#fun fact the second one resulted from me sitting down to do cloud studies some time back

[protagpigeon]

various (barry-ous) barrys. my drawing folder is but a clown car which can and does fit a comical amount of barrys

[rosesandfandoms]

MidCin: He spends time with your child.

Louis:

When Y/n first got pregnant, she and her husband decided, that although they have maids, they want to take care of their child.

So when Y/n had to attend matters in town, Louis was left to take care of their son Lucas, who had just gotten faster on his feet and started talking.

“Dada, come” Lucas giggled as he ran in the palace halls as fast as his little legs could carry him.

However, his father was much faster than him. Louis sighed as he picked up his son, kissing the top of his head.

“Where?” Louis asked.

“Oudsite” Lucas said pointing out the window.

“Outside, buddy,” Louis pronounced, “but you’re getting there.”

Louis took his son out to the garden and would chase the giggling child.

“Flower, mama.” Lucas pointed at the roses.

“You want to pick flowers for mama?” Louis smiled when Lucas nodded, “okay buddy, let’s pick some roses for mama.”

When Y/n got to the palace around lunchtime, she saw her husband and son at the entrance, Lucas in his father’s arms, holding a bouquet of roses in his little hands.

“Mama!” Lucas squealed when he saw his mom, Louis sat him down, which resulted in the toddler running to Y/n

Y/n picked him up and kissed his cheek, “Did you have a fun day with Daddy?”

Lucas nodded and put the roses in his mother’s face.

“He wanted to pick them for you.” Louis smiled as he made his way to his wife and child.

During lunch, Y/n listened to Lucas blabber what he and his father did while she was gone.

Louis smiled, though the morning was mostly spent chasing the toddler around the palace, he wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

Sid:

Based on Sid’s sugar ending.

Sid’s whole life changed when he fell in love with Y/n, after all, he left everything behind to be with her. But Sid didn’t mind, he didn’t like the aristocracy life anyway.

When Y/n told him that she was pregnant, Sid was more than happy. And throughout the pregnancy, he made sure everything was ready, he worked so hard that he started to stress himself out.

Even more so when Y/n went into labor. Sid was in a daze, while he held Y/n’s hand, he felt like it was just a dream.

But then he heard his little girl’s cry as she finally entered the world. That’s when reality hit him. This was real. His family was real. And he couldn’t be happier.

When the midwife laid the baby girl on Y/n’s chest, Sid vowed that he would never forget that sight. His wife holding their baby for the first time. His whole world was in that room, both his wife and his daughter.

Sid and Y/n decided on the name, Chloe.

After the skin to skin moment between mother and child, Sid got to hold the baby. He wasn’t so sure at first, afraid to hurt her, but after reassurance from Y/n, Sid gently held onto his daughter.

She felt so small and fragile in his arms. He couldn’t believe that this little bundle of joy was his. He smiled down at Chloe, then held the same smile as he looked over at his wife, who shared the same smile as she watched her husband hold their baby.

Sid noticed how tired she looked. “Get some sleep, I’ll watch over her.”

“Okay, but if you get tired, put her in her crib and sleep too.” Y/n yawned.

“I will, honey,” Sid replied, “thank you for this life we share, and for our beautiful baby. I love ya.”

“I love you too.” Y/n smiled before falling asleep.

As Y/n slept, Sid rocked their baby girl back and forth. A smile on his face, even tears in his deep blue eyes.

“I promise I will always protect you and your mom. I promise to give you the best life. I love ya, Chloe.”

A few minutes later, Chloe started to whimper a little. “Shhh, it’s okay, darlin’, daddy’s got ya. Want to look out the window?”

“See those little glow things in the sky, those are stars.” Sid pointed out “and there’s the moon, that’s what night looks like, and during the day, the sky is blue, there are white fluffy clouds, your mom says clouds remind her of cotton candy, you’re still too young for that, but when you’re older I’ll get you some.”

After a few more minutes, Sid decided it was time to get some sleep before Chloe would decide to wake up again.

Once he laid down next to his wife and wrapped an arm around her, Sid look at the crib by their bed and smiled before falling asleep.

Leo:

Based on his sugar ending.

Leo woke up early and made his way to Sophie’s crib, seeing that the one-year-old was awake.

“We have to be quiet mommy is still sleeping.” Leo shushed his daughter, who grinned up at him.

Very quietly, he carried Sophie to the living room. And sat her on his lap.

“Okay, I’m going to teach you a word,” Leo said in a small voice, “say, da-da.”

“Da-da,” Leo turned his head to the squawk in the corner of the living room.

“Not you Sebastian.” Leo groaned before looking back down at his daughter.

“Say it. Baby,” Leo laughed, “da-da.”

“Ma-ma,” Sophie spoke.

Her first word.

Leo didn’t care that she didn’t say Dada, he was just happy she spoke her first word.

“That’s my girl,” Leo cheered.

“First word,” Sebastian squawked.

Leo danced with his daughter around the room.

“This time say,” Leo grinned, “da-da.”

“Ma-ma,” said Sophie.

“Ha, Leo.” Sebastian fluttered in his cage.

“I’m dada,” Leo tickled his baby, “mama is sleeping.”

Then Leo came up with an idea.

“Say mama,” Leo smiled.

“Mama,” Sophie smiled back.

Leo sighed, “we’ll try again later, but now we should let your mommy know you said your first word.”

Though Sophie didn’t say da-da, Leo was proud either way.

He would get her to say it soon anyway

However, Sophie’s second word was Bastion, meaning to say Sebastian.

Leo groaned when he heard it.

Rayvis:

When Y/n first got pregnant, she and her husband decided, that although they have maids, they want to care for their child.

Rayvis had finished his work early so that he could spend some time with his family.

However, Y/n had got held up with some work, so it would just be him and their daughter Anna for a couple of hours.

Rayvis went to the library where Anna was having a lesson with Giles about French.

"How is she doing?" Rayvis asked.

"Splendid." Giles explained, "even better than me when I was her age, soon she'll be speaking sentences.

"Great job, honey." Rayvis ruffled his daughter's hair.

"You've come just on time too, here lessons are done for the day." Giles grinned before he bowed and left the room.

"Can we go play with Rook in the garden?" Anna asked,

"Yes we can, he'll love that." Rayvis smiled gently, "your mother got caught up in some work, but she'll be done in a couple of hours, then we all can do something together."

"That's okay." the younger girl smiled.

Rayvis was already laying in the garden when the daughter and father got out there.

The wolf mix wagged his tail happily. And ran up to Anna, licking her face.

"Sit boy." Anna giggled "I got your favorite ball."

Together, Rayvis and Anna ran around in the garden, with Rook chasing after them, howling with fun

"I'll distract him, you go hide and we'll try to find you." Rayvis smiled.

While Rayvis had Rook distracted, Anna ran to find a place to hide.

She decided the castle would be best. Trying to think of a place, Anna ran to her mom's study and hid under the desk, confusing Y/n.

Anna told her that she is hiding from her father and the wolf mix.

Y/n decided the best way to hide where her daughter was, was to continue reading the documents.

Sometime later, Y/n's study door opened, revealing her husband and Rook.

"Have you seen Anna?" Rayvis asked.

"Not since lunch." Y/n kept her eyes on the paper.

"Really?" Rayvis smirked.

"Yeah," Y/n continued to read.

"Then why is Rook sniffing around your desk?"

"I snuck snacks earlier," Y/n remarked like it should be a fact.

"Get her Rook." Rayvis walked over to the desk.

Rook put his head under the desk and started to like Anna's face.

Rayvis smirked at his wife when he heard their daughter's giggles.

"Oh, when did she get under there?" Y/n looked confused.

"This makes me scared of when she gets interested in boys." Rayvis sighed.

Anna giggled. Which made Rayvis and Y/n look at each other.

"I hope she doesn't sneak out," Rayvis whispered.

"Like mother, like daughter," Y/n whispered back.

Rayvis smiled. He was taken back to when he and Y/n met, a lot has changed since he caught her from falling down the stairs, but he wouldn't change it for the world. He had gotten a beautiful wife and daughter out of it.

Byron:

When Y/n first got pregnant, she and her husband decided, that although they have maids, they want to care for their child.

Byron was in his study about to go to join Y/n in their shared room, it was a busy day and the King of Stein wanted nothing more than to sleep with Y/n in his arms.

The door opened, drawing his attention. That's when he saw Emma slowly walking in, holding a book in one hand, and itching her eye in the other.

"I thought you were in bed? Are you okay?" Byron asked his daughter.

Emma nodded as she crawled up into her father's lap, resting her cheek against his chest, "can't sleep, can you read to me?"

Though he was really tired, Byron couldn't turn down those puppy eyes that match her mother's.

Byron smiled fondly when he opened the picture book, it was the story about the girl and wolf.

It was Emma's favorite like it was Y/n.

Byron started to read the book as Emma got comfortable. He was also fighting to stay awake.

He knew that ever since Y/n got pregnant with their second child, Emma started to feel that once the baby was here, she would be left out. So he wanted to make Emma know that she doesn't have to be afraid of that happening.

"I also had a nightmare, can I sleep with you can mommy?" Emma asked after a few more minutes.

"Yeah, you can." Byron patted her head, "do you want to talk about it?"

"There's a monster under my bed." Emma furrowed her eyebrows.

"There's no monster, honey," Byron spoke softly.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked hesitantly

"Of course! Even if there were monsters, I have a whole army of knights ready to protect you. And mommy and I would protect you too."

Emma nodded and Byron resumed reading. After a few more pages, Byron noticed that his daughter fell asleep,

He gently picked the little girl up in his arms and carried her to his and Y/n's room.

He laid her down between him and Y/n, who was already asleep, a hand on her growing baby bump.

Byron grinned, thankful for his family, he kissed the top of his wife and daughter's heads, and then placed his hand on Y/n's baby bump before falling into a peaceful, much-needed sleep.

Alyn:

Based on the sugar end, I don't know all of it, so I'm taking a guess.

It has been a couple of years since Alyn and Y/n ran away together, going as far from Wysteria as possible, getting married, and soon after bringing their son Liam into the world.

It was Y/n's birthday, so Alyn got up early, as did Liam. The little boy wanted to do something special, so he and Alyn decided to make breakfast in bed.

"We have to be quiet okay?" Alyn told his son as he helped him up on the chair so Liam could see over the counter.

"Can I help mix?" Liam asked.

"Of course little man." Alyn handed the wooden spoon over to his son.

Alyn would hold the bowl and Liam would mix, letting him know to mix a little harder and faster.

"I hope mom likes it," Liam spoke as he watched his dad put the batter into the pan.

"She will, especially if she knows you made it," Alyn reassured the little boy who resembled his mother.

"I drew her a picture too," Liam smiled.

"She will love it, she loves your drawings," Alyn ruffled Liam's hair "you can give it to mom when we give her the breakfast."

After the food was made, Liam followed his dad to his parent's room.

Liam jumped on the bed and put his arms around Y/n, "Mom, wake up, it's your birthday!"

Y/n slowly opened her eyes before stretching.

"Good morning baby," Y/n kissed the top of Liam's head.

She smiled when she saw her husband leaning against the doorframe, holding the tray of food. Alyn smiled back and walked over to her and sitting the tray on her lap.

"Happy Birthday, my love."

As the family ate their breakfast in bed, Alyn watched over them, smiling, he and Y/n went through a lot, but he wouldn't change the life he had now for anything.

Nico:

When Y/n first got pregnant, she and her husband decided, that although they have maids, they want to care for their child.

Nico sat in his daughter's room as she put a hat on top of his head. He smiled as Grace sat up the little table with her stuffed animals that her uncle King Byron gifted her on his recent visit.

Earlier, while Nico was finishing up work, Grace had gone up to her father, asking him if he could play tea party with her. Nico immediately agreed.

So there he sat, dressed as a pretty princess, just to make his little girl happy.

"Your tea," Grace did a little bow before pouring a little tea in her father's teacup. Nico noticed her face twist in pain.

"What happened?" He asked alarmed.

"Teapot is still hot." Grace whimpered as she held her hand.

"Let me see." Nico gently grabbed her hand to examine it, "aww baby, let's go run it under cold water."

Nico would carry the little girl to her connected bathroom and put her hand under cold water.

"It hurts." Grace cried.

Nico would hold her close, whispering reassurance in her ear, "It's okay, when I use to pour tea for your mom, I would do the same."

Once Grace's hand felt better, Nico would carry her pack to their little tea party and would pour the rest of the tea.

He could sense Grace was still upset so he would try to do silly things to make her laugh.

After Grace didn't feel any more pain, she was more lively. More so that she wanted to play princess fairy pirates.

Though that meant dressing up more, Nico didn't mind, even if it meant he had to wear fairy wings.

Nico would do anything to see his daughter happy, even if it meant playing princess fairy pirates and having a tea party with stuffed animals.

Albert:

When Y/n first got pregnant, she and her husband decided, that although they have maids, they want to care for their child.

Albert had woken up early, Y/n still asleep by him.

Last night, Albert had promised his son that he would teach him how to be like a knight.

Y/n said as long as they practice with wooden swords.

Albert kissed the top of Y/n's head before climbing out of bed and getting dressed.

Finn was already outside waiting with the wooden swords that Alyn had laid out for them the night before.

"Okay, you hold a sword like this," Albert showed, "it helps it move easily while you still have control over it."

"Like this?" Finn asked trying to mimic his dad.

"Yes, very good." Albert approved, "now you stand like this. It helps you keep balance, helps you stay standing and strong."

Albert walked around Finn, giving him pointers on his posture.

As Albert taught Finn how to fight, he also taught him the rules of a knight.

"Good job, buddy." Albert praised, "you're a natural."

Albert let Finn practice on him.

He took it easy on the young boy.

Albert could help but smile, he was so proud of his strong, determined son.

After a playful fight, they fell to the ground laughing.

"You did amazing for your first day." Albert ruffled his son's hair as they walked to the dining room.

"Thanks Dad," Finn smiled, "I want to be just like you when I'm older."

During breakfast, Finn told Y/n all about the morning with his dad.

Y/n agreed on her husband and son showing her later.

She cheered Finn on the whole time.

Wanting his son to be happy, Albert faked a fall, letting Finn win.

"Pretty soon you'll be better than me," Albert told his son.

While Y/n wasn't paying attention, Albert nudged Finn's shoulder and leaned down to whisper, "want to go sneak attack Nico?"

Finn nodded and Albert couldn't be more proud.

Giles:

When Y/n first got pregnant, she and her husband decided, that although they have maids, they want to care for their child.

When Y/n told Giles that she was pregnant, he was beyond happy.

Even more so when he heard the cries of a healthy baby girl.

Got confused Y/n confessed to feeling the need to push more.

Then it hit him.

They're having twins.

It was another healthy baby girl.

As they got older, they shared their father's love for cats.

So one day, while Giles and Y/n were in town for business, they took Lilly and Lara with them.

Y/n had a meeting to go to while in town, so the twins stayed with their father.

The three of them walked around town, talking to the townspeople and looking at all the different shops.

The five years old twins, saw someone selling kittens.

Both of them turned to stare up at their father.

With puppy eyes.

Giles lost.

He bought the girls the kittens, who happened to also be twins.

Giles knew Y/n wouldn't mind since they were talking about kitting the girls a pet, to help give them responsibilities.

While Giles carried the box with the kittens, he taught his daughters what the cats would need.

Later that night, Giles on the floor in the library with the girls around him, playing with the kittens.

Michelangelo was jealous, so he went and sat on Y/n's lap, who was readying a book, watching her small family have fun.

"Okay, girls," Giles explained smiling at them, "in a little bit, during dinner, we need to let them get used to the palace."

During dinner, Giles would tell the girls facts about cats.

Robert:

Robert thought that Peter was finally old enough to hold a paintbrush.

So while he had some free time, Robert took his son to his paint room.

The child was amazed by all the colors in the room.

"Mom?" He pointed at a painting Robert did of Y/n sometime after he and got engaged.

"Yeah, that's your mommy." Robert smiled.

Robert sat Peter on his lap in front of the easel that held a black canvas.

Robert picked up a brush and dipped the tip into some paint.

He did a little line on the canvas, showing Peter how to use it.

Peter made grabby hands with his chubby little hands, giggling with amazement.

Robert handed the boy the brush and moved Peter's hand to the paint.

"And now you move it across the canvas," Robert explained, "we'll do it like this for now and when you get older I'll teach you more about painting."

Robert watched with pride as his son had the time of his life decorating with all kinds of different colors.

"When this is done drying, do you want to give it to mom?" Robert asked.

"Yeah," Peter spoke before rubbing his hands all over the still wet canvas, smearing paint all over it.

Robert's eyes widened, but his lips turned into a smile, once he heard Peter's giggles.

"Well, that's one way to do it." Robert snickered.

Robert let Peter paint until he was done.

"Good job, buddy." Robert praised as he kissed the top of his son's head.

From that moment, on Robert loved teaching his son how to paint.

[damn-stark]

Number Eight pt.1

A/N-I had fun with this request and kind of want to make it into more parts. What do you all think??

Warning-swearing, angst

Based off Episode- 1x01

————

The sound of your fork scraping on the bottom of your empty bowl echoes around the table. Feeling your siblings eyes focused on your slumped figure, and watching the “bad” manners you displayed as you put your elbow on the table top to rest your chin on your hand.

No one dared at first to speak on your posture in fear of angering your father with speaking while eating, but Allison as always dared to correct you to do better even if she wasn’t allowed to talk. “Y/N—”

“Number eight.” Your father interrupted sharply, “sit up right and get your elbow off the table.”

Your eyes dart to him to shoot him a glare as you slowly drag your arm off and sit up straight, huffing out dramatically. Usually Ben would tell you to stop and just listen, but as you looked to where he usually sat, it was empty. A fact that made you even angrier. The feeling causes you to stab your fork on the table, the sound making everyone around look to you.

“Yes, number eight?” Your father spoke, his eyes like all the rest on you before you erupted from your seat and snapped.

“Are we going to do nothing about Ben? Are we not going to try and get him back?”

“The only possible way to have done so was with number five, but he as you know is no longer with us.”

You scoff, “and are we not going to do anything about him either? He just disappeared and you did nothing!”

“He made a mistake, there was nothing we could do. Now don’t talk about it anymore.” He argued, expecting you to sit back down after he finished but noticing you that you weren’t and you remained defiant. You looked to your other siblings to see if they would back you up, but as you looked at each of them one by one, none said a thing and instead avoided your gaze, making you let out an irritated huff of air and look back at your father to continue arguing.

“But I could. I could use my powers to try and bring them back! Both Ben and five!”

“No!” He sneered, “you are not, your powers are not fully developed, nor discovered. If you try anything you will end up just like number five did! Sit down number eight, right now!”

You scoff, “no, if you’re not going to try anything, I will.” You open your palms and a purple energy hue begins to surround your hands, turning brighter and bigger as you begin to use all your strength.

“Number eight!”

Shooting him one last glare you try your best, mostly unaware of what you’re going to do and just going off what you’ve been taught so far and have been learning yourself. It was a daring choice that could have an dangerous outcome mainly for yourself, but all you wanted to do was bring your brothers back and well you had faith that it was going to work and everything was going to be fine. It was going to work—

The purple hues that emitted from your and surrounded your hands turned brighter and this time you saw some of your siblings stand to watch what you were doing, their attention going to you and the purple hues. Before any could stop you, as you felt the energy of your power built up inside you, you shot it out in a big wave that blinded you for a couple of seconds.

A couple seconds that you only realized changed everything as you blinked repeatedly and your eyesight refocused on your surroundings, focused and noticed the same sunny day, but only something was off. As the sun peeked inside there was a purple hue as well. Actually now that you looked around, the purple hue was everywhere. And everyone was gone.

You raced to the living room to look over the chimney and notice that Five’s picture was gone...strange—where was everyone?

It was quiet, mom wasn’t around and neither was Pogo. Hmm—hesitantly you leave the living room area and head to the main hall, looking up the stairs to wait if you would hear the usual noise your siblings made. But as you focused, nothing was heard. So again with some hesitance you followed to move along, walking up the stairs and going to check the rooms. When you reach the hall you freeze as you hear commotion coming from Five’s room.

“No.” You whisper before your attention gets stolen by more noise further down the hall. Your eyebrows furrow and your heart begins to beat rapidly inside your chest.

It couldn’t possibly be any of your other siblings, if it was them you’d know. They were gone, but there was obviously someone here. You slowly approach Five’s room and before you could poke your head inside he walks out. You blink and he raises his eyebrow.

“Five.” You breath in a state of shock.

“Y/N.” His eyes narrowed as he tilted his head slightly, “are you okay?”

You swallow thickly, “are you? Where have you been?”

“Here.” He said slowly and slightly confused, “because you want me here. Don’t you remember?”

You blink once more and step back, snapping your head to the end of the hall as you hear quick footsteps run towards you—Ben. Holy shit. What’s going on?

“Y/N! No more training, let's go outside and play that new game, Klaus made up.” He stops a few feet away from Five and you, and looks happily between the both of you. “Five join us.”

“Ben?” You manage to roll out slowly. “You’re here?”

Five looks to you and shoved his hands in his pockets, “again he’s here because you want him here. You have the power of Chaos Magic reality warping, it’s as dad says, your powers are still not fully discovered. This might just be an extension of them.”

“But why aren’t the rest here?”

Five shrugs, “you tell me.”

Your eyes fall to the ground and think, even if deep inside your mind you knew. You left because you wanted to help Five and Ben. You were just following your own plan.

The corner of your lips fall into a frown at the fact that he might’ve been right about your powers. Maybe this was a crazy idea, but Five and Ben were here. You missed them and you also couldn’t leave them. Maybe you could take him back? Or maybe not? What did you even do?

Father was right….

“So do you want to come or not, y/n?” Ben asked again.

You looked up to him and then five...noticing the smile that Ben so rarely displayed and only did so around either of your siblings or you, while also showing his usual playful side that father barely let him show with all the training and fighting. That he let either of you show. So maybe this wasn’t the worst choice, maybe you could stay for a little while...just a little while.

You grin and nod, “let’s go!”

——

1 year later

As time passed the illusion of having both brothers back was one that you didn’t want to let go, even as much as the presence of your siblings were beginning to slowly weigh down your heart. Yes they were loud and they could sometimes get on your nerves, but they were still your siblings, you still wanted them around. Even if they fought and didn’t listen you missed them, it wasn’t the same without them. As the year passed that feeling didn’t leave your mind. But you also couldn’t find a way to bring them here nor take Five and Ben back with you.

Endless studying also resulted with the same knowledge you had learned before your trip here. Just like everyone and everything remained the same. Just like the purple hue surrounding the world you made.

It was probably time to go home…..even if your father would be furious—hopefully a whole year passing has called him down.

“You know….” You mutter as you put down the peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich, “I think it’s time for me to go back.”

Five and Ben both look at you and put down their own sandwich.

You fiddle with the sleeve of your uniform jacket and feel tears sting your eyes, hear the crack in your voice as you try and continue explaining. “You know I’ve tried to take you guys back but I can’t find a way. But maybe with more practice I can try again later on.” You sniffle and wipe the tears of your cheeks. “For now though I think I need to go back with the rest.”

Five nods, “if that’s what you want.”

“Yeah,” Ben agrees with a half smile, “we understand.”

The corner of your lips tug into a sad smile and you reach to grab both of their hands to give them a gentle squeeze. “I’ll come back again.” A purple energy hue begins to emit from your palms and surround both hands, the hue brightening and growing more powerful with more strength. You sniffle and shut your eyes, feeling warm tears roll down the curve of your cheeks just as you send a wave of the purple hue energy out. The power of it once again seeming to explode in a bright light, changing everything and taking the feeling of both of your brothers hands away.

As expected when you opened your eyes they were both gone—exhaling shakily, you pull both arms off the table to push yourself off your seat, looking to the dining room and seeing the sunlight begin to slowly dim as dark clouds began to cover it. It was a normal occurrence, but the day you left it was a sunny day all day, and well your family had been here, now they were gone too, like when you left the first time.

No.

Quickly you ran out of the dining room and rushed to the living room, skidding to a stop once you recognized five and a strange woman standing in front of the chimney looking at a painted portrait of Five and you placed over it. “What the hell?” You mouthed completely stunned.

They both turn their heads and the woman seems to be more surprised than…Five was; while you were more shocked to see Five.

Did it work? Did you bring him back? No, he would’ve been next to you if you had and he was suddenly here now next to this weird woman who looked familiar.

“Five?”

“Y/N?” The strange woman voiced in a surprised tone at the same time you called Five. “What the….how are you back?”

Your gaze drifted to her and your eyebrows knotted together. “Who are you?”

She blinked as her lips were left parted in surprise. “It’s Vanya.”

“Vanya?” You scoffed and shook your head, looking back at Five to question him too. “How are you here?”

“Holy shit! Y/N?!” You turn around at the sound of your name and see a thin man with dark hair and in a skirt who looked familiar as well. “What?!”

“Who are you?” You ask as you take a cautious step back, noticing more adults walk down the stairs and walk into the living room, all of them expressing the same shocked expression as they spotted you. But also seeming familiar to you. It wasn’t until you noticed Pogo come along as well did you feel some type of reassurance. “Pogo! What’s going on? Who are these people? Where’s dad?”

“Y/N?” He questioned as well, almost as if they had never seen you when you’ve been gone for only minutes or a couple hours.

“Where are the rest? Allison? Mom? Klaus? Diego? And Luther?” You queried in a panicked voice

The tall and pretty women approached first, “it’s us, y/n. We’re here. How are you back?”

You blink repeatedly and shrug, “I used my powers, like when I left. How are you older?”

“You’ve been gone for sixteen years.” A buff and tall man answered for the lady, the answer makes you gasp and shake your head in disbelief.

“Wow today has just been an exciting reunion.” The same man in the skirt shares with a smile, “First Five comes back from whatever time he was in and now you come back too.”

So Five is actually back for real….that’s good to know. Now all you need to know is what’s going on with you? Is this just another effect of your powers? No, couldn’t be. As you looked around the room there was no purple hue. It all looked normal.

“Where’s dad?” You question again. “I need to talk to him.”

They all look at each other and their shell shocked expression falls and turns serious and almost sad.

“Who’s going to tell her?” The man in the skirt asked.

Pogo walked closer and took your hand in his, looking up at you with a saddened look. “Y/N, your father has unfortunately passed away.” You grow quiet and your eyes again look to the ground. You exhale deeply and repeat what Pogo had said.

Your father wasn’t the best, but he was still your dad. A man you haven’t seen in a year...or sixteen apparently. Not only that but he might be the only person who understood your powers and understood what had happened. Now he wasn’t here to explain.

“Oh,” you breathe softly, looking up to the people that claimed to be your siblings. “How do I know you guys are telling the truth?”

The man in the skirt lifts his jacket sleeve and shows the tattoo you had as well. A sign that only the selected few had.

“Okay.” You nod, looking up to meet his gaze and then the rest, trying to place a name with a face. “You must be Klaus,” you say as you point to the man in the skirt, who smiles as a response before you look at the taller women, “you’re Allison,” you then turn to the buff man, “Luther,” and then you turn to the man in all black with knives sheathed around him, “Diego.”

“Yes you’re correct.” Pogo speaks for them, “all your siblings are here. For your father's funeral.”

You nod, “okay.”

“Where have you been? How are you still young?” Vanya asks as she walks around you to be in front of you.

You shrug, “I don’t even know, here but not here. I don’t know. I used my powers and they took me to the house, I saw Ben and five but that’s all. Only a year passed though. Not sixteen.”

“Well,” Allison spoke up as she walked closer to you, “we’re glad you’re back. We missed you.” She then wrapped you in a hug you didn’t hesitate to return.

“I missed you guys too.” You whispered.

“Now come on, we have to go outside.”

——

The rain poured down, making the energy around even sadder. Adding actually a tension around the group that you had felt before and only increased tenfold. Not only that but Mom had been acting weird. She reacted to your return in a weird way. Acting as if you had never been gone. Acting a little clueless to everything. “Did something happen?”

