#hes been coming over to gossip about another coworker doing dumb shit

[slutforwings]

breaking my silence on eyecandy coworker already. sorry. but i swear to god he has been getting flustered around me all week. like genuinely stumbling over his words, BLUSHING??? i ask him like. really normal work things and he goes :D at me. motherfucker out of the two of us, I have a crush on YOU okay. act normal!

[neonponders]

This isn’t what @memes-saved-me had in mind for this post but lol (read their tags, they’re delightful) 

Thinking about a younger Billy and an older Steve today ✨

✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨

Billy scratched at the hair on his nape. He wanted to grow it out; really had always wanted long hair. And now, as he peered at the other sophomores trying to fluff themselves bigger to match the juniors and seniors, he just might.

Long hair was in. Mullets, rock star manes, extensions - even the opposite. Women with buzz cuts and pixie faux hawks. Pleasant little surprises in Hawkins, Indiana, and Billy might finally indulge in that.

Plenty in this town was backwards as all hell. Girls wearing white stockings like it was the fifties. Boys and girls alike clearly letting having learned hair styling from their out-of-date parents. Two girls with beehives sat in his English class.

But it was fine, because there was plenty of present-day styling, and Billy wouldn’t get any shit at home for matching his peers.

Cherry Lane. The most backwards spot in Indiana.

But that’s okay, too, because small town people need occupations. Parties.

A cool senior with teased, black hair walked right up to him and handed him a neon orange sheet of paper. He saw others holding similar invitations all day. 

Party on Friday night. Address, dress code, and everything.

Caught him by surprise, that a dress code would be needed for one of these things, but the invitation just said ~casual attire~ and someone in his Advanced Biology class told him that Tina hosts the best shin digs, often with costume themes.

So he went. The late summer evening was still humid as all hell, making the party split between the massive house and the matching yard a convenient way to start a weekend.

He’d had alcohol before. Enough to know he preferred tequila drinks over vodka and gin, but the safest way to wake up the next day was to just stick to beer. No matter how bitter or sharply carbonated some of it was made.

Maybe that’s why he heard people hollering about King Steve.

Keg stands weren’t original to Hawkins, but Billy preferred them next to a bonfire on a beach. But people were really yelling for this king to do the damn thing - 

“Steve, why are you even here? You graduated in May,” Tina’s voice cut through the din.

“I live down the street! You really think you’re making this much noise without me noticing? And all of you shut the hell up! I’ll do a keg stand the day one of you dip shits can actually beat my record.”

Another surprise:

Steve Harrington.

Billy’s dumb luck had him three years behind, so he couldn’t look at that face in the hallways. Sit behind that head of glossy, bouncy hair in European History. He still lived in town, apparently. Right down the street. Billy asked around and discovered he worked at the mall and attended the community college -

“Heard you been asking about me.”

Billy stared wide-eyed over his beer. He recovered quickly, but not before Steve bounced on the balls of his feet, smug. That hair was really distracting.

These people really gossip about everything.

“I didn’t think anybody actually went by a title like that.”

“I didn’t put it on my resume, that’s for sure.” Steve’s smirk grew into a smile. Christ, the guy really had that Indiana, home town handsome thing to his face.

That was dangerous. Billy’s gut told him so, the way it bruised like someone had poked it. And wanted to be poked again.

“Let’s do this properly. Steve.” He held his hand out.

It wasn’t queer to accept a handshake. “Billy,” he replied.

“Hargrove?”

“Jesus,” he scoffed involuntarily, releasing Steve’s large hand. His weight shifted over his feet. “Everybody knows everything here.”

“Not everything,” Steve said. His voice sounded...reassuring? But the way his eyes blinked...and a darkness slipped behind his eyes like a curtain. Adults liked to call it maturity. Wisdom beyond years. Billy called it ghosts. Everyone had ghosts behind their eyes. But...he had a hard time imagining what ghosts this pretty senior in suburban America would already have.

Then again, Billy knew better.

Except, as the party progressed and the weekend flowed into a new week, Billy really couldn’t imagine what made Steve slouch a little, and what made his eyes fade out of a conversation. Billy probably should have put more attention into how much he’d begun seeking the guy out.

He worked in the ice cream parlor at the mall. The uniform was equal measures ridiculous and hilarious, but his coworker was cool as hell. Robin. Not Steve’s girlfriend, even though they carpooled to work and community college.

Steve’s house proved just as luxurious as Tina’s, with a pool to boot. A house which supposedly stayed empty more often than it hosted its own family. Steve notoriously didn’t host parties, which....seemed uniquely odd.

Apart from Billy visiting the ice cream shop, it seemed Steve’s only other visitors were high school freshman. Which was weird. That’s weird, right? Then again, Billy was ball and chained to eight hours a day, five days a week to high school. There was plenty of time for Steve to be with friends his own age.

Except he showed up at the next party on Halloween.

Tina’s house boasted a surprising number of Hawkins graduated seniors, forcing the party all the way out onto the street.

Just like before, Steve manifested beside Billy, announcing himself with fingertips brushing his slowly growing, weak little mullet. “Growing that out?”

Steve’s already heavy eyelids were heavier with alcohol. Billy had his customary cup of beer, but his cheeks flushed for a different reason. He had to rub the back of his neck to make the tickle stop.

“Yeah. Maybe it’ll touch my shoulders next year.”

“Have you trimmed it?”

Billy frowned at him. He’d heard some things come out of Steve’s mouth that were endearing in a ‘bless his heart’ kind of way, and this was among them. “No, that defeats the point of making it longer.”

Steve shook his head and waved for him to follow. “Come here. I’ll trim it.”

“You’re not cutting my hair,” Billy scoffed. And followed.

Upstairs.

Billy did his best not to look around the living room; to see any eyes apart from the ones he imagined on his backside. He followed at a leisurely pace. Not eager to be with King Harrington anywhere...

The guy walked right into the closed master bedroom. Billy stood outside of it, stunned at his audacity and the fact that no one was inside it already - 

“You coming?”

Billy’s not a coward -

Actually he is. But he’s an overeager sophomore with a dangerous crush even more.

Steve dug through the master bathroom’s drawers until he found a pair of scissors in their own case. “Sit on the tub.”

By tub, he meant jacuzzi edge. Billy perched. Steve gripped his shoulder to step into the tub with a comb that smelled of foreign hair product and aftershave. Billy’s nose wrinkled. “Wash that first.”

Then he jumped at the tub faucet turning on right beside his ass. Steve laughed. “Chill out. I’m washing it.”

Billy settled with a disgruntled shake of his head. “My hair is curly. You’re not supposed to brush it at all.”

“You’re in the hands of The Hair Harrington, sweetheart. Just relax.”

His shoulders sagged right underneath the weight of sweetheart.

I’m so screwed - 

Of all people to show up in the doorway, Robin from Scoops showed up with an energy that insinuated more sobriety than the guy wielding scissors.

Her mouth hung open like she had come with something to say, but then she sputtered through laughter. “Oh shit. Are you consenting to this?”

Billy rolled his eyes. “If he cuts my ear, I’m beating his ass.”

“I’d appreciate more faith from you, Buckley. I cut your bangs for you.”

Billy chirped, “Really?” admittedly feeling a bit better.

Steve intercepted with the order, “Are you gonna play music or what? I’m so tired of Tina’s music.”

That’s how Billy wound up in a bathroom with college freshmen trimming his ends and styling his hair while Steve and Robin shout-sang to Whitney Houston.

It was great.

Steve curled the top of his hair so he had ringlets falling over his bold brows. Steve, who had his hands all over Billy’s head until he washed the hair down the drain and filled the tub for a bubble bath. Billy scrutinized himself with a handheld mirror until Steve wrapped his arms around him and they tumbled backward into the wet landing.

Tina was hardly pleased to find the three of them making a mess of the jacuzzi, but she sassed a quick thank you for warding off people trying to fuck in her parents’ bed. Billy didn’t have words; only laughter at Robin putting her hair into a wet mohawk and Steve piling bubbles onto his head.

Steve insisted they go back to his house afterward. “It’s November and we’re soaked. Your car will be fine. I can come back and park it in my driveway if you’re that worried.”

That wasn’t the problem.

“It’s fine that your parents are never home, but mine will only recently lifted my curfew for good behavior.”

Somehow, he convinced Steve and Robin to drive him back to his house, at the expense of letting them change at Steve’s first. Billy had his eyes on a beautiful Camaro and was just a few more months of allowance and part time jobs away from having her.

It was his first time in Steve’s house. He had to admit, he preferred Tina’s layout and decor, but he got to wander around. He saw Robin use one of the guest rooms. He saw Steve’s....incredibly boring room. And said as much.

“A prison cell has more personality.”

Steve laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Are you ready to go?”

It wasn’t until Billy lay in his own bed that those words tumbled through his brain. His fingertips moved through his still-styled hair. It felt better with those dead ends gone. Steve did a good job. Steve liked Whitney Houston and Blondie and a little of everything, really. Steve cared about his appearance enough to be a self-taught stylist.

Steve didn’t have a lot of furniture in his room. Clutter on the dresser and desk, sure, but all of it monochrome or neutral colors. Steve who had an old BMW, house, and surely a bank account to match, but didn’t buy anything in excess. Like he wasn’t allowed to, or something. Billy indulged every scent he got on things he wanted, but Steve didn’t.

Steve had a nailed bat in his trunk. Billy heard it rolling around on their way back to his house, and finally bent over to look under the seats and saw it.

Steve was a walking contradiction. A contradiction who smelled good but didn’t say much when Billy and Robin talked about history. Who started giving Billy free ice cream but never asked about Billy’s stepsister. Who gave Billy rides and gave him the hookup to the high-paying neighbors of Loch Nora for mowed lawns and dogs walked.

Steve helped him get his car sooner than he would’ve otherwise but didn’t ask for anything in return.

Steve, who was always available for a good time, but looked sad when left with his thoughts.

Billy didn’t take well to not being the center of attention. He’d grown up with an interrogation lamp over his head, and sought positive interaction everywhere else. He got so much of it from Steve, that the occasions where Steve bumped against him...refused him, or ignored him, or reminded Billy that he was a rinky dink sophomore lit a match in his belly. And he’d swallowed gasoline for too much of his life.

“That’s something a virgin says.”

Billy couldn’t even remember what he’d just said. He was already, instantly, seeing the glow of embers on the fringe of his vision. “Excuse me?”

Steve shrugged as he got up from his couch. “It’s whatever. It’s fine. Just showing your hand, is all.”

Billy couldn’t believe it. Steve was either the biggest idiot in Hawkins - which he knew wasn’t true considering there was a real cesspool that smoked underneath the bleachers - or he was so far in denial that Billy had a whole new reason to be pissed.

An involuntary sound left Steve when Billy came up behind him and pushed him against the wall underneath the stairs.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

Billy wasn’t some cute sophomore. He stood toe to toe with Steve, barely an inch shorter. If this is what it took for Steve to realize that, fine.

To realize that Billy wasn’t some teenager scared shitless of a girls’ bra -

Steve regained his footing, and closed the distance between their mouths. It was small, soft, and brief. Rationality should have made Billy step away. Punch him, maybe. But Billy wasn’t rational. His shock held him statuesque, barely breathing while Steve moved a hand to cradle the side of his head and neck -

A sound left Billy this time, as Steve angled his mouth over Billy’s. Where he learned Billy was scared, so scared of Steve. His body dashed rationality against the wall and kissed him back tentatively, and then earnestly, just trying to keep up until Steve’s other hand framed him in. As Steve pushed against him until Billy walked backwards to have himself pressed against the wall.

He felt drunk as his hands let go of Steve’s shirt to hold onto the curvature of his ribs. He panted while Steve kissed his throat and washed Billy’s senses with his warm, sweet fragrance; his hair brushing Billy’s face and inspiring him to turn his face into Steve’s scalp. Inhale him into his lungs.

Billy didn’t know what game they were playing. But Steve outplayed him.

[felikatze]

s11 half season write up cuz i WILL NOT remember all my thoughts for another 15 eps and this season is divided in two anyway right? fire chapter, was it? anyway

don't tell me a break in tension after the last three seasons wasn't needed. it really was.

I reaaally like how this season started! If you've seen my previous write-ups, you know I like when a season immediatly starts on the action, but this time, i think a slow, low stakes start was perfect.

i enjoyed the silly shenanigans! fighting a chicken, doing odd jobs, all while the ninja are idiots. even once they start heading toward the tomb or fight giant beetles, there's no world-ending threat. they're doing this for shits n giggles. i like that

it reminds me of early s2, and i really love early s2. it's just silly! i like when this show is just silly.

on the low stakes note. I LOVE THE FILLER EPS. the one ep about the paperboys and the one about the news. how'd ninjago know i adore outsider pov stories? and in-universe media? i just really really love getting that outside look from non-main characters, and the effects of the entire series on the common citizen is wonderful. ofc paperboys are cutthroat extreme cyclists. have you seen the mailman? if you deliver ANYTHING in this environment you'll end up like that.

and the news episode is really funny. i want five more seasons of gayle gossip trying not to punch her coworkers actually. it's neat how you, as the viewer, can understand this random side character's frustration at getting shafted because she's a recurring character, and her rival is not. just because you've seen her so often in the thick of things over the seasons, you get it.

on the note of recurring characters. "hey, here's that one kid who broke his legs in s6," is not what i expected but. hey. it works. like at first i didnt get it but then he did the purple ninja thing and i went NINJA OF THE DAY NELSON FROM SKYBOUND?? HI!!! cool. yeah.

those two eps also had amazing gags. i keep thinking about people filming ads during an invasion of flaming snakes.

speaking of snakes. aspheera. she's so cool. i love her design. i love snakes in general. (riu and i have realized we may both adore snakes specifically because of ninjago, but i've always adored reptiles).

also skales shows up for an epsiode again. hi man. ily.

aspheera is FUN i personally didnt take her seriously much but she's got panache or whatever. she's fun to watch on-screen. she tends to the simple motivations side of things like the average ninjago villain, but i like her motivation. from both her behaviour and various stories told about her, we learn she's just kind of selfish and refuses to acknowledge her own wrongdoings, so everyone else must be wrong instead. Simple, but it works!

Her motivation actually contributes to the more low stakes feel of these episodes because she doesnt want world domination or whatever, that's all collateral. She just wants to get back at Wu specifically. mayyybe she wanted world domination in the past though. sure sounds like it.

speaking of wu! actually really liked him and his conflicts here. ever since s7, the show has been incredibly willing to acknowledge the flaws of wu's character and the consequences thereof. Here, it shows that Wu was young and foolish once, too. His deal with aspheera for his own curiosity reminds me of lloyd freeing the serpentine in s1. Like!! They were both just dumb kids!!

It's Inch Resting to have kid garmadon refusing to keep a promise be portrayed as the better option. nice reminder he wasnt always evil ykno.

i reaaaaally like the emphasized element of guilt to wu's character here. it gives the sense that he does this whole "wise mentor" shtick to prevent the ninja from making the same mistakes he did. his mistakes still haunt him! that's why he's so secretive about them!! he feels guilty and doesn't wanna talk about it!! (hits wu over the head) didnt s7 tell you keeping secrets about old enemies who will come back to kill or banish you is bad. teamwork motherfucker.

additionally in episode 15 it really feels like. wu you have some self destructive behaviour going on. he seems to value his own life much less than the ninja, because again, he feels guilt over his mistakes. as such he has no qualms risking it, which recontextualizes his behavior in s7 and makes it way more depressing.

wu is not the character i expected to write analysis on tbh.

for other characters, i already said i appreciate the ninja being idiots but

1) why is this season so mean to jay what the fuck did he do he's trying (i've acknowledged that jay is my favorite now and am no longer in denial

2) having pixal be the one to send wu to the never realm as she has a flashback to aspheera and the shot fades out to pixal dropping the staff and looking at her own hands in disgust. OOF. and then wu tells her the ninja cant come back with the tea and she basically banished them forever just as aspheera did zane. DOUBLE OFF.

pixal my girl. pats her on the head and gives her a hot choco for her nightmares.

iconique of her to have her own voice for text to speech on her tech though. that's kinda funny.

also how she swooped in with the mech and just punted aspheera. very cool. good pixal moments this season overall 1000/10 i always love more pixal

3) kai really got whammied. like MAN. one episode's running joke is kai's unconscious body getting ragdolled around. he has an self worth crisis only mitigated when a little kid almost dies. geez. that scene of kai trying to weld the mech together only to realize his mistake and get a blowtorch. fucking ouch. lloyd had an arc about how to exist without his powers and be more than just the green ninja in s9 but i dont think kai really like. got the same effect. he just stays grumpy about it until presumably getting his powers back after zane ices aspheera.

on that note the final battle against aspheera was do fucking cool. the whole tag-team shtick with everyone getting a turn on the scroll was awesome, what can i say. it looked sick. i would've loved it at 13 and i sure do love it now. my tastes haven't changed at all since then actually. also rip kai again. he had to sit out. man. kai already has mental problems. everyone on this show has so many problems.

like zane. geez zane my man. zane 🤝 wu, believing their lives to be more expendable than others. again him just whooping aspheera was sick but GEEEEZ s3 much. zane my man zane. cmon.

this is gonna be. fun

overall, enjoyed a more low-stakes adventure to calm down from the previous high stakes seasons, this season made me appreciate wu more, lots of silly moments i enjoyed. tis good

[numbaoneflaya]

OOOOGGHHH!!! OMG!!..can I get 🌺,💐,☔, and 🌈!! For Jilly and Vincent!!! Hehe if ur still taking these!!! Thank you!! (人 •͈ᴗ•͈)

OOOGHHHH THANK U belovedd yes u can!! My darling hideous couple :') under cut !

🌺 - Do they send cutesy or grossly sweet/romantic texts to each other?

