#good thing I’ve been saving i guess otherwise I would’ve been more than screwed

[twistedappletree]

of course my car would break down 🙃 literally saw i had money saved and was like “is for me? 👉👈🥺”

[dustofbrokenheart]

The Lost Boys: Call 911

GIF by lostinsantacarla

Paul x Reader

Word Count: 2,550

Summary: Reader is out on patrol as part of the Santa Carla PD when they respond to a call out at the wharf. 

Amid the riotous flare of fireworks and fire crackers, it was difficult to make out the quickly approaching cop car but Marko prided himself on being observative.

Paul, Paulie, P-Man, his forever partner on the other hand…

Grabbing Paul by the front of his tank, he pulled the other vampire down to hiss in his ear. “We got company. We bail on my signal, got it?”

The honey blonde nodded distractedly, mesmerized by the bright bursts of colors overhead. The reds and blues and whites and pinks mixed with the curtain of smoke, creating a kaleidoscope against the inky night sky. 

He only heard part of what Marko was gripping about—something about a signal—but it wasn’t his fault he was having so much fun.

Another of their fireworks went off from behind Max’s Video, making him laugh even harder when some empty pallets became collateral. They splintered into pieces, the crunching sound of the wood masked by the other explosions.

Nothing said summer time fun like launching some Big Boys at the video store. It was a rockin’ light show and piss-off-Max scheme all wrapped in one. The crochety, old douche in question would no doubt have some choice words for them later but Paul wasn’t thinking about that; the only thing on his mind was blowing shit up.

In fact, he was so into it that he wasn’t prepared for the sharp punch to his ribs. He flew into the wall as Marko ran past, scampering to get airborne. “Go, go, go!”

The back door to the store opened with such force that it banged into the wall with a loud crack. Paul could sympathize. Two officers came through and before he could even think to pick himself up and run, they were on him.

The rounder of the two sat on his back, putting all his pounds into pinning Paul down. Normally, he would’ve thrown him off and maybe, probably, killed him, no sweat.

But.

There were too many people around that could catch him in the act. There’s no way Max would step in and not even Paul was stupid enough to slaughter that many people in plain sight.

Marko, he whined through the bond. A little help, bud? I’m kinda stuck.

All he got back was a manic cackle.

Paul squawked in outrage, knowing that the other would not be lending an assist. That traitor was all too content to sit back and laugh at him.

Whatever.

Screw him then.

It’s not like Paul had never been hauled in before anyhow.

“You know,” he grunted to the cop on his back, “It’s a good thing you’re not fat or anything, otherwise this would be more difficult.”

The knee dug into his back even harder and his head was pulled back by his hair. It didn’t hurt that much but still! He worked for hours to make his hair look good!

“Police brutality! I have rights, you know!” he yelled. The cop was starting to get on his nerves.

His face was shoved back into the ground and he ate gravel, sputtering to get the pebbles and grime out of his mouth with mixed success. The taste lingered and the only way to get rid of it would be to wash it down with something—

Hmm. He hadn’t planned on feeding that night but some pig blood would take care of it nicely.

He attempted to at least think of an isolated spot to rip out his throat without getting caught. Maybe in the cop car. Maybe he could drag him to the bushes outside of the station.

Oh! If the guy stopped for doughnuts, he could steal the car—doughnuts sounded good though. A nice chocolate glaze with sprinkles or something filled with strawberry jelly! The corner store on the boulevard had the best selection this time of night. He needed more hairspray, too, as long as he was at it, a magazine or three—he shook his head.

Come on, self, get it together!

“I’m going to find the one that ran. Officer Y/LN, you take this idiot back to the car and sit tight until I get back.”

Roughly, he was hauled to his feet and he had been so focused on the tub of lard that had him on the ground that he forgot two cops had burst through the door.

He planted his feet and refused to be moved as he glanced at the second one. It was like pushing at a stone wall, the other at his back unable to shove him into motion.

Immediately, Paul realized his mistake.

Why was he so occupied with that other asshole when he could’ve been looking at you, been pressed up against you the entire time?

The saying was that everyone loved a person in uniform and Paul was no exception. You made the normally dull standard navy uniform look good, the short sleeves showing off your arms and the pants managed to cup your ass in the tastiest way.

He’d cup your ass even better, if you gave him the chance.

Even the serious, disapproving scowl on your face was hot. What he wouldn’t do to get you to make that face with you on top of him, manhandling him any which way you wanted.

Screw his little feeding plan. He was willing to spare your partner in exchange for getting to know you better.

A big happy smile stretching across his face, he finally moved, dragging your partner rather than being forced forward.

“Hey, sexy,” he said with his signature wink, the one that always got him what he wanted with people. “Name’s Paul.”

To his disappointment, you didn’t respond and merely took control of his handcuffed hands as they were passed over.

As you lead him back through the video store, he pulled his arms to the left, acting like he was trying to resist. Just like he expected, you corrected him with a strong, tight grip that sent a rush down his spine.

“Ouch, babe, not so rough,” he purred. “I’m very sensitive.”

He glanced back quick to see your reaction and his bottom lip pushed out in a pout. You still wore a straight face that gave nothing away. No clenched jaw, no embarrassed tightening of your eyes. Definitely no hint of an amused smile.  

Gods, babe. You were really testing him.

Guess he’d have to try harder.

*** 

You were new to the Santa Carla Police Department. Very new. New as in it was your first incident on your first night on patrol.

It was just your luck that you’d ended up with airhead who’d set off a whole fireworks display right outside of a crowded store, which could have serious injury, and was now trying to flirt his way out of it.

Hell—was he pouting?

For a city of its size, Santa Carla PD had a surprising number of job openings. You were new to the area, having moved because it seemed like a nice, sunny California beach town and you were in need of a change.

You didn’t have any prior experience but you’d passed all the screenings and tests and expected the job offer they made. It had benefits, the pay was good, and, importantly, it was legal which seemed to be in short supply around these parts.

That last part was a surprise, especially with the high number of missing people’s cases; you’d think that more places would be desperate to fill jobs, too.

Steering the suspect towards the check out counter, you flagged down the owner who had been the called in to the station.

He turned towards you with a smile on his face and greeted you politely. “Hello, officer.”

“We caught one suspect, sir. The other fled the scene and my partner went after him. I’ll get started on the report—are you planning to press charges?”

The smile was suddenly no where to be seen and he casted a glare at the handcuffed blonde.

“But of course. I’ve told this degenerate and the others in this gang to stay out of here a hundred times before. They’ve gone too far this time.”

The suspect merely shrugged his shoulders and winked at you which set the owner off further.

“That! That right there is what I’m talking about. No respect, no conduct. How is a father supposed to parent if he gets no respect? Maybe they’re missing a motherly influence,” he trailed off.

A motherly influence? Okaaay, then.

Clearing your throat, you tried to bring the conversation back to topic. “Yeah…Well let me put him in the car and then we can get started on the report. Have a good night, sir.”

That should’ve been the end of it but of course the blonde had to open his big mouth. “Bye daddy!”

Max’s hand came down heavy on the counter and you jostled the boy away before he managed to start a full-blown confrontation.

“You surely have a big mouth for someone who’s being arrested. Don’t make things worse for yourself.”

His head perked up and you had to really plant your weight to keep him from turning around and sending you flying into a display in the process. Definitely stronger than he looked.

You noted that piece of information just in case he tried anything else.

“Aww. Are you worried about me?” he cooed. “Don’t be. I trust you to protect me, officer.”

“Any one ever tell you that you’re ridiculous?”

“All the time,” he nodded happily.

The profile of the suspect was coming together in your mind. Clearly, he was simple.

Happy and excitable, and yes, even pretty, but simple.

There’s no way he had been the mastermind behind the firework plot; that honor was likely saved for the one who escaped. He probably hadn’t agreed to do it with malicious intent either. Unfortunately, his inability to think things through had landed him in trouble and he was your problem now.

When you got to the entryway he even tried to the door open. “After you, officer.”

With a resigned sigh, you prodded him forward. Again. Really, this guy was worse than a puppy. A puppy could eventually be trained to listen but seeing as how he was late teens/early twenties, it was doubtful he ever would.

“You said your name was Paul?”

The p in his ‘yep’ popped.

“Last name?”

“Just Paul. I wouldn’t mind getting your name though.”

There’s no way you were telling him that. He would be that much more insufferable if he knew. And try as he might to hide his full name, that would come out when you booked him at the station.

“Well, Paul. You’re being charged with public endangerment and vandalism. Under California law, those are both misdemeanor crimes so most likely—”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved away your words with a flick of his head. Annoyed, you yanked on the cuffs, causing him to moan. “I do appreciate a good pair of handcuffs.”

“You—!” You had to stop yourself from calling him a little shit out loud. No one would’ve stopped you, but you felt weird about it, almost like it would come off as being unprofessional.

Taking a deep breath, you tried to bring your voice back down. “Saying crazy things is only going to make things worse for you.”

“Promise to punish me if I don’t?” Another wink was flashed at you.

It was at that point you noticed he had long lashes for a male. They fluttered like butterfly wings whenever he blinked. Except you had a job to do and really shouldn’t care about how pretty he was.

You were so caught up in your thoughts that it took you by surprise when he leaned in close. Acting on tactical instinct, you threw him against the police vehicle, his torso pressed against the hood with legs spread wide.

The position was designed to be as uncomfortable as it looked so that there was little to no chance of him bucking you off. Good.

“Need I remind you,” you said gruffly, “That you are under arrest. Don’t test me.” 

“You should most definitely frisk me,” he panted.

You sincerely hoped it was pain, and not from pleasure, but from your brief encounter with Paul, it honestly could be the latter. Your own heart was pounding in your chest as well but that was due to the adrenaline pumping through your system.

Or so you maintained.

Still, he had a point. Frisking was standard procedure to make sure the suspect was carrying anything potentially dangerous, or illegal. Hell. You were going to have to give into this particular demand, weren’t you?

Wanting to get it over with, you tried to be as fast as possible while still be thorough.

His muscles were surprisingly cold as you felt up his arms and then his back. It was summertime and when most people had problems overheating, it didn’t seem to be an issue for him.

You dreaded going anywhere near his ass but it had to be done. He even insisted on ‘helping’ by pushing his cheeks further into your hands by curving his lower back as you patted down his pants pockets.

“Check the front too. I could have anything down my pants, ya know.”

That didn’t sound suggestive at all. His flirtations were so over the top is was near comical at that point. You couldn’t let him know that though. You were the authority figure in this situation.

“Alright smart guy, the frisking is over with. And surprise, surprise there was exactly nothing in your pants.”

“You wound me, babe.” If he had use of his arms, his hand would’ve definitely been placed over his heart.  

Standing him upright, you opened the door to seat him in the back. That had been the plan any way.

One second you held his metal clad wrists firmly in your grip and in the next, he twisted himself away effortlessly.

He spread his hands apart and although they each had a shiny steel band around them, the chain that had connected them broke off with a metallic clink.

Just like that he was completely mobile and he wasted no time.

In another imperceptible move, he covered your back with his front, his breath tickling you.

You couldn’t hold back a shiver.

“It’s been a pleasure, officer, but I really should get going. I’m just too cute for jail.” He rolled his head and his nose traced the shell of your ear with a deep inhale. “This was fun though. Let’s do it again, hmm?”

He shoved you into the back seat and luckily your reflexes were fast enough to catch yourself before you face planted into the leather seat. Thrashing like mad, you spun around as fast as you could but it was no use: Paul was already gone.

Stumbling out, you looked back and forth hoping to catch a glimpse of what direction he went but it was useless. Not only was that little shit stronger than he seemed, he was also faster.

Noted.

With a sinking realization, you knew you were going to have to explain this to your partner.

Oh, you were not looking forward to this…

Worst first night on a job ever.

_______________

Hope you enjoyed Paul! I feel like this is goofy and over the top but I guess that’s basically Paul’s vibes in a nutshell. Marko has definitely gotten Paul arrested before and Max has definitely called the cops on them before too haha. Thanks for reading <3

[rizlowwritessortof]

Meant To Be - Chapter 5

Dean and Jordan are each trying to escape their painful pasts. Their chance meeting and a dangerous encounter begins a relationship that may give them both a new start.

Pairing: Police Detective Dean Winchester/Jordan Taylor

Word Count: 2559

Warnings: There be smut here :)

Aesthetic by @editsbymichele on Instagram; Dividers by @firefly-graphics​ 

Jordan walked into the apartment, closing the door behind her and leaning against it for a moment. She felt like a coward, running away without talking to Dean, but… It just felt too awkward to stick around after what she’d seen. She sighed, kicking her shoes off and carrying them to her room, then wandering back to the kitchen. She debated on a drink, but finally settled on a cup of tea, curling up in the corner of the sofa and wishing she could get the image of Dean and Valerie out of her head.

She was staring at nothing as her mind raced over the details of the evening, the tea cup nestled in her hands, when a soft knock sounded at the door. She smiled a little, setting her tea down as she rose to her feet. “Forget your keys?” she called out as she headed to the door. She peered through the peephole, her eyes widening a little when she saw Dean standing there. After a second of hesitation, she opened it, gripping the knob to still the shaking of her hand. “Dean… Come on in. I thought you were Donna.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t think she’s coming home tonight. Think she headed home with Doug.”

“Oh.” She backed away from the door, and he followed her in, closing it and clicking the lock back in place. “So, you want a beer or something? I was just having a cup of tea. Well, I was holding a cup of tea. I think it’s cold now.” She smiled towards him, not quite able to meet his eyes.

“No, I’m good. I just wanted… Can we talk?”

“Ok.” For the life of her, she couldn’t think of a thing to say, so she just stood there, nervously clasping her hands in front of her.

“Jordan, why didn’t you wait for me? I would’ve brought you home.”

She looked up at him, shrugging a little. “I should have told you I was going, but – you were kind of… I didn’t want to interrupt and make things all awkward.”

“You saw me with Val. Jordan, it wasn’t what it looked like.”

“Looked like you two were kissing.” She was surprised that her voice was so steady, as if she were just talking about the weather. She leaned back against the wall near the kitchen door, needing something to ground herself.

“She was kissing. I was...” He sighed, his lips clamped together for a moment as he ran his fingers through his hair. “She grabbed me and pulled me aside, said she needed to talk to me. And then she just – was all over me, and I… it took me by surprise, and it took me a second to push her away. You must have seen that exact moment, because two seconds later...”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Dean, I should have waited to talk to you, but I thought maybe you two were working things out and I didn’t want to be in the way, or make everything weird.”

“Val and I will never work things out. I knew a long time ago that was a dead-end road.” Jordan nodded wordlessly, and he continued with a bitter little laugh. “You know what she wanted? She said ‘her Teddy’ just isn’t good in bed, and she missed how I made her feel, and she wanted to meet me somewhere in secret. So we could sleep together. Not rich or important enough for her, but I guess that doesn’t matter if all you want is a fuck toy.”

Jordan stared at him, shocked. “She is unbelievable. Dean, I’m sorry.”

“I told her she should haul his ass to a sex therapist, if he couldn’t satisfy her. And that she should stay the fuck away from me.” He rubbed his hand over his face, a humorless smirk quirking at his lips. “And I may have told her to go buy a dildo.”

A little burst of laughter escaped from Jordan’s lips before she could contain it. “You didn’t.”

His smile was becoming a little more genuine now. “Yeah. I did.”

“That is too perfect.”

“Anyway, I just wanted you to know what really happened, and make sure you weren’t pissed at me.”

“I was never... I was just… Well, I don’t know what I was, but I wasn’t pissed. I just...” She trailed off, and he looked at her, waiting.

“What, Jordan? Talk to me.”

“Dean, I know when we first met, you were just being kind, trying to distract me from my asshole of an ex. And then you were doing your cop thing, and saving my ass from him. Then we got to be friends, which I really needed. I still do, I would never want to lose that with you, it’s important to me. I’ve been struggling with my feelings for you lately, trying not to get ideas in my head that aren’t ever going to happen, trying to just be happy with the way things are. And yet, sometimes I feel like there’s more going on between us than that. But I don’t know, I can’t read your mind, and since you haven’t said anything… Dean, I just… What exactly is it that you want from me?” Her eyes were full of confusion as she met his steady stare, his tongue darting out over his lips.

He moved towards her slowly, as if she would bolt away from him, but she stayed, dropping her eyes as he drew close. He reached out a hand, brushing his fingers over her cheek, then beneath her chin to tilt her face up towards him. “You know what I want from you, Jordan? Everything.”

He bent towards her, his lips brushing over hers as her eyes closed. Her heart was pounding as he pulled away just enough that she could speak, her voice barely a whisper. “Everything?”

He touched his forehead to hers, his fingers still gently cupping her face, his reply as breathless as hers. “Yeah. The whole nine.” He nudged his nose against hers, moving closer, the heat of his body radiating into hers.

She didn’t speak, just slipped one arm around his waist, the other hand sliding up the length of his arm as she leaned in to kiss him. He moaned, his tongue sweeping across her lips, and hers parted to welcome him. She sighed softly as he pressed her against the wall, his hand moving down to fumble at the tie on the side of her dress, finally working it loose and slipping inside to brush over her skin.

She shivered, and he stopped once more, looking into her eyes with a troubled expression. “If you’re not ready, I get it. After what you went through – I don’t want to push...”

“Detective Winchester, I don’t know how much more evidence you need,” she teased, and his concern melted away as he grinned, letting her lead him down the hall to her room. He stopped her at the doorway, and she turned to look at him, waiting.

“Condoms?” he asked quietly, his thumb tracing patterns across the back of her hand.

“I, um… I got tested after – after Darrel. And I’m on birth control. Were you tested, after...”

“Yeah. Yeah, I was. I’m good. But if you’re more comfortable...”

She gave him a shy smile, standing on tiptoe to kiss the corner of his mouth. “I’m good without if you are. I’d rather feel...everything.” He groaned as she turned away, pulling him into the bedroom.

She let go of his hand as they stepped through the doorway, twirling away from him and untangling the ties on the side of her dress. She dropped it to the floor and kicked it aside as Dean watched, closing the door behind him. He stopped, his eyes roaming over her, blowing a slow breath from between his parted lips. “Darrel is a fucking idiot,” he muttered, almost to himself, and Jordan laughed, a quizzical look on her face.

“What did you say?”

“I said, Darrel is a fucking idiot. Otherwise he would never have screwed things up to the point that you had to leave.” He took a step closer, finally meeting her eyes. “God, you’re beautiful.”

Jordan’s face flushed from his attention and his praise. “He always said I looked too much like a tomboy. I wasn’t ‘sexy’ enough for him.”

Dean reached out and pulled her closer, his hands on her waist. “Like I said, fucking idiot. You’re sexy as hell. If you don’t believe me...” He reached for her hand, placing it over his erection, and she looked up into his eyes.

“I’m afraid I’m going to need a little more proof,” she whispered, giving him a gentle squeeze, watching his eyelids flutter at her touch.

“Sweetheart, I’ll prove it to you all night.” He reached for her again, hands on her hips, guiding her backwards until her knees hit the bed. He moved in close and leaned in to kiss her hungrily, a low moan vibrating from his chest as he pulled her tight against him, his fingers trailing over her skin.  She moved her hands between them, up his chest, pushing him away just far enough that she could work the buttons of his shirt free, his muscles tensing beneath her touch as her fingers brushed over his ribs.

She let her hands explore his torso, over his chest and up to push the shirt from his broad shoulders, then dropped them to the waist of his pants, working the button free and lowering the zipper as he parted from her lips, panting softly. He traced a finger along the top of her lacy bra, watching her eyes close as he grazed her nipple on the way. “You look so damn good in this, but I really want you to take it off,” he urged, and she complied, reaching behind her back to unclasp it and letting it drop from her shoulders as he moved back a step to remove the remainder of his clothes.

She slid the matching panties down her hips and let them drop, stepping out of them as he neared again, his erection prodding at her belly as he kissed her, then let her sit down on the bed and scoot to the middle, stretching out as he joined her with a low growl. He laid on his side and pulled her close, their hands exploring each other as their lips met, tongues tangling, breath mingling.

Dean moved her to her back, and Jordan tipped her head back into the pillow as his lips grazed over her jaw, sucking softly at the sensitive spot just below her ear. Every nerve in her body was humming, vibrant and alive, his every touch sending her higher. He laced the fingers of one hand through hers and let the other roam, brushing over her breasts and then tracing her taut nipples before he made his way down to tease at them with his tongue. She squirmed beneath him as he sucked one into the heat of his mouth, his fingers drifting slowly down her body, finally dipping between her thighs as her hips rose to meet him, anxious to relieve the delicious ache building there. He trailed work-roughened fingertips through her delicate folds, humming in appreciation at how wet she was already.

“Dean,” she moaned, and he moved back up to kiss her, swallowing her breathless cries as he rubbed gentle circles around her clit and slipped two digits deep inside her, stroking slowly.

“I know, baby, I can’t wait to be inside you,” he answered, moving back up to kiss her as he continued to coax her open, “but I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Not made out of glass,” she whispered against his lips, gasping softly as he brushed over her sweet spot, and he let out a soft growl before kissing her hard, his fingertips sending sparks through her body as he focused his attention there with persistent strokes. When she bucked up beneath him, starting to tremble, he left her lips, nuzzling into her neck, panting hard along with her.

“Just let go, sweetheart, I gotcha,” he rumbled into her ear. Seconds later she arched up hard, her body flushing hot as she came with a soft cry, and Dean dropped tender kisses on her neck and shoulder, murmuring praises as he gently eased her down.

Jordan let out a breathy whine as he pulled his fingers free and shifted his body over, letting his palms glide up the smooth skin of her thighs and back down as he settled between them. He braced himself with one arm, wrapping a hand around his erection to get in position, his jaw tensed as he savored the sweet ache of anticipation for a moment before pressing forward, the sounds she was making urging him on. He groaned, long and low, his cock throbbing at the sensation of her pulsing around him, slick and hot, as he pushed deeper inside her.

Finally, he was flush against her, and he held still for a moment, panting hard, before bending to kiss her almost desperately. Jordan wrapped her legs around his hips, letting her calves slide down the back of his thighs as she arched up against him, forcing him as deep as possible inside her as she whimpered into their kiss, sucking lightly at his tongue.

She finally relaxed, lowering herself to the bed again, and Dean began to slowly grind against her, unwilling to pull back yet, the feeling of being buried deep inside her making his head spin a little. “You feel so fucking good,” he moaned between hungry kisses, and Jordan clutched harder at his back, the muscles there rippling beneath her fingertips.

“Oh, God,” she managed, “so do you,” gasping as he pulled back slowly, then pushed back in to the limit. “Dean...”

He did it again, swearing under his breath as Jordan shuddered beneath him, clenching around his length, and he buried his face in her shoulder, growling, “Hold on, sweetheart,” his hips picking up speed. Soon he was driving into her hard, neither of them able to keep quiet any longer as their bodies collided, Jordan meeting him with every thrust, the sensations building to an almost unbearable level.

She let out a hoarse shout of his name, then went rigid, her orgasm whiting out her vision and stealing her breath. Dean was still pounding into her, each stroke driving into the very core of her being, the almost-pain pleasure sending shock waves through her nerves, the high seeming to last forever. The sound of Dean swearing was muted in her ears, but Jordan could feel his cock swelling, pulsing inside her and then the heat as he exploded, still pounding into her as if he couldn’t stop.

He finally began to slow, then stilled, letting his weight rest on top of her as his chest heaved against hers. With some effort, she unclasped her shaking legs from around his hips and let them drop to the bed, making them both groan. She forced her fingers to loosen their grip on his back and lowered her arms, her limbs sprawled on the mattress, her eyes drifting closed, feeling exhausted and completely content.

Chapter 6

[waitimcomingtoo]

Anthem

Part 1:  So Quiet Here but you don’t have to have read it to understand this

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Synopsis: How to get win your girl back, a step by step guide by Peter Parker

Masterlist

How to get your girlfriend back, a step by step guide presented by Peter Parker.

Step one: make sure she actually wants you back. If she doesn’t, there is no reason to even try. Don’t get cocky and think that she’ll always take you back, because she won’t. Especially not if you seriously hurt her, like Peter had hurt you.

If you hadn’t called out to Peter and asked him if he really wanted you back, he wouldn’t respected your decision to move on and would’ve left you alone, no matter how much it killed him.

But that wasn’t the case.

You called out to him. You called his name. You walked away and could’ve kept waking right back to your little boyfriend, but you didn’t.

You came back.

Specifically, you came back for Peter. That was all Peter needed to set his plan into action. He was going to win you back, no matter what it took.

Step two: let it be known that you want her back and will stop at nothing until you make things right.

“I did not come here to try to win you back.” Peter announced as soon as you opened your apartment door to him.

“Oh, no?” You laughed a little at his forwardness.

“No. That’s coming later, trust me.” Peter assured you. “I need to get you to at least like me again before we inevitably fall back in love and get married.”

“Inevitably?” You humored him. “That’s a big word coming from the boy who broke us up.”

“It is inevitable. Just as inevitable as stupid boys making stupid mistakes in relationships. And I may be stupid, but I’m smart enough to know what I’ve lost.” Peter said with a sincerity that made you smile a little.

“Nice to see you owning up to it.” You said in all honesty.

“I have to. I know I messed up. I know I treated you like you were a burden I had to carry.” Peter took responsibility. “You’re not a burden, Y/n. You’re a privilege. And I also know that you and I are supposed to be together.”

“It sounds a lot like you’re trying to win me back.” You said said, skeptic of his original claim.

“I came here to apologize.” Peter stated. “I screwed up royally the moment I made you believe you were living with someone who didn’t worship the ground you walked on. I have always loved you, and it’s my fault that I let you forget that. Maybe I thought I didn’t love you anymore, but that was never true. I couldn’t even swing home the night we broke up, I didn’t have the motivation to so much as lift my wrist.”

“Why?” You looked him up and down to make sure he was actually okay. Tired, definitely, and a little skinnier, but otherwise okay.

“Because you were my motivation. You were the reason I went out to protect the city at night. Even when I was just 16 and you weren’t my girlfriend, I wanted to protect the city because it was your city.” Peter told you. “I wanted you to have a safe place to live and grow up. Somewhere along the way, I got wrapped up in it. I focused too much on trying to save everyone when I should’ve been trying to save my relationship with you. I got caught up. The rush I got from being a superhero made me forget who I was doing it all for. I’m sorry I let myself put something above you, because there’s nothing above you. You’re as good as I’m ever gonna get. I know the last few months of our relationship were really hurtful for you I’m sure the breakup was even worse but-“

“I was fine.” You cut him off.

“What?” Peter asked.

“Really, I was okay.” You said honestly. “The breakup didn’t hurt me. It’s the actual relationship that was the killer. Being with you felt like I was freezing to death, and the breakup was like getting into bed and sleeping after the worst day of your life.”

“You’re gonna have to dumb that down for me.” Peter laughed lightly at your words.

“When you freeze to death, your body temperature gradually drops until you go unconscious. It’s not messy or painful, just highly unpleasant I’m guessing. And then you fall asleep, and it’s over. That’s what our relationship was like.” You told Peter and his face fell just a little. “I was freezing to death and slowly shutting down and when you broke up with me, I could sleep. I wasn’t hurting anymore. I was just, I don’t know, sleeping.”

“Are you still asleep?” He asked softly after a beat of silence.

“No.” You smiled to yourself. “I woke up, realized you were the dumbest man alive for letting me go, and I worked on myself. I worked on self love and getting to a place where I wouldn’t stay with a man whom I knew didn’t love me. If Eddie showed signs of falling out of love, I’d leave him before he had a chance to say goodbye. I’m different now. I’m better. I know what I’m worth and what I deserve. And I can tell you, I deserved a lot better than what you were giving me.”

“I know that too.” Peter assured you, a little intimidated by your confidence, and a little in love with it. “And I’m proud of you. This new version of yourself is really impressive. I really admire the confidence you’ve found.”

“I had to find it. If you were gonna be cold, then I was gonna be the sun.” You said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. That was the moment Peter realized he was playing a game far out of his league. You were not the girl he left behind. You were miles ahead of him now, and he was stuck in the same spot.

“I don’t deserve to get you back, do I?” Peters moment of self realization verbalized itself. Something about him knowing what you should’ve known all along made you smile a little, made you want him to stay.

“Probably not.” You quipped. “I might be too cool for you now.”

“You’ve always been too cool for me.” Peter laughed slightly, wondering it it was worth it to move forward with his plan.

“I know. I was trying to be nice.” You joked, although he didn’t seem to find it funny anymore. He looked genuinely worried for a moment and he wondered if he took you seriously.

“Should I bother moving on to step three?” He asked you suddenly.

“Step three?” You inquired.

“Of my plan to win you back.” Peter said and you chuckled at his sincerity. “I already completed step two, which was letting you know that I want to make things right.”

“No ones ever made a plan to get me back before.” You bit back a smile to keep your composure.

“Then you must’ve been dating some stupid guys.” Peter remarked, wondering briefly who you dated before him.

“I have.” You agreed. “Flash Thompson in the third grade.”

“The one that got away?” Peter humored and you laughed at him before settling into comfortable silence.

“Whats step three anyway?” You asked in a soft voice as you rested your head against the doorframe.

“Step three: make things right.” Peter stated and you raised an eyebrow. You had to admire the determination he was showing.

“How are you planning on doing that?” You asked him and he smiled proudly.

Since Peter was the reason you were freezing, he was determined to burn the city down just to make you feel the warmth.

Metaphorically, of course. He was hurting but he wasn’t a pyromaniac just yet.

“I’m gonna be there.” He promised. “If you’re sad, I’ll be there with some ice cream and a couple bad jokes. If you’re happy, I’ll be there with a smile and probably some more ice cream. If you’re bored, I’ll take you to the candy shop and let you lick the lolly pop-“

“-Peter.” You cut him off with warning look.

“My bad.” He insisted. “I’ll be there with a terrible movie and an even worse idea for a night out. Maybe we’ll end up in prison, who knows? You definitely won’t be bored there.” Peter said and you rolled your eyes. “And if you want to talk to someone about how lame your boyfriend is and how much you want to dump him-“

“Here we go.” You sighed and looked at the ceiling.

“I’ll be there with open ears and an unbiased opinion.” Peter continued in a gentle tone that made you look at him again. “I’m not trying to steal you from anybody. I’m just trying to be your friend. We have to at least get our friendship back if we want to be together.”

“If we want to be together? I have a boyfriend, love. This is all you.” You smirked and folded your arms.

“You didn’t have to open the door to me. You could’ve closed it a long time ago and gone to talk to your little boyfriend. And yet, here we are.” Peter said smugly and you scoffed.

“I could close the door right now if I wanted.” You taunted playfully and put your hand on the door as if you were about to shut it.

“Is that what you want?” Peter was tempted you.

“What are your plans for step three?” You answered his question with a question.

“Let me take you out. Not like a date, just a platonic outing with a friend. I have someplace I want to take you.” Peter rocked on his feet nervously, just like the first time he asked you out.

“Where?” You squinted at him.

“You’ll see when we get there.” He shrugged smugly.

“When is this platonic outing supposed to happen?” You asked him.

“What are you doing today?” Peter matched your question with his own and a smirk lit up on your face.

In no time, you were swinging away from your apartment building in Peters arms. If Peter was thinking the same thing as you, how this was the first time you’d been in his arms in over a year, he didn’t say it. He just held you close and cherished the moment.

He had instructed you to keep your eyes closed on the journey, insisting it had to be a surprise. When you felt your feet touch the ground, you were allowed to open your eyes. It didn’t take long for you to recognize where you were.

“The Empire State Building.” You said quietly as you took in the view. You felt small as you stood on top of the world. Peter watched your face with a fond smile on his lips, not even bothering to look at the views. He didn’t care about that, not now.

“You did a project on it when you were in second grade and fell in love with it.” Peter began. “You always wanted to come here, to see the pretty lights. You wanted to know what the view was, wanted to feel big. You thought you could touch the clouds from up here.”

“I was eight.” You defended the ridiculous thought.

“You were ambitious.” Peter corrected. “You told me that story on our first date in tenth grade.”

“I was just trying to impress you with my knowledge of the Empire State Building.” You said sheepishly as you ran your fingertips over the railing.

“It worked. I was impressed.” Peter said as he watched you.

“It’s a very interesting building.” You looked back at him, blushing a little when you caught him staring.

“I didn’t care about the building. I cared about the way your eyes lit up when you talked about it, brighter than any light you could see from here. I cared about the smile that couldn’t help from peeking through your lips when you told me you hoped your birthday would become such a momentous occasion one day that they lit up the building with your favorite color to celebrate you, and the smile that it brought me. That’s what interested me.” Peter recalled. You turned back to face the city so he wouldn’t see the redness in your face. Whatever his plan was, it was working.

“What are the colors for?” You asked when you realized the building was lit up as your favorite color.

“You.” Peter said timidly, hoping you’d like it. “I know it’s not your birthday, but…”

“You got them to light up the Empire State Building for me?” You stopped looking at the view all together to face Peter.

“Not me, exactly, but the people of New York are willing to bend a few rules for Spider-Man.” Peter told you. You walked back to him and dug your toe into the ground.

“What are we doing here, Peter? Is this you not trying to win me back?” You asked quietly, searching his face for answers.

“This is me trying to be better than I was.” He put his hands on your shoulders and looked into your eyes. “I always told myself I’d take you here. I even told you.”

“You never did.” You said, drawing away from him and walking back towards the railing.

“You’re right. I didn’t do a lot of things right when I was with you.” Peter owner up to his mistakes. “Now, do you want to stand here and talk about what a terrible boyfriend I was, or do you want to look at the view?”

You smiled to yourself before looking at him form over your shoulder.

“I kinda want to look at the view.”

Step Four: wherever you weren’t before, be there now

“what are u doing tn?” Your contact name lit up on Peters screen and he practically leaped out of bed. His thumbs danced over the screen as he thought of a response. Should he be funny or casual? Honest or sarcastic? He had too many options and he didn’t know what your intentions were.

“Patrol. Might go crazy and help a few old ladies across the street” He read the text a few times before sending it. He threw his phone on his bed and bit his knuckle until he heard his phone buzz. He dove into the bed and picked it up.

“didn’t realize I was texting Mother Theresa, srry” You had said and Peter blew air out of his nose.

“What are you up to? Writing more jokes for your stand up? Hopefully they’re better than the one you just told me” He typed without thinking and hit send. You didn’t respond for three minutes and Peter feared he had offended you with his joke. He was about to put his phone away when your text came in.

“you’re so funny I just peed on the floor” You sent and Peter smiled brightly. He walked around his room as he texted you, not stopping when he hit the wall and just walked up until he was on the ceiling.

“Get your little boyfriend to clean it up” He texted back.

“nah. he bailed on me to hang with some friends” You responded after a few minutes.

“What were you guys gonna do? Talk about his performance issues?” Peter typed out, reconsidered it, and sent it anyway.

“hilarious. we were gonna watch Moana and make out :(“ You sent back and Peter swallowed thickly. It was his own fault for bringing up your boyfriend, but it didn’t stop it from stinging when you mentioned him. He rolled his eyes and ignored the pit in his tummy.

“I mean if you need someone to take his place, I have both lips and a love of Disney Pixar films” Peter wrote and waited for a reply.

“why don’t you go find a lost dog and let me watch Moana in peace” You sent back, and Peter had a feeling that was the end of the conversation. He got off the ceiling at sat on his bed, contemplating his next move. You were the one to end the conversation, but you also started it. You had to be pretty lonely to text Peter, and your original question of seeing if he was busy or not suggested you were hoping he wasn’t. If Peters calculations were correct, you wanted him over but didn’t want to ask in case he turned you down for patrol, something he used to do often. Peter grabbed his wallet and his keys and headed out without another thought.

“How’s it going?” Peter leaned against your doorframe when you opened it to him. You were in your pajamas and looked surprised, and a little happy, to see him. Peter could heat the dulcet sounds on Moana in the background, but that’s not what he cared about. You had been crying, no doubt about it. Your swollen lips and red eyes gave Peter the first set of clues, but he also knew you. He knew you watched kids films when you www really upset because they reminded you of happier times. He knew something was up the moment you said you were gonna watch Moana.

“Isn’t there an old lady who needs your help crossing the street somewhere?” You said, a little bitterly, and walked back into your apartment. Peter followed and locked the door behind him. You sat at a barstool next to your kitchen counter and wiped yours eyes when you thought Peter wasn’t looking.

But Peter was always looking.

“Funny. And no, I took the night off.” He said gently and took the seat next to yours.

“You did? Why?” You asked him skeptically. Peter wished him making time for you wasn’t something you had to be skeptic of.

“Because I wanted to spend time with you.” Peter said honestly and you laughed to yourself.

“Since when? You had no problem ditching me for spider duty before. And that was when you still got to come home to kisses and cuddles at the end of the night.” You rubbed your eyes, no longer caring if he knew you were upset or not. What Peter couldn’t figure out was why you were upset. Eddie cancelling on you would not bring you to tears, not after the confidence you gained from your breakup with Peter. You were too good to be crying over Eddie cancelling, and both you and Peter knew that.

“Now all I come home to at night is my right hand.” Peter tried to cheer you up, and it worked. You laughed at him and shoved his arm.

“Peter.” You whined at his gross humor.

“Which I use to high five my left hand, and tell myself that it’s all right to be on your own sometimes.” He finished the joke and you rolled your eyes at him. As long as he got your smiling again, he was okay.

“It is. It’s nice actually, when it’s voluntary.” You said and took a sip from your water bottle. Peter watched you carefully as you set the water bottle down and played with the empty bottle.

“Eddie didn’t bail on me.” You said after a minute.

“No?” Peter treaded carefully, allowing you to take control of the conversation.

“I kicked him out.” You stated and looked at Peter for a reaction. He put a comforting hand on your knee and you stared at it for a moment before putting your hand over his.

“Was it the performance issues?” Peter asked after a beat of silence and you let go of his hand to cover your mouth as you laughed. Peter laughed at his own joke, patting himself on the back for making you smile.

“No, it wasn’t that.” You said when your laughter died down. “He was performing just fine with his ex girlfriend.”

“I’m sorry.” Peter said sincerely. “Men suck.”

“You’re a man.” You reminded him.

“Yes. And we suck.” Peter stuck to his original statement and you laughed again, all traces of sadness dissolved from your body.

