#i am surrounded by FAR TOO MANY men who game

[shy-writer-999]

who do you think would be the type to play video games in a modern au? 👀 certainly not asking because I wanna suck them off while they try and beat a level or something… no… definitely not…

what a good question!! my takes are below the cut. there are multiple of the OP men that i think would play games, and i gave u takes on what games they'd play (even though u didnt ask for it)! g/n language

UPDATED based on remarks from my girl @xdingobingo who also showed me this art by @ama-ded

my mind immediately screamed LUFFY because I can see him playing fucking fortnite genshin or league 😂 and then other classics like minecraft idk. he'd probably let u suck him off while he plays but he may get too distracted by the game 😭 idk. depends on how sloppy u give it LOL

as for sanji? probably not, maybe he'd play duos on something with his partner and i bet he'd have a cute story about how he played cooking mama growing up. i could also see him playing acnh or it takes two with his partner. i could also see sanji watching his partner playing games and/or cooking them food at the same time <3

if zoro played he'd probs play rainbow 6 or cod. but i think he'd keep it pretty basic like that and stick to FPS. OR soulslike games (thanks kami!)!! part of me says he would only let u give him head while he plays games like once or twice but then he'd say no because he literally can't focus or do anything while his cock is in your mouth and he doesn't want to fuck up his KD. zoro doesnt see the point in attempting to play video games while getting sucked off, because he would want to use both his hands to push your head down further on his cock.

ace, the man of my dreams. i could see him playing games and being cute about it and pretty nerdy... i'm imagining any of the kojima games, probably the kingdom hearts games, maybe dead space and probably RDR. he'd play duos or squad with luffy and his friends any time they wanted and he'd be good as fuck at them. he'd let you suck him off ANYWHERE and WHENEVER, so video games make no difference here.

law? duh. i see him playing the same sorts of games as ace and being a HUGE nerd about it. this is the sort of man who does a 1 HP run of KH2 and is super hyped when he finally does it on the like 56th try. when u first start dating or talking, he'd be shy about the fact that he plays video games because he doesn't want to be lumped in with those guys who like SLAM and SMASH their controllers when they lose. and when i say nerd, i mean NERD. if you go to an arcade with those old fashioned arcade games, he'd know the names, game mechanics, and history of most of them. i think he'd be similar to ace insofar as he'd let u suck him off at literally any time or place so if you want to put his cock in your mouth while he has a controller or keyboard at hand, it makes noooo difference.

[novaursa]

jaqen h’ghar x fem!stark!reader! there in harrenhal and she’s Aryas older sister. “if i do this thing, a girl must obey.” “a girl will obey.”

jaqen h’ghar is obsessed

A Game of Faces

- Summary: You meet your sister’s “friend” and he offers his help, for a price.

- Pairing: stark!reader/Jaqen H’ghar

- Note: The reader is Arya's older sister.

- Rating: Mild 13+

- Next part: name

- Tag(s): @sachaa-ff @alyssa-dayne @oxymakestheworldgoround

The walls of Harrenhal loom dark and foreboding, each stone etched with the torments of those who have suffered within. You move silently through the damp corridors, eyes sharp and ears keen, every sense attuned to the danger that lurks in every corner of this cursed place. Arya is at your side, her small hand gripping yours, knuckles white with fear and anger. The men who captured you—those cruel soldiers in Lannister red—tore you from one nightmare and cast you into another.

Your sister’s “friend” Jaqen is never far from you. His presence is a mystery, his identity a mask more impenetrable than any helm. You’ve watched him from afar, seen the way he moves like a shadow slipping between torchlight. There is something unsettling in his eyes, a depth that swallows you whole when he looks your way.

One evening, you find yourself alone in the courtyard, watching the sun sink behind the jagged peaks of the mountains. Arya is with the other prisoners, her task for the day yet unfinished. You feel the weight of the castle pressing down on you, a suffocating presence that seeps into your bones.

“A girl looks troubled.”

The voice is smooth, with an accent that lilts like a melody. You turn, startled, to see Jaqen leaning against a stone column, his gaze fixed on you. His red-and-white hair glows in the dim light, a vivid slash against the drab surroundings.

“I am fine,” you lie, your voice steady but your heart hammering in your chest. There is something about him that makes you wary, though you cannot say why.

“A lie,” he says softly, as if amused. “A girl carries many burdens on her shoulders. Perhaps too many.”

You bristle at his words, but before you can respond, he steps closer, his movements fluid and graceful. There is a scent about him, something foreign and faintly sweet, like spices from lands you have never seen.

“You are Arya’s friend,” you say, more statement than question.

“A friend, yes.” He tilts his head, studying you with eyes that seem to pierce through all your defenses. “And perhaps a friend to you as well, if a girl wishes it.”

“I don’t need friends,” you reply sharply, your voice low. “I need to protect my sister and find a way out of this place.”

Jaqen’s smile is enigmatic, his eyes gleaming with something you can’t quite decipher. “A girl’s desire is a noble one. But sometimes, to protect, one must first obey.”

His words send a chill through you, and you take a step back, instinctively putting distance between you. He doesn’t follow, merely watches, his gaze never leaving your face.

“If I do this thing, a girl must obey,” he says quietly, his voice a whisper of silk and steel.

“What thing?” you ask, though you already sense the answer, a dark promise hanging in the air between you.

“A girl must say a name. And in return, a man will grant her wish. But a girl must obey.”

His words are simple, but the weight of them settles heavy in your chest. You know what he means—Arya has told you about his offer, the deaths he can deal with a whispered name. But you are not Arya, and you do not want to wield death like a blade in the dark.

“I don’t want anyone to die,” you say, your voice trembling despite your resolve. “I just want us to be free.”

Jaqen’s expression shifts, something softening in his gaze. He steps closer, and this time you do not move away. His hand, cool and gentle, reaches out to brush a lock of hair from your face.

“A girl’s wish is a pure one,” he murmurs. “But in this world, freedom comes at a price.”

You meet his eyes, feeling the pull of them like a tide. There is a power in this man, something dangerous and compelling, and it frightens you as much as it draws you in.

“What do you want from me?” you ask, your voice barely more than a whisper.

Jaqen’s smile returns, a shadow of itself, and his hand drops back to his side. “A man wants nothing. But a girl must remember: if a man does this thing, a girl will obey.”

The words hang between you like a vow, a binding promise sealed by the intensity of his gaze. You nod, unable to look away, and he inclines his head, satisfied.

“A girl will obey,” he repeats, as if to himself, before turning and walking away, his steps as silent as a ghost.

You watch him go, your heart a wild drum in your chest. You do not understand him, cannot fathom the depths of his motives, but you know one thing with a certainty that burns in your veins: Jaqen H’ghar is no ordinary man, and the game he plays is one of life and death. And you, caught in the web of his interest, are now a piece on the board.

When Arya returns to your side, her face smudged with dirt but her eyes alight with fierce determination, you pull her close, holding her tighter than before. You will find a way out of Harrenhal, you vow. You will keep her safe.

But as you look back at the shadowy figure disappearing into the castle’s depths, you cannot shake the feeling that your fate is now entwined with his, in ways you cannot yet see.

[landwriter]

Ok, for the WIP title ask game, would An Eternity of This happen to be the Oaths follow up? 👀

It would be!! This snippet is the first thing that I wrote again after too many months with not enough writing. It's a scene with Thomas and Catte after Hob has gone out after Dream about the. V grateful to it for getting the gears going again, even though it doesn't quite fit in the rest of the coda. Pleased to have a reason to put it somewhere else, like riiiight here. ~1.1K of Oaths Coda under the cut:

When they were small, Catte had teased Hob for his lack of patience. When they were grown, she persisted in doing so, for he persisted in having none.

He took it in good humour, as was his character; just as it was hers to tease him in all the things she knew better about. It was a mercy that he had been born into a saddle and not to any other manner of work. Strong though he was, she suspected he would not be able to withstand waiting even for a dough to rise. Making a simple basket had nearly driven him to grief.

It was only now, that she felt the abashed stirrings of sympathy. Patience. She turned away from the window and sighed.

“By morrow, he told you,” she said, again.

“By morrow,” replied Thomas, again.

“How many times is that now? God’s blood. It’s not as if the answer is going to be different.”

“Four, I think,” he said dryly. “You’re beside yourself.”

Catte shook her head and scoffed. “So I am. Come and comfort your insensible wife, Thomas.”

He stood up from where he was sat by their hearth, and came to wrap his arms around her. Only she was insensible on the inside, and had to shut her eyes to resist the impulse to slide out of his embrace as soon as it caught her and go back to the window. Her husband was warm and solid and smelled of smoke and himself, and she could be still as him, even if she felt less like a woman and rather more like a flystruck horse in the fields, twitching and restive and nearly mad.

Thomas pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “I’m not sure you can will yourself any calmer than this, hart. The others are surely drinking themselves blind tonight. If it wasn’t that your company was far better, I’d join them. You’ve more grace than us all.”

She smiled at the flattery and turned her face against his chest so she could half look out onto the dark moors. “I do have more practice.”

Thomas drew in a breath. “Is this what it’s like? Each time we ride out?”

Catte looked up. He met her eyes, and she thought of all the long winters, of waking before dawn and starting the day’s labours in the blue-grey light just for a reason to look to the horizon. Waiting for her Thomas before he was even hers, not wanting to put a name to the thing that already had her looking for him in the crowd of returning riders, dry-mouthed, no matter what they called each other.

She cupped his face and thumbed over his cheeks. Her husband now. Not that it made any kind of difference to how it felt, before or after, each and every time. But it was her work to carry the waiting, as riding was theirs. He should never have learned this feeling too. He’d recall it afresh when he rode out again and feel sorry twice over, for leaving and for knowing now how it felt to be left.

“Would you believe me if I say no?” she asked.

Thomas raised his eyebrows. “No. But I’d let you have it.”

“You shouldn’t let me have anything,” she said indignantly.

“Nay, you’d prefer to win it, love,” he said, hiding a smile, and she sighed. It was unjust that he knew her as well as she knew him. “You don’t need to explain. I just don’t know how you bear this.”

“It is like this. But it’s easier, too. Tonight is different.” When Thomas rode out, he was surrounded by good men, brothers and kin, some who she would grant were even as cunning or strong as her man. Hob had gone out with nobody, against a fell enemy they had never met before, not to chance suffering but to pay in it, and no way home but to withstand it all. It didn’t bear saying, so instead she said, “I have you with me. The bed won’t be cold.”

“You’re only trying to make me feel useful,” said Thomas. He pressed his face into hair. “Catte, I hate this,” he murmured.

“I know,” she said. “I hate it too.” Outside, rain gusted down, and they both fell silent, imagining Hob, outside and alone, making his way to Miles Cross.

“I’ll bank the fire,” said Thomas abruptly. Catte looked at the hearth and laughed. It had hours left in it. Thomas had been stoking it ceaselessly. It would take the whole bucket of cold ash.

“And I suppose then we’ll lie in bed and fall asleep,” she said.

He smiled crookedly. “Aye.”

But she did lie down in bed, and soon Thomas joined her, and pressed himself to her back like another bastle wall. Neither of them spoke. Catte had been surprised to discover how much she enjoyed the comfortable marital silence that came in sharing a bed, near as much as the very foremost activities of a marriage bed. Tonight, it hardly warmed her. Tonight, they were only silent because the remainder of their thoughts were too grim to speak aloud. They sounded awful enough inside her head.

Catte wanted to throw off the covers, shake all the fear off with it, but instead, she breathed slowly, and began to paint a picture behind her eyes. It was a childish habit, to soothe and distract. She hadn’t thought about it in years. Her eldest sister had told her to do it when Catte confessed she lost sleep for her nerves as soon her friends began to ride out. Think of someplace else. It doesn’t even need to be real, Effy had said solemnly. Name every detail of it, the smell and the sound and the feel, so you can go into it like another room.

A summer’s evening, she decided. A sky dark blue in the gloaming, the leavings of a perfect clear day. Sweet smelling air and a cool breeze in her hair. Dark enough for bats to be on wing in the field, light enough to point them out still, to her children, who were bonny and hale, and favoured her and Thomas both. But tonight they were indoors, sat at her feet on a yellow woven rug, listening wide-eyed to her fearful recounting of the Faerie Queen and the night their kinsman Hob Gadling won his love. Thomas comes inside, with more lines on his face and more handsome for it, and they pester him with questions, and he laughs—as he does, easily and often now, for here in this little room their future is plentiful and kind—and fetches Hob and his fey husband, both long since returned from the clutches of monstrous creatures, and then Thomas holds Catte in his arms the way he had since they were still half children themselves, and they all together listen to the only fairy story that was true, and ended happily.

WIP Title Ask Game

[nanamiwetrust]

First Meet - Nanami Kento

After so many times rejecting your friends, you finally agreed to meet them at the new bar that was recently opened. Everyone was raving about it, but you couldn't imagine what could be so special about being stuck in a room full of half-drunk people late at night when you can be cuddled under your soft blanket reading books and candles burning for the ambiance as a cherry on top of the perfect evening.

It has been a long time since you have been out like this. After your last break up, you have been done with men and their silly little mind games. But you had to admit that putting on a nice dress and wearing your favorite lipstick felt refreshing. You had some laughs and giggles, your friends always being loud. You even danced. You forgot how good it felt to dance in a dim light surrounded by people who only wanted to feel good. Like you. Until the moment someone grabs you from behind while dancing, pulling you closer to his body, making moves that leave you feeling violated. You tried to turn around but he held you too tightly. When his hands almost made their way to your breast you had enough. With all the strength you had, you stomped on the stranger's foot with your heel feeling it almost breaking under the blow.. when his grip loosened you turned around and punched him in the face. Your eyes fogged with tears of pain. You tried to find your friends but without success. Desperately wanting to be as far from the unknown man as possible, you hid behind the furthest corner of the bar. But you couldn't shake off the feeling of being watched. All you wanted was to be safe at home, but running out would not be a good idea. You looked around to find the guy but all you could find was a blond man staring at you from across the room. He was surrounded by other guys, all pretty loud and deep into their conversations, laughing at the top of their lungs. But he was sitting there looking out of place almost like not wanting to be there.

Great, another creep.

You have turned your back to him, trying to focus on your next steps. Craving something alcoholic but sweet to ease your nerves you order Sex on the beach.

"Is the seat taken?" A deep voice in your ear almost made you fall from the tall chair by the bar.

You turned around to find the blond guy standing right next to you smiling softly. The chair was empty so you could not bring yourself to say no.

"Yeah, sure." You smiled back out of courtesy, busy trying to find a safe way to get out of there.

"Your Sex on the Beach." The bartender slides you your cocktail. "And for you?" He asked the blond guy.

"Another whiskey, please."

After he got his order, you caught his gaze.

"Go ahead." You raised your eyebrow.

"I am sorry?"

"Tell me now your joke about how we would rather have actual sex on the beach." You sighed.

"I-I... Was certainly not expecting our conversation to go this way." He laughed.

Your heart skipped a beat. You were not expecting this big tall guy to laugh so softly. A wave of guilt went through your body.

"I am so sorry!" You turned to him. "I didn't mean to... I am just..." you blabbered.

"The guy that was dancing with you?"

"Yes... I have let my guard down and for a moment forget how it is in the bars like this."

"I thought you were together." He looked down into his glass.

"No. I have never met him and suddenly he was all over me. I feel gross." You shook your body.

"I have to admit, I watched you from the moment you came here. With your friends."

"Yeah?" You smiled as your face started burning while his beautiful eyes scanned your features.

"At first, I was hesitant. I wanted to help you but did not want to get involved in lovers fighting. You know, some people love their relationships to be explosive or even violent..."

"Definitely not me!" You laughed

"Me neither." He smiled back and you looked at each other a little longer than expected.

"Ehm." He finally broke the silence. "I just wanted to applaud you for your fighting skills. You are quite something."

"Oh, stop it! You are making me blush like a teenager."

"Well, you certainly have the same effect on me touching me like that."

You looked down and realized that you had your hand placed on his thigh for god knows how long.

"I am so sorry!" You jumped down from your chair, frantically grabbing your purse. "I should probably go."

"No, I do not mind. I did not want to make you feel bad." Nanami stood up next to you trying to calm you.

"I-I should just go. Find my friends or just go by myself. I do not know." You blabber. "Maybe... You can go with me?"

He looked at you for a moment. His silence made you regret your last sentence. This wave of sudden braveness always makes you regret it afterward.

"I am sorry, I do not think I will." Nanami smiled with an apology in his eyes. "But thank you so much for your... invite."

He could just put a dagger in your heart, and it would be less painful than shattering your ego like a piece of glass.

"Oh. That is ok. Just a random idea." You laughed with pretended ease. "I will go now."

"Please." Nanami grabbed you by the arm. "Do not take it the wrong way."

"I do not mind. Really." You smiled painfully waiting to be finally out of there.

"I mean... I would love to go!" He said with a genuine gaze. "But I do not think it is right. We both had some drinks... I Would much rather ask you to have lunch with me tomorrow, maybe? What do you think?"

"Yes!" You said more eagerly than you expected. "I would love that."

"Amazing. I was scared that you would decline. What about... You give me your phone so I can call you a cap and I will give you mine so you can write down your number."

"Sure!"

Nanami smiled so brightly that your heart almost ached from the sudden affection for him.

After a moment, you are on your way out of the bar, hooked on the arm he offered you. The streets are empty and almost quiet, except for the ambient noise from the bar. The night air feels refreshing but too cold for your bare shoulders, you shiver a little.

"Here." Nanami quickly wrapped you into his jacket.

"But..." You wanted to protest.

"You can give it back tomorrow, ok?"

"Pinky promise." You smiled for the millionth time since you met him. "I almost feel like a Batman." You laughed wholeheartedly.

"Yeah." He smiled. "It is big on you. But at least it will keep you warm."

With that, you spotted your taxi getting closer.

"I will text you so we can plan tomorrow, ok?" He says quickly. "I also have to go. I think they are waiting for me." Nanami pointed back at the bar with a crazy-looking white-haired guy stuck to the window.

"He acts weird." You chuckled.

"To say the least." Nanami smiled and opened the taxi door for you. "Can you text me when you get home? So I know that you are safe."

"Absolutely."

With that, the taxi left with you. You could not resist and turned to look back through the window. You almost squealed out of pure happiness when you saw Nanami standing there and waving.

The vibe for the last part of the story: House of Say - Another Side of You

[lurienrose]

٩(◕‿◕)۶ Hello! I'm Zane (He/Him)! I've been waiting awhile to join tumblr, as I've been stuck in the Twitter vortex for a long time...

I want to share my art and find people like me! Please be patient, though... I've never really had a proper internet presence, especially not a blog such as this..! I'm not used to certain internet etiquette, please educate me whenever you can!

(づ ◕‿◕ )づ What will I post??

I will post my OCs, Fandom related art, general blog posts and updates, etc! I want to have an escape from the world, I won't try to post any negativity!

(っ˘ڡ˘ς) Fandoms!!

SPLATOON!!! JOOST KLEIN!!! PRESSURE!!! Game Grumps, Astralspiff, Ninjago, Heartstopper, Hollow Knight, Lethal Company, Kurtis Conner, Danny Gonzalez, Drew Gooden, Cult of the Lamb, and way... way more...

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ DNI!! General DNI criteria, i.e, transphobic, homophobic, racist, etc. Proshippers, anyone aged -13 or +20

( ˘▽˘)っ♨ PLEASE keep in mind!!!

I am an aroace minor, please don't go too far with sexual comments, and don't sexualise my characters!! I am one to make sexual jokes myself, and I find them very funny.

Speaking of being aroace, I am also gay and transmasc! I'm only usually attracted to fictional men, as I find real life attraction very icky. I'll only make sexual jokes surrounding fictional characters, never real people. (Unless it's a friend, and I have permission to!) I also love romance movies and romance books! (If you have any recommendations... send them my way...) Please also remember that I'm autistic, and I really benefit from tone tags!

!!!TRIGGERS!!!

I don't have many triggers, but I do still have a couple, and I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from making references or talking about these topics! BUGS. bugs. I hate hate bugs. The only ones I don't mind are moths and butterflys! I think they're really pretty! Needy Streamer Overload... this one I can't really explain?? I just get uncomfortable whenever this game is talked about, and I feel really bad whenever I have to tell people to not talk about it :( (This sucks cause I have a good friend who's main interest is NSO.) PLEASE. do not call me or any of my characters a 'princess'. I have very bad memories tied to the word and I get all these bad feelings from it! The movie 'Call me by your name'. This does not need an explanation. The movie is so disgusting

Thank you for reading

(✿˘ω˘)˘ε˘˶ ) I'll see you soon!!

[voidbeau]

I require information on the Thorn-Run Job Agency

oooh

OH OH

You have no idea how excited i am that you asked about this one, friendo!!!

This idea started from a desire to play Outlast Trials but alas, that game requires money and i require friends to enhance the experience.

And none of my friends wanted to play with me. Too spooky and/or the money thing. ;C

So i settled for watching lets plays and the lets plays inspired what ifs.

"What if my favourite blorbos in my favourite stressful situations???"

And I started brainstorming and it went beyond a silly Outlast/Twomp crackfic- though that scenario is still in there + more like it from other fun horror games.

In any case, a small overarching plot came into play and it also bore a fun opportunity to play around with Thorn and what I feel his dynamic would be with the main twomp boys + Mr. Flower.

Which is super important for another fic I'm writing and also I just want to parade him around in public.

Behold, my horrible son!

But anyway, i'm not sure calling whatever Thorn is running a job agency? Maybe. Something of the like.

Anyway, the scene that started it all for me:

The air was cold and damp and carried with it the most putrid, heavy nauseating scent.

Musky with an underlying rotten sweetness to it. That mixed with the scent of mildew and god knows what else, it was hard not to find oneself gagging a little as they walked through the doors and into the dilapidated building.

The concrete floor of the hall was caked in blood, both fresh and old and in the centre were unusual tracks and wires spanning the length of the corridor as it appeared to follow it down a specific path.

The distant sounds of buzzing electricity and shrill screaming in the halls had added an extra layer of tension to the already wretched atmosphere.

As Argos took in his surroundings, he could clearly tell that Mr. Flower was not acclimating to the environment well at all.

To say he was tense was an understatement. His jaw and fists were tight while his limbs appeared to tremble. The little fan like petals that were his ears were pressed so tightly against his head that they may as well not have existed at all. Still, Mr. Flower's expression never shifted from stiff, pursed lips and a furrowed brow, but he kept in fairly close proximity with the gates that he, Argos and Mr. Plant had just come through.

Even though he had to know that they'd be locked the moment they entered this section of the building.

That was what they had just been told after all. Once the three were in, there was no way out until the job was done.

"Everyone past the gates and accounted for?" Came a voice from somewhere off to the side, grabbing the attention of the three disoriented Void-men.

It sounded staticy and like it was coming from above.

The lighting was unreliable at best, with many of the side rooms in the hall they stood in being engulfed in darkness or the hallway lights themselves on the low ceilings barely flickering with life.

Still, Argos was able to catch a glimpse of an intercom just above the metal, wired doors they had come through. Next to it, a tiny red flashing light on a mounted camera.

Argos smiled and nodded, flashing the camera a thumbs up. "Everything's good so far. So, you said this was nothing more than an escort job. Who exactly are we escorting?" Argos questioned while Mr. Plant sauntered to his side, hands wringing as even he felt on edge.

But that was always the case when it came to working under Thorn.

"Normally the debriefing happens before you send us out on a job." Mr. Flower muttered, one tense hand resting under his shoulder as he stayed in his little corner.

"Yeah- uh, sorry about that. We're on a bit of a time crunch today. But there should be a map and some supplies in that first aid cabinet next to the cutie in the corner." Thorn said through the intercom, and as he did, Mr. Plant moved to retrieve the aforementioned supplies.

All the while Mr. Flower tried to hide a red faced scowl at the comment that had just been made about him.

Mr. Plant pulled the cabinet doors open with a slight screech from the half rusted hinges, rewarded with the promised map, four flashlights, two small first aid kits and what appeared to be two tasers.

Argos quickly approached to get a good look at their inventory and to see how he could fit them into his backpack. Curiously, the eye-clad creature tilted his head at their choice of items. Simultaneously, the concern on Mr. Flower's face had deepened greatly as he too got a good look at everything.

Those were concerning and very telling items to be given on what was supposed to be a simple job.

"Oh, and another thing, this facility is mostly defunct. Whatever wacky research or experiments were happening here aren't anymore, but a lot of it's old security features are still in effect." Said Thorn casually. "What does that mean..?" Mr. Flower asked through gritted teeth.

"Means be careful out there, babe. Oh! And also if you check the map real quick..." Explained Thorn, who was likely watching as Mr. Plant unfurled the map they were given, revealing a small room to the East of their current location with four points nearby marked in red.

"Your assignment should be in that room to the East, but you're gonna need to unlock it by activating the switches marked on the map."

"Sounds easy enough!" Argos chimed in, chipper as usual.

"... At the same time." Thorn quickly added.

Mr. Plant tilted his head in question at that added fact and similarly Argos' expression fell to puzzlement and concern. Mr. Flower let out something of a frustrated hiss however. "There's only three of us." He stated matter of factly. "Why would we be sent out a member short if they knew this was part of the job?" He asked, frustrated and anxious.

Argos shrugged, "Clerical error I guess..." He said through a nervous smile, "I'm sure this comes with a backup plan!" Argos said, trying to maintain a more optimistic outlook.

"Oh don't worry about a thing, sweetheart. Of course we got you covered!" Thorn piped up through the intercom.

"This mission is particularly special, and so we made sure to match up my favourite crew with only the best fill-ins." The rose monster assured.

This information piqued the interest of the group of course, although Mr. Flower remained mostly incredulous. "Who?" Asked Argos.

"Me! Now why don't y'all head on down to the end of the corridor and we'll meet up on the other side. It's gettin' a little dicey over here."

[degloved]

27, 28 & 29 for the ask game!!

27. What do you listen to while writing?

asmr! which is generally always playing no matter what i do or where i am, be it in public in lieu of music or while—indeed—at home writing. i have a lot of mental noise (?) going on (idk if that's what its called!) and doing anything in silence is very difficult for me because my own brain actively leeches away my focus. so, asmr in 95% of cases, however, there were a handful of fics inspired by select songs where i did have those very songs in the background while writing.

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

i'm afraid it's gotta be blood, drying. she's my baby. my wip baby, who is on a hiatus for the moment due to all this saw insanity i'm going through. but she's being worked on behind the scenes :) my favorite of my saw fics might be the i'll never see you again series! incidentally, this one was written to the songs that inspired their titles.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

okay, this one was HARD. i was combing through blood, drying and trying to decide which i liked the most (there are many!) and then i remembered my lovely les mis wip let justice be done though the heavens fall. feast your eyes on my magnum-opus-to-be. i put it under read more just to keep this cute and nonobstructive.

"And that is to say, Sister Perpetue had sorely surprised herself on one such morning, a morning which had happened only but a couple of weeks ago, and was otherwise entirely ordinary and in line with every one of her mornings thus far, and every one of her mornings that would have taken place after that one; more to the point, when she had stepped out of the building, her humanly instinct had her take stock of her surroundings, look left and right and ahead of herself, too; and it was precisely ahead of herself, across the street, where she had seen a pair of people which had her privately thinking: “Monsieur le Maire and Monsieur l'inspecteur seem inordinately chatty today.”

What constituted as inordinately chatty for Monsieur le Maire and Monsieur l'inspecteur of Montreuil-sur-Mer was, in fact, not something that could be deemed as ‘inordinate’ by the strictest definition of the word, for it wasn’t—objectively speaking—excessive or outrageous in measure. In fact, anybody that had not seen the two men walk with each other before and had no other knowledge of either of their characters, might use an adjective more appropriate, such as taciturn or laconic, and—if they might dare—unfriendly (for neither of them seemed to possess particularly high spirits in one another’s company.) However, if one should bear witness to a chunk of this walk frequently—say, every morning—one would become aware of the fact that these walks normally occur in silence; the two men walk as though they walk alone, without a companion to speak of.

Thus, even so much as a single word exchanged between them could be considered inordinately chatty behavior."

[ao3 wrapped ask game]

[trevisos]

12 and 23 for Xarrai

8 16 and 24 for Ieriyn

for that Tav meme?

tysm!!!

(questions are here)

xarrai:

12. What opinion does your Tav have about the Gods?

the short answer is: not a fan.

the long answer is xarrai sees all the gods as tyrants - look at shar, who demands her followers give up their memories; or mystra, who takes chosen after chosen and keeps them like pets; or vlaakith, who. well. vlaakith. they're cruel rulers who demand obedience and worship from their followers, even those who claim benevolence. as far as xar is concerned, bane is just the only one being honest about who he is and what he wants. they don't really give a shit about what gods others choose to worship but they are silently (or um. not so silently) judging anyone who is particularly devout. every time shadowheart talks about shar early game xarrai is just nodding along like yep. mmhmm. yeah sure. and aggressively rolling their eyes when they walk away lmao. there's an element of bitterness to it too, though. here they are on this adventure surrounded by people who desperately want the favor of their gods but all xarrai wants is to be well and truly forsaken by bane. (at the same time, though, they recognize the only reason they're still alive is because he hasn't forsaken them - bane doesn't suffer fools or failures, after all - so it's a bit of a double edged sword.)

23. What are 2-3 songs that your Tav would relate to?

this is actually the hardest question u could have asked bc i have an almost 40 song (and growing lol) playlist for xarrai LMAO. these are a few i've been really vibing with the last few days, but i don't know that they're the ones xar would relate to the Most by any means.

burn your village - kiki rockwell

metaphor - the crane wives

kill all your friends - mcr

and honorable mention for grey veins by ls dunes. i had this song on repeat for like two days while i was starting to build their character because i picked this game up like right after i saw lsd in concert and it ended up coloring a lot of how i viewed xarrai initially lol

(mutuals feel free to lmk if you want the link to the whole playlist (or my astarion and/or xarrastarion ones) - i'm a dirty apple music user and the playlist has my government name on it so i don't wanna post it publicly but i am down to share)

ieriyn

8. Did your Tav have any romantic and/or sexual relationships prior to their illithid adventure? If yes, who was it with and what was it like? If no, how did they feel about being single?

yes! he had a couple of boyfriends when he was still in school. nothing super serious, honestly - just your typical teenage relationships and all the drama that entails. in the last few years he hasn't really had many partners - a fling here or there, but again nothing serious. i will say though he has a thing for older men with big brown eyes :3c (gale never had a chance is what i'm saying. it was over for him before it even began. this twink is going to ruin his life.)

16. How does your Tav feel about killing?

not good! as of where i am in the game right now (about to defend the grove from being raided following some #mistakes ieriyn made when talking to minthara) he hasn't killed another thinking creature ever. he really really doesn't want to and has spent half the battles the party has been in so far more or less cowering in a corner for fear of killing someone accidentally if he uses his magic. he's honestly kind of dead weight. but defending the grove is going to change things - he can't sit there and do nothing when this is his fault and he knows he has to pull his weight or the party is going to end up dumping him on the side of the road, assuming any of them survive this. (lae'zel and astarion in particular hate his fucking guts for being so useless and yet trying to take the credit for shit anyway lol) i don't think he's ever going to feel good or even necessarily okay about killing, but i do think he's going to learn to deal with it anyway.

24. What first impression does your Tav give off to strangers?

i think initally ieriyn comes off as a spoiled brat tbqh. he's deeply out of touch with the way "normal" people live and has really never been outside his bubble of wealth and comfort, which makes him difficult to talk to i think. he's also heinously arrogant - sometimes because he genuinely believes it ("i'm a special gifted magic kid and soooo powerful and strong") and sometimes because he's trying to cover up for what he doesn't know or what he's afraid of. this is smth i imagine is going to be extremely different by the end of the game, but as of rn he gives a pretty shitty first impression LOL

[ba-hons-film-blog]

Film Project - Connection - Journal

Pre-Production

Week 1 (16th-22nd of January)

Initial Discussions (16/01/23)

After being given the project brief (to make a six minute film that conveys a sense of place), the group (myself, Ben Ansturther and Jack Weir) went back to Ben’s flat and sat down to discuss ideas. We were very invigorated by the possibilities this project presented, especially after the previous module, in which we felt considerably more boxed in (with a script we could only change so much and a story that necessitated us filming in a student flat, which was not the most exciting location).

Having hoped to direct something, and having not done so in the previous semester, I put myself forward for this role. Jack was eager to try his hand at producing, and Ben wanted to take on the role of cinematographer, so that was all settled quickly. With regards to writing the story, both Ben and Jack were keen, so they have agreed to share this role between them. I also wanted to get some more experience editing, especially a film with dialogue, and we decided I would edit the film as well.

We then discussed influences and what kind of film we would want to make. We agreed on the crime genre, and discussed our interest in focusing on a morally dubious character who would create mixed feelings in the audience, liking the challenge of taking an unlikable character and making the audience understand them, if not sympathise with them. Some films and characters we discussed were: Mikey Sabre in Red Rocket, Connie Nikas in Good Time, Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems, Johnny in Naked, Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul and all four men in American Animals. Some traits we picked out are these are often chaotic and disenfranchised characters, some ideas that would be interesting to explore.

As much as I enjoy crime films like Heat and Donnie Brasco, we decided to steer away from anything too over the top, wanting to go with something more tangible. We also want to avoid anything too cliche for crime student films, such as a young man peddling drugs who wants to get out of the game and live a more fulfilling life, anything like that. With regards to setting, we want to set this film in Leith, as we think it would fit our ideas for the character nicely, and would also be a visually interesting place to film in.

We have some ideas (I have an image of a solemn guy living in a dank apartment, surrounded by other people who also live there but very distant from them) but at the present, haven't decided on anything yet, and are giving ourselves some time to think before we come together again.