-Jilly does, both because she means what she says and because she knows it makes vincent blush/squirm. Calls him her ‘Vincey Wincey’ or her cuddlebug, boogabear, pupperman, Studmuffin, etc. sends a bunch of kissy emojis and heart eyes and how she cant wait til hes home so she can give him “a kissaroo for her boo”. He just sends back “enough” “stop” “cut this shit out my coworkers gonna see it” until he has to put her on mute. He himself is only likely to send any emotional over sweet mushy texts if hes been drinking and she's not with him and he's feeling :(. Though those are often long rambling sad voicemails mixed in with him screaming at people to shut the fuck up hes talking to someone on the phone, and then getting back to drunk ranting abt how he misses her and how she needs to get her ass over to him ASAP.

💐 - Is one more protective than the other?

-Vince is definitely the more protective one, though it might be for good reason since Jilly does have a tendency of getting into bad situations, kidnapped, mugged, etc. The way she looks/acts in public like she trusts everyone makes her a target for weirdos (like him) and hes always scared another weirdo is gonna snatch her up when hes not looking. Jilly is protective of him though not in a physical way because like…. Idk, unless someone has a tank its unlikely someones gonna cause him any bodily harm. But she gets protective of him when ppl talk about him rudely or gossip about him bcs she knows his feelings are sensitive and that's her bugaboo :/

☔️ - How do they make up after a fight?

-Its pretty much always Vincent who starts the fight, and hes pretty much always the first to apologize too. Depending on the fight and the severity, he either just bangs on the door of whatever room she's locked herself in, saying “I'm sorry, okay? I was a dick! I know that! Let me in so we can talk, stop being a baby.” and then if she doesnt still let him in he has to make the joke “let me in or ill huff and ill puff, and ill break this fucking door down.” Which she always laughs at, and also always lets him in bcs she knows he will actually break down the fucking door. OR if he's feeling more guilty, he walks up behind her with his most sad puppy dog face with his ears and tail down and crouches down so his head is nuzzled in her stomach and starts apologizing and saying he doesn't deserve her. May start crying, but so will she.

🌈 - What were their first impressions of each other?

-Jillys first impression of him at route 66 was immediately both intimidated by him and VERY attracted to him. Had to stop herself from saying “hubabubba😳” outloud. He had also just stepped in to save her from Farz who was harassing her, so she was like OMG…😳 hes so heroic he saved me… disney movie when.. And then she thanks him and he hits her w the “😏im a fuckin animal, suck my cock, ill fuck you on this pool table rn” and shes :///////////// one hit killed by that interaction. But also shes still blushing and stammering bcs damn :/ its a lil sexy and also he smells like a predator which is scary and sexy… but she quickly makes her retreat bcs that dudes jacked up fr. And then of course he follows her and bashes her head in the wall and the rest is history <3

Vincents first impression of her is “yo why tf this bitch smell like animal :/” and then “wait is she wearing a fucking fannypack. Is she really dumb enough to come in this shithole alone at night. In a fucking fannypack. LMAO”. Thinks she's really cute but also dumb as hell and an easy victim. But then she's all polite and cute blushing and thanking him and hes like aww :) and then hits her with what I guess he thought was him shooting his shot. But mostly he was just having fun scaring her and making her uncomfortable because she smells like prey and hes into it. And then of course she leaves and hes like :3c teehee! *follows her out and decides to fuck her whole life up*

[broadstbroskis]

four times your best friend ruined a date + one time he didn’t | mat barzal

a/n: once again, not the fic i set out to write this weekend, but here we have arrived! enjoy💜

the first

Look, no one has ever told you that you have a problem making your voice heard. You’re pretty chatty. Your voice carried. In fact, usually, people were asking you to stop talking, to lower your voice. 

Not on this date. Max from Tinder had let you say two things in the amount of time since you sat down at the table outside one of your favorite Mexican restaurants in Brooklyn: hello and your food order.

Your meal is good, as always, and the margs can’t come fast enough to drown out Max across from you. Each time you’ve tried to respond to something he’s said, he just talks louder. You’ve given up on this one. You’ll get a good meal out of this and never talk to this asshole again.

But then, you spot a familiar head of hair walking toward you on the sidewalk and you’re shouting out before you can help yourself. Like you can’t keep words in any longer and if Max from Tinder isn’t going to let you use them, you’ll just throw them out anywhere you can. “Mat!”

You almost laugh at your best friend, a 6’0 giant who often looked even larger, as he does a double take, but he is able to track down the sound. He grins when he realizes it’s you and he’s quickly by your side, wrapping his arm around you as you lean your head against his hip, the body part closest to him, and beam up at him. “What’s up?”

You nod over at Max from Tinder, whose face has soured, as he looks at Mat. “Just out.”

“We’re actually kinda in a thing right now.” Max from Tinder says to him, rather rudely, if you had to say. “So if you don’t mind,” He trails off, very pointedly, looking over at the sidewalk.

Your jaw actually drops at that, but Mat just grins and jumps the railing between the restaurant and the street. “I don’t mind at all, actually! I haven’t seen YN all week.” He yanks the empty chair over from the table next door and sits. “What’s new, babe?”

You can’t help but laugh at the look on Max from Tinder’s face as you answer Mat. “Nothing much, boo.”

“Seriously?” Max from Tinder asks, furiously, looking absolutely livid as he attempts to stare Mat down, who for his part, looks as calm as can be as he asks you how work’s been, what’s new with your family, what dumb shit your brother has got up to in his frat this week- all the usual things he’d ask you when the two of you were trying to catch up.

The final straw comes when Mat orders a marg of his own. Max from Tinder just stands up from the table and walks out the door. “What a douche.” Mat says, mildly, dipping a chip in one of the salsas on the table. 

“Look who’s talking!” You laugh.

“Sorry, what was that?” Mat feigns not being able to hear you. “A thank you for not making you sit here with him for any longer?”

You laugh again, pushing his favorite salsa closer to him. “Thank you.”

He beams back at you. “Anytime.”

the second

Ashley lets out a low whistle as you step out of her closet, fuck me heels carefully chosen from her collection to match the little black dress pulled from your own wardrobe. “Damn.” She whistles again and you flashback for a moment to freshman year, when she became your favorite roommate for doing the same thing the first time you went out together. “Where’s Kevin from Finance taking you?” You adjust the straps of the dress in her mirror as you drop the name of the expensive restaurant that your co-worker was taking you to for your third date. “Okay, yeah.” She laughs. “You’re putting out tonight.”

“Ashley!” You laugh, instead of dismissing her entirely. 

“I’ll expect a full run-down tomorrow.” She sing-songs at you, as you grab your clutch and walk out the door to meet Kevin from Finance in the lobby downstairs.

The two dates you’ve had with your coworker have been so far enjoyable- one to a beer garden on what has seemed to be the last warm fall day and the second to one of those axe throwing places with some friends- and despite the heightened atmosphere of this one, it starts off just as enjoyable with some easy conversation. Kevin from Finance orders a bottle of wine for you to split, and you commend his choice while you scan the menu for something to order.

For most of the night, you go back and forth, just crossing over what might be an acceptable line for flirting at the dinner table, but you both know where this is headed later. It was pretty clear to you in the way Kevin from Finance looked you up and down when he picked you up, in the way he caught you sneaking the same once over in return, how his eyes follow your tongue as it tries to catch a drip of wine.”

They darken as your cheeks flush and you try to distract yourself from thinking about where the evening is headed by taking another sip of wine, only to be interrupted by a surprise arrival. “YN?”

“Hey!” You greet Mat warmly, smiling up at him. “How are you?” He beams back at you, exchanging pleasantries. “What are you even doing here?” You tease. “Pretty fancy for an off day.”

“We’ve got a team thing.” He waves in the direction of the private room in back, which you had noticed was closed off for a private event, but hadn’t bothered to look into more. Maybe if you hadn’t been so distracted staring at Kevin from Finance’s biceps straining in his dress shirt, you would have noticed a couple of the Islanders starting to file in. “And you must be the guy she’s been talking about.” He sticks his hand out to Kevin from Finance. “What’s up man, I’m Mat.”

But while you’d mentioned that there was maybe a new guy to Mat, you’d never mentioned that you knew Mat to Kevin from Finance, and that becomes clear the second you look over to him. His jaw is dropped, his eyes are huge, he makes no move to shake Mat’s hand; it’s like he’s frozen. “I’m a huge fan.” Kevin from Finance manages, finally, after what feels like forever.

Mat smiles, much more trained in this kind of situation than you are, because you’re looking your date like he’s got three heads. “Always good to hear, man! Make sure you take good care of our girl, here, eh?” He pats you on the shoulder and Kevin from Finance nods, more seriously than you’ve ever seen him do anything. “I have to head in. Stop on over for a drink on your way out if you want, okay?” Again, a nod from Kevin from Finance, even as you just hmm noncommittally.

And then, things get weird. For as nice and chatty as he was before Mat stopped by, now it’s like pulling teeth when trying to get Kevin from Finance to say something. He won’t meet your eyes, instead looking between the plate that sits in front of you and the room Mat disappeared into. “Can I help you with something?” You ask, finally.

“I don’t think I can do this.” He says, shaking his head.

“What?” You snap, annoyed.

“I can’t compete with that-him!”

“I’ll make it easy for you; there’s no competition.” You say flatly.

Kevin from Finance shakes his head again. “I-you-no. There’s competition!” He stands, dropping his napkin onto the table as your jaw drops. “Sorry.”

After being fucking ghosted in the middle of your date and apologizing profusely to the wait staff for having to immediately bag up both meals (that you had to pick up the check for, these better be the best fucking meals of your life), you make your way over to the Islanders’s private room and drape yourself over Mat’s back, as best you can. “You owe me a lot of drinks, sir.”

He’s surrounded by a few teammates and wives, who all immediately burst into laughter at his protests. “How do you figure that?”

“Because my date left me here because of you!”

Mat winces. “I was perfectly pleasant!” He pauses. “Today. To that guy!”

“Sorry,” Grace bites her lip, like she’s holding back a laugh. “There have been others, that you haven’t been?”

“Well yeah, but that guy deserved it!” It’s too late; they’re all laughing again. 

“This time it was your general existence.” You tell him, moving off his back, but staying close when his arm immediately reaches to wrap around your waist.

“This seems unreasonable.” Mat pouts. “That I owe you drinks just because you decided to date someone too insecure.”

“Dude, we’re not paying for anything here.” Tito reminds him. “Just give the girl her drinks.”

“I always knew I liked you best.” You smile at Tito, who returns your grin.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see if you’re saying that later when I’m the one making sure you don’t fall all over the place in those shoes.” Mat grumbles, flagging down a waiter to take your drink order.

You grin up at him. “If you keep getting me drinks and make sure I get home in these shoes, you can have your Number 1 spot back.”

Mat sighs longsufferingly, like it’s going to be such a hardship for him, even though you both know that you’re the clingiest drunk who does absolutely anything that anyone tells you to and as soon as he drops you off in bed, you’ll be out like a light. “Deal.”

It’s not quite what happens-your clinginess extends to yanking him into bed and not letting him leave- but as soon as he settles next to you and you can curl up into his side, then you’re willing to listen when he whispers, “go to sleep,” as his hand moves to play with the ends of your hair.

the third

Can’t talk now. Have a date!!! You send Mat, after ignoring his FaceTime request, and then walk into the cute little cafe that Jake from College had suggested you meet at.

“Hey!” He grins at you, as you grab a seat at the table. “Did you find the place okay?”

You bust out laughing. New to the city, Jake from College had mentioned that he lived around the corner, and was still figuring his way around. “I’ve been here a few times before actually. I’ve been here long enough to navigate my way around pretty well.” You tease.

He laughs. “Fair enough.”

After placing your orders, you catch each other up on where you’ve been and where you’re at now. You chat about some of your mutual friends, gossip about whether or not you think Jack and Mallory will actually make it down the aisle, and talk a little about your families. 

“Yeah, so my brother’s frat has been-”

“Oh no.” Suddenly, Mat’s dropping into the empty chair beside you, throwing an arm around the back of yours, and there’s Tito slipping in across from him, not looking nearly as thrilled to be there. “What’s that kid up to now?”

“What are you doing here?” You ask him, ignoring his question completely.

“We were just grabbing a post-practice meal.” He says and Tito nods his agreement, but when you look across the table at him, studying his face carefully, he won’t meet your eyes.

“Okay.” You tell him, kind of annoyed that he interrupted what had been an otherwise good date. “So you’re going to grab your meals and go?”

“Well now that I know you have this big huge table…” Mat hints, and you’re all ready to tell him absolutely not, when Jake from College jumps in.

“Yeah, of course!” He says, and Mat grins. “I’d love to meet some more of YN’s friends.”

“Would you?” You mutter under your breath, dryly enough that Mat flicks your shoulder.

You don’t know what’s worse- that Mat, Tito, and Jake from College get along like a house on fire, or that after Mat and Tito show up, Jake from College barely says another word to you. Not because he’s so starstruck by their existence. 

Because they’re genuinely becoming friends. By the time all four of you finish with your meals, it’s like Jake from College has forgotten you’re even at the table, caught up in discussing tennis with Tito and making plans with both of them to play basketball next weekend with a couple guys they know.

When you part ways, he barely says goodbye to you, which is a slap in the face after the bro hugs Mat and Tito both get. “Don’t be mad.” Mat says immediately, when you round on him.

“Seriously?” You glare at him.

“It was a coincidence.” He says, maybe too pushy to be entirely true, and you remember the way Tito wouldn’t meet your gaze earlier, narrowing your eyes at him further.

“Right.”

“It was!” Mat insists and you really have no way of proving it wasn’t so you just huff back at him and start walking, knowing that they’ll be catching up behind you.

the twelfth

“What happened to I’m never dating another New Yorker again?” Ashley asks, watching you get ready to go out with yet another Tinder date.

You give her a look through the mirror. “Ashley, this one might be my dream man.”

“That’s what you’ve said about them all.” She advises. “And none of them have been,”

“I’ll just die alone then.” You tell her dramatically.

She snickers. “I don’t think that’s the case. I think there’s definitely a Non-New Yorker that is very willing to date you.”

You give her a look. “Oh yeah? Send him my way?”

“Hmm.” She says. “Don’t think I’ll need to. He manages to find his own way.”

“If you’re talking about who I think you’re talking about,” You say, fluffing your hair one last time. “Then I don’t think he’s willing to date me at all.” Not willing to watch you date other people, sure, that trend has become quite clear as Mat has crashed date after date in increasingly creative ways. But never once has he made a move toward you, or tried to ramp up his flirting game to anywhere close to where you’ve seen him bring it to girls he’s interested in bringing home.

For Christ’s sake, you’ve pulled the man into bed on multiple occasions- what more does he want from you to know that you’d be interested, if he was?

Ashley returns your look, through the mirrors. “I’m certain I am talking about who you think I am, and maybe if you would do more than just pull him into bed while drunk, he might do something about it.”

You can agree to disagree on this one. There’s been that, there’s been everytime you pout at him for ruining your dates, there’s been every function or event you’ve agreed to go with him to stand by his side for the entire evening in uncomfortable shoes and an uncomfortable dress, every smile you send his way. But you’ll digress the point for now. “Well maybe tonight I’ll be pulling Graham the Perfect Man into my bed while drunk.” You stick your tongue out at her.

She grins, stepping back from your doorway so you can head out. “Use a condom!”

Upon meeting Graham the Perfect Man in one of your favorite bars (with the best burgers), you quickly realize you might actually have nailed this one. His sense of humor is impeccable and he’s incredibly charming...or at least most of the time. He’s a bit of a one-upper, but you try to be positive about it and tell yourself that he’s just trying to impress you- who isn’t on a first date?

It becomes a bit frustrating because he balances it with his humor so well. Like when you start talking about summers spent at your family’s Jersey shore house, Graham the Perfect Man casually mentions his parent’s summer home in South France, but then instantly cracks a joke about red eye flights that has you actually crying you’re laughing so hard.

“Jesus, I could hear you laughing from all the way outside.” Mat drops an arm around your shoulders and squeezes in greeting.

“Come off it, you could not.” You protest, even as he grins.

“Guess you’ll never know for real.” He teases.

“Wow, are you rude!” You huff.

“Me? You’ve been sitting here, haven’t even introduced us.” You roll your eyes, but make the introductions between Mat and Graham the Perfect Man, which actually doesn’t go terrible until someone stops and asks to take a picture with Mat, which you snap for them politely, but does bring out Graham the Perfect Man’s one-upper.

“Hockey?” He asks, and continues before Mat even has a chance to finish nodding. “Can’t say I’ve got much taste for the sport. I was a baseball player. Starting shortstop for my college.”

“But you’re not anymore.” Mat says, kinda like a dick.

“Mat!” You hiss and he just shrugs, unapologetic.

“Just the history, the nuance.” Graham the Perfect Man continues like Mat hadn’t even said anything, and even you have to fight back a laugh on that one.

Mat just shrugs again. “Yeah, alright. Cool, bro.”

“Cool, bro.” Graham the Perfect Man repeats flatly, and you know what’s going to happen before he even stands up. “Yeah, this has been fun, but…maybe...another time.” And he’s out the door, just like your dreams of this maybe happening again, so you turn to your best friend, who’s just got the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

“Mathew.” You frown at him.

“What? Come on, that guy was a tool!”

That...is so not the point. “Stop ruining all my dates!”

Mat scoffs. “All these dates with douchy guys that you don’t even like that much?”

“Yes!” You cry, absolutely done with this game. “Because unless you’re going to do something about it yourself, that’s who I’m still going to be dating.”

“What if I want to do something about it?” Mat says, looking down and avoiding your eyes.

You laugh, hollowly. “Sure, Mat. I’ll believe it when I see it.” And then you stand up from the table and walk out without him. If he’s going to ruin your dates, he can at least grab the fucking bill. He can fucking afford it.

+ one

When you don’t hear from Mat for the entire next week, you think that’s it. He talked himself up some big game, realized it’s not what he wants, and now he was trying to back out of it without making things super uncomfortable. You figured you’d hear from him in a couple weeks, when he’d send you a meme he found, and maybe you’d just never mention that thing you said about him dating you again.

Nope.

Exactly a week after you call him out, he shows up at your door with a bouquet of flowers. “Uhh hi?” You look down at your sweatpants and oversized t-shirt. 

“Hi.” He presses a kiss to your cheek, as he hands the flowers to you. 

