#finally found the time to finish a piece for fun My Goodness

[halcyonbot]

have been playing a bit of wurt. her victorian skin is everything

[lvlybin]

ain't you ever seen a princess be a bad bitch?

summary   ༝༚༝༚ … ZB1 & princess treatment

preferences ! ૮ ྀི◞ ⸝⸝ ◟ ྀིა    ۫  ੭̲    제비스 x 𝓯!reader ⊹ cw none ( library )

✉️ sorry for kind of disappearing! I’m back to writing and I’m finishing up some works to post soon. I was cleaning out my drafts and found this <3 hope y’all enjoy

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓙iwoong ﹙𝓴.﹚ㅤ

tries his best to be domestic with you

Being in love with Jiwoong is like something out of a fairytale. He is truly such a genuine and innocent person that your well-being and happiness is always his priority. And with those things in mind, it’s almost second nature for him to be domestic with you, at least, to the best of his abilities. Princess treatment to him is pampering you to the fullest and making you feel like you might as well be married to him already. Nights where he’s cooking while you’re sitting at the counter watching as he does his best to make you both a meal are a must. He’d have romantic jazz playing in the background and of course, he’s going to pour you a drink without you even having to ask. Jiwoong will do all the chores you don’t want to do: laundry, the dishes, etc. Even if you don’t live together yet, he’s constantly trying to show you why it would be such a great idea for you both to share a space. As if you don’t already know how great it would be, because he loves you more than anything else and wants to be around you all of the time.

only takes you on romantic dates

This version of princess treatment you weren’t even aware of until you were both lounging on the couch and Jiwoong says something along the lines of: “We haven’t gone on a date in a while”. And you look at him confused because you had just gone to Barnes & Noble together for practically a whole afternoon, only for him to say: “That’s not a real date”. Jiwoong only considers it a date if you’re being spoiled by going to a fancy restaurant or doing something romantic like having a picnic on the beach. While it’s nice to have little hang-outs now and then with him–going out to lunch together or running errands together, he genuinely will only have the best for you, and that includes thought-out and thoroughly planned romantic outings.

helps you get dressed

If you’re in a relationship with Jiwoong, he does not want you lifting a finger. While he’s sure you love having your independence, he can’t help but want to consistently do things for you. Including helping you get dressed. If you ask for his opinion on an outfit, he will give you it without sugarcoating. If you want him to pick out an outfit for you, he will be on his feet and picking out different things for you to try on and piece together with his help. But his favorite is without a doubt zipping up your dresses. Something about the small gesture is so intimate to him. The way he brushes your hair to the side and lets one hand rest on your waist while the other pulls the zipper up with him finally leaving a soft kiss on the nape of your neck… It makes him feel like he’s doing a good job caring for you. And the fact that you want him to do something that’s a part of your everyday routine, even if it’s getting dressed, genuinely makes him feel so included and involved with your life.

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓗ao ﹙𝔃.﹚ㅤ

will try / do anything or activity you want to do

Getting princess treatment from the princess himself is the highest privilege you could receive as his girlfriend. And necessarily, the things he does as ‘Princess Treatment’ are things he just thinks any good partner would do. So when you come running to him with a craft on TikTok you want to try or a new place you want to visit, he’s never going to say no. I think that despite being an introvert he really does enjoy trying new things and his favorite thing to do would be to try new things with you. Even if he honestly doesn’t really want to / think it doesn’t sound fun in the beginning. There have been times when you’ve mentioned something you’ve done with Hao to the other members and they’ve been in shock that he was willing to do it with you despite him saying no to doing it with them the previous day. He may pretend to complain a little, but he will ultimately do anything to see you happy.

compliments all day every day

Hao has concluded that if you’re dating him, you must love attention as much as he does. You at least have to know that you’re just as pretty, if not more, as him. He wants to see you blossom, to see your confidence grow when you’re with him, so he gives you as much of his attention as possible–and that includes compliments upon compliments. They start small so he can get you used to receiving such a large amount in a day, but once you’ve gotten past the stage when you blush shyly and muster a small “Thank you”, he’s praising you in practically every sentence he speaks. Whether he's saying that you did something well, that he likes your hair that day, or randomly mentioning how funny or kind you are–he’s making sure you know how special you are. In fact, he’s started challenging himself to see how many synonyms of Beautiful he can use on you every day.

loves doing your makeup and skincare, lets you practice your makeup skills on him too

It’s no secret that Hao loves taking care of himself, making sure that he looks his best every day. So when you began dating him, you honestly weren’t super surprised that he extended that trait to you as well. You feel like his little doll at times, with the way that he’ll sit you on the bathroom counter in the mornings after you’ve brushed your teeth and gently push your hair back to do your skincare routine. He just wants the best for you–is what he claims as he buys hundreds of dollars worth of completely new products for you to use, saying that he knows what’s best for your skin and what will enhance your appearance the most. He’s right, of course. And if you ever tell him that you miss doing your makeup (jokingly, because who wouldn’t want him to do their makeup every day?), he’ll sit in front of you and have you do his makeup. Kind of a big deal! But even if it looks bad, he won’t tell you, because you’re his princess and he knows that you did your best :P

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓗anbin ﹙𝓼.﹚ㅤ

treats you like his wife

Everyone knows that Hanbin is the greenest flag of a man to walk this earth and when you started dating him, it was like you both completely skipped the dating stage and went right to being a married couple. He is so committed to you, it’s actually insane (once again, normal basis of a relationship, but it’s Hanbin so). I’m talking doesn’t even look at any other woman, spends the majority of his time with you, is talking about you to his parents–all of it. You are his future and he makes that clear to you. Sometimes you feel like you’ve already started along the path of becoming that rich wife who goes to pilates classes and has two well-behaved children and doesn’t have to lift a finger because with Hanbin and the way he takes care of you, marriage does seem like the only option. Your relationship is the most important thing to him, and he doesn’t hesitate to put it above everything and make sacrifices for it. Hanbin also always makes sure to check things with you first. Your opinions on his decisions matter because he already sees you as the person he wants to marry.

HUGE on flowers

When Hanbin asked you out, he brought you flowers. When you went on your first date, he brought you flowers. The day after your first date, he sent you flowers. You could honestly open a flower shop with how many bouquets he gives you on a weekly basis, not that you’re complaining. He’s the type to get you big bouquets for every date you guys go on and it’s a different flower every time. He knows your favorite flower of course, so even if the bouquet is a completely different flower than that, he’ll at least include one of your favorite flowers just because he wants to make sure that you know that he hasn’t forgotten. Hanbin also makes sure you know what each flower supposedly means, just because he thinks it’s cute. At some point, you have to ask him to tone it back a little, because he’s been getting you flowers every time he walks past a flower place and you’re worried about how much he’s spending on you. He’ll tell you not to worry because this little action he does is a way for him to express how much he loves you.

makes sure you’re safe 24/7

Your safety is something that’s always in the back of his mind. He knows you can protect and take care of yourself, but he thinks that you shouldn’t have to worry about that–that you should only be worried about what will make you happy. And you can leave everything else to him. I’m an enforcer of the ‘Hanbin buckles your seatbelt for you’ agenda because he loves taking care of people and I think that small things like that just make sense for him. It gives him peace of mind to know that you’ll be safe. The sidewalk rule is also another thing that he makes sure he does. He wants to eliminate any possibility of you being in danger and that includes watching your purse while you guys are at dinner to make sure nothing gets stolen, making sure your windows are locked before he leaves your apartment, always holding your drink, etc. Anything that may slip someone else’s mind will never get past Hanbin.

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓜atthew ﹙𝓼.﹚ㅤ

he’s the best active listener

It’s no secret that Matthew loves talking, so he knows how discouraging it can be when someone isn’t actually listening to you. And when you get comfortable around him, you don’t stop talking either. He wants you to feel comfortable, he doesn’t want that aspect to leave your relationship, so he never makes you feel bad or annoying for yapping. Matthew is genuinely happy that you feel like sharing things with him, even if it is your obscure little thoughts and he wants you to know that. He’s amazing at making you feel heard. He’s always asking small questions or making comments to show you that he was listening to everything you were saying. Even his body language–Matthew is nodding along and maintaining eye contact and actively reacting to your words. The point is, he wants to make it clear to you that your words do matter, and that you should feel comfortable talking his ear off.

has you both send little daily updates to each other

Both the updates he sends you and the ones he asks you to send him are for you. He wants you to know what he’s doing, not that you don’t trust him, but Matthew wants you to see that he’s constantly thinking about you. That you almost always have all of his attention. Plus, he likes receiving little comments from you about what he’s doing. He thinks it’s adorable. And then for you, he is truly interested in everything you do and wants to be involved. Matthew saves all of the pictures you send him (the ones you’re in) and has a little folder in his photos that’s reserved for your daily updates. Lowkey you both have separation anxiety, but he’ll never admit it. Matthew will just say that he’s giving you the attention that you deserve.

always is touching you when y’all are walking

Matthew likes physical affection and will take any scraps of touching you he can get. Including when you guys are just simply walking together. Holding your hand is nice, he likes the feeling of how small your hand is compared to his and it gets the point across to other people that you’re taken, but I think that there are other forms that he likes more. Honestly, I can see him wanting you to link your arm with his, making you feel like a princess while he carries your bags or something. He’s able to hold you closer to him and have a tighter grip on you that way as well. And he likes the feeling of you feeling up his arm even if you think that he doesn’t notice it :P He’ll guide you around with his hand on your lower back too. Steering you away from people who might get in your way and softly rubbing on the area to make sure you know that he’s there. Piggyback rides and literally just carrying you are things that he likes doing as well. In his opinion, you should be carried everywhere, so he’s happy to do so.

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓣aerae ﹙𝓴.﹚ㅤ

prioritizes you no matter what

Kind of already touched on this with Hanbin, but I feel like it fits Taerae so well. He always wants you to talk to him and feel comfortable with him because I feel like when he does fall in love and get to the point where he trusts them with everything, a lot of his life will revolve around you. Even if you don’t notice it, he’ll do all of these little things with you / for you / to you that he does for no one else, which shows how you’re the only thing on his mind. Whether that’d be clinging to you at all times, letting you talk even if he’s in the middle of explaining something, keeping the things you like and dislike in the front of his mind… Basically, his thoughts revolve around making sure you’re happy and comfortable whenever you’re with him. You always make sure that he’s both of those things, so it only makes sense that he makes you his top priority.

never lets you feel embarrassed

As mentioned before, I think that comfort is a huge part of any relationship Taerae is in. He has a hard time trusting people, so establishing that trust requires comfort and when he feels comfortable, the pampering for his partner is quick to follow. That being said, if there’s ever an instance where something happens to you in public, like you spilled something on Taerae that’ll stain or you let out an embarrassing noise, he WILL say that it was him and or cover for you. “Oh yeah, I spilled this on myself, I should be more careful”, “That was me! Sometimes my voice can get really high”, etc. He would do anything for you, and that includes maybe feeling a bit of embarrassment for you. As long as you’re okay, then he’s okay with doing anything. Sometimes he lovingly teases you, but all of his efforts are lighthearted, and if you ever appear embarrassed by his words, he’ll say that he was joking and that all of the words he’d said were made up. And god forbid someone else tries to embarrass you. Taerae has no problem with speaking up and calling people out, especially when it comes to you. He’s your number one defender and anyone that says anything bad about you or to you will end up being the humiliated one.

you’re his passenger princess

We’ve got our passenger princess victim. Willing victim, at that. Maybe I’m just obsessed with the fact that Taerae can drive, but him driving in Camp ZeroBaseOne lives rent-free in my head T-T Anyways… when you’re in his car, you’re not lifting a finger. Don’t bother with trying to open the car door, Taerae will do that for you happily, making sure you’re comfortable and your seat is the way you like it before he gets in the driver’s seat. Even before you get in his car, he’ll have already gone to get you a drink, and if it’s not the drink you wanted (which is rare because he has your drink order memorized), he’ll gladly go get you the drink you wanted no matter how much you protest. The aux is yours, he likes listening to your music more anyway, and he wants you to leave your things all over his car. Whenever anyone else gets in the passenger seat, they aren’t allowed to move your things around (hair clips, spare makeup, little knick knacks you’ve accidentally left, etc.) or Taerae will probably make them sit in the back. He wants to let everyone know he’s taken. In fact, you could probably carve your name into the passenger seat. Bro does not care!

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓡icky ﹙𝓼.﹚ㅤ

always treats you gently

Ricky is already a soft-spoken person around most people, but he usually gets louder when he’s with people he’s comfortable with / with his friends. And of course he has those moments with you, but usually, he’s treating you like you’re the most precious thing in the world. You bring out the side of him that feels the need to protect and take care of no matter your age or any other difference. He’s so so patient with you. Whenever you don’t understand something, no matter the scenario, he’ll take his time to explain it to you so you don’t feel left out, confused, or anything else. But he ALWAYS makes sure that you don’t feel like you’re bothering him by asking questions. He’s happy to help you and take care of you. And his friends have never seen him act the way he does with you around anyone else. Even though they tease him for it, they think it’s genuinely sweet how he leans closer to you and speaks in a soft voice so you’re the only one who can understand him, and how he sticks by your side with a hand gently placed on your lower back to guide you.

is TOTALLY okay with being your accessory… supports it 110%

Ricky knows that if he’s with you out and about in public, he has to look his best. Not for his own sake (kind of his own sake, he wants you to always find him attractive), but for your sake. He wants to look like he’s good enough to be your partner and he wants you to be proud that you’re dating him. Obviously, you are, and you never hesitate to tell him that, and he believes you, but he can’t help it sometimes. You know those TikToks where it’s the girl in the front of the video and her boyfriend’s standing behind her and everyone’s like “omg he’s literally your accessory”? Yeah, that’s Ricky. And the funny thing is, he’s so proud of it. He’s honored to be your “accessory,” even though you would never call him that. He insists that he’s there to make you look better, that you both look so good together that it’d be impossible for others to not look at you both and get just the tiniest bit jealous of your relationship.

surprise dates surprise dates surprise dates

Random acts of affection are important for him. They’re one of his favorite ways of showing you how much he loves you because I think Ricky is someone who believes that actions hold more meaning than words. It’s become routine for him to text you in the morning, telling you when he’s picking you up and how nice you should dress. He’s actually really good at planning things out. Ricky keeps track of when you’re free or knows what kind of date he should take you on / not take you on (how much time he has, if you have to be back for something, etc.) At first, you hated how he would surprise you with them, but eventually, you got used to it. And now, you look forward to whatever date he’s planned without the smallest amount of worry and the largest amount of trust. This ties in with Ricky’s love for being the one taking care of you, and he knows you, so he knows what activities you would enjoy and what you wouldn’t. You don’t have to lift a finger if Ricky can help it.

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓖yuvin ﹙𝓴.﹚ㅤ

takes quiet moments together

You get to see every side of Gyuvin and he gets to see every side of you. So in the moments where you don’t want to talk, needing to just sit in silence, he makes sure that you both enjoy those moments as well. And enjoying each other’s presence is so important to him. He knows it brings you a sense of peace, so he’s happy to hold you as you lay your head on his chest–scrolling on your phone or reading a book, or simply just laying there. Gyuvin can tell when you need to recharge your social battery, and therefore he’s gotten good at getting you out of situations so you can be by yourself. Or, more like be by yourself with him. He never forces you to talk to him or makes silence feel awkward. And if you don’t want to talk, but don’t want to sit in silence, he’ll just talk about random things for you to listen to. These quiet moments are important to you, but they’re also important to him, and he never hesitates to study your behavior and determine if that’s what you need right in that moment.

shopping sprees

I firmly believe that Gyuvin is the one who will take you on shopping sprees literally for fun (for him). He LOVES spoiling and spending money on you even if he doesn’t act like it. Whenever you mention you’re going shopping, he’s up on his feet in an instant and saying that he wants to come to keep you company. But then, when you actually start the shopping, he’s the one picking out clothes and jewelry and stuff for you. “Oh this would look so good on you” / “You don’t have to get it, I just want to see you try it on” / “We can keep some of these clothes with me if you don’t have the closet space”. It’s like the concept of money doesn’t exist to him when it comes to you, so be careful so much as even glancing at something because Gyuvin will be picking it up and carrying it around until it’s time to check out for you even if you insist you don’t want it. Sometimes he doesn’t even mean to get you so many things, he just thinks you look good in everything and anything and the rest of the world should be as blessed as him to see you in the clothing you try on. Also, he definitely gets you like 30 presents on your birthday.

is always posting you on his social media

Gyuvin has multiple albums in his photo app just for you: date nights, holidays, mornings, etc. He likes to go back and look at them and the pictures of you just make him so happy that he can’t help but want to share them with as many people as possible. Imagine how surprised you are when random Instagram stories or posts of you come up. You always think it’s the sweetest thing that Gyuvin wants to share your relationship with his friends through social media and that he wants to document some things in that way, but more often than not, they’re pictures you weren’t even aware he took. None of them are ever bad though? It’s a way to show you how he sees you through his eyes. The pictures are always so beautiful, and he tells you that he doesn’t even have to try to get such pretty photos–you’re just that naturally beautiful.

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓖unwook ﹙𝓹.﹚ㅤ

brags about you to everyoneeee

You being his girlfriend is one of Gunwook’s best achievements. And EVERYONE knows it too. The topic of you pops up at least once in every conversation he has, whether you’re there in person or not. He gets so proud of everything you do, no matter how big or small. In fact, you could literally wake up in the morning and he would deem that something to share with people. You can do no wrong in his eyes, and sometimes, he gets so excited over the fact that you’re his that he has to share it with people. His friends might get a little annoyed because of how often he talks about you, but he can’t help it :( He could talk about you and how amazing you are for hours and not get bored. Gunwook hasn’t told you about his love for bragging about you, but the way he looks at you when he prompts you to tell other people about the things you’ve achieved or done recently, you still get a good sense of how proud he is to be yours.

carries things around for you

This is in the sense of always having things like hair ties for you, extras of the perfume you wear in his bag, if you have some kind of medicine he has that in his bag too… It was a habit that slowly built as your guys’ relationship progressed. Gunwook would always hold things for you whenever you would go out on dates (your lipgloss) and eventually, his pockets weren’t enough for the things he would request to take from you to free up your hands to hold. So, he started carrying a bag around. It was helpful for him, sure, but he did it for you. Now, said bag is full of items that you might need on a day-to-day basis. Miniatures of your makeup, snacks that you like, everything mentioned before, and others! Gunwook loves carrying things around for you–it’s less for you to worry about and he enjoys taking care of you, even in the smallest ways.

lowkey is always matching his outfits with yours

Okay, I don’t know if this qualifies as princess treatment but… I can just see Gunwook asking you for an OOTD and then showing up in a similar outfit to yours, saying “woahhh that’s weird :3”. He loves matching with you in the smallest ways: matching jewelry, the same color scheme, the same style of pants, the same shoes. The list goes on. It’s a really easy way to let people know he’s taken and he thinks it’s just the cutest thing ever when you guys match. Matching outfits is a pretty common thing between couples and Gunwook just wants to do couple-things with you :( He’s always wanting to show you off that’s all and wanting to relate every part of his life with you. Also, the matching of the outfits happens unintentionally a lot too, which only makes him even more giddy.