All of you turned to her after her question and Allison answered first. “Dad died. Remember?”

“Oh. Yes, of course.”

“Is mom okay?” You ask them, which Diego of course is the first one to do so.

“Yeah, yeah, she’s fine. She just needs to rest. You know, recharge.”

Pogo walks and joins the group and turns to Luther holding the vase. He opens and all the ashes fall lumply to the ground. His added words make things just plain awkward. “Probably would’ve been better with some wind.”

You scratch the back of your head and suck in air through your teeth softly, looking to the ground and avoiding the awkward tension as Pogo questions the group and no one answers. “Does anyone wish to speak?” He only pauses for a moment and continues with his own words that Diego soon harshly interrupted.

“He was a monster...”

Klaus chuckles and you frown.

“...He was a bad person and a worse father. The worlds better off without him.”

Allison calls to him sharply, “Diego.”

“My name is number two.” He corrects her. “You know why? Because our father couldn’t be bothered to give us actual names. He had mom do it.”

“Would anyone like something to eat?” Mom asks, making Vanya dismiss her kindly.

“Look you wanna pay your respects, go ahead.”

“Diego,” you call, “stop.”

He shakes his head and continues, “but at least be honest about the man he was.”

Luther having enough finally speaks up. “You should stop talking now.” But Diego doesn’t stop and continues, making Luther swing his fist at Diego. Who instantly fought back, their punches loud as their fists came in contact with their wet skin—at least nothing has changed.

Pogo leaves and Allison pulls you back with her as both boys continue to the point where Luther the statue of Ben breaks as it falls. Making you have enough and shout at them to stop, a little too late as Diego manages to throw one last move, cutting Luther's arm with his knife. “Guys! Stop! You guys are brothers! Not wild Animals! Yes dad was not the best man but he was still our father! If you have nothing good to say, Diego just be quiet and at least show respect for a little while.”

Those siblings left standing around all look at you and their faces fall, none of them speaking or continuing the fight, all of them except for Luther staying quiet. “Sorry, y/n, I know it must be harder for you, I’m sorry.” Just with that he proceeded to leave, holding his wound and disappearing inside, before you also disappeared inside with Allison. And soon falling into a loud silence inside as you left to your room that had remained the same after all the years you left. Which was at least good, that way you knew mom never forgot you. Just like your father didn’t as the portrait of Five and you hung above the chimney. The only thing that changed was your siblings. Well all except for Five. He at least remained the same, some sense of familiarity in this strange new time.

“Where’s Vanya?” Allison asked as she joined Five and Klaus and you in the kitchen.

“Oh, she’s gone.” Klaus answered nonchalantly.

“That’s unfortunate.” Five responded as he turned away from what he was looking for, only not to talk about Vanya. “An entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, nineteen bathrooms, but not a single drop of coffee.”

“Dad hated caffeine.” You mention.

“Well he hated children, too and he had plenty of us.” Klaus laughs.

“I’m taking the car.” Five says abruptly, before he blinks away and Diego’s walks in with his bags.

“All right, I guess I’ll see you guys in, what, ten years? When Pogo dies?”

Allison scoffs, “not if you die first.”

“Yeah, love you too, sis.” Diego says as he steals food from your plate, patting your shoulder to talk to you. “I’ll see you soon, y/n.”

“Will you?” You quirk your eyebrow.

“Of course. You know you were always my favorite.”

You chuckle and shake your head, the smile not lasting as he makes a rude comment about Allison. “Good luck on your next film. Hope it turns out better than your marriage, huh?”

Allison ignores and storms out of the room, disappearing out of the room just like Diego and Klaus. Leaving you to dwell with your confusion and sadness alone.

[taeyohonic]

Zero Percent

Summary: There is a zero percent chance the Park Jimin likes you, right?

Pairing: Jimin x fem!Reader

Genre: College AU, Golden Boy!Jimin, Actor!Jimin, Group Project Hell

Warnings: swearwords, one scene where the reader gets groped without consent (obviously not by Jimin)

Words: 5k

Monday – 9:47 am – PoliSci lecture

Everybody likes Park Jimin. Not only is he the star of the drama department – making the Dean cry with his performance as Hamlet during freshmen year. No, he is also the head of the Environmental Club and part of the most elusive fraternities on campus.

Park Jimin is kind, smart and handsome. The guy is constantly surrounded by fellow frat brothers, drooling girls and you even heard a story about a stray kitten following Jimin around, resulting in him adopting the little cat.

So, you aren’t really surprised when he doesn’t remember you – you only share two classes and one lecture with him. It does sting a bit, though.

“And you are?”, the golden star asks, looking at you with friendly distance in his eyes.

“_______”, you answer.

It follows an awkward silence – all four of you staring at each other with unease. There is no greater hell than group projects. You’ve got no friends, or even acquaintances, in this course. It isn’t like you are a recluse. You just have a very small circle of friends. And you don’t have any desire to change that.

“Well”, Jimin begins and unlocks his iPhone, “let’s start with a shared google docs.” Now he hands his device over to the girl with thick rimmed glasses. She looks like murder and you are woman enough to admit you’re a bit afraid of her. She does start your 8 am lecture with an energy drink and cold pizza. every. single. week.

“We could meet up before class next week to divide the parts among us?”, the guy to your right offers and you haven’t ever heard him speak before. He usually just sits in class and doodles in his sketchbooks. The red one he is resting on right now is the third book you’ve seen him use in the last month.

Your eyes widen as his words reach your tired brain. Meeting up before class? Before 8 am?

The girl gives you Jimin’s phone and you add your contacts half-minded. There is not even a single crack on his screen. Is this guy even real?

“How about after class?”, Jimin suggests instead and winks at you. You nearly drop his phone when you see his left eye closing in mischief. Did Jimin really just wink at you?

“Nah, I’m packed till practice”, the guy answers and takes the iPhone out of your hands.

“What about this weekend?”, the girl asks and opens her calendar.

“I could manage Sunday afternoon”, Jimin says and stores his phone back in his jeans. His way too tight jeans. The jeans you’ve been staring at all through lunch today. He was wrestling for … uhm… fun with one of his brothers – Jungkook you think – and his ass was just… very present pressed against the denim.

“Sounds good”, the sketch guy says and the girl nods in agreement. Now all of them look at you; the person that did in fact have plans for Sunday. But you doubt they’d be very understanding of your self-care day off from the week.

“Yeah, sure”, you agree reluctantly and fish out your own smartphone, an old grandfather of Jimin’s model with many cracks littering the screen. Without looking up, you delete the do not disturb block in your calendar and create a new appointment: group project politics.

“We can meet up at the PoliSci library; I’ll get us a study room”, Jimin says and stands up – his tights directly in your eyesight. There is a hint of blush on your cheeks as you pack your things together yourself.

“Great”, the other guy cheers – way too enthusiastic – and departs from your group. His sketchbook is raised as he waves at you. You turn around to the others and they are both gone too. Well, what did you expect from a group assignment worth 15% of your grade with random people? Did you see Jimin’s back as he exited the lecture room? Maybe. And did your eyes lay a bit longer on his butt? It’d be a crime if they didn’t.

**

Wednesday – 10:03 pm – dorm room

“No way!”, your roommate shouts, her voice a shrill pain in your head. “Not the Park” You just nod, your late-night ramen hot on your tongue.

“How did you manage that?”, she asks and nibs on some seaweed crackers.

“Random assignment”, you mutter as you swallow down your food.

“You lucky, lucky bitch!” She throws one half-eaten cracker in your face.

“It’s a group project, not a blind date, Jisoo.”

There is a zero percent chance that the Park Jimin is even slightly interested in you. But then you remember his wink and you up your chances to three percent.

“Let’s get some beer to celebrate!”, your roommate suggests and totally ignores your unenthusiastic posture. The day was long – after working a shift at the kiosk on campus.

“I’m tired”, you whine, but your body moves as you get dragged to your feet by Jisoo. “My noodles”, you cry. She just rolls her eyes and pushes the warm cup into your hands. “Eat them on the way.”

You grumble the whole walk to the kiosk you worked just a few hours ago. There are so much more options to get two cans of beer at 10 pm on a Wednesday, but you do get a 5% employee discount – plus the 20% for being a student.

“Do you think he’ll invite you to the fancy parties?”, Jisoo wonders and swings your entwined hands between you. Your other hand holds your food – you want to save the rest up for drinking.

“Before or after I bear his heir?” Jimin’s fraternity is legendary for its exclusive parties. In contrast to most frats, theirs is known for the tight circle of invites. These events had a hand-picked guestlist, no cheap alcohol in sight. There were even rumors that Jimin makes all partygoers use reusable cups to reduce plastic trash. You do remember reading about this in one of the columns of your university paper.

“You’ll be fat after birth, so preferably before”, she reasons. You nod – true.

“I ain’t see any fat”, a male voice slurs and then you feel hands on your butt. You turn around, recognizing a squeeze before the hand leaves your body. As you see the guy who touched you, you feel fear setting in your bones. There are three of them and they do look very drunk. The darkened ally is not the most favorable spot to meet jerks. You can see the light from your store coming up ahead, but it’s late and deserted and they touched you.

“HEY”, Jisoo shouts and moves in front of your body. “NO TOUCHING WITHOUT CONCENT!”

His two friends are shocked by her loud outbreak and take a step back, but the toucher is still standing his ground. “Yo, be chill, bitch”, he says. Oh, he did not. Before you can even think about it, your arm moves on its own account. The lukewarm soup and the noodles splash in his face, coating his shirt and dripping on the cement. The guy’s eyes widen in surprise, but then they light up with anger. Shit. “Shit”, Jisoo whispers out loud.

And then Park Jimin is there, pushing in front of you. He creates a human wall between you and the three guys. His body heaves as he breathes in fast intervals. He must have run after he heard Jisoo’s shouting.

“Back off”, the golden boy says with a calm voice. His blond hair is so close, you are sure you can smell his eucalyptus shampoo.

“Hey man, this is between me and these two bitches”, the other guy answers, insulting you again.

“You’ve got a minute till my brothers catch up”, Jimin states. “Go. Now.”

Maybe the guy was too far gone, alcohol clouding his judgment, but he needs his two buddies nearly dragging him away from you. They whisper in his ears, half bowing to Jimin. “So sorry, man”, one of them says, clearly having recognized the star student even in the dark.

Jimin doesn’t react. Instead, he turns around to you and you get to look at his angered face. “Why are you two out here? Alone? In the middle of the night? Where is your rape whistle? Hm?”, he asks. You just watch him with surprised eyes.

“Hmm?”, he questions again, stepping closer to you. Jisoo stares silently at Jimin. She has never spoken to him but has always been a strong advocate for watching his ass during lunch.

“Uhm”, you try to answer and swallow the fear from moments ago down. “We… we-were getting to the part?”

Jimin just scoffs in your face, clearly not impressed with your fumbled words. “What are you even doing out here at this time?”

You are slightly intimidated by his presence, so your finger shakes a bit as you point to the kiosk behind you. “We wanted beer.”

**

You have no idea how this happened. One second you were assaulted, then saved by Jimin. Now you’re sitting in front of the store, waiting for the guy to come back out. Jisoo is sitting next to you on the steps, her elbows on her knees. Then you hear the bell at the door and turn around to see Jimin juggling three beers under his right arm and a steaming cup of noodles in his left hand. He comes to a still before you and pushes the ramen in your hands. After that he places two bottles in front of your feet and crouches down facing you. Jimin’s face has cleared and he looks friendly enough.

“Thanks”, you whisper into your cup. Jisoo hums in agreement.

“I called one of my brothers. He’ll get the footage from one of the security cameras tomorrow”, he explains and twists his own beer open, taking a big swing.

“Why?”, you ask confused and blow at your noodles. Jimin’s eyebrows furrow.

“What do you mean why? So, we can write these bastards up”, he says, and you gasp in surprise, the noodles falling back into the cup.

“You’d… do that for us? Even though you haven’t even seen him… uhm… grabbing me?”, you question in wonder. Why would he go out on a limb for you?

Jimin just rolls his eyes at you. “Of course, I’d do that.”

He is halfway through his beer when Jisoo decides to participate in this semi silent semi one-sided conversation.

“What … were you – you know – doing out this late?”, she wants to know in the softest tone you’ve ever heard her speak in.

Jimin’s hand combs through his hair, the thick strands parted by his fingertips. “I was on a date”, he answers casually.

“On a Wednesday?” Maybe not your smartest contribution because both let out a chuckle.

“Some people date during the week”, Jisoo snorts.

“Some people do meth, Jisoo. Doesn’t mean these are good life choices. Wait – Jimin… did you leave your date to…”

“To rescue two girls from danger? Yeah.”, he finishes for you and dusts invisible dirt from his shoulders. You roll your eyes at his puffed chest and eat another bite of your food.

“Nah, I’m just messing with you”, he laughs, “I was just on my way back from dropping her off at thes dorms.”

After that, there is an awkward silence. The three of you aren’t friends – there is no connection, common interest or shared anecdotes between you. Well, apart from your group project and his unborn son. Before you can start to ramble about the specifics of the – still empty – google docs he linked you in two days ago, his cell starts vibrating.

“Yeah?”, Jimin answers absently and collects your empty bottles to dispose them into the recycling bin. His conversation is muffled at best and you look at your roommate. Again, you hear the bell ring as your coworker Jaehyung closes the door and locks the store.

He smiles down at you. “Why didn’t you come inside, ______?”, he asks in greetings and gives you a quick hug. You hold your ramen in a vice grip – you’ll not lose your second midnight snack again.

“Jimin insisted he didn’t need the 5% extra discount”, you shrug and Jaehyung looks at you funny.

“Jimin?”, he wonders and steals a bite of your noodles. Is there even a god?

“That’ll be me”, the man in question responds and locks his iPhone as he joins the extended group.

“Ah, man… I loved how you absolutely killed it last week on stage”, Jaehyung praises and pats the lead actor on the back. You couldn’t agree more. You’d been there with all the student employees from the kiosk. Jaehyung made it his mission to justify the outing as a bonding experience and teamwork task to your boss.

“This one even had tears in her eyes”, he whispers in mock secrecy and points in your face. Jimin looks at you with an unspoken question on his lips. The actor stops studying you and moves his eyes to look at your coworker, who stands very closed to your sitting figure.

“Glad you enjoyed it”, Jimin mumbles and spares a small smile. “I… really have to get to the frat soon”, he starts, “so, … I’ll better get you two to your room now.”

Jisoo stands up in a heartbeat, dragging you up as well. He’s going to walk you home?

“Nah, don’t worry, man. I’ve got this!”, Jaehyung answers. Jimin’s face is blank as he musters the scene in front of him.

“I’d really like to know that you got back okay”, he reasons and looks pointedly at your coworker.

“Their dorm is waaay out of your way, man. Just let me handle this… It’s the same direction for me anyway”, Jaehyung tries to reason and you see Jimin’s eyes flash in frustration.

Jisoo is just looking between both men, not really sure how to react. Has Jimin an ulterior motive to walk you back? Does he even want to walk you back? Is it more than just soothing his conscious?

Maybe your chances of the Park Jimin being interested in you just upped from three to fifteen percent.

“Sure”, Jimin reluctantly agrees to Jaehyung’s plan and faces you, his stare zeroing in on you.

“Write me when you get home?”, he demands more than asks and you can only nod dumbfounded.

“Just,… let me give you my number so you’ll be able to text me”, Jimin reasons and stretches his hand out to get your phone. You look at him in confusion – you exchanged numbers two days ago during class. He was the one messaging all of you.  

“I… uhm… have your number”, you tell him. His eyes widen in surprise.

“Since when?”, the campus star asks and musters you in suspicion. Your face colors instantly, a deep red tone on your cheeks, as you realize that Jimin doesn’t remember you’re in his group assignment. He… doesn’t even recognize you. You feel so embarrassed, more so when Jisoo, too, sucks in her breathe.

“Uhm”, this is… very humiliating, “we’re i- in the same.. group for our PoliSci class.”

There is a beat of silence as you see even Jimin’s cheeks dusted with a hint of red.

“Ah, right, sorry”, he says and massages his neck uncomfortably. “I didn’t recognize you without your glasses.” Kill me now.

You just laugh and swallow down the bitter taste in your mouth while moving closer to your friend. Now, he thinks you’re the murderer? There is no mercy for your pride here.

“Let’s get going, ______”, Jisoo says, way too chipper and links your arms as she pulls you away from this disaster. “Thanks again, Jimin-ssi.”

“Yeah”, you agree and bow in front of him to cover the humiliation painted across your face.

Jimin bites on his bottom lip, all too tempted to reply, but settles for a swift nod.

Then the three of you walk away and ss soon as he is out earshot, Jaehyung looks at you.

“I have never seen you wearing glasses, ______”

Well, maybe your predictions were a bit off, maybe your chances with Jimin were no more than two percent.

**

Sunday – 4:32 pm – PoliSci library

“Should we… just start?”, you ask as Jimin fiddles with his tablet. You’re both seated in one of the small study rooms of your library. There is a half-empty box of chocolates between you. Jimin presented them with a shrug – they were a present he got after his last performance, the sweets a gift from one of his fanclubs… yeah… plural.

Other than that, there is your old laptop in the desk, some of the books from your professor’s reading list spread around the table, and an empty water bottle. What is not here, is the rest of the group.

You don’t have their numbers, Jimin being the organizer out of the four of you. His is the only number that is saved in your phone and was used last Wednesday. There was a small part of you – hell, who are you kidding? – a big part of you, that didn’t want to text Jimin. After the embarrassment died down that night, you were really angry. How could he? He winked at you one day and then forgot he even knows you the next day?

You wanted him to be ashamed; having him franticly messaging the wrong girl in his group would have served him right. And judging by the sheer joy this girl is, he’d have gotten an earful calling her at midnight.

But then you didn’t want to imagine him realizing he had the wrong girl. No, you wanted to be present. So, you texted him briefly and rescheduled the reveal for this Sunday, when he’d see both of you. And now you two are alone. Perfect planning, ______.

“You texted them, right?”, you ask for the tenth time and Jimin nods, picking one more praline from the box.

“Yeah, and I also called while you were peeing”, Jimin answers and pops the dark chocolate in his mouth.

“Don’t say that word”, you say.

“What? Pee?”, he laughs, “Be happy I didn’t say piss.”

“Now you said it too”, you whine.

“What else am I supposed to say, _______?” Oh, the right name; nice.

“Going to the toilette? Stepping out for a second? Leaving the room?”, you list and grab a sweet. The air between you both isn’t exactly uncomfortable. You’ve licked your wounds over the rest of the week and can see your partner for what he is, an overachiever.

He has much on his plate, so many appointments and engagements, it’s no wonder he doesn’t remember one of the hundred of faces on campus. So, you decided to forgive him… to a certain degree. The degree being, that a.) he doesn’t even know there is an issue and b.) your big revenge fell down the drain with your female partner being a non-show.

For the last half hour, the two of you talked, mainly about organisatory stuff like due-dates and presentation formats. But then you pointed to the box of chocolates and you both strayed into more private matters. You complimented him – again – for his performance and Jimin expressed his relief that he received all-around glowing reviews. He even shared that there was a casting coach at one of the stage nights. The golden boy’s eyes lit up, as he talked about the offer to sign a contract with this coach, who was one of the most in-demands in his profession.

“We could just divide the parts evenly among us and pick the ones most to our liking”, your partner offers and shares his tablet with you.

“I doodled with a few topics last night… what do you think, _____?”, he asks, and you look at his notes. Of course, his doodles look like your versions of an exposé.

Why does he have so much resources to prep for this meeting when he can’t even filter your face?

“Yeah, the second theme looks… uhm quite promising”, you say and move to enlarge his mind map. You’re sure the first proposal is just as good, but there were a few words that you don’t even know how to pronounce.

The two of you work productively for the next half hour, separating some key elements of the theory and choosing your own parts. Jimin – being the one coming up with the whole topic – let’s you pick first. You try to decline but he is very adamant.

After you added all your points into the shared document, the both of you pack away your things and Jimin throws away the empty box of chocolates. So much for a healthy afternoon snack.

Jimin is just happily telling you he’ll sleep in tomorrow because your professor canceled your shared lecture. You can’t agree more – having moved your self-care day to tomorrow instead. You’ll skip your tutoring session in the evening, so the whole day is yours. A smile stretches across your face and you hear Jimin stumble on his words as he looks at you.

“There is a party at my frat today, if you wanne come?”, he offers and slings his backpack over his shoulders. Wait… what?

“A Bangtan Party?”, you whisper-shout and look at him – the smile frozen on your lips.

Jimin looks a bit embarrassed as he sees your excitement.

“Yeah… I could set you on the guestlist?”, he say, a bit unsure. Your brain is working overtime. The Park Jimin wants you at his party? The girl he couldn’t even remember a few days ago? A mere group project fail?

“Really?”, you ask as you feel anticipation cursing through your veins.

“Really.” Jimin’s eyes are nearly closed, a bright smile pushing his cheeks up.

Maybe… Maybe your chances of the Park Jimin being interested in you are higher than you thought, now that he knows who you are. You’ll give yourself solid 20 percent. This party is one of the most exclusive affairs on campus, why else invite you if there isn’t some interest at his end?

“Cool”, you say, “can I bring my roommate?”

Jimin nods and holds open the door, closing and locking it behind him.

“I’ll see you tonight then?”, he asks instead of saying goodbye and moves away from you. You see Jungkook… and is that Namjoon?... waiting two aisles behind you, talking to each other in hushed voices. You wave at Jimin in affirmation and turn around.  

**

“Don’t you think this is way too short?”, you ask – your insecurity slipping right out as you brush over the fabric of your dark red metallic skirt. Jisoo and you have been getting ready for the last few hours, which entailed not only some very hairspray-intense styling but also a tree diagram being constructed on the back of your pre-game nachos. Your roommate collected and rated every clue you gave her regarding the Park Jimin mystery – of course only after she squealed for a good minute.

“No touching my stuff”, Jisoo scolds and knocks away your fidgeting hands. She added ten percent to your prediction because she upvoted him rescuing you – and staring at Jaehyung in frustration – way higher than his misjudgment of forgetting your name and face. Even thought you pointed out that Jimin was on a date clearly indicating he maybe isn’t even emotional available.

“Your stuff is on my body, though”, you argue as both of you walk to the frat house. Their house isn’t that far off campus but it still is a 20 minute walk. You’ve got your pepper spray with you this time even if you left your rape whistle at home. There are few students out this evening, tomorrow being Monday making most of them stay in tonight. Before you can take the last turn do that their house comes into view, there is a person calling your name from behind.

You look and see the sketchbook guy from your group project jogging towards you. Jisoo looks at you questionably, not recognizing him. There is suppressed anger on your face and you try really hard not to be too mean to the person who left you and Jimin waiting today.

“Yeah?”, you ask and look at the slightly out of breath guy now in front of you. He’s got a gym bag over his shoulders, his running shoes still on his feet.

“Good workout today?”, you add with slight sarcasm in your voice. There seems to be a slight issue in translation because he just smiles wider at you as he gives you a small bow.

“Thanks to you, of course”, he answers, and you are this close to hitting a person today.

“What?”, you hiss and try to control your anger. This useless excuse of a PoliSci major will not lower your standards. Now the guy looks at you with a puzzled expression on his face – clearly not expecting you to me so hostile.

“You know? Yo- you and Jimin offering to do the selecting and dividing by yourselves really helped me out today.” Come again?

“What?”, you repeat this time without venom in your voice. His face moves to the side as he musters you carefully.

“Uhm… Jimin called on Thursday… telling us not to bother coming on Sunday”, he explains slowly as if you’re the dumb one. Jimin did what?

“What?”, you ask for a third time and now he and Jisoo look at you with worry.

“He.. he.. I mean Jimin – he mentioned that you two were totally fine with doing it alone… Mina and I offered to finalize and proofread the presentation in return”, he continues and you are just confused. So, so confused.

Why would Jimin lie to them – and to you?

“Ehm.. I’m sorry…”, you look at him sheepishly. He seems to understand and adds “Wobin”.

“Yeah, right… Wobin… this is a huge misunderstanding … let me – uhm talk to Jimin”, you say, the confusion slowing down your word flow.

Wobin looks at Jisoo in question and she just shrugs. “You’re staying with her?”, he asks her and she nods. “We haven’t had that much to drink… I think she just needs a minute. Thanks tough, Wobin”, Jisoo calmly states and your partner leaves with an uncertain wave.

“_______?”, another voice joins – because why not make it a whole convention here on the sidewalk literarily five minutes away from your destination. You turn to the male voice and see non other than Jungkook walking towards you with hurried steps.

“Hmm?”, you answer, still reeling from the confession mere minutes ago.

“What are you doing out here alone by yourselves?”, he questions as he catches up. Jisoo is frozen next to you – even tough Jimin is without question the hottest guy at your university, Jungkook is by far the most dangerous. Combined, they are lethal.

“We were just on our way to your house”, you offer and point in the direction of the frat.

“Yeah, I get that”, he says, “but why are you out here alone?”

“You can see Jisoo, right?”, you ask, not sure of anything tonight and look at your roommate.

Jungkook scoffs and shakes his head – clearly not impressed.

“After last Wednesday you’re still walking around alone at night?”, he wants to know. Last Wednesday? Wait how does he know about that?

“Who told you?”

Now Jungkook looks as worried as Wobin before. “Jiminie told me? Hadn’t I stayed longer at practice I would have been with him when he found you.”

“Practice?”, you ask.

“Yeah,… we’re preparing a inprov show to celebrate the anniversary of the drama department, you know?”, he explains and adds after he sees your expression: “Hasn’t Jimin mentioned anything?”

No, Jimin did in fact not mention he wasn’t actually leaving from a date but a late-night practice that day.

“He has been wreaking havoc since that night”, Jungkook shares. “Every brother had to sign up to cover a shift patrolling common paths during school nights.”

Now, he points at himself. “Today is my night so I’ll escort you to our mansion.”

Jisoo just looks at him like he grew a second head.

“You’re pepping for an improvisation show?”, she asks slowly as the three of you begin to walk.

This is the thing Jisoo has a problem with? Really? You feel your head spin while you try to make sense of the last two encounters.

Jimin didn’t go on a date last Wednesday. Jimin himself uninvited your partners from todays meeting. You shared chocolates with a liar.

“Wait… Jungkook?”, you ask not even looking at him. “Do you guys get a lot of gifts after your performances?” The student just laughs and shakes his head.

“Nah, we’re not allowed to anymore. The presents were getting out of hands. I mean… Seokjin-hyung even got a gold bar once, a fucking gold bar.”

You speed up your steps as you see the frat house in front of you, few people mingling around the entrance. There is a guy standing at the door and you’re trying to get your student ID out of the bag – your thoughts making your hands shake.

Jungkook comes up behind you and just shoves you inside, saluting the other guy with a cheeky grin. You don’t have much time taking in the décor, but you do notice how small the group of students are mingling around the living room. There is soft R&B playing from a stereo and you see the infamous reusable cups full of alcoholic mixtures.

And then you see Jimin, how ridged he is standing in front of the fireplace, bottled water in hand. His eyes zero in on you and the blooming smile quickly freezes when he notices your disheveled state. You step around some guys on the couch, making your way towards him. He places his water on the mantlepiece.

“______”, he greets you and you hear the tension in his voice. He knows, you know – maybe not how much, but Jungkook trailing behind you with a guilty look tells him that you know enough.

“Jimin”, you start, completely unsure which lie you should focus on, your brain jumping around in circles.

“______”, he whispers and takes a step closer to you.

“Jimin”, you try again to form a coherent sentence.

Before his lips meet yours in a shy confession, you think to yourself:

Maybe there is a 99 percent chance of Park Jimin being interested in you.

