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ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ď˝ă - Part Five

Pairing: Mohawk!Mark Grayson x f!Reader
Warnings: None
Tags: Fluff, slice of life, kinda minor threat of violence
Word Count: 2,553
Chapter Synopsis: College acceptance letters are supposed to be exciting. Yours? Comes with questionable test scores, a glitter-sneezing frog, and a surprise admission that definitely wasn't secured through legal means. But hey â you're in. (Invincible may or may not have strong-armed a university dean into making it happen.)
a/n: had to drop this early â gonna be gone all weekend. hopefully i can post the next part late tomorrow night but we shall see
Part Four
If joy had a sound, it would be your shoes slapping frantically against the floor as you sprinted down the hall toward Markâs door, paper waving wildly in your hand, voice already halfway to a yell.
âMARK!!â
The door didnât even have time to creak before you barreled through it like a one-woman marching band. Somewhere in your backpack a stuffed octopus squealed in protest as it smacked into the doorframe.
Mark looked up from the fridge with a spoon in his mouth. ââŚDid you bring a hurricane with you, orâŚ?â
You didnât answer. You were too busy jumping up and down, waving the now-crumpled letter like a victory flag.
âI GOT IN!â you screamed. âI ACTUALLY GOT IN!!â
You tripped over his rug and face-planted onto the couch, your triumphant yell muffled by a cushion. The letter fluttered out of your hand and landed on the floor.
Mark blinked, still holding the spoon. ââŚTo what, exactly?â
You popped up, hair askew and cheeks bright pink. âCollege, you troll! I got accepted!â
You leapt to your feet like you hadnât just eaten rug seconds earlier, spinning in place like your whole body couldnât contain the joy. âI thought I bombed the math part. I literally drew a picture of SĂŠance Dog in place of a graph because I panicked. Like. A full picture. With the cape and everything.â
Mark chuckled, low and easy. âClassic.â
âI spelled âexistentialâ wrong in my essay three separate times and then crossed it out and just wrote âbig feelingsâ instead.â
âYouâre a menace.â
âI thought for sure they were gonna laugh at it and throw it in a shredder or something!â
Mark watched you quietly, that faint smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. Your voice buzzed around the room like electricity, too fast, too loud, too muchâbut it was also kind of perfect.
Still, his eyes drifted to a memory.
Two Weeks EarlierâŚ
He didnât even have time to scream.
Someone dropped into the office in a blur of motionâtall, sharp-lined, dressed in a sleek black-and-blue suit. No mask. No emblem. Just him.
The dean scrambled back in his chair, glasses crooked, mouth flapping like a stunned goldfish.
âI want her accepted,â Invincible said evenly, voice devoid of any real emotion.
âIâIâm sorry, who exactly areââ
âSeriously?â Invincible cocked his head, giving the man a look of exaggerated disbelief. âNo mask. Blue suit. I flew through your window. Youâre really gonna make me say it?â
The dean paled. âY-Youâre Invincible.â
âGood. Saves time.â Mark strolled closer like he was shopping for cereal, expression casual and bored.
âI want her accepted.â
The deanâs confusion was loud and clear.
â[Y/N],â Invincible added with a roll of his eyes. âShe applied a month ago. You probably got her test scores last week. Short, talks to her backpack, a walking glitter bomb. Youâll know her.â
âI-Iâm sorry, I donât know whoââ
âShe drew SĂŠance Dog on the math section,â Mark added, like that sealed the deal.
ââŚIâoh,â the dean breathed, recognition dawning, along with a rising tide of anxiety. âHer.â
âYeah. Her.â Markâs voice sharpened like a blade. âSheâs smart. Creative. Smarter than half the morons on your roster.â
The dean tried to hold firm. âH-Her scores were highly irregularâher background is completely unverifiableââ
âIâm not here to debate paperwork.â
He stepped closer. His boots hit the floor with a soft thud, the kind of sound that made you suddenly aware of how breakable bones were.
âYouâre going to admit her.â
âMr. Invincible, IâI canât justââ
Mark tilted his head, voice going high and whiny as he mimicked, ââMr. Invincible! Mr. Invincible!ââ Then his tone dropped, flat and cutting. âYou sound pathetic.â
The deanâs mouth opened, but nothing came out.
Mark slammed his palm down on the desk â not hard enough to shatter it, but enough to make the surface creak and buckle. The dean flinched, eyes darting to the groaning wood beneath his hand.
âIf you donât,â Mark said calmly, âIâm going to pick up this desk â and drop it, with you still in it â off the roof.â
The dean went rigid. âIâthis isnâtâthis school has rules, andââ
âDo I look like I care about your rules?â Markâs voice turned razor-sharp. âYouâre going to admit her. Youâre going to push the paperwork through and act like itâs completely normal. And youâre not going to make it weird.â
The dean stammered, trying to form a sentence, but Mark leaned in slightly â just enough to make sure the message landed.
âLet me be clear. This isnât a request. This is me doing her a favor. And if you make this hard, Iâll come back and make your life hard. So? Whatâs it gonna be?â
The dean swallowed. âSheâs in. Iâll make the call.â
Mark straightened, satisfied, and turned to leave. But as he stepped over the broken glass, he glanced over his shoulder.
âOh. And if you ever tell her about this?â His expression stayed pleasant â but his eyes? All warning. âIâll know. And weâll have another conversation.â
Then he was gone â straight out the broken window with a sonic boom, leaving behind shards of glass, a trembling administrator, and one slightly crumpled admissions file.
Back in the PresentâŚ
You were still rambling, utterly unaware that your college dreams had been made real by a threat of high-altitude violence.
ââso I guess the moral of the story is if you fill your essay with enough nonsense and borderline emotional distress, sometimes it works out!â
You bounced on your toes, face glowing like youâd swallowed a sunbeam.
Mark leaned back against the counter, arms crossed. âYou earned it.â
You gasped. âDid you just compliment me?â
âBarely.â
âStill counts!â
He tilted his head, letting your ramble continue â full of excitement and overthinking and color-coded move-in day plans.
He just let you go on.
Move-In Day
By noon, you were sweating through your shirt and losing a battle with a flat-pack dresser when Mark showed up.
âIs this you?â he called, dropping a suspiciously upscale mini fridge at your door.
You popped out of a half-open box like a jack-in-the-box, glitter in your hair and a plastic fork stuck in your hoodie string. âMark! Oh thank God. This dresser is trying to kill me.â
He eyed the upside-down frame. âYou built it backwards.â
ââŚIt was an ambush.â
Mark hauled it upright like it was made of feathers. âWhy are you already this chaotic? Itâs barely noon.â
âI wanted to get here early! Beat the crowd. Make a good impression.â
He glanced around at the peeling washi tape, the glitter on your cheeks, and a sock with pipe cleaners sticking out of it that just rolled past him.
âYeah,â he said. âNailed it.â
You beamed. âThanks!â
Over the next hour, Mark turned into a one-man moving crew. He hauled in a deluxe bean bag, a top-tier desk chair, and a literal rainbowâs worth of fairy lights.
You sat on your suitcase, eyeing the pile suspiciously. âWhere are you even getting this stuff?â
He gave a one-shouldered shrug. âGarage sale.â
âThis is a $400 bean bag.â
âFancy garage.â
You squinted at him. He squinted back.
One of your plushes â a knitted frog with a googly eye stuck to its foot â let out a muffled sneeze of sparkles from inside a box.
Mark blinked. âWas that you?â
âNo,â you said quickly, grabbing the frog and stuffing it into a drawer. âHeâs shy.â
Mark stared, then raised a brow. âMaybe you should stop bringing stuff to life. Just a thought.â
You blinked. âWhat?â
He gestured vaguely toward your drawer. âI mean, what if that frog goes rogue? What if your toothbrush starts doing taxes?â
âOkay, first, the frog is very sweet. Second, Iâm still workshopping the toothbrushâheâs going through a weird phase.â
Mark snorted. âYeah, I bet.â
â
Once everything was mostly in place â minus the cursed dresser, which had now claimed three toes, a finger, and a sliver of your pride â you collapsed face-first onto your new bed.
âCollege is exhausting,â you groaned into the pillow, your voice muffled but full of drama.
âIt literally hasnât even started yet,â Mark said from somewhere behind you, his tone dry but amused. He sat down at the edge of your bed, the mattress shifting slightly beneath his weight. For a second, he hesitated, then shifted the bag that had been slung over his shoulder into his lap and began rummaging through its contents. After a moment he pulled out a slightly crumpled bundle wrapped in newspaper and set it down beside you.
He gave you a brief, almost distance glance. âHere.â
You lifted your head, eyeing the package almost suspiciously. âWhatâs this?â
âSomething I found.â He shrugged like it was nothing, like it didnât matter. âThought youâd like it.â
Your fingers worked quickly, curiosity piqued â until the last fold of paper peeled away and your breath caught in your throat.
It was a glittery lava lamp, shaped like a smiling dinosaur. Ridiculous. Bright green. Cheesy in all the best ways. It shimmered like magic.
Your jaw dropped. âWhaâ?! I saw this forever ago! I told you it was my soulmate!â
You looked up at him, eyes wide, heart thudding strangely hard. He wasnât even looking at you â just casually leaned forward, elbows on his knees, fiddling with your tangled fairy lights like he wasnât the most thoughtful person alive.
Mark shrugged again, the corner of his mouth twitching. âMustâve been fate.â
You stared at him, still holding the lamp like it was made of gold. Then, slowly, a grin crept across your face â teasing, warm, just a little bit soft around the edges.
ââŚYou were thinking about me,â you said, nudging his arm with your elbow. Your voice came out light and sing-songy, but there was something beneath it â a glimmer of surprise, and something a little closer to wonder.
Mark didnât look up. But his ears turned a little pink.
âI know,â he said after a beat, and kept working on the fairy lights with exaggerated concentration â like maybe if he focused hard enough on the wires, you wouldnât see the flicker of a smile threatening his face.
You watched him for a long second. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, hoodie dusted with glitter from your overenthusiastic unpacking. There was a smudge of dust on his cheek, and a faint, perpetual crease between his brows like he was always one snarky comment away from a sigh. His expression was calm â maybe even unreadable to most â but beneath it, you saw it clear as day:
Kindness. Quiet, unspoken, unconventional kindness.
You hugged the lamp to your chest and smiled.
Later That NightâŚ
You sat cross-legged on the floor, cup ramen in hand, slurping noodles with a contented sigh as Mark stood nearby, staring down the cursed dresser like it owed him money. His arms were crossed, posture rigid, and every now and then, heâd give the dresser a glare that seemed like it might burn holes into it.
A sock-doll with mismatched button eyes peeked over a box like a tiny supervisor.
âThis place already feels like home,â you sighed, your voice barely louder than a breath. You set the half-eaten ramen aside, your gaze softening as you looked around your new room, still a bit of a mess but full of the little touches youâd added to make it yours. âHonestly, I really didnât think it would.â
Mark didnât speak immediately. His eyes flicked toward you, just for a second, before his attention shifted back to the dresser, still standing in defiance. Then, his voice, quiet but certain: âYou should get used to it. You got this knack of making any place feel like home.â
The words hit you like a surprise gust of wind. You blinked, a little caught off guard, before your expression softened. âIâthank you. For⌠all of this. The stuff. The heavy lifting. The⌠mysterious bean bag.â You lifted your hands as if presenting the absurdity of the situation, a small, awkward laugh escaping you.
Mark shrugged, his lips pulling into a near-imperceptible smile. His arms stayed crossed, his body language still giving off the air of casual detachment, but the faint curve of his mouth betrayed him. âDonât mention it.â
âNo, seriously.â You sat up a little straighter, eyes widening with mock seriousness as you continued, âI feel like, morally obligated to bake you cookies or something.â
Mark glanced over at you, one brow raised skeptically as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. âCookies, huh?â
âMy bakingâs questionable, but I can promise they wonât kill you,â you said matter-of-factly, being sure to add on the last part for good measure.
He crossed his arms again with a slow, thoughtful look that said he was still unconvinced. âYeah, I think Iâm good. Not looking to eat something that might come to life in my stomach.â
You blinked, the playfulness fading for just a second. âWhaâyou think Iâd do that you?!â
Mark shrugged, his gaze never leaving you, a smirk creeping onto his face as he leaned back against the wall. âI mean, theyâd probably taste like cardboard. Or glitter. And then Iâd end up with a weird, sentient cookie army trying to stage a revolution in my spleen.â
You stared at him, mouth slightly open in disbelief. âMy creations would never!!â You defended vehemently.
He held up his hands defensively, his expression as if to say donât kill the messenger. âYouâve got a frog that sneezes sparkles. Anythingâs possible.â
You huffed, picking up a bottle of Elmerâs glue and chucking it at him. âWrong, because that is in fact impossible.â His movement was barely perceptible as he tilted his head to the side just in time for the bottle to whiz pass his face and hit the wall behind him.
He grinned, as if excited by the way you were getting riled up. You shook your head, the frustration melting into a fond smile that you couldnât quite suppress.
With a sigh Mark stretched his arms above his head, rolling his neck to the side. âAlright. I gotta head out.â
You paused, feeling a wave of disappointment at his announcement, but quickly swallowed the feelings realizing heâd spent the better part of his day there with you. You stood with him and trailed a few steps behind as he moved to the window â his personal entry and exit. Before he could leave, you reached out, tugging gently on his sleeve. âHey⌠thanks again. Really.â
His gaze softened just for a moment as he looked down at your dainty fingers curled into his sleeve. His body became almost rigid as he looked away, closing his eyes in an attempt at nonchalance. âDonât sweat it.â
As he placed one foot on the windowsill, ready to take off into the sky, you called after him, unable to help yourself from one final tease. âGarage sale, huh?â
He glanced over his shoulder, smirking in a way that seemed to suggest there was definitely more to that story. âCraziest one Iâve ever been to.â
And with that, he was gone â vanishing into the dark while you and the sock-doll supervisor cheered him on from the dorm.
âââââââ
Part Six
âââââââ
Taglist! @maddyb-rapps | @sweet-3-whispers | @moradogreen | @rayaaa4444 | @luvvcharxo | @byteme05 | @rivalriotrenegade | @1abi
#invincible#mark grayson#invincible fanfic#invincible x reader#mark grayson x reader#invincible show#mohawk mark#mark grayson fanfic#mohawk!mark x reader#mohawk mark x reader#variant mark grayson#variant!mark x reader#mark grayson variants
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MT as DnD
Anna: Hey, I know weâre alreadyâŚhave we already left the area?
DM: Thatâs what you said you did.
Charles: Why?
Tag: Literally fought for our lives back there.
Anna: But we never likeâŚyou always say when weâre out of initiative order.
DM: (worried) âŚyes
Anna: And you didnât.
Leah: Oh my god, itâs still alive!
Tag: We gotta turn this thing around!
Charles: You were making death saves five seconds ago, what are you going to do for us?!
Tag: If the ranger took actual healing spells, we wouldnât have to do that.
Anna: We have to kill it!
Leah: We have to go back.
Charles: Weâre still there, weâre closer. You just stay where you are.
DM: (realizing this was really just a break from tradition by accident) Uh. Itâs dead.
Anna: But you didnât sayâ
DM: Coyote killed it.
Leah: What?!
DM: Yes. After you leave. He goes in and kills it. Thatâs all.
Tag: How does he do it?
DM: âŚhe eats it.
Tag: Well. Itâs dead now.
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I'd like to introduce Luciel (@mini-moonlight's !!) and Theo.


âYou don't really hate my company, do you Himeros?â
âNo, I suppose I don't... Lupin.â
LUCIEL is our Kenshi. He has raven coloured hair, fair, freckled skin, and the most mesmerizing blue eyes. Luciel is an enigmatic personality, to say the least. Always was. Tense and cold, Luciel never enjoyed the company of other people; Theo included. He rarely speaks about his family, but Luciel found a new family in his trustworthy group of childhood friends. He's 6 foot 5, doesn't particularly like sports (but loves to cheer Theo on) and enjoys baking as a hobby. He's one of few people that can melt down Theo's ego and turn him into a puddle ;) Theo would like to be suffocated in his chest thanks.
THEO is the Johnny of the relationship. With equally as black hair as Luciel, his eyes are as silver as the moon, and his skin tan with beautiful freckles littered all over his face, he's popular amongst men and women. He has siblings he barely gets along with, a father who only sees him as a tool, a pawn of which must obey his father's every whim (spoiler, that mfker dies). He's 6 foot exactly, athletic, flexible, and uses "bro" "dude" and "man" as nouns. All of these contribute to his ever growing ego. Oh, and he's got a mean punch. Like shit, he may be built like a stick but he's strong. Did I mention he's a werewolf?
L: What Theo is to me? Well, Theo is my sun but he's also so much more than that. He's a warm touch and a guiding hand when I cannot bring myself to be. He's a bright and playful laugh over late night cookies. He's the man with the moon reflecting in his silver eyes that stare back at me like I'm the most precious thing in his life. He's my rock, the reason I'm able to love and let myself be loved again. He's the one thing I cannot live without. Theo is my lover, mine all mine.
T: Luci is.. everything to me. At first, he was a challenge, an enemy, perhaps. But then he became my friend, my best friend. And now? I love him so much I couldn't imagine my life before meeting him. He's saved my life, on multiple occasions! *laughs* He is my soulmate, which I think is something I knew from the moment we met. He was more than just an experience, Luciel has left a permanent mark on my life.
NOW SOME FUNKY QUOTES
Theo: That was so hot, Luciel.
Luciel: I literally called the person who just flirted with you a degenerate dog and told them I hope they get dragged through the streets.
Theo: I'm so in love with you.
Theo: Your smile looks forced.
Luciel, clearly annoyed: Thatâs because it is.
Theo, sweating: Luciel, thereâs something I need to ask you-
Luciel: Finally! Youâre proposing!
Theo: Howâd you know?
Luciel: Theo, youâve dropped the ring five times during dinner.
Luciel: I even picked it up once.
Theo: Bro-
Luciel: No, no, hold up, rewind.
Luciel: My tongue was down in your throat just a second ago and now you're calling me bro??
Theo, trying to flirt with Luciel: I think both of our families suck.
Theo: running towards Luciel with open arms
Luciel: moves out of the way
Theo: Hey, why'd you move?!
Luciel: I thought you were going to attack me.
Theo: I was going to hug you!
Luciel: Why would you hug me?
Theo: WHY WOULD I ATTACK YOU!?
Luciel: Do you want to explain the text you sent me last night?
Theo: It was autocorrect.
Luciel: Autocorrect wrote "You're so hot. Please step on me."?
Theo: ....Yes.
Luciel: Is something burning?
Theo, leaning seductively on the counter: Just my desire for you.
Luciel: Theo, the toaster is literally on fire.
Theo: We have a problem.
Luciel: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.
guess whos the top and whos the bottom lol
-> I may reblog with headcanons at a later date!
also gonna tag @euphoricbi and @shinshoyu
#my babies#they are literal soulmates#shipname: thuciel#johnshi#incorrect quotes#mk#mortal kombat#theo and luciel#AAAAAAAH#oc#original character#oc pairing#they are so johnshi#husbands
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Ahhh tysm for the tag Ann! I haven't done one of these in a while!
Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing
Um. It's actually quite simple.
1. Get idea
2. Tell you guys about it and promise I'll write it
3. Sudden burst of shiny new wip motivation! Write between 100 and 1000 words
4. Forget about shiny new wip for months, only remembering it when someone goes "hey, what happened to that fic you said you were going to start?"
Or alternatively,
Lose all motivation to write and blatantly lie to people by telling them I'm working on it when I haven't even clicked into the doc tab in weeks
5. Suddenly remember it/regain motivation and swear to all of you that it'll be out that day/week
6. Not finish it by when I said I would
7. Spend three consecutive sleepless nights writing it in my head as I do things I don't even need to do, not typing a single word until I reach a state of semi-consciousness and have transcended the reach of procrastination (this is also how I go about writing essays and doing important assignments)
8. Finally sit down and write it
9. Post! That is, if I don't accidentally save it to drafts instead of posting and forget about it for another month or so
That's it! If you can't already tell, I have adhd lmao
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Depends on the fic tbh. Sometimes I just go with vibes, and sometimes I'll have been working the idea out in my head for some time. But most of the time I just jump in with no idea what I'm doing and post it when I feel like it's reached it's natural ending.
What do you listen to when you are writing?
Again, depends. I have a ton of different playlists so it really just depends on what I'm feeling at the moment. If I'm writing a song fic I listen to the song on repeat, and when I'm writing I tend to lean more towards quiet indie songs but I also will write listening to the most random things so idk.
Whatâs your drink of choice(while writing)?
Tea. Tea tea tea tea tea. I LOVE tea. Just ask @cheesypuffkins87
Promote yourself! Whatâs your favorite thing youâve written?
That's so hard, what? I have so many that I like, and I honestly can't pick a favorite. (I also hate everything I've ever written on some level but that's a completely different story)
If I HAD to pick one, it would probably be Attractive with Yuuji just because i love the crack.
But i'd say two close seconds are Quiet with Inumaki (i love me some angst) and "No. You're Not." with Megumi because reader is so me coded lmao.
Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.
Oooh probably Call You Mine with Nanami. I didn't mention it in the above question because I was going to add it here, but it's definitely in my top five, if not maybe even my top three.
If not the above one, then Can't Help Falling In Love With You with Gojo. I just really liked this fic and would love to see it get some more attention!
Do you have any advice for new writers?
Literally just what Ann said. If you get an idea, write it!! You never know what's going to happen. I posted my first silly little idea a little over a year ago, not expecting anyone to notice it only for it to get well over 500 notes on it's first day. Now I have over 500 followers. And even if that doesn't happen, that's okay because someone out there read it and enjoyed it <3
On top of that just be gentle with yourself. It's okay if you go months without writing. It's okay if your fics don't get as many notes as other people do. It's okay to take a million years to finish a request. You're only human :)
What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?
Probably using less verbs and having more variety in my sentence structure. Also smaus, because I feel like I have some ideas that would EAT, but I lack the capability.
Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?
Not really. Maybe Toji? I thought I wouldn't enjoy writing for him, but in the one fic I wrote for him (You and I) I actually had way more fun than I thought I would!
No Pressure Tags: @m-ilkiee @romantichomicide95 @crescentmoontsuki @batterygarden @pseudowho
@kimkaelyn @writingcroissant @seireiteihellbutterfly @kimkaelyn @andypantsx3
@irisintheafterglow @ponderingmoonlight + whoever wants to join!!
Writing tag game by @bonecarversbestie <3
thank you @sunshinebingo for tagging me ily pookie đĽš
Describe your writing process from idea to posting/publishing
sleeping. like thats the first step. i sleep a lot and i love it. before i fall asleep, i obvs am in my delulu lala land thinking about either my future husband or my fics and og books. from there i think about the weirdest unrealistic plots and then i keep thinking about them so i can remember them in the morning.
and then i write after im done helping with house chores and my work. i usually post the thing as soon as its done or shcedule it lol
(or in case of my og books, i keep em there hehe)
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
pantser đ but recently ive been trying to become a plotter. wish me luck đĽ˛
What do you listen to when you are writing?
anything i can think of lol. sometimes its kpop, sometimes japanese or arabic songs. sometimes sabrina and taylor, sometimes skz and new jeans.
i usually add random songs i can think of in my playlist i listen to while doing chores, and then i continue listening to thos songs while writing.
Whatâs your drink of choice(while writing)?
nothing tbh. water ig? i need to go get my new stock of capri sun tho ive been dying to have my stock refilled đ
(gonna find some way to whisper in my dads ear that i want caprisun and it will be at home lmao)
Promote yourself! Whatâs your favorite thing youâve written?
cursed is something i love a lot because that plot is like. auasadh so good. also my i didnt ask for this series. its so close to my heart my god its my child. my baby đĽš
Share a fic of yours that you think is underrated/deserves more love.
to love and cakes it took me months to write kinda but like. its a lucien fic and its 10k long lmaoo what did i expect. but its also my baby i love it heheh
Do you have any advice for new writers?
WRITE. THAT. DUMB. IDEA. YOU. THINK. NO. ONE. WILL. READ.
đđťWRITEđđťITđđť
almost all of my most loved fics have been ideas i thought no one would care about enough to read. and then the morning after i posted them, id wake up to people telling me how much they loved the fic and end up with me sobbing because everyones so lovely đĽš
also. people can sometimes be mean. đđťIGNOREđđťTHEM.đđť ignore them the way you ignore maths when studying.
ive seen so many new talented writers either stop writing or lash back out at these clowns, but you need to understand that replying to these people who are just trying to get a rcton out of you is not worth it. your happiness matters more. put yourself before them and ignore thei comments if it hurts you. that will prick their egos more than you arguing with them.
What is a writing style/technique that others do really well that you'd like to get better at?
i kinda wanna learn how to describe rooms. that bitch truly be bitin my ass đuh also how t write poetically kinda
Is there a character you were surprised you enjoyed writing as much as you did?
honestly, maybe lucien. i only ever thought about writing for batboys when i had begun but then i fell in love with him and i couldnt stop writing about him đĽš
tagging: @bubybubsters @separatist-apologist @assassinsblade @animezinglife @acourtofladydeath
@daycourtofficial @lucienarcheron @sapphicmsmarvel @berryzxx
@riddlesb1tch @throneofsmut @throneofsapphics @tadpolesonalgae @writingsbychlo
@fieldofdaisiies @moonlightazriel @harrystylesfan2686 @mika-no-sekai-blog
@itsphoenix0724 @lyssasdrafts @flickering-chandelier @lees-chaotic-brain
@hellcat8908 @ceoofyearning @potatoplace
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Hello friends! First SSS of the year for me. Also an early post because I want to write after sleeping and maybe some validation early in the day will help đ I have six snippets from six WIPs to share (only the fifth one written today, which makes me sad because I really wanted to share new new words, but it's okay) and I want to talk about them, so I'm throwing everything under the cut with the tags.
You can vote for the WIP you'd like me to continue the most (except Like We Had A Clue, because I know people are waiting for an update and it would skew the vote hahaha). Pick one of the other 5! Though as always I'll follow inspiration and not what the people want.
Love you all <3 hope you're taking care of yourself in these trying times.
1. First EGF WIP. I have many ideas for EGF, but considering a) possible writer's blocks, b) exams, c) other non EGF related WIPs, I honestly don't know how much I'll manage to write. This one is the most âurgentâ one because it's a collab with @aroace-genderfluid-sheep and he's already done so many cool things for it and I'm so excited!!! The snippet I'm sharing is all I've written for this fic. Oh well!
âYou could've at least sent us to Dante's inferno. That would've been intellectually stimulating.â
âThis place is plenty stimulating.â
Of course it is. It's a fucking sex dungeon.
2. Second EGF WIP. I shared something from this already. There's hope I'll finish this one because it's short, but knowing myself I can't make promises hahaha.
âIâm sorry,â they say. Their voice is deep and smooth, like I imagine a cello would sound if it could talk. âI donât think I can have dinner with you tonight.â
I canât hide how much it stings. Of course my monster under the bed would come out just to reject me.
3. Like We Had A Clue. Chapter 5 is outlined in detail but I'm still struggling so much with it. Have some sentences I might have shared already in the past because I wrote them months ago!
âAre you trying to trap me, Snow? Keep me here to make food for you forever?â
âWhat if I am?â
I raise an eyebrow. His hand is still on my arm. He lets it fall.
4. WIP I shared from a couple of weeks ago. I want to have fun with this so I'm not forcing myself to write it, but I also really want to finish it. It's a struggle, always đ¤Ł
(There's nothing innocent about four thousand words of Fangvald having a pity wank after Cherry spat on his face and demanded to know the true motives behind his betrayal.)
But it's fanfiction. Exploring fictional worlds and fictional characters and fictional relationships.
It would say nothing about me if he hadn't also linked two of my longest 4am rants about loneliness and deserving love.
5. Mystery WIP. I started plotting it yesterday and I've already lost steam. We'll see if it ever gets written.
25/12, 11:27AM
basiltea: Of course I'll help you.
basiltea: You can't be trusted to handle this alone and make it work.
Excalisbury: I LOVE YOU
basiltea: I'm just saving you from yourself.
6. Picture book story! The issue with this one is that I have to rewrite it completely. I have @johnwgrey's super useful notes, but I hate rewriting and editing with a burning passion, and this story needs so much work it hurts. But I'll do it!
Of course Snow had no reason to trust him. The fact that Baz had decided heâd never even try to hurt him again couldnât erase five years of antagonism. Especially because Snow didnât know about his change of heart. (It wouldâve been ridiculous. Hey, Snow, I decided I donât hate you anymore. Quite the opposite, instead. Can I kiss you?)
That was a lot. I feel like Simon and Baz are possessing me because I want to write SO MUCH, I literally can feel the words pushing to get out, but the second I open a doc it all fades out. Ugh. Hopefully I'll be more motivated in the morning.
So many no pressure tags for you lovelies:
@wellbelesbian @urban-sith @tea-brigade @sillyunicorn @mostlymaudlin @facewithoutheart @palimpsessed @otherpeoplesheartachept-2 @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @forabeatofadrum @fatalfangirl @prettylightsbigcity @whatevertheweather @jbrrring @confused-bi-queer @moodandmist @bookish-bogwitch @letraspal @dragoneggos @captain-aralias @takitalks @excalisbury (stealing your @ for Simon's Discord username hahaha) @otherworldsivelivedin @cutestkilla @ileadacharmedlife @gekkoinapeartree @bazzybelle @basiltonbutliketheherb @messofthejess @ivelovedhimthroughworse @nightimedreamersworld @artsyunderstudy @foolofabookwyrm-activated @ionlydrinkhotwater @yellobb @orange-peony @ic3-que3n @whogaveyoupermission @katmiscellanious @yeonjunenby @erzbethluna @larkral @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @shrekgogurt @raenestee @onepintobean @stitchyqueer @hushed-chorus
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Voice Sweet as Caramel
Pairing: deaf!Katsuki Bakugo x gn!reader Genre: fluff, slight angst? Warnings: none Summary: You meet Dynamight and donât know that heâs deaf. Luckily for him though, when you find out, your quirk comes in handy Word Count: 5.1k words A/N: I did a lot of research to make Bakugoâs experience seem as real as possible. If there is smth that I did wrong, worded incorrectly, etc., please donât hesitate to inform me. Thank you and enjoy!
It didnât really bother him at first. Being deaf, I mean. He didnât have to listen to a bunch of nonsense all the time, he could sleep in peace, villains trying to goad him on and agitate him didnât work anymore, and so on.Â
It didnât take him long to realize just how many downfalls there are with that though. He started to fall behind in class because he could no longer hear his teachers. He wasnât able to hear plans of attack or hear an enemy sneak up on him.Â
He canât hear your voice.Â
He became deaf in the middle of his third year. It happened in the middle of a fight with the league of villains and he didnât really have time to panic about it at the time. When school let out and he became one of the top heroes, he tried not to be bothered by it and for the most part, it worked. His other senses heightened as time went on but that doesnât mean it made the reality that heâs deaf any easier. There were still the setbacks that will always hold him back from reaching top potential. Because of this, heâs the number three hero, right behind Deku and Todoroki.Â
Thatâs what really crushed him.Â
He never shows anyone, heroes, friends, and villains alike, that being deaf is a struggle for him, even when he gets used to it. He wants to hear the villains he defeats beg for mercy. He wants to hear his friends laugh when someone does something stupid. He wants to hear the praise of civilians when he saves them.Â
He wants to hear your voice but heâd, obviously, never tell a soul that.Â
He didnât meet you until a year after he graduated.
You showed up when he was fighting some villains, and heâll never admit that he was struggling a little bit. Somehow though, villain after villain suddenly couldnât see him and they panicked. Theyâd run into buildings and each other before Bakugo beat them all to a pulp.Â
Seeing as how youâre the only one else there with a hero costume on, he assumes you had something to do with it. As he hands the villains over to the police, you come over with a warm smile aimed directly at him. He stares at your lips as you speak, his ears ringing with the silence that heâs grown used to.Â
He doesnât really understand why youâre trying to talk to him, seeing as how everyone knows that the great hero Dynamight is unable to hear. So, why are you wasting your time trying to talk to him? Maybe you think he can read your lips. That is, after all, a common misconception about deaf people.