“Did um-did we have plans tonight?” If he hadn’t tucked the flowers close to you, you’re pretty sure you would have dropped them, still trying to make sense of this. 

Mat grins. “We do now.”

“Um.” You repeat. “Can I...change first?”

He nods. “Yep.”

“Okay.” You take a breath, starting to get your jumbled mass of thoughts together. “Where are we going?

Mat grins again. “You’ll see.”

You eye him skeptically, but he’s not budging on that, so after you find something to put your flowers in (today’s winner is...a wine bottle), you run into your room and start searching through your closet. Mat won’t give you any hints about where you’re going, fine, you’ll just have to take your  hints from him. 

Moving quickly so as not to keep him waiting too long, you settle on a pair of jeans, booties, and your favorite sweater. A quick brush through your hair and a couple swipes of makeup and you deem it good enough. It’s certainly as good as it’s going to get since someone didn’t give you time to shower.

Mat smiles though, as soon as you walk back in, throwing things into the clutch you plan on carrying with you that night, but he doesn’t say anything or do anything or even move at first. “Are you ready yet?” You tease, standing at the door.

His cheeks flush a little, caught staring, but he jogs over toward you, while nodding. “Yeah, let’s go.” As soon as you lock the door, he’s slipping his hand into yours, merely smiling when you look up at him questioningly.

“Now will you tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope.” Mat grins, tugging your hand to pull you to the right. 

“Come on, really?” But he stands firm, instead asking you something about your day, which lasts all the way until he pulls you into your favorite restaurant, laughing when you realize it’s the end point. 

Dinner is amazing and the speakeasy he leads you to afterwards for drinks is as well. You spend half the time grinning at the place around you, wondering how he managed to find someplace so cool and then backtracking that thought, because, yeah, of course, he did. 

Mat’s smiling at you when you look back at him, eyes never leaving you, it seems, as he swirls his drink around in his glass. “You look happy.”

“I am happy.” You tell him honestly, which only widens his smile.

“So you’d be happy to do this again?”

“Do what again?” You ask, feigning innocence, solely to mess with him. “I don’t actually recall you ever asking me to do this in the first place.”

He throws his head back in a laugh, that big one he’s got that you love. “Can I take you out sometime?”

You nod, smiling as he leans across the table toward you. “I suppose it’s too late to say no.”

“Can I take you out all of the time?” He reaches out for your cheek, brushing his thumb along it.

“Well you do owe me a lot of meals.” You tease. This might better than any date he’s ruined, but you’re not about to let him off that easy. 

“I’m sure I can work something out with you.” He mutters, practically right up against your lips, before kissing you completely.

[anoddkpopfan]

The Wine Cellar (Co-worker AU)

Words: 2.7k

This consists of: Daddy Kink, Dom!Jimin, Oral (male receiving), Dirty talk, You know, dirty stuff!

Synopsis: You’re an assistant who has a two year long crush on your boss’s secretary, Park Jimin. You believe it’s one-sided, but when your friend convinces you to hook up with someone else; Jimin’s real feelings might just come to light. 

It’s around nine o’clock pm, laughter and gossip fill the ballroom inside your boss’s house. Behind the uppity facade you can envision the thoughts running through your coworker’s minds. A great percentage of people came to this party to butter up to your boss, and you felt yourself holding back laughter as you watched your peers attempt to earn a pay raise or promotion in their ankle-length gowns and black tuxedos. 

What are you doing? Well, you’re sitting back and watching the show. You see, you are the CEO’s assistant. You have every other weekday to butter up to him, and you’ve come to this party for the free food and entertainment of watching people trip over themselves. You, along with your boss’s secretary (and the crush you’re too ashamed to admit), Park Jimin. The two of you planned to spend tonight mocking everyone earlier this morning. Though, you two weren’t as “alone” as you’d like to be.

Yeah, while a large percentage of guests made it their goal to get on your boss’s good side, another group of them were women looking for the opportunity to get into Park Jimin’s pants. After all, he is one of the more handsome men in the office with close ties to the CEO. He also gives off committable “vibes” considering that his body count within the office is nonexistent. Many of them were wary of you. You and Jimin have become awfully close in the last two years, and luckily you’re past your temporary Park Jimin obsession. Now you sort of admire him from afar, assuring his fangirls that the two of you are only friends. 

Though, you almost lost your cool the minute you saw him in his suit. 

Instead of a typical tux he wore a white collared shirt, along with a navy blue suit jacket and dress pants. He looked gorgeous, and he teased you the moment he noticed your eyes lingering on his appearance for an unreasonable amount of time. It wasn’t embarrassing or anything, the two of you playfully flirt quite often. In fact, many people in the office are convinced the two of you will get together one day. And of course, a part of you hopes they’re not wrong. 

You’d begun to zone out as you listened to a coworker list off all of the overtime he’d done this week to your boss. Jimin waltzed over to your side with two champagne glasses, placing one into your hands as he leaned against the wall next to you, “Are you going to thank me, or what?” 

You took the drink and raised an eyebrow, “For what? Trying to incriminate me? I can’t drive home drunk.” 

“It’s only one glass, sweetheart. No worries, you know I wouldn’t put you in danger.” Jimin pretended to ponder for a second, “Well, at least not with this many witnesses.” You playfully glare his way and he responds with a dumb smile that makes your heart melt. 

“On second thought, I shouldn’t drink this, it might be poisoned.” You held it towards him, and he unexpectedly moved closer to you, taking your drink and looking into your eyes as he took a sip from your glass, “No poison here.” 

He wanted a reaction out of you and he wasn’t going to get it. He walked past you, placing the champagne back in your hand before heading in your boss’s direction. You let out a sigh, closing your eyes for a second before opening them again. Your poor heart needs a break from this.  What you see next is a group of your girl friends motionig you over to them. You slowly (but surely) make your way towards them, but you weren’t sure why they wanted you over there. Your coworker Jung Yuna grabbed your hand, leading you over to the group of girls. Yuna hesitated for a second before asking you a question: 

“Y/n… we just wanted to know.. something is going on with you and Jimin, right?” Oh there was definitely something. But you weren’t sure about it all so you shake your head ‘no’.

“Really? It doesn’t seem like it.” Another one of your peers, Jae Ina chimed in. 

You shrug your shoulders, “No, I’m not with anyone at the moment.” A smile came to Yuna’s face and she locked arms with you, she turned you around and your eyes landed on Mark Tuan. Another bachelor in the office, except his body count is a bit off the charts, he’s charming and intelligent, or so you’ve heard. 

“A little bird told me that Mark has been waiting for the day the two of you hook up. I’m just saying if you’re really not with Jimin, why not make tonight fun for yourself?” Yuna suggests. You have a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach. It’s not Mark’s fault, he is a handsome man, and you’re sure he’s good in the sack. But you couldn’t help but feel wrong about it.

“Well.. I, I guess it couldn’t hurt.” You mumble towards Yuna who nods her head at your words. Perhaps this Mark guy can bring you back into reality, and bring you out of this fantasy world where Jimin might just actually feel something for you. 

Mark’s eyes eventually wander towards your direction. Once the two of you make eye contact, he sends a smile your way, and you return it. He was talking to some of his buddies, he whispered something to them before putting his glass down and making his way towards your table. The girls at your table made eye contact before walking away, leaving you alone there.

“Y/n. I couldn’t help but notice you staring from across the room.” Mark immediately let out and you rolled your eyes at his words.

“It was only a quick glance, If anything.” You correct him before taking a sip of your glass. You soon remember the lips that touched the glass before and images of him flashed through your mind. 

Your eyes glanced to the side to see familiar eyes looking at you. Park Jimin was staring right in your direction with a confused look on his face. And you felt a fire erupt in you.

“A quick glance?” Mark said aloud, calling out your bullshit. Placing his hand on the table, moving noticeably closer towards you. 

“Fine.. I was admiring the view,” You admit, your hand sliding to onto his on the table, “Got a problem with that?” He shakes his head.

“I guess my little scheme worked? You didn’t notice the way I look at you, darling?” Mark asked and you shook your head.

“Try harder then, who knows? I could be yours before you know it.” You were sort of just humoring him, you weren’t sure if you’d actually hook up with this guy.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this, I was sure you were..” Mark hesitated for a second, and you tilted your head to the side.

“I was sure you were Jimin’s girl.” You felt your heart nearly erupt at the thought of that title being yours. You knew you looked confused because he laughed at the way your face scrunched together in confusion. 

“Hey Marky, I’m going to need to steal your little girlfriend for a few minutes.” You hear a voice say. Jimin’s voice, though it’s a bit raspier than normal. He seemed as if he was almost disgusted by the sight of you and Mark together. A part of you considered that he might possibly be jealous. But you didn’t want to make up stories in your head.

“Ah, why? We were having a good chat.” Mark clearly didn’t want this to end. He’s been holding back on getting at you, and tonight could be the night you let him into your bed.

“Duty calls.” Jimin replied simply before walking away from the two of you. You waved to Mark before following after Jimin, confused on where you were going.

“Umm.. does the boss need me or something?” You asked him, confused.

“He asked us to bring up more wine. He keeps them down in his wine cellar.” Jimin let out flatly and you nodded your head at his words. There was an awkward silence between the two of you now, and it stayed that way when you two entered the cellar.

“He said grab anything, but the older the better.” Jimin told you. You nodded once again and went down on your knees to look at all the names of the wines, you picked up two and read the—

Click.

“What happened?” You asked, and Jimin let out a sigh of disappointment.

“The door locked, I let it close and it locked itself. Shit, the boss warned me about that.” Jimin ran his hand through his hair.

“Seriously Jimin? You Locked us in here? You had one job.” You put the bottles back and got up from your place and tried to open the door, surely enough the knob wouldn’t budge. Jimin sighed and put his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall. You tried your best but you couldn’t get the door open. This wouldn’t be so bad if Jimin hadn’t been acting so weird. You give up escaping and decide to look around the room instead. It looked like a library, except the shelves were filled with alcohol. There was a counter off to the side with a sink as well. You studied the bottles for a second. You reached for one carefully, but despite being careful it slipped from your hands. Instead of a crash you watched as hands caught the bottle.

“Be careful, would you?” Jimin warned you before putting it back in its place.

“My bad.”

“Maybe don’t touch anything.” Jimin suggested. 

“Well, I don't even have my phone. so I’m stuck in here with you and your shitty attitude.” You complain and Jimin scoffs.

“Wow, too bad it’s me, I’m sure you just can’t wait to get out of here so you can flirt it up with Mark Tuan.” Your eyebrows scrunch up at his words before you let out a sigh.

“You know what? Maybe I do. Mark is a man who knows what he wants.” You claim confidently, “Maybe you should learn a little something from it.” Jimin’s face drops. He moves closer and you step back until your back hits the shelf. He slowly moves his hand up to your throat, but you don't falter under his touch.

“You.. you really want a reaction out of me today, don’t you?” You don’t respond, you simply look into his eyes, a certain darkness evident in your eyes. Jimin’s hand moves from your throat to your back. He pulls you close with one arm while his other hand is placed against the shelf. Your forehead’s touch for a few seconds, and before you know it his lips are on yours. The kiss is so very passionate, two years of wanting each other put into it. You grip onto Jimin’s suit jacket, pulling it off, he moves his hands from their place to help throw it off. Once he puts his hands on the shelf again, he nearly knocks down some of the wine bottles. The two of you smile at this, Jimin decides to do this in a more convenient place, lifting you up and moving the two of you to a counter. Soon you’re on the counter with Jimin’s pelvis in between your legs. He litters kisses up and down your neck, and nibbles on your exposed collar bone. 

“that night at the bar.. what was it you told me? You’ve got a little daddy kink, love? Good, because that’s all you’re gonna be saying the next 20 minutes, Capiche?” You remembered that night, the two of you getting a little too drunk after a hard day at work. A night that ended with the two of you spilling out your darkest fantasies. But at this moment, you were still in shock of what was happening, so you let out a pathetic: 

“Huh..?” Jimin chuckled at your words. He pulled away from your collar bone, gripping onto your chin and looking into your eyes, “We’ve got about 20 minutes before the boss realizes we’re gone. How about we take advantage. Let me fuck you, right here, right now. In our boss’s home. What do you think about that, hmm?” That sounded like a great idea.

“Mhmm.” You moan out, he moved closer, practically whispering in your ear, “I need words baby, use your words.” You felt your stomach erupt in butterflies, and all you could think about is his member poking against your leg, and how badly you wanted it inside of you. 

“Daddy.. Yes, please, fuck me right here in our boss’ house.” 

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He let out before moving his hand to your back to softly unzip your back, “You sure? we could just wait this out so you can end this night with a mediocre fuck from Marky out there.” You shook your head quickly, cooperating with getting your dress off. 

“No.. it’s you.” Once your dress hit the floor you wrapped your legs around Jimin’s hips, pulling him closer, “I only want you, daddy. No one else.” 

“Love to hear it.” He whispered back, He took a second to admire you without your dress, he put his fingers on your panties, satisfied with how wet you were, “So beautiful, If we had all night i’d spend hours making you feel good.” His finger moved faster and your toes clenched as you let out little whines and moans at the feeling. The atmosphere was heating up, and Jimin had to unbutton a few buttons of his shirt. While he was distracted with this, you took it upon yourself to pull his member out from his pants. You softly ran your hands up and down his cock, Jimin bit his lip at the feeling, and his reaction resulted in your hand moving quicker. 

“F-fucking hell.” He stutters out, his hand gripping on your thigh, “Shit, I won’t be able to control myself. I want you to come all over my cock, gorgeous.” He whispered out, moving your panties to the side and pushing inside of you. The both of you let out sighs of satisfaction. Jimin started off slowly, slow but powerful. He pulled out just to slam back into you. It’s so embarrassing, but you couldn’t take it. Your crush of two years is fucking you in your boss’s liquor wine cellar for goodness sake. You felt so scandalous, and it turned you on even more. You let out a loud moan as you unexpectedly cummed all over him.

“Shit.. did you just cum already?” He asked, but the situation turned him on even more. He wasn’t going to stop. He wants to wreck you. Make you regret even speaking to Mark. 

“Daddy’s gonna speed up now, take me like a good girl.” Jimin managed to push even deeper into you, but his pace sped up. Your senses overwhelmed you since you just came, but you didn't want him to stop. Your moans got louder and louder and they wouldn’t stop. Finally Jimin covers your mouth with his hand. 

“As much as I love your moans, the last thing I want is someone interrupting us.” Jimin growls out. Since he silenced you, you got to hear his little grunts and praises the more he fucked you. You couldn’t take it, the noises he made made you feel like you were on top of the world. You clenched around him as you came again and this time Jimin moaned out louder than you. He rode out your orgasm before pulling out of you, “On your knees..” 

You wobbled off the counter and went down to your knees. You placed your hand on his member, trying to get him to release onto you. Jimin’s hand gripped on your hair. He moved his dick to your mouth and you opened up. Only to feel him shoot right into your mouth, “Oh.. oh fuck.” 

Jimin picked you back up, placing you on the counter. He was breathing heavily, and so were you. He kissed you softly before wrapping his arms around your waist. You hugged him back, and the room went quiet. You guys held on to each other for a few minutes. It felt amazing.. Being in each other's arms. 

“Y/n, you know... I kinda like you.” 

This all happened because of a fancam. :s

[scriptaed]

his side, her side | 7:00 P.M.

genre: angst/fluff/implied smut; (bold = genre for this particular drabble)

pairing: reader x jungkook;

length: 2.9k;

synopsis: a collective snapshots in time shared between two, whose fates were undeniably intertwined and futures would never come to be.

a/n: this is not a chronological series; more so, his side her side is a collection of drabbles in which each drabble helps paint the overall picture. each drabble can be read separately without having read the others. // alternatively: his side, her side pt. 4;

her side; 

Even if it pains you to admit, you knew that this—whatever it is between you and Jungkook—was more than just something… or at least to you, that is; because to part ways after an ephemeral five minute small talk right outside the company’s doors only to long for next week when your opportunity to relive what most would consider an insignificant five minutes of your seven days has to mean something. 

That unequivocal something, however, would forever be a crush mislabeled as boredom. 

“So how far do you live from work?”

Oh, shoot. Does that question seem too invasive? Peeping around at your chattering colleagues of whom gradually fade into the distance behind you two, you figure the coast is clear. The last thing you would want is to assume the new subject of your coworkers’ morning gossip rumors. You can just imagine it. Your stalkerish tendencies and your supposed obsession with the partner of your most recent project, Jungkook… they would call you a lonesome girl with fleeting emotions, willing to fall for any boy who gives her the slightest of attention.

That image, in itself, has been a nightmare you’ve grudgingly albeit successfully steered clear of.

It seems that your coworkers should not be the subject of your concerns, however, because even the shadow that befalls his profile that blocks the lamp post’s white-blue glow is not enough to blind you from Jungkook’s sneer. Your partner peers down at you and speaks his seldom words of the night, “wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“Wh—” you’re at a loss for words, not exactly because of his remark but rather over his rare choice to speak in exchange for an opportunity to tease you… something he hasn’t done in the past month of your blossoming relations “—what? I was just wondering how far you lived because you mentioned driving to work before.”

“Yeah,” he simply answers without further elaboration over his sudden tease. “I live with my brother. About five minutes away. Not too far.”

“You have a brother?” 

“Yeah,” he pauses, “you have any siblings?”

“What do you think? Do I look like I have any?” 

You lean back, as if to allow him to have a gander over your appearance that supposedly dictates your compatibility for a sibling. To your surprise, the boy who’s usually much less easily entertained turns his head as an acceptance to your challenge. The thought of his absolute attention focused on you, eyes scanning you up and down, is enough to have you slightly regretting your question. You’ve never been the type to feel self conscious; but moments like these, when you fidget with your hands and hastily tuck a lock of your hair behind the ears, you’re left wondering why he, of all people, is an exception. 

The spur of the moment skews your balance and you rock back and forth, subtly albeit unsuccessfully avoiding further attention from the boy before you; because as your right foot slips back only to counter the sway by pushing forward, your dumb self unintentionally pushes your left arm firmly against him. 

