#however. the idea of him Wanting a kid with jazz (outside of that au‚ when they don't have amy) makes me so goddamn mushy sometimes

[heartbeetz]

Ummmmmm things are happening in my brain again........

[abowlofsourcream]

💫⏳ The Switch-A-Loop AU Guide ⏳💫

In this Au, Everyone Loops except Siffrin! This Au will focuses more on the party’s dynamics outside of just Sif. They try their best to figure out what is going on with the help of the mysterious Loop. They will find out more about the curse, the king, and most surprising their lovable rouge! Whether they want to or not…

Have fun!

Special Memories Here!

v The Characters v

- Mirabelle, The Chosen Heroine: Chosen by the Head Housemaiden, She first believes that the loops were the work of The Change God. A silly idea if you knew what she knew but a pleasant idea nonetheless! Besides, this way, she may be actually able to prove herself! This blessing would somehow give her the change she needed! At least… That’s what she thought… So why are they still here? What more does she need to prove? Maybe, the Head Housemaiden would know what happened to the world… Oh, if only there is a way to ask Siffrin what she said to him?

- Isabeau, The Beloved Warrior: You know it’s funny, he always thought that defeating the king would be more impactful. Like in those books you read as a kid! The hero goes on this incredible journey, growing stronger, falling in love, all that jazz! But boy, these Loops took the wind out of his sails! Like, he barely try’s to confess to Sif anymore (not that he feels any less about them). However, now knowing that beating the king wouldn’t stop the loops, the next best thing is to try other ways! Now he doesn’t like to brag, but he’s a pretty smart guy. Siffrin has something to do with what’s happening, as much as he doesn’t want to admit it. Maybe, there is a way to help them help the others! It just might work!

- Odlie, The Wary Scholar: Well, this turns out to be quite more than she signed up for. Not to say that she entirely regrets meeting any of them, they are quite the enjoyable lot to be around… However, it seems these Loops are taking a toll for the lot of them. Fortunately, she is ready to find out what exactly is going on. Luckily, she has taken the time of taking notes, oh she loves her notes! Although, there is a part of the puzzle that at every angle doesn’t quite fit. Siffrin. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, they are in the middle of all of this Somehow… The fact that they don’t remember the loops, the way the king talks to them, even when he talks to the Housemaiden. The other’s try tell Odlie that it’s probably nothing, that Siffrin is in just as lost as the rest of them. But she just can’t let this go. She will find out why this is happening to her family, whether Siffrin is guilty or not…

- Bonnie, The Pure Hearted: Now, they may not understand what is happening and why all the adults are scared. But that is okay! The party snack leader is here to keep everyone safe, especially Frin. Frin can’t remember like the rest of them, so Bonnie has to make extra sure that he’s okay. Making sure he avoids all the tears, not to hit their hip against that counter, not to eat the pineapple and all that stuff! After all, it’s the least they can do. After what they did to… Anyway, they already somehow got Frin to let them hug him and sometimes he even call them “Bon Bon”! So, the other’s say that Firn and the king might be from that country that everyone forgot or something. Maybe, if you can get the King and Frin to talk… Maybe the King will help them! Like, What’s the worst that can happen! :)

- Loop, The Starstuck Guide: It’s Loop! The incredibly helpful and informative guide to this party! The only one that seems to know all about the loops. The party is unsure about what Loops wants out of this, and all the advice they give is weird/confusing! Also, they are kind of mean? Like, they try to comfort the party the best they can. However, when it comes to Siffrin… They don’t say anything out front about Sif but they do say things about him. Like pointing out all of his deaths or mistakes, lightly insulting him and making fun about how forgetful he is. It’s not great! Like who do they think they are. They just don’t know Siffrin like the rest of the party do… However, there is something familiar about this stranger.

- Siffrin, The DAMNED Traveler: ………………….. It’s all their fault………… just you wait……

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Easier When Unknown

Summary: Danny could have imagined his life would be interesting after everyone learned his secret, but he didn't think it would be this different.

Author's Note: A phic phight fanfiction! Here are the two prompts:

AU where no one knew Danny was Phantom until PP (or some alternate big reveal of the author's choice). Sam and Tucker are sure that a famous hero like Danny Phantom is too cool to be their friend again, especially since they haven't talked since before freshman year of high school. Danny just wants to be part of the trio again and has no idea how to ask.

Danny finds out that Sam's been being bullied at school and has been hiding it from him and Tucker out of embarrassment.

...

Danny’s life definitely didn’t get easier after his identity was revealed, but it didn’t get that much harder, which was good.  Right?

Or, well, that was a little bit of an oversimplification.  His life definitely got harder in a lot of ways.  People stared at  him wherever he went.  Suddenly all of the popular kids at school wanted to be best friends with him, like he couldn’t see through that change of pace from a mile away.  There were news stations constantly vying for the first interview with the half-ghost kid who defeated the Ghost King.

But his parents stopped hunting him.  And they were going to try to work things out.  And Jazz revealed that she’d actually known for a while now, and that made her more ready to adapt to everything, and she didn’t treat him like anything had changed.

And all of that kind of evened it out, at the end of the day.  Even if he wasn’t exactly sure he was ready to go from town’s enemy to world’s hero.

Because that was another part of this: word of Amity Park, ghosts in general, and what he’d done had been spreading like wildfire since he’d put Pariah Dark back in his coffin.  Suddenly everyone was talking about him, and everyone knew him, and, as stated with the aforementioned journalists, everyone wanted to talk to him.  He woke up every day to see news trucks that were local and ones that were very much not right outside his house.  He’d flown intangibly to school every day for the past month.

Ancients, all this fame needed to die down soon.  He wasn’t sure how much more of it he could take.

He was often so caught up in everything changing all at once, however, that he didn’t have much of a chance to think about things he might want to happen.  Which was why he was a little caught off guard that morning.  He was running from the daily mob of screaming girls who wanted his autograph (which was never something he thought he’d get sick of), and after getting at least a little bit of a lead on them, he turned intangible and dove through the door to the janitor’s closet, then turned back to normal and rested his hands on his knees, panting slightly to catch his breath.

“Uh,” came a very familiar female voice, and Danny’s head shot up.  He found standing on the other side of the closet the one part of his life that hadn’t changed.

And for a long, long moment, he and Sam and Tucker just stared at each other.

Danny’s feelings about Sam and Tucker had never been more mixed.  They really were the one aspect of his life that stayed the same post identity-reveal-to-the-entire-world, and he couldn’t decide whether to thank them for the consistency or be pissed at them for the audacity.

Because he hadn’t talked to Sam and Tucker since the beginning of Freshman year.

And then his secret was revealed to the entire world.

And he still hadn’t talked to Sam and Tucker since the beginning of Freshman year.

“Uh,” Danny said finally, because they couldn’t just all keep staring at each other.  “Hi.”

“Hey,” Tucker said.  Sam nodded in acknowledgement.

Really, guys.  Work with him a little bit, please?

“Are you hiding from people too?” Danny asked, pushing himself up using his knees.

“Yeah,” Sam said.

“I didn’t think you’d be hiding from anyone anymore,” Tucker said, and Danny didn’t miss the tinge of bitterness in his voice.

“Um,” Danny said.  He didn’t seem to have any more words for Sam and Tucker than he had a year and a half ago.

“Danny!” came from outside the closet, and Danny whirled around instinctually.  “Get back here!  What makes you think you can run from me?”

“Hey you mind if I hang out here for a bit cool thanks,” Danny said, moving across the closet until he was right across from Sam and Tucker.  A second later, the door handle started jiggling, and Danny turned intangible, even though he could feel Sam and Tucker’s stares.

The door swung open and Paulina poked her head in.

“Oh, it’s just you two,” she said, disappointment obvious in her voice.  A second later, she perked up.  “Hey, you haven’t seen Danny, have you?”

“No,” Sam said, crossing her arms.  “Would you back off?  We’re trying to hide in a closet here.”

Paulina laughed.  “Sure, okay.  Have fun, losers.”  She slammed the door after herself.

Danny dropped the intangibility as soon as she was gone with a sigh of relief.  “Thanks,” he said to Sam and Tucker.

“Don’t mention it,” Sam grumbled, and leaned back against the shelf behind her.  “I’m surprised you didn’t want to see her, though.”

“Honestly, yeah,” Tucker agreed, giving him a weird look.  “Never thought I’d see the day you’d turn down Paulina.”

“It’s not that,” Danny said.  “I mean she… she’s not…”

The warning bell rang, and all three of them looked towards the door, where they could hear it outside.  For a second afterwards, none of them moved.

Sam did first, pushing herself off the shelf.  “Bye,” she said, starting towards the door.  Tucker followed her closely.

Danny tried not to make his deflation obvious.  “Yeah, okay,” he muttered.  He turned intangible again, and slipped through the floor, rather than try and go past them.

It was only when he actually made it to his homeroom that he realized he still had no idea why Sam and Tucker were in that closet.

…

“Hey, Fenturd— I mean Fenton!”

Danny heaved an internal sigh and looked up from his tray of food to find Dash and Kwan walking up to his table.

“Are these seats taken?” Dash asked with a grin, gesturing at the as-of-yet empty table around him.  He’d gotten to lunch early in order to try and hang on to one.

“Yeah,” Danny said to Dash, leaning over to rest his chin on his hand in what was intended to be a representation of how little he wanted them here.  “I’m holding it for all of the ghosts that are going to show up during lunch and blast you across the room.”

“Ha, you’re a riot Fenton!” Dash said, completely ignoring Danny’s tone and face and sliding into the seat next to him.  Danny cringed and didn’t bother to hide it, sliding as far away from Dash as he could.  Unfortunately, Dash just slid right down after him, which resulted in Danny nearly being pushed off the bench and Dash not noticing.

Kwan followed his lead and took the seat across from Danny, meaning Danny was forced to look in boredom to the side to avoid both of their gazes.  He waited a couple extra seconds, but eventually it became clear that neither of them were going to move.  So, Danny sighed, resigned himself to his life, and picked up one of his terrible school-lunch chicken nuggets.

“So, we were both thinking that maybe you could come watch one of our practices!” Dash called, slinging an arm around Danny’s shoulder.  “The football team’s, I mean.”

“Why would I do that?” Danny asked, making his shoulder go intangible just long enough for Dash’s arm to fall through.

“Well I mean, it would be neat to have you there,” Dash said, glancing across the table at Kwan.  “Right Kwan?”

“Totally,” Kwan agreed with a grin of his own.  “And I mean, you’re pretty good with athletic stuff.  You know, when you’re a cool ghost fighting superhero and not a weak dweeb.  Maybe you could come as Phantom, you know, show us some tricks!”

“Gee, that sounds great,” Danny deadpanned.  “So am I just supposed to ignore the insults in there, or…?”

“Hey,” came Paulina’s voice, and Danny turned around to see her walking up behind them all.  “Can’t you two leave him alone?  It’s clear he doesn’t want to be bothered by you.”

Danny blinked in surprise.  He really hadn’t expected Paulina to pick up on that.  Maybe she actually—

“He’d clearly rather be sitting with me!” Paulina said, reaching down and pulling Danny up by his arm.

“Okay, that’s it!”  Danny went intangible again and slipped out of Paulina’s grasp, then grabbed his lunch and walked out of the room, straight through the doors without bothering to open them.

He made his way out to the front steps of the school and sat down, and managed to get through at least a couple bites before he remembered the reason eating outside was also a bad idea.  The reminder came in the form of a reporter and a camera man leaping out from what he thought was a normal van sitting across the street.

“Mr Fenton!” called one of them as he ran up towards the steps.  “Or would you prefer Mr Phantom?”

“I’d prefer solitude,” Danny snapped, leaning back and away from them both.

“Oh absolutely!  Just a couple of quick questions first of course, you wouldn’t mind.”

The door slammed open behind them, and Danny prepared himself for Dash or Paulina again when, to his surprise, Mr Lancer stepped down the steps and stopped right in front of him.

“You’re on school property,” he said, crossing his arms.  “You have two minutes to get back in your van and drive away or I am calling the police.”

“Sir, can I ask, how long have you known that one of your students is dead?” the reporter asked, shoving a mic in Lancer’s face.

Lancer raised an eyebrow and pulled out his phone, then started dialing 911.  Thankfully, the reporters turned and ran back across the street before he could finish.

Lancer turned back around as soon as they were gone.  “Are you alright?” he asked, casting a concerned look down at Danny.

“Fine,” Danny muttered, picking up his tray and climbing to his feet.  “You know.  Great.”

Lancer looked at him for another second, then said, “Mr Fenton, come and eat your lunch in my classroom.”

“What?  Why?”

“You can sit out of view from my door,” Lancer said.  “It’ll give you a break from the crowds.”

Danny felt a knot in his chest loosen.  “Really?”

Lancer gave him a sympathetic frown.  “I can’t imagine it’s an easy thing to deal with all the time,” he said.  He opened the door again and gestured for Danny to go first, so he did.

And for the first time in a while, he ate his lunch in silence.

…

He wasn’t expecting to see Sam and Tucker again that day.  Most of the time his time at school was spent avoiding every single person he possibly could.  The morning incident in the janitor’s closet had been a once in a blue moon event.

But, as fate would have it, there was a ghost attack during the last period, and after going and taking care of it (just the Box Ghost showing up as an irritation), he landed behind the school to find Sam and Tucker leaning against the wall and talking.

And while he’d originally come back here to try and avoid all of the cheers he’d get going right back into class, he was sort of regretting that decision now.

Sam and Tucker were clearly deep in conversation, but they noticed when he landed right in front of them, and then they all got to do a lovely repeat of that morning’s staring at each other.

“Hiding again?” Tucker asked eventually.

Danny nodded.  “You too?”

Sam nodded.

Danny gave them a curious look.  “From what?”

“Danny!”

Danny groaned audibly this time, as Star ran around the side of the building and straight for him.

“That was so cool the way you just flew off like that!” she called.  “Not a second thought to how you might be putting yourself in danger!”

“Yeah, thanks,” Danny said, already starting to fly away.  “Make my excuses in class, will you?  Got to get this really dangerous ghost back to the portal right away and send him through to the ghost zone.  Great thanks bye!”

He flew off maybe a little bit too quickly for the given situation, but he couldn’t stand another second there, and school was basically over anyway.  He made it home pretty quickly, and thankfully wasn’t stopped by any news outlets on the way, though that was likely because he made the whole trip while intangible.

But while he made it inside without any fuss, as soon as he flew down to the lab he was greeted with his parents working on what looked like a weapon of some kind.

He winced.  He was never quite able to stop the touch of fear that came with his parents working on a ghost weapon.  After a second, though, he floated down to the ground anyway and changed back from his ghost form.

Both his parents startled and looked over at him.

“Danny,” his mom said.  “You’re back early.”

“Yeah uh, ghost fight in last period,” Danny muttered, heading over towards the portal and attaching the thermos to it.  “School was already basically over, so I just came home.”  He hit the button on the side of the portal and sent the Box Ghost flying into the portal, crying out dramatically all the way.

“Well that’s nice,” Mom said, the tension in her voice obvious.

“Yeah, uh, anyway I have homework,” Danny said, starting for the steps.  He had a feeling flying up through the ceiling wouldn’t be a great idea right now.

“Will we see you for dinner, Danno?” Dad asked.  “We were hoping to all eat together tonight.”

Danny tightened his grip on the railing of the stairs.  “Okay.”

He considered asking what they’d be having, but given the tension in the room he really didn’t think he could spend much more time in the lab.

So instead, he just said “See you later,” and headed upstairs.

It’s not that his parents had reacted badly to the Phantom news.  They’d done the important stuff, they’d given him a huge apology and stopped actively hunting him.  But none of them seemed to really know where they stood with each other anymore.  Danny didn’t logically think they were going to hurt him anymore, but it was difficult to get rid of that fear response that for the longest time, it made sense to have.

But at the same time, he could tell it made them feel guilty to see him be scared of them.  Jazz said it wasn’t his fault, and she was probably right.  But he still hated it.

He started first for his bedroom, and made it part of the way through the living room when the front door opened and Jazz sprinted in, slamming the door shut on nearly a dozen reporters.  Danny could still hear their voice through the door after it shut.  Some were asking how it felt to be the brother of a hero, some were asking how long she’d known and how she’d found out, and some were asking how it felt to know her brother was dead.

Jazz heaved out a breath, though all of the reporters were still easily heard through the windows.  Then she looked up and met eyes with Danny.

“Oh hey,” she said, clearly still exhausted.  “How was school?”

Danny didn’t respond, instead gazing out the gap in the curtains to the people shoving cameras in it.

“Sorry,” he said to Jazz.

“Oh, don’t you dare,” Jazz said.  “I know you hate them as much as I do.”

Danny sighed and looked down.  “Yeah.”

“Are you doing okay?” Jazz asked hesitantly.  “I’m sure it’s… a lot.”

Danny snorted.  “Understatement.”

Jazz smiled a little.  “Yeah.”

Danny turned to face her more directly, chewing on his lip.  He’d avoided the topic with her so far, mostly because too much was going on, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t been desperately curious.  “Can I…” he said hesitantly.  “Can I be like one of those awful reporters and ask you how you found out?”

Jazz rolled her eyes.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  You’re not a reporter, you’re my brother.  And I know if I tell you it’s not going to end up on the 5:00 news.”

She paused, and turned and glanced out the windows for a moment.  “You want to go upstairs, though?”

“Yes,” Danny said immediately.

So they both ended up in Jazz’s room, sitting next to each other on her bed, with the curtains drawn tight in case the helicopters came back.

“I found out during the Spectra thing,” Jazz started.  “I spotted you transforming.”

Danny nodded, thinking about that.  “Okay,” he said quietly.  “And… why didn’t you say anything?”

“I wanted to wait until you wanted to tell me,” Jazz said.  She sighed, and glanced towards the windows.  “I guess that didn’t really work out.”

“No,” Danny muttered.  “But… I appreciate the sentiment.”

Jazz turned to look at him, concerned.  “Are you doing okay?  I mean, obviously not, just… you know.”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” Danny said, rolling his eyes.  “I always hoped that everyone would learn my secret in the aftermath of an exhausting battle when I was definitely not prepared for them to learn, and then I’d be hounded by literally everyone who suddenly feels entitled to my attention and my time.  Dream come true, this is.”

“I’m really sorry it turned out this way,” Jazz said quietly.

Danny sighed.  “Me too.”

“Is there anything I could do to be helpful?” Jazz asked.

“Do you know if anyone’s figured out time travel yet?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Dammit.”

There was a moment of silence, and Jazz said, “I mean it.”

Danny shook his head.  “There’s nothing you could do that you aren’t already doing,” he said.  “You’re not looking at me different.  Like your entire worldview’s been flipped on its head.  Which, I mean I guess for a lot of people it has, but… still.  It’s nice that you’re not.”

Jazz was quiet for a moment, and then she reached over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  And despite how totally lame it was to hug his sister, Danny did the same back.

“Still, if you want me to stand in between you and anyone, just let me know,” Jazz said.

“I wouldn’t ask you do that,” Danny said, pulling back, though he was smiling a little.  “I can just fly away from the news vans, and go intangible to get away from the helicopters.  And Lancer already gave me permission to hide in his office during school hours if I ever need to.”

“Good,” Jazz said with a nod.  She paused for a second, and Danny got the feeling she was about to ask something delicate.  He was proven right when a second later she said, “And what about Sam and Tucker?”

“What about them?” Danny said, glaring away.  “We’ve said about ten words to each other since everything happened.  And about half of them are ���um.’”

…Okay, so maybe he’s a little more bitter than he realized.  He sighed.

“I can’t expect everything to suddenly change,” he said, turning back to Jazz.  “Our falling out had nothing to do with Phantom.”

Or, it technically did.  Their falling out had been because he constantly ditched them and left mid-way through hangouts.  Because he was Phantom, and had to go fight whatever ghost had shown up.  But they didn’t know that at the time.  And it had been over a year since they’d talked.  They had probably moved on.

“You should still talk to them,” Jazz said.  “And I mean really talk to them.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t see much of an opportunity for that in between getting interrupted every ten seconds, either by classmates or reporters,” Danny said.  He paused, and turned to look at Jazz as a realization struck him.  “Hey, how are you doing with all that, by the way?  It doesn’t look like the reporters are leaving you alone.”

“They’re definitely not,” Jazz said.  “But I can handle myself.  Besides, they tend to leave me alone as soon as they see you.”

Danny smiled a bit.  “Glad I can take that off your shoulders for you.”

“Oh yeah, if anything you owe me,” Jazz said with a smile.  “After everything I did for you?”

“I think I’ve saved your life three times now.”

“Do my dishes for a month and we’re even.”

Danny snorted.  “Sure, you got it.”  He took a deep breath, feeling lighter than he had when he got home.

“Hey, thanks, Jazz,” he said, looking over at her.  “You’re surprisingly easy to talk to.”

“Anytime,” Jazz said, smiling warmly at him.  “I mean it.”

…

The next day didn’t start much better, with flying invisibly to school and hiding in various places until first period starts, but Danny found himself in a better mood despite it.  Talking with Jazz had helped, and knowing he’d have a quiet place to eat lunch helped too.

He still didn’t love being swarmed in the halls on his way to his first period after the warning bell rang, though.  Maybe he could use his well-established reputation for being late for everything and just hide until the halls were empty between classes.

…Or would that not work anymore because everyone knew the reason?

Well, he’d give it a shot anyway.

First period was uneventful, thankfully, aside from everyone spending the period staring at him while he was trying to focus, which was nothing new.  He could tell it was irritating both him and the teacher, however, because eventually he set his chalk down from writing math equations on the board.

“Anyone who doesn’t stop staring at Mr Fenton loses an entire letter grade on the next test,” he snapped.  “This is school, this is not your free time.  Mr Fenton, thank you for at least trying to pay attention.”

“Anytime,” Danny deadpanned, because he wasn’t about to turn down a compliment from a teacher, and he really was trying.

Apparently the threat of losing a letter grade was only enough to sway a couple students, though, likely the ones who hadn’t entirely given up on their grades like he had.

(Although maybe the administration would go easier on him now…?)

Either way, he managed to get at least some of the notes down by the end of the class, and going up to the teacher to ask if there was anything else he absolutely needed to have written down seemed to put him on his better side.  Being a teacher’s favorite was also something he wasn’t used to.

And as a second bonus, staying behind and finishing the notes resulted in a late pass, meaning he could wait until everyone had filed out of the hallway.

Or at least, he thought that’s what he was doing.

Instead, as he turned a corner towards his next period, he stumbled across Dash shoving someone inside a locker.  And instead of adding him to the bunch like he used to, when Dash spotting him he brightened.

“Fenton!  You want to help me stuff these losers in here?”

“Not really,” Danny said, starting over towards them to help out whoever he was bullying.  “You know, if you’re really trying to get on my good side, you might try—” he stopped as he reached the locker.

Well, apparently Dash really didn’t care about getting on his good side, because staring back out at him were Sam and Tucker.

“Uh, hey Danny,” Tucker said, waving at him from inside the locker.

Danny turned back to Dash, raising an eyebrow in what hopefully came across as “are you fucking kidding me.”

“Aw, come on, you’re not trying to say you still care about these losers,” Dash said, like the very idea was ridiculous.  “You can hang out with anyone you want now!  By the way, you’re still coming to football practice later, right?”

“Probably not,” Danny snapped.  He held a hand out to Tucker, who grabbed it.  Danny turned him intangible and pulled Tucker out until he could stand on the floor.

Tucker looked a little off balance after he let go, but Sam still grabbed his hand when he offered the same to her.

“Okay,” Tucker said as Danny set Sam down.  “A little warning next time maybe?”

“Sorry,” Danny said.  He glared back over at Dash.  “Beat it.”

“Aw come on Fenton, you know I didn’t mean anything by it, I just—”

“Beat it or I tell everyone about that time you wet your pants after I saved your life from the Box Ghost.”

Dash went pale, and then quickly left.

“Wait,” Sam said.  “Really?”

Danny snorted.  “Oh yeah,” he said, turning back to face them.  “I could tell you stories about what Dash is like when he’s in danger.”  He paused, looking at them both in concern.  “Are you guys okay?”

Sam glared away, crossing her arms.  “Fine,” she muttered, a note in her voice that Danny couldn’t read.

“Thanks for the help,” Tucker said.  And then they both turned around, clearly about to leave.

“Wait!” Danny yelled after them.  “I— please.”

They both turned hesitantly back around.

“We’re late for class,” Sam said.

“I’ll tell them you got caught up in a ghost attack,” Danny said.  “Just, please can we talk?  Just once, and then we can be done.  Okay?”

They both exchanged a glance, and seemed to say something to each other with their eyes that Danny couldn’t read anymore.

Finally, they turned back to face him, and they both nodded.

“Where?” Tucker asked.

Well, eventually the bell was going to ring, and then the hall would flood with people who wouldn’t leave them alone.  And if they went outside, they’d be met with a similar problem, just with the news crews instead of students.  And if they were going to pretend a ghost attack happened, they should probably go somewhere to make it at least a little more believable.

“How do you feel about the roof?” Danny asked.

“Uh,” Tucker said.  “Have you been there?”

Danny nodded.  “It’s… quiet.  Sometimes.”

They were both quiet for another moment, then Sam nodded.  “Okay.”

Danny started over to them, glanced at Tucker and said, “This is your warning,” and then grabbed them both by the arms, transformed, and flew them all up through the ceiling and onto the roof.

Tucker stumbled a little as Danny let go of him.  “Okay,” he said.  “Needed a different kind of warning there.”

Danny smiled a little bit.  “Be glad you’ve never fallen through the floor in your sleep.”

“That’s not really something I’ve ever thought would happen to me,” Tucker said.

“Tell me about it.”

There’s a couple seconds of silence, and Tucker and Sam exchanged another glance.

Finally, Sam turned back to him and crossed her arms.  “So,” she said.  “You’re Phantom.”

Danny sighed.  “Yeah.”

“Can I ask…” Tucker started.  “I mean what— like how did you become— it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” he added quickly, holding up his hands.  “You don’t have to.”

Danny looked at him for a second.  It was definitely the same question he was sick of getting from other classmates and the reporters.  But Tucker at least had given him an out.  And if this really was going to be the last time they talked, he wanted them to know everything.

“You remember the portal in my parent’s lab?” he asked.  “How I told you it just started working one day?”

Tucker nodded.

“That’s… not actually true.  I turned it on.  From… from inside.”

Tucker’s eyes widened.  “Dude.”

Danny gave a short laugh.  “Yeah.”

“What happened with the ghost fighting?” Sam asked.  “I mean did you get pulled into that, or…?”

“What?  No,” Danny said.  “I mean, kind of, sure, but someone had to do it.  I wasn’t going to let people get hurt.”

“But— you got hurt,” Sam said, gesturing at him.  “All the time.  We talked about it around you.  Back when— when we were still talking.”

Danny shrugged.  “I can take it.  Normal humans can’t.”

The phrasing seemed to throw them off, which was fair, but he didn’t take it back.  He wasn’t a normal human anymore.

“Still,” Sam said finally.  “You should have told us.  We could have helped you.”

Danny’s shoulders slumped.  “I know,” he muttered.  “I— I really didn’t want you to find out like this.”

“On the news?” Tucker asked.  “Along with everyone else?  Like we weren’t any different from them?”

Danny winced.  “Yeah.”

A pause.

“If I knew everyone was going to find out, I would have told you first,” he added.  “For what it’s worth.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sam asked.

“It just… it felt so big,” Danny said, shaking his head.  “And I didn’t know how you’d react.  And… I’m sorry.”

Neither of them said anything for a minute.  Danny wasn’t sure what exactly they were waiting for, but eventually he had to help fill the silence.

“How long has Dash been bothering you?” he asked.

Both of them immediately looked away.

“Oh, come on.  You can’t make this conversation entirely about me.”

“We can’t?” Sam asked raising an eyebrow.

“No.  That’s not fair to me or you.”

Sam glared away again.

“Pretty much since everyone found out,” Tucker said a second later.  “I guess he figured he couldn’t mess with you anymore so he moved on to easier targets.”

Danny clenched his fists.  “Asshole.  I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Tucker said.

“No, I just mean,” Danny gestured vaguely with his hands, not sure what he meant.  “God, I’m so sick of him.  Of all of them.”

Tucker gave him a look.  “You really don’t like all the praise?”

Danny shrugged.  “I dunno.  I guess it beats being hunted.”

Tucker and Sam were both silent for a minute.  Danny looked at them for a second and saw slight horror on their faces.

Oh.  Maybe they hadn’t quite realized that part yet.

“You could have told me about Dash, you know,” Danny said, trying to stop them from thinking too much about that.  “I would have helped.”

“We… kind of didn’t think you’d care,” Tucker said hesitantly.

Danny blinked.  “What?” he asked.

“I mean, you are kind of a big deal now,” Sam said, gesturing at him.

Danny crossed his arms.  “I’m sorry?  Did you miss the part where I didn’t want to be?”

“No, I just mean—” Sam started.

“Yeah, I should go hang out with Dash, huh?  Or start dating Paulina?  Wouldn’t that be just great?”

Sam blinked at him.  “Would it not?”

“Of course not,” Danny snapped.  “None of them actually give a shit about me.   They all just think it’ll get them something if they’re best friends with Phantom.  They still don’t like Danny.   I don’t want to be friends with people who only ever see one side of me.  That—” he looked away.  “That already didn’t work.”

“Oh,” Sam said quietly.  “Sorry.”

Danny sighed.  “It’s okay,” he muttered.

There was another long stretch of silence.

“That wasn’t the only reason, you know,” Sam said.

Danny looked up at her.  “What wasn’t?”

“That we didn’t tell you.  Or— I guess I can’t speak for Tucker.  But it was just kind of embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?”

“I meant it when I said I noticed you were getting hurt all the time,” Sam said, looking down at the ground.  “You’re fighting actual ghosts, and I’m supposed to come up to you and say ‘hey Dash is being mean to me?’”

Danny stared at her.  “Sam,” he said.  “Don’t be ridiculous.  I would have put the ghosts on hold.”

“I don’t want to call you for backup every time I need help,” Sam snapped.  “You’re not like— my bodyguard.  Even if we had spoken in the last year.”

“Well, I appreciate the sentiment,” Danny said, because he did.  “But you— I hate it when you guys are hurt.”

“We hate it when you’re hurt too,” Tucker said, looking pointedly at him.  “It’s why we didn’t exactly love it when you pushed away while you were so obviously dealing with something.”

Danny winced.  “I’m sorry,” he said again.  “I should have told you.”

“Yeah, you should have,” Tucker said.  And then all of them stood there, none of them saying anything.

Tucker broke the silence again, this time with a sigh.  “But for what it’s worth?” he said.  “Thanks for saving everyone all the time.  And for recently, with that weird ghost king guy.”

Danny nodded.  “Anytime,” he said.  He didn’t have to tell them the part about how he thought he was going to die.  Again.

“And, you know, for what it’s worth?” he said instead.  “Thanks for trying.  While I was being an idiot.  Sorry I didn’t let you help me.”

“How about this,” Tucker said.  “We’ll be there to help you as Danny and Phantom if you kick Dash across the football field once or twice.”

Danny blinked, confused.  “Huh?”

“That sound good to you, Sam?” Tucker asked, glancing at her.

“Yeah, I wanna see that,” Sam said with a nod.  “And I’d like to learn how to kick some ghost butt.”  She smirked over at Danny.  “Maybe I’ll start with yours.”

“Wait, I thought,” Danny said, looking back and forth between them both.  “I thought we said we’d be done after this.”

“Are you kidding?  You think you’re getting rid of us again?” Sam asked.  “Now that we finally know what’s been going on with you?”

“Sorry, you’re stuck with us this time,” Tucker said, crossing his arms with a grin.  “Like we’re gonna let your total loser half go unacknowledged.  You can’t be Phantom all the time.  Sometimes you have to get teased for how much you like NASA.”

“Or get your butt kicked in Doomed,” Sam chimed in.  She raised an eyebrow.  “Sound good?”

Danny didn’t try to hide his smile at all, and instead he closed the space between the three of them and wrapped his arms around Sam and Tucker in a hug.

“That sounds great,” he said, meaning every word.

[brandwhorestarscream]

Reincarnation AU.

I saw the thing about Hot Rod having TFA Roddy as a sickly child and this just popped into my mind: Hot Rod going to mama Prowl to ask how to take care of a sickly baby, since baby Prowl/Lil P was sick a few times (thanks Jazz that one time and maybe sometimes Bumblebee) and Hot Rod has zero clue how to take care of this child, especially with how ill they are.

So just... Prowl and Hot Rod friendship ig. Bonding over cute babies and having to keep an optic on them because sickly babies then watching.

Hot Rod is a mess of nerves cuz his baby's vents constantly have a horrible wheeze and a rattle to them, he's always shaking and breaks out in a fever at least 3 times a decacycle. He has to sanitize everything and anyone that wants to hold the baby has to have a thorough decontamination bath and their vents flushed. The poor sparkling has trouble recharging and always seems to have aches and pains somewhere, discomfort radiating in his little EM field and all he can do is cry. Roddy's at his wits end and has no idea what to do: honestly, he's really not ready to be a parent. He's barely even an adult himself.

He goes to Prowl because he's always taking Lil Pea to the medics, surely he'll have some tips for managing the more stressful at-home parts of having such a sick kid, right?

They both kinda get hit with a surprising realization at the same time--Lil Pea isn’t actually all that sickly. Prowl's overprotective and was rightfully worried cuz bitty's so thin, but in reality? He's pretty healthy. He's nowhere near as frail as Roddy's sparkling, and the much younger mech breaks out in tears when he realizes. He's just so stressed, he's sleep deprived and exhausted and terrified and he has no idea what he's doing. He had so much hope riding on this, that Prowl would be able to help him, but seeing him with his happy healthy baby just... feels like the end of the world. In response to his carrier's distress, baby Rod starts crying too and then they're both crying and it's a whole mess.

Hot Rod's apologizing, desperately trying to wipe his tears and stop blubbering and bounce the baby in one arm but he's so strung out and exhausted and he needs help. Prowl's a first time parent too, but he's considerably older: he doesn't hesitate to scoop the little one out of Hot Rod's arms and tell him to sit. Breathe, try to calm down, it's gonna be ok. His office doesn't have a couch but there's an extra chair: Hot Rod kinda just collapses in it and buries his face in his servos, trying to get ahold of himself. Prowl steps out into the hall, pulling out a bottle and starts carefully bouncing the poor baby and rubbing his back, shushing him. It takes awhile, but eventually they both stop. Hot Rod is still shaking and he looks miserable, but still reaches to take his sparkling back.

"I..." his voice is shattered. Defeated. Broken. "I don't know what to do."

They talk for a really, really long time. Realistically, he's already doing everything he can for his son. He's following all the instructions from the medics, he's off work for the foreseeable future because the baby needs round the clock care and monitoring. Prowl... doesn't really have any experience with having such a frail child. No one does. Hot Rod whispers, tearful and exhausted, that... he's even considered giving him up for adoption. He loves him endlessly, but he doesn't feel like he's taking good enough care of him. Doesn't think he can take good enough care of him. He doesn't want to give him up, but... he'd rather his baby be happy and healthy but away from him than be sickly and unhappy but with him. He hangs his helm lower than Prowl has ever seen, forlornly apologizing and coldly calling himself a failure.

This is honestly outside of Prowl's scope of expertise--says he won't try to talk Hot Rod out of it if that's really what he wants, but will try to help however he can. Resources are extremely limited with the war, but he pulls as many strings as he possibly can and gets the poor mech a series of meetings set up, in person and virtual alike, to explore more options and to help him find his footing. Parenting is hard, especially if your child has subpar health. He thinks Hot Rod just needs some guidance and support: the stress has made him want to give up but it's not the only possible path forward. Some old parenting books and advice columns are really all they have right now, but it's better than nothing. They can get his work stuff figured out, set up a schedule so he can actually rest while someone qualified minds the bitty, they can look into treatments and therapies to help strengthen his little body, if only a little bit.

"It's going to be alright, Hot Rod... you're both going to he alright."

[inthememetime]

Fic Masterlist- I'll reblog every time I add a chapter or add a new WIP.

For all of these, feel free to interact with me about them! I may add/remove/change things based on your comments. Except maybe H(a)unted.

H(a)unted - AO3 link here. Summary: My most angsty/messed up fic ever! Are the Fentons Haunted? Or are the halfas Hunted?

Danny is shocked when he, his parents, and Jazz are taken to court by Vlad Masters in a custody battle. Ridiculous! Right?

Not as much as Danny would like to think. As the trial goes on, Danny discovers he and his sister aren't who or what they thought, that their parents are not as they seem, and Vlad, his enemy, may be their only shot at survival.

This story is told primarily through dialogue and epistolary storytelling as an experiment. Throughout the story, please expect body horror, illegal and nonconsensual experimentation on human beings, murder, and kidnapping. Mind the tags, please.

Darcy Lewis' Adventures Dating Dracula- AO3 link here. Summary: Follow Darcy Lewis and Vlad Masters as they start dating- and deal with everything from ghostly serial killers, the Things In Crybaby Creek, Politics, the Addams Family, and international spyassasins.

The Fantabulous Emancipation of Danny Phantom- AO3 link here. Summary: The Fenton family journeys to Gotham to get Jazz settled in her dorm at Gotham U. Things go a little sideways when Danny lets something ghostly slip, and his parents try to shoot the 'evil ghost' out of him.

Danny can't go home. But his sister's 18 and willing to rent a campus apartment, Gotham has a layer of ectoplasm so thick it's almost as good as Amity Park, and he's already made a new friend!

Harley was just going to get snacks for Bud & Lou, her hyenas. She did not mean to befriend a tourist, but the kid's almost as crazy as she is!

Join Danny and Harley in a journey of friendship, crime for good reasons, and kicking Vlad and the Joker's ass.

Jack, the DILF of Amity Park- AO3 link here. Summary: AU where Vlad doesn't lust over Maddie. No, he's obsessed with Jack, and since college (minus a 20 year gap), they've fought over the man's affections like two cats.

However, as Maddie would kill him in 2 seconds, tge shenanigans are more sitcom-esque competition, conolete with Danny begging for brain bleach multiple times, and Vlad realizing Jack isn't the only Fenton he's in love with.

Jack, of course, is completely oblivious to the fact his visiting very friendly people causes Vlad and Maddie to stalk him amd talk for once. Or is he?

Danny Phantom in Showghost!- AO3 link here. Summary: Tucker Foley was having a perfectly normal day- until he runs into Narrator, a ghost who is possibly as powerful as Clockwork or Ghostwriter. The problem isn't Narrator- they just want their book back.

No, the problem is the GIW. And the possibility that the town of Amity Park was sucked into a mini-universe outside of time. And, to add more problems to Tucker's day, he seems to be the only one who realises what's going on.

"We are on a timeline, though," Narrator said cheerfully.

"What?! When were you gonna tell me that?!"

They scowled. "Those idiots in white broke my book. If we don't wake everyone up before we run out of pages, everyone dies here."

Not Broken, Just Bent- AO3 link here. Summary: The sequel to Vlad & The Accidental Family Acquisition and Darcy Lewis' Adventures Dating Dracula, NBJB is a Jazz-centric fic about growing up asexual, and the trials and tribulations of being asexual in a very sexual culture. On hiatus until DLADD is complete.

Pending fics (planned, but not written yet, or in draft stage) will be added in reblogs.

Questions about the fics, suggestions, or just have aome ideas? Hit that ask button or ask me in the comments!

[siren-virus]

LuckyBoy!AU question (btw, I like this au a lot and love how the dynamics change with everyone here, just saying), Now that we know how Ben operates as a vigilante with his stickers, transformation, sass, uses mana and runes, bickers with criminals and all that jazz; how would he do against the plumbers in general? Against the normal run of the mill plumber? And against a Magistrate if he ever encounters one? How is his relationship with the Plumbers actually? Considering he pranks them a lot apparently and they have some propaganda against him

Also, how does the public react to him? Would they know about his vigilante persona almost as if he was a celebrity of some kind? Would he be an almost unknown vigilante that only the most hardcore of fans, investigators and the like would know of? Would he be considered a cryptid even among the criminals and the common plumbers considering that apparently he's only ever seen by the criminals, Gwen 10, Kevin and Rook on ocassion?

Also also, What would he do with his life (outside the vigilante stuff) while knowing of all the alien stuff his family is always tangled with? Would he get a part-time job in something related to them, or would he act like Ken, trying his best to not be doing anything that relates to them at all?

Finally, I'm also not an american, so idk if they do casual jobs either XD

oh my, I'm glad you like it. If not for social situations being my kryptonite I'd chat your ears off about it. (curse my social awkwardness and my shitty english- is speach dyslexia a thing? cause I think I got that-)

Going up against the plumbers, ok so, we've seen how they function in Omniverse and that is... they don't function well. Maybe when it comes to small crimes, but big ones (like a Vilgax attack) they'll flunk out. The plumbers at their current state aren't equipped to deal with much, just because their stationing is still pretty new and their leadership- apart from Max's- is iffy.

So Ben would run circles around them and take great joy in it too. Most plumbers fear Ben- like I said, there's a lot of propaganda against him. Rather than being the vigilante hero that lurks the street at night, he's like a bad bedtime story to keep kids- or the plumbers in this case- on the "correct" side.

Some of the older veteran plumbers however, think differently of Ben- they don't see him as harmless- Ben will defend himself if he's shot at (and won't attack unprovoked) - But they do take some humour in his antics.

Magistrata are a little more difficult to deal with and less fun to mess with. These guys know their shit. They have some good tech too that works against mana/magic users. Ben has almost been captured by them several times. If he can, he avoids them like the plague. Because if they're around, things are more likely to get done.

I also wanna involve the plumbers kids - Alan, Manny, and Helen, maybe Cooper sometimes, but I like to think Cooper is more in the tech ward with the Galvins.- All of them still consider Ben to be the bad guy. However Alan is slowly being persuaded otherwise- they both have similar humour and Alan really wants to believe that Ben is like them. Wanting to do good for the planet. Manny and Helen, being almost like protective elder siblings, try their best to convince Alan otherwise. But they have seen Ben in action many times, so their perceptions are being warped bit by bit.

He's well known in the media- I mean, he's a human glow stick, so people are very well aware of his existence. Similar to the plumbers, the humans fear him- Will Harangue is responsible for that- The humans Ben has been involved with, however think otherwise, they see him as a hero, akin to Gwen. In most circumstances though, the people will rally together and get their pitch forks and torches. Ben is a witch and must be burned at the stake!

On the underside! The aliens see Ben as a hero, Ben mostly hangs in Undertown and keeps the people safe from actual villains... And Gwen.

Love the cryptid idea, so I wanna try for a running gag. Out of everyone, Cooper has never seen Ben. Anything he's heard has been from other plumbers. Even during times he goes out on missions, he's always MIA when Ben appears - the plumbers are a bit suspicious of that-

Outside of the vigilante life, Ben has a fair amount of involvement with aliens. He works at a cafe (cue coffee shop AU that I'm incredibly soft for ;;; ) this cafe in particular hosts both human and alien guests, one of the very few implemented on earth. Through this coffee shop Ben is able to get on good terms with a few plumbers who will indulge in their daily activities. (it's close by to the plumbers base and just on the outskirts of Undertown.)

Suprisingly the pay is good, but that's because this cafe is under plumber management and they care about their workers and pay a decent wage. -also because not many people want to work there because of the whole alien thing-

The cafe doesn't get in the way of his viglante life, (except maybe he comes to work super tired more often than not.) he takes the day shifts 3-4 days a week sometimes 5 or 6 if a coworker calls in sick. Does the vigilante thing at nighttime. It's when he can be the most bedazzling.

Woo, hopefully that answers your questions.

Also sorry for the long post, but you'll have to bare with it.

[littlelegoman]

Jay= Jazzmine

Kai= Kykora

Zane= Zala

Lloyd= Lorelei

Cole= Cassandra

Nya=  Neron

Pixal= Pandor

(I will be referring to seasons as arcs because for them it really is. This only developed up to season 5)

TW: Trauma mention

JAZZMINE

•Transgender (MTF)

•does those little shock things to people to fuck with them

•everyone hates it

•choice of clothing: various shades of blue

•"you know there are other colors right?" "Shut up I look fucking gorgeous"

•accessories are a necessity

•will shock people and things out of fear

•so surprises in the pool are very fatal and very avoided

•gaymer gurl

•bisexual with a preference for women

•CONSTANTLY worries if she isn't good enough

•will scream under pressure

•the jokester

•okay it's more dad jokes but they're so stupid that people laugh

•will say what is on her mind

•it usually doesn't go well but at least she's honest

•she has her plain brown hair with her freckles my gay is showing the more I write this

•she introduces herself with jazz hands

KYKORA

•Cis-Female

•usually goes by Ky rather than her full name

•she genuinely hates her name

•short temper

•surprisingly has good control of her powers

•this does mean that if she burns you or something it's usually on purpose

•She has a tattoo with her brother's name on her arm

•the ends of her hair are dyed in a fire ombre

•"shut up Jazzmine I will burn you"

•clothing: leather jacket with gold embroidered on it, red crop-tops and black jeans

•acts narcissistic but has really low self-esteem

•actually has a hard time remembering names so she uses nicknames or things she associates with that person

•flirt

•look I don't care what Ninjago says in the canon, this is my au now and I say she's a lesbian

ZALA

•Goes by she/her but other pronouns (he/they/it) are fine as they have no gender being a nindrioid and all (technically non-binary? I think)

•once she knew she was a robot/nindroid she made sure she was hooked up to a secure database with information

•still can't get over not being a real human

•at least he knows why she never fit in

•that gives peace

•she looks for more logical solutions and is challenged when having to think outside the box

•asexual

•' You have a typo, Lorelei! It's 'immediately' and not 'imedently!' 😊' 'stfu zala' '😕' 'okay I'm sorry ig' '🙂'

• respectful bitch a.k.a suck up and teacher's pet

•there was one time where she told someone to "Respectfully, fuck off and die in a hole."

•selfless

•"please think of yourself for once" "I'd much rather worry about you."

•clothing: pale icy tones, whites, and slivers

•her hair is technically not hair, it looks and feels like hair but it's an advanced technology to where it can change color.

•she has it blonde with a silver streak most of the time

•she is a wizard when it comes to older technology

LORELEI

•goes by Lei

•Cis-Female

•sort of forgives her father for leaving

• it's not her mom's fault she was bit by a snake and that triggered her evil bloodline

•very defensive about her feelings

•"hey you okay?" "What?! Of course, I'm fucking fine, what do you want?!"

•trauma

•when she was in her evil phase her plans were much more elaborate but because she was a kid she had to go for the budget version

•if she was still on her little villain thing still the world would be fucked

•pansexual

•jealous girl

•mostly with people who have a good childhood and parents

•had to grow up too fast

•her eyes are brown without her element but green with it

•her eyes also glow in the dark

•she has butter blonde hair but dyes it a very light strawberry blonde

•"Why are you dying your hair blonde?! it is blonde!"  "It's strawberry blonde there's a difference!"

•clothing: light green hoodies

•science nerd

•straight

CASSANDRA

•Cis Female

•lesbian

•musical nerd

•she wears a lot of everything

•she's trying to find herself

•amazing swimmer

•major PTSD when death is mentioned or ghosts

•also has a major fear of being forgotten

•has nightmares about it from time to time

•goes to Zala about it

•she has an afro

•hot wahmen

NERON

•"The name Neron is primarily a male name of Spanish origin that means Sea"

•his the only name that I made mean the element he has

•Cis-male

•he has longer hair, usually kept in a bun, however, his hair down has an ocean-like hombre

•he has a tattoo of his sisters name

•has trauma with lava

•actually has a relationship with Jazzmine that wasn't a whole 'wow looking good' thing

•usually communicates via text or notes 

•old habit from trauma

•he's fine really

•he isn't, I lied

•actually has a personality for the first fee arcs and isn't just the brother of someone

•yeah I'm throwing slander

•marine biology was like his middle school phase

•questioning

PANDOR

•his first name is a take on pandora

•his full name is Pandor P.I.X.A.L Borg

•same thing as Zala, he goes by he/him more often but any pronouns work as he has no fixed gender

•he has the same "hair" that Zala has, he keeps his a silver though

•smort

•he has no real equal other than Zala

•they are compatible

•asexual

•he is very loyal to his friends

•he has trauma from being hacked and controlled

•it is his biggest fear

•along with being afraid he will fail people

•he's stuck inside Zala's head at the current time

•he's a wizard when it comes to newer technology

•the preeminent fuck i can't spell the cursed realm monster scares the shit out of him and yes this is foreshadow

I'd like to thank @.genderbenduniverse for the idea!

[thewildwaffle]

Kidnapped Rival

So I’ve posted this Transformers au fic on Ao3 and have been writing it since Feb of last year ever since I saw an anonymous post on @zenxenophilia​‘s blog. I finally finished it, over a year and a half later.

You can read it here on Ao3, and I’ll also post the story here

Original post - submitted to Zenxenophilia on tumblr by anonymous: ***** ***** ***** Imagine a human on Optimus’ team. Optimus practically treats them like a sparkling, Ratchet is their grandpa and Bee and Arcee are like siblings. This human wants to fight in the war. For earth, for humans, for their family. Of course, Cybertron’s atmosphere is dangerous to humans making it difficult for the human to get involved. After begging and pleading to Optimus the human is put under extensive training with self defense and handling a weapon (thanks to Bee and Arcee). The human is outfitted with a mech suit disguised as a cybertronian. Even inside the mech the human has an armored space suit along with a blaster that can filter oxygen out of Cybertron's atmosphere just in case the mech were to break. It doesn’t take long for the human to climb the ranks(being the ‘child’ of Optimus helps a lot). The human uses a Cybertronian persona. Later they go out to the Cybertronian battlefields. This is where they meet Deadlock, Megatron’s maddog, the one responsible for so many deaths to the human’s friends. The Human quickly becomes Deadlocks rival, able to counter all his attacks and save Autobots from his clutches. After a while Deadlock develops a strange liking to the 'mech’, he seems to almost enjoy seeing them on the battlefield. One fateful day the Human and Deadlock run into each other on the battlefield, it’s just the two of them. Deadlock has trained a lot more after the first few encounters with the 'mech’ and the 'mech’ sadly couldn’t keep up, however, it didn’t stop them from doing a number on Deadlock. Deadlock is smart, he makes sure to damage the mech’s legs to most so they can’t run anywhere. The one thing that he enjoys about fighting the 'mech’ is that they don’t seem to feel pain. The mech can no longer stand up or move, it’s stuck. Deadlock oddly enough doesn’t kill them.

“You would make a great Decepticon”. … W-What? Was that an offer? Oh hell no! The Human would never join this monster after all he’s done to their friends! The Human gets out of their mech, much to Deadlocks surprise. What a lovely twist! The Human uses their blaster to keep damaging Deadlock, ducking for cover. Even out of their mech they were a threat to any Cybertronian, however, they weren’t as fast as one. Deadlock didn’t use his weapons, that would make it too easy, instead, he scoops the Human up ignoring the humans screams. He takes away their weapons and destroys their commlink. “Well well well. Who would have known? This explains a lot…” Deadlock forces the human to look up at him. His little obsession, his rival, was an organic… and a pretty cute one too!(Though he’ll never admit it) The Human struggles in his grip. “Now now. I don’t think you should do that” His grip tightens around the Human. 'It would be a shame if your armor were t’ break…’ the human stiffens, without the armor they would suffocate. “Heh.. I think I’m gonna keep you for a long while friend…” Deadlock keeps his rival on him at all times at the Decepticon base. No one is allowed to touch them but him. Most Decepticons see the Human as a living trophy to Deadlock, a pet, not knowing of Deadlock’s obsessive desires. Megatron is quite surprised by Deadlock's new pet. Megatron knew the mech that the human-piloted was Optimus’ favorite bot, not only would the Human be a good bargaining chip, but they probably know all the Autobots' little secrets. Megatron will let Deadlock do whatever he wants to do with the Human for now, after all, he earned it. Deadlock was happy with this. Meanwhile back at the Autobot base, Optimus is filled with grief. His precious human, his child, gone without a trace. He didn’t know if they were dead or not, Optimus sends out search parties for them, he regrets letting them in this war, they were too young. Ratchet is constantly checking for signals in his free time, for any sign that they were alive. Bumblebee goes quiet for a long time. He knows his sibling HAS to be alive! They have to be! They don’t die easily. He tries scout on more missions so he can find them. Arcee is filled with rage. That was her precious little sibling. Her anger is taken out on the battlefield. She questions any con she can for a sign of the human. She’s always training always, looking, always holding back her grief and the ideas that her sibling could be dead or tortured. No one has ever seen her like this. The human's disappearance is hard on everyone. That kid would constantly befriend and check up with everyone they saw, they were kind, helpful, and eager to learn. It’s dull without them at the base. They’re not there to tell Prowl to stop overworking himself. They aren’t there to help Wheeljack or Percy with their experiments. They aren’t there to jam out with Jazz or Blaster or to talk to and check up with everyone in the base. No one to listen to Ironhide's or Kup's stories. No one to complement Sunstreaker and play with Sideswipe. Everyone is heartbroken. This base isn’t a base without the kid running around. They can only hope that the human is still alive. The Decepticon base is another story. The human is filled with information about the Autobots, with the human on their side the war is in the bag. They have coordinates and information on practically every bot in the base and maybe… with a bit of mnemosurgey they could be an excellent Decepticon. The human is fine. They’re patient. They’re smart, they know how to play their cards, (Perceptor and Wheeljack taught them) they just have to play along with Deadlock and the cons for now. Hopefully, the Human can escape or pray that Optimus will find them. And hopefully, Deadlock has mercy on them.

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My adding to the story:

The room was filtered, much like the human’s armored spacesuit had been. The entire Decepticon base was, not that the human had spent much time outside their room. When they did leave the room, it was for “questioning.” And it was always accompanied by Deadlock. Usually being carried by Deadlock. Actually, always carried by Deadlock. He said it was because he didn't want his human to get lost or crushed under the peds of a careless con. Really, it was to feel their rival squirm in his tight grip. Megatron had been present for a few of the first interrogations, but other duties or battles made his presence less and less frequent, which was fine by the human. As far as they were concerned, there were more than enough Decepticons around as it was. Using techniques Wheeljack had taught them, they “gave up” the info the cons wanted, just not all of it. It was just enough to keep the Decepticons from getting suspicious, get them to believe that the information that they pulled from Deadlock’s new pet was indeed genuine, but not enough info, they hoped, to really cause too much damage to the Autobots. The human needed to find a way out of this nightmare before the Decepticons caught on to what they were doing. Or before they gave up info that could actually do damage to the Autobots. It was getting harder and harder to keep the vital info they held away from their more sadistic interrogators.

The human loses track of time since being captured. Deadlock had taken their armored space suit soon after bringing them here. “No need for it here, little friend.” His sinister smile always made the human uneasy, but he just laughed at their rival’s defiant expression, putting the suit away in his subspace and leaving for another mission, making sure to lock the door behind him. When the human had time alone in the room, they scoured every inch for some means of escape. The vents looked promising, but getting to them would be difficult, even if they scaled the height of the berth or the desk, they were too short to reach. They need a better plan.

Meanwhile, the searches Optimus organized finally turned up something. If it's a good something or not has yet to be decided. It was Bumblebee who found it- the mech suit the human had been piloting when they went missing. He brought it back to base and everyone nearly lost their minds! The human, their human, without their protective mech suit?! Their armor they wore underneath was not found though, did that mean they had it and were still alive? The mech was severely damaged, they must have tried to run on foot and been captured. But by whom? And were they still alive now? Hopefully Perceptor would be able to find out something from the damaged mech to get some clue to the human’s location.

For the human, however, thoughts of being rescued seemed to be little more than a hopeful wish. Deadlock did his best to make sure that any such wish seemed less and less likely. “They’ll never find you,” he tells them. “They've given up looking for you long ago.” Or “Even if they did find out you were still alive, what makes you think they'll want you after what you've done? It was your information that lead us to victory in the Cronus Plains. How many of them did we kill because of you?” Deadlock took great pleasure in seeing his rival’s reaction to this. He smiled, knowing he could break his once-mortal-enemy both mentally as well as physically. Lifting their chin with one sharp finger he cooed, “I told you before, you'd make a good Decepticon. It seems I was right.” He moves closer, a dangerous, hungry gleam flashed in his optics. As Deadlock took a step forward, the human took two steps back. Deadlock chuckled and used mass-displacement to shrink down to just taller than the human. The human dodges his reach and turns and runs towards the berth to hide. Such a tactic seemed childish, and was doomed to fail, but it was better than doing nothing, it was some show of resistance. Deadlock was a lot… “touchier”... when he was this size, simply because it was easier to be so when the risk of crushing the object of his obsession was so much lessened. He grabbed the human by the shoulders and pulled them closer to him. “You're tense,” he murmurs, running one servo down their back. “Let me put you more at ease, my pet.” While still holding them so they couldn't get away, Deadlock stroked and prodded, massaging knots in their back and expertly melted the struggling human in his grasp. The human felt both frustrated by how effectively they'd been incapacitated, and blissfully relaxed as the tension they'd been carrying fell away. With what mental capacities they had left, the human willed themselves to make sure they made no moans or hums that would betray their pleasure to the Decepticon. After few minutes, Deadlock’s servos paused. He turned the human around to face him, holding them close and tight to his chassis. “There now, better?” One servo traveled down the small of the human’s back. The human didn't respond. Oh they wished they could be anywhere but here! They thought of the Autobot base, of their friends, of the bots that had become their family. Could what Deadlock said earlier be true? Had they given up looking for them? Did they blame them for giving up information? They must. The human sure did. As much as they tried to stop it from happening, the human let out a sob. Just the one, but it was one too many.

“There, there, none of that now,” rumbled Deadlock, “What's there to cry about? I've kept you alive. I've taken care of you. I will make sure no one dares harm you. You're one of us now.” He paused, his red optics glowing brighter. “You're mine.” He leaned forward, crushing his lips into the human’s. So taken by surprise, the human tried yelling out, which only made Deadlock squeeze them tighter in his arms, his glossa filling their opened mouth. The human struggled against his grip, but it was quickly obvious that they weren't going anywhere. As Deadlock’s servos traveled across their body, an idea of a plan came into their mind. It was a dangerous idea. It was an incredibly stupid idea, but maybe it was stupid enough to work. Instead of fighting against him, the human pushed into the kiss. Slowly, carefully, they loosed one arm and reached around to Deadlock’s neck, stroking the sensitive cables. He shivered delightedly as his cooling fans kicked on. After another moment, the human slid their other hand slowly up his chassis to where they'd seen their space suit stored away before. Lights all across Deadlock's body flickered. He reached one arm out to the berth to try to lift them both up onto it.

It was quick, before Deadlock could process what happened, the human pulled themselves away from him, opened his subspace compartment, yanked their suit out, and with one steady movement they had learned from Arcee, wrenched his arm behind his back and pinned him face down into the ground. Hard into the ground. They hoped that would be enough to keep their captor stunned long enough to get a good head start. They jumped up and ran to the door. If they could make it to the hallway and find a hiding spot, they could get their suit on and sneak out of the Decepticon base. They'd be free! The door was not locked, but it was closed and very heavy. They had only managed to crack it open when Deadlock began picking himself up off of the floor. Well, there went their head start. The human gave the door one last shove with their shoulder and started squeezing through. They were just about out when the door completely opened, sending them tumbling to the floor. Deadlock, now returned to his full size, reached down, scooped them up, and tossed them back into the room, sending them rolling across the floor. The door shut again with a loud metallic thud, followed by a click indicating that it was now locked. “I must admit, you're very good.” Deadlock's voice was dangerously calm, he almost seemed amused. “I've always known you were, the first time I saw you on the battlefield, I found you to be exceptional. A challenge for me after so many boring victories. Where was that again- our first? It's been a while, hasn't it?” He picked up the human again, who groaned at the movement of their bruised body. “Was… it was just outside... Simfur,” the human gasped, still trying to catch their breath after having it knocked out of them by the throw. “I must say... your hand-to-hand combat... hasn't improved much since then. I don't even need my mech suit to take you.” Now was certainly not the best time to sass-mouth a psychopathic killer robot, but the human was beyond caring. Deadlock only chuckled and held them close, pinning them to him so they couldn't move. “That may be. I've found I've always done well enough with my weapons though.” He began stroking the human's back absent-mindedly as he sat down on the berth. “Perhaps with a bit of mnemosurgery, you'd be more willing to stick around and give me some pointers.” The human's voice was a bit muddled y Deadlock's hold, but they said something along the lines of “like hell I will.” Deadlock mused to himself about future days with his then-compliant human, smiling at all the implications that shadowplay could bring. “It will be interesting to see how well mnemosurgery works on an organic, but I'm sure it will do wonders.” With the adrenaline of their failed escape attempt fading, and warm living metal surrounding them, the human felt exhaustion creeping in. Before they completely slipped away, they thought of Optimus and for a moment, they were back at the base, surrounded by the Autobots. Would they ever train with Bumblebee and Arcee again? Would they ever help Sunstreaker feed Bob again? Ever listen to another story from Ironhide, only to be interrupted by Kupp who told them ’how it really happened?’ They hoped so. They hoped the Autobots still wanted them back. “I’m sorry” they muttered as sleep finally overtook them.

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Deadlock had been watching intently from the moment the mnemosurgeon entered the room. He was tense and anxious about what was going to happen, but inwardly giddy at the prospects a successful outcome could bring. Thinking back, it had been rather easy to convince Lord Megatron about going through with the procedure. Granted, Deadlock had kept all reasoning points to how it could help scrape out any remaining info the human had been resiliently holding back, further the Decepticon cause, and provide a severe blow to Optimus and his Autobots when they found out what had happened to their small, spunky, cute, soft… Deadlock shook his head ever so slightly. His mind was wandering again. It did that fairly often when he thought of his little rival. He watched as the mnemosurgeon inserted his needles to the base of their head. It was only two needles, and they couldn't be fully extended. As had been explained to him, mnemosurgeon was possible on organic life, but the process was different, and the results, varied. Instead of direct manipulation of memories as without on a cybertronian, organic life had to be done indirectly, usually through the twists and turns of emotions. Brains and processors, while shockingly similar, had their own operating systems, so to speak. The translation of mnemosurgery to an organic brain was difficult. It had been difficult to find someone capable of doing such a feat. Harder still, one willing to do it for him. Just in case the difficult and dangerous operation went awry, few wanted to run the risk of telling Deadlock they'd turned his little pet into a braindead bag of flesh. But he'd found one. A small lanky bot who went by the name Trepan. He seemed confident in his abilities and didn't even bat an optic when Deadlock added a bit more to his task. He was to not only seek out info, as he had told Megatron the purpose of this was, but he also wanted a few alterations. Nothing big, just a nudge, really. His little human, his little rival was still fighting him. They just needed a little mental persuasion to be sure that in the end, Deadlock won their little game.

It felt… weird. Were you floating? Were you sitting? Did it even matter? If this was weird, then what was normal? You couldn't think of the answer. Should that trouble you? You weren't sure. There was a voice that seemed to say it was fine. Well, it wasn't a voice so much as an idea. Basically, it said everything was alright, or more, the "voice" felt like everything was alright. Everything was according to plan. What plan? Was there a plan? Had you forgotten to do something for it? No, the voice that wasn't a voice came again, everything was fine, perfectly fine, just be calm. Oh, calm. That sounded nice. You hadn't really been calm for a long time. Not since before the battle with Deadlock, back when you were with the Autobots and, and… wait, what was the beginning of that thought? Calm. Oh yes, calm. You'd been calm for so long, you were the master at calm. How long had you been calm? Always. Oh, ok. That sounds nice, being calm is nice. Something seemed to nag in the back of your mind, something you were worried about, or should be worried about. What was it again? Is it about Deadlock?- the voice seemed to question sweetly. Uhhh, yes. Yes, it probably was. Why worry about him? He was perfectly fine. He can handle himself. No, not worried like that, it was more like… like… Why worry about him at all? Because, you thought. Because of what he's done. The battle- he took- The training- the voice corrected almost as instantaneously as you thought each word. He saved- The training where we fought. He saved me and took me back to base. I've been trying to get away. I have to get back, everyone's probably so worried. Oh, how did this line of thought start? Go back. Deadlock. He saved me during training and I've been trying to do something ever since. Do what? What was I doing? Uhhh… escape?- Leave, the word was replaced almost seamlessly again. Why leave? Deadlock would be so worried about you. You wouldn't want that. Oh, no, I guess not, right? Was that why I was worried about Deadlock earlier? Yeah, probably. He will be so worried when I'm gone. Then why go? He wants to take care of you, you need to be taken care of. Oh, yes. That was a good point. Cybertron wasn't exactly kind on humans. You needed help for sure. And if that help came from Deadlock, well then- But something still nagged in the back of your mind. Something? A couple of things? What were they? Did it matter? Did the somethings matter? What did matter? Deadlock. That's what mattered. And you mattered to him. In fact, you mattered so much to him that he was taking care of you. Oh, that's nice of him. Yes, very nice. You have nothing to be worried about with him around. It's easy to be calm around him. Yeah, it is. Very easy. Especially when he holds me...

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Red Alert had checked the readouts. Had double checked them. Triple checked them. He had to be sure before he told anyone else. There'd been a pattern with the past few battles with the Decepticons. A mis-step on their part here, late arrivals and backups, tactical errors that seemed out of place of their usual methods. Yes, the Decepticons had won several important victories lately, but there was something off. It was like someone was feeding them misinformation and half-truths. The timing was too much to be a coincidence. Good thing that Red Alert didn’t believe in coincidences. The human, their human- was alive. And they were being held captive and questioned by the Decepticons. It took a bit of investigating. Red Alert felt confident enough to bring his discovery to Prime. He had to be sure. At the same time, he knew he had to make sure he had to hurry. Who knew how much longer the human would last with the Deceptions! By the time Optimus returned to base later that day, Red Alert and more than half the team were there waiting. "What's all this? What's going on?" Red Alert without a moment of hesitation handed Prime the datapad. “Sir, we have reason to believe that we know where (name) is being kept.” *** The human woke up wrapped in Deadlock’s arms. He was still in recharge from the even sounds of his air intake. They looked drearily up at his face. It was rare to see him look so calm. As they slowly became fully awake, they pulled as much of the soft blankets they could reach more tightly around them. They couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong. They frowned. What a way to wake up! But what? Was it because of Deadlock’s latest mission assignments? He often had to leave to fight or to do tasks given to him by Megatron. They were usually very dangerous and the human would hold his arm tightly in worry when he would return and recount his day to them. Were they worried about Deadlock getting hurt, or worse yet, not coming back at all? Well, yes, of course. Especially with this latest mission. But was that really the reason behind this guttural feeling of dread. They were anxious, like they had to act and act now before it was too late! What were they supposed to do?! They tried getting up without disturbing Deadlock. Something was wrong, but what could it possibly be? The human's breathing started to become frantic. It felt stuffy in the room. They wished they could go outside. Or well, maybe not outside on Cybertron, that would be deadly without their suit. It felt like every cell of their body was craving the feel of unfiltered sunshine. Their lungs yearned for even a whiff of fresh air. Walking on soft grass? Yes please. Digging through rich, organic-filled soil? It was like part of their soul hungered desperately for it. They tried to remember the last time they’d felt any of that back on Earth. They had taken it for granted then, not realizing how much they’d miss it when they went to Cybertron to join the Autobots. They’d been too full of righteous anger then, wanting vengeance for their losses, hoping to help end the war sooner in any way they could. They didn’t realize how much they’d miss… Their heart froze in their chest. Autobots? When they’d left Earth, they’d gone to join the... Autobots? That couldn’t be right? That didn’t make sense! The more they thought about it, the more their memories started to make less and less sense. The Autobots were their enemy. Right? But then why were there memories of Optimus Prime giving them a tour of the Autobot base? Why had they gone on a joyride with Sideswipe? Hound had shown them some Cybertronian vegetation samples he had been preserving throughout the war. Arcee and Chromia had helped them translate their fighting moves to combat while in a battle suit. They nearly gasped in shock as feelings of guilt and grief flooded their brain. Why were they feeling this? Why did they miss them? Where were these memories coming from? Recoiling, they searched their mind. Deadlock had met them on Earth, had saved them from an Autobot attack? They frowned. That memory felt so colorless and hollow compared to the new ones they’d discovered, but they continued. They’d begged Deadlock to let them come with him to Cybertron. He’d trained them to fight. Shockwave built the battle suit which was destroyed. It was a close call, but they’d survived. Deadlock hadn’t let them leave the Decepticon Base since, too worried about their safety. That… that was there. In their mind. Images of memories were there, acting as evidence of their validity. But… the more they were examined, the more things started falling apart. Cracks started forming in the memories, like dried paint on a balloon when you inflate it, or puzzle pieces that don’t quite fit together. And like a mis-matched puzzle, the whole image was starting to make less and less sense the more they thought about it. Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. Despite the human’s efforts to remain still and calm, Deadlock started stirring. His optics came back online and their red light spilled down onto the smaller human. “You’re awake early today,” he commented in a deep, still somewhat sleepy voice. “How did you sleep?” "Fine," they muttered stiffly. Deadlock pulled them in tightly, his lips resting against the shell of their ear. "Mmmmmmhmmmmm. Something is troubling you," he paused as if waiting for a response. When none came, he turned the human around to face them. "What’s wrong? Tell me.” He paused again, but there was only silence. “How can I fix what’s troubling you if you don't tell me?” The human frowned, conflicted about what to say, or if they should say anything at all. They gave in as Deadlock’s grip began getting unbearably tight. “How long have I been here?” The grip became significantly more loose as Deadlock’s expression changed to a mix of surprise and confusion. “What was that?” “How… how long have I been here,” they ask again, their confidence waxing a bit stronger as they seemed to find their voice. “What have I done?” The human could feel Deadlock tense at the question for just an instant before he relaxed again and responded in a dangerously sweet tone, "What kind of question is that? Where is all this coming from?" The human had enough sense to know that telling the truth about these new and confusing memories would only make trouble. If they were false, then it would only upset Deadlock unnecessarily. If they were true... well, they weren’t sure what that would mean just yet, but it definitely wasn’t good. In the meantime, they had to think of something to say. Deadlock’s red eyes were burning into their own. Thinking on the spot, they came up with what they could and told a half-truth. “I had… a strange dream. I don’t know if it was a nightmare or not, it just… it was… strange.” “Strange? How so?” The human panicked a bit, but kept their cool. That’s what Wheeljack had taught them before right? Wait, right? Uh, well that was kind of the question and problem right now. They had to come up with something to say and quick, so they continued on with the half-truths. “I think I just miss Earth. I was dreaming about it, and then I was here with you on Cybertron, but I was also with the Autobots? But we weren’t fighting. And then Megatron was there and he was really happy about something and…” The human looked up at Deadlock with the most innocent puppy dog eyes they could muster, “I’m sorry, I know that all sounds silly. Dreams don’t always make sense though, especially when you try to explain them out lou-” Deadlock swore violently as he got up from the berth and returned to his full size. The human sat, dazed and confused as Deadlock stomped toward the door. Before he reached it, he turned back to the human. “You’re sure you were dreaming about the Autobots?” His voice was icy and sent shivers down the human’s spine. They silently nodded, still a bit in shock. With a low growl, Deadlock turned back to the door and stomped out, leaving the human locked and alone in the room. “Well,” they said aloud to themselves, “that was odd.” Odd, and terrifying. It didn’t seem to match their memories of Deadlock, or… no. No it did. Dual images of Deadlock existed. A soft, caring bot who loved them and let them stay with him while on Cybertron was mirrored by a vicious and cruel mech who had fought and captured them and now kept them here as a trophy and play-thing. But which one was real? Why were there conflicting memories in their head? The human pulled their legs in close to the rest of their body and took a deep breath in an attempt to clear their mind. They had to figure this out. They had to get to the bottom of this. What was the truth? ---- Deadlock stomped down the hall, sending lower-ranking cons scurrying out of his way as he passed. They knew better than to be in range of the mech when fury roiled in his EM field like that, it was not a safe place to be at all. He paid them no mind though. There was only one bot that needed to watch out for his wrath right now. They weren’t on base now, but as soon as Deadlock got his claws into Trepan, he was going to pay dearly. Then he was going to address and fix the spots he missed in his dear little rival’s memories, before this all got out of servo.

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The human had been sitting in silence for, well, they weren’t sure how long. In the hours of his absence, they used Deadlock’s absence to review their memories in peace. They paced until their legs were tired. They sat to think before they grew too restless and began pacing again. How could they remember being with the Autobots and leaving Earth with Deadlock at the same time? That was impossible. Something was wrong. What was real? What was fake? Why were there fake memories in their head? Their feelings up to this point, about the Decepticons, about… about Deadlock… were those even real? Their chest felt tight as they began hyperventilating. What had happened -really happened? Why were they like this?!? They were trying to fight back tears as they searched through confusing memories when the door opened. The human glanced up apprehensively. Deadlock? They weren’t sure they were ready to face him right now. Not like this. For better or for worse, it wasn’t Deadlock. It was… it was Frenzy. The Casseticon’s silhouette was harshly lit from behind. The human stared silently, frozen in place as Frenzy stepped to the berth and pulled them up and along behind him roughly. “Looks like Deadlock’s gone off on one of his little jaunts. Humph. Just ‘cuz he’s Megatron’s favorite, he can do whatever he wants, go wherever he wants,” he looked back at the human, “take whatever he wants.” “What are you doing?” The human’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “More than what I signed up for today, that’s what,” was the gruff reply they got. Frenzy was a little more than a foot taller than they were and it was easy for him to drag the human along out the door. The relative safety of the room now gone, the human’s heart rate spiked even further. They’d left the room before. Plenty of times. But almost always with Deadlock. And definitely always not in the middle of some mental breakdown or memory mishap, or whatever the heck was going on with them! Primal fear stabbed through their stomach while at the same time, flaking memories surfaced in her mind of Deadlock telling them they’d always be safe with the Decepticons. Frenzy seemed oblivious to the mental war raging in the organic creature in his servo. He was much too focused grumbling about Deadlock’s sudden disappearance and having to cover his extra duties. “Now I get to haul you to Shockwave’s lab on top of everything else. If I were to just not show up for something, I’d never hear the end of it! Or rather, I would, right after I was put offline. But no, Deadlock can do whatever he wants whenever he wants because he’s Megatron’s little-” A loud alarm cut the disgruntled Decepticon off. He paused and looked around and tensed, then growled as he received orders over his comm. “Yeah I got the fleshie now… but I… but boss!.... Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’m going.” “Wh-what’s going on?” “Nonaya business, we’re just gonna have ta make a detour is all,” Frenzy started quickly down a corridor, nearly pulling the human’s arm out of their socket, grumbling as they struggled to keep pace. It was all they could do to avoid being dragged along behind the casseticon. Their mind raced as they tried to figure out what the heck was going on! Frenzy swore as the pair came around the corner. Two Autobots nearly ran into them, but one of them was able to jump out of the way to avoid a collision. The second smaller bot wasn’t quite as quick on his peds. The human nearly had the air knocked out of them as they crashed into the bright yellow of his chassis. “(Name)?!” The human looked up. Bumblebee? And the other… Sunstreaker? Almost immediately, a swirl of double memories assaulted their mind, laughing with Bumblebee while pulling a prank at base, helping Sunstreaker buff out some scratches after a battle with the Decepticons, dodging a blast from Bumblebee on the battlefield, hiding under debris while they prepared for a counterattack… wait, no, that hadn’t been Bumblebee, it was… it was Deadlock? Wait, what? Their stomach turned. With a screech of metal, Frenzy grabbed the slightly larger Bumblebee by the arm and swung him into Sunstreaker. Before either could recover, the casseticon ran and reached out for the human again. Just before he could grab them, a small, multi-limbed something jumped and struck him sideways. “Good boy Bob!” Sunstreaker cheered as he scooped up the small insecticon. Before the human could register what was going on, they were swept off their feet by Bumblebee who led Sunstreaker and Bob back down the corridor they came from. “No! Let me go!” the human screamed. They weren’t sure what was going on anymore and all they wanted was just a few moments to try to process what was going on and what was wrong with them. “(Name)?” Bumblebee's voice sounded shocked and worried. “(Name), it’s me, it’s, it’s us. We’re your friends, we’re here to rescue you.” he glanced back to Sunstreaker who in turn looked back briefly at where they had left Frenzy behind. For a moment, it looked like he might go back and take a few extra shots at the small Decepticon. “What have those fraggin’ cons done to them?” With a kick and a struggle, the human squirmed out of Bumblebee’s grip and bolted. They didn’t know where. All they knew was they had to find somewhere, anywhere to think. “(Name)! Come back! Please!” The human stumbled a bit. Please? Since when did Autobots say please? Or, wait, no. No. Autobots… when did Decepticons say please? When had Deadlock ever said… From behind, the human saw Bumblebee, no Deadlock, no Bumblebee reaching out to them again. Past images flashed of Bumblebee reaching out to grab them, taking them away from the battlefield, no, away from their home on Earth? What was true anymore?! They grabbed their head as if that would help clear things. Not clearly watching where they were going, they tripped and rolled to a stop. “What did you do, drop them?” Sunstreaker ran up to help. With a loud clang, he was knocked back by a newcomer behind the human. “Autobot scum,” a familiar voice growled. The human’s spine tingled. Was that fear? But why? The human turned their head to see Deadlock look down and lock his glowing red eyes on them. “(Name), what are you doing out here?” he nearly snarled. He reached down toward them. As he reached, time seemed to slow down as the action sparked a surge of memories. On the battlefield, escaping a broken mech suit and running, doing their best to fight back while attempting to retreat, getting grabbed by Deadlock, the feeling of helplessness as they were carried off. The human’s eyes widened. These memories felt different than the others. This one felt whole and clear- like the others were glitching and foggy by comparison. They may not be sure what the heck was going on, but they knew one thing: Deadlock would not catch them again. They rolled and were on their feet with the speed that only comes from training. More clear memories surfaced: training with Arcee on evasive maneuvers, the Autobot base, the battlefield the day they’d been captured as they’d attempted to dodge Deadlock’s grasp. A wave of resolve filled the human. These memories were true. They clung to them desperately as they dove away from Deadlock’s reach. No sooner had they cleared the Decepticon’s outstretched hand that Bumblebee tackled him. The two tumbled back and Bumblebee kept his hits coming, trying to prevent Deadlock from being able to draw his weapons. The human nearly lept as Sunstreaker approached, crouching down to their level. The only thing that kept them from running was the fact that they were fighting against Deadlock. That was enough to hesitantly side with them for the moment. “(Name), it’s okay, we’re going to get you out of here.” Sunstreaker glanced up at his fellow yellow Autobot, now struggling to keep Deadlock occupied. He activated his comm. “Prime, we found them! We’ve got company though. Requesting backup.” Before he could end the transmission, Deadlock had managed to throw Bumblebee off of him. The minibot hit and rolled, leaving scrapes of paint and scratches in the floor behind him. As Deadlock reached to pull his guns, Sunstreaker blasted him in the shoulder. The con toppled back, crashing against the wall and dropping one of his blasters. Sunstreaker jumped up, pulling his arm for a punch. Before it could connect however, Deadlock’s hands shot out and stopped the oncoming attack. Sunstreaker cried out as Deadlock squeezed the Autobot’s fist in his larger hand and rose to his feet slowly. Sunstreaker threw a punch with his other hand, which connected with Deadlock’s face and caused him to stumble. With a terrifying growl, the larger con pulled Sunstreaker back with him, caught their fall with a sweep of his legs, and jolted forward to crash his helm into Sunstreaker’s face. Before the injured Autobot could hit the ground, the human had scampered to Deadlock’s fallen weapon. The gun was nearly as large as they were, but they were able to heft it up enough to get their arms around it. They put a hand on the trigger, and putting their whole weight into it, were able to lean it back enough to aim it at Deadlock. The smug smile melted off the Decepticon’s face as he noticed his rival’s actions. “(Name), put it down, you’re confused and afraid, it’s okay, I’m here for you now. You’re safe.” “Am I?” The human shouted back. Their voice sounded so raspy and not nearly as steady as they had hoped. “Then why do I have these memories? You attacked Earth! You attacked the Autobots! You attacked me! I remember fighting you in a mech suit.” Deadlock growled and his ruby optics flashed to the Autobots who were only just starting to stir on the ground. “They messed with your mind. Put that weapon down and I can get you help. We can fix this and you can be happy again.” The human readjusted their slipping grip on the weapon. “No! This started before they came. You did this, I don’t know how, but now I have double memories that tell two completely different stories. But you,” the human took a deep breath to steady themselves. They were shaking now. It was a struggle to keep the gun up and pointed at the menacing con in front of them. “You, I remember you. I have memories of fighting you that are clearer than the rest. I remember you destroying my mech suit and capturing me. You brought me here against my will. I don’t know what you did to me, but I’m leaving with the Autobots!” Deadlock’s optics narrowed. “What makes you think they want you back? How can you be sure they’re not just here to terminate you? Think of what you’ve done, what information you’ve spilled? How much Autobot energon do you think we’ve spilled because of you?” Deadlock smiled as the human’s eyes widened. Their hold on his weapon began to slip once more. He lowered his voice, “I told you, you are a Decepticon now. Like it or not, you belong here, with me.” The human’s eyes watered, and they blinked hard, trying to remove the extra fluids. Deadlock smirked. He had them. He would always have them. They could fight, and as amusing as their intrepid spirit was, he would always best his precious little rival. Thundering footsteps from down the corridor interrupted Deadlock’s triumphal thoughts. A large, red, and blue shape ran into view. “(Name!)” Optimus yelled, taking stock of the scene he was coming into. The human stared at him. Once again, memories flashed: meeting the Autobot leader on Earth, asking, begging him to allow them to join the fight, seeing the worried but proud look in those blue optics when they first powered up their new mech suit. Like before, these memories seemed sharp and clear. They brought a surge of emotions and comfort to the human’s entire body. Optimus was here and they’d be okay now. Deadlock snarled and reached for his other gun still holstered over his shoulder. Before he could draw and shoot, the human took advantage of his distraction and pulled the trigger. Their aim, as it were while trying to hold the too-large-for-them weapon, was not great, but it did hit. Deadlock stumbled and clutched his leg where he’d been shot. He turned back to the human, optics as angry as fire. With the remaining strength they had left, the human pulled the trigger again. The shot went awry this time, but Deadlock flinched at it nonetheless. As he pulled back his arm to swipe at the human, Optimus plowed into him, sending him tumbling into the wall. Having spent the last bit of their strength, the human fell to the ground, Deadlock’s gun pinning them awkwardly, but only for a moment. Optimus, as carefully as he could, removed the weapon and scooped the exhausted human in his arms. Behind him, Ironhide, Arcee, and Jazz ran up, weapons drawn and ready. Ironhide kept his cannons pointed at the unmoving Deadlock while Arcee and Jazz went to help Sunstreaker and Bumblebee who were struggling to rise now. “Up ya get my man,” Jazz helped Sunstreaker to his feet and pulled his arm over his shoulder to give support, “you’re brother’s never gonna let me hear the end of it if I don’t getcha back to base in one piece. You too Bob.” The insecticon who had been trapped under the fallen Sunstreaker, chirped and whirred weakly. Bumblebee, who was now being supported by Arcee, looked around and asked weakly, “(Name)? Are, are they alright?” Optimus looked down at the human cradled carefully in his arms. They gave a weak smile through their tears. It was about all they could manage right now as they were struggling to keep themselves from just shutting down mentally. The double memories had taken a toll on their mind. They still just wanted time to think, to figure all this out. There were wounds from this that would need to be healed. For now, though, they knew they could trust Optimus. They could feel that deep down, more than any memory, false or true, could say otherwise. Optimus nodded to his bots and opened his commlink, “Autobots, fall back. Ratchet, prepare to open a ground bridge at the rendezvous point.” The Autobots retreat, joy in their sparks. Arcee and Bumblebee look on with smiles as they retrace their steps down the corridors of the Decepticon base. They had their human “sibling” back! Ironhide led the way, canons at the ready as they went. Jazz soon joined him after Sunstreaker insisted that he could walk fine by himself and would cover the rear. No Decepticons snuck up on their back, and between Jazz and Ironhide, the cons they came across were quickly dispatched. They made it back to the rendezvous point with the other Autobots. The human at this point was barely hanging on to consciousness and didn’t hear Optimus comm Ratchet to open the ground bridge, but they did see the familiar blue and green swirling lights. As the Autobots retreated through the bridge, they looked up at Optimus. He noticed their attention and looked down concernedly at them. There were still tears in their eyes, though they were from relief now more than anything. “You came for me.” Something about the tone they said it in, tore at Optimus’ spark. Their shock and pitiful hopefulness spoke volumes about what psychological treatment they’d been dealt while captive. It was going to be a lot of time and effort to heal. Optimus looked around at his Autobots around him. They kept shooting worried looks to the human in his arms. He knew each and every one of them loved the human greatly, each in their own way, and would be supportive as they healed. The human, whom he viewed as his own child, was in good hands now. “Of course, (Name), we’re your family. We’ll always be here for you.” The human looked like they might break into tears but instead smiled softly before they finally slipped peacefully into a much-needed sleep.

[kinglazrus]

The Haunting of Danny Fenton

Phic phight 2020

Submitted by @ave-aria: Valerie Gray is Danny Fenton's Bodyguard AU (*can be Modern AU, Medieval AU, Corporate AU, Full Ghost AU, whatever)

Summary: Valerie knows Danny Fenton, everybody does. Youngest of the family, son and heir, future owner of Fenton Works. Notable for all those reasons and infamous for none of them. Where Maddie and Jack are the local quirks, Danny is the tragedy. And, for the next week, he's the Red Huntress' newest client.

Chapter One: Local Tragedies

Word count: 1988 | [ffn] [ao3] | [next]

Valerie doesn't know what to expect of the Fentons. She knows about them, everyone does, but she's never met them. At least not face to face. The Fentons aren't just citizens of Amity Park, they're a feature of it, like the statue of the city's founder on Main Street, or the novelty billboard that welcomes people into town. Amity Park wouldn’t be the same without them.

They send her a town car. At this point in her career—which admittedly isn't that far—it's standard practice, at least when dealing with richer clients. The aggressively middle class can't afford the car. The lower class can't afford her, which is why she does those jobs for free. No point robbing good people of their money when the Amity elite already pay her extravagantly.

The Fentons aren't exactly the extravagant type, but they're nothing to scoff at, either. On the outside, the car looks fairly normal. Sleek, black, freshly polished and so clean she could probably eat off the hood. It pulls up to her office building, stopping right outside the front doors, snug to the curb.

Valerie doesn't wait for the driver to get out before opening the back door herself. She thinks it's such a ridiculous practice. Are rich people so needy they can't open a door for themselves? With a shake of her head, she picks up her suitcase and slides into the car. She freezes.

Inside, it's nothing like any town car she's been in before. It has the standard four seats, two against the back, two against the front, turned to face each other, but otherwise, it lacks all expected luxuries. Instead of plush leather, the seats are basic vinyl with neoprene covers on top. The carpet is stripped away, replaced with metal panels. Computer screens bearing the Fenton Works logo cover the windows on the left side of the car. The small drink stations Valerie has grown used to over the past couple years are gone. In their place stands a compact computer console on one side of the car and a fully stocked weapons' rack on the other.

Valerie stares at it all, mouth gaping shamelessly, wondering what all of this says about the Fentons themselves. Are they showy? Practical? The number of guns—she counts six—seems unnecessary. But, thinking of her own arsenal compacted into thick bracers on her wrists and cuffs on her ankles, she knows there's no such thing as too many guns when it comes to ghost hunting.

The partition separating the driver from the passengers goes down. The driver turns to face her, and Valerie's mouth falls open even wider. There's no mistaking that red beanie, those bulky half-moon glasses, the impossibly turquoise eyes.

"Tucker Foley?" Valerie exclaims.

"The one and only!" Tucker grins. Turning all the way around, he leans over the partition, elbows braced on the seats facing Valerie. "Haven't seen you since graduation. Feels like yesterday."

"It was two years ago."

Tucker sighs wistfully. "Yesterday."

"You work for the Fentons now? As their driver?" Valerie asks. She always thought Tucker would go big into technology development, coding, something like that. Or become a wanted cybercriminal.

"Me? A driver? And waste all these good looks? Please." Tucker scoffs and waves a hand dismissively. "I run the computer division at Fenton Works. When I heard Mr. and Mrs. F were hiring you, I just had to come get you myself."

"You're twenty," Valerie says.

"Hey, cool, you still know how to count. That's a great skill."

"You're twenty, and you're running a whole division at Fenton Works?"

"You're twenty and you have your own security company," he points out.

"One person company.

"One person division." Tucker grins. "It's really just me and my computer. Cyber security against ghosts isn't a big field yet."

Valerie eyes Tucker, unsure how to respond. Whatever she expected, Tucker wasn't it. Now, she feels off-balance, like she's missing something important, and she hates that feeling. It shouldn't matter that much. Amity Park isn't a huge city; the chances of her running into a former classmate are rather high. But Tucker was prepared for Valerie, and she wasn't prepared for him. Childishly, she feels like she's at a disadvantage. Which is ridiculous because she's here to fight ghosts, not Tucker. But his sudden appearance has disarmed her so completely that, if a ghost were to attack right then, she would be too stunned to react.

"You should see the look on your face," Tucker says.

Valerie purses her lips and scowls, wiping away whatever amusing expression has Tucker giggling under his breath. "You should drive."

Tucker's laugh balloons into gleeful cackles as he turns back around. "Whatever you want, Ms. Grey!"

Valerie, fuming, slams her thumb on the partition button, rolling it back up. To her annoyance, she can still hear Tucker's infuriating laugh through the glass.

—

When Valerie says the Fentons are a feature of Amity Park, she really means their laboratory, Fenton Works. Don't get her wrong, Maddie and Jack Fenton are a sight all on their own. On any given day, they can be seen tearing down the street in their bulky weaponized RV, guns blazing, wearing their brightly coloured jumpsuits. Seeing them for the first time is quite the experience. You can easily spot nearby tourists by checking people's reactions to the Fentons.

But Fenton Works. Fenton Works is a monolith dedicated to every crackpot idea the Fentons have ever had. When Valerie was in high school, Fenton Works was a single townhouse standing proudly at the corner of Lady and Red, bearing an obnoxiously neon sign. Above it loomed a massive saucer-shaped structure covered in more satellites than the local news station. Back then, Valerie thought the townhouse was a leering giant. Nowadays, it's dwarfed by the massive warehouse that takes up the rest of the block.

"Damn," Valerie whispers, peering out the righthand window as they turns onto Lady Avenue.

Tucker lowers the partition. "Pretty cool, right?"

Valerie eyes the mural of ghosts decorating the side of the building. "It's something."

Rather than stopping in front of the townhouse, Tucker turns onto Red Crescent and loops around to the back of the facility. Along the avenue, the warehouse is built almost right up to the sidewalk. On this side, however, there's a wide parking lot and, oddly enough, a lush garden surrounding a pond.

"I'm not the only one who thinks that looks weird, right?" She points to the pond.

Tucker cranes his neck, following her finger, and chuckles. "Jazz asked her parents to put that in so that employees have somewhere 'calming' to go. There's a greenhouse up on the roof, too,"

Pressing her cheek to the window, Valerie tries to spot the aforementioned greenhouse, but they're too close to the building now for her to see it.

Tucker pulls into a reserved parking spot just across from the homely picket fence that surrounds the townhouse's backyard. Valerie officially has no idea what to think about the Fentons.

"Come on," Tucker says, throwing open his door. "Everyone's waiting for you."

Valerie grabs her suitcase and climbs out of the car, nudging the door shut behind her. "Everyone?" She looks over the car at Tucker.

He twirls the keychain around his finger. "You'll see."

Valerie expects him to head for the townhouse but, to her surprise, he pivots right and starts walking to the warehouse doors.

"Come on," he calls over his shoulder.

Valerie jogs after him, easily hoisting her suitcase in one hand, and ponders on what the inside the facility looks like. Crates of weapons stacked one on top of the other. An arsenal of ghost hunting vehicles, everything from their patented RV design to their one of a kind all-terrain bus. All-terrain meaning it flies in the human realm and the Ghost Zone. The ground can't stop you if you never touch it. She pictures an honest to god warehouse and prepares herself for exactly that sight when they reach the front doors.

The moment they go inside, however, Valerie promptly decides to never assume anything about the Fentons and how they operate ever again.

"Something wrong?" Tucker asks when he sees Valerie stuck in the doorway.

"No," she says honestly. "It's fine." She steps into the foyer, complete with a receptionist's desk, comfortable armchairs for waiting, and a few potted plants. Looking behind her, she sees floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the pond. Valerie could have sworn the walls were solid from the outside.

"Hey, Octavia." Tucker waves to the receptionist. Pulling a lanyard out of his pocket, he shows her an employee ID card. "I've got the nine o'clock."

"It's four in the afternoon," Octavia, a modest middle-aged woman, says without looking up from her computer.

"Time is relative. Val." Valerie stops gawking at the room and looks to Tucker. "You can leave your suitcase here, unless you need anything from it. Octavia can take it to the guest room."

"I can, but I won't," Octavia says. "They're in the Boom Room."

"Love you too, babe." Tucker clicks his tongue, shooting Octavia double finger-guns, and ducks through a doorway at the back of the room.

Valerie stands awkwardly in the middle of the foyer.

Octavia finally raises her head, giving Valerie a critical look. After a moment, she sighs and holds out her hand. "I'll take your bag. Trust me, Tucker'll be halfway across the building if you don't follow him now. That kid never looks back."

"Thank you." Valerie rushes over, passing her bag across the desk, and follows Tucker. On the other side of the door is a long plain hallway. She looks right, then left, but there's no sign of Tucker. She debates her chances of choosing a random direction and finding him by pure luck. Before she can decide, a long ding rings out. The noise draws her attention to a set of elevators down the hall on her left.

The doors open. Tucker pokes his head out. "Hurry up, slowpoke.

Valerie wonders if punching Tucker in the face will affect her paycheque. Just once. Just a small jab. She won't even break his nose. In the end, she decides not to risk it, settling on a fierce glare as she reaches the elevator.

"This is a big place, you don't want to get lost," Tucker says.

"Then don't leave me behind."

"Not my fault you're slow." Tucker hits the button for the third floor—third out of five.

What on Earth the Fentons need all this space for, Valerie has no idea. She tries to picture it, then remembers how her expectations keep getting smashed to pieces and thinks better of it. There will be lots of time to find out.

"Why Fenton Works?" Valerie asks, filling the silence.

Tucker rocks back on his heels and hums. "Ghost stuff is kind of cool. I get to pioneer a whole new area of cyber security that no one even realizes we need, and I'm not even done college yet. Working here helps me pay for my online classes, too, so I don't even have to leave Amity."

"Why? Sounds like you'd still have a job waiting for you when you graduate." She can't imagine Tucker spilling his cyber secrets to someone else before he can cultivate the field himself. Surely, then, the Fentons would need him on board, no matter how long he puts off working for them.

"Yeah," Tucker nods, "I would. But I'm staying for Danny."

The elevator chimes when they reach the third floor, the doors sliding open. Tucker glides through them without looking back, but Valerie hesitates once again. Danny—Daniel Fenton. She knows Daniel Fenton. Youngest of the lot, son and heir, future CEO of Fenton Works. Notable for all those reasons and infamous for none of them. Where Maddie and Jack are the local quirks, Danny is the tragedy.

[soobiniebaby]

Angels & Devils Part XII : See Them Burn in Fire

Tomorrow x Together Fanfiction

~ p a r t s : main post || prologue || part 1 || part 2 || part 3 || part 4 || part 5 || part 6 || part 7 || part 8 || part 9 || part 10 || part 11 || part 12 || part 13 || part 14 || part 15 || part 16 || part 17 ~ p a i r i n g : love triangle involving choi soobin and choi yeonjun ~ g e n r e : high school au | some social media au | some fluff & angst | childhood friends | love triangle ~ l a n g u a g e : English ~ w a r n i n g : contains swearing, alcohol, kissing (?) and may contain mature themes (angst, etc.) ~ a / n : This will be my first fanfic (go easy on me pls) and i’m just writing this as I go along, so bear with me juseyo The setting (place/country) of the story is up to the reader’s interpretation ~ s u m m a r y : What should she choose? Han Baby: the new girl with a troubled past MO Academy: her new high school Choi Soobin: student council president, member of the Ecosave club, volunteer at the Humane Treatment of Animals, member of the Honor Society, a vocalist in the Jazzed club, the school’s all around golden boy Choi Yeonjun: leader of the Dance club, star of the Jazzed club, the school’s it boy with a bad rep 5 best friends, 1 new girl, 1 childhood friendship, 1 epic love triangle? What will this school year bring?

“Ningning, please help me, I’m freaking out.”

It was currently September 9, Wednesday, her third day of being back at MOA, and she was indeed freaking out.

Her first few days being back at MOA felt like a fever dream wherein she was the main character in some cheesy teen romcom who had somehow gained the affections of the school’s it boy, complete with montages of everyone’s eyes following the 2 of them whenever they walked around campus together and scenes of them spotted around campus holding hands (complete with Taehyun constantly reminding them “Physical contact within campus grounds is prohibited!”), staring at each other like the lovesick teenagers that they were, even pulling their face masks down to steal kisses when no one was looking.

She never realized how big of a reaction their dating news would gain until she actually saw it; the stares, the whispers, even the attention that Yeonjun’s tweet got, which garnered over a thousand likes, which was a bit concerning since Yeonjun’s twitter account was fairly new yet not really surprising considering how popular he was.

She didn’t really mind the stares and whispers. It’s not like she hasn’t been the main topic at school before, but now the attention was for something that she was actually happy about, so in a way it felt nice. What she was freaking out about, however, was Beomgyu’s reply to Yeonjun’s tweet.

It was only when she asked Kai about it did she find out that Yeonjun’s birthday was on the 13th of September, which was only 4  days away, and she had no clue what she would give to him as a gift.

“How do you think I can help?” Kai asks, confused. “I’m just his friend, you’re his girlfriend. You’ve always been great at giving gifts anyway, I’m sure that whatever you get him, he’ll love it.” he says matter-of-factly.

B groans. “You’ve known him for longer than I have! And I don’t know what I can put together on such short notice.” she whines, which was true. The fact that their relationship was new made it even more difficult since she didn’t know a lot about what sort of things Yeonjun really liked yet. “Do you guys have any plans for his birthday?”

Kai nods. “We’re all getting individual gifts, but duh we’re throwing him a kick ass party.” he says. “We always have big parties when someone’s birthday comes up. The best part is, by Saturday night I’ll be medically cleared and ready to get wasted.” he says excitedly.

“I could help you guys with the party, but what gift can I get him? What can you give someone who already has everything?” B wonders out loud. It was no secret that Yeonjun was loaded and could have anything he wanted at the snap of his fingers, which only made it harder for B to come up with a meaningful gift.

“Easy, give him something that only you can give him.” Ryujin pipes up. She walked home with B after school to hang out since the guys were busy with their weekly student council meeting, but the truth was, Kai had pleaded with B to invite Ryujin so he could ask for a little bit of help about how he should ask Yuna out, which was the first thing they talked about when Ryujin arrived. She had given Kai good advice and was looking forward seeing how he’d ask their friend out, though Kai said he would wait for the right time to do it, which made Ryujin roll her eyes at him and call him a chicken, which he accepted.

“Something only I can give him? Like what?” B asks desperately.

Ryujin stands up from her spot on the couch, grabs a ribbon from one of the blue rose bouquets that Yeonjun had given to B and stands over her. “Simple. Here, take this.” she says, handing the ribbon to B, which she takes gingerly.

“Then tie it around yourself.” Ryujin instructs her, which she follows cluelessly.

“Now what?” B asks, the bow tied around her torso.

“Strike a pose and tell him ‘Happy birthday Yeonjun, unwrap me.’” she says, smirking.

“Eugh, please don’t.” Kai says, visibly cringing.

Meanwhile, B was visibly blushing, untying the ribbon and tossing it aside. “I—um, as s—special as that sounds, I, uh, don’t think that’s something I can give just yet.” she says, flustered at what Ryujin was suggesting.

Ryujin laughs. “Don’t worry, I was just kidding. You are too precious, B.” she says, ruffling the top of B’s head. “Don’t ever do that unless you’re 100% ready by the way.”

“Okay, that’s already more than I need to hear.” Kai says, covering his ears with his hands. “Anyway, Baba I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” Kai says, trying to change the topic. “If you want my advice, I suggest you get him something heartfelt, maybe something with special meaning to him.”

B sighs. “I guess. Maybe I’ll ask the other guys for help.” she says, whipping her phone out and creating a new group chat.

Soobin sighs as he drops his phone, leaving it atop the conference table, leaning back in his seat at the head of the table as he watches his 3 present members continue with the meeting.

Surprisingly, being the student council president wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be. His members did their assigned jobs well and took their respective roles seriously, so his job was mostly to oversee things and make final approvals. Taehyun usually led their meetings, and one of Soobin’s main tasks was to make sure that the younger boy could effectively take his place as president once Soobin graduated, which Soobin had no worries about since he saw Taehyun as his right hand man, both in and out of the student council, considering how the younger boy had been especially close to him the past few days.

The past few days haven’t been very easy on Soobin, considering that the girl he found himself falling in love with and the blue haired boy he was best friends with had officially come out as a couple. It was bad enough that he had to see them constantly hold hands and stare at each other with googly eyes whenever they hung out, but news of them dating became one of the hottest topics at school, so even when he wasn’t with them he would still hear the people around him talking about them nonstop. He had no escape.

The only person he could share his true feelings with was Taehyun, his righthand man, who had figured out Soobin’s whole situation and had reached out to him as soon as the news broke out.

Since then, he always felt Taehyun watching him closely, especially when they were all eating lunch at the gazebo or hanging out the Kang’s café after school. For Soobin, it felt nice to know that there was someone by his side who understood what he was going through, so hiding his true feelings didn’t feel as tiring.

Soobin is snapped back into the present as Taehyun says “That concludes this week’s meeting. Next week, we’ll be tackling the annual Fall Ball that will be taking place on October, so you better prepare suggestions for the theme by then.” he says, referring to one of the school’s biggest social events and one of the 3 annual school dances that took place at MOA every year.

As Taehyun puts his things away, the other boys stretch out in their chairs and grab their phones, relieved that the meeting was finally over.

“Hey Tyun, I’ll be stopping by Baby’s place for a little while. My driver’s waiting for me outside, you wanna catch a ride with me?” Yeonjun says suddenly as he stands up, typing away at his phone the whole time.

Taehyun shakes his head even though Yeonjun’s eyes were focused on his phone. “You can go, there are a few additional ideas that I want to run through with our president first so I’ll be staying behind for a bit. Thanks, though.”

Yeonjun looks at him then and nods. “Alright then, see you guys tomorrow.”

The boys greet him goodbye, with Beomgyu going “I’ll walk out with you, my ride’s waiting too.” before the 2 boys disappear out of the room.

Soobin turns to Taehyun, confused. “You have additional ideas you want to run by me? What additional ideas?” he asks.

“Oh, I don’t know, the idea that you want to help the girl you love come up with a birthday gift for her boyfriend, maybe?” Taehyun says pointedly. “You should not be helping B with things like that, given the fact that you’re in love with her.”

“I—no, B is just—” Soobin sputters, caught off guard. “I’m not in love with her!”

“Holy shit! You’re in love with B?” a voice suddenly exclaims, making Taehyun jump in his seat and causing Soobin to yell out in surprise.

“Gyu! What are you doing here?” Soobin asks, shocked to see Beomgyu standing in the doorway. “I—Oh god you scared me! I thought you left with Yeonjun. What—?”

“I left my phone, so I told him to go ahead and I came back here to get it.” Beomgyu explains, and sure enough, the boys catch sight of Beomgyu’s cellphone which he had left on top of the conference table. Taehyun slaps his forehead, frustrated at himself for not noticing it earlier.

“I knew Taehyun said he had extra ideas to talk to you about, but I never could have imagined something like this.” Beomgyu says, his eyes wide. “Is it true? Soobin, are you in love with her?”

“I—no! N—no I’m not, I—I just—” Soobin sputters, his brain malfunctioning as he realizes that his secret was slowly starting to spread.

Taehyun puts a hand on Soobin’s shoulder to calm him down. “Gyu, I don’t know what you heard, but I think Soobin’s going through a lot right now, so it’s best if you pretend that this never happened, alright?” he says.

Beomgyu nods, grabbing his phone from the table before taking a seat beside the 2 boys. “Of course! Just act like I’m not even here. My lips are sealed.” he says, making a zipping motion over his mouth.

“Thanks, Gyu.” Soobin finally manages to say, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. “And to be clear, I am not in love with her. I might have a slight crush on her, but that doesn’t mean anything. She’s my friend, what’s wrong with wanting to help her find a good gift for one of my best friends?”

“Whatever you say.” Taehyun says. “And there’s nothing wrong with it per se, but I don’t think you should put up with their relationship any more than necessary. They are your friends, but I think it would be better if you don’t get involved.” he says, trying to give good advice. “Don’t take it the wrong way, cause it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be supportive of their relationship or anything. I mean, yes you’re their friend, but don’t get yourself involved in anything that has to do with their relationship.”

Soobin nods reluctantly, trying to understand where Taehyun was coming from. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind, thanks Tyun.” he says. “It wouldn’t hurt to help B come up with a gift for Yeonjun though, right?”

Beomgyu nods. “True, that just means you’re a good friend who wants to be there and help a friend out.”

Taehyun sighs. “You’re an idiot, Gyu. And you’re hopeless, Soobin. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Soobin chuckles. “Don’t worry, Tyun. I don’t see how it can hurt any more than it already does anyway.”

Taehyun shakes his head. “I didn’t know you were such a masochist.”

“I never said I like the pain! I’m just saying, it can’t get any worse than this.” Soobin says defensively.

Oh, how horribly wrong he was.

•°•

The rest of the weekdays flew by quickly enough. Soobin had taken Taehyun’s advice and had been trying his best to avoid being around Yeonjun and B longer than necessary, making sure that he had a clear boundary between being their friend who was happy for them and being their friend who would go out of his way to involve himself in their relationship.

Meanwhile, now that Beomgyu knew about his secret, Soobin could feel an extra pair of eyes practically burning into his skull every time they hung out. Taehyun was an expert at hiding his feelings and understood that Soobin just wanted things to be as normal as possible, but Beomgyu had started to treat him like he was delicate, often giving him pitiful looks and being extra nice to him, which Soobin could only hope wouldn’t come off as suspicious to the rest of the group.

It turns out that the boys didn’t have to put together a party for Yeonjun since his father had organized one on his own, renting out one of the only night clubs in their town for Saturday night, inviting a few people whom he thought would be beneficial for Yeonjun to mingle with and telling Yeonjun that he was free to invite whomever else he wanted to, which was basically the entire high school population of MO Academy.

“Did your dad really rent out a whole club just so he could throw you a business networking event disguised as a birthday party?” Beomgyu comments as he and the 3 boys stood in front of said club, waiting for the last 2 members of their group to arrive.

Yeonjun shrugs. “It’s still a party, just gonna have to deal with a few ‘unwanted’ guests I guess.” he says. “I’m not sure which pretentious rich kids from the business world my dad invited though, so I’ll have to go back and forth between partying with you guys and entertaining whoever snotty douches he’s invited.”

“And we will try to stay as far away from them as possible. I don’t think I can put up with any more pretentious rich kids.” Taehyun says, crossing his arms over his chest. “I think dealing with you guys everyday is about as much as I can handle.”

“We are not pretentious rich kids!” Beomgyu says defensively, but when he sees Taehyun raise a brow, he backs down. “Right, sorry. Anyway, any word on where B and Hyuka are now? Why didn’t you guys go together again?” he asks Taehyun, knowing that he and B usually came together since they lived in the same building.

“She just said that she and Hyuka were dealing with a crisis and would be running a bit late and that I could go ahead, so I did, but I didn’t know that we’d end up waiting for them to arrive before going into the club.” Taehyun explains.

“It’s a Saturday night, they had the whole day to get ready so there’s no reason why they should be running late.” Beomgyu whines.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be here soon.” Soobin says.

And right on cue, a car stops in front of the club. The boys wait and watch as the car idles for a few moments before the door flies open and Kai steps out, and the boys realize why the pair had been running late.

Even though he was medically cleared and recovered from chicken pox, Kai’s face was sprinkled with distinct spots all over his cheeks, and although they had been meticulously covered up with makeup, the bumps were still very visible.

Just as Soobin was about to comment on how Kai’s face looked like the back of a Hersheys cookies and cream chocolate bar, Kai extends an arm towards the inside of the vehicle, and a delicate hand appears, taking Kai’s hand in hers as the hand’s owner steps out of the car. Soobin could feel the words die in his throat as B comes into view, wrapping her hand around Kai’s arm before Kai closes the car door behind her.

She was breathtaking. Her long dark hair poured over her shoulders in gentle waves, her skin glowing in contrast to her dark hair and her midnight black dress, which hugged her small frame perfectly, the neckline dipping dangerously low and the slit cutting lethally high up her thigh, the dress reaching just a few inches above her knee. She looked especially tantalizing as she finished the look off with a pair of strappy heels and striking red lipstick, making her look like a movie star from the 1900s.

Soobin couldn’t bring himself to look away, even as he saw her look up and smile, giving a small wave towards their group. He couldn’t even smile back, he was so taken by how beautiful she looked, until Beomgyu spoke up, snapping him out of his trance.

“Stop undressing her with your eyes, Choi! She might catch a cold.” Beomgyu remarks teasingly.

Soobin nearly chokes on his own spit, his eyes automatically looking down at the ground feeling ashamed at the thought of someone catching him staring at B, until Yeonjun laughs and Soobin realizes that the comment was meant for Yeonjun all along.

Why did they have to have the same name?

“Sorry, I can’t help that my girlfriend looks insanely gorgeous, especially in that dress.” Yeonjun laughs, keeping his eyes on B the whole time as he wraps an arm around her shoulders and kisses her cheek. “You clean up really nicely, Baby.”

B smiles at him, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “Speak for yourself, birthday boy. You look particularly handsome tonight.” she comments.

“My birthday’s not until tomorrow though, I hope you have your gift ready.” Yeonjun responds.

“Don’t worry, I have the perfect gift for you.” B says, trailing fingers up his chest before gently tapping his nose. “Hope I won’t disappoint.”

“Baby, you alone are more than enough for me.” Yeonjun says, nuzzling his face in her neck, making her giggle.

“Eugh, that’s enough, you guys make me want to vomit. Let’s just go in already.” Kai groans, making the pair laugh.

“It’s my birthday and I’ll ogle my girlfriend if I want to.” Yeonjun laughs. “But you’re right, let’s go.” he says, leading the group forward as they walk up to the front doors of the club, the bouncer greeting them warmly as he recognizes Yeonjun’s face.

“Happy birthday, Sir Choi. Enjoy your evening.” the bouncer says, ticking their names off the guest list before leading them into the club.

•°•

“Truth or dare!” someone suggests. A small circle had gathered around one of the VIP tables, practically the same people as the ones who were playing Truth or Dare at Kai’s birthday party just a few weeks ago.

“But we already played that last time!” another person objects.

“Fine, um, how about Kiss or Tell? Have any of you heard of it before?”

When no one offers any response, Ryujin explains. “One person spins a bottle and when it lands on someone on their turn, they have to either kiss them or tell everyone a secret about that person.”

Everyone in the circle nods, ready to start the game.

“Alright let’s do this! First up, the birthday boy!” Beomgyu says, clapping his hands and reaching over to pass an empty bottle of Tequila to Yeonjun.

Yeonjun smiles as the circle cheers for him and spins the bottle, the cheering getting louder as the bottle stops.

Kai shrieks in horror as the tip of the bottle points to him, and before he can say a word, Yeonjun stands up and quickly plants a kiss on the younger boy’s forehead, the whole circle ringing with laughter.

Kai looks helplessly at Yuna sitting next to him, a bit horrified as he says “I can’t believe Yeonjun stole my first forehead kiss.”

Yuna laughs and simply says “It’s your turn.” before handing him the bottle, which he hesitantly spins.

The whole circle collectively go “Awww” as the bottle stop in front of Yuna.

Kai turns to her and asks “Have you ever had your forehead kissed before?”

“No, well, just by my parents I think.” she says, causing Kai to smile before planting a light kiss on her forehead, which instantly makes her go red.

“There you go, now your forehead’s been blessed!” Kai says teasingly. Feeling flustered, Yuna clears her throat before spinning the bottle and she watches as it lands on Ryujin.

As soon as Yuna opens her mouth to speak, Ryujin grabs her by the shirt and pulls her towards her, Yuna’s mouth smashing against the side of Ryujin’s face.

“I—uh, can she do that?” Yuna sputters. “I was gonna tell a secret but she kissed me! Is that cheating?”

Ryujin shrugs. “It’s kiss or tell, and you kissed, so now it’s my turn.” she says, wiping traces of Luna’s lip gloss off her cheek before spinning the bottle.

All around the circle, people “Ooh” as the bottle stops in front of Taehyun.

“Oh really? Of all the people here, this guy’s probably the only person I don’t know any secrets about! And he’s the last person in the circle, heck in the whole world, that I would ever consider kissing.” Ryujin whines.

“If you had chosen to say something, anything, any outrageously completely made up rumor I would have gladly gone along with it instead of having you kiss me, but that’s no longer an option thanks to your big mouth, so now neither of us has a choice.” Taehyun says dryly.

B laughs at their interaction. It was odd that 2 of her closest friends seemed to hate each other, but it was always entertaining to watch how snarky they could get when put together.

Ryujin gulps, not even bothering to hide how horrified she looked as she reluctantly made her way towards Taehyun. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’re right.” she says, Taehyun visibly cringing as Ryujin slowly puts a finger under Taehyun’s chin and lifts it up until his forehead comes in contact with her lips.

The crowd cheers wildly as Ryujin pretends to gag, wiping her mouth as she made her way back to her seat. Meanwhile, Taehyun remained unfazed, mentally putting the whole thing behind him before grabbing the bottle and letting it spin, and he smiles in satisfaction when it lands on Beomgyu.

He rubs his chin with his hand as he contemplates what to say. “Hm, so many secrets, which one should I share about you Gyu?” he wonders, before his eyes light up as a particularly embarrassing memory comes into mind.

Beomgyu looks at Taehyun suspiciously as the boy starts to speak with a mischievous glint in his eye. “Oh, I know! One time, Gyu and I tried out this new Ramen place near the subway, and he—”

Before Taehyun could finish the story, Beomgyu’s eyes widen as he realizes which embarrassing secret his friend was about to reveal. In a state of panic, Beomgyu grabs his friend’s face in both his hands and pulls it towards his, their lips crashing together as people around the circle gasp and squeal in surprise.

Taehyun could feel his eyes, which were wide with surprise, start to close as he absorbs the fact that Beomgyu was kissing him, before Beomgyu pulls away, looking at him confused.

“Tyun, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to plant one on you I—I kinda panicked.” Beomgyu says in a hurry, trying to explain himself.

Taehyun shakes his head, still seemingly unfazed by the whole game. “There’s no need to apologize, Gyu.” he simply says, brushing off the feeling that Beomgyu was staring at him intently and drowning out the catcalls from the circle. “It’s your turn.” he says.

Beomgyu looks at him for a moment longer before he nods, shaking his head before spinning the bottle, watching as it lands on Soobin.

“Oh, Soobinie baby?” Beomgyu says teasingly, smirking when Soobin visibly freezes in place, staring at Beomgyu in horror as he realizes what Beomgyu was implying.

Beomgyu laughs at Soobin’s reaction. “Relax, Binie!” he says, knowing what Soobin was thinking. “I wouldn’t do you dirty like that. Okay, I’m sure some of you here already know this, but our dear President Soobinie…”

Everyone goes quiet, all eyes on Beomgyu as he reveals a secret. “Our dear President Soobinie, whom is known to hate exercising despite being on the basketball team and is notorious for his love for bread and ice cream, is actually very lean and muscular.”

A few girls around the circle sigh as they stare at Soobin with curious eyes, trying to visualize the muscles beneath his jacket, which causes Soobin to blush.

“Gyu, stop it.” he says bashfully. Beomgyu’s confession was true, Soobin really did have a rather fit physique, but the attention he was getting from Beomgyu’s revelation was making him squirm in his seat.

“It’s true! He even has abs!” Beomgyu exclaims, which makes Soobin blush even harder.

Beomgyu laughs, seeing how red his friend had turned. “You’re welcome.” he says, clapping him on the back. “Now it’s your turn.”

Soobin rubs his face in his hands, trying to wipe away the warmth from his cheeks, before grabbing the bottle and letting it spin.

He feels all eyes on him as the bottle stops, pointing at B.

B laughs with ease, unaware of the intense stares that Beomgyu and Taehyun were giving their friend. “Alright, Binnie, let’s get this over with! Kiss or tell?” she says, raising a brow at him.

Soobin found himself stuck. No particular secret about B came to mind, no matter how hard he tried to look back at all their past conversations, and no embarrassing moments had transpired between them either meaning that he had nothing to tell, so he had nothing to share, which meant that he had no choice but to go for the kiss option instead, which he definitely did not think was a good idea. It didn’t help that he could feel Taehyun and Beomgyu’s gazes burning into him either.

He decides to go for the safest option and spits out anything random instead. “I, um, I don’t know if anyone knew this already, but B…really wants a cat.” he finishes lamely.

Everyone stares at him blankly, underwhelmed by what he revealed.

“Well, that is true. I do really want to own a cat as a pet.” B offers, trying to keep the pace of the game going.

“But that’s hardly a secret!” Yuna comments. “Anyone who knows you can tell that you love cats enough to want one anyway.”

“Sorry, I guess I don’t really know any of B’s secrets.” Soobin says sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Ryujin smirks. “You know what that means, then.” she says.

“What?” Soobin asks stupidly, not really understanding what she was implying.

“It’s Kiss or Tell, and since you have nothing to tell, that means that you have to kiss.” Yeonjun says, retracting his arm from B’s shoulders as he leans forward in his seat.

“Ah, um, I already said something though, so—?” Soobin begins, fumbling with his words, not really sure how to handle the situation.

Yeonjun raises his hands in the air. “Soobin, it’s fine, it’s just a game.” he says, lightly laughing. “Just go with it.” he assures.

Soobin nods, taking a deep breath before he stands up and makes his way over to B, being very mindful about the fact that her boyfriend was sitting right next to her.

B laughs upon seeing how nervous Soobin looked. “Soobin, what’s up with you?” she laughs. “Don’t be nervous! Here.” she says, tucking her hair behind her ear as she turns her face to the side, offering him her cheek. “Just a quick peck, don’t worry, it will be over before you know it.” she says teasingly.

Soobin laughs along. “Right. I’m sorry about this by the way.” he says, before leaning down and letting his lips brush softly against her cheek. He stands straight up as he says “There! Done!” before walking back to his seat with his head hanging down to hide his burning red cheeks, Taehyun clapping him on the back as he sits back down.

“And now it’s my turn.” B says, holding her breath as the bottle slows down and letting out a cheerful whoop as she sees who it finally stops on.

“Ha! Ningning, you are so done!” she squeals, laughing maniacally as she rubs her hands together deviously. “Oh my god, I have so many secrets, so much good shit about you, where do I even start?”

Kai jumps up then, catching everyone by surprise as he grabs B’s head and tries to get her lips to touch his face, and she tries her best to keep her lips tight together.

“Don’t you dare say a damn thing Han Baby!” he says desperately, making her laugh.

“Get away from me, ew, what are you doing!” she squeals, trying to shove him away. “Stop trying to make me kiss you! I have so much to tell!”

The sudden spectacle makes everyone in the circle burst out laughing, except Yuna, who was notably staring at the 2 best friends.

Unaware of Yuna’s unease, Kai continues pulling B’s head towards his face, before her lips accidentally make contact with his ear, and he finally lets go, pumping his fists in the air. “Ha! Now you can’t tell them anything!” he says triumphantly before making his way back to his seat and casually wrapping an arm around Yuna’s shoulders.

“Alright, I think that’s where the game ends for tonight!” Yuna exclaims, brushing off Kai’s arm around her shoulders as she stands up. “Now come on, let’s dance!” she says, grabbing Ryujin by the arm and pulling her away.

Everyone in the circle cheers, standing up and rushing to the dance floor.

“What do you say, birthday boy? Wanna dance?” B asks Yeonjun as the circle starts to clear out and go their separate ways.

“There’s actually a few people I have to say hi to, people from the business side of life.” Yeonjun says, checking his phone. “They’re mostly just people I’m obligated to socialize with, like the kids of some of our company’s business partners and stuff. You wanna come with me to meet them? I can introduce you.” he offers.

B thought about it for a moment, though she already knew that she didn’t feel like meeting a bunch of boring business kids and listen to them talk about business that she knew nothing about. Before she could respond, Ryujin swoops in and grabs her arm.

“Sir Choi Yeonjun, if you’re not going to get this hot piece of ass on the dance floor, then let me do the honor.” she says before dragging B to the dance floor.

“I’ll see you later then!” Yeonjun shouts after them, he sees B shrug and nod at him, offering him a smile before Ryujin grabs her and starts dancing around her.

Yeonjun shakes his head with a fond smile on his face, watching his beautiful girlfriend enjoy herself on the dance floor before sighing as he stands up, preparing to turn on his ‘Choi Yeonjun, future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation’ before wandering into the crowd.

•°•

Yeonjun put on a pleased smile as he greeted another batch of party guests that his father had invited. This time it was famously wealthy Kim brothers, Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon and Kim Taehyung, notorious for having not only good looks but killer personalities and unmatched talent as well. The Kim brothers came from a long family line of musicians and record producers, and Yeonjun had to admit that they were 3 of the select few people that he genuinely considered as his friends in the business side of his life.

As the 3 boys greeted him and started up small talk that made him genuinely laugh for the first time since he left his friends to start mingling with his father’s choice of party guests, a new batch of people walked into the club which Yeonjun knew he had to welcome. He excused himself from the 2 brothers and made his way towards the newcomers.

This time, he put on his deal-closing smile as he spots the familiar face of Kim Jisoo, successor to the famous Kim Jonghyun, the owner of the biggest Technology Firm in the country. As he approaches Kim Jisoo, he slips back into Choi Yeonjun, future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation, flashing her a charming smile and shaking her hand as he greets her.

“Choi Yeonjun. Happy birthday, dear! It’s always so lovely to see you.” Jisoo says, softly touching his arm as he does so.

“Thank you, Jisoo. The pleasure is all mine, because as always, you look stunning.” he says dashingly. Kim Jisoo was one of the richest eligible bachelorettes in the country, so his father had specifically asked that he maintain in her good graces.

“Hush now, you look quite handsome yourself.” she says, ever so elegantly. “Oh, pardon me, I’ve almost forgotten to introduce you to my companions! I’ve invited a few friends here with me, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, not at all.” Yeonjun says politely, she could have invited her entire posse for all he cared. He hadn’t even noticed that she wasn’t alone until she stepped aside to reveal the 3 girls whom she had brought along.

“These are my best friends.” Jisoo says, pulling the 3 girls forward. He eyes the girls one by one, plastering on his best polite smile, but he feels his breath catch in his throat as his eyes land on the 3rd girl. “Yeonjun, darling, I’d like you to meet Jennie, Lisa, and—”

“Rose.” He says, the name barely escaping from his lips. Suddenly he didn’t know which Choi Yeonjun he had to present himself as. Standing there in front of her after so long, he didn’t feel like Choi Yeonjun the future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation or Choi Yeonjun the one and only MO Academy It Boy. He felt like the Choi Yeonjun he was 2 years ago, helpless and tongue tied in her presence.

“Yeonjun.” she says, smiling at him then. And there was something about her smile and how her smiling at him made him feel the same way as he did 2 years ago, as if nothing had changed. Before he even knew it, he felt his own smile appear on his face.

“Oh dear, are you 2 acquainted with each other? I had no clue!” Jisoo giggles, looking back and forth between them with curious eyes.

“Well, I didn’t know that it was Yeonjun’s birthday we were attending.” Rose says, her eyes still on him. “He and I go way back.”

“That sounds intriguing.” Jennie comments, and Yeonjun snaps out of it, realizing that he was being rude.

“Sorry, hi, I’m Yeonjun. Nice to meet you.” he says, his charming smile back on as he shakes hands with Jennie. Jennie smiles back at him politely before he moves to shake Lisa’s hand, which she gladly reciprocates.

As he stretches a hand out to Rose for her to shake, she instead shakes her head and holds her arms out to him. He debates whether or not to accept her invitation since it would feel strange to hug his ex again after 2 years, but since Jisoo was there and he didn’t want to seem rude, he decided to allow Rose to hug him.

Hugging her felt nostalgic, and once again he felt as if he had been brought back in time, her rose scented perfume consuming his thoughts and flooding his mind with memories he thought he’d already forgotten. He decides to step back at that moment, not wanting his subconscious to take him back any further.

“Now that that’s settled, why don’t you join us for a few drinks?” Jisoo pipes up again, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. “And Yeonjun darling, I’d love it if you filled me in on your history with my dear friend Rose here.”

Once again, as Choi Yeonjun the future CEO of YJ Choi Corporation, he felt powerless against Kim Jisoo, successor to the famous Kim Jonghyun, and he feels his jaw start to hurt from smiling as he says “I would gladly join you, Jisoo. It would be my pleasure.”

Jisoo squeals and claps her hands with glee as she hooks her arms through Jennie and Lisa, leaving him and Rose to follow.

Yeonjun looks at Rose once again, her long fiery red hair styled in a braid and her slender figure wrapped in a sequined mini dress, as if she hadn’t changed at all over the years.

She smiles at him, looking at him like she always used to. “Come on, we better catch up before we lose sight of them.” she says, referring to her friends.

Yeonjun nods, the strange wave of nostalgia hitting him like a truck, blurring his grasp on the present. “Let’s go.” he says, as she puts a hand on his arm and he lets a hand rest on the small of her back to guide her through the crowd.

Unbeknownst to him, there was a pair of eyes who saw the whole exchange.

Han Baby, who was standing by the bar watching Yeonjun make his way through the room as Ryujin poured shots, suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her chest as she recognized the girl with the fiery red hair and the way Yeonjun had looked at her.

“Alright, here’s one for me and one for you, you better drink up you little shi—B? What’s wrong?” Ryujin says, as she drops the shots on the counter and notices her friend’s sudden dazed state. Ryujin follows B’s gaze and sees Yeonjun with Rose as well.

“Ah shit. Hey B, why don’t we—” she starts to say, but before she knows it, B squeezes her eyes shut and takes off running, bolting so fast that Ryujin barely had time to see which way she went.

“Well fuck.” Ryujin whispers to herself, downing the shots on her own before squeezing her way through the crowd to search for her friend.

•°•

Soobin’s night was not going very well.

After his nerves almost ate him alive during their game of Kiss or Tell, he had been trying his best to distract himself by getting drunk to shake them off, along with his feelings for B.

So what if he had kissed her cheek? It was barely even a kiss, it was just his lips lightly brushing against her skin, so light that he could barely even feel it, and holy shit did his lips really touch her skin?

The whole night, he had been trying his best to avoid both Yeonjun and B, which had been easy enough since he knew Yeonjun had to attend to his father’s chosen attendees and he knew that B would be kept preoccupied by Ryujin. But after having one too many drinks, he found himself in need of some quiet time to stop his head from spinning.

He sees a small closet door near the back of the club and decides to go for it, knowing that at best, it would only have a few cleaning supplies, maybe a mop and broom or 2 inside.

But as he opens the door, he’s surprised not only to see that the closet was much bigger than he thought it would be, but also to see a small figure hunched over on the floor.

“B? Is that you?” Soobin says, squinting his eyes so he could see better. The figure was sitting on the floor with their knees hugged to their chest and their face buried in their arms so he wasn’t sure, but as she looks up, her tear-filled eyes meeting his, he knew without a shadow of doubt that it was her.

“Who is it? Are you Soobin?” she slurs.

“Yes, it’s me, Soobin. B, are you crying? What’s wrong?” he asks, suddenly alarmed. What was she doing hiding in the closet of a nightclub on her the night of her boyfriend’s birthday party, crying her eyes out?

“No, it’s nothing. Soobin, I just want to be alone right now. Can you just forget you ever saw me, Soobin? Please?” she barely manages to say, her words blending together.

Soobin found himself frozen in place, his hand squeezing the doorknob as he contemplates what his next move should be.

Taehyun’s words rang through his head.

“Don’t get involved. Yes, you’re their friend, but don’t get yourself involved in anything that has to do with their relationship.”

But as Soobin looked at B, crouching on the cold floor, her arms wrapped around her legs, her chin resting on her knees, her mascara running down her cheeks, her tear-filled eyes looking at him with heavy sadness, he couldn’t help himself.

Seeing her like that, he couldn’t bear to leave her. He told himself it was just because she was his friend and she needed a friend right at the moment, but he knew he was only fooling himself. He took a deep breath before letting go of the doorknob and carefully making his way to her.

He crouches down on the floor next to her, being mindful to keep enough space between them. The first thing he does is take off his black denim jacket and draping it over her knees, aware that she was wearing a rather short dress and wanting to make sure that she wouldn’t feel violated by him. Next, he asks her “What happened?”

She looks at him then, and his heart aches for her. She looked so lost, as if her mind couldn’t process whatever thoughts she was having. “Yeonjun’s ex girlfriend is here.”

Soobin’s face automatically turns into one of disgust. “Rose?” Everyone hated Rose. “Why is she here? Are you sure?”

B nods, looking like a lost child. “I saw her walk in with some girls earlier, probably some of those business people Yeonjun mentioned. I knew it was her cause I stalked her on Twitter so I know what she looks like. Of course she looks like a fucking model, with her long fiery red hair and her long figure.” she says bitterly, her words slurring slightly. Soobin had a feeling that if she weren’t this drunk, she probably would never say any of this out loud. “See here, I even took screenshots.” she says, pulling out her phone and fumbling with it for a bit before shoving it in Soobin’s face.

Soobin was aware of how Rose looked, having been there back when Yeonjun was still dating her, and he was just as unimpressed now as he was back then. “Oh god, who even invited her? And for the record, she does not look like a model, she looks like a witch.” Soobin says sourly, which causes B to snort.

“Oh, just admit that she’s gorgeous, Binnie. I know she is.” she slurs. “Anyway, I was at the bar with Ryujin when she walked in and then I saw the moment Yeonjun saw her, and oh god the look on his face.” she says, her face contorting, clearly showing her disdain. “He came up to her and greeted her, he hugged her, he smiled at her and started talking to her as if she were special or something.”

“Yeonjun did all that? B, that sounds ridiculous.” Soobin says, trying to ease her worries.

“Are you saying I’m crazy?” B almost shrieks, staring at him as if he were crazy. Whoops, wrong move.

“No, it’s just that I know Yeonjun and I know what he was like when things ended with Rose. He was a huge mess, and I just don’t think he’d be dumb enough to treat her like a friend or to even acknowledge her existence after everything that happened.” Soobin says.

B lets out a wail. “But I’m not crazy, Binnie! I saw it with my own 2 eyes, and Ryujin saw it too, and she tried to distract me but it was too late. At that moment my brain couldn’t process what my eyes were seeing and I just sort of ran away to get some clarity.”

“That’s why you’re hiding here? For some clarity?”

B nods, but then her eyes swell up with tears again. “Yes but I still don’t really understand it. The more I think about it, the more it hurts. I don’t know what to do, Binnie. I just wanted to get away.” she says, moving closer and leaning her head on his shoulder.

Soobin takes a breath, well aware of how close she was and the weight of her against his body and how her usual Lavender scent was just drowned out by the stench of alcohol. He didn’t know how just how drunk she was, but Soobin never thought B could be so vulnerably jealous and insecure. He gingerly raises a hand and holds hers, gently running circles on her skin with his thumb as he thinks over his next words very carefully. “Okay, so what if Rose is here? So what if Yeonjun smiled at her or hugged her or whatever else you saw? None of that stuff matters because B, he has you.”

B laughs bitterly. “He has me? What does that matter?”

“It matters because you are one of the best people to exist in this world at this very moment and he knows that. It matters because you are one of the kindest, smartest, cutest, silliest, and most beautiful people I know. It matters because you are special, and he is so damn lucky that he gets to call you his. It matters because a girl like you is impossible to find, and he would be a complete idiot if he let something as insignificant as his cheater of an ex fuck it up.”

It’s quiet for a moment, the only audible sound coming from B as she tries to stop her tears from falling and slow down her breathing. Until she very quietly, almost inaudibly says “Maybe it should’ve been you, Soobin.”

The thumb tracing circles on her hand freezes and he feels his heart stop beating as her words wash over him. “What did you say?”

“Maybe it should’ve been you.” she sighs. “I’ve been told on more than one occasion that you and I would make a great pair so maybe they were right. Look, you’ve even given me your jacket just now even though I still have one of your hoodies from when we were in your room at Kai’s party! I mean it’s not like I had an option cause you never liked me anyway and Yeonjun did, but maybe if you did, maybe I would’ve chosen you just like everyone said I should’ve or would’ve. Or could’ve? I don’t know.” she slurs, her words heavily blending together yet her message was very clear.

When Soobin remains frozen and silent, B laughs out loud, a few hiccups escaping her as her crying subsides. “Oh god I’m sorry, I’m just so drunk please don’t listen to me. You should go back out there and have fun, don’t waste your time on me. I’m pretty sure I won’t remember this in the morning anyway. And don’t worry, I’ll give you back your hoodie.” she rambles, her words slurring together. And he knew she was right. She was so drunk, he didn’t think he’d ever see her like the wasted mess that she was now.

Soobin looks at her sadly, his heart aching. He couldn’t leave her alone, but he knew that if he stayed with her any longer, especially since she was drunk and spewing out candid thoughts like that, he’d only end up hurting himself. He pulls out his phone and sends a few quick texts before leaning his head back against the wall, waiting.

“You know you always have a choice, right?” Soobin says. “And for the record, it’s not like I never liked you.”

B looks up at him, confused. “What?”

“It’s not like I never liked you, because I did.” Soobin says, praying with all his might that she wouldn’t remember a word of their conversation when she woke up the next morning. “And I still do.”

Before B gets the chance to react, the door flies open, and Taehyun walks in along with Beomgyu, both of them had a slight crazed look in their eyes as if they had run a marathon.

“B! Dear sweet darling, are you okay?” Beomgyu says dramatically as he sweeps into the room and drops himself on the floor in front of her, pulling her into his arms.

“I saw Yeonjun with Rose!” she wails before the tears start to fall from her eyes once again, she crumbles in Beomgyu’s arms, her drunk mind still unable to properly process anything.

“Shhh, there there, you poor miserable thing. It’s alright.” Beomgyu coos, rubbing a hand soothingly along her back. Behind her back, he violently mouths to Soobin and Taehyun “Rose?! What the fuck?!”

Soobin stands and approaches Taehyun, who was standing by the door observing the scene in front of him.

“Thanks for coming, Tyun.” Soobin says. “I can’t–I don’t think I can trust myself around her, not while she’s like this. It’s just–“ he says, struggling with his words as his conversation with B replays in his mind “It hurts too much, I can’t be here for her but I can’t just leave her alone, so thank you.”

Taehyun shakes his head at the older boy. “No problem, Soobin. I told you I’m always here if you need me.” he says, clapping him on the back. “How bad is it?”

“She’s really drunk and she was crying and all upset cause she saw Rose and Yeonjun together.” Soobin explains.

Taehyun nods. “That’s understandable, Rose is a hideous wench just the thought of seeing her makes me want to vomit, much more the thought of her and Yeonjun together. I’m assuming she came with some of Yeonjun’s business friends.” he says. “Anything else?”

“Well…I sort of told her that I like her.” Soobin whispers so that Beomgyu and B wouldn’t hear.

Taehyun’s eyes widen as he hits Soobin’s arm. “What! Soobin! Why would you do that?”

“She was drunk and upset and rambling and saying things and I’m also pretty intoxicated too so it sort of just came out!” Soobin groans. “She’s pretty wasted though so I don’t think she’ll remember anything.”

“You better pray to science and faith that she doesn’t.” Taehyun warns him. “Tell me everything later on, okay? Just go and leave her to us, you look like you could use another drink.”

Soobin nods. “Thanks, Tyun. Fill me in too, how has your night been?” he asks politely.

Taehyun smiles. “I kissed my crush, and my crush kissed me back.”

Soobin’s eyes widen and his mouth drops open in shock. Before he can say anything else, Taehyun laughs and pushes him out of the room before slamming the door in his face.

•°•

Soobin’s night was starting to turn hazy as he kept his alcohol ingestion going, and the more he stumbled through the place the longer the night seemed to drag on.

After his quiet yet disastrous moment with B, he immediately rushed to the bar and started downing shots with a few seniors from their class. Once he felt the alcohol back in his system, he spent some time on the dance floor joining the throng of random sweaty bodies jumping and grinding and bumping against his. At one point, a wasted girl he recognized from his science class pulled him aside and attempted to lock their lips together, which he managed to politely refuse and escape from.

After stumbling his way through the place, he had finally caught sight of a familiar face. Once he spotted the back of Yeonjun’s familiar head of blue hair, he started to make his way towards him, until he saw the head of long fiery red hair that Yeonjun currently had as company.

He stopped in his place, observing his friend as Yeonjun continued to converse with his ex. Soobin could see that they were standing right in front of each other and that they occasionally leaned in close, but he deduced that it was probably just because the music was so loud.

He watches as Rose laughs at something Yeonjun says, laying a hand on his shoulder as she tilts her head back before she leans into him and says something back, which causes Yeonjun’s shoulders to shake with laughter as well.

He watches as Rose pulls him to the dance floor, with Yeonjun initially refusing and trying to keep his feet planted on the floor until the girl pouts at him and manages to pull him along with her, into the middle of the crowd, as they start to jump and shake their bodies along to the beat.

He watches as Rose whips her long red hair over her shoulder as she starts wiggling her body around the blue haired boy, her hands on his shoulders, almost around his neck, as she pulls their bodies flush together and she starts dancing against him.

He watches as she traps Yeonjun’s face in her hands and pulls down until their lips meet, and Soobin’s breath catches in his throat as she does so.

He watches as Yeonjun breaks away and all but shoves her aside, while she looks at him innocently and shrugs. He watches as she attempts to pull him close again, only for Yeonjun to grab her hands and push them away. He watches as Yeonjun finally turns around, their eyes meeting, and he watches Yeonjun freeze as he realizes that Soobin was watching him the whole time.

•°•  

Author’s note:

Did someone say... drama? Here’s a lengthy and drama-packed chapter to make up for a delay in the update! I just moved into a new apartment and I’ve been busy with packing and unloading all my stuff so I’m sorry for the delay :c Thank you for all your kind words and your reactions, they really mean so much to me! Let me know what you think!

[mood-swings-for-days]

Thunderstorm Ι Ch. 1 Ι JJK

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Angst, Smut, Werewolf!au

Word count: 5, 283

Warnings: Characters in a less than healthy state of mind, violence, slight body horror, an addicted to cigarettes Jungkook (don’t do drugs, kids!)

Summary: An accidental encounter triggers a series of events that shatter your monotonous life. A new relationship starts to develop, following the stages of a thunderstorm.

Note: Written under the influence of beautiful music

1   2   3   4

Chapter 1: Wind

     The heavy downpour served as white noise to you. Dull jazz seeped all around you and into the cracks of your conscious as you stared blankly at the floor. The clock behind you ticked rhythmically, but it felt like time was no longer a thing. The aisles were void of customers for hours and a while ago you had started wondering if the minimum wage was worth all the time you’d wasted in this tiny shop. Days were getting duller as the months passed, having fallen into the same simple routine, you had become so impassive. Long ago you stopped counting the minutes until your shift ended, because you had nowhere to go anyway, which resulted in you going home late on multiple occasions. Your roommate never questioned it, not even when you came back well past midnight. You two didn’t talk much anyway.

     The small bell ringing as the door opened brought your mind back into the room, but you didn’t look up.

    “Good evening.”

     The customer didn’t bother to return your greeting and proceeded to walk between the aisles of overpriced goods. His wet shoes made a rhythmic squelching sound along the tiles. Absentmindedly you thought to mop the floors before you locked up for the night. Some moments later the customer came over to where you were sitting behind the cash register. With a dry exhale you pushed yourself from the chair you were slumped over in. The customer pushed a bottle of water and some cheap cigarettes toward you. His hands were bony, pale, and raw and bruised along the knuckles. Out of instinct you looked up to see his face. He was at least a foot taller than you, dressed in all black and completely soaked in rainwater. His dripping black bangs fell into his eyes and he wasn’t really trying to make eye contact, instead staring down at his stuff on the counter. Over all he looked like an average twenty-something year old dude, nothing in particular struck you as odd except for his beaten up hands. You scanned his things without much contemplation.

     “That’ll be 6,75.”

     He dug into the pocket of his jeans and threw a damp, slightly crumpled ten-dollar bill on the counter. You reached into the cash register for his change as he started opening the pack of cigarettes before even exiting the store. Clamping one between his lips, he pocketed the $3,25 you gave him and turned to walk out. The door was halfway open when he stopped. The sound of pouring rain from outside becoming even louder.

     “Shouldn’t you be going home?” You heard his voice for the first time. Turning to look at the clock, it was ten thirty and your shift had ended over an hour ago. The bell rang as the door fell shut. You watched his blurry silhouette through the glass as he lit his cigarette and disappeared into the rain.

    In the next thirty minutes’ no one else came in while you moped the floor and counted the shop turnover. In another ten minutes you had locked the place up and were headed home in your 1972 ford f100. The windshield wipers fighting the onslaught of rainwater was about the only dynamic thing in your drive back until you noticed a guy walking down your side of the road several feet down. You recognized him to be the customer from earlier.  He was walking with his hands in his pockets, completely defenseless against the downpour. As you were approaching him, something came over you. Your truck passed him and slowed down to a stop. A few moments later he peeked through your passenger side window with a cocked brow. You reached over the gear stick and opened the door for him.

    “It’s raining.” You pointed, hesitating what to say “We’re headed the same way and figured you needed a ride.”

    The guy looked at you blankly for a few seconds as the heavy rain seeped into the interior of your car. The longer he measured you up, the more you wondered if offering him a ride was a bad idea in the first place. He took his undoubtedly wet cigarette out of his mouth and flicked it behind your car.

    “I appreciate it, but don’t you think offering random strangers a ride is a bit reckless.”

    You blinked at him, fully realizing he was right, but you shrugged anyway.

    “Are you getting in or not? My car’s getting wet.”

    With a chuckle he climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the door shut. You started your truck back up and proceeded to drive without another word. The stranger rolled down his window and lit another cigarette, a dry one. The smell of smoke and wet asphalt flooded the car. He was leaning his elbow against the open window and taking frequent drags from his cigarette, looking at the forest of pine trees that was lining the side of the road.

    “Sorry ‘bout that, but I was dying for a smoke. My last two got pretty messed up cause the rain.” He informed you and you didn’t really mind. The cold air seeping from outside was pleasant on your skin and there was something nostalgic about the smell of cigarette smoke inside this car.

    “My name’ s Jungkook.” He offered “In case you were wondering.”

    “Y/n”

    Aside from that little exchange, the car ride was mostly silent. Jungkook kept looking out the window while you sneaked glances at him from the corner of your eye. You turned down the road circling the forest and headed for your house. He never mentioned where he was going and somehow you forgot to ask.

    “So, where do you need me to drop you off?”

    Jungkook glanced at you briefly and shrugged. “Anywhere around here’s fine. I’m not gonna make you drive me home.”

    It was a couple miles down the road from your house when you stopped. You turned your attention towards Jungkook and found him looking at you already. By the time you arrived the downpour had somewhat subsided.

    “Thank you.” He said simply but made no move to try and get out of the car.

    You nodded, not really knowing what you were supposed to say. Picking him up off the road was kind of a spur of the moment decision, but you didn’t really want to tell him that. He was looking at you calmly with big brown eyes and a smile. For a few moments you allowed yourself to examine his face. There wasn’t anything spectacular about his features per se, but he was handsome in a weirdly alluring way. You chalked it up to your perpetual lack of contact with the opposite sex. Still, you couldn’t help the way your eyes followed his tongue as it poked out to wet his bottom lip. Now that the window on his side had been rolled up you could smell the rain and smoke on his clothes, but there was also something else, something particularly masculine about his scent. It wasn’t cologne and it most definitely wasn’t sweat, but it smelled familiar. There were a lot of little things about this guy that you seemed to pick up on. It really had been a while, you thought, since you last looked at a guy like that. Jungkook also seemed to look at you with interest as the thoughts stumbled around in your brain. The smile he wore a second ago had given way to a somewhat unreadable expression. He blinked once, twice and leaned toward you. Your breath hitched when his cold lips touched yours. It’s like static burned you for a moment and you flinched. When he pulled back you were left with the taste of cigarette smoke on your mouth.

    “Thanks,” he repeated “but don’t ever pick a random person up off the road again, no matter how hard it’s raining. Others might not have your best intentions in mind and you never know what might be sitting in your passenger seat.”

    You just kept looking at him wordlessly. You couldn’t decide if the kiss or the gentle scolding he was giving you bewildered you more. Jungkook sighed softly and reached for the door.

    “Goodnight.” He offered for the last time and exited the car

    “Night.” You mumbled quietly, but he heard you. You followed his movements as he rounded the front of your truck. In the headlights his eyes flashed for a brief second before he walked off. Just like an animal’s eyes, you thought absentmindedly as you watched his back disappear the further he went. You just stood still until you could no longer see him and then looked down at where he was sitting just a minute ago. The worn out leather of the seat was still very much wet. Your mind went blank and you just stared at the wet spot his body had left. Suddenly your desire to figure out what happened fizzled out. Passively you reached for the key and restarted your truck.

    When you got home your roommate was fast asleep on the couch with a movie still running on TV. You turned it off, ate a bowl of cereal for dinner and quickly fell asleep to the sound of raindrops against your window.

    Your sleep was far from peaceful though. Months ago your dreams had disappeared and every morning you woke from a forgetful slumber. Tonight however images of dark looming pines and a voice carried by the wind haunted the minutes of unconsciousness you managed to obtain between tossing and turning. Your boots were sinking into the muddy grass, lining the forest floor. The wind felt painfully cold against your bare skin as you looked around for the source of the incoherent whispers you were hearing. Seconds later you were sitting up in your bed thoroughly disconcerted and making sure you were alone in the room. Laying back down you blacked out again almost immediately. Back into the woods, the wind was howling all around you, warning of an upcoming thunderstorm. The full moon kept coming in and out from between the clouds and in the brief moments of clarity you frantically looked around. The tall pines swayed against the force of the wind, throwing moving shadows that were suspiciously reminiscent of the human form. You just kept running blindly, being driven by some internal force to keep looking. The damp air around you was both freezing and suffocating. Your breath was coming out in white puffs the faster you ran, slipping on moss and stumbling over your own feet. And that damned whispering could still be heard all around you. The wind only seemed to amplify it. Abruptly, you stopped. Where were you going exactly? Were you running to where you assumed the exit of the forest to be or were you running towards the supposed source of the whispering? Your escape came unexpectedly when you opened your eyes for the umpteenth time that night. Your eyelids felt so heavy and your body was aching, your limbs felt cold and heavy. With a trembling exhale you stared out your window. Just beyond your back yard you could see the very forest that made your night so restless. By now the rain had stopped, the sky was clearing and just behind the pines you could see dawn approaching. A heavy yawn tore from your lungs and you couldn’t resist the fatigue anymore. Falling against the pillow you slipped into deep, dreamless sleep.

    The next few weeks trickled by uneventful as ever. Your faithful routine once again becoming inescapable. In the morning you went to work, doing twelve hour shifts five days a week, sometime around nine or ten you went home, ate whatever was most convenient at the time and fell asleep. In comparison to your time awake, your dreams were wild. Running around the woods for hours on end, clinging to every little sound or movement and waking up on multiple occasions with chilled skin and goosebumps all over. On your days off your body desperately tried to recover from all the sleepless nights. You frequently passed out all over the place. On the kitchen table, on the couch while watching a movie, in bed every time you laid down, and even on the toilet a few times, literally anywhere you stayed immobile for an extended period of time. All the sleep however had the opposite effect on you. Instead of getting some rest you felt like the exhaustion was crushing you. Human interactions started to sound like white noise to you and your vision was blurry, so much so you stopped driving your truck to and from work in fear of losing control and crashing. You took the 45-minute walk twice every day with a blank stare ahead and zero sense of your surroundings. The damned woods kept you company, lining your periphery with all their rustling branches and unseen inhabitants.

    Soon enough the new university year was about to start, reminding you why exactly you chose to stay in this wilting part of the world in the first place. However, starting your lectures didn’t exactly bring with them the sense of purpose you were hoping to obtain. The only things that added to your routine were a whole bunch more school work to do and a certain bubbly character to accompany you in what little free time you had left. Your childhood best friend was back from her trip abroad to start another year at university. Your obscure dreams never ceased to keep you on the brink of existence and anything you tried to do took twice as long as it normally would, which left you with very little free time and patience to deal with Yara.

    You two were huddled up in a tight booth at the back of your local café, sitting opposite each other with your laptops open and a lengthy MS Word document on your screen.

    “Writing essays is damn near impossible!” Yara pouted and sipped on her sugary latte.

    You directed your attention toward her over the laptop screen. Her short, pumpkin-orange hair was held back by two bow-shaped clips on either side. It stood out against her pale skin and fluffy white sweater. You followed the carmine smudge her lips left on the rim of her drink and couldn’t help but think how the sugary beverage perfectly matched her sweet attitude and appearance. You on the other hand had picked up the habit of drinking copious amounts of bitter black coffee in your attempts keep your sanity.

    “You know,” Yara picked up a different tone to her voice “ever since I came back you’ve been acting kind of…” she paused to study your face for a moment “kind of off, I guess. You’re like a shell of your former self.”

    A shell of your former self? Yeah, that was one way to put it, you chuckled. Yara was staring at you with the intensity of a stubborn preschooler. A hint of irritation clenched in your chest at that expression she wore. How were you supposed to tell her that some random guy kissed you after you picked him up off the road in the dead of night and you’ve been having this oddly specific dream disrupting your sleep when she was looking at you like that. To be honest you didn’t think the two were connected in any particular way just because they happened to happen on the same day. The look on her face however was really starting to annoy you. Her cheeks were slightly puffed out, lips pursed and eyes narrowed with the silliest kind of determination. Deep down you knew it was only her ever insatiable curiosity that drove her to ask about your life.

    “What are you scowling at me for?” Yara grumbled without breaking eye contact.

    “How about you mind your own fucking business for once!” Your built up irritation suddenly exploded in her face. The annoying look of determination quickly disappeared and for once Yara seemed to be caught off guard. She stared at you wordlessly and you were already starting to regret your outburst.

    “Yara, I -”

    “Y/n, you can yell at me if that helps, but something really is wrong with you.” You couldn’t meet her eyes anymore; guilt was eating away at your conscious. When did you become like this? Was your life that pathetic that you felt threatened by your best friend trying to catch up because you had nothing to offer but an outlandish story about some guy and a stupid dream? Maybe you were jealous because Yara had her life together? It was your own fault for choosing to live your life so monotonously, waiting for some magical event to break up your routine. It was your own fault for deciding to deprive yourself from things like traveling, human interactions and meaningful relationships. And it wasn’t like you were building your future either. You were simply trapped by your insecurities and fear of ‘what ifs’, fear of commitment and at the same time inability to let go.

    “Hey, don’t freeze up like that!” Yara’s gentle touch pulled you from your destructive self-criticism. “If you feel uncomfortable, I won’t ask again. I’m just worried, because you seem to be in pretty rough shape.”

    The genuine warmth you found when you finally looked into her eyes felt like a punch to the gut. There you went again, distancing yourself from the person who had your best intentions in mind. Yara had been with you through it all, you realized, and she was interested in your because she was your friend, not because she was being nosy or trying to poke fun at you. Seriously, what was wrong with you to immediately feel threatened?

    “I’m sorry.” You struggled and failed to mask the tremble in your voice.

    “Stop beating yourself up over it.” You flinched “That’s not a healthy state of mind to be in, believe me.”

    You breathed s heavy sigh, but decided to be honest with her.

    “I’ve been having some trouble sleeping lately…” You started a bit hesitantly “… There’s this weird dream that I keep waking up from and I can’t seem to get rid of it. It’s really stupid, I keep hearing someone whispering and then I start running through the woods, and I don’t know where I’m going, and I keep waking up before I can figure it out. Every time I fall asleep everything starts all over again and I’m sick of it. I wake up at least 5 or 6 times every night and it’s been driving me insane for weeks.”

    Yara quietly waited for you to finish your rant. All throughout your gaze kept bouncing between her and the table in front of you, checking for any sign of mockery, but it never came.

    “Have you ever tried to go out there?” She suggested out of nowhere

    “Go out where?”

    “Out in the woods.” Yara shrugged “Dreams are a form of expression of our subconscious desires, you know. Your dream seems straightforward enough and I don’t really think there’s some hidden meaning behind it.”

    You were looking at her suspiciously. “You know there’s bears and stuff in the woods, right?”

    “Look, I wouldn’t be suggesting this if I had a better idea. Next time you wake up from that dream, get some bear spray and a flashlight and go out there for a bit. I mean, if you have a better idea, I’m listening.”

    “I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about any solutions, so I guess this is something.”

    “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll come over. When you decide to go out there, wake me up and I’ll be waiting for you to come back.”

    “That could work.” You nodded “There’s something else I want to tell you.”

    “I’m not going anywhere.” Yara smiled

    “The day my dreams started… God, I hate the way that sounds, but back when it started I accidentally stayed late at work. It was raining really heavily and this guy came in the store and -”

    Your words died in your throat when you saw a familiar face walk in through the door of the coffee shop. You hadn’t seen him in over a month, but there he was in all his dark and looming glory. Jungkook walked over to the barista with his hands in his pockets and you hated the way your adrenaline spiked at the sight of him. Yara was staring at you in silent bewilderment, but you couldn’t muster the strength to look away from him.

    “That’s him. That’s the guy I’m talking about.”

    “Who?!” Yara shrieked as she whipped her orange head around to scan the vicinity of the café.

    Upon hearing the unnaturally loud noise, Jungkook slowly turned around to look for the source. His eyes quickly zeroed in on Yara blatantly staring at him. They had a brief stare down, during which you just wanted to crawl under the table and out of sight. Just as suddenly as before Yara Jolted her head back around to look at you instead.

    “Isn’t that… oh, what’s his face? Jeon Jungkook?”

    But you couldn’t answer her because, now that Yara wasn’t serving as a distraction, Jungkook’s attention had shifted to you. He looked good, better that the first time you saw him anyway. This time he was dry, wearing simple torn blue jeans and a long black jacket. His hair was covered by a beanie and there was a seemingly empty backpack swinging on his shoulder. Jungkook picked up his drink from the counter and turned to leave, offering you a small nod as a parting gift. Your eyes followed him out the door and through the window. Just like he did over a month ago, he stopped to pull a cigarette out and light it before proceeding to walk away.

    “Sooo,” Yara started “what’s up with you and that Jungkook guy?”

    Embarrassment tinted your cheeks red upon realizing you had been caught. Yara was grinning at you and you could practically see the onslaught of questions that were bubbling up in her throat. By the time you started speaking she was barely holding back.

    “It’s nothing special, calm down.” You attempted to counteract her excitement. “He was my last customer for the night and while I was driving back home I saw him walking down the road in the rain. I don’t know why, but I gave him a ride. That’s all. The weird thing is that my dreams started that same night. I don’t think it’s related, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.”

    You decided to skip the part where he kissed you, because you weren’t sure what that was about.

    “That’s it?” Yara stared at you with the most disappointed face “And here I was thinking you two hooked up in your dad’s old truck.”

    “Told you it’s nothing special.” You sipped on your now cold coffee and the bitterness of it gave you chills. You didn’t even like coffee in the first place. “Anyway, how do you know him?”

    Yara shrugged “I know pretty much everyone in our university.” Upon seeing your confused expression, she continued “Yeah, I even noticed him attending some of our lectures. He always sneaks into class late. Dude’s a freaking magician, I can never catch him when he comes and goes. He’s pretty cute, but is also kinda weird and always keeps to himself. I’ve seen him hang out with very few people, I guess he has a tight friend circle or something.”

    You just sat back and listened in awe to all the information she was feeding you about this guy you’ve never seemed to notice before. Since when was Yara this well educated about people’s lives, you wondered.

    “He’s not much of a player too, despite what people think. I heard he’s hooked up with two or three girls that were older than him and already graduated by now. That’s about it.”

    Yara nodded in satisfaction when she finished her little resume of Jungkook’s history on campus. You guess she was people watching every time you assumed she was spacing out. You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you at the thought of Yara eavesdropping on people’s conversations and keeping tabs on people she never even talked to.

    You two stayed in the coffee shop until closing time, rekindling your relationship and laughing wholeheartedly at each other. After you left, you ate doughnuts for dinner and went back to your place, determined to watch movies until you both passed out.

    A random horror movie was playing on the TV and you seemed to be the only one paying attention. Yara was buried somewhere under an ungodly amount of blankets, dozing off repeatedly but trying her damnedest to stay awake. Her half-conscious face was bobbing up and down and she released yawn after yawn until she finally gave in. She fell face first into the blankets and started snoring softly. For a while you tried to follow suit, but sleep never came by to take you. Still you stubbornly squeezed your eyes shut and tried to find the most comfortable position. On TV the movie was still playing so you decided you might as well watch it. Maybe it could work some magic and put you to sleep. The movie was about a train breaking down in the middle of the woods. As you watched the looming drone shots of the foggy forest you couldn’t escape the weird feeling crawling up your chest. Overwhelming curiosity was eating you alive and making you excited at the thought of finally figuring out what was pulling you into the woods. Perhaps this was what was keeping you awake. A part of you wanted to just get up and go already, but, as stupid as it may sound, the other part felt like it wasn’t right to do it without being woken up from your dream. You felt like a little kid being told that Santa wasn’t coming unless they were asleep. It was so stupid but you still hesitated to get up.

    Some howling returned your attention to the movie. You didn’t realize it was a werewolf movie when you picked it. You hated this kind of stuff so you immediately reached for the remote and switched it off. The sound of howling gave you the chills and you didn’t want to deal with this bullshit tonight. Blocking the sound from your memory you curled in on yourself and pulled the blankets tightly around you. Not soon enough your eyelids started getting heavy.

    Your dreams were unnervingly tranquil. Instead of the frantic running you were used to, there was only darkness. Thick, unmoving darkness rendered your eyesight useless. At your sides, your fingers twitched nervously. The only familiarity presented itself in the form of a cold breeze, brushing against your bare skin and raising goosebumps in its wake. You strained your ears for even the slightest noise, but you heard nothing. You didn’t know what to do with yourself, your limbs felt too heavy to move and your heart was hammering in your chest.

    Smoke? You sniffed the air around you. Cigarette smoke. The wind was carrying it, swirling it around you and blowing it away. Immediately, you thought about Jungkook and felt mildly irritated. Of course the only time you wanted to experience the damned dream this would happen. You blamed Yara and the amount of personal information about Jungkook she dumped on you earlier. A smile stretched across your face and you let your guard down. You couldn’t get mad because you finally had normal human interactions in your life.

    You felt warmth slide up your arms. You flinched but couldn’t move. It was the oddest feeling because it felt like human touch, but you couldn’t sense a human presence. It caressed you from your palms, all the way to your shoulders and back. Moving down your spine slowly, it reached your waist and gently tugged you backward. Your shoulders were met with something firm that emanated even more warmth. Everything felt strangely natural, the touch felt familiar on your body and you seemed to relax right into it. The smell of cigarette smoke was stronger now, blended with the scent of fresh linen and something sweet. You inhaled it in big gulps, almost burning the fragrance into your mind. The more you leaned into it, the presence behind you became more solid, more real. Cold breath spilled along your neck and chest and you didn’t even try to stop the prominent chill that made your spine bow against the firm body behind you. Your hands shifted from your sides to reach backward, your fingers came in contact with a rough fabric you recognized to be denim. Your shoulders were pressed into something much softer like a hoodie, you guessed. Every fiber of your being screamed at you to turn around, but you were scared that this lovely feeling would vanish if you did. So you kept your movements soft and slow, carefully sliding your hand up your chest. You felt electricity prick at your fingertips the closer you got. Agonizingly slow they slipped over the swell of your breast, over your ribs and collarbone and up your throat and jaw. You held your breath the closer you got, just a little bit more, you reached back. Your fingers flinched when they made contact with hot, silky smooth skin. You ventured further, your palm sliding shyly along it, shaking slightly. Your hand was wrapping around the back of someone’s neck, you realized when your fingers touched soft, short hair. The person leaned into your hesitant touch and for the first time you felt his chest expand with a deep inhale against your back. If you focused hard enough, you could even feel his rapid heartbeat onto your shoulder blade. You couldn’t see or hear a thing but, God, you other senses were going into overdrive. Every cell in your body tingled in anticipation of the slightest stimulation and this person’s scent was so pungent all around, you could taste it in your throat.

    A howl tore through the matter of your fantasy. The sound came so suddenly through the silence, that it made tears pool at the corners of your eye. Your body was completely stripped of warmth when a gust of wind slammed into you from behind and left you shivering. Cold droplets started to rattle against your shoulders and when you opened your eyes you were once again faced with the image of tall looming pines. The whispering was also coming back in full force and it only seeped to grow louder the longer you listened. The sudden onslaught of noise made tears stream down your face. Just as the whispers started to morph into screams, you felt a suffocating pain erupt in your throat. Instinctively you squeezed your hands against it until you realized, there was blood pouring out between your fingers.

    Your body shot up with a screeching inhale. Your hands unconsciously palmed at your throat.  You stared right ahead into the darkness of your living room, everything was just as you had left it, Yara was cuddled up under her blanket pile, undisturbed. Your body was trembling and heavy tears rolled down your cheeks and into your lap.

    “Fuck this.” You croaked in a tiny voice “What the fuck just happened?!”

    You turned to look out the window. The first rays of sunlight were starting to creep over the horizon. One thing’s for sure, you weren’t going into the forest anytime soon.

...

Disclaimer: I didn’ come up with the name Yara myself, but instead got influenced by @kinktae ‘s story. Other than that the character has been made up by me. Just giving credit where it’s due.

[fantasyuta]

falling for you

[ mark x reader: cafe!au, fluffy ]

[ wc: 2766 ]

a/n: i love mark lee, that’s all. also sorry if the ending got a bit awkwardly phrased i’m awful at ending this kind of stuff :(

it’s been only a couple months since you’ve moved to korea, but you’re already homesick.

you decided studying abroad would be a good idea to get a new perspective on your studies, so you’d applied to a few universities in the bustling city of seoul, south korea. plus, your best friend, yuna, who was a korean transfer student you had met in high school, had her own apartment that she excitedly let you share. the first few days had been bliss: you went out with yuna to explore your new home for the next semester or two. you visited the line store, went to everland, korea’s biggest amusement park, and shopped til you dropped.

but after the semester begins, you’re ready to go back home. your first week of school is awful; your korean isn’t great, so it’s hard to find your classes and navigate the city without yuna, who went to a different university for her music major. it doesn’t help that you had to pile up on morning classes for your requirements, despite your bad habits of sleeping in.

you find that one effective method of destressing is visiting at the cafe only a few minutes away from your shared apartment. your sweet tooth always gets the better of you, and you can’t resist ordering a sugary drink, whether it be a caramel macchiato or strawberry smoothie. you find yourself going to the cafe on a daily basis, usually right after your classes are over. just for fun, you decide to try to order everything on the menu at least once.

you quickly become a regular customer, and you instantly notice when something in the cafe changes. and halfway through the semester, the barista who usually takes your order -- a quiet girl named jiwoo who always seems to be in a bad mood -- switches to a big-eyed boy whose name tag reads ‘mark’ with a crooked smiley face.

the first day he starts working at the cafe, he stutters your order back to you and almost drops a cup as he scribbles down your name. but as he becomes used to working as a barista, he becomes a much more cheerful boy; he doesn’t say anything about your accented korean, whereas jiwoo would frown at your mispronunciations and ask you to repeat your order. he can instantly tell what kind of drink you want just by your expression; when you show up in a dripping raincoat and a gloomy face, he immediately rings up a hot chocolate, with extra whipped cream for good measure. and when you walk up to the register in a smile and bright outfit, he knows you’re in the mood for a smoothie. and he leaves little notes as he hands you your beverage with a grin: ‘have a nice day!’ ‘happy friday!’ ‘you can do it!’, all ending in a crooked smiley face matching the one on his name tag.

and without your knowledge, mark lee has a big, fat crush on you. he’s falling for you hard.

when the cafe starts to empty and you sit in a cozy corner with your textbooks and notebooks sprawled across the table, he admires you from afar as he wipes a dirty table. he admires you from the register when you scowl at notes from a lecture while studying for an upcoming test. he admires you while sweeping the floor when you start dozing off in the warm cafe with soft jazz music playing out its speakers, as the cafe approaches its closing hours. but the moment he loves most is when you grin at him as you choose your next adventurous drink, and the split second of your hand touching his as you hand him a few thousand won to pay for your beverage.

as finals week approaches and mark hands you warm lattes topped with cute misshapen hearts of milk and foam, you spend more and more time holed up at the cafe. you’re stressed out to the max, and you desperately want to pass your classes with good grades to make sure you moving out all the way to korea wasn’t a futile investment and waste of time. luckily, the cafe is where you can focus best, since the apartment is always blaring with yuna’s newest composition for her music classes that she apologetically explains she needs for her final project. the muted conversations of other patrons of the cafe, the clinking of glass, the soft music, and one special barista all help create a comfortable environment for you to study.

the monday before finals week, you arrange a study session at the university library with a few of the other international students in your classes. you’re well acquainted with vernon and joshua, two boys who always joke around even during lectures and never fail to make to smile. rose is a tall, pretty girl with a lilting australian accent who diligently takes notes and offers to help you study immediately when you tentatively approach her. the four of you decide on friday evening as the most convenient time to get together to cram for finals together.

of course, friday has to be the day it starts snowing.

you camp out at the cafe, your new haven, as you try to organize your scattered notes. you lose track of time as you highlight and underline your words, and the snow continues to fall outside. and from afar, mark watches you, mesmerized by the sight of you working, with your nose scrunching up every so often.

suddenly, you hear your phone buzz. you shuffle papers around, trying to find your phone underneath a stack of papers, and you blink at the notifications.

[ 5 unread messages from: rose ]

[ 2 missed calls from: vernon ]

[ 7 messages from: joshua ]

you groan and internally punch yourself in the face as you realize that you forgot about your study session, and you’re 15 minutes late.

you shove all of your pens, highlighters, notes, and books into your backpack and rush towards the cafe door as you call vernon back. ‘ohmygosh i’msosorryvernon i’ll be there in 5 minutes!’ you exclaim into the phone, hurriedly pulling on your parka as you walk as fast as you can without slipping on the snowy sidewalk.

mark, jolted out of his daze by the sudden jingle of the bell on the cafe door and the slam of the door shutting, sullenly heads to your abandoned table with a rag to clean up. as always, an empty cup is sitting on the table; however, in your haste to leave, you left your wallet on the table.

curiosity gets the better of mark, and he opens your wallet to find a few thousand won (you are a broke student, after all), a student id card, a polaroid of you and yuna that you took on your first day in korea, a tiny picture of your family, and a folded up post it note. the boy opens the post it note, which reads, ‘if found, please contact this number!’ with your phone number, the message written in both korean and english. he studies your student id card (he blushes, thinking, is this creepy?) and reads the label that declares you as an international student. he ponders on what to do; the cafe is scheduled to close over the weekend due to the heavy snow, and he knows it’ll be hard for you to make time especially during finals week.

taking a deep breath, he slowly pulls his phone out of his apron pocket.

it’s 10:49 pm, and your study session is coming to a close. the university library closes at 11, so you and your three classmates contentedly clean up the table littered with notebooks, laptops, and textbooks. the four of you studied for almost 5 hours straight, and for the first time in a while, you feel hopeful about your chances at doing well in college.

you’d turned your phone off to reduce its distracting notifications. as it awakens, your phone buzzes, and you frown at the unfamiliar number that has texted you.

[ 6:18 pm ] 010-127-0802: hello is this y/n?

[ 6:18 pm ] 010-127-0802: you left your wallet at the cafe, and the snow’s bound to get worse

[ 6:19 pm ] 010-127-0802: so i thought today would be the best time for you to get your wallet back

you groan; you must’ve forgotten your wallet as you were trying to get out of the cafe as fast as possible. you’re a little surprised (and relieved) that someone who seems to speak english fluently found your wallet; at least there won’t be an awkward conversation with your broken korean making an unwanted appearance.

[ 10:52 pm ] you: thank you so much! i didn’t even notice my wallet was gone haha

[ 10:52 pm ] you: when would be an okay time to come get it? isn’t it too late right now?

the unknown number texts back quickly.

[ 10:53 pm ] 010-127-0802: actually, i’m still near the cafe right now and it doesn’t close until 11:15

[ 10:54 pm ] 010-127-0802: if you have time, maybe we could meet up before it closes?

[ 10:54 pm ] you: alright, that sounds good. thank you again!

you wave goodbye to rose, vernon, and joshua as you trudge through the snow back to the cafe. you can’t help but wonder who found your wallet. you can’t help but shiver as you imagine a creepy old man who purposely led you to the cafe to kidnap you. or maybe it’s some middle school kid who stole all of your money to go to pc rooms and set you up to look like an idiot. kids these days have no manners.

at 11 pm, you arrive at the cafe, empty except for mark, who’s busy sweeping the floor. he glances up at you and quickly averts your gaze, furiously attacking the floor with his broom instead as he blushes. on the other hand, you’re surprised at the cafe’s emptiness; the person who’d found your wallet said they were near the cafe, and there’s only 15 minutes until it closes. you retreat back into your familiar corner and wait for your wallet’s return.

you languidly watch mark clean up the cafe alone as the minutes pass by. he finishes sweeping the floor and washes the last of the cups and dishes. as he hums along to the soothing music from the cafe’s speakers, he waters the tiny succulents on the windowsill and puts up all the chairs on the tables, passing by your table with a tiny smile that you return. but you grow more and more disheartened as it approaches closer and closer to 11:15.

at 11:15, you sigh and put your head down in your crossed arms. you’re worn out from studying, and you haven’t even gotten your wallet back yet. maybe it really was a middle school jerk who wasted your money on snacks and games. you hear the skidding of a chair’s legs across the floor, and you realize it’s mark sitting in front of you. slowly, you look up, and your eyes widen as he pulls your wallet out of the front pocket of his apron. ‘sorry i took so long, y/n,’ he says with a sheepish smile.

you’re shocked: out of all the times you ordered a drink from mark, you could’ve been ordering in english instead of in your clumsy korean.

‘mark, why didn’t you tell me you could speak perfect english?!’ you exclaim. ‘that would’ve made my life, like, 500 times easier, you know.’

the boy shrugs with another sheepish smile. ‘i don’t know… there’s a lot of international students around here that can’t speak english. like there’s a french international school right down the street. i just wasn’t sure,’ he confesses.

you laugh. ‘okay, good point. but how are you so good at english, then?’

‘i lived in canada for a while before i moved here. i think it’s only been a few years since i’ve moved to korea, actually,’ he explains.

‘oh, i see! then why’d you move to korea?’

‘for college, i guess, because i’m a music major. actually, your friend yuna is in my composition class! you guys are close right?’

your eyes widen. ‘how’d you know that?’

‘w-well, you had a photo with her, in y-your wallet, you know,’ he sputters. ‘i wasn’t trying to be creepy or anything, i promise! i just noticed she was a familiar face.’

‘okay, whatever you say, mark,’ you giggle. ‘speaking of which, i should start to head home, yuna’s probably getting worried by now.’

mark quickly stands up from his seat. ‘wait! i’ll walk you home,’ he exclaims. ‘it’s not safe to walk home alone at this time of night, you know. like what if you get abducted by some creepy stranger? or what if--’ he gasps ‘--you slip on a piece of ice, and you crack your head open, and no one finds you until tomorrow morning?’

you cringe at the mental image that pops into your head. ‘fine, come with me,’ you pout. mark just grins and grabs his jacket and backpack from behind the cafe counter. after double checking that the speakers are silent, the lights are shut off, and the cafe entrance is locked, he announces, ‘alright, let’s get out of here!’

it’s a brief walk to your apartment complex, but you quickly learn that mark is aspiring to produce his own songs and that he can play the guitar. although apprehensive at first, he quickly warms up to you and shows his witty side, making bad jokes to make you laugh. finally, you reach the door to your apartment, and you and mark awkwardly mill about, not wanting to leave the other.

‘anyway,’ you finally say with a bright smile, ‘thanks for walking me home. and thank you more for finding my wallet! i seriously don’t know how to repay you.’

mark smiles that shy, sheepish smile again. ‘you don’t have to repay me, it’s the least i could do,’ he says gently.

you’re not sure what overcomes you, but suddenly you have an idea. ‘well,’ you say cheerfully, ‘this is the least i could do.’

you stand on the tips of your toes, and right then and there, you give the boy a peck on his cheek flushed from the cold winter air. you smile as his round eyes grow even rounder and meet yours.

you turn around and punch in the code to unlock your apartment door, trying to hide your blushing cheeks and growing smile. you hear mark tentatively say, ‘hey, y/n?’

shyly, you turn again to face the boy, who slowly approaches you until you’re backed up against the door. his eyes beg for permission, and you give a tiny yielding smile that he returns as his face comes closer and closer to yours. and then he kisses you, pressing his warm lips onto yours, his mouth tasting of caramel and his body smelling of fresh coffee. you can’t help but close your eyes, running your hands through his fluffy hair as you press back into him. mark smiles into your lips and finally pulls away after what feels like an eternity in heaven.

slightly out of breath, you only manage to whisper, ‘good night, mark,’ before disappearing into your apartment and slamming the door shut. slumping against the door, you feel your cheeks and ears burning from the kiss, and your heart feels like it’s racing at 100 miles per second.

mark, leaning on the other side of your door, is astonished by his own actions. where’d he manage to muster the courage to kiss you? he hasn’t even asked you out to a date yet. groaning, mark pulls out his phone and reopens your text conversation.

[ 12:26 am ] 010-127-0802: uhhhhh are you free anytime after finals week?

[ 12:26 am ] 010-127-0802: i kind of forgot to ask you out on a real date

your phone buzzes, and you read mark’s messages with a thumping heart.

[ 12:26 am ] you: sure, sounds good

[ 12:27 am ] you: except during finals week

[ 12:27 am ] you: whatever just get home safe for now you dork

[ 12:27 am ] 010-127-0802: your wish is my command ;)

you can’t help but grin at the thought of mark taking you out on a date. you realize his number still doesn’t have a contact name, so you save it is ‘mark :)’. maybe studying abroad in korea won’t be as awful anymore.

god, you’re falling for mark lee hard.

[eightmakar]

More Than a Rookie / Four

(Baseball!Tom AU)

Baseball Crash Course / Teaser / One / Two / Three

Summary: tom’s first away game

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: mention of oral but no actual oral give

(a/n: okay so to the anon whose message i said i was using for this I changed it just a little bit but wanted to incorporate the same essential idea!! tag list is open so send me an ask. and tell me how its going so far??? do yall like it??? what can i do better? What do yall wanna see it in?? give me feedback!!!)

Tom woke up early the next morning for their team flight to DC. You half woke up as he kissed your hair.

“Love you, baby girl,” he whispered. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you, Tommy,” you mumbled. You were the only person he let call him that. “Be safe.”

“I will, my love,” he replied softly, pressing another kiss to your temple and then leaving.

You hated him going. You hated away games. The T.V. crews did their best, but there were aspects of Tom’s playing abilities you best spotted in person. You knew how comfortable he was in the field based on the way he moved. You could predict his motions, predict where the ball would be thrown just by watching him. And on T.V., they didn’t show the infielders when someone was up to bat. Of course, that didn’t stop you from watching him or scoring for him or critiquing him. It just made it a little more difficult.

You went back to sleep for a few hours after Tom left. You slept on his pillow; the smell he left behind was comforting. Tom was your best friend in the whole world. You told him everything and he told you everything. So naturally, you missed him when he left.

Since his first game the other night, you’d been wondering if and when he would propose to you, like one of the fans shouted at the two of you. You’d been desperately waiting for him to propose to you for years. You figured once you got out of college he’d propose, but then he got drafted and immediately got swept up into the whirlwind of the minor leagues. To be honest, you two hadn’t had much time to even talk about getting married, let alone get engaged. But you still ached for it. You wanted to be Mrs. Holland, and wear his jersey with your shared name on it. You wanted to shout “That’s my hubby!” when he did something good. You wanted to take engagement pictures on a baseball field. You wanted to have the perfect baseball wedding. You wanted Tom to be your husband.

You finally dragged yourself out of bed around 10, slowly working the sleep out of your eyes and muscles. You yawned and longed for another kiss from Tom, just to start your day off right.

Instead, you sent him a text message.

im officially up now! have a safe flight, love you so much ❤️

Thank you darling! I’ll let you know when we land x love you more ❤️

You got up and packed your belongings that were strewn around the room. Tom wouldn’t be back for a few days, so you’d decided to go back up to your apartment in northern Georgia. Before you went home, however, you had to look at one more home to look at.

You and Tom had talked about getting an actual house together instead of just an apartment. He had suggested it, actually, before he’d been called up.

“Something with a lawn and a fence, yeah?” he’d said. “So Tess and Shadow can run around and have fun. And kids maybe?”

You’d laughed. “Tom, you know my deal on kids. We have to be married first, and financially stable, and all the jazz.”

He’d sighed. “I know, my love, but I have to get called up first. I need to make sure I can take care of you.”

A buzz from your phone snapped you out of your reverie. It was a text from the realtor that was showing you the house.

Hi, (Y/N), this is Stacy from 21st just confirming the showing today at 11:15

Hi Stacy! Yes, see you at 11:15

You lugged your small suitcase and backpack down to your car before driving out to the house you were seeing. You wished Tom could be there with you, but he trusted you to pick out your dream house.

The moment you pulled up to the house, you knew. That was it. That was your house. You could see Tessa, Tom’s Staffordshire Terrier, and Shadow, your black lab, lounging in the front lawn while Tom chased a little boy, squealing with glee. You could see Tom teaching your son to play catch. You could see Tom teaching your daughter how to ride a bike. It was perfect.

You walked inside and sighed. It was gorgeous. It was open and light, warm and inviting. You adored it.

The realtor walked you through the house, and you took pictures for Tom. Each room you entered you loved more than the last. At the end of the tour, the realtor asked what you thought.

“Oh,” you said, “I love it! I wish my boyfriend could be here but he’s away on travel.”

“What does he do?” she asked. You knew that was more of a question of could you afford the house as opposed to actual curiosity.

“He’s the starting shortstop for the Braves,” you said proudly, straightening your back and looking back at her.

The realtor looked like you’d just slapped her. “O-oh, m-my,” she stammered. “Holland, is that right?”

“Yes ma’am,” you said, voice dripping with sweetness. “That’s right. Tom left this morning for DC and he’ll be back later this week. And he’ll love it as much as I do. So how do we do this, hmm? This is perfect for us.”

“I’ll draw the paperwork up and call you,” she said, still a little shocked.

“Excellent! Pleasure doing business with you.” You shook her hand and left the house with a huge grin. You and Tom were getting a house.

Your drive back to your apartment was long but uneventful. You missed your dogs horribly; you’d only been gone two days, but you loved your girls with all your heart.

“Hi ladies!” You greeted Tessa and Shadow as you entered your apartment. They sprinted to you, tails wagging, jumping around because their mom was home.

Tom had brought Tessa with him from England your sophomore year when he moved off campus and into an apartment. You used to tease Tom about Tess loving you more than him, but you knew it wasn’t true. Tessa adored Tom; she greeted him like she greeted no one else. Her whole body wagged with joy, and it was one of the cutest things you’d ever seen.

You two had moved into an apartment together your junior year. You were so happy to finally live with him and Tess. Especially Tess. You’d grown up with dogs, so not having your own dog had been painful.

And then you met Shadow.

She was in a shelter near your school. The shelter had an adoption event that you and Tom took Tessa to. She loved meeting the other dogs, and you enjoyed just getting to give some of the poor babies some extra attention.

Shadow was at one of these adoption events, just relaxing with the volunteers. You loved big dogs, so you went over and sat down in front of her to pet her. Tessa saw you and immediately pulled Tom over to you and Shadow, laying down up against the skinny black lab. She had been about 15 pounds underweight. But Tessa laid down with her and gave you and Tom a look that said, “We aren’t leaving without her.”

So you’d adopted Shadow. Tessa decided she needed to be a part of the family, and you knew as well as Tom did that Tess was the boss around your place. Naturally, you closely followed Tess in the pecking order, and Tom was as low as he could get. Shadow fell between you and Tom in said order, but you loved your little family with your two girls and the love of your life no matter what.

You walked to the back door with Tessa and Shadow to let them outside. One of your college friends who happened to live nearby had taken care of them while you were gone, and had done a fine job.

The dogs came back inside and jumped up on you. “Okay, okay!” You said, and led them to the couch, where they both joined you, licking all over your face, grunting happily.

You scratched both of them on the back. “I missed you guys! Guess what? Mommy and Daddy are buying you a house! With a big lawn and a fence so you guys can run around and play all day! How does that sound? Does that sound good? You guys are such good girls!”

You loved talking to the dogs. When Tom wasn’t home, Shadow and Tess were your buddies. You told them all about your days, you ranted to them, you took them everywhere with you. You loved telling them everything because you knew no matter what, your girls would still love you. They would never judge you and no matter how bad your day was, they always jumped up to greet you with enormous smiles and sloppy kisses.

Your phone buzzed. Tom was FaceTiming you. “Girls, look! Daddy’s calling!”

You answered the call. “Hey baby!” Tom exclaimed. “Are you at home?”

“Hi Tommy! Yeah, I’m home with the girls. Wanna see them?”

“Is that ever a question?” he retorted. He looked tired; his hair was messy and he looked like he’d just woken up.

“Shadow! Tess! Say hi!” You showed Tom the dogs on the front-facing camera of your iPhone.

“Tess! Shadow! Hi babies!” Tom called. They both perked their ears up and looked at the phone, looking for Tom. “Hi girls! Daddy misses you!”

Tessa began to whine. She pawed at the phone, recognizing that was where Tom’s voice was coming from. “Aww, Tess,” you said with a laugh. “He’ll be home soon, love!”

“Yes I will! We’ve got three games here then I’ll be back in Atlanta late after the third game. How was the house tour today?”

“Tom,” you started. “It was incredible. I took pictures for you. It was just, just wow. We need it. It’s our house. I could absolutely see us there.”

“That’s amazing, baby!” he said with a big grin. “When can we get it?”

You laughed. “Tom, honey, you haven’t even seen it!”

“Baby, if you say it’s our house, it’s our house. Does it have a lawn? And a fence?”

“Of course! Shadow and Tess will love it!”

“Then consider it ours, baby. Once we get back on Thursday night, we have the whole weekend off, so we can pack up as much of the apartment as possible. When can we do the paperwork?”

“The realtor said she’d have it soon. She’s going to call me.”

“Sounds perfect, baby. I love you so much. We’re getting a house!”

“We’re getting a house!” You shrieked in excitement. “Now you’ve got a game to play, Mister! Go crush it, Rookie!”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I love you, (Y/N).”

“I love you too, Tom.” He went to hang up but you stopped him. “Wait! If you hit a triple in this game I’ll blow you when you get home.”

He cocked his eyebrow at you through the screen. “Third base, huh?”

“Damn straight. Every time you touch third equals a blowjob this weekend,” you added slyly.

“Well, fuck,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “That sounds like a challenge. Looks like I’ll be hanging out at third a lot this week.”

You smirked. “Play well, honey. Remember what’s at stake.”

“You better be ready, princess.”

Tom hit a triple at his very first at bat in the first game against the Nationals. His second at bat, he hit a double, took third on a wild pitch, and scored. His third at bat he hit a single, and the guy who hit behind him hit a home run, so he touched third rounding the bases. His last at bat he flew out to center field, but boy was it close. The center fielder was on the warning track. A few more feet and you would’ve owed Tom a fourth blowjob just for the first game. He hit a triple in each of the following games, but that was his only time reaching third in each game.

He was interviewed after each game and they asked him what he did differently this time to have hit so well.

“Oh, you know, just tried a different way to motivate myself,” he said with a small smirk. You knew exactly what he meant by that.

Maybe this deal would become part of your pre-game routine.

Tags: 

@kathscribbless @ibtomholland @beautiful-holland @holla-holland @whyistomholland @idektomholland @spidergirlwanab @penisholland @hollanddolanfluff @fandomdarlings @romanoff-queen @hollandboipeter @holyheckholland @racing-faster@whyispeterparker @unicorngummybears @bucksboo @imahurricane @thegirlinthe-chair @motts-applesauces @avengers-parker-stark @trashqueenbitch @hoodash98xx @bookishpeter @tomhollandandmarvelsworld @omalleysreads @go-grace-lightening* @mdgrdians @starlight-fury @paperbackbook @sunshineperriee @k0h04 @rude-much @notimeforthemessenger @tomscaprisun @lovinglyloki @hollandahlia @gab-spidey @drxgxnslxyer@heavenly--osterfield @infamous-webhead @rozastar7 @bluparis @its-obrosey-bitch @starlightfound@hvllanders @dee-rosemary @marvelspidey-tomholland @elentiya02 @checkthisoutmaybeifyouwanna@heavenly---holland @spiderdudeparker

[peaches-of-1]

Taehyung- Coffee Shop!AU

Male!Reader x Barista!Taehyung

Mstrlst in Bio!

Taehyung used his index finger to push up his glasses and then gave a small Korean girl her Vegan Vanilla Chai Latte. He had been working here ever since high school to buy video games, but this place ended up becoming his safe space. He loved the smell of the Arabica beans fresh in the morning and the various brews throughout the day.

It had become a place for college students to congregate for study nights. Finals were coming up soon, so they’d have a lot more college aged kids in the upcoming month.

“What’s this?” A young man named Vai asked after ordering. He came around enough to be recognized, but not exactly a regular.

He was referencing to the mug shaped piggy bank with sheets of paper and a pen next to it. Tae explained that the shop was taking suggestions about what they could do to help improve the atmosphere of the coffee shop, especially with the younger crowd.

“Any good suggestions, yet?” The shy boy asked.

“Nah, mostly just menu things that we can’t afford and some stray coins or whatever.”

“Can I write something?”

Taehyung motioned to the container, “Go ahead.”

The foreign YouTuber wrote something and put in into the piggy bank. The next time Taehyung looked at the clock, it was 8:21 at night. He’d be here soon, and so the brown haired young man started preparing his order. Four minutes later, the bell rung and a young man in a purple jacket came in with a group of his friends.

They all set down their backpacks at the seats they chose. Some started unpacking while others began to line up.

“(Y/N)~!” Taehyung’s husky voice called out.

The young man in the purple jacket turned around and smiled. He approached the counter with a smile to get his pre-made order.

He chuckled, “You know you don’t have to do this every time.”

“You’re a loyal customer. It’s my pleasure.”

“There might be a day I order something differently.”

Tae shrugged, “It’s been four months. I highly doubt it.”

The young man huffed, “That just means I’ll surprise you next time.”

He went back to his friends, and Taehyung just sighed. The barista loved the boy in the purple jacket more than words could describe. He had started coming about four months ago to study for an entrance exam or something and had returned every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

The first night, he had asked Taehyung for the best coffee.

“Oh, I don’t drink coffee, but the tea here is really good.”

His chuckle had made the barista’s heart go !!!, “If you don’t drink coffee, why are you working here?”

“Money’s good and I like the atmosphere. The people are mostly nice too. I’d suggest hot chocolate or the butterfly pea tea.”

 By the end of the day, there were about 50 suggestions Taehyung had to go through before closing. The boss wanted to help go through them, but there was no way his most loyal employee was going to let him.

“You need your rest, sir. I’ve got it. I’ll let you know if we have anything interesting when we open tomorrow.”

After going through them, he found that there were mostly usless suggestions or ones that would cost way too much money. There was one that was actually a really good idea, however. Live music. Having a coffeehouse musician was popular nowadays, and there would probably be a lot of untapped talent in the local area.

After suggesting it to the boss later the next day, he thought it was a wonderful idea as well. | Soon enough fliers and posters were hung up in the shop and also around town displaying the time and date of auditions to sing in the coffee shop. They were looking for someone with a gentle and clear voice, hopefully they could play guitar. It wasn’t a requirement since instrumentals could be found online at any time.

The day of auditions came, and Taehyung was annoyed. They were being held at the back of the coffee shop as to not bother the patrons. He didn’t understand why so many people thought screemo or rap would do well when the flier said “gentle and clear”

“Next!” He called as he scratched out yet another name from his list and balled up their application. He grumbled to himself about how people didn’t know how to read nowadays.

The next person that showed up sounded familiar, “Um, hi?”

“Hi. So you’re called the...” He looked up to see the man in the purple jacket and swallowed. “The Pa-bros? Is that correct?”

Both Tae’s crush and the broad-shouldered man next to him nodded. The other man was someone who visited but never dressed so casually. Taehyung sat up straight and asked them to give their real names for him to write down.

“I’m Kim Seokjin.”

“And I’m (Y/N). We’re the Pa-Bros.”

He wrote down both names and then asked to hear what they had. Seokjin began to strum on his guitar and (Y/N) sung out in a pristine and beautiful voice that carried the most human of souls in it. He was singing “Put Your Records On” by Corrine Bailey Rae. It made Taehyung’s heart flutter, and he could’ve sworn he forgot how to breathe until the end of the song.

Everyone in the room let out a breath.

“Wow.” The barista said. “That was amazing. I’ll let you know how you did within the week. Yeah, I’m speechless. Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you.” Both said and bowed. Seokjin packed up his guitar and slung it over his shoulder while the other placed his stool against the wall.

Several patrons of the coffee shop were standing outside the door when the two left. It surprised the two performers, but it also gave the barista more of a reason to hire them. There had been only two other decent auditions the whole day other than (Y/N) and Seokjin.

“So, how’d it go?” The boss asked as he helped to clean up the tables as his brown-haired employee swept the floors.

“It went well. I’ll show you the footage of the top three once we’re done cleaning up.”

The two men sat at a table and watched the performances on Taehyung’s phone in the silent shop. They had all done incredibly well. It was hard for them to choose a favorite and decided to do one final test to see who they could have perform for them. Of course, there was only a certain amout of money that could go towards paying these talents, so they had to be worth it.

Once home, Taehyung sat at his laptop and sent out rejection emails to the 34 people who did not make it. Then you sent emails to the final three: Pa-bros, Mia Kim, and a brother sister trio called Gro Up. The message explained that they would have to do a live performance the upcoming Wednesday to see how well their visitors liked their talents.

It would also show who could handle performing live in front audience. Tae didn’t send the message to them yet since he wanted his boss’s approval to make sure it had everything he wanted in it. Instead, he listened to jazz in the shower and while he microwaved his dinner, humming along to the brassy notes

He really hopped the Pa-Bros made it just so that he could see (Y/N) every other day of the week.

The day came, and Taehyung made sure his uniform was clean and had even fixed his glasses for tonight. He had seen people talking about the coffee shop competition on SNS. Even though it wasn’t marketed like that, he figured that’s what this basically was. A competition to see who got the job.

Wait, fuck! Does that mean it’s gonna be busy today? Tae thought as he picked up his speed to the shop.

The answer was yes. Luckily, the boss had anticipated this and restocked two days earlier even ordering extra for the crowd. The store would be getting more popular after this, huh?

Tae put his stuff into his locker after clocking in and put on his apron. Getting to work was fun as he watched speakers be set up where the stage would be sooner or later. It wouldn’t be that big, just a bit higher than the rest of the store for better viewing. The orders came quickly, but the interest made most people more patient. That was good.

Then the boss said that the two Park Jimins could take over the counter, and he could introduce the acts and work the floor due to his natural charisma. He nodded and went to do just that with nothing prepared.

“Hi, everyone. Glad to have you here.” He said into the taller microphone. “We have three amazing acts for you to watch tonight. The winner will be decided by your applause and will become perminant entertainment for the store!”

A few people clapped, making him smile despite his nerves.

“Anyways, first up is a band of twin sisters and thier little brother. Please welcome to the stage, Gro Up!”

The trio began to sing and play their instruments, but something was off. It quickly came apparent that one of the sisters weren’t feeling well. She darted towards the bathroom to throw up. Her twin followed as the youngest thanked the audince for their attention, but they were going to withdraw from the competition. He scampered off to check on his sisters.

Taehyung was pushed back on stage where he introduced Mia Kim who did well despite the events that literally just happened seconds ago. Then Tae introduced Pa-Bros. Another stool was set up in the space and microphones were placed where the best sound could be heard from each.

Today (Y/N) wore a vest over a checkered dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up halfway which made him look more handsome than usual. Jin was also dressed nicely, but Taehyung’s eyes were glued to (Y/N) His face was so handsome and he seemed comfortable under the stares of the largest Wednesday afternoon crowd they’d ever had.

“Hi, we’re Pa-Bros, and we’ll be singing ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz.”

The Barista closed his eyes as he listened to the singer. It felt as if he were transported to an island where it was just the two of them in swim trunks exploring the forest with smiles on their faces. They played in the water until sunset where they made a bonfire and slow danced under the stars. They now sat by the ocean in a blanket with the fire crackling near by.

He laid his head on Tae’s shoulder and smiled at him, “I really love you.”

Taehyung snapped out of his daydream while people applauded and felt his cheeks get warm, but he clapped as well. What kind of daydream was that? He had never let his imagination go that far when thinking about the man, but this time was different. (Y/N) looked at the blushing barista who gave two thumbs up in return.

Then people voted for the two artists. Ten minutes later, they were counted up by the female Jimin who texted Taehyung the winners. Gro Up had apologized and gone home out of embarassment but said they wished Mia and Bros luck since they had both done so well.

“Alright, folks.” He adjusted his glasses as everyone quieted down. “Before I announce the winner, I wanna thank all of you for coming to see the show and ordering while you’re here. It means a lot.” He clapped and smiled.

“I’d also like to give a round of applause to our lovely entertainment. All of you were absolutely stunning tonight and are both winners in my book.” Applause and cheers.

Taehyung continued, “However, in the payroll, there can only be one or the other. We’ve counted up all the votes three times and by two different people. The winner is...” He opened the text message and beamed as he saw the name, “The Pa-Bros!”

The whole coffee shop became an uproar of cheers. The two boys hugged each other and then bowed to Mia who congratulated them. As Taehyung moved to congratulate them as well, (Y/N) pulled the barista in by the collar and kissed him square on the lips.

After the two parted, he said, “Sorry, I just promised myself I would kiss you if I won.”

“Good.” Tae said and kissed back.

A few months passed and the coffee shop was doing better than ever. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they would have a poetry slam. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were when The Pa-Bros--who renamed themselves to Koffee Kings--performed on the new stage.

Taehyung clocked in as usual, humming jazz. He always showed up half an hour earlier to watch his boyfriend (Y/N) perform a couple of songs. By the time he clocked in, it was a five minute intermission. Sometimes when his love was in a really good mood, Tae’s boyfriend would dance with him after giving people their coffees.

He was wearing the purple jacket tonight, “Don’t forget to tip your waiters, especially cuz that one’s my boyfriend! I love you, Tae!”

“Love you too!” The barista replied, blushing with the biggest smile on his face.

Kim Taehyung always liked working here, but he could tell that he would enjoy it even more.

[seoulscenarios]

College AU! Lee Felix

We’re finally on the home stretch, the end is near for this series!! thank you for the immense amount of support you guys are giving us it means the world xxx

-Major: Musical Theatre

-Minor: none, he has no time outside of rehearsals

-Sports: the same martial arts club as Woojin but he specialises in taekwondo, he’s the college’s star taekwondo player and even won them several medal in the nation championships he like a god on campus tbh,, also plays soccer but isn’t officially part of the team bc he has too many other commitments with his course though sometimes they do call him up if they’re in DIRE need of a player

-Clubs: film club, just bc he likes to watch films and listen to other people’s opinion of films tbh (and he can take naps if the film is boring lmao), is also the deputy of the musical theatre society so he has a lot of power of what musicals they covered

-Felix for the last time we’re NOT doing Wicked and if we ever did I point blank REFUSE to cast you as Glinda bc you are a “cute blonde”

-But pleeaaaaaaase I’ll do more vocal training!

-Felix NO, Glinda is a soprano and you struggle to hit even the alto notes most days

-ONE CHANCE

-NO

-Felix chose to do musical theatre bc it combines his love of singing and dancing and being completely over the top,, like have you ever seen a musical at least one character wasn’t kinda over the top

-When he was a kid his parents took him to see The Lion King and he was in awe of it that he decided that he wanted to be in musical theatre ever since then

-At first, he helped out backstage with props, makeup, costume etc. during his school years and it wasn’t until his first year of high school that the director encouraged him to actually audition

-Everyone was extremely shocked that the deep voiced backstage genius could actually sing extremely well,,, like who’d have thought that

-Whilst he wasn’t the best singer he still got cast in a supporting role and he had the time of his life,,, now he got to experience what the actors did when he put them through stuff and he even did his own damn makeup as well during rehearsals

-So yeah up until he graduated Felix went to star in other musicals put on by his school and by his last year he was finally made principal role and he was all big smiles when the cast list went up and he was beaming for days and went into rehearsals with a fully learned script that was all highlighted and sticky notes on the front with potential prop/costume/makeup ideas on he’s just a wholesome boy

-Tho nothing prepared him for the sheer STRESS of being the main character as well as helping out the younger kids, organising props and costumes AND choreographing (can confirm this is the worst and happened to me, it was HELL)

-So yeah, Felix loved musical theatre and was pretty much accepted straight away onto the college course bc of his bright personality and beautiful voice, not to mention he was pretty much an all rounder when it came to the industry so they were delighted to accept him

-However,,, felix missed the accommodation deadline so ended up messaging all the college facebook boards asking if anyone was looking for a flatmate or house share,,, it was chan who saw this and was like yes my son pls join me

-Chan and Felix have this weird father/son/best friend dynamic, like chan would always pack Felix with a lunchbox and water bc he knew that Felix would forget especially when he was rushing round bc he was nearly late for dance class but they also played video games and had wrestling matches in their dorm for ??? no reason ??

-One time Woojin walked in on them arm wrestling and he was like ??? is that how friendship is formed in Australia ??? how bizarre before helping himself to snacks as Felix lost and decided to flip Chan over taekwondo style and Woojin just watched as he munched on some Cheetos or something

-It was just a bit weird but they had come to accept it,,, besides Felix loved being looked after bc it meant he didn’t have to cook food or anything bc chan really enjoyed it lmao

-Felix’s favourite class by far was his dance class

-He was one of the star dancers of the group and loved to help out to choreograph routines for literally every dance number

-Like,, u need ballet for At The Ballet from A Chorus Line??? He’s got you covered. Jazz sequence for West Side Story? He got you COVERED

-He’s just a very talented boy,, though he admits that he may not be the best technically bc he hasn’t received formal dance training whilst at high school he just had the ability to pick up the dance quickly and wasn’t afraid to ask for help when he needed it

-Hell, he even dragged Minho after he finished class one day so he could get pointers on where  he could improve and Minho was like,,, fine but pls buy me coffee I’m DYING (yes Minho does have a coffee addiction,, it’s a problem tbh)

-Felix was an extremely talented kid but he got all shy whenever someone complimented his dancing, or his acting but ESPECIALLY his singing

-Bc even to this day,, he was still nervous about singing

-Like he knew he could sing,,, but in comparison to some of the other people on his course he wasn’t exactly the most confident in his singing ability

-He often went to the music practice rooms so he could practice his songs over and over again until his throat was sore and chan had to make him honey and lemon tea when he got back from practice

-Please protect this soft boy

-Also,,, you KNOW that the boys were his biggest fans whenever he was in shows

-His first project performance happened and he managed to get all of his friends tickets on the front row (how he did this was unknown to literally everyone bc it’s practically impossible)

-He was extremely nervous bc his friends had never seen him perform in a musical before and it was his FIRST college performance how could he not be nervous

-The project was a piece celebrating the different genres and songs from iconic musicals and Felix was the centre for the Rent portion

-(But can you just imagine Felix in Mark’s red and blue knitted sweater and wearing circle glasses whilst he dances to La Vie Boheme??? Okay it would be the best thing ever convince me otherwise)

-He needn’t have been worried bc as soon as he stood on stage and the music kicked in, he was Mark Cohen singing about the death of Bohemia and jumping around the stage like he was born to be there

-He doesn’t remember much of that performance bc he was whisked off stage to prepare for another song but he does remember how the audience (read: the boys) screamed his name as he ran off stage

-The rest of the show went incredibly well and as he came out for his bow, he saw Chan wiping a stray tear as Jeongin laughed at him and Felix had to stop himself from feeling the urge of crying bc his hyung was

-They waited for him as he collected all of his belongings from backstage, too lazy to wipe his makeup off figuring he could just do it home

-When he stepped into the auditorium, all 8 of them pulled him to a bone crushing hug for a good 5 minutes before he literally had to push them off him so he could BREATHE

-Chan pulled him for one more hug, mumbling into his neck about how proud he was of Felix and damn,,, Felix nearly started crying

-It wasn’t until Chan was prompted to let go off him so they could give him his flowers (Changbin claims he was coerced into it when he gave them to him but u know that he went and sought out the best flower shop the day before so they could get the flower bouquet ready for the next day uwu)

-Felix laughed when Changbin handed over the smile and just tapped his cheek, tilting it towards Changbin

-Changbin BLUSHED like hell before giving Felix a peck on the cheek

-Felix would like to go on record to say no he did not squeal happily when Seo Changbin kissed his cheek thank you that is a LIE

-Anyway all the other boys just hollered at them except Minho and Jeongin bc,,, affection??? No thank u

-After they had their little celebration, Chan and Woojin announced that they were taking them out for bbq bc of how well Felix performed and they all whooped in excitement, honestly thrilled that mum and dad were taking them out for food

-Jisung, walking to the bbq place: thank every deity under the sun I’ve not eaten a proper meal since I left home 4 months ago

-Minho: well, this might be your last

-Jisung: :O

-Minho: :)

-Legend has it that the 9 boys who entered the restaurant nearly fully cleared out the entire restaurant’s kitchen but it has yet to be confirmed, reports say, stay tuned in to see if it ever does (hint: it doesn’t)

-Your first meeting with Felix is very different and honestly, you wish to erase it from your memory

-You were part of the musical theatre department, focusing on the backstage aspect with particular focus on lighting and sound

-You knew of Felix, bc how could you not, but you never worked with him beyond getting prompts from the director as to when to light him or turn his mic on

-As much as Felix wanted to go and meet all the backstage crew when they were practicing all together it just wasn’t feasible bc he could not justify running to the sound box just to say hi right in the middle of practice

-And he didn’t have any time in between classes bc your classes were on at the same time as his

-The only time he got to at least have some form of greeting was when he waved at you so you could see what he looks like for your lighting cues

-Felix was sad bc he wanted to say hi and wish everyone good luck for the upcoming performance but he couldn’t as he was rushed off his feet with rehearsals and class bless his soul

-After the performance finished, some of the practical course students asked the backstage crew if they’d like to go to karaoke once they had tidied up

-Everyone agreed, tho u weren’t actually there bc you were in the lightbox above the stage but once you got there all your friends were like !!!!!! Y/N THEY INVITED US TO KARAOKE YOU HAVE TO COME

-You just rolled your eyes and let yourself be dragged towards the karaoke rooms

-At first, you were a bit awkward bc you had never hung out with the actual musical theatre kids as you mainly stuck with ur lighting crew buddies but you were willing to give them a chance

-The first few songs were a little bit serious and you were kinda bored so you went up to the machine and were like “let’s liven up the place a bit”

-Well it was at this point that Felix walked into the room, late bc he was going through some notes with the director, and saw you on top of the table screaming your lungs out to American Idiot whilst everyone screamed along with you

-Well Felix wasn’t one to ignore a party esp when Green Day was playing so he grabbed the other microphone from Jihyo’s hand and began to scream along with you

-You grinned, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto the table with you

-The two of you jammed out and nearly broke it but honestly,,, it was worth it bc you got to hear Felix’s beautiful laugh for yourself uwu

-When the song finished the two of you were just stood on the table panting and grinning wildly at each other before he hopped off and offered you his hand so you could get off the table my HEART

-Felix pulled you over to the sofa and introduced himself to you

-“I’m Felix, musical theatre student”

-“I’m Y/N, also a musical theatre student but not practical, I work backstage but you would probably find me in the lighting box or the sound booth”

-“OH I remember you, you did the lighting for the dance performance today right?” he asked excitedly

-“Yes I did” you couldn’t help but grin back at him,,, bc hello is smile is beautiful and contagious as hell!!!

-The two of you chatted as best as you could over the sound of Jihyo and Youngjae crooning another love song down the microphones

-You just shook your head, gesturing Felix over to the machine so he could pick a new song

-Well,,, he interrupted the love fest and the sound of Wonderwall bled through the speakers and you started crying in laughter as Felix introduced the song “so anyway here’s Wonderwall”

-The two of you did a very dramatic re-enactment of the song and Felix couldn’t help but smile when you were basically screaming down the microphone during the chorus

-Your friends just watched in part hate,,, bc hello its Wonderwall and part admiration bc how the hell could two people who have only just met do such an in-sync performance of a well hated song????

-Magic, Youngjae told Jaebum as they both watched in disgust as you threw yourselves across the room in some form of contemporary dance??? Youngjae definitely didn’t know what he was witnessing but he wasn’t sure he liked it

-So anyway the night ends with relatively few casualties, only one broken glass that Dowoon  managed to cut himself on and Jae somehow managed to lose his voice???? But other than that,,, it was a fun night

-As people parted ways, Felix noticed you walking the other way and he quickly ran after you throwing goodbyes to whoever was left

-“HEY Y/N WAIT UP!”

-You whipped around, not expecting Felix to be running after you

-Like,, wtf?

-You waited for Felix to catch up with you before you asked him why he ran after you

-“I just,,,, wanted to make sure you got home safely and besides I live this way too so I thought we could walk together!”

-You just smiled at his bright response and the two of you walked back to your accommodation talking about literally every topic under the sun

-He told you all about Australia and his flatmate Chan

-Don’t tell anyone but Chan is actually CB97 from 3RACHA

-You mean the underground rap group that is supposedly made up 3 college students

-The very same

-DUDE THAT’S SO COOL YOU HAVE TO SNEAK ME IN ONE DAY I’VE BEEN TRYING FOR MONTHS YOU KNOW

-Let me into the lighting box and consider it done

-You have a deal Felix pleasure doing business with you

-(felix pulls through a few weeks later and the two of jam just a little too hard and seungmin is extremely embarrassed to say that he knew the two of you)

-As it turns out, you live in the same apartment block as Felix and he actually walked you to your flat just so he could make sure you got home safely n u were like,,,, mate it’s a bit too much but okay

-Felix began to walk away as you unlocked your door before you heard footsteps approach you and you quickly turned around, brandishing your keys in the assailants’ face

-The assailant, however, was Felix who just looked at you in shock before laughing

-“Well, least I know you’re capable of defending yourself haha”

-“You asshole oh my god you scared me what do you want from me?”

-“Your number”

-O H

-Felix was very straightforward huh, you thought as he took his phone out of his pocket and handed it you

-You punched in your number and handed it back to him

-All the while, Felix was just smiling at you bc HECK he found you cute

-Ever since that night you and Felix became fast friends and yes, you did let him into the lighting box and teach him how to operate the basics bc Felix was hella interested in all aspects of musical theatre not just being on the stage

-You admired that quality about him bc many of the other students just took lighting and sound for granted and just tapped their foot impatiently as you configured the mic pack to the sound booth before handing it to them

-Not Felix though

-He would make conversation with you and even let you secure his microphone properly and you won’t lie that you felt yourself getting a little flustered as you hooked the mic round his ears and as you pulled back to see if it needed adjusting he was just smiling softly at you

-HECK

-Felix found you super cute when you were concentrating and he got distracted once as you were fixing the lights on stage than Jihyo had to literally smack the back of his head bc he was too focused on you lmao

-In his spare time he often begged you to let him see your notes for lighting and sound bc he was genuinely curious and wanted to see if he could figure out what all the codes were

-You just threw the script at him and told him to stop pestering you or else you would stop stocking up on timtams

-Felix never did pester you again, his love of timtams got the better of him

-So yeah,, you and Felix were hella close now

-You even found yourself going on “dates” (that’s what your friends called them, dismissing your protests claiming it was just a friends thing) with him

-And by dates, I mean the two of you went shopping together and had dinner afterwards, going to coffee shops and hell you even let Felix practice new makeup on you so he could improve his skills

-Felix,,, why the hell have you literally painted my whole damn face with cat features!

-We’re studying CATS okay let me LIVE

-I know for a fact you’re not bc literally yesterday you told me that your focus in class at the moment was Starlight Express and the last time I checked,,, that was about trains and people on roller skates not CATS

-You,,,, you’ve got me there I’m sorry

-Anyway,, before you knew it you found yourself falling hopelessly for Felix

-It didn’t help that you were preparing for the final musical of the year and you were practically assigned to work with Felix

-(You can bet your right sock that the rest of the lighting crew were in on this as they snickered whenever you were testing a new microphone with Felix and you began to blush, causing Felix to ask you if you were feeling okay and your crew were like GET IT Y/N)

-Little did you know that Felix was crushing on you as well bc well,,, everything you did was a distraction and he found himself thinking about you practically every day

-His class mates had noticed and told the lighting crew and they were like UGH FINALLY YOU NOTICED and they made a betting pool to see who would confess first

-Most bets were on Felix tbh, he was a loud outgoing kid so he probably had more guts do it than you

-Only a few lone members of the lighting crew stayed loyal to you bc they had a hunch you would confess at the end of the show

-Ah the show,,,

-It’s always stressful preparing for the show and Felix had ended up with the part of Enjolras in their production of Les Miserables

-The two of you were rushed off your feet bc the rehearsal process was actual HELL and it was hell both on stage and offstage

-Like Felix had to learn a whole new type of musical, with very little dance in it, and he was stressed bc he didn’t think he was doing a good job of portraying his character

-Whilst you,,, had the horrible task of designing lighting for an entire show (how you had ended up with that horrible task was beyond you but here you were, wishing for the show to be over so this hell would STOP)

-But alas,, the weeks running up the first performance were crazy and you barely had time to even text Felix bc half of your day was spent running through lighting with the crew and the other half was spent correcting your errors bc the director was a grouchy piece of work n nothing was perfect

-You missed spending time with Felix bc he could make you feel happy and relaxed with just a smile but every time you saw him offstage he seemed,,, a little off and distracted

-Just as you were about to go and ask if he was okay, you were whisked away by one of the sound people bc one of the mics weren’t working

-You never forgot the look on his face though

-Before you knew it, opening night was upon you and the theatre was in full work mode getting everything into position ready for when the audience came in

-Before the actors had arrived however, you snuck in backstage and dropped off a small bouquet of flowers onto Felix’s makeup station with a note that read “I’m sure you’ve got this Apollo”, a bottle of water and a timtam that had strict instructions to eat AFTER the show

-You giggled as you saw Felix wandering round with a small smile on his face, twiddling the note in his fingers unsure of who this was

-Throughout the performance your eyes were drawn to Felix almost like a magnet bc he was captivating as the leader of the revolution and tears actually started to trickle down your face as he sang Do You Hear the People Sing

-Like,,, you were so damn proud of how he was performing considering literally yesterday he was moping around

-As the show week progressed you left bigger bouquets of flowers with different encouraging notes and snacks on them and every day you saw Felix’s smile grow wider and his performance grow stronger

-As the final night rolled around you decided that today was the day

-You were going to confess your feelings to Felix

-You didn’t leave flowers this time, just a note that read

-If you want to know who I am, find me after the show. I’ll be the one with the bouquet of red roses love XXXX

-When Felix read this he was extremely nervous bc all week he had hoped for some sign as to who it was yet all of a sudden they were going to just reveal themselves?

-He didn’t know how he was going to react but secretly,,, he hoped it was you and if it wasn’t he wasn’t sure how he was going to react

-So anyway,, the show went on and by the end of it the whole audience was in tears

-When the actors came on for their individual bows you heard Felix’s friends literally roaring his name,, and was that Changbin holding a Felix banner and standing in his seat??

-When the bows for the technical team were happening you ended up locking eyes with Felix and he was just grinning at you, even as they moved around the theatre

-The final bow happened and you cracked your fingers, knowing it was time

-You bid the rest of your crew goodbye before picking up a bouquet of roses that were underneath the desk and they were like !!!!!! omg they’re going to do it?!?! And you just grinned, pressing a finger to your lips and sneaking out into the main auditorium

-You were slightly nervous bc heck,,, his best friends were here as well and they knew you and if they saw you they would not shut up

-They saw you anyway but Chan had literally choked Felix out to stop him from yelling at you and the rest of the boys were kinda scared so they just left you alone,, wondering if you were going to confess to Felix bc quite honestly,,,, they were sick of Felix’s pining over you lmao

-Before you knew it, the actors began spilling out into the auditorium and your heart began to beat rapidly, waiting for Felix to appear

-When he did you gasped a little bc honestly,, how dare he look so good with his blonde hair all curled and slight traces of makeup still around his eyes with a tired smile on his eyes

-You saw his eyes dart around the room, undoubtedly looking for the red roses you had told him about

-He eyes lit up and started to walk towards you so you decided to remove the flowers from your face

-Felix’s eyes literally widened and his pace picked up

-You just smiled before literally running to him and throwing yourself around his body and kissing him square on the lips

-W O W

-You didn’t plan on doing that but it worked I guess

-The whole auditorium burst into raucous applause, finally glad that the two of you had gotten together after literally almost a year of pining like wtf guys come on

-Chan wiped a tear before motioning to the other boys to go over to the two of you

-You had broken the kiss and were resting your heads together, giggling when the boys approached you uwu

-“So, Y/N you’re finally dating Felix hyung? Took you long enough” jeongin stated bluntly

-“JEONGIN YOU CANT JUST ASK THEM THAT JE-“

-“yes we are dating” Felix said, kissing your temple softly and wrapping an arm around your waist and the other one cradling the bouquet of roses you gave him

-DATING FELIX:

-Oh god it’s a whole MESS dating this boy istg

-Like where to even begin

-For a start, he’s even more smiley and insufferable during class bc he’s like yeah I’m dating the cute lighting technician whilst u Jackie are dating??? Who again exactly? I lost count after you dumped Jaebum bc you found Mark more attractive but then Mark refused to date you bc ??? I forgot tbh

-He literally runs his mouth too much that you literally had to fly from your class to his so you could slap a damn over his mouth so he would shut up

-He didn’t mean to be mean but honestly,,,, he was just saying what the whole class was thinking n you were like babe, I know Jackie is like that but pls keep your mouth shut otherwise if Jackie comes for you I refuse to help you

-B A B E

-Oh yeah, felix definitely calls you babe more than your actual name which makes seungmin fake vomit into his work every time he hears felix call you that

-You just stick your tongue out and call Felix baby and right that’s it Seungmin is transferring college bc he’s SICK of all the affection going round atm

-Date nights are mainly just movie nights bc you and felix are so damn tired all the time after class and there’s nothing better than cuddling him after a long day of class

-Whilst the film is playing you like to lay on half on top of him so you can see his face as he lazily tells you about the ballet workshop he went to that morning

-You just loved listening to him talk and you also liked to rest your head on his chest, feeling relaxed by the steady lull of his heartbeat and the way his chest moved up and down

-More often than not you would fall asleep like this and Chan would find you there at 2am when he went to get a glass of water and he would throw another blanket over you, tucking you in so you didn’t get cold during the night

-(You never did bc Felix is the literal embodiment of the sun in two ways,,, his personality and his damn body heat)

-Also hear me out,, you would take felix to the lighting box on weekends and teach him new lighting methods and you loved watching him being a giddy child when he got it right that you would reward him with kisses whenever he did bc it made the both of you giggle

-Honestly,,, kissing felix? A blessing you weren’t quite sure you deserved though he assured you everyday that you did bc he was always kissing ur forehead, nose, cheeks u name it

-One thing you loved doing was gently tracing the freckles on his face before lightly peppering them with kisses

-It made Felix blush like CRAZY but he loved it bc it was you and you were being cute as heck

-Other date nights included karaoke with the boys and the two of you confusing all of them when you yelled that your song was playing when Wonderwall came on

-Woojin,,, are they being serious right now?

-You know Chan, I really wish I knew

-Study dates weren’t really a thing the two of you did bc you were on such a practical course with not much studying,, but you still liked to go to coffee shops and rehearse lines with him when he had a show coming up or accompanying him to the dance studio when he had a dance project due in

-You being Felix’s biggest fan? Confirmed.

-Going along to every single one of Felix’s taekwondo matches and yelling alongside Changbin as Felix flipped his opponent over??? OF COURSE

-Though, people always wondered which one of you was actually dating Felix until Felix ran over to you and kissed you on the lips and not Changbin lmao

-You always greeted Felix with a bouquet of red roses at the end of each of his performances and he still blushed bc he still couldn’t believe you confessed before he did

-So he decided to reverse the situation and surprised you with flowers during the bows of the last night of one his shows

-Like,,, he called the lighting crew down under the pretence of giving them praise but the ulterior motive,,,, he gave you flowers on stage and then kissed your cheek UWU

-The two of you were the powerhouse couple of the theatre department that everyone was envious of bc you just understood each other so well???? Not to mention between the two of you, you could literally run an entire theatre by yourselves and still have sold out shows

-Just wow,,, you were THAT couple

hi i would like a lee felix pls he’s cute as HECK and i just wanna compliment his freckles till the end of my days goodbye x

[worseandworser]

Chaos (Royal Silence P2)

Summary: It was not good. But it was not evil either.

'Chaos' did not mean 'end'.

And sometimes, Edward needed to remind himself of that.

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: none

Words: 892

A/N: I had two chapters written for this, but for some unknown reason they got deleted. I was so pissed off that I thought of completely abandoning this AU, then today I had an epiphany and wrote this in 20 minutes. Guess I'm back to it now haha.

part one

read on ao3

In the beginning, there was only chaos.

Edward was accustomed to reading that in books, many books. They all talked about some force, or maybe energy; something above the idea of ‘thing’ and ‘no-thing’, beyond being and nihil and human comprehension. It sounds like God to him, but God has a name, therefore, it couldn’t be. Edward was never one to believe in God, or religion or primal principles. But he did believe that everything tended to chaos.

For a good portion of his life, he thought that chaos was aligned to death. Everything tends to death—or better yet, every living thing tends to death. He thought chaos was a different way to speak of post-mortem. However, that was years ago, when he was a small kid trying to learn alchemy by watching the court’s alchemists.

Chaos did not mean end.

Van Hohenheim was reading his correspondence. Ed knew that he knew – and he probably knew that Ed knew about that – but there were no efforts on his Father’s part to change anything. The duke threw him glances from time to time, long and dripping pity: the eyes of an outsider on a funeral. Alphonse knew too because Ed told him right from the beginning. Mother was left blissfully unaware until her very last moment and few were the moments the boy regretted it.

Edward clutched the sealed envelope to his chest as if his life depended on it. In the end, it kind of did. Father knows, Father knows and Alphonse was looking at him with a worried expression at the overly large dinner table and no one had said a thing. Van Hohenheim was eating his main meal when the elder son fled dinner and kept doing so even as Alphonse screamed ‘Brother!’ and ran as well.

Edward slumped against the bathroom door, letting himself fall with his legs stretched over the cold tiles. It was the smallest space on the royal dependencies and yet Ed felt as if the universe was staring back at him through the mirror across the room. The four marble walls were laughing at him, saying mean words while the stupid stubborn tears welled up on his eyes and just spilled.

My dear Edward—

He’d read the letter. It was short, half-page kind of short, and so short for Roy who writes a fucking sonnet only to say he wants to thread his fingers through blond hair and Ed could guess what was written there just by the length. He’d read it once, twice, read it until it hurt to read, and then read more.

—called up for service—

He couldn’t cry. Not like he just did. He couldn’t read a letter and start weeping in front of people that would whisper. He couldn’t have run away. Van Hohenheim hadn’t said anything but that didn’t change the fact that he knew and he had trusted Ed to keep it low and Ed had failed.

—State Alchemists—

The servants were starting to notice. He waited for the mail like it would bring rain to the desert, he spent his money on music records like jazz lover, he daydreamed like a thirteen-year-old girl. Edward Elric was actually writing letters and that was definitely the first clue that something had happened back in Amestris.

—the Ishvalan rebellion—

Edward wanted to scream. At someone or something or maybe at himself, he couldn’t decide. He wanted it to rip his throat and lungs, to make him bleed inside out until his body was empty of all things that kept it alive. He wanted to scream at Roy even though it wasn’t his fault, at Alphonse for being so recklessly supportive, at Father who knew and could’ve stopped the whole thing before it could destroy him like this.

—won’t be able to read your—

Fuck Roy and his romance. Fuck his nice words, and nice face and stupid fucking nice way of treating Edward as if they were equals. Fuck his music records, fuck waltzing around the room at midnight, fuck Billie Holiday and I’m a Fool to Want You. Fuck this feeling, this parasite that made him suffer so much and made him care.

—Forever yours,

He opened the door. Only for Alphonse, obviously. His younger brother could drag him out of this Hell; or at least out of the bathroom and to a proper bed.

Al petted his head – not like Roy or Mother, thank God, but close enough to bring a hurtful sort of comfort. If he closed his eyes he could see nothing, and he wondered how long it would take for him to feel nothing as well.

The next day another suitor was stepped on. Before, Ed felt sorry for the hearts he broke and ambitions he crushed, and then it stopped hurting altogether. He began to enjoy it, the shattered look on the patriarch’s face when his Father shrugged and denied the marriage offer. He’d made a vow with Mother, one to never marry a child without the child’s consent. And Edward said no and would keep saying no until they gave up, until people wished him a good morning just like they did when he was a kid.

Chaos was not good. But it was not evil either.

Chaos did not mean end.

And sometimes, Edward needed to remind himself of that.