ㅤ ⎯⎯ㅤ 𝓨ujin ﹙𝓱.﹚ㅤ

you’re the only one in his eyes

You are the only girl to exist in his eyes and he makes that clear. Sometimes, you have to remind him that he can actually talk to other girls without one-word responses and looking like he’s about to cry. But he’s just such a loyal person and you receive the majority of that loyalty. Yujin’s talking to everyone about you and asking for help with anything that he doesn’t quite know how to do. He just wants to make you happy (“Hyung, what should I get YN for her birthday?” / “I found this cute place to take YN, what do you think?” >.<). Anywho, he also will most definitely let you know in every way that you’re the only one for him / the only one he’s interested in. Yujin doesn’t believe in talking stages, he’s the kind of boy who’s learned from the romcoms and will get straight to the point of telling you he likes you. Because if he likes you, then that’s kind of a big deal with him, and he’ll not want to keep anything from you.

subconsciously picks up after you / cleans up after you even if you try to help

Yujin is constantly following you around, like a second shadow, a puppy–whatever you want to call it. He copies your movements sometimes, but more often than that, he’s cleaning up after you. It’s become a second-nature kind of thing to him. If you leave a wrapper from a snack you’re eating on a counter, he’ll get up and throw it away for you without you even noticing. And if your room is a little messy and you both are hanging out, he’ll get up from your bed and just begin to put things away while he continues talking to you. It’s sweet the way he knows where everything goes and how you like your belongings. That doesn’t mean that you just let him pick things up for you, though. Obviously, you can take care of yourself and clean up your messes, but if Yujin is around, it’s rare for you to actually be able to help. In the beginning, you tried your best to insist on helping him pick up after you both had made a mess in your kitchen while baking, but instead of accepting your help, he’d told you to sit at the counter so he could still talk to you while he worked. Yujin just likes being helpful, and maybe a part of him wants to show you that he can take care of you too.

buys you anything you want

I feel like this is something he would learn from Gyuvin, but Yujin wouldn’t be as obvious about it. If you mention wanting something, he would act like you were begging him to get it for you (“Are you really gonna make me get this for you?” / “I can’t keep buying things for you, YN”) even though you hadn’t even said anything about even buying it in the first place. Much less having him purchase it for you. Literally gives the “fine, *eye roll*, whatever” energy, but in a teasing way. Yujin doesn’t like making things easy for you, one of his love languages is teasing, but in the end, he wants to make you happy. And that includes the little things and pampering you by getting you small gifts. This treatment is most common with food or drinks. He would get you a snack before seeing you and then pretend that it was completely a coincidence: “They just happened to have your favorite drink at the vending machine too. Super weird” even though there’s only one convenience store that has that beverage so you know he went out of his way to get it for you :,)

[wholoveseggs]

Gingerbread

18+ ---- {Masterlist} {Tag-List}{Five Days of Fluffmas}

{Stefan Salvatore x Reader} A gingerbread house competition with Stefan turns into a playful, sugary disaster! And maybe something sweeter than frosting...

♡♡Happy Fluffmas♡♡

1k words - Warnings: flufffff, holiday baking chaos, competitive banter, playful food fights, lots of sprinkles and sweetness...

@starkleila @lydia1369sworld @notleylaaa @vampiresluv

@myanmy @xflowerbombxo @maryvibess @always-and-forever-daydreaming

@spnaquakindgdom @amournoir @meeom @damienmorton @wickedmuse

@cs-please @complicatedandconfusing-25 @youcanhavemybuckanyday @akala6670229 @yeaiamme2

@itsjulzandmydiamonds @witch-of-letters @elijahstwink @rosecentury

@amanda08319 @starshipcookie @li-da-savage @veggie-eggrolls @spideybv28

@sunkissedebony97 @idk00sblog @savannaounana @sekaishell @b1tchy

@loving-and-dreaming @fancycassie-stayfancy @hcqwxrtss123 @iamawkwardandshy @ziayamikaelson

@absolutemarveltrash @darkened-writer @nina6708 @evasmlp

@madeinmyownmind-blog @lovelyy-moonlight @blacknightrises @poppet05 @sweetieseven

@xoxo-shy @nova-j @decaffeinatedparadisepost @fandom-princess-forevermore @theotherworld97

@origshipfan @cocoabliss @eternalnoble @darth-laeka

The aroma of fresh gingerbread and cinnamon filled the air as you walked into the Salvatore mansion. Stefan was already in the kitchen, a tray of gingerbread pieces laid out before him, a focused expression on his face. He looked up when you walked in and smiled warmly, beckoning for you to sit down across from him. You obliged, smiling back.

"I didn't take you for a baker," you teased as you sat down, picking up a gingerbread piece and inspecting it.

"Well, it's actually been a long time since I baked," Stefan admitted. "But, well, Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and I just...I thought it would be fun."

You looked around the kitchen and saw various cookie cutters and icing. There was a bunch of different candy for decorating, too.

"Are we making gingerbread houses?" you asked, your face lighting up.

"Yeah, if you want," he replied, a slight flush on his cheeks.

You let out a happy squeal and reached for a piece of gingerbread, trying to find the perfect piece. After a moment, you finally found one and set it down on the counter, ready to start decorating. Your expression was serious, your tongue sticking out slightly in concentration.

"What's on your mind?" He teased, pouring you a glass of whiskey and eggnog, which you gratefully took.

"I'm thinking about what style I want my gingerbread house to be."

He laughed. "Oh? And what's the plan?"

"I'm thinking I'm going to recreate your house, it has such interesting architecture." You grinned, looking around.

"That sounds like a fun idea. Why don't we have a little competition? Whoever makes the best house has to pay for dinner,” 

"Oh, you're on," you said, grinning.

Stefan smiled. He grabbed a piece of gingerbread, placing a few more pieces next to it, and then carefully assembled a rough outline of the Salvatore mansion, which was quite impressive.

You began to carefully cut pieces of gingerbread to create the basic structure of the mansion, which was a challenge considering how old and intricate it was.

After a while, Stefan finished the outline and got to work on piping the roof with icing, creating intricate patterns on the surface. You looked up from your work, your eyes wide.

"You are irritatingly good at this," you grumbled, focusing back on your task.

"Don't be jealous," he said, smiling.

After about an hour of working, Stefan had finished the basic structure, and had begun to add candy as decorations, creating a very realistic and detailed look.

You, on the other hand, were struggling.

Your roof had collapsed several times, and you couldn't seem to get the front door right.

You groaned and leaned back in your chair, defeated. All of your design skills were wasted on sugar and confectionery.

"You alright over there?" Stefan asked, a slight smile on his lips.

"No, I suck."

"You don't suck," he reassured you. "Let me help you."

"How are you going to help me?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged and leaned over you, piping a little bit of icing where you had failed.

You stared at him, a smile forming on your lips. His face was so close to yours that you could see each individual eyelash. You felt your cheeks warm up, but didn't move. You liked the closeness.

He continued working, his eyes focused on the gingerbread. You watched him, admiring his hands and the way he concentrated, his brow furrowed, his eyes squinted.

The nervous energy you felt from being so close to him, manifested as butterflies in your stomach. Your heart rate quickened, your breath hitched and you reached up and booped his nose with a dollop of icing.

He looked up, surprised, his eyes wide, and you grinned, licking the icing off your finger.

"Oh, you're asking for it," he warned playfully, taking the piping bag that was in his hand and flicking some icing at you.

It landed on your cheek, and you gasped, wiping it off, staring at him. He smiled innocently, shrugging, and then you retaliated, reaching for the container of sprinkles, grabbing a handful, and throwing it at him.

A cloud of sprinkles rained down on him, and you burst into laughter, unable to stop. He looked so cute, his face and hair covered in them.

He grinned, his eyes mischievous, and stood up, coming towards you. You squealed and jumped back, trying to run away. You tripped, landing directly on top of Stefan's gingerbread house.

Your laughter abruptly stopped as you stared at the damage, horrified. It was completely destroyed, pieces of gingerbread and candy scattered everywhere.

"Oops," you whispered, turning to look at Stefan.

He was laughing, his shoulders shaking, and you couldn't help but laugh, too.

"I guess I win, huh?" you asked, your laughter finally subsiding.

"Absolutely not," he said, a grin on his face. "Mine was better."

You gasped, feigning offense. "How dare you."

"It's true," he said, chuckling.

"It was not," you insisted, glaring at him. "You have no proof,"

"Was too," he argued, his eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Was not," you repeated, giggling and poking him in the chest.

His hands found your waist, pulling you closer, and your breath hitched as his face was once again close to yours.

You stared at him, your heart racing. His eyes flickered down to your lips, and he slowly leaned forward, giving you a chance to pull away. You didn't, your breath catching as his lips brushed against yours.

He kissed you, gently, tentatively, as if he wasn't sure how you would react. His lips were soft and sweet, and he tasted like sugar and spice and everything nice. You kissed him back, your hands resting on his shoulders, and you felt him relax, his hands gripping your hips tighter.

You pulled back, staring at him, and he stared back, his eyes searching yours.

"Stefan..." you whispered, unsure of what else to say.

He smiled, pulling you in for another kiss, and you happily obliged, losing yourself in the feel of his lips.

The gingerbread houses were long forgotten as Stefan pulled you upstairs, leaving a trail of icing and sprinkles behind.

[scuderiahoney]

Puzzle Piece

Lando Norris x best friend!reader

Masterlist

Summary: You’re always drawn to Lando. He’s always happy to have you near him. Finally, the pieces might just click into place. Based off this request.

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: alcohol/intoxication

You turn up on your best friend’s doorstep, heels in hand, one of the straps of your dress falling down your shoulder. It only takes a light knock, and then you hear footsteps, the click of the lock. Lando swings the door open, an amused smile already on his lips.

“Hi, hun,” he says in a teasing tone. “You’ve had a good night, huh?”

You roll your eyes at him. “Can I come in?”

“F’course,” he says, ushering you inside with a hand pressed to your upper back. “Did you walk here?”

You nod. He sighs. It’s a cycle. You can almost predict word for word what he’ll say next. Should’ve just called me-

“- I would’ve picked you up,” he says, as if he’s finishing your train of thought. “And you walked here barefoot? Are you-“

“Crazy?” You say, at the same time as him. “No. Just tired, ‘nd my feet hurt.”

You walk into the living room and collapse onto the couch with a heavy sigh. He does the same, sitting next to you. You shiver when his fingers brush against your shoulder, directing the strap of your dress back into place. He reaches up and tucks a piece of hair behind your ear after that. You lean into the touch.

“Did you have fun?” He asks.

He knows you were out with friends tonight, dinner and drinks and dancing. You nod, lifting your feet off the floor and placing them on the couch. He reaches out and sweeps your legs across his lap, and you sigh happily. Then he tosses a blanket over the two of you.

“Yeah. Sadie found a guy, though, so she left early. And Madi had way too many shots. Had to call her boyfriend to come get her,” you say. “Oh, I ran into your coworker. He bought me a drink.”

Lando wrinkles his nose at that. “Which one?”

You open your mouth to answer, but you fumble for the name. You furrow your brows, sliding farther down into the couch. Lando lets out a squeaky laugh.

“He bought you a drink and you don’t even remember his name?” He asks incredulously.

“I know his name,” you scoff, rubbing your cheek. “I just. I’m drunk, Lan.”

He laughs, reaches out, wraps his arm around your shoulders. He pulls you in, and you go willingly. Happily, even. You rest your head between his jaw and his shoulder, burrowing into the warmth of his skin.

“Pierre,” you tell him.

Lando scoffs. “Pierre has a girlfriend.”

“Never said he bought me a drink and asked me out or anything,” you say, rolling your eyes. “Just that he bought me a drink.”

Lando laughs again and rests his chin atop your head. You melt against him. He rubs your back gently, hand bumping over the low back of your dress and your bare skin.

“You staying the night?” He asks.

You nod sleepily against him. “If it’s alright.”

“Always is,” he says quietly.

On the nights you go out, you end up at Lando’s place more often than you end up at your own. Whether he’s out with you or waiting at home, you head towards him, like a beacon to your drunk mind. How can you help it, really, when he holds you like this, when he’s warm and soft, when he gives you clothes to wear and food and water and tucks you into bed? Of course you want to be with him.

He rubs a thumb over your cheek. “You hungry?”

You nod, biting back a yawn. He laughs again, that light little sound that makes your heart warm. He nudges your shoulder lightly.

“There’s clothes in the guest room for you,” he says, nodding towards the hallway. “Go change and I’ll get you some food, yeah?”

You nod, untangling yourself from him and stretching as you get up off the couch. He squeezes your hip as you do so. You stumble your way towards the guest room on aching feet. The bed is made, one of your favorite blankets laid across the bottom. There’s one of his shirts, a pair of shorts, and a hoodie all laid out for you on the bed, too. There’s even a pair of socks, folded neatly there. He must’ve assumed you’d show up eventually, since he knew you were going out tonight.

Suddenly, your heart is racing. You’re not sure why, can’t pinpoint it in your hazy state. Something to do with the way he takes care of you. You change, leaving the dress laying on the floor, feeling much more comfortable in his clothing. You make your way back to the living room, then towards the kitchen when you hear him there.

He’s at the stove, staring through the glass door. When you peer into it, too, you see a frozen pizza baking. You smile and drape yourself against his back, wrapping your arms around his middle. He sighs happily.

“This is why you’re my favorite,” you murmur.

“Mm. That’s why you come over, huh?” He says. “Not to see me, it’s the food.”

You laugh, squeeze your arms around him. “No. I come over to see you. The rest is an added bonus.”

He turns in your arms and pulls you into his chest, a bright smile on his face. “Okay. I’ll take that.”

You eat dinner with him, or really, a very late snack. Or an early, early breakfast. Then he gets you a glass of water and herds you towards the guest room. He takes the glass back just before you flop backwards onto the mattress with a laugh. He lifts your legs for you by the ankles to get you fully into the bed, peels back the blankets so he can tuck you in. You tug at his hip until he sits down next to you. He sweeps stray hair from your forehead as you blink slowly.

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” he says softly.

“Love you, Lan,” you mutter, eyes closed.

“Love you too,” he says, barely above a whisper.

Five minutes later, probably when he thinks you’ve fallen asleep, he says, “more than you know. I love you more than anything.”

Then he leaves the room. You open your eyes and stare at the ceiling, wondering if you’ve dreamed it all.

…..

A week later, Lando opens his front door expecting pizza, and instead finds you. He blinks wildly, trying to figure out exactly what’s going on. He hadn’t known you were going out tonight, but here you are at his front door, very obviously drunk. In fact, as he takes in the look on your face, the dullness of your gaze, he thinks you’re beyond drunk. Wasted. Blacked out, maybe. His stomach churns uncomfortably.

“Baby,” he says softly, watching the way your face melts into a soft smile. “You okay? You didn’t tell me you were going out.”

You shrug. “Didn’t.”

You slip past him and into the apartment. He follows closely behind, frowning. He swears he can smell the vodka on your skin- like the nail polish remover his sisters used growing up. He closes the door behind the two of you and reaches for your wrist.

“Hey,” he says, as you stumble into his chest and sigh. “Are you okay?”

You shrug again in response. He fights the urge to groan loudly. He takes your face in his hands and tilts it up towards him. You blink slowly, eyes wide and staring blankly back at him.

“How much did you have to drink?” He asks.

You shrug. Worry sinks into his chest, makes a home there. He runs a thumb across the smooth skin under your eye. He hates to see you like this.

“A lot, huh?” He asks.

Finally, a nod instead of a shrug. He cocks his head at you.

“But you didn’t go out?”

You shake your head.

“Why did you drink a lot, by yourself, at home?” He asks.

You return to your signature shrug. This time he does groan. He lets go of your face, though, and takes you by the shoulders and spins you slowly. He decides it’s best to get you sitting down, so he leads you to the living room, to your spot on the couch. You collapse there, but the usual soft, comfortable smile is missing from your face. He frowns down at you.

You reach out and tug on his shirt. He knows what you’re asking and he goes willingly, happily. He sinks down onto the couch next to you with a soft sigh and pulls you into his chest. You fit there perfectly, like always, like his favorite puzzle piece. He feels so much more at peace when he has you tucked against him. He reaches out and pulls your legs into his lap, curling protectively around you.

“You wanna talk about whatever made you sad enough to get this drunk on a random Tuesday?” He asks, softly.

You shrug and sniffle. His heart clenches in his chest. He hates to see you sad.

“M’fine,” you insist.

He’s not sure what else he expected- you’re blackout drunk, it’s not like you’re going to hold a whole conversation with him. But still, he has to try. He feels a tear drip onto his collarbone and he knows something’s terribly wrong. It’s breaking his heart.

“Baby,” he says, softly. “What’s going on?”

You pull away, blink up at him. “I’m hungry.”

He huffs, knowing that’s not the full story. “Good news. I’ve already got pizza on the way.”

You smile widely, the first smile he’s pulled from you since you showed up at his door. He wipes a stray tear from your cheek, and you smile at him despite it. Then you tuck yourself back into him. He sighs and decides it can wait. He lets you stay there until the doorbell rings- the pizza is here.

He leaves you on the couch while he retrieves the food, and then goes to rejoin you in the living room. He doesn’t bother with plates, knowing you won’t care. Except when he returns, you’re gone, and he frowns. He calls your name and gets no response, but then he hears a noise from the kitchen and goes to investigate.