“I’ll drink to that.” You bonked your empty water bottle against his forehead and set it on the table. He grabbed the water bottle and threw it at you, making you giggled as you dodged it. It fell to the ground and Peter quickly webbed it up and threw it at you again. You caught it this time and tossed it into the recycling bin.

“Where is it?” You asked after you threw it in.

“Where’s what?” Peter tilted his head.

“The ‘I told you so.’ The teasing about Eddie. The big picture where I’m finally supposed to see that we were meant to be together all along.” You asked, that being what you expected the moment you told Peter about your breakup. Peter just shrugged and looked at your fondly.

“Why would I do that?” He asked quietly. “You’re hurting. Even if he was a jerk, he meant something to you. I’m not gonna make you feel worse by teasing him. What kind of friend would I be?”

Peters words caught you by surprise. His newfound maturity wasn’t something you knew he was capable of. He was proving his commitment to being your friend and you appreciated it.

“You’re really not gonna make a move on me tonight?” You asked him.

“Not even if you asked me too.” Peter promised and you raised an eyebrow. “I mean, if you begged I could probably figure something out.” He added and you let out a laugh.

“You’re not even gonna take one little jab at Eddie?” You texted him to see just how mature he had become.

“If Eddie was dumb enough to lose the prettiest, baddest-“ ,Peter stopped listing your physical qualities when he saw you roll your eyes, “-coolest, smartest, and most badass woman in New York, then he has bigger problems then me making fun of his floppy hair or crooked teeth.” Peter shrugged. You bit your lip and stared at Peter for a minute. It wasn’t common for boys to compliment your qualities other than your physical appearance.

“His teeth were kinda crooked.” You agreed.

“It looked like they were in a race to see who could get to the left side of his mouth the fastest.” Peter said as if he had been holding it in for an eternity.

“Peter!” You playfully smacked his arm.

“Tell me I’m wrong.” He folded his arms and raised his eyebrows.

“You might be a little right.” You pinched your fingers together. “I need a friend tonight.” You said suddenly, and Peter gave you a soft smile.

“I’m right here.” He promised.

And he was.

Your friendship grew over the next three months back into what it used to be. Peter was proud of the groundwork he had made. You enjoyed his company again and considered him a good friend, best friend even. Peter often wondered if you’d forgotten about his plan, because he certainly hadn’t.

But neither had you.

Step five: you got it from here.

“Did you call your mom?” Peter asked he fixed his hair in the mirror.

“Why? Did something happen?” You asked as you laced up your boots. Peter snuck a few glances at you before returning to his hair.

“Yeah, her birth, 50 years ago.” He reminded you and tossed you your phone.

“She’s definitely older than 50 but if I tell her you say that, she might marry you.” You said with a grateful smile as you dialed her number. Peter shrugged causally as you held the phone to your ear. “Mama? Happy birthday? What is it, your 50th?”

“Thank you.” You mouthed to him and he smiled at you. Your face changed from a smile to a grimace and you muted your phone to talk to Peter. “Is it okay I don’t go tonight? My mom wants me over for family dinner.”

“Can I come?” Peter asked instead of answering your question.

“You want to come to dinner with my family and all my little cousins?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

“Duh. Is that even a question?” He teased you and you shook your head.

“No, go out with your friends. I’ll be fine.” You insisted.

“I’m texting them that they can go without us as we speak.” Peter said with his head buried in his phone. He sent the text and put his phone down, signaling that he was all in.

“You don’t want to go out?” You asked skeptically. You eyed him up and down for any signs of regret but there weren’t any. He genuinely wanted to go with you.

And you genuinely wanted him to come.

“Not it if means I’m gonna be missing you all night and wondering how your little cousins are. This is more about them than it is about you.” Peter joked and you laughed at him. You walked over to him and stared at him for a moment, giving him a final chance to back out. When he didn’t, you had made up your mind about him.

“Hang on.” You told him and unmuted yourself. “Hey mom?” You fixed the collar on Peters shirt as she responded. “Can my boyfriend Peter come too?”

Tag List 🏷

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those who asked for a part 2

@marvel4geeks @petesprincess @tragic4ngel @piper-koko-barnes-rogers @britishspidey

[sokkathebluewolf]

I am chickened out from gladiator because it is this long and it keeps getting longer is it worth my time to read it ??

... Uh, well. I can’t help but wonder if you’re aware this blog is run by the actual author of the story in question? I don’t know if you expect me to give you a non-biased answer when I’ve considered the story was worth 8 years of my life xD as far as I’m concerned, it absolutely has been worth it, but I can’t speak for the whole wide world when it comes to that. If you want the opinions of readers, there’s probably other blogs run by people who have read the story and who might have critical opinions about it... that may be what you were looking for. If, however, you were deliberately hoping to get my opinion on my own story... well, yes, for me it’s clearly worth it xD Otherwise, I would’ve quit ages ago.

The story is indeed very long and it keeps getting longer, and it will keep getting longer because we’re not done yet and won’t be for a while :’D if you’re the type of reader who can’t stand it when they catch up to stories and have to wait for updates, well, feel free to give it a shot when I’m done writing it, I guess? It’ll be a while until then, but it’s up to you. If you don’t like reading really long stories, then it’s probably better for you if you don’t force yourself to read this one, I know not everyone is ready to dedicate that much time to reading something, especially if they have lots of things to do. Hence, if the length daunts you, that’s alright, it daunts me too and I’m responsible for it xD it’s fine if that deters you from reading it.

But as the way you phrased your question almost sounded like you’re challenging me to give you some sort of sales pitch to catch your attention, let’s see if I can pull it off:

Gladiator is a massive ATLA AU, not only in terms of story length but also scope: it’s a complete rewrite of the entirety of ATLA in a more mature setting, starting chapter 1 with the characters 5 years older than they were in canon. Aang’s adventures in saving the world did not take place here because of a simple enough reason: Katara didn’t accompany Sokka on his boat on the fateful day when they were meant to find Aang, which means the story as we’ve known it simply doesn’t take place. I’ve taken liberties here and there, added some changes from canon when I needed to do so, in order to ensure the story works, but the gist of the story is to set a stage where the Fire Nation marched onwards, practically unopposed, and conquered the Earth Kingdom with the power of Sozin’s Comet (just in case it needs to be clarified, without certain technological developments, Ozai’s wild plan to incinerate the whole world wouldn’t happen, and if Team Avatar isn’t assembled before the Comet shows up, said technological developments simply wouldn’t exist... :’D). I’ve had to figure out how many details would change, how much of the original story would or wouldn’t happen without Team Avatar’s involvement, I think most my choices have been solid, but it’ll be up to you to decide if you think they are or not if you read the story.

The worldbuilding of Gladiator, then, is preeeetty huge and complicated because of that starting point. There’s a lot of elements that are completely new (such as the Gladiator League and all its derivates), some OCs, some lore expansion, so you can definitely say it’s an ambitious project. In a sense, I’ve reset canon to zero, and at the same time I haven’t, which makes things complicated but, for me, really fun to develop. If you’re interested in seeing more of the Avatarverse explored, characters repurposed, with new dynamics and relationships, Gladiator may just be what you’ve been looking for :D

In my experience, the main reason why most people stumble into this fic (other than by sorting FF.net’s ATLA stories by review count and drawing blanks upon glimpsing a Sokkla story on the first page xD) is because they’ve been drawn into Sokkla, or they’re looking for stories centered around Azula or Sokka. Gladiator, evidently, features all three such elements because, obviously, those two are the protagonists and their relationship is the beating heart of the whole tale. I’ve been asked in the past who’s the real protagonist and I honestly still have no idea xD but anyways, if you’re interested in reading a story with a toooooon of Azula character development, even if it takes place across a long, long time, this story may just do the trick. I’ve done the best I could to keep her character as true to what I believed a young adult Azula might become, within the circumstances of this story. She has grown a LOT in 200 chapters, goes without saying (if she hadn’t, I’d be one heck of a failure of an author x’D), so if you’re interested in seeing a slow but effective growth arc for Azula, you’ll certainly find that in Gladiator. Same is true for Sokka, but I think most people who come to this fic for Sokka are interested in seeing him being a badass, which we have plenty of as well xD still, it’s also a long and slow process for Sokka to grow into a powerful warrior, neither him nor Azula start out in the story with all the answers, and they both bump into many hurdles as they navigate their complicated lives.

There’s a lot of humor in Gladiator, perhaps more than expected with a story that has that sort of dark premise, but it’s, on great measure, because Sokka and Azula are inevitably given to banter xD if you want to read a lot of banter between those two, well, you may not be bored in 200 chapters because, while the nature of their exchanges does vary as they both develop, their conversations are usually pretty spirited and they love trying to outsmart each other all the time.

If you are already a Sokkla shipper and the main reason you’re here is because you want more Sokkla goodness in your life... I’ll just say Gladiator has become a bit of a dream come true for me as a Sokkla shipper as well, because it’s the perfect space for me to work with virtually every idea I’ve ever had for these two. Yes, there’s drama and conflict here and there, if you’re not too given to angst there’s a few parts of the story that won’t sit so well with you, though if you love angst you’ll probably enjoy them plenty... yet what I’m most proud of, with this story, is having developed their relationship not only as best I could, but I’ve also attempted to defy typical storytelling structures for romance stories, where the lead couple can’t seem to have a stable relationship because “that would be boring”. Screw that, man: these two have been in a serious relationship together in-story by now for well over half the published chapters, and I’ve had the time of my life writing their dynamics as a couple while the plot continues to develop around them. This, however, is not everyone’s cup of tea, so if you aren’t all that given to seeing such traditional romance storytelling structures dismissed because I wanted to write my favorite ship dealing with all their external struggles while finding strength in the bond they share, Gladiator may not hold your attention long enough for you to devote yourself to reading it beyond chapter 100-ish. On the other hand, if this subversion of romance structure is what you’ve been looking for all your life, or if it’s what you always wanted and never knew you wanted it, or if you’re simply curious as to whether it works or not, Gladiator may suit your interests fairly well. Again, Sokkla is the absolute center of this story, both together and independently, so if you want to see a rewrite of ATLA with them at the core of just... everything? xD that’s absolutely what you’ll find here.

That being said, there’s things I guess you should mind about Gladiator: I have some relatively controversial takes about certain things, including interpretations of fan-favorite characters that some people have been known to take offense over. I, personally, believe my interpretations of those characters don’t deviate that much from canon or that, when they do, the setting itself explains why the deviation works as it does, but due to the fact that I work with a protagonist who was in a villainous role back in ATLA, her relationships with some characters can be more complicated than a lot of people seem to believe they should be. Hence, if you’re not particularly adverse to reading content that brings up big questions about the motivations of certain characters, or how they’d react if the story from ATLA hadn’t happened exactly as it did, you’ll have enough fun in Gladiator. If, however, you don’t particularly care to see anything that shows beloved characters in a not-so-flattering light, this story may not be for you (though, if you’re willing to humor me and allow my story to question your perception of those characters, feel free to try the story as well). 

There’s also a variety of dark themes and situations in Gladiator, something that any reader should be warned about in this day and age: I am 100% against violence for the sake of violence, to name one such subject, and I generally try to portray it with as much nuance as possible, but even if I feature my own characters criticizing their violent world and wanting to put an end to the strife caused by the Fire Nation, some of the violence in Gladiator may be a little too much for the readers who prefer the tone of the original ATLA. Hence, if that’s how it is for you, it’s another reason to approach the story with caution. I won’t pretend I’ve handled every theme and subject perfectly, but I’ve never wanted the darker moments to feel gratuitous in any way, so if you’re open to reading a darker take on the Avatarverse, this may work for you after all.

Alas! If you want to see Azula growing out of the toxic Fire Nation indoctrination, if you want to see Sokka gaining confidence and strength as a man and warrior, if you want to see a fleshed-out but still very much villainous Ozai, if you want to see Toph fulfilling her dreams of joining an all-out fighting league where she can beat people up for a living, if you want to see a myriad of secondary ATLA characters (like Song, or Shoji!) given new lives and even genuine protagonism, if you want to see Zuko discovering he’s allowed to just... be happy? xD Gladiator may prove interesting enough for you.

Furthermore, if you want to see Azula being true friends with Mai and Ty Lee, discovering a dragon, developing new firebending styles, confronting her misplaced beliefs about herself, rebelling subtly (and lately, not so subtly) against her father, growing into a great leader who could change the Fire Nation’s nefarious direction...  aaand if you want to see Sokka fighting creatively (sometimes with TWO swords!), navigating the dangerous waters of interacting with Fire Lord Ozai, staying true to his beliefs while also learning that the world is not as black-and-white as he was raised to think it was, understanding himself better and making the most of his potential as a quick learner, writing embarrassing haiku and being an unapologetic rebel who goes toe-to-toe with Heads of State just because he can... yep. Probably read it? xD

Lastly... if you want to see Sokka and Azula grow through their mistakes, learning to understand each other, fighting side by side, training together, dancing to no music, learning the underrated pleasure of proper communication in a relationship, sassing each other left and right, flirting in ridiculous ways, taunting each other in many regards, laughing at each other’s terrible jokes, protecting each other fiercely, challenging each other to a spicy ramen eating contest, discovering indirect bending, being highly inappropriate at times and places where they shouldn’t be, making long, dangerous yet fun journeys together, sneaking around to meet up when they’re not supposed to, standing by each other in their darkest moments, watching over the other when they’re sick/injured, being ready to sacrifice virtually anything for each other, and even defying and defeating even death to save each other...? Well, I don’t know if there’s any other stories where you might find all of this, but I can guarantee you’ll find it in Gladiator :)

If none of this is convincing enough... that’s a shame, but I understand. If it convinced you to give it a shot, however... I guess I’ll just hope you enjoy it enough to stick around! :) thanks for taking my story into consideration regardless of whatever you decide. Have a nice day!

[exhaustedfander]

Of Birthday Cakes and Sentimentality

Here’s a fluffy (Slightly late) birthday fic for Logan, featuring Loceit! @coconut-cluster ‘s is wonderful loceit uni au content was really what got me into the ship in the first place.

a03 

word count: 1,755

Logan wakes slowly, the sunlight filtering in through the blinds casting stripes of shadow on the carpet. He glances to his side, vision blurry without his glasses, and frowns. The spot beside him is upsettingly empty. He feels along the sheet, realizing they’ve long since gone cold.

Logan reaches for his glasses on the bedside table, slipping them on and checking the time. 8:00 a.m. Curious. That’s far earlier than Janus is usually up on a Saturday.

His boyfriend is a firm believer that cuddling into the late morning should absolutely be considered self-care, and really, Logan isn’t one to challenge that notion. He might put up a fight from time-to-time, but it’s all for show and Janus knows as much. Logan can pretend he’s above cuddling all he wants, but as his boyfriend would say, he’s a dreadful liar.

Logan wonders what might’ve compelled Janus to rouse from his slumber so much earlier than usual, before noticing a sweet smell wafting through the apartment. This only raises more questions. What could Janus be making at this time of day that would smell so saccharine?

Logan rises from bed slowly, still bleary and comforted by the warmth of the duvet around him – but certainly missing the feeling of Janus against him. The hardwood is cool beneath his feet as he stands, the scent of baked-goods – yes, that’s definitely it – drifting through the air gaining in strength.

He glances at the mirror hanging on their bedroom wall, his hair a fright and pajamas still on, and Logan realizes he doesn’t care. It isn’t usually odd for someone to be comfortable not looking entirely presentable in their own home, but this is Logan, a man who practically lives in polos and neckties. He’s been told more than a few times by several people that he could stand to “loosen up.” While he’s not always the best at it, Logan can certainly try; it is his birthday, after all.

Oh. Wait – it’s his birthday. He’d completely forgotten. Likely, Janus remembered, though. And with the sweet smell coming from the other room, and the day of the year, that must mean…

Logan opens the door to look out across their open living and kitchen area to see Janus standing at a kitchen counter smeared with flour, a jar of crofters, and an array of baking ingredients around him.

Janus has never been one to bake, as far as Logan’s concerned. It’s not that he isn’t proficient in cooking, it’s just never been something he’s seemed particularly invested in. But here Janus stands, in his pajamas opening the oven and pulling out circular bakeware Logan’s certain they don’t own. The smell of vanilla is now detectable, and Logan can’t stop the smile from slipping onto his face.

“Good morning,” he says softly, trying not to break Janus’s fragile concentration.  

A spoon clatters against the ground, Janus all but shrieking as he turns around to face Logan. Concentration be damned, it seems.

“You weren’t supposed to be awake yet!” Janus huffs, bending down to retrieve the spoon, dropping it in the sink.

“I wasn’t aware I was meant to be confined to our bed until you said otherwise,” Logan responds sarcastically, walking up to Janus.

Getting a better look at him now, Logan can see there’s flour smeared on his yellow pajama shirt and pants, their small kitchen rather cluttered. Just a few years ago, Logan would’ve sworn against sentimentality. He’s a man of logic, a man of intellect and focus. And yet… his time with Janus has worn down that stubborn belief that romanticism and he are separate beings.

Janus is a lot of things. Passionate, driven, cunning, affectionate to a point that Logan thought he’d never tolerate, nor grow to love. But right now he’s also making Logan a birthday cake at eight in the morning and Logan can’t help but feel the emotion well up inside of him.

“Happy birthday,” Janus says, moving to embrace him before remembering the mess he is. “I’d kiss you senseless, but –,” he gestures vaguely to himself. Logan shakes his head, the stubborn smile on his face refusing to leave.

“I don’t care,” Logan says, leaning down to connect his lips with Janus’s, his hands cupping either side of his face, thumb tracing along the faded scar on Janus’s left cheek. Janus sighs into the kiss, his hands settling on Logan’s waist. The two pull close to one another. The taste of vanilla mingles on Logan’s tongue, and he can’t help the laugh that bursts from him. Janus pulls away, eyebrows raised.

“What’re you laughing about?”

“Nothing,” Logan says, trying to bite back the laughter, and failing quite miserably, “It’s just – you taste sweet.”

“Well,” Janus says, tone matter-of-fact, “I needed to taste-test the batter, didn’t I? And, this way, you know your cake isn’t poisoned.”

“Ah, true. Unless, of course, you’ve developed an immunity to whatever you’ve poisoned me with.”

“Guess it’ll be a surprise then,” Janus says teasingly, before returning to finishing the cake.

“You really didn’t need to go to so much trouble, darling,” Logan says, watching as Janus stirs a bowl of white frosting that he must’ve been fiddling with a moment ago.

“It’s a cake, Logan. You act as if I’ve been slaving away. It’s the least I can do.”

“Yes, well, you woke up early. On a Saturday. And you’re baking… I don’t believe we own any bakeware.”

“I’m perfectly content with waking up a little early on your birthday,” Janus says pointedly, eyes fixed on the frosting he’s creaming. “And no, we do not own any bakeware. But Patton does, and I asked him to lend me it.”

“Janus –.”

“And, I had him explain the steps in great detail over the phone, as to not royally screw this up. I know I’m not always a master in the kitchen.”  

“I never said anything about your cooking skills,” Logan interjects. “Seriously, love. You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” Janus says with so much sincerity, Logan wonders if his heart might burst. “I’ll have you know, it’s a crofters filling.” Logan’s eyes light up at that.

“Well, that… does sound quite good.”

“Oh, does it now?” Janus asks teasingly, holding an icing-covered spoon to Logan’s mouth. “Taste this and tell me if you like it.” Logan obliges, sticking the spoon in his mouth and humming around it. Janus chuckles.

“That bad, huh?”

“It’s delicious,” Logan says, moving to take another spoonful before Janus pulls the bowl from his reach.

“How about we save some for the actual cake, hm?”

“I suppose…”

“Go, on. Sit down,” Janus says, motioning towards the table, “The cake ‘ll be done in a minute.”

“Cake is hardly an appropriate breakfast,” Logan points out, earning a glare from his boyfriend.

“Allow me to remind you for the millionth time this morning, that it is your birthday,” Janus says, spreading the frosting with a knife over the top of the cake. “Cake for breakfast on the day of your birth is absolutely appropriate.” Logan scoffs.

“I can’t see why. There’s hardly anything special about today. It’s merely the anniversary of me being alive another year. I can’t understand why it’s such a big deal.”

“Hardly anything special?” Janus asks, slightly incredulously. “Hardly anything special, he says! Do you realize, that were it not for you being born, we never would’ve met?” Logan’s heart pangs at that.

“Janus.”

“And then where would I be? Who would I debate with into absurd times in the morning? Who would teach me about each and every constellation he knows about, so excited to share his passion? Who would I bully into going to bed at a decent time?” Logan tries to interject, but Janus isn’t having any of it, “Don’t you start. You may preach about circadian rhythm and the importance of going to bed at a decent time, but I’ve found you asleep at your desk far too many times now.”

“In all fairness,” Logan says, trying not to let the sentimentality well up in him, “I’ve also found you asleep on the couch, and at the table late at night a fair few times.”

“Well then, it seems we’re meant to take care of one another,” he says like it’s the easiest thing in the world to say. As though it’s not achingly tender.

A slice of cake is slid in front of Logan.

“The point is, I love you. Let me make you a stupid cake, and have our friends over for a movie night,” Logan opens his mouth in protest, but Janus is quicker, “A very casual movie night. Just Patton, Virgil, Roman, and Remus and whatever movie of your choosing. Clue, perhaps?” Logan perks up at the mention of one of his favorite films, and Janus grins.

“Clue would be… nice,” Logan admits. Janus pecks him on the cheek.

“Then that’s what we’ll watch. Now, take a bite, the anticipation is positively killing me,” Janus drawls out dramatically, gesturing to the cake. Obliging, Logan scoops a piece of the cake with his fork, popping it in his mouth.

“Mmm,” is as dignified of a response as Logan cares to give, but Janus looks pleased with himself all the same.

“You like it?” Janus asks, already knowing the answer. Logan nods, grabbing at the collar of Janus’s shirt and pulling him into his lap. “Goodness, what’s gotten into you?”

“You were just giving a rather sappy declaration of love,” Logan explains, pressing his lips to Janus’s. “And, you made me a cake.” Another kiss. “With Crofters.” A kiss to the corner of his mouth. “And you’re having our friends come over for a movie night, for me.” A kiss. “And I love you, so very much, my dear.”

“I love you too,” Janus responds, seemingly happy with his place in Logan’s lap, “But I thought you didn’t care about your birthday?”

“I don’t,” Janus doesn’t believe that for a second, “But you rather seem to. And it’s kind of… nice,” Logan admits, voice soft, “To have you care about something so seemingly silly so much.”

“Oh, you think I care about you? Wherever did you get an idea like that?” Logan chuckles as Janus presses a kiss to his cheek, his face resting in the crook of Logan’s neck.

“I haven’t a clue.”

Logan could pretend he didn’t care about birthdays till the cows came home, but Janus would always call his bluff. And really, Logan can’t find it in himself to complain.

=+=

General Taglist:

@nadiestar

@unoriginalgayboyalex 

@bella-in-a-bag

@igonnatalknothing

@elizabutgayer

@wishthefish916

@reptilianwithscallions 

@justmeandmygayships

@arodynamic-enby 

@harper-mdn 

[tsrookie]

Alright, so today’s the three-year anniversary of Reputation a.k.a the greatest album of all time, my baby, the light of my life, the album that deserved a Grammy (trying desperately not to think about the scene from Miss Americana😭), the album that introduced us to the most beautiful couple ever, the album that shut Kimye up, and I better stop now, or else I’m not gonna shut up.

So in honour of this momentous occasion (and the fact that I reached 200+ followers! Thank you so much you guys!🥺 Love you all 3000💙), here’s a loooooong post on why Reputation is the Ethan and MC album.

1. ...Ready For It?

No one has to know

Throwback to MC saying the exact same words back in Miami.

In the middle of the night, in my dreams

You should see the things we do, baby, mmm

In the middle of the night, in my dreams

I know I'm gonna be with you

So I take my time

Remember back when MC asked for Ethan to get into bed right away during their first time? Ethan told them that he had dreamt about the moment for months, so he wasn’t going to rush it.

2. End Game

Big reputation, big reputation

Ooh you and me would be a big conversation

These two dating would be the talk of the hospital, and they know it.

Even when we'd argue, we don't do it for long

And you understand the good and bad, end up in the song

For all your beautiful traits, and the way you do it with ease

For all my flaws, paranoia, and insecurities

Think these lines are pretty self-explanatory😌

I hit you like bang

We tried to forget it, but we just couldn't

*gets war flashbacks of the ‘reset’ phase*😭 They tried to make it work, but we all know how Ch 8 of book 2 went😌

I swear I don't love the drama, it loves me

Perfect for our chaotic MC😌

3. Don’t Blame Me

Do I... really have to explain this one?

For you, I would cross the line

I would waste my time

I would lose my mind

They say she's gone too far this time

Do we need a recap of our rule-breaking MC?

And baby, for you, I would fall from grace

Just to touch your face

If you walk away

I'd beg you on my knees to stay

He was willing to risk his (mostly) rule-abiding reputation for being with MC. And there’s no way he wouldn’t beg for MC not to leave him if he ever screwed up🤷‍♀️

4. Delicate

This ain't for the best

My reputation's never been worse, so

You must like me for me

Ethan stood by MC’s side throughout the Ethics hearing, when her reputation was completely smeared, and people only saw her as a patient murderer. He didn’t know about the sabotages, but he would’ve definitely supported her if he had known.

We can't make

Any promises now, can we, babe?

Commitment-phobia🙃

Sometimes I wonder when you sleep

Are you ever dreaming of me?

Sometimes when I look into your eyes

I pretend you're mine, all the damn time

They spent so much of time apart, not able to be with each other, so the least they could do was dream of being with each other all the time.

5. So It Goes (an underrated af bop)

What can I say... it’s a sex song, okay? Don’t make me go into the details😂 Just listen to the lyrics, and all will be clear.

6. Gorgeous (Tumblr won’t let me put any more links)

MC’s eternal anthem to Ethan.

Whisky on ice, Sunset and Vine

You've ruined my life, by not being mine

We all know Ethan loves Whiskey, and the second line? C’mon!

You're so gorgeous

I can't say anything to your face

'Cause look at your face

And I'm so furious

At you for making me feel this way

But, what can I say?

You're gorgeous

Ethan Ramsey is famous for two reasons. One: his smart brain, I guess😒 Two: HIS LOOKS!!! HE’S GORGEOUS, AND DON’T DENY IT.

And you should think about the consequence

Of you touching my hand in the darkened room (dark room, dark room)

Ah, the olden days of hand holding in the diagnostics office🥺

Ocean blue eyes looking in mine

I feel like I might sink and drown and die

No explanation required.

You make me so happy, it turns back to sad, yeah

There's nothing I hate more than what I can't have

You are so gorgeous it makes me so mad

The wonderful will-they-won’t-they saga. The frustrating hot-and-cold behaviour. The ‘We can’t’, ‘It’s unethical’ and ‘It’s complicated’. MC deserves an award for her patience😓

7. King Of My Heart

I'm perfectly fine, I live on my own

I made up on my mind, I'm better off bein' alone

Ethan ‘I don’t believe in soulmates and nobody’s waiting at home’ Ramsey.

And all at once, you are the one I have been waiting for

King of my heart, body and soul, ooh whoa

And all at once, you are all I want, I'll never let you go

King of my heart, body and soul, ooh whoa

This could be from both Ethan and MC’s perspectives. The love they share isn’t something that you get easily. It’s something that MC has waited for her whole life, and something Ethan never knew he needed, but now can’t live without🥺

Late in the night, the city's asleep

Your love is a secret I'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep

Change my priorities

The taste of your lips is my idea of luxury

This was definitely Ethan throughout book 2, after he finally gave in. He let go of his previous rules and regulations, especially during the time of the attack. He was clearly affected, and once MC was alright, his main priority was her, and her alone.

Is the end of all the endings?

My broken bones are mending

With all these nights we're spending

Ethan’s been burnt a lot in the past. But all those wounds are now healing thanks to MC.

Up on the roof with a school girl crush

Drinking beer out of plastic cups

They act like lovesick teenagers around each other, like, that’s literally their description if you choose to kiss Ethan for the first time in Chapter 14 of book 2!😅

Say you fancy me, not fancy stuff

Baby, all at once, this is enough

We all know about his initial fear of his mother reaching out to him for the sake of his money. To him, MC not talking advantage of him is a pretty big deal, even though it’s never mentioned. You just know, you know?🥺

8. Dancing With Our Hands Tied

My, my love had been frozen

Deep blue, but you painted me golden

Again, Ethan doesn’t have the best experience with love. But MC changed that.

I'm a mess, but I'm the mess that you wanted

This could go both ways, cause they’re both piping hot messes😬 (but love each other anyway🥺)

The rest of this song could have made so much more sense for them if we had gotten some sort of a secret relationship storyline. But oh well, I’m definitely not complaining about the gala😌 (and definitely not believing any of the supposed cancelled storylines)

9. Dress

Our secret moments

In a crowded room

They got no idea

About me and you

I mean... pretty obvious😌

Even in my worst times, you could see the best of me

And I woke up just in time

Now I wake up by your side

My one and only, my lifeline

This is practically Ethan’s train of thought, and you can’t convince me otherwise.

As for the rest of the steamier lyrics... I’ll um... let you guys listen to it yourselves😁

10. Call It What You Want

I wrote an entire fic inspired by this song, so excuse me for the shameless self-promo, but go give it a read?🥺👉👈(totally fine if you don’t! I’ve probably made so many posts about this song that y’all know the meaning anyway😅)

11. New Years Day

Don't read the last page

But I stay when you're lost and I'm scared and you're turning away

I want your midnights

But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day

MC has always stayed by Ethan’s side, even when he’s pushed her away. These lines perfectly explain how she wants his worst times, and his best, the midnights they spend staying up together, and the moments where it’s just the two of them, when everyone else has left, like the aftermath of a New Years party (still mad at the fact that we didn��t get to see the gang celebrate New Year together😭)

I'll be there if you're the toast of the town babe

Or if you strike out and you're crawling home

The above explanation for these lines as well.

Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

Becoming strangers to each other would be their worst nightmares. Knowing that the other was out there in the world somewhere, but not being in their lives would kill them.

You and me forevermore

These two are each other’s soulmate, they know it, even if they haven’t said it yet. Forever wouldn’t be enough for them to shower each other with they love they hold for each other. But it’s a good start.

——————————

If you guys made it this far, then I honestly love you more than words can ever express🥺💙 Thanks for putting up with my Swiftie-Directioner-Ethan stan ass, cause I dunno if I’d ever be able to handle someone like myself. And if you read all the above stuff, then I hope you wanna know why this album means so much to me.

Reputation is perceived as a dark album, when in reality it’s truly about finding love amongst all the noise. This album, and Taylor and Joe’s story, taught me what true love actually is, and Ethan and MC cemented that. This album and these two couples (quite literally) saved my life.

The most beautiful part about both these relationships is that even though they never showed it openly, for the sake of their relationships, both Ethan(in the story) and Joe stood by the side of the one’s they loved, despite half of the people who they knew hating on them, or betraying them. And I think that’s what’s truly important. Forming a true relationship like that, be it platonic or romantic, is long lasting, and I hope everyone finds those kind of people to fill their hearts with. Sending much love, and sorry for being a huge sap😅💙

Tagging a couple of my Swiftie homies: @swiftlydarcy @nikki-2406 @dxnicaramsey @kaavyaethanramsey @caseyvalentineramsey @drariellevalentine @justanotherrookie

[cate-deriana]

Synchronicity

So, here is my first contribution to IRmonth20. It may be a little messy and all over the place but I wanted to get this headcanon idea out :D So yeah, enjoy!

Prompt #4 - crossing blades, crossing hearts

----------------------------

It had been two days – although it had more felt like ages – since their arrival in the Royal Realm. Apart from strange meetings with even stranger residents, well zero squad members if you wanted to be precise, nothing really noteworthy had occurred… until that morning.

“So starting today the two of you will be training together.” Ichibei threw at them without further explanation.

It took a few seconds to sink in, before Ichigo tilted his head with a raised eyebrow looking at the so-called ‘leader’ of this squad with a questioning expression: “Sorry… what?”

“Are we playing deaf, Kurosaki Ichigo? The final battle is just around the corner, we don’t have time for this. You and Kuchiki will be training together. You have chemistry, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Ichigo peeked over to Rukia standing next to him from the corner of an eye, then back to Ichibei: “I am fine with that. But Rukia had barely two days to recover, she nearly died and you want her to start training again today?”

Now the zero squad leader was the one to raise an eyebrow – a rare sight: “Well, do you want to win the war or do you want us all to die?”

The orange haired shinigami’s expression darkened but his eyes glared with determination: “I want to win, of course. But…” He tried to object again but was cut off by Rukia: “Stop insulting my abilities! I am able to decide if I’m ready to train again for myself.”

She had turned to face him visibly angered.

He did the same trying to cool down his temper. Otherwise things would get out of hand rather quickly: “This is not about your abilities it’s…”

“Stop protecting me!” She shot at him.

Screw his temper.

“Oh, sorry I thought that was the deal: I am protecting you and you are protecting me that’s how it works!”

The argument went on while Ichibei was watching them slightly shaking his head: “Yeah, you two have good chemistry. Hopefully that’ll save us all.”

----------------------------

“So, that’s the training ground you’ll be using. Quarters are over there and behind that you’ll find one of those hot springs to heal your wounds and recover. You’ll be training together, eating together, sleeping together. … And with sleeping together I don’t mean sleeping with each other. That’s not what you have to do – unless you want to of course, I’ve heard there was some unresolved tension. I’ll come to check on you once in a while. Any questions? No? Then I’ll see you around.”

  ----------------------------

That was what Ichibei had said before leaving them, alone. About three or four days had passed since. They had been training constantly for something the squad leader had called ‘reiatsu syncing’. Seemingly the zero division and some other questionable ex-shinigami, namely Urahara Kisuke, believed there was a possibility to defeat the ‘future foreseeing’ Juhabach with some telepathic ability that would make it impossible for him to take a look in said future because he would not be able to foresee what he could not see. Why they believed Juhabach was even able to see the future was beyond Ichigo. As far as he knew he wasn’t, maybe they knew more than him. But that wasn’t the point.

They of course were all convinced that only Rukia and him would be able to gain this telepathy ‘reiatsu syncing’ ability. The reason? Well, apparently it was because they had more than once shared the same reiatsu before. He wasn’t sure if he should really believe them and their far-fetched theories. Just because Rukia had transferred her powers to him twice didn’t necessarily conclude in them being able to communicate without words. Ok, maybe there had been moments when he had been sure to know exactly what she was thinking but… that was not the same as talking through mere thoughts, was it?

“When will you finally stop holding back, Ichigo?”

Rukia’s scolding voice brought him back to reality. They were in the middle of training, no miraculous telepathic conversation had occurred yet.

“I am not holding back.” He sounded as if he had to convince himself as well.

“Yes you are. I know how strong you really are so stop holding back and come at me with full force. Where is the point in training if you can’t even do that?” Her voice wasn’t angered although she hated him for going easy on her, for underestimating her out of fear she might get hurt.

“If I come at you with full force I might kill you.” Ichigo stated dryly.

She crossed her arms, her tone a little scolding: “I don’t want you to kill me I want you to start fighting seriously. I am not that weak you know?” Rukia let out a sigh putting Sode no Shirayuki down. “I guess we should have started with those stupid training swords. That way you wouldn’t have to be afraid of accidentally cutting me in half.” The irony in her voice was evident. “Though I have at least learned how to properly wield a sword. I should be the one at advantage here not someone who thought he could just chop a Menos into tiny little pieces to reach its top.” She shook her head disbelieving adding a mumbled “Stupid” to her rant.

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t have the privilege to go to Shino Academy just to drop out midway cause I have a wealthy brother.” Ichigo tried to counterattack with his equally sarcastic remark.

Rukia’s eyes darkened: “You know what? Renji wouldn’t hold back.” Her reiatsu rose to a dangerous level. “Because he acknowledges me as a warrior.”

Ichigo’s expression changed in an instant after hearing the red head’s name from her mouth, he was in fighting mode and mood obviously: “You want me to go all out, yeah?” He didn’t wait for an answer his hand already on the arm holding his sword.

“Ban-kai!”

Rukia watched his transformation with a content smile as he was engulfed in black: “Now we’re talking.”

Maybe she should have given him a moment, given them a moment but one she didn’t want to get into another argument with him again and two she couldn’t keep it to herself any longer. “Bankai.” It echoed in the air before the training ground was covered with a thin ice layer, the temperature gradually dropping.

Ichigo didn’t have any time to comprehend what happened when her sword suddenly clashed with his really close to his face. He didn’t see her attack coming at all, because… well…

“Y…you have achieved bankai?” The shinigami substitute managed to get out, their zanpakutous frozen in place. The superior smile on her lips widened: “Surprised?”

His eyes travelled down and up again examining her new form. A somewhat inappropriate thought crossed his mind. He tried to shake it off: “Well… uhm…” If he wasn’t in the middle of a fight he would’ve scratched the back of his head in an awkward situation like that.

“I thought you were a lot faster than this.” Her voice brought him back to reality.

“Huh?”

“Your bankai.” She clarified for him. Something in her eyes left no doubt that she was seriously challenging him and something inside him couldn’t resist that.

He gave her a provoking look: “I’m just getting started.” Ichigo pushed her away with his sword.

“Finally.” Her smile didn’t fade.

The battlefield’s atmosphere changed, black and white flashes being the only thing that could still be seen. They were not really fighting against each other but rather fighting alongside, equally, synching their steps, their moves as if they were dancing. They were paying attention to each other but at the same time pushing each other to their limits. It would have probably continued like that a lot longer if Ichigo didn’t skip a step of their choreography for – payback time you could say.

Rukia found zangetsu only inches away from her throat, Ichigo’s body pressed against hers from behind.

“I got you.” His breath was touching her cheek.

Sode no Shirayuki was uselessly dangling in her right hand. She could have probably stabbed his foot, but… Rukia didn’t want to admit defeat, not yet, not now and certainly not in this position. That… was definitely too close and too… She paused – that could work.

Ichigo was damn sure she wouldn’t be able to escape him that easily. I thought you were a lot faster, huh? Of course he was he’d made that more than clear now. His pride would crumble only moments later.

She turned her head to him: “Don’t be so sure.”

Before he could realize what she was up to a sharp pain shot through his left leg causing him to drop his sword. It felt as if it had been frozen… Oh, that’s what she had done. He sighed trying to keep his balance but the leg gave away.