Your arm doesn’t just touch—no, it wasn’t a graze and it surely wouldn’t seem like a mere accident by the standards of people with a normal sense of balance, but it’s more of an assertive lean to the point that you’re sharing his warmth and molding into his well-toned biceps that you’ve covertly ogled at for the past weeks until his firm stature becomes the reason you’re not stumbling forward like a goofball.

Even the most dense of them all would have picked up on it; but Jungkook isn’t just any boy, because whether for the better or worse, he chooses not to mention the small mishap. 

“You seem like the older sister type,” he mentions, averting his attention ahead to the dimly lit sidewalk. 

“Oh,” you can only mumble as your arm dwells over the wake of his touch.

Wait, what does he mean by that? Do you seem reliable? Or does he see you as a know-it-all? Does he think you’re the girly type? The responsible type? And was it supposed to be a compliment?

One too many seconds had passed by for you to inquire for further elaboration. Instead, the occasional silence between you two has you scrambling for a new topic after the death of its promising albeit lackluster precedent.

“What about you? You live near here?” 

Alas, you can internally sigh in relief because at least the struggle to rekindle the conversation is a mutual one. Maybe he doesn’t think you’re too boring, after all.

“I live across the bridge and a few blocks down, so I just walk to work.” 

“Across the bridge?” he articulates with much more vigor than you’re used to. Ultimately, your surprise is short-lived when a cocked grin replaces his temporary gawk. “Try not to get mugged.”

“Wooow. Considering the sun sets before we’re out of work and crossing that bridge when it’s dark is a legitimate fear I have,” you give him the worst stank eye possible, “thank you for your concern.”

The damn boy only grins, “no problem.” 

As oddly comforting your usual, silence-filled conversations with Jungkook have been in the past, you don’t think you would be too disinclined to fiddle with your partner’s snarky attitude once in a while. Maybe you’re overanalyzing or maybe you’re excessively shrewd, but the organic flow between the two of you is starting to awfully resemble that of two close friends. 

But are you friends or are you merely colleagues coerced into working overtime? 

“Boy, I swear I will—”

“—oh shit,” Jungkook beats you to the curses, like usual, “I forgot to bring my card.” 

“So?” you quirk a brow at the distraught boy. “Just go home and make some food. Our cafeteria sucks anyways.” 

The boy turns to look at you, profusely serious and not a glint of shame present in his eyes. Then, he deadpans, “but I’m hungry.”

“So... you want me to spot you.”

“Hey,” he finally chortles with a slightly embarrassed grin akin to that of a child caught red-handed, “I skipped dinner after gym so that I could make it to work on time!”

“No one told you to skip dinner!”

His already ear-to-ear grin widens, if that was even possible, “I did it so you wouldn’t be alone!” 

Spotting your friends has never been a predicament for you; this, however, you’re not too keen on lending money to a boy whose relations are only based upon work, mutual friends, and endless inevitable crossovers between his path and yours—in fact, too many to be under the hands of mere happenstance. 

Surely, the two of you have grown much more acquainted than ever in the last month, but it’s not like you two never interacted before. On the rare occasion that Jungkook actually greeted you, a plea for help regarding work would always follow shortly after. To you, he only saw you as a reliable source. He never saw you as a friend and you never saw him more than a mere colleague. Even now, after all the sparks between you two, it’s difficult for you not to suspect his ulterior motives. 

You will not be taken advantage of. Just because he’s slightly—okay, maybe profusely—above average in looks, you will not make a fool of yourself. What happens next, however, takes you and your adamant determination by surprise.

“Okay, fine...” you grumble. “But you owe me boba!” 

“Boba?” his eyes pop as he chuckles. “Alright, sure.”

“Yeah, in fact, you owe me three boba,” you add. “I like roasted oolong milk tea with egg pudding. Write it down.”

“Three?” he gawks. “Wait, roasted oolong and what…?” 

He had asked a question, yet you can’t help but simply smile at him from ear to ear. Was this really happening? Was he serious or was this another one of your playful bickers?

Shrugging and stifling the laugh that threatens to slip from your lips, you decide to let fate override your usual level-headed reasoning, “take me and I’ll let you know.”

In that fleeting moment, the flutters in your stomach and the adrenaline that coursed through your veins were worth it all; and it wouldn’t be until months later that you discover your last leap of faith was not one worth taking. 

-

his side;

“So how far do you live from work?”

Her question finally ceases the dreadful standstill. The internal sigh after a prolonged bated breath and the realization of the unknown implications of such relief strikes Jungkook as an oddity. Clearly a quiet, standoffish man who strays from the center of attention, Jungkook had always preferred to observe rather than participate. To him, the state of nothing is where he belongs and silence is his safe haven—and yet, around Y/N, he can’t help but chant words of panic: shit, what do I say next? 

As thankful as Jungkook was for his partner’s break of silence, he, himself, isn’t aware enough of his once stone cold pond of a state, now disturbed by ripples of which its origins are unknown. Instead, the moment of anomaly is mistranslated into the only expression he’s developed a knack for. A sneer. 

Well, that wasn’t exactly what he wanted… but he figured he was close enough with Y/N to joke around with her by now, right?

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“Wh—” Jungkook peers down at her baffled response “—what? I was just wondering how far you lived because you mentioned driving to work before.”

It would be a lie to deny how the look of bewilderment that plasters her face doesn’t egg him and his teasing streak onwards. Despite being a man of few words and little thoughts, the rare sense of amusement brought upon by her short-lived distraught catalyzed by himself, truly, has Jungkook scratching his head. The tinge of guilt intermixed with worry that perhaps he had gone too far only furthers the confusion. 

“Yeah,” Jungkook returns to his usual collected albeit monotonous composure, “I live with my brother. About five minutes away. Not too far.”

“You have a brother?” 

“Yeah—” what should he say now “—you have any siblings?”

“What do you think? Do I look like I have any?” 

Oh? He’s a bit hesitant to hurl a curse at his partner, but how the hell is he supposed to know?

When she leans back to open her profile to the boy, something Jungkook has realized is a rarity for the usually closed-off, shifty girl, the boy has no choice but to play along with her antics… either that or he lacks the energy to deny her politely. The boy turns, scanning his partner up and down with little haste and no specific game-plan. He doesn’t exactly know what he’s supposed to be looking for, but what he finds is much more than what he was expecting. 

For someone who speaks with such wisdom, who performs so well in every criteria, who seems to know the answer to all his questions, the way she fidgets with her hands and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear at this very moment as he watches her conflicted with the confident impression he once only knew. He had taken note of her occasional avoidance of his eyes—something which he had amusedly combated with an even more intense, to which she never challenged—but her wavering gaze that flickers on whatever was on the ground is especially prevalent today. 

Funny. 

Then she begins to lose her balance. How? Jungkook had no fucking clue; but before he knew it, she was swaying back and forth until her left arm finally stabilizes the rather skittish gal… through the use of his right arm.  

The sudden contact catches Jungkook off guard. No, it isn’t enough of a surprise to have him jolting back—although nothing really could elicit such a reaction from a boy like Jungkook—but he does notice the firm, close contact between her and him. The closest he’s ever been to her was visually through the eyes and the closest he’s ever touched her was tactually through the occasional graze of his fingertips against the back of her hand. Sure, his bare skin could only feel the cotton of her sweater and the moment of contact lasted for an ephemeral two seconds, but even that is enough to leave an imprint on that night. 

There’s no doubt in Jungkook’s mind that it was all accidental. Y/N isn’t the type to mess around with boys like him… but did she notice? 

Turning his head to the sidewalk brightly illuminated by white and gulping whatever was in his throat, he decides to fill the awkward silence, “you seem like the older sister type.”

“Oh.”

Shit, why does she sound so disappointed? She doesn’t think it’s an insult, does she? Well, it really isn’t his fault if he struck a nerve, Jungkook internally shrugs, he was just answering a question. He had to admit, though, her unpredictable sway of emotions was entertaining to say the least. If she really wanted an elaboration, she could always ask and he could easily clear up his intentions. 

But what’s the fun in a conversation without speculation? 

And so, Jungkook figures he’d leave her at that. 

“What about you? You live near here?” 

“I live across the bridge and a few blocks down, so I just walk to work.” 

“Across the bridge?” Jungkook gapes, although he’s unsure of why his expression is much more of an exaggerated version of how he really feels. Something about the drama of it all fueled the conversation further. Grinning, he remarks, “try not to get mugged.”

“Wooow. Considering the sun sets before we’re out of work and crossing that bridge when it’s dark is a legitimate fear I have—” damn, that was a long sentence and her stank eye doesn’t help any bit “—thank you for your concern.”

Her anger only spurs him and his unexplained satisfaction forward, “no problem.” 

Jungkook had always kept his circle of friends close and tight. It isn’t like he preferred it that way, but the world of simplicity and permanency gravitated toward him. Unlike the other countless guys who liked to spend their nights surrounded by girls whose names they didn’t know nor cared to know, his closed lifestyle kept him grounded. If someone were to tell him years ago at orientation that this girl would eventually be holding a conversation closely resembling that of two close friends, he never would have believed them; but now that he’s here, he could definitely see it. 

“Boy, I swear I will—”

“—oh shit,” a wave of terror overtakes the boy as he rummages through the pockets of his shorts “—I forgot to bring my card.” 

“So?” his partner quirks a brow at him and he almost narrows his eyes at her preposterous advice that follows. “Just go home and make some food. Our cafeteria sucks anyways.” 

A ravenous growl rumbles across his abdomen. The regret for having skipped his usual granola bar in exchange for making it to work on time after gym returns with vengeance. The two things Jungkook had no shame in taking seriously were: one, gym, and two, food. As cautious as he has been around his seemingly delicate partner, he had no shame in turning to look straight at her. Next, he deadpans, “but I’m hungry.”

“So…” the girl mulls, each second egging on the emptiness of his stomach. “You want me to spot you.”

“Hey—” well, that isn’t exactly what he wanted and now he just seems like a leech but prolonging the swift conversation that had developed as well as filling the hole in his stomach doesn’t sound too bad “—I skipped dinner after gym so that I could make it to work on time!”

“No one told you to skip dinner!”

He can’t help it when his grin widens, “I did it so you wouldn’t be alone!” 

Truthfully, her advice would have been much less of a bother to Jungkook. One, he wouldn’t have to spend all this time and effort convincing her. Two, he probably would’ve been home by now and enjoying his masterfully cooked instant noodles. Most importantly, he wouldn’t seem like he was trying to take advantage of his partner because severing their professional relationship and borderline friendship was not in his plans. 

As little of a crap he gave about the impression he gave others, he wasn’t that shitty of a person to willingly be the bad guy… and certainly not to Y/N. 

“Okay, fine...” she finally grumbles to his relief. “But you owe me boba!” 

“Boba?” he can’t help but chuckle in disbelief. “Alright, sure.”

“Yeah, in fact, you owe me three boba,” she asserts. “I like roasted oolong milk tea with egg pudding. Write it down.”

“Three?” Jungkook gasps; and this time, he really means it. “Wait, roasted oolong and what…?” 

How the hell is he supposed to remember that? And does she want it delivered to her house or work or what? 

Her next remark, however, answers his question. “Take me and I’ll let you know.”

Food might be all that he sees at the moment, but if obliging to her request could induce further conversations and get him to the light at the end of the tunnel? Then to Jungkook, that’s a win-win. Someday, he’ll take her when they’re truly friends and not mere coworkers with coerced interactions. 

Maybe not now, not later, but certainly in the near future. 

[k-writer1998]

Who Said Love Was Easy? (10/12)

      There are many different kinds of people who come and go from your life. Some will stay constant and sturdy like a river, growing alongside you, others will come like a whirlwind who wreaks havoc and leaves just as quickly, then there is everything in between. In this twisted maze of connections, that is where our story begins. A steadfast boy, a girl with a past, a little bit of alcohol, mistakes, and some love. Where can you go wrong with that?

angsty fluff

w.c: 2.1k

A/N: sorry for missing last week’s update, life was kinda a mess then but we’re back in business!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      After that, everything felt more… natural. We’ve grabbed coffee and had lunch a few times… mainly because I forced my way, but he is less reluctant than before. The boy needs a break from all that company stuff; I heard some staff are trying to screw him over since he entered because he’s the president’s son. It's not like he’s complaining… too much, but I can visibly see the tension leave his shoulders when he steps out of the building. In addition, our conversations no longer circle around our crushes and it was somewhat surreal to be so normal and friendly when he was so apprehensive before. A few weeks passed like this but because of exams I haven’t visited Jeongin recently. It was yet another night of studying when the lo-fi playlist I had been playing was interrupted by my ringtone. Grabbing my phone I was surprised. He never calls. 

“Hello?”

“Uhm hi… I’m Jeongin’s coworker. You’re the girl who eats lunch with him occasionally right?”

“Yeah… is there a problem?”

“Jeongin is drunk and can’t get himself home. Could you come pick him up?”

“No problem, just text me the address.”

      Once I got there I saw Jeongin sitting on the curb as a man in a suit stood beside him on his phone. I jogged over and apologized to the man on Jeongin’s behalf. 

“It’s fine, it’s only natural something like this would happen. A few of the higher ups wouldn’t stop giving him more.”

“Well thank you for caring for him. If I may ask, how did you know who I was?”

“Your message about grabbing lunch again was in the notifications. Please get home safe you two, that’s my cab,” he pointed at a car pulling up. 

      I called a cab after the co-worker left before turning to Jeongin. They give him a hard time, he isn’t happy and yet he won’t let go of this stupid job. With a sigh I crouched down in front of his face and he looked up at me in confusion. Before he could ask I grabbed his face with one hand to make sure he was focused on me. 

“Yang Jeongin, where do you live?”

“Down the street from that cute bakery,” he mumbled. 

“Which one? What area?”

“The one with a stray that always walks by and I buy cat treats to… Area? Uhmm…”

      Lord. I tried to get it out of him but by the time the cab came I had no address to give the cab driver so I gave him mine, there were no other options. Once I finally situated him on my bed I sat down next to him with a sigh. I’m glad my weak ass could get him into the apartment without collapsing. Looking at his figure, he buried his face in my pillow and was mumbling incoherently as his eyebrows furrowed. Out of instinct my hand moved to smooth out his brow, which seemed to relax him. After a moment, I got up to grab him water and aspirin for his impending headache in the morning but a sudden tug of my wrist had me tumbling to the ground. In the process of internally thanking God for the rug cushioning my fall, my heart stopped at his sudden desperate plea. 

“Gahyeon… Don’t go… I don’t want to be alone again…”

      I couldn’t breathe. It took a moment for the words to register in my brain, causing my eyes to glaze over. Gently, I tried to pull away from his grip but it was too strong, still so desperate… but I couldn’t stay here. After a few moments of no escape my free hand went to muffle my mouth as everything came crashing down. I was stupid. I forgot why he was doing all this and got too eager since we’ve gotten closer, getting ahead of myself again… Time and time again he keeps telling me she’s his everything and I was dumb enough to think that I actually stood a chance. It felt like ages until his grip loosened and I bolted, closing the door behind me. My lungs shakily dragged in desperate breaths they weren’t able to in that stifling room as part of my mind desperately tried to reign in the overthinking so the tears could subside. I got complacent and started to hope, which meant I started to expect and the worst thing about expecting… is the disappointment that comes when you realize you were wrong. 

      Sleep eluded me, my mind mocking me on an endless loop and the last thing I wanted to do right now was face him. Luckily I had morning class so I got ready with the sun and moved about my apartment quietly. Making something quickly for Jeongin while I was at it before leaving a note and heading out. Later I received a text from Jeongin apologizing and saying that next time lunch would be on him. I’ve gotten too greedy and wanted more of him than I was allowed to have and right now I just can’t. I gave some half-hearted enthusiasm and left it at that.

“So why are you avoiding Jeongin? He said you’ve been busy with school but last I checked you’re here since your hard exams are over.”

“. . . Did you tell him?”

      I was caught so there was no point. I had been dodging Jeongin for a few days but of course Seungmin called me out. He was quick-witted, easily putting the pieces together about my crush after seeing a few interactions. Not like it was a secret because everyone, minus the dense Jaehyung and Gahyeon, practically knew. 

“No but he knows something’s off, he thinks he did something when he was drunk.”

“He didn’t do anything I’m just stupid,” I sigh. 

“Did you do something to him?”

“Of course not! Let’s just say I’m being petty.” 

“Be petty later then. Apparently his dad wants him to lead some project so he’s gonna be busy soon. Something about buying out a building and business stuff, I don’t remember. ” 

      It wasn’t until another few days did I call Jeongin out for lunch again. I didn’t want to cause the pain but I also miss seeing him… feelings are so fickle. At the restaurant Jeongin’s body language screamed anxious; fidgeting, shy glances when he thinks I’m not looking, awkward bursts of conversation, the works. 

“Just say it. You’ll give yourself an upset stomach like that,” I prompted as I sipped my water. 

“I forget how sharp you are,” he chuckles awkwardly before continuing, “Uhm… did I do something the night you picked me up? It’s just… you aren’t your usual self lately…”

      Why did he have to be so perceptive with the things I’m trying to hide? I wanted to be honest but how could I tell him that I got upset on my own? No matter how up front I may be, even I have my limits. 

“You didn’t. I’ve just been out of it and didn’t want to rub off on anyone, especially you, Mr. I-got-a-big-job.” I tease before adding, “I heard from Seungmin.”

“When did you two get close enough to gossip about me?”

“Why wouldn’t I talk about my favorite person to his best friend who knows all his secrets?”

“Geez, “ he sighed, “I’m glad I didn’t do anything to upset you though.”

“What is this? Am I someone you don’t want to lose?”

“I- stop playing around and eat before the food gets cold.”