You’re standing at the fridge, a bottle of vodka in your hand. You stare widely at him, a deer caught in the headlights.

“Baby,” he says softly. “I don’t think you need any more alcohol.”

“The pizza’s gonna sober me up,” you tell him with a frown.

He tries to rub away the ache in his chest, but it doesn’t work. “Yeah, sweetheart. S’kinda the point.”

You frown at him, but when he walks over, you let him take the bottle and put it back in the fridge. He leans in and grabs you a can of soda instead. Then he slips his hand into yours and leads you back to the living room. You follow him reluctantly.

After a couple slices of pizza and a can of soda, you fall asleep against his shoulder. He lets you rest for a bit, until his arm starts to fall asleep and his own eyelids grow heavy. Then he lifts you up carefully and carries you to the guest room, tucking you in with a kiss to your forehead. You stir at the touch.

“I love you, Lan,” you tell him, half asleep, eyes still shut.

“Yeah, honey, love you too.” He answers.

“Not the same,” you say, barely a whisper.

He wants to ask you what you mean, what that could possibly mean, but you’re fast asleep again within seconds. He lays awake in his own bed for hours after, worry gnawing at his gut over the tears in your eyes and the pain on your face. He knows in the morning you’ll tell him you were just drunk, that’s you’re fine. You’ll plaster a smile on your face and try to make him believe you . But he can’t shake the feeling that something is really wrong.

…..

The next time you show up at his door, you’re in a much better mood. He opens the door with a grin, and you lean towards him immediately, trusting that he’ll catch you. He does, of course, letting out a soft oof as your head makes impact on his shoulder.

“Geez, okay, let’s get inside before you start falling over,” he suggests.

He takes hold of your shoulders and drags you inside. You’re giggling as you trip over your own feet and his, too.

“Look, I made it here with my shoes on,” you say, pointing out the sneakers on your feet.

He laughs. “Proud of you, baby.”

You laugh again, leaning heavily on him as you throw your arms around his neck. Your nose drags along his jaw. He smells nice, familiar. You could stay right here forever.

“I like when you call me that,” you admit, the words tumbling off your drunk lips. “Baby.”

Lando sighs, resting his hands gently on your hips. “Okay, baby, let’s get you sitting down, yeah? And maybe some food and water. I think someone’s a bit drunk.”

You whine into his skin, laughing at the way he shivers. You press your nose to his collarbone as he tries to walk you backwards towards the living room. He laughs and does his best to keep you both steady, but when you tug on his arm you both end up tumbling over. Lando, quick reflexes and all, manages to direct both of you into the couch. He lands halfway on top of you, and you sigh happily.

“This is nice,” you mumble, wrapping your arms around his middle.

“You’ve had wine tonight, haven’t you?” He asks, voice low.

You nod against his chest. “How’d you know?”

He laughs. “Because you’re a clingy wine drunk. Vodka makes you sad, and seltzers make you bubbly.”

You sigh in response and try to pull him closer. He’s wearing a t-shirt with a worn out neckline- you press your cheek to the sliver of skin on his chest that’s left bare for you. The warmth of him is comforting, his skin is soft against yours. He groans softly, and then the whole world is moving around you- Lando flips the two of you over on the couch, so he’s laying under you, and you rest against his chest.

“D’you want food?” He asks, running his hand over the top of your head.

“Mmm, no, not hungry,” you say.

“Thirsty?” He asks.

“Not for water,” you say. It slips out before you can really even think about it.

“Well, you’re not having more alcohol,” he says.

“S’not what I meant,” you say.

He sputters out a laugh, chokes your name out in the middle of it. You dissolve into giggles, burying your head in his chest. And it’s funny, really, but he’s so warm and soft against you, and you love him, you have for a while, and two times ago when you were drunk he said he loved you more than anything. Now you’re wine drunk and clingy, and you want to kiss him so badly.

You lift your head, fold your hands on his chest, and rest your chin on top of them. “You should kiss me.”

He laughs, presses a silly kiss to your forehead, complete with a cheesy mwah. You roll your eyes.

“A real kiss,” you insist. “Like you love me.”

He blinks softly at you, eyes going wide. You keep the smile on your face- it’s all your drunk mind knows how to do. You know you’ll probably regret this in the morning, but you stare at him anyway. It’s too late now.

“You said you love me more than anything,” you tell him.

He frowns slightly. “I thought you were asleep,” he says.

“I wasn’t,” you shrug. “Is it true? Cause ‘f it is, you should kiss me.”

Lando stares at you, eyes even wider now. His cheeks are flushed, lips parted. You start to wonder if you’ve made a huge mistake- he’s your best friend, and here you are, showing up at his place drunk, asking him to kiss you.

“Baby,” he says, softly, tenderly, gently. “You’re drunk.”

“But you said-“ you cut yourself off, squeeze your eyes shut. “You said-“

“I know what I said,” he says softly. “And I’m not taking it back or saying it isn’t true. But I’m not going to have this talk while you’re drunk, and I’m definitely not kissing you while you’re drunk.”

You let out a huff. He laughs and runs his thumb against your cheek. You open your eyes to stare at him, then turn your head to press your lips against the heel of his hand. He gives you a wobbly smile.

“Stay the night,” he suggests, voice breathy. “And we’ll have breakfast tomorrow and talk about it all, yeah?”

You nod, eyes growing watery. Lando pouts at you. He leans close and kisses your cheek sweetly, his hand still holding the side of your face.

You follow him to the bedroom shortly afterwards, and he tucks you into the guest bed. You fight to keep your eyes open as he sits on the edge of the bed and rubs his hand over your shoulder.

“We’ll talk tomorrow?” You ask, softly. “Promise you’ll remind me?”

He nods, chewing on his lower lip. “Promise.”

He kisses your forehead just before you fall asleep. You dream about him, like you almost always do.

…..

You wake up in the morning to sunlight streaming through the windows. Anxiety has already made its home in your chest. You remember everything from the night before, every last bit. You wonder if Lando is hoping you don’t. If he wishes you’d never showed up to his place. Maybe he’ll pretend nothing happened, and the two of you can just move past it. That would make all of this easier.

You roll out of bed, brush your teeth, and decide it’s time to face the music. You can hear actual music playing faintly in the kitchen, so you go to find Lando. He’s humming along, bobbing his head to the beat as he cooks something on the stove. You stop in the doorway to watch.

“I know you’re there,” he says without even turning to look. “Come sit. I’m making breakfast.”

You wander over to the kitchen counter, sliding a barstool out and perching yourself on it. You stare at the back of his head, trying to get any sort of information out of his body language. You can read him so well, usually, but this feels more complicated. He hasn’t even looked at you. Your stomach churns with anxiety.

“Lan,” you say, softly, watching the way his shoulders tense. “Did I annoy you last night?”

He finally turns, eyes meeting yours. “What do you remember?”

You shrug. His eyes trace your face, wide and bright. You can’t read his expression, can’t tell what he’s feeling. He promised he’d remind you. But this is his out- maybe you should let him have it. If he doesn’t want to talk about it, that probably means he doesn’t feel the same. And that would be okay, really. You’ll get over it eventually.

He sets the spatula down on the counter. He drums his fingers against the surface before he turns fully towards you. He holds onto the edge and leans forward, tilting in your direction.

“You didn’t annoy me,” he says, softly.

He tilts his head at you. He releases the counter and stumbles a couple steps forward, landing in front of where you’re sitting on the stool. A small smile crosses his lips, the first hint of an emotion that you’ve caught from him all morning. When his hand comes up to hold the side of your face, you hold your breath.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks, voice low.

You swallow and nod. “Please.”

Everything feels brighter when his lips touch yours. The sun shines through the window, and you feel warm all over. He’s soft and warm against you, his hands holding your face, and you wrap your fingers in his t-shirt to pull him closer. He steps between your legs with a muffled laugh, nips at your lower lip, slides his hands down your neck and shoulders until they fall to rest on your waist. You press yourself against him, and he does the same.

He breaks away for just a moment, lips against your cheek as he says, “I don’t know if you remember, but you said you loved me. And I just need you to know I love you, too. Like- as more than a friend, yeah?”

“Yeah, Lan,” you agree, kissing his jaw. He lets out a sharp whine. “I love you more than anything.”

The bacon is burning on the stovetop. Eventually, one of you will have to do something about that. But for now, he kisses you again, and you can’t bring yourself to care.

When he finally does pull away, he turns off the stove, discards the burnt food, and orders takeout breakfast for both of you. Then he turns to you, eyes sparkling.

“From now on,” he says, fingers holding onto your hips, “call me when you go out and get too drunk to make it home, yeah? I’ll pick you up. That’s what boyfriends do.”

You laugh and then nod in agreement. “I guess I could do that. That would be the right thing to do, as your girlfriend.”

He kisses your forehead. You tuck yourself into his chest. The puzzle clicks into place.

a/n: Lando has been on my mind a lot lately, so here we go! First little bit of dialogue updated after his tweet to Charles lolll

Taglist: @4-mula1 @celestialams @struggling-with-delia @lovekt @i-wish-this-was-me @forzalando @iloveyou3000morgan

[lightsoutmatthews]

I just found your page and I’m so glad I did! I’ve been checking out your writing and it’s great! Is there any way you can do a cutie piece where Auston is being so sweet and fun to his girl and they end up in a tickle fight?? I would love it so much!! Thank you!! ❤️

Thank you so much for enjoying my writing! I never thought that many people would like what I produce in the middle of the night 😂🥰

Off Day Fights – Auston Matthews

You woke of to the smell of something vaguely sweet and the sound of clicking dishes coming from the kitchen.

For a second, you weren’t sure where you were. The sun was filtering through the blinds, warm and soft on your skin. Then you heard his voice humming something off-key and smiled.

Auston.

You rolled over and squinted at your phone for the time. 9:43 am. Late for most people. Early for the two of you on a day off.

You swung your legs out from under the blanket and padded out into the living room. Sure enough, Auston was in the kitchen, shirtless, wearing grey sweatpants and a backwards cap over his still damp looking hair.

He had a spatula in one hand, a bowl in the other and he was completely focused, tongue sticking out just a little in concentration.

“Hey Gordon Ramsay,” you caught his attention, voice still raspy from sleep.

He looked over and grinned. “Look who´s finally awake.”

“What are you making?” You peered over his shoulder spotting pieces of toast in the pan.

“French toast. Well, trying to. Don’t judge me yet.”

You smiled, wrapping your arms around his waist from behind and resting you cheeks between his shoulder blades. “It smells good.”

“You smell like sleep,” he teased, leaning his head back a little to nudge you.

You reached up and poked his side. “And you smell like carbs.”

“Hot,” he said dryly, flipping a slice of bread with a little too much flair. It landed lopsided in the pan. “Okay, okay. Breakfast might be mid, but I´m doing my best.”

You giggled, then grabbed two mugs and poured coffee while he finished up the toast.

A few minutes later, you were both sitting on the couch with your plates in your laps. The French toast was a little too eggy and a little too soggy, but he looked so proud you didn’t have the heart to tell him.

Instead, you leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Solid B-plus. Effort gets you an A.”

Auston smiled. “I´ll take it.”

After breakfast, you ended up horizontal on the couch again, curled up under his arm while the TV played a random movie neither of you were really watching.

“Feels like we haven’t had a day like this in forever,” you murmured.

“We haven’t,” he said, brushing your hair back gently. “I kinda like it. You, me and zero plans all day.”

“Well, you´re always gone,” you replied, trying to keep the whine out of your voice. You didn’t mean it as a guilt trip, just a fact.

He nodded, then laughed. “I know, but someone has to bring in money to pay for this condo,” you softly punched his arm. “I do hate being away this long though, I miss you like crazy.”

You gave him a small smile and leaned into his chest.

“I mean,” he added. “I also miss my own bed and my dog but mostly you.”

“Gee, thanks,” you deadpanned.

He grinned and kissed your forehead. “In that order.”

You spent the next hour mostly in comfortable silence. At one point he fell asleep, his chest rising and falling under your cheek. When he stirred again, you were scrolling through your phone, half-distracted.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at you. “What are you watching?”

“Nothing exciting, just TikTok. This one is a cat that freaks out when it sees cucumbers,” you held the device out to him so he could see.

He leaned over to watch, them smirked. “How is that the funniest thing to you?”

“It just is,” you shrugged.

“You´re so weird,” he laughed.

“You´re just figuring that out? Three years into a relationship and getting a place together later?”

He reached over suddenly and poked your side. You jumped, squirming.

“Hey,” you exclaimed, a shocked look on your face.

“That was a test,” he said very seriously. “And you failed.”

You narrowed your eyes, knowing exactly what his next move would be. “Don’t you dare.”

“What?” he questioned way too innocently.

“You know exactly what,” you replied, scooting farther down the couch. “I have not forgiven you for last time.”

Auston was already shifting to follow, one eyebrow raised. “You mean the time you called me dumb and then tried to outrun me? A professional athlete?”

“You were being dumb! You put syrup in my coffee,” you almost shouted in defense.

“I was being funny,” he defended himself.

“You were being dangerous.”

That’s when he lunged toward you and you squealed, jumping up and backing away quickly.

“Auston Taylour Matthews, I swear,” you shouted, a laugh bubbling out of you shortly after.

“You´re outnumbered,” he warned, taking a slow, exaggerated steps toward you like some cheesy cartoon villain.

“It´s just you,” you said flatly.

“Exactly, didn’t you learn last time that there is no escape?”

You turned and made a run for it, bolting around the back of the couch, but you weren’t fast enough. You knew you could never outrun him; he did condition and endurance training almost every day, you were lucky when you motivated yourself to the gym twice a week.

He grabbed your waist, spun you around and gently dropped you onto the cushions, straddling your legs.

“Say you´re sorry,” he demanded with a smug grin.

“Never,” you shot back, face already flushed from laughing too hard.

“Okay, you brought this on yourself, then.”

His fingers went straight into your sides, finding that one exact spot that made you shriek.

“AUS…! NO, no…” you breathed and laughed.

But he didn’t stop, laughing as you kicked and thrashed beneath him, totally powerless to stop his tickle attack.

“Truce!” you gasped, writhing. “TRUCE!”

“Say I´m not dumb,” he demanded.

“You´re SO dumb,” you replied instead.

He doubled down, wiggling his fingers into your stomach now making you squirm and laugh even harder.

“Okay…OKAY!” you screamed through laughter. “You´re smart. You´re – oh my god – genius level! Einstein is nothing compared to you.”

He finally paused, catching his breath too, clearly pleased with himself. “That’s more like it.”

You laid there, panting and disheveled, hair a mess and eyes watery from laughing so hard. “I hate you.”

He laughed, “You love me.”

You glared back at him, “You should consider yourself lucky that I do.”

Then, very quietly, you asked. “Can I sit up now or are you gonna launch another surprise attack?”

He leaned in closer, his voice low and teasing. “Are you planning on starting more drama?”

You shook your head quickly. “No more drama. Peace.”

He nodded and rolled off you, flopping back beside you on the couch with a dramatic sigh.

“I think I pulled a muscle,” he muttered, stretching his arms over his head.

“Serves you right,” you laughed, wrapping your arms around him again.

“You know, for someone who´s so ticklish, you sure talk a lot of smack.”

You smirked. “It´s part of my charm.”

He looked at you for a moment. His eyes were soft again now, they playful grin fading into something more warm and real. “You´re lucky you´re cute.”

“You´re lucky I´m still here after being physically attacked.”

He rolled his eyes and chuckled before reaching over, grabbing your hand and lacing your fingers together.

“You know,” he said after a beat of silence. “I really do love this.”

“What, harassing me?”

“No,” he smiled. “Days like this. Where we do nothing, and you laugh so hard you can´t breathe. You make everything fun, even sitting around the couch all day.”

You blushed a little and looked down at your hands, still linked.

“I like this too,” you said quietly. “You´re kind of annoying, but it worth it.”

Auston snorted. “That´s the nicest thing you ever said to me.”

You leaned your head back on his chest. “Don’t get used to it.”

[megamagimugi]

He's-a Gone

Luigi time! To suffer, that is.

(CW: character death)

This is obviously a sort of comlementary piece to I Was-a Too Late. But it's more than just that as it also illustrates a certain fun, dark what-if idea I had. Please keep reading if you're intrigued!

Lore:

Luigi's Mansion, the first game. Everything goes the same as in canon until the final boss fight, when Luigi defeats King Boo in his Bowser costume. After King Boo comes out and Luigi intends to suck him in, the villain laughs and reveals the truth: Mario's painting was an illusion, so was everything Madame Clairvoya saw. All just to mess with Luigi. Meanwhile the real Mario wasn't just captured by the Boos, he was immediately killed by them on their King's orders. The only physical thing that's left of him in this realm is the five items Luigi found - hidden by the Boos for Luigi to find, another part of King Boo's sick game.

Luigi is able to finish the fight despite his shock and grief, fueled by the anger King Boo never expected from him. After getting out of the painting the plumber discovers that it is indeed empty, no Mario or anyone else in the portrait.

Heartbroken and guit-ridden, Luigi goes back to Professor E. Gadd's lab and gives him back the Poltergust 3000. He doesn't even want to stay long enough to see what is going to happen to the ghosts. Of course the Professor tries to offer some semblance of comfort, but we all know it's not his forte.

So Luigi leaves, only taking Mario's five items with him. He notices that the mansion has disapeared without a trace. The reality of it all finally hits him, and he practically collapses onto a nearby tree's large root protruding from the ground, putting down the precious items around himself, only leaving the matching red hat and the letter in his hands. He should have known something was off. After all, the Mario he saw in the painting was wearing his hat and both gloves.

Looking at all these items, to his growing horror he can't help but imagine what exactly might have happened to his brother and what his last moments might have been like. He hugs the hat to his chest and rereads Mario's note several times, knowing that the brief warning was his brother's last words to him.

Luigi can do nothing but cry for the beloved brother he couldn't save, desperately wishing it was his warm, living and breathing body pressed to his chest rather than just a couple of his belongings.

But Mario is truly gone, apparently having met such a horrific fate that not even a single part of his body is left in the physical world.

[Good night]

…I'll leave the rest up to your imagination ;) Sorry if I got carried away with my description. Occasionally even I enjoy being a little dramatic, though I'm no writer whatsoever.

