be busy trying to get resettled into the city. He’d likely want to find a new place to stay. Maybe he wanted to meet up with others he might’ve lost contact with. He’d probably be caught up doing his own thing for a while, and you’d rejected your only chance to catch up with him.

Though, you couldn’t have just canceled on Hana. You had responsibilities, you had your own life. You had to make compromises. Wasn’t that adulthood? You couldn’t just drop everything because someone from your past decided to turn up again.

But… you just really wanted to see him.

You let out a sigh and turned onto your side, frustrated that your thoughts were keeping you awake. You grabbed your phone from the nightstand and checked the time. It was half past midnight.

Might as well check the messenger, you thought. Throughout the evening you’d received RFA app notifications, but you hadn’t been able to check any before now. Opening the app, you logged in and read the past chat logs. Only Zen and Yoosung had been there. Zen had entered the chatroom sometime after he finished his show, and Yoosung was taking a break from LOLOL. Zen told Yoosung about how Jaehee had waited for him outside the backstage door with her girlfriend Soomi (along with a dozen other rabid fangirls clamoring for his attention), and he sent a selfie of the three of them. Zen was the focus of the picture, of course, while Jaehee and Soomi stood together behind him, leaning so that they were in frame. This was the first time you saw what Soomi looked like. She was cute and petite, her blonde hair cropped short in a stylish bob. Jaehee and Soomi had matching poses, both winking at the camera and holding up their hands in a peace sign. They looked like they were having a great time, and you couldn’t feel happier for them.

Zen and Yoosung then spent the rest of the chat lamenting how much they wished they had girlfriends too and feeling sorry for themselves. Your eyes glazed over as you scrolled to the bottom of the chat. By now you knew very well how much the RFA boys, except perhaps Jumin, regretted the lack of romance in their lives. Sometimes it was cute that they had so much love in their hearts that they wanted to share it with someone, but more often than not, it got repetitive and eye-roll inducing, so much that you wished they could just find someone already so they could stop moaning about it.

Once you reached the bottom of the chat, you logged out to the main user interface to check everyone’s status updates. As you looked at the row of user icons, you started to feel like something was missing. The icons felt too big, as if there could be room to fit one more comfortably among them.

Then you realized why: Jihyun’s icon was missing. It had been missing for a long time, actually, but now that he was back in the country, it felt wrong not to have him in the messenger.

After Jihyun left to go overseas, Jumin asked Seven to revoke his access for security purposes. He wouldn’t have had time to log into the messenger on his travels anyway, so there’d been no point in keeping his profile active. Even though you were about to travel abroad yourself, you couldn’t see yourself staying away from the messenger for too long. RFA had become like family to you, and you’d want to keep in touch no matter how far away you went.

You wondered if Jihyun still had the same phone he used two years ago, or if he’d deactivated his service altogether. Come to think of it, since he wasn’t on the messenger, you realized you had no way of contacting him.

A window popped up on your phone screen indicating that a new chatroom had been opened. You looked at the time–it was almost one o’clock in the morning. Who could be online at this hour?

You entered the chatroom. Seven greeted you.

707: Hello, pretty lady!

MC: Seven, you’re still awake.

707: Yup. So are you, I see.

MC: Can’t sleep.

707: Me neither. Still reeling from the high of the party?

MC: lol sort of. I got a lot on my mind right now. How was your evening?

707: Fine fine. It was pretty good actually!

He sent the emoji of him excitedly shouting “yahoo!”

MC: Good day at work?

707: Yup! I was super productive. Got everything done in record time… I see Zen and Yoosung are complaining about being single again. SMH. They’re just jealous that Jaehee has more game than them.

You laughed out loud. Sick burn, Seven.

MC: You’re not wrong, lol. Jaehee can be very sweet and charming when she has the chance to relax every once in a while. I’m happy that she and Soomi found each other.

707: They wouldn’t have met each other if you didn’t push Jumin to give Jaehee a vacation.

MC: Yeah… That’s true…

As if summoned, Jumin Han entered the chatroom.

707: WHOA that’s creepy, dude.

Jumin Han: What are you talking about? Good evening, MC.

MC: haha hey Jumin...that is a little creepy.

Jumin Han: ?

707: We were just talking about you.

Jumin Han: I see. I just read the log.

MC: I think you’ve read enough books on witchcraft that you’re starting to become a witch yourself, Jumin. Speak of the devil, and all that.

707: Hehe where’s your broom, witch boy?

You didn’t ask Jumin what he was doing up so late because he was always awake at this hour, either spending time with Elizabeth the 3rd or doing business with investors and companies in different timezones. On the rare occasion that you had a bout of insomnia, he would be in the chatroom, keeping you company until you finally fell asleep.

Jumin Han: Will Yoosung and Zen ever get tired of complaining about not having significant others?

MC: Probably not. Though, I feel like once they do get girlfriends, that’s all they’ll talk about on here.

Jumin Han: You’re probably right. I don’t know which is worse.

707: Jaehee is pretty modest about her relationship. They should act like her! Speaking of Jaehee, as I was saying before Jumin interrupted us with his creepy black magic, I think Jaehee has you to thank for meeting Soomi, MC.

MC: Oh, that’s more credit than I deserve. I just yelled at Jumin.

707: lmao you did yell at him

Well, you had typed in all caps in the chatroom, which was just as good as yelling. A few months ago, Jumin had swamped Jaehee with so much work that Jaehee broke down crying on the phone with you. You felt so awful and helpless at first, but after you did your best to console her and hung up, you decided that the only way to fix the problem was to go straight to the source.

Jumin was unreceptive to your suggestion at first, which you’d expected, but once you laid out all the reasons why it was a good idea to give her a break and why she deserved one, his cold, distant attitude started to irritate you. You tried to be civil, but the man was as stubborn as a mule sometimes. So you snapped and capslocked on him. Then once you said your piece, without warning, you logged out of the chatroom and called his phone to tell him off some more.

Jumin Han: I’ll admit I’ve never been yelled at like that before.

MC: I didn’t *yell*.

Jumin Han: You gave me a very stern lecture.

MC: Well, Zen yells at you on here all the time.

Jumin Han: I correct my previous statement—I’ve never been yelled at like that by someone whom I respect.

You knew that was high praise coming from someone like Jumin Han. Sometimes you couldn’t help but have the utmost respect for him too. After the incident, you learned that Jumin had been so stressed due to his father’s current romantic engagements and the prolonged absence of his best friend, and he had taken it out on his assistant. You felt bad for yelling at him, and you apologized to him personally on the phone the next day.

After that, he decided to give Jaehee three weeks of vacation. Jaehee was resistant at first, but you convinced her to take the offer. She spent those weeks off the messenger and met Soomi at one of her favorite coffee shops downtown. They hit it off rather easily, and the rest was history.

Jumin Han: Anyway, I am glad that Jaehee has found someone she cares about deeply. It seems to have made her more motivated in her work.

707: …

MC: sigh

Jumin Han: What? It’s true.

707: Only you would make something that’s supposed to be romantic into something totally not;;

Jumin Han: I don’t understand romantic relationships myself, so I see no point in commenting on it.

MC: I guess I can understand where you’re coming from. I’ve had enough of talking about romance for one evening.

707: Oh?

Seven sent his heart eyes emoji.

707: Who else are you talking about romance with, MC?

He sent the same emoji again.

“Oh crap,” you said to your screen. Suddenly the whole awkward conversation you had with Hana came back to you. You couldn’t very well tell Seven or Jumin that you and Hana had talked about Jihyun. You had to play it cool.

MC: Oh… I just had dinner with Hana tonight. She told me all about her new boyfriend.

Seven sent his gasping emoji.

707: The hot new actor Hojin Park! He and Hana were spotted smooching down in the Maldives last week!

Again with his heart eyes emoji.

MC: …Are you stalking my best friend, Seven?

707: It’s not stalking when paparazzi pictures of them are posted on every celeb gossip site!

MC: I am not going to talk gossip about my own friend. If I did, you’d probably try leaking it to the media for a quick buck.

707: They pay a lot of money for ~insider info~ you know.

You sent an emoji that depicted you giving a very unamused side-eye.

707: Fine, fine. I won’t ask about Hana’s love life. You need to lighten up, MC. Maybe you need a l-o-v-e interest of your own, eh?

The heart eyes. Again. You dropped your head into your hand. Why was everyone so hung up on romance this evening? You needed a change of subject, quick.

Thankfully, Jumin seemed to have the same idea.

Jumin Han: I think this conversation has derailed quite a bit.

MC: Thank you! Can we talk about something else, pls?

Jumin Han: I actually came onto the messenger to make a request of you, Seven.

707: Hmm, ok. What is it?

Jumin Han: I’d like you to grant Jihyun access to the messenger again.

Your phone almost slipped out of your hand.

Jihyun...on the messenger again? Weren’t you just thinking about that only minutes ago?

MC: Oh?

707: Oh, I didn’t even think of that. Does he want to get back on?

Jumin Han: No, but I imagine he’d like to be, once he gets a new phone, that is. He deactivated his old phone some time ago, and he needs to get another one first. I’ll pass on the information once it’s available.

707: …Do you think it’s a good idea?

Seven’s question took you aback. Why wouldn’t it be a good idea? You asked him what he meant.

707: …never mind. It’s nothing. When he gets a new phone, let me know, and I’ll add him back onto the messenger.

You didn’t know what to say. Where had his sudden hesitance come from? You would have thought Seven would be one of the more enthusiastic about his return. You remember Seven once telling you that he considered Jihyun almost like a father to him despite their relative close age gap. He trusted him more than anyone. In fact, back when you first met the RFA, you noticed there were secrets that Seven and Jihyun had kept between only them. Seven had come to Jihyun’s rescue at Mint Eye, after all.

...That was two years ago, though. The more you thought about it now, the more you realized that since then, Seven hadn’t spoken much about Jihyun at all. He certainly never brought him up in the chats of his own volition, and whenever someone else would mention him, he didn’t have much to say.

But he seemed happy to see Jihyun at the party earlier, didn’t he? Well, now that you thought about it, perhaps he wasn’t so much happy as he was shocked and…confused. Almost as if he had truly believed he never would see his old mentor ever again.

“We have a lot to catch up on, I think,” Jihyun had said. And Seven had agreed.

There was something tense about the exchange, some underlying thoughts and feelings that you couldn’t begin to decipher. That must have been what bothered Seven now. What was the missing link between them?

MC: You ok, Seven? You sound weird.