Rukia was about to declare her victory when Ichigo grabbed her wrist in the last possible moment pulling her down with him. If she didn’t let go of her sword she would have probably pierced his chest with it – again. Without it, it was only her unarmed-self landing on top of him. She propped herself up, one hand on the ground the other on his chest, furiously glaring at Ichigo: “What are you doing?!”

“What are you doing?! You just froze my leg!”

Wouldn’t it have been for their newly found argument she would’ve noticed a lot sooner that the position they were in now was a lot more indecent than the one before.

Instead of counter arguing Rukia looked to the side mumbling her retort rather to herself: “You didn’t leave me with another option…” Her eyes wandered around as if she was searching for the next thing to say, her right hand subconsciously travelling over his chest.

She wanted to put the blame on him alone for this but had to admit that it was at least halfway her fault as well. Then again if he didn’t have to prove his abilities then… her eyes caught her hand realizing the feeling of her skin on his.

Did Ichigo always have a muscular body like this?

Her eyes were still fixed on his chest questioningly tilting her head.

“No, actually that was a lot of training.”

Rukia nodded absentmindedly before it hit her in the face: “Wait! What?!” Her eyes shot up to him: “You heard that?!” She sounded a little hysteric, understandably so. Rukia watched him in shock a few seconds then rolled herself on her back next to him. That didn’t just happen. He was just making fun of her again and didn’t have the slightest clue what she’d… Wait, did she say that out loud? She was ruffling her hair trying to calm down her breath. Her heart was racing. Seriously, if this was a joke it wasn’t funny…

“I didn’t know you payed attention to this kind of things.”

She would’ve liked to kill him for this stupid grin his voice gave away. Rukia exhaled deeply, biting her lip in order to keep her anger contained: “Well, I didn’t. That’s the reason I didn’t notice until now.”

Ichigo folded his arms behind his head she could see it from the corner of her eye. He was taking this so casually. “I didn’t know you saw me like that.” His idiot smile was still there, as if he had just learned that his high school crush liked him back.

“Like what?” Her voice was indifferent, even a little annoyed. She wanted to get this conversation over with.

He turned to the side to face her. She didn’t do the same.

“Like a man.”

Now she did. She rested her head on her hand and looked at him with a sarcastic expression: “Uhm, as far as I remember you are one, right? Unless you are actually a woman and are just really good in disguising as a man and making everyone believe you were one.”

Ichigo repressed a laugh: “I take that as a yes.”

Rukia rolled back onto her back: “Do what you want.”

A moment of silence followed.

Then she suddenly heard his voice in her head:

Your bankai looks really good on you. It’s beautiful.

Rukia turned only her head, skeptical if she had really heard him say that.

It suits you.

His lips had not moved at all.

It’s even… a little sexy.

Her eyes widened when she instantly jumped to her feet trying to get a few steps away: “Okay, that’s enough! I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, but this is definitely going too far.”

He’d never seen her so close to panicking before.

We’re in the middle of war. We cannot. This is not about us. We have to…

“Rukia.” He grabbed her shoulder turning her around to him: “Don’t you see what just happened?”

She was frozen in her spot just like their surroundings had because of her bankai.

“It worked.” He declared in triumph when she didn’t react, another rare smile on his face.

She blinked at him a few times until it finally sank in.

“We did it.” Rukia murmured. He was right she did hear his thoughts – word for word. “We really did it.” She repeated, this time fully aware what this meant. They would be able to defeat him, to win, to end the war.

A few moments of silence followed. None of them really knew what to say or what to think. There wouldn’t be any way to hide from now on, would it?

Ichigo cleared his throat breaking the awkward moment between them: “Well, uhm… So…” He looked right then left, not sure how to tell her. “You know… now that… we are able to hear each other’s thoughts…” This time he did scratch the back of his head. “Well now that you will find out anyway... I can just tell you myself… I guess.” A deep exhale followed before he looked back into her eyes: “I really like you. Not as a friend, not as my partner in battle, not as the person who saved my life, but…”

“I know.”

A frown appeared on his face and he looked a little confused. Rukia just smiled one of her soothing smiles: “I mean it’s not like we had no idea about our feelings for each other until now.”

His frown deepened. “Weren’t you the one close to panic just a second ago because I hinted something like that? And now you are acting like this is absolutely normal?”

She rolled her eyes, a little sigh followed: “Well, now that you’ve actually said it… there’s no reason to anymore. When you’re set to do something nothing and no one can stop you, that’s how it’s always been. So… as you said – we’ll know anyway.”

I’d like to kiss you.

What’s holding you back?

I don’t know, isn’t this… What if you’re right and this is going too fast?

We’re at war, yes. Maybe it’s not the best timing.

Thought so.

But, maybe it’ll help us. Because there’s nothing left unsaid between us.

So you think we will win?

What do you think?

Well I can do anything, as long as you are right next to me. So, yeah we will.

We will.

We will win.

 And then he kissed her. And he would wonder why they didn’t do this earlier. And she would ‘say’ that he just didn’t ask.

They would fight the finally battle together. They would win. They would survive. They would save everyone just like the zero squad and Urahara had hoped. But most importantly in the end they would be happy. And Juhabach would never return.

 Because it was their story – a story where life and death would no longer be apart.

[ethelphantom]

Prompts? Uh Okay not a romantic pairing but what about Mari and the Central City Rogues like the ones from the arrowverse e.g. captain cold heatwave and golden glider or maybe for a different prompt what about mari and the batfam but following the old crossover cliche of falling into another universe/dimension through an akuma or something

Alright, so. I’m not familiar with the arrowverse like, at all, so you can have the latter one. This certainly took me a while, oops. Also there are no romantic ships in this, just things happening (and no, I don’t know what said things are. Don’t ask.)

Ao3 || Second part

This is Maribat – don’t like; don’t read

__________

A scream and what felt like an endless darkness later, Marinette found herself standing on the roof of a tall building in a strange city. She was rather certain that it was even taller than the Eiffel Tower.

It was only then that she realised it was windy but not cold, and that made her check what clothing she was in because not many of her outfits she used during the summer could hold cold out very well. And yeah, she was in the Ladybug suit. Goddamnit. She was in a strange city with no means of returning, and the fact she was transformed meant there was an akuma running rampant in Paris.

The day could have certainly gone so much better.

It was also the middle of the night right now and that certainly didn’t help because that meant she would not be able to find anyone to help her all that easily. Yeah, indeed, the day could have certainly gone so much better, but it seems fate didn’t like her enough and was intent on making it go downhill and straight to hell.

She could probably ask Tikki if she knew how to get home from here.

Then, just as Marinette was about to throw her yoyo and swing around to see if she could see someone to ask them where in the world she was (preferably untransformed) or to at least try to figure out the place herself, she heard someone landing behind her with a loud thump. Marinette whipped around fast, meeting the… well, certainly not their eyes . All she really saw was someone with a god awful red helmet in her opinion no one should actually wear unironically, a leather jacket and… was that a giant red bat on their chest?

Good god.

Soon enough, someone in a red skinsuit and a black cowl (how old was this person? Marinette got the vibe of maybe an eighteen-year-old but the cowl made them look like fourty) landed next to them. Scowling. Of course. That was definitely what she fucking needed from this day.

Seriously, fate? It was bad enough finding yourself in a strange place in the middle of the night, random people in masks and fucking capes and angry at something (her?) really wasn’t needed.

“Who the fuck are you and how did you get here?” the one in a helmet asks her, in English. How fun, she’s not even in France anymore. Hopefully she’s still in Europe, but she isn’t holding her breath. The area is too weird for the Great Britain and the person’s accent sounds more American than British. Their voice is modified, but Marinette estimates them to be a little over twenty. It’s not that hard to guess. Probably. They walk closer to her and—

Oh god, did they really need to be that tall? It was like watching a crane, like, the kind you use in the construction sites. To be able to look them where she thinks their eyes might be, she needs to actually look up.

“Well. I certainly don’t know how I got here, but I think I should blame the latest fashion catastrophe of Paris that Papillon calls an akuma. I am Ladybug, the superheroine of Paris who’s both way too young to do this and has got no idea where she is so if you could be so kind as to tell where I am so I can see if my teammate could get me back home, I’d be very happy to get out of your hair.”

She’s pretty sure that was how you said it in English anyway. If otherwise never, she’s certainly overjoyed right now about the fact she took extra English courses in school. It made communicating a lot easier.

“Since when has Paris had superheroes? Hey, Replacement, when was it you or B were in Paris the last time?” the helmet head asks the smaller person behind them.

“Two weeks ago, I think? We had a meeting there. Why?”

“Were there any superheroes or villains or some shit like that there?”

“Not as far as I was aware, no. Well, other than Emilie Agreste’s horrible fashion sense, that is.”

Marinette could feel colour draining from her face. This couldn’t be happening. Where had that akuma thrown her? “Mm. Agreste is alive?” she asked with a strained voice.

“Yes, yes she is, and she is one of the most known actresses in the world, as well as the wife of one of the most liked fashion designers. And it very much seems you are lying, miss Ladybug. You a new villain? Or a meta trying to be a hero? Because let me tell you, you won’t get far here in Gotham.”

The helmet head’s voice turned borderline threatening (although after Hawkmoth and all the akumas, her idea of “threatening” was rather screwed so she wasn’t too sure) and they stepped forwards as she backed away, her hand already placed on her yoyo to throw it if she needed to get away. Surely enough, the second helmet head’s body jerked weirdly towards her, she threw out her yoyo to the nearest thing it could be wrapped around.

“Goddamnit you fucker—”

And then there was a sharp, stinging and burning pain in her knee, as though something had hit her hard. Her hand slipped and she fell helpless to the ground, hitting her head. It took her a lot to be able to force herself on her knees, supported by her arms.

“…Did her suit deflect the bullets? What the fuck. How did that even happen?”

They’d shot her?! What the hell was wrong with this place?

“Magic?” Mari suggested, wincing as she tried to move her knee. She picked up her yoyo and flicked it open, trying to contact Chat so he could get Kaalki and get her home. She couldn’t stay here, wherever she was.

The problem was, the idea that Emilie was alive and there were no superheroes or supervillains in Paris was frightening. If that was true, then there was a big chance she would not be able to contact Chat, or anyone, really.

The yoyo just made a long sound of not being able to contact anyone, taking away all Marinette’s hope with it. She slumped right back down, barely able to support her weight and cried. Even being Ladybug couldn’t stop her. The only reason it couldn’t connect was if she wasn’t in her world anymore. And if that wasn’t a scary thought, Marinette didn’t know what was.

“Hood, do you think there’s any chance she’s telling the truth but she’s just from another universe? Like, an alternate one. I can’t really notice signs of lying in her so either she’s the best goddamn liar I’ve seen in a long time or she’s telling the truth. It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve seen alternate universes,” the one with the cowl and the cape says, tired, and Marinette can’t remember when was the last time she just wanted to hug someone and cry against someone this much if she didn’t count the times Chat basically sacrificed himself and died in front of her eyes.

(Seriously, that cat really did not know how to take care of himself. He better learn while she’s here because otherwise Paris will have no one to save them.)

“But that… That means there’s no way I can get home,” she murmurs and feels her transformation fall away as she sobs hopelessly. She knows she hasn’t used her lucky charm and she certainly didn’t call it off, so Tikki must have decided it didn’t matter in this situation.

“Oh Marinette,” Tikki says and caresses her cheek as well as she can with those tiny paws of hers before she presses her forehead against Marinette’s. Marinette can’t help the tears that fall from her eyes as she lets Tikki try to comfort her, completely oblivious to the helmet head freaking out behind her.

“Holy shit that is a fucking child and I just shot her in the kneecap? Hell, if that suit hadn’t been there I swear that would’ve crippled her and oh fuck she’s crying. What do I do now? What have I done?” There’s a clatter of guns and other stuff before they’re kneeling next to Marinette but not touching — very polite of them, because they don’t know what her boundaries are and it’s not like she’s bleeding or something that would require the contact regardless of what she likes. Regardless of the fact they just shot her, she thinks they are rather nice.

“I’m so sorry kid. I didn’t— God, yeah, no excuses here, it’s become a reflex and I didn’t realise you were a child. How old are you anyway? Eleven? Twelve?” Then she sees a red helmet on the ground without its wearer and all Marinette can guess from that is they took it off. She’s not looking at them to find out whether they’re wearing another mask under it or not though. She doesn’t think she’d be too surprised if they were.

It was… a little strange how their voice goes from angry and threatening to this soft voice that tries to soothe her. Marinette definitely appreciates it as it does bring her comfort. Tikki shoots a glare at the helmet head (well, helmet-less head at this point) before she flies to them, picks their hand up and lets it go only when it’s above Marinette’s shoulder that’s definitely not closer to them.

“The least you can do is give her some kind of a hug if you don’t want me to ruin you for hurting my bug,” she hisses, and weirdly enough, they comply immediately. To be honest, Tikki can be kinda scary when she wants to so it isn’t that surprising. Maybe. Probably. Possibly. Whatever. The hug is kinda awkward, like they haven’t hugged people much in years, but that’s fine. Marinette melts into it anyway and now she doesn’t need to support her weight anymore so she goes limp. They don’t seem intent on hurting her anymore and also she can trust Tikki to take care of her should something happen so she doesn’t care too much.

She can feel the stare of the other person on her, not sure what she should expect from them. When they do open their mouth though, it’s nothing she could have guessed, because: “Hey you know what, Hood? She looks like a Wayne and if she’s not from this world, it technically makes her an orphaned superhero child with traumatic past. Do you think B would take her in until we figure out how to get her home?”

Marinette perks up at that and turns to look at the cape person. She knows she’s gaping but it seems neither mind. “Wait. You’re going to help me get home?” It’s just a little sad how excited she gets over the idea of two complete strangers helping her after said strangers seemed ready to take her down at any given second just moments earlier but this is not her Paris — this isn’t Paris at all — and she doesn’t need to play the role of a mature and responsible heroine right now.

“Uh, yes, obviously? You’re not supposed to be here and I’m sure you’d like to get back home,” helmet head says, and god Marinette needs better names for both of them but it’s kinda awkward at this point. Well, helmet head has used Replacement (and isn’t that just a bit rude, Monsieur Helmet Head, be more respectful and learn some manners, please) of the cape person and cape person called helmet head “Hood”. Like, what hood? She can’t see any hoods here, especially not on their person.

Regardless, Marinette just straight out beams and throws herself first into the helmet head’s arms and hugs him like it’s no problem at all before she scrambled up and hug attacked cape person as well. “Thank you so much!” And oh, maybe Cape isn’t that old after all because they’re only a little taller than she is. Maybe they’re around sixteen?

Helmet just stares at her. “I— How did she manage to do what only Nightwing can? Like, I can’t remember anyone managing to hug you that easily — aside from Spoiler and Black Bat maybe — in like, years.”

“Same right back to you, dear Hood, right back to you,” Cape replies, a little tense as Mari is still hugging him.

The name “Nightwing” takes a moment before it registers in Marinette’s brain. Wasn’t that the name of that one superhero in the comics Alya loved to tell her about? The one that ended up being Chat’s sexual awakening a bit ago?

Oh my god.

“Wait, Nightwing? You don’t happen to be the Red Hood — where’s your hood though and yes I’m going to critique your style, that’s kinda my job as a fashion designer — and Red Robin — you, on the other hand, what is that cowl supposed to be? Make you look fifty?”

And yes, apparently she managed to recover from her shock because there she is, sassing two people like she knows them very well. Or like they were Papillon because she was rather tired of his shit.

“Uh-huh.”

“So, it turns out the akuma threw me into a fictional universe that I only know about because of my friends who kinda made me read and watch as much as humanly possible during the summer and there are actually comics about you in my world. I also probably know your identities because of that. Do you think you could contact Wonder Woman and ask if she knows anything about the Miraculous because if she does, that could be one way to send me back home. Her mother was one of the Ladybug successors, right, Tikki?”

“Yes, Hippolyta was one of my first holders indeed. Not the first, but one of the first. It would be nice to see her or her daughter after such a long time even if they weren’t necessarily my Bug and her daughter.”

Both the Red Hood — Jason Todd, she’s pretty sure of that — and Red Robin — definitely Tim Drake — are staring at her bewildered. It’s a little amusing. Then she remembers her knee as she takes a step wrong and winces again, falling to the ground. Tikki rushes to her side to soothe the pain, but Red Robin is nearly as fast as he picks her up. “Well. Since you apparently know who we are — though I’d like to have confirmation of it first just in case —, I think we should take you to Agent A for check up,” he says, trying to be as gentle as possible with her.

“Yeeahhh, about that, can we please leave out the part where I shot a child? Or at least heavily emphasise the fact I did not realise it in time? N is going to have my head — as though I wouldn’t do it myself for the same reason — when he hears about it, and you know it’s worse to have N disappointed in you than to have B disappointed in you. He looks at you like you kicked his puppy and stole all his cereal and is ready to relive the memory of his parents’ death and I can’t take more of it so soon,” Red Hood says, looking torn between flinging himself down from the roof without the safety of his grabble and just burying his face in his hands right there.

It’s kind of amusing.

“Yeah, I get you. Let’s see if we can avoid it, and if not, then we just explain the story — or let her explain. That sounds like a good idea, she didn’t look too furious with you after a while there,” Red Robin snorts, and Marinette can hear and feel the rumble in his chest before he can hear the actual sound in the air. “So. Will you help me convince B to take her in?”

Red Hood turns the helmet — and no, she’s never going to stop needing to mention that all the time — in his hands a few times before putting it back on. “Well. I kinda want to say no because of the probably eternal grudge I have with B, but yeah, she’s way too sweet to stay with me considering the stuff I do on the daily, and B definitely has the space for more kids, and there’s not really a way to put her with anyone else considering we do need to send her back at some point. It would be too problematic,” he finally says and pulls out the grabble. “You gonna carry the girlie or let her do it herself? It looked like she knows how to with that yoyo of hers, even if I’ll never understand how it can support her weight that easily or how she can shoot it with such pinpoint accuracy.”

That having been said, Red Robin turns back to look at Marinette. “Well? Do you think you can grabble — or swing, however you call it — yourself with us to where we’re going with that knee? Grabbling with you would be a little more difficult but not impossible so you can say you can’t if you need to.”

Marinette shakes her head. “I think I can manage. The suit eases the pain anyway. It will help if you only let me down after I transform though? And you might want to close your eyes because I’ve been told the light is rather bright to other people?” she says and as soon as she thinks Red Robin has closed his eyes, she calls to Tikki with “Tikki, spots on!”

After she was done, she let Red Robin put her down as she tested her knee. Yeah, it kinda stung but it didn’t hurt, per se, so it was fine. She would survive, probably. Hopefully.

“Let’s go before I regret this,” she huffed and played with the yoyo, waiting for the Reds to make a move. When they did, she followed.

Okay, so maybe the day wasn’t going so badly after all. It was rather fun swinging in a new city with two people she only knew as fictional characters.

…Marinette wondered if she was a fictional character in their world and now she really needed to find out as soon as possible.

oOoOoOoOo

Bonus:

“Who— Tim, who is this and why are you bringing her here while you and Jason are still in full costume sans the masks? Since when has either of you used the front door anyway. I know very well you two are part of the family that literally cannot use front doors to save their life because crawling in through a window does not give you time to reflect on your bad life choices and make you want to turn away as fast. And what is this tiny child doing here in the first place?”

Tim smiles brightly at Bruce who is in the Batsuit for some reason. Why was he inside the manor in the Batsuit to begin with? He has absolutely no right to nag about it to him. Absolutely none. “Do introduce yourself to him,” he says to the tiny girl (that is not that tiny compared to him but he’s just happy she’s still shorter than him) in front of him while still keeping a hand on her shoulder like a proud big brother showing his sister around or a parent showing his child around. It’s a bit weird to be honest but Tim can’t find it in himself to mind too much right now. It’s too much fun being able to mess with Bruce without actually messing with him.

“Hello Monsieur Wayne—” Bruce gapes at her and it’s so much fun to see, “—I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the only daughter of the best bakers in my Paris, as well as the superhero of my Paris. I’m also from an alternate universe where this world is a fictional verse and that kinda has me knowing everyone’s identities. It’s nice to meet you.”

Tim laughs — actually, genuinely laughs and he can hear people falling over inside the manor before hurrying to them and looking at him like he’s sick. It makes him laugh even more. He pushes everyone aside and drags Marinette inside, waiting for Jason to follow him. He does, eventually.

“So. Hey Bruce, here’s a ‘tiny and young Tim Drake comes in for the first time without his parents and with an older Bat’ - situation all over again for you, except this time there’s no older dead Bat that has her here and it’s, in fact, the older Bats who want her in. Jason and I like her, let’s adopt her. She even fits the black hair-blue eyes - theme your kids seem to mostly have going on. She’s even a superhero and knows all our identities, she’s a great addition to the family. If you won’t take her in, I’m going to do that myself—” because regardless of the fact he was not old enough, money could do hell of a lot things in this city,  “—and she’ll still come over here because then she’s family. Or, we could get Jason to adopt her and then you’ll want to take them both here because you’re not sure if you can trust either of them enough. Your pick.”

The flabbergasted expression painted on Bruce’s face that could be seen even with the cowl was totally worth all of this. It took a lot to not laugh at Bruce’s expression after Tim’s analysis. Jason did not possess that strength, it seemed, because he did burst out laughing at Bruce.

“Fine. We’re sending her back as soon as possible, though.”

In the end, they did not end up sending her back as soon as possible and figured out a way for her to come by whenever she wanted, and for them to go to her world to meet her when they felt like it.

(None of them had been able to avoid falling in love with the sweet girl and deciding she was a part of the family, their daughter or sister.)

______

@kris-pines04 @thethirdwheelfriend @daminett4life

[jiminniethemarshmallow]

What You Deserve pt.2 (M)

Pairing: Jimin x Reader (side plots ft. Jungkook and Taehyung)

Genre: Fluff, angst, Smut, crack

Warnings: Mentions of emotional abuse, semi-public sex, cum eating, oral (m & f), creampie, thigh riding, light hair-pulling, cringey, cheesy fluff that makes me want to set myself on fire

Word Count: 37k

(A/N): Jesus Christ this took so long to write 🥵 Originally I wasn’t going to make a second one but seeing as so many people wanted another one, here we are! Btw, Hani is based off of one of my friends and some of the crazy shit she says are actual quotes... so yeah

"Wait what?! You guys are dating... like dating dating? And you didn't tell me?!" Hani exclaims in the middle of the shopping mall you were walking through.

"Can you shut the hell up, please? Not everyone needs to know my business." You huff.

"Uh, yes they do! This is revolutionary!" She throws her hands in the air dramatically.

"What would be ‘revolutionary’ is if you and Tae started dating too." You smirk, causing her face to go red.

"Ahaha, yeah, how about no?"

"Be honest with me Han, like 100% real right now, sister to sister." She nods. "Are you and Tae fucking?" She gasps loudly, causing a few heads to turn in your direction.

"WHAT?! You heathen, you goon, you cRoOK!! How could you accuse me of such... VULGAR ACTS!” A fake look of offense splays across her face as she throws a hand over her heart, and for a second you consider apologizing. You don’t get the chance to do so, however. “-But yeah, we're fucking." She admits easily with a shrug, catching you off guard. A drama queen at her finest.

"Since when?" Your eyes practically bulge out of their sockets as you turn your head to her.

"Since we went clubbing that one night. But I did do him a few favors before that." She mentions casually. This was not new information for you, you had your suspicions, but you didn't know she would admit it so fast.

"Then why the hell won't you guys just date each other? And why have you been hiding this from us?!" You move closer to her as an attempt to keep your voice down. You were in public after all.

"Okay listen, I'm allergic to commitment, you know this. And I'm pretty sure Tae doesn't want a relationship with me. We're fine being friends with benefits because at least we're still just friends; free to go out with whomever we want with no strings attached." She says nonchalantly and you frown.

"So you're telling me that if he brought home another girl, you wouldn't be jealous?"

"I'd like to think that I'd be completely fine with it. That's a part of our unspoken rules and regulations. No jealousy." **When is this bitch gonna stop lying to herself? You think as you shake your head at her. "But back to you and Jimin! How did this happen? I mean, I knew he had a major crush on you but I never guessed you would be into him.”

“That’s because I kinda wasn’t... until I was.” You’d been ignoring all the signs he was giving you: the especially caring gestures that you just passed off as general kindness, the pure joy and fondness in his eyes every time you spent time together, his bashful and shy side that only appeared when you two were alone, the jealousy he tried to hide whenever you would tell him you were spending time with your boyfriend. You remember one time in specific when you announced in a passing comment that you wouldn’t be free over the weekend because you’d be holed up with your boyfriend, and Jimin barely said a word to you after your brief mention, not even going out with the rest of your friends when they continued to make plans without you. In retrospect, he was probably sulking at home and keeping his distance, something he does only when he’s trying to control his anger to prevent himself from lashing out on others. But you had your head too far up your ex’s ass then to notice.

“Spill the tea. Now.”

You tell Hani about everything that happened after they left his house that night, save for the inappropriate details that she still pried you for. It had been a little over a week since then and you were happy to report that things are going great. You initially thought things would be awkward, but it turned out to feel like the most natural and normal thing in the world for you. He took you out on a date the day after and you stayed at his house again to cuddle and watch movies. Actually, not much had changed from when you were friends to now, except for the fact that you could be more intimate with him— something you really should start taking advantage of. And what made it even better was that you didn't have your stupid ex to yell at you for spending time with him.

"That’s cute and all, but how is he in bed?" Hani pushes, nudging your arm as she leans in closer to you. "I've always been curious about that since he seems like such a soft person."

"Oh my god, best I ever had." You give her a sly look for emphasis and she raises her eyebrows at you.

"Really? Is he a dom? Cuz I think he has the potential to be, but also I see him as maybe being a soft sub." You had piqued her interest and there was no going back, so now you were about to tell her what Jimin was like in bed. While you walked in the middle of a semi-crowded mall. And you didn't even care who heard. Had you no decency?

"He's not overly dominant, though he did take the lead, but he's very sensual. Eye contact, neck kisses, body worship: everything. But I've only had sex with him once, so I haven't unlocked all his secrets yet. It's only been a week for god sakes." Hani nods along attentively as you speak.

"And his..." She motions down to her crotch suggestively and you get the message pretty quickly.

"A lot bigger than you'd expect."

"It's big?! Huh, who would’ve thought."

"What's big?" Jimin's voice comes from behind you and you turn quickly to find him and Taehyung walking up to you.

"Your ego." You reply naturally, blushing when he gives you a peck on the lips when he gets to you, unable to stop himself. You’re still not used to that yet.

"For good reasons though." He says.

"And what might those reasons be?" You quirk up an eyebrow as he loosely wraps an arm around your waist.

"I have many, but the biggest one is that I'm dating my best friend and perhaps the greatest girl in the world. No offense Hani." Jimin smiles at you and you swear your face feels like it’s about to explode into flames. He’s so mushy, you can hardly stand it.

"None taken." She replies.

"You guys are so gross," Taehyung comments, sparkles in his eyes. "I fucking love it. Do you know how long I've waited for this? Jimin's been in love with you forever."

"I never told you that?" Jimin turns to Taehyung quizzically.

"All you ever do is talk about her to me and Kookie like we don't know her already. You’re not the most subtle person in the world, it was kinda obvious. I don't know how she didn't notice." He shakes his head.

"I'm amazed honestly. WAIT, I want pictures." Hani whips out her phone and starts snapping pictures of you from various angles. You try to hide your face and detach yourself from him while groaning protests. Jimin poses like it's a photo shoot as bystanders roll their eyes at you, and Taehyung pretends not to know who any of you are.

"Send those to me. I'm going to make it my lock screen." Jimin says when she finishes and you groan out loud. Yeah, you were going to be that couple. The ones that you hated and would otherwise yell at for being sappy all the time. The ones that have matching lock and home screens of each other.  He was turning you into a monster and it had barely been a full week.

"Cute. Sure I'll send them, right after I send them to Jungkook. He's not going to believe his eyes when he sees these." She laughs, typing furiously on her screen.

"Well he can see it with his own eyes when we hang out this weekend." Jimin inserts, earning confused looks from Tae and Hani.

“We’re hanging out this weekend?”

"Remember we planned that trip to the amusement park a while back? That's happening this weekend." He reminds them and they both let out a collective “Oh”.

"You're still coming right? We can go as couples, like a triple date!" You say excitedly.

"You and Hani can go as a couple and Jungkook can bring his new love interest." Jimin suggests. Hani narrows her eyes at him menacingly.

"We are not a couple." She corrects, but Taehyung seems hung up on something else.

"Jungkook has a love interest? Who?" He asks.

"The girl he took home after the club. Apparently he's been "getting to know her" and wants to use this as an icebreaker date." Jimin explains.

"Eh, I'll give it a week." You shrug.

"What do you mean?" They ask.

"I mean, I'll give their "relationship" a week before things break off. When has Jungkook ever kept a girl around for more than 2 weeks?" They all stop and think about it. "It's not that he doesn't want a girlfriend, it's just that he always manages to do something stupid to screw it up. It's like he's trying too hard to be a fuck boy but it's all unintentional. It's sad, really." You shake your head.

"I remember the good ole days when Kookie was afraid of girls." Taehyung laughs.

"Yeah, we were probably the first females he's ever befriended or had an actual conversation with." Hani nudges you and you laugh along.

"He was so cute though! So innocent and pure. Now he's corrupted." You sigh, jutting out your bottom lip.

"Wonder how that happened." Hani deadpans and you both look toward Taehyung and Jimin, but mostly Taehyung.

"Why are you looking at meee?! I have done nothing wrong." He defends.

"You're just a bad influence. Even when you're not trying to be, you still are. That's just how you are." You shrug.

"Like that time you bet that you would kiss 5 girls in one day. And you actually kissed 10. Within 2 hours." Hani recalls.

"With a face like this, it really wasn't that hard." He... defends? Brags? It's hard to tell with him sometimes.

"That's not the point! You're just not a good role model." Hani stares at him as you all recall the incident. Literally no one even asked him to do that. That was the day that earned him the title of "man whore" and he didn't seem the least bit bothered by it.

"But we've learned to accept and love that part of your personality." Jimin comes in quickly before Taehyung can get offended or start exposing other people. It was a habit of his to bring others down with him when he felt wronged or cheated and usually that person was Jimin.

"Hey, lets go in here, I need a new outfit and bathing suit for this weekend." Hani says as she drags you by the hand into a clothing store nearby. Jimin and Taehyung follow you both as you immediately head to the swimwear section.

"Don't you already have a bunch of swimsuits at home?" Jimin asks as you search the racks for something decent.

"Yes, but you've seen me in all of them already. A girl knows never to wear the same thing twice. Especially when she's trying to impress someone." You mumble the last part and he furrows his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why not? Why don't you just wear the blue and white one with the gold straps? That one's my favorite." You don't question how he remembers exactly what your wardrobe looks like, but you're touched by the fact that he remembered enough to have a favorite.

"It's my favorite too, which is exactly why I'm not wearing it to the amusement park where it can get dirty or ruined." You've had a few bad experiences with amusement parks and ripped clothing. The water parks were especially bad. High pressured water shooting you down a plastic tube has proven to be disastrous to bikinis for girls everywhere. You were planning on going with a safer option. "I don't want you to see what I pick out before we get to the park so go away. I'll find you when we're done." You smile at him and he sighs, walking over to where Tae and Hani are standing.

"We might be a little while so you might as well go over there and find something for yourself while you wait." Jimin walks over to find Hani sending Taehyung away too and they both take her suggestion and head over to the men's section.

"Hey Han, what do you think about this?" You ask, holding up a one piece bathing suit connected down the middle of the front and back, leaving your sides exposed. It was cute and they had various colors for it in your size so naturally it caught your eye.

"Cute, but no." She says flatly and you frown. "It'll give you weird tan lines." She brings up and you nod, immediately placing it back on the rack. "What about this?" She pulls up a bikini that looks like it belonged in a magazine and not intended for actual use and you raise your eyebrows at her.

"How do you manage to find the sluttiest clothing EVERYWHERE we go?" You scoff.

"What do you mean? This isn't slutty." She mumbles, looking at the flimsy material from multiple angles.

"It's almost all lace!"

"Yes, almost. Not all of it." She smiles and you sigh.

"Do you really think that will survive the water park? I've seen better bikinis get torn to shreds." You were specifically recalling one incident where you had taken a trip with Hani and Jimin and she decided to go down the super slide. Let's just say the thin material didn't take too kindly to the harsh twists and turns and rushing water, leaving Hani with one boob exposed and the other side hanging on by a thread, literally. Not to mention the wedgie. You had to run over and cover her so she could stand up out of the water and get her clothes, opting to wear a sports bra the rest of the day to avoid any more wardrobe malfunctions. Clearly she hadn't learned her lesson.

"Oh, I don't plan on actually getting in the water. I just got my hair done." She says with a flip of her hair.

"Don't be lame. The water park is half the fun! And don't think I'm missing out on it just to stay with you and watch you flirt shamelessly with innocent bystanders." You whine with a pout.

"Whatever." She rolls her eyes but you notice that she puts the outfit back and pulls out a more modest one. You find something a bit more protective, a one piece that has less intricate designs, and then move on to find a shirt and a pair of shorts. The outfit you chose wasn't anything special, but it felt natural, like it was from your own closet, and when you tried it on it felt even better. The clothes you chose made you feel like you could conquer the world, made it seem like you were in charge of your life and could take whatever you wanted, and you knew you were probably being over dramatic, but for some reason you were extra confident and you couldn't wait to show it off to your boyfriend.

Jimin and Taehyung were perusing through the men's section for anything decent to wear. Jimin was looking at some shorts since he mostly only owned ripped jeans and it was supposed to be obnoxiously hot this weekend, and Taehyung was browsing the flannels and beanies, really pushing for that boyfriend look.

"I like this beanie, do you like this beanie?" Tae asks Jimin as he throws it over his fluffy hair.

"You know who likes those hats? Hani." Jimin smiles and Taehyung sighs defeatedly and puts it back down. "Why won't you date her?" He asks in a hushed voice, glancing in her direction from across the store.

"I.. I don't know. It's complicated." Tae mumbles, getting a stern look from his friend.

"Then uncomplicate it and explain it to me." Jimin pushes, causing Taehyung to groan and roll his eyes.

"I like her, I do, but..."

"But?" Jimin leans closer in anticipation.

"I don't think she wants to date me. She hates relationships and commitment, so why the hell would I think she wants that with me?" He turns back to a rack of shirts and mindlessly shuffles through them. He seems really down about this.

"Well you guys seem pretty close now."

"We're slightly more "friendly" than just friends but I'm no closer to being with her than I was before. And I don't even know what she thinks about me other than the fact that she likes my dick." Taehyung sighs as he turns helplessly to his friend. Jimin's never seen him like this and it makes him want to help.

"Maybe you can make some progress with her this weekend. It might help if you said more than just dirty jokes around her." He suggests, but before the taller man can reply, another voice addresses them.

"Finding everything okay here, gentlemen?" A petite young woman walks up to them with a bright smile on her face. She shamelessly looks both of them up and down and they observe as the twinkle in her eye shines brighter.

"Yeah, we're fine." Taehyung answers and he can see how the bass in his voice makes her shiver.

"May I make a few suggestions?" She offers and before they can refuse her, she continues. "I think this shirt and these shorts would look really nice on you." She picks out an outfit expertly and holds it up to Jimin, checking to see his size. He takes the clothes and looks at them, and as much as he wants to completely dismiss her, he has to admit that her sense of style is quite good. That's probably why she works here. "Do you mind if I do some measurements?" She turns to Tae.

"I'm personally not a math person, but if you want to go around measuring things, go for it. It's not my store." He shrugs and she just laughs, rosy lips curving flirtatiously.

"No silly, I meant can I measure you." She clarifies and he makes a sound of realization, causing Jimin to face palm. After half heartedly agreeing, Taehyung allows her to pull out her tape measurer and wrap it around various lengths of his body. It was a pretty uncomfortable situation for him, but he doesn't stop her.

"Hani, let's test those ‘unspoken rules’ of yours." You say to her as she chooses her last top. She walks over to where you are and you point across the store. "Are you telling me that you aren't jealous that that girl is flirting with Taehyung?"

She looks at where you are pointing and for a moment, you see something flare up in her eyes before simmering back down. She watches the woman wrap a tape measurer snug around his hips and compliment his body figure, something that Hani has seen first hand and doesn't appreciate the way this lady is drooling over it.

"I'm not jealous." She says with a purse of her lips, but not a minute later she's calling Taehyung over.

Upon hearing his name being called, Taehyung unwraps himself from the lady and quickly begins walking away, leaving Jimin to thank the woman for her "help" before rushing to follow.

"Are you guys ready to go yet?" Taehyung scratches the back of his neck, still holding onto the beanie he was looking at earlier. As you check out, you catch the dirty look Hani gives the sales woman as she continues to drool over an uncomfortable looking Taehyung.

There's an urgent knock on your door and you pull it open to find a distressed Jungkook standing in your doorway. He enters without invitation and you shut the door behind him, furrowing your eyebrows in concern.

"Kookie, it's 10:30pm, why are you at my house when I'm literally going to see you tomorrow morning?" You grumble, taking a seat next to him on your couch. He doesn't seem bothered by your unkempt appearance, having seen you in your pajamas multiple times.

"I need to talk to you." He says, nibbling on his lip anxiously.

"Again, why couldn't this wait until the morning? We already have to get up at the ass crack of dawn to meet up."

"I-I'm kind of freaking out." He turns to meet your gaze and you stare blankly at him, waiting for him to elaborate. "The girl I'm taking to the amusement park is amazing and I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Her name is Jieun and not only is she gorgeous, but she's talented too!"

"Wow Kookie, that's great! I don't see the problem here." You watch as a deep frown settles onto his face, his teeth returning to chew at his bottom lip.

"I guess I'm worried about keeping her." He responds after a few seconds of silence. "You know I have trouble keeping girls. I always manage to fuck it up somehow and I never know what I did wrong so I can't fix myself and stop it from happening the next time. But I really want things to go well with her. I want her to like me."

You look at him sympathetically and pat his knee. "I'm sure things will work out, you're a great guy. Just take it one day at a time, there's no need to rush anything. Focus on having fun tomorrow and go from there, use it as a stepping stone to help you get to your end goal." You tell him and he nods.