Yeah, I'm not apologizing for making this one - I was nicer to Luigi than to his bro, at least here the Mushroom Kingdom and everyone in it (except for Mario lol) is still okay!

But alas,

You can no longer play as Mario (warning: this is a video with sound)

Rest in spaghetti, funny wahoo man.

EDIT 2025: my best friend and spiritual twin @silenzahra wrote an amazing fanfic Without him based on this piece and idea, as well as this drawing of Mario also by me❤️💚 I highly recommend it, it's an amazingly written story!

@federthenotsogreat I'm tagging you because you said you wanted more Mario art like I Was-a Too Late, thought you might like this one too!

@drones-of-innocence Also tagging you because you were interested in my idea.

Additionally: @silenzahra (remember, no rush) @c-lavanda @jell-o101 @stripetkattelalala54-gf

@luigixfanxayjay @itsavee4117

And you @giddlygoat just because you have a Luigi's Mansion AU and I thought you might appreciate this... Also because I'm a fan 👉👈

[taurasiluvr]

okay i’ve been thinking about this like ALLL day but kp is such an ass girlie honestly 😞 she defo follows her girl around and just admires her ass every chance she gets, and TRUST her hands are always slapping or holding it. and every time you scold her for it she just grins and says “what else am i supposed to do when you’re walking around with all that ass?” like.. she’s OBSESSED. and i’ve so gone on a tangent and rambled but it’s okay i think

— 🎀

oh ABOLUTELYYYYYYY & no worries ml, yk i love my anon's rambles <3

kelsey's eyes ran up and down, taking in all of you. the dress was tight, she could see everything – emphasizing your ass, so perfectly. her lips were curved into a smirk and all she wanted to do was lean in and slap your–

"baby, can you go find me my van cleef necklace?"

your voice pulled her mind out of the gutter as she mumbled a reply, getting up with a sigh. kelsey gave you one last lingering look before reluctantly heading towards the bedroom. entering the bedroom, she began her search for the van cleef necklace. she opened the jewelry box on the dresser, sifting through various pieces. the delicate sound of metal clinking against metal filled the room as she moved items aside. after a few moments, she finally found the necklace nestled in a velvet compartment.

with the necklace in hand, kelsey returned to the living room. she saw you standing in front of the mirror, adjusting your dress. the sight made her pause for a second, her eyes tracing the curve of your back and the way the fabric hugged your body.

"you're drooling, kels." you remarked playfully as your voice brought her out of her trance, again.

kelsey laughed as she walked over to you, handing you the necklace. you turned around, smiling, and lifted your hair so she could fasten it around your neck. "it's not my fault, you're wearing that skims dress. you're distracting me."

"oh, am i now?" you replied playfully as she nodded.

"absolutely," kelsey replied, her fingers deftly working to fasten the necklace. "you know exactly what you're doing to me."

you chuckled softly, enjoying the effect you had on her. "well, it's good to know i still have that power over you."

kelsey finished with the necklace and let her hands linger on your shoulders, squeezing gently. "always," she whispered, her lips brushing your ear. a shiver ran down your spine at the touch, but you kept your playful demeanor.

"better keep your cool at the party then, don't want anyone else catching on," you teased, turning around to face her.

her eyes sparkled with mischief. "oh, i'll be on my best behavior."

you rolled your eyes with a smile. "alright, casanova, let's get going before we're late."

she let you walk out in front of her, a smirk on her lips as she playfully landed a quick smack! flat on your ass.

you let out a surprised yelp, turning back to see kelsey's smirk. “hey! behave,” you said, trying to sound stern but failing to hide your amusement.

kelsye shrugged innocently. “i said i'd behave at the party, baby.”

you laughed and shook your head, continuing to the car. the playful banter between you was one of the things you loved most about your relationship. it kept things light and fun, even when the attraction between you was almost palpable.

if you enjoyed, any interaction is greatly appreciated!

with love, rylin 𝜗𝜚

[renguro]

Now that S2 is almost over, I wanted to finally get out that post talking about all of the insights and things I did, learned, or other fun stuff about the countdown pieces I made. I still have something in mind for the S2 finale, so maybe if you read (or skip) to the end I'll have a preview for you?

Oh god here we go One day I was coming home from work and decided to check how many days there were until the new season released and I found it was 7 days. So I did all of these in 7 days. Literally everyone was worried about me because I did nothing but draw for those 7 days.

... Except for when I went back to work. I worked I came home and then drew until I literally couldn't anymore lmao. I remember being dazed and exhausted after the Clock Keepers and my dad came up to my room literally right as I finished and asked, "Have you gone to sleep?" And I said, "NOPE! :D" I was living on energy drinks

I'm also 90% sure this started the "ren you're doing too much you need to chill the hell out" thing with me and my friends now

When I was doing these, I had only read the first ten volumes of Hanako-kun at the time, so I was stopped right in the middle of Picture Perfect. I had the second box set, but I just hadn't gotten the time to read it since I got it for Christmas. That means I didn't know Shijima's full deal, and I didn't even know Hakubo's name, so I was winging it hard.

All of the full pieces are linked by clicking their names :)

NO.7 HANAKO

You can tell from the speedpaint I was struggling hard with the pose lmao. I honestly felt like the one I chose was a cop-out and didn't feel energetic enough, but the time crunch got me. At this point, I was also really unsure about how I wanted to treat the colors, because I'd only just started dipping into seriously studying how Aida does it. So many references. And him wearing basically all black didn't help I wanted to scream. I was TRYING to keep everything as solid colors without falling back on overlay and multiply layers, but I got desperate. Still looks pretty good I think.

My favorite part was probably the hakujoudai and the detailing on his collar/shoulders! If I were to edit anything, I think I'd put more on the bottom half of the background because it feels a touch empty. kinda killed it on this pant leg and his hat tho

NO.6 HAKUBO

Like I said, I had no idea who Hakubo was. For the first half of things, I couldn't even find his name, I was just calling him "Shinigami-sama..." I wasn't going to go trampling into spoilers just for references either, so I was freaking out on what to do for the background. All I knew was that there was something to do with lotuses or bugs, and already having an idea of where I'd take Tsuchigomori, I took the lotus route. I uh also hope I didn't make his face too feminine. I don't know why but when drawing male characters who are larger or more built (even if it didn't turn out obvious in this piece) I somehow keep making them look like butches.

Shading his hair was the most fun part out of all of this, I usually never draw characters with hair as short as his, so it was a fun challenge! I'm also just a sucker for kimonos and flowy clothes. He was probably one of the most fun ones for me, even if he was so early on. I LOVE the texture I got on the skull. (even if it's technically too small.)

NO.5 TSUCHIGOMORI

Tsuchigomori onwards ALL used this sticky note full of thumbnails I drew at work for reference. Yes that is a note next to him that says + cuntier. He was also drawn on the same day that I did Hakubo, so I managed to buy myself some extra time.

I was so excited for this one because I could see it so well in my mind's eye, until I realized how many hands I'd need to draw. And then I sucked it up and locked in because I love Tsuchigomori. I'm so pleased with how I worked in more of the blues into the shading and his hair. It was at this point that I think I was understanding how I wanted to take the colors for all of these pieces! I enjoyed doing the fun trick I learned with the weave on his sweater and the spiderwebs where I drew a thick like and then erased the middle. Nearly forgot the markings on his forehead too lmao.

I wonder whose black book he's reading?

NO.4 SHIJIMA

Oh Shijima. I truly had zero real clue about her, and I managed to dodge spoilers about Mei even when I was looking up references. That's why she's painting using her paintbrush clone haha. It's still cute though, so I'm keeping it. Her hair kept giving me trouble because it's the kind of hair you draw and don't really realize just how big you're drawing it until you have to fix it. Actually, I'm having that exact issue on what I'm working on right now, and I'll fix it after I take a break.

I dug up a comment I made while I was working on it and I still stand by this.

There's also something a little odd about the positioning of her chin that I was too exhausted to fix, and I SUPER fudged the coloring on her hair. Also I really didn't know what to put in the background OTHER than the atelier, but I can't really draw buildings! So uh! The exhaustion was beginning to set in after 3 days of this. (Since Hakubo and Tsuchigomori were done on the same day. I didn't keep that time advantage for long though.)

think i fudged it okay, though.

NO.3 MITSUBA

I was struggling on Mitsuba some because that thing where you see/read something and then forget about it only for it to arise as something you think you did happened. That pose I thumbnailed on the sticky note was WAY too close to the official Hell of Mirrors standee/art. Luckily I contain extreme Mitsuba bias (shocker) and I was able to figure it out. I had a ton of problems shading his coat just like I did with Hanako. It's so hard to keep things from melding together when you've mostly got them wearing black.

It's an odd thing to be proud about, but I feel I did the best on the.. Legs of his pants, the chains and lockets, and the eyes and teeth on his jacket. That and the ribcage scarf. I'm really disappointed in myself for the background and his hair, if I'm being honest. I wanna fix his eyes. I STILL haven't figured out his hair either too. Which makes me even more surprised that my friends said, ren, your bias is showing on this one because I was like IS IT??? ARE YOU CERTAIN?

his hand turned out nice too and did i mention i had fun on the ribcage

NO.2 YAKO

I sketched the first initial draft for Yako on the same day I drew Hakubo and Tsuchigomori, but when it finally came time to sit down and draw her? I realized there would be so much empty space where I couldn't have fun with colors and it'd just be the white back of her kimono, so I turned her around and scrapped the idea of her fox form curling around her. I couldn't fit fox Yako in, and I'm STILL kind of bummed about that.

The flow of her hair was so much fun to figure out, as well as the patterns on her kimono. I'm really happy with the background, combining the aspects of the Misaki Stairs' original version and the one after she's been removed from her seat with the spider lilies. The lilies themselves are a little fudged if you look too close, so... Don't look too close? :3

loved the kimono. every bit. can't believe i had her turned around.

NO.1 AKANE/MIRAI/KAKO

MY FAVORITE PART ABOUT THIS WAS THE COGS IN THE BACKGROUND SORRY AKANE'S FACE BOTHERS ME I NEED TO FIX IT ONE DAY HE LOOKS TOO OLD I WAS LOSING MY MIND AND THE EXHAUSTION WAS KILLING ME IT BEGAN MY HATE OF DRAWING AKANE'S HAIR BECAUSE *GESTURES VAGUELY*

Uh okay some good things to say about this one... The colors were a ton of fun to figure out how to place, and I think I at least did a good job on that part. Shading gold things is always really fun! And at least Akane's ponytail was fun to make flow, I was riding the high from Yako's hair here. I think I got a lot of that fun flowy movement in here, which I'm pleased about. This was another one that my friends say turned out the best, again that I'm ??? about.

these cogs are my everything

FINAL THOUGHTS + EXTRAS

All of the kanji's colorings for their numbers were taken directly from the anime! I don't really wanna get rid of that fun reference even if in like, Tsuchigomori's case the colors are REALLY different from the main piece.

Most of the first day was spent on, Hanako of course, and then setting up the frames for everyone else to go into. I spent money to get the patterns to go on the colored part, actually. Constraining everyone to the frames helped a LOT in terms of balancing myself and made it fun to choose what elements would stick outside of them. If I pushed for entire full backgrounds, then I would have been doing even worse.

I was on the ropes at the end. I was half dead and drawing like I was possessed. And the catharsis of it being done and it all looking acceptable just. Ough. I don't know if I'll ever have a high like that again. There's an evil, evil part of me that says, ren! redraw all of them for s3 under the exact same constraints! And shit I might but I'll complain about it. I think it's more likely though that I go back and doctor them up some so I can print them as standees. Probably just for myself, but I do want to build a stock for artist alleys.

I had so, so much fun overall even if it was so much it really could have put my already bad health in more danger. I learned so much about coloring, lineart, framing things, and I really attribute my gauntlet to the explosion in my art progress. That, and my sheer adoration for this series. Am I rambling? I just love TBHK. It's only been 5 months since I first discovered it and it's done so, so much for me.

Even if you went and scrolled through all of this nonsense, which I don't blame you for, here's a little preview of what I'm trying to finish by next week for the finale.

I can't believe we're on the final episode! It's so close now, and it keeps flooring me how little time has really passed. I'll try and push to get SOMETHING else done before then, but we'll see. I've got so much I want and have to get done.

[imsosoheee]

lose my cool, (2)

wc: 3.2k | pairing: artstudent!eunseok x fem!reader (art student) | content warnings: a fwb situation, making out, allusions to sex, avoidant behavior..

pt. 1 pt. 2 pt. 3

don’t make this mean anything

you didn’t say anything when you woke up.

just slipped out of his bed like you’d done it before, collected your clothes off the floor one piece at a time, careful not to make too much noise. your head was pounding. your throat was dry. when you finally looked up, eunseok was still sitting at the edge of the mattress, sketchbook in his lap. same position as before. he didn’t look surprised to see you awake. “morning,” he said, voice quiet.

“barely.”

he watched you pull on your jacket. you avoided his gaze, adjusting the hem like it mattered.

“you don’t have to leave so fast.”

you laughed under your breath. “what, want to cuddle or something?”

his jaw tensed. you didn’t mean for it to sound that harsh. maybe you did—how insensitive you must have seemed.

you grabbed your phone from the nightstand, already checking your reflection in the dark screen. “last night... that doesn’t have to be a thing.”

he didn’t move. didn’t look away. “what do you mean?”

“i mean it was fun. you’re good at it, but we don’t need to make it complicated.”

“right,” he said. too flat.

you looked at him then, tried to gauge if he was upset, but he’d already closed himself off. you hated that you noticed. “unless you want it to be something,” you added lightly, testing him.

he shook his head. “no. of course not.”

you nodded and smiled like it didn’t sting. “cool. just checking.”

you didn’t talk for three days. not because anything was wrong, but because you were both pretending it wasn’t.

and then one afternoon, he texted you:

studio’s empty after 7, if you’re around.

you were—of course you were.

you didn’t kiss him when you walked in. didn’t say anything.

you just shrugged off your jacket, dropped your bag on the stool, and crossed the room to him. he was already leaning back against one of the work tables, waiting.

his eyes flicked down as you stepped closer, as your hand slipped beneath his shirt, as your mouth found his again. this time, there was no hesitation.

you didn’t speak. neither did he.

his hands were rougher. your nails dug in harder. he kissed you like he was trying to forget something. you kissed him like you were trying not to feel anything. afterward, you pulled your hoodie back on and tied your hair up like nothing happened. he was still breathing heavy. you glanced at him from the door. “see you in class.”

he didn’t reply.

you fell into a rhythm after that: always at night. always behind closed doors. sometimes his place, sometimes yours. never planned. never talked about.

you let him trace your spine with his fingers. he let you kiss him until your lips went numb. you didn’t ask about his day. he didn’t ask where you went when you left.

it worked, until the moments when it didn’t. like when he brushed your bangs out of your eyes too gently. like when you caught him looking at you like he wanted to memorize you. like when you left one of your rings on his nightstand and he didn’t move it for a week.

and the worst part?

you knew he cared.

you just didn’t know what to do with that, so you pretended he didn’t. and he pretended you were someone he could survive.

the thing about eunseok was—he never made it hard.

he didn’t ask where you went afterward, didn’t try to make you stay the night, didn’t complain when you canceled or showed up an hour late with smudged eyeliner and a half-finished drink in your hand.

he just was—quiet. steady. always there when you asked him to be.

you liked that about him. you liked how easy he made it to keep pretending you didn’t feel anything, but it also made you reckless. you started texting him more. not just for hookups, but when you were bored, or lonely, or wanted to hear something that didn’t sound like the background noise in your head.

what are you doing

sketching

show me

he never said no.

and when you showed up to his apartment with wet hair and no explanation, he didn’t ask. just handed you one of his oversized shirts, like this had happened before. maybe it had. maybe that was the problem.

one night, after, you sat with him on the floor of his apartment, legs tangled, your head resting against his chest. the tv was still playing, muted. your phone buzzed with a text from someone else—a guy you used to flirt with, someone who looked good in photos and tasted like mint and expensive cologne. you clicked it open, read the message, didn’t respond. eunseok didn’t say anything.

he never did.

you turned to him after a while, chin resting on his shoulder.

“why do you always stay?”

he looked at you, half-lidded. “what do you mean?”

“i mean... you don’t have to let me do this.”

he didn’t answer.

“you don’t even like this kind of thing,” you continued, picking at the seam of your sleeve. “you said so. hookups. people who don’t mean it.”

“maybe i changed my mind.”

you laughed, bitter. “that’s a lie.”

“then maybe i’m lying to myself.”

you went quiet.

he wasn’t looking at you anymore. he was staring ahead at nothing.

you wondered how many times you could do this to him before he stopped letting you.

and you wondered why you were so scared of him not being there.

you leaned in and kissed him again. he kissed you back.

like always.

later, when you left, he stood in the doorway and watched you go. you turned around halfway down the stairs.

he was still there.

you didn’t wave.

you just turned your head and kept walking.

you didn’t see the way his fingers curled into the doorframe. the way his mouth pressed into a line.

you didn’t have to.

you already knew.

you weren’t planning to stay long.

it was just another party—rooftop, familiar faces, someone’s shitty bluetooth speaker rattling through an r&b playlist. you wore your favorite low-waist jeans and that tiny halter that made people stare. it always worked.

you needed a distraction: you hadn’t seen eunseok in almost a week.

not since you left his place without kissing him goodbye. not since the last time he looked at you like he wanted to say something and swallowed it instead.

you’d been ignoring his texts. not intentionally. not really—just enough to convince yourself that you didn’t care. enough to protect whatever was left of your cool.

but god—he made it hard.

with him, the rules you built for yourself blurred at the edges. you used to be good at this: pretending, playing the part, smiling without meaning it. but he made you forget how to lie. he made you want to scream and shout and keep it all, just for yourself.

you didn’t come here for real: real was messy. real was terrifying. and with him, it was starting to feel like you had no choice but to feel it all.

“you’re moody,” your friend said, passing you a drink and bringing you out of your thoughts.

you rolled your eyes. “i’m fine.”

“you haven’t posted in three days and you keep checking the stairwell like you’re expecting someone.”

“i always check the stairwell.”

she gave you a look. “is this about that quiet guy?”

you froze. “what quiet guy?”

“don’t play dumb. the one with the pretty face and the stupid soft voice. the one you always leave with.”

you sipped your drink. “i don’t leave with anyone.”