________

there is... no logical explanation for this story, other than me having war flashbacks while thinking about group projects at university. did you enjoy this oneshot? Please tell me if you find this Jimin as "perfect" as I did (apart from manipulating the OC). did/do you have similar experiences with group work? I always hated it. with a passion. thanks for reading and feel yourself hugged (if you want to) from, dana

[eunsoyi]

helloo. would it be possible for you to write a #1 fantasy prompt for kuroo please? ♡ congratulations by the way ^^

aaa finally a fantasy one !! thank you luvie <3

the brightest witch of her time

( hogwarts!au because harry potter is a fantasy novel you can’t say otherwise )

brightest witch of her time. kuroo tetsurou let out a scoff as he watched ravenclaw’s most famous and well-respected student scurry back and forth inside the library carrying a mountain of books. it’s not like him to actually hate a fellow student, especially someone in his year. but oh boy, do you get in his nerves.

to be fair, he did feel a little guilty for hating you without your knowledge. however, the thought of him being guilty with you as the reason made him weirdly angrier. he concluded that it was probably his superiority complex acting up. as a gryffindor, he did need to protect his pride as much as possible, and his competitiveness is obviously drilled down deep in his nature.

“you’re gonna poke a hole on her body. stop glaring.” kozume kenma, his best friend and also one of the students from gryffindor, reprimanded him in a hushed tone. tetsurou rolled his eyes. “oh i wish a hole would grow on her body.”

kenma sighed, closed the book he was reading and faced his friend with a scowl. “what did y/n even do to you?”

tetsurou pursed his lips and finally looked away from you. “i have no idea. she’s just annoying.” kenma then turned to get a glimpse of your busy little figure and gave a soft chuckle. “i don’t get it.”

“yeah, you never will.” tetsurou whined and forced himself to focus on his textbook about healing potions and whatnot. the thought of severus snape whacking his head for turning in a half-assed essay was enough to snap him back to reality and continue studying.

you and tetsurou used to have a civil relationship. with ravenclaw and gryffindor having an enormous amount of classes together during their first few years at hogwarts, it was only natural for the two houses to form unlikely friendships with each other. it was no doubt that ravenclaw students are exceptionally intelligent, they are known for that trait after all. that nature had caused an inevitable yet somewhat healthy competition between the two houses that used essays, homeworks, and exams as criteria to determine which house is actually better in academics. the punishment was the losing house gets to give their points to the other house.

surprisingly, the results varied a lot. gryffindor would take the lead for one subject, and then suddenly during the next one, ravenclaw would overtake them. the system was like that, and everyone loved some competition and it motivated them to work harder, especially tetsurou who was named as the smartest gryffindor of his year.

take note, smartest gryffindor. not smartest hogwarts student. not smartest wizard. just the most intelligent person in his house and more specifically, in his year.

you, despite the varying results of the ravenclaw versus gryffindor academic competition, were the only consistent thing in the said system. you always, always got the highest marks for essays, exams, and homework no matter what the subject. and it annoyed tetsurou. because no matter how hard he tried, no matter how many all-nighters he pulled, he was always nowhere near to beating you.

the annoyance bubbled into hatred once he started hearing your nickname: the brightest witch of your time. he was very much jealous of the fact that each and every educator in hogwarts acknowledged your skills. hell, even snape, head of the slytherin house, infamous for his unreasonable actions towards his students that are not from his house, had favored you because you were just that good. tetsurou then spent the following years just trying to compete with you (he even joined the quidditch team and got in as a seeker, but his interest quickly dissipated when he realized you weren’t even interested in playing quidditch).

despite being just one spot below you in academics, he still remained number one in terms of popularity, and oh boy did he take pride in that.

“hey, tetsu.” a chirpy girl from slytherin suddenly greeted him while he was chilling in front of the fireplace in the gryffindor common room.

“how did you get in here?” he smirked and reached out to plant a kiss on the girl, to which she giggled flirtatiously in response. tetsurou felt kenma roll his eyes beside him, but paid no attention to the pudding-haired boy and continued making out with the girl (whose name he doesn’t even remember).

“i have my ways.” she replied in a muffled and out-of-breath tone, showing a hint of exhaustion from tetsurou’s intense kiss.

“you’re naughty, ain’t ya?”

the two of them continued flirting until kenma suddenly spoke.

“oh? y/n.”

tetsurou’s head snapped towards kenma’s direction. “what about her?”

“why are you so worked up?” kenma narrowed his eyes as he gave the slytherin girl a disgusted expression. “she’s walking towards the forbidden forest.” he explained and pointed outside the window. and lo and behold, you were there, walking in the dark without any care in the world with a small light emitting from your wand.

“what?!” tetsurou was now standing up, dropping the girl sitting on his lap. she clicked her tongue and attempted to return to their original position, but failed because tetsurou suddenly dashed outside the common room.

“ugh, that bitch.” she mumbled under her breath, gritting her teeth.

“you know kuroo doesn’t even know you, right?” kenma told her, not even giving her a glance as he flipped through his book. the girl grunted in response and left, fuming.

tetsurou’s sweat was covering his field of vision, but he found himself running as fast as he can, not even thinking about what kind of punishment lies beyond him and you once the teachers find out you were out during the night.

he then found you on the entrance of the forest, your wand still emitting the same small light. he panted, putting his hands on his knees.

“oi, y/n! what the hell are you doing out here?” he yelled. you immediately turned around to face him, and he noticed you turned pale once you realized someone was there with you.

“none of your business, kuroo.” you snapped.

tetsurou felt his frustration bubble up because of your reply. “wow, rude much?”

“just leave me alone.”

“jeez, suit yourself.” tetsurou snapped back and turned to walk away. he walked for about five steps and when he turned around, you were suddenly gone. it’s as if you were air or something. “what the fuck..” he muttered. there was no sign of you anywhere. he composed himself and went to follow you inside the forbidden forest.

he took out his wand and muttered “lumos.” as he walked in a straight line, trying to find any sign of your presence. his wand lit up, but his hands were still shaking in nervousness. going into the forbidden forest was not allowed because the forest can literally kill you, and the all of the hogwarts students are aware of this fact, so why the hell is tetsurou risking his life looking for you?

he walked for about another ten minutes when he heard galloping. what the fuck, centaurs?! he frantically tried to remember any kind of offensive and defensive spells he learned in class and hid behind a tree, his heart rate increasing as the galloping sound became nearer and clearer.

“hey, hey, it’s okay. calm down.” he heard a sweet female voice say. he angled his position to get a glimpse of the person who owned the voice and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that the voice came from you. his eyes widened as you reached your hand to touch the most beautiful, most peaceful, most elegant creature tetsurou has ever seen. its skin was pure gold, and its hair was very, very soft like clouds. the creature emitted an angelic yet somehow intense aura which spiked his curiousity even further.

he walked towards you and the creature quietly, despite trying his hardest not to make his presence known. you snapped, still not moving your hand away from the creature and turned around with your wand pointing out towards tetsurou. you cursed under your breath and let out a sigh of relief when the light of your wand flashed into his familiar face. you did not acknowledge his presence any further and continued petting the horse-like animal, but tetsurou didn’t care. he reached out his hand as well and much to his happiness, the creature did not move away.

“what are you?” he found himself asking the creature, of course, it did not respond. it was worth a try, he thought, chuckling to himself. he heard you giggle slightly when you heard his question. “it’s a unicorn.” you answered. “this one’s a baby, though. i wonder where his parents are.”

“where’s the horn?” he asked once more, this time looking at you.

“like i said, it’s a baby.”

he wondered how you knew about that information, but shrugged it off after realizing you are the most intelligent student in hogwarts. “you could get in trouble for this.” he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. you scowled, still not meeting his eyes. “no shit, sherlock. it’s called the forbidden forest for a reason.”

he clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. “i’m just saying. jeez, why are you here anyway?” he asked in a rhetoric manner. the two of you stood in silence for a few seconds, admiring the golden unicorn, before you spoke again.

“i go here because i want to see them for myself.” you said with a serious expression. tetsurou was surprised because you actually answered his question, but remained silent as a cue for you to continue. “it’s fun learning about a few of them in class and all, but i want to see the real ones. the dangerous ones. the creatures we’re not allowed to see. i want to learn.”

tetsurou was astonished. for the first time since he met you, he understood why people were calling you the brightest witch of your time. it wasn’t just about your memorization skills or your talents in uttering spells and making potions, it was also your hunger for new information. your need to learn about the unknown, about the things hogwarts had purposely left out in its curriculum. he looked down, a pang of guilt striking through his chest as he remembered what malicious things he had said, thought, and felt about you. tetsurou was so goddamn wrong about you, and he hated that. a part of him wished you were just the annoying ravenclaw he always knew, but it was refreshing to know that in some way, you were more than that.

he sighed, and as he did, he finally caught your attention and you looked up at him. “what?” you narrowed your eyes.

“just..” he paused. “the next time you come here, tell me, okay?”

you gave him a suspicious look. “why? you’re not going to tell on me? you know telling someone would cost ravenclaw a lot of points, right? and gryffindor would finally win house cup?” you asked, not trusting him one bit.

“i wanna learn more.” he simply said. “and being a snitch is petty. i’d rather beat you fair and square.”

you didn’t answer but instead just laughed in response. the two of stayed there for a good five minutes until finally returning back to the dorms. before the two of you parted ways, you stopped in your tracks and faced him once more.

“meet me there thirty minutes after dinner everyday.” you just said and ran off to your own common room. he just stood there, shocked at what you just did. when he came back to his senses, he smiled to himself. with finally having something to look forward to for the first time in years, he walked back to his room with a spring in his step.

“you look chipper.” kenma said as tetsurou finally reached his dorm room.

“do you know that a baby unicorn’s skin is gold?” he asked, grinning.

“i did not know that.” kenma replied rather nonchalantly.

“yeah, me neither.”

this took a long time to finish bc i can’t remember jack shit about harry potter but i wanted to push the gryffindor!kuroo agenda so much. hope you liked this! requests for 100-follower special is still open. see this for more info!

[b-mydarling]

[01] MASCARA

I am still dwelling in self pity over a break up with my super hot ex-boyfriend, Sehun when my best friend decided to give me a replacement mascara to make up for all the loss that I've had from crying over that jackass (as referred by Byun Baekhyun himself) for the past one week. It was a normal gift to be quite honest, but little did I know, that one normal gift is the thing that made me realize just how drop dead gorgeous my best friend is. And to Baekhyun, that three boxes of Fenty Beauty mascara are the same exact thing that have made him realized that even after years, he has never lost his feelings for me.

🍰   pairing: baekhyun x OC

🍰   characters: baekhyun, OC, sehun, yeri, irene

🍰   genre: what else if not FLUFF 😭

🍰   aus: university student! baekhyun, best friends to lovers.

🍰   contains:  Playing with makeup with some cute music as the bgm but   definitely not in this chapter :>

🍰   word count: 3K

― note: this is my first time cross-posting my fictional work on this platform. (I guess), posting this chapter will help me to understand Tumblr's algorithm better 😔✋ oh and fyi, the main idea of this oneshot was actually inspired by my dream 😭😭 Yes, I dreamt of Baekhyun in the midst of a pandemic and during an online semester like I’ve had nothing better to do :)

p/s: let me know if you want to be tagged for the next chapter.

Best friends.

That is the perfect term to describe and explain my relationship with Baekhyun. We used to live in the same apartment complex and his mother used to babysit me while my parents went to work. The babysitting lasted for almost six years (from when I was still a wee child at the age of 7 and until I turned 13) before his family moved to Incheon from Seoul. Even though we didn’t get to meet as often as we used to, our friendship is still intact and growing strong until now, when we are both a university students.

It was fun and easy being friends with Baekhyun. He may be older than me by two years, but I have never mind the fact because befriending Baekhyun was so, so much easier than befriending his little sister, Yeri. Although we are of the same age, I’m not close with Yeri because she used to think that my presence was a nuisance to her family; stealing her one and only brother from her, stealing her mom’s love and affection away from her, and she hated it when her dad brought back matching toys or playset for us to play together. And yes, of course we didn’t play together. To conclude my relationship with Yeri, we don’t hate or loathe each other but we have come to agree with the fact that we just don’t click with each other very well.

Presently, it is a Friday evening and I am laying on the couch at my family house’s living room. I am beat from living off from only few hours of sleep and a lot of coffee for the past two days because I was trying to perfect my assignment that holds 30% weightage for one of the subjects that I’m currently taking as a second year university student majoring in Beauty and Hairdressing studies. And now that I have submitted the assignment, it feels like all the burdens have been lifted from my shoulders and all that I want to do is sleep. I shift a few times on the long couch, trying to find a comfortable position to take a nap. I don’t want to sleep in my room just yet, afraid that my parents might forget to take the house key with them and I don’t hear their knockings if I sleep in my room. That, and I’m just too scared to sleep in my room knowing that I’m all alone in this house. It only feels like a few minutes have passed since I fell asleep before the incessant ringing of my phone wake me up. I grumble in my hazy state and reach for my phone on the coffee table.

“Hello?” I mutter into the phone without even looking at the caller id or even opening my eyes, sleep already calling back to me.

There’s a small chuckle coming from the other side of the line, the caller’s voice so deep and warm; alarming me about who he is. My lips automatically curl to form a smile just by hearing his velvet voice. There’s a few beat of silence before he starts to speak to me. “Did I wake you up from your nap?”

“Yes, yes you did.” I jokingly say with a pout while putting the call on speaker before I put my phone down to sit up from my laying position. “I’m so tired, Sehun. Mrs. Kwon has finally approved of my dreamy makeup look sketching after the fourth consultation. I’ve just submitted the assignment too. But anyway, why are you calling me? Are you done with labs?”

Sehun fakes a cry and says “My poor baby. But hey, at least you’re done with it now, right?” I hum, enjoying the comfort that my boyfriend is giving me. “And yes, I’m done with lab and my basketball practice too.” Sehun says with a teasing voice. “Can you come down for a while, princess? I need to talk to you about something.”

I look at the wall clock and frown. It’s nearly 7pm now and I’m too lazy to change out from my comfortable lounge wear. “Now?”

“Yes, now. I’m already waiting in front of your apartment complex.”

Still feeling lazy to change my clothes, I try my luck again. “Can you come upstairs then, Sehun? My parents are not home yet. They went out to have dinner with my father’s colleague.”

There’s another beat of silence coming from the other side of the line before Sehun sighs into his phone. I couldn’t decipher whether his sigh is rather affectionate or because he’s just tired from a long day at university. But I guess whatever that he’s going to talk to me about is pretty serious from the way he responds to my invitation.

“I can’t do that, baby. I need to tell you something without having to face the possibility of your parents walking in on us and disrupting our privacy. I’m also kinda in a rush to meet my friends later.”

I pout. “Okay, I’ll be down in a few minutes. See you, Sehun.” I say and after receiving a hum from him, I end the call while getting up from the couch and walk to my room to get change into something more appropriate to wear. I choose to wear Sehun’s grey hoodie that he has given me before and a legging. The hoodie is two times bigger than my own size so it’s really comfortable too. I grab my phone and lock the door before going down. Once I arrive down at the lobby, I can already see Sehun’s parked car a few metres from the apartment’s entrance. I walk closer to his Audi and knock softly on the window. Sehun is busy playing game on his phone that he gets startled by my soft knocking. He then unlocks his car and I get into the passenger seat next to him.

“Hi,” Sehun smiles at me and scans my face, his head tilting bit by bit the more he spends his time analyzing my countenance. Sehun then crinkles his nose. “Damn baby, you really look super exhausted. I’m sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s okay since I need to wait for my parents to come home too.” My reply is cut short because my mind is being clouded with the smell of freshly baked dessert in his car. I turn half of my body in Sehun’s direction before I turn my head to look at his back seat. I see that there’s a white transparent box of brownies from the bakery that I frequently go to and a big bouquet of my favourite red and pink roses. I turn my head back to look at Sehun and grin up at him. “Are those for me?”

Sehun grins back at me before he takes my hand into his big one. “Of course those are for my favourite girl. You can even share the brownies with your parents too.” His other hand stretches behind him to grab both the flower bouquet and the box of brownies before he places them in my lap.

“These are my present for you because you have been such an amazing girlfriend for me for the past six months. Now, let me talk about the thing that I have wanted to tell you.”

Sehun has broken up with me.

Before this, it only took him 15 minutes to gather his courage to express and explain his feelings for me and now, it only took him 10 minutes to tell me that he wants to break up with me. Because apparently, his basketball coach has strictly forbidden him and the rest of his teammates from dating to ensure that their performance will not be affected if anything were to happen to the relationship. It was an absurd reasoning, I know that. But how can I not agree when Sehun has reasoned with me so well. He is on a full basketball scholarship so he must give his very best to basketball and to his major studies too. So yes, I agreed to break things up with him (although a part of me is hoping that we could still work things out).

After I went back to my house, I just sat idly on the couch thinking about what have just happened. There are three thoughts that are currently running through my minds and I could not just brush away this three facts:

 My hot and athletic boyfriend has broken up with me.

 I still love him

Should I wait for the both of us to graduate so we can be together again? But that will take two more years.

My parents came home at half past nine in the evening with take-out food for me. I only thanked my parents and proceed to eat my dinner in silence before asking for their permission so that I can leave for my room first. I even told them that they can eat the brownies on the coffee table because I don’t feel like eating it. As a result, my parents got worried over me because they could sense that something is wrong with me and Sehun from looking at the abandoned bouquet of roses and the box of brownies on the coffee table.

Now that I’m all alone in my bedroom, the realization just hit me like a bullet train. I feel suffocated. I feel restless. I feel like there is nothing else that is worse than this breakup. But boy I was wrong, there is something that is even worse than this shitty feeling that I’m having right now.

Because at half past 10 pm, my phone gets bombarded with a lot of messages and screenshots from my close friends in university. And the content of the messages were all the same, two screenshots of Irene’s latest instagram stories with one of it being a picture of hers and a man’s legs on a bed, watching Netflix together and the other picture being the same exact white box of brownies and a bouquet of red and pink roses like what I have gotten earlier. The caption in the story was:

“First date. Thank you, my sweet boy @oohsehun”

And that was the exact moment when I feel like the world has crashed on me. I feel like I could not breathe with all this new information that I just get. I need to save my sanity and I need to see the person who understands me better than anyone else. I hurriedly change my clothes before telling my parents that I need to see that person because of an emergency. My parents allowed me to go out despite it being so late at night, partly because they’ve seen how shocked and restless I am, and partly because the person that I’m going out to see is my best friend.

Byun Baekhyun.

Baekhyun has just returned home from his daily night run when he saw me standing in front of his door. He was shocked, of course. Because I have never really went to his apartment without noticing him beforehand. But upon seeing my blood-drained face, he ushered me inside before he rushed through his shower so that he can talk to me. After he’s done showering, he brought me to sit across of him at the small dining table that’s just enough for two people. And when he was seated too, he only crossed his arms and placed them on table. He doesn’t open his mouth, but his eyes are demanding me to open up. And I was right because in the next second, Baekhyun is ready to be on his best friend’s duty.

“Okay, spill it now. Every single thing.”

“You know what? Just cry.”  

“Why are you asking me to cry?” I ask, annoyed that Baekhyun has been telling me the same thing ever since I was done telling him what happened. Baekhyun was also shocked to know just how much of an asshole Oh Sehun was. But he then said that I should have at least expected this since Sehun is a popular guy at university.

“Because,” Baekhyun uncrosses his arms on the table and leans back on the chair. He closes his eyes before continuing. “It’s not healthy for your mental health, you know? You don’t have to put on a strong facade in front of me. Acting like this when you’re hurting deep inside will only hurt you even more. I’ve seen you cry before. Multiple of times too, if I may add.”

I brush his words off and only stay silent. My eyes roam around his grey and red themed apartment, taking in the minimalistic interior of the house that belongs to the 24 year old man sitting across of me. He has a grey coloured two-seater sofa, his coffee table is full with his macbook, ipad, some of his still opened law text books, some documents and stationaries. His television that was originally brought from his family home is connected to the internet and his playstation 4 is still plugged into the television too.

When was the last time I visited his house? I couldn’t recall the memory but I know that it has been quite a while. Ever since I started dating Sehun, I only met Baekhyun at our university or anywhere else that is not his house because Baekhyun thought it was a little inappropriate for me to go to his house since I have a boyfriend. My little inspection of his house was interrupted after a short while when Baekhyun sighs a little loudly. I focus my eyes on him now and shrug my shoulder.

“Are you even listening to what I’m saying?” Baekhyun asks. “I don’t want you to get anymore hurt by whatever that jackass is doing or about to be doing after this. I know how much you like him and how much you cherish the relationship that you’ve had with him. It’s completely normal to be hurting by this news and it’s definitely okay to cry too. Cry until your eyes get swollen, cry until you fall asleep and wake up feeling a lot better than tonight.”

I bite my inner cheek and shake my head. Although I admit that I am hurt deep inside, I refuse to cry. Not because I have too much pride in me but because of these mixed feelings bubbling inside. Hurt from being lied and cheated on by the person whom I thought I was going to have a long lasting relationship with. Confused because out of all people, I didn’t expect Sehun and Irene to be together. Irene was my seatmate and one of my assignment group mates throughout the whole of last semester where I had taken an elective subject not related to my major. Appalled because this would have not happened if I hadn’t asked Sehun to join our group celebration dinner for getting an A last semester.  These feelings just keep on brewing inside me and it was too much to comprehend, leaving me to not be able to even shed a tear.

“I don’t know, Baekhyun.” I say while standing up from the dining chair.“I thought I should tell you about this and feel better, but I still feel like I have just gotten hit by a car. I guess breakup really sucks.” I laugh soullessly. “Hey, do you mind if I crash here tonight? I’m too tired to drive again.” I don’t wait for Baekhyun to respond because I straight away walk to his couch, not realizing that Baekhyun has also stand up from his chair to follow me.

I’m only a few steps away from the couch when I feel a soft tug on my left hand, turning me around before I am being pulled into a bear hug. My eyes widen in shock because my best friend has never hugged me so closely and so tightly like this. But his embrace is just so perfect and warm and very much comforting that I can feel all these mixed emotions inside of me are swirling all over the place before I feel something triggering the most wanted reaction from me. And just like his warm embrace, my dams of tears exploded.

“I really like him, Baekhyun.” I say with tears streaming down my face. Baekhyun doesn’t say anything but lets me cry on his shoulder. I take a long time to stop crying and when I am slowly sniffling, that is when Baekhyun starts speaking.

“That wasn’t so hard, wasn’t it?” He asks while stroking my long hair. “You silly girl, you’ll feel a lot better after this. And oppa will make sure that jackass will regret doing what he did to you.”

[yeojaa]

TO THE MOON AND BACK - ft. ???

You feel winded and you're not sure why.  Like you'd been walking on cloud nine and were now falling through the atmosphere, plummeting toward the ground at incredible speeds.  When you speak, it doesn't really sound like you.  "Yes."  Because he was exactly right - you were a hopeless romantic.  Always had been.  It was hard not to be when your parents were childhood sweethearts and love was the thing you'd been chasing your whole life.

alt summary.  You use your one brain cell for love.  It doesn’t always end well.

pairing.  who knows, honestly.  the obvious ones are kim taehyung and jeon jungkook, though.  

tags.  blind date, strangers, strangers to friends, strangers to lovers, getting to know each other, alternate universe, alternate universe - modern setting, romantic comedy.

rating.  general (for now?)

word count.  ~6000

chapter 1.  

You weren't sure what you were doing here.

Sure, you'd signed the waiver, your favourite pen leaving a messy blue scrawl across the crisp weight.  You'd acknowledged all of the terms and dated the bottom left-hand corner, humming quietly to yourself as you'd done so.  You'd read the document once, then twice for good measure, politely asking for a copy of it when the petite assistant had come to take the pages off your hands.  

But you still weren't sure what had brought you here, to this exact place at this exact time.   

Standing in the spacious studio with a dozen hangers hung over your arms, ready to air your life for millions to see.  Were you really ready for this - whatever it was?

You shift your weight from one foot to the other, suddenly nervous.  Your fingers are experiencing a strange tingling sensation you only recognize from times of stress - waiting for your results after an exam, the minutes after a first date, any time your umma calls without messaging first.  It's descending down the tips of your fingers, shooting like electricity through the live wire of your bones.  Suddenly, every minute movement of your neck feels like it takes all the strength in the world and your chest feels like it might explode from the labour of your breaths.

"Ready?"  It's the assistant again, bouncing toward you in her Fila Disrupters.  Very stylish.  She's staring up at you expectantly, though that shifts quickly to concern when you don't immediately respond.  "... Are you okay?"

"Yes.  I'm sorry.  I'm fine."  To her relief, you answer her follow-up almost immediately, a chipper smile plastered across your face.  It's a touch forced, the edges pressing your cheeks a little too far into your eyes, the tension in your jaw almost making it look like you're grimacing.  Almost.

"Great!  Come with me."  

Your fingers fumble with the button of your jeans, missing the hole twice before a groan of frustration fills the enclosed space.  You're so anxious you can feel the nervous energy filling you up like a balloon, dragging your poor body from the familiar weight of your bones.  Your hands won't stop shaking and they're so cold.  You can feel the chill through the denim of your pants when you rub your palms over your thighs in an effort to bring blood rushing back to them.

"Please come out when you're ready."  The voice speaks over the public address system wired into the ceiling.

You glance up from your little dressing room, noting the soft yellow that now illuminates your space.  It floods the walls you can barely make out over the top of your dressing stall.  You notice, with some amusement, that it matches the yellow of your socks that rise above your ankles and disappear into the hem of pants.

"Relax.  It'll be fun," you tell yourself before counting to three and trying your button again.  

It slots into its rightful home on your first go.  That must be a sign, right?

You exhale deeply, pushing all the air from your lungs as you face the mirror on the back of the door.  You blink at your reflection, smoothing your fringe until it falls just right over the rim of your glasses, barely grazing your line of vision.  You watch the way you chew your own lip, grateful you've got nothing but bubble-gum flavoured lip balm on, and nod.  It's reminiscent of a child on their first day of school.

Then you force yourself out of the stall before you can talk yourself out of it, peeking around the corner of the door.  

You're not sure what you'd been expecting but it definitely isn't this.

Because he's tall and broad, with shoulders that fall like a mountain range and a mop of dark hair.  It curls over his ears and looks unkept but purposefully so, pushed behind his ears.  The coat he wears fits across his back, hugging his silhouette as it falls to his knees.  Plaid trousers hold his legs, cut directly above his bare ankle.  He looks like a goddamn fashion model and you haven't even seen his face.

"Oh, hi."  His voice is warm and heavy, like a weighted blanket or hot cocoa on Christmas Day. 

It envelopes you in bass and makes your stomach flip in anticipation.  

He's right across from you now, sliding into the high director's chair that sits directly opposite from where you are, half-pulled into your seat.  He's as handsome as you would've imagined, the slope of his jaw and curve of his cheekbone seemingly carved by Michelangelo himself.  Thin gold frames - eerily similar to yours - sit on the high bridge of his nose and behind them, eyes crinkle from the force of his big, boxy smile. 

You find yourself at a loss for words for the second time in not very long, only managing a soft, "hello."

He seems to find that endearing, a soft laugh - one that very clearly echoes ha ha ha in the quiet room - drifting from where he sits.  You feel your face flush, shifting through the colour wheel before landing on an embarrassingly vivid shade of magenta.  You can see if in your reflection from behind his shoulder when you finally make yourself comfortable, only then meeting his open, curious stare.

"I like your pants."  He gestures toward you as if he could be talking to anyone else, the diffused golden glow catching against the thin rings he wears.

"Thank you."  You try not to mumble, offering a sweet albeit small smile in return.  You're pleased with your choice and in turn, his compliment.  You loved these jeans, had worn them for years since you'd bought them one summer in Tokyo.  They hug you just right, sitting close to your waist and through your hips before relaxing into a chic 70's inspired straight flare.  It doesn't matter that there's paint on the left knee - from that time you'd hosted a wine and paint night at your apartment - or that the frays on the hem are in dire need of trimming.   

"Should we get started?"  There he is, leading the conversation again.  You feel a little bad, though that flies out the proverbial window when he's leveling you with another one of his smiles.  It's hard to feel anything but child-like happiness when he looks like sunshine and middle school crushes. 

You nod, turning your attention to your phone. 