      I smiled and continued to eat, pretending to ignore the red creeping its way to his face. My heart fluttered and I wished he wouldn’t be misleading like this… it's already hard to keep myself in check as is. As the meal continued everything fell back into place albeit I now have to remind myself not to get lost in the moment but besides the point. Jeongin paid and as he was organizing his things to go back to work he handed me an important folder to hold. On this breezy day an especially strong one blew by, causing me to hug the folder tight as one of the papers tried to escape. Once the wind calmed I went to place it amongst the other papers when… Wait. That address… that building number shouldn’t be here…

“Hm? Y/n? Why did you stop-”

      Guilt flooded his face as he noticed the open folder in my hand, even after all my warnings… How could he? If he knew what that building meant to Jaehyung- no wrong is wrong. He can’t come back from this. I need to stop him, but not with an audience. I grabbed his hand and dragged him down a secluded alleyway before trying to control my temper. 

“Jeongin… what’ve you done?”

“You weren’t supposed to see that…”

“You weren’t seriously planning on going through with this were you?” I hissed. 

“It’s my job, what else am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t give me that bullshit.”

“It’s not like he’s getting cheated and changing locations isn’t a big deal-”

“Yes it is! It has to be there.”

“Why?!”

      It wasn’t my place to say this but there was just so much anger and frustration built up from that night, ignored warnings, the shit going on in my own life, I just couldn’t hold my tongue or the venom anymore. 

“That’s the building he chose with his best friend… who died back in college.” 

“. . . Things are already moving ahead, there is nothing that can be done anymore.”

“Do you hear yourself right now?! Jaehyung treated you like a brother and I know you felt the same. You’re doing this to get Gahyeon's attention but do you really think things will be fine once she finds out?” 

“What else am I supposed to do?! My only chance is as my father’s heir and to do that this project is necessary!”

“Just don’t do it! You’re betting all these relationships on a statement made on a whim!” I gave an exasperated shout. 

“Y/n you just don’t get it I need-”

“This obsession needs to stop! She may have saved you but no matter how much you lie to yourself, she isn’t the reason you’re living. When has she been there knowingly after ‘saving’ you? You live for yourself and other things have brought you meaning. You need-”

“Other things? Like what? You?” He scoffs and everything in my body freezes over. 

“I meant someone like Chan or Seungmin. Do you not know how far they would go for you if you simply just asked? Before getting defensive you should see what's around you, asshole.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“I am… cause not once have I stopped my life or abandoned who I was, for you.”

“Right… like there was no ulterior motive cause you CARE SO MUCH-”

      Yelling was fine until that moment. He had closed in with arms flailing in frustration and my immediate response was to flinch away. A moment after that the tremors came, spreading like a plague through my body, and my vision began to blur with premature tears. My brain knows Jeongin would never but after living in that house for so long it’s become a conditioned reflex. The air grew heavily silent as I felt his presence pull back and I struggled to see him through the tears. His words stumbled as he cautiously reached out for me but I moved out of reach. 

“Y/n… wait, what just- I’m sorry I-”

“What? Now you feel guilty? I told you, I hate pity,” I scoff before continuing, “After everything you’ve seen you should’ve expected something like this. Although I can’t ask you to care about my feelings when you never really did anyways and don’t try to give me shit for saying it. You know I like you but it’s always about Gahyeon and it hurts because the further you chase her the less “you” you become.” I shook my head as he stood there like a deer in headlights. “It’s partly my fault for being so indulgent but it doesn’t matter. I’m not gonna watch you destroy yourself… Just know there’s no turning back after this.”

      I couldn’t process anything, my brain let whatever come out of my mouth as long as I got out of there. The alleyway suddenly felt too narrow as my feet desperately carried me wherever as long as it was somewhere with more space. The haze had blurred things together but I vaguely remember calling Changbin, a silent car ride, and falling asleep on the couch.

[reeesea]

Something Sweet: Part Five

~sweeter shifts~

one ~ two ~ three ~ four ~ five ~ six ~ seven ~ eight ~ nine

pairing: minsung, jisung/minho

warning: mild language

words: 2k ish

summary: That feeling you get when your friend visits you at work? yeah that. Thats all this is...

a/n: Its been a little rough, but heres a short chapter i hope u enjoy <3

 -----------

Felix stood behind the counter at the convenience store on the corner of two intersecting districts. He was a few hours into his overnight shift. Usually he could do homework on these late nights, but with it being summer, he found himself antsy and daydreaming his shift away. His brain was busy re-running his dance routines for upcoming performances and auditions that he had been working on, as customers periodically filtered in the store. 

Not many customers came in other than the few students pulling all-nighters and night shift workers coming in for a bite to eat. Felix had begun to recognize a few faces as some had solidified themselves as regulars. 

A black hooded figure came in close to 3am. Even though Felix had never really seen much of the guy's face he recognized the black hoodie and mask wearing guy as a regular around his late night shifts. He was interesting, not like the obvious tired student of the late night business worker. He had no idea what it was that brought him to the convenience store at the ungodly hours of the morning.

Felix always liked to make guesses as to what lives his especially mysterious customers lived. He had already imagined the black hoodied regular as a b-list idol group member. Then a gym instructor, but mostly due to the one time he came in with a cut off shirt and Felix was taken aback by the size of the man’s arms. Most recently he imagined that the other could’ve been a bartender, because of the pretty consistent time he arrives in the late am on weekends. 

This random Thursday night though, the dark figure, back in his usual hoodie, gathered various energy drinks and cup ramens from the back shelves, and brought them out to the check out. 

“Is this all for tonight?”

“Oh yeah thats all” 

Felix began ringing up his purchases when the other spoke up suddenly.

“We’ve met before, I’m not crazy or anything right?”

“Huh?” Felix looked up confused as the man usually seldom said anything during his late night purchases.

“Yeah I thought I recognized your name, You’re Minho”s, Jisung’s friend’s, roommate, right?” Felix nodded in return but the confused look on his face sparked the other to remember that he was wearing a mask and hat that covered most of his features. Removing the mask revealed that behind it were the sharp features of Changbin, one of three artists that formed 3RACHA, that Yes, Felix had actually just met that past weekend.

Felix’s eyes widened at the sudden realization that one of his regulars was actually a member of his favorite group of artists. ‘Holy fucking shit, I am actually blind, godamn it Felix’

“Y-Yes, thats me. Sorry I didn't recognize you, I-uh didn’t realize that you, were uh- you.” ‘Smooth Lix wow’

Changbin chuckled at the freckled boys stutter. “That’s alright, I tend to forget that I'm wearing my mask sometimes. Anyway I recognized you when you were dancing last weekend, and when you had introduced yourself.” Felix was trying his best to internalize his anxious starstruck feelings. “We watched your performance, and I was trying to find a day to come here and tell you that your crew’s performance was really good.” 

Okay yeah that was it, Felix’s eyes were practically falling out of his head with how wide his expression was. “Really? You liked it? That’s really awesome. Thank you so much. That really means a lot coming from you not gonna lie.” Felix’s pride for his crew was nothing small and the validation and praise from someone he is a fan of himself, makes his heart soar. 

The smile on his face is so wide and genuine and the light that flickers in his eyes lit up the whole store, even in the middle of the night. Changbin thought that his smile felt something like sunshine, and reminded him of the warmth Jisung emitted when he was at his happiest, but of course he would never tell the other that. Changbin caught himself smiling back involuntarily. 

“Yeah, we’ll have to come watch you guys again sometime.” 

Felix nodded vigorously at that and finished checking out the items the older had brought to the counter. Neither of the twos smiles seemed to completely fade from their faces. 

“Thank you Felix-ssi, have a good night.” 

“You too!” Felix replied and bowed respectively to the older. 

Changbin replaced the mask on his face but found himself still smiling at the encounter with the boy as he walked bac home. 

[~roomies uwu~]

3:25 am

Lixie:

someone please fuking tell me how stupid i am 

Minnie hyung:

we usually dont, to spare your feelings 

Lixie:

I just embarrassed myself in front of CHangbin-ssi!!!

ALSO since when did 3RACHA live in this neighborhood

Hes been coming into the store for months 

But i never recognized him until now???

I must be idiotic

Someone change my name to ‘blind fool’ 

It is now the only title i deserve ;^;

Jinnie bby:

It is way to early for you to be this dramatic luv~

Lixie:

The overnight shift drama sleeps for no one >:}

---

“Alright, I’ll put that right in for you. I hope you enjoy your cocktails in the mean time.” Minho flashes his sickening sweet server smile at the couple, before heading to his station to input the orders. There had been a steady flow of customers at Menu 98 keeping Minho busy for his dinner shift. Thankful to not be closing, Minho was doing his best to maintain his polite persona without glancing at his watch too often. Time always passed slower, when he found himself counting his hours. 

Before moving on to check on a previous table, Seungmin waves him down letting him know he has a new table to wait, but not before catching his arm. Usually he would find a Seungmin attached to his elbow if the other wanted to share some gossip about a recent customer, or something of the sort. Expecting the same Minho’s ears peaked with interest. 

“You got a new table.” That’s unsurprising. “And they’re asking specifically for you.” That’s more surprising.

“Wait, what?”

“I don't know, you tell me. Any rich, wide-eyed, twenty-somethings, you forgot to tell me about, hyung?” 

Minho thought the eyebrow raise from the younger was a little much given the circumstances. The few seconds of silence that pass between them gave Seungmin all the information he was looking for but a sigh still escapes his lips at the stubbornness of the other. 

“Well one, Han Jisung, is waiting in section B for you.” Seungmin scurries off to return to the front, a suspicious look in his expression. Minho hadn’t really brought up much of his personal life to Seungmin, but the host hadn’t stopped his prodding ever since he had turned up to work, as Seungmin says it, glowing and smiling like a newlywed. Minho wasn’t sure if he was actually acting much different since beginning to talk to Jisung, but apparently the shift in his mood was enough to confirm to his coworker that something was up. Minho already knew that Seungmin would have a field day if he found out that he had actually first met Jisung at the restaurant and hadn’t told him. But keeping his work friend on his toes, spices up his otherwise monotonous job. 

---

“Good evening sir, would you like to order any appetizers or drinks to start off?” Minho found himself instinctually throwing on his polite grin and playing the part of a perfect waiter. Well, at least for the time being. 

“Hm idk Min-hyung, you ordered for me last time, got any suggestions.” Jisung, seemingly unphased by Minho’s generic opening line, barely looked up from the menu as the older had approached him. Being sure to make direct eye contact, Jisung then smiled cheekily, “but I think we both know I didn’t come here for the fancy food and fruity drinks.”

Minho tried not to roll his eyes too obviously, as his smile morphed into a smirk to match the younger’s, “Perhaps, but if you don't order anything, I'll have to ask you to leave, because sadly, you can not pay just to look at my pretty face.”  

“That's a shame I would've ordered five hours of that up front if it was on the menu.” The chuckle coming from Minho was enough to already ease the nerves that Jisung had been feeling since he last saw him. 

“Well, Lucky for me, sad for you, I’m not working for five more hours, sorry to disappoint.” 

“When do you get off then kind sir?” The goofy voice he used brought back the smile he had been aching to see, and made any of the embarrassment he may have felt worth it. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would yes.” JIsung smiled, batting his eyelashes, a part of him knew it probably wouldn’t be that easy. 

“Well not to worry, it looks like I can start you off with some water, and complimentary sides, while I give you some more time to look over the menu.”

“Hyung wai-” Minho walked off but not before sending a subtle wink the other’s way. Jisung ears may or may not have turned bright red, but thankfully, there was no one there to tease this time.

---

Jisung ended up ordering another one of Minho’s suggestions, this time it was a marinated sea bass filet that came with a similar fried potato side to the burger he had chosen the first time. Although the fish was perfectly cooked and seasoned, to Jisung it still felt like a fancy version of fish and chips. Minho had giggled at that when Jisung suggested they rename it some bass-related pun, ‘for the kids, ya know.’

“So are you going to tell me how what time you get off, or are really gonna let my dumb ass sit outside the restaurant and wait for how many hours it is until you’re done”

Minho laughed at the image of Jisung waiting for him like a stray outside. “Tempting I'm not gonna lie, but It's not for much longer. AND if you're interested there's a bar next door that may or may not be my usual after dinner shift destination.” 

Jisung couldn’t help but smile at that. “REally? That sounds great.” He couldn’t lie that he had spent most of his free time thinking about when he could see MInho next. Probably not the best timing granted that 3RACHA has been busy preparing for their album debut, but a part of him couldn't help but feel all warm inside at the prospect of getting to know Minho better in person.

“Okay, well then i'll see you there? Yeah?”

Minho nods gently with his own giddy smile to match.

The infamous heart-shaped grin was in its full form once Minho had suggested their next meeting place, and Minho could feel his heart leaping at that happiness that Jisung’s smile emitted. Jisung about leaped out of his chair after paying. Practically dancing his way next door to said bar, and for the first time that week Jisung felt like a song was writing itself in his head.

---

“It's him isn't it”

“Who?”

“The reason that your smiling so much, but like actually, not that dead inside expression you give me when I tell you ‘cheer up’”

“Hmmm” Minho’s ability to play dumb? Top tier. Sadly Minho’s ability to lie to Seungmin? Absolute trash.

“Come on Hyung! Just tell me!!!” Seungmin was exasperated. This wasn’t the first time he had confronted Minho about what was going on, and maybe one too many times had resulted in Minho’s signature move, the ‘I don’t want to tell you, so instead will change the subject’.

Fine. “HMM hmmmmmmm….ok….maybe we’ve been talking for a while-”

“OH MY GOD FINALLY! I knew it as soon as he walked in the door. He was all heart-eyes asking for you, and for when you get off.”

“Wait, did you tell him when my shift was over?” 

“God no, that's gotta be against some employee code.”

“Oh okay good.”

“But you're off now anyways right? Is he going to wait for you? Are you going out- oh my god he's definitely waiting for you. Have you seen how much he tipped? You sure he isn't some bizarre 20 year old sugar daddy?”

“Seungmin!”

“Okay Sorry, I'm just excited for you. You never tell me anything. All I know about you is that you’re a dancer and you worked in a bar before here.”

“Its was a host bar actually”

“Wait what?!” 

“Well, if you look at the time. As you’ve said I have a sugar daddy waiting for me, bye bye now” 

“Wait hyung what the fuck!” 

---

one ~ two ~ three ~ four ~ five ~ six ~ seven ~ eight ~ nine

[aconitum-genus]

Self-Preservation

Strap in my lovelies because this is a XXL rant:

I work in a retail store that sells skateboard products, clothing related to said skateboards, snowboards, jeans, t-shirts.. you get the idea. We even offer to grip and/or build the skateboard in store for absolutely no charge.

Now I’m not complaining about the store. I love working there. I want to eventually work in their corporate office, but my heart broke yesterday.

We are a commission based company with regular hourly pay which means that sales are SUPER important. Every month, we are expected to be above the average set at the beginning of said month and I, being the competitive bitch I am, always strive to beat everyone, but something happened that turned my stomach.

There is this guy named Steven (not his real name; privacy reasons). He is best friend with my manager, Nathan (again not his really name). These two guys have known each other for YEARS and act like they are practically brothers. I though nothing of it when I first met him on Black Friday. He seemed chill, relaxed, and always trying to make people laugh. The second time we worked together something had changed. He was abrupt, cold, and was acting like I wasn’t really there.

No worries, I thought to myself! He probably doesn’t know me, but every shift was the same. I just didn’t understand what I had done. Did I say something? Did I act a certain way? I was really confused.

I gave up on my proagitive of trying to gain his acceptance and just aimed to be cordial around him. That didn’t work so well. If some of you don’t know, I have Lupus SLE. The most basic definition - “Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease. In this disease, the immune system of the body mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. It can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and other organs.”

The symptoms that I was having were the following:

- Muscle and joint pain

- Migraine

- Hot then cold

- Nausea, can’t eat at all

- Super hungry, like I can’t get enough food

- Tingling in wrists and cheeks

- Ache in left arm

- Left wrist pain

- Lower and upper back pain is always present

- Hands and feet feel cold

- Heart racing or beating out of my chest

- Chest pain

- Tietze syndrome

- Pain on left side of body

- Cracking or crunching sounds when I move

- Lightheadness

- Fainting spells

- Shortness of breathe

- Fatigue

I’m doing much better now. I’m on chemotherapy and medication that is helping, but no one knew the extent of what I was going through at the time. I mean why would I say that in an interview? People are predujiced. “Why hire a sick person when I could hire a healthy one?”

Anyway, the first incident was when I went to my shift with a cold. Now being on chemo, my immune system is shot so upper respiratory infections are not to be taken lightly. While I was unloading shipment, I felt my airway closing. I couldn’t breathe. My heart was pounding so hard that I could feel it knocking against my sternum. I needed to go to the hospital. NOW.

I grabbed my manager and told her in my low wheezing voice, “Please. *short spurting and wheezing inhale* I need to call my mom. *Another short wheezing inhale* Hospital.” I was holding onto a display table because I could feel the blood swimming in my head. She excused me immediately and my mom took me to the ER where I was diagnosis with a very mild case of pneumonia. If you think that’s bad, look up pneumonia in lupus patients.

That same night, while I WAS ON AN OXYGEN MASK mind you, I get a text from one of my closest coworkers saying that Steven was talking shit. I was confused and asked her what happened? She goes on to explain that he sent her a picture of all work they were left to do because “poor fucking Allison had an “asthma” attack.” I was livid. I told her that I was ER with pneumonia on oxygen. I felt unfairly judged and ashamed of my illness.

I decided not to say anything and just have it roll off my shoulders until I noticed that some of my sales weren’t accounted for. Hmm, that’s strange. I know that I definitely sold that to this person and this one etc. I did some investigating and guess what? Steven had been stealing my sales. This time, I wasn’t going to let it go. I printed up the reports, highlighted the pages along with notes in the margins about what had transpired and took it in to my manager the next day.

“Hey Nathan, can I talk to you?”

“Sure Allison, what’s up?”

“Well, I just wanted to let you know that last night Steven stole two of my sales and one of Yvette’s (not real name, blah blah, you get the idea).”

“Oh well maybe he didn’t see you talking them?”

“I actually went up to him before I took my lunch break and told him that customer X and Y were getting these, but were still looking around.”

He then inquired about Yvette’s sale which he seemed to be a lot more interested in.

“It also made me very uncomfortable when he..”