"How did you and Jimin start dating? Like, how did you break that friendship barrier?" He asks, looking up at you with puppy dog eyes. It was almost like a kid asking his parents how they met, expectantly looking forward to the love story that connected their hearts.

"Well," You half laugh. "It definitely wasn't intentional. After we went clubbing that one night, I stayed over at his house and he confessed to me when he thought I was sleeping."

"But you weren't?" You shake your head. “Ohhh sneaky.” He snickers, earning a hit on the shoulder.

"It wasn’t on purpose! Anyway, I told him that I felt the same way and now we're dating." You shrug.

“Yeah, I could totally see you two together. That man is head over heels for you.” Jungkook laughs, to which you blush and look away. Could everyone else really see it but you? “Ugh, I wanna date someone so badly. Jieun is such girlfriend material and it kills me.”

“Okay, slow down. I don't think you should ask her to be your girlfriend just yet. It's different because me and Jimin have known each other for years and you've only known each other for a week, right?" He nods. "Take it slow, get to know her more, tell her about yourself, don't do anything too crazy."

"I don't even know how to act around women; it's not like anyone's ever formally taught me how to talk to ladies." He sighs.

"First things first, forget everything you've ever seen Taehyung do around women. He doesn't know the first thing about relationships and he's too immature to even start a real one with Hani." You point out sharply.

"What's going on between them anyway? Are they fucking?" This sparks Jungkook's interest just a bit and he seems more eager to gossip about his friends than to talk about his own problems.

"That’s not for me to tell. Don’t change the subject!" You scold with a point of your finger. "Second thing: just be yourself. We're going to an amusement park so you should be focused on having fun instead of being stressed out over how to impress her. This is a great place for a first real date because what better way to bond is there than sharing multiple near death experiences together?" You smile. Roller coasters are terrifying, but you've read online somewhere that fear boosts attraction in couples, so this should work like a charm.

"I don't even know if she likes roller coasters." Jungkook thinks out loud for a moment.

"Even if she doesn't, there's plenty of stuff to do there, I'm sure you won't be riding rides the entire time. You have to think more positively." You give him a reassuring look and he relaxes a bit. "Lastly, don't try too hard. Girls like effort, but usually we don't want anything too extravagant. Big gestures are sweet and all but it's the little things that we pay attention to, like if you let her win in a game, or offer to hold something for her, opening a door, pulling out a chair, things like that. Maybe you can try to win her something at one of the booths there? I'm sure she'd appreciate that."

"Okay, I'll try." Kookie says after letting your information soak in for a minute. "Thanks for the help (Y/n), I knew you'd have some advice for me." He gives you a cute bunny smile and you just want to pinch his cheeks.

"I've had a pretty shitty boyfriend for the past two years so I'm surprised you thought I'd have any real advice to give, but I'm glad I could help." You stand as he walks to the front door. "And Kook," He turns to look at you. "Relax. She's just a human, talk to her casually like you talk to me."

He nods and gives you a hug, leaving you to get ready for your day tomorrow. You were really excited to see this Jieun person, preparing to see if she really lived up to Jungkook's hype and was worth his affection. But he's had pretty good taste in women in the past so you didn't doubt him.

"What's the hold up? We were supposed to leave half an hour ago!" Hani shouts into Taehyung's house; you, her and Jieun waiting by the front door for the three boys to come out.

"We can't take them anywhere." You mumble, rolling your eyes as you check the time on your phone. You all were supposed to meet up at your house but Taehyung texted in the group chat that he "needed help with something important" so everyone just decided to meet at his house. Jungkook had picked Jieun up earlier, but since then he hasn't even said anything more than a greeting to her, which concerned you. He and Jimin told you three to wait outside while they helped Taehyung and you've never seen Jungkook look more relieved to get away from someone in your life.

"I can't do this." Taehyung says to Jimin as he enters his room.

"Me neither, go without us." Jungkook chimes in, taking a seat on the bed.

"What the hell are you talking about? Why not?" Jimin squeaks, looking between the two of them in shock.

"Jieun looks so good today and she smells so nice and I can't even look at her without blushing so obviously this isn't gonna work out." Jungkook speaks quickly, rubbing his face in stress.

"I don't want Hani to think this is a date. She keeps insisting that we're not dating, but if we all split up today it's definitely gonna seem like a date and then she'll freak out about it! And then she'll start stress flirting with other guys and I do not want to be caught in that situation." Taehyung groans, sitting beside the youngest.

"First of all, you're both going because I am NOT going to be stuck at an amusement park alone with three girls like I’m some sort of pimp, so get up and get dressed Tae." Jimin pulls Taehyung by the arm until he's standing then pushes him over to his closet. "Kookie, you've already seen each other naked so I don't know why you're acting shy now. This isn't even a real date so suck it up and have fun. This isn't supposed to be this stressful!"

The other two boys don't say anything after that and just look at each other, moving slowly into action as Taehyung pulls clothes from his wardrobe. He goes for a boyfriend look, a plaid shirt over a deep cut black tee, his signature loose fitting pants, and of course he pulls on his new tan beanie and a necklace to top it off. It takes him forever to choose his shoes, even with the help of his friends, and even longer for him to check himself out in the mirror, debating whether or not he looks good enough to go. By the end of it Jimin is emotionally exhausted, his voice already cracking from yelling at Taehyung for so long and for a second he thought your genders had switched. Weren't you and Hani supposed to be the ones that take forever to get ready?

Meanwhile, the two of you had a chance to catch up with Jieun outside.

"So, you're Jieun?" Hani asks after yelling into the house for what seemed like the tenth time. The girl only nods. She looks to be around Jungkook's age, maybe a year older than him but definitely at least a year younger than you. "Nice to meet you again, I'm Hani."

"And I'm (Y/n)." You introduced yourself and she bows at you both in greeting.

"I remember you guys from the club. You seem like a fun group." She comments, looking into the open door as if expecting the boys to walk out at any moment.

"We try.” Hani says with a flip of her hair. Jieun was just as Jungkook said she was. She was absolutely gorgeous, her dark hair, bright eyes, and vibrant smile making her very attractive. Talking to you now, you realize that she is very modest, although not at all shy and rather confident, and is very passionate about many things. You and Hani asked her about herself and learned that she was quite athletic. She danced on a recreational dance team and worked at a studio with children. Aside from that she engaged in many sports and did just about anything that required physical activity. Jieun also mentioned that she sang as a hobby and occasionally wrote songs because she had a dream of becoming an idol, which amazed both you and Hani. She seemed perfect for him.

“Why is she so perfect? Why can’t we be like her?” Hani whines to you when Jieun excuses herself to use Taehyung’s bathroom, both of you feeling terribly inferior to her.

“If I didn’t already have a boyfriend I would totally be jealous.” You say, thinking about how much attention she probably gets on a regular basis. From your short conversation, you found that she was actually a chill person. Polite and sensible. A stark contrast to when you first met, when her tongue was shoved halfway down Jungkook’s throat, but you’ll excuse her behavior because she was probably drunk and everyone seemed to be making risky decisions that night, including you. You were happy for your friend for finding someone as good as her and now you could see why he was so nervous for today.

“He picked a good one.” Your best friend comments, nodding in approval. “I’m surprised she’s into him, considering how much of a dork he is.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about my son like that! He’s just troubled.”

“No, he’s troubling. For a moment I thought there wasn’t any hope for him. That he would just repel women forever, like that time he wore too much cologne and women literally ran away from him because he smelled so bad. I’m proud he’s making progress.” Hani sighs.

“Maybe he just needs advice from the right people to get his act together.” You shrug.

A few years back you started calling Kookie “Baby Kook” and claimed him as your son as a joke since you always ended up protecting him, but somehow the name stuck and now you feel a certain attachment to him, an obligation. Like last night when he appeared at your doorstep. You contemplated telling Hani about that before Jieun came back, but then she’s looking at the door behind you.

“Oh my God, are you guys finally ready?” She groans when the three boys walk out together, two of the three looking weary and one looking mildly irritated.

“Where’s Jieun?” Jungkook notices the absence of her presence immediately and thinks the worst, wondering if she had left while he was inside because they took too long, but much to his relief, she walks out behind them, enthusiastic as ever.

“I’m here, let’s hit the road!” Clearly she’s a morning person, but the rest of you are not.

Filing into Jimin’s car, there is a bit of a skirmish for the seats. You want to sit up front with your boyfriend, but Jungkook pushes past you when you reach the door and attempts to take your place, but you push back.

“Hey! I called shotgun, I want to keep my boyfriend company.” Butterflies flutter in your belly at your use of the word, making you smile. Just on the inside, though, because on the outside you’re straining to fight off the younger man.

“Well, I want to sit in front today.” Jungkook retorts, continuing to strong-arm you out of the way so you can’t enter. The others look at the two of you as they take their own seats, Taehyung offering for Hani to sit on his lap but getting flatly rejected.

“Why? What’s the matter with sitting in the back?” You stop fighting against him to look him in the eye, crossing your arms and giving him a disgruntled frown. It takes a moment for him to answer, glancing at his date and then back at you. He leans in closer and speaks as quietly as he can.

“I can’t sit back there with her, I’ll die.” His eyes are wide and fearful as he looks at you pleadingly, hoping you’ll have mercy on him.

“You’re supposed to be on a date with her, why would you just leave her back there alone?” You look at him incredulously, wondering if he was serious or not.

“I’m not ready to be that close to her yet; please, just on the way there?” He begs, searching your eyes. Jimin yells something about leaving the two of you if you didn’t get in the car and Jungkook raises his eyebrows at you.

“Fine, but now you’re in charge of directions. If we get lost I’m kicking your ass.” You finally relent, sighing and moving to the back, squishing into the other passengers until Hani finally takes up Taehyung’s offer and sits on his lap.

You politely change seats with Jieun and take the middle seat so that she can have the window and won’t be as squished and she gives you a grateful smile, staring out of the window as you embark on your hour and a half long journey. About 5 minutes into the car ride half of you are asleep, your head leaning on Hani, whose body is leaned completely back on Taehyung as he rests his forehead on the window. Jieun expected the ride to be full of conversation and questions, but when she sees that is not the case, she allows herself to take a nap too. And it wasn’t like Jungkook was going to talk to her anyway.

Jimin looks over at Kookie at a stop light, the younger boy reading directions from his phone. Jimin pushes his lips into a tight line, knowing exactly why he fought you for the front seat.

“What are you doing?” He asks abruptly but quietly. Jungkook looks up with wide eyes.

“What do you mean? I’m reading you directions.” Kookie states as if he doesn’t understand the question.

“Why didn’t you sit back there?” Jimin speaks even softer now, motioning with his head. “With your date?”

“Oh, um, (Y/n) is smaller than me so I thought it made more sense for her to sit in the back instead. Since there’s so many people...” He lies unsteadily, sensing the glare on his older friend’s face. Jimin knows it’s a lie, but since he’s too nice to expose innocent Kook in front of Jiuen, who is most likely not fully asleep, he doesn’t say anything. But later, when he’s sure everyone’s out cold, he addresses Jungkook.

“You know, you’re going to actually have to interact with Jieun in order for this to be considered a date, right?” Jimin comments, looking in his rear view mirror to observe all of your sleeping faces. His eyes linger on you for a moment and his lips curl into a tiny smile before he pulls his gaze away to look at the road again.

“I-I know that.” Jungkook stutters, looking back as well to stare at his date. Although she was fast asleep, her hair and makeup was still perfect and her lips were parted in the most beautiful way, and Jungkook couldn’t control the blush on his face. “I just need to relax a bit more. I’ll be better when we get to the park, I promise.” He mutters, more so to himself than Jimin.

“I believe in you. She seemed really excited to hang out with you this morning, I doubt there’s much you can do to ruin that.” Jimin smiles.

“I mean...” There were thousands of ways this day could be ruined, and they all seemed very possible, some even seeming likely to happen, and the anxiety was eating Kookie alive.

“Stop worrying so much. As long as you actually talk to her and spend time together, this day will be a success.” The older reassures.

“Please don’t leave me alone with her.” Jungkook begs, but Jimin only laughs.

“You’ll be fine, it’s not like she’s gonna bite your head off or anything.” The worry left in Jungkook’s eyes makes Jimin sigh, taking pity on his cute friend. “We’ll all meet up a lot throughout the day, you won’t be alone with her the whole time.” He sighs, to the delight of the boy in the passengers seat. He really was Baby Kook.

Despite the clusters of traffic, the ride to the park is smooth and straight forward, your group arriving in less time than expected. When the car is parked, Jimin wakes up the other passengers, letting you all know that you’ve reached your destination. Everyone files out of the car, stretching your cramped limbs and retrieving the bags from the trunk, prepared for a day of fun. Already the sun is blazing, not even fully up in the sky yet, but still beaming down on you.

“Sun screen is the most important thing to remember on days like this.” Hani lectures the group, assuming the mother role. “I don’t want anyone coming up to me later complaining about sunburn. I’ll probably just laugh in your face and give you a hard pat on the back,” She says, looking directly at Taehyung to show him how serious she was. He just scratches the back of his neck sheepishly, preferring not to relive the last incident. “So, let’s take preventative measures and protect ourselves.”

You all turn to Jungkook, who was assigned the duty of bringing the sunblock, but instead he just looks back at you with wide and innocent eyes. He makes eye contact with you and you raise your eyebrows expectedly, causing confusion and slight panic to cross his face. “Wait, was I supposed to bring the sunscreen?”

A collective disappointed groan sounds among your friends and you can see Kookie’s face reddening, feeling horrible about his slip up. He was so focused on Jieun that he forgot his duties.

“It’s okay, I have some.” The fair skinned girl standing next to him smiles, dropping her bag to the ground to pull out 2 bottles of sunscreen. “I always keep it with me since I burn so easily.”

Jungkook’s eyes light up with hope as his date passes around the spray, already saving his ass and they hadn’t even gotten into the park yet. He was thankful for her, more-so than he was embarrassed, and he made a mental note to make it up to her.

“Great, we can apply now and then reapply when we go to the water park.” Hani instructs, grabbing one of the bottles.

A bottle is handed to you and you offer to spray Jimin, prompting him to take off his shirt and bare his toned upper body to you, a sight which you drink in greedily with a smirk. When you begin spraying, he jumps at the coldness on his already heated skin.

“Fuck, that’s cold.” He hisses, body flinching and contorting as you continue to spray his exposed skin. You laugh at his expense, targeting his sensitive parts such as his back and neck, enjoying the way he squirms. “Yah! That’s enough.” He shouts, snatching the can from you.

“You can never be too careful...” You muse, apologetically rubbing your hands over him to spread the lotion and make sure you haven’t missed any spots. The touch of your warm hands against him makes Jimin shiver as he watches you feel him up shamelessly, so he decides to turn the tables and spray your exposed stomach unexpectedly, causing you to scream.

Taehyung and Hani are engaged in similar shenanigans, the female trying to wrestle the bottle from the tall boy. He suggests she “strip down a little more” so he doesn’t miss any spots, but of course she refuses and tries to grab the spray can from him, to which he dodges and insists that he isn’t done applying sunscreen on her yet.

Once Jimin finishes with you, he hands Jungkook a bottle so he can help Jieun. She wore her swimsuit under her normal clothes, so she takes off her shirt and shorts so she can get total coverage. Jungkook swallows hard as she basically gives him an unintentional strip tease, revealing her thin athletic body and muscles that hide beneath her pale skin. It’s like she was made for him. He has to stop himself from drooling when she’s done, arms outstretched and ready to be sprayed. The four of his friends watch with amusement as he shyly applies the sunblock, trying too hard not to stare at any one spot and finish as quickly as possible.

“I’m just gonna say it: Jieun, you’re fucking hot.” Hani breaks the silence, smiling at the way the younger girl blushes a little. You all laugh and shake your heads at her, noticing how much shakier Jungkook becomes. “What? Everyone was thinking it.” She shrugs.

While getting sprayed, Jungkook looks for something to talk about, feeling incredibly awkward and uneasy from the silence. Everyone was already ready to go into the park so you were just waiting on him. Glancing at Jimin as he locks his car, he speaks.

“You should name your car ‘Jimin’.” He comments spontaneously, causing said boy to look up at him.

“Why would I do that?”

“Don’t fucking say it.” You groan under your breath, obviously being ignored.

“So you can park Jimin.” Kookie replies simply, laughing at his own joke while only Taehyung and Jieun giggle in response. You weren’t sure if she was just giving him a pity laugh or if she actually found it funny, but you know Taehyung did. You, Jimin, and Hani just roll your eyes at them.

“You’ve made that joke before and it still isn’t funny or clever.” Jimin sighs, walking back over to your side. But Taehyung keeps running with it.

“No, (Y/n) should name her car ‘Jimin’.” He says with a dirty smile. You give him a blank look and anticipate his next words, hoping he doesn’t say what you think he’s about to say. “So she can ride Jimin.” He announces the punchline proudly.

Immediately you turn on your heel, walking off in the direction of the park entrance followed closely by Hani and Jimin who leave the other three to chase after you.

“Hey, where are you going?” Taehyung laughs as he jogs to catch up. Hani sneezes loudly.

“Bless you!” You all reply in unison and she waves you off.

“Ugh, allergies.” She says rubbing her nose.

“Yeah, she’s allergic to stupidity and it’s just oozing from you right now.” You tell Taehyung with a motion of your hand, receiving a cackle from Hani, who continues to rub at her nose as you keep walking toward the gate.

After security checks, you all finally enter the park, taking in the scenery. A worker at the front hands you all maps and offers to take your picture by the large fountain, to which you agree. Of course it takes a few times to get a good picture, someone was always fighting or blinking and in one of the pictures all of you are running from a bee, but eventually one came out right. When the worker walks away, your group just stands there, a bit disoriented in such a big setting.

“Where do we want to go first?” You ask, looking over Tae’s shoulder at the map he’s holding.

“Everyone’s riding rollercoasters, right?” He asks, looking up at your friends. Everyone nods so he points to the nearest ride on the map. “We should go here first, this one doesn’t seem too bad so it can be like a warmup for the more serious rides at the back of the park.”

Without further discussion, you set off for the wooden ride to the right of where you were standing, nervous jitters fluttering in your stomach. Jimin grabs your hand as you walk and you thread your fingers with his without hesitation. Hand holding was so rare with your ex, it felt weird to do it in public. But Jimin has always liked to hold your hand, it’s just never been in a romantic way before. You like this new experience.

Reaching the ride, you see how big it actually is. The drops are massive and the sound the carts make as they zoom past at surprising speeds makes your heart race. There are aggressive twists and turns that are sure to give you a thrill, and you become more and more excited at the thought of it.

“This is the warmup?” Hani looks like she’s going to vomit. She’d get on anything if you could convince her to get in line, but if she stared at it for too long she would chicken out. Sure, she acts tough on a regular basis, but everyone has their weaknesses. Jimin is similar to her. He loves roller coasters when he’s riding them, but he doesn’t like to look at them too much beforehand because then he would get scared. Knowing this, you usher everyone into the queue before anyone can say otherwise.

“Don’t worry too much about this one, the only thing intimidating about it is the speed.” Jungkook explains like a seasoned amusement park connoisseur, noting how Jieun gives him an impressed glance. “As long as you don’t swallow any bugs, you should be fine.”

You can feel Jimin’s hand becoming clammy as you near the front of the line. The plus side of coming to the park so early in the morning is that the lines are shorter because there’s less people, but he felt as though that was working against him because everything was happening all too fast. You squeeze his hand reassuringly, smiling at him to calm his nerves.

“I love rollercoasters.” Jieun quips, practically bouncing with excitement and skipping down the rows. “It gives you such a rush; the high speeds, the wind in your face, not to mention the view of the park..” She sighs longingly, momentarily stuck in her thoughts. “If you aren’t awake by now, this’ll definitely do the trick.”

You reach the front of the line faster than expected; Kookie was right, this ride was quick, either that or it’s just really short. You bunch into carts of two, you and Jimin sitting in the middle of the train, Hani and Tae seated behind you, and, as expected, the daredevils Jieun and Jungkook sitting in the very first car.

“You can hold onto me if you’re scared.” You hear Taehyung say to Hani, the two linking arms to brace themselves.

Glancing at your boyfriend, you teasingly repeat the same thing. “You can hold onto me if you’re scared.” You purposely lower your voice a little to mock Tae’s own and the four of you laugh, although Jimin grabs your hand again, holding on tight. A worker comes around and checks your safety devices, signaling to the other staff to start the ride. It makes a slow ascension up the first hill, every loud click beneath you rattling your nerves and making you bubble with anticipation. Jimin breathes heavily beside you, trying to focus on the view of the park that Jieun mentioned before, but you could see the distress on his face.

“You okay up there, Jiminnie?” Taehyung calls. You can tell he’s enjoying this already. “(Y/n), he hasn’t passed out already has he?” He teases as you creep closer to the top.

“Shut up, Tae.” Jimin protests weakly. “This isn’t even that bad.” As he finishes his statement, the ride reaches the summit and stops, holding you in suspense as Kookie’s car hangs partway down the slope. Jimin sees this and gulps, knowing what lies ahead in just a quick moment.

“Are you sure about that?” As soon as the last word leaves Taehyung’s mouth, the ride releases and you all plummet down the tall drop, deafening screams coming from everyone involved. You scream and laugh as the cars take you through turns and drops, the high speeds pushing back your hair and making your eyes water. Jimin never stops yelling, horror in his voice the entire time as he squeezes the life out of your hand, but it only serves to make you laugh harder and by the end of it you’re struggling to catch your breath. Hani’s shrill screams come from behind you, her voice resembling a whistle more than anything, and they harmonize with Taehyung’s more joyful shouts and ‘woos’. As the ride slows down to a stop at the terminal, Jimin’s body relaxes then seemingly liquifies, making your eyes widen as he slumps in his seat.

“I survived,” He murmurs, looking over at your smiling face. “I thought I was going to die.”

“Congratulations, Minnie, you made it through the warm up.” You laugh patting him on the head gently after combing through his unruly hair with your fingers. The workers unlock the safety devices and everyone stands up, retrieving their bags from the platform and walking down the exit ramp. You all wobble slightly, still disoriented from the fast ride.

“Daebak!” Jieun and Jungkook shout in unison, both talking a million miles an hour and laughing at each other’s banter in a language that only they could understand, from the sounds of it.

“Oh God, my life flashed before my eyes at least 3 times during that ride.” Hani huffs, out of breath and throat already sore.

“I’ve never heard you scream like that, are you sure you weren’t blowing a whistle?” You ask, causing everyone to giggle.

“I don’t remember most of that ride, I think I blacked out after the first drop.” Running a hand over her face, she wipes tears from the corners of her eyes while you do the same, except yours are from laughter and hers are from anguish.

“Guys the pictures are up!” Taehyung points, directing your line of sight to the screens in front of you that display the many different facial expressions of your friends. The group erupts into laughter after just one glance, Jimin falling into you and leaning against your smaller frame as he goes weak with laughter. His small hand covers his mouth as he lets out his distinctive high pitch giggles, and you have to take a moment to stop and notice him. Fuck, why didn’t you ever pay attention to him before? He’s absolutely adorable. He stumbles around and nearly crumbles to his knees in glee as Jungkook points out everyone’s faces, other groups of people crowding around the monitors to get a look at themselves too.

“Look at Hani, she looks like her eyes are about to pop out of her head! I’ve never seen her eyes get that wide before!” Jungkook howls as she practically wheezes beside him. She’s doubled over with one hand on Taehyung’s shoulder for support, and even through his laughter he tenses up at her touch, cheeks reddening just the tiniest bit.

“Jimin and (Y/n) look like the drama masks,” Jieun comments, pointing to your expression of pure joy and excitement next to Jimin’s face of unconcealed terror and regret. “Why does it look like he’s about to cry?” She can barely get out the sentence through her snickering, wiping away her own tears.

Your attention returns to your boyfriend, who is barely holding himself up from the ground. His eyes are almost entirely shut from how hard they’re smiling and his fluffy hair bounces with every shake of his body, quiet squeaks all he can manage to release.  The light reflects off of his round cheeks and he seems to glow, his happiness contagious and making everyone around smile unconsciously. You wish you could get a picture of this face instead. Even when you’ve all calmed down and Taehyung is buying the picture (presumably for future blackmail purposes), Jimin just can’t seem to get it together and you practically have to drag him out of the way.

“Come on, let’s get in line for the next ride before the adrenaline wears off!” Jieun shouts, grabbing Kookie’s hand and sprinting off in the direction of the tallest ride, both of them apparently forgetting that they’re with a group. And apparently Jungkook has also forgotten his shyness around her. You let them go, though, since this was technically a date and it seemed like they had broken the ice and moved past their initial awkwardness of being alone together. The remaining 4 of you walk in that direction too, before realizing where they were going and stopping in your tracks.

“Woah, wait!” Hani stops abruptly, eyes scanning the height of the rollercoaster. It’s a simple ride really; nothing more than a steep incline and a straight death drop that leads into a few twists and turns. But when you see how fast the ride accelerates to go up the hill and come back down again, a collective chill crawls up each of your spines. “They’re going on that?! Oh hell no! Do you know what this means?” She asks, looking around at your confused faces. Taehyung shakes his head in reply. “I can’t be friends with them anymore.” She announces resolutely, much to your surprise.

“Why not?” Jimin asks, eyebrows raised in mild amusement.

“Because people who would willingly go on something like that clearly do not value their own lives, which means they surely do not value mine.” She turns on her heel and presses past you, walking in the other direction and not waiting for you to follow. “Let’s find something else to ride.”

Usually people knock out the big rides first, leaving all of the smaller attractions for later when their energy starts to deplete and they can take the time to calm themselves down, so when Hani leads you all to a small indoor ride, there’s virtually no one inside. It’s themed after some cartoon you heard of when you were a kid and the interior of the building is colored with neon and fluorescent paint that glows in the black lighting. As you wind through the long pathways and different rooms, it becomes apparent that this must be a very popular attraction because the queue seems never ending. Taehyung’s laughter seems to echo through the empty rooms as he skips ahead, stopping at every interactive object like a child, playing in the funhouse mirrors, watching the short clips of the cartoon that appear on the screens, pointing out how everyone’s clothing glows in the dark whenever you pass under a black light.

“Walk!” Hani hisses, pushing him from behind when he stops in the middle of a narrow pathway, the sounds of the ride finally coming into earshot. “This rollercoaster better be worth the trouble of us walking for so long.” She sighs, keeping her hands firmly on Taehyung’s back as she pushes him along. He seems to enjoy it, purposely slowing down so she runs into the back of him, pressing harder against him to urge his body forward, and he knows she doesn’t mind the way he’s messing with her, he can hear the smile in her voice every time she yells at him.

Shuffling slowly behind them, Jimin silently pulls your arm, holding you back so he can hold you firmly to his body, hands on your waist and eyes smiling down at you. Your eyes are wide as you look at him, about to ask him what he’s doing, but then he swoops down and claims your mouth in your first kiss of the day. It’s not rushed or needy, it’s the kind of slow, relaxed kiss that makes your heart pound against your chest and blood rush to your cheeks. Your back meets the wall and he pins you there with one hand leaning beside your head for support, the other still locked onto your hip. The kiss is a welcomed surprise and you can’t help the way your knees get weak just from his touch. Despite being cuddled up with Jimin almost everyday this week, you still can’t get over the fact that he wants you this way, that he’s yours. He’s told you many times that now that you’re together he won’t hold himself back anymore when it comes to you, but you didn’t expect him to mean it like this. Though, you can’t say that you don’t enjoy the affection.

“Excuse me,” Hani clears her throat loud enough to catch your attention and when you pull away, you find both of them staring at you two in shock. “This is neither the time nor place for that. Seriously guys, there are cameras everywhere. Have some decency.” Taehyung shakes his head along with her words in fake disapproval, clicking his tongue when you shyly pull away from each other to walk up to where they are.

“C’mon lovebirds, we’re almost at the front!” He leads the way around a few more corners until you’re finally at the front of the queue, the line only consisting of a single couple boarding one of the carts. You take your seat next to Jimin and the carts exit the station in two’s, leaving you alone with him as you enter the dark tunnel. The ride is all indoors so it’s pitch black for a few seconds before you ride through another room with vibrant flashing lights that highlight the scenery around the track.

“I don’t think I got to properly say good morning to you.” Jimin’s eyes are focused on you already when you turn to him, whimsical music playing around you to accompany the action happening around you that you aren’t paying attention to.

“Is that what that was about back there?” You point with your thumb, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I just felt like kissing you,” He shrugs, “but this morning was busy and I didn’t get a lot of time to talk to you, so I’m saying it now. Good morning, gorgeous.”

“Ew, you’re so cheesy.” You nudge him with your shoulder playfully, barely noticing that your cart was ascending a small incline.

“I told you, I’m gonna say it everyday just to remind you. I have to make up for all that lost time.” You know he’s referring to the time you wasted with your ex, all those wasted days of not being appreciated or acknowledged. Neither of you have talked about him since then, but he’s always there, hanging in between the lines, and Jimin is always trying to prove what a trash man he was to you by overcompensating. Or maybe he’s just always this tooth rottingly sweet, you still haven’t figured it out yet.

“You don’t have to...” You mumble.

“I know. I want to. Plus, I don’t think I can stop myself.” Just as the two of you start to giggle, you reach a drop and your car speeds down the hill, flashing lights passing you at every turn. You go through a few more dips, spinning around and even going backwards at one point, following animated characters and a storyline that you haven’t been paying attention to. Somehow during the ride, you managed to scoot closer to each other, your sides touching and your hands wrapped around his arm, not in fear, but out of pure joy. This ride isn’t nearly as scary as the last, it moves slower and the drops are shorter and more gradual, so you and Jimin enjoy it equally, laughing throughout the entire experience all the way until it reaches its end at the same place it began. His cheers and laughter of amusement echo in your mind as you come to a stop, finally untangling yourself from him.

Taehyung and Hani are just getting out ahead of you, laughing to themselves and stumbling onto the platform. You take note of Taehyung’s manners as he extends a hand out to Hani as she steps out of the car after him, and you see her hesitation to take it before she grabs hold, pulling it away quickly after she regains her balance.

“That was fun, we should go on more rides like this.” Jimin comments when all of you walk outside, squinting in the bright daytime light.

“Why? Because it’s dark and no one can see you making out in there?” Taehyung replies with a sassy purse of his lips. Hani snorts beside him.

“No, because it’s a kiddy ride and it doesn’t make him scream like a baby.” You tease, causing an uproar of laughter from your friends.

“Okay, ouch. What is it, ‘gang up on Jimin’ day or something?” He pouts, though he can’t stay mad at you for long and ends up smiling along with everyone else as you walk towards the next attraction.

“We have a winner!” A few spectators clap as Jieun grins triumphantly, accepting a small stuffed monkey from the merchant as he proclaims that she is the fastest racer.

After knocking out all of the most exciting rollercoasters, Jungkook and his date have made it to the back of the park in record time. Instead of moving on to the smaller rides, they agreed to try out some of the games, mostly because Jungkook wouldn’t stop bragging about how easy some of them seemed.

“I thought you said you were bad at carnival games?” He points out as they begin to walk away.

“Yeah, but we were just shooting water at a target. It wasn’t that hard.” He watches as she offers her prize to one of the children they played against, the youngest one whose face was scrunched in disappointment. The little girl looks at her and nearly snatches the monkey away before sheepishly muttering a thanks upon her parents request, but Jieun only laughs.

“That was nice of you.” Nicer than he would have been.

“Eh, the monkey was kinda ugly anyway.” The brightness of Jieun’s smile makes Kookie blush slightly as he laughs along, allowing her to pull him through the crowds of people amongst the other stations. “You aren’t purposely letting me win these games, are you? That’s the third time I’ve beaten you.”

“What, you don’t like winning?” He quirks up the corner of his mouth and she shakes her head.

“Not like that.”

“Fine, then I won’t show you any mercy next time.” He promises, to which she accepts with a nod and a competitive sparkle in her eye. The truth is, Jungkook hasn’t been letting her win, she’s been beating him fair and square this whole day, but he didn’t  want her to know that because he’s been talking trash about his skills since they got here. They approach a station that is unoccupied, the merchant beaconing them over as soon as she sees that it has caught their eye.

“You two look pretty cute, first date?” She questions as they approach and Jieun is the only one who can respond. “Aw, that’s adorable. Hey man, if you wanna impress her, you should show her your skills. You look like the athletic type.” The woman challenges Jungkook, and he isn’t one to back down from a challenge.

“Let me win you something.” There’s this cockiness in his voice that makes his date giggle, his shoulders seemingly swelling with pride and arrogance as he stands in front of the counter. It’s basketball, something Jungkook isn’t too bad at, and he’s confident that he’ll be able to win this game.

“You don’t have to do this for me.” Jieun reasons, tempted to tell him that the game is probably rigged anyway, but Jungkook doesn’t look like he’d care all that much.

“Don’t worry, I got this.” Famous last words.

“$3 for 5 balls. All you have to do is make it in the hoop 3 times and you win.” Seems easy enough. He hands over the money and the basketballs line up in front of him, cheesy arcade music starting up when the worker presses a button. A bell sounds as a cue for him to start and he grabs a ball immediately, missing the sigh coming from the girl behind him.

He makes the first shot easily, the second goes in with a loop around the rim, and his pride is through the figurative roof. But on the third shot, the hoop begins to move side to side. He is surprised when his ball misses its mark and as he stares, trying to get his timing right, the speed of the moving basket increases.

“Two more chances left!” The worker announces. But his luck wanes and the forth ball bounces off the rim. “Only one ball left! Really follow that hoop, c’mon. It’s all about focus.” She coaches, much to Jungkook’s annoyance because he really was trying, but his final shot misses entirely and the game stops with a buzzer noise and defeated sound effects. “Oh! How unfortunate. Do you wanna try again? You still gotta win your girl that prize— looks like she really wants one.”

With a heavy sigh, Jungkook turns to Jieun and stares at her in thought. She’s just standing there looking impartial to all of the giant superhero plushies lining the station, but he really wants to prove to her that he can do it. He needs to win her this game. In reality, she’s about to open her mouth and tell him that she doesn’t want him to waste his money on something she doesn’t even want, but before the words can leave her, he’s handing in another $3 and preparing to take his first shot. The second time around doesn’t go as well and he’s already down to 1 ball when the hoop starts moving, his last chance bouncing off the edge again. Watching this really is painful and Jieun finally decides that she needs to put an end to this.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to win me anything, let’s just move on.”

“No, I can do it,” He tries to reason, reaching into his pocket for more money, but she grabs his wrist and gives him those big pleading eyes and he melts. “Fine.”

“Why don’t you let her try? She looks like she can play. I’ll even change the price to $1 just for her.” The saleswoman suggests, playing with one of the basketballs. She watches as their eyes meet and she can see that they truly think about it before Jungkook decides that he would like to see her try— probably just so he can prove to himself that the game is actually hard and it’s not just him— so he hands the woman another dollar. “Awesome! Let’s see what ya got.”

“Wish me luck!” Jieun says as she picks up a ball, but it soon becomes apparent that she doesn’t need it because she’s knocking out the baskets like it’s her job. Jungkook stands silently beside her, mouth open comically as he witnesses her aim and shoot with the ease of a pro player, making the third basket with a flashy swoosh and two balls to spare. The world around him erupts into noise as Jieun, the saleswoman, and a group of random bystanders who were watching them play begin to cheer and shout praise.

“That was amazing!” The merchant announces, and he only just realizes that she’s been using a microphone this entire time. It’s loud. “Did you see that last shot? The ball didn’t even touch the rim! I wish I had an instant replay of that!”

“Omg, I can’t believe I did that!” She gasps, covering her mouth in shock and joy. She looks just as dumbfounded as Jungkook and he can’t find it in himself to be upset with her.

“You looked so cool! Maybe you should be a basketball player instead of a dancer.” Sure, his ego definitely took a blow, but he felt an odd sense of pride at her accomplishment. Even though she wasn’t “his girl” per se, he still felt like he could claim her, and amidst the celebration, it kinda felt like his win too.

“I haven’t seen anyone win this game since I started working here,” The worker admits. “You’ve got skills. Pick your prize.” She motions to the wall of plushies and Jieun pauses in thought, glancing over at her date.

“Which one do you like?” She inquires.

“Oh, n-no this is your prize. You pick.” Jungkook hates the way he stutters at her sudden attention.

“Like I said, I don’t want one. Hm, I’m thinking you look more like a Hulk guy?” She’s studying him up and down and he can feel himself heating up the longer she looks.

“Actually, I like Iron Man.” He says, scratching the back of his neck. She simply nods and points to the biggest one, and the woman happily retrieves it, waving them away with well wishes on their first date. As they walk, Jieun hands the Iron Man figure over to Jungkook and he pouts.

“You know, I would have won if you’d let me try one more time.” He grumbles, looking back at his recent failure. She finds it cute.

“Yeah, I’m sure you would have.” She reassures and nothing in her voice makes him think she is mocking him. “But be grateful I won you that anyway. That thing is half as big as me!” She giggles, a slight triumphant glow on her cheeks as they make their way through the park.

Sometime after your third ride together, Hani and Taehyung separated from you and Jimin to do their own thing. Hani claimed that her heart couldn’t take any more rollercoasters for the moment and Taehyung graciously accepted this by agreeing to go on the smaller attractions with her. Kiddy rides, really: the large swing ride, the one that looks like an octopus, the pirate ship, etc. Taehyung had suggested they go on the Claw, but that looked a little too intense for Hani because of how high it goes, so they skipped that one. Finally, they make it to Hani’s absolute favorite ride, the Teacups, and she pulls him all the way to the line.

“The Teacups is your favorite ride?” He questions with a laugh, bracing himself for the hit he receives on his shoulder.

“Shut up, you still request kids menus to draw on when we go out to eat. I don’t wanna hear it.” She crosses her arms over her chest, but Taehyung finds it adorable.

“I wasn’t attacking you, I just think it’s interesting.” It is interesting, how someone who acts so menacing can be such a baby on the inside.

“What’s with that?” She asks suddenly, facial expression turning skeptical as she looks him up and down.

“What’s with what?”

“You haven’t picked on me all day, why are you being so nice?”

“Well, you haven’t flirted with any random guys all day so I guess today is strange for everyone.” There really isn’t anything Taehyung can think to say to her question, so he deflects. There’s not a chance in hell that he would ever say that he’s trying to be nicer to her so she likes him more and will consider dating him— if he says that, he’s sure she would run away screaming.

