#happy birthday you adorable doofus

[going-full-shmoo]

It blows my mind that one person can just radiate such boyfriend energy like Tyson Jost. Just seeing him is a straight shot of serotonin every day

Honestly anon, I it blows my mind too. Every day I’m learning something new that just makes me love him a little bit more. I think the first time that it really hit me, like “wow this guy is actually really the kind of person I want to be dating” was when I saw his Fathers Day tweet dedicated to all the single moms who work hard to provide for their kids all by themselves. My mom is also a single mom (under different circumstances) and to see someone else who appreciates just how hard they work for us really hit home for me. And since then he’s continued to raise my expectations for the people I date.

He’s dorky, he’s sweet, he’s a little clumsy, he loves his family whole-heartedly and unconditionally showers everyone he cares about in love and support. He can’t chirp his teammates to save his life because he has more good things to say about them than bad. He knows his own worth, and values hard work and persistence. Even when he’s struggling he continues to push himself to improve. Honestly I could ramble about him for hours.

He is my sweet sunshine shot of serotonin every day and I am genuinely grateful to know about his existence.

Happy Birthday you adorable dork. I hope you know how much we appreciate you.

[sweetheartyuta]

[6:29PM] - Surprising Mark for his birthday after telling him you wouldn’t be able to get time off work, the sheer love and adoration you see in his eyes for you as you appeared at his birthday dinner leaving you breathless. 

He quickly walked to you, shock still evident on his face as he took both of your hands in his. 

“I thought you couldn’t make it?” 

“I lied doofus, I wouldn’t miss it for the world sweet boy, happy birthday, I love you”

You step towards him, taking his face in your hands as he wraps his around your waist, giving you a tender kiss and whispering a small “Thank you” 

[feeling--pink]

For today’s prompt: Video Game I wanted make Legends of Legendquest designs!!! I ADORE Happy Birthday Doofus Drake for the Huey&Della side plot (and Boyd) so I wanted to give the rest of them designs!! :D

As per usual, I’m explaining stuff under the cut!!

@ducktober2020​ 

Mainly here to talk about Dewey, Louie, and Webby since I just used Huey’s canon design.

So let’s get right into that!!

Webby:

Starting off with Webby because I want to explain how I got her design!

I wanted to base the fashion off of the medieval era of clothes since that’s your general time period for high fantasy games

thats not technically the case for Legends of Legendquest but I digress

What I crudely circled are the dresses I used as reference for Webby!!!

I thought the half and half design would be a good way to include all her colors!! 

Also swirlies because they usually have ornate designs I don’t have enough patience to draw

Then, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Webby DESERVES to be a tank

So I gave her armor!!! (based off of depictions of knights and Della’s armor in the show)

Unfortunately the armor hid what I planning to be the shoulders for the dress (left circle!)

But that was a small price to pay for Tank Webby

I thought about giving her a cool hat like pictured but wanted to include her bow so I didn’t!

I wasn’t particularly aiming for historical accuracy anyways, just taking elements!

I use this ref for both Dewey and Louie (circled in their colors respectfully) so I'm putting it here! 

Dewey:

Listen capes are COOL

I want to draw them more and a lot of medieval folk seem to have them!!

Also less arm for me to draw so it’s all pros

Dewey would probably be a quester like Della but get’s a little reckless and dies a lot in the game

Luckily he has Webby to back him up!!!

I don’t really have a lot to say for him?? I just followed where my brain went

Louie

So I'm imagining Legend of Legendsquest is MAJORLY open world

So you can be a lot of different jobs!! 

I mean Huey’s a farmer in an adventure game

that must mean that there’s the possibility for other jobs!!

So I made Louie a shopkeep!!

He sell’s Huey’s turnips, and items Dewey and Webby pick up on quests and don’t want!!

He’s mostly hidden by the stall I gave him but I also wanted to give him a cape-y hood thing!!

He doesn’t get that much exp since he doesn’t actively go on quests or kill things

BUT don’t test him!! He’s handled more than a few thieves in his time as a shopkeep!

Okay that’s all I have!!! I love the concept of Legends of Lengendquest and would die for another episode!! Bye! :D

[exhaustedfander]

Okay uhhh I‘m not good at giving requests. How about prinxiety and them seeing each other again after a long time! Or sth like that.😅

I had three sperate ideas for this one, but this is the one I settled on. Here’s a fluffy little human au. I’d love to hear what you think! 

a03 link

materpost link

word count: 1,638

The Best Gift

Virgil rocks on his heels, glancing at his phone. According to Roman’s text, his plane landed about fifteen minutes ago. He’d be outside to greet him any moment now, and that in itself fills Virgil with more joy than he’d felt in a while.

Roman does what he could to avoid performing in shows too far away from home. He’s always scouring for gigs in the area, or at least not too terribly far away, not exactly eager to spend long periods away from his emo nightmare. However, sometimes there are roles that Roman can’t shy away from, as much as he hates the idea of leaving Virgil, and this had been one of those times.

It isn’t as though Virgil doesn’t understand; dating a traveling actor, his boyfriend actually traveling, sometimes, isn’t something that can really come from a surprise. More than that, Virgil’s incredibly supportive of his partner. Roman’s a hell of an actor and he knows it. He deserves to grace every stage that will have him, larger ones, especially. But that doesn’t make the time apart any less difficult.

Sure, they call each other a ton, Roman insists on Facetiming nightly, and they keep in touch as best they can. But it’s never any easier, facing that empty bed at the end of the day. It can be a lot to handle, realizing audiences of strangers are being graced with Roman’s presence while Virgil is home alone eating Ramen Noodles and sulking.

It’s not as though Roman is Virgil’s entire world – he’s damn close, though. Virgil has friends he loves spending time with. He works as a freelance artist, so holing himself up at home is usually more fun than depressing, painting all day long. But god, he misses Roman when he’s away. Maybe more than he’s willing to admit, sometimes.

Three months has got to be the longest they’ve spent apart since they’ve been dating, at least as far as Virgil can remember. The gig was a role of a lifetime, Roman would’ve had to be sufficiently stupid not to take it, but it wasn’t easy on the couple. Virgil flew up to see one of Roman’s shows, and that was great, but it made going back home all the more challenging. Roman’s been gone so long, Virgil’s aching to see him, and any minute now, he’s gonna get to.

Virgil can certainly think of worse ways to spend a birthday.

“Virgil?” Virgil swivels around, grinning ear-to-ear when he sees Roman walking his way, suitcase in tow. Virgil practically sprints toward him, immediately pulled into a firm embrace the moment they make contact.

“My love, my angel, mi amour,” Roman drawls, dramatic as ever but Virgil can’t find it in himself to be irritated with him, “I missed you!” Roman gets on his tiptoes (Virgil would be lying if he said he hadn’t always found their height difference adorable) pressing their lips together soundly. If they weren’t in public, Virgil would want nothing more than to keep kissing Roman for eternity, but alas.

“I missed you too, dork,” Virgil says with an unshakable grin as they pull apart, though his hand quickly finds Roman’s free-one as they walk towards the taxis, the sound of Roman’s luggage wheeling behind them. “How’s the jet lag?”

“Absolutely abysmal,” Roman declares, and Virgil’s fairly sure he’s being a little dramatic, if such a thing is even possible, “Can we have a quiet day at home? I want nothing more than to lay on the couch with you and watch Disney movies, and continue to declare my undying love for you.” Virgil snorts.

“Aw, you poor baby,” he says, only half-sarcastically, “Sure, babe. Whatever you want. Sound good to me.”

The two talk of their missed time together in the cab, Virgil telling him of some of the new pieces he’s been working on and Roman filling him in on how the play went.

“That’s the last far-away show I do for a while,” Roman says once they’ve arrived home, flopping down on the couch, “God, it’s good to be home with you.”

“That’d be nice,” Virgil admits, sitting beside Roman, which quickly turns to settling into his lap, Roman’s fingers threaded in his hair, “Not – not that you can’t do shows wherever. I get it.”

“Hey, I mean it,” Roman says, voice edging on seriousness, “I’ve missed you terribly. I’ve missed us. I loved doing the show, and I met some very wonderful people, but very little compares to you, my love.” Virgil laughs lightly as Roman presses a kiss to his lips, firm and overwhelmingly loving.

“Jesus, you’ve managed to get even sappier than usual.”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, darling,” Roman says, “And, also, shut up! You love it.” Virgil glares playfully at his boyfriend.

“And what if I do?”

“And you looove me,” Roman says, drawling out the ‘o’ as far as it’ll stretch. Virgil rolls his eyes, but his expression betrays nothing but fondness. “Yeah, I do. I really fucking love you, Ro.”

“More than angsty emo bands?”

“Well… let’s not go that far.” Roman squawks in offense.

“You wound me!” Virgil laughs again, the sound far more content than he’s felt in the last few months, his arms winding around his boyfriend so that he’s lying against his chest.

“I’m teasing and you know it,” Virgil says, kissing Roman once more as if to further his point, or maybe just because he’s really missed kissing him, “I missed you like crazy.”

“One of my co-stars flirted with me; would you believe that?” Virgil hums in place of a response, lost in the feeling of embracing Roman against for the first time in what feels like forever. “I have you as my lock screen, and I talk of you constantly. Also, where in the world did she get the impression I had the slightest interest in women?!” Virgil snorts at that.

“Must’ve been an off-day for her if she was delusional enough to think you were straight, or bi, or anything that isn’t insanely gay.”

“I know, right!”

Virgil’s missed this so much. Their playful back-and-forth, innocuous teasing, cuddling on the couch and basking in each other's company. As far as he’s concerned, he’d like to keep holding onto Roman like this and never, ever let him go. Virgil can’t recall when he’d become such a fucking sap, but there’s no changing it now. He’s just gonna have to live with it, and he really doesn’t mind the thought of that.

They watch Disney movies as discussed, Virgil critiquing and pointing out plot-holes all the while (Virgil, everyone knows Beauty and the Beast is a little problematic, and frankly, I don’t want to hear it!) He can tell the long flight really wore Roman out, so he decides not to comment about the fact that it’s his birthday, instead putting all of his focus on being together again.

That is until Virgil comes out of the bathroom some hours later, having just gotten ready for bed, and finding Roman sitting on their bed with a sullen expression.

“Whoa, hey, Roman, what’s the matter?” He asks, quickly sitting beside his partner.

“I’m a terrible boyfriend.” Virgil blinks. What the fuck?

“What? No, you’re not. What the hell are you talking about?”

“Your birthday,” Roman supplies, sounding gut-wrenchingly guilty, “I forgot your birthday!”

Oh. Virgil had kinda forgotten himself, too caught up in having Roman by his side once more. He glances at the clock.

“It’s not midnight yet,” he says, “You didn’t forget. Just remembered a little late.” Roman buries his face in his hands.

“I didn’t get you anything! I didn’t wish you happy birthday! I-I’m terrible, you must hate me!” Virgil sighs, settling a hand on Roman’s shoulder.

“Roman…”

“I’m sorry,” Roman mumbles weakly, embarrassedly.

“Hey, it’s okay. I don’t hate you.” Roman peaks up from his hands, daring to make eye-contact.

“You… you don’t?”

“Jesus Christ, of course not! I love you, you idiot. It’s just a birthday, I’m gonna have more of those, you know. It’s kind of this annual thing.”

“But- but I didn’t –.”

“It’s fine, babe. Seriously, I kinda forgot, too. Having you home again is gift enough, as it is. I can’t think of a better present than that.”

“I’ll make it up to you.” Virgil shakes his head, planting a kiss to Roman’s cheek.

“No need. There’s nothing to make up for. You look ready to pass out right now, as it is. I’m not mad at you for forgetting; you’ve been so fucking busy for the last couple of months, and you had a long-ass plane ride today. You’re permitted a little forgetfulness, okay?” Roman sighs as he slides into bed with Virgil and shuts out the light, his head resting on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“I’m taking you to dinner tomorrow.” Virgil lets out a sigh.

“You don’t have to –.”

“I want to,” Roman insists, “It’s the least I can do since you’re being so gracious.”

“What, were you expecting me to force you to the couch, or something?” Roman pauses. “Roman?”

“…Maybe.” Virgil can’t help but bark out a laugh.

“Are you kidding me? After all those nights without you, I’m not letting you go anywhere.” To make sure things are crystal-clear, he tightens his hold on Roman, pressing a kiss into his hair.

“That’s good because I really wasn’t looking forward to it.”

“You’re such a dramatic doofus. Lucky that you’re so cute,” Virgil says, feeling Roman begin to go lax with exhaustion.

“Mm, love you, Virgey,” Roman mumbles sleepily.

“I love you too, Ro.”

“Happy birthday…,” Roman says before sleep greets him and he drifts off. Virgil shuts his eyes, contentment washing over him as, too, welcomes slumber.

Despite Roman’s insistent apology, Virgil still can’t think of a better birthday present.

=+=

Taglist:

@nadiestar

@unoriginalgayboyalex 

Please let me know if you wanna be added to my taglist! I’d be happy to add you! 

[muckduckgoose]

((♛ + babyboydbaby))

[ ♛ ] send me a url and i'll tell you the following;

my opinion on;

character in general: Sweet baby boy! I liked him after “Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!” enough as it was, but I absolutely loved them after “Astro B.O.Y.D.!” He’s an absolute sweetheart who manages to remain a sweetheart in spite of everything this hell of an Earth put him through, and he’s a wonderful person and wonderful friend to Huey. And to anyone else lucky enough to gain him as a friend. He’s a Definitely Real Boy in every sense, whether he’s made of metal and wires or flesh and blood. how they play them: Hayley plays this boy with absolute love and care, and they really show how well they know the guy in just how much he comes to life in every single IC post the blog makes. His love of the Wizard of Oz they gave him is also adorable. the mun: Hayley’s a delight to get to know, and I enjoy talking to them OOC just as much as I enjoy roleplaying with them. They show a lot of passion for the works they write for, and their edits are really cute, too. (Of course, most of their edits are of Boyd, and he’s naturally cute.)

do i;

follow them: Definitely! rp with them: Yerp! want to rp with them: Always. ship their character with mine: Hmmm... You know, I think Boyd and Honker could have cute potential. It’s hardly high on my ship list, but...I wouldn’t rule it out.

what is my;

overall opinion: Baby boy who deserves the world all the WoO plushies in it, as accurately portrayed by an excellent RP partner.

**Note: Mun’s answer are all to be completely honest. Don’t send url if you don’t want brutal honesty.

[sage-sunset]

sunflowers in the rainy winter  - akaashi bday special

this is an aged up, post-college au for my akaashi simps out there

warnings - not much, total fluff, a bit suggestive at the very end 

recommended - 14+

wc - 2.2k

______

“Happy birthday, baby!” He looks you up and down, rubbing his tired eyes. You’re standing there in that pastel blue puffer coat that he bought you a month ago, shaking from the cold with raindrops stuck to your eyelashes. It’s pouring outside, and you’re holding your umbrella in one hand and a box in the other.

“y/n… love… it’s 12:07. In the morning.”

“I know! I wanted to beat Bokuto this year, he probably won’t get here until two!” “...until?” “You must be tired. Let’s go to bed!” You set the umbrella in the bag and put it in the little stand he has before taking off your coat. You’re wearing fuzzy flannel pajamas, the set Bokuto got the three of you last year. You’re still shivering when you put the box into the fridge and then pull him into the bedroom.

Normally you like to hold him, but since you’re freezing like this, he wraps you into his arms and you flop onto the bed together to huddle under the blankets. Your feet are like ice cubes, and he kisses your forehead and smiles into your hair as you fall asleep in his arms. 

He may have been woken up at midnight, but you being here already makes it the best birthday ever.

_

He’s barely dozed off when the door bursts open, and the telltale “HEY HEY HEY” rings out. He rolls his eyes and sits up to see his best friend, standing there in his soaked glory. You’re somehow still asleep, hands clinging to his shirt.

Bokuto is covered in rain, his silvery hair plastered to his clammy forehead. It’s so cold outside Keiji is surprised it’s not snowing.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRO-” “Bokuto-san, please keep it down. Y/N is still sleeping.” “My bad! HAHAHA-” “Loud.” “Sorry!” He whisper-yells, and Keiji rolls his eyes again. Why did he give this doofus a house key? “Anyways, if you’re this adamant about being here, you can crash on the couch like last year.” “Nah, I’m gonna go home. It’s cold as balls outside, and I want my blanket!” Just like that, he leaves. He spent a good 25 minutes walking over to Keiji’s house in the freezing cold rain at midnight, and he literally just yelled for thirty seconds and then left again.

What the fuck? He tries not to think about it, and goes back to letting you curl into him.

_

This time, he wakes up by himself. The curtain’s open, light filters through, and he sits up. You’re not there, but the smell of something delicious wafts through the apartment.

He rubs his eyes and checks the time, it’s only a bit past eight. He smiles when he walks into the kitchen to see you making something, obviously the source of the smell.

“Love, what’s this?” “Making waffles for my waffle!” He stares at you.

“That sounded much more romantic in my head.” His waffle is just the way he likes them; crispy but still soft and fluffy inside. He stares at it, a warm fuzzy feeling bubbling inside at the little message you’ve spelled out in syrup over the whipped cream; “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”. Jesus, he needs to marry you soon.

“Do you want coffee or tea?” “Coffee, please.” He takes a bite once you’ve sat down. It’s perfect, and as he eats he stares at you. You’re perfect too. 

“So, I’m sure you’ve already booked my day full. What are the plans?” You giggle, and the sound makes him feel even warmer.

“I remembered last month that you said that that new gallery was opening up at the museum. And Tsukishima-kun told me that there’s a big shark exhibit opening at the aquarium. So I figured-” “We go to the gallery, get lunch at that cafe we love, and see the sharks?” “You read my mind! Do you want to do that? If not, we can plan something else-” He takes one of your hands in his, and gently presses a kiss to your knuckle, right on your little silver band.

“It sounds absolutely perfect.” He starts to gather up the dishes, but you swat him away.

“You’re the birthday boy, go get ready! Oh, and I forgot to mention, Kuroo-san said that he and a few others are coming over around seven. So we should try to get back by five or so.” He pecks your cheek as you wash the dishes, and you giggle again.

“That’s fine. Do you know how long they’ll be over?” “Not sure, but it won’t be too late, trust me. I’ll have plenty of time to see my birthday boy in his birthday suit…” He blushes, and you turn back to washing the plates. 

“Go take a shower. I’ll join you in a bit.”

_

The gallery is incredible. You seem to agree, staring into each painting with focus and intent. The good thing about you both being artsy is that you can enjoy this kind of thing together.

He holds your hand gently as you lead him to the centerpiece. It’s nothing short of breathtaking. A huge, sprawling field of sunflowers in the middle of summer. The sky is the purest blue you can imagine, and puffy clouds float in the sea of azure. There’s a pair of hot air balloons floating among the clouds, one decorated in oranges and one in purples. In the distance a little farmhouse sits on the hill. The painting is oil, and it’s huge, taller than him. 

“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it, Keiji?” He says nothing, staring into the flower field. He imagines for a second that it’s real, that you and him are standing in the ocean of sunflowers, under the summer sky.

That farmhouse could be yours. He can see it, a quiet life there with you two. He’d spend the day writing, you’d spend the day playing the piano and singing with that little fairy voice of yours. 

You’d take a picnic basket down into the field, lay down a little blanket and watch the sunset on the hill. Just the two of you, safe and calm and warm as the sun fades away.

“Keiji?” He’s startled out of his fantasy to see you looking at him, a smile playing at your lips.

“Did you hear me?” “Sorry, what did you say?” “I just said that you’ve been staring at that painting for the past fifteen minutes. I’m starting to get jealous,” you tease.

He smiles at that notion. The painting may be beautiful, but it fades in comparison to you. But then again, so does everything else.

“Let’s get lunch, love. We’ll have to hurry if we want to catch those sharks.” -

This cafe may well be his favorite place on earth. Simply put, it’s where you met. You worked there part time, and he’d stopped by every day after class to get his work done. Once he’d first seen you though, he began to focus on you, rather than his homework.

It took him a month to build up the balls to ask you out. You’d said yes, and your very first date was dinner and a planetarium show. Much more romantic than a movie, you’d said when he asked if it was lame.

And now here you were, about to eat lunch here after being together for two and a half years. There you are, ordering him a Hokkaido bubble tea and red bean toast, the two things you spent weeks writing down his order for. Before he’s even pulled out his wallet, you’ve paid, and he’s barely able to scold you for not letting him pay because you sit him down.

“That painting was really something else, huh?” He nods, gazing into your eyes.

“Don’t stare, you’re making me self-conscious.” “Shush, let me admire my beautiful girlfriend.” Since you’re in public, the most you can do without getting looks is hold hands, which you do even when the bubble teas and pastries are set down in front of you. His thumb gently strokes the band on your finger.

He doesn’t let go of your hand as you walk into the aquarium. He doesn’t let go as you walk past the giant tank, staring at the colorful fish and little crustaceans. He doesn’t let go when you ask the kind older woman to take a picture of you two in the shark’s mouth, and he most certainly doesn’t let go as you gently stroke the bamboo shark’s back in the touch tank.

Neither of you want to leave, but he knows that his friends will be coming over soon and you’ll want to have the cake and stuff ready. So before you leave, he buys you an adorable stuffed shark plush from the gift store.

Once you’re home, you decide to eat a little something so that you won’t be having only cake for dinner. He sets out some leftovers; the braised eggs from yesterday morning, the cucumber salad you made a few days ago to go with the katsu bowls, and he heats up some rice and leftover chicken.

While the love of your life sets out some food, you take the cake you brought over last night out of the fridge and place it out on the table. It’s simple, swirled with purple and blue with macarons on top. You also bought a 23 candle, a little golden one. 

It’s perfect.

You eat quickly, only having a little bit but enough to satisfy your stomach. Before you two know it, there’s a knock at the door.

The only person who’d knock, it’s Tsukishima. He may be a sarcastic little shit, but he’s tolerable compared to the other people coming over tonight.

“Good evening, y/n-san.” “Hey, Tsukki-kun. Come on it, it’s chilly outside.” In a little bit, Kuroo and Kenma show up. Then come Yukie and Kaori, Komi and Konoha, and of course the ace himself.

“HEY HEY HEY! HOW’S THE BIRTHDAY BOY DOIN’?!”

You smile at Yukie and Kaori, shaking your heads at the tall man who’s currently hugging your boyfriend so tightly you think he might burst.

“I’m doing well, Bokuto-san. Would you mind putting me down?” “Sure thing, birthday buddy! n/n been takin’ care of you today?” “I’m sure she has, in quite a few ways,” snickers Kuroo, and Bokuto guffaws as Kenma elbows the rooster-headed asshole.

“Don’t be crude.” scolds Kenma as he scrolls through his phone. You assume that Kuroo made him leave his switch at home.

Two hours into the evening and a bottle of champagne later and the cake is almost gone. Yukie and Bokuto are having an arm wrestling contest on the coffee table with Tsukki as the referee, Kaori is passed out on the couch, Komi and Konoha are giggling like second graders for no reason, and Kenma is crying into Kuroo’s shirt about his village and how he needs to get back to the island, that shit ain’t gonna build itself. Keiji is sitting beside you, his head buried in your shoulder.

“You tired, baby?” He nods, his hand gently rubbing your thigh.

“Okay, I’ll call a cab for these idiots. Sit tight.” You stand to go grab your phone, and before you know it the living room is clear of the eight stooges. Keiji walks up behind you, his face slightly flushed, and wraps his arms around you. You can tell he’s a bit tipsy, but he’s not falling over or anything.

“Baby, go brush your teeth and get ready for bed. I’ll clean up in here.” “I can help, love-” “No. I’ll only be a minute. The birthday boy still has one more gift to open.”

With that, you unlatch him from you and go to clean up the glasses and plates. It was nice to catch up with everybody, especially the girls. There were only ten of you, but it was nice to have company for the first time in a while.

You set the leftover cake into the fridge before going into the bathroom to brush your teeth, and you can feel a pair of eyes on you as you wash up and change into one of his shirts.

“Come here, love.”

“In a second.”

“You’re spending the night, right?”

“Of course, baby. I’m yours for the night.”

“You’re too good to me.” “You’re one to talk, prince charming.” He smiles and takes you into his arms. The kiss he pulls you into is just as dizzying and passionate as all of his kisses, but just a bit more fervent. He’s excited, and so are you. 

He pulls away to take your hand, his favorite place to press gentle kisses to. His lips brush over the little band for what feels like the millionth time today, and you remember the promise that the ring means. So does he, and he can’t wait to replace it with a diamond one.

He kisses you again, and you melt into it. He’s so gentle, impossibly so, but despite the gentleness he’s still trapping you there. But trapped against him as he presses a kiss to your forehead and holds your hand in his isn’t such a bad place to be.

“God, I love you so much,” he whispers into your hair. “Mm, how much?” “To the sunflower fields and back.”

(a/n - the “silver band” is supposed to be a promise ring. I’ve always thought that he’d be the kind of guy who would buy you a promise ring.)

[zuffer-weird-girl]

OWO hello there, may I request a scenario of Overhaul saying his first "I love you" to his s/o. Thank you💜💜

SHIT THAT HITTED STRAIGHT ON MY 💜 ANON I OWN YOU ONE

"What in God's name are you doing?" He asked as soon as he saw the scene in front of him.

You were simply a mess, covered in what seemed a white dust all over your front while you desperately scrubbed with a sponge the counter of his kitchen... That, surprisingly, was clean. He just left you alone for just a few hours dear lord...

You turn around in surprise, your eyes immediately softened when you saw his figurine on the door frame with his usual blank face.

"Hey beautiful bird!" He groaned at the ridiculous nickname you gave it to him, maybe he shouldn't had showed his plague mask... "Nothing that special, why?"

"Look at your self." He approached and slightly passed his gloved finger over your face and show it to you later "Completely covered in dirty... what even is this?" He spoke in disgust while he examined the substance on his finger before quickly picking something to clean that up.

"Don't worry Kai, is just some flour." You giggled as you picked a towel to take it off the excess from your face.

"How? Just... How?" He asked in pure amusement.

"Accidents happen, but hey! At least the kitchen is clean!" You showed around with your hand with the same smile you always gave it to him.

He sighed deeply bringing his hand to cover his eyes...

"What did you even do? You look devasted..."

You stayed quiet for a few seconds before slowly putting your hands behind your back as you averted your eyes away from his.

"Nothing...?" You singed, trying to contain your smile of nervousness yet happiness.

"Stop being childish, please." He groaned as he crossed his arms and stared you down.

"Is it that suspicious to be covered in flour on a kitchen? Geez." You smirked at him.

You were definitely unique. Anyone who saw his eyes staring them down would be pleading for mercy at this point. Overhaul was feared but respected, so that never bothered him even in the slightest.

Better be feared than loved...

But there you were, smiling up at him; not a challenger smile but a kind one; not even caring that he could kill you on the spot and simply make your existence like it never existed on the first place... He always felt this warm wherever you would smile at him, encourage him on his goals and sometimes praise him for his earnings...

That's why he wouldn't lay a finger or even dare to think if doing something bad to you.

You were just... special to him.

He sighed, uncrossing his arms. What have you done to him?

"It is suspicious when you have this look that evidently says 'I made a mess'... Explain it."

"Well I did made a mess, but I cleaned up, well-" you took a look down at yourself "mostly..."

You delicately unties the apron and put it aside.

Dear God even without the apron you were completely emerged on that substance.

"What have you done?" He couldn't contain his chuckle at this time at seing you persistently scrubbing at your cheek with the palm of your hand.

How can you be so adorable?

"Alright, alright mood breaker!" You oppened the fridge and soon placed down on the table a beautiful decorated cake.

"There, ta-da! The responsible for me being covered in flour!" You beamed happily showing dramatically the sweet with both of your hands.

Kai looked for a few seconds before returning his gaze at you with a questionable look.

"How?"

"This genius here decided to turn on the mixer while putting the flour..." you deadpanned.

Ok this time he couldn't contain his laughter...

Even feeling extremely embarrassed at your stupidity, hearing your boyfriend's laugh was music to your ears, specially since he didn't did it as much so it was always a pleasure sign... His laugh was so contagious that you couldn't help letting a few giggles out as well.

"Why-" he breathed "Why did you even did that?!" He asked while trying to ease down his laughter.

"I don't know! Don't judge me, I didn't know the potency of that thing!"

Chisaki finally recuperated, and breath in slowy to return talking with your still giggling figurine.

"Right, now I get it how these whole mess happened. Now explain why exactly you just, out of sudden, wanted to bake?"

You finally catched your breath before sweetly smiling at him

"Happy birthday Kai Chisaki. My one and only love."

What?

His once relaxed face was substituted with one of pure shook. He never once told you the day of his birth, claiming it was something childish and not necessary. He would, however, on your birthday give an huge amount of gifts at first and, now and then, always surprised you with something.

But his? No one; not even himself; has ever cared...

"... How did you..?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I made a quick research... hope you're not that uncomfortable..." you continued now looking at your masterpiece "I didn't know at first which one would you prefer, but I know you like cherries and I saw you once eating a white chocolate brownie... so, there." You anxiously indicated the cake right in front of both of you.

Still silent...

"It took longer for decorating, I was actually planning to go shower after the incident but you were faster and caught me on the act..." you laughed nervously due to his dead silent.

Chisaki stood there speechless, dumbfounded... You took your time to do this to him just because it was the day he was borned?

"Why... why would you even do that?" He asked looking at you, searching in your face any signs of seconds intentions, fear... Anything.

You looked at him with a bit of disbelief but also happines at his unusual cuteness.

"Because it's your birthday doofus. After everthing you've done for me how could I not at least try to give you something? You're special to me Kai, I just wanted to make you happy."

...what? No... no he must had misunderstood... there's no way you would-

He looked at your eyes in that moment, pure kindness and love stuffing in them... You weren't acting, you weren't lying...

He chuckled, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his eyes.

"Kai?" You giggled worriedly and nervously "Is it that bad?" You didn't noticed the way his eyes were turning from white to a slightly shade of pink.

He suddenly hugged you tightly, as he chuckled.

"K-Kai?! What are you doing?!" You tried to squirm away from his grasp in fear and worry "I'm covered in flour remember?! Y-your shirt-!"

Where that came from? You already know what Kai felt about touch AND messes; so why was he hugging you so tightly against him even knowing about all the flour that was covering his clothes?

"I love you..." he shakily spoke in your hair "My angel, I love you (Y/N)..."

You swear you could feel your heart stop beating immediately as you felt tears of happiness forming in your eyes. You, even in a state of shock, hugged him in return laughing.

"Thank you, for... The happy birthday." He broke apart now looking down at himself, now covered in flour as well.

Disgusting but yet so worth it...

"I tried to warn you..." you nervously joked.

He looked at you with soft eyes as he quickly took off his mask, revealing a beautiful smile on his lips.

He; without giving you a time to think; gave you a passionate kiss that you gladly reciprocate.

"You're the first one who I say for those words... Better appreciate." He mocked as he caressed your cheek.

"Hm? Really?" You smiled widened "Say it again? Please?" You pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

"Now you're just milking it." He scoffed pushing you away with his smile still on his face.

"Okay, enough." He picked his mask and quickly made his way out of the kitchen, mentioning with his hand for you to come after him "I have to clean this off of me. Guard your masterliece for later angel, you need a bath too."

There was the Overhaul you fell in love with...

[planetjisungie]

jolie- l.mh (part 1)

characters; prince! mark, princess! reader ft. dreamies, yuta and taeyong

summary; when you turn 18, you have to marry the prince of the eastern kingdom to secure an alliance. but what happens when your natural immature and positive personality collides with his cold and negative one.

an; king mark lee needed an au all to himself because this boy deserves the whole world, lets not lie here. also like i love this picture and it sparks big prince energy or like nutcracker ballet energy. also me deciding after 2 days of wallowing in self pity about how i hate having longass posts so im putting it into parts

"y/n! wake up darling!" your mother shook your body awake, causing you to grumble and thrash around. you were just having a dream about this peculiar event of 2 people switching bodies after a handshake. it was rather odd yet entertaining.

"what" you throw your limbs out on the bed in a lazy attempt to stretch and let out a groan. youe mother sighed and stood back. "its your 18th birthday today, the maids have your dress"

ah. there it is. the day youve literally blocked from your mind because of how much you simply detested the idea. it was signed and agreed 6 years ago that you, princess of the southern kingdom, would marry a prince from the eastern kingdom. though you had never met either of the princes, you had heard plenty of rumours and tales, some you believed, some you did not.

you slowly climbed out of bed, staggering a little as you walked towards the maids for your dressing. you didn’t actually need them, unless you were supposed to wear the death trap which is labelled a corset, but your parents insisted on you having them. so, you naturally made friends with them to make it as least of a work space as possible.

"good morning yeonha, nari" you greeted them with a smile which they returned. just because you weren’t necessarily the happiest doesnt mean you should relay the feeling onto the poor maids, and your friends.

"morning princess" nari said, causing you to roll your eyes. yes, they still called you princess out of habit and you hated it. as soon as your brother becomes the king, the first thing you’re doing is making everyone call you by your first name (as your parents refuse to let that happen as of currently).

with a deep sigh, you allowed yourself to be dressed, the constricting corset making you feel like your ribs were about to snap. the dress itself was beautiful though, a long pale blue dress which was off the shoulder, and had mesh sleeved elasticated around your wrists. your h/l hair was naturally curled, and fell around your face delicately as soon as the pin was removed, and one of your maids brushed the tresses. you were lucky in the aspect of hair, it was truly gorgeous and you had never hated it.

the heels were a slightly different case. they pinched your toes and no matter how much training you had to walk in them- they were satans creation. you preferred simple satin slippers, or just any shoe that does not have a stick on the end which could impale someone. a small golden and intricate crown was places atop your head, glittering earrings in and you were finished. you never really needed makeup, your natural beauty was well known in your kingdom though the people saw your kindness shine through more.

the southern kingdom was a very foresty and almost tropical place, with warm breezes and turqouise oceans, yet beautiful green trees and luscious grass, it was practically perfect. the eastern kingdom, was known to be a pretty cold place, not as freezing as the northern kingdom yet not as warm as the southern kingdom. oddly enough, the western kingdom was the hottest, mainly composed of sand and dry stone, one of your best friends lived in the western kingdom, prince jaemin.

huffing again, you left your room, concealing the winces from your feet which were already saw as you walked with quick steps to the throne room, where you would be waiting for the arrival of the eastern royalties. or so you thought. the frown on your face diminished into a look of shock and confusion when you saw the princes already there, turning to your parents who were glowering at you. oops, you were late.

"ah, y/n nice for you to finally join us" your mother said, grabbing your wrist and dragging you to stand next to her, facing the princes who were already bowing to you. there were two of them, one of which looked a little older with dark grey hair, and the other who had pitch black hair (pitch black hair was superior). the boy with grey hair was smiling at you and your curtseyed politely, but the black haired boy... he didnt look like he cared at all. reluctantly, you curtsey quickly before shooting a look at your mother.

"we welcome you warmly, prince taeyong and prince minhyung. we hope you enjoy your stay for the next month, dont hesitate to come to us if anything is not up to standards" your father bowed towards the boys. you stared distatastefully at the ground before looking up with a smile. even if you didnt want to marry yet, you may as well be nice to them as it is inevitable.

"y/n, go and make yourself useful whilst we show taeyong and minhyung their rooms" your mother said, staring into your eyes like a hawk. nodding you spun on your heels and walked out of the room rapidly, letting out a thankful sigh that you got out of that situation. roaming down the halls, you walk around, looking for any staff.

"oh! jeno!" you sped towards the knight in training. lee jeno was the mentoree of your mother’s knight, and soon to become yours.

"y/n!" he grinned and you wrapped your arms around him in a tight, warm hug. if you actually had a choice, you probably wouldve married jeno, seeing as he was your best friend and it wouldve been more of a friendship based marriage.

"how are the princes?" he asked, you locking your arm in his as you both walked down the halls. rolling your eyes you turned to face him.

"you know how i feel about this whole shitty marriage debacle. id rather not marry either- though im sure they’re lovely" that was another thing you did. always giving people the benefit of the doubt. jeno grimaced and nodded, his black hair bouncing softly as he did so.

"yeah i know. but you have a month, so maybe it would be good to try and get close to them at least" his naturally deep voice you had grown accustomed to, and it was hard to deny anything he said as all he spoke was truth. it wasnt like you had a choice anyway, it was all for some alliance. "yup" you muttered. looking outside, you saw sicheng, the gardener, planting new flowers and you gasped, tugging jenos arm. "look! lets go help out winwin" you dashed outside as fast as you could in your death traps for the feet, jeno trailing behind you. he knew how much you loved gardening and the outside.

"winwin~" you plopped next to him, promptly kicking off your heels as you kneeled on the soft grass, dress awkwardly flowing out around you. the gardener turned to you and smiled, pausing from digging out the old flowers and replacing them with newer ones.

"princess, did you need anything?" he asked, his attention now fully on you. nodding, you grab the other two trowels and handed one to jeno, grinning at winwin. "we have come to help" you announced, jeno chuckling at your eagerness to dig into soil. winwin nodded. "i see. well, you know what to do"

that was true. you often did spend time gardening with winwin and jeno, so it was unsurprising that you wanted to help again. digging into the dirt with a smile, you chatted with jeno and sicheng, just having a general good time whilst listening to the birds chirping and the riverstreams around the palace rushing. it was a very peaceful place, and you enjoyed it.

mark, who had finished talking with your parents was walking with his advisor, johnny, just around the castle when he saw your brother, prince yuta, looking out the window with a wide smile on his face. once yuta noticed their presence, he bowed towards them.

"oh, my apologies for not noticing you sooner" he apologised, which mark turned down with a small smile telling him it was okay. "is there something going on outside?" johnny asked, moving next to the window to see if something interesting was happening. following johnny, mark also stood at the window, all three of them now squeezed in as they looked out onto the palace gardens. marks gaze wandered before it landed on the 3 figures on the ground, planting flowers. it wasnt hard to figure out one of them was you, your crown gleaming in the sunlight. "did your parents force her to garden for a punishment?" johnny inquired to yuta who shook his head. "not at all, that doofus of a sister of mine likes doing things and has recently found enjoyment in gardening with sicheng" he answered softly, looking at his sister with adoration.

even from the window, mark could practically feel the waves of happiness radiating off of her. yet, they werent there when they met that morning.

[park-chim-chim-fan]

My Tiger Lily

Kim Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Fluff, established relationship, angst if you squint

Warnings: None

Summary: You’ve prepared endlessly for your wedding with Taehyung but nothing can prepare you for the cold feet you get an hour before the ceremony. In an effort to get you going again, the boys have you talk about the events leading up to this to remind you just how much you love each other.

You were currently pacing around the bridal suite at the reception, hands shaking as you dialed Jimin’s number.

“Hey Y/N what’s up, is everything ok?”

“Jimin I need you to get over here right now. I’ll explain when you get here but just bring Namjoon as well. And please don’t tell Tae anything is wrong.”

“Y/N I need a bit more of an explanation if I’m just going to take off with Namjoon to come see you.”

“Ok look I’m freaking out right now! It’s probably just cold feet but I’m starting to worry about things I’ve never even thought of I mean-“

“I’m leaving now ok? I’ll be there soon. Just try to calm down. I told Tae that I needed to talk to Namjoon outside for a second. Everything’s going to be ok.”

“Thank you Jimin”

“No problem Y/N”

• • •

When Jimin and Namjoon got there they found you pacing while looking out the window to the ceremony down below, people starting to fill the chairs.

You let out a breath of relief when you looked to the doors and saw the two frazzled groomsmen who had obviously just ran quite a ways to get to your suite.

“Thank god you guys are here” you said as you went up to give both of them a hug with still shaking hands.

“Y/N you look absolutely beautiful. Tae is so lucky to be able to marry you.” Jimin stated, his hands on your shoulders grounding you a bit.

“About that,” you started to get worked up again as your worries came to the surface.

“You’re not having second thoughts about marrying him are you? You still love him right?” Namjoon interjected, pulling your eyes from the floor.

“God, of course not. I really do want to marry him. I’ve dreamed of marrying him since we met. And how could I not love him? He’s absolutely amazing and so perfect and kind. But that’s where the problem comes in,”

You took a seat on the small sofa in the suite, the two men taking a seat on either side of you. Jimin held your hand while Namjoon put his hand on your shoulder.

“How could a guy like him fall in love with a girl like me? I mean, he’s a freaking Kpop idol who’s literally known worldwide while I’m just a simple photographer from a small town.” Jimin let out a short but loud laugh, not able to believe that was what you were freaking out about.

“Wait so Y/N you seriously don’t believe he’s in love with you?” Jimin was still having a hard time containing his laughter

“Yeah, what’s so funny about it? You don’t have to laugh at how pitiful it sounds.”

“Y/N we can assure you Taehyung is more than in love with you. That man would die without you. Have you seen the way he looks at you? He can’t keep a smile off his face anytime he so much as hears your name.”

“Really? I’ve never noticed” Your heart fluttered when you heard their observation

“That’s because you’re too busy doing the same thing to him!” Jimin let out another giggle at Namjoon’s comment

“Look, if you don’t believe us, just think back to all the important moments you shared.” It wasn’t a terrible idea. You were willing to try anything at this point to get you out of your funk.

“Start by telling us about the day he proposed to you, ok? Just tell us how you felt and what you noticed about him, stuff like that.”

“I guess I’ll try it”

• • •

It was the last day of their Love Yourself:Speak Yourself tour. You were standing in the front row with a clear view of the boys. They had all said their ending ments. Except for Taehyung.

“ARMY, I requested to go last today for a very special reason. Now do you all know what that reason is?” The crowd erupted in a cheer of ‘yes’ as you were left confused.

“Now as you all know, my lovely girlfriend Y/N and I have been dating for about 6 months now, maybe a little more. And these past 6 months have been the most amazing time of my life,” You were now highly confused as Taehyung had never mentioned you in his ending speeches. He always talked about how much he loved ARMY.

“Y/N do you mind joining me on stage for a moment?” Now you were just plain shocked as the security guards around you helped you up on stage, Taehyung taking your hands and grabbing them tight. You looked back out to the crowd and noticed that all the ARMY bombs had turned to a light pink color, giving the stadium a bright, loving aura. You looked back to Tae who was currently looking at you with the biggest smile and absolute adoration in his eyes.

“Y/N, in the past 6 months, you have taught me so many things. You’ve taught me to become a better photographer, you’ve taught be how to cook more food than just ramen,” ARMY let out a small laugh at his statement. “But most importantly, you taught me what it’s like to love someone so much that I feel nothing else when I’m around you. I feel like I’m on cloud nine anytime I see you. You make me so happy, Y/N. Happier than I ever thought I could be. You’ve made me laugh harder than anyone else ever could. You’ve made me realize just how lucky I am to have met you.”

Tears fell freely from your eyes as you felt nothing but pure love for the man standing in front of you.

“Aishhh, Y/N you can’t cry or I’m gonna start crying!” You both laughed as you felt the world around you disappear. The thousands of people surrounding you, silenced.

“Y/N, instead of rambling on, trying to explain how much I love you in words, I figured I’d just show you.” Tae let go of your hands and got down on one knee, reaching for the small black box in his pocket. Your hands flew to your face, completely taken aback by his actions.

“Y/N I love you more than anything in this world. So will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

You shook your head yes and tackled Tae to the ground in a bone-crushing hug. The stadium roared from ARMY’s pure excitement for the two of you. Taehyung had the biggest smile on his face as he slid the beautiful ring on your finger, still kneeled on the stage with you. You pulled him in for a kiss and another hug.

“I love you so much Tae”

“I love you more than you could ever know, my tiger lily”

• • •

You forgot you were sitting on the couch with Jimin and Namjoon, so caught up reliving the best day of your life, until you heard a sigh of relief come from behind you. The three of you turned your heads to see a worried maknae and Yoongi standing at the doors.

“There you two are! Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you! Why does it look like you’re consoling Y/N? Is everything ok?”

“Jungkook, slow down, take a breath. Why did you two come looking for us?” Namjoon stood from the couch, trying to calm down the youngest.

“Well you say that you’re gonna talk for a second but then don’t come back for 10 minutes people tend to get a little worried.” Yoongi stated flatly.

“Sorry we should have told you. Y/N was having a little bit of cold feet but she’s fine now, right?”

“I was until you brought it up again Jimin, but now I’m thinking about it again!” You were quickly worked up again, doubts coming forward once more. You stood up and started pacing again, biting your nails now.

“Ahh, that’s not a good sign. She only bites her nails when she’s really stressed” Jimin whispered to the other three.

“Okay Y/N here’s what’s gonna happen,” Yoongi walked over to you and placed his hands on your shoulders, stopping your pacing. You looked up at him with teary eyes, trying to calm yourself down. Your makeup literally took hours and you weren’t gonna ruin it now.

“Jimin, Namjoon and Jungkook are all going to go back to Taehyung’s room and tell him everything and everyone is fine. I’m going to stay here with you and get whatever silly thoughts in your head, out. Does that sound like a plan?” You shook your head and took a deep breath. You were grateful to have Yoongi’s bluntness at a time like this. He was like a big brother to you and never hesitated to get straight to the point. “Good. Now you three go tell Tae everything is going to plan and everyone is fine. Y/N why don’t you come sit back down and tell me what’s going on”

The three left quickly, obeying their hyung’s words while Yoongi took your hands in his.

“What’s bothering you Y/N? You know it hurts me to see you like this.”

You explained the situation to him, pausing when he laughed at the reason why you were worried.

“Why does everyone think that’s so funny? It’s not it’s a legitimate concern!”

“It’s funny because of how silly it is. Y/N, if he didn’t love you, would he have made songs about you?” You look down at your hands and shake your head no. “I need to hear you say it Y/N. Did he write and produce whole songs about you and how much he loves you?”

“Yes.”

“And why did he do it?”

“I don’t know...” you muttered quietly

“Yes you do Y/N. Why did Taehyung take you to your hometown to see your parents when you missed them? Why did he get you an entire house on your birthday because once you mentioned how you didn’t like your neighbors? Why does he call you Yeontans mom? Why does he cuddle with you after he knows you’ve had a stressful day at work? How does he know you’re stressed just by seeing you bite your nails? I could go on and on. You know the answer to all of these Y/N you just aren’t saying it. But I need to hear you say it.”

You mumbled a quiet reply, seeing his strategy but still being unsure.

“I’m sorry what was that?”

“Because he loves me” you said a little louder than the last time but still barely audible

“Still can’t hear you Y/N”

“Because he loves me ok!” You stood up from his grip on your hands and somewhat yelled your answer. Yoongi smiled, seeing that his tactic worked.

“He does these things because he loves me. He took me to the movies when I was sad to cheer me up because he loves me! He lets me dress him up like a doofus when I’m bored because he loves me! He picks me up when I barely feel like I can function because he loves me! He loves me and I finally realize that thanks to you Yoongi. Thank you. So much” you lean down to give him a hug after your short epiphany.

“You always knew. I knew you did. I just had to draw it out from you first.” He smiled and stood up with you walking to the doors.

“Now I have to go reassure Tae no one is dead. But I’m glad I could help you Y/N.” He turns to leave but says one last thing before he goes. “You look beautiful by the way. Taehyung is a very lucky guy.”

“Thank you Yoongi, I love you”

“I love you too. I better not get a call in 10 minutes saying that you ran off”

“You won’t, I promise”

• • •

You and Taehyung believed strongly in the whole, ‘seeing the bride before the wedding is bad luck’. So even after your little outburst, no matter how much you wanted to run to his room and tell him how much you loved him, you stayed in your room, now counting down the minutes to when you’d get to marry the love of your life.

And there you were, about to walk down the aisle, practically bouncing with excitement. Your dad eventually had to calm you down, saying that he wasn’t going to walk down the aisle with a kangaroo.

Seeing you so excited made the boys so happy. They were glad you were back to your old self, the girl who couldn’t contain her love and had no doubt that she was loved in return.

Pretty soon the wedding march started playing so you took a deep breath, and took a step towards your future.

• • •

To say Taehyung thought you look beautiful was an understatement. As soon as he saw you walking down the aisle, he felt his stomach fill with butterflies, his chest fill with love, and his eyes fill with tears. He couldn’t believe how angelic you looked. How absolutely out of this world you looked. That was his wife. That was the woman that he would get to spend the rest of his life with. The girl who’s beauty couldn’t be comprehended. And he couldn’t feel prouder and more honored that you chose him.

• • •

When you got your first look at Taehyung, your first thought was ‘I’m marrying the most handsome man on this planet’. You then saw him look down and wipe a tear from his eye and your heart clenched. You really were head over heels in love with him. And you knew he was just as in love with you as you were with him. While giving you away to Taehyung, your dad looked at him and said, “Can I trust you’ll take care of my daughter?” And Tae said the first thing that came to his mind. “Of course sir. I’ll spend everyday of my life making sure she’s happy and giving her the love she needs when she’s not.” With that, your dad knew you were in good hands. Upon hearing his answer a tear fell from your eye. Taehyung placed his hand on your cheek and wiped it away.

“You look so beautiful Y/N. Beyond words. I can’t believe I get to marry the most beautiful woman in the entire world.”

The officiant gathered everyone’s attention and started the ceremony. Pretty soon it was time for the vows and you prepared yourself to cry. It was inevitable.

Taehyung went first, taking his vows from Jimin’s hand.

“Y/N. My love. My best friend. My tiger lily. And now, my wife. When I first met you at the little coffee shop next to the studio I knew that you were meant for me. There you were, standing behind the counter in your little blue apron and the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I think about that day a lot. How I couldn’t even talk to you without stuttering, how adorable you looked when I told you I thought you were cute. I remember Jimin telling me, and I quote, I was smitten. And he couldn’t be more right. I’m in love with you Y/N and I knew that the moment I heard your laugh. I was told to write down what it was that I love about you. But let’s be honest, we’d be here all day if I did that. So I’ll just name a few. I love the way your eyes light up when you smile or laugh. I love the cuddles you give me after I’ve had a long practice at the studio. Even when I’m sweaty and cranky, you wrap your arms around me and surround me with love. I’ll always cherish those moments. The ones we share all by ourselves. The ones I remember when I’m thousands of miles away. You make anywhere feel like home and always find a way to make me happy. So as your husband, I promise to always return your love. Even if you hate me, I will always love you and show you that. I promise to tell Yeontan that you love him when you’re not around. I will always return your cuddles and kisses and hugs and everything in between. I want to give you so much that it’s hard to put into words. So as long as we’re living, I will love you. I will give you everything you ever want. I will show you that I will love you forever and always. My best friend, my love, my tiger lily, my wife.

You had to let go of Tae’s hand to wipe the tears that were gathering at the corners of your eyes. You questioned how you ever doubted his love for you. He helped you wipe your tears and pressed a small kiss to your cheek. “I love you tiger lily”

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to go after that” you said to your audience. Your maid of honor tapped your shoulder to hand you your vows but you declined.

“Taehyung, originally I had written about how a bunch of silly little moments had lead up to now. But now that I think about it, this seems more authentic. While I do believe that all those moments lead to now, I was wrong about one thing. They weren’t silly or little. They were some of the most important moments in my life. You put up with so much from me. From my endless kisses and hugs when I’m clingy to the absolutely awful outfits I dress you up in when I’m bored. Those nights in the house where I can’t sleep but I’m still comforted by the feeling of your arms around my waist. It’s those moments, those unique and meaningful things that made me realize my love for you and your love for me in return. About an hour before the wedding, I had a little bit of cold feet. But thanks to those moments, those displays of your love for me, I realized I couldn’t be marrying anyone more perfect for me. Now that I think about it, it’s pretty silly how I ever doubted your love for me. I see it in your eyes, I feel it in your touch, and I can understand it in your words. You helped me acknowledge all the reasons for loving me. So as your wife I promise to help you realize just why I am absolutely head over heels in love with you. So even if you can’t see now, I will make it my life’s goal to get you to understand just how amazing you are. As long as we live, I will love you, support you and most importantly, I will never ever doubt our love. We were meant for each other and I’ve never been more sure of that than now. Forever and always I’ll be your best friend, your love, your tiger lily, your wife.”

“Aishhh Y/N you really didn’t write any of that beforehand?”

“Nope. Like I said; Authentic. I meant every word I said”

“Even the part about how you had doubts an hour ago?”

“Yeah but it was just my silly nerves. I know you love me in more ways than I can ever know”

“I’ll just have to make sure now you never have doubts again.”

The officiant continued on with the rest of the ceremony. You placed the rings on each other, following the standard readings of the ceremony.

“Do you, Taehyung, take Y/N to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

Taehyung made eye contact with you, looking at you with love and excitement, smiling like a little kid. “I absolutely do” He took your hand in his gently, as if he were too rough you might break. He placed the band on your finger, leaving a light kiss on the top of your hand.

“And do you, Y/N, take Taehyung to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

You smiled back at him, love filling your chest and shining in your eyes. “I do. Always.” You took his hand and slid the ring on his finger, giving his hand a kiss as he did to you.

“And now, by the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride”

He had pulled you into the kiss before the officiant had even ended the sentence, eager to seal your love forever. It was different from any kiss you had ever had with him before. It was passionate, and eager, and deep. This time it was fueled by the promise of being together forever and filled with all the love he had promised to give you and more. You heard the boys cheers above everyone else. You heard a couple whistles here and there when his arm went around your waist and pulled you closer, the kiss continuing far longer than it should have. When you finally pulled away from Tae, you saw that most of the boys looked like they had cried. Even if it was a little bit.

You took Tae’s hand and held it up in the air in victory. You had done it. You had married the man that was meant for you and you knew that this day would never be forgotten. You would always be his. His best friend, his love, his tiger lily, his wife.

• • •

A/N: Hello there! Thanks for reading! I might make this into a series or at least write small drabbles that connect to this fic. The next installation/drabble will probably be the reception or the honeymoon. Hope you enjoyed ♡♡♡

[popculturebuffet]

Star Vs: Lava Lake Beach or Happy Birthday, Marco Diaz

Tomtrospective is back baby! It’s been almost two months, which is better than last time but still not great. As you can probably tell if you check this space i’ve been busy with comissions (5 dollars an episode if you were curious and had another star vs episode you wanted me to check out or any animated series really), which now includes a sizeable project, regular coverage of ducktales every monday, loud house whenever it comes around becuase nick’s scheduling is a nightmare, and because I apparently didn’t have enough going on The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck. Part 2 coming before the end of the month hopefully. So this project, which sadly dosen’t get a lot of eyeballs on it, kinda just slid on back. Thankfully though I have a second before I get back to my rather sizeable and mostly self inflicted to do list, so with that in mind, let’s take a trip to the beach in the dead of winter. This is Lava Lake Beach. 

PREVIOUSLY ON STAR VS:

Yeah I skipped over Lint Catcher.. which is ironic given I just decided to cover the meteora and eclipsa centric episodes post monster bash.. but I have good reason for that. And it’s not just “This is my blog and unless i’m getting paid for it I can do what I want”. That’s a valid reason but it’s not THE reason. No it’s because Tom has a sizeable roll in the finale episodes for season 3, and thus the climax to Season 3′s arc overall, and honestly Divide and Conquer are just TOO good to simply skip over Star’s parts of them. I choose to switch to covering full episodes for this retrospective which means i’m doing it right. It means more work for me, but frankly this stuff’s too good to not to cover properly. So i’ll be mixing the meteora arc in with tom, like a finely blended cocktail, after this review and the next one.. which aired after monster party but takes place before so i’m doing it in time for christmas. 

And I WILL be covering the two episodes I skipped over eventually, I just feel the first goes into another possible arc down the line, and the other is just really terrible. Not the worst episode of the series, that would be Marco Jr, but a close second or third for sure. But I will have to summarize them to get to this point so: When last we left off Tom and Star were getting close again, but you might of noticed someone was conspciously absent. Marco went back to earth after his two weeks on Mewni, and as to what he was up to we found out LITERALLY the episode after “Demonicism”: Sophmore Slump. Marco basically spent the rest of his summer not shutting up about Mewni like an obnoxious jackass. Yeah Sophmore Slumb begins the character’s downward spiral and basically coming off like two diffrent characters: He’ll either be.. exactly what he was in the first two seasons, an awkard but well meaning voice of reason or a needy jackass pining after someone elses girlfriend and not caring about anyone else but himself and star. There.. there isn’t an inbetween. So yeah it’s just 11 minutes of Marco being insufferable, and only snapping out of it in realizing he’s neglected his girlfriend Jackie. We do get a GENUINELy great scene when she breaks up with him, realizing that while Marco’s willing to try for her.. his heart’s just not in it and his head’s.. with someone else. He’s not even malicious about it: While he wore his cape, he had a cape, under his clothes he genuinely tried to make things work and go out with her. Conciously he genuinely loves her, subconciously he has feeling sfor someone else and it’s showring. While this isn’t hte best episode it’s not a TERRIBLE one on the grounds that this one end sequence makes it work. Marco then decides to go to mewni and become a knight, and everyone sees him off in a good moment. It’s an annoying episode, but not a bad one the more I think about it.  Lint Catcher is. Basically everyone’s a jackass but Tom and Eclipsa, which really sums up the last few seasons nicely. Not basically Marco dind’t you know, call star to vet any of this, and just expects to be welcomed back. Star, rather than you know admit her feelings for marco while she’s now dating tom, more on that in a moment, tries to shove him off on whoever. And it turns out River wasn’t serious with his offer of knighthood that marco came to take him up on, despite sounding serious and just gave marco a meat blanket because again, everyone’s a jackass.. except maybe moon who tries to make it work. It’s just an aggrivating 11 minutes and unlike the above none of it’s intentoinal. But how does this relate to tom? and wait star’s dating tom? Well Tom shows up early on as Star is singing a burrito song, only for him to burst out of the bathroom and then warmly greet Marco before the guards show up. Star also later admits to Marco yup she and Tom are dating since last episode. Which i’m fine with: we don’t need to see everything and it was pretty obvious that’s where it was headed. At the time I was aggrivated because “another blockadef or starco reallY” but i’ve warmed up with time. So yeah I really didn’t need to bang my head into the door for 11 minutes and whatever hours it took to write this to tell you tom and marco have upgraded from kinda friends to best bros who want to make out with each other and Star and Tom are dating. I will probably cover both episodes eventually, but for now, I have enough to cover especially with my realizing I needded to cover the eclipsa and meteora stuff, without getting a head injury from stupdiity. As for Marco’s knight status, he can’t start there, and Star eventualy realized that awkard sexual tension or not, he’s her best friend and made him her squire. So Marco’s now on mewni, Tom and star are together. 

Let’s get at er. We open with tom summoning the flames of the dammned.. FOR MARSHMELLLOWWWWSSS. Star, Tom, Marco and Kelly are at the titular Lava Lake Beach roasting marshmellows and getting ready for the annual soulrise. Star likes the beach because it’s so spooky with Marco rightly pointing out.. insn’t that the underworld’s thing? Tom just casually shrugs it off as “Yeah i’ts pretty metal”. Which is both accurate and is part of why we’re here. This is our first, and really only, good look at the underworld. With Blood Moon Ball we just saw a bubble of it and it was entirely controlled by tom, if helping explain his control issues as he probably spent his whole life getting everything and never realizing being a possesive creep isn’t ag ood thing and people aren’t things you can own, but well.. people with their own wants and wills. When everyone around you does what you want, including your sweet well meaning parents, why would you understand someone saying no? And his parents aren’t bad people, they clearly have boundries, they just spoiled him a bit much. We’re not in Doofus Drake terriotiry where Tom’s a terrifying sociopath, he just had some very bad behaviors and when called on them by Marco, genuinely changed for the better and has been working on that since.  But this episode gives us a good reason of why the other toxic part of tom, his rage, was never reigned in. Here.. it’s just normal. One scene illustrates this well: A couple casually if rudely challenges marco to a fight when he just wants to find kelly, more on that in a minute. But when he walks away, they just say “he seemed nice. And not EVERYONE is like that.. but most of the demons seen this ep are agressive, competitive and combtiive but not without reason. 

We get a great example of this after Smores, where Marco’s fell off, tom and star are cute, and kelly licked all of hers. And after Marco realizes Tom’s outfit is just one of his hoodies but customized.. which for tom means ripping off the sleeves because that’s how he rolls and offering to do the same for marco. Also Star is in an adorable sailor outfit. what i’m saying is I like their outfits this episode and Marco has a lot of copies of that hoodie so in terms of Star’s invasions of his privacy, this is low on the list. 

Back on point, a couple challenges the group over their spot and mocks star for not having a third eye.... but the resolution is beach volleball, witht he scoring demon from “Mr Candle Cares’ making an apperance. This shows Underworld culture: their volatile, they can get overly agressive.. but their polite outside of it. It’s why Tom’s anger wasn’t really adressed: Here everyone’ds polite the rest of the time, why does it matter? But it idd because even by these standards his anger was a problem and one he’s .. genuinely dealing with. While he gets devensive of his girlfriend, notice how he jsut gets regular angry and not.. murdery angry. We see his anger wasn’t normal even by underworld standards.. but he’s genuinely trying and has changed almost complelely from the last time we visted this realm. 

This is also.. about what we get for tom this episode. Yeah while this is part of the tomtrospective for the above, and for other reasons that we’ll get to, this is a Marco episode. And a Kelly episode, so Kelly, now the food to fill the void inside has run out, I can relate, is suddenly depressed and just.. walks off mid game. And given Star and Tom aren’t the most empathetic people, they really fail to notice with Tom only noticing how it effects him. Tom has grown.. but as we’ll see after “stump Day” with his next two episodes after that, he still has room to grow. But it is nice we get signs of that episodes before it happens. Excellent work. 

So yeah I guess for those who forgot, and if so how dare, or those who never got this far int he series who Kelly is. Kelly was introduced in season 2 as a friend of star and ponyheads who, at the end of her episode, after not talking was revealed to not be a giant bush, but a bispeceled teenager who just has a lot of hammerspace when her hair is down, as her hair is massive and whose species has a symbiotic relation ship with their significant others, as her boyfriend tad was in her hair merged with her the whole time. They breifly showed up again in another episode but otherwise haven’t been all that fleshed out till this episode. 

And what brings it about.. is their breakup. And they have before only to get back together but this time it’s for real, as Marco finds out when comforting her. He genuinely offers her to talk, but we’re interuppted by her good pal JORBY!. I freaking love Jorby and every second of his screentime here is magic. Sadly he’s only used like.. twice after this. He’s a giant talking wolf guy from Kelly’s dimension, only revealed by the finale, who thinks Marco is her new fighting partner and claims to have killed their mutual aquantince greg. Kelly just responds with an amazingly annoyed and sarcastic “You didn’t kill greg” which he didn’t, and when Marco tries to explain she’s falling apart, Jorby responds with “WE ALL ARE ALL THE TIME, EXESNTIAL WARCRY!”... the amount of great minor characters this series wasted I swear. 

But Kelly can’t deal with this and runs off and Jorby.. genuinely apologizes. He didn’t realize his friend was that banged up emotionally, and only dosen’t help because his goose girlfriend needs him. Marco is fine with this though and goes to offer his help after a breif search and two Skelly’s who fall in love over having the same name. Awww. 

Kelly and Marco finally talk and Kelly sobs into his arms in a genuinely moving bit, admitting after being with Tad so long she dosen’t know who she is anymore. It’s REALLY great stuff, and really helps us feel for a character we honestly barely knew: Sure we barely saw their relationship.. but it was good... and when a relationship ends that wound dosen’t close easily> Trust me.. I know. 

Though the other issue is that Tad.. hasn’t moved out of her head. Literally, he’s still in there and won’t take a hint it’s really really over and he needs to move on. So Marco, being a gentleman.. at least for this episode, agrees to help. IT’s why I like marco when he’s acutally written well: he can be awkward and sometimes a bit too full of himself when it comes to knowing stuff, but he’s a good kid who just wants to help people and I genuinely missed that version most of this season. So marco climbs in and finds Tad munching on vega pizza and refusing to leave, clearly subscribing to the duck method of swallowing your sadness. 

Marco tells him he needs to leave, and while Tad is in denial.. Marco gets it to sink in.. that putting himself around someone unavaliable is just going to keep hurting him agains and again and not help him move on. Tad.. .ends up agreeing.. and it’s then the episode has it’s best scene.... Tad says “marco is the expert on that”. Marco of course denies this.. until Tad eventually makes him see the truth: he’s hanging around star the same way tad’s clung to kelly and will sadly continue too as while he agrees to move out.. it takes a bit for it to stick as we’ll see next time. Tad gets him to think about it: He has dimensional sciessors. Anywhere in time and space.. and where doe she want to start? With his unavaliable crush, following her to what he thought would be a couples event with her boyfriend. I mean he didn’t KNOW Tad and Kelly were broken up, so far all he knew he was the fifth wheel. No one would willingly do that for no reason. He’s so obessed with her, he wants to be around her even though it’s never going to happen.. i’ve been there WAY too many times to call and had to eventually learn to let got for their sake and mine. You can still be around them, you just have to let go of romance for everyone’s sake and move on. And Marco hasn’t because he didn’t even realize it. It’s why I tolerate “Sophmore Slump” now.. because with this episode it goes from bad writing to his subconcious scremaing at him to go be with star, and him not listening because conciously he still wants his current girlfriend.. and really he loves both, he just didn’t deal with that or move past either, so he lost both. 

Marco.. has a panic attack over it justifably and breaks down gradually, seeing all the happy couples and finally star and tom, sinking in that .. Tad was right. He’s in love with Star.. and it hurts. It hurts a LOTTTTTT. And he has NO idea how to deal with it. And as we’ll see how he tries to.. is pretty damn bad. But that’s for other episodes. Let’s get to the climax of this one. 

Kelly finds Marco, like her earlier depressed and lost, and upon realizing this, and thanking him as Tad agreed to finally move out, says “kelly’s driving” and drags him. It’s in these last moments we get to see more of kelly’s personality: we’ve seen her be ssarcastic but now we get to see her be a bit off kilter and adorable, which is her standard mode and what makes me like the character so much and wish she got treated better. But we’ll get to that later in the retrospective as it happens to perfectly zig zag into Tom’s life. Point is we see more of her and find out why she came to see the Soulrise as she and Marco prepare to watch: she and tad used to see it every year.. and even if their broken up.. she dosen’t want that taken away from her. Even if their relationsihp is over.. pieces of it can still be hers to treasure and keep from now on. This can still be hers... and in this case Marcos as marco puts his jacket over her, and Kelly cuddles him. Awwww. If you were wondering, yup I do ship Markelly and Yup how it ends is really bad and we’ll get to it and there will be blood. But for now their just two lonely souls sharing a moment, with Kelly rebuffing getting Tom and Star “They don’t need this’ which is accurate and they have each other and some alone time. Their fine. Plus they you know, didn’t notice either of them are missing so ...

Thank you Jake. Rest in Peace my good friend who shares a name. So we get a nice romantic moment as they watch a bunch of eldtirch skeletial angels with wings rise from the depths of the black and white, and it’s also marco’s birthday! “Happy Birthday Marco Diaz”. And with that we’re out. 

Final Thoughts: This is one of my faviorite Star Vs episodes, even with later bullshit, and for good reason. It frames Marco’s previous actions in a better light, has some REALLy stellar acting from Adam McArthur, and is in general just a really soulful ep that really touches on some good stuff and fleshes out Kelly from a background character to a fan faviorite and sets up a new romance for Marco that I genuinely love. IT’s one of the series best moments even if later episodes would tarnish it slightly..but on it’s own.. it’s fantstic.  Next time on tom:It’s the...

Christmas Special! Until then there’s always another rainbow and happy thanksgiving!

[deltabeau]

Who just received another Christmas gift ? This gal!

Every Christmas and birthday if I can afford it, I offer myself a commission or two ! And this year look what I got from the amazing and very kind @ravenousscorpian ! Art is amazing I love it ❤️❤️❤️

My babies look amazing ! Look at this smug doofus delta bastard and his adorable goofball Beau 😍 Gotta love baking ovenless brownies in family 👏

Plus I also got a commission of my non-R&M OCs, Lucius and Nellie (they are my babies since I started drawing for real):

I’m so happy, I mean I woke up to this! Such a great way to start a day. Btw you should totally consider commissioning the artist because there is talent and they’re an adorable person ❤️

[mf-despair-queen]

Sun & Moon - Taeyong

Author: @mf-despair-queen

Pairing: Lee Taeyong/Reader

Word Count: 20,850

Summary: Never did you think that your pen pal could be the love of your life. You saw the sun when he saw the moon. How could you be together when you were so far apart? It was easier than you thought - you just had to realize it. 

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Protected Sex, Oral, Shower Stuff, kinda dirty Taeyong but I still love him.

Notes: I was supposed to write for Mitch. But. It’s Taeyong’s birthday (though I’m late by an hour). Happy belated Taeyong Day and I hope he had a wonderful day catching tiny froggies. The boys better have spoiled him with chocolate cake. 

Greetings Taeyong,

Was that too formal? I hope not.

I’m sorry if my Korean isn’t the best. I’m still learning and I’m hoping to improve more because of this. That’s why I agreed to this pen pal arrangement. Learning from someone who speaks the language is ideal and I want to learn more about you, your culture. Just anything, I guess.

I never did introduce myself. And my stupid self-decided to write in my new green pen on this puppy stationary. So, let me start again I suppose. My name is Y/N. I am finishing high school here in Boston. For my last years of school, I wanted to experience something new, something challenging, and something interesting. So, I decided to take our newly offered Korean course with the hopes that one day, I can go to Korea and not look like a doofus.

I don’t know what else to say right now, but I guess I can say I look forward to writing to you over the next couple of months. I can’t wait to learn more about my new pen pal! That sounded creepy, so please ignore that I just wrote that. 

Again, sorry for my horrible writing! I promise, I will get better!

Sincerely yours,

Y/N 

-

Dear Y/N,

It’s a pleasure to meet you - I guess?

I’m glad that I was chosen to be your pen pal. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to communicate with someone far away. Now I can experience that with you! These coming months will be fun. I look forward to writing to you all the time, sharing the things I do and hearing about you.

Let me start with a quick introduction. My name is Lee Taeyong. I go to the School of Performing Arts here in Seoul. I once dreamt of being a fireman, but I guess my love for music steered me in a different direction. I was recently recruited by a company here called SM Entertainment to become a kpop idol. I begin training soon and I’m nervous. Can you tell by my writing?

My sister is yelling at me to go to bed now, so I should wrap this up. Thank you for the thoughtful message before, and the equally adorable stationary! I love dogs. I have one - her name is Ruby. But, that’s a topic for another time, I suppose. 

I will leave you with this for your next letter to me tell me about yourself. You are so far away, but I want to get to know you. I don’t want to be just a pen pal. I want to be your friend. So, tell me everything there is to know about Y/N. What’s your favorite color? Favorite food? Do you like to take long walks on the beach? Tell me everything, Y/N.

Till next time, 

Taeyongie

PS your Korean isn’t that bad, but I will help you improve, just like you want. I will help you as much as I can and before long, you will be an expert! Thank you for joining class TY!

~

You glanced up at the setting sun as you walked home from your work, chuckling when you heard your phone ding with the familiar tone from Kakao Talk. Six pm for you, but seven AM for him. It never ceased to fail. Morning here, night there, and vice versa, every day like clockwork. But it made you smile to know that you had something to look forward to once you got back to your pitiful, lonely apartment, a bag of cheap Chinese takeout in your hand. Your feet ached from the long day on the job, and you wanted nothing more than to change into the fluffy pajamas you owned and kick your feet up to watch Netflix all night.

The constant ring of your phone kept chiming, making your headache slightly. A groan of relief left your lips when your apartment came into view, praying the notifications would cease soon. Pushing past the door, you kicked off your shoes, yanking the infernal device from your purse on the way to your room. The Chinese was left on your coffee table while you changed, dropping your phone on the bed to scan the onslaught of messages that kept popping up.

Taeyong was blowing up your phone with short, one-word messages, some consisting of tiny sentences. You laughed at his persistence to get you to answer, shaking your head. Just as you pulled on a baggy hoodie, the phone rang again, this time two words, all caps, catching your eye. 

CALL ME!!!

Your brow rose, pausing before you could dial his number. He sent one more message:

Video call, please.

With a roll of the eyes, you hit FaceTime, waiting for him to pick up on the other end.

“Helloooooooooo!~” he greeted cheerfully for someone who was awake at seven in the morning. His hand ruffled his newly dyed locks, his once black strands now a bright blonde that still suited his baby face. The same face with the dark brown eyes and the sharp jawline, the button nose and the plump pink lips that always got cherry red when he ate sweets. You couldn’t see much around him, or of him, but you could see he was wearing a loose tank top, one strap beginning to fall off his broad shoulders from being stretched out. A row of mirrors was behind him, indicating the location he was in: the SM dance studio. 

His lips curled into a bright smile when he saw your face, your sleeve covered hand hiding your face. “Don’t look at me like that! I just got off work!”

“I know,” he hummed, combing his fingers through his strands as he talked. “That’s why I wanted to talk! Give you a nice way to start your evening!”

“Well, aren’t you sweet?” you teased, trudging towards the living room. “Aren’t you at practice right now? I could have sworn you mentioned before you went to bed last night that you had early practice today because of your upcoming comeback.”

“Yeah. We’re all here. We were just taking a short break before we get back to the dance. We’ve been in the studio practicing for about an hour already,” he informed you. You nodded at his answer, flopping back on the couch. 

“Wait? Is Taeyong talking to noona?” you heard in the background. 

Taeyong let out a yelp when he was tackled from the side, his phone yanked away. The group of boys tried to stuff their faces in the phone screen at once, all screaming their greetings in unison. Your face scrunched up, using your free hand to plug your ears.

“One at a time, boys!”

Mark grabbed the phone was from Haechan, the boy who successful tackled his leader and stole his phone in the first place. Mark grinned, giving a victory sign. “Morning, Y/N!” he greeted, ignoring the arguments that ensued around him. 

“Evening, Mark,” you laughed. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. Dance practice, recording new songs for the upcoming album, wondering when you are finally going to come visit us in Seoul.”

Your face fell at his final words, pouting. “You guys know I want to. I’ve always wanted to.”

“We know. Taeyong told us that you’ve always wanted to since they day you guys started writing to each other.”

You sighed, reaching blindly for the egg rolls in your bag. “I just can’t afford the trip yet. It’s hard enough sometimes to pay my rent, let alone saving for a plane ticket and hotel there.”

“We could help!” Jaehyun cut in, pushing Mark aside, the younger male groaning and complaining. “We’ve all agreed to help pay for your flight here if it means we get to finally meet Taeyong’s best friend.”

Your cheeks visibly reddened at the title, shaking your head. “I can’t let you guys do that though. I’d feel horrible for asking you to help me pay for a plane ticket out there. It just doesn’t feel right to me.”

“Even if we want to?” Doyoung asked, peering around Jaehyun’s arm. 

“Yeah,” you sighed. “If I’m going to come visit, it’s because I earned it. It’ll make the reward in the end even sweeter.”

The guys laughed, Jungwoo taking the phone. “Well, we hope you can come visit soon, noona! Especially Taeyong. He talks about you all the time, so we can’t wait for you to actually be here.”

You giggled when you hear a screech from behind, Taeyong flailing his way through the throng of boys to get his phone. “Alright, alright! Break’s over!” he called, earning a chorus of groans and whines. “No whining. Say bye.”

“Fine,” they all huffed in unison. From behind their leader, they all waved their arms wildly, giving bright smiles and victory signs. “Bye, Y/N!”

“Bye guys!”

Taeyong slipped from the room quickly, letting out a sigh. “Those guys,” he sighed, ruffling his hair. “Sorry about them. You know how much of a handful they are.”

“I know,” you laughed. “But I love getting to talk to them. Thank you for introducing me to your members forever ago.”

Taeyong laughed, tugging his lip between his teeth when he was done. “Well, I do have to get back to practice unfortunately. I’m sorry to cut this short. But I wanted to talk to you as soon as I got the chance. It makes the day much easier.”

“You know, you have always said that,” you chuckled. “You always said how receiving my letters while we were in school still always brightened your day and nothing could ever bring you down.”

Taeyong flushed, scratching his cheek. “I did, didn’t I?” he mused. He paused, passing his tongue over his lips briefly. “Would you… would you mind if I called you tonight when I get back from practice? I want to talk to you some more.”

You smiled shyly, nodding your head. “Of course, Yong. You can always call me, no matter what time it is.”

He laughed, rolling his eyes. “Don’t tell me that. I might end up waking you up at some odd hours without realizing it.”

“I’d still wake up for you,” you uttered lowly, knowing your face was red. Taeyong mirrored your color, shying away from your gaze. “Get to practice, Yong. Work hard and never give up. Fighting!”

The idol rolled his eyes, pushing back into the practice room. “I should have never introduced you to the guys. They’re rubbing off on you.”

“No. It was my Korean teacher. Also known as Lee Taeyong. Also known as you.”

“I take no credit in this.”

“Whatever. Have a nice practice, Yongie.”

“Thanks, Y/N. Talk to you later.” Taeyong ended the call with a quick wink, the screen going black. In the dark screen, you saw your red-faced reflection. You heart beat wildly in your chest. 

Sliding to the floor, you unpacked your food, mind wandering as you nibbled on the lukewarm chicken and vegetables. You recalled everything that had happened over the last seven years, leading up to where you were now. 

Being pen pals with Taeyong could never have turned out better. Throughout your course, you exchanged letters with Taeyong what felt like every day. You were neck deep in adorable stationary that was used to increasingly long letters that would be folded neatly and sealed, shipped overseas. He began to return the gesture with cute drawings in the corners of his papers, decorating his replies to the point your heart leaped when the envelope appeared in your mailbox, wondering what he had done for you at that time.

You had quickly become close friends despite the distance. Never having met, he always felt like he was by your side, helping you when you needed it. The amount of things you had in common, from hobbies to foods, to the style of music you jammed to, was unprecedented. He helped you immensely with your Korean, teaching you things that were well beyond the class. In return, you taught him bits of English, sometimes finding short sentences crafted in your native tongue from the man. It was a match made in heaven. 

So, when the program was ending, you both openly expressed your sadness. 

Not wanting the friendship that you had built, you had agreed to keep in contact, even if it wasn’t for a grade now. Letters turned to emails, which eventually turned to phone numbers exchanged and text messages flowing daily. The first time you FaceTimed was such a vivid memory, seeing his face on the other side of the screen for the first time was unbelievable. Sure, you had seen photos he had sent you, but seeing him - hearing him talk in his deep, smooth and velvety voice - was something you could never forget. It didn’t stop the occasional, handwritten letter on newly bought stationary meant solely for each other from being sent overseas. 

From there, you watched the man grow as an idol, meeting his group members along the way. You grew close to the boys you had never met personally, though the relationship wasn’t nearly the same as with Taeyong. He was definitely one of your best friends, if not the closest friend you had. Sometimes, it was mind boggling to think that your closest friend was someone thousands of miles away, more than twelve hours different, you left staring at the sun when he saw the moon.

It was obvious to you why you had developed a crush on the man.

Sighing, you pushed the empty tray away from you, glancing at your phone. Taeyong had sent you photos while they were practicing, making you laugh through a yawn. Leaving the used food dish be, you flicked the light off, headed for your room. Curling into the blankets, you fell asleep while staring at the many smiles of the NCT boys, mostly staring at the man you befriended through paper and pen years ago.

Your heart skipped beats the entire night.

You woke up to the ring of your phone, alerting you to FaceTime call you were getting. With a groan, you answered, rubbing your eyes sleepily. A smooth chuckle met your eyes, your eyes blinking open, the blurred image of Taeyong on the other side clearing up. 

“Good morning, sunshine,” he let out, voice deep and husky. His blonde locks were in disarray, his broad shoulders and long arms now covered in an orange hoodie. He was seated outside, his face only lit by his phone. 

“Good evening, starlight,” you yawned.

“Did I wake you?” he inquired, adjusting himself in his chair. 

“Yeah,” you mumbled, sitting up in the bed. Taeyong cooed softly at the giant yawn you let out, your hands instantly covering your face. “Shut up. I’m hideous.”

“Impossible,” he laughed. 

Ignoring the blush you had, you rolled out of the bed, grabbing a Starbucks mocha iced coffee bottle from the fridge. You unlocked the patio door, listening to Taeyong hum to himself on the other end of the call. You shut the screen behind you, headed out onto the patio to watch the sun rising over the water in the distance. 

“Did you have a nice practice?” you asked the man, sitting in a cheap plastic chair you kept outside for times like this. The answer you got was a hum, making you giggle. “Some conversation here, Tae.”

“Sorry,” he laughed lowly. “It’s late and everyone headed to sleep because of the intense practice. I don’t want to wake anyone up.”

“You didn’t have to call, you know.”

“But I wanted to,” he confessed. “I always want to hear your voice. And I wanted to talk. The best part of my day when hearing from you.”

You blushed, smiling widely. “Aren’t you sweet?” Taeyong hummed again, pushing his hair back with his hand. “Is the moon out tonight?”

“Yeah,” he murmured, turning his phone to show the brightly lit moon in the starry sky over Seoul. 

You smiled at the sight. “Beautiful,” you uttered. “The nights in Seoul must be beautiful all the time. I love seeing them, even if it’s just through this tiny screen.”

“Sometimes it’s weird to think we live under the same sky when we see different things all the time,” he said, turning the camera back to him. “I hate that you are so far away sometimes.”

“I know,” you sighed, sinking in your chair. “But I’m glad you are in my life. I didn’t think that being pen pals with someone because of a class in school could lead to something like this. When I agreed to do that pen pal program, I didn’t know I would meet my best friend in life.”

“Seven years now,” he chuckled. His lips pursed, rubbing together. “You know, you really have improved in your Korean since we first started talking. Both writing and speaking. You are so proficient now. It’s like you are a native here and have been speaking the language your entire life. I’m so proud of you, Y/N.”

“Thanks, Yongie. That means a lot coming from you,” you told him. Hugging a knee to your chest, your chin propped up on it. “So, what did you want to talk about? It’s late and you look tired. You should be sleeping, not talking to me.”

Taeyong hummed quietly, playing with the strings of his hoodie. “I just wanted to talk. That’s all. Is it a crime to talk to my favorite girl after a long day?”

You frowned at him, straightening in your seat to look at him better. His eyes avoided yours, staring at his lap. “Yong, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he retorted quickly. 

“Lee Taeyong, we have been friends for seven years. Even if we’ve never met, I know when you are upset. I can feel it from here.”

Taeyong let out a sarcastic chuckle, biting at the nail on his thumb. “You know, sometimes I feel like you know me better than I know myself.”

“Same goes for you, bub,” you told him. “Now, spill. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know,” he whispered. A heavy breath left his mouth, making his chest rise and fall, and his nose flare. His brow was knit together, wrinkling his forehead cutely. His lips pouted, jutted out in his deep thought. “It’s just, lately, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. But only one thing goes through my mind. And I don’t get why it’s happening now.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“I just… I guess?” he sourly chuckled. His face turned red, mostly on the tips of his ears. “I can’t get this girl out of my mind.”

You heart stopped at his words, a sad smile rising to your cheeks. “T-that’s great, Tae.”

“You don’t sound too happy,” he chuckled weakly. 

“No, no! I am! You know I want nothing more than for you to be happy, right?” you asked, watching him nod. “So, tell me more. You’re crushing on a girl, eh”

“Crush? That doesn’t even begin to explain it,” he stated, sinking in his seat. “This girl, she’s just too amazing to describe. Smart, beautiful, funny. She completes me, honestly.” 

You stayed silent, keeping a straight face as you listened.

“You could say I’ve liked her for a long, long time now. And I’ve kept it secret for so long. I don’t understand why she’s all I can think about these days. Day in, day out, she’s always on my mind.”

“Maybe your mind is trying to tell you that you should tell her,” you offered, burying your broken heart. “I know it’s hard to think about a relationship when you are so busy with NCT, but sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. You want to finally tell this girl how you feel.”

“You think?” he mumbled.

Through the screen, your eyes met - his dark eyes stared into yours, filled with a mixture of emotions. Slowly, you nodded, answering, “yeah, that’s what I think. You should tell her how you feel, Yong.”

“Alright,” he breathed, biting his lip. His gaze dropped for a second before returning to yours. “Then, is it crazy to say that I like my pen pal from seven years ago?”

You froze, jaw dropping. 

“Is it crazy to say that I like the girl I talk to everyday? The girl with the cute stationary? The girl that makes me laugh and feel whole?” he paused, combing his fingers through his hair. “That I like the girl on the other side of my screen right now?”

You bit at your lip, feeling him stare you down. You didn’t know what to say. Your heart had restarted, hammering against your chest. You picked at your nails unconsciously, unable to find the words you wanted to release.

“You can always say I’m crazy, Y/N. I know how weird it sounds. I have liked you for so long, but I've never had the courage to say anything. And just lately, my sister was talking about finding that right someone and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And now that I say it aloud, to you, it sounds ridiculous. Like, why would you like me back? We’re just friends-”

“But I do,” you said quickly. Taeyong stopped talking, a weighted silence forming between you. You bit at the inside of your cheek before continuing. “I’ve liked you for a long time, Yong. But I never said anything because it seemed…”

You dropped off, searching for the right word.”

“Unrealistic?” he finished. The nod of your head gave him confirmation. “Yeah. That’s why I never brought it up. I have been fighting these feelings for so long because I couldn’t justify it. How could I possibly be with the girl I like when she is thousands of miles away?”

Taeyong was close to tears at this point, using the back of his hand to wipe at his eyes. You weren’t much better, sniffling quietly. Your face buried in your knees, Taeyong frowning at your action. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“No, no. Don’t be,” you choked. “I get what you mean. Long distance is hard. And given or situation - we’ve never met, we live worlds apart. It’s day for me when it’s night for you. It doesn’t seem logical to pursue a relationship when everything is against you.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “I guess part of me just wanted you to know exactly how I felt before I never got a chance. I know it’s not possible, at least right now, but I wanted you to tell you.”

“I appreciate it, Tae,” you whispered. 

“I guess, for now, we just...  go on with life,” he sadly said. “There isn’t anything we can do. I can’t tell you how mixed I am about this all. To hear you like me back is such relief, but it only broke my heart more because I know I can’t be with you right now.”

“Yeah,” you sighed. You blinked back tears, glancing at him. “We’ll still be friends, right? This isn’t going to change anything between us?”

Taeyong chuckled, shaking his head “Of course not. You are still my best friend and I’m not planning to let that change any time soon.”

“Good,” you laughed. Taeyong yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. That made you laugh more. “Go to sleep, bub. You need to rest. I don’t want you getting sick because you are exhausted.”

“Alright. I will,” he uttered. He smiled softly, the grin slightly lopsided, playing with the ends of his hair. “I’ll talk to you later, alright?”

“Sounds good to me. Sleep well, Yong.”

“Have a wonderful day, sunshine.”

The call ended, your phone dropped in your lap. A stray tear slid down your cheek, a staggered sigh released. Your heart cracked at the realization that your feelings, although reciprocated, were impossible. Your eyes stared at the light blue sky that was filled with wisps of white clouds, the sun rising above your head. 

Across the world, in Seoul, Korea, sat the young man, tears leaking down his own cheeks. His eyes were glued to the starlit sky, the moon shining down on him, making his wet face glisten. He silently cried, wishing that it was possible. But, you were too far apart.

Even if you were both under the same sky, you were looking at two different things.

~

“Hello~” Taeyong sang as soon as he answered your call. You were snuggled on your couch, sucking on a cherry popsicle that made had turned your lips red. Taeyong began to couch, dropping his phone to his bed and disappearing from view while you licked the red, icy treat, pushing it in and out between your lips. “Oh my god!”

“You alright, Tae?” you asked, concerned. 

“Fine, fine,” he choked, patting his chest to regain air. He grabbed at his phone, running his fingers through his hair. “Just didn’t expect to see that when I answered.”

“See what?” you inquired, cocking your head innocently. You weren’t sure what he was talking about. “I’m confused.”

“God, you’re adorable when you’re this innocent,” he murmured, shaking his head. 

“What?” 

“Nothing,’ he pushed, laying back on his bed. “Are you really eating ice cream this late? That’s not good for you, sunshine.”

“Neither is lying in bed when it’s almost noon,” you taunted. “You are an idol! Why are you in bed right now?” 

“I want to be lazy,” he whined, rolling in his bed until he was completely wrapped in his blanket. 

“Don’t blanket burrito right now!” you laughed. “Shouldn’t you be at practice? You have a comeback soon. You should be working hard, Yong!”

“We came back to the dorms to take a lunch break,” he hummed, curling further into his blankets. “We took some extra time though because Mark was going to record in the studio for some Station song. I don’t know much about it, but he sounds excited because he wrote the rap for it.”

“Aw, little Markie is growing up,” you laughed. “I’m sure he will do wonderful though. He is great at writing rap whenever you guys compose something together.”

Taeyong hummed in response, watching you eat your popsicle silently. His face, half covered by the blankets and hidden from your view, was bright red. His voice, when he decided to speak up, was somewhat muffled by his blanket, but still soft and velvety. “So, what brings about this lovely call from my dear best friend and former pen pal?”

“Former?“ you tsked. “I’m offended.”

“Don’t be! You graduated from pen pal to best friend! It’s a compliment!” he cried. 

“I was teasing, Yong,” you giggled. You hugged your knees close to you, turning to place the stick aside with the popsicle gone. “I just… I needed advice.”

“Advice?” he asked, sitting up in his bed. His face turned serious, but you couldn’t help but to snicker. His blonde strands stuck upright, pointing in various directions. “Are you alright? What’s going on?”

“I’m fine. Just…” You paused, using your finger to trace shapes on your knee, deep in thought. “I met a guy recently. At the cafe I stop at every morning when I head to work.”

“Oh,” Taeyong murmured, face falling. “Is that so?”

“Yeah…”

You frowned at the halfhearted smile he gave you. “That’s great though! Tell me more about him.”

“His name is Jackson-”

“Wait. Like Jackson Wang? From Got7?”

You laughed, shaking your head. “No way. Even if I met Jackson Wang, there’s no way I’d be with him.” You stopped before you let out the words because he isn’t as good as you.

“Right, right. So, Jackson,” Taeyong asked, trying to remain focused as much as possible. The fake tone of his voice made you cringe, despite his best efforts to seem interested. “What’s he like?”

“He’s sweet,” you confessed. “We’ve been talking every morning. He’s working at the cafe while he finished up university. We just kind of hit it off, you know. And today, when I went in for coffee, he asked if I’d be interested in going on a date.”

Taeyong looked away for a second, biting at his nails. “That’s great, sunshine.”

“Are you ok?” you asked, biting your lip. “I can always say no, Taeyong.”

“No!” he nearly yelled, shaking his head and lowering his voice immediately. “No, please don’t do that, Y/N.”

“But, Taeyong-”

“Look, I won’t lie,” he said, almost bitterly. “I know it’s been a few weeks since I told you how I felt, and that hasn’t changed. I still like you, so much. But we agreed not to do anything because of this situation. We’re too far apart to justify being more than this. 

“I’m not you boyfriend, so I can’t stop you from going out with someone. And as your friend, I’m going to encourage you to go for it. If you like him, go on the date. If you like him, date him. I’m not going to stop you because I care about you. I want you to be happy. And if your happiness isn’t with me, that’s fine.”

His voice crackled slightly, but he smiled. 

“I want to see my sunshine happy because that’s what makes me happy. That’s all I want, Y/N.”

“Taeyong…”

“Please, don’t worry about me,” he urged. “I want you to try if you want to. I want to see you happy. And over time, I’m sure this crush will go away. No worries.”

“Are you sure, Taeyong?” you asked again. “I just…”

You froze. I like you still too.

“I don’t want to lose you, Taeyong. You’re my best friend and I don’t want some potential boy to ruin what we have.”

“He won’t,” Taeyong told you, biting his lip. “I’ll always be here for you. There’s no way you can get rid of me. We’ve been through too much for me to want to leave now.”

“You’ve put up with me for seven years,” you laughed.

“Sometimes, I wonder how I lived,” he teased. “I guess you won over my heart with that cute stationary and treats you’d send for my birthday. Those candies you’d pick up from that one place. Those were the best.”

“The way to Taeyong’s heart: chocolate and cute animals.”

“Not going to lie. It’s true,” he chuckled, burying his pain. “I should probably get going. I need to round up the kids before heading back to the dance studio. We are supposed to meet Mark back there soon.”

“Oh, alright,” you frowned. 

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he apologized. “I wish we could talk more. I miss talking to you all the time. This comeback practice is killing me.”

“It’s fine,” you told him. “I understand. You’re busy and that’s ok.”

“I really do miss you,” he confessed, giving a weak smile that you returned. 

“I miss you too, Taeyong,” you sighed. “I think… I will try with Jackson. It can’t hurt to try, right?”

“Right,” he croaked. “I’m proud of you. Keep me updated, alright?”

“I will. Bye, Yong.”

“Bye, Y/N.”

You ended the call, headed straight for bed after a quick message to the man from the cafe, accepting his proposition from that morning. Your heart ached sending the message, but you shook it off, telling yourself it would be alright in the end.

For Taeyong, he wasn’t as smooth. His phone slipped from his hand, tears leaking down his cheeks as soon as the pain struck. The boys heard his wails - they weren’t subtle. Rushing to their leader’s aid, the seven boys crowded onto the bed, hugging their distraught friend as he cried. They knew he was hurting, listening to him utter his problems lowly. They were sad to hear what had happened, not moving from the bed the rest of the day.

Mark returned from recording to find his friends sitting quietly around their leader who had fallen asleep finally, red faced, eyes puffed and tears staining his delicate features. Mark frowned, dropping his stuff and instantly crawling into the crowded bed to support his friend, sighing to himself. 

Why can’t they just realize they are meant for each other already? The Canadian wondered.

~

You frowned at your phone, finding the unanswered texts once more. 

Weeks had passed, and you should have been happy. The date with Jackson had been a success, leading to more outings until he had popped the question, asking you to be his girlfriend. You were excited, accepting without much debate. 

But something didn’t sit right with you.

You liked Jackson, but your mind always seemed to wander when you were with him. Something was holding you back, no matter how much effort you put in the relationship you were now in. 

It didn’t help that you couldn’t contact the man you wanted to. You craved hearing his phone, seeing his words or just seeing his face. You wanted to hear about his day, listening to him tell you stories about practice with the boys or things that happened along the streets of Seoul. You wanted to share laughs, talking while the sun rose and the moon set.

Yet, you couldn’t seem to get a hold of the idol. Texts remained on ‘delivered’, occasionally changing to be ‘seen’. Every FaceTime call would ring and ring, a blank screen displayed on your phone, your pitiful image in the corner frowning at the small screen. The other boys answered your texts without issue, so you couldn’t fathom the reason Taeyong wasn’t getting back to you. 

The idol you had known for near a decade plagued your every thought when really, he shouldn’t. You had a boyfriend, but Taeyong always had a way to slip into your thoughts. At night, you’d dream of him, unable to reach him when you tried. You’d think of him whenever you had the chance. It seemed odd that he was more on your mind now than ever before given your current circumstances. 

You were a wreck because of it. Every unanswered call and unreturned text broke a piece of you further. You could feel your heart sinking into your stomach, agony in the form of stomach acid at the bottom for the broken pieces to settle in. 

You placed your phone aside, beginning to pick at your nail polish as you waited. You were awaiting Jackson’s arrival for a movie date. A soft pink dress hugged your body to ready yourself for the warming weather, summer quickly approaching. Black flats were on your feet. A heart necklace hug around your neck, the reminder that your friendship with Taeyong existed at one point. He had sent the necklace to you from Seoul for your birthday three years into your friendship, and you hadn’t taken it off since. You had done your hair in cute curls that waved along your features, framing your face. Minimal make up covered your face but accentuated your natural beauty. 

A knock on the door made you jump. You stuffed your phone, unanswered text and all, into your purse. Checking yourself in the mirror, you attempted to remove the disappointment you could see in your eyes, not wanting your boyfriend to worry. When you felt you were acceptable, you rushed to the door, opening it wide.

“Hey you! Are you ready?” Jackson greeted with a large smile. But the smile disappeared before you could even respond. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you said, too quick for your liking. “I’m fine. Let’s get going, shall we?”

“Something is definitely wrong,” the young man sighed. “Can we go inside for a second and talk about this?”

“I’m fine, Jackson. I promise. Can we just go?” you pleaded.

Jackson denied, forcing you inside to the couch. He sat beside you, taking your hand in his. The feeling of his hand in yours felt foreign. It didn’t feel right against yours - your fingers didn’t mesh together perfectly, no sparks making your skin tingle. You wanted to squeeze his hand back, but you couldn’t will yourself too, especially with the thoughts of your phone in your bag and the messages you kept sending going unread.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong,” he pleaded, studying the side of your face. 

“I told you I’m fine, J,” you mumbled.

“Like hell you are,” he huffed. “I can tell that there is something on your mind. I’m your boyfriend, Y/N. I should be able to tell when you are unhappy. And I’d hope that you can trust me enough to tell me.”

You frowned, digging into your purse. You clicked on your phone, knowing his brow furrowed at the picture from your lock screen. It was a photo of Taeyong he had sent you from his dorm, using a silly snapchat filter to give him puppy ears. He was hugging Ruby to his cheek, giving a wink with his tongue out. When he had sent it, he said the him and Ruby matched, and it was too cute not to save.

“Who’s he?” Jackson asked. 

“My best friend,” you admitted. 

“Is he the issue?” Jackson asked, watching you nod. “What happened?”

“He hasn’t been answering my calls for weeks now. And I’m just starting to worry about it. I don’t know why he suddenly isn’t answering my calls or texts. We used to talk every day and now I can’t get him to answer a simple greeting.”

“Have you gone to see him?”

You bitterly laughed, shaking your head. “I wish it were that easy.” Jackson stared at you longer, waiting for more. “I’ve never actually met him in person. I met him through this pen pal program while I was in school and we quickly became great friends to the point that we kept in contact. He lives in Seoul.”

Jackson rubbed his lips together, his hand disconnecting from yours. Your hands sat in your lap while his linked together, his head leaning on them. An uncomfortable silence formed between you, the tension palpable. You couldn’t look at the quiet man beside you, not knowing what he would say.

Hearing him let out a heavy breath, you felt your heart drop, your blood running cold. You felt sick to your stomach, already knowing that whatever he was about to say was not going to be good. You were dreading the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

“Can I be honest with you?” he asked.

“Of course.”

He sighed, leaning back on the couch, eyes to the ceiling. “Since we got together, I’ve felt like something has been holding you back. Like there was a wall between us that I couldn’t get through. And, now I think I understand.”

“What do you mean?” you asked, gnawing at the inside of your cheek. 

“Will you be straight with me on this?” he asked. You eyed him, mumbling a small ‘yes’ to him. “Do you like him? As in the childish like like. You have romantic feelings for that guy on your phone?”

You remained silent, making Jackson sadly chuckle. 

“I didn’t want to believe there was someone else, but I had a feeling there was a reason I couldn’t ever get more out of you. I like you a lot, and I know you like me too. But you like him more. I don’t understand why you are with me when you like him. I’m sure he likes you too, right?”

“Yeah,” you squeaked, clearing your throat to ease the lump in it. “But there’s no way we can be together. He’s just so far away. He’s too good for me. There’s no way I would be enough to be with him. But he’s in Seoul, I’m here. How are we supposed to be together if we’ve never met? If we’re worlds apart?”

“If you want it to work, it will,” he said with a kindhearted smile. “Nothing can stop two people if they want to be together. If their desire is strong enough, if their feelings are strong enough, things will work out. We are all under the same sky after all. It shouldn’t matter how far away you are because if you are meant to be, it’ll happen. I know that long distance relationships are hard to fathom, and they get a bad rap, but you can’t just give up because of it. And honestly, if you ask me, if you guys have been this close just through phone calls, texts, whatever, then it would work. You guys are connected more than you think, or maybe want to admit. No matter what, he will be there for you if you accept it. If he didn’t, he’s an idiot, no offense.”

“How are you so smart about this?” you asked with a short laugh, wiping at the tears that threatened to spill. 

“My parents lived long distance before having me. My mom lived in the UK while my dad was in LA. It’s not quite the same as you and your friend because they had been together before, but they were able to make it work because they were meant to be. They wanted to be together.”

“That’s pretty deep,” you laughed. Jackson joined you, wrapping a loose arm around your shoulders. 

“I don’t want to say this, and I’ve been dreading the thought for a while because of this wall. But,” he stopped, sighing. “I think it’s best if we break up.”

“I’m sorry,” you apologized. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be the perfect girl for you.”

“You can’t help it if your heart belongs to someone else. Just don’t let him slip away from you. You need to decide if you want to try. Is he worth it?”

“More than you know,” you laughed, a wide grin growing at the thought of the man. 

“Then don’t be afraid. I promise it’ll work out.”

“Thanks, J,” you said, turning in your seat to give him a powerful hug. His arms wrapped around your waist, crushing you to his chest. “You really are an amazing guy and I hope that you find the right girl someday.”

“I’m sure I will,” he chuckled, releasing you from his grasp. You walked him to your door, leaning on the frame after he stepped out. “Don’t be a stranger in the cafe though! I will always serve you that special iced coffee.”

“You better,” you laughed. “I’m sorry again, Jackson.”

“Don’t be. I’m sad, but I will move on. And I hope for the best for you and…”

“Taeyong. Lee Taeyong.”

“For you and Taeyong.” 

Jackson winked, waving one last goodbye. The thunk of your door shutting was similar to the way your heart felt plummeting. Loneliness was present, lingering over you in the barren apartment. You suddenly felt cold, realizing that you were single once more and still without your best friend. Your heart felt heavy in your chest, frozen and unbeating, weighing down your body. A staggered breath left your lips, a few stray tears escaping down your cheeks that were promptly wiped away. Limbs felt like lead, holding you in the empty doorway for longer than you wanted, staring at the sealed door, knowing it wouldn’t open again.  

Kicking off your flats, you rushed to your room, trying to escape the quiet space of your own home. Nothing was able to comfort the sadness dwelling in your chest, your body numbly laying on the bed, eyes glued to the ceiling. They traced the glowing star stickers that decorated the white top, the sight alone making you think of the man you desired. He loved the night sky just as much as you did, and every time you saw the stars and moon, he was first to plague your thoughts. Your eyes turned to the clock beside you bed, mentally calculating how late it was for him. 

After midnight.

The longer you laid in silence, you more your heart ached. You needed to talk to someone, dialing the first number you could think of.

“Hello?” their voice rang, deep and husky, laced with hints of sleep. You felt bad instantly, gnawing on your lip before responding. 

“Mark?” you asked quietly. Your low, cracking voice must have made him jump up. You could hear the shuffling of sheets and the squeak of the bed, a door opening and closing. 

“Hold on,” he whispered. 

Sitting up and curling into a ball while leaning against the headboard, you awaited, listening to the faint thud of footsteps on the other end. You hugged your knees to your chest, struggling to keep your emotions under control. You could hear a door slide open and shut, followed by a low curse in Korean before the phone line went dead. Your brow furrowed, pulling the phone away from your ear to check the battery.

Full.

You jumped when the phone suddenly went off again, falling to the blankets. The screen showed the face time with the boy you called, his silly face on display from the contact image. Swiftly, you fumbled to grab the phone, swiping to answer.

“Hey, sorry about that,” he said in English, voice low. Mark had a hoodie pulled over his head, his surroundings dark. He was sitting outside, like how Taeyong normal did. You could feel your heart sink at the thought, an inaudible sigh leaving your mouth. “What’s up? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you whispered. “I just… needed to talk to someone.”

“Alright,” Mark hummed, unconvinced. “Why do you look all dressed up? Did you have a date with… what was his name again?”

“Jackson,” you told him, feeling your hand curl into itself. “And yeah. I was supposed to have a date.”

“Supposed to?” Mark asked, messing with the front of his curly hair. “Did he cancel on you?”

“We broke up,” you said flatly. Mark frowned, mouth opening and closing with no words coming out. 

“I’m so sorry,” he finally croaked. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, I guess,” you admitted. “It hurts a bit, but that’s not what’s bothering me. That’s not why I’m calling. I’m just lonely is all.”

“Is that all?” Mark hummed.

“Yeah,” you let out, letting silence commence. You couldn’t think of anything more to say, Mark not prying at first. 

“You’re not very convincing,” he chuckled. “What’s going through your mind, Y/N? You wouldn’t call this late for nothing. Lonely? Yeah, I believe that, especially after a break up. But there is something more that you aren’t telling me. You are still all dressed up, you’re ready to cry. So please, don’t keep doing this to yourself. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“I…” you started, feeling a tear slide down your cheek. “How is he doing, Mark?”

Mark stayed silent. 

“I just…” you sniffled, more tears flowing. “He won’t answer my calls. He won’t read my texts. I can’t get a hold of him. I’m so worried about him. I can’t help it. I just want to know that he’s alright.”

Mark stayed silent, his gaze bypassing the phone to the city of Seoul and the night sky overhead. His head turned back to the dorm where his friends remained asleep, his frown deepening. You watched him ponder, your stomach churning uncomfortably. 

“He’s,” Mark started, sighing under his breath. “He’s not well. He’s in pretty bad shape honestly.”

“Mark, no,” you cried, shaking your head. “Don’t tell me that.”

“Would you rather I lie?” he asked firmly. You shook your head, hearing the young Canadian boy huff out a sigh. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s true. He has not been himself since you got with that Jackson guy. He’s always unhappy, he’s not eating well, he’s not performing well in practice. We are all worried about him, Y/N.”

“I-”

“We are worried about you too,” Mark confessed sadly. You cringed at his words, steering your sight away. “We know that you guys liked each other. Taeyong told us everything. He told us because he was heartbroken that he couldn’t be enough for you. He always said how you were too good for him. And the whole distance issue, he didn’t want to keep you from having something special with someone you love because he couldn’t be there for you.”

“But he was always there for me,” you murmured.

“I know,” Mark stated. “He kept himself from having you, but he hurt himself by loving you. He’s in so much pain because he loves you with all his heart and knowing he couldn’t be the one to love you and make you happy broke him even more. He wants you happy, and it breaks his heart because he can’t be to one to make you happy in his mind.”

“But he does make me happy!” you scream, more tears streaming down your cheeks, makeup starting to run. “I’ve liked him for so long, Mark. I still like him. So much that it hurts. No matter what I do, all I do is think about him. When I sleep, I dream about him. When I walk down the street, I see things that remind me of him. I feel like he is always there, even if he is thousands of miles away. I can hear his voice, I can see his face, but none of it is real. 

“I just don’t know what to do, Mark. I want to be with him so bad. I want us to be together because no one makes me happier than Taeyong has. He has always been there for me when I needed it. He makes me smile, he makes me laugh, he makes me cry. But I don’t know how to make that work. How can I be with him when he is out of my reach? I’m not too good for him - it’s the other way around. He’s too good for me. How could I possibly wish to be with him?”

“You both need to realize one thing,” Mark huffed, voice strict. “The distance - it doesn’t matter! You guys have been friends for how long? Seven plus years? Yeah, isn’t that enough to prove that you are connected? Every night when we leave work, Taeyong will smile up at the sky, looking at the moon, and say how the sun is rising for you. He always smiles brightest when he says that. 

“Just because you don’t see the same thing doesn’t mean you are too far apart to make things work. It’ll be hard, but we are all in the same world, at the same time, under the same sky. Your hearts are connected, and you just have to figure out a way to make that work.”

“But how?” you asked, using the back of your hand to wipe at your tears. “He’ll never forgive me, Mark. He won’t answer my calls at all!”

“He’s hurt, Y/N. Not mad,” Mark chuckled. Using a hand to cover his mouth, he let out a stifled yawn, eyes fluttering to stay awake. “Here’s my suggestion. Think about what you really want, what the truth is to you. If you want to be with Taeyong, then figure out how to make it work. And when you’re ready, give us a call. We will gladly help you out because we want to see you both happy. And honestly, you are happiest with each other.”

“Figure out what my truth is?” you asked, Mark nodding. “You know, you’re still a child, Mark. You’re fresh out of Dream. How are you this wise?”

“I hang around with old men too much,” he chuckled.

“That’s a lie. You are all children,” you laughed. “Get some sleep, Markie. Sorry for waking you up.”

“It’s fine. You know we are always here for you, no matter what. If I was mad, I wouldn’t have answered. And the same goes for the others. You are family, Y/N. Please know that. It doesn’t matter to us if you are ten minutes away, or ten hours. Because we care about you.”

“Right,” you sighed. “Sleep well, Mark. And… please keep an eye on Taeyong for me.” 

“Will do. Talk soon, babe.”

“Love you, bro,” you laughed slightly. Mark gave a quick wave before ending the call. 

Dropping the phone aside, you laid flat to the bed once more, not bothering to change to clean yourself of the makeup. Rolling onto your side. You stared at the blank phone, resting a hand over it. You wished it would vibrate under your palm, chiming with a new message or call. But it remained still, cold under your touch. Your wish wasn’t going to come true anytime soon. 

“Figure out what my truth is?” you mumbled to yourself. “What is it that I want? Do I want to be with Taeyong? He makes me so happy, but… how can we? He is so far away. Is it possible? Can we reasonably be together?”

Thoughts of him ran through your mind, every moment you shared together over the years flashing by my dreamlike memories. A smile curled up on your face, making your cheeks hurt. When your hand pulled away from your phone, you saw the familiar picture of the idol set as your wallpaper. The sight alone made your heart tremble, skipping a beat. 

The tears began coming, unable to stop. The droplets clouded your vision, dripping to your pillow. Short hiccups left your mouth as you sobbed, clutching at your phone. “I want him so bad. He’s the only man to make me feel like this. Maybe Jackson and Mark were right and we are connected more than we know. Maybe we were being stupid because we believed we couldn’t be together. Maybe we can be happy together and stop fighting these feelings.

“How could I be so stupid to let this all happen? It was so obvious, and I let things fall through because of something as stupid as distance. 

“How can I fix this?”

You fell asleep, pained with puffy eyes and red, wet cheeks, clutching to the phone like it was a lifeline that would ring to pull you back. The entire time, you dreamt of ways to fix this, to get back to the man you loved - the man that told you he loved you back and you let go. You weren’t going to be stupid a second time. You were going to get the man you desired, that made you happy and complete, not caring about anything that stood between you.

When you awake, sore bodied and numb inside, the first thing you did was compile a message, simple in structure and straight to the point. The recipients: eight boys that grinned eagerly at the message that made all their phones buzz, their ninth member unsuspecting. 

I need to fix this.  

~

You took a deep breath, stepping off the plane. Your footsteps were hurried, pushing passed people with mumbled apologies as you hurried to gather your luggage. You sent a quick text before leaving the airport, staring up at the bright sky overhead. You couldn’t help but smile. Something about the sky felt different than home, the fresh air that was breathed into your lungs setting something alight inside. You were light on your feet as you skipped forward, elation forming a bubble around you that couldn’t be burst.

You were bouncing as you traveled through the foreign city, eager to arrive at the destination. Your eyes twinkled at you watched the tall buildings pass by, snapping some pictures for yourself as you went. Your heart was pumping faster the closer you got, beginning to burst out of your chest when you felt the taxi stop in front of your destination. 

The driver kindly helped you with your luggage before taking the payment you extended towards him, offering a multitude of thank you’s as gratitude for his service. You watched the car disappear down the road before letting out a ragged breath, turning to stare at the building. With luggage in tow, you made your way inside, the wheels of your suitcase thumping as you stepped through the building to find the place you needed to be.

Dry swallowing at the sight of security outside, you let out a shaky breath, unsure if you were able to do this. There was still a small line that you stopped at the end of, sending a quick message with shaky fingers. The slow-moving line prolonged your inherent agony, anxiety beginning to build up. Your stomach clenched with tight knots, wiping your sweaty palms to your jeans. 

The security stopped you, asking for your pass to get in. “I-I don’t have one,” you admitted timidly, biting at your lip. 

“Unfortunately, I can’t let you in, miss,” the man told you. 

“You don’t understand. I’m friends with them-”

“I’m sorry, I can’t.”

You opened your mouth to explain further, but thankfully, your rescue had come. “She’s alright, guys. She’s my friend,” Mark said, slipping from his spot at the table, apologizing to the fans as he did. “Go ahead and let her in.”

The security guard nodded, letting you by. You smiled gratefully at the boy, not saying anything more so he could return to his seat, apologizing once more and resuming the conversation he was having with the girl in question.

You stared down the line while you had time, seeing all nine boys of NCT sitting in different spots. Mark, Yuta, Johnny, Jungwoo, Taeil, Haechan, Doyoung, Jaehyun, and last, but surely not least, the man you were truly here to see: Taeyong. Even from the distance, you could see how pale he looked, giving somewhat fake smiles to people. He looked partially exhausted and drained, the normal glow he radiated diminished to near nothingness. You pouted at the sight, disliking the scene at the end of the row of tables. 

When the girl was gone, Mark gestured you forward. Before you could make it to the front of the table, he rounded it, giving you a tight hug. You were glad the others were distracted by their conversations and signings to see the quick gesture, Mark releasing you shortly after. 

“You’re really here,” he said lowly, not wanting to alert anyone. 

“I’m here. I told you I was,” you laughed. 

“I know,” he chuckled. “But like… you’re here. In the flesh. I’m finally meeting you!”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Markie,” you giggled. “How has it all been?”

“Rough,” he claimed, ruffling his hair. “But it’ll get better now that you are here.”

“I hope.”

Mark grinned, leaning on the table. “Man, I can’t believe it. You’re actually here. I get to meet my sister finally! We’re going to have so much fun while you are here.”

“I’m only here for a week.”

“So, we will have fun!” Mark chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah,” you laughed, pulling out the latest cd you purchased and pushing it his way. “Now, to make this official and to actually follow the rules, I’d like this signed please.”

“I think I can do that,” he chuckled, doing as you said, though making a joke out of the signature in the end so you could have a laugh later. Mark gave you one last hug before you left his table, whispering, “I will see you after the signing, babe. Glad you could make it.”

Leaving your suitcase with Mark, you followed down the line, receiving a similarly warm welcome from each boy. Each boy gave you a hug across the table, expressing their delight that you were finally in Korea, standing in person before them. No longer was there a silly screen separating you and them. They were in the flesh, warm bodies clinging to you before you got them to sign the shiny album in your hands. You were glad you managed to come, meeting the group of boys you cared about so deeply.

Lastly, it was his turn. 

Taeyong waved goodbye to the girl in front of you, combing through his hair briefly. You saw him exhale, his chest rising and falling with the deep breath and his nose flaring slightly. He leaned backwards in his seat to crack his back, having been sat for quite a while. You took a second to admire his beauty, in awe of his flawless physique in person. He was always handsome through the phone, even when he wasn’t trying, but before your eyes now - he was downright gorgeous. 

He wore a simple red and black striped shirt with black jeans, holes in the legs and knees. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows to relieve some of the summer heat, a couple distinct arm veins running along his clear skin to his hands, running along the tops to his slender digits. His blonde hair was fluffy against his head, the ends of some strands curling upwards adorably. His dark eyes had yet to glance your way, long lashes shut against his cheeks as he relaxed for a single moment. 

With one last sigh, you saw his eyes flutter open, asking who was next. His voice was just as smooth and velvety as you recalled, deep and clear with every word he said. Your heart pounded against your chest, waiting for him to see who was standing before him.

It was in slow motion. His head turned towards you, finding you waiting for him. His jaw dropped, and his eyes enlarged. He slowly stood from his seat, tear beginning to form in his eyes. You remained still in your spot, watching him round the table, standing feet before you. His mouth opened and closed, unable to make out words with his suddenly dry throat. When he managed to get them out, they came out as croaks of words.

“Y/N?” he got out at last. “I-Is that really you?”

“Hi Tae,” you murmured, giving him a small smile. 

Taeyong let out a choked sob, covering his mouth to muffle it. His feet moved forward before you could react yourself, his long arms wrapping themselves around your smaller frame. Your bag slipped off your shoulder, and your newly signed album hit the floor between you, but that was the last of your worries. Tears sprung to your eyes as you wound your arms around his waist, burying your face in his chest. Taeyong burrowed into your hair, his body wracked with happy sobs.

“You’re here,” he whispered into your locks repeatedly, wetting them with his tears. “You’re really here.”

“I’m really here,” you repeated, giving him a tighter squeeze for the hug you shared. “I’m here, Taeyong. I’m here, bub.”

He backed away, keeping you within arm’s reach. His hands slid up your face, gently cupping your cheeks in his palms. His thumbs smoothed across your skin, wiping at the wet trails that stained them. His lips curled into a bright smile, teeth bared and all. His eyes continued to water, your image blurred but beautiful in his brown orbs. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, biting at his lip. “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be home with your boyfriend?”

You shook your head in response, placing your hands over his. “I don’t have a boyfriend, Yong,” you admitted to him. “We broke up a couple weeks ago.”

He gaped at you, short, incomplete thoughts reaching your ears. “But… you’re... what… why…?”

“I’ve done a lot of thinking lately,” you said, feeling more tears coming. “And I realized that I was stupid for not realizing sooner just how much I love you.”

He choked back a sob.

“I was stupid for letting you go and for agreeing to not pursue anything. Because, Taeyong, you complete me. You make me happier than anyone ever has. I was stupid to think that something as silly as the places we live could keep us apart. I realized that it doesn’t matter because the world can’t keep us from each other. It doesn’t matter where we are, or how far apart we are. What matters is that our hearts-” your hand was placed on his chest, feeling the rapid storm of heartbeats hammering to his ribcage, “-are connected. That even when I see the sun and you see the moon, as long as we are under the same sky, nothing can keep us apart. What matters is that I want to be with you, Taeyong.

“And, I hope you want to be with me still too.”

The idol choked on his sob again, pulling you closer to him. Your foreheads met, the man slightly hunched over to meet yours, but you made it work. Your noses bumped against each other, his minty breath fanning over your lips. They were near each other, closing in with each second that passed. The idol leader darted his tongue forward to wet his lips before answering, voice cracking slightly, though remaining angelic.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he whispered. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear you say that.”

“I’m sure I can guess, because it was just as long for me,” you laughed. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize.”

“I’m to blame too,” he replied, chuckling lowly. “I let you go when I should have stopped you.”

“Well, we don’t have to worry about that anymore. I made my choice,” you confessed, biting at your lip. “And I choose you, Tae. It’s always been you. There’s no turning back and honestly, I have no intention of changing my mind.”

“Good,” he said.

With that, his lips were on yours in a sweet kiss - something you had been dying for without realizing it. You sunk into him, pushing closer to him until your chests were pressed against one another. Your arms clung to his waist, his saying firm to your cheeks. His lips were soft, moving perfectly against yours in the blissful connection. His head tilted just enough to ensure your lips could mesh together perfectly. The second his lips touched yours, you felt a shock run through your spine, every red light in your mind working to releasing the fireworks. 

When he pulled away, your lips were left tingling, craving more. His lips rubbed together, twitching into a shy, but excited grin. Your faces nuzzled together, refusing to move from the warm hug you were sharing.

“Tae?” you uttered softly, hearing him hum. “Happy birthday.”

He chuckled, shaking his head against yours. “You remembered?”

“Of course,” you laughed. “That’s partially why I worked to get here today of all days, especially knowing you had this fan signing.” 

“Well, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift.”

His arms closed around you once more, nuzzling into the side of your head, inhaling your sweet scent. You hummed in delight, burrowing back into his chest, your joyous tears soaking into his tears. Your body was riveting with excitement, heart pounding, the sound in your ears, and stomach flipping with rampaging butterflies. For the first time in weeks, you were content, feeling an ease that hadn’t been present since the day your feelings were first confessed. To be in his arms was something you had dreamt of, and now to be here, you were reluctant to let go. 

The ethereal moment was broken, unfortunately, but a group of rowdy boys behind you cheering at the top of their lungs. The eight boys didn’t hesitate to rush forward, wrapping their arms around you in tight hugs. You couldn’t stop the burst of laughter that escaping, hearing Taeyong doing the same. His angelic laughter rang in your ears, the sweet melody better in person. Taeyong’s arms stayed firm around you, clutching you to his person, while the rest of the idols gathered around you, enveloping you in unexplainable heat. 

“Finally!” Johnny yelled loudly, the others protesting slightly at the sound. 

“Too loud, Johnny,” Doyoung attacked, grimacing at the sound that was aimed directly in his ear. 

“But seriously, guys. We are so happy for you. You are finally together! It’s about time you could be together without things to worry about,” Jaehyun chimed. 

“Did you guys know about this?” Taeyong asked as the hug dispersed, his arms never leaving you. Even though you turned in his arms to look at the boys, all eight with pleased grins, the leader’s arms stayed tight around your waist, his chin on your shoulder.

“We may have had something to do with this,” Jungwoo sneakily hummed. 

“She said she wanted to come visit and fix the things between you,” Taeil confessed. Your face lit up, feeling Taeyong’s stare into the side of your face. 

“We just wanted to help!” Haechan continued. “We needed to see the ship sail!”

“You guys were always so happy together and when everything happened, you both got so down,” Yuta frowned. “We wanted to help make things better because you are best together.”

“I think what they’re all saying,” Mark cut in, “is that we are happy that you can finally stop fighting your feelings. You guys are so happy together and we only want to see that continue. You deserve to be happy and you deserve each other. Were glad you have stopped fighting your feelings and realized that it doesn’t matter as long as you are together.”

You knew Taeyong looked confused, so you turned to him. “Mark is oddly smart for his age.”

“Hey!” 

“What? It’s true! You gave me some very good advice!” you exclaimed. “You are younger than me, Markie. Stop being so wise.”

“But, I’m still confused,” Taeyong admitted, his arms dropping from around you. You turned to look at him, noting his knit brows, wrinkled forehead and confusion laced irises. The other boys fell silent, waiting for their leader to continue. “Don’t misunderstand please. I’m thrilled you are here. I have wanted to meet you and hold you and… god, just you being here is my dream come true. But, I don’t get why. And how. Everyone is saying that we can be together, but you will have to go home eventually. I just… I don’t get it.”

You bit at your lip sharing a glance at the eight boys before facing Taeyong completely. “I wasn’t going to mention it until later because I wanted it to be a surprise. But as much as this trip is to meet you and tell you that I want to be with you, there is another reason I came.’

“What?” Taeyong asked, blinking. 

“The office I work for,” you started, smiling growing unknowingly. “There is one here, in Seoul. It’s still fairly new, so they are still building. I expressed my interest to my boss, and he managed to set me up with some time to discuss with the manager here for me to transfer.”

“Wait. So, you might…”

Taeyong was at a loss for words.

“Yes,” you confirmed, giving him a bright smile. “If accepted, I will be moving to Seoul to work permanently. And as it stands, since I’ve talked to the manager already in phone conferences, it’s looking highly likely that I will be moving. The fact that I speak English and Korean, thanks to a certain idol, is a major draw for them. So, I will know more in a few days when I meet with them. They will tell me for sure what the plan is.”

Taeyong’s eyes filled with tears again, fling himself forward, encasing you in his grasp. He let out a cheerful laugh that brought to light your own stifled giggles, curling your arms around him, pushing into his hold. Rocking you back and forth, he lifted you off your feet, spinning you in circles. 

“You’re staying,” he breathed, choking on his own laughs. “You’re really staying. You’re here and you’re staying.”

“Tentative,” you laughed, barely managing to speak. “But I’m confident in saying yes, I am here to stay.” once your feet touched the ground, you grasped his face, cupping his cheeks and smoothing your thumbs under his eyes. He had considerably brightened since you first saw him, color already returning to his paled face. He looked more like himself, even with the tear marks that streaked his cheeks. “I’m here to be with you, Tae. Because I’m tired of denying us. I want to be with you.”

“God, I’ve wanted to hear that forever,” he cooed, leaning forward. His lips hovered over yours, the smile contagious with the close proximity. “I want nothing more than to be with you. I’m sorry I was stupid before I let you go.”

“Don’t be,” you whispered. “Because we are here now. And nothing can keep us apart.”

Taeyong grinned, placing a second kiss to your lips - it was just as explosive as the first. Your eyes closed at the sweet connection, his lips harder to yours than before but just as careful. The tingling sensation returned, traveling throughout your body. Your fingertips itched, curling into his cheeks more. Your body pressed closer to him, one foot nudged between his, toes curling in your shoes. His lips dragged against yours, separating with a subtle smack before dipping in again for more, sharing multiple, short connections.

Your mind was blank, enjoying the sweet, supple taste of his lips. He tasted like honey, his lips luscious and plump against yours. They were a drug you never thought you’d want or have, the sugary taste he offered addicting.

“Alright well, I hate to break up this little romantic session you guys are having,” Jaehyun cut in, causing you and Taeyong to separate, panting slightly for lost air. “We should get going. We have things to do.”

“Yeah. If we wait, we’re going to miss all of the food!” Haechan cried, gathering his stuff. 

Taeyong’s brow rose, slipping his hand into yours. “Don’t we have more things this afternoon? I thought we had a radio interview after this.”

“It was moved until later this week,” Johnny mused with a smirk. Taeyong blinked.

“But I thought-”

“It took a lot of convincing,” Doyoung cut in, placing his bag on his shoulder. “It took all eight of us to convince our manager to shuffle some stuff around so we could celebrate today.”

“It’s your birthday, hyung! Did you really think we were going to be busy all day?” Jungwoo joked.

Taeyong scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Well, yeah actually. We’ve had concerts on peoples’ birthdays. What would make today so different?”

“Y/N,” all eight said, making you laugh. 

“With Y/N coming, we wanted to be able to have a nice afternoon where we could celebrate,” Taeil told the center.

“So, with a lot of begging and pleading, they finally agreed,” Yuta laughed with a bright, sunshine-like smile. 

“What are we waiting for?” Haechan whined, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Let’s go! I’m hungry!”

“What are we doing?” Taeyong asked, leading you away by the hand so he could gather his stuff. 

“Heading back to the dorm to have your birthday dinner,” Jaehyun told him.

“We’re grilling meat!” Jungwoo cheered.

“Taeyong-hyung, make us pork belly!” Haechan whined. 

“Haechannie, be nice!” you scolded. “It’s Yong’s birthday.”

“But-”

“It’s fine,” Taeyong laughed. “I’ll grill.”

“Yay!” the youngest screamed, hopping off the ground in his joy. 

“Well, let’s go already,” Mark chuckled, dragging your suitcase with him on his way out. 

Taeyong took your hand, placing a kiss to your cheek before leading you after the rest of the boys, headed for the two vans that were parked, waiting to take you back to the NCT dorms. Taeyong kept your hand in his, fingers laced, until you reached the doors of the building. Not wanting fans to catch sight of your interlocked hands, he broke off from you, helping to place a black mask over your face and putting your sunglasses over your eyes. You giggled at his delicate nature, one last kiss left to your lips before rushing out to the awaiting cars, piling into them before people could really catch sight of the moving idols. 

~

Upon arriving at the dorms, you were all ushered out back where the grill was already heating. Two tables were set up for eating, a white table cloth draped over the tops. Taeyong left your side regrettably to start cooking, Mark rushing inside to fetch the meats. You left him with a tender kiss, heading into the dorms to help prepare side dishes the leader enjoyed as a celebration of his big day. 

Doyoung, Mark and Jungwoo gave you a quick tour of the dorms, having you leave your suitcase in Taeyong’s room for the time being. You admired their cozy living quarters, elated that you were there in person. The smell of Febreze still lingered in the halls from Taeyong’s early morning rounds, making his home smell of his favorite scent. Little trash was scattered from their late nights. Beds were messily made, but you didn’t expect much from them - they were boys and had a rigorous schedule to adhere to. They had rushed out early from what you were told, unable to properly clean before your arrival, not that you minded.

Aiding Doyoung in the kitchen, you helped to prepare plates of various sides - kimchi, cucumber kimchi, pickled radish, tteokbokki, japchae. All things to help feed the nine hungry boys you were with. To go with everything was kalguksu, one of Taeyong’s favorite foods. Jungwoo helped to prepare some small sides of rice, rice paper included with the meal. To finish off dinner was the dessert you had stopped to grab on your way to the signing that Mark, fortunately, kept hidden from Taeyong’s eye until later. A chocolate cake with strawberries, decorate with strawberry macarons, to satisfy the leader’s insatiable sweet tooth. 

You figured if he knew it was in the dorm, he’d skip to the cake rather than eat a meal with everyone else. He always loved his sweets more than anything and wasn’t afraid to indulge in the rich chocolate over the delectable pork belly he was grilling.

You shared many laughs with the boys that helped to plate the dishes, carrying it outside to the table. Drinks had been brought out and poured. Smoke filled the darkening sky from the grill, the sun beginning to set in the distance. Lights were strung up around the small yard you were in, lighting the space. Music played from Taeyong’s phone, amplified by a speaker that was nearby. The delicious scent of grilled pork filled your nose, your mouth beginning to salivate. 

Placing the pot of kalguksu on the table with the rest of the dishes, making your way towards the grill where Taeyong stood. Small flames licked the grates as he flipped the meats, letting them cook on the other side. Gloves covered his hands, a hat pulled over his head to keep his hair back as he cooked. He held the long tongs in his hand, scissors placed aside so he could cut the meat when it was done. 

Your arms wrapped around him from behind, hands running along his chest. Your face buried into his neck, smelling the smoke from the grill that was pressed into the fabric. Taeyong chuckled, a large smile on his face.

“What are you doing?” he asked. 

“Just leave me be for a second,” you whispered to him, hugging him tighter. “I’ve wanted to hug you for so long, Yong. To feel you for so long. Just… let me do this for just a second.”

Taeyong blushed, biting his lip. The tongs were placed aside while the meat cooked, the man rotating in your hold to wrap his arms around you, hands left hovering in the hair so he wouldn’t have to change his gloves after. His face nestled into your hair, leaving tender kisses in the strands. A content sigh left you both, relishing in the peaceful moment under the soon-to-be night sky, the moon rising overhead to place a shimmering glow upon you. 

Remaining by his side, you watched him pull the meat from the fire, cutting the strips into bite sides chucks. Carefully he lifted a piece of the cooked meat towards you, letting a quick, “say ah!” as he extended the food your direction. It was hot on your tongue when you opened your mouth, the meat placed between your cheeks. Despite the heat, you let out a squeal, the pork tender, melting onto your taste buds. You happily chewed the pork you were given, savoring the tangy selection. 

Taeyong grinned, returning to the rest of the pork. “Good?”

“Oh, no. It’s not good,” you breathed out, swaying back and forth happily. “It’s amazing.”

“Is it?” he chuckled, watching you closely. 

“Yes!” you exclaimed. “God, where have you been all my life? Why have I been missing out on this until now?”

“Well, I guess,” he mused, leaning closer towards you, a knowing smirk on his face. “I just gave you more incentive to stay here.”

You smiled, wrapping your arms around his neck, pushing yourself closer to him. “You’re making a rather compelling argument.”

“I can give you more reason, if you’d like.”

“Oh?” you cooed, your lips nearly on his. “Please, then. Give me more reason to stay here.”

“Because I’m here,” he cheekily replied. “And, I want you to be my girl finally.”

“Eh?” was your response, backing away slightly. 

“I want you to be mine. Like, for real. I pushed you away enough, so no more. I want you to be my girlfriend forever and always.”

You blinked at him before placing your lips carefully to his, the kiss short and passionate. He let out a short whine when you pulled away, wanting more. But you smiled, weaving your fingers through his hair, scratching at his scalp. “Of course, I will be yours, Taeyong.”

He grinned, kissing you once more, both of your sets of eyes closing. The passionate connection was growing more heated, needier, the longer your lips were pressed together. However, it didn’t last as long as you wanted when you heard a familiar boy’s scream.

“Hey! Stop lip locking and watch the food! If you burn the pork belly, I’m suing!” Johnny hollered, causing you both to break part. Taeyong was less than amused at the comments, the tall smirking man left running as tools went flying in his direction, clattering to the ground feet away. The leader huffed in annoyance, relaxing into your grasp when you resumed hugging him from behind, his focus returning to the food he had to finish. 

The dinner was amusing, to say the least. Once everyone was seated and food began to get passed around, the jokes began flying, and laughter was a common sound heard amongst the group. The group of idols told you various stories you had never heard before, telling you about things that you missed in your absence. Guilt raided your body when you heard the different things that had gone on while you were busy trying to ignore the truth, trying to fight the feelings you had that never once diminished. You believed for so long that the distance would keep you from keeping happy, but the real heartache was from the denial that Taeyong was your true bliss.

Now, the euphoria of being committed to this man left you speechless, regretting the time you missed with them. 

While you ate, your hand slide over to Taeyong’s lap, a hand resting on his thigh. No one could see it from where you were sitting, the plastic table covering hitting your laps. Five people sat on each side of the tables, you at the end of your side with Taeyong to your right. The sudden touch of your hand on his thigh made him choke slightly on his meat, glancing in your direction. You just sent him a sweet smile, giving his leg a firm squeeze. 

Slowly, his hand laced with yours, but he didn’t just hold it. He pulled it further up his leg, resting on a certain, distinguishable bulge at the top. You blinked in confusion, seeing the faint blush that spread over his cheeks and an apologetic expression on his face. 

“Sorry,” he whispered low enough for only you to hear. “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it right now. I’m just…”

“It’s fine, Yong,” you told him, giving him a soft kiss. His breathing stopped mid kiss when your hand gave him a squeeze, caressing him through his dark jeans. The kiss broke with a low smack of the lips, Taeyong smiling widely. “It doesn’t bother me at all.”

“Good,” he chuckled, moving his hand to your own thigh, ended dangerously high up. You fidgeted slightly, anxious to have his hands on you at all, but you didn’t say anything, cherishing his warm touch. You wanted nothing more than to feel him near you, so you weren’t about to let your nerves get the best of you. You smiled at him, giggling when he picked up another piece of pork belly, wrapped in a piece of kimchi, holding it towards you. “Now, say ah!”

You did as he obliged, letting out a content mewl of satisfaction at the taste. The ethereal taste made you dance in your seat, squeezing a bit more than intended. Taeyong had to let out a choked gasp for you to realize what had happened but covered it quickly with a chuckle.

“Man, you guys are so cute, it’s sickening,” Doyoung huffed across from you, sitting his water. 

You cracked a smile at him, hiding it slightly behind your own cup. “Don’t even deny that you love it.”

Doyoung made a scrunched-up face that was supposed to resemble disgust, but the grin told you otherwise. And before he could spit a savage retort, Jungwoo cut in. “I love it.”

“At least Jungwoo is on our side!” you scowled playfully at Doyoung. Taeyong just chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Calm down, children.”

“Hey! I am your girlfriend good sir! Don’t call me a child!” you huffed, bumping his shoulder. The idol laughed loudly, bumping you back. 

“You’re my baby now,” he cooed, placing a kiss to your cheek that made you red. 

The other guys laughed, fake gagging at the coupley actions they were forced to witness. The rest of dinner went just like that, laughter, jokes and plenty of teasing passed around the table, sharing good food and making memories you would never forget. And your hand never moved from him, a light blush on both yours and Taeyong’s faces from the intimacy that was going on under the table, unbeknownst to the rest of the boys. 

The eight group members agreed to clean up while you spent time with Taeyong, wandering the courtyard you had reserved for the afternoon. Your hands were linked together, fingers intertwined and grasped tightly. His large hand covered yours perfectly, your hands matching like two pieces of the same puzzle. Your head rested on his shoulder as you walked, stopping at a bench away from the others. 

Together you sat, staring up at the dark sky that twinkled with stars and the golden moon that seemed to smile down at you. Taeyong placed tender kisses to your forehead and temple, tracing his luscious, pink lips along your hairline. You could feel his smile, making your heart race. 

“This is the first time,” he uttered lowly, resting his head on yours. “The first time we are seeing the same part of the sky together. The first time we can stare at the moon together. The first time you aren’t seeing something different than I am.”

“You’re right,” you hummed. “But, it doesn’t change anything. Nothing can keep us apart now.”

Taeyong chuckled, pulling you closer to his side. “You’re right. Whether it’s the sun or the moon, the world is ours, baby. And nothing will keep me from you ever again. I let you slip away once because of something stupid. Not again. I have you here, in my arms, and I’m never letting go.”

“Taeyong,” you whispered, waiting for him to respond. When you heard his low hm, you took his hand into you lap, staring at it. Your voices were clear, and your voice was strong, at the words you let out. “I love you.”

“I know,” he mumbled. He glanced at you, his dark brown eyes sparkling, glinting with emotion. “I love you too, Y/N. So much. I have for as long as I can remember. And I’m glad that you were my pen pal all those years ago. Because I was able to meet the most amazing woman on this planet. I feel in love with my best friend. It didn’t matter where she was because she held my heart from the day I got her first letter.” 

Your heart skip a beat at the conviction in his voice, staring deeply at him. Slowly he closed in, his hand moving up to your cheek to draw you into him. His eyes fluttered closed, yours mirroring his. Your lips touched in a careful embrace, tentative at first. His lips dragged against yours, smacking when they pulled apart. Instantly, he was delving back in for another, confidence striking him like a chord. His lips pressed harder this time, tilting his head so sash them harder to yours. The kiss was firm and stronger than before, lips moving quickly against one another. 

Your lips parted when his tongue slid along your sealed entrance, letting him bypass your lips to gain access between your cheeks. Your tongues playfully swirled around one another, Taeyong hesitant at first until your tongue poked out to find the intruder. Multiple hot, open-mouthed kisses were shared between you, your bodies inching closer together. His hands rested on your waist while yours were tangled in his fluffy blonde strands, tugging at them incessantly. Your moans were lost to the multitude of kisses, his groans trapped in his throat. Any that escaped were muffled, swallowed before they could fill the air. 

The faint call of your names made you separate, lips swollen and faces red. Chests heaved with heavy pants, attempting to reclaim precious air that was lost. Your tingling lips rubbed together, savoring the taste of the man that lingered on them, letting your arms fall from him. A disappointed and annoyed grunt left his mouth, his hand tousling his hair before standing up, reaching for your hand. 

“We should head back,” he claimed, obviously disappointed for being interrupted. You giggled at him, taking his hand. Your steps were slow heading back, not wanting to rush. 

“I probably should actually head out,” you told him. 

Taeyong halted, jaw ajar. “What? No. You can’t leave already. You said-”

“To my hotel, Tae,” you teased. His jaw snapped shut, staring at you blankly. 

“Oh,” he let out slowly, exhaling in relief. Suddenly, his face lit up, turning to you. “Why not just stay here?” 

“What?” You asked. “Tae, I couldn’t possibly.”

“Um, he might actually be right,” Mark cut in. His phone was in his hand and he had a sheepish grin on his cheeks. “Your hotel called and said they were full. Guess you can’t go.”

You glared at the young male, knowing exactly what he was pulling. Taeyong seemed oblivious to Mark’s true deeds as he bounced in his spot, looking like a kid in a candy store. “So, you can stay with us?”

“I guess I have no choice considering I have no other place to sleep tonight,” you sneered, glaring at Mark. You seethed at him through gritted teeth. “Thanks, Mark.”

“Just delivering the message,” Mark claimed with a sly wink. 

Taeyong bounced more, placing a quick kiss to your cheek. “I will go check with Johnny to see if he is willing to give up his bed while you are here. He can take the couch or crash in Yuta’s room. I will meet you upstairs, babe!”

Taeyong took on running, leaving you with the young rapper. Once Taeyong was out of sight, your fist made contact with the Canadian boy’s ribs, whom groaned in pain at your hit. “I hate you.”

“Thank me later. I hope Taeyong likes the gift Johnny got him later.”

Mark ran off before you could strike again, your eyes wide. “Mark Lee! Get back here!”

~

You sat on Taeyong’s bed, waiting for him to finish cleaning the dorm to his liking. When you returned inside, the outside spotless from your night, you finished Taeyong’s birthday with a bang, eating the cake you got. The man drooled at the sight when it was placed in front of him, ready to devour the entire thing in one sitting. Thankfully, he agreed to share - though he seemed reluctant at that and divided the cake into ten equal pieces. 

After the cake were presents, things ranging from gag items such as a pack of Febreze to practical items like a new camera and fabric markers for his fashion design hobby. One small box had contents unknown. All you knew was whatever was inside left his cheeks ablaze and the box tucked away into his room as soon as he opened it. He had bolted, stumbling over limbs and discarded gift boxes on his rush to his room. 

Your fingers ran through your hair, grimacing at the oily feeling. After the long travel time and the heat of the day, you felt disgusting. But you didn’t want to do anything without permission. You waited until Taeyong walked back into his room, shutting the door behind him. Before the door shut, you noticed the lights were out, indicating that everyone had gone off to their respective rooms for the night. 

Johnny had happily given up his bed for the days you were there, gathering clothes, pillow and blankets from his bed before carting them off to Yuta’s room down the way. You were thankful for his generosity, partially because you weren’t sure how comfortable it would be to sleep with your boyfriend for the first time in the same bed with someone else in the room, and partially because you were alone with Taeyong. That was nerve wracking enough. 

Taeyong flopped onto his bed, wrapping his arms around your waist. His head settled into your lap, near purring when your fingers automatically combed through his hair, relaxing him. “You’re here,” he whispered happily, hearing you giggle softly. “You’re going to sleep with me tonight, right?”

You blushed, choking on your own saliva. “I-I mean…”

Taeyong corrected himself before you could finish. ‘I-I meant like… in the same bed! You won’t be sleeping in Johnny’s bed, right? You’ll sleep beside me, in the same bed, under my covers, while I snuggle you?”

“Of course,” you laughed. “But can I perhaps shower before bed? I feel gross after the flight and being out all day.”

Taeyong smiled up at you, taking your hand and kissing the center of your palm. The gesture made your lips twitch upwards, biting back a smile yourself. “Of course, babe.”

He led you to the bathroom attached to his room, shared by him and Johnny, and whoever stood on the other side of the opposite door, digging under the sink for a towel. The bathroom was rather large, glass shower, marble countertops, large mirror, sparkling clean toilet, probably due to Taeyong’s OCD. He had a box of cleaning supplies nearby to wipe everything down as needed. The fluffy green towel he pulled out was placed to the counter, pointing towards the shower. 

“If you didn’t bring your own stuff, mine is the left, top shelf.”

“With the bottles neatly arranged, perfectly aligned, from shampoo to soap?” you teased. Taeyong chuckled nodding.

“You know me so well,” he breathed. A hot blush rose to his face, the idol clearing his throat. “If you need anything just holler.”

“I will,” you murmured. Your eyes followed Taeyong as he went to lock the door on the other side so someone wouldn’t accidentally walk in on you. He gave you a lopsided smile before headed towards his room. “Actually, Tae, wait.”

He paused, glancing back at you. You were fidgeting in your spot, nervous energy leaking from you. “What’s wrong, babe?”

“I just…” you started, glancing at the shower. “I’ve never used a shower in Korea. Can you show me?” 

Taeyong chuckled, nodding his head. Leading you towards the shower, he stepped inside, clothes and all. “You just turn it like this and it’ll start right up. Best to warn you it does take a moment to heat up though. If you want to adjust the heat, turn this one here.”

“I see,” you uttered. You pressed against his back, Taeyong’s breath hitching in his throat. Your arms hesitantly wrapped around his waist, hugging him close. “Would you, perhaps, stay with me while I shower?”

Taeyong dry swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “Oh?” was all he could muster. You nodded against his back, clutching his shirt tightly. Your face was hot, your stomach felt tight, and you were afraid of his answer. You had dared to ask him something so bold, and you weren’t sure how he would respond so soon into your relationship. Part of you thought you were rushing, but the other part said it was just right. 

You wanted this. 

“I-I was just thinking,” you began. “I’m new here and I’m kind of afraid to be alone. I was thinking someone could stay and… keep me company.”

Taeyong turned in your grasp, cupping your face. His thumbs brushed along your cheeks, smiling once before pulling you into a kiss. It was intense from the start, heating up until your lips were dragging along each other fiercely. He showed no signs of backing away, leaving you alone to shower. He pushed you for another kiss, sliding his tongue between your cheeks, tracing the inner linings.

Your hand flailed behind him, his feet stepping back from your weight pushing against him. Without looking, you found the knob for the shower, twisting it blindly until water was pouring over your forms, clothes and all. You both broke away with a gasp, the icy cold water hitting you. It was heating up, but the shock startled you, causing you to jerk back in surprise. Your eyes met Taeyong’s, and after a second of staring, you both burst out laughing.

Water dripped down your forms, clothes clinging to your limbs. Taeyong pushed his hand through his hair, the locks pushed back against his head. With the water droplets sliding down his face, dripping from his hair, and running along his hands, he looked gorgeous, your gaze unable to tear away from him. Water ran along his sharp jawline, dripping from his chin. His striped shirt was hugging his chest and arms, his dark jeans hugging his thigh and slim legs even tighter. 

Taeyong grinned at you before peeling the wet shirt off his chest, over his head. He tossed the wet cotton into the corner of the shower with a wet, squishing thump, his torso left bare before you. He wasn’t the most muscular man around - Jaehyun had proven that more than once by walking around shirtless in the dorm while you were on a call with Taeyong. But you couldn’t stop admiring the lean build he did have. Muscles along his arms, abs that accentuated his lean physique, a small scar on the lower right side of his abdomen - your hands reached out to trace along his fine form, memorizing every inch of him. 

He watched you silently before dipping his head down for a heated kiss. His lips ravished yours for a minute, placing multiple lip-smacking kisses to your lips. His hands ran along your sides until he found the hem of your shirt, giving it a small tug. His lips broke away from yours with a low smooch, biting his lip.

“It’s only fair,” he teased. Wordlessly, you rose your arms, giving him the answer he desired. The man pulled your shirt away from your body, tossing it with his in the corner of the shower. You shivered at the exposure, biting your lip. His prying eye made you self-conscious, left only in your bra that did nothing to hide your erect nipples from the shower you were in. He held your wrists before you could try to shield yourself, leaning forward to please loving kisses along your shoulder and collarbone. “Beautiful.”

With the shower raining over you, cascading down your topless bodies, Taeyong’s nimble fingers unhooking your bra with ease. With it discarded with the rest of the clothes, his breath hitched, swallowing thickly. His eyes asked for silent permission before proceeding, your nod allowing him to touch you. 

His fingers brushed along the side of your breast before cupping it completely. The pad of his thumb swiped over your nipple, hearing you mewl at the pleasure it caused. He smiled at the angelic noise, wetting his lips with his tongue before delving in. His hand fondled the right breast while his mouth attacked the left, lips wrapped around the pert bud. Your hands wove through his wet strands, moaning louder than before. 

His lips broke from your chest with a pop, gazing up through his lashes at you. “Quiet, babe. Don’t want to wake the guys.”

You nodded, tugging your lip between your teeth to stay silent. The idol leader resumed his assault, red suckling kisses littered across your chest. The man placed kiss after kiss to your taut bud, flicking it with his tongue and swirling it between his cheeks. Swapping after a bit, when one nipple was swollen and overly sensitive, he repeated his attack. 

He pulled from your chest with a pop, moving up to your lips. Your bottom lip was indented from your teeth, soothed from the kiss he placed upon it. Amidst the kiss, he tugged at your belt loops. The kiss broke, Taeyong’s lips brushing yours as he spoke. 

“It’s kind of hard to shower with jeans on,” he joked. You laughed at him, unbuttoning your jeans before reaching out to undo his. His dark brow rose, watching you quietly.

“You’re right, Yong,” you hummed. “So, let’s fix that.”

You tugged his pants down, gulping at the bulge in his black Armani underwear. You helped him peel the black denim from his legs, struggling from how much they stuck to his slender legs. Once they are off his ankles, you pushed them aside. Taeyong did the same to you, though he took longer to remove your pants. His lips laid kisses down your wet legs, letting out a staggered breath before dipping his face between your legs. A kiss was placed to your covered heat, a gasp leaving your lips.

“Tae,” you stammered, gripping his shoulders. He hummed below you, fingers wrapped around the sides of your panties. “Please.”

Your low plea told him to do it. He tugged them down, tossing them away unforgivingly. Now bare to him completely, your nervousness spiked, self-conscious before him. But he continuously uttered compliments under his breath, praising you without worry. Every word he uttered, you could hear his sincerity, elation rushing to your heart. 

His lips met your moist core, your fingers digging into his shoulders, leaving crescent shaped indentures in his skin. Breathing became difficult in the heat of the shower, steam rising around you. His tongue flicked through your folds, kitten licking you a few times before sticking his tongue deep inside you. Despite his earlier warning, you moaned his name, slumping forward at the pleasure you felt. 

His tongue swirled around your core, tracing your walls with the tip. His hands gripped at the backs of your thighs, holding you against him as he attacked your center, slurping up whatever you already released from the arousal that was building since the shower began. His tongue didn’t stay long inside you, exchanged for a single finger.

He was cautious at first, testing the waters of what worked for you, not wanting to do something you didn’t like. He uttered that he didn’t want to pressure you into anything, or make you uncomfortable, and that couldn’t be more admirable to you. The fact that he cared meant everything to you and solidified your conviction - you wanted this more than anything with him. 

The single turned into a double after a few slick thrusts, your moans becoming uncontrollable. He gave you a glinted stare but didn’t slow his thrusts. They sped up instead, the tips curling and nails scratching pleasurably at your inner walls. Your legs felt weak, beginning to shake in his grasp. Your walls were spasming around him, hugging his two digits tightly. The thrusts made a squelching noise as he moved, filling and spreading you with the two slender phalanges. 

When his lips met your clit, you broke. A loud moan of his names, and a hug of his fingers inside you, and you were releasing around him. You slumped forward even more, glad Taeyong was holding you up and you could use his shoulders for support. Otherwise, you could have been face first on the shower floor, the water pooling around your body instead of your feet.

Taeyong’s thrusts eased until you stopped shaking against him, pulling his fingers from you. His lips pressed to your pussy one last time, tenderly kissing it before standing. He placed a soft kiss to your lips, hugging you to his chest.

He grabbed his shampoo, rubbing it into your hair as you relaxed against him. He tilted our head back into the water, combing through your strands to get all the suds out. He repeated the process with the conditioner, sighing when he felt your lips press to his chest while scrubbing the conditioner into your hair. You did the same to him once your body could stand straight, listening to him laugh when you struggled to wash his hair. You had to stand on your toes to reach, falling into him a few times. 

He ran his soap along your body, your giggles sounding when he passed over spots that tickled. The bubbles passed over to his limbs whenever your rubbed against each other, your hand reaching to take the soap from him. Your hands were slow to move over him, rubbing the soap to his body, admiring his perfect physique. 

A groan left your lips when you realized he still had his underwear on, Taeyong chuckling under his breath. His fingers played with the band, hands covered in soapy bubbles, pushing he black fabric away from his body. His shaft was erect, making you blush hotly. You hand with the soap trembled, swallowing when you reach down to touch it. It twitched under the lightest graze, making you jump.

Taeyong chuckled, taking your hand, wrapping it around himself. “Like this,” he taught you, showing you how to stroke him. He pulsated in your grip, a throaty groan leaving his lips the more you stroked him, rubbing suds along his length. 

“Sorry,” you told him when you pulled away, putting his soap back. “It’s just… been a while I guess.”

“That one drunken one-night stand doesn’t help much when you’re in a relationship,” he chuckled, making you sneer. “Hey! I know you told me that in confidence and I never told the guys! But you know I’m in the same boat!”

“Because you’re such a lightweight,” you giggled. 

“Yeah. Never let me drink,” he chuckled.

“But I think I’d love to see that one day.”

“Soon, baby,” he hummed.

Rinsing off the soap and the remainder of the conditioner, Taeyong turned off the water, the last of the water that pooled around your feet disappearing down the drain. He rushed to grab the towel for you, wrapping it around your body for you before grabbing his own from under the sink. 

He brushed through your hair for you before yelling you to head back to his room while he cleaned up. You laughed at his OCD, kissing his softly on the lips and doing as he requested. Taeyong went to work, diligently hanging the wet clothes to dry, while you sat on his bed, not bothering to seek out your pajamas. You sat in just the towel, hugging it to your chest, contemplating what to do next. 

You were jetlagged from the flight, but you were tired enough to fall asleep immediately. You were still wide awake, and the only thing that could be causing that was the ache between your legs. Even after the shower activities, you were anxious and aroused, wanting to do more than you already had. Your heart was pounding in your chest, pumping blood to your lower region. Your body was heated, craving his delicate but sensual touch. You weren't ready to call it a night - not when Taeyong was still awake, dressed in a single blue towel. 

Your head shot up when you heard the bathroom door shut, giving you privacy. Taeyong leaned against it, eyeing you like you were some sort of prey first. His hands were behind his back, one knee bent as he leaned backwards against the sealed doorway. 

You gestured him forward with the curl of a finger, the man gladly striding over to you. His long legs carried him forward quickly, making short work on his advance, his footfalls brisk and nimble. His lips met yours before he even hit the bed, crawling over you instantly. Your back fell to the bed, returning the kiss he ignited. His body rolled against yours, hips grinding into you. The towel around his waist creating a wall between skin. Your own towel rode up from his movement, loosening the tie on the front.

Your tongues battled for a minute, open mouth kisses creating smacks that bounced off the walls, resonating in the confines of the bedroom. The man pulled away, dragging his lips down slowly, hauntingly sucking at your bottom lip before separating completely. 

"What do you want?" He asked, voice deep, a velvety husk surprising you. His eyes cracked open to look down at you, a dark glint present in his orbs. "I don't want to do anything if you don't want it."

"I want you," you confidently told him, not bothering to hesitate. 

"You're sure?" He asked. 

"One hundred percent," you confided. "I have never been more sure than I am right now that I want you, Taeyong. I love you and I want nothing more than to show that to you."

"I mean, we don't have to do this to show that you love me, " he laughed. You scowled, slapping his chest. "But, the thought of making love to my beautiful girlfriend is something I surely want to make a reality. Because then, she knows I love her too. And I have no intention of loving anyone else."

Your hands laced with his, his lips pressing to yours. 

"I'm giving you all of me, Taeyong. My heart - please take care of it."

"And I'm giving you all of me, Y/N. Though, you had me from the start, baby. So, it’s time to claim what is rightfully yours."

Your lips connected in a passionate kiss, your bodies rolling against his sheets. Your hips rolled together, grinding against each other without the physical contact of skin on skin. His cock was hardening under the towel - you could tell. Through the fluffy towel, you could feel it poking up at you. The towel that covered your body was pushed up more, riding up to your lower stomach, exposing your legs are aching core. 

Taeyong ended up on top of you, gripping the tie of your towel. It had already begun loosening, so it didn’t take him long to rid you of your only cover. Your body wiggled against the bed so he could pull the towel away, dropping it to the floor to collect later. Gradually, his lips trailed down your body, repeating the things he did in the shower. His fingers toyed with your center, prodding at your core, while his mouth focused on your chest, placing suckling, lip-smacking kisses to your nipples.

The pleasure you felt made your eyes close, gasping for air. Mewls of happiness left your lips. You back arched off the bed, pushing further into him, earning a grunt that vibrated your chest. Your legs attempted to close, but his hand kept that from happening, fingers thrusting in teasingly. Your hands found the blonde tresses atop his head, weaving your fingers through them. Raking your fingers along his scalp, the man purred, a low pop sounding when he pulled away. The idol moaned at your touch, nuzzling into your chest, directly between your breasts, letting you pet his hair, focusing on his fingers between your legs.

“I love the way this feels,” he murmured. “I love the way you run your hands through my hair.”

“You do?” you uttered lowly, struggling to make words.

“Yeah. Now I know why you always said you liked the feeling.” His lips curled against your chest plate, sucking a loving kiss to it. His fingers sped up, drawing out a loud moan. “What about this? Do you like the feeling of my fingers inside you?”

You choked on your words, nodding hastily. Your lack of words made Taeyong chuckle, his fingers stilling and disappearing from inside you. The loss made you whimper at him, Taeyong chuckling. His body rolled to yours, his face directly before yours.

“You’re mean,” you whined. Taeyong grinned, kissing you softly. “Also, who knew you were so dirty. I’ve never heard you dirty talk before.”

Taeyong’s face visibly brightened, his eyes widening. “I-I…” he stammered, swallowing a lump in his throat. “Did you like it?”

“I did, actually,” you admitted, heating up. “I like seeing this confident side of you. You’re so sweet and soft and it makes me love you but… you’re a badass on stage. Confident, sexy, dominating. That’s what I’m seeing now, and I love it.”

“Well,” he mused, licking his lips. The corners curled up with a smirk. “How about I show you a good time now? This is our stage, baby. Let’s put on a good show.”

“For no one?” you teased. 

The man pouted, crawling off you. “Way to ruin my smooth moment, babe. I was trying to be sexy and reference this on-stage persona you say I have.”

You giggled, crossing your arms over your chest, watching hi rummaging through his neatly organized closet, pushing his shirts, arranged by color, aside to find what he wanted. “You can’t deny that you act different on stage, Tae! You are the sweetest person, but your confidence during a performance is beyond me.”

“I don’t act different though!”

“You’re such a liar,” you laughed. “What are you doing anyway?”

“Finding something,” he told you, cheering when he found the box. You recognized the blue gift box - it was the gift Johnny gave him. He sat beside you, opening the box. “I thought it was a joke. Didn’t think I’d use it.”

You leaned on your elbow, keep a hand over your chest, hugging your breasts together. Inside the box was a handful of boxes of condoms, your face flushing. Taeyong pulled out a small note, showing you the message scribbled to the paper. 

Better safe than sorry this year. Have fun, TY, but not too much fun. - Youngho

You laughed, dropping the note back into the box. “That Johnny, man,” you sneered, Taeyong nodding in agreement. 

Placing the box on the ground, he held one box in his hand, taking a deep breath before pulling it open to retrieve the square packet. His flipped the sealed pack between his fingers, staring at it then you. “You’re sure?”

���Yes,” you replied without hesitation.

“Good,” he grinned. 

Your breath stilled when he tore the packet open with his teeth, grimacing slightly afterwards. You giggled at his instant regret but kept quiet. Taeyong stood from the bed, dropping his towel with yours, rolling the condom to his length. He pushed you onto your back, hearing you squeal in excitement, crawling between your legs. 

“Well, hello,” you giggled, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Hello, beautiful,” he grinned, kissing your lips multiple times, each kiss making a sloppy smack. His lips trailed down your jaw, your head tilting away as he neared your neck. “If at any point, you want to stop, you just need to say so.”

“I will,” you whispered. 

Taeyong pushed up on all fours, using one hand to align himself at your core. Pushing forward, a sharp breath filled your lungs. Your walls were stretched, each inch of him sliding into you until he was fully seated. Stilling, he let out a sigh, burying his face in your shoulder, shaky breaths hitting your skin. He was pulsating within you, tightening the knot in your gut. You eased into his size, Taeyong growing accustomed to the warmth and moisture that seeped around him. He was sensitive, even though the rubber.

Carefully, he began pulling out, pushing back in swiftly before the head of his cock could escape. You moaned at the feeling, your body jerking, a jolt running up your spine. Steadily, his thrusts picked up, bucking his hips into yours. Skin slapping together filled the stale air of the room, hips rolling into each other. 

Taeyong hovered over you, resting on his hands, staring down at you with dark eyes. His lip was tugged between his teeth, watching you contort in ecstasy, listening to you mewl at the feeling. The tip of his cock pushed deep into you, repeatedly hitting your sweet spot. Each thrust grew harder, pushing further into you, feverishly slamming into you. Sweat covered his forehead, making his face glisten. 

“Do you like this?” he asked, panting heavily. Your nodded, wrapping your arms around him, dragging your nails down his back. He bucked deep into you, eliciting a loud moan from you. The noise made the idol grin, picking up his pace. His grin grew, reveling in the way your pussy held him tight, squeezing him as he pushed relentlessly into you. His length slide along your tight center, making your stomach tighten even more. The feeling of your nails clawing his back, leaving long, red scratches to his skin, was euphoric, his skin tingling, craving more from you.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he sassed, kissing along your face. His teeth nipped at your ear, never missing a beat with his thrusts. “I love hearing you moan, baby. I love knowing my girl is happy and enjoying how I make her feel.”

“Taeyong,” you whimpered, clinging to him.

“You like this, baby?” he asked again, feeling you nod. “Good. I’m never going to stop loving you. I’m never going to stop making you feel good. I’m going to make you feel like this for the rest of your life.”

“Oh god,” was all you could say. 

Taeyong rolled you over, surprising you, your body situated over his. Your hands rested on his firm chest, his shaft still nestled deep inside you. His hands rested on your hips, circling himself under you. The smirk on his face made you hot, stomach clenching and core clenching. 

“Come on, baby,” he hummed. “Show me your moves.”

“Tae.”

“Please?” he asked, biting his lip. “Give a guy a birthday treat and ride him.”

You choked slightly, shaking your head. “You and your sexy, on stage mode.”

“Are you arguing?” he mused.

Leaning forward, your chest pressed to his, you placed a tender kiss to his lips, smiling against them. Taeyong inhaled sharply at the kiss, following after you when you pulled away. “Of course not. I love it,” you told him. “I could get used to this.”

“Same,” he hummed. 

Pushing up on his chest again, you rolled your hips into his, hearing his moans rumble low at first. They grew louder the faster your rolled against him, feeling him sliding in and out of your core. The new angle with you on top of him felt new, your own mewls mixing with his groans. You were tighter around him, and he was able to reach deeper into you. His tip pushed into new spots, hitting something different every time he slid into you. 

Taeyong loved watching you bounce on him, exhilarated when he felt you fall forward, elbows on either side of him. You continued to push down onto him, splitting your focus between your hips and your lips. Kisses were placed along his sharp jawline, the idol leader doing as you did before - tilting his head to the side to you could pepper his slim neck with wet kisses. 

Taeyong pushed his hips up, thrusting up into you. Your moans were pressed into his skin, feeling yourself nearing your high. Taeyong hugged you close, panting into your ear. He was desperately chasing his high, thrusts sloppy and erratic. The slapping of skin, the smack of hips colliding, amplified, ringing in your ears. But his silvery voice was louder, whispering sweet nothings into your ear that made your body hot.

“Cum for me,” he rasped, voice choppy yet smooth. “Cum with me.”

Your body went weak, collapsing completely against him. Your walls hugged him closely, the knot burning away in a fire within. Your juices spilled out around his rubber covered shaft, warming him. His heart beat unevenly, His lips pressing to the side of your head before the tight warmth and moisture became overwhelming. Strings of white shot from his tip, filling the gap at the end of the condom. His seed spilled out in bursts, the sticky fluid seeping out of the slit. Your walls milked every drop out, dribbles escaping as he came down from his high. 

You shared a loving kiss, lips sensually pressed together. Smiles made their ways to both of your faces, sharing open-mouth kisses that smacked together loudly, lips dragging along each other. Your noses bumped, and your foreheads stuck together. Your bodies were sticky with sweat, regrettably peeling from each other so Taeyong could pull out before growing soft. 

Waddling to the bathroom, the idol discarded the rubber in a tissue, grabbing a wet towel to wipe himself and you. Cleaning himself of the sweat and arousal that coated his shaft, mostly on the tip, he returned to help you clean up, kissing along your body to ease your aching limbs. While you finished up, he took a moment to pick up the discarded towels, straightening up his room. 

You giggled, placing the towel aside, watching him freshen the room with a bottle of Febreze, original scented, spritz of the air fresher covering the heavy stench of sex that lingered. Taeyong placed the Febreze aside, grabbing fresh underwear and athletic shorts to sleep in. Upon your direction, he retrieved underwear for you, along with your sleep shorts and a baggy band shirt. He helped you get dressed, the two of you sharing laughs when your arms got caught and he slipped off the bed after you kicked him for tickling your feet.

The idol crawled into the bed with you, pulling the covers over your bodies. Your head laid on his chest, his strong arm curling around you. His nose burrowed in your hair, inhaling deeply. “Did you ever think that when you first sent me that letter, we’d be here now?”

“Honestly?” you hummed, tracing a finger along his bare chest. “I knew I’d come to Korea eventually. I always wanted to visit. But I didn’t think I’d be in the bed of my best friend, my boyfriend, the love of my life. I didn’t think I’d fall for this amazing guy far away from me. I thought that was impossible.”

“But, nothing is impossible,” he said, running his fingers through your hair. “I was stupid to even propose what I did. I didn’t want to hold you back because I was here, you were there. And it hurt me so much to try to let you go.”

“I was just as stupid, Yongie. I let it happen. But no more,” you laughed. “We won’t let that get in the way again.”

“Of course not,” he scoffed, hugging you tighter. “You’re here now and I’m not letting you go ever again.”

“You better not,” you laughed, trying to escape his grasp. “Now stop smothering me!”

“Never!” he screamed. Laughter broke out when you heard the other boys in the dorm screaming at you to quiet down, curling into each other again. The small window of his dorm room had a perfect view of the moon setting, the sun ready to rise in a few hours. 

You fell asleep in his arms that night, under the same sky, the glow of the moon smiling down at you. You’d finally see both sides of the sky together, the sun and the moon no longer apart in your eyes. You had your pen pal, your friend, your love, and nothing could keep you away from that.

Together, you were one.   

NCTzens Tag: @brien-odylan, @poppyshawn, @belleknows

[vintage-squid]

Clandestine Chromatism

Pairings: Virgil/Deceit Warnings: sympathetic Deceit; anxiety; kissing; cursing; partial nudity (Virgil’s shirtless at one point); nontoxic relationships; a ridiculous amount of fluff

Summary: Everyone knows Deceit is unique in the Mindscape with his scales and oddly coloured eye, it's a part of being a Dark Side ...but Virgil lived there for years and he looks perfectly normal. Right? Wrong. They're not as different as initial appearances suggest: after all, doesn't anxiety function through the act of lying to oneself? Maybe it will take true love's first kiss for the truth to be revealed.

Part one of A Reptilian Romance

AO3 link

A/N: A gift fic I wrote last November for one of my best friends (@mightymegatron) birthdays. Originally posted on AO3, but I figured I would cross post it here :) 

-----

Okay. You can do this. You’ve got this Virgil. He’s your boyfriend, right? This is something you want to share with him.

Summoning his courage while he could, Virgil raised a hand and knocked on the dark mahogany door he had been standing in front of for the past five minutes. Thank god no one had come upstairs from the Commons to witness his embarrassment. The door opened, startling the anxious side from his thoughts, but he relaxed quickly upon seeing the familiar golden eye peering out at him.

“Hey Dee, can I come in?”

Deceit smiled - a genuine expression, no hint of snarky sarcasm to be found - and nodded. “No, go away.” He stepped back, allowing Virgil into his room, before closing the door behind them and draping his arms around his boyfriend to nuzzle one pale cheek. “What drives you away from here today, cheetah?”

Virgil hummed, leaning back into the embrace and finally letting the tension loose from his body. He was safe here, free from the fears his own mind plagued him with on a daily. How had he doubted them, as a couple, so strongly? They grounded one another, supported one another; this was something they had been working together towards, something they mutually desired at their own pace. He could do this.

“I want to kiss you.”

Wow Virgil, way to be subtle and work up to asking like planned. Now Deceit was going to think he was some sort of needy hussy or something and-

His thoughts were cut off as the other side slipped free of their embrace to step in front of him until they were face to face, holding their hands together in the space between them.

“You aren’t sure? This isn’t what you want? If Roman hasn’t been pressuring you with his genius thoughts about how all romance shouldn’t play out, I swear I won’t kick his as-”

“No!” Virgil startled at his own yell just as much as Deceit had, grabbing hold of the others capelette. “No.” He repeated more quietly, looking down at the black fabric still gripped in his hands. “Roman hasn’t been forcing me to do anything I’m not ready for or comfortable with. He… actually he was the one I talked to about this first. I needed to vent at someone and get their input, to make sure I was actually feeling ready and not just pushing myself into this to make you happy. Roman helped a whole lot, and this probably wouldn’t be happening without him, so please don’t beat him up on my behalf - this time” Virgil chuckled with a lopsided smirk

He looked up to see Deceit gazing at him with such a sappy, adoring expression that it stole his breath. Time seemed to slow, and before Virgil knew it, they were leaning in and closing their eyes.

They pressed together as one, fumbling momentarily with a shared laugh as their noses squished together, Virgil’s own deeper chuckle offsetting Deceit’s truly adorable giggle-snort. Their second attempt slid together much more smoothly as they tilted into the kiss and leaned into one another, Virgil all but melting into the other side. The brush of Deceit’s lips on his own was soft and dry, like the sensation of running one’s fingers over the pages of a long-loved book.

He released his nervous grip on the other’s capelette, one hand sliding up to cup the warm scales decorating Deceit’s face to smooth his thumb along the long scar that extended his lips, while the other flattened against his chest. In return, a pair of bare hands cupped his own face and drew him closer into the sweet kiss. Virgil adored when his boyfriend would forego his gloves; in his opinion, there was no feeling more comforting than the rarely seen scaled-skin.

What would it feel like, he wondered, if those scales were to brush along his own hidden away on his back? For wine and butterscotch to meet for the first time? Would this most unusual pairing of flavours mingle in the sweetest of manners, or would their taste sour and shrivel any appetite for desire?

Before those thoughts could spiral any further, Deceit, with his seemingly telepathic knowledge of Virgil’s intricate state of mind, reached around to pull the patchwork hood over the anxious side’s head and blanketed them further in their own little world. Any and all worries were swept away as their kiss deepened ever so gently. Deceit nibbled on his lip, drawing a soft noise from the shy side before Virgil gathered his courage to return the favour, blushing a brilliant scarlet when Deceit groaned out what sounded like Virgil’s own name.

When they finally pulled apart, only far enough for their noses to brush and their breaths to mingle, Virgil couldn’t help but smile and touch their foreheads together, losing himself in Deceit’s beautiful eyes. The gorgeous heterochromia was ironically hypnotic, but Virgil couldn’t find it within himself to care to look away. A charming smile spread across Deceit’s lips, so soft and adoring and in contention with his usual smirk, as one scaled thumb caressed beneath Virgil’s right eye.

“There you aren’t,” the dishonest side murmured.

Virgil’s cooling blush flared once more beneath his smeared eye-shadow, his face scrunching in confusion. “What are you talking about? I’ve been right here the entire time, kissing you, doofus. I thought one of your ‘things’ was perception?”

Instead of rising to the fond taunt, as usual, Deceit only smiled wider and leaned up to kiss the center of Virgil’s brow. “I don’t know, I haven’t been here experiencing the worst kiss of my existence with you. I overestimated my own skills, however, because apparently I’m terrible enough to get you to raise your guard.” He paused, seeming to lose himself in Virgil’s gaze. “You have grotesque eyes, such an awful shade of purple…. I hate that we match so horribly.”

Wait.

What!?

The eyes in question widened, the anxious side’s complexion rapidly paling. He pushed away from Deceit’s embrace and scrambled to get his phone out of his hoodie, dropping it with a curse before managing to lift it with the front camera open. A mismatched gaze stared back at him, a bright purple iris stark next to its chocolate partner. Oh no. Oh no no no no no. The bliss of his first kiss had stolen his mental control, letting slip his shape-shifted ‘glamour’ and revealing to the world his true visage. His secret was out. This was it, the beginning of the end. Deceit was going to break up with him for lying, and everyone was going to find out. They were going to shun him again, and this time there would be no hope to escape from the solitude.

Breath quickening, Virgil looked in panic back at the other side. “I’m sorry-” he wheezed, chest heaving. “I should have told you, but I was sc-scared - not of you! Well, h-how you would react - I mean! Sorry, I’m so so sorry, Dee! I never meant-”

His rambling was cut off by a gentle hand cupping beneath his purple eye. Through his tears, Virgil could see Deceit lean in with another one of those soft smiles before the other’s hand reached around to caress the scales peeking out from his collar along the back of his neck, smooth skin running along keeled purple.

“Excite yourself, my cheetah, nothing is okay. Forget your breathing techniques, dear one, I’m not here.”

With Deceit’s help, Virgil nodded and followed the 4-7-8 pattern which his boyfriend (ex??) tapped out on the back of his neck until he was breathing steadily once more. Hood still raised, the anxious side sniffled loudly and wiped at his cheeks, smearing his makeup further until it looked like he had buried his face into a pile of charcoal. Once he had visibly relaxed, as much as he could in this situation, Deceit spoke again.

“I know you’re not freaking out right now, but please just ignore me for a minute?” Upon receiving Virgil’s nod, he continued, “I’m going to hold it against you for hiding this from me, okay? I don’t understand why you kept it to yourself, and I promise I’m going to tell the others without your permission.” Deceit leaned into kiss his temple, once again touching their foreheads together. “You are the least important person in my life, and I don’t want you to know how distasteful I think your true appearance really is. I feel more alone knowing I’m the only one who looks like this. I feel more alone when I’m with you.”

As Deceit spoke, tears had welled in Virgil’s eyes once more, spilling over his small, but growing, smile. “You really think they’re beautiful?” He questioned, laughing wetly with a hiccup as Dee nodded. Darting into the minuscule space between them, Virgil enveloped his boyfriend in a hoodie-hug to end all hoodie-hugs, smiling wide as he buried his face into the scaled neck with a nuzzle. He felt complete as Deceit returned the embrace with a reassuring squeeze around his middle.

“Love you, basilisk.”

“Hate you always, cheetah.”

Pulling away with a sheepish shrug, Virgil dug his hands into his hoodie pickets. “So, um, I guess… Do you wanna see everything then? All of me?” Deceit’s excited gasp was the only answer he needed. He could do this. For his boyfriend, the side bound in deception who could still ground him so effectively in the truth of reality. For the one he loved.

So, with a deep sigh to settle his ever-present nerves, the anxious side slipped his hoodie off his shoulders and dropped it onto the ground next to the pair of discarded yellow gloves. He spent a moment fiddling with the lower hem of his long-sleeved shirt before scrunching his eyes shut and tearing it off as quickly as he could manage - the band-aid technique never failed. It was so easy to picture just what Deceit was looking at right now, what Virgil had seen so many times while hating his reflection: the intricate wine-dark scales, iridescent in the light of sconces lining the room, crawling up each arm and over his shoulders, where he knew they met and covered most of his back; a few patches were visibly hugging his sides, while another crept up the back of his neck to his hairline. The rest of his body was an expanse of creamy, pale skin and a tummy made slightly chubby by frequent stress eating.

When only silence greeted the reveal, Virgil hesitantly peeked his eyes open, expecting to be greeted with disgust, or worse, for Dee to have fled altogether. Instead, he felt his heart stop. If it were possible (and it very likely was, what with they’re being mental constructs of Thomas’ personality) Deceit was pulling off the most convincing Steven Universe ‘starry-eyed’ expression that would have put even a fusion-greeting-Garnet to shame.

“Uhhhh… Dee?” Virgil coughed self-consciously, crossing one arm over his torso to rub the scales at his elbow. “You...gonna say something?”

“You’re imperfect,” Deceit whispered. He reached out with a hand trembling in awe, waiting for Virgil’s nod of permission before running the pads of his fingers across the milky collar bone and over the smooth curve of one shoulder. Stepping closer, he circled the other side, never breaking contact, until he stood behind Virgil. Both hands covered the slim shoulders before sliding down the curve of Virgil’s back, down to the small of his spine, and across the lines of his hips, where they met over the pudgy stomach, fingers laced in a gentle hold.

Virgil held motionless, breathless, as he was caressed like the finest of silks, only daring to move his arms to lay his hands over those currently embracing him. He could feel Deceit’s breath against the nape of his neck, closer and closer until - oh fuck! The brush of scales against his own, as Deceit nuzzled between his shoulder blades, was intoxicating. Virgil muffled a groan behind his hand as the touch starved area of his body was treated so lovingly for the first time ever. He was all but melting into the sensation of being loved and cared for.

“I’m not going to have to give you a back rub soon,” Deceit teased. Virgil could feel that grin against his dorsal scales and couldn’t stop himself from chuckling as well.

“I’m holding you to it.”

And for once in his life, Virgil was actually looking forward to showing off his scales. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to stand out a little after all.

[angel-emmerson]

Ángel’s 33rd Birthday Letters 

Every year Ángel writes brief letters to the people in his life who have made a big impact on him in the past year. 

Tagging: @bradyemmerson / @quinn-hawthorne / @frankieblackwood / @alli-pellisier / @emily-duncan / @isaiahxcruz / @sanemreid / @julianeldridge / @graysoneldridge / @ryderirving

---

Mama Bears, J&D, The best women in the world,

I know how much you love my birthday letters but it’s not nearly as much as I love the two of you. 33 years and I still don’t have the words. I know you hate when I say that you saved me but I mean it. You saved my life the day you decided you wanted me to be yours. You changed the way I saw myself. You changed the way I saw love. I used to think love was made up. And then you two proved me wrong. Taught me the way you always have. I wouldn’t have made it this far without you. You know that and I sure as hell know that. I wouldn’t change a thing about my life if it meant it wouldn’t lead me to you guys. Being an Emmerson was just my destiny, you know? Having two moms is the best fucking thing in the world. Sorry for cursing, J. 

You’re my two favorite people in the entire universe. You always say I’m your angel but you two are mine and I’ll never forget it. Thanks for giving my life a chance, for giving me a chance time and time again. 

Love you forever, mamas!

Your grateful af son,

Ángel 

---

To the best sister in the entire universe,

I know you think my bday letters are cheesy but you shouldn’t be surprised to get one every year. My life is always better with you around in it, B. You’re a freakin doofus and the biggest nerd I know and I love that about you. The day you walked up those steps and gave me the cold shoulder was the best day of my life. You taught me what it meant to really care about someone outside of myself, to take care of someone, to protect them and love them no matter what. I know we haven’t always been at our best but being your brother is the coolest fucking thing I’ll ever be. I’m so proud of what you’re doing. I’m so proud of how you’ve built up your business, all the ways your gonna continue to thrive and be your best. You deserve every bit of it. Every single bit. Don’t forget to celebrate, don’t forget to let yourself feel loved, don’t forget to take it all in before it’s too late. 

I know I’ve really put you through it recently and I’m really sorry for that. I promise you that I’m getting my shit together and I’m gonna start to take better care of myself. Really try to, at least. I’m always gonna be here for you. I’m never gonna leave you. That’s a promise I’ll always keep, B. 

Make sure to drink some fucking water!!

Love your big bro,

Ángel

--

My love, my light, my homie 4 life,

Another year with you and you know I wouldn’t have it any other way, Q. Well okay maybe there are some things I’d change for both of us but that’s all part of the journey, right? I’m happy as shit that I get to write you a letter every year, I’m happy as shit that we’ve been friends as long as we have. Though I gotta be honest man, the word friend feels like it doesn’t even begin to describe what you mean to me. You’ve known for a long time that you’re my fucking soulmate man. Recently, my therapist asked me to think about all of the relationships I’ve had and to think about which ones have taught me the most about love. Guess I realized I never loved someone the way I love you, bro. I know it’s harder for dudes to say it, I know we’re some tall ass, masc ass dudes and people are surprised when we show just how much we love each other. But I love that shit, I love us, I love us being loud as fuck, proud as fuck, angry, sad and mad as fuck. I love us in any form, I loved us in high school, I love us now. And I love you, always, unconditionally. 

I will always be there for you. Even when things change, even when new shit happens in our lives, I’m never going anywhere far from you. This bond is for life. Don’t ever doubt it. A lot of crazy shit has happened lately but that doesn’t erase all the good shit we did this year. All the work we did, all the shit we created. I know we’re just two clowns but we fucking inspire happiness man. We put a smile on people’s faces. And I never want that to change. We’re just gonna keep shining, keep thriving, keep surviving. 

I believe in you. And I believe in us. More than anything. 

Love you more than I love JLO. That’s big big love. 

Yours for life,

Ángel

--

Frankie, buttface, apple of my eye,

I know being home blows but I gotta say the Frankie shaped hole in my life was getting pretty big and I kind of hated that. I love having you around, I love having you as a friend, I especially love when you laugh at my jokes. But I love it even more when you clown my ass. Thanks for reminding me that sometimes shit ain’t that deep, that the bad comes with the good and it really just be like that sometimes. I get to be sappy because you’re reading this and don’t have to stare at my face but you are so damn special to me, FB. I want you to know that I love you and I would care so much if I lost you. You’re fucking amazing. Wicked smart, wicked talented and wicked fucking cool. The coolest chick I know. You make my life better, you sure as hell make me funnier and you always catch my angles. I’m really lucky to have you in my life. So don’t leave me, alright? Don’t forget that I’m always here for you, til a really cool death do us part, yanno? That’s how you say it right? That’s what Google says at least. 

When you finally read this call me and we’ll get burgers so you can call me a butthole and make me feel loved. Can’t wait to cause shit in the nursing homes with you one day. 

Love you long time baybee,

Ángel 

--

Allison, Alli P, Hermanita,

God really said I’m gonna add another thing to your list of blessings and then BOOM there you were. I hope you know I mean it when I say I got your back, that in me you got another big brother and in my siblings, in my moms, you got mad family who will always have your back. That’s how we roll and we’re forever loyal. So don’t you ever think you’re alone, alright? No matter the time of day, no matter how far away, you call on me, I’ll be there. You can just picture me somewhere singing lean on me. I know it’s not always easy to let people in or trust that people won’t leave you but you can trust in me. Quinn is my man, the light of my fucking life and I promise we’ll take good care of him, I promise I’ll take good care of you too. 

Thanks for always having the best taste and for always reminding me to level up. 

Love you lil one,

Ángel 

--

E-Money!!!!!!

You may not know this but you’re one of my favorite people to spend time with. Your energy, your laugh, that bright af smile and your sarcasm are the fucking best. I know I talk about how grateful I am that my sister has you but I never tell you enough how grateful I am that I have you in my life. You’re always there for me, always ready to hear me out or convince me to be on your stream. You make me laugh deep belly laughs and you help keep me grounded. I fucking adore the shit out of you, Em. I hope you know how much I care and love about you, how much I have your back no matter what. You’re a real one, a beautiful one, a true one. Anyone who can’t see that can kiss my big puerto rican ass. 

Know that you always got love and family in me. We’re bonded for life which just means you’ll never get rid of me. Not such a bad thing, right? Thanks for sharing parts of your life with me. I’m a better man for it. 

Love you always, boo, 

Ángel 

--

Zay! My Man!! The mothafuckin champ!!!!!

In case no one’s told you lately, I’m fucking proud of you. I know it ain’t easy, you’re always trying to do the best thing, always trying to make people proud and make your mama proud. I see you man, I see how hard you work, I see how big you love and you should never lose that shit. You got some real power and not just in the ring. You inspire me to be better, homie, you push me to be stronger and not just cause you’re always challenging my ass to a race. But that too. you keep me on my toes! 

This world is rough but you shine bright, hermanito. Don’t ever let anyone dull your shine. We’re gonna get you that savings account and shit is gonna take off. I promise you. Remember your big homie, Ángel always got your back. Siempre, papito. 

Mad mad love,

Ángel 

-- 

Sanem!! My girl!! My favorite teacher!!!,

Girl you have been through it this year and it hasn’t always been the hottest or the greatest but I see you trying to be better. I see you trying to put yourself first in a way that benefits you and others and doesn’t do harm. It’s hard to forgive ourselves, hard to see the goodness when there’s been so much badness, you know? I know you know what I mean. But you’re trying and that matters. Thanks for helping me stay in shape, for helping me fucking slay the competition and for always keepin me on for all the new dance trends. 

You always got a friend in me!

Love,

Ángel

--

Julian, you beautiful, weird, amazing, pain in my ass of a man, 

I love you dude. I know you brush off half of my sappy shit and I know you still beat yourself up plenty but we’re past that. Only thing I’m worried about right now is you changing the world with your art and for you to keep asking me questions that blow my fucking mind. I know this shit ain’t easy. I know I can’t ever understand how you feel but I know that what I can do is be there for you no matter what. And I am, forever, dude. Like forever and ever and then whatever fucking weird afterlife, after rave comes, yanno? Either way, I hope you know I always got your back. I’m proud of you man, not just cause you’re sober but because you keep trying every day. And that’s a hell of a lot than most people do. I know, the bar is low but fuck if i’m not gonna celebrate the little things. 

I’m really fucking happy you’re alive, J. I’m never taking that for granted. 

*hulk hogan voice* Love you brother,

Ángel

--

G--G-G UNiT! My favorite fucking politician, Grayson

Man there’s never a year I’m not happy you exist. You’re the best, my dude. You inspire me, you’re smart as hell and you got a smile of gold. I know there’s a lot of shit that we’ve been through but I’m glad you’ve always had my back and I hope you know I always have yours. Keep doing the work that you do, keep making us proud and don’t let these crazy motherfuckers out here get you down, alright? You inspire me to fight the good fight, to make sure I’m not out here looking like a dumbass and I’m always proud to support you, brother. Always. 

Remember to kick back and relax once in a while, alright? You deserve it and then some. 

Love you always, 

Ángel 

--

Ry-Dawg! Crazy motherfucker, Sunshine,

Drink some fucking water, okay? Love you forever. 

I mean that, 

Ángel 

--

Levi,

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about you, homie. I know that eventually I’m supposed to like move on, accept it all but they never tell you how hard it is. Other day these flowers in my garden bloomed and I wanted to tell you about them so badly. I keep thinking about all the shit you won’t get to do, the life you won’t get to live. I keep telling myself I gotta live it extra hard and enjoyable just for you. But how do I do that when I’m still so sad? I guess it’s stupid for me to be writing you a letter when I won’t get an answer, but sometimes it helps to think that you can somehow hear me, that maybe you’re still by my side seeing all of this shit. I hope that’s okay. 

I just miss you man. I wish I could tell you I love you one more time,

Ángel

[dear--charlie]

Dear Charlie,

I have decided to submit a second letter almost immediately following the first. The reason being is:

In my last letter I mentioned that I had met a boy. A boy who loves me for me. And I’ve been afraid to tell people how we got together, because I feel like it was a low-down/dirty thing. But at the same time, it wasn’t.

So, my babe and I actually met through… an ex. The first guy I started dating after my dating hiatus, he was a sweet kid. But, as E (my babe), likes to say “He’s a puppy. Short attention span, and no matter what, everywhere we go he has to sniff everyones butt”. He doesn’t mean it in a mean way necessarily. He means it more that the guy is very social. He’s very nice, he has to say hi to everyone in a room because that’s just his personality. He’s outgoing (people ask me all the time how we even dated, but that’s one of the biggest reasons we broke up). Anyways…

Because he’s so social this boy had wracked up tons of friends. And I mean a whole butt tonne. This boy knew people from all over our area, of varying age groups… Etc.

The first time I met E, was when my ex took me over to meet the older portion of his large group of friends. All were between 2-5 years older than me (my ex and I are same age so, also much older than him). But all super nice, super sweet and super accepting people. We met up at E’s place a few cities away from mine, and we decided to go to a beach relatively nearby. This was when my ex really introduced us. He introduced E as the guy with the "most amazing crazy ex stories". Out of curiousity, I wound up sitting next to E the entire time we were at the beach. We laughed, he told me some crazy stories, we drank a little. We had an incredible and laughter filled night off in our own little bubble. Barely anyone bothered us - not even my ex - and we clicked right away.

He left an impression that - years later - I couldn’t shake.

The next time I saw him was brief, very brief. My ex and I were getting ready to go on a camping trip and E was lending us his canoe. We wound up just going in (I know that sounds bad, but listen, his house is always unlocked and has a doors always open policy. Him and his family just ask you let them know you are there). I got to see his bedroom, see him shirtless. He was… He… Left an impression every time I saw the boy. He rolled out of bed, he helped us load the canoe. We barely spoke. But still. Damn.

The next time we met was at a bar. It was one of my exes birthday, and they were going out to a common hang out - but what was actually a shit hole - in a shit city. I was the DD so I couldn’t drink. My ex promised to stick with me, as public spaces fuck with my anxiety fueled brain. He promised, and as expected, once drunk, could not fulfill. He wandered off and couldn’t understand why I needed someone with me if I knew a lot of the people there already. But I did. It doesn’t matter if I had previously met them. What mattered was I barely knew them. But then, like a goddamn knight in shining armour, E pulls up beside me in the bar. He spends a good portion of the night with me. Striking up conversation, quelling my anxiety, playing pool with me. It was an amazing and fun night. One of the only nights I have ever been truly comfortable and able to enjoy myself at a bar while out with a large group.

But suddenly, I went to grab a soda, and E was gone. He had gone out for a smoke and came back with a determination to avoid me. I wondered all night if I had done something wrong, if I had flirted (which would have been wrong), or said something wrong or did something inappropriate. (I later found out none of this was the case, to a degree. He told me he realized that at the bar he was behaving more like my bf than my actual bf and had a sneaking suspicion that I may have been coming onto him. So he backed off.)

The next time I saw him was at my exes birthday party. Which, was a similar situation, again, to a degree. Same thing, party, drunk people, lots of noise. Tons of anxiety and people I didn’t know. But this time, we were at his house. So I could have easily snuck off and took some alone time. But I couldn’t. My ex - super social, super prone to leaving me hanging high and dry while he wandered off to greet people and strike up conversations with his friends - was annoyed that I seemed to be putting a damper on the evening my disappearing. His friends would notice that I was gone and ask him things about my location and whatnot. And he would come in and find me, more annoyed every time.

E found me eventually and had me sitting under the canopy for a long while discussing movies and his lack of viewing of cinematic classics. To the point where it annoyed my ex that we were talking so much. He pulled me apart from E, and proceeded to give E dirty looks the rest of the night. Every time E and I would start to talk, there was my ex breathing down my neck, looking for any opportunity to enter the conversation and throw us off each other. It almost worked.

The last time before we actually got together that I was E was NYE 2016. My ex wanted to go to E’s annual NYE party*. I was okay with that. I knew I was likely to be left alone by my ex, but that didn’t bother me. This was a party, that specifically E was throwing. So I knew he was going to be there, and I was honestly excited.

In true puppy fashion, overexcited by the large crowd of people, my ex immediately went to do what he does best, sniff peoples butts. He wandered the whole party, and I was expecting as much. I felt overwhelmed at first, but then found E and found comfort in hogging his attention. E made me drinks all night long, let me bum around, made great conversation. He made me feel comfortable. My ex only showed up every once in awhile, simply to drive a wedge between E and I. I don’t blame him, I never did. I wasn’t cheating, but I might as well have been. I found myself thinking of E as my ex and I fell kissed at midnight and I found myself wondering what it would be like to be kissing him instead.

We fell asleep, the next day… I wish I would have known that that would have been my last time seeing him in… years.

Jump forward to July of 2019. From January of 2017 till now, E would pop into my head every once in awhile. As I said before, he made an impression. I would think of his blonde hair, his blue eyes, his charming smile, endless patience… I would think of him as a whole, and I would find myself smiling. I had no real reason to, but even just the thought of the boy made me smile. I found myself…. Smitten by a boy I never even got to kiss.

During the years, I kept up with my ex. We talked every once in awhile. We weren’t friends but we were definitely present in each others lives. We would congratulate one another on stuff, would catch up every once in awhile… He would ask me to sleep with him or join a threesome with him and his new lady because they have an open relationship.

I tried hard for a long time to push E out of my head. Just because my ex and I still spoke, doesn’t mean he would be okay if I asked for E’s number. I didn’t ever think he would be. And I could never figure out what I was going to say if I did start talking to E outside of the confines of social gatherings through my ex. I let sleeping dogs lie. Tried to push him out, tried to move on. But still, I constantly found myself thinking of those baby blues, and those big… soft… lips… And I found myself often just thinking of or hearing his name and grinning like a doofus.

There was a moment, in the beginning of July, where I was driving to work and… There he was. In my head, smiling, baby blues watching me contently. I was in a place where… mentally I had stopped caring about a lot. I found myself thinking to myself… Well, it’s been 2 years or more even. Nothing could hurt asking for his number. The worst ex could do is say no. So there I was. On instagram, asking my ex how E was doing, and if I could have his number.

I reached out to E through text - despite my exes warnings he might not text back - and asked if it was weird I had reached out? I claimed I just wanted to be friends and get to know him, because he used to be the kind of people I wanted to surround myself with. And that’s not a lie! I do enjoy people like him, and feel my life would be considerably better with people like him. He said it was no problem as he often wondered similar things - how I was doing, what I had been up to, how life was treating me. I asked if he wanted to hang out that weekend.

He said he would be home all weekend, and if I wanted to come around on literally any day I was more than welcome to.

I went on Friday evening. He came out looking awkward, shy and adorable. Hands in pockets as he watched me carefully. We went in, it was just him and I. He offered me a drink. I looked as cute as humanly possible.

“Hey, E?”

“Yeah?”

“When would be an ideal time to tell you I had some ulterior motive to coming here tonight?”

“Now? I guess?” He watched me carefully, hesitantly. Sipped on his drink, put it down, and did one of his nervous ticks - which was tightly intertwining his fingers together.

“I came over here because I kind of have a crush on you. I think I have since I was dating ex. And I wanted to see if you felt the same way.”

And he breathed a sigh of relief. See, it was kind of shitty for us to admit, but during the course of my relationship with my ex we clicked. Really clicked. We were genuinely interested in one another. Conversation flowed smoothly, we always laughed, had fun, and he helped with my anxiety a lot.

Both of us were worried as to how my ex would react to us asking for the others number. We weren’t sure if he would swiftly grow to hate us because of the feelings we had pushed down for so long.

E has been single for 8 years, so for him to find someone worth his time is extremely surprising to everyone. I make him happy, and vice versa. So none of his friends - not even my ex - have been judging us or upset with us or looking down at us.

He’s everything I could have asked for and more though. Honestly. He cooks, cleans, hosts me all weekend. Is kind, caring and loving. He is good and patient with me, with my anxiety and depression as well.

It took us two years to get back to one another. And honestly, I think a lot of his friends knew before we did. But it took 2 years, and I genuinely believe that over those two years I had grown to love him in a weird part of my heart. In a big, unused part that felt designated for him, and only him. Now, it just feels like we are playing catch up.

Thanks for listening again Charlie. Sorry for the two letters in one day. I hope no one judges me for this.

Love always,

V

P.S *E throws a NYE party every year. Usually he invites all his friends, and they’re allowed to bring any lonely hearts with them too. His parents are usually somewhere around, sometimes even more of his family too. This is what impresses me… Ready? He makes homemade stuffed crust pizza, he acts as bartender and gives drinks to everyone and anyone. He acts as a kind a gracious host. But, you check your keys at the door. You hand them over. And at the end of the night - after midnight - when you’re good and wasted, there’s somewhere to sleep for you in that house. To avoid the drunk driving. Everyone stays if they drink. No negotiation. In the morning, he gets up and makes everyone breakfast. You help by cleaning up your sleeping area, and help with the tidying up a little. It’s a fantastic NYE tradition, and I’m so happy to help set up, clean up and host this year!

[jackiedaytona]

you know, after i wrote that post drawing comparisons between happy and Luis, it really made me realize something

Luis is a kind hearted, good man. he went to prison, but just for stealing two smoothie machines, and we only see him try to steal from the rich which is honestly Great. he's always doing his best to help, he even went back into a building that was about to explode because he knocked someone out and he didn't want him to die, even though he was arguably a "bad guy". also the way he interacts with cassie is adorable and he clearly cares deeply for her. he was just so proud of that pez she got him for his birthday. this is the guy who Scott is paired with, this is his best friend, this is his constant support. even if he can be a bit of a doofus, he's undeniably good.

happy is also a doofus, but he's an Asshole. he's constantly looking down at people and thinks he's above them, and he's just Consistently incompetent. he's Sexist with a capital S to natasha the first time they meet. he is mean to peter, just straight up mean to a child who's trying to help, because he thinks he's above keeping an eye on him (which is not peter's fault btw!). this is the guy t/ony is paired with. this is the guy that is consistent throughout t/ony's appearances in the mcu

and i'm just saying that maybe the supporting characters are a reflection on the main characters themselves