The screen reads START: PERCENT OF INTEREST FROM FIRST IMPRESSION.  You immediately want to enter 100, your fingers moving to tap the requisite numbers before you're hesitating, hovering over the "1" as it taunts you.  Was that too high?  What if they showed him?  Would he be turned off by how eager you were?

You're dragging your bottom lip through your teeth over and over again, stuck on a decision.  Was he experiencing the same turmoil?

You steal a peek at him, hoping to be as covert as possible.  He's staring straight at you, amusement written into the way his mouth twists, fighting back the laughter that sounds like music to your ears.  His phone rests loosely in his right hand.  Clearly, he's made his choice already. 

You huff and enter 85, still not entirely happy with your decision by the time the next question pops up.

BASED ON OUTFIT 1 (SCHOOL), YOUR NAME IS _____, YOU ARE _____ YEARS OLD, AND YOU LIVE IN _____.

You had to guess his name?  That was going to be impossible.

Or not, you think as his fingers glide across his screen, seemingly unfazed by the challenges currently presented.  Maybe that was for the better, though.  Maybe it would help you gain some sort of idea into who this stranger was, with his soft white tee shirt and expensive Hermès belt.�� 

Even as you're filling out the answers, you can feel his eyes boring into your head like two little laser beams.  You're sure that's why your cheeks are burning up and your have to retype your last answer three times, messing up the characters like you haven't spent your entire life writing them.  How could he be so comfortable?  His fingers aren't even twitching, instead leisurely curled between his legs as he studies you.  He looks like he has nothing to hide, blinking innocently at you when you drag your gaze from his hands, his brown leather watch strap.

"Your name is Kim Nari."  He's speaking seconds after you've pressed enter, alerted of the fact by the small chime of his phone.  If he notices the way your brow furrows, he doesn't react, reading his answers with easy reassurance.  "You're twenty-threeyears old and you live in Itaewon."

It brings you some sort of joy as you shake your head, hand raised with your thumb and forefinger curled in.  "Three strikes and you're out."  You laugh and then he's joining you, the sounds slotting easily together like a harmony.  "My name is Cho Jiyeon."  His words are forming the syllables silently, as if testing out the way it feels.  You can't help but smile at that, nose scrunching as he does it again, repeating it like it's the most fascinating thing in the world.  " I'm twenty-two and I live in Hongdae."  You don't acknowledge the fact that he's technically right - your actual birthday is in a few days.

"I see."  Your corrections are accepted as easily as he breathes.  "Nice to meet you, Cho Jiyeon."

"Really, Nari?"  You can't help but tease, manicured brow quirking curiously.

"You're pretty, so I thought you'd have a pretty name," he says plainly.  You can't help but snort, hiding the sound behind your palms as laughter shakes your shoulders.  Had he managed to compliment and insult you all at once?  "You still have a pretty name."

Now it's his turn to laugh, your reaction of wild head shaking and face covering causing him to stifle his own into the back of his hand. 

"It's your turn." 

So it is.  "Your name is Yun Taewoo and you're twenty-five?"  The first two come as questions more than answers but you're almost certain of your last one.  "You live in Cheongdam."

By his smirk, you're either terribly right or miserably wrong. 

When his head tilts, you're reminded of a golden retriever or a teddy bear, his dark eyes twinkling at you from behind his spectacles.  "My name is Kim Taehyung."  You're not sure how you ever thought it would've been anything else by how well it fits him. "You're right, I'm twenty-five."  Here comes the winner, you think.  "And I also live in Hongdae."

Dammit dammit dammit.

Taehyung can see the disappointment in your eyes and his own are waning into crescent moons, dragged into the shape by his all-encompassing grin.  "My parents live in Cheongdam, if that helps."  It doesn't really, but you appreciate the effort, visibly relaxing at his concession.  You've known each other for all of fifteen minutes and he's already worming his way into your silly little schoolgirl heart.

"It does.  Thanks."  You're giggling around your gratitude, allowing your eyes to trail pointedly at the timepiece on his wrist.  It cost more than one of your semesters.  "The Cartier was kind of a giveaway."

"But you recognized it," he teases back warmly.

"Touché."

"My turn again."  A soft cough to clear his throat before he repeats the next question.

YOUR MAJOR IS _____, YOUR GPA IS _____, AND AT SCHOOL YOU ARE _____. 

"Your major is art, your GPA is 3.1, and at school, you're an outsider."  

You're not sure whether to be offended that you're seemingly so easy to read, a hand flying to your throat.  "Are you following me?"  You're asking before you can help it, earning a hearty laugh from Taehyung.  He's shaking his head, awfully proud that he's just struck the nail on the head.  "I'm actually doing a double major, so I'll give you that.  My GPA is actually 3.9, though."  You can't help your own pride from sneaking in, colouring your words in shades of gold as you beam.  It only falters when you consider his last guess.  "What makes you think I'm an outsider?"

Not that he was wrong, per se, but you're a little surprised.  You'd never been unpopular but you just kept to yourself, drifting from different friend groups as you saw fit. 

"You don't want to forced into a box, so you're an outsider.  You choose to be."

You have no answer for that so you instead engage in a peculiar staring match until your eyes burn and you're blinking rapidly. 

"Your major was business, your GPA was 3.5, and you were a total insider."  Maybe it's the fact that he figured you out so easily that you feel uncertain about your own answers.  

He shakes his head, ever the gentleman.  "No, sorry.  I was a fashion major and my GPA was 3.0."  He pauses thoughtfully, considering the implications of being an inssa.  He supposes you're right, though he'd never really thought of himself as one.  Just someone that was well-liked and never turned away.  "Good try, though."  Again, encouragement.  It makes you like him for more than his charming smile and fashion-sense.

"I'll get you next time."

"I'm sure you will," he returns without even a hint of sarcasm.  "Next outfit?"

You nod, slipping from your seat and all but skipping into your dressing stall.  As you disappear back inside, you catch his smile in the reflection of your door and bite back your own.

The nerves that had melted over the course of your conversation seem to have come back in full force, spreading warmth over your cheeks as you stare at yourself in the mirror.  You've smoothed your hands over the soft corduroy of your skirt at least ten times now, straightening the hem this way and that in the pursuit of getting it to sit just right over your thighs.  

"Just go back outside.  He's nice.  Stop freaking out."  The reprimands are filling the small space and you feel almost overwhelmed.  Outfit number two was supposed to be a date outfit and just the word had your hands clamming out, heat licking up the back of your neck.

It's not that you weren't used to dating - he was just really cute.  

Adjusting the collar of your turtleneck - soft, black, draped in all the right places and tucked neatly into the waist of your skirt - you nod again.  It's your little way of building yourself up before you're stepping back outside, arms sliding into the sleeves of your grey tartan blazer.  You look good.  Taehyung had even said so.  You could do this.

No, no, no.  You can't do this.  Not when he looks like that.

He's beat you to his seat, an Adonis in black.  Gone is the loose white shirt from earlier, replaced now by an inky top that sinks against his skin.  The collar is open, the top two buttons undone to reveal the honeyed expanse of his chest.  You're not sure whether you want to bury your face into it or his silky shirt and it takes you a moment to remind yourself that's terribly inappropriate. 

"I like this look," you offer, hardly able to tear your eyes away from him as you settle back into your chair.  You can't help but notice how he smiles, gloating like he's all too aware of his effect on you.  He even readjusts, opening his arms to you as if to urge you on, when you continue to inspect his clothes. 

The pants he wears are different now, an expensive textured fabric that hugs his thighs and drapes across his shins, falling just above his ankle like before. There's no visible sock line and his shoes - black calfskin loafers with little tassels across the tops - scream expensive.  You'd hazard a guess they're Saint Laurent or Prada.  The only thing carried over from his last outfit is his watch, now stacked with delicate silver chains and a single red yarn bracelet you'd noticed earlier.  Even his hair is different, effortlessly styled and sweeping across his brow in soft, easy waves that beg to be touched.

"I like yours, too," he coos, that smug expression never faltering.  You try not to blush beneath his stare, trapping your hands beneath your legs as you allow him the same courtesy. 

Your thigh high socks sit just beneath where your palms rest, black a stark contrast to your skin and the brown of your skirt.  Your toes wiggle experimentally in the boots you're wearing, the ever popular sock-style blending seamlessly with the material of your stockings.  You can feel the lines of your rings where your skin is exposed, the same silver resting at the small of your throat in layered necklaces and at your ears in intricate loops.

He can't help but linger when the light catches the metal of your jewelry or when you shift nervously, thighs pressing together.  More than a small part of him enjoys you squirming under his gaze.  It's coquettish, even if it isn't meant to be.

"Do you want to go first?"  The words break whatever spell you'd been under and you re-focus on the device in your lap.  You nod before you've read the question thoroughly, flushing once you've had a chance to do so.

BASED ON OUTFIT 2 (DATE), YOU'VE RECEIVED _____ ROMANTIC CONFESSIONS AND HAVE BEEN IN A RELATIONSHIP _____ TIMES.

They really didn't beat around the bush, did they?

You're tapping out your response, pushing forward when you stop to think.  It was just two numbers.  

When the familiar ding of your phones breaks the relative silence, you look back up.  Of course, he's already watching you, ever the active participant.  "You, Kim Taehyung, have received more than twenty romantic confessions and you've been in a relationship more than ten times." 

Something like surprises steals across his face, contorting his expression into one you hadn't seen yet.  

"Wrong."  There's no further elaboration and for a moment, you have the urge to apologize.  Had you offended him?  "I've received more than twenty romantic confessions but I've only been in a relationship twice."

Now it's your turn to be surprised, your eyebrows disappearing into your hairline.  How did someone look like that and not date?  It seemed like such a waste.  

"Shocking, right?"  Taehyung takes the words right out of your mouth but they feel wrong when uttered back at you.  "Both relationships were long-term.  Five and four years, respectively, so I never really had time to date anyone else."  A hand adorned in Gucci rings cards through his silky mop of hair, smoothing it away from his forehead before it falls back into place perfectly.  "Don't worry - I'm not offended you think I'm such a Casanova."

You can't help but scowl at his words.  He's right and you're being called out so hard.

"You've probably had more than ten confessions and..."  You're not sure whether he's really trying to remember what he'd written or if he's just drawing it out, teasing you mercilessly like its his newly discovered favourite pastime.  "Five boyfriends?"

"Ah - you got those right!"  You're not bothered by his accurate guesses this time.  In fact, you clap as if his success somehow belongs to both of you.  He finds that endearing.  He likes the idea of the two of you as a team.  

"Next one?  Go ahead."

You double check your next answer, trying not to laugh when you remember what you'd entered.

YOU FEEL ATTRACTED TO SOMEONE WHO IS _____.  YOU ARE ACTIVE/PASSIVE DURING THE DAY AND ACTIVE/PASSIVE AT NIGHT. 

"Kim Taehyung," you meet his eyes when you say his name and for a second, you lose your train of thought.  His lashes are so thick and dark and without his glasses on, you swear you can see the constellations in his irises.  "Um."  He snickers and you roll your eyes, rereading the small font on your device screen.  "You are attracted to someone who shares your confidence and who will rise to challenges with you.  You're active during the day and..."  You don't dare look up.  "You're also active during the night."

To your benefit, you both collapse into laughter, doubled over in your chairs as the double entendre sits salaciously between you.  

"You're not wrong," he drawls, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at you.  If you were closer, you think you'd swat his arm or nudge his foot - anything to demonstrate that you think he's an absolute dork.  "I want someone who can be my partner in crime and I'm active all the time."  He leans heavily into the implication, dragging the "ah" in all out like he's trying to break it over his tongue.

"Okay, Casanova.  Your turn."

He hums, not even bothering to look at his screen as he studies you, eyes ticking from the way your long, dark hair cascades over your shoulder to the wine-stain you'd pressed into your full lips.  "You're attracted to someone who excites you and makes you feel wanted."  By the way he's drinking you in, you think he could be talking about himself.  "You're active in the day and passive at night."  

When he says passive, it almost feels wrong.  Dirty.  Like it should be whispered into the shell of your ear and not spoken so casually from three feet away.

You have to remind yourself you're sitting in a studio, surrounded by production staff.  

"I do like to sleep a lot."  You manage once the flutter in your chest has subsided, allowing you to find your breath again.  It still feels a little airy, a little like the wings of butterflies are tugging the words out of your chest.  "But I think everyone wants to be desired, don't you?  I don't think that's specific to me."

"Then why don't you tell me what kind of person you're attracted to?"  He doesn't say it but you hear it in his voice - the unspoken question.  Is it me?

You're not ready for that conversation, nor do you think this is the place to have it.  "I think we should change."

The third time you exit your dressing stall, you're out before Taehyung is, giving you a moment's reprieve as you climb into your chair.

You're more comfortable than you have been, both mentally and physically, but it's nice to have these few extra moments of peace.  He was just so much - it was hard to focus when he caught your stare or he did that thing with his tongue, pink gliding across his bottom lip.  You were ready to take back some control.  Hopefully his daily outfit was as casual as yours.  You didn't think you could handle another peek of that chiseled frame.

God, when had you become so easy to please?

"That was quick."  He's popping his head out of his room and gliding into his seat in what feels like one fluid motion.  Well, he certainly seems spirited.

"What can I say?  I'm fast."  It's enough to make him chuckle because very clearly, you were not fast, but he wasn't about to call you on that.  Not when you two were getting along so swimmingly.  "Shall we get started?"

You don't even wait for his response before you're studying your phone again, considering the two latest questions.

BASED ON OUTFIT 3 (DAILY), WHAT YOU HEAR OFTEN FROM YOUR FRIENDS IS _____ AND WHAT YOU HEAR FROM YOUR PARENTS IS _____? 

That was easy enough, you think, free hand fiddling with the pocket on your thigh.  The cargo pants you wear sit easily on your hips, the beige material matching the seat.  You're back in sneakers - all-white Converse with a small platform - and your glasses are perched on the bridge of your nose.  You're aware of a draft on your shoulder, the soft wool of your camel and blush cardigan having drifted low across your shoulder. 

You fill out your answer with ease, sparing Taehyung a glance when you're finished and realizing, much to your surprise, he's still typing.  

"You can go first, when you're done." 

The only indication he's heard you is the bob of his head so you take his preoccupation as time to admire his latest fashion choices. 

Wide-legged trousers that look extremely comfortable, falling easily over backless Gucci loafers.  His shirt is French-tucked, the drape of his taupe top relaxed.  The watch remains where it has been, though the other jewelry that had previously accompanied it is gone.  He's got a chic black beret pulled over his ears, causing strands at the nape of his neck to curl adorably.  He looks every inch an off-duty model and you have to remind yourself to stop gawking when he begins speaking.

"What you hear most from your friends is 'don't forget' and what you hear most from your parents is 'did you eat?'"

You think his streak must be running out and he sees that reflected in your goofy smile, one of his own framing his face.  "Nope.  My friends say 'get some sleep' and my parents ask 'how is school?'  Good try."

He shrugs, mouthing something like 'you win some, you lose some' before sliding his phone back into his pocket.  "Go ahead."

"What Kim Taehyung hears the most from his friends is 'I can't believe it' and what he hears most from his parents is 'visit more often.'"  You'd been reading your screen, lifting the words verbatim, so when you look up and catch his expression, you're startled.  For the first time, Taehyung looks unsure, though it lasts only a fraction of a second before he's nodding, his sweet laughter sinking into your molars like honeycomb and cavities.

"Close enough.  My friends usually say something like 'you're kidding me' but you're right about my parents."

Maybe that's why he looked so sad, you realize with a little twinge of guilt.  You consider asking a follow-up but by the way he pulls his phone out, you know it's a conversation better left for another time.  Like perhaps a second date.

YOUR ALCOHOL LIMIT IS _____ AND YOU SMOKE _____ A DAY.

He's already reading his answer to the second question by the time you tune in fully.

"Cho Jiyeon, your alcohol limit is two bottes of soju and you don't smoke."  You wouldn't say he's exactly right but you relent, nodding in agreement. 

"Between two and four, depending on the day."  There's a story there and it intrigues him but he says nothing, instead waiting for your appraisal of his tolerance.  He's ready to completely blow your mind.  "Your limit is... four bottles?  You definitely don't smoke."

It's with pride that Taehyung shakes his head, chest puffed out and lips pursed.  "My tolerance is one - one shot."  He can't help but laugh when you level him with disbelief.  "I don't like the taste," he continues, completely unashamed.  He's dealt with enough teasing from his closest friends so he's used to the incredulous stare you're currently giving him, unfazed as he beams at you. 

"I never would've guessed," you quip, thoughtful.  

"I'm full of surprises."  

You think it's a promise, like the guarantee of buried treasure or calm in the eye of the storm.  "I'm sure you are."

Your final change makes you feel like you're at home, despite the fact that you're nowhere close to it.  It's nice to be in your pyjamas in the middle of the day, even if you didn't normally wear the set that currently sits on your body.

"Last one," you say to yourself, peering closely at your hair, your lips, the way your shorts feel a little shorter than usual.

Then you pull yourself out for the last time and plop yourself into your chair, smiling brightly at Taehyung when he exits in the same instant as you.

He's in silk pyjama bottoms, the navy a stark contrast against his feet - which are slotted into soft shearling slippers.  The top looks oddly familiar, the white stirring a memory that you're not sure how to place.  "Hey - I recognize this," you state uncertainly, gesticulating at his broad chest.  He looks down and a smile so shy your heart could cry spreads across his face.  Maybe you're wrong but it looks like the tips of his ears are suddenly red beneath his crown of softly mused strands. 

"I don't normally sleep with a shirt on," he confesses, delicate fingers brushing the shoulder of his top.  He's not quite meeting your eyes, that seem dusting of rouge seeping over his hollowed cheeks and across his temples.  

"Oh," is all you can say, just as bashful.

As if to ease the unusual weight that's settled over the two of you, he speaks again, earnest.  "I like your sweater."   

You pick at the item in question, thumbing over the worn hem.  It's incredibly soft from years of wear, a gift from your father when he'd visited for business years ago.  The formerly vivid stitching on the first letter is starting to come undone, the remaining letters of HARVARD all in equal states of distress.  Still, it's comforting and oversized, drowning you in its shape and making you look more diminutive than your lissome stature already does.  

A leg draws up, about to pull to your chest, but then you think better of it.  You're in shorts - worn jersey ones taken from a matching pyjama set you'd once gotten as a birthday gift - and you're reminded of how little they'd covered when standing, so you settle for crossing your ankles.  The bears printed on your socks - three stacked at various levels across the top of your foot, your ankle, your calf - cross as well. 

"Thanks."

"Do you want to go first this time?"

It's nice that he's so considerate.  You nod, turning your attention to the last few questions.  You realize, with the smallest hint of disappointment, that there are only two left.

BASED ON OUTFIT 4 (PYJAMAS), YOU WANT TO LIVE UNTIL _____ YEARS OLD.  THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN YOUR LIFE IS _____.

You're not sure whether it's the fact that your time with him is coming to an end or the questions themselves but you feel odd, a lump forming in your stomach.  Whatever it is, you try to push it from your thoughts, ignoring the weight it carries in favour of giving further consideration to your answers.  

"I think you want to live until ninety years old."  That made sense, right?  Most people wanted to live out there lives as long as they could, watching the generations span after them and basking in the pride of a life-well lived.  "The most important thing in your life is growth."  Okay, so maybe that was a bit of a stretch.  Could you really know someone that well after only such a short period with them?

You think so, because after everything so far, you felt like you did.

"Ninety would be nice,"  he agrees after a moment, biting his bottom lip as he weighs his next words.  "The most important thing in my life is being true to myself."  So you were wrong - but that was also a really deep question.  You feel like it's not fair and he can clearly see that when he grins, gracious and giving.  "I think growth means staying honest to myself, though."

You think you could kiss him and absorb some of that sunny goodness.  

"You want to live until you're ninety, too."  A small part of you doubts he'd use the same age, that suspicion deepening when he doesn't even bother looking at his written answers.  "The most important thing in Cho Jiyeon's life is love.  Am I right?"

You feel winded and you're not sure why.  Like you'd been walking on cloud nine and were now falling through the atmosphere, plummeting toward the ground at incredible speeds.  When you speak, it doesn't really sound like you.  "Yes."  Because he was exactly right - you were a hopeless romantic.  Always had been.  It was hard not to be when your parents were childhood sweethearts and love was the thing you'd been chasing your whole life.

The reason you'd even agreed to appear on this silly video segment.

"What about age?"  He prompts, not skipping a beat.

"I don't know," you answer honestly.  "I don't think I'd mind when I died if I found love before that."

You're not sure whether the look Taehyung gives you is affectionate or pitying because you're not really looking at him, instead focused pointedly on the paint that coats your nails and the way your knuckles flex beneath your ministrations.

"Last one," he chirps, snapping you from your careful consideration of your own humanity.

You don't answer, instead rereading the last answer you'd filled out.  

IF WE WERE LOVERS WHO BROKE UP, WE WOULD HAVE DATED BECAUSE OF _____ AND BROKEN UP BECAUSE OF _____.

It felt a little too close to home and yet, you were in the home stretch.  You'd be held here in this little piece of forever until you answered. 

He begins before you get a chance to, impossibly softer than he'd been previously.  "If we were lovers who broke up, we would have dated because you felt like my other half."  You have to remind yourself that it's all hypothetical but his voice is so alluring, like a lullaby you'd like to slip into dreamland listening to.  Even the way he details your imaginary breakup is beguiling, low timbre hitting some chord in your heart you weren't aware existed.  "We would have broken up because you'd always be chasing a vision of me - and not the real me."

Emotion wells in your chest and in your throat and behind your eyes and you have to swallow thickly, forcing the onslaught down before you're crying in front of the cameras and making a fool of yourself. 

You'd written something silly but as you prepare to answer the same question, it feels far too inconsequential, like a child playing dress-up.  

"If we were lovers, we would have dated because I was your muse."  His mouth quirks at that, though you can't see from the way you're staring at your hands still and it's short-lived.  "We would have broken up because I couldn't keep up with you."  It's not what you'd originally opted for but it feels better.  Right.  Like it could be true, in some fantasy world where people like him ended up with people like you. 

Silence drags on once you've finished speaking.  You could hear a pin drop - and think you do.  It might just be someone's pen slipping from their hand.

Your eyes meet, like kismet, after what feels like forever.  He smiles and you can imagine that same, sad thing mirrored in your own expression. 

"Please give us your percent of interest based on your final impression."  The public address system again, tearing your little illusion to shreds.  He's a stranger again, someone you've only met for the purpose of this YouTube video.

You glance down at your phone and without thinking, press that frightful "1" followed by two 0's.  You see him enter his score.

And then the lights are fading from a rosy glow, replaced by the standard professional lighting.  The curtains have closed and the production assistants are milling over, thanking you for your time and advising of when you might expect to see the video up.  You're barely listening.

Because Taehyung's already gone.

notes.   i've never written this much in one sitting.  i hope you enjoy it!  as always, feedback appreciated.

[ibijau]

Worst engagement AU // on AO3

set early-ish during nhs’s first year in the Cloud Recesses

It takes a while to get used to life in the Cloud Recesses, but it's not so bad. Nie Huaisang kinds of like it. Sure the lessons are hell, the food is atrocious, he still hasn't made a single friend, the other Nie disciples are all two or three years older than him so they don't care much about him, and Lan Xichen makes special efforts to show he ignores him, but… 

But at least the scenery is nice. 

Not that Nie Huaisang is really supposed to enjoy the scenery of course. Lan Qiren always gave a lot of extra materials for his students to work with as a rule. And then, once he noticed that Nie Huaisang struggled in class, he gave him extra extra materials. It's a nightmare, especially since Nie Huaisang kind of fails to understand those as well, even though they're supposed to help him.

It is so tempting to give up. Nie Huaisang knows whether he tries to study or not, the result is always going to be roughly the same. He could slip poetry books inside his courtesy rules, he could practice calligraphy instead of copying talismans, he could skip sword practice and go out in the mountains and be alone and paint. He doesn’t. He tries hard to be as good as everyone wants him to be, and all he gets in return is scolding because, apparently, his best just isn’t enough.

Two months into his stay in the Cloud Recesses, Nie Huaisang gives in to temptation.

It’s been an awful morning, after an awful week. He’s failed his latest test, so badly that Lan Qiren had a one-on-one talk with him saying he has to do better because he’s shaming his sect. And then he crossed path with Lan Xichen who couldn’t avoid saying hello to him and looked at him as if his very existence were a personal insult.

They’re supposed to have sword practice that afternoon, but Nie Huaisang decides he’s not going. Instead after lunch he grabs an inkstone, some paper, his favourite brush, and heads away into the wild.

It feels like forever since the last time he did this. It's been impossible in the Cloud Recesses, and before that there was his father's long illness of course. It's so good to be free and just wander on a mostly unused path. After walking for a while, Nie Huaisang notices a barely visible trail going to the side of the path and into the woods, so he decides to follow that on a whim. It feels like a trail created by someone not infrequently going that way, so there might be something worth checking out.

The trail leads him up to a small clearing which feels a little underwhelming for how much he's had to walk. But that sentiment only until he sees them. 

Rabbits. 

A whole little family of them, coming out of their burrow in the late afternoon light. Nie Huaisang nearly squeals at the sight, barely stopping himself in time. The last thing he wants is to scare them when he's clearly intruding in their home. 

Instead, Nie Huaisang carefully sits down at a respectful distance, lays some paper in front of him, prepares some ink and gets painting. 

He doesn't get very far (there's only one rabbit on the page when he's planning four) before a presence makes him look up. 

Nie Huaisang gasps, so startled to find Lan Xichen looking down at him that he drops his brush, ruining his work. He braces himself for a scolding, or at least a cutting remark, but none comes even though Lan Xichen looks impossibly upset.

Too upset, in fact. It’s odd to see his fiancé without that annoying polite smile of his, but that’s because it’s not actually Lan Xichen at all.

In all the time of his engagement to Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang has never really had much reason to interact with Lan Wangji. He’s not particularly tried to, if he’s honest. It’s bad enough to be engaged to someone everyone agrees is the most attractive boy in their entire generation, and the most accomplished, with the best cultivation, and is the most perfect in every aspect. No, there has to be a second one, who is at least as accomplished as the first, a little less charmingly polite but apparently promising to have even better cultivation. 

It’s not that Nie Huaisang hates his fiancé’s little brother, he has no reason to when they’ve never really even talked but… well, maybe he does hate him a bit, and envies him a lot. Everything seems to come so easily to these Lan brothers, it’s so unfair.

What’s unfair as well is being found by Lan Wangji in this place that’s so far from everything. For once Nie Huaisang was finally having some fun after all. And sure, he knew all along that his little escapade would end up in him getting punished for skipping sword practice, but it would have been nice to get a little more free time before that. Only, Lan Wangji is well known among all guest disciples for being, to put it bluntly, a snitch, so that’s it for Nie Huaisang’s little adventure.

Or at least, it should be.

To Nie Huaisang’s surprise, Lan Wangji doesn’t order him back into the Cloud Recesses, doesn’t tell him he’s going to get punished. Instead he steps closer, and inspects Nie Huaisang’s ruined painting with a critical expression. He doesn’t seem particularly impressed, though in all fairness, it might just be that his face is naturally like that.

Then, still without a word, Lan Wangji walks past Nie Huaisang and goes to sit on the ground a little further. His posture is as proper as if he were having tea with his uncle. His attention, Nie Huaisang quickly realises, is entirely on the family of rabbits. After a moment, one of the kits hops over another, a little clumsily, and Nie Huaisang swears a faint smile appears on Lan Wangji’s lips, just barely visible.

It’s kind of cute, really. Nie Huaisang wouldn’t have expected the cold brother of his frigid fiancé to have that sort of a sweet side to him. Discovering that Lan Wangji, perfect Lan Wangji who keeps being given as an example of what a second master of a major sect should be, amazing Lan Wangji who is everything that every Gusu Lan disciple strives to be, can still have that sort of secret… it gives Nie Huaisang hope.