“That’s only because no one has flirted with me yet and I’m not going to throw myself around like a thirsty hoe. But it’ll happen, just wait.” Hani pushes hair away from her face in that sassy way and Taehyung can’t resist snorting in laughter.

“That doesn’t seem conceited at all.” He mumbles sarcastically as they step up in the line.

“Oh fuck off, Man Whore. You’re one to talk.” A few parents look back at her but she doesn’t seem to notice.

“Hani, there are literally children everywhere around here, watch your mouth.” Tae scolds, but she only rolls her eyes and turns away, apparently forgetting about her earlier question of his behavior, much to his relief.

As they near the front of the line, they spot Jungkook and Jieun passing by, but the pair is walking too fast for either of them to catch their attention. Jungkook seems to be hugging something red and yellow, but he disappears before Taehyung can make out what it is.

“Jungkook and Jieun just walked past,” He states as he leans against the railing.

“I saw. This day seems to be going well for them, I’m glad he finally grew some balls.” Hani smirks, still gazing in their direction.

“I’d say this day is going pretty well for us, too.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, Taehyung regrets them. Hani turns to face him with an odd look on her face, not really disgust, but rather skepticism.

“Yeah, but they’re on a date.”

“Couldn’t you say that this is sorta like a date, too? Not exactly a romantic one, but it’s still a date.” He’s making it worse for himself, he knows it, but he just can’t stop the words from coming. And so he digs the grave deeper.

“It’s not a date.” She shuts that idea down quickly, but there is an ease to her words. Almost like she doesn’t know that she’s hurting him.

“Why are you so touchy about that word?” He tries to laugh it off.

“It just... bugs me. I haven’t been on a date in, like, a year. I don’t do dates.”

“And why is that?” Taehyung is genuinely curious to know. She probably assumes that he’s like her, that he doesn’t date or have interests that go further than finding a quick fuck, but that’s not true at all. He’s just never had the best luck with women— and he is mostly to blame for that.

“When it’s a date people expect things from you. There’s an etiquette that society has deemed acceptable, especially for women, and I’ve never really been into all of that. I’m not a dainty lady and I hate when people do things that I didn’t ask for. Guys just seem to be too overbearing for me on dates: picking up tabs, trying too hard to be polite, scrutinizing my every detail and flaw. And on top of that, we’re supposed to do cute couples stuff like kiss and hold hands and shit. It’s a lot of pressure.”

“Not all dates have to be like that. They can be casual like this.” So she isn’t into the “nice guy” act. Taehyung should probably dial it down a little bit then.

“Yes, but this still isn’t a date. We aren’t a couple.” She insists, leaning against the railing across from him.

“You don’t need to be a couple to go on a date. That’s what the date is for. Jungkook and Jieun aren’t a couple yet, but this is a date for them.” He tries to keep his voice stable and calm. Why is he so adamant about proving this point?

“But it’s different with them because they actually want to become a couple. And they act like one too.”

The gates open and the two of them enter the attraction, Hani booking it for one of the teacups toward the back. She sits down and waits for Taehyung to close the gate and take a seat across from her before her hands are on the wheel in the center, itching to start the ride. She begins spinning their teacup before the ride starts like all the other kids around them, and Tae places his hands on the wheel to help.

“I think we’re acting like a couple, too. We’re doing everything together and having a good time.” He offers, pulling her attention away from her giggling that he finds to be contagious.

“I agree, we are having a good time,” She smiles. “But really, that’s it, isn’t it? I find you attractive, you find me attractive, we fucked a couple of times, but that doesn’t make us a couple. There aren’t any real feelings involved and we’re still free to do whatever we want. None of that mushy couples crap like Jimin is sucking (Y/n) into. I’d say we’re fuck buddies, at most.”

It feels like a dagger has sliced through Taehyung’s heart at her words, each one adding a deeper and deeper wound, and all he can do is sit there quietly as the attraction begins to move and ponder her words. He turns the wheel with her, their cup spinning almost at top speed, and he watches as Hani fights to stay upright against physics, laughing and trying to look at all the other moving vehicles around them. He thinks then, how can someone so beautiful say something so cruel to him? But he knows her well. Hani is the type of person who hides her feelings by saying the exact opposite of what she wants, never explicitly telling anyone what she desires, then waiting for them to figure it out. He can only hope that this is one of those times. The more he thinks about her words, the less he pays attention to the present world, and before he knows it, Taehyung has stopped turning the wheel and is staring blankly at her joyous expression.

“If that’s all we are, then why do I feel this way? Why does it feel like my heart will fly right out of my chest whenever we interact? I wish I could let you see how I feel for once because maybe you’d feel differently. I know you feel something too. Why is this so hard for me? Why is it so hard for you to accept me?”

“Hey, why’d you stop spinning? I need help here!” Taehyung knows she can’t hear him over the loud music and wind rushing past their ears. His voice was nothing more than aimless murmuring, but it felt good to say it out loud. A part of him is curious about what would happen if she did hear him, but it’s probably better if she doesn’t.

“Sorry.” He apologizes, their cup accelerating when he joins her turning once again. She thinks he’s apologizing about the ride, the thought of him apologizing for his feelings for her never crossing her unbothered mind. He thinks she doesn’t notice how hard he’s trying to be happy, the thought of her heart aching with disappointment and fear never crossing his puzzled mind. He doesn’t know that she’s afraid of the feelings she already has for him.

“It’s 12:30 bitches, where are you?” You speak out loud as you type into your group chat. Jimin fans himself beside you, sitting on a bench near the entrance to the water park, staring down at the park map.

“Why do the rides here look scarier than the roller coasters?” He frowns. You lean your cheek on his shoulder to look at the map and shrug.

“I bet they’re not even that bad in person. I can’t wait to get in the water.” This heat is something else, and as the temperatures keep climbing, you want nothing more than to dive into the nearest pool and float away. “Maybe we should stop by the Lazy River first just to get wet before going on the slides?”

“It’s so hot that I might just stay there all-“

“What’s up, losers,” Hani interrupts, sliding right into the place next to Jimin and squishing him between your bodies. Taehyung stands in front of you all.

“Wait, come here, Tae.” You pull his arm and he moves toward you with one eyebrow raised as you shift him until his body blocks the sun from your face. “Ah, don’t move.” Letting go of his arm, you enjoy his shade and close your eyes. He scoffs but stays put.

“We still waiting for Kookie?” Jimin asks, handing the map off to Hani.

“He said they’re almost here in the group chat. I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished the whole park already— did you see how fast they were walking?” She answers, shading her eyes with the flimsy paper.

Taehyung chuckles, looking around the area. If they were on their way, they would probably be here soon. “They better hurry up because I’m so fucking hot I feel like I’m about to die.”

“Do you know how disrespectful it would be to die right in front of me? Go die over there.” You send him away, but as soon as he moves you whine from the loss of shade. “Wait, no, come back!”

“I’m gonna buy a water bottle, you guys want anything?” Tae asks and the three of you shake your heads, watching as he walks away toward a small cart where a lady is selling drinks and ice cream. As he approaches, the lady straightens and fixes her hair, flashing him her best smile and batting her lashes. Both you and Jimin look over at Hani, who is watching the entire exchange, and you can practically feel the fumes coming off of her.

“We made it!” Jungkook announces, stepping up beside the bench with Jieun in tow. “Where’s Taehyung?” You all point and the pair follow your eyes to where the young lady is leaning into her cooler of drinks very seductively in front of a somewhat indifferent Taehyung. He isn’t showing much of a reaction, but you notice his fidgeting, either from anxiety or impatience. When he hands over the cash, the woman brushes his fingers intentionally and all of your jaws drop at her blatant flirting.

“I know he’s not my boyfriend, but he’s not her boyfriend either, so she needs to hop off his dick before we have to fight.” Hani is trying her hardest to contain herself, she really is, but the way that that woman is flirting with Taehyung is triggering something inside her that looks pretty damn close to jealousy.

“You okay there, Han?” You ask from the other side of the bench, keeping an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t get up and snatch that girl by her bangs.

“Oh yeah, I’m perfectly fine.” She says through gritted teeth.

“Remember what you said about it being okay if he ever decided to take someone else home?” You remind her, smirking when she crosses her arms.

“Absolutely.”

“How are you feeling about that now?”

“I said what I said. I said what I meant and I meant what I said.”

“I thought you didn’t like hyung like that?” Jungkook asks, confused.

“They’re fucking.” It comes out so easily that you don’t even realize that it was supposed to be a secret until Hani yells out your name in betrayal, causing you to suck in your lips. But it’s out there now.

“And I oop-“ Jieun feels like she shouldn’t be here for this, but things are starting to get interesting and she can’t bring herself to leave.

“You and Tae?!” Jungkook whisper shouts at her as if Taehyung would be able to hear him from all the way over there where the woman is still flirting with him.

“We fucked once.” She holds up a finger for emphasis, but you give her a look of disbelief and she purses her lips. “Okay, maybe it was a few more times than that.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t say anything!” You pout, turning away from her.

“Yeah, what the fuck is that about? I thought we were close!” Jungkook steps forward, clearly hurt that he’s been left out.

“Jimin doesn’t look that surprised.” Jieun points out, drawing everyone’s attention to your boyfriend, who sits there nonchalantly as he listens to you argue.

“Oh I already knew all of this. Of course Taehyung couldn’t shut up about it.”

“See, Hani? Even Tae told Jimin! What kind of bestie are you?” You fake cry, pulling the most hurt face you can muster, throwing a hand over your face just to guilt her, and Jungkook tags along.

“I’m sorry, okay? But let’s not forget the fact that you waited a whole week to tell us that you and Jimin are dating.” She brings up, shutting your whole argument down. She’s right about that, and you almost feel bad about it, but since she also kept a secret, it kinda cancels out.

“So are you guys like... a thing?” Jieun asks.

“No, we are not a thing, we’re just friends. He doesn’t like me like that.” Composing herself, Hani relaxes back into the seat, but she still can’t pull her eyes away from Tae walking away and the lady eyeing him up and down. You don’t bring up how it seems like she’s implying that there would be a relationship if he did like her that way, but you’re sure everyone else noticed.

“Really? It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself of that more than anything.” Jimin snickers, earning a razor edged glare from her.

“Watch it, pretty boy, before I shove this map up your ass.” She hisses, sending Jimin recoiling into you. “Let’s just go into this stupid park so I don’t have to watch him flirt with anymore ugly tramps.”

Just as she stands up, Taehyung reaches you, oblivious to her obvious jealousy. “Are we ready to go?”

“Yup! To the changing rooms!” You point and everyone follows Hani as she leads the way toward the changing rooms, the group of you renting out a locker to place all of your valuables in.

“Jungkook, what the hell is that?” Jimin questions, finally noticing the giant stuffed Iron Man that he’s been holding.

“Aw, did you win Jieun a prize?” You ask, looking between their faces, but Jungkook only looks down sheepishly.

“Actually, she won this for me.” He answers shyly, cheeks pinking up at your faces.

“Yeah, turns out he’s terrible at carnival games.” She smiles, nudging his shoulder playfully.

“Wow, Kookie. And after all that shit you were talking yesterday.” Taehyung laughs, the rest of you joining in on the teasing.

“I get it, I’m dumb. Can we please move on?” He whines, hiding his embarrassed bunny smile behind the doll.

“For the record, he did make some great attempts to impress me. I think he still has a chance with me.” At this, Jungkook uncovers his face, grinning down at her. “All will be forgiven as long as you share a funnel cake with me at some point today. I really want one.” She groans, mouth already watering. He agrees enthusiastically. You feel pride swell in your chest, your baby is growing up.

“That thing is not going to fit in the locker.” It’s Hani that breaks the moment, looking back and forth between the doll and the small locker size. “Guess I have to stay out of the water and watch it so it doesn’t get stolen. Damn, it’s too bad.” She shakes her head in faux disappointment and you immediately shut her down.

“No, nope, you’re getting in the water, we’ve been over this. C’mon let’s get dressed.” You nag as you pull her away.

In the changing room, you and Hani put on your swimsuits, showing them off and praising each other, as best friends do. Jieun already had on her swimsuit so she stayed out by the lockers, so it was just the two of you getting ready. While standing in the mirror to tie up your hair, you spot a familiar face in the background and your eyes go wide, elbow nudging into Hani's side a bit harder than you intended.

"Ow, what the-" You shoot her a look and she quiets down.

"That's her." You whisper, eyes staring down a woman through the mirror, glancing away after your friend sees who you were looking at.

"His side hoe? Candy the Stripper?" She whispers, eyes now locked on the unassuming lady.

"Yes, now stop staring." You say, so she looks away and continues struggling with her hair.

"She's not even that pretty." Hani scoffs. "Should we go over there and say something?"

"No! I don't want to ever have to interact with her or that asshole ever again." You roll your eyes, preparing to leave as soon as possible. "Come on, just leave your hair down, it's gonna get messy anyway." Hani stops to look at you with attitude, running her fingers through the long ropes of her hair.

"The goal is to not look like Medusa by the end of today, this monstrosity needs to be contained." She was right. Sometimes it seemed like her hair had a mind of its own and did whatever it wanted, so you let her take her time pushing it back into a loose ponytail, offering Candy a few quick glances before grabbing your things and walking out.

"I'm heading back to Jimin. We'll be out there waiting." You say, not looking back to see if Candy was looking. Honestly you felt like you looked way better than her. Your body was better, your personality was better, and you were rocking your outfit. This was your moment to shine.

Walking out of the changing room felt like you were walking down a runway. Maybe it was just the clothes you were wearing but something felt different. You felt good, sexy even, and all you wanted to do was put yourself on display for everyone to see the new and improved version of you. Things seemed to move in slow motion as Jimin turned his head and saw you walking— no, striding toward him in the middle of the busy walkway. From the way your hips swayed, to the swing of your hair, to the slight attitude you put into every movement especially when you put on your sunglasses, you looked like a freshly opened box of sunshine, radiating confidence and beauty for the world to see. But then you caught sight of that sickeningly greasy grin from behind your boyfriend and just like that the box was slammed shut, sealed with chains, and shoved into a bedroom closet.

You almost stopped dead in your tracks when you saw his face, the face that you wished you would never have to look at again, the face that made you sick to your stomach just thinking about it. You were glad your shades were partially covering your expression because you were sure you looked mortified. But it was as if he could sense your discomfort and his smile grew when he noticed the effect he had on you. He always did that. Smiled when you would crawl back into your shell and turn into a passive being. It was like he fed off of your anxiety and it somehow made him bigger, or at least feel bigger, and it was instances like this that gave him the opportunity to walk all over you. Your perception of him is now strongly skewed since you broke up with him. In only a week’s time, you have been treated better by Jimin than your ex ever did in the two years you were together and you quickly realized just how much he had abused you. Not physically, but emotionally. He abused his power over you because he knew you wouldn't do a damn thing about it. Told you not to get too confident because "you could always look better". One time he even yelled at you in public for "dressing like a slut" when your skirt was an inch too short, which is ironic considering the woman he ended up with. But all of the little things like that crushed your self esteem and you had turned into a timid girl around him without even noticing it.

You were never like that with Jimin. Even when you were still just friends, you were a completely different person. It wasn't just that you were comfortable around him, but somehow you knew he would never pass judgment on you and that you always had a listening ear, shoulder to cry on, and a ball of happiness to brighten your days. It was good to know that he stayed consistent with that as a boyfriend.

Chopping your steps, you shift your eyes back to the man who actually loves you and scurry toward him, nearly tripping over your own feet. Your head and shoulders had dropped without you realizing it, but Jimin noticed. He was watching you the whole time.

"What's wrong?" He asks, analyzing your face. He could see the small frown you tried to conceal and the nervous way you wiped your clammy hands against your leg.

"Nothing's wrong. What do you mean?" You respond, trying to sound convincing and failing.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost." He chuckles. You laugh along halfheartedly, but don't reply. As far as you were concerned, your ex was dead to you, so Jimin was not completely wrong. It felt as if you **had seen a ghost. A ghost from your not so distant past.

“Uh, where did the others go?” Changing the subject, you shift the attention away from yourself.

“Still over by the lockers. They wanted to lounge by the wave pool, but I think we should eat lunch first.” As he speaks, you try to pay attention, but your eyes keep flicking behind him nervously. Quite honestly, you weren’t sure whether or not you wanted to know if your ex was still staring at you, but curiosity gets the better of you.

“Oh, okay.” You respond absently.

“Unless you don’t feel like eating now? I know they always say not to eat before you swim...”

“Uh huh.”

“But it’s up to you. What do you want to do?” You don’t notice how he rambles on, eyes bouncing around your body as he tries to control himself. You look so damn good and you don’t even know it, and all he can think about doing is pulling you aside somewhere to show you just how hot he thinks you are. Shit, he better stop before he makes himself hard.

“Huh?” You’re a little startled, only now snapping out of your worrying, and he looks at you expectantly. “Let’s just walk around first and see what’s here. I think I might want to go on some rides before eating.”

“Okay, let’s go tell the others.” You follow as he leads you back toward the lockers where Hani is putting away the rest of her things and Jungkook is avoiding Jieun’s eyes at all costs as she stands in her bikini, spraying herself with sunblock.

“Put the hat in the locker!” Hani groans at Taehyung, but he just shakes his head like a little kid.

“No, it looks good on me.” He pouts.

“Yeah, but we’re at a water park. Take it off.”

“You said you liked it.” Oh, so that’s why he’s being like this. Jimin can only sigh. He thinks that stupid beanie is his good luck charm simply because Hani thinks it looks nice on him.

“Tae, don’t be like this.” You reach over and snatch the hat from his head, throwing it into the locker so Hani can finally close it. Jungkook looks over at you gratefully, moving away from his date to stand beside you so he can breathe a little easier.

“We’re about to head over to the wave pool, you coming?” He inquires.

“Actually, we’re going to go on some slides first. We’ll catch up with you later.” Jimin answers, receiving a nod from the group.

“Okay, we’ll try to save you some seats.” Jungkook assures with a wave as you and Jimin turn to leave. Your eyes scan the area while you walk and Jimin catches on to the odd expression adorning your face, sliding his hand into yours and making you jump a little.

“You okay?” He’s concerned and that’s the last thing you need him to be. “What’s with that look?”

“What look?”

“That look you get when you’re overthinking something. You had that same look on your face when we woke up the morning after the club last week.” Heat blooms across your face at the memory, how you tried to act as if everything was normal and cool while getting dressed, but ended up freaking out internally and staring off into space during breakfast. You were worrying about how your friends might feel about your relationship and how things might change between you and Jimin, but of course he was there to dispel all of your worries with kisses and a cute date.

“I’m just thinking.” Brushing off his concern, you mentally scold yourself. This day wasn’t about your ex, seeing him isn’t the end of the world, you should be paying more attention to having fun with your current boyfriend, who wants nothing more than to adore you and make you feel comfortable. Stop giving him things to stress about.

“Would you like to share what you’re thinking?” He asks carefully.

“Nope, it’s not anything important.” Walking a little faster, you squeeze his hand. “Let’s get on this ride, I’ll race you to the bottom!”

It always amazes you how spending time with Jimin can change your mood so easily. He had the ability to erase every doubt and anxiety out of your mind with a simple smile or laugh, and it’s always been like that with him, but now you finally understand the love behind each of his actions toward you. Plus, now he can shamelessly check you out and touch you whenever he wants because you’re officially his. It seems like every time you climbed up the stairs to get to the top of one of those water slides, he made sure you were in front of him just so he could stare at, grab, or smack your ass at any point and time. And each time you would squeal and laugh, shooting him a look when he’d act like it wasn’t him. The two of you breeze through half of the water park before you know it, skin and hair soaked but drying quickly in the heat and sun. Jimin keeps you close and all times, wanting to make sure all the guys who stopped to stare knew you were his.

“Are you hungry, babe?” You ask Jimin, tugging on his arm a little as you pass a food court.

“Starving.” He exaggerates, making you giggle. After you make a stop by the lockers, which you had apparently made it back around to, he returns. “You go order, I’ll find us seats.” He hands you a wad of money from his pocket and sends you off, knowing you already know what to get him since he always orders the same thing anytime you go out somewhere. He watches as you walk away, swaying your hips just a little extra because you can feel him watching, and you smirk to yourself as you imagine the cute blush on his cheeks.

Once in line, you look past the row of heads in front of you toward the menu, deciding what you want to order. The line gets longer behind you, but you pay no attention as you wait for the person at the front to finish, who is apparently ordering every item on the fucking menu, you assume. But then a nauseating stench hits you, one that smells of hair gel and too much cologne and you know who it is before he even starts to speak, already standing too close to you.

“Didn’t expect to see you here.” The man behind you speaks with a hint of amusement in his voice and you shudder, turning slightly to look at him from the corner of your eye. Unsurprisingly, you see that it is indeed your ex who has snuck up behind you. After getting no response, he continues. “This can’t be a coincidence; are you following me? Wow, (y/n), I never thought you’d go as far as stalking me while I’m on a date- I mean that’s a bit much, even for you.” You let out a heavy sigh, knowing that if you keep quiet eventually he’ll stop talking or leave, but also knowing how comfortable he is with having one sided conversations since he never gives anyone a chance to respond to him. “And I was just thinking about you yesterday too, wondering how you’ve been holding up without me... figured you were probably somewhere sulking or crying to your friends, but this? This is just sad. Showing up to spy on me during my date? I didn’t think you were that lonely. I bet you came here alone, didn’t you?”

He keeps talking and you take a step forward as the line moves up, clenching your fists tightly and looking toward the tables, seeing that Jimin had found an empty one and was patiently waiting for you. You hoped he didn’t look up and see your ex talking to you because if he did, you were sure he would storm over and punch his face in for even having the gall to talk to you, and you didn’t have the time or money to bail Jimin out of jail.

“And did you wear that slutty outfit in hopes of winning me back, cuz it’s not gonna work. You can show off all the skin you want, it’s not gonna make you any more attractive.” His malicious words sting a little bit, your rage building up with every word that came out of his sour mouth and all you wanted to do was curse him out in front of everyone. But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue. You think, feeling like Hamlet, caught in a web of misfortune and inconvenience. You settle for turning around calmly, speaking to him in an even and firm voice as not to draw attention to yourself.

“Did you come here just to harass me?” You ask, mustering the straightest face you can hold.

“I’m not harassing you, you’re the one that followed me here to spy on me.” The smug look on his face tells you that all he wants is a reaction from you, your acknowledgment of him giving him exactly what he craved: attention.

“Okay wow,” You scoff. “Don’t flatter yourself. I will never be that desperate, especially not for you. And what makes you think I want you back?” You’re insulted that he even has the audacity to think that about you, much less to say it out loud.

“Well considering how poorly you treated me and my girlfriend last time we saw each other, and how you ruined all of my stuff by throwing it out on your lawn, I figured you wanted to apologize.” Girlfriend. Just the thought of him calling her that makes you sick because, at the time of the incident, you were supposed to be filling that role. It takes everything in you not to yell at him and slap him across the face, your blood boiling at this point.

“Don’t you dare try to play the victim. I caught you cheating. You cheated on me, not the other way around, so don’t even try to act like I’m the bad guy here.” You hiss, speaking lowly and shooting daggers at him with your eyes. You don’t even bother to address all the stuff he said about you before, you don’t care about what he thinks of you anymore, but you would not accept him pretending as if you did something wrong. Jimin spent too much time assuring you of your innocence for him to come and fuck it all up.

Before he can retort, you finally reach the front of the line, addressing the worker with a smile and beginning your order. You can feel him standing behind you, scrutinizing your every movement: the nervous way you rock back and forth on your toes slightly as you recite your order, the way your fingers tap at the counter distractedly while the cashier calculates your change, the politeness in your voice when you thank her and take your large tray of food, skirting past him without giving him a second glance before heading toward the crowded tables. You were always the same and he supposed you shouldn’t change that much in 2 weeks, but there was something different about you. And he only noticed it when he saw you sit at the table with Jimin, smiling and giving each other heart eyes. You were... happy. And confident. And possibly even in love. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Lunch passes quickly, your overpriced food tasting below average yet fully satisfying your hunger, and soon you and Jimin are on your way back to your friends, deciding that now is the perfect time to sit and relax on the beach chairs. There are seemingly hundreds of chairs lined up, clustered together in front of the wave pool where children and adults splash around and play, and there is no way that you’d be able to find where your friends are.

“I think I can see Jungkook in the water over there,” Jimin points, grabbing your hand to lead you into the shallow end of the giant pool. “He’s all the way over in the deep end. Wait here, I’ll go get him.” He announces to you before wading deeper into the crowded waters, avoiding careless children too wrapped up in their games and moving a little too far from their parents. Your eyes are on his bare back as he walks, muscles flexing with every step as he makes his way, and you follow him until he’s chest deep before you look away.

Sitting down on the sloped bank of the pool, you watch the people around you enjoying their day in the sun and think about how this day could have been perfect. How it would have been a perfect date with your perfect boyfriend if That Bastard hadn’t shown up and tried to talk to you. Actually, it still is the perfect date, you’re the only one ruining it. Jimin probably doesn’t even know your ex is here, the thought of him never crossing his mind, but your mind is plagued with images of him and the harsh words he spoke to you back there. You don’t want Jimin to have a bad time because of your mood, but as you’re left alone, it’s starting to become harder and harder for you to fight these negative emotions. You were pretty quiet while you were eating, you wonder if he noticed. If he caught the way you would zone out occasionally and miss his words. Jimin was right earlier, you are overthinking, you always do, and if he tried hard enough, he would probably be able to figure out what exactly you were thinking about. Maybe he’s already figured it out, maybe he saw your ex and has been trying extra hard to cheer you up and show you a good time and you were just being stupid and stubborn by not making an effort to be happier. Once again, you’re screwing up. Just like how you screwed up your relationship and how you ignored all of Jimin’s efforts to show his love for you over the years.

A splash of water hits you straight in the face, jolting you out of your stupor and you’re dragged back into reality by the water that drips down into your ear. “Oops! I’m sorry Miss.” A young girl apologizes, turning back to her brother to yell at him and chase him around. You wave them off, tilting and shaking your head until you can hear from your right ear again.

God, you hate your mind. How did you dig yourself into this self-depreciating hole again? All of the insecurities Jimin has been working so hard to erase have come back so easily after one 5 minute conversation with the narcissistic asshole that cheated on you, and now you’re back to square one. Of course, he’s only had a week to change your mentality, but you were making a lot of progress and you’re throwing it all in the trash right now. You need to pull yourself out of this one this time, it’s not fair to Jimin if you don’t. Plus, you’re in the middle of a water park where you are supposed to be having fun, this is no place for sadness or guilt. Pull yourself together. The only person that thinks you’re a fuck up is you; your boyfriend absolutely adores you and cares about you and that’s all that matters, so you owe it to him to show him that same attention.

Speaking of, here he comes now, and damn does he look fine. Emerging from the water like some sort of god, Jimin makes his way toward you, Jungkook following closely behind, but your eyes don’t even see him. Droplets of moisture slide down your boyfriend’s hard chest and abs, glistening in the light beautifully. Your mouth gets dry and starts to water all at the same time when you take in how he looks when he sweeps the hair off his forehead, bicep bulging at the subtle movement in the most delicious way. His thighs pop from underneath his trunks, golden skin pulled tight over the strong cords of muscle that are built from exercise, and you can feel your pussy clench. Anything you were thinking about prior to seeing him is long gone from your brain and you can barely function until he’s standing right in front of you, looking angelic with the sunlight beaming behind his head. Your savior. The only one who can snatch you from your thoughts. You forget everything you were feeling insecure about moments before.

“C’mon, let’s head over to the seats.” You blink at Jimin when he speaks, only half registering that he’s talking to you. You don’t even notice that the waves have started up again, the increasing tide nearly knocking you over as you continue to sit and stare. He reaches a hand down to you and you take it, allowing him to pull you up from the water with a laugh.

“When did you get so sexy?” You manage to mumble, still ogling him as you follow Jungkook into the maze of lounge chairs.

He blushes, caught off guard by your sudden compliment. “I’ve been shirtless this entire time, why are you only noticing this now?” Cockiness: the ultimate cover up for shyness. You mirror his grin.

“Oh I’ve noticed, Jiminnie. I just keep noticing every time I look at you. You literally make me breathless.” To this he has nothing to say, looking away from you so you don’t see the bashful smile splitting his cheeks. He could say the same about you, but that would go on forever.

“Hey, there you are!” Hani exclaims, jumping up from where she was reclining to run up to your side. “Come with me, I want shaved ice.” Before you know it, you’re being dragged away before you even have a chance to put your things down. The boys look on in confusion.

“What was that about?” Jimin asks Taehyung, who looks utterly unbothered from where he sits. But as soon as he removes his sunglasses, his two friends can see the furrow in his dark eyebrows.

The concession stand isn’t far away, close enough that you can see where the seats are from where you stand in line. Hani stares straight ahead, instructing you to do the same and you listen, not looking at her when you speak. “So what the hell was that?”

“I don’t know what’s up with Taehyung today,” She blurts, causing you to glance at her, but she quickly reprimands you. “But he’s been acting really weird lately.”

“How so?”

“He was being super nice to me earlier and we actually had, like, a real conversation for once.”

“About?”

“About the word ‘date’. I told him I didn’t like that word and he tried to convince me that this is a date.”

“Oh?”

“But that’s not what’s weird. He’s been really clingy and lowkey possessive of me and it’s starting to freak me out.” You hum in thought and she continues. “Like a few minutes ago, when we were trying to find more beach chairs, because originally we could only get 3 that were next to each other, and I went over to this group of guys sitting next to us and finessed them into moving. Then Taehyung had the nerve to look all butthurt and upset like I did something wrong.” You can tell by the way her voice gets higher in pitch that she’s upset.

“Well, were you flirting with them?” You’re well aware of her definition of “finesse” and it usually involves using her body and charm to get what she wants. And it works almost every time.

“No! ...I mean, I can see how it would look like I was flirting from his point of view.” She scratches her cheek and you sigh.

/////

“What happened?” Jimin asks Taehyung, sitting on the recliner next to him after placing down his towel.

“Hani has no respect for me,” He starts, pouting and turning his body away from where you and her are standing.

“I don’t think Hani respects any of us.” Jungkook states, closing his mouth when Taehyung shoots him a glare.

“What did she do?” Jimin presses, glancing up at you two in the distance.

“We were trying to get seats for you guys when she sees these 3 dudes sitting next to us. She goes ‘I’ll ask them to move so we can have 6 seats together’ and I nod, thinking she’ll just politely ask them to sit somewhere else, but the next thing I know is she’s over there bending over and showing off her tits and ass and flipping her hair and those guys are loving it. I swear, I think one of them was actually drooling. Five minutes later, she comes back like nothing happened and says that we can have the seats.”

“So, you’re upset that she used her body to get what she wants?” Jimin questions with a raised brow. As if she doesn’t do that all the time.

“No, I’m upset that she... well... yeah.” Thinking about it, that’s exactly what’s gotten Tae’s panties in a bundle.

“Hyung, she does that to you all the time.” Jungkook points out, snickering at the look of despair on his friend’s face.

“This is different.” He can’t quite put it into words, but this time her antics struck a nerve in him. Tae can’t really explain because they weren’t there, they didn’t see it like he did.

“Why? Because it wasn’t directed at you this time?” Now Jimin is also chuckling, patting his friend on the shoulder as he weakly tries to defend himself.

“That’s exactly what it is,” Jungkook mocks, imitating Tae’s deep voice. “‘I’m Taehyung and Hani’s only allowed to show off for me because we’re fucking and she’s mine now. Her ass belongs to me and nobody else.’” He laughs loudly, Jimin joining in when Tae frantically turns to make sure you and Hani aren’t heading back yet. He doesn’t even question how Jungkook knows about the two of them.

“Shut up! Both of you!” He hisses.

/////

“Maybe he just doesn’t like you flirting with other men.” You reason to her, almost at the front of the line. “Probably because he likes you.” You wiggle your eyebrows at her and she turns her head from you, accidentally looking back toward your friends and making eye contact with the very man she’s trying to avoid. They both look away quickly.

“It’s not my fault if they flirt with me first. I will not apologize for being Fine As Fuck™, sorry not sorry.” Crossing her arms, she steps up in line ahead of you.

“I’m just saying that you don’t always have to flirt back.”

“Whatever. What do you know, you didn’t even notice Jimin had been flirting with you for 5 years.” She rolls her eyes and you choose not to take offense to that.

“Yeah, but once I finally realized, I actually did something about it and that’s why we’re dating today. I know you’re ‘allergic to commitment’ or whatever, but he likes you. And if you like him back then you need to grow some balls and speak up if you want anything more to happen between you two. Lord knows he’s terrible at taking hints. And apparently you are too.” You side eye her. She ponders your words for a few silent seconds before it’s her turn at the register and she orders her beloved shaved ice. She stays silent when you order too, getting an ice cream cone that’s probably too big for you, and you both head over to the flavor station where she can add her favorite flavored syrups until, finally, she breaks the silence.

“Since when did you get so wise?” She sounds a little spiteful, but you just shrug.

“Seems like I’m good at giving everyone advice but myself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m just,” You let out a deep huff, causing her to look at you. “I saw He Who Must Not Be Named here, right after we saw Candy.”

“That Bastard-!”

“Listen!” You whine, cutting her off. “He approached me when I was getting lunch and tried to talk to me.”

“What did he say?” Now the two of you are standing in front of the station, blocking anyone who needs to use the machine, but no one seems to need it so you stay in your position.

“Some bullshit about how I’m spying on him and his whore while they’re on a date. I really don’t feel like repeating it,”

“Understandable.”

“But he really got into my head. Jimin didn’t see him, thankfully, but I felt really bad and insecure and all this shit that made me realize that I’m still not fully over the break up. Of course I’m over him, but this whole thing still feels so fresh and I kept trying to ignore it and distract myself with Jimin, but I’m still so broken. I think... I don’t know.” Bowing your head, you try to control your emotions. Saying this out loud felt worse than you thought it would. You probably sound so pathetic right now.

“Honey, no one expects you to be healed yet. It’s been, what, two weeks? Break ups take time and no amount of friends or perfect new boyfriends is going to change that. We can certainly help to make the healing go faster, but it’ll take time. And maybe these feelings will never go away, but you’ll get stronger and learn to deal with them. It’s way too soon to see him again, I can’t believe he even had the guts to come up to you. Actually, where is he? I need to have a word with him.”

“Don’t. I don’t want anyone interacting with him, he’s not worth it.” A small inkling of you really wants to see Hani beat the shit out of him and his new girl, but you have to be more mature than that.

“Fine, but just say the word and I’ll be there to kick his ass any time, any place.” She smiles, and you thank her fondly. “Anything for my main bitch.” Hani may be salty, loud, and obnoxious most of the time, but there are a few select moments where she can be really sweet. Her loyalty is unmatched by anyone you’ve met and that’s why you’re proud to call her your best friend. She’s had your back since Day 1 and you know that’s not going to change for a very long time. The tender moment is cut short, however, by some douchebag bumping her out of the way to get to the machine you’re both blocking.

/////

“I don’t think you have the right to be angry with her, hyung. She’s not your girlfriend or anything.” Jungkook takes a seat now too, sipping from Taehyung’s water bottle, which he snatches back from his hands.

“Don’t you have a date to entertain or something? Why are you over here with us?” Realization hits Kookie as he remembers that he left Jieun alone in the water, and he gets up in a hurry to rush back to her, hoping she doesn’t think he’s a dick for leaving her.

“He’s right.” Tae scoffs at Jimin, sliding his sunglasses back over his eyes. “I’m not here to tell you that it’s wrong for you to feel that way, but until you actually tell her that you want more, she’s free to do whatever she wants. And so are you.” Both men turn their heads to Hani just in time to see some guy bump into her while she’s flavoring her ice. She looks at him, irritated, but he smiles regardless, bowing his head in apology. They watch as he sparks up conversation, ignoring her raised eyebrows and tight lip to lean in closer to her.

“I know that, but if I’m being honest, I don’t think the flirting will ever stop, regardless of what I do.” Tae slumps.

/////

“That’s not what I meant.” The mystery guy chuckles nervously, clearly intimidated by Hani’s attitude, but obviously not enough to stop talking to her.

“It doesn’t matter what you meant, that’s what you said. Besides, you were already being rude by interrupting our very heartfelt conversation and you’re still being rude because you seem to think it’s okay to start a new one in the middle of ours.” Her pretty eyes bore into his and he’s left speechless for a moment, trying to recover the smooth ease he had a few sentences ago.

He looks to you seemingly for some sort of help but you just take a lick of your ice cream and look him up and down with a judgey raise of your brow. “That was pretty rude of you.”

“Then I apologize, it was my fault-“

“It absolutely was.” Hani cuts him off and his mouth is left hanging.

“I just wanted to know what you two beautiful girls are doing over here all by yourselves.” His toothy grin is back, though he doesn’t pull it off nearly as well as Jimin does, and both of you roll your eyes at his cheesy pick up line.

“We’re not interested.” Hani begins to walk away and you follow at her heels.

“And who says we’re alone?” Looking over your shoulder, you see that he’s taken a few steps toward you, but stops when you glare at him.

“Wait, I didn’t catch your name.” He calls to Hani, to which she replies:

“I didn’t throw it.” Without even glancing back at him. Then she turns and smirks at you triumphantly. “See, I didn’t flirt back. I’m making progress already.”

Back over with the boys, you finally get the chance to sit and relax, offering to share your ice cream with Jimin because it truly is huge, and he gladly accepts. He bites it like a serial killer, but you decide to let it go this one time because it feels nice sitting next to him and just being with him like this. Hani’s reassurance has instilled new confidence in you and you realize that you don’t have to pretend that everything is normal again. Jimin understands that you’re still hurt, he knows he isn’t the Magic Cure to everything, but he’s doing his best to be there for you and keep you happy and okay for now. That’s all he can do, that’s the only thing that’s in his control, and now that you know your role, it’s easier to see his intentions. All he wants is to be happy with you and show you that you’re loved. He isn’t trying to be a replacement or what your previous boyfriend should have been. He’s just being himself and doing what he’s always done best: be there for you.