Without a word on his part, he turns and walks away from you. He doesnât hear you stop in the middle of congratulating him. He doesnât hear how you scoff a bit. He doesnât see you frown at how rude he is.Â
You walk into the building with a bright smile already on your face, excited for something you literally do every day of your life. It doesnât matter how many times you do it though. This will always make you happy. Plus, you just came to Japan from America a couple of weeks ago. You havenât been here in years. You are excited to use your improved quirk to help others.Â
You greet the lady at the front desk as you grab your sticker name tag that the staff makes for you every day. You then go to your first stop, gently knocking on the door and coming in once you get the go-ahead.Â
â(Y/n)! Youâre back!â the little girl squeals, a large smile coming to her face. Your smile stretches out further as you walk over to her.Â
âHi, Keiko! How have you been?â you say as you move your hands slowly for her to read. She watches them attentively before perking up, her mother beside her smiling softly at the interaction.Â
âIâve been really good! Iâm glad you're back!â she says happily, her âaccentâ coming through more now that sheâs calmed down and isnât shouting.Â
âIâm happy to be back too,â you agree, your hands moving with your words.Â
â(Y/n),â the mother says, grabbing your attention, âThank you for coming back. You have no idea what this means to me. To us. After the villain attack...â Her eyes are watery as she speaks, her hand coming up to pet her daughterâs head.Â
You smile softly at her, coming over to sit in the empty chair by her bed. âDonât even mention it, Mrs. Suzuki. Itâs an honor to be of use to you and your daughter,â you reassure. You then look to Keiko, seeing her body impatiently wiggling around as she waits for you to work your magic.Â
You chuckle as you raise your hands, her eyes widening, despite knowing what you were doing. She turns to look at her mom as she shouts, âMommy! I can hear again!â You read her lips and smile as she wraps her arms tightly around her mother. You watch with a soft look in your eyes, trying to ignore your oncoming sadness that will come when her hearing comes to an end again.Â
âKeiko, I noticed that you are getting better at JSL. You must be studying so hard!â you praise, watching her chest puff out at the praise.Â
âYou bet I am! Itâs so easy and my tutor says Iâm really good at it!â she brags while using her hands for you to read, a chuckle escaping you at how proud she is. She has every right to be though.Â
âThatâs so cool! Can you show me what else youâve learned?âÂ
You stay with the girl and her mother for their hour before slowly taking away her hearing again. She doesnât seem to mind though. Even at her young age, sheâs grateful for the opportunity that others donât get to have and she knows that you canât let her have her hearing back forever.Â
You walk down the hall and walk into the next room after knocking. âDaiki? Itâs (Y/n),â you greet softly, not wanting to spook the teen. He perks up at the sound of your voice, a smile coming to his face as he turns to face you.Â
That has to be the best part of your quirk. You bring all of these smiles to these unfortunate people whose lives were changed at the hands of villains.Â
â(Y/n)! Iâm surprised to have you come back so soon!â he greets, holding his arms open for a hug. You happily accept it, returning his sight as you pull away. He brightens up more as the life returns in his eyes, your eyes catching the sight of his gums showing from how big heâs smiling before your own vision goes dark.Â
âIâll never get tired of seeing your pretty face,â he playfully flirts, making you chuckle as you take a seat by his bed.Â
âYouâre such a flatterer.â When visiting Daiki, he prefers to use his time wisely. He likes to memorize the faces of loved ones, read, watch tv, and other things that he canât do.
When his time comes to an end, he sighs as he closes his book he was reading, a sad smile on his face. âYou really are my hero, (Y/n),â Daiki says softly, his eyes roaming your face to now memorize it without your knowledge.Â
âIâm just doing what anyone else would do with my quirk,â you reassure, giving him a sad smile as you slowly take his sight away again. He sighs and picks up the same book from before but with braille instead of typed words.Â
âStill. See you next week?âÂ
âYou betcha,â you say softly before kissing his cheek and leaving.Â
Your quirk allows you to eliminate or heighten the five senses. You can only do one sense at a time though. You can do it in increments too, meaning you can completely eradicate or heighten a sense, or you can do it partially. For example, you can increase someoneâs smelling to 100% and they can suddenly smell ten times better than a bloodhound. Another example, if someone is getting a headache by a smell, you can remove someoneâs smell by 50% and leave them able to smell but not as strongly as they normally would be able to. Also, when you use your quirk, that sense is completely removed from you but only while youâre using it on someone. You also canât use your quirk on yourself.Â
Itâs when youâre leaving the RCV, the Recovery Center from Villains, you notice the fight between a hero and multiple villains. You raise your hand to one of the villains, removing his, and your, sight. When you hear a loud explosion and a cry of pain, you turn off your quirk to find the villain you used your quirk on laying on the ground. You repeat this process with the other villains until there was none left standing.Â
When the hero hands them over to the police, you run over with a grin. âHi, I just wanted to say that you were incredible! I know you probably didnât need my help but I just wanted to-â
You cut yourself off with a scoff when the blond suddenly walks away from you, a frown coming to your face as you watch him go. Well, that was rude. Especially after you just helped him take down four villains!Â
âExcuse me. Were you the one to help Dynamight?â an officer asks. You give her a kind smile as you nod your head, turning to face her now.Â
âYes, maâam. I have a senses quirk, so I eliminated their sight so, uh, Dynamite could get the upper hand,â you explain. She smiles at this, becoming more fascinated by the second as you explain what happened. You answer any questions she has, noticing the sun is starting to go down.Â
âWell, itâs getting dark. Iâll let you go! Have a great dayâoh! Whatâs your hero name?âÂ
âItâs Esthesia,â you say before saluting and walking away.Â
On your walk home, a guy gives you an unseemly smile as his eyes flicker up and down your body. âHey, baby. Where you going?â You give him a bored look as you raise your hand, taking his, and your, sight away as you continue to walk straight. He begins to panic, your ears listening as he runs around frantically before crashing into a brick wall. When his body hits the ground, you return both of your vision with a smirk.Â
âHave a nice night!â you sarcastically call to his groaning figure.Â
The second time you meet Dynamightâyou learned from the news how itâs actually spelledâit was under pretty much the same circumstances. You stay by the sidelines, appearing as a civilian to everyone which is exactly what you wanted.Â
You raise your hand and remove the villainâs sight, listening for signs that the villain is defeated. When you return your vision though, you find a villain coming from above to attack Dynamight.Â
âDynamight!â you shout in warning, pointing up for him to see what your warning is for. He never looks at you though, allowing the villain to attack him from above. You quickly remove that villainâs sight, hoping that you werenât too late. Why did he just ignore you like that? Is he that stubborn?
When your vision comes back, you find that he has taken out all of the villains again. You charge towards him once you see this, coming up behind him. âWhy did you ignore me? You couldâve been killed!â you shout, afraid for the heroâs life. He keeps his back to you though, his eyes moving from villain to villain to make sure that they will stay down. âHey!â you shout as you lightly shove him to gain his attention.Â
âHey!â he copies as he catches his balance and spins around, his eyes alight with an inferno thatâs normally directed at villains. When he sees itâs you though, that inferno shrinks to a flame. âWhat is your problem?â he screams.Â
You scoff as you cross your arms over your chest, a glare of your own staring right back at him. âMy problem? My problem is that you keep ignoring me! I was trying to help you back there and you didnât even turn to acknowledge me! You couldâve avoided that attack altogether!â you shout right back, your eyes moving to the wound on his shoulder that he received from that villain. Your eyes return to his face when he huffs and looks away from you.Â
And just like before, he walks away from you, causing your jaw to drop open. âHey! You donât get to do this to me again!â you shout, running to stand in front of him. You notice that the police have arrived to take the bad guys away, which Bakugo also notices.Â
âGet out of my way,â he snaps, moving to go around you until you just block his way again.Â
âNo! This is the second time Iâve helped you! You can at least thank me!â He doesnât react to your words. He doesnât even have an expression on his face anymore. He, again, just moves around you and walks away. This time though, you let him go.Â
âFine! Thatâs the last time I help you then!â you declare.Â
Itâs not.Â
He just seems to have an invisible sign that you canât see that says, âCome attack me! Iâm alone! Please beat me up!â You donât understand why he never has backup. Well, besides you, that is.Â
After helping out several times though, you finally come across him in battle with another hero. About time. Where was he the last six times youâve helped him?
You watch from afar, only helping if one of them seems to be struggling a bit. You notice that the other hero acts differently around Bakugo. Their body language is different and he never calls out to him. Does he not like him? Cause you sure donât.Â
After the fight is over and the police have escorted the villains away, the heroes leave after interacting with the civilians for a bit. You notice that no one talks to Dynamight though. How is he the number three hero but isnât popular amongst the civilians? That makes his situation even odder to you.Â
When they finally leave, you quickly catch up to them. âHey! Hi, sorry! I just wanted to say that you guys did a great job!â you congratulate with a grin, not even looking in Dynamightâs way.Â
The guy with flaming red hair, named Red Riot you believe, gives you a toothy grin. âOh, thanks! Youâre Esthesia, right? Iâve seen you on the news with Bakubro a couple of times.â You raise your brow at the nickname but realize heâs talking about Dynamight.Â
âOh, yes! Itâs nice to meet you! Youâre Red Riot, right?â At this, his smile gets even brighter, if possible.Â
âSure is! You can call me Kirishima though! This is Bakugo,â he introduces. It takes everything in you not to scoff.Â
âYeah. Iâve saved his ass a time or two before,â you say as calmly as possible. Kirishima looks to Bakugo and finds that heâs not even looking at you.Â
âSorry about him. He can be so moody.â You raise your brow when Bakugo doesnât come to his own defense, seeming to just take the playful blow.Â
âThatâs one word to describe him. Anyway, I donât want to keep you guys up. I just wanted to congratulate you,â you explain with a warm smile.Â
âOh, itâs no problem at all! It was nice to finally meet the hero who has saved Bakugoâs ass so many times! Say, how about we meet up sometime? Itâd be great for you to meet some of the other heroes. Your quirk is really useful!â You blush at this but nod nonetheless.Â
âOh, that would be great! I love helping where I can!â You pull out your phone for Kirishima to put his number into your phone, this finally grabbing Bakugoâs attention, but he remains quiet.Â
âSuper! Iâll text you when some of the others are free. We can all get drinks or something,â he says as he hands your phone back to you.Â
âCanât wait! It was nice meeting you!â you say cheerfully before you leave the duo to go to the RCV, which is where you were heading before you stopped to help.Â
About a week later, you get a text from Kirishima asking if youâd be free Sunday night. You agreed to meet him at a restaurant and you couldnât help but grow excited at the chance to finally meet other heroes in the area.Â
Sunday night came in a blink of an eye it seemed, your heart beating faster with each mile you get closer to the meeting place. You park your car and double-check that your outfit is in order before heading inside. You look around for spiky, red hair, and it only takes you a second to find him.Â
âKirishima!â you call as you near the table. Everyone but a certain blond turns at the sound of your voice. His eyes look at his friends before finally looking at you. You make eye contact with him for a moment before looking at Kirishima.Â
âHey, (Y/n)! You look great!â he greets, standing up and pulling out the only empty chair.Â
âThank you,â you say with a blush, slowly taking the seat, to which he pushes the chair in for you once youâve sat down.Â
âEveryone, this is (Y/n). (Y/n), this is everyone,â he introduces playfully as he takes his own seat. Once heâs settled, he properly introduces you to everyone, to which you happily greeted them all.Â
âAnd finally, Mr. Grumpy-Mc-Grumpy-Pants over there is Bakugo, which you already know,â he says as he taps Bakugoâs arm. Bakugo turns to look at Kirishima before following his finger to you.Â
âItâs nice to officially meet you,â you greet with much sarcasm. He, like always, remains silent and looks back down to his menu. You huff and decide to open up your own menu, trying not to be bothered by being shot down by the handsome male.Â
For the rest of the evening, weird things occurred. Kirishima always taps him when someone says his name, Bakugoâs eyes roaming the table until he focuses on the person speaking. Kirishima taps him again when itâs his turn to order. Youâve seen people talk with their hands, both literally and figuratively, but these people really seem to get into it, making wide and crazy gestures.Â
It wasnât until your waiter came to your table with your food that you finally realized what was going on.Â
âSo, (Y/n), tell us about your quirk. Bakugo hasnât shined any sort of light on what your quirk is and Kirishima seems a little lost at what your quirk actually is,â Mina says with a smile.Â
Before you can reply though, your waiter and another worker bring your food to the table. âWho got the kung pao chicken?â the other worker asks, looking around the table. Kirishima was checking his phone when the question was asked, Bakugo not letting the waiter know that itâs what he ordered.Â
This is when it hits you.Â
The tapping. The blank, bored look. The quiet replies. The crazy gestures.Â
Heâs deaf.Â
God, youâre such an idiot! You work with deaf people all of the time! How did you not realize until now?
âHe got it,â you inform with widened eyes, your eyes staring at the blond. His eyes squint at you for pointing at him before realizing that you were just showing the waiter where his food goes. Once everyone has their food, you clear your throat.Â
âSo, um, Bakugo is deaf?â you shyly ask. This causes everyone to pause and stare at you for a moment.Â
âUh, yeah,â Kirishima answers, âSorry, I assumed you knewâŚâ he apologizes.Â
You shake your head, turning your gaze to Bakugo as you continue. âBut why does he act like that?â you ask.Â
âLike what?â Kaminari asks with a furrow to his brows.Â
âI work with deaf people all of the time. A lot of them are decent at reading lips to some extent and most know, or are learning, JSL. Bakugo seems...like he doesnât care or that it doesnât bother him? Does he know JSL?â you explain quietly despite the fact that the man youâre talking about canât hear you.Â
Kirishima sighs as he sets down his chopsticks. âBakugo has been deaf for about a year and a half now. He knows JSL and uses it when necessary, but for the most part, he doesnât like using it or when others use it to talk to him. It makes him feel....belittled, if you will. Like he has to have special treatment or something. I do my best to help him but Iâm not perfect,â he explains, the last part being directed at what just happened.Â
You slowly nod your head as you take this all in, a small frown coming to your face. âSo, you guys donât know what my quirk really is, right?â you ask softly, a smile starting to come to your face. They all look confused in your change of subject but nod along anyway.Â
âYeah, I was asking you about it before our food came. Kirishima says you can make people blind, or something?â Mina pipes up. You confuse them more when you begin to grin, all of them sharing a look amongst themselves.Â
âDo you want to see something amazing?â you ask, your eyes flickering over to Bakugo.Â
âPlease donât make me blind,â Denki begs, starting to ramble about needing to be able to see pretty girls. Jiro shushes him and then focuses back on you again.Â
You raise your hand to Bakugo, taking a deep breath before slowly giving him the ability to hear. Everyone looks to him when he drops his chopsticks, his hands shaking as he stares wide-eyed at his plate. His chopsticks landing onto the table is the last thing you hear before your own hearing is gone.Â
âIâm confused. What happened?â you read from Seroâs lips. You remain quiet and just keep smiling, your eyes focused on Bakugo. Bakugoâs eyes snap to Sero when he speaks, something seeming to lodge in his throat.Â
Before he can stop it, heâs tearing up.Â
âBakubro! Whatâs going on?â Kirishima worriedly shouts, looking between you and him. â(Y/n)! What did you do to him?â Kirishima asks worriedly. At the mention of your name, Bakugo finally looks at you.
âI can hear,â he mutters, his voice barely being heard from how thick his throat feels. When everyone starts to say that they didnât hear him and to repeat himself, he rubs furiously at his eyes and takes a deep breath. âGod, I forgot just how annoying your voices are,â he complains, trying hard not to smile.Â
Everyone freezes at this.Â
âWhat?â
âYou can hear?â
âWhatâs going on?â
âMy voice is just fine, thank you!âÂ
Everyone starts talking at once, bombarding him with their voices. A small smile comes to his face despite his best effort, looking at all of them fondly. He looks to you again, eyeing you up as the others continue to chatter on.Â
âWell, you being able to do this wouldâve been nice to know a long time ago,â he grumbles. You stare at his lips, doing your best to read them. The average deaf person can only understand about 30% of what someone is saying based on just their lips though.Â
âSorry, can you use JSL?â you ask politely before picking up your chopsticks to begin eating.Â
This causes everyone to freeze once more.Â
âHuh?â
âBut why?â
Seeing their confused faces, you realize that you never explained your quirk. You give them the rundown before finishing with, âWhen I use my quirk on someone else, I lose the sense that Iâm taking away or giving. So, in this case, I gave Bakugo hearing so now I canât hear. This is all temporary, of course.âÂ
The table vibrates with Bakugoâs hit, making your eyes widen as you look at him. âTake my hearing back away,â he demands, not using JSL despite your wishes. Your brows furrow at this, luckily understanding what he said anyway.Â
âWhat? Why? You were so happy just a minute ago,â you reply confusedly.Â
âNo, I wasnât! Iâm perfectly fine being deaf! I donât want your pity!â he shouts, grabbing the attention of nearby customers. With him talking so fast, you werenât able to catch what he said. This is when an idea comes to mind.Â
You simply look away from him and down at your plate, starting to eat without another word. âHey! Iâm talking to you!â Bakugo shouts, realizing too late that, duh, you canât hear him. âDonât ignore me!â
Ah, the irony.
The others eventually get him to calm down, bright and warm smiles on their faces at seeing him act like his old self. Donât get them wrong, he still acts like this all the time but thereâs this...new fire to him that hasnât been there in a while.Â
When he finally lets it go, you all start eating. The others use JSL to talk to you, seeing as how they all learned it for Bakugo, despite the fact that he didnât want them to use it. It was a nice dinner, really.Â
When the night comes to an end, you all stand up and walk out of the restaurant together. âSo, when will Bakugo lose his hearing again?â Kirishima asks curiously, signing out the words for you. Â
âWell, I can only use my quirk for so long before it starts to become dangerous, just like when you guys use your quirk for an extended amount of time. Because I use my quirk so much though every day all day, he could stay like this all night. Iâm assuming we are all going our separate ways thoughâŚâÂ
âOh, okay. Well, we all really appreciate what youâre doing for him,â Kirishima signs with a kind smile. You smile back at him, not seeing Bakugo say âI donât.âÂ
âItâs no problem at all, really. I just wish I knew about it earlier, so I could help him sooner,â you apologize, turning to look at Bakugo now. By the look on his face and the way his mouth moves, youâre assuming he scoffed.
âDo you think we could hang out again soon? I think it would be good for Bakugo to-â
âWhatâs with that crazy idea? Iâm going home,â Bakugo snaps before turning to leave. Seeing him leave, you slowly raise your hand and switch both of your hearing back. You bite your lip when he stops, the sounds of cars going past on the road and the chatter of people nearby suddenly going silent for him once more.Â
He almost feels like heâs going to be sick.Â
He turns back around, wondering how he can get you to give his hearing back without actually saying he wants it back. His eyes widen in surprise when all of the sounds come back, a small smile coming to your face.Â
âNot everyone has the opportunity to get their hearing back, even for just a little while. So, be grateful.â
It took a while for Bakugo to finally warm up to you but after a month or so, he finally accepted your presence. It took him three to actually refer to you as a friend. It took half a year for Bakugo to admit to himself that youâre his best friend; heâd never tell you or Kirishima that though. Itâs been a year and he still canât admit to himself that he likes you more than as a friend.Â
Bakugo takes a bite of the food you made, his face scrunching up in mock disgust. âWhat did you put in this? Rat poison?â he jokes. It honestly didnât taste half bad but he wasnât about to admit that out loud to you.Â
He watches you dance to the music that he canât hear, your lips moving as you sing. He wishes he could hear it. He watches you stop and turn to look at him at his insult, your mouth showing your scoff.Â
âDo you want to die?â you ask as you swipe your thumb across your neck. He smirks at you as he makes a show of taking another bite. He doesnât hear you hum but he watches as you sign, âYeah, thatâs what I thought, chump.â Heâs the one to scoff now, his eyes rolling with his annoyance.Â
Heâs told you time and time again not to use JSL but you never listen. He secretly appreciates it because he doesnât have to piece things together when you use it. He still acts peeved when you do it though.Â
âIâm not a chump. Youâre the chump,â he snaps. You set your food down before walking over to the big speaker on your kitchen counter that is currently playing one of your favorite songs. You stand in front of it and place your hands against it before raising your other hand over to Bakugo.
His ears are suddenly greeted with the sound of the music, a frown coming to his face as he looks at you. While he appreciates being able to have his hearing back, he hates that you lose yours in the process. Heâs pulled out of his train of thought when you start singing, his eyes becoming wide. You use the vibrations emitting from the radio to keep tempo, singing in sync with the artist.
Talking without hearing was easy for you but youâve never tried singing without your ability to hear before. This shows as you softly sing, your voice shaky and out of tune at some points.Â
Itâs the most beautiful thing that Bakugo had ever heard.Â
Your voice is as sweet as caramel. He watches you with a soft smile on his face, not even realizing that itâs there. When the song comes to an end, you bring your food over to the speaker and eat while your free hand remains pressed against the speaker to âhearâ the music.Â
To his surprise, one of his favorite songs comes on after a couple of minutes and you grew so excited when you realized this. You belt each word with immense confidence, not a sign of hesitation or worry in your voice.Â
This is when he realizes that heâs in love with you.
âââââââââżââââââââ
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2prettybestfrens | jjk
muses. jeon jeongguk x reader x park jimin ft. kim taehyung
genre. strangers to lovers!au. university!au.Â
words. 18.2k
drabbles. pjm
feedback.
warnings. mentions of physical insecurities, alcohol use, juul use, mention of adoption, mentions of dysfunctional families, handcuffs - lots of handcuffs, jeongguk crossdressing, too many one-sided pinings lmaoÂ
synopsis. youâre in love with kim taehyung whoâs in love with jennie kim whoâs in love with professor kim namjoon. so park jimin doesnât exactly fit in all of this, yet heâs always been there in your weakest moments which may or may not be caused by your heartbreak boy - or so jeongguk likes to call him.
oh and jeongguk? you donât even know jeongguk until that party-gone-awry night where you end up handcuffed together to ponder on what you did.
x
when you uploaded a snapchat of your darkened room and a single teary-eyed emoji because kim taehyung uploaded one where a beautiful girl was covering her mouth while she giggled, jimin snapped back a âwhy r u awake đŹâ to which you snapped the same darkened room with a slightly different angle and a âjust causeâ. his last snap to you contained a âcool wanna call?â before you dialed him up and ended up talking until 5 in the morning before bidding each other-
âwell, good night then,â youâd muttered.
âgâmorning,â heâd wished you back in a soft mumble and a hint of sleepiness taking over.
that happened on a friday night. on monday and for the rest of the week, you merely greeted each other in the hallway and went on your days without the inclusion of the other.
when you sat by yourself on the bench on the sidewalk of campus, under the shade of a great old tree a few feet away from your department after being left high and dry when kim taehyungâs friends asked him if heâs joining them to get mcdonaldâs which heâd in turn asked if you wanted to tag along and you said you were good only because you never did well in groupies - park jimin sat down next to you, head thrown back as he squinted at the gaps of the leaves where the tiniest of sun rays managed to pass through and dot his face. blonde tresses swaying ever so softly when the wind blew past you.
âso how was finance?â he looked like he was asking the waving branches.
âeh, it was fine, professor kimâs a good teacher,â you shrugged, the sight of jennie suavely smiling and said professor shooting glances at her made you mentally vomit.
âman,â he blew a gust of air from his mouth as he ran a hand through his semi-long tresses, âwere we in the same class? because all i remember was dozing off five minutes into class.â
âthatâs why you should sit at the front,â youâd suggested.
it was then, did he push himself off the ground and stood up, black and white jacket pushed back as he slipped his hands into the pocket of his jeans. eyes narrowing while his tongue protruded against the inside of his cheek before he went, âyou hungry?â
âstarving,â you rolled your eyes before collecting your mac and holding it to your chest, bag slung over your shoulders.
the both of you didnât go to mcdonaldâs but the food tasted just as good that day at the cafe in your faculty.
when kim taehyung asked jennie if she was free friday night and the girl turned to you with an endearingly oblivious, âdo we have any plans on friday?â and taehyung awkwardly but not so hesitantly corrected, âum, i mean, just you jennie,â the air, without a doubt turned tangibly tense and awkward.
âoh,â jennieâs brows knitted together as she stared at him, as though trying to spot the caption on his forehead as to why he invited only her when everyone knew you and jennie never go anywhere without the other if you didnât have any prior engagements, âwell, ___ and me are going to hang out together so yeah, iâm not free.â
you werenât sure if she was dumb or playing dumb but youâd found out later that night, that sheâd been irritated with kim taehyungâs non-considerate advancements which sheâd recently noticed seemed to exclude you âi hate people who make plans in front of someone and not invite themâ was her exact word before she followed up with a âblockedtâ.
but backtrack to when the tension seemed to rise higher than the sky, you were saved by jimin when he came mini-jogging towards you with that adorable boyish smile and crescent eyes, âhey, i was looking for you - you wanna walk to accounting together?â
youâd waved jennie and taehyung goodbye and gladly walked with jimin to class.
and so it goes, with kim taehyungâs eyes lighting like fireworks in the midnight sky when he sees jennie and the girl itching to make a beeline to the opposite side of where he comes from and you shooting her âbe niceâ looks whilst park jimin pops up now and then in the most convenient time until âusâ no longer comprise of you and jennie but also taehyung and jimin.
so much so, some of your casual friends come to you asking for either of the boys when they seem to have something to inform them which youâre not sure why isnât informable through text. but either way, youâve become two best friends with additional friends.
maybe said additional friends happen to fall in the top list of cuties in the girls and gaysâ books but besides kim taehyung, if you looked, like really really looked at park jimin, you concurred, perhaps he does have the right to be in said list with his unblemished, smooth skin, perfect pink lips and pretty sparkly eyes.
âwhat?â his lips do the thing where they curl, revealing a pair of perfectly lined white pearls.
ânothing,â you say as you find yourself third-wheeling in taehyungâs bmw with jimin at the back and the first commenting something about his older sister liking to shop at zara as well when jennie asked you if you were free tomorrow to go to the mall near campus.
âi mean i can go with you girls, i have a two-hour gap between classes,â the boy offers.
âoh,â the first laugh trickles out of your mouth without a stop switch, âyouâre so cute.â
you can hear jennie snickering in the passenger seat as you turn away from the angle where taehyung could see you in the rear-view mirror, only to come face to face with jimin who seems to get your humor.
âitâs not a big deal,â taehyung shrugs, a tinge of pride in his voice.
âmy man,â jimin pats said man on his shoulder, âyou donât know jack shit about women.â
âwhat?â the older boy asks, perplexed and quite honestly irritated for some reason - but then again, he never seems to like jiminâs quick-to-catch-on nature when it comes to any girls-related topics.
âtwo hours is not enough to shop, taehyung,â jennie finally decodes the long standing cipher, âwe can barely explore one shop.â
by the end of her words, youâre is full out snickering like an unattractive hyena, âi thought you have a sister?â
âi do,â thereâs a tinge of confusion in his tone, âshe usually goes shopping with her boyfriend.â
âwell, how long did it take them to go shopping?â she quizzes, sharing an amused look with jimin.
âuh,â itâs then, do you hear the sound of the screws in taehyungâs brain twisting, âshe usually stays over whenever they do.â
âwell, whatever you think they did after they went shopping - itâs probably not it,â jimin snickers, shoulderline jolting as he crosses his arms over his chest.
âso cute,â jennie echoes your earlier words, neck craning to look at the two other passengers in the back seat as she gives you a one-eyebrow-lifted look as if to say âthis is the guy youâre crushing on?â
at that, you shrug, unapologetically mouthing âheâs cuteâ - in a much different and adoring sense than the first time which jennie mustâve gotten when she shakes her head, a hopeless smile on her lips as she turns to the road again.
you were on your way to the movies then.
x
âoh my god,â jennie squeals, eyes skimming your specifically-handpicked-by-jennie-kim attire, âyou look so cute!â
âonly because i agreed to be your live mannequin,â you say rolling your eyes but the curl of a smile on your lips is unstoppable.
âno - because i know what kind of style suits you,â she narrows her eyes in a âyou know iâm rightâ kind of manner, âno offense, your usual style is cute too but itâs more like an... âi have a crush, donât talk to meâ kind of look, you know?â
âam i wrong though?â your eyebrows rise, mimicking her âyou know iâm rightâ look.
she raises a hand, her free one scrolling through her phone as she announces, âi donât recommend crushing on airheaded guys but you do you sis,â then she looks up, staring at you straight in the eye with the most deadpanned expression, âbut if he breaks your heart, iâll break his leg,â itâs a full, solid moment later, just as you were about to burst out laughing, does she say, âliterally.â
and itâs times like these that you fear for another personâs life that isnât yours - well, taehyungâs life isnât just anyoneâs but - as she turns back to her phone ever so casually.
but before you can fret any further, your phone vibrates, the words âchimâ flashing across your screen with a âget yo asses downâ and contrasting âur chauffer awaitsâ popping a second later.
âget your ass up. theyâre here,â you end up saying, pushing your phone into the back pocket of your leather pants that jennie manages to convince you to put on for some unknown reason - that reason going along the lines of âkim taehyungâ and âjealousyâ, but youâre not one to dwell on why one do things they do as you accept jennieâs grabby-motioned hands in request for assistance to be pulled up.
it turns out the shopping plan gets pushed to saturday where taehyung is basically spouting out how heâs a good judge for fashion and that he hasnât gone to the mall since the semester started which to be fair, was only a month ago.Â
youâre not sure how jimin ended up tagging along - the two arenât even the bestest buddies - but someway, somehow, he always manages to get taehyung to pick him up and drop him off whenever the taller man makes plans to go out with you and jennie.
âwow,â jimin is the first to notice, mouth taking on an âoâ shape he basically ogles in plain daylight.
âwhat do you think?â jennie comes up behind you, chin resting on your shoulder as she wraps her arms around your waist then she turns to taehyung who was the last to get out of the car, âdoesnât ___ look pretty, taehyung?â
at the sound of his name rolling off the tongue of the girl heâs been pining for since he laid eyes on her, his gaze lights up - but only to meet jennieâs. one look at you and he turns back to her with the most beautiful smile, âyeah, she looks great - did you help choose the top?â
âactually,â the girl begins with a cheery tone - theyâre walking a few steps behind you whilst you and jimin walk together. itâs been like that for as long as you remember, âi picked out the whole fit. it wasnât easy though because...â
kim jennie walking side-by-side with kim taehyung whilst you with jimin whenever the two boys join you, be it whether to get to a class you all share, to go to the library to study or to get some lunch - has become a familiar view to your mutual friends. so much so, youâve heard of a rumor going around that youâre a couple of best friends.
like literal couples. you with jimin and jennie with taehyung. thanks to that, no one would have suspected jennieâs relationship with professor kim nor would anyone see through the veil of friendly smiles and amicable conversations to be you pining over your best friendâs alleged boyfriend.
youâve gotten used to hearing jennie and taehyungâs conversation fade into the background yet never really able to disregard the way taehyung laughs at something your best friend says or the sight of the two walking a few feet ahead with taehyungâs head almost always turned to jennieâs and the girl, oblivious, occasionally cranes her neck to look at him at the beginning of her sentence before directing her gaze to the front where sheâs walking.
jennie dislikes taehyung less now, if only because he steers the conversation towards the areas of interest - which he seems to know a lot of. kudos to you for answering his ass-crack oâclock texts of âheyyy what kind of movie does jennie like?âs and âheyy you girls got any plans tomorrow?âs.
âyou look great in those leather pants, by the way,â jiminâs voice makes you turn to the other boy, a boyish smile on his lips, âso let me guess,â his head tilts to the side as the dip between his thumb and index finger hooks itself underneath his chin, eyebrows knitted together in heavy contemplation, âare you going for a good girl gone bad kind of look,â a playful smile tugs on the corners of his lips, âor are you in a secret biker gang and have a biker meeting at 7?â
you lean closer to the man, hand covering your mouth as you whisper, âyou didnât hear this from me but weâre convoying to disney land. i heard itâs more magical during christmas.âÂ
or so you thought your whispering skills were close to perfect but a cat with brown hair pops up from next to you, eyes glinting with excitement, âdid someone say christmas?!â
so you end up early-christmas shopping just because of that one word that triggers the warm-hearted-who-ness in her. and thatâs how you, taehyung and jimin gets dragged from one store to another. but where your attention gets robbed with material things like-
âoh look, a snow globe with a puppy and a snowman in it!â you shake the see through globe, watching as pseudo snowflakes rain over the unmoving pupper and olaf lookalike before you sigh, âtechnically the snowman isnât alive and the doggo is alone by itself in a world where nobody else can enter - and on christmas at that . oh my god, i think iâm gonna cry.â
- but jennieâs interest lies within the holiday-themed clothes. sweaters. costumers. lingerie. you name it and jennie kim tries it on.
â___ - pssst, hey,â there she goes, hiss-whispering your name as if youâre not right in front of the curtain sheâs poking her head through, eyes darting around for the two boys who, last you saw, were doing the best to look interested in reindeers and candy printed sweaters.
âwhat, girl, what?â you whisper back, trying to peek through the gap of the curtain over her head as if youâve never entered a changing room together.
and as if reading your mind, her bare arm thatâs supposed to be wrapped with the floral cotton material of her sleeve - shoots out, hand wrapping around your wrist.
a âwha- ah-!â probably echoed off the walls and turned some heads but youâre no longer in the position to check as you find your back pressed against the wall of the cubicle and red and white lace-wearing jennie posing for you.
âso?â she beams.