The Cloud Recesses are going to take so much from him someday. He’s going to love his home, the places he knows around the Unclean Realm, the knowledge of which Qinghe streets have the best candies and sweets, the birds he loves so much, and he’s not going to get anything in exchange except the misery of being looked down upon by Lan Xichen for the rest of his life. Nie Huaisang is going to lose everything when he marries and in the last two months he’s started crying about that again.

But Lan Wangji is here, watching rabbits.

Nie Huaisang can’t say for sure, but it’s pretty likely that his future brother-in-law, just like him, isn’t supposed to be here. Even a person like Lan Wangji can bend the rules. And come to think of it, perfect Lan Xichen too isn’t always absolutely perfect. After all, he’s pretty mean, and Nie Huaisang, who has copied the rules of Gusu Lan until his wrist ached, knows that his fiancé should strive for kindness, especially with his inferiors, which Nie Huaisang is. There’s also Lan Qiren who never even looked for a cultivation partner, even though he should have, to secure an alliance for his sect, so that’s selfish. And that’s without getting into the situation with Sect Leader Lan.

The Cloud Recesses are going to take a lot from him, but they won’t take everything. If he tries hard, if he’s discreet enough, if he hides properly like Lan Wangji seems to do, he can keep a little spark of himself alive.

The thought is almost enough to make Nie Huaisang cry, but for once it’s from happiness.

Ultimately, he manages to stop the tears before they can start falling. He is not, as a rule, a quiet crier, and he doesn’t want to risk startling the rabbits, or being noticed by Lan Wangji. Instead, he picks up his brush, grabs a new sheet of paper, and gets back to work. A long while passes, and it starts getting dark around them. Lan Wangji is the one to get up first. Nie Huaisang half expects him to leave alone, but instead the younger boy comes to stand at his side and just waits for him to put a finishing touch to his last painting.

They go down the mountain together, without saying a word. It’s hard to say for sure, but they've probably missed the bell for dinner, and they’re going to be scolded for sure. Nie Huaisang feels awful anxious about that, but seeing Lan Wangji so calm and collected helps. Punishment is the price to pay to keep a little it of who they are, he figures.

Just as they are about to enter the dining halls, Nie Huaisang grabs all the courage he has, and pulls on Lan Wangji’s sleeve to stop him. The younger boy throws him a puzzled look, but still doesn’t say anything.

He does gasp lightly when Nie Huaisang hands him one of the paintings he did that afternoon. It has the whole rabbit family on it, as they were when they laid down a moment in the last rays of sun, lazily munching on grass.

“For… for days when you can’t go up there,” Nie Huaisang mumbles.

For letting me know I don’t have to give up on everything, he doesn’t add, because he’s not sure Lan Wangji would understand what he means. Even if he escapes to go see rabbits, Lan Wangji has never seemed unhappy with his life, so it’s unlikely he’d get how Nie Huaisang feels.

“Thank you,” Lan Wangji says, as formal as if he’d received a gift from the emperor himself. “I will take care of it.”

It’s too polite, really, and Nie Huaisang grins nervously. It’s not even that good of a painting, if he’s honest. It’s the best one he’s done in a while, sure, but Nie Huaisang knows that the Lan Jades excel at all arts too, so his little doodles just don’t compare.

Still, it’s nice that for once, something of his is appreciated. It’s just too bad that it’s the wrong brother making the effort of being this kind to him.

[tomcriuse]

@foxwulder asked: im interested in your answer to this. what do you think mulder was like at college, socially. give me all of your headcanon on this.

yeah idk why but every time i sit down to write headcanons, i end up writing an essay that could be true like none of it is grounded in. Anything

his first year, he was incredibly involved in his studies—obsessive almost. there isn’t a part of fox mulder that doesn’t love learning anything that he can get his grubby little goblin hands on. he would keep to himself, shy. quiet.

he spent a lot of time on his own. his apartment was just outside of campus, so he would spend mornings walking to class not quite seeing everything around him. if it was especially cold, he would stop and get some coffee at his favourite café on the corner of the cobblestone street where the door creaked when you opened it and the bell rang a little too loudly and the coffee was just a little too hot. every time he went there, the barista would see him coming from down the road and she would have his cup made before he walked in. he would smile kindly—awkwardly charming, almost—at the her and his hands would shake a little as he was counting out the change and he would comment on the weather like it was unusual, but the weather in oxford changes once a year and the barista would just smile in amusement and say see you tomorrow green eyes, and mulder would blink and rub the back of his neck and say see you tomorrow coffee girl. their interactions were short and limited to the five minutes he could spare on his walk, but sometimes he would bring her book recommendations or random fun facts that he learned from his school reading. it was small ritual, but it was but it was a great comfort that made him feel less alone.

he met his first real friends in one of his beginner psychology classes. mulder always sat in the second row—he thought that the first row was for the people who wanted to show off too much, and he thought the back of the room was for the people that didn’t care at all. he considered himself right in the middle and showed it in where he sat. it seemed that a lot of people felt the same way, because the entire row was empty save for him and two guys and a girl. there as a sort of unofficial official seating chart camaraderie. the boy next to him wore the same three wrinkled button up shirts in various shades of green and layered them with old sweaters with holes in them. the other boy was always put together—no matter if he got two hours of sleep or twelve. he wore designer suits in every shade and pattern imaginable. he never wore a tie but always brought a baseball cap to class, worn and old and stained. the girl recorded every lecture on her cassette player and transcribed them every night. her notes were detailed and organized and covered in coffee rings from the late nights. they were a group of ragtag kids—relics from different cultures cobbled together to create a beautiful sculpture.

since the first day of class, the boy with messy clothes and a charming grin would always come to class with no pen and no paper, and disarm mulder with his shy eyes and say hey man, can I borrow some? and mulder knew there was now borrowing, he was never getting it back but he couldn’t say no. he bought notebooks for him and cases of pens but he wouldn’t take them and so mulder just kept them in his bag and took them with him wherever he went. originally their interactions never went past that. it became their own unspoken language—a habitual tradition that followed them in everything they did.

this also means that whenever there was group work, which was quite often in a behavioral class, the four would always be assigned together. at first they would just meet in the library or sit on the lawn with the sun peaking out from behind the clouds, focusing only on the task at hand. the three of his classmates would mess around and mulder would through in a witty comment here and a sharp retort there, but he never told much about himself. all they really knew about him was that he was the american boy with messy hair, pretty eyes, and an unusually lanky frame. he wasn’t cold, but he wasn’t inviting. he didn’t want to get attached and lose more that he loved.

the more they were forced together, the more that mulder started accepting that he deserved happiness—that he didn’t have to push others away. that he deserved to be loved. they moved from libraries to his favourite café and from the lawn to the floor in someones apartment. they moved from homework to movies and witty anecdotes to stories. it was the first time that he had ever told anyone what happened to sam. they didn’t laugh, they didn’t ridicule. they told him that if anyone could bring her back it would be him.

every friday night, they would go to the indian food restaurant around the corner from his apartment and they would order half of the menu. they would laugh and argue about movies and psychoanalyse each other. they would be a little too loud and they would stay a little too long after closing and they would tip a little too much to make up for it, but they felt more at home in that restaurant than they ever did with their parents.

coming from old money in new england, the way that mulder was raised to appreciate people was through gifts. originally, he would buy sweaters new shoelaces or new wheels for his skateboard. he would buy mr perfect the ugliest ties he could find. he would buy the curly haired girl blank cassette tapes and hand-crafted mugs. but somewhere along the way, he wanted to give a part of himself to them to remember him by. he would hang out at the skatepark with sweaters at two in the morning. he would play soccer with mr perfect even though, if he had any choice, he would rather die than pick soccer over baseball.

it would be the small things. the way the curly haired girl would throw her straw wrappers at mulder when he told a bad joke. the way that sweaters threw his arm around his shoulder and leaned in like he was going to tell him the world’s greatest secret—the key to the universe. the way mr perfect would invite him to museum parties that his family forced him to go to, and the way that they would sneak off to the roof to watch the stars. listening to music as they counted the constellations. reading psychology books aloud. coming up with stupid conspiracies and trying to convince the other person that it was true. having paper airplane races. going to france for a weekend and trying every coffee place they could. trying recipes from thrift-store cookbooks that they ruin and end up ordering takeout. someone finding a small sunflower and giving it to him and him saying, we both know exactly what is wrong here. road trips to the countryside where there was a ufo sighting.

his greatest friendships in college were built on admiration and annoyance and fate and love.

at some point, people started to notice mulder. maybe it was his wild hair or his bright smile or his ringing laughter. maybe it was the way that he always kept his word or was always there for you if you needed to talk. everyone seemed to know him. he would say hello in passing to kids on campus and help you out in the library if you needed. but his focus was always on his friends—his family. outside of them, he had a couple friends maybe—acquaintances. people he would sit next to in other classes, someone doing peer review. fleeting.

it wasn’t that he avoided making other friendships, but it was that the bond between the four of them ran deep. they knew everything about each other—how crispy they liked the crust on their bread, how dark or light they like their coffee, whether or not they looped the end when they wrote a y, the way their eyes light up when they think of a comeback, the twitch of their eyebrows when they hear something that annoys them. it was nothing that you could learn from reading a book, but things only resulting from years of intensive study and firsthand experience. for every connection in their circle, one was a primary source and the other was a historian pouring over ever wrinkle and stain on the page.

however, when he met phoebe, things started going downhill. she would monopolize his time and steal him away from his family. she drove a wedge between them. it was his first real taste of betrayal—not his friends walking out on him, but someone who he loved driving them away. there was no more of the pure happiness that he felt with them. it felt wrong to take her to the places that they went together. he couldn’t eat indian food. he hated france. he bought everything new, nothing used.

it was like he was back to square one, almost: keeping to himself, shy. quiet.

[yandere-society]

Hey, I was wondering if you’re still doing request if you could do one for a stalker Taehyung? IF NOT THATS OKAY, I REALLY LIKE YOUR WRITNG AS WELL!!!

admin / author: @an-ambivalent​ ♥

Warning: As this  contains yandere themes, the characters display behaviors that can be triggering or uncomfortable to read. Read at your own risk. This work is purely fiction. I do not believe any of the mentioned members would display any sort of this behaviour irl, nor do I condone this sort of behaviour.

Desires Of A Desperado 

It began with:

Persistency

For the most part, life had been mundane and repetitive for [Name]. From middle school to high school, and university it was buckle down, focus on studying, and occasionally, experience minimum amount of fun with friends. Even that, in itself happened so rarely that she remembered each fun time vividly, and clung onto that sole sparkle tightly. Of course, that was not to say that she did not ever experience other types of joy or sorrow – it was simply that most of it had dulled into haziness in her mind. From the time university had begun for her, and until now, everything sort of felt like a permanent routine that never changed; it was the same old anxiety, same type of aggravating friends who were only good to hang out with once in a while and just the same old consistency.

Despite knowing that she was living a life wealthier and more fortunate than many others, and being grateful about everything she had, a part of her could not help but crave for something more – something enticing, something new, something that would evoke sensations within her that she never felt before. Whether this craving was psychologically normal, or her inner demon of greed seeking more, she did not know. However, one certain thing was that after she did get her more, after life did bestow her with something new that enticed new types of anxieties and fears in her, she wished more than anything to have her mundane, boring consistency back again.

[Name] believed that being in her first relationship with someone as princely as Kim Taehyung was going to be the answer to all of her problems, and give her a life of fun – it was the biggest miscalculated mistake she had ever made.

Come to think of it, she never really expressed an interest in him. To some extent, it felt as if he had almost forced her into it?

Their story begins (well, it has already begun since the first word of this post–) on a dull, grey, and bleek cloudy day; the wind was utterly bone-chilling, and signs of the storm that had subsided only an hour ago were evident in the way a type of wet iciness cold fragmented itself in the air, and the heavy amount of rain droplets covered the surfaces they touched – roads, roofs, people’s clothes, and skin.  

Due to the weather being awful for outdoor purposes, no one was lingering around front of the campus where most of the premises was not sheltered, and the university’s bus shelter was situated. It was during the mid-semester break anyway, so that was a major contributing factor to the lack of absence of people, other than [Name].

As she had left her home that morning, the skies were clear with only a small number of white clouds suspended above. Basing her assumptions on that, and a small amount of her laziness of not being bothered to carry an umbrella or a rain jacket contributing it, [Name] had nothing except a thin transitioning season jacket on her to shield her from the manifesting cold, or if it were to rain again.

So, when a hooded figure packed in many layers of warm clothing joined her under the bus shelter, [Name] was a cold mess. She hugged herself as tightly as she could, with her hands shoved under her armpits for warmth, and teeth clattering together. Like she did with every stranger she encountered, [Name] ignored his presence, and never acknowledge him. She kept her eyes focused downwards on her lap, and forced herself to focus on her struggles to keep herself warm. It was just easier that way; everything was easier to deal with if she pretended it did not exist, and stayed in her own little bubble.

However, unfortunately for her, the hooded stranger did not plan for it to continue that way. He was seeking, she was perfect. He decided he was going to be the needle that popped her.

Taehyung observed [Name] with a heavy gaze, and licked his lips. Then, with a dry mouth, and his heart almost jumping out of his chest in eagerness, he spoke.

“Noona,” He greeted, and compared to how he was feeling, his voice seemed rather monotonous.

The somewhat familiarity of his tone, and of course, the fact that he was addressing her, caused [Name] to turn her head towards him.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Taehyung,” [Name] responded, and her mouth was slightly ajar. As a result, her lips were parted slightly in the way that was sensually attractive. The way her skin lacked colour from its usual hue due to vasoconstriction, and her lips being somewhat blue, both because of the cold, enticed something in him.

She looked so vulnerable, and adorable – the way he imagined the various possibilities in which he could warm her in, he would be the one she would rely on – where it would just the two of them existing, and no one else –

“Have my tutoring sessions been helpful?” She asked, snapping him out of his mind, and Taehyung turned fully towards her.

For mere seconds before he answered, his gaze shifted down to her chest. With her jacket unzipped, water from the rain creating a wet area of darkness, her bra was visible. It would not need to be a big deal, but for Taehyung, it was. Such revelation of her sacred innocence and beauty that only he should see, was out there – visible to the entire world. Why? Why was it like that? Was his Noona a dirty little slut who craved intimacy attention more desperately than he had known? Had he missed out on something while he was researching her? That couldn’t be it… He watched her all the time, and sure, he had caught her touching herself a few times. But, (there was always a but), he had made sure that he would be her very first, for everything before he finalised her to be the one who he would mark. So, why? Why would she just reveal something that was meant for his eyes only to the entire world? Was she that dense? Or perhaps, she did this because she wanted him to notice her.

The last possible reason caused Taehyung’s cheeks to redden.

“Taehyung, hey Taehyung, are you okay?” [Name] said, and she settled her cold hand on his arm, and shook him slightly in order to make him return to reality.

The moment Taehyung snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes flickered to [Name]’s hand on him, and then to her face, and back to her hand again before he realised: she was touching him.

His lovely, lovely Noona was touching him. He did not like anyone touching him, but her – her touch was sensational, enthralling. Despite being cold, it radiated a certain warmth that seemed to be exactly like the one he had been craving his entire life. It was it, her touch was it – it was what he had been after this entire time.

The red on Taehyung’s cheeks spread further across his cheeks, and his gaze shifted back to [Name]. His irises were dilated with an intenseness that made [Name] uncomfortable. Especially, because he did not give her a response, and instead, let his eyes wander down to her chest once again. But this time, she noticed.

Her discomfort increased, and with red cheeks, she covered her chest. The sight of her bra shown through her wet shirt that had been Taehyung’s saving grace being blocked, caused him to snap his eyes towards her.

He no longer wore a love-struck expression. Instead, his eyes were narrowed into a glare of aggravation like something very precious had been stolen from him.

What was she playing at? Hard to get? If she did not want me to stare, then she should cover up. His trail of thought started, and then led to another.

He was her boyfriend, her guardian. So, she was obviously looking to him to help her, Taehyung decided.

Instantly, he unzipped the hoodie he was wearing on top of others, and forced it in [Name]’s hands. The [h/c] female barely received the time to respond, because she became preoccupied with wanting to take her grip out off Taehyung’s harsh one when he was forcing his jacket in her hands.

“That should have you covered for now. You can return it to me later, and don’t wash it. Thank me when I take you out on a date after our next tutoring session,” He stated simply, as he released her hands, and stood up. Then, he covered his head with the hood of his other jacket, turned away from [Name], and walked away without awaiting a response.

[Name]’s mouth was ajar and she sat still in shock, as she was still trying to process what had just happened.  Then, as another gust of cold wind swept past her and reminded her body of the cold she was suffering, she unwrinkled Taehyung’s warm jacket in her hands, and put it on her body.

Then came,

Pushing boundaries

Vintage ambient lighting hung from the ceiling of the cafe, and provided the interior of it with aesthetically pleasing orange hue lighting. Sleek and clean wooden tables, each with different number of chairs situated around it, had the ambient lighting reflecting on its’ surface. One would describe the interior aesthetic of the cafe as modern, with its obsidian granite walls and other surfaces, and large windows; acoustics of popular pop songs were played as faded and pleasing background music for its visitors.

In one of the furthest corners of the cafe, isolated from everyone else as much as they could be, [Name] and Taehyung beside each other. With some of the tables like theirs, rather than chairs, it was a sofa like arranged seating. Being a complete sucker for lavish comfort that [Name] was, she had immediately paced to that table to claim it as hers. And while there may have been somewhere else that Taehyung may have preferred to sit at, this time, he did not mind too much. The seating was still decent, and with the way it was arranged, it would allow him to be close to his Noona as much as possible. Plus, at this point, their relationship was only beginning. So, [Name] did not know him fully yet, and would not have known that Taehyung would rather be the one to choose where they sat, not her, or anyone else. He had not established his set of rules for her yet, and that meant she was not yet aware of the fact that Taehyung wanted to be in charge of everything. Therefore, this time, he would let it pass, and not punish her in anyway.

Rather than sitting opposite of her so he could face her like a normal person would, he chose to slide into the same side of the seat as her. He scooted until he was as close as he deemed appropriate for their first official date – which to be frank, judging from a normal person’s standard was still way too close; his arm and thigh rubbed against [Name]’s, and since the other side of her body was pushed against the wall beside her, she was left with no room to move back in. She was stuck in the awkward and uncomfortable position that Taehyung was forcing her to be in.

The smell of her cologne stimulated Taehyung’s odorant receptors, and he noted that today, she was wearing his second favourite perfume of her’s. It was a tad disappointing since he expected her to bring her best for him, but as mentioned before, he had not educated her about his regulations yet. So, any faults of this date, he would let them slide for now.

“Um, here’s your hoodie. Thanks for letting me borrow it the other day,” [Name] interjected, breaking him out of his train of thoughts.

In response to her voice, Taehyung turned his head towards her, and with an extra observant gaze, he looked at his hoodie that [Name] was holding out to him. He recalled that he had specifically, ordered her to not wash it when she would be returning it to him today. This was because he wanted her scent and the warmth of her body to linger in it so he could smell, and snuggle with it later. However, she had clearly disobeyed his direct order and washed it and ironed it; it was obvious because his hoodie was void off creases and any particular smells he could associate with [Name].

Even a washed hoodie would have been better than an ironed one, because then, Taehyung would still have been able to relish in his smell of [Name]’s laundry detergent. But with it being ironed, it smelled nothing except of degraded heat. And while her ironing skills were impressive, she had gone above and beyond with her actions to displease him. With a heavy heart, and his lips turned downwards in a frown, he wordlessly took his hoodie off her hands, and shoved it in his bag beside him. Then, he simply shifted his eyes to the menu laid before them, picked one up and began reading it, all the while, refusing to look at [Name], or give her a response.

The [h/c] female furrowed her eyebrows because she felt confused about Taehyung’s reaction.

Have I done something to displease him? Last time I checked, washing someone’s clothes, and ironing them before returning it was basic etiquette. She thought.

Strike One

Just as she opened her mouth and was about to apologize for whatever Taehyung had been upset about, she was cut off.

“[Name]! Hey!” A familiar voice called out to her, and [Name] turned her head towards the source of the sound. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw one of her friends from her class, walking up to her. She followed her form as she closed her table, until she ended up turning her head to the front again (towards the table), as her friend joined them, and sat opposite of her and Taehyung.

Strike Two

“Hey baby,” Vicki greeted, and gave [Name] a teasing smile that clearly indicated that she was joking. Her somewhat flirtatious words caused Taehyung’s head to shot upwards with wide eyes, and he stared at them with uncertain feelings of betrayal swimming in his eyes.

[Name] scoffed at Vicki. But, nonetheless, there was a smile etched on her face.

“What do you want?” [Name] asked.

Due to the forwardness of her question, Vicki feigned offense.

“Can’t I just talk to out of the goodness of my heart?” Vicki asked smiling. Simultaneously, her eyes drifted towards Taehyung next to you, who she felt an intense stare from. Her eyes widened, and as her eyes met his, there was a sudden moment of terrifying shivers that ran down her spine. It was more than obvious that she was not wanted, and while she was not the type to have cared about this sort of situation typically, in this instance, she felt compelled to apologize.

“Uh, are you two on a date?” She began, her eyes lingering on Taehyung, and then shifting to [Name].

“No.”

“Yes.”

Both of these answers left [Name]’s and Taehyung’s lips simultaneously, and the difference in their answers, caused them to look towards one another. [Name]’s eyes were widened in surprise, and Taehyung’s face had become rendered off any obvious emotions as he narrowed his eyes at her. Subsequently to this, a discomforting, and eerie silence surrounded them, as Taehyung was now directly a harsh glare towards [Name].

Vicki, being the catalyst of this situation, was now quick to think on her feet, and make her escape.

“I–, um, s-sorry for crashing your guys date. I’ll leave you two to it. I’ll talk to you later [Name],” Vicki spoke quickly, as she slid out of their table, and ran out of the cafe.

Strike Three 

[Name] attempted to utter a good-bye to Vicki. However, she never received the chance to because Taehyung had grabbed onto both of her wrists, and gripped them painfully tightly in order to keep her focus on him.

“You lied,” He hissed, and his grip on her tightened. “Why did you lie?! Are you ashamed of me?! Do you not love me?!”

[Name] winced in pain, and on natural reflex, she tried to pull her arms away from him. After multiple attempts, she realized that her efforts were useless. Then,  she took a few deep breaths in order to settle her nerves of fear which had risen due to Taehyung’s infliction of pain on her, and his harsh glare, and body language.

“I– I’m sorry I panicked. She said it so suddenly–” [Name] tried to answer, but she was interrupted when Taehyung laughed dryly at her response.

“You didn’t panic. You meant what you said, and you said it because you think I’m not good enough for you.”

“Taehyung, that’s– it’s not like that– I swear–” [Name] tried to defend.

“Then what is it like [Name] noona? If you really aren’t ashamed of me like you’re trying to say contradictory to your actions, then prove it. Prove to me that our relationship means something to you. Prove your commitment to me and show me that you aren’t a waste of my time,” Taehyung demanded, and the absurdity of his words made [Name] furrow her eyebrows.

An unsettling feeling formed in her stomach and it felt like she had sealed her doom with the words she spoke next.

She swallowed what thought to be excessive saliva in her mouth down her throat, her mouth felt dry.

“What do you want me to do for– for your a-approval?” She stammered, and instantly, like a child seeing their birthday presents, his face lit up.

It was then that [Name] realized the sudden lack of distance between them, and how close Taehyung had shifted himself to her.

His breath fanned her face, and sensually, he brushed his thumb against her bottom lip, with dangerous desires glinting mischiefly in his eyes.

“Make love to me.”

For her submission, he resorted to threats.

When she stopped reciprocating, it ended with aggression.

Black and blue marks, some pigmented with a hint of red due to the blood that was dried on them. Exhaustion that was way beyond what she was capable of handling, was hideously evident in her lackluster irises; the agony and the suffering was taking its toll on her entire being: emotionally, mentally, and physically. Her skin, that was blank canvas before he had decided to dictate over it, was now littered with wounds of various kinds.

[Name] found it difficult to breath as frantic panic housed itself in her nerves, and her bottom lip quivered. It took everything in her, and more, to not burst out into tears, and completely give up to whatever misery Taehyung wanted to submit her to. Perhaps, if her life was the only one at risk, she would have done exactly that. But right now, she couldn’t. She had to fight in whatever way she could in order to assure their survival.

“Taehyung please,” [Name] began begging, and her voice sounded completely broken. “Please don’t hurt him, he has nothing to do with this.”

Taehyung narrowed his eyes at her coldly. Momentarily, his eyes flickered to the unconscious little boy who he was holding at a knife point in his arms, and then switched his stare back to [Name] once more. He gritted his teeth in frustration, feeling as if this entire time, whatever lessons he had been trying to teach her were a waste of time.

“He has everything to do with this. He’s the only one left who continues to keep you distracted from me. I can’t have that, I WON’T allow that! You’re mine so all of your attention should be directed to me! I warned you before didn’t I? If you don’t do as I say and commit yourself fully and solely to me then I’m going to hurt the ones who prevent you from doing so. I warned you! I told you that I’ll kill your brother if you continue to talk to him. So that’s what I’m doing now, I’m getting rid off him so that we can be together – just us,” Taehyung said, and as he brought the tip of the knife closer to the boy’s neck, it began piercing his skin. Due to [Name]’s brother’s drugged and unconscious state, no response left his lips as Taehyung started to draw blood from his skin.

[Name]’s eyes widened impossibly wide.

“Taehyung NO PLEASE DON’T–”

Taehyung stabbed the knife fully into the boy’s throat.

“There’s no one to stand in our way anymore. Finally, you will be all mine.”

(A/N: hello, admin ambi here. I’d just like to say that I started this WIP weeks ago. However, I was unable to complete it until this point because of uni and work being up my ass. The title, the plot of this one-shot, and everything else completely changed to what I originally planned. Additionally, I haven’t written in ages so my writing is rusty. Due to all these mentioned reasons, this ended up being really messy, the plot is inconsistent and all over the place. I understand if its confusing too. I hope the next work I publish will be better than this. Also, I haven’t proof read some of this so I apologize for any errors. 

Thank you for reading. I hope you all have a lovely day / night whatever it is). 

[theclanscript]

the five keys to lee jooheon

⋈ pairing: jooheon x reader ⋈ word count: 4,058 ⋈ genre: fluff ⋈ notes: i was s t r u g g l i n g with this but finally it’s time for our sugar sugar honey ♥

1.      He doesn’t believe in taking things slow

Behind Lee Jooheon’s soft smile lies a sharp mind.

From the day you had met him, you had known that he was ambitious, confident, focused. His eyes had bent into dark crescents as they had studied your face and your movements without making you feel self-conscious. He had been sitting in a folding chair across from you near the river; the smell of smoke, grilled meat, and summer in the air. He was the friend of a friend – and even then you had thought that he seemed like he had many of those. Jooheon was approachable, easy-going, and so, so fun. It hadn’t felt like you were just getting to know him.

It had felt like you had known him all your life.

And just like old friends you had been far from running out of things to talk about even long after the sun had set and the fire had been reduced to weakly flickering ember. It had felt like you could have easily sat through the night and the rest of the weekend just talking to him. You had no inhibitions about telling him everything from mundane trivia about yourself over very personal anecdotes to long-forgotten memories that seemed to be ignited by his engaging personality and all the little and not so little stories about him he offered you in return – at some point, you had been almost convinced that Lee Jooheon himself was one of those memories; a part of your life that had always kind of been there, even when you hadn’t known it was.

Maybe that was why you hadn’t thought much of it when he had asked you out to dinner the next evening; it hadn’t felt rushed, in fact, it had felt like it would have been unreasonable to put even a single day between your first meeting and your first date. Like any more time spent apart would be time wasted.

And so, you had gone out with him.

He had asked you to make your relationship official one week later.

He had kissed you for the first time three seconds after you had said yes.

It had been two months since then, and every day you were more and more amazed by how well you worked together – and how readily you both worked for your relationship. Jooheon was busy, but he was reliable, devoted, never made you feel like you were not a priority. You had learned to be flexible, patient, and a little more romantic in your text messages than before. It didn’t feel like you were making many concessions, but of course people were people, and people had opinions.