Jimin isn’t sure how well he’s been doing at this whole boyfriend thing, but you seem to be okay. Something is definitely going on with you today, but he won’t press you if you don’t want to talk about it. Plus, he knows that if you don’t tell him, you’ll most likely confide in Hani, and he’s fine with that. You seem to be doing better than before, more at ease, comfortable, and as you share licks of ice cream, he can’t help but stare at you and get lost in his emotions. He doesn’t understand how someone had this, had you, and let all of it go to ruin so carelessly. God, you’re so beautiful it kills him. The way your eyes sparkle whenever you look up at him, cheeks curling in laughter when he gets a brain freeze. Even the way you swat at tiny bugs that surround your face is cute, your little frustrated huffs making him chuckle. But his eyes are locked on one thing in particular and he can’t seem to focus on anything else: your mouth. It should be illegal for you to look this good, glossy lips parting so you can lick your way up the dripping cone, the action almost seeming erotic when you do it while making eye contact with him. That sinful tongue of yours peeking out to lick away white, creamy goodness that sticks to your chin and the corners of your mouth, leaving them slightly wet and shiny. It reminds him of something else, something he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since your first time together last week, and the imagery is driving him nuts.

“You’re so perfect.” He comments randomly, making you raise your brows at him.

“I’m not.” Pushing hair away from your face, you look down bashfully. He lifts your chin with one finger in the most cliche way, but in all honesty, if you weren’t already sitting your knees would have gone weak.

“Okay, nobody’s perfect, but you’re about as close as it gets. You’re perfect to me.” You can feel yourself blushing, face hotter than the metal of the lounger you’re sitting on, but you’re starting to get used to feeling that way around Jimin. The increased heart rate, flushed face, butterflies, those are all symptoms of being around him and you’re sure they won’t be going away any time soon.

“Where is this coming from?” You ask, smiling as his face nears unnoticeably.

“I told you, I’m going to say it every time I think it just so you know how often I’m thinking about you. So you better get used to taking compliments.” Before you can say anything, your lips collide in a sweet kiss, not deep or hurried, but careful and loving.

“Look at them, it’s like they’re in a fucking movie.” Hani chides playfully at Jimin’s first compliment to a still disgruntled Taehyung. He doesn’t say anything to her but looks at you two, envious of what you have. Yet his heart still bursts with joy that his best friends have found love. This could be us but you playing, he thinks. “Are you still mad at me?”

“I’m not mad at you.” He says simply, returning to his laid back position and shutting his eyes.

“You’re also not a good liar.” She’s too tired to play along, this is becoming painful. “If you’re still in your feelings about me ‘flirting’ with those guys earlier, I’m sorry. I was just trying to get these seats, I didn’t know it would make you feel that way.” Was she apologizing? Hani never apologizes, at least not sincerely. He wants to see where this goes.

“I don’t care about who you flirt with, you’re a grown woman, do what you want.”

“And I’m sorry about the guy at the concession stand. I know you saw. I didn’t flirt back.”

“It’s not about the flirting, Hani-“

“And I’m sorry about what I said earlier, on the Teacups.” This makes Tae stop, looking up at her over his sunglasses before realizing that he probably looks silly and taking them off. “I know what I said sounded harsh, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I said we would never be more than fuck buddies but... I don’t know that. And I don’t know how you feel. Really, I don’t even know how I feel!” She lets out a humorless laugh, shifting her eyes away from him. “I’m... I’m just... such a fucking idiot sometimes. The truth is, I panicked when you said all that stuff about being a couple. I- I got scared because it made me **feel something and I didn’t know what to do with that so I got all defensive and... I’m sorry. We can be whatever you want us to be. I need to stop jumping to conclusions and making decisions for the both of us, it’s not fair to you. So, we can be whatever.”

Tae doesn’t respond, just looks at her looking at him, blinking wordlessly. He isn’t too sure what he should say or what she was expecting to hear from him. Should he forgive her? Leave her on edge a little? He doesn’t know what to do, so he just nods.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” Hani blanches, and for probably the first time ever, Taehyung sees her show a little shame and humility. She’s a person that lives unapologetically with zero regrets and here he is turning her cheeks pink and making her mouth drop open like a fish. “The fuck is ‘okay’ supposed to mean?” But her words don’t hold the usual spice in them, it’s genuine and soft, vulnerable.

“I believe ‘okay’ is a word generally used to show acknowledgement for what someone has just said,” She narrows her eyes at him and he grins. “It means that I’ll take what you said to heart and think about it.”

Before she can reply, you gasp loudly and stand up, streaks of translucent white sliding down your chest between your boobs as Jimin sits there flush faced and dumbfounded. The ice cream (yes it’s ice cream, get your mind out of the gutter) had dropped out of its container and landed straight on your chest while you and Jimin were making out, leaving him sitting there with an empty cone in his hand and a spatter of frozen dairy on your chair. The coldness sends chills down your spine and you shiver, hands up and ready to do something, but there’s really nothing you can do at this point.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom to clean up.” You stutter out, avoiding the amused and questioning looks from the people around you. Taehyung stands up too, leaving Hani with words right on the tip of her tongue.

“I have to go to the restroom too, I’ll walk you there.” And then the two of you are gone, Jimin and Hani staring at your backs as you disappear into the crowd. As you walk, he turns to you, smirking cockily. “Your timing could not have been better.”

“What?” The initial shock is gone but you’re still uncomfortable, keeping up your fast walking pace.

“I don’t know what you said to her earlier, but Hani just apologized to me and I think she was expecting me to confess my feelings to her or something. Then I just stood up and left.” He’s laughing now, almost like he’s lost his sanity, and you don’t know what to say to that. Thankfully, he doesn’t wait for your reply. “I feel invincible right now, like I can do anything! You should have seen her face, I don’t think anyone’s ever left her hanging like that, especially on the rare occasions when she shows emotion. Now she knows how I feel all the time.” It almost feels like justice to Taehyung, the way he’s flipped the tables on her like that. He’s the one being sought after now, not the other way around, and she has to sit there and guess what he’s thinking until he decides to open up and tell her. It’s a game of wit, control, and finally it’s his turn to deal the cards and give her a taste of her own medicine. When he glances over at you, you hear his snort. “You know that looks like cum, right?” He points with one of his long fingers, and you answer him with a glare and a slap at his hand, ignoring his comment.

“I’m happy for you. Just don’t drag it out for too long, or else she’s gonna give up on you and start hating you.” You’ve seen her do it before.

“I won’t.” He sighs as you reach the separate restrooms. He does plan on basking in the mini victory while he can, however.

In the bathroom, you try to collect yourself. Your mind is still reeling, not from the ice cream incident, but from that kiss. You’ve never kissed in public before and now that you’re thinking back on how you probably looked, it’s embarrassing. But it didn’t feel wrong. Everything about it felt right, like his lips were made for you. You wonder how long he’ll keep the complimenting thing going, you’re not complaining, but you imagine that he’ll stop at some point. You don’t want him to stop. You don’t want it to ever stop because it makes you feel good, special, important, loved. It’s amazing how much the little things matter in a relationship, things you never needed or wanted before suddenly become something you thrive off of and you can’t pull yourself back from the high. Jimin calling you perfect, you never thought you needed to hear that until now. And it was sincere, everything in his body language showed you that, and that kiss made you feel more than a little loved. It also made you a lot horny, and now you have to deal with that familiar throbbing between your legs, only this time it calls for Jimin and nobody else.

Fixing your appearance, you take a few deep breaths in the mirror. How can one man make you forget yourself so quickly with just a touch of his fingertips? Jimin has so much power over you in the best way possible and you’ve only been together for a week. But his power is not like the kind your ex gained and abused, no, Jimin earned his by treating you like a human being and loving you with his heart, and you’re certain he would never use that against you. With high hopes, you walk out of the bathroom, only to run into the same metaphorical brick wall that’s been holding you back all this time.

“I saw you with your new little girlfriend and the three stooges over there.” A voice approaches you, causing an immediate headache to form behind your eyes. Something tells you to keep walking and ignore him, but your body freezes against your will and allows him to near you.

“I already know how you feel about my friends, I’m not stupid. But obviously I’m not that smart either because I was dumb enough to date you in the first place.” You mumble out. “And what makes Jimin my ‘little girlfriend’ and not a man? Does he need to act like a dick all the time like you to gain your approval?” The scowl on your lips only deepens when you see his smirk.

“He doesn’t need my approval, he’s just a rebound anyway. I always knew you were quick with the guys...” He drawls. The degrading insults are right on his tongue and he doesn’t even need to directly say them for you to know what he’s implying, to know what he thinks of you.

“So you get to move on immediately after our breakup with no remorse, but when I move on to someone who actually loves me, I’m the slut? Yeah, that makes a whole lot of fucking sense.” You roll your eyes, fed up with this conversation and wishing he would just walk away already.

“I’m not the bad guy here, I found someone better than you; did you expect me to hold myself back just to appease you?”

“No, I found someone better than you; you downgraded from me to whatever the hell that is.” You say, eyes pointing directly behind him and he knows exactly who you’re looking at— the short woman still too intimidated by your last encounter to approach any closer. Your level of sass shocks him for a moment and you know you’ve caught him. Looks like you’ve finally realized you don’t have to take his shit anymore. While he is still speechless, you decide to continue. “And if you weren’t the ‘bad guy’ here you would have taken the shorter, less complicated route and broken up with me long before you started seeing another woman. But you decided to take the most painful way around things and cheat, then lie about it, only to break up with me when you got caught and acted like it was your plan all along!”

He opens his mouth to say something, possibly to defend himself or insult you more, but a third voice cuts in before he can respond.

“Excuse me, ma’am, sir,” A park security guard interrupts, walking to stand right next to you two. He’s not super strong or tall or anything, but he has a uniform and you can tell it makes him feel big. He puffs out his chest a bit as he speaks. “I’m going to have to ask you to keep your arguing and profanity down to a minimum, this is a family friendly environment.”

You make eye contact with him and you must be giving him a death glare because he instantly shrivels up at the sight of it. The guard clears his throat, wishing both of you a good day before thanking you and walking away awkwardly, leaving you to continue your conversation.

“Please stop approaching me, it’s to the point where you look like the stalker here, not me. And I’m gonna repeat this old childhood phrase because apparently you don’t know it: if you don’t have anything nice to say, keep your mouth shut.” With this, you turn your back on him and walk back to where your friends are. He reaches out for you, but you’re quick enough to evade his hand. If he would have touched you, you were sure you would have lost it and punched him in the jaw, but luckily his hand misses and you are able to walk away peacefully. You look up to see a concerned Taehyung who watched the entire scene unfold.

“Do I need to go over there and fuck him up?” He asks in his sweet baritone voice once you reach him.

“No. Why does everyone want to fight him?” You sigh.

“Because he deserves it.” Taehyung shrugs, throwing an arm over your shoulders, and you lean your head into his side as he walks you back over.

“What happened?” Upon seeing the look on your face, Jimin gets up and moves toward you, not taking no for an answer when you try to wave him off.

“She saw-“

“Don’t say his name.” You snap, and Taehyung rolls his eyes.

“She saw That Bastard over there and he felt the need to come up and say something to her. It looked like she handled him pretty well but I was watching to make sure nothing else went down.” Passing you off like a baby, Taehyung hands you to Jimin who pulls you into his arms to cuddle you tight.

“I’m fine, really. It’s not that big of a deal.” You muffle into his chest, cheek pressed against his bare skin.

“That’s it. Where’s Jungkook? We’re going over there to rough him up a bit for talking to our girl like that.” Hani stands up too and now you feel like you’re surrounded, so you push Jimin away gently just so you can breathe.

“Guys stop. Leave it alone. This doesn’t have anything to do with you guys, it’s something that I can handle on my own.” That’s a damn lie and they know it, it shows on their faces.

“But you don’t have to.” Hani stresses, looking straight into your eyes. “We’re your support system, let us help.”

“The best thing you guys can do for me is to help me forget about him. I don’t want this day to become more about him than it is about us having fun together. Can we just pretend that never happened and move on?” With sympathetic stares, everyone nods and let’s it go. The day progresses as if nothing is wrong, you all finish the rest of the slides at the water park before deciding to get dressed once again and head back to the regular park to experience the remaining few rollercoasters.

Jungkook and Jieun have long disappeared from your group, it is their first date after all, so you completely understand that they want to do their own thing for a while. Eventually, Jimin makes the point that you are also on one of your first dates as he pulls you away from Taehyung and Hani, who barely realize as they’re absorbed in their own conversation. From what you heard, Taehyung is finally enlightening her about his feelings, though probably not confessing to her directly, and you wonder if today is the start of something new for them. They’re talk must have went well because you later see them strolling around together, Hani tapping out from the rollercoasters for the rest of the afternoon and instead focusing her energy on winning prizes at the game counters.

You and Jimin just walk for a while, taking in the beautiful scenery around you. He’s watching you, you can feel it, but you try your best to ignore it. Now that he knows what has been bothering you all day, Jimin feels a little guilty. As your boyfriend, he should have done something about your ex, told him to leave you alone and never talk to you ever again or something. But he is more concerned about your feelings more than anything. Gloom has consumed the rest of your energy and you seem almost sluggish now, dragging your feet and staring off into space. He feels responsible in a way and tries to make up for it by actively looking around for anything that may upset you so that he can protect you, but he gets the sense that you’re doing the same, even if it’s not intentional. The two of you get on a few more rides, Jimin even suggesting it despite you knowing how terrified he was of them, but nothing he does seems to lift your spirits.

“Can we just... sit?” You ask him quietly, leading him over to a bench on the side. The oppressive heat swirls around you, but you don’t seem to mind it anymore, refusing his offer of a cold water bottle. So you two just sit in silence and people-watch, observing the hyper kids, disciplining parents, goofy teenagers and their friends, happy couples. Happy couples. Gut feelings are the worst, especially if you don’t know what to expect or why you’re even feeling that way. Jimin’s gut is telling him that trouble is coming. He studies you as your eyes bounce couple to couple, old to young, clingy to awkward. Then your expression changes to one of disbelief and he follows your line of sight until they land on a sickeningly familiar pair. He has never seen your ex’s new fling, but he can tell by the way his arm is coiled around her that she must be Candy. He frowns, watching That Bastard pause with a venomous smirk to make eye contact with you before diving in and devouring her mouth. It’s obscene and unnecessary and 100% a power move just to get under your skin— and it works. Before he can even inhale to say anything, you’re on your feet and bolting away, leaving Jimin in your dust as he scrabbles to grab his bag and chase after you.

You always thought it was so stupid in movies when girls would run away from things that upset them, stumbling through suddenly dense crowds to get away, blinded by their distress and gushing tears. You never understood it— until now as you push people out of the way so that you can get through, sensing their hard stares searing into your back as you run as fast as you can. Of course, you don’t even know where you’re going, searching for anywhere that will allow you to shed your tears in peace and process it all, but privacy is scarce in a place like this and you most certainly don’t have a clue where to find it. Jimin’s voice calls desperately behind you in an effort to get you to stop or at least slow down. He’s faster, but surprisingly less agile in the skill of dodging people, and his frustration grows with every group of people he gets stuck behind as he watches you distance yourself from him. Miraculously, you find an unoccupied family restroom that locks from the inside, and as soon as you reach it, you shut and lock the door behind you to keep out the outside world so that you can finally break down and crumble to the floor.

The room is spacious and astonishingly clean, probably rarely used because of its placement in the park. You don’t know where you’ve run off to, but Jimin doesn’t recognize this part of the park when he looks around, standing outside the locked door, trying to catch his breath. You weren’t running from him, no, but now that you think about it, maybe you were.

“Baby, please open the door.” He pleads.

Maybe you didn’t want him to see you like this, crying hysterically over the fucker that cheated and dumped you two weeks ago. Maybe you didn’t want him to see this side of you. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve cried in front of him, the two of you have been through a lot over the years, but there’s something about this situation that makes it different. He can hear you sobbing on the other side of the door, voice bouncing off the walls of the room and echoing in his ears even from the outside, and you know he knows you’re crying. But you can’t let him see it for himself. There’s a difference between him knowing you’re a mess and actually witnessing it. Something that makes it realer for you. Showing your vulnerability for a man that never loved you, who mentally and emotionally abused you, it makes you feel stupid. And weak. And the worst part is that he’s the reason why you think of yourself this way.

“(Y/n). I’m here for you- I want to be here for you. I know you’re distraught, you have every right to be, just let me comfort you.” Jimin’s gentle voice is slightly muffled through the heavy door. With head and hands pressed to its surface, he hopes you can hear him.

“I don’t want you to see me like this.” Your response comes after another minute or two of sniffling, frantically trying to calm yourself down enough to speak to him.

“I don’t care about what you look like right now, I just want to see you.”

“No, I mean I don’t want you to see me crying because of him.” He’s silent for a moment before you hear his sigh. Imagining the disappointment on his face. “Did you see him?”

“Yes, I saw him. Babe, it doesn’t matter to me that you’re crying about him. The only thing that matters is that you’re okay. It is my job as your boyfriend and best friend— as someone who loves you deeply— to make sure that you’re alright and to comfort and reassure you. That’s always been my top priority and that’s never going to change. So if you need to cry, I’ll be there with tissues. If you need a hug, I’ll be there with open arms and forehead kisses. If you want to hit something, I’ll be your punching bag. But I can’t help you from the outside like this, I never could. Please let me in this time. Don’t shut me out.”

As soon as he finishes speaking, another wave of emotion hits you and drags you under. And this time it’s because of his words. Jimin has always been there for you, and you’ve always been there to push him away. Your stubbornness to open up to him on various occasions has built up a virtually indestructible wall between the two of you, one that you reconstruct every time you feel the slightest bit sensitive. He tries every way he can think of to reach you on the inside of it: go around the wall, jump over it, break through it, but your forces are impenetrable when you want them to be. And now you’ve even created a physical barrier for him to get through. What is wrong with me? Why do I keep doing this? Sitting here thinking about it, you realize that you’ve been hurting Jimin all along. He’s right outside that door, waiting to give you his love and unconditional support and here you are, alone, focused on yourself and the actions of another man. If this relationship is going to work out, you need to learn how to let him into your head and be there for you. He can’t read minds.

When the door finally unlocks, you snatch Jimin in with you before locking it again, back still facing him. Your name slips from his lips and you relent, turning to look at him, and his heart shatters in its cage at the sight of you looking so broken. Immediately, he pulls you into his arms— or were you the one to fling yourself at him?— and your cheek connects with his firm chest. The only time you’ve cried over your recent breakup (that he knows of) is the day that it happened. He remembers when you showed up at his house hiding your tearstained cheeks and puffy, red eyes behind a bag of comfort food and a fake smile as you watched him play video games, avoiding his questions. At that time, all he wanted to do was engulf you in his arms and never let you go, but that’s not what you wanted; you were too stubborn to admit your emotions, using distractions to keep your mind off things so you can overcome your feelings alone. Except, you were never really overcoming them, you were pushing them off to the side, and they kept piling up until the weight of them became too much and they tumbled over, slamming down into you from the slightest push.

Jimin lets you cry for a while, stroking your hair and back, shushing you and whispering sweet nothings to make you feel better, but it was clear that you would need more than this. He could tell that you were still trying to calm yourself down, taking deep, ragged breaths only to burst into another wave of sobs, each one more intense than the last. You’re mind is a whirlwind of torment: thoughts of your ex trying so hard to disturb you, how you’ve been distancing yourself from Jimin, and the fact that you’re not over this whole thing yet and how much you want the pain to be over already. Everything is just pouring out of you right now and you don’t know how to stop it.

“Hey,” He starts softly into your hair. “What’s going through that pretty head of yours?” He wants to say something helpful, but first, he needs to know exactly what you’re upset about. He doesn’t want to assume.

When you manage to peel your face away from his body, you discover that his shirt is soaked with your tears. You apologize weakly, running a hand over the material, but he shakes his head at you. He’s staring down at you expectantly, awaiting your explanation, but you can’t look him in the eyes knowing you look so crazy right now, makeup smeared and ruined, eyes swollen and bloodshot, lip trembling, nose dripping. He reaches over to give you something to wipe your face with other than his shirt and you thank him before attempting to speak.

“What does he have against me? Why does he want to see me suffer so badly?” And you’re crying again, this time into the saturated paper towel pressed to your face. But you try to continue. “Even when we dated, he always tried to hurt me. Convince me that I would never do better than him, that I should be honored that he chose me. I feel so dumb because I’m only just realizing that he sucked me into his little game; that he only wants to break me, and he won’t even stop now that we’re not together anymore! You all told me he was a piece of shit. I should have listened. And I’m starting to accept those past mistakes, but seeing him kiss her-“ You fight to hold back your cries. “It felt like a slap in the face. That was him telling me that I meant absolutely nothing, that he didn’t care about me or my feelings and that he wanted me to see how fucking happy he is with his new whore, without me. I just don’t understand why anyone would do something like that! I want him out of my life!”

“You’re not going to like this, but I have to say it.” Jimin starts, making you look up into his eyes finally. “(Y/n), the only reason he’s still in your life is because you’re keeping him there. He may be physically away from you, but he’s still controlling you in a way. He controls how you think, what you wear, even how much fun you have while you’re doing things that have nothing to do with him. It’s almost like you’re waiting for him to come back and say something to you, comment on the way you’re living your life, and all of that means that you still care significantly about what he thinks about you— about us— when he probably never cared about your thoughts and emotions to begin with, even while you were dating.” Your eyebrows knit together and you shut your eyes, trying to control your breathing. “I know that hurts, it’s supposed to, but you needed to hear it. I love that you care so deeply about people, you have the biggest heart out of anyone I know. But I almost wish you didn’t because then this wouldn’t be so hard on you.”

“I can’t not care about him, I spent 2 years caring and worrying about him. I think I just want to see something, anything, that shows me that he had any feelings for me at all. And he’s doing everything in his power to show me that I was nothing to him.” Jimin wipes away your slowing tears with his hand, grabbing another paper towel.

“But I think that’s just it. You did mean something to him, he wouldn’t have stayed with you for that long if you didn’t, but now he’s overcompensating to hide the fact that he regrets his mistake and is just as upset as you are. I’m sure he hasn’t paid any attention to Candy ever since he saw you earlier today. If you were unimportant and she meant anything to him, don’t you think he would have spent his time with her instead of following us and plotting how to get a reaction out of you? He’s just using her. To get to you. We know he’s manipulative, you know that, so you can’t let him keep controlling you like this. You have to let him go.”

“I’m trying.” More tears fall down your face, but he’s quick to catch them.

“I know you are. And I’m aware that it’ll take time, but I’ll be here for you every step of the way. I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy. I’m happy with you. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been! Please don’t think that this means I love you any less.” Your arms wrap around his body again, pulling him close to feel his heartbeat. “He thinks you’re just a rebound, that I’m just dating you to spite him. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m not going to lie, I have thought about the possibility that I’m just a rebound...” His body tenses slightly and you can’t believe your ears. “I know I’m not, but I also knew that you would need time to recover from this. Maybe we were too quick to jump into this relationship-“

“Jimin, I would never do something like that, especially not to you. I love you and I want to be with you, and that has **nothing to do with him.” Suddenly you’re stoic, tears dried and eyes alight with flames at the thought that he would even think that. You were completely unaware that he felt this way, that your obsession with your ex’s obsession with you was making him feel insecure and unsure of your feelings for him. And you suppose that’s all on you.

“Good.” He can’t help the smile that lifts his lips, the corner of yours lifting a bit too. “Sometimes I’m selfish and I want you all to myself. I know this isn’t about me or my feelings because you still need time to heal, but sometimes I get jealous when you think about him while you’re with me.” A cute pout forms on his lips and his aegyo is unmatched. “Like earlier when you kept zoning out. I knew you were thinking about him, but I wanted so badly for you to be daydreaming of me. Because I’m always thinking about you.” Pulling you closer, your hips connect so that your bodies are flush against each other, faces an inch apart.

“But I do think of you, you’ve been running through my mind nonstop for the past week.” Your hand climbs up to brush his cheek, tracing the soft flesh as you look into each other’s eyes.

“Well, you’ve been running through my mind since the day I met you. You must be exhausted.” A playful scoff leaves you when he says this, a genuine smile lifting your cheeks.

“Terrible joke.” The mood breaks and you’re both caught in a fit of giggles, bodies still pressed together.

Jimin can only think about how beautiful you look right now, even after you’ve been crying, and he takes this time to admire you. You think you’re weak for breaking down over your ex, but Jimin thinks you’re incredibly strong for having the guts to move on from a person like him and make the effort to live a normal life again after everything you’ve been through instead of locking yourself in your home and moping all day. He recalls that time his ex-girlfriend broke up with him and he didn’t leave his house for several days in a row until you came and forced him to get up. You’d said that the best revenge he could get on his ex is to resume his life like nothing happened and to move on. And that’s what he did. Of course, it was much easier for him to do this when the woman that he truly loved all along was right with him every step of the way. He was really thankful that you were there for him and he’s even more thankful that he gets to be here for you to return the favor.

Before you both realize it, you’re leaning in, laughter having died down until all that remains is genuine longing and trust in your eyes. The first kiss lands softly on your lips, tentative and sweet before he pulls back to look for your reaction. But all you do is wrap your hands around his neck and pull him down for something deeper, surprising him with the force you use as you part his lips with yours, nibbling his bottom lip and encouraging sounds from both of you. The temperature in the room seems to spike higher as you continue to make out, and the sudden urge to rip each other’s clothes off starts to consume you. His hips roll into yours slowly, his semi erect length pressing into your stomach and pulling a moan from you when you break the kiss for air. Biting your lips, you drop your hands down to his bulge, palming him through his pants and pressing kisses to his chest.

“We don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.” Jimin says, although his fingers press against your waist when you undo his button and zipper. “I don’t want you to think that you have to do anything for me.”

You appreciate his concern, always the gentleman, but at this point the fire in the pit of your stomach from earlier has reignited just from being alone with him and you can’t think of anything you’d rather be doing than this. “That’s nice and all, but I’ve been dying to do this since we got here this morning. I’ve been wet ever since I saw you walking around at the water park.” You say as you push his shorts down just enough so that you can pull him out.

“I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that was horny while we were there.” He finally relaxes when you sink down to your knees, licking your lips when you are eye level with his dick. “But I need to hear you say it first, just to make sure. Tell me that you want this.” He stares down at you expectantly as you adjust your position, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

“I want this,” You say, placing kisses along his hips as you speak, running a hand up his stomach to move his shirt out of the way. “I want your lips... I want your cock... I want your cum...” Finally reaching his tip, you give it a small lick before moaning. “I want you.” And then you’re leaning forward to take his entire length into your mouth, still only half hard so he fits easily. A loud hiss of surprise leaves his lips, followed by an unfiltered groan of pleasure when he feels how wet and hot your mouth is around him. One hand falls to the top of your head, tangling in your hair as you begin to bob up and down on him.

“You can have me, baby, I’m all yours.” Jimin can’t take his eyes off of you, the sight of his cock stuffed down your throat enough to hypnotize him. He’s pictured this thousands of times, yet somehow this still surpasses every one of his expectations. Your smooth lips slide easily up his shaft, tightening as you suckle on his tip, running your tongue all around the head. Precum leaks onto your taste buds and you groan, pussy throbbing with desire when you feel him rapidly stiffening inside you, his weight heavy on your jaw. You take him in all the way a few more times to wet his flesh with your thick saliva and he watches with glazed eyes as it dribbles down your chin while your hands twist expertly along him.

“You’re getting hard so fast. Like what you see?” You tease, earning yourself a little tug on your hair, but to Jimin’s surprise, you moan in response. Before he can say anything, you reconnect your lips to his head, bobbing shallowly along the sensitive area as both your hands squeeze and jerk the rest of his now completely erected cock. His breath hitches and his abs contract, already glistening with the sheen of sweat.

“Ah, fuck,” He throws his head back when you suck harder, eyes still peering up at him beautifully. “This is the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You’re amazing at this, baby girl.” The breathless quality of his praise makes you hum, cheeks heating up at the view you have of him from this angle. He looks like a classical piece of artwork, sculpted and chiseled everywhere that counts, his plump lips wet from the amount of times he’s licked them as his dark eyes fall on you. His stare makes your knees wobble beneath you, already damp panties now gushing with wetness at the way his fingers caress your scalp gently in appreciation. You use your tongue to eagerly lap at his sopping slit, tasting more of his salty flavor as he finally lets loose an honest moan that you can feel through your mouth. “Can you take more of me, baby?”

He moves his hips a bit, sliding just a little further down your tongue and you smile up at him through your eyes, humming an answer before removing one, then both of your hands and letting him penetrate your throat when you press forward until your nose tickles his base. Another loud groan rips from his chest, reverberating against the hard walls and ringing in your head. His fingers grip your hair tight and you have to squeeze your eyes and legs shut at the bolt of pleasure and pain that travels through you, satisfaction written all over you despite the dampness of your eyes. You deep throat him a few more times, relaxing your jaw and focusing on breathing through your nose so that you don’t gag around his thick girth, but the moment his hips jerk, your muscles tighten again and you lose your rhythm, producing an obscene gagging noise as your throat closes around him. His hand in your hair offers the slightest bit of resistance when you pull back, and upon looking up at his face, you find pure, unadulterated bliss on his features, teeth sinking into his lower lip to hold back the slew of sounds on the tip of his tongue. Jimin wants so desperately to look at the wonders you’re working below his waist, but he feels like if he looks down at you he’ll lose his load right there and that’s not how he wants this to end. Especially not when he noticed the way that one of your free hands snuck down into your shorts not long ago.

“Good?” You ask when you see that he still hasn’t opened his eyes yet. You’re still trying to catch shaky breaths, swallowing hard to regain use of your throat and Jimin is still standing there looking shell shocked. As soon as he opens his eyes to reassure you, you go down on him again, this time intentionally making yourself choke once his tip enters your throat. Holding yourself there for a few seconds, you listen to the ragged breaths and small whimpers Jimin makes above you, thighs and fingers trembling ever so slightly in restraint.

“Holy s-shit, (Y/n), just like that,” He curses, trying his hardest to keep his eyes open. “That’s my good girl, taking this cock so well. You look so pretty choking on my cock.” You had already witnessed his dirty talk the first time you fucked, yet you’re still surprised by the filthy words he produces so easily. You wonder if you’ll get to see another side of him today. He strokes your cheek with one hand, loving how he can feel himself sliding in and out through the thin layer of your hollowed skin. He takes in your gorgeous face as you continue to take him deeply, using one hand to stroke what you can’t fit, and he thinks he’ll go insane. Your glittering eyes brim with fresh tears, this time not from sadness or anger, but from the effort you put into making him feel good. Your cheeks are splashed with color both from the heat and from your actions, and sweat beads at your forehead as you work tirelessly on him.

You’ve slowed to a steady pace, sensually licking up and down his cock while making intense eye contact with him, just like you had done with your ice cream earlier. He’s getting close now, you can tell by the subtle throbbing that starts at his base, and you work on making yourself look as visually pleasing as possible. He’s watching you like a hawk as you pull your mouth off of him, gazing at him innocently as you lick up and down his veins, teasing the frenulum and circling around the tip. You allow more spit to drip onto him, everything now soaking, and the sight makes him dizzy with arousal, but when you remove your hand from your panties and use it to play with his balls, that’s when he draws the line. Your fingers are sticky and wet on his spit slicked sac and he feels he’s reached his breaking point, so he yanks you away from him by the hair and pulls you up before you can even blink.

He doesn’t want to cum like this, he needs to be inside you.

Smashing his lips against yours, Jimin backs you into the nearest wall so he can push his body against yours, wanting to feel all of you. By the time he pulls away, you’re gasping for air, taking in large puffs as he kisses his way down your jaw, your neck, down to the collar of your shirt. And then it’s gone. He has it up and over your head in no time flat along with your bra, tossing them aside onto the counter. Once you’re exposed, he dives in to kiss around your chest, licking everywhere but the erected peaks that practically tingle for his attention.

“Jimin, please.” You moan, eyes shut as you rest your weight against the wall. He plants pecks and love bites all along your skin, sure to leave them in covered areas, and you hiss at the sting of his teeth, whining when he uses his tongue to soothe over them. Your fingers card through his hair, pushing it away from his face gently as you try to be patient about the call of your nipples and the drip between your thighs, but you don’t have to wait long because soon he’s licking over the buds hungrily, sucking one of them into his mouth and pinching at the other with unforgiving fingers. “Ah!”

The thigh he has pressed between your legs catches you by surprise when your hips roll into it unintentionally. Toes curling in your shoes, you jolt at the sensation, throwing your head back to crash into the wall. He looks up at you in shock and concern when he hears the noise and you both stare at each other for a second before breaking out into cute giggles, his hand reaching up to rub the back of your head.

“Be careful, silly.” He grins, offering a quick peck to your lips before slipping back into that dominant, lust driven mask he wore just moments ago. “Grind on my leg, baby.” The duality is shocking. His words stir something within you, though, and you immediately comply, rubbing against him experimentally. To help you, he quickly removes your shorts, leaving just your drenched panties as a barrier against his clothed thigh. And then he’s back to sucking your other breast with enthusiasm. The feeling of his hard muscles rubbing on your clit is more than relieving, and you practically melt into a nice rhythm that has you moaning instantly. “Fuck, you’re so wet I can feel you soaking through my pants.”

“S-Sorry.” You apologize quietly, cheeks burning when you realize that it’ll probably leave a stain, but Jimin doesn’t care.

“I want you so badly, baby girl.” He groans, hands on your ass to help you move on his thigh. Your breathing picks up, chest rising and falling right in front of his face as he places more marks between the valley of your breasts. Circling your hips, you can only focus on the empties inside of you, wishing it was filled with his thick, hot cock that rests only a few inches from you, twitching with the need to be touched. The thought sends heat throughout your body and you speed up your movements, gripping onto Jimin’s shoulders when you feel your high approaching. He flexes his muscle and your eyes roll to the back of your head from the new sensation, and suddenly you’re moaning his name desperately, bucking into him a few more times before you finally reach your peak, both of you groaning into each other’s necks. You cling to him, legs shaky and body weak, but your pussy still aches and pulses for the cock that he has pushed against your upper thigh.

“Watching you cum never gets old,” He sighs, playing back the moment in his mind until you snap him out of it.

“Jimin, fuck me.” You whisper, balling up his shirt in your fists. Ever since your first time together last week, you’ve been dying to experience him again. You’d never tell him this, but you’ve masturbated to memories of that night almost everyday this week, and you can’t wait to make new ones. You think you’ve fallen in love with his dick.

Grunting in agreement, Jimin grabs hold of the back of your thighs, lifting you effortlessly to pin you against the wall with his body weight. His lips meet yours hastily as his hands move to grip your ass, fingers slipping beneath the crotch of your panties to play with your slit before pulling the material to the side and finally exposing you. He wishes he could see what you look like below him, shiny and swollen with arousal, pussy silently pleading for him to enter you.

“Such a needy little pussy you have, baby girl.” His eyes drop to watch as he easily inserts two fingers into you. “Always wanting more, huh? Cumming on my thigh wasn’t enough, you need to be filled with something before you can be satisfied, is that it?”

“Yes,” You gasp when a third finger stretches you, thrusting quickly until you’re completely relaxed, ready to take more. Jimin leans in to kiss your neck, just barely holding himself back from sucking dark marks there for everyone to see. He wants to mark you, claim you as his, show you off and remind you that you’re his now and that he’ll never let you go or do anything to hurt you.

“All you have to do is ask, baby, I’ll be more than happy to please you.” Mumbling into your neck, he skims his tongue higher and nibbles on the lobe of your ear, loving how you shut your eyes and roll your head in delirious need.

“Babe,” You whine in disappointment when he removes his fingers from you, grinding into his hips for some type of friction as you watch him lick his fingers clean while holding heated eye contact with you. He raises an eyebrow, waiting for you to speak. “Jimin, will you please fuck me?”

“You want this cock?” He asks, sending pleasant chills down your spine as his breath tickles your ear, one of his hands positioning his tip to barely brush the outside of your weeping folds. He makes a noise when he feels a long string of your juices drip out of you to kiss his head, the cool liquid making him twitch against you. You whimper then nod, his nose skimming the side of your face delicately. “Then beg for it.”

“Beg for it?”

“Beg for it.” He confirms with a wicked grin, watching the way your eyes search his in doubt. He’s serious, you realize, and that only makes it hotter. You’ll do anything he asks at this point, all if it means that his dick ends up inside you at the end of it.

“Baby, please, I need you inside me. Show me I’m yours, take me against this wall and make me forget about everything but your cock.” Saying these words while looking him in the eyes affects you more than you thought it would and you’re surprised just how into dirty talking you are. He’s starting to bring out another side of you that you didn’t know existed.

“Keep talking.” He rasps, his soft tip finally beginning to push inside. The stretch isn’t as bad as last time, but you’re far from used to it, lacing your hands in his hair and pressing your forehead to his to endure the slight burn.

“God, you’re so big,” Your mouth hangs open, gaping at the way he manages to rub all of your sensitive spots with his shallow strokes, still pushing himself in deeper. “I’ve dreamt about you every single day since that night— how you touched me, how you kissed me, how you made me feel so loved even as you fucked me into your mattress.” It’s hard to breathe when he’s stealing your breath away like this, staring into your soul with his chocolate eyes and reaching for your cervix with his cock. “Fuck, why did we wait so long to do this again?”

Jimin grunts, lowering you the rest of the way down his shaft. Your eyes roll to the back of your head when he’s fully sheathed inside, your legs tight around his waist to keep him close. “You’re everything to me,” He replies, kissing your lips slowly and delivering soft circles of his hips so you can feel him moving inside you. “I didn’t want you to think that I was only after sex from you. You’re so much more than that.” His lips feel cool in the now stifling room, tongue soothing against yours.

“I never thought that about you, Jimin. And I want you to know that that’s not what I’m after either.” You smile. “But right now, I really need you to destroy me.” Wiggling your hips as much as you can between him and the wall, you urge him move. With one more kiss, he slips back into his dominant persona, squeezing your ass hard in his hands, cold rings pressing against your skin as he pulls out of you, relishing in the sound of your slick before slamming into you with enough force to jolt you up the wall. You can’t even breathe with the first thrust, but the succession of thrusts that follows pulls heavy gasps and moans from your lips.