“yeah, okay. keep lying to me. and yourself, by the way.”

you glared at her. she just smiled, too sweet. “you like him,” she said.

“i don’t.” you hesitated.

“you do.”

“i don’t,” you repeated, more forcefully this time. “we’re just... having fun.”

your friend raised an eyebrow. “since when does fun look like heartbreak?”

you didn’t have an answer.

you saw him later that night.

not at the party—outside of it.

you were standing on the fire escape, smoke curling from someone else’s cigarette, trying to breathe. and there he was: across the street, walking with someone. a girl. soft brown hair, matching jackets, the kind of closeness you didn’t have words for.

you watched them laugh. you hated how unfamiliar his smile looked from far away.

you didn’t sleep that night.

you stared at the ceiling and imagined him touching her the way he touched you. imagined her knowing the things you always pretended not to care about. imagined him looking at her without hesitation—like it didn’t cost him anything.

your chest ached in a way you didn’t know how to name. you hated how much it hurt. you hated that it hurt at all.

whatever this was, it had gotten under your skin—quiet and slow and irreversible. now, no matter how hard you tried to stay detached, your body betrayed you. you were feeling things you couldn’t control.

and that terrified you more than anything else.

you texted him the next day.

are you around tonight?

his reply was instant.

yeah.

you didn’t ask about the girl. you didn’t ask why he answered so quickly, like he’d been waiting. you just kissed him too hard, too fast, like you were trying to remind him you still had your grip on him. he didn’t stop you, but something was different. he kissed you back like he already knew how this ended, and you tried not to care. you tried.

but the whole time, something in your chest wouldn’t shut up:

who was she? why did you care? why did it feel like you were the one losing?

you didn’t plan on bringing someone else, but he was there. tall, harmless, already texting you first. he said you looked pretty the moment you walked in. he offered to get you a drink. he let you lean against him on the couch. and it wasn’t like eunseok was yours.

so you let the other guy kiss your cheek when the music got loud. let him rest his hand too close on your thigh. you even laughed too hard at his jokes, the way people do when they want to be seen.

you saw eunseok the moment he walked in. he froze at the doorway. just for a second.then his  expression shut off like a switch. he greeted your friends, not you. you didn’t greet him either.

the boy beside you leaned in to whisper something, and you nodded even though you weren’t listening. your eyes were fixated to where eunseok stood across the room, sipping from a paper cup, jaw tight, expression unreadable.

you hated that you wanted him to look jealous, but he didn’t.

he didn’t look anything at all.

later, you stepped out onto the balcony to breathe. to get away from the noise and the boy who touched you too casually, too comfortably, without ever asking what you needed. the boy who wasn’t eunseok.

and yet somehow, being touched by someone else made you feel more alone than ever.

you heard the door creak open behind you. you didn’t have to turn.

“so that’s what we’re doing now?”

his voice was quiet, but it still cut straight through you.

you didn’t answer right away. “you’re mad?” you asked finally, not looking at him.

“no,” he said. “i’m not mad.”

you turned to face him. “then what?”

he met your gaze. calm. too calm. “i just didn’t know you needed an audience.”

your breath caught. “excuse me?”

“you knew i was coming.”

you scoffed. “and?”

“and you brought someone else. and you made sure i saw.”

you crossed your arms, a defense you’d worn too often. “you don’t get to be jealous.”

“i’m not jealous,” he said. “i’m tired.”

the words landed heavy. you blinked. “tired of what?”

“of pretending this doesn’t mean anything to you.”

you hesitated—just long enough for him to see it. he took a step forward. “you act like it’s casual, but you come back to me every time. you kiss me like it matters. you fall asleep on my chest and leave before the sun comes up. you text me when you’re lonely and pretend it’s nothing.”

he was right—you knew he was right. you’d built this whole thing on detachment, on pretending you didn’t feel too much. but when it came to him, the rules always slipped through your fingers. you stopped knowing how to play this game a long time ago.

“just say it,” he said. “say you care.”

“i don’t.”

his expression didn’t change. but his eyes—his eyes said i don’t believe you. because he knew you. and somewhere along the way, you stopped hiding. you looked away. “this is what you wanted.”

“no, it’s not.”

you went still. he let the silence stretch between you.

then, softer: “i wanted you. not whatever this is.”

you swallowed. “you knew what this was,” you said. “from the beginning.”

“yeah,” he said. “and i was stupid for thinking you might want more.”

you stepped back like the words burned—because maybe you did want more. maybe you just didn’t know how to say it. you’d spent so long trying to keep your cool—but with him, you never could. he didn’t follow. he just looked at you—quiet, resigned, already letting go.

“goodnight, yn.” and then he walked inside.

you stood on the balcony long after he was gone. your hands were shaking. you didn’t know if it was the cold, or the part of you that wanted to call his name. you told yourself you were fine, but you weren’t.

you’d lost your cool a long time ago.

you didn’t go home with anyone that night.

you could’ve. someone asked. someone always asked.

but the only face you kept seeing was his: the way he looked at you before he walked away—calm, quiet, almost indifferent. like he’d made peace with losing you. like he wasn’t going to wait around anymore.

you hated that. you hated it more than the silence that followed.

he didn’t text the next day, or the day after that.

you told yourself it was better this way. cleaner. easier. you were never supposed to feel anything. you’d warned him. you’d made that clear. but everything felt off now.

you still went out. still wore your favorite eyeliner and chain necklaces. still flirted with strangers like it meant nothing. but everything felt flat. like your body was moving without you in it. you checked your phone too often. kept typing out texts you never sent.

where are youare you okaydo you hate me

you thought maybe he’d show up to class and act like nothing happened. maybe he’d pretend he was over it and it wouldn’t bother you so much.

but he didn’t look at you. not once.

and that—somehow—that hurt more than anything.

you stayed in bed the following night, wrapped in a hoodie that didn’t belong to you. it smelled like his laundry detergent and the night you first kissed him. like a version of you that didn’t push people away.

you pulled the sleeves over your hands and stared at the ceiling.

why did you do this?

why did you ruin everything?

you thought about all the things you didn’t say. the nights you left early. the way you looked him in the eye and said this doesn’t mean anything, like you weren’t lying.

maybe it was easier to be alone.

but for the first time, you didn’t want to be. you missed him.

the next morning, you matched with someone on an app, just to see if you could.

he was cute. well-dressed. funny. said he liked girls with attitude. you agreed to dinner.

you wore a dress that made your legs look longer. curled your hair. said all the right things. he kissed you after, pressed his hand to your lower back, asked if you wanted to come over.

you smiled, and said no. you thought about eunseok the whole walk home.

you didn’t even realize you’d started crying until you were already sitting on your bathroom floor, makeup smudging into your sleeve, your knees pulled up to your chest. you wiped your face with the heel of your hand. stared at your reflection like you didn’t recognize it.

you said you wanted more. so why did you leave when you had it?

you didn’t have the answer. just an ache in your chest and the hollow space where his voice used to live.

eunseok hadn’t slept in days.

not well, anyway. not since that night on the balcony. not since she stood there in the dark, arms crossed, mouth drawn into something cold and unrecognizable, and told him it didn’t mean anything. he kept thinking about the way she said it—so casually. like it wasn’t meant to hurt. like she hadn’t just driven the last nail in with a smile.

he hated how calm she’d looked, and he hated how much he wanted her to take it back.

his phone hadn’t lit up since. every day he told himself he was done waiting. but still, it sat there on his desk, screen up, as if that would change something. as if her name might blink across it like it used to, short and teasing and always on her terms.

she didn’t text and he didn’t, either. he told himself that was dignity.

but it felt more like a slow kind of bleeding.

his apartment was too clean now.

there was no hoodie slung over the back of his chair, no forgotten rings on his bathroom sink. no lip gloss stains on his coffee mugs. no laughter humming against the walls.

he missed her.

not just the version she let him touch.

he missed the one who curled up beside him and fell asleep with her arm slung over his chest. the one who leaned in too close at two a.m. and asked questions she never wanted answered. he missed the girl who pretended not to feel anything—but looked at him like she did.

he tried drawing her again.

this time, he didn’t even finish. he sketched the slope of her mouth, the softness of her shoulders, the tension in her brows when she got defensive—but it didn’t look right. it looked like a stranger. he closed the sketchbook and pushed it off the bed. it landed face-down on the floor. he didn’t pick it up.

he saw her on campus once. just a flash—blue jacket, hair twisted up with one of those silver clips she liked. she was laughing with a friend. bright. perfect. Untouchable. he kept walking. his jaw ached from how tightly he was clenching it.

he had wanted more. he told her that. he said it out loud, even when he knew she wasn’t ready to hear it. he thought maybe—maybe—she’d feel the same. but she kept running. she always ran. he just didn’t think she’d run from him.

he still wore the cheap plastic bracelet she gave him at the festival. the one she bought as a joke and snapped around his wrist like a dare. he told himself he’d take it off tomorrow. maybe the day after that.

maybe never.

🔖: @hrtfelt4u @karebearyu @jaellymint @thevirginsuicidenotes

[nerdlvr]

dreamies if they weren’t idols ~*

this is all imaginary stuff from my imagination , i went by some of the things they're mentioned irl but idk i kinda let my imagination run wild LMAO , requested here !

mark , by the age of 31 he's a children's book author with a happy family

being artistic in that way is just something that comes natural to mark. i specifically think he'd write children's books or those adventure novels cause his imagination is just so grand, he has so much material to just write hundreds of pages of whatever he's imagining. considering his age and religion as well i truly think he'd at least be married at this point, kids being a big thing he's planning on soon! his lockscreen is a pic of his partner and kid, he's so full of love in the life he's living. ~* didn't finish college but majored in english , living in canada

renjun , by the age of 30 he's a small business owner who is actively dating

i genuinely think renjun would own like a little art business selling art supplies and little pieces he's created. Whether it's clay, paint, or markers renjun is good at using and selling them. I think romantically he'd do a lot of dating I don't know why by I feel like men or woman he's likes the feeling of getting some loving, he'd settle down eventually but he likes to date all different types of people before landing on the one. renjun's life is full of color and that gives him peace. ~* got a masters in art for fun , living in china

jeno , by the age of 30 he's working on cars and thinking about marriage

anything that has to do with cars, whether it's auto repair, design, engineering he's just into cars. i feel like he'd enjoy learning all about cars so that he's able to work with them in every way. he's the guy they always call at the auto shop because he knows everything. lets be real... jeno is hot as fuck and there's no way he'd be single by 30. I think he's the type to wait for a deepened bond in order to consider marriage and by 30 i think he'll finally feel ready to give it his all. loves his girl and his cars and nothing makes him happier than when they're together. is the type to let his partner decorate their passenger side. ~* did trade school for auto engineering , living in korea

haechan , by 30 is a pretty house husband with kids

idc. haechan loves kids and he wants to get on that asap. it took him a while to find the one (i think he's super picky) but when he found them that was it for him. he'd find any possible way to get as many kids as he can in a short period of time, but because of his partner he stopped at 3 kids LMAO. i think he'd be content with the feeling of being a caregiver and he gives sugar baby vibes srry. but he always has dinner ready, the house cleaned, and the babies showered. he loves that he gets to show his love for his partner in that way and at the same time have free time i follow any hobby he chooses. is the designated parent to sing the lullabies ofc. ~* didn't finish college cause he had a kid , was majoring in music theory , living in korea

jaemin , by 30 he's dr. na the cat dad

i think that jaemin is super flirty and romantic but i don't think he's seriously considering a family yet. he's taken a lot of his youth studying for his career so he's built more bonds as friendships instead of romantic ones. he's literally dr. dreamy and all the nurses are in love with him, but he's more than happy going home to his baby kitties. he does have close friends though that keep an eye on him because he's the type to really get into his work and just lose himself and go MIA. it's a hard life but jaemin is content with the fruits of his labor. ~* got a medical degree and did his residency to be a surgeon , living in korea

chenle , by 29 he's a sports media manager in love with the game (ifykwim)

i think chenle loves basketball but going pro didn't really work out with him, so i feel like he'd turn to media management, loving the idea of being with the team and campaigning for his favorite team. he's bossy and he runs the place so the players take him seriously, maybe even sometimes more than their coach. romantically i genuinely think chenle is a little shit. everyone wants him (insane face card) but he likes the game, being with one or the another to have some fun, but by 29 i don't think he's looking to fully commit. ~* double majored in communications and management , lives in the states maybe somewhere hot

jisung, by 28 he's on his way to the moon !

he's finally gotten his astronaut certification and he's so ready to get to work. he literally cried every year studying late nights and training for his job but when he puts on his suit it is so worth it. he definitely needed a push to get through the 10 years of becoming an astronaut and he got that push from his very special partner. he met them at the start of college and it has just been a sweet romance since. every time he wanted to give up they were there to remind him everything he worked for. can he bring his partner to the moon to propose? ~* has a masters degree in a random science major and 2 years of an internship , went to d.c to be with NASA, misses his mom but is now known as andy.

[taesanboki]

Winter wonderland!₊ ⊹

in which.. you drag ot6 out at the crack ass of dawn to play in the snow! (or you get dragged instead..)

contains: fluff!, kissing, ot6 x reader, some use of real names (sanghyuk, dongmin, donghyun), swearing (big NONO very naughty), murder jokes, not proofread so don’t get on my ass abt that, uhh nothing else ig.

a/n: disappeared for another month again sorry and i know im late to christmas..do you guys hate me? jk anyways guess what yall.. another crazy story. so basically a frickin dragon came from the clouds and burnt my neighborhood down but yk yo girl is a SURVIVOR!! haters will say this is fake 😔 LMAO ANYWAY ENJOY!

more under the cut!

| sungho ₊ ⊹

Fresh delightful meat was a perfect way to start off the day! Professionally cooked by park sungho himself, well seasoned and cut into perfectly thick pieces, oh my gosh it looks so divine! Sungho raised his chopsticks holding a chunk of rice and the thickest piece of meat ready to take the first bite when- “SUNGHO!” a voice rang out faintly. He blinked a few times before opening his eyes finding himself curled up in bed, no meat, no rice. Sungho let out a slight groan as he rubbed his eyes and stretched, the sound of footsteps being heard around the house. “SUNGHO!” you yelled again, the footsteps growing closer to the room. Sungho glanced at the clock beside him which read “7:43am”, why would you be up this early?? He looked forward and found you standing in the doorway wearing your thick white coat with equally thick pants and gloves. A cute beanie adorned your head as well as a burgundy scarf wrapped around your neck.

“Cute” He thought as he smiled at you. Remembering his delightful dream, his smile dropped once he sat up, “Ah! You woke me up from such a nice dream! What’s got you up this early y/n?!” you giggled, “Sungho it’s snowing!! hurry and wash up and come outside!!” He laughed to himself as he watched you run off like a child. Sungho quickly went to wash up and get dressed to meet you outside. He found you rolling snow with a gleeful smile plastered across your face. He walked toward you, standing behind your crouched figure.

“Having fun, darling?” you glanced back at him, “So much fun! i’m building a snowman!!” You giggled and stood up now face to face with sungho. Hearing your laugh created a warmness in sungho’s chest as he cupped your cheek with one hand, “I see that! it looks so good” “Yeah? You like it?” Sungho chuckled, “Of course I do” He answered as he leaned in for a passionate kiss.

⊹ ➽──────────────❥ ⊹

| riwoo ₊ ⊹

Riwoo sat at the table with a cup of hot chocolate and his phone in hand. You were still asleep, you didn’t usually wake up as early as he did which means riwoo can finally get some peace and quiet (no offense). There was a sudden short but loud gasp heard from your shared room followed by you clumsily stumbling out of bed and over to where riwoo resided. “HYUKIE IT’S SNOWING OH MY GOSH!!” you laughed excitedly. Riwoo smiled and placed his phone down to take a sip from his cup. “I know, love! I’m surprised you’re awake this early!”

You ignored him as you quickly ran to the bathroom to brush your teeth. You started humming riwoo’s part in “one and only” while dancing carelessly. He watched you with amusement, smiling to himself. Once you finished your business, you gathered both you and riwoo’s winter attire and pulled him off his seat, pushing his coat along with other essential clothing items to his chest. “HURRY UP AND PUT IT ON SANGHYUK I WANNA DIVE INTO THAT HUGE ASS PILE OF SNOW IN THE BACK!!!” You yelled as you ran to the room to find a somewhat pair of thick pants. Riwoo took his time putting on his outer layer of clothes while you were heard shuffling through the closet. Finally, the both of you were prepared and ready to face the cold! You swung the door open and skipped outside, riwoo following behind you. You picked up some snow and let it fall from your hands as riwoo watched your facial expression change. You stood up again and began running to said huge ass pile of snow and dove into it. Riwoo let out a loud laugh while you flared your arms around seemingly trying to swim in the snow.

Riwoo walked towards to you standing right in front of you, “Enjoying yourself, huh beautiful?” you chuckled, “A lot! but you know what would make me enjoy it more? if you’d swim with me!!” With that, you sprung from the pile and dragged riwoo down with you, little squeals being heard from the both of you. You hugged him close as you both hit the soft snow again, both laughing uncontrollably. Riwoo turned to you with a smile once the laughter settled, “Y/n, i love being with you.” you returned the soft smile, “I love being with you too, sanghyuk.” You replied as you pressed your lips against his.

⊹ ➽──────────────❥ ⊹

| jaehyun ₊ ⊹

You slept peacefully sprawled out in bed with tiny snores occasionally being heard from you. It was peaceful until jaehyun’s loud roar quite literally shook the house, “OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH!! Y/N GET UP RIGHT NOW IT LITERALLY LOOKS LIKE A FAIRYTALE OUTSIDE!!” You groaned loudly, sitting up and glancing at the time, “7:21”. Rubbing your face, you slithered out of bed heading for the bathroom to do your business before you faced jaehyun. Once you finished you were ambushed by jaehyun’s kiss attack while walking out of the bathroom, “ah! myungjae! stop it! that tickles!” you giggled as you attempted to push him off.