We have also agreed that the dear David Hall, as much as we love him, won’t be a part of this film, as has been in too many films he can only be seen as David Hall. This may change down the line, maybe we will need him in a supporting role, but our current ethos is to try to find some new actors who people won’t be familiar with, meaning they can see them just as the character, and not be thinking about the actor. Same with appearing myself in a supporting role unless absolutely necessary - while I could hopefully direct myself to be watchable, as far as the class is concerned, I am Alex McNeill in whatever film I am in. Plus working with new actors would also also be good for me with regards to working to improve my directing abilities, directing someone who is not a friend.

Week 2 (23rd-29th of January)

Test Shoot 1 (26/01/23)

Whilst we are still deciding on exactly what our idea will be, we are keen to shoot the film in Leith, for the aesthetic of the area, and how it could lend itself to the social realism genre. We gathered together in Leith around midday and walked around, taking some potential shots in the 4:3 aspect ratio, which we feel works nicely for social realist films.

Cinematography Creative Exercise 1 (27/01/23)

For a visual exercise where we were required to convey a sense of home, I decided to go to Leith, to undertake the exercise as though I were conveying a sense of the characters home, and to also explore more of Leith.

UPDATE - Story

After several discussions, slowly inching past vague motion and closer to a concrete idea, we have settled on the subject of our film: a scam artist who befriends the elderly man he is scamming. The idea of a scam artist suits the socially isolated, disenfranchised character we are looking for, and is someone the audience should not warm to, certainly not to begin with. However, it is the reasons why he is in this line of work, and what the interactions with the elderly man cause him to confront, that can bring out the humanity in this character. We think this has a lot of potential to be an interesting morally grey character.

Week 5 (13th-19th of February)

UPDATE - Story

Just a general update on how the story has developed. After coming up with the idea for the character, we discussed what would happen if the film. Our initial discussion concerned a film that played almost like a montage until a key incident. I like the idea of a character whose life is just utter carnage - constantly in motion, talking to strangers, being yelled at in the street from someone he had scammed (rearing his head in defensively only to then turn and bolt away), scamming people for literally anything - even just nicking a pint instead of paying for it, or instinctive pocketing something before even looking to see what it was. I like the idea that every waking moment of this guy's life is just him trying to distract himself from something (an idea that may have been heavily inspired by Better Call Saul, I do have to admit, but mixed with the relentless intensity of Uncut Gems). Then after a few minutes, he would bump into someone, or see them across the street. Their wouldn't be any dialogue, but it would be someone he recognised (a family member, a former love, a child?), whose presence would bring the momentum to a stop. We would place more emphasis on the scenes with the elderly man following this to highlight his need for connection, culminating with a scene that has him be his most emotionally vulnerable, and (whilst keeping up the salesman facade) attempt to tell this elderly man the truth about him. For this idea, I could almost see the main character being a mix of Connie from Good Time and James McAvoy in Filth.

At least that is my takeaway from these early discussions. I'm not sure what the others feel about this, as oftentimes when we discuss, part ways and reconvene, I feel all parties have gone off on slightly different tangents. Nothing wrong with that, but it does mean I need to take a moment to adjust from the ideas in my head to what the others are now thinking. Writing this out, I worry if this idea could be very messy, not focusing enough on the relationship with the elderly man, and depending on how many locations are needed, this could be a logistical nightmare, but the character has the potential to be very interesting and these variety of scenes would help us to explore the character without the need for exposition, so we shall see how discussions go.

Week 6 (20-26 Feb)

Cinematography Creative Exercise 3 (20/02/23)

For this, Ben made a video featuring his grandfather as a kind of test shoot, to give an idea of what the location would look like, and what the film could look like, which will be very helpful to refer back to.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCSREfCI2iM

Pitch (22/02/23)

As someone who has always had an interest in graphic design and it’s very pedantic about all that, I took the lead on this, with regards to the images/fonts we used, and the structure of the pitch document. I initially tried making the pitch document in docs, but the image formatting setting proved to be a nightmare, so I decided it would be easier to edit in Google Slides. I used a mixture of images Ben and myself had taken on our excursions to Leith, using colour ones for the slides about the film and its production, and black and white images for the pages about the crew.

For my Directors Statement, I added a nice business-y picture of myself and a poster from my previous film - maybe this was a bit much but it made the whole thing seem more professional, and the others later followed suit with the pictures next to their HoD statements. The slides with all of our credentials and previous film roles feels a little silly but again, it helps the document look more professional, and was strangely enjoyable to do.

For the actual pitch presentation, I used the same slides, and just removed a lot of the text so as to avoid people reading off the slides as opposed to focusing on us, such as reducing my statement of intent to just three bullet points.

ALSO: Since coming up with the project, we have managed to secure two other members of the team: Eilis Fraser (for sound recording/design) and James Stevenson (for production design). James has stressed to us that he will be primarily focused on his other film, but has offered to help us as much as he can whilst he is not focused on that.

FEEDBACK:

The pitch went well - we stayed under the time limit, covered the info we needed to and, despite occasionally looking down at my notes to keep me on track, I think I made a decent amount of eye contact during my slides. While we covered the necessary content, I think we could have rehearsed more so what we said was more concise, to avoid the “waffle” that Olivia called out a lot of groups for.

My main piece of feedback was for my description of the character of Brandon, which described him as “weak” and “deplorable”, with Oliva citing not to pass judgement on the characters, and also to describe them with more nuance. My main concern talking about a character who was a scam artist was that people might think we regarded that behaviour as not being too immoral, so I wanted to address that was not the case, and that we were aware the character would potentially be unlikable and that was what interested us. But I recognise I went about this the wrong way and should have described the character with more nuance, so I will be wary of how I speak about characters in pitches from now on.

I also made some ignorant comments about Leith being an area of poverty. I had meant to convey that there were areas of poverty in Leith as opposed to the Leith as a whole, but obviously this didn’t come across as I intended, so I will have to watch for oversights like that in the future too.

Test Shoot 2 (23/02/23)

Following the FirstStage Tour in Leith we decided, as we were in the area, we would go for another excursion to get some more footage. While we liked the idea of using the 4:3 aspect ratio for the film, we decided it would be worth trying the Widescreen aspect ratio, and recorded some new sounds to use in the sound edit.

NOTE (06/03/2023): While the widescreen footage looks good, after discussing it amongst ourselves and with Andrew, we agreed that 4:3 was the way to go, for the purposes of making the character feel more boxed in. We are also using the filmconvert colour grade, to give the movie a filmic yet washed out look.

Also, this is probably as good a place to discuss the cinematography, as I don’t think I've touched on it much as of yet.

The film will have two main settings and styles:

The scenes out and about in Leith - using long lenses to convey a sense of claustrophobia and loneliness by compressing Brandon against his background. A very subdued colour palette, to show how hollow and lifeless this existence is to him.

The scenes in Roberts house - softer, warmer lighting, to convey a more inviting, homely feel, and show the positive impact Robert is having on him. Wide lens (20-50mm) to feel more natural and less contained than the lens in industrial Leith.

Like on previous films, we will use the Panasonic LUMIX DC-GH5, as both Ben and myself have cameras and different lenses we can use. The university also has several lenses we can use with our cameras (some of which require an adaptor, others which do not).

UPDATE - Story

Some big story changes: After Jack and Ben discussed with Kate (prior to the pitch, I should clarify), who seemed averse to the idea of a montage, and after we considered the logistical challenges, we decided to focus more on the relationship between the scammer (Brandon) and the elderly man (Robert). The guys also came up with the idea of Robert being a former player for the Hibs team, to create a reason as to why Brandon would be more interested in this particular victim compared to others. The guys would also prefer to keep any mention of Brandon's family out, and keep the film more focusing on the present and the characters actions as opposed to the character's past - something I'm not necessarily against so long as those actions are interesting and we understand why they are happening. We have decided to open the film with a scam, to introduce the audience to Brandon’s life and show what his average interaction with a victim looks like, compared to. We do currently have a scene that details Brandon’s living situation, which is an interesting scene to show Brandon outside of his scamming job - which involves him talking in a threatening manner to one of several delinquent youths that he lives with.

Week 7 (27th-5th of March)

UPDATE - Story

Ben has added a bar scene to show what Brandon’s social life is like. I argued about having him sitting at another table to these guys, but Ben felt it would be very interesting (and accurate to these social groups) to show him in the group yet still being isolated. While either would work to convey he is isolated, I agree the former would be more accurate, and gives us more opportunity to convey his isolation in a more nuanced way.

The scene at Brandon’s home has been removed, as we felt perhaps it was a little odd and needed more explanation, plus we thought Brandon perhaps shouldn't be so aggressive. Having the bar scene means we still have an opportunity to see Brandon interact with society aware of his scams, which is the main thing. We also felt Robert passing away was a bit cliched, so we decided to keep the film's ending more ambiguous, with it being unclear why Robert has not answered the door, with the implication being perhaps Robert got wise to the scam.

Week 8 (6th-12th of March)

Casting Call (18/03/23)

I sent out a casting call on various Facebook groups on the 10th of March and had a range of responses. We arranged Zoom calls with each person, to discuss the film and get a sense of them, and their availability. Some of them seem liked capable actors, although most did not quite have the look we were after for Brandon, but we kept a list of the who we thought would work for the other roles.

We had two particular applicants, who we felt were strong candidates based on how they looked, who we decided to see in person - David, the sole applicant for the role of Robert and Dominic, a young actor from Leitheathre who was interested in playing Brandon. Whilst they were both capable actors, Dominic ultimately seemed a little too young and innocent for Brandon, and David was a little too lively for Robert. Jack and I agreed they were not right for the role, and decided to keep looking.

UPDATE - Story

We had a script discussion with Olivia, where we realised we needed to add some subtext in their final discussion to show how Robert may suspect the scam, to make sure the ending made sense. She also suggested removing some in the dialogue as she felt much of it was not necessary, especially if we wanted to keep the film in the allowed runtime. She encouraged us to also add another bar scene at the end of the film, to contrast the first one, and to allow Brandon to be a bit more charming in his opening scene, instead of immediately going after the money.

Casting Robert (24/03/23)

Whilst David had been a delightful man, and seemed like this schedule would make it easy to work with him, we felt he wasn't quite the man we were after. Ben suggested his grandfather Norman Sheed, for two key reasons: much of the script was inspired by Norman’s sayings and mannerisms, and if we planned to shot at his house, it meant that was at least one actor we didn't have to rely on public transport to get in, and the potential delays that could come about because of it.

I went down to Glasgow today to meet him, and quickly came to the consensus he was our man. Besides the convenience of his casting, he was very kind and conversational but I also felt he could bring a sadness to Robert that the character needed (not to say he was sad, but I felt he could convey his character's sadness in the moment Robert is asked about his late wife and is unable to respond).

And so we have the principle cast. For the other roles, we will contact the other applicants for Brandon and offer them the roles of his friends. We have someone for the homeless man. For Lesley, we had no responses to the casting call, so I reached out to my grandmother (Maureen McNeill) to see if she would be interested - to my surprise, she was very game for it. For Lesley’s son and the woman Brandon sees in the final scene, Ben contacted his uncle John and other grandmother Mary, who both agreed to help us out.

Casting Brandon (27/03/23):

One response to my Casting Call had been from Ross Kinninmont. He sent some pictures along with his email, in which he looked quite friendly, but as these were for a brand shoot, I figured I would hold my judgement and give the man a chance. Upon speaking with Ross, we quickly realised he was our man. His tone of voice, his demeanour, his intense look when he wasn't speaking. He also seemed very engaged with the idea and had lots of questions which he asked us. A bonus was, he was self employed, and so could arrange his work schedule around filming. This had been the same with the lead actor in my previous film and had been tremendously helpful from an organisational perspective, compared to some of the supporting actors, who had more difficult schedules and sometimes had to pull out at the last minute. Therefore, after properly auditioning Ross today, we decided to offer him the role, which he accepted.

Other Notes

I had reached out to Eilis Fraser earlier in semester and she had stated she would be happy to help (hence she is named in the Pitch Document/Slides). However, she has since stated she will unfortunately be busy with two other projects and as such cannot make the shoot dates. Needing an alternative person to do sound, we reached out to Yathin Lee, a second year who had recorded sound for a film myself and Jack had acted in back in December 2022 - thankful, he agreed to help.

Production

Leith Montage/Walking scenes (3rd of April)

It was an early start today, waking up around 5 to get to Leith in time for some sunrise shots (in the film this would actually be used for the sun setting). Afterward, we had another walk around, to make sure we knew the best route for getting around Leith when we came back with Ross later.

On our walk, we stumbled upon a street corner that we thought would work better for the scene where Brandon sits and contemplates his life choices, compared to Calton Hill, the location of the scene in the script. Whilst Calton Hill would be a visually strong location, it dawned on us that this grotty street corner would be more in keeping with the film's urban setting. This location would also be easier to fit into our route around Leith.

Later that day, we met up with Ross, for a shoot that went along without any complications. As the one day that did not involve any dialogue scenes and only a couple shots, this day was not too time intense and was a good chance to get to know Ross a bit better whilst walking between locations.

Robert’s House Shoot 1 (5th of April)

Sadly we had not been able to schedule any rehearsal with the two lead actors, but as such, we scheduled their characters' first meeting to be shot first to facilitate this lack of familiarity, and gave them time to chat between scenes. This was also our first time working with Yat, but he was very polite and professional and the day went well.

Lesley’s House Shoot (6th of April)

This scene was shot at my Grandparents home in Glasgow, an experience my grandparents found very amusing. My grandma played the role of Lesley, and Ben’s uncle played the role of her son Connor.

Pub Shoot (10th of April):

In the script, the central two characters are Hibs fans, and we wanted to establish Brandon as supporting the team in the pub scene, by having him wear Hibs gear and being in a Hibs pub. For this reason, we were keen to film in an actual Hibs pub to film in. Previously, members of the course have shot in pubs The Golden Rule and Bennetts, but we were keen to avoid them for three reasons:

They would be immediately recognisable to members of the course

Getting an actual pub in Leith would add to the sense of place, and would mean we could showcase the pub as opposed to have to avoid any signifiers to its location

Depending on which pub we shot in, they may have had an aversion to the Hibs team, leading to our presence being unwelcomed

Jack and Ben had started by going to a well known Hibs pub called The Harp and Castle pub, but the idea of filming was apparently curtly rejected. We then identified a bunch of good pubs we could visit, with the intention being to start in Leith, working our way up Leith walk, then go to The Antiquary (as we had a contact there whose name we could bring up) and then try the Golden Rule if we didn't have any success elsewhere. Thankfully, the first pub we went to (Wilkies Bar and Lounge) were happy for us to film there, so we didn't have to spend the day going from bar to bar.

For Brandon’s friends, we got two of the people we had spoken to another other roles to come along: Charlie Robertson (an actor with Leitheatre who had been interesting in the role of Brandon but was happy to take the role of Craig) and Percy Richter (a singer who had just moved to Edinburgh and was just keen to be involved in a film), and our friend Sean Dinwoodie. We had secured an actor for the homeless man but he pulled out three days prior to the shoot, leaving us in a tough position, as unlike Brandon’s friends, the beggar was a tough role to get to feel authentic and not a role you can plug by just casting a friend. However, remembering Jack’s success contacting Leith theatre, I sent them a casting call to see if anyone was interested, and received a response from Calum Robb, who had a very impressive beard that made him ideal for the role. The pub made for a good location, the guys all did a good job, and with the exception of Sean and Ben (who had to make a cameo when one of the supporting actors slept in), we have managed to avoid any familiar faces!

Robert’s House Shoot 2 (13th of April)

We had a lot of key scenes to get through but everyone was on top form, and we worked at a solid pace, getting everything we needed.

Post-Production:

Editing:

I have been forewarned about the risks of directing and editing a film, but so far I think things have gone ok.

My first week of editing was just cutting all the scenes together. The first scene was particularly difficult, as it involved a lot of overlapping dialogue and editing around the performances. Starting on this had me worried for the rest of the film, but the other scenes were all much easier, as it didn't have to edit around anything, and it was just a matter of choosing the best parts of each take. I tried editing the final knock in different ways, to convey the passing of time without taking too much time, but found the scene worked best when just allowed to run in full. Once I had a rough cut, I started to refine the edit and brought the guys in to give me their thoughts, so I could get some alternative opinions.

After some discussion and more editing, we eventually had everything in place. Then it just became a matter of seeing what to cut, if there were any lines of the dialogue that could go or shots that could be shortened, as the film was a minute and a bit over the runtime. Thankfully, we managed to get the edit to the approved length before we had to either start butchering scenes or taking them out all together.

The sound design process mainly involved syncing the audio, adding in a bunch of folio sounds we recorded and the Leith tracks that we have recorded over the semester. I tried some more creative stuff in some scenes (like have the audio all fade out when Robert approaches the door for the first time, to show Brandon being in the zone) but was not quite able to pull them off, so just kept the scenes quite simple instead.

[softyoongiionly]

♡︎Hᴛᴛᴘ Eʀʀᴏʀ 400 [Uɴᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀɪᴢᴇᴅ] ♡︎

☹︎ sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: Min Yoongi is the top hacker in the world. He has put away countless other cyber criminals all whilst evading detection by virtually everyone he has ever crossed paths with, including the government. The diabolical super hacker that came close to tracking him down is now serving a 10 year prison sentence, all thanks to Yoongi’s handiwork. So what happens when the sentence is shortened unexpectedly? What happens when the biggest threat to public safety is roaming the streets again, determined to get revenge on the man who put him away? What happens when the worlds most infamous hacker just so happens to manage your local Mikrokosmic Electronics? A terabyte of trouble.

☹︎ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ: hacker! Yoongi x reader

☹︎Gᴇɴʀᴇs: action, hacker! Au, smut, humor, angst (18+ only plz)

☹︎ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 8.7k

☹︎ Wᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: swearing, likely inaccurate depictions of computers and hacking, mutual pining and a little bit of clown behavior, mild angst, mentions of violence (future), verbal altercation (between Yoongi and unruly customer), explicit smut, oral (both), ass eating, filming during sex, (this story, like all of my others, is 18+ only) 

☹︎ Aᴜᴛʜᴏʀs ɴᴏᴛᴇ: Welcome to the party!!! This is the first part of a four part series and its 3am and I am SLEEPY so this authors note is going to be a whole circus. I really hope you enjoy! I will try to continue to get these parts out on time, but I would love to know what you think. Special shout out to @bulletproofbirdy aka MY BESTIE who literally helps me with everything I ever write, and she is a genius and I love her. Also, @gldnrecs​ for so many cool plot elements and character development bits that make the story 8000 times better, i love you lots and I can’t wait to keep screaming about fics with you. oki bye. love you. here’s hacker yoongi...

Mikrokosmic Electronics

One thousand dollars was no easy prize. You spent most of your time away from school, working double shifts at the bar and, shoving all of your tip money into a baby pink piggy bank that you kept under your bed. Aching joints and sore muscles were a constant in your life, as was this desperate sense of dread every time you thought of this being your reality forever.

Financial instability felt very much like a thick cloud that hung over your head ever since you understood what money actually was. Your family knew the minefields of paycheck-to-paycheck living far too well, especially after the tragedy that struck nearly eleven years ago. Gaining a full-ride scholarship to the best art school in the country sounded like a way out, but you were a useless student without a laptop.  

And falling behind was too expensive.

The scent of computer plastic and old air freshener immediately fills your nose as you push against the warm glass of the double doors. Mikrokosmic Electronics was the best rated store online for both discounts and customer service, and it was only a few miles from your apartment.

So opting to come here was a no brainer.

The lighting in the store is soft and neon, reflecting off of the merchandise in meaningful but subtle hues. Everything is organized in a rather aesthetic way as well; computer towers, monitors, laptops, old gaming systems, new gaming systems…

Each of them carefully slotted in their place and ready for purchase.

There are two men in front of you and then a woman up at the counter, but after a few seconds the men quickly realize that they want to keep browsing and surrender their place in line. You are puttering around on your phone at first, not really paying much attention to your surroundings until the lady in front of you starts raising her voice.

“Are you serious right now? It’s only a week passed the expiration date, I know you can override it in your system. Just take the stupid coupon!”

The sharp angles in her voice jolt you upright as your wide eyes assess the scene before you. A middle-aged woman is poised for verbal sparring with her hands on her hips and an iced caramel macchiato sweating on the countertop.

You can see the man behind the register now, and you note that his appearance seems to blend in with the cool neon tones around the interior of the store.

He’s taller than her, his black hair shaggy on top and tapering off into a vibrant pink as it frames either side of his neck. He’s dressed in a white t-shirt that’s tucked into a pair of lightwashed Levi’s, the whole outfit being accessorized with the most intense deadpan you’ve ever seen in your life.

“So the coupon is expired and stupid? I’m not really sure why you’re making such a scene then…”

His raspy voice floats aimlessly into the air, the twang of sarcasm sour and apparent.

“Oh is that the tone you’re going to take with me? Are you kidding right now? I’ve never met anyone like you in my life- this is absolutely despicable! I don’t think I’m making myself clear, either take my coupon or you’re going to have a really big problem on your hands!”

Her voice makes you cringe and despite you trying to shrug off the sound, it only seems to cling to the fabric of your clothes, causing you to feel uncomfortable.

The man doesn’t even blink, “Ma’am your expired coupon is not my problem, the system wouldn’t take it and I don’t feel like doing an override. If you want a discount that bad, just lift something off the shelf and run. I’ll even give you a head start…”

You can’t quite see her face just yet but her body language indicates that she’s disgusted, “Oh you are just a horrible person, aren’t you? You’re harassing me when all I’m trying to do is save a little bit of money! This isn’t a business you’re running, it’s a scam! And you bet your ass I will be reporting it to the police-“

“I’m sure you will.” He muses, entirely uninterested. His expression is amusing you beyond belief, you’ve never seen anyone deal with an unruly customer this way, “But please step to the side to do so, you’re holding up my line…”

The woman scoffs, “No, I will not be stepping to the side. I want the number for corporate and I want your manager’s number as well. You cannot treat a paying customer this way!”

The mans lips twitch, the beginning of a smirk playing on them as he stands up a little straighter, “The number for corporate is 800-382-5968.” He seems to be holding back a bit of laughter, as if he were apart of a joke that only he understood, “Also, I am the manager, and if you want my number sweetheart, you’re going to have to buy more than an extension cord; my sales are a little low today…”

She is visibly disgusted, her French-tip nails gripping the cold, sweaty exterior of her caramel macchiato as she rips it from the counter, “You are disgusting! I will be contacting your supervisors and informing them that they should shut down this location immediately. What is your name?!” She leans in and scans over the tattered name tag on his shirt, “Yoongi???? Is that it? Well Yoongi, you better start looking for a new job! I can’t imagine anyone would want to employ you after I tell them what happened here today.”

“Yeah yeah- tell them all about my awful behavior,” He encourages smugly, “The world deserves to hear your story. But I’m going to need you to step aside now. As fun as this conversation has been, Yoongi has other customers to satisfy so-“ He shoos her with a gesture of his hand causing her to finally storm off, huffing and puffing all the while.

As she does, you are able to get an even better look at him.

He’s hot, like really hot, and suddenly you’re distracted.

“Hi, how can I help you?” Yoongi reapplies the boredom to his voice as he mindlessly wipes the ring of condensation from the glass countertop.

“Well, I was going to ask you for laptop recommendations, but if we can just take anything from the shelf, I don’t think I need your help anymore…”

The tone in your voice intrigues him, his posture unraveling slightly as his cat-like gaze travel up the length of your body before finally clawing at your face. The smirk that was knocking at his lips earlier fully forms as he takes in the sight of you, “No no- you definitely need my help. I can’t offer the five-finger discount during business hours, but we can work something else out…” He responds smoothly before turning towards the stockroom, “Jimin-ah! Come out here and man the counter, I need to help out someone on the floor.”

A rush of disorganized blue hair comes striding out of the back, sporting an unamused pout on his pretty lips before grumbling,

“Make up your mind, Yoongi. I can’t keep abandoning my projects every time you want to help out a hot customer…”

You feel the back of your neck heat up at his co-workers honesty, a flash of excitement hitting the pit of your stomach.

Yoongi seems unbothered as he hops feet first over the counter, his clunky black boots thudding as they hit the carpet, “So do you have any specs in mind? Are you going to be using this for school, work, gaming…”

He jumps into his spiel immediately, not even bothering to respond to his co-worker as he leads you down the aisle full of laptops. They are set up amongst various props to mimic the illusion of them being used on a desk, the colors chosen complimenting the neon lighting above you.

“Well I’m a photography grad student at Blue Sky University- so something that can handle my editing software, something with good storage would be good too! Some of the bigger projects I do take up a lot of space…” You explain, strolling along beside him.

He nods for a moment before his brows raise at the mention of your university, “Blue Sky huh? Very nice…” He compliments, knowing full-well the kind of prestige your school holds. You bite your lip at his praise, never really knowing what to do when those kinds of comments are lofted your way, “Mac is usually the go-to for photo editors, but this Dell XPS 15 is pretty amazing too. Mac isn’t as compatible with other personal software, and it’s really overpriced.” He places a veiny hand on top of the screen of a black and rather sleek looking laptop, “It has an incredible 10 generation processor, and it will get you about 1TB of storage.”

You stand beside him, narrowing your eyes a bit as you take in the sight of the computer. Mindlessly you run your fingertips over the smooth tops of the black keys before responding, “This one is nice actually, a MacBook really isn’t in my budget, but all of my classmates swear by them…”

Yoongi jerks his chin towards you, “What kind of budget are you working with? The XPS is going to run you about 1,100 after tax- but I would argue that it’s worth the investment if you can do it. This computer is highly adaptable and comes with a lot of different specs and configuration options. Do you use photoshop?”

You’re nodding along with his explanation, trying to weigh out your options without wasting this man’s entire day, “I have a thousand set aside but I can be flexible, I just need something that’s going to work- oh! And something with good security…”

Yoongi smirks, “Why are you worried about getting hacked or something?”

Biting your lip, you shoot a wary look his way, “I meaaan, I kind of already did. I bought a used laptop off of reddit recently and it got a virus like- as soon as I started torrenting my software…”

Yoongi shakes his head and waves his hands out in front of him, “Whoa whoa whoa whoa. You bought a used laptop from where????”

His response makes you laugh, “Listen! I’m broke, ok? I did what I had to do…”

And now he’s laughing but he’s still shaking his head, wholeheartedly unimpressed, “Nahhh, I don’t give a shit if you’re broke. You’re better off printing out your pictures at Kinko’s or something and bringing them into class, like old school shit. Bugged laptops on Reddit are like one of the oldest scams in the book. Do you still have that computer?”

“Yeahhhh- why? Wait what do you mean? I thought they just sold me a shitty computer, I didn’t know it was part of a legitimate scam thingy.” You whine, looking rather helpless and rather adorable, according to Yoongi.

He chuckles, “Yeah it’s a huge data farming trend right now. The department of cyber security has been up Reddit’s ass for the last year trying to shut it down…how much did you pay?”

You cross your arms, feeling rather self-conscious all of the sudden, “It doesn’t matter- go back to telling me about the terabytes and specs or whatever…”

His chuckling turns sharply into cackling as he tilts his head at you, “Tell me. C’mon, I’ve fallen on hard times before and bought some questionable things from the internet, there’s no judgement here.”

Huffing you look up at him and try to ignore the way his eyes seem to sparkle in amusement, “I don’t know, like $300?”

Yoongi immediately purses his lips, trying to hold in his laughter for a moment before he fails miserably and starts it all up again, “You’re kidding, right? And you were surprised that you downloaded a virus? Things at Blue Sky must have really gone down hill…”

Rolling your eyes, you present a pout onto your lips as he continues to cackle at you, “Hey! You said there wouldn’t be any judgement…”

He shrugs, his eyes twinkling with mischief, “Well I was already in the middle of judging you so-“

“Okay you know what? I was desperate, and I did what needed to be done. Now that may have led me to owning a haunted computer, but I regret nothing…”

Yoongi is still snickering, entirely too tickled by your misfortune, “Haunted computer- you’re ridiculous.“ He repeats, shaking his head, “What kind of virus do you have, do you know? It’s probably some low-level amateur shit…”

The tone of his voice elicits a warmth in your belly that you haven’t felt in quite some time, and you’re trying not to get too excited about it, but the way his eyes keep lingering on your lips is making it difficult.

“It’s actually super weird, every time I open my browser it automatically takes me to some like luxury vacation website? That’s the only thing that will load on the computer now. I don’t know who they think I am, but if I’m buying a used computer from a Reddit forum like- obviously I don’t have vacation money…” You muse aloud, a laugh catching on the tail end of your sentence.

Yoongi’s brows furrow, “Do you remember what the site was called?”

“Uhhh-“ You try and wrack your brain, “I don’t know, something about fields of flowers or running through the flowers? Why?”

Thankfully, the name doesn’t ring a bell, but Yoongi is still uneasy by the answer.

It can’t be, he thinks, there’s no way.

Dollsen was locked away for another 3 years, and even if he was out, the government mandated that he would never be allowed to use technology unsupervised again.

“No reason, I was just trying to figure out if it was a malware I recognized…” He lies smoothly before patting the top of the laptop in front of him, “This will be a good option in terms of security, it comes with a year subscription to an anti-virus software, but I can write down some sites for you to download a better one. What are you thinking though, did you want to look at other models?”

Not really, I kinda want to keep talking to you all day if that’s cool…

“I’m thinking this is a good option.” You conclude, “I like the screen and the keys are pretty too- also it looks pretty sturdy so if someone were to hypothetically spill ranch in the keyboard, I feel like it could handle that…”

Yoongi chuckles, “I don’t fix ranch-related accidents, so you’d be shit out of luck if you tried to bring it back here…”

“I don’t know where you got the idea that it would be me spilling the ranch, I’ve definitely never done that before. Anyway!” You rush out before changing the subject, “I’ll take this one please. Thank you for your help.”

And he just kind of smirks at you, a mixture of annoyance and amusement written on his features before he flashes a pair of finger guns towards the storage room, “Alright, you got it. I’ll be right back with your new state of the art, ranch-proof, laptop. Meet me at the empty register on the left there…”

“Thank youuu,” You sing song as he makes his way towards their stock room. Navigating through the small crowd of people lingering at one of the displays, you do as Yoongi instructed and wait by the inactive register.

Yoong emerges with a white box in his arms moments later with a memory of a grin still on his heart shaped mouth. He seems to move very comfortably in the space he takes up, traversing around the store as if it’s the very empire he oversees. There is something about him that intrigues you, the oddity of him, the way he looks like he’s just stepped out of a graphic novel…

Maybe getting scammed on the internet isn’t so bad after all.

He huffs as he places the laptop on the counter, before his elegant fingers dance over the keypad on his register, the light from the screen illuminating his face.

“Okay so- we have the computer itself, it comes with a charging cable obviously and a few other accessories but if you need anything else, you know where to find them…” He explains, narrowing his eyes a bit as he looks over the price breakdown, “I wrote down some of those websites where you can get a better anti-virus software- oh! And…” He leans down and grabs a thin white plastic card with the Microsoft logo on it, “I’m throwing in a subscription to Microsoft Office too…”

“Wait isn’t that normally like $100? Aren’t you going to get in trouble for that?” You falter, looking at him expectantly.

He raises his brows playfully, “Are you gonna rat me out?”

“No,” You assure him, giggling as you feel your cheeks heating up once again, “I’m just making sure…”

“I give away free shit all the time…” He assures you with confidence, biting his lip when he hears you giggle, “Taking money from billionaires is my part-time job.”

“Amen to that,” You point at him, your eyes lingering on his teeth, “Well, thank you. I usually just torrent the software that I need, but I’m a little wary after what happened with Reddit.”

Yoongi clicks at his keyboard for awhile longer, lip still secured between his teeth whilst he shakes his head, “Torrenting is perfectly safe as long as you don’t get caught. The virus would have happened either way.”

Sighing, you lean against the counter and take a peek at your new computer, feeling a sense of accomplishment, “Well that makes me feel better- I should probably try to find a way to pay for the real thing though, the one I download always crashes on me…”

He doesn’t seem to be listening to you anymore, eyes still focused on his screen, his tone cool and detached as he asks, “What are you doing later?”

Excitement dances through you, “T-tonight? Uh I don’t think I have anyplanswhy?” Your tongue is tangled and Yoongi smirks as he hears the way your tone seems to falter.

“Come back at closing and I’ll hook you up.” He replies coolly, finally bringing his eyes back to yours.

Subconsciously, you stand up straighter, eyes sparkling with intrigue, “Really? How?”

He places his palms against the countertop and leans forward, still smirking, “I know my way around a computer…” He answers before chuckling, “Don’t worry about it, just come by and I’ll get you whatever you need.”

You cock your head, feigning suspicion, “You have ulterior motives…”

And this makes him cackle again, his hands moving from the counter and returning to the computer, “Nah, it’s nothing like that, I promise. I just would hate to see you spend so much money on this computer and then fuck it up with a shoddy download.”

With your lips twitching at the sound of his laughter, you finally allow the smile onto your mouth whilst you hand him your debit card, “What time should I come back?”

Yoongi’s grin broadens, “We close at 9:30, so anytime after that is good. I usually chill here for a while because the Wi-Fi at my apartment sucks.”

Your stomach churns in the face of his smile, the moisture from your mouth beginning to cease. The level of attraction you feel towards this man is insane…

But you pretend to mull it over once more, not wanting to seem too eager until finally you resign, “Alright fine- I’m not going to say no to free photoshop. Should I just come in through the front or?”

He nods, scanning over your receipt before handing it to you, “Yeah that works…” He replies, “…and it’s Y/N, right?”