His hips settle into a rhythmic beat, slapping against the back of your thighs and ass as he readjusts so that his arms are hooked beneath your knees. He groans when he’s allowed the slightest bit deeper, pushing you tight to the wall to make sure you don’t move as he plows into you. The pain of your bare shoulder blades digging into the hard concrete goes practically unnoticed, you’re on cloud nine. The ache you’ve been feeling, the void left inside you that just so happens to be in the shape of his dick, the need to be closer to him: it’s all being relieved right now. Feeling him drag against your insides and hold your body close to his is damn near euphoric, you practically feel high.

“I missed this pussy,” Jimin’s teeth finally give in and nip at your shoulder and collarbone. The thought of warning him against it briefly crosses your mind in the one second between thrusts, but as soon as he’s back in— deliciously deep— you drop all complains. “So warm and soaking for me. I can feel how it sucks me back in, so greedy, baby girl.” You hear the smirk in his voice, shaking slightly with the power of his movements. It’s loud in here, every little sound bouncing off the surfaces of the room and magnifying. Every slap of his hips, every ragged breath, all of the whimpers and moans leaving your throat. It’s not hard to hear the sounds Jimin makes for you, how he sucks in through his teeth and groans quietly, trying to control himself solely for the purpose of not cumming too soon. People outside can probably hear it too, but right now, it’s only you and him in your own little world. “Fuck, you feel like heaven.”

He pulls you away from the wall so that he’s standing on his own, your arms instinctively tightening around his neck until your chest is flush with his. The hands placed on your ass slide higher onto your thighs as he starts to bounce you, up and down, up and down, gliding effortlessly along his pole.

“S-Shit,” You whine, a mixture of lust and fear coursing through you at the height you’re getting. Jimin carries you like you weigh nothing, his delectable biceps looking solid as ever as he repeatedly lifts you into the air and drops you down to impale yourself on him. From this angle he can see the sweat dripping off of you, face contorted in ultimate pleasure from the depth he’s getting, tip kissing your cervix in a different angle each time. Your breasts bounce harshly in front of him looking jiggly  and soft and he holds his mouth open, hoping one will land there for him to suck. This is definitely one of his fantasies— not fucking you in a family restroom— but him having you like this, fully suspended in the air and scratching at his shoulders in delight. He’s only seen this in porn, all of the girls looking like twigs in comparison to the bulky men that carry them, and he didn’t think he could do it. But the adrenaline and testosterone flowing through his veins right now is enough to convince him to do anything— even fuck you in a public space and make you moan in a room that may or may not be soundproof to the outside world. But he couldn’t care less about that now when you feel so good around him.

He grunts through gritted teeth, going hard and deep and neglecting the fast pace he set earlier. Your soft walls steal every thought from Jimin’s brain as his fluid hips snap into you on every down stroke and you can’t help but cry out.

God, it feels like he’s in your guts, rearranging your organs with the tip of his cock and carving out a home for himself. “Keep going,” You thought going this deep would be painful, but now that you’re here, it’s never felt better. This was exactly what you’ve been craving since last time, wanting him to fill you up in every sense and leave you breathless. You feel like your pussy just might swallow him up, his balls smacking against your ass with every collision, and it’s so good that you don’t notice the bright red lines you leave on his nape and back. “I think I-“

He looks up to find your eyes rolling back again, eyebrows knit and lips parted. “Like this, baby?” He keeps up the steady pace, head thrown back to peer up at you when he feels your walls begin to flutter.

“Yes, like that,” You nearly whisper, feet flexing at his sides where your legs flop helplessly. No more words can escape you, only loud whines of what he assumes is his name, and before you know it, your orgasm is suddenly crashing down on you, locking up all of your muscles as Jimin continues to bounce you languidly, moaning his own praise into the skin of your chest.

As you come down, he moves you to the counter of the sink, your ass meeting the cool marble, but you’re too fucked out to have a reaction. Having slipped out in transition, Jimin stands there and strokes himself as he watches your hazy eyes refocus on him. He’s not as close as he was before, but he has a feeling he won’t have trouble getting back to that point once he’s back inside your sopping heat.

“Mm, I wish I could take a picture of you right now.” His voice is almost a growl, his unoccupied hand lifting your thigh to pull you to the edge. “You look so fucked out; but I’m not done with you yet, baby. Can you take it?” He stares at you with genuine eyes, rubbing himself on your sensitive clit. It throbs under him and you jerk your hips, taking a deep breath to compose yourself.

“I can always take it for you.” Batting your lashes at him, you bite your lip and hope he doesn’t question you further. You were starting to feel empty again. Thankfully, he doesn’t and plunges in without further hesitation, moaning out your name and digging his fingers into your hip.

“That’s my good girl.” He grins when you clench at his praise. With your legs spread as wide as they can go, you lean back on one arm, keeping one hand latched to the back of his neck for support. You can feel yourself leaking onto the counter top where your ass is perched on the edge, making a mess as it covers his balls and the inside of your thighs, further soiling your panties that remain pushed out of the way of your opening. He’s rough with you, speeding up with every flex of his powerful hips and gripping desperately onto your waist to prevent you from slipping away. His eyes are focused between your legs and you follow the pink of his tongue with your eyes when it swipes against his lips, nearly salivating from the view. “Look,” He growls, grabbing the back of your neck to angle your head down to where you are connected. “I want you to watch how I split your pussy open, see how well you take me as I stretch you out. I could look at this all day, fuck.” He slows down, only for a few strokes, mesmerized by how shiny you make his member and how your lips open wide to accommodate him. “You’re so beautiful.”

You see what he sees, but pay more attention to his appearance. The thighs beneath him bulge with defined muscle, skin now glistening with the sweat that builds on both of your bodies in this humid room. His prominent v-line and hipbones look so enticing that you crave to kiss at them and leave marks on his milky skin. He doesn’t pull out very far, but every glimpse you get of his cock seems to affect you. God, you could worship his cock for hours if he’d let you. Maybe you’ll ask one day. It’s fat and veiny and a deep red color due to the blood that’s built up there from being hard for so long. On its surface gathers a creamy mixture of your cum and wetness, collecting at his base and sticking to the fine hairs of his pubic bone. You can hear the way he sucks in air as he watches himself glide through your folds with ease, a tense pressure sitting in his balls as he gallops toward his release.

“Baby,” You sigh, pulling him down to your lips to swallow the sounds in his throat. “Are you going to cum soon?” You ask between pecks, both of you struggling to breathe as you grind your hips into his to help him when he starts to falter. Forehead pressed to yours, he nods and squeezes his eyes shut, the clench of his jaw defining the strain on his face. You can’t help kissing him again, moaning when he tangles a hand in your hair and tugs lightly.

“Where do you want me to cum?” Jimin slows down a little, rolling his hips sensually instead of the brutal thrusting from before so he can make sure he hears you properly.

“Cum in me.” You state, leaning back on both hands and arching into him.

“You sure?” The surprise on his face is so pure, although the way he bites his lip at your confirmation is anything but. The groan that grazes your ears as he wraps his arms around you makes you shudder and clench. No one has ever cum inside you before, not even your ex, despite you being on the pill. He liked to cum on your face and chest and leave it to dry— quite degrading in your opinion— but he said it looked good on you so you’d let him do it. You never let him cum inside you no matter how many times he begged, it just never felt right, but now that Jimin is in his place, you want it more than ever. You want him to know that you are truly his. That he can have every single inch of you.

A succession of moans fall from Jimin’s lips, each one louder than the last, and fuck, if that isn’t the hottest thing you’ve ever heard, you don’t know what is. He keeps up with the grinding, muscles clenching and tightening as he nears his end, hips becoming less fluid as he rubs himself between your velvety walls, eyes squinting to stay open as he looks in your eyes. You nod at him, sucking on your lips to quiet your own whimpering so you can hear him better. Taking his hand, you bring it to one of your breasts, encouraging him to squeeze it in his palm, and that seems to be what finishes him, his fingers digging into the soft flesh when you feel him pulse inside you.

“Fuckfuckfuckfuck,” Jimin groans, dropping his head to your chest and struggling with himself to keep his hips moving to milk out his release. You move your own hips to his benefit, relishing in the hisses and uncontrollable moans that fly from him as he spills his love into you, the thick white substance leaking out alongside his shaft every time he withdraws from your warmth. It feels nice, satisfying. You never thought feeling him this way would make you feel so... complete. His tip rests inside you as he catches his breath, panting between the valley of your breasts and kneading at your hips with his gentle fingers. Your hands run through his sweaty hair, pushing it from his face and cradling his head to you, and you hope he can hear how hard your heart is beating, how full it feels. When he’s collected himself enough to move, he pulls away to smile brightly at you. “That was...”

“Incredible.” You finish for him, pulling him in for a deep kiss that quite literally steals your breath away. He pulls away, panting, and finally allows his softened length to slip out of you, though he’s not completely flaccid yet. His cum dribbles out of you despite your best efforts to keep it in and the uncomfortable feeling causes your face to scrunch up.

“Damn, that’s sexy.” Jimin’s eyes scan the mess dripping from your lower lips and it’s almost embarrassing, but the way he groans and drops to his knees in front of you quickly dispels your shyness. “Can I clean you up, baby?” He asks, all doe-eyed and cute, thumbs on either side of your entrance spreading you apart. He isn’t about to do what you think he is, is he? He can’t be serious. But the want in his expression tells you that he is.

“S-sure.” You aren’t sure exactly what you’re agreeing to, but he makes it a point to show you, diving tongue first into your slick lips, licking up everything that covers the inside and outside of you. Your walls throb at the sight and feeling of him slurping up the mess between your legs, making sure not an inch of you goes untouched by his tongue until you’re licked clean, his gaze never leaving yours. When he’s done, he leans back to show you the ungodly mixture of cum (both yours and his), arousal, and saliva in his mouth before swallowing it all down. You may have just discovered a new kink of yours.

“There,” The handsome man in front of you rises from his knees to stand before you. “All clean.” You can’t help kissing him again, wrapping your limbs around him in hopes of staying in this moment forever. Comfortably in his arms and still feeling the rush of endorphins that your previous activities provoked. It is with great reluctance that he pulls away from you.

Neither of you know what to say in this moment. The room is quiet again and your surroundings begin to return as you try to relax, taking it all in. Clothes are scattered all over the counter and floor, you’re in a public family restroom at an amusement park, and you and your boyfriend stand here naked in the center of it. Not to mention, this room is sweltering. Beads of sweat trail down the sides of your face and you wipe them away, noticing the discomfort of your now sticky spot on the sink counter.

“Wanna get out of here?” You ask, both of you giggling as Jimin helps you to your feet, gathering your clothes and handing them to you so you can get dressed. You’ve almost forgotten the whole reason you locked yourself in here in the first place. Almost. But it doesn’t really bother you that much anymore. You stop Jimin with his hand on the door, pulling him into one more tight hug. “Thank you, Jimin, for everything. I love you a lot, don’t forget that.”

His hands meet your cheeks and he pulls your lips to his for a gentle kiss, reluctant to pull away. “I love you, too. And I’ll always be here for you.” He stares into your eyes for another deep moment before moving back to the door.

You meet up with Taehyung and Hani as you make your way back to where the rides are, and they look you up and down, at first in concern, and then in disbelief.

“You seem to be in a significantly better mood.” Hani comments with a knowing look on her face. Usually you were able to keep your cool around her and not let on to more than you want her to know, but your reddening ears give you away when you think back to your recent encounter. You can practically feel where her eyes are glued to the colored faint marks at the base of your neck. Jimin’s arm pulls you into his side proudly, making some comment about being an amazing boyfriend and being able to take care of your “needs” which makes Taehyung chuckle, and then the four of you are off to look for Jungkook and his date in preparation to leave.

“Should we try to find the others?” Jieun inquires adjusting the straps of her bag on her shoulders. Having just finished the last rollercoaster of the park, the adorable pair had just completed all of the main attractions for the day and were almost back around to the front of the park where most of the souvenir shops and restaurants were located. It’s late afternoon, the sun beginning it’s descent toward the horizon, temperature cooling off just the slightest bit.

“We could do that...” Jungkook hesitates and avoids his date’s eyes. “Or we could keep walking around by ourselves? I like spending time alone with you.” The boy rubs the back of his head bashfully, showing off a bunny smile that Jieun can’t resist. He can’t tell what she’s thinking— and he hates making assumptions— but her responding grin is enough reassurance for him to boldly take her hand in his and squeeze.

“I like spending time with you too, Jungkook. I like you.” Her eyes disappear behind a blush, but she doesn’t look away from him, instead reaching up on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek to then watch it blossom into a spread of red all over his face and neck. He’s as red as a tomato yet oh-so-satisfied.

“How about we get that funnel cake? I’m buying.” They share a huge serving of the treat, powdered sugar sticking their fingers together but enjoyed nonetheless, and Jieun couldn’t be happier. “After meeting my only requirement, I officially declare you as redeemed. I will completely forget about that whole carnival prize ordeal, but there’s one more condition. One more thing I want before I can do that.” Jungkook gives a fake exasperated sigh, tilting his head cutely.

“And what would that be?” His dark hair hangs in front of his eyes, jawline sharp and inviting.

“I want you to...” She leans close to him, eyes deadly serious, and anxiety builds in the pit of his stomach, “kiss me.”

“Pardon?” He isn’t sure he heard her right, but when she cocks her head coyly, an arrogant smirk finds his lips before he’s leaning in to steal hers. The kiss is quicker than she’d like, but there’s a knowing look in Jungkook’s eyes that tells her that he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s teasing. Almost as if to say “there’s more where that came from’ along with promises that will be fulfilled behind closed doors. She just shakes her head at him, getting up to throw away their trash and pulling him up by his hand, intertwining their fingers as they stroll around.

Walking into one of the gift shops, they begin to look at clothing and accessories printed with cartoon characters and the theme park logo, something to take home as a memory of the occasion. Well, aside from the giant Iron-Man plushie they had left with Hani and Taehyung. Just as they make their way over to the hats and fanny packs section, Jungkook catches sight of something that makes his blood boil. Yes, something—the monster of a person that hurt you and your precious heart, to be more specific. His sharp inhale catches Jieun’s attention and she questions him, concerned gaze skimming the store as Kookie explains through his teeth.

“That’s the asshole that cheated on (Y/n). What the fuck is he doing here?” His eye are like knives as they point toward the unsuspecting man, who has the nerve to look happy and carefree. He doesn’t know if you’ve seen him or not, but he has the strong urge to protect you and get a little revenge in your name.

“It looks like he’s with someone.” She points, face scrunching at the greasy looking woman.

“I should go over there.”

“What? No! I don’t think it’s a good idea to pick fights with your friend’s ex.” Jieun, the voice of reason, whispers, looking alarmed.

“I’m not going to fight him, just mess with him a bit. Pulling pranks on people is my specialty.”

“What are you going to do to him?” She’s less concerned now and more intrigued by his confidence.

“Watch.” Jungkook sets his hat low on his face, walking with his head down and heading straight toward the couple that shamelessly flirts in front of the shelf containing ceramic mugs. They take up the entire space of the small aisle, so no one can really pass though, but Jungkook squeezes his way between them roughly, grunting an ‘excuse me’ all while intentionally shoving the man back and out of the way. Your ex stumbles, arms and elbows flailing about to catch his balance and knocking over a total of 5 mugs onto the cement floor. They crash down around him, the entire shelf he leans on threatening to go down with them, but he catches it with his hands and readjusts it, looking down in horror as shards of porcelain scatter around his feet. A worker shouts “You break it, you buy it!” from across the store at him, and that’s when he looks up to hiss at his offender.

“The fuck is your problem?!” He steps up to Jungkook aggressively, as if he would even have the balls to fight someone, and throws a few more curses his way. But all color drains from his face when he meets eyes with your little Baby Kook, who isn’t really so little, round eyes glaring right in his face. They’re about the same height, but your ex looks like a twig standing next to the broad and muscular Jungkook. He’s always been intimidated by Kookie, steering clear of him when you were still together and even confessing to you that he’s afraid of the fact that the younger man can probably break him in half with his bare hands and crush his head between his thighs. It was funny at the time, but that fear is very real and very present as the two stand toe to toe.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you standing there.” A cocky smirk plays on Jungkook’s lips and it makes your ex seethe, though he’s too afraid to show it. He tries the tough act still, though.

“You little shit, you better pay for all of the stuff you broke.” He steps closer over the crunching of shattered pieces but the younger man doesn’t flinch.

“Yikes... I would, but I’m not the one who broke them. Plus, I only have five dollars. Want it?” He flashes the bill quickly and reaches into the man’s pocket, depositing both the bill and an expensive looking ring he grabbed earlier, hidden in the palm of his hand. The ring falls in.

“Get your hands out of my pants!” He shoves at Kookie’s solid chest, pushing himself back a few inches and stumbling at his surprising sturdiness. Dignity lost in front of the prying eyes of everyone in the store, he sucks his teeth and growls. “I don’t want it.”

“No? Your loss.” Jungkook is still holding onto the bill between his fingers, pocketing it quickly before he can change his mind. He fakes an innocent look as he leans in to the man’s ear, eyeing the woman that stands shocked behind him. Your ex flinches, startled by the proximity and probably anticipating a hard punch in the gut. “I’m not going to hit you,” Jungkook chuckles, enjoying the way the man twitches uncomfortably. “I’m just trying to help you out. But hey, isn’t it illegal to hire prostitutes? Especially here, of all places.”

Gritting his teeth, That Bastard pushes him away successfully this time, spitting curses about disrespecting his girlfriend as Kookie turns his back and casually walks away, just in time for a worker to approach the cursing man and force him to pay for all of the cracked and shattered mugs surrounding him. Jungkook heads back to Jieun, laughing, and takes her hand, guiding her to the front of the store where he taps an attendant stocking toys on the shoulder.

“Excuse me, I saw that man over there steal something.” Pointing to the disgruntled man who digs in his wallet as the cashier rings him up. “You should search him, I think it was a ring.” The worker sighs and makes a call through his walkie talkie for security, thanking them before making his way over to the register. Both of them make their exit, laughing to themselves all the way out of the store until they reach their group of friends, who happen to be standing just outside.

“We saw the whole thing,” Taehyung starts excitedly. “Dude, that was awesome!” They high five and continue laughing, eyes still on the man in question.

“He looked like he was going to shit his pants when he recognized you. I wish I could have got that on camera.” Hani nods, clicking her tongue at the missed opportunity.

“Hani.” Jimin frowns.

“What? He deserves it.” They both look to you, who is conflicted with emotions. You didn’t want any of them to confront him for you, but this was different. This was harmless. And you’re certain your name didn’t come up at all while they were interacting.

“What did you do?” You finally ask, a little curious about what actually happened. Just then, security guides your ex to the entrance, walking him through the door sensors to check Jungkook’s accusations. He looks confident that it won’t go off, but that look is wiped clean off his face when the alarm sounds and the guards grab hold of his arms and push him toward the back of the store for an official search. “WHAT DID YOU DO?” Now you’re a lot curious, but you’re also smiling uncontrollably.

“Eh,” Jungkook shrugs. “I slipped a ring into his pocket. They’ll probably find it but at least he’ll get a pat down. Oh, and I also accused him of hiring a prostitute in front of his new girl just to piss him off.” He chuckles. A new kind of happiness swells in your chest at that. It isn’t much, but it almost feels like justice was served. You like to imagine that he is being fined and questioned by police because of what he did to you instead of for the petty shoplifting he unknowingly committed. And what’s even better is the scowl you catch on Candy’s face when she glances up and finds you watching the ordeal, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms before storming off to follow her man. You hope to never see them again, to leave with the impression and image of them being dragged away by security as your last memory of their terrible faces. It will always be seared into your brain, like retribution for a cardinal sin, and you’re feeling better already.

“Thanks, Kookie. That just made my day.” You’re beaming as Jimin reclaims your hand, offering a proud pat to Jungkook’s shoulder.

“I say we celebrate with some dinner!” He grins to your group, leading everyone to a restaurant a few stores down, where you all enjoy deliciously overpriced park food and talk about your day. Everyone seems to have had an amazing time. Jungkook and Jieun are cuddled up on their end of the booth, sharing bites of food and giving each other The Look. The same look they had that night when they walked out of the club together. Taehyung and Hani seem infinitely less awkward, apparently having resolved some of their issues while you and Jimin were working out your own in the family restroom. And you finally felt like you were back to yourself while being surrounded by all of your friends. Jimin kept an eye on you, but saw no evidence of your previous sadness— just joy and relief— and for that he’s thankful, whether or not he is the reason for it.

As the last activity of the day, you all decide to shop for souvenirs (at a different store from the one your ex was in), and everyone picks out their favorite gifts. Taehyung watches as you and Jimin and Jungkook and Jieun mull over various objects at the front of the store, chatting and laughing with each other as you browse. He’s a little deeper in the store following Hani as she looks over the clothing lining walls and racks, enjoying watching her shop more than doing any real shopping himself. As he looks at her, he remembers their conversation from earlier— when they were left alone to work out their issues while you and Jimin disappeared to work out your own.

“After much debate, I have decided to officially forgive you.” He announces to Hani as they walk through the crowded carnival area. There are many more people here now than there was a few hours ago, most people having finished riding the rollercoasters and hoping to win a nice prize before heading home. Neither of them intended to actually play any of the games, agreeing that it was a waste of money and ultimately a scam, but the area was nice and the highly populated walkway was the perfect place to have a private conversation.

Hani gives him a look of disbelief from the corner of her eye with pursed lips before deciding to humor him. “O’ Great and Merciful Taehyung, I thank you deeply! What ever would I have done without your forgiveness?” She acts out dramatically, throwing her hands over her heart and swaying side to side. They laugh for a bit, the mood still light when he straightens up and his face becomes serious again.

“I’m sorry that I acted that way at the water park, it was really uncalled for. I was-“ He hesitates, voice a little deeper, “I was jealous.” That’s enough to stop Hani in her tracks. He sure seemed like he was jealous in the moment, but she didn’t think he actually would be. Because why would her fuck buddy be jealous of her using her ASSets to get what she wants— something that she always does? But that’s not even the part that really surprises her as he goes on. “I don’t think I can be fuck buddies with you anymore. I want more. I want more with you, and I only recently noticed. We started fucking in the first place because we both kept talking all that shit about how good we are in bed and it just happened out of curiosity and sexual tension. Then I realized that I actually felt something when we were together— and at first I thought it was just the bomb ass sex— but then the feeling didn’t go away after we were done fucking. I still felt that way when we’re just doing regular shit like hanging out. I felt it when you came to my job just to bother me because you were bored early this week. I thought my heart was going to explode because it was beating so fast. Something about knowing you came there just to spend time with me, even if it was just to pass the time, it made me so... happy. I couldn’t focus, you were so distracting.” She looks away, concealing a smile. “And I feel it now even when we’re on a fake triple date with our friends, walking aimlessly around this giant park and talking about the simplest things...” He trails off, trying to find the words to finish his speech and Hani trying to process it all. They start walking again after a few beats of silence, albeit very slowly, until he speaks up again. “I don’t know, I’m not good with words.”

This seems like a concluding statement, Taehyung suddenly getting shy as he scratches behind his ear. His head drops as they walk, not sure what to make of her silence, but he’s not even sure he wants to hear what she has to say. And when she opens her mouth finally, he prepares himself to be rejected.

“I was jealous of you too today.”

“What? When?” That’s a surprise that neither of them expected her to admit.

They walk past a booth containing large superhero plushies just like the one Jungkook and Jieun earned, the woman running the game pointing at them and waving them over. They ignore her as they keep walking, passing faces blending into the background. Hani sighs.

“When you were buying water when we first got to the water park. That lady was eye-fucking you the whole time, ready to risk it all for you at that concession stand.” She rolls her eyes, trying not to get angry again as she remembers the way that woman was trying her hardest to show off for him. “(Y/n) even called me out on it, I was 5 seconds away from knocking that bitch to the ground.” At this, Taehyung cracks a smile. He would never say it, but he’d love to see Hani fight someone for him. “Anyway, I guess that means that I... probably... feel... something...” It sounded like she was a foreigner trying to figure out the proper way to form a coherent sentence, unsure if the words she was producing were correct or not. He looks at her expectantly, raising his eyebrows and causing her to pull out the last few words of her statement painfully. “...similar to you.”

“You feel the same way?” He lights up, turning his whole body to her.

“Something. Similar.” She corrects strictly, though that does nothing to stop the goofy celebratory wiggle he does. “You know I haven’t been in a real relationship in a long time so I’m a little rusty at this. Don’t expect me to change so suddenly for you.” He pouts. “But, I’ll give you a fair chance and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

“This is so ugly that it’s kinda cute.” Hani laughs, showing him the brightly colored shirt she’s pulled from the rack. Not her usual style, but she could probably find a way to make it work. She’s been looking through the ugliest t-shirts and sweaters for the past five minutes and it’s getting to the point where it would be ridiculous for her not to buy one.

“Hey, about what we talked about earlier,” Taehyung starts suddenly, trying to be as casual as possible while leaning against a clothing rack, stumbling when the wheels begin to move beneath his weight.

“What about it?” She doesn’t even bat an eye at his clumsiness.

“Does that mean you’ll go out with me now? It was a little unclear for me.” Gnawing on his lower lip, he gives her a hard stare as she mulls over his words briefly.

“Absolutely not.” Her tone is cold and brisk, barely lifting her eyes to glance at him. His face and heart drop, scrambling to come up with words.

“Wh- I thought that’s what we-“

“Nothing about what we talked about had anything to do with me going out with you. I mean, why would it? You haven’t even asked me out on a date yet.” Oh. Her eyes linger on his for a split second, looking away just before his boxy smile reappears. “If we’re going to be anything more than friends, I need you to know this: I don’t do subtleties and indirect hints. If you want something, ask for it directly. I never sugar coat my words and I don’t expect you to either. So, if you want me to go out with you, ask.”

Taehyung steps closer, grin still playing on his lips as he seems to hover over her frame with his tall stature. She’s still flicking through rows of hangers absentmindedly as if they’re not in the middle of a conversation, and only stops upon his call.

“Hani,” He coos sweetly, blush coming to his cheeks. Hani thinks she’s the inexperienced one here, but it’s also be a while since Tae has asked anyone out himself. Usually women tend to throw themselves at him and use him for his dick— which has never bothered him before— but rarely has he ever gone on a date with the intentions of actually dating someone seriously. And if he had, the girls are most likely the ones who asked him out. Hani turns to him, batting her eyelashes innocently. Such an actress.

“Yes, Taehyungie?”

“Would you like to go on a date with me? I’m aware dates really aren’t your thing, but I think you’d quite enjoy this one.” He puts on a knightly voice for her, puffing out his chest like a suitor in court trying to win the heart of a princess. She tosses her hair around her shoulders, fluttering her eyelashes a few more times as though flustered before giving him a flattering smile.

“No.” His mouth drops open in disbelief, face morphing into a fake cry when she laughs and responds with her real answer. “I’m kidding! Yes, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

“No, you hurt my feelings.” He turns away from her like a child, breaking into a smile when she wraps her arms around his midsection and presses her check to his back in apology.

“I said yes, Taehyung, did you hear? There’s no way you didn’t hear with those big dumbo ears of yours,”

“Hey!” This isn’t the first time she’s teased him about his ears, but he pretends to be offended, trying to shake her off of him.

“Yes, I’ll go on a date with you.” She repeats, lifting to her toes to speak loudly into one ear, catching the attention of a few others in the store.

“You WHAT?!” You’re stomping over before either of them have the chance to respond, eyes wide and mouth open, Jimin trailing closely behind, pulled by the hand you squeeze in yours.

“Way to go buddy.” Jimin mouths as he gives a thumbs up to his best friend, ignoring Hani’s glare.

“Yes, you heard correctly. Hani agreed to go on a real date with me.” The two of you clap as Tae bows and blows kisses to the imaginary crowd, relishing in the glory.

“Don’t make me regret it.” Hani is embarrassed by the attention, not used to being the one with relationship news, and she separates herself from the situation as quickly as possible, grumbling something before picking a shirt and walking to the front of the store to pay.

Your group is loud on your way out of the park, shouting about all the highlights of the day, Jungkook proclaiming how he “knew” Tae and Hani would end up together— even though Hani swears that it’s just one date and it doesn’t truly mean anything. The ride back home is calmer and you sit up front with Jimin, Jungkook taking his spot in the back next to Jieun like he promised, and you feel a little bit better about everything.

Though that lingering discomfort in your heart is still there, you’re no longer sad or upset about the events of today. If anything, you think they did more good than harm in regards to your interactions with your ex. The only time you’d really paid attention to how much of an asshole he is was when you broke up with him in front of Candy, but the harsh words he spoke to you today were more than enough evidence for you to dispel any doubts that maybe, by some unholy power, he wasn’t as bad as you’d made him out to be in your head. You keep replaying Jimin’s words about how valuable you were to your ex, and the truth about why he was trying so hard to fuck with your mind today. And now you understand. It’s really quite simple actually. He had a good thing, you, and he let you go. So now you’re moving on to bigger and better things in your life and he can’t do shit about it. Period. He can’t get to you anymore because you have the amazing friends that keep you afloat and his angel of a boyfriend that continues to prove his indispensable worth to you, and you know you’re going to be okay. You no longer wish any harm to your ex and his whore of a girlfriend (oops), but you think pretty soon you’ll be able to close this chapter of your life and start a new one; one where your friends are all in happy, healthy relationships and live happily ever after— at least for now. But that’s good enough for you.

[cheerfulmelancholies]

Medical Mechanical Ch. 6

Diana came to a stop and looked around. This was it: the vacant grocery store. Ethan was nowhere in sight. She was about to text him when he skidded to a stop beside her on his own bike. She lurched sideways at the scare and stumbled over her bicycle.

"Don't do that!" She brushed herself off before going over to pick up her bike. At least he had the decency to look ashamed.

"Sorry, I was getting a little too into the secretive thing." He brushed some of his hair from his face. "So your dad's good?"

"So far. He's as tired as he ever but otherwise fine. What about your mom?"

"She's... getting there. She isn't as joyous as she was yesterday but she's still acting a little funny. I've been wondering if maybe they gave her something and it's just gotta wear off."

"But why would they get her hopped up on happy pills? Do you think they're using them as lab rats?" She pushed the image of her father strapped to a table out of her mind.

Ethan shrugged. "I still couldn't find much info on them. Every single time I tried to ask her she'd just brush me off. But this is about the building."

Her eyes widened. "Yeah. What'd you find there, aside from a lack of doors?"

He motioned for her to follow him and they sat against the empty store, bikes propped up beside them. "Like I said, they don't have any big entryway into that place."

"Maybe it's underground," she said, recalling her previous reasoning.

"Maybe, but I didn't see anything overly obvious for that either. And those guards." He shuddered. "They were actually aiming for me."

"They were trying to kill you?"

"No. They were shooting tranq darts at me. One of them nicked my arm." He pulled the sleeve of his T-shirt up and showed her the scratch. "I don't know what those things are supposed to down but I'm thinking they're for a damn bear. I only got scratched and that was enough to put me out of it. Next thing I knew I was tumbling down the hill. One of them tried to tackle me but I shook them off."

"You're lucky you made it out of there."

"Yeah. I spent the rest of the day worried they'd try and finish the job."

"They probably would've just turned you in to the police or something." The argument died before it left her lips. The look on Ethan's face would've killed it anyway.

"Tranquillizers are a bit extreme, don't you think? I didn't even get past the fence; I don't think that constitutes as reasonable force."

"This is so messed up," she sighed, bringing her knees to her chest. "You've got me wondering if my father's gonna get brainwashed or something. Is there anything else you noticed?"

"Actually, yeah. I didn't recognize any of the guards. This is a small town, it shouldn't be that hard. I don't think they live here."

"You think they come from out of town?" She was trying to think of any other possibility. It wasn't like they would live inside the facility.

"I wouldn't know. I've never watched to see when they rotated and where they went." He hummed. "You know what would show that?"

"Asking your mom and my dad?" This entire thing was starting to make her skin crawl. Sure, she never did agree with the company's ways or her father's sudden devotion to them, but she'd never been big on conspiracies. She thought it was unusual, bizarre even, but what Ethan was telling her was downright creepy.

He shook his head. Face serious, he said, "We're gonna have to find out for ourselves. My mom's still out of it and your father is too tight-lipped."

"What do you have in mind, exactly? A stakeout? They tried to take you down; I don't think they'll screw it up the next time."

"Maybe we can just ask around," he said, none too keen on being shot at again. "There's something freaky going on though. They're doing something to people in there, or at to least our parents."

Diana remained silent.

"Something wrong?" He feared she might back out. All things considered, he wouldn't blame her. It would be disappointing though. He'd miss the companionship while his mother was out of her mind.

Diana shook her head before turning to face him. "Look, I know you wanna get to the bottom of this and all but I have to ask you something."

"Sure."

"What really made you start talking to me?" She watched his eyebrows go up. He seemed confused. "You've never made an effort to speak to me before." They shared three of the same classes and had known of each other's existence since the beginning of high school. They suffered from all the same abuse. Both of their lives were heavily affected by Medical Mechanical. Up until now, Ethan had done little more than give her small, reassuring smiles and the occasional defense from Megan and her goons.

Ethan paused for a minute to form his response. He almost outright said it before thinking better. "Listen, I... It's not that I didn't care about you and wasn't interested in talking. It's just that... Well, you just always seemed a bit... unapproachable."

"Unapproachable?"

"You always seemed to hold everybody at arm's length, so I always stayed around your comfort zone."

"What changed your mind?"

"We're pretty similar. Your dad works for MM, like my mom, and we're both freaks of nature." His eyes lit up. "I figured that if anyone would be understanding in this, it'd be you. I wasn't wrong, was I?" He had his answer before she ever opened her mouth.

"That's the second time your dumb luck has saved your life," she said with a smile.

"What about you though? You never really approached me either."

"You always looked like you wanted to be left alone. You held everybody at arm's length too. I was too nervous, I guess." She wanted to kick herself for blushing. She was being too obvious.

Ethan either didn't notice or didn't care, as he stood and stretched. "That settles it," he said, cracking his back. "We're in this together now."

"So what's next?" She was thankful for the distraction.

"Well, we've got our work cut out for us in research. There's no way our parents will ever tell us anything and I don't think those guards will give me a tour if I show up on their doorstep and ask."

"So what's the plan?"

"Let's try and do some digging ourselves, ask around and stuff."

"Lead the way," she said, grabbing her bike.

They both rode off, maintaining a close distance and talking along the way.

[tslasvegas]

Episode 5 - “The clowns are in full force this season” - Jaiden

The clowns are in full force this season. First of all that tribal council was a load of fucking shit lmfao, I could not believe the sob stories Nik and Joey were pulling out to try and stay another day in this fucking org... it is final 17 it's not that serious. I will say that I immediately regretted the decision to vote for Joey but now I'm realizing how beneficial it might've been after all, like.. now people don't see that Joey and I are as closely aligned as we are and it definitely shows Kailyn that not only can I be loyal, but also that I had an accurate read on the events of this tribe. Interestingly enough, Kailyn did NOT believe me when I told her we didn't have the votes to keep Nik without drawing rocks. As soon as the tie came in I acted all mad and said "I'm not drawing rocks for this, I'm flipping". ...and Kailyn still had the nerve to ask "wait did you flip?" after it was all said and done! The funny thing is, Ben also assumed Kailyn flipped and immediately DMed me saying "So I assume Kailyn flipped go figure" or something to that extent. LOVES IT! Maybe no one thinks I'm a flip-flopper after all. Rachael being on this tribe already bugs me because I think she's going to get along with just about everybody and we should've taken a shot at her when we had a chance. It's become evident that I need to start playing the chips game a lot more than I have been because those little buggers are going to become more and more important as time goes along. I think Rachael is fucking full of it when she says there was nothing on Exile for her. She either has an idol and is lying about it, or she's got some sort of advantage to help her out and I'm not here for it. I did eventually come clean to Rachael about the whole DeNara vote thing, where I whipped around and pretended to be voting for Ben afterwards, but I don't think it has a strong impact on our relationship. She gives me such an uneasy vibe and I don't want her around much longer... I kind of hate this tribe I got swapped onto because everybody here feels like legitimate threats to win this game except I guess myself right now. And Xavier. He doesn't really provide much to the game yet, but I bet he will surprise us all along the way. Agenda for this round... make sure we win immunity. But if we don't.. sorry Rachael, you're going to just have to see your buddy Nik a lot sooner than you would've liked. Ciao!

Survived another Tribal!

Super sad to see Nik voted out but also insanely glad to see Joey survived. It would be heartbreaking to see him voted out first after the swap. Livingston and I are sharing all the chips we have and when we spin the wheel we’re transferring chips so if we land on a bankrupt spot we don’t lose the 28 chips we have so far. If we win this next immunity challenge, we may have enough chips to purchase the super idol that’s on sale for 48 chips. (If we both bid two chips on the challenge and then spin the wheel and get some chips.) otherwise, if someone purchases it before we do, we may end up buying some other useful items. Now it’s a selfie scavenger hunt which I hate, but that’s alright. Gonna give it my all and hope to take home the win. 

I just had a moment of clarity. The other tribe are full of OG Palazzo. If they stick together, we're screwed. We should win this next one, see how their vote goes, and change our plans accordingly.

So my lazy ass hasent done any of these yet. So let me catch y’all up. So when my original trive first went to tribal I kinda thought I was fucked cus like I barely talked to ppl. Nik and Rachel were my closest allies (Rachael being my final 2). So quickly they told me denara wanted my ass out. Fucking mistake. So I got my sheep in order and went to work. I pulled some bs outta my ass and was like yo we got a swap coming up and denara is too fucking social she’s gonna flip on your asses. The more I said it the more it made sense to me lol. That fucking tribal was AIDSSS. I’m literally sitting there thinking I was getting booted, but my fucming savior Jaiden came up clutch. We sent that bitch packing. So me and Rachael have had a strat this game to send each other our coins before spinning the wheel to avoid going bankrupt. Since I’m a fucking gambling addict I’m always betting on the comps and spinning that wheel till I’m stacked on coins. So we hit a swap and I actually started talking to people. John is pretty chill and Xavier is kinda weird ngl. When it came time to vote nobody wanted to bring anything up to me. I had to hear from kaitlyn that nik was sadly the vote. So I quickly went to work. I felt the least connected to Joey so I went after his bitch ass. Originally, I didn’t wanna stick with my tribe but like they kinda forced us into that by keeping us in the dark. Everytime I’d ask Xavier his thoughts he’d just say some weird ass response and avoid my question lol. So like I kinda expected a tie vote and tbh I wanted rocks. We get to tribal it was a tie, and I’m fucking trying my best to get Xavier to flip cus he just seems like the dumbest person there. He’s like we can take nik out now then Joey next. LIKE FUCK NO. He wanted to create an all noobies alliance with idek. But I agreed cus fuck it. So sadly nik went home cus jaiden flipped :/ BUT me and Rachael got all his chips!! Now I’m fucking vibing with 10, and Rachael had got 8. Tbh we wanna save up for an idol, but with the shop at 20% and another 4-4 vote looming, I’d be down to snag an extra vote. I gotta peep all these new prices tho. I do hope we win this comp cus I’m obviously betting and I’m too lazy to fucking deal with another tribal. Well anyways peace out see y’all later. 