He continued to pepper your face and neck with kisses, his arms wrapped securely around your waist. He led you to the living room where he finally pulled away, hands still lingering at your hips. jaehyun glanced down at you with literal hearts for eyes, “Sorry baby, i’m just in such a good mood today cause it finally snowed!” You giggled as your hands snuck up to his face, “Why don’t we put on our coats and head out, hm?” You suggested. He nodded vigorously before pulling back and running to the closet. “Grab my coat for me please!!” Once the both of you finished preparing for the snow, jaehyun was the first between the two of you to swing the door open and run outside while letting out a joyful laugh. The snow rained on you as you stood there watching him enjoy his time with an admiring smile stretched out on your face. He run up to you with a toothy smile, grabbed your hand, and dragged you over to the tiny poorly made snowman on the ground. He pointed at it proudly, “It’s cute isn’t it? I found some tiny pebbles for the eyes and little buttons but he doesn’t have a nose so..” You started laughing at the cutely stupid snowman that replicated jaehyun perfectly.

Your laughter was very rudely interrupted though when a sudden snowball made contact with the side of your head. You gasped out loud, a moment of silence between you two before you spoke, “MYUNG JAEHYUN IM GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU” At your words, jaehyun turned and started running away from you as you quickly sprinted after him. You chased him around for a few minutes before ultimately crashing into the snow you on top of him, both giggling like children. As your giggles died down, you lied your head on his chest. Jaehyun held you close, “You’re the love of my life, y/n.” He whispered before placing a kiss to your forehead.

⊹ ➽──────────────❥ ⊹

| taesan ₊ ⊹

Taesan stood at the stove, cooking breakfast for the both of you while you were washing up. The smell wafted through the air meeting your nose as you walked out of the bathroom, your pajamas hanging loosely off your body. You came up to his side and glanced up at him, “Han dongmin, when did you get so good at cooking, hm?” He turned to you as your hands snuck up to hold the back of his neck, his hands instinctively going down to your waist.

He grinned, “always been for you, angel” you smiled back as he leaned in for a morning kiss. Your lips moved sweetly together, taesan smiling into the kiss. You pulled away and looked at him for a moment, your eyes suddenly darting out the window. Your eyes lit up as you opened your mouth with a smiley “o” shape. “SANNIE ITS SNOWING AND YOU DIDNT TELL ME?! LOOK!!” You announced as you brought your hands to his cheeks, turning his head to the window beside you. Taesan chuckled a bit, “I see”. You let go of his face and ran to your shared room to change into winter attire, taesan following you, “Y/n, it’s the crack ass of dawn and you want to go out now?” You nodded, “Taesan, you should know by now this time of the year is when i’m the happiest especially when the snow comes!” He shook his head, a faint smile on his face, “Well, i hope you have fun then!” He said and tried to walk away when you spoke, “Uhm? Where do you think you’re going? I got your coat right here you’re coming with me!” Taesan turned around, “Uh..no thanks..”

Well taesan’s attempts to convince you to let him stay inside failed because currently he was standing outside with his hands stuffed in his pockets while you did whatever. He wore a cold look on his face, the reason you ask? Cause you forced him to stand outside in the cold knowing that there’s a chance he can get hypothermia!! The snow did look pretty sitting on the tree branches, though he would never admit that to you. Taesan continued to stand there with a poker face while you on the other hand, were plotting something. You waddled towards him, hands behind your back, “oh come out sannie it’s not even THAT cold out here don’t be dramatic! Fix your face! smile!” He just looked at you, no emotion on his face, “Well, since you wanna be like that!” After the words left your mouth, you pulled at the collar of his coat and shirt then threw snow down his chest. “Ah! Ah! Ah! Y/n what the fuck?!” He whined as he went to attack you with tickles, his lips going to tickle your neck. <3

⊹ ➽──────────────❥ ⊹

| leehan ₊ ⊹

Your eyes peeled open at the sudden sunlight protruding through the blinds. You moved your hand to block it, whining as the tiredness stung your eyes. The feeling of leehan’s arms wrapped around your waist becoming apparent. You let out a soft groan and moved your hand to look out the window for a few seconds when you noticed the backyard covered with snow, the trees, the grass, everything was white! “Hannie! wake up! look it’s a sunny snow day!!” You whispered excitedly as you tapped leehan’s hand. Only a slight groan was all he let out as he pulled you closer, “That’s nice hm.”

You frowned slightly, “Donghyun it’s the first snow! get up and come wash up with me so we can go outside!!” You pulled his arms off you, got out of bed pulling him with you. The two of you went to wash up with leehan standing there brushing his teeth with a groggy expression while you were dancing with excitement. Once you guys finished washing up, leehan seemed to be less tired while you helped him with his coat. “hannie im so excited!! i love snow!!” he chuckled, “I know! i’m glad i can spend the first snow with you sweetheart!” You smiled at him and gave a quick peck on the lips before pushing the back door open, revealing a pretty sight. The sunlight perfectly illuminated the snow making the yard look glittery and sparkly. “Woah! It’s so pretty! Like a real winter wonderland!” You exclaimed as you stepped forward. Leehan wore an amused look on his face as you crouched down to draw a heart in the snow with your finger, picked it up, and showed to leehan. He smiled softly, “Cute!”. He pecked your cheek before he crouched down to do the same but your pretty loser of a boyfriend drew a wonky heart that broke when he tried to pick it up. You laughed at the sight and threw down your heart, “that’s okay, i have a better heart for you in here” he pointed at his chest.

“You’re cute, can i get your number handsome?” leehan smiled, “no sorry i have a girlfriend” he replied. You pretended to be offended and playfully pushed him into the snow. You couldn’t contain your smile as he spread out his limbs and waved his legs and arms up and down, creating a snow angel. You quickly joined his side mirroring his moves, the both of you giggling. He grabbed your hand, turning to you, “I love spending time with you, y/n” you smiled sweetly, “me too, donghyun”

⊹ ➽──────────────❥ ⊹

| woonhak ₊ ⊹

You lied back down in bed after washing up your eyes glued to your phone while your sleeping boyfriend wiggled and stirred in his sleep beside you. You were awake surprisingly early, well, if you considered 9am early. Outside your window was all white due to the heavy snow that occurred during the night. Woonhak seemed to be finally waking up from his deep slumber when his head lifted off the pillow slightly. He gasped weakly, “Y/n! Look outside! it’s all white and cool!” Woonhak whispered excitedly. He turned to you, “Can we go out pretty please??”

You sighed, “good morning to you to, go wash up and maybe i’ll think about it.” A small smile formed on his lips as he hopped out of bed and went to wash up. a few minutes later he waddled back into the room with both of your coats and boots in hand, “Hurry and put it on! i wanna try to shape a little bear out of the snow!” You smiled sweetly at him, he was to cute. You crawled out of bed and slid into your jacket then your boots. You glanced over to the bed where woonhak seemed to be having trouble tying his shoe. You watched intently, waiting for him to ask for a hand. He sighed clearly frustrated, “Y/n please help me tie my shoe” score! you went to tie his shoe while teasing him, “you’re 18 and still can’t tie your own shoe? wow that’s shocking!!” “stop it!” you laughed at his whiny tone, you found his reactions funny whenever you teased him about something. Anyway, after tying his shoe you guys headed out the door woonhak obviously being in front of you. He practically ripped the door off the hinges with how hard he pulled it open. “My gosh woonhak! the snow isn’t going anywhere anytime soon!” You chuckled.

Woonhak ran to a decent hight pile of snow and started shaping it into the bear he wanted to make. “Y/n! come help me with this!” He yelled. “coming!” you yelled back as you cautiously walked over to him careful not to accidentally slip on a piece of ice. The two of you spent the next few hours outside enjoying your time in the snow together!! <3

끝! i’m not even gonna lie to you guys i wrote the last few paragraphs half asleep along with this message.. i spent 5 hours writing this do NOT ask me why. this is also NOT proofread cause i tried to proof read it but dozed off for a second so if you think it’s bad then eat ass!! nighty night!

[act-nat-ural]

Misunderstandings

@dira333: what about a meet ugly with Daichi or Kita? A meet ugly is about meeting someone in a less than fortunate way but somehow you still fall in love?

You had just finished a long, exhausting work week and wanted to treat yourself to something nice. Hence, a slightly fancy dinner alone. You let out a content sigh, sipping your drink. The ambience of the restaurant was impeccable, the lighting was soft enough for patrons to relax, and the music blended into the soft chatter in the background. You were still waiting for your meal, but the breadsticks in this place made for a good distraction. You hum and break off another piece. Don't mind if I do.

Suddenly, an athletic-looking man sits down across from you. He gives you an apologetic look and says, “I’m so sorry I’m late. Work ran a bit long, and I got here as fast as I could. The hostess said you weren’t waiting long, though.” He continues explaining his tardiness, but—who the hell is this guy!? Your eyes widen at his sudden appearance, almost choking on your precious bite of breadstick. You cover your mouth and start coughing, while he looks a bit flustered.

“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

You shake your head and gesture that you're fine. You catch your breath and finally take a good look at him, and you quite like what you see. He has dark, short hair that suits his face nicely. His shoulders are quite broad, and you can tell he has some muscle on him. More importantly, he has warm, brown eyes that seem to stare right through you.

You take a deep breath and finally say, “I’m sorry, but who—” when a very angry-looking woman storms over. Just when you thought your eyes couldn't get any wider.

“Who the hell do you think you are?! Flirting with someone else, standing me up on our date? I can't believe you, Daichi! Koushi said you were a total catch! Ugh!”

You break your gaze away from the fired-up woman and steal a glance at who you guess is Daichi, and see his jaw is practically on the floor. He sputters and is stuck between looking at you and her, before she stomps her way out of the restaurant. 

You two are silent for a moment, registering the chaos that just erupted at your table. Out of the corner of your eye, you can spot several groups of fellow diners whispering about what just happened, and you honestly wish you could disappear.

You sigh and meet his eyes. “Daichi, right?” He nods grimly. “I’m almost certain you can tell by now I wasn’t your date. I was going to tell you but I was pretty confused and couldn't find a good time to, and then, well…” You grimace at the thought of getting yelled at by his date. 

“I am so sorry.” He lets out a deep sigh and runs a hand through his hair. “To be honest, I don’t do this kind of thing- dating, I mean. My friend said he’d found a good match, and the way he described her, well I thought- I thought it was you.” He lets out a nervous cough.

You blink and think about his words. “What.. do you mean?” His face blushes and his gaze focuses on a corner in the room.

 “He, um, said that my date was very beautiful. That she was very approachable, and funny. I heard all that, and then the hostess said my date was waiting back here, and I saw you. I thought ‘This must be her.’” You watch his face as he goes on, and all you see is sincerity. Your face burns due to the flattery coming from him right now.

“I… wow.” Is all you manage to get out.

“Once again, I'm sorry. I'll leave you to your dinner.” He pushes his chair out and moves to stand but you can hardly stop yourself from grasping his arm. 

“Wait!” His eyes widen slightly and he looks at you expectantly. You chew on your lip nervously and say, “I feel a little responsible for ruining your date. It's the least I could do to have dinner with you. If you would want to, that is.” 

He gives you a comforting smile and softly says, “I’d love that.”

note: this was so fun to write, thx so much for the requests. I hope it lives up to your expectations :)

[changetyre]

Size isn't everything (P2) II Carlos Sainz x Bodyguard!Reader

SUMMARY: The tension between Carlos and you continues and it takes one scary moment to bring your feelings to light. Part 2 of this

WARNINGS: Injuries.

A/N: Over on wattpad people requested a part 2 ;)

The following weeks after the club incident were different. Carlos, ever the charmer, had cranked up his flirting to full throttle. He teased you at every turn, leaning into that spark that had flickered between you. His cocky grin was now a near-constant companion, and while you maintained your professional composure, there were moments, brief moments, where Carlos could see your defenses waver.

"Careful, Sainz," you'd warned him one afternoon as you saw him to his hotel room. "You're treading on thin ice."

He leaned closer, his voice a low whisper, "What if I like the cold?"

Your eyes had flicked to his lips before quickly looking away, but he'd caught it. That tiny slip gave him hope.

Despite your best efforts, his persistence was wearing you down. He wasn't just some spoiled racer he was genuinely fun to be around. And though you hated to admit it, you liked the banter. There was a warmth to him, a charm that went beyond his good looks and fame. 

Still, you constantly reminded yourself that this was a job. You couldn't get involved with him, no matter how much he made your stomach flutter when he flashed you those big brown eyes.

But Carlos wasn't making it easy.

One evening, after a particularly intense race where he had secured a podium finish, you'd found yourselves on the balcony of his new Monaco home. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the city. He leaned against the railing, a glass of champagne in hand, watching you with that familiar playful glint in his eye.

"I have to ask," he began, his tone teasing, "what do you do for fun? Or are you always this serious?"

You'd been scanning the area like you were used to, but turned to him and gave him a deadpan look. "My job is to keep you alive, Sainz. Fun doesn't exactly factor into that."

He laughed, taking a sip of his drink. "Come on, you've got to let loose sometime. You can't be all uptight, all the time."

You rolled your eyes, trying to remain unaffected, but the truth was, you could feel your walls crumbling, piece by piece. There was something about him, something disarming, that made it harder and harder to keep up your professionalism.

"I know what you're doing," you said turning away from his intense gaze. "And it's not going to work."

He raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "And what is that?"

You turned back to him, stepping closer, your eyes narrowing slightly. "Flirting."

His grin widened, shameless. "Oh, that? I thought I was being subtle."

This time you failed to hold back the smile. "Ha ha"

He laughed again, that warm, genuine laugh that always made your heart skip a beat. You shifted uncomfortably, trying to suppress the emotions stirring inside you. You couldn't afford to lose focus. Not with him.

"I should go, lock the door." You stepped away before you let your feelings control you. 

_____

The race day was a blur of noise and speed. Carlos was locked in a fierce battle for the last podium place, weaving through the track, every muscle in his body tense with focus. You watched from the paddock, your attention split between the live race feed in the garage and the bustling crowd. You never let yourself get too caught up in the race itself though. Your job was to protect Carlos from everything offthe track.

But as the final laps unfolded, an uneasy feeling consumed you. You scanned the crowd, your eyes narrowing when you spotted somone who didn’t quite fit. He was standing just behind the barriers at Parc Ferme, his eyes locked onto Carlos's car as it zoomed by for the cool-down lap.

As the the roar of the crowd filled the air signaling the end of the race you watched as the man moved through the people, his eyes steady on that 3rd place position Carlos would eventually pull into. His body language was tense, and suspicious as he inched closer to where Carlos would soon be.

Your instincts flared. You moved quickly, pushing through the multitude of people running to the podium, your eyes locked on the man.

Just as he climbed out of his car, the man made his move. He broke through the crowd, something glinting in his hand. You reacted quickly, rushing toward the man, and grabbing his wrist firmly. You would do your best to avoid causing a scene, costing Carlos his moment so with a firm grip on the man you quickly shoved him away. 

But the man was stronger than he looked, as soon as you'd gotten him away from the crowd, away from the cameras, calling for security, he managed to momentarily slip out of your grasp, the sharp object emerging from his pocket as it came to slice your arm. You had no time to react to the pain as you quickly subdued him, security there soon after ready to cuff the man. 

Carlos had embraced his team, he tried to remain happy and cheerful as he received pats and congratulations from those around him but as he looked around not seeing you around set off alarm bells in his head. You were good at your job, and you were good at sticking around unnoticed but he always knew you were there, he always felt your presence and this time he couldn't

He was rushed to give the interviews and proceed to the podium ceremony but that didn't take away from the fact that he was worried, where had you gone? 

After the ceremony, Carlos wasted no time asking about your whereabouts only to be informed that "a situation had occurred" which you had to attend to. 

"What does that mean?" Carlos tried to learn more only to be shut down. 

"She needs stitches she's heading to hospital now." he heard security from the track talking to his team. 

"Who needs stitches? Where is she?!" A great feeling of dread invaded Carlos's body. The silence of those around him was enough of an answer to him. 

_

“Y/N!” Carlos rushed to you, his voice tight with panic.

"Carlos, what are you doing here?" You asked surprised to see him rush into the hospital room. 

"What happened?!" He looked at your blood-soaked sleeve. 

“It’s fine,” you said through gritted teeth, cradling your arm. “It’s just a scratch.”

He wasn’t convinced. “You’re bleeding.”

"Not that much, they'll come to fix it soon. Carlos, you need to get back to-"

"I'm not going anywhere" Carlos didn't let you finish. 

“I said I’m fine! I’m still alive, aren’t I?” you tried to joke, but there was a slight tremor to your voice.

Carlos wasn't laughing. He held your uninjured hand, his fingers locking with yours. “You shouldn’t have had to do that. You could’ve been-.” he didn't dare finish the thought. 

Your defenses kicked back in, but this time, you could see the fear in his eyes. “It’s my job, Carlos. This is what I signed up for.”

He shook his head, he kneeled in front of you. “You got hurt because of me.”

You hesitated, your heart pounding as the truth settled between you. He was right, you'd done this form him. But not because of the job. But because the thought of something happening to him terrified you more than getting hurt yourself.  

“It wasn’t your fault,” you said softly. 

The doctor arrived, ready to stitch you up. Carlos stayed by your side the whole time, his usual cocky attitude replaced by a quiet, anger. Carlos paced the room but when you'd occasionally wince in pain you saw the way Carlos's eyes increased with sadness. 

“Stop blaming yourself,” You said as soon as the doctor left. “This...it happens.”

He stopped pacing and turned to you, frustration evident in his eyes. “You think I’m just supposed to be okay with this? That you can get hurt- because of me? and I’m supposed to just let it happen?”

You sighed, getting up and walking towards him. “It’s not about being okay with it. It’s about understanding that I’m here to do a job, and sometimes that job comes with risks!” Your voice was once again stern. 

He closed the distance between you even more, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “I don’t want you risking anything for me.”

You looked away, trying to ignore the weight of his gaze. “Well, that's not how this works.” 

There was silence, thick and tense, before he spoke again. 

“I care about you." he confessed. 

"No-" You avoided his gaze.

"More than you think. And I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt because of me.” he didn't allow you to interrupt him as he approached you forcing you to face him again. 

You froze. This was exactly what you'd feared, why you had tried to keep your distance. 

But the look in his eyes, raw and honest, was breaking down every wall you'd had built.

“You're not supposed to care,” you whispered. “This is my job.” You sighed defeated. 

He cupped your face. “You think I’m just going to stop caring because you tell me to? You don't have a problem getting hurt for me, but why can't you admit you care about me too?”

