#happy birthday to the man who was most present in my childhood and I didn't even know it

[op15-moonwaltz]

[archiveikemen]

Elbert Greetia 1st Birthday Campaign (2024): Story

His POV

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

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Kate: Lord Elbert, please open your eyes. 

Elbert: … May I?

Kate: Yes, go ahead. 

Led by Kate who told me to keep my eyes closed, I found myself in the dining room of Crown’s castle.

(Wow…) 

Mornings in this castle weren’t usually lively, so it was common for it to be empty. 

But this morning— the dining table was lined with a variety of vibrant looking dishes. 

Victor • William: Happy birthday, Elbert. 

POP! With a light sound, a party popper burst open and confetti danced in the air. 

Elbert: …

Elbert: Is this… a birthday celebration?

Kate: Yes! Since you and I have plans to go out together tonight, I discussed it with everyone and we decided to celebrate your birthday over breakfast. 

Kate: Happy birthday, Lord Elbert. 

Standing next to me, Kate smiled brightly with sparkling eyes  as though it were her own celebration. 

(... Cute.)

The sight of that smile was enough to warm the coldest part of my heart—,

Elbert: … Thank you. 

When I received her greeting, a smile naturally formed on my face. 

I immediately realised that it was my first time ever smiling like that. 

Ellis: … [surprised]

Harrison: … Oh? 

A few observant Crown members stared at me in surprise. 

Kate: …? 

Not understanding what was going on, Kate blinked in confusion. 

(There's no need to explain to her why everyone’s surprised.)

(Thinking about all the birthdays I’ve had up till last year will definitely hurt your kind heart.) 

Alfons: I do wonder if a breakfast this heavy would be too much for Lord Elbie’s stomach so early in the morning. 

Having sensed what I was feeling, Al changed the topic.

This childhood friend of mine was always quick to notice the little details.

I thought it was admirable that he and I were opposites in that aspect. 

Liam: He might not be able to finish everything, but he should at least have some cake.

Victor: Kate and I handmade it together last night! 

Alfons: I had a hard time dealing with Elbie’s urge to barge in and ruin the surprise. 

Roger: How did you manage to distract him?

Alfons: By making him choose a dress and accessories for tonight’s party. 

Kate: Eh!? Another new dress…?

The party we were to attend tonight was hosted by one of the companies running the estate. 

Although Kate felt that it was odd to have a party on the lord’s birthday, the hosts weren't to blame… because my birthday wasn't widely known. 

Kate: Thank you, Lord Elbert.

Elbert: Hope you like it. 

Alfons: I can't believe this man tried to buy out the entire store because he didn’t know which one you'd like. 

Elbert: … I narrowed it down to what would suit you most.

Kate: Uhh… now I feel like my present for you is nothing compared to this…

Elbert: A present from you? 

Kate: Of course I had something prepared. I’ll give it to you tonight when we return from the party. 

(A present. From Kate to me.) 

I was so happy, my face felt strange. Was I smiling? I didn't know myself. 

One thing for sure was that… I was glad I met you and had you by my side.

Elbert: Thank you. 

Kate: Fufu, it's too early to thank me. I haven't given it to you yet. 

Alfons: Can the two lovebirds over there please cut the cake already?

Alfons: How about you feed each other too? It’s a special occasion after all. 

Kate: Huh!? 

Elbert: … Shall we? 

Kate: Lord Elbert, you too…

Victor: Yes, yes… that’d be so precious to watch, I might cry. Harry, can I borrow your handkerchief?

Harrison: Use your own. 

Roger: Looks like the corrupted heart is being purified, huh, Al?

Jude: If this guy gets purified, he’d probably disappear completely. 

Alfons: Ahha! What cruel words. It was I who set up this wonderful scene, you know?

Kate’s face turned as red as an apple at the teasing around her.

Elbert: Mm… delicious. 

Kate: I- I’m glad you think so.

Kate: … I hope this birthday will be a happy one.

(It’s already the happiest birthday of my life…) 

However, I kept that from her because I wanted more. 

…

After we enjoyed the breakfast feast and got ready for the party, we boarded the carriage while I resisted the urge to keep her, dressed in her new dress, all to myself.

The party we were attending went smoothly. 

Since my birthday wasn’t widely known, the reactions I received from the people around me were as per usual. 

Elbert: Kate, I’ll go chat with the host for a little bit.

Kate: Alright. See you. 

Elbert: Be careful. Call for me immediately if anything happens. 

When I had to leave Kate’s side, a wave of regret washed over me. 

(If only I had made it known that it’s my birthday today.)

(That way… I can stay by Kate’s side the whole time.) 

Those were things I never would've thought of in the past. 

(If I think of it as something Kate brought into my life… perhaps this feeling of regret isn’t so bad.) 

(... I should go back to her as soon as possible.)

…

A few minutes after Elbert left Kate’s side, a soft voice spoke to her from behind.

Calm Elderly Woman: Are you the young lady Elbert is dating?

Kate: ! Yes, my name is Kate. Pardon my discourtesy, but may I ask who you are? 

Sharon: I’m Sharon, Elbert’s great-aunt. Sorry for approaching you all of a sudden. 

Kate: Great-aunt? A pleasure to meet you! I apologise for not greeting you sooner. 

Sharon: Fufu… no need to be so formal. I’m glad to finally meet you.

Kate: Would you like to speak to Lord Elbert? He’s currently with the host… 

Sharon: No, it’s fine. I made use of my connections to enter this party, that boy doesn’t know I’m here.

Sharon: He rarely shows his face at social events on his birthday… I’m a little worried about him. 

Kate: Huh…? 

Sharon: Elbert’s father held birthday parties for him in his childhood. He only showed his face once.

Sharon: Although his mother was still alive back then, she would always stay in her room and never attended. 

Sharon: I heard that he collected beautiful things, so I gave him several frames of pressed flowers. 

Sharon: That boy looked overjoyed when he received them, however… he wore a pained look on his little face when he returned to the party. 

Sharon: After that happened… I finally understood. 

Sharon: There was not a single present that boy could accept as a celebration of his birth. 

Kate: … 

Sharon: After his mother’s passing, we were told not to give him any more birthday presents… and that was it.

Kate: … So that’s what happened. Um…

Kate: By any chance, did one of those framed pressed flowers include a blue poppy?

Sharon: Oh… you know about it?

Kate: Yes. It became a keepsake for Lord Elbert, myself, and… someone dear to us. So… 

Sharon: … I see. I’m glad it became something meaningful to him. 

Sharon: That boy’s facial expressions have become more pleasant than they used to be. I wonder if it’s because he now has someone like you by his side.

Sharon: I couldn't do anything for him because I live far away, so I’m not in the best position to say this, but…

Sharon: I wish you both happiness. 

After a complex conversation with the host, Elbert went to the balcony where Kate was waiting for him. 

Kate: Lord Elbert… have you finished your conversation?

Elbert: … Yeah.

(Did I… leave you at the party looking like this?) 

Even though her dress and accessories were personally chosen by me, I was momentarily stunned by how beautiful she looked standing at the balcony. 

Elbert: Sorry for leaving you alone. Did anyone bother you? Did you experience anything unpleasant?

Kate: I’m alright. Everyone was very kind. 

Kate: … It looks like someone has been going around telling everyone that I “belong to Lord Elbert” every day. 

Elbert: … That might've been me. … Or Al. 

Kate: Fufu. I’ve heard rumours about both of you.

Kate laughed and moved to stand closely next to me.

Kate: I met Great-aunt Sharon.

Elbert: ! … She came? That’s rare.

Elbert: She has always lived alone in a deserted lakeside mansion…  and was treated as an eccentric.

Elbert: But being around her makes it feel… a little easier to breathe.

Kate: I understand that feeling. 

Kate: … I heard from her that you’re not a fan of being celebrated. 

(Oh…)

It seemed that Kate had learned the reason why Crown was surprised in the morning at breakfast.

The day of my birth was the day my parents’ suffering began. 

I never felt that it deserved to be celebrated. 

And yet, I couldn't help but feel envious whenever I saw someone else's birthday being celebrated. 

(I wanted to be reborn so that I could feel happy from the bottom of my heart about being celebrated. But…)

Not wanting to dull Kate’s facial expression, I spoke.

Elbert: Kate, but now— 

Kate: You think that you’re genuinely happy… right?

Elbert: eh…

Elbert: How did you know? 

Kate: While waiting for you, I thought about Crown’s surprised looks this morning.

Kate: They were surprised because of your smile when I said “happy birthday”. 

Kate: For sure, it was a different facial expression than your usual one.

Kate: You smiled because you were genuinely happy to receive the birthday greeting. 

(... I’m no match for Kate, aren’t I.)

There wasn’t a trace of sorrow in her affectionate smile. 

She must've been hiding it, knowing how much I hated seeing her feel hurt. 

Elbert: Yeah… you’re right.

(It's because you allowed me to be reborn.) 

Elbert: Today, I think I feel genuinely happy about being celebrated. 

Kate: … That’s great. I’m glad to hear that, Lord Elbert. 

(Yeah, look at you.) 

(You smile like that, looking truly happy when I’m happy.) 

Her kindness and warmth made me want to tear up from how much I loved her. 

I pulled her into a tight hug, the warm body of my beloved fitting snugly in my arms. 

Elbert: I wonder if I can just take you away right now for the night. 

Kate: … Even though the party is still ongoing? 

Elbert: Yeah… I don’t want to let you out of my embrace anymore. 

Kate: Fufu. Still, it’d be hard to leave the party venue like this. 

Elbert: Not if… I do this.

Kate: Kyaa…! 

I lifted Kate in a princess carry and carried her back to the party venue from the balcony. 

Kate: Lord Elbert…? 

I looked around the venue and called out to a server I saw.

Elbert: Can you call me a carriage?

Server: Y-yes. Right away…! 

The server blushed and hurried off.

Amidst the buzzing of the guests surrounding us, the host approached with a surprised look.

(Oh, great. Saves me the trouble of searching for him.)

Elbert: Lord, thank you for today’s invitation. I apologise, but we shall take our leave now.

Host: Are you leaving already? … Is your partner perhaps feeling unwell? 

Host: I can arrange a private room for her to rest if you’d like…

Elbert: No… she’s not unwell. I’m doing this because I want to.

Kate: …っ

Kate frowned in embarrassment at my honest response.

The sight of her ears turning red was adorable. 

Host: I- I see. Please pardon my discourtesy. But it’s a pity… you went through the trouble of attending, after all.

Elbert: Sorry. I’ll compensate you another time. 

(Oh, right… I might as well tell him now, since this is a rare chance.)

Elbert: This is because it’s my birthday today.

Host: … Huh!?

Kate: Lord Elbert…

(It’s a special day you redefined for me.)

I dropped a gentle kiss on Kate’s lips to convey that to her.

Kate’s shoulders trembled slightly at the touch, but she accepted my feelings along with the kiss. 

Elbert: I want to spend my birthday with the person who means the world to me. 

Everyone present turned red like Kate.

The host apologised frantically for not knowing it was my birthday and escorted us to the carriage.

…

Elbert: It's a relief I didn't have to do much to convince them, although I don’t understand why everyone was blushing.

Kate: … That’s because you said such sweet words while doing something a prince would do.

Kate: That would… make anyone's heart race.

(Prince… sweet words… did I seem that way?) 

I thought I was just being my usual greedy self, but I let it slide.

Elbert: Does that mean it made your heart race too, Kate? 

Kate: … Yes, my heart was beating like crazy. Ah, but this doesn't mean you should do that whenever we go somewhere, okay?

Elbert: … I can’t?

Kate: You can't. … My heart won’t be able to take it. 

Elbert: Fufu.

As I held her on my lap and rested my cheek against her head, a warmth spread in my chest again… and then came the slight feeling of thirst. 

I want, I want. A desire started stirring in my heart.

Elbert: … I want to receive your present soon.

Kate: I’ll give it to you when we return to the castle. Bear with it a little bit more, okay? 

Elbert: I want you too after that.

Kate: … That’ll also have to wait till we return to the castle…

Elbert: Kate… I want a kiss right now.

Kate: … That’s fine, of course. 

Kate: Happy birthday, Lord Elbert.

I closed my eyes and received a celebratory kiss that was so blissful—, 

I found myself having the seemingly foolish thought of how I wished it would be my birthday again tomorrow. 

[dayoldtea]

INSTAGRAM BLURB

pairing: harry styles x brazilian!famous!reader

fc: bruna marquezine

a/n: this is long

..

2012

2016

liked by harrystyles, selenagomez and 12,517,882 others

yourinstagram Wow! I can't believe it's been a year of @ipanema 🇧🇷 My favorite childhood memories are connected to the summer, the sun and the sea, and with every new design designed, be it bikinis or accessories, I feel a little more connected to that little girl who counted the days until the weekend, because it meant my feet would touch the warm sand of Ipanema Beach again. So much has happened in one year and I can't wait to see what the future holds for us! Thanks for all the support so far, it means the world and I can't wait for you to see our new designs!! 💚💛 Head over to @ipanema to get 30% OFF the entire store! Limited birthday discount! ☀️

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user81 she's so pretty 😭

user61 harry liked the post just a few seconds after yn posted it 😃

⤷ user42 this man has her notifications turned on, i swear to god

user21 okay harry, we get it

user34 i'm so proud of you

user12 this is what i think i look like

user55 all right yn, here's my whole paycheck

harrystyles congratulations ❤️

liked by yourinstagram and 3,018,164 others

⤷ user96 WHAT

⤷ user48 HARRRRYYYYY

⤷ user82 QHWIOWHWEIWOWJAKAKALAKA

⤷ user10 i bet he sent this comment and then threw the phone out the window

⤷ user02 the poor man has been waiting for an answer for almost five years 😭 #prayforharry

liked by user7, user55 and 717,011 others

harry_update HARRY AND Y/N/Y/L/N TONIGHT IN LA!!! I REPEAT: HARRY AND Y/N/Y/L/N TONIGHT IN LA!!!!!!!!!

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user44 FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

user06 i love how the whole fandom was just rooting for harry to finally take her on a date

user71 i feel like a proud mother

user92 THE WAY HE'S HOLDING HER

user66 omg twitter must be collapsing

user04 y/n/y/l/n is the only woman who can keep harry styles waiting five years for a date

user12 when a latina wins, all latinas win along with her 🥳

user29 THIS IS SO ADORABLE 😭😭

user73 am i the only one who doesn't want them to be together?

⤷ user40 yes

⤷ user33 yes

⤷ user81 yes

liked by taylorswift, niallhoran and 31,981,277 others

harrystyles I finally got that call

harrystyles has disabled comments

2017

liked by user10, user20 and 471,839 others

ynandharryupdates the puppy appearing on harry's lap in the kiwi music video was a gift from him to yn. welcome, oat!

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user63 CRYING

user99 so lovely 😭😭

user03 i'm sure it was yn's idea to have puppies in the video lol

⤷ user62 that's exactly what i thought 😂

user55 harry is so whipped, and i am so happy for him

user30 this is the most adorable puppy ever

user44 he's smiling for the camera

user52 just a few days ago yn said on a live stream that she missed having a pet at home, but that she didn't know how she would manage since she had upcoming projects that required long trips. it seems that harry decided that they should share custody 🥺

2018

liked by user93, user07 and 327,016 others

enews Harry met with his girlfriend's parents, the brazilian actress and businesswoman Y/N/Y/L/N, this morning at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro. Some sources say that Y/L/N's absence in her homeland is associated with projects she is working on.

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user53 something about harry taking advantage of his concert schedule in brazil to see yn's parents even if she is not present makes me weak in the knees

user88 i'm so looking forward to yn's next works! hope to see her acting again soon ❤️

user94 yn taught him to speak portuguese? yn's parents speak english? i'm so curious now lol

⤷ user51 yn's parents speak english! they had to live in the usa for a while to accompany her to the auditions when she was still a minor (nowadays her mother teaches english at a school in brazil, btw).

⤷ user53 yn's parents speak english, but harry said in an interview with nick grimshaw for bbc music that yn was teaching him portuguese so he could communicate with her parents via facetime

⤷ user94 pls this is so cute! thanks for the explanation

user06 knowing how much yn loves going to rio and being close to her family, i'm sure she felt bad for not being able to accompany harry to his shows in brazil, so seeing him close to her parents must make her very happy ❤️

2019

liked by harrystyles, zendaya and 32,967,501 others

yourinstagram Euphoria coming soon to HBO.

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arianagrande YAAAAAA I CANT WAIT

user25 MAIN CHARACTER

user52 soooooo gooood

annetwist gorgeous

user18 i am so excited for this

harrystyles I couldn't be prouder! te amo, H x

⤷ yourinstagram love u too, H ❤️

⤷ user44 literal parents

⤷ user83 i'm so single 😃

⤷ user90 crying as i question my existence

user02 FREAKING OUT

liked by yourinstagram, harris_reed and 28,853,481 others

harrystyles FINE LINE . THE ALBUM . DEC 13

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gucci ❤️

user43 thank you @yourinstagram

user88 IM FUCKING READY OH MY GOSH

user06 what about medicine, sir??????????

user14 can't wait to listen and then look for theories about which songs are about yn

user62 i'm so proud

yourinstagram i know i've said this about a million times now, but you make me more and more proud every day. te amo! ❤️

⤷ harrystyles love you more my sunflower muse, H x

⤷ user91 SOBBING

⤷ user54 SUNFLOWER IS ALREADY THE BEST SONG

⤷ user09 imagine being harry styles' muse 😃

user91 WTF IS ERODA

2020

liked by user86, user31 and 581,740 others

harryflorals All accessories and swimwear used by the models in the watermelon sugar video are part of the new collection of yn's swimwear brand, @ipanema. According to the brand's website, the pre-sale will be available tomorrow.

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user60 SHE IS THE MOMENT

user23 talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before

user51 I KNEW

user45 I LOVE IT

user78 this song, this video… everything screams yn 😃

user64 the way she always uses harry to promote herself

⤷ user13 what? yn's brand was extremely popular even before she started dating harry. shut up.

user05 IT COUPLE

liked by user53, user03 and 359,721 others

ynshine just leaving this here

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user12 the cutest

user44 my parents

user25 i just love them

yourinstagram @harrystyles

⤷ harrystyles darling, i can explain…

⤷ user62 SCREAMING

⤷ ynshine the user of this account is dead

2021

liked by lizzobeeating, gemmastyles and 14,368,001 others

harrystyles late night talking

harrystyles has disabled comments

liked by harrystyles, mitchrowland and 20,014,613 others

yourinstagram loving on tour

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user61 SUPPORTIVE GF

user18 i'm obsessed with her

user11 hi, yn! idk if you remember me or if you will see this comment, but i was at the harry concert last night and ended up having a serious anxiety crisis due to the crowd. i was unaccompanied, and as much as the other girls next to me tried to help me, there wasn't much they could do. idk how, but you saw me from somewhere near the stage, offered me water and a safe place to stay until the show was over. i had saved up for many months for this show, and if it wasn't for you, my anxiety would have completely ruined my whole experience. thank you for helping me and being the sweetest person ever ❤️

⤷ yourinstagram of course I remember you, dear! hope you are feeling better, take care! ❤️

⤷ user69 literal angel

⤷ user16 harry is so lucky

user82 i love this relationship so much

user36 i was already crying when I read the caption

2022

liked by zendaya, annetwist, and 37,8941,241 others

harrystyles Harry's House. May 20th.

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user21 i cant

mtv i will never recover emotionally from this

billieeilish having a breakdown

user87 the message behind the name of the album and the photo he chose to promote it

user52 twitter crashed

user11 mom and dad

gemmastyles the all time favorite couple breaking the internet once again

liked by user03, user93 and 921,729 others

harryflorals The exact moment Harry and Y/N see each other on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival.

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user12 sobbing, crying, vomiting, screaming, blushing, banging my head on the wall, running in circles, pulling my hair out, sliding down the wall

user32 THEY'RE LITERALLY GLOWING

user76 after 10 years harry styles finally gets to live his fanfiction

user57 he's so in love with her

florencepugh SHE GOT THAT CINEMA

user97 GET MARRIED NOW

user50 thanks for the new wallpaper

user44 the real reason why i have high relationship patterns

user36 why didn't they go together?

⤷ user07 harry went earlier to accompany the cast of DWD

user09 the fact that harry is obsessed with her since forever just makes it even better

user80 SOULMATES

[milk-crater]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @blizzardsuplex! I hope you had a great day and that the sushi was good! I was too excited to post this, and I can't wait anymore haha. Here's a Roddam fic where the ages are reversed, so a 21-year-old Roddy meets a 27-year-old Adam in ROH. I know when we talked about the idea before we agreed that maybe their friendship would be more of a slowburn in this world, but that didn't exactly pan out--I just like my happy endings :D. I'd also love it if you could help me out with a title so I could post it to AO3 :P Warning for fatphobia.

Roddy’s childhood had engendered him with various gifts. One of them was the ability to be physically present, shoulders square, body language confident, doing whatever it was he needed to do in that space all while his heart and mind were shuttered behind the lead walls of his muscle and bone. This kind of functional detachment had severed him well growing up, especially during those moments when all four members of the household were home and a crackling tension hung in the air. Roddy had learned that to attempt to retreat, to try and make himself small, that would just make him a target. Better to purposefully take up space but in an opaque way, playing with Lego while mom and dad argued.

He used that same air when in the locker room, smiling affably at people who greeted him but never too much too be presumptuous, never too faint to be called unfriendly. He chatted and laughed but that was just audio camouflage. He was still green, still the youngest guy in the company, and he knew that any misstep meant getting some so-called “locker room leader” up in his grill and ready to beat his ass.

Roddy’s stealth work seemed to be paying off. Even most of the ROH hard asses said he was a good worker and “a polite boy.”

But he knew better to relax. So when he heard Chuck Taylor talking shit about him, he didn’t flinch. Didn’t react. But he did listen.

“I’m not saying you’re the chubbiest guy in ROH. That honor goes to Roderick Strong.”

Roderick didn’t react as he pulled kinesiology tape off his own back. He couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the man Chuck was talking to.

Adam Cole. Adam Cole, in Roddy’s eyes, was ROH, the type of cool badass wrestler Roddy aspired to be. The man was only six years older than him, 27 to Roddy’s 21, but he seemed eons older, blue eyes reflecting out a flintiness that was a byproduct of succeeding in the wrestling industry. His had long, brown hair and a thin goatee that just highlighted the fine features of his pretty face.

Adam took Chuck’s comment with a mirthless chuckle, a small sound that hit Roddy like a bullet. He shouldn’t feel so hurt; Cole had barely talked to him aside from welcoming him to the company. But he’d waited so long for further acknowledgement from the man, it seemed like a cruel twist of fate for it to be this.

“But with Roddy, that’s all baby fat,” Chuck said. “It’ll melt off him if he keeps going hard in the gym and in the ring. But you? You’re getting close to thirty, pal. At our age it’s not so easy to lose those pounds once you pick them up.”

It went against every one of his survival instincts, but Roddy couldn’t help but look at Adam again, eyes staying longer this time. It was true that Adam had gained a couple pounds in the last month, and not in the bulking up sense of putting on muscle. He had a bit of a tummy, some love handles, extra flesh that could not be contained by his skimpy wrestling trunks.

Roddy considered his own body. Adam’s fat seemed to pool in ‘problem’ areas: hips, tummy. Roddy just felt big and bloated all over, a layer of flab that covered him like a stifling set of clothes. He figured he wore it well, but now, thanks to Chuck’s comment, he knew that wasn’t the case. Everyone looked at him and saw and fleshy, fat, child. 

“I get it,” Chuck continued, arm on the locker, smile wide and at odds with his sympathetic tone.  “Everyone feels the need to down a pallet of cupcakes after getting dumped. But stuffing your face isn’t going to win back Kevin.”

There was a shift in the room at the comment, and it occurred to Roddy that everyone else had been doing exactly what he was doing, pretending to be busy while listening closely. A month ago, Adam Cole and Kevin Owens had been ROH tag team champs. The two men had met early in their careers and called each other their wrestling soulmate. They formed a tag team called “Beauty and the Beast,” the gimmick being it featured a hot pretty guy and a brawling brute, two opposites. But that was just a feint: the truth was they were the same guy. The same ruthless bastard just in two different shapes. 

And yeah, Roddy had heard they were an item outside of the ring as well. They were pretty blatant about it: when they won the titles, Kevin had carried Adam bridal style out of the ring.

And then they’d lost the titles. And Kevin had won the “who’s a bigger bastard” contest between them by taking a steel chair to Adam’s back.

“But if you want to be ROH world champion, you can’t do it looking like that,” Chuck chided.

Adam had taken this all with a stoicism Roddy admired in an almost academic way, taking mental notes on his posture and expression. Adam nodded as he finished getting dressed. He threw his head back and gathered his hair into a bun.

“Fat or not, Chuck, you’d still hop on my dick if I so much as whistled,” Adam said casually.

Chuck scoffed, looking around the room, trying to make eye contact with someone, anyone, so he could gesture in a Can you believe this guy? way. But no one met his eyes.

Chuck’s smile dropped.

“Ha. You wish, Cole,” Chuck said, but it was weak, a too late kick out. The invisible ref of the locker room had already counted one-two-three, marking this match as a win for Cole. Adam smiled at Chuck, then grabbed his bag and left the locker room, not even glancing Roddy’s way.

For a moment Roddy worried Chuck would switch his focus over to him, but Chuck seemed cowed even with Adam gone. Roddy focused on getting dressed and putting his gear away, saying goodbye to the guys he’d wrestled with that night before leaving the locker room.

Adam Cole was waiting for him outside the building.

“Hey, Roderick,” he said, pushing himself off the brick wall of the armory. “Got a moment?”

Roddy made himself stop and smile. “Sure, Mr. Cole. What can I do for you?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “First off, don’t call me ‘mister.’ I’m not that much older than you.”

Roddy nodded, fidgeting with the strap of his gym bag as he waited for Adam to get to the point.

“Don’t let what Chuck said in there get to you--”

“It didn’t,” Roddy replied, too quick, too cheerful. Adam raised one perfect eyebrow.

“You sure?” Adam said. “Look, Chuck likes to run his mouth. The fact is, he’s really insecure about his own weight, so he’s just loving the fact that I’ve packed on a few pounds lately. That’s the only reason he made a dig at you. It wasn’t personal. You were just caught in the crossfire.”

Roddy let out a huff. “Yeah, well, that doesn’t exactly make me feel any better.”

Adam smiled softly. “I thought it didn’t get to you?”

Roddy shifted his weight from foot to foot, not sure what to say after being caught in a lie.

Adam laughed, an affectionate laugh as if Roddy was his simple but sweet younger brother.

“You’re a nice kid,” Adam said, looking at Roddy with fondness that he suspected was for someone else. Then the smile widened and Adam’s blue eyes sparkled, and it felt like he was actually looking at him. “And you can go in the ring! I watched your match tonight. You were fantastic. Really crisp. The cutter was perfectly executed.”

“You mean it? You actually watched my match?” Roddy said. He hated how nasally his voice got when he was sincere.

“Yeah, of course. I like to keep an eye on my competition. And I keep a real close eye if they’re cute.”

Roddy knew the cute bit was an empty line, just a balm to make Roddy feel better after Chuck’s locker room teasing, but he wasn’t able to withstand the first barrage from Cole’s charm offensive: Adam Cole thinks I’m competition!

“That’s right. Because I’m going after the championship belt too.” He sounded sure of himself, like he was cutting a promo instead of having a friendly chat with a colleague. Roddy was mentally kicking himself for being such a nerd, but Adam just smiled, seemingly pleased by Roddy’s response.

“Glad to hear it.” He gave Roddy a jaunty little salute and started to walk away.

Roddy felt his heart drop. He knew in his bones he couldn’t let it end here. Adam would pat himself on the back for being nice to the newbie and then never think about him again. And that was one of the worst things Roddy could ever imagine.

He wouldn’t let that happen. Even if it meant making himself known, even if it meant stepping up and calling attention to himself.

“Adam!” he called out. “You don’t need Kevin Owens.”

 Adam stopped, the tension in his shoulders the only other indication he’d heard him.

“But if you ever do need someone…maybe I could be that guy.” Roddy didn’t even know what he was saying, what he was pitching.

But Adam seemed to. The older man glanced over his shoulder, a thoughtful smile on his face. He gave Roddy a once over, serious assessment behind his gaze.

“Well, I am down a tag partner, so…I’ll keep you in mind.”

Roddy grinned. In that moment, that’s all he had ever wanted.

“Great, great,” he said, trying to stifle his smile. Adam chuckled and shook his head. Maybe he thought Roddy was a young idiot, but at least now Adam seemed to think of him as a useful idiot. And maybe if they hung out and trained together, who knows?

Adam himself suddenly seemed shy, an out of character look on his face.

“Hey, do you want to come over and do some tape study?” He asked. Roddy straightened up.

“Right now?” he asked incredulously.

Adam waved him off. “Right, stupid idea. You probably already have plans—”

“No, no, I want to do it,” Roddy said. “Let’s go.”

Adam smiled and gave what Roddy thought might be a sigh of relief. “Then let’s hit the road before those other bozos clear out of the locker room.”

Roddy bounded over, a new lightness to his step.

[tetsunabouquet]

Basic Instinct Chapter 27

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYONE! Today, the first chapter of Basic Instinct turnt 1 year old. I mentioned before how xenophobic native English speakers dragged me for my mistakes as a non-English speaker to the point I stopped publishing fanworks and I'll admit the lack of support also wasn't motivating. Basic Instinct is the first fanfic I've completed since my very first fanfic that I actually kept to myself that I wrote when I was 11 years old. Yes, I am saying completed as I had planned this to be the final chapter. There's something poetic about releasing the ending on Basic Instinct's birthday and it just feels right to end the story at this point. Don't worry guys, you guys will still be getting an epilogue and a blooper reel where I will be releasing some short funny scenes like the off screen dance Kotaro and the reader did at the Maji Burger in chapter 5. I thank every single one of you for being here on the journey! masterpost

Today, was Akashi's birthday. Rima had planned out everything and you, Momoi, Reo, Midorima and Kuroko had filled her in with the occasional comment about what they thought might be nice too. Last week, before winter break, Reo had slipped the invitations to Nebuya and Kotaro, and Momoi did the same for Kise and Aomine as Kuroko took care of Kagami and Murasakibara. Kagami had been a bit surprised to be invited too, but after careful thought everyone agreed Kagami also should be getting an invitation. You were glowing with excitement and wore a beautiful, expensive dress that Rima had given you as an advance Christmas gift as you did feel a bit insecure as Masaomi would drop by on the party. You didn't wanted to look cheap, knowing how he felt about you. Rima had her scary side, but she had embraced you like a granddaughter and you knew she truly had your back if Masaomi were to act coldly towards you. So if anyone should be scared, it should be him. At least, that's what you kept telling yourself. You had been as thoughtful as possiblr. For one, you had written his birthday note with the markers he had bought for you on your first date. It had been hard to think of a birthday gift, because what could you give a boy who had almost everything already? You had been grateful for your friend Mari-Chan. As the two of you had chatted about the topic and how you thought of perhaps a self-made gift, she had the most brilliant idea. With the help of everyone, you had managed to collect a decent number of photos of Akashi and his friends, the few ones of the two of you and Rima had doubles made of childhood photographs with his mother. Spending your money on a few magazines of National Geographic, you had created the most beautiful collage of nature pictures to create a pretty backdrop, and then you carefully started making a collage of Akashi and his loved ones on top of your first collage. Mari had given you the money for the frame as those magazines had blown your budget, telling you how you always had her back when she needed you and this time she wanted to help you. She also said she thought you and Akashi were a cute couple in general and how much happier you looked now that the two of you had one another. Mari nearly chocked in the tight embrace you'd given her. Now, as you entered the Kaneshiro mansion with your gift, you couldn't help but think of how the dress and the pretty mansion remembered you of a fairy tale, with you being the princess. Fujioka came to place your present with the others, and the old man smiled at you. "Thank you for giving him his joy back. This birthday will be the best my young master will have ever gotten, and its all thanks to your love that he's getting what he deserves. I'd be honored of serving you as the lady of the house one day." Your face got a little red and you could feel a few tears pricking your eyes. The compliment touched you, and you gave Fujioka your warmest smile. "And I thank you, for getting him to the warm home he deserves." "Oi, y/n-chan!" Kotaro yelled, arriving with Nebuya and you let out a soft chuckle. Another servant took the gifts of their hands and they led the three of you to the dining hall. The usual table was shoved into a corner where the small pile of gifts rested atop A new, larger table was seated in the center of the room, sporting the largest birthday cake you had ever seen in real life, and plates with various different foods. Midorima and Tamamura-san seemed to try their hardest to distract Murasakibara from eating before the party started. Kuroko, Kagami and Momoi were reacting to something stupid Aomine had said, Momoi was rolling her eyes and Kuroko was saying something you couldn't hear with Midorima's scolding drowning out his voice. Reo was chatting up with Umemiya-san and you guessed it was probably recipe related. You could recognize Yuuki, chatting up with some other maids as they eyed the commotion as you did. Only Kise hadn't arrived yet.

After another half hour, all of you gathered around as Fujioka went to get Rima and Akashi. Kise still wasn't there yet! You hoped it wouldn't hurt Akashi's feelings. As the anticipation arose in the room, and you could feel the excitement jittering in your skin, the doors opened. "Surprise!" They all yelled, only to see Kise in the doorway, carrying his gift. He chuckled as he walked into the room, "Hi!" "Kise, why are you so god damn late!" Aomine grumbled annoyed and Kise pouted. "Aominecchi, I am supposed to be fashionably late." At that you and several others chuckled, and just then did the doors open again, this time with the actual birthday boy, butler and grandma. As everyone gathered some air, they once more shouted, "Surprise!" Akashi looked on with big surprised eyes and then looked at his grandmother. "I thought you deserved an actual birthday." He couldn't help but feel his eyes water, and he hugged his grandmother. You broke out into a wide smile, looking onto his happiness. Akashi walked to your group and said, "I'm happy you made it to my birthday." "He's here now. Can we finally eat?" Murasakibara asked hungrily. Akashi chuckled and said, "Of course, let us feast on this occasion!" And so all of you took your own seat. The cake only had one candle, so Akashi did not have to worry about the cake's large size. He closed his eyes and made his wish, 'I wish my bonds with these people will never change.' All of you clapped as he blew out the candle, and almost with lightning speed did Murasakibara took a slice. Everyone looked flabbergasted at his audacity not to let Akashi go first, but he shrugged it off with a happy smile, because all of you were there and that was the gift he had always wanted. Each of you then took your then filled your own plate, and just as you took your first bite of food, did another butler bring in Masaomi, awkwardly holding a gift. "Take a seat father." Akashi said, and Masaomi handed his gift to the butler. You immediately felt anxious, but then Rima smiled at you and you couldn't help but smile back. 'thank you', you mouthed, for all her support. And the party did go over smoothly. Masaomi talked mostly with Rima and the servants that evening, observing you, Akashi and his friends from the sidelines. Which came much as a relief. Before you left to go back home, Akashi embraced you as you bid your goodbye to him in the garden. "You really look stunning in that dress. It suits you perfectly." He complimented and your face flushed red. "Thank you, your grandmother has great taste." He chuckled, his eyes bright and his smile so wide that it hurt but he couldn't help how happy he was. You wrapped your arms around his neck. "Happy birthday Sei." Akashi leaned in and kissed you with such delight, the two of you felt as if you were set afire. There was no moment more perfect then this.

[sammys-stupid-stories]

23rd September 2024

El padre sent me a bunch of photos that he was getting rid of so I could sift through them. I figured they were all going to be baby pictures since trying to get pictures from my siblings and I was like pulling teeth in our later years.

For the most part I was right. They were largely pictures of my family before I was born and a few of my baby photos. Going through them dredged up a lot of feelings I wasn't ready to deal with.

It's so weird seeing my parents together and happy, or my brothers getting along- to see them holding me and playing with their baby "sister". There's a picture of my middle brother (B) sleeping on a couch with me and several of my oldest brother (C) pushing me around in a plastic container like one would a toy car.

Then there's the picture of me in overalls hanging from a plant hook from the ceiling because it was easier to leave me there for hours on end instead of taking care of me.

There's one of me standing in front of the same TV stand that my dad would one day put my head through.

Pictures of C playing with our cats, not yet the monster who hanged one from our back porch. Or him and our mother, several years before he held her hostage with a kitchen knife. Before he was beaten by my dad and kicked out for his transgression.

So many pictures have our dad playing with us- one of me standing in his hand as he attempted to balance the baby like one would a vertical stick. That same year CPS would tell us they refused to make visits to us any more after having been called on to investigate our family several times by several different people.

In every holiday and birthday picture, my grandfather is present. The same man who abused his own wife and children was allowed around us all the same. He was even allowed to take us out by ourselves. He had the carrot and stick routine down perfectly by the time I came around. It's hard to hate the man who gives you ice cream and money and shows off magic tricks; especially when the rest of the family is so quick to brush off everything he does.

There's a picture of me playing with my uncle's puppies. Just two years later my mother and him would lock me in his backyard with the same dogs he trained for dog fights.

Jokes on him, I guess. I lost part of a finger, but he lost his legs soon after in an accident.

All of the pictures of my mother and I are from when she could dress me up in pretty dresses and show me off as her daughter. I didn't have the words for it, but even back in my childhood I knew I hated being a girl. I would fight her on everything from then on

One of the pictures shows me with a silver streak in my hair a year after cutting it. Both were heinous transgressions in her book. Both resulted in my punishment.

There's pictures of my mother playing with my little cousin like he was another son to her. Also of her making necklaces with his mother (who married into our family). Only a year later she would go to court calling her an unfit mother and advocating for his custody to remain with his abusive bastard of a deadbeat father. I lost contact with those two and only got to meet again a week before moving states by sheer luck of running into his mom at my workplace and she recognized me. The love and acceptance they showed in our brief lunch that I insisted on treating them to felt so foreign.

There's pictures of me constantly imitating my brother B. He got to wear goth clothing and dye his hair and listen to punk / rock music and I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be funny and cool looking too. I idolized him and it shows. It's odd to think about what happened between the pictures. We have our fucked up history too, but he was the closest to an actual familial relationship. Though he quickly started to pull away and distance himself from us.

The ones that hurt the most to see were the most recent photos. I didn't even know about them nor remembered taking them. It was a family photo session taken in our basement when I was around 14. Both brothers were adults who had been living on their own.

There's 2 that really caught my attention. The first is the three of us sitting on the brick ledge in front of our fireplace. I was in the middle. It was a simple picture, but the one following it had both of them "manspreading" and leaning against me to squish me, much like what they did when we all shared the backseat of a car as children. It's such a mundane picture: just siblings being siblings. And it made me long for that connection. It pained me to know that I don't have any relationship with them anymore.

But also... I never DID have that connection. Not really. C royally fucked up my life and I'm stuck living with severe CPTSD. I know it goes as far back as 5 years old, possibly further but my memory isn't great from there back. Last I saw him, he had found where I worked he tried to stalk me home and when that didn't work he harassed my coworkers, trying to get them to give him my info. I know it was bad because even my drama loving coworker decided against giving him any info, and she HATED me.

Now I'm just left... empty. I miss something I never had. Seeing those pictures drills it in that I have no one anymore. I ran away from my whole family. I only talk to two of my cousins, both far removed from the rest of our family.

I don't even have El Padre. Aside from texting him once every year or so, I'm nothing to him. After their final divorce, he married into a new family- one that's got grandchildren and people who love one another. He made it VERY clear that I wasn't part of his family anymore.

[quirkyplutonian]

When there's not really any autistic characters in a piece of media, I'm most likley to identify with the anxious ones, or the awkward ones, or the ones that just done match the other characters.

Here's a list of characters I related to as a little kid, that I can remember:

All five backyardigans

Arthur, from Arthur (Did you know there was an autistic character in this show? I never got to see any of those episodes on PBS)

Candace, from Phinneas and Ferb

Dora the Explorer

Charlie Brown

Arnold, from the Magic School Bus (fun fact: it took me 5 minutes to be able to write this one, and that's an improvement. Thanks, 5 or so years of therapy!)

Dan Kuso, from Bakugan

Of these characters, two (Dan and Dora) I only identify with due to hair color. That's it. The backyardigans I. I don't know, man, I just vide with them. The rest? Emotion. I was a very worrying kid, largely due to sensory and other autistic issues completely unbeknownst to me at the time.

But those other four characters all had, as far as my memory goes, a miserable or frustrating time. Discredited and ignored anxieties. Random rudeness between them or other characters. Heavy doses of pessimism. Anger. Hopelessness. Some of them was consistently used as bait. Some of them being made out to be lying about something that was actually true. All of them often the butt of the joke. All of them were constantly on the side of bad luck. None of them could get out of it. Two of them (or three? I don't remeber Arthur well...) had episodes where things were done to them or their bodies unwillingly or without their knowledge. One of them tecnically made a suicide attempt. And to most the people I've scrolled past of the internet, they're joke characters.

Some of them are also characters that, as I've found from rumors and comments on ancient reddit threads, have the most fucked up shit written or drawn of them. 10th grade me didn't need to know that, I was just hoping to look back at everything from my past and get over some fears, make some ammends.

And what was I most of my childhood and teen years? Constantly thinking everyone hated my guts or thought I was too weird to be friends with. Not even trying to heal or move on because life felt like an endless little story I could never escape or change from. Constantly paranoid about people tricking me, mocking me, or other things. Doubtful of any good, telling myself not to smile because those days meant bad things would happen. I had a birthday wish to be taken off the planet, even if I 'had to die to do it'. I didn't develop social skills, because I thought it was pointless. I slowly became more and more afraid of everything, from chatting to the dentist to presentations and answering questions in class. I was extremely smart and I called myself stupid. I isolated without anyone even needing to bully me. I had my share of stating my reasons and truths to be met only with "NO EXCUSES", arguments, and lost recess, so I stopped giving any reasons and became a people pleaser who was terrified of bugging anyone or getting help.

I was the characters I'd seen on tv. The ones that I related to. And so I was a pessimist social hermit that did nothing and was scared of their own shadow. Intrusive thoughts so bad I'd sense cartoon characters in a room with me and the slightest sensory issue with my tongue would freak me out for the whole day.

I'm glad for nowadays, with characters like Julia (sesame street), and the new new one Carl the Collector (and a few others, I just can't remember them rn). I just wish I'd had some positive characters back when I needed them.

I wonder if that would have prevented me from becoming a college sophomore just starting to know what a generally happy and intrusive-thought-less mind is like. Maybe I wouldn't feel as behind as I do in this timeline.

I think that's the one important thing about any sort of representative characters.

Don't get so lost in relatability that you have to go back out years later to find yourself again.

Oh, don't mind me, just thinking about how me, my autistic ass, grew up with mostly negative identifiable characters

[gabseyoo]

Pity Party

pairing: satoru x fem!reader | wc: 6,5k.

summary: Gojō Satoru has been your best friend since childhood, you practically grew up together, so at this point he knows everything about you. He knows the exact amount of sugar you like your coffee with, the lyrics of your favorite songs, that you love whales and how special your birthday is for you. So when your friends didn't show up to your birthday party, he'll prove that he's there for you, as he always was and always will be.

warnings: slight angst, best friends to lovers, love confession, lovesick!satoru, kinda childish!reader, crying, kissing, praising, cunnilingus, fingering, vanilla and unprotected sex, breeding, aftercare, this is corny and unedited.

a/n: this fic is inspired by melanie martinez's song with the same title. the other day i was listening to it and this idea appeared in my mind like an epiphany and who better to star in it than our sealed boy. ps. why is this so long?

“Why the hell no one is here?” 

It was about the fifth time you had said that same sentence. But no one could blame you, in fact, it seemed like the few people present were wondering the same thing. 

“Maybe they’re late.” Your mother said. 

Today was your birthday, and you had planned together with your parents the best birthday party possible. It was planned as something intimate and nice, with family and close friends. 

The only problem was that there was family, but no friends— except for Gojo Satoru, your best friend since childhood. 

You weren't the type who liked to throw huge parties, you liked the idea that a day as special as your birthday should be spent with the people closest and most important to you. It had been that way every year since high school, when you realized that special moments should be shared with special people. 

Don't misunderstand, it's not as if you were a boring girl; you liked to go to big parties, drink yourself unconscious and come home in the wee hours with a thousand excuses prepared for your mother who was waiting for you awake on the couch for not adhering to the rule to get home before midnight. 

It simply wasn't what you wanted for your birthday. 

You went into the bathroom to avoid the worried stares of your family for a few minutes and took the opportunity to take out your phone and check if at least one of your best friends had responded to your messages, indeed, there was a response, but not the one you expected. 

It was a message explaining how sorry she was that she couldn't make it to your party because she was sick. Not forgetting to put at the end of the text that she loved you and wished you a happy birthday. 

The worst part wasn't that your best friend wasn't coming to your birthday, the worst part was that you didn't believe her. 

There was a frat party today, you knew because you were invited. Your friends had said several times during the week that you should go, but for obvious reasons you had refused. You wanted to believe that she wouldn't be able to stand you up on your own birthday for a frat party, but you couldn't help but have a bad feeling. 

You looked in the mirror and tried to smile, convincing yourself that everything would be okay as you analyzed your reflection. You were wearing that pretty baby blue dress you had bought weeks before with Satoru's help—he practically chose it—, nice makeup and hair and nails done. A few hours ago when you looked in the mirror you felt gorgeous, even the blue-eyed man had told you so when you showed him the final result, but now you felt ridiculous. 

“Everything will be fine, Y/n. Stop being so pessimistic.”

You had invited your two best friends from collage and Satoru and Suguru. Only your close circle. You knew that the latter would not come as he had a family trip, but he had apologized and even sent a bouquet of flowers as a gift. So there was still one person to come. 

When you came out of the bathroom you found your white-haired friend leaning against the opposite wall, who stood up straight and uncrossed his arms when he saw you. 

“What are you doing here?” You asked leaning against the door after closing it. 

“Umm— I was worried about you.” He said scratching the back of his neck. “Are you okay?”

“Why shouldn't I be?” He rolled his eyes and looked at you in disbelief. 

“Y/n, I know you better than you think. What happened?”

You sighed in defeat, it was almost impossible for you to lie to Satoru. You cleared your throat and looked at the ground, avoiding his inquisitive gaze that never failed to make you nervous.

“One of my friends just texted me that she wasn't coming because she was sick.” He frowned immediately. 

“One of those two you hang out with?” 

You nodded as you unlocked your phone to show him the message. You noticed how his hand pressed against the device, it wasn't hard to tell he was incredibly upset. He also knew about this frat party, he had also been invited. But he hadn't even bothered to consider it when he was already declining the invitation, that day was solely and completely reserved for his best friend. 

And he had that same feeling that this person you called your friend didn't do the same thing he did. 

“Say it.” You encouraged him crossing your arms.

He had a lot to say. From months ago when you started that friendship with those girls. But it wasn't the time or the place, so he just shrugged as he handed the phone back to you.

“Maybe she is really sick.” He said trying to force a smile. 

“Yeah, right.” The sarcasm in your voice along with the dejected look in your eyes almost made him want to hug you, but he knew you, you were holding back and maybe that show of affection would make you break. He didn't want to see you cry on your birthday. Or never. Especially because of a person like your friend.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, but he decided he should cheer you up. 

He took your hand and caressed your knuckles with his thumb before speaking again, “Come on, don't be sad. Your other friend is still to come, isn't she? She should be on her way. For now let's go to the garden, your mom must be worried.” 

You nodded and let go of his gentle grip before walking without even waiting for him. He sighed and followed you behind until you reached the garden, where your relatives greeted you with warm smiles. You tried to force a smile at them, but even though you thought you were doing a good job of hiding your feelings, your face still gave you away. Still, no one tried to question you. 

You went to sit at a table and immediately your mother handed you a plate of your favorite food that she had lovingly prepared, you sighed and picked up a fork in an attempt to eat even though the last thing you felt at that moment was hunger. 

Satoru sat down next to you and began to eat his own plate, and without you noticing, your mother mouthed to him if everything was alright, to which he nodded even when it was not believable. 

Half an hour later and with your untouched food cold, you were resting your face in the palm of your hand while listening to your fourteen-year-old cousin talk to you about the new boy she liked when your phone rang with that special tone you had for your friends. 

Gojo looked at the contact name and had the impulse to tell you not to answer as he had a feeling that nothing good would come out of that call, but he kept silent, letting you pick up. 

“Hello? Oh, thank you… What do you mean?” There were several seconds of silence and he noticed how you clenched your jaw. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. See you Monday.” 

And with that, you hung up the call, “She's not coming either. She says she has to watch her siblings.”

You didn't believe her either.  

Satoru felt that anger in his chest again. If he already didn't like your friends, now even less. But he was more concerned about how you hadn’t yet burst into tears, even your cousin was worried about you, so after making eye contact with Satoru full of concern, she decided to start talking about the gossip in her school about a student and a teacher having an affair. 

You knew what she was doing, she was trying to distract you. And although you were grateful for the attempt, your mind kept wandering to your friends standing you up on your birthday with poor excuses. 

You don't know how much time passed after that, they had sung happy birthday to you, you blew out the candles on the cake and they convinced you to open the presents even when you insisted you’d do it tomorrow. 

Your aunt and uncle gave you a new dress, your grandparents money and your parents a new laptop. Satoru's gift almost made you burst into tears. It was something typical, a necklace. What made it special was the whale charm since he knew how much you loved whales. 

“Do you want me to put it on?” He asked and you nodded before turning around and pulling your hair up for him. 

It was a small moment you two had, you even felt a tingle as his fingers brushed your skin. You almost blushed when you caught your mother's proud smile as she witnessed Satoru struggling with fastening the necklace. 

“There you go.” He whispered with a smile and patted your shoulder twice before you let your hair down. 

You looked up to meet his gaze, he seemed lost in thought and you had to clear your throat to get him to snap out of his little stupor. 

Then you looked around the place, paying attention to the faces of your family.  They were really trying hard to make sure you had a happy birthday. You couldn't help feeling bad about yourself, feeling ungrateful. They are your special people. They were here and yet you were letting those who weren't ruin your day. 

You really appreciated the effort, so you were frustrated that you couldn't suppress your emotions and simply enjoy yourself. 

Meanwhile, Satoru couldn't help but feel his heart ache to see you having such a hard time, knowing how special your birthday was to you. You looked beautiful, and he knew you would look even more so if you smiled like you usually do. 

While you were trying to eat a piece of your favorite cake, you unlocked your phone and decided to distract yourself by scrolling through Instagram. Big mistake. 

One of your classmates had you added to his close friends list, he had several stories on the frat party; beer pong, people twerking on the floor, but just as you were about to move on to the next story you saw something that caught your attention. 

In the background you noticed both of your friends with red cups in their hands. You blinked one, two, three times not believing what you were seeing. You watched the story again, even zoomed in to confirm that it was not a figment of your imagination. But it wasn't, it really was your friends.  

That was your breaking point. 

You blocked the phone before standing up abruptly, drawing everyone's attention. You threw your napkin on the table before turning around and walking back inside your house. 

You ignored your mother's concerned calls as you let the tears you had been holding back throughout the party fall. 

Satoru had stood up just a second after you. You hadn't noticed, but when he  recognized the face you made when you wanted to cry, he happened to peek at what you were seeing on your phone screen. The only thing he saw was how you made one last zoom to the Instagram story—he also recognized your friends' figures—before you blocked it and got up. 

He called your name as he hurried after you, but not before turning to look at your parents and saying a quick leave it to me before walking up the stairs behind you. 

Although your mother wanted to follow you and comfort you herself in her arms, she decided it was best for Satoru to do it. He was your best friend since you were children and you trusted him more than you could ever trust anyone. She understood that the best person to comfort and understand you was him, so she just nodded to his words and watched him walk up the stairs, losing sight of him when he reached the second floor. 

She had no choice but to turn and look at the confused faces of her husband and family members and shrug her shoulders. Telling them it was best to give you your space and let Satoru handle it. 

Before your best friend could reach you, you had already slammed your bedroom door in his face. He tried to open it but it was locked; and he felt so helpless when he heard your sobs and he wasn't in there to hug you. 

“Y/n, open the door— please.” He said in a sweet voice, leaning his forehead against the wood. “Open it so I can hold you.”

He had no answer, still hearing your sobs on the other end, so he sighed and insisted again. And again. And again. 

It wasn't until minutes later that you opened the door, you meeting Satoru's worried face and him your tearful one. He felt as if he had been punched in the stomach, he hated to see you cry. You turned around and walked to the center of your room, crossing your arms as he entered and secured the door before approaching you. 

His heart was breaking, every sob from you seemed to open one more crack. It hurt him too much to see you like this, on your birthday. You were the person he treasured most in his life. The person he loved. 

As if it wasn't obvious by now, Gojo Satoru, your best friend since childhood, was deeply and hopelessly in love with you. 

He loved you like he never thought he could love a person. 

Since when? 

You had known each other since you were six years old, but it wasn't until many years later that he began to develop feelings for you. But when was that moment? The moment when he said I'm in love with her?

He likes to think it was something that developed gradually. That there was no specific moment when he had that epiphany. 

But if he had to pick the moment, it would be that night when you went for a ride in his car after graduating from high school and drove to the outskirts of the city, from where you could see the lights of the nightlife in the distance and a sky full of stars. You said how beautiful the view was, he whispered that he knew, the difference is that you were looking at the sky and he was looking at you. 

It was cliché— the boy who falls in love with his childhood best friend. But who is he to deny the feelings of his heart? A mere human. 

“What do you want, Satoru?” You asked when you felt his body behind you. 

“I just want to be here for you.” 

His hand went around your forearm, urging you to turn around, but you didn't want to. Even in the darkness of your room, lit only by the moonlight filtering through your window, he would see your face again. You didn't want him to see you like that. He just sighed and decided that he would be the one to stand in front of you. 

Your gaze was fixed on the floor when his tall figure stood before you. There were a few moments of silence before he got up the courage to speak again, 

“Don't cry angel, please, it's your party.” It was the best he could think to say. 

“Like you said, it's my party and I'll cry if I want to.” You replied more aggressively than you planned, regret arriving as soon as you spat the childish words. 

Neither Satoru, nor your family, nor anyone but your so-called friends deserved your anger and frustration. Your crying increased as you mumbled sorry after sorry. 

He just grabbed you by the shoulders and pulled you close to him, your face against his chest ruining his shirt with tears but he couldn't care less; instead, he held you tighter to him while caressing your head with one hand. He hugged you in a way that  made you feel safe, a way that said, here I am. 

“What's wrong with me?” You whispered after calming down a bit and he frowned, not understanding what you meant. “Am I so insignificant to my friends that a frat party is worth more than my birthday? I'm not worth it?”

Satoru felt his blood boil at your words. 

He didn't like your friends from the beginning, he sensed that they would end up hurting you— and for the first time, he hated that he was right. He had told you several times that they looked like the kind of people who didn't have genuine friendships, and you had responded that he was being prejudiced. It made him angry because you were the person who deserved the most love and good in the world. 

They didn't deserve you— they didn't deserve something as beautiful as your friendship or simply your presence in their life.

“Never say that again. Never.” He said in a firm voice before placing a kiss on your head. “You’re not insignificant, you hear me? You’re not. If they don't know how to appreciate what a wonderful person you are, they’re the ones who aren’t worth it.”

His words quickened your heart. 

“You deserve to be surrounded by people who are grateful to have you in their lives. No less.” He paused for a moment to take a deep breath before continuing, “And I hope you know how fucking grateful I am.”

“Satoru—” You mumbled even though you didn't know what to say next.

He took your face in his hands, making your eyes meet, and ran his thumbs over your cheeks wiping away your tears. God, you were so beautiful. Even crying you looked like an angel. 

“Please stop crying. I know it's your party, but stop crying. It hurts me to see you cry.” He whispered, his face close enough to yours that you felt like you were going to stop breathing at any moment. 

Gojo felt so enamored by your eyes, your nose, your lips— neither of you knew if it was only seconds or hours that you just looked at each other, but he couldn't hold it anymore, and before he could stop to think, the next words were already leaving his mouth, 

“I love you.” 

The moment your eyes widened in surprise, Satoru realized his mistake. He had been carried away by his feelings, and felt terrible for blurting out a confession of that magnitude in a moment like that. 

Now that he had said it, he had only three options: run; take it back and justify it with a bad lie; or go on with the truth. But he had been holding back for so long— so he decided to go with the third option and risk it all. 

“What?” Your voice came out almost in a whisper. 

“I love you. I have— I have loved you for years.” His voice was beginning to shake, but he continued, “And I don't want you to think I'm telling you this to make you feel good, or that I'm taking advantage of the moment, you know I’d never do anything like that— But I love you so much that I can't take it anymore, and because I love you it hurts me that you cry and think you're not worth it, because to me you're worth everything.” 

He knew he was repeating words, that he was talking too fast and that he should stop and take a breath. But he didn't stop and tears ran down his cheeks, the words came out of his lips on their own after years of holding them back. 

“I love you so much it hurts.” 

You were still in shock at his confession, your brain trying to process all the words he had just said. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed, his hands left your cheeks to put them on your shoulders. 

“You don't have to reciprocate my feelings, and I'm sorry for telling you now.” He murmured, letting his tears fall freely from his eyes. “I’ll leave if you want me to.” 

Neither you nor Satoru expected what you did next. 

It was your turn to put your hands on his cheeks before kissing him. 

He was surprised for a moment, but when reality hit him and you were actually kissing him after his sudden and reckless confession, he let himself go and kissed you back with the same desire as you. 

Yes, you too had fallen in love with your best friend. You didn't know how long ago, you didn't know if he did it first or if it was you. But at that moment that was the least that mattered. 

His hands went to the sides of your head to deepen the kiss and you felt like your heart would finally escape from your chest because of how fast it was beating. Things had taken a drastic turn. 

When you pulled apart to catch your breath, that's when you finally found your voice to say it,

“I love you, Satoru.”

This seemed to be taken out from a book or a movie. Satoru was afraid of waking up and realizing that it was all just a dream, he had the urge to pinch himself just to make sure that what he was experiencing was real. But dream or not, his love for you was the same. 

When he kissed you again it was no longer sweet, it was desperate, and what happened next was the mere impulse of two humans who were feeling too much. 

Your hands went to the edge of his shirt to take it off, he helped you by raising his arms and immediately his lips returned to yours, guiding you awkwardly across the room until your thighs bumped against your bed. He gently laid you down on the mattress and his hands went to caress your breasts above the fabric of your dress. The dress he had chosen for you. 

He broke away from your lips just to look at you, and he almost burst into tears again— your face was still red from your previous crying, your lips swollen and your hair a bit messy. But what captivated him were your eyes, even in the dim light of the place he could notice that gleam in them, and they were looking at him and only him. 

“Is this okay with you?” He asked, he didn't want you to do this because you felt you had to give him something. “We can stop.”

“I want you, Satoru.” 

She wants me.

Satoru looked at you for a few more seconds, searching for any trace of lies or insecurity on your face, he knew you better than anyone else after all, he could tell exactly how you were feeling just by looking at your eyes. But when he noticed nothing but determination and desire, his lips returned to yours. 

His hands went to the back of your dress and slowly unzipped it until he could grab the hem to pull it completely off, his eyes gazed with nothing but adoration at your almost naked body, he still couldn't believe that you were letting him see and touch you in such an intimate way.

“You’re beautiful.” He whispered as his palms ran down your body from your legs to your torso, memorizing with his fingertips the warmth of your skin. “So fucking beautiful.”

Gojo was going slow, he felt there was no rush even when there were people downstairs waiting for you two; he wanted nothing more than to savor every part of you and make you feel good, so he’d take his time. 

He moved his kisses down from your face to your neck, concentrating on that spot below your ears since he knew how sensitive you were there—thanks to the fact that he usually liked to tease you by tickling you—. You moaned softly as you felt his wet tongue and brought your hands to run them over the muscles of his arms and back. You had always had the desire to touch him like this, when he wore tight or sleeveless shirts, or when you went to his house and he opened the door shirtless; and now that you were actually doing it, it was so much better than you could have imagined.  

“Can I?” He asked when his hands found the straps of your bra and you gulped before nodding, unable to speak out of nervousness that the Gojo Satoru would see you naked. 

The Gojo Satoru who is popular, smart and good-looking. The one who has dozens of friends and girls following him, girls who would fight for his attention or even sleep with him.

But then you remembered it.

The man in front of you wasn't the Gojo Satoru, he was just Satoru, idiot sometimes. The guy who is present in all your childhood memories and in each of your special moments growing up. The one who sneaked into your family photos from an early age and used to cry when you beat him playing video games. The one who sometimes talked so much that all you wanted to do was put tape over his mouth and who still slept with a night light because he was afraid of the dark. 

Satoru who is your best friend and is always there for you, who always put you first since you were at the top of the pyramid of important people for him—he said it, not you—, who didn't hesitate to give you his shoulder to cry on and knew what to say to make you feel better; who likes to tease you and play pranks on you; who knows all your favorite foods and shares your love for whales. 

He’s the man you love and loves you back, to whom you seem to be giving more than just your body. 

When he took off your garment he immediately took one of your breasts into his mouth, running his tongue slowly around it, leaving it glistening with his saliva before moving on to the other, without forgetting to peck the whale necklace he gave you.

“You have the prettiest tits.” That almost made you want to slap him. 

“Shut up.” You laughed softly feeling your cheeks flush. You could tell you were starting to get comfortable with each other. 

“It’s the truth. They’re pretty— you’re so pretty.” Gojo chuckled before returning his lips to yours, he wanted more of that addictive taste of your lips that made him feel that he would never have the desire to kiss anyone else. 

Suddenly his hands went down to the edge of your panties and waited for your confirmation that everything was okay before taking them off, throwing them to the side of the bed. He sat on his calves to appreciate your completely naked body and almost wanted to thank you for letting him see you like that, you were as perfect as he imagined, even more. 

“God— I love you.” Now that Satoru was free to say it out loud, he would repeat it as many times as necessary. 

He didn't give you a chance to respond to his words when two of his fingers entered your mouth, slowly coating them with your saliva. You sucked them following his movements causing Satoru to mutter a low fuck at this sensual sight of you. 

When his fingers left your mouth he began to lightly caress them from your chin, down the middle of your breasts and over your navel until they reached the place where you needed him most. 

“So wet.” He remarked as his digits went inside you, he did it slowly to avoid hurting you, pausing until he was knuckles deep before pulling them out and repeating the action.

You threw your head back as his thumb began to make slow circles on your clit, almost embarrassed because Satoru's blue eyes were fixed on your facial expressions, paying special attention to your reactions and feeling proud that he’s the one who’s causing them. 

His free hand went to caress one of your mounds to increase the stimulation to your body, which seemed to become more sensitive to his every touch, so it wasn't long before you began to feel your orgasm building. 

“You close?” He asked with his eyes full of admiration. You nodded before closing your eyes and squeezing the sheets with your fists— but that expression of pleasure turned into a frown as the stimulation on your clit was lost. “I know angel, I know, hold it for me. I wanna taste you.” 

Satoru bent down until his face was in the middle of your legs, facing your most intimate part with eager eyes. You were about to tell him it wasn't necessary, feeling somewhat embarrassed at the closeness of his breath against your pussy, but you couldn't find your voice and even less so when he started to spread wet kisses on your inner thighs with his fingers still inside you at that slow pace he had set, keeping your orgasm close but not quite reaching it. 

“Oh fuck.” You murmured as his mouth finally circled your clit and soon after he began to move his tongue. “You taste so good.”

Satoru had always considered himself a man who enjoyed giving pleasure; and now, that it was you, the woman he loves, he not only enjoyed it— he loved it and wanted to give you the best he could, and hearing your pretty moans was enough to make him euphoric, maybe lovesick. 

The sensation that had been cut off before returned with more intensity; Satoru recognized that you were close again, so he began to suck on your clit as just a few minutes ago he had discovered you liked by the way your walls clenched his fingers when he did it. 

You bit your lip hard trying to hold back the high moan that wanted to escape your throat as you lifted your hips when you felt your orgasm take over your body. 

When he looked at you while you were cumming in his mouth, he couldn't help but fall in love with the sight, again; and he also couldn't help but feel butterflies in his stomach when one of your hands went to caress his white locks lovingly as you climaxed. 

Fuck, she's so cute. 

“Want to continue?” Satoru asked in a soft voice while sitting back down on his calves, lips still glossy with your fluids. “It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

You smiled as you sat, his vibrant blue eyes connected to yours all the time. You recognized that look. It was the look you had often caught him staring at you from long ago, the same look from when he gave you the necklace and the same look from when you showed him the final result of your party outfit this afternoon and he said you looked beautiful.

Maybe that's his look of love. You felt stupid for not noticing it sooner. How come you didn't notice it before? It was almost obvious. 

But he felt the same way, maybe everyone around you had realized how you felt about each other except the two of you, because you were constantly living in a bubble where you were trying to convince yourselves that there was nothing more than friendship. But now that bubble had burst. 

You put both of your hands on his cheeks to kiss him again, savoring your own taste from his mouth before saying, “I think I told you I wanted you.”

Your best friend chuckled, “I just wanted to be sure.”

With his big hands on your waist he pulled you back against the sheets, then unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants, you noticed the visible bulge and gulped, still unable to believe that this was actually happening. 

Gojo removed the garment along with his boxers at once, becoming completely naked to your eyes. He was undoubtedly blessed everywhere you looked. 

He wrapped his hand around his dick and moved it up and down before positioning himself at your entrance. Satoru had never felt this excited, his heart was racing at the fact that you would be his and he would be yours. 

He looked down at you as he leaned with his forearm next to your head while he ran his hard member through your wet folds to lubricate himself, unable to contain the moan that escaped his mouth at the contact of his sensitive skin with yours.

“I’m goin’ in.” Your best friend announced before slowly pushing the first half inside you, he immediately felt the tightness of your walls around him and closed his eyes for a few seconds enjoying the sensation. You were so tight, so warm, so perfect. “Oh god.” 

When he opened his blue eyes again he met your pretty face with furrowed eyebrows and tight lips, he recognized that you were feeling some discomfort so he gave several kisses to your cheek while he pushed the rest inside. 

“Tell when I can move.” He whispered, pressing his forehead against yours while his free hand caressed the flesh of your thigh. 

You nodded shortly after he finished his sentence, so he tightened his grip on your thigh as he began to thrust slowly but deeply. 

It was a matter of minutes when the moans of both of you increased as well as the speed with which he rammed into you. Your body began to rock backwards continuously at every clash of his skin with yours, so you wrapped his arms around his back, digging your nails in lightly each time his cock hit your g-spot. 

Satoru leaned back without stopping his thrusts to better admire the way your pussy sucked him in and then ran his eyes all over your body. He murmured a fuck to the swaying of your breasts and immediately placed his hands on them, caressing and squeezing to his liking. 

“You’re so fucking perfect.” He bent over you again to join your lips with his in a kiss a little more messy than the previous ones. 

In his mind, Satoru thought this was unlike any affair or one-night-stand he had ever had before. He was giving you everything— himself, his body and his soul. He was practically putting his heart in the palms of your hands giving you the freedom to do whatever you wanted with it.

This is how sex should feel, he thought. 

“I’m close.” You gasped after breaking the kiss as you felt on the verge of your climax once again. 

He returned his forearm to the side of your head and with his other hand began to make circles on your clit, hurrying the orgasm that had already begun to build in your belly. 

“I got you, angel.” His lips went to lightly suck the skin behind your ear, trying to be careful not to leave marks. 

“Satoru—” He had always liked the sound of his name coming from your mouth, but the fact that you were moaning it thanks to the pleasure he was giving you made it a thousand times better. “I’m—” 

You lifted your hips a little as you felt your orgasm come, it was much more intense than the previous one which made your walls tighten around Satoru's length, who couldn't help but moan out loud at the sensation as if you wanted to push him out. 

“Fuck— you feel so good.” 

He dropped down on your body and settled his head on your neck as his thrusts became more sloppy. Your hands returned to his back, you wrapped your legs around his hips to feel him deeper inside you and closed your eyes enjoying the sounds of his panting that gave you chills. He sounded so beautiful that you almost had a hard time assuming it was because of you. 

“I love you. I love you so much.” Were the words that left his mouth the moment he came inside you after you murmured he could. He collapsed onto your body a second later, feeling your breasts against his chest as he tried to catch his breath. 

It was intense, Satoru couldn't remember the last time he had cum like that, he blamed the whole hurricane of emotions that happened for the last hour. 

“Sorry, I'm crushing you.” He mumbled after a minute as he leaned on his forearms to look at your face again. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” You placed your hands on his cheeks and caressed his soft skin with your thumbs before kissing him. “Never thought you loved me back.”

He smiled and gave a short kiss on the palm of your hand that was still on his cheek, “We're kinda dumb, aren't we?” 

“I think we are.”

Satoru moved to lie back on the pillows, taking you in his arms to hug you against his chest. You left a peck on his shoulder before pressing your cheek against it and smiled when you felt his hands caress your back. 

“This is nice.” You said after a comfortable silence. 

“Right? I can get used to this.” 

“Me too.” You closed your eyes enjoying the remaining fragrance of his cologne before abruptly opening them remembering something a little too important. “Shit! Satoru, we need to go back.” 

“Why?” His caresses on your back disappeared when he realized it too, “Fuck. How long have we been here?”

You were so focused on your little bubble of love that you forgot that your family was still waiting for you downstairs. 

“About an hour?” You replied, looking at the time on your phone to also realize that there was a message from your mother fifteen minutes ago asking if everything was okay. “Just put your clothes on.” 

He turned on the light while you searched the room for your clothes. You threw him his boxers, he threw you your dress, and in less than five minutes you were fully dressed and in front of the mirror trying to look as presentable as possible. 

“I look fine, let’s go.” You said turning around to walk towards the door, but your best friend's sudden grip on your wrist stopped you in your tracks. “What is it?”

Gojo took your hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss your knuckles, “Happy Birthday.”

You smiled at his words, “Thank you.” You stood on your tiptoes to kiss him one more time.

“Should I ask your dad for his blessing?” He asked teasingly when you pulled away from his lips, you rolled your eyes playfully before grabbing his arm to drag him to the door.

“Let's go downstairs, c’mon.” 

Who would have thought that your pity party would take such a twist?

[cc-writesfor2dcharacters]

i'm 100% certain that this anon is the same sklasksk,, but i expected this kind of request too ^_^ so, i'll just be putting them in one post :)

~~SHINICHIRO x Reader

Shinichiro is a thoughtful guy, so he doesn't want to burden his friends with his "love problems". But, his wingman and wingwoman are his siblings. Mikey and Emma.

He knows how much you like kids, so he bribes his siblings with chocolate and candies to hand you letters and presents almost every day.

In one of his letters he said,

"I wish I was a camera, so I would be able to stop time and capture the most beautiful moments with you. However, I'd rather be the one making you smile behind the camera. I know you are aware of my feelings for you, but someday, I hope you feel the same way too."

I headcanon Shin to be a very poetic guy. His love language is literally words of affirmation. So, he uses words for you to know how much he truly adores you. AND YOU FELL FOR HIM BECAUSE HE ALIGNS HIS ACTIONS WITH HIS WORDS.

But, take note of this. No matter how busy he is, HE WILL ALWAYS MAKE TIME FOR YOU. It doesn't matter if he's looking after his siblings, or if he has some matters to attend to when it comes to his gang, or if his bike shop was busy. He's truly the epitome of, "if he wants to, he would."

Every night when he thinks of you, he thanks whoever god is behind the biggest plot twist of his life: you. He's so grateful that he got rejected 20 times because if it wasn't for that, he wouldn't be able to encounter an amazing person like you.

To be honest, he was so tired after his 20th try. But, his misery was replaced with hope. And, hope took form in a bright and cheerful girl, which was you. He didn't want to try again, but for you, he'd risk it all.

You are the only person who would ever find out about his deepest and darkest secret. His weakness. Everything. He trusts you that much. You were the only one to whom he truly opened up to. The guy that you thought had a strong will actually have lots of problems. And, you made it your duty to always be there for him.

Your boyfriend is the president of the most prominent gang in all of Japan, and it means that you're going to live with a lot of privileges yet you have to prepare yourself for a lot of challenges.

Shinichiro is the type of boyfriend that would never give you the silent treatment or act cold when he's mad at you or when you two had an argument. He wants to fix things immediately since he feels bad whenever he sees you in pain all because of him. I swear arguments with him won't last for an hour. After all, he's the oldest out of his siblings, so this man's patience is so big.

Oh, when it comes to meeting your parents? He instantly charmed your mom, but your dad? He had problems with him since he's the leader of a gang (and your man smokes). Read this headcanon I wrote for more context about Shinichiro meeting your parents.

He will never fail to remind you how much he loves you even when you're doing the most mundane of tasks, or whenever you're at your worst. He wants you to know how much he appreciates you.

He gave you a necklace, almost similar to his (the silver chain, but he got you the same necklace in gold). He'll also be the type of boyfriend who would love for you to make him that bra strap bracelet. This man is clingy and wants the whole world to be aware that you're his.

You and Emma are the only girls who would be able to ride behind his motorcycle!!

Oh, and Emma and Mikey loved having you around. You made their brother happier ^_^

Remember that Shinichiro will always stick around with you until you're both senile to remember each other's birthday. He loves you, and he's dedicated to staying in love with you.

𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨'𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬' 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 & 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮

ᴛᴀᴋᴇᴏᴍɪ

He is and will always be Shinichiro's best friend and childhood friend. So, he's the one who knows your boyfriend best. Actually, he was genuinely happy for his best friend. He had to bear all of Shin's sadness whenever he gets rejected. Dozens of cigarettes are wasted in a night when they're unoccupied. But, because of you, Shinichiro was slowly changing to become a better man and a person in general.

He's the person that Shinichiro goes to whenever he needs some help. Whether it'd be looking after Emma and Mikey for the night or being the one to look after Shin's shop, he's always there.

Takeomi, a guy so skeptical of love believed in it when you came to the life of his hopeless romantic best friend.

This guy is also the one that Shin tags along with whenever he buys you presents. He always needs his best friend's advice and thoughts.

Of course, before you two started dating, Takeomi interrogated you. Asking you if you'll be there for Shinichiro through thick and thin. You smiled, thinking how lucky you are that your boyfriend's friends are someone to be trusted too.

It might've taken a long time for him to warm up and accept you, but who is he to deny Shinichiro of happiness and love? When you're the only one who could give those things to his best friend.

ᴡᴀᴋᴀꜱᴀ

Yep, Shinichiro was worried you'd like Wakasa even when you're dating him. But, you reassured him that you have already fallen in love with him.

And when you eventually met Waka, you only thought how he looked so cool, that's it.

He thought what on Earth came to your mind when you decided to date his friend. But, he can see the love you hold for Shinichiro through the way you looked at his friend like he's some kind of priceless art.

He liked seeing you with Shinichiro. You were that extra bundle of sunshine in his life. And, Wakasa noticed how you genuinely loved and cared for his friend.

Wakasa saw Shinichiro as a loser in both love and fight. But, you made Waka realize that Shin will always be the winner of your heart. That Shin will love you and fight for you no matter how hard things get.

He appreciates you bringing food for everyone whenever you visit Shinichiro. He likes the hamburgers you make!!

All in all, you trust Wakasa and he trusts you too.

ʙᴇɴᴋᴇɪ

Like from the Wakasa headcanon, Benkei is so accepting of you that he makes you feel like you're a part of their circle.

All he could think about was, finally, Shinichiro found someone who treasured him for being him. Someone who finally accepted the love that Shinichiro was so willing to give and how you reciprocated that love.

Benkei bombards you and Shinichiro with the most random questions like, "When will the two of you get married? I want to wear some wedding suits, you know?"

"Okay, practice your wedding vow with me, Y/N-chan. Let's make sure Shinichiro would cry buckets of tears."

Will tell you the craziest adventures he had with his friend. From the way he was so weak when fighting but managed to bring together the strongest of people.

And, he reminded you that when you came along to the picture, Shinichiro stopped doing things he used to do. Because to quote Shinichiro, "I want to live a longer life for Y/N and for our future family. And, who would take care of my siblings?"

Through Benkei's stories, you can't help but fall deeper in love with your boyfriend.

In the end, Benkei won't hesitate to be there for you and Shin.

ᴇᴍᴍᴀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍɪᴋᴇʏ

Those kids are the two little people that keep Shinichiro going. They are the two small beings that showed him his purpose in life.

They didn't hesitate to call you their "onee-chan", and they're also the reason why you always have a hard time saying goodbye whenever you come over. Because these two cuties wanted you to stay.

Of course, they love you like you are their real sister. Mikey, who was ever so carefree even pointed out, "You'll be the mama of my future nieces and nephews." Shinichiro spits the water back out of his mouth while you were aggressively blushing. But, Emma was quick to react and smack Mikey in the head as she said, "They have to get married first. Then onee-chan would become Mrs. Y/N Sano, right?"

Ever since that day, you thought that it wouldn't just be Shinichiro who would be heartbroken in case fate separated you two, but his siblings would be sad too. After all, you felt attached to his siblings too.

You and Shinichiro always take the two of them out. It was always a nice date with the two of them. It's just a little more pricey because you and your boyfriend would have to pay for another two people.

Emma and Mikey will love you very much. And, they will welcome you to their family wholeheartedly.

And, they're also one of the factors why you can't wait to be officially and legally a lifetime partner and lover of their brother.

In conclusion, Y/N, you're lucky as heck to have this man!!! He has his entire future planned, and you're a part of every bit of it. DO NOT LET GO OF HIM!!!!

kneewaze, here's a shin edit i made for y'all! the lyrics in this edit are from this song

[magicschoolbus-stowaway]

Natasha's birthday

(in this universe, the events of Black Widow happened before Age of Ultron)

headcanon that Natasha doesn't tell anyone her birthday because she doesn't actually know it. Clint can tell she's kinda sad about this so asks what's the most special day in her life. Nat says it's the day she and her fake family moved to Ohio and she started a happy childhood, even though it was fake. Clint finds out the date this happened (he may or may not have gone to Russia and stolen some top secret spy files) and tells the Avengers that this is Nat's birthday.

They decorate the entire tower and buy lots of vodka and have the party there. Clint invites Yelena and Melina and Alexi and when they walk through the door Nat is so shocked and happy she starts crying. They immediately surround her in a big family hug.

Later when it is time to open presents Steve said he didn't know what to get her so he gives her a card where he drew a picture of Natasha with wrinkles and gray hair holding a bottle that has "old person medicine" written on it, but its crossed out and says "vodka" instead. Underneath he wrote "You're getting old Nat! This will be you any day now." Natasha says "this is such old man humor, Steve. I can tell you're a hundred years old" but she laughs and tucks it away for safe keeping.

Tony gives her a card addressed to Natalie Rushman and a brand new pair of Widow's Bites that have the Avenger's logo on them. Nat tries not to cry and pretends they don't symbolize to her that her dark past is being wiped away and she's being given a place and home among the Avengers.

Bruce gives her a lamp that's supposed to mimic the light of the sun. The note says "you always tell the other guy the sun's getting real low and you're his sun, you guide me when I need to calm down and give me something to focus on. Let this lamp be your sun and your guide when you need it at night." Nat wipes away tears because she didn't know anyone thought of her as their sun and to see he trusts her so much is everything she ever wanted as a spy with so much red in her ledger.

Thor says he had a hard time deciding what to get her because he didn't know about the Midgardian custom of birthday parties. But he pulls out a beautiful handwoven Asgardian blanket and explains it made him think of her because spiders weave webs and this is a woven blanket. "And blankets give me comfort just like you do, Natasha, after a difficult battle," he says. Nat gives him a big hug and holds the blanket close for the rest of the night.

Clint is last, and he hands her an envelope. She opens it and two plane tickets and a card falls out. She looks at the tickets and they're for a flight to Russia. "We're gonna find out who your biological mother was," he says. "I know that means so much to you." Nat nods speechlessly as she picks up the card. It says, "I know you were joking when you said name the baby after you, but Laura and I decided that's what we're gonna do. You've been my best friend and part of my family for years. I can't wait to meet baby Natasha (or Nathaniel)." Nat is fully crying when she looks up from the card.

She never imagined anyone would care about her enough to draw a picture of her, to make weapons specifically for her that symbolize she has a new home, to think of her as their sun, to say she gives them comfort, to name their child after her.

All of Nat's Avenger family and Widow family gather around her and give her a giant hug, and she knows she's home.

[angellesword]

MAGIC SHOP | JJK (10)

Description: You and Jungkook were best friends who were in love with each other. What would happen when Soojin, your half sister who you’re trying to impress, told you she’s in love with Jungkook too?

Alternatively:

“Would you believe me if I said that I was scared of everything too?”

Pairing: Architect!Jungkook x Architect!Reader

Genre: childhood best friends to lovers, family drama, angst, fluff, idiots to lovers, pining, slice of life au.

Warnings: mention of drugs (OC’s mom is a drug addict) character death, alcohol, psychological manipulation, physical abuse,

Chapter’s OST: Rewrite the Stars by James Arthur and Anne-Marie

Word Count: 3.8k

Series: CHAPTER 9 | CHAPTER 11

You moved into the mansion of the Kims a few months prior to Jong-in's death, meaning you met Soojin before Jungkook met her.

Back then, it was just you and your sister. No Jungkook in sight, no Jungkook to mess up with Soojin's heart.

Most importantly, Jungkook was exclusively yours. He was your best friend when you were six, but he became Soojin's crush when you were sixteen.

"What's that?" Sixteen years old Soojin asked upon seeing you open a purple box wrapped into a fancy ribbon.

"Oh," you stopped fiddling with the box to look at Soojin. She was still wearing her gown even though the party had ended hours ago.

You and Soojin celebrated your sixteenth birthday today—wait. This wasn't right. Admittedly, you didn't get to celebrate at all. Everyone was focused on your sister. She said she wanted a big party and because her family loved her so much, they gave her what she wanted.

How could they say no to the youngest and only daughter of Kim Taemin?

They were wrong though. Soojin wasn't the only daughter of Taemin. You existed too. The Kims just didn't know you were a part of their family too.

All they knew was that you're one of the charity cases of the head of their family. The Kims thought Taemin saw potential in you that was why he sheltered you. Taemin made his family think you're going to be an asset in Castle Architectural Firm, that allowing you to live in their mansion would pay off soon.

They were wrong. You were not an asset. You were a liability.

"It's a gift..." Sixteen years old you answered Soojin, a smile bloomed on your face as you ran your thumb over the ribbon. "Jungkook gave me a gift for my birthday."

Jungkook was the one and only person who remembered to give you a present. You said it wasn't necessary, that you're already content with the fact that he didn't forget your special day.

"Special people deserve gifts, Tiger." You remembered Jungkook telling this to you while ruffling your hair and scrunching his nose. "You're a gift too! A blessing who makes me happy."

Your heart fluttered at that. Jeon Jungkook really believed you were a blessing.

"Jungkook?" Soojin folded her arms over her chest, her brows furrowed. "As in Jeon Jungkook? My escort Jungkook?"

Your sister gave you a wild look, as if she couldn't believe someone like Jungkook would give you a present.

"Yes." You answered, avoiding her gaze.

Jungkook attended Soojin's sweet sixteenth party. Today was actually the first time they saw each other. Taemin realized it's time for his daughter and son's best friend to meet, mainly because they could be partners in the future.

This was Taemin's plan all along. The only reason why it took him long to introduce them together was because of you. He was afraid Jungkook would accidentally reveal to the Kims about you being an illegitimate child.

Taemin brushed off this worry now. He knew Jungkook cared about you, he wouldn't just go around telling people about your secret. Besides, he's a grown man already. He could handle secrets.

Originally, Jungkook attended the party because he wanted to see you. He wasn't at the venue for Soojin, he was just a guest anyway. Unfortunately, Yugyeom, Soojin's escort, couldn't make it since he was sick. This forced Jungkook to act on behalf of Yugyeom—to be a proxy.

Soojin was too proud to ask her brothers to stand and sit beside her throughout the entire program. She didn't want to look like no other boys wanted to be her so-called 'date' during her birthday celebration so she accepted Jungkook.

Soojin instantly fell for him. How could she not? Jungkook was perfect. He was endearing. His presence emanated comfort. It was probably because he had this soft look in his brown eyes and lips that were always forming into a gentle smile.

It was like you were safe when you're around him, as if nothing could ever go wrong. He looked at you and brought you into another world, a world where everything was sunshine and butterflies.

"But why?" Soojin whined. She was glaring at you. "Why would Jungkok give you a present? It's my birthday! Not yours!"

Of course she didn't know it was your birthday too. Taemin told you to keep it a secret for a while. You agreed because you didn't want the Kims to hate you. You wanted them to be comfortable around you before you revealed the truth to them.

Because if they ended up hating you, where would you go? Sin-ae barely acknowledged your presence in this house. You remembered her sneering at her husband for taking an 'orphan' in their custody.

One wrong move in your part and you'd belong in the trash can. Your mother wasn't fit to look after you anymore. Even if you wanted to go with her, you couldn't. The law wouldn't allow it. She was a danger to you. She was a druggie.

"Did you steal it?" Soojin scurried towards your direction, grabbing the box and hissing when you gaped at her.

"This is mine. Look! It says happy birthday!" Soojin threw daggers at you before opening the box. She gasped upon seeing a set of Farnsworth House LEGO Architecture, prompting her to believe that the gift definitely belonged to her.

Soojin's dream was to be an architect.

"N-No, Soojin-ah. Jungkok gave that—"

"Liar!" Your sister was fuming. She held the box in her arms firmly. "It's for me! You just stole it!"

You shook your head as you tried to take back what's yours. Regrettably, Soojin was unrelenting. She pushed your chest away, causing you to tumble down.

Soojin looked taken aback. She didn't mean to harm you. It's just that you're getting on her nerves.

"Oh my! I'm sorry!" Her eyes widened. She finally let go of the gift box to help you get up, however before you could reach for her hands, the door of your room swung open, revealing your father.

"What is happening here?" His voice sounded like loud thunder, startling Soojin. Her eyes dilated more, fear consumed her immediately that she ended up sputtering lies.

"Dad! This orphan stole Jungkook's gift for me!" She didn't mean it. She didn't want to lie, but she was scared. She knew how this scene looked like. You were on the floor, she was reaching out to you. Anyone who didn't know what happened would immediately think she hurt you.

She did, although Soojin didn't want to acknowledge that.

"I—I didn't steal anything!" You raised your voice because just like Soojin, you were afraid too. You were afraid and frustrated. Your father was looking at you as if you had disappointed him. You always looked up to Taemin, the fact that he was staring at you like that pained you.

"It's my birthday too! Jungkook and I are best friends! H-He gave me a gift." You trembled as you explained.

Soojin just scoffed though.

"Why do you keep lying? It's not your birthday! You're an orphan! Your parents probably left you on a gutter." She looked at you like you were a piece of garbage. "I know you don't have an identity but please stop stealing what's mine."

You couldn't believe it. Soojin was so mean that tears uncontrollably trickled down your face.

"I'm not an orphan. I have a family—"

Your father cut you off by directing his glare to your sister.

"Soojin." He uttered sternly. "Stop being mean to her. She's your sister."

"She is not my sister!" Soojin groaned. "I don't want her lying ass to be part of our family—"

"I told you to stop it!" You didn't know why your heartbeat doubled upon hearing your father's scream.

Was it because you're happy he was finally defending you? Or was it because you felt bad for your sister? He didn't have to shout at her face like that.

Soojin thought the same way too. Taemin never once raised his voice at her.

"I hate you! You don't love me anymore!" Soojin shoved her father's chest and then she stormed out of the room to go to her mother.

Everything happened as fast as Soojin's tears cascaded down her cheeks. She was annoyed and hurt and betrayed. She told Sin-ae the same lies she said to her father: that you stole Jungkook's gift for her and instead of being reprimanded, Taemin sided with you.

Sin-ae was raging upon knowing this. She was screaming bloody murder. She didn't understand why Taemin sided with an orphan like you instead of Soojin, his biological daughter.

"Because she's my daughter too! My flesh and blood!"

Chaos.

The Kims were in chaos when Taemin finally admitted the truth. He did it because he was getting tired of Sin-ae's loud voice, he also couldn't listen to Soojin's whine anymore. He was triggered by the way his two sons looked at him too—as if he was a scum.

It was a heartbreaking day for the Kims, but it was the time when you felt like you could finally breathe.

You missed calling Taemin 'father,' for months, he trained you to call him 'Sir.' Now that his family knew the truth, everything could go back to normal.

Except it didn't happen.

The Kims were colder to you. Sin-ae's actions were mostly uncalled for. She hated you to death. You were aware Seokjin and Namjoon felt the same way as well.

But Soojin....she wasn't like the rest of them.

"So you're really my sister, huh?" Soojin raised a brow at you two weeks after she found out the truth. She ignored you for days so you were surprised now that she was speaking to you again.

"Y-Yeah." You looked away, bracing yourself with the nasty things you thought she'd say.

Soojin simply smiled though.

"Great! I always wanted a sister! I'm happy I have you!" And then she embraced you.

It was an odd feeling, but it didn't mean you hated it. You were actually grateful for Soojin. She always reminded you that you two were siblings.

"I'm your sister, that means you're gonna do anything for me, right?"

You nodded. You always did. Anything for lovely Soojin.

"Help me get close to Jungkook! He's so nice! I wanna be friends with him too!"

It was fine. Everything was fine. Everything was going well. You were happy. Very, very happy.

You had Soojin. She loved you. She treated you like a family even though your father, your own father, was cold to you.

You believed he'd be able to show you how much he loved you the moment the truth was revealed. Sadly, you're wrong.

Taemin became distant. He barely looked at you. He didn't even defend you when Sin-ae did something terrible.

It was just Soojin who helped you. She sometimes defended you from her mother.

"Mother! Don't shout at her! She just wants to have fun. Midterm week is really stressful." You remembered the time your sister stopped her mother from slapping you.

You were seventeen that time. Soojin wanted to go to a club and party hard because midterm week, just like what she had said, was super stressful. Soojin forced you to go with her. She got drunk but you couldn't. Who would take care of her if you chose to drink too?

You had to drag Soojin home and help her sober up. Unfortunately, Sin-ae found out about what happened. Soojin told her mother it was your idea to go clubbing.

You didn't have the heart to go against your sister. She's your only ally. Besides, she saved you from her mother. She cared about you.

"Do not defend her, Kim Soojin! She's an abomination. She's gonna drag you down with her!" Regrettably, Sin-ae couldn't be stopped. She still ended up beating the shit out of you.

Soojin cried upon seeing you covered with bruises and blood. She kept apologizing but you simply brushed her off.

"Did you at least have fun?" You asked her.

Soojin only cried harder. You were always there for her. She appreciated that, she really did. But it wasn't enough to come clean to Sin-ae. She didn't want to look like a brat in front of her mother.

Sin-ae was the only one who loved Soojin with all of her heart. Your sister suspected that your father knew about the bad things she had been doing and that she's just putting the blame on you. She wasn't sure why Taemin was acting blind though.

Why hadn't he said anything? Why was he allowing her to continue to hurt you?

Soojin would probably never know the answer. This was why she didn't want to get on her mother's bad side. If ever Taemin decided he couldn't tolerate her anymore, then Soojin could at least seek the help of her mother.

But it was hard for Soojin. She felt bad when every time she blamed you for her wrongdoings, she saw how Taemin discreetly shook his head as if he's telling her he's disappointed with her.

You noticed it too. You were certain your father was ignoring the fact that you were hurt just so he could save Soojin's face.

At the age of nineteen, you finally confronted Taemin about this. You honestly didn't care that your sister was putting all the blame in you. You could handle it. What you hated was when your father pretended like you didn't exist, like he wasn't bothered Sin-ae was hurting you.

It was unfair. He hated your mother for physically abusing you before. Why couldn't he stop his wife from doing the same thing?

Was it because he loved Sin-ae?

It didn't matter. His reason didn't matter. You were done. You had to tell him what you feel.

So you did.

"Tell me, father..." You glowered as you harshly wiped the blood on the side of your mouth.

Sin-ae slapped you again. She hurt you because you accidentally broke her favorite teacup.

"Why are you always so hard on me?" You made sure to give him the most somber look you could muster, thinking it would cause him to feel something.

Love maybe? Or guilt?

You realized Taemin wasn't guilty the moment he responded to your question.

"Because I want you to be strong."

Such a cruel thing to say.

"This isn't how you make someone strong, father. You're not helping me—" You smiled although it didn't reach your eyes."—You're breaking me."

"Hey, are you still there?" You snapped out of your trance when you heard Jimin spoke.

He was on the other line, video calling you.

"Yeah. Sorry." You bit your bottom lip, smiling sheepishly at your roommate. It was the middle of the night in New York yet he still chose to call you—to be with you during this hard time. The least thing you could do was pay attention to him. "What were you saying again?"

Jimin sighed, not because he had to repeat his statement, but because he was worried about you. You always listened to him despite being tired. This was the first time you seemed so...out of it.

You could not focus on anything else. All that was on your mind was your father.

Your father who just died.

He died four days after you went back to Seoul.

"Tae said he couldn't make it. He's..." Jimin swallowed hard. He wasn't sure what words to use to describe your brother's current state. "He's devastated. He locked himself in your room after I told him what happened. Yoongi-hyung tried to talk to him but he doesn't want to see anyone right now."

You were positive Taehyung regretted his decision to stay in New York. You knew you should be comforting him right now, telling him that it's okay, that he couldn't possibly know that your father was going to die.

But you couldn't say any of those things. You'd be lying if you said you didn't resent him.

You did.

If Taehyung was here, you'd at least have the chance to talk to your father. Sin-ae wouldn't succeed in pushing you away if you just came with Taehyung.

It was unfair. Taehyung couldn't see your father because he was thousands of miles away from home. But you?

You were here. You were a few feet away from your father, yet you didn't get the chance to see him.

You were willing to see Taemin. Taehyung wasn't. He was given a chance. You weren't.

The world was unfair.

You had every right to hate your father after everything he had put you through; however, you couldn't. Not really. You loved him more than you hated him.

He was your father. He was mean to you for more than ten years, but he was also kind to you when you were younger. He wasn't always by your side, but you still felt how much he loved you.

"But don't worry, okay? He'll come around. Yoongi-hyung and I aren't going to give up on him." Jimin assured you.

"Thanks, Jimin-ah." The smile you rendered was sweet, you even batted your eyelashes at him, making him blush.

It wasn't your intention to flirt with Jimin or to string him along. But you were drunk. As fuck.

It seemed like this was the only thing you're good at. Sin-ae didn't let you see her husband, not before he died and not even after he died.

You weren't allowed to step foot in the mansion too. Your brothers, as much as they wanted to side with you, stopped themselves. Their mother was their priority. Sin-ae acted as if she's going to faint whenever you were around.

Seokjin and Namjoon didn't have a choice but to tell you to go. Soojin, on the other hand, didn't have a say in the matter. Literally. She was too injured to even speak.

And Jungkook...

Ah. Jeon Jungkook.

Damn Jeon Jungkook who couldn't leave you alone.

The first time you saw him after two years, he looked at you indifferently, like everything had changed. But when it's just the two of you, it was like the past nineteen months didn't happen.

He was back in your life. He was acting like a damn lost puppy, always following you.

Even now actually.

You were currently in a bar. You knew it's too early to be here, the sun was still shining brightly. You didn't care though. You had nothing better to do anyway.

You were sick staring at the cracked ceiling of your motor lodge room. Yeah, that's right. You were so broke you couldn't even afford to rent a decent hotel room.

Jungkook offered to let you stay in his apartment though. You were just too stubborn to agree.

You were tired of his face too. He's everywhere. He was on your mind, in your heart, and in the bar too. Admittedly, you could feel his piercing glare.

Jungkook was seated on a table near the window while you settled on a bar stool on the bar counter.

You realized Jungkook listened to your threat. You specifically told him just this morning that you didn't want him near you. He should at least be four meters away in order to be allowed in the same place as you.

You didn't need him to baby you, to try and fix you. You were sad because your father died, he's worried, you got it, but he was getting out of his way for you.

Jungkook rented the unit next to your room. When you confronted him about it, he only snorted.

"Why? I like this room. I happened to like my neighbor too. What are you gonna do about it?" He was challenging you.

Jungkook always got what he wanted, one way or another. He wanted to be with you. He tried inviting you to his home but you declined, the only way he could think of was to move next to your place.

In his defense, he was worried. The motel building didn't look safe. What if someone came to harm you?

Besides, he wanted to be there for you. He missed almost two years of your life. You got away because he didn't fight harder.

The moment Jungkook saw you again, he swore he wouldn't make the same mistake.

He would fight anyone—anything to have you, to restore your relationship.

"You're drunk." Jimin laughed when you lost your balance, almost falling from the chair.

You had been talking to Jimin for two hours now. He was doing a good job distracting you from the pain of losing someone. You appreciated it. You really did.

You were glad he could laugh with you. Being sad when someone's sad was overrated. They were just adding to the negative feeling that’s already existing. You were happy Jimin wasn't acting as if you were suddenly made of glass.

He always respected your feelings instead of trying to fix you.

"No, I'm not." You giggled, squinting your eyes and biting your lip. "I still see one Jimin. Your pretty face is clear to me, baby. I can see your angel eyes, your plump lips—" You hiccupped.

Jimin laughed again.

"If you're calling me baby, then you're really drunk."

"What if I want to call yo—" You weren't able to finish what you were saying when the line had been cut off.

Someone else was calling you.

You didn't usually answer unknown callers, but you were drunk and not thinking clearly.

"Who is this—"

"Stop calling that boy."

You didn't have to ask who the caller was. You already knew him. His voice wasn't always cold. As a matter of fact, this was the first time he gave you this kind of tone.

Jungkook was always warm and soft. A fire, you would say.

This time, however, he was cold and firm. An ice, you would say.

"Why?" You enquired when you overcame the feeling of being surprised.

Your breath hitched though when you heard him growl from the other line.

"You're seriously asking me that?" He cackled as goosebumps appeared on your skin.

You inhaled sharply, turning your head to look at him. You were curious. You wanted to see if Jungkook was really the person you're talking to right now.

But it was a mistake.

Looking at Jungkook was a mistake.

Jungkook was looking at you through hooded eyes. His phone was pressed against his ear, his right hand was tightly holding a glass of bourbon. Neat.

You shivered, especially when he said these words:

"Because I'm damn jealous."

A/N: i tried to finish this as soon as possible so i can watch attack on titan already. ahhhh!!!! i was recently introduced to anime (i’m so late i know) but please pleaseeee i beg you to recommend me your favorite anime! i don’t ‘really’ have preference, as long as it’s not PURE romance. 💜

[stopbeingrude]

Hi guys , how are you doing ? I hope you had at least a decent day. I was really surprised by how many people were interested in my story. (blush) Im so glad As promised, here's chapter 2 ,, I like the rain, it always seemed like the only thing that was like me…" Chapter 2. ,,Thank you for being here" Juvia looked at the object in her hands that she found while packing for their trip to Tempeville. A tiny umbrella , white with smiling suns printed on it .She remembered vividly the exact moment Jerry had handed it to her. - "Here, this is for you, I couldn't bear to hear you whining anymore,"- said the golden-haired man, handing the little girl his gift. -'' I've told you many times, that in time you would be able to control the rain around you. It's normal for water to behave strangely around water mages, and I had a problem with it too….- said Jerry. The man thought for a moment, then added. -..I'm pretty sure I told you how I nearly drowned my ex girlfriend….I told you, right?.. "- little girl nodded-"...Of course I did…haha..If only you could see that bitc...yh...lady's face….Where was I at again?............Oh right!... If only you were just a bit more patient, little froggy.." -"I told you not to call me that, you dummy! "- shouted the seemingly angry Juvia. It was obvious that she wasn't angry, but if those were supposed to be birthday wishes , then that this old slacker could have tried a little harder. -''Oi! Brat....I'm trying my best to wish you a happy birthday and you act like this? -" What kind of birthday wishes are these supposed to be!?- the girl exclaimed. -..Unbelievable! Young people these days are so ungrateful….Ugh .."- he complained, but eventually gave up. -" Heh... Alright….Im sorry... Happy Birthday Juju…- he said with a grin. He couldn't stay angry with his baby for too long. - "...I wish you happiness, health,...I hope you'll grow up to be a decent and intelligent woman ... because remember this..., it's not how you look that counts, it's what's in your head…. - the man poked her forehead lightly, causing the girl to giggle. Despite the tough character of her ..guardian ...? I guess you could call him that… despite his difficult sense of humour and his biting remarks, she knew that she was important to him, just as he was important to her. He just had a strange way of showing affection... Juvia laughed lightly despite a few tears that flowed from her sapphire eyes. It was for moments like this , she's been able to endure the bullying of other children , she knew that every sad experience ended with a visit from Jerry. Every visit ended with one of his strange ideas that always put a smile back on her face, like that one time he took her out for hot dogs at 10pm. Juvia was never able to forget the look on the orphanage ladies' faces when Jerry walked her back at 1 am. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice when her fiancé appeared in their bedroom. -" I've never seen this one…"- he pointed at the umbrella- ''.. I'm guessing it's a special one then" -he stated, handing her tea. - "Thank you... "- she took a sip-"...Yes you're right... actually it was a present for my birthday. HE gave it to me…" After packing the last things, they both sat down on the bed. Neither of them was quite sure how to start a conversation. Gray didn't like the strange atmosphere that had prevailed in their apartment since yesterday. But most of all he did not like how distant Juvia seemed to be. That wasn't his Juvia. Devil Slayer rested his head on her shoulder. When Blue-haired woman began to gently stroke his hair, he immediately relaxed . He missed that... After what for him felt like ages , she decided to speak. -"Juvia is sorry that she didn't tell you anything...Juv….. I was just trying to forget about it... it's not like I don't trust you....Please don't be angry…"-she said in an uncertain voice. -"I'm not angry at you….I'm just a little disappointed...I thought you felt comfortable enough with me to tell me everything…"- he admitted. It was silly to admit , but he didn't

like the fact that Juvia wouldn't tell him something. He knew that everyone had the right to have their own secrets, but his desire to find out what was in her head was much stronger. After a while he decided to ask her more - "Is there anything else you haven't told me about yourself?" He needed to know. -" No. Everything else is true…About my childhood, about Phantom Lord...and mostly about my parents..." …………………………. -".........What happened to your parents...?"- he asked quietly. He contemplated for a moment whether he should ask her this question. After all, he didn't know what kind of reaction this would cause.. -" My mother died when I was about 2 years old.... I don't know who my father was... Jerry said he never met him…about my mother.."- Juvia looked as if she was thinking very hard about something, and after a moment she added-"..Jerry once told me that even she couldn't remember who he exactly was….not that she cared about it or about being pregnant …"- said Juvia weirdly. Wait , what? -"..L-let me get this straight…...you're trying to tell me….that she didn't really care that she got pregnant...and that she wasn't even trying to look for your father? ' Wait, what !?' -….ymm... that's....." - the man persistently tried to choose the right words. He did not want to offend his fiancée's mother by any means (If not for her , Juvia wouldn't be there in the first place, so she obviously deserved to be at least respected)....But everything Juvia had mentioned sounded...How to put it?...Concerning? -" It's not normal... I know... you don't have to hold back Darling- she said with a slight smile- "Her name was Eliana and apparently she was always like...that..., she was...well DIFFERENT.."- that's how Jerry would always describe her-"....She didn't really care about anything, she didn't talk too much, she rarely showed any kind of emotion....She was one big secret, even for him. Juvia never fully got it. Why would she be like that with the person she supposedly was…… ..ymm…..Close.?"- he didn't miss the way she said the last word, but he kept quiet about it. After all ,the relationship between two strangers wasn't his business. Gray decided to change the subject a bit. -"You know..., I think it's really great of him to take care of both of you.…"-despite the fact that the night before Gray had felt a lot of anger towards the aforementioned man, right now he was grateful that he had taken both ladies under his care.- "He must have been an amazing person. It really sounds like you are telling me about some hero or saint"- ice mage smiled - "He was "- said blunette with a smile - "I will always be grateful to him...But Saint ? No, no ,no...That's probably too much of an exaggeration." - she added with a giggle. Gray was glad that she was laughing again, he couldn't help but laugh a little too. They are slowly returning to normalcy... - "He was the laziest, most stubborn man you could find on this planet….He was untactful , brutally honest and worst of all, sometimes he could be so awfully mean and grumpy , especially when it was Tuesday...Juvia never got that...why Tuesday?….Dear God , he could be so unbearable...."- Juvia stopped for a moment, then smiled playfully.- "Honestly you two are pretty similar in that case" - "Ekhem....So.. you're suggesting that I'm mean and grumpy ? Oh ..Alright... I'll remember that when you want something from me..."- Gray said, pretending to be offended and trying hard not to smile. Juvia laughed loudly, then wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a sweet kiss on his lips. After Jerry disappeared, she was sure she would never get attached to anyone again. She didn't want to suffer more. But as we all know, life likes to surprise us, and "never" is not eternal. First she met Gajeel , with whom, by some strange coincidence, she found a connection. Funny, considering how different they were. Even then a quiet voice in her head, similar to Jerry's, whispered to her to not get too attached….that it didn't make sense. On that day, for the first time in her

life, she decided to ignore it, and thanks to that, she gained a wonderful friend. The same situation happened again after she met Gray and Fairy tail. The insistent voice kept reminding her of the past. 'Just because you've miraculously found a friend who hasn't left you, doesn't mean that it will happen again...' 'So what if he stopped your rain, one day you'd be able to deal with it by yourself…..Besides, don't you remember what happened the last time you felt something for a guy? It's just stupid, meaningless crush, just get over it....' But as time passed and she became more and more attached to the guild mates, more and more in love with Gray..... The voice in her head gradually faded and after a while the only sound she heard was the laughter of her loved ones. Despite the suffering of the past, Juvia no longer regretted anything. She would go through it even 100 more times, just to be happy with her new family. -"Oi ! - she felt Gray lightly tap her nose- Juvs don't fall asleep, we have a train in about two hours….. Remember? "- he asked amused - "You're right! Juvia's sorry, she got lost in her thoughts…" ****************************************** - "Are you going on a mission ?" asked Mira Jane cheerfully, as the couple informed her of their departure. Gray didn't necessarily want to share with her the reason for their trip. After all, it was a rather sensitive topic. - "Yyyy it's more like..... a..vacation...?...Right Juvia?"- he turned to his fiancée - "Oh!....Yes, yes..."- nodded the woman. The barmaid looked at them with a huge smile. She still couldn't quite believe that these two were finally together.… - "In that case I wish you a wonderful time, lovebirds" - she giggled as she saw them both turning red. - "Ooh vacation? That's awesome, wish you a great time guys." -they heard Lucy's voice behind them. - "They are such a beautiful couple."- added Erza proudly-" I can't believe that our Gray has grown so much..I hope you'll have an amazing vacation." - '"I also wish you an amazing time'' -said Wendy happily. -Ohhh..young love…- sang Happy, flying over their heads. - " And where are you two going anyway?"- asked Natsu curiously while finishing his lunch. - "We decided to visit my hometown,"- said Juvia. Her friends didn't need to know more... - "Oh cool..Where is it?" -continued Natsu. He never really thought much about where his guild-mate came from.. -" I don't think that's your business Flame-brain. Besides you probably wouldn't know where it is anyway." -said Gray, slightly annoyed. He was slowly starting to get on his nerves. Why does Natsu always have to meddle in things that are not his own? - "I asked Juvia ,not you Icy-pants" said Natsu teasingly. Jeez what's wrong with Droopy eyes today , he just asked a simple question. - "Calm down both of you "- said Lucy. She didn't like where this conversation was going. -'' Lucy is right, there is no point in arguing....Natsu if you really want to know, Juvia was born in the town of Tempeville, in the south - said Juvia, trying to calm down quickly. - "Oh, I've never heard of that place," Natsu said, surprised. Looks like there's a lot of towns he didn't know about. - "See, I told you so,"- said Gray. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have a train to catch. So let's get going… - "Hey Lucy, Happy, let's go with them...I'd like to see what that place is like "- said Natsu suddenly, dragging the blonde with him. His girlfriend looked at him in horror. 'Natsu, what are you thinking? Are you trying to ruin their trip?' - "The hell?! "- shouted Gray. And then he thought that everything was going well…'Please no….' - "Natsu, that's their private vacation! "- exclaimed Lucy, knowing very well that they should leave the couple alone- "Besides, they said they have a train coming soon!" -"Then let's go , we have to get ready quickly…...!" "LEAVE US ALONE !!' - desperate Gray shouted as loud as he could, unintentionally focusing the attention of practically the entire guild. They all looked at him, disapproval clearly written on

their faces. - "Gee..Buddy..you don't have to be so rude," - said Max. - "My God… what's with you?- whispered Lisanna - "Exactly Gray, what kind of behavior is that? "- Erza asked in a stern tone- "If you don't want Natsu to come with you, just tell him politely. The Devil Slayer wanted to disappear... It wasn't supposed to be like this. He turned his gaze towards his fiancée, silently asking for any kind of rescue. However, he was met with the same horrified gaze. After a moment, the girl bowed her head slightly and said to the rest of the guild. -"Everyone , please forgive us, especially Gray. I don't know what's going on with him lately...." - ' Huh ?'- Gray must have heard that wrong….There is no way... -"....He's been very tired and stressed lately, probably because of work, that's why we decided to go on vacation…..Juvia didn't know what to do...." said Juvia, brilliantly pretending to be distraught. 'Stop making me out to be some kind of aggressive freak,' Gray shouted in his mind 'Juvia is sorry but this is kinda your fault'- thought blunette , while taking a look at her lover. - "Relax Juvia, you don't have to apologize to us... To be honest Natsu tried to force his way into your trip" - said Lucy, looking at her partner with an annoyance. - Sorry Juvia….-said the pink haired boy meekly-"...but the ice princess can kiss my ass. I won't apologize to him.." -he added quietly. - "It honestly sounds like an excuse to leave you alone so you can shag in peace" -said Cana under her breath. She wanted to add something else but then she felt a murderous gaze of the black-haired man and decided to shut up. -"True!"- added Gajeel, receiving a look full of indignation from his best friend. -"That's so MANLY" - "How could you blame them though….." -laughed Macao. -"GOODBYE !" - shouted Fullbuster blushing furiously ,as he headed straight to the door, dragging his equally embarrassed lover with him. As they walked towards the train station, dragging their suitcases behind them, blunette suddenly asked… - "Did you really do this...to be all alone with me....?" asked Juvia innocently. Oh how she loved teasing him like that... -"JUVIA ?! "- At this point Gray was close to having a heart attack. A very amused girl could not stop laughing for a while , until they got on the train and they sat down in one of the wagons. Their journey has just begun. ****************************************** Very random/ unnecessary bonus . Remember this, Lovelies! Never doodle under the influence of alcohol, you will get wierd ideas lol. ,, Do you see this sh*t Juvia? People are fighting over fictional characters… Humanity really is getting dumber and dumber...."

[hailbop1701]

Curing a Rainy Day

A sort of five times Star Trek gen fic for your viewing pleasure. I mentioned I would write it but please be aware that I wrote this on my phone late at night and I has no beta. Typos and mistakes will be found. 🤣

-H❤🖖

Word Count: 2,166

Sulu:

Leonard McCoy wasn’t a huge touchy-feely type of man. Well, that’s what he really wants folks to think anyway. He was a doctor and that meant it was his oath-bound duty to cure what ails his patients. Whether it was from a physical malady or an emotional one. The first time he initiated his “Rainy Day Cure” --title courtesy of his daughter-- to one of the command crew he was surprised that it was Sulu of all people. If Len were being honest he thought it would have been Jim. Sure he had hugged the kid in the past but he always let Jim be the one to initiate contact. The reason why is complicated and a story for another time. 

When he found him the young pilot was huddled alone in Observation Room Five, his shoulders hunched, his down so his eyes were hidden and mind lightyears away. Leonard had a feeling he knew where. The chaos after Khan and Marcus had caused a lot of damage, and not all of it was physical. They were all still healing even a year later. They had left Kronos not three hours ago and according to the mission report, Sulu’s younger sister was…

Not who she claimed to be. ‘Yuki,’ McCoy recalled her name lamely as he made his way loudly over to the depressed man.

She revealed that she worked for Section 31 and was determined to fix the Federation the right way. Though the term “Right way” is skewed for many folks. War was almost started, again and the Enterprise had to stop it, again. Section 31 now had the last little pebble of Red Matter and was holding it like a…” Nuclear deterrent” as the old saying goes. 

Shaking his head Leonard pushed recent events to the back of his mind and continued on his own mission. Plopping down on the couch that faced the giant window of stars, McCoy leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. 

He didn’t offer his apologies or sympathies, he knew Sulu didn’t want them. So they sat in silence. Sulu just shook his head and looked up at the doctor with confusion and betrayal in his eyes. “I don’t - I” he stopped swallowing and the helmsman looked so young Leonard didn’t even think about it until after he had already done it. 

He wrapped an arm over Hikaru’s shoulder and squeezed. Sulu stilled for a moment before relaxing and saying what needed to be said, a weight slowly lifting off his shoulders and his chest. 

Scotty:

Leonard and Scotty were both having a terrible terrible time. The cold sucked in Leonard’s opinion and being trapped on an ice ball of a planet only confirmed his feelings. Looking over at the Enterprises Chief Engineer, Leonard had a feeling that he wasn’t alone in his thoughts and feelings. 

The Scot was curled into a tight ball up against the last running console the entire ‘Fleet base had. He was shivering and muttering to himself, glaring at the distress signal he had rigged up. There was nothing they could do but wait. Rubbing his hands together to warm them Leonard moved toward the console and slid down to the floor next to Scotty. Touching shoulders with Scotty, McCoy tucked his hands under his arms and sighed. There was nothing he could really say to ease the engineer’s anxiety -- which stemmed from Delta Vega no doubt --  so he simply let his presence be enough. 

Scotty glanced at Leonard to see that he was looking back at him with calm understanding. Grunting Scotty curled himself closer to the CMO and let the man wrap an arm around his shoulders. They didn’t speak a word and only moved when they heard the sounds of the rescue party on the other side of the sealed doors. 

Chekov:

Pavel Chekov was the youngest of the command crew, so he was automatically protected and treated like the youngest sibling of a giant family. The navigator understood that his friends didn’t mean to and that it was just sometimes a reflex but he was getting damn tired of it. Today was his birthday, he had finally turned twenty! Chekov was so pleased to find that after the incident with Khan he was being treated like he should. There was one person who always treated him like he was young and precious. 

Pavel found that he didn’t mind so much. Doctor McCoy treated almost everyone that way -- even though he wasn’t that much older than the rest of them --  in an almost fatherly manner. A true caretaker. Chekov allowed the behavior from no one but McCoy. 

Leonard walked into “Rec Room Two” taking in the crowd with a softening scowl. A small wrapped parcel gripped in his hand. He looked down at the present, weighing it in his hands carefully.  With a sigh, McCoy strode through the room looking for the birthday boy. Jim waved at him wildly from the other side of the room a huge grin on his face. Narrowing his eyes, Leonard saw that his captain wasn’t in fact drunk at all. Grunting in approval he smiled at Chekov who was hurrying over to greet him. 

“Happy Birthday Pavel,” 

Chekov grinned and his eyes widened at the present presented to him. Leonard gestured for him to open it and the young man did excitedly. The wrapping paper littered the floor a long black box in its place. Slowly opening the box the navigator knocked a silver antique pocket knife into his hands. Examining it closely he looked up at McCoy in confusion. 

Leonard shifted nervously on his feet. Clearing his throat he pulled out a similar from his belt. “My daddy gave me this one to match his when I turned twenty. I know your pa wasn’t around as you grew up and so I thought…” his sentence fell into silence. For once Leonard McCoy was at a loss for words. Pavel quickly wiped a stray tear from his eye and grinned at his friend holding onto the gift tightly. 

“Thank you doctor!” he said gratefully and Leonard understood that it was for more than just a knife. A small smile graced the CMO’s lips and pulled the kid in for a hug. 

With anyone else, Pavel would have been annoyed. This was an exception. 

Uhura:

Leonard was tired. He longed for his bed but as he looked around at all of the injured crew he pushed the longing away. There was no time for it. Rubbing the blurry fatigue from his eyes he pushed on. Triage, surgery, aftercare. He really didn’t truly stop to breathe until the middle of gamma shift when the ship was sleepy and quiet. The only noise was the soft beeps and whistles of monitors. His nurses quietly whispering and working. 

Christine hours ago told him to stop worrying and to go to bed already but something in him just couldn’t. Blinking dumbly down at the PADD in his hands he sighed and signed off on the next round of Spock’s antibiotics. During the Enterprises most recent scuffle the bridge took a hit and the science station exploded sending the first officer flying, earning him a ticket to medical. 

After the fight was over and things had only calmed down to a trickle of wounded instead of a flash flood, Nyota Uhura breezed through sickbay’s doors. She waited patiently and even helped where she could. When Spock came out of surgery and was placed in a private room she immediately went to his side and hasn’t moved an inch since. Jim would have been right beside her if he could afford to. But it appears the admiralty wanted words and had kept him busy since. McCoy had barely just convinced him to get some sleep saying that he would call if anything changes. 

That was three hours ago. 

Leonard walked -- though Nyota would say shuffled -- into Spock’s room, his eyes going straight to the monitors above the bed. The half Vulcan was resting peacefully. McCoy knew it was only a matter of time before he woke and would go into a healing trance. Something that should be monitored anyway. Leonard quietly wondered who he would grant the opportunity to slap Spock awake this time…

“Leonard!” 

The sound of his name made the CMO snap his head in Uhura’s direction. Her eyes were fire, filled with frustration, exhaustion, and worry. McCoy winced, “Sorry Nyota, guess my mind wandered a bit,” he said somewhat sheepishly. Her expression softened a flash of guilt passing through her features. 

“You need more rest. You’re going to run yourself into the ground at this rate,” she scolded half-heartedly. McCoy gave her a small smile and a shrug, 

"I'll rest when I'm not needed." He whispered and badly covered up a yawn. The hidden meaning behind his words wasn't lost on the linguist though. She pressed her lips into a tight line deciding not to comment. Instead, she rested her gaze on Spock once more her hand inches away from his. 

So deep in thought, Nyota hadn't even realized that McCoy had left and come back, a tray with a couple of hypos in his always unwavering hands. Catching her eyes he gave her another encouraging smile. He took care to tell her everything he was doing and how it would help keep infection away. Leonard knew he didn't have to explain but he felt it necessary to fill the quiet with "Illogical chatter" as Spock would surely call it. 

Uhura was so tired and so frazzled that she was startled to find the CMO crouching in front of her with concern all over his face. "You need to get some rest Nyota. I can have a cot brought in if you'd like…" 

Uhura, let a few tears fall before she bottled it up again. She shook her head wiping her face, "I'm alright Leo. Everything is just catching up to me…" she mumbled with a watery chuckle. Leonard snorted at the nickname she had given him, 

"Just let me know darlin' " 

And without truly thinking about it he pulled her into a hug. It only took Uhura a second to process what was happening before she wrapped her arms around him tightly. A genuine smile breaking across her face. The first time in hours she felt content, safe, and able to truly breathe. 

Jim: 

James T. Kirk was a touchy-feely type of man. Leonard supposed it may be from a less than stellar childhood. So whenever Jim would pull him into a one-armed hug or slapped his back or even leaned up against him, McCoy would let him. He would definitely bitch but only half-heartedly, Leonard needed to keep up appearances after all. 

So when they found Jim partially dead, hanging from his wrists in a cave all smirks and charm…

Well, no one batted an eye when -- after he made sure that the man would live -- Leonard pulled his best friend in for a hug. Jim just laughed, laid an arm over McCoy's shoulder, and leaned into the hug. 

"I only had to get tortured and offered to an alien God for you to hug me. Good to know," 

"Shut up Kid," 

Spock:

No one ever thought the words McCoy, Spock, and hug would ever be uttered but stranger things have happened on the Enterprise. 

No stranger than an alien device that turned back time. In a physical sense anyway. Leonard looked down at his adolescent hands and sighed with a heavy eye roll. "Not this again," he grumbled with a shudder. 

Looking around the room he saw Jim shouting at Mudd who had bought the alien weapon and decided to point it at him and Spock. McCoy tilted his head, his eyes going comically wide. 

Spock! 

Where was the green-blooded rugrat? Leonard looked around and sighed in relief at the sight of the first officer. He was hidden under a rickety wooden table. Crouching down Leonard gave Spock a small smile, he waved and gestured for the Vulcan to come closer. Apparently the younger you go the further your mind goes with it. Spock had a mentality of a...of well, a toddler. He couldn't have been more than two. 

Spock stared at Leonard intensely before darting out and crashing into his legs. McCoy stumbled a little before he got his footing. Spock looked up at him with wide scared eyes, tears threatening to fall. 'Must have gotten all Vucan-y at four or five,' Leonard thought as he picked up his friend. 

Leonard pulled Spock close, hugging him to his chest whispering softly. Spock seemed confused for only a moment before he buried his head into the young CMO's neck. 

Jim of course saw it all and later under the threat of meeting his end via an airlock kept his mouth firmly shut. The only thing the Starship Captain said -- which everyone agreed-- Doctor Leonard McCoy could absolutely cure a rainy day. 

Tags:

@lauraaan182, @chickadee-djarin, @cowenby2, @bluesclues-1234, @sayuri9908,

[enviedear]

incendiary affairs → leo valdez

i. ❝ how many stars will i need to hang around me, to finally get somewhere i can be all done ❞

DESCRIPTION ⌙ lyla miller can't escape her childhood. no matter how hard she tries, her past follows her. adding in leo valdez to the equation only adds to her headache.

PAIRING ⌙ leo valdez x oc

WORD COUNT ⌙ 1.3k

one ━━━ two ━━━ three ━━━

four ━━━ five

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"lyla! i'm going to kill you!" nyia's voice shrills from behind me.

i grimace and turn to face my friend, "good evening to you too."

the girl pouts, brushing a twist off of her shoulder, "you're never allowed to not see me for that long ever again."

i wave her off, "i don't know how you stay here." i gesture to the camp around us. "this place is disgusting."

and i mean that. camp halfblood is the most disgusting place i have ever had the displeasure of living— and i've lived in some pretty disgusting places. it's a hellscape full of overconfident idiots desperate to showcase their talents to parents who will never love them.

a year ago exactly, on my eighteenth birthday, i decided to leave this place behind— forever.

i'm happier in the real world occasionally fighting off monsters and working long hours.

i hate it here, obviously.

between the way mr. d can never get my name right and the fact that it's a constant battle of being the best you can be in order to not die in a sparing session, i'm glad i left.

"it's not disgusting," niya huffs. "if anything, it's beautiful. camp is the safest place on earth for—"

i cut her off, "save your counselor speech for the next unlucky kid that runs through the barrier."

"if it wasn't your birthday, i'd make you lust after a satyr for that, but, seeing as it's your special day, i'm just going to take you to your party." niya smirks, dragging me to the pavilion.

the dining pavilion is completely decked out with balloons, banners, table centerpieces, and a life size cutout of thirteen year old me.

never let a child of aphrodite throw you a birthday party. it's frightening the lengths they'll go.

aside from my friends' over the top decor, the dining pavilion is the same. the bonfire at the pavilion center is lit, flames rising high, and the white tablecloths are still draped over the wooden tables.

the camper's seem to notice niya and i standing outside and immediately quiet down, allowing for connor stoll to gesture to me and howl out, "birthday girl! surprise!"

i smile and walk toward the brown haired son of hermes, "not much of a surprise when i knew about it beforehand."

the boy still towers over me despite being a year younger, but his boyish grin is all the same.

"oh lyla, you're as astute as ever. it pains me that i'll never compare." he chuckles, half bowing down to me.

nyia shoves him slightly, "come on lyla, your cake is over here."

she leads me to the main table, primarily reserved for mr. d and chiron, but tonight it's full of giftbags, food, and a three tier cake with a topper of a dog— my mother's sacred animal.

"it's red velvet, and i fit all nineteen candles on the top! hurry up and blow it out before the wax gets everywhere." niya smiles, practically beaming in excitement.

i roll my eyes but go to blow out the multicolored candles, "don't forget to make a wish," connor's voice calls out.

i wish for the same thing as i always have, a normal life.

it never comes true.

once the candles are blown out, the campers all shout and rush to grab a slice of cake, then stop by the fire to sacrifice some to the gods.

"happy birthday lyre," the voice of mr. d grumbles. "i'm shocked you haven't died yet."

i glare, "my name is lyla, and i'm shocked you're still a grumbly old man. apollo sure didn't last this long in exile."

dionysus huffs, taking a big gulp from his coke before walking off.

that, is better than any present i could ever get.

"are you enjoying your party?" connor asks, arm around niya's shoulder.

i shrug, "i appreciate the effort— and the twenty dollar gift card to dunkin."

niya raises her hand in victory, "i'm glad. i got chased by harpies last night trying to set this up."

i'm about to reply when i hear a boom from far off.

i smile sarcastically, "aw, of course, what's a demigod birthday party without an ominous monster sound?"

almost immediately everyone in the pavilion is gone, weapons in hand and rushing to find the source of the sound.

aside from me.

i park my ass in a chair and begin reading cards and pocketing whatever money that's inside them.

i don't live here and there is no way on earth i'm risking my life for this place. i've done that twice and i'm made a promise to myself to never do it again.

halfway into niya's card— or novel more like, i feel an icy pressure on the top of my head. with a simple levitation spell, i remove the object from my head to inspect it.

a raven, totally mechanic, stares back at me. its eyes are an unnatural glowing green.

"funny joke guys." i say, waiting for someone— likely connor, to come and take ownership.

seconds pass with no answer.

"who's stupid bird is this? seriously? i don't want it."

no answer.

i glare down at the machinery, "what are you supposed to do anyway?"

the bird cranes its beak open, causing me to furrow my brows.

as a daughter of hecate, i'm used to being able to speak to birds— and snakes and dragons—but i have never, had a mechanical raven speak to me.

"hello lyla miller. the great oracle apollo has a message for you! please return my inquisition through the son of the forge, leo valdez, address currently— pending. have a divine day, and remember, a peach a day keeps the plague spirits away!"

i let the bird fall to the ground.

i know that voice. i've heard that voice before. that divine and self righteous voice can only belong to the god apollo.

the oracle god.

i gasp and reach for the bird again, running to find my friends.

[raviliuz]

"Here comes the sun" Blaise Zabini x Theodore Nott

Muggle, retro au

@lifesucksandiwanttobeamarauder I finally translate that fanfiction, I hope you like it 🥺

The dark-skinned boy has tried to sit still from three hours already. It is incredibly hard for him, because of his amazing hyperactivity. In all honesty, sitting here as a model doesn't count to his dreams or favourites activities but he couldn't deny to Theodore's asks.

Just because of that — his bloody weakness for the older boy — he must stick up there and pose to Theodore's new painting. Blaise perfectly knows that person on that work of art won't be even similar to him. But it will be beautiful, perfect as everything that has been made by gifted hands of Theodore Nott.

There's music, playing quietly at the background, played on a gramophone, restored by Blaise himself. He gifted it to his friend as a birthday present two years ago on an incredibly warm and short night, 22th of June.

He has so many memories with that slight, passionate boy.

"Theo," he says suddenly, breaking the silence. He sounds like a dissatisfied kitten and when he doesn't notice any reaction, he repeats meowing "Theo, I'm bored."

The other boy finally pays his attention to Blaise, not his reflection on painting, which is created on a canvas (too small in Theo's opinion).

"Blaise, you really can't stand it for a while more?" Theodore asks and there is a nuance of desperation and melancholy in his voice, "I want to end it."

And Blaise has already known, he loses again. He won't be able to deny his friend the pleasure that results from looking at the painting — finished, after hours of working.

"I'll stand it, Theo" he sighs and in his mind adds 'always for you'. At this moment all he can do is begging and praying that Theodore is not able to read minds, just like some characters in their favourites comics.

"Nah, Blaise" slight boy says suddenly and leaves his paint palette and set of brushes on the cupboard, promising himself that he will wash it carefully within a few minutes when paints won't be already dry "I know you don't want to."

"It's not like that" Zabini starts to explaining himself chaotically because he doesn't want hurt Theodore's feelings, "I love watching your painting and you while you're painting. And I love that you have a passion and you're so talented. I just... It's May Day and we are sitting in your room..."

"It's alright, Blaise" Theodore interrupts his with the most beautiful, in Zabini's opinion, smile — that carefree, happy and only a little faraway one.

"We should do something and bring Hope with us to take many photos and place them in our albums with dumb yet cute captions" Theo proposes with a light laugh.

The younger, but taller, better built and more mature, of boys, stands up and brushes off invisible pollen from clothes. He reaches his hand to Theodore to help him stand up.

"Wanna go?" he proposes and even if Theo doesn't know where he agrees without a single question.

It doesn't matter where they go, it will be awesome as always if Blaise is with him.

He catches Hope and puts it on his neck. Theo loves his polaroid camera with whole his heart, even if it isn't the newest and all the better photos were made by Blaise.

Blaise is still holding Theodore's hand in his (definitely larger and rougher), like he doesn't care about rubs of paints in many different colours on Theo's hand and now, also on Blaise's one.

He pulls his friends outside and enters the garage like he is in his own house. Theodore knows what he means without words and grabs his bicycle with a big smile on his slim face.

Meanwhile, Blaise grabs his skateboard, which, only in the form of rebellion against sentiment, he did not give a name. But he perfectly knows that by his skateboard, people could see a different side of his personality, which he doesn't show often — bloody sentimentalist who loves very clichéd books or movies and constantly remembering beautiful moments, and it doesn't matter if that happens a year ago or two hours ago.

The skateboard has its best years far behind its. The picture which was printed on the underside of 'his love' (although, of course, incomparable to that of the boy just standing next to him) has almost completely faded and crumbled, peeling paint seems not so good, to put it mildly, but in Blaise's opinion, it adds the special character and charm to his skateboard. Every scratch and every cooked screw tell a story and Blaise thinks it definitely better than new skateboard — probably glamorous but without its own character.

Blaise isn't similar to Theo, not it that topic. He has never had boxes filled with various craps, which refer to many different events and happenings. He doesn't have special notebooks with tickets, a diary or millions of notes with quick sketches, created under the influence of a sudden flow of wen. He doesn't keep every notes and message on scraps of papers, which have been hand down on lessons, in hope that the teacher wouldn't see that. In first, even having a photo album was strange for Blaise. It shows, that he likes looking back at past and that feeling, which sometimes accompanies you right before falling asleep, when you remind yourself one of those pleasant situations from childhood, isn't foreign for him. It was all he was trying to defend himself against, but only for a time.

For a time when on his way stood that quite frail and nerdy boy. Theodore showed him being sentiment isn't something bad just as singing songs out loud in public places. As compensation, Blaise showed him the magic of comics and all these beautiful, charming in their area, which he discovered while taking a walk daily. Blaise pulled Theodore out of his room and dragged him away from the easel to lead him everywhere he can.

"To our place?" Theodore asks and gets on his a little too small, colourful bike. The seat creaks quietly under his mass but none of the boys pays any attention to this.

"Exactly, now ride, my carriage" Blaise screams and catches up on Theo's seat so the movement of the bicycle can drag him.

"Pff, flax" Nott giggles and Blaise find it as the most sonorous, melodic sound in the whole world.

They ride slowly through all that musty hole, also known as Torquay, or — their home. The road even if it's really old and it remembers when they as children drew chalk on a street, is not in a bad condition. A worse fate befell the road signs — some of them are smeared with sprays, and some are knocked off the ground, due to a car accident or a group of probably drunk but still strong young people.

There are many houses near the road. They are quite poor and definitely not as modern as houses in the capital. At some time, before he started taking daily walks, Blaise dreamed about living in London. Or rather, to be able to tell others that he lives in London. It's another thing which distinguishes him from Theodore — the older boy sees beauty everywhere, in everything and in everybody. Blaise envied him with this skill, for him the world has been boring or just ugly and people have been cruel sometimes.

The sun is warming their backs when they slowly ride on a well-known path. They pass Mrs Shermik, so out of courtesy from four meters away from her, they shout to the old woman joyful 'Good morning'. As they turn into a lane, which is fortunately dry as it hasn't rained much lately, Theo starts humming under his breath.

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad" he looks at his friend (nearly losing control of his bike) and Blaise quickly understands what he means.

Blaise joins to his singing and adds next line:

"Take a sad song and make it better".

Someday Blaise would have worried. He was worried about what people would think, he was afraid someone would hear them. But not now. Now he doesn't care when the words flowing from the depths of memory, and when the song ends, he starts another, definitely his favourite — "Blackbird". Neither of the boys has a perfect voice, singing is definitely not their hidden talent, but that doesn't matter. And that is wonderful, isn't it?

Here Blaise can no longer skate further — the ground is too uneven, even ploughed by the tires of wheelbarrows and carts of people from the neighbouring village. The dark-skinned man rejects Theo's offer to simply get his bike's rack and chooses to run next to the boy. The basketball team and two trainings a week are finally coming in handy — thanks to this, his condition is really good and he doesn't gasp like an old man with asthma after twenty meters run. Theodore, noticing how well his best friend is doing, accelerates, forcing Zabini to run, which he accepts with a groan. Nevertheless, he catches up with the older boy and promises himself that as soon as they get there, he will get his revenge.

After five more minutes, they are a destination of their travel. The place they describe as "their", although they are well aware that they are not the only people who come here, is exactly as they remember it — beautiful.

It was Blaise who discovered them during one of his walks over three years ago. He perfectly remembered how it happened.

That day he was trying to find a rather fast but shallow brook, which he remembered from his childhood. Before Draco's move to London, they told Draco's parents that they were going to the field, but in fact, they went to the brook and walked back and forth on a tree that had fallen over the river. He remembered just as well how Draco's mother, on her way to the store, noticed they were not on the field, prompting a search. When their parents found them by the brook — wet but in unusually good moods, they were already too worried to be upset with them.

After searching for more than an hour (during which he definitely fulfilled the daily, maybe even a week, step norm, but he didn't care) he found a place from his memories, although it was difficult to recognize its. The brook had dried up completely, leaving only a faint riverbed and tree roots washed out of the ground, but the place has definitely retained its charm.

Theo drops the bicycle, leaning it hurriedly against one of the roots, and lays down on the grass, staring at the almost cloudless sky, hidden only by tree branches. Blaise, slightly out of breath, rests his hands on his knees and stays like this for a moment. When his breath normalized he comes closer to Theodore. There is a snap and a Polaroid camera gracefully named Hope spits out a photo in which the image hasn't shown up yet. Theo enthusiastically grabs a small piece of paper and starts waving it so fast that it is about to reach orbital velocity. After a while, the picture clears up the silhouette of a younger boy, who was about to lie down next to his friend. Blaise looks at the photo and asks smiling, even though he already knows the answer:

"For your or my album?"

"Of course mine," Theodore replies quickly, grinning happily, "Why do you need your own photos? They will be much more useful to me."

The dark-skinned boy can't help but messes Theodore's hair in one move of his hand. However, Theo is not annoyed by that, he reacts to it like a cat, moving closer and silently demanding further caresses, which the younger one does willingly.

They are sitting like that (or rather, Blaise is sitting and Theo's half lying on him) till the sunset. There is a flower crown on Blaise's head, made by Theo with field flowers collected by him. And of course, Theodore took a photo of Blaise in his work of art.

It's getting dark. Butterflies, which were flying around them flew away and gave way for beautiful moths and fireflies. Theodore stands up energetically and starts jumping on protruding trees' roots, chasing insects to take a photo of them.

"Theo, please be careful," Blaise says attentively but the only response is 'don't worry' screamed by Nott.

Blaise unwillingly starts remembering his childhood. Times, when he wasn't Theodore's friend and all that connected them, was the same neighbourhood, chalk and short-term relationship of their parents. Then they found that as a stupid and loathsome. Nowadays, at their seventeen's, just as weird. But they weren't friends. After all, Blaise was friends with Draco and the teacher in primary had repeated that it's better to have fewer friends but true friends. So Blaise fraternizes with Malfoy till he moved to London.

It's not that now Blaise finds it as a mistake or holds any grudge with Draco. But nowadays he thinks that it is not good to withdraw from others.

When Draco had left and moved to London, Blaise had thought they now he stayed alone but on that moment, Theodore slowly crept into his life. Nott sat next to Blaise on school basketball pitch and started reminding happy moments from times when Draco lived in Torquey.

And later he showed his painting to Blaise and dark-skinned boy couldn't believe someone his age could do something that beautiful. A week later Blaise sat down with him in the canteen and sometime later also on most of the lessons so he could distract him from learning to read their favourites comics.

Now, Blaise would imagine his life without his always laughing and only sometimes a little faraway friend.

His thoughts are interrupted by a quiet scream.

"Ouch!"

Blaise, worried, stands up imminently and run through Theo. He is curled up in a fetal position between roods of the biggest tree. Zabini hugs him tightly and Theodore accepts that willing, cuddling to his chest while holds back tears.

"Ah, Theo" Blaise whispers, still cuddling the boy in his arms, "I asked you to be careful."

"I'm sorry, Blaise" he answers, sniffing.

"Don't apologize to me, silly" Blaise couldn't stop himself from nuzzling his friend's cheek.

"But you are worrying now and you warned me that I might get hurt..."

"Shhhh" Zabini interrupts him and places his fingers on Theo's mouth to shushes him "I always worrying about you, no matter if you get hurt or not" he admits truthfully and after a few seconds of silence adds "Please, stop crying.

He stops hugging Theodore, although he wants to do it forever. Blaise squats in from of him and gently grabs his friend's head. He wipes away tears, flowing slowly on fairy (although all that time, spends under the sunlight) skin.

He wants to not cry because of sadness or pain, wants him not to have reasons for a cry.

He wants him to be always happy, even if that meant that Blaise wouldn't be on his side.

Wants, wants, wants.

But the world isn't always beautiful, even if Theodore thinks so. Sometimes the world is cruel, ugly or just totally boring. The same about people who live in it.

Do it's really important to find your refuge. A place, a person or a hobby, which will be like an escape from all evils in that world.

Blaise thought that his escape is comics. Reading them has dragged him into the world of superheroes where he could use his imagination and think about meaningless things for hours such as what superpower would he choose (flying, of course). Besides that, the world in comics is just easier. It isn't hard to differentiate who is good and who's bad. Good people fight with bad people, that's all. The Justice League cares about Gotham and saves innocent people from Joker, Deadshot or Darkseid. In the real world, it would be an unsolvable matter with billions different threads and complications so even the best detectives wouldn't be able to decide who is guilty.

Comics world is just easier.

Lately, Blaise has got to understand that the whole beauty in that world is locked in its confusions, problems and ambiguities. Because the world is beautiful, even if sometimes it's cruel or ugly.

And the one who made him understand that is his only real refuge — Theodore Nott.

He is the one who makes reading comics even better.

He is the one with who Blaise could do anything and it would be incredibly good.

He is the one with who Blaise wants to talk about 'good old times' and makes new memories to remember.

He is the one with who Blaise wants to stay forever.

Theodore Nott is the one who Blaise bestow that hot and unique feeling which, no matter what since says, comes from the heart.

And that feeling, now makes him do something, he has been dreaming about for that long. Blaise gently and unsurely grabs the head of the person, who since a year isn't only a friend for him. He delicately raises Theo's head a bit upper to look him straight into his eyes. Their lips touch slowly and gently. Both of them don't feel so confident with what's going on but they will worry about that later. Now, Blaise doesn't have the time and desire to thinks about the consequences. Not now, when he feels the structure of soft lips of his love.

When the dark-skinned boy doesn't notice any objections from the older boy, he let himself do a light, carefully move with his lips. He doesn't want to scared Theodore, knowing how delicate and artsy person he is. He would ever forgive himself hurting Theo.

If he only knew how long Theodore was waiting for it and how much he enjoys that kiss, even if Blaise's lips are rough and chapped.

Blaise gently moves away and hangs his head down, looking at too long grass. He's afraid of seeing Theodore's reaction for what he has done because he's afraid of rejection and ending that important relationship.

However, Theo, likes he doesn't see his friend insecure, giggles lightly and grabs the younger boy cheeks, turning his face to him.

"Oh, finally. How long might I wait?" Theo says with a delightful smile.

"Really. You... Me..." Blaise mutters like he doesn't know what he wants to say.

"Yeah, silly" Theo chucked and hits an end of Blaise's nose with his "You're definitely my favourite person in that universe. And every other, alternative universe too."

Blaise, still can't believe what's happening, hugs his boy and kisses him quickly. The kiss is one hundred per cent cute and totally not sultry. Because feelings as sultry and desire don't fit Theodore, even in an alternative universe where Bruce Wayne become the Devastator instead of Batman. It just does not fit.

"Yeah, and you're my fav person."

They sit in silence for a while, but it's nothing wrong. The silent can be calming and comfortable, it can say more than every word in the world.

The air is getting cooler and owls' chirps become more ominous, so finally, Blaise breaks the silence and says:

"Theo" mentioned boy turns to him and glance at Zabini, "Is your knee still hurting?"

"It's not that bad" Theo shrugs but Blaise quickly understands that it's not good either, "But can you ride the bicycle? I'll drive on its carrier."

"But what with my skateboard?" Blaise asks inconvenience.

"I'll carry it, please" Zabini's only answer is a sigh but not the irritated one. He doesn't know what would Theo had to do to irritate him.

"Alright, but please, be careful."

Blaise raises Theo's bicycle from the ground and helps the boy to climb up to the luggage carrier and then he carefully sits on its seat. Theodore holds Blaise's skateboard (which he has named against his will — Faith) with one hand and the other one is embraced around Blaise's stomach so Theo can stably stay on the carrier. Well, maybe not only because of that.

"To me?" Blaise proposes and slowly leaves their place.

Theodore automatically nods but then he understands that Blaise can't see him so he quickly says 'yes' some times.

Boys are leaving, slowly and without unnecessary haste, but that moment is different than every previous one, they have spent here. Now, they're leaving their place not as just friends.

From Theodore Nott's album:

"4th of May, 1984 —

My favourite day to remember"

[carrottuan93]

Haven’t met you yet | Mark

Masterlist (1/4) | part2 - part3 - part4

Starring: MK x You

Tags: Mark Tuan, Fluff, Destiny, Waiting, Christmas, Bookworm, Nerd, Love, Fate

Total WC: 2631

Foreword: You promise yourself you’re going to wait for the perfect love even if it takes forever but you’re already barging on it’s doorstep without even realizing that love has met you already in the first place.

It’s all about timing and seeking reassurance in all the right places.

It’s a chance you never want to miss and an opportunity that you wouldn’t trade for anything.

Learn to take risks and learn to fall in love along the way. Cause true love is patient and it’ll come when you least expect it.

Have you been good all year round? You never know what Santa has in stored for you this Christmas.

[Feel free to listen on the playlist that I made for this one shot :)))]

"Eunhee, I should probably take a break from your endless blind date setups. Nothing is working out for me, seriously." You heaved a sigh, slouching on the couch as you gave your best friend an exasperated look the moment you entered her humble bookshop. She's too excited for your love life ever since she and her long-time university crush Jackson became an official couple on your birthday when you celebrated it on Jeju last year. It was a really cold New Year’s Eve when you chose to reserve this romantic restaurant by the beach as the venue for your special day. Eunhee doesn't have any idea about Jackson's plan when you booked a flight to Jeju Island for a week despite the busy season. Since you wanted to play the fairy godmother role for the both of them, you saved Jackson from worrying and suggested that he'd do it on your birthday instead. And just like that, they spent the New Year countdown melting into each other’s puddle while greeting you a happy birthday. The things you do for your friend, if that ain’t salty for your part (it is, for being the third wheel), automatically elected you as the sole Queen of singles club after Neun’s grand exit.

 Since their anniversary is just around the corner, they are planning to spend it once again on Jeju and Eunhee, for being the supportive sister from another mother that she is, will surely drag you with them at all costs since it has been your tradition to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your best friend. She is dying to set you up with someone so you won't be celebrating your birthday alone anymore.

 "I'm sorry, Y/N. I thought you and my friend Hae In will work out. What happened by the way? tell me about your date." She sat beside your spot after closing the shop and did the honor of pouring you a glass of your favorite merlot. This girl knows how to calm you down for sure. I mean she isn't your best friend if she have no idea that wine is your comfort drink. For whatever reason it is, you don't know why it helps to lessen your loneliness by drinking the night away. Maybe knocking you down into a deep slumber and finding yourself completely clueless the next day, alongside the horrible hangover can patch up the painful truth that you are still single up to this point of your life. In addition to the earthly and God-sent smell of neatly piled books crowding the interior of her paradise, Eunhee's bookshop is your go-to place at all times. You used to frequent this a lot during your childhood days where you first met her and together you shared the same passion and love for books and wine through all these years.

 "He's too overrated for my type. Like I don't know why we need to talk about all of his exes and why his relationship with them didn't work out when we can sit and be comfortable with just talking about our interests, 'us' the present and not his past. He's a perfectionist per se and I don't like it when a guy shows disinterest whenever I told them about myself as some nerdy bookish girl who craves for a netflix kind of night compared to his ideal dream girl-next-door whom you can freely bring to a club the minute next." You look down on the red liquid in your glass, appreciating its refined and classic smell that is clouding your nostrils. You're way too excited to go home so you can finally sink on your newly changed bed sheets and savor the enticing smell of fabric conditioner which you cannot live without. You glanced outside the window, observing the couples walking together under the falling snow, as if Valentines day has come all of a sudden in the middle of December. Red roses are a popular gift for the ladies as you've observed and you cannot help yourself from wondering if someone will ever give you flowers on Christmas, particularly pink roses, which you really admire. You always dreamt of tending a bed of pink roses only for yourself because the sight of it makes you really happy. It's just unfortunate that they aren't in full bloom during this season that's why you can only wait for February to come so you could save the trouble of finding a lame date and just buy yourself a bouquet for Valentines. You can give yourself flowers and still feel like in a relationship with all the fictional characters on your novels. No one is stopping you from dating them in your mind, you thought.

 “Ugh I can’t believe that guy. I thought he’s a good catch but actually a bummer for real. Don’t worry, I’ll choose better next time." She gave you a warm hug, patting your head as you lay your cheek on her shoulder. She released you and you gave her an 'I'm-okay-don't-worry' kind of smile. And you sat there for almost an hour talking about your other failed blind dates in the past week that all belongs in either Jackson or Eunhee's circle. You have no idea why none of them matched your personality. Either they are too wild or too boring for them to function as your potential boyfriend. No one could really captivate your specific taste in a guy. It's not that you are too picky and have a high standard when it comes to scouting a lover. You just have your own preferences when it comes to choosing someone whom you'll devote your precious time into. No relationship is perfect because everything is built out of flaws, misunderstandings, heartaches and drama but if you'll enter in a commitment at least choose someone who's worthy of that pain. You aren’t getting any younger and all you need right now is someone reliable, honest and trustworthy enough to not waste your feelings and emotion. You need a serious guy who will not take you for granted and who welcomes the idea of settling in the near future. At least someone with a nice job? Or a bearable attitude, outlook and philosophy in life? He doesn't need to be the most handsome or richest guy in the planet. After all, you always talk to God about giving you with someone who will really love all your imperfections and flawed nature. You always pray to the heavens above that maybe he'll cross the mountains and bring you the moon and the stars like they always did on the movies and in stories but you're fed with too much fantasy and began to think that maybe the guy for you was rather inexistent or an alien inhabiting a distant galaxy located in a million light years away.

 "A break is all I need after all. I will be fine tomorrow at Christmas eve. Don't worry about me having a date on our dinner. I'll bring some macarons as an antidote for all things bitter for you and Jackson's couple party." It's your best friend’s first Christmas with her boyfriend that's why they are throwing a mini gathering for their family and close friends. You had this feeling that you will be the only one attending the party without a date so might as well go straight to the kitchen and grab a bottle of whatever wine you can get and spend the evening dancing on tipsy toes and the floor would be very much pleased to accommodate your drunken needs. But you will not gonna end up wasted on a party especially Eunhee will not be there beside you to take you home since you do not want to rob Jackson of his time with her. Their happiness always matters before you and that's what makes you happy, to see your best friend happy with the man that he really deserves.

 "All right sweetcheeks. We'll not let you feel gloomy on Christmas eve. Good girls get a reward from Santa so you have nothing to worry about." She gave you a wink and clanked your glasses in unison as you both emptied the bottle of wine to your heart's content. You both agreed to watch a romantic holiday movie over a shared furry blanket and hear out your friend as she talked to you mostly of his boyfriend, as if you’ve read a book about the guide to 101 ways on how to fall for Jackson. Maybe the love bug bit too hard on your friend now that she really has the man of her dreams right on her fingertips, she can’t ask for anything else. Their love story is too underrated and you’re one of the living witnesses that a coin is never wasted on a wishing well. If you only joined Eunhee on her wishing spree every time you both pass by your University’s fountain of love, your coin bank would have gone empty by now. But you didn’t do it and saved all of your coins for yourself cause you really enjoy playing basketball in the arcades for fun. For all you can remember way back in college days, your friend is just one of the many timid girls who are cheering and admiring the ever-famous fencing athlete, business student and heartthrob, Jackson. You have classes together with him and that is how your job as a love guru began. You really deserve a raise because you did succeed on making them a couple. You could set up a dating agency and earn better than your current job for all you care. But amidst all the love advice that you gave to them, you’re the complete opposite of a matchmaker. Because love never finds your way despite making love work for the others. Love is sweet but a bitch most of the time.

 If love finally came to Eunhee and Jackson, hopefully yours would come in a whirlpool, sweeping you off of your feet and rendering all the other love stories made in the history irrelevant. You love spontaneity and you’re up for the extraordinary. In fact, you already made a dozen of playlists on spotify and counting, awaiting to be dedicated to him. You may have weird habits, like using ketchup as a dip for your honey glazed donuts, and still act straight and sit the whole day finishing a book with your favorite espresso at coffee shops. You love taking midnight trips to the art museum and you wonder if he can appreciate the abstract the way it makes your soul come alive. You love travelling back to time and studying history and it would be a bonus if he’ll join you on the 3% mint choco enthusiasts in the whole world. And your list goes on and on and it’ll take a lifetime to introduce yourself to someone but you want to meet him soon. You can’t wait for that time to annoy the hell out of him and if he still chooses to come back after your endless nagging, that’s the time when you’re not gonna let go of him anymore. You know for yourself, you’re looking for an almost perfect individual but you’re ready to tear up your never ending list of your ideal guy if someone could really surprise you and made you want to look at the world in a different dimension. After all, an ideal can never be achieved in real life. You cannot make someone ‘the one’ but you can only search for someone and make them ‘your one’. Things may not come out the way you want them to be but things will work out if he’s your destiny. It might be hard to find the rarest form of love, which is true love, but you’re willing to go on a train trip bound to a destination you’ve never been to given that he’ll meet you at the end of the tunnel. Love isn’t hard. Love is supposed to be easy. You just need patience and it’ll come to you when you least expect it.

 It's nearing 11 pm already when you feel lightheaded because of your wine intake and maybe due to the fact that your early sleeping schedule has been breached by tonight's unfortunate event. You bid goodbye to your friend despite her invitation that you should just sleep on her place and decided to call for an uber to save yourself from zoning out like a zombie because you can no longer walk straight with your clouded vision. Eunhee lives upstairs her bookstore because she manages her family's business when her father passed away that's why she isn't living with you anymore. You've grown to be independent now that you're living on your own after sharing the same apartment with your friend during your university days.

 "Tomorrow night at 8. I'll text you the address. Don't be late, Y/n. Have a goodnight!” Eunhee tucked you up nicely on your seat and soon the taxi sped up passing underneath the city lights in the mood for the radio's yuletide playlist. You're a bit drunk to see clearly but you can recognize the faint Christmas lights flickering throughout the busy streets. In just half an hour, the uber came to a stop and you hopped off the cab as you made your way towards the entrance of the condo that you’re residing in. You walked past the concierge and romantic music is donning the halls screaming love is in the air but not for you cause it makes you suffocated. Inside the elevator you noticed that you'll join a couple on your way to a 5-minute trip to the 12th floor. You silently wished that nobody would enter in between floors so as not to slow down your fast lane to your unit or else it'll be another episode of 'You-are-single-fgds' slapping your face. Geez, you badly want a damn break but the couple is too absorbed in their own selves, doing whatever cringey couple thing it is behind you, so you chose to ignore their reflection on the elevator walls.

 God spared you for that ride and luckily you reached the 12th floor in the fastest speed possible. You walked in a crazy zigzag pattern when you reached the front step of your door and you held on the handle to prevent yourself from falling directly on the ground. Your eyes are zooming in for the door lock as you punch in your keycode multiple times and still wonder why the door isn't granting you any access at all.

 "The fudge why aren't you opening?" You tried all possible combinations already but to no luck, you are still denied. For the 10th time, the lock gave up on you and is now urging for a password reset when all of a sudden the heavens finally heard your prayer and the door automatically opened. You fell towards a pair of arms, as if on cue you are saved once again from falling directly on the floor. You grabbed on a pair of shoulders, and you felt like you've reached your bed already as your senses are welcomed with a lovely scent of fabcon, which for you is the sweetest scent in the world.

 "Hmm. I can finally sleep now." You smiled the moment you felt safe and secured within the parameters of what you think of as your bed.

"Wait, you cannot sleep on my arms." It's too late for you to wake up because you're already dozing off to dreamland.

"Oh shoot. What am I gonna do with you?" You barged into someone's room and you haven't had the slightest idea of what you'll gonna do the next morning when you wake up.