707: I’m fine. Gotta go, though. Long day.

He signed out of the chatroom before you could type another message.

Jumin Han: …

MC: Is it just me, or did something sound off about him? Does Seven not want Jihyun back on here?

Jumin Han: He seemed hesitant about it at the very least.

MC: Why? You don’t think it’s because he doesn’t trust Jihyun, do you? I know he had trouble with keeping secrets from everyone, even to Seven, but he just doesn’t seem like that kind of person anymore…

You weren’t sure if that were entirely true, but everything you knew about what he’d gone through seemed to indicate that Jihyun had had enough secrecy for one lifetime. The man you saw at the party didn’t look like someone who would harbor any secrets.

Jumin Han: I agree. I’ve been with him all evening, and he is definitely changed.

MC: …wait. You’ve been hanging out with Jihyun?

Jumin Han: Yes, he’s with me right now.

“What?” you said aloud. Jumin had been chatting with you all this time and Jihyun was with him?

MC: Really? Where are you?

Jumin Han: At my penthouse. I invited him over as a guest, since he currently has nowhere to stay.

You were typing to ask what he was doing, but your fingers froze over the screen when a picture popped up in the chat.

This time, your phone actually did fall out of your hands...and landed right onto your face, since you were lying in bed. You let out a pained shriek and massaged your nose. Then you jolted up into a sitting position and looked back at your phone.

Jihyun was in the photo. He was standing next to the dining table, across from where Jumin seemed to be sitting. He was pouring himself a glass of red wine. You could tell it was a candid picture because Jihyun’s eyes appeared as though he’d looked into the camera just as it was being taken, his brows raised in a half-expression of surprise. It was cute, actually. But that wasn’t what got your attention.

What got your attention was the fact that his hair was wet, sticking to the left side of his face. He had a towel draped over his shoulders, and he wore gray lounge pants and a white tank top...

MC: …

Jumin Han: He just got out of the shower. He’s jet lagged, so that’s why he’s still awake, if you were wondering.

You were actually wondering why his bare arms looked appealingly firm and smooth, and why his tank top clung so tightly to his slender but lean torso…but you weren’t going to type that.

MC: Um, thanks for the pic haha

Jumin Han: I thought I should prove to you he was in fact here.

MC: You didn’t need to do that lol. I believed you.

Jumin Han: He’s asking me who I sent the photo to.

MC: Oh...what did you tell him?

Jumin Han: You.

You blushed. Should you take a selfie of yourself just to make it fair? You couldn’t do that. You probably looked like a mess after tossing and turning in bed for a few hours… Wait, why did you care what you looked like? You’d sent less than flattering pictures of yourself through the messenger before.

Jumin Han: I need to go. Elizabeth the 3rd should be put to bed soon, and I’m going to keep Jihyun company.

MC: Okay. Tell Elizabeth the 3rd hello for me.

You debated whether you should add another line. Oh, why not?

MC: ...and Jihyun, too.

Jumin Han: Will do. Goodnight.

Jumin logged out, and so did you. You lingered in the main UI a little while longer, wondering what Jumin and Jihyun were up to right now, what they were talking about. Jumin must have liked having the chance to catch up with his best friend, especially considering how much you knew he’d missed him and worried after him since he left. You could only hope you got your chance, too.

You went into the messenger’s photo folders. Even though Seven had taken away Jihyun’s access to the app, he kept his photo folder untouched. You opened it and looked at the newest picture of him. Out of curiosity, you told yourself. Once it expanded across your screen, your heart did a flip in your chest, which was a sensation that utterly confused you. It wasn’t as if you weren’t used to being friends with so many pretty people. Part of the reason why it was so easy for you to initially believe that the RFA were AIs in a dating simulator was because they were all too good-looking to be real. Even now, you would catch yourself admiring just how beautiful Zen looked in his selfies, how well Jumin wore his business suits, how cute Yoosung and Seven were in an adorably nerdy way. Even Jaehee was exceptionally gorgeous.

Yet somehow none of them made you react the way you reacted to this picture of Jihyun. What was happening?

You reasoned it was because you’d never seen him like this. So candid, so...underdressed. You felt as if you shouldn’t be even be looking at it.

Get a grip, MC.

You exited out of the app, tossed your phone onto your comforter, and collapsed onto your pillow, trying desperately to wipe the image out of your mind so you could finally, finally, get to sleep.

[woildismyerster]

Please hit me with Mathletes content I’m sad and desperate and have read all there is at the moment. Thanks!!!!!

Big mood, my dude.  More Kevin x reader, because I’m a ho for him.

Part One - Part Two

Maybe you had just watched too many teen rom-coms, but you had always assumed that parties were a little more, well, miraculous than Cady’s.  You had imagined that parties were places where lives changed and plots thickened.  

You thought that it must be the case when Kevin G. told you to come to the party.

You had wrinkled your nose at him, secretly thrilled that he had asked you at all.  “It sounds awful, Kev.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he scoffed.  “There’ll weed, dope tunes, and booze.”

“I can’t see the appeal.”

He grinned at you.  “I’ll be there.  And Tyler and Marwan,” he added quickly.

You had deflated a little.  Anywhere Kevin was would hold an appeal for you, and he knew it.  “Yeah, yeah.  I’ll be there.  Want me to drive?”

“Nah, Marwan drew the short straw.  We’ll pick you up, and you and I can get turnt.”  He held his hand up for a high five and beamed when you supplied it.  “See you tonight, Y/N.”

So what if parties weren’t your scene?  In movies, things happened there.  Kevin had coerced you into coming, and that had to mean something.  Maybe he would dance with you.  Maybe he would get jealous when somebody else tried to flirt with you.  Maybe he would take you somewhere quiet, where the dark would steal your inhibition and let something else take root.

By the time you had been in Cady’s house for ten minutes, however, you knew that the movies got it wrong.  You had lost Kevin thirty seconds after arriving.  The beer was lukewarm.  Everybody seemed to be having fun - maybe because drunkenness makes everything fun? - except for you.

You always felt like a million kids went to school with you, but it seemed like every inch of the house was full.  You could hardly move without touching somebody, or bumping their drink, or knocking over something that looked more valuable than your life.

In the end, you gave up on fun.  Traditional party fun, anyway.  You found soda in the fridge and filled a bowl with chips, then settled down in a corner to watch people.  

You saw the drunken despair on Karen’s face while she whirred through every emotion her pretty face knew how to show.

You saw Kevin standing on a table, spitting verses with ease.  His eyes met yours, and he winked.  You lifted your hand to wave, but he was already looking out into his enraptured, if drunken, audience.

You saw couples who never even spoke at school, sneaking off to find solace in each other.

You saw the irritation sweep through the high kids when they saw the chips were gone.  You nudged your half full bowl behind your back, hoping to save the rest for later.  

When you saw Marwan, you perked up.  He wasn’t your closest friend, but surely he would rather hang out with you than a bunch of drunken idiots.  You waved him over, and he collapsed to the floor next to you.

“Sitting in a corner by yourself kind of defeats the purpose of coming to a party,” he pointed out.

“I know,” you sighed.  “This just isn’t how I imagined the night going.”

“Did you picture yourself, in a dark bedroom with Gnapoor, his hands going up your -”  You smacked him, but he was grinning.  “You couldn’t be more obvious if you tried.”

You tried to keep your face wiped of any understanding, but he was right.  You came to a party because Kevin asked.  You joined the Mathletes for your senior year, all because he told you it would be fun.  He practiced his raps for you, and you always enjoyed them just because it was his work.  

You shot him a crooked, miserable grin.  “Funny how oblivious he is, huh?”  

Marwan snorted.  “He’s too busy being a pussy to notice your inner turmoil.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll find out sooner or later,” he said dismissively.  The two of you sat in silence, watching the party rise and fall; listening to guitar solos and bass drops.  After his fifth sigh in as many minutes, you elbowed him in the side.

“Aren’t you having fun?”  You grinned when he rolled his eyes.

“This kind of thing is more fun when you’re drunk,” he said.  

“I’m sure.”

He raised one eyebrow when he saw your soda.  “Are you not drinking?”

“Nah.  I’m just not feeling it.”  Not feeling the lack of control, the comradery with people who didn’t talk to you at school, the hangover the next day.

Marwan gave you a sideways, hopeful look.  You sighed before he even started talking.  “If you aren’t drinking -”

“Sure.”

“You can drive my car back to your place, and I’ll come by to get it tomorrow -”

“Marwan.  I’ve got it covered.  Party on,” you said.  You made a fake retching sound when he ruffled your hair, but grinned at him when he left.  At least he would be having fun.  You hadn’t expected to enjoy yourself when you agreed to come, so at least you could give somebody else the chance.

Maybe you would regret that later, but it was nice for now.

Things had died down quite a bit, but you hadn’t moved.  You kept tabs on your boys, figuring that you would drag them all home if somebody got out of hand.  It was past midnight when Kevin saw you, gave a hazy grin, and swaggered over.

“Y/N,” he drawled.

“Well, if it isn’t the MC himself,” you said.  You smiled when he sat down with you.  He smelled like beer and marijuana, and he smiled like they had been working miracles on him.

You had seen Kevin drunk before.  His highs were astronomical, and his crashes were pleasant and mellow.  He hadn’t crashed, not quite yet, but you could see the good cheer on the threshold.

“How were the weed, the dope tunes, and the booze?”

“Life is Gucci,” he sighed happily.  “How’s the party pooper corner?  Holding up the fort?”

“I haven’t been here all night,” you protested.

“I’ve kept an eye on you,” he said.  He was grinned at you, as though he thought it was endearing instead of lame.

“Okay,” you admitted.  “I came here after, like, twenty minutes.  Wait - why were you keeping an eye on me?”

He shrugged.  “I always keep an eye on you.”

“You don’t have to,” you said.  “Really, I’m fine.”

“No, Y/N, it’s like I have to look at you.  Like - like watching a car crash.”

You winced.  Yikes.  “Thanks, Kev.”

“But in a good way,” he amended.  “A really good way.  I have to look at you, but I also want to look at you.”

“I like looking at you, too.”  Maybe you should get the guys home.  Kevin was looking kind of sloppy, and it was getting late.  You would love to hear him go on about wanting to look at you, but he would have to be truly hammered to be saying so.  You didn’t want to get your hopes up by listening to a drunk boy say things he didn’t mean.  “Ready to hit the road?”