âthose are so cute, oh my god,â you end up his-whispering whilst trying to keep your voice low, âwhere did you get them? i only ever saw you checking out - and you have got to admit this - ugly sweaters!â
âgirl, the lingerie section is just next to the sweaters,â her eyes seem to disappear behind her crescents as she crinkles her nose, âno but for real, you think i was gonna buy them? i just needed the boys to go away. and. they. finally. did,â she rolls her eyes, âit took awhile but kim taehyung is so persistent.â
âthatâs why heâs so... cute,â you hum, eyes shutting close as the picture of the aforementioned man flashes behind your eyes. heâs looking at you with those dark eyes and heâs smiling at you with that magnetic-
âgross! get your ass out of the gutter,â a squeal hits the air as your eyes flutter open to the sight of your best friendâs contorted faces as if-
âum, girl,â you tilt your head just the slightest bit, hand on your hip while your other hand raises in a âhold upâ manner, âout of the two of us, youâre the one thatâs gotta stop being silly and start wrapping professor kimâs willy.â
a stick of tongue out is all youâve got as a response before she turns to her phone thatâs vibrating at an alarming rate.
thatâs when you feign almost-vomit, âdid you - ulgh - sent him a - ulgh - nude?â
in any ordinary circumstance, she would have made faces to mimic a much ridiculous series of vomiting in response to your fake almost-vomits but when her smile tugs downwards in a disheartened pout, you practically drop all the ugly sweaters you picked out just for the sake of getting into the christmas spirit and rush over to the girl - which is only one and a half feet away.
âhey, hey, whatâs wrong?â you coo as she starts blinking back tears.
âi knew it,â she huffs out a puff of air, hand fanning at her waterline, âi fucking knew it.â
in between the âyouâre okayâs and âeverythingâs going to be okayâs on your part and jennieâs increasingly growing sobs, you manage to make out the words she blurts out. something along the lines of ânot spending as much time as we used toâ and âbecause iâm ugly as fuckâ. so you hold her tighter, fingers brushing out the potentially forming knots in her hair each time it gets into her tear stained face and gets aggressively pushed out of said face with the back of the hand.Â
itâs been going on since the start of the third year - the âi canât make it tonightâs and âsorry, iâm going to have to rain checkâs.Â
youâve been a silent spectator of how your best friendâs face lights up whenever she talks about her secret affair with the youngest professor in the business faculty, how he lives up to her private swooning with the smallest âmiss kim, how was your dayâs when he met her in the hallway, ever so casually greeting one of his supposed students like any professor would and treats her to fine-dinings and became the reason why forehead kisses are her favorite kind of kiss now.
he never really tried to hide his fondness for her even at the faculty and though you knew your best friend could get anyone she wanted, you were dubious of whether that anyone actually deserved such a loving, beautiful person. nonetheless, kim namjoon seems to be the exact person who does.
âhey, look at me,â you implore, sitting cross-legged on the floor whilst your knees touch and your fingers twine together in a fingers hug, or so jennie coined the term in your first year, âyouâre so beautiful.â
âyou donât mean that,â she mumbles out.
âgirl, if i were to be born again and were allowed to choose how iâm going to look - i want your eyes, they like, pull people in - not gonna lie, i started talking to you because you were intimidating but also really alluring. does that make sense?â you hold up a hand when she begins to giggle lightly, head shaking in show of her disagreement.
âbut when i did get to know you, youâre the sweetest, squishiest,â a protest falls from her lips as she clasps a palm over the spot on her arm that you just pinched, âperson alive. and oh!â you pinch her cheeks next, chuckling at how she crinkles her nose and like the feline sheâs always been associated with, âand i want your cute chubs cheeks! and your adorable nose, and your lips,â you pause for the longest moment before retracting, âokay maybe iâd want my lips but your lips are juicy too!â
she makes a sound at the back of her throat, eyes of dried tears rolling, âplease, i barely have any lips.â
âi mean, theyâre still kissable,â you shoot her a suggestive look, âand i know out of the two of us, one would kiss you if sheâs a little bit more fruity.â
âokay, maybe you think iâm kinda pretty,â she gives in.
but thatâs not enough for you,âbih, youâre a literal goddess,â
âiâm not but anyway beauty is subjective so maybe namjoonâs perspectiveâs changed.â
ânope - nu-uh, we can cry and just... let ourselves feel the emotion thatâs been bottling up and burst at one single message but what weâre not gonna do is mope around, being sad all day because of our presumptions that someone else thinks weâre not good enough or pretty enough. because you are and i would die for you.â
she hiccups, âi donât know if i would die for you but iâd sacrifice my first born for you.â
âew,â you feel your nose crinkling, âno, youâre not gonna trap me with a kid - thatâs a trap right there and iâm not falling for it.â
jennie ends up laughing too loudly that one of the store attendants end up kicking you out. jimin and taehyung followed suit a second later, acting like they didnât know you two but walking towards you anyway. youâre not sure if they noticed jennieâs swollen eyes but neither mentioned anything about it. instead, taehyung suggests-Â âsince weâre already out, you guys wanna go to chanyeolâs party?â
x
so you end up going to the party. the apartmentâs too cramped for your liking but jennieâs found some mutual friends of yours that sheâs dancing and laughing with. and maybe thatâs why you havenât bolted right out of the door the moment you stepped in.
jimin found some of his own friends. theyâre probably not from the faculty since you donât remember seeing them around and taehyung-
youâre not quite sure why taehyung is following you around like a lost puppy and trying to make small talks with you. internally, your heartâs doing flips but your headâs been giving out one of those obnoxiously loud sirens with lights as red as the cup youâre holding.
â...and you know, itâs pretty cool how they managed to attract foreign investors within six months of starting up their business,â taehyung is saying, the awkward shrug and eyes glued to the ground telling you that heâs not so into whatever heâs saying either.
âyeah, like, they definitely got lucky or something,â you nod in agreement.
funny how the blare of the music is barely allowing you to have a proper conversation but all you hear is deafening silence as you stand five feet apart - the kind of distance that screams acquaintances but less than friends and most definitely not lovers.
but then he stands on his two feet instead of leaning his weight on just one - and he looks at you right in the eye for the first time that night. and your stupid heart goes fluttering like the petals in a field.
âhey, i donât wanna be a nosy or anything but,â he pauses for the briefest second, eyes slanting to somewhere on the dance floor where you think you last saw jennie and then he refocuses back to you. but you already know where his mind and soul remains, âwhat happened today? like, jennieâs acting off, like somethingâs bothering her and sheâs kinda drinking more than she should and it kinda feels like she doesnât want me around.â
it takes a moment to ponder on how much you should say before your words become affirmation and affirmation will probably lead to more assumptions and - âwell, you should ask her.â
âuh, i- she doesnât- i donât know how - i donât wanna annoy her, you know what i mean? and since youâre best friends, i thought maybe youâd-â heâs scratching the back of his head when you cut him off.
âthereâs your answer,â you raise the half-empty cup thatâs been lying undrunken in your hands, âif youâre not gonna square up and tell her how you feel, then you, my friend,â your stomach drops at the word but you manage to land a solid pat on his arm, âare going to live the rest of your live like this - wondering what the hell is going on because youâre really not sure where you stand. and i get it, confessing to someone is terrifying and depending on jennieâs answer, you might or might not be able to talk to her ever again but itâs better to get it out there. feelings are like farts, you know?â the way his brows come together in a confused what-the-hell moment, is adorable, âhold it in and youâll feel like somethingâs not right and it is never going to be until you get all of it out of your system.â and with a nod and a tight-lipped smile, you leave him with a âgood luck,â before wandering over to the dance floor, not sure where youâre going because jennie, lisa chaeyoung and jisooâs not where you thought they were and the only less crowded but still suffocating part of the apartment is the kitchen where you donât want to risk going back and seeing taehyung there, unmoving in the spot where you left him.
amid all of it, you almost get your shoulder dislocated before a hand shoots out and pulls you back on your two feet whilst you raise your cup higher in hopes to save its contents from spilling.
the man that caught you looks between you and your raised cup for two solid seconds before a grin tugs on his face and he clicks his own cup to yours, âcheers.â
âaha, yeah,â you laugh as you feel his grip on your arm loosening and you pull it back to your side like a robot, taking a sip of your nicely saved drink.
âthanks for not letting me fall,â you say a moment later, after thanking whatever deity is out there that allows you to get your first drink into the right pipe without feeling the need to cough out loud.
âno problem,â even in the poor lighting, you can easily catch the sight of pearly whites lined up perfectly amid an alluring smile, that is, before a pair of brows knit together in what seem like an unresolvable conundrum, âhey, you donât happen to...â he pauses for the longest moment, eyes slanting to scan the crowd and making you do the same until he commands your attention back with his next words, lips curling back into the breathtakingly attractive smile as words tumble past them, â...see two pretty best friends in here, do you?â
and thatâs when your interest, wherever it is, plunges straight down to the ground and into the ether, âoh,â your vision shakes as you nod repeatedly before forcing out a dry âha haâ which isnât meant to disguise your displeasure at all - if anything, a wave of satisfaction crashes over you when his smile falters, âyeah, that - thatâs really funny,â you say plainly, smile still plastered on your face.
âo-kay,â he drags out the word for half a second, teeth clenched together in growing panic as all traces of humor fade away, â...joke too old?â
âwell, letâs see,â you feel your index finger tapping your chin as you throw your gaze up to the ceiling, âi get it, tell the ugly best friend sheâs ugly but in a joking way,â you shrug, âyou donât need to rub it in my face cause i know and yes itâs getting old.â
it takes a whole solid moment of blaring music and non-caring half-way-drunken college students continuing to grind against one another and this insanely attractive stranger staring at you with jaws on the ground, for you to wave a dismissive hand.
âyou know what? donât worry, jennieâs not here, thankfully or she wouldâve blo-â air fills your throat and cuts you off when he frowns, âwho?â, to which you raise your eyebrows, âje-â you almost choked, âjennie?â
he shakes his head the second time, bottom lip jutting out in an additional- ânopeâ gesture as he continues with ânever heard of her,â after your âjennie... kim?â
so you go one, âkinda cute height, long hair, brunette-â he shrugs, ânope- doesnât ring a bell,â in the middle of your, â-fierce cat-like eyes but adorable as heck personality?â
in the end he wins with a final word of, âno - nope,â after a whole solid moment of your silenced disbelieve and him drawing his pondering session to a close.
âoh,â escapes your lips before you can even register, âso - it was- like-â
âyeap,â he nods, âit was-â
âa joke?â
âa joke.â
you both announce at the same time. the tones may differ but the essence is there, leaving one to stare at the ground in shame for having snapped at a complete stranger and the other staring with unapologetic eyes.
âiâm sorry,â you finally manage to utter, shoulderline falling with your walls of pride, âi thought it was one of those micro aggressive jokes people throw around just because they canât straight out tell someone theyâre ugly-â
but the words seem to enter through one ear and go out the other when his brows begin to knit together for the nth time of the night - and in a matter of less than thirty minutes at that - when he declares before you get to properly end your sentence, âyouâre pretty as hell. why did you think iâd randomly try to crack a joke to a stranger and risk pissing pants off on the off chance she took it badly... which you did. iâm sorry for pushing the wrong button.â
âoh,â but just like him, your brain short-circuits and you seem to only truly hear the first part of what heâs saying as just like any girl - you curse yourself as you - shy away from his gaze, hand going up to tuck your hair behind your ear before you slowly peek up through your lashes, âthanks,â you blink once, shrugging, âand itâs fine i get that joke a lot - i donât usually care, i donât know what got into me tonight.âÂ
but before he manages to say anything, the loudspeaker starts reverberating with the sound of someone clearing their throat and a âhowâs everyone doing?â and a dismissive âalright, alright you might be wondering âwho the eff is this guyâ right? yea, yea, i know, but-â he stops, eyes scanning the crowd for a suspenseful effect, â-but youâre gonna wanna hear this,â to which a groan erupts from the crowd, so he quickly gets to the point âdonât panic,â most of the time, thatâs exactly when you should panic, âso, the police are coming.â
x
his name is jeon jeongguk and he goes to your universityâs rival university. his hair is actually a shade of rich deep brown that forms wavy ends and contrasts glaringly against his sharp jawline under the fluorescent lighting which also highlights his pearly whites that remind you of bunnies when his lips curl over them when he smiles.
to think that heâs doing that now while the police officer, a man in his 40â˛s and on the shorter side of the spectrum is ten steps from marching up to you with a disapproving gaze on his face.
his hair falls over his face in half ringlets, an excited glint in his eyes, âheâs mad cause weâre clean.â
a guy somewhere a few people away from you is sobbing increasingly loudly with every step the officer takes before he comes to a stop in front of you, eyes skimming each faces one by one until he stops on you.
âyou,â he announces before sighing deeply, âyou look like a kid who wouldnât cause trouble, why are you here?â
âuh,â the chain around your wrist feels cold but jeonggukâs pinky thatâs touching yours as your thighs brush together - is warm, âi...â you pause, in search for words before settling with a disappointing confession âi donât know,â
the officer echoes your statement with a critical emphasize on the âdonâtâ.
and because of that, you blink once, âin fact, does anyone know what theyâre doing at all? if you think about it weâre just astronomical particles in this vast universe which is called the milky way,â you pause, if only squint at his sparse mustache, âwhy is it even called milky way? like, thereâs absolutely no scientific evidence that milk exists in outer space or do you reckon the guys that named it just feels like drinking some milk while they were-â
by the end of it, a few snickers have escaped from the people you and jeongguk were caught with, the aforementioned man, having turned his head the other way as his shoulders jolt silently and itâs only then does the officerâs increasing confused expression contorts into that of a maddened bore, âkeep hanging out with him and youâre gonna find yourself behind bars.â
âthat hurts my feelings, detective yoo,â jeongguk confesses, forehead creasing as his uncuffed hand holds the spot on his chest where his heart should be.
the man finally shakes his head, motioning to a younger officer who looks just about your age to start unlocking everyoneâs cuffs - there were a few other people youâve never seen before dragged out of the vicinity and to the station. he speaks a moment later, âyou kids are lucky because none of you are associated with the ones down the hallway - we were initially going for them. busted their asses and found over a hundred kilograms of cocaine.â
once your cuffs are off and you get your phone back, youâre fast-scrolling through the messages on the notification window before swiping up and searching for jennieâs contact. it turns out she, taehyung and jimin guessed you were one of the few who didnât make it and waited for you near the building where the party was busted.
âoh my god,â jennie is the first to dash into your arms as if she hadnât seen you since forever, âiâm so sorry i left you!â
âwell to be fair, i left you,â you mumble, your arms banded around her waist while hers around your neck.
and just when you thought the melodrama would end when she pulls away, you find yourself staring at sparkly-eyed jennie and the most heartbreaking downturned lips, âi will never,â she pauses, âever let you out of my sight.â
youâre exactly against that idea - after all, youâve made plans to buy a beach house and move in together in your olden days once youâve poiso- burried your husbands who died of a totally natural cause.
itâs only after breaking apart from a second hug, do you realize the man standing not-so-awkwardly five feet away.
âdonât mind me,â jeongguk holds up his hands, âi donât watch much drama but i might after all this.â
âjeongguk,â you canât help the smile that creeps up your face at his joke, âthis is jennie,â then you turn to the girl who still has her arm around your waist, and you her, âjennie, jeongguk.â
âhave i seen you before?â her cat-like eyes narrows just the slightest bit, as though if she tried hard enough, sheâd see the pieces of moving memories thatâll somehow point out where she claims to have met him - but you donât doubt it if they have, jennie gets invited to a lot of parties and hookups.
you shouldâve known when jeonggukâs eyes sweep over you with a playful glint in them as he begins, âthatâs funny because ____ here-â that from this point forward, that you shouldnât have put your foot forward and prance at him like a predator with a secret, hand clasped against a surprisingly hard chest before your brain can register what youâre doing.
and when it does, youâre left to awkwardly pat his chest in what you hope to be friendly gesture whilst you force out a laugh, âthat- that was really funny jeongguk,â you turn to jennie who, having known you all your life easily catches onto your out-of-character laugh but says nothing, so you point at the guy youâre basically and is still groping - to which youâve finally tear your hand off his body, âheâs a funny guy.â
âand who exactly is this funny guy?â taehyung comes up on your left - you think you catch sight of his sleek bmw parked on the other side of the street where he mustâve strutted up from in his beige jacket with his hands buried in its pockets.
âjust...â you trail off before your brain completely fries and you blurt out, âsome guy.â
and thatâs when jeongguk decides to call you out, âsome guy? i helped you through a life lesson.â
you attribute the alcohol in your system thatâs slowing down the neurons and disables you from thinking before you act when you roll your eyes, âin case you didnât realize, you were in there laughing your ass off when i had to have my own back while that officer looked like he was a word away from dragging me to the police station for talking back to a law enforcement.â
âyou talked back to an officer?â jennie chirps, her jaw falling to the ground as her cat eyes widen in excitement and astonishment.
âshe did,â jeongguk nods at the girl, a displaced proud smile on his lips before he looks back to you, âbrought out the boomer in him too.â
âyou pissed off an officer?â this time, itâs jimin who pops up from behind taehyung, before casually nodding to jeongguk with a âhey man.â
âi mean, it was probably ___âs sheer guts and rebellious streak alone that helped free us,â jeongguk goes on, eyes glinting with amusement in the briefest moment they slant to meet yours but theyâre gone too soon as he redirects your attention to jimin and jennieâs overpouring questions.
and because jennie wanted to hear more about how jeongguk embellished what went down, taehyung ends up agreeing to give the stranger a ride as you get squished between two men with jennie constantly pulling on the strap of the seatbelt to look over to the backseat, her mouth constantly dropping with every word jeongguk utters like heâs some well-known storyteller.
by the time the car rolls to a stop in front of his apartment building, jennieâs shooting you approving, borderline provocative looks your way - you donât doubt that if she had any power in her hand to put both you and jeongguk in the same room, lock the door and swallow the key, she would in a heartbeat.
âhey,â jeongguk leans over the doorframe, âcan i talk to you for a sec?â itâs the way he tilts his head to the side on a 35 degree angle, paired with that dangerous smile heâs been shooting you in the briefest span of moments jennieâs head is turned to the road and jiminâs gave is thrown outside of the window and taehyung isnât stealing glances from the rear-view mirror - that makes you want to shake your head in rejection to his request and prance out of the car like a predator in heat at the same time.
but instead, you calmly slide over to the side now vacant side and slip out of the car, closing the door behind you so no ears can eavesdrop.
the scent of his cologne wafts stronger into your senses now that you have no police officers to be cautious of nor any embellished stories to correct.
that, or maybe itâs the way heâs got you trapped against the car door and his body, right arm placed perfectly on the roof of the car, next to your head.
âbout time you give me your @, no?â the corner of his lips tilts higher into a cocky smirk.
âum, yea,â you begin, âi think itâs better if we leave into the night like strangers with stories, you know? and if weâre meant to find each other, we will,â you swear on your grandmotherâs grave that you will never go to any parties anymore, âmakes a good plot for a drama,â eyes going wide and mouth taking on an âoâ shape, you continue, âdidnât you say you were gonna start watching those?â
 his shoulderline shakes as he chuckles, head dropped it tilts up, eyes capturing yours, âiâm not falling for that,â his announcement is plain and simple and yet youâre forced to put twice the effort in your smile as to not let it falter, âafter getting my chest groped and caressed, i deserve at least-â
âit was a friendly pat, mind you,â you correct, smile still glued to your face before rolling your eyes, âbut snapchat is as far as iâm willing to go.â
âworks for me,â the screen of his phone flashes with a dark mode keypad splayed over it - youâre not sure how he unlocked it without taking those glinted eyes off you but he did. so you swipe the phone off his hand and send yourself a request through his account.
âiâm gonna open your snap and leave you on read!â you announce, and he laughs, âalright, bet!â
and with that, he waves at you using the same phone he told you to put your number in, taking a few steps backward, allowing you room to breathe properly again before he whirls on his heels and walks through the glass double doors.
you donât wait any longer than you have to, shivering from the cold night air when you slip into the car.
âdid you give him your number?!â jennie practically screams.
âno but i gave my snapchat only because he looked like he wouldnât sleep a wink at night if i didnât,â you shrug.
and thatâs how kim jennie gets it into her head that youâre going to get your first-boyfriend-cherry popped. or so she likes to believe.
but thatâs the least of your concern for the greater one comes in a devil with black jeans and matching plain t-shirt and timberlands and a lit up screen at exactly three something in the am, right after youâre done with a hot shower and in a middle of towel drying your hair and putting on your night routine skincare.
you open the text revealing a night view of a cityscape from a window which room is surrounded by darkness and a transparent horizontal strip with a ââď¸ â in the middle from a goldenjks.
so you snap a picture of your skincare products next to a mirror with you and a towel on your head, face blocked by your hand thatâs holding your phone, choosing to send âđâ.
and so it goes, the snap war that erupts between you and user goldenjks throughout the night which, after youâd gotten into bed with the lights off, basically includes snaps of your darkened room and his more superior window view.
before long, you started texting on snapchat about how the police officer seems to know him and how-
goldenjks
u were p chill for someone who got arrested for the 1st time
youâre giggling in the darkness at 5:23 am.
you
cs ik i didnât do anything wrong
duh
and he mentions something about a sobbing kid that was made to wait with you and nobody really did anything to comfort him.
goldenjks
that coulda been u if i wasnât there probably
you roll your eyes but you can feel your muscles becoming sore from the way your lips are stretching from ear to ear.
then it starts with how taehyung didnât saying anything throughout the ride up until the car rolled to a stop in front of jeonggukâs place.
goldenjks
r u guys using him for his car???
cs sameÂ
i would 2
you
wtf
weâre not đđ
and without much thought, you end up spilling a not-so-secret but not-so-well-known truth.
you
welp
heâs using me to get close to jennie so
ig i should use him for his car
oof
goldenjksÂ
ooof
so let me guess
u canât say no to him cs u have the biggest crush on him
âwhat the hell?â you mumble to yourself, smile pulled down into a frown, but before you can type out a reply, two more pop up on his side.
goldenjks
and jimin head over heels for u
you
𧢠𧢠đ§˘
u funny đđđ
goldenjks
fr fr tho đđđ
i would b too
all of a sudden, a boy with the softest blonde hair and crescent eye smiles floods your throughts. you and jimin might have been casual friends for the longest time and only until recently started hanging out together - and he may or may not hold confidential information about the littlest details of the lack of smile on your face and the blank snaps in your stories whenever youâre down.
but to say heâs reacting such way because heâs into you would be a total scam.
so you shake your head, laughing out loud, ânah canât be.â
you
alright imma đ´đ´đ´
to which jeongguk tests back a gnight and after one whole solid minute, a text u tmr?
you leave him on read.
x
âlike, who does he think he is?â you huff, burying the plastic spoon into the ice cream before scooping up a chunk of neapolitan flavored goodness and directing it into your mouth, âhe literally met us just last night and heâs spouting shit like he knows us for years?â
âi donât know,â jennie humps, tongue darting out to lick the remnants of strawberry ice cream on her upper lips before she goes on with a smile that screams âjust get together alreadyâ, âitâs kinda hot to me when guys know shits, you know what i mean?â
youâve managed to avoid jimin and taehyung at all costs and sneak to the ice cream parlor thatâs five minutes away from campus where you spilled your guts out about how you got unreasonably irritated by the long running joke, about how jeonggukâs hand wrapped around your wrist and he pulled you out of the way of the chaotic college students who were rushing to get out of the small, cramped apartment and how you stopped him from relaying your disbelief of his lack of knowledge about her.
âlike, i flipped out at him because of some stupid joke,â you shrugged, hands fiddling with each other while a coat of smoke wafted over the newly scooped and paid-for ice cream.
your name rolled off her lips before she stared at you with her hands on hear heart, âi- i didnât know you would go so far as fight a guy for me for calling me ugly,â then she laughed, âbut you donât have to. girl, we been knew iâm ugly as fuck.â
your jaw hit the ground at the word she used to describe herself before you blinked and came back to your senses and aggressive defenses, âoh my god, iâm the ugly one and youâre the literal goddess - like, i shouldnât even be looking at you. i should be looking at your sole. you should be stepping on me - step on me! now!â
a yelp resonated into the air as you groped around for jenniâs left leg in an attempt to lift her foot to make her step on you to which you both ended up laughing hysterically after realizing that she was wearing a skirt and the way you were sitting may or may have not resulted in an array of possible outcomes.
âoh my god, do you think she saw my panties?â she meant the woman in her late 40â˛s who were shooting disapproving eyes at the both of you as she scrolled through her phone, seeming to be waiting for someone before placing an order.
âyou just flashed a poor old woman who came to have some ice cream,â you were hunched over, hand covering your face as you stole glances her way which didnât hold long because you ended up giggling with the girl when you caught each otherâs eyes.
âyou think she likes what she sees?â jennieâs brows rose suggestively and you knew what she was going to say next before the words even leave her mouth, âyou think maybe i should tell her about my onlyfans?â
it was a few bursts of giggles later, that youâd finally managed to talk properly. or probably because jennieâs question brought out an unwelcomed emotion that you pushed to the back of your conscience last night and for the most part, managed to forget, âso,â her brows were wiggling like earthworms on her forehead, âdid he text you?â
that was what spurred the whole confession and up to the moment where you spilled the contents of the unfairly attractive strangerâs text.
âi donât know, he kinda went overboard,â you shrug and jennieâs hand reaches over yours, patting it once with what you assume is an understanding manner.
âsweetie, i get it,â she announces, âyou feel exposed because he said the absolute truth and only the truth and now youâre projecting your embarrassment on him through disdain.â
silence follows her statement.
and staring.
on your part, that is.
âgirl,â you blink once, eyebrows arched, âwhatever youâre having - i want some.â
that warrants a bout of giggles from said girl before she scoops her last bite of ice cream and hook arms with you as you walk towards the trashcan to dump your empty paper bowls, âno but for real, i like jeongguk-â
âthen you date him,â you announce, nodding in approval.
âi like how he brings this... this... fire out of you, you know?â she quizzes to which you shake your head in a âno, i donât knowâ kind of manner as she goes on, âand i already have namjoon so,â she sing songs as she starts to skip in the middle of the mall and since your arms are linked together, you end up taking larger steps to accommodate to hers before deciding that you canât root your feet down to slow her down into a normal pace. so you join her, skipping to the exit where you wait for your uber.
âyou guys made up?â the question comes out in a calm, poised manner once youâve both slipped into the backseat of the uber - youâd like to believe youâre doing a pretty good job on trying to conceal your spiking disbelief and the need to whoop someoneâs ass. that someone being a girl who just pledged an oath to choose herself first instead of some man who-
âi texted him and told him how i felt with him cancelling on our plans and when i didnât get any reply, i turned off my phone and got into bed because iâm not gonna mope over someone who wonât appreciate me,â at that, you give her an approving nod, âbut then he came knocking on my door at like 5 in the morning in yesterdayâs suit because apparently he has a deadline to meet and heâs been bending over backward trying to finish it on time and he brought his laptop with him too and managed to submit on time after explaining everything. he said he tried calling multiple times but obviously it went to voice mail so... yeah we made up.â
âthatâs...â you trail off, only to stare at your friendâs beaming face like sheâs just had one of the best facials on earth, âwow, i... i donât know what to say now that we know heâs not trash.â
âi know,â you feel her pat the back of your hand sympathetically, âand thatâs what a man is,â and when she looks at you with eyes that have one goal in her mind, you know not to start listening because the facts are going to bruise your pride and hit the nail on the head more times than youâd-
âliking a boy has more downs than ups but iâm not too worried because youâre a self-loving bitch and i love that for you but kim taehyung is not it,â she says all that with a straight face.
âyeah,â you mumble, thumbs fiddling together as you turn your attention to them as if itâs the most magnifying thing in the world to find out that identical parts of your body could move on their own with just a thought.
âokay, but i swear, heâs so oblivious all the time-â the girl stops short of her lament, you can see her head tilting to peer at you at a slightly different angle as if to see traces of an impostor on you, âwait, what?â
âwe got into a fight last night- i donât know if itâs even a fight but you know how i go off in a tangent when i get like annoyed, right?â you steal a glance at her for half a second before going back to your thumbs, âso i kind of did that to him before the dude announced the cops were coming and we havenât really talked to each other since then.â
before any of you could say anything else, the sound of a cough echoes in the air, warranting your attention to turn to the driver, a woman in her mid-thirties. you return her smile through the rear-view mirror, âif you donât mind me saying this - i know you girls are smart as fuck, but you sound just as dumb as that guy - whoever he is because itâs completely normal to get mad at someone youâre crushing on and still have a crush on them but sounds to me like youâre thinking one fight is the end of the world for you.â
âsis, please, donât encourage her,â jennie talk-whispers as she leans forward just the slightest bit and covers the side of her mouth with her hand.
âwell, weâre not really friends,â you begin and jennie groans - you two went over this and agreed to disagree with each otherâs wildly contrasting views about crushing on crushes that could crush you but the lady hasnât heard it so youâre not going to stop lamenting over it, âand whatever i do, itâs like iâm teetering on a tight rope because one wrong move and he probably wonât talk to me ever again and iâm not like miserably crushing on him - like, whatever we are right now - it lets me see him every day and he has the cutest smile and the prettiest fingers- i just - itâs better than not talking to each other forever, you feel?â
âum, donât i?â she rolls her eyes, as if coming from a place filled with oblivious boys and hopeless crushes.
her name is solar and she does uber as a part time while working 9 to 5 at a firm that she claims to pay better but still not enough for her to save up for her wedding on the side and she and her fiance knew each other since high school but sheâs seen him date two girls and get his heartbroken by both before he actually noticed her, the friend thatâs always been there for him through his heartbreaks.
coming from someone who isnât jennie and her alarming obsession with breaking parts of bodies of people who hurt her loved ones, solarâs view is somewhat a mixture of you and your best friendâs which still bases on one simple fact: whatever you say to and about taehyung comes bouncing back at you like a ping pong ball because-
âyou have a crush on him and he has a crush on jennie,â she surmises before looking over at the aforementioned girl, âand people with crushes act like idiots- by the way how do you feel- like how do you handle the guyâs advancements and still arenât awkward with each other because i have never seen...â
when the car rolls to a stop in the parking lot of your faculty, she finally turns to the two of you, her bleached blonde hair framing her face in waves as the silence - on you and jennieâs part as you both share glances at the indicative joke opening - hangs in the air with a sort of tension you can feel.
might even bite back like you did with jeongguk but youâre more in control now.
 â...two pretty best friends who are still best friends when thereâs a guy that comes between them.â
âoh thank god,â jennie sighs, laughing and youâre nodding in agreement, âthanks for not-â and your best friend echoes, âyeah,â before you can even finish your sentence, â-saying that cliche joke or like for giving your own twist to it,â waving a dismissive hand, you address her initial worries, âand taehyung doesnât-â
âhe doesnât-â jennie chimes in.
â-come between us.â
you both say at the same time.Â
âoh my god, thatâs great, you know my best friend tried sleeping with my fiance behind my back once,â solar crinkles her nose, âwasnât a good experience but anywho, iâm so glad to see two girls having each otherâs back like you guys. makes me want to...â
itâs a few moments later that you finally hand her the money and murmur out appreciations for being such a great uber driver along with some âgive me five stars! thanks!â and âwe will! have a nice one!â
you both part ways in the hallway when youâre supposed to go for marketing and she has to go for personnel management. jiminâs already reserved a seat for you, waving at you to catch your attention which he succeeds splendidly. by the start of the second year, youâve opted to sit together in classes you have in common, though not as close as the front as youâd like, itâs better than sitting at the back where you can hear the buzz of flies - you mean people, talking.
âare you doing anything this friday night?â jimin asks amidst people zooming out of the class as if they donât want to be there for longer than a minute after being dismissed.
that, or they have another class to get to on the other side of the campus.
âuh, just me or me and jennie âyouâ?â you dumbly question.
that warrants a chuckle from the boy, âyou and jennie... unless you wanna come alone?â
a hum vibrates in your chest as you narrow your eyes at him, as though if you looked close enough, you can see through his skull and right into his thoughts.Â
but you canât so thatâs why youâre spouting out another question, âwhere exactly are you inviting us again?â
âso, like, you know i dance right?â he drops his gaze for the briefest moment before coming back up to lock it with yours, âitâs very lowkey - just something i do for fun, but we kind of have a dance off with other teams every month and this monthâs round is this friday night so i was wondering if you wanna come?â then he quickly adds, âwith jennie, of course.â
to be frank your weekends are as boring and dull as it gets - the party-busted incident was a rare exception - but you and jennie are quite content with it. you start having more to do and places to venture out to when taehyung and subsequently jimin join your group of two and made it a group of four but for the most part, if youâre not going anywhere, your weekend is usually spent with watching movies and burying yourself in work for the rest of it.
âbet,â your reply might have come a tad bit delayed judging from how his brows rise to the ceiling and his eyes go round as he chirps, âreally?âÂ
âyeah, just text me or jennie the location the day before,â you request as you both walk down the hallway.
âgreat- yeah, iâll... iâll text you the place,â jimin beams even as he bumps into someone behind him, turning around to lower his head and mumble out an oh sorry before turning back to you, âi got another class but iâll text you- on thursday - not today, of course.â
and you wave back, shouting out an âokay bye!â
then heâs gone like the wind.
x
the days pass by like a breeze.
kim taehyung caught you in the middle of waiting for jennieâs class to end whilst also finishing up some work in the library. he knew your favorite spot and he knew where youâd usually be - but you had an inkling that you werenât exactly the reason why he memorized these little things. he waved at you in greeting and you waved back. you wouldâve pretended he didnât exist after that and go back to your laptop if he didnât hold up his phone screen with blank white space and blue and grey bubbles on the side.
so of course you picked up your phone, noticing that there were already three wiggling dots when you tapped on his name.
kth: hey
you met his gaze once, as if to affirm that he meant to send it. when he shota half, almost pleading smile, you typed out a reply.
you: hey whatâs good
kth: nothing
kth: just waiting for a friend
seeing as there was not really a conversation going on where jennie wasnât involved and how the boyâs blatant dismissal in addressing the big, giant elephant in the room, taehyung mustâve had seen the way your lips pursed into an irritated pout before his phone vibrated.
you: cool
and then you were back to your laptop, typing sentences out and backspacing because of its incoherent nature, or lack of quality or whatever reason that stopped you from doing your job before kim taehyungâs arrival.
then he started whispering âhey, uh, ____,â from across the table. upper body leaned to the front as if itâd help enunciate his words.
you took your sweet time taking out your airpods from each individual ear and placing them down next to your mac before finally arching a brow at the boy, âwhat?â
âhey,â he repeated, this time with a frozen mid-wave, âhi, how you doing?â
âgreat thanks,â there was a minimal effort on your part to disguise your âwhat even?â expression on your face as you picked up your right airpod first - only to be stopped by the boyâs-
âiâm sorry.â
itâs clean and short but his face made up for conveying his genuinity.
âwhy are you saying sorry?â it didnât mean you were going to let him off the hook easy.
âwell, because...â he trailed off for the briefest moment but the unconcealable bop of his adamâs apple isnât really helping him appear any more convincing, âi was being pushy...â he looked to you for an indication of him being on the right track to which you were not sure if he did get any but he still went on with his wits and his will - it took you everything not to gush over how cute he looks with his panic-blinking and pretty lips moving as if to say something but no words coming out, â...and i was generally being an annoying little shit.â
âand?â you pressed on, blinking once as if to paint a look of unbotheredness.
â...and...â he echoes, eyes darting from your phone to somewhere behind you and then something next to it but only silence fills the space between you and him.
âalright, iâm gonna be real with you,â leaning back, you cross your arms over your chest, âi know you talk to me when you need something and i donât really care - well i do, but i just bottle it up until it one day burst out, you know what iâm saying? so yea, if youâre wondering if that night was me blowing up on you, it kinda was and it wasnât because you were making small talks with me just to poke into my best friendâs business - well, it kinda is but like not in that way, you follow? what i mean is.. donât let me catch you sneaking behind jennieâs back asking personal shits about her that you donât think sheâs going to disclose even if you straight up ask her - thatâs sus, taehyung.â
by the end of it, he was staring at you like you had two horns and a tail swaying around behind you. but you concur, that may or may have not been your inner self coming to light - just a hypocrite criticizing someone for doing the things she would have done, if she wasnât already doing it, if she was in his shoes.
and to be quite frank, taehyungâs shoe size is probably a few inches bigger than yours but if they had laces, you wouldâve been able to put them on and tied them up to accommodate your ego.
so taehyung didnât - couldnât say anything in response to your second time going off into a tangent and because of what he did, at that. he stopped texting you altogether and only talked to jennie whenever you werenât around and left before you got to them if he saw you coming his way - jennieâs actually.Â
either way, jennie wasnât as elated as you thought sheâd be once you told her that you called taehyung out on his bullshit.
âum, iâve always wanted to tell him about me and namjoon so heâd give up - you were the one who didnât let me,â she might or might not have said something along the lines of you making her âlead him on all because you wanted to an eye candy to look at every day.â
âwhat do you mean?â your forehead was creasing a thousand folds.
ânot that iâm pointing fingers,â she went on, eyes glued to the pairs of indoor shoes in the corner of the room and anywhere but your eyes, âbut iâm like, cool with or without him around but you sort of said âokay, then itâs cool if he comes with us right?â and you were making puppy eyes and i couldnât no to that-â
and so you were laughing dryly, âaha- wha- what so itâs my fault that heâs being a total wuss and wonât square up?â
âi didnât say that,â jennieâs reply came a heartbeat later which meant yes, it was.
so now youâre not talking to your best friend and neither are you talking to the boy whoâs crushing on her. which leaves you a lot of free time to finish up your work in time to hop into a bullet train and then an uber and get to the building where jiminâs dance off is held.Â
youâre in the middle of texting the boy a âsorry, might b late. i didnât know thereâd be a line đâ when a figure comes up to you from the corner of your eye.
fitted in black jeans and matching tucked in t that shows off his slender waist and beanie, the only thing that isnât black is probably his white-yellow timberlands, âso you werenât kidding when you said you were gonna leave me on read.â
âyou know, itâs so cute that you think youâre worth the reply at all,â you blink, eyes going wide and jaw hanging loose from shock, âthis... this... confidence - where do you get it? seriously, tell me because i have never seen someone with such immaculate self-absorbance.â
jeonggukâs head moves as he nods in admittance, hands buried in his pocket before he looks up at you. that familiar glint in his eyes is telling you that whatever he has up his sleeve, youâre not going to be able to refuse.
âyou know, eugene over there and i are homies,â he nods towards the burly tall man at the front whoâs mainly the reason thereâs a line in the first place - one that no one seems to dare cut, âi could get you in faster.â
âoh my god, look what that self-absorbanceâs got you believing,â you put one, sympathetic hand on his shoulder as your free hand goes to cover the spot on your chest where your heart is, âiâm so happy for you,â you glance over to the not-declining-anytime-soon line behind you, âbut sometimes, even confidence canât get you into invites-only events.â
 to any other person, it mustâve looked like you and jeongguk are friends - friendly acquaintances hitting best buddies at the very least. but something in the way his grin curling sweetly on his lips and the curve of the half ringlet of his hair touching the corners of his onyx eyes, makes your toes curl inwardly and your stomach churn with a sort of emotion you canât pinpoint.
and because of that, you know there wonât be any sort of friendship forming between you and jeongguk.
he leaves you with an amused smirk and a âsee you inside,â and marches up to eugene, the two sharing an uncomplicated handshake before the man steps to the side and lets him in.
well.Â
it takes you another ten minutes of standing in line and assuring jimin that he doesnât need to rush out and risk having his team go without him when their turn comes. which according to jimin, âisnât anytime soon - they let the bigger teams go firstâ.
but then jimin knowing jimin, that probably meant soon enough.
when youâre finally on the front of the line, crumpled up ticket in hand, eugene gives you a once over and nods at his not-as-burly-but-just-as-scary-looking friend.
âfollow me,â and with that, she struts in through the door but instead of going down the hallway like the ones before you did before they disappear from eyesight in the corner, she takes a sharp turn to the right until she stops in front of an elevator.
her deep violet hair brushes against her cheekbones as she nods at the empty box with mirrors all around.
yeesh, guess everyone expresses themselves with their bodies here.
the numbers constantly change from ground level to 1 to 2 and finally stops at the 3rd floor where the blare of the music seems to come from. and thatâs when you see the black haired boy who has his forearms leaned against the railing as he grins at something on the bottom floor where the shouts and cheers seem to erupt from. but before you can make a sharp 180 to go back down where jimin said youâd only need to follow the hallway and take the turn around the corner like the people before you did, jeongguk looks up as if sensing the heat of your gaze drilling holes inside his head. with one hand raised, he beckons you over.
âyour majesty,â you drop into a bow once you reach him, âthis humble servant thanks you for bringing her here but,â pointing your thumb over your shoulder at the hallway you just came from you continue, âi think iâm on the wrong floor because all i can see here is flocks of hair - an oh, shiny scalp from that guy - arms flailing around. takes away the magic of dance, you feel?â
âso youâre here for jimin.â it doesnât sound like a question - so it must not be. a ponderous hum vibrate from his chest as you shoot him an arched brow whilst your insides burst like fireworks at the way his darkened eyes traces down your body and back up after heâs done with what seems to be a scoutâs assessment.
âno leather pants and no best friend or heartbreak boy hovering around like a lost puppy - let me guess, he did something that made you mad, the best friend backed him up and now youâre mad at both of them?â he raises his own brow, lips curling into an assured smirk, âoh and jimin hereâs probably taking a neutral stance because it âdoesnât concernâ him.â
you donât know if you want to run away or grab the neck of his shirt and smack your lips on his.
so you settle with handguns pointed in his face, âalright, catch you never.â
but before you can even take a step to where you came from, jeonggukâs laying out his card on the table, âyou sure bout that? itâs bulleproof boysâ turn - itâs jiminâs teams name, in case youâre wondering and judging by who theyâre going against, it might be their first and last performance for the night.â
âi knew that,â respectfully, you had no idea that the teams have specific names besides the alphabetical letters given to them upon registration.
jiminâs only mentioned dance match once and that heâs in team c thatâll go against team d.
so you stick around, watching from all the way on the third floor where the lest people are gathered, cheering out names of teams that are alien to your ears which seem to be the team jimin is going against. but the fact that jimin could dance with such precision and grace is magnifying enough. heâs mostly posed on either sides of the formation, switching from the front left to the furthest back line on the right side as the beat drops.
jiminâs name pours out of your mouth in cheers but itâs swallowed by the other cheers before it can even reach him. in the end, jiminâs team loses. they still go up to their opponent and share handshakes and sidehugs before moving away from the dance floor.
heâs not smiling nor is he frowning as he stands in the crowd after the prelims but his lips curl and eyes disappear into crescents when he sees you.
âhey!â his arms open up into a hug, only to stop halfway in hesitation but by then youâre already wrapping yours around his neck with a âyou were so cool!â
and just like that, the awkwardness in the air dissipates.
âi didnât see you in the crowd.â
âso what? you thought i left?â a light smack lands on his arm, âby the way, you didnât tell me it was this intense - i can feel the tension from all the way...â you pause for the briefest moment, â...in the audience.â
âeveryone here just likes to dance so it gets competitive at some point but at the end of the day, itâs important to have fun,â he shrugs, a shy smile plastered to his face.
âeither way you did great,â you bump his elbow with yours, and he shifts his weight to his left foot.
âwe lost but it was a fair match the bts people were too good,â a mixture of regret and contentedness crosses his face as he nods to himself, as if admitting the difference in skills.
âletâs get a drink later, iâm buying,â you propose and jimin looks like a kid who just received his favorite candy.
well, that was the plan for the rest of the night up until the winner was announced. then a boy no older than you and jimin came up to the latter, arms slung over his shoulders, âdude, beyond the scene just asked if we wanna join them at the afterparty. can you believe it?â
âdude, you capping - donât fucking joke with men man, i was about to shit my pants-â jimin attempts to shove the guy away half-heartedly which does nothing as his friend - teammate, cuts him off.
âiâm not fucking joking, man, behind the scenes literally asked if we wanna chill with them!â
the two boys are basically shoving each other back and forth before they start slapping each other on the face once to wake the other up. whoever this behind the scenes guys, they seem like a pretty big deal if two grown adults are fanboying this hard about them.
only after theyâre sporting the faintest shade of pink on their right cheeks, do they finally realize that they werenât squeal-whispering by themselves. he introduces himself as kai -Â âjiminâs best friend and mentor.â
âhe likes to say that because i got into dance because of him,â jimin adds, debunking the mentor myth.
youâre about to wave the two goodbye and call it a night since itâs pretty clear that the behind the scenes guys only invited them and not their friends.
âcome with us,â kai announces as the three of you walk down the back entrance where itâs less crowded and meant for the participants to use, âbaekhyun canât make it so weâll still be five people.â
âi really should go- itâs getting late and my place is in seoul-â
and so begin your war of apologies and âno, youâs.
âoh shit, i forgot.â jiminâs usually almond-shaped eyes turn round and wide, âyou used the subway-â
âyeah, but i can still catch the last train home-â you try to assure.
âiâll accompany you back-â
âno, no - you should go with them-â
âno, i made you come to watch-â
and it would have gone on until morning if you and jimin were left to argue on who should do what if kai didnât clap his hands together and put an end to the long debate, âokay, okay, break it up.â
he looks between the blonde haired best friend and then to you, âjimin came with me so iâm gonna drive him back anyway and i could drop you off too after chilling with bts - itâs nothing youâre not used to, beers and games and shits, you know? plus itâll be like, less than 20 people there - bts never invites other groups into their circle - who knows, maybe youâll find your true way like jimin did,â he pats the aforementioned man on his shoulder whilst jimin rolls his eyes at the way best friends whoâve heard their best friend boast about an-untruth for the umpteenth time.
and because you basically made another friend and that means youâll have at least 2 people to hang out with if the rest turns out not to be your kind of people - so you cave in, âokay, sure, why not?â
x
'why notâs are subjective - or so youâd like to think.
like when youâre not particularly into americano and prefer latte but wouldnât say no to having the first if jennie mixed up your order and bought you your not-so-favored but also not-so-hated drink.
but jennieâs known you since she shoved you off the swings at five after you outran her only to get to the swings faster because only one was vacant and the other kid was already in the other one.
so sheâd know your preferred drinks.
but in the event she suddenly has amnesia or anything and got you and americano, thatâs when youâll go, âwhy not?â
but that and finding out that jeongguk used to be part of bts until he hurt his during practice, having to have 2 major surgeries because of it, rendering him no longer able to dance so heâs only going to the dance offs to cheer for his friends which was how he met you at the entrance and now youâre handcuffed together (and yes, again) in the middle of the forest - are two disparate things altogether.
hoseok, the most outgoing and friendliest of the bunch, suggested for the ice breaking to be in a form of 2 beer bottles and a sort of rope or chain tying people from bts and the bulletproof people together to talk for five minutes. they only have 2 pairs of cuffs so the others that lack them have to make do with bandanas and you think a seokjin got harassed into taking off his shirt and using it as him and his designated partnerâs pseudo handcuff.
yours and jeonggukâs are - youâre not sure if itâs a fortunate or unfortunate thing - real ones (youâre not sure if you want to know why and how seulgi easily pulls out a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and a normal-looking one - out of the blue).
but youâre almost sure that youâre leaning on the side of the internal argument of this - this, right here - is why not.
âwhy didnât you text me back?â jeongguk is in the middle of asking as you take a big chug of the alcoholic beverage.
"oh my god,â you let a pleased smile tug at your lips as you feel the buzz of the alcohol coursing through your system, âi was just gonna talk to you about that - jennie said i was being a ghosting b because you only said facts and i got like, offended without a reason but i agree that people can be wrong sometimes and that was her time... i just...â you shrug, âi just didnât want to text you back so i didnât,â you look at him with a new found familiarity, âanyways, how was your week?â
by the end of it, jeonggukâs nodding and poorly suppressing his smirk.
âwell, let me start first,â you begin before he can even say anything, listing down the happenings in a chronological order which may or may have not confirmed his initial assumption on why youâre here alone â...i mean, was it my fault though? between you and me, i think jennie and i need to sit down and actually talk about accountabilities first, you know? but anyway, thatâs how my week went! how about you, how was your week?â
to say that your turmoil of a week is anything close to a laugh-worthy joke, would be a lie but for some reason, trickles of laughter are escaping jeonggukâs lips and into the night air as he leans back, holding his stomach. he wouldâve hit the ground if youâd poke him.
âwow,â you slowly nod, âthatâs... thatâs very... flattering that you think my somewhat a quarter life crisis is amusing,â a grin stretches across your face but your eyes drill holes into the boyâs skull, âmaybe i should just quit uni altogether. thatâd be... exciting, right? just... quit uni and live a life as a comedian because look at how much iâm cracking you up right now!â
and it goes on for another minute of jeonggukâs laughter filling the air as you threaten him to stop in the guise of encouragement besides the cracking of the branches as it gets swallowed up by the fire in the barrel not too far away from where everyoneâs scattered.
âgod,â when heâs finally reduced to chuckles and wiping invisible tears off the corner of his eyes, youâre about halfway done with your bottle.
âand heâs back,â you announce, âwelcome back. canât say i missed you though but glad that youâre back with us.â
but before jeongguk can get a word out about his own week which youâd asked, if only to be polite, hoseok is already summoning everyone to gather around the barrel as he raises a bottle in the air to -Â ânew groupship and friends!â
or so you think he said.
youâre not too sure because youâre too busy demanding jeongguk to - âuncuff me right now, jeon - was that too pushy? let me try again,â you pause, clearing your throat, âcan you please, please, please, uncuff me so i can go back to my friends and not have to stay here a minute longer?â
âdonât act like you donât enjoy my company,â he offers you one of his self-assured smirks before addressing your concern, âiâm trying,â he says simply, free hand patting around the pocket on the side of his jeans before groping his own ass.
âum, maybe try harder?â you suggest, smiling sweetly but it downturns into a frown not even a minute later when he declares, âi canât find it.â
âyou... canât find it?â you echo his words.
âitâs not on me,â he states.
âwell, did seulgi give it to you at all or...â you trail off only to be met by a devious smirk which doesnât exactly help his case.
âguess youâre stuck with me,â he shrugs ever so easily.
âoh, hell nah,â and thatâs when you latch onto to smirking boyâs body - on your hands at least, and since his left hand and your right hand are cuffed together, it doesnât allow much room for your physical inspection which is how using your only free hand to get to the side of his pocket thatâs farthest from you - may appear suspicious to others.
you only notice that youâre fully facing jeongguk and having your back turned to everyone else when hoseokâs voice cuts through the air, âyo hold up, hold up, hold up - this is bonfire and chill, not netflix and chill.â
your jaws hurt from hanging a bit too low as you meet each and everyoneâs eyes, their giggling and laughing already telling enough of what the majority thinks - everyone except jimin, that is.
but youâre a bit too preoccupied with trying to clear the supposed air of you and jeongguk getting it on in the middle of the forest with both your friends and his around, âaha,â you force out, âi know this,â free hand waving between the chain linking your wrists and the open air which isnât helping your case because jeonggukâs poor attempt at subduing his smirk is well, poor, âmight look sus to you but it isnât - jeongguk lost the key and if someone could help us find it, itâd-â
âoh, donât worry, i have a spare at home,â seulgi chirps up, hand waving her illuminated phone, âiâll text my girlfriend to bring it here.â
well, that explains the fluffy cuffs.
âsick,â jeongguk nods over to the girl to which she holds up an âokayâ sign and a meaningful smile to him which shouldnât be ominous but is.
so you fix him a stare when hoseok goes to say something along the line of âgreatâ and âlifesaverâ to seulgi.
which the boy only asks back with a âwhat?â
âi have something to say but iâm not gonna so iâm just gonna keep quiet but just know that iâm watching you,â but the warning doesnât exactly bring out the intimidating aspect that you hoped for.
âwatch all you want, iâm yours for tonight,â the velvety sound of his chuckles is awfully distracting because you donât even notice the chain clinking until his fingers interlock yours before he brings them up in the air - as if to emphasize on the technicality of his titillating claim.
the night goes on with bottles of beers scattering over the ground, faint smoke dissipating into the air as the scent of something sweet and fruity wafts around whilst the juul gets passed around.
once in a while someoneâs laugh echoes between the gaps of the trees and into the night, amidst the sound of woodland creatures. youâve downed one and a half bottle of henny whilst jeongguk doesnât seem to have gone past even half of his first bottle. but heâs chuckling and laughing at something someone said which, for the most part, is funny or warrant a jaw-dropping, pin-drop-silence kind of reaction just like now as seulgi confesses to-
ânever have i ever slept with my momâs boyfriend at 19.â
âand thatâs on mommy issues,â you hold up a beer in a âcheersâ manner at her whilst she mimics your action before you both tilt your head up and take a chug out of your individual beers at the same time.
âwhat about you?â jeongguk asks and for a moment, you forget that there are people around because jeonggukâs eyes look like someone reached up the sky and handpicked two stars each for his irises and trap them in there like a class case.
but youâd like to believe itâs the alcohol doing its rightful work in your system because youâre back on the ground with an unrelenting itch on your ankle where itâs brushing against the blades of grass.
âyea, whatâs your never-have-i-ever mommy issues edition?â kai speaks up.
ânah, itâs wack,â you wave a dismissive hand but end up agreeing to spill the beans when a bout of protest spreads across your ever so faithful audience.
âokay, okay, never have i ever fucked my biological momâs husband who isnât my dad,â you say which earns a bout of cheers and âthatâs messed upâs before seokjin claps his hands together.
ânever have i ever...â he pauses, grinning as an added suspense before he goes on, âfucked my brotherâs boyfriend.â
the game doesnât last for long when everyone collectively agree to take the atmosphere up a notch and play strip truth or dare. but before your turn came, seulgi announces her girlfriendâs arrival concurrently with her having to leave for the night because sheâs her ride home. and because you and jeongguk are both of the same mind that youâre the ones that should be following after her to get yourselves uncuffed, you do just that.Â
yeri is a sweetheart and matches seulgiâs playful yet reserved nature. they take the cuffs with them and seulgi waves you two goodbye with the same, meaningful smile directed to jeongguk - but if thatâs not enough, the âgood luckâ thumbs up is a screaming red button for you.
but before you can even call him out for his possible hand in convincing his dance friends to invite jiminâs and consequently you to the forest after the match - he beats you to it.
âyou okay?â this time, his features are lacking the smirk.
âyea, why wouldnât i be?â you say, hopping on the rail of the train track thatâll lead to the spot where the others are - so far, youâre doing a good job not falling to your demise.
âi donât know,â the scraping sound of his soul kicking against the pebbly ground fills the air as he walks next to you, hands in his pocket, âyouâve been pretty quiet after that thing about your mom.â
âyou think what i did was messed up?â you inquire, resisting the urge to steal a glance at him to see what kind of emotion heâs making - whether itâs contorted with disgust or whether his nose is crinkling at an attempt to appear unbothered or whether there really isnât any judgments being passed and heâs just downcasting his eyes because heâs looking out for possible sharp objects protruding from the ground.
âeveryoneâs a little messed up,â his shoulderline shakes as he shrugs, âitâs the why behind it that counts.â
ânah,â your hair tickles your face as you shake your head in blatant refutation, âi didnât have a reason.â
and just when you expect a disgusted scoff to erupt from jeonggukâs pink lips... it doesnât.
âthat works too.â
silence follows his words for the longest moment with you trying placing one foot in front of the other, pretending like teetering on that tightrope youâre stuck on with kim taehyung at the end of it, not even waiting for you but just happen to be there.
so you break the silence, âi finally found her last year - flew all the way to jeju because my biological aunt saw my the post i put up on facebook in a last ditch attempt before i hire a private investigator like my dads suggested. she set us up to meet,â the picture of a woman whoâs so similar yet dissimilar to you flashes at the back of your head, a biscoff cheesecake slice lying untouched on the table and someone screaming at the top of their lungs right in front of your ears, âmy biological mom didnât know anything about it, flipped out and told me to never bother her again so i looked up where her husband worked and slept with him and sent the video to her.â
jeongguk doesnât say anything, only nodding in your periphery before a soothing kind of silence lapses between you.
âwhatâs your story?â you ask a moment later.
âhm?â he glances at you, the moonlight shining over that smirk that youâve come to miss in the course of the five minutes it went missing, skin painted a creamy white.
âif you donât wanna tell, thatâs fine too but like, you basically tore down my walls and iâm naked as hell - figuratively -â you add as soon as his eyes light up, âright now.âÂ
but then he tries to bargain, âpromise youâll text me back and iâll tell.â
and you try to teeter in the grey area between words and its meanings, âalright, promise... i wonât leave you on read.â
ânah, you gotta promise to text back,â his half curls sway as he shakes his head - your end of the bargain not sufficiently satisfying.
itâs a few moments after your surrendering, âyou know what? keep your skeletons in your closet - iâm good,â that he finally says something.
âi used to do tracks, lucked out with a sports scholarship but by freshman year in college, realized i didnât even like tracks and dropped out...â
jeonggukâs parents werenât happy about it - didnât exactly welcome him when he came back with a suitcase and a letter from his unversity claiming the outstanding balance of his first two semesters. but he wasnât happy at home either.Â
so he packed his bags one more time and took the first train to seoul where he worked part time at a restaurant and occasionally at the dance offâs, before he found the beyond the scene people and subsequently found dance. that was amidst of a developer of the game he was playing approaching him through the gameâs chat server and offering him a job to test out their games with the condition that he gets a degree in computer science which they paid for on the companyâs scholarship fund.
and so it was obvious that jeon jeongguk, wherever he chooses to go and stop at, blooms like a wildflower that strives in any condition thrown in his face whether it be a storm, a hurricane or a sunny weather that barely allows any rain to cover the soil heâs rooted in.
and because heâs true to himself, it isnât as unbelievable, when almost everyone - from every layer of backgrounds, flock around him like honeybees in spring - allured, magnified and bewitched by jeon jeongguk that makes him... well, him.
to say you understand him a little bit better may be an overstatement but maybe youâre less suspicious of his keen intuition and uncanny prognosis of what happened in your relationships, both with your friend and your not-so-friendly crush.
jeongguk jests that his leg âdoesnât work like it used to but-â - heâs been to places. seen people.
âso why are you obsessed with me?â you question into the night in a light hearted joke, âi mean, i can possibly see why because well, iâm... me and iâm amazing but you know, itâs not healthy to be this obsessed with people.â
his chuckles sounds like wind chimes on a spring day, "besides the fact that i was too busy being a tracks nerd for most of my life so i have zero flirting skills and decided to make all the calls that seem to irritate the one person i want to get to know? itâs because you looked like you were head over heels with the guy you were putting in place but still managed to not make it personal.â
it takes a moment for you to digest what he just said, and even then, youâre nodding in complete disagreement as you blurt out, âpretty sure some parts were personal,â and you turn to him with a smile stretched over your face, âbut glad that you donât think iâm the impostor.â
so you stop twenty steps away from where you can see the fire in the barrel and hoshi, one of the guys from bulletproof boys, standing in boxers and shouting an oath before gulping down a bottle of henny at an alarming rate.
âeveryoneâs a little sus now and then,â he refutes, nose crinkling as a grin spread across his moon-kissed features as he offers you his hand and you take it, hopping off your tightrope journey and onto grounding earth.
x
when morning comes, you wake up to the familiar but not-very-welcomed sound of cars honking from outside your window and the light piercing through your eyelids, so much so, you surrender to the start of the day. arms stretched over your head and a guttural sound vibrating within your chest as a sign of protest before your vision finally gets used to the bright sunny rays.
and thatâs when you freeze. arms stretched and all.
âafter all this, you canât say no to a date with me,â jeon jeongguk is lying right next to you, in your one-person bed which you could never imagine would fit more than your need-for-maximum-space self when you sleep but there he is, in yesterdayâs clothes, hugging your light pink alpaca plushie on his stomach whilst his elbow which you donât notice before is poking into your rib.
the events of last night untangle in a web of hazed memory coming to high definition as each passing second pass by.
you and jimin live on the opposite ends of the city which made you reluctant in having kai drive you back at all, so jeongguk offered to split the uber bills with you because apparently, âoh, hey, we live in the same area!â
which later turned out you didnât and it wouldâve made more sense for him to hitch a ride with kai and jimin. but you didnât even need to ask why he did what he did.
because by the time you and jeongguk returned, itâd been a set-in-stones assumption that you were off making out somewhere under a tree and everyone cheered you and him for it upon your return.
well, except jimin.
so you pulled jeongguk to the side once the attention was directed to hoseok whose dare was to lick the grass he was stepping on.
âis that thing about jimin liking me true because heâs been like, avoiding my eyes the whole night and now heâs acting like i donât exist and iâm pretty concerned because his friend is my ride home,â you whispered underneath your beath.
jeongguk threw one, confirming glance at the aforementioned man before nodding casually, âheâs jealous as fuck because he thinks we did the do - cross my heart and hope to die.â
so you ended up offering jeongguk to sleep in your bed because it was already late and it felt like a waste to spend another thirty bucks to go back to a place where nobody was waiting for him anyway.
you were so beat, youâd fallen asleep as soon as jeongguk pulled your protesting self off the futon-splayed floor and held you captive in your own bed.
âyou know what? i might as well,â you say, legs thrown off the bed and stretching some more before looking down at the smiling, plushie-holding, grown ass person in your bed, ânow we need to figure out how to sneak you out because this is a girls-only dorm and if they found out i have a guy over, i might get expelled.â
but before you can even start brainstorming the best possible route for jeongguk to sneak out without being detected, an obnoxious rapping reverberates against your door. the look of pure horror settling in as jeonggukâs smile melts into a wide-eyed, panicked face would have been adorable if youâre not in the middle of shoving him into your âquick, in the closest!â which he needs to hunch his shoulders to become as small as possible before you can close it whilst you yelp out a âjust a minute!â
by the time you manage to school a smile on your face, jennieâs is already sprinkled with a dust of red as her brows come together, judging your choice of outfit and the events that went down last night.
âhey, girl,â you drag out the first word in idle panic, body leaning against the doorframe a little too defensively, âwhatâs...â you canât even find the right words as you tap your fingers against the doorframe before finally saying, âwhatâs good?â
but one questioning look from her and youâre stepping out of the way, left to stand at attention like a cadet in the presence of the general whilst said general struts into your room and scans it once before turning to you.
ââwhatâs good?ââ jennie echoes and you know from the way her head does the slightest of movements according to her enunciation, âimagine seeing your best friend on some mutual friendâs snapchat story which mind you, said mutual friend isnât anywhere close to either of you and the time in the snap says a big whooping 4:03 am while youâre here feeling bad for hurting her feelings with your words words. but does she feel bad? well, it doesnât flipping look like she even gave any thoughts about you, did it?â
and thatâs when the closet decides that itâs had enough of storing a full grown human in its belly and slowly, but surely swings the door open with thunderous creak in the midst of the calm before the storm. and lo and behold, a jeon jeongguk, still hugging your alpaca tightly, keeping his eyes closed as if itâll make him invisible before he gradually screws one eye open to the sight of a raging but confused jennie kim and a mortified you turning to said girl.
so much for keeping skeletons in closets.
âi-i can explain.â
x
it turns out all it takes for jennieâs anger to subside is for her to find a boy in your room. namely the boy sheâs been blatantly shipping you with even though you barely knew each other then.
âi have a wig in my room,â she suggests after youâve exhausted all options - jeongguk canât climb through the window and jump down from the second floor.
âwell, he can but thereâs no guarantee heâll be able to leave without one of his limbs intact,â youâd added, shrugging.
heâs sitting crossed leg on your bed, alpaca in his lap and looking cute as hell as his eyes go round at the mention of a wig and five minutes prior, crossdressing. the plan is for you and jennie will walk him out once heâs all dresed up like youâre just three - well, one is kind of buffed up but still pretty - best friends who had a girlsâ night and crashed in your room.
he whistles lowly, head lulling to the side as he stares at the door before turning to you with a playful smile, âiâve always wanted to wear a skirt.â
and so it goes, jennie kimâs squealing and making a short trip to her room and returning with a bag full of wig, stretchable sweaters and lycra skirts whilst she scours through your closet for clothes that you have but donât even remember. the oversized sweater thatâs a few more inches too big for you wraps around his body tightly and the skirt is a tad bit too short for him, going down to a few inches above the knee. but the head turner is the way the curly brown wig gracefully frames his face and softens his jawline, giving an illusion of how his half-ringlet would have looked if he grew them out.
you apply the soft pink lipgloss on his already rosy lips as a joke in a guise of a final touch, heart skipping as his lips curl whilst he gazes at you the whole time youâre putting on the glimmering liquid.
âokay, i feel bad,â you confess, shoulder line falling, âi thought youâd hate the lipgloss and i was going say itâs important to make the look work if you said no but youâre not saying no and youâre looking at me like youâd trust me with your life...â a sigh rolls off your lips at the end of it.
âyou feel bad?â he echoes, glossed lips looking kissable as hell - it doesnât even matter that heâs smirking like it was part of his plan all along to manipulate your conscience into confessing your ulterior motive.
so you nod.
âgood,â he states simply.
âyou saying good like youâre satisfied that you managed to pick on my guilty conscience is making me feel less guilty,â you narrow your eyes, not even bothering to hide the smile creeping on your lips.