Your breath hitched. You opened her mouth to protest, to shut this conversation down before it went any further, but the words wouldn’t come.

Instead, Carlos tucked a strand of hair behind your ear. His thumb brushing over your cheek in the softest of touches. 

“Let me in.” He pleaded. 

Your heart pounded in your chest, every instinct screaming at you to pull away, to keep things professional. But as he leaned in, his breath warm against your lips, you couldn’t move. You couldn’t think straight, standing so close, his presence was overwhelming.

And when his lips finally brushed against yours, it was like every wall you'd built crumbled in an instant. The kiss was soft at first, hesitant as if he was giving you a chance to pull back. 

But you didn’t. You leaned into him, deepening the kiss, letting yourself feel something you'd been trying to deny for so long. His hand slid around your waist, pulling you closer, and you let yourself get lost in the moment, the warmth of his touch, the softness of his lips.

[burntheedges]

Pas de Deux Chapter 13

Din Djarin x f!reader | 4k | fic masterlist | main masterlist | ao3

chapter summary: it's finally the night of the Gala, and it's finally time to perform with Din.

a/n: First, if you didn't see the AMAZING art @kenobiwanx made of ballet!Din, please go look now!!!

Second, a week or so ago @iknowisoundcrazy asked me about a scene I was proud of writing, or something like that, and my answer was really this chapter. I just couldn't say that yet. I hope y'all enjoy it. I can't believe we only have one more chapter! I'm super behind on replying to your amazing comments because I just moved over the weekend, but I will catch up, I promise. Thank you @katareyoudrilling for being the best beta, as always!!

chapter tags/warnings: fluff, dancing, flirting, touching, pet names (sweetheart), hand-holding, intense feelings, kissing, I think we've already covered all of the dance moves in this chapter but I added some links used previously just in case

Chapter 13

At call time, you were feeling much more relaxed and ready for the performance. You successfully avoided the tornado that was Greef Karga backstage (where Alexa and Vince were corralling him) and found one of your usual spots in the dressing room near Adrian. He was already dressed for Jee’s piece in a full-coverage bodysuit with a skin color background and abstract shapes printed on it in blue. You knew his fellow dancers were in similar outfits with different colors, and that the shapes were somehow incorporated into the choreography. Jee was good at things like that.

You quickly put on your bodysuit and your sweats over top. It was a little chilly backstage and you had plenty of time before the show would start. 

Adrian leaned against the counter to your right and crossed his arms. “Where’s your other half?”

You pointed upwards – there were a couple of dressing rooms that were more private, and you were pretty sure that’s where Din had been getting ready. “He’ll be down in a bit. You ready?”

He nodded, smiling. “This is a fun one. Jee’s choreography is always weird, but cool.”

You laughed as you finished your stage makeup. “True,” you agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, Din popped his head into the room. He had on a loose t-shirt and sweats, but you figured he had his shorts on underneath. You noticed a few people waved at him and he nodded in response. He caught your eye in the mirror and motioned for you to join him in the hall. 

You looked at Adrian. “See you in a bit.”

He smiled and shoved your shoulder lightly. “Get out of here.”

You laughed and joined Din in the doorway. He smiled and led you to the right and around the corner, and you realized where you were going. There was a tiny dressing room with no mirror that no one ever used, except for taking naps – it had a somewhat comfortable loveseat.

As you entered, you realized no one was in there but Din’s bag was on the couch. “Is this where you’ve been getting ready?” The room was so small that the two of you basically filled it.

He nodded, a bit sheepish. “I just drop by the other room to use the mirror.”

You smiled. “If I’d known I’d have come and claimed the couch,” you teased.

He ducked his head and smiled. “You’re always welcome.”

You moved over to the couch and sat down. “So, what’s up?”

Din leaned against the folding table that ran the length of the wall by the door. “Could you help me with the body paint? I think some of it wore off in the back.”

“Sure,” you said, moving to get up, but he waved you back down.

“Not yet. We’ve got a few minutes and it’s too cold to be basically naked in here already.” 

You laughed. “True. But we want it to dry, right?”

He sighed. “Alright. Ok, come here.” His hands moved to the hem of his shirt and he tugged it gingerly over his head. You realized he was avoiding the paint. It was dry, though, and looked fine.

“Where’s the problem? The front looks fine.” Your eyes traveled over the swirls on his torso and you smiled, lightly. When you met his eyes he was smirking again.

“Should I take off my pants, too?” His eyes were almost sparkling as he teased you.

You gasped, just for show. “Din! What are you insinuating, hmm?” You stepped up next to him and took a closer look at the paint, looking for any spots that had rubbed off.

As soon as you were close enough, he grabbed your hips and pulled you forward between his open knees on the table. You flailed a bit as you looked for somewhere to rest your hands, eventually settling on his forearms. You didn’t want to mess up the paint, which was mostly on his torso and biceps. 

Once you were steady, he leaned forward, far enough that his lips were almost touching your ear. “I saw you check me out, you know. Last week.” His voice was deep, and you shivered again. He pulled back and grinned.

“Din Djarin, you tease.” 

He squeezed your hips and shook his head. “It’s not a tease, sweetheart. I checked you out, too.” He cleared his throat and looked down. “Not for the first time.”

You smiled. “Adrian said we were both watching each other in class, all the time.”

Din laughed. “I don’t know how you didn’t see me. It felt like I never looked at anything else.”

You felt your face heat. “Ok. Enough of that. We have a performance,” you poked him in the side and laughed when he tried to dodge, “get your head in the game.” He smiled and squeezed your hips again. “Now let me see your back.”

You moved back as he stood so he could turn in front of you. For a moment you simply looked – your eyes danced over his broad shoulders and then down his spine. You wanted to reach out and touch, to trace the lines of his muscles and curve of his waist with your fingertips. He was so strong. 

You shook your head. The paint. You frowned as you looked for any breaks in the paint. “Din, it looks fine. I don’t see any spots where you need a touch up.”

When he turned back to face you, his expression was suspiciously blank. “Oh? Well, maybe I was wrong, then.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. “Din Djarin, did you have ulterior motives when you brought me in here?”

He smirked again and shook his head. “No, you know we’re saving those for later. I just…” he sighed. “I’d rather wait with you than alone.”

You rolled your eyes at him, but smiled. “You could have just said that.”

He shrugged. “There could have been some spots to touch up. You never know.”

You laughed and tugged him over to the couch. He sat sideways so as not to actually rub off any of his paint, and you sank into the corner. “How much time do you think we have?”

“Probably about ten minutes.” The first movement was after Vince’s piece, which opened the show. You needed to be backstage when it started. Then the second movement was between Talia’s and Jee’s, and the third finished the show. 

You reached for his hand and laced your fingers together. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to get comfortable touching your pas de deux partner before a performance, but you knew this felt different, for both of you. “Want to go warm up?” He nodded. “Alright. Meet me backstage? I have to go do my pre-show thing with Adrian.”

Din raised an eyebrow, and you realized he’d never seen your “thing”, as you called it. “Or you can come and watch, if you want. We just have a silly handshake and then we hug.”

It turned out that he did want to watch, and he followed you back to your dressing room after stripping off his sweatpants. You allowed yourself to ogle his legs briefly before leading him out of the room. “Do you have any show rituals?”

Din shrugged. “Not really. I usually do the same stretches and warm up.” He thought about it for a moment. “Grogu says I have a lucky shirt. It’s in my bag.”

You laughed. You realized, as you grabbed Adrian and started your ritual handshake, that you felt more at ease, more comfortable than you usually did before a performance.

It must be because of Din, you figured. It was hard to be nervous when you knew he’d be there with you for every step. Adrian hugged you, and you squeezed him until he made an “oof” sound.

“Ok, ok, let me go. Don’t squeeze me to death.” You laughed at his grumbling as Adrian pulled back to check his costume in the mirror. “Go do your thing, I’ll see you backstage later.”

You pulled off your sweats and left them at your spot. You grabbed your pointe shoes and turned to face Din, who was looking at you. Well, he was looking at your legs. You grinned. 

“Come on,” you said, grabbing his arm. As you passed him, you murmured, “who’s checking who out now, hmm?” 

Din followed you out, and once in the hall, he said, smirking, “I already confessed.”

You made your way backstage together and found a spot where you could warm up in the large area behind the wings. You put on your shoes and began to help each other stretch.

Kuiil found you there a few minutes later, and he smiled down at you both. “Are you ready?”

You both nodded, but Din said, “we are.” His voice was firm and warm and it made you smile.

Kuiil nodded. “Yes, you are. Excellent. I will be in the audience. I wish to see it as I meant others to see it. I will see you soon.” He reached down and rested a hand on each of your shoulders. “Remember. Be in the moment, and be there for each other.”

WIth that, he turned and made his way down the hall and, you presumed, out to the audience. You felt warmed from his clear pride and belief in the two of you together. 

As you finished stretching, you heard the audience settle down, and you figured the house lights had just gone down. Your guess was confirmed when you heard Karga’s voice welcoming everyone to the gala.

“Good evening,” he began, and you could picture the wide smile on his face. “Thank you for celebrating our 5th anniversary with us. We are so pleased to have you here.” The crowd applauded, and Karga chuckled. “Yes, thank you. We have a wonderful program planned for you tonight, with pieces that feature the best of what our amazing dancers can do. All of our choreographers – Vince, Talia, Jee, and our visiting choreographer in residence, Kuiil – have prepared new, never before seen pieces for you just for this gala.” The audience applauded again. “We are so grateful for your patronage, and we hope you enjoyed this season. Please, sit back and enjoy the visual feast we have prepared – and don’t forget about the free refreshments during intermission!" That got a light chuckle from the audience. “Thank you.”

The crowd applauded once more, and you assumed Karga was walking off stage. You heard the curtains open and nudged Din. You tilted your head towards the wings, silently asking if he wanted to go watch the quartet. He shook his head and motioned for you to stand with him. He leaned in and murmured, “I’d rather warm up a bit more with you.”

You’d seen the quartet in dress rehearsal, and it really was beautiful. It was funny to think that it had been your original role in this program. You nodded and joined him in some light jumps and lunges, and then spent a few minutes warming up your ankles.

You heard the quartet’s music begin to build towards its crescendo. Before you could turn to head backstage, Din grabbed your arm and reeled you in. He placed his hands at your waist and you let yours rest lightly on his forearms again. He leaned in and rested his forehead lightly against yours. 

“You’re going to blow them away,” he murmured, and you felt that familiar feeling that he inspired start to well up in you. “Ready?”

You nodded. “You too, Din. Show them who you are.”

He pulled back and smiled at you. As you turned, you slid your hand down his arm and tangled your hands together. You walked backstage hand-in-hand.

The quartet was just finishing up when you found a place to stand together, out of the way of their exit. You caught Phil’s eye where he stood with his headset on by the tiny backstage lamp, and he nodded at you. You tugged on Din’s hand. “Here we go.”

He nodded at you and released your hand. You would go out first on your own, and then Din, and then you would be on stage together. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Just before you stepped forward, you heard Din murmur, “beautiful.”

You stepped into the wings with a smile playing around your mouth. And then the music started, and all you thought about was the dance.

…

You’d never felt like this before. You’d never danced like this before. 

From the moment you stepped onto the stage, you could feel it – you were going to nail it. And you did.

You whirled through your solo, and leapt off the stage just in time for Din to enter after you. You watched him and you could see it – he felt it, too. You grinned, and then forced it off your face. He was a stranger, and you were meeting for the first time.

You spun back onto the stage at your cue and you felt his eyes trace across your shoulders like a caress. The two of you danced past each other, circled each other, glanced off of each other, just barely not touching. The connection between you pulled taut and you swore you could see where he was on stage even when you weren’t looking at him.

It would have stolen your breath away, if you had let it – you’d never felt so in sync with another dancer before. 

The first movement ended with the two of you touching, briefly, and then dancing away from each other. As you were about to exit into the wings, you looked back, and caught him already looking at you. You both froze, and then darted off stage.

The audience burst into applause. You grinned at the dancers waiting backstage for Talia’s ballet, and they met you with silent cheers and pats on the shoulder as you passed. 

You headed straight for the door to the backstage area, looking for Din.

He must have had the same idea, because as you turned into the hall that ran behind the stage, you found him almost jogging towards you, smiling wider than you’d ever seen him.

“You and me,” he said, breathlessly, and you nodded.

…

You had to wait through two longer pieces for the second movement, which would be between Talia and Vince’s collaboration piece and Jee’s. Wary of getting too cold, you returned to Din’s small dressing room, grabbing your sweats on the way. You didn’t want to break the bubble you could feel forming around the two of you.

Din pulled you into the room behind him and then into a loose hug. “I want to hold you tighter,” he murmured, “but this paint.” 

You laughed. “It’s probably for the best.” He hummed. “Ok. We can rest for a minute, and then we need to get ready for the second. And go stay warm.” He nodded. 

“You were beautiful.” His voice sounded deeper than normal and you shivered in his arms. 

“So were you, Din.”

…

There was a barre set up backstage for warming up, and the two of you stayed there as you waited. You watched as the dancers heading backstage moved around you for Talia’s piece and then Talia and Vince’s collaboration, but you and Din stayed in your own little world. That wasn’t unusual, for a piece like yours. You practiced a couple of lifts just to have something to do.

You were ready.

With only a few minutes to go, Din leaned into you again. “Ready?” 

You nodded. He grabbed your hand, this time, and led you backstage.

The piece Talia and Vince had collaborated on was almost over – it had three couples, a mix of principals and soloists, and you let yourself watch them for a few moments. When it was almost time, Din tugged you in again, foreheads together. 

“Let’s blow them away,” you said, stealing his words from earlier. He smiled.

For the second movement, you started on stage, so you stepped away from Din to go take your place when the lights went down. Alone on stage, in the dark, you took a deep breath. As the music started, you stretched into position, and sank into your character. 

You felt Din’s presence when he leapt on stage, and from there, the chase was on. 

In the second movement, you circled each other, sometimes coming closer, sometimes moving farther away. Glancing touches brought you together and then hesitation drove you apart. You wanted to know each other, to understand each other, but you had to find a way to communicate. To make yourselves understood.

You began to mirror each other’s movements, to adopt each other’s styles. You found common ground between you to build on and with the first lift so firmly grounded, it felt like you flew into the air. Din held you aloft and then flipped you downwards, catching you in another hold. You spun away and felt him follow you, and the connection between you strengthened.

Just like the first movement, you could barely think, could only feel – and it felt amazing. You knew, distantly, that you and Din were performing at a level neither of you had managed alone. You had created something new, something that could only exist because you made it together.

The second ended with you and Din briefly together, and then your character shied away – you ran from him, twirling off stage without looking back. He reached for you just before the lights went down.

The audience erupted. You were grinning so wide your cheeks hurt. Adrian was backstage, ready for Jee’s piece, and he looked like he wanted to run over and hug you. But just then Din came through the wings behind you and you felt his arms circle your waist. 

He didn’t pull you too close (the paint) but he leaned forward to breathe into your ear, “so fucking beautiful.”

You shivered, and Adrian winked at you. You laughed and tugged Din behind you into the hall.

You didn’t have as long of a break this time, only the length of Jee’s piece, which was only about 25 minutes. You knew you didn’t really have time to go far.

As you entered the hall, Din grabbed your hand, and made a sharp right. Just around the corner out of sight he backed you against the wall. 

He leaned on the wall with his forearm by your head. For a moment neither of you said anything – you were both breathing hard, chests almost touching every time you took a breath. His eyes caught yours and you couldn’t look away.

“I’ve never…” he trailed off, and you nodded. You understood. 

“Me neither,” you breathed, and his eyes darted down to look at your lips. The feeling that had built inside of you during the performance turned into fire.

“Din–” you started, but he cut you off by pressing his lips to yours in a searing kiss. He pulled away almost as quickly.

“I know,” he said, “I know.” He leaned back, and looked at you again. “I never dreamed it could be like this. I think I was meant to dance with you.”

You were glad you were already leaning against the wall, because your knees threatened to give out at his words. “Me too,” you said. His hand came up to cup your cheek lightly, careful of your makeup. 

“Come on,” he said, “let’s get ready for the third.”

You nodded and let him lead you back down the hall.

…

You thought you’d be nervous, as you stood in the wings before the third movement. You’d gone backstage a little bit earlier than before to watch Adrian, but it wasn’t distracting you. 

But that might have had something to do with Din’s presence at your back and his hand tangled with yours.

You breathed together as you watched and sank back into your characters. In the third, you were almost always touching – almost always chasing or being chased, grabbing or holding on. The movements revolved around your need to be together and create something new together.

As Jee’s piece came to a close, you felt Din step closer. He kept hold of your hand but wrapped his other arm around your shoulders from the back. “One more,” he murmured in your ear. “Let’s show them who we are.” You smiled and nodded. He squeezed your hand.

In the third, you started off stage. In the wings you both took a deep breath, and then the music started. You darted on quickly with Din at your heels, and from there you were off.

He chased you across the stage, and you let him catch you on the other side. You twirled around each other, leaping together, pulling each other along. He supported you through turns and lifts and jumps and you let yourself sink into the music. You internally marveled at how you seemed to be two dancers with one brain – you would reach for him, and he would be there, every time.

When you reached the pique turn, a smile played around your mouth. Din tugged you backwards by your ankle, capturing you and lifting you into a spin. Your body moved through the familiar steps, and when it came time to launch yourself through the air so he could catch you, you fought a grin off your face.

He lifted you over his shoulder, and let yourself appreciate, just for a moment, the strength of the muscles in his back.

Din tilted you back up and let you slide down against his chest. You sank into it with ease, and the two of you let the moment linger. You met his gaze and saw the smile dancing behind his eyes.

From there the choreography built to a crescendo that had you breathing hard, coordinating your movements perfectly to stay in contact – your hand on his leg, his arm around his waist, your arm around his neck, his shoulders supporting you. It pushed you upward and forward until, suddenly, you stopped, facing each other. You breathed as the last note held, staring into each other’s eyes, and then slowly folded into an embrace that took you both to your knees. 

The lights went out, and for a moment you couldn’t make sense of the sound that washed over you. You looked up at Din, and then out to the audience. It seemed like everyone in the theater had taken to their feet, cheering and applauding.

The rest of the company was backstage cheering, too.