“And I like talking to you,” he continued.  His gangly legs were spread out across the floor, and he jerkily shifted one over to press against yours.  “You’re the wokest person at North Shore.”

“That’s not a thing,” you said fondly.  You pulled yourself up and tried to help Kevin up, but he didn’t help you at all.  “C’mon, are you really gonna make me pick you up like a kid?”

You put one foot on either side of his legs and tried to wedge your hands under his armpits to pull him up.  You froze when he put his hands on your hips.

“It is a thing,” he insisted.  “It’s the only thing.”  He tugged gently until you sat, now straddling his thighs.  The beat of your heart was louder than the beat of the music, but you thanked your lucky stars that you were sober.  If you hadn’t been, you might not have moved when he leaned in to kiss you.

You turned your head just in time, his lips only catching your cheek.  “Oh, Kevin, no.  You don’t want to kiss me.”  You wanted to kiss him, but that wasn’t the point.

“Of course I do,” he said.  His brow was furrowed, his smile gone.  He looked a lot younger like this.  “I always want to kiss you.”

You smiled.  “You can’t.  I wish you could, but that’s not how this goes.”  You got off of him and sat by him again, letting him lay his head against your shoulder.  “When you and I have our first kiss, it’ll be when neither of us have a reason to regret it later.  No drugs, no alcohol, no kissing because one of us is sad.  When we do it, we’ll both know it’s for real.”

“But we will do it?”  His voice was heavy, and you thought that he was falling asleep.  You should be trying to get him up again, or getting help from somebody who could pull him to his feet.  Instead, you thought that you would enjoy his weight against you, at least for a little while.

“Sure,” you said.  “How about this - next time you want to kiss me, go for it.  I don’t care when it is.  It can be when we’re getting lunch, or on the bus, or during gym class.  Whenever.  Just lay one on me.”

“Lit,” he mumbled.  He took a deep breath, either to smell you or to sigh into sleep.  “Imma sweep you off your feet.”

You leaned your head against his.  You would leave in a few minutes, probably to leap headfirst into a weekend of stressing about whether he would remember the conversation, but first you would let yourself enjoy how soft his hair was.  You would let yourself pretend that he would sweep you off your feet on Monday, at least for a few minutes more.

[imagining-supernatural]

The Unexpected

Summary: Dean heads over to his neighbor’s apartment to hang out until his one-night stand leaves, as he usually does. But he’s in for a surprise when instead of a normal quiet morning with his quiet, calm neighbor, her apartment is teeming with people and life and the kind of life he never imagined she’d be a part of

Word Count: 3646

Warnings: None

A/N: So... this was supposed to be a normal fic where Dean hides out from his one-night stands, but it kinda morphed into a sitcom-feeling fic. It’s different from what I normally write, so I hope y’all like it! Let me know!

Version En Español: Lo Inesperado

Better safe than sorry, Dean thought as he slipped on some sweatpants and a grey Henley. With one last glance at the sleeping woman in his bed, he closed his bedroom door and walked through his apartment to his front door. His keys somehow made it in the bowl by the door the previous night. Strange, considering he didn’t know where the rest of his clothing from yesterday went.

Well, Dean grabbed the keys and quietly slipped into the hallway. At least I don’t have to search for the keys and risk Becca? Janelle? Theresa? Whatever her name is waking up when I’m still here.

That hadn’t been a fun morning a few weeks ago. Whoever she was, she did NOT want to leave. He didn’t get that clingy vibe from his latest fuck, but he didn’t want to risk it.

Flipping through his keys, he found the one with green nail polish painted on and slipped it into the doorknob of the apartment across the hall. It was only seven o’ clock. Y/N was probably still asleep. After all, she rarely got home before three in the morning. Dean had no idea what she did all night on the weekends, but whatever it was, she was always exhausted.

One of these days he would get her to talk about herself. For a neighbor who seemed perfectly fine with someone hanging out in their apartment until his never-ending string of women left his apartment for their walk of shame, Y/N was surprisingly closed off about herself. It had been over three months of him spending nearly every Saturday morning in her apartment, and he barely knew anything about her. Hell, he didn’t even know where she worked.

Maybe today he could coax a few details out of her after he made breakfast. Some bacon and some—shit. He left the bacon at his apartment. Dean opened the front door and walked into her familiar entryway. He wasn’t about to go back to his place.

Something was off… something wasn’t right… Dean paused right inside and sniffed the air.

“Bacon?” He mumbled. Not only was Y/N awake, but she was cooking? One thing he knew about her was that she couldn’t cook to save her life.

“Brock, get your lazy ass up!” Y/N’s loud shout was followed by a loud thump and her laughter. “Dude, your mom is going to be here in, like, an hour. And you smell like a strip club.”

“Fuck off, Y/N,” a male voice grumbled. Hearing anyone talk to Y/N like that made Dean bristle, but she just laughed it off.

What the hell? Dean headed further into the apartment, but stopped cold when he saw another man standing at the stove, wearing an apron, flipping bacon. That wasn’t Brock, was it?

“I’m getting a glass of cold water, Brock,” the man in front of Dean called out, not making a move to back up his threat. “It’s either that or an actual nice, warm shower.”

“Fuck off, Dylan!” Brock yelled, sounding slightly more awake.

Dylan, Dean presumed, turned around to grab something, but froze at the sight of Dean. “Who are you?”

“I’m, uh, I’m—who are you?” And why are you in Y/N’s kitchen at seven in the morning on Saturday?

“Hey, Y/N?” Dylan called out, watching Dean carefully. “There’s a dude in your kitchen.”

“I’ve told you a million times, Dyl. You’re just looking in the mirror. That man is just—oh, hey Dean.” At the sight of her easy acceptance of the newcomer, Dylan relaxed and continued with his mission, grabbing a plate with the practiced ease of someone who definitely knew his way around Y/N’s kitchen.

“Dean, huh?” Dylan asked casually. “You make it a habit of walking into random women’s apartments in the morning, Dean?”

“He lives across the hall,” Y/N explained, and Dean finally looked over at her, only to see her watching him with a slightly amused smile playing around her lips. “Dean doesn’t like dealing with the morning after shit with his one-nights. So he hides out here and I usually get breakfast out of the deal. You’re off the hook today, Dee.”

“Uh huh. And Dylan and Brock are…”

“Friends.”

Dean didn’t miss the raised eyebrow Dylan threw Y/N at her short explanation. Nor did he miss the way she shook your head in answer to Dylan’s look. Whoever these men were, Y/N knew them well.

“Friends,” Dean repeated, knowing that everyone could pick up on the doubt in his voice.

“Yup. And speaking of Brock,” Y/N turned your head back towards the bedrooms and yelled out, “I’m not entertaining your mom while you get ready, dude. Get the hell moving.”

“Fuck off, Y/N,” Brock said at the same time Y/N and Dylan mimicked his words. Apparently that was Brock’s catchphrase.

Y/N shifted her weight until she was facing Dean. “Sorry about them. We had a late night and my place was closest, so they all crashed here.”

Dean was about to ask what everyone was doing so late, but Dylan spoke up first, beating him to the punch. “Speaking of crashing here, where did Logan and Bethany go?”

“Probably on a run, those crazy kids.”

“Fuck!” Brock’s voice echoed through the apartment. “My mom’s coming today!”

With an eye roll, Y/N grabbed a piece of bacon from the plate Dylan just made up and headed towards the bedrooms. “Here, Brocky. Have some bacon then go shower.”

“No, you don’t get it. She’s coming today.”

“Yeah. In an hour. So go shower.”

“Y/N.”

“Brock.”

“I haven’t told her about us yet.”

Dylan dropped the spatula he was holding and started laughing so hard he nearly fell over. Whatever the hell was going on, Dean was completely out of the loop.

“What the hell, Brock!” Now it was Y/N’s voice echoing down the tiled hallway. “We broke up two years ago! How have you not told her yet? And don’t say the topic never came up. I know she asks about me whenever you call. She loves me.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem. If I told her we broke up, she would be heartbroken. I couldn’t do that to her right after… then she was diagnosed and… It just never really was the right time.”

There was silence for a good minute. Dean had learned more about his mysterious neighbor in the last five minutes than the entire half a year he’d known her. He was slightly overwhelmed, but he wanted to know more. What kind of silent conversation was she having with Brock? Why was her ex sleeping at her place, and who was the guy cooking in her kitchen?

The front door opened again, and two more people came in, sweaty and dressed to exercise. This must be Bethany and Logan, the other people who crashed here and went for a run. They noted his presence, but didn’t appear concerned in the least.

Bethany nodded her blonde head towards Dean. “Hey Dyl, who’s this?”

“Beth, Loge, meet Dean. Y/N’s across-the-hall-neighbor who hides from his one-night stands over here. Oh, and Brock never told his mom that he and Y/N broke up.”

That news overshadowed Dean’s presence. Both heads jerked towards Dylan in disbelief. “Seriously? It’s been two years.”

Before Dylan could respond, Y/N and Brock’s conversation turned verbal again.

“No!” She exclaimed. “Dude, I can’t lie to your mom.”

“C’mon, Y/N/N! She doesn’t have that long and you know she will just be so heartbroken.”

More silence. All four people in the kitchen seemed to lean towards the hallway, straining to hear any more of the conversation.

“Go shower, Brock,” Y/N said softly, voice barely carrying through the apartment. “I’ll think about it. I hate the idea of lying to your mom though.”

Y/N walked into the kitchen, rubbing the bridge of her nose as if warding off a headache. “That man is going to be the death of me, I swear.”

“He wants you to pretend to still be dating him so he doesn’t disappoint Reyna, right?” Bethany asked. Y/N nodded and sank down on a bar stool. Logan pushed a plate full of bacon towards her and she took a big bite. Bethany sat next to Y/N and stole a piece of bacon for herself.

“Well, you kind of have to. I mean, it’s not like you can drop this bomb on her now. What would you even say? Hey Reyna, your son is awesome, and I’m awesome, but we decided that we’re just not awesome together. You know, we decided that two years ago, but he never told you because he thought you were too fragile? You can’t say that.”

Y/N groaned loudly.

“I heard that groan!” Brock shouted from the bathroom. “Fake dating me is gonna be fun Y/N!”

“Fuck off, Brock!” She shouted right back.

Bethany finished off her bacon and stood up, grabbing a bag that was on the floor near the couch in the living room. “Since Brock stole your shower, I think I’m gonna head over and use your shower, Dean. That okay?”

“Uh, no?” Logan said before Dean could answer. “I called first shower dibs. I get to use Dean’s shower.”

“What about…” Dean blanked on his one night stand’s name.

Y/N lifted her head from the counter and shot Dean a knowing smile. “Stephanie. You slept with Stephanie last night. She’s cool. She’s actually coming over for breakfast right now.”

What the fuck? How much stranger could this morning get? “How do you know who I slept with?” And why did you invite the person I’m hiding from over for breakfast?

“She texted me. Said she woke up in an apartment that looked a lot like mine, and that her living dildo ditched her. I connected the dots.”

“Living dildo?”

A twinkle sparked in Y/N’s eyes and she stood up, steering Dean further away from the kitchen and into the living room where they could have a bit more privacy. “Yeah. She’s not gonna get all clingy. I promise. You were just as much a fun fuck to her as I’m sure she was to you.” Y/N glanced back at the kitchen. “Sorry about… them.”

Dean looked up from Y/N’s face just in time to see Bethany and Logan wrestle for the door before Logan victoriously shut the door in Bethany’s face, leaving her still in Y/N’s apartment. Well, it seemed that Dean’s shower was going to be put to good use.

“They’re… interesting. Y’all are really just friends?”

Y/N shrugged. “Yeah. Mostly. I guess we’re more like family at this point, though.”

Leaning against the wall, Dean eyed his neighbor openly. “You don’t say much about yourself.”

“Well, I have a feeling you’re going to learn a hell of a lot in the next little bit. If you want to be able to leave at all today, I suggest you get out now. As soon as Brock’s mom comes in, she won’t let anyone leave. She will suck you into her vortex of adventure and insist that you come along today. So, really, if you have any plans at all today, you should—”

“Look who was loitering out in the hallway!” Logan announced, coming back into the apartment. He was pushing a woman in a wheelchair and grinning widely. “Think I should call the police? Loitering is a crime, after all.”

“Sweetie, if you do call the cops, make sure to request the cute ones,” the lady said in a southern accent. “If anyone’s gonna be putting this old woman in handcuffs, they’d better be downright gorgeous. Oh! Just like that piece of eye candy over there! Y/N, is that your new man?”

“My… what now?”

The lady, Reyna, Dean guessed, started laughing. She waved behind her and a second woman stepped forward, taking Reyna’s hand. “Clarice, I told you Brock thinks I still don’t know they broke up. Y/N, sweetie, come over here. Let me see you. You always were too good for my son.”

“Fuck off, mom!” Brock shouted, walking into the room with damp hair. Everyone chuckled at his entrance. “How long have you known?”

“My body might be dying, boy, but I’ve still got all the right parts firing in my brain. Y’all stopped posting pictures of just the two of you. All that I saw online was pictures of your whole band. I figured something was up then. Wondered if you’d ever man up and tell me yourself.”

The front door opened yet again, and in walked the woman Dean slept with the night before. Stephanie, according to Y/N.

Stephanie looked around the room, taking everything in for a moment before her eyes landed on Dean and her lips curled up in a grin. “Hey lover. Your shower is amazing.”

Logan and Bethany made eye contact for a brief second before both of them sprinted for the door. Bethany won this time, leaving Logan inside, banging on the door. “I’m telling mom you’re being mean to me!”

“Cry baby!” Came her call back before Dean heard the unmistakable sound of his front door slamming shut.

“Whatever, I’ll just use Y/N’s shower since Brock is out,” Logan mumbled. He stooped to give Reyna a quick kiss on the cheek. “Don’t tell too many jokes before I get back.”

“And I need to finish getting ready,” Y/N announced. She grabbed Reyna’s hand and squeezed it before standing up and heading over to Dean. “You’re welcome to stay. Or you’re welcome to go.”

His eyes shot around the room and counted everyone. Considering he’d only ever seen Y/N in her apartment, it was strange, to say the least, to see seven other people circulating in and out of the place. “I, uh…”

“Here, c’mon.” Y/N grabbed his wrist and pulled him down the hallway towards the bedrooms. Dean hadn’t ever been further than her kitchen, and he soaked up every detail he could. The dark and slightly disturbing artwork on one side of the hallway, whereas bright colors splashed on canvases on the other. A peek into one of her extra rooms showed blankets, air mattresses, and a futon strewn across the floor. The third bedroom was closed, but the door looked different than the others. Sturdier. That definitely piqued Dean’s interest.

Then he was following her into the master bedroom, though it wasn’t really a bedroom.

Sure, there was a bed and a chest of drawers, but that was about it for normal bedroom things. A keyboard was set against one wall, two guitars and a banjo were set in stands beside it, and a single snare drum was chilling in the corner.

“Did I hear Reyna say something about a band?” Dean finally put some pieces together.

“Mm-hmm.” Y/N shut the door and headed over to the chest of drawers. A mirror was leaning against the wall, and she sat down and pulled out some makeup.

“You’re in a band. And you never thought to tell me?” Dean walked further into the room and inspected the instruments closer. “This is awesome.”

“Question for you,” she said, leaning closer to the mirror as she started applying the makeup. Dean caught her eyes in the reflection. “Do you get shy around groups of people, or what? Because you’ve barely said two words since you got here and I’ve never heard you that quiet.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to walk into a crazy party when I came over at seven am.”

Y/N’s smile escaped for a second before she schooled her features into neutral expression and put on some lipstick. As soon as she was done, she spun around on her stool and eyed Dean. He’d moved over and was lounging on her bed. “And I bet you weren’t expecting me to invite your one night stand over for breakfast either, huh?”

He laughed. “Yeah, that too. Besides, you’re always so quiet. I guess I was just surprised when I walked in and everyone kept talking and talking. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise anyway.”

Y/N nodded and walked over, settling on the bed next to Dean. He’d literally slept with her friend not even twelve hours before. It should make him feel like a giant douche the way his heart seemed to quicken at that simple movement, but strangely enough, he didn’t feel any sort of guilt or other negative emotion. Everyone in this apartment was open and welcoming. There were no hard feelings. For crying out loud, Y/N had her ex-boyfriend sleeping under her room and they still seemed to argue like siblings.

“Yeah,” she said, staring at her ceiling. “Everyone here does seem to have huge personalities.”

“Damn right we do!” Logan said, stepping out of the master bathroom wearing only a towel. “Here’s a tip, Dean. If you wanna say something around us, just say it. Loudly, otherwise no one will hear you.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Y/N muttered fondly. She eyed Logan sideways. “Now go find some pants.”

“What about a shirt?”

“Logan, honey, your abs are a gift to this world. Don’t worry about a shirt.”

He struck some poses, flexing his muscles theatrically until his towel started slipping and he hurried to grab it before it fell to the ground. Y/N just laughed and pointed to the door. “Pants.”

After a salute, Logan left the room, shutting the door behind him.

“You’re doing it again,” Dean said, making Y/N raise an eyebrow and look over at him. “Deflecting. Anytime I ask you about yourself, you somehow bring the conversation back to me. I want to hear about your band.”

She seemed to consider his words for a long moment before shifting so she was laying on her side, facing Dean. “Okay. What do you wanna know about it?”

“You’re in a band with your ex, I wanna know everything. How does that even work?”

“Easier now that we’re broken up. All of us went to high school together. That’s when Brock and I were together. We decided to start a band and it started picking up a few months after we graduated. When we were together, we were always fighting about the band. So everyone made us sit down and choose between our relationship or the band. The band was more important to both of us, and that was that. Considering how easy it was to go back to being friends, it’s pretty obvious we weren’t meant to be together.”

Dean’s eyes flicked over Y/N’s face as she told the story. He’d enjoyed the glimpse into her life from everyone else out in the living room, but hearing it from her own lips was even better.

“Still overwhelmed? You seemed pretty overwhelmed out there with everyone.”

Oh no. She wasn’t about to deflect. “What do you do in the band?”

“Everything. All of us were band geeks and we learned so many different instruments. So, besides the usual band instruments like flute, saxophone, and trumpet, we all learned guitar, bass, and enough drums to get by. Brock is our drummer though. That’s where he spends most of his time.”

“Why haven’t you told me this before?”

She shrugged, as much as she could, anyway. It was hard to shrug when laying on your side. “I don’t really like talking about myself. Whenever we get interviewed, everyone else usually answers the questions. I… I deflect, like you said. They’re better at it anyway.”

Interviewed? “How big is your band?”

“We’re getting there,” was all she said. Seeing the questions in his eyes, she gave in. “We’re leaving on a tour in a few weeks. That’s why Reyna came. She’s here to see our last local show and take Brock on a vacation before we leave for Europe.”

“Europe?”

“Just as an opening band… for Yearly Telling.”

Holy… “Shit, Y/N! That’s amazing!”

Her lips curled up into a soft smile. “Yeah, it is. We’ve gone on a few North American tours with other small bands. The kinds of tours where we book small venues and people buy the tickets because they’re cheap and they like live music. This is our first headliner tour.”

Even though Dean was more into classic rock, and bands that didn’t tour anymore, even he knew about Yearly Telling. The few songs he’d listened to weren’t bad. In fact, he actually liked them. And even as technologically challenged as he was, he knew that Yearly Telling was blowing up the charts.

“You said Reyna’s here to see your last local show?”

Y/N nodded. “Tonight, at Budd’s. Just a small, laid back bar. Do you wanna come?”

Hell yes. “Well, didn’t you say that as soon as Reyna came, I wouldn’t be allowed to leave?”

Y/N was about to answer when her bedroom door opened and Bethany and Stephanie came strolling in. Bethany’s hair was damp from her shower, and Stephanie was talking enthusiastically. She cut off when she noticed Y/N and Dean on the bed. “Hey you two. Y/N, is it cool if I steal some of your makeup? Thanks, babe!”

“I have some different tones in my bottom drawer,” Y/N replied, obviously used to Stephanie’s mannerisms. “I actually think some of them are yours, from when you lived here.”

“Awesome. Anyway, as I was saying Beth, this chick had a bouffant. Literally, a bouffant. She was like, twenty-something and her hair looked like a freaking beehive. I asked her what kind of hairspray she uses, because if I’m coming on tour with you guys as all y’all’s groupie, I have to perfect my slutty sideshow look.”

Dean let out a heavy sigh he hadn’t realized he’d been holding when Stephanie came into the room. Y/N was right. She definitely wasn’t clingy at all. Y/N just smirked at him and shifted until she was sitting. “C’mon, Dean Let’s go grab some breakfast before Brock and Logan eat it all.”

Add Yourself To My Taglist Here!

Mobile Masterlist

[1000-directions]

@queerlyalex tagged me in this approximately 4 million years ago. i think someone else tagged me too with different questions, and i will try to find that and answer it within the next 4 million years.

The rules are: ✰ post the rules ✰ answer the questions given to you by the tagger ✰ write eleven questions of your own ✰ tag eleven people (sorry, no, this already took forever)

1. If you had unlimited resources for one thing, such as going to school or travelling or to meet someone or to do a good work such as solving the water crisis in Flint, what would you use your unlimited resources for?

i mean...now that you’ve mentioned flint, i feel like i can’t say something selfish like “finance the recording and production of my ep” or “laser hair removal” or “spend a month exploring the galapagos” without sounding like an asshole lol. it would be nice to do something like...end all hunger and war everywhere, but i don’t know if that’s something that’s a matter of resources as much as entrenched inequality and hatred, and that might be beyond the scope of this hypothetical exercise. so i’m gonna go with overthrow the united states government. not just impeaching, convicting, and imprisoning trump, but getting rid of everyone, abolishing the electoral college and two-party politics, maybe a parliament or something. and while we’re at it, i’m gonna throw all the guns into the sun and redistribute all of the wealth so that no one is a billionaire and everyone has enough to get by. by throwing all the guns into the sun, i’m undecided if i mean that hyperbolically or if i mean lets re-fund NASA and get people excited about space exploration again and build enough rockets and train enough astronauts to literally throw the guns into the literal sun.

2. Say you’re an amazing photographer and you got picked up by National Geographic (before Rupert Murdoch of course, ick), they are willing to let you go anywhere in the world to photograph any subject, where are you going and what are you taking photos of?

ummmm we’re either going “louis tomlinson: a life in food” where i follow him on tour and take pictures of his starbucks order and what he likes to eat for breakfast in different countries or “wildlife of oceania” where i travel around australia and new zealand taking pictures of cool ass kangaroos and birds and coral reefs.

3. Do you listen to music when you go to sleep?

NO. silence or rain are the only sounds i can tolerate when i’m sleeping.

4. Have you ever had a “food phase” where you absolutely cannot stop eating this one thing, or a few things in combination? Do you still get cravings for whatever it was?

i mean, my entire life is a food phase where i absolutely cannot stop eating E V E R Y T H I N G. when i was in high school, i would make muddy buddies or puppy chow or whatever you call it -- the chex with the chocolate and peanut butter and powdered sugar -- every thursday and then watch ER. a friend of mine used to do that, so i tried it once and it was just a very satisfying combination of like ritually making something and then watching something i really enjoyed. it always tastes better in my imagination than it actually tastes on my tongue.

5. Can you tell me about the best pet you’ve ever owned? Or someone else owned and you still connected with? If you’ve never experience this comradery with an animal a) I’m sorry and b) tell me about a stuffed animal or a beloved trinket.

my father is really allergic to dogs and cats (and deathly allergic to birds) but when i was a kid, we had at various times 3 dogs and 1 cat, all of which we had to give up after a few days or months because he couldn’t breathe. i don’t know WHY my parents kept bringing animals into the home of young children who quickly got attached to these animals only to have them repeatedly given away. when i was 19-ish, then got a bichon frise, this lil dude:

(enjoy the only picture i will ever post of myself on tumblr btw)

we spent a lot of time together when i lived at home. my parents traveled a lot, and they were gone basically every weekend, and it was just me and him. when i moved out, he used to go outside my door and scratch and whine every night because he didn’t understand why we weren’t hanging out. he was a big reason i waited so long to move out of my parents’ house, because the thought of not seeing him every day was so so upsetting to me. over the last few years, he has really deteriorated, and now he’s an anxious old man puppy who won’t let anyone touch him (same tbh)

6. Do you like hummus? If you haven’t ever tried it, Google it and tell me if you would be willing to try it.

hecK YEAH i like hummus. plain hummus, garlic hummus, lemon hummus, pine nut hummus, black bean hummus, red pepper hummus, GIMME IT ALL TBH. best with lil pieces of pita obviously but i usually eat it with carrots and try to pretend i’m being healthy.

7. What’s the most you’ve ever spent on fan merch, whether it’s an object or an album preorder, etc.

oh.......shit. as a disclaimer, this was a long time ago when i was living at home and working full time and i had decent savings and wasn’t super concerned about the future. i spent $2000 on a pair of tickets to see a band on new years eve at some casino in oklahoma. i live on the east coast. so i also had to pay for a flight to dallas, a rental car, and a hotel. i had an amazing time, it was one of the best shows i’ve ever been to, and my friend and i still talk about it all the time all these years later. however...especially these last few months when i’ve had no solid idea how i was going to pay my rent or bills or anything, i’ve really thought about how much it would help to have that money back. but that being said, i was such a reckless idiot back then that i probably would have just spent it on something else stupid anyway.

8. I have a really weird #adulting life goal where I want to end up with a house that has a formal dining room. Do you have an #adulting life goal?

hmm. i don’t like to fantasize or speculate about the future much, because i am like...so far away from where i would ideally like to be in any aspect of my life, period. i don’t think it serves me well to look more than one or two steps ahead of where i am at any given point. there have been many times in my life where i’ve looked at where i am and thought, wow, i never could have even IMAGINED i’d have accomplished this even two years ago!! so i just try to tell myself that there is good stuff up ahead that i don’t even know i’m capable of achieving, and i try not to worry about specifics. 

9. Do you have pajamas, like PJs you bought from the PJ section at the store and wear as PJs to bed, or do you wear whatever such as sweats and a tshirt from your closet like I’m wearing right now?

i have a bunch of cute satiny nightgowns like little slips that i used to wear in the summer, and then t-shirts and pajama pants in winter. these days, i literally just wear a tank top and underwear, and if i ever get cold (lol unlikely) i just pile on another blanket.

10. What are some of your goals in 2018? Either goals for yourself or what your doing or your fandom experience, etc. Can you tell me about them?

i start the new job in a week, and i just wanna work hard and do well and hopefully make some friends with my coworkers. most of my friends are moving away in a few months, and there are two in particular i really want to make an effort to stay in contact with. i would like to lose enough weight so i don’t completely hate myself by the time i meet everyone at red rocks. if i lose 35 pounds, i’ll be back where i was when school started. and i want to grow my nails out.

11. What is a happy memory you feel like sharing?

when i was eighteen and failing out of college for the first time, i went to a thai restaurant for lunch (by myself, i had no friends and was hundreds of miles from home and knew no one, i went days at a time without talking to another person), and when the waiter brought the bill, there was a note inside that said “excuse me but you have a nice smile.” and that was it, no phone number or anything, just a nice compliment from a stranger at a time when i was completely falling apart.

[humanintereststory]