My plan continues to just be working on relationships and hopefully winning the challenges. Either way, I've participated one of the most on the team so I'm hoping if we do lose, I won't become the target. I know I have a strong relationship with Kevin, which is 1/4 of the tribe. I'm also working on my relationships with Keegan, Pat, and Livingston. I kind of hope the other team targets Rachael, just because I wasn't a huge fan the last time I had to deal with her. I also want John and Xavier to survive because I know I have solid relationships with them. We're at day 14 and I've already put so much work to evolve my game, I want to go from worst to first - I want to do all the things I couldn't do when I was 16. But I have to keep thinking three steps ahead. So if we lose, my target is Mo. Nobody from OG Pink has been voted out yet - but because they have majority on this tribe there really isn't much I can do yet, but Mo hasn't contributed to the challenge. They're also very awkward, so I think I'd be able to swing it. If I keep working on my relationships, working hard in challenges and showing myself as a good ally - I have a chance to make it deep in this game. For now - let's hope we win the challenge so I can relax a little bit more. Day 15 is the farthest I've ever made it so if we do end up winning I've completed my third goal. (The first two being going a tribal without getting a vote, and leading a blindside.) My other four goals - getting an advantage, making merge, winning individual immunity, and winning this game. Get your checklist out, cause I'm coming.

Keegs and I have 28 chips between us then Okay so I told Keegan this, and I could be wrong, but I feel as if the numbers in the vault seem fairly good and that leads me to believe that nothing has been bought yet. If anyone else gotten in there, they are likely saving up for the Super Idol. Keegan and I will be saving up for it but if it ends up being gone, we'll at least have enough chips to pick up some other stuff. Keegan to me: "Also, I just thought of something. Since it’s possible to go Bankrupt from the wheel, would it be a good idea for us to give most/all chips to each other before we spin the wheel? That way if we do land on a bad spot, we’re only losing like 1 chip instead of the 10-20?" This gonna be our wheel strat moving forward

...five seconds later

Jake came to me wanting to work together. Of course, there is no real way to turn such things down so I let Keegs know and then I told him I would be down for that. I am not tryna do some Final 2 or whatever. For now it is just a "I have your back if you have mine" type thing. Jake also went to Keegan so Jake better not fuck up and be overly messy because I have enjoyed my convos w him LMAO - Okay so update on that: he has pitched a 3 of me, him and Keegan. This is good for us so we are going with it but my loyalties are to Keegan before Jake and I think Keegan feels the same way. We are being hesitant just in case Jake has also pitched similar things to other people. If we go to tribal, ideally we keep Jake safe but if he's being like this with everyone then maybe he's the one to go. I like Jake so I would really make rather it be the former.

So nervous about this challenge! We went all in! I even danced Blackpink. My gosh we have to win this.

fuck

38 points in SSH is a terrible score, I’m upset at my poor performance, but now that I just acquired the Legacy Advantage, it makes my game so much more interesting to say the least. I have 11 chips, I could’ve bought an idol, but given my luck, I’d rather not risk all my chips and lose them on a bankrupt.

this is so lame, im not super worried about getting voted out but still i just like the serene environment that comes with immunity, the chaos is fun too but like ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh im tired 

Well... we lost the challenge. And I am not surprised in the slightest. This was a very very poor showing from this tribe. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind voting out Jeff right now. He really flopped the challenge. But it seems like the OG Palazzo group is wanting to stick together and vote out one of Jake, Mo or Kevin. Ideally, Kevin would be the one to go. I’ve barely talked with him, and with his recent win in Travellers survivor, he’s certainly capable of playing a strong game. That’s someone I’d like out sooner rather than later. Andrew has suggested Jake. Which I definitely don’t want. Jake, Livingston and myself have a sort of three person thing going on. As long as Jake is casting his net over the entire tribe, I want to continue working with him. Mo is in a weird spot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ At the end of the day though, I don’t really care who it is, as long as it ain’t me.

SO HAPPY TO HAVE FINALLY WON! Steph and I have enough chips either for an IDOL or two of other advantages. I would rather have two others, because there is an idol nullifier out there. And two advantages are better than one. I am going to be watching the tribal of Bellagio. I want to see if the OG Bellagio are a solid 5.

Ahhhh first time going to tribal. I’m really nervous. Not bec I think I’m in danger but more for long term... what to do?

girl... im so sick and tired of the people in this game keeping around inactive players because they know them from other games. SERIOUSLY, listen ma'am if my good friend is inactive, I know when someones dead weight. I get rid of them. They'll understand, and if they don't then thats a manipulative dumbass because who gets mad for being eliminated by a friend when they were inactive. it was originally gonna be me but ive been fucking pushing for kevin to go cus he doesnt do shit. DeNara give me strength.

Mo at one point was throwing my name out, which is awful. Apparently he’s not anymore. I think he’s voting for Kevin? Let’s hope so. I don’t want to be out of this game yet.

Currently holding that Legacy Advantage gives me much more access to information

[niennavalier]

So I’m sure no one cares but

I’ve recently discovered genderbent Frozen covers and animatics and honestly I love these? Like, a lot? 

(Rambly thoughts under the cut, because I got invested in talking about Disney movies and ways they write characters and generalizing stuff, despite writing this all on a whim and doing not much research but hey, that’s what this blog is for. Random thoughts about movies and stories and Youtube comments)

I mean, I’ll admit that I’ve never been a big fan of Frozen - nothing against the story (cause it is good and for all I will criticize Disney for not generally being particularly uh...keen on taking any risks, I do appreciate the way they do break the mold here) or the music (it sounds like a Broadway musical, hell yeah) - but tbh Let it Go far overstayed its welcome and yes, I’m glad kids enjoyed the movie, but we heard it nonstop for way longer than we should have. The song honestly never felt like it went away for, what like, 2 years? I can listen to songs on endless loops, and this was still too much for me. Granted, I never hated it (my brother did, possibly still does, so I didn’t mind listening to it for the sole purpose of tormenting him) but still. It sorta turned me off from the franchise. I didn’t need to hear it every time I walked into a store.

And I’ll also admit to never being big on genderbending. Nothing against people who enjoy it, but it’s never been my thing, and the few fics I’ve read with it never felt like it used the swap for any sort of message or to explore anything particularly interesting. Which I would’ve preferred, because otherwise, I didn’t see the reason for the swap, personally. (and to be fair, I turned off of this pretty quickly, so I’m sure there are good ones out there, but it’s really just never been something I’m big on)

But like...okay. There is this animatic for Show Yourself, but with the audio dropped into the male vocal range and I love it so much. It’s wonderful and adorable (and the song is legitimately very good, so I’ve seen that part, despite never having actually watched Frozen 2). And also a handful of actual covers, which are absolutely amazing. And now I’ve found the same sort of thing with Let it Go (which I’m now okay with - I guess it just takes 7 years for me to get over the oversaturation of that song in society) and like holy shit, friends. Big fan.

Scrolling through the comments also gets all the “can we please get a Disney Prince movie” thoughts and hey, I’m so on board with this. I know, there are movies with princes (Aladdin, Hercules, Lion King, etc), but it’s less that plain fact of having a prince, and more of the arc for the character? Basically, I wanna destroy the trend of having male-oriented movies be more action-adventure-y. Let boys be soft and have feelings, that’s all I ask. Make that the character arc, have your main character be male and need to discover himself, all of the fears and insecurities included, I am begging you. 

(Sidenote because I did see some other interesting mentions: I haven’t seen Hunchback, back from what I’m aware of with that movie, that one probably fits closer to what I’m talking about. Also Treasure Planet, because honestly, that really is exactly the kind of arc that I’m talking about, and there’s a reason I love that movie with all my heart, it’s amazing, and go watch it if you haven’t. But like, it’s a coming of age story with some good ol’ found family and no romance! And while Jim is really smart and has some bad-ass moments, I love when we get insight into his emotional state. But I could gush about this movie forever, moving on. The one thing about these is not the lack of royalty (for me), but just...box office? I don’t know the circumstances for Hunchback, except that the numbers apparently aren’t great, and to my knowledge, someone over at Disney just didn’t want Treasure Planet to do great, and this goes to show what marketing does. Apparently, they did the same to Emperor’s New Groove, which isn’t entirely relevant, but my point is, whoever did this to these movies, screw you, they’re wonderful)

(Apologies for the tangent)

Anyway, I’m not saying remake Frozen, but doing the genderbend works really well here, I think? Obviously, I love that Elsa’s arc is entirely her own, and stories about opening up to family and accepting yourself have messages that everyone needs to hear, regardless of any barrier. So this isn’t a criticism, just a thought. Because (granted, I’m not doing research to write this, and I’m admittedly not 100% caught up on Disney movies) it feels to me like female characters do tend to have the more emotional arcs. Talking Disney Renaissance, this feels true in the female-lead movies, especially if you compare to the respective princes. In male-lead movies, it’s not entirely true, and I’m not calling the characters flat or emotionless, but that’s not the main thing going on in the movie. (ie, Simba has his reservations about returning and so he talks to Mufasa, and that’s a big scene and its important, but it feels more like it’s just a step to ultimately taking down Scar - tbh, compare the screentimes there). Again, the Renaissance movies are fantastic and I love them, but I just want to make some comparisons. And I don’t want to delve too deep into the more recent ones, because I haven’t seen them all, but the focus seems much more on the strong, independent female-lead (again, not a criticism because we can always do with more strong ladies who don’t need no man - I am just saying). 

But anyway. Frozen. I like the idea of keeping Anna as herself, because the Hans twist and more slow-burn-y development with Kristoff is good - that accomplishes the idea of breaking down tropes. But Elsa as a male character is really interesting to me? Having an arc that centers on fear that’s born of isolation, and ends with self-acceptance and familial love, is something that I don’t recall seeing in male characters very often (not never, but not often)? But I can think of tons of male characters who appear confident and charismatic, even if that’s in their own way, and then even if we do peel back to find trauma and pain, I can think of more instances of it presenting as bitterness or anger rather than genuine fear (or at the very least, we as the audience don’t quite see that fear). I want to see a male character who was forced to repress who they are and has real fear as to who their true self is. I want this character to discover who that is and have a hard time coming to grips with it, and all that stuff because I honestly just really like writing a lot of self-deprecation. Won’t deny that. And then pairing that with magic is also just interesting IMO. I don’t know how magic tends to fall with regard to this sort of thing, but just the fact that it’s inborn and different (akin to D&D sorcery), rather than learned and understood (like D&D wizardry, or even HP wizards), is an interesting thought to me? Maybe because the “strange and different” type of magic reminds me more of the general conception of witches (or...the Salem Witch Trials) which is also more female-leaning, but I won’t stand by that super strongly, because it’s not something I’ve looked into all that much. But it means, to me, that it would be an interesting way to sorta...turn the tables in the way magic gets used.

Point being: I just think this would be a really solid message. That bravery doesn’t have to be saving the world or killing the dragon or even the self-sacrifice story that’s become more prominent in stories now. It can also come from battling your own demons and opening up to people to ask for help. Which is obviously something everyone needs to learn, but if we’re gonna fight the submissive female character trope with some badass heroines, then I say we also do the same thing in reverse for our male characters. Just a thought

[alittlefoxedup]

An Unexpected Reunion p4

Yes, I’m still doing this thing. Life got in the way a bit, but I’m going to finish this story. Enjoy!

Day 4: aftercare/pampering | unconventional courting presents

Jason was beginning to like letting Roy plan dates. The weather was just right for a day at the beach. Roy would probably burn, but Jason had put a lot of sunscreen on him. The crystal blue waves had most definitely washed it all off since Roy refused to wait. They’d worry about it later.

Sitting on a blanket, leaning against Roy’s chest, and being hand fed by his boyfriend was Jason’s favorite way to dry off. He had eaten his lunch by himself, but he was too tired to carry on after swimming with an alpha that benefited from being shirtless. Roy hadn’t even questioned it. Alphas appeared easier to handle when satisfied. He could get behind this. Well, not behind.

“So, you know how I didn’t tell about what I did in Gotham?”

“If this is going to ruin my mood, save it.”

“I think you’re gonna get a little mad then be happy I did it.”

“I see you’ve conveniently waited until after my heat.”

“I was waiting for something that just happened to happen during your heat. Just read this.” Roy fed him another grape and his unlocked phone.

The text was one of the infamous patented Dick Grayson ramble texts. There wasn’t exactly a cohesive thought, but it made up for it in raw emotion. It was the kind of thing that would be read over a video of someone pathetically eating ice cream or cookie dough. Dick had run out of ideas and had too many emotions.

Dick had done everything he could to fact check the little bit of information Jason had been able to give before being shut out. He managed to give them a timeframe in the two seconds they’d let him speak. Dick had found the hospital records. He had Clark check the grave which explained the broken fingers. Finding any footage of Jason in their short meeting had been infuriating but not as bad as the countless fruitless scans for any matches. The only lead Dick had was Roy had been seen working with someone no one knew. It was a desperate cry for help.

“You need to tell me what happened.”

Roy sighed. “I went to the Manor. Alfred met me at the door so I told him I didn’t have Dick’s number anymore and asked if he was around. Dick came upstairs after Alfred started giving me food. It started nice then Dick got tired of me not answering him in detail. He demanded to know how I got out so I told him. Alfred heard and took over asking. They didn’t tell him. Alfred asked for my number, gave me the cookies, and asked me to leave so he could speak to Dick. I don’t know if I made things better or worse. Dick at least wants to know what happened. Did I mess up?”

“I think… I think you did the right thing. Maybe it wasn’t the best way to do it, but it’s not like they listen to anyone.”

“Maybe I should have gotten more cookies out of it.”

Jason smiled and tried to relax into Roy.

“What do you want me to tell him?”

“What if we go to the New York safe house next week?”

“Sure.” Roy kissed Jason’s cheek and got to planning.

Waiting was the best idea and the worst idea. Jason’s nervous energy manifested in cleaning. Somehow it escalated to Roy eating chips over the bathroom sink. A small fight occurred that was easily resolved in the bedroom along with some amount of nervous energy. Jason tried to be less crazy and appreciated Roy stepping in after he’d finish a room.

Convincing Jason to build a nest was the smartest thing Roy came up with that week. Cuddling with his boyfriend in a nest put all of his worries so far out of his mind Jason could actually relax. Being able to fuss over his shirt intolerant alpha was one of the best parts of the relationship. Roy soaked up all his attention and energy until the agreed upon day.

Jason couldn’t relax the night before or morning of. The usual way of working off nervous energy couldn’t be used since Dick would know. Jason didn’t like neutralizing scents in their bedroom and nest so he was frustrated on top of nervous. If Roy could stop looking so good for a couple of days, Jason would be able to handle everything better. All he really needed Roy to do was wear something with sleeves for once.

“Why do I have to wear a jacket today?”

“You just do.”

“If getting you Dick for a courting present was all it took, I would’ve done this sooner, babe.” Roy slipped on the jacket only to push the sleeves up.

Jason forced himself to not look at Roy’s forearms. “Do you have to say it like that?”

“Don’t worry. You can have as much as you want after he leaves. I might even let you unwrap it.”

“Shut up and go make breakfast.”

“Do you want sausage?”

Jason grabbed his pillow. Roy was out of their room and running into the kitchen when the pillow smacked into his back. His goofy laugh was the only thing keeping Jason from fully freaking out.

Roy thankfully didn’t cook sausage but did continue to make meaningful looks. Jason wasn’t sure if his face would ever resemble his normal complexion. His only revenge was bending over to start the dishwasher as the doorbell rang. The frustrated growl and oh so subtle swearing washed the embarrassment from Jason’s face. Roy always forgot Jason knew exactly how to get him back.

Jason could just barely catch Dick’s scent. Whatever greeting they were having was not something Jason wanted to interrupt. From the surprise in Dick’s voice, Jason was certain he hadn’t been expecting Roy to be present. Jason didn’t think Roy would have done anything or said anything to suggest otherwise. Dick must need to refresh his detective skills.

The moment Jason moved into the living room was awkward. Dick was only halfway inside before he froze. Jason wasn’t sure where to look. Roy eventually got tired of them staring at each other like deer in headlights and pulled Dick inside so he could shut the door. A head shake was the only explanation Dick got before Roy returned to the kitchen.

“Um, hi.”

Jason smiled a little. “That’s what you’re going with?”

“I guess. It’s not like I have any point of reference. As long as I don’t do what Bruce did, I’m good, right?”

“I guess.”

“I am really sorry about what happened. I… I really messed up. I’m sorry, Little Wing.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve wished we could have you back? I got my wish and immediately screwed it up. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t want to fight about it.”

“I definitely didn’t come all this way to fight.” Dick closed the distance and pulled Jason into a hug.

Jason wasn’t sure when the last time he’d been hugged by Dick. It didn’t happen often, and he had actively fought it then. He didn’t know what to do except awkwardly hug back. Leaning his head down to rest on Dick’s shoulder strained his neck. Roy was a better height for that, but Jason didn’t want it to stop.

“How’d you get so tall?”

“Long story.”

“I’ve got time.”

“You won’t like it, and Roy will kick you out if you get growly.”

Dick pulled back and took a long look at Jason. “You two seem really close.”

“Well, yeah.”

“I’m not following.”

Jason started to laugh before realizing how serious Dick was. “I thought he told you. He’s been courting me for months.”

“What?! What the hell are you thinking?”

“That I’m an adult and can make my own choices.”

“But—“

Jason took a step back. “It’s my choice. You don’t get to tell me what to do especially after just showing up. Roy’s been nothing but good to me so deal with it. I’m not dealing with alpha nonsense today or any time in the future.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“I’m really going to let him kick you out for sure if you keep being an ass. Roy’s not going anywhere. You can deal with it or get out.”

Jason sat down on the couch. He took deep breaths to fight his rage. No one was going to walk into his life and criticize it immediately. As much as he wanted his family back, he wasn’t going to sacrifice his happiness for it. If they couldn’t put up with the fact he loved Roy, he didn’t need them.

“Okay, I can deal with it. Could we try that story?”

“Sure as long as you’re not an ass.”

“I’ll try.”

Roy laughed from the kitchen. “Like that’s possible.”

Jason laughed as Dick realized their conversation hadn’t been as private as it seemed. Roy quickly joined them with popcorn. It made the story not so heavy. Jason didn’t mind skimming through the rough parts so he could get to cute Damian stories and making fun of Roy. There were more good things to talk about than bad now.

[thegizka]

Swift as Wind, Soft as Shadow

Chapter 6:  Complicate

It’s been a few months since Shikamaru and Temari have heard from each other.  Ino and Chouji think it’s time something is done about that.

Written for Writer’s Month Day 13:  Feelings.

Note:  I do not own any aspect of Naruto.

Read it on Ao3.

“Have you heard from Temari?  When’s she stopping by next?” Ino asked while they were taking a break from training.

“How should I know?  Go ask the Hokage’s office,” Shikamaru grumbled.  She rolled her eyes and stretched out her back.

“You’re usually the one who tells the Hokage’s office when we can expect her.”

“Only because I coincidentally open her letters in the correspondence office, along with a quarter of the deliveries from the other villages and some mission reports.”

“I thought you two were always writing each other,” Chouji hummed, taking a gulp of water.

“Only if the Leaf has business with the Sand.  Otherwise no, I don’t write to her socially.  What would be the point?”  Not that he hadn’t entertained the idea.  It had been a few months since they’d seen each other, and while it wasn’t the longest they’d been out of contact, it had felt strange.  At some unforeseen moment they’d crossed the threshold from formality to familiarity, and he’d catch himself wondering how she was and what she was doing.

“You’re friends, right?” Ino pressed.  Shikamaru had caught himself asking that a few times, too.  They couldn’t really be just coworkers at this point, but he also wouldn’t categorize her with Ino and Chouji and Naruto.  Temari was something different and undefined.  Until he could articulate what, though, “friend” would have to do.

“I guess,” he said, shrugging.

“Then invite her over.”

“Why?”

“She promised to help me with my hand-to-hand combat.”

“So what do you call what we’re doing?” Chouji demanded somewhere between offended and amused.

“Inoshikacho training isn’t the same.  What if we’re separated on the battlefield?  I need to up my combat game.”

“And you can’t find someone in the village to help you with that?”  Shikamaru asked.

“Everyone’s either busy, lazy, or would utterly crush me in a second.”  She crossed her arms and looked at them like this fact should be obvious.

“And you think Temari’s a better option?” he chuckled.  “Have you forgotten what she did to Tenten during the first chunin exam?  I’ve seen her when she’s teaching.  She’s just as ruthless.  You’d get torn apart.”

“Gee, thanks for your vote of confidence.  Glad to know I can always count on your support.”

“I think you’d be fine, Ino,” Chouji declared.

“Thank you.  I’m glad someone believes in me.”

“If it were anyone else, my money would be on you,” Shikamaru promised.  He knew he shouldn’t feel proud that Temari would win against Ino--after all, that was admitting a shinobi from another village would beat one of his best friends--but it was the truth.  (But why was he siding with Temari?)

“It’s not a fight; it’s training.  I might as well learn from the best, right?”

“Then you invite her.”

“But you’re her friend.  It would be weird if I suddenly ask her over to train.  I don’t know her as well as you do.”

“And me asking her to come to the Leaf just to help you train wouldn’t be weird?”

“No, because it wouldn’t just be to train me.  You two would hang out and do whatever else you do when you’re together.”

“We work.  Ours is a working relationship.  I’ve never asked her to the Leaf unless it was for work.  I can’t ask her to take time away from her duties in the Sand to come and hang out.”

“Why not?” Chouji asked.  “I mean, you said you were friends.  Friends take time off to hang out all of the time.”

He smiled because Chouji would drop anything in a second if a friend needed him.  But Chouji was one in a million.  Shikamaru and Temari were cut from the same cloth.  Their sense of propriety and duty was strong.  He wouldn’t leave the village for an unnecessary trip, not with all of this Akatsuki business and Kurenai’s pregnancy.

Unless, he realized, Temari asked him to.  Lately his missions to Suna had felt more like excuses to go see her.  He hadn’t really noticed how attentive he was to business in the Land of Wind, but he knew almost every assignment and message that passed between their countries.  What did that mean?  Why was he so interested in their alliance?  Why did he no longer mind making the trip to the Sand?

If he asked Temari, would she feel the same?

“Besides,” Chouji continued, unaware of his friend’s inner questions, “if she comes for a visit, I can ask her more about that spicy soup she was telling me about last time.”

“Wow, and here I thought you were just being your usual friendly self.  You’re no better than Ino,” he teased.

“I am being friendly!” he pouted.  “Food is a common interest.  It’s the best way to a person’s heart.”

“Your heart, maybe.”  He poked his pleasantly plump friend with his elbow.

“So are you going to invite her over or not?” Ino prompted.

Shikamaru thought it a little strange that his teammates were so eager to see Temari again.  They seemed genuinely interested in her.  They’d only interacted a handful of times.  Had the other two managed to become friends with the Sand kunoichi in such a short time?  And if they were already friends, then what were she and Shikamaru since they’d spent so much more time together?

Had they breached the realm of good friends?  He thought back to her crying against his shoulder, or the evening they’d spent on the roof after Asuma’s death.  When had they waded into the deeper emotional levels of this relationship?  He couldn’t ignore that he didn’t feel the same way about her as he did Chouji and Ino and Naruto.  Did that mean she wasn’t yet at the level of a close friend?  Or was she something else entirely?

These feelings were so confusing.  Trying to figure them out was a huge drag!

But he couldn’t deny that Temari had a great talent for helping him clarify things.  She wasn’t afraid to ask challenging questions.  It was annoying, but it also saved him a lot of time ignoring or avoiding problems.  Often she could quiet his confusion.  He could use that clarity now.  He maybe even craved it.

“I’ll see if she’s not busy,” Shikamaru sighed, giving in.  It didn’t mean anything.  He would just be inviting a friend over for a visit.  So why did he feel so nervous?

-----

“Have you heard from Temari lately?  It’s been a while.”

Shikamaru groaned, letting his pen fall to the table next to a few discarded pages of scribbles.

“What, did Ino talk to you or something?”

“Hm?”  Yoshino looked up from the book she was reading.  “No.  Why, did she say the same thing?”

“Yeah, when we were training earlier.  Both she and Chouji insisted I invite her to come visit.”

She blinked at him, then grinned.

“I guess that means you’ll have to ask her over.”

“I guess.  It’s going to be a real drag, though.”

“Hey!  Temari is lovely company!”

“That’s not what I meant!  It’s the paperwork and the optics.”

“What paperwork?  This is just a social visit, right?”

“Well yeah, but she’s still the Sand’s representative.  There’s lodging and security to figure out.”

“Nonsense.”  Yoshino waved her hand dismissively.  “She’ll stay here with us, and you’ll be her host and responsible for her safety.  It’s simple.  Plus she’s a very capable kunoichi and can take care of herself.”

“I think you’re oversimplifying things, Mom.”

“I think you’re overcomplicating them.”

“You think the village leaders would allow an official representative from the Sand to stay with the Hokage’s advisor?  Wouldn’t that seem a bit suspicious?”

“They’d allow a friend to stay with a friend.”

“You can’t just ignore her and dad’s political positions.”

“And why not?” she demanded.  “When you look at Temari, do you see the official ambassador to the Leaf?  Or do you see a beautiful and dangerous peer who you enjoy spending time with socially?”

That sounded like a trap.  She’d used the word “beautiful”.  While it was true about Temari, women were funny about whether a guy admitted it or not.  He screwed up his mouth in a frown.  Yoshino just laughed.

“Invite her to spend a few days with us, or I will, and I’ll make sure she knows you were too cowardly to do it yourself.”

“I’m doing it!  Calm down,” he grumbled, pulling a new piece of paper towards himself.  Even though he was having difficulty figuring out exactly what to say--he didn’t want to be too formal but sounding too eager would be equally awkward--he knew whatever his mom would write would be infinitely more embarrassing.

-----

“This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when you invited me over.”

“Well if I had known I wouldn’t have a home to invite you to, I would’ve told you not to bother with the trip.”

“Good to know.  I’ll keep that in mind when I rate your hospitality.”

Temari was keeping her tone light and joking, but she had been shocked and worried to arrive in the Leaf and find it missing.  All but the furthest properties were replaced by a giant crater of rock and rubble.  The initial panic was tempered somewhat when she noticed crowds of people moving amongst the destruction, but she couldn’t shake the inner terror making her blood freeze in her veins.  She needed more information.  She needed to know he was okay.

Luckily she’d run into Ino at what used to be the village perimeter where she’d been reassured that despite the terrible state of the land, everyone had miraculously survived.  That should have been enough to calm the rest of her worry, but it wasn’t until she saw Shikamaru that she actually relaxed enough to process everything.

After the initial shock, she was somewhat disturbed by her reaction.  Since when had he become so closely tied to her feelings?  He could affect them, sure, but Temari had never anticipated he could be the source of them.  What business did he have making her feel things without her permission?

She’d let him recount everything Ino had already told her and fill in the details.  Shikamaru anticipated her questions (when had he learned to do that?) and seemed to know exactly what she needed to hear.  It was soothing but unnerving.  Even with her brothers, she rarely had conversations as easy as this.

“So,” she said in a low voice, “the Akatsuki.”

“Yeah.”  Shikamaru sighed and leaned back against a slab of concrete that used to be the foundation of his home.  The damage stopped about an acre in front of them, mowing down the first rows of forest trees.  He’d been amused when she’d asked about the deer and reassured her that the herd had been far enough away to emerge from the ordeal unscathed.

Temari understood what had happened, but she was having difficulty really understanding that one person--or six people?--had done this.  The Akatsuki were stronger than they had suspected.  They were more dangerous than they’d thought.

“That’s two villages that they’ve attacked openly.  They’re getting bold,” she observed.

“They’re escalating, which means they must be running out of time.”

“For what?” Temari demanded, but she knew neither of them could properly answer that question.  It was something they’d both been trying to work out for months.

“Whatever it is, they need the Tailed Beasts.”

“Which means they need the jinchuriki, including Naruto,” she finished.  Naruto, who had somehow saved Gaara and somehow saved everyone in the Leaf and somehow always saved the day.  Would anyone be able to save him if he needed it?

She watched Shikamaru’s face as its features stilled, his brows pulled down slightly in serious thought.  His hands drifted together in his lap, and his fingertips touched in a slightly relaxed iteration of the thinking position she remembered so clearly from their first chunin exam and countless times thereafter.  He had learned to think on his feet, but in moments of deep contemplation like now, his old habit would creep out.  She wondered if he knew.

She wondered if he could sense how much she trusted him, so utterly and completely that it scared her because she trusted almost nobody like this, not even herself.  She knew unerringly that whatever problem his mind was unravelling, he would solve it given enough time and confidence.  She loved to watch, to imagine what constellations he was drawing between the facts, to try and trace the twists and turns of his mind so that they’d meet up at the same conclusion.

When she was frustrated with some problem in the Sand that she couldn’t solve, she’d wonder how Shikamaru would look at it differently.  She hated how often it happened and was ashamed that she felt pulled toward him and the Leaf when she was so proud to be a Sand shinobi and support all that Gaara was doing.  But she couldn’t deny that she felt something akin to loyalty for this man thinking beside her.  It had been growing over the past few years, and she feared that it might some day conflict with her other duties.

Temari shied away from thinking about that future.  There were more pressing matters right now.  Her brothers needed to know what had happened, and the other villages ought to be notified, too.  She didn’t know how many Tailed Beasts were still out there, but the Akatsuki threat had become too big for anyone to ignore.  They couldn’t all depend on Naruto to save the day.

“I should get back to my village,” she murmured.

“Listen, I know our facilities aren’t the greatest right now, but you’re still welcome to stay the night.”  He was smiling wryly, but she glimpsed something like regret in his dark eyes.  She wanted to say yes, to waste what was left of the day with him because she hadn’t admitted to herself how much she’d been looking forward to this visit until she’d arrived and feared the worst, but she forced herself to shake her head and stand.

“Whatever comes after this is going to be big, and we need to be ready for it.  I have a feeling time isn’t a luxury right now.”

He nodded, understanding, and a little part of her was disappointed he didn’t insist she stay the night.  Instead he led her back through the destroyed village.  They walked past people who were tired and sad digging through the rubble of their homes and memories.  But they were also strong and determined to rebuild.  It made her think of Shikamaru and the Will of Fire, and that was comforting even though it was confusing.

“Next time, things will be more in order around here, assuming no other earth-shattering events occur.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

They looked at each other for a long moment.  Temari got the sense that he was trying to memorize her, afraid that this would be the last time they saw each other despite their optimistic promise.  She studied him, too:  the arch of his eyebrows, the slant of his eyes, the angle of his nose, the line of his lips, the sculpt of his chin.  She wanted to reach out and touch him, to study him with her fingers to add tactile memory to his visual profile, but instead she merely said, “Be safe.”

“You too,” he replied, and her ears pretended they’d heard his low voice catch a little in his throat.  But when neither of them made any further movement, Temari turned away along the path she had taken just that morning, carrying her hopes with her.

[dracox-serdriel]

TROS Ending Issues

Okay, so I’ve seen several posts regarding the ending of TROS, and I wanted to address them with some analysis by bullets. Under the cut for length, sass, and spoilers for The Rise of Skywalker.

There have been several posts out there arguing that if TROS had an original ending that was edittied away, it likely would’ve been worse for Ben Solo and Rey. For example, several people are arguing that one of the popular leaks - that Ben died offscreen in the pit after Palps threw him in “thus falls the last Skywalker” - was likely the original ending. I’ve also read several posts  from Reylos that argue that whatever alternate/original ending was to TROS, it would never have had a happily-ever-after with Rey and Ben Solo together.

While I understand the general jadedenss on this issue, I wanted to point out a number of things:

In all of the Star Wars saga history, there has never been a named character who has died and never been mentioned again in the movie s/he died in. That’s right, Ben Solo is the first and only named character to die in the Star Wars saga and not spoken of or otherwise mentioned again.

This isn’t just a huge break with Star Wars tradition. This is a huge break with good storytelling pratices, too.

To have a major character die in a movie without anything said about them again is, for want of a better word, VERY WEIRD.

I know one might argue that after his death, they were wrapping up the movie. However, the same could be said for many deaths in Star Wars. Qui-gon died at the end of an episode. Darth Vadar/Anakin Skywalker... plenty of people die at the end of saga episodes. But people still discuss their deaths in that same episode. It’s not like they didn’t have time for a short exchange between -- for example -- Rey and Finn (since Finn was set up in the movie to be a distant witness of Ben’s sacrifice--even though the movie didn’t even give us that).

All good stories have descending action and a resolution. Finding a place to mention the fact that Ben Solo helped save the galaxy--and sacrificed himself to save Rey--would’ve been pretty damn easy and taken almost no screentime.

Also: Ben Solo had no lines other than those he shared with Ghost Han. He said nothing to the Knights of Ren, nothing to Palpatine, and nothing to Rey. This is incredibly odd, since he’s been trapped under the mask (literal and actual) of Kylo Ren for 2 movies, and he finally has a chance to be himself. If they planned to kill him, surely they would’ve let him speak a few times before offing him.

TROS made Rey and Ben Solo a Force Dyad.

This literally means that - according to canon - Rey and Ben share a single soul.

In terms of plot, this was unnecessary.

They already showed the bond can transfer physical objects across space.

Kylo didn’t want to kill Rey before--and he values the Force bond. He already has plenty of reason to avoid killing Rey. He needs no more motivation in terms of “resisting the temptation” of killing her.

Palpatine could’ve drained the life force of 2 powerful young Force users to restore himself (I mean, why the hell not?)

There was absolutely no reason to make Rey and Ben Solo a Force Dyad when they already had a Force Bond to explain everything.

However, by making them a Force Dyad, they irrevocably linked Ben’s fate with Rey’s.

Even if you believe Ben Solo deserved to die because of what Kylo Ren did, it’s impossible to sell the idea that Rey deserves to lose half her soul. She didn’t choose the Force Dyad. (Neither did Ben.)

Selling the idea of Rey being “free” of the Force bond with Kylo Ren would’ve been infinitely easier than selling the idea of Rey being happy with her future despite half her soul dying.

If the original ending included Ben Solo dying, it absolutely would’ve provided more information about Force Dyads--particularly what happens when one half of the soul dies. (That would’ve been tied in as foreshadowing Ben’s death.)

TROS screws up the whole thing where the original trio all died to save Ben.

Han Solo’s death “splintered” Kylo Ren (gave Ben a fighting chance).

Luke Skywalker’s death gave Kylo a chance to face the master who failed him and vent his rage without killing anyone.

Leia Organa-Solo’s death proved that Ben was really alive/made him come to the surface.

This all sounds great, except... it’s unnessary. If Ben/Rey are a Force Dyad, then the bond would always result in him falling in love with her.  Which means, in narrative terms, that Ben/Kylo would always have died to save Rey, even without the deaths of Han, Luke, and Leia fueling his return to the light.

Having all 3 die for him to return to the light, only to die minutes later, is not only a waste of good character redemption arc, but also a poor use of the narrative elements here. “Saving Ben Solo” as a full trilogy arc only works if “saving” him means more than “turn him to the light.”

Also, we’ve already seen what happens when someone turns (to the Dark), and everything changes with Darth Vadar. Narratively, we should be setting up to see what happens when someome turns (to the Light), and everything changes. But that requires the character in question to be alive.

TROS had virtually nothing in terms of “what’s next.” For anybody.

At the end of the original trilogy, there was a sense that all the characters who survived were moving forward with their lives... into a better future to boot.

I will admit, I’ve only seen the prequels twice (nowhere near how much I’ve seen the originals), but they also ended with people moving forward. Leia and Luke were split up and sent to grow up with different people. Anakin was now become Darth Vadar... and so on. I don’t remember this being as strong/clear as with the original trilogy, but I do remember it being there.

Now consider TROS. What do we know about the character’s future?

Lando offered Jannah some help discovering her roots.

“People are rising up all over the galaxy” -- we even saw a “Holdo move” aka a First Order ship that I am pretty sure was destroyed by lightspeed jump -- above a planet.

Rey is... possibly becoming a Jedi? But would she? Didn’t the Jedi create the Sith? Can she be a Jedi and still bring balance? Hm... fine, let’s say she’s gonna use her new lightsaber and bring Force balance. (But I am seriously guessing here, since the movie gave us no indications.)

Finn is...?

Poe is... what, exactly?

Rose is... ?

Maz is...?

Chewie is the caption of the Falcon now, so... he’s... ?

Zorii is...?

The movie didn’t give us any insight into the character’s futures. It barely touched on what Rey - its protagonist - would be doing, other than calling herself “Skywalker.”

This is likely because Disney/Lucas Films wanted open-ended plots (because keeping track of things for continuity is clearly not their strong suit).

Even so, at the very least, we should’ve had some idea what “the trio” was going onto next. But we don’t.

TL;DR Bullet List Summary

If the original ending of this script included the death of Ben Solo:

his change of heart and/or sacrifice would’ve been mentioned in the resolution at least once in dialog

they won’t have bothered making Ben and Rey a Force Dyad (because it wasn’t needed--and killing off half your protagonist’s soul is neither “hopeful” nor “satisfying”)

his death would’ve been foreshadowed at least twice in the script

there would’ve been dialog (or at least some direct indication) of the fact that Force Healing can result in the death of the Healer if s/he either gives too much of their life force or if s/he exerts himself/herself too much with the Force (for example, in TLJ, Kylo specifically says that Force projection at a long distance can kill)

This was supposed to be Leia’s movie in the trilogy. I always assumed Leia would die (as Han and Luke died in their movies), but I never doubted Ben Solo would survive. Why? Because this is Leia’s movie. Killing her only child in her movie is, as I have said before, rude.