#even if it turns out to be an au or dream sequence

[starmocha]

HIM AND THAT TONGUE 😭😭😭😭😭

[littlefluu]

𓍯𓂃𓏧 E N H Y P E N F I C R E C S

AUGUST 19th, 2024 RECOMMENDATIONS

WELCOME TO A SMALL LITTLE COLLECTIONS OF RECENT WORKS I ENJOYED (I was really busy with uni so there isn´t that much new material here! For more recommendations check out my main masterlist) ⤷ GO BACK TO THE MAIN ENHYPEN MASTER LIST WITH EVEN MORE RECOMMENDATIONS ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

ALL OF THE MEMBERS

love. f. moments where they realize they are in love or when they fall harder than they did before ᝰ fluff, short scenarios, all members .ᐟ₊ ⊹

Maybe in another universe !? by @leaderwon a. enhypen members texts after you pass away ᝰ sad, angsty SMAU, all members .ᐟ₊ ⊹

LEE HEESUNG

teeth by @gyuuberryy f, sug. you were not thrilled about the move in of your new neighbour. mostly because he was so strange and seemed to be hiding something dark. and partly because you couldn’t stop yourself from getting closer to him because of your unwanted attraction. you were determined to expose his dark secret and get rid of him once and for all. but, it was proving to be a difficult task because he was just so irresistible..and needy. ᝰ enemies to lovers, vampire!heeseung x reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

talk tomorrow by @soobnny f. drunken confessions ᝰ best friends to lovers, heeseung x reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

predictable predicament by @timextoxhajima f,s. so you're best friends with the campus hottie who happens to be the quietest one in his group of friends. he's different with you though. ᝰ best friend! heeseung, fluff, smut in the least explicit way .ᐟ₊ ⊹

PARK JONGSEONG

7:18 AM by @ashtxrie f. jay surprises a very sleepy y/n with breakfast. ᝰ established relationship, pure fluff, heavy domestic content timestamp, jay x reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

Naturally by @ikeuverse f,s. ★ jay has always been very private about his love life and physical contact in front of his friends, but a comment from his work colleagues made him rethink some things. ᝰ established relationship, fluff, smut, domestic , chef!jay x fem!reader  .ᐟ₊ ⊹

How you get the girl by @jaylver f, a. ★ Beach parties are supposedly fun and exciting, aren’t they? Wrong. Experiencing college parties is rare for you, but you decided to give this one a go after your best friend’s constant pleas. Things were alright until everything turned sour when trouble found you and eventually you were roped into a fight alongside the campus’ famous hockey playboy. As if that wasn’t enough, the devil himself conjured up an idea that you found yourself being entangled in. It was all fun and games up until confusion arose, feelings being confessed and played, in the end, Jay had to learn how to get the girl, his girl. ᝰ strangers to frenemies to lovers, fake dating au, college sports au, romance, fluff, angst, secret pining, ice hockey player!jay x afab!reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

SIM JAEHYUN

Car rides by @jlheon f. a sequence of events from your and jake’s senior year ᝰ neighbors to lovers, fluff, highschool au .ᐟ₊ ⊹

SOUL SISTERS f. where layla shows how much she cares about the growing life inside you. ᝰ fluff, heavy domestic content, husband!jaeyun x pregnant!reader, .ᐟ₊ ⊹

break the ice by @jaylver f, a. ★ Punching a guy in the club then kissing him not long after at a hockey game wasn't exactly a fairytale, but for you, it was your reality. The worst part of all it wasn't even the incidents that happened, but the fact that you didn't know him or his name. That was until another stir of events that happened which caused you and him to actually meet, so what was the best way to break the ice after a disastrous punch and a shocking kiss together? A date. It could be love at first sight, or more accurately, it was love at first punch, or … kiss? ᝰ strangers to lovers, college sports au, romance, angst, ice hockey player!jake x afab!reader.ᐟ₊ ⊹

Midnight train (back to you) by @jaylver f, a. ★ You declared to the world that this summer will be yours. Ever since you’ve left home to chase your dream further in Europe, you never dared to look back, leaving your friends and family along with the precious memories there, including your silent love for your closest friend. Years passed, you were making a name for yourself and chasing that fame, settling in perfectly fine and eventually moved on with life. All was well until the transfer window came, announcing a new addition to the men’s first team, who also happened to be your childhood best friend, Jake Sim. Summer in Spain wouldn’t be what it is without experiencing lots of rekindling, heartbreaks, fallout but also a shot at love. ᝰ childhood friends to lovers, college/professional sports au, romance, angst, pining, (slight) slow burn, pro-footballer!jake x pro-footballer afab!reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

PARK SUNGHOON

Insatiable by @moonhoures s. your vampire bf suddenly becomes clingy which can only mean he’s hungry or horny . . . or both ᝰ non-idol!au, vampire!au, smut, sunghoon x reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

Fatal trouble by @gyuuberryy f. your roommate is hot. really really hot. and odd too. really really odd. after a strange experience with him, you slowly start distancing yourself from him. but, it becomes exceptionally hard with your feelings coming in the way. how are you supposed to protect yourself if you can’t resist him? the answer is you don’t need to. your fates are intertwined and there's no letting go. ᝰ roommates to lovers, vampire au, soulmate au, vampire!sunghoon x reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

MS. & MR. President by @jlheon f. seeing your ex in public leads to hiding in a small photobooth with your annoying student council vice president park sunghoon ᝰ non-idol!au, frenemies to lovers, sunghoon x freader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE by @jaylver f, a. ★ Having a one night stand wasn’t your forte, but with the help of adrenaline, and most definitely not alcohol, you managed to rope yourself into one. Worst part of all was the fact that you didn’t even know his name! The only distinguishable part of him was his blinding white hair. You figured you will never see him again after, but you were so wrong. Your friend practically set you up for failure after convincing you to take her place on a blind date to try and drive the guy away, only for it to be the one you slept with, who also happened to be your mother’s best friend’s son that you met right before that.  ᝰ strangers to lovers, college sports au, romance, comedy, slice of life, angst, (attempted) he fell first but she fell harder, slowburn-ish, ice hockey player!sunghoon x afab!reader .ᐟ₊ ⊹

RIKI NISHIMURA

supernova by @star-sim f,a,h. riki was the city's top hero, you were the top villain. when your archnemisis pulls up to your apartment late at night, all battered and bruised, you just sighed and took him in. you were a villain, not a monster! ᝰ hero! riki x femvillain! reader, superhero! au, enemies to lovers, hurt/comfort, fluff, a lil bit of angst .ᐟ₊ ⊹

duck by @jlheon f. you want a sonny angel hipper ᝰ Idol bf! nishimura riki x fem! reader, established relationship, fluff .ᐟ₊ ⊹

MY FAVORITE AUTHORS THIS MONTH @jlheon ★ @jaylver ★ @gyuuberryy

[inherdaze]

dark red — megumi fushiguro

megumi x f!reader

18+ content, apocalypse au, slow burn, strangers to lovers

12k

summary: megumi finds himself growing closer to you as you both fight to survive in an infected world.

October 30th. 

You eye your floppy, double-paged calendar lovingly as you uncap a marker, drawing a big ‘X’ across the date. 

Your eyes scan over the top page of it. It has some corny close-up stock photo of a bird with the month October printed in big, cursive lettering. It’s the type of calendar that your grandmother would keep in her office, very neutral with nature images. And for some reason, it’s like your comfort object. It made you happy, reminded you of simpler things and simpler times. It reminded you of life before- before the infectious bite.

The bite is deadly. 

Or, beyond deadly, since it doesn’t quite kill you. 

Your brain only rots away and hunger pools at the pit of your stomach, the only thing to sedate it being human flesh. Ah, yes, the infamous zombie bite. 

You and countless others had seen it plenty of times- in movies, in shows, in video games. Even funny little quizzes would pop up on your timeline, Who Would You Be In A Zombie Apocalypse?

Never would you have dreamed of it all coming true. 

When you think about it, it happened so simply, so quickly, that the sequence of events could be plastered onto an elementary foldable. You think that’s what’s probably going to happen, in the future, when humanity re-establishes itself. When.

Not an if, but a when. 

You were one of the few that strongly believed that humans could overcome such devastation and rebuild. Perhaps you could help in creating a better world. 

It happened as such: A disease was created. Created. This fact alone angered the population enough to start riots, protests, petitions. It was the beginning of the end. A disease that was supposedly heavily concealed and secured was created by the government, until all the scientists working on restricting the disease escaped the laboratory, no longer themselves. They’d changed, transformed, and it had only spread like a wildfire from there.

With people constantly out on the streets to protest and express their disbelief and opposition to diseases being formulated in the first place, it was not that difficult for it to spread. And spread it did. 

Humankind really took a hit. There was no organization, no plan, no stability to overcome the outbreak. The government was too busy trying to better their image and hide their mistakes that no one even considered a plan of action to tackle the sickness and the spread. It was literal hell. Infrastructure was being torn down, people were turning against each other, either locking themselves away from everyone else or going out into the world to try to play hero. 

You had a sliver of luck on your side. 

Now, you didn’t make it without pain and hardships, no, the world would simply be going too easy on you. But when you and your college friends decided to scram, to flee in prevention of being cornered, it played out rather nicely. Others had traveled back home, or hid themselves in their dorms, too scared to go out and face the world. Their poor choices usually resulted in them being practically overtaken with zombies, with nowhere else to run. 

You decided to keep it simple. To keep moving. 

Your plan was to move upwards, towards the North. When the disease had initially broken out and there was still debate on whether it was a legitimate issue or not, nobody had really taken it seriously if the government wasn’t taking it seriously. In the early stages, when everyone was wishy-washy and laughing about it on their timelines, an organization in the North was formed and said to have set up a base- just in case. 

It worked out in your favor. Just a little bit. 

You had left with your roommate, Nobara, and her girlfriend Maki. The three of you participated in all the chaos, too- what else could you have done? Law was no longer applicable. The three of you sought out to steal, to take, to do what you needed. You remember it all, the beginning of summer.

You focus back on your calendar. It’s late October now. 

You were also completely alone now. Nobara and Maki had given up their lives when the three of you scrambled around a sporting goods store for weapons and had been targeted by a herd of zombies. Maki was the strongest, so she took it upon herself to fend them off until it became slightly overbearing. Nobara had jumped in to help, the both of them hollering at you to hurry and find a weapon and run. One last look into their eyes was all it took, for they knew the both of them wouldn’t be able to make it out alive. 

You traveled alone, carrying a huge backpack with a bright red wagon trailing behind you at all times. All food, cooking ware, and clothing were stored in the wagon, protected by a tarp and a heap load of bungee cords. The backpack held all the little snacks, medicine, and bottles of hot water. It was never hot by choice. It just never cooled fully after you boiled it to fend away the bacteria. 

In the very back pocket, where a laptop would typically be, was your crumpled calendar. 

Every evening was the same- you had a three-step routine to provide yourself a feeling of stability in the midst of chaos; 1) Hide yourself amongst the trees, 2) Cross off the day in your calendar, 3) Go straight to sleep. It was a routine that had a sense of simplicity and discipline that you so desperately needed. You could not let yourself forget to mark off the days (you’d probably lose your mind from the lack of track of time) and you absolutely could not let yourself stay awake longer than needed. Sometimes, you would explore an unwelcome corner in your mind. A corner that whispered that maybe you’d be better off just dying, at this rate. No more struggles, no more worries, just sleep. Luckily, the sounds of nature and the idea of a better future always pulled you out of that spiral. 

You tuck your marker into your pocket and bring the floppy thing close to yourself before a feeling of embarrassment comes over you, as if someone is watching you from afar. 

With heated cheeks, you scurry to sloppily stuff it back into the back pocket of your pack before curling up against it, pulling your parka tighter against yourself to go to sleep. 

When you woke up, everything was the same. The world was still falling apart, and you were still alone. 

You hauled yourself up and pat at your cheeks- they stung from the oncoming cold. You knew that winter would be difficult to handle- you figured it would probably be much worse than the summer. You’d just have to face it alone, with limited shelter and supplies. 

You pulled on your backpack, tugged at the handle of your wagon, and went on your way. 

You weren’t alone for long. 

You walked at the edges of the forest, smart enough to not make yourself a target in the middle of the road, but you still needed it to guide you. You were well hidden among the trees, but were close enough to peek out between branches and leaves to make out the pattern of the street. 

A loud snap had jolted you awake from your light daydreaming. You immediately stopped walking and slowly reached down to the wagon, trying to pull the tarp away as quietly as possible. 

Your eyes flitted among the scenery, mind on alert as you reached for the only impactful weapon you had- a bat. 

You managed to successfully grab it, and you held it out defensively, waiting for something to come rushing at you. A few minutes pass and nothing happens. 

Knuckles turning white from your grip on the handle, you stepped forward slowly, trying to find the source of the sound. It was a stupid move, you knew, but you also could not keep moving with the knowledge that there was possibly a zombie in the same woods as you. It would probably eat you alive- the idea and the zombie. 

You try not to trek too far from your wagon, and you promise to yourself that after a couple more steps, you’ll turn back around and you’ll act like this never happened to save yourself from panic later. 

Your little plan is interrupted when your eyes make out a figure not too far from yourself. It’s tall, and unnervingly still, with its back facing you. You can’t decipher whether or not it’s a human. 

You squint and make out the movement of clean, steady hands. You see, in one hand, a little radio, crackling and emitting fuzzy noises. The other hand is occupied by something that you cannot make out. It’s at that moment that you know you’re safe- at least you hope so. 

The sight of another human excites you so much, you cannot help the sudden adrenaline that surrounds your heart and the smile that reaches your face as you cheerily (and semi-softly) call out, “Hey!” 

The person whirls around and suddenly your heart drops, the adrenaline mushing into dread, your smile faltering. He faces you with a gun, held up high, level with his eyes in order to aim properly. 

He gives you a once-over before interrogating you. “What do you want?” 

“Oh,” You sputter, limbs feeling heavy with fear. “N-Nothing,” You try, “Just…. just bumped into you here.” 

“Okay,” He starts hesitantly, dark blue eyes showing you distrust. “Run off, then.” 

Your heart drops even harder, this time. To think that he doesn’t want anything to do with you, that he doesn’t even want to talk, to meet another human. You assume he’s alone, too, since he’s got a backpack that looks much heavier than your own right on his back, straps tight. 

It’s not that you necessarily expect anything from him- it’s just that this is a rare moment. You haven’t spoken to another person in months. 

The crackling of the radio fills in the quiet between the two of you before he pulls you from your thoughts, “We can part ways, now.” 

His voice is only slightly condescending, and he talks as if it’s an obvious fact. 

“Wait,” You lazily blurt, hand reaching out just a little as if he had offered something for you to hold onto. “Don’t you want to be friends?”

He scoffs at you, embarrassing you. “Friends?”

“W-well, not friends,” You struggle, ears and neck heating up, “Just, yunno, partners or- yunno?” 

“No.” 

His blatant answer makes you wince. As much as he makes you feel small, a sliver of desperation shines through your timid form and you try again. “You know what I mean,” You breath out exasperatedly, “There’s nearly no one else left in the world. Might as well work together. We can take turns patrolling and sleeping, and especially when it comes to gathering supplies- like the buddy system, kinda- and things will run smoother. We can put what we have together.” 

He knew you were right. He hated that he knew you were right.

Truthfully, Megumi had no intentions to create bonds and team up with people. He thought it would only slow him down, both physically and mentally- he went out of his way to avoid attachment. 

He responds with silence, so you give it another shot. 

“I’m moving North, too… if that’s… if that’s what you plan to do as well.” 

It catches him, and you knew you had won him over. And he knew, that you knew, that you had convinced him enough. The way that he had faltered and his stern expression melted into one of surprise told you all that you needed to know. 

You gave him a little smile to soften the blow of his loss. 

“Fine,” He says through gritted teeth, letting his arm fall to his side in defeat. He sees you keep your eyes trained on the gun, so he tucks it away in an attempt to ease your nerves. 

You tell him about your supply wagon and let him know he can probably lighten the load on his back by mixing his supplies with yours. While you lead him back down the path where you had abandoned your precious wagon, you try to get him to converse with you. His silent nature made you a little nervous, but you were deeply in need of human connection. 

“Oh! By the way, my name-” 

“No.”

You cough and look up at him, shock written across your features. “Huh?”

“We shouldn’t do that. Exchange names, I mean. It’s just the two of us, we’ll be fine without it.” 

“Huh?” You call out again, this time louder and with more confusion. He shoots you a glare that tells you to shut up. 

“But- why not? What am I supposed to call you?” 

“I already said, it’s just the two of us. Who else could you be addressing? Exchanging names makes us friends. We are, by no means, friends.”

You watch him speak with an unbothered tone, eyes not even meeting yours as he empties half of his supplies into the wagon. Your mouth is slightly agape and you falter to respond, but as he swings his backpack around, a flash of black and white catches your attention. 

“Are those…” You trail off before he finally makes eye contact with you. 

“Are those plushies?”

You see him freeze, and his pale skin blossoms with color. “No.”

“Oh, come on,” You huff out playfully, almost circling him to get a better look at the little fluffy keychains that hang clustered together at the zipper of his backpack. Two tiny but puffy little dogs of opposite colors stare right back at you, felt tongues poking out and all. 

“Huh. Didn’t peg you as a dog boy. Or an anyone boy, for that matter.”

“Are you done? We need to keep moving.”

“Alright, alright,” You huff, reaching for the handle of the wagon. He takes hold of it before you get the chance and starts walking, and you feel your heart smile at his silent offer to pull it for you. You didn’t think there was a deeper meaning to it, you were just happy that you didn't have to haul that heavy thing around for once. “No need to be snappy, Dog Boy.” 

He only groans in response. 

The rest of the day flies by in silence. You try your luck a few times to start a conversation, to pull anything out of him, but he’s so damn stubborn, either keeping his eyes  focused on the path ahead or fiddling with his radio. The radio gives him an excuse to tell you to shut up, since he needs to hear if there are any broadcasts or incoming news- signs of life. 

He finally speaks up when he claims it’s time to sleep. 

The two of you settle against a cluster of tree trunks, and you repeat the same thing you’ve been doing for months on end- laying against your backpack, looking at your calendar with a glint of hope and desperation in your eyes. 

Megumi watches as you pull and flatten it out before rummaging around for your marker. He narrows his eyes and tries to focus on the clunky piece of paper you seem to be carrying around. 

He makes out the rows and columns of dates, an unimpressed look dawning on his face. “Don’t tell me…”

“Hm?” You hum lightly, beckoning him to continue. 

“Don’t tell me you carry that thing around and actually use it.” 

“What else can I say? We’ll need it, in the future. Once everything starts going back to normal, people are gonna be like, ‘Oh no! What day is it? What season are we going into? Must we start a new calendar?’ And then, I’ll have my trusty calendar right here, with all the dates crossed off. Think about it. Very important.” 

He remains quiet as you make big ‘X’ on the final date, October 31st. 

“Hm. We met on Halloween. Funny, isn’t it? I think it suits you a little.”

He disregards your last comment and speaks with a monotone voice, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Humanity will never recover- that thing’s useless. Just taking up space.” 

You fall quiet after that. Normally, you think, you wouldn’t be too iffed by some pessimism. But his comment regarding your calendar and how easily he dismissed your hopes had hurt, just a little. 

Maybe more than a little. 

You instinctively held the thing a little closer to you, as if to protect it. You avoid his eyes and silently decide that the conversation should probably end there. 

He sees you shift a little farther away from him, bringing the stupid thing closer to your chest. He can’t find it in himself to care. 

You admire that cheesy stock photo on the top of the calendar before flipping the bottom page to sneak at a glance for the photo for November. It’s a scene of a pathway formed by trees, nearly dead trees, with the leaves caught mid-fall, yellows and oranges everywhere. November is, again, printed in large cursive at the top of the page. 

You fold it back up and jam it into your backpack before pulling it down closer to your head, to use it as a pillow. You wrap yourself up in your parka and turn to sleep on your side, back facing Megumi. He sees it all from the corner of his eye and scoffs to himself, remarking how childish you are. 

Steady hands lay his gun next to him, close to his head- just in case he ever needs it throughout the night. He sleeps firm on his back, but he turns his head to look at you just before he dozes off. 

Bathing becomes much easier, now that Megumi’s around. 

Before the two of you crossed paths, you would rid yourself of your clothes shakily, always leaving them on the rocks that kissed the lake. You couldn’t even clean yourself off properly, eyes always on the lookout for movement or an undead form to creep up on you. 

You had begged him. Shamelessly. The whole morning consisted of you yapping away, Please, Dog Boy, there’s a perfectly good lake right there, and a rock for you to sit on while you wait and patrol. I’ll patrol after. I really, really need this bath. 

He wouldn’t even look at you as he gave you a hard No.

Megumi was beyond dead set on moving forward. Over the last few days, he was always quick to shut you down and occasionally scold you for being so easily distracted and perhaps a little too light-hearted for your own good.

But this was your last straw. 

He only caved in when you threatened to wipe some of your sweat off on him. You had never seen him recoil from something so fast. 

After making him literally swear to not turn around and peek while you were bathing- to which he had rolled his eyes and told you he wouldn’t even dare to consider such a thing- you pointed to the rock for him to sit on before you began to strip. Megumi could only hear the light splashes of you walking into the water and your little cries of Oh my god, it’s so fucking cold. 

You gladly took advantage of such a moment. Finally, you had got to scrub every corner of your skin, finally got to really wash at your scalp, all without looking around in fear of what’s out there. 

And maybe you were taking a little too long, because after a while, Megumi coughed out to remind you that he was still there. His back was starting to hurt from sitting on the rock for so long without proper support. 

“How much longer are you going to take?” 

“Not too much longer,” You sing-songed, clumsily trying to dip your head in the water to wash out your hair. 

He rolled his eyes to himself at the tone of your voice. You were much too playful for his liking. 

“Don’t worry, Doggy,” You teased, though your voice was slightly muffled from your awkward position in the water. “You can bathe after this. Although, you might smell worse after- like wet dog.” 

He could hear you laughing to yourself like a child.

Megumi never responded to your little lighthearted jabs. 

Life goes on as it always has. With Megumi so quiet, sometimes you ponder if you had been better off just walking away from him that day. And, if he wasn’t quiet, he was always on your back about something.

(“Why’s this water so warm?” 

“I boiled it. It’s from the lake. We can’t get sick, you know.” 

“You poured hot water into an insulated water bottle?” 

“My God, just- just drink the damn water, Doggy. Or don’t, not like I care. More for me.”

“Shut up. I’ll drink it.”)

The two of you were nearly on opposite ends of the spectrum, personality wise. You two would’ve probably clashed if you hadn’t taken things in such a jovial manner. He even started calling you Sunshine mockingly, as if to belittle you for being so stupidly bright and optimistic when the world was reaching its end. 

The first time he called you that, you had actually smiled. He had to refrain from reprimanding you for being so… so...happy-go-lucky. 

He couldn’t pinpoint as to why your preppy nature had irritated him so much, but his epiphany reached him one night when the two of you settled against a group of tree trunks, like you always did. 

You were, as always, cuddled up with your little calendar. Megumi discreetly watched as you marked off the day, taking note of how you had to redraw the ‘X’ a few times. Your marker was drying out. 

You were well into November, and you scanned over the rows of dates, spotting the box marked Thanksgiving. With your tongue slightly poking out, you poorly drew a little turkey inside the box. 

He watched as you scanned over the top and bottom page again, but he felt like your mind was elsewhere. 

“When’s your birthday?” 

Your question caught him off guard, and he flustered as he quickly looked away, fearing that you had seen him watching. 

“What?” 

“Your birthday. When’s your birthday?” 

He cast you an awkward sort of look. “December 22nd.” 

“Cool,” You replied almost automatically before flipping the page of your calendar. Megumi’s eyes only slightly widened as he witnessed you try to cram the words Dog Boy Birthday in the little box marked with 22. He was unsure if he was meant to see that. He didn’t want to embarrass you by mentioning it, but he felt like it shouldn’t go unmentioned, either. 

“You don’t need to do that.” 

“Why not?” You were being genuine. 

“Because,” He said without knowing what it was he wanted to say. “Because. It’s pointless.” 

“Pointless this, pointless that.” 

Your comeback wasn’t all that great, but you had brushed off his statement so easily- you had seemed to have grown accustomed to his little remarks, especially the ones with negative tones behind it. 

That’s when his revelation crashed over him. It hit him so strongly, and he was frozen in place as you mumbled a goodnight before cuddling up to your clunky backpack. 

You were so precious. Because despite all your banter, you were always playful about it, and when you weren’t being playful, you were being genuine. You always openly offered him things, the fair share of your supplies, always told him to get some sleep while you keep watch, always told him to eat up, have the last of your water bottles, always looked out for him in little ways that he did not bother to return. And, what irritated him so much about it was that you were so vulnerable, open, shamelessly smiling and laughing alone or at him, trying to get him to laugh too. And he hated how you had done all this, offered so much to him, remained open to him, only for him to constantly chastise you and feed you despairing comments. 

He wanted you to put up more of a fight. He wanted you to be able to be okay, without him. Megumi criticized himself after having that thought. He knew that your nature didn’t equate to weakness, but he couldn’t help but let his mind wander off a little…. 

You were so easy to trust him. At any moment could you have given up something to him and he could’ve just ran off with it, leaving you empty handed and destined to literally die. He thought that if something were to ever happen to him, and you kept going on with your open, kittenish self, that someone would come along and take everything you ever knew and had. 

Thinking of it made his chest pinch. He felt guilty for criticizing your calendar, the symbolization of all your hopes, on the day that you met. If he hadn’t realized this all now, he may have become the one to take all that you knew and had, figuratively. The way that he had belittled your dreams for the future had already spoken for itself. 

He laid down to finally sleep after swallowing down his thoughts, and he turned to look at your sleeping form, wantonly. He wanted to be better to you.

Suddenly, he thinks about how weird he looks, watching you sleep. His ears flush red and he turns to sleep on his side, back facing you, as if he needs to cover his tracks from the peering trees. 

You’re woken up by a string of broken, awkward groans. 

You assume it’s Megumi. Your eyes are crusted with sleep, so you don’t even bother to flash him a teasing look as you lightly jab, “Hush, Doggy.” 

He doesn’t respond with his usual sneer or command to shut the hell up, but with an even louder, pained groan. 

You sigh to yourself. He’s probably having a nightmare. You feel generous enough to break him from his terrors and lazily sit up, roughly rubbing away at your eyes and reaching over to him. 

Your hands meet a still, soft and sleeping form, completely at peace. 

You do a double-take when the feeling of his form contradicts the pained sounds he’s making and suddenly, you’re up and wide awake, especially when you come to realize that the groans are not coming from him. 

Whirling around to find the source, you come to see a beat-down zombie, tumbling its way towards you both. It’s missing a leg and its steps are off-kilter, slow, and if you had it in you to laugh at it, you’d probably laugh. 

“Holy shit,” You whisper to yourself, body stilling out of fear. For a few seconds, you can’t bring yourself to do anything, and the creature crawls closer, despite it being so slow. 

You finally come to your senses and weakly shake Megumi to wake him up. 

He’s knocked out cold. You figure that it’s from exhaustion- the both of you had been taking a beating from your recent drop in supplies. The last thing the two of you ate was a granola bar for yesterday’s breakfast. It wasn’t even a whole granola bar- Megumi split it in half for the both of you. You had let him have the last drop of hot water, too. The both of you were running on empty.

You trip over yourself and hastily pull on your backpack, still focusing on getting Megumi to awake. 

“Dog Boy,” You whisper-yell, lightly kicking at his leg. It’s ridiculous, you think. All of this is ridiculous. You have only a sliver of time to spare, thanks to the zombie moving at the speed of molasses, so you settle yourself behind Megumi and wrap your arm across his torso, beneath his own arms, your grip on him loose as you drag his body further away. Your main priority now is getting away, creating distance between you and the undead figure. As you tug on him, his gun slips out into the sunlight and you gasp, using your other hand to grab at it shakily. 

You had no idea how to use it. 

You hold it up to the sun and try to look for the little safety knob that you often heard that guns have. You spotted it, but you couldn’t tell if it was on or not. 

You’re sloppily scooting back, heaving Megumi with you, nearly falling backwards from the weight of your backpack. If you’re being honest, the two of you hadn’t even gotten that far. With Megumi attached to his backpack, he was heavy, and with your newfound weakness from exhaustion, the two of you probably only moved five inches max. 

The creature looms closer, and on second thought, maybe using the gun isn’t that smart of an idea. It would be noisy, easily giving away your location and the two of you would instantly become magnets, become bait. You wouldn’t be able to drag Megumi away fast enough to save yourselves. 

You eye around for your bat but it’s much too far. It’s tucked away under the tarp on your wagon and the zombie is already too close, surpassing the wagon- there’s no way you could get it without actually surviving.

Tears prick at your eyes. No, you think, now’s not the time. Your hands are shaking- you’ve never been this close to a zombie before- and you’re thinking fuck it, your arm letting Megumi go to steady your grip on the gun. 

Megumi drops down on the ground with a thud as you release him, but you don’t have the time to fret over it and ask if he’s okay. You think your ears are playing tricks on you when you hear a groan that’s a little too close. 

You wrap your hands around the base and stupidly close your eyes as your finger lands on the trigger. 

Everything after happens too fast for you to register, almost like a dream. You feel cold hands wrap around your own and tear the weapon away from you, and then a few loud bangs go off, and then it’s quiet. 

“Christ,” He mutters, voice caked from sleep. His eyes are droopy, and he looks so jaded, you’re preparing for him to chew you out about how stupid you were being before offering a list of what you could’ve done better. 

But he only slumps from fatigue, closer to you, nearly into you. He’s the weakest you’ve ever seen him, but guilt nips at the edges of his heart for making you go through such a thing. 

“Are you okay?” He finally breathes out, lifting his head to meet your eyes. 

You’re taken back at the sudden display of concern. 

He sees your face flash with unfamiliarity as a response to his question. The guilt makes its way past the edges and into the depths of his heart, now. He hopes it’s not too late. He hopes that he hasn't already become that person for you, the one that takes everything you know. 

“Yeah,” You say quietly from the shock of it all. 

Megumi falls silent after that, tired.

A few beats pass and he speaks, “We need to keep moving,” He says weakly, convincing himself more than you. 

“Yeah.” 

Lethargy is a plague between the both of you. 

Megumi tells you that you both need to find a store, and fast. He pulls out a map from one of his backpack pockets, and it’s so torn and dampened with water and other questionable substances that you can barely even make out the lines. 

But he reads it like a pro. He misses the look of admiration in your eyes when he finally concludes that it would be smarter to move in closer towards the suburban area. He says there’s a higher chance of strip malls and markets to sneak around and take from. You trust his word. 

The trek there is nearly torturous.

It’s getting colder, and you try not to think about how the two of you will survive when winter hits. Your feet ache and ache, and you’re sure that you’re slowing Megumi down- you swear you see him slow down his steps just the slightest. You have to refrain from complaining like a small child, asking over and over Are we there yet?

You finally reach a parking lot, and you think you could nearly drop down to your knees and kiss the gravel.

Your sense of euphoria is interrupted as a horrible stench reaches your nose. It’s unmistakable; it makes you double over and slap a hand over your nose and mouth, coughing roughly as you feel a series of gags coming on. 

Dead bodies were sporadically laying across the parking lot, some human, some zombie. Megumi looks at you pitifully, then looks away as you live through your coughing fit, not wanting you to feel worse about being seen in such a state. 

“‘So bad,” You finally manage to wheeze out, cueing him to look at you. 

He reaches into the wagon, towards the end of it, where the clothing was stored all lumpy. He had to slowly pull out whatever it was he was looking for so that nothing else spilled out, and he tugged one end of it slowly, revealing it to you. 

A big, lumpy scarf that has the most terrible pink camouflage print all across it. It’s horrendous, really. You remember you had stuffed it into your wagon a few months back, thinking about how you’d probably need it later. 

Now was later. 

He steps closer to you, close enough that it’s distracting and you nearly freak out at the proximity. He sees your confusion spark across your face and he hushes you before you even start. “To help with the smell.” 

That’s all he says as he reaches behind you, gently wrapping the scarf across your head, leaving you enough room to breathe but making it secure enough so that the scent is muffled. 

“‘M so tired, Doggy.” Your voice was stifled by the heavy fabric. 

“I know,” He says, and he does. 

You then feel bad for voicing your little complaint. Megumi was just as tired as you were, perhaps even more, and he hadn’t complained once, nor did he scold you for being a crybaby like you thought he would. 

Once he saw that you were satisfied with the scarf and concluded that you wouldn’t bend over and gag again, he smoothed his hand over his jacket awkwardly. “I’m gonna go inside and find more stuff. Are you okay with me taking your wagon and your pack?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

Megumi has to lean in closer to hear your voice. “I understand if you don’t want to trust me with all your things.” “Our things,” you enunciate. 

“It’s-” He starts, then pauses abruptly. He doesn’t want to keep creating a divide between the two of you. “Yeah. Ours,” He affirms, searching your eyes for a reaction. He can tell you’re smiling stupidly (cutely) behind the scarf. 

“You’re sure?”

“More than anything.” 

He thinks, for a second, that your answer means something more. But you play it off, immediately taking off your backpack, so he chastises his previous thought as he takes your nearly empty pack into his hands. “Are you gonna stay out here?”

“Mhm. I’ll try ‘n find a place to sit.” 

“Okay. I won’t take long, I promise.” 

“Thank you.” 

He turns on his heel and walks in a straight line towards the entrance of the store, where you can make out the broken and crooked sliding doors that had probably been jammed so many times before they gave in. 

You take note of how many vehicles have been haphazardly left behind in the parking lot, mostly likely during moments of panic. 

If only... 

You begin to search the parking lot, bending down to get a clearer sight of all the miscellaneous objects scattered across the ground. Something glints in the corner of your eye, and you perk up, rushing towards it before scooping it up in your hand. 

It’s a clunky, round keychain that says Dog Dads Are The, and right below the text is an image of a dog taking a dump. 

“Huh,” You huff out with a little smile, “Perfect.” 

You take hold of the set of keys that are strung along the ring and single one out- vehicle keys. They’re the type of keys that you have to manually insert into the lock in order to actually open the car door. 

As soon as you stand up straight, you search for the oldest looking car throughout the entire parking lot. Your eyes fall upon a truck that looks like it’s been to hell and back, little scratches and scuff marks lining the sides with splotches of blood on the doors. You note that it only has two doors- the two of you will really have to squeeze in. 

If you ignore the poetic spots of blood, it's one solid color- a color that resembles dirt, you think. It looks like a little old farm truck, with crates stacked in the bed, and there’s a little figure of a cow swinging from the rear view mirror. 

You try your luck and insert the key, to which it fits. Your heart has never fluttered so viciously before. 

Turning the key, you see the little button on the inside of the door pop up. The door swings open ungraciously, a creaky sound ringing out. It makes you freeze, looking around to see if you had alerted anything that could be lurking. 

You decide to hold off until Megumi comes back. It’s completely dead quiet, and he might freak out inside the store at the sound of an engine. 

Just as he promised, he didn’t take long. He steps out to see you sitting in the truck with the door open, your knees brought close to your chest, and although the both of you are incredibly grimey, spent and hanging on to your final threads, you look so peaceful curled up like that. He thinks that maybe he would’ve liked to see you like that, under better circumstances. 

“Sunshine,” He starts as he gets closer, and you open your eyes and unravel from your coiled position. 

Megumi shuffles towards the bed of the truck and starts unpacking the wagon into the back. “Got some food,” he offers, unloading a loaf of bread that has yet to go stale. You hold it like it’s precious, waiting for him to unpack everything into your new truck. 

“Does it have gas?” 

“Dunno,” You say tiredly, and hopelessness sneaks up on you again. Perhaps you had put too many eggs in one basket. 

“Move over.” 

You scoot to the opposite side of the seat to make room for him. He plops down in the driver's seat and you perk up to hand him the keys, “Look, look.” Untangling all the keys from each other, you proudly hold up the keychain to his face. He furrows his eyebrows at first, but then his face melts into an amused expression as he reads over the whole thing and gets the joke. 

“Very funny.” He rolls his eyes, but you know he’s being lighthearted. 

He takes the key and inserts it, holding his breath in hopes that it’ll work, that the heavens are on your side today. 

They seemed to be, since after a few turns, the engine sputtered and coughed, and soon enough, it was settled. Megumi checks the gas level and nods approvingly to himself. He explains that it’s enough to get you a bit farther, but it’d be smart to keep an eye out for gas stations, or, better yet, other vehicles. 

You unwrap your scarf from around yourself and begin to unveil the loaf of bread as well, breaking the fluffy food in half to share. The two of you eat in silence, save for the low humming of the engine. You’re too tired to talk.  

Through the window, you see that it’s getting darker, and you remember your calendar. As you shuffle around to pull it out, Megumi seems to remember something as well, as he takes his bag into his lap and unzips one of the front, small pockets. 

You don’t notice his hesitation as you bring out the floppy thing and lay it on the dashboard, smoothing all the wrinkles away. 

He stares into his backpack pocket. He knows it’s okay to be vulnerable with you. He wants to be vulnerable with you. Embarrassment rushes up his neck and to his ears, but you don’t notice. You’re too busy shaking your old marker to force some ink to come out. 

“Here,” He breaks the silence, voice cracking from the lack of use. “Here’s…. I figured you might need it, I…” Megumi shuts himself up as he sloppily tosses you a pack of permanent markers. 

The way your face lights up makes it all worth it. He thinks he could face this type of embarrassing feeling every day if it makes you this happy. 

“D’awwwww,” You coo, poking fun at him. You’re as jovial as always, eyes bright as you uncap one of the markers and mark the day off, marveling at how smoothly the marker glides. 

He speaks up before he can stop himself. “I’m sorry.”

You pause and look back at him, the look on your face encouraging him to go on. 

“I mean, I’m sorry for… what I said on the day we met. About your calendar.” 

Your demeanor lightens again. 

“Ah, that- don’t worry, Doggy. I don’t even think about that, barely even remember it. It’s okay. You’re good.” 

He knows you’re being genuine, and that you really do forgive him. He sees it in the way you brush it off, going back to your markers and looking at them like they’re made out of gold. He feels something in his chest lighten, like the guilt from that night had been weighing him down this entire time. 

Once the both of you finish your chunks of bread, and after you tuck your calendar away, you curl up on opposite sides of the seat and sleep the most comfortable you have in ages. 

Everything’s a breeze now that the two of you have the truck. 

It’s easier to fend off the cold, and the both of you have more energy since you don’t have to walk anywhere. The days seem to fly by faster, and with each passing day, you see Megumi opening up to you a little more. He’s not as harsh as he used to be, and even when he does mock you, it’s playful and light. There’s no more malice laced in his tone. 

He’s softer now, cares more now. He accepts your invitations and attempts at making it concrete that it’s the both of you, together, as survival partners or whatever he likes to call it. Your stomach feels warm whenever he agrees or accepts your little comments about things being ‘ours’, referring to you as ‘us’ and ‘we’ rather than correcting you to ‘I’ like he used to. 

It’s not enough for you, though. You can’t help but want a little more. You’re thankful that the two of you greet December, because a) you’re grateful to have even survived this long, and b) it’s much colder now, so he doesn’t question you that much when you coyly try to cozy up to him before bed, complaining about how you’re freezing and that you’ll die of frostbite. 

He sees through your little act. He never mentions it, but he does. Megumi’s more than happy to let you have your fun. 

Megumi’s usually the one who sneaks out into stores to refill your load of supplies, and you stay cozied in the truck. He says it’s because at any moment, if any one of you are away from the vehicle, someone just like you could easily take it. His statement is true, but he doesn’t mention his second, secret little reason- he likes to know that you’re safe and warm in there. 

 One day, though, you try to kiss up to him so that he’ll let you loot with him. 

The morning starts off with you feeding him little compliments that are definitely out of pocket. 

“Your hair looks rather nice today, Dog Boy.” 

“Oh….yours, too.” 

“Mhm. And that jacket you stole fits you well, I think. Really, uh, matches your vibe.” 

“Yep.” 

“Yeah. Your scarf looks real… real snazzy, too.”

That pulls a laugh out of him- he had been borrowing your pink camouflage scarf. He knew something was up, and you knew he did. You just wanted to get on his good side, at least for today. 

“What is it that you want, Sunshine?”

“I wanna help you today, when you go fetch supplies.” 

He’s driving, but you think that if he was doing anything else, he’d stop his movements. He recovers as fast as he had reacted and clears his throat. “Why?” 

“I need some stuff.” 

“Stuff.” 

“Yeah.” You hope he doesn’t ask for elaboration. 

“I’ll think about it.” 

You let out a groan and let your head rest against the window, putting on a dramatic little show so that maybe he’ll cave. 

He doesn’t seem to be caving in any time soon, and from afar, you can see the parking lot. You’re eyeing him nervously, unsure if you should bring it up or not, but you make the first move when you hold onto the door handle as if you’re preparing to get out once he parks. 

He’s hesitant, takes his time to park and drives through the lot as if every space was taken. He could’ve taken up three spaces, if he wanted. 

“Doggy. Stop stalling.” “I just think you’d be safer if you stayed here.” 

“I’ll be fast. I’ll get what I need and then come right back.” 

That seems to ease his nerves, so he silently agrees and parks perfectly between the two lines before shutting the truck off. 

You walk together to the entrance of the store, but as soon as you make it inside, he laughs to himself when you make a beeline to the sweets aisle. He couldn’t believe that you made such a fuss to join along just to get some of those mini cakes. 

  You stay true to your word and gather what you need before making your way back to the truck, keeping an eye out for Megumi. You hope he doesn’t see the small chocolate muffin that you’ve stuffed close to your chest in a weak attempt to hide it. He’d probably make fun of you. 

When everything’s done and he meets you back at the truck, he’s slightly surprised to see that you hadn’t eaten your little sweet during ‘dinner’. He doesn’t have the energy to confront you about it. 

Today’s the day, you think. 

It’s difficult and very painful to conceal your excitement for all the hours that you spend at Megumi’s side. You try to calm your nerves by making lots of conversation with him, now that he’s more responsive. At first, you were the one to talk about your family, your old friends, how you grew up. Lately, though, in his mission to be more vulnerable and open with you, he reciprocates and tells you about his past, here and there. 

Night falls. He’s closing up one of his stories about one of his old teachers that usually made you laugh till you cried. It makes you laugh this time too, except your heart is racing and you can feel your palms getting a little sweaty. 

The both of you go quiet as you eat lightly, taking only a few bites before calling it a night. 

“I have a surprise for you,” You suddenly say, and his face is plastered with confusion. “I need you to close your eyes.” 

He’s so obviously taken aback that you snort at him. “Just for a second, it won’t take long. Please.”

He complies and places his hands over his eyes to reassure you that they’re for sure closed and that he can’t see anything. Megumi hears you rummaging around in your bag that you kept at your feet, hears you tear something open, and then you fall quiet. 

You kind of want to throw up. You don’t know why this feels so difficult, why it’s making you so nervous. In the past, when Megumi was mean to you, you think that this might’ve been easier, because you’d be able to tell what reaction he would give. 

You can’t tell anymore. 

You collect yourself together before you speak up, finally, “Okay. You can look now.” 

He removes his hands to see you sitting sideways in your seat, to face him. Your feet are tucked beneath you and you hold out a sloppy, slightly smeared chocolate muffin with an unlit candle stuck on top. 

“Happy birthday, Dog Boy.” 

Your voice is so soft and quiet, and he feels something take over him for a second. It’s strong, this feeling of adoration and something else he’s too nervous to admit, even to himself. He’s about to ask how in the world you would know that today’s his birthday, because he didn’t even know- but then he remembers the night you had written it into your calendar. 

“You,” He begins, nearly breathless. “Thank you.” 

You smile up at him and scoot closer, pushing the muffin towards him so that he could take it. He does, and he removes the candle and puts it on the dashboard, letting it roll away carelessly. 

The muffin looks miniature in his big hands, which is to his advantage as he splits it into two, effortlessly. He offers you a piece and you take it with a big, gushy smile on your face. You don’t see him smiling back at you endearingly. 

You’re bashful like the two of you are having a lunch date in a school courtyard. You want to look at him, revel in his features, but you don’t want to be caught staring either. 

You throw yourself a bone and let yourself glance at him. He’s finished his piece, and all he’s doing now is swiping the crumbs off of his jacket. As he shifts around, you see a smudge of chocolate right by his lip. 

“Wait,” You start, leaning closer. “There’s frosting on your lip.” 

“Here?” He pokes his tongue out on the wrong side, and you have to bite back a little smile. 

“No, no- I’ll get it for you,” You offer, leaning in even closer to him, nearly crawling right on top. You stick your thumb out gently, your touch feather light as you bring it to the corner of his lip and wipe off the small spot of frosting. 

You linger on purpose, and his breath hitches. 

“Sunshine,” He breathes, hands frozen in the air. He’s unsure of where to put them. 

“Mhm?”

“Can I,” He starts, hesitates, then starts again. “Can I kiss you?” 

Your smile speaks for you, but the moment that you let out a breathy yes, he cups your face and slots his lips against yours. He’s so soft, despite it being winter and the both of you constantly dry and chapped. He holds you, moves you like you’re a glass doll, so cautious and gentle. Megumi begins to shift the both of you, sitting up before pushing you down onto the seat. 

It’s awkward. The truck is so small, the both of you clunking around, but you two take it like champs. He breaks away to give a little laugh against your lips, easing the tension, and it’s so wonderful, so beautiful, that you waste no time pulling him back down to kiss him just a bit harder. 

You figure that he’s hesitant, and you appreciate that he isn’t pushy and trying to cross all boundaries at once. You know that if you only wanted to kiss and call it a night, he’d be perfectly okay with that. 

But you’re as greedy as ever, and you want more of him. 

You start playing with his lips, pulling away to softly bite at them, dart your tongue across the bottom one. It makes him freeze for a second, feelings of surprise and excitement engulfing his heart, but then he indulges. Megumi gently pulls your bottom lip into his mouth and sucks on it, thumb softly caressing your jaw. 

And you’re so starved, having gone months without even shaking someone’s hand. His actions make you gasp out softly, and he feels driven to pull more out of you. 

Megumi catches himself in his thoughts and pulls away again, “This- Is this okay?” 

You’re melting beneath him. You nod rapidly, begging silently. “Yes,” You huff out, precious smile coming across your lips. “Please.” 

He nods and then dives back in to kiss you square on the lips before moving lower, planting kisses down your neck as much as he can before your puffy parka interrupts him. He smiles fondly and looks up at you, seeing if you would notice the obstruction. 

“Oh,” You let out, face hot. “Sorry.” 

You’re so embarrassed, but Megumi thinks he could just eat you up. 

You prop yourself onto your elbows as best as you can, messily unzipping the jacket and flinging it away. It’s not like it goes far, anyway. You hear the zipper scratch against the glove compartment as you thrash it away, and it makes the both of you laugh breathily. 

You watch as he takes it upon himself to do the same, undoing the buttons on his own jacket before carelessly tossing it behind him. The two of you are now just in long sleeves and cargo pants, and he looks at you with an inkling of concern. “It’s still cold,” He whispers, now that he’s lowering himself back over you, “Leave it on, yeah?” 

You want nothing more than to rip your shirt off, but you know he’s right. You know that if you take it off, the bite of the cold would probably dampen your mood. 

You can only nod obediently, eyes begging him again, for a kiss. 

Megumi sneaks back down again to pick up where he left off, kissing along your neck and down to your collarbone before your shirt blocks off the rest of your chest from him. He’s moved his hands lower to rearrange your legs, to make it more comfortable for the both of you, and you’re so pliant beneath him, wanting all of his touches. 

His hands reach the button of your pants, “I’m gonna…” he starts, but never finishes. He’s caught up in the way you lift your hips to help him slide down your pants, caught up in the sight of you in your underwear. 

As soon as he tugs them off and pushes them to the side, you hiss as the cool air kisses your skin, and he’s quick to soothingly rub at your thighs, hands trailing down to your calves. 

“I know,” He soothes, warming you up. “I know, baby.” 

Megumi wants to take it slow, he wants to be able to ride out the moment, but the way you whimper at his touch pushes him. “Fuck- fuck, okay.” 

His movements and options are limited due to the space of the truck. He can’t necessarily do everything he wants with you, but he's grateful for the moment regardless. 

He moves back down to kiss you, slightly softer this time, with his forearm propped beside your head to keep him up, and his other trailing up and closer to the space between your thighs. Just the movement of his fingers gently dragging across your clothed cunt is enough to have you rutting up into his hand, desperate for more, tired of his slow pace. He’s swallowing all your sounds, but he pulls back as soon as he slips his hand beneath your panties, wanting to hear you this time. Cold fingers meet your folds and you twitch, legs nearly closing around his hand, and he smiles as he tuts at you. “Relax,” He breathes out against your jaw before softly nipping at it, kissing it. 

You’re already wet, and he smiles to himself cheekily before lazily rubbing his fingers against your entrance to slicken them. It makes you sigh out, so pretty and light, and he just loves the way your chest rises and falls. 

What he loves even more, though, is the moan you let out the second that he starts circling your clit, the way your hands tighten their grip on his shoulders. You’re trying to push yourself up against him, trying to feel more, but all he does is smile into your neck, absolutely basking in the way you need him so badly. 

“Please,” You finally cave, voice airy as you softly drag your nails across his back to get his attention. “More, please, I want- I want you.” 

He reaches up to plant a kiss on the corner of your lips. “All you had to do was ask.” 

He smoothly pulls down your underwear entirely, and just the sight of your arousal clinging onto the cotton fabric is enough to have him swallowing, adam’s apple bobbing. Megumi slips only his middle finger into your core at first, and it’s enough to satisfy you for now, walls fluttering. His fingers are so long, and you think about just how big his hands are, and it’s enough to make you whine in your own little fantasy. 

He takes his time in pumping it in and out of you before slipping his ring finger inside, picking up the pace. Your thighs tighten around his hand and you sloppily try to pull him down closer to you, hiding your face into the crook of his neck as he curls his fingers. The palm of his hand presses against your clit and you cry out, fingers latching onto his hair as you start your little spiel of babbles. 

“Right there, right there, oh my god, there, there-”

You cut yourself off as he speeds up, your cute little incoherent sounds encouraging him. He wishes he could see your face, see the look in your eyes, but you can only squeal into his shoulder and knock your knees against his legs as you feel something within you tighten. 

“Right here?” He teases, fingers curling against your warm walls, and the feeling of it is enough to make him hang his head low, panting, cock straining at the thought of how you’d feel around him. 

“Mhm,” You choke out, too far gone to try and say something to tease him back. Your head drops back onto the seat and you feel your back arch up against him, heat swarming in your abdomen as you chant out breathily- Yes, yes, yes. 

Megumi feels you tense up, and then you’re twitching, crying into him as you come undone all over his fingers, earning a groan from him. He works you through it, lets you have your fun before your vision is blurring and you’re half heartedly pushing his hand away. 

You fall limp beneath him and watch him with a hazy mind as he brings his fingers up to his lips, lapping at them, sucking them clean. 

You turn your head to the side, suddenly feeling shy. He smiles down at you, “Don’t try to be modest, now.” 

It makes you laugh weakly, makes you swat at his chest so softly that it feels like a mere tap. He dips back down to pepper the junction of your neck and shoulder in kisses, occasionally licking and biting, hoping little bruises bloom across your skin. 

The both of you freeze when you feel something hard poke at the inside of your thigh. 

Megumi groans, and you know he’s embarrassed. He buries his face into the side of your neck, hand slipping beneath your shirt to massage at your waist. 

You want him now, fast, before the two of you call it a night, and you want to call out for him. 

But you can’t just say Dog Boy, please fuck me. 

It makes you wince at yourself, but you’re too shy to ask for his name now. 

“Baby,” You finally breathe out, your hand running up and down his arm. 

He hums contentedly into your neck. 

“Need you,” You start quietly, taking his hand in yours and guiding it to your heat. “Need you inside me.” You swear you hear him groan a low Fuck right into your skin. 

He heaves himself up, eyes glossed over with lust and a glint of something that makes your heart skip a few beats, but you don’t want to jump the gun with that just yet. You can only hope that he sees the same thing in your eyes, too. 

Megumi sloppily works on undoing his pants, heaving a content sigh when you rushedly swat his hands away and take the task into your own hands. 

He stuffs his pants past his knees, frantically trying to kick them off his legs as fast as he can. 

You nearly whine at the sight of him, like this, all for you, in front of you. 

He moves down to kiss you, pushing you back down to the seat, making sure you were lying comfortably. He takes his cock into his hand, smoothing it over your wet folds back and forth to prep himself. 

You’re panting, lifting your hips, urging him on. 

He finally aligns himself with your slit, but pauses for a second. 

“Megumi.” 

“H-Huh?” 

“My name’s Megumi,” He suddenly confesses as he pushes his tip in slowly. 

You think you carry the universe in your chest. It feels like it’s expanding, endlessly, painfully- a delicious type of pain. You’re too caught up in the newfound intimacy of learning his name that your jaw goes slack as soon as you feel him bottom out within you, breaking you from your trance. 

You feel so full. 

“Megumi,” You cry unabashedly, moving your hips, encouraging him to move. 

He groans, big hands planting themselves on your hips as he begins with slow thrusts, drawing out the feeling. He hits all the right places, but the pace he’s going at is devastating.

You’re whining, begging, babbling out for him to go faster, to fuck me, please, please Megumi, and the sound of your pretty voice crying out his name is enough to drive him insane. 

He loves torturing you, really. Loves the way you cry for him, the way you clench around him, the way your voice shakes. 

Megumi sets a fast pace, rutting into you like you’re the outlet for all his pent-up feelings. You’re squealing, and when the tip of his cock hits the spot that sends you around the world and back, you feel tears blur your vision. 

“Feels s-so good, Megumi,” You chatter dumbly, too lost in the feeling and the sounds he’s making. 

“Yeah?” He strains, grip tightening on your hips. “Look so pretty like this, baby. So fucking- oh, god- pretty.”

He enunciates his statement with a particularly hard thrust that has your toes curling, your hands tight on his biceps before he moves to fold you in half, squeezing you into a mating press as best as he can. His eyes zero in on where the two of you meet as he tries to etch the sight into his memory. 

“Megumi,” You cry weakly, “So much, so so good, so- ah!”

You can’t even form a single coherent sentence, and he thinks you’re so adorable. He watches as fresh tears cascade down the path of dried ones, and it only spurs him further. The two of you are so pathetically desperate to reach your orgasms, you don’t even mind when his thrusts become sloppy and off-kilter, when he starts groaning and even lets out the prettiest of sounds when you flutter around him. 

You manage to collect yourself for just a second. 

“Please fill me up,” You beg, nodding dumbly to egg him on. “Wanna- wanna feel you cum inside me, wanna- oh, fuck, fuck, baby, please-” 

He knows it’s probably not the smartest idea, but he’s too caught up in chasing his pleasure, and your little begs and mewls make his movements stutter before he finally stills inside you, pressing your thighs to your chest to steady himself. 

“Take it, baby. Fucking- god- take it.”

“Mhm,” You nod frantically, static invading your vision, “Make me yours, please, make me- I’m, oh, I’m yours,” You’re running your mouth nonsensically, and the feeling of his seed spilling inside of you is enough to push you past the edge until you’re crying and shaking beneath him. 

He wants to hear you say it for forever, telling him that you’re his. 

He leans in to kiss your forehead, “Say it again.” 

You think you could pass out, chest still heaving up and down as you come back down from your high, but you would do anything to please him. “‘M yours.” 

Megumi smiles to himself before he pulls out, the sensation pulling a hiss from you as he lets you relax your legs and tries to clean the both of you to the best of his ability, considering the circumstances. 

He helps you slide your panties back on, maneuvers your legs for you so that you can tug on your pants, worried that you’ll get cold fast. 

You let him take charge, too exhausted to even move. Megumi splays across the seat and pulls you into his chest, trying to pull his jacket over the two of you like a blanket. 

“Megumi,” You say sleepily, cheek smushed against the spot where his heart beats. He hums, encouraging you to go on. 

“My name,” You start, “My name is (Y/N).” And, before you let him speak, you turn your head to look up at him with a cheeky little smile. “Does this make us friends, now?” 

He laughs. It’s your favorite sound.

“I hope we can be more than friends.” 

You hum affirmatively and kiss his earlobe before nestling against him, falling asleep.

The days are filled with love and gestures of affection after that night. Megumi is more comfortable now, though sometimes he pinches your side gently whenever you slip up and accidentally call him Dog Boy. He tells you that he demands reparations for your wrongdoings- he specifies that he would like to be paid back in kisses. 

Whenever you call him a sap, he pinches your side again. 

Although the two of you seem to be in your own little world, lost in love, the outer world has not changed. You add another step to your nightly routine, right before you go to sleep; Check the radio. 

Megumi leaves it propped on the dashboard at all times and frequently asks you to try and catch a signal so that the two of you can hear some news. Day after day, you find yourselves unlucky. You’re always greeted by the same crackle and fuzz. 

He’s been thinking hard lately, and you can see it. He’s always a little distracted, late to respond to you, or sometimes not even listening altogether. 

He’s thinking that at this rate, it may be smarter to settle down. To find somewhere to stay, to wait out the situation. Surely, with time, the zombies should die out. This cannot last forever. 

And while you’re splitting the food or reading outdated magazines that he grabbed for you at the store, he’s facing his own little mental battles. He knows that you dream of a better future, with people coming together and starting anew. And he knows that you’re becoming even more hopeful now that you’ve reached North and the camp should be within your sights at any time, but the journey itself is not promising. It’s colder, storms more often, the truck shakes and does not shield you from the cold all that well when the two of you are asleep. Megumi is nearly positive that the best idea, for now, is to settle down somewhere and to at least let the season pass. 

He’s promised himself that he’ll bring it up to you on this particular morning, as the snow kisses the windows and fights against the weak attempts of the windshield wipers. You’re rummaging through a magazine, reading it over for the nth time and trying to fill out one of the crossword puzzles you had previously left empty for times like this. 

“(Y/N),” He starts, mouth dry as he glances at you before looking back at the road. 

“Hm?”

“I’ve been thinking, recently…”

As he pauses to collect what he wants to say, you giggle to yourself. “I know. You always look kind of constipated, you know? You’re not very good at hiding it, Megs.” 

His face flushes red, and the both of you know it’s not from the cold. He appreciates that you’re not upset that he’s been keeping things to himself as of late, but he thinks he could’ve gone without the playful comment. 

“Anyway,” He stresses, though he doesn’t feel so panicky anymore. He strictly keeps his eyes trained in front of him, on the road, following the short, yellow lines that divide it down the middle. 

“I think… think we should settle down. The winter is only going to get harsher, and this truck is so old, I’m not sure how long it’ll last. We can find some place to stay- there’s empty houses everywhere- and we can sit out until the season is over. It’ll be safer that way.” 

His proposition hangs in the air. You’re awfully quiet, and for a second he wonders if you were even listening. 

“Megumi- pull over.” 

“Huh? What?” 

“Just- just stop the truck.” 

He thinks you’re angry, but you don’t sound it. He rushedly puts the truck into park and tries to catch a glimpse of your face, to see how you feel. 

You look focused. You don’t even bother to look at him; you’re looking past him.

He confirms that you probably weren’t even listening to what he said when you ask, “Do you see that? Over there?”

“See what?”

“That… that big white thing, like… look.” You point your finger in the general direction of what you see. 

“(Y/N), everything’s white- it’s snowing-”

You hush him, “No, no. It’s huge...it’s..”

You don’t finish. You’re tired of squinting to try and make out the shape of what you see, so you haul the truck door open and spill out of it clumsily, the snow catching you. Fear, hope, adrenaline, excitement; it swallows you whole and you think you could throw up. You trudge towards the front of the truck, snow pulling on your boots like it’s begging you to stay. 

Megumi follows after you, worried as to why you’re frozen in place, pushing past the clingy snow. Your name catches in his throat before he gets to call out to you. He finally sees what you see, just a few yards away. 

Children. Young, healthy looking children. They’re running around, squealing and throwing snow at each other, little hands covered in gloves and big, puffy jackets slowing down their movements. He sees people calling out to them, ushering them inside big tents- tents.

They’re caked with snow, but positively scattered all over the place. He sees people peeking out, zipping them up, running straight out of them to dive into inches of fresh snow.

You’re rushing back to the truck, feeling weightless as you snag your backpack from the passenger seat and haul it with you as you try to run past Megumi, towards the people. “Hurry, Megumi!” You call, a smile so evident in your voice. 

“I have to show them my calendar!” 

[badasbebi]

the cupid project ➛ 1/2

part two

✦ pairing: bada lee x fem!reader

✦ summary: you and your long-term work crush devise a plan to win a company contest. in the end, you wind up going to extreme lengths to commit to the bit

✦ genre/au: fluff, fake dating, videographer reader, bada's extra sweet here, slight friends to lovers

✦ word count: 7k

✦ warnings: isn't proofread. another unrealistic meet cute that doesn't really make sense. smut in part 2

✦ a/n: another two-parter simply bc my fics are too long. 2nd part is finished and will, again, be posted soon (literally tomorrow). didnt put as much thought into this one as I have with my other stories, which will probably be a pattern from now. still think its fun. enjoy!

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

"It's been three minutes. Why are we still waiting on people?" Youngj fusses, running his fingers through his hair, tousling it

"Relax, Jae. You called us here last-minute. People are busy," Minho says from where he is sitting, scrolling through his phone.

Youngj's eyes snap to him. "Too busy for an emergency meeting with their boss?" He retorts, raising an eyebrow. 

Minho looks at him, then shrugs. "Well, that's what happens when you hire a bunch of ultra-talented, sought-after dancers. We don't need you," He finishes, swiftly turning back around, sunglasses concealing his eyes. 

Youngj gapes for a second, then seemingly surrenders, slouching back in his chair with a scowl. 

Meanwhile, you're balancing a camera lens in your hand on the sofa across from them, twisting and turning the machinery in your hand as you stifle your laughter. Still being somewhat new to the team, you weren't sure if you necessarily had the right to take part in Minho's teasing. You became an employee at JustJerk Dance Academy only six months ago, after JustJerk announced that they were looking for new hires. However, you weren't a part of their star-studded lineup of top choreographers and instructors. Instead, you were hired to be a videographer and photographer, working behind the scenes to ensure that every breathtaking move, every impassioned sequence, and every dancer was captured flawlessly. 

Which, it was not like it was very hard. The people here were phenomenal enough as it was, making your time spent at work nothing less than a blessing for someone who's long watched dancers from the sidelines. Even better, the members of JustJerk Dance Academy aren't just a group of talented dancers, but also a lovely group of people. They're kind and caring, often inviting you out to eat after a long day of filming or helping you with the things you struggled with. Sometimes, you still got awestruck around them because it was such a far cry from what you were used to. But, it was beginning to feel like home. And, as the days went by, everyone started to feel more and more like family.

Well, almost everyone.

Suddenly, you hear the doors swing open and glance up to see who's arrived.

"Sorry I'm late," A voice rings throughout the room, revealing none other than the legend herself, Bada Lee. 

Even after having passed by her a million times, the woman never failed to take your breath away. She was gorgeous and had an allure unlike anyone else, with a presence that seemed to shift the energy in every room she entered. In other words, she was also intimidatingly cool, which led to you frequently avoiding her because you were, simply, terrified. Though she's always been nothing but sweet and brilliant during your brief interactions, this kindness almost made things worse. It'd be much easier to disregard her if she was an asshole. Unluckily for you, she was one of the most charming people you've encountered in your life, making it nearly impossible to ignore the magnetic pull that's been causing an increasing amount of debauched thoughts and dreams. 

Bada walks toward the rest of the group with an apologetic smile on her face. Her long, black and blonde hair was tied back in a bun, and her baggy clothes were noticeably wrinkled, suggesting that she came straight from practice. Despite her slightly disheveled appearance, she looked as enticing as ever. 

You avert your gaze and continue playing with the camera equipment in your hands, attempting to appear nonchalant. 

"What happened? You're never late," Youngj asks, sitting upright. 

"I was helping one of my students out with a routine and got a little distracted. Sorry," Bada explains with a pout, sitting down on a separate couch next to yours. You keep your eyes on the camera in your hands.

"Don't worry about it, I just need everyone's attention for a few moments," Youngj says, scanning the room. "Is this everyone?"

"No, Redllic should be coming in soon. She was right behind me," Bada says, looking over at the door.

Your eyebrow inadvertently quirks up at the sound of Redllic's name escaping her lips. 

"Good enough, then. Let's get started," Youngj leans forward in his seat, clapping his hands together. "I want to first apologize to all of you for calling you here so abruptly. Unfortunately, this was the only time I had to get you all here together.”

Everyone eagerly waits for him to speak, the air thick with curiosity as Youngj takes a deep breath, his gaze shifting from one person to another.

"So, to clarify, I didn't call you guys here for anything particularly important."

Minho laughs bitterly. "I fucking knew it."

Youngj gives him a pointed look before continuing. "There's a special event that the company is holding and I wanted to inform all of you about it in-person, because even though it isn’t anything to worry about, it is admittedly a bit...unusual for us."

"What is it?" Redllic asks, appearing out of thin air. Everyone, except for Bada, jumps slightly, surprised by her sudden arrival.

"Redllic!" Youngj says, placing a hand on his heart. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Oh, sorry," Redllic shrugs, plopping down next to Bada, throwing her feet onto the coffee table. "What's going on?"

"Right, um," Youngj clears his throat. "As I was saying, there's an event that we're hosting for Valentine's Day. We're calling it the 'Cupid Project.' Basically, you're all going to get into pairs, and you'll be doing a variety of activities together," Youngj explains, his eyes scanning the group, watching the reactions on everyone's faces. 

Ew, is the immediate word that pops into your head. This reminded you of the group projects your teachers forced you to do in school. You can already see how this project will play out, and it's probably not going to be pretty. Based on the skeptical expressions you can make out, you are at least relieved to see that you aren't the only one feeling hesitant. 

"What kind of activities?" Bada asks softly, tilting her head.

"Just activities to get to know each other. Doing things you wouldn't normally do," Youngj replies, shrugging his shoulders. "Jho and I have some planned activities, but the point is for you and your partner to find things to do voluntarily. If we plan everything out for you guys, then it'll be completely forced."

"Wait, wait, wait," Minho interjects, pushing his sunglasses onto the top of his head. "So, you're telling me I have to go on a date with someone here?"

"No," Youngj shakes his head. "We're not forcing you to fall in love or anything. This is purely platonic, just a fun way to bond with each other. And there'll be a prize," Youngj says, wagging his finger.

"A prize?" Minho echos, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. You and your partner will compete against the others and the pair who does the most activities and seems to have actually become good friends with each other will win a reward."

"How are you measuring that?" Hoyeon, another videographer, asks. 

"We'll conduct anonymous votes and collect them at the Valentine's Day party we're hosting," Youngj explains. "But, it's not supposed to be all that serious, everyone. We're just trying to do something fun and, you know, team-build since we've gotten a lot of new hires recently. And, we'll get a good video out of it. We're planning on making a highlight reel of the Cupid Project for our Youtube Channel, which will be nice promotional material, too."

So that's what this was really about: content. Truthfully, you wouldn't have an issue with this if it were not very likely that you'd be the one filming or editing this highlight reel. You internally groan, realizing you'll have to deal with an increased workload because of this clusterfuck. 

"I think it's a great idea," Redllic says, a mischievous smirk on her face. You watch her glance at Bada, who is staring at nothing with an unreadable look in her eyes.

"Well, what's the prize?" Minho asks. 

"600,000 KRW"

Others around the room whisper in excitement. You almost drop your camera. Out of shock, yes, but also because that was exactly the amount of money you needed to buy a brand new camera that you've been eyeing for ages. You've been wanting to record more complex videos, wanting to work on actual music video sets, but your current setup is limiting you. If you were able to get your hands on that camera now, you'd be about a year or two ahead of the original timeline you had in mind. You bite the inside of your lip, hoping Youngj doesn't see the desperation in your eyes.

"Holy shit," Hoyeon mutters. 

The two of you make eye contact, and you already know that the two of you are working together. You were close, having joined the company at the same time and being around the same age. This would be an easy win. 

"Alright, so it's settled, then," Youngj says, a confident grin forming on his face.

"Are we choosing our own partners?" Redllic asks, moving a blonde strand of hair away from her face. 

"No. That would lead to a bunch of people asking to be paired with people they're already friends with, which would make the whole thing pointless. We're drawing names out of a hat," Youngj says, gesturing towards the baseball cap resting on the coffee table.

Everyone collectively groans. You try not to cry. 

"Stop, come on, don't make this difficult," Youngj frowns. "The sooner you choose, the more time you have to prepare. Now, who wants to go first? I already have your names written,"

"Wait, let me go first," Hoyeon volunteers, jumping up and grabbing the hat. She reaches her hand inside and picks a small slip of paper out, then reads it aloud. You bite your lip, praying.

"Howl," Hoyeon declares, holding the piece of paper out for everyone to see. 

Your name is not Howl, but you nearly howl right then and there. Realistically, the probability that you would get who you wanted was unlikely considering the number of people in the room. Nonetheless, it hurt. 

The man with the wolf-centric name quietly stands and moves away from the corner he was situated in. He had been quiet the entire meeting, and most did not really notice he was there until Hoyeon mentioned his name.

"Guess it's you and me," Hoyeon laughs, smiling at the tall figure beside her.

Howl gives her a slight smile, shakes her hand, and they sit back down.

"Alright, Bada. Why don't you come over here?" Youngj says, gesturing to the coffee table.

"The one that everyone wants, I'm sure," Redllic comments with a bemused smirk, causing a clamor of chuckles.

Bada scoffs, and heads over to the table. She reaches into the hat, rustling through the papers. You hold your breath, reminding yourself of the unlikelihood that you'd be the name she pulled. However, as the woman's fingers curl around a single sheet of paper, your heart skips a beat. You feel as if you were the one reaching into the hat.

Bada pulls the paper out and unfolds it, her eyes scanning the sheet. Then, her eyes lock with yours, and your heart leaps. 

"Y/N," Bada calls out, holding the paper up.

You freeze, the room spinning around you. There's no way. 

Bada cocks her head to the side. "It's you, right?"

"Oh! Um, yeah," You sputter, quickly gathering the camera equipment around you.

You hear whispers and feel a hundred pairs of eyes on you as you walk over to the girl. You ignore the feeling of your skin burning. 

"Hey, Y/N. It's nice to officially meet you. I've seen you around a lot," Bada says, eyes warm.

"Yeah, nice to officially meet you, too," You say, extending your hand.

Her hand is warm and soft, enveloping yours like a blanket. Your hand feels cold and sweaty. 

"Interesting," Redllic quips, eyes darting between you two, a glint in her gaze. Bada tears her eyes away from you, giving the blonde woman a questioning look as she retracts her hand.

You take the opportunity to step away, returning to your seat and letting the other dancers pull names. The rest of the pairings are revealed without much commotion, except for Minho's, who loudly complains when he has to partner up with Jaeyong, a good choreographer, but awkward man. 

After all the names are drawn, everyone is dismissed. You're quick to leave the room, eager to return to the comfort of your familiar space behind the camera.

"Y/n! Slow down! We need to talk!" Hoyeon calls, catching up to you.

You turn around, side-stepping out of the way of people walking past you in the hallway. You wait for her to stop in front of you before you speak."With all due respect, I don't really want to talk right now. I just want to record. Then go home, and eat some ramen."

"With Bada?" Hoyeon sings, a cheeky grin forming on her face.

"Shut up," You mumble, rolling your eyes and continuing down the hall.

"Wait, why are you so bummed?" Hoyeon starts, following behind you, "Bada's cool?"

You sigh. "Exactly. She's cool. I'm...not."

"What? Yes, you are. Why would you think otherwise?" Hoyeon scoffs, her eyes narrowed.

"I just," You pause in the hallway again, trying to formulate the words. "I'm a little scared of her, is all."

"Scared?" Hoyeon questions, her forehead wrinkling. "She's nice though. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, but she's so pretty, and talented, and again, I'm not. Not in the way extraordinary way that she is, I mean.” You explain, shoulders slumping. 

A look of realization dawns upon Hoyeon's face, and she laughs menacingly. "Oh, I see what this is. You think she's hot, and you're a scaredy cat who's afraid of rejection. Case closed. I understand."

"That's not how I would phrase things but, essentially, yes," You concede, turning the corner.

"You're being silly. She's not a god. She's literally just a human being...a very sexy human being but a human being nonetheless. Just talk to her like one," Hoyeon suggests, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean, are you not going to try to get that money? I know you want it. I saw that crazed look in your eye once Youngj made it to that fifth zero."

You laugh, "I mean, yes, I really want that money. I don't know if it's possible though. Even if I wanted to reach out to her, she’s so busy I doubt she's planning on actually committing to this. Especially because she's already loaded."

"You don't know until you try you wimp," Hoyeon says, nudging you in the arm.

"Ow," You groan, rubbing the spot in a manner that probably proves her point. "Aren't you going to try for the money too? Where's Howl, huh?"

"We're friends already, it'll be chill. I don't know if we'll necessarily win the money, but, like, we'll have a good time," Hoyeon states, grinning.

"Ugh, gross," You say, sticking out your tongue.

She ignores your immaturity. "What do you wanna do with the money anyway?" Hoyeon asks, leaning against the wall next to an entrance to one of the dance studios.

"Remember that equipment I told you about? So I can start working on sets?"

"Oh, right," Hoyeon says, crossing her arms. "You said that you've been wanting to do that for a while, y/n. Are you really not going to talk to Bada? I’ve recorded with her a few times now and I mean it when I say that she's nice as hell. I feel like she'd probably be down, or, at the very least, will understand if you explain things to her. "

"I'll try. Maybe. At some point. It's not going to be today, though," you mutter, reaching for the studio door before you are stopped by Hoyeon jabbing her french-tipped fingernail into your chest. 

"You better. Or else," Hoyeon threatens, a dark expression coming over her. 

"Move your finger, please," You say, swatting her hand away.

Hoyeon rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Good luck filming. I'm gonna go find Howl. Love ya,"

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun," You wave goodbye to her as she walks down the hall, pulling out her phone.

Once she's out of sight, you release a deep sigh and push open the door, only to be met with the sight of a familiar face. 

"Oh," You breathe.

Bada turns, a surprised expression on her face. "Y/n, hi. Were you coming in?"

"Um, yeah," You reply, slowly entering the room and closing the door behind you. "Are you rehearsing something?"

"Yeah," Bada answers, glancing at the mirror.

"Sorry. I can go-"

"No, no, don't worry about it. If you need to film in here, that's fine. I'll just go next door," Bada says, waving her hand.

You pause, taking a breath. Now’s your chance. "Actually, forget the recording, could I talk to you real quick? About the...cupid thing?"

"Yeah, of course. I was actually hoping we'd get a chance to talk," Bada grins, sitting down on the floor and patting the spot beside her.

You hesitantly walk over and sit down next to her. You take a moment to compose yourself, running your fingers along the smooth fabric of your pants.

"So," Bada prompts.

"Uh," You stammer, wracking your brain for what you were supposed to say. "Um, well, I just wanted to say that, uh, you are really, um, talented. And-oh, this sounds really weird." You finish, running a palm down your face in embarrassment. 

"No, no, it's not," Bada chuckles, a gentle smile on her face. "Thank you, though. But, um, that's not what you wanted to say, right?"

"Right. Sorry," You apologize, a rush of blood filling your cheeks.

"Don't worry. Take your time. We have a lot of it," Bada reminds you, studying the expression on your face. Her voice and words are calming, but her staring is freaking freaking you out further. 

You take another deep breath, hoping to quell your nerves. "Okay. I'm sorry. Uh, I'll try again. What I really wanted to say is, I know that it’s a stupid contest, and that you probably don't care about winning, but I actually really want to participate in that project and win that prize money. And, I was hoping you'd, maybe, help me win?" Before she can respond, you launch into another tangent. "I'm sorry, you're probably busy, which is okay, but I just want to upgrade my equipment so I can get more opportunities outside of-"

"Hey," Bada says, gently laying her hand on top of yours. "Of course I'll help you. You don't have to apologize. I think it'll be fun."

You nearly spiral, but Bada's touch is surprisingly soothing, and you calm down despite your anxiety. 

"Oh, wow. Thank you, so much," You breathe.

"It's not a big deal, seriously. I'm looking forward to it," Bada insists, squeezing your hand.

You stare at her, and her kind, sparkling eyes. What have you gotten yourself into?

You both sit there for a second, a pregnant pause in the air, before you quickly pull your hand away, remembering how sweaty they were.

Bada smiles, unphased. Then, she begins tapping her fingers rhythmically against the ground, a contemplative look on her face as she stares at the space where your hands were previously intertwined. 

"So," Bada suddenly looks up. "If you're just in it to win it, and you really want a fair shot, I think we need to do something a little extreme."

You blink, scared. "What do you mean…extreme?"

She bites her lip and you have to resist the urge to stare. "Youngj said this was supposed to be platonic, so that's how most people are going to approach it. How do we seem better or stronger than other platonic relationships? What’s more intense than that?"

You must be misunderstanding where she's going with this. "Um, a romantic one?" You say, furrowing your eyebrows.

To your shock, she nods. "Exactly. Y/n, I'm saying that we should make our Cupid partnership a romantic one," Bada states, her expression serious.

Your head is spinning. She is taking this much more seriously than you were anticipating. You were expecting to just go out for coffee a few times, and maybe post a picture of your twinning lattes on instagram to sell your friendship. You have no idea how to process this more intense proposition.

"Are you suggesting that we pretend to date each other?" You confirm.

A beat of silence. She leans back slightly, her eyes flickering. "I mean, yeah. Sure," She pauses. "Unless you're not comfortable with that."

"I am," You respond, the lie escaping your mouth with ease. 

Bada's eyes widen and she sits up, a smile growing on her face. "You're sure? If you're not cool with that, we don't have to. I know the idea is a little bit out there. I just, uh, want to help," She babbles, her fingers tapping against the floor again. 

You laugh. Was Bada Lee nervous? "I'm not uncomfortable with it. I trust you. As long as it helps us win,"

"It will, I promise. I'll make it worth your while," Bada vows, her expression determined.

"I can't wait," You laugh again, feeling the butterflies in your stomach flutter.

"Cool," She breathes, her body relaxing. "Well, I should go. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

You grin, nodding. "Yeah, that'd be great."

"Awesome," She smiles, standing up. She reaches her down and grabs your hand, pulling you up. "I'm not gonna be able to actually meet-up with you tomorrow because I have something scheduled, but I already have your phone number. I'll text you."

You nod, distracted and unable to speak as her soft fingers brush against your palm.

"Bye-bye," She waves cutely, her long legs swiftly carrying her across the room. You wave back, her departing smile etched into your brain as you watch the door click shut behind her. Then, you're alone. 

You stare at the floor, processing the interaction. You had just agreed to pretend to date one of the hottest and most intimidating women you had ever met. You had no clue why you did it. Maybe the promise of money and fulfilled dreams had blinded you. Still, the whole thing seemed a little too ridiculous. Too dangerous. 

But there was no backing out now. You already went through the trouble of telling Bada about your desperation, and you told her that you trusted her. You'd have to commit. 

"Well," you whisper, hugging yourself in a soothing motion. "Here goes nothing."

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

You fidget within the plush confines of your seat, hesitantly glancing around your dimly lit surroundings as you twist a gleaming piece of silverware between your fingers. Your other hand remains in your lap, afraid to touch the red linen covering your table. Your gaze settles on a couple a few tables away from you, clinking their wine glasses together with pompous grins. It crosses your mind that the wine they're drinking is probably worth more than the money you're doing all of this for, and you make the executive decision to reach for the bottle of wine the woman sitting across from you generously bought. 

When you drop your fork to outstretch your hand toward the bottle, the woman in question seems to notice, hurriedly grabbing ahold of it before you can reach it, and pours the liquid into your glass, herself. 

"Thank you," you murmur, retracting your hand and finally allowing it to fall on the table. 

"No problem," Bada replies, her voice warm and velvety, like the wine. She pushes your drink toward you, and you hurriedly snatch it up to take a large gulp, allowing it to trickle down your throat. The heat of the alcohol soothes your anxiety, and you exhale deeply. 

Your relief lasts for approximately one millisecond. Because, in the next, you're putting your drink down and are being reminded of the predicament you've gotten yourself into. Bada's preoccupation with her menu gives you the chance to observe the way the soft glow emanating from a nearby lamp illuminates her features. The light traces the curves of her face, accentuating every perfect line. Her eyebrows furrow in concentration, compelling you to consider reaching over the table to smooth the lines over with your thumb. When you try to look away, your gaze locks on the pouting of her lips as she focuses on whatever she's reading. 

"I'm thinking of getting the Frutti Di Mare," she voices, snapping you out of your trance. She sets the menu down and looks up, a gentle smile on her face.

"I don't know what that is," you respond dumbly. 

She laughs, the sound light and airy, causing the skin near her eyes to wrinkle adorably. "I thought Italian was your favorite?"

"It is," you confirm, feeling flustered. "I just-the Italian places I go to are super watered down. The fanciest thing you'll see there is fettuccini alfredo,"

"That makes sense," Bada nods, her smile turning playful. "Then, I'll let you know what it is. It's basically seafood. I think it's usually served with pasta."

"Ah," you reply, nodding slowly. "Tasty."

Bada laughs again, and you feel like a scratched CD—unable to get any words out, twitching in place, devilish sounds threatening to enemate from you at any moment. "I'll make sure to order an extra portion for you to try. Unless, of course, you don't want me to."

"No, that works. I'm fine with that," you respond, quickly.

"I figured." Bada smiles knowingly.

Your hand clutches your chest. "Hey, is that a little shade? Did I miss it? Please, elaborate," you joke, leaning forward.

Bada giggles. "Maybe. You've been drinking a lot of that wine. And I think you ate most of the breadsticks."

You glance at your breadcrumb filled plate, then at the half-empty basket of breadsticks. "Oh. Wow. I did."

"You did," Bada affirms, her expression amused. She scoots her chair closer and takes a sip of her own drink, her tongue darting out to lick her lips once she's done. You have the overwhelming urge to mimic the motion, but resist, choosing to instead stuff another breadstick in your mouth.

You swallow the last bits of the breadstick, wiping the crumbs off of your mouth, only for a new, smaller, crumb to appear. Bada notices, and when she raises her arm, your breath hitches. You feel her soft hand graze the side of your face, the pad of her thumb rubbing the crumb off your lip.

"There we go," Bada smiles, satisfied. You can't help but lean into her touch, the warmth of her skin a pleasant contrast against the cold room.

You're startled out of the moment when the waiter appears, setting a basket of warm bread down. You jump, moving away from Bada.

"Have we decided what we'd like to eat?" he asks, his accent thick.

Bada nods, seemingly unaffected by the exchange. "Yes, we're ready. I'll have the Frutti di Mare."

"Great choice," the waiter says. "And, for you, miss?"

"Um, Spaghetti," you answer, your voice strained. 

The waiter scribbles down the order. "Anything else to drink?"

"I’m good, thank you," Bada answers, her tone sweet, smiling gratefully at the man.

"I'll be right back with your food," the waiter bows his head, his ponytail bouncing, and swiftly leaves the table, leaving the two of you alone. 

Avoiding eye contact with Bada, you grab ahold of your glass and drink. The air crackles with something subtle, and you find yourself stealing glances at Bada’s pretty face in between sips, your cheeks warming.

But you needed to get down to business. It’s already been two days since you discussed fake-dating, and this is the first time you’ve done anything together. The clock was ticking.

You placed your drink down on the table and swallowed loudly, causing Bada to stop fiddling with the napkin in front of her in favor of looking at you. 

"So," you start.

"So," she copies.

"What's the plan?" you ask, drumming your fingers against the table.

Bada's eyebrows furrow again. "The plan?"

"For the whole Cupid thing," you clarify.

"Oh," she says, blinking. "Right. Well, I was thinking, that this was sort of the plan."

"This being..."

"Dinner. At a fancy restaurant," she responds, gesturing to her surroundings. "People will see us hanging out together here, and it'll get the rumor mill running. I wouldn't be surprised if the media picked it up, honestly. I think it's a pretty solid first step. We're just planting the seeds,"

You nod. "Yeah, okay. That makes sense. How do we get from here to actually dating?"

She leans back in her chair, pondering the question. "Hm. I don't know. An Instagram post, maybe? A soft launch?"

You consider this. "Okay, sure. But, what would the picture be of? This is all so, vague."

Bada shrugs, nonchalant. "We'll figure it out as we go. We're gonna be spending a lot of time together for the next few days so there'll be plenty of opportunities for pictures. For now, I think we should just enjoy dinner. We're supposed to look like a couple in love right now and I don't know if trying to scientifically plan a soft launch is really giving romance."

"Right," you sigh. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize," Bada says, reaching across the table to give your hand a quick squeeze.

You're interrupted by the waiter returning, bringing the food. He carefully sets the dishes down, and a delectable smell fills the air.

"Bon appetit," the waiter bows his head and disappears again.

"Thanks," you call after him, taking a moment to observe the meal.

"It looks great," Bada comments, reaching for her fork.

"It does," you agree, grabbing your own utensils. You take a tentative bite, moaning loudly as the flavors immediately explode in your mouth. "Holy fuck."

Bada stares at you, wide-eyed and frozen, a piece of pasta still stuck on her fork.

You blush, covering your mouth. "Oh my gosh, sorry."

She gulps, snapping out of her stupor. "No, no, it's fine. That was just, a, uh. It seems like you really like it!"

"It's really good," you confirm, your words muffled by the food.

"I can tell," Bada chuckles, her voice low and her eyes twinkling.

"Sorry. I'm gonna try not to embarrass myself any more," you say, chewing more delicately.

She laughs softly. "There's no need to apologize. You're funny, y/n," Bada says, the sincerity of her words and the fondness in her tone making heat rise to your cheeks. 

You eat the rest of your food quietly, listening to the bustling noise around you, the sound of Bada's utensils clinking against her plate unusually relaxing.

As you're finishing your last bits of pasta, a group of loud voices and giggles pass by your table. One of the girls, a brunette, notices the two of you and stops.

"Oh, my god," you hear the girl not-so-discreetly whisper, clutching her friends' arms. "Is that who I think it is?"

You glance at Bada, and she's looking at you. You raise an eyebrow.

"Bada Lee and...I don't know who that is? Who is that?" The brunette's friend replies.

You look down, pretending not to hear the conversation.

"I don't know either. You think that's her girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?! No way. They're probably just hanging out or something."

At this, Bada drops her fork and reaches across the table for your hand, grabbing it gently.

"You okay, baby?" Bada asks, her tone sugary sweet.

You're taken aback by the pet name. But, you decide to play along. You smile at her, placing your other hand over hers. "I'm fine, sweetie. Just a little tired."

"Do you wanna leave, honey?"

"I think I'll be fine," you grin.

"If you're sure," Bada smiles, stroking the back of your hand with her thumb.

"I'm positive, honey bunch," you affirm, biting onto your bottom lip to contain your laughter. 

"Aw, they're cute!" the brunette sighs. "I've gotta tell Sooyoung about this."

"Yeah, we should leave them alone, though. Let's go."

You and Bada watch the pair walk away. As soon as the women are out of sight, the two of you burst into laughter, dropping the facade.

"Did you see their faces?" Bada giggles.

"'Who is that?'" you imitate, your voice high pitched and nasal.

"Baby," Bada says, smirking. 

You laugh, but the endearment sends butterflies to your stomach. "Sweetie."

"Honey bunch," Bada grins.

"Honey bunny," you fire back.

"My love," she replies, tilting her head with a smirk, her voice playful. 

"Lovebug," you answer, raising an eyebrow.

"Is this foreplay?" she jokes, laughing. 

"I mean, if you want it to be, I'm not stopping you," you say, the words slipping out before you can stop yourself. Bada's eyes shoot up, and you feel slightly mortified and shocked by your own brazenness. 

"Do you mean that?" Bada asks, her voice dropping down an octave.

You open your mouth, then shut it. This is odd. You were regretting your lack of filter at first, but Bada seemed a bit too intrigued by the idea of consensual foreplay with you. She could just be joking, or really committing to the fake-dating bit. The look in her eyes was telling you otherwise, though.

However, you're cut off by the waiter reappearing. "May I interest you in dessert, or shall I bring the check?" he asks.

"Just the check, please," she says, not breaking eye contact with you.

The waiter bows, leaving the table once more.

You opt to stare down at the table. "I'll pay half," you offer, avoiding her earlier question.

"It's on me," Bada says. "I brought you here."

"Thank you."

"It's no problem," she says, a small smile on her lips.

Once the waiter comes back, Bada gives him her card. When he returns to your table with the receipt, Bada locks eyes with you, your heart thumping loudly.

"Let's get out of here," Bada says, and you nod.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

You stand at the entrance of the restaurant, a gentle breeze caressing your face. Your hands are stuffed in the pockets of your coat, and the chilly air nips at the tip of your nose.

"Are you ready?" Bada asks from behind you. You turn around to look at her, and the way her eyes reflect the light of the streetlamps above you causes your chest to tighten.

"Ready," you confirm, a hint of a smile on your face.

"Alright," Bada says, shoving her phone, which you don't remember seeing her pull out, into her coat pocket. She leads you to her car, opening the passenger seat door for you.

"Thanks," you smile, and she responds with a nod. 

After the door is closed, she goes around to the driver's seat, starting the engine and driving out of the parking lot. You're both silent as she navigates through the streets. You peer out the window, watching the city lights flicker and blur as you replay tonight's events, attempting to ignore the now obvious tension. 

"So," Bada breaks the silence, causing you to whip your head toward her. "You still haven't fully explained to me what plans you have in mind for that camera you're wanting so badly."

"Well," you begin, relieved that she took the conversation in this direction. "I love what I do at JustJerk. Seriously, watching you guys dance is amazing, and the people are the best. But, I don't want my career to end there. I want to do more on top of that, diversify my portfolio and all. What I really want to do is get onto a music video set. Maybe start directing, too. One day."

Bada hums and smiles. "That's amazing."

"Thanks," you grin, scratching the back of your neck.

"With all due respect, though, do you really need the new equipment for that? You do such a good job with our choreography videos. I don't know anything about videography, but I'd be surprised if that alone couldn't get your foot in the door."

"Well," you draw out, considering your words. "That's probably true. But, I don't think I'm that lucky. The equipment will help, the camera will be useful...the lenses will be nice to have…”

Bada frowns. "Have you given it a shot yet, though? As much as I'm going to try my hardest to help you win this money, realistically, there's a good chance that we still won't win. I'd hate to see you postpone your dreams just because of this camera, or because of this project."

You pause, staring at the car's interior, listening to the sound of the engine running, lost in thought. You weren't sure if it was because you admired Bada so much, or if it was something about her tone, but you were actually starting to rethink things. Perhaps you were holding yourself back a bit. 

"Maybe," you simply respond, unable to say much else. 

"I mean, the equipment will probably help," Bada concedes. "But, not having it won't stop you, I'm sure. Our videographers really don't get enough credit. But, you're all great and you're especially amazing at what you do, y/n. The only reason why I haven't gotten around to working with you is because the other dancers keep getting to you first," she admits, bitterly. 

"Wow," you breathe. "Thank you."

"Of course. You're awesome," she says, the confidence in her words filling your heart.

"So are you," you say, turning away from her, trying not to blush.

"I know. You’ve said it already," Bada smirks, and you simply roll your eyes. 

A more comfortable silence envelops the two of you, and the tension from before dissipates. You lean back in the passenger seat, a smile on your face, feeling content.

Soon, Bada pulls up outside of your apartment, and you're disappointed. 

"This is you," Bada announces.

"Yep," you nod.

"I had a lot of fun tonight," she says, smiling.

"Me too," you reply with a matching smile. "Thank you for dinner."

"It was no problem," she states, waving her hand.

You step outside, but, before closing the car door, you hesitate. "Um," you say, unsure.

"What is it?" Bada asks, a hint of worry in her tone.

"Can I give you a hug?" you blurt out.

Bada looks startled, but her expression softens. "Sure," she nods, turning the engine off and stepping outside.

You meet her on the sidewalk, and pull her into a hug, wrapping your arms around her torso and pressing your cheek against her chest. She hugs back, and you swear that you can hear her heartbeat.

"Goodnight," Bada whispers into your hair.

"Goodnight," you echo, pulling away, already missing her warmth.

She opens the car door again, ducking inside. "Text me when you get upstairs," she instructs.

"I will," you promise.

"Great. Goodnight, y/n," she smiles.

"Goodnight, Bada," you reply, watching her drive away. Once her car disappears, you sigh.

As you trudge up the stairs to your apartment, a single question repeats in your mind: What the fuck am I doing?

You finish cleaning up and getting ready for bed approximately two hours later. As you lay in bed, scrolling through social media, a post from a JustJerk fanpage catches your eye. It's a picture of Bada and you together at dinner, with the caption, "Caught on a date?!"

You laugh at the predictability of the situation, and just as you're about to turn off your phone, you think to check Bada's Instagram, curious. She posted a new story.

You tap it, and it's a picture of you, taken from behind, standing outside the restaurant. There are no words attached to the picture. Just one, pink heart.

You smile, saving the picture, and fall asleep with the image burned into your mind.

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Three days later, you are stationed near your camera, watching Bada teach. The day after your fake dinner date, she sent you a text describing the next stage of the plan, which was attending each other's events and collaborating in public whenever it seemed right. This initially felt like an excellent idea. You'd been dying to watch and record one of Bada's classes since you started working at JustJerk, and it brought you guys one step closer to convincing everyone you were seriously dating. What could go wrong?

The actual execution of this idea turned out to be much more distressing than you previously imagined. It started this morning when you were filming Minho's class. You kneeled in the front of the room, prepping your camera as Minho made rounds around the studio to talk to his students individually. Engrossed with your equipment, you didn't hear the sounds of the door opening and closing, or the following eruption of loud murmuring. It was not until you saw a pair of sneakers stop in front of you and caught a whiff of a now-familiar sweet aroma, that you bothered to glance up. When you did, you found yourself making eye contact with Bada, holding a bouquet.

"These are for you," Bada said, a proud smile on her face. 

Your jaw dropped and you scrambled to get up, almost knocking the camera over. They were roses, vibrant and beautiful against the dull gray of the dance studio. No one had done this for you before. 

"They're gorgeous," you whispered, accepting the flowers.

"I'm glad you think so," she replied, her smile deepening as she observed your reaction. You cradled the bouquet in your hands, inhaling the smell of the roses with a pleased hum and missing the endeared expression on Bada's face. You certainly didn’t see the way she started to lean forward to press a soft kiss to your forehead. Shocked, you loosened your grip on the bouquet, feeling nothing but the rush of warmth spread through every inch of you as a result of her tiny peck. 

She shifted back, as relaxed as ever. "I gotta go, but I'll see you later?" 

"Definitely," you nod, clutching the bouquet once again, head spinning.

"Great." She nodded, then made her way out of the studio.

After she left, you turned to face the room, only to be met with everyone’s staring. Right. That is what this is about. Getting attention. Nothing else. 

You glanced at Minho, who had a teasing smirk on his face.

"What?" you asked him, scowling. 

"Nothing," he laughed, then restarted his class. 

Now you are recording Bada's class. Or at least, that’s what you’re supposed to be doing. But, having to observe her so confidently lead her students through a routine, hearing her call out corrections with a simultaneously gentle yet demanding tone, noticing how hard her abs are when she lifts her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow for the last hour? It's been painful. You're so busy trying not to swoon you've nearly forgotten to press record a couple of times.

She suddenly looks at you, flashing a small smile at you accompanied by crinkling eyes. You give her a thumbs-up and quickly shift your gaze toward the camera as if you were busy setting the frame, even though the shot is already perfect.

Bada returns her focus to the class, and the lesson continues. Every once in a while, Bada walks over to you, checking in and asking how everything is going. Each time, she offers a smile, a wink, or some form of encouragement, and every time, it takes everything in your power not to blush. She's clearly playing it up for the audience, but the effect she has on you is no act.

Her students are buying it, though. The moment she gets near you, the girls (and a few guys) start whispering amongst themselves. It's working.

"Alright," Bada claps, signaling the end of the session. "That's it for today. Good job, everybody."

"Thank you, teacher!" they all exclaim, bowing and gathering their things.

You're packing up your camera when you feel a pair of hands grasp your waist. Startled, you drop your tripod.

"Gotcha," Bada giggles.

"Shit, that scared me," you say, placing a hand on your heart.

"Sorry, sorry," she laughs. "How'd the recording go?"

"Pretty good," you say, bending down to pick up the tripod. Bada immediately crouches, beating you to it. "Thank you."

"No problem" she says, straightening up, extending the tripod towards you.

"Thanks," you say again, taking the device from her. "Anyway, you did good. It's not going to need much editing."

"Really?" Bada smiles. "Thank you. That means a lot, actually."

"It’s no problem," you grin, suppressing the fluttering in your stomach. "And, uh, thanks again for the flowers, by the way. They were beautiful."

“You are very welcome. Just fulfilling my fake-girlfriend duties," Bada beams, and you have to look away.

"Well, anyway, I should probably head home," you say, avoiding eye contact. "Gotta get started on the footage."

She tilts her head. "Uh, I don’t think so. That’s gonna have to wait for tomorrow,” 

"Huh? Why?" you ask, confused.

"Because, y/n, we're going bowling with Youngj and them? Don't tell me you forgot," she chides, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," you say, remembering. "I thought that was supposed to be later."

"It's 7:30," she says, a slight frown on her face.

"Fuck," you curse, running a hand through your hair. "Sorry, I'll get out of here."

"We have to go there together," Bada reminds you.

"Shit. Okay, yeah, let's go," you sigh.

"Are you okay?" she asks, concern etched onto her features.

"Yes. No. Ugh. Sorry, I just had a lot on my mind today. Didn't get much sleep," you say, rubbing your eyes. It wasn’t a complete lie. Ever since your date at the restaurant, you’ve been getting bombarded with messages from friends asking about the two of you, giving you little time to rest alongside your work for Justjerk. There was more going on today, though. 

"That sucks," Bada sympathizes. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really," you answer, bluntly.

"Okay," she says, softly. "But, if and when you do, I’m all ears."

"Thanks, Bada. I appreciate it," you reply, and a part of you is telling yourself not to get attached. But the bigger part of you, the part that wants nothing more than to fall into her arms, tells that smaller part to fuck off.

"Of course. Anyway, we should really get going," she says, and you follow her out the door, leaving your thoughts and feelings behind.

read part two

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

10. What's an AU that would be interesting to explore with your OC?

Needless I went off the rails with this one! LMAO

This became an excuse to draw Celarthur/Merthur content in different scenarios & and outfits. And I had too much fun with the designs of each one.

Sun King & Moon Queen AU:

Basically, I was watching Lego Monkey Kid and this happened! I really wanted to do something that really got the essence of the show. If you watch the show you can really tell I kinda (or a lot) based it around the Lady Bone Demon & Sun Wukong. And of course some classic Chinese folklore...

It is a total rom-com scenario, with the Moon Queen betrothed to the Sun King... they but heads at first then slowly but surely fall in love.

Sleeping Beauty/ Fairy Tale AU:

This one was really made for young Sir Arthur & Celestine... I couldn't help it guys it was such a classic movie. Malfience icon (she's definitely be Morgan in this Au).

Especially when I was looking for dancing references I kept looking at the sleeping beauty reference dance sequence the most. (for a project to be revealed later still a secret) So I had to give a shoutout to that of course, love how it turned out!

Super Paper Mario Au:

I think this one is my favorite one I always got emotional for Count Bleck & Tippi's backstory. Their love story is quite similar to theirs....they just fit the characters so well.

In all honesty, if Sir Arthur didn't have Meta to ground him... then he definitely would have become like "Count Bleck." Oh but just like Tippi Celestine would still love and forgive Arthur anyways.

~

And here is an Au relevant to the plot of KBASW... I did wanna draw out more scenarios relevant to the plot of KBASW but then they kept leaking out to spoiler-ish territory.

Next Scenario Happy Ending Route. (Basically, Celestine & Arthur are running the GSA and this is a daily occurrence~)

They still have to wait for...(Kirby is lost for a while and is found by Meta and of course baby imprints on him and he's still Meta's) They become this obnoxiously flirty-loving couple... MK's seen this since he was a kid so he's desensitized. They do get work done I promise ~ (LMAO)

@kirbyoctournament

Keep reading for spoiler content/ Special thanks

~

This is where Celestine finds a cure for her " broken warp star" situation. They basically gave Gala the same isolation treatment (because he was supposed to be the galaxy's savior~). But Celty (secretly visits him as often as she can to ensure he isn't lonely.

After this time Celestine finds Meta in the Fountain of Dreams (before anyone could find him). The Ancients were so preoccupied with Gala that they weren't even montioring the fountain.

Basically, no one knew that Meta Knight was born but Celestine & Arthur. He's raised in secret at the temple. (They make a cute little family together ~) And Celestine would set up secret little play dates for the both of them.

A few years passed and then BOOM!

They manage to catch Icarus in his crimes for "forcibly creating another astral from Void." (Kirby was always going to be made but he came out too early due to Icarus' involvement.)

Morpho still takes his life but they manage to trace it back to Uther... The people are now questioning the Acients in their decisions and soon fall out of power due to the controversy. To save face they crystalize Sir Uther... (HA) but that doesn't help them at all~

It was during this time that Celestine properly revealed herself as Merlyn... WHAT!? Another blunder blew up in their faces...and the people immediately began to rally behind her. The popularity of her good deeds as Merlyn is what gets her into the seat of power.

Leaving Celestine in charge of the GSA (finally left in the right hands!) And of course, she takes Arthur with her as her right-hand man and well I think the GSA would become more of a light-hearted place after that.

(Morgan leaves, she doesn't fit into this hippie-dippy-happy place but she's not evil per se... she kinda just travels around as she pleases and she does find her happiness being a wanderer.)

Nightmare is still a problem but Nightmare Enterprise is never created, so it's not as widespread. So it's managed and the galaxy is thriving under Celestine's control. And of course, Arthur & Celestine confess their feeling for each other yada yada yada....

And of course, Kirby defeats Nightmare and that's it~

Despite this happy ending Meta Knight never meets Jecra & Garlude as a result of this. Along with Kirby never going to Dreamland or meeting everyone; Fumu, the cappies, no nothing. And the need for Star Allies no longer exists.

~

More content on these two to come and guys let me know which Au scenario you like more (reblog, leave a comment... maybe I'll expand on it more fun content to come)

I also wanted to thank everyone for getting me through round two I hope you all continue the support for next week's voting poll ROUND THREE!

Thank you for riding this wave with me!

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

@lulu-chaos-incarnation I just also wanted to thank you for being such a loyal fan. I really appreciate you I know I went a little crazy on the AUs but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! :D

[linkemon]

Mayhem (Noctis Lucis Caelum x Reader) [Soulmate AU]

Friendly reminder that English is not my first language. You can check my Masterlists both in English and Polish here. Consider supporting me on Ko-fi. You can also check out my commissions if you’re interested.

Other oneshots can be found here.

"ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱɴ'ᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴘᴀʀʀɪɴɢ ʀᴇꜱᴜʟᴛ ʙᴜᴛ ꜱʜᴇ ᴋᴇᴘᴛ ʜᴇʀ ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇ. ꜱʜᴇ ʀᴏʟʟᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ʜᴇʀ ꜱʟᴇᴇᴠᴇ, ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀᴛᴛᴏᴏ ᴏɴ ʜᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴀʀᴍ. ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ʟɪɴᴇ ꜰᴏʀᴍᴇᴅ ᴀɴ ᴏʀɴᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ 'ꜰᴀʀᴇᴡᴇʟʟ'."

ᴀᴅᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: 1. ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ ꜱᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀꜱ ʀᴇɢᴀʀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛꜱ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇɢɪɴɴɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ɢᴀᴍᴇ. 2. ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ꜱᴏᴜʟᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴀᴜ, ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ (ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ɴᴏᴛ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ) ᴀʀᴇ ɢɪꜰᴛᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ᴛᴏ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ꜱᴏᴜʟᴍᴀᴛᴇ.

— You lost! Show it! — Gladio shouted right next to [Reader's] ear.

— You cheated — she gasped, clutching the wooden sword.

— All's fair in love and war!

— We're not at war, we're just doing training exercises — the little girl replied.

She wasn't happy with the sparring result but she kept her promise. She rolled up her sleeve, revealing the tattoo on her forearm. The black line formed an ornately written "Farewell"

— I was hoping for something better.

— Do not get smart up. You don't have the skill yourself yet.

— It won't be easy to find a soulmate with something like that. I hope my skill will be better.

The girl didn't want to admit it but she was thinking exactly the same thing. Many people were given simpler instructions. She has always dreamed of a timer or a red thread. They didn't require much attention. Meanwhile, she was given a word that anyone could have said to her.

— Maybe I'll hear my soulmate say goodbye to someone? Or will this be a slogan describing our entire relationship? You know... we'll be such a nice couple that we won't want to be apart?

***

[Reader] stared at the three friends who had come to the training ground. She was glad Noctis wasn't with them.

She thought no one would come here in the middle of the night. She had been able to avoid meetings over the past few days but it seemed like that wasn't the case this time.

— I don't want to talk to you.

She swung her sword, practicing the sequence.

— Listen, you can just sit here for me but he doesn't want to go anywhere without you...

Gladiolus didn't finish his sentence because Prompto kicked him in the ankle with all his might.

— How can you say such things to a girl? — Prompto was outraged. — Sorry, I have to send a text message quickly. — He took out his phone.

Ignis looked at the other two and sighed. He adjusted his glasses. He felt the need to do this whenever he got irritated.

— Why are you avoiding the prince?

— Damn it! We all know why. We are not making idiots of ourselves.

King's Shield was tired. He wanted to put the whole trip behind him. Altissia was far from Insomnia. They had a long journey ahead of them and he felt like he was babysitting Noctis instead of preparing for it.

The prince insisted that he wanted to see [Reader] at his wedding to Lunafreya. He proposed it to her and she awkwardly excused herself and they haven't seen each other since.

— Wait... so we know why she's avoiding him? — Prompto frowned in concentration.

It took him a few seconds to understand what Gladiolus was talking about.

— Aaah... That's what you mean... — He tapped his forehead lightly.

— Let's end this circus. You're coming with us. Even the king said it was a great idea.

— He didn't give me an order.

[Reader] knew she was arguing like a little child but she had a hard time hiding her reluctance.

— Stop being so selfish! — Gladio knocked the training sword out of her hand.

He did it easily. He surpassed her in terms of physical strength. Not to mention his skills were next level.

He froze the moment he saw her face. The moonlight helped him see tears in the corners of his eyes. She turned her head to wipe them gently.

He felt guilty.

They had been friends since childhood.

— Damn it! — He pinched the bridge of his nose. — I'm sorry, okay? I'm just... fed up with it.

Ignis didn't say anything. He looked at him reprimandingly and Gladio realized that he was in for a good sermon. Ignis took an embroidered handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the girl. She accepted it gratefully.

— It's not your fault... none of you... Let's be honest, neither is it Noctis's fault. But so what? Should I be a bridesmaid at a wedding I don't want to see? Watch someone I've been in love with for so many years get married? Congratulate my rival with whom I never stood a chance? I want Noctis to be happy but... that doesn't mean I have to watch it all.

The girl felt all the emotions she had been carrying since the announcement of the engagement slipping away. Grief gripped her heart and the words stuck in her throat. Her fingers tightened around Ignis's handkerchief. There was a deafening silence, broken only by the night chirping of crickets.

The friends looked towards the entrance. She followed their gaze.

He stood there.

— We'll leave you two alone — Prompto suggested.

He hoped [Reader] wouldn't find out that he was the one who notified Noctis via text message. Otherwise he would be in big trouble.

— I think we need to talk — said the prince.

— You didn't overhear everything? — she asked bitterly.

Blue eyes stared at her intensely.

— I want you to tell me about it properly now.

— NO. — She sat down on the stone wall. — Do you know why? Because it doesn't make sense. I won't change anything.

— You know...

— I know! You are responsible for Lucis... And you will be king one day... And you love Lunafreya... And we need this marriage...

Noctis looked at the brightly shining moon above his head.

It was as if in its light he could no longer hide anything.

He felt he had failed as a friend.

He knew for a long time. He just never wanted to let that thought come to the fore. It was easier to push it to the bottom of his mind and tell himself it was just a delusion. He was afraid to face a feeling he didn't reciprocate.

— [Reader], if you had told me earlier...

She felt a pang in her chest. He had no soulmate skill. Fate didn't decide for him. He chose Luna of his own free will.

— I wouldn't change anything. You love each other and I want you to be happy but please — she took a deep breath — don't make me go there. My heart can't bear it.

In her imagination she saw a beautiful bride. Blond curls were tied up in a high bun and the white dress rustled with every step. The Oracle held a bouquet of her favorite blue flowers as she looked for her fiancé.

Her fingers gripped the stone tightly.

He could give an order if he wanted.

— Then stay... but promise me our friendship won't end like this.

The prince felt that the thread that had connected them for a long time was breaking. He wanted desperately to save it, even though he felt it was over. All the years they spent together were gone.

— I promise that I will come after the wedding, together with your father, when I get myself together a bit. — She headed towards the exit.

— Farewell — he said with a slight smile.

She glanced briefly at the tattoo that had been with her for many years.

She didn't answer him.

***

— What is it about? — Noctis asked.

Ignis entered the room with a newspaper in his hand.

— Read it.

The Fall of Insomnia , said the headline. Gladiolus read it aloud, feeling growing anxiety.

— Is this some joke?

The prince wanted to tear out the newspaper and make sure he had heard correctly.

— There was an attack. The Imperial army has occupied the capital — Gladio continued. — The Treaty Room flashed brightly. Explosions were also heard. When the smoke cleared, the king was found... dead. — Gladio looked up.

— No... But... Wedding... Altissia...

— I know. That was the plan but... all the headlines in town can't be wrong.

Ignis looked at Noctis with regret. There was no way there could be a mistake.

The boy felt his heart beating fast and a cold sweat break out on him.

— Liars! — he shouted. — We have to check that.

— Shall we turn back? — Prompto assured.

— Yes.

***

— Betrayal! Protect His Majesty!

[Reader] managed to kill three opponents before she fell to the ground. Lights flashed all around and a loud explosion deprived her of hearing.

She put her fingers to her chest in surprise. A red, sticky liquid flowed from the deep wound. She tried to make a sound but was interrupted by darkness.

***

— Maybe these will be the last words you hear from him? He'll see you and decide it's time to say goodbye or something — he laughed.

— Gladio, I'm going to kill you!

— I'd like to see you try — said the new, short, dark-haired boy.

He poked his head out from behind one of the pillars and curiously walked to the middle of the training ground.

— I think it's time for me to introduce you to the spoiled prince. Noctis Lucis Caelum and his titles that I don't feel like listing...

[anyamaris]

Just Like This

Word Count- 1282

Pairing- Seonghwa x f!reader

Summary- You find yourself in your dream lovers' arms, wondering if he's truly real. If only you could dream forever.

Trope-Strangers to Lovers AU

Warnings- Sexual language, vulgarity, unprotected sex (it's a dream though), oral (fem receiving), MINORS DNI 18+

Tags- @cultofdionysusnet @wooyoungmybelovedhusband @yoonguurt @shinestarhwaa @babesindestroyland @lemonhongjoong @stardragongalaxy @kpop-stories-21 @starlitmark@millennial-fangirl @ericssmile @wooahaeproductions@changbinslovelylegs @yeosxxx @ssaboala @millennial-fangirl @starillusion13 @duchesskaren

@cafekitsune Thank you for banners and dividers! 🤍💜🤍

A/N- This is another part of the dream sequence series I have going on, I really loved the idea of the farmhouse for him, and the beautiful country imagery. Also...I may have been influenced by a certain someone for this, you know who you are.

You breathe in the scent of crisp fall leaves as you gaze out of the large picture window of your bedroom.  The white curtains dance in the soft cool breeze, the midday sun painting the most beautiful picture of the fields beyond your view, a large tree with a rope swing at the edge of the yard.  You close your eyes to savor the scent as a pair of arms slide around your waist. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” His voice washes over your neck as he plants a soft kiss, his lips like velvet against your skin.  “Seonghwa…” you whisper, unable to keep a small smile from growing.  “You remembered my name this time.” He purrs against your ear, his voice soft yet deep and you shiver as he presses himself closer against you.  “How could I forget?” You answer, tilting your head back, turning to look at him.  His sweet smile makes your heart skip a beat and you’re swallowing as his large dark eyes study your face. 

“I like this view much more than the one out the window.” He sighs out before his lips are on yours.  Your heart stutters once more, but now it’s thumping loudly and you’re sure he can hear it.  “Stay with me, here…let’s just stay here.” His voice is low and as you pull back, you can see the passion in his eyes.  “If only we could…if only you were real.” You lament but he only laughs, a small smirk playing over his lips before they meet yours again.  

“That’s kind of funny…I was thinking the exact same thing about you, my dream lover.” he whispers, turning you to him so you can look at one another fully.  “What if…you’re real? What if … I’m real?” he asks you, his hand rising to gently cup your face.  “Then I think I’d have to find you and keep you forever.” Your words cause his breath to hitch, then he’s pressing you backwards, gently but firmly, backing you into the wall next to the window you were just gazing out of.  

“The way I need to make you mine,” his voice has taken on a light raspiness, and you gasp as your clothes seem to just evaporate between you, his long lean body pressing against your softer, curvier one.  “Make me yours then, Seonghwa.” Before you even finish speaking, he’s lifting your leg to wrap around him, his rigid length pressing against your inner thigh.  “I don’t just want you, I need you….” he whispers into your mouth, then his lips are trailing your jaw, the length of your neck, your collarbone.  

“My love…my dream ….” he is murmuring between kisses and licks as he drops to his knees, laying your leg over his shoulder as he doesn’t hesitate to draw his tongue through your already weeping folds.  You run a hand through his hair, your fingers combing back the dark, silky locks as he presses his plush lips to your damp ones.  “Oh- please-” you whimper and his hot breath washes over your delicate core as his mouth claims your clit, sucking gently as he kneads the flesh of your thigh.  

Your fingers tighten in his hair as you struggle to keep your eyes on him, his large doe eyes looking up at you as he flicks his long tongue against your nub.  Your moans only encourage him, the soft whines causing his eyes to glaze over.  “Need-please-I need you-!” you finally cry out, your walls clenching, yearning for him and he doesn’t hesitate to comply, standing to bring his tongue still coated with your juices to meet yours.  “Say it again-” he demands harshly, but his hands are gentle as he grabs your ass, lifting you, parting you to rub his length against your dripping cunt.  

“I -need ….you- Seonghwa please! I NEED you-” Before you even have his name crossing your parted lips, he’s pressing into you, his long, low moan mixing with your words.  As you wrap your legs around his waist, he’s burying himself deep within you, stretching you as his mouth searches for yours, tongues swirling together in harmony as his hand cups the nape of your neck.  “Heaven-oh god you feel like heaven-” he’s gasping into your mouth and you can only moan and cling to him as he starts moving within you.  His hips rolling before he withdraws just to push back into you.  Your fingers find their way back into his soft hair, your nails tracing the skin of his back, digging in gently as he thrusts a bit harder.  

“More-!” you cry out, already clenching, burning for him.  His small whimper as he snaps his hips, his cock hitting you just right has you digging your nails into his flesh and you know if this was real, you’d be leaving marks on him.  “Ah-ah fuck-” he cries out as his hips press you harder against the wall, your legs tightening to take him deeper, tipping your hips to allow him to fill you completely.  “All of you-” you beg, and he presses his forehead to yours, his tongue clamped between his teeth as his eyes stare into yours.  Almost into your very soul.

“I love-you-” he whispers, and your heart stutters at his words, barely able to comprehend.  “You bare-oh god!-barely know me…” you manage.  His eyes intensify as the wet sounds of your bodies meeting fill the room, your body shaking at the sound, at his words, at his insistence as he says, “It do-esn’t matt-er-” his words are broken and you barely make them out.  “Does-n’t m-atter-you’re mine-when I f-ind you, and I will….” his eyes close as he lets out a groan.  He opens them once more just to focus on you, “I will find you, my love-” he cuts his words off as your walls begin to tremble, his lips parted as he watches your face contort beautifully as you start to cry out, the burning coil in your abdomen building to the breaking point.  

“I love you.” He says once more, and your grip on his hair tightens, his eyes glazing over as you quiver in his arms.  “Love you-” you finally say, and he lets out a choked cry, gripping your thigh firmly, his fingers digging into the soft flesh.  “Say it, say it-” he starts chanting as you tip over the edge.  “I love you!” Your scream blends into long, loud moans as your walls tremble around him, clenching harshly and the only reason you’re not falling over is his body holding you firmly against the wall.  “Ah- oh god-My-Love-” He cries out and then he’s shaking right along with you, incoherent noises escaping both of your lips as he empties himself deep within you.  

It seems as if you’re both floating on a cloud as you finally come back to his gorgeous face inches from yours, your name on his lips as he kisses them.  “Seonghwa,” you murmur back, “Let’s not wake up…” you whisper, and he nods, his kiss seeming to take on a hint of desperation.  “I want nothing more than to stay with you, just like this.  Please-don’t…. go…” 

You open your eyes to the familiar sight of your bedroom ceiling, and you’re definitely no longer in the rural house with the rope swing and miles of fields.  Definitely no longer with your dream lover.  “Seonghwa….” you whisper, wiping at the wetness leaking from your grainy eyes.  “You’re real…I know it.  I’ll find you.”  You swear you can hear a whisper on the autumn wind coming through your window and your heart pounds, almost knowing that he heard you, somewhere in the world.

[dirtyendorphins]

[AU where Eddie has been teaching his girlfriend Chrissy how to play the guitar for a few months, and he catches her playing a song she wrote herself]

Eddie crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, keeping as still as he could. His tongue swirled in his cheek and he smiled faintly. Chrissy sat at the edge of their bed, her back to Eddie, staring down at her acoustic guitar and strumming a series of four chords. It was the “‘50s progression” he’d showed her the week before, but Eddie was astonished to hear that Chrissy was playing a variation on the chord progression, and in a different key. Her strumming was precise, and the strings rung out with startling clarity. Then her voice broke through in a near-whisper, half mumbling to herself and half sounding out words of affection and longing. Just little snippets of lyrics.

…the dream boy don’t exist…

…love will come through for you…

Chrissy’s voice was gentle, fragile, drifting through the air like a bubble. Eddie could sound out in his mind a raw demo of her recording, capturing all the squeaks of her palm against the guitar neck, the sibilance on the strings and her timid voice. Nothing short of perfection. She repeated the sequence over and over, and Eddie could see the bunching of her cheeks into a smile from behind, and she bounced slightly on the mattress out of giddiness. Even from behind, Eddie could sense her intense focus on her craft. He pursed his lips and dropped his arms to his side, inching across the carpet before laying his hands on her shoulders and kissing the crown of her head.

“Eddie!” Chrissy screamed, bunching her shoulders up and leaping to her feet, setting the guitar aside. Her cheeks were a deep red, and she laughed nervously. “Oh, my God. Please-“ she stuttered, hands at her lap. “I was just practicing-“ she said, brushing her strawberry blonde locks from her face.

“Practicing?” Eddie scoffed with a wide smile, cupping her cheeks and kissing her lips. She whined softly. “Baby, you were creating, and it sounded damn good. Play it again for me.”

“No, it sucks,” Chrissy said.

“Where’d you learn to order the chords like that?” he asked.

“Just was experimenting,” she said.

“Fucking brilliant,” he chuckled softly, picking up her guitar from the side of the bed and sticking it into her hands. “Play it for me again or you’ll hear me whistling it every time we’re in the car. Got it?”

Chrissy looked up at him, pouting, trying to suppress a smile. But it was impossible. Not with him there, grinning his stupid, boyish grin. “Okay,” she said. “Just don’t stare at me while I play it, OK?”

Eddie nodded and covered his eyes with his hand. He pantomimed a man stumbling through the dark, his fingers outstretched, and Chrissy laughed. “Okay, go,” he said, turning his head to the side, eyes seeing nothing but darkness. “I wanna tell future magazines that I was here when pop sensation Chrissy Cunningham wrote her first song,” he smirked.

[slytherinshua]

FAIRYTALES ARENT REAL

genre. brief fluff. angst. prince au. warnings. angst. lack of communication maybe? pairing. prince!joshua x fem!reader. wc. 1.8k. a/n mostly based on this look from the dream mv. credits to @shuatonin for the gif (it's gorgeous), also this turned out a lot longer than i thought lol.

“You’ll ask me to dance at the ball tomorrow, right?” You said happily, smelling one of the fragrant roses in the palace garden. Joshua tailed behind you, nerves building up in the pit of his stomach the longer he spent with you, but fortunately, you didn’t seem to notice.

“Of course.” He smiled and you turned around to look at him. He could only see pure love and joy in your face, and it made him all the more guilty.

He shouldn’t have even let this go on for this long and given you false hope. There was just no way a prince like him could end up with someone like you. You weren’t poor, but you were of the middle class, high enough to maybe marry a palace official or guard, but certainly not a member of the royal family. No one would allow it.

Joshua was glad that you didn’t seem to catch onto his anxiousness, nor did you know that he was partially lying to try to spare your heartbreak. Though, maybe that was a bad thing, Joshua thought. Maybe it would be better to break it to you now so you would at least hear it from him instead of his actions. He furrowed his eyebrows, thinking of possible ways the upcoming ball could go and what the best thing to do was.

He pictured you walking through the doors with your gorgeous smile, adorning an elegant ball gown and looking more radiant than ever. He saw himself walking towards you, masquerade mask on just for show. It wouldn’t do much, as everyone there would already know who he was. Who could miss the crown prince anywhere? He would take your hand and lead you to the centre of the room, the music would play, and he would start dancing with you with everyone watching. They would watch as he ended the dance with a dip and then kissed you. Then there would be cheers from the crowd and aww’s as everyone saw how good you looked by his side. He would look up to the throne and see his father smile as well, giving him an affirmative nod.

But, no. That was all laughably unrealistic. Only in fairytales would something like that happen. Joshua sighed. If only his dreamlike sequence of the ball could become reality. He desperately wanted that, more than anything else in the world. But he wasn’t naive enough to think it was an actual possibility. He wasn’t being pessimistic, he was just being sensible, he told himself.

“-Shua?” 

“Huh?” He shook off his thoughts and looked up again, putting on a smile as best he could. You only called him by that nickname when you really wanted to get his attention. He hadn’t ever told you, but he felt as if he fell in love with you all over again whenever you said it.

“You were really stuck in your thoughts just then, weren’t you? I called you like 5 times.” You smiled amusingly, finding him to be the cutest in the world, especially when his face was scrunched up in thought, lips pouting slightly as if they were begging to be kissed.

“Yeah, I guess I was.” Joshua fiddled with his fingers, a nervous habit that he had developed since he was little.

“What were you thinking about?”

There it was. The question that made Joshua’s heart drop. He couldn’t possibly tell you. He wasn’t strong enough to watch your hopes be crushed. He didn’t want to tell you that you couldn’t be with him, that he couldn’t have you no matter how hard he wished he could. He wasn’t ready.

Joshua glanced through an opening in the hedge, feeling relieved as he spotted some guards patrolling the gardens on the other side. He grabbed your hand and quickly ducked behind another hedge. You knew the drill by now and didn’t question it. Joshua hoped that your question would also be left forgotten as you both waited in silence for the guards to pass.

Joshua peeked out from behind the hedge, pretending to spy on where the guards were at, even though they weren’t going to come close to where you and Joshua were hiding.

“Were they coming this way?” You asked in a whisper, hand still holding Joshua’s tightly.

He nodded, peering over the hedge one more time. “They’re gone now.” He lied, standing up cautiously. You stood up as well, sighing and picking at one of the details of your sundress.

“I should probably go.” You said. You always knew you had to leave if the guards were ever nearby.

As you said those words, Joshua felt as if a piece of him died. Tomorrow was the ball, which meant that this was the last time he would see you. At least, it was the last time he would see you with the freedom to express how much he loved you. As soon as you left his sight, that freedom would leave with you and never come back to him.

He quickly hugged you to his chest, holding you tightly in his arms. You were confused, but hugged him back, pressing your cheek against his chest and feeling his heartbeat, which was beating at a rapid pace.

“Y/n.” Joshua started, tone serious which was unusual for him.

“Hm?” You glanced over his face, taking note of his watery eyes and the creases on his forehead from stress. You had no idea why he was so anxious all of a sudden, but you could pick up on it easily.

“Nevermind, it’s nothing.” He mumbled, smiling again. Then he leant down and kissed you, soft plush lips mingling with your own. “You should go now.” He told you, sighing. You nodded and broke the hug first, kissing him quickly on the cheek again before finally stepping back. You walked backwards to look at him for as long as you could, waving and smiling widely.

As soon as you were out of sight, Joshua let the first tears slip out. He stumbled, eyesight blurring from the water, and eventually sat on the ground, back resting against one of the hedges. He sat there until the sun went down to rest and the moon rose only to be blanketed by clouds. Still, a single ray shone beside him as if it was shielding him from his loneliness.

//

It was an hour until the ball, and the palace was bustling with people. Servants were running around getting the final touches ready, officials were patrolling the outside and Joshua was in the very centre of it all. He had to direct everyone along with the help of Seungkwan, his party planner.

“How close are we to being done?”

“About 94% done, your highness.” Seungkwan replied after looking over his list.

“Okay, good. You think you can handle it from here without me?”

“Yes, your highness.”

“You don’t have to keep calling me that, Seungkwan. We’re friends.” Joshua urged. Seungkwan nodded as Joshua walked off to his seat. 

He sat on his throne, feeling more sick the longer it went on. He remembered his father’s words to single out the princess from the neighbouring kingdom and dance with her at this ball. If all went well, a marriage proposal would be on its way, and the two kingdoms would become stronger by marrying their heirs.

He sat quietly until guests began to shuffle into the ballroom, big poofy dresses and shimmering suits filling up the large area rather quickly. Joshua retreated to one of the corners, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of you before he broke your heart.

And he spotted you almost immediately, in an elegant black gown. His breath was caught in his throat and he was thankful for the mask he was wearing concealing the tears that would inevitably fall again. His heart broke for the third time in the last 24 hours as he saw your gorgeous smile and eyes searching the room, searching for him.

He stepped into a deserted room and wiped his eyes, pulling himself together. No one could know that the prince wasn’t in love with his future bride. He walked back up to the top of the room where the thrones were, standing by his father’s right hand and breathing steadily, emotions going numb.

You were approached by a surprising number of people, all commenting on how pretty you looked. You thanked each one of them whole-heartedly. An especially pretty lady came up to you, smiling friendly and striking conversation. As you examined her face, you were sure she was at least 10 times prettier than you were.

“Your dress is stunning, what dressmaker made it?”

“Langston.” You replied eagerly, “Who did yours? You look absolutely beautiful in it.” You said in awe of the golden gown she wore, hugging her figure perfectly and complementing her skin tone.

“Keswick from the neighbouring kingdom. I’m from there, you see.” She smiled sweetly.

“Oh! I see. I hope you enjoy your visit here.”

You waited next to the lady, talking with her as you waited for the dance to begin. You learned her name was Viola, and that she was a princess from the closest kingdom. No wonder she was so pretty.

Soon, the entry music came to a close, and all the guests turned their attention to the front of the room, eyes landing on the king, and next to him, the crown prince.

The king made a short speech, and then Joshua said a few words before stepping down into the crowd to choose his dance partner and also the future princess. You exhaled, preparing to dance in front of so many people. It was anxiety-inducing to say the least, but you were up for the task.

You watched him walk towards you, mannerisms much more serious and princelike than when he was ever alone with you. He stopped in front of you, and with a smile held out a hand.

“May I have this dance?” Those beautiful, fairytale words. The words that broke your heart.

In the flash of an eye, Viola was the one up there in the centre of the room, not you. Viola was the one waltzing to harmonious music with your prince, not you. And Viola was the one who he so gracefully dipped, pressing a kiss to her lips soon after, cheers and clapping following.

You couldn’t do a single thing but stand there and fake a smile that wouldn’t last for long, as it was soon replaced by tears. But not even half of your pain was for you. If this is how much you were hurt by it, you were sure Joshua was even more hurt, and he had been for a while you could only guess.

You should have known fairytales were too good to be true.

↳ svt taglist: @kangtaehyunzzz,, @yeonjuns-bluehair,, @ddeonudepressions,, @hannahsophie0103,, @skz-minchan-enthusiast

[kinky-asexual]

Ended up writing a little over 1000 words from a little side au @reagi-df and I have been working on together. Out of context dream sequence where F!Leo, who doesn't have his memories, dreams of the doomed timeline.

Under the read more bc it got so long holy shit 😅 Anyway, enjoy! <3333 I know I did!

Hot.

The air burns his lungs as he runs, panting heavily with pain jolting through his body with every step. He looks down at something in his hand. Its blurry, a mishmash of colors, the most prominent being red, purple, orange, yellow, silver, and blue. They swirl together, mocking him in his confusion.

An explosion. The heat gets worse for a moment and his eyes flash up around him. The sky is burning. Some kind of machine, one that flys through the air, catches fire, plummeting to the ground a short distance away as people scream and flee from something that's shooting at them.

The source is unimaginable. Giant, metal beasts, eyes ablaze with a horrifying red glow. One rises to its feet, its eye glowing bright hot before some kind of beam shoots out frrom it, causing another exposion. And even if its far, the shockwave washes over him followed by more unbearable heat. It burns his skin. It burns his eyes. He's burning. He's drowning.

There's something chasing him, something he knows if it catches him, death would be a mercy.

Another stab of pain has him wincing, his hand instantly reaching down to his side along with his eyes to quickly follow. Blood. His blood. Leaking out of him at a pace that's hard to fathom. Its why his head pounds, why his vision swims.

"I got you Sensei!" a voice says, his vision shifts sideways and more red comes into his vision, stripes of color going over the person's eyes. "Stay with me-"*

He wants to ask what happened, wants to ask who they are, why are they helping him?

But he can't hear what he says. He can hear he uses his voice but he doesn't understand the words.

The red stripes move and the persons masks shifts up revealing a kid. A child. Why is a child here of all places?

The kid says something else but he still can't hear. The explosions around them making his ears ring painfully. He wants to stop. His body begs him to stop. But he knows if he stops its over. The beasts that nip at their heels will make sure of it. But he can't take it. His knees give out and he drops, dragging the kid to the ground with him. The growling at his back grows louder and he braces, ready for more pain.

But then warmth.

Not heat like everything else. This is warmth. Like the sun he hadn't felt in so long.

Golden chains encircle them, protecting them from the horrible beasts at their backs. He turns over, his heart leaping into his throat as someone, another turtle suddenly appears, burning away the evil that had been chasing them with his massive holy light. And relief fills his body. Until the pain reminds him of his position.

The kid helps him down to the ground fully, helping him lean against some of the rubble in the shadow of the ruined statue they're sheltering under. The turtle, floats over, concern written into his aged features. And looking at this other turtle hurts, seeing his age, and the world burning around him.~This isn't how it was supposed to be...

"Help him Michaelangelo , he's hurt bad. " the kid pleads, emotion bleeding into his voice. And speaking of bleeding. He looks down at the hand he's got clamped over his side. Cold and metalic and as he pulls it back, covered in blood. The crack in his plastron, more like a hole, a puncture wound of some kind. But without the prerssure he had placed onto it, the blood seeps from the crack again. He clamps his hand back against it, sucking in breath through his teeth. It hurts.

But looking out to the landscape around him. Torn apart and blazing. Those metal beasts are everywhere, burning the land they stand on, killing everything in their wake. And flying above them all....the destroyer. A star in the center of the sky that these beasts worship and it commands are absolute.

The end of the world

His mind reels. He doesn't understand. He's saying things he can't hear, and the two others look at him with different expressions. one confused, the other determined. The turtle nods. "It'll take everything I have." and with that he floats away. And for some reason, he feels like he'll never see him again.

He starts speaking to the kid, watches the emotions flicker over his face, how heart broken he seems while golden light burns a few paces away from them. He gives him something, drawn crudly on the back is a blurry picture he can't recognize. But then his hand is on the kid's shoulder, and the kid looks like he's about to cry.

"I don't wanna lose you..." The kid practically whispers.

And this time he can actually hear his own words.

"Casey...its not about me-"

He's cut off by Red.

Coating them, drowning them in its light.

Looking up, his heart stops as the beast stares down at them. And then more rise up from behind them.

He looks to the turtle. He calls to him but can't hear his name. The turtle doesn't respond, too prreoccupied with what he's doing. Ripping the air in half. With a final push of effort, the turtle succeeds, sending a wink and reassuring smile back at the pair before his body bursts into brillaint rays and flakes of golden light. Leaving a bright, gloden circle floating in the space he once stood.

It hurts.

It hurts so fucking bad.

He can't breathe. He can't think.

He doesn't have time to think.

There's more of those beasts encircling them.

And he knows he's dying. He's already lost too much blood.

But there's a kid with him. And whatever lies beyond that portal is better than this hell.

He grabs his shoulder, throwing him roughly toward the portal, sending him through alone.

And it hurts.

And then the beasts are upon him. They leap at him and he blocks, using his large prosthetic as a makeshift shield. Another tries to flank him but his sword slices through its jaw. They're coming for him. The wolves circling their injured prey.

And he's terified. He can't keep this up. They'll rip him apart. Piece by piece. Tear into his flesh and soul. Just like before.

He glances up for a second, just as he feels one of the larger metal beasts step closer.

He doesn't get the chance to take a breath.

Its just heat.

Its just red.

[bongcipher]

concept art for a human-ish bill cipher, yap session about his design and the art under the cut!!!

this was a very experimental piece, wanted to try and see if i could replicate a painterly style, also attempted to do more textured and dreamy stuff in here. ik its very messy, but i just like getting things done fast. anyways this is supposed to be like a frame in a sequence where bill appears in someones dreams, whoever you think it is is up to you, maybe its ford, maybe its a stranger- who knows!

i have. So Many ideas for a human bill, and i mean SO MANY!!!! if i added all those conceptd to just 1 design it'd just end up being a cluttered mess with ideas lost in translation, not good! i also happened to like a lot of these ideas with some of them branching out to a pretty clear concept. so ive made the decision that he has 3 forms (they also represent diff gender presentations because i wanna project my dreams onto him :,]) that he chooses whenever he feels like it. otherwise ill just recycle some of my unused ideas for specific au designs. <- theres an idea in the back of my head that when bill gets reincarnated into a human for being a good boy in theraprism, he turns into just...the most Average looking person you'd find in oregon. he doesnt look special or unique, he looks very generic, and it hurts him and everyone around him very much.

this bill is the least human out of all of the 3 im planning for, might even make him less human than he appears in here because shaping him like a vaguely human-shaped star seems fun. bills supposed to be very dream-like in here, he's laying under a blanket of clouds and a pillow. bills shape is supposed to be sorta vague in my mind, this blanket of clouds drape him like its his hair and clothes. hes supposed to not have a clear/defining silhouette amongst the clouds because its like a dream, blurry. fun fact: every step he takes he generates clouds, yk how in chinese mythology dragons move by clinging onto clouds? its a lot like that. theres some vague inspo of the dragon characters from one piece because i love that manga too much ksjdiss!!!

this bill is pretty focused in on the dream/god aspect of him, every bill focuses on a different way he presents himself. ones a party host and the other is uhhh something else ill think of, a demon i guess?

[shieldkeeper]

Writing Prompt: Perpetuity Word Count: 511 (Frostbite AU) ---> masterlist

Few would know of the secret that oracles kept well under wraps from any normal person. For if they learned of it, they would have a hint of an oracle’s true nature… and how to control that nature.

One easily assumed that a seer’s visions eternal for the rest of their days, aye? A fact that is only partially correct but purported nonetheless far and wide by those who would experience these visions. A way of protection so to speak, as they spouted daily prophecies. Truths and lies. Vague predictions without answer to any listening ear.

Garen could never fall in line with the ways of the other seers. He wished to tell the truth and only the truth of what he’s seen, to lead credence to himself and to undo the decades of harm this reputation has done for his kind. He speaks only when he has experienced a vision tried and true. One that he’s pieced together proper and can regale as much.

But with that, he risked outing their most fatal flaw…

The flaw that seers did not dream. 

How else could they make certain their prophecies after all? To convince that foreseeable truth?

In exchange for these glimpses or full-on sequences that played in one’s head through the night, Garen and all seers alike never once dreamed. But a transition from one state of wakefulness to another as nights passed without coincidence.

Not only that, but there were clear signs when one did happenchance to have a vision. Their sleep would not be so peaceful. They’d toss and turn as their mind wrestled to understand the things they witnessed during nightly visages. 

Nothing would wake them either. Entrapped in their own mind and whisked away into prophetic visions till seen in its entirety. Their bodies may as well turned into helpless vessels as though possessed all throughout.

An unknowing person would likely mistake them for hard sleepers! Or think them to have gone mad when caught in such states. In reality, however…

Were any outside of this circle of knowing to learn these truths, they could find plenty a way to force an Oracle to do their bidding proper. They’d be watched like hawks. They wouldn’t be able to thrive in the way that they have until now, rather they be seen as shams than to face a potential life of strife.

Luck would have it that none have picked up on Garen’s flaw. On why he was such an anomaly compared to most seers. Why his word had always been truth. 

His defense comes in the ways he portrays his visions: Like those of a bard singing embellished tales that could mean one thing or another. Even if he might truly understand all the details in depth, he would purposefully make it vague enough for the common villager that would ask of him to be true without finer print.

An eternal cycle of slumber that meant all or nothing… 

They could only pray that this truth never be gleaned by outsiders. Not even to closest companions.

[yunamedkostobot]

Jacegan week day 5: Modern

Figure skating AU, retired skaters, coach/choreographer, skater!Aegon III

«I just can’t do it with those judges!» - Jace tiredly groans, as he enters the hotel room in the hotel after the whole day of nuisance his first Westeros championship as the coach. If he had more strength he would already punch something, but even after the shower, which should have refreshed him, he feels totally numb and wearily lands himself on the coach near Cregan. The latter sighs. «There were 80 points in the last competition, and 76 when we were at the Kiss’nd Cry with Egg, and why is it 75 points now?»

Cregan rolls his eyes. 

«A point can be taken from the skater if he overreaches the time limit.»

«And if his coaches would demand it». Jace adds and leans to Cregan who is holding the telephone now. «Has the Skatingscores uploaded for now?»

There is nothing left for Cregan than to allow Jace to lean on his shoulder and allow him to watch the protocols. 

«He got «q» on the sequence and a vague edge on the flip» Jace constants. «But given his age and the growth spurt he is going through now, it’s pretty normal».

Cregan hums. 

«And he still has the current second place». Jacaerys says with the smile.

«Wasn’t you fuming with rage two minutes ago?» Cregan returns him the smile and hugs him from the back. 

«Well, I made the program for him!» — Jace suddenly exclaims and then looks like he is deflated.  «As for me, I am actually offended to see his step sequence I made and we’ve been practicing for a month to get to the third level.» he mumbles. «Not to mention my nephew’s choreographer never bothered to cut the music for SP normally, and not like, you know, cutting meat».

Here, Cregan barely holds himself from laughing. It sounds really funny about Criston Cole, whose last creation as choreographer was «Sweeney Todd» SP. And like a lot of his programs, since the idea was not given by the skater, it turned out to be not really good.

«It’s still current second place». Cregan says. «And if he would not risk tomorrow with quads, he will get to the Youth Olympics.»

«Yes, I know that one quad and two triple axels will get him a youth Oly’s ticket. But since the last Junior World Champ we had nearly lost our national team three spots…» here Jace stops and allows himself to fall onto the bed. Cregan follows him a second later. 

«You better sleep now.» he says and plants a kiss on Jace’s forehead. The latter groans tiredly.

«And you will scroll the news and blogs here?» he replies. 

«Well, given, who of us is more prone to emotional outbursts…» Cregan says in a semi-academic tone and Jace laughs.

«Sometimes you seem to forget who is his coach.» he says.

«And you forget that you are his choreographer and not his mother».

«Why are you insulting me in such a way?» Jace falsely groans and Cregan finally bursts into laughter.

Given his eyes' expressions, he definitely had it coming.

While still being the active skater — first as single, than, when he had been struck by growth spurt, as pair skater with Arra and than with Aly — Cregan actually had the time to think about his retirement from competitive skating. He thought about studying, and later, when he and Aly won their first senior Worlds, about skating in shows.

But he never imagined — even in his wildest dreams — that he will work as the coach. And that  he will actually marry the boy he once met at the summer camp. And that they will have their coaching team.

But the fact it’s unexpected doesn’t means it’s felt undeserved.

***

Some info about this au though:

It takes place in our world, though a bit alternative(no teamTut melodrama and so on). Westeros charactres represent Great Britain.

Jacaerys comes from the skating family: his mother once won two junior worlds and YouthOlys, but retired after two senior seasons after leg trauma and decided to become a choreographer and have a family of her own. His uncles are also competitive skaters but they(except Daeron) are not really loved by GBfed(Aegon due to his alcoholism and him scandsals following it(from drinking at summer camp as junior up to driving cars while being drunk), Aemond due to his anger control problems and offending vice presindent of NISA in one intreview).

Cregan started to skate later than the most of his peers, albeit managed to learn all of the triples by the time he was 13. When his growth period spurt he believed he will go through it and will be able to do 3A and quads and found major inspiration in Elvis Stojko(Lillehammer 1994 and Nagano 1998 silver medalist, who also was 1,8 metres tall). However, he failed to do it and switched to pairs(first with Arra, after his retirement with Aly Blackwood).

Cregan and Jace actually met eachother at Mishin's summer camps when Jace was getting ready to his senior debut, and started to like eachother very fast.

Albeit they did not realised they love eachother up to the next Olys.

However it did not stopped their shippers and #jacegan community was one of the hottest since #yuzuvier one cause of amount of content they were getting. Somebody of non-shipping people even complined of toxicity poisoning the community that normal, close, respective relationship should seem romantic.

Yeah, it was totally platonic for two men to create a Exhibiton program "Die shatten werden lenger" and to star Rudolf and Der Tod in it. Or make another EX Wildhorn's "Rudolf" and star as Rudolf and Taafe.

Cregan and Aly often used not really popular music for their programs. One day they used Aoife O'Daire's cover on "Lutien's lullaby" for their short program with Cregan as Morgoth and Aly as Luthien.

Jace, meanwhile absolutely loves musicals, especially Norwegian and French. His programs at season "......": "One night in Bangkok"(SP) and "Je dors sui roses/Comedie-targedie/Place je pass" had actuallu blown the Youtube.

Both of them know about fanfiction about them and read it sometimes. However, Jace do not understnad, why are they writing so much porn about them, giving the fact that afer the competitions they are so tired that fall on the bed sleeping in process.

This thing hardly changes even after they retire and became a coach and choreograhpher respectively. In fact, the only time they can go intimate is their vacation.

[688199]

AU where Felix is the shy one who has a crush on Bridgette: He asks her out.

(whipped this up really quick so it's rather shit)

“no woman is to get in your way of success.” his father told him one day. “banish the thought of love from your head. it will only makes you weak.” 

“yes father, i will father.” felix replied. many times he spoke those words with bitterness, yet this was one of the few in which he readily complied with an almost sort of eagerness. it would be easy after all, a task achievable even without lifting a finger. a person like him? in love? he bit his lip to stop a scoff from escaping. what type of lustful man did his father mistake him for? love, only the weakest of men subject themselves to such frivolous things…

…was what he thought.

now felix found himself agonising over a present sitting on his desk. 

“plagg, can’t you help me out here or something? and stop playing on my ps5 without asking.” he said through gritted teeth and snatched the controller away. plagg, the cat-like faerie, dangled trying to hold onto it for dear life.

“hey! give it! im almost done battling liquid flame!” 

“not when i’m in a crisis.”

with one last yank, plagg dropped to the floor, sprawling dramatically on the carpet.

“what sort of crisis justifies interrupting final fantasy?”

as much as felix liked ffxvi, some things are just more important. this, was one of them. he walked to his desk and picked up the present. the crisp wrapping paper crinkled under his tightening grasp.

“you know how long i’ve been trying to give this to her, don’t you?”

“yeah, which is lame. just call her, arrange a date to meet, and give it. voila, simple as that.”

“‘simple as that’, my ass.” felix spat.

“what else do you want me to say?” 

“i don’t know, maybe try being supportive for once.”

a lightbulb lit up above plagg and a smirk stretched across his face. shit, he’s scheming again. but too late, felix couldn’t take back his words. maybe he shouldn't announce his feelings to this little devil spawn creature next time, he mused bitterly. everything involving plagg had consequences, one way or another.

by the time felix snapped out of his thoughts, plagg was already dancing atop his phone, punching buttons while giggling like a madman. that number sequence, felix recognised it too well. 

he dived to catch plagg but then a beep came from the phone. a honeyed voice spoke first, delicately yet filled with liveliness.

“felix?”

his throat dried instantly.

“w-well uhm…”

in a corner, plagg toppled over from laughing too hard. felix shot him a glare.

“do you need anything?” 

“i-i’m sorry, my younger cousin, he uh-” felix scrambled to put his phone to his ear, heart pounding so loudly he almost couldn’t hear himself. “he was playing around with my phone and accidentally called…”

“oh really? i see! haha kids these days are really playful aren’t they? i have a younger cousin myself so i understand, no worries!” her voice… it was so warm. felix felt like melting just from hearing it so close to his ear, but it was no time to be doing that! he hated to admit but plagg had helped him, albeit in a sudden and cruel way. and he didn’t want to waste the opportunity he had now.

“bridgette wait!” felix gripped the phone until his knuckles turned ghostly white. 

“hm?”

“do you… want to uhm.. i don’t know…meet up with me? if that isn’t too much trouble! i don’t want to trouble you at all! you can say no it’s fine!” felix had no clue what he was rambling on about. all he could see was his life flashing before his eyes. what if she said no? oh god that would be so embarrassing. 

“sure, i would love to!” bridgette answered bubbly. love… to? felix couldn’t believe his ears. he pranced around his room, trying to digest her words and reply at the same time. she said she would love to! a dream come true!

“then if it’s okay with you, how about meeting at bassin de la villette? i know it’s not the most appropriate place but…”

“sounds good to me! see you later!” beep. felix stared blankly at the call ended screen. in the background, plagg inched slowly toward the top shelf where felix placed the controller. silence… then...

“WAIT LATER? TODAY?”

his voice boomed through the house. plagg fell off the shelf in a shock and hit the floor hard, back to square one.

"plagg! what do i do?" felix cried. "i can't do this! i'm not prepared!"

but plagg, heartless as ever, only rubbed his head and crossed his arms. "that's on you nitwit! you only said you wanted to meet. it's obvious she would think it was today. and hell you screaming like a girl for? it would be funny if i wasn't hurt in the process!"

"suck it up and stop being a drama queen. faeries don't feel pain."

"it hurts emotionally. my ego. aughhh, i'm leaving. your presence pains me." with that, plagg sweeped the imaginary dust from his imaginary pants and flew out the door, leaving felix in a pile of anxious, blubbering mess on the ground. only after a few minutes, did felix finally look up.

"wait where did you go? plagg? dude... plagg? hold on i need you, you can't just do this to me. plagg!"

[tired-demonspawn]

ok i wanna put this lil fiona and cake theory/vibe-i-got out there so in the extremely unlikely case it becomes real i can claim i called it and have receipts

(written as of prismo the wishmaster being the latest ep)

anyway

so what i assume will be the plot of the next few episodes is them goin thru universes, trying to find an ice king crown so simon can become a magical lunatic again

now what i propose is that they find some sort of AU crown and/or the fact that simon wont be fighting the effects this time makes it so basically the fruity-ass simon we see in the trailer-

(the fruity-ass simon in question)

-is what our favourite depressed husk of a man becomes

or at least something close to him/"the ice prince" since based on the background and overall vibe of the place in the shot that is most definitely either an AU simon theyll meet or hes a part of some dream sequence

now why am i proposing this?

short answer: i think it would be neat

long answer: we all know he's not going to just end up the same old ice king, not that that wouldnt also be an ending but yknow thats just depressing innit

(+i really dont think the entirety of his character so far was that much of a wet cat so we would feel happy he got magic dementia again)

what realistically is prbly going to happen is either:

what im proposin(aka altered ice king/prince),

he accepts himself and his life as is(aka wont become ice king at all),

or a secret 3rd thing that im too dumb(or i mean i have only seen 4 eps so far, anything could happen) to even conceptualise (maybe something to do with bettygolb? who knows really, shes a god of chaos now, it would be on brand)

of course what would also be neat and in my opinion could very much happen is that he does become some altered ass ice mf, but only temporarily and once back to human again he has like a new understanding and taste for life and therefore even if fionna and cakes dimension is still linked to his sorry dome it will become magical again cuz hes found the magic in himself or something like that

(in short a combo of my moot and the other option)

i dunno just a silly lil idea/feeling i had

do understand im proposing this only as a lil fun idea and a "well wouldnt that be neat" and as mentioned above if it turns out to be correct i will have receipts of calling it

feel free to expand upon it further tho! :)

[mechazushi]

More Monster than Man, More Metal than Monster. Parts and parts and parts of a whole, but still can't give less than his all.

So I was kind of joking about Kafka not being able to keep his legs, but that thought sort of spiraled into.... this.

(Look, I've made it clear drawing is not my foremost best talent, but Kaiju Number 8 is forcing my hand.)

So the idea is coming from a few places, namely, you guessed it, Chapter 117. (The grip it has on me, the grip I tell you! King Arthur couldn't pull it out of my mind even if he tried.)

With the recent chapters implying that Kafka needs to have a deeper connection with his inner Kaiju before he can defeat anything as well as there is something preventing some part of his hand from reverting back to normal, I've been enamored with the idea of more parts of Kafka succumbing to the Kaiju within and just have more and more of him turn into a tamer version of his base form. And then we get hit with what might just be the fourth time we see Kafka's legs get fucked up (Kaiju stepped on it when he was in the Sweepers, twice with Isao [once in dream sequence, the other during the fight] and now. Please let me know if there are others that I've forgotten.) And now I'm just like ". . .Well at this point, just replace the damn things.", which is so far up my alley, it's practically starring in the concert hall. Soooo... yeah. Kafka, stuck halfway through a transformation and now has his legs replaced.

I didn't mean to give him "Wattpad Body Guard Novel Cover" Energy with the hat and face mask, but I like to think he would start to wear something like that if his face did get stuck in the way it looks like in some of his cover art. I doubled down on the whole "He can't keep his legs on his person" by making it part of the AU that there's several steps needed to be done before he can take his legs off. There's a metal latch, a rotating locking pin, and f*cking fingerprint recognition on the inside of the leg. Part of me wanted to draw steam shooting out of it, and I might if I ever feel like drawing more of him like this. The leg itself is supposed to look like it's made out of Black Diamond Plate, a blue aerogel section around the knee section, and glowing panels. (The scientists that made the leg added that on as surprise.)

I think the reason I like this idea so much is because it plays into a specific characterization of Kafka that isn't really played upon much. (To be fair, it might not be obvious at first and you might have to dig for evidence for it.) People like to portray him as just a happy guy, no matter the circumstances. Others like to play up his potential depression. I like to view him as a man who can't stop sacrificing. By God, he spent every year that he could trying to get into the Defense Force, and by God he's going to make his last chance count. You could say "Even if it kills him", but it's not. It's not going to kill him: he's not going to die. If he dies, then that means that someone would have to take his place. And that scares him more than dying. He's going to wander around the Defense bases as a husk of what he once was, his fuel being an ever constant need to make sure no one else has to feel the same levels of fear everyone he loved once felt. Even if it means he becomes a fractured memory of an innocent man.

@narumi-gimmick-blog Because I really liked your comment on the last post I made. He will never lose that challenge again. 🤣

@sonicasura Idk, you seem to like AU shit, so here. I guess this is thanks for tagging me in some of your Crossover AU takes?