You literally just saw him look at your receipt, but you still ask, “Wait how did you…”

Yoongi just raises his brows, a judgmental smirk on his lips.

“Right! Thanks Yoongi, I’llseeyouthen…” You rush out, forgoing anymore pleasantries (embarrassment) and rushing out the store.

The smirk remains on Yoongi’s lips long after you leave, and for the rest of the day, he glides through each task with the hopes that maybe he’ll get lucky tonight.

He doesn’t expect to, but he could tell you were feeling him, and he would be a liar if he said he didn’t think you were cute.

 Yoongi lets you back into Mikrokosmic Electronics at a quarter til 10, the neon lights still on and much more prominent than they were during the day.

Throughout the duration of the setup, he continues to flirt with you, his eyes continue to linger, and he continues to send butterflies to the pit of your stomach. He does something fancy with your laptop and then informs you that the download is likely to take about an hour and then he will be able to run another anti-viral test on it. The two of you resign to your phones rather quickly after the download begins, but every so often you can still feel his eyes on you. You have a feeling he isn’t going to put anything on the table, but after the stressful week of classes you had, you’re itching to distract yourself.

“What do you want to do until then?”

Yoongi’s lip twitch as he swivels to face you, his sly expression illuminated by the cerulean light, “We could make out…”

The damage to your heartbeat is immeasurable, the core of you immediately clenching around his suggestion as your sweaty palms grip the edge of the counter.

“Yeah- we could definitely do that…” You agree, your own mouth itching with excitement, “We should probably do that.”

Yoongi snickers at your correction, a bit of surprise in his gaze,  “Probably huh? Why is that?”

He’s playful but the way his eyes seem to brush up against every inch of your skin and the way the umber in them seems to burn before you, tells a different story.

You take a deep breath, “I mean you said you had an oral fixation right? That’s why you were chewing on the straw when I got here; Giving your mouth something to do might help the time pass- and it would like, you know, make you more comfortable.”

His chair squeaks as he stands, the cool and even length of him suddenly feeling much bigger. The slight smirk on his lips is permanent with only the small addition of his tongue caressing the bottom one.

“Do you lend your mouth to everyone that has an oral fixation or am I special?” His tone is shifting rapidly, oscillating between taunting and tentative.

Before you can even respond, Yoongi’s hips level with your kneecaps, his eyes still searching around for your answer.

Your cheeks are on fire as you feel the large expanse of his palms resting atop your thighs, his bitten nails brushing just below the hem of your skirt. You’re so distracted by your arousal that you don’t even realize you aren’t looking at him until you feel the gentle pressure on your limbs as he coaxes them apart.

Standing between your legs, the denim of Yoongi’s jeans scrapes against the inside of your knees, the sensation much more thrilling than it should be. And he smells incredible as well, like sandalwood and coffee, and you’re convinced he applied an aphrodisiac instead of cologne.

Finally, your eyes flicker back to his, only to find him smirking at you yet again.

As if he does anything else…

But you feel the need to be bold, desperately wanting to lean into your desires so you murmur, “No…you’re special.”

Yoongi takes that as his cue, his breath chasing after your own whilst he leans in to brush his lips against yours, chuckling darkly when he sees you shiver.

“You’re really fucking cute.” He rasps and then his lips tuck into yours.

Yoongi’s mouth is a contradiction, eagerly exploring the surface of your lips with his own, the blunt sting of his teeth pinching at you every so often all whilst his breathing seems to slow. His hands and head move at glacial speeds, head slowly pivoting on an axis to get a taste of all of you, as his hands brush up and down your bare thighs.

Your fingers find their own groove, sliding up either side of his slender neck, your fingertips playing with the hot pink tendrils of his hair, doing anything you can to elicit the same kind of obvious arousal you’ve already displayed.

But Yoongi doesn’t budge.

Instead, you feel him smirk against your lips when a soft whimper leaves your throat, the sound entirely caused by his decision to introduce his tongue into the mix.

His tongue is like candy, soft like cotton, and possessed by some dark spirit sent to destroy you.

He knows exactly how to taunt you, the tip of his muscle brushing against your own, but never allowing you to tangle with it for too long. Your eyes are closed but you can feel his hands searching for your waist. When they arrive at their destination, Yoongi uses his strength to urge you closer, your legs wrapping around his waist whilst he leans into you.

The black hair atop Yoongi’s head glides effortlessly through your fingers, the kiss growing messier and messier until you find your clothed pussy flush against the cool steel of his belt buckle.

You’re wet and desperately sensitive after making out with him, your lips disconnecting with a gasp.

Dark and delighted cackling leaves the confines of his seductive mouth, his eyes cast down for the moment before he looks up at you. And the urge to gasp again is hard to ignore as you see how much his gaze has changed.

He looks a bit haggard from the work you’ve done on his hair but more so than anything, he just looks hungry.

“Are you alright?” He inquires with a raise of his brows.

Through a deep breath, you nod, chewing on your bottom lip a bit as you try and hold his gaze.

“Yeah…sorry. I just-“

But the sensation of soft fingertips crawling up your inner thighs interrupts you along with Yoongi’s next question.

“Did I turn you on?”

Although the question is laced with some arrogance, Yoongi looks intrigued beyond belief, his head cocking to the side as he awaits your answer.

And what are you to say? No?

Are you going to look this man in the face and tell him that your panties aren’t sticking to your pussy right now? Glued to you by your own arousal?

“Mhm…” You hum, trying to relax as you lean in and kiss him again, summoning the bravery within you.

Yoongi feels his dick throb in his jeans at the sweet sound of your voice, and now he’s left wondering about all of the other sweet sounds you can make.

He lets you kiss him for the time being, but he withholds his tongue from you and merely pecks at your lips over and over again, soft laughter rumbling deep inside his chest as he feels you pout.

“Yoongi-“ You whine, your fingers pressing into the back of his neck.

And he merely hums, both lips attaching to your bottom one before using his teeth to pull it away from your mouth. He starts kissing down your chin as you speak next, his massive hands now sliding over your hips.

“What percentage is the download on?” He murmurs, still kissing and nibbling up the side of your neck.

You have difficulty focusing your vision with Yoongi’s lips dancing carelessly against your skin, but after a bit of effort, you’re able to make out the answer.

“67.” You answer, swallowing back a whimper when he bites down on the base of your neck.

You can feel him smile, fingertips teasing at the skin at the hem of your skirt once again, “67 huh? That’s a shame; I thought we had way more time.”

Like the punchline of a cruel joke, Yoongi pulls away from you, licking the taste of your skin from his lips before taking his hands from your thighs. Your skin is on fire in his absence, heated and agitated like a sunburn. Without any control, your lips part in disbelief when he tries to head back to your computer. Your hand is on his wrist then, your lips puckered all over again, and you can’t remember the last time you ever pouted for something in your adult life. 

“Wait-” You protest, with a wary look in your eye.

Like a cat in the face of his prey, the darkness in Yoongi’s eyes zeros in on your lips before feigning confusion, “Oh-” He mocks, “What are you pouting for?”

But you’re tired of feeling frozen beneath his attitude, so you act on your boldness quickly before it hides away again. 

“I thought we were going to-”

“What?” He cuts you off with a teasing grin, “Did you think I was going to fuck you?” 

Your heart jumps, “I don’t know- I just thought like, maybe you wanted to-

He grins at your stammering, eyes widening a bit to taunt you, “You did, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t- I dont know” You bite your lip, batting your eyes unintentionally, “I just didn’t want you to stop.” 

He hates to admit it, but your demeanor is affecting him, and it’s making the crotch of his jeans much tighter. 

“You didn’t want me to stop?” He practically coos, but the same level of mockery is still in his tone. His wrist is out of your hand now, his palms resting on your thighs once more as he slots himself between them. 

You shake your head, wrapping your legs around him, as the tips of your fingers find the pink strands of hair once again. “I like kissing you…”

Yoongi takes a deep breath through his nose, his lips still turned up at the corner before he chuckles, “Yeah?”  He lessens the gap between your mouths, leaning into you all over again, his eyes locking onto yours as his voice drops down to a whisper, “You want me to kiss you somewhere else?”  

Your panties are completely ruined at this point, and he hasn’t even touched you, but the sinful suggestion he makes only worsens the situation between your legs. 

Without an ounce of contemplation, you’re nodding in affirmation, your thighs parting subconsciously with your decision. The warmth and moisture coming from your core interacts abruptly with the cold air of the store, and the sensation makes you grit your teeth. 

You’re so sensitive. 

Yoongi wastes no time, his fingers finding their way underneath your skirt and under the band of your underwear. Slowly, and still making eye contact with you, he pulls them down your legs and allows them to drop to the floor. He eyes them for a moment, contemplating whether or not to clean them up before deciding to turn his attention back on you. With his index finger he lifts the bottom of your skirt up carefully, and you see the exact moment he makes eye contact with your pussy.

“Holy shit-” He chuckles, biting his bottom lip, “Messy messy girl...you got this wet just from kissing me?”

You nod immediately, opening up wider for him so that he can see all of you, “You’re a really good kisser.”

And fuck, it’s the way you giggle at the end of your sentence, the way your pussy literally glistens for him, the soft skin of your thighs, the breathy tone in your voice that is sending him into a frenzy.

But he keeps cool, wanting to set the pace, wanting to hear you whine some more. 

“You have no idea…” He warns you with a smirk, as he trails his fingers down your arm before gripping your hand, “ …I want you to touch yourself first though.”

Immediately, you tense up a bit, feeling nervous at the thought of pleasuring yourself in front of a complete stranger. Yoongi’s perceptive however, and catches on, kissing the back of your hand and then leading it to your aching pussy.

“It’s not a test.” He teases, “I just want to see what you like…” 

His comment makes you giggle, and you don’t even want to question why you feel so at ease with him, you just do. 

“I’d still like a grade afterwards though,” You insist with a grin, “I live for validation.”

Your hand is travelling every so shakily across the crease of your thigh as Yoongi’s eyes cling to the back of it like a hawk. With a quirk to his lips, he watches your fingertips move closer to your clit, his tongue brushing against his bottom lip subconsciously.

Wordlessly, he sinks to his knees before you, hands rested on your kneecaps as he aids them apart. Completely spread before him, you feel your heartrate wobble in your chest when he starts placing kisses up the length of your thigh.

Watching his warm lips sponge across your sensitive flesh whilst the cold metal from his jewelry follows in their path is enough to prompt your fingers to settle on your clit. Pleasure skyrockets up either side of your cunt, the pads of your digits working eagerly against the sensitive bundle of nerves. Yoongi’s eyes are still on your fingers, his lips working up one side of your thigh whilst his longer fingers tickle up the other. The cacophony of sensations is maddening, drawing you closer to an orgasm way too quickly.

A soft and breathy moan escapes your mouth, to which Yoongi responds by scoffing against your skin.

“You’re fucking hot.” He testifies, suddenly biting down on the meat of your leg, which only prompts another moan from you. Your throat is completely dry, but you try and swallow anyway as you increase the pressure on your clit. It’s sensitive, but it desires more, it’s hungry for a mouth it’s never even met yet.

But you’re watching him, watching the way his pink mouth puckers and sucks ever so slightly, watching the way his fingers tease and torment over your skin…

He knows exactly what he’s doing.

“Back and forth?” He clarifies, flattening his tongue before licking right in the crease of your thigh, “Right on the top there?”

“Yes-“ You breathe, your fingers growing less and less capable the closer his lips get to your pussy.

“That’s how I should eat it?” He asks again through a knowing smirk, licking the crease on the other side.

“Yes.”

He snickers at the desperation in your voice, looking up at you through his lashes with his fingertips pressed against your inner thighs.

“Impatience will get you nowhere with me, sweetheart.” He drawls as his tongue suddenly finds its way to your entrance, he licks once, collecting a bit of your arousal before moving down further and licking right over the puckered ring of muscles.

Instantly you gasp, but you don’t even have time to process the new sensation because he’s drawing his wanton muscle from entrance to entrance, slurping salaciously as he does.

“Fuck…” You whisper, your toes curling painfully in your shoes as he repeats the same motion.

“I hate when dudes say that pussy tastes sweet…” He muses casually, despite his filthy actions, “Pussy tastes like pussy- that shit is one of a kind.”

His words do a number on you, but you are beginning to grow desperate at the thought of finishing yourself off before he has the chance to, so you stop for a moment and cup his face.

“Yoongi, I’m so-“

He interrupts you with a chuckle, “Yeah yeah I know- you want my tongue, just give me a second. I’m busy…”

His interruption infuriates you, but you’d be lying if you said that you didn’t drip at his tone of voice. And even if you wanted to lie, Yoongi already knows all about the way you’re dripping for him, as he’s licked up the length of you three more times.

“Just keep playing with that pretty clit of yours- I’ll be up in a moment.” He promises, and you know his tongue is going back down to your ass but you’re not expecting his fingers to start tickling down your thighs again.

He’s giving you goosebumps, your nipples aching in the cups of your bra, your vision grow hazier as the pleasure begins to interrupt your senses.

If regular communication isn’t piercing through Yoongi’s demeanor, then you figure you need to try a different angle.

“Oh fuck.” You’re whimpering again, “That feels so good.”

Yoongi’s eyes zero in on your face now, his dilated pupils peeking up at you through his fringe. You accept the challenge, staring down at him, admiring the way his nose is buried in the space just below your entrance, his tongue still lapping at your ass.

“I’ve never let anyone do this before…” The tone coming from your throat is sweet, feigning innocence but laced with very real pleasure, “You’re doing it so well- it’s making me so wet.”

For the first time, you hear him groan against you, his lips moving between your two holes and sucking gently at the flesh there.

“It’s so hard, Yoongi-“ You keen softly, pouting your lips, “None of those frat boys ever eat it right, it’s been so long since anyone has made me cum…”

And he’s had enough.

Practically growling the word, “Fuck.” The wet tip of his nose is nudging your hand away from your clit, replacing it with his soft tongue. Mewling, you immediately encase your neglected breasts in your palms, cursing the fabric that’s in the way. You jerk into his mouth, his capable tongue finding the spot you were rubbing at and applying the perfect amount of pressure. He’s puckering his lips, sucking gently at times, but keeping his tongue at the forefront of his motions.

“Ohmygod, fuck yes…”

Yoongi smirks at the sound of you moaning for him, his hands finding their way to the tops of your hips, securing them in place.

He’s riled you up so much, you know that you won’t last long, especially not with his expert mouth working you into a frenzy.

Yoongi plucks at your clit, sucking at it for a moment before pulling away slightly, “I bet your clit doesn’t throb for any of those frat boys, does it? They have no fucking clue how to get you there…”

Rapidly, you shake your head, the grip on your tits increasing as your hips begin rocking into his mouth.

“I’m really really close.” You’re pleading with him, and you have no idea why, “I’m so close, oh fuck I’msoclose…”

Yoongi grunts against your cunt, and you can’t even imagine the kind of mess you’ve made on the counter beneath you.

“Cum in my mouth then…” He orders with his tongue still on you, that same smug look in his eyes.

“Oh fuck – Oh fuck, oh fuck…fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…” You whimper, jerking away once before your hands tuck into Yoongi’s hair. Without thinking, you ride out your high against his mouth, grinding your clit up on his tongue, moaning wantonly all the while. Yoongi has to dig his nails into your hips to ground himself, the sounds leaving your lips travelling straight to his dick and presenting the very real possibility of him nutting in his pants.

“Yoongiiii-“ You shudder as he keeps licking at you whilst your high is subsiding.

But he can’t stop at the moment, his tongue slipping into every dripping fold you have, collecting all of the cum you gave him.

“I’m making you cum again…” He vows, biting the top of your pussy before going right back to your clit.

Despite the sensitivity you feel, you are fully willing to push through the overstimulation for another orgasm like the one you just had.

But your laptop has other plans…

“Download complete.” A monotone voice drones on the other end of the counter, startling you.

“Fuck-“ Yoongi groans as he pulls away from you, his mouth soaking wet.

“Just ignore it, we’ll get it in a second.”

Yoongi smirks proudly as he stands up, licking over his lips once before shaking his head, “No I have to enter a few codes to optimize it and its on a timer.”

His hair is a disheveled mess on his head, but he doesn’t bother fixing it as he strolls over to your laptop. Its then that you can notice the sizeable bulge in his jeans. The fabric is warped around his erection, the predicament looking almost painful, and suddenly your concern shifts rapidly.

For the time being, you just watch him as he sits down at his desk chair, you take a bit of pride in the way his fingers shake as they move over the keyboard, but the movements of his mouth do something else entirely.

Mindlessly and glowing from the light on your screen, Yoongi licks at his lips, sucking off all of your cum and humming to himself as he does. You can tell he is trying to ignore the painful throbbing of his cock by the way he shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

And not to add insult to injury but…

“Yoongi?” You call softly, your voice slurring a bit, still recovering from your orgasm.

“Hm?” He hums, still focusing on the task at hand.

“When you’re done, will you put your dick in my mouth?”

Instantly, you can hear the sound of his typing size, his fingers now hesitating on the keyboard as a devious grin crawls on his mouth.

“Come here…”

Moments later, his jeans and boxers are around his ankles, as your lips kiss up the throbbing length of him. His cock jumps with excitement as you near the tip, your tongue following suit to clean up the bit of precum that has collected. Yoongi’s chest is rising steadily and other than the way his dick is reacting to your motions, you’d have no other way of knowing that he was turned on. 

But you can feel his eyes on you, watching your every move, trying to anticipate the next one, and hoping that you’ll put on a good show for him. 

And you do not disappoint. 

You over exagger+ate slightly, hollowing your cheeks out as you suck up the length of him, allowing your tongue to tease at his weaping slit. Yoongi’s nostrils flare with the force of his breath then, his stomach caving in under the privacy of his t-shirt as you begin a rhythm on him. At the moment, his hands are hanging at his side, his silence penetrating the air as you suck on him like a woman starved. His lack of sounds is starting to unnerve you, so you allow your eyes to flit to him, only to be met with the same irresistible smirk he’s been wearing all day. 

“Jesus-” He grunts, chuckling a bit as you increase your pace on him, “You’ve got some fucking mouth on you.”

His praise fuels the fire deep in your belly as your hand comes up to assist your mouth, the two of them working together in tandem. Yoongi arches his hips, trying his best to stay in the heavenly confines of you. He doesn’t think he’s ever had head this good, and after eating you out, he’s beginning to dread how quickly he wants to cum. 

“Do you suck dick this good at the frat house?” He goads, his voice getting raspy, “Or do you just really like the way I taste?” 

You stroke him as you pull off for a moment, giggling at his comment and positioning your tongue at his tip, “Bold of you to assume I suck dick there at all.”

He huffs out a bit of laughter which dies rather quickly when you trace the edges of his frenulum with your tongue. He doesn’t respond to you and instead allows his hands to push up his t-shirt, exposing the creamy skin of his stomach. You slide your mouth right back on him, your pussy clenching at the site of Yoongi’s happy trail, wishing desperately that he had been less eager and allowed you to kiss and tease all over his body. 

His fingertips find his pert nipples, brushing over the tops of them and sending a shiver down his spine. His lips are parted in a type of awe as he stares down at you, the sensations on his dick coupled with him tugging at his nipples nearly too much to handle, and so starts the arousal-driven truth serum.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had my dick sucked this good…” He breathes out a shaky laugh, back arching a bit as he continues playing with the sensitive buds atop his chest. 

But you merely stare back at him, allowing the glint in your eye to form as you squeeze at his base and work your hand back up towards your lips.

Yoongi’s eyes don’t leave yours as he continues, shaking his head in disbelief, “You put on such a good show too- I’m up here like-“ Shaky laugh, pinch, eyes lulling, “reconsidering my premium porn subscriptions and shit. Who needs that when I can just watch your pretty fucking mouth on my dick?”

To drive his point home, you suck all the way up to the tip again, brushing your lips against it as you murmur, “You wanna film me?”

Yoongi’s eyes light up and seconds later, his shaky fingers are pressing record on his cell phone, doing his best to focus the camera on you.

You keep at it, staring wide eyed into his camera and whimpering softly around his cock, wanting to perform for him.

“Fuck- that’s it…there you go…” He grunts, his hips starting to rock up between your lips, “You like having a dick in your mouth don’t you?”

Nodding enthusiastically, you increase your pace even more, his lithe body now moving with the force of it. Yoongi’s eyes are on you through the lens of his phone, and he knows that this video is going to be a mess, but he doesn’t give a fuck.

He’s going to put it to good use anyway.

“Tell the camera how much you like it…” He rasps, the edges of his vision starting to go, his hips raising off of the chair.

You come up off of him again, drooling at the top him and grinning happily at his phone, “I like having your cock in my mouth-“ You correct, licking over his slit, “-you taste so good, I want more, I want you to cum.”

Yoongi moans softly, sitting up in the chair a bit so he has a better view of you, “Yeah? You want me to cum in your mouth?”

“Yes please…” You giggle, kissing the head of his cock before taking him down your throat again.

His whole body shudders when he gives you what you ask for, and Yoongi actually worries about the intensity of it. He’s had some good orgasms sure, but never one that’s fucked with his vision…

You suck off of him as he finishes, showing off his load to the camera before making a show of swallowing it all done.

“Holy shit, where the hell did you come from?” He laughs, his voice completely shot as he slumps against the chair.

You find your way up to his mouth to kiss him again, and he responds lazily, but you can feel him grinning towards the end of it.

Eventually, your soiled panties find their way underneath your skirt and Yoongi’s pants find their way up his legs. He finishes up what he’s doing on your computer, the two of you easily settling into small talk when Yoongi begins wrapping up.

He hands you your laptop box, “You should be good. I checked out the security system like I said earlier and everything is fairly airtight. But make sure you bring it back to me as soon as you see anything weird.”

Your balance and grip are not in the best shape after the events that have just transpired between the two of you, but you thank him and slip out of the door he holds open into the cool evening air. Yoongi’s keys clink against the door handle as he locks up, peeking inside momentarily to make sure the alarm light was set.

The two of you kinda linger as he turns back to you, his eyes holding that familiar glint, “So uh- this was fun.” His laugh is a little off, but you find it kind of cute as he shifts his weight from one side to the other.

“Very fun.” You agree, giggling.

Yoongi grins at the sound of your laughter, “Well, if you ever want to have some more fun, you know where to find me.”

You mirror his grin, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He chuckles before nodding in understanding, leaning to the side a bit before jerking his chin behind you, “Do you need a ride home or is that your car?”

“Oh! Yeah-“ You remember, pulling your keys out of your purse, “-that’s me. What about you? Where are you parked?”

He points to the black sedan parked across the street, “That’s me over there.” He kind of stands there for a bit longer before leaning in and pecking your lips, “Get home safe alright? I’ll see you around.” You feel a little woozy as he leaves your lips, unable to contain your own dazed smile as he heads over to his car.

“You too!” You call out to him when he’s put some distance between you and gives you a short wave in return.

The two of you go your separate ways, and each of you are left with lingering thoughts of one another. For you, this is perfectly reasonable.

You met a hot guy, you had insane chemistry, you gave each other amazing orgasms…voila, you think about said hot guy. The occupancy Yoongi has in your brain is comfortable, it makes you feel giddy and excited at the thought of getting to see him again. You don’t think you’re looking for anything serious, but you’re definitely looking for more of whatever that was. You smile like an idiot all the way home.

Yoongi, however, has an entirely different experience. Sure he’s used to smirking to himself after hooking up with a hot girl, he’s used to feel satisfied and confident, he’s used to filing away certain moments to jerk off to later but-

He is not used to whatever he’s feeling right now.

He’s thinking about you specifically. Your breathy moans, your body, the way you fell apart on his tongue, the way you sucked him off…

He’s thinking about your lips, your eyes, your face, your laugh…

And that’s never a good sign.

So he brushes it off.

He goes back to the filthy moments and reminds himself that he captured a pretty amazing video that he will be jacking off to for the foreseeable future.

You were pretty incredible, weren’t you?

Yoongi stumbles into his apartment, his combat boot catching on the door frame as he flicks the light switch one.

He’s exhausted and doesn’t even bother washing up before crashing into bed in just his boxers. He’s pulled his phone out of his pocket and plugged it in, setting it face up on the nightstand.

He turns on the TV and as his switching over to Netflix, a text message from the literal last person on Earth that he wants to hear from pops up on his screen.

Special Agent Kim: Ken is leaving the Dreamhouse

Special Agent Kim: We need to talk.

Fuck.

[phantumsimp]

By All Means Necessary

Chapter 2: Showtime

Carefully, you approach the restrained alpha. His thrashing makes your nerves flare. You're suddenly aware that you forgot to wear your scent patches today, as your scent turns sour from the anxiety coursing through your bones. You inhale again. Letting it simmer in your lungs before letting it out. You furrow your brows and nod to yourself.

The man stills his efforts for escape and you slowly lift your hand and begin removing the cover from his face.

Let's get this shit over and done with. _

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sergeant McTavish. I hope my men weren't too rough when transporting you. You've been asleep for almost a day now." You spoke softly.

"Who the hell'r you? And why-" you cut him off.

"Nuh-uh, I ask the questions here Sergeant." You chastised, a smirk playing on your lips. Soap dropped his gaze to the floor, he muttered through gritted teeth, "Whatever you want with me, ya never gonna get it lass." He chuckled humorlessly. You smirk at his declaration.

"I figured you'd say that." You huff in mock disappointment. You forfeit your standing position to sit in the chair across from him. You take in his features, studying every inch of his face. His mohawk is a mess on top of his head, his chest rising and falling rapidly with each heavy breath. You had his gear and vest removed leaving him a plain white shirt that hugged his body tightly. Your eyes drank him in greedily.

"Y'know, I was never one for violence?" You started, getting a short unamused grunt in response.

"Being born an omega doesn't give you many physical advantages, you see. I've never been all that strong, so fighting wasn't really an option. But, I have found ways around it." You continue, drawing out the ‘but’. Soap finally made eye contact again. His eyes searching yours, analyzing. His face devoid of emotion. "You see Sergeant, I don't need to beat or torture the answers out of you, and honestly, I'm not sure I want to. "

You stand back up, your shoes click against the hard floor of the room. You walk towards him, your hand traveling from his bound wrist, up his arm, and finally resting on his shoulder. He tenses under your touch, his scent twisting into something foul as war rages in his head. He should be disgusted by your touch, but your hands were so warm and inviting. Your scent invaded his senses successfully putting his alpha at ease. He growled in frustration.

You placed both hands on his shoulders. Fully aware of what you were doing to him, pushing out calming pheromones trying to ease him. Lavender and honey permeate the air. You were tempted to press the glands on your wrist to his neck but that felt a bit too intimate, so you just moved them closer to him until his body untensed. You purred in satisfaction.

Growing tired of your games, the Scotsman grew restless again. “So whaddya gonna do, Omega?” He questioned, voice thick with something unreadable. You paused your scenting. A devilish grin parting your features.

“I am so glad you asked.”

You remove yourself from him. Swiftly crossing the room heading for the door, you reach the exit and tap the door twice. The sound of locks turning and the door slides open. You exit the room.

Soap takes this opportunity to take in his surroundings. The walls are a depressing gray color, there are no windows as far as he could tell, the only light in the room coming from a dull bulb hanging from the ceiling. His wrist and ankles are tied to the wooden chair with duct tape, and his torso and biceps are secured with a rope.

There's a small table resting in the corner of the room, but other than that the only furniture in the room was their chairs. Everything about this was strange as all hell. Getting kidnapped in this line of work was a situation no soldier was eager to get into. The moment the mohawked Alpha opened his eyes he expected the worst. Waterboarding, beatings, broken bones, ect. He was not expecting to see the most beautiful omega he'd ever laid eyes on, topped with her scenting the shit out of him. It fucked with his head more than any torture could.

He didn't know where his gear was. But that was to be expected. The longer Soap sat in silence the worse he began to feel. First anger for getting himself in this situation, then worry for Ghost as he didn't know if he made it out unscathed. He remembers the conversation your team had while restraining him, Ghost was the target. But knowing him, he probably didn't even break a sweat, fucking animal.

Then he felt ashamed. Ashamed that he let himself go down so easily. Taken completely by surprise and held against his will. It crushed his pride. He had only got one of them, but he let them separate him from his team, from his pack.

The omega was only gone a few minutes but it felt like an eternity before the locks sounded and the door opened again. The alpha straightened his back, his eyes trained to your form. You had a silver case in your right hand and made your way over to the table in silence, one of your guys walking in after you. The person wielding a camera and its stand. You unloaded a syringe from the case, your back blocking Soap's view, while the other person sets up the camera. Angled directly at Soap.

"We making a movie or something? Or you just takin a chance to keep my face in your memory forever? '' Soap teased. You looked at him over your shoulder, a small laugh escaping you as you filled the syringe with a watery yellow-ish liquid. "Actually I just might. You're not too bad on the eyes, McTavish." You played along." Such a shame I can't keep you, really. " You pout, making the Scot's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"What're you saying? You're just gonna let me walk after all this is done?" He asked, disbelief and suspicion coating every word.

"Well of course. There's no reason for you to die and I'll have what I need, and there's no way you'd ever find me, so yes. I will let you go." You answer him honestly, turning around, syringe in hand.

"What the fuck is that? Ya gonna put me to sleep again?"

You roll your eyes. "So many questions." You walk over to him and take a seat in your chair. His eyes never leave the needle in your hand. You sigh, "No, I'm not knocking you out again. I need you awake to question you." You explain condescendingly. "Then what the hell-"

"I do believe I stated that the only one of us asking questions here would be me, McTavish." You sneered. Annoyance flaring in your gut.

He began to argue back but you ignored him in favor of focusing on turning the camera on. Completing your task you turned to the now quiet male. "What I'm about to give you is a drug called Scopolamine." The male's eyes widened. "Due to the risk of you passing out before I can question you properly, I added a little something to it to keep you aware. Which is why the color is so off."

Soap snarled at you. Like hell he was just gonna let you stick him with that shit. He strained against his binds, his feral state getting worse the closer you came to his arm with the poison.

"Do not make me paralyze you." You threaten, eyes narrowed to slits. "Remember, I only need to hear your voice, the rest of you is irrelevant." He returns your glare with a dominating rumble that almost makes you falter before collecting yourself. You press a hand to his arm and try to find his vein despite his desperate attempts to avoid you.

Finally you manage to find it and immediately you inject him with the concoction. He's in full panic mode now. His scent becomes unbearable and you back away from him and cover your nose. You instinctively release calming pheromones, your omega trying to comfort the distressed alpha despite being the reason he's in this state.

It took about a solid two minutes before he calmed down. Slowly succumbing to the drug's effects. You managed to get your omega in check and took a seat again. He looked completely out of it. Eyes glossy and head hanging limply on his shoulders.

"You still with me?" You spoke up in an attempt at getting his attention. You need to know if the serum's working. His eyes snapped towards you. "Yes?"

You nod, ready to start your interrogation.

"Who are you, and what is your current occupation?"

"My name… is John McTavish. And I am a sniper and demolition expert for task force 141."

You grinned brightly. Perfect.

"Now tell me everything you know about John Price and the 141." _

You step out of the room, camera and case in hand. You nodded to the guards as you passed. The halls of the small base are empty save for the few unlucky souls on night patrol.

You head towards your room/office. Well technically it was your father's office, but with him… gone, temporarily you made yourself at home. You near the door and shift your belongings to one arm so you can get the door open. Walking inside you head straight for the large brown desk in the back of the room, laying the camera and syringe case on top of it, you plop down into your father's chair and scoot up to the edge of the desk, positioned in font of a laptop stationed in the middle. You open one of the desk drawers and sort through the contents until you find what you're looking for, a blank USB drive and a cord to link the camera to the laptop.

Waiting for the laptop to start up, you fiddle with the camera. It's contents reminding you of the importance of your mission. Soap stayed awake long enough for you to get what you needed out of him, you still wished you'd succeeded in securing Ghost, but at least you have something. You have a plan, and let you wrestle with God himself before you back down.

The laptop finally started up and you plugged both the camera and the USB drive into it and got to work migrating the video to the USB. An uneasy-dare you say guilty- feeling festering in your nerves. You try not to feel. Caring and being emotional never ended well for you so you try your hardest to be indifferent, even though it went completely against your nature. You did what you had to and didn't care if your actions put other people in harm's way.

That's what you were trying to convince yourself as you wait for the video to finish loading into the USB. This was it. You were going to schedule a meeting with the people holding your parents hostage, give them the USB along with a file of Soap's personal information as proof of what was on the drive, get your parents back and…

Hope for the best, you guess.

A notification dinged on the laptop. The video had been successfully moved and you could remove the drive safely. You yawned and decided to call it a night. Removing the USB as you stood and stretched, you slip it into a yellow envelope along with Soap's file and seal it shut. You made your way around the desk and to a door on the right side of the room that led to a bedroom. Plopping down on the king sized bed you snuggle up under the covers, enjoying this little moment of peace before your thoughts shift over to the sleeping alpha a few doors down.

You weren't lying when you said he wasn't bad on the eyes. In fact, he was probably one of the most handsome men you'd ever seen. Hair a mess and face dirty from neglect, he still managed to look absolutely ravishing.

Was it even okay to be thinking about someone you kidnapped like this?

No, you didn't think so.

You let out an exasperated huff, 'stupid horny omega brain.' You think irritably. Forcing yourself to stop thinking about the mohawked man, you curl into a fetal position and squeeze your eyes shut tight. Simultaneously dreading and looking forward to whatever tomorrow had in store. You exhaled again, settling your frying nerves.

Everything was going to be fine. You weren't sure of it.

[pradaksj]

Safety Net || part one. (m.)

all rights reserved © pradaksj

↳do not repost, translate, or claim as your own.

❧ summary ⟶ on new year’s eve, you and jungkook reflect on each other’s entire year together. 

❧ pairing⟶ jungkook/reader 

❧ genre⟶  enemies to friends, friends to lovers, roommates au, fluff, angst, pining, eventual smut, boxer!jungkook. two-part series. 

❧ word count ⟶ 24,000+

❧ warnings ⟶ mentions of oral and sex but nothing explicit or descriptive. fight scene that involves drunk man. mentions of bullying (in the past). 

❧ music⟶ safety net, selfish, stuck on you, exile, +more

❧ a/n (please read) ⟶ this story switches a lot from past & present, I color coded borders to make it easier to tell :) dark purple = entering/still in the past, light purple= present, also this is unedited so sorry for any mistakes 😭 ill come back to edit a lot of things soon. 

01 | 02 

“Oh perfect, y/n!” Hobi stops you dead in your tracks before you could completely make your way onto the living room, “You don’t mind grabbing some more firewood from my car while I finish these up,” he says, currently too busy melting the chocolate for the s’mores he was making.

You see tonight was New Year’s Eve, and you and a couple of other close friends had decided to rent out a cabin in celebration of the new year instead of going out to some end of the year party, choosing comfort over a night of wild drinking. In the end it didn’t make much of a difference, because the moment you saw Jimin and Taehyung walk in with a pack of soju and other cheap liquor in their hands, you knew that by the end of the night someone, if not everyone, was going to end up completely wasted.

And of course, you were right. After hours of being outside in the cold, with the boys drinking as if there was no tomorrow, everyone had now made their way back inside, complaining that it was too cold outside and that the cabin came with an indoor fireplace for a reason.

Never one to drink too heavy, you had kept your drinking at a moderate pace, only allowing yourself to reach a relaxed kind of buzz. Namjoon and Yoongi on the other hand were currently debating on whether the US’s landing of the moon was nothing more than a fake ploy to beat Russia and was instead filmed on some movie set. 

Jin and his girlfriend acted as measly facilitators between the two men who had been bickering back and forth for the past hour, their slurred speeches making it difficult to take either one seriously. 

Jimin, for his part, had attempted to keep his drinking at a minimal but with Taehyung acting as his partner in crime, the two were now playing an unbalanced game of ping-pong, both of them looking as if at any moment they were going to knock out on the table. And Jungkook was— well where the hell was Jungkook?

But before you could dwell too much on the thought, Hobi’s voice snaps you back to reality, “pleaseeee, I’ll even add an extra chocolate square to your s’more, just like how always like em,” he flashes you a smile, your roommate of 3, going on 4, years knowing just what to say to convince you, not that you needed much of it. 

Minus Hobi, you were probably the person closest to being sober, and you did not want to imagine the different disastrous scenarios that would happen if he sent anyone who wasn’t yourself out there. You also highly doubted any of them would even be up for it, and so with that you just let out a small groan, mumbling, “Where are your keys?”

Excitedly he points to the kitchen island, where his Hyundai’s keys laid across, “I parked right near the lake,” he says, immediately causing you to look back at him, brows furrowed in confusion, “No one wanted to carry the wood from here to the bonfire earlier, so I just parked near the lake to save our energy,” you roll your eyes, “Come on, it’s just a 2 minute walk at most, and I’m sure there’s still people celebrating across the lake as well so you don’t feel so scared, but if you want I can ask Jungkook to go wi—”

“It’s fine, it’s fine—” you interrupt, grabbing the keys and beginning to make your way out, quickly putting on your coat because God knew how cold it was outside. “He’s probably asleep already, knowing him,” you chuckle, the boy who Hobi had introduced you to in the last year and had been living with you two as well, had habit’s that were all too predictable by now. And though you knew he’d be more than glad to get up from bed and help, for now at least, you wanted him to rest as he, himself, was probably tired from carrying things back and forth all day in the help of preparing everything. “I’ll be quick,” you say.

“Make sure that no wooden splinter cuts you,” he shouts out before the wooden door closes, having been the victim to such cuts all day, “and call me if you find it too heavy!”

Beep. Beep.

Double clicking the lock button, you grunt as you try to simultaneously carry the uneven pieces of firewood and place Hobi’s keys back into your jacket’s pocket.

“Oh my God—” you mumble to yourself, frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the keys. The wood was now slipping from your hands, its gritty texture eager to leave you a cut and as predicted it does. 

Wincing in pain, you uncaringly drop the pieces of wood, worried more about the cut on your hand than what had fallen on the ground below. Luckily the cut wasn’t too bad, nothing a little soap and water couldn’t fix, but the tingly sting in your hand meant that you’d have to wait a while before picking the wooden pieces back up.

Around you, you could hear the sound of different groups of friends and family celebrating with their own events, spotting different bonfires all around the lake. Glancing at the time on your phone, it currently read 11:00, only one more hour until the new year. A part of you was tempted to walk further down the path that led to the lake’s shore. Maybe even secretly wait so that you could watch the fireworks these groups of people most likely had shoot up into the sky at 12. Especially because you knew going back to the cabin, no one would want to come back out with you to watch. Honestly, how bad did they need their wood?

And so by convincing yourself, you begin to walk further towards the lake, careful not to trip on any of the scattered rocks that surround you. By the time you made it down, you were surprised to see just how far you were from other families, most, if not all, of them being directly across the lake. Honestly you wouldn’t have preferred it any other way. 

You didn’t want to seem creepy, but the sight was somewhat comforting, the kids running around in their winter gear while their parents and friends all surrounded their bonfire, sticks and marshmallows in hand.

Not to mention that tonight was a full moon, the milky glow from the moonlight reflecting against the ripples of the lake, and the tiny stars which surrounded the magnet that was the moon only adding to the grand scenery in front of you. Usually you weren’t a sucker for these kinds of things, but wow did it look amazing. The person who’d really enjoy something like this was probably—

“Jungkook,” you breathe out, confused if you were seeing things because there he was, not too far from where you stood, sitting on a giant rock with his feet dangling, careful to not touch the freezing water. His right hand throwing the small pebbles that were near him to the lake. Not too hard, and not too soft. Clearly in his own world. 

A small smile graces your lips, as you watch him continue, the lake not being the only thing the moonlight was hitting. His glimmering doe shaped eyes focused on the view in front of him, and you could only wonder what had him in such deep thought, but instead not wanting to bother, you slowly began to walk back, careful to not to make any loud noises.

One Step. Two Steps. Three Steps. Crrreaaak.

Mentally, you groan at the sound of the branch breaking, hoping that it wasn’t loud enough for him to hear.

“Y/N?” he says unsurely, his attention snapping towards the sound, squinting while trying to make out your figure from afar. Your tensed shoulders drop in response. Deciding that there wasn’t much you could do, you turn around and walk towards him, feeling a little guilty that you’ve probably interrupted his time alone.

He watches as you make your way towards him, scooting to his left in order to make space for you because unbeknown to you, he was not at all bothered by your presence. In fact, he had just been thinking about you along with a question that had been looming over his head for quite some time. And the fact that you somehow managed to appear in this exact moment, almost as if it was fate, only left him in further awe.

“I thought you were asleep,” you chuckle, gently sitting down on the empty spot next to him, slowly rubbing your slightly cut hands together in an attempt to stay warm.

“I was going to sleep, but,” he pauses, “I just couldn’t,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair, “and well why waste such a good view by being in bed, am I right?,” he laughs before quickly noticing the fresh scar on your hand, “What happened?” he asks, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

You shrug your shoulders in response, “I came to grab some more firewood from Hobi’s car and well long story short, I dropped them and well I got left with this,” you laugh, not taking your tiny injury too seriously.

Opening up your hand to further show him, he carefully examines the pinkish-red scar which was now slightly swollen, sighing in disappointment, “Mm you should’ve gone to go get it disinfected,” he mumbles, slightly shaking his head as he decides that he wasn’t going to lecture you any further, for in the past year he’s learned that even someone as sweet as you, has their own buttons capable of being pushed. 

Having pushed them many, many times before, tonight he just wanted you to feel relaxed and not have to worry about whether he’d say the wrong thing or not. Tonight… well tonight he just wanted for you to seek comfort in his presence, the same way he’d found comfort in yours along the way.

“It doesn’t hurt too much if I’m being honest,” you give him a small reassuring smile, if anything your hands felt more clammy than they did pain. The warm feeling in your chest only expanding to the point where you swore you could feel it at the bottom of your toes. 

Honestly, it was a feeling you found yourself all too familiar with these days, and though you knew what it was, you were also unsure on how to act on it, fearful of ruining the friendship with Jungkook that had gone through several ups and downs this year. And so for you the easiest thing to do was to just avoid thinking about it and avoid talking about it.

But there was no denying that the rush of emotions you’d feel whenever you managed to crack a laugh out of Jungkook to the point where his nose would scrunch so high up that you were sure that those happy days would last forever, or the ticklish butterflies you’d feel in your stomach on movie nights where he’d randomly begin to twirl your hair with his fingers, and the rapid heartbeat you’d feel hitting against your chest after an argument over something so trivial, until of course after several days of the silent treatment, one of you would get over themselves and stubbornly apologize whether it be through words or actions, were nothing but love.

Because even in the good and bad of your friendship, the arguments and the laughs, the tears and the smiles, somehow along the way you had found yourself falling in love with the boy who was nothing more than a stranger a year ago today.

“50 more minutes,” he says under his breath, bringing you back to reality.

Awkwardly you smile, “Yeah…” you breathe, the cold crisp weather causing vapor to come out of your mouth, a sign that you were freezing despite having such a thick sweater on. Jungkook is quick to take notice, offering his own puffy jacket for you to wear, to which you quickly refuse, “Take it, I have a sweater underneath anyway,” he pressures. You find it doubtful that his black cotton turtleneck was going to be sufficient enough for him in this weather. 

You giggle at his sweet gesture, finding it all too endearing, “I’m telling you I’m good,” you laugh, your shivering fingers telling a different story, “Until the clock strikes twelve at least,” you bargain, pushing the sweater in his hand away back towards him, “then I’ll go back to the warm cabin.” 

He looks at you as if unconvinced, but decides to drop it and take your word for it. And if you somehow managed to weasel into staying any longer past 12, then he’d just have to forcefully carry you back to the cabin.

Soon a comfortable silence fills the air, the two of you appreciating not only the view but each other’s presence. How fitting was it that the person you met on New Year’s day last year was going to be the person you ended it with, and begin a whole ‘nother year with.

“Can you believe it’s been one whole year since we’ve met,” he suddenly breaks the silence, almost as if reading your mind. To that you let out a small breathy chuckle, in disbelief yourself. Time had gone both so slow and fast this year, it was fascinating really, how you could be both so aware and unaware that someone’s very own existence was beginning to take such a special place in your heart.

“It feels like,” you pause momentarily, a small gentle smile appearing on your face as you remembered your first encounter with Jungkook, not knowing that it’d only be the beginning to the originally rocky relationship you had with him, “It feels like it was only yesterday.”

December 31, 2018.

New Years Eve.

11:00 PM.

“Only one hour left until the new year everybody!” the DJ shouts onto his mic and over the blasting music of the party you were currently at, “Make sure you grab that special somebody before the clock strikes 12!”

“You heard him y/n, go grab a special somebody,” Hobi teases, the two of you currently sitting at the bar acting as mere spectators to the group of partygoers that were currently having the time of their life on the dance floor.  

For both you and Hobi, this type of setting was a little… how could you describe it … out of place for the two of you, but after weeks of begging from both Jimin and Taehyung and a little added pressure from Namjoon and Yoongi, the two of you now found yourselves here drinking the final night of 2018 away.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny,” you playfully roll your eyes, grabbing the shot glass full of tequila and downing the surprisingly smooth liquor. Hobi follows suit and chugs down his own. A squirmful look on his face following soon after. “Maybe if I drink enough, I’ll find myself dancing just like them,” you laugh, glancing at your group of friends who were currently acting as the life of the party, Jimin busting out what he calls his most “exclusive” moves.

Hobi, unlike him, remains silent which catches your attention. His attention was now on his phone, his face now appearing both red and stressed out. Nosily, you stretch your neck and attempt to peak at what could possibly have your roommate so worried, but Hobi’s quick to catch you. Immediately he pulls his phone towards his chest.

You gasp in dramatic fashion because one, your roommate wasn’t one to keep secrets from you, and two, well you were beginning to feel a little tipsy. “Now what could Jung Hoseok be hiding,” your words come out slightly slurred, a sign that the only thing you should be drinking from this point onward was some water.

“I’m not hiding anything,” he’s quick to respond, back on his phone but this time keeping it out of your reach, his fingers quickly tapping against the glass screen. You could only wonder who it was that had him typing as if his life depended on it.

“Come onnnnn,” you sing, playfully pushing his shoulder, “It can’t be that interesting, considering you don’t do much,” you pout. He looks up from his phone for a moment, but only to shoot you a glare, excusing your teasing with the fact that you were barely holding onto the state of being tipsy and on the brink of being considered drunk.

Hobi’s eyes quickly read the most recent text he’s received, rolling his eyes at whatever it was before sighing in distress, “You really wanna know?” eagerly you nod your head yes, “Well I was hoping he would be here so I could introduce you to him,” he gently shakes his head, clearly disappointed by tonight’s outcome.

“Ooooo who's the special person,” you quirk your brows up and down, but Hobi’s quick to shoot the idea down.

“Oh no, no, it’s not like that,” he laughs, “this person is a..” he pauses, trying to look for the best word to describe his relationship with said person, “Mm I guess we can call him a childhood friend,” he hums, “and well he’s been going through a bit of a tough time right now and well long before me and you ever met, he went out of his way to help me and well I think this time it’s only right that I’m there for him.” you tilt your head, slightly confused as to where this was going, “And sooo,” he sings, “I was hoping that by bringing you here and having you in a fun mood, that I could ask if he could stay at our place for a couple of months…”

You remain silent, Hobi’s words processing through your head one by one, an effect of the alcohol currently running through your system, “Only until he gets used to being in Seoul again, and finds some kind of solid ground here of course,” Hobi throws it in, worried that your silence meant rejection.

“Oh…” you mumble, thinking to yourself for a moment. Hobi’s friend huh? Well you and Hobi were like two peas in a pod, meaning whoever was a friend of his, was a friend of yours, point blank. You trusted that whoever this friend was, and whatever predicament they were in, chose to go to Hobi for the sole reason that Hobi was one of, if not the kindest person you’ve ever met, and was one of the very rare kind of people who made sure that whatever it was a person was going through, that they found a way to overcome it. And well you also assume that Hobi was going to take care of this person’s expenses … right?

You smile once you reach a decision, “Of course they can stay Hobi,” you laugh, a little offended that he thought you’d say no, but glad that he asked anyway.

Immediately Hobi breathes a sigh of relief, glad that he got that out of the way, “But he’s using your bathroom, make sure you tell him that!” you throw in, not wanting the order in which you had your things arranged to be touched with.

Hobi laughs in response, “I’ll make sure to tell Jungkook that,” so that was his name, Jungkook. Not too much of a common name in Korea, interesting, you think.

“So when do I get to meet our new temporary roommate?” you ask in eagerness, curiosity a driving force.

Hobi sighs recalling his text from not too long ago, “Well he was supposed to come here and celebrate tonight, giving you two a chance to meet beforehand, but,” he rereads the message on his phone, hoping the three bubbles would pop up at some point before scoffing and ultimately giving up, locking the screen, “I’m not entirely too sure if he’s going to make it.”

Shrugging your shoulders, you get up from the bar stool and stretch out your arms, yawning in turn, “Mm well I guess I’ll just meet him on move in day,” you joke around, glancing at the time on your phone, “but for now I need to go pee before the countdown, there’s only like 10 minutes left,” you exclaim, surprised by how fast the hour had gone by. Hobi nods in response, getting up himself and making his way to the dance floor, joining your group of friends.

And so you begin to walk towards the ladies’ room, humming yourself a tune over the EDM music that was currently close to rupturing your eardrum. How people liked this kind of music was something you’d never understand, but to each their own right? Luckily you weren’t as drunk as you thought you were, the effects of the tequila only acting as something quick and not long lasting. Now in more of a buzzed state than “drunk”.

“MmmMmmMmm,” you hum, pushing the door of the ladies room and making your way into one of the stalls. But what you saw once you opened the restroom stall was … um …. it was safe to say that you were shocked at the sight in front of you. Shocked to the point where you couldn’t even properly react, not even a shriek coming out of your mouth. 

Instead you just stood there, wide eyed, at the sight of a brown haired woman on her knees, with her hair in a messy ponytail giving um … oral … on what you could only describe as a very very handsome man.

Now if you were to ask if he was really all that into it? Well it seemed a bit unclear considering how the two of you were now having a complete stare down, a shocked expression on your face while he had a stoic one on his, until slowly a small smirk began to appear on his face.

He scoffs before saying, “Enjoying the view?” and with that you finally shriek and quickly close the stall dorm, practically running out the door because not only were you embarrassed by the situation that just happened but still in complete shock.

“Oh my God,” you breathe out, leaning your head against the wall in an attempt to process what just happened. And once you did, you facepalmed yourself in frustration, mad at the reaction you had because God was that embarrassing. 

You had acted as if you’d never seen, hell, as if you’d never done the dirty with someone, but for some reason walking in on someone receiving their um... pleasure… had you feeling like a kid who didn’t know about the birds and the bees. And his little comment only added salt to the wound, he probably thought you were enjoying the view with how long you had stayed there standing like an idiot!

“Start grabbing your partners everyone because the countdown is happening in exactly three minutes everybody! Three minutes till we enter 2019!” Three minutes?! You had to find your friends quick! Pushing off what happened to the back of your mind, you speed walk back to the main sector of the club, looking through the crowd of people in hopes of finding at least one of your friends.

“Where could he b—Ah!” you impulsively squeal once you spot Hobi along with the rest of your friends, quickly making your way towards them, Hobi spotting you as well.

“There you are! What took you so long?” Hobi asks, but just as you’re about to answer, a voice from behind interrupts.

“I caught traffic, and well parking was a bitch,” the voice, all too familiar, sends a feeling of panic through your body because turning to face the owner of said voice, was just as surprising as the scene you walked in on only moments ago.

“Y/N! This is Jungkook, Jungkook this is Y/N, my roommate I was telling you about,” Hobi shouts over the music, and all you can do is stare at the man in front of you wide eyed. Your mouth slightly agape in shock, while Jungkook on the other hand has a teasing grin on his face, as only the two of you knew what had transpired in the ladies’ restroom. He sticks his hand out for you to shake and you notice the small number of tattoos that cover his hand.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we got one minute on the clock! Start saying your goodbyes to 2018, and get ready to say hello to 2019!” The DJ shouts excitedly, lowering the music for the countdown that’s about to begin.

“Earth to Y/N?” Hobi says waving his hand in front of you, having left Jungkook with his hand open for quite some time now.

“Oh,” you say, bringing yourself back to reality and shaking his hand in return, but the moment you do he brings you in for a small friendly hug, “What a small world,” he whispers into your ear, winking at you as he pulls away.

Hobi, unaware of how you two originally met, rolls his eyes, “Hey, hey hey, she’s our roommate not some girl you can go messing around with,” Hobi says, “Now come on you two, there’s only 15 seconds left!” gently he shoves the two of you towards your groups of friends who were now wearing their New Year’s props which included giant sunglasses, feathered boa’s, and more.

“In 10, 9, 8 , 7, 6…” everyone begins to scream the numbers of the countdown, 2018 clearly leaving with a bang, “5,4,3!” you suddenly feel an arm wrap over your shoulder, and like in the movies a part of you expected it to be the man you just met, but thankfully enough it was Jimin who was clearly drunk, excited, and in clear need of catching his balance. But of course that didn’t mean someone didn’t have their eyes on you from afar…

“2, 1! Happy New Year!” The fog machine erupts and the strings of golden confetti begin to fall from the club’s ceiling. Cheers to the New Year.

Clutching your stomachs in laughter, the two of you poke fun at the recollection of that fatal first encounter, “I really walked in on you getting,” you heave in such a way that you’re incapable of completing the sentence, genuine laughter filling the air.

“Hey, you were the one who stood there like you’d never seen a—” playfully you push his shoulder before even he gets the chance to finish his own sentence.

“Like what you see?” you exaggeratingly mimic his voice from that night, lowering your voice by several octaves. He cries out in laughter, tears now forming in the corners of his eyes, feeling cringe at his choice of words from a year ago today. Who did he think he was? “The woman didn’t even bother to look up! Clearly you had her enamored in what she was doing!” you tease, and in response he wraps his arms around you in a playful manner, telling you that he didn’t want to hear any more.

“What even happened when I left?” you ask, curious to know the answer considering you only knew what you did afterwards.

“Well I overheard the DJ yell about the countdown so I had to cut it short, and well we exchanged numbers. I mean it wasn’t at all a drunk hookup or anything, I was sober, she was sober. I think I went out with her once afterward, but,” he shrugs his shoulders, “It was just meant to be a one time thing I guess,” he mumbles, shaking his head in slight shame and embarrassment. See a year ago, hookups like that were the norm for him, but a year ago he was also nothing like the person he was now. Was it for the better? He’d like to think so.

Shaking your head, you mumble, “To think our relationship would only get worse,” you stare at him accusingly, “no thanks to you!” He stays silent, not bothering to deny the accusation.

“Hey you didn’t make it any easier!” he huffs, “Do you need help with that? What’s that? I don’t think that should be placed there,” he mocks your questions from that day many months ago, move in day.  

“I was just trying to be nice! Make things less awkward, you know?” you feel your cheeks get red, now seeing how pushy you had probably been.

He scoffs, “No you just didn’t want your things invaded with mine,” it was now your turn to stay silent.

“Mm,” you hum.

January 2019.

“I don’t think that should go there,” you whisper to Hobi, watching Jungkook place more of his things around your apartment, secretly hoping it was the last batch. 

This had to at least be your 15th complaint today, but what bothered Jungkook more was that not only wouldn’t you tell it to his face, but they’d be said in such a superficial tone. He didn’t care if you were trying to be “nice”, it sounded fake and prissy and he’d prefer it if you could just shut up for one moment. People like you were just so… annoying, and to think he thought you were cute.

“Do you need help?” your voice interrupts his train of thought, your figure now looming over his shoulder, and attempting to look at the content of his cardboard boxes. Harshly, he closes the flaps, momentarily scowling at you before taking a deep breath and putting on his best face.

“No it’s fine, I’m almost done but thank you though,” he says, now his turn to be superficial.

“Oh well just let me know if you need anything,” you smile, as unbeknownst to Jungkook, you really were just this nice of a person. Yeah, things may still be a little awkward on your part because of what happened on New Years Eve, you of course having to pep talk yourself several times in the mirror this morning, but to you it was important you established some kind of friendship with your new roommate. Even if he wasn’t going to be here for long.

“I’m gonna go get us takeout,” Hobi announces, not only tired but hungry from having helped Jungkook carry his stuff upstairs to the apartment floor all day, because out of all days in the year, today the elevator just had to be out of service. “I’ll be back,” he says, grabbing his keys from the counter and making his way out. Leaving you and Jungkook to yourselves.

An awkward silence fills the living room air, Jungkook currently taking a small break on the long couch, while you sit on the short one, fidgeting with your fingers. Maybe you should make conversation? It wouldn’t hurt right?  

“So Jungkook,” you begin nervously, he looks up from his phone and places his attention on you, a stoic expression on his face, “um..”, you mentally scold yourself for not already having a question prepared before speaking, “where are you from?”

Furrowing his eyebrows, he scoffs, “Korea?” he says, as if stating the obvious.

Feeling flustered, you reiterate your question, “No I mean like where did you move from, you know…” your voice lowers at the end.

He sighs before responding, his attention now back on his phone, “I was in the states for a while, but I’m originally from Busan.”

Immediately you light up, seeing this as an opportunity to further the conversation, “Oh I have a friend from there, I don’t know if you met him on New Years, but his name is Jimin!” you excitedly ramble, “He was the one with the dirty blonde hair, black turtleneck, sparkly jac—”

“Yeah I know,” Jungkook rudely interrupts, now getting up from the couch and walking towards his new room, “Let me know when Hobi’s back, yeah? I’m freaking starving,” and with that he enters his room and shuts the door, leaving you slightly taken back.  

“Will do,” you quietly mumble to yourself, a little hurt to say the least by his cold action. Shrugging it off, you excuse it by assuming he was just grumpy. You were sure that he'd be more open to having conversation after settling his things in.

That night after cleaning a couple of your own things, and eating the food Hobi had brought, you remained in bed and on your laptop, Youtube surfing the rest of the night away. That was of course until you heard the sound of your restroom door opening and closing. Right away you get up, already knowing what transpired, but wanting to see the mess that was most likely made with your own two eyes.

Walking into your restroom, you’re immediately hit with the scent of your strawberry shampoo and lavender body wash mixed in with the foggy steam that was created, a result of an extremely hot shower. The sink, a travesty to look at, was spilled with water all over and you did not even want to get started on the “manly” products that were now side to side with yours behind the mirror’s cabinet. Meanwhile, your hair brush was covered in strands of dark brown hair that clearly weren’t yours. But the final straw? Finding the cap of your $100 dollar serum halfly screwed closed with remnants dripping down the bottle.

Shutting the cabinet, you practically stomp out of your restroom and immediately towards Jungkook’s door. Raising your hand to knock, you take in a deep breath, reminding yourself to be calm. Maybe Hobi didn’t tell him anything about using your restroom. This was only going to be a one time thing until you cleared it out with him.

Gently, you knock on his door, patiently awaiting his response. You could hear the sound of muffled music playing in the background, meaning it was probably much louder inside the room than out. Raising your hand to knock again, the door swings open just as you’re about to tap against the black wooden door. A shirtless Jungkook with your baby blue towel wrapped around his waist.

“Yes?” he smugly says, your cheeks almost an embarrassing shade of crimson. It’s hard to not look at what’s in front of you, but you manage.

“Oh um—” you fluster your words, “um —” you gulp before finding your words again, “I was hoping Hobi had told you about the bathroom situation…but um..I guess he didn’t so um yeah, my bathroom is only for me to us—”

“He did,” he cuts you off,  huffing a small laugh.

“He what?” you asked, unsure of what he was referring to, or at least acting dense about it because you did not want to believe that the shirtless boy in front of you completely disregarded the simple rule he was supposed to follow.

“He told me about the whole bathroom rearrangement, buuuuttt,” he teases, “your restroom has the bigger shower and well add strawberry scented shampoo and lavender body wash into the mix and honestly it was a done deal for me,” he stretches his arms above himself, dramatically yawning, his abdomen stretching out in such a way that the towel on his waist was barely clinging onto its dear life.

“But—But—”

“But what?” he cocks his head to the side, amused by your panicked behavior, “It’s also the closest one to me so,” he shrugs his shoulders, “Well if that’s all you came here for then, goodnight,” he winks at you before turning around and slamming the door once again.

You stand there bewildered by what just happened, your mouth agape in shock. Did that really just happen or? Because if it did then he practically just told you that he didn’t give one single fuck.

Making your way back to your room, you’re unsure on how to feel about everything that just happened because sure you’ve encountered your fair share of rude people before but to live with one was a completely different story. And Jungkook wasn’t only rude, he was the smug kind, the “I know I’m good looking, so I can treat anyone the way I want to because my good looks will let me get away with it,” type of rude. Was it a little specific? Yes. But it’s true. Honestly, it was the type of person you thought only existed in rom-coms but clearly they exist in real life. Jungkook being a prime example of such an attitude.

“Just a couple of months,” you breathe out, throwing yourself onto your bed in exasperation, “until he gets settled down in Seoul,” you repeat Hobi’s words from New Years Eve to yourself, sighing before allowing slumber to sweep over you.  

“So much for a couple of months,” you tease Jungkook, nudging his shoulder a little bit because a year later and he was still your roommate, and ironically it was you and Hobi who practically begged him to stay.

He scrunches his nose, “ I don’t see you complaining.”

You raise your hands in defense, “I’m just kiddinnn,” you sing, “What would I do without your buttermilk pancakes huh?” you grin at him, his eyes rolling playfully in return.

“Is that all you want from me? Pancakes!” he chuckles, “Ah I should’ve known,” he shakes his head. The two of you giggle at each other’s banter, his high pitched laugh truly infectious.

“What do you think y/n and Jungkook from the beginning of 2019 would think of this scene right now?” you ask, knowing the answer.

Jungkook ponders at the question for a moment before letting out a deep breath and answering, “Mm I think they’d have a hard time believing what’s in front of them, at least I would. I think you would be happy to see that your goal in becoming friends with your new roommate worked out just fine. It just took a bit of time was all…”

February 2019.

To say that you were struggling to live with Jungkook would probably be the biggest understatement of the year. From the constant use of your things without permission, to the blatant rude remarks he’d constantly throw at you, to the days where he’d be completely cold to you and the rest of the world, and don’t even let you get started on the constant women he’d bring over. You’d have to invest in some ear plugs soon if it kept going at the rate it was because at this point you knew Jungkook liked it um … rough … so to speak.  

You found yourself asking Hobi, “Has he settled down yet?” wayyyy too often. Sometimes it felt like Jungkook was purposely baiting you to stoop to his level, like as if he was itching to play a game of cat and mouse. And so for you to continuously suck it up and put on a fake smile for him, only made him do more things to bother you. 

He was like a mosquito pestering you at the back of your neck. He wouldn’t stop until he got his fangs, or whatever it was that mosquitos used to bite, into you. For what reason? You truly did not know, for you have been nothing but nice to him since the day he moved in.

You often wondered how Hobi could put up with it, you mean Jungkook wasn’t exactly mean to Hobi, but he did throw remarks and eye rolls here and there. The best way to describe it was that Jungkook was treating you two like punching bags, and a part of you wanted to know why? Not only why, but where? Where is Jungkook from? Why was he in the states? What made him come back? Why can’t he go back to Busan? Does he have family? How does Hobi even know the dude? Why does Jungkook wake up with a stick up his ass every morning? Why was Jungkook angry at the world and when did he decide that he was going to take it out on you two, especially you. Honestly you were unsure if you’d ever get answers to your questions, but it wouldn’t matter in a couple of weeks when he was gone, right?

Luckily though the only times you really did see Jungkook was on weekends, and even then if you weren’t out doing some nightly festivities then he was. Or while you went grocery shopping he was working out or something, Not to mention that weekdays you worked AM shifts at your job while Jungkook, who had been hooked up with a job at one of the coffee shop’s Hobi managed, worked afternoon to night shifts. 

This meant that whenever you were going to work, Jungkook was catching up on his sleep and vice versa. But occasionally when you two did bump paths, let’s say going to your restroom, he definitely used those opportunities to try and get under your skin. Each and every time, failing to do so.

But today something was different. You weren’t sure if it was because as you were driving to work, coffee spilled onto your shirt at a speed bump because someone stole your favorite coffee thermo which had a securable lid. This then caused you to be 30 minutes late which then resulted in you receiving your first ever official warning. Or maybe it was because you had to not only stay an extra 30 minutes, but an extra hour because someone’s late night hook up the night prior kept you up and completely unfocused. You personally had chosen to go to sleep than stay up and listen to some girl screaming about how much deeper she wanted it while trying to type up your monthly report. And then of course who could forget the cherry on top? Coming back home to that same certain someone, and having to deal with the accusations that you stole his banana milk.

“I didn’t steal anything,” you mumble, warming up the japchae Hobi had left for you on the stove. Jungkook gets up and opens the fridge door, dramatically showing you the empty spot where his banana milk was usually at.

“Well someone did, and Hobi says it wasn’t him and well I trust Hobi so,” Jungkook shrugs, looking at you with a deadpan look on his face. Sadly, Hobi probably asleep already, tired from what you assumed was a long day of work and the thing about Hobi was once he went to sleep there was no waking him up. That boy could sleep through the world ending, “I don’t exactly think it’s beneath you to steal my things…” he says, each one of his words dripping with venom.

You?! Stealing his things?! When he’s the one who's been taking your things left and right?? If he had caught you on any other day, you probably would’ve shrugged his accusations off, hell you might’ve even taken the blame and offer to buy him a new pack. But right now, you could feel your blood almost boiling. How dare he!

“I,” your voice rises, completely ready to go off on the boy, until you hear a door slam, Hobi coming out completely groggy and clearly annoyed.

“Will you two just,” his voice is heavy, sighing in frustration, “Y/N just go and eat in your room,” he says, feeling like a parent to two fighting siblings.

“But—” you’re about to fight your case, until Hobi interrupts.

“Y/N…” he looks at you in despair, his tone a clear indicator that he wasn’t mad, he wasn’t annoyed, he was just tired. You grab your food from the stove, having to pass by Jungkook as you leave the kitchen.

“Was little miss saccharine finally going to pop?” he scoffs, the two of you momentarily having a stare down, until quickly you compose yourself, the fake smile he knew all too well back on your face.

“Goodnight Jungkook,” you say, before making your way back into your room, peeved that Hobi scolded you and not Jungkook, that was until you heard the sound of muffled voices through your closed door. 

If you wanted to get a better listen you were going to have to crack open the door without making a single sound, something that would be embarrassing if you managed to fail. Deciding that you were too nosy for your own good, you thankfully succeed in doing so, their voices sounding much clearer to your ears.    

“You know she’s having a bad day, and yet—” you hear the sound of Hobi flapping his arms in despair, “and yet you still make her your target of the day,” he says.

“What are you talking about?” Jungkook asks, his voice telling you that he was ready to go on the defense.

“Jungkook let’s not act dense,” Hobi says, “What are we in preschool? You have some crush, and think being mean will get you your way with her?” Hobi accuses, which Jungkook immediately denies.

“She wishes,” he mumbles in return, “I treat her like I treat everyone,” he clarifies, almost sounding proud.

“No you treat her worse,” Hobi adds, “if you’re not giving her some backhanded compliment then you’re completely giving her the cold shoulder. I probably only get half of what she does, and even I’m getting fed up with it, so I could only imagine how she feels,” he sighs, “but Y/N is a very very nice person, and since that first day I met her in till even today, I have never seen her get mad at anyone, but you my friend are,” he pauses, trying to think of the best way to describe it, “well you’re pushing buttons that I’ve never seen pushed.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes, “Yeah because her whole act of “I’m miss goody two shoes and can never even hurt a fly” act is such bullshit,” he drops his air quotes, “a grown ass woman acting like telling someone off will add some kind of dent to the image I’m sure has taken her a very long time to build.”

With every word he says, you could feel your stomach drop further and further down. The lump in your throat desperate to be let out. “She probably has you and the rest of the world fooled, but I can see right through it. It’s people like her who will lie to your face, and tell you everything you want to hear because they don’t want to be painted out as some bad guy. And let me tell you people like that are much worse than me because at least I have the balls to tell it like it is to someone’s face rather than protect my own ego, ” he finishes his rant, the veins on his neck faintly popping.

Hobi remains silent for a moment, taking in everything Jungkook said, then pushing his hair back with his hand, an indicator that he was stressed, “Look man, I’m letting you stay here so you can get back on your feet, and because you didn’t want go back to Busan,” he sighs, knowing he’s stepping on broken glass, “I don’t know what happened over there in the states, and I’m not gonna ask about it because I’m sure you’ll talk about it the day you’re ready to,” he pauses, “But what I do know is that you’re right, Y/N does fake her persona from time to time…” you feel your heart drop, while Jungkook’s face goes smug. That is until Hobi continued with what he was saying, “But the same way I’m not gonna ask you about why you came back to Korea a completely cold person, I’m not gonna question why she acts the way it does, especially because it's not hurting anyone.”

“Of course you wo—”

Hobi cuts him off before he can continue, “Let me finish,” he sternly says, his brows knitted, “But as long she keeps letting her feelings build up the way I’m assuming they are, and you keep acting the way you are now then—” he sighs, “There’s going to be a day where the water in the pot is going to boil over and well I don’t wanna be here when it happens,” his presses his lips together, shaking his head at the mere idea, “All I ask for Jungkook is that you try to be a little nicer to her, just for once. I think the two of you would actually be pleasantly surprised at how much in common you have,” Jungkook tries his best to bite his tongue, seeing just how tired his friend looked, “Maybe not even nice to her, just decent. Can you do me that favor?”

Jungkooks lets out a huff of air before silently nodding his head yes, Hobi giving him a small smile in return, “Thanks Jungkook, now I can actually go to sleep instead of hearing you two bicker,” he says before tapping on his shoulder and going back into his room. You, on the other hand, quickly wipe any droplets that fall from your eyes, closing the door before Hobi could notice the crack that was there.

Jungkook sits in the kitchen chair for a while, reflecting on the lecture Hobi just gave him. Hating that the feeling of guilt was beginning to seep in because unlike Hobi, before his little lecture, Jungkook knew that there had been a pair of ears listening in and he knew you could hear every word that came out of his mouth as your little attempt to crack open the door wasn’t as slick as you thought it was ….he just hadn’t cared.

“Just be decent,” Jungkook whispers to himself before turning off the kitchen lights and heading to bed. The two of you lying in your own beds at night, a lot on each other's mind.

“And to think Hobi ended up predicting everything that was going to happen,” Jungkook shakes his head, remembering his friend’s warning to him.

“That’s our Hobi,” you laugh, “always one step ahead, well when he wants to be of course,” you add, a small chuckle coming out of Jungkook’s mouth in response.

“You think he knew what he was doing the whole time?” Jungkook asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Like in terms of allowing everything to play out, you know? Because if he wanted to he could’ve kicked me out from the beginning…” you ponder on his question for a bit, thinking back to Hobi’s role in this whole tale.

“Mm I think he knew but was probably unsure the whole time, you know? Unsure if things would work out the way he set em up to be, I don’t know if he’ll ever tell us but…” you pause, “I think he knew what he was doing from the moment he told you that you could live with us, and I definitely think it was bullshit on his part when he said that he didn’t know what happened to you in the states,” you laugh because you could picture Hobi doing his own research on Google late at night, “So I guess he just knew that there were two people in his life in desperate need of a…” you look for the right word to describe it.

“Reality check?” Jungkook fills in for you, but you shake your head no.

“Mm,” you hum, “No, I dont think thats the way to put it, hmm, how about this…” you pause one last time before continuing, wanting to make sure you said everything correctly, “Hobi had two pieces to a puzzle that needed to connect together in order to complete said puzzle, but after lots of tosses and turns in their box well the two pieces just didn’t fit together anymore. In fact they refused to even try and fit with another, deciding that they were going to live with their new flaps and dents, and ignoring the fact that in order to complete the puzzle they needed to come together,” you let out a small laugh, “and so Hobi took a gamble, and decided to leave the pieces alone for the time being, in hopes that maybe, just maybe with a little bit more tosses and turns they’d realize that by coming together they’d be left with nothing but a beautiful image to show,” a warm smile appears on your face, “Yeah I think I like how that sounds, what do you think?” you turn to face Jungkook who was staring at you with his doe-eyed expression, completely speechless.

“Or was I too wordy?” you laugh, “I reached didn’t I?” you begin to ramble, “Ah I really need to—” suddenly you feel a cold finger pressed against your lips, Jungkook sounding a tiny “shh” soon after.

“I think it was perfect,” Jungkook softly whispers, what could only be described as a loving smile on his face. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear, feeling your cold face get warmed up due to the heat that was rising from your cheeks. Reminding you of a memory from only months ago…

March 2019.

“Remind me why I’m going again?” you walk out of the hallway and into the living room, heels clicking against the wooden floor.

“Because you are tonight’s designated driver,” Hobi reminds you, “and well we all don’t fit in Seokjin’s mini cooper so there’s that,” he laughs. You sigh in return, looking at your reflection for the 100th time tonight. “Jungkook, you almost ready?” Hobi shouts from the living room, not keen on his friend’s habit of always getting ready at the last minute.

Tonight was one of, if not the only, rare occasions that both you and Jungkook would be at an outing together, and even then Hobi was always with you two, acting as the facilitator. Jungkook and you usually parted your separate ways the moment you’d arrive somewhere, especially at parties. And so today you didn’t really expect anything different. 

It had been about a month since Hobi’s little lecture to Jungkook, and in a way it did have some kind of positive effect on Jungkook. These days he was now much more quiet and reserved, and honestly you preferred the cold shoulder over the constant attitude so you were definitely not complaining.

You were even surprised this morning when you found your bathroom products to be completely replaced by new bottles, including your serum! Of course they had been slightly used, meaning Jungkook wasn’t going to let go of his grip on them just yet, but at least it meant that he had the decency to realize that if he was going to be using them all the time, then it was only right that he occasionally paid for them. 

Even last week when you heard him mumble a small, “that was good, thank you,” after making gyeran-mari’s for breakfast, you had to look at Hobi for confirmation that it really happened. Hell, he had even stopped constantly bringing women over, instead beginning to work out more often as you would now hear his grunts come from doing sit ups than from doing um… yeah. It looked like he even had a knack for boxing because you soon noticed how he’d come back home with hands wrapped in bandages or his gloves stringing along his duffel bag. Honestly, it was a little hot, but you’d rather die before admitting that to anyone.

“Ah I’m done, I’m done,” a voice comes out the hallway, Jungkook balancing on his right foot in a rush to put on his left shoe. Tonight he was dressed a little differently than his usual self, replacing his usual black attire and black combat boots for a more club friendly look of ripped blue jeans, black ankle boots, and a black fitted t-shirt. Of course not straying too far from his personal style. The new tattoo he had gotten recently was also in clear view tonight, his sleeve coming along quite nice in your opinion. He had recently even gotten his hair permed, allowing it to grow out longer than what you were used to seeing. It was crazy what a difference hair could make because it definitely made him look … better, in your eyes at least. 

All this change on his part, honestly made you feel a little dull, but that’d be something to dwell on for another day. For now, you just wanted to get tonight over with. The faster you got there, the quicker you could leave, and the earlier you could be in bed.  

“You took a whole ass hour for this?” Hobi eyes Jungkook up and down. Jungkook is quick to shoot him an offended look, while you on the other hand are struggling to suppress a laugh, “I’m not saying you look bad, in fact you look amazing, but this should not take you an hour!” Jungkook rolls his eyes, combing a hand through his hair.

“Are we going to get going or what?” he says, his cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment.

Once you all arrived, you were quick to meet up with the rest of your friends, everyone having pitched in for bottle service. Jungkook, who had become pretty cool with the rest of everyone, sat between Yoongi and Namjoon, all three of them laughing at God knows what. The bottle they had bought almost halfway done. 

You on the other hand, were just watching everyone, the only person besides yourself who wasn’t drunk was Seokjin, and even then he was too busy with his new girlfriend to pay you any attention. Not that you really minded considering she really was a kind person and well who could blame Seokjin for being head over heels. They even shared the same humor, something that was quite rare to find.

You weren’t sure if it was because tonight the club seemed extra packed, or maybe the dress you were wearing was feeling a little too tight or maybe it was the stench of all alcohol getting to you but something definitely fell off. And you did not like it one bit.

“Hey I’m gonna go out back and get some fresh air outside,” you tell Hobi over the music, giving you a small nod in acknowledgement, the boy was clearly very drunk. The moment you stepped out, you definitely did feel better, the crispy fresh air outside almost making you feel as if you were breathing for the first time. That was until you heard the sound of someone arguing.

“I saw you dancing with her! Stop trying to gaslight me into thinking you weren’t!” a woman screams, very much in distress by who you assumed was her boyfriend, “God, I knew I should’ve listened to my mom, you are a pig! And I deserve a man who's going to—

“What did you just say?” he grabs her by the arm, his atrocious grip surely going to cause her a bruise later on.

“Let go of me!” she cries, as he then grabs her by the hair, ready to toss her to the floor and do whatever else he wanted to do with her. You feel your breathing become heavier, watching the scene unfold in front of you, unsure of what to do. You were scared and you didn’t know how to defend yourself, let alone someone else. But you also knew that God forbid you were ever in that situation, you wouldn't want someone turning a blind eye on you, so you did what was only right.

“Hey!” you scream while walking towards the couple, catching the man’s attention, “Let go of her before I—”

“Before you what?” he lets go of her hair, now walking towards you as well. The woman watches you with shaky eyes, having never guessed that her savior would be a woman in black string heels and a face that for the most part was not at all intimidating.

You reach into your purse, hoping to get a feel for either your taser or pocket knife, but of course, of fucking course, on all days of the year it was no where to be found. Nonetheless, you muster up your courage and respond, “Before I call security,” you say, trying your best to sound confident.

He laughs, dramatically looking around to show you that no one around was here to help, “Anyone ever teach you to mind your fucking business, like how a woman should,” you gulp, almost losing balance while taking a step back as he only gets closer, “Huh?! Anyone every fucking teach you that?” he closes in on you, your back soon hitting the wall that was behind you.

“Just leave her alone!” the woman screams in hysteria.

“You stay the fuck out of it! You’re the whole reason she’s in this mess,” he mutters, his words completely slurred and his breath reeking like alcohol. You almost feel like vomiting at the accidental whiff you take because wow was this man just disgusting.

“See maybe if you would’ve just gone about your day, you wouldn’t be here right now,” he makes a ticking sound with his mouth, mocking you, “but” he sighs, “I guess whores just have to stick with each other, huh?” he grabs you by the scalp of your hair, this time not hesitating to throw you to the ground.

“Oh my—” the woman screams, panic flowing through her veins.

“Go!” you yell at her, giving her the chance to escape even if it meant sacrificing your own wellbeing. She hesitates for a moment before running, the sound of her heels tapping against the pavement was one of the last things you could hear before the ringing in your ears became all too much. 

You look at your hands for a moment, the stinging feeling almost unbearable as they had taken most of the impact of the fall, along with your knees. A part of you hoped he had left, that he had somehow magically disappeared or that you’d wake up to find that this was nothing more than a nightmare. But it wasn’t until you felt the grip of his hand on your hair again, that you’d come to realize the reality of your situation and that there was absolutely no one to help you.

The man lifts up his free hand, building power for the punch he was preparing to throw, as you could only throw your arms in front yourself in an attempt to minimize the impact of the punch. By now tears were falling from freely your eyes, small whimpers and sniffles coming out of fear. The final words you hear being spat from his mouth were, “you stupid bitch,” and in your head you count to three, waiting for the feeling of his fist against your face. But it never came.

Instead you feel the release of his hand on your scalp, and when you open your eyes you find him on the ground, not completely knocked out but he might as well be with just how out of it he looked. And though you weren’t drunk, you almost felt as if you were because absolutely everything around you was overlapping, hardly able to see anything in clear focus. But what you could make out was that there was a figure, and by the build you assume was a man, now sitting over the drunkard, throwing several punches at him. His goal was either to knock the man out or make sure he suffered every way possible before knocking him out.  

You stand there for a moment in shock as you hear the person’s voice, a voice that was all too familiar, “I dare you to fucking lay a hand on her again, I fucking dare you!” Jungkook yells, throwing another punch at the man, “Who the fuck do you think you are?” slowly your vision becomes clearer as you wipe away the tears that had been blocking your vision, and soon you realize if Jungkook kept going at the rate he was, the man was going to be killed.

Quickly you run towards Jungkook, attempting to grab his right arm before he swings again, “Jungkook stop!” you yell, but instead he pushes your arm away, too caught up in his rage to think straight. The drunk man looked as if he was barely holding on, blood now all over his face. “I said stop!” you yell at the top of your lungs, the veins on your neck popping. Jungkook, panting, looks up at you, momentarily stopping. “Just stop,” you cry, wanting this nightmare to be over.

Jungkook looks at the barely conscious man one more time, pulling him by the collar of his shirt so that he’d get a good look of him, “If I ever see you again, I won’t hesitate to—”

“Jungkook,” you stop him from finishing his sentence.

He sighs, “Just be glad she’s here because scum like you deserve to fucking rot,” he says, letting go of the man’s collar and allowing his head to hit the pavement. He gets up from his position and begins to pat his black shirt of any dirt, catching his breath along the way. “You okay?” he asks, intensely staring at you.

But before you could respond, a voice screams, “Hey!” the two of you look up at said voice, only to find a security guard with a flashlight in his hand and his walky talky on the other.

Jungkook quickly grabs you by the hand, causing you to wince at the sudden touch, “Come on,”  he says, pulling you to follow him.

He leads you back to the parking lot, confusion evidently on your face. It wasn’t until you turned back to find several security guards following after you that everything began to click together, panic now flowing through your veins. Hurriedly, you grab Hobi’s keys from your purse and unlock the door, your heart beating out of your chest.

Jungkook quickly hops in the passenger seat, his head throbbing from the amount of drinks he’s had, watching as you struggle to put the key in the ignition, clearly in a state of anxiousness. He yanks the keys from your hands and places them in himself, “Now drive!” he shouts, causing you to step ferociously on the gas pedal. Burning tire as you race off the parking lot.  

“God my head is fucking killing me,” Jungkook complains, his blood stained hands resting on his temple. By now the two of you were heading back home, Jungkook having texted Hobi through your phone that he was going to have to get a ride from Seokjin. For the situation you two were just in had required an immediate escape.

You on the other hand were driving in complete silence, still in a state of shock of what just happened. Jungkook having to constantly remind you that you were driving, several instances of you zoning out at a stop light happening way too often for his liking.

“I am way too drunk for this shit,” he mutters under his breath, the reality of what just happened beginning to kick in. The queasy feeling in his stomach became more and more unbearable with every turn you took. And don’t even get him started on his throat, which was currently as dry as the Sahara Desert. “Is there some kind of water in this car?” he asks, beginning to look through the car console and glove compartment.

“I don’t,” you pause and sigh, “I don’t know.”

“Then pull over here,” he deadpans.

You furrow your brows in confusion, “What?”

“Pull over,” he repeats, his patience running out.

Not questioning him a second time, you do exactly that, pulling over at the side of some park near your apartment. Jungkook takes in a deep breath before opening the door and sticking his head out, seconds later the sound of him vomiting making you feel as queasy as he did.

“Oh God,” you mumble to yourself, just wanting to be in bed already. But of course that wasn’t going to happen because soon enough Jungkook was getting out of the car and going to God knows where. “Where are you going?” you shout, as he walks towards the park.

“I need water,” he says, “You coming or what?” you contemplate on whether to follow him or not, before ultimately exiting the car and locking it. With the way he was stumbling his footsteps, it was better safe than sorry to follow him.

“BogoShipda!” Jungkook sings loudly to the trees in the park, all of the alcohol he drank at the club still running through his system. You stare at him in surprise, having never seen him act like this before, as he continues to sing.

“Now where’s a water fountain when you need one,” he mumbles, the darkness of the night sky making it hard for him to scan his surrounding area. You found yourself feeling a little scared in fact. The silhouette of the trees and the sound of the wind softly pushing against the branches only making the atmosphere more scary.

“Ah there it is!” Jungkook slurs his words, sounding like a kid at a carnival. Once he’s in front of the fountain, he pushes against the button, the water sprouting out of the fountainhead. You stare at him in silence as he hadn’t crouched down to drink yet, thus confusing you.

It wasn’t until you felt a tug at your hand and the sting of the water hitting against your scrapes that you felt like punching him. “What are you doing?” you ask, trying your best not to sound too peeved.

He looks at you before rolling his eyes, “What do you think I’m doing? I’m cleaning your hands,” he signals for you to give him your other hand, and without thinking you comply.

“I could’ve done this at home,” you say.

“I know, but the longer we wait the higher chance it'll end up getting infected by dirt so,” he looks at you with a know it all expression, and you mumble a small “I guess,” under your breath, the stinging sensation soon enough replaced by a cool one, your hands no longer feeling as rusty.

It isn’t until he’s finished that he takes a sip of water, exhaling a small “ahh” sound after downing several gulps. “Come on,” he grabs your hand again, leading you to a park bench with a small lamppost right next to it, providing a smooth yellow dim light.

“Why are we—”

“I just want to sit for a moment without the movement of a car, just for a bit,” he exhales a heavy breath, manspreading on the bench and throwing his head back, “just for a bit,” he repeats, his voice soft.

The two of you sit there in silence, “Why are you staring at me?” he asks with his eyes closed, feeling your intense stare.  

“I’m not—I’m not staring,” you stutter, he hums in response. Silence fills the air again, until Jungkook mumbles something that at first is inaudible.

“What?” you ask.

“I said I’m ˢᵒʳʳʸ,” you look at him confused, were you hearing him correctly?

“Wait what?” you ask again, it wasn’t your intention to come off as pushy nor pretentious but you were just seriously surprised as to what you were hearing.

He grumbles before repeating himself, “I said,” he drops his shoulders, “I said I’m sorry.” He opens his eyes to look at you, his usual smug behavior nowhere to be found on his face, he was being completely serious.

“Oh…” you pause for a moment before continuing, “Can I ask for what? I’m not trying to be mean or anything or act dense. I seriously just don’t know why,” you make sure you add those claims at the end, feeling as if you were walking on eggshells.

He looks at you momentarily before placing his view on the trees in front of you, “For not getting there earlier,” he mutters, as if disappointed with himself, “I went out because Hobi had told me to go check up on you, but,” he stays silent for a moment before continuing, clenching his jaw, “at first I sorta shrugged him off when he asked me, it wasn’t until he asked me second time that I actually went outside,” his voice shakes a bit and you notice that his eyes become slightly glossy, “and then a woman came running up to me rambling about someone about to get beaten up, but the last person I thought she was talking about was you,” he exhales loudly before continuing, trying his best to maintain his composure, “but either way I ran towards wherever she was pointing at, and that’s when I saw you on the floor,” his voice cracks, “and I just keep replaying everything in my head, and I just—” he closes his eyes and shakes his head, “I’m just sorry and I felt like you deserved to know that,” he concludes, a tear falling from his face.

And maybe it was because he was drunk, or maybe he just really did feel bad, but to see Jungkook this vulnerable was different to say the least. It was almost humanizing in some aspects.

Jungkook expected you to scream at him, to tell him that it was his fault you were put in that situation. That he could’ve prevented it from happening, that because of him you almost got beat to a bloody pulp.

No, in fact he doesn't expect you to, he wants you to. It’s what he deserves to hear from you. Had it not been for him and his ego, he would’ve gone out there the moment Hobi had asked him to, and you would’ve never had to deal with that drunk excuse of a human being to begin with. Or was the alcohol in his system just seriously getting to him because God did he feel sick.

“Jungkook it’s not your fault,” you begin, but Jungkook who's still looking at the trees, refuses to make eye contact. “Hey look at me,” you demand, tugging his hand in an effort to get him to look at you. When he does so, you continue, “That man was going to attack me whether you came or not because a weak man like that will attack the easiest target,” you state, a small chuckle escaping your lips, “It was no one’s fault but his, you hear me?” you squeeze his hand, “Not yours, not mine, not Hobi’s, not the lady, no one. Absolutely no one.”

More tears begin to fall from his bloodshot eyes, “You don’t get it y/n,” he shakes his head, “You don’t what that man could’ve done to you in that time I wasn’t there, you could’ve been killed for God’s sake,” he attempts to say it firmly, but his voice betrays him by whimpering in the end.

“But he didn’t!” you say, and without thinking you place his hand on your cheek, “I’m right here look! All because of you! Yeah you didn’t get there as early as you wished you could’ve, but you got there nonetheless! And if you hadn’t I probably would be sporting a big old black eye on my face and have one cheek bigger than the other right now. I’d look like one of those chipmunks from Alvin and the Chipmunks!” you laugh at your own joke, and for the first time ever, Jungkook laughs with you. His last first starting off as a small chuckle but the harder you laughed, the harder he did. The beginning to what would be you always hearing his high pitched laugh around the apartment, but let’s not get too far ahead right now.

They say when a human is drunk, they muster up the courage to do something they’d never do sober, but have always thought of doing in the back of their mind. It was often why people would blame a bold text to an ex on being “drunk” despite not taking one sip of their tequila shot, or why some people would excuse cheating on being “drunk” despite knowing it was something they wanted to do for a very long time. They were looking for an excuse to finally do it. And so now sitting here, with his hand caressed across your face, goofy grins plastered on your faces, he felt tempted to just kiss you.

It was weird really, yeah he thought you were cute, in fact there were days he’d found you hot, but anything past physical attraction had never really crossed his mind. To him, you’d always been and currently were his roommate who he found both superficial and performative. 

The one who once attempted to hide her strawberry scented shampoo in her room during work, in hopes that he wouldn’t go out of his way to find it. The one who liked her jjolmyeon more on the sour side than the sweet. The one who occasionally made him coffee and breakfast in the mornings, despite him being asleep after a long night of work of barristering. The one who for some odd reason almost never watched Netflix on the TV, but instead would watch it on her laptop on the couch, thus rendering the TV completely useless.

And so to be here, finally appreciating the person that you were after what could’ve been a near-death experience was a bit of a wake up call. And yeah like you said, maybe he didn’t get here as early as he should’ve been, but he got here nonetheless. He smiles to himself, your words having a double meaning behind them.

But for now he wanted to preserve this feeling, because he knew he was drunk. He was so drunk that the tree behind you was beginning to look like it was moving towards him. And so rather than kiss you, he instead decides to simply tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear, deciding that if he felt like this tomorrow morning when he was sober then it’d be something worth looking into.

“I’m telling you, if I ever see that man again—”

“It was like,” you count on your fingers, “9 months ago Jungkook, I doubt you even remember his face,” you cut off, patting his shoulder.

“Mm,” he hums, “you’d be surprised how good I am at remembering faces, so when I tell you I’m still waiting for the day I come across him again, I mean it!” you roll your eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” you sing,  “Hey at least something good came out of it,” you smile.

Jungkook looks at you with uncertainty, “Which is?”

Your small smile then becomes a toothy grin, “We became friends!” you exclaim excitedly, “temporarily at least,” you laugh.

April 2019.

It had been about two weeks since the incident at the club. Jungkook having completely avoided you since, and no you weren’t paranoid because originally you thought you were. It first started off with you not seeing him at all around the apartment, which you excused with you two having different work schedules like always. But then you’d notice he wouldn’t even drink the coffee you would make for him in the morning, it being left there on the counter for the entire day. 

And in the very rare moments you did manage to get a glimpse of him in the hallway either entering or exiting his room, the boy would completely avoid eye contact with you! But the final confirmation that told you he was avoiding you? He had bought his own shampoo and body wash for himself! Not just any kind, he bought an extra lather version of your own with exfoliating properties. And you didn’t if you could use it or not because, well because he was avoiding you! 

It wasn’t like you two kissed or anything! The most that happened was that you two shared a laugh! So then why was he avoiding you like the freaking plague? After a week of thinking about every possible reason he could be, you had given up. You’d accepted that you were back at square one with him, but it wasn’t like you were ever at square two to begin with. And so that’s why yesterday when Hobi told you he’d be going on a morning/afternoon hike trip on Saturday with Namjoon, you were skeptical on how Jungkook would manage to avoid you.

It was also why this morning in bed, when you heard what sounded like furniture being moved at 7 in the freaking morning, you were unsure about getting up and saying something or remaining in bed. Luckily you didn’t have to think about it for too long because you soon heard the sound footsteps coming closer to your bedroom door. As a result, you quickly threw yourself under the covers and pretended to be asleep.

It definitely had to be Jungkook who had just entered your room, the heavy footsteps acting as a signal to you that it was. Your eyes widen when you hear the sound of your drawer being pulled open, “What the hell did he think he was doing? Should you turn around and scare him? Hmm. No,” you think to yourself because soon enough you felt a hand gently shake your body.

“Y/N,”  he whispers, clearly in belief that you were asleep. You let him shake you around a little more, just to make your little “I’m just waking up” act a little more believable, “Y/N,” he repeats, and this time you begin to make groggy sounds. Actress of the Year Award : Check.

“Mm,” you hum, but you’re quickly jolted awake when you feel your covers get pulled off of you, “What are you—” you look up at Jungkook, who was dressed in complete workout gear. But what really had you concerned, was the workout clothing he had folded in his hands because well they were yours.

He tosses the matching pair of black leggings and sports bra, “Go change,” he sternly says, only causing you to look at him in further confusion.

“B-b-but-” Jungkook knows you’re about to not only complain, but ask many many questions. Because that’s just the type of person you are.

“Hobi told me you like buttermilk pancakes with extra syrup, but that since yours always come out burnt and his come out too dull, that the only time you get to eat them is if you go to a breakfast restaurant,” you narrow your eyes at him, confused as to where this was leading to, “Well at the coffee shop I work at, we have a weekly Pancake Tuesday and well let’s just say a certain someone has been rated top pancake maker for 2 months now,” you quirk your brow in interest, continuing to listen, a smirk now on his face, “and let’s also say this certain someone has a stack of warm pancakes sitting there on the kitchen island, untouched and certainly uneaten.”

You quickly smile at what he was insinuating, “BUT you can only eat them if you get up, get ready and change in 5 minutes,” he looks at the clock, “starting now.” And in the blink of an eye you were up and running towards your restroom because certainly if that didn’t get you up and out of bed, he wasn’t sure what would.

Quickly you brush your teeth and fix up your hair a bit, curious to know what Jungkook had planned out. To think you thought he was avoiding you! Well he was … but that doesn’t matter anymore! Placing your shoes on you begin to make your way towards the living room, the thought of eating those buttermilk pancakes almost making your mouth drool. That was until you stepped into the living room, stopping dead in your tracks.

Your eyes glaze over everything, blinking veryyy slowly, in order to make sure you were seeing things correctly. Jungkook had transformed your living room into some kind of um … workout center? For boxing? He had everything from the red punching bag, the reflex bag, the speed ball, jump rope, mini dumbbells, and most importantly boxing mitts for some one-on-one training. Everything was an adequate enough size to fit in all into the living room, but not too big in a way that it couldn’t be stored in the extra closet you had in the hallway.

“Why did you—” Jungkook hands you a pair of shiny black boxing gloves, along with bandages.

“I’m going to teach you the basics of boxing,” he presses his lips together, “whether you like it or not,” he says.

“Jungkook I don’t thin—”

“You don’t think what?” he looks at you in a way that tells you he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“I’m not really cut out for this kind of stuff,” you try to make an excuse for yourself anyway, but he wasn’t buying it.

“Because you have no experience, which is exactly why I’m going to teach you,” his brows draw together, a stern look on his face as he now makes eye contact with you, “You can’t just always expect someone to pop out of thin air and come to your rescue y/n, what happened two weeks ago was a mix of both good timing and sheer luck,” he sighs while pulling out a taser and pocket knife from his pocket, “and though this is helpful in many situations, you seem to forget to take these with you,” he scolds, “guess where they were the night at the club?” You stay silent, “the kitchen island,” he answers for you.

“Okay I get it, I get it,” you say, “I need to learn how to protect myself without using those,” you point to the items in his hand.

“Exactly, I’m glad we’re on the same page,” he playfully pats your head, “so we’ll be doing this every weekend for the next eight weeks, from 7AM till 2PM. We might even throw an occasional weekday night in there if I don’t get out of work too late.”

“7AM?!” you shriek, “Oh no no no, you sir are crazy,” you protest, shaking your head in denial, “No amount of pancakes will have me waking up that early every weekend.”

“Oh come on! The more hours you do, the better you’ll get!” he bargains with you, catching you off guard by throwing his arm around your shoulder, your cheeks going red as a result.

“Jungkook,” you dramatically cry out, ready to stomp your feet on the floor like a little kid, the only thing preventing you was you not wanting the downstairs neighbors to come up and complain.

He tightens his grip on you, “Come onnnnn,” he sings, “I’ll let you use my new body wash with the exfoliating properties,” he teases you, having heard you complain to Hobi one morning about being unsure of whether or not you could use it. You truly were too kind for your own good, cause if the situations were reversed, Jungkook would’ve just gone ahead and used it.

You narrow your eyes at him once again, “More like you’re buying me one of my own!” you demand and he nods in agreement, “Also, where did you even manage to get all this?” you ask, genuinely curious as to how he managed to buy all this.

“Um let’s just say I have a buddy at the boxing gym who didn’t really need these anymore,” you stare at him suspiciously, but decide to shrug it off. You’d ask him more questions some other day, but for now all you wanted was to eat those pancakes!

Hobi opens the door to his shared apartment, exhausted from the hike he just had this morning and honestly ready to just hop into bed and sleep. That was until he saw the transformation of his living room in front of his very own eyes, his skin paling and mouth gaping in shock.

“What the—” he whispers, preparing to scream out your names like a parent walking in their house only to find it destroyed by their teenagers, but before he could the sound of something stops him dead in his tracks. It was the sound of soft snores.

Walking towards the sound, which seemed to be coming from the long couch, a smile immediately appears on his face when he comes to see the view in front of him. You were on one side of the couch while Jungkook was on the other, both of your feet stretched out and touching in the middle, napping away. Hobi personally thought he was dreaming, this being a view he never thought he’d see.

Wanting to preserve the memory, he grabs his phone from his pocket and opens up the camera app, snapping the photo in silence, tempted to edit and post the photo with little clouds above each other's heads and make up some witty caption. But he’d save it for some other day. For now, he was just happy you two were finally getting along.

“Ah I had forgotten how that photo came to be,” Jungkook laughs, looking at the photo on your Iphone screen, “you were tired from working out, while I was tired from having to watch you continuously mess around with the equipment,” he pokes fun at you. Not like it wasn’t true, that day you kept going back to the speed ball, aimlessly hitting it in hopes that at some point you’d magically become fast at hitting it like in the movies.

“Hey, I’m pretty decent at doing everything now,” you flash him a cheesy smile. After several weeks of consistent training and long hours, you were definitely at a point where you could adequately defend yourself from someone ranging from a small petite woman to around a medium sized man. Luckily, you haven't come across a situation that has required you to to do so nor do you ever hope to, but it was comforting to know that if something ever did happen, then you were ready. But, your taser and pocket knife would always be your first go to, no matter what.

“You’re…” Jungkook pauses, “okay,” he breathes, huffing a quiet laugh. Out of impulse you flash him the finger, showing off your freshly manicured fingers. “Aren’t you rude,” he says with a dramatic gasp.

You roll your eyes, “You’re the one who taught me,” you laugh, and Jungkook places his hand on his chest, looking at you with a dramatic offended look on his face.

“Me?” he feigns his surprise.

“Yes you! How could I forget,” you look at him accusingly.

“No I taught you how to stop faking a smile, and to start putting a foot down people’s neck,” he shrugs, “not to go sticking out the middle finger,” he jokes, and you only roll your eyes again, grumbling a small  “Mm.”

May 2019.

To your surprise, you had been managing to consistently wake up and work out every weekend with Jungkook, with him even being able to up your usual workout plan at a drastic rate. You’d shed a couple of pounds and to your surprise could even see some muscle beginning to form, but today, well today was your monthly lazy day.

Lazy day was the one day of the month where you and Hobi would push everything off your schedule, from calling off of work, to making sure everything in the apartment was clean, and buying snacks the night before in order to make sure you wouldn’t have to step out of the apartment. It was usually picked the month before by either you or Hobi closing your eyes and randomly pointing somewhere on the calendar, and whatever day your index finger managed to land on would be the day. And well today was that day.

But when Hobi told you yesterday night that a family emergency was going to have to bring lazy day to a temporary halt because he had to drive back to Busan, which in itself was a three hour trip from Seoul, you had already called the day off weeks prior as your job wasn’t as lenient on last minute call offs. The contract you signed stating in small print, “any day off must be requested, sent in, and approved 2 weeks prior to the date said employee is asking for.”

And so this morning when Jungkook entered your room to find you completely knocked out with drool coming out of your mouth, he was surprised to say the least. On weekday mornings, he would almost always wake up to find himself alone in the apartment considering both you and Hobi have day jobs, so hearing snores come out of your room had definitely caught him off guard.

He debated on whether he should be annoying and wake you up and then force you to work out or be a nice roommate and make you breakfast. Let’s just say he didn’t choose the latter. Grabbing one of the stuffed animals that you weren’t hugging, he throws it at your head, a grunt coming out of your mouth after.

“Jungkook,” you mutter, morning voice in full effect, “let me sleep please,” you say, switching to the other side, in hopes that he’d leave.

“No, you need to work out,” he says, beginning to nag.

Turning around again, this time to face him, you look at him with your eyes half-way open, “Today’s lazy day,” you deadpan, his eyes narrow in confusion.

“What the hell is, quote on quote, lazy day?” he asks, lifting a brow. Rubbing your eyes along with eye boogers in the corners, you begin to stretch your arms and legs, not caring if he was staring.

Sighing once you were ready to respond, you then answer, “Lazy day is the one day of the month that me and Hobi take a day off of work to well … be lazy,” he stares at you with an innocent look on his face, “butttttt,” a mischievous smile appears on your face, “since Hobi cancelled on me, now you’re going to be lazy partner for the day.” His face twists in bewilderment.

“Huh?”

“You heard me, go call the café, and tell em you’re taking the day off,” you smile, now getting up from bed.

“And why would I do that?” Jungkook asks, the question coming off a little harsher than intended, but you were quick to shrug it off, already accustomed to the occasional attitude.

“Becauseeeeee,” you sing, “When was the last time you’ve taken a day off, I mean look at you right now! You’re already dressed comfortably,” you eye him up and down, he was currently in work out clothing which for him consisted of an oversized grey sweater and joggers, “do you really wanna get all sweaty and then have to shower, change, and go to work… cause I don’t think you do,” you raise your eyebrows up and down in a teasing manner as he avoids eye contact with you.

His eyes look around your room, clearly thinking to himself. A lazy day huh? Hmm you did make a point, he really couldn’t remember the last time he’s just lounged around and done nothing, as he was always doing something whether it be working out, working, going out, etc.

He looks back at you once he’s made his decision, letting out a huff of air, “Fine,” he says, grabbing his phone from his pocket, preparing to dial the coffee shop, a tiny squeal coming from you.

“I thought lazy day meant no going out,” Jungkook complains while pushing the grocery cart around, following you and your need to go up and down each and every aisle at the store.

“It does, but since Hobi and I couldn’t go grocery shopping the night before,” you grab some strawberry lemonade from the freezer and place it in the cart, “someone has to help carry the groceries up the stairs,” you catch him rolling his eyes, “your eyes will get stuck up there if you keep doing that,” you comment, grabbing packaged ramen from the counter beside you.

“Yeah, Yeah—” Jungkook stares at what’s in your hands wide eyed, “No, no, no! What are you doing?” You jump in surprise, dropping the package on the floor.

“Wh-what?” your face flushes in surprise, his outburst completely catching you off guard.

“Shin Ramyun?! What happened to getting Paldo Bibimmyeon?! Do you have no loyalty?” he scrunches his face up, in clear distress at what he just caught you doing. At first you don’t think he’s serious, this being some stupid joke he was making, but once you got a glimpse of the stare he was giving you, you’d soon come to realize that he was not playing around at all.

“It’s be-be-because,” you begin to stutter under his scrutiny, “these are buy three, get two free,” you lopsidedly smile, an awkward laugh feigning from your lips.  He shakes his head, snatching the ramen from your hands and placing it on its original spot before then grabbing his Paldo Bibimmyeon.

“Choosing price over quality, are you crazy?” he mutters under his breath before pushing the cart past you and making his way to the checkout line, leaving you there momentarily flabbergasted.

Once you caught up to him you were ready to tell him something until you heard the sound of someone calling your name, “Y/N?” you turn around, surprised to see Jimin in the line next to you.

“Oh Jimin!” you smile, softly waving at the newly blonde-haired boy, his roots telling you that the hair job was recent. Jimin offers his hand out to Jungkook. Jungkook, at first hesitant, shakes it in return, “You remember Jimin, right? He was with us on New Years, he was supposed to come partying with us last time, but he flaked last minute,” Jungkook slowly nods remembering the boy wrapping his arm around you during the countdown while Jimin on the other hand raises his hands to his defense.

“Even a person like me can get burnt out every here and then,” he laughs, “but next time I’ll be sure to be on the dance floor,” he winks at you, his natural flirty personality making its appearance. Jungkook awkwardly coughs, pushing the cart forward to get your attention back in the moving line.

You feel your hands get a bit clammy, Jimin always being someone you did have a bit of a crush on, never pursuing anything because of your long-term friendship with him. But of course that didn’t mean he didn’t get an occasional blush out of you here and there. “So how have you been since the last time I saw you? It’s been quite a while—”

And just as you’re about to answer, Jungkook interrupts, “Y/N,” he says, nudging you to tell you that it was time to pay.

“Ah I guess I’ll just see you around then,” Jimin chuckles, waving a small goodbye.

“O-oh yeah I guess I—”

“Y/N,” Jungkook repeats, unbeknownst to you, the green eyed monster was beginning to make its appearance. Any longer and horns would probably start sprouting out his ears.

Once you two finish paying and bagging everything, you walk towards Jungkook’s new black Hyundai which he had bought only a couple of weeks ago after months of what he calls “busting his ass” off and using most of his savings up for. You hum a tiny tune while helping him place all the bags in the trunk.

“So…” Jungkook awkwardly begins, second guessing whether he should continue asking the question he had in his mind before deciding to just do it anyway, “Is that like your boyfriend or something?”

Immediately you stop humming, staring at Jungkook wide-eyed, “Oh no, no!” you quickly deny, “No, No, no,” you repeat, shaking your head. The redness of your cheeks tell another story.

“Hm,” Jungkook mumbles, “sorta looked like it,” he deadpans before going to put the cart in its designated spot, leaving you there confused as to what that meant. 

After a couple of hours of lounging around in the apartment and binging Narcos: Mexico on the TV rather than your laptop because of Jungkook’s complaints, the two of you were now eating your ramen on the kitchen island, quietly seated on the tall chairs. The sound of Jungkook slurping his noodles filling the room.

“What did you mean by Jimin being my boyfriend or something?” you suddenly ask out of nowhere, the question having been on your mind for a majority of the day.

Jungkook takes a final gulp of his food before responding, “I don’t know,” he nonchalantly shrugs, “you were gawking at him like a schoolgirl seeing her crush in the hallway,” he says, “thought you two had something going on, or at least on your part,” he reiterates.  

“I did not stare at him like some schoolgirl!” you deny, taking offense to his analogy, “He’s j-jus—”

“J-just someone you clearly have a crush on,” he mocks your flusteredness, “I see and here a part of me thought it thought it was two-sided,” he smirks.

“It’s not sided on either way,” you protest, “Jimin is just a friend,” you clarify, putting your foot down.  

“How do you even know the dude?” he asks. He knew you and Hobi met during college, and that Hobi was in some club with Yoongi and Namjoon which explains how you met them. He also knew that Seokjin and Taehyung came into the picture after some college frat party, but Jimin, well he didn’t know too much about Jimin. Just that he clearly felt comfortable enough to have his arm around you during New Years.

“I met him during my first year of performing at Busan Arts College, that was before I transferred to Seoul National where I’d then meet Hobi,” Jungkook’s ears perk up, several questions now running through his head.

“An arts college? In Busan?”

“Yeah, like a school for dance majors, drawing, theatre, music, film, modelling, sports, interior design, animation, and et cetera,” you smile softly while explaining, “I was an art major, painting to be specific, and along the scopes of watercolors and abstractness.”

Jungkook hums, his curiosity still not completely fulfilled, “So why’d you transfer?” he asks the big question.

“Oh..” you know you shouldn’t be, but for some reason you are slightly taken back by his blunt question, “because..” you sigh, “um something happened that well um I just thought it’d be best to transfer, and well my math skills weren’t too rusty for the entrance exam and my credits were exceptional for transferring and so I just took the leap and left. Met Hobi, we became roommates, decided to stay roommates even after graduating and well now I’m an accountant.”

Jungkook stays silent for a moment, surprised that there was more to you than meets the eye. He would’ve never guessed that you were into painting, “I stayed in touch with Jimin, introduced him to my new group of friends and well yeah, that’s that,” you finish explaining, “He was a dance major, just in case you were curious,” you add, “He now works at a contemporary dance company here in Seoul, very deep with connections in the arts industry,” So that’s who Jimin was huh? Cool... but now Jungkook was much more curious about you.

“Do you ever paint?” he asks another question, completely finished with his meal and at this point only staying for the conversation. It was weird, had it been anyone else asking you these questions you wouldn't have dared entertain it any further, probably finding some way to maneuver out of it. But for Jungkook to ask whether it be from a place of nosiness or simple curiosity, hell maybe even boredom, for some reason you just didn’t mind.

“Um not really, not anymore at least, especially these days that work is beginning to pile up but,” you hesitate for a moment before continuing, “I still have some of my old work somewhere under my bed, probably in a storage box knowing me.”

“Can I see them?”

And just as you’re about to answer, your phone’s ringing sound goes off. The person calling? Jimin. You hesitate to answer, glancing at Jungkook who was staring at your phone, presumably reading the name. Once he does, he looks at you in a way that was asking, “Are you going to pick up?”

You click the green button to accept, “Hello?”

“Y/N?” Jimin asks, unsure if it was you.

“Yes?”

“Hey! Um so I was actually meaning to call for quite a while,” Jungkook tries his best not to make it obvious that he’s listening in, “and so when I ran into you and your friend at the market it served as a complete reminder.”

“Oh what for?” you ask politely.

“Well I was hoping we could catch up over some dinner, and then I could tell you something very important that I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time,” From Jimin? “I was thinking this Saturday like at 7? I’ll pick you up.”  

“Oh um..” for some reason you look at Jungkook for advice, but he just stares at you with his eyebrows furrowed, “Yeah sure, why not?” you awkwardly laugh.

“Perfect, I’ll see you then! Byeeeee,” he sings before clicking, leaving you on the line. Did that call really just happen? Or were just imagining things?  

“I think—” you gulp, “I think I have a date this Saturday?” you say unsurely, a small dumbfounded smile beginning to appear on your face.

He notices the goofy smile beginning to appear on your face, before letting out a large exasperated breath and feigning his best smile. The forced smile comes out quite awkward, “With Park Jimin?” Park Jimin your college friend. Park Jimin, the successful contemporary dancer. Park Jimin, the one who looked like he came straight out of a magazine cover. That Park Jimin? Jungkook on the other hand could feel his eyebrow impulsively twitch in response, the green eyed monster creeping from behind, ready to make its return.

You nod your head yes, Jungkook now getting up from the chair, a negative energy now around him. “So much for it being a zero sided thing,” he mutters before practically throwing his dish into the sink and stomping out the kitchen, leaving you completely by yourself.

“Weird,” you think to yourself before heading off to bed.

Saturday had surprisingly arrived in the blink of an eye despite the extra hours of working out Jungkook had thrown in the morning. It was almost as if the boy wanted you to be on your date exhausted and halfway knocked out. Out of nowhere, deciding that today was the best day to start working on more leg targeted exercises, as a result your legs now felt like jell-o with every step you took.

“I’m gonna get going you guys,” you announce to the boys in the living room, who were currently on the couch watching an episode of One Piece.

Hobi turns his attention from the screen to look at you, immediately smiling at your outfit, “Ahh look at you,” he compliments, Jungkook on the other hand or silently watches you as you grab your keys from the countertop. “Doesn’t she look pretty Jungkook?” Hobi asks, tapping Jungkook on the shoulder. Jungkook remains silent, which oddly enough resulted in a heavy feeling in your chest. “Now she’s sad!” Hobi scolds, “Tell her she looks pretty,” Hobi pushes Jungkook’s shoulder this time.

“You look…” Jungkook pauses, and for a moment both you and Hobi hold your breath, for Jungkook’s mouth was quite unpredictable sometimes, “You look more than pretty,” he says with a warm look on his face before catching himself and going back to his usual expressionless face and turning his attention back to the screen. Hobi who looks like he’s about to tease the hell out Jungkook once you leave, struggles to hide the big grin on his face. While you, well you could’ve sworn you felt your heart skip a beat.  

“Well get going now! And don’t come back too late!” Hobi teases, loving the persona of acting like a parent a little too much.

Was thinking about your roommate regular for a date? Because that’s what you found yourself doing … a lot. From the moment you had stepped into Jimin’s car your immediate comparison was to Jungkook’s own car. Once he started driving, your mind went to how unlike Jimin who drove with both hands on the steering wheel, Jungkook liked driving with one. More specifically his left. 

And of course being on a date you expect conversation to be flowing all around even when you’re waiting on the food, but for some reason you had become so used to Jungkook always being silent until he was nearly finished with his food, that when Jimin began to make conversation while waiting definitely felt … odd for you to say the least. And don’t even get you started on what he ended up ordering. Well done steak?! Jungkook hated well done steak, preferring medium rare over anything. And so to say your roommate had been constantly on your mind this whole time was a bit of an understatement. 

Currently the two of you were walking on the bridge of a local park, the several number of lampposts and people all around you making it less scary than compared to that night at the park with Jungkook. “So Y/N how’s your year been so far?” Jimin asks, a pleasant smile on his face.

“It’s been,” you pause, thinking about the person who came into your life only months ago, “it’s been pretty good.”

“That’s good to hear, that’s good to hear,” he repeats, the two of you now sitting on a bench, “So I know I told you I had some important news,” he begins, “and it’s something I’ve been really wanting to talk to you about for a very long time,” he insinuates, “and so if you could close your eyes for a moment that’d be great,” you do as follows, and close your eyes, Your heart begins to race but it wasn’t the same kind of racing you felt that night at the park with Jungkook. It was more of a “what am I doing here?” kind of nervousness so to speak. Nonetheless you shrug the feeling off.

Jimin, who was originally supposed to be getting an exhibition flyer out of his coat, notices that you have what looks to be a leaf in your hair. Deciding that it was bothering him too much he goes and reaches for it, surprised to be in contact with your lips seconds later. Quickly he pulls away, staring at you wide eyed. Both of your faces now tomato red, as he struggles to form words.

Eyes still widened, he pulls out the folded paper from jacket, once unfolded it reads, “Seoul City’s Annual Public Art Exhibition with a special performance by Seoul’s Contemporary Dance Academy choreographed by Park Jimin.”

“Oh my God—” you manage to breath out, coming to the realization that kissing you was not his attention.

He scratches the back of his neck, “I um, yeah, I’m this year’s choreographer for the city's art exhibition and well I managed to get you a slot so that you could have your very first art piece exhibited,” Jimin feigns an awkward smile, “You know since you’re a painter first before an accountant.” You, still hung up on what was probably the most embarrassing moment of your life, stare at him in complete silence. Everything barely registering in your head.

“Y/N…” he begins the dreadful pity speech by grabbing your hand, “I um,” he lets out an awkward chuckle before continuing, “I like you, I do, but not in that way…”

In the movies, this is where you’re supposed to feel as if your world was crashing down on you, the part where your heart is supposed to sink in complete sadness and you go home a complete crying mess. But rather than feel any of those things, you instead feel …. relief? Yeah, you kissing the boy was embarrassing, but it wasn’t something that was gonna haunt you for the rest of your life. Maybe for a week or two, but not definitely not the rest of your life.

Jimin wonders what’s going through your mind, the apparent smile that suddenly grew on your face telling him that things were going to be just fine, “I sorta um had my eyes on someone else in our friend group…” and with that he gets your attention because you knew exactly who he was talking about.

“Taehyung,” you say, and Jimin silently nods, a laugh emitting from both of your lips.

“Honestly, I’m a little surprised that you even agreed to go out with me, that Jungkook dude seemed like was going to lunge at me any second over there at the supermarket,” Jimin says, “I thought you two were a thing at first.”  

You laugh in disbelief, “Me and Jungkook?” you say, scrunching your face.

“Um yeah, it’s not really something shocking,” Jimin laughs, “I mean you two definitely looked like a couple that day, very much doing um couple-like things. Maybe not affectionate wise but I don’t know there were definitely looks and glances being exchanged. But if you say there’s nothing between you two then who am I to argue?” Jimin shrugs his shoulders, a smirk on his face.

“Exactly, who are you to argue,” you dramatically snarl, Jimin throwing his head back in laughter.

“So y/n what do you say about participating in the art exhibition? You know you want toooo,” Jimin sings, pouting his lips. You had forgotten about that for a moment, the embarrassment of the kiss completely fazing you out.

“Oh I don’t know,” you nervously say, you hadn’t seriously painted in such a long time, that chapter in your life being a closed book for quite some time now.

“But y/n—” Jimin begs, “This could be the moment you’ve been waiting for, there’s going to be a lot of professional artists there along with buyers.”

“I just—” something was holding you back from saying yes. Was it fear? Maybe. All you knew was that you couldn't dive into something that you had long given up on, “I don’t think I can,” you ultimately say.

Jimin frowns, “You sure? I can’t hold the slot for too long, and well I was so sure you’d say yes..” You sigh before nodding, confirming that you were saying no.

“Ah okay,” Jimin says, completely understanding, “Come on let’s get you home,” to which you nod, a small sad smile on your face.

By the time you got back home, you wondered if the boys’ were asleep already, hoping at least one of them was awake to talk to, more specifically Hobi, for he always knew what to say when you needed comfort. And so when you opened the door to find the TV still on, but no one in the living room, you were confused to say the least.

You walk towards Hobi’s room, crack open the door, and peep your head in only to find him sound asleep. Did that mean Jungkook was up? Maybe someone just forgot to turn off the TV… with your curiosity getting the best of you, you decide to go Jungkook’s room and check if he was there. With your hand on the knob, you begin to twist it, slowly opening the door until a voice scares you from behind, “What are you doing?” he harshly whispers causing you to yelp in surprise.

“Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,” you whisper as well, closing his door immediately, “I-I-I thought you were,” you point at his door, unable to complete your sentence.

“I was peeing,” he says, “Did you not see the light on?”

Shaking your head no, you ask, “What are you even doing up this late?”

Jungkook awkwardly stammers, “I um, I just couldn’t sleep,” he says instead of admitting that secretly he was waiting for you to arrive, just to make sure you were safe. Nothing else of course, not like he wanted to know how your date went… “Why are you going into my room without my permission?” he questions.

You scoff, “You always go in mine!” you try your best to keep your voice down, not wanting to wake up a grumpy Hobi, “Why can’t I go in yours?”

“Because you’ve never told me anything against me going into yours,” he argues, “Just because we’re um,” he pauses, struggling to say the word that comes next, “friends… doesn’t mean you get to go snooping around.” What the hell was he hiding in there that you couldn’t go in?

“That’s not fair and you know it,” you complain, ready to cross your arms and complain like a kid, that is until he flicks your forehead with his index finger.

“Ow,” you cry, “What was that for?” you groan, and he shrugs in response.

“I don’t know I just felt like doing it,” he smirks, “your forehead just looks so … flickable.” You narrow your eyes, quickly flicking his in return, garnering an “ow” from him as well.

“Oh you’re gonna pay for that,” he says, and quickly but also softly because you didn’t want to stomp too hard on the floor, you run back to the living room, the two of you now chasing each other around, index fingers ready for some more flicking. Maniacal fits of giggles filling the room as you begin to throw pillows at each other, running around the kitchen island like little kids. 

Jungkook, despite being the faster runner, was the one being chased. The closer you got to him, the further you began to reach your arm for his t-shirt, your fingertips always grazing the bottom. But once you finally did, something very unexpected happened. You tripped.

Soon enough, you were hands down on the floor, Jungkook below you, a casualty of your fall. The two of you now facing each other, chests heaving from your game of tag, laughing uncontrollably. Not exactly caring if Hobi, the neighbors, or the rest of the world could hear you.

Gradually, you get off him and instead lay on the kitchen floor right next him, aimlessly staring at the ceiling. A comfortable silence in the air. If someone would’ve told you at the beginning of the year that you and Jungkook would be playing tag in the apartment like little kids, you would’ve told them they were crazy. But yet here you were, heart pounding out of your chest, wanting this moment to remain for as long as it possibly could.

“So…” Jungkook continues to stare at the ceiling, “How’d your date go?”

“It was…” you use the only word that could properly describe it, “embarrassing,” you giggle, recalling what happened. Jungkook looks at you, eager to say the least, to know why.

“Let’s just say I ummm … took some signs completely wrong,” you awkwardly chuckle, “or long story short, I sorta kissed him and well let’s just say he has his eyes on someone else in our friend group.”

Was it wrong for Jungkook to feel happy? Happy that you two didn’t have insane chemistry, become boyfriend and girlfriend, and live happily ever after after like in the fairytales. Of course he wasn’t happy that it was you who went for the kiss, nor that it was who you got rejected, but it was better than you coming in here raving on about Park Jimin, no offense to Jimin.

“I’m sorry,” Jungkook says, an attempt to comfort you.

“It’s fine really,” you laugh, “what’s weird was that I didn’t really feel as heartbroken or as sad as I thought I’d be,” you shrug, “I’m just glad it didn’t ruin our friendship or anything. If anything I’m sad about what he offered... “

“What did he offer?” Jungkook’s jaw tightens, but you’re quick to shake your head and sigh.

“He offered me a spot at Seoul’s annual art exhibition, I guess since he choreographed a dance, he was able to talk them into giving him a spot and well I said no,” Jungkook frowns, wondering why you didn’t take the offer, “I just couldn’t see myself doing it… I haven’t painted in what feels like forever and to then have it be seen by thousands of people, yeah I can already feel the anxiety from that. One bad comment and I’m going to have to fake a smile the whole time and cry when I get home.”

Jungkook scoffs, “Who cares what others think? Screw them. I know that it’s rich coming from me, but if you think those people who may insult you or throw some sly comment to get under your skin are better than you in any way then let me tell you, they’re not. And who says you have to take their shit? Stop feeling as if you have to always put on some fake smile for people in order to spare their feelings and start looking out for your own,” Jungkook sits up, looking down on you. “So you know what you’re going to do?”

You stare at him in silence, murmuring a tiny “what?”

“You’re going to text Jimin right now and tell him you’re taking that spot,” Jungkook demands, “and if you don’t then I’ll call him myself and do it for you.” Now it’s your turn to sit yourself right up, waiting for a sign in his eyes that told you he was purely kidding. “Well what are you waiting for?” He eyes your pockets, waiting for you to reach for your phone.

“Jungko—”

“Y/N, you can’t tell me that you’re not feeling sad because you know you’re going to regret saying no to the opportunity,” Jungkook’s voice raises without meaning to, placing his hands on your shoulders, “I don’t have to see a single painting of yours to know that you’re talented, and if people can’t see that then honestly it’s their loss.” You feel your heart swell with every word, slowly pulling out your phone from the back pocket of your jeans.

Jungkook gets up from his position, offering his hand to help pull you up. Once he pulls you, he walks towards the fridge, and takes two pints of ice cream out the freezer. Your face lights up as you watch him get two spoons from the drawer, “Don’t hold it against me, but I bought these after you left just in case you came back a crying mess,” he avoids eye contact with you while handing you your pint, “But heartbreak or not, someone has to eat these. So come on, send that text so we can watch some One Piece.”

“Imagine you would’ve never convinced me to do the art exhibition,” you laugh, gently nudging Jungkook.

“Mm though it could’ve prevented a lot of things, the good definitely outweighed the bad so…” Jungkook pauses, “I guess it just goes to show you have to go through the downs in order to reap the rewards of the up.”

“Now look who's getting all wordy on me,” you tease.

“I guess you’re rubbing off on me more than I’d like to admit,” he pretends to be annoyed by dramatically sighing but a laugh soon follows.

June 2019.

After texting Jimin that you had changed your mind, you began to work on the painting you had brainstormed for the art exhibition, first sketching it out and now well on your way to starting your quite large painting. 

Honestly, pulling out your old art tools and portfolio from years ago was nostalgic, bringing you a genuine sense of completeness. To have a decent paying job, the best of friends, and now being able to practice the hobby you had once considered turning into a career was everything you could ask for. But what made you feel even warmer inside was just how supportive Jungkook was of the whole thing, always buying and bringing back art materials for you to use, including different colors of paint. Though most of the time they weren’t really what you considered the best quality, it was the thought that counted.

After your boxing lessons with him, you’d usually go straight to your room to begin working on it, for the first time since you stopped painting feeling actual motivation and creativity flowing through you. Life was good. Not good, amazing.

That was until today, when you noticed Jungkook hadn’t woken you up for your usual Saturday workout. “Maybe he overslept?” you think to yourself, probably had a tiresome night at work yesterday. Slowly you make your way outside his door, gently knocking on the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Nothing. Not a groan, not a “let me sleep”, absolutely nothing. You knock one more time just to make sure, your shoulders dropping once you realize he wasn’t going to open the door. Remembering what he said about entering his room, you decide that if he was having a bad day, it’d just be best to leave him be for the meanwhile.

Things didn’t really start getting alarming until you and Hobi both noticed that he skipped breakfast. His door remaining absolutely closed the whole morning and day, not a peep of sound coming out.

“Hobi, I’m starting to get worried,” your eyes glimmer with concern, “He hasn’t come out all day.”

“I know I am too, but—” Hobi sighs, “I don’t want to pressure him into—” the sound of a door opening quickly grabs your guys’ attention, the two of you silently watching Jungkook come out of his room. The time on the clock reading 6PM, the sun outside beginning to set. Carefully you watch Jungkook come into the kitchen, grabbing nothing more than a water bottle and a couple of snacks.

There’s a redness to his eyes that you’d never seen before, almost as if he had been sobbing. His under eyes were in the early stages of becoming puffy, and his skin seemed a lot paler than usual. You feel your heart sink when the two of you, for a mere second, make eye contact. Quietly he begins to make his way back to his room, but not before you offer him some food.

“Y/N—” Hobi tries to stop you, but you continue nonetheless.

“I made japchae,” you say, “I even added extra mushrooms like how you always like it,” he stares at you in silence, a cold look to his eyes before ignoring you and returning to his room. The door slamming shut once he does. If your heart was sunk already, then it was definitely stomped and ripped into pieces after that.

You turn your attention back to the TV, feeling Hobi’s stare from the side. Suddenly the volume of the TV is lowered and you already know what's coming, “Y/N…” you hear Hobi say, a sad tone behind his voice.

“Hobi don’t,” you cut him off before he could continue, not wanting to receive his pity, “I just don’t feel like hearing it right now.”

Hobi ignores you, knowing you were just putting up a wall as a defense mechanism, “You know he didn’t mean it,” he says, “he’s probably just having a rough day that’s all.”

“Even if he is, why does he still feel the need to just keep it to himself, why can’t he see that he can trust us, that he can trust me? Sometimes it feels like he knows a lot more about me than I know about him—” you rant, trying to keep your voice down so that Jungkook doesn’t hear you from his room.

Hobi sighs, getting up from the couch and grabbing his jacket and keys from the counter, “Put on your shoes,” he says, and you look at him confused before doing as he says and following him outside. The two of you then climb up the fire ladder of your apartment and onto the roof, the view of the stars sending shivers down your spine.

“Okay now sit—” he commands, which you do anyway.

“Why are we even out here?” you question, regretting not bringing your own sweater.

“Because I’m going to tell you a story, and well I don’t want Jungkook hearing us,” he says, making himself comfortable in the spot next to you, “You ready?”

Silently you nod your head yes, and so he continues.

“When I was a kid, I was what you could call ...nerdy … so to speak,” he chuckles, “I had those big ol glasses that made you look like you had fish eyes, I liked reading the Harry Potter books, I didn’t like playing sports like the rest of the boys in my elementary school did, and well in general I just wasn’t like a lot of them,” he pauses to look up at the sky, continuing once he was ready, “Now when you’re in elementary, kids won’t directly bully you, but instead they’ll make little teasing remarks because well ...we’re kids. We don’t know the big curse words yet or what we’re capable of physically. And so as a kid I’d let those jokes slide, I’d let their insults become the label put on me, not knowing the true maliciousness behind it.”

You feel your eyes become glossy, knowing where this was leading, “But the older you get, the more you begin to learn and well soon enough the teasing became full on bullying by middle school. The older kids would make these nicknames for me, and constantly call me them before, during, and after school. Occasionally even following me for a couple of blocks when walking home just to remind me that they had power over me,” Hobi’s voice begins to shake a little, “and well I didn’t know how to speak up for myself, let alone defend myself and so it just became a regular occurrence until on a certain day in middle school,” he pauses, taking a big breath. 

“I had been walking home from school that day, and for some reason that day I decided I wanted to take a different route back home, probably because I was hoping the kids who would bully me would decide not to follow me. But boy was I was wrong,” he feigns a laugh, “The route I had taken was right next to the Suyeong River, and well I think it’s important to note that I didn’t know how to swim at the time. I think I personally choose not to remember too much, but one moment I was walking and the next I had my face being pulled in and out of the water, the sounds of laughter being the thing I remember the most from that day,” Hobi closes his eyes, his voice cracking as he continues, “And I just remember thinking how could kids my age be so viscous?” tears begin to silently fall from his eyes, his hands slightly shaking at the recollection of the memory, “I thought this was it, this is the end of the line for me.”

“It wasn’t until I felt the release of my hair and the touch of someone pulling back that the nightmare came to an end,” Hobi wipes his tears with the sleeve of his sweater, “When I finally managed to get some kind of focus on my vision, I’d come to see the boy who was pushing me into the water completely knocked out the floor while the rest of his buddies were running to who knows where,” The scene from the club begins to replay in your head, remembering the person who had gotten there just at the right time.

“And then there was Jungkook, the boy I’d never seen a day in my life , helping me fix myself along with looking for my glasses even after having knocked out that boy with his bare hands. After that me and Jungkook became the best of friends, like actual genuine friends and the bullying had completely stopped. I’d also come to find out that Jungkook was a boxer, and not a casual one, like an “I practice every weekday, weekend, day, and night.” kind of one. He was aiming to go pro, and so he had to put in the time for it. His parents were supportive of it as well, as I think his dad saw the most potential in it.”  

Hobi takes a breather before continuing, finding yourself completely immersed in the story, “And so when our senior year came around and I had gotten accepted into SNU, I asked Jungkook what he was planning on doing now that we were graduating. And well that’s when he told me that had gotten an offer to train and compete in the states, where there’d be a lot more tougher competition and where he could really develop the natural talent he had. So on graduation day we had our teary farewell, and I remember telling him that if he ever needed anything and I truly meant anything, that he’d know where to find me.”

“So when years later I received a call at about 2 in the morning, asking if he could redeem the favor he had once done for me so long ago, I knew I couldn’t say no. I don’t know what happened in the states, and I don’t bother to ask him because I know that the day he’s ready to tell me or you, he will. Whatever did happen over there, changed him though. He came back a colder, more rude person, and honestly I thought he’d be like that forever until he started to get to know you,” Hobi smiles, “That’s when I began to see glimpses of the Jungkook I knew from high school again, the one who liked to mess around all the time, and never took himself too seriously.”

“You see y/n, I’m telling you all of this because I want you to know that Jungkook isn’t like us in the way of opening up when he feels sad or mad. He’s used to being the one doing all the protecting and so when he finds himself in a place where he’s overwhelmed by the feelings of sadness or anger, he gives the cold shoulder or becomes someone who isn’t like him at all, in order to avoid talking about it. I think it’s because he doesn’t want anyone to know the burden he carries. To sum it up y/n, Jungkook is the definition of when it rains, it pours … but when it shines, you’ll completely forget it ever rained to begin with,” Hobi pats you softly on the shoulder, “So the best thing you can do right now is let the storm play itself out, so that then you can be there when the rainbow comes back out.”

If only you had listened.

“Ahh so it was Hobi who told you everything,” Jungkook scrunches his face.

“No duhhhhh,” you sing, “Who else could have?”

Jungkook shrugs, “I don’t know, I thought you just magically figured it out on your own,” you’re unsure on whether he’s being sarcastic or not so all you is narrow your eyes at him, deciding to stay silent than make yourself look stupid.

“Mm either way Hobi made a BIG mistake telling me,” you laugh, “because he should've known my nosiness was only going to lead to problems.”

“Tell me about it,” Jungkook teases, resulting in a light smack to the shoulder.

July 2019.

It had been about a month since Jungkook’s change in behavior, his cold demeanor reminding you of when he first moved in months ago. The only time he’d ever leave his room was to go to work, use the restroom, or get his food to take to his room. You had been working on your painting whenever you got the chance, a distraction from the constant concern you felt for Jungkook. You know Hobi said to give it time, but how long would it be until Jungkook decided to finally open up? He couldn’t go on like this forever, could he?

You missed the Jungkook you had gotten to know in the last couple of months, the one who showed you that the tough wall he put up around him was nothing more than an act. That behind it, he was a complete sweetheart who liked drinking his banana milk and watching One Piece whenever he had the chance, the one who constantly liked to steal your things from your room and then replace them with an even better version, the one whose laugh sorta reminded you of Elmo but was still absolutely adorable, and lastly the one who you had found constantly by your side and falling further in love with every waking moment.

Not like, but love. You had come to realize it while you were in bed one night, your only thoughts being thunk all relating to Jungkook in some way. Remembering the number of times this month where you’d find yourself outside his bedroom door, inches away from knocking, knowing that all you needed was for him to open up the door at least once and you’d know everything was going to be okay. Sadly, you’d always find yourself chickening out, Hobi’s words always ringing in your head to serve as a reminder. Jungkook needed space. And as much as you wanted to run up to him and give him a tight hug, you knew you had to respect his boundaries.

So then why was it that today, when you found yourself painting and missing a certain color, a tiny voice in your head was telling you that maybe Jungkook had it… Realistically you knew it wasn’t possible, you had kept track of all your colors from the moment you started, but damn was that voice convincing. 

Getting up from the floor, you walk out into the living room, checking around to see if it was there. Hobi, who was currently taking a nap on the couch, seemed completely at peace.

You check his room to see if he has it, but your efforts were to no avail. The only place it had to be was Jungkook’s room. It had to be. At least that’s what you were telling yourself so could finally have an excuse to knock on his door. Making your way to his room, you prepare to knock, your knuckles lightly tapping against the wooden door. But to your surprise the door creaks open, no one presumably in the room…

You could’ve sworn Jungkook was home? You double check the restroom, making sure it wasn’t going to be an incident like last time, but this time he really wasn’t there. The voice of reasoning versus temptation now had you completely torn. You remember the day Jungkook first moved in, and how secretive he got over you seeing whatever it was inside his boxes, and the night after your date and how stern he was about you not entering.

Slowly you push open the door of his room, completely forgetting Hobi’s words and deciding that it was either now or never. You knew you were a pushing boundary that you shouldn’t be, but a part of you also felt like it had to be done. Maybe if you found out what was bothering Jungkook so much, you could help him.

Honestly, you weren't too sure on what you expected when you first entered. Considering how secretive Jungkook was about it, you sorta assumed the room would be all black and have a whole bunch of weird things hanging across the walls, but surprisingly his room looked completely normal. The bed covers were a navy blue color that matched with some of the artwork he had hung across the beige colored apartment walls. The drawers were plain and boring while his desk looked like any other ordinary desk:  stacked with random sketches, pens, One piece manga, and printed webtoons. If this is all he was hiding, then it really no made sense because there was literally nothing to hide….

That was until you saw the closed closet door, and once you opened it, you were blown away. For what was behind those closet doors was an entire memorabilia of awards, belts, photos, and trophies which you assumed were all Jungkook’s, newspapers from the states with headlines that spoke of how amazing Jungkook was. Many of them include the words “rising”, “prodigy”,  and “the next big thing”. Your eyes try to take everything in all in one go, but it was just so much. There were papers that were written about him even when he was a kid, pictures of his with several belts around his waist amazed you. This was insane.

But it wasn’t until you noticed the newspaper headline of the paper hung right in the center of the practical shrine that the smile from your face fell, as it read, “Prodigy Jeon Jungkook, K.O’d in Round 12 against Brandon Star.” You look at the date, and everything begins to start making sense. The date which read December 1, 2018, only a couple of weeks prior to your first meeting with him at New Years, the churning feeling in your stomach only becoming heavier as you read the newspaper next to it. “Rising Star, Jeon Jungkook, disappears. Where is he now?” it reads, and as you skim through the different articles, the whole memorabilia shrine begins to make sense. Jungkook didn’t have this here for the purpose of maintaining old memories, but for the purpose of constantly reminding himself of what he once was and how he ended up failing, torturing himself to say the least. It’d explain his pent up anger when you first met him, the scar was still fresh.

Grabbing one of the trophies from the memorabilia desk, you observe the glass material and admire its fine detail, Jungkook’s name written in cursive underneath the title. Slowly your fingers graze over it, whispering his name to yourself, “Jeon Ju—”

“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice harshly interrupts, scaring you and causing you to jump. The slippery trophy in your hands falling to floors, several pieces of glass now shattered onto the floor. Turning to face the owner of the voice, your heart stops when you find Jungkook staring at the floor, an expressionless look on his face.

“I—” your brain completely freezes, only staring at his balled up fist which was becoming more red with every passing second.

“I told you—” he closes his eyes, letting out an exasperated breath, “I told you to stay the fuck out of my room,” he finally snaps, his enraged voice echoing across the walls of the room, “So then why, why the fuck are you in here right now!” he moves towards you, his face now becoming red in anger. Not caring whether he was stepping on glass or not.

“I know but—”

He cuts you off, “But fucking what? There’s no reason you should even be in here right now y/n! None!” he screams, his rage only furthering with every word. Tears begin to well up in your eyes as you stammer to defend yourself. “How would you feel like if I barged into your room and destroyed something personal of yours, huh?”  

All you can do is stare at him, never seeing him this enraged before, the sight definitely a scary one, “Answer me goddamit!” he yells, his fist still balled up, holding himself back from punching anything. He looks down at the broken glass one more time, his chest now heaving in anger before storming out the room.

Quickly you follow him, chills going down your spine when you see him turn to your room.

“What are you—” you begin, but it’s too late. Everything happens in slow motion, from the fist being thrown to the sound of the canvas you’d been working so long on cracking, several holes and rips appearing soon after. You look at the scene in front of you in silence, shock running through your veins, and the need to vomit stronger than ever before. Jungkook breathes heavily, staring at what he’s just done, not feeling a single ounce of remorse.

The closing feeling in your throat is one that’s too overwhelming, but the anger you were now feeling was even stronger, “What is wrong with you,” you whisper, tears falling down from your eyes, a look of terror overtaking your face, “What is wrong with you!” you scream, lips trembling as your voice breaks at just how loud you were. Jungkook feels his blood run cold, taken back by your sudden outburst.

“I have been nothing but kind to you since the day we’ve met, nothing but!” you yell, hot tears uncontrollably falling from your hysteria.

Jungkook scoffs, yelling right in return, “Do you want some kind of reward for that? Is that it? Is that all this is? Another ego booster for you so you can pat yourself on the back and say you’re a good person!”

“I don’t need anything from anyone! Especially not from someone like you,” you spit, Jungkook’s jaw clenching at your response.

“Ah I knew that nice ol princess act was nothing more than mere bullshit,” he bitterly laughs, “finally had enough of your whole little treat everyone with kindness moral?” he mocks you.

“It’s not a fucking act, I’m just not a miserable person like you!” you grit your teeth, the temptation to throw something at him at an all time high.

“No you just live in this big old fantasy bubble that’s got you believing that kindness solves all the world's problems!”

“Yeah well it’s better than thinking that being a fucking prick to the rest of the world gets you anywhere, I mean look at where you’re at now!” you yell, knowing you were treading on thin ice, but you didn’t care at all anymore. The ice was shattered the moment he destroyed your painting, “I understand that I made a mistake going into your room, but you don’t have to take the rest of your miserable life out on me! You think everyone around you wants to be some kind of punching bag all the time for you?” the veins in your neck begin to pop out, and you almost feel as if your chest was going to physically explode at any moment, “How dare you come in here and treat everyone around you like complete shit all because you’re living a sad tragic life!”

“That’s not true,” he snarls, a scowl on his face.

“Isn’t it?” you scoff, “You’ve done it since the first day you got here, and so let me do the favor of telling you the truth and giving you a goddamn reality check! We’re all sick and tired of it! Just because you’re miserable doesn’t mean you get to make everyone around you as well! And let me tell you, I’ll be damned if I let someone like you make me just as rotten as yourself,” and for a small second you see the hurt across Jungkook’s face, and you think maybe you’ve gone too far. 

Maybe this could’ve all been prevented had you never entered his room. But then you think to yourself that no, this was bound to happen. This was always going to happen whether you liked it or not. The questions had always just been: when was it going to happen and what was going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back? By now both of your chests are heaving, and there’s a silence that fills the room. Time acts as nothing more than an illusion.

“Is that what you really think?” he says, a cold hardened expression on his face again, “That I make you miserable?” You look at the destroyed painting on the floor, a symbol that despite building and making something so beautiful, all it took was one slip of the finger for it all to go down the drain. Without saying anything, you slowly nod to him, the emptiness in your heart acting as a driving force.

“What the—” Hobi walks in the room, dazed and confused, “What the fuck is going on in here?” He asks, but the two of you remain silent, continuing to stare at one another.

That is until Jungkook breaks away from the stare, muttering a small “nothing,” under his breath, walking out of the room and going back to his own, the door loudly slamming shut.

“Y/N…” Hobi begins, but you cut him off before he even gets the chance, a tiresome expression on your face.

“Hobi,” you shake your head, “Just leave me alone!,” you snap at him, but it comes out more as a plea than a demand, voice completely weary. Hobi stares at you for a moment before doing so, gently closing the door when making his way out. Once you hear the sound of the door close, you squat down to the floor, fingers grazing the painting you’d work so hard on, a muffled sob finally escaping from your lips.

a/n: whew! originally this was supposed to be nothing more than a small drabble, but as i kept writing it just ended becoming this monstrous of a fic that i had to split into two lmao. hopefully i didn’t make the switches between present day and the past too confusing for y’all.  part two will probably be up by next friday, once my finals week is over :)) any messages, anons, comments, reblogs, and like are appreciated! see y’all next time! 💞

[murderousginger]

Darling You’re Glowing

Isaiah Jesus x Esme's Sister Reader

Warnings: Angst? Mentions of cocaine. They're criminals, guys, they do bad things.

Word count: 1,260

This song requested by @pollyrepents.

You were never really good with crowds. Especially large ones that you didn't know many people at. The chaos of it was fine, but you didn't particularly trust strangers and your opinion on cavalry men was about the same as coppers.

You fidgeted in your dress, earning a quiet but painful stomp on your shoe from your sister Esme. 

"Here," Esme hissed as she handed you the youngest. "Stop fidgeting and help. The wedding is about to start."

"How can it start when half of Grace's side hasn't even shown up?" You scowl as you take the cooing baby into your arms and start to bounce in place. "Besides, the boys haven't returned either."

Esme pursed her lips.

"Keep your voice down, sister," she whispered harshly as she leaned toward you. "Tommy said there will be no fighting today, and since no one in this family fights Tommy bloody Shelby, we're to mind our P's and Q's. Got it?"

"That what John told you this morning while he was putting another child in you while I fed the ones you got, sister?" You smiled cheekily as you swayed and bounced the baby, pushing the question through your teeth so only Esme could hear. 

Esme's neck flushed as she did her best to hide the upturn of her lips. 

"At least I'm not the tarte running around with a preacher's son."

"No, you just married into the Peaky Blinders to pop out kids for the horniest brother."

"Ladies," Polly said through a clenched smile as she leaned over Linda and the pew. "I'd like to remind you that we are in a church and surrounded by self-righteous coppers and soon cavalrymen. Our men are allowed to slip up and blame it on their cocks, we are not. Now hand me that beautiful baby."

You smiled as you happily passed her the baby, Esme scowling as she pushed the toddler closer to you to watch instead. 

"Men have the easy life, I tell ya," Esme muttered.

Finally the boys returned, with Tommy and Arthur going toward the front and John making his way back to the pew. He smiled as he approached until his eyes scanned yours and Esme's arms before landing on Polly and the baby starting to fuss.

"Hey Pol, what are you doing with my baby?" He said cheerily as he made his way past his wife, other children, and you and stretched his arms out. "Give 'im back."

Esme and Polly rolled their eyes simultaneously and the entire row rearranged. John took the baby -- quieting it down almost immediately -- and Esme traded places with you, moving the children between you both like guards on watch.

The seats started to fill and you heard John not to subtly say "Here comes the fucking cavalry," as the music started.

You stifled a laugh, earning a wink from John.

Jeremiah walked in, earning scattered looks through Grace's side as he took his place at the front. You boiled inside knowing what all those looks meant. Snobbish trash.

The wedding was fine. As always, the Shelby side roared with excitement as the couple kissed and Grace's side tastefully clapped as they turned their nose up at the Shelby uproar. Why Tommy would attach himself to such people was beyond you.

You twitched, watching the kids and looking around for your boys. Finn and Isaiah were probably with the younger Blinders, keeping the peace and setting things up for the reception. Your eyes kept searching the crowds, nervously scanning strangers for God knows what.

After family photos, everyone scattered to their cars to head to Arrow House for the reception dinner and party. You were charged with taking the kids home and tucking them in for the night. You fully planned to go to Arrow House after, whether John intended you to or not. You were going.

---

It was dark by the time you got to Arrow House, and dinner was far over. You parked the car near the others and scooted out of the seat in your silky lilac dress. You slipped your heels on as you walked toward the door, opening it to the lavish party inside. 

You smiled shyly at the uniformed men that turned as you walked in, hoping to slip through the crowd and blend in as if you'd been there all night. 

You quickly saw Isaiah from across the foyer and immediately went to meet him, only to see a pretty brunette grab his arm.

"I was told to ask someone young," she simpered, looking up at him through her lashes. "Will there be cocaine?"

"Sweetheart," Isaiah replied with a cocky grin. "I am young, informed and, uh, very well-equipped. You chose your man wisely."

You burned. A pit grew in your stomach as his words churned in your brain.

Arthur sidled up to Isaiah, smirking at the interaction between the two, his arm urging Isaiah away. 

A group pushed past you, between you and Isaiah, and you missed the interaction. The words garbled as it blended into the party and Arthur pushed Isaiah away from you. 

His words rang in your head, hurting your chest. He had been flirting with her. 

Tears stung your eyes that you quickly wiped away. Your jaw set. 

Well, if Isaiah wanted to sport, so could you.

You made your way through the house, picking up drinks and setting them down as you emptied them. Most of the Blinders had disappeared, off to some meeting you supposed. Oh well. Plenty of cavalrymen.

The young ones seemed game, but were so easily set off. The slightest cold shoulder and they hissed curses at you. The older the man, the worse his treatment of you. You quickly realized that you weren't even a woman in many of their eyes.

You quickly kept to the young ones, keeping it light and playful in hopes not to set them off. You danced with a few, trading uniforms when they started expecting things or lost their manners. As long as you smiled they were gracious enough when you left them.

"May I cut in?" A familiar voice asked. 

Before you could object, the uniform you had been dancing with politely handed you off to Isaiah. You scowled.

"Hey pretty girl," Isaiah said, wrapping his hand around yours and the other gripping your waist. His smile was soft as he looked down at you. 

"Sure you want to dance with me?" You asked briskly, earning a confused look. "I saw the girl, 'Zay. Be sure you choose your girl wisely."

He sighed as he spun you around. 

"She was asking for snow," he started. "John made it sound like you were home for the night with the kids."

"And you were flirting," you said, meeting his eyes. "Why are you here with me? Go find your tarte."

"You looked lonely, love," he said softly. "And you glow too brightly to have cavalrymen hands tainting you." 

"Who have you tainted tonight?" You asked tiredly, the anger leaving you slowly as you lost steam. "I thought we were together."

"We are," Isaiah urged, his nose rubbing against yours. "We are, love. There's no one in the world I'd rather dance with. Promise."

"I don't want to be left alone while you run off," you eyed him. "I'm not Esme, sitting with all the kids and hoping John comes home."

"If you ever get lonely, you'll have to be lonely with me, love," Isaiah said as he cupped your cheek and kissed you. "I'm not going anywhere. I love you."

[powdermelonkeg]

Hyrule Brochure: A Potential for BotW’s Future

Hyrule’s map in BotW is pretty sparse as far as cities go. Yes, it’s got more than any other Zelda game, but it also has like, 90% of its map being pure dead space.

So I decided to play around and make what I imagine Hyrule would look like, as far as cities go, if it were allowed to properly rebuild and not get totally wrecked by Ganon again.

Credit to Eragon2589 on DeviantArt for the free-to-use map icons. I love these little buttons so much.

So, these are the canon towns we get in BotW; Hateno, Lurelin, Tarrey, Zora’s Domain, Goron City, Korok Forest, Rito Village, Yiga Hideout, and Gerudo Town. I’m counting Yiga Hideout as a town because if the Yiga were a little nicer, it WOULD be marked one.

Adding the various stables on makes the place look MUCH less empty, but still; what can we do with this?

Well, I’ve spent the last several days locating all the significant ruins and landmarks, with one or two extra things thrown in, that I think would make this place much more populated.

Maps are free to use if you want them, btw. Have fun!

As a general rule of thumb, I want to make the towers and stables their own cities. The towers are a good landmark and beacon of safety, and the stables have all the building blocks to start building up a village.

If I’m particularly inspired, I’ll give some background on what the town is/does!

Starting off with the Rito! Their village has grown into a town, and the stable at its foothill is its own village now. I called it “fledgeling” because that’s where the Rito and Hylians would intermingle most, so the Rito aren’t exactly flying around here.

Beacon City is built around Tabantha Tower; the Rito have turned it into a sort of lighthouse, reflecting light off into the distance to help guide nighttime fliers home. Because of this, it’s a very popular stop for mail carriers, and where they go, development and cultural mixing follows.

Kaysa Town is built around Great Fairy Kaysa’s fountain; it’s a popular tourist attraction, and she gets plenty of offerings, so win-win!

For the Gorons, we’ve only got two more cities: Silversmith Village and Din’s Spire. Silversmith is built around the culture in the southern mines, and it has down-the-road access to the Goron Hot Springs. Din’s Spire is less of a town and more of a landmark, due to the sheer cliffs all around it, but the huge (and notably not in the burning death zone) hot spring lake makes it a popular rest stop for people on their way through.

I decided not to rebuild the northern mines; they’re pretty busted up and lava soaked, so my assumption is that they were abandoned either due to hazards or due to the ore being stripped out.

Korok Forest wouldn’t change much, besides the Royal Family declaring it a protected area. The Koroks don’t seem to have much interest in expansion, and they, as far as I know, don’t live in houses.

Gerudo Territory is MUCH more expansive than the others so far, and with good reason.

Gerudo Town itself is now Gerudo City, and the Kara Kara Bazaar has grown into a town. Canyon Stable has developed a village (mostly full of Gerudo husbands so they don’t have to travel a million miles just to see their families).

The Gerudo have control of one of the towers in their region, and the town built around it is Overlook Town. It mostly serves as a training grounds for young Gerudo warriors.

The City of the Seven developed when the Seven Heroine statues were recovered and restored; the town around them was built to honor them, and then it got a LOT of foot traffic from those wanting to see the legendary statues.

Tera Town rose up much in the same way Kaysa Town did up in Rito territory, centered around the Great Fairy Fountain.

Mesa Village and West Gerudo Town are both smaller Gerudo settlements; West Gerudo sprung up out of access to snowmelt from the Gerudo Highlands, and Mesa Village, because of its relative safety from Molduga and access to oasis water.

Finally, Gerudo Valley, in reference to Ocarina of Time. This town is a Gerudo-only zone, and is more a fortress than a town. It exists both to keep an eye on the Yiga and to gain control of the mountain pass, making people go through Canyon Village to get to Gerudo instead of avoiding Gerudo customs.

Speaking of the Yiga, they’ve taken two new spots for themselves; Gerudo Tower, which they’ve renamed Kohga Tower in honor of their late Master, and Banana Labyrinth, which serves as their highest security area. Imagine if you’d had to go through the LABYRINTH to get the Thunder Helm back.

Up next we’ve got the Zora. Truthfully, their territory spans as long as Zora river and WELL into the ocean, but these are the only cities that, technically, a Hylian with adequate gear can enter.

Mipha’s Landing is an above-water city built expressly for doing trade. It got its name from the late Mipha; since the tower reaches up into the sky, it was hoped that someday, her spirit would sit atop it for a rest and see all that her people had been able to do thanks to her sacrifice.

Lakebed Village is in Lake Hylia, and it’s actually a slowly-repopulating Lakebed Temple, from Twilight Princess. Meanwhile, Great Bay City is a port town above water and an aquatic metropolis below, full of music and dance and exotic wares.

And finally, Hylians.

Hoo boy.

I’ve split this up region by region but

THIS is how many living spots they’ve got.

Silver stars indicate military towns. Red stars indicate military outposts.

I USE THE TERM MILITARY VERY LOOSELY HERE. Hyrule, since it doesn’t interact with its neighbors, only has the Yiga and the various monsters to fight against. Anything labeled “military” means that it’s staffed by royal employ, meaning knights and Sheikah and the like.

Let’s start with Akkala. The northeast labyrinth has been converted into an emergency bunker, in case Calamity strikes and people need a safe place to hide. Not only is it difficult to break into, it also has a completely empty lower level that’s PERFECT for long-term seige.

City Tempest got its name for being near-constantly wracked by storms. Despite this, though, it remains a popular vacation spot for people who don’t mind a little rain; the Skull Lake and the giant flowers are worth it.

Valley Town rose up out of both East Akkala Stable and Robbie’s workshop. It doesn’t get too much foot traffic, but it doesn’t really need to.

Midna Village, I built where the ruins of Shadow Hamlet are. I figured it was a fitting name, and the area is almost constantly covered in the shadow of Death Mountain.

Four Brothers’ Base is a knight outpost that’s up extremely high, spanning huge bridges between the four Tingle isles.

Then Parapa Palace, in reference to Zelda II: Adventure of Link, was built in place of the Akkala Citadel and functions as a mini Hyrule Castle + Castle Town. In real life, monarchs would have several palaces to go between, kind of like how well-off people nowadays would have a summer home. So, I followed that trend! This is Zel’s summer palace.

And you guys know what Tarrey Town is. Although interestingly, as it expands, it goes vertical into the stone column it was built on.

Onto Central Hyrule.

Camp Rauru is training camp and lodging for new knights. Rebonae Village and Kasuto City were made out of the Wetland and Riverside stables respectively, though Kasuto (also an Adventure of Link reference) gets substantially more foot traffic due to being on the way from Castle Town to Dueling Peaks.

Outset Town got its name, lore-wise, from the fact that it’s the first bit of land Link from BotW visited after leaving the Great Plateau, and meta-wise, because it’s the starting point for Wind Waker Link.

Aquame City surrounds the Coliseum, which is how it grew to be so popular. The grand stage holds sparring matches and various other shows regularly, and it’s a pleasant boat trip from Castle Town to get there.

Saria Town was built out of the old exchange ruins, and it’s in walking distance of the ruined Sage Temple—which, at this point in time, would have been rebuilt—and its existence is both an AoL reference and an OoT one (but mostly AoL, I’ve kind of fallen in love with its map).

New Mabe is where you can find the new Lon Lon Ranch! The ruins there are actually called the Mabe Town Ruins in game, and they’re right by the Ranch Ruins!

Eldin’s pretty sparse as far as Hylian towns go. It’s got Gut Check Camp, where Sheikah train for endurance and elemental resistance, and Windfall Town, a place that sees a LOT of gemstones pass through, freshly mined. That includes rupee ore, mind you!

Faron Province is a little more spaced out, due to the nature of the region. Lurelin’s grown since BotW, becoming a trading bay; meanwhile Cora Lake’s Sheikah Tower has expanded into Parache Town, and the Highland Stable has become Malanya Village. Both of those locations are VERY fond of horses, and they’re a bit competitive, especially during archery season.

Ordona Hamlet is a tiny village tucked away into the middle of Faron. It came about due to the Lakeside Stable, and it’s named that because I am STILL salty that the Zeldevs didn’t put an Ordon Village reference in the game.

Eventide Outpost is more of a testing ground for boats than anything particularly significant, population-wise. The even tides that gave the isle its name make it an ideal location to work out the kinks in new watercraft (and occasionally, the lieutenant in charge of that base demonstrates how to launch a raft into the sky with octo balloons).

Hebra’s the most militarized area of Hyrule, and ideally, it functions as a reserve of men and tech in case Calamity rises again. If there’s anything that BotW’s era learned, it’s to never underprepare for Gann’s return.

Fort Lomei is a converted base, just like the Banana Labyrinth is to the Yiga. This one, though, is patrolled diligently by knights who use daily-changing codes, and it’s impossible to navigate without the locals’ help.

Fort Pikida is situated in that weird stone cavern-y area, and it’s a supply stach and Hebran monster patrol site. It’s the soldiers there’s job to make sure that the Lynels that like to roam the region don’t get too close to residential areas.

Hia Miu Outpost is a training spot for knights sent to the Hebra region; any new soldier to the area has to prove they can handle themselves by going into the Hia Miu shrine and taking on the Major Test of Strength Trial. (Fun fact, did you know that the X-test-of-strength trials reset themselves every blood moon?)

Snowpeak Fortress exists both because it makes a fantastic secondary base for the Hyrulean royals to plan, and because i am once again salty about the lack of Twilight Princess in this game.

Sturnida Resort is built around hot springs! It’s a nice spot for people living around Rito Town and Fledgling Village to take a vacation without having to trek all the way across the country to do it.

Snowfield City came from Snowfield Stable, and it’s the Windfall of Hebra; it sees a LOT of people coming in and out of the region, and the view of the northern lights you can get from there? You’d be hard-pressed to find a Hylian that didn’t have it on their bucket list.

New Tabantha was built on the ruined spot of the original Tabantha Village; you can visit there in-game! It’s a quiet town that raises highland sheep for a living, and its team won the Hebran Triathlon three whole years in a row.

Then, the Tanagar Restricted Zone. If you’ve ever been there, you know EXACTLY why it’s restricted.

Most of the Guardians inside have been dealt with, but the ruined temple remains a hazard testing ground for new tech. It’s off limits to everyone but those with the HIGHEST clearance; I’m talking a direct letter from Zelda herself.

The Thyphlo Secret Camp is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a place for Hyrulean lieutenants to meet for top-secret missions, and it’s one of those places that you need to be SERIOUSLY high rank to even KNOW about.

Over on the edge of Lanayru, we’ve got New Goponga, built where the old Goponga ruins are, and the Crenel Garrison. The Garrison was built to take care of the Lizalfos problems in the waterways, keeping it safe for Hylians and Zora travelers alike. Goponga, on the other hand, is what Lurelin was in game; nice, friendly, and centered around fishery.

In Necluda, we’ve got New Deya where old Deya was ruined (I think BotW Link was born in old Deya!), Watchtower Village built around the lakeside of the Dueling Peaks tower, and then Dueling Peaks City, a HUGE trade hub that was once the Dueling Peaks stable.

Kakariko Village is now a Town, Hateno has grown into a full blown trade harbor, and a tiny village has started to form around the Hateno Tower, making Firly Overlook.

But what I most love is the City of Hylanay.

Back in the game, it was the ruins of the Lanayru Promenade. So I had the promenade rebuilt, then people moved in around it, and now, Hylanay’s basically Hyrulean Venice! I want to visit it.

On the Great Plateau, we’ve got Aboda Town, named after Spirit Tracks’ Aboda Village in reference to the starting point in each game. This Town has access to the original Temple of Time, but because of the nature of the isolated plateau, it doesn’t see a lot of new faces often.

Over around Thundra, we’ve got Tanagar Village overlooking the canyon, built out of the old Tabantha Stable. The village actually builds downwards into the canyon; people have windows carved right out of the cliff face!

Thundra Village is built into the rocky slopes surrounding Thundra Plateau and the Ridgeland Tower. Their houses are built in the shelter of the giant mushroom things that grow so well in the area, and they’re famous for their signature dish of escargot.

The Serenne Exchange is up north, encompassing both the old Serenne Stable and the Maritta exchange ruins. You can buy practically ANYTHING there; if ever there was a supermarket in Hyrule, it would be right there.

The Royal Lab was rebuilt out of its ruins post Calamity, and it’s directed by Purah, who still hasn’t cured her immortality yet. It’s not uncommon to hear explosions as you pass by that place.

And then Camp Rutile is a small observational outpost, meant to keep track of the activity on Satori Mountain. Supposedly, the mountain’s health reflects the state of the rest of the kingdom, so the researchers assigned there are tasked with monitoring it EXTREMELY closely.

And Hyrule Castle. It’s Hyrule Castle.

Now completely bolted into the ground! :D

If we put all these locations together, we get a very nice, very well populated Hyrule, with LOTS to see. This is how I would design the future of BotW’s Hyrule.

Thanks for reading!

[xiaojusaur]

7 Minutes in Heaven

Pairing: Friends to Lovers! Hendery x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut, Comedy

Warnings: car sex, fingering, squirting, dirty talking, multiple orgasms, mentions of masturbation, mentions of alcohol consumption.

Word Count: 6K

Description: Hendery was the new guy in class who didn’t know how to talk English well, that’s how you first start talking and then became good friends. You had a crush on him, but he didn’t know. Everything changed at a frat party; you shouldn’t have played 7 minutes in heaven with your friend.

You were accustomed to arrive early to the classroom because there was a certain desk you liked, plus you didn’t like being either too close or too far to the professor. Sometimes you really didn’t feel like paying attention, and today was one of those days.

On the way, you met with your best friend, but you couldn’t enroll in the same classes this semester, so she had to leave quickly.

When you got to the classroom, there was a new face and he was sitting on your favorite place. The shock froze you in place, he hadn’t noticed you were there as he was writing something down on his notebook and his dark mane was covering his face.

You decided to be nice and just sit on the desk on his left. When he was aware of your presence, he turned his head to you, your eyes meeting when you raised your glance. You smiled and he smiled back. He was cute. You both kept quiet until the rest of the classmates and the professor arrived.

“Class! We have a new student with us! Hendery, please say hello!” Your professor introduced the new guy to your right. He waved shyly. “Please be patient with him, he doesn’t know much English. He came all the way from Macau. If you guys see him struggling, please give him a hand,” your professor continued.

So that’s why he was so silent! He seemed so nice and you having a lot of empathy, could feel he was feeling anxious. It must’ve been hard not being able to communicate well.

The class continued and you were distracted with the fact that maybe Hendery couldn’t understand well what was being discussed. He looked so focused, you didn’t dare to interrupt him because maybe he was trying to do his best. So you waited for the class to be over and when he was about to leave, you stopped him.

“Hey, wait a minute!” You whisper-shouted.

He turned around and his face seemed to light up.

“Are you okay? Did you understand the class?” You asked him.

“Yeah, I tried my best,” he shrugged and then giggled.

You giggled with him and then said, “If you ever need help to understand something, just ask me, okay?”

“Alright! Thank you!” He seemed genuinely happy that you were willing to help him.

“Do you know anyone around?” you didn’t want him to be alone.

“Yeah, I have a friend. I will meet him now to get lunch,” he explained.

“That’s good!” You nodded.

“Do you want to join us?” He asked you.

“That’s alright! I’ll meet with my best friend too,” you answered.

“Oh okay, see you later then,” he was about to leave when he remembered he didn’t know your name. “Oh! Wait! What’s your name?”

“Y/N,” you smiled to him one last time before he nodded and left.

The months went on like that. Hendery occasionally came for help, he liked teaming up with your for group projects, and he even invited you to lunch a few times. You liked spending time together and slowly, he merged into your group of friends, bringing his group of friends also.

His English got better and better, he was almost and expert, even though he had a cute accent.

You found yourself having a huge crush on him, but you swore you would never tell him. For you, he was way out of your league, you weren’t his type, and you didn’t even know about his language, though he had tried several times to teach you some words and expressions.

“Hey!” He arrived to your apartment without notice to find you curled up in your sofa watching a movie.

“Hi! What’s up?” You said while checking your phone to see if he had texted you, finding an empty screen.

“So, tonight’s there’s this frat party from the frat house Yangyang is in, do you maybe wanna go?” He then smiled widely, trying to convince you.

“I don’t know... I’m not in the mood for partying today,” you replied while cuddling the cushion.

“Come onnn!” He flopped by your side on the couch, “Lyndsey is gonna be there! She’s gonna stalk me the whole night!” He groaned.

“Well, that’s your own fault! You dicked her down and she got addicted,” you shrugged, laughing at him later.

“Hey! I was in need!” He explained unnecessarily.

“You guys can’t last a week without pussy, that’s sad, you know,” you were mocking him.

“It’s in our nature, what can we do? Plus, how long has it been since you got laid?” He was smirking, trying to make fun of you.

“Shut up,” you pushed him playfully.

“So come on!!!! Let’s go to the frat party!” He started shaking you by the arm.

“Alright! Alright! Ugh! You’re so annoying!” You jumped to your feet and went to your room to change, your quick choice being a pair of jeans, a turtleneck shirt, a bomber college jacket, and some sneakers. You texted your best friend.

Hey! Are you going to that frat party?

Idk... are you?

Dery is making me go. Something about Lyndsey and stuff

Sucks. I can accompany you

Please! It’s possible he finds someone else and leaves me alone there surrounded by strangers

Fine, I’ll throw something on and see you there.

You got out of your room and Hendery was there, laying back on the couch while watching the TV. He looked so cute. You couldn’t believe you had a crush on him and he hadn’t noticed.

“We’re ready to go,” you announced and he looked at you from head to toe and back up. He catcalled you as a joke, “Look at my bestie gooo! She’s gonna seduce some men!”

You rolled your eyes and said, “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

“Fine, let’s go!”

At the party, you met with your best friend while Hendery went with his friends. Everyone was wilding, playing beer pong, dancing, drinking, making out on the corners.

You stayed by your friend’s side, dancing and drinking. Hendery found you in the crowd and started dancing with you too, after all, you were that comfortable with each other. He grabbed your hips and was grinding on you while you followed his hips. When the song finished he said he was gonna get more alcohol while you ran to your best friend again.

“Are you not gonna tell him ever?” She asked you, talking about your huge crush in Hendery.

“I don’t think I will. I mean, we’re okay as we are,” you shrugged. You didn’t want to lose his friendship and you thought that if you told him, everything would turn awkward, so you just decided to keep it to yourself.

As the night went by, people started to get sleepy, some passing out on the couches, others disappeared who knows where. Only a few were still alive and among them were Hendery, your friend, the infamous Lyndsey, and you. Someone had the bright idea of playing 7 minutes in heaven just for the sake of relieving high school memories, so you all sat on the floor in circle. Some random guy looked for an empty bottle that would choose the lucky couples. You were sitting across Hendery, who looked spaced out, probably drunk already and being stalked by Lyndsey. The poor girl’s eyes were shining with high hopes of getting a chance to be alone with Dery again. You were mocking him and he was acting annoyed.

As the game progressed, many random couples got to be locked in the darkness of the closet. Your friend matched with the very hot Jaehyun guy from English class but she didn’t spill anything. While you were teasing her, you heard Hendery’s name along with some noise by his friends. You were about to start mocking him too when you noticed the bottle was pointing at you.

You swear your surroundings froze in time. Your friend’s eyes widened because she knew how you felt. Hendery tho, was excited because after all, it was you and he wouldn’t feel so awkward.

“Aren’t you going?” Said the guy who had the control of spinning the bottle, Lyndsey looked at you and then to Hendery, expecting you to not go. Hendery actually helped you to stand up and basically dragged you into the closet with him. Before locking the door, the guy with the timer said, “Whatever you do, you have 7 minutes. Nothing more,” and with that, he left you two alone in the darkness of the closet.

You were holding into Hendery’s arms, maybe to know he was there, maybe as a support, or perhaps because you wanted to feel him close.

“Well, at least I’m saved from Lyndsey,” he laughed nervously.

“Yup, once again, I am your savior,” you remarked.

Being alone with Hendery wasn’t awkward usually, but there was some weird tension going on in the tiny space of the closet.

“What should we do?” He asked in a whisper, the air emitting from his lips blowing you right on the face because he was too close.

“I don’t know... talk? We’re friends, this isn’t weird,” you tried to convince yourself.

“I mean... yeah...”

“These had been the longest seven minutes of my life,” you stated.

“Let’s kiss, maybe that would make it less awkward and the time will go faster,” Hendery suggested and you swear the butterflies in your stomach made a tornado.

“You think kissing between friends is less awkward?” You asked confused.

“Well yeah, I mean, we’re friends. It shouldn’t be weird, it’s only a kiss,” he said, ignorant of your feelings for him.

“Okay then,” you agreed, “but let’s not allow this to make us awkward after, alright?”

“Promise,” he gave you his pinky to hook with yours.

In less than a second, his lips crashed on yours. You thought it was just gonna be a peck, but then he started moving his lips, and automatically, yours responded. His tongue darted between your lips, looking for yours to tangle with. Your arms snaked around his neck, while his wrapped around your waist, bringing you even more closer. Having him like this sparked the feeling inside you more: you were in love with this guy without remedy.

When you two were getting comfortable with it, you heard the alarm outside, indicating time was up. You detangled from each other, fixing your hair and your clothes to make it seem that nothing had happened. Everyone knew you two were best friends and to give the tiniest hint that you had done anything in there would be enough for your group of friends to start teasing you. When the door opened, you went on with your normal friendship and acted as if you haven’t kissed passionately a few minutes ago.

You were too overwhelmed, so you decided to leave with your friend. Hendery stayed. He was probably gonna crash in with the boys.

On the way back, your friend was telling you about her experience with Jaehyun, and then she remembered your time with Hendery.

“Did anything happen in there? You two looked pretty normal to me,” she inquired.

“Well... we kissed,” you shrugged.

“I knew it -wait what?!” She was shocked! “You kissed? As in a peck or-?”

“As in full tongue,” you nodded.

“Oh my God...... how do you feel?” She was concerned now.

“Like I’m in love... I feel like as soon as his lips touched mine, I was done, I completely fell in love with him,” you confessed.

“Oh no.... what you gonna do now?” She asked.

“Try to not be awkward and act as if it was nothing. Friends can kiss right?” You fake-smiled.

“No they cannot! Friends with benefits do... but I don’t think you’re there yet,” she scratched her neck.

“I’m fucked aren’t I?”

“Very...”

You tried avoiding Hendery until you felt better and collected your thoughts, but that was kinda impossible since he was everywhere and he looked for you everyday. So you did your best to not looked like you were having a turmoil of feelings every time you saw his stupid, beautiful face.

There you were, having lunch all together. He was talking about how he wanted to talk to a cute girl who was a few tables away. Your friend placed her hand on top of yours in silent support.

Honestly, you didn’t know what was up with you. He usually talked to you about his affairs with other females and you weren’t this affected, but today you were bothered by it. While his friends celebrated that he was going to get her number, you stood up and left with the excuse of having to study because of a test. Your friend followed you.

“I think you need to talk to him,” she suggested.

“I don’t know. I feel is going to be useless,” you grunted.

“Y/N, it has gotten to a point where you’re always fuming. He will start noticing your behavior soon if you keep this up, so my advice is that you two sit down and talk this out,” she stepped in front of you.

“There’s nothing to talk about! He doesn’t feel the same way I do. I’m the one trying to ruin our friendship,” you said as you threw your hands in the air in frustration.

“First of all, you don’t know that. Second of all, if you keep bottling it, you’re gonna explode and it’s going to be worse. And that’s not ruining a friendship, it’s only natural you like him. You spend time together, he knows you well, he brings you snacks...” Your friend was trying to talk reason back to you.

You whined, “But how am I supposed to tell him? I can’t just sit him down and tell him, ‘Listen, I have this huge crush on you, please love me back’, he’s a guy, he won’t understand.”

“Well, if he feels the same way he WILL understand,” she said matter-of-factly.

“That isn’t helping! Ughhh! I need to plan something... something that looks casual but it’s the right moment, you know what I mean?”

“How about... how about you invite him to watch a movie? That’s something you guys do often, right?” She suggested and you nodded. “You watch a movie, you have your snacks, you cuddle as you always do, and then you tell him. What do you think?” She wiggled her eyebrows and you laughed.

You gasped, “How do you know we cuddle? Are you spying on me?!”

“Come on, let’s be realistic. You two look like cuddly people,” she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah true... your plan sounds good. Imma try it. You’re the best! I don’t know how my life would be without you,” you embraced your friend in gratitude.

At night, you texted Hendery to start with your plan:

Hey, dumbhead

Sup, headache

Do you have plans on Friday night?

Not yet, 为什么？(weishenme - Why)

Why are you texting me in Chinese?! You know I don’t understand! I mean, I’m deducing that means why.

🤪🤪🤪

Anyways! What do you think if we watch that new movie on Netflix?

Sure, I’ll bring snacks

Kay

好！

Now that you had everything planned, you started thinking about what to say and how to say it. You couldn’t just shoot it.

A few hours later, when you were about to go to sleep, you received another text from Hendery. It said it had an image attached. It was strange but you decided to open it. And then regretted it.

Hendery had sent you a spicy picture. It wasn’t a nude but it was pretty suggestive. He was holding his member over his pants, as if to show how big he is without actually showing. Almost a dick pic.

You panicked, you were sure that wasn’t for you. A sudden jealousy took over you because, why was he sending these pics to someone else? But also, your friend-self told you to keep calm and let him know.

Wrong number! Dumbass! Look at the number before sending these kind of things!

He didn’t answer for a while, but then he appeared

I’m sorry!!! Oh God! I’m so embarrassed!

It’s all good. At least you’re not showing anything. My eyes aren’t bleeding yet!

I’m really sorry!

It’s okay! We’re friends...

And you left him with that.

Friday arrived and you were nervous already, waiting for Hendery in your apartment. Around 8PM he knocked on your door and you yelled “Come in!” Too lazy to get up from the couch. He looked comfy but so sexy at the same time.

Hendery brought a lot of snacks and placed them on the low table.

“I brought your favorites and mines, to fix your day!” He said excitedly.

You smiled and replied, “Thanks! I really appreciate it.”

“Let’s get to it!” He yelled and you shushed him laughing, he was so noisy and your neighbors would complain.

You were cuddled up with each other while watching the movie. You were leaning on his chest while he played with your hair with one hand and ate popcorn with the other. You felt his eyes on you, so you looked up and your eyes met. He smiled to you and you smiled back. You didn’t know if it was your imagination but you felt he was getting closer to your mouth. In your panic you didn’t move and opted to let it happen, maybe this was a sign that he liked you back. But then, his lips never touched yours and only centimeters away he said, “Haha, gotcha,” with a groggy voice.

You got angry and couldn’t conceal it anymore. So you got off the couch as quickly as possible.

“What’s wrong?” He asked confused.

The ticking bomb inside you snapped.

“What’s wrong?! You dare to ask me what’s wrong?! Hendery! You just pretended you were going to kiss me and then told me it was a joke!”

“Hey! Calm down! I thought it would be funny! Since you know, we kissed in the game as a joke” His eyes widening in concern.

“So the kiss was a joke to you?” You said crossing your arms tightly.

“I thought it was just a game, it didn’t mean anything,” he explained.

“It did to me!” You blurted, your mouth talking before you could think straight.

He froze and gulped, “What?”

“Nothing,” you turned around and walked to the kitchen.

“Y/N!” He walked behind you, “talk to me! You’re acting really strange lately. You’ve been avoiding me, you get angry about everything... what is wrong? What changed?”

You leaned on the counter, trying to find the correct words. “What changed is...” you gulped and then continued, “My feelings for you, Hendery. That changed.”

He was so puzzled. “I don’t understand...”

“Hendery, I’m in love with you,” you confessed, feeling a relief within you.

You looked at him, his eyes were alarmed, not quite the reaction you were expecting. “I- I- I don’t know what to say...” he stuttered.

“You don’t have to say anything, Hendery...” you muttered.

“I- I’ll be right back...” he walked slowly to the door and left without his things. He didn’t come back.

“Great Y/N, great! You just ruined your friendship,” you said to yourself, running your hands through your hair.

You cleaned your apartment and curled up in your bed, regretting everything you just did.

You two didn’t talk for a week straight, not daring to approach each other. Hendery went to Xiaojun for help because he felt he was losing you and he didn’t want that, but he felt bad for leaving you hanging that night. You were expecting an answer from him, but at that time, he didn’t think you were going to say what you said.

“This is simple, Hendery,” said Xiaojun while cooking something. “How do you feel about her?”

“I don’t know!!!” He whined, pulling his long strands of hair.

“I think you do know, you just don’t want to accept it,” Xiaojun chuckled. “You can be honest with me, you know.”

“Ughhh! Okay,” Hendery groaned. “I think I’m pretty accustomed to her as my best friend that I didn’t think I could actually like her. But now thinking about it well, I feel like my best self when I’m around her. I can be myself and she won’t judge me, she follows my weird behavior, she shares snacks with me...”

“Let me change the question a little bit,” Xiaojun interrupted, “the day of the party, how did you feel when you kissed?”

After thinking about it a little, Hendery answered, “I wanted to keep kissing her. I felt so comfortable in her arms. She’s a great kisser btw,” he drifted away.

“Focus!” Xiaojun yelled.

“Okay, okay! I don’t know, I feel like I would be able to tell if I see her again... but I don’t know how to go back to her,” he sighed.

“How about you do a non-date date, something simple like going for a late night drive,” Xiaojun suggested.

“You’re a genius!” Hendery exclaimed.

“I’m a romantic, which is different,” he pointed out.

It was 12AM on a Friday and you we’re already cuddled in your bed when there was a knock on your door. You threw a hoodie on, to not wear a bra just in case, and went to see who was it.

You felt like the air was punched out of you when you opened the door and saw Hendery’s figure. His hair was disheveled and he was wearing a cream-colored shirt, black joggers, and his glasses: the best look on him. “Hendery...” you said softly.

“Um... hi!” He smiled awkwardly, making him look so cute to you. “Listen, I know we haven’t talked this whole week and I didn’t have the best response to what you said and I’m sorry about that,” he was talking too fast.

“Hey... it’s okay,” you patted him on the arm. “You want to come in?”

“Actually, I came here for you. Do you want to go for a late night drive?” He was swinging, looking pretty nervous.

You sighed, “Do I have to change?”

“Not really, I mean, look at me,” he extended his arms and turned around. You giggled.

“Fine, let me get my shoes,” you ran to your room and put on the first sneakers you found and you both got in his car.

He was just driving around town, both of you being the old friends you were, singing loudly to the songs on the radio, laughing out loud, and watching the neon lights of the places that were open. He got down on a station to buy snacks for both and then kept going.

You ended up on a lonely hill with a view to the city lights. Sitting on the front of his car, you listened to Hendery talked about his life in Macau and what he missed. Then you were playing, trying to guess where were the places among the tiny lights at sight. Like magnets, you cuddled against each other without noticing; the night was getting cold after all. In the chit-chat, the clock marked 3AM. You got in the car again but Hendery didn’t started the car, instead he talked.

“Y/N... I’ve been thinking about what you told me.” There was a long silence between you two, so he continued, “I like the version of me when I’m with you. It’s so easy to not think about what to do or what to say, I can just speak my mind. I really appreciate you.”

“Same here, Dery,” you placed your hand on top of his, which was on his thigh.

“Im sorry for making you feel bad. I really didn’t think straight, I was in utter shock,” he apologized.

“It’s okay, I shouldn’t have said that the way I did,” you accepted.

“So no hard feelings?” He asked, looking at you now.

“No hard feelings,” you smiled.

But then the air changed between you two. A force was drawing you together and neither of you stopped it. Your lips touched, sparking the flame inside you again. And like that, Hendery knew he loved you too, because the butterflies in his stomach wouldn’t stop dancing. His hand traveled to the back of your head, holding you softly. He pulled back first, mumbling, “I’m sorry, is this okay?”

“Only if it’s okay with you,” you whispered.

“I love you,” he muttered before kissing you again, this time deepening the kiss. Your arms quickly wrapped around his neck, bringing him closer. It turned to a passionate make out session and you were gasping for air. You smiled because you were kissing your best friend and Hendery smiled because you looked so cute.

“Should we take this to the backseat?” He suggested with a groggy voice.

“Here? Right now? Really?” You joked.

“I’m sorry! I’m desperate for you,” he shrugged. He jumped first, to lean the seat back for more space. Conveniently he had some sheets there. Then he beckoned you with his hands, inviting you to jump with him. You did as told but your foot got stuck on the front seat so you landed flat over him. You both started laughing at your disgrace but then started kissing wildly again.

He rolled over so you were under him. He fitted perfectly between your legs, as if you were made for him. Quickly, clothes started to be bothersome and he took off your hoodie. Then, Hendery’s hands ran underneath your shirt, reaching your breasts. He squeezed them and then started playing with your hardened nipples, rolling them between his fingers. Soon enough, he asked you, “Can I take this off?” Pulling your shirt. You simply responded, “Please.” He also took off his, revealing his beautiful body and threw both of your shirts to the front seat. One of his hands ran down your body, feeling all of you while he enjoyed your lips. You sighed in satisfaction, feeling yourself getting wetter with every touch and each kiss.

Hendery knew when to start touching you and he asked for your consent, “Can I touch you?”

“Please Dery, I’m so wet already,” you said in a needy whisper.

He groaned in response, his fingers not loosing time in snaking inside your shorts. First he touched you over your underwear and then he slipped inside your panties, finding your clit easily. “Oh my god,” you said in a breathy murmur.

“Fuck... you’re so wet,” he hissed. He took out his hand to pull down your pants and underwear, all in one go, helping you shimmy out of them. After all, none of this was being awkward between you, you felt comfortable with each other. Once he had you all at his mercy, he kissed your neck, his mouth going down and down while his hand went to your south. His lips enclosed your nipple at the same time his fingers got between your folds. God! He was so skilled! Your hand played with his hair while his did unholy thing to you.

He sticked his middle finger in you, going in and out, then he added his ring finger and started moving them fast and deep inside, making you whine. “Fuuuuck! Dery! Feels so good!”

He let go of your nipple with a pop, “You like my fingers, baby? Yeah?” His voice was lower than usual and breathier, it had your head spinning.

“Ooh! Yeah, I love them,” you cried and kissed him. You could hear the squelching sound coming from between your legs. You couldn’t believe Hendery was the one making a mess of you.

You felt your orgasm bubbling inside you, “Hendery I’m gonna cum,” you said in a high-pitched whimper.

“You wanna cum on my fingers? Do you like them that much?” He panted.

“Mmmm! Yes!” You moaned.

“Come on, baby, let go,” he commanded you and started thrusting his fingers faster.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” you said in a shattered chant and then you felt the delicious tingles all over your body, your eyes rolled back, and your back arched. Something unusual happened this time: strands of water gushed out of you and your legs started to shake. You cried loudly loosing all control of your body. Hendery was amazed of what he just did, “Shit! So hot!”

You, on the other hand, were embarrassed. “Oh god... I’m so sorry...” you hid on the crook of his neck.

“It’s okay, that was so hot! I’ve never achieved that. Did you know you could do that?” He caressed your hair in assurance.

“No... it’s the first time that happens...” you whined in embarrassment.

“Baby, it’s okay,” he chuckled, “wanna know something? I’m harder now.”

“Deryyy!” You gasped.

“Can you take it?” He hummed.

“I can take all of you,” you smirked.

“So naughty, I like it,” he pecked your lips and proceeded to kneel in front of you, all bended to avoid smashing his head with the hood. He slipped his pants off easily, along with his briefs, his hardened cock springing free. Your mouth watered at the sight, the tip so pink, shinning with wetness, all ready to take you.

You opened your legs, inviting him, you couldn’t wait for him to be inside you.

He hissed when seeing your still wet core, “Fuck, I could’ve beat that long time ago,” to which you laughed. “Well, you decided to keep boundaries.”

“You’re my best friend, wasn’t it going to be weird?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe?” You shrugged.

“I’m a man, you know. I’m weak. Do you think I didn’t wish to rearrange your insides some of those nights where we cuddled in your couch? It took the best of me to calm this little guy,” he grabbed his length. You burst out laughing.

“Are we really having this conversation when you’re about to wreck me?” You rolled your eyes.

“You started it!” He complaint.

“Oh, shut up and fuck me,” you taunted.

“Condom or no condom?” He asked.

“Wrap your weiner, I don’t know where you have sticked that thing in,” you commanded him.

“I’m clean! I always protect myself, who do you take me for?! I offered myself since I trust you as my best friend, but okay. And don’t call him a thing! He has a name!” he sounded so offended.

“Oh my god! Don’t take it personal! Maybe in the future I’ll let you fuck me raw,” you winked, “but for now, let’s do it this way.”

“Alright,” he said as he looked for his wallet in the pocket of the pants he just discarded. Finding the tiny foil square was fast and he was even faster rolling it down his shaft.

“Come here,” he pulled you closer by your legs, making you laugh. This whole adventure had been a fun ride for both of you.

He kissed you passionately again, one of his hands ran to your leg, bending it a little to have better access to your entrance. He then hold his length, rubbing the tip up and down your pussy, teasing you, making you bite your lip. You were shaking in anticipation.

He pushed himself in slowly, both of you moaning. “Mmm, 操! (cào - Fuck), you’re so tight for me, baby,” his said in a shaky whisper.

He went as deep as he could, making you feel so full. “Hendery,” you breathed, “I feel so full.”

“Yes baby, I’m gonna make you feel so good,” he assured you in hoarse groan.

He kept thrusting you slowly, passionately, enjoying every inch of you. The car was full of shaky breaths, low moans, occasional grunts, and the sound of kisses. Never in your life you thought you would share such an intimate moment with Hendery, but you were loving every second of it.

“Can I go faster?” He asked softly.

“Yes please,” you pleaded.

Hendery caged you in his arms and started snapping his hips faster. His lips whispered filthy praises in your ear, adding up to your want for him, “So good, your cunt feels so warm baby, wanna fill you up with my cum. Do you want that? Yeah? Mmmm... Making love to you feels so nice. I love you, I love you, I love you. This is the only pussy I wanna fuck for the rest of my life.”

Your hands hugged him back, running all his back, tangling in his hair, he had you crazy for him with every word. If you weren’t out of breath, you replied to his words with moans and mewls. “Mmmf! Hendery! Fuck! I love you so fucking much! Please keep fucking me, it feels so good!”

A few minutes later he panted, “I’m gonna cum.” He tried to go faster and he drove his hand south, finding your bundle of nerves skillfully. He was drawing circles while pummeling into you fast, making your second orgasm arrive with force, tightening around him. A sharp scream left your throat and you hugged him tightly. Hendery came with a guttural growl, “Ughhh! So good!” You could feel him pumping in you while he filled the condom.

When you both could breathe again, he embraced you and peppered you with kisses, making you giggle. “How are you feeling, my love?” He smiled.

“I like the sound of that coming from your lips,” you cuddled with him. He sighed, satisfied with the thought that you were his and he was yours.

“Then I will call you that all day just to see you happy,” he kissed you on the forehead.

“You’re my happiness,” you purred.

“I love you, I really do,” he confessed.

“I love you too, Dery,” you raised your head to kiss his lips.

“Do I need to pop the question or are we clear?” He joked.

“Imma torture you and make it pop it,” you chuckled beaten.

“Would you be my girlfriend?” He asked confidently.

“I’d love to,” you replied.

After a moment of silence, Hendery suggested, “Up for round two?”

“Oh my god, you’ll be the death of me if your sex drive is this high,” you sighed.

“My sex drive with you will always be high. Imagine having to hide your boner for so many years and then finally getting the pussy of your dreams?” He was such a character.

“Stop!! That is not true” you shoved him with your elbow.

“Not true?! Do you wanna know how many times I masturbated after arriving home from our movie nights?!” He could be brutally honest sometimes.

“You masturbate?” You wanted to see him snap.

“Listen, Y/N, if I didn’t, my dick would’ve fallen off by now because holy fuck! I wanted to rail you so bad!”

You just exploded in laughs. He really was the man you loved.

“How many rounds can you make?” You asked him.

“I have a whole box of condoms to use with you. You decide,” he shrugged.

“So that’s 3?” You jeered.

“Very funny,” he said sarcastically.

The car kept rocking, the windows were fogged and Hendery almost could last till dawn making love to you. The rest of the night became an orgasm feast for you two.

You fell asleep, beaten thanks to the activities. When you woke up, the sky was painted in pastel colors, announcing dawn. You were wrapped under the sheets, naked with Hendery, on the back of his car.

You looked at him, he looked so cute sleeping soundlessly, you didn’t want to wake him up, but the sun was about to rise and you were away from the city.

“Baby,” you whispered softly.

“Hmm?” He hummed, as if asking what was wrong.

“Baby, I’m cold and the sun is rising,” you explained.

“Mmm... really?” His sleepy voice was making your head spin.

“Yes my love, we should go home. We can continue sleeping at my apartment if you want,” you suggested.

He yawned, “but then I’ll have to make love to you again because I want to be like this with you.”

You giggled, he was so cute talking while sleepy. You kissed his cheek. “We can just get naked and sleep.”

“It’s not the same,” he groaned. Hendery sat and stretched, then, he passed you your clothes.

You guys bought breakfast on the way home, you ate it and then went back to sleep. You spent the majority of the day in bed watching series, glad that you belonged to each other now.

[funtimebunnyblog]

Let's all raise a glass to you, Surey! 🥰😇❤ Please enjoy!

The Pillarmen go out to a Bar with you! 🍻

(Under the cut for length...)

Kars:

• Kars isn't really a person to go out to drink.

• If anything, he prefers to enjoy a drink or two at Home and unwind with a book or in a bath.

• However, if you want to take him out on the town he doesn't refuse you, even though he's not the biggest fan of bars or nightclubs and the crowds of people that come with it.

• If this was something that made you happy, than he supposed it would all be worthwhile to let you enjoy yourself.

• When going out to a bar or a club, those are the nights he dons his dark coat and hat (despite how you may plan to dress for the evening) and walks arm in arm with you down the street to the place of your choice.

• You better had pick a good one because he's not a man to hop from place to place in one night. He makes it very clear that it's here and then Home.

• The majority of the night he prefers to sit quietly at the bar or at a booth in the far corner, silently nursing a glass of vodka or red wine.

• He'll let you dance and socialize and enjoy yourself all you want but don't expect him to do the same.

• Kars will also monitor how much you're drinking and don't think he won't cut you off if he's deemed you've had enough.

• For your safety, he keeps his eyes on you at all times as he doesn't exactly trust these kinds of establishments and he knows how truly disgusting Humans can be if given the chance.

• It's no surprise he has absolutely no tolerance for riff raff or drunks should they happen to be around.

• Anyone who's sober (or anyone with a brain for that matter) wouldn't dare to bother him, simply by the powerful and inhuman aura he emits just sitting there.

• Once on a night out, a drunk man who was entertaining himself by going around and poking people made the mistake of staggering up to Kars where he sat, reaching out and tapping him right on the nose.

• Surprisingly very calm about it, Kars watched him stumble away laughing with little more than a glare before rising to his feet. The song had suddenly changed in that moment and couples were dancing to some upbeat music, Kars left his glass behind at the bar and approached you on the dance floor.

• It shocked you to say the least when Kars approached and took your hand and asked for a dance to which you happily obliged.

• This was a little odd for Kars to want to dance in public but you didn't think to question it.

• As the dance floor crowded and people danced away the drunk man made his rounds again, laughing as he went around and tapped people on the nose, pinched their cheek or flicked them on the chin. Kars had his eyes set on him the entire time he danced, waiting with all the patience in the world.

• The unsuspecting man passed bye Kars one more time and the altercation was fast. Very fast. So very momentary even you didn't see it happen.

• Kars spun you around with one hand and with the other he curled his fist and punched the drunk man straight under his chin, knocking him to the floor, completely unconscious.

• Kars continued to dance with you like nothing at all happened as people suddenly took notice, crowding around the floored drunk questioningly.

• "Hmm," Kars peered over his shoulder, lips pursed and the very definition of unbothered. Not a soul (not even you) suspected a thing. "It would seem he's had too much to drink."

• In Kars' opinion, that was more merciful than the man deserved.

• On the nights where you're drunk, you can bet that he's grumbling the entirety of the time dragging you Home.

• Listening to you giggle and chatter on without a care in the world, slurring your words and relying on him to keep upright might've warmed his heart if he wasn't aware of the complete mess you would be in the morning.

• Kars isn't one to baby you when you're hungover either.

• You did this to yourself and he did warn you not to drink so much afterall.

• But he's not cruel to you when you're hungover. He'll smoothe your hair and rub your back if you happen to get sick. He'll also make you drink plenty of water and he'll let you rest as long as you need to.

• As long as you had fun and keep enjoying these little nights out he doesn't mind all the displeasing parts that come with it. Your happiness is truly what matters to him in the end.

Esidisi:

• Quite the opposite of Kars, Esidisi LOVES going out on the town for a couple of drinks with you.

• In fact, he's got a number of favourite places around to pick but he'll always ask you for your approval when making the decision.

• Chances are, when you and him are such frequent Bar goers together, EVERYONE at your favourite spots will know you!

• Esidisi sometimes likes to go the extra mile for the occasion and throw on something sexy but still casual. Long sleeved, colourful shirts halfway unbuttoned and some jewelry always does the trick for him.

• The most memorable nights for you both is when there's a new place opened up in town and the two of you go to check it out, meet some new people and maybe dance a little.

• It's probably safe to say that Esidisi's favourite thing to do is mess with any drunks that happen to be around.

• He'll sit at the bar as you drink and socialize with some of your friends, surrounded by a bunch of tipsy Humans, using his powers to do the oddest tricks for money.

• The crowd goes absolutely wild no matter how many times they see him make a glass of cold beer boil using just his hand.

• Chances are, Esidisi might end up being more drunk than you the majority of these nights because of his entertaining nature.

• "You can't possibly drink that whole glass in one go." The Bartender frowned at the Pillarman skeptically after he had made that outrageous claim. "It's not possible."

• Esidisi could only grin at him as he put the glass to his lips. Without another word he threw back his head, sucking down the cold, inky Beer in one massive gulp; foam and all.

• The Bartender (now not so skeptical) and the man sitting to Esidisi's left, who had been nursing his 2nd glass of the same stuff for about 10 minutes now, could only stare at him, awestruck.

• "Aw Hell," he gaped. "I'd pay 20$ to see that again!"

• 20$ was put down and another glass gone within seconds; just the same as the first. A crowd began to draw around the bar and the massive man seated there.

• 40$, 80$, 150$, 300$ bets were laid out on the counter and Esidisi rightfully collected ALL of it as he just kept drinking, each glass gone in a single gulp.

• Needless to say, you're gonna be screwed if you're drunk yourself on nights like that because stuffing a Pillarman whose drank his body weight in alcohol into a Cab to try and get him Home isn't an easy job.

• Most especially when said drunkard Pillarman keeps insisting he's NOT drunk, whines he doesn't wanna go Home yet and keeps trying to go back inside.

• When Esidisi is hungover the next day it's not a treat either. Be prepared for WHINING.

• However, if you happen to be the hungover one he's probably one of the best caregivers you could ask for.

• He'll chuckle as he gives you some ibuprofen and water, telling you all about the great time you both had (if you happen to have forgotten) and how you took your drinks like an absolute champ.

• Needless to say, he's always down for a night out at a bar with you.

Wamuu:

• Admittedly, Wamuu was a little on the inexperienced side when it came down to drinking or going to places like bars.

• Overtime with you however, he grows more accustomed to the concept of both.

• When you take him out to a bar for a couple of drinks he doesn't really dress up for the occasion unless you tell him to. He prefers to just put on a clean white T-shirt, sweatpants and maybe a hoodie.

• You'll have to order his drink for him on the first few nights out together because he honestly doesn't know what he likes or what to have.

• The variety of alcohol (let alone the amount of brands under a single kind) was a little overwhelming to him.

• "--and what will you have?" "Um... beer?" "What kind, sir?" "..... um.... beer?"

• He's happy to let you drink and socialize if you wish to but he'll be a little lost if you leave him alone at the bar with his drink and a bunch of strangers to go to the washroom.

• Surprisingly however, it isn't hard for him to make some friends when that happens.

• With nothing else to do, he'll be watching whatever sports game is happening on one of the many TV's as he sips away at his drink.

• The game doesn't really interest him (he doesn't even understand the point of it) but he picks up on the habit of cheering when other people in the bar cheer and celebrate for their team.

• Because of that, other men and sportsfans alike will just flock to Wamuu under the impression he's a fellow sportsfanatic (or maybe even a sports player himself due to his massive size).

• By the time you come back, he's surrounded by a gaggle of sportsfans all cheering and highfiving Wamuu, patting him on the back, punching his shoulder and offering him plenty more to drink.

• He just shrugs at you when he catches your confused gaze from across the bar as he's not really sure what's going on either.

• Though he's content to let you drink and enjoy yourself, he knows very well when you've had quite enough to drink. He will straight up pick you up and carry you Home if need be.

• "Kisssh me, Wammmmuu." You half-giggled, sluggishly trying to pull yourself more upright to give his absolutely delectable looking lips the smooching you so wanted to as he closed the door of your apartment behind him.

• The Warrior sighed, patting your head. "Oh beloved, I am most honored you want to but you're drunk, it's not right..." he told you gently, carrying you all the way to your bedroom to lay you down despite any protests you might make.

• After giving you plenty of water and tucking you in (you at least get a goodnight kiss on the head), he'll keep an eye on you until the morning and ensure all your needs are met when you're hungover.

• If you ask him, he'll admit that he had fun and has no objections to going out again next weekend.

Santana:

• Much like Kars, Santana isn't exactly the biggest fan of noises or crowds of Humans in one settlement.

• Be prepared for him to crinkle his nose at the thought of going to a bar or a club where all of that happens under one roof.

• After some coaxing however, he'll agree but mostly for your sake.

• He wants to see you happy and he knows that nights out for some fun and social interaction was healthy for Humans.

• Besides, he also saw this as an opportunity to study Humans and try to understand their behavior a little better.

• Santana will throw on some street clothes and follow you wherever you want to go that night; whether its near or far, big or small.

• When going to a bar he's more interested in the food there rather than the drink.

• In fact; you'll come to find that he LOVES Bar food.

• The waitress will barely turn her back for a second before the basket of nachos she just delivered him has suddenly ceased to exist and he's asking for more.

• With an appetite like that, the Bar staff asks him if he wants to try their challenge of eating a HUGE meal under a set amount of time. If he wins he gets the meal free and all the drinks you order tonight free, his next meal here free and his picture on the Bars wall of fame.

• He only agrees to the challenge because he likes the sound of free food.

• The food comes and Santana makes it on the wall of fame easily in record time. The Owner of the place is absolutely gobsmacked with the fact that Santana scarfed down an ENTIRE 10 pound burger in less than 2 minutes.

• Santana will stare at the menu of drinks for the longest time, mouthing out the names of drinks and brands curiously. He'll want you to explain him what everything is but he honestly won't know what he'll like.

• He absolutely doesn't like beer. Not at all.

• The first sip of the first glass given to him was promptly spit out. Santana's mouth twisted into a bitter knot, pushing the glass FAR away and shaking his head frantically to try and rid of the disgusting yeasty film left on his tongue.

• You'll have to order him something more appealing in taste if you want him to drink at all.

• You'll find that he comes to enjoy a more sweet and fruity tropical drink like a Piña colada.

• "How is it?" You ask, a smile tugging at your mouth when you notice a little gleam in his eye as he put the colourful drink to his lips. He definitely looked less miserable than he had a moment ago.

• "Hmm," a little pink tongue darted out to swipe along his upper lip, his thumb fiddling with the tiny umbrella sitting on the ridge of the glass. "sweet. Pleasing."

• Because of his newfound love for the sweet tropical tasting booze you might have to monitor how much he has to be on the safe side as you weren't sure whether Santana would handle intoxication well.

• However, if you decide to let go and have one too many Santana will put his arm around you and firmly tell you it's time to go Home.

• He doesn't really know the first thing about the care and feeding of a hungover Human but he'll do anything you ask of him.

• You need water? He's got two bottles ready for you. Head hurt? He'll sprint to the store for Ibuprofen for you. The sunlight in the window bothering you? He'll cover that window using his own body if he has to.

• You might just be surprised when he asks you if you and him could go to another bar soon for more good food and a couple more drinks...