You’re moving too fast.

You barely know the guy.

You’re taking care of his cats again?

You tried not to let it get to you, but unfortunately you were only human, too. Were you moving too fast? Jooheon had free access to your apartment and as for the boys’ dorm, you were welcome to come and go as you pleased – granted, meeting Kihyun and Minhyuk had felt more like FBI vetting rather than a casual first encounter, but apparently you had met their standards. As much as you wanted to remain skeptical and dreaded the idea that you may have been too naïve about this whole thing, try as you might you had not been able to spot any red flags.

It seemed like your relationship defied the laws of dating just like it had defied the laws of time.

The keypad beeped cooperatively before the door opened and you could hear Jooheon’s heavy footsteps in the hallway. You felt almost silly for the way your heart sped up and a smile spread across your face; the way your legs automatically carried you toward him so that he could greet you with a wide grin and a lingering kiss.

“Hey baby,” he mumbled as if he was telling you a secret.

“You’re early,” you replied, standing in the dimness of the unlit hallway.

“Yeah, we’re going to finish recording tomorrow because Kihyun’s having trouble with his throat.” Jooheon set down his bag, hung up his jacket, and kicked the sneakers off his feet. “How was your day?”

“Quiet,” you said and smiled at him. You didn’t mind the quiet, you didn’t mind being alone – but you much preferred Jooheon.

“That’s nice, you deserve some relaxation.” He gently put a hand on top of your head and pressed his lips to your hairline. “Hey, I have a question for you.”

“Then I suggest you ask it.”

“Do you want to meet my mom next week?”

You looked up to stare at him. Suddenly, the walls felt very narrow. Suddenly, his hand felt very heavy.

Suddenly, two months seemed very short.

“Well, you look uncomfortable,” he said nervously, half trying to sound joking, half plainly commenting on your anxious expression. You reached in front of you to knead the hem of his sweater between your fidgety fingers, fixing your eyes on your own hands.

“Don’t you think it’s a little early for that? Wouldn’t that be a little – fast?”

“No,” he shot back so quickly your movements stopped and you raised your gaze again to meet his eyes.

“How can you be so sure?”

“One good thing about meeting tons of people all the time is that you learn to read them pretty well. You meet many people you hate on sight, people you can be civil with, people you like well enough, people you kind of vibe with.” He leaned in a little to look at you intently. “But you do not meet many people that make you forget heat and humidity, mosquitoes and every single person around you – especially not ones that are as goddamn beautiful as you are. Those people are special.” He gave you a tentative peck on the lips. “You are special.”

“Really?” you pressed, your hands now calmly resting on his hips.

“Baby, trust me on this” he grinned and moved even closer to tightly wrap his arms around you. “I will be truly surprised if we don’t end up staying together for a very, very long time.”

And so, you did. You decided to believe in Lee Jooheon’s sharp mind, in his loving words and reassuring touch, and his intuition.

But most of all, you decided to believe in your own.

2.      He is a little jealous (and not afraid to show it)

“Go on, do it.”

“No!”

“Do it, you coward!”

Minhyuk laughed and somehow managed to shoulder you in the arm without losing control of the virtual car he was driving – or rather, the virtual cart.

“Just use the shell, see if it helps,” you kept taunting him, knowing full well that he would most likely overtake you if he gave in to your pestering. But what was a gamble without a good bluff.

You were seated on the floor of the dorm’s living room, your backs resting against the sofa. At first, you had actually sat on it, but soon the heat of the competition had caused you to slide down the leather and closer to the action – that was, the TV on the wall a few feet in front of you.

You had been supposed to meet Jooheon here, but something had come up at the studio and somehow you had found yourself talking to, and shortly after, being challenged by Minhyuk. The stakes were high. The loser would have to go out in the freezing cold to buy pizza for everyone. Delivery services were strictly against the rules.

And both of you were hungry.

“Come on, Minhyuk,” you teased. “Don’t hold back. Come out of your shell.”

“God, I wish I could strangle you with the controller cable.”

“What do you think this is, 2001?”

“How do you think we charge these babies?”

“Point,” you replied and grinned devilishly. “And now, Lee Minhyuk. Farewell.”

You heard a gasp next to you as you released the blue shell Minhyuk hadn’t even noticed you got along the way – apparently, he had been too wrapped up in nerdy murder fantasies. As a result, his cart got launched into the air and you easily won the game, causing him to basically riot.

“What the-“ he yelled, jumping up and putting one foot up on the sofa, his whale tattoo staring you comically in the face. “You distracted me! I demand a rematch!”

“I won fair and square,” you shrugged, smiling up at him innocently. “I like pepperoni. Please.”

“You-“ Minhyuk started, reaching for you with both hands as if to choke you when you heard someone enter the room.

“What are you guys doing?” Jooheon was standing next to the sofa, his frown giving away the fact that he had not picked up on the harmless playfulness of the situation – or maybe that was exactly what had soured his mood. He moved around the short part of the sectional and hovered above the both of you, thinly veiled jealousy and possessiveness clouding his dark eyes.

You deliberate chose a soothing tone. “We just-“ you tried to explain, but Minhyuk cut you off.

“Your wench cheated at Mario Kart.”

Jooheon blinked, confused. By now you were used to his bouts of jealously – it wasn’t that he suspected you of possibly getting romantically involved with anyone else – especially not the other members – or that he didn’t trust you. It was more of a fundamental state of jealousy triggered whenever he was reminded of the fact that he wasn’t able to spend every waking minute with you; that you laughed with and talked to and existed in the world of other people, and that he missed so much of that. He never picked fights or threw a fit over these kinds of situations, but he had yet to learn to control his childish poutiness.

“What?”

“Your girlfriend cheated,” Minhyuk conceded and crossed his arms in front of his chest, his scandalized expression almost making you laugh. You had to give it to him – he knew how to play Jooheon like a fiddle. Nothing could have soothed your boyfriend quite like reassuring him that you were his – and that you had beaten Minhyuk’s ass at Mario Kart.

“I did no such thing!” you protested, looking up at Jooheon from your spectator spot on the floor. “I swear, baby.”

“If you wish to restore her honor, grant me my revanche – mano a mano!”

This time, Minhyuk’s dramatics did make you laugh. You climbed onto the couch to let Jooheon quite literally take your place, placing your legs on either side of him and watching him and his friend battle out who would have to get dinner.

It became obvious very soon that Jooheon was going to lose the race, but he did not care. How could he with your arms around his neck and your laughter in his ears.

Who, he thought, is the real winner here?

3.      He loves rituals

As irregular and busy as his schedule was, there were certain little rituals Jooheon insisted the two of you maintain. Maybe it brought some stability into his whirlwind lifestyle, maybe it was another effort on his part to reinforce the importance of you in his life.

Maybe he simply liked everything that was only yours and his, little things the world didn’t know about or had any part in.

Whatever it was, it had left both of you with a collection of keychains from every place you had gone separately, regardless of whether it was Brazil or Wolmido. It had left you with dozens of airport selfies, hundreds of goodnight texts, and thousands of precious memories, some of which had started to fade away a little, but that would always be there.

And most importantly, it had left you with countless hello and goodbye kisses – Jooheon’s favorite tradition. He made it a point to get in a smooch whenever you met, even if you had already seen each other earlier that day, and he refused to leave without his kiss.

Today, though, he had forgotten. Or you had – you weren’t sure. You had been running late to get to the airport for a trip to Japan and everything had been pure chaos. Your bag had only been half-packed, your passport had been god-knows-where (nightstand drawer under the physical copy of his mixtape Jooheon had made you), and you had been near tears, which in turn had sent Jooheon into caretaker mode. He had pushed you down onto a chair at the kitchen table to get you to eat the sandwich he had made you and drink a cup of coffee while he had finished shoving the clothes you had lain out for the trip into your bag, putting it into the hallway next to the shoes you were going to wear – along with the purse that had your passport on it – and calling a cab for you. Still chewing, you had thanked him and grabbed your things and hurried downstairs when the driver had called to say he was outside.

And so, you had forgotten the kiss.

You had half a mind to jump out of the car and run back upstairs, but the cab was already moving so you just sank back into the seat, feeling like crying all over again.

You had never realized how much those little rituals meant to you. You missed them already.

You missed Jooheon already.

It had been over three years with him, but you were still just as in love with him as ever. Your heart still started beating faster at the thought of him, and your legs still automatically carried you toward him, anywhere, anytime. The thought of him alone was enough to make you smile. Even now, your relationship was still transcending time.

It felt like no time had passed at all. And yet, now more than ever, it felt like you had known him all your life.

You couldn’t imagine a life without Lee Jooheon – past, present, and future.

When the car stopped at a red light, you reached for your phone to call him, but froze when the door was torn open from outside. A panting and grinning Jooheon stuck his head into the cab, wordlessly took your face between his large hands, and kissed you so deeply, the driver awkwardly started playing with the GPS.

“Have a safe trip, baby,” Jooheon mumbled after he had broken the kiss, as if he was telling you a secret. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Lee Jooheon.”

He seemed momentarily confused at the graveness of your voice and you using his full name. Then he beamed at you, quickly kissed you again, and wiggled his body out of the car to close the door. He stood at the side of the street waving until he couldn’t see the taxi anymore.

Then he turned around and set his plan in motion.

4.      He likes to show you off

Jooheon was leaning with his back against a wall, a glass of champagne in his hand, his neck sweating beneath the tight collar of his white dress shirt. In front of him, Kihyun and Minhyuk were bickering about something or other, but he was barely listening. The large venue reminded him of a ballroom from movies; the decoration was delicate and flawless, all the people were dressed to the nines, and the music was fast enough to dance to, but pleasant enough that it didn’t interfere with people’s conversations. It was the perfect setting. The perfect day.

The perfect woman.

You were talking to someone Jooheon didn’t know on the other side of the room. You were more beautiful than all the flowers in the room, more vibrant than all the colorful dresses around you.

Brighter than the sun had been that afternoon when you had said yes.

Three seconds later, Jooheon had kissed his wife for the first time.

The reception was going great. You had been apprehensive about a big wedding at first, but Jooheon had quickly made all your financial, logistic, and personal worries disappear. His reason for wanting a big party was as simple as it was childish – he wanted to make you happy, of course, to make it the best day of your life. But just as much, he wanted to show to as many people as possible, to everyone he knew and everyone you knew, that he was with the most gorgeous, wonderful person on earth.

And that, somehow, he had gotten her to marry him.

Fortunately, everything had worked out and you seemed to be enjoying your special day. Jooheon smirked. He had known two hours into meeting you that you were his forever. Of course, he hadn’t told you then.

Even Lee Jooheon didn’t move that fast.

He had told you three years, two months, and eighteen days later, on a warm day somewhere between summer and fall, over the sound of a crackling BBQ fire near a river; just you and him and a ring he had had custom-made so you would always remember. So his promise would never become a distant thing of the past, a long-forgotten memory.

Forever.

Jooheon stood up straight when he noticed you looking around, scanning, searching. He knew what you were searching. No matter how many people were around, no matter who was around, there was only ever one person you were looking for.

Him.

“I’ll be right back,” he lied to Kihyun and Minhyuk and wedged his body through the small space between the two to walk across the room. As he got closer, he took in the white dress, the artfully styled hair, and the familiar face that he felt he had known all his life.

The face he wanted to wake up next to for the rest of his life.

You smiled when you met his eyes and waited until Jooheon was standing in front of you.

“I was just going to go look for you,” you said.

“I know,” Jooheon answered and took your hand to pull you toward the dancefloor. A slow song had started playing, so he pulled you close; one hand on your back, the other holding onto your left hand. He started moving you to the melody of the song, so naturally, so calmly, so effortlessly.

“You knew?” you teased and gave him a fake scolding look. “Were you surveilling me?”

Jooheon chuckled. “No,” he whispered, as if he was telling you a secret. “It’s just that I can’t take my eyes off of you.”

You blushed a little and moved to slap him on the shoulder, but Jooheon caught your hand again and brought it to his lips, kissing each pad of every finger so slowly, so tenderly, your face started burning with embarrassment and happiness.

“Jooheon,” you hissed. “The people!”

“People?” He pulled you flush against his body, the wicked grin matching the look in his eyes. “What people?”

When he kissed you, it was as if the world around you fell away, vanished, leaving behind only you and Jooheon; and then, you only had each other.

And it was all you really needed.

5.      He loves with more than he’s got

The house was quiet and dark when you stepped through the door. It was only the afternoon, so you figured Jooheon must have gone out. You weren’t supposed to come back for another couple of hours, so maybe he had used the time to get some fresh air.

He had been cooped up in his studio for the better part of three weeks now, although he made sure to be home in time for dinner every day. Sometimes he had to head back right after, sometimes he waited until you had fallen asleep before sneaking out and returning to work. Rarely had you woken up to him next to you in bed during that time.

It had started to wear on you.

Finally, you had snapped; indelicately telling him that you were going insane in the house and that you needed some time outside, some time for yourself. Jooheon had been understanding and apologetic, and you had almost felt bad.

Almost.

It wasn’t his fault that his job was keeping him busy, and in many ways it was a good thing. But soon, a decision on his part would have to be made.

You were a little afraid of how he was going to choose.

Yawning, you walked toward the bedroom to get some more comfortable clothes; you were determined to seem like relaxation personified when Jooheon came home. The truth was, your day off – your day alone – had not quite gone as expected. The Seoul summer was sticky and miserable, your dress was clinging to your sweaty body. But that was not the problem. There was something that you hadn’t been able to anticipate and it had hit you like a blue shell on the subway somewhere between City Hall and Dongdaemun.

You sighed, opened the bedroom door – and almost wept at the sight. Jooheon was lying on his back, passed out on the bed, snoring lightly. One arm was lodged under his head, the other was safely cradling your daughter who was also fast asleep, snuggled into his side. Gingerly, you walked over to the bed and took a few seconds to appreciate the scene, the moment, and your heart soared at the love you felt for your husband.

You thought you had wanted quiet, thought you had wanted to be alone – but you much preferred Jooheon.

Much preferred your family.

You felt a pang of guilt. Jooheon was working so hard for you and his kid every day; he was stressed, exhausted, torn between the two things that meant the world to him. But he had still made the time to stay home for one day so you could get a break. You smiled and snapped a quick photo.

Behind Lee Jooheon’s soft smile lay a sharp mind.

And a little underneath that mind beat the kindest, bravest, most loving heart you had ever known.

Carefully, you lay down next to him and inched toward the side that was not occupied by a three-month-old. You reached out to put your hand on his chest to feel beating of the heart you had fallen in love with many years ago and that you would love until yours stopped forever.

“Baby?” Jooheon mumbled and turned his head to look at you; his arm automatically wrapping around you to pull you close.

“Sshh, it’s okay. Just sleep. I’ll watch her.”

“No, it’s okay, I’ve got her.” He seemed to find his bearings a little, glancing at the sleeping child before pressing a kiss to your forehead. “What time is it? Why are you home already?”

You hid your face in the fabric of his hoodie to hide your blush. “I missed you.”

“Aw, baby,” he chuckled, half teasing, half touched. “I missed you, too. I miss both of you.”

“It’s okay,” you reassured him, your hand still firmly covering the spot where you could feel his heartbeat. “You gotta do what you gotta do, babe.”

There was a brief silence, the only sound being the rhythmic breathing of your daughter as Jooheon idly caressed your arm.

“The album should be done in a couple of weeks,” he finally said. “I’ve already given my notice. I’m going on hiatus.”

You swallowed, letting the words hang in the air between you for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I need a break. I need my family. I hate missing all this time with you.”

“Yeah,” you replied. “All the Mario Kart we play without you, baby. You’d be furious if you knew.”

“Funny,” he pouted, childishly, a habit he still hadn’t discarded. You tilted your head upward to kiss his jawline.

“We should go somewhere when you’re done. To celebrate. Just the two of us. Only for a day or so.”

“Sounds good,” Jooheon agreed and then lowered his voice, as if he was telling you a secret. “How about BBQ?”

You laughed softly and snuggled deeper into his side, and soon you were drifting off into sleep, enveloped by the happiness of the moment, dreams of the future, and long-forgotten memories of moments of a relationship that had stood the test of time.

[waltzofthewifi]

Kota Chapter 17: Involved

Beginning | Table of Contents | Next

Lacy dreamed pleasantly, for once.

She dreamed of being back at Camp Halfblood with Silena and Mitchell, before the war and before Silena had... well, before everything. When she did wake up, Lacy just laid and basked in the feelings from her dream.

(Later, she would realize that her dream hadn't been the pleasant memory she had originally thought - after all, she did not have a pet bunny like the dream, nor was the roof of the Aphrodite cabin a henhouse. But when she first woke up, it had seemed to have made sense, and either way the lingering emotions were nice.)

She was on time to school, only a second later than Adrien and about a minute earlier than Marinette. Everyone was present when Bustier made an announcement.

"Lila has been officially suspended for three days," she said. "I hope when she comes back, you all will be understanding and forgiving."

"Three days?" Alix whispered. "After all that?"

Lacy shrugged. "At least she got something."

The class would not settle down for the rest of the day. Alya and Nathaniel were constantly talking about the new hero - who was Lacy, and Lacy was having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea that anyone considered her a hero - while Kim, Nino, Alix, and Ivan discussed Lila under their breaths at every chance. Juleka, Rose, Adrien, and Marinette always seemed to be off in their own huddle. Chloé was just being loud for the sake of being heard.

"And that's another thing!" Kim said, just a bit too loud for the library, during study hall.

"I wonder what they're talking about," Mylene said.

"No doubt Lila and her lies," Max replied. "Kim has taken it as a personal insult."

Sabrina looked up from her book. "I thought we were sitting at this table because we didn't want to know what they were talking about?"

It was a fair point. Lacy, Max, Mylene, and Sabrina had formed a sort of temporary truce for the day, to stay away from all the gossip and whispering.

(It wasn't that Lacy didn't care. She was just avoiding any conversation about her superhero alter ego, as she didn't know what to do in those conversations. How anyone kept a secret identity was beyond her.)

The four turned back to their books, Lacy scrunching her nose up at her science homework. The audio textbook helped a ton, but she still had to do the homework by hand, which meant her dyslexia had free reign to make it difficult for her. And even if she had all the possible accommodations, nothing would change the fact that chemistry was just hard.

Lacy finished the last question on the sheet with a small sense of satisfaction. She pushed it towards Max.

"Do you mind double-checking for me again?" Lacy asked.

Max nodded. "Not at all." He scanned through her paper, making marks where she made obvious mistakes or mixed up the symbols.

Sabrina watched Lacy for a moment before leaning in towards the table. "Can I tell you guys a secret?"

Max, Mylene, and Lacy all nodded.

"You can't tell anyone this," Sabrina insisted. "But I think Chloé might be dyslexic."

Max nodded. "I agree. I've suspected for several months after seeing an in-class assignment. I didn't think it was my place to say anything."

"Smart choice. Chloé freaked out on me for mentioning it," Sabrina said.

"It makes sense," Lacy agreed. "Explains why she blows off her work all the time. It's hard to get bad grades when you really try, and so a lot of people just don't."

"I wish we could say something to her," Mylene said. "Encourage her."

"I doubt she would react well," Max replied.

"Trust me, she won't," Sabrina agreed.

Sabrina opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off when Marinette and Alya passed by their table.

"You four have been quiet all day," Alya noted.

"My no-drama friend abandoned me to gossip," Lacy complained.

Marinette and Alya both chuckled.

"Alix isn't as good as avoiding drama as she says," Marinette said. "Especially when Kim's encouraging her."

"Sometimes I wonder if it's a good decision to have them in the same class," Max admitted.

Alya snorted. "It's a horrible decision. Though it is entertaining."

"Bad decision or not, I enjoy having both of them in my class," Mylene added.

"I'm not complaining either," Alya said. "Oh, have you seen the new hero yet Mylene?"

Marinette laughed. "I think all the class has by now."

"But she's so cool!" Alya said.

Lacy sunk a little lower in her seat, hoping no one would notice the little blush creeping up on her cheeks.

This would take some getting used to.

.

Adrien slipped into Alya's usual seat and leaned in to Marinette.

"I just got off the phone with the director of the contest," he said. "He agrees that since Lila lied on her application, she shouldn't be rewarded with the position. No idea who's going to be chosen instead."

"I hope it's Juleka," Marinette said. "But either way it's good that Lila is finally facing the consequences of her actions."

"It does feel good," Adrien said.

Marinette frowned. He almost sounded guilty.

"Hey." Marinette put her hand on Adrien's arm. "This is good for her, too. If she keeps getting away with lying and threatening, there will be no reason for her to stop. Maybe now she'll start seeing the wrong in her ways."

Adrien relaxed. "You're right."

Sabrina, Mylene, and Lacy entered the classroom, talking animatedly - judging by their gestures, they were talking hair and styling. Marinette wasn't surprised at the temporary alliance between the three girls - Sabrina was reluctant to share her opinions, Mylene disliked gossiping, even about someone like Lila, and Lacy was avoiding the topic of her alter ego like the plague. It was natural that the three would hang out, given the topics and gossip going around the rest of the class.

Max follows shortly behind, talking with Markov. Alya and Nathaniel followed in, and Alya kicked Adrien out of her seat.

"Not that I don't like sitting next to Nino," Alya said. "But I want to hang out with my favorite girl today."

"Good thing," Marinette replied. "I still can't focus when I sit next to Adrien."

Alya chuckled. "Sounds like you'll be stuck with me as your seatmate for a little longer then."

.

The school day finished with no akumas in sight, which was a relief after yesterday.

"So we're on for hair appointments tomorrow?" Chloé asked.

"Yep!" Sabrina answered.

Lacy nodded. "Can't wait."

She stuffed her books into her bag, listening to Chloé ramble on about how amazing this hair stylist was.

"I don't understand how anyone can care so much about hair," Alix whispered.

Lacy shrugged. "It's fun. Besides, getting your hair done feels nice."

"For you, maybe."

"You like horror movies," Lacy countered. "You're not allowed to judge."

The class slowly dissipated out of the room, and Lacy waved goodbye to Alix on the stairs before heading off to her apartment.

"Lacy, wait up!"

Lacy turned to see Nathaniel jog after her. She waited a moment for him to catch up.

"Something up?" Lacy asked.

"Yeah," Nathaniel answered. "You speak Greek, right?"

"A little," Lacy replied. "Why?"

"The new hero, her name's Greek, right?" Nathaniel questioned.

Lacy nervously fidgeted with the strap of her bag. "Yeah. It means hen."

Nathaniel nodded. "Okay. Just thought I'd double check with someone who actually knew the language."

Lacy laughed nervously. "Yeah, can't trust Google Translate." An idea slowly began to form. "Do you think she's from Greece? That would be so cool!"

"Yeah, it would!" Nathaniel agreed. "And it makes sense - with all the kumer boomers around. I wonder what Alya thinks of that."

.

The door to her room closed, and Lacy finally relaxed.

Well, that was stressful.

She plopped onto the floor, leaning against her door, letting the stress from today melt out. Lacy had never been particularly fond of keeping secrets, though she wasn't bad at it. It always made her feel weird, like there was some kind of cloud following her that everyone was bound to notice.

Lacy slipped off her shoes and tossed them towards her closet. She stretched out her legs, leaning down to her knees, and just relaxed.

Her phone rang.

Lacy startled, hitting her head against the door. She rubbed her scalp tenderly before digging her phone out of her bag.

Incoming call. From Piper.

Lacy screeched and tossed the phone to the other side of her room. Did she know? How did she know?

Oh, she was going to be so mad, Lacy had one job and it was to not get involved, and then she had and -

And now she was a superhero.

That was the opposite of not getting involved.

She was a superhero, and everyone was talking about it, and oh she was in so much trouble -

Lacy forced herself to take a deep breath. Panicking would not help. Another breath, and another.

There was no way Piper knew. She was still in America, where no one even knew there were superheroes in Paris. Lacy was not in trouble.

Still, she had gotten involved, hadn't she?

The one thing she wasn't supposed to do, the reason she abandoned her life in Brooklyn, her friends in Brooklyn. When two different kinds of magic mix, the result was dangerous.

Lacy was way over her head in this.

But still, what was she supposed to do?

Ladybug - Ladybug - had come to her, asking her for help. And she believed that Lacy could help, had entrusted her with a miraculous. Was Lacy supposed to have said no?

Besides, it sounded like she wasn't the first Greek demigod to wield a miraculous. What had Orikko said? Ooh, a Greek one. I haven't had one of those in a long time. So it wasn't like she was the first, or that it was forbidden or something.

Orikko seemed to like her too (though it was hard to read kwami facial expressions), which was a good thing. And Ladybug was happy with how she had helped.

So maybe it wasn't a bad thing?

And it wasn't like she was going to say no to Ladybug. If she could help, she would.

And she did help. And if asked, she would again.

Lacy stretched her legs out again, before getting up and fetching her phone from the other side of her room.

One missed call from Piper and a text. Just checking in with you. No need to panic. Call me back when you have time?

Several texts from Chloe, Sabrina, and Mylene relating to their hair appointment tomorrow. Lacy was excited - she hadn't had a hair appointment with friends since Brooklyn. Alix just wasn't a fan of them the way Lacy was.

Back in Brooklyn, she used to go every couple months with Sadie, Jaz, and Cleo, when they had free time and saved up money. The idea of going without them was sad, and made Lacy miss them - especially Sadie.

Then again, she did have Sadie's number...

Lacy knew she wasn't supposed to talk to her, but she missed her friend. And Lacy didn't do good missing people.

Sadie was a good friend and Lacy wanted her to know that she was missed.

It was easy to find her number - Lacy only had a few contacts in her phone. She initially intended to call, but decided on a quick text.

Hey, it's Lacy. Just wanted to know how you were doing. Miss you

.

"Pound it!"

"I think that's our record for beating Mr Pigeon," Chat Noir commented.

"You're at top of your game today, kitty," Ladybug replied.

Chat Noir shrugged. "Things have smoothed out at school, so it's been easier to focus."

Ladybug nodded. "I know what you mean. Things got heated at my school yesterday, but at least everyone seems to be getting along again. I just hope all these akumas don't affect my grade too much."

"Well, if you ever need a study partner-"

"Thanks, but I already have one."

Chat Noir didn't seem bothered. "Maybe some other time. I'll take Mr Ramier back to his place." He bowed. "Until next time."

"See you, Chaton," Ladybug replied, as Chat Noir turned to the akuma victim.

He was the first akuma of the day, and, as usual, an easy one to defeat. Ladybug felt relaxed, daring to hope she could catch up on homework later.

Once Chat Noir and Mr Ramier were on their way, Ladybug turned the other direction and headed home.

Ladybug took a longer route than usual, allowing herself to relax and enjoy the feeling of sprinting across rooftops. She landed across from the hotel, stopping for a moment to catch her breath.

"Ladybug!"

Ladybug looked up, seeing Chloe across the street on her balcony. She was waving, and Ladybug waved back.

She debated leaving it at that, but she had time and Chloe was starting to be... not pleasant, but less unpleasant to talk to.

Ladybug crossed the street easily, landing on Chloe's balcony easily.

"Chloe," Ladybug greeted.

"Ladybug!" Chloe replied. "It's so nice to see you so relaxed."

It's nice to be relaxed, Ladybug thought.

"It's a nice day outside," Ladybug said.

Chloe nodded. "I was just enjoying the weather when I saw you pass by. I'm so happy to see you!"

"It's... not not nice to see you," Ladybug replied.

Chloe blinked at that, silent for a moment. "Okay, whatever. But I thought you should know, I've been putting extra effort into being nice this week!"

"So I've heard," Ladybug said. "You haven't caused any akumas since Canvas. And you haven't interrupted any battles either."

"I've been trying to be better!" Chloe said.

"I'm proud of you," Ladybug replied.

Chloe blushed.

"I just hope you're doing it for you, and not just to impress me," Ladybug added.

"Well, I mean - I do want to impress you, but I also want to be better for me, because of you, if that makes sense. You really inspire people, you know?"