Din leaned backwards and stood, offering his hand to pull you up, too. You took it, and he tugged you forward so that you had to lean into him just a bit. He looked like he wanted to say something, but then the lights came up.

You both turned to the audience, bodies moving into the familiar stance, ready to take your bows. But you were both taken aback when somehow the applause got louder.

You glanced at Din, but he swept you forward, and before you could stop him, presented you to the audience. 

You smiled, and when it was his turn, did the same for him.

As soon as you were done, the rest of the company poured out of the wings to join you on stage, and the standing ovation seemed to go on forever. Adrian popped out of the crowd at your side and wrapped you both up in a hug, which startled Din and made you laugh. “That was fucking amazing!” he shouted in your ear, and you laughed. Din started to smile, too, and you squeezed his hand, still tangled with yours between you.

You looked at him as the company moved to take a final bow together, and for a moment, you couldn’t hear the noise around you at all.

You could only see Din, smiling at you, so widely his eyes crinkled. 

Beautiful.

...

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a/n: they did it!! I'm so proud of them!!! next week... what happens after the gala? 😏 we finally earn those smut tags, lol. I don't really have any notes this week, but let me know if you have any questions! 🧡 and don't forget to check out the art!!

[anime-fan-05]

Ciao

Ti faccio la richiesta in italiano xké sono più comoda, ma tu fai pure il post in inglese

Puoi fare uno scenario con la reazione degli alzatori (Kageyama, Suga, Oikawa, Kenma e Akaashi) quando la loro ragazza indossa la sua maglia (quella della sua squadra)? Il motivo lo puoi scegliere tu

Grazie

Haikyuu!! ~Is that my jersey?~

Manga/anime: Haikyuu!!

Warnings: spoilers from chapter 328 to chapter 337 in Akaashi's part and of Oikawa and Kenma's future

(Y/N): your name

Kageyama is coming back from training in pieces, dragging his feet as he walks, his eyes struggling to stay open and the shoulder on which he rests his bag getting heavier with each step, and still scolding Hinata in his mind for forcing him to toss for him until nine in the evening.

As soon as he enters his house, ready to receive a good scolding from his sister, the boy remembers a small detail: his girlfriend (Y/N). Due to the imminent arrival of exams, and since he isn't particularly good at studying, they had arranged to meet in his room to prepare together for them. It's a shame their meeting's time has already been exceeded a long time ago.

Ignoring his furious sister, Kageyama rushes into his room, and he would fall to the floor like his bag, which he dropped as soon as he entered the house, if he didn't hold on to the door frame, because what he sees almost causes him to collapse to the ground: his girlfriend is lying on his bed, hugging his pillow and wearing his team jersey, while dozing.

The boy's face becomes the equivalent of a tomato and his body begins to tremble slightly, while he can't stop looking at the number nine on the girl's chest, which rises and falls regularly.

Walking quickly, Kageyama approaches (Y/N), fearing she's an illusion and she might disappear; he then stops to take the pillow from her arms and replace it with himself, never taking his eyes off her. His mind is in total confusion and, if Hinata saw him in that state, he would probably make fun of him, because he's red, sweaty, shaking and agitated.

The final blow comes when the girl holds him close and rests her head on his chest, rubbing against it like a cat, and the boy almost forgets how to breathe, paralyzing himself like a wooden board. His mind is about to short circuit and only three concepts repeat in it: (Y/N), my jersey and pretty.

It goes without saying, but he won't sleep at all that night: all he'll have on his mind will be how extremely adorable (Y/N) looks in his jersey.

It isn't even eight in the morning and (Y/N)'s day is already horrible: not only she woke up late because her alarm didn't go off and missed the bus she always takes with her boyfriend Sugawara, but she also spilled her juice on her school uniform, which is now all sticky.

For these reasons, the girl is in the locker room of the volleyball team: her boyfriend, who had been waiting for her in front of the school and found her in that state, has proposed to lend her his team jersey while he goes to look for Kiyoko to ask her if she has an extra uniform, so that (Y/N) doesn't remain wet and sticky.

"(Y/N) -After about ten minutes, the boy comes back into the room holding a clean uniform- Shimizu didn't have a uniform, but Yachi did. I hope it fits yo-"

He can't even finish the sentence, and he freezes: I'm seeing an angel, he thinks. That angel is a very embarrassed (Y/N), who tries to pull down her boyfriend's jersey, which reaches just below her thighs, as much as possible.

Sugawara's face turns all red and his eyes can't leave her, while he swallows the saliva which has accumulated in his mouth.

"Are you okay, Koushi?" The girl's words seem to awaken the boy from the trance he was in, so much so he almost drops Yachi's clothes.

"Y-yeah… yeah… You're just… so pretty…" The more he talks, the softer his voice becomes, until it's just a whisper, and his blush pushes Sugawara to cover his face with his hand.

"Awwwww, thanks, Koushi!" (Y/N) runs to hug him, burying her face in his chest, while he does the same but in her neck, trying not to think anymore about his girlfriend's body dressed only in his jersey against his.

After a grueling afternoon of training with his team, Oikawa can finally go home to his girlfriend (Y/N).

"Tadaima (I'm home)!" He exclaims, entering the house, happy and ready for a cuddle session with his girlfriend.

"Okaeri (Welcome back)." The man hears her voice from the kitchen, and so he goes to her.

"Awwwww, did you miss me that much, cutie?" Oikawa coos at the beauty of (Y/N), whose back is turned while she's cooking, and who is wearing his old jersey of Aoba Johsai.

In fact, while sorting out their old things that day, the woman found her boyfriend's jersey neatly folded along with the other high school items, so she decided to wear it to surprise him, and then she went to cook.

"How am I?" (Y/N) does a pirouette, showing her face to Oikawa, who doesn't even answer: he only takes a photo of her.

"Tooru! Did you just take a picture of me?!"

"You're too cute like this. I'm sending it to Iwa-chan!"

"Noooo!" The woman tries to take the phone from the man, but she finds herself with her head against his chest and then picked up and thrown on their sofa hugging him.

"Tooru, let me go!" Oikawa refuses, holding (Y/N) tighter to him.

"No! I worked so hard today, and then I found you dressed like this, so I deserve my cuddles -His voice then becomes lower- and next time, if you don't want an even greater reaction, let me know you'll wear my jersey again." Indeed, the man didn't show it much, but he internally screamed as soon as he saw the woman dressed like that, and he really wanted to be welcomed by her like that every day of his life.

In fact, while holding his girlfriend, Oikawa thinks only about one thing: perhaps it's time to contact the jewelry; Oikawa (Y/N) doesn't sound that bad…

3.00am.

(Y/N) was alone in her and her boyfriend Kenma's bed. He was in his studio finishing a live, despite her numerous requests to sleep with her.

Time passes and passes, but the woman still can't fall asleep, both because she misses her boyfriend and because she sees too much light in the corridor due to his computer being turned on, so she decides to go to call him again.

"Kenma, can you come to bed with me? It's late and I can't sleep..."

"I'm almost done, I just have to get through a few levels and then defeat the final boss. You can come here near me, I'm not on video."

The woman approaches the man and sits next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and snuggling into his side, but without preventing him from being able to move.

After a few minutes, Kenma stops the game to look at her softly, but his gaze soon turns to total amazement: his eyes widen slightly, his body paralyzes for a few seconds and his heart seems to jump out of his chest because of how hard it's beating.

"Sorry guys, but it's time to end the live. I'll resume the game tomorrow."

(Y/N), who had been dozing off on his shoulder, immediately wakes up at those words, letting out a small scream when he picks her up like a bride and carries her to the bedroom.

Meanwhile, the man had only one image in his mind: his beautiful girlfriend dressed in his old team jersey, which is loose and allows him to see one of her shoulders, and cute socks with kittens, all sleepy while she pushes her face against the his chest.

"Kenma!" The woman exclaims, after Kenma drops her on their bed and then positions himself astride her, supporting himself on his arms to prevent all his weight from falling on her.

"You look cute… in my jersey…" He murmurs, looking away from her.

Fukurodani is losing the first set against Mujinazaka and Akaashi is on the bench, after losing his composure.

Meanwhile, his girlfriend was in the stands supporting him but, worried about him, she has headed to where he was. Quickly descending, she approaches him and finds him sitting with his head in his hands looking desperate.

"Keiji…" The boy looks up at his girlfriend, and he swears he almost faints: his girlfriend should be arrested for the crime of being too cute, since she's wearing his spare team jersey. The fabric runs down to her knees, covered by a black legging, and the number five is located just below her heart.

"W-what -Akaashi needs to take a few seconds to clear his throat- what are you wearing?"

"Your shirt… I put it on to support you… Bokuto-san said you would like it."

"Sorry… You came all this way, and we're losing because of me."

"Don't apologise. Keiji -(Y/N) murmurs, approaching him- I came because I wanted to give you all my support and I wore your jersey because, if someone had asked me who was my favorite player, I would have pointed to it and said you're my number one. So you don't need to worry, okay? Go and win!"

With that, the girl smiles sweetly, and a light dusting of red spreads across the boy's cheeks: she's too cute.

Screams mixed with happiness and disappointment spread throughout the gym, and Akaashi realizes what happened: Fukurodani lost the first set.

"Akaashi, do you feel up to it now?" The coach asks him, and he nods.

However, before taking the field, he mutters, without letting (Y/N) see his red face: "If we win, will you wear my jersey again?"

He'll definitely have to thank Bokuto after their victory.

💮 Rules 💮 Masterlist 💮

[felassan]

Podcast: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

Episode: 'Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founder BioWare' – [link]

Episode description:

“Greg Zeschuk is the co-founder of BioWare. While a medical student at the University of Alberta he told his future wife that, if he could, he’d make video games for a living. After he graduated, the dream came true when, in 1995, he and two friends founded BioWare in his basement. The following year the trio released Shattered Steel and, two years after that, Baldur’s Gate, which revolutionised the world of computer role-playing games. In the years that followed BioWare released a string of blockbuster hits, including Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In 2007, just 12 years after its founding, the company was sold to Electronic Arts as part of a deal worth $860 million. In recent years, my guest started a brewing company, Blind Enthusiasm, and today runs two microbreweries and a restaurant in Edmonton, where he has spent most of his life.”

The whole episode is worth listening to.

But here are some select quotes/notes from the episode, under a quote due to length:

Greg Zeschuk: “I think also, fan expectations are just so incredibly high. […] I finished Dragon Age: The Veilguard two weeks ago. I had a lot of fun with it. […] I take it as it is, as a fresh piece of content, and I really had a fun time with it, there’s so many good things I liked about that game. But then the feedback was pretty tough, like I think it’s been very mixed, which I feel makes me sad, because I think at the heart of it, it’s still a really great game. But like, man, it’s tough being in the games business.”

Greg Zeschuk on the Mass Effect 3 endings: “I think intentions are good, you can never do anything perfectly, and I think that that’s one of the challenges as a game developer. To some degree, especially when there’s high expectations, you think of a series like Mass Effect, absolutely beloved, an incredible overall experience. And then to maybe not reach the players’ expectations of agency and decision-making at the very final step, and providing a more nuanced ending, yeah, it’s complicated. I mean, speaking fully honestly, I was a slight bystander in it, because I was really working on SW:TOR. That was the game I was responsible for and launched. So I was kind of in the mix, but not in the firing line if that makes sense, but I really felt for the team, because I understood the purpose. […] I think the thing is, your dream scenario is, release a game no-one’s ever heard of and do it really well, because as soon as the expectations are there, it’s just tough.”

“The other unfortunate extreme pressure, you’ve got these giant business conglomerates that are pushing for certain release dates and release times. I think at BioWare, when Ray and I ran it, our most effective thing was actually pushing for the dates that made the most sense to get the best possible product and make the best possible game. We would play something and declare, with lots of research, that it wasn’t ready and then like make it happen at a later date. I think it's very hard, like I look at a game like Anthem and I go, man, there was such a great core to that game, but yeah it needs to bake for another year. […] Yeah, we were just always really good at ensuring that we were pushing for the best possible outcome for the game, which also was the best outcome for the fans, the players. I think that’s lost in the industry, like Ray and I had a reputation where we could, like, fight with executives. Didn’t happen very often, but we could and we did and we always won. There wasn’t a choice, because better games resulted. For us that was some of the nuance of what we did in the business, we just made sure the games were good.”

“The sale to EA was funny because people always ascribe that to ‘the doom of BioWare’, it’s like, not really, like EA was actually, I like to comment that EA gives you enough rope to hang yourself, and what I mean by that is, you have to learn to work within the structure, and I think we did quite well, like if you look, the Mass Effects came out in there. It was actually a pretty successful run, but you have to understand how to work within a big company. And for me, that was like, that was the end, was like, oh, I don’t like big companies. And so I knew by year two that I was gonna leave at some point, I just didn’t know when. I didn’t like big companies. There’s no entrepreneurish-ness, big companies exist to exploit properties, like exploit games. They don’t typically, there’s very few examples, some of the Japanese guys do, but most of the big North American guys, they're just good at like, hey let’s squeeze the most money outta this franchise. […] I like making, I don’t like just operating.”

“[SW:TOR] was like my swan song in the industry. […] If it was super-duper successful, Ray and I would’ve probably launched a bid to try take over EA from the inside, being the corporate pirates that we are, but it needed to be like, $2 billion a year successful. But that didn’t work out.”

“It was good though, EA actually, they gave us more input into publishing, into marketing, like we had a lot of really great opportunity. I think people like to ascribe how evil they are, it’s like, that’s not it at all, it’s like people just don’t know how to operate in it. It’s also kinda tiring, like if you’re kinda battling a lot, if you have to be successful, that’s the tough thing about it. As soon as you stop being successful, that’s when it gets hard.”

“There’s all kinds of shenanigans we did [when BioWare was with EA], like we actually made Facebook games under false pretenses, like false names actually. […] We weren’t allowed to do mobile stuff, so we would like make a fake company within the company and do this, and launch a game, just to see what it was like. We like to try stuff. I think [EA] are just restrictive. And I understand, like I mean, you can’t have a company of cowboys. And we were, I wouldn’t say we were cowboys, we were usually somewhat calculating in what we did, but we like to try stuff. So when they discovered that we had a couple Apple development licenses and we weren’t in the mobile division, they were like, woah, woah, what are you guys doing? ‘Oh, we’re just gonna see. Maybe there’s an integration into our console and PC games.’ They were like, ohhh, we’re suspicious of you guys, which they should’ve been. […] Big companies, they kinda want you to stay in your lane, you’re supposed to follow the rules. […] The big thing I always found [with big companies], we’d make a bunch of money on a product, and say, hey can I have some of that money to make another product, outside of the ones we’re making? They’d go like, no, that has to go back to the company. Oh, but what if I wanna make something different? They go you can’t, or you can fund it from your other games. Well then I have to cancel one of my other ones to make a new one. Yeah. Like, so your budget. But if you’re super successful, if you made a ton of money, then you usually get more leeway. We were pretty successful. […] So it was almost like, well what level of success do you need to actually like create that kind of latitude? There’s no autonomy in a company, unless you’re in charge, and even then if you’re the CEO you have to respond to the board. And if you’re the board, then you have to respond to investors. It’s like this tower of responsibilities. […] I don’t think there’s anything [intentionally evil? I think he was saying here? I'm not sure] that they do actively, it’s just, the very substance of what a company is, a big corporation is, it stifles innovation. And that’s why like, if you look at most of the big companies, they tend not to be able to create things internally, they tend to have to buy external, and then they kinda exploit, and then they kinda repeat that cycle as much as they can. That’s why I make beer in a small little brewery.”

 “When we started the studio in Austin, the SW:TOR studio, it was really interesting, because we’d started it, we were independent. Then all of a sudden, EA buys us, and it’s a pretty giant deal. […] There was like a pretty heated all-hands in the studio there, to talk about the sale, and [if] EA [was] gonna force its philosophical work-life balance onto us? [context: at that time in BioWare’s history, the devs there were young and spending crazy hours in the office, staying in the office sometimes to game as well etc] But like we actually all did it to ourselves. We were the ones that were immature, so we were also the ones that could get us outta that. […] We tried to do it better, I don’t know if we did.” [on leaving BioWare] “I kinda realized that was really unhealthy, and I think also, personally, the creative, I’d done everything I wanted to do. Landing SW:TOR was the hardest thing I’d ever done, and it was like, a good time to stop. I think we did better, I know they continued to improve on the work-life balance stuff.”

“Ray and I had to kind’ve give notice way ahead of time, leaving, so we actually told them, the EA folks, way ahead, and then there was this sorta like, activity around trying to kind’ve, bringing us back in, and keep us there, and we were like, nah, it’s just over. And then you get kinda shut out of everything. It’s like, your email still works, but I don’t think it goes anywhere, and all these meetings happen [that you aren’t in]. And you become, like, dead man standing. Which is actually okay. […] Both of us had kinda reached a point, where we were just worn out. We both emotionally felt that that was the time to go. […] It’s a little bit sad, but it’s like, you know, it’s in good hands. Just kinda go off into the sunset and live your life.”

If Greg Zeschuk could go back and change one thing about his career at BioWare: “I’ve always said this: […] One gap we had sometimes was [between?] sales and marketing. That was our biggest weakness. Jade Empire was a really good game that was launched at the very end of, I guess that would be the original Xbox cycle. Microsoft was like, no no, you should release it now, right at the end of the cycle, because it’s a great time. This was the worst advice, absolute moronic advice from them, the stupidest thing ever. […] We should’ve pushed that to the beginning of the 360. We could’ve rezzed it up, we could’ve amped it up, we could’ve said ‘no we’re not gonna’. I would’ve loved to go, you know what, this is a terrible mistake, give us six months, give us a chance to make it a launch title for the 360, and we’d have another franchise. Like, I just think it would’ve been a way more successful product at the beginning of a cycle, versus at the end. […] And also we needed to tune the combat, combat wasn’t as good as it could have been in that game. It had the potential to be amazing, and at times it was, we were close. The artistry and cinematics of the game for the time were tremendous. Just that one little thing, I think could’ve changed our trajectory, and it wouldn’t have been impossible, I think we would’ve been able to convince them to do it. I regret not realizing that. It just never dawned on us. […] Yeah it would’ve cost a  couple million dollars more, but it would’ve made maybe ten times as much. […] And then be a franchise, right.”

[source]