7: Make Good TV

After that torrent of raw emotion, John closed inward. He never wanted to say any of that and he couldn’t imagine that he would have said it to someone who at most was an acquaintance. Despite that, she still persisted and not in a way that would be considered a nuisance but instead a gentle prodding to the next necessary step. Fortunately for Mike, John had kept a slip of paper with his boss’ business number in his wallet. The remnants of his cell phone were now swept away by the cleaning crew and in the near future were scattered about in a nearby landfill. John had insisted to Michael Saint that he needed to speak with Mike as it was integral that she join him as his, and he knew that he was being self-depreciating but it was also possibly what management wanted to hear, his handler. From there, Mike had, within thirty minutes, a private meeting with the general manager and walked out with provisional terms for a contract of employment. Once John had started to leave again so he could slip away into the night - perhaps satisfied that he did his good deed for the day, Mike stopped him once again. Her employee, a young college student, had bailed as he had class in less than seven hours so it was just Mike McGuire now. His conscious thoughts told him to pull away and to go back into seclusion - it was always how it had been so why stop now? But something else, unbeknownst to him, prevailed and he turned to face her. “‘Ay, are you stayin’ anyplace tonight? Got a hotel room or somethin’?” The answer was no. John had abandoned his apartment lease over a month ago now and now technically had no place of residence or any real intention to stay in any more hotel rooms. “I’m just going to hit the road. I usually sleep on the way there. Not really sure yet.” “Well, if you wanted, you could crash at my place. Ain’t the Ritz, but I got a spare room and it beats sleepin’ in your car.” John’s eyes widened as if he had been found out. She pointed at the piled up blanket in the back seat of the car and from there asked if he was really living anywhere. He shook his head. At that point she insisted. One night turned in two nights. Two into a week. That week had become a crash course in the mundane realities of life. John had taken the basic functions for granted and was finding that he was slipping further and further in an attempt to replicate what he had before. John had decided to let go and let Mike light the way. Suddenly he had a bank account. He had a new cellphone with the proviso that this one shouldn’t be broken into a million pieces. He had plane tickets to future destinations because Mike had emphatically stated that his vehicle wouldn’t survive much more criss-crossing of this great nation. Some astute observers could draw the parallel of John waiting for that slot in his steel door to open three times a day but Mike always insisted that he was going to do it next time because she’s not his goddamn Mother. But it wasn’t just that because John concluded that Mike just wanted to talk to someone and she tried repeatedly to strike up conversations. The first couple of nights, John had been regaled of tales of her past. Sometimes it was about business but John didn’t want to talk about himself much so he just listened intently. It was like listening to a good book. Most of the time, though, John kept to himself by reading the book he had lifted at the motel. John, much to Mike’s excitement, had been successful in his last few contests. He had some momentum, she said, and people were starting to take notice. He had recoiled from that. People taking notice meant attracting unwanted attention. It was hard for him to explain. The ring was a sanctuary and despite the viewing audience, it was really just between him and the opposition. The cruelty and negativity were no longer part of the equation - it was now a battle of wits and strength. Two or more opposing forces moving against each other in a violent but beautiful struggle. It was Tuesday afternoon and last night, John had earned a defining victory over a former television champion. Mike, out of nowhere, said it’s time and beckoned him to join her in the backyard. It was time to get in ring shape, she proclaimed. They separated briefly to change into workout gear. John stepped through the open sliding glass door into a yard surrounded by a ten foot tall wooden fence. In the middle of the yard was a ring. It was in a state of disrepair. The ropes looked loose and frayed and some parts were wrapped in duct tape. The turnbuckles were mismatched in color and shape. The canvas was soiled and the branches of a maple tree hung over the ring casting its shadow and depositing leaves and twigs throughout. John couldn’t help to think about that place he’d visit when he started to see red. That ring was his garden. It was where he would grow. “I like it,” John said with complete sincerity. “Aw, it ain’t nothin’ special. Got the thing for a song on Craigslist. It’s fourth-hand. Maybe fifth. Fuck, thing might even be eighth-hand, but it’s a damn ring and that’s what’s important.” “Craig seems to have a lot of things you’ve acquired.” “It’s a website. Kinda like a giant garage sale, aw, never mind, that ain’t important right now,” she slid into the ring and hopped up to sit on a turnbuckle, “I’m supposed t’ debut on May 11th. Still can’t thank you enough for gettin’ my foot in the door.” John walked tentatively around the ring, his fingers tracing along the stained apron, “Gives you plenty of time to prepare, I suppose. As for the introduction, I believe this last week has more than made up for one phone call.” “You can stay as long as you want, y’know. I’ve kinda liked having someone to talk to b’sides Mr. Met,”chuckling, she leaned forward a bit, somewhat like a perched phoenix, “Y’know, Church, I’ve been thinking. That was smart, what you said to get Saint’s attention, but I don’t think you could use a handler. Without gettin’ into it, I think you’ve had enough of that. My opinion, what you could probably use better,” she gave that same impish grin he’d seen on her face plenty by now, “is a partner.” John pulled at the bottom rope and it had too much give, “Mike,” he cleared his throat nervously, “I’ve been alone for a long time now but we just met. I mean not just met but in the grand scheme of time and all…” She giggled and then caught her hands on the ropes so she didn’t fall off backwards, “Church, hon, you don’t gotta worry about that. You’re a swell guy but you ain’t my type. Got the wrong, assets, if you get my drift. Naw, dude, I’m talking about being my tag partner.” John wasn’t really catching any drifts at this point, “I’m not sure what is my type, am I my type?” he looked up to her, “I’ve never had a tag partner,” there was a long pause as John paced back and forth in front of the ring, he mumbled to himself, seemingly assessing a complicated algorithm but then suddenly he stated, “Okay. We’re a team now.” “Fuckin’ A!” she gave a bit of a whoop and jumped from the turnbuckle to the mat. The ring shook in a slightly concerning manner, “Trust me. This is gonna be awesome,” she then scratched the back of her head, wearing the sheepish look of someone who may have done something she shouldn’t have, “cuz when I said ‘my debut’ I maaaaay have kinda meant our debut.” John looked at her blankly, which was the default expression seemingly and Mike braced herself for an objection, “Okay. Fine with me.” She let out a relieved ‘phew!’ and shrugged her shoulders a bit, “Sorry for jumping the gun. I kinda got excited and I probably shoulda asked you first.” “It’s okay,” and in what some would consider emotionless, “I’m excited, too. I can barely contain myself.” “You being sarcastic, man? I mean, seriously, you ain’t mad at me, are you?” “I’m not. I’m just not in the way of … I don’t know, I just,” he stumbled over his words, “I’m just not good with showing what I mean. Last person who talked me on the regular just told me the same thing every night.” “Oh, ok. Fair enough. Mind if I ask about that?” John rolled into the ring and sat in the middle with his legs crossed. He stared up through the branches of the maple tree into the sky. “John, you and me have a lot in common, you know that right? Let me tell you why. You should have seen it. You would have been proud. They didn’t recognize her face after what I did. They said I done it twenty seven times, Johnny, but all I know is that hammer was so caked in the essence of her that it excited me. I got all in them guts that night and she was still warm, you believe that shit? It excites me just talking about it. Makes me feel good inside. I’m touching myself right now, how do you like that, boy? How’s it make you feel? I feel like this vent is a one-way but I know you likes it, Johnny. You and me is kindred spirits. She did me wrong, too, and I made her pay just like you made her pay. Oh, Johnny, I’m so close, why don’t you talk to me, help me finish and whisper sweet nothings into my ear.” John sighed, “I never helped him for fifteen years and then one day he was gone. Every night, he’d say that. And then it was his time. I kind of missed him because no one talked to me much anyway. So I hope you understand that I’m listening and I hear what you say but there just isn’t much to say right now. I like being in this ring right now. I love this sport. And so I think he was wrong in the terms of commonality. You and me share the same passion so I hope that is enough for now. I hope what I shared provides some context to that I mean what I mean and I’m all for this arrangement.” Her expression was odd, somewhere between sympathy (meant for him) and disgust (directed at the other guy), as if she could understand the need for staving off isolation but was no less grossed out by what that other, now dead fucker had subjected her new friend to on the nightly. Mike sighed a bit and shifted her face to something more neutral and finally she nodded in acknowledgment. At least he’d shared something. Progress. Baby steps. And if he said he meant what he said, she’d believe him, 

“Alright. I read you. Anywho, I got a mini gym setup in the garage too. Nothing fancy. Some bags, weights, stuff like that. Mi casa es su casa, mi, fuckin’ train wreck of a training setup es su fuckin’ train wreck of a training setup. Which reminds me, you still got a single coming up. That Malice fucker, if I remember right. You got any idea what you’re gonna say?” “I don’t know. I’m not sure what to say right now. I really don’t want to talk to that guy anymore,”John meant Ace Heart - the lead interview man, “he doesn’t act like the way he does to anyone but me. He keeps asking questions he could answer himself.” “Hm. I don’t like the mustached fucker much either, but just to play devil’s advocate for a sec, maybe he’s frustrated that he’s not gettin’ nothin’ out of you. He’s nice to everybody else cuz they give him what he wants easy, but you’re not like everybody else. Which ain’t a bad thing but is driving him fuckin’ nuts,” she tapped her chin, and fiddled with the brim of her cap, “Got an idea. You don’t wanna deal with him, and I don’t want you dealing with fucking internet trolls. So, why don’t you talk to me instead? I got a phone with decent video. We could do a couple practice runs an’ then give ‘em the real goods. How’s that sound?” “Okay.” Mike directed him to stand in the middle of the ring. She stood on the apron with phone in hand and framed the video so one could see him from the waist up. She pinched in and out on the touch screen before she was satisfied with the shot. “Okay, tell me what you think about your opponent for Friday Night Rampage, Malice?” John looked directly into the camera lenses, “He seems nice.” She turned off the camera, her attempted veneer of professionalism falling by the wayside for the moment, “He’s not fuckin’ nice at all! He’s an asshole! And kind of a weirdo. I mean, I ain't no kinkshamer but I was waitin' for him and his chick to start suckin' on each other's toes or someshit. Eugh. ” “How do you know that? We never met them.” “Do you pay attention to other people’s video spots? He’s always going on about violence and suffering and shit. Not nice.” “I mean, yeah, but, okay, well, he’s not nice. I concede to that point.” She sighed once more, “Okay. Let’s try this again,” she pressed the button on the camera and started recording, repeating her previous question. “Malice …” She leaned forward a bit, a small look of anticipation on her face. “Did you know that an average person’s yearly fast food intake will contain 12 public hairs? I found that interesting.” “No, no!” she cut the camera off again, “Okay. I want you to please give me something fucking… real. Like, REAL real. Not random facts. Not goddamn touting of how nice your opponent is. Something real. You gave me something real in the parking lot. It was raw and uncomfortable but it was fucking REAL and that’s what I want. That’s what people’re wanting out of you. Fuck, it might even be cathartic. Can you do that, Church? Can you give me that?” John simply nodded. “Alright. Third time’s the fuckin’ charm. One, Two… MAKE GOOD TV,”

 she flicked the camera on again. She followed him with the shot as he paced in what she was getting used to as thinking time for the big man. Nearly half a minute past and Mike was about to switch off the camera and call it a day when John finally spoke up. “I’ve been here for just over a month now. I’ve won some and I lost some if you happen to be keeping track. I’m not going away. I thought about it. It would be easy to succumb to what some expect of me. I’ve been thinking a lot about that, too.” John stopped the pacing and then raised a balled fist in front of him. He then raised up his index finger, “Thomas, I heard you loud and clear and maybe if I were inclined to care, I would be devastated that your client got one over me. In hindsight, your sermon on who I am and just what effect your inflammatory statements would have on me were just a little flat. Maybe it had the opposite intended outcome because you don’t know one thing about me other then what you read. But what do I know? I’m not a mind reader.” Two. “Warrior. I have no doubt on what you may not fear. You blustered and puffed out your chest and you emphatically stated what you are. I am a professional wrestler and you are a fighter. You remember who you are and you remember back to that night on what being a fighter did for you.” Three. “Former champion. You made ultimatums. You questioned my dedication to this sport. You underestimated me. And so you have been weighed on the scales and have been found wanting.” Four, however at this point, he closed his hand. Mike zoomed in the camera closer on John’s face. “That, I guess, brings us to the present. The intention to cause pain and suffering; to do evil; ill will. That is pretty accurate. You and me stand at the opposite ends of the spectrum. However, you do not stand before me for judgment. I will not don the white hat that evening. I do however want you to understand that I do not share your willingness to do harm unto others. This is a sport and with your intentions you are a man out of time. You are a ruthless mercenary and you’ll do anything to survive the day.” He snapped his fingers. “Wake up from that day dream. The darkness that permeates every fiber of your being does not make me falter. I got biblical a little earlier and so maybe I hope you can understand this,” he cleared his throat, “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance. I think someone like you believes in that whether you want to admit it or not. The wounds you accumulate and bestow are what you perhaps consider a character building experience. I’ve been stuck on it, too. The thing is, and believe me, I’m not entirely sold on the idea of a higher power but your idea of suffering is pointless. There is no reason to suffer if not for faith. Maybe not faith in a traditional sense but you know the idea of believing that there is a core set of values that tell you to love one another. That suffering eventually means something. I know what you bring and it amounts to nothing. So bring that value to a ring very much like this one.” He pointed down towards the canvas. “And get that if you go outside of the constraints of the rules, you will eventually lose and your suffering will be for nought. Glory is your God and you have repeatedly disappointed Him. Don’t take my unwillingness to live up to the moniker of this company as not being cut out for it. And on the flip side, don’t take as it a declaration of superiority. It’s just who I am. What I am capable of doing with my hands may be more than enough to sate just what defines you.” John looked past the camera and at Mike. She got the unvoiced cue and turned off the feed. “Something like that?” “Oh my fucking god, YES! Awesome! I’m gonna send that in as is, it’s absolutely perfect,” she grinned from ear to ear, obviously impressed, “Can you do that all the time?” “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t like the idea of just being awful to each other. I just wanted to let them know how I felt. Is that what they want?” “Well… it doesn’t matter what they want, exactly. I’m not asking you to be awful. Just honest.”
 John stared at her blankly and then just slightly his mouth curved into a semblance of a smirk. “I can do that, partner.”

[m0onbean]

Dreamin’ Chapter 3

category: fluff, angst

pairing: choi youngjae (got7) X reader

summary: a cold hearted youngjae needs some love in his life

note: i’m stretching chapters out looooong and finally getting back up on my feet to start writing!!!

“(Y/N).”

You jolted awake from your slumber and your eyelids slowly lifted up. After your vision focused for a couple seconds, a low ceiling appeared in front of your face and you soon realized that you had fallen asleep in a car. A nice car, must you add.

“(Y/N), wake up.” the same voice repeated your name in an impatient manner. When your eyes flickered over to the location of the sound, you were met with a Youngjae who was holding open the car door nearest to your head from outside. One hand was shoved in his navy suit’s pocket and the other was leaning against the widened door which was leaking in cool air and the smell of musty rain. His hair was lazily tossed to one side and his suit was wrinkled up.

Slowly, you sat up straight and rubbed your eyes sleepily. Youngjae watched you and sighed to himself. “You can leave now.”

When you looked out the door behind his figure you saw that he had parked in front of a street sign that read “Olive St.” However, he was parked in front of another house which you did not recognize.

“That’s not my house.”

“We’re at your street though.”

“But that’s not my house.” you repeated.

Youngjae groaned and ruffled his hair in exasperation, “Look, I don’t give a flying fuck. I’m dropping you off at your street, so go walk home from here.”

“But this street is really long and I don’t even recognize this house! How am I supposed to get home if I don’t know where I am?” you protested in disbelief.

“Google Maps,” Youngjae simply replied.

“I don’t have a phone.”

“God, you’re such a nuisance. Don’t you think you’re asking for a little too much?” Youngjae asked in a condescending tone. “Just be grateful I didn’t kick you out of the car while we were still in the middle of nowhere.”

Before you could retaliate, Youngjae gripped you by your wrist and dragged you out of your seat and straight outside onto the sidewalk blanketed with scattered puddles. You stumbled back clumsily as your shoes dug into the mini flood which damped your sneakers.

By the time you balanced yourself and was about to vocally express your hatred towards Youngjae, you were cut off by the sound of the driver seat slamming shut and an engine revving off into the foggy night with a trail of thick smoke pushing behind it.

At the lack of Youngjae’s presence, you were now struck with the realization that you were lost in the dark streets with rain sprinkling you for what seemed like the hundredth time today. The houses to your left and right didn’t look familiar at all and to add a cherry on top, you were freezing. Your arms instinctively wrapped around your body as you trudged along the sidewalk, not knowing where to go.

As you ventured around, you actually found enjoyment in strolling in the biting air with nobody else accompanying you. It gave you time to think, which was something you did quite often. You thought about how you have a job now and how you can finally support yourself after years of struggling to maintain even a duty as a simple convenience store worker.

A smile crept on your lips when you started to imagine how you could sabotage Youngjae’s room as his family’s new servant. Maybe you could place a lizard on his probably million dollar worthed pillow, or offer him pink packaged Starbursts that were actually yellow. You shuddered at the latter. That was maybe a little too cruel.

A screeching meow abruptly interrupted your evil thoughts. It startled you, causing you let out a small yelp. When you gazed down to your feet, you were met with piercing green orbs staring into your face. The cat stopped meowing but was now rubbing itself against your legs while  purring sweetly. It had darkly shaded fur which you couldn’t identify the color of since it blended in with the sky.

“Good cat,” you praised but didn’t dare to touch it. “Now please get off me?”

As if to taunt you, the cat only continued to used your legs to scratch its back. You were about to lift your foot to shoo it away until its big furry bottom landed on both your shoes, anchoring you down with its heavy weight.

“What- fuck -why are you so heavy??” you groaned but decided to not kick the cat off your feet out of manners for nature. Maybe it had a long day and needs a rest just like how you did.

So you kneeled down cautiously and reached your hand out to stroke the cat’s furry body. It purred in response which boosted your confidence.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry about that!” a voice called out from behind you which made you swivel your head around to the sound. A man was frantically approaching you in a rush, the rain attacking him on all sides. He was wearing gray sweatpants that sagged a little and a thin white shirt that hugged his body nicely. Two tiny moles were placed over his eyelid which immediately struck you with shock.

“J-Jaebum?” you sputtered while staring at him in utter disbelief. At first he stopped in his tracks, clearly surprised that a random girl in his yard had recognized him. But when his eyes adapted to the darkness, his expression mirrored yours.

“(Y/N)?”

“Jaebum, what are you doing here?!” you asked while quirking your eyebrow. “You told me you lived downtown.”

“I was just staying over for a party...” he mumbled while avoiding eye contact. Jaebum was one of your fellow classmates in highschool that you shared a couple of classes with. He was quiet and composed all of the time which highkey scared you. If somebody bumped into him in the hallways he would just shrug. It seemed like nothing irritated him.

It was until you were put in a group project with him did you realize the man was a freak. A wild freak that loves cats to be specific. Aside from being a chill person to be around, he had a good sense of humor. You were fond of his snarky comments and sarcastic language. Overtime, he became a good friend of yours.

“And you brought your cat to a party?” you narrowed your eyes at the furry loaf whose body was on the brink of sleeping on your now ruined sneakers.

“Who doesn’t love cats?” he asked in a duh tone while reaching his arms out to swipe the cat away from your feet. The minute its plump body lifted its weight off of you, you felt the blood circulation in your feet sighing in relief.

“Dude, what do you feed your cat? It literally looks like a balloon.” you distastefully remarked while massaging your feet.

“She.” Jaebum instantly corrected. “And I feed Snowflake very well mind you.”

You snorted and crossed your arms, “Snowflake? Your cat is literally the opposite of a snowflake. She’s not lightweight or white colored at all.”

“Jeez, why are you so sassy tonight?” He accused while stroking Snowflake’s soft head tenderly. Snowflake was cuddled up into his arms, her head resting on his bicep.

“Long story short, rich douchebag dropped me off here and now I don’t know how to get home.” you sighed and reached your hand over to pet Snowflake as well to relieve some stress.

“You sound stressed. Wanna party with us?”

The moment he mentioned the party, you suddenly noticed the muffled music blasting from the house of the yard you were standing in. Lights were flashing from the exposed window into the sky and you heard deep voices chanting “CHUG CHUG CHUG.”

You scrunched your nose up distastefully, “I’ll pass.”

“C’mon, I can tell you had a rough day. Learn how to relax!” Jaebum insisted with eagerness prominent in his voice. “It’s been a long time since we’ve hung out since summer started.”

“That’s true, but I prefer catching up in a different location... not in your house filled with sweaty guys who haven’t been laid in a month. Besides, I thought parties aren’t your thing?”

“See that’s what I thought, but if you go to a party with the right people, you’ll become drunk on social energy. You don’t even need a single shot to have a good time, I promise.” Jaebum effectively convinced with a puppy-like grin. Was Jaebum, a cat nerd, actually finding parties to be relaxing and enjoyable?

“I just want to go home,” you sighed while rubbing your forehead. “Can you let me borrow your phone for directions? We can hangout next time.”

Jaebum’s face fell at your rejection, “Awww (Y/N)... I can tell you’re frustrated. I promise if you join the party you’ll have a great time. And if you don’t I’ll uh... I’ll buy you clothes or whatever you like.”

You scoffed, “I’m amazed at your persistence. Look I-“

“I’ll take you to an expensive restaurant.”

Your eye twitched. “An... expensive restaurant?”

“Yes! Of your choice of course! ANY restaurant!” Jaebum emphasized “any” in his sentence.

You took a glimpse of the the house which was now shooting rainbow beams out of its windows. “Let’s just get over with this.”

To your surprise, Jaebum was correct. You had a good time, no, you had an AMAZING one. You had suspiciously expected the party to be flooded with drunk and reckless people but there were unexpectedly a large amount of sober ones instead. And the social energy had rubbed off on you just as he had said. Before you knew it, you had met at least ten new people, laughed so hard your ribs ached, watched a horror movie with the whole house crowded in the living room, vented about your day with your new friends listening intently, and sprinted around the neighborhood in the pouring rain while splashing every puddle in sight.

By the time the party had been called over, you were feeling energized as ever. You wanted so badly for it to never end, but unfortunately all good things come to a halt at some point.

Now that most of the guests had bid you farewell and drove off in Ubers back home, only you and Jaebum were left in the now seemingly vacant house. “Woo!” you cheered and flopped onto his couch that was probably littered with potato chips. “I had the time of my life!”

Jaebum chuckled from the kitchen and returned with a glass of water in his hand. He offered it to you which you gratefully accepted and chugged the whole thing down your throat. “I’m telling you, I host the best parties here. No alcohol allowed, and everything turns better.”

You hummed in agreement. “I’ll forgive you for lying about living here since the party was super lit.”

He tensed up, “Oh. Right. Sorry about that. I told you I lived downtown because I didn’t want any of my classmates visiting.”

“And why’s that?” you inquired while giving Snowflake who was nestled in your chest a belly rub.

“If you hadn’t noticed, everybody in our school are jerks who leech off of other people. Had I leaked my address, a thousand of people would have showed up at my door, asking to stay over since their parents kicked them out,” he sourly stated while shaking his head. It was true. Everybody who went to your school were all assholes who were selfish and clearly only cared about popularity.

“Yeah. There’s a handful of jerks living here...” A picture of Youngjae flashed in your mind. All of the anger pent up in you was released like water being freed from a faucet during the party. Now, all was left was a bitter taste swirling on your tongue. “Ugh, I really hate that rich brat.”

Jaebum’s head perked up, “Oh, the guy you’ve been ranting about throughout the whole party?”

You hated to admit it, but you HAD been talking about him all this time. How dare he leave you off on some random street without even an umbrella to shield yourself?

“I have an idea.” Jaebum interrupted your thoughts. “How about we get revenge?”

A small mischievous spark tickled your brain. Revenge sounded delicious. You feigned aloofness by continuing to stroke Snowflake’s belly softly. “I’m listening...” you hummed.

Jaebum proceeded with an evil smile on his lips. “Well I was thinking... you wouldn’t want to go overboard and get yourself fired, correct?” he continued after you nodded your head in agreement, “Instead you should try to irritate him in the smallest ways so he can’t accuse you of such tiny shenanigans easily. For example... you could annoy him by talking to him and asking him a lot of questions, ‘accidentally’ mix up his laundry, you know...”

A small, malicious smirk crept on your face as you considered all of the things you could do to irk Youngjae in the smallest ways. Let’s call this Operation Annoy Youngjae.

Chapter 2

[hellolittlefoxie]

With You - Part 1

Sometime in the early morning hours of December 31st, our first year together officially began. It was nothing extravagant, no flowers, no romantic dinner. It was just in the intimacy of sitting alone while the the city slept that it began.

Our first full day together was surprisingly casual, not to be surprised given the circumstances of the time but it was a day I cherish very much. Running errands, such as picking and dropping of your momma, a workout session along the Embarcadero, a meet up with a friend for dinner, and watching the city glisten from a new viewpoint as we brought the new year together in the calm and quiet of your living room, giving each other a smile as we looked out the window to your neighborhood. 

January

The first day of the new year was a bittersweet one. You took me to Chinatown, where you got me some hong kong milk tea, and some deliciously flaky egg tarts. And then drove me across the the bridge to show me Sausalito for the first time. Here I fell in love with the small town vibes, and serenity that came from viewing SF from the distance as the windows turned to gold while the sun set. But that night would be a lonely one as I had to say good bye to you a and drove down the darkness of the 5.

The 2nd adventure of the year took us to the legendary Bill Graham to see none other than your favorite trance DJ, with BJ and the rest of Norcal Anaho. A blurry night where we broke our necks you broke your neck as you complained about it for the rest of the weekend. Had some wonderful family time with Anaho as we did a photoshoot at an abandoned bunker, had dinner at my fave place in SF, San Tung, chilled at Amanda’s house, explored new areas of the city, and had one of the more memorable nights at Travelodge with our first wine and snack night. 

February

“Are we celebrating Valentine’s?” “No not really.” 

Was basically the gist of one of our conversations. But that weekend after Valentine’s  had us back together, me dressed up a little nicer than usual, and you glowing in your pretty gray dress, and coat, as we spent our first “non valentine’s day celebration” in the middle of downtown. A night where we explored LA’s downtown night life together for the first time, where I pointed to to you the Denny’s I went to after prom, a geography lesson on LA’s layout on top of a rotating bar. Then home to celebrate with some sparkly you had given me as part of my gift. Our cravings the next day took us to Koreatown for KBBQ, with Evelyn and Steven, the nicer side of Melrose for some disappointing milk tea from Alfred’s Teahouse, and a spontaneous double date with Jazz and Danny to some pizza diner in Hollywood. A little detour to Little Tokyo, and to find the instagram hotspot with the red and blue lights and our weekend came to an end as we waved good bye to each other as your bus pulled away taking a sleepy you back home.

March

After a commitment that was made at Snowglobe more than a year before, this was the month we traveled across the country to finally walk the fabled grounds of Ultra. The whole month was full of kandi making and anxious anticipation of what would it be like to finally be at the festival both of us had only been able to experience from livestreams, and youtube videos. Finally on the third weekend of March we saw each other at the airport with Ben and Amanda cockblocking my hug to you. Waking up at 5 in the morning that day felt like a distant memory as I had gone from LA to Austin to holding your hand in Miami after a 12+ hour trip. That night as it is the usual for Anaho to do after a long time apart had everyone talking loud, challenging each other to drink more shots, and of course the night wasn’t complete without a few people throwing up. The next three days had us jumping up and down to Tiesto, vibing to Kaskade, getting wild for kayzo and being had us in awe at the reunion of SHM, and every night had us wandering through downtown Miami as we raced everyone else back to the airbnb to see who would be able to shower first. Dressing up as Jasmine and Aladdin, having matching outfits with your silver top and my gray camo for day two, munching on some expensive festival food, getting lost in the crowd of internationals while you held my hand, downed at least three red bulls a day, and I couldn’t have asked for a better rave bae or better way to experience Ultra. 

April

A few weeks back you had asked me if I wanted to go with you to the the AKPsi formal, not wanting to miss out on this I excitedly said yes, that weekend in April I flew in late in the afternoon where you drove us down to the outdoor shopping mall in San Jose, after not being able to go to the rooftop bar you initially wanted to take me to, we ended up at a different bar, you seemed flustered at that but it’s okay because we still had a great time, especially after a seafood dinner, and some ice cream. A boba pitstop later and our second road trip began we made our way to our hotel in the good ol’ Central Valley. Two hours of your Merced playlist, and singing our hearts out to some throwback songs, and before we knew it we were checking in and drinking wine at our surprisingly nice hotel, too bad for the squeaky bed though. The next day we found ourselves in Merced, a coffee shop and a creepy antique store later and we found ourselves at the banquet hall where I started to meet some of your Merced fam. We helped out for a while and realized how much it felt like college, helping out and setting up for a banquet, and it brought back good memories. After saying bye to my new friends we headed out to explore the bustling metropolis that Merced is, you were the boss and tour guide here as you showed me around telling me stories of where you would go hang out, where you used to run, your old apartments and every now and then I would interject telling you “HEY I’VE BEEN HERE TOO!” It was great hearing your stories from college and made it easier to imagine 2011-2015 Tiff and all the wonderful memories you made there. After a Tacobell snack at the park we went on to your little’s house to prepare for the banquet. The rest of night consisted of me admiring you in your little black dress, and hearing other people rave about how good you looked as well, seeing you with your line, and your fraternity and people saying, “I’ve heard so much about you!” Was heartwarming as we ate and danced for a bit at the banquet. However the real party would be afterwards and it felt like I was transported back to my college days as we stripped down to comfier and more fitting house party clothes. The pregame began, and the warmth from the alcohol went hand in hand with the warm night in Merced. It was amusing to see how our night unraveled as we snuck in the back of the house to avoid bouncers into a dark and humid room with a bunch of dabs grinding and dudes being bros. Then as soon as the alcohol ran out, we jumped over to the next party, until the college drama started and we ended walking out and back through the neighborhood to our pregame spot. A few shots later, and a few lines as well and everyone was having a great time with both new and old friends. After a the cops showing up, and people knocking out or being too drunk the party started to dwindle down and we found ourselves on the couch you and your hot pocket, and me in tears about how much I love you. After waking up and getting ready a quick photoshoot with my film camera and we found ourselves on campus for your little’s grad shoot. Some quick thai food after and a couple of good byes to both your littles we were back on the road to the bay. Our April weekend coming to an end up on the hills of Berkeley, with the sunset and some “vegan pizza.”

May

The first half of May, you found yourself halfway across the world, exploring the old continent. Your two week cruise vacation across Europe would bring you to Denmark, Norway, Germany, Estonia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden. You explored new and old cities, and we would be in touch sparingly as you were in and out of wifi connection, we would webcam at odd hours, but either way it made me happy you were back in Europe because you speak so fondly of it. And despite not having a good connection you still managed to send me constant videos, pics, and updates while I was sleeping or in class, and it made me excited to be able to webcam you even if it was for like 5 minutes. Once you were back in the States, it was a struggle for a couple days for you to make it past 8 without knocking out whenever we would webcam.

The second half of the month was filled with many adventures as we saw each other not once but twice! In a weekend full of firsts I can’t help but highlight how amazing it was to experience camping with you in such a picturesque part of California, the visuals in your car and just melting in your seat as the music took us to a different dimension, and then the journey through middle earth that we undertook while on shrooms, even though we probably only walked like 100 yards in real life, dying at Jared’s exaggeration of “Car… Car… Car…” and Steven’s “IT’S A MILLION MILES AWAY.” And then our intimate bath experience under a sky full of stars and the waves crashing beneath us was truly a magical moment. Showering naked in public and smelling the earthy body wash and looking over the darkness is something I will hold onto because it was such a unique experience. And coming back to cuddle in the tent until it was time for us to leave and do another mini road trip. A drive that took us to the little underwhelming McWay Falls, Sharkfin Cove, Carmel, Santa Cruz there’s nothing better than driving back to SF jamming out to Christian music. This time our good bye didn’t feel too sad because we would be seeing each other the weekend after.

The last weekend of May was wild as all of Norcal came down to “surprise” Ben for his birthday. Even though the surprise failed it was still a great way to show our best friend how much we appreciate him as we got lit to wine, met and fed a few friendly floofs, and rented out an Airbnb to continue the party for the rest of the weekend. Four full days of you and I was feeling quite spoiled. My favorite memories from that weekend were exploring the south side of OC, and playing spikeball as the sunset, all the cuddle sessions of sleeping for four nights together, letting you drive Aria down to our airbnb as I DJ’ed, and feeling like our time together was never going to end, playing table tennis, and basketball with you , and having the opportunity to share so many different plates of food with you everywhere we went.

June started off great as well as I saw you for the third consecutive week, this time you decided to pull of an Illenium like I had done last year and had decided to surprise me to go see my favorite dubstep DJ, MaRLo, at the almost legendary Exchange. We decided to surprise the trance fam squad after getting some dranks up somewhere in the LA skyline and then going back to the car so you could change and we could pregame a little more, and I remember that while Char spazzed out over you, some people weren’t that happy to see you *cough.* And even though our time this weekend was short lived I am grateful that you were so down to do something like that for me.

Our first official summer get together was coming up to see you! My first time at Temple, and to top it off having a table with bottle service, seeing Jazz get litty like we hadn’t seen, and then singing Cinema with Steven as lit you got the better of me and we ended up having an argument outside El Faro. A little funny now that I think about it, but like every other argument before this it always ends on a positive note with one of us seeing the mistake in their reasoning, apologizing or compromising and learning from our mistakes, a walk through the hood, and we found ourselves back at Evelyn’s where you accidentally stayed the night by knocking out on the couch after stuffing our faces on El Faro burritos. I remember the day after was a really warm one as we wandered the Castro to Dolores park a little high on brownies. Thinking how great it was to experience one of SF’s unique festivals with you and some matcha ice cream from your favorite spot. The day after was probably one of favorites too as we walked around the main parade but had to end the day early because Bryan had to leave early. But this didn’t stop us from coming back to the celebrations, except this time we had some fizzy Rosé to accompany us as we walked back to Civic Center where the main event was taking place. Taking in the atmosphere of such an event and having you there to talk about which one us would make it to 90K first made my flight down a happy one, as I reminisced about you, the cherry cooler we bought later on, our time in the backseat next to the park, and the delicious lasagna.