Now it was Ladybug's turn to blush.

"Thanks," she stammered. "Well, I have to go, but - good job. And I'll see you around."

Chloe nodded eagerly. "See you around, Ladybug."

[emeraldwaves]

Title: A Dragon’s Magic Chapter 1 Pairing:  Kacchako Rating: M Word Count:  3,072 Summary: Uraraka Ochako has always believed in dragons, though she was constantly told they were long since extinct. Now an adult and professional mage, she’s ready to help her parents as a healer for their village. The last thing she expects is for her beliefs to become a reality, but when a dragon attacks her village, she learns there’s more to magic than she ever could’ve realized. Read on AO3 Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole @youaremynewdream @roraewrites & @liziscribbles for reading this ahead for me and for all the support! I’m hype to finally be sharing this!! Full prologue under the cut!!

"Uraraka!" A tall blue-haired boy with glasses thrust his hand up into the air, posing sharply as he always did. "Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!" The green-haired boy next to him smiled wide, both looking incredibly proud of her. "And Happy Birthday!"

A smile pulled across her face and she charged towards them, waving frantically. "Iida! Deku! I did it! I passed!" she called out. She held the small scroll up, flailing her hand in the air.

"We knew you could it!" Deku said, and she leaped towards them, wrapping her arms around both of their necks as the three of them tumbled into a hug.

"Wait a minute..." she said, pulling back. "How did you know I passed?"

"Actually," Deku laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "We didn't. But we kinda assumed."

"Your Mom told us to meet you here, since she has a cake to celebrate," Iida said.

She raised her eyebrow, turning towards her mother as her parents approached their house. "What would you have done with the cake if I failed?" she asked.

"You would've needed a good pick me up!" she chuckled. "Cake would've been the perfect remedy. Plus, it’s your birthday, you deserved cake regardless of the results."

Ochako laughed; she couldn't deny her mother knew her well.

"But it doesn't matter because you passed!" Her father's voice boomed, opening the door to their cottage.

"We had complete faith in you, Uraraka!" Iida smiled, nodding his head.

"Do you have faith in me? Or do you just want me to share my cake?" she smirked, narrowing her eyes at the two.

"W-What?! No! We have faith in you! B-But... we wouldn't mind if you shared," Deku smiled.

Ochako couldn't help but smile at her oldest friends. Neither of them were magic users, but the three grew up together. They were the only two who never made fun of Ochako, even when she used to spout nonsense about dragons, mermaids, and other mythical creatures being real.

For the record, she still believed.

As a child, her grandmother would tell her all kinds of stories. Stories about dragons and magic... humans and dragons working together to use magic. She told stories of pirates and mermaids, fairies and goblins. Ochako would listen to them all, wide-eyed and excited.

Her grandmother had the utmost faith dragons and mermaids and mythical creatures were real, and there was no one Ochako believed more than her grandmother. However, when she got to school, she was immediately labeled as 'the weird dragon girl' because she talked about it too much.

Deku and Iida were the only two not to shy away from her; they'd been inseparable since they were small children.

"I guess you could each have a piece," she smiled, helping her mother pull out some plates and cutlery. "It is my birthday, so I'm feeling generous!"

"For a second I thought she might not let us..." Deku murmured, looking relieved.

"Of course! Uraraka would never be so cruel!" Iida laughed.

The room was filled with laughter as her mother pulled the cake out from the cupboard.

"So," Deku smiled eagerly. "Tell us all about your test!" Though Deku had no capability for magic even when using a magical object, he was fascinated by the subject. In fact, Deku wished to be a magical historian... a difficult task for someone who had no sense of magical energy. But he studied hard, and knew next to everything about magic.

In fact, he was one of the only people who believed along with her.

"It went well! It was the standard test until I used the gravity magic!"

"Did you use it on yourself!?" Deku asked, his eyes twinkling eagerly.

"Mhm!" she nodded. "It worked!"

"I cannot believe you took such a risk during the test! What if your magic was off due to nerves?!" Iida scolded.

Ochako waved her hands. "No, no! It was okay, besides magic doesn't really work that way."

"You have to show us next time!" Deku said, bouncing with excitement. "I bet they were so impressed!"

"They certainly were! We were as well," her father said, taking a seat. "I've never been so proud." He wrapped his arm around Ochako's shoulder, squeezing her gently.

"Thanks, Papa," she said, her smile trembling against her lips. She loved making her parents proud, so she couldn't deny the joy the words gave her.

"Should we sing?" she said, placing two small pieces down in front of the boys.

"No, Mom... please don't sing..." Ochako said, shaking her head.

"Uraraka! It's your birthday! We should indeed sing!" Iida said, pushing back from the table to stand up. "Happy Birthday to you!" he began, and the rest jumped into to sing along.

Ochako couldn't help but giggle. Surrounded by her closest friends, it only made her feel happier, her cheeks pinker.

The cake was admittedly delicious, her mother really knew how to bake, something Ochako herself was not very gifted at. Thankfully she wouldn't have to worry about it for a long time. She would probably be living at her parents’ clinic for the rest of her life, or at least, in close proximity to it.

After the cake was inhaled by the three eager teens, Ochako was the first to jump up. "Let's go to our secret spot," she winked.

"U-Uraraka, you shouldn't talk about that in front of your parents!" Deku hissed, waving his hand in front of his mouth.

"Oh, don't you kids worry, I know you love to play on the hill across the river."

"Ah! M-Mom! We're adults now, we don't play," she gasped and nervously looked at Iida and Deku.

"Right. Of course, I misspoke. I meant you go and talk on the hill across the river," she smiled.

"Yeah, okay, if that's what you want to think," Ochako snorted, trying to cover up a poorly kept secret.

Both Iida and Deku snickered. It wasn't as if their spot was really all that secretive. Anyone could've found it if they crossed the river which cut through Ochako's backyard. Though as children, there was something fantastical about calling it a secret spot.

Ochako reached over, yanking Iida and Deku out the door. "Thanks for the cake Mom! We'll be back!" she called out, slamming the door behind her.

"So when did you let it slip to your mom about the secret hill?" Deku asked.

"I didn't! I swear!" she whined, rolling her head down. "I think she just figured it out..."

"Parents are often quite intuitive about such things," Iida explained, nodding sagely as the group walked towards the small bridge across the river.

As children, crossing the small river in her backyard felt like they were going on a grand quest. Ochako would bring her staff, and Deku would carry a few books and Iida, a compass. When they discovered the hill which looked out onto the fields outside the village, Ochako felt as if they discovered a new world.

She always wondered, wide-eyed and thrilled, what could possibly lay beyond the grassy hills and rolling fields.

As an adult, she now knew other villages lay beyond, but as a child, she felt she was staring at the ocean, unexplored territory simply laid out before them.

She missed the sense of wonder... the joy she experienced dreaming what it would be like to explore the world.

Plopping down on the grass, she stared up at the sky and let out a long sigh. "We made it," she hummed softly, her nose pulling in a long breath of fresh air.

"Are you okay, Uraraka?" Deku asked, leaning towards her.

"Mmm... Yeah..." she said softly. She kept her eyes shut, not quite ready to face the reality in front of her.

"That was not very convincing at all," Iida said.

She let out a long sigh and swung her arms up, pulling herself to a sitting position. "You guys know I want to help my parents more than anything, yeah?"

Both boys nodded. "Of course we know that!" Deku smiled. "You care about your family so much, it's why you worked so hard to be a mage!"

She was silent, watching the clouds move slowly overhead.

"I thought you would be happy you got your pro mage license..." Deku said.

"Yeah! I am!" she nodded, staring down at the grass. She flopped onto her back, staring up at the sky. "It's what I've always wanted to do... but... I guess when I think about being stuck here forever, I get a little anxious... is that weird?"

Iida tilted his head. "You can always go on a trip?" he said.

"It's not that really..." she mumbled. Of course she could take a vacation. Her parents wouldn't stop her if she wanted to explore or visit friends from her magic school... "I guess I'm just not quite ready to grow up," she said. "I thought I was. But then I think about how much fun we had running through the fields looking for fairies or pretending to fight dragons."

"You miss pretending?" Iida asked.

She pouted and sat back up again. "Iida! How many times are Deku and I going to have to explain to you that fairies and dragons are real?!"

He sighed. "Not this again..."

"It's two against one, Iida!" Deku laughed. "I think Ochako is right."

"Exactly! I want to go on a quest to find them!" she sighed, puffing out her cheeks. "But... we have responsibilities now. It's so sad..."

"Next time we all have more free time, we should go on a quest together!" Ochako cheered and gently touched Iida's shoulder. "You can call it a vacation!"

"It'll be fun!" Deku said.

"Everything we do together is fun!" she smiled, but quickly frowned when she felt the earth rumble beneath her. Strange. It vibrated against her fingertips, as though machinery was nearby. They were nowhere near a city however, and their small village didn't have the capability for such advanced technology. Oddly enough, the vibrations didn't feel very deep. An earth mage would've been able to pinpoint the source, but Ochako was completely at a loss.

"Did you feel that?" she gasped, turning towards Iida.

"I did..." he said, pushing himself up.

"Earthquake?" Deku muttered, tapping on his chin.

"The earth hasn't quaked in years... why would it start now?" Iida asked, glancing around. "It could've been any number of things. Machinery isn't really near here, but perhaps a visitor from one of the cities?" he said, spurting out potential reasons for the shaking.

There was a large cry in the distance and Ochako attempted to squint across the field. There didn't seem to be anything nearby.

"What was that?" Deku yelped. "Maybe the rumble was some sort of animal?" he suggested, watching Ochako inch further down the hill.

"Did that come from the woods?" she asked, stepping towards the bottom of the hill.

"A strange earthquake, a mysterious cry..." Deku's eyes were darting back and forth, as if he was searching his brain for the logical answer.

"Deku..." she muttered.

"Maybe we should go back?" Iida said. "I've never heard a cry like that before. And we don't want to get trapped outside if a creature is on the loose."

"Yeah..." she said, suddenly hyper aware of the fact she left her staff back in the cottage. "You're right Iida, we should go-"

It was then the golden creature fell from the sky. It plummeted fast, wings tucked in tight, a roar so loud and deafening it shook the entire earth to its core, rumbling heavier than the prior time.

Ochako's eyes widened as she stared at the sky, unsure if she was actually witnessing what she thought she was. It’s golden neck stretched forward, wings close to its side. It roared again, baring it’s large teeth, it’s long tail trailing out behind it. Golden scales shimmered against the sun and large spikes trailed down its spine.

"A dragon..." she whispered. Her mind took a moment to process just what was happening. "A-A dragon!"

A real dragon!

And it was headed straight for the village.

She turned on her heel, practically slipping as she scurried up the hill, running back towards her cottage.

"Uraraka?!" Iida called after her.

"Guys! We have to do something!" she yelled, already rushing back towards her house. She couldn't do anything without her staff. She didn't know if she could do anything really, but she couldn't pass this opportunity to see a real dragon up close!

Ochako practically rolled down the hill, her boots slippery against the grass. She dashed through her large yard, running down towards the familiar cottage.

Her feet pounded against the bridge, forgetting about Iida and Deku trailing behind her as she pushed the door to the cottage open, trying to catch her breath momentarily.

"Ochako! Did you feel that? What was that?! What's going on!?" her mother asked, her words frantic.

"DRAGON!" she yelled, yanking her staff off of the table.

"Not this again..." her father sighed. "Ochako..."

"Papa! I saw it!" she said, grabbing her hat and shoving it onto her head.

"We definitely saw and heard something," Deku mumbled, breathing heavily as he and Iida stood at the doorway.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean..."

"Well I'm not gonna stand around here to find out!" she said, running past them with her staff in hand.

"Ochako! You're not an elemental mage!" her mother said, but Ochako was already running towards the direction of the village

"Uraraka! Wait!" She heard both Iida and Deku chase after her.

She didn't wait for them however, and she pushed off her feet, rushing towards the center of town. She couldn't stop now! Not when she was so close.

As she ran, she glanced towards the sky, looking for any sign of the large creature. If she could just glance at it again...

The town came into view, and Ochako noticed more people were outside, looking confused. The closer she approached the more she could hear the murmurs. It would've been impossible to miss how much the ground shook, or how loud the large cry was.

"Where are you?" she whispered. Coming to a halt, she glanced at the fear on people's faces. Of course they were terrified... a mysterious cry... a large rumble... it was as if the world was ending.

"Uraraka!" Iida called out, Deku following right behind him.

"You're okay!"

"Of course, I'm okay! But I don't see anything-"

Right on cue, another giant roar rumbled through the sky. Ochako immediately turned towards the sky, looking for the golden creature.

It was close. The cry was unlike anything their village had ever heard. People frantically looked about. It was as if no one could pinpoint the exact location of the sound, since it seemed to envelope the town. It vibrated, shaking as if the earth moved with it.

Then, the line of fire appeared from the sky. The flames curling and shooting towards the earth with dangerous speeds.

Screams echoed through the town as chaos took over the townspeople. Ochako immediately jumped back, grabbed Iida and Deku as they dove out of the way, tumbling towards the ground. She moved them towards the small house closest to them.

The fire hit the ground, immediately catching on the grass, a long row of flames cutting directly through the town. The heat was prevalent, and Ochako breathed heavy, happy they dove out of the way in what seemed to be the nick of time.

"WATER GUARDS!" A voice cried, and the town guards were immediately on the scene. Water shot towards the flames, the smoke rising high. The flames were thick, twisting and twirling against the grass, and the guard struggled to keep it away from houses.

The creature’s roar shook the earth once more as it came barrelling out of the sky, falling to the earth. It cried out once again, the fire moving towards the guards with the breeze from the cry.

Ochako's eyes glimmered with joy as she stared at the creature who stood on the edge of town. It was indeed a dragon; golden scales shimmered under the sun and large wings pressed against its body. Dark smoke curled out from its nostrils and it looked to be in pain, panting heavily. From the way it came out of the sky, Ochako wondered if it was injured.

Mostly, she couldn't believe her eyes. Dragons were real! She was right. Her grandmother was right!

The creature opened its mouth, a red glow appearing in the back of its throat.

"It's... it's going to breathe fire again," she yelled, knowing there was nowhere for them to run.

"ICE GUARD!" the same voice cried out, and magical energy pulsed through the air. Ice covering the ground quickly, rushing right towards the dragon.

"No," she gasped, realizing they were going to attempt to freeze it.

The mage guard rushed forward, past the fire and ice as the ice mages built their ice prison immediately around the creature. Fire pushed against the thick blockade, and the creature rolled its head back and forth. It tried to use its wings, but it pushed against the ice, unable to break the intense walls the mages kept adding to.

"T-They're going to hurt it!" Uraraka gasped, covering her mouth.

"Uraraka! They have to subdue it or it will destroy the whole town!" Iida exclaimed, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "If you hadn't grabbed me and Deku we might all be dead!"

Her eyes trembled as she watched the creature struggle. It moved about in the giant ice prison, frantically trying to escape. It was a miracle its roars didn't break the ice, since it kept screaming and screaming, thrashing about angrily.

She stood up. "They're hurting it... w-what if they kill the only dragon we've ever seen!"

"W-We don't know what it is... Uraraka, sit back down," Deku stammered, gently grabbing her wrist.

"I want to see!" she yelled, but Iida and Deku wrapped their arms around her, not wanting her to go any closer.

The golden dragon let out a giant cry when its body began to glow. Looking towards the sky, it collapsed towards the ground, glowing brighter and brighter.

When the light dissipated, the particles melting into the ice, there lay a blond human man... half naked and completely passed out.

[ohmytheon]

Karma in Retrograde (3)

title: Karma in Retrograde

summary: When Dabi is struck by a de-aging quirk that regresses him to the most important part of his life, he finds himself turned back to a sixteen year-old U.A. General Studies student with a lot of self-esteem issues, parent problems, a destructive quirk that he can’t manage, and no memory of the five years that he’s lost - not the mention the fact that his little brother is now the same age as him and one of the top students in the U.A. hero course. In U.A.’s attempt to make up for what they missed and help the Dabi of the past, present, and future, he is placed with the only students that know him and have yet to find out what truly makes the difference between a hero and a villain. There, they must face the question of whether he can change or if his destiny is already set in stone.

– Chapter 3: U.A. and the authorities discuss what to do with Ryouta/Dabi and Aizawa throws Ryouta for a loop.

notes: We are now heading into crack-y territory. Is this what would happen? Probably not, but if you read the summary, then you already have an idea about what's gonna happen. We're just here to have fun and throw our favorites in the most awkward, emotional, humorous, and painful situations possible. You might think it's stupid or not realistic, but... Eh, we're living in a world of pyrokinetics and the like here. (More notes at the end.)

Discomfort hung in the air of the conference room like a storm cloud, but Aizawa paid it little attention. Everyone in the room had watched the tape of his interrogation of Ryouta Saeki, also known as Dabi, leaving them to sit in a confused and unpleasant silence. No one wanted to deal with this directly, but it had to be done and quickly. To them, that might've been a villain on the other end, but to him…

That had been a kid, plain and simple.

Right from the start, as soon as he'd entered the room, Ryouta's behavior had been so different from the Dabi clones that he'd fought with that Aizawa couldn't reconcile the two. For a moment, it had been difficult for him to even believe that they were the same person. He didn't remember Ryouta when he was a student, never having taught a class with him in it. Some of the teachers here had had him as a student, but none of them seemed capable of remembering much about him.

The only exception was Recovery Girl, who very rarely joined them during these meetings. Because she had been listed on his school records through his visits to her office, much more frequent than the average Gen Studies student, they had brought her with them to watch the video. She sat in a sort of quietly distraught silence, her old eyes locked on the screen. Only when Principal Nezu turned the video off did she finally tear her eyes away and gaze down at the table.

"I believe the main question is whether we believe this is genuine or not," Nezu declared.

Aizawa folded his arms across his chest. "It is."

Beside him, Yamada let out a frustrated huff. "How can you be sure? Don't get distracted by that youthful face!"

"Did you not see the way he reacted?" Aizawa demanded, holding out a hand towards the screen.

"He did seem legitimately upset, scared, and confused," Kayama put in.

Yamada shrugged his shoulders. As cheerful as he was most of the time, he was honestly not the most trusting of people, hence why Aizawa took their closeness so seriously. However, now was not the time for it. A few of the other heroes were in agreement. None of them had been there though. On his other side, Ryuko gave him a sympathetic look. She agreed with him, but it was hard to say what to do after that.

"Before I brought up him being a villain, I think he was more scared of getting suspended than arrested for murder and kidnapping. It was real." Aizawa found it difficult to ignore the way Ryouta had leapt out of the chair to get away from the picture as if it might save him from the accusation. Even afterwards, after being clearly upset, his main concern had been his little brother. "He's still innocent in his mind."

"Except that he's not," Hawks pointed out. "He was involved in Snatch's murder and a series of other deaths, not to mention Katsuki Bakugou's kidnapping and the attack on the U.A. Training Camp."

Instead of it just being the teachers at U.A., they had invited many of the top heroes to join the conversation. It was necessary considering the reach of Dabi's crimes. It spanned further than U.A. these days. The two notable absences were All Might and Endeavor. The former because he was in the hospital for a few medical tests. The latter... Aizawa had not thought him capable of being impartial, especially considering the way that Ryouta had spoken of the man, and Nezu had agreed. He would be notified soon, but Aizawa couldn't help but feel as if the boy (man?) should be kept away from his father for as long as possible.

The idea that this villain was the now-number-one hero's son was horrific, especially when he had one son on the way to being one of the best heroes. What had gone wrong? What had turned Ryouta so forcefully away from heroes? What had made him turn his back on everything U.A. stood for? Those questions could only be answered once he was back to being Dabi or if the memories of them returned to him now as Ryouta, but Aizawa knew that some things could never truly be answered and only experienced.

"He's a criminal," Yamada said.

"He's a kid," Ryuko countered.

"Who will eventually turn back into a villain," Yamada shot back. "We have to accept that too. He's not going to be this innocent kid forever."

Kayama frowned deeply. "So what are we supposed to do? Lock him up until the quirk wears off?"

"There's no saying how long that will take," Ryuko pointed out. "It could be a year from now." She shook her head vehemently. She was one of the strongest heroes out there, but it was her compassion that made her stand out. "Are we so cold that we'll imprison a child for who knows how long?"

"If we had caught him before he was hit with the de-aging quirk, we wouldn't be having this discussion," Hawks said. "He'd be in chains already." He leaned back in his seat. "We grew complacent with All Might above us. Villains think us soft as is."

Aizawa shot a flat glare across the room. "If we imprison him now, we prove him right."

Many of the heroes gave him a curious look. He was not known for being kind towards villains. Out of everyone here, he was one of the few to have dealt with Dabi firsthand. Sure, it had been his clone, but it had still been his personality and desires. He had almost been killed by the villain. Those blue flames of his had been scorching and it had taken everything in Aizawa to dodge them at the very last second.

"Are your students important? I hope you can protect them all till the end."

Those words haunted Aizawa, creeping on him at night when he least suspected it. He hadn't been able to protect them. The very same villain that had uttered those words to him had kidnapped one of his students - and now he was a child, a student no less, waiting a verdict that he didn't yet deserve and couldn't understand. At the time, it had angered him. Now, he felt shame, something that he had trouble reconciling with. It was an unfamiliar emotion, but one that he did not take lightly.

Nezu pressed his paws together. "It is true that this presents us with a unique opportunity…" Everyone in the room turned to watch him. "His school file states that he dropped out when he was seventeen, but this de-aging quirk that supposedly regresses a person to the biggest turning point in their life brought him back to when he was sixteen."

"And?" Gang Orca prompted.

"And he was still a student here at U.A. then," Nezu finished. "It suggests that it was not one big thing that changed his life, but a slow progression." He paused to let it sink in for the rest of them. Aizawa already knew where he was going, having figured this out soon after talking with Ryouta. "The defining factors in his decision to become a villain began at U.A. while he was a student. It all started here."

The implication was unsettling for everyone. High school was supposed to be the most inspirational time for a future pro hero. It was where they learned how to control their quirk in more ways than one, how to use it for the greater good, how to be who they were now. The fact that someone had gone to the same school and turned into a villain cast a shadow on the whole system. It was worse than that though. As teachers, they were supposed to guide and nurture the students, but they hadn't done their job.

"Ryouta's - and therefore Dabi's - existence has shone light on our flaws as an institution," Nezu told them. "When it comes to quirks, do we not focus on the students in the hero courses?"

After being accepted into U.A., all students went through a physical quirk assessment to determine if they were in the proper course. Most stayed where they were. Flipping through Ryouta's school records showed that while he had been better than average and even had potential to be in the hero course, the person grading him had made a point about him not being able to control his quirk. It was hard to get a sense of a student through paperwork, which was frustrating. It was like if another teacher read his observations on Izuku Midoriya that first day. They would never be able to understand the sheer determination and cleverness that Midoriya had displayed.

After the quirk assessment, students not in the hero course were rarely given the opportunity to improve their quirks in a safe setting. If Ryouta had had a troublesome quirk to begin with and was left to deal with it on his own, then more than likely he'd suffered under a lack of supervision. Judging by his frequent visits to Recovery Girl's office noted in his school records, he had embarked on his own study of his quirk to disastrous results. It shouldn't have been like that. Just because he'd been in General Studies did not mean that he should've been ignored or fallen through the cracks.

"It's obvious what happened with him," Nezu said. "We failed him."

Kayama, Yamada, and Aizawa all looked at each other. Although he'd not had Ryouta as a student, he couldn't help but wonder if Kayama had. Yamada had joined the school a year after them. It was possible that he'd had Ryouta as a student as well before he'd dropped out. Had either of them noticed Ryouta's behavior? Had they noticed him slowly deteriorating? Had they noticed his absence?

Thirteen, who had been oddly silent throughout the entire exchange, spoke up. "What do you suggest we do to fix that?" Aizawa had a feeling that they remembered the student they were discussing now but were reluctant to talk about it. No way Ryouta had gone his entire time here without anyone remembering him. Recovery Girl had been quiet as well, stewing by herself.

"I think the answer is simple," Nezu continued. "He has been de-aged to the most vulnerable part of his life, the time that shaped him to become the villain we know him as." He stood up from his seat. It didn't make him any taller, considering how short he was, but it had the effect of making every hero straighten up in their seats, with the exception of Aizawa. "We've been given a second chance. He might not remember the past five years, but when he does revert back to his original age, he will remember his time in this state. We can give him what he was denied. We can change his world."

"Are you saying that we treat him like a mere student?" Ectoplasm questioned.

Nezu smiled kindly. "I'm saying we treat him like a human." It could've been an insult coming from him, all things considered, but Aizawa thought he understood the principal's meaning. Humans were flawed. Ryouta had said himself that he was flawed, although Aizawa knew that he had meant it in a different way. "This is a second chance not only for him, but for us as well - to prove that we are better and we can learn from our mistakes. We must accept our hand in helping shape him to become a villain."

Kayama bit her lip. "It seems hard to believe that it all started here."

"And yet it did," Aizawa agreed firmly. "Whether we like it or not, as both teachers and pro heroes, we must accept responsibility. We either missed or ignored the signs and we allowed enough pain and hate to fester in our halls to turn a student into a villain." He couldn't forget the shock and pain in Ryouta's eyes upon being confronted with who he was. He truly hadn't understood what had happened. It had hurt him. "I'm not letting that happen again."

Gang Orca shook his head. "And what happens when he turns back to normal? Do we just hope that he saw the light and turns good?"

"We hope that we did our jobs right this time," Aizawa told him sharply.

Recovery Girl let out an exhausted sigh. "I remember this boy." She set her cane down on top of the table. "His multiple quirk accidents weren't taken note of because he wasn't in the hero course." There was a guilty expression on the old woman's face, something Aizawa had never seen before. She took pride in taking care of her students. The fact that one had gotten away probably stung. "He was strengthening his quirk on his own, but without proper supervision, it turned on him more often than not and he was forced to come to me. I tried to impress the seriousness of the situation on him and advised him to seek out help, but it appears he never did."

"You see?" Nezu said, sounding both indignant and disappointed. "I wasn't even aware of this: a student in our General Studies repeatedly injuring himself because he was incapable of controlling his quirk."

"What are you suggesting we do then?" Yamada asked. "We give him a re-do and stick him back in school like a regular student?"

Aizawa turned to who he considered the person he was closest to in the world. "It's what he is."

Yamada twisted his lips into a mixture of a scowl and a frown. "Technically he's murdered people." This was true. They would have to hold him responsible for that. Maybe they could even impress that responsibility on him. From what he'd seen during the interrogation, Ryouta didn't have a high opinion of villains. "Not to mention he was involved in the kidnapping of a student. Should we just lump him with them?"

"I think they can handle it," Aizawa replied.

Even Kayama, who had more or less been on his side, balked. "The students might not like that. The attack is still fresh in their minds and it was incredibly painful."

"They're tougher than you think," Aizawa told them, "and more compassionate as well."

Nezu regarded them thoughtfully. "What were Shouto Todoroki's thoughts?"

"Naturally, he kept them mostly to himself." Aizawa thought that getting a straight answer out of a Todoroki was akin to pulling a tooth. Even Ryouta had been vague during the interview, giving statements about Endeavor that could be seen differently from what he meant. Shouto was exactly the same. He gave just enough information to paint a picture, but not enough to picture the scene itself. "But he was loathed to let his brother out of his sight. It was the same with Ryouta."

"Class 1-A is already acquainted with him as a villain," Sekijiro, Vlad King, pointed out. He had also dealt with one of Dabi's clones, saving Ashido and Kirishima from Dabi's flames. Besides him, none of the other teachers had seen Dabi as a villain. They couldn't understand the way he let his quirk loose like he'd never had the ability to do it before. "If we did this, it would be best if the students knew who they were dealing with."

"To shame him?" Kayama asked.

"To make them more aware of the stakes," Sekijiro told her. "We're here to make them heroes, but they can't be that if they don't understand villains. We have failed them in that area."

