#i didn’t bother with an outfit change since that felt a bit complicated and i made this at like 11pm

[jade-tried]

JADE STRIDER PANEL EDIT — using page 570 of homestuck^2

i ain’t know much about hs^2 but you have to admit that the panel art is nice

[only-lonely-stars]

The Heart of the Mountain

Oneshot – (FFN) (AO3)

Summary:

After the Tournament of the Sources, Cole goes underground in Shintaro in search of answers. Queen Vania, who hasn't seen him since before the Merge, follows him.

Sort of a sequel to Where Are You?. MAJOR SPOILERS for Dragons Rising Season 2 Part 2! You have been warned.

Vania wasn’t there when Cole arrived, but she heard about it from her staff. It was the Master of Earth’s first visit to Shintaro since the Merge. She hadn’t heard from him, hadn’t seen more than a few news clips… and he was there.

Underground.

He’d ignored her, not even bothering to say hello before descending into the mountain. It was his right to go down there, but being snubbed hurt. He did what he wanted, no matter how it impacted anyone else, because usually it only helped people!

Vania was the Queen of Shintaro. If there was anyone who could do as they liked, it was her.

Two can play at this game, Cole.

So Vania canceled every duty she had for the day. She dressed in her favorite adventuring outfit, freshly plaited her hair into a crown braid, and touched up her makeup. Then she followed him into the darkness and depths, bearing a lantern and striding with confidence.

—

She found him standing in the Heart of the Mountain. 

He was staring up at the statue of Lily, everything illuminated in orange. It almost looked like a trance, the way he stood so still, the way the whole room was built to frame him.

For a moment, she didn’t recognize him at all. 

“...Cole?”

The ninja before her straightened up, then turned to look at her in surprise. His black hair was longer than she remembered, his eyes a little more tired. “Vania?”

Vania frowned, trying to understand what she saw. Cole was wearing something new: white, orange and steel gray. It was a complicated suit, not unlike a set of armor, and entirely different from a ninja gi.

She preferred his usual black, but it was still quite handsome on him. He was always handsome. 

“You… didn’t come say hello. I thought I would come down and find you.”

In case you didn’t come find me before you left.

Because I missed you.

Why didn’t you bother to find me?

“Oh…” Cole looked away, having the decency to be ashamed. “I”m sorry, Vania. Hailmar said you were busy. I didn’t want to interrupt anything.”

“You know you’re never an interruption.” Vania approached him, but it felt like entering a home uninvited. “I just… haven’t seen you in so long. I heard about your surviving the Merge, and you never responded to any of my letters, and… then you disappeared again. I thought you were avoiding me.”

“Avoiding you? No!” Cole stammered, finally coming to her and grasping one of her hands. The contact was welcome, and she had to smile, looking up into his eyes as he seemed to come back to himself. “I’m sorry, Vania, really. I just have a lot on my mind.”

She laughed softly. “When do you not? Every time I hear from you, you tell me about yet another catastrophe.”

“Ha, well, you know how it is being a ninja. Never enough time or people to help with all the things going wrong in the world.” Cole reached up and ruffled his hair, but he didn’t let go of her hand. With ruffled hair, he looked a little bit more like she remembered– boyish, carefree, adventurous. “And this time is unfortunately no different.”

“So I’ve heard.” She mustered her best attitude for him, pushing away her frustrations. “Why are you down here? And… what’s going on with the new outfit?”

“Oh, this?” Cole looked down, letting go of her hand so he could mess with it. He tugged at the material, as if to change the fit, but eventually gave up with a sigh. “It’s a long story. Maybe this isn’t the place for it… or maybe it is. I don’t know.”

“That… means nothing. You know that, right?”

“I know, I know.” Cole laughed, then stomped his right foot. The earth rumbled in response, producing a bench made of rock that faced the statue of Lily. It was a detailed structure, with indentations that almost looked hand-carved, despite Vania seeing it grow before her very eyes. 

Cole led her to sit on it next to her. It was wide enough for two with just a little space between them. Nothing more than a hand’s width.

It was more distance from him than Vania wanted, even now, and she felt brave. She shifted to the side, so that they were touching at the hip. Cole looked surprised, but when she smiled, he rested his arm on the back of the bench behind her.

Why wait so long, Cole? Didn’t you know I was waiting for you? 

After a moment’s pause, in which Cole did nothing, Vania knew she was being too hopeful. She looked down at her hands. “So. What’s kept you away? I heard there was some conflict with Imperium.”

“Yeah, although that’s kind of old news now. Do you want me to start at the beginning?”

Vania inspected her hands. “...Why don’t you summarize, and then tell me about what happened most recently?”

“I can do that.”

Vania leaned back against Cole’s arm, part of her attention fixated on just how strong she knew he was, and Cole didn’t seem to mind. When she finally looked back at him, attentive to his story, she saw the glint in his eye.

Excitement, adventure, and danger. All the things she loved in his stories! She couldn’t keep back a smile. “Come on, tell me!”

“I was just trying to figure out where to start!” Cole laughed, and with it, Vania’s spirits lifted. “Okay. It all began at the Merge.”

—

Vania accepted Cole’s cell phone, considering the photo it showed her. “So this one is where I start?”

“Yeah, exactly. That’s the Land of Lost Things.” She swiped through it, seeing the mountains of trash and miscellaneous objects, until pausing at a statue. “That’s… one of Geo’s statues?”

“Yeah! The guy’s a whiz at them.” Cole swiped through a few for her, past other statues, until he stopped. “That’s him, and Bonzle too.”

Vania peered at the screen. He looked just as Cole had described him: a purple Munce who was almost obsessed with color and found object art, grinning and showing off his sharp teeth. Bonzle, the spell-turned-skeleton, was looking at the camera with a slightly bored smile. “They look nice! You should bring them to Shintaro sometime.”

“I dunno… Geo’s been burned before. He got stuck there because nobody missed him, since he was off-color.”

“No, you should bring him.” Vania gave Cole a smile, searching his orange-flecked eyes. “We’ve been making real progress since you left! There are some Geckles and Munce who are practically family now. Geo deserves to be around that, to have a part in it.”

Cole laughed, and she suppressed a happy shiver as he toyed with one of her loose strands of hair. “Sure, Vania. I’ll tell him next time we run into each other.”

“Good. I’d love to meet any of your friends.”

“And I’d love for them all to meet you.”

The way he said it made her feel like there were butterflies in her stomach.

You talk to me like that, but you don’t make a move. Stop playing with my heart like this!

Vania felt her cheeks heating up, so she looked back down at the phone. She swiped through a few pictures of two little boys playing– they had to be Fritz and Spitz. “You said you also had some pictures of the City of Temples, right?”

“Oh, yeah! Sorry, I got distracted.” Cole took the phone back and swiped through it, past pictures of the Ninja and their students, past sweeping landscapes and blue pies. He stopped at a cityscape, clad in gold and ringed by mountains. “It really reminded me of Shintaro.”

“Oh, wow! It’s so similar!” Vania looked with delight as he moved through them. “The stonework is just incredible.”

“I know! I wish I’d gotten the chance to explore more.” Cole stopped at a picture of the arena. “Here’s where we fought. I wish I could say I did well, but… hey. Sora won, and we’re all really proud of her!”

“Of course.” Vania rested her head against his shoulder. “Did you get very far?”

“Uh… no, actually. I kind of got curb stomped.”

She laughed. “You? Curb stomped? It must have been a mighty opponent.”

“Would you believe me if I said it was a Serpentine kid?”

“Maybe.” She giggled. “At least you got to watch the rest of those fights. They must have been really impressive.”

“Oh yeah! Especially Lloyd’s fights. He did a great job!” Cole laughed. “And then… well, I missed a few. And that’s actually why I’m here.”

She looked up at him, curious by how his voice had shifted from lighthearted reminiscence into something somber. His expression was as serious as she’d ever seen him. He was looking at the statue again… studying it.

She prompted, “Cole?”

He frowned. “I don’t know, Vania. It was just… weird.”

“What was weird? I don’t understand.”

Cole sighed, and she watched as he seemed to almost physically shrink. She’d long outgrown her childish fantasies about him and his mountainous strength, but moments like these are even more of a reminder that Cole wasn’t just some incredible, legendary figure.

He was just a man.

I like him better this way.

“When I was in the City of Temples, I found a mech. It was attuned to my element. After I’d lost my element to the tournament, I needed a vehicle, and I went back to it.” He drew away, hugging himself with both arms. “It was my mother’s, and there was a mech suit in it that fit me. This suit.”

Vania blinked in surprise. “Is that why you’re wearing this?”

“Ha, yeah. I know, it’s not my usual style.”

“It’s not bad,” she assured, inspecting it more closely. The similarities to armor made sense now, the steel and segmentation. The color scheme also made sense, considering what records of Lily they still had in Shintaro. She’d always loved the color white. “How come there was a suit that fit you?”

“I don’t know.” Cole sighed, his vice-like grip on himself loosening. “It was the perfect size. Maybe it wasn’t my mom’s, maybe it was my grandfather’s. Or maybe my great-grandparent’s? Or even older? I have no idea, and there wasn’t anything inside it to say whose it was originally.” He shook his head. “That’s the thing. It was charged with Earth energy, and I was able to harness it even though my element had been taken by the dragon ivory. I don’t know why!”

Vania’s heart softened. She reached out and laid her hands on Cole’s, watching as he looked over. His eyes expressed pain.

No wonder why he didn’t come find me. He needed answers.

She reached up and touched his face, brushing aside a strand of hair, and said, “I can only imagine how confusing that is.”

Cole smiled, so she continued. “Who knows why it was there? Maybe they somehow knew you would need it.”

“Even if it was generations ago? I find that hard to believe,” he confessed with a laugh. “The element of Earth has never come with visions of the future, just… back aches and dirt under our fingernails.”

“Do you need knowledge of the future to know your heirs might need something?” Vania posed her challenge as more of a question, but they both knew she was pushing him. “Cole, I know my heirs will need things. Laws, instructions, records of what I did and why. Your ancestors probably did similar things. You will probably do similar things. The mech was obviously left for you.”

He glanced away. “Maybe…”

“No, there’s no ‘maybe’ about it. I know it’s true.”

Another laugh burst from him, unbidden. “Okay. Sure. You’re right. But that’s not the only thing bothering me.”

Before she could ask, Cole got up from the bench and began to pace. “Here’s what I don’t get. I found a mech that’s just right for the job. Then I had a dream that showed exactly where I would need to go, and the mech got me there. Then, once I actually arrived, the ghost of Master Wu showed up and spoke to me!” 

He was all but tearing his hair out when he looked at her again. “Vania, I don’t understand! He said he caused the Merge. Wu would never do that intentionally. I know he would never want that! I practically raised him– I know it’s backwards, but it’s true, and I know that’s not like him!” 

He stood still, breathing heavily from his rant. 

Vania watched him. Pacing and barely rational. This was the man she had missed for so long, the one she’d longed for all these long months they’d been apart.

She felt the impulse to get up and go to him, so she followed it. She hugged him, burying herself in his arms and his armor. Cole held her, tense yet relaxing slowly at her touch.

Vania took a deep breath, smelling earth and tea and machine oil. “I don’t know either, but we can find out together. You don’t have to figure it out alone, Cole.”

He wilted. “I know. I’ve got my team. But–”

“No. Not just them.” Vania looked up at him, holding his gaze, daring him to look away from her. “You have me.”

“But you’re all the way in Shintaro,” he protested.

“So send me a letter! Call me! We have phones, you know.” She pulled him down to rest his head against hers, daring him to pull away. “Cole Brookstone, if you ask me to come to you, I will come. It doesn’t matter when or where or how. You are not alone.”

He held still, and for a moment, she felt like she’d pushed too far. Had she done something she couldn’t undo? Had she thrown herself at him, more than she had the day they’d met, and he’d disliked it? Had time dampened their connection, their friendship, until every spark of more had been stamped out?

Cole sighed, closing his eyes. “Okay. I’ll… I’ll stay in touch better, Vania. I’ll tell you when I figure out any more of this, or find any more clues.”

Vania closed her eyes to match him. She could feel her fears slowly washing away and being replaced by peace.

“Don’t leave for so long next time, please?”

“Okay. I won’t.”

“That includes if you get… stuck somewhere, or are about to have a big battle, or whatever else is waiting for you. I worry about you when you’re gone.”

“I’m sorry.” She opened her eyes to see him pulling back, and for the first time in their conversation, he looked truly apologetic. “Really, I am.”

“I know.” She smiled again, reaching up to caress his face. Even now, delight coursed through her when he leaned into her touch. “I’m not holding anything against you, Cole. You should know that… I never will.”

“Even if I disappear again?”

Vania laughed. 

This man. This sweet, stupid man. 

“I will search all the Merged Realms if I have to, but you are not disappearing on me again. Ever.”

Finally, the smile on Cole’s face seemed to last. He reached up and toyed with her hair, his hands exceedingly gentle. “As you wish, your Highness.”

His shoulders were not so tense now, his voice softened by affection, and Vania knew that he had gotten what he came for.

The Heart of the Mountain slowly dimmed, coming back to its dormant state, until the darkness was close at hand and broken only by her lantern’s weak glow. The lantern light played across the walls, across Cole’s face, across both of their hearts.

Please… stay with me this time.

She knew he wouldn’t, and yet prayed for it anyway.

[infinitesimaldna]

Have You Ever Considered Killing Your Title?—Chapter 13

Masterpost

______

Remus was, at this point, seriously considering attending the ceremony in the buff. 

If he had to attend one more fitting ceremony, he felt like he was at serious risk of biting the tailor. It was one ceremony, he didn't need four outfits to choose from.

As he tugged open the door to his room, he made a silent vow to himself that if there was yet another new outfit waiting for him, he was throwing it out the window. 

Something else greeted him, however, sitting simply on the table in way too innocent a manner for how off guard it managed to catch Remus. 

It was the training dummy, the one from a couple weeks ago now. He had nearly forgotten about the whole incident, his interaction with Patton. In his defense, there had been just a bit going on since then, but still. Had it really been that short of a time? His talk with the older man felt like ages ago.

Then again, most things from before the announcement felt like a long time ago. 

He was hesitant as he approached the doll, somehow worried (if irrationally) that he would damage it again. Still, he picked the fabric up, examining where he knew he had ripped it in the shoulder. 

It was a very well done sewing job; Patton definitely had a talent if this was anything to show for it. The stitches were so small Roman had a hard time seeing them, only able to just find the edge of the thread because he knew exactly where the hole had been. They were even, perfectly spaced from one another, like he had measured each one. That, or he just had an immaculate sense of space. This dummy was better off for the fact that Remus hadn’t been the one to sew it, and he was hit with another wave of gratitude to the man he ran into that day. 

Speaking of which, there was a piece of paper that floated to the surface of the table when he picked up the dummy, landing gracefully on the wooden surface. Remus was surprised he hadn’t seen it in the first place. 

Despite how little he knew about the other, somehow it fit Remus’ perception perfectly that he would leave a note and not just the dummy. Plus, this was something to read that didn’t revolve around that stupid ceremony.

Hey Kiddo, hope this finds you well!

I took a while to fix him up, but I figured it wouldn’t bother you too badly with all the other kerfuffle you’ve had to deal with. Plus, he looks as good as new now, if I do say so myself! Maybe with a little more character, but I just see that as a good thing.

I know things have changed since the last time we talked, but I still wanted to remind you of a few things. Advice doesn’t necessarily have to change just because the situation does! 

There’s no right or wrong way to be the crown prince, just like there wasn’t as only a prince. You can do things your way, and being authentic and finding your way to do it is probably one of the best things you can do. 

And remember to let yourself have moments where you’re not the authority! Make sure you’re taking care of yourself along with the kingdom, kiddo. Giving everything for them and nothing for yourself will only end with you not being able to help either. 

You’re a wonderful crown prince, and an even better young man. You may still be a lost soul, but that won’t always be the case. 

The kingdom is gonna love you, kiddo. And if you ever need a break from all that love, you’ll always have a place down here. It may be past its hay-day (get it?), but it’s a pretty good place to get away. It’ll never be closed to a wandering soul.

Patton

It was perhaps the calmest Remus had felt in days, reading that note. There was just something so straightforward about the other man, something that made everything seem so simple despite how complicated his own situation was. Nevermind the fact his entire life had been a lie, and he was technically usurping the throne from his brother despite being the only one who knew that; anything could be fixed when put so easily to paper. Like he really could just find that place to get away, and everything would work itself out.

Removing himself from the equation wasn’t exactly an option, though. Not in his position. If he wanted freedom in that wandering soul way Patton mentioned, he’d probably have to be dead first. 

He looked at the note again, smiling at the other’s scrawl, so messy compared to his own that had been carefully trained into neatness. Patton seemed so sure he would be loved by the people, but he wasn’t even the one they should be giving their adoration to. That honor belonged to Roman, even if no one else knew. 

And then he considered the other part of Patton’s advice: the wrong way to do things. 

He couldn’t abandon the idea entirely—it had been so forcefully ingrained into him it fell as carvings in his bone, etched into the surface. As much as Patton may think there was no wrong way, Remus knew better.

What he might consider was that perhaps the wrong way wasn’t necessarily wrong. In a complicated, “it may not be the option they want but it’s the option they need” kinda way. Was it not on that very ideal that his father had called out his name instead of Roman’s? Doing things the wrong way in terms of lineage, but still doing as he saw necessary?

His parents were more than willing to utilize the wrong way, it seemed. He was sure if he really dug, he could find a dozen more examples throughout his life. What stopped him from doing the same?

The fact that they’ll disown you, that same whispering voice from before came forward. Or punish you, or something else along those lines. If you try to go down this path, you’ll lose them, probably forever.

You’ve already lost Roman.

Remus winced at that one, shaking his head to shake away the voice. Like hitting a pillow a few times to make sure the filling falls the way you want it to. 

He looked back at Patton’s note, resting carefully against the dummy. Freedom from the pressure on every decision he made, or the love of the only family he had. 

It was then that an idea sparked in his mind; first just a little echo of a whisper but growing quickly in volume. Threads started to weave together, the stitching coming together so tightly in his mind he was sure when it was complete it would rival Patton’s work. 

It wouldn’t be possible alone, that much he was sure of. But he had people on his side, had some for almost a decade now. They always seemed happiest when he was his authentic self; surely they would help him in his plan if it allowed that to happen more often. Maybe even permanently. 

The idea of permanence, of finality—here it felt right.

Perhaps… it could be better to be lost than loved, now couldn’t it?

~~

The next week was a whirlwind. 

Janus was running around more than he thought he ever had, and that was on top of delegating most of his ordinary chores to other servants. Luckily, he wasn’t questioned too much on it, being able to play it off as having extra responsibilities with his prince’s inaugural ceremony coming up.

He wasn’t entirely sure how that was working, since he was spending more time going down to the lower town than anything. At least his reputation for heading down there often was helpful now, providing a convenient cover to avoid suspicion. 

He had hit the tavern yesterday, so today he was scouting outside the brothel. Of course, not many knew it was a brothel, but that was practically Janus’ personality: knowing things he wasn’t supposed to. 

It was going to be a long day, he thought as he settled into a cranny across the way where he wouldn’t be easily seen. Every day would be long for a bit. When he thought about his friend though…

He stepped forward, just enough so the gentlemen who had just exited would catch sight of him, quickly disappearing back to where he was with enough of an atmosphere about it to draw the man in. 

The long days were worth it for Remus.

~~

Patton wasn’t expecting anything to be different when he got to the stables that morning, but there was something pinned to the door. He hummed curiously, honestly more used to random people stopping by than finding anything written. 

A crying kid or overworked servant? Normal. A note? Outside his area of expertise.

Luckily, the marshall was never one to turn away from surprises, and so he opened the note and began reading. It was several pages, rife with information and a blocky style of penmanship, as well as the occasional drawing. 

He tucked the pages in his pocket as he unlocked the stables, approaching the first horse and giving them a pat on the snout when they snorted. 

It seemed it was one of his kiddos, after all.

~~

Logan didn’t like talking to Prince Roman, and that alone proved how dedicated he was to this cause. 

That didn’t mean he would smile as he approached the man, though. 

“Prince Roman, I would like to discuss some of the upcoming assignments for the knights with you.”

“Oh, Sir Logan! Did Remus send you in his steed?” Roman chuckled. “He has been a hard man to track down this week.”

“You are quite right about that, your highness. If we could perhaps head somewhere a bit quieter?”

“Of course, of course.” 

The prince followed him back to the guest room Logan had previously checked was empty, looking perhaps a bit confused but not questioning just yet. It was only once Logan had locked the door behind them both that the prince chose to speak.

“You know, we typically just hold these meetings in the strategy room. It was a bit further but still an option.”

“I apologize for my deception,” Logan started, adjusting his spectacles where they sat on the bridge of his nose, “but it was imperative I get you by yourself with little suspicion being cast upon us.”

A crack in the prince’s cheery facade. “Sir Logan?”

“Your skills and services are going to be tested very soon, and it’s my job to make sure you play your role well.”

“I must admit, I’m very confused. This has nothing to do with the knights’ schedule?”

“No, rather another matter that holds a higher importance. Although, I do have a written list of the placements for the knights this next week to give to you, so that you walk out of here with the knowledge you supposedly entered to obtain.”

“I’d like to think there’s no ‘supposedly’ about it,” came Prince Roman’s reply, his shoulders rising and stature increasing from where he stood next to the table. “What are you hinting at?”

“I’m afraid I can’t get into many of the details.” Logan tried to sound apologetic as he said it; tone was never his strong suit. “Your role is simply critical, despite how you’re unable to know exactly how big a part you play. The most I can give you right now is to let you know a moment will come soon, and you’ll know the right thing to do.”

In front of him, the prince seemed flabbergasted, unable or unwilling to comprehend what he was being told. “Sir Logan, you have to understand how vague this is. Is there a threat coming to the castle? Is there some chatter of something in motion to disturb my brother’s ceremony?”

Logan sighed. He really didn’t want to have to resort to giving him more information, but it seemed he would have to. There was a reason he had befriended the other prince instead of this one. 

With his decision made, he stepped forward to make eye contact with Prince Roman. “Look, we both know I don’t like you—”

“You don’t like me?”

“—but this isn’t for me, it’s for your brother. That alone should prove I’m being earnest.”

There was a pause as Prince Roman seemed to search his gaze, looking for something Logan didn’t know, but he was certain he was conveying it anyway. 

“Did Janus put you up to this?”

“...He has a part to play as well.”

There was a sigh, and Prince Roman all but sunk into one of the chairs at the table they were situated next to. “I can’t know more?” he asked.

“Not without it causing trouble, for you and others.”

“That servant really will be the death of me.” Roman rubbed at his temples for a moment, placing his hand out a second later. “You said you had the plans for the guards this week?”

 “I do, but your—”

“Sir Logan, I understand.” Roman was quick to cut him off, his gaze sharp but not angry. “You said it will be a certain moment, and I doubt it to be this exact one. So, let’s see those guard routes, yes?”

Overall, this whole thing went better than Logan expected, and he was all too willing to draw forth the guard assignments, beginning the detailed explanation of where everyone was to be for their next rotations in the upcoming week. 

~~

Remus didn’t think himself the sentimental type, but before the ceremony, here he was, cross legged on the floor next to his wardrobe, old wooden sword in hand. 

He hadn’t used it in years, not since he and Roman had started proper training and had been given blunt swords instead. He wasn’t sure it had even moved from where it sat at the bottom of his wardrobe in the past 10 years. 

He wished he could remember where every chip in the paint came from.

Every edge of the wood seemed to have a gash in it, only the center portion of the blade still retaining its silver color. They really had always gone all out when they fought with these things, never taking it easy on the swords or each other.

There was a comfort in knowing that no matter how much they both had changed, their ability to be extra never had. 

And Remus… Remus was about to do the most extra thing of all. He gripped the small play sword like a lifeline, conveying to it everything he had wanted to say over the past 18 years, every comment he let slip away for the sake of being proper. 

He let his love for his brother flow towards it, so palpable he was surprised there wasn’t a physical manifestation. 

But no, it was just him. Him, and this old wooden blade. 

He left it on the windowsill, pointed towards he and his brother’s favorite spot to play, as he exited the room to take his role of crown prince.

------

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[genshin-impact-writings]

hi there! may i request small frappé with pumpkin spice and whipped cream? childe x reader ty! this is my first time requesting so i hope i didnt do this wrong!!

Heya, dear anon! Thank you so much for your request, it was perfect and i had a lot of fun writing this. So, here's your drink: A small frappé with pumpkin spice and whipped cream on top. Hope you enjoy! <3 (Reblogs are very much appreciated.)

Prompts: fluff, fake dating, “You’re not wearing that, are you?” + “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” (400 followers event: JJ's coffee shop)

Be mine – Tartaglia x gn!reader (fake dating!AU, fluff)

“You’re not wearing that, are you?”

With furrowed brows, you looked at Tartaglia. He was standing behind you, watching you as you turned in front of the mirror to get a better look at your outfit. “Why?” you asked, a hint of confusion echoing in your voice. “Is there something wrong? Is it too much?”

“No,” he replied, and a smile flashed over his face as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around your waist from behind. Resting his chin on your shoulder, he added, “It makes you look even prettier than you already are, to be honest. Everyone’s going to stare at you.” He nuzzled your cheek. “And I’m not sure if I like that thought.”

You felt your face growing hot at his words and tried to wriggle out of his hug. “Stop that,” you said with a sheepish grin. “No one’s here, there’s no need to act like we’re a couple.”

Tartaglia hummed in response and took a step back after releasing you from his hug, although he couldn’t deny that your words hurt him more than he liked to admit. He knew that you were right – the two of you weren’t really dating, after all. It was just a show you put on to stop your friends from constantly pestering you to finally find yourself a boyfriend. When you had asked him to pretend to be in a relationship with you for a while, Tartaglia hadn’t hesitated to help you. Up to this day, he hadn’t regretted it – well, a bit, maybe.

At first, it had been nothing more than a game and a secret the two of you shared – something that never failed to make you laugh when your friends weren’t around. But as the weeks passed, things had… changed. At least for him.

He had no idea how you felt about the whole situation, though. If you still thought about him as a friend or if his constant flirting did have some kind of effect on you… if you maybe had developed real, genuine feelings for him too. It was foolish, he knew that, but he couldn’t help but hold on to that thought whenever he saw you.

You watched him in the mirror, the way he stared into the distance absent-mindedly, his pretty blue eyes filled with something you couldn’t quite put your finger on. He often had that look on his face when he thought you weren’t noticing it but whenever you brought the topic up, he always told you that you were imagining things before he quickly changed the subject.

That didn’t stop you from asking, though. You turned around to face him, your left arm slightly outstretched, almost as if your body couldn’t decide if you wanted to reach out for him or not. “Hey,” you said, your voice a lot softer than you initially intended. “What’s wrong?”

It was fascinating to see how his facial expression changed almost immediately, how he put on a smile that could have fooled anyone but you. “I was just thinking that you’re right,” he replied and shrugged. “About us, I mean. We’re not a couple when your friends aren’t around, and I’m sorry if my actions made you feel uncomfortable.”

You let out a surprised laugh. “What made you think I was uncomfortable? I just – I don’t know, I guess I wanted to say that there’s no need to pretend anything when we’re alone. It’s not necessary and I don’t want to bother you. Um…” You shook your head, annoyed by your own stammering. “You’re not making me uncomfortable. That’s what I was trying to say.”

You watched as his smile slowly transformed into a more honest one, and suddenly, there was this warm feeling welling up inside you again. It had happened a few times already, mostly when he looked at you like you were the most precious thing he had ever seen or when he hugged you like he had done earlier but you had never bothered yourself with thinking about it. After all, he only acted like that because you had an agreement with each other, not because he actually cared about you… at least not in that way.

And it was fine, although you couldn’t deny that a part of you had always wondered what it would be like to be in a real relationship with him. He could be reckless and even kind of belligerent sometimes, yes, but when he was with you, he seemed to be a completely different man – caring and considerate, always trying his best to make you smile when you were upset or sad. He was your best friend, the one you could always rely on, no matter what happened.

And sometimes, just like in this moment, he was the one who made your heart skip a beat without even knowing it.

“We should go,” you said, shaking your head once again to get rid of the confusing thoughts that had come to your mind. “The others are probably already waiting for us.”

*

On your way back home, you couldn’t stop thinking about something your best friend had said to you. Sometimes, you couldn’t help but wonder if they secretly knew that your relationship with Tartaglia wasn’t real but since you didn’t want to risk anything, you had decided to let sleeping dogs lie a while ago. Maybe they didn’t know it, anyway but something about the way they looked at you when they told you how happy you could be to have someone like him in your life, had suggested that they were well aware of your fake dating. “If you weren’t so cute together, I would be so jealous, really,” they had added with a grin, darting a glance at Tartaglia who had been joking around with one of your other friends at this point. “He’s awesome, (Y/N). Don’t mess this up, okay?”

The words were still echoing in your mind. How could you mess it up if everything wasn’t even real? Of course you knew what they were trying to say but at some point, you would have no other choice than messing everything up because you either had to tell your friends toe truth or act like you and Tartaglia had broken up. You couldn’t force him to play along forever, after all.

Sooner or later, he would find someone and fall in love for real, and then you would have to let him go, no matter how awful it felt to imagine him being with someone else. The thought hurt – and at the same time, it made you absolutely furious.

You stopped in your tracks, confused by the sudden anger that welled up inside of you when you thought about Tartaglia’s hypothetical future partner. Just because he would start to date someone, you definitely weren’t going to lose him; he would still be your friend. The only thing that would change was the fact that he would no longer act like he was head over heels in love with you.

And that was the moment it finally hit you.

The problem wasn’t that you were afraid of losing your friend. The problem was that you didn’t want him to fall in love with someone else – you wanted him to love you, actually love you, not just pretending like he had done for the past couple of weeks.

It was absolutely crazy, you knew that. He had agreed to fool your friends with you for a while because he thought it sounded like fun but actually developing feelings for each other hadn’t been a part of the deal. It had been completely out of the question, even.

Heck, why did everything have to become so complicated all of a sudden? Why did you have to fall for him? Everything he did, every hug, every kiss… all of that was part of your charade. He didn’t do it because he had romantic feelings for you.

Right?

You couldn’t help but remember the scene from earlier when he had hugged you in front of the mirror, implying that he’d be jealous if someone else would start to admire you. There had been no one around to see; he didn’t have to talk to you like that – and still, he had done it. And he had hugged you in a way that still made your heart beat faster.

Damn it. You needed to talk to him.

You needed to talk to him right now.

You turned around and rushed back to the restaurant where you had parted ways maybe fifteen minutes ago. He wasn’t there anymore but you knew that he sometimes went for a walk near the docks because he liked to listen to the sound of the waves, so you decided to look for him there.

It wasn’t too hard to find him – and as he spotted you approaching him through the crowd, a soft smile flashed over his face. “Did you miss me already?” he asked in a teasing tone that usually would have caused you to roll your eyes. But right now, it just made you feel more insecure.

“I need to talk to you,” you said. Admittedly, it wasn’t the smoothest conversation starter but you were way too nervous to bother yourself with being particularly eloquent in that moment. “About us.”

He raised his eyebrows. “About us?”

“About the whole situation,” you explained. “The relationship thing we have going on. I – I don’t think I can do this anymore. It just… it just feels wrong to pretend like we are dating when we’re not. I don’t know why I came up with that idea in the first place, it’s so stupid and I’m sorry for dragging you into this and-“

“Whoa, slow down, (Y/N),” Tartaglia interrupted you and furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about? I told you many times that I don’t mind helping you. I know your friends, I realize that they can be quite annoying when it comes to… well, your love life. You’re not taking advantage of me if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

You buried your face in your hands for a few seconds and let out a frustrated groan. “That’s not the reason I want to end this, Tartaglia,” you said. “I want to end it because it just feels wrong. We don’t love each other – we shouldn’t pretend that we do. It’s… it’s just not right.”

“Who says I don’t love you?”

You had expected every answer from him but not something like this. With wide eyes, you stared at him, searching his face for a sign that he was joking, that he was trying to fluster you like he already did a million times but his expression was unusually serious. “What?”

“Who says I don’t love you?” he repeated patiently. “You said it’s not right to pretend that we love each other. But the truth is that I’m not pretending anymore. So, it’s not wrong, is it?”

You couldn’t reply. Your thoughts were racing as your brain tried to comprehend what he had just told you but you felt like you weren’t able to think straight at all. Not when all you could think about was that he loved you.

Tartaglia stepped closer, gently cupping your face with his hands. “I love you,” he said, the tone of his voice so earnest that it send a shiver down your spine. “And I think that you may love me too, so if that’s the case could you please say something? Or – I don’t know, blink twice, maybe?”

“Shut up,” you said, finally snapping out of your state of shock. “Shut up and kiss me.”

Taglist: @blissmal, @aimicoos

[ur-favorite-queer-queen]

Second Chance

For Maribat March day 12 theme second chance

Master List

Sometimes Marinette really wished Penny and Jagged hadn’t adopted her. It’s not that she didn’t want to be a Rolling-Stone, no that wasn’t it. In fact, she was grateful that they had saved her from the horrors that Paris now held for her. It’s just they dragged her to stuff like this, some rich man’s gala. 

She had slept for a full 12 hours after finishing Penny’s dress, only to wake up to the news she was coming with them. She probably should’ve seen it coming. Although she was hoping this would be one of the lucky cases where she didn’t have to go. Despite her protests they insisted she needed to interact with other humans who weren’t serving her coffee. In Jagged’s words, “Who knows, you might make a rock n roll friend!” 

Now here she was, in her black and purple dress that matched Penny’s and Jagged’s outfits. Letting a bit of her anxiety out as she fiddled with the strap of her matching purse. Watching her parents mingle with the rich folk while she stood off to the side. Every once in a while they would cast her a ‘go make a friend’ look but it never bothered her, she just needed to wait until they stopped turning to look back at her.  

After about 10 minutes they stopped, perfect. She casually asked a waiter where the bathroom was and made her way there. Once inside she slipped off the pearl anklet that was Daizzi’s miraculous, letting the kwami make her way into her purse, before pulling out a familiar nose ring. Now that Jagged and Penny were letting her do her own thing, she could go back to scaring people into not socializing with her. While she would’ve loved to keep Daizzi’s miraculous on so that it could combat Stompp’s miraculous side effects, she learned that it took too much energy to do so. And she didn’t want to explain why she was so tired after the gala if she wasn’t talking to anyone. 

She schooled her features before making her way back out sending a cold look to anyone who tried to come up to her. She pulled out her phone only to see that 2 hours had passed, she still had 4 more to go. Time was moving much too slowly for her liking. 

A clearing of the throat brought her out of her thoughts. She rolled her eyes, putting her phone back in her purse, getting ready to glare at the person who was going to try to talk to her, only to stare in shock at the green eyes that were watching her. The same ones that had bumped into her just days before. The same ones she had sworn she probably wouldn’t ever see again. 

Her mouth moved without her permission, again she blames Stompp, “You.” 

He smiled or maybe it was a smirk, responding with way too much amusement, “Me.” 

She once again schooled her features to look bored, but she’s pretty sure her eyes gave her away with the way he reacted, “What are you doing here?” 

Just like before it took him a moment to reply, his smirk growing just the tiniest bit, “I’m always invited to these things, I’ve never seen you before though.” 

“With any luck this will be the last time you see me.” She remarked. She didn’t mean to be so rude again she blames Stompp but she really hadn’t expected to see him. To his credit he didn’t seem deterred by her cold vibe, if anything he seemed more determined. 

“Why would you say that?” 

“These types of things,” She waved her hand around, motioning to the room, “Just aren’t my thing. My parents make it look so easy, but I’ve never been one for this kind of scene. Plus I leave Gotham in a few days.” 

“Desperate to get out here?” 

“You could say that.” 

“Who are your parents?” 

She raised an eyebrow, “Wouldn’t you like to know.” If this was the game he wanted to play she would play it. Trying to find out who she was by asking about her parents, real subtle. Well Mr. Hot shot, she’s letting Stompp take the wheel now.

“You know, you make trying to have a conversation pretty hard.” 

She rolled her eyes at him, not even trying to stop them from rolling, “Who says I wanted this conversation?” It was a rhetorical question. She turned to leave only for him to grab her wrist. 

Suddenly she was brought back to that night. The night that changed everything. Three pieces of jewelry in her hand, two brooches one ring, her earrings 2 beeps away from her transformation leaving her. 

A pale hand holding her wrist, keeping her from running away. Green eyes and blond hair belonged to the owner of the hand. 

It had happened too fast. One second she was getting ready to run and detransform. Then someone had stopped her, she turned around to meet hungry green eyes. She froze as she felt lips pressed onto her own. It was only the beeping of her earring that brought her back to reality. A knee to the groin, and she pushed him off of her. Letting the police deal with the trio as she fled. 

She turned to the owner of the tan hand that was holding her back and could only register green eyes. She wouldn’t stand still this time. She twisted her hand so that he was forced to let go. A knee to the stomach had him holding his gut and as she raised her arm ready to punch him was when she finally registered that this wasn’t Adrien. It was just some weird stranger who was persistent in getting past her walls. 

She could hear people talking around her and when she dared to glance around they were all staring. She forced the embarrassed blush that wanted to grace her cheeks down, she wasn’t 13 anymore, she was 16 god damnit! Locking eyes with the mysterious yet persistent guy again, she ran. Ran until she found herself on a balcony, the cold air brushing her face as she gripped the railing. 

Why did she react like that? Why did she always have to be so aggressive? Why couldn’t she just let go of the past and take this damn nose ring off so she didn’t have to go and do stupid shit like this?  Why couldn’t she just be normal and let people in? 

Oh yeah, because she had a bunch of shitty friends that all turned on her because of a liar. The same liar turned her already neglectful parents against her. So Jagged and Penny got custody of her in order to get her out. Her parents didn’t even put up a fight about it, too busy gushing about precious LILA! And now she has major trust issues despite wanting to open and trust people again. Man, she is a wreck. 

“Hey, are you out here?” The mystery guy spoke from the entrance of the balcony. 

“No, I’m not.” She didn’t see the point in not acknowledging him, he could probably see her from where he was standing. 

“I’m sorry about earlier, you were obviously uncomfortable and I pushed your limit. So I really am sorry.” He apologized. 

“Yeah, sorry about kneeing you in the stomach. I thought…” She cut herself off, she didn’t need to pour her whole life story out to a stranger. He probably didn’t even want to know either. 

“It’s okay, I deserved it.” He made his way to the railing, he was a good distance away that she still had her own space, but close enough they could still talk. She relaxed a little thanks to the distance, resting her elbows on the railing. He leaned his back against the railing. They stood there in silence and Marinette decided she wouldn’t mind seeing this mystery boy again. Wait she didn’t even know his name. 

It seemed like he had the same thought since he spoke up, “I don’t think we ever introduced ourselves.” 

“We didn’t.” Damn her being so cold, she should probably take this nose ring off. So that’s what she did, took the nose ring off and placed it in her purse. Maybe this would be good for her. 

“Well, I’m Damian Wayne.” He stated, holding his hand out to shake. 

“Wait, Wayne as in Bruce Wayne? As in the Ice Prince of Gotham?” She questioned, shocked. 

“Oh, so you’ve heard.” He seemed a bit disappointed. 

“Yeah, but I won’t judge if you don’t judge.”

He raised an eyebrow at that before she continued, “My name is Marinette Rolling-Stone.” Now he looked surprised. 

“You're the elusive Diamond Stone?” He asked, disbelief made its way into his voice. 

“That’s what they’re calling me now. At first it was Sapphire Stone. Guess that’s what happens when I stay out of the media too long.” She chuckled a small smile making its way onto her face. 

“Wait, where did your nose ring go?” He looked around as if expecting it to magically appear. 

“I took it off.” 

“Why?” 

“Well at first I wore it to scare people off. People are scared of people that have piercings. I was thinking of getting a tattoo but I’m too young and they’re too permanent.” 

“Why would you want to scare people off?” 

“I have a complicated past. Sometimes putting your trust in someone takes too much risk, I tried to avoid it altogether.” She pulled her sketchbook as she wrote something down.

“Tried?” 

“Why do you think I’m talking to you?” She tore the paper out.

“You're putting your trust in me?” 

“No.” She quickly answered, “But maybe one day.” She handed him the paper and left. 

As she walked away she released a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. Maybe giving people a second chance wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But right now she just needed to find her parents so she could head home. 

-

Damian hated galas. He hated having to talk to the stuck-up rich folk who thought they were better than everyone just because of their wealth. The girls who would try and flirt with him in order to gain his last name. And their parents who tried to push them together. 

Yes, he definitely hated galas. What made this worse was that his family wouldn’t stop teasing him about the girl who he knocked over that one time. Threatening bodily harm did nothing but amp up the teasing. It was times like this where he truly wished there was a not a no kill rule. If only to give Jason Todd some revenge. 

2 hours into the gala and he was already done. 4 girls had already tried to drape themselves over him and it took all his self-control not to hurt them. He was ready to storm out of this gala when he caught sight of her. 

The mystery girl he had bumped into days before. She was here, at a Wayne gala. Her outfit certainly looked the part of a rich socialite, She wore a long halter dress that flared out at the waist. It started out black at her neck before turning purple at the waist. The bottom of the dress had black music notes dancing across and she had a matching black and purple purse hanging off her shoulder. 

Her hair was down and she seemed to be wearing a little bit of makeup. The only reason he was able to tell it was her was because of the black nose ring that stood out against her fancy look. It looked so out of place compared to everything else. 

He watched as a man tried to approach her only to receive the same glare he had gotten days before, quickly moving on to someone else. Seems like he wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to be here. 

He made his way over to her, perhaps to give himself a second chance at a new impression. She proceeded to pull out her phone and look at something before deflating the tiniest bit. 

He cleared his throat to grab her attention, she looked at him with the same glare once again before her eyes took on a look of shock. 

“You.” She seemed surprised that she had stated this as well. 

He couldn’t help the smirk that spread on his face, she remembered him and still had the same spunky attitude, “Me.” 

Her features took on a look of boredom, but her eyes looked only curious yet cautious, “What are you doing here?” 

The fact that she didn’t recognize him as a Wayne was surprising. He thought that she was only in a hurry before that’s why she didn’t register it was him, but now he knew she truly didn’t know it was him. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. “I’m always invited to these things, I’ve never seen you before though.” 

“With any luck this will be the last time you see me.” She said it with such confidence he felt inclined to believe. It was strange. He seemed to be the last person she wanted to talk to and yet he still wanted to talk to her. He didn’t want her to leave. So the next best thing is to get answers.

“Why would you say that?” 

“These types of things,” She waved her hand around to motion to the room, “Just aren’t my thing. My parents make it look so easy, but I’ve never been one for this kind of scene. Plus I leave Gotham in a few days.” 

Well that sucked for him. “Desperate to get out here?” 

“You could say that.” 

“Who are your parents?” Maybe he could try to get his father to arrange a meeting with them.

She raised an eyebrow, “Wouldn’t you like to know.” Nevermind. 

“You know, you make trying to have a conversation pretty hard.” He didn’t mean to say that, that was rude. 

She rolled her eyes at him, it looked like he was meant to see that, “Who says I wanted this conversation?” She turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist. He didn’t want her to go just yet. He felt her freeze then tense when he touched her, her breathing became a little more forced, and she seemed to shake a little. 

Suddenly she twisted out of his grip and kneed him in the stomach. She raised her arm and looked ready to punch him. Her eyes looked far and distant and afraid. They seemed to refocus on him as she dropped her arm and glanced around the room. Of course, people were talking about them.

She locked eyes with him once more before running. He ran after her before his path was blocked off by Dick Grayson. “Damian what-” He didn’t get to finish that question as he dashed passed him, determined not to lose the one girl who wasn’t a stuck up brat. 

He thought he had lost her but then he heard someone taking deep breaths from out on one of the balconies. He was about to go up to her, but from the way she reacted to his sudden hold on her arm earlier, it was probably best to give a warning. “Hey are you out here?” 

He walked out onto the balcony. “No, I’m not.” She likely didn’t want to talk to him. 

“I’m sorry about earlier, you were obviously uncomfortable and I pushed your limit. So I really am sorry.” He apologized. Which was so unlike him because here Damian Wayne was apologizing to a stranger. The weird things she made him do. 

“Yeah, sorry about kneeing you in the stomach. I thought…” She cut herself off, it looked like she wanted to say more but wasn’t going to. 

“It’s okay, I deserved it.” He walked over to the railing, making sure he was a good distance away that she had her own space, but close enough so they could still talk. She seemed to relax a little thanks to the distance, resting her elbows on the railing. He leaned his back against the railing. He quite liked the silence, her company was nice. Oh god he didn’t even know her name.

“I don’t think we ever introduced ourselves.” 

“We didn’t.” She stated in what he was pretty sure was a cold tone. Maybe she wanted to stay mysterious, so he would just introduce himself. 

“Well, I’m Damian Wayne.” He held his hand out to shake. 

“Wait, Wayne as in Bruce Wayne? As in the Ice Prince of Gotham?” So she recognizes the name, not the face. Great.

“Oh, so you’ve heard.” 

“Yeah, but I won’t judge if you don’t judge.” Why would he judge her?

He raised an eyebrow at her before she continued, “My name is Marinette Rolling-Stone.” 

“You're the elusive Diamond Stone?” He asked, disbelief accidentally made its way into his voice. He couldn’t help it. She was claiming to be the adoptive daughter of famous Jagged and Penny Rolling-Stone. The girl that made Jagged’s stage outfits from scratch and managed to get the ferocious Fang, Jagged’s pet crocodile, to love her. The media could only ever get a hold of the back of her head, but those that had talked with her said she shined as bright as a diamond. Hence the nickname, Diamond Stone.

“That’s what they’re calling me now. At first it was Sapphire Stone. Guess that’s what happens when I stay out of the media too long.” She chuckled, a small smile had made its way onto her face. Sapphire Stone, he hadn’t heard of that nickname but he could always do some stalking research. That’s when he noticed. 

“Wait, where did your nose ring go?” He looked around trying to see if it had fallen off her face and she hadn’t noticed.

“I took it off.” 

“Why?” He was truly baffled. 

“Well at first I wore it to scare people off. People are scared of people that have piercings. I was thinking of getting a tattoo but I’m too young and they’re too permanent.” 

“Why would you want to scare people off?” That seems like something he would do.

“I have a complicated past. Sometimes putting your trust in someone takes too much risk, I tried to avoid it altogether.” She pulled out what looked like a sketchbook as she wrote something down. Wait what did she mean by ‘complicated past.’

“Tried?” 

“Why do you think I’m talking to you?” She tore the paper out of the sketchbook.

“You're putting your trust in me?” He asked, she didn’t seem like the type to trust people quickly.

“No.” She quickly answered, he thought so, “But maybe one day.” She handed him the paper and left. As he looked down at it he saw it was her number. There was a message attached below ‘My number. Maybe we can meet up somewhere before I leave.’ He certainly wanted to take that opportunity. 

He tucked the paper into his pocket and made his way back to the gala only to be met with his annoying family. By the curious look in their eyes they wanted to know what just happened. This was not going to be fun to explain. 

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

Hi, I have not disappeared, just didn’t want to write for prompts 8-11. I was honestly going to do prompt 8 but then stuff came up and I didn’t have the time to write. I was also planning to write something for tomorrow’s prompt but then I found out I have something I need to do tomorrow so nothing for tomorrow either. Because I had a specific thing I wanted to write for tomorrow I’m changing it to fit day 14′s prompt. Which means it’s not going to be mega angsty like I originally thought was gonna be 14. You have escaped mega angst and now it will only be medium angst. 

On another note that was a bitch to write and edit. And the fact I had originally planned to write more for it baffles me. I feel like I left it kind of open ended so if you want a part 3 to what I have going on here go ahead and tell me. I’m still trying to decide if I should do a part 3 yet. For those who are confused today was a part 2 to day 6′s prompt, miraculous side effects. Go to my master list and you can find it. 

You can also see on my master list that there are days that are crossed off, which means I won’t be doing those days. I can’t do every single day if I want to still get decent grades. Why I skipped days 8-11. Sorry for that long explanation/rant. Also sorry for posting so late again. I do these things all the way to the last minute. Let’s see if I can break that habit throughout the month. Probably not but a girl can hope. Anyways hope you enjoyed. 

@maribatmarch-2k21 @birdiesthings @buginetye 

[kimvvantae]

puzzle; 7 (m)

➜  you and jungkook are best friends of a lifetime, even though your personalities are like unmatching pieces of a puzzle. the line between friendship and something more has never been crossed between you two - but that changes after a break up and a drunken night, when you not-so-accidentally cross this line to something much more. what happens when after this accident your non-matching puzzle pieces seem to match in a way you’ve never imagined?

pairing: jungkook x (f) reader

genre: smut, angst, comedy; friends with benefits au; college au

warnings: lots of swearing, a little bit of violence

rating: 18+

word count: 12k

A/N: sweet jesus it’s been so long but it’s finally here! this is the last but one chapter of the series. i genuinely hope you guys enjoy it and i reeeeally want to know your thoughts on it! feel free to leave a comment! if you feel i’m deserving of it lmao

enjoy!

➜  Chapters: check up masterlist in bio!

« playlist »

[bby bear]: where are you???

[bby bear]: you'll get late for class 

[you]: i knoww

[you]: the traffic is so heavy today 🤦🤦

[bby bear]: you should have come w me 

[you]: i need to go to the bank

[you]: i told you

[bby bear]: i could have taken u theer

[bby bear]: there

[you]: 🥺🥺 next time i'll go w you i promise!!

[you]: but i'm close

[you]: i'll probably lose the first period tho

[bby bear]: 🤦

You shove the phone inside of your pocket when you notice the pedestrian sign is finally green. The crowd on both sides of the avenue rush, everyone on their fast pace as usual. You're even forced to push some people in order to walk by.

Getting to the other side of the street, you stop in front of the building.

Tall as fuck. That cool kind of building with mirrors all over it, where only cool people wearing cool suits walking around holding cups of coffee on one hand and phones on the other hand talking business language kind of people work at. 

You certainly don't work here. You definitely don't have any stuff to do here. You surely are not close to the campus and you will lose much more than just the first period.

Seulgi will most definitely punch your face when she finds out where you are and what you're about to do.

You confidently walk inside the building, pushing through its glass doors into the pristine, modern and gigantic main hall. Your black boots contrast with the high heels all the other women wear around you. So does the rest of your outfit. Mini skirts and oversized hoodies are not part of the dress code here. You can almost hear their minds asking, what is this person doing here? The clanck clanck sound of their heels clicking against the marble floor is somehow pleasing, though.

You stop in front of the reception counter. A pretty girl opens a crystal white smile to you. Her hair is tied tightly, her uniform was ironed to perfection. "Good morning. How can I help you?" She chirps happily. 

"Good morning. My name is Y/N. I'd like to talk to Irene."

The smile quickly falters.

The girl side eyes her colleague that sits by her side. "Hmm… unfortunately, Miss Irene does not receive visits," she says carefully, still trying to keep her smile. "You must be mistaken."

You can see this girl thinks you're crazy. You quickly realize that people usually don't come at the reception and simply say they want to talk to Irene. But, well, what else would you do? You have to announce your presence somehow. 

"Irene is waiting for me. You can call her and ask if you want," you insist. 

The receptionist looks pale for a moment.

Hesitantly, she takes the phone and dials a number. You can still see that the girl thinks you're lying; she's probably ready to call the security guards. During her quick talk on the phone, you notice she's not talking to Irene, but with her secretary. 

You also see the moment her eyes widen.

She hangs up the phone and stands up, smiling widely again.

"Miss Y/N, Irene is waiting for your arrival," she says, and you notice the slight tone of panic in her voice. "Please, accompany me."

All the other visitors have to show their identifications and take a quick picture on the reception, you notice, but the girl simply ignores this procedure with you, guiding you to the elevator instead. She explains the situation to the security guard and he lets you in. The receptionist still looks slightly panicked. She's probably scared that you'll complain how the receptionist was rude to me directly to Irene, but you won't. Poor girl was just doing her job.

The elevator is big, too. It has a panoramic view of the city as it goes up to one of the highest floors. 

You always thought Seulgi was overreacting when she said how bad she sometimes felt for dating Irene, but now you kind of understand her.

You knew Irene was rich. You can recognize a Gucci jacket when you see one, and you've seen Irene wearing plenty of these. But Irene always acted so normal. Sure, she was elegant - and sometimes even arrogant -, but she was still someone very pleasant to be around. She never looked disgusted to be in your tiny but comfy apartment, she never made faces when she'd sometimes wear some of Seulgi's or your clothes when she didn't bring any to spend the night, she never complained to eat the junk food you'd buy for dinner. She was just… chill.

Because of that, you'd forget that she's rich sometimes.

Being in this massive building where everyone acted as if she was a princess made you remember, though.

Irene is beyond rich. Your standard of "rich" used to be Joy: someone that has a cool, big house in a nice part of the city. Irene partially owns a fucking company. She's so chill that you never even bothered to Google the company's name; you did this today to get the address, and it only made you more shocked.

Seulgi must have felt overwhelmed many times in their relationship.

But you're sure she was much happier back then than she is now.

You're used to their drama. They were already dating when you first met Seulgi, and you saw this cycle repeating many times. This time, though, things are not happening as usual. Seulgi is the saddest you’ve ever seen in these almost three years of convivence. Right after they broke up, you thought she was just being dramatic as usual… now you see that it isn’t simple drama. She’s actually sad and has been in this state for months. She doesn’t go out anymore, stopped doing the things she liked… she even got tired of Netflix. That’s probably the most shocking fact of all. 

Jungkook said you shouldn’t get involved in this, but you’re tired of seeing your friend being so sad all the time.

Their breakup was messy this time. They didn’t talk properly, didn’t make things clear. Seulgi is too stubborn to make a move (she’s totally lethargic at this point, both physically and spiritually), and Irene also seems too stubborn. Since none of them has the balls to do anything, you finally decided to step up and take action.

(Funny how you thought Jimin was annoying for trying to push you and Jungkook together, but you’re doing the exact same thing right now).

Well, look, you’re not exactly trying to push them into each other. First, you want to know Irene’s feelings and opinions on this situation. If you see that she has really moved on from Seulgi, then you’re ready to give your friend all the comfort and support in the world so she finally moves on. If Irene shows you that she still has feelings for Seulgi… well…

The speed in which she replied to your DM is a strong indicative of that.

The way her eyes glint with undeniable hope when the elevator doors open and she greets you is another indicative.

Irene looks gorgeous as always; she’s like a human version of Snow White. It’s kind of funny to meet her in her office like this. She’s almost like a female and hotter version of Christian Grey. 

Her ways of greeting you are polite and… hesitant. You understand why. She probably doesn’t get what you’re doing here in the first place, what you want to talk about. Considering you’re Seulgi’s friend, she must think you’d be mad at her or something.

“Why didn’t you call me, Y/N? My guests never enter from the common hall.” she asked. Oh. Common hall is what that massive hall is called. Almost like peasants area.

“I didn’t know.” you simply say, shrugging. 

“I’m sorry that we’re meeting here at my workplace. It feels too profissional, doesn’t it?” she smiles sheepishly.

Well… it does. You don’t even feel comfortable enough to move around her great office, afraid that you’d accidentally break anything (you’re sure that every little piece in this room is much more expensive than you’d be able to afford). 

“Come on, let’s go to the cafeteria. I think it’ll be more comfortable to talk there.” she politely suggests, and you just agree with her.

Irene guides you around the halls. This floor is less crowded, since only Important People with Important Tasks work here - and she’s greeted by all of them as she passes by. Their eyes immediately float to you, and they were surely asking themselves why Princess Irene was being followed by this peasant. 

The cafeteria in question is as pretty and neatly clean as the rest of the building. Soft music plays from the speakers. Irene chooses a more private table by the windows and asks if you want to have breakfast; you politely decline and both of you end up ordering simple cups of coffee. 

An uncomfortable silence lingers in the air.

"I… have to confess that I got surprised when I saw your DM," Irene speaks softly. Her eyes are glued on her cup of coffee. "It's been a while."

"Yeah." 

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine." a hundred different scenes pass on your head as she asks this, and you know that you feel anything but fine in the moment, but it's not as if you'll rant about your complicated love life right now. "But I'm sure you don't want to ask about me."

You see a shade of pink flush Irene's cheeks.

"Well… I don't think it would be right to ask about her." Irene says.

"Why not? It's not as if you didn't know I came here to talk about Seulgi."

"But she doesn't want to know about me."

You're left speechless for a few seconds.

It's funny to see the two sides of a breakup. Because of their stubborness, they became completely out of tune with each other. Irene thought that Seulgi didn't want to know about her, when you knew pretty damn well that Seulgi stalked her social media an unhealthy amount of times per day.

You cross your arms and lean your back on the chair. Irene looks hesitant, but you see she's eager to know whatever information you may have. That's not the behavior of someone that hates their ex.

"Can I ask you something?" you say. It's funny how Irene, the owner of pretty much everything around you, looks so cornered by you, her shoulders shrinking visibly. She nods softly. "Why did you guys break up? I mean, what's your side of the story?"

Irene sighs and passes her hand through her dark hair. She looks out the window. She doesn't seem irritated by your ask. She just seems… thoughtful.

It makes you realize that, perhaps, Seulgi's not the only one feeling broken here.

"We're… different." she starts quietly. "I have been trying to keep this relationship working for a long time, you know. Even though we argued a lot and disagreed about many things. But…" Irene sighs again. Sadness shadows her features. "It was getting hard. Seulgi never accepted my help. She knows that money is no problem for me, and I just wanted to help, but why did she act so angry every time I wanted to help you guys?"

Oh.

You don't miss the way she said "help you guys"; she must be talking about the times both of you were struggling to pay the rent. Oh God. You clearly see where their opinions diverge. Irene has always been rich; she saw money as something simple, giving money to others wasn't a big deal. Meanwhile, Seulgi must've felt dependent and it surely hurt her pride. Besides, there were enough people saying that Seulgi was only dating Irene to get money from her…

"And there's more." Irene's voice becomes quieter, more fragile. "My family, they're… very conservative. It was already hard enough for them to accept my sexuality. They never did, to be honest… but they particularly don't like Seulgi, because she's not, hm, on my "social level", as they like to say."

Ooh.

This is more complicated. Seulgi doesn't know what it feels like; her family is very open minded. She told you that, in the beginning, her parents were shocked when she told them that she also liked girls, but they slowly accepted it. Irene, on the other hand… 

"They keep saying that my relationship with her will be bad for the company." She confesses. "They said they'd even accept my relationship, as long as we dated in secret."

"What?!" you gasp. "This is disgusting!"

"I know." Irene nods, eyes focused on the mug between her hands. You have the impression that you see tears welling up on her eyes, but she blinks rapidly to dissipate them. "I… I was willing to go against them, because if they don't accept my relationship, then they don't accept who I am. But… I don't know if it's worth doing this if I'm not sure if Seulgi feels the same about me."

Ouch.

You remembered the night when they broke up. Seulgi came to you, crying, and said that she was tired of being with someone that wasn't brave enough to accept her.

Seulgi, my dear… you know nothing.

You can see that to go against her parents isn't as simple as it sounds. To Irene, going against her family involves reputation, money, and the company itself. It's definitely a big deal. Seulgi didn't understand how serious it is.

And Irene is willing to take this big step for her.

It's your time to sigh. 

"Irene." you lean closer, staring at her seriously. "Do you still love Seulgi?"

She blinks at your direct question. Irene looks down, gulps… and nods.

"I do love her."

You can't hear any hint of doubt on her voice.

That's what you wanted to hear.

"She's not okay." You blurt out the truth. Irene widens her eyes softly and looks at you. You see guilt on her eyes as she hears this. "I came here because I'm worried about her. She doesn't act like herself anymore. She even got tired of Netflix."

Irene widens her eyes in shock. "She stopped watching Netflix?!"

"Yes." You nod seriously. "And she still loves you, too."

Irene freezes when you say this.

Now, you're sure of the tears welling up on her eyes.

"I…" she stutters, unable to form a coherent sentence. "A-Are you sure?"

You can't help but giggle at her; Irene looks shy, almost like a teenager - scared and excited to know that her crush likes her back. You feel your own heart warming up at the sight.

"Of course I'm sure."

A smile wants to make its way up to her lips. "B-But what do I do? I can't just walk up to her like this. I don't want to start another fight…"

"Irene, believe me. Seulgi will listen to anything you have to say, as long as you're being honest. Tell her about the situation with your family. Prove to her that you're willing to stand for her. I mean, if you're still willing to…"

"I am!" Irene exclaims in a heartbeat. "I am. As long as she's with me, I feel like I can do anything."

You feel yourself smiling. Irene's eyes are shining like diamonds.

"But you also have to try to understand her." You say seriously. "Seulgi is not wrong for wanting to be independent. She's finishing her studies, she wants to build a career for herself, and she wants her own money. I know you're trying to help, but you have to respect her. Also, I'm sure she doesn't want to be a burden for you."

Irene nods vehemently. "Okay. You're right. I get it."

She doesn't hold her smile back anymore as a tear rolls down her cheek. She looks so immensely happy… it's a delightful sight. And you can't help but feel happy too, because right now, more than ever, you see that Seulgi found something rare and precious in this world.

True love.

And this fact itself is enough to make you feel that coming here was worth it - even though Seulgi might want to kill you afterwards.

"But hey, Irene," you call her seriously again. "I'm doing all this because both of you stupid asses couldn't, but if you make Seulgi cry again, I will kill you. I know where you work now."

Irene laughs at your very serious threat. She leans forward and holds both of your hands. "Y/N, thank you so much for telling me all this. I will forever be grateful. If you need anything- and I mean anything- I will help you, okay? Anything!"

"Alright, alright," you say, shrugging, the slight thought that a millionaire owns you a favor sounding nice. "Now, you better go talk to Seulgi. I can't stand her walking around the living room looking like a zombie anymore." Irene laughs softly. "And… I said I wasn't hungry, but now I kind of want that waffle."

Seulgi looks like a very grumpy zombie when you meet her in the corridor.

"Where the hell were you?!" Seulgi exclaims. "It's noon!"

"Yeah, I know." you shrug. "The bank was pretty crowded."

Seulgi narrows her eyes. Her hair looks messy even though it's tied up and she has bags underneath her eyes. She's wearing the top of her old orange pajamas. It has an old kitchen oil stain over the chest. Seulgi from months ago would rarely go out looking like this. 

"What the hell did you need to do there anyway? I didn't even know people still go to banks." She whines. "I was getting worried, you know?"

You walk down the corridor with your hands behind your back. You're glad Seulgi is too grumpy to notice the sly smirk on your lips, the way you kind of bounce by her side in expectation.

"Always so thoughtful, Seul. You're so cute, did you know that?"

She side eyes you, the frown deepening. "Why are you complimenting me?"

"What's the problem with complimenting you?"

"Whenever you compliment me it means either you want something or you did something that you know will piss me off."

Sometimes you forget how well Seulgi knows you. 

"Jesus, you're too stressed, girl. I'll pay you lunch, okay? Let's eat at that Italian restaurant you like."

"When you offer yourself to pay for stuff it also means that-"

Seulgi stops in her tracks, completely frozen.

"Irene?"

You step back silently and hold your breath.

This is the moment that might end your friendship with Seulgi if it goes bad.

Irene seems to be holding her breath as well, her eyes round - scared, hesitant, hopeful. 

And they stand there, looking at each other. As if time has slowed down. As if there was no one else besides them in the busy corridor.

If this was a drama, you imagined that the romantic soundtrack would kick in now.

"Hi, Seulgi." Irene says softly. "It's… it's been a while."

It seems that Seulgi's brain is struggling to function. "What… what are you doing here?" the fact that she does not sound defensive or aggressive but genuinely surprised and confused relieves your chest. 

"I came here to talk." Irene says. "Just… just talk. But if you want me to go…"

"No." Seulgi interrupts her embarrassingly too fast. "It's alright. We… we can talk. Just talk."

Their eyes are gleaming and the ghost of smiles appear on their lips.

Your chest fills with triumph as you silently walk back. Not that either of them would even notice you anyway.

You're too far to hear what they're saying now, their soft voices drowning in the middle of the many more people walking around the corridor, but you still kind of hide inside an empty classroom, half of your body peeking outside of the door to watch them. They're talking and smiling timidly. You feel tempted to take some photos, but it's better not to. You kind of feel like an intruder watching them, even if you're this far-

"What are you doing?" 

You almost feel your spirit jumping out of your body when the male voice asks dangerously close to your ear, turning around in a jump to see the source.

Now you don't know if your heart is beating so ridiculously fast because of the scare of because of the view in front of you.

Jungkook looks down at you with a puzzled expression, his hands behind his back, his body slightly leaning on your direction. He's wearing a modern grey hanbok over a black t-shirt and slippers. His backpack hangs from one shoulder. His hair is half tied up in a small bun, curly bangs falling over his eyes. This is precisely what makes your heart almost fail. You've been wondering how he would look like with his hair tied up ever since he decided to let it grow…

He's got no business looking this good. No. Fucking. Business.

But you're a master of pretending you're unbothered, so you just point ahead at their direction with an excited smile. Jungkook's eyes look up to where you're pointing and his eyes widen.

"Oh!" Almost instantly, he kind of hides behind you as well. It's hard to ignore the warmth of his body on your back, even though he isn't close enough to touch you. "Did they make up? Are they dating again?" 

"I hope they will." it's weird how you're both speaking so low, as if they could possibly hear you over the loud chatter. 

"What if they start fighting?" 

"Don't even say that! I put my friendship with Seulgi at risk to get these two to talk!"

You turn your head in time to see Jungkook's eyes frowning as he realizes what's going on.

"It was you?"

"Of course it was."

He crosses his arms over his broad chest and shakes his head slowly in disapproval. "You said you wouldn't get involved!"

"I never said I wasn't going to get involved." you bat your lashes prettily at him, trying to give your best innocent look (unsuccessfully). 

"You damn gremlin."

You whack his chest. "Aw, come on! Just look at them and tell me it isn't working!"

Both of you look ahead again to see them smiling sweetly at each other as they talk. You bounce and giggle excitedly like a little kid. "Look, look! She's blushing!"

Jungkook tilts his head to the side. "But what about Jennie?"

"Oh, Irene and Jennie went out on dates, but it didn't work out in the end. They're just friends." you repeat the exact same words Irene told you earlier. 

"Are you sure?"

"Well, if she cheats on Seulgi, I'll kill her."

You watch as they slowly start to walk away side by side, heading towards the exit.

You jump out of your "hideout" and open your arms in triumph. "I did great this time, didn't I?!"

Jungkook chuckles and leans on the doorway, arms crossed. "Whatever you say."

You're an expert at acting unbothered, but right now it's really hard to do so when he looks at you this way.

He has a pretty lazy smile on his lips. It makes you feel hot inside and your stomach jumps and your heart races. His gaze is intense… but not in the way you're used to. That look isn't his I want to fuck kind of look, it's… it's… shit, you don't know what that means, but it's pretty intense. Why is he looking at you like that?

You just hope he doesn't notice how your legs are wobbly.

It's the first time you see him in person since two days ago, when he slept at your house. Two days after you had sex even though you said you wouldn't. You didn't talk properly about what happened there. To be honest, your brain still didn't process that well. 

Things are awkward between you two - but this time it's a different kind of awkward. A type of awkward that made your cheeks burn while you cleaned yourself and got dressed. A type of awkward that made you feel all fuzzy and warm inside, that made a silly smile grow on your lips every time your eyes crossed his from the other side of the living room, an awkwardness that forced you both to look away and try to pretend your cheeks weren't aching from the damn smile that didn't want to go away. A type of awkward that didn't let you talk about what happened - as if none of you wanted to talk about it, to just keep it engraved in your minds forever, as if talking about it would take all the magic of the moment away.

You don't hate this type of awkward. 

It's not uncomfortable. Not like what has been happening for the past months. Yet, you feel that you need to talk about it - to sort things out clearly and straightforwardly this time… because if the way he's looking at you means anything, then maybe… just maybe…

"I've got good news." Jungkook says suddenly (because he noticed that you've been staring at each other for far too long to not be embarrassing anymore). 

"What?" you fiddle with your own fingers, trying to ease the tension.

"Remember that director I told you about? Mr. Choi?" You nod. "He invited me to work with him."

Your jaw drops, your eyes widen. "What? Are you serious?!"

Jungkook nods excitedly. "Yeah. Well, I'll be like the assistant of the assistant, to be honest, but… he invited me to work with him on his next project. I'll gain some real experience, at least…"

"Are you kidding? This is great, Kook! What the fuck!"

You jump over to hug him, your arms dropping around his shoulders, and Jungkook quickly hugs you back. His low excited giggle right next to your ear makes goosebumps crawl on your skin. 

"I'm so fucking proud of you!" And you couldn't be more honest. Jungkook has always been so  hardworking; he deserves all the success and recognition in the world. You always thought so.

"Thank you," his voice is still low and excited.

He caresses your back. It makes yet more goosebumps crawl on your skin. 

Oh, God. He still smells like baby powder. He always does. You feel tempted to sniff the crook of his neck, just to take a little bit more of his scent, but you hold yourself back. It's not like hugging Jungkook is something new to you. Fuck, after everything you've done, hugging should feel like nothing. But for some reason… hugging him right now feels like a lot.

Feels awkward.

So awkward that you have to remind yourself that you're in the middle of a corridor full of people, and that this hug is taking way too long, so you step back before your brain completely malfunctions. 

"A-And," you clear your throat and put a strand of hair behind your ear, furiously avoiding his gaze. You never thought that Jungkook would make you feel shy like this. Shy and Y/N shouldn’t make sense in the same sentence. "When is this next project?"

"In two days. I think he decided to put me on the crew last minute."

"This means that he really trusts you."

Jungkook smiles sheepishly and massages the back of his neck. "I just hope I won't mess things up."

"You'll do great, Kook. You always do."

He lifts his gaze to you again.

That same look again.

You feel that everything is blurred except him again. No one else is in that corridor. No loud chatter. Just him and his starry eyes, looking back at you, eyes that smile as much as his lips.

God.

You need to sort things out.

You can't just stare at him with heart eyes like this anymore. You need to talk about what happened. This conversation feels awkward because you're both trying to act normal, pretending that there isn't a fucking elephant in the room - an elephant that makes you think of a mattress in the middle of your living room, of sunrays touching his exposed skin, of old pajamas being thrown around and sweat and soft kisses and salty tears dripping down your temples.

You need to know if he also felt that that morning was different. You need to know if he feels the same. Even if he doesn't - even if his heart lays with Yeri or Joy or whoever it might be - you need to know, and you don't care about what the outcome might be. You just can't torture yourself like this anymore.

So you inhale and gulp.

"Jungkook, I was thinking… are you busy after classes?" you ask timidly.

He presses his lips together. "Actually, I am. The boys and I are planning to celebrate the end of the semester tonight."

Mission abort! Mission abort!!

"Why?"

"Oh- it's nothing. I was just…" you can't think of any excuse. "It's not that important anyway. Forget it."

Jungkook looks at you with suspicion. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! I'm sure. Nevermind."

He still stares at you for a while, frowning. 

"You wanna come with us?"

"No!" you shake your hands dismissively. You're not having this super important conversation surrounded by all of his friends. "I'm just gonna bother you guys. It's fine, Jungkook. Enjoy your night." 

Jungkook shrugs. He takes his phone from his back pocket for a moment. "Well, I gotta go. I promised I'd pay Jimin lunch."

"Alright."

You start to walk in opposite directions.

“But we can meet tomorrow, right?” You turn around way too fast when you hear Jungkook say, a few steps away from you. He looks hesitant, an awkward little smile on his lips. “I have some stuff to do, but we can see each other at night. After I finish preparing my stuff. We could meet, right?” He visibly starts to look more and more awkward as he speaks. As if his confidence started to vanish. It’s kind of adorable. “You could come to my place. O-Or I could go to yours, I don’t care- I mean, can I?”

Your heart is bouncing crazily inside of you. You don’t notice how you’re mirroring his awkward smile. “Of course, Kook. When did you ever need permission to go to my apartment?”

Jungkook frowns as if he just realized how stupid his ask was. “Guess you’re right. Or maybe we could go out somewhere, right? It’s been a while since we went out, the two of us.”

He’s right. All you’ve been doing for the past months is meet to have sex. You don’t even remember the last time you two did something that didn’t involve getting naked. 

“Sure, let’s go out.” 

You stare at each other for a few more awkward moments (awkward is a word you’ve been thinking a lot about lately). See, that’s not how things would go between you two back then. Neither of you ever needed to ask previously to go out. You’d just usually drag Jungkook out of his house by force when you deemed he hasn’t been taking enough sunlight (fucking Overwatch). Or Jungkook would call you at 3am because he was bored of playing Overwatch and just realized there was only expired milk and an empty box of cereal in the cabinets because the last time he and Jimin bought food was 2 weeks ago and he’d be like “hey, let’s go to Walmart” and you’d be like “what the fuck Jungkook it’s 3am” and he’d be like “but Jimin’s not home I need help” and you’d be like “fuck you” but twenty minutes later you’d both be on your pajamas pushing a cart inside of an empty Walmart as you barely register Jungkook ranting about how he thinks he’s lactose intolerant because he had diarrhea the last time he ate yogurt.

That’s kind of how things used to go back then.

At the same time you desperately want your relationship to go back to normal, you don’t really hate the way you’re feeling right now.

“Right, I gotta go.” Jungkook snaps out of it faster than you and nods. “I’ll text you later.”

“Okay.”

Again, you turn around and start to walk in opposite directions. Slowly. Hesitantly. Because both of you know you don't want to go. Both of you know you still have a lot to talk about.

But maybe later.

[bby bear]: i kinda want to kill you rn but

[bby bear]: thank u so fcking much

[bby bear]: ily

[bby bear]: bitch

You're smiling so hard that your cheeks might probably start to ache. If Seulgi texted you this, it means things went really well with Irene. 

The chatter in the dining hall is nothing but background noise on your ears as you scroll down your boring Instagram feed, the plate just half eaten in front of you. You’re not really hungry. Maybe the stress of studying for finals messed your stomach. The hell’s finally over, at least, and you’re sure that your grades won’t be that bad (Seulgi didn’t want to do anything, but you at least convinced her to study with you. That’s the only thing that got her out of her bedroom. Her zombie state was kinda the reason why you studied so hard). 

Some text notifications pop on your screen, but you just swipe them away since none of them are from the person you’re waiting for. All of your friends are planning to go out tonight and some of them are asking if you want to go. No, you don’t. Honestly, you’ve not been feeling yourself these days. Past you would always be up to a party. Past you wouldn’t be having lunch alone in the dining hall - honestly though, you don’t even mind being by yourself. Nothing would make you feel emptier right now than being surrounded by random people. Just one person matters at the moment-

“Hi.”

You almost drop the phone inside the plate when you look up to see who just sat in front of you.

Joy.

Your throat feels suddenly bitter. You have to gulp.

“Jesus, I didn’t even notice you come,” you inhale and chuckle. “How you doing, Joy?”

Joy smiles. “I’m fine.”

She’s lying.

There’s something in the way she looks at you and in the way her smile looks plastic-fake that makes you shiver.

It makes you think that she didn’t even want to be here.

Well, you don’t know about her, but you certainly feel uncomfortable right now. You can’t lie that you’ve been feeling kind of guilty these days because you’ve been fucking the guy she likes in secret, but a big fat load of guilt hit you especially after two days ago. Joy went on a date with Jungkook and barely a few hours later you had him inside of you. And, of course, you had rough sex with him inside of her bathroom. All the while you knew Joy liked him and encouraged her to be with him-

Wow, it’s getting hard to look at her right now. 

You really are a bitch. In the beginning you didn’t feel bad because you stupidly assumed there weren’t feelings involved. It was just friends with benefits, right? You even agreed that you could have sex with other people. If Jungkook started dating Joy, of course you’d stop doing it. Also, there was nothing between you two. You didn’t even feel jealousy.

Things changed, though, and at some point you genuinely started to hate this poor girl for breathing around Jungkook. And now you feel guilty because you realized that you like the guy that she told you she had a crush on months ago.

I took a shower this morning, so why do I feel so dirty right now?

A shiver runs down your spine.

The way she’s looking at you… what if she knows-?

“I’m throwing a party tonight,” she says suddenly. “To celebrate the end of the semester. You wanna come?”

You’ve been fucking the guy she likes for months and there she is, being nice and inviting you to her party. You really are a fake ass bitch-

“O-Oh.” You rub the back of your neck. “I, uhm… thanks, Joy, but I’m not feeling very well today. I just feel like sleeping, to be honest.” You chuckle sheepishly again. 

Joy nods. “Alright.”

She doesn’t insist. It looks like she doesn’t even care. As if she’s just being polite.

In fact, it kind of looks that she’s relieved that you said no-

“So, how was your date with Taehyung?” She changes the topic quickly. “We didn’t even talk about it.”

Right. She’s talking about the person you don’t even want to think about because there’s only so much guilt one person can feel at once. 

“It was fun.” You say. “We had a lot of fun.”

It sounds stupid, the way you can’t even articulate your date with him. You’re not lying - you had fun… kind of. 

“Are you dating him now?”

Okay, this is getting strange. Not the question, but the way she asked. You’re 100% sure she’s annoyed by something, and honestly looks uninterested in your current state with Taehyung right now, so why is she asking anyway? 

“No, we’re not.” You admit. 

Joy stares at you in silence as if she’s waiting for you to say something more, but you say nothing else. Joy then nods. This is getting very uncomfortable.

You feel that she’s about to leave, so you pick up the courage to speak again. She touched this topic anyway.

You know it’s wrong to ask. You shouldn’t. But you’re so curious that you can’t help.

“A-And, uhm… what about you and Jungkook? How was your date?” you try so hard to pretend you’re not dying curious to know.

Joy stares at you in silence again. She isn’t smiling.

“He didn’t tell you?”

What? Is there something to tell?!

“No. Jungkook’s kinda private about this type of thing,” you’re lying, of course, because even if Jungkook didn’t want to, you’d usually annoy him with questions about his dates so hard that he’d end up telling everything that happened.

Joy looks away and quirks one eyebrow. “Oh. I assumed he would have since you guys are so close.”

The way she says so close bothers you.

It’s her turn to rub the back of her neck, her eyes glued on the table - only she doesn’t look nervous. Yeah, she’s annoyed. Joy takes so long to talk that you’re about to repeat your question, but she finally speaks:

“We also had fun. Jungkook really is a sweet guy, right? He did nothing wrong. He’s so polite that it ended up annoying me, honestly. More polite than I would have wanted him to be…” Hah, so they didn’t fuck! Great! “Well, he dropped me home and I invited him to spend the night and all, but… He was very polite. He apologized a lot and said that he couldn’t stay…”

Joy licks her lips. Why the dramatic pause? Say it already, come on!

“He’s also a very honest guy, right?” She chuckled, but she clearly didn’t think it was funny. “He said that he thought I was an amazing person, but things wouldn’t go further than this because…”

For the first time, Joy lifts her gaze and looks at you.

“Because he already had feelings for someone else.”

You’re honestly not breathing anymore.

Joy is watching you very carefully. You’re as stiff as a board.

“Not a fun way to finish a date, right?” She says and chuckles, again, it’s clear she isn’t happy at all. “Anyways, I have to go now. Bye.” 

She gets up and walks away before you can even say anything, as if this conversation was being unbearable for her.

Meanwhile, you just sit there. Frozen. Breathless.

He said things wouldn’t go further than this.

Your throat feels very dry out of sudden. Very, very dry and coarse, as if you’ve eaten sand. 

Because…

You take the water bottle from over the table and drink it in one big, big gulp, until the bottle is empty and your shaking fingers crushed the fragile pet bottle.

He already had feelings for someone else.

You get up and take the tray so fast that you almost drop everything.

Your movements are fast as you walk out of the busy dining hall, your heart beating loudly on your ribcage, your breathing irregular and your mind working at 200 km/h.

He already had feelings for someone else.

He told Joy this. He dropped her home and told her the truth. He apologized. He… he said he already had feelings for someone else. Jesus Christ. Your heart is beating so fast it feels like it’s going to stop anytime soon.

He- He-

He might be talking about Yeri, a little, hesitant voice inside your mind whispers. Well… sure. You’ve been suspecting it for a good while. But… after Jungkook dropped Joy home and said this he-

He went to your apartment.

He went to you.

You feel the need to stop walking and lean on the corridor’s wall. The world around you is blurred.

What is this feeling bubbling up in your chest? A feeling so strong that it’s almost spilling over? This thing that makes you open the widest smile you ever opened and makes you want to jump around the corridor like crazy?

He came to me. He came to me. He came to me. He came to me.

He came to me!

But-

But there’s still the Yeri possibility. 

You need to know the truth. To hear him say it, and you can’t wait another day - not anymore.

You take your phone from your bag and type with shaking fingers.

[you]: hey

[you]: can we meet today?

[you]: i really need to talk to you

Jeon Jungkook is a simp. 

He doesn’t like this word. He thinks it’s annoying how people would call a guy a simp just because he’s treating a girl with minimal decency. 

But, like. He’s a simp. He knows he is. He took a long time to admit this, but lately his pride has been already so crushed and stepped on by a particular pair of feet that he can’t even bring himself to feel anything anymore.

Actually, no. He has been feeling like shit for a long time. It’s just the alcohol anesthetizing him right now.

That’s just his second bottle of beer and he already feels kind of dizzy. It’s been a while since he last drank alcohol, that’s probably why his resistance feels weak. He makes a mental reminder to not drink too much. Jungkook knows that he gets really talkative when he’s drunk and he always ends up saying stuff he shouldn’t - and today especially he can’t end up saying stuff he shouldn’t with that guy around.

If he knew Taehyung would be here too, Jungkook wouldn’t have come. Yes, he knows he’s being childish. He knows he’s angry at someone that didn’t do anything wrong, he knows that jealousy is bad, he knows that technically he is wrong because he’s been dicking down the girl that he knew his friend liked. He knows all that, alright?!

Jungkook throws his head back and sighs, passing his hand through his hair. A chilling night breeze touches his cheeks; since the inside of the bar was already full and they were too many, everyone decided to sit on the outside part of the bar. Jungkook hasn’t been paying attention to anything anyone around him was saying and neither was he interested. He thought that coming here would make him forget about the things that have been troubling him, but in the end he’s just thinking more about them.

I could excuse myself and go home. He thought. I have a lot of things to do anyway. I wouldn’t be lying.

He feels a hand rest on his shoulder and looks at Jimin, sitting on a chair by his side. The look on Jimin’s face already says everything. Jungkook sometimes thinks that Jimin has telepathic superpowers; how does he always know what’s going on before anyone even says anything?

“You alright?” Jimin asks in a low tone, careful not to call anyone’s attention. The younger one nods.

“Yeah.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you drunk?”

“I’m not.” Jungkook reassures. 

Taehyung laughs loudly from across the table and both of them end up looking at him. Jimin looks back at Jungkook. 

Jimin sighs. “You know you can go home if you want to.”

“Yeah.”

Jimin rolls his eyes. “Just… don’t do anything stupid.”

Jungkook looks at Jimin and sips a bit more of the beer slowly.

“Yeah.”

Jimin smacks his shoulder and goes back to his previous conversation with Hoseok.

How Jimin always seems to know what’s going on… it annoys Jungkook a lot. He wasn’t supposed to know anything. It’s not like Jungkook told him about his feelings, Jimin just… realized. They were doing grocery shopping one day and Jungkook mentioned how last time he went to Walmart you told him that the diarrhea he had wasn’t because he was lactose intolerant but because the yogurt was expired and then Jimin turned around and simply said:

“You like her, right?”

And Jungkook gasped.

Jimin smirked knowingly and just kept pushing the cart. He said nothing else - but it was as if Jungkook had just confessed his deepest feelings right there.

This happened a little bit after Jungkook and Yeri broke up and kind of made him feel offended. How could Jimin say he liked you? He hadn’t even gotten over Yeri, Jimin knew very well. However, it seems that Jimin is not only a telepath, he can also see the future, because he couldn’t be more right.

If Jungkook’s being honest with himself, some months ago he wasn’t really really sure about what he felt about you. As the “Yeri” scar started to heal he got more aware of his own feelings and actions towards you, but it was hard to sort things out because he was always in denial. That desire to hold you close and hug you and take care of you and not let anyone hurt you anymore? Well, that was just his protective side. You have always been one of his dearest people. Jungkook also knew that he had a little possessive side. He was sure that this feeling would eventually vanish.

Maybe he was also frightened because he knew it wasn’t reciprocal. You never even looked at him in a way that might mean you felt something else for him. He wasn’t going to confess something he wasn’t sure of to someone that definitely didn’t feel anything for him and destroy a life-long friendship.

But oh boy, how things have changed.

They changed the moment you hopped on his lap that night inside his car. Jesus, that first week was hell for Jungkook. He was trying so, so hard to forget the messy drunken memories of his night with you - especially because, the moment he woke up and saw the pure face of terror on your face when you realized what just happened, he thought of how much you regretted that and all of his hopes died right there - the hopes that maybe, just maybe, you could be more than friends.

Yet, he got to taste you again. Two times were all it took to get him addicted.

He couldn’t stop anymore - and it hurt him much more than he would like to admit. He felt that he was being used, even though he let you do it (and he enjoyed it every time, not gonna lie). He felt worthless, he felt angry at himself because he couldn’t stop and because you were so, so fucking stupid, so fucking blind, he felt sad because he watched as your friendship started to slowly die down, and now he feels jealous and guilty because he’s been seeing how Taehyung likes you - how Taehyung even asked him advice to ask you out - and he didn’t stop fucking you anyway.

That day at Joy’s house? It was ridiculous. Jungkook still doesn’t understand what the fuck happened to him, why he felt so angry. Perhaps he was finally getting tired of how dumb you are, how you can’t see what’s right in front of your face. 

Just thinking about you hurts now. And Jungkook thinks about you a lot. There he is, surrounded by his friends, where he should be talking and having fun, but he’s too busy thinking about you. In two days he’ll start working for Mr. Choi, his first real job. He should be thinking about it. Not about you.

He can’t stop thinking about your flustered face.

You don’t look flustered that often. Especially not around him. 

He thinks this is very intriguing.

What hurt him the most in all this - the thing that made him feel like a piece of shit more than anything - is that he knows you too damn well and he knew that it was never special to you. To you it was just sex, it was just fun; whenever your lips touched you never felt like you were being swept off your feet like he did, whenever you touched him you didn’t feel like just then, in that moment, everything was right - as if the Universe was only created for that specific moment to happen, as if the Universe was expectantly waiting for the moment his fingers ran on your skin freely since the very beginning.

He never felt like this with anyone else. No other pussy has ever made him feel this poetic. 

The fact that Jungkook knew you didn’t feel the same was exactly why he couldn’t stop; this would be the closest he’d ever be from you in that sense - and honestly, after he tasted you, he didn’t want to go back to stage one. You were like a drug. You brought him comfort, you brought him bliss. Having sex with you became somehow of a escapist method. But, just like every drug, you started to make him feel sick… so sick that he couldn’t stand to be around you when you weren’t fucking. 

He drifted away.

God, he even stupidly tried to move on, but Joy was a foolish try. Jungkook felt bad for using her like this - even though he never even kissed her, he felt that he was fooling her anyway. Going on that date with Joy made everything worse, because he was with that gorgeous, intelligent and lovely girl, but he couldn’t feel anything but fucking empty.

He also realized that you couldn’t be his drug anymore. You deserved much more than that. That’s why he drove all the way to your apartment like a magnet. He preferred to go back to stage one if necessary, if it meant that he could be around you without feeling like a worthless piece of shit anymore.

Of course - things didn’t work out that way.

But that morning- it was different.

Jungkook has to sip more of his beer just thinking about it.

It was different.

It was… quiet, very quiet. Much more quieter than he was used to. And much closer than he ever remembered. 

All the times he had sex with you - his body was being pleased, but his soul felt hurt. This time, though, he felt that his whole self was being healed. You didn’t feel like a drug. You felt like a cure.

As if you were connected in somehow of a deeper way.

As if this time, it wasn’t one-sided on his part.

Jungkook can’t stop thinking about it. His pessimistic side tried to convince him that he was being delusional or dramatic (he has this tendency to overthink anyways) and maybe he was, but, again… you don’t usually act flustered, especially not around him. And you’ve been looking flustered around him for quite some now, even before that morning. Sure, your friendship became uncomfortable at some point and he realized that none of you knew how to act around each other anymore, but still… 

What about that time you saw a picture of Yeri on his computer?

You looked very, very awkward.

Or how you sometimes seemed bothered when Joy was around. You teased him a lot at that pool party. Jungkook knew you could get kinda kinky sometimes (he knew you liked the thrill of possibly being caught), but that felt like too much even for you.

His pessimistic side once again tried to convince him that he was seeing things. You wouldn’t be acting jealous. You were never jealous of him with any girl. Never. You even encouraged him to be with Joy, right?

What if… what if maybe, just maybe…?

Stop getting your hopes too high, his pessimistic side scolded. You look stupid.

I’ve been looking stupid for a goddamn long time, Jungkook thinks back. His pessimistic side looks back at him with disdain.

Jungkook frowns and looks at the bottle of beer on his hand. This is just regular beer, right? He surely isn’t so drunk that he’s already arguing with himself.

I should probably go home.

Or…

He could go to your home.

You wanted to talk to him earlier today. You looked very hesitant - again, very uncharacteristic of you. It felt like it was something important. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind if he knocked on your door unannounced - wait, you never cared. At least when your relationship didn’t involve rough sex. I mean- you didn’t mind not even when you started fucking, to be honest.

Why do I feel so nervous? I’ve never felt nervous over such a stupid thing. I mean, she’s the same dumbass I’ve known my whole life.

You’re probably home doing nothing. That’s also very uncharacteristic of you. Normal you would be at some club or party right now, celebrating the end of the semester. Normal you would probably have tried to drag him along. Or you’d meet some time during the night when you’re both too drunk to be standing and then you’d end up at 5am at the usual Burger King because you’re both hungry, and the Burger King employees would be staring at you both with anger and disgust because you’re both laughing like stupid and talking too loud and they’ve been up all night and can’t stand two drunk costumers this early in the morning.

It sounds nice.

Jungkook remembers that Seulgi and Irene made up, which means that Seulgi most definitely isn’t home.

Which means you positively are home alone.

Home alone, huh.

Jungkook sips more beer. 

This sounds nicer.

But, hey, it’s not like he’s being dirty minded (well, at least not entirely). He really wants to know what you wanted to talk about - and suddenly, he doesn’t feel like waiting until tomorrow. Maybe it’s the alcohol (maybe he really shouldn’t finish this beer), but he wants to see your face a lot right now. Your flustered face. And he kinda feels like holding your face with both hands and kissing you very slowly. And he kinda feels like going very very deep inside of-

You know what? Fuck it.

Jungkook puts the bottle over the table and is ready to get up. His excuse is ready. Nobody’s gonna think it’s strange anyway - Jungkook has actual stuff to do.

But he doesn’t have the chance to move when he notices a person approaching the tables where he’s sat.

He freezes.

It’s you.

You’re looking down at your phone before you lift your head and see the group of familiar faces a few meters away from you. You’re alone.

Jungkook’s heart starts to beat furiously inside his chest. A smile unconsciously increases on his lips. What are you doing here? He didn’t know you’d come. He’s also sure that he didn’t tell you which bar he would come to earlier today. Adrenaline rushes through his veins as a hundred ideas run on his mind in those few seconds; did you feel the need to see him as much as he wanted to see you? Did you have the same idea as him? Were you so eager to see him that you couldn’t wait until tomorrow-?

Your eyes finally cross his.

That’s when Jungkook notices something isn’t right.

You look surprised, then a second later you frown, then you slowly widen your eyes.

He knows you too damn well.

You didn’t know he’d be there, too. You’re surprised to see him. And it looks… it looks like you didn’t want to see Jungkook there.

“Y/N!”

A loud, excited, familiar male voice bursts out.

Jungkook watches frozen in place as Taehyung gets up in a swift movement, holds your face with both hands and kisses you.

Taehyung’s lips are warm against yours. They taste like toothpaste and beer.

The kiss is very brief. Taehyung breaks it alway soon, but still holds your face with his hands. He’s smiling widely.

“You're late, missy!" He says happily.

You're frozen in place.

This isn't happening. 

"I-" you stutter. It seems that your brain went into complete malfunction. "I, uhm…"

Your eyes travel back to Jungkook.

He's just watching. Not moving a muscle. No.

No no no no no no.

This can't be happening.

Jungkook wasn't supposed to be here. You thought- you thought he was going to celebrate with his classmates, you didn't expect Taehyung would be here too. No, no. Just no. 

You see the exact moment his features get as hard as stone. The way he clenches his jaw tight.

You can't breathe.

When you texted Taehyung earlier, you didn’t really like that he told you to meet him at a bar. A bar wasn’t the right place to have this type of conversation - you also felt bad that you’d probably ruin his end-of-semester celebrations - but you agreed anyway because you desperately needed to make things clear with Taehyung before you had that talk with Jungkook. You decided to do this because Jungkook was honest and fair with Joy; you needed to do the same. You left the worst of the impressions when you let Taehyung kiss you that day. You needed to tell him the truth, or else he’d just suffer more - and you couldn’t be a bitch enough to just dump him by text.

But fuck -  you didn’t expect Taehyung would fucking kiss you in front of everyone the moment he saw you!

With the corner of your eye, you see Jimin looking from you to Taehyung to Jungkook very fast, his face going pale as he realizes what just happened. No one else notices that something’s wrong.

Jungkook breaks eye contact with you and gets up from his chair. Jimin looks at him, helpless. You know that expression. He’s angry and- and-

Hurt.

You step away from Taehyung, trying to get control over your body again. It feels like pure frost has filled your veins. “T-Taehyung, I…” Your mouth is very dry again. You clear your throat. “C-Can we talk somewhere else?”

You suddenly hate how oblivious Taehyung is and how touchy he is because it’s clear that he’s moving his arm to hold your hand. What the fuck?! We just kissed once, it’s not like we’re dating!

“Sure. Do you wanna get inside? Wanna get a drink?” He asks with the same happy smile. 

You’re trying to think of something to say, but again, someone else behind him gets your attention.

“You’re going this early, Jungkook?” Hoseok whines, oblivious to the whole situation. Jungkook is putting his backpack over his shoulder. He’s looking down, jaw still very tight. Not a word said - yet you could see exactly how hurt he was. 

“Yeah. I have a lot to do.” He simply says. 

“Aw, come on, man!” Taehyung encourages. “You can stay a little longer!”

If Taehyung was a little less oblivious, he would have noticed the death glare sent in his direction.

“I can’t.”

A shiver crawls over your entire body as the death glare is now directed to you. 

He’s so, so hurt.

Jungkook’s walking away.

Stop! You want to scream. You got it all wrong! Don’t go!

But you don’t have the chance to stop him, and Jungkook doesn’t have the chance to walk away, and Taehyung doesn’t have the chance to understand what’s going on.

Everyone turns their heads when they hear a boisterous, scandalous laughter, and the sound of someone clapping their hands dramatically.

Now you’re sure that your veins are frosted. You shiver again - yet this time, it’s pure fear.

It’s Mike.

A very, very drunk Mike.

He looks the worst you’ve ever seen him; his clothes are a mess, his hair has grown a lot, and he hasn’t been shaving lately. His eyes are widened, red and maniac. He stumbles as he walks closer, everyone on the table - and the people on the tables around - stopping to look as he still claps ironically.

“Oh, look at what we have here!” he’s loud. Very loud. “So interesting!”

You notice that Jungkook isn’t walking away anymore - in fact, he comes back a few steps, standing closer to you. His body language has changed. Jimin has also gotten up; it seems that Taehyung might be starting to understand what’s going on.

“This is the funniest shit I’ve seen in a looooong time,” Mike continues. God, he’s drooling. This isn’t happening. That’s not possible.

You watch as some guys come closer to Mike and recognize them as his friends. One of them holds Mike’s arm. “Come on, man. Don’t start a scene. It’s not worth it.” He says in a rather low voice, but you can still hear it.

Mike gets off his grip aggressively. “What do you mean? Of course it’s worth it!” Mike looks at you and grins like a madman. You feel another shiver run down your spine. “Hello, Y/N! It’s been a long time! How have you been?!”

“Your friend’s right.” Jungkook speaks up. “Get out of here.”

“Ooooooh,” Mike shakes his hands as if pretending to be scared. “Look who’s here, too! It’s the bestie! Jeon Jungkook, the best friend your girlfriend could ever have!”

Pretty much everyone on the outside part of the bar is paying attention to what’s going on. They whisper between themselves, looking at Mike, you and Jungkook. You feel so embarrassed that you might as well faint. You feel that you should have said something already, but your brain is still malfunctioning. 

“Jeon Jungkook, the friend that will want to fuck your girl so bad, but he won’t because he’s a coward!” Mike screams and laughs like a maniac.

Jungkook steps up closer to Mike in a brusque movement, but Jimin’s fast enough to hold him back. At this point, all of his friends have already gotten up from the table, wanting to stop Jungkook from doing anything.

“Shut up, Mike! Let’s go!” Mike’s friends try to stop him as well, trying to drag him away, but even though he’s drunk, he’s still strong enough to stay in place.

“You think I didn’t know, huh, Jungkookie? You think I didn’t know that whenever I was balls deep inside of Y/N you wish it was you? You always wanted to make her scream like a bitch the way I did!”

At this moment, the fear and shame are overwhelmed by anger. Without realizing, you are the one stepping closer, you are the person who Taehyung has to grab the arm in order to stop. “Shut the fuck up, you son of a bitch!” You hear yourself yelling.

People on the tables around have gotten up - the noise of many chairs scraping the floor getting louder than the worried voices of the people trying to get away from this mess. You hear someone - a guard from the bar, maybe - threatening to call the police, but you can’t pay attention to him.

“Oh, but that’s exactly what you are! A whore!” Mike yells back. “You got so sad that I cheated on you, but haven’t you been doing the same to me?! You think I didn’t see you two inside the car that night?!”

That night… in the car…

Did he... ?

You freeze again when you see Mike pointing at Taehyung. 

“Hm, you’re Taehyung, right? Are you dating her now? Well, be aware of her best friend right here, unless you like sharing your girl! But Jungkook likes leftovers, right, Jungk-?”

He doesn’t finish the sentence.

Jimin isn’t strong enough to stop Jungkook from jumping over and landing a punch on Mike’s nose.

There’s yelling and the sound of tables turning as a whole lot of men try to stop the fight and glasses breaking and Jungkook screaming incomprehensible things as he holds Mike’s collar and punches once, twice, three times, and then Mike’s mouth and nose are bleeding, and Jimin, Hoseok and Taehyung are trying to get Jungkook off Mike but it seems that not even the three would be enough to stop him.

You’ve never seen Jungkook so mad. It scares you because Mike is too drunk and can’t defend himself - but you’re not scared for Mike, that fucker can die -, you’re scared of what might happen to Jungkook.

So, when Jimin and the others drag Jungkook away as he still tries to free himself violently, you somehow squeeze yourself between them to hold Jungkook’s arm.

“Jungkook, stop!”

The black-haired man looks at you, his eyes red with rage in a way you’ve never seen before. 

You didn’t notice that, in your despair, your eyes filled with tears. This is probably what makes Jungkook stop for a moment.

“Enough! I called the police! Everyone out of the bar!”

A siren can be heard from far.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” Jimin yells.

Another mess as everyone grabs their things and to try and run out of the bar - even the people that weren’t involved. You see that Mike hasn’t fainted as his friends grab him out of the bar in a rush.

Jungkook has to get out of here, it’s the only thing on your mind. Jungkook thinks the same apparently, because he’s quick to take his bag from the floor and jump over the bar’s fence to the sidewalk. You assumed that he didn’t drive his way here because he knew he would drink - which means he had to run.

Your only instinct is to follow him. 

You jump over the fence too, much more clumsily than him. Jungkook is already running down the street. 

As you’re about to follow him, you hear someone call your name.

It’s Taehyung.

He’s standing on the sidewalk as customers run out of the bar. And the look on his face crushes your heart.

I am the worst person in the world.

“Y/N, what he said… is it- is it true?” He asks quietly.

You open your mouth as if to say something, but nothing coherent comes out of it. The guilt rushes with adrenaline through your veins. You knew he would be hurt, but it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. It wasn’t.

“I-I’m sorry, Taehyung,” is the only thing you can stutter.

You don’t see what face he makes next - both because you can’t take it, and because you’re already turning around and running down the street after Jungkook.

Jungkook is the only thing on your mind.

You can’t let him go away like this.

You run through the busy streets full of bars. As usual, they’re crowded with people. Some of them look at you running like crazy when you pass by, but you can’t stop running because you can still hear the sirens.

Jungkook has some damn long legs. He runs much faster than you and doesn’t even look back. You can barely breathe and your stomach hurts as you unsuccessfully try to catch up to him. You keep running and running and running until you’re on less busier streets, until the bars are left behind and now you’re on a more residential part of the neighbourhood. As Jungkook crosses an almost empty square, you decided that your body can’t take it anymore. You stop gradually, feeling your entire body scream in pain.

“Jungk- Jungkook!” you yell. 

The black-haired man finally looks behind his back and sees you; he widens his eyes in surprise and stops. 

“Why are you-?”

He doesn’t have the time to finish his sentence as the sound of the sirens get closer. You immediately start to run again and this time - instead of running in front of you - Jungkook waits until you get closer to grab your hand, forcing you to run faster. You two cross the square and run into a stair alley with houses on both sides. It’s quiet here. Jungkook crouches down behind a big trash bin, making you crouch down as well.

You both make as much silence as possible (considering you’re both panting heavily), both sweating, and wait until the sounds and lights of the police siren go away.

After maybe five minutes Jungkook gets up again, dropping his backpack on the floor. He cleans the sweat on his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt; you rest your hands on your legs, trying to recover your breath. Your stomach hurts as if it has been stabbed. Maybe I should start working out.

You notice that Jungkook’s right hand is hurt; his knuckles are swollen and bleeding a little. He frowns in pain as he analyzes it. “You- you’re hurt.” you stupidly stutter. Jungkook shakes his head.

“It’s nothing.” He says in a low voice. “I said I would beat him up if I saw him…”

Out of instinct you step closer to him, worried, and lift your hands to hold his swollen one.

But Jungkook steps back before you can even touch him. He literally flinched away from you.

It feels like an arrow has just buried itself in your heart.

He’s not looking at you.

“Jungkook-”

“No.” He shakes his head again. He’s breathing heavily as if trying to calm himself down. “Don’t… don’t say anything. Please.”

It’s getting so difficult to breathe. Jungkook puts his hands on each side of his waist, staring at something on the floor - clearly avoiding your pleading gaze.

“But Jungkook, I… you didn’t…” why the hell can’t you speak a coherent sentence anymore? That’s why you followed him all the way. You must make things clear, but seeing his face right now makes you hesitate. Jungkook looks genuinely angry; you’ve never seen him like this, ever.

He throws his head back, looking at the sky, and lets a very dry chuckle past his lips. His expression tells you everything you need to know - he’s tipsy, not entirely drunk.

“You know, I don’t even understand why I’m angry.” You’re not sure if he’s talking to you or to himself. “There was never anything real happening, right? We were never real.”

You feel yourself choking on your own words. What does he mean?

“Jungkook, you have to listen to me. I just wanted to talk to Taehyung-”

“You don’t need to explain yourself, Y/N!” He interrupts and finally gazes you back with bloodshot eyes. “We’re fuck buddies, right? It’s just for fun, right? No real feelings involved. It’s not like we’re supposed to care.”

Tears start to make your sight blurred. Each word of his sound more and more bitter, more sad, more hurt, and it feels like someone has buried the arrow in your heart deeper when you realize that his eyes are getting teary, too.

“Stop saying that. You know it’s not true. You’re the person I care about the most in this world-”

“If you start saying how I’m your best friend I’m leaving you right now.”

You frown and blink, trying to dissipate the tears. “B-But it’s true-”

“For fuck’s sake, Y/N! I’m in love with you! Stop acting like you don’t know that already!”

It feels like your brain and your limbs and your lungs stopped working all at once.

Did he… did he just…?

Jungkook exhales heavily. He looks so tired. He rests his back against the wall in front of you, once again avoiding your gaze.

Something tells you that this should have been a happy moment. Deep down, you feel the pure bliss and excitement and it feels like your heart will combust - because you finally heard the words you wanted to hear the most coming directly from his mouth, you finally understood everything; he felt the same, the fucking same.

Yet, all the happiness is being overwhelmed by worry.

You’re watching him intently. You know the man in front of you better than you know yourself. You’ve never seen this expression before - this mix of anger and hurt have never been directed towards you. You’re scared because you don’t know what it implies.

It’s his breaking point.

He might be giving up on you right now.

You don’t know what to say. For a long moment, you just stare at him as he tries to calm himself down - always avoiding your gaze. It seems that words won’t come out of your mouth no matter how hard you try.

“Since when?” is the only thing you can whisper after a long time.

Jungkook shakes his head and lets yet another lifeless chuckle. “I don’t know.” He says in a low, broken voice.

Your fingers are shaking as you close your hands in tight fists. He needs to hear the truth.

“Jungkook.” Yet again, you hesitantly step closer. Your voice is fragile, pleading. “You got it all wrong. Please, you have to listen to me. Today, I-”

“Yeah, I know I got it all wrong from the start.” He interrupts you again. Shut up!, you want to scream. Let me fucking speak!

However, you can’t speak anymore when you notice the tears dripping down his face.

Jungkook is crying.

It’s your fault.

He passes both hands over his face as quickly as the first tears started to fall and sighs heavily. He takes his bag from the floor and shoves it over his shoulder again, turning around before you can see his face again, before you have the chance to say anything.

“I’m going home. You should go home, too.”

And he starts to walk down the stairs way too fast.

Your body is moving before your mind registers and you try to catch up to him. “Jungkook, wait-”

“Don’t.”

Is the only thing he says without looking back.

This makes you stop.

You watch, frozen in place, as he walks down the stairs. You keep your eyes on him as he crosses the empty square again. He’s almost running.

He wants to get away from you as soon as possible.

You know Jungkook too well. You know that, even if you followed him, even if you insisted, he wouldn’t want to hear you anyway. He’d probably despise you even more. This is what made you freeze.

You suddenly feel your legs get weak and sit down on the stair steps. Not only your legs, actually. All of your limbs feel heavy. 

You don’t remember the last time you cried like this. The unstoppable tears just coming and coming and the sobs barely let you breathe. 

You’re crying because you’re ashamed of what just happened at the bar - how Mike made you feel humiliated in front of all those people. You’re guilty because you weren’t honest with Taehyung and now there’s no way back - you let him believe in whatever he wanted to believe instead of making things clear, and now he’s hurt.

And the worst of all.

You’ve been hurting Jungkook so bad for so long without realizing. You hurt the person you cared about the most. 

All of it is your fault.

God, it hurts so much.

You know Jungkook too well. He’s the person that has been always there with you for better or for worse. You always knew you’d have each other’s backs no matter what happens; he’s a part of you, the most important, most precious part of you.

This time, you genuinely don’t know what will happen from now on.

This time... you don’t know if Jungkook will ever forgive you.

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 17: Blackout

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

Oh no, you made things complicated. Lol. I'm having more fun writing Kung Lao than should be allowed. Hopefully you guys enjoy! And yes, I know this is tropey but I also don't care LOL, it's a fun trope.

Part 16 Part 18 Chapter Index

The hotel was surprisingly crowded. You weren’t sure what you’d expected but you hadn’t expected it to be bustling with tourists. There was a festival happening, you should have expected this. A bit outdated, the hotel was still clean and inviting. A welcome reprieve from the stone walls of Raiden’s Temple. You’d arrived early and still had to wait in line. Raiden had ‘transported’ you there which had been a wild experience in and of itself. You’d walked into a bolt of lightning and had come out in a quiet alley unseen.

It had been so long since you’d walked amongst the average civilian that it felt straight up bizarre to be walking along the streets of the modest city, especially in your hanfu. It was all you’d had, after all. No one looked at you twice other than to greet you politely. Most of the other folks staying at the hotel for the festival were couples on a romantic getaway which had made it instantly weird to be waiting in line with Kung Lao to check into your respective rooms.

Thankfully, the line moved quickly and once you’d checked in, you dropped off the few belongings you’d brought with you. The room was tiny with a single bed, a desk taking up nearly the rest of the room. Atop the desk was a television and beneath that was an old, ancient mini fridge. It would do well enough. This was the most technology you’d seen in weeks. Afterwards, you’d found Kung Lao and told him that you would meet him in an hour. You’d made note of a clothing store down the road and wanted to see if there was anything worth buying.

He, of course, decided to join you. No one trusted you alone anymore. He didn’t say it like that, but you knew that Raiden had told both him and Liu to keep an eye on you. You felt like a ticking time bomb.

Once at the shop you were disappointed to find that it sold mostly yukatas and kimonos. You supposed it was better than the flowy hanfu. At least you could pick out something that would be your own rather than something that had been handed to you.

Boy, you missed the internet.

You picked out a few pieces that you could work with a bit easier. Most of the hanfu were dresses or long flowy robes. Here you’d been able to find a few women’s kimonos that had hakama pants as an option. You had never been so excited to see pants in your life. You didn’t need the whole kimono, just the pants. Some constricted around the ankles while others were left open. You grabbed both and were extremely pleased.

“Sometimes, you’re a very simple woman.” Kung Lao had patted you on the back when you’d showed him the pants in excitement. You had to agree. In that moment you were very simple. Pants had brought you joy. You’d wandered away from him after that to find a few tops, belts, and jackets. Thankfully, you’d had your wallet on you when this had all begun so you had some money on you. In Raiden’s Temple, money hadn’t been necessary, so you were happy to spend it on the few things you did need.

They weren’t jeans and a t-shirt or even cute dresses, but it felt like a step in the right direction toward feeling like yourself again. You hadn’t realized how much it had bothered you until then.

Kung Lao had purchased just enough for the day in flattering red and black. That seemed to be his aesthetic though you could picture him in blues too for some reason. Then you made your way back to the hotel and to your rooms on the top floor. You had gotten rooms next to each other. You went to get changed and were happy with what you saw even in the half mirror on the desk. You stood on the bed to get a better look. Black hakama pants and a grayish-lavender and black top with a white sash tied around your middle. You then pulled your hair back in a ponytail and admired yourself in the mirror. Even though your hair was a mess you looked much more like yourself.

Your white roots had grown out a couple of inches now. It didn’t look bad, but it definitely didn’t look like it was on purpose either.

Oh well! You jumped off the bed and then left the room to find Kung Lao waiting for you, leaned against the wall next to your door. He had one foot propped against the wall, arms folded across his chest, hat obscuring his face as it often did. The clothing he’d bought wasn’t too terribly different from what he usually wore with the notable exception that he had sleeves which was truly a shame. He tilted his head up just enough to greet you before stepping away from the wall. You hadn’t left him waiting that long and yet he acted as though he’d been there for ages.

You noticed the jade ring from his usual outfit was woven into his outfit with the sash around his waist laced through it. It was kind of sweet that he always seemed to have it on him.

“Is that significant in some way? Special?” You asked, gesturing to the ring. He looked down at the ring in surprise and then nodded down the hall. You walked slowly through the hotel toward the stairwell.

“It’s a relic from my ancestor, the Great Kung Lao.”

“Oh, wow. About that, though… I’ve heard people mention him, but I had never heard the name before you. I know that he’s of some importance which has made you important…”

“I am incredibly important, thank you.”

“Yes, very. Keep talking.”

“He was the first champion of Mortal Kombat who had come from the Shaolin Order of Light. He defeated Shang Tsung and won the tournament.” Kung Lao seemed as though he had told this story a hundred times but was still proud to tell it. It was oddly sweet. “He was champion of Earthrealm for fifty years before the tournament was corrupted and he was killed. Even so, he is held in great reverence. He was a remarkable warrior.”

“Is that why you have a dragon mark?”

“Yes, that is why I have the mark. It’s also why I was sent away so young. I’d already been training long before I’d met you. When I left it was because it was time for me to go live at the temple.”

You stopped walking before the stairs and he stopped just in front of you and turned to face you. “Then why were you so bad when we would pretend to fight?”

“I held back. I wanted you to have fun too. Besides, it felt nice to be normal back then.” He laughed and you caught up to him and started down the stairs. “I was thinking that we should come up with a story as to why we’re here.”

“Should we?”

“Obviously. We need a reason to be here.”

“Other than the reason we actually have?”

“And when a bunch of strangers ask you why we’re here, are you going to tell them the real reason we’re here?”

“Point taken.”

“We need a cover.”

“Do we really though? I don’t remember ever having to justify my actions that intensely to strangers before. We can just be visiting.” You jumped down the last two stairs to the landing between flights. Pants felt great. Kung Lao seemed to either be overthinking your trip or grasping at straws to get to some end point. Or he was going to cause trouble. You would never forget the look that both Raiden and Liu had given him on their way out.

“I’ve been asked three times what brings me to Mount Osore during the festival. I came up with a lie on the spot but I’m no terribly proud of it or anything.”

“And what is this lie you came up with?”

“I said I was here on a date. Everyone else seems to be here on a date, so it was the first thing that jumped to mind.”

You rolled your eyes at him and he laughed in surprise, waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs. You caught up to him. “Really, Kung Lao?”

“What? It’s the first thing I could think of! The people asking me were on a date and so I stuttered that I was too.”

“Kung Lao, no.”

“Come on, Y/N.”

“Can’t we just say we’re visiting and that it’s no one’s business?” You walked into the lobby and he hurried in front of you and took your hands, clasping them between his. You sighed. “Would you…” The lobby was very crowded.

“I hate you so much right now.”

“Would you,” he continued, talking over you, “do me the honor of going on a cute little pretend date with me so that we can sneak into an ancient Buddhist Temple built within the caldera of a volcano so that we can uncover an ancient and possibly cursed artifact together?” You stared at him in disbelief, but it was taking every ounce of your energy not to burst into laughter. He was such a dork. “I will get down on my knees and ask you again if you don’t answer me.” He got down on his knees and you broke. Laughing, you pulled your hands free, grabbed his arms and tugged.

“Oh my god, get up, Kung Lao.”

“It’s a great cover, Y/N.”

“It is an exactly okay cover. But fine. I haven’t done something terribly embarrassing in a while, so I guess I’m overdue for this.” You agreed at least. He was right. It was a good cover considering this whole place was filled with couples. Besides, if it got Kung Lao to drop the subject then you would be happy to agree. The whole display had made your cheeks burn.

“Embarrassing, huh? Come on, Y/N. It’s not such a bad thing, is it? Could be worse looking guys to end up with, right?” He walked at your side again, making a teasing kissy face and leaning close to you. You leaned away with an awkward and nervous laugh.

“If you keep doing things like that then you are going to get smacked.”

“Worth it.” He held the door open for you and together you left the hotel. Outside a bus waited to take tourists to the shrine for the festival. People were already loading onto it. Kung Lao offered you his hand and you looked to him skeptically. He grabbed your hand anyway and then you walked onto the bus. “You’re going to have to get better at pretending.” You found seats near the back of the bus and even as you sat, he didn’t let go of your hand. You felt incredibly silly. Yet, it also made your heart flutter. As much as you had given him a hard time, you also happened to think it was an incredibly sweet and kind of wholesome idea.

Funny enough, you had thought of this moment before but in a much different context. Maybe in a life where your childhood together hadn’t ended so traumatically. Where you’d stayed close friends and he’d have asked you out when you were old enough. In a way, you felt like a silly schoolgirl, something you hadn’t felt in years.

If he hadn’t died then this was exactly where you would have wound up. Somehow that made you feel much less silly and you finally relaxed. Kung Lao pointed out several interesting things on the side of the road through the window and you listened to him chatter on until the bus was pulling up to the shrine. You waited for the others to get off the bus and then you walked ahead of Kung Lao and stepped off it.

The shrine was huge and it took your breath away.

So much so that it made you dizzy.

A river flowed before you then beneath a red bridge. To the left of the bridge there was a white beach lining the bluest and most artificial-looking water that you had ever seen in your life. Rocks were piled alongside the shore in strange formations. Beyond the bridge there was a stone path that led to the shrine in the distance, and it was lined with old lanterns. You walked to the edge of the stone path where the bus had dropped you off to try and get a better look at the water.

That was a teal color you had never seen before in nature. In your mind’s eye, you recalled your vision and it made your stomach drop. You took a step further and were suddenly grasped around the waist and pulled away from the edge of the stone. Then Kung Lao looped his arm in yours. “You looking to take a dip?”

You hadn’t realized that you had almost walked right into the river. You hadn’t been thinking. The water had bewitched you, it seemed. You needed to get a closer look at it but now that you’d been turned away from it, the feeling had gone. From there you could smell the acidity in the humid air. That was likely why it was so blue. “Pay more attention, okay?”

You weren’t sure what to say to him. It was surreal being there. This place was exactly the same as it had been in your vision but also years, possibly centuries had passed since then. The shrine buildings themselves were much larger than they had been then. They were even a different color. Your head was spinning as you tried to take in everything at once. It was an overload. You grabbed Kung Lao’s arm to try and ground yourself. You felt as though you were floating and the wind would take you away.

Kung Lao led you onto the bridge and at its apex you sat and watched the water trickle beneath it. He helped you lean your elbows against the railing and then placed a supportive hand on your back.

“It’s okay. Take a second.” He seemed to realize that you were having a difficult time. How could you explain that you were struggling to wrap your mind around being in a place where you’d had such a vivid and violent vision? You were grateful for him. Your heart was racing and you watched the water flowing beneath the bridge, over the rocks. Your stomach had dropped. It felt as though you were intimately familiar with this place, as though you had spent years there, but you had never once seen it before. At the same time, everything felt completely new. Your brain was waging war with itself. “You okay?”

“Yeah, this is just… surreal.” You were finally able to collect your thoughts enough to talk.

“You went a bit gray. Figured you needed a minute.”

“I appreciate it.”

“So, where do we go?”

“There’s a well inside one of those buildings.” You nodded to your right where the shrine was at the end of the stone path.

“Vague, but okay.” He peered to the right and then pointed. “It’s off limits.” From there you could see a series of ropes that blocked off the building from visitors. “Great.”

“It’s crowded enough here. I’m sure we can sneak in just fine.”

“Of course.” He leaned next to you on his forearms, hands clasped together. “This place is a little spooky.”

“It is. I read a brochure from the hotel lobby. The monks here believe that it’s the gateway to hell. The river beneath us is supposed to represent the Sanzu.” You pointed below you. It was a little spooky, you supposed, but it was also incredibly beautiful.

“I read about that. I also read that there are holy water bathhouses and volcanic cauldrons with crazy colored water.”

“Yeah, and a lake of blood.”

“I hate that, Y/N.” He stuck his tongue out at the idea. You laughed. He was too funny. He had this way of making you feel at least even about the big and often uncomfortable things sometimes. Other times he drove your anxiety through the roof. Thankfully, this wasn’t one of those moments. “What do you say that we get to sneaking in and find this thing so that we can have a bit of fun for the rest of the day, huh?”

“That sounds nice.”

He took your hand once again and you walked over the bridge and along the stone path. The lanterns were decorated for the festival along with the rest of the shrine. Monks walked about, greeting visitors and answering questions while explaining various attractions. Most visitors, and there were many, were straying from the temple in favor of the white sands or the volcanic cauldrons. You and Kung Lao walked until you reached the ropes before the shrine. You stood there for a time in the shade, waiting for your moment to sneak in unseen.

“Coast is clear,” you whispered and turned to keep watch while Kung Lao snuck into the shrine. Once inside, you waited for your opportunity and followed him. Inside, the building was ancient but to you it seemed oddly brand new. It wasn’t the same shrine that you remembered from your vision. Much had changed since that wicked man had been there.

No one was waiting for you inside the small entryway or in the room beyond. That seemed like the central room, with space for prayer and a dip in the center for dining. The floor was lined with tatami mats and the ceiling was high, windows on the second floor spattering sunlight throughout the room. Halls branched off in each direction and you suddenly felt overwhelmed with choice. It had seemed so much simpler in your vision.

“Lead the way but be cautious. We’re not alone.” Kung Lao spoke in a hushed tone, staying close to you but alert.

“Yeah.” You started through the room and down the closest hallway, checking to see if it was empty first. Kung Lao took your hand and you urged him along with you. Your stomach was in knots and his hand there continued to keep you grounded. Several times you encountered monks going about their business and you had to duck into other rooms or sneak back around corners. You somehow managed to remain unseen, having to huddle together in strange spaces and hide in enclosed areas. It would have been fun had it not been so damn frustrating.

None of it made sense! As you turned down another hall, you sighed in frustration. You’d wound up there twice already. Your gut kept sending you there and back to the central room but there was no indication that it was the same place that the vision had taken place in. Kung Lao suddenly pulled you back into the side room and held you against the wall near the door. There were footsteps in the hall, and you held your breath until they had passed. You made to go back into the hall, but Kung Lao pinned you in place.

“You’re leading us in circles.”

“I know. It’s hard to explain. It’s like someone’s moving everything around while we’re walking. It doesn’t make any sense. I think I’m going one way and then we’re back to where we started.” It was making you sick to your stomach, as a matter of fact.

“You can do this. Just focus.”

“Kung Lao, you have no idea what’s going on in my head right now. I am focusing.”

“You’re right I don’t. So, tell me.”

“I’m not sure that I have the words to explain that the room we’re looking for should be right around the corner but then it isn’t.” It really was disorienting to expect to be in one place and end up in another. “It shouldn’t have been this far back but also this place is ten times bigger than it had been in my vision.”

“I need you to try still.”

You were mixed up. It was like someone was moving rooms in your head and before you knew it, you had once again led him back into the central room which made both you and Kung Lao groan in annoyance.

“Oh good. We’re back. I was worried.”

“It should be right here, but everything looks so different!”

“It’s okay, Y/N. We’ll figure it out.”

“It’s not okay, Kung Lao. It should be right here. I wish I could just show you.” The frustration was radiating off you, you were sure. “I can’t-”

“Is someone there?” A voice from somewhere down the hall called and footsteps approached from a distance.

“Fu…” Kung Lao whispered and then grabbed you and searched for somewhere to hide. The closest hall was too far. You were caught. “Don’t panic.” He urged you to the wall with surprising care and you made a sound of surprise. What did he mean don’t panic? You were instantly panicking. Don’t panic? What was wrong with him? He leaned against you and tilted your chin up and his head toward you like he was going to kiss you, obscuring you both with his hat. “Act natural, Y/N.” His lips brushed against your cheek, just next to your lips. “I swear, you’re terrible at this.” You were stiff as a board, so he had every right to scold you, but also he was pretending to kiss you so what the hell were you supposed to do with that? What was natural in this case?

You gave him a swift but soft punch in the gut and he laughed against your cheek in return. That made you feel a bit better. He lifted his head just enough and you peered toward the door nearby, waiting for the monk that would inevitably kick you out. You could have had time to hide at this rate. Kung Lao’s lips were pressed against your cheek and they were soft even if it was just in a mock kiss close enough to your lips to look like you were sneaking a private moment.

You peered around the corner, thinking maybe you were in the clear. Kung Lao did the same and when you turned back to tell him that maybe the monk had decided to turn away, you found him extremely close to you. Intimately so. His dark eyes were serious and that always scared you for whatever reason. He tilted your chin toward him and all other thoughts slipped out of your brain.

What were you doing there? Where were you anyway? And why? Did it matter?

Not right now it didn’t.

His hand was on your chin, thumb brushing just below your lip, urging your lips to part just enough. You dared not breathe to break the tension of the moment. The sneaking and searching were gone completely from your thoughts. All that was left was the boy that you’d so admired in your youth grown into a handsome man with his hand against the wall at your side, the other inextricably lost below your lower lip.

His eyes were searching you, but you dared not look back into them for fear of what you might find, for fear of what it might reveal to you. His breath warmed your lips before they were on yours, parting them like a blossom in a soft and singular tender movement. A far superior kiss than the one he’d pretended to give you for the sake of saving your skin.

His lips were sweet. Not like sugar or candy, but sweet like the lingering taste of honey at the bottom of a cup of tea. It was a feeling of sweetness rather than a flavor. The moment was still and soft, his lips treasuring yours as though they were something sacred and special. They pulled back just enough from yours that you could feel your lips resisting to part as if they had minds of their own. His eyes were searching you still for answers and in wonder, but you didn’t dare meet them. Yet, you could feel his gaze and beneath your fingertips, that had betrayed you and now rested on his chest, you could feel his heart beating almost as hard as yours.

His breath graced your lips again, but you dared not breathe. You wanted to say something, even just a whisper of his name, but no words would come and you sat there, lips parted in waiting, avoiding his eyes, hand clutching the cloth at his chest, unsure of where you even were or why. This was Kung Lao.

Your Kung Lao.

A soft sigh escaped his lips as they were on yours again, but the softness was gone, though there was something about them that was still sweet even so. The force of his kiss pressed you against the wall, leaving you no escape- not that you wanted to escape. This was a moment that the ten-year-old inside your head had both longed for and not understood. You would have been a fool not to return his kiss, to taste and experience his lips the way that he was with yours and so you did. You kissed him and it was like a storm inside you beyond your control, building with electricity with every moment that passed.

There was a tender moment of acceptance where it felt as though time stood still. The soft moment faded quickly to frenzied desperation. There was no space left between you. Kung Lao was pressed against you, body warm and strong, hat nearly pushed back off of his head as he favored kisses over his possessions. Your hands moved up his chest, to the sides of his neck, fingertips then tangling in the short, messy tendrils of his hair at the base of his hairline. Your heart was doing flips, brain completely turned off to anything that had happened before this, even if somewhere in the distant reaches of your mind you could hear your instincts telling you that you had to stop. Whatever muting effect had been triggered in your brain had seemed to impact Kung Lao as well.

In one swift motion, fluid and strong, his hands were at your thighs and he had lifted you and pressed you against the wall, urging your legs to wrap around him. Your arms slipped naturally around his shoulders, pulling him closer between hot and increasingly sloppy kisses.

“Excuse me?”

Ah, yes. The monk. That was right.

You stopped kissing him.

Kung Lao’s lips finally pulled from yours and you could feel that your own were left slightly swollen from the desperation and passion of those precious few moments. When had you gotten so tangled up in each other? His chest was rising and falling against yours quickly and even though he’d pulled back his lips lingered close to yours as if to consider defying the monk further.

“My apologies.” The monk sounded embarrassed and bowed multiple times. “This area is closed to the public for the festival.”

You finally managed to regain your thoughts and untangled yourself from Kung Lao. You placed your feet on the ground and cleared your throat though your face was likely as red as his robes. He released you from his grip though he made no effort to step away. You swallowed the lump in the back of your throat and forced your brain to work.

“Is it?” You sounded surprised and were grateful that you had. You hadn’t expected to be a very good actor after all that, but you had been surprised to be interrupted and also confused as to where your mind had gone. It was more feigning innocence than lying. The monk nodded and looked as though he sincerely felt bad for interrupting you. “I’m sorry. We had no idea.”

“It’s no worries. I will happily escort you back to the festivities. Follow me.”

“Sorry about that.” Kung Lao, who you had never seen at a loss for words, seemed to finally regain himself. Just like that, he was back to the goof he’d been when you’d first arrived. “We were just sneaking off to have a private moment. Didn’t realize it was off limits.”

“It happens all the time. You’d be surprised.” The monk led you back through the central room and into the entryway. You elbowed Kung Lao as you followed the monk and he laughed beneath his breath. Once outside the monk bowed to you and then left you alone. You leaned your head back and stared into the sunny blue sky with a sigh. You needed a new plan. That one had gone off the rails in a way you hadn’t expected.

[sunaswife]

Summary: It’s been five years since you’ve seen your ex, Rin. He’s still not over you and you’re not over him. When he finds out you have children he thought he didn’t have a chance. Then he finds out they’re his? All of a sudden you’re teaching Suna how to be a single dad.

note from denise: hi!! <3 this is a small chapter but i think an important one nonetheless :) i hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Fluff, angst I guess, drama, and cuteness twin overload

Previously Up Next Masterlist

Chapter Nine

“Is there anything you want for breakfast?” You asked Rin as you looked through your closet. He was laying back in bed under the covers, typical Rin. “No don’t bother making anything. I wanna treat you guys to breakfast.” He rubbed his eyes and you turned. “You don’t have to.” You immediately told him. “No i want to.” He assured and you smiled lightly. “Alright thank you.” You said softly and you grabbed your black overall skirt, white long sleeve and your favorite leggings.

“If you want you can wake up the kids.” You said before heading into the bathroom. He sat up and groaned and slowly made his way to their room. He opened the door and saw the two little foxes slide something under the bed. He tilted his head confused and they innocently looked up at him. “Good morning daddy.” They recited which honestly gave him the chills. Twins who could recite things at the same time are creepy. “Good morning. Now what were you guys hiding just now?” He asked with a raised brow. “Nothing—“ Akira innocently smiled. Even though these kids looked like Rin, they certainly had Y/N’s expressions. And that adorable smile that Suna has missed.

“You guys already know that lying is bad. Show me what you’re hiding?” He asked and sat on the floor across from them. Rini guiltily frowned and he reached under the bed to retrieve a box. It was an old shoe box. “A box? What? is it just an animal or something?” Rin asked and the kids shook their heads. Akira handed him the box and he opened it. The first thing he saw was a Polaroid of you and him. He felt a slap across his face. You smiled so bright and Rin had his deadpanned face like always. The photo behind the Polaroid was with you in between the twins. They were using your shoulders as an arm rest, each photo made his stomach turn and he saw napkins and tickets, you always wrote the date and a little heart with a note when Rin would take you to places.

“You and mommy looked so happy. Why did you guys leave eachother. I don’t get it.” Akira asked. “You won’t get it until you’re older.” Rin said and began to put everything back before he started crying. “Do you still love mommy?” Rini asked, Rin felt like he was in the hot seat.

They kept their eyes fixated on him. “Of course I do, she’s an amazing friend. She’s the mother of my children.” Rin started. “No not that kind of love...like love love. Like do you wanna marry her?” Akira asked but his phone rang and he saw the FaceTime call from his mother.

His face turned white and he immediately stood up and answered. “H-hi mom..” Rin cleared his throat and the twins gasped. “Grandma?!” They practically yelled. “Rintarou, are you babysitting or something?” His mother asked. “Um no I’m not—“ “Daddy Can we see grandma? We don’t have a grandma we wanna see our grandma!” Rini pulled the hem of his shirt and he looked down. “Daddy? Rintarou they’re not talking about you right?” His mother asked concerned. “Give me a sec...” he told the kids. “Start picking out your clothes.” He said and they quickly nodded and he went straight to the living room. He sighed and rested his hand on his forehead. “Rintarou talk to me. What’s going on? Did you get someone pregnant?” His mom asked. “Yes—no—it’s complicated I—“ “Rintarou it’s either a yes or a no.” His mom said.

Is this deja vu?

“Alright I’ll be honest. Yes I got a girl pregnant.” He sighed and brushed his hair back with his hand. His mom immediately changed her face to one of disappointment. She wasn’t expecting this when she called her son to ask when he was going to visit again.

“Rintaoru explain.” His moms tone completely changed and he gulped, he didn’t hear you coming from the hall. “Well..remember Y/N? My highschool girlfriend?” He asked. “The girl who’s the reason you were severely depressed and almost suicidal? Yeah how could I forget?” She replied sarcastically and you froze.

Wait...what?

“Well before we broke up we kind of..ya know and so she left and she didn’t tell me about them—“ “SHE DID WHAT?! Where is she I want to talk to her!” His mom raised her voice. “Rin I-“ you spoke up and he turned quickly to see you standing there in your cute outfit.

“Y/N, i need to speak with you.” His mother broke the silence and Rin was about to protest but you snatched his phone away. “Hello Mrs. Suna.” You said awkwardly but she had the same deadpanned expression your ex and kids have. “Why didn’t you tell my idiot son you were pregnant?” She demanded rather than ask. “Well it was because I was heartbroken, alone, and going through something traumatic. My parents kicked me out and I didn’t want Rin to have to drop out to help me support two children.” You said. “Two—“ “I had twins.” You interrupted. “How do you know they’re my sons—“ “He’s the only person I’ve ever slept with and they look exactly like him, ma’am. I assure you they’re his.” You replied.

“I don’t believe you not telling Rin you were pregnant because of your situation is an excuse.” She said. “I know. But I wanted to wait until Rin was more mature—“ “And had money and fame as a pro player right? So you could get money?” She asked and both of your and Rin’s eyes widened. “Excuse me. I’m doing more than fine on my own and I have not asked Rin for anything.”

“What do you do for a living?” She asked as if trying to prove you wrong, “I’m a sports commentator, voice actress and Internet personality. I have my own house and car so don’t you dare accuse me of wanted to take money from Rintarou because I will never ask him for anything then to be in the kids lives—“

“Okay that’s enough—mom please stop. We still have a lot of things to talk about regarding the kids and co-parenting. I need to go, we’re taking them on a field trip.” He said after taking the phone away. “When are you guys both free?” His mother asked. “As a single mother I can assure you that I’m never free.” You replied sassily. “I’m free in two weeks—“ Rin interrupted again before another fight started. “..me too..” you replied after checking your calender on the wall.

“Okay, I want you both in Hyogo with the kids. We need to chat.” She said and hung up. You and Rin just looked at eachother and blinked in shock. Like...did that just happen? The kids peered over the hallway doorpost and frowned. They wanted to meet their grandma.

“We’ll talk later.” You told him and he nodded. You turned back down the hall and mumbled something about getting the kids ready for today. Suna changed back into his clothes from yesterday and when the kids look all presentable and cute you all left.

“I should have know.” You said as you looked at the bright sign that said Onigiri Miya. Rin helped Akira out of the car seat and he chuckled. “Osamu’s food is bomb and you know it. I get a best friend discount either way.” He shrugged as you held Rini’s hand and Rin held Akiras hand and you both walked to the shop.

“Hmm? What a surprise!” Osamu spoke up when the bell chimed. “Good morning uncle Samu!” The kids giggled and let go to run to the counter. “How are my favorite munchkins?” He asked as they smiled and looked at the pictured food in amazement.

They act like you never feed them and when you do they just eat two bites and they’re “full”.

“Sup.” “Yo.” Suna and Osamu greeted. “Good morning Osamu.” You said politely and he smiled. “Good morning Y/N.” He replied. “When Suna didn’t come back last night I got a bit worried and he didn’t answer my texts till this morning but I’m glad he was with you.” Osamu said and you didn’t see Suna’s small blush. “Oh well the kids really wanted him to sleep over so he reluctantly agreed and we just called it a night.” You chuckled and he nodded. In the car, Suna told you his situation. He’s currently being transferred over to Tokyo in a different team and his lease ended so instead of getting another lease he moved out and he’s crashing with Osamu for a bit.

While you both talked you couldn’t see the look your kids were giving eachother. The opportunity was perfect and they’re going to take full advantage of it.

Finally you and Rin decided on what to order as well as the kids and you all sat down patiently. Rin was showing the kids pictures of his dog, Chewy. It was short for Chewbacca and you sighed at how much of a nerd Suna really is. But yet again that was another thing you guys bonded over back then.

Soon the food arrived and the kids loved it, you loved it. Rin obviously loved it. It was just so freaking good. “How much was the food again? So I can pay half.” You asked after wiping your mouth and Suna frowned. “I told you I got it.” He flicked your forehead and you smacked his hand. “Oww.” You whined. “It’s free cuz you demanded that I give you free food when I opened my restaurant, remember?” Osamu spoke up from the counter and you squinted. “But—“ “No if’s, but’s, or coconuts. I’m not charging Rin today.” Osamu said and you told him a small thank you.

“Y/N the ticket booth is this way..” Rin pointed out as you walked to the gates. “I came prepared.” You said and pulled out the QR code’s on your phone. “Mama still gets nervous talking to strangers sometimes so she usually is prepared.” It didn’t take long for everyone to go through the gates and Rin realized you have to had payed for his ticket.

He kept bugging throughout the day that he could pay for everyone instead but you smacked his arm and pointed at your kids in the distance. They were at the kids section where they could touch starfish and Akira was obviously a little bit nervous. But Rini was there guiding her hand and making sure she was using the two fingers to pet the animals.

“Rini may be a bit of an airhead but he always remembers that he’s a big brother and he’s always there for Akira when she’s nervous or scared..” you told him and his heart melted. They were just so cute. “Um..excuse me..Suna Rintarou...hi I’m a big fan and I was wondering if I can take a photo or get an autograph..” a small voice said and you turned to see a teenage boy.

“Sure dude.” Suna smiled softly and the guy took out his phone for a selfie, “I can take the picture.” You spoke up and the teenager gasped.” “Kageyama Y/N! Oh my god, are you really cousins with Tobio? Or do you just happen to have the same last name? I love listening to your podcasts and the yandere video game that your in is amazing!” He began to geek out and you laughed. “Yeah Tobio and I are cousins, and thanks for the support! You’re a man of culture I see.” You joked.

There was a slight pause of realization with him and he gasped. “Oh..am I interrupting your date?” He asked and looked between you both.

“Yes.”

“No.”

He tilted his head confused and you held Rin’s hand and hugged his arm. Your chest practically engulfed his arm and he almost had a nose bleed. “We went to the same highschool together so we’re catching up with a small date.” You said causing Suna’s face to turn bright red. The boy apologized for bothering and he took a selfie with you both and left.

You quickly let go and you put some distance between you both. Suna began fanning his face and you tried to hide your blush. Out of everything you could do, why would you do that?!

“I don’t know if you wanna tell the world that you have two kids or that you got some chick pregnant in highschool.” You told him. “You weren’t some chick, and I honestly don’t care if people know.” He said and you sighed and turned back to your kids. “But if you’re gonna keep doing that then it’s fine.” He said and you turned back to see him covering his mouth in shock. “I said that out loud didn’t I?” He asked and you nodded.

This was going to be a long day.

TAGLIST IS CLOSED

🏷: @therealwalmartjesus @differentballooncollection @aaesuki @atsunflower @dope-squish @prettysetterboiss @june-phantom @tomo-uwu @austriasmariazelle @xrnia @katsulia @aprettyfruit @shut-your-eyes-kiss-me-goodbye @tvbiio @sun-daddy-yoriichi @kamenoyaki @ppangiiroo @loeyprivvv @kmskj92 @lovinnoya @sarahvvictoria @tris-does-stuff @mokkeguts @sunaluvr6969 @bara-rose-would @sempiternal-amour @volleybloop @leykyuu @bokutoichigo @stfucanunot @iloveanime691 @tpwkatsumu @ohshirabu @shoutosimp @mqrinqcele @bokutosdivineass @anngelllla @toworuu @hidden-otaku-stuff @seijohiselite @caxsthetic @aquariarose @hhwanggu @bakuhoetoedoroki @yoozuku @osamus-onigiri @akaashi-todorki @donica95 @kakaokenma @airheadpillar

[taexual]

i’d love you to stay but that’s simply insane // JJK (12)

   jungkook is an uncontrollable lead vocalist of the campus band, and you’re a goal-oriented top student that’s known his rich and complicated family since childhood. you don’t want anything to do with each other, until each other is exactly what you want to do.

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

genre: college au

warnings: jealous & possessive!jungkook vs. reader who won’t take his shit

words: 8.8k (whoops)

    chapter twelve

Your roommate refused to hide her surprise when you told her you were going to the Parental Advisory party with Jungkook. She couldn’t come with the two of you because she was going to visit her parents this weekend, but the disappointment of missing the party did not overshadow her excitement about you going there with Jungkook.

“Don’t blow this out of proportion,” you pleaded – for the three-hundredth time that evening – unable to relate to her joy. “We won’t be there long, so it doesn’t—”

“It’s your first public date,” Inna spoke—very ceremoniously—as she dug around your closet, convinced that her duty as your roommate was to choose an outfit for you, even if she was the only person – aside from you and Jungkook – who knew that this was all pretend. “Everyone will have their jaws on the floor when they see you arrive together anyway, but a good outfit might just make you feel less self-conscious.”

You had many objections but, knowing that Inna was running short on time before her bus arrived, you chose to only argue about the things that you could have changed her mind about.

“I don’t think it matters what I wear,” you said, your arms crossed over your chest as you watched the several pairs of tights and sweatpants fly out of the closet in reckless abandon as Inna looked for a gold mine. “I’m going to be uncomfortable anyway.”

You couldn’t see her when she had her head in the pile of your clothes, but her voice made the smirk on her lips obvious, “I’m sure he will find a way to make you feel more comfortable there.”

“We’ll only stay there for a little bit,” you said. “We were supposed to return here later. Although, I’m not sure if that’s still happening.”

“Oh!” Inna jumped up, momentarily forgetting about her stylist career. She wasn’t just smirking anymore, she was full-on grinning now, teeth and all. “So, you’ll be coming back to your place later? That calls for a whole different outfit.”

You didn’t realize what she was implying right away.

“We—what do you—oh,” you said, her words hitting you with a wave of hotness that forced your hands to guard your flushed face from her. “Inna, no. You know I don’t like those parties, we just agreed to go there for a little bit, and then watch a movie or something back here.”

“Right, of course,” she nodded and you thought she was relenting but, really, you should have known better as she teased, “that’s why they call it Netflix and Chill, babe.”

“I know you can’t see my eyes,” you said, your hands still on your face, “but I’m glaring at you right now.”

“Here,” she said, picking up a black off-the-shoulder blouse and a velvet burgundy mini skirt – you’d bought them both when you and Inna had lunch at the mall on your first weekend on campus and you hadn’t worn the outfit once – and tossing it for you right as you peeked at her through the gaps between your fingers. The blouse hit you in the chest but you caught it before it fell to the floor. “Now is the perfect time to wear this.”

She didn’t hide the offense in her voice – she was the one who had picked the skirt out for you – as she was evidently still bitter that you’d never even tried it on, aside from that one time in the changing room.

“I thought I’d just go in a sweater,” you said – which was very bold, considering that Inna looked ready to tackle you for wasting her time – and then lamely tried to explain your reasoning, “it’s chilly today.”

“You’ll wear that,” she ordered with an aggressive nod at the clothes in your hands, “and if you’re cold, you’ll ask Jungkook for his jacket.”

“What if he doesn’t wear a jacket?”

“Then you’ll ask for his shirt,” she said and smiled at her own impressive wit. “A win-win situation, really.”

You were going to protest again and Inna knew it, too, so, before you could even open your mouth, she closed the door of your closet – as much as the haphazardly thrown clothes allowed it to close – and stood facing you, her arms crossed and legs parted in a threatening manner.

“Put it on,” she demanded. “I will not leave until I know you’re going to that party in something that’s not sweats. If I miss my bus, it’s on you.”

Inna did not miss her bus – but barely, as she jumped around your dorm for ten minutes straight, in awe over how perfectly the skirt she’d picked out fit you and how “fascinating” (that one’s a direct quote) it made your legs look – and, then, before you knew it, you were waiting for Jungkook to come pick you up all by yourself.

You felt nervous. Granted, you’d felt somewhat worried the whole day today – which wasn’t very unusual, you liked to get your worrying started in advance – but, with Inna here, you’d held yourself together. Now your hands shook—trembled, really—as you sprayed some perfume on your wrists before rubbing them together.

Many things about tonight bothered you: you didn’t want to put up an act for half of the campus – especially not for the people who cared about Jungkook so much, they screeched and ran in the opposite direction when he crashed his car – and you also didn’t want to have to deal with whatever consequences the combination of alcohol and Jungkook would bring.

The first time you saw him drunk, he drove into a pole. The second time – he went home with a different girl, nevermind that he may have been looking for you. You were afraid that the third time could have been the charm – one last hurrah before something finally put an end to your friendship.

But most of all, you were afraid of you and him being there together, because your last conversation hadn’t exactly gone smoothly and now you didn’t know what to expect.

At first, you were almost looking forward to tonight as much as Inna was, especially since Jungkook was ready to leave the party early so you could spend some time together in a place where you felt more comfortable. But then he seemed to take all of his words back with one single phrase.

The only thing that “really mattered” about you and him, was that his parents believed you were together.

You always considered the worst case scenarios – just to prepare yourself – but they seemed limitless tonight as you weren’t sure what to make of his words and which side of him to prepare for: the side that did want to spend time with you and wasn’t afraid to say so, or the other side.

But you wouldn’t have had the time to prepare for tonight even if you did know what to expect; Jungkook -- and all of his sides -- was already here.

When the knock came, you needed at least half a minute to calm your breathing before you finally felt collected enough to open the door.

“Hey,” Jungkook said as soon as he heard the lock turn, sounding out of breath as if he’d ran all the way up the stairs. “Your RA—not a very nice guy—didn’t want me to come in—had to—”

“You ran away from him?” you asked, opening the door properly so he could come inside before the RA came running after him. However, with the door fully open, your outfit was suddenly in full-view for Jungkook and he froze, his breath catching in his throat.

“I—oh, you look really, uh, g-great,” he said, lifting his eyes back to your face – as if to check if this was really you – before sliding them down your body again in a way that you’ve never seen him do before. It didn’t mean that he’d never checked you out before – because, oh, he had – you were just never aware of it. “The dark colors go really well with—well, everything.”

“Thanks,” you said, crossing your arms as you moved to a side. You wanted to give him a compliment in return but could not find the words because the black cargo pants and the ripped jean jacket he’d worn tonight was not much different from any other outfit he’d worn before, and yet, you still hard a hard time looking away. “Come in while I grab my bag.”

“Oh, yeah, sure, of course,” he slipped inside, eyes still on you – his feet tripping over the threshold just slightly – as he closed the door after himself.

You walked over to your bed to grab your phone with the intention of putting it in the handbag that you had thrown over the open door of your bedroom. But when you turned around, phone in hand, Jungkook was standing right in front of you and your nose almost smashed right into his chest.

“Oh,” you blinked, the close proximity nearly throwing you off balance and Jungkook’s hands were already reaching for your waist to steady you on your feet.

You swore you would have suffocated if he’d touched you right then but he realized he’d entered your personal space as soon as he felt your shaky breath wash off on his own face.

In his defense, he’d only walked so near because the smell of your perfume pulled him in – he didn’t mean to cross any boundaries – but, standing so close, he could see the alarm in your eyes. Clearing his throat, he took a step back and gave you an encouraging smile as you slowly walked past him.

He tried not to think of the expression on your face – wary, yet expectant – when you saw how close he was, but he was glad you lingered by the door as you checked the contents of your bag.

“Ready to go?” he asked as soon as you clicked the lock on the handbag and turned around.

You were not ready to go because even though he stood several feet away from you now, his presence still lingered all around you and you could still smell his cologne. You could almost taste the mint strawberry gum he always kept in his car.

Your head was swimming with the feeling of him.

You’d been afraid of tonight and yet you hadn’t realized just how challenging it was really going to be.

“Yeah, we can go,” you said, not pausing to give him a look as you opened the door and waited for him to follow you out of the room. “If the RA hasn’t called the police yet.”

“Ah, shit. He’d do that?” Jungkook asked, more curious than worried about getting fined for being here without an entrance pass – he couldn’t really bring himself to care because it all seemed worth it.

You stopped in the hallway as you closed the door. Surprisingly, your hands had stopped shaking – it was your heart that was restless now.

“He’s done it before,” you said, fumbling with the lock. “But, in that case, we had a squatter and he’d just discovered her three months after she moved in, so he was understandably angry.”

“Well, I haven’t moved in yet,” Jungkook said carelessly, not realizing how your heart decided to skip a beat at the word yet. “And, not to mention, I’ve been here before and he’s never stopped me from coming up.”

“He would have if he knew how much time you wasted sitting in this hallway,” you said, double-checking if the door was really locked and then joining him on the way to the elevator.

Jungkook stuffed his hands into his pockets after he pressed the elevator button.

“I didn’t waste time,” he said. “I was waiting for you.”

The elevator door opened. Your chest did too as your heart rose to your throat.

“I-I mean, you could have waited at home,” you said, walking into the cabin before him and leaning against the mirror. The mixed signals he was sending you made you dizzy.

“You weren’t answering my calls,” he reminded you, pressing the ‘L’ on the dashboard and sheepishly glancing at your reflection. “And, in any case, doesn’t he know who I am?”

You raised your eyebrows at the arrogant expression on his face. Jungkook noticed your look but proceeded anyway.

“No one else has this problem,” he said, “I’m welcome everywhere.”

“You’re making tonight very difficult for me,” you told him.

“What? I’m not trying to show off,” he said, showing off. “I’m just saying.”

You chose not to play his game anymore as you shook your head and hypothesized, “maybe he’s just worried about how often he sees you here. I can talk to him.”

“Good. Because he’s going to have to get used to the blessing that is me,” Jungkook said, extending a hand for you when the two of you stepped out of the elevator in the lobby, the RA nowhere in sight, “I’m not going anywhere.”

You weren’t certain what he expected you to do – surely he didn’t mean for you to hold his hand right now, before you even got to the party? – so you watched his palm for several moments, involuntarily tracing the branches on it with your eyes.

“Well, come on,” he encouraged, taking your hand himself when it became clear that you weren’t going to do anything. “I parked my car out front. And before you say anything – yes, I do know that parking here is for residents only. If anyone asks, I live here.”

“I—” your mind was still listening to him say he wasn’t going anywhere, so it took you a few moments to find your next words and, in that time, Jungkook had already guided you out of the lobby and into the crisp evening.

“I’m pretty sure everyone knows where you live,” you said.

A smirk appeared on his lips but, this time, Jungkook chose not to gloat (too much) about the fact that he was a Parental Advisory member.

“Not your RA,” he countered instead, pressing a button on his car key. A pleasant click informed you that the car had unlocked. “He looked like he’s never listened to anything that’s not Verdi.”

“He actually plays a lot of Liszt in our second-floor lounge room,” you said. “There’s a piano there.”

“That just proves my point, if anything,” Jungkook stopped in front of his car and opened the passenger door for you, casually leaning against the vehicle while he waited for you to climb inside – it was almost unbelievable how easily he managed to act like all was normal.

In all truth, Jungkook found his laid-back attitude hard to believe as well because, inside of his chest, there were hundreds of explosions happening – thousands, actually, when the evening breeze lifted your skirt higher up your thighs – and only half of them were caused by the way you looked tonight. The other half were the result of holding your hand.

“Alright,” he said after having circled the car to enter it through the driver’s side. “Keep me updated on your mood so I know when you want to go home, yeah?”

“I—” you started to say, wanting to let him know that he didn’t have to worry about taking you home, but Jungkook beat you to it.

“If you say you want to go right now, I swear—”

“No, I was just—well, actually…” you looked at him with glitter in your eyes – and if you’d really meant it, he would have taken you home right then and there – and a teasing smile. “No, I was going to say that I don’t want you to feel pressured to leave with me. I promise to stay for a little bit, but you can stay for however long you—”

“I only want to stay for as long as you’re staying,” he said and you thanked the God that the sound of the car engine coming to life drowned out the loud beats of your heart. “We agreed to get back to your place and hang out there, didn’t we?”

“We did. But then—”

“Did you change your mind?” he asked with a quick glance at you before he turned to the rear-view mirror to back out of the parking lot. “Do you not want to spend time with me anymore?”

It was absurd that he was the one asking you this.

“I do want to spend time with you,” you said.

“Well, I should hope so,” he replied, the arrogant smirk now back on his lips again. “I doubt there are better alternatives than me on this campus.”

“Probably not,” you said, rolling your eyes, and then biting, “but only because Inna left to go home tonight.”

Jungkook would have let you know how this wounded his impossibly huge ego if his mind hadn’t drifted elsewhere as soon as you said this.

“Oh,” he spoke, turning out of the parking lot and into the street. “So you have the place all to yourself, huh?”

You raised your eyebrows when you turned to look at him. “You could not have sounded more like a typical college boy as you said this.”

Jungkook smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “I am a typical college boy.”

You smirked. “I thought you were only one of a kind.”

He gave you a proud look – completely ignoring the mocking undertones in your voice – before returning his eyes to the road as he drove towards his house.

“I am, of course,” he said. “Just wanted to hear you say it.”

Much to your – and Jungkook’s – surprise, the party ended up not being so bad, after all. Initially, you thought you’d have to come up with a way to leave after an hour, but several hours have passed now, and you had to admit, you were genuinely enjoying yourself here.

At the beginning, you couldn’t quite get comfortable – all because you could feel everyone’s stares on the two of you when you arrived hand-in-hand – but when you finished a few drinks, the people in the room no longer seemed as strange and threatening.

Jungkook helped you ease your discomfort by refusing to leave you alone – and making his close presence seem so casual, it was as if his parents were, indeed, here, watching you two play a relationship – but even when you finally convinced him to find his bandmates and say hi to them, you still didn’t feel too out-of-place.

You felt relaxed, actually. Excited. And maybe a little irrational or else you wouldn’t have found yourself on the couch next to Brock – the well-known social climber, dead-set on beating Jungkook in terms of campus popularity – discussing your plans for the summer.

“I want to spend at least a few weeks at home with my family,” you were telling him as you toyed with the edges of your third—or was it fourth?—drink tonight, “but only if I pass all of my finals at the top of the class. Or else I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“They’re that hard on you, huh?” Brock nodded knowingly – for someone who seemed so shallow when you first heard about him, he sure had a lot of empathy – and took a sip of his own drink.

“They’re alright,” you said, swallowing the remaining alcohol in your cup. “Although my roommate thinks they’re robots.”

“Oh, your roommate has met them?” he asked.

“I brought her over once,” you explained. “I do that with friends, usually, but only if we’re really close. Most people don’t handle the judgmental looks on my parents’ faces too well.”

“I see,” Brock said but only to win himself more time to find the right way to ask you this, “so, uh, has Jungkook met them?”

“My parents?” you asked. And then, not thinking about it, added, “of course. He met them a long time ago.”

Brock raised his eyebrows in evident surprise. It dawned on you then – albeit slowly – that he didn’t know how long you and Jungkook knew each other. Actually, probably no one at this party knew – you spent the majority of your time at university pretending Jungkook didn’t exist.

“So, you’ve been together for a while then?” Brock questioned.

His eyes didn’t give it away but you were sober enough to understand how this could have been a trick question: Jungkook was probably sleeping around with other girls before you started to talk again, so defining a clear timeline of your relationship was crucial or else you were going to fall down the spiral of “cheating” rumors.

“Uh… no,” you said, choosing to play dumb. “Not very long.”

“So, he met your parents before you started dating?”

“Yeah. My dad’s a teacher,” you said, which was the truth, so you didn’t completely lie, and Brock’s lips parted. You could almost see the puzzle pieces click together in his brain.

“Oh, I would not want to spend the summer with my parents if one of them was a teacher,” he said with a chuckle. You gave him a tell-me-about-it-look and scanned the room for another drink. “Are you going to be on campus during the rest of the summer?”

“Uh, probably, yeah,” you said. “I’d like to get an internship somewhere close, so I could live at the dorm.”

“Busy girl,” Brock said in a way that sounded more condescending than affectionate. His company no longer seemed so pleasant – you definitely needed another drink – but he didn’t seem to pick up on your emotions, “I know that Jungkook is probably going to be on campus as well but, um,” he scooted closer to you on the couch – just a little but enough for his knee to touch yours, “if he’s away, I could maybe show you—”

You didn’t hear what was it that he was going to show you because someone landed on the armrest of the couch right behind you. The smell of alcohol was the first thing you registered, but then you picked up the scent of the cologne, too, and you didn’t have to turn around to know that it was Jungkook.

“I’m back,” he spoke into your ear – whispered, actually -- sending an excited shiver down your spine. “I brought you something to try. It’s—”

It was a drink. Finally.

“Thanks,” you cut him off, not really thinking much of the pale green liquid in the half-empty shot glass and downing it all in one go. You frowned when the drink reached your throat, going down with a fiery resistance.

Jungkook noticed your grimace as you swallowed. He placed a protective hand on your back – and then shot Brock a warning look which prompted the boy to return to his previous spot on the other end of the couch – as you coughed, not really enjoying the anise-flavored travesty he’d brought you.

“You okay?” Jungkook asked, concerned.

“Mmhmm,” you replied, your esophagus still burning, “n-not a fan of absinthe. Have you been—” you paused to inhale through your mouth, cherishing every bit of cold air, “—drinking this the whole night?”

“Yeah, he basically drinks that shit raw,” Brock answered instead, somehow happy to see Jungkook bring you this much discomfort. “And it still takes him a while to get drunk.”

“I haven’t been,” Jungkook answered your question, deliberately ignoring everything the other boy had just said. “Taehyung broke out a bottle he’d brought back from France. Do you want me to get you some water?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” you replied, inhaling a few more times and then clearing your throat for good measure. “It just took me off-guard, that’s all—”

You ended up not finding the end of your sentence as Jungkook slid down the armrest and landed on the couch next to you, his arms sneaking around your waist as he pulled your body closer to his. Your heart would have most likely stopped if the shot of absinthe hadn’t released all this adrenaline into your bloodstream.

“I’m sorry,” he said into your hair – the close proximity and the quiet tone of his voice had quickly cut off all signals from the synapses inside your brain – and cuddled into you until he found a more comfortable position. “I would have warmed—warned you if you’d have given me a chance.”

He was obviously drunk and tongue-tied – but that was nothing new. What was new, however, was this affection, as he held on to you as if you were both stranded on a stray piece of wood in the ocean and he was afraid you were going to slide off into the water and die.

“T-that’s okay,” you said with a nervous chuckle, figuring that he was only doing this to prove a point that you were dating. But no one seemed to care; this far into the party, everyone was either making out with someone or dancing their lives away – except for Brock who was actively trying not to look at you two.

“Hmm,” Jungkook exhaled slowly for no reason other than to see the skin on the nape of your neck shiver from his breath. He wasn’t drunk enough to miss the effect he had on you, but he was far too drunk to be able to hold himself back from deliberately affecting you this way.

“How much have you had to drink tonight?” you asked, not uncomfortable in his arms per se, but certainly tense – even more so when you finally concluded that he was holding you like this specifically because Brock was here.

“Not much,” Jungkook replied, still as quiet as before. He shot the boy across the couch a glance so full of spite, you would have believed him to be completely sober if you’d seen him do it.

Brock only rolled his eyes in response, ready to say something to you but instead, he was forced to watch you strain your neck as you tried to look at Jungkook, his grip on your waist not loosening.

“Really? Because you seem really drunk,” you told Jungkook, your voice no longer passive.

He snickered – you felt his abdomen muscles move against your back as he did – and, purposefully staring right Brock in the eyes, he said, “I’m only drunk on you.”

If he wanted to see you squirm, he would have succeeded, but his grip on you was too tight for you to move. Pressing your lips together, you touched his knee with your hand in a warning manner. You didn’t like being caught in the middle of a purposeless war of masculinity.

“Maybe it’s time we left, then,” you suggested. He worshiped the disappointment that appeared on Brock’s face after you said this.

“Yeah?” Jungkook asked – but he didn’t have to, he was just trying to win some more time to hold you close to him like this – and then, slowly unwrapping his arms from your waist, he said, “I’ll run to say bye to the guys, okay? It’ll only be one second. Meet you by the door?”

“Sure, yeah. Take your time. I’ll stop by the bathroom before we go,” you said, craving some cold water on your face – and not just because of the lingering fire in your throat – as Jungkook released you and stood up, leaving an unnaturally cold sensation behind you, where his body had been.

He walked off quickly, his grin only widening when he glanced at you over his shoulder and saw you stand up and walk away from the couch without saying a word to Brock.

What Jungkook didn’t see, however, was how -- as soon as he rounded the corner to enter the kitchen where his bandmates were searching for sugar cubes for their ridiculous absinthe ritual -- Brock leaped from his seat and grabbed your hand, stopping you from walking away.

“Hey,” he said, pulling away when he felt you flinch in surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—uh, you headed home, then?”

“Yeah,” you said, taking your hand back and hiding it behind your back in defense. “It was nice talking to you.”

“It really was!” he said, a little too enthusiastically. “Which is why I was wondering if you were free anytime soon. So we could talk again, maybe? I just don’t want this to be the only time I get to hang out with you. I felt like we had a real connection. You know?”

You didn’t. You thought he wasn’t a terrible person to talk to, but you could only tolerate him in small doses.

“Mmhmm. Well, we live on the same campus,” you said, trying to smile politely as you made your way towards the bathroom. Much to your disappointment – and horror – Brock fell into step with you. “I’m sure we will, uh, see each other around.”

“Yeah? Where do you usually hang out? When you’re not with Jungkook, I mean.”

As far away from you as possible, was going to be your answer if he wasn’t going to let you walk away from him.

“Everywhere,” you said and then decided to make yourself sound less available, “or nowhere, actually. I prefer to stay home. With my roommate.”

“I like to stay home, too,” he said. You doubted that very much – unless staying home meant throwing parties at the million-dollar mansion that his parents had purchased for him. “You think we could do that together some time?”

You could distinctly recall the way your heart sped up when Jungkook suggested nearly the same thing one time. Brock’s words seemed to have a completely opposite effect on you, however, as you desperately looked for a way out of the situation and were almost prepared to use the golden I-have-a-boyfriend excuse – which could have been true for all that Brock knew – when he spoke again.

“Just you and me,” he clarified. “You could text me when Jungkook is away.”

Now, if only he could have survived five seconds without bringing Jungkook up – further proving to you that this was all about Brock showing everyone that he was better – maybe you would have stopped and considered this – although you doubted that, too – but now you didn’t even hesitate before you clicked your tongue.

“Don’t you think that’s inappropriate?” you asked.

He clearly didn’t as he retorted, “why?”

“Because this is something that you wouldn’t suggest if he was here,” you explained. “And I don’t really want to go behind his back and plan some secret tête-à-têtes.”

You gave him a smile – instead of saying goodbye – and were already reaching for the handle of the bathroom door when he grabbed your hand again. This time, when you turned to look at him, you didn’t bother to hide the irritation in your eyes.

“You misunderstand me,” Brock said, very matter-of-fact but still wary as he let go of your hand. Good. You were going to need it when you inevitably smacked him across the face. “I’m not implying anything. I just genuinely liked talking to you and would like to do it again without anyone bothering us. If you don’t think Jungkook’s going to allow you to see me, I can talk to him about—”

“No,” you said sharply. “I don’t need anyone’s permission to do anything. It’s my decision. And I said no.”

Brock watched your eyes for a moment, intrigued by how strict they looked.

“Okay,” he said then. “Got it.”

You nodded and, almost tripping over your own feet in your hurry, you finally tore yourself away from the party by entering the bathroom and locking the door.

Alone at last, you exhaled and walked over to the sink, choosing not to look at your reflection in the mirror out of fear of dissociating even more – you already felt disoriented enough.

Washing your hands with cold water and then dabbing wet fingertips under your eyes and down the sides of your face felt refreshing, but it wasn’t enough to stop your heart from working overtime – courtesy of Jungkook and Brock, and their passive-aggressive battle to show the other one who was better.

You weren’t sure what you were more frustrated with: the fact that Jungkook’s touch affected you so much or the fact that he only seemed to touch you to show off to Brock. Obviously, you’d come here to establish your relationship in front of your peers but, considering that Jungkook tried to treat this whole thing as a sort of business deal, only worrying about his parents’ opinion, his actions tonight seemed over the top.

Not to mention, you could have handled Brock yourself. He was the first person who talked to you at this party and he probably only did because he’d seen you arrive with Jungkook, and, just like with everything else, he was determined to replace him. Naturally, Jungkook -- never one to back down from a challenge -- wanted to put Brock in his place.

This really irked you – you liked to be in charge of your own life and hated having to rely on others to do things for you. Jungkook should have known that.

But although you were irritated, you didn’t feel like starting an argument and then potentially having to deal with dead bodies. However, right after you decided to leave the party quietly, your mythical sixth sense picked up a bad vibe and your stomach dropped – all just a second before you heard deep grunts of struggle from behind the door of the bathroom.

For just a split second, you hoped that this commotion didn’t involve Jungkook but all of that hope vanished when one of the voices yelled, “who the fuck do you think you are?” and you recognized the undeniable tenor of your childhood friend.

Cursing under your breath, you shut the water off and, not even bothering to find a towel, walked out of the room with your hands still dripping.

You felt hopeful yet again when you saw the almost empty living room – maybe they stopped fighting – but that hope disappeared soon enough, too, when a tirade of cuss words reached you from the kitchen, followed by the sound of skin slapping against skin, muscle against muscle.

Following the sound, you clenched your hands into fists and tried to brace yourself for whatever you were about to witness. And, just like you expected, a group of spectators – always thirsty for some violence – was watching Jungkook hold Brock by the collar of his shirt.

Brock – who was obviously enjoying the attention of the whole party – snarled something that provoked Jungkook to throw another punch to the side of his face. Brock’s whole head twisted to a side and, roughly pushing Jungkook off of himself until his back hit the fridge, Brock spat the blood out onto the kitchen floor.

“Jungkook!” you called out before they turned this whole house into a boxing ring. He heard you – his eyes drifted to the group of people watching him – but he couldn’t see you through the crowd.

Cursing again, you tried to push past the people even if it involved losing sight of the two boys – you could hear the fight carry on as they slammed each other against furniture – until you finally reached the kitchen island and saw Jungkook carelessly hurl Brock on top of it, his head nearly hitting the marble tabletop.

“Jungkook, for fuck’s sake,” you snapped.

It was hard to say if he heard you this time, because one of Brock’s hands broke free and roughly pushed Jungkook’s chest. The boy stumbled backwards, hitting the cupboard behind him with a loud groan as empty plastic cups scattered all over the tabletop and rolled to the floor.

Recovering immediately, Jungkook lunged for Brock again – but this time you were there to interrupt them.

Grabbing Jungkook’s wrist as soon as he swung his hand back to prepare a punch, you finally got him to tear his eyes away from the opponent and give you a frenzied look.

“That’s enough,” you said, all out of breath as if it was you that’s been in a fight. “You made your point.”

Brock rolled off the kitchen island and coughed loudly as he dusted his shirt off. When you turned your head – both of your hands still gripping Jungkook’s raised fist, even if he was no longer planning to punch anything with it – you saw that Brock’s lip was bleeding, his left eye was starting to swell, and various hues of dark purple decorated the right side of his face.

Jungkook looked better in comparison to him – at least, from what you could see – although his cheekbones were clearly bruised, the skin irritated and bright red.

“You need to learn how to take a fucking joke,” Brock spat just as you let go of Jungkook. Immediately, he jumped past you, seemingly ready to knock Brock out.

Brock stumbled backwards, not yet prepared to defend himself against Jungkook again, but he didn’t have to do anything because you’d sneaked under Jungkook’s raised arms and pressed both of your hands into his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

“Jungkook,” you told him, knowing you had to remain calm in order to make progress, but struggling as fury boiled inside your veins.

Jungkook looked at you, his nostrils still flaring, but his anger dissipating as quickly as it had ignited. He took a step back until you no longer had a hold on him, and snarled at Brock, “you’re a fucking joke. Let’s go.”

The last part was directed at you, obviously, as Jungkook turned around. Knowing how quickly he could change his mind, you took his hand in yours just to make sure he didn’t knock anyone unconscious on his way out of the house.

Everything was already so surreal, you were glad he was clutching your hand so tight it almost hurt, or else you’d have thought you were dreaming. But then, to make this even more hard to believe, Jungkook exited the house and made a beeline for his car.

“What are you doing?” you demanded, stopping and thus pulling him to a stop, too.

“We’re getting out of here,” he shot back as he finished climbing the few remaining porch steps. You remained at the top. “I’m driving you home.”

You could have laughed at the absurdity.

“You are not driving,” you said, resisting his pull as he tried to get you to climb down the steps. “You’re wasted. Do you not realize that?”

“I don’t—”

“First, you need to sit down,” you told him and lowered yourself until you were sitting on the porch, your feet resting on the lowest step.

Jungkook held your hand and watched you, frozen.

“Sit,” you repeated, making it sound more like an order this time.

“I need to get out of here,” he said, growing frustrated with your need to mediate between him and his obvious anger issues. “I’m not fucking sitting—”

“Well, you’re not getting behind the wheel of a car, either,” you cut him off, pulling his hand down.

He still resisted. “I’m fine. Let go of me.”

“Sit.”

“I’m not fucking sitting down, for fuck’s—!”

“Then stop acting like a fucking lunatic and get a grip on yourself!” you yelled, all patience gone as you jumped to your feet. “You’re drunk whether you realize it or not. You can’t drive yourself, let alone someone else, and you’re fucking out of your mind with anger. So, sit your ass down and fucking breathe. Or else I’m calling the police to get you arrested. Maybe that will get through your thick head.”

Scolded to the point where he almost felt embarrassed, Jungkook mumbled something incoherent and sat down.

“God, you truly never grew up,” you said with an exasperated sigh as you plopped back down next to him. “Always looking for different ways to get your adrenaline fix.”

He groaned, leaning forwards as he rested his elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands.

You wanted to ask him what was it that Brock had said that provoked him to start a fight -- because you had no doubt that Jungkook was the one who threw the first punch -- but decided against it. You didn’t want Jungkook to fire up again.

And so, you sat in silence for a little while – you, fuming, and Jungkook, trying to control his breathing – until he finally sat up straight and dared to look at you. Your eyes were set firmly on the grass, swaying freely in the night wind.

“Are you mad?” Jungkook asked.

Your face didn’t even twitch as you countered, “what do you think?”

“At me?” he tried again.

“What do you think?”

He swallowed. “What did I do wrong?”

You looked at him incredulously. “Do you seriously have to ask me that?”

“Yes,” he said, knowing that he was going to get a lecture but needing to hear it in order to properly defend himself. “Obviously.”

“You got into a fight with Brock,” you said because it was this simple.

“Yeah,” Jungkook confirmed pointlessly and then said with a prideful undertone, “because he deserved to get punched.”

He did not seem to regret it in the slightest and would have probably done it again if he went back inside the house – that’s what scared you the most about this. You may as well have been talking to a wall.

“But that’s exactly what he wants—” you tried, but Jungkook cut you off.

“To get punched?” he asked.

“No—to get a reaction out of you,” you explained, more patient now that it looked like he was finally starting to listen to you, “he wants people to talk shit about you.”

Then, surprising you, Jungkook said, “I know.”

It took you a moment to grasp that he knew the consequences his actions would have, and that made his decisions all the more self-destructive.

“So,” you took a breath, “why do you do this?”

You were scared of his answer but instead of sounding like a lost cause, he just sounded aggressively nihilistic.

“Why not?” he retorted, shrugging one of his shoulders. “What do I have to lose? At least they’re talking about me. About us.”

If he’d asked you – really asked you, not just rhetorically – you’d have told him about all the things he would have lost if he kept this up. But he didn’t ask because he didn’t think there was an answer – a meaningful answer – that would have been worth the change in attitude.

He was simply convinced he didn’t have anything worth to keep: not his relationship with his parents, and not even what remained of his own reputation.

“Well, yes, but what they’re saying isn’t doing us…” you started to say but felt yourself hit a dead-end. You were a conformist. He, clearly, wasn’t. But it wasn’t for you to decide which one of you was right when it came to dealing with campus rumors. “Anyway. That was wrong. You know fighting is wrong. You end up getting hurt.”

“He’s the one who picked a fight with me as soon as you walked away,” Jungkook mumbled childishly.

“That doesn’t mean you’re any less guilty,” you stated. “You were acting weird around him before the fight, so, in a way, you brought it upon yourself.”

Jungkook looked at you, his eyebrows furrowed. “When did I act weird?”

You looked away. “When you brought me that shot of absinthe.”

“What do you mean?” he asked but he knew what you meant. “I was just letting him know that we were dating. Letting everyone know that we were—”

“Right but everyone got that when we arrived together,” you spoke as soon as your face started to grow warmer from the memory of you and him on that couch, “and none of that even matters, anyway, remember? Your parents aren’t here. You didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to,” he said.

You paused. Then asked, “what?”

“I wanted to touch you,” Jungkook clarified. “Is that wrong?”

For a minute, you couldn’t remember if you thought that was wrong or not when he put it like that.

“It’s—” you said and then swallowed, thanking the cold breeze that raised goosebumps on your bare legs for distracting you from his intoxicating words. You had completely sobered up when you had to break up that fight and you’d have liked to remain clear-minded. “Well, if you’re doing it to mark your territory like some dog, then yeah. It’s wrong. It’s disrespectful to me.”

“I wasn’t trying to mark my territory.”

“It felt like you were.”

Sighing, he caved, even though he hated the accusation, “alright, maybe I was, a little. But Brock needed to know that he was never going to get to touch you like that.”

“Ah,” you smiled humorlessly, “and you get that privilege, right?”

“I—well, didn’t we come here to show off?”

“We did, supposedly. But…”

Your voice faded because you realized that one of the biggest reasons why it felt like he’d crossed the line tonight, was because his actions affected you so much. If you hadn’t cared about him the way that you did, you probably wouldn’t have been bothered by the methods he chose to prove the authenticity of your relationship.

Sure, he could have been less possessive, but you knew him well enough to understand that he wasn’t trying to offend you. And yet you couldn’t let this go without standing up for yourself – especially not after he tried to take back every single one of his confessions the last time you’d talked to him.

“We weren’t supposed to do it like that,” you said, sounding a little more confident now. “I just felt like you went too far. Brock wasn’t worth it.”

“There’s a dozen others like Brock at that party,” Jungkook pointed out.

You scoffed. “Right. Even if there are, the only reason why they’d want me is so they could brag about stealing Jungkook’s girl.”

“No, it’s—is that the only reason why you think these guys want you?” he looked at you as he asked this, almost appalled that you would reduce your own impact to this level.

“They don’t—” you started to say with a shake of your head but that was enough for Jungkook.

“They do,” he countered, cutting you off, “and it’s not because you came with me. It’s because you’re you,” he didn’t mean to scan you from head to toe with his eyes as he said this but self-control was not one of his strong suits.

You had your objections but, at the same time, you were able to understand that arguing about this would have been pointless. Your knowledge about how men functioned came from text-books and observations, while his came from personal experience. You’d never see eye-to-eye about this.

“Why do you care about those other guys?” Jungkook asked after you didn’t reply.

“I—I don’t,” you said, still distracted by your own thoughts. “But you clearly do.”

“Of course, I do,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “They want you.”

You looked at him. “So, even if they do, why does it matter?”

“It matters because they can’t have you,” he said, “and they need to know that.”

“Know what?”

“That you’re mine.”

Your hands went numb and the fabric of your skirt that you’d been playing with started to feel foreign – fake, even – so you dropped it and took a deep breath, wrapping your arms around your midriff instead.

“I get that we’re playing a relationship,” you said, quieter than you probably should have, “but I’m not a trophy that you can brag about when you feel like it.”

“You might as well be,” he said, not intending to make it sound like you were some decoration, but realizing how it could have been interpreted precisely like that, “maybe ‘trophy’ wasn’t the right word. I mean that you are something—someone—to brag about. Because I’m proud to call you min—m-my, uh, fake-girlfriend. My friend. I’m proud of who you are. Proud of what you’d achieved. Proud of the way you can call me out on my bullshit and put me in my place—”

You did not acknowledge his slip-up with the label of your relationship – because he was drunk – scoffing instead, “there’s no way in hell you’re proud of that last one.”

“No, no, I am,” he nodded for more effect. “No one has the patience to deal with my shit. But you do.”

You went quiet again, your head spinning. The buzz of the alcohol had mostly worn off but you were unable to find a way to reply to him, and you chose to blame the drinks you’d had for that.

“Don’t do that again, okay?” you ended up saying.

Your thoughts ran a little too fast for him to keep up. “Do what?”

“Get into fights,” you said. “Act irrationally to prove a point.”

“Me hugging you was completely rational,” he said, bringing it up with such ease, it was like he was a completely different person now.

“You know what I mean,” you said. “Don’t treat me like an object. Especially, since it doesn’t change anything with your parents.”

“I wasn’t trying to--w-why are you bringing my parents into this?”

“Because of the other night?” you said, thinking it was obvious. “You were completely dismissive about this – a-about us – and you basically said that—”

“I know what I said,” he cut you off, looking down at the wooden steps of the porch. He remembered. “I didn’t mean that.”

So, here’s the answer, then: he didn’t mean that. But something – fear, insecurity, uncertainty – had still made him reduce your relationship to just an act for his parents.

“Okay,” you said, hesitating. “But we’d agreed to tell each other the truth. So, don’t—don’t say things you don’t mean. Not when it’s just us alone.”

“Okay,” Jungkook nodded, a promise on his lips, “I’ll think before I act from now on.”

You scrunched your nose, looking at him out of the corner of your eye. “Will you, really?”

He considered it, then rephrased himself, “I’ll try to think before I act.”

That got you to smile. “That’s better. Thank you.”

Jungkook smiled back and the tension outside of his house seemed to blow away with the wind. Even the night shadows around you suddenly seemed brighter.

“You have to admit, though,” Jungkook said then, “my plan to get Brock to believe we’re dating worked so much better than your diplomatic speech would have.”

“Why do you think I’d have given him a diplomatic speech?” you asked.

“I’ve known you since birth,” he replied, grinning.

“Fair point,” you couldn’t help but snicker. “We’re still doing it my way next time, though.”

“Alright,” he nodded, not really caring about much else except that you said there was going to be a next time. “So, you ready to go home now?”

You’d been ready to go home for a while now.

“I am,” you said,

He stood up. “Let’s go.”

You stood up after him but, once again, hesitated before climbing down the porch steps.

“Actually,” you spoke slowly, “I think I’m going alone.”

Jungkook hadn’t noticed that you weren’t following him as he headed towards the pavement across the front yard. He stopped at the sound of your distant voice and turned around.

“What?”

“Yeah,” you said, making your way towards him. “You stay here. Stay out of fights and—”

He was shaking his head. “If you think I’m going to let you go home alone, you’re—”

“If you think I need your permission to—”

“Okay, sorry, my bad,” he lifted his hands in a defensive manner that interrupted you. “I didn’t choose my words well. But my point stands. You’re not going home alone.”

You looked away with a sigh.

“Neither of us can drive,” you said, “and I’m not staying here.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes, dismissing your attempt to escape him with a very sarcastic, “oh, and that would sure be tragic if our plans didn’t involve us going back to your place together anyway.”

“I…” you did feel the same pang of excitement in the pit of your stomach as you did when he first suggested you spent more time together at your dorm, but everything that happened since then made you unsure if it was such a good idea, after all. “I feel like going to sleep, actually.”

“Okay,” he didn’t seem bothered by that. “I’m walking you home, then.”

“I’m perfectly capable of finding my own way,” you said.

“I’m sure you are, you’ve walked around campus plenty of times before,” he said, still as witty as ever. “I’m still coming with you.”

“Jungkook…”

“Let me. Please,” he took a step closer to you as he said this and you would have probably let him to do almost anything when you saw the night sky reflected in his eyes. “I don’t want to walk you home so that other people would believe that we’re in a relationship. So that my parents would believe we’re in a relationship. Or because you’re an item I want to show off. I want to walk you home because I want to walk you home.”

You could no longer feel the cold, late-hour wind.

“Okay, fine,” you said, your voice purposefully indifferent and even irritated, just so your real feelings wouldn’t manifest themselves. “Walk me home, then.”

“Way to make it sound like I’m putting you in pain,” Jungkook jabbed.

“You are kind of a pain in my ass, actually,” you pointed out.

“Yeah? Does that pain bother you?”

“Yes, very much,” you glared at him as the two of you crossed the front yard towards the main street where he’d crashed his car weeks ago when you first found each other again. “Keeps me up all night with thoughts about it.”

“Good,” he said with a smirk, walking around you inconspicuously, so that he was on your right side, his body shielding you from the cars that drove past every now and then. One could never know what sort of a drunk lunatic could drive by. “That means my plan has worked.”

keep reading | masterlist

[xpeachesncream]

off the grid | one

summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.

pairing: reader x pjm

genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)

words: 3384

chapter warnings: cussing / mature language, slight flirting, nothin’ too cray

notes: as mentioned on ‘perfectly wrong,’ i tend to write short chapters, but that means there will be quite a few chapters ahead.

> series masterlist <

The jetlag must have hit you bad because the sun is shining in brightly through the windows and it's about to be 1PM.

"Aw, fuck." You say to yourself as you sit up and rub your face to wake yourself up. You feel like you've been hit by a truck, but there was no way you were going to spend your day sleeping and getting yourself on track. Time is of the essence.

You head downstairs to the bathroom to wash up and start getting yourself ready for today. The TV is on a random channel while you toast yourself some bread to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You didn't feel too hungry, solely because you were more excited to get out there and try the local food.

As you finish up your sandwich, you start to make your way back upstairs to get into your outfit, but you suddenly stop when you hear a voice outside in the hallway. At first, it didn't cause any alarm because it sounded distant enough to make you think it wasn't coming towards your way. However, that quickly changes when the voice is right outside the door and is clear as day.

"Yo, Yana! Open up!" The knocks came suddenly on the door. You hesitated, wondering if Yana had also just left without giving anyone a heads up because who in the hell was this man pounding on her door at this time? The day barely started for you. "Yana! Come on! Quit playing around before I knock this door down myself!" You definitely didn't want that, so you cross your arms tightly near your chest as you walk to the door. You reach for the door handle to swing it open, revealing a somewhat flustered male standing in front of you with a huge tupperware of food in his hands.

"Uh, hi? Can I help you?"

"You're not.. Yana?" His eyebrows furrowed. He welcomes himself in, almost causing you to trip over yourself as you move aside, checking the bathroom and quickly glancing up and around the loft.

"Last time I checked, I sure wasn't." You shut the door and cross your arms tightly as you watch him stand there. You couldn't help but notice how attractive he was - standing at a good 5'9-5'10, fair skin, grey, ash-blonde hair that was parted down the middle, with some layers falling around the front of his face. His lips were pink and plump, and you couldn't help but gaze at his beautiful eyes, which for sure had grey tinted lenses in at the moment. You could see his resemblance to Yana. He seemed way too unreal though, in a good way. You quickly checked your appearance in the mirror through the bathroom, making sure your hair wasn't a mess or that you weren't a mess in general. But lo and behold, you were still in your Hello Kitty pajama shirt and shorts.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to barge in like that. I'm Yana's brother, Jimin. Park Jimin." He softly smiles at you and shows off his pearly whites, his hand on the nape of his neck as he quickly checks you out from head to toe. "Nice jammies."

"Well, I wasn't necessarily expecting an intrusion at this time." You wrap your arms around your chest to cover up Hello Kitty as much as you can.

"Right, sorry. She wasn't answering my calls or texts so I came over here to check on her, plus my mom asked me to bring this over. Any idea where she might be since you're apparently occupying her space now?"

"She didn't tell you anything?" His right eyebrow raises.

"No? Care to fill me in?"

"She put her loft up on a home exchange website, so we decided to swap homes for a bit. She's down at my apartment in California right n-"

"California? Since when? How long is she going to be there for?" He laughed a bit. "You're talking about my sister Yana, right? She doesn't go anywhere. She barely even leaves her house."

"I'm pretty sure we're talking about the same Yana." You pursed your lips into a fine line before chiming in again. "I just got here yesterday afternoon, so I'm sure she's still getting herself situated. We're switching back after Christmas."

"Why didn't she say anything?" You can tell the question wasn't necessarily directed towards you and moreso just Jimin thinking out loud, but you respond anyway. He has such a soft demeanor that you don't feel threatened by him being around you at all, even if this whole thing was accidental.

"I don't.. know? I'm really sorry, I don't know what to tell you." You shrugged. You felt bad Yana's own brother was out of the loop, but you get it. You were in the same spot as she was. You just had to do what you had to do without anyone holding you back sometimes.

"Nah, no worries. I'll get a hold of her somehow." He shakes his head and makes his way to the kitchen. He places the tupperware he has in his hands in the fridge, then toothlessly smiles back at you as it closes. "Since you're here, help yourself to my mom's food."

"Mm, are you sure? I mean I don't want to-"

He chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Seriously, Yana isn't here to eat it and it shouldn't go to waste."

"Why don't you eat it?"

"Because I have my own at home." He smiled. "You're not going to get out of this one, you know?"

"Thank you. Or, um, thanks to your mom." You rub your arm as you chuckle nervously while following him to the door. The fuck Y/N, don't start acting up around him now.

"Sorry about that again." He turns to smile at you again, hands now deep in his pockets. "I didn't catch your name?"

"Y/N."

"Nice to meet you." Jimin nods and chuckles. "I promise I don't just barge into people's homes like that."

"Mhm, your sister must think you're a handful."

"If anything, she's the handful, clearly." He cocks his head to the side. "California, huh?"

"The golden state." You shrug and chuckle. Really, Y/N? The golden state?

"I bet." Is all he says before he starts to back away from the door. "Well, I don't want to take more time out of your day. You must have some plans to get through. Thanks again, Y/N."

"Yeah, no problem." You watch as he walks down the hallway. As he descends down the steps, you gently shut the door and walk upstairs to finish getting ready so you can finally start your first adventure. To where? You don't know and that's a-okay.

[Y/N] 1:56pm: Hey Yana, I hope you're settled in! Your brother came here to drop off some food and to check on you. I may have told him you were in California, but I didn't say anything else after that. I'm sorry :( Hopefully that doesn't cause issues. Let me know if you need anything.

[Yana] 2:05pm: Hey! Haha no worries, I'm struggling a little with the sleep schedule but I'll be fine. Thanks for letting me know! Was he mad?

[Y/N] 2:07pm: No, he just couldn't believe you were out there since he claims you don't leave the house often. Haha.

[Yana] 2:08pm: Wow, he said that? Very Jimin like. He's 25 years old going on 80 so he shouldn't be one to talk. Agh, can't live with him, can't live without him. I'll deal with it. Hope my little brother didn't bother you too much after that! Many apologies if he did!

From what you gather, Yana is super sweet and you can tell she has a close relationship with her brother. You were quite surprised Jimin was her little brother, simply due his slightly overprotective nature and how he threatened to break down the door. Nonetheless, Jimin seemed to be concerned for his sister's wellbeing and you could tell he was sad when he realized she wasn't going to be around for awhile. You truly hope you didn't mess anything up or cause any issues for her plans though. It reminds you of your own friends and how you'll probably get the same earful in the next couple of hours. Until then though, you stick to the plan and tuck your phone deep into your bag before navigating the nearby streets to do some exploring.

Meanwhile, Jimin tosses his keys onto the kitchen counter as he enters the apartment he shares with his two bestfriends.

"You find her?" Taehyung sits on the couch with one foot up. He's holding a cup of tea in his hand while watching a movie on TV.

"Yana?"

"I'm sorry, were you looking for someone else besides your sister?" Taehyung asks sarcastically, which Jimin ignores.

"No, but I met Y/N." Jimin flatly responds as he plops onto the couch next to him and pulls up Yana's number to get a hold of her.

"Who is Y/N?"

"She's living at Yana's."

"Wait, what? She has a roommate now?" Taehyung looked at him, completely and utterly confused with this whole conversation.

"Nope. My sister is apparently in California cause she swapped homes with her."

"That's a thing?"

"I guess so." Taehyung watches as Jimin puts the phone to his ear.

"Yana, what the hell?" Jimin says into the phone as he stands up and walks towards his room.

"Calm down, fool. Why did you barge into my place like that? Perfect impression to give Y/N while she's still settling down."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to California for the holidays?" He ran his hand through his hair. As guessed, he indeed had a very close relationship to his sister. Knowing she wouldn't be around for Christmas made him a pretty sad. He knew Yana had been wanting to get away for a bit, especially with the personal things she had going on, but he had wished she talked to him about what was going on first. He wanted to help in any way that he could.

"Because I knew if I did, you'd try and stop me."

"N-no!" He stuttered. "No, I wouldn't."

"Yes, you would've. Or, you would have tried to come with."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Chim, I just really want my own time in a new setting, away from everything that's familiar. Just for a bit." Jimin sighed. He wasn't going to argue.

"Alright, I get it. Please just stay safe out there, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. I'm surprised you haven't ran to mom yet." He chuckled.

"Jeez, is that what you think of me? A tattle-tale?"

"Mm, sometimes." She laughed. "You can be quite the baby."

"Hey, woah! This wasn't supposed to be about me." He grabbed his chest, feeling a little attacked by his sister. "Look, I'm not gonna say anything but eventually she's gonna notice. You know her."

"Then let her, I'll deal with it then."

"Alright, go for it." Jimin threw his hand up in defeat like Yana can see him somehow. Mom wasn't scary; if anything, she was always super supportive. However, Jimin and Yana both knew she'd be nothing but a worried mess knowing Yana was out in California on her own. "Let me know if you need anything from me, okay? Watch out for yourself down there."

"I will. I'll talk to you later, I'm gonna try to get on with my day before all I do is sleep. I love you."

"Love you too." Yana hangs up the phone, sighing at the mess she created with her luggage sprawled out in the room. She tried digging for something more appropriate for the Los Angeles weather at the moment, in which the sun was shining warmly but the surrounding morning air was cold. She headed back into the living room to scroll through her phone and figure out what to do with her day. She could go for some good coffee and breakfast right now, but where? Something walkable? She figured she could also uber around until she got used to the public transportation around here.

Some pancakes, eggs and—

Knock, knock, knock.

Yana sprung her head up to face the door, unsure of who could be here this early. She too was wondering if you had just left without notice, or if it could be the mailman delivering a package. But, this early? Is this how they did it in California? She peeks through the peephole to see a rather tall figure, wearing a beanie, hoodie, sweats, a coat and sneakers. He held two cups of coffee in his hands as he waited patiently for the door to be swung open.

"Hi." Yana said, cocking her head to the side as she held onto the door knob. He furrowed his eyebrows, confused as to why she was answering the door and not his bestfriend.

"Hi, I'm sorry. Is Y/N here?" Yana chuckled and shook her head. Figures. They were exactly on the same page with this swap.

"No, I'm sorry. She's in Seoul." His eyes widened.

"Seoul? As in South Korea Seoul?" She nodded.

"Yeah, we swapped homes for the month. Sorry, I'm guessing she didn't tell you anything." He shook his head. "Come in. I'm Yana." She smiled, having him return the smile back.

"Namjoon." He steps in and directly goes for the kitchen to place the coffee cups down. "Help yourself to the coffee I brought over."

"Thanks." She smiled softly.

"So, when exactly did this swap happen?"

"I just got here not too long ago, actually. Y/N just got situated too."

"Damn, that recent?" Namjoon shook his head. "I don't get why she just upped and left like that."

"I'm sorry, I'm sure it wasn't anything personal."

"No need to apologize." He chuckled. "I'm kind of just thinking out loud here. It's a little random, that's all. I'm sure I'll hear the reasoning soon." He leaned his back against the counter. Yana thought he was really attractive, with the way he leaned back against the counter, buff arms crossed at the chest. She knew her reasoning for agreeing to the swap, especially with the troubles she's had with her ex, Jackson. But, to be honest, she wouldn't mind running into this man every so often. He showed off his dimple when he smiled and chuckled earlier, giving off some sort of calmness to his personality.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will."

"Did you guys know each other for awhile or something?"

"Nope, met completely out of the blue on the home exchange site."

"Nice." He nodded. He was just confused and almost shocked that you left without briefing him and Yoongi. Not that you owed them any explanation, but you've all been so transparent with each other due to the nature of your relationship. Why did you go off so far? Why didn't you let them tag along? What kind of Hannah Montana ass life are you living? "Definitely not something Y/N would do." Namjoon did a little head tilt.

"Are you her.. significant other?"

"God, no." He made a sour face. "We've been close since high school. Me, her and our other friend Yoongi. It's always been us three." She nodded.

"That's sweet." He smiled at her toothlessly, keeping his gaze on her as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She felt her cheeks heat up, so she couldn't help but break the staring game by looking down at the floor.

"Sorry, you must have things to do. I'll get going." He pushed off on the counter.

"I was actually just trying to figure out what I could do with my day. Any recommendations?"

"Tons. Depends on what you're looking to do to start off your first day in LA." She chuckled.

"Not too much since the jetlag will hit me sometime soon."

"I can show you around if you'd like? It's honestly not easy getting around here without a car. Uber is cool and all but those surcharges can get to you." She smiled but hesitated to answer. They had literally just met, but she didn't feel any weird vibes coming from him. If anything, he was already showing how down to earth and laid back he was. "Only if you'd like, of course. I promise I don't bite or anything." She chuckled.

"Actually, yeah. I'm down for that. I just need to go get ready."

"Take your time." Namjoon hung over the kitchen counter to go through his phone as Yana walked away. He figured he could help her get some breakfast and take her down to Santa Monica, for starters.

Later that afternoon, Namjoon brought Yana back home to rest up early. There were only so many things you could do from early on and he could tell she was getting pretty tired even though she tried her hardest to keep up, which made him feel bad. He got to his apartment that he shared with Yoongi and threw his beanie and keys off to the side of the dining table. 

“Yoongi-ah!” He called out for Yoongi. The boy came out of his room, looking like he had just woken up from a deep nap.

“Why are you yelling for me?”

“Did you know Y/N was in Seoul?” 

“Our Y/N? In Seoul?”

“Yes, that’s what I just asked.” Yoongi scratched his head and sat down on the couch, head tilting back to rest on it. 

“No. The fuck? Since when?”

“Like a day or whatever ago, I don’t really want to calculate the time difference right now.”

“Why is she there?”

“Dunno. Wanna find out?” Yoongi scrolled through his phone and shook his head.

“They’re 15 hours ahead, so it’s like 8:30 AM there. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. She’s probably ti-” Namjoon instantly went into the Favorites tab of his phone to quickly pull up your contact info and call you. “Alright, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.” The first time he called you through Facetime, you didn't pick up. So he tries again, completely ignoring the whole time difference shpeel from Yoongs.

"What?" You asked groggily on the other line, eyes still closed while you had the phone staring up at the ceiling so Namjoon couldn't see you.

"How's Seoul?"

"Namjoon, leave me alone. It's 8AM."

"You’re usually up by that time when you’re here, get up out of that bed.”

“Clearly, I’m not home. You just said it.” You groaned.

“I told you she would be mad.” Yoongi peeks his head into the small Facetime frame on Namjoon’s phone. “Just for the record Y/N, I told him not to call you.”

“Why didn't you tell me?! I brought coffee only to find Yana at your apartment.” Namjoon continues to ignore all cues.

"You met her and she had coffee. Sounds like a win-win to me."

"Why didn't you say anything?" He whined.

"Because I knew if I did, you and Yoongi would try and come along."

"Ah, wait, wait. Is that so bad?!" Yoongi chimed in, a little hurt from that statement.

"I love you both dearly, but I really just wanted this to be solo-dolo." Namjoon sighed.

"Are you okay at least?"

"Yes, I promise. I'd be even more fine if you both let me get a little bit more sleep."

"You didn't do this because of Romeo, did you?"

"I'd be lying if I said no. Look, for the most part, I just wanted to get away from LA for a bit. Get away from work and all the other stressors that home has been bringing. Okay?”

"I get it."

"Now stop going to my house and scaring Yana, you giant."

"I took her around today."

"Don't start with the funny business, Joonie."

"And what if the funny business comes to me instead?" He pulled the camera close to his face, smirking and wiggling his eyebrows. ‘You’re ugly,’ You hear Yoongi faintly say in the background, who is now completely out of the frame.

"Bye." You hang up and turn over to try and head back to sleep. Let's get this straight - you love Namjoon and Yoongi. You've done a lot of things together and you always look for their company. But, there were things you needed to get past on your own. The work stress and the impostor syndrome, keeping up with LA, your ex and the on and off years you've been putting yourself through all the hurt.

You felt like you really couldn't blame anyone but yourself, especially with Romeo and how he had been treating you. He had been treating you like a convenience and he never showed any effort. Yet, you always gave in because this was a man you loved for nearly the past 5 years.

It was just time. You were done. You had to remind yourself who you were.

[tearsincerulean]

It Was Always You

Summary: Y/n met the Winchester brothers a little over a year ago and has been riding with them since. But when complicated feelings arise, what will happen during their time together?

Pairing: Dean x Reader 

Series Warnings: slow burn, fluff, smut, angst, blood, violence, torture, fighting, individual kinks. Specