#i am so tired and trying to be cheerful/distracting myself only lasts a few hours

[thebirdandhersong]

hey will be off tumblr for the rest of the week - things are Happening again and my head feels ready to explode.........would really appreciate prayer again. I'm constantly feeling like I'm on the brink of something (I don't KNOW what) terrible and I need to figure things out without before my body really DOES decide to shut down from the stress and the strange depressive dread that has been very difficult to shake this month. I would like to not feel like crying or throwing up at certain points in the day and also would like to not be so exhausted in the heart and mind area so that I can actually deal with these things. Especially since finals are looming ahead

[goblinkingdomsblog]

Bts as mafia series ask

What will they do after kidnapping agent yn who is not willing to give info

What will they do after kidnapping agent y/n who is not willing to give information

Members: all BTS.

Genre: mafia!AU, reaction.

Premise: you are a police agent who was captured by one of the most influential members of the criminal organization you have been investigating for weeks. He's trying to get information out of you through interrogation, but you're not going to give in, no matter what. So he needs to think of a new plan.

TW: a little bit of (V) = Violence, but more of (S) = Safe for reading and (Sg) = Suggestive.

Mafia Series Masterlist

Mafia Series Plot

I don't know if this is exactly how you imagined your request, but I hope you enjoy it. ;)

"Precious information is always worth it."

Namjoon:

You were tied to the chair for a long time, until he came and released you. You immediately thought about the easiest escape route, but the abandoned, damp pavilion in which you were, behind huge boilers, seemed to have no end.

He smiled calmly, standing a few feet in front of you with his arms crossed.

- Agent Y/N. What an honor. - his voice was sympathetic, lulled by a hoarse and low tone - I've been looking for you for a long time. I heard you're trying to get me in trouble.

You laughed bitterly, spitting on the floor to get rid of the taste of the gag that had been in your mouth just minutes before.

- I feel really sorry that I didn't cause more problems, then.

Surprisingly, he laughed back, as if he were in the presence of a rebellious child who he needed to educate.

- You didn't answer the questions my subordinates asked you, did you?

- I will never reveal anything. You can send those dumbasses back and make them punch me more. - you touched your aching jaw with your free hands, without looking away from the one who you knew were the leader of the Organization - I can deal with them easily.

With his arms crossed, he rubbed his expensive shiny shoe on the floor, lifting his index finger.

- Oh, no, no. That was my mistake, caused by a wrong choice of members. Let's say they are not exactly the smartest members of our... company. I'm sorry about that. - he laughed quietly, adjusting his glasses over his nose with the casualness of someone who was shopping at the supermarket.

- So what are you going to do, you bastard? - you grunted, trying to distract him just to have time to think of a good way to get out of there.

He laughed again, a short, somewhat dangerous laugh.

- Courageous. - he murmured, with a sharp gleam in his dark eyes. He stared at you for a long moment before proceeding - Well, violence is almost never the best option. It is always better to treat the guests with whom you want to have a conversation with calm and courtesy. And, of course, without haste.

Feeling a cold shiver down your spine, you stayed still.

- I have all the time in the world, my dear. I can wait until you're ready to start. - with a singing smile that exposed two deep dimples, which now seemed sharply malignant, he turned to the darkness - Ah, and don't even think about running away. If this place already seems big to you, know that it is bigger than you think. And there are some rather interesting obstacles around here.

With one last look over his shoulder, the faint moonlight that came in through the windows reflecting off the lenses of his glasses and preventing you from seeing his eyes, he clicked his tongue.

- But, if you insist on trying to escape... - he pronounced, as if he considered the whole situation a great pleasure, and not a threat - I wish you good luck.

Seokjin:

You were in a small house, surrounded by at least 4 tables full of electronic equipment, computer parts, baubles and dust.

The man seated in front of you, with his chin in one hand, kept his eyebrows raised. By moving your hands tied behind your back, you tried to free yourself from the wheelchair in which you were trapped.

- Stay still. - he murmured, harshly. His expression was divided between apprehension and irritation.

- I am still. It is kind of difficult to make any movement while you are tied to a chair.

Without paying any attention to you, he rolled his eyes.

- I don't know why they thought of me as the right person to fulfill this mission. As if I had nothing more important to do. - his face, beautiful as a carved brilliant, was extremely expressive - And now, to make things worse, you still don't want to collaborate with the interrogation!

You smirked, shaking your head in the middle of the room with brown walls and orange lamps.

- I'm sorry for being a stone in your path. I bet if you let me go, you would be relieved. - your tone was acidic.

Bitting his lower lip, he snapped his fingers. With an impulse from the floor, he slid the wheelchair in which he was sitting to one of the tables, turning on one of the computers.

- Actually, I have a better idea. - he said, his plump lips curving into a smile as his fingers typed quickly, as if he were thinking of a joke that only he understood.

After a few quiet seconds, in which the only noises in the house came from the computer, he turned towards you and rotated the computer screen to your direction, so that you could view it entirely.

- I think you will be the one relieved when you collaborate with my questions. - he murmured, pointing the image on the monitor: the security cameras on the street in front of your family's house, recording everything in real time. It was even possible to spot your mother through the window - It's not that hard to find out certain things on social media, you know? I would recommend you to be more careful from now on.

Your smile died on your face, replaced by an expression of fear.

Yoongi:

The stone basement under the busy bar was a much darker place than it had seemed at first. The endless noise of parties was able to hide the most diverse noises.

The man standing at the door, talking to two others who remained in the shade, seemed completely calm. Which was the total opposite of how you felt.

Trying to shake your body to get rid of the rope wrapped around your entire torso, you groaned. You knew that dozens of bruises would form on your arms because of the effort, but you couldn't stop trying.

Dismissing the two henchmen, the man near the door turned in your direction. Approaching with his hands in his pockets, he stopped a few inches away, bending to reach the height where you were trapped.

- As you didn't want to answer when I asked patiently, I decided to change my approach. - with a slow, almost lazy, gummy smile, he took his hands out of his pockets, revealing a pile of pills.

Knowing what "industry" he was in, you were sure those pills were drugs. Although you were afraid of what might happen, you would never let it show.

- What are you going to do? Forcing me to swallow and kill myself from an overdose? - you almost spat, bending forward in an attempt to hit him with your head.

He laughed, and his laugh was a little choked. He smelled of cigarettes, both in his baggy clothes and on his breath.

- Don't be so hasty. I already said that I am very patient, so I would never force you to take one of them. - he shook the pills in his closed fist, letting them make a noise - I'll let you choose one of them.

Grunting, you turned your head.

- The choice is entirely yours. You may take a sweetie pill, which just makes you more relaxed to answer my questions... - his expression went from amusement to a somber seriousness, while he averted his eyes downwards - or you may take a poisoned one that will kill you. Sadly you don't have the option of not taking any pill.

Smiling again, exposing his gums in a way that made his expression frighteningly youthful, he shrugged.

- I hope you have a good eye for analyzing pills. Or at least a good tolerance.

Hoseok:

He was smiling in your direction for good 3 minutes now. Sitting upright, his knees 5 centimeters away from yours (that were tied to each other), he looked like an experienced dealer wanting to convince you to buy something.

You were already so tired that you felt almost ready to "buy it".

- If you tell me some very simple details of the investigation, I promise you will be released without any injuries. - his face was soft and friendly, and he spoke with such conviction that it was easy to accept.

You were sweaty due to the fact that you had been struggling in that chair for hours on end, trying to break free. That damn apartment seemed to be in the end of the world, because no one on the floors above or below made a sound.

It was time to try something different, to put pride aside. You had full faith in your ability to act.

- Do you... really promise? - you asked, in a weak voice and with an innocent expression, which made apparent the tiredness you were feeling (on purpose, of course).

He broke into a big smile, crowned by his shiny, aligned teeth. He looked cheerful as a child who had just won a candy.

- Of course, my dear. - he replied, lightly touching your hand tied on the arm of the chair. His fingers were warm and soft.

You smiled back "timidly". You would lie masterfully, until you convinced that man to let you go. You knew you were able to do that, because it was a necessity.

- Then... I will collaborate.

Caressing your hand briefly, just before letting go and looking you in the eye, his smile lessened a little.

- Just know that liars are not treated so politely. - he murmured, in a practically humming way - And I always know when someone is trying to deceive me, my sweet. Always.

Suddenly, the touch of his fingers no longer seemed as gentle as before.

Jimin:

The man's eyes seemed to burn in his face, just as the hate burned inside you. He was lying beside a round table, stripped, staring at you through half-closed lids.

- This is kind of kinky, don't you agree? - he asked, breaking the silence, his legs spread in a careless pose as he watched you.

You wanted to scream. You pulled your arms out, listening to the clink of the metal rings and then feeling the physical immobility. Being chained to a cement wall by your wrists and ankles, standing for hours, was far from any pleasurable idea. That was a fucking torment.

- Fuck you, you crazy bastard! - you grunted, your voice hoarse in your scratched throat - If I ever have the opportunity, I swear I'll kill you!

He didn't smile, but something in the curve of his eyes exposed the fact that he was enjoying the scene. In a leap, he rose from his chair, an evil idea igniting in his mind.

- What if that opportunity reveals itself now? Could you kill me? - he purred, approaching cautiously. You didn't know if he was teasing or threatening you, as his body movements were unreadable.

- Chained here? How fair is this clash? It is obvious that you will win. - you spoke through, your head hanging forward. You were an accomplished fighter in the police, but no one with their arms and legs trapped would be able to win a hand-to-hand fight.

- Of course I'm going unchain you. I'll even give you some time to warm up. I like fairness in this type of game. - the way he spoke, with pleasure, showed an insatiable desire for combat. You wanted to punch him.

- How can I be sure that you will not cheat? You are a fucking mafious.

This time, he laughed sharply, putting his hands on his stomach.

- I promise you that our fight will be fair, based only on the skills of each one. Especially because, if I win, my only prize will be to chain you back on this wall right here. - he got close enough to hold the sides of your waist with his hands, more firmly than expected. You forced yourself not to shudder - And while I really appreciate the sight, it is nothing that I haven't already seen.

You thought about attacking him right there, but it was better to wait a little more. Using his hands on your waist as a support, he started to unchain you.

Taehyung:

The boy was standing, his back against one of the only walls of the ruined building. The empty terrain you were on was extensive and the wind was blowing strong, turning all that vastness into a damn desert of grassy ice.

You were standing a few feet away, with nothing to hinder your movements. Still, you couldn't move, as you knew he had confiscated your loaded gun and was now keeping it in his pants pocket, ready in case any attempt was made to escape. You didn't want the same thing that happened to your two coworkers, now two bodies lying on the ground in the woods, to happen to you.

- Will you tell or not? - the man asked, boredom evident on his face. His voice was low, peaceful as a lullaby.

- I won't. - you said, shivering from the wind and nervousness. Nothing mattered now, not even your life: you had vowed to keep the investigation a secret, and that's what you would do. You would die with honor, just like the others.

Arching one of his thick eyebrows, he remained still. His mouth went up in one corner, in a angled smile.

- Ah, too bad.

- Shoot fast, can you? - you shouted back, extremely tired of it. You wanted it to end fast.

- I will not shoot you. You are useful, unlike your unintelligent colleagues who tried to attack me.

You clenched your teeth, the sound of the wind almost deafening your ears.

- What are you going to do then?

Wiping the hair off his forehead, which insisted on sliding in all directions, he waved a hand, turning the loaded revolver in one finger.

- Ah, I decided to let your teammates answer the call that the... deceased agents sent on the radio. They will get here behind this wall, as it is the easiest way to access the terrain. - observing the barrel of the gun and then opening the magazine to see how much ammunition was inside, he continued: - It is always good to practice my shooting from a long distance, just to not lose the practice.

Wide-eyed, the scenario in which your colleagues were killed one by one by shots from a hidden sniper crossed your mind. It was terrible.

- But, if you like your colleagues very much and decide that your willingness to offer information is greater than my intention to play target shooting, it may be that things happen in a much easier way. - he stated.

Jungkook:

He almost never looked up from the ground, and when he did, his eyes kept hidden under the brim of his hat. Not that it was easy to spot anything inside a dark and metallic bunker, in which you could barely move because you were handcuffed to the table fixed on the floor.

After hesitating for a long time, the man with tattoos on his fingers sitting in front of you finally spoke:

- You have to answer. I am here just following orders, and you are delaying my other appointments. - if there was something behind which he could hide, he would probably do it. But not out of fear... it was for another reason.

- I already said I won't tell you anything. You can kill me already, dumb child. - you almost roared, the rage accumulated in hours of silence revolting inside you.

Yes, even though he was partially hidden by the shadows, the fact that he was young was evident. More a shy boy than a silent man.

His eyes widening in shock, he stepped back a few inches. With an increasingly wheezing breath, he got up and walked to a door in the corner of the bunker.

- You're making things more difficult for both of us. - he said, with a dangerous tone.

Opening the hidden door with a single movement of his drawing-covered hand, he revealed a gagged figure, struggling and muttering in a useless way: your partner in the police and best friend, Denyel.

You gasped with fright when his figure became visible, his body covered in sweat. With a sudden tug, the tattooed man dragged your friend over to the chair where he himself had been sitting before, forcing him to settle down.

- With each denied answer, a little bit of his life is gone. - the boy's voice was now expressionless, and his hands moved quickly as he took dozens of knives from the belt under his coat and placed them on the table, with a clang - I can make it drag on for hours, believe me. I know exactly how much "life" to remove until there is no more of it left.

That's it for now! Did you like it? Tell me your opinion and your suggestions, my dear reader.

If you want to request anything, send me your ideas!

The images used on this post are not mine. Credits to the owners.

Kisses from the Goblin Kingdom! :)

[officerjennie]

Goodbye Kisses

(Prompted by myself on my birthday because help, I love them so much T^T) (Ko-fi and commission info in my blog header) 

--

It mattered not how many times they said goodbye, each time still broke another piece of his heart.

There were times Jaskier had ample warning. Days or even weeks to steel himself, to play the brilliant actor he prided himself to be. Ample time to remind himself quite sternly what he was to his witcher, his noble white wolf, the man who had swept into his life with all the flair and cheer of a beaten and tired mutt and had promptly and oh so very rudely stolen his heart.

A heart that many had attempted to steal in the past, might he add.

Those blessed days, hours, weeks - whatever time he had to fish his heart back from his sleeves and shove it back in his chest to be guarded like it had never wanted to be - they were all that saved him from certain embarrassment and rejection. For every single time, no matter that he knew it would end, he allowed himself to be a fool and believe that their journey would go onward. That every morning he could wake up bleary and far too late to his witcher grousing over their late start. That every afternoon would find him practicing his lute and songs while he danced his way down whatever trail laid before them, following after Roach’s twitching tail and the regal visage of Geralt, the most dearest man to his heart.

It was not one of those times, however.

“Leaving,” was the only grunted explanation he got as Geralt brushed past him, Jaskier left blinking after him where he stood still in the doorway to the room they’d planned on sharing for the next few days at the very least. It took far too many seconds for his thoughts to catch up to him, the silly grin he’d had frozen on his lips, laughter caught and dying in his throat.

“Wh- hold on, wait! Garelt!” Jaskier danced a little in the doorway, unsure of whether to take off after his companion given his own stuff was still strewn all about their room - everything but the lute strapped to his back and the smaller of his coin purses that he’d kept to collect the connected bar’s patron’s generous donations at his performance. With great effort he stopped staring after him, sweeping wide eyes about the room, already mourning the loss of what he couldn’t grab in the next 30 seconds: the blackberry wine he’d been planning on breaking out this very night would have to be abandoned, as well as much of his clothes - oh, it would cost him a small fortune to replace them all, and his heart cried even as he ran about and scooped up what little he could before stumbling right back out the door, regretting that last pint of ale as it left him fumbly and even dropping some of the precious few things he’d managed to stuff in his arms.

It was a miracle in and of itself that he didn’t bumble into anyone on his rush down the hall and stairs, and another that he managed the door by himself with his hands and arms otherwise occupied. At least no grace from the gods was required to find Geralt, all Jaskier needed to do was head straight for the stable that was attached to the inn.

“Geralt!”

He spotted his witcher just as Geralt was swinging his leg up and over Roach, the mare already saddled and packed and grouchy from being awoken far too early for her liking. She tried her best to reach back and nip at her burden even as Geralt nudged her forward, stopping her only after a few feet when Jaskier stumbled in front of them.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you mean, what am I doing?” Gesturing with his arms so full of precious belongings was a bad idea but that didn’t occur to him until after he’d already done it, and attempting to catch the turquoise and emerald silk shirt only made him drop something else. “Dropping everything I own in the muck and grime is what I’m doing apparently - that was a gift, you know! A gift from my mother on her sick bed. Sure, sure, she recovered, but that’s not the point of things, Geralt, some warning would have been nice!”

“I’m leaving.”

“Oh, well darling, I didn’t notice, what with the whole storming out and straddling Ms. Nips-A-Lot - hey! No!” Roach knew exactly when he sassed about her and proved the name right, Jaskier barely dodging one of her hard nips that was aimed at his shoulder. It was luck and luck alone that kept all the rest of his things in his arms and far away from the mud below. “I meant advanced warning, Geralt, half a minute is not enough time for me to pack. And the least you could do is help me!”

Geralt grunted at him, and it was only thanks to their years of travelling together off and on that Jaskier could recognize it as his impatient grunt - which only made him want to huff indignantly, considering it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t get ready at the drop of a hat. But before he could properly huff at him Geralt slid off of Roach to help him.

Or...not. Instead of taking any of his stuff, or maybe opening one of the packs Roach was carrying, Geralt just oh so helpfully clapped Jaskier on the shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze as he leaned down to meet Jaskier’s gaze - and just that simple act of holding his gaze had Jaskier’s heart in his throat. Melitele help him but those eyes would be the death of him. He could drown in the abyss of them, captured and held prisoner but hardly against his will, lost in a sea of amber and warmth many would think so unlike his dear withcer-

“I’m leaving, Jaskier. Not you.”

Oh.

“Oh,” Jaskier said, the fluttering thing in his stomach dropping like a stone. Well. Just like his witcher to put a damper on things.

“Too dangerous.”

“How is it any more dangerous than what we’ve already been through together?” Jaskier tried to not get too distracted when Geralt’s hand slipped from his shoulder and down his arm, still firm on him, making it unfairly difficult to muster up a decent argument as Geralt took his elbow and started to guide him back to the tavern entrance. “When we met I followed you straight towards a devil, remember? Sure it wasn’t an actual devil but neither of us knew any better-”

“Devils aren’t real, Jaskier.”

“-and I still followed you right along, and ended up perfectly fine! Oh, and remember the dragon? A dragon, Geralt, how on earth could anything out here in the middle of bloody nowhere could be more dangerous than a DRAGON?”

Geralt gave him a look that suggested he was being difficult on purpose. “I don’t slay dragons. There was never going to be a fight.”

Any further protests were put to a stop before they could continue, hardly even a stammered out start passing Jaskier’s lips before Geralt was opening the tavern door for him, giving a squeeze to his arm before dropping the contact between them. “Stay here, and out of trouble if you can manage it. I’ll come back.”

Normally, Jaskier would have made a fuss over the insinuation that he might gravitate towards trouble - because, really, it was the other way around. Not that the end results mattered much which way it worked. It came down to semantics, really, but Jaskier still would not have taken the insinuation without at least trying to set the record straight a little. But…

But his heart had not been normal of late, nor had his mind. And with no time to prepare for Geralt’s rather sudden departure he’d had no time to school his reactions, no time to remind himself how he’d normally do things: what he’d say, how exactly his hand or arm would flourish in gesture, what emotions he should allow into his tone without raising any sort of suspicion.

So it wasn’t exasperation that colored his tone, no played up hurt nor frustration to punctuate his words when Jaskier half-turned to look up at his witcher, breath almost catching at how even on a dreary day like this Geralt managed to look neigh on ethereal in his beauty - when all Jaskier managed to ask him was “When?”

When would he again be allowed to get lost within that heated gaze, time having little meaning, the world fading into the distance? When would his nights end in laughter rather than the drop after a performance, his high from the crowd leaving him at an incredible low, alone without his dearest witcher to keep his thoughts at bay and far away from the darkened sea they went to on their own? When would he know beyond a shadow of a doubt that his Geralt was safe and relatively unharmed, unmaimed at the very least, able to return to him at all?

“When I’m done.”

Ever the romantic to match his thoughts. Jaskier huffed out air through his nose, readjusting his grip on the mountain of things in his arms, Geralt’s blunt honesty cutting through his rather melodramatic mode decently enough. Not well enough to have him rid of all the rather sticky feelings that loved to pop up unbidden, but without the clouds that usually left him dampened in their presence all those sticky feelings left Jaskier feeling rather...wistful, and, dare he say, whimsical.

Perhaps his mother was onto something when she said his moods changed less like seasons and more flittered by like insects swarming in the summer heat.

If he had had perhaps even an hour to prepare for this goodbye, Jaskier would not have done anything so far removed from their normal interactions and behavior. But that time had not been given to him, and the warmth from Geralt’s hand could still be felt on his arm, and Jaskier’s heart was skipping beats in his chest knowing it was concern that had his witcher so set on going it alone - and seeing it clear as the dawn itself in those beautiful eyes of gold.

With as much grace as he could muster with his arms ladened so, Jaskier closed the short distance between him and his friend. He couldn’t tell if it was shocked surprise that held Geralt still or not, or what kept him from jerking away as he’d always expected him to if Jaskier had ever dared to be so bold, but Geralt did not move back - and Jaskier found his lips brushing against the silver stubble on his cheek, rough against his own chapped skin but it barely registered against the thundering heartbeat that sounded in his ears.

A light kiss to his cheek was all he managed, and it amazed him long into the night that he found his voice past it all. “Be careful, darling.” Being so close to him Jaskier saw Geralt’s breathing stutter at the endearment, and like a good storyteller he took careful note of that and squirreled it away for later, leaning back away just enough to look up and catch the way Geralt was looking at him. “I’d hate to be a bard with no company.”

Upon reflection, getting to see his oh so completely and frustratingly composed witcher shift his weight nervously after such a simple thing was more than worth the slip in his own emotional composure. Even the muddied belongings were worth it when weighed against the delayed grunt of response, the flickering gaze towards Jaskier and away again, and the sudden start to Geralt’s movements that finally started him back towards Roach without another word.

Maybe goodbyes weren’t the worst after all if they involved such an adorably flustered boy (and, Jaskier thought, his own gaze flickering downward shamelessly, it never really was a burden to watch him walk away).

[nagitoshopejar]

Took me about two hours with lotsa distractions

And has 1561 words

Theres two prompts in here. In this timeline, everyone's alive. But also this is the second motive. Byakuyas secret surprises everyone(the longer part) and a game of truth or dare(not as long sorry) its 11:44 at night and I'm tired as all hecc

@fluffomatic here you go. Although I didn't exactly use inspiration based off the art you made. I'm really tired and barely know what I'm doing.

-------------------------------------------------------

"As your school principle, I am supposed to motivate you! So, for your second motivation, I'll be handing put secrets! Its your decision what you want to do with it." The build a bear reject says. "How am I supposed to get you guys to kill eachother?" Monokuma adds under his breath then disappears. Everyone looks at each other in confusion.

"Secrets?" Aoi had questioned the bear authority despite it already having left. Several thin papers were scattered like snow from what looked like it could only be the ceiling. They all scrambled to pick up the small pieces that had their secrets written upon them.

"Whatever man. Lets just forget about them." Mondo was about to walk out when a certain compass moral stopped him.

"Wait. Lets all share our secrets so that its no longer a motive!" Taka introduced the idea.

"Well, it cant hurt us if we do." Makoto states looking down at his own secret. They gather around in a circle like oval. Chihiro starts.

"... I uhm. I'm actually a boy dressed as a girl. Because people would bully me for being to "weak" or "feminine"." Chihiro looks down as if to be ashamed.

"Theres no need to be ashamed!" Taka gives the small boy a soft smile. Chihiro gives a small smile back, looking up.

"What about yours Taka?" He asks

"Oh! Right!" He lets out a small giggle and unfolds his, "...I uhm oh. I ran in the halls! I'm so sorry everyone! I know, this must be disappointing to hear the ultimate moral compass broke a rule." He acts as if it is shocking.

"No ones disappointed Taka! Its ok to break a rule if its a rare thing to happen." Makoto says.

"Well? Whats your secret?" Taka asks.

"Oh, I uhm. I-" Makoto looked away, a blushing mess. "I wet the bed 5th grade." Makoto said quietly but everyone heard him. A silence overcame them like a light in a dark room.

"I guess its my turn!" Byakuya says, wanting people to not bully or embarrass his boyfriend. "I've never... What?" Byakuya looks confused. "How is this a secret? I've never been tickled." He squints his eyes. Everyone looked shocked. Even Makoto looks shocked.

"Hold up. You've never been tickled?" Yasuhiro had asked.

"Well, for the ultimate progeny, his childhood would be not as "

'childish' as others." Kyoko had said, a hand placed on her chin.

"Agh-!" Byakuya had yelled after he was tackled. Leon had dug into his ribs getting sudden laughter pouring from his mouth. "WAHAHAIT!!" Byakuya was squirming.

"Hey!" Leon got tackled down by Toko. "What the? Why did you do that?" Leon yelled at the writer.

"You're being to rough with him!" Toko yelled at the baseball man. Byakuya started giggling and everyone looked over to see Makoto lightly tracing his abs and ribs.

"Nohohoho!" Byakuya squirmed, trying to get away from Makoto.

"Uh-uh. You're not getting away from me." Makoto teased. Kyoko walked up to Byakuyas squirming body and poked it earning a high squeak amongst the giggles.

"Noho! Dont dohoho that KyokO-" Byakuya started giggling harder when Kyoko started light scribbles on his ribs. He tries to grab her hands but ends up revealing his under arms and having Kyoko quickly shoot into them. "Hohold ohohohon!" He shot his arms down as soon as she did that.

"Oops. My hands are trapped. Guess I'll have to keep tickling you until you put up your arms." She shrugged with a sly smile on her face.

"Hehehehey stahp!" Byakuya reluctantly put up his arms above his head to make Kyoko stop. That only pushed her more. She sat on his hands but made sure not to hurt them and continued her relentless attack. Makoto was going ham on his sides and moved to his belly. Byakuya ended up squirming more than than ever, his laughter going up a few octaves. "HOHOLD ON! STOHAHAP IT PLEAHEEHE-"

"Nah. I'm hungry for a happy Byakuya!" Makoto said leaning down and nibbling ever so lightly on his belly. His eyes shut and a wide smile planted on his face emitting loud giggles like a speaker. Makoto also began dancing his hands hands along his sides, ribs and belly changing suddenly and with no pattern as well.

"Aw. You're so much fun!" Kyoko added some teases to the mix.

When it got to the point of Byakuya not being able to for words they stopped their attacks to give Byakuya a breathing break.

"Hmm. Should we try..?" He looked at Kyoko and she nodded. Makoto made his way down to his ankles. He sat on his calves. He cradled the progeny's ankles in an arm lock. He started snickering and giggling again cutely when Kyoko ran finger down and around his neck. He scrunched up his neck and made a little whining sound which turned into a ridiculously cute sight. Makoto laughed and smiles at this and turned back to his 'assignment'. Makoto traced a finger down the middle of the boys sole. And instantly his giggles went up a little. He messed around and drew shapes with the tip of his fingernail. Byakuya squirmed. Under the weight of his two lers. Makoto used his entire hand to scribble along both of Byakuyas feet. He thrashes, giggling violently.

"Ohohok did I do sohohomethihing?" Byakuyas head was tilted into his arm to try and stifle his giggles. Kyoko and Makoto took this as an opportunity to stop. Makoto walks up towards his head.

"You're so cute Byakuya." He kissed his boyfriends nose making Byakuya more rose coloured. His smile was still widely spread across his face and tears were both streaming and had stained his face. Makoto helped Byakuya up. "You ok?" The small boy said.

"Yea.. I'm fine. Just a little worn out." Byakuya said straightening his glasses ans fixing his hair. They heard a loud obnoxious laugh.

"OK OK IHIHI WOHONT BE SO CAHARLEHESS!" Leon yelled as Toko was going nuts on him.

"Promise?" She asks slyly.

"IHIHIHI PROMIHISE!!" He yelled, squirming under her. Toko relented and let him catch his breath.

"This is a school environment! You cant just do that!" Taka pouts angrily.

"Whatever Taka." Kyoko giggles. "We should hang out tonight. After 10. Truth or dare. Get closer yknow?"

" like a date then." Hifumi says.

"Not you. You're not allowed to come." Kyoko states glaring at Hifumi.

"I guess we should wait until then. I'm off." Makoto said dragging Byakuya to his room. Byakuya and Makoto were cuddling until something actually happened Makoto was being the little spoon. "Mmm Byakuya-" he tried to stifle his giggles as his boyfriend traced shapes on his belly.

"Wow Makoto. Your skin is so soft." He smiled, tracing the skin around hus navel.

"Byahakuyaaaa stoooop!" Makoto squirmed in the progeny's thouch.

"Aw. But such soft skin deserves to be caressed and needs attention." Byakuya cooed at the smaller boy.

"Heheheheh!" Makoto was giggling so hard he could barely make out any words. Togami smiled mischievously. He dug his fingers into Makoto belly on both sides of his navel. "BYAKUYAHAHAHAH! NOOOOO STAHP!" Makoto laughed out loud and threw his head out.

"Aw. Your face is sooo cute Makoto." Byakuya teasy complimented him and stopped his attack. They slept until 10 pm. It was the Monokuma night announcement that woke them up. They headed to the gym still a little groggy from their nap. As soon as they opened the gym doors, the light blinded them.

"You made it!" Aoi cheered happily.

"Yup!" Makoto smiled. They once again, sat in a circle wondering whos gonna go first.

"Taka! Truth or dare!" Aoi asked excitedly.

"Uh.. Truth." Taka answered a bit scared that if he said dare, Aoi would make him do something bad.

"Do you like anyone?" Taka was taken aback by such a common question coming from Aoi.

"Oh uhm. I like Mondo." Taka answered without hesitation. Mondo became a blushing mess and looked away.

"Makoto. Truth or dare?" Taka asked the small boy of hope.

"Uh dare."

"Hmm... I dare you to uhm.." Taka looked around a bit. "I dare you to throw that garbage away!" Makoto was surprised and not surprised but did it anyways.

"Hey Byakuya. Truth or dare."

"Dare. Truth seems to be to boring." He looked at Aoi. Aoi seemed to look through his soul.

"Let us tickle you." The small boy said.

"What?" Byakuya was taken aback, surprised.

"Let us tickle you." Makoto smiled at this thought.

"Well, the ultimate progeny doesn't count on giving up. Very well." He lifted up his arms leaving all his spots free to whoever wanted to join. Makoto slipped his hand under Byakuyas shirt and scribbled. Byakuya started laughing instantly. "Makohohoto!" He whined, knowing he couldn't beg for Makoto to stop.

"Whats wrong? Why are you laughing? Nothings going on? Whats so funny?" He asked and byakuya had never answered. Makoto lifted the taller boys shirt up leaned his head down. He blew the longest raspberry anyone has ever seen. He laughed louder and shot his hands down. Makoto stopped his attack. "You didn't last to long." Makoto says.

"Yea. You should lengthen that by training with Aoi and myself." Sakura said with a sly smirk. They continued the game for most of the night the headed off to bed.

-------------------------------------------------------

I hope you liked it!

[stellaryusdb]

I Do Love You

— a JiSolB FanFic by stellaryusdb; spin-off to Let Me Love You

Seo Jiho’s POV

"Prosecutor Seo, good evening!" Said a known prosecutor that remains unknown to me. I forced a smile while shaking his hand. I wonder what it'd look like.

I am so tired of this. I am currently in a party and surrounded by big names in the field - lawyers, prosecutors, judges. There are also corrupt politicians whom I've questioned in the court, as well as egotistic businessmen I sent to jail but ended up abusing their power to get out of it. It makes me sick that I was invited to this party. I should be at home, preparing for my case for next week's hearing. I blame Bokgi for dragging me into this hellhole. 

It's suffocating. It felt as if I had to swallow a big lump in my throat as I interacted with the people in here. Not until my eyes darted onto someone whom I know, and I am sure as heck feels the same way.

Kang Sol, my archenemy. It’s been years. A lot has changed since we celebrated the results of our bar exam. More specifically, when my other enemy, Joonhwi-hyung, confessed to her on the school grounds. I watched as we drifted apart.

I remember how I trembled in fear when he was nearby, enjoying the cheers in our circle. I remember how panic consumed my all. I remember feeling the cold air lingering on my face, heat travelling through different parts of my body. I remember how my shoulders went down in fatigue. I remember how I was defeated, even without fighting a single battle in this war. So I ran away.

I fell in love and I have been loving this archenemy of mine since forever. Well, I just realized it in law school. Back then, I always tell her how much I despise her but joke's on me because it's always been the other way around. Now, someone's in love with her. I've always thought that I am not worthy so I took a step back and gave in for my other enemy-turned-pal in law school.

I remember seeking comfort from Sol A-noona's reaction as we both watched them from afar. She forced a smile I could not return. I just... can't. And ever since then, I started to distance myself from the squad. I ran away even if I had no one to go to. I rarely attend our monthly catch-ups, always making up excuses. I also prohibited myself from getting too close to Sol B. I kept reminding myself, "Joonhwi-hyung likes her, I can’t…” In the end, I suffered the repercussions of longing for her.

I was hurt but then it's also my fault. I did not shoot my shot. I had three years to do it but didn't. Damn it, it's still so frustrating!

But now she's here, elegantly marching her way into the hall. Her hair slightly curled at its tips, reaching a bit beyond shoulder's length, like the one she's had in middle school. Eyes as mesmerizing as the stars in the sky. I hoped she looked at mine, praying that we'd form constellations. She's also wearing a white dress that perfectly matches her skin tone. Tied are its straps as they clung onto her shoulders. She's gorgeous, as always. It was as if the angels had given up their kind to bless the world with her beauty.

Was she looking for someone? I was kind of hoping that it'd be me but...

She halted when she caught my stare. Those piercing eyes that I was used to sent shivers down my spine. 

Heck, I am nervous! What do I do? I'm trying to avert her gaze because I might give into it. Should I confess? No. Hyung. Should I—

"Jiho." She called out my name. I was so distracted in trying to look busy that I didn't notice she's already in front of me.

I swallowed all my fears and anxieties before looking her in the eyes as I fixed my glasses.

"Sol."

She's looking at me and I cannot breathe properly. Years later, I just found myself gawking at the person who's captured my heart. My legs felt like jelly as we exchange gazes.

Static noise filled the room, then the speaker announced, "Greetings, everyone! As it is already midnight, I am inviting you all here, in the main hall, to dance waltz with the person on your 12 o'clock..." What a good timing!

I tried to excuse myself, "I'll just go there," then sprinting my way out, turning my back on her. I needed a sign.

"Jiho." Was that my cue?

My feet had its own mind because the next thing I know is that I am coming back to where I was a while ago, and where she is at the moment. Should I ask her to dance with me? Will it be too awkward? I wanted to but I just don't know how to do it. Everything's just so unexpected.

I exhaled a surrendering sigh because of what I am about to do. Ok. Here goes nothing.

"Do you know how to dance?" Stupid question.

"No," She replied.

Oh.

"But I'll go with you." I was stunned. I had to gulp once again.

Shaking and hesitating, I asked for her hand which she immediately gave and the next thing I know is that she's pulling me, leading me towards the dance floor. I guess this night has a lot more to unfold.

We are in the middle of the hall, just below the chandelier. People around us are swaying their bodies as if they really are enjoying this. Hypocrites.

I was caught off guard when she moved closer to me. And now our faces are only inches apart. She's also an inch taller than me as she's wearing heels. I hope they don't hurt her feet for too long.

Her eyes fell on the floor. Is she maybe waiting for me to initiate our dance? Whatever, I'll do it anyway. I am already here and I am not wasting this opportunity.

I took her hand that was on the side of her thigh while I maintained my eye in contact with hers, asking for permission. Now I got her attention. I was rewarded by a small smile that our squad rarely sees. I put it on my shoulder, followed by the other one. She was just watching me as I brave myself in doing whatever this is. After that, she held my hands at the same time and put them on her waist. Then, she rested hers on my shoulders.

My heart is racing, louder than the ballad that surrounds the hall. Does she hear it? She'll never know anyway.

Her lips start to form a smile as she looks into my eyes, then avoids them, then goes back to them. She looked over our feet. It's adorable, it's like she's about to blurt out a joke but...oh. I bet she's making fun of our height difference. I scoffed at the thought. She just never lets me live. But I don't mind at all.

She looked at me with eyes full of malice and said, “You should see the view from up here." No way. 

"That hurt." I said while raising my eyebrow at her. 

Her face fell into a frown. "I was just teasing you." Well, so do I. 

My smirk has turned into a grin. And when I realized it, I faked a cough. What is this feeling in my stomach?

Our bodies emerge into "dancing". Our footsteps complement each other as we watch them. This is very foreign to me. I hope she doesn't mind.

This moment was the least of what I expected in this very hour. I have pictured myself sitting in a corner, alone at the table, watching the people around me as I keep a keen eye to those I might be facing in court. My plan has been ironed out: I'll just stay for the food and leave after an hour or so. This party is pathetic anyway. But then she showed up and now she's here, in my arms.

In my arms. That felt like cloud nine. I just want her here, with me. But then, I started to doubt and question everything that's happening. My hands are on her waist, hers now around my neck, and everyone else is blurred in the background. It's just us. But what is this?

The thought of hyung just appeared in my mind again. 

I remember it very clearly during that night. When she took the flowers from Joonhwi-hyung, her eyes shot up to mine which I instantaneously averted. She can't see me. She should not. I didn’t want her to see me shatter. We were each others' anchors and I must not sink further. I do love her but I am not sure if she feels the same. And I am too afraid to ask. Now that hyung has made the move, what is left of me to do is to just go. To let go.

We were swaying when I started to keep my eyes from landing at hers. I feel uneasy but at the same time, I want to stay. I want to be with her. I want to make this night last.

But still, I shouldn't be the one in his place. I am just so...terrified. I don't know. I... I have to stop this before it gets out of hand.

She halted our waltz, perhaps feeling the sudden change in my atmosphere. When I tried to meet her eyes with mine, they were screaming a hint of betrayal, or was I just seeing things? 

She excused herself. I ruined it.

I sat on my seat to contemplate on what just happened. I feel the need to follow her and explain why my mood changed. But then, she'll know what I truly feel for her. And I promised myself that I will bury that secret with me to the ground. I can't. Joonhwi-hyung...

But is it so wrong to confess right now? I am not even asking for her to reciprocate it. It's just that I have to let it go so that I can finally move on with my life. I cannot stay in this unrequited zone forever. I have a life too. Will it be so selfish?

I just found myself following her trail, rushing my way out to go to where she was. When I got there, I paused for a while to catch my breath. She was looking over the city, scattered are the flashing lights before her eyes. She turned around to see me, with a glass of champagne in one hand. It was as if she was waiting for too long.

The familiar cold wind started to linger on my face again as I jogged to get close to her. Her arms are resting on the railing and when I arrived a few meters away from her, she looked away to go back to what she was doing before I came.

I just looked at her. Just a few more minutes, I beg.

I also leaned onto the railing as the steel touches my skin. I looked over the city lights in Seoul. Cold, busy, intimidating, lonely. It’s like I can relate to it, like it’s foreshadowing a fleeting feeling before I let go and set myself free. I needed to breathe before I let off everything I've kept for years.

"I returned the flowers to Joonhwi-oppa." She broke the deafening silence.

My brows furrowed at her words.

Then she looked at me and said, "It's not my favorite," before drinking the champagne until its very last drop. She put it on the table when it was already empty.

A flashback came to mind when we stopped by a florist's place. She was accompanying me as I bought flowers for my late father. I saw her staring at the lilacs that are beautifully arranged on the shelf.

"Do you want one?" I asked.

I saw how her eyes panicked before saying, "What? No." Then, she hurriedly went outside.

She's not into sunflowers. I could have told Joonhwi-hyung that but let me be selfish for a while. Let me have this little secret with her.

And right now, she's staring at me as I wait for my words to arrive. I was just completely left in awe. I do not know... I— I cannot understand.

"You did not see it because you left right when you saw me inside his car," she continued, then paused for a while. "I returned it from there. I did not want him to feel embarrassed in front of our friends."

I do not know if I am just seeing things but I noticed that waters started to form in her eyes. And when they aligned with mine, it was as if we were forming reflections. What is this? Sol...

"I was about to go to yours because I thought that I had a place there. You brought me here with you, but suddenly, you were so eager to leave. I had no choice but to ride a cab to get to your apartment, hoping that I'd find you there and that you'd keep your promise to go to my house. We were going to prepare for my case the following day just as what we had talked about."

I remember all those, too, how I hurriedly started my car and rushed my way out of that disheartening situation. I was drowning in my own pain that I forgot to look after her.

The waters in her eyes came rushing like a waterfall but her face remained stoic and heartless. It was as if the heavens had fallen upon me. I want to close our distance, to hold her if I were given a chance.

"We were going to pull an all-nighter which I have been looking forward to. When I arrived at your place, you weren't there. I tried to call you but you shut your doors on me. And it's been years, Jiho." She put emphasis on the last sentence while gritting her teeth which really, really tugged my heart, making me realize how much of a fool I was.

I took a few steps closer to her. I want her to feel my proximity, of how sorry I am. I just want to shelter her all my life.

"Why do you keep on running away?" she paused to take a deep breath before asking, "Do you hate me that much?" Now she started to sob. I can't. I— it's too much. A pang in my chest has been surging in all of me. I can't...

"Because Jiho, it's you. I know you despise me with all of you. But for me, it's always been you. I wanted you to take the flowers from Joonhwi-oppa and tell it to his face that it should have been lilacs. I wanted you to drag me out of the school grounds as I am willing to follow wherever you may go. I want you to study with me, to counter all my arguments, to let me help you with all your cases, and to bring comfort in my life just by the means of your proximity. But you were gone for so long..." The weight of her gaze has had me looking for the strength that is left in me.

Her expression starts to soften as she continues, "Now, just in case...If ever...if ever you're done hiding," she paused as her lips started to quiver. Tell me, I beg.

"If you're through with running away please tell me, if ever...if ever you feel the same way. At least I'll know where I stand and I won't be blindingly looking for your clues anymore."

The sounds of her sniffing have been etched in the atmosphere. The waters in her eyes just would not stop from falling. I want to go near her, wipe them away and shower her with reassurance that I never got to tell her. She's crying but she's still as beautiful as ever. And I want everything about her. I want to cross our gaps but will she let me do so?

She heavily sighed before looking back at the cities beneath us while wiping her tears away.

I hope it's not too late to redeem myself.

"Sol," I called her. My voice is trembling in fear. The only force that I am holding onto at this moment is the fact that she has these feelings for me. Heck, she feels something for me! Heavens, I have been waiting for this.

But then I hurt her. I betrayed her. I left her, when in fact, there is an unsaid vow to the both of us that we will be each other's constant. And I took it for granted.

"I'm sorry," I moved an inch closer to her to get her attention.

"I'm so sorry..." I felt a tear landing on my face. 

She shook her head as if she wanted to tell me how disappointed she was at me. So am I. So am I. And I hated myself for being a coward all this time.

I crossed another inch closer and asked, "Can I hold you?"

She looked at me, pearls still lounging in her eyes.

"I've been patiently waiting for you, Jiho."

First, I held her by the waist before pulling her onto my chest while she rested her chin on my shoulder. Good thing that our heads are side by side and she couldn't see me bawl my eyes out as my waters start to race on my face. I'm safe and sound now.

Finally.

"I'm sorry, Sol. I am so sorry." I cupped her face and started to catch the tears that wouldn't stop falling. Her eyes are red and pained. Her lips form a pout. Gods! I love this woman.

She did the same thing to me. It's the littlest things that she does that put me to my place, to constantly look out for her. Then eventually, falling for her.

I wrapped my arms around her waist to pull her closer. Then, I leaned my forehead against hers and closed my eyes. I felt that our noses touched. I took a peek at her eyes and caught that she was also peeking at mine. I smiled again. I closed my eyes, thankful for all the sinners and saints for this moment. So at peace. So contented.

After some time, I leaned away from her forehead which earned me a questioning look on her face.

I cupped her face again before saying, "I do feel the same way. I love you, Sol."

She started sobbing, but this time, I know she's glad at what she's heard. She's crying and suppressing a smile all at once. And she looked gorgeous while doing it.

"No more running away please." 

I gave her a reassuring nod before uttering, "No more."

We fell into the comfort of each other's presence without the words that bound us together and we had settled on that borderline. But at this very moment, everything just made more sense. The collateral damage we'd done in the past cannot be undone, but at least we can move forward. And I know that I can heal from it, with her by my side.

She, too, cupped my face and wiped the waters off of it, her eyes full of stars.

"We've lost years, Jiho." She realized.

"And we have a lifetime to make up for them." I replied.

She stopped what she was doing and blinked her eyes a little. "Did you just ask for my hand in marriage?"

"What? No." I teasingly copied her remark.

She tried glaring at me but I had a glimpse of a ghost of smile on her lips. I was trying not to smile too but she's just so adorable.

"Not yet. We are just starting." She used her voice that she applies whenever she counters my argument.

I playfully nodded. "Whenever you're ready."

Her eyes widened as her cheeks started to heat up. She buried her face on my neck as her arms were wrapped around my shoulder. I feel like a teenager going through puberty with everything that she's making me feel at the moment.

She faced me to say, "Jiho, this is the part where you kiss me," before allowing her eyes to drop at my lips. When she realized what she just said, her eyes started to wander.

I blinked at what she just declared. Well, I wanted to... but how? This is my first time doing this.

My throat went dry and I immediately licked my lips as I looked at hers. I inched my face closer to hers, still clueless of what I am doing, before pressing my lips onto hers and parting away from it real fast. Did I do it right?

Right after that, she stole a peck from my lips, copying what I’d done. I blinked and I felt heat rushing up my face. Again, I tried to brave myself and copied what she just did. I stole a kiss, then came another. I can do that, too! When I leaned in again, she caught my head to stop me from teasing her and to lock my lips with hers.

It was thorough and passionate. It was oasis after hundreds of years of push and pull. It was victorious, because at last, she's here with me, underneath the countless constellations in the sky. We were able to fathom our stars and satellites.

Her hand is on my hair as my arms are snaked around her waist. We were pulling our bodies together as if the spaces won't ever be enough. I titled my head to get a better access to her lips.

When I started to feel that the temperature had been shooting up, I let go of her lips while I caught my breath. She, then again, mirrors my movements.

I watched her licked her lips as they turned red. In awe at her gestures, I put my tongue to the side of my mouth to stop myself from grinning. This elating sensation drives me crazy just as what she does to me.

From her waist, my hand went onto hers, interlocking it with mine. I looked her in the eye to say, “Let’s get out of here.”

This time, I’m running away with her.

She grinned while never losing eye contact with me. 

This time, I led us into our venture as we walked out from everybody and everything else.

She pulled my hand which made me glance at her direction. “I love you too, Jiho.”

Slowly, my lips curve into a smile. She, on the other hand, tries to conceal hers but her lips just betrayed her. She doesn’t have to hide. My arms are always open to her. 

I watched our hands clasped together as they suspended themselves in the air, between our sides. I glanced at her and she immediately did the same to me. I renewed the grip of my hands onto hers. Close enough to embrace, but far enough to breathe. Gone are the cold nights, at last. 

As we walk, we’ve had a mini debate as to whose house we will crash into. But then a brilliant idea popped up, as if I found a loophole to a corrupt politician’s not-so-solid alibi. I just couldn’t contain this euphoria. I think I’m going to explode. 

I turned to her. “Let’s get the lilacs I owe you.”

[mysingularitybts]

I miss you || K. NJ

Pairing: Idol! Namjoon x reader

Genre: romance, slight angst, smut  

Word Count: ~5k

Warnings: handjob, fingering, oral (female and male receiving), unprotected sex (please wear protection), multiple orgasms

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wake up. Have a quick breakfast. Get dressed. Go to my classes. Have lunch. More classes. Have dinner. Study. Have a shower. Go to bed. Repeat.

It seems like it's the only thing I've done in the past few months. My life has become an endless cycle and I am so tired of it. I wish I could stop, but my education depends on it. I can't just stop or, everything I have worked for will be for nothing.

At least when my boyfriend Namjoon was here he'd help me get out of my routine and helped me distract myself, but now that he's on tour I'm left alone with no one to stop me.

For the past couple of months my mental state has been deteriorating. I feel it every time those negative thoughts come into my mind and make me doubt myself. I don't bring it up to him for a few reasons. One, the thoughts leave after a few hours. Two, I don't want to worry him. He already feels guilty that he leaves me for such long periods of time I don't want to give him any more reasons to feel that way. He shouldn't even feel guilty, it's just my mind being a bitch.

I'm usually not a sad person, but everyone has those days where everything seems to go wrong. It's those days that thoughts of self doubt and wondering if I am good enough attack. I cry a little or a lot, go to bed and when I wake up I'm all good.

My pockets of sunshine come when Namjoon calls me. I could spend hours just listening to him talk about all the things he's been doing, about the fans he has encountered, how the show was, new equipment he got, etc.

He would smile, eyes crinkling, his dimple would show as he'd talk animatedly. I'd let him get everything off his chest and smile along with him. But then, he'd ask how my day was and it's always the same answer, nothing exciting happens in my life. On a normal day the most exciting thing could be that I got takeout. He would still listen and smile and tell me how proud he was that I was following my dream and doing good in school.

I know his life isn't perfect either. As the leader, he tends to doubt himself too, and be under a lot of stress. I'd be there to help him through it no questions asked. I'd give him as much advice as possible, listen to him, and reassure him.

So, why was it that I found it so hard to open myself up to him when I was sad? I've thought about this a lot and I guess it's all just me not wanting to be a burden and making people pity me. Which is stupid, yet that's just who I am.

The thing is, this past week has been hell for me. I did not do well on my exam, I am sick, I am missing Namjoon terribly, and I got my period. All of these factors combined have me in a state of mystery and instead of those self-doubting thoughts being for a few hours they've lasted a few days. I've been avoiding talking to Namjoon on the phone 'cause as soon as he hears me he'll know something is wrong. In fact, I think he is already suspecting because of how much I've been avoiding him.

I was cooking some chicken soup for my cold when my laptop began ringing from its place on the counter. Checking who it was I found it was my wonderful boyfriend. Hesitantly, I answered since there was no way I could keep avoiding him.

I turned off the stove and sat on the bar stool of the counter.

"Hey Nam," I greeted him, my stuffy nose, making my voice weird.

"Hi baby, how do you feel today?" he sweetly asked.

"Um, better, I think," I told him, tilting my head.

"You think?" he let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, I still can't taste anything but I have a bit more energy," I explained recalling how I felt yesterday.

"That's good to hear, did you take medicine?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes, knowing my distaste for any type of medicine.

"Yes, sir," I nodded, showing him the medicine on the counter, "How about you, how have you been?"

"I've been good, you know the usual with rehearsal and the concerts," I knew he was holding back he always had more to say.  He was the type of person that didn't exactly talk a lot, but when he told you something he'd tell you all the little details.

"Oh, okay, cool."

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something," he said, not looking at the camera.

"What is it?" I asked, leaning my head against my palm.

"I just feel like you have been avoiding me these past few days," he spoke glancing up at me to gauge my reaction.

"I'm sorry, I just felt really sick and didn't want to worry you," I explained, not looking at the screen.

It was a half truth, there was more to it, but I didn't want him to feel bad about the whole truth.

"That's the thing I don't mind being worried and it worries me even more when you avoid me like that," he insisted, talking directly to the camera. I feel like he was looking directly at me, his gaze traveling hundreds of miles just to focus on me.

"I'm sorry Nam I didn't mean to," I muttered, looking down at the keyboard of the laptop. In the end no matter how much I tried to hide it he still got worried.

"I know baby, but talk to me okay? I'm here," he sweetly reassured me.

Hearing him say those words so tenderly made me break down, I couldn't hold back the tears stinging my eyes, so, I let them fall.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asked, concerned watching me crumble before his eyes.

"Honestly, not much, I just-" I couldn't finish my sentence as a sob racked through me.

"It's okay, let it out," he soothingly spoke.

"That's the thing Nam I miss you so much and I wish you were here to hug me and cuddle me," I cried out, wiping my tears with the sleeves of the hoodie I was wearing.

"This week was the worst I failed that biology test, I got sick, I got my period and all I could think about was how I wished you were here," I sniffled trying to control my breathing.

"Baby I-" he began, but I interrupted him.

"I don't want you to feel bad 'cause you are doing what you love and I'm usually okay and I know what I was getting into when we started dating, but all of the things that happened during the week triggered me."

"What do you mean, you're usually okay?" Namjoon questioned, looking upset.

"Baby?" He asked again at my lack of response.

I hadn't meant to say that.

"Um- you know there are days where I just feel sad and that's okay," I shrugged.

"Sad why?" I know he just wanted to understand what I'm trying to say, he always likes to get the whole spectrum of things.

"I start doubting if I'm good enough. I see what my friends have done and feel like I nearly haven't done anything compared to them," It was hard to say this out loud, yet it was necessary. It was time I spoke to him about it.

"Whenever you start feeling like that don't hesitate to call me, okay?" He lightly chided me.

"Okay..."

"Good 'cause I'll always be here to tell you that you are amazing, everyone does their own things at their own pace and we are all making our way towards different paths, it's okay if you haven't done enough, you can always work on it, there is no rush," he spoke in that wise tone of his.

"You're right," I nodded, giving him a tight lipped smile.

"About the biology test, it's okay, it's just a bump in the road. I know you will keep working hard for the next one, am I right?" He gave me a knowing look.

I laughed, "You're right," he knew me too well. This bad grade would motivate me to do better on the next one, it wasn't the first time that has happened and I always ended up with a good final grade.

"Exactly, and I'm sorry I haven't been there I hadn't realized so much time had passed," he apologized again for the millionth time.

"I don't blame you. I know touring is a lot of work, especially since you've also been doing a lot of promotional work," I reassured him.

"Still, I should have taken some time off, do you forgive me?" he pouted at the camera.

"I forgive you Nam," I giggled.

"Ahh, great I wouldn't have known what to do if you didn't," he dramatically said.

"You'd probably die," I said, rolling my eyes, sniffling.

"That's probably true," he smiled, his dimple showing.

It felt good to finally talk to Namjoon. I definitely missed talking to him during this week from hell. And it felt good to get all of this off my chest too. I felt lighter in a sense. I guess I understood now the importance of talking about it.

Two weeks later I had just finished yet another test and headed home, I took a shower and got comfortable for a weekend of doing nothing, my brain would be grateful for it. I was focused watching a movie when my phone rang.

"Hey Nam," I exclaimed answering the phone.

"Baby! How was your test?" he asked in a cheerful tone.

"I think it was good and I didn't have too many doubts," I cheered.

"That's great, you'll see all that studying will pay off," he reassured.

"Yeah, hopefully," I sighed.

"Can you do me a favor?" he suddenly asked.

"Sure, what is it?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. It wasn't often he asked for favors. I didn't mind at all, it was just a little strange.

"Do you think you can go to the dorms and send me pictures of a notebook I left behind, please?" he begged me.

"A notebook?" That was an odd request, although I didn't put it past him to leave something behind.

"Yeah, it has some lyrics and I can't seem to recall them," he explained nervously.

"Oh sure, I'm not doing anything now so I'll go by in a few minutes," I told him.

"Thank you so much baby I gotta go, the boys are calling me," he said in a rush.

"No problem, I love you," I sweetly reminded him.

"I love you more," he breathed out.

This boy is always leaving things behind. He started with a passport and then he began forgetting everything. Like the air pods, I swear every now and then I'd find one in the most random of places.

Getting from my comfortable position on the sofa I put on some white sneakers since I was decent enough with my leggings and hoodie, well, more like Namjoon's but close enough. I drove down to the dorms and made my way inside. I took off my shoes by the door and walked into the living area. It was clean and tidy since somebody always comes to clean and dust the place.

I found it odd that the light was on but didn't think too much about it. Maybe the last person in had left it on, but then I heard a noise down the hallway. I grabbed a nearby blunt object, which just so happened to be an award trophy, and creeped my way further into the hallway.

My mind went into overdrive thinking of the worst. There was a thief in the apartment and I was unlucky enough to be here when it happened. I made sure my steps were silent as I walked. I located the sound to be coming from Namjoon's room. Wow, this thief works fast if he already went through the other three rooms before Nams.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening the door. Gathering some courage I slammed the door open and held the trophy in front of me. I heard a man scream which made me scream in return, but nothing else happened. Opening one of my eyes, I saw Namjoon looking at me holding his laugh.

"Wh-What?" I stuttered confused.

"Hi baby," he waved, laughing at me.

"Namjoon?" Is he really here?

"Yeah, who else were you expecting?" he asked, tilting his head, the smile never leaving his lips.

"But- but- you're on tour," I stupidly said, my heart still pounding in my chest.

"I took a few days to come see you," he told me, walking closer to me.

"You idiot you scared the crap out of me," I smacked his chest, which is harder than I remembered. I saw him drop his smile at my aggressive response. What did he expect? He scared me to death. I was ready to die or commit a murder.

"I missed you so much," I promptly exclaimed, and pulled him down by his shirt to smash my lips against his. I captured my lips against his desperate to feel the softness and the taste of him. He eagerly kissed back, pulling me closer by my hips.

"I miss you too," he whispered against my lips once we pulled back just enough to catch our breath.

"Next time just knock on my door or tell me you're here," I softly said, "I almost had a heart attack."

"Still, as dramatic as ever," he laughed, placing his forehead against mine.

"You surprised me, that's all," I tried defending myself.

"Are you going to let me go?" he asked once he noticed I hadn't released my grip on his shirt.

"Not yet, I want to make sure you're really here," I told him, closing my eyes.

"Okay, I ordered some food if you're hungry. It's in the kitchen," He really knew the way to my heart.

"One more minute." It felt nice to be able to breathe him in again and feel his warmth close to me. His hoodies were losing that feeling the more I washed them.

After a nice dinner we sat on the sofa facing each other and talking about what happened last week.

"I was worried about you, you know?" He revealed rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand.

"I'm sorry, I promise I'll never do it again," I promised him, holding out my pinky finger.

"You better," he threatened linking his finger with mine.

He then proceeded to get closer to me, thinking he was going to give me a kiss. I leaned forward and closed my eyes, but he started tickling me aggressively.

"Stop, stop," I yelled, laughing and pushing him away with my feet, but last minute he grabbed them pulled me forward with him making me straddle him.

I giggled, trying to catch my breath as he stared at me with a fond look. We placed out foreheads against each other taking the moment in, Namjoon giving me an Eskimo kiss, which made me giggle like a school girl. It was a moment we desperately needed after many months of being apart.

"Till when are you staying?" I whispered, not really wanting to know the answer.

"Until Sunday night," he responded with a gulp.

"We need to make the most of it then," I murmured, hoping he thought the same.

"I couldn't agree more," Namjoon lowly growled in my ear.

I let out a squeal as Namjoon suddenly stood up making me tighten my grip on his waist. He led us to his room where he then sat down on the edge of the bed. I wrapped my arms around him as he kissed down my neck, stumbling upon the edge of the hoodie he took it off in a swift motion leaving me in my bra. His hands were making contact with my warm skin as he rubbed them up and down my back giving me goosebumps.

I pulled him in again for another kiss, my tongue swiping his lips and slipping past them. He let me have control for a few seconds before shifting and grazing his teeth on my bottom lip, giving it a quick nip before further deepening the kiss.

My hands roamed his covered chest, noticing the difference caused by his new exercise routine. I managed to slip them under his shirt now feeling the softness and the temperature rising.

His hands never stopped touching me. They caressed my body, squeezing my thighs, my ass, my hips. He dragged his nails over my back till they found the clasp of my bra undoing it with ease never missing a beat.

The only thing that could be heard in the room where my needy moans as Namjoon's big hands found their way to my chest and started playing with it. Every squeeze, pinch, and graze drawing out sinful sounds from my mouth. So far his mouth had been muffling my sounds, but soon enough he started dragging them down and licking a trail from my neck, clavicle, down to my perked up buds, drawing them to his mouth. I just held on for dear life, my hands grasping a handful of hair pulling him in even more.

Noticing the grinding of my hips one of his hands made their way down my stomach and stopped at the hem of my leggings playing with it a bit before going under. He traced my slit through the underwear teasing me as I bucked my hips begging for more. Namjoon let out a chuckle at my eagerness. Deciding to give him something to laugh about I placed my hand on his growing bulge cutting his laughter short.

"Why'd you stop laughing?" I mocked him, palming him through his pants.

"Don't be a tease baby," he growled in my ear. His voice alone turning me on even more.

He flipped us over my back hitting the bed, knocking the wind out of me. Namjoon kneeled on the floor, taking off my leggings and underwear at the same time, throwing them somewhere in the room. He grabbed my thighs and pulled me to the edge of the bed where he started kissing the inside of my thighs getting closer and closer to the apex. My breath and heart beat got more erratic as he got closer.

"Namjoon please," I cried at his teasing.

"Why should I, after your teasing?" he asked, his stare challenging.

"Because I lo- love you and missed you- ah- so much," I stuttered out feeling him lightly blow where I needed him most.

"Hm, alright," he purred.

He dove right in his tongue dragging up my soaked folds, his fingers digging into my thighs holding them open. Namjoon stared at me through his lashes not wanting to miss my facial expressions. I looked at him as he did so, hands tightly gripping the bed sheets. I bit my lip, trying to hold back my moans.

Namjoon abruptly stopped, "No-uh baby, I want to hear you, got that?"

"Yes, Namjoon, please," I pleaded like a mantra not wanting him to stop touching me.

This time around, he inserted a finger into my opening as his tongue played with my clit. I let out a squeal at the feeling, very sensitive at the teasing and anticipation.

It was as if my whines urged him more, he went faster lapping up my juices and pumping his finger deep and curling it. I had to stop myself from closing my thighs, not wanting to push Namjoon away. Either way it's not like he'd let me he was drinking me in as if he'd never see water again.

I felt a knot forming in my stomach. Noticing my clenching Namjoon added another finger, speeding up and hitting that special spot. Just before I reached my climax he nipped my bud with his teeth pushing me off the edge.

At the overwhelming surge of pleasure my back arched more than I thought possible, toes curling, eyes closed shut, my mouth open in ecstasy releasing incoherent words. Namjoon eased me down, slowing his movements. Once he felt me relax, he slowly took his fingers out placing them on his plump lips and tasting my release.

I stared at him with hooded eyes catching my breath. That sight alone caused the heat to course through my body again.

With shaky arms I sat up Namjoon standing up in the process. He undressed himself calmly, my eyes focusing on the expanse of his chest and arms as they contracted. He gave a chuckle noticing my staring.

"Enjoying the view?" he questioned as he proceeded to take off his pants.

"Very much so," I shamelessly admitted.

Namjoon leaned against the headboard of the bed, pulling me to him letting me set the pace for now. I straddled his thighs pumping his shaft slowly. He was already hard from the show I had put up his tip leaking pre cum. He had his head leaned back, his chest heaving, but he stopped my hand giving me a warning look.

Feeling ready I placed his tip on my entrance, lowering into him slowly. Once he was completely in I stilled my movements. Namjoon's hands were on my thighs tightening his hold. Deciding to tease him some more I clenched my walls around him a few times, causing him to release a low moan.

He slapped my thigh causing me to jump, "ah!" I whined

"That's it baby move," he growled, "Oh, how I missed you."

I started moving my hips in figure eights loving the feeling of him inside of me. Wanting to be in control Namjoon grabbed my hips stilling my movements and started thrusting into me slowly. I loved the way he was looking at me with lust pooling in his eyes. He was always the gentleman and a sweet, cute guy, but there were moments like this one or when he was on stage where he reminded me how sexy and dominant he could be.

He picked up his pace going harder. I felt him fill me up deliciously, he was hitting the perfect spot causing me to lean forward and grab onto him moaning into his ear. I left some kisses on the side of his neck and ear as I bounced. My soft moans urging him on.

The way he was going my clit was also being stimulated, the sound of his low grunts and moans adding even more to my pleasure. I was sure I wouldn't last much longer.

I would surely have some marks of his hands tomorrow by the way he was gripping me, but I didn't mind and it would be the first time. Since I was still very sensitive it didn't take long for me to cum a second time. Namjoon stilling his movements as I clenched around him.

"Oh baby," he rasped in my ear as my thighs trembled.

He lightly pushed me back from his shoulder and kissed me as I gathered my strength again. I acknowledged he hadn't had his release yet, so, I made him lie down on the bed as I kissed down his neck, I made sure to pay special attention to his chest, it was my new addiction, leaving a few hickeys so he would remember me by. Reaching my destination I noticed his cock was glistening with my release. I grabbed it, pumping it a few times before licking its length. Namjoon tensed his jaw at the action. I did that a few times before placing his head on my mouth. I lightly sucked on it gauging Nam's reactions.

"More baby," he urged me on.

"Your wish is my command," I purred deciding not to tease me since he had been very good to me.

I began working my way down his length, pumping what wasn't in my mouth. After a few tries I had him completely in my mouth and I started bobbing my head. Soon enough I felt Namjoon's hands on my hair setting the pace and thrusting his hips every now and then. He loved to do that and I loved every second of it. It's better than having to guess what he likes.

He didn't take his eyes from my lips taking him in. His eyes narrowed, and his lips swollen from biting on them. He had a blush making its way from his neck onto his face.

One particular moment I gagged my eyes watering, which caused me to constrict my throat. The sight setting him off as he released a particularly loud moan. Not long after he announced he was close.

"Babe, I'm so close, where-uh?" He stuttered out.

"Wherever you like Nam," I told him, releasing him from my mouth.

"Mouth."

Quickly I went back down sucking him and paying attention to the tip as I swiped it with my tongue. Namjoon's hold on my hair loosened as he finished in my mouth and his muscles went slack. I stared at him in the eyes as I swallowed the warm liquid and he couldn't help but to let out a groan at the sight.

I crawled back up to him and he grabbed my face, giving me a sweet slow kiss.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," I responded back meaning every word.

We laid on top of the covers the AC cooling our hot skin. My head resting on his shoulder as he had an arm around me drawing figures on my side. My arm around his stomach and a leg over his.

"I missed you," he softly spoke.

"I know," I laughed recalling his words from earlier.

"Yah, I'm serious," he whined, but a smile on his face nonetheless.

"I missed you too, Nam," I admitted even though it was not a secret.

"What are you doing after the semester ends?" He questioned, his face nestling into my hair.

"I don't know, visit you?" I said unsure.

The semester ended in about a month and a half and he would still be on tour. I needed to make time count, so what better than to visit him during my vacation.

"Glad we're on the same page," Namjoon told me.

"Of course," I scoffed at his response. He was always the one telling me to visit him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way I can't be apart for this long again," He confessed, hugging my side with the arm wrapped around me.

"Agreed," I told him, giving his chest a peck.

"Nam again?!" I exclaimed, noticing he got excited again.

"I'm sorry baby, but you are irresistible," he laughed pining me under him.

I couldn't help but to laugh along with him as we got ready for round two.

A/N:

This was ot supposed to be smut! okay?! It just evolved and it happened.

Honestly! It was supposed to be sad and about the struggle, but Namjoon sneaked in and I couldn't resist his sexiness.

I have more one-shots in the making including a Florist!Jimin and Emperor/King! Yoongi. 😉

-Nikki Marie 💜

[jalapeno-princess]

Coffee For Your Head

(He’s so pretty)

Mark Tuan X Reader

Genre: Angst with some fluff and a happy ending 

Word Count: 7.1K

Summary: After an exhausting and frustrating day at work, all you want to do is go home and fall apart in your boyfriend’s arms. However, a comment that is meant to be a joke turns in to a full blown argument between you and Mark; causing you to storm out of your shared apartment. 

A/N: Hey guys, so this week has been pretty shitty. I had to pay $700 to get my car fixed only to have someone steal my muffler (Hawaii is not the paradise everyone paints it out to be) but I’m not letting it get in the way of my life. Anyways, this imagine was inspired by that deathbed coffee for your head song but literally just the first verse (the song is actually so sad). I also have a couple of surprises for you all! The last and final chapter of crazy little thing called love is in the works, and I’ve decided to make a part 2 to “nobody compares to you” by popular request, so stay tuned. I’m also a few followers away from 700 that’s crazy!! Anyways, happy reading!

Never in the four years of your relationship has Mark ever felt like he didn’t want to look at you. Hell, there was never a time he wasn’t looking at you. From the moment Mark first laid his eyes on you, he was captivated by your beauty in ways he has never experienced before. 

Some days, he had to force himself to stop admiring your breathtaking looks so that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. After what took weeks of building up the courage to ask you out on a date, it didn’t take him long to realize that you were just as beautiful on the inside as you were on the outside. He honestly felt as if he was the luckiest man on earth to be the one who was extremely blessed to love you. 

Unfortunately, the two of you had your first actual fight just a few hours prior and he honestly wishes he could go back in time and keep his mouth shut so that the two of you wouldn’t have been in this disheartening situation. Although there were a few times the two of you would disagree and have a couple quarrels here and there, this was the first time you actually stormed out of your shared apartment out of anger and frustration. 

He was well aware that he went too far tonight; Mark knew you like the back of his hand. Just by your posture and the way you slammed your bag down on the counter, he had a feeling something bad must have happened at work. You were a registered nurse at your local hospital and as much as you wish you could say being a nurse was everything you could ever hope and pray it would be; it was quite the opposite. 

Sure, you had the honor of witnessing many miracles such as pregnancies, watching patients win their battles against cancer—just being able to help anyone in need were a few perks that came with being a nurse. However, being a nurse also came with great responsibility. There were lives on the line and just the simplest mistake; giving a patient the wrong medication, scheduling the wrong surgery or assigning the wrong diet could really affect the lives of those you were in charge of. 

Being a nurse was very exhausting; you were constantly on your feet for eight to ten hours a day and there were many people, either the patients or family members of the patients who always felt the need to take out their stress and worry on you. Tonight had been one of the most tiring and stressful days at work and there was nothing more you wanted to do than to change in to your pajamas and fall asleep in your boyfriend’s warm embrace. It was obvious Mark had other plans. 

Normally, whenever you came home so distraught and obviously shaken up, Mark would do whatever he could to comfort you and make you feel better. He didn’t understand what got over him tonight though—what started as a joke about you leaving the dirty dishes from earlier that morning in the sink as his way to cheer you up turned in to hours of yelling at each other and getting at each other’s throats. 

You told him he was a selfish, egotistical asshole who didn’t care about anyone but himself and he called you an aggressive bitch who takes things too seriously. As soon as he saw tears falling from your cheeks while you yanked at your purse and your keys that were still on the kitchen counter before storming outside, Mark was well aware that he fucked up. You weren’t a sensitive person; you did cry occasionally when work could be too much for you to handle, when you felt home sick being 3,000 miles away from your family or if there was a sad scene in a movie the two of you watched together then yeah—you would shed some tears, but it was only natural. 

When you guys did argue—if ever—you did tear up out of irritation; but you never allowed Mark to see how much your little disputes would hurt you because you didn’t want to feel vulnerable. He may have been your boyfriend, but you didn’t want him—or anyone for that matter, taking advantage of how timorous and fragile you were as a person. It took him a while to process that you actually left. He was too focused on the fight; there were so many things he believed he wanted to say to you in the heat of the moment, but he knew it was best that he didn’t. 

Now that he was all alone in the apartment, he felt like complete and utter shit. He knew the entire fight could have been prevented if he had just kept his mouth shut. What came over him that he felt the need to make such a stupid comment? You weren’t all that familiar when it came to California seeing as how you would only go out for work, with friends or with Mark. 

California was different at night; it’s was more dangerous and scarier, even for your boyfriend who has been living there his entire life. Seeing as how your family lived in New York and you hardly made any friends in the couple years of living in the relatively sunny state other than a couple coworkers, he had no idea where you could have run off to. For all he knew, you were at a bar getting drunk off of your ass and someone could have been taking advantage of you—or worse, you could have been driving and got in to a car accident because of how frustrated you were. 

From what he experienced with being in the passenger seat while you drove, he had to admit you weren’t exactly the best driver. You had two of the worst qualities a driver could have—impatience and anger. Normally, you were calm and collective. Even if life as a nurse could get very hectic and frantic at times, not once in your three years of working at the hospital did you show that you were on the verge of a mental breakdown. 

Mark never understood how you did it—but you were very good at managing your time and completing your tasks while under pressure. Your driving however was a completely different story. As much as he could only hope and pray you were somewhere safe, it wasn’t enough to stop the many negative thoughts and scenarios that his conscience came up with. Out of force of habit, he turned on the news to make sure nothing bad happened to you—God, why didn’t he just keep his mouth shut? If he just gave up his pride and took in to consideration the stress you were under, you’d be cuddling in his arms right now while the two of you watch reruns of Cake Boss—but instead, you were out driving in the freezing cold, alone and angry. He had no idea what he should do; even if he were to give in and admit his faults first, what good would it do? You were just as stubborn as he was. 

Knowing your headstrong tendencies, there was a big chance you would leave his messages unread and let his calls go to voicemail. He couldn’t blame you though, if it were the other way around and you were the one trying to get in touch with him, Mark would’ve ignored your attempts entirely. His guilty conscience got the best of him only after ten minutes; he knew there was no way he’d be able to go to sleep without finding out your whereabouts.

Mark: Hey. 11:56 p.m.

Mark: I’m sure you’re still mad at me and my apologies probably mean jack shit to you right now but just know that I am really fucking sorry. 11:56 p.m.

Mark: You don’t have to return my calls, but do you think you could at least let me know that you’re safe? 11:58 p.m.

Mark: I didn’t mean anything I said—you know me better than I know myself baby. I would never do or say anything to purposely hurt you. Fuck, the last thing I ever want to do is upset you y/n. I’m sorry I’ve made you so sad. 12:03 p.m.

Mark: I love you so much y/n. Please come home soon. 12:03 p.m.

He tossed his phone somewhere on the floor before releasing a frustrating groan—where could you have gone? A lot of places were closed at this time of hour and he decided that since you were driving, there was no way you could be drinking. Any club or bar was immediately crossed off of his list. There was also no way you’d go back to the hospital; it was painfully obvious that something occurred during your shift that made your mood sour—so you probably didn’t want to get near the establishment until you had to return back to work in the morning. 

Shit, that’s right. 

You had another shift in less than eight hours, God, Mark really felt like the biggest asshole on the planet. Knowing that there was a huge chance he wouldn’t be hearing from you any time soon, he decided to set up camp in the living room just in case you came back home and wanted to go straight to bed. He was also secretly hoping that you read his messages and forgave him; or at least felt a little less infuriated with him. 

No matter how much he tried to take his mind off of you, there was nothing that could distract him. None of the many video games he owned nor the new unsolved mysteries series Netflix had to offer could ease his unsettling nerves. Something inside of Mark was telling him to go out and look for you, but he knew that wasn’t a good idea. Honestly, he wouldn’t even know where to start. California was huge—he’d probably drive in circles for hours. 

The idea of getting in contact with his friends also popped in to his mind; you’ve grown close to his group of friends over the course of your relationship to the point where you could consider them all family. However, you were the kind of person who hated being a burden to others. You also didn’t want to involve anyone in your personal business unless you really had to. 

All he could do was lie on the couch and stare at the ceiling; growing more and more irritated with himself as the minutes went by. Your disheartened facial expression was imprinted in the back of his mind—this was the first time you looked at him in a way other than lovingly and with so much adoration in your eyes. He hated it; hated himself even more. 

He just really wanted you home safe. 

Your boyfriend had no idea how long he was waiting for you; minutes felt like hours as he continued to lie on the couch, doing nothing. As soon as he heard the click of the door sound off, he abruptly sat up; not caring if he seemed too eager. He sincerely meant everything he said over text message—your health and your safety meant more to him than his stupid ego. 

His heart began to race watching you walk in; there was nothing more he wanted to do than to run over to you and pull you in to his embrace while he repeatedly apologized for everything that he said and all the hurt he made you suffer through. For his inconsiderate actions, for not running after you, for allowing his pride and wanting to be the winner of the argument get in the way. But you looked so exhausted—so tired. Your body language spoke for you; it was evident that you were probably still hurt from his words and from what he learned with past experiences, you probably just wanted to go to sleep. He was curious if you got around to reading his messages or if you listened to his many voicemails.

His heart was begging him to get up and make his way over to you, but his mind didn’t want to make matters worse. Although he wanted to fix things immediately, he was going to wait for you to take control of the situation. You slowly took off your sandals and made your way in to the kitchen. The battle going on between his mind and his heart was currently consuming his thoughts; as much as he knew it would’ve been better to continue giving you his space, his heart had other plans. 

You looked as though you saw a ghost when you heard him make his presence known and only then did Mark realize it was 2:15 in the morning. His chest hurt when he saw you tense up; he began regretting his decision. You obviously weren’t ready for reconciliation. 

“What are you still doing up?” 

You still had your back faced toward him, but he was going to take whatever he could get. Instead of continuing to ignore him, which is honestly what he felt he deserved, you actually responded to him. It had to be a good thing—right? 

“I know you’re well aware that there was no way I’d be able to go to sleep knowing you were out all by yourself this late in a city you’re not all that familiar with. Especially because I was the reason. I—I was so worried.” 

The tension in the room was thick; he was practically walking on eggshells while thinking about what to say next. You were the definition of a sensitive person and it was a trait of yours that Mark was still getting used to. It was the truth though—Mark cared about you more than he did anyone else on this hell forsaken earth. If something were to happen to you, he didn’t know what he would do with himself. You were his person. That man would die for you if he had to. He found himself reaching out to you as a force of habit, but he retracted his hand as soon as he realized what he was doing. 

“Can we—can we talk?” 

You took in a deep breath and finally allowed yourself to turn around and face him. There was no way around this—you knew as you drove around that he would want to talk sooner or later. When you saw that he was still awake, you weren’t surprised. Being with him for all these years, you’ve grown to learn that Mark never allowed you to go to bed angry. He was the type to want to solve your problems before you were to fall asleep. 

The idea of you crying yourself to sleep because of something he said made his heart hurt. Only once in your entire relationship did you go to bed without listening to Mark’s apologies and it was because you didn’t want to deal with the drama any longer. He felt extremely bad that entire day though and when you arrived home that night, there was a bouquet of sunflowers, your favorite cake from your favorite bakery and a stuffed animal all sitting on the counter. 

Mark was going to make sure you knew just how sorry he was, even if it meant having to sleep on the couch tonight. You were much more calm than you were when you first stormed out. Right after the fight, you went straight to your car and sat in it for a while; allowing yourself to breathe and come to your sense before driving away. Then, you decided to go drive around the city until you pulled up to a 24-hour coffee shop. 

The exhaustion from your extremely stressful day was finally taking over you; and since you planned to stay out for at least another hour or two, you were going to need something that would keep you from falling asleep—and what better than a caramel macchiato with three shots of espresso? To your delight, you were the only customer there; you didn’t want anyone witnessing your breakdown as you cried quietly to yourself while remembering Mark’s harsh words that he directed towards you. 

Mark was the only good thing going for you in your life at the moment; all you wanted to do was collapse in his arms and have him comfort you—you wanted him to run his fingers through your hair while you were perched up on his lap, hiding your face in the juncture of his neck. Every single time you had a rough day, whether it was because of work, or something else going on in your life; but your boyfriend was really good at taking your mind off of any problems, worries or negative thoughts that you had. 

Coming home, only to hear him complain about how you didn’t wash your cereal bowl made your blood boil. You were scolded by your manager for almost giving a patient the wrong medication and it was the mistake of your colleague in training—yet you didn’t have the heart to confess that it wasn’t your fault. You understood how intimidating it was for first and second year residents; you’ve been there before, so you were fine taking the blame for something that you didn’t do. However, hearing your manager insult you and claim that you were inadequate and had no idea what you were doing made you feel as if it were true. 

The last thing anyone in the medical field wanted to hear was that they weren’t good at their job. You didn’t go through so many years of crying over how hard clinicals were on top of pulling all-nighters every single week there was a test or exam just for someone to make you feel like you had no clue on how to complete the tasks given to you. This was the first time you were scolded for something that you didn’t think was all that bad; the medication the patient was meant to take helped with soothing a sore throat. The one that the medical resident gave them had to do with decreasing heartburn—it wasn’t like it was a life or death situation. 

Mark never did anything to upset you purposely; sure, he had a tendency to leave the toilet seat up every now and then and sometimes he would get crumbs all over the couch, but that was as bad as it would get. When he called you a bitch, it genuinely felt like a slap to the face. It physically hurt and you couldn’t stop thinking about the way his brows furrowed and his jaw clenched in anger as he continued to say such hurtful things to you. At one point while you were drinking your coffee, it became bitter—which was odd considering how sweet it actually was and you found yourself no longer wanting to finish it. 

Your argument with Mark was just taking up the entirety of your thought process that you were growing agitated with anything and everything. After reading his text messages and listening to a few of his voicemails, you didn’t know how to react. Mark Tuan was never the type to admit to his wrongdoings; he had so much pride and such a big ego—but not once did he ever use it towards you. You’ve watched the way he became ruthless while playing video games and said some things to his friends that you considered to be a joke; something he said to throw them off while being focused on winning. 

Even at work, if he did something wrong, he’d never admit to his faults. That’s just who he was; so for him to say that he was wrong—that he didn’t mean a thing that he said and he shouldn’t have upset you at all gently pulled on your heartstrings and you found yourself throwing away the remainder of your beverage and making your way back to the apartment. 

You weren’t sure what was going to happen once you were to walk in the door; he might have apologized, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was going to talk to you or apologize again in person. Your mind would not let you get any rest; it was currently in a battle with your heart—your stupid, stupid heart that belonged to the man that made you feel like you were wrong for having a bad day. 

That—you had no right to lash out on him. You wished he would have heard you out first before attacking you for something so small and unnecessary; he could’ve washed the damn dishes himself if he was so bothered. But your heart wouldn’t stop telling you to forgive him. His job could get extremely frustrating sometimes. It might not have been as time consuming or energy draining as yours, but there were times where he would need you to hold him every now and then because his executives expected so much out of him. 

He probably had just as much of a hard day as you did—maybe he came home pissed off from something that happened at work and noticing that there was dishes in the sink that he knew were there from this morning got on his nerves. You felt like he could have handled it better though and you couldn’t help but think like he was growing tired of having to be your backbone; having to comfort you almost every single day on top of his own problems. Your mind wouldn’t stop coming up with all these thoughts and lies you knew weren’t true and you were well aware that it was best to start heading back to your place knowing that you had to be up again in less than five hours. 

Seeing him practically leap at the sight of you walking through the door sent so many emotions to your chest. You hated any time spent away from him—there were occasions where your schedules would collide and the only time you would see him was right before bed or if you were coming home from a graveyard shift while he was getting ready to leave for his job. 

The dried tears on his cheek confused you; he was the one who caused all of the drama and he had no problem making you feel like you were overreacting and being too sensitive. You were upset with yourself for wanting to walk over towards him and wrap your arms around him—but it was only natural for you to want to do so. 

For the entire duration of your shift, he was all you could think about; the thought of Mark was what kept you sane throughout the entire day. No matter how upset he made you, he was still the love of your life—your best friend, your favorite person, your soulmate. One fight wasn’t going to tarnish or falter your feelings for him in any way. 

Arguments were considered healthy in a relationship; sure, you could have done without the harsh words being thrown back and forth to one another, but you realized in the coffee shop that you would rather bicker and disagree with Mark every now and then for the rest of your life, then to have a relationship filled with constant joy and laughter with someone else. 

It was obvious that he was probably just as tired as you were, but the thought of him staying up worrying about where you were and waiting for you to arrive back home filled your stomach with butterflies. You made your way towards the dining table and took a seat; you waited for him to make the first move because you didn’t know where to start. 

“Did you—uh—happen to get my texts?” 

You decided to keep your gaze on the cup of coffee he placed in front of you; you didn’t even notice him heating some up for you. Your boyfriend was very observant of the way that you practically lived on coffee; on the days you had morning shifts, he would set an alarm to wake up before you and prepared all the things you needed so that you had less to worry about—coffee being your number one necessity. If you were to look up at him, you were well aware that you would probably cry just at the thought of how considerate he was even under a negative circumstance. 

“Yes. I didn’t have a chance to read them though.” 

That was a lie. You read every single one of his messages; each message pulling on your heartstrings the more you continued scrolling through them. Although you no longer held any anger towards Mark, you didn’t want to give him the benefit of the doubt. A part of you also wanted to hear him apologize in person rather through messages—but you felt in your gut that he would sooner or later. Honestly, you wanted to wait until you were to come home from work tomorrow afternoon so that you were well rested enough to have the right mindset if another argument broke out. 

“Oh. Well, I—For starters, I want to apologize for the way I acted towards you. I don’t know what made me say the things I did—I meant it as a joke but you obviously didn’t think it was funny and I don’t know why I expected you to. I’m so fucking sorry y/n. I was an asshole and you didn’t deserve it at all. I know I said some really cruel things in the heat of the moment, but I hope you know I didn’t mean any of it. You’re not a bitch nor are you over-emotional and you don’t get on my nerves. At all. I just—hearing you say those things about me sparked something inside that I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me. It took every bone in my body not to run after you. I’ll admit, sure—it was because I wanted to give you your space, but I was also very prideful and still so irritated with the entire ordeal. I regret every single thing I said and did tonight as soon as I realized just how scary it is being out late at night by yourself. I’ve never hated myself more than I did in these last two hours worrying about where you could have gone and what you were doing. I couldn’t stop thinking about your broken expression as you grabbed your things and stormed out the door.” 

His voice quickly grew shaky; you knew he was on the verge of crying again just by the tone of his voice. For some reason, you found yourself giving in to him and finally looked up. It felt like a slap to the face; seeing him with the most heart wrenching frown—not once in your relationship did you ever question Mark’s love for you and right now, hearing that he beat himself up for the last few hours while he was going crazy thinking of the many possibilities that something bad happened to you made you come to the realization that the beautiful man in front of you loved you more than you could ever fathom in to words. 

“I know you’re tired from work—I don’t know why I didn’t just keep my mouth shut. If I could, I’d go back and prevent this entire night from happening. I was so fucking scared y/n. You don’t know California all that well; you could have taken a wrong turn and ended up on your way to Las Vegas—your car could have broken down in the middle of nowhere and someone could have came and—I don’t even want to think about it. I’m sorry for hurting you—I know you’re well aware that I would rather sit and suffer through listening to Yugyeom and BamBam screaming while playing MarioKart than to hurt you in any possible way. You don’t have to forgive me. Hell, scream at me; yell at me, hit me, do whatever you want to me. Just know that I’m extremely sorry, and I’ll do whatever I have to in order to get you to trust me again.” 

He hesitantly stood up and didn’t even spare a glance at you before making his way back into the living room. You were upset that he didn’t give you any time to respond, but at the same time—you were extremely grateful. Right after he left you all alone at the table, you allowed the tears to flow freely from your eyelids as his apology continuously replayed in your mind. Whatever exhaustion you felt from earlier that disappeared right after you abruptly left the apartment was quickly returning—though, you didn’t know if you were physically tired or just mentally drained at this point. 

You gave yourself a couple of minutes alone just to plan out what you were going to do. Going to sleep sounded like the most rational decision to make; especially because you were meant to wake up in less than four hours to work another long, grueling and tiresome ten-hour shift. But you didn’t want to go to bed on bad terms with Mark. If he was willing to give up his pride and raise the white flag first just to make sure you were well aware that he was extremely regretful and apologetic of his actions, then it was only righteous of you to forgive him. You got up from your seat and put away the cup of coffee before taking in a deep breath and making your way in to the living room. 

The lights were off; but the lights from the hallway were still dimly lit enough for you to notice that Mark was lying down on the couch with a pillow and a blanket wrapped around him. This was the first time since you moved in together that you found him outside on the couch. A small smirk raised on your face—your boyfriend was always so courteous and considerate. 

He began tossing and turning in order to find a sleeping position he would be comfortable in. Your couch was pretty spacious and the two of you have slept on it countless times while watching movies together, but you were sure he was probably bummed by your response or lack thereof. You walked over to the end of the couch and gently tapped his thigh with your knee to get his attention. 

“What are you doing?” 

Although there was barely enough light to even see his figure, you were able to see him shrug nonchalantly at your question—as if you already knew the answer. 

“You’re still mad at me. I don’t want to make matters even worse. I’m giving you your space—“ You surprised both yourself and your boyfriend by flopping on top of him, earning yourself a soft whimper. Nonetheless, his hands made their way down towards your lower back without hesitance. His heart was racing against your chest; you had a feeling he wasn’t expecting for you to forgive him tonight let alone throw yourself in top of him. The two of you sat in silence for a couple of minutes, the only sound that could be heard was your breaths and his fingers tapping lightly on your skin. He placed a couple of gentle kisses on your jaw and gripped at your chin; lifting it up to make eye contact with you. 

“I lied. I did read the messages and I cried like a baby—you ass. Okay, I’m gonna start off by admitting that there were some things I also said that were out of line and that I did not mean. You are not a bad boyfriend at all Mark—you are the best boyfriend—hell, you are the best thing to ever happen to me. A lot of what I said was because I was so pissed off at you. I had such a terrible day at work. I was scolded by my manager twice for things I didn’t do, I had to work two extra hours to help out because three people called in sick, I was thrown up on and my break was cut short because we were so low staffed today and everyone in California all seemed to have kidney malfunctions on the same damn day. All I wanted to do was fall apart in your arms and have you comfort me like you always do—but then I come home and you make a comment about how lazy I am and I just—I cracked. Normally you’re always so good at picking up on the fact that I’ve had shit days; so, for you to make me feel even worse when all I wanted to do was find solace in you—it made me so fucking sad. And then I went out and drove for a while but I came to the realization that it wasn’t a good idea for me to roam around in a city I’m not familiar with while I was fuming so I went to a coffee shop and just thought about everything.” 

Feeling his grip on your hips tighten only made it evident that your words had an effect on him. Sure, you were telling your side of the story and you had every right to—Mark deserved to hear what an asshole he was towards you—the last person in his life that he ever wanted to hurt. But he could just picture you sitting in your car; sobbing and blaming yourself like you’ve done multiple times in the past even if it wasn’t your fault. You were the kind of person who had a tendency to think you were the reason why things went wrong. 

Usually, it was in situations at work; but he couldn’t help but feel as if you were beating yourself up about the argument that could have honestly been prevented if he observed your posture and body language and just kept his mouth shut. You wiped away a tear that fell from his cheek before placing a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. 

“I wanted to continue giving you your space, but I had so many negative thoughts running through my mind. I was so, so worried about you. Baby I am so fucking sorry—“ you playfully pinched his cheek before covering his mouth with your hand. 

“No more apologies okay? Our argument is in the past. I just want you to know what happened and why I decided to return back so soon. If I’m being honest with you, I was planning on staying out until I had to head in to work again but sleeping in my car is not the most easiest thing to do. You hurt me Mark—I know it wasn’t purposely but for a few minutes, I actually contemplated on staying at a hotel or something. I didn’t want to see you for the rest of the night and I hated that I felt like that—even if it was for a split second. I always want you Mark. Every second—every minute—every hour spent away from you is spent thinking about you. What you’re doing, if you ate your meals on time, how you’re doing, if you miss me the way I can’t stop missing you, when I’ll get to see you next—then I got your message and they just solidified the love you have for me. Not that I ever questioned it once in our three years of dating. I’m sorry about the dishes—I’m sorry if I haven’t been myself these last few days but please Mark—I’m not acting this way on purpose. I’m so tired. You’re the only reason why I don’t end up in a mental institution at the rate I’m going. I’ll try to be better okay? I love you too by the way—so much.” 

The longer you spoke, the more tears fell from his eyes knowing how you must’ve felt so unhappy while overthinking the argument and just your entire day in general and he just felt so angry with himself. It was one thing for him to think about how much the argument must have bothered you, but it was another thing to hear you confess what had happened at work before coming home to a nagging and complaining boyfriend. 

He felt sick to his stomach and it was even more upsetting because he didn’t have the right words to explain just how sorry he was nor did he know what to do to make it known that he was regretful of the entire situation. Your boyfriend didn’t give you any time to prepare; he cupped your face in his hands and roughly connected your lips together. His lips were chapped and dry and tasted like salt from the tears. However, his movements were dominant and quick; his desire and need to kiss you was all that was on his mind at the moment. 

He wanted you to feel how much he loved you and how remorseful he was through the kiss. His tongue pushed down all but gently against your bottom lip before bringing it in between his teeth. The kiss continued to deepen the longer your tongues battled for dominance; any anger you held for your boyfriend was completely gone at this point. As much as you loved the way his lips melded perfectly against yours, you were finally feeling the wave of exhaustion re-enter your body and to Mark’s disappointment, you pulled away and placed your forehead against his.

“Babeeeee—“

“Come on, let’s go to bed.” 

You got up from off of him and reached your hand out in order to help him up. Mark was the definition of a clingy boyfriend—everyone who knew the two of you both witnessed and heard just how possessive he was over you and how he constantly had to be touching on you. But nobody ever complained—it was so adorable. He wrapped his arms around your stomach and placed his head on your shoulder while letting you guid the two of you towards your shared bedroom. You attempted to escape his hold in order to move around freely, but he had other plans and continued to cling to you like a sloth.

“Babe, I have to get ready for bed—“

“You can get ready while I hold you.”

“I can’t take off my scrubs with your arms around me.”

“I guess that means I have to take them off for you—it would be my pleasure baby.” You rolled your eyes and gently shoved him while grabbing one of his shirts and making your way towards the bathroom. 

“Baby?” You hummed in curiosity and gingerly smiled at him. 

“It’s already 3 in the morning. Maybe you should call in sick. I don’t like the thought of you going to work with barely any amount of sleep and I know we’ve moved on from our argument—but it’s only human for you to think about it again. I don’t want you getting yelled at again if your manager senses that you’re tired. Plus, you’ve been working so much this last month. I know you love your job, but it’s okay to take a well deserved rest once in a while—“ 

He had a point. Besides Mark, work was your ultimate priority. Sometimes, you put the hospital before your own health and private life. There were occasions where Mark would invite you out with him and his friends, but a lot of the time, you would either be at work or sometimes be called in as you started getting ready. Working so much led to over exhaustion every now and then but no matter how sick you felt—whether it was a cold, the flu or nausea, you would still find yourself tending to patients. It was something Mark wasn’t all too fond of; especially because your boyfriend seemed to be the only one genuinely concerned about your well-being. 

As soon as you finished your nighttime routine, you wasted no time making your way towards where Mark was sitting on the bed and crawled on top of him. He gave you a tired yet toothy grin and pulled you close to his chest. His hands returned to your lower waist and he even playfully pinched your butt; earning himself a slap to the shoulder. You brought one of your hands in to his hair while cupping his cheek lovingly with the other. 

“I know you don’t want me apologizing anymore, but I just want to say sorry one last time. I can’t promise we won’t argue again—we’re both stubborn as hell—but I promise to be more patient; more understanding. And I don’t want you leaving—you really did worry me baby. I love you so much y/n. I’m sorry if what I said earlier made you question my love for you—but I love you. I’ve loved you for the last three years and I plan on loving you for the rest of my life.” You placed a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth before smashing your cheek against his chest. 

“I love you too. A lot more than I get around to telling you. Fine. If I stay home tomorrow, you owe me.” He gently pulled away from you and began wiggling his brows. 

“Oh, and what do you have in mind? You know babe, we don’t need to wait till tomorrow, I can give you what you deserve right now. I’ll take such good care of you—“

“I don’t mean sex you horny ass, I meant you make me breakfast in bed or prepare a bath for me. If I’m calling in sick, I want a relaxing day off.” He gave you an adorable pout while playfully hiding his face in between your breasts and whining softly. 

“Making love can be relaxing. Come on Y/n, it’s been almost a week since I had your pretty lips around my cock. I’m sex deprived. As much as I prefer you topping me and riding my cock like the professional cowgirl you are, I’ll take the lead. I’ll eat your pussy out until you cry—fuck you till you scream. Might as well you call out for the entire week. I think you and I both know angry makeup sex is the best sex. Don’t lie y/n, you miss having me inside of you just as much as I miss feeling your tight walls wrapped around me—“

“I think I made a mistake telling you to come in here. Go back to the couch.”

[lockhart-imagines]

“Confidence” ~ Gilderoy Lockhart x Reader

This reader insert fic is for @floofy-wooloo, because I couldn’t resist writing about my bby Gilderoy

Please do not send requests at this time. My request box has been closed for a few years. I had to make an exception for this one, because again, Gilderoy!!! 

(How have I never gotten a Gilderoy request before now? Who are you people?)

_______________________________________________________________________

word count: 2K+ (2,058) Fluff

y/n - your name 

y/h - your house

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“Good morning, class.” 

Gilderoy looked up to see Minerva McGonagall starting her lesson. He watched McGonagall write notes on the board. Today they would be practicing the transfiguration spells they’d learned over the last few weeks. He wasn’t too eager, but he was excited to be paired up with someone. And he wasn’t the only one.

There was a light, cheerful mood in the air. Everyone seemed to have gotten over their ‘winter blues’ now that spring was finally here, and Gilderoy was so looking forward to laying out on the warm; sunlit grounds of Hogwarts. He’d been waiting for it for months: laying under the tree by the lake, reading his favorite book… or just trying to impress all of the girls in the Ravenclaw Common Room.

“Mr. Lockhart,”

Gilderoy snapped back into reality.

“Please pay attention to the lesson.” McGonagall continued. “You’ll have time to daydream after class.”

He nodded.

Soon, the class was split up into pairs, McGonagall’s choice. Gilderoy was paired with y/n. 

“Hi, y/n.” He smiled at her. He always took pride in remembering her name, especially with how many people he talked to in a day’s time.

“Good morning.” She replied. “So, which transfiguration did you choose.”

Gilderoy went blank. “Umm…” His excitement ceased. 

Y/n waited for a response.

With a nervous chuckle, he continued. “I may have missed that part.”

Y/n giggled. “That’s okay. I’ll catch you up.” She flipped open her notes and scanned over the transfigurations they had gone over since the semester started. “What you need to do is pick one of these. I have mine already picked out. Once you’ve picked one, we’ll demonstrate to each other on how to recite and properly carry out the spells we’ve chosen. Then, we’ll demonstrate to the class once we’re grouped back together.”

“Okay, I see.” He looked through her notes, trying to find the perfect choice. “Wow, you’re very detailed.”

“I try.” she replied.

He glanced down at her notes once more, and back up at her. “Would you mind to go first? I just can’t find the right one…”

“Of course.” Y/n set her wand to the side and looked over her notes. “I chose the Vanishing Spell,” she said to Gilderoy. “It’s not at easy as it seems, and it took quite a bit of practice, if I do say so myself.” She turned to grab a book from her bag. “I hate this book, so I’ll use it to demonstrate.”

Gilderoy watched her closely. He was intrigued by the way she prepared herself. Other than her, and Professor McGonagall of course, he had never met any one so detail oriented in transfiguration. Or just that detail oriented in general. 

Y/n grabbed her wand and positioned the book on the desk. Gilderoy waited in excitement.

“Evanesco!”

And just like that, the book vanished. 

“Y/n, that was…” He paused. 

Y/n sighed slightly. “I know. I do need to brush up a bit. I was a bit lazy over the break, and it-”

“Amazing.”

Y/n blushed. ���Really?”

Gilderoy was speechless. All he could do was nod. 

“Well,” y/n giggled. “It’s your turn.”

Slumping back in his chair, Gilderoy chuckled. “Now I’m just going to feel stupid.”

He knew he could never compare to y/n’s ability. When he was around more talented witches and wizards, he never felt the need to try his best. But around y/n, he didn’t even want to try at all. 

“Why? You shouldn’t feel stupid.”

“But I’ve been paired with you.”

“So.” She smiled at him. “That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Besides, you’re better at charms than I am.”

“Am I though?” He asked.

“Not those kind of charms.”

He blushed as he picked up his wand. “Not what I expected you to say, but…” He looked at y/n’s notes one last time. 

“But what?”

“Nothing.” He sat her notes back on the table, and took a deep breath. He felt different somehow, but he couldn’t quite place the feeling. “It’s just —” He sighed. “I have no idea if I’m doing this right, but I’d like to try.”

“Go for it.” Y/n said.

He waved his wand and recited, “Orchideous.”

A white flower petal floated down and landed on top of y/n’s notebook. She knew what he needed. “You just need a little more confidence, and you’ll have it.”

“Confidence…”

“Come on!” She moved her chair closer to his. “You are the master of confidence! I’ve seen you in the Great Hall, as well as other places… making the all the girls giggle and blush, as well as making all the boys jealous of your… charm.”

Gilderoy let out a laugh. “Thank you.”

Y/n kept her warm smile. “You can do it.”

As he took a deep breath, he placed his wand in the ready position.

“Confidence.”

“Confidence.” He repeated.

He took another deep breath. “Orchideous!”

Multiple flowers appeared on the table. Y/n was in disbelief as she looked around. 

Gilderoy opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted.

“How did you know these were my favorite?”

“Hm?”

“Lilac. Lilac is my favorite flower.” Y/n continued. “Was this your way of flirting back with me?”

With a smirk, Gilderoy spoke. “I guess so.” He gazed into her eyes for just a moment, but quickly composed himself. “But, to be fair, Lilac is my favorite color.”

“Well, it seems like you two have made some great progress today.” McGonagall picked up a lilac stem, interrupting them. “We’ll keep working before we share with the rest of the class, though. Some other students are having some trouble.”

McGonagall walked to another table. Y/n and Gilderoy looked at each other, smiling.

“Well, I guess that gives you a little more time to practice.” said y/n.

“Yeah…” Gilderoy was gazing at her again. “Hey, umm… you wouldn’t want to maybe… help me with learning these, would you?”

Y/n stuffed her noted back into her bag with a smile. “I’d love to!”

Gilderoy felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders. “Room of Requirement, say… after dinner?”

“Perfect!” 

Transfiguration had ended, and the two headed to their next classes. Gilderoy was excited for his study date with y/n, but he was nervous. He wondered if he was just making a fool of himself, and was clueless to whether y/n felt the same way he did about her. Then it dawned on him: he forgot to mention it was a study ‘date’. 

Y/n took a seat in her next class, Charms, and tried her best to keep up with notes. However, she kept getting distracted by what Gilderoy had asked. ‘Was he actually flirting?’ She thought to herself. ‘Or, was he just acting the way he normally does around girls and those who are a little more advanced than him?’ Not being able to concentrate, she raised her hand. “May I be excused?”

_____

Dinner came and went. Y/n made her way up to the 7th floor of the castle, bringing all of her notes; extra quills; and snacks to share. Gilderoy was in the hall waiting for her, looking a little more dashing than usual. He had more lilac stems in his hand. Y/n giggled lightly.

“What’s so funny?” He asked.

She walked up to him, setting her things down on the floor. “I just feel underdressed, that’s all.”

“Oh.” He looked down at his sleeves. “Yeah, I may have gone overboard with my outfit.”

“That’s alright.” She picked her bag back up off the floor. “I think you look nice.”

They both started to pace back and forth to reveal the entrance of the room. “Thank you. You do as well.” 

After a few rounds, the entrance appeared. 

“Oh!” Gilderoy remembered the flowers. “These are for you.”

She blushed and took the flowers carefully before hey both headed in. 

There was a big table for them to sit at, as well as a space on the floor with blankets and pillows. There was a bookshelf with some useful transfiguration books, and a restroom towards the back. They decided the floor was best. They both set their bags down and took a seat. Y/n pulled a blanket over herself and grabbed her notebook from her bag, as well as a snack. “would you like some?” she asked. 

“Sure! Thank you.”

Over the next hour or so, they both went over basic spells. Gilderoy had filled the room with flowers at this point, and y/n loved watching the petals float to the floor. After another few spells, she thought it was time for a break. Gilderoy could tell she was getting tired. “Maybe we should stop for the night.”

She shook her head. “No, I just need a little break.” 

“Y/n…”

“I mean,” she began, “I am tired, but I really want to help you with these until you’re finished for the night.”

He scooted closer to her. “Hey, it’s okay. I promise there will be another time to do this again.”

She sighed. “I know.” 

Both of them sat in silence for a moment. It was quiet; peaceful. The flowers filled the room with a heavenly scent, and Gilderoy couldn’t help but to gaze at y/n’s beauty.

“Hey, um…” 

Y/n looked to him.

Gilderoy leaned a little closer. “Can I tell you something?” 

Y/n nodded. 

“Earlier in class, when we were practicing spells, I felt something I’ve never felt about another person before.” He swallowed. “I know I’m a confident person, but around you I feel a little nervous. A good nervous, of course. And when you made that ‘charms’ comment, it really made me think about all the times I’ve tried to impress someone and how the feeling I felt was nothing like the feeling I felt today… How I feel about you.”

Y/n couldn’t help but to hide her cheesy smile under the blanket. Hearing him say that made her feel butterflies. 

“And to be completely honest,” he continued, “I may be wrong, but I got the sense that you may feel the same. But, that could just be me craving attention.”

Y/n opened her mouth to speak.

“I know I’m a bit of a narcissist. I am. But, while I was trying to get everyone to notice me, I think I was just trying to get you to notice me…” Gilderoy sighed. “I’m probably rambling at this point, but… I needed you to know how I felt.”

Gilderoy looked the floor, waiting for her response. It was silent. Y/n didn’t know what to say. She was actually shocked that Gilderoy had actually admitted as much as he did. In that moment, she rose up and kissed him on the cheek. Gilderoy’s cheeks went pink. He turned to look at her, both of them remaining silent, and he leaned in close. He caressed her cheek and slowly pulled her in for a kiss. 

Y/n put her hand on his arm, not resisting a bit. She wanted this. She had wanted this.

Gilderoy pulled away even more slowly. Y/n opened her eyes and grinned. Gilderoy also grinned, still holding her face in his hand. “Sorry,” his voice cracked. “I couldn’t resist.”

She giggled lightly. “That’s quite alright.” She moved her hand to his. “I really enjoyed that.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks for giving me the confidence to do that.”

Y/n smirked. “Anytime.”

With another sigh, Gilderoy knew it was time to head back to their dormitories. “Maybe we should pack up. It’s getting late.”

Y/n agreed. They both packed up their belongings and made their way back to the dormitories, hand in hand. During their walk back, they’d occasionally glance at each other with a smile. Before getting to the y/h door, Gilderoy stopped her for a moment. 

“Tomorrow during our free period, would you like to study by the lake?”

Y/n nodded with a grin. “I would love that.”

“Okay, perfect!” Gilderoy couldn’t contain his excitement. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” He kissed her on the cheek, and made his way back to his dormitory. 

Y/n watched him walk away, thinking of how wonderful of a time she had with him. Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

[shoogarcube]

The Only Beautiful Thing

Sakusa Kiyoomi x Reader 

themes

angst. heartbreak. sad kiyoomi. mental exhaustion. burnout. 

———

Before I start I want to make a disclaimer!

In this story I portray Sakusa as someone with severe OCD. I personally am not diagnosed with OCD and wouldn’t call myself an expert on symptoms of OCD. However I did do some research to back up this story. If you happen to be diagnosed or know more about the disorder than I do, and find what I have written to be misleading or offensive in any way PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I’d be very willing to rewrite it with your help or just completely delete it! Thank you for your time! 

Also, please check out this performance :) or listen to it before reading because I based this fic off of it. Theres a few phrases I used in the fic. 

———

Sakusa was surprised when you weren’t repelled by the germaphobic tendencies he displayed. You were unbothered by the way he asked you to sanitize your hands before holding his hand. You would smile behind your mask that he had given you- he could tell by the way your eyes crinkled at the edges. You were always patient when he had to lock the apartment door repetitively to make sure it was done correctly. When he finally had worked up the courage to ask you out, you didn’t mind that he ask about twenty times because the way he said “go out” didn’t sit right with him. 

He’d always watch your mouth when you spoke, watching how every word you spoke was formed on your parted lips. He loved when you said you loved him, your lips would curl upwards ever so slightly. When you said you loved him, he could feel electricity surging through his body, making the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. 

There finally came a breaking point. Where kissing you wasn’t a hassle. Instead, Kiyoomi would have to kiss you 10 times in a consecutive order to make sure it was perfect. You always told him you didn’t mind waiting until he finished. He no longer felt the urge to wash his hands after he touched you. You no longer felt like some foreign object with germs on it- you were this clean life preserver he could reach for in a sea of contamination. 

You always carried hand sanitizer in your bag, and when certain thoughts made his skin crawl you’d always notice. You’d see how he began to nervously rub his hands together, as if they were under a running faucet- You would search your bag before dabbing a bit of the sanitizer in his hands.

“It’s okay, my love,” You’d say, “They’re just thoughts.” 

He loved that. 

You loved him and his behaviors. You were patient. You were beautiful. 

You.

Were the only beautiful thing he obsessed over. 

The way your hair fell perfectly around your face like you were heaven sent. The way you smelt of sanitizer or soap because you probably used one or the other just moments before you were with him. You’d changed your routine up just for him. Just to make him feel comfortable. You were absolutely everything to him.

So, where did it all go wrong?

Your lips no longer curled when you said you loved him. Instead, they laid perfectly in a flat line as you spoke. Your eyes looked tired and drained when you talked to him. Your voice was no longer as cheerful. You no longer waited for him to go to bed when he reorganized the shoes at the front door. You’d let out a drained sigh when he kissed you more than three times in a row. 

When you asked for space, he felt his heart drop. However, the man did not show his hurt. Instead he only responded with a stoic expression and complied to your wishes.

“Alright. I’ll give you space.” For some reason- he didn’t like the way that sounded. 

You started staying at a friends house last weekend. Leaving him in an empty apartment, same as he had once been about six months ago before you came into his life- but now... it felt so lonely. He had called you hours ago and told you how much he missed you. How much he wanted you to come back. But you only told him how you shouldn’t have let him get so attached, about how this whole thing was just a mistake.

But how could it be a mistake that he doesn’t need to wash his hands after he touched you? 

“Please, Sakusa.. move on. Find someone new.” You spoke through the phone, your voice still as exhausted as it was before you left. 

But he just couldn’t. You were the one beautiful thing he obsessed over. How could he just move on when you were always on his mind? When you were the only thought that plagued his mind for the past week because getting you back was the only thing he could think of. His mind used to be filled with the never-ending worry of invisible armies of germs creeping their way into his skin.

Typically, when he stared at a wine glass, all he could think about was the countless amounts of germs on them. Now, all he could picture was the way you would place that glass to your lips with a smile when you looked at him at dinner.

How. 

How could it be a mistake when he was left yearning for your touch and not repulsed by it? 

When you hung up the phone on him, Kiyoomi ran his fingers through his curly, now unruly, hair repetitively. Trying desperately to recreate the feeling of you doing it to calm him down. The sinking feeling of dread in his heart almost distracted him enough from feeling the warm, salty tears now streaming down his face. 

Disgusting thoughts started to fill his head, images of you kissing another man. He only kisses you once because he doesn’t care that it’s perfect. His germs are now lingering on your skin and he can’t wipe them away for you because you want him to move on. But he can’t move on. 

He grips at his chest as the sinking feeling began to hurt, he can’t breathe for a moment but finally he sobs out and can no longer sit there in silence. His body is trembling as he thinks of where he went wrong. He thought he had done everything flawlessly for you.

How could you tell him this was a mistake when the only thing that could keep his mind off of the germs was you?

He needed you.

[bluewhale52]

- Love & Zombies -

Aaah I know I’m late to the party but this literally came to me today at work after watching Train to Busan with my hubby yesterday 😅

Summary: you and your boyfriend stay in for Halloween for a movie night, and the movie of choice is Train to Busan! Not only your boyfriend is a scaredy cat, he also asks you a pretty heavy question that may affect your relationship.

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x reader

Genre: fluff, domestic, established relationship au, idol au

Word count: 1600

Warning: none other than it’s heavy with plots and spoilers of the movie Train to Busan! And of course depiction of JHS in the story is pure of my imagination.

—

Halloween has always been one of your favorite events in the year. You like cosplaying, making your own costumes and putting on an alter ego even for just a couple of hours. You even came up with this year’s costume right after Halloween last year. You were excited when you found a beautiful red trench coat in a vintage shop just a few days after, complete with the red wide brim hat. Unfortunately because of the pandemic, your Halloween plans are cancelled, and your debut as Carmen San Diego has to wait for another year.

Fortunately, because of the pandemic, your boyfriend’s travel plans abroad are cancelled, and for once he is able to spend Halloween with you. Despite his busy schedule for the upcoming comeback, he has made sure he has 31 October free. You both are pleased to spend the night together at your place, away from the other members, for your Halloween movie night. He even bought matching Snoopy pyjamas- yours has Snoopy and Woodstock jumping out of a pumpkin shouting ‘Boo!’ and his has poor Charlie Brown clutching his heart in shock.

You know your boyfriend is the jumpy type, screaming and squealing at the smallest sound. And he has been very adamant that you will not be watching any horror movies of the supernatural type. So you have chosen Train to Busan and Shaun of the Dead. Although both are zombie movies, there aren’t many jump scare scenes and the gore level is pretty tame. You are quite sure your boyfriend won’t be hanging on to you for dear life throughout the night.

Hoseok settles on the sofa with a big bowl of popcorn on his lap as you start the first movie, Train to Busan. He claimed he has seen it before, albeit he covered his eyes 99% of the time.

He is still quite relaxed over the opening scene, until the dead deer on the road came back to life. He sits closer to you, pressing his side tightly against yours.

“Hobi-ah, it’s not even 5 minutes into the movie!” You tease him.

“The deer, YN, it’s a zombie deer!” You chuckle and pat his head. He laughs and tries to relax, but you feel your body starts leaning to one side with Hoseok pressing so much onto your other side.

Hoseok makes some comments as the movie unfolds- how cute the little girl playing the daughter is, how good looking Gong Yoo is in his suit- and you know it is just his way to calm and distract himself over what is to come. He hides behind your back when the injured young woman gets into the train and squeals when the little girl saw a person getting jumped by a zombie at the train platform.

Everything goes downhill from there. He keeps telling the characters to run, to hide, to fight the zombies, all the while with a deathly grip on your hand. You even had to save the bowl of popcorn from falling off his lap because he is moving too much, agitated.

“It’s ok Hoseokie, I will protect you,” you coo at him.

“Ah, YN, I should be the one protecting you but I don’t think I’ll be able to do anything.” He laughs nervously.

“No babe, we’ll work together, right. I’d arm myself with a baseball bat to smash the zombies’ heads.” You tilt your head. “You know, I don’t understand why they don’t just aim at their knees. Break their knees, they wont be able to chase after you.” You wonder out loud.

“Wah YN, you’re really thinking seriously about this.” Hoseok is practically sitting behind you know. His hands are on your shoulders, massaging them gently except for the few times when the zombies get too close to the characters and he squeezes your shoulders hard. Super hard.

“Of course, in an apocalypse we must think critically to survive. I’d kill the zombies, you can be in charge of food. Rationing, cooking. You’re much better at planning than I am. And when I’m tired of killing zombies, you can give me shoulder massages.”

Hoseok chuckles at that, and kisses the back of your head.

You both continue the movie, Hoseok now sitting behind you and you between his legs. You crack up a few more jokes, pointing out some of the mistakes the characters in the movie commit, and promising your boyfriend all those errors have been etched on your brain to ensure you wouldn’t do the same in a zombie apocalypse. Hoseok is more relaxed now, laughing and teasing at how serious you are planning your and his survival.

Until you come to the scene where the selfish executive pushes the high school girl to the zombies to save himself.

“Poor Wooshik,” Hoseok says, “he has to see his girlfriend turn into a zombie!”



You scoff at the scene, especially at the part where Wooshik’s character is cradling his girlfriend and apologising to her. “It’s stupid,” you comment, “he’s gonna die soon.”

And sure enough, once the girl has stopped convulsing and truly turned into a zombie, she bites her boyfriend.



“See!” you shout. “He’s so stupid, he’s survived all this while only to die because he can’t leave his girlfriend!”

Hoseok pulls your body aside, half turning it so you can face him.

“Babe, if I got bitten by a zombie, you’d stay with me, right?” He asks, eyes serious and voice earnestly worried.

“Of course not! You’ve been bitten!” You answer, perhaps too quickly.

“So, you’d leave me behind?” His voice is rising, full of disappointment and hurt.

“Well, do you want me to die with you or to continue surviving?”

Hoseok looks puzzled at your question, and unable to answer.

“I mean, if I can put you in a place where you’d be confined after you become a zombie, yeah I’d stay with you,” you think out loud, “but say in that same situation like in the movie, where you’d easily jump me and eat my brains, I’d probably kiss you goodbye right after you get bitten then I’d run to save my ass.”

“I am seriously hurt, YN. I can’t believe you’d leave me.” Hoseok pouts.

“Well if I don’t leave, YOU would kill me! Is that any better?” You counter.

He huffs and you both continue watching the movie in silence. You find it funny that Hoseok would take it so seriously and you want to laugh at the silliness of it. But you also know you need to do some damage control to cheer up your sunshine.

“Hobi, in an apocalypse, we have to think logically and critically. We can’t let emotions make decisions for our survival.” You turn slightly so you can drape an arm around your boyfriend. Your position has shift so now you’re sitting sideways in his lap, and you kiss his cheek tenderly.

“I love you, and I’d never ever leave you, you know that. And even if I had to, because you’re turning into a zombie, I’d be crying and crying over losing you for days, months, and even years. I won’t stop thinking of you. And I’d be blaming myself for failing to protect you. And I give you permission to haunt me to my dying days as my penance.”

You turn his head to face you, and you kiss him softly on his lips. “I love you, Jung Hoseok.”

“I love you too, YN,” he replies, wrapping his arms around you and kissing you back sweetly.

Then he suddenly lets go of you, and you stumble back on the sofa. “Oh my god YN! Gong Yoo! That evil executive bit him!”

Hoseok is practically fuming, “Ah, that selfish man, I hate him! Why does he have to bite Gong Yoo? That poor girl, she now has to see her father turn into a zombie!”

You right yourself up, staring at your boyfriend in amusement. “Aish YN, I can’t believe Gong Yoo is turning into a zombie.” Hoseok is truly looking very, very affected by the turn of events in the movie. And when Gong Yoo’s character throws himself off to save his daughter, you are pretty sure your boyfriend is in the brink of tears.

Hoseok is now leaning forward, and asking you if the little girl will survive. You feel like telling him that no, the girl will become a zombie too just to tease him. But he is gripping your hand so hard at the ending scene of the movie, shouting at the soldiers not to shoot the girl and the other survivor. And when the girl starts singing while crying, Hoseok is shaking your shoulders while still screaming for the girl to survive and live.

Once the end credits roll, Hoseok plops back on the sofa, breathing heavily in relief. You look at him, and announce, “OK, let’s not watch Train to Busan anymore. This movie does not do you, or us, any good.”

“I agree, YN, it’s just too sad. Too sad!” He laments.

Too sad? You scoff and swat your boyfriend. He reacts in his typical manner- eyes wide and face full of innocence while asking you what he has done to earn a smack on his arm. You jump on him, tickling him and pretending to eat him like a zombie would, and he trashes around, laughing hysterically, trying to escape you.

He finally manages to flip you and pin you down. His laughter dies down to a soft smile, and he leans down to kiss you.

“I love you, my zombie killer. Happy Halloween.”

—

Thank you for reading! 💜

[cornfields-and-bad-dreams]

For @cyans-stardust

Summary: On a rainy day Geoff remembers a few moments with Michael and Gavin.

Word count: 1,666

Rating: PG-13

Geoff sat by the window sipping at his coffee, it was a quiet day, rainy but calm.  The perfect day to do nothing.  The only other people in the penthouse were Michael and Gavin, the two of them sat in the living room playing Mario Kart.  Geoff watched them out the corner of his eye, laughing to himself when Michael freaks out at another loss.

"You've got to be cheating, did Matt teach you his secrets?"

Geoff peered out at the rain again, his mind wandering to the memory of his first encounter with the two men.

The rain came down in sheets, you could barely see a foot in front of you.  Geoff trudged down the street umbrella in hand.  Hardly anyone was out walking in that weather but Geoff had started out when it was only a drizzle, so now he was stuck in the torrential rain.  All of a sudden Geoff was dragged into an ally and shoved up against a wall.  The barrel of a gun was pointed at his face, Two young men stood in front of him drenched by the rain, one holding the gun the other holding him against the wall.

"Give us your wallet."  The man restraining him ordered.

"Or else." The second man added.

Geoff could tell the two weren't from Los Santos, one spoke with an east coast accent the other an English one.  Even through the rain, Geoff could tell their clothes were old and worn with various holes and patches.  It was obvious that these were desperate men.

"You don't have to do this you know.  There are other options."

The English man seemed confused while the other scoffed, his face scrunching up with anger.

"What do you know?  Just give us your fucking money."

Geoff remained calm, it certainly wasn't the first time he'd been held at gunpoint.

"I know a lot more than you'd think.  I've been where you are, broke and desperate, trying anything I can to stay afloat.  I've done things I regret, hurt people who didn't deserve it, but I was able to find solid ground, to climb my way up from the bottom.  I didn't do it alone, and you don't have to either."

"Shut up." The man holding him let go with one hand and brought it back in a fist, striking Geoff across his face. "You don't know us, you don't know anything."

Through the rain, it was hard to tell but Geoff knew that the man was crying.

"Michael."  His friend spoke softly lowering the gun.

"I can help you.  If you'll let me."

Geoff wasn't a good samaritan, he was far from it, Geoff was the Kingpin, one of the baddest men in the city.  He ran an empire of crime the likes of no one had ever seen, but deep down he was a good person, even if others didn't see it.  And at that moment Geoff felt sorry for the two men before him.

"And what's in it for you?"  Micheal asked.

"You come to work for me.  That's all, I'll provide you a place to live, food, money, and anything else you need."

"What kinda job is it?"  The Englishman asked.

"I'm in the crime business myself, but on a much grander scale.  You work for me and we'll be going after people who deserve it."

Michael's grip loosened, as he took a step back.

"Why are you offering us this?"

"As I said before, I've been where you are now.  I know what it's like.  This city is unforgiving, so someone has to be."

The two men looked at each other then back to Geoff.

"I'm Michael, this is Gavin."  He gestured to the other man

"Geoff."

"What now?" Gavin asked.

"Let's get you, boys, to your new home."

Geoff finished his coffee and made his way into the kitchen.  Pouring himself another cup he listened to the two men in the living room.

"Michael boy, why'd you do that to me?"

"Cause I want to win dumbass."

Gavin made a sad noise as Michael laughed.  Geoff's thought drifted off to a different memory.

It was early Saturday morning, Geoff paced back and forth in the penthouse living room, Jack stood nearby biting at her nails.

"They should be back by now, when was the last time you saw them again?"  Geoff asked the younger man on the couch.

Jeremy jumped at Geoff's sudden words, looking up he stammered a moment before answering.

"We were at the bar.  I called it quits a little before midnight, but they wanted to stick around till the last call.  I got a voice message from them around 2 though.  They sounded alright then."

It was nearly 6 AM, Michael and Gavin hadn't made it back to the penthouse and everyone was getting on edge, especially Geoff.

"Maybe they crashed at one of the safe houses,"  Jack suggested.

"Or maybe they got picked up by the police, or they had some kind of accident.  Anything could have happened to them."  Geoff was officially freaking out.

"I know that, but I'm trying to think positively.  We can't just jump to the worst."  Jack was starting to get defensive.

Geoff picked up his phone again and tried to call Gavin.  The phone just rang and rang as it had been for hours now, finally clicking over to the voicemail.  Geoff threw his phone down cracking the screen.

"Geoff!  You need to calm down, getting worked up like this isn't going to help."  Jack placed their hand on Geoff's shoulder giving it a light squeeze.

Geoff breathed heavily as he stared at his phone.  He knew Jack was right but he couldn't calm down.  Michael and Gavin, his boys, were missing, but there was nothing he could do.  He was scared.

All of a sudden Geoff's phone began to ring, Michael's contact photo popped up on the cracked screen.  Geoff dove for the phone answering the call.

"Michael, where the hell are you guys?  Are you okay?"

A laugh could be heard on the other end, one that was very obviously not Michael or Gavin's.  Geoff's blood ran cold.

"Who is this?"

Jack took a step forward and Jeremy bolted off the couch at those words.

"You can call me Mr. Cunningham.  You've probably figured this out by now, but I have something of yours, two somethings to be exact.  Say hello boys."  The last bit was fainter as he was speaking to someone away from the phone.

Michael and Gavin's voices could be heard calling Geoff's name asking for help, the two sounded tired and broken.  Geoff was frozen for a moment as he processed everything, finally able to move he clenched his fist and growled into the phone.

"I don't know who you think you are but you are going to pay for this.  I'll give you one chance to hand over my boys peacefully, if you refuse there will be trouble."

"Oh Mr. Ramsey, you're not the one with the upper hand here, you don't get to make demands.  If you want your boy's back you're gonna have to do as I tell you, or else."

The sound of a gunshot could be heard in the background followed by a cry of pain from Gavin, Michael's voice could also be heard in protest.

"What do you want."  Geoff gritted his teeth.

Geoff's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Michael cheering in victory and Gavin's bemoaning of loss.  It was probably for the best anyway, thinking about such things wasn't good for anyone.

Making his way into the living room, Geoff plopped down on the couch in between the two men.

"Mind if I watch?"

"Always great to have an audience," Gavin replied.

"Yeah sure, just don't distract me." Michael joked.

Leaning back Geoff watched as another round was started, and once again Geoff was reminded of another memory.

It had been a week since they got Michael and Gavin back, Geoff was still a bit on edge after the whole ordeal, but he kept reminding himself to stay calm for the guys' sake.

Geoff was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels when Gavin came in.  He was still limping from the bullet he'd taken in the foot.  He made his way over to the couch and stood next to Geoff a moment before speaking.

"Do you mind, if I sit here with you?"  Gavin's voice was soft, far from his usual energetic tone.

"Of course you can sit with me."

Gavin smiled a bit and came to rest beside Geoff.  After a moment Michael entered the room, passing through to the kitchen Geoff watched out the corner of his eye as Michael poked around before coming back to stand behind the couch.

"What are you watching?"  Michael's tone was quiet and tired, far from his typical loud and boisterous tone.

"Just channel surfing at the moment, trying to find something to watch,"  Geoff replied.

"Ah.  Can I, sit with you too?"  Michael was hesitant to ask.

"Of course, the more the merrier." Geoff patted the empty space next to him.

Michel made his way around the couch and sat next to Geoff.  The three men sat together as Geoff continued to scan through the channels.  Slowly the two men beside him began to move in closer until they were fulling resting against him.  Of course, Geoff didn't mind, in fact, he quite enjoyed having his boys so close.  After finding something to watch and staying on one channel for a while Gavin spoke.

"Thanks, Geoff."

"For what?"

"Everything."

"Yeah, we really appreciate you," Michael added.

"I appreciate you guys too."

Geoff wrapped his arms around the two men giving them a tight hug.

Geoff smiled, spending time with his boys was his favorite thing to do.  Whether it be sitting on the couch or causing a bit of chaos.  His crew was his family and he loved his family.

[itllsetyoufree]

i always had the best intentions, babe

Sam smiles at her. “Alright, Luthor. Let’s hear it.”

Lena winces, gaze dropping to the ground.

“I almost killed Kara tonight.”

OR,

When Lex's automatic kryptonite countermeasures nearly kill Supergirl, Lena's forced to accept the fact that despite how angry she is, she still has feelings for Kara. So obviously she runs away to Metropolis where Sam makes her talk about her feelings and gives her a damn hug in the process

--

Or, after 5x08 when Lex's automatic kryptonite countermeasures nearly kill Supergirl, Lena's forced to accept the fact that despite how angry she is, she still has feelings for Kara. So obviously she runs away to Metropolis where Sam makes her talk about her feelings and gives her a damn hug in the process

It’s late. She knows it’s late, but she didn't know what else to do. She had stumbled out of Lex’s hideout in a daze, chartering a flight to Metropolis and texting Sam before she’d even processed that she’d taken out her phone. By the time the plane lands, Lena’s pulled herself together, and by the time her car pulls up in front of Sam’s house, she’s already sent her pilot a case of champagne as a thank you.

The downstairs lights are on despite the hour, yellow light spilling onto the front lawn, and Sam opens the front door before Lena’s even out of the car. She leans against the doorjamb, arms crossed with a curious but tired expression on her face as she watches Lena walk up the pathway toward the house.

Lena wonders not for the first time in the last few hours if she’s overstepped, made a mistake in reaching out for Sam and showing up almost unannounced at who knows what hour of night. Anxiety pools in her stomach as she climbs up the steps, but Sam just smiles tiredly at her and pulls her into a hug so warm and familiar her eyes water.

She allows herself to sag against Sam, tucks her head into Sam’s shoulder, boneless as she exhales properly for the first time in hours. Sam is solid against her, strong arms all but holding her up, and Lena treats herself to it just this once.

“I’m sorry to keep you up and barge in on you like this.”

Sam gives her an extra squeeze and pulls back, holding onto Lena’s shoulders as she dips her head to catch Lena’s gaze. “I’ve been telling you for years that you need a hug and some therapy. I’m not going to scold you for taking my advice.”

Lena snorts, “You’re not a therapist.”

“No,” Sam says, stepping fully back into the house. She gracefully picks up an already poured glass of wine and hands it to Lena, and the rest of Lena’s anxiety melts away when she sees a fresh pair of folded pajamas and a pillow perched on the couch. “I’m not, but I researched a list of them for you while you were on your flight. It’s in your inbox.”

Lena glares at her for a moment but relents when Sam raises an eyebrow at her.

“Thanks,” Lena says quietly. She sips her wine.

Sam smiles at her. “Alright, Luthor. Let’s hear it.”

Lena winces, gaze dropping to the ground.

“I almost killed Kara tonight.”

Sam freezes, wine glass dangling precariously in her hand. She lowers herself slowly onto the couch. “I think I’m going to need a little more than that, Lena.”

“I didn’t- it wasn’t- it’s not-” Lena stops, frustrated, and presses her thumb into her eyebrow. She shakes her head and starts over. “It’s not how it sounds, not really. Can I sit?”

Sam nods, and as Lena sits she marvels at the open expression on Sam’s face, faith in her she’s not sure she deserves, faith she always thought Kara had in her.

“She- Supergirl chased after me at one of Lex’s hideouts and his defense systems almost shot her down with kryptonite cannons. I barely shut them down in time.”

“Lex’s cannons?” Sam asks.

Lena nods, then regales Sam with the events of the evening that she already wants to forget, and by the end of her story, she can’t place Sam’s expression at all.

“His countermeasures armed with regular missiles first, which I let fly, but when those didn’t faze her, they automatically re-armed with kryptonite and wouldn’t allow an override, and she just stayed there watching me with her hands up. She wasn’t even trying to get away, she just-” Lena cuts herself off, her throat feeling thicker than usual and her eyes filled with tears. She notices her wine glass is trembling in her hand.

“She just looked at me. Another second longer, Sam, and I-” she shakes her head and takes a large sip of wine to steady herself. She’s not sure it’s working.

“Lena,” Sam’s voice is soft, but her face is determined as she calls Lena back from her thoughts. “You didn’t nearly kill her. To me it sounds like you saved her.”

Lena snorts. “If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have almost died in the first place.”

“Don’t you think she could have left when you, I don’t know, fired an actual missile at her?” Sam looks at her incredulously. “Wasn’t that a big enough hint? And don’t you think she could have flown away when she saw the kryptonite instead of just standing there waiting to be shot at?”

“She probably had a whole superhero speech prepared that she didn’t want to waste,” Lena rolls her eyes.

She lets out a long breath, staring down into the dregs of her wine. Then she shrugs, the snark draining out of her. “I can’t get that image out of my head, of her with her hands up just looking at me and waiting for me to gun her down with the only thing that could actually hurt her.”

Lena breaks her stare with the bottom of her wine glass and looks up at Sam, eyes pleading.

“You’re not a bad person, Lena,” Sam says softly, grasping Lena’s hand. “You didn’t program Lex’s defense system or set it to automatically shoot down Kryptonians. You stopped it from firing.”

“Yeah, the second round,” Lena scoffs, rolling her eyes at herself. “I actively deployed the first round. What am I doing, Sam, firing military-grade missiles at my best friend?”

Sam turns, facing Lena fully on the couch and leveling her with a glare. “When you know military-grade missiles wouldn’t even bruise her?”

Lena drops her gaze. She picks at a feather sticking out of the couch until Sam bats her hand away.

“And when she ripped your whole world to shreds and didn’t even have the decency to tell you about it?”

Sam is looking at her with a raised eyebrow, and Lena allows the corner of her mouth to quirk up in acknowledgment. “All that world-ripping, and the only thing I’ll let myself do back is yell at her.”

“And fire a couple missiles at her,” Sam says cheekily, a small smile spreading over her face.

Lena lets it cheer her up for a moment and smiles back, waving her hand dismissively, “Oh what does she care? Couple of gnats buzzing around.”

Sam snorts. Lena sobers, “But the kryptonite cannons… my heart stopped.” Lena trails off into a whisper.

Sam nods, “It would have killed her.”

“It would have killed her,” Lena agrees. “And she would have let me.”

They’re quiet for a moment, sitting together on the couch. Lena pours herself another glass of wine and downs half of it.

“A big part of me wanted to hurt her, Sam, maybe still does. But not like that, I could never-”

“I know,” Sam cuts her off.

She’s looking at Lena strangely, searching her face, and Lena steels herself.

“That’s not the only thing I wanted to say,” Lena whispers. “That’s just the background, really.”

“Shooting missiles at your best friend is just the exposition?” Sam teases, trying for levity, but she sobers at the look on Lena’s face.

“I, um,” Lena takes a deep breath then, glancing at Sam before looking around the living room to distract herself. She sees pictures of Ruby and Sam together, books, an unfinished art project, a photo of herself and Sam from Alex’s birthday party. “I think you probably know all of this already, but just let me say it, okay? I need to say it out loud.”

Sam nods.

“I love her.”

Sam’s expression softens, and Lena’s heart thumps wildly in her chest. The tips of her ears burn hot when she exhales shakily. “And yes, she did rip my world to shreds, but she also broke my heart. I think I broke hers too, but it didn’t feel as good as I thought it would.”

Lena sighs, digging the palm of her hand into her eyebrow. “I thought I was past it because of all this. I’m so disgusted,” she pauses to gulp down the rest of her wine and sets the glass down a little too roughly, “and hurt and betrayed. Again. I was so sure that I hated her, but I don’t.”

She looks up at Sam wearily and then closes her eyes, resting her forehead in her hand. “She could have died tonight, and I’m in love with her.”

When Lena doesn’t continue Sam nods to herself absently, “I may or may not have figured a lot of that out already.” She says it with caution, watching as Lena uncurls herself and leans her head back against the couch to stare up at the ceiling.

“I know,” Lena murmurs. She lets her head roll to the side to look at Sam. “I don’t know what to do.”

Sam blows out a breath. “There’s nothing to do but give it time,” she says quietly, “and when you’re ready, if you want, let her explain herself.”

Nodding once, Lena slumps into the couch and curls into herself again, but Sam stands and holds her hands out. “None of that. C’mere.”

Lena lets Sam pull her up and falls into her arms. Sam grips her tightly, and Lena indulges in the way it melts away the nervous tension in her stomach. “You are not a villain, Lena, not even close. All you do is good” Sam says to her, rubbing a hand over her upper back. “Don’t let anyone make you forget that.”

“I needed that,” Lena whispers as Sam lets her go. “And thanks for… everything.”

“Anytime,” Sam gestures at the pajamas on the couch. “Get some rest, I’ll see you in the morning. And Lena… we’ll figure this all out.”

She waves goodnight as she heads up the stairs. Lena watches her go, a warm, content feeling settling into her bones as she snuggles into the couch and reaches for her phone. When she unlocks it she finds an email from Sam, a list of half a dozen therapists with a copious amount of notes and commentary from Sam staring back at her from her phone screen. Rolling her eyes affectionately, Lena pins the email for the morning and goes to bed.

[writerffalse]

I don't know if the translation will be totally the same, since it was based on the Google translator, sorry.

N/b = boy's name.

C/y/e = color of your eyes.

— You can't do this anymore! — Liam changes, scaring the girl in front of him a little.

— You can't stop me! I want to help! — Y/n complains in a higher tone. If he wants to scream, I scream louder, that's what the girl thought.

— You can't take chances like that anymore, Y/n! It's too dangerous... — Liam lowers his voice, feeling exhausted. He just wanted Y/n to be safe, without being in danger, but it seems that the more he tried to get you away from everything, the more you got into the pack's affairs. — I can not lose you...

— You won't lose me, Liam! — Y/n exclaims tiredly. Tired of being underestimated just for being human, so what if she wasn't a werewolf? Or a Kitsune? Or even a hunter? Stiles was also human and that was not why they kept excluding him and putting him out of business. She could help, she wanted to help... But it seems that her boyfriend did not understand and that frustrated her.

— You do not know! — Liam yells running his hands through his hair aggressively and it irritates the girl a lot. He hated being yelled at. — Scott also trusted that he would not lose Allison and now she is dead!

Y/n takes a step back, feeling the impact of those harsh words thrown at her, it was as if she had been shot... A shot by the person she trusted most. Liam regrets his words at the same time they left his mouth, despite not knowing the hunter, he knew he had been a great friend of his girlfriend and knew that it hurt her deeply seeing his shocked and very hurt expression on his eyes, hit yourself mentally. It had crossed the line.

— Y/n... II... I'm sorry... — the boy tries to approach his girlfriend to apologize and feels his heart being broken when she walks away, shaking her head. And it was at that moment that he realized the shit he had done and did not know if S / n would forgive him so easily. — Please... Give me...

— No, Liam! — despite changing his voice a little, Y/n takes a deep breath to compose himself. — No, Liam...

The girl turns to get out of there as quickly as possible, she couldn't stand looking at the boy's face. I was too hurt for that.

— Where are you going? Y/n... — Liam calls her starting to go after her, but stops when the following words come out of the mouth that he loves so much.

— Leave me, Liam. I need some time. — she for a few seconds before completing so that he understood better. — A time without you, a time from you.

And that time lasted for weeks, the two did not speak for long weeks. The girl for still being extremely hurt by the phrase of the boyfriend and the boy — after much advice from Lydia — to give the space that the girlfriend asked for.

They were both miserable, but neither would give their arm to cheer to admit that they needed each other. They were so proud. Everyone around them was tired of seeing them suffer, but they couldn't do anything about it when the decision was unique to the teenagers.

Liam aggression problems had gradually worsened since the fight over the unfortunate feeling of his Alpha, Scott. The boy could not control himself in the face of a stressful situation and the rest of the pack always had to be two steps away from him so that he did not become among the students or even hurt someone.

Now Y/n, despite not wanting to see the boy or painted by another, needed him as much as he needed her. Her anxiety attacks increased in a surprising way, if she couldn't take it before, imagine now. She was exhausted, her dark circles very apparent indicated that, they were big dark bags under her eyes C/y/e, purple rings that she tried to hide with pounds of makeup, which was not much use, by the way. And these problems of aggression and anxiety attacks, only they could solve these problems. The boyfriends helped each other, that was a fact.

Everyone at the school was already aware that the couple were fighting and that made several people "excited". Especially a boy who was talking to Y/n at that very moment. Although the boys were happy that Y/n was "single", none of them were brave enough to approach the girl, knew about Liam's background and would not risk it that way. With the exception of N/b, of course.

If looks killed, they would be dead only by Liam's firing who watched the two of them talking, his hands were shaking with anger and he was trying to control himself as much as possible not to go after the boy, but if he kept hitting on his girl, I wasn't sure if I could control myself.

— Come on... It'll be cool. — it was the third time that N/b insisted that Y/n accept to go out with him. The girl had already refused the first two and was starting to get stressed by the annoying boy's insistence. The boy was nice, had a good chat and was distracting her lately, but it was just friendship. At first Y/n thought he just wanted it, but now he had doubts about it. All she wanted was for him to leave her alone at that moment so that she could go to her last class and finally go home to become a vegetable again.

— Look... Thanks for the invitation, but no. — Y/n already tired of all this, she turns to leave, but is stopped abruptly by a somewhat strong grip on her arm.

— I'll have to insist a little more. — The boy smiles in a strange way and she was ready to punch him in the face when someone else intervenes.

Liam, who was watching everything from afar, was just waiting for the right moment to disturb them both, but the fuse was to see him hold her in that unkind way, leaving his things on the floor, he quickly went towards the closet of Y/n under Scott protests.

— Hey man ... Let her go. — Liam speech catches the eye of the N / g who rolls his eyes.

— Y/n doesn't want your presence here, does it, Y/n? - N/b looks at the girl waiting for her answer but she keeps silent. At that, N/b turns to Liam. — She told me herself.

Liam looks at Y/n expecting her to deny that statement, but when he doesn't have it, he feels his heart break a little more. Y/n felt guilty for not being able to deny it, after all it was not a lie. I had even told N/b that I didn't want the boy's presence, but that was in the first week of the fight, when I was still very angry, but now there was no going back and there was no use trying to explain myself, they weren't even talking done.

— Just let me go, okay? — Y/n asked pulling his arm abruptly to get out of his grip ignoring the look of dog without owner of Liam.

— Wait a minute ... Let's talk, babe. — N/b pulls her closer and that's the trigger for Liam to explode.

— She told you to let go! — Liam cries out by attacking the boy.

— Liam! — Y/n exclaims in shock seeing the scene in front of him. She jumps back when the two boys start to grapple with each other. N/b punches Liam in the jaw which seems to infuriate him even more, because the boy is a werewolf and his problem with aggression, N/b face was already bathed in blood. — Liam stop! Scott! Separate them!

Y/n asks desperately for the alpha who had arrived there at that exact moment with the other curious students. The crooked-chin boy pulls his beta sharply and presses it with all his strength in the school lockers, Liam struggles furiously making Scott look sideways to see if anyone is watching them, noting that the students are helping N/b to get up — since he was about to pass out — he turns to Liam with his red alpha eyes.

— Liam, for now! — the uncontrolled beta calms down a little by the order of the alpha, taking a deep breath to calm down.

— What's going on here?! — Professor of Economics and Physical Education Coach, Bobby Finstock arrives screaming seeing the confusion that was there. The students leave in fear of being left for them, leaving only Y/n, Liam, Scott and N/b. — I don't want to know, everyone for detention! Now! And you, my son, try not to stain the floor with blood!

— You will stay here until I say you can leave! — Finstock yells when everyone enters the library. — Pack up all the books! Go, go!

The arrest would be to organize all the books in the library as punishment, Y/n was frustrated since she hadn't asked Liam to get into a fight for her, but she was also grateful. Scott had freed himself from the punishment by saying that he had only separated the two.

There were three of them and that wouldn’t be good for Y/n. She decides to ignore the two and start her work to leave as soon as possible, the tension was almost palpable and it bothered her in an unequaled way. The professor had already left saying that he had no patience to keep an eye on inconsequential young people.

N/b soon tried to start also going to one of the shelves at the back, Liam already decided to try to start a conversation with the girl. Preventing the passage of Y/n, it catches your eye.

— Y/n... — the girl looks at him in disbelief. — We can talk?

— Not now, Liam.

— Not! You will hear me! I know I am not sure in this situation, but that is not doing any good for either of them. — exasperates tired of the whole situation. — II want to apologize for what I said that day, I have no excuse for that, but I was angry and you know how I look when I'm like this. But I can't take it anymore, your lack is killing me! Thinking of you became my daily torture, I know I lost you for a stupid mistake I made, but my heart doesn't understand that you don't want me anymore... I ran for hours and hours in the forest every day in the hope that tiredness make me get you out of my head, I hate to miss you! I hate to be so dependent on you! But damn, I love you! I love you so much and I'm afraid of losing you! I don't know what I would do if you got hurt and...

His speech is cut off when Y/n throws himself into his arms and embraces him with all his strength, the two enjoy the first physical contact after weeks apart. Liam sighs in relief knowing that that hug means that Y/n had excused him, but in a mental note he remembers that his girlfriend is quite spiteful and that he would have to try harder to have his forgiveness definitively.

— Science says that love is like a drug... When I see you go into a trance, the adrenaline runs faster and stronger through my veins, my heartbeat is completely unregulated. The feeling of love is like cocaine, every day I become more addicted to you, the more I saw you far away, but I needed to get your forgiveness, but my pride was greater. I never loved anyone like I love you, because I never met someone as perfect as you. I love you and that's enough for me to be happy. My heart is sincere and my words are honest, I assume that I love you to infinity. I will not lie to myself anymore... I want to be with you every day of my life!

— I love you. — Y/n says emotionally with all the beautiful words that her boyfriend said.

— You guys are so cheesy. — the boy with his face all bruised ends with the cute moment of the couple leaving them irritated.

The two turn to N/b and say together:

— Shut up!

[lovelyirony]

this is just a re-do of a post with a prompt from anonymous, so don’t worry if it looks a bit familiar! 

As Bucky is running away from government agents trying to snipe him for killing a politician, he supposes Natasha’s argument for him being suicidal might have the tiniest bit evidence behind it, which he previously argued it didn’t.

As he slides underneath a car, he debates whether or not she’ll find out about this one. He feels a buzz from his phone in his pocket.

Yeah, she knows.

He shoots one of the agents, nicking him in the knee. Oof, that’s gonna be a fun story to tell his grandkids about why they can’t climb on his lap. But he needs to get away, and that involves potentially shooting through a car.

Potentially turns into definitely and there’s enough of a distraction that he can commandeer a car, drive at least ten blocks away, and ditch it to run on foot, calling Natasha.

“You got my location, right?”

“Of course, you fucking idiot,” Natasha curses. “You…god I hate you sometimes. The job’s at least done, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll have to lay low, though. Which sucks because my apartment is right in the city.”

“I already have a punishment and idea for you in one.”

“I…what is it?”

“Sam’s picking you up. Tell you when you get to base. Bye.”

Bucky groans.

She must be really pissed at him.

Sam picks him up in the shittiest economy car in the world.

“I hate you for picking this one,” Bucky groans.

“A stupid decision grants a stupid car, that’s why you’re getting picked up in the 1995 Ford Fiesta of shame,” Sam says. “Nat’s real mad. And I also think you’re going to hate your next assignment.”

Bucky’s not sure what’s gonna happen. He’s hoping he’s not on latrine duty.

-

Oh, it’s so much worse.

“Protection detail?” Bucky asks. “And undercover? All at once? Nat, come on. I bet we don’t even need undercover.”

“You both are doing undercover because you both fucked up,” Natasha says. “And since apparently you don’t know how to act, maybe this will get you better lessons.”

“Cold,” Sam hisses.

“I will legally ask you to shut the fuck up,” Bucky growls out.

He packs his things. Realizes that Sam got to choose the name so his name is Roger Stevens. Fucking shit. (Steve, of course, approved this. Because Steve is an asshole.)

“Why does she even need a protector?” Bucky growls out, driving to the house. It’s in suburbia.

“Because she fucked up and whoever she pissed off might send more than she can handle,” Natasha says.

“We’re hinging my being here on a ‘maybe’?”

“And because you got caught by government agents, which would be a rookie move,” Natasha says. “There’s a reason that I can still go my same nail salon for five years and now you have to get your hair cut somewhere else. And why you got a wedding china set and you have a backstory of being married.”

“I hate you.”

“A lot of people do, take a number.”

If it helps (and it mostly doesn’t), Sharon Carter is also not happy. She is in the house with the most dangerous look Bucky has seen.

“So I’m stuck in this fucking hell house with him?” Sharon asks.

Maria Hill is her boss. Woman is a scary, competent human. Bucky wouldn’t cross her.

(Then again, you also shouldn’t cross a certain redhead who could make you disappear within twenty minutes, maybe thirty if it’s a surprise. But he did.)

“Keys are by the front door, hope you know your address! Bye!” Natasha says. “Don’t kill each other or we lose the deposit!”

Maria Hill smiles. Of course the only time Bucky’s ever seen her smile is at the suffering of others. How typical.

So then they are left alone.

“Let’s read the cover story,” Sharon says. “And I don’t need protection, Maria’s just paranoid.”

Bucky snorts.

“Yeah, okay, let’s go with that.”

Sharon sends him a sharp look.

They meet while on a cruise.

Bucky fucking hates his life.

“A fucking cruise,” he mutters. “As if I would ever step foot onto any of those fucking–”

“We had a beach wedding?!” Sharon cries out. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it!”

They are both in a bad mood.

It’s also awkward because this is a house. They have decorations. They have tea towels.

And a neighbor comes to visit.

“Welcome to the neighborhood!” she says brightly. “My name is Karen Tent, so lovely to meet you both!”

She then invades the house with her Tupperware. Literally speeds past them and it’s not like Sharon judo-chop her throat or anything.

“What a lovely house you two have!” Karen cheers. “Of course the color palette is a little bit drab, but I’m sure you’ll change that soon enough. When Linda told me we had new neighbors, I could hardly believe it myself, but here you are! Now, how did you two meet? Have you married yet? If not, I hope that you are living apart, you know.”

“The rings are in boxes,” Sharon answers smoothly, noting that they’ll need to ask Maria where the fuck the rings are. “You know how move-ins are. I’m Melanie Stevens, this is Roger Stevens. How nice to see you so very unexpectedly.”

“Well, that’s what neighbors are for!” Karen answers, her voice shrill as ever. “I brought over my famous cookie bars. Everyone says they’re good, and I believe they always are. Tell me Melanie, what do you like baking most?”

“Yes dear, tell her,” Bucky answers, smiling. “I seem to remember…lemon bars?”

“That’s right,” Sharon says, sending Bucky a smile. “They are really good. Just delightful.”

“Oh you’ll have to bring some over!” Karen responds. “Now, let me tell you a little bit about the neighborhood…”

She talks for a fucking hour. Bucky wants to drink. So badly. He saw the wine on the counter.

Sharon, to her credit, keeps trying to use certain “end” phrases. Karen either knows it and knows she won’t be budging, or will not ever take a hint in her lifetime.

“And you simply must not ever play loud music in your backyard,” Karen says. “We’ve had a couple of problems with the Richardsons, but nothing a few calls won’t fix.”

“You called the police?” Sharon asks.

“Well yes!”

“Oh my god,” Bucky mutters.

“I am sure that’s not exactly the measure I would have done,” Sharon says. “But I am tired and don’t want to get into it now,” she says quickly, noticing Karen’s “confused” expression.

“I say we need some time to rest, today is gonna be a lot of moving,” he says. “So nice of you to stop by, Karen. I’ll return your dish as soon as possible.”

Karen is ushered out the door, placated with two waves, and they both groan.

“I’m gonna fucking hate everything after this,” Sharon mutters. “My name is fucking Melanie. Maria knows…” she trails off, facing the very real boxes that were obviously packed with dishes and miscellaneous items.

Bucky finds four spatulas. He doesn’t know why there are four.

“What the fuck,” he mutters, noting the incredibly cheesy salt-and-pepper set.

“Welcome to married life,” Sharon says sarcastically. “We’re gonna have a blast.”

Dinner is spent with Sharon trying to convince Bucky that she’s “fine” and in “no danger” at all.

“Who did you piss off?”

“Sitwell.”

“Oh my god. You’re screwed.”

“He’s a lapdog, I’m not screwed.”

“He’s the lapdog of Pierce. You’re screwed.”

Sharon thunks her head on the table.

“Can we at least repaint the bedrooms? They suck.”

“If you think I’m sleeping in a separate room you’re dead wrong,” Bucky says. “You have a target the size of New York on your back. Uh-uh.”

“You will sleep on the floor and get out when I shower or change,” Sharon threatens.

“Of course.”

“Good. Then it’s settled.”

Married life is not so bad. Except when Karen and the rest of the neighbors tend to visit or talk to them for about fifteen minutes on the lawn.

“It’s your turn to cut the grass,” Sharon groans, flopping on the couch. “If I have to hear Kevin tell me one more time that you should be treating me better, I’m going to explode. He’s trying to lecture me on how to cut grass.”

“On it,” Bucky says. “Your turn to go get groceries, I ran into Karen and her kid last time. I think she wants me to stop buying so much hummus.”

“Not our fault it’s good,” Sharon mutters.

-

And then, of course, avoiding the various assassins that are sent out at random intervals and at public locations (including their own house) while convincing the neighbors that there’s nothing going on.

This involves pretending an agent of Hydra is their cousin.

“This is Jen, she’s visiting for the day!” Sharon says, squeezing “Jen’s” wrist hard enough to make her stay quiet. “We have so much to catch up on, you probably won’t see me or–or Roger again for the day! Ha ha!”

“Well where’s her car?” Linda asks, looking around the neighborhood. “I don’t see anything…”

“She’s a hippie environmentalist, she walked,” Bucky answers. “Jen, let’s go catch up in the house, yeah?”

“Yeah,” the agent squeaks out sadly, knowing exactly what is going to happen.

She’s delivered tied up in rope on the steps of Maria’s office with a note of “please stop this from happening we’re planting azaleas.”

Maria snorts.

Bucky starts to think they’re getting too attached to this. It’s been four months.

He started a garden. They’re growing tomatoes.

He also notices Sharon a little bit differently.

Because she drags him out of bed.

“Legally? You have to go to brunch with me. Illegally? You like the breakfast burrito too much.”

She’s scarily competent with anything that could be classed as a weapon. Or their groceries.

“Are you kidding me?” Bucky yells at her as she throws the jar of tomato sauce. “I am not cleaning that up!”

“Tough shit!” Sharon answers, dodging a bullet. “It wasn’t even the good kind of tomato sauce!”

“It was fine, sweetheart!” Bucky growls out.

“Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me in the middle of a battle!” Sharon yells. “Strictly after!”

“You’re the weirdest fucking married couple,” one of the agents wheezes out as Bucky is holding him as a sort of shield.

“Thanks,” they say in unison, grinning.

-

The punishment for them both doesn’t exactly turn out as planned, both Natasha and Maria agree. In fact, it is almost worse.

They are both reckless, subvert orders, and get along like a house on fire by the end of it.

“You can still be together, we just need the house back,” Natasha says.

“Thank god,” Bucky groans. “I get to stop being Roger and I get rid of Karen in one fell swoop.”

Sharon untenses her shoulders while she’s sitting at the kitchen table.

“Can I keep the knife set?”

“No,” Maria says. “I’ll send you a link to where I got it.”

“Why can’t I keep it if you can get another set?”

“Steal it,” Bucky stage-whispers. Sharon grins back at him.

“You have the best ideas, babe.”

“You are not stealing anything,” Maria scowls.

“Sure we aren’t,” Bucky says easily.

“You stole my heart,” Sharon sing-songs, knowing damn well it’s going to make Maria barf.

“Aw babe…” Bucky says, holding her hand. Natasha fake-retches.

“I hate you both,” she declares. “And I won’t be there for your actual wedding.”

“You made us tell people we had a wedding on a beach, were you assuming that you were getting an invitation?” Bucky asks.

Sharon snickers, getting the last of her bags out into the car.

“Where to now?” she asks him.

“I think that there are some apartments we can look at…”

-

“We’ve made a collective monster,” Maria decides, blinking. “We Frankensteined this.”

“We did,” Natasha says, staring at the house. There are still little bits of glass. An unfortunately busted can of beans where someone had been knocked out and they had “conveniently” forgotten to clean it up from yesterday.

Well. Sharon and Bucky are going to cause havoc on the world. Maria and Natasha just hope they can cover the other while doing so.

[baekhypnotized]

☆— [four]

summary: Baekhyun is just a man who doesn’t believe in romance as much as Byul, who is trying to give herself to him. But day by day, he will soon realize that her fleeting actions are breaking down his cold-hearted brick wall, no matter if it takes her a million years.

warning(s): -

word count: 4.1k+

author’s note: please let me know what you guys think about this chapter!! if you would want to be tagged for next update, do tell me!! enjoy reading :)

tag list: @iloveagain​ @xlxbaekhyuneex​​ @catboyseni​

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As promised, I come to the cafe early to pass the keys to Senior Hana. I offer to help her with the opening procedure which includes setting up the coffee machine and displaying desserts, so it would be easier for my other colleagues to start their work in the morning. Ever since last night, Baekhyun hasn’t replied to my text, up until now. I’m just hoping he wouldn’t forget our discussion that we had agreed on last night because I don’t want to screw any of my plans for today.  

I make myself a serving of chicken sandwich and a cup of latte for breakfast while waiting for him. At least I can kill time before he arrives. Having done preparing my breakfast, I bring the tray and sit at the table by the window, at his usual spot. I devour the sandwich while watching the customers enter the cafe once Senior Hana opens the cafe for business. They must be the type of people who needs caffeine in order to start their day.

My phone rings, signalling a new notification. I put down my sandwich and grab the device. Finally, it’s a text from Baekhyun. 

[Baekhyun]: I just woke up from my sleep. Am I late?

[Byul]: No you’re not. It’s 10:10 in the morning and you still have time.

[Byul]: Don’t rush yourself because I can wait for you though.

[Baekhyun]: Nah, I hate making a woman wait for me so I’ll be there soon.

[Byul]: Drive safe, Baekhyun.

[Byul]: I don’t want to meet you only with one hand.

[Baekhyun]: Haha, funny. Anyway, good morning.

[Byul]: Good morning :)

A wide smile is plastered across my face after replying to his texts. His replies are always so cute to me. I lock my phone and put it on the table before continuing to munch my sandwich and enjoying my hot latte. I love how today’s morning is peaceful with only a few people walking pass by the cafe. I’m also quite grateful that the class is cancelled. 

I bet Soomin is still sleeping soundly on her bed as I don’t know any of her plans today. She might go out for shopping with Sehun or prefer to stay at home and watch Netflix. The differences between us are pretty visible. Soomin was born into a wealthy family, whereas I came from a humble background. My parents were divorced and my dad just went missing after the separation. My mom, on the other hand, decided to remarry. Even though Soomin and I came from different backgrounds, I’m still grateful that we are friends, because more often than not, we complete each other with our opposite personalities.

Suddenly, I get startled by a few knocks on the window that I accidentally smudge the sandwich across my cheek, leaving a streak of mayonnaise. I turn my head towards the cause of my surprise and is met with Baekhyun, the man is giggling to himself watching my funny reaction. I roll my eyes and pick up tissue to wipe the smudge off as he enters the cafe and joins me.

"Sorry I’m late,” Baekhyun apologies and I shake my head, telling him it’s fine as my mouth is full with the sandwich. He realises that I’m busy eating my sandwich. It makes him chuckle. 

I quickly swallow the food in my mouth and ask him, “Have you had your breakfast?”

"My breakfast is coffee,” he answers and I nod my head. Once I finish eating my sandwich, I grab my cup of latte and sip it slowly, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of Baekhyun watching me.

I pull away from the cup, “Why? Is there any problem?” I ask.

"I want a cup of latte that you make,” he says. I scoff after hearing his request. 

"Really, Byun Baekhyun? All the latte tastes the same!”

"But not yours,” Baekhyun grins widely, showing his white teeth. I sigh in surrender and stand up from my seat. He passes the money to me and I roll my eyes at him, causing him to chuckle. Heading back to the counter, I key in his order into the system and prepare his latte only in a few minutes. I use my skills to draw an angry emoji at his latte as a sign of revenge. As I head back to the table, Baekhyun has his legs crossed while he’s busy scrolling his phone.

I place the cup in front of me before settling down in my seat. “Baekhyun, your latte is there,” I inform him but he does not move any inches. I release a scoff while taking out my laptop from my bag. I don’t even know why he seems surprised to see that I’m back from making his latte.

"Yeay!” He beams. “Thank you, Hanbyul,” Baekhyun continues as he displays a sly grin to me before lifting the cup from the saucer plate and sips it. 

I ignore him this time, rolling my eyes to the back of my head. Without wasting any time, I turn on my laptop for the discussion, expecting Baekhyun might need some time before he is done with his breakfast.

"Do you bring your laptop? Or any notebook to jot down?” I ask him and he replies with a nod. He finishes up his latte and begins to prepare himself for our first discussion by taking out his laptop. 

After we reassure ourselves ready to begin the discussion, both of us starts by reading the statement and question given by our lecturer. Baekhyun looks smart when he shares his opinions regarding this project. I suddenly remember the first time we met at the cafe, he wore a fancy suit to order a coffee and I assume he's someone who already got himself a job. Because right now,  Baekhyun looks like a professional, like someone who is a master in this course. Maybe, there is a reason why he decided to further his study in the Master of Business Administration.

Throughout our discussion, Baekhyun contributes more in giving his ideas. At the same time, I list down every point that we need to add or do research before starting the assignment. His hand gestures when explaining the details manages to distract my focus from the topic which causing me to keep on staring at it. Baekhyun’s long and slender fingers, hands with a few visible veins popping out shows his masculine side. His attractive silver wristwatch positioned on his left wrist gives an extra point. 

"Hey, missy. Are you lost in your dreams?” Baekhyun snaps his fingers right in front of my face that cause me to jump in surprise in my spot.  

"I’m sorry. Where are we again?” I tighten my grip around the pen as I lift my head to look at his face. Baekhyun chuckles at the astonishment on my face. 

"Let’s continue this, huh?” He suggests and I reply with a hum. Baekhyun shakes his head, probably remembering my face when I was spacing out while he was talking. I admit, my face looks funny.  Biting my lower lip as I try to forget that embarrassing moment, I continue to listen to his explanations diligently.  

After spending hours at the table, I realised it’s already passed at 12 o'clock noon. We were too busy up until we didn’t have the time to even hold the discussion for a rest. Baekhyun already looks exhausted when he rests his back by the backrest. I turn off my laptop and keep it back in my bag, gathering all the used cups and saucer plates to bring it back to the kitchen. 

"Tired, Baekhyun?” I ask him.

"Kinda, my brain isn't working good now,” he expresses. 

I snort softly. “Now, you can go home and rest. I need to get ready for my next shift at 2. Great job for today.” Getting off from my seat, I carry the cups and plates to the kitchen. 

But before I get to move, Baekhyun calls. “Hanbyul.” I turn around to face him with a curious look.

"About our date,” He stops for a second, “can you empty your schedule for this Saturday? I’ve booked a restaurant for dinner. We can go anywhere you want before that, if you want to.” Baekhyun speaks. My heart drops for a second when he mentions the date.I thought he had forgotten about it, not expecting him to be serious about his invitation the other day.

I think of the plans I might have for the day, hoping I will be able to clear it for the date. “Yeah, sure.” I give him an answer, remembering that I am free on that day. Baekhyun beams brightly upon hearing it. 

He keeps all his stuff in his bag while I wait for him. Baekhyun gets ready to leave as he plasters a soft smile on his face. 

"I’ll see you this Saturday, then?” He confirms back as I nod. Baekhyun comes closer to me and gives one last smile before he leaves the cafe without turning back. I swear, my heart is about to jump out of my chest at that moment.

Baekhyun doesn’t text or talk to me after the day we met for the discussion. We didn’t encounter each other by chance either since our Friday’s class was also cancelled by the lecturer. Now I am pacing around in my room on Saturday. I’ve done all the chores in the house today, from doing the laundry to washing the dishes and mopping the floor. I am determined to free my schedule today just for the date. But, I’m not sure if it’s going to be happening at this rate. I don’t have the guts to text him. 

I even refuse Soomin’s invitation to go to the mall because I was waiting for him. In the end, she leaves the house with Sehun and I hope he will cheer her up. I’ve been scrolling my Instagram last night and I encountered his account that practically got me to sit up abruptly from my lying position. 

Indeed, he’s not the type of guy who loves to post pictures of himself. Most of the pictures were random scenery and I found them aesthetic. Maybe, he just doesn’t like to share about his life and somehow, I think it suits his personality. 

Baekhyun is a mysterious guy.

My desire to get to know him, every side of him is getting stronger day by day. He’s… irresistible. There is something different about Baekhyun, something that he hides deeper, away from everyone else. I’m sure it’ll take me some time to figure him out.

Finally, my phone rings after a few hours sitting in silence. I literally run to get to the phone. When I check the notification, a grin makes its way to my face. It’s really him! Like finally! Unlocking the phone, I open the text with a click. 

[Baekhyun]: Hey, miss me? 

I chuckle. Baekhyun is really an annoying guy, expecting that I will be missing him. 

I don’t miss him. I’m just expecting his text. That’s all. 

[Byul]: Ha ha. Obviously not, Byun Baekhyun.

[Baekhyun]: Ouch. That hurts.

[Byul]: Serve you right. So, why are you texting me?

[Baekhyun]: You must’ve forgotten our date tonight, huh?

I thought you’re the one who forgets it, Baekhyun.

[Byul]: Date? What date?

[Baekhyun]: Stop playing around, Hanbyul.

[Baekhyun]: I’ll pick you up at your house if you’re okay with it.

[Byul]: My house? But, I can go by myself to the restaurant.

[Byul]: No worries.

[Baekhyun]: Hanbyul, it’s unpleasant to let a woman go by her own for the date.

[Baekhyun]: I’ll pick you up at 8. Send me your address later.

[Byul]: Okay then…

[Baekhyun]: See you.

[Baekhyun]: And I’m expecting a real address.

I text him the address of my apartment before he replies to me with a curt 'okay'. Looking at the clock, I realize I still have a few hours left before the date. I stand in front of my wardrobe, staring at the few dresses that I have hanging in it. Going through some dresses, I sigh realizing I don't have any dresses that could be suitable to wear on a first date. He did mention about booking a restaurant so I figured he wouldn't bring me to somewhere I can simply wear my ordinary dresses. After contemplating between a royal blue coloured dress and a black dress for more than a few minutes, I decided to settle with a wine-coloured dress. The dress is short but it ends nicely above my knees. I then take my bath and get myself ready despite having an hour left till 8. I choose to put on natural shades make-up before putting on my dress. Finally, I style my hair with my hair curler and let them fall loose on my shoulders.

I inform Soomin about going out, omitting the fact that I'm going out for dinner with Baekhyun. As usual, she tells me to take care of myself, to not come back too late and to call her if anything happens. I agree with all of the things she told me and tell her to have fun with Sehun. She must be having a splendid day with her boyfriend. I envy her.

When the hands on the clock move to 10 minutes before 8, I receive a text from Baekhyun.

[Baekhyun]: I'm almost there. You can come out now.

It’s time. I bring my purse together with me when leaving the house. Riding the lift to the ground level, my heart couldn’t bring itself to pump normally. I wait for him at the entrance, my toes curling in anticipation. A few minutes later, a familiar black car stops right in front of me. 

The driver rolls down the window, peeking his head from the inside, “Hop in, Hanbyul.”

I take a deep breath before getting into the passenger seat, buckling myself up. Baekhyun watches me settling down and when I turn to look at him, I was awestruck. The car may be dark right now but his charming look is visible.

"Ready to go?” He asks as I nod my head. Baekhyun presses the pedal and drives the car to our destination. Believe me, I just stay still like I used to, fingers gripping tightly around the seatbelt. The urge to look at him, the way he drives, is strong but I fight the desire. I realise he is stealing a few glances at me that makes me blush quietly.

We finally arrive at the restaurant after nearly half an hour. As expected, he brings me to fancy, and most probably, expensive restaurant. I follow Baekhyun from behind as the waiter brings us to the private room that he had reserved for us. He helps me pull my chair out, letting me take my seat before he does and I thank him softly. Baekhyun only replies to me with a smile, as sweet and charming as ever.

The waiter hands out the menu and I get surprised seeing the prices that make me gulp. Baekhyun must have saw me reacting to them as he chuckles softly. 

"Would anything be okay for you? Any allergies or requests?” He asks concernedly.

"Yeah… I’m okay with anything.”

"Good. I’ll order the same thing as usual,” Baekhyun tells the waiter before he leaves the room, leaving me and Baekhyun alone.

"So… how are you?” Baekhyun initiates the talk first. 

"I’m fine, as you can see. How about you, Baekhyun?"

"Quite busy handling something.” He replies. My mouth turns into an ‘O’ shape and we both get into silence again. I’m so nervous to look at him straight into the eyes and at the same time, I just don’t know what topic should we talk.

"Hey," he calls, making me lift my head up to face him. "You're usually so talkative at the cafe, why are you being quiet now?" He muses, followed by an amused grin.

"Baekhyun, how old are you?” I ask after contemplating for a few seconds. 

"28. Do I look too old?” He questions me back and I chuckle with a shake of my head. 

"I’m 2 years younger than you,” I confess.

"Yeah, I can see that.” He chuckles huskily this time.

A waiter comes into our room with a bottle of wine, pouring it into our glasses. I thank him politely before continuing the conversation. 

"Regarding our assignment, when do you want to proceed? Are you free after we have our classes or—” 

"Hanbyul, can we talk about anything else aside from the project?” He orders. My breathing stops for a second, hearing him speak in such a serious tone. I bring my head down to look at the table, fiddling with the napkin as I try to think of another topic to converse.

"How about you tell me about yourself? Maybe your family or anything?” I purse my lips together, waiting for his answer. Baekhyun smirks slightly, fixing his sitting posture.

"My family isn’t interesting at all. Let’s talk about yours. Shall we?" Baekhyun taps his fingers while staring at me with the same smirk. My stomach is about to flip all over because he's making me nervous with that look. I take a glass of wine and drink it slowly, tasting the alcoholic drink that is foreign in my throat. The wine somehow causes me to make weird facial expressions and I guess, Baekhyun sees it. Because he laughs softly.

"Does it taste weird?" He asks with concern.

"Kinda but it's tolerable. Thank you for asking," I reply. At least, the wine can calm my nerves after being so nervous in front of him. Baekhyun plasters a smile before he drinks his wine, waiting for me to start telling him about myself. I take the opportunity of the silence between us to calm myself down.

"So… here it goes.” I start telling him about my background honestly. I tell him about me being an only child with divorced parents; my dad disappeared since then, while my mom got the full custody of me. A few years after the divorce, she remarried another guy, my current stepfather and decided to move in with him at New Orleans. I also have an older stepbrother named Suho. Suho is two years older than Baekhyun.

"Don’t ask me whether he has a girlfriend or not because he hasn’t talked about it with me,” I warn Baekhyun. He only chuckles to my statement and asks me to proceed with the story.

It goes on from my life in New Orleans, with my new family. He listens to me diligently while waiting for our main courses to arrive. I tell him the reason I’m continuing my studies and it’s because I would love to run my own business. But, would definitely apply for a job at any company once I graduate from this post-graduate study. 

"So, you’re telling me that you work at the cafe to pay for your study?” Baekhyun asks once he sips the wine as I nod my head slowly. 

"I applied for a loan for my study because I had to,” I confess with a soft tone. Realising how tough my life is when I’m trying to be an independent person for my own future. I may belong to a modest family but I have been told by my mom that living without trying to achieve one's dream are useless.

Baekhyun hums. Finally, our meals arrive on time and I am glad for the distraction because I couldn’t bring myself to tell him more about my struggling life. He thanks the waitress that served us the food before she leaves the room. We’re having steaks for dinner tonight. 

"Let’s eat, shall we?” He says and I smile. Both of us start to devour the juicy and thick steaks as I leave myself stupefied with the rich taste of the meat. It’s really scrumptious and no wonder it's one hella expensive food at a 5-star restaurant. 

Baekhyun notices my reaction as he asks, “How does it taste? Good?” 

I bob my head up and down, carrying on to eat. He seems happy watching me eating so well as a wide smile appears across his face. Baekhyun gives me one last glance before he continues to eat. 

"How about you? What made you decide to continue into this course?” I blurt out, asking him a question.

"Well, I want to expand my knowledge in business. Who knows, I might be given the opportunity to handle a big one, one fine day,” he stops, making eye contact with me. I just bob my head a few times as a sign I’m listening to his explanation. 

The conversations go on and on, but the difference is the awkwardness between both of us has vanished. Baekhyun literally tells lame jokes but it’s still funny when he expresses it. It manages to make me almost choke myself while eating. 

Those crescent eyes, bulging cheeks and endearing smile when he smiles caught my attention. It’s a good view to be able to witness his another side apart from his manliness. Manliness was my first impression of him when he stepped into the cafe with a well-tailored suit. Not to mention, the way he talks and behaves, he must be a great person to befriend with. 

We have chocolate lava cakes for dessert. Baekhyun has been asking my favourite flavour as I answer him, “Chocolate. How about you?”

"Strawberry flavour. Gosh, I’m willing to eat them 24/7 rather than kill myself with cucumbers.” Baekhyun explains.

I scoff while giving him an unbelievable look. “You don’t like cucumbers?”

"It’s not just I don’t like it. I hate it.” Baekhyun replies with a serious tone that makes me giggle. He may look like a sulking boy right in front of me, eating the lava cake with a slight pout.  

"Come on, Baekhyun. It’s just a cucumber and delicious too when you eat just like that.” I give him my own opinion.

"Na-ah! Still, I hate it.” He retorts with a scowl on his face. I chuckle lightly and eat the lava cake. Suddenly, his phone rings loudly. He digs out his phone from his pocket and looks at the dialler. Instead of answering it, he lets the rings continue as he silent his phone. 

"You can answer the call, Baekhyun. I don’t mind at all, it might be important.” 

"It’s okay. Not important at all,” he says. “Let’s finish this up and then I’ll send you home, okay?” I hum and continue to eat quietly in my seat. I’m curious about the caller because the phone is still ringing and vibrating as he places his phone on the table. It does look like it’s important but he insists to ignore it so I am left to wonder quietly on my own.

Baekhyun pays for dinner and we go straight to my apartment with silence lingering in the car. Without having any courage to initiate the talk, I decide to stare at the window, looking at the Moon shining brightly in the dark sky. There aren't many stars tonight, only the Moon decorating the lonely night sky. The journey to my apartment is short, basically, he drifts the car at the empty road swiftly like a professional. When we arrive in front of the lobby, he offers to help me get out of the car by opening the door and lending his hand. Which successfully makes my cheeks go red. 

"Thanks for tonight and the wonderful dinner, Baekhyun,” I thank him politely.

"No problem. Rest well and I’ll see you on Monday,” he says and I nod my head. Baekhyun gets back into his car, rolling down the window and bidding the last goodbye before he leaves. I sigh in relief, grateful at the same time for the great time I spent with him tonight. 

I head straight home quietly without making any noises to avoid awakening Soomin who is probably sleeping in her room. After taking a quick shower, I hop on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I reminisce the moment I had with him. It’s almost 11 pm when my phone receives a notification and I bet it’s from Baekhyun.

[Baekhyun]: Asleep already?

[Byul]: Nope. Have you arrived at your home yet?

[Baekhyun]: I’m dropping by somewhere because I promised someone to meet tonight.

[Byul]: Oh… I see.

[Baekhyun]: Hanbyul, I forget to tell you something.

[Byul]: What is it? 

Baekhyun doesn't reply to my question straight away that leaves me curious on my own. I decide to switch off the lights and gets ready to sleep when suddenly my phone rings again. I unlock it and look at the text. That text manages to make my heart and my mind has gone crazy when I read it.

[Baekhyun]: You look amazing in that dress, Hanbyul.

[Baekhyun]: Goodnight and sweet dreams, beautiful.

[the-wlw-cafe]

Supercorptober 2020 - Day 2: Baking

Read it on ao3 here!

After weeks of trying to confess her feelings to Lena before Valentine's Day and chickening out at the last minute Kara decides that maybe she can't trust herself to get the words out right, and maybe a different strategy is in order. They do say that love goes through the stomach, right? There's only one snag in the perfect plan: Lena insists on helping her best gal pal and isn't taking no for an answer.

“I heard you’re stress baking.”

Kara let out an inelegant squeak of surprise as she heard the voice from behind her, dropping her wooden spoon into her bowl of sad, lumpy batter.

“Lena! You’re not supposed to – how did you – why are you here?”, she stuttered, desperately shifting around the kitchen, trying to hide the incriminating evidence behind her back. It was an exercise in futility as every flat surface of the room was covered in either ingredients, used utensils or the several batches of cupcake prototypes she’d already gone through.

“Well, you did give me a key to your apartment, and when Alex called me to inform me of the cupcake related breakdown you were having I thought it as good an excuse as any to check up on you.”

“She’s a traitor”, Kara huffed. She’d downright begged Alex not to tell Lena about her feelings, no matter how much her sister called her a useless bisexual who needed to grow a pair and tell her best friend she’s been crushing on her for years now. Alex was right, of course. But Kara had to tell Lena in her own time, in her own way, and her own way just happened to involve heart shaped cupcakes on Valentine’s Day. Was it cheesy? Maybe. Absolutely. But was it Kara’s last resort after finding herself absolutely tongue tied whenever she tried to bring up the subject of her feelings in front of Lena? Most definitely. Besides, Kara was sure the best way to the heart was by way of the stomach anyway.

“Traitor or not, she means well”, Lena said. She let her gaze wander demonstratively slowly over the chaos residing in the kitchen. “So, what’s brought this bout of stress baking on?”

“I’m not stress baking”, Kara said, sounding a lot more petulant than she wanted to, “I’m just...stressed while baking.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up, and by the way the corner of her mouth twitched it was clear she was fighting a smile. Kara wished she wouldn’t fight it at all, the sight of Lena smiling was sweeter and more addicting than sugar to her.

“Looks like you might need a helping hand”, Lena offered.

“No – Nope, I’m doing good. Great. Stellar!” Kara internally cringed at her desperate attempt to sound casual.

“Stellar, hm?”, Lena purred, dragging her pointer finger over the charred top of one of her more pitiful attempts, smirking when it left a sooty black residue on her skin. Kara could feel herself deflate at the sight.

“I swear I’m not usually that useless of a baker”, she sighed, unsure of who she wanted to convince more, Lena or herself. “It’s just...I keep getting distracted practising what I’m going to say in my head, and by the time I snap back to reality I notice that I’ve been sifting salt into the batter, or I’ve left the cupcakes in the oven for literal hours.”

“So we are at the detailed imagining of future conversations stage of anxiety already? Sounds like you really do need my help after all.”

Kara made a helpless sound, somewhere between a whine and a groan. She did need help, that part was true, but she’d rather take it from Snapper Carr than Lena, and threaten to ruin her entire scheme to ask her best friend out.

“Oh come on, Kara, just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I’m useless in the kitchen. In fact, reliable sources have told me that I’m very good with my hands”, she grinned, her smirk widening as Kara choked on thin air once the implicit meaning of the words caught up to her.

“It’s not that”, Kara whined, “It’s just that they’re for -”, she broke off, gesticulating wildly, hoping to somehow convey the meaning of please don’t make me give myself away more.

Lena’s brows furrowed at this, she blinked once, twice, before the confusion cleared away.

“Oh.” Kara swore she could see Lena’s face falling for just a fraction of a second, before she flashed her her brilliant smile again. It didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I didn’t realise it was so close to Valentine’s Day. I’ve made a habit of ignoring it, between my family ties and my sordid history with my exes I’ve pretty much resigned myself to eternal singlehood.” She awkwardly patted Kara’s biceps. It was a short, fleeting gesture, nothing like the tender touches they usually shared – no wonder Alex had been convinced they’d been secretly dating for months before Kara confided in her about her crush. Lena’s voice dropped some of the forced cheerfulness. “I am truly sorry if I intruded, and if you really want me gone, I’ll leave.”

“No!”

The word had left her lips before Lena had even finished her sentence.

“Please stay”, she added, softer, awkwardly fiddling with the rim of her glasses and leaving a trail of batter on her face.

“That’s what friends are for”, Lena said in a sing-song voice, a few octaves too high to be casual.

“So, won’t you tell me who they’re for?”, Lena asked, her voice strangely stilted, as she methodically cleared away some clutter to create a better work space.

“Um…”, Kara squeaked, desperately pottering around the kitchen stalling for time while trying to devise a way to answer Lena’s question to her satisfaction without revealing everything.

“Kara, hey, look at me.” Lena gently took both of Kara’s hands in hers.

“You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable. I understand completely.”

A silence between them stretched, tense, borderline uncomfortable, and there were so many things Kara wanted to say to break it, among them thank you for always having my back no questions asked and I’m always comfortable around you and I think I’m in love with you. What instead came out of her mouth was: “I got batter on your hands.”

Lena blinked at her, dumbfounded, before her gaze dropped down to her hands that were indeed sticky with batter.

“Well”, Lena said, seemingly glad for the distraction, “I’ve been told eating more batter than finished cupcake is an essential part of the baking experience.”

And just like that, she lifted one of her hands to her mouth, a pink tongue darting out to lick them clean and, oh, this was a fresh kind of torture. Hearing a tell-tale crack, Kara quickly hid the remnants of the crushed wooden spoon she’d been holding behind her back, a flush of embarrassment creeping across her cheeks that only worsened when she saw Lena’s face contort with the effort of hiding blatant disgust at the taste.

“Oh, golly, Lena, I forgot to tell you – I might have mixed up sugar and salt for this particular try.”

Honestly, Kara shouldn’t be surprised that baking with Lena is so much easier. Despite her nervousness around the CEO, everything just seemed to be a bit lighter with her around, all the worries, expectations and guilt seemed to weigh a little less heavy on her. Kara only hoped that she could just repay an inch of that kindness, make Lena feel a fraction of the comfort Kara felt around her.

It took two more tries, one of them ruined because Lena had to stretch to get a new packet of vanilla extract off the top shelf even though Kara told her she could have just floated up to get it, but her protest had died in her throat when Lena’s shirt had ridden up just so, and, well. After she was done wiping the sugar-and-egg mixture off the kitchen floor Kara had gained a new understanding of what Alex meant when she called her a useless bisexual.

Still, they came out with a tray of perfectly acceptable cupcakes, chocolate flavoured and dotted with perfectly kitschy pink sugar hearts. And sure, maybe they weren’t Paul-Hollywood-Handshake worthy, but Kara felt reasonably secure in the assumption that he at least wouldn’t refuse to try them.

Lena had pointedly avoided asking her about the recipient of the sugary goods.

They looked down at their work, Kara absent-mindedly wiping her hands on the sides of her jeans (she’d long since given up on keeping her clothes clean).

“Look at it”, Kara gushed, “we did it!”

Lena shot her a tired smile, stubbornly avoiding eye contact. “Your valentine would be a fool to reject you.”

Oh. Yes. Kara had almost forgotten, and just like that, her nerves were back, fluttering in her stomach like a panicked hummingbird. She wasn’t sure what she was fearing, exactly, she knew that even if her feelings weren’t reciprocated Lena wouldn’t be cruel about it. It would be awkward, of course, and maybe she’d need some space, but Kara had absolute trust in the fact that their friendship was stronger than that. There’d always be a them. Kara’s eyes flickered over to the alarm clock displayed on her oven. It was already past midnight, she hadn’t even noticed the time passing so quickly while Lena was here.

She had to do it. She had to do it now, before she got the chance to overthink it.

“So...technically, it’s already Valentine’s day.”

Lena gawked at her.

“Kara, please tell me you’re not seriously considering showing up at your valentine’s house in the middle of the night.”

“Not technically, no”, Kara began.

“Not technically? Darling, I know you’re a catch but I think nobody would be glad to be woken so late at night, not even by you holding a tray of – Kara?”

Since words had obviously failed her, Kara had resorted to actions, taking the most delicious looking cupcake of the batch and holding it out to her.

“Do you want me to try them?”

“No, I want you to have them.”

Lena’s head snapped up, wide green eyes meeting Kara’s. Her superhearing wouldn’t let her ignore the miniscule gasp the CEO let out, and the breathy “Kara…” that followed.

And just like that, Kara couldn’t hold the anxious ramble back anymore.

“I mean, I know they’re nothing special and I could have just flown to your favourite boulangerie in Paris and gotten you the buttered chocolate croissants you love so much even though you won’t admit it -”

“Kara.”

“- but that would be so easy for me, it’s just a matter of seconds, and I wanted to show you that you’re worth more, that you’re worth the effort-”

“Kara.”

“-and I know I’m not the best baker and I’ve let you do all the hard work but I really, really wanted to surprise you-”

“Kara!”

“Hm?”

“Darling, you’re squishing your cupcake.”

With another hot rush of embarrassment Kara realised it was true, she’d completely crushed her gift in her hand.

“Gosh, Lena, I’m so sorry, I’m doing this all wrong!”

“I wouldn’t say that”, Lena purred, picking up a piece of squished cupcake with pointed fingers and popping it in her mouth. “See? Still good.”

“You like it?”, Kara asked, bouncing on her toes with barely contained excitement.

“Hmm, I don’t know”, Lena drawled, but her voice held no bite, only affection and playfulness. “I think I need a second taste.”

Before Kara could react, Lena had leaned forward and without breaking eye contact she started licking the chocolate icing off Kara’s fingers deliberately slowly. Kara had to cling onto the counter, as her knees had suddenly become wobbly.

“Rao, Lena, you can’t just do that!”

Lena pulled back, mirth twinkling in her stunning eyes, one eyebrow raised in challenge.

“I don’t see you stopping me.”

Kara had made the mistake of letting her gaze drift down to Lena’s full, red lips, and now she found that it was a thing of impossibility to avert her eyes again, transfixed by the way Lena’s tongue darted out to wet them.

“You’ve got chocolate on...at the corner of your mouth”, Kara muttered. It was a paper thin excuse.

“Is that so? Could you be a dear and get it for me?”

Kara did.