âoh my god, my ship is sailing!â jennieâs whispered squeal cuts through the air before she reverts to her deadpanned self, âokay but seriously, if youâre done sprinkling sugar cubes all over the place, i think we should get jeongguk out before miss snitchery sonyeon next door sniffs the man in jeongguk and snitch on us.â
sonyeon has been known for reporting 2 boy-sneaking activities that went on last year which would have been justified if the girls that brought the boys into their room was doing questionable things and loudly at that but the first incident was with a late enrolled newbie that just moved in and didnât know that boys werenât allowed inside and though the other girl did sneak her boyfriend in, it was only because he was bleeding profusely and needed first aid treatment which she stored in her room.
youâre just about a few feet away from the double doors when a familiar but disembodied voice drums in your ears.
âyou three, stop right there.â
you think your heart stops working for the briefest moment as time freezes and youâre craning your head to look at jennie whose fear-stricken face mimics yours and then jeongguk whom you donât expect to wear such ceases in his forehead.
so you do the one thing that you think of-
ârun.â you whisper.
all of a sudden, the wind is in your face and a few heads turn your way - but you doubt that it has more to do with how unfairly gorgeous jeongguk looks than the fact that the ra is on your tail, her pitched demands for âsomeone stop them!â whilst. youâre not sure if someone did try to chase after you or if the adrenaline pumping in your system is what helps you sprint faster than a cheetah but when you finally slow down, almost skidding to a stop on the grass somewhere on campus grounds instead of the dormitory area - itâs because jennie is dramatically breathing through her mouth and found herself a bench to put on an act of dying whale.
âyou guys... go on... leave me be...â she croaks out in between breaths, hand reaching out to the air.
âdude, tell me if youâre gonna stop so we can stop and get caught together,â you guff, plopping down, your state no better than jennieâs while jeongguk shakes his head at the two of you.
not even a beat of sweat or heaved breathing coming from him - not to mention that-
âhow are you the fastest-â you suck in a much needed breath, â-when your leg doesnât work as good anymore?â
âyea, didnât say i canât run,â he grins.
âjen, letâs go,â you say, tapping the dying whale on her shoulder as she starts wailing words of saddened goodbyes.
âforsake me! save yourselves!â she wheezes, staring into nothingness before waving a dismissive hand, âno for real, i donât think theyâre gonna chase us all the way here. you guys go, i have a date anyway, iâll text kim,â itâs the name you coined for namjoon whenever you talk about him in public, âto pick me up here.â
a year ago, you would have called her a brave fool for having her boyfriend slash professor thatâs teaching at the same university - pick her up in plain sight. but once you saw the unfamiliar ferrari roll to a stop in front of the dorms with tinted black windows, you understand why they can be as free and uncaring as they are.
âyou sure? what if they saw you here?â you question, needles of doubt still deeply pierced into your racing heart.
but when she looks at you with arched brows and a familiar couldnât-care-less attitude, you know nothing you say can change her mind which helps ease the knots in your stomach by a lot.
so you cave in, waving her goodbye - but not before the scarring âwe still need to talk thoughâ reminder - and going back to the tall, brown haired person whoâs holding his left hand midair and wiggling his fingers about in what you think is a parodic depiction of how girls wave at each other while mouthing a nasally, higher-pitched âthank you so much for helping us.âÂ
one minute into the walk, you stop in front of the cafe youâre used to having lunch at with your group of 4 - if thereâs even any group left after this, âso this kim guy - heâs way older isnât he?âÂ
âif youâre all knowing, you wouldnât end that sentence with a question,â you assert, âso iâm not gonna say anything.â
âthatâs a yes then,â he nods.Â
âi think we lost them,â you say, a tad too late but pretend to look around anyway like youâre not 200% sure of that fact.
to any outsiders, youâll probably look like two girls standing three feet apart from each other, looking out in a distance.
ânice,â jeongguk nods, joining in your scouting party before he squints his eyes at something in the most casual manner before suggesting, âso... you wanna go on a date?â
x
âyou think we lost them?â you whisper under your breath, worry filling your chest as you throw your gaze over somewhere at the end of the alleyway where flashes of red and blue lights passed by.
but before the black cladded boy can say anything, his lips smack together as he and you both press yourselves flat to the wall as the sound of radio static bounces into the narrow space youâve found yourselves in. six months after your first date, which involves a crossdressing jeongguk and a day at a park that had you returning to the dorm with a giant teddy bear and a strip of photo you took from the booth comprising the multiple personalities embodied in one person from sassy to stare-into-the camera-intimidating face to him looking down and shyly peeking through his pushed back curls - youâve gone on multiple other dates.
none of which can be considered normal because youâll always end up in a sticky situation like you are now.
on your second month, you found out that jeon jeongguk not only has a stable income for literally playing games while trying to balance out his education but he also paints and draws.
on your third month, you go on your first mural-painting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-dressed-as-robbers date to which ended pretty well with the two of you getting hungry and having ramen at a 24 hour convenience store. so the mural painting becomes a monthly routine.
jimin finds out about it somewhere down the line and broke out into the most heartwarming smile while teasing you about how âthe singles lost another one,â as he shook his head in dismay. but things went back to normal for the most parts. taehyung talks to you more now. he apologized for having only treated you like someone useful to him when he needed something and found that you have more in common than you think.
like how youâre decently informed about the greatest artists of all time - all because jeongguk was telling you about them whilst you chill at his place on days you donât feel like going out but still want to spend time together. jeongguk, later found out that his supply of artistic information was what led to you and taehyungâs improving friendship and offers to become your spokesperson by having you invite taehyung to a cafe so he can pour his abundance of knowledge in the fine arts of painting -Â âsince heâs so interested in van gogh, you know what i mean?â
he even finished it with a tilt of his head and an sassy âugh.â
âi think we gotta run,â jeonggukâs declarations doesnât have you arching your eyebrows and looking at him in an âare you for real?â kind of manner.
it could be because youâre so used to running from law enforcement now.
or maybe because jeongguk showed you the world through his eyes. doesnât mean itâs any less terrifying - the thought of being caught and shoved behind the bars whilst they included it in your records. but hey, at least, youâre no strangers to handcuffs.
âon one,â you say and he nods, hand squeezing yours as if saying iâll never let them get you.
âthree,â you begin, eyes fixed on the stars in jeonggukâs gaze, âtwo,â jeongguk breathes in deeply, âone.â
run.
x
note. i hope you guys enjoyed reading!! and if you want anything similar to this kind of style, i have one more college au. the second part of that one is my pinned post which also has a link to the first part. if youâre curious why iâm not gonna link or name it is because iâm convinced that tumblr literally makes anything thatâs linked or mentioned it blocked for some reason idk.
but anyways, thank you for reading!!
#jungkook fanfic#jungkook x reader#bts x reader#bts smut#jungkook smut#jungkook scenarios#bts scenarios#bts fanfic#bts x you#jungkook x you#jungkook scenario#bts scenario#bts au#bts college au#bts jungkook#bts fluff#jungkook fluff#bts angst#jungkook angst#bts imagines#jungkook imagines
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I STILL LOVE THIS TO PIECES, ARTZY-
Context: What if Moonjumper messed up the ritual?
Never Coming Back (AHiT Short Story)
So uh, to quickly explain this before you all hate me for the upcoming sadness and angst, I had this thought like late last night and I decided to write it out. (Also to give a bit of context, this is set around the time when Snatcher and Moonjumper were fighting for Subcon, before Moon become reformed) Not gonna lie, the idea made me cry. SoâŚhope you enjoy it!
(WARNING! This fic deals with the subject of death, mourning, and a slight mention of blood near the end. You have been warned.)
***
Subcon Forest had becomeâŚmuch quieter, in these past couple days. Barely anyone was seen roaming around the forest, even all of the ghosts inhabitants. It had been like this for awhile now, ever since âthat dayâ. It seemed like no one, not a single soul, would dare to make a noise. In fear of angering their king, or worse. So it especially quiet up near the Snatcherâs home, where the ghost king had been staying for over more than a week now. It was silent, it was cold, it was dark.
It was driving him mad.
He wasnât even reading, nor was he making any contracts. He was just sitting there, he head sunken low and his hands clamped together. He didnât say a word, and let the dust around him collect in his lonely home. He even restrained himself from fidgeting, as a nervous habit, which he had surprisingly gotten better at as time went on. His traps hadnât gone off for days upon days straight. Or, if they had, he certainly didnât care enough to check. He was too busy lost in his own thoughts to even care about going hungry anytime soon. And the hunger wasnât even affecting him anymore, as he had lost all ability to notice or even care about his well-being. Which left him alone, in his home, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him sane.
Keep reading
#hey tags i literally saved five second ago#go peck yourself tags#so i'm big loce for this#as moon gets what's comin to him#and angst time baby~#toon-artzy#frickfrack fanart#fic spoilers
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Hug-o-gram | Yoongi

â summary:Â
âThis is probably the dumbest idea youâve ever had,â Yoongi hisses, but itâs kind of hard for Seokjin to take him seriously when heâs wearing a cardboard sign around his neck that says âHuggie Wuggie Machine!â in bubble font.Â
âLike, even worse than when we DIYâd your car into a convertible by sawing the top off?â Seokjin asks, genuinely curious.Â
âWorse,â Yoongi admits, trying his best to stay out of your line of sight. His cheeks redden, matching the gaudy pink kitten ears he was forced into wearing.
{or alternatively: Seokjin is a terrible wingman. He also runs a profitable business by sending hugs to peopleâs crushes for a fee. Mix them together and you have a recipe for Min Yoongiâs worst nightmare.}
â genre: college!au, hugging booth!au, fluff, humor â warnings: yoongi is so smitten that heâs a walking disaster, so much shy!yoongi to the point where youâll want to scream, seokjin just tryna get his homie some y/n love coochie bro ;o; â words: 13.3K â a/n: another commission by the lovely @jincherieâ because sheâs epic like that!! she literally just told me to write whatever the hell i wanted and well... yoobie got me Good... anyway hereâs more yoongi fluff bc apparently iâm a fluff writer now and sometimes i just want my boy to be happy... appa yip yip

Kim Seokjin makes a lot of good decisions. He also makes plenty of bad ones, but he likes to think the score is lying heavily towards the positives. Min Yoongi will be the first one to quickly disagree, but Seokjin doesnât let it get to him. He doesnât make it his business to listen to opinions that donât immediately align with his, anyway; he likes to call it âselective hearing.â Yoongi calls it stupidity. Either way, the point still stands: Seokjin knows a good idea when he sees one. Case in point:
âThis automatic popcorn machine is absolutely divine,â Seokjin moans, his mouth agape as he waits for the Mister Popcorn Robot to bestow him with another morsel of goodness.
âYeah,â is Yoongiâs verbose reply. He also has his mouth agape, his prone body lying side by side with his roommate of four years in their small living room. Their roomba (another one of Seokjinâs good ideas) cleans all around them, its steady whirring serving as their only source of background music. âLowkey though, I think our position isnât quite⌠as optimized as it could be.â
âWhat do you mean?â Seokjin asks, as he drapes his leg over Yoongiâs. His movement jostles the surrounding popcorn halo around them, as most of the food had missed their mouths by a couple of centimeters. At this point, the roomba has probably eaten more of the popcorn than the two of them combined.
âNothing,â Yoongi shrugs, or whatever might be the lying down equivalent of a shrug. Some of the popcorn on his chest falls down, only to be quickly devoured by roomba-chi. Yoongi stares at the ceiling, tracing shapes out of the cracks that Seokjin had accidentally made when he tried using a pogo stick indoors. He points up, catching Seokjinâs attention. âHey, hyung. Doesnât that look a bit like Y/N?â
Seokjin squints. âYou mean the mysterious brown stain near the lights? I think the toilet from the elderly couple upstairs might have leaked that.â
âNo, you dipshit. The squiggly curve over there. It reminds me of her smile.â Yoongi says. Thereâs a stupid dopey grin on his face and Seokjin wants nothing more than to wipe it off.
âJesus fucking Christ.â Seokjin groans, turning over to envelop Yoongi in a sweaty half-armed hug. The buttery residue on his arms and stomach leaves something to be desired, but Yoongi doesnât scoot away. He only continues to sigh dreamily, staring mindlessly at the image of you that only his lovelorn brain can imagine.
Seokjin slaps Yoongi in the face. âDude, get a fucking grip,â he grouses, giving Yoongi a serious look. The younger doesnât break out of his trance, further irritating him. âWill you stop pining in front of my popcorn? Itâs seriously making roomba-chi lose her appetite!â
To his credit, roomba-chi did seem to be slowing down, though that could also be because it had overloaded with popcorn and was seconds away from exploding. Wouldnât be the first time, but Seokjin always managed to find a way to save roomba-chi from imminent death. She was like a daughter to him.
âHyung, you know I canât. I just⌠God, I really like her, you know?â
âThatâs the third time you said that within the last hour. Believe me, I know.â Seokjin groans, shoving Yoongi away. He sits up, reaching over to the popcorn machine and switching it off. He grabs a fistful of fallen popcorn from the ground and shoves it inside Yoongiâs mouth. âThere. That should shut you up.â
âAw weawwy wike hew, hwung.â
âAnd yet, you still havenât done anything after four years,â Seokjin tuts, finally standing up. He stretches his limbs, his joints creaking youthfully. He grabs his phone from the coffee table, nearly dropping it from the butteriness of his fingers. The clock reads 4:32 PM, which meansâ
âYoongi, itâs time for me to head to work. You want to come with me today?â Seokjin asks, though he knows what answer heâs going to get. You see, Seokjinâs new booming business is another one of his fantastic ideas, but it is a little... inventive. Sure, Yoongi had scoffed when he had originally suggested the idea, but Seokjin knew that it was going to be a money-maker. Sure, it had taken a few years for the business to really take off, but once it finally didâŚ
Enter Kim Seokjinâs Hug-o-gram Service! Students from his university are able to send anonymous payments directly to him, with little notes attached for their crushes. Each love letter delivery comes with a hug from Seokjin himself, delivered straight to the person without them ever knowing who the hug came from. It was ingenious! It was lucrative! But most of allâŚ
It allowed Seokjin to cause drama and have an excuse for it! Nothing could have been more perfect for a man like him.
âNo thanks,â Yoongi snorts, rolling over to face him. He watches from the floor as Seokjin changes into a butter-less shirt, which also happens to have his own face printed on the front and back. His trusty cardboard sign that reads âIâm Gonna Glomp Ya!â also joins his attire for the afternoon, a long piece of string tied to its edges so that he can wear it around his neck. Throwing on a pair of white sneakers with the tags still attached, Seokjin is ready to tackle todayâs list of would-be hug-ees.
âHow do I look?â Seokjin asks, combing his hair with his fingers. It leaves an oily sheen, which he somehow makes it work.
âUgly,â Yoongi says, like a liar.
âItâs okay, I understand. I can speak tsundere, so you donât need to explain,â Seokjin snickers, nearly getting hit with a TV remote by Yoongi. He opens his phone again, swiping to his e-mail to see his list of hug deliveries for the day.
Seokjin gets around 10 requests a day, with around half of them coming from regular clients. Heâs especially fond of this boy who has been sending hugs to his TA named Namjoon for almost a month now. He has no idea why this kid has so much disposable income, though seeing the blush on Namjoonâs face everyday makes Seokjin think that he would spend every last penny for him too. Namjoon had begged Seokjin for his secret admirerâs identity, but snitchinâ isnât a part of his service, unfortunately.
As much as Seokjin wants to know who is crushing on who, his little business wouldnât work as well as it did if anonymity wasnât included in his package deal. It allows people to thirst in public without facing the repercussions, like getting a knee to the groin or a slap to the face. Not that Seokjin has ever been at the receiving end of that; everyone loves him! Like, have you seen him? He must have saved a civilization in the past with how devastatingly beautiful his forehead is.
âWhy am I suddenly filled with the relentless urge to deck you right now?â Yoongi says, getting up to change into clean clothes as well. His black t-shirt unfortunately does not have Seokjinâs face on it, but that can quickly be amended if the elder of the two decides to follow his every intrusive whim.
Seokjin laughs, completely unaware of the murderous capabilities of his friend. Due to his smaller body size, his percentage of evil is unusually concentrated. âMaybe itâs because you know that Iâm into pain plaââ but Seokjinâs retort suddenly grinds to a halt. He chokes mid-sentence, coughing wildly as he pounds his chest with a balled-up fist. When Yoongi looks up at him, he finds his hyung staring slack-jawed at his phone, seemingly flabbergasted by what he finds on his screen.
âWhatâs the matter? Accidentally sent a dick pic to your prof again?â Yoongi snorts.
âThat was one time! And no, itâsâŚâ Seokjin trails off, uncharacteristically hesitant. He shifts his gaze from his phone to Yoongi, a drop of sweat quickly forming on the back of his neck. Yoongi raises a brow, silently urging him to continue.
Instead of replying, Seokjin hands him his phone. Yoongi finds a copy of one of Seokjinâs newest hug requests, only having just received it five minutes ago. As he scrolls down, he finds that this secret admirer is a new client, but that isnât what made Seokjin stop in his tracks. Instead, itâs the recipient of the hug that catches his attentionâ
âY/N has a secret admirer?â Yoongi says, voice cracking at the end. He clears his throat, trying his best to school his face into something less⌠jealous. He swivels away from Seokjin, forcing himself to breathe slowly through his nose. He convinces himself that he is the very epitome of calmness.
âYou okay there, Yoongi? You look like youâre about to vomit,â Seokjin says, immediately breaking his inner peace. Yoongi groans loudly, shucking the phone over his shoulder, uncaring of where it lands. Seokjin, with his superhuman and God-given reflexes⌠doesnât catch it. But he did dive to the floor like a seasoned Olympian, and his ass cushioned his phone so he supposes thatâs a win.
Back to the matter at handââ
âI am fine,â Yoongi says, as he continues to not be fine.
From the floor, Seokjin shoots him a disbelieving look. He lies down more comfortably, propping his head on his elbows. Screw his hug-o-gram appointments for now; nothing brings him more joy than seeing Yoongi absolutely losing it. âReally? So you wouldnât mind if I marched up to Y/N right now and give her the warmest, coziest, most tender hug of her fucking life?â
âY⌠Yes,â Yoongi squeaks, neck glowing a furious red. He has his fists clenched (adorably) by his sides, head bowed as he faces the wall of their apartment. Seokjinâs brain makes the unhelpful comparison of Yoongi with that cat meme who says âno talk me angyâ in Impact font.
Seokjin grins, his wickedness from within coiling and yearning to burst from his seams. This is it! Maybe if he pushes a little more, then maybe Yoongi will stop pining like a pathetic loser! Also, it didnât hurt that he got to push Yoongiâs buttons while heâs at it, but hey! Not all heroes go to heaven or whatever.
He grabs his phone from his ass, scrolling back to the e-mail. âSo⌠You wouldnât mind if I walk up to Y/N right now and tell her âHey! Iâve had an embarrassingly long crush on you and when I heard about this hugging service⌠I couldnât miss the chance to shoot my shot! If youâre single and ready to #mingle, then please meet me at the Corner Cafe at 2 PM tomorrow.ââ Seokjin sing-songs, snickering loudly when he sees the absolute pain etched onto Yoongiâs face.
There is a pause, and Seokjin waits as Yoongi uses his tiny kitty brain to think of what to do. He can only imagine whatâs going inside his head, but he has a guess. Yoongi could either: 1) finally admit his feelings for you and come clean before Seokjin has to deliver your hug, or 2) do something stupid and counterproductive.
It comes as no surprise when Yoongi goes with option numberââ
âHyung, let me come with you to work today,â Yoongi decides, walking over Seokjinâs prone body to their shoe rack. He slides into a pair of sneakers, his harried movements unusual for his customary lethargicness. He grabs a coat from its hanger, stomping his feet to get Seokjin to move faster. âCâmon! We have hugs to deliver.â
âWoah woah woah! Slow down there, Simpimus Prime.â Seokjin gets back up to his feet, skipping over to him. An absolutely feral grin is stretched upon his face. âAm I hearing what youâre saying? Are you offering⌠to deliver hugs with yours truly? Are you finally going to take up my offer to be an employee at Kim Seokjinâs Hug-o-gram Service?â
âOf course not,â Yoongi scoffs, but his shifting eyes betray him. He fidgets in place, refusing to return Seokjinâs eager gaze. âI just⌠wanted to go out for once. Yeah.â
âYoongi.â
âWhat?â
âYou havenât left this apartment other than to go to class in over a month. You never go out. Youâre an indoor cat!â
âIâm not a fucking cat,â Yoongi hisses, like a cat. âAnd of course I go out! There was that one time I went outside to pick up our food delivery last week.â
Judging from Seokjinâs unimpressed stare, Yoongiâs excuse doesnât cut it. Yoongi flaps his arms around, defeated. âOkay, fine! I rarely go out! Screw me and the bounteous crapload of assignments I have due! Itâs not my fault I donât have the time to socialize and have fun. What do you want from me?â
What Seokjin wants is to push a confession out of Yoongi, not because he needs the confirmation, but mostly because he just wants to annoy Yoongi and say âI told you so!â Heâs also pretty cute when heâs all blushy and tsundere whenever he talks about you. Should he film him and sell the footage on eboys.bb? Heâs certain that goth boy over here would make a pretty penny.
âYou like krabby patties, donât you Squidward?â
âI have no idea what you mean,â Yoongi sniffs, nose upturned. He opens the door, not looking behind him to see Seokjinâs triumphant expression. âCâmon. Y/Nâs last class of the day ends in a few minutes and we might catch her before she leaves the Science Building.â
Seokjin snorts. He is quick to slip his own coat on and he follows soon after. He locks their door shut, hopping over to Yoongi and matching his shorter-legged pace. âYeah. Because you totally just know her schedule at the top of your head. You know, like a normal person.â
Yoongi ignores him. He trudges on, each step filled with determination as they make their way to Seokjinâs beat-up truck. Seokjin skips alongside him, observing the younger boy and placing bets inside his mind. The drive to campus isnât that long as it only takes around 10 minutes to get there, but Seokjin guesses that Yoongiâs defenses will begin to chip away only 3 minutes into the drive.
Heâll start to realize the gravity of the situation, the cogs in his smooth and slushy excuse of a brain slowly comprehend what heâs about to witness. Heâll first think about how 1) heâs going to see you and that never helps his poor dainty grandpa heart and 2) heâs going to see you hugging Seokjin as he reads to you the short love confession from your anonymous Romeo. Seokjin bets that after 8 minutes, Yoongi will start to break out into a sweat, leaving gross perspiration marks on his good car seat leather.
After exactly 7 minutes and 34 seconds (Seokjin was keeping track of the time on his dashboard), Yoongiâs face turns an unflattering shade of green. âDude. I donât think this is a good idea.â
Yoongi had originally offered to drive the two of them to campus, but Seokjin had the good foresight to refuse. Had Yoongi been the one on the wheel, he wouldâve brought them back home in an instant due to nerves. So instead, Seokjin speeds up, ignoring Yoongiâs soft whimpers of defeat.
âToo bad, but there is no turning back now. I have six deliveries today and I am not putting my livelihood on the line just because your balls have magically shrunk in size,â Seokjin snickers. He glances at Yoongi from the corner of his eye and feels the slightest touch of pity for the pathetic fool beside him. âBut if it really makes you want to shit yourself from anxiety, we could save Y/N for last. Though, on second thought⌠That could also prolong your misery, which I will always be up for.â
âGod, shut up,â Yoongi groans, slamming his head on the dashboard. Seokjin continues undeterred as he pulls into the campus parking lot, waiting for his friend to make up his damn mind for once in his life. He supposes that he is being a little harsh on Yoongi, but there are only so many sad love songs he can listen to without going completely insane.
Arenât you tired of being nice? The demon on his shoulder cajoles, shoving the corpse of his angel counterpart somewhere down a ditch. Donât you just want to go apeshit?
And who is Seokjin to deny his impulsive needs anyway?
âNo, letâs⌠just get this over with,â Yoongi decides, head still smushed against his dashboard. He doesnât make any move to get out of the car, not even when Seokjin shuts off the engine and makes a show of âleavingâ Yoongi behind.
âOkay, lover boy. You have ten seconds to get your butt into high gear before Iâm leaving you behind. And you should know that Iâm not above playing dirty and giving Y/N the sweetest fucking hug of her life that will make her forget anyone else exists in this world, so you better start moving before Iââ
Like lightning, Yoongi scrambles out of the car faster than if it had caught on fire (and Seokjinâs car has exploded before and Yoongi certainly did not seem as bothered to escape than he does right now.) He nearly trips over himself in his haste, getting caught by the car door and nearly receiving a concrete facial to boot. He straightens up with as much dignity as he can muster (which he doesnât have very much of, if at all.) Seokjin is kind enough not to mention anything, but the shit-eating grin on his face is enough to make Yoongi bristle.
They exit the parking lot, looking to the world like the sun and moon had turned human for the day. Min Yoongi, with his all-black attire and gaunt appearance, is heavily juxtaposed with the man who appears to have been vomited on by a rainbow. They walk side-by-side together, accustomed to the stares that often come their way when they go out in public.
âI just canât believe weâre doing this,â Yoongi moans for the umpteenth time, his movements stilted like a robot. His footsteps look heavily disjointed like his knees were beginning to rust. His arms swing like a pendulum, adding to the unnaturalness of his motions. Basically, he looks like a fucking idiot.
âWho are you calling an idiot?â Yoongi snaps. Seokjin startles a bit, realizing belatedly that heâd said that out loud. Not that he cares. Yoongi continues, âIâm not the one wearing a fucking cardboard sign that looks like a toddler made it with macaroni and glitter!â
âHey, Taehyung told me it looked good,â Seokjin sniffs, fingering the macaroni pieces dejectedly. âI donât need to hear an opinion from a Music major.â
âShut up, Business major. No one likes you fucking snakes,â Yoongi retorts, crossing his arms. âYour definition of fun is going on LinkedIn and using Excel sheets.â
Distracted by their own quarrel, neither of them notice the sound of the large clock in the middle of campus that chimes every hour, signaling that it was already 5 PM. A few minutes later, hoards of students begin to leave university for the day, the walkways beginning to fill with people as they head home. Amidst the chattering and bustling of everyone trying to get out of the crowd, it is hard to notice that you are also one of the hundreds of people finishing your last class of the day.
But Yoongi notices, as he always does. Call it Y/N intuition, or whatever. âThere,â Yoongi points you out over dozens of heads. Seokjin can hardly spot you, but he trusts Yoongiâs weird Y/N-dar to find you without fail. People have begun to notice the two of them, most of whom were whispering excitedly when they notice that Seokjin is in his work attire.
âOh my god, someoneâs getting a hug-o-gram! I wonder whoâŚâ
âHave you ever ordered one? I got one for my current girlfriend last month and thatâs how we got together.â
âIâve always wanted to send one, but the prices are insane! Fuck them business students and their capitalist ways.â
âScrew sending a hug to someone else! I wanna order a hug for me. Kim Seokjin is a hot piece of ass.â
(Yoongi swears the last comment had sounded eerily like Seokjin himself, but the older boyâs mouth hadnât moved in the last minute.)
âAlright, Yoongi. Hereâs the plan,â Seokjin leans closer to Yoongi, stage whispering into his ear. Everyone within a six-foot radius is eagerly eavesdropping, not even bothering to pretend that they arenât. Itâs common knowledge that Seokjin basks in their attention, anyway. Yoongi rolls his eyes, urging him to get it over with.
âY/N is over there, right? Well, I have to send a hug to this guy named Mark Lee too, who just so happens to be over there,â Seokjin points behind them, in the opposite direction of where Y/N was heading, âso hereâs my proposition. You go over to Y/N and deliver the hug for me, while I go catch up to Mark so that we can kill one bird with two stones!â
âExcuse me?â Yoongi wheezes, pushing Seokjin away from him. His eyes bug out. âAre you insane? I am not doing that. And the phrase is âkilling two birds with one stone,â you fucking idiot.â
âSame shit, Shakespeare! Who cares about numbers!â Seokjin exclaims, exasperated. âListen, would you rather you hug Mark and I hug Y/N?â
âI would much rather prefer that I stick my whole fist up your anus,â Yoongi seethes.
âInteresting proposition, but maybe for a later time,â Seokjin says, not missing a beat. âListen, dude. The longer we prolong this little bitchfest you have going on, the farther away Y/N is gonna get. You know I will stop at nothing to deliver her hug anyway, so would you rather you miss your chance right now when I am so magnanimously offering you a shot at getting closer to your crush?â
Even though Yoongi feels like his insides were slowly turning into mashed potatoes, he knows that he had already made a decision long before they left the house. Seokjin is right; this is a good opportunity for him, whether he is willing to admit it out loud. Perhaps it is just because it is Seokjin of all people who is egging him on that preprogrammed him into thinking that this was a bad idea. In all seriousness, it was just a hug, nothing fancy. It isnât like Yoongi was going to have to kiss youââ
(His heart contracts and Yoongi wonders if heâs having a stroke. The thought of your soft lips connecting with his is enough to cause the wind to knock out of his chest. God, Yoongi is so screwed.)
âWhy must I always feel as though I am a snail and God is personally salting me,â Yoongi groans, stepping away from Seokjin and heading your way. Behind him, Seokjin hollers in what he assumes is friendly support, but it only further antagonizes Yoongi. The absolute buffoon waves enthusiastically from behind him, a beaming grin almost ready to split his face in two. Yoongi flips him off without looking back.
God fucking dammit. The closer that Yoongi is to approaching you, the stronger the urge to just evaporate like ice cream on hot concrete becomes. He can feel himself perspiring from every corner of his body and he just hopes that his black attire will do well to mask the slimy creature that he is underneath his clothing.
This is all Seokjinâs fault, Yoongi reminds himself. If he hadnât started this stupid hugging service in the first place, then no one would have ordered a hug for you in the first place. Then Yoongi wouldnât have to be in this stupid predicament either!
But you couldâve ordered a hug for her if you wanted to, says the annoying part of his brain â the same part thatâs always been a little bit too hopeful for Yoongiâs liking. The whispers continue, And she wouldnât even know it would be you! But more importantlyâŚ
âSeokjin wouldnât know either,â Yoongi huffs irritably because he knows itâs true. The biggest thing stopping him from ever making a move on you, other than his debilitating fear of rejection and heartbreak, is the fact that heâd rather explode into spores than for Seokjin to find out that heâd used his âgeniusâ business idea to get the girl of his dreams.
Heâs afraid that one day, Seokjin would magically develop telepathic powers (a fear that Yoongi feels that the majority of the human population should also share) and find out that Yoongi doesnât actually think his hug-o-gram service is dumb. Itâs actually really cute, and Yoongi hates to admit that the success rate of his service is nearly perfect in terms of getting couples together.
But Yoongi is a strong (read: stubborn) man; heâd rather drop dead than allow Seokjin the satisfaction of seeing his business work out for his seemingly hopeless case. Which brings him to the presentâ
Youâre standing by the entrance of the Sciences building. You are dressed nicely as always; Yoongi doesnât think heâs ever seen you in anything remotely slobby, not even a pair of sweats like any regular uni student. You always look a little bit business proper: the epitome of someone who should be on the student council.
Youâre speaking to someone, a younger male student by the looks of it. The hairs on Yoongiâs neck stand at attention and, God forbid, did he just fucking growl? Did he make that sound? By the looks of the students carefully navigating their way around him, Yoongi surmises that he did make that sound. Geez, is he some sort of animal? Is he going to turn into those feral stan accounts on Twitter that salivate over their K-pop boys like itâs their job? He hopes not.
But what if thatâs the kid who sent the hugâ
Yoongi shuts up his brain before he can let it finish. No, he canât let himself go down that path. Itâll only cause him to self-combust right then and there, and he isnât exactly keen on letting you see his entrails anytime soon. That would be the least cool thing to do, he decides. And so, with his brain turned off, he walks over to you, arms swinging robotically by his sides as he forces himself closer.
âOh thank you so much, Y/N! Youâve been a real help to our club, you know?â The boy (Yoongi canât believe theyâre letting toddlers into university these days!) says, his eyes glittering with an ambition that still hasnât been killed by the all-consuming dread that comes with university.
You laugh lightly, the sound causing butterflies to flutter excitedly in Yoongiâs chest. âNo worries, Soobin. Iâm glad I could be of help. If the editorial board needs any more help, donât be shy to shoot me a message, alright?â
Soobin nods enthusiastically, his head bobbing up and down so quickly that Yoongi was afraid his neck would snap. âNo worries, Y/N! Have a good rest of your week!â He waves a cheery goodbye, springing away with his numerous anime keychains on his backpack jingling softly in his wake.
âWhat a cute kid,â you sigh. You look incredibly fond, and Yoongi hates the bitter coil swimming in the pit of his stomach. That feeling soon fizzles out when you finally turn to face Yoongi. Your eyebrows shoot up, but your expression quickly morphs into one of pleasant surprise. Yoongiâs heart stops for just a moment, feet turning cold. âYoongi! Oh my goodness, itâs been a hot minute since Iâve seen you! Howâs it going?â
Letâs play a game, shall we? How many of Yoongiâs nervous ticks can you spot within the next five minutes? Think of this as the easiest game of Whereâs Waldo ever!
âHnng,â Yoongi stammers, his hand immediately going to scratch the back of his neck. His cheeks pinken, pupils shaking in every different direction as they try to focus on anything but you. It always feels like heâs standing way too close to the sun when heâs around you, hardly able to keep his gaze focused on you. He chooses to stare resolutely at your chin, but even your fucking chin was impossibly cute.
Seriously? Yoongi is a walking shitshow! His inner voice comes back, but this time it sounds uncannily like his roommate. Come on, buddy. Just say hi⌠You know, like a normal person. âH⌠Hey, Y/N.â
Success count: 1 point for the Yogurt Machine!
Even though Yoongi felt like he was living his worst nightmare, you still looked every bit like his favorite daydream. You are all smiles, seemingly unperturbed by Yoongiâs slow, embarrassing demise. âItâs so good to see you! Midterms havenât been too hard on you, I hope?â
âIâve been better,â he says. Better now that youâre here, he leaves unsaid. God, can you imagine if he said that out loud?
Your mouth drops open, soft cherry blossoms blooming across your cheeks. âUm, what did you say?â you squeak, embarrassed. But certainly not as embarrassed as the boy in front of you.
Yoongi stops breathing. He did not say that aloud, had he? Judging by the awkward silence stretching between the two of you, the signs are pointing to: yes. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygoââ âEr, what I mean to say is,â Yoongi stutters through his sentence, his entire body flushing fire engine red like itâs nobodyâs business. He must look like Satanâs spanked ass right now. âI⌠Iâm here to deliver a hug!â
Confusion quickly replaces the shock on your face. You tilt your head, brows scrunching up cutely. âA hug?â you ask.
âR-right,â Yoongi says, waving his arms around because he has nothing else better to do. He gestures vaguely in the opposite direction, where Seokjin had left to find his other clients. âIâm, uhh⌠Helping my roommate. Have you heard of Seokjinâs hug-o-gram service?â
âOh, yeah!â You hop excitedly in place, looking to all the world like the cutest thing in the universe. Yoongi thinks you should be classified as a public hazard, what with how youâre somehow able to give him diabetes just from standing next to him. âI totally heard about that! Iâve always wanted to send a hug, but Iâve always been a little shy.â
That piques Yoongiâs interest immediately. You wanted to send a hug? But to who? He unconsciously clenches his jaw, and he can feel a vein pop up near his neck. He forces himself to smile, but he knows it probably looks more like a grimace. âOh really? Thatâs⌠I didnât know you had a crush on somebody.â
Yoongi is too busy wallowing in his own self-pity puddle that he misses the way you gaze shyly up at him through your eyelashes, your hands clasped behind your back. âY-yea⌠I donât really go around telling it to just anybody,â you shrug as nonchalantly as you can. You clear your throat. âSo, are you here to deliver a hug or something?â
Nothing gets past you, huh? Yoongi swallows thickly as he twiddles his thumbs. He still canât bear to look at you head-on, afraid that his emotions would be too obvious if he did. (Who is he kidding⌠He knows heâs fucking obvious, and yet you never seem to get the picture!) âYea, I am. Iâm here to deliver one to you, actually.â
He doesnât get to see your reaction, but he does notice the way your entire body stiffens. His mind immediately starts to run a minute, trying to guess why youâd suddenly gone stock still.
Did you know who your secret admirer was already? Or perhaps, were you just thoroughly shocked to receive one at all? That canât be it⌠Youâre the campus sweetheart! Surely itâs much weirder that it has taken eons for you to get your first hug⌠Or perhaps, are you so disgusted by the thought of him delivering the hug? Oh my god, what if you didnât want him to hug you? Shit, this entire thing is a terrible idea! How did Seokjin ever convince him to do this stupid shit and get his heartbroken in the process? He swears heâs going to shove ten firecrackers up his ass the next time he sees himââ
âUm, Yoongi?â Youâre staring worriedly at him, your hand semi-raised as if you were about to wave in front of him. Did you say something? He must look like a fucking prick to you! He shakes his head, trying desperately to get his mind back into his body. Why must he be cursed with inner monologue disease? What is he, some sort of shoujo manga male protagonist?
âSorry about that. Iâve been a little spacey these days,â he laughs, but even he can hear the panic laced in his voice. He sounds just on the edge of being hysterical. âAhaha⌠What were you saying?â
âI was just⌠shocked?â You giggle softly, making Yoongi cry internally. You smirk, mischief glittering in your eyes. âI just never imagined youâd be the type to⌠I donât knowâŚâ
âWillingly hug people for the sake of capitalism? I feel you,â Yoongi snorts, forgetting for a moment who heâs talking to. âBelieve me, Iâd rather drop dead than allow Seokjin to use me for his stupid business venture.â
âThen why are you delivering a hug to me now?â you ask, still smiling.
âHnng,â Yoongiâs tongue feels like itâs grown two sizes all of a sudden. He wheezes, choking on his own spit as heâs caught off guard by your question. âW-well, Iâââ
âJust being a good friend, Iâm guessing?â Youâre full-on giggling now, barely trying to hide your mirth behind your hands. Yoongi understands now; youâre teasing him. He hates how amused you are by his awkwardness, but he loves the way your entire expression lights up, like youâre enjoying yourself by being with him.
âLetâs go with that,â Yoongi mumbles, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. He has his head bowed, hoping that his unruly fringe can finally come in handy and hide the disastrous blush encompassing his face. âRight⌠Iâll just, ummâŚâ
âAm I getting my hug today, or am I gonna have to take a rain check?â You laugh, slapping his shoulder in an attempt to help him shake off the awkward tension. It has the opposite intended effect, as Yoongiâs breath hitches imperceptibly at your proximity. You had taken a step closer, and Yoongi could smell the sweet perfume you always seemed to be wearing. Please donât pop a boner right now. That would be super fucking creepy.
âYouâreâŚâ Yoongi hesitates, arms uselessly immobile by his sides. He doesnât know if he can even get them to move at this point, as he has lost all motor skills the moment you had focused all your attention on him. Itâs a miracle that his heart remembers to beat every so often. âIâm just⌠Iâm just gonna go for it, okay?â
You nod, hands tucked neatly behind your back. âNo need to be scared, Yoongi. I donât bite,â you joke.
God, if you only knew about the dreams Iâve had of you. Yoongi hopes to all the deities from up above that he had not said that aloud, but you donât seem to be disgusted, so he can only assume that his traitorous brain had disconnected with his mouth for the time being.
He shuffles closer to you, the warmth of your body closing in as he makes the grueling effort to lift his arms up to gently wrap themselves around you, but before he can even fully hug youââ
Youâre quick to reciprocate. With a small laugh, you wrap your own arms around his torso, nuzzling into his chest with more force than Yoongi was expecting. He lets out a soft wheeze, mouth dropping open when he is assaulted by the smell of your fruity shampoo. His hands hover awkwardly above you, still unsure of where itâs okay to touch you without weirding you out.
You tilt your face up, eyes crinkling cutely by the sheer force of your grin. Both of your faces are only centimeters away from each other, and Yoongi could probably count your eyelashes if he so desired. His breathing stills as he becomes positively mesmerized by the beautiful sight in front of him. He doesnât even hear the sound of phone camera shutters around him, as he is much too deeply focused on nothing but you, you, you.
âHey, donât half-ass your hug! Gimme a good olâ bear hug!â you whine, nudging his elbows gently to get them to move. Snapped out of his reverie, Yoongi mechanically does as you say, his head completely empty of thoughts. He wraps his arms tightly around your shoulders, his wrist knocking slightly against the back of your head until youâre back to snuggling deep into his chest.
âYour laundry detergent smells nice,â you say, slightly muffled by his shirt. Yoongi lets out a breathy laugh, mostly out of disbelief more than anything. He canât even begin to process anything right now; he feels like heâs reverted back into a single-celled organism.
âThanks?â Yoongi squeaks, but you donât seem to mind his awkward attempts at being a Normal Personâ˘ď¸. You crane your neck upwards so that youâre looking him directly in the eye. Thereâs a twinkle of mischief there, like youâre enjoying Yoongiâs flushed face a little too much. He honestly feels like heâs seconds away from exploding into tiny bite-sized pieces, and he fears that if you snuggle deeper into his chest, he might just do exactly that.
âSo⌠Are we just supposed to hug for another ten minutes, or am I allowed to let go?â
Yoongi doesnât even realize how long itâs been. You couldâve been hugging him for ten hours and he wouldnât have known. Yoongi jerks away from you, nearly vaulting himself across campus by how quickly he lets you go. Thankfully, you donât appear offendedââyou were more amused than anything. Yoongi has no idea how red he is right now; he feels like he could be blowing steam out of his ears, astounding anatomists everywhere by his peculiar talent.
âI just have toââ Yoongi pats his back pockets for his phone, clumsily pulling it out and looking for his text messages, ââread this message from your, um, secret admirer and then weâll be good to go.â
âGreat.â You nod at him enthusiastically. âWhenever youâre ready, Yoonie.â
Yoongiâs breath hitches right then, caught off guard by the nickname. Only you ever called him that, and it never fails to make Yoongiâs insides feel like molten lava every time you say it. âI⌠Yeah, here goes,â Yoongi mutters, trying his best to remember how to speak.
He recites the message with as much enthusiasm as he can manage, which is to say, not very much. He could probably read the phonebook with more zeal, but itâs hard to give it his all when the words feel like acid in his throat. Heâs unconsciously clenching his jaw as he speaks, looking like a constipated gorilla. â...so, if youâre single and ready to #mingle, thenâââ Yoongi stops mid-sentence, staring resolutely at his phone screen with a grimace.
You blink confusedly. âThen?â
âThen nothing,â Yoongi finishes, pocketing his phone without an inch of remorse. âI donât know what was up with that message, but somehow the letter got cut short. Sorry about that.â
âHuh, strange.â You shrug your shoulders, not bothering to question him.
Yoongi fist bumps himself mentally, though other people might disagree and say that he doesnât deserve any type of congratulations, to which Yoongi says a big âfuck you!â to those imaginary haters. In the wise words of Kim Seokjin himself, ânot everyone is worthy to receive your fucks, so itâs time to stop giving them.â (Kim, 2020)
âWell, that was fun! Thanks for delivering the hug to me, Yoonie,â you pinch Yoongiâs cheek, giggling when they turn even redder. âIâll see you around, I guess? Donât let those midterms kill ya!â You wave cheerily at him, walking past him and heading towards the bus stops. Yoongi stands frozen in place, the events of the last few minutes finally catching up to him and frying his brain beyond repair.
Oh my god, he fucking hugged you! Like, a good and genuine hug! You felt so warm and so soft and you smelled really good and it was more than he could ever imagine and justââ
Yoongiâs brain is trying (and failing) to desperately parse the delayed barrage of information as it comes, but itâs hard for the little hamster running circles in his head when it has never had to run a day in its life. Yoongiâs body feels like itâs overheating even though the weather is nearing the start of winter, but thatâs all thanks to you and the devastating effect you have on him.
In short, Yoongi machine has broken, and any sort of maintenance is going to be hard to come by at the moment.
Yoongi could have been standing in front of the Science building for an entire year and he wouldnât have budged until a tornado in the form of Kim Seokjin arrived to knock him out of his brain dead state. Whistling lowly, the elder stops in front of the rigid mass of meat, an eyebrow quirked in exasperation. âDude, nice rigor mortis cosplay. Like, yes girl, give us nothing!â he exclaims, slapping Yoongi back to consciousness.
Yoongi blinks rapidly, dazed like heâs woken up from a dream. âWhat? Whatâs happening?â he replies dumbly.
Seokjin rolls his eyes. âYoongi. Did you finish delivering Y/Nâs hug or what? I finished all my deliveries in the same time you had with Y/N, so I better hope to God you arenât planning on applying to be an employee of mine, because you certainly have a long way to go beforeâââ
âI hugged her,â Yoongi interrupts, eyes going glassy once more. His mouth is agape, and Seokjin can see a pool of saliva forming, ready to runneth over. He could see the rusted gears turning inside his dongsaengâs head. âOh my god, hyung. I fucking hugged her.â
âYeah, and I hugged Taehyung Kim and felt his gigantic dick press into my stomach. You arenât special,â Seokjin snorts, clasping Yoongi by the bicep. He drags him away, leading them to their parked car. âCâmon, DampĂŠ. Iâm tired and I wanna eat popcorn again.â
As they walk back to the parking lot, the campus roads are a lot less populated now that most students have gone home. Yoongi only then realizes how late it truly is and he vaguely wonders how long he had been stuck standing there before Seokjin had come to drag him back home. The sun has begun its daily descent, filling the courtyard with a warm glow and causing their shadows to grow longer as they trudge quietly to their car.
The campus is quiet enough that both of them hear the quiet buzz of Seokjinâs phone, despite him putting it on silent mode before he had gone on his hugging deliveries. He stops mid-step, causing Yoongi to bump his nose into his wide back. He yelps, shoving Seokjin forward in irritation.
âWhyâd you fucking stop, you asshole?â Yoongi whines, his normal annoying personality resurfacing now that heâs begun to recover from your hug. He peers over Seokjinâs behemoth shoulders, squinting at his phone screen. âWhat? Another hug delivery?â
âYeah. Iâll do it tomorrow since I think sheâs gone home for the day,â Seokjin says, his tone sounding slightly too delighted for comfort. âIn fact, I know sheâs gone home already.â
Yoongi stills, changing his focus onto the elderâs expression. He looks⌠too eager to receive a simple hug-o-gram request. A shiver shoots through Yoongiâs spine when he realizes how nefariously bastardous Seokjinâs smile has grown, the tips of his smirk curling upwards like a villain from a classic Disney animation.
âWhat?â Yoongi glares acidly at Seokjin, but the elder is unaffected. In fact, he seems to grow more pleased the more aggravated Yoongi becomes. âSpit it out! Whatâs got your prostate tickled?â
âOh, nothing,â Seokjin singsongs, shoving his phone down the front of his pants, exactly where he knows Yoongi would never touch. âJust got an interesting new regular customer, is all.â
âA new regular?â Yoongiâs pitch heightens, the hairs on the back of his neck bristling in alarm (like a cat.) âIs it⌠Another request for⌠You know who?â
âI wasnât aware Voldemort went to our university,â Seokjin teases, thoroughly enjoying Yoongiâs distress. âThough, if youâre talking about Y/N, then the answer is not not not no.â
âTwo double negatives.â Anyone could hear the audible soft rattling of his two brain cells exerting themselves as Yoongi deciphers his answer. âThat meansâŚâ
Yoongi stares pointedly at Seokjinâs crotch, where the outline of his phone is glaringly obvious. âShow me,â Yoongi growls, not making a move to actually touch Seokjinâs nether regions.
Seokjin shrugs his shoulders. âNo oneâs stopping you from taking my phone though?â
âHyung!â
âBuy me bubble tea first, then weâll talk.â
âFine,â Yoongi acquiesces, folding his arms in annoyance. âJust tell me. Is it really the same guy who requested the hug for Y/N today as well?â
Seokjin fiddles around for his phone, digging deeper when it nearly drops down the leg of his pants. When he pulls it out and swipes to his e-mails, he confirms Yoongiâs fear. âYep. And it seems like he saw you deliver the hug today. Says that heâd prefer that I deliver the hug next time,â Seokjin smirks, enjoying the deep-set frown on Yoongiâs face.
When Seokjin takes a closer look at the order, however, he notices something a little off. âHold on a sec,â he scrolls to the receipt, scowling when he sees the incorrect amount. âWell, you might be in luck, Yoongi-chi. Looks like loverboy sent the wrong payment. Heâs a few dollars short.â
âWhat?â Yoongi says, for what feels like the tenth time in this entire fic. He grabs Seokjinâs phone, no longer repulsed by where it had been only a few minutes prior. Like Seokjin said, the customer had given the wrong amount, much to both their confusion.
âThatâs weird, considering he just ordered a hug today,â Seokjin murmurs, shaking his head. âOh well. Happens to the best of us. Guess Iâll just have to refund the poor sap.â
âWait,â Yoongi presses the phone to his chest, preventing Seokjin from taking it. His hyung raises a brow.
âWhat is it?â
âWhat if I just⌠pay you the remaining amount? Then I can also deliver the hug to her and, uhh...â Yoongi mumbles the remaining part, but Seokjin has trained his ears to catch every whisper and mutter for moments just like this. He wouldnât be where he is today if he didnât perfect his eavesdropping skills to a spyâs degree. Thatâs rightââSeokjin is a sloppy and nosey bitch and heâs not afraid to admit it!
âOh? Do my ears deceive me?â Seokjin guffaws, pinching Yoongiâs cheeks for good measure. He hisses in response, but Seokjin isnât afraid of some little kitten. Seokjin is a bigger bitch with a meaner bite. âIs my little Yoongi Woongi seriously offering to deliver another hug to Miss Y/N? How magnanimous of you.â
Yoongi stares at him, stunned for a moment. A few seconds pass before he shakes his head, faux disdain coloring his expression. âThatâs right,â Yoongi huffs, detaching himself from Seokjinâs meaty claws. He keeps his gaze averted, like the big stupid tsundere that he is. âIâm doing this out of the goodness of my heart! I care about your profits, and I want to make your workload a little lighter! Isnât that what you want?â
âSure, letâs go with that,â Seokjin snickers, poking Yoongi in the tit. He swivels away, skipping merrily away to their parked car. âIâm expecting that cash in my Paypal by the time I get to the car, or else the deal is off. Make it snappy, loverboy!â
Yoongi had never transferred cash to someone so quickly in his life.
(Yes, not even when the food court on campus was doing a BOGO promo for churros. Thatâs the extent of how whipped his ass is, period.)
x x x x x
âThis is probably the dumbest idea youâve ever had,â Yoongi hisses, but itâs kind of hard for Seokjin to take him seriously when heâs wearing a cardboard sign around his neck that says âHuggie Wuggie Machine!â in bubble font.
âLike, even worse than when we DIYâd your car into a convertible by sawing the top off?â Seokjin asks, genuinely curious.
âWorse,â Yoongi admits, trying his best to stay out of your line of sight. His cheeks redden, matching the gaudy pink kitten ears he was forced into wearing.
âListen, Iâm seriously not forcing you to do this,â Seokjin starts, even though heâs giving his utmost effort to further embarrass Yoongi by handing out flyers about Hug-o-gramâs newest employee. âPlease, take one!â he cajoles, offering a flyer to a gaggle of giggling freshmen. âMake sure to reserve a hug within the week! Yoongi-chi over here is on his way to becoming employee of the month if he gets ten requests by Friday!â They all point and whisper at Yoongi, and he swears he hears one of them wolf whistle in admiration.
âThatâs what makes this entire thing terrible. Iâm doing this on my own volition, and I absolutely abhor myself for it,â Yoongi moans, grabbing Seokjinâs stack of flyers and smacking himself in the head with them. It probably wouldâve hurt more when Seokjin still had a full-stack, but people had swarmed them the moment they entered the heart of the campus, everyone curious to see Yoongi in his interesting attire.
Seokjin might have been famous for creating the Hug-o-gram Service, but Yoongi was famous for hating the business idea, so itâs easy to understand why everyone was interested. (For good reason, he thinks darkly to himself.)
âDamn, Yoongi-chi. Looks like youâre trending on the campus Reddit page,â Seokjin laughs, wheezing even harder when Yoongi points him with a murderous glare. âWhat? Like you said, this was all your idea.â
âYeah, but I didnât ask to wear⌠whatever this is!â Yoongi whines, tugging on the string around his neck. The cardboard sign had been ready and prepared the moment they arrived home the other day, arousing Yoongiâs suspicions on Seokjinâs actual involvement in his current predicament. Those suspicions are put in the backburner for now, however, as Yoongi actually feels like he might die of embarrassment instead of the packets of MSG coursing through his veins from the ten ramen packs he ate this morning. Maybe both will kill him, if heâs lucky.
âWell, I would love to lend you my uniform, but I havenât gotten a t-shirt printed with your face on it yet, so youâll have to deal with the kitten ears and cardboard sign for now,â Seokjin says, patting him on the back. âOr, would you rather I have you wear a shirt with my face on it? Iâm open to suggestions.â
âIâd rather swallow a Tide pod, thanks,â Yoongi says through gritted teeth. âCâmon, letâs move. Weâve been standing in the middle of campus like street clowns for long enough. We need to find Y/N because her class is about to end.â
âStreet clowns, huh? I guess you are only missing the make-up to complete the look, especially since you seem adamant to keep honking your way through that sickening crush of yours.â Seokjin nearly catches a punch to the head, but his superior reaction time saves him from Yoongiâs sorely lacking physicality. He snatches Yoongi by the hand, dragging them towards your lecture hall. âCâmon, clown! Letâs honk this bread!â
As the two of them get closer to where you are, Yoongiâs heartbeat begins to accelerate. He wonders idly if he should see a doctor after all this, hoping that he hadnât actually contracted heart disease due to all this stress. Lord forbid that he meet his end before he even gets to ask you out or something!
Even though heâs already hugged you once (and it was, by far, the most euphoric experience of his sad, miserable life), he still finds himself getting clammy hands at the thought of seeing you again. Nevermind the fact that he looked like a walking circus with his get-up⌠No, Yoongi refuses to think about it anymore, lest his last remaining brain wrinkle irreversibly smoothens.
The campus clock rings loudly, signaling the end of another block of classes. Students rush out of the buildings, with you being one of the first ones out for a change. When Yoongi spots your head of hair among the crowd, he doesnât immediately notice what youâre wearing at first. In fact, itâs Seokjin who stops in his tracks for a moment, surprised by how you look.
âWoah, Y/N! Looking good,â Seokjin greets, rushing past Yoongi to envelop you in a hug. (A platonic hug, Yoongi reminds himself. Because unlike Yoongi, Seokjin is a normal human being who can give hugs to anyone he wants because heâs⌠fucking Seokjin! Lucky bastard that he is.)
âWoah!â You laugh, surprised by the sudden hug. You pat him on the back giddily, allowing him to swing you around a little. âWhatâs this all about? Am I getting a hug-o-gram again?â
âYes, you are. But not from me,â Seokjin detaches himself from you, scooting away to point at Yoongi. When Seokjin moves away, Yoongi finally understands why his hyung had said you looked good. No, that was an understatementââyou looked [redacted].
(For the sake of the authorâs fragile ash-coated heart, she has chosen to redact Yoongiâs exact words to protect herself from slamming her head against a keyboard from how cheesy this fic is becoming. Letâs just say the word starts with a B and ends with an L. Make of that as you will.)
You must have come out of an interview or presentation of sorts because you were dressed more nicely than you usually do, which is a pretty big deal considering how put together you always looked. Your hair is styled nicely, obviously given much more care and effort than your regular appearance. Youâre wearing a cute little black dress, long enough to be professional but short enough to give Yoongi breathing problems.
If Yoongiâs brain had a playlist, it would be nothing but the sound of him going HNNNNNNNNNG on repeat.
âOh geez.â Yoongi curses lowly, smiling through the pain. This is fine, he thinks, even though it is clearly not fine. Yoongi has always been a terrible liar.
âYoongi?â You sound incredulous, though thatâs honestly a win in Yoongiâs book considering everything. You didnât look disgusted, so thatâs great. âYou lookâŚâ You stop yourself, covering your mouth to hide your grin but your amusement is palpable. At least he made you laugh, he supposes.
âLike a fucking idiot? You said it,â Yoongi snorts, arms crossed defiantly. Heâs trying to look intimidating, but with his cheeks puffed up and these abominable kitten ears on his head, he looks more like a grumpy cat throwing a tantrum. He juts a thumb at Seokjin, âThank this himbo for the outfit. I definitely would have chosen something more⌠inconspicuous.â
âBut whereâs the fun in that?â You quip, still trying to mask your giggles. On the other hand, Seokjin was wheezing like a hyena, his phone pulled out and presumably filming Yoongi to add to his cringe compilation.
âExactly what I said!â Seokjin says through his laughter, tears of mirth streaming down his face. He walks back to Yoongi, pushing him forward until heâs face to face with you. âGo on, then! We havenât got all day!â
âIâm assuming youâre officially part of Seokjinâs hug-o-gram business now?â you ask, opening your arms wide to accept his hug. Like the beta male that he is, Yoongi has to be the one to follow in your footsteps, meekly coming closer to wrap you in an embrace.
âLetâs not get ahead of ourselves,â Yoongi mutters, tucking his chin onto your shoulder. He feels you vibrate with laughter, bringing a small smile on his own face. He likes making you laugh, always has.
With the cardboard sign serving as a barrier between the two of you, he isnât as fearful of you feeling the erratic beat of his heart, though it wouldnât be hard to guess if you looked at him. He closes his eyes, allowing himself to enjoy your hug rather than just panic through the entire ordeal like yesterday.
Soon enough, youâre detaching yourself from him, still standing close. Your arm is just a hairâs breadth away, and if not for Seokjin enthusiastically videotaping this entire experience, Yoongi might have closed in for another hug if he could manage.
âItâs always nice to get a hug from someone you like, huh?â You say, cheeks tinted a rosy color. The true meaning of your words flies over Yoongiâs head, as his feeble mind chooses to focus on your comment a little differently.
âIââOf course I like you! Weâre friends, arenât we?â Yoongi laughs nervously, unaware that heâs slowly digging himself into a ditch. To the side, Seokjin audibly slaps a hand to his face, body shivering with secondhand embarrassment from being blasted by the full force of how idiotic his friend actually is.
Yoongi sees you deflate a little, further confusing him. âYeah, youâre right I guessâŚâ You sigh, taking a step backward dejectedly. Yoongi flounders a little, unsure how he managed to fuck up in just a few seconds when you had just hugged him like your life depended on it.
Choosing now to interfere before the going gets rough, Seokjin steps in between and slings an arm around both of you. Yoongi groans under the weight of his arm, glaring when he notices that Seokjin had done it on purpose, but only to him. You donât look too bothered by his rude gesture, albeit you were more befuddled than before.
âHey, Y/N! I donât know if youâve ever ordered a hug-o-gram before, but Iâm doing a special this week! Now that Yoongi-chi has so kindly joined the team,â Seokjin gives him a pointed look, to which the black-haired music major sticks his tongue out petulantly, âweâre doing a little promotion for first-time customers! Would you be interested in ordering one?â
Your eyes widen, looking like a deer caught in headlights. âM-me? Ordering a hug-o-gram? Well, IâŚâ you hesitate, sending a small glance at Yoongi before looking away in embarrassment. âI would like to, but I donât know if itâll be well received, you seeâŚâ
Seokjin grumbles, silently cursing the stupid shithead who caused his own demise in the first place. The worst part is that he had no idea that he totally just friendzoned you! YOU! Someone who was literally leagues ahead of him. He sincerely has no idea what you see in this bumbling idiot, but everyone with a brain knows that you have been crushing on him for as long as heâs been crushing on you, so perhaps youâre a little bit of an idiot yourself for liking him back.
Being friends with the two of you makes him feel like heâs constantly wearing a sloppy wet diaper, and he hates it. He wants to wipe his ass as soon as possible!
Seokjin shoves Yoongi away roughly, ignoring his indignant squawks as he pulls you aside. He takes you by the hand, taking you a few steps away from Yoongi, far enough that he can whisper into your ear without the other boy hearing.
Yoongi fumes from the sidelines, trying to keep his emotions in check even though heâs bursting at the seams with jealousy. Not for the first time, Yoongi irritably realizes that he does act like a cat, especially in moments like this. He might make fun of Seokjin for being an attention whore, but Yoongi is the same, if only at a smaller scale. He just wants you to look at him, as selfish as that sounds.
Can someone give him a break? Heâs been holding in his crush for four years now⌠Imagine having to take a massive shit after drinking two gallons of milk while being lactose intolerant, except every time you line up for the washroom, the line gets increasingly long no matter how long you wait. That is the extent of his suffering, he tells himself. So please, excuse his dramatics for this one instance.
(Seokjinâs Note: This fucking jackass is SO stupid. If he only knew how easy it is to ask you out, he would know that his emotional constipation could be solved if he just fucking ASKED where the next washroom is. He could have relieved himself ages ago, but NO! And he calls me the idiot! Me! The utter betrayal! Iâm never agreeing to become the second lead to a rom-com ever again!)
When Seokjin finishes whispering in your ears, you appear amused by what he had said. Yoongi sweats when you turn to face him, grinning slyly at him. âIs that soâŚâ you wonder aloud. Yoongi feels like the world has shifted on its axis somewhat, though he still doesnât know exactly how. He has a hunch that heâs going to find out soon enough.
âWould I ever lie to you?â Seokjin laughs that annoying laugh of his, slapping his thigh in the process. He straightens up almost immediately, his expression turning deadpan in an instant. âSend me the details by tonight, and Iâll make sure to deliver it, okay?â
âPromise?â You ask, holding a pinky up towards him. Yoongi might have let out a high pitched sob when he sees the gesture, wanting nothing more than to cup your hands in his. God, if he already nearly died from hugging you, who is to say Yoongi wonât immediately disintegrate if you were ever to hold his hand?
âPromise,â Seokjin replies, linking his pinky with yours. He doesnât forget to point a shit-eating grin at Yoongi, for good measure.
You pull away, looking happier than you did moments prior. You were absolutely glowing, filling Yoongi with a warmth that only you ever knew how to provide. He wants to make you smile like that all the time, wants nothing more than for you to live beside him, filling his walls with the sound of your tinkling laughter. You wave cheerily at the both of them, stepping away to head home. âI guess Iâll see you, then? Iâll make sure to e-mail you my request, Seokjin!â you say, winking teasingly. âBye to you too, Yoongi! Thanks for the hug!â
Yoongi watches as you walk further and further away as the usual melancholy that follows whenever you leave soon takes its place in his soul. It might be his imagination, but Yoongi thinks the cat ears on his head might have started to droop to match his mood.
The only way he knows how to replace the sadness, however, is by redirecting those emotions on an unsuspecting victim. Lucky for him, a willing volunteer is already within punching distance.
âOw! Stop punching me, you gremlin!â Seokjin whines, blocking Yoongiâs series of punches like a pro. He might as well put âprofessional punching bagâ on his resume at this point. âIâm trying to help you, you useless beta male!â
âHow is this helping! You made me wear cat ears and whispered blasphemies into Y/Nâs ears! Now sheâs going to order a hug-o-gram for her crush and itâll be the end of my chances with her! How could you!â
âI was not whispering blasphemies, you twittering tit! I was giving her advice,â Seokjin sniffs, annoyed. âDonât say I never help you, by the way. Iâve been trying to help you for years now.â
Yoongi hits him with a steely glare. âReally? So replacing all my clothes in my closet with clown attire is your version of help? I had to wear those stupid clown shoes for a week before you told me where you hid my clothes, jackass!â
âI was only trying to help you physically express yourself! Youâre already a clown on paper, might as well help you achieve your final form!â Seokjin huffs, infuriatingly haughty. âListen, believe me. I only told Y/N something that everyone already knows anyway, so just shut your trap and let Daddy handle the rest. Youâre not going to lose her, I promise.â
âPlease never refer to yourself as Daddy ever again,â Yoongi seethes, stalking off towards their car. âDonât ever talk to me again.â
âNo talk, Yoobie angyâŚâ Seokjin snickers to himself, following Yoongi with a spring in his step. This bastard is going to grovel at his feet by tomorrow evening, heâs sure of it. If he doesnât, then Seokjin will bite his own dick in halfââthatâs how sure he is of his plan! (Not that biting his dick in half will do anything to his length; heâd still be left with eight inches, letâs be real.) All in good time.
x x x x x
Seokjin gets an e-mail the next morning, much earlier than any sane person would choose to be awake at. He groans lowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he tries to read the contents of the letter. When heâs satisfied by what he has read, he forwards the e-mail to Yoongi before allowing sleep to take him once more.
Sleep evades him, however, when the sound of Yoongiâs big feet pounds noisily outside his bedroom. He hits his knee loudly against the coffee table, causing their beloved popcorn machine to tumble to the floor, but that is of little consequence to Yoongi right now. No, he needs to get into Seokjinâs room right now and screamââ
âWHAT THE FUCK?â Yoongi hollers, slamming Seokjinâs door open. The hinges creak, desperately hanging on despite the impact. Yoongi proceeds to slam a fist upon Seokjinâs ass, who barely flinches due to the fatness of his ass cushioning most of the damage. He blinks blearily at Yoongi, but the smirk on his face is clear as day.
âCame to claim your hug so early in the morning? Well, I usually donât entertain clients until after Iâve taken a shower, but for you⌠Iâll make an exception,â he yawns, peeling back his blanket and patting the empty spot on his bed. âCome on in, Yoobie Boobie⌠Letâs hug like itâs the last day on earth.â
Seokjin fails to realize that once he removed his blanket, he had inadvertently left himself vulnerable. Yoongi slams the heel of his foot against Seokjinâs groin, causing him to shriek bloody murder at 7 AM. He wonders, amidst his pain, whether this might be the last straw and that their landlord will finally kick them out after years of their stupid shenanigans.
âWHAT DID THAT E-MAIL MEAN? IF ITâS WHAT I THINK IT ISâŚâ Yoongi threatens, but itâs as empty as Seokjinâs butthole. They both know the implications of that e-mail, even a toddler can put two and two together and make sense out of it. Anonymous e-mail or not, Seokjin wouldnât just forward any hug-o-gram request to Yoongi, unlessâŚ
What did the e-mail say? It goes something like:
Dear Mr. Kim,
Thank you for offering your special promotion for new time customers of your Hug-o-gram Service! Iâve always been a quiet fan of your business idea, but Iâve always been a little shy to submit a request of my own. Thank you so much for giving me the little push that I needed to send my first (and hopefully last) hug.
Iâd like to send a hug to Mr. Min Yoongi from the Music Department. I understand that he has recently been appointed an employee at your business, but seeing as how itâd be difficult for him to hug himself (while not entirely impossible), Iâd like to request that you be the one to send the hug to him.
I donât really have a message for him, per se⌠Iâm still a little shy, even though you already told me that there is no reason to be. I want to believe what you said was true, so Iâm pushing my fear aside and putting my fate into your hands. So, to Mr. Min Yoongi⌠âWhen I told you it was nice to hug someone you like, I donât think you understood what I meant. A hug, after all, is a two-way street. Theyâre often served the best when it is reciprocated, if you catch my drift. :)â
Peace! :3
Regards,
[Redacted] [Redacted]
âHave your brain synapses finished connecting? Because if even this flies over your head, Iâm sorry to say buddy but⌠You might have smooth brain syndrome,â Seokjin pipes up. He observes Yoongiâs brow crumpling, the first signal of his impending mental breakdown. If Seokjin remembers correctly, the next signal should be whenââ
Yoongi drops down to his knees, his phone clattering to the floor as he stares absently at the ceiling. Seokjin cringes, worried for the state of his friendâs frail kneecaps. The poor sap has bad heart health already; surely, it isnât too early to get him a life alert button?
Seokjin scooches over his bed, dangling half his body over the edge to appraise his friend. âSo. What do you plan to do now?â
For a moment, Yoongi remains silent. Eventually, he shuffles closer to him, perching his hands around Seokjin. The business student raises a brow, confused, until Yoongi pushes Seokjin back onto the middle of the bed so that he can cram himself beside Seokjin on his small double bed. He huffs amusedly, allowing the smaller boy to snuggle into his chest, though he still refuses to wrap his arms around him. Close enough, Seokjin snorts.
âI need your help, hyung.â Yoongiâs voice is small, shy. Itâs so uncharacteristic of him that Seokjin immediately softens. They might act like toddlers together the majority of the time, but Seokjin truly does care about Yoongi more than anything. During early mornings like this, when the sunâs soft rays are filtering through his sheer curtains and filling the room with a gentle warmth, itâs nice to cuddle up with one another and enjoy the silence. In fact, Seokjin would never admit it to Yoongi, but he got the idea for his Hug-o-gram service from Yoongi himself, back when the younger boy would be more prone to sneaking into his bed during his bouts of loneliness and homesickness.
Above all else, Yoongi is just a boy with a lot of love to give, so who is Seokjin to say no to his pleas for help?
âYou know I always got your back, Yoongi-chi. Whenever youâre ready, we can do whatever you want. Ask and youâll receive,â he replies, caressing his soft black tresses. Yoongi hums, smiling softly into his chest.
âThanks, dude. For being⌠you know.â
Seokjinâs heart pangs a little, but he ignores it. Instead, he continues combing through his hair, humming gently. âI know.â
x x x x x
Itâs been a few days since you sent the e-mail to Seokjin and you havenât heard back from him. You arenât sure if he sends confirmation e-mails to his clients as youâd never asked for a hug-o-gram before, nor did you know anyone who has. You are forced to continue on with your days like normal, trying to ignore the unsettling anxiety from creeping up your throat and spewing all over the sidewalk.
If Seokjin hadnât been lying to you, then there shouldnât be anything to worry about. Youâve been harboring this crush on Yoongi for years now, and you never thought in your life that it would ever be reciprocated. He always seemed a little bit detached, a little too cool for you. Never mind the fact that he always seemed so jittery around you, like it was hard to talk to you or something!
Your answer comes on the last day of the week, after an especially rough day at class. Your back is bent, having finished a grueling four hour lab period where you did nothing but stand and stare at your reaction vessel spinning without any signal of change. You are just a little bit hangry from all the stress piling up on your plate, especially since you hadnât eaten a decent meal since breakfast at 8 AM.
In short, life isnât going as smoothly as youâd hoped for your senior year, but you canât let the blues get to you too soon. After all, there are leftover chicken wings in your fridge with your name on it, and nothing beats your meat more than greasy poultry to end a terrible week.
Youâre only inches away from sliding your keycard to open your shared dorm room when the door opens without prompting. You flinch backward, yelping loudly when your roommate Park Jimin grins slyly from the doorwayâânever a good sign, if you knew anything.
âFancy seeing you here,â Jimin says, leaning casually against the door like he hadnât just scared the living shit out of you. He takes one glance at your disheveled hair and lightly sweaty clothes before grimacing in disgust. âGirl, I canât let you meet the love your life while youâre looking like that. Come on, we have a few minutes before he arrives. Letâs get you freshened up.â
âIâm sorry?â You squeak, allowing your roommate to manhandle you into your own home. He pushes you into your room, depositing you roughly onto your unmade bed. You try to make eye contact with him, but heâs too busy raiding your closet to pay you much attention. âExcuse me? What did you say just now?â
âNo time, princess! Your Prince Charming is on the way, and Iâve been ordered by Seokjin to prepare you for this life-changing moment, so get your ass into gear and change into this!â He shoves a clean pair of jeans and a nicer-looking blouse at you before proceeding to grab your hairbrush and comb your tresses with the gentleness of a mother tigress. You shriek when the brush gets tangled in an especially stubborn knot, but Jimin is relentless. He nearly tears your hair by the roots, ignoring your pained whines.
âWill you fucking stop! I have literally no idea why youâre acting like a psycho all of a suddenââ You shout when Jimin begins to undress you, having to kick him in the chest to get him away from completely eradicating your remaining traces of dignity. âOkay, fine! Iâll dress myself! Just get out of my room and fucking stay away!â
Jimin looks at you dubiously for a split second, before eventually acquiescing. âYou have two minutes to get changed. You wouldnât want to keep him waiting, do you?â he says, smirking knowingly. He better dread the day that you finally wipe that annoying twinkle in his eye; itâs been a long time coming.
Left alone to your own devices, you do as Jimin says even though youâre still wildly confused by everything. To think you had been so excited to feast on your chicken wings, and instead, you went through a decadeâs worth of torture within the last few minutes. Patting your hands on the butt of your jeans, you meekly take a step out of your bedroom, where Jimin is already tapping his foot impatiently by the door.
He motions for you to hurry up. âLetâs go! Seokjin says theyâre rounding up the corner. Hold on,â he steps closer to you, raising your arm up to take a shameless sniff of your pits. âSorry, had to make a pit stop. You can never be too sure,â he shrugs, disregarding your squawks of indignation.
âI smell fine! Now what are weââ Your sentence is cut short as Jimin all but carries you to the elevator, your shrieks of terror causing one or two of your neighbors to peek their heads out of their doors. When they see itâs just the two of you, they simply shrug their shoulders, returning to their lives like it was normal to see Jimin carry you in a firemanâs hold.
He doesnât put you down until you reach the lobby of your dorm complex, barely out of breath despite having held you the entire way down. Stupid buff baby, you groan internally to yourself, straightening down your clothes in a desperate attempt to look decent. âOkay, weâre here. Who am I supposed to be meeting?â
In lieu of an answer, Jimin points wordlessly outside your building. A black car is parked on the other side of the road, and you can barely see a familiar head of hair poking out from the driverâs seat. âSeokjin? What theâŚâ you trail off, before your eyes finally land on their target.
Yoongi stands outside the glass doorway, not dressed in his usual all-black attire. Heâs wearing an outrageously cute pink shirt today, matching the color of his natural flush. He always looks effortlessly good, with his hair a little windswept in that boyishly cute way. Your mouth goes a little dry when you realize heâs wearing his famous leather jacket, the one that always got the girls and boys swooning when he walked past in them. You hated how whipped for him you were, not wanting to be like the weird kids in his secret fan club, but who can blame you? Heâs just soâŚ
You rip open the door, nearly tripping and falling over the short steps leading to the entrance. You grind to a halt in front of him and youâre acutely aware of how rabid you must look. Your chest is pounding, like your heart is begging you to step closer, just like when you had hugged him all those days ago. God, you were going to kill Park Jimin for this.
âYoongi? What are youâŚâ You take one look at him before your gaze drops to his hands folded carefully behind his back. It doesnât hide the fact that there is an obvious bouquet of flowers behind him, though. Your face lights on fire when you notice they were your favorite flowers too.
âIâm here to deliver a hug?â Yoongi says it like heâs unsure of himself, but thereâs a little coyness laced in his tone. His cheeks are painted a soft pink, and not for the first time, they remind you of freshly baked bread pulled out from the oven. Soft enough to kiss, you wonder idly to yourself.
âI mean⌠I did order a hug a few days ago, but I do recall not ordering one for myself?â you laugh a little hysterically, your breath cutting short when Yoongi grins softly in response. âI⌠Who is this hug from?â
Yoongi takes a glance back towards Seokjin. âHey, boss. Am I allowed to reveal who the secret admirers are, or will that get me fired?â
Seokjin, despite being a few meters away, laughs loud enough for the whole street to hear. âWell, Yoongi-chi. Something tells me your resignation letter was coming in the mail eventually. Who cares about the rules at this point?â
âHeâs right,â you quip, pulling Yoongiâs attention back. Youâre smiling wide now, your hopes and dreams skyrocketing in your chest and blooming a garden in your heart. âWho cares, right?â
âRight,â Yoongi agrees, taking the last two steps he needs to get closer to you. He drops the bouquet somewhere behind you before finally, finally, embracing you once more. He kisses you gently on the forehead, the contact short and sweet.
You feel like youâre dying, but itâs all good because Yoongi looks just as embarrassed as you. But none of it matters, not when both your happiness is palpable in the air.
âY/NâŚâ
âYes?â
âThis hug-o-gram is from me to you. Will you go out with me?â
Youâve always been a firm believer that actions speak louder than words. So when you lean in to plant your first kiss of many many more, he knows your answer well enough.
#bangtanarmynet#btsboulangerie#armiesnet#bts scenarios#yoongi x reader#bts x reader#bts reader insert#bts fanfiction#bts#bts imagines#bts fluff#college!au#min yoongi#yoongi#suga#yoongi scenarios#suga scenarios#yoongi fluff#bts suga#bangtan#bts fanfic#btsghostie#why am i even pretending like i write angst anymore... who am i#i feel like ive forgotten who i am LMAOOOO
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Mari kicked down the dressing room door with a bang so loud Kevin jumped and spilled his hot coffee cup all over himself. Hearing his yelps of pain, Astrid peaked her head out of the curtain, laughed at his expense then shut it again. Maria ignored that.
They strutted out to where the boys were sitting and struck a pose. âCan I rock cottage core or can I rock cottage core?â
Kit didnât trust himself to speak. He simply nodded instead. While the baby blue dress with short, ruffled sleeves looked a bit out of place paired with Mariâs bulging muscles, she looked absolutely stunning.
The Merry Hoes were located in the back room of the antique store Kevinâs family owned. The Chuâs just got a large donation of vintage clothing. Mari had just gotten their pay check from the downworlder gym she worked at. Kit and Astrid really didnât want to do their maths homework. It was destiny.
Despite being downworlders both Blessica and Kevin still lived at home. Mari, though, lived with the rest of their pack in an old Edwardian mansion a few blocks away from school. However the five of them slept over at each otherâs place of residence so often they blurred together in the young Herondaleâs mind. He could really only tell them apart by their smells.
Mariâs reeked of dirty laundry as they were one of four folks on the feminine side of the gender scale out of the lycanthropy of London, Blessica excluded. Her house smelled like Ube, a type of yam her Filipino parents put in everything. Kit couldnât complain. Ube flavoured ice cream was the best thing heâs ever eaten. Aside from Mari. Though he wasnât usually the one⌠Nevermind.
Kevinâs house smelled of Longjing tea and red wine. A peculiar combination that oddly enough, worked quite well.
Astrid had two homes as her parents divorced at the age of six. Stepping into her momâs house was like stepping into a cookie factory. Which made sense as her mom owned a bakery and lived above it. Kit didnât know exactly what Astridâs dadâs place smelled like, let alone looked like, but he could make an educated guess that it was similar to the Los Angeles Institute because it was in LA too.
After they separated, Miss Yang fled to Devon to dodge the possibility of seeing her ex-husband when they exchanged Astrid. Kit related to her on a deep, personal level.
Now Astrid spent her summers in America and Kit drained his battery on international phone calls.
Her three months in the USA each year helped him bond with her better when they had first been introduced. For example, her ringtone was the Perry the Platypus theme song. Blessica, Kevin and Maria had no clue what it was but when the music reached Kitâs ears, the two sang an epic duet that put Kiss Me More (the second most iconic duet in history) to shame.
âHow much is this anyway,â asked Mari, turning in a circle to see if there was a price tag. In the process she sent the fabric fluttering as she went. It made them look more magical than ever.
âThere is no price on fabulousness,â said Astrid. She had on loose, black dress pants, a white shirt, and black suspenders with gold blemishes.
âYes there is,â replied Kevin. â54 euros.â
â54 euros,â exclaimed Mari.
âWell it would have been âŹ34 but you made me spill my coffee and this shirt was 20 so..â
âSeriously, Kev. I will fuck your mom. You think I wonât?â A pause. âWait, only twenty âŹ20?â
âOh, I know right! There is this incredible thrift store down on Fleet Street and-â
âDonât care,â interrupted Mar. She took one last look in the mirror before turning back to him. âIâll give you your parents' price, not your dramatic assâs one.â
Kevin rolled his eyes. âFine. But itâs an extra âŹ10 for the shoes.â
Mari looked down at her tan sandals. They leaned against the door they just excited to take the footwear off. âRacist,â she muttered under her breath.
âIâm literally Chinese.â
âHomophobic, then.â
âPansexaul,â he sang.
Mari was silent for a moment before she banged on the door into the room Blessica was changing into her rose pink gown. âBlessie! Do I have permission to call Kev transphobic in your name?â
âHey,â said Kevin, looking up from his task of rubbing a paper towel across his sheer, white shirt. âThatâs cheating. Blessie, donât listen to them!â
The nickname âBlessieâ was what her family exclusively called her. She turned red when they had first found out. Granted, it wasnât hard to make Blessica blush. All she had to do was stand in Kevinâs general area.
âBlessica,â called Mari once again. When she still didnât answer, Maria stood up and pressed their forehead against the changing room door. âYou okay?â
âNo,â Blessica croaked out finally. Her hoarse voice was laced with sorrow. Upon hearing her speak, Kevin abandoned any hope of saving his top and joined Mari at the door. Kit and Astrid were quick to follow.
âHey,â said Astrid gently. âWhatâs wrong?â
Blessica began to sob. âThe dress doesnât fit right,â she whimpered.
âThatâs okay,â soothed Kevin. âWe have other sizes.â
âKev, it doesnât fit my body because it wasnât made for my body. I just feel so ugly.â All the other Merry Hoes made various sounds of distress. Kit was instantly reminded of Dru,
He was suddenly fifteen again. In Tyâs bedroom as he told him of all the times sheâd been told she wasnât pretty by members of the Shadowhunter society. And all the times Emma or Julian or another member of her family had reassured her that she was. The thought occurred to Kit that maybe they werenât Emma-y as Blessica needed them to be.
âItâs just like,â started Blessica, âI started taking Estrogen seven months ago, you know? And I still donât have anything to show for it.â
His mind was racing a mile a minute. âYes you do,â he said.
âI do?â she asked, sounding dubious.
âYour voice!â
âYou do have a really nice voice,â agreed Astrid. âYou could totally narrate audiobooks or something.â
âNo itâs not,â grumbled Kevin.
âKevin,â said Mari, glaring daggers at him. âKevinâ in this case didnât mean Kevin. It meant âShut your mouth right or I will actually kill youâ.
âNo, not like that! Itâs justâŚâ he was blushing profusely now. âHer voice is like the rain. Most of the time itâs soft and warm and it wraps you in one big, wet hug. You canât help but feel, well, blessed to get to feel it touching your skin.. But when it rains hard you feel every single drop land. But no matter what kind of rain it is, the impact is always enormous. Uh, yeah, her voice is like that.â There was a moment of prolonged silence, where Blessica had stopped crying but no one was brave enough to talk.
The door opened and Kit, Kevin and Astrid stumbled backwards. Mari didnât. Stupid gorgous jock, Kit thought as she survayed her inferiourors.
Blessica stood in the open doorway. Her eyes were puffy and red. The dress looked perfect on her. Not that this style hadnât looked perfect on Mari but their arms were so thick, they filled up the entire selve. Blessica was so petite you could see her bones clearly through the skin. It highlighted the flowness of the gown extremely well. âYou guys like my voice?â Then, âwhy are you all staring at me, is it that bad?â
âBlessie,â said Mari. âYou canât just put on that in front of four people who like women and expect them not to stare.â
âRespectfully, of course,â added Kit.
âJust tell us if it makes you uncomfortable,â agreed Kevin.
âStep on me,â breathed Astrid.
âBut then again,â said Mari, âyou validate yourself too.â
âRun me over with a cement truck.â
âWe can see your hot as fuck. But more importantly you have to believe youâre hot as fuck.â
âYou could literally kill me and Iâd get on my knees to thank you.â
Blessica was blushing as hard as Kevin now. They sheepishly smiled at each other before turning away. âSimp,â said Kit and he held out his hand. Astrid dutifully rewarded him with a high five.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am on the trans spectrum but I am not mtf. If you are and you feel misrepresented please feel free to private message me or just leave a comment tell me how I can fix it.
@the-wckd-powers @book-dragon-not-worm @thechangeling @the-blackdale @ithurielkeepsgettingkidnapped @illusions-give-reasons-to-live @shelvesofgold @arangiajoan @maxboythedog @noah-herondale-lightwood @its-taff @cncnbr @sofiatheskeleton @thomas-gaypanic-lightwood @im-not-ruined-im-ruination @adoravel-fenomeno
Let me know if I left anyone out. Also let me know if you want to be added or removed from the tag list.
#The Merry Hoes#Kit Rook#Kit Herondale#mari the werewolf#mari machado#astrid yang#blessica reyes#Kevin chu#dru blackthorn#drusilla blackthorn#ty blackthorn#tiberius blackthorn#tsc
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Something Long and Stupid (Part 2)
Summary: Remus knew he wasn't a good person. He was Deadpool, a killer for hire, "the merc with a mouth." He'd come to terms with what he was a long time ago. He didn't need Spiderman to remind him of what he was.
He didn't need Virgil to come into his life and make him question it for the first time
Notes: Violence, blood, gore, sexual inneundos
I didn't make a taglist for this story but I know @teamplutoforlife wanted to be tagged <3 And thank you @cheshirevalentine for editing
Part 1
Remus was falling, twisting onto his back as he plummeted towards the ground, the buildings around him nothing but a blur as he flew past. He could faintly hear the construction on the ground over the pounding of his own heart and the howling of the wind rushing past him, barely hearing the alarmed shouts of the workers watching him fall.
Virgil was nothing but a speck in the distance now, perched on the edge of the roof. Lifeless white eyes watched him fall, unfeeling and still.
Pain exploded in Remusâs back as he slammed into something sharp, legs hitting the ground when he finally stopped falling. He could just barely make out the rusty, blood stained spike in front of him, poking through his chest from his back where he'd fallen, blood pooling around the wound and into his suit.
-
âHey.â
Remus jumped so hard he nearly fell off the roof, scrambling to his feet and reaching for his gun as he whirled around to face whoever the fuck was stupid enough to sneak up on him.
Spiderman was perched beside him, apparently fine after his near death experience last night, and holding⌠a pizza box?
âHey,â Remus said carefully. âWhat the fuck?â
Spiderman shrugged and held out the box in his hand. âI have pizza. You asked for pizza.â
Remus stared for a moment, frozen where he stood with his hand hovering over his gun, trying to figure out if this was a joke. âYou⌠actually brought it?â
âYeah?â Spiderman said, like he didnât understand how this was in any way strange. âOh did you⌠were you joking? Did you not actually want it, orââ
âNo, I did.â Remus stayed right where he was. What the hell was this? Was this a prank? Was he being pranked?
âThen⌠here,â Spiderman said. He held out the pizza box, close enough for Remus to cautiously take. âI didnât know what you liked so I just got cheese. But cheese is good. Everyone likes cheese.â
Holy shit. Spiderman was a dweeb.
Remus carefully opened the pizza box, and when there wasnât a bomb or some kind of spider-themed booby trap inside, just a freshly baked cheese pizza from some local place heâd vaguely heard of, Remus let his shoulders relax and barked out a laugh.
âWell shit,â he said, pleasantly surprised. âThanks, Webs.â
Spidey was shuffling a bit, looking ridiculously awkward, and Remus was suddenly reminded that they were both just⌠people under their masks. âUh, yeah. No problem.â
Remus hesitated, because he hadnât been kidding about Spiderman owing him a pizza he just⌠hadnât actually expected him to follow through. There was no way Remus was eating all of it on his own, he barely ate much as it was.
âDo you, likeâŚâ he paused, wondering if this was going to get him punched or laughed at. âDo you want a slice?â
Spiderman actually startled, like him being asked to lunch was just as rare as Remus asking someone to lunch. Jeez, heâd have figured people begged Spiderman to eat with them all the time.
âI, uh⌠I bought it for you, soââ
âYeah, and Iâm offering. Christ, do you want some pizza or not?â
Spidey still hesitated, and while it was annoying as hell Remus supposed heâd be a hypocrite to judge when heâd been half convinced there was a bomb in the pizza box two minutes ago.
Well, it wasnât like it would have been the first time.
âUh, sure,â Spiderman said, still visibly wary. âThank you.â
Remus ignored him in favor of opening the pizza box and setting it down, motioning for the vigilante to take as much as he wanted.
It wasnât until Spidey turned away slightly to hook his fingers under the bottom of his mask that Remus remembered- duh- they both had to pull up their masks to eat.
It wasnât a problem, it wouldnât be nearly enough to risk exposing their faces to each other, but Remus really wasnât in the mood to be gawked at. A glance at his jaw might ruin Spidermanâs lunch.
âIâm not looking,â Spidey said, and Remus realized heâd been hesitating for a few too many seconds. âI can go, if you donât wanna pull up your mask around anyone.â
Remus waved him off, even as he continued to fiddle with the leather. âIâve got some scars, is all. Like⌠a lot. People think theyâre gross.â
âOh,â Spiderman said, and then simply shrugged. âThatâs fine, I donât care. Scars happen, dude. Iâve got a bunch.â
Remus still hesitated, a little caught off guard from Spiderman calling him âdude' while so nonchalantly eating his pizza just a few feet away, but he quickly pulled himself together and tugged his leather mask up just below his nose.
It was just a few inches of skin, and still enough to reveal a handful of scars littered across his jaw, and the one that stretched down from his cheek.
Spidey barely glanced at him, which Remus guessed he should have seen coming. Itâd be a little out of character for New Yorkâs hero to be an asshole about someoneâs scars, but you never knew with heroes. Some of them were pretentious assholes.
They ate their pizza like common civilians, perched on their rooftop and watching the people of New York mingle below.
Remus barely ate two slices. He didnât really eat much to begin with, and it was far more entertaining to watch in silent awe as Spiderman easily finished the rest of the box. The hero was a good two heads shorter than Remus, and looked like he barely weighed a hundred pounds. If Remus didnât know better, heâd think the guy never ate at all.
âMy metabolism is different,â he explained sheepishly when he caught Reus staring. âI eat more than⌠you know. You. Regular people.â
Remus scoffed, because this was definitely the first time anyone had described him as a âregular personâ but he let it slide with an eye roll and a thanks for lunch.
They parted ways, and Remus let himself relax at the thought of having one less enemy roaming New York.
Remus hadnât meant to start hanging out with Spiderman.
Really, he hadnât. The impromptu pizza date was supposed to be the end of it, just a slightly awkward peace offering that made it clear neither of them would actively try to kill each other in the near future.
Remus had saved Spiderman because he was bored, and Spiderman had bought him a pizza. That was all.
But then less than a week later Spiderman had swung (literally) by with takeout- coincidentally from Remusâs favorite place a few blocks away- and Remus hadnât been able to say no to sharing.
Theyâd shared a meal together three times in the last two weeks, and Remus was starting to think it wasnât an accident.
It probably wasnât helping that Remus had started carrying snacks on him.
Remus wasnât going to eat them himself, and Spiderman was always complaining about how hungry he was, so heâd just started keeping packets of gummies or granola for when he saw the hero swinging past. Chucking them at his head was good target practice, anyway.
That didnât mean they were friends. Remus didnât have friends, because being friends with Deadpool was possibly the dumbest idea anyone could ever have.
Remus had seen what happens when people get close to him. He wasnât going to go through that again.
Apparently, Spiderman had other ideas.
It had been just another fight that Remus had happened to run into, watching for a moment as Spiderman took down what was probably his third armed robbery of the day.
He knew he probably could have just continued on his way and gotten lunch, but there were five of them, all armed, and Remus didnât feel great about those odds despite Spideyâs reputation.
So Remus had decided to return the favor, Spiderman had introduced himself by butting into Deadpool's fight after all, and stepped in to finish the job twice as fast.
And it had gone fine. Spiderman had greeted him with stupidly cheeky finger guns and unfortunately insisted they keep all of them alive, which wasnât Remusâs specialty but heâd manage.
It had been easy, some druggie civilians no match for New Yorkâs hero and the merc with a mouth, three of them encased in webbing within two minutes, another on the ground with a bullet in his knee.
It had been fine, until Remus was shot in the chest.
Which, to be fair, wasnât a big deal. He was shot in the chest all the time. Itâd be a hassle if he didnât get the bullet out before his skin healed around it, but it wasnât like he could die.
It occurred to him a bit too late that he had forgotten to tell Spiderman that.
âNo!â
The raw panic and emotion In Spideyâs voice caught Remus off guard as he stumbled backwards, pain he was unfortunately used to by now exploding in his chest as the bullet met its mark. There had been a fifth goon, hiding out and biding his time, which would have been a great plan if it didnât end with a face of webs and a swift punch to the temple.
Remus lowered himself to the ground, the wind knocked out of him, dark crimson blood pooling around his hand and flooding through his fingers as he clutched the wound.
Spiderman was rushing over, and Remus could practically feel the worry behind that lifeless mask. He skidded to a stop and dropped to a crouch, hands hovering, frantic and unsure.
And maybe Remus was just an asshole, but this was fucking hilarious.
âDeadpool?â Spidey called, the vigilante leaning over him as Remus dropped to lay on his back. âJesus- hang in there okay? Youâll be fine.â
Remus forced himself to cough, wet and ragged, biting back a smile. âThis is it for me, Webs. I can see the light.â
âDeadpool shut the fuck up!â
âEverythingâs getting darkââ
âI said shut up,â Spiderman snapped, and Remus gasped involuntarily, arching his back when gloved hands pressed down on the wound. âYouâre gonna be fine, youâre⌠just- just stay awake, okay? Donât close your eyes.â
Remus coughed again to hide a smile, blood splattering his chin, closing his eyes anyway and letting his head fall back on the concrete. He stopped listening to Spideyâs rambling, committing to the bit of playing dead- very obviously playing dead, for the record. He stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth and everything, waiting for Spiderman to catch on and tell him off.
âNo!â Except Spidey still sounded genuinely distressed, only pressing harder on the wound. âNo, no, no! Deadpool! Wake up!â
Well. This wasnât any fun if Spiderman was too panicked to even pay attention. He sighed, opening his eyes again to sit up slightly and whack the vigilanteâs shoulder.
âI canât die, stupid,â he said, grinning when Spiderman scrambled back. âCut it out. Iâve just gotta get the bullet out so it doesnât heal around it. Those things hurt like a bitch, soââ
âWhat the hell is wrong with you?â
Remus opened his mouth to respond, because there were lots of things wrong with him and he had a list at the ready. But he didnât get the chance because suddenly Spidey was throwing himself forward, wrapping his arms around Remus and pulling him close, probably getting blood all over his suit.
Haha, what the fuck?
âYouâre such a bitch,â Spiderman said, muffled since his face was practically buried in Remusâs shoulder. âYouâre the fucking worst.â
âAww, were you worried about me?â Remus asked, burying his shock. âThatâs so sweet, Spidey.â
âShut the hell up,â Spiderman growled. âI thought you were going to die.â
âYou were so worried! It was so cute, oh my god!â
Spiderman finally pulled back, only to rear back and punch Remus square in the shoulder. Hard.
Remus barked out a laugh, now nursing two injuries. âFucking- ow. I still feel pain.â
âSucks.â
Remus crossed his arms, wincing when it pulled at the bullet wound still in his chest. âRude.â
âIâm rude?â Spiderman asked, incredulous. âYou thought it would be funny to play dead!â
âTo be fair,â Remus argued. âIt was funny.â
âNo it wasnât!â
Remus shrugged, already turning his attention to the bullet in his chest. âIf you had known it would be funny.â
âWell I didnât,â he said, the maskâs white eyes glued to Remusâs hands. âI thought you were dying.â
âI canât die,â Remus said. âThatâs not a joke, Webs. I donât just regenerate fast, I canât be killed.â
âHow the fuck was I supposed to know that?â
Remus shrugged, a little put off because this was not how heâd expected this to go. Damn Spiderman and his stupid savior complex.
He turned his attention back to the bullet wound, the pain already faded to a familiar numbness, but two gloved hands grabbed his wrists before he could start digging around for the bullet.
âHere,â he said, obnoxiously soft. âIâve got it, let me help.â
âNah, itâs cool,â Remus said, tensing against his will at the thought of someone else caring for a wound. âItâs not too deep, I can get it.â
âAre your gloves clean?â
He took a minute to consider that, calculating the swords heâd been holding, the gun heâd reloaded that morning, coming up blank when he tried to think of the last time heâd properly cleaned any of his weapons. Not to mention he had to climb buildings with his hands, lacking Spideyâs abilities to walk up walls and propel himself across the city in seconds.
âProbably,â he lied. âWhat am I gonna do, get sick?â
Spiderman hesitated. âDo you do that?â
âNo.â
âI can still get it,â Spidey said. âLet me help.â
Remus scoffed, trying to cover up his own uneasiness. âYou wanna stick your hand in there? You know itâs gross, right?â
âI know how to remove a bullet, Deadpool,â Spiderman said. âIâve gotten shot before, I can get it.â
There was no reason not to drop his arms and let Spiderman do what he wanted. The asshole was stubborn, but he obviously meant well. With how shaky Remusâs hands were, Spidey getting the bullet out would probably be quicker anyway.
And he was the cityâs hero. Heâd made it clear he didnât mean Deadpool any harm, especially not when the Merc had so graciously dropped in to save his ass today.
Remus didnât know why it was so hard to just relax.
âThis is dumb,â he said, wondering if he could annoy Spidey into giving up. âI can handle it fine.â
âI know,â the vigilante said. âBut I want to help. Itâs like...returning the favor or whatever.â
Remus sighed, a little shaky now, but reluctantly nodded. The longer they argued, the faster the skin would heal over the bullet still lodged in his chest, and Remus would really like to avoid that happening. Again.
âFine,â he growled. âJesus, youâre stubborn.â
Under the mask, Remus was sure Spiderman was smirking at him. âLook whoâs talking.â
Remus hadnât expected Spiderman to be so gentle. He was digging a bullet wound out of Deadpoolâs chest, there wasnât really a way to make this a pleasant experience, but Spidey was taking his time, moving carefully as he dug into the wound.
âCould you hurry up?â Remus growled, teeth clenched. This would have been over in seconds if he was doing it himself. It was so much easier to just stick his hand in the wound, dig around for a second, and rip the bullet out. âIâm not exactly a fan of having someone elseâs fingers in my chest.â
Spiderman didnât even spare him a glance. âI donât want to hurt you.â
âI got shot,â Remus snapped. âWeâre well past that.â
Spidey didnât respond after that and Remus for once stayed quiet to let him concentrate, breathing heavily to try to ignore the panic that came with being vulnerable like this. The vigilante couldnât kill him, but he sure as hell could cause him a shit ton of pain.
But he wouldnât. Remus had to keep reminding himself that he wouldnât. Spiderman was insufferably good- he wouldnât kick someone while they were down.
Eventually Spidermanâs fingers found the bullet and Remus gasped, forcing himself to shove the pain away and make a lewd sounding moan when Spideyâs fingers left the wound.
âJesus,â Spiderman muttered, and Remus laughed when he tossed the bullet dripping in dark blood to the side. âYou okay?â
âOh, Iâm fine,â Remus said, and he was. Physically at least. He couldnât remember the last time heâd had a civil conversation with someone, let alone had someone willing to help patch him up. âSee? All good. Itâs already healing itself.â
True to his word, Remusâs chest was fusing itself back together, skin closing up over the still bleeding wound, the rest of the pain fading to a background throb. Itâd be like nothing ever happened in ten minutes.
âHoly shit,â Spiderman muttered, leaning in close to watch. Remus tensed uncomfortably. âThatâs...fucking wild.â
âYeah, itâs great.â Remus brushed it off, scrambling to his feet and ignoring the way Spidey moved to try and help. âAnyways. Are there any more fights you need me to hold your hand through, or can I go take a nap?â
âOh please,â Spidey scoffed. âI was fine. All you did was get in the way and get shot.â
âI saved your ass,â Remus retorted, smiling behind the leather mask. âYouâd be dead if it werenât for me, Webs.â
âYeah, whatever,â Spiderman mumbled, but Remus was willing to bet money he was smiling too. âGo take your nap, Deadpool.â
Remus gave a mock salute, sheathing his sword and turning away from the remnants of the battle and starting for his apartment.
Maybe Spidey wasnât so bad after all.
#sanders sides#thomas sanders#spiderman virgil#deadpool remus#ts virgil#virgil sanders#ts remus#remus sanders#violence tw#blood tw#gun tw#injury tw#writing#fanfiction#spiderman#deadpool#dukexiety
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Hey!! Desperate here, sorry for being so abrupt LOL
Iâll tell my story on how I ended up here, asking a question, but OH MAN, Iâve been a fan of Spader for a while, long while, easy explanation would be his voice to begin with.. but today I decided to finally rewatch The Blacklist again because why not, Iâve watched some episodes in the past but randomly, not knowing a thing about the plot. So today I decided to start from the Pilot, watched some episodes and I immediately got involved, but something I also noticed was the⌠you could say sexual tension going on with the protagonists, I was sitting on the edge (english isnât my main language, but Iâm 99% sure thatâs the expression) feeling so many emotions watching Red and Lizzie, I was going insane like âWHEN ARE THEY KISSING?!!!â so I couldnât wait and went to google thinking Iâd end up spoiling myself on their romance⌠when I found out there was nothing but confusing headlines about the latest season or something about their real relationship I was so confused I was like âNo?! this says nothing at all about them!!â and after googling for a while I came across Tumblr and a tag with their ship name. I was so happy, logged quickly into Tumblr again, spent the last few hours watching gifs and reading what you guys had to say about them and oh⌠it shattered me in a good and bad way, learned about their ending, and how messy the whole idea of the characters together was because of the producers⌠I had faith, but instead of leaving disappointed I was craving more and more of this sexy relationship that for SURE was about to be love for me, so I ended up reading some fics and wow⌠they wasted a whole story of love in here⌠ISTG the second I started the show I was like âOh heâs going to manipulate her to fall in love with him and it will be steamy! that has to be the whole plotâ and no one can tell me they werenât into each other⌠MEANT for each other⌠this will forever be my newest and craziest ship I lost in the way⌠but I already know it has a BIG space on my heart.
So my question would be; how would you explain and name their relationship? could you tell me is it worth it to suffer and watch them not kiss for many many seasons? was there ever a chance for romance in their dialogues or the staring once? (such as this scene I think I saw of Red doing that typical sexy Spader face when Lizzie went blonde) or them holding hands?
What even happened? why did they ruin the chances of them being a couple? it was there the whole time! I really wanna learn the thoughts on them from this community and about their best moments and how you know that for sure there was a spark in their scenes that implied what we wanted, and that implied their love which is⌠clearly not father daughter ??? I also wanna know about those theories but I donât get anything!! I just wanted them to end together⌠but now that I know I donât think I can go through all the seasons and suffer but I can just watch the gifs of them dancing :) but thanks for reading this and if you answer giving me your time :) I swear I feel like a MESS because of them and I only learned about them today, earlierâŚ. save me cs Iâm suffering but in love with 2 characters so badlyâŚ
Lizzington forever! â¤ď¸â¤ď¸ thanks for all your posts I spent hours looking at and enjoying while suffering haha have a nice week :)))
Omgggg I'm so sorry you sweet innocent anon đđđđ I was you about five years ago when I got into this fandom for real and started writing Lizzington fics, however at that point the worst we had to worry about was considerably less than it is now.
Ummmmmm I literally don't know what to tell you đ but I'm honoured you reached out and happy you got so much enjoyment from the great fics out there (would love to hear what some of your faves were!)
So I should say firstly that I watched only til the end of the previous season (8) and literally know nothing about the show for s9 other then my weekly spoilers from @thetwistedargent about Ressler's butt (loll).
Anyway, what DID happen, anon? What happened to Red and Lizzie's chemistry and relationship? I guess the writers decided to fuck with us all, for lack of a better explanation. I'm still sore and bitter about the weird way the show turned into something super different than what it started as.
As far as the show goes, I think Lizzington shippers in general agree that it's worth watching at least seasons 1 through 3. The second half of S3 is where the Lizzington content takes a steep curve downwards, but there's still some sweet episodes in later seasons (Greyson Blaise is popular). If you watch the show til then, and then move to reading fanfic, you can preserve some of that excitement and pure enthusiasm in your heart.
Post season four, what can I say? It is a different and not great show. Post season 7 in my opinion; not even worth your time. But you'll know what feels best, and if you do keep watching til s8 you're welcome to stop by here and let us know what you think.
There's still a pretty engaged fandom here that is refusing to acknowledge anything past s8 lol, so we'll be here if you need us.
Is it worth it to suffer and not see them kiss? I guess it's a personal call. For me, the underlying sexual tension WAS there, and I kind of filled in the blanks with the fics I wrote over the years.
If your heart breaks in the end, was it worth it? Only you will know đ
Thanks for this heartfelt ask, and I hope you enjoy whatever you do choose to consume xo
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1 or 9 from the last if youâre still up to it :)
Not sure I'm happy with this, but I hope it was kinda what you were looking for. :) Just wanna make you guys happy with my stories. <3
Five months, five months I had been in Beacon Hills. Five months where I was meeting new friends, acing my classes, and genuinely just enjoying high school. Five whole months had passed and I had just learned tonight that apparently werewolves were real...and banshees...and a bunch of other things that I did not have time to get into. Something told me that hanging out with Stiles and his friends would get me into trouble. My dumb ass couldnât resist those honey-colored eyes, though.
So as of 9 pm on this wonderful Friday night, I was in Scottâs house apparently at a pack meeting. A pack meeting that had to include me because somehow my life was on the line. Somehow even though I had only just found out about this stuff two hours ago.
ây/n, are you okay?â Stiles asked me cautiously.
âOh yeah, Iâm totally fine. Totally not freaking out that Scott, Isaac, and Derek are werewolves, Lydia is a banshee, Malia is a werecoyote, Kira is a Kitsune, and that you were possessed by a demon like a year ago. Thatâs all not mind-blowing at allâŚ.â
âYouâve definitely been hanging out with Stiles too much,â Lydia laughed. âWe only have room for one sarcastic human in this pack.â
I couldnât believe how normal everyone was acting. Like, calling yourselves a pack? How is this not a scene from a cheesy teen movie? Even though this kind of thing was something they had been dealing with for a while, they werenât even freaking out at all. They all just seemed so casual that I could die at any second. Well, except maybe Stiles, he did seem to be very nervous.
âI think I need to go lie down.â I mumbled before leaving the kitchen and plopping myself on the living room couch. My mind was reeling. How was a person supposed to cope with learning that things that were supposed to be mythical and fake were actually real...way too real.
ây/n, is..is there anything I can do for you? I just, well I really feel so bad for getting you into this mess. I knew what you hanging out with us could mean, I was just being so selfish because I really liked you and I wanted to get to know you better. But I should have known it wasnât a good idea, I never wanted you to be involved in this mess. Iâm so sorry. Really I am, you donât know-â
âSo like was past tense? As in, you donât anymore?â I asked, distracted from what I had just learned.
âWhat? I-I mean. Wait-all of that and what you picked up on was that I used the word liked?â Stiles eyebrows pinched up and he let out a confused breath.
âI mean, itâs pretty important information. I NEED to know the answer.â
âWell yes-I mean noâŚ.fuck. What I mean is of course I still like you. Thatâs why Iâm freaking out now. I was hoping to at least get you to like me back before I dumped all of this on you. And now youâre freaking life is in danger and itâs all my fault.â
âYou really are as oblivious as they all say.â I said, laughing at the boy standing in front of me in total shock. When he didnât say anything after I continued. âDude, Iâve literally liked you from the moment you ran into me and knocked down everything in my hands on my second day at school. Like how do you not know that?â
Before Stiles and I could continue our conversation, the others came out to tell us their plan. It involved using me as bait, and though Stiles was vehemently against the plan, it did make the most sense. And for some odd reason, I trusted this rag-tag group of friends. I knew that they would do anything to keep me from getting hurt. Most people youâve known for five months could barely be considered your friends. Yet these people were willing to risk their own lives to save yours.
The plan worked out. I was mainly just hiding behind a wall as all of the pack fought tooth and nail. There was a lot of blood and a lot of wounds. I heard Lydiaâs yell for the first time and boy was it absolutely ear-shattering. I watched Kira be a badass and handle two monsters completely by herself. I saw Scott use his alpha powers to keep his whole pack in sync. I even saw Stiles nail one or two with his bat, however most of the time he stood in front of where I was, âkeeping the bad guys awayâ. Constantly asking if I was okay, even though he knew it was a stupid question.
After the fight finished, they were all giving each other compliments and talking about who did what. The energy radiating off of them was contagious. This group of highschool teenagers, really just fought off a pack of...I donât even know what. They were really something.
âHey guys, I knowwww you all kicked ass out there, but honestly I feel like Iâm not getting enough credit for dealing with all this unmedicated.â I said, completely freezing the conversations between the friends.
When they all burst out laughing, I knew these were friends I would like to keep, even if it meant dealing with the supernatural.
Lydia interrupted the outburst of laughs, âI donât know if thatâs true. I think Stiles is like a drug to you...why else would you have listened to us when we told you all of these things. ANYONE else would have written us off as delusional and ran away.â
This resulted in another mynical laughing session from the group and a blush to creep up Stiles and my cheeks. I was definitely in for it with these people I called my friends. And I was even more in for it with falling for Stiles. Boy, was this going to be one interesting life from now on.
#teen wolf x reader#teen wolf#stiles x reader#stiles stilinski x reader#stiles stilinski#teen wolf fanfic#teen wolf imagine#stiles x y/n#stiles stilinksi x reader
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So uh, would the end of runs count as an escalation of the abuse? Like Ik it's a last resort to stop Zagreus from leaving, but it also shows that he has no qualms with hurting Zag to get what he wants.
I definitely had not yet gotten to the end of a run when you sent this ask, nonny, and I was all set to scold you gently for spoilery stuff, but you were actually trying very hard to be nonspecific and this only pinged as a spoiler because I was already pretty sure how things were going to end anyway. So good job trying to be vague! I have now fought through to what is fairly clearly the final boss, and my answer is, categorically, ABSOLUTELY FUCKING YES.
(We are going to just keep putting Hades posts under cuts until they stop being about a parent abusing their kid! I realize this helps nobody on mobile and I am tagging for that purpose but hey, at least I might save someone's dash! I swear I will talk about other things in this game eventually! Until then, once again, CW abuse.)
Itâs not even about the violence, entirely. Like, yes, itâs about the violence--but Hades has shown all along that he has no qualms with hurting Zag (with killing him, over and over again) to get what he wants. Even if we take most of the enemies weâre facing as general nuisances of the zones we travel through, and not Hadesâ doing (and oh, if Hades wanted he could give Zagreus a safe escort through those zones in an instant), there are obstacles put in our way that are obviously and deliberately commanded by Hades to stop us at all costs. The level bosses, for one. (Also, remember the Hades voiceovers we get at every âsurvive for 45 secondsâ level?) He wants us to stop. He wants us to die, and yes weâll come back, but heâs still setting his employees to hurt us, so like, thatâs very much a thing to begin with.
The fact that heâs willing to take up arms against us and kill us himself probably feels like a big escalation to Hades personally. What really gets me is the dialogue. âI have always kept my temper, unlike you.â Wildly revisionist history, placing all of the blame for whatâs about to happen on Zagreus the victim for âmaking me do thisâ. The absolute disgust and disdain, when he finally gets us. âI have slain titans, boy.â  Heâs spent a lot of time throwing scathing remarks in our general direction, wanting us to bow under them, being blandly sarcastic and self-satisfied and smug, but he's never sounded like that.
Because, before now, he thought we couldnât do what we set out to do. He thought our suffering as we tried was its own punishment, and he enjoyed watching that punishment. He did not watch us fail with the affectionate resignation of a parent watching a child learn a harsh lesson. He watched us and gloated.Â
The thing that infuriates him now is not that weâre trying to do the thing we literally said we were trying to do ninety-eight runs ago at the start of the game. He could have stopped us from trying at any time. Hypnos to put us to sleep. Literal chains. Had he bothered for five seconds to actually step into the courtyard beyond our room, we could be disarmed and helpless. But itâs fun for him to watch us fail, and it proves that heâs right about us and how pathetic we are, and it reassures him that heâs right about the universe, that nobody can escape from Hades, that we are stupid and foolish and weak. What drives him to such absolute fury now is not that weâre trying, but the fact that weâre about to succeed. Weâre going to prove him wrong, prove that he was wrong about how he handled this situation in the first place, and thatâs flatly unacceptable.Â
There is no interpretation of this fight that does not include Hades wanting us to feel inferior, subjugated, crushed. Itâs not about keeping us in his realm. Itâs about breaking us, for daring to try to escape in the first place.
No matter why heâs doing it. And letâs get into that for a sec, the âitâs a last resort to stop Zagreus from leavingâ bit. At this point in the game, I donât know why Hades is so desperate to stop Zag from leaving. I havenât found out yet! Donât tell me! Donât hint about it! But from where Iâm standing, I can see, hmm, five main possibilities?
He is trying to protect Zagreus from something on the surface.
He is trying to protect the world from Zagreus, whose arrival out of hell will destroy something/everything in some magic way that Hades knows about but keeps secret.
Zagreus is actually a prisoner, meant to be chained in the Underworld for crimes he doesnât remember committing, Tisiphone is right, and we were meant to be as condemned as Sisyphus all along but Hades has been generous.
Hades made it law a long time ago that nobody and nothing escapes the Underworld, and Zagreus cannot be allowed to break that law because nobody breaks Hadesâ laws, period. He could have chosen to make an exception but he did not, so all of this is flagrantly illegal and needs to be punished.
Hades himself is trapped in the Underworld, or at least feels that way, and is projecting and taking it out on his kid.
My best guess is that itâs some combination of a few of those (like, I am fairly sure that #5 is absolutely true no matter what other reasons are in place as well). Thing is? While Iâm curious about this mystery for the storyâs sake, I also really fundamentally do not care.
Any one of these things could better have been accomplished by telling Zagreus literally anything. Even if thereâs magic and prophecy bullshit binding Hades away from explaining the whole truth, it is not hard to hint at vague disaster befalling innocent bystanders âbecause of cosmic reasons I am beholden to keep secretâ. Hell, Hadesâ own life becomes easier if he restrains himself just the tiniest bit in an effort to make Zagreus not want to leave in the first place. Hades clearly does not want this to be happening! He doesnât seem to regret any of his actions, but he sure is annoyed and infuriated that he has to go through the trouble of doing them. Literally one explanation could solve so much.
If the reason is to protect Zagreus? Then it is one thousand times bullshit, and I think the game knows that. (The game has to know that.) When your kid is so miserable that theyâd rather flee straight into traffic to escape you, then your kid is not safe. Nothing that could hurt him on the surface--finding out that Persephone doesnât love him and never did and in fact wants him dead and tortured for eternity--is any worse than what heâs facing down here. He already knows one parent feels that way. At least out of the Underworld he has the option to find some relatives who donât.
And yet this situation doesnât ping the âstupid plot that could never happen because it entirely rests on unrealistically shitty communicationâ sensors. Because it absolutely, categorically makes sense for the Hades weâve come to know to refuse to explain himself. Whether heâs got good reasons or bad ones, HIS WORD IS LAW, and how dare anybody ask him to justify or clarify it, ever.
I am very very sure that Hades has lots of reasons: reasons for being furious, and bitter, and for making rules about his son never leaving the Underworld, and for being so desperate to enforce those rules, and for all of it. Some of them may even be good. What makes him an abuser, what those reasons do not and cannot justify, is the verbal and physical violence he uses against the people in his care to cope with those problems.
#asked and answered#cw abuse#LIKE VERY CW ABUSE#hades game#hades spoilers#C plays stuff#I swear to GOD at some point I will talk about other stuff with this game#it does such interesting things with Greek mythology!#it is SO COOL how they use the metastructure of a roguelike#as an ENHANCEMENT of the story they want to tell#so that game dynamics and story elements are one and the same#there is so much to say#but#we are back here again#because apparently this is just where my brain lives rn#it's REALLY COMPELLING ok#Anonymous
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Can I ask about 2 and 8 for the wip tag game?
I've already talked about 8 (search #tag game in my tags and you'll find it).
But omg thank you for asking about 2!!
2. Like a Bat Out of Hell, Indiana
Oh man, oh man. This. This right here? This is my baby. My precious. The one I wrote so self indulgently that even if no one else likes it, I LIKE IT. And I'm completely okay with that.
El and Hopper fail at closing the gate at the end of s2, Billy appears at the Byers' house just in time and so begins a mad dash across the country, trying to outrun the end of the fucking world.
Tw: death (no one we care about though)
Excerpt:
The sound of a car roaring into the driveway has Steve's heart crashing up into his throat and they all turn to watch as headlights dance across the living room walls, sharp and blinding, like a goddamn beacon of hope.
And Steve doesn't have time to think about why the deep rumbling of the engine sounds so familiar.
He moves the kids now or they die.
"Get to the car, now!" Steve screams, just as the window at the end of the hall explodes inward.
Max gets to the door first and tears out of the house, sprinting toward the high beam lights with the boys hot on her heels.
"Billy!" She screams and goddamnit she can't mean--
She reaches the car, yanks the passenger side door open and pushes the front seat forward, shoving Dustin, Mike and Lucas into the back before diving in herself, righting the front seat in a practised move just in time for Steve to jump in after her.
And yep. There he is.
Hargrove's expression would be hilarious if they weren't seconds away from being overrun by a horde of carnivorous monster dogs.
"What the fuck do you losers think you're doing?!" Billy roars, eyes bugging slightly when he recognises Steve.
"Harrington?!"
Steve grabs him by the collar and screams into his face: "Just fucking drive!"Â
A loud crash has them both snapping their heads to the side just in time to watch as a hundred Demodogs or more come rushing out from behind the Byers' house, heading straight for them.
Without another word, Billy yanks the car into reverse and accelerates before hitting the breaks. Steve's stomach swoops as their momentum lets the wheels slide over the gravel to land perfectly on the road.
He grabs Billy's arm, yanks on it like it might shake some urgency into him.
"Hargrove, go!"
"Seatbelts! Get the seatbelts" Max yells at the others.
That's what she's worried about? Steve thinks, even as he reaches over his shoulder to strap himself in.
Then Billy puts the car into gear and guns it forward and they go from 0 to 70 mph in ten seconds flat, zooming down old, twisting back roads and Steve honestly can't believe that Hargrove's insane, wannabe NASCAR driving is gonna be what saves their asses tonight.
"What the hell are you doing all the way out here with my sister, huh?" Billy yells, taking his eyes off the road to look over at him and Steve might seriously have a fucking heart attack.
"Eyes on the road!" He exclaims, foot searching the footwell for a break pedal that isn't there, "For real, man? You want to do this now?!"
"Or you can get out and fucking walk, amigo," Billy snarls, swerving around another Demodog leaping for the hood of his car, "What the hell is up with these dogs?"
"Billy, stop it! Can you jus-- look out!" Max shrieks, her arm shooting between them to point straight ahead and the kids all begin yelling as the flower-in-bloom-faced ugly fuck grows larger in the windscreen at an alarming speed.
Smooth as butter, Billy avoids the gaping creature in their path, not taking his foot off the accelerator for even a second. Steve's heart beats a drum solo against his adam's apple. His fingers feel fused to the edges of the seat, holding on for dear life.
"Jesus Christ, what the fuck was that?" Billy turns to look behind him and Steve clenches his teeth so hard his jaw hurts, barely restraining himself from yanking Billy around to face forward again.
"Hargrove, I swear to God--"
"Oh god, look."
Steve turns his head the slightest amount to see Lucas pointing out of the window at the treeline to their right.
Demodogs.
Lots of them.
So many slimy, greyish bodies that the forest floor has all but disappeared and transformed into a churning sea of dark, slick oil.
More worryingly, they're all running in the same direction as the Camaro.
Fuck.
"What theâŚ" Billy falters when he looks out of the window at the treeline, then seems to shake it off, placing his undivided attention back on the road for once.
He speeds up to pass a whole group of the beasts trying to cross to the other side, narrowly misses being cut off entirely by the mass of Demodog bodies. Steve releases a hand from the seat only to clutch at the grab handle on the door. He closes his eyes, swears he can feel his stomach fall out of his ass when the wheels on his side of the car lift into the air for half a beat. Â
"Shit, we're gonna die!" Dustin wails, voice wobbly as Billy jerks the wheel again to avoid a creature charging straight for them. If the kids weren't already packed in like sardines they'd be sliding around back there, seatbelt or no. "We're definitely gonna die! This psycho is gonna kill us before the monsters do!"
Billy scowls into the rear-view mirror and grits out "Hey kid, you're welcome to get out and walk."
"You literally tried to run us off the road a week ago--"
"Not the time, Dustin!" Max snaps and shushes him.
"We need to get to the gate!" Mike blurts out, leaning forward to speak directly at Steve. Demanding. "We need to help El!"
Steve doesn't even have the faintest idea of how to begin doing any of that.
"Dude, we can't just go back there, are you crazy--" Lucas pulls him back and they continue to argue in harsh whispers.
"If you losers don't shut the fuck up, I'll crash this goddamn car just so I can take you all with me." Billy barks, knuckles white on the wheel.
"Oh my god, see! What did I tell you?" Dustin exclaims, "He's dangerous, Steve!"
Yeah, well, he's all that we've got, Steve doesnât say. "Shut up, Dustin."
They turn into the first proper residential street and Billy misses a tree by an inch as he tries to avoid colliding with five demodogs hunched over something on the road.
Oh god, was that a body?
"Harrington, where the fuck am I going?"
Steve closes his eyes, overwhelmed and completely out of his depth. They might have been the B team, but there hadn't actually been a plan B--
"Fuck, fuck! I don't know--"
"Billy," Max pleads, voice shaky with terror, silencing them all, "My momâŚ"Â
Billy sighs explosively before turning down a side street, barely slowing down.
"Shit."
*****
It's not just Max's mom, but Dustin's mom, too. Lucas's family. Mike's family.Â
They reach Old Cherry Road first and Billy barely allows the car to come to a full stop, Demodogs further down the street are taking notice of them already, stalking forward, mouths blooming excitedly. Steve eyes them warily until a garbled oh fuck from the back seat draws his attention to the other side of the street and--
It's bad.
The porch light sets the stage for a grizzly scene at the Hargrove residence. A woman lies directly beneath it, like the opening shot to a fucked up play, her head of red hair spilling over the top step.
She's very obviously dead. Steve can see where she must have tripped on the welcome rug -- awkwardly stiff and upturned between her feet -- and he can only hope she got knocked out in the fall and didn't feel a thing that came after. There isn't much left between her head and her knees except for a dark patch of gøre.
The headless body of a man lies slumped against a truck parked in the driveway, one arm stuck through the open car door, half torn off within his jacket. Blood still running down the concrete incline, pooling in the roadside gutter.
"Oh, you Bastard," Billy spits, barely a whisper.
The longer Steve stares, the more horrifying the scene becomes.
He doesn't want Max to see this. Or Billy.
Max doesn't make a sound.
Billy slams his fist against the steering wheel a couple of times, then peels away from the curb before the Demodogs can get too close.
*****
Dustin's house is dark. There's no car in the driveway.
"I told her Mews had been seen in Loch Nora. She must still be out looking..." Dustin trails off quietly. Shellshocked.
It's almost midnight. Steve doubts she's still out looking for a cat. And if she is...
"I wanted to keep her out of the way."
No one says anything.
They drive.
*****
The Sinclair house is dark, too, no lights on except for the motion sensor activated ones over the empty carport.
Billy doesn't bother slowing down. The area is absolutely swarming with creatures already.
"It's so late. Where..." Lucas falters, scanning the houses they pass, like he made a mistake and his home will appear any minute now. "Where did they go?"
"I'm sure they're okay, man," Steve tries, but it feels flat, false, "If they're in a car they could make it out. Your mom too, Dustin."
Billy grimaces, but says nothing.
"What?" Steve demands.
"I was just here looking for Max. They were home."Â
He keeps a laser focus on the road now, on avoiding the monsters spilling out onto their path, growling when he's forced to change down a gear before aggressively working his way up in speed once more, jaw clenched tight.
"You probably caught them on their way out." Steve insists.
Billy looks doubtful, but he nods anyway. Neither of them enough of an asshole to take a kid's hopes away like that.
They move on.
*****
"Let me out," Mike says, quietly. Trembling. Hands pushing against the back of Steve's seat like he'll be able to bend it out of the way through sheer force of will.
No one moves.
The front door to the Wheeler home is open, door splintered where the deadbolt held, but the wood didn't. The car is parked in the carport. All the lights are on.Â
Karen Wheeler's corpse lies forgotten and half devoured on the front lawn.
In the driveway, a tiny yellow sock lies next to bloody drag marks disappearing into the grass--
Oh god...
"Let me out."Â
Steve's lips move, but he can't seem to draw breath enough to produce sound..
Billy seems to shake himself out of a daze, takes a deep breath beside him. "Nah, kid."
And Mike just snaps.Â
"Fuck you! Fuck you!" He screams, punching and kicking the seat in front of him.
Steve leans forward out of the seat and puts his head in his hands.Â
"Let me out! LET ME OUT!" Mike shrieks, begs.
"No." Billy says again, evenly.
Mike's voice breaks on a wordless scream.
Steve wants to do his own bit of kicking and screaming, but someone needs to keep their fucking head in the game or they're all going to end up dead.
By some twisted turn of fate that someone is turning out to be Billy fucking Hargrove.
Hysterically, he remembers hearing about Billy abandoning Carla Green to walk home alone from the quarry after she'd scratched the Camaro's dashboard with her fake nails by accident.
Mike kicks the back of the seat again. Billy says nothing.
All the kids are crying, now.
Mike's screams eventually taper off into babbling sobs and Dustin does his best to comfort him through his own half-choked cries. Lucas is whispering to a sobbing Max, his own breaths hitching and heaving uncontrollably, on the edge of breaking.
Steve's eyes sting, hidden behind his hands.
He lifts his head up and glances over at Billy, still tracking the side of the road, the edge of the trees. He looks so normal that it almost throws Steve for a loop. He wants to grab Billy by the collar again. Shake him. Scream: what part of this aren't you getting?
"The fuck is going on?" Billy hisses, almost to himself and oh, right.
"Later," Steve promises, hoarsely, digs the heels of his hands into his eyes hard enough to see stars.
"You know what they are?"
"Yeah." Steve says after a great deal of swallowing past the lump in his throat.
If Hargrove's voice betrays even a hint of emotion Steve knows he's gonna fucking lose it. Luckily, the guy keeps his shit together so Steve can keep a lid on his.
"You know what kills them?" Billy continues.
"Heat," Dustin says, voice thick, "And, like, bullets."
Billy nods, "Alright, how warm are we talking?"
"They don't like warm weather or daylight, but I don't think it kills them. Weakens them, maybe. Sends them underground."
"Fire will." Steve says, pulling at his hair until it hurts, dragging himself out of foggy despair and into the present where he's needed. He accidentally runs his gaze past Karen's body and tries not to dry-heave.
Mike is still crying behind him and god fuck, they should get out of here. The kid shouldn't be seeing this.
"Where do we go?" Max whispers, like she read his mind. She sounds as lost as Steve feels.
Billy revs the engine and turns to Steve, "Any requests?"
Steve thinks about the huge empty house waiting for him, a gaping nightmare at the edge of the woods. He balks at the thought.
Where the fuck do we go?
"Just get us out of Hawkins."
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Hi! The anon here to answer your question from your tags. I think, my favourite thing about Aisha is despite her added later in the show, she spends a lot of energy and effort to become friends with other girls. She bonded with them one by one which I think it's nice thing. During my childhood I related to her because of this. I'm very introverted person but seeing her breaking her shell makes me do better in my personal life. đ
YES!! That's one of my absolute favorite things about Aisha and i think it's something that's so underappreciated about her!
Something that really stands out to me about how Aisha bonded with the Winx (and even the Specialists) is that each one was unique to the relationship! The way she bonded with Stella isn't the same as the way she bonded with Musa. And that's something that we didn't get to see a lot with the first five Winx because they all met around the same time and became friends together. With Aisha being a newcomer into an already established group of friends, it would've been so easy for her to withdraw or not get as close to some of them, but instead she bonded with all of them!!!
Like obviously she bonds with Musa over their shared interest in music and dance. They also relate to each other in a lot of ways with the whole Never Having A Solid Friend and having trouble making friends thing. Musa is one of the first people that recognizes Aisha's feelings and makes a move to comfort her and let her know she's not alone. It's literally no wonder the two of them are so close!
Then with Stella (and occasionally Bloom), Aisha is able to bond over both of them being princesses. Stella understands all of Aisha's feelings about royalty and her troubles with the throne (like constantly being watched over or having to act a certain way). We already know that Aisha didn't have a lot of friends besides Anne, plus with everything she knows (multiple languages etc) she would have spent a lot of time studying. And while Stella can partially bond with Bloom over being princesses, Bloom didn't grow up in that lifestyle and doesn't feel the same way about everything. Stella and Aisha's friendship is so important to me because despite how different they are, they were able to become as close as the others through shared experiences and inherently understanding things about each other the others would never get.
THEN!! Aisha's bonding with Bloom literally makes my head explode because sure, they were nice to each other in S2 and they made an effort to become friends, but there was nothing really there to spark that interaction besides being around each other for the mission. BUT THEN, s3 comes and Valtor's being a little prick (affectionate) in Andros and Aisha is naturally freaking out and worried about her family and people. And Bloom, bless her heart, realizes that Aisha is once again trying to do everything on her own and says, "hey listen. we love you and we're not letting you do this alone. you can't get rid of us let us help. also i kind of understand what you're going through and i'm not gonna let this happen as long as i live." LIKE??? she literally just met Aisha a year ago and she's already ready to die for her. wow...
The way Aisha bonds with Flora honestly makes me a little teary because it reveals so much about her. She literally breaks into some guy's room just for this girl she just met, and only because she genuinely wants to be friends with them. Aisha literally gives so much of herself and is so ready to do anything just for her friends... I'm in love with her and the people who call her boring make me want to scream.
Aisha's bonding with Tecna is definitely an underdeveloped segment. The writers were more focused on exploring her relationship with some of the other Winx so we really didn't get a lot from them at first. BUT THEN!!!! You can see throughout their first (well second) meeting that Tecna is already flexing her Natural Smarts and Aisha is like Oooooh.. she's cool đ. It's so funny because their bonding is literally just them impressing each other. Like, Tecna will say something techy and Aisha is in the background like.. Hmm Yes Very Interesting. Then Aisha will say something smart or do something cool and Tecna is also in the background going.. HMMM YES VERY INTERESTING. They just kind of naturally fall into a routine and by the time S3 comes around Tecna is literally okay with sacrificing herself to save Aisha's planet like.. who's doing it like them.
Not Even Gonna Mention How Aisha's bonding with the specialists is literally just her being mildly annoyed at them and then occasionally being impressed when they actually do something well. And how the flipside is just her being herself and the guys going WOW She's Amazing I Love Her
And like yeah anon, you mentioned being an introvert and seeing her makes you do better in your own life and literally,,, SAME 𼺠Aisha helped me so much when I was younger! And honestly she still helps today! It's so inspirational seeing this young girl going from virtually no friends at all to a strong group of close friends all because they put in the effort to genuinely get close. And like I said in the beginning, it would've been so easy for Aisha to just.. not get along with them, especially with the varying personalities already going on. And she just,, didn't,,, she took the time and effort to get close to these people all because she genuinely liked them and wanted to stick around them.... and they did the same thing because cmon man It's Aisha... i just.. love them... all... so much.....
#well now im crying :')#god.. i love her...... so much..... you guys dont understand.........#winx club#winx aisha#answered#anonymous#winx meta#yeah this is going in my meta tag because i love her thats it#mine.metas
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