Aizawa nodded his head. "Ryouta was not born a villain, but somewhere along the way, while at U.A., he made the decision to become one." His eyes moved from Yamada and then around the rest of the table. "We let him slip through the cracks, but I'm not letting him down again."

No one wanted to counter him, but they clearly didn't want to agree outright either. Aizawa could understand that. He knew that what he was proposing was ridiculous. Bringing Ryouta into the hero course, the same one that had dealt with him as a villain, however briefly, was just asking for disaster. There was nowhere else for him to go short of a cage of some sort and Aizawa would not allow it. He had a feeling that pride was the only thing that Ryouta had left in the world.

Are your students important to you?

They were the most important things in Aizawa's life - and apparently, that now included Ryouta.

It had never bothered Ryouta before, but the red tie of his U.A. uniform felt like it was strangling him now. This uniform didn't fit him. He didn't deserve to wear it. Now that he knew what he was - that he was a villain or would be one in a matter of weeks or months - it was impossible to reconcile that fact with his reflection. These clothes were a symbol of a good future and, one way or another, he would burn it to the ground.

Ryouta hung his head as he followed behind Aizawa, who was as quiet as the dead. It was almost impossible to get a read on the teacher. He couldn't tell whether Aizawa hated him or was just disappointed in him. Honestly, he didn't know which one was worse right now. After being transferred from the holding room to U.A., Aizawa had tossed him a uniform and told him to get ready, which had only managed to confuse Ryouta at first. They walked through the school hallways in silence, which was just as well since he couldn't figure out what to say.

When they finally reached their destination, Ryouta's eyes flickered up and landed on the sign, the color draining from his face. "You can't be serious."

Aizawa glanced back at him out of the corner of his eyes. "Would you rather we lock you up?"

"Well, no," Ryouta responded quickly, "but this is kind of ridiculous." Technically, he'd already gone to school, although he had been informed that he'd never graduated. After every hoop he'd jumped through in order to get into U.A. under his father's strict conditions, he had left. "This is Shouto's class, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Didn't I, you know, attack them?" It was really weird talking about what his future self had done, especially since it had already happened. Part of Ryouta wanted to remember. It was irritating not knowing why he'd done those things and it made them seem less real. He couldn't understand his actions. Another part of him never wanted those memories back. They shamed him. "They hate me."

"They hate Dabi," Aizawa pointed out.

"Which is me!" Ryouta burst out. He rubbed his arms uncomfortably, like it might give him some sort of comfort. Instead, it made him think of those horrific burn scars that had covered most of Dabi's arms. His arms. "Do you honestly think this is a good idea?"

"Probably not." Aizawa's straightforwardness was both a blessing and a curse in this situation. On one hand, it was refreshing not to be lied to and even treated with respect; on the other hand, it was a bit like being hit over the head with a blunt object and told to get over it.

Ryouta deflated and dropped his gaze to his feet. "Then why do it?"

"Because U.A. failed you once before," Aizawa told him. "What kind of heroes would we be if we did it again?"

Heroes took responsibility for their failures and worked to improve them. In Endeavor's mind, that had been having another kid when the last one didn't turn out the way he wanted until he had finally created the perfect hero-in-making with Shouto. That was a cold way of looking at things though and not the way that Aizawa meant.

To be honest, Ryouta struggled to remember a time when he had been given something so hopeful to hold onto (neither Endeavor nor his mother had been the type), but he was wary to welcome that hopeful feeling in his chest. It would be taken away from him eventually when this quirk wore off, would it not? He'd go back to being a villain, everyone hating him (if they didn't do it now), and all of this would be for naught.

Maybe they should've just thrown him in jail. That was what villains deserved. Mercy was a concept entirely lost on Ryouta. It didn't make sense.

"They're never going to accept me," Ryouta said, "and I won't blame them."

When he had been sat down by Principal Nezu and Aizawa after changing into the uniform, they had explained that Ryouta would be treated as who he was now, not as who he would be, but they hadn't mentioned that they were going to put him in the hero course. There were a lot of things they hadn't said. Besides a few details about what he had done as Dabi, they appeared to want to give him as little information as possible.

Due to the nature of the quirk he'd been hit with, he would slowly gain those memories back. He didn't know how and he didn't know when. He would find out eventually though, especially if he was being thrown into a pit with the same students that he'd attacked as Dabi. It was incredibly fucking uncomfortable. Did Aizawa really expect him to make friends with these kids? They were going to eat him alive.

A cold determination ran down Ryouta's spine. He didn't need them. He didn't need friends. The only person that mattered here was Shouto. If he could somehow gain his little brother's forgiveness, even if it was only for a short amount of time, then this whole shit show would be worth it. Nothing would make up for the fact that Ryouta had abandoned him, but he could at least do something.

"I'm going to explain the situation to them," Aizawa told him. "This will not be easy for anyone involved." No shit. Ryouta rolled his eyes but kept his words to himself. "But, if things prove to be too much, I expect you to come to me instead of dealing with it on your own. Even if it means you want to be pulled out." That was a likely possibility, but it was not in Ryouta's blood to just give up. He'd go down kicking and screaming most likely. Judging by those burns, he had. "Do you understand?"

Even though this whole situation was completely absurd, the dead seriousness in Aizawa's voice and expression made it impossible for Ryouta to respond with anything but honesty. He begrudgingly nodded his head. Aizawa took one last careful look at him before stepping into the room, leaving Ryouta alone with his thoughts. They weren't pretty. All he could do was lean against the wall outside the door, fold his arms across his chest, and wait.

@mistystarshine notes: Just more creation trivia for the most part! I do have some speculation over the legal system and how the one present in the BNHA universe may differ from the real life, since the manga hasn't gone into too much detail regarding it yet, but I've decided to save it for later.

No, All Might was not in the teacher meeting. Yes, there is a reason for that, both in universe and out! (Aside from 'we somehow both forgot to include All Might until it was too gosh darn late'.) (Lanni notes: It was me. I forgot him. I woke up like a week later in a cold-sweat like, "WTF, I FORGOT ALL MIGHT AND I LOVE HIM.") There resides an opportunity for feels in not having him or Ryouta see each other until later and it had to be taken.

With the teacher conference scene, you also get to see why Aizawa is the MVP of this fic! Even if he does like to toss de-aged villains in with a bunch of students they previously attacked without warning said de-aged villain ahead of time. Eh. Ryouta's a resilient kid, he'll manage. (Lanni notes: This is the guy who admitted his failure as a teacher in correcting Bakugou's violent behavior and accepted responsibility for U.A.'s need to correct it; acknowledges that potential is one of the most important things; and basically beats knowledge into his students' thick skulls. Also, consider this: I love him.)

[sugar-petals]

BTS as submissive boyfriends

a/n: A thought experiment to envision Bangtan as subs in your daily and sexual life.

warning: Dom/sub dynamics, femdom!reader

Jimin

Jimin is dashing as a submissive, it suits him well. An eager pleaser who memorizes all of your wishes exactingly, always giving more than taking because it fulfills him. Jimin addresses you as his one and only Queen, serenades and serves you with all of his allure. He’ll make you a bubble bath after you get home, write countless love letters, provide all sorts of comfort especially on your period, organize an evening to watch a cute movie, kiss and hug you tight the way you love it. But don’t be fooled, he’s volatile. This man will walk through your house naked all day, too. You know him, he draws a lot of confidence out of approval, so he’ll really groom himself. If you love his natural black hair and soft tummy, he’ll do everything to look like that. If you enjoy his ample legs, he will train each day without fail, and proudly display the results here and there through his ripped blue jeans. 

In bed, Jimin’s divide between soft and sensual shows all the more. He is immensely passionate and sacrificing, all of his avid affection is yours. Prepare for a myriad of curious questions, he wants to know everything you’re into, all the dos and don’ts. This type of devotion is made for someone intense and dominant because it requires guidance as well as receptivity. Your voluptuous Jimin can massage your feet, kiss your breasts, eat you out like it’s nothing. And he wants to do more, more, more, to satisfy you all the time because he loves seeing you gratified. Imagine how many special hours he will dedicate to that. “Love and sex” is his life mantra - that means all of your tensions in these realms will be alleviated. And listen. What you can look forward to the most is how he puts his lusciously gyrating dancer hips and thighs to practice.

Taehyung

The light of your existence - you won’t ever be bored again. Taehyung will enrich your life effortlessly because he makes it so interesting and positive. Compliments and good conversation within your quality time are his strong points: He will always be mindful that you will receive plenty of this, since you become his unchallenged priority. Taehyung will talk with you at length to entertain and cheer you up with his witty mannerisms straight out of his video games and keep you up to date with literally the entire world. He adds some excitement through cheeky flirting and cuddling (Taetae is the clingiest member. If you are deprived of hugs he’s perfect for you), soothing you with his deep, deep voice which he’ll deliberately bring out. He will send you selcas with his smexy bandana creations, funny filters, and a plunging fashionable neckline to add pizazz to it. He texts with the cutest emojis and always encourages you since he believes in your potential. “Mommy, fighting”, he’ll write, and you know he smiles his rectangle smile as he sends it to you.

Erotic hours with Taehyung will echo a similar feeling. He is down for every conceivable endeavor, but it stays light. Unless he switches on his temptation mode, that is. All in all, nothing is ever confined to the bedroom alone - it seems that his affinity goes towards the bathroom instead. Sensual showers and baths with lots of foam, voilà, Taehyung will be all cute and bashful for you. The kitchen is the second favorite where you will have some fruit adventures, you can imagine how creative he gets. Tae also amuses you with his dirty talk, so many clever innuendoes. He can bring everything sexual to an intellectual level, which will lead to the most juicy messages on your fridge. Talking about juicy: have you seen Taehyung’s hands? They will make you feel so, so good. In the morning, at noon, at night. And that voice is sure to push you over the edge every time. 

Yoongi

The fascinator. A very private man of unwavering loyalty. To share this hermit-like intimacy with you is his gift - he’s exclusive to you, undemanding, very minimalistic. Yoongi is an immensely shrewd shadow worker and secret keeper. None of your problems will remain unsolved, even if he stores a lot in his head only to reveal it much later. You have all the power, and Yoongi the master plan to solidify your reign. He really thinks long-term which makes him very sure about his commitment. Yoongi knows your future and how to make it good: By loving you. Foreseeing the hard times, he becomes proactive. His devotion also shows in the way he gives you presents as often as he can. A personal mixtape, a ticket to your favorite singer’s concert. He works hard, so hard. Usually the critical type, he is able to let down his guard with you. He can share his heart without having to protect himself with coldness or sharp comments. Trust me when I say that he will shower you with the most sincerely endearing things. He’ll also guard you from outside malice and back you up. If you are struggling with any problem concerning your state of mind, Yoongi will sacrifice everything he has to make you healthy because he knows how it is. Know that you are his Empress, ready to be revered every day.

You will fully realize that when he gets intimate. It is true, you have South Korea’s most talented tongue between your legs and at your whim. His job lends him ridiculous stamina, Yoongi can make you groan and shake all night. What he does not utter or express through writing during the day, he will make up for with a plethora of lavish tongue movements. Sweet Suga might take his time and finish intensely or vice versa if that is your wish. Yoongi is not afraid of taboos and extremes - in fact, he needs them. You can lead and dominate him completely, he loves to feel your impact. He can finally let go of his troubles like this. Remember how he said he likes Jimin and J-Hope for their extroverted energy and strong vibe as it makes him snap out of his blues. Getting tied up or teased with toys, he craves it all. Last but not least, a little secret: It is safe to say that this sexy vampire will lick your sensitive neck to some new orgasmic heights.

Namjoon

A yielding and steadfast partner for you, highly intuitive. This jovial man will muse about you as the meaning of his life, and how divine you are, like a Priestess blessing him. You’re always on his mind and he’ll let you know about it artistically, no matter how cheesy it gets. I am sure he could open a museum dedicated to you as the overarching theme. Joon is also going to be a feast for your eyes. Chic and futuristic, he models the neatest couture for you, and helps you to buy your own so you can be an edgy couple. He will wear stylish bags and his eccentric sunglasses, and you call him babe. Occasionally, Rapmon will share his music with you and write an entire collection of raps that describe his feelings. Namjoon is a poet, philosopher, and psychologist, striving to understand all of your motivations and dreams. He’s your biggest fan in a way, and heals your soul. Whatever makes you chuckle becomes his daily task - he’ll even break some trivial items on purpose because it makes you laugh yourself to tears. 

Namjoon in bed is not very agile precisely due to his lanky stature and those clumsy moments. Do you know what that means? You can top the living hell out of him. That’s right. Joonie is just fine on his back having you ravage him, and he’ll whisper the lewdest, intelligent things to you. If you’ve studied his lyrics, you know how far he wants to go. Though you have to know that his heart and sexual demeanor are much softer than his image suggests. Like Jimin, he is a romantic in search of a woman who can conquer him, who can get him into the heat of the moment, out of his head in the clouds. You can control and tantalize him and his delicious, sexy body however you want, all he loves is to see you delight in your power position. With submissive Namjoon, I guarantee you will have tons of fun.

J-Hope

Hobi is tremendously bright, empathetic, and gentle. Thus, he’s perfectly in tune with your needs as his character is so reactive. If you are an introvert, this is your perfect match. J-Hope will energize you one-to-one or in a group because he’s the paramount socialite, and once you’ve charged enough sunlight, he’ll show you his peaceful and relaxed side which can also be quite hedonistic. Like Jungkook, he will indulge you, make you feel good the way you never experienced it before. No matter the circumstance: He’ll say or text “I love you” at least once a day in the most uplifting tone, often addressing you with sugary sweet names on top of that. You’re his Aphrodite, and Hoseok will never make you doubt that the arrows of Eros have reached his heart. He’ll always get so excited how amazing you are, conveying it with his animated body language, joking and jumping around. And even in the serious moments, he will do everything in his power to make you happy.

That includes creating a very vivid sexual life with you. He’s not perfectly submissive like Yoongi and Jimin, but more like Taehyung, in a glamorous fashion. If he arrives with his hair sleeked or swiped back with his glorious forehead on full display, you know what’s going on. This guy will really put on a show for you. Just because you two are getting intimate it doesn’t mean he’s no longer an entertainer. You can sit on his lap when he’s in his shiny sequin suit, and run your hands through his meticulously styled hair (Hobi is fastidious with self-care, you will never have any complaints). Did you see pictures of him in suspenders? Blazing hot! He’ll wear these underneath his jackets because you are really into them. And if you don’t like to keep it classy here and there, get flexible. Literally, because this is what Hoseok’s body is. You can have sex in the most incredible positions, no limits. He really is such a well-rounded and well-versed (heh) sexual partner, and very zestful for that matter. 

Jin

Class act. A flawless gentleman. The ace of Bangtan, with better manners than any butler. It is not chivalry in a sense that he interferes with your business that you can perfectly handle on your own. No, he rather has the nerve to absorb all daily life burdens from you in private to assure that his goddess is never stressed out too much. You come home tired and ask for something soothing, he makes you some soup. You rant about someone, he will mediate and understand you. In essence, he provides all the relief you desire. He entertains you generously but also has an open ear and a shoulder to lean on - you can talk to Jin to everything, he can and will be able to deal with it so your safety and well-being is the priority of everything in your relationship. Always responsible and caring, he shops and manages and cleans as good as he can, and rests his gorgeous head in your lap every evening so you can caress him at will.  

Now what happens when this handsome fella sleeps with his goddess? He’ll dine you first, and then show his terrifically seductive side. Jin has figured out what arouses you down to a T. For instance, once he slowly strips off his shirt to reveal those chiseled, broad shoulders, there’s no turning back. He can pepper your hot sessions with plenty of his humor to spice it up, you can really feel free to get weird with him as much as you please. In fact, Jin loves a lot of randomness and talking when you two make out. There’s going to be a lot of eye contact involved, too, mixed with many giggles. And now here’s the cherry on top. Jin will often combine your sexual activities with travels and wellness. How does this sound like: You both finance a day at a spa in Jeju, followed by getting some more relief in the hotel afterwards. Though Jin can deliver a massage himself you see. Whenever you ask, this guy will drop everything. 

Jungkook

We all know why he hates being called Oppa. The “show your ID” is just a cop-out, Jungkook makes it obvious that he wants a Noona to adore and look up to. Partly, he’s doing it out of sheer fun, he’s playful, nimble. On the other hand, he’ll take it seriously. So he’ll diligently cater to you. For instance, he’ll be your humble yet sultry chef, not missing any opportunity to indulge you with his kitchen skills. He loves to cook because it pleases you so much, especially with an apron tied around his lovely slender hips, moving through the kitchen whistling and singing - he’s a treat, so charming. He’ll spoil you rotten and ask for your approval like this: “Noona tell me, did I do well?” Kookie knows you love his tight shirts and the side part so you can feel up his chest and silky hair. Hence he’ll take some time styling himself, is often seen somewhere ironing or folding the clothes you like on him. And he will style you, too! Cozy Jungkook attends to your locks in particular, he’ll comb and braid them just to hear you sigh under his relaxing hands while you two watch anime. He’ll also massage and tickle you if you demand it, and put on a suave dance as in Rainism to turn you on when you’re in the mood.

So when it comes down to sex: Take him out to your favorite restaurant and you can already see how much of a sensory gourmet he is. He’s not an extreme of sexual naïvity or total overdrive as it may seem. Jungkook will be fairly balanced, in fact. Have you seen how deliberately he manages his own body? The physical territory is where he roams successfully, and he is sure to become a connoisseur of your body in no time. Jungkook will do everything just right, stopping you or himself in whatever hurried tracks to keep it nuanced, healthy, and harmonious. He wants to be your baby boy, attending to every carnal wish that his Noona has. No suggestion or trick is too bizarre for him to make you cum. Because remember: He likes the fun of it. You could be the most awkward person in the world, Jungkook wants to really put you at ease. Thus, sex oscillates between relaxing and steamy. He’ll be so pleasing to your eyes, tongue, and hands with his sculpted body, and that’s just the beginning of it. This man embodies your ecstasy.

[justmidnightthougts]

"Dear diary” // Sugawara x read

Pairing: Sugawara Koushi x reader

Word count: 2,4k

Warnings: some angst <3, I don't think there is anything else but let me know if I missed anything!

Summary: you get a diary from one of your relatives to write about your experiences in your last year of high school, until one day everything changed.

masterlist: here

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧

"1 April 20XX

Dear diary,

I'm Y/n L/n, and from now on I'll be writing in you. Yesterday my grandmother gave you to me. When my grandmother handed it over, she said: "This is your last year at Karasuno, it may be difficult this year, but even then, unexpected things will happen. Whether they are good or not is for you to decide. So, every time something good or bad happens, write it down in this book so you can look back at these memories when you are older." She is so sweet, and her chocolate cookies are the best in this world! Every time I go to my grandparents' house, she always makes sure to make a few for me and my family. I hope she can become old together with my grandfather, like those old happy couples in movies. They deserve that. Anyways, back to the topic, I promised her that I would try to write as much as possible, not only because she asked me to, but also because I want to be able to look back at my own memories. This is all that I will be writing for now, since I have to go eat dinner now. My mother prepared Yakitori.

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6 April 20XX

Dear diary,

School started again today, I'm a third-year at Karasuno now. To be honest, it feels weird to be called senpai by the first and second years, like, I can't grasp the fact that I really am a third and not a second-year anymore and that maybe next year I am attending college or university around this time of the year. Luckily, I have my small friend group that I've built over those two years at Karasuno. Of course, I also have some friends in my class, it'd be weird if I couldn't get along with the people that I have been classmates with ever since I was a first-year. School wasn't that bad today since it's the first day. We mostly got to know our new teachers for the subjects that we had today. We also got our books for this year. It's less in comparison with last year but now we have to take our own notes. I can already imagine the horror that went through some of my classmates since I felt it myself.

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17 May 20XX

Dear diary,

I finally did it! I asked my crush, Sugawara Koushi, out. I've harbored a crush for him since last year after he helped me out of the slumps when I failed an important test. I was friends with him before that, but that one even was the trigger for my feelings to become something else. I never told him how felt. Why? Simple, I was afraid that I would get rejected and end up losing our friendship. But then again, isn't everyone afraid when it comes to being honest about their own feelings? Anyways, when I asked Sugawara out, I acted like I had everything together but, once I stood there in front of him, it felt as if my heart was going to jump out of my chest and just run away. I was nervous and scared that he'd reject me. However, after the painful silence that seemed to last forever, he said that he liked me too and asked me to go out with him, to which I said yes of course. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the day and even now I still can't believe it.

Aside from that, school has been okay. There are some teachers that I don't really like, but it's not as if I can change anything. I also have the feeling that my math teacher doesn't really like me, which he has every right to. I don't like his subject, nor do I like him, so I guess it's like mutual hate? He always gives us so much homework. He probably thinks that we dedicate our lives to mathematics. In conclusion, he really sucks. Luckily there are also some nice teachers, my chemistry teacher for example! She always helps us and goes over the lesson if we don't understand anything. Such a sweetheart!

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18 May 20XX

Dear diary,

Today after class, Suga brought me to his volleyball club to introduce me to his teammates.  When he told me that this morning, I was a little nervous about how they will react and what they will think about me, but the moment he softly held my hand all those thoughts went away, cliche right? Suga did warn me that his team is a little chaotic, but there is a difference between hearing it and seeing it with your own eyes. The moment I entered the gym I was greeted with a dark blue-haired guy, whose name is Kageyama, screaming at an orange-haired guy, Hinata, about a toss that he apparently missed. On the side of the gym, I saw two tall boys who were snickering at the scene and then Daichi looking as if he could snap at them any second now. But that was just the beginning of it all. As I was talking with Suga, I saw Kiyoko entering and at that same moment, two guys ran to her, screaming weird things to end up being ignored by her. Not that that let them down, I guess that they are simps over her. Who isn't is the question? Even I have those moments where I find her an absolute goddess. That seemed to be the straw for Daichi, snapping at them to be silent so they could start practice. It was a loud bunch, but it made me feel happy and even relaxed. Later, Sugawara introduced me as his lover to everyone. Being called lover made me blush a little, but I smiled nonetheless. The look of surprise on everyone's face was absolutely priceless. Meeting the volleyball club was a fun experience.

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22 May 20XX

Dear diary,

Today I had my first date Suga. It was a simple date, but we had so much fun together! So, we met up around lunch and went to a little cozy cafe where we ate our lunch. During it, we started with talking about our childhood and told each other funny stories that happened to us when we were younger. After lunch, we went to the movies. Apparently, there was a movie playing that he really wanted to see with me so I agreed to go with him there. I like watching movies myself, so I didn't really mind spending our time like that. The movie was very good, he really has a good taste in movies. Maybe I should ask him for some recommendations. He took me to a Starbucks cafe to get a refreshing drink when the movie ended since it was rather hot today. I took my favorite drink from there and he took a refreshing lemon iced tea. Once we got our drinks, we made our way to a local park and sat down on the grass at the lake, looking at a family of ducks walking by. It was cute seeing the little ducklings following their mother. I think we spend about two hours there, drinking our Starbucks and talking about our future jobs. He told me that he wanted to do something in the teaching sector. I really see him doing something like that. I don't know what I want to do once I graduate from high school, but I still got some time to think about that don't I? After our date he brought me home and left after kissing me on my cheek. I think I never blushed so hard once I was in my room. It was a wonderful experience.

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14 June 20XX

Dear diary,

Today Karasuno lost against Aoba Johsai with 33-31 in the third set, making Karasuno lose the Interhigh Preliminaries. It was heartbreaking to see those defeated looks on their faces, especially Sugawara. Nevertheless, I know that they tried their best, and I hope that they know that too. When I met up with Suga later I comforted him. He may look like he has everything together, but he is still a teenage boy, one who just lost an important game. We were sitting on my bed, my arms wrapped around him while he cried his heart out on my shoulder. It pained me to see him like that, but there wasn't anything I could do except just being there for him. He ended up falling asleep, tired from the game and the loss. I hope that his next game will be better, that is if he continues playing. Important tests are approaching for us third-year, so some of us stop going to their club to focus on school. I hope he doesn't stop, but then again, I don't want him to fail his tests. Whatever he decides to do, I will always support him! No matter what!

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16 June 20XX

Dear diary,

It took a little while, but everyone on our volleyball team is getting better at handling their loss. The third-year continued going to their club, so I'm glad that Suga didn't give up, not like he is someone who could easily give up of course. They still have their dream to go to nationals before they graduate high school. Everything is going well between me and Suga, today we studied together at my house. I also introduced him to my parents. I swear, he is like a two-faced man or something. Just before he arrived, he was teasing me through messages, and the moment he met my parents he was like an angel. That was what my parents told me afterward. No wonder he gets along with almost everyone. He can have this sweet smile on his face while also burying you in the ground with his words. Anyhow, we studied together for some tests, and let me tell you, he is really smart. He helped me with my difficult subjects, and I helped him with things he didn't quite get. Later he stayed over for dinner before going home since we don't live that far from each other. I really enjoyed spending time with him this way.

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27 June 20XX

Dear diary,

Finally, the test week is over! I am totally exhausted from the studying that I had to do the last few weeks. It was hard and tiresome, but Suga pulled me through it with studying together and spending our free time together by going to small cafes or just staying home and watching our favorite movies. I got my results back yesterday and I passed all of them! Some were almost failed tests, but that's not what is important here, I passed, and I should think that way. I really should give Suga something for helping me, even if he won't accept it, saying things like "I just did what a boyfriend should do" or something. Seriously, he can't accept a simple compliment or praise. I am meeting up with him the day after tomorrow so maybe I can go buy him some chocolates since I have to be in the city anyway for some stuff for my hobby. Yeah! Seems like an amazing idea! I really hope that I can show him how much I love him that way. We haven't been together for so long, but he really changed me a lot and my love for him only grew through those small acts of affection and those little dates we had together! Sugawara really is the love of my life!"

...

Sugawara looked at the last paragraph, a deep ache in his heart. Tears were prickling the corners of his eyes, threatening to roll down his cheeks each second. Right now, he was in Y/N, his lover, their house, sitting on the same chair that they sit on during every meal...or rather...used to sit on. Something like that wasn't possible anymore, Suga remembered, they can't sit on that chair anymore. Not after he saw that newsflash that one evening.

"That was the last thing they wrote down," Y/N's mother said while looking at him with sad and worried eyes. Y/N's mother and father were both sitting in front of the grey-haired boy, dark circles under their eyes from the sleepless nights. The father sighed as he looked down at his hands, clasped together on the table: "We know how much Y/N loved you, so, my wife and I decided that maybe we should give this diary to you" he stayed silent after that.

Sugawara his hands began to shake, those tears now rolling down his cheek as he bit his lip, gripping the little diary tighter. The tears spilled on the papers with their handwriting, that handwriting that he always loved to see whenever they showed him a specific test that they passed or failed, cheering, or almost crying next to him. He laid the book down carefully, treating it as if it were glass and not just paper. The deep aching feeling in his heart became suffocating, making it difficult for him to breathe as he broke down on that chair, face in his hand, the sound of a crying, suffering boy resonating through the room.

Y/n their mother looked at the suffering boy, her own tears spilling on the black skirt that she was currently wearing. She covered her mouth and hunched over: "I'm so sorry...we are so sorry..." she said through her tears, the father wrapping his arms around her to comfort his wife, while his own tears appeared.

Sugawara shook his head softly, tears continuing to flow. He couldn't believe it...he didn't want to believe it. Who was going to give him those smiles that he always looked forward to in the morning? Who was going to tease him on a daily basis as a form of showing their love? Who was going to comfort him after his volleyball team loses a game or cheer with him after they won? Who was he going to spend his weekends with just casually hanging out together when they had nothing to do? Who was going to study together with him to prepare for those difficult tests? Who was going to go on those comforting dates with him?

It was not Y/n...

No not them, not after that one newsflash the evening before he would see them the next day. Not after that one newsflash that caused the world for him to crumble. Not after that one newsflash where he saw their name, the name of his lover...declared dead after a tragic car accident had happened an hour before.

He didn't want to believe that the love of his life was dead before they could start their life together. And yet he also knew that, even if he prayed every night, he can't turn back time to save them...