“Well if you feel uncomfortable, then maybe you need to rethink your position and ask yourself if this job is really right for you. Can you work more than a four hour shift? Can you work a six, seven, or eight hour shift? Plus, you’re both adults and should handle it. There shouldn’t be this negative environment that is being created so you need to ask yourself if this is really the right place for you.”

“I come in whenever you ask me to..”

“But you also leave a lot. I understand you have health problems, but you can’t say that you come in all the time only to leave.”

At this point, I was gritting my teeth. Blocking everything out. I decided then that he didn’t care about helping me, only protecting Steven.

About three months past and Steven and I were tolerating each other until I notice that at $133 sale is missing from my stats. Greattttt. It’s happening again. I printed it out and began writing down exactly what happened. I told my assistant manager about this and she said that she saw what happened. She said she had talked to Nathan before about having everyone come in to talk about this, but he blew it off and said it was “fucking dumb.” I held it in. I waited because I knew that our district manager was coming that Saturday. I was going to tell her because Nathan didn’t seem to take it seriously.

The day arrives and I’m excited. I grab my papers and show her once I arrive. She makes small talk and my dumbass accidentally lets slip that I have lupus. Her eyes widen and I think I’m fucked only to find out that she knew someone with lupus, but she didn’t know about it until they quit the job. I then tell her about the whole predujiced issue blah blah blah and the Steven problem and then head off to my shift where I fucking kill it. In the first two hours, I made over $1,600 for the store. I was loving life because I was impressing the god damn district manager.

I went to break and returned to have Nathan talk to me. I thought oh no. He said that he wanted to apologize for being an asshole for the past two months and that he appreciated me blah bullshit bullshit bullshit. He then brought up the talk I had with the DM about Steven stealing sales. I proceed to give him the document and he said he’d investigate. He then starts to tell me that I crowd the register by looking at my stats constantly and that creates distrust. I told him that I couldn’t trust Steven because this has happened twice already and yet again he proceeds to berate me about my illness and if this is the right place for me. I listen silently while tears rolled down my face. While Nathan was talking, Steven was walking in and out of the room getting items and seeing my tears. After the rant is over he says:

“Why’re you down right now?” At this point, I start bawling.

“Because I give my all for this job. Every single comment or criticism I take as an opportunity to grow. Every lesson that I’m given, I keep going until I pass it. This job doesn’t cause me pain. Some days, I wake up in pain when I’m not working, but I still come in because that’s how dedicated I am to be here. I know that I’ve left a few times, but I haven’t left early since late February.”

Silence.

“I was laying in my bed for two years before I came here and I know that’s not an excuse, but there’s a certain adjustment period. I couldn’t run before because my knees felt like they would give out and break. I couldn’t stand for longer than 45 seconds because my heart would beat out my chest and make me faint. I couldn’t sleep for days because the narcotics weren’t working. I still have those days, but I come in to help and when I see that my stats are going down, it upsets me because I’ve work incredibly hard to be here. I love this job more than anything and I will not quit just because I’m in pain.”

“Alright. I understand. I’ll do some investigating and see what I find out.”

I dry my eyes and hold my head high thinking that I’ve convinced him only to later find out I was gossiped about.. again.

Steven to Yvette,” Time to go steal some sales.”

Steven,” Yeah I think she got in trouble for “telling”. *laughs*

When I saw the messages that my friend sent to me, I felt nothing. I was numb. I knew then that I was never going to let anyone know what was really going on. Never let anyone know if I was in some much pain that I would pass out until I collapsed on their floor or that I was not getting the sales that were mine. I hid back into myself and made the decision to go to work the next day being as happy as fuck. I would continue being this way so if there was any drama, they wouldn’t be looking at the girl who never complains.

I decided to preserve myself from getting hurt any further, create a persona, and only focus on my goal. No one was going to fuck with my livelihood. I’d make sure of that. If they do, I’ll fucking destroy them.

[loverofthefiction]

Don’t Read That!

Summary: You and Natasha send each other hot pictures of you fellow Avengers, but one night, you accidentally send Bucky a picture of himself.

Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 1830

Warnings: some talk about hot/shirtless dudes, a lot of wrestling over phones, and really awkward conversations

Author’s Note: Hey, hey, this is my first requested story (thank you to the lovely anon who requested it, I was very excited to finally receive one lol). I really like how this turned out despite the fact that I wrote this in like four hours. I might be a little busy because of finals at my school so I apologize in advance. Um, enjoy!

It was late one night in the Avengers' facility that you had created an undercover Twitter account. You wanted one to keep up with all the thoughts and gossip that spread throughout the internet about your coworkers and yourself. Though the real reason for your stalking nature was to feel a connection to your admirers, you couldn’t help but follow a few of Bucky fan accounts as well.

It wasn’t wrong, per se, you two were friends after all, but Bucky was just too much of a good guy (and too good-looking) to not accidentally fall in love with him. You had promised yourself that you wouldn’t get involved with a coworker (in this case, best friends); it was wrong and dangerous. But it despite your greatest attempts, you had fallen, and fallen hard.

You checked your feed whenever you could (well whenever no one was around). You felt normal to not be recognized and even after a while, you didn’t have a big following like on your public account, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

One day, on your way back to the compound on the Quintet after a mission with Natasha, you were scrolling through a thread about a cosplayer when she entered the room.

“Hey, Y/N, mind if I sit here?” You nodded she sat down next to you and opened her own device. You quickly exited out of the app and opened another, not trying to look suspicious but being the secret assassin/spy that Natasha was, of course she noticed.

“What was that?” she asked and tried to take the phone out of your hand.

“Nothing!” you said loudly, only increasing her curiosity and determination.

“Give me the phone, Y/N.”

“No! I have private stuff on there!”

“Come on, we’re best friends!” Still wrestle over the phone, she somehow slipped it out of your hands and pushed you away, opening the newly closed app.

“Ooh! You have a secret Twitter!”

“Please don’t tell anyone! I swear I-I’ll do your laundry for a week! A month!” you pleaded.

“Relax, I won’t say anything about it. I have one too, you should follow my account.” You couldn’t believe what came out of her mouth. You had thought that you were the only one on the team that even knew about Twitter.

“Wait, what?”

“I have an account too. Follow me,” she shrugged simply, tossed you your phone and went back to her own.

“What do you use it for?”

“Really? We’re surrounded by hot men and you’re asking me what I use it for,” she chuckled, not once looking up from her phone.

“Seriously?” you said, still not believing it.

“Of course.” She showed you a picture of a shirtless Steve Rogers. “You see this? I can’t like this on my public account.”

“I’m sorry I’m in a bit of shock.”

“It’s fine, here I’ll even send a couple of Bucky photos to you.”

“W-why Bucky?”

“Really, Y/N? You are not subtle at all. Literally everyone knows about your little crush on him. Well, except Bucky himself, he’s almost as clueless as you.”

“Shit, am I really that obvious?” You looked down onto your phone, looking at the photo Natasha had sent you.

“Duh,” she said while glancing down at her watch. “We’re almost home, buckle in, the team will be waiting for us when we land.”

“Nat,” you said when she was almost out the door.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for not telling.”

“No problem,” she winked.

..

After the discovery of Natasha’s own twitter account, you two sent a lot of pictures to each other. Now sharing your guilty pleasure with someone else, it wasn’t as bad as you had painted it in your head. It was nice to thirst over the hot men that you worked with with someone else.

Tonight in particular had been a great day; Bucky decided to take a shirtless jog early in the morning and was photographed by paparazzi. You knew immediately when you saw this that you had to share it with Natasha.

You screenshotted the post and sent it to her with a text saying “I swear, he is the perfect guy. I would give up a kidney to go on one date with him.”

“Hey, Y/N,” you heard Bucky’s voice call out from the entrance of the lounge, which you were currently sitting in.

“Yeah?” you blushed at the sight of him.

“I’m going to go take a quick shower, can you please tell me when Steve gets home from his meeting?”

“Yeah, no problem,” you smiled.

“Thanks, doll. I’ll be right back.” And with that, he left to take a shower (your eyes may or may not have followed his, er, back side as he walked away).

Sighing, you looked back to your screen. You looked at the thread of texts with Natasha that should have shown previous pictures that you two have sent. Instead, they should some vague texts that didn’t quite make sense. It was only until you saw a text that called you ‘doll’ that you noticed it.

You hadn’t sent the text to Natasha.

You had sent it to Bucky.

Shit, shit, shit, shit.

You scrambled to your feet, your heart was racing at a speed that you hadn’t thought was humanly possible.

The text had just been delivered and hadn’t even been open. Maybe Bucky left his phone in his bedroom, you thought. I’ll just get it and delete the message before he sees it. Yeah, that’ll work.

You ran into the elevator and pressed the button to Bucky’s floor. Your foot tapped rapidly as you encouraged the machine to go faster, although you knew it was dumb, your main goal right now was to get to his bedroom.

Once the elevator dinged, you ran to the right door and opened it. You looked at the few pieces of furniture, finally spotting the phone on his bedside table. You grabbed it and turned it on, seeing your text in the notifications.

“Y/N? What’re you doing in here?” you heard Bucky’s voice say.

Your heart leapt up to your throat and you swallowed. Slowly turning around, you saw him with only a pair of sweatpants on, his exposed chest making it very hard to concentrate.

“Uh, I wanted to ask what you needed Steve for,” you stuttered out despite your attempts to keep your voice steady.

“I need to give him my part of the mission report. Why were you looking through my phone?” His eyebrows furrowed making him look very confused.

“I was just… installing a new ringtone, the one you have now is pretty boring, so I decided to change it for you.”

“Oh, really?” he asked in a very skeptical way.

“Yep.” You looked around the room, your eyes not wanting to accidentally make stare at the exposed abs in front of you (boy, was he ripped).

“Can I have my phone back?”

“No!” you said a little too loudly. “I, uh, mean I haven’t installed it yet.” He moved closer to you, extending his hand and waited for you to hand it over.

“That’s fine, I don’t mind.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, I could even change the wallpaper too if you’d like,” you said desperately clutching the phone.

“What I’d like,” he stepped closer, “is for you to give me my phone back.”

“B-but the ringtone is cooler! Seriously, it’ll only take a moment, I swear.”

“Doll, just give it to me,” he said in a non aggressive yet loud way.

“No, Bucky,” you stood your ground. At this moment, his hand flew to take the phone out of your grip, but your instincts made you pull away faster than he could grab it.

“Y/N! Hand it over!”

“No!” you said, backing up into the wall. Soon, your wall bumped up against it and you knew you were trapped.

“I don’t get what the big deal is!” He gave another attempt at taking it, but still you kept it close to your chest. At this point, he was so close to you that you could smell the day old cologne he had put on this morning.

“I’m not letting you embarrass yourself by having a stupid ringtone!” He finally grabbed the phone out of your hands and you chased after it, but he placed his arm in front of you, stopping you from being able to take it back.

He looked at the screen and you looked away to not see the disgust in his eyes. You held your breath as he lowered his arm slowly but you kept your gaze to the floor.

“Doll,” he muttered. “Look at me.” You sighed and looked up cautiously. His blue eyes showed a bit of fear and hesitation.

“What’s this text about?” he asked in a small voice.

“I-I didn’t mean anything by it, just that you’re, you know, you, a-and it was supposed to get sent to Nat but being the dumb ass that I am, I accidentally sent it to you instead and now I’m dying of embarrassment so if you would please just forget this ever happened I would really appreciate it,” you rambled.

“Why would I want to forget?”

“Because this is just a weird situation and I’m practically in love with you but I know that it would never work out and I now realize that I really should not have said that. I need to keep my mouth shut…”

“You’re in love with me?” his voice was still small, as if he didn’t want the answer to the question. You nodded and tried to hide the extreme blush that spread across your face quickly.

“I, um,” he cleared his throat to impede himself from messing up his statement. “I think I’m in love with you too.” Your head whipped to try to spot any ounce of lie or humor on his face.

“Are you only saying that because you feel pity for me?”

“No, I really mean it, you know how hard it is to talk about this kind of stuff,” he looked away, his own cheeks now showing a tinge of color.

“Um, cool. So…”

“So…” he repeated.

“I’m going to head to my room now, good night,” you slipped by him awkwardly. You must’ve called yourself an idiot a hundred times by the time you got to the elevator.

“Y/N! Wait!” Once again, you heard Bucky call your name from behind you. You turned to see him jogging down the hall, and he stopped in front of you.

“Maybe, if you have time, you’d like to get a coffee or something with me?” he scratched the back of his neck nervously, the whirling in his metal arm giving it away as well.

“Of course, I’m free tomorrow actually,” you bit your lip.

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he smiled. “And don’t worry, you won’t have to give up a kidney.”

[adelindschade]

Mini Vent time. 

You know how YOU (Netflix series) has like no redeeming characters in S1? All of them just kept adding shit to the fire and stunk up the whole place? 

That’s like my work RN. Not excited to come in for NO damn reason. 

1 - predatory soon-to-be-thirty chef (and coke dealer - doesn’t even hide it) keeps hitting up younger girls, and he’s found his latest target in our latest new hire. He has NOT learned from the last time - probs enabled by the fact management kept him and ousted the victim (”recommended she find her fit elsewhere” - granted, she didn’t really excel at her job, but seriously...?  Fucking toxic workplace!) 

2- new hire - whom I’ve met briefly - is now in peak flirtation stage and sucked right into the whole spiel. It’s aggravating because she’s slacking on her job and acting haughty about it. At least be discreet...? It’s not like she’s going to get any privacy once the gritty details come out. Everyone knows everything at some point... She works on a different side and we interact briefly (pulling me when they are understaffed for this big ass events - ugh) 

2.A. so IDK what’s happening besides overhearing what others have to say - and apparently she’s thinks she’s exempt from doing work because “Oh I have to talk to [his name]” or “I'm hungry. I’m going to ask [his name] to cook me something.” Girl - priorities please! I sprained my finger and still busting my ass. What’s your excuse??? 

3. Other coworker who I’ve been desensitized to has a problem with not filtering what she has to say. Gossip is one thing. Opening instigating something with cheap shots and remarks is another. Don’t look for a fight and then act like you’re in the right because you’ve been here longer. I may chose my battles but I’m not blind, or forgetful. I remember your rape apologist BS - siding with the douche canoe chef over the victim. Hmm-mm. I remember that real clearly. 

3.A she be instigating shit with new hire. A 40 YO woman down talking a young 20 something girl for slacking and then some. I get if she’s frustrated she’s picking up other people’s shit (me, too, fam. Me, too!) because they won’t do their job - but accusing them of being whores? Dumb for falling for a grown ass man’s perfected grooming techniques? She’s not advocating for shit - she’s just meddling and condescending. 

I wish they all just bit their tongue, did their business, and keep it private - is that so much to ask for? 

She was warned by a good intentioned employee (but lost cause) - the new hire had been told plenty - but if she wants to learn her own way, we can’t stop her BUT she can assess her attitude and fix it before someone else fixes it for her, and she finds herself unemployed again because our boss has a short fuse and long memory. He’ll clean up house real quick and if she doesn’t adapt, she’ll be cut sadly. 

The other one needs to mind her damn business and stop policing everybody for petty shit. Her quick mouth isn’t funny or forgivable. Its damn right rude and hypocritical, as if she doesn’t skimp out on her duties because “well so-and-so didn’t do them and I’m not cleaning up their mess anymore” which of course then puts the burden on the rest of us to pick up the pace. 

And can grown ass men get their act together? Damn. No wonder grown women don’t fuck with him - he’s a guy working for his dad (then five-star chef) for how many years...? constantly kicking it with college kids and selling coke...? partying until he’s blacklisted from clubs and then bitching about how it’s the other guys’ fault for disrespecting him...? It’s a whole ass mess and that’s why I eat my damn food and keep quiet. This shit is exhausting. 

[crumblepot-redirect]

1, 3 for glasnost and 6 for photo-proofed kisses for the ask thing (◕‿◕✿)

1. of the fics you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

this comes in two categories, for me. probably because i can’t shut the fuck up.

as for which was my favorite because it was (is) so fun and enjoyable? it’s definitely photo-proofed kisses i remember so well. i’ve put a lot of happy thoughts and happy things into photo-proofed kisses, and i know that when i look back at that fic in five, ten years? i know i’ll be able to see those happy things. i think that’s really special.

in terms of favorite because it behaved and acted the way i wanted it to when i wrote it? that’s this ain’t no headtrip— this is a collision on the road. it was one of the first times i tried to use a fic for a major fandom as a form of catharsis, and it definitely worked. i knew what i wanted— sick, upsetting, all-encompassing love that feels less like a blessing and more like a curse —and it turned out how i wanted it to. rarely ever does that happen, so i can’t help but love headtrip for that alone.

3. which part of glasnost was hardest to write?

i had a lot of issues writing oswald’s confrontation with ed in the study, particularly this little section:

Oswald takes the knife from Ed, stabbing it roughly into the hardwood desktop, "This house was my father's tomb," he says, perching himself on the edge of the desk, "and it is undoubtedly filled with ghosts. Just that, though; no visitors, no burglars, no enemies."

"Ghosts aren't real," Ed says dumbly, using a shaking hand to push his glasses up.

"Maybe so," absently, Oswald considers the knife right beside his hip, wonders just how hard it would be to wrench it back out of the antique wood, "but neither are hallucinations, and yet—" he gestures to Ed's chest, to the mess he's made of himself.

it took me a few tries over to get the balance of cruel, cryptic, and concerned that i wanted oswald to bear. that tends to be my relationship with writing oswald, though— either it comes very easily, or it takes me a series of laborious attempts! he’s difficult that way. 

and, of course, as usual, writing anything mildly sexual poses a lot of difficulty for me, because i’m like this.

6. which scenes did you cut, and which were added in photo-proofed kisses i remember so well?

oh boy. this could be a fucking novel, honestly. i’m gonna put this under a cut, actually.

there’s a reason why my draft spaces for photo-proofed kisses have been expanded from one note to nearly three. i wrote a lot of things that i didn’t end up wanting to include. 

somewhere in chapter nine, i rearranged the discussion ed has with his father about defending oswald to something a lot simpler. in the first draft, it went like this: 

“You’re lucky he didn’t break your nose.” Mr. Nygma scrubs the blood away, thumbs at the bruise starting to form over Ed’s nose. “You must have really pissed that guy off.”

“Is it that bad?”

“Pretty bad. Did you hit him back?”

“No.”

“But you told him off?”

“I guess.”

“That’s my boy,” Mr. Ngyma laughs and pats his son’s face, throws away the dirty paper towels. “You did good, defending him. Sometimes you have to hold out for the people who can’t fight for themselves.”

“Dad, it’s not like that,” Ed cringes, holds his glasses in his hands awkwardly, “Oswald can defend himself just fine.”

“Edward, people like him, they don’t fight—“

“People like him?”

“Well, you know. I’m not passing judgement or anything.”

“Oh, my god, dad.” Ed wants to speak, wants to yell and explain that it’s not like that, but he doesn’t even know how to. Doesn’t even know if it’s worth it.

that all felt a little too much, so instead i just made mr. nygma purposefully equal parts apathetic and proud. you know, like fathers tend to be. 

in the next chapter, i had a bunch of stuff written for a series of scenes were ed goes off to visit an ivy league college in a neighboring city. he goes on this trip with his parents and oswald refuses to go with because he’s mad he can’t afford college (and he doesn’t want ed to leave to some college and forget about him entirely) so he kind of ignores ed while he’s gone. it turns out in the end, though, that ed has been thinking about oswald the whole time and even goes to a record store to buy oswald some records and shit (that whole concept got stolen from this scene, and implanted in the Confession chapter).

there’s a little excerpt i thought was cute, though, and kind of wish i could have fit into the fic. oswald takes a sulking nap when ed leaves and totally doesn’t get out of bed all day. 

Oswald's mother feeds him, pets his hair sweetly. She'll never say it, but she knows how Oswald feels.

"It's in his eyes," she'll tell one of her coworkers, "my boy, he has beautiful eyes. The way he looks at Edward?" Gertrud will sigh, put her hands on her hips, will look somewhere off in the distance. "Young love. And I know— I know that Edward sees what I do in my sweet, little Oswald. He sees his worth. But he does not see what's in his eyes." With one fluid gesture, she'll point to her own eyes, then around her own face, smiling. Her coworkers will giggle, will gossip in mother tongues until their lunch break.

She tells him to take a bath while she goes to work. "It will soothe your heart, little one," she says before kissing his forehead, and leaving him alone for the afternoon.

He does take the bath.

i don’t write enough gertrud, simply because i don’t feel too comfortable writing her. further on in that scene, when ed comes home and brings oswald records, gertrud announces his gift as:

"Oswald," she calls to her son, pinching Ed's cheeks, "it's Edward. He's brought you some— some—" as she searches for the word, she gestures in a circular motion, imitating the slow turning of a record, "some music." That will do.

there were a few weird scenes planned for after graduation; one where ed comes back to his dorm from class and is struggling major. lots of alter!ed content. ed stays in bed with oswald and oswald has to see firsthand the level of reality with which ed experiences his alter— oswald takes care of him, they go on a walk, things get better. 

there’s another where before he goes off to college ed gets prescribed the wrong dosage of medication, finds himself nearly catatonic and once again, oswald takes care of him. there were things about it that just felt wrong, it made things seem unbalanced. 

i’m sure there’s tons and tons more, but i’m a dumb idiot. and it’s late. i love you for sending this 

ask me questions about my writing!

[space-age-bachelor]

Instead of Flying Off, He’ll Stay

Rafael Barba/Dominick “Sonny” Carisi Jr.

Sonny's life was not a Hallmark movie. He just had to get Barba to fall in love with him before Christmas Eve.

Thanks to @me-ladie for beta reading 

For @richardgoranski for being an incredible friend and being there for me

[AO3]

Rafael Barba loved Christmas. It had always been a family holiday to him, not the commercialized monstrosity that it had become. He’d never really gotten the concept of Santa Claus, so he never sent a list or went to Macy’s. But every year on Christmas Eve, after his mother read him Twas the Night Before Christmas , he would stare out the window at the direction he believed to be North and make a wish.

It had been years since he had done that and it was a little less than a month away from Christmas and carols had been playing in all of the stores he passed on the walk home from his mother’s Thanksgiving dinner. He’d stopped believing in Santa when he was eleven and his knees cracked when he lowered himself to the floor, still he faced North and hoped for a Christmas miracle.

He couldn’t spend Christmas alone for another year. He didn’t want to go to bed eight thirty watching old claymation movies while his coworkers thought he was off on some extravagant get away. He wanted someone to whisper “Merry Christmas” to over mugs of hot chocolate and kiss under the mistletoe, he’d always wanted to do that.

Once he thought his symbolic wish out thoroughly, he stood and chuckled to himself. The whole exercise had been ridiculous, but part of him deep down still believed in magic. It allowed him to sleep a little easier and wake up a little lighter.

The day after Thanksgiving was always spent decorating for Christmas. Bella would pull out the boxes she had in storage (this year, in her attic since she and Tommy decided to bite the bullet and get a real house), and Sonny would always end up doing most of the actual decorating. It was his burden to bear, being the only one who could string lights with a swish of his wrist.

“Bella,” he glared at her as he pulled out the seventh new pack of lights from her shopping bag, “I can’t do this. Not alone without drawing any attention to myself.” He let them all fall into his lap, “Do you have to be seen from space? Afraid Dad won’t be able to find your new roof?”

She rolled her eyes and pulled up a pinterest board on her iPad, scrolling through pages upon pages of our door light design and “the perfect Christmas lawn.” They all looked like something out of that dumb live action Grinch movie.

“I wanna beat that bitch Cynthia. She thinks she’s so much better because her precious Annabell was born in wedlock,” She flipped her hair and added a snooty voice before breaking into a groan. “She doesn’t even realize her perfect Carl is cheating on her with Todd from the school board.”

“That’s the Christmas spirit.” He sighed, not actually caring. That bitch had insulted his niece and made his sister feel inadequate, they were going to crush her. “Alright but, I can’t do all of this my way without being seen. It’s not like I can kill your street lights and with this many lights someone is bound to see me. Even at 3 am.”

They had a small staring contest. Bella matching his gaze with everything she had.

He blinked first.

A blinding grin spread across her face. “So when are we gonna start Nicky?” She winked at the nickname, the one that made him sound like some younger version of their father. “I’ve got the decorations, you’ve got that Christmas magic. Let’s kick a soccer mom’s zumba tight ass.”

“I’ll do it, but only the second floor. Everything else outside is done by hand.” He dropped all of the lights back into the plastic bag. “And you have to listen to me bitch about Dad for as long as I want.”

She clapped excitedly. She was a gossip by nature and Sonny had just offered her exactly what she wanted. He didn’t mind as long as she wasn’t going to try and convince him to do her whole yard. “Great! You can finally tell me what the Big Man said last night. I haven't seen you that upset since Queens SVU.”

Sonny’s mood darkened, he hadn’t planned on bringing that up. He was just going to go on about how their father saw his work and even his law degree as a waist and a distraction. It should have been obvious that Bella would want to know why he ducked out of Thanksgiving before the dessert had even touched the table.

“While we do the interior. It’s Gabby’s first Christmas in the new house and I wanna make it special.” Bella opened the first bin and Sonny got to work.

Decorating was an art that Sonny considered himself particularly gifted at, it came with the territory of who he was. When stringing lights was as easy as tracing the square of Bella’s kitchen window, it was hard not to be an expert.

He could lose himself in the feeling of it. A flick of his wrist and a garland covered the arch between the dining room and living room. It sent his heart racing, as if there was electricity flowing through him and extending out to the decorations. They were just an extension of himself.

Bella kept warning him to take it easy not go so fast. She only knew how drained he used to get after half an hour of this, but after last night he could do the whole house without breaking a sweat. It made the rush he got feel cheapened somehow. He just hoped he’d be able to enjoy the place, gleaming like the city skyline, after he got everything off his chest.

“Looks great, Sonny.” She squeezed his arm and pressed a cup of freshly made hot chocolate into his hands. “Don’t worry about the rest right now. Come on and sit down.”

She gently guided him over to the couch and practically pushed him down onto it. “I don’t want you passing out before we get some proper storytelling going.”

“I don’t pass out-”

“Please,” She scoffed setting herself down next to him, “You always act like you just gave blood. ‘Oh,’” She moaned doing a terrible impression of him even though they had the same accent. “‘Just let me sit here and eat my cookie and drink my apple juice. I’m so weak.’”

It got a chuckle out of him, “Well, no more of that, I’m getting stronger-” He froze. Two days ago, it had just been a nice thing that he couldn’t explain. He winced at his own slip.

“Sonny, what’s wrong?” She grabbed his shoulder, suddenly concerned.

“It’s not your fault. It’s just…” He sighed, he really did want to talk about this. He was having a hard time dealing with it on his own and needed the support. It was just difficult to say. “Dad wants to retire after this year.”

Her eyes widened. It would’ve been comical under different circumstances. “Holy shit, you… he needs you to…” She took a deep swig of her hot chocolate, “Shit.”

He nodded and took his own sip, not having anything to really say to it.

“Alright, alright...alright, tell me exactly what he said.”

“He didn’t say much, just asked me to take over next Christmas.” He shrugged, “I tried to tell him I didn’t want to, but he gave me that whole ‘first son’ thing-- which is bullshit by the way, if Jenny McCarthy could do it--”

She raised a hand to stop it. “T, Gigi, and I all don’t want anything to do with it. So that wouldn’t matter. Dad would cave if we would.”

“I know.” Another sip of cocoa. “I wish you did because he tore my life apart. I have one friend, I’m not content with my job, I haven’t dated anyone in almost five years. I just stood there as he laid out why nobody would really miss me if I picked up and left.”

“I’d miss you.”

He smiled softly, “Thanks, Bells, but you could still visit. The only person who sorta counts is Amanda and Dad would rather I tell her than force him to work another year.”

She flopped backwards so she was staring up at the ceiling, “Mr. Tradition probably thinks you two are going to get together.”

Sonny was silent for a long time, running through all the ways to phrase his next sentence. He wouldn’t look her in the eyes when he finally decided on what to say. “That was actually my only way out of it. Dad says he’ll back off if I can have a stable relationship by Christmas. Then leaving wouldn’t just be my decision.”

“You can’t just get a girl pregnant.”

A laugh was startled out of him, “Nope, still gay and still single.”

Her “scheme smirk” was firmly in place when she sprung back up, “Well, you’re already in love with someone. So you just have until Christmas to get Mr. Barba to fall in love with you.”

“I’m not in love with Barba.” The redness of his cheeks didn’t help the lie. “Besides, we’re not that kind of close and I’m not convinced that he doesn’t hate me. You don’t go from that to love in a month.”

She swatted his arm. “He doesn’t hate you. It’s impossible to hate you. Plus, you can just use your Christmas powers to charm him.” She wiggled her fingers in his face, barely containing her laughter.

“You know, it doesn't work like that.” He insisted, retaliating as if they still were children and pinning her back on the couch. “You really think Barba’s my best bet?”

She shrugged as well as she could, “You’re gay and your only friend is a girl. I mean, unless you wanna download Grindr and try your luck.”

“Hey, Barba,” Sonny kept rubbing his hands on his pants or the bottom of his jacket. He was nervous sweating and on the off chance he had to actually touch the other man, he wanted them to be at least somewhat dry. “Are you free tomorrow night?”

The prosecutor stopped, but looked more confused than anything else, “Depends upon what you’re suggesting.”

“I have a new recipe I wanna test out.” He was lying. That was a flat out lie, but he wasn’t brave enough to just ask him out. “So dinner tomorrow night?”

“So, I your new Guinea Pig?” The corner of his mouth quirked up, “Alright, I could be ready by eight.”

Sonny didn’t react for a moment before a smile split his face. He hadn’t expected this to work. “Perfect! I’ll have time to make dessert as well.”

He nodded, “I’ll see you then, Carisi.” With that, he turned and left.

Sonny half stumbled back to his desk, causing Amanda to raise an eyebrow, “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you tonight.” He said, trying not to turn back and watch the door Barba just left through. Now he just had to figure out which recipe Barba would like the best.

“So you need me to watch Holly for just no reason?” Amanda loved watching Holly. Sure, she was huge and drooled all over the furniture, but she was sweet and was glad to just be a pillow or space heater, “Are you sure there isn’t a reason?”

He sighed, if his plan worked out he’d have to tell her at some point. “I have a date and I don’t want Holly getting over excited and scare him away.” She was the sweetest, but she got over enthusiastic when new people came over. “A lot went into this.”

She arched an eyebrow, “Really? Anyone I know? Because the only person I’ve seen you fawn over is-” Her mouth fell open in realization. “No….You finally asked Barba out? And you’re skipping straight to bringing him home?”

“Oh my god,” He groaned, the noise drawing his dog over to rest her head on his lap. “I’m making him dinner, and I’m not even sure he realized that I was asking him on a date. He might be straight.”

“He’s just as smitten as you are and just as bad at hiding it.” She said moving closer so they both had access to Holly.

They sat there for some time, ABC Family playing through a rotation of Christmas movies that seemed to be compose of Elf and Christmas Vacation, exclusively. Right before Clark Griswold officially lost it, Amanda passed out using Holly’s stomach as a pillow. Sonny had done it enough times to admit that it was one of the reasons he had gotten a Newfoundland. Of course, once Amanda was finally asleep at a reasonable time, Jesse started crying.

She raised her head slightly before dropping it back down, “She wants her Uncle Sonny.”

He laughed and went to go take care of his goddaughter. “Hey, Baby.” He cooed bending down to lift her.

His heart always melted when he held her, her little hands clutching at the collar of his shirt. He wanted to have that with his own kids at some point with a child of his own. Barba probably wouldn’t want kids, he didn’t seem like the type. But they’d cross that bridge if they ever actually made it there.

Jesse’s crying wouldn’t subside, so he pulled out a little trick he would do for Gabby when ever she got fussy.

He felt the familiar spark in his fingertips and the energy that flooded his chest making him feel whole and energized. He pulled a stuffed puppy out from behind his back.

They toy whined at Jesse and licked the tear tracks that stained her cheeks until the wailing turned into giggling and squeals of glee. The magic to create the little puppy might have given him a rush of joy, but he sound of Jesse’s laughter overwhelmed him with happiness.

“Sonny, how do you always-”

He dropped the toy when he heard Amanda’s voice. It immediately tried to get back up, scratching at his leg with blue cotton paws and yipping at him to demand attention. Without even thinking he snapped his fingers and it fell limp as if it were always just a normal plushie.

Her eyes were bugging out of her skull as she stared down at the offending object. Most people, well adults, didn’t react well when confronted with magic. They lacked the imagination to really comprehend what was happening and lashed out at him because of it. He just hoped Amanda would at least hear him out-

“I fucking knew it!” She cheered and his mind went blank. “You’re too good with kids, and you’re ridiculously lucky, and you know things about people that you couldn’t possibly know, and your cookies.”

He nodded, slowly coming back to himself, “Uh, yeah, my cookies are magic.” It came with the territory of being who he was. He put Jesse back into her crib, leaning down to pick up her new toy. Once she was tucked in, he snapped again and the puppy yawned, padding over and curling up against her side. It would help sooth her if she woke up again.

He turned back to Amanda, “Come on, I’ll explain everything.”

Amanda took it well, after she laughed at the fact that Sonny’s future hinged on whether or not he could get Barba to fall in love with him by Christmas, and admit it. He could worry about the actual admission later, his first goal was to get Barba to agree to a second date.

He wished his particular brand of magic applied to any kind of food. Sure his desserts were always perfect no matter what they were, so he had that going for him, but for an average everyday dinner, he had to rely on his own talent and experience. His own skill wasn’t something to be scoffed at though, so he thought it would be okay.

Barba had never had his cooking anyway, so if he was having an off day he could impress him even more next time. The dessert was all he really needed to get to phase two of Bella’s plan.

“So what are we having?” Barba had come straight from work but he immediately took off his jacket. It made him look softer, and comfortable in Sonny’s home. “I haven’t eaten in hours so it had better be good.”

He laughed leading him through to the kitchen, “It’s nothing special, just a new kind of pizza dough I’d been meaning to try and sugar cookies with a new flavor of icing.” It was nice finishing up dinner and being able to look over to the island to see Barba sitting there.

“I didn’t realize dessert was going to be cookies. I would’ve made this my cheat day.”

Sonny rolled his eyes, “Eating healthy keeps you fit, eating well keeps you sane.” He pulled out the wine, “Have some cookies and don’t worry about a diet, which you don’t need by the way.”

“Dinner and compliments? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this was a date.”

His heart dropped to his feet. He knew this was a possibility, but that didn’t stop his disappointment from showing, or Barba’s surprise at seeing it. This had always been the hard part when he imagined this scenario in his head, having to explain what had been lost in translation.

“Oh, I thought this was just a friendly dinner.” Barba was flushed and started messing with his tie. He only did that when he was nervous. “I know you do things like this with Liv and Amanda. So I assumed…”

“No, it’s fine.” He forced a smile and continued setting the table. The cheerful Christmas plates didn’t do much for his mood though. “We’re friends, right? This could just be a fun friend dinner. That is,” he took a deep breath and a leap of faith, “if you want it to be.”

A slow smile spread across the prosecutors face as he reached for his glass, “No, I think this would be the perfect first date. I mean, as long as those cookies are as good as Liv says they are.”

“Oh, trust me, they’re better.”

“Sonny, this is great!” Bella cheered, the shrill voice loud enough that Holly was reacting to it from across the room. “I need you to tell me everything about that date. You made him cookies, right? Exploit your gifts.”

“He liked the cookies.” he rolled his eyes resisting the urge to laugh. “We’re actually going out again tonight, taking Holly for a W-A-L-K in that park around the corner. Seemed like a romantic thing to do.” Of course, that left him sifting through winter coats and scarfs trying to figure out what pair would look the best while keeping him warm.

She sighed dreamily, “That’s straight out of a movie. It’s gonna snow right?”

“Check the weather app.”

He knew that she was glaring at her wall. She always hated when he said things like that. “You know what I mean. A light flurry while walking through the park, it’s a Hallmark movie.”

“This whole thing is a Hallmark movie.” He ran a hand down his face and finally decided on a not too heavy black pea coat, shorter than the one that he wore for work most days, with a red wool scarf that Gina had knit him a few years ago. “That means it has a happy ending, right?”

“Of course! I was talking with Amanda earlier,” He didn’t exactly regret introducing the two of them, but it was worrying that his sister and his best friend gossiped about him. “She said you two are adorable together at work, and I know you fall fast. If he’s like you, this will be fine.”

He waited until only a minute before Barba-no, Rafael- to get there before grabbing Holly’s leash and the collar. “A week and a half is fast. Especially since this is only our second actual date. We’re always so busy that working lunches are all we’re able to do.”

“Alright, then make it count. I’m not losing you because of this.”

“It’ll be fine, Bells. Besides, it would take a lot more than moving to get rid of me.” He laughed to try and calm her down. It wasn’t time to give up hope. “No I’ve got to go, Rafael’s here.”

After a quick goodbye, he grabbed Holly and opened the door. “Hey.”

Rafael smiled at him for a moment, before his attention shifted to the beast at Sonny’s side. “Wow, when you said you had a big dog, I was expecting a golden retriever or border collie.” He still bent down allowing Holly to sniff and lick his hand before he buried it in her long fur.

“No, they’re more medium. Besides, Holly’s sweeter than any of them.” Sonny was beaming as well, glad that his girl wasn’t going to be a problem. “Just wait until you see her in the snow. It’s her favorite thing.”

“I bet.” He stood back up and held out his hand to Sonny, “Ready to go.”

They made it to the park in only a few minutes and Sonny could hear Rafael’s breath catch when he saw the start of the path. It was an idyllic scene with old fashioned street lamps and trees wrapped in Christmas lights. The only thing missing was the snow.

“This is beautiful.” He whispered, his hand tightening around Sonny’s. “How long is the path?���

“As long as you want it to be,” He said with a slight smirk, “but I do have a destination in mind.”

Rafael raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. In fact the conversation started up again with discussing how many strands of lights there had to be in the park and whether or not that was a good use of power and taxpayer money. Sonny was convinced that he was only playing devil’s advocate when he claimed that Christmas lights were not worth the money they cost.

The conversation never stalled or slowed, showing Sonny just how easy it was to be around Rafael. It was a feeling he’d never experienced before. So he led them in circles for almost half an hour before finally ending up at his favorite spot in the park.

The lights thinned as they drew nearer, but Rafael was too focused on him to notice. It was flattering, even though the actual spot was more than enough to pull his attention away from him.

One tree stood in the middle of a plaza with a single bench at the base of it. It was a nice space all year round, but during december it was gorgeous. It was done up like a proper christmas tree with tinsel and ornaments of gold spheres and tiny wooden toys. The arms of the bench were even wrapped in silver and gold garlands.

“Do you wanna sit?” He turned to Rafael, admiring how the light danced off of his eyes as he stared at the spectacle.

“Yeah, will Holly be fine with taking a break?” It took him a second to drag his eyes away which was both adorable and incredibly validating.

He looked down at his feet where Holly had already laid down, “I think she’ll be okay.”

The bench was cold, but it was offset by the heat radiating from where Rafael’s leg pressed against his. He wanted to wrap an arm around his shoulders, but he’d wait until he shivered or gave some other indication that he was cold.

“You really like Christmas, don’t you?” He chuckled, gesturing to the candy cane pin that Sonny had honestly forgotten about. It was probably still there from last year.

“My whole family really gets into it and have for my whole life. It’s just a part of the year.” He shrugged, “Just a heads up, If you don’t like Christmas, my family isn’t gonna like you.”

Their shoulders bumped gently, “Then we’re fine. I’ll admit that I’m not as festive as you are. Maybe I could get one of those Christmas Tree ties.” He chuckled at his own joke, barely hiding the lift in the corners of his mouth. It was incredibly endearing.

“That would be adorable.” Sonny admitted, finally giving in and pulling Rafael closer.

He looked increible under the lights of the tree. Multicolored flecks dotted his cheeks and made the green of his eyes practically glow. Looking into those eyes, happiness filled his heart and he knew exactly how to let it out.

It happened in the blink of an eye. All of the joy he felt well up in his chest and the moment he released it, the first snowflake fell, a light flurry that completed the whole scene and made an already incredible night perfect.

Rafael looked up at the sky, pure wonderment and awe gracing his features. He was beautiful and incredible and, God, Sonny loved him.

His eyes widened as he came to the realization. Sure, he wanted to fall in love with him, but to actually feel the emotion flooding through his whole body, to know for certain from the tips of his toes to the top of his head, it changed the way he saw everything. It sent a thought directly to the forefront of his mind. He couldn’t say “I love you” first. He couldn’t pressure Rafael into saying it back or leave it hanging over him if he didn’t feel the same way.

“What are you thinking?”

Sonny smiled brighter than he had in years, “You’re beautiful.” He whispered and kissed him, something he had wanted to do since they met.

The next day, Sonny dragged Amanda into an empty interrogation room the first chance that he got. He was freaking out. He’d already called Bella who suggested he invite Rafael to spend Christmas Eve at her place. That way, their father could see that Sonny loved the ADA, even if they hadn’t said it yet. However Sonny didn’t know what would happen if he brought Rafael into that mess of a party.

“But you said the date went well. Also, you made it snow?” she whistled. “That’s straight out of one of those movies you like so much.”

“I’m a walking cliche, sue me.” He rolled his eyes before getting back to business, “But that’s the sort of thing I’m talking about. Our family dinners are times when I don’t have to hide anything about myself and it’s nice. I can cook the way I want and when I make a strange comment or know something no one told me, no one questions it. I just don’t want to do something like I did with the toy and Rafael to freak out.

“It would just be so difficult to share things like that with him….It’s freaky and abnormal.” He collapsed into one of the chairs, “Sometimes I wonder if any of this is even worth it. It’s not gonna end well.”

She recoiled in shock but quickly recovered and laid a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him. “Hey, you told me that you love him, right? You’re just too afraid to say it.”

“I wouldn’t put it that-”

“Yes or no, Dominick.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I love him.” That he was sure of, it was why he couldn’t lose him.

She held out her hands like that was enough of an answer. She then sighed as if he was an idiot. “If you don’t bring him and trust him with this, then you’re putting a wall between you guys and not even giving him the chance to love the real you. You’re self-sabotaging without even meaning to.”

He knew she was right, even though he didn’t want to admit it. “I’ll invite him,” was all he could say, but she knew that she’d won.

He caught up with Rafael after court later that day. It was a solid win, which went a long way to easing Sonny’s nerves over the whole thing. At least he was in a good mood. “Hey, Rafael, I was wondering if you wanted to spend Christmas Eve with my family and I. It’s my sisters and my parents, so nothing too big.” He smiled brightly, “But I’d love to have you there.”

The bright spirit collapsed, darkening his expression into almost a glare, but he why would he have been glaring. “I didn’t think you’d want me there.” His jaw was clenched tightly, “I figured it wasn’t worth it to continue this.”

Sonny fought a losing battle to not let his hurt show. He recognized those words. They were his own and Rafael was throwing them back in his face. “So, you heard?” There really was nothing left to say, if he really felt that way.

“Of course I heard, you left the door open.” He pulled his eyes away from him and stared at the ground, “And you’re right. It’s abnormal….We should just call it off now since it’s obviously not going to go anywhere.”

Sonny nodded even though his heart was breaking. There wasn’t much of a fight when what’s wrong is who you are. “For what it’s worth, you’re incredible.”

Rafael just turned and walked away, leaving Sonny standing alone in the hallway and effectively sealing his fate.

Amanda was a mom to a child who probably wouldn’t remember what she was doing most of the time. Jesse was only two, and that meant, she was going to take that shift on Christmas Eve and then go home to eggnog with her sister. It was almost a vindictive pleasure that she got from breaking the mommy-rules like that.

But all of that joy came crashing down when she crashed into Barba. Sonny been particularly closed liped to her for the past few days, but she hadn’t anticipated this being the reason behind the silence. “You should be at Bella’s,” was all she could say because if he wasn’t at Bella’s then Sonny wouldn’t be staying in New York.

“No, Sonny made his views on our relationship quite clear and we decided to end it.”

Her jaw dropped, “Really, what did he say?” She didn’t think a declaration of love would end with breaking up, and there hadn’t been enough time for him to regress back into self-doubt.

“Nothing you hadn’t already heard.”

Oh, shit. She hadn’t closed the door all the way.

“Barba,” she leveled a glare with him, “I don’t know how much you heard from us the other day, but what Sonny told me was that he was afraid you’d think he was too strange for you to stay with him and that he should just break it off before you could decide to leave him.” Her words hit him hard, it was written all over his face.

“If you love him or even care about him, you have to go to Bella’s now and fix this.” Or he’d never get the chance to.

He gave her a sharp nod and started towards the door. He only made it a few steps before breaking into a run.

“I sometimes forget what he’s really like.” Gina broke the silence that had fallen over the room and drawing everyone’s eyes away from the fireplace, “I have to say, he really has mastered the cheerful backhand. The movies never get that right.”

Teresa laughed, “I think Tim Allen did it the best, but his sarcasm was too blatant.”

“Tim Allen also didn’t destroy my life.” Sonny mumbled, standing up and leaving the room. Gabby was still having fun. She loved seeing her grandfather and Sonny wasn’t going to let his mood bring hers down.

He stood in the kitchen and poured himself a spiked eggnog. It didn’t take long for Bella to find him. “So, it didn’t work with Rafael? I’m sorry, Sonny. He made you happy.” She said that like it was the most important part of their relationship, not that if Rafael had been there he’d have been able to keep his job and life. She was right.

“He overheard the truth and didn’t take it well.” He said with a shrugged, “That was sort of a deal breaker.”

“Well, his loss.” She reached from behind her back and pulled out a Santa hat. With a sad smile she stood on her toes and placed it on his head. “You’re a fucking catch and you made it snow for him. He doesn’t deserve you.”

He wrapped her into a brotherly bear hug. “Can you tell him that? I just...I was getting ready to actually tell him. I didn’t want him out of the loop around you guys.”

She squeezed him tightly before letting go. “He doesn’t deserve to know everything. I know you loved him, but if he was worth your time, he would be here.”

Almost like clockwork, there was a loud banging on the front door.

“You don’t think.”

Sonny shook his head and wet to the front door, “I swear to god, my life is not a Hallmark movie.”

Of course, he was still surprised to see and out of breath Rafael standing on the other side. He held up a hand when Sonny opened his mouth and launched into a probably planned speech. “The other day was all a misunderstanding. I didn’t hear the important part of what you said, and even if I had, I should have given you a chance to explain.

“I don’t care what your secret is, I promise you I can take it. I just thought that you thought we were too difficult and strange, but you are,” He took a deep breath, “You are incredible and so wonderful and you don’t have to let me inside, but I just couldn’t go another minute without telling you that I love you.”

“I can stay.” He said. Sonny’s mind went blank the moment he hear those words. Rafael was in front of him saying that he loved him and Sonny loved him back. Without even thinking about it, he pulled him in for a kiss, pausing briefly after a moment to stare at the gorgeous man in front of him

“Wait a second,” Rafael pushed him back a bit, just enough that Sonny couldn’t lean in for another kiss. “You were going to leave?”

He took a deep breath and Rafael’s hands, “My father’s Santa Claus and if I hadn’t found someone that I loved to tie me here, I was going to have to take over for him.”

His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, “You love me?”

“Yeah, I love you.”

“Your father is Santa Claus?”

“Yes, he is.”

He nodded “That conversation with Rollins makes a lot more sense now.” His gaze was soft when he came back from the shock, “It still doesn’t matter. Just that does explain how everything was always perfect.”

Sonny raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t told him about the magic yet, “How?”

“I asked your dad for someone to spend Christmas with me.” He pulled Sonny against his chest, “I guess he got my wish.”

“Well then, Merry Christmas, Rafael.”

“Merry Christmas, Sonny.”

[tran5rightsos]

You’ve Cut the Wrong Damn Wire - Chapter One

Tags and Warnings: Implied/Referenced Prostitution, Character Death, Blood and Gore

Word Count: 1389

Leave Kudos?

Calum knew him long before he actually met him. Everyone knew the skinny blond with the big, sad doe-eyes, by reputation more than anything else. Luke Hemmings had more than his share of rumours and gossip going around.

Maybe it was the people he hung out with, but Calum hadn’t known many people who could actually confirm any of it. It was always, “I heard from Brandon that he’ll give you a handy for ten dollars and a blowjob for twenty,” and, “Jack says it’s more than that, at least thirty for the handjob,” and, “Trent reckons he’ll do all of it and more for free if you give him a bit of xan every now and then.” The nicer stories were that his parents were dead or in prison or dumped him on some relative when he was born.

Calum couldn’t say that he was inclined to believe many of them, it was a pretty well-known fact that Luke was an outcast, a weirdo. He was easy to pick on because he was small and quiet, so a lot of people did, safe in the knowledge that he never went to anyone about it and nobody cared because, “He’s the kid that’s always high first period.” Calum had seen him walking to classes late with some seriously nasty-looking bruises plenty of times, hunched over and looking like he wished nobody could see him.

Although he didn’t know Luke very well, Calum was glad when Michael Clifford started hanging out with him in year twelve. Michael had rumours of his own, but they were more along the lines of, “He stabbed a kid in primary school,” and, “He killed his neighbours’ cat,” and, “He got expelled from his old school for beating people up.” From what Calum knew of him personally, Michael was perfectly friendly. His bright hair and lipring might’ve been off-putting to nervous old people, but he smiled and laughed a lot and the most Calum ever saw him get in trouble for was dress code violations, though teachers did seem to call him out on them at the beginning of every class Calum shared with him. It didn’t matter. Just as with Luke, the rumours were there and they weren’t going away.

Year twelve was when Calum noticed Luke hanging out outside of school for the first time, too. It had been weird to see him out of uniform and somehow Calum had never imagined that he was the type to eat ice cream outside a club, laughing about something with Michael. It felt good to see him happy. A few people wondered if they were dating, but everyone knew that you’d have to be a real asshole to have a problem with that.

Whatever the truth of everything was, while people still sometimes talked shit about Luke Hemmings behind his back, nobody wanted to fuck with Michael Clifford. When Luke showed up to school limping and sporting a black eye, nobody bragged about it being them anymore.

After graduation, Calum stopped seeing Luke around as much, though Michael often came by Zig Zag’s, the ice cream place he was working at, for a cone each of rocky road and strawberry. He even learned Calum’s name and started greeting him whenever he came in, a friendly grin on his face. They never spoke much, but Calum got the impression that he and Luke were happy together, if they were together at all. A pretty coworker of Calum’s, Ashton, once commented that he rarely saw Michael or Luke alone, that they were almost always near one another, but Michael liked to flirt so it was hard to tell for sure. Calum had been tempted to give him his number a few times, but he worried that it would hurt his chances with Ashton.

Ashton Irwin had been working at Zig Zag’s for a few years and took it upon himself to train Calum when he was hired. He had a handsome face: green, hawk-like eyes, slightly pouty lips and a pointed chin and he always looked out for Calum when he fucked up or needed help with something. He was only a few years older than him, but Calum found the age difference intimidating and had a hard time working up the guts to ask if he wanted to hang out outside of work sometime.

Luckily for him, Ashton was the one to ask him if he wanted to go to a small party at a friend’s place one weekend. Calum was keen for both the opportunity to get to know Ashton better and to catch up with some high school friends he hadn’t seen in a while, so he was quick to give him a shrug and a, "Yeah, why not?"

Ashton picked Calum up on the night of the party, dressed in a leather jacket and black skinny jeans, his hair gelled back aside from a few wayward strands. He looked like a bad boy from a 70s movie and Calum loved it.

At the party, Calum didn’t drink much, worried that he’d do something dumb and embarrass himself in front of Ashton. A few friends from high school said hi and he took the opportunity to act cool and totally not needy or clingy, chatting about what everyone had been doing since graduating and what their plans were, even though he’d have liked nothing more than to listen to and stare at Ashton all night.

It wasn’t a date, but Calum managed to enjoy the night all the same, leaving late with Ashton and wondering if he could still spin things in a date-like direction. As they walked back to Ashton’s car he mulled over whether he could ask if he could spend the night at his place, or if he should play it cool and simply suggest that he’d like to hang out with Ashton again sometime.

Before he could come up with anything, Calum spotted something in the ditch that separated the road from a park.

“What’s that?” he wondered, pointing.

Ashton peered at it. “Looks big. Kangaroo, maybe?”

As they got closer, Calum turned on his phone torch to shine it on the mystery thing.

He froze. “Holy shit.”

The body curled up in the ditch was a mess. As Ashton called 000, Calum stared at it, at the wet blood and tattered clothes, at the blond curls and lanky limbs, at the horribly disfigured face and the glassy blue eye that stared at nothing. His stomach twisted.

“Luke?” He didn’t know who he was asking, but he hoped that they would tell him that no, it wasn’t Luke Hemmings, the lonely boy from school who was always so quiet, who always kept to himself and never gave anyone shit even if they deserved it.

“Hey,” Ashton said softly, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and taking his phone to turn off the torch.

Calum hadn’t realised that he was crying. He wasn’t even sure why he was crying, he barely knew Luke, had never even had a full conversation with him. He was crying, though, and he kept crying as the police pulled up and Ashton told him not to say anything, he’d sort it out. He kept crying as people from the party realised something was up and gathered around, whispering and trying to get a good look at the small, broken remains. He kept crying as they got in Ashton’s car and drove off, his mind whirling with how sick the world was to give Luke such a cruel life and then end it so horribly.

Ashton took him back to his place because it was closest, a small apartment in a quiet area, and held him as he broke down. The next morning, Calum blamed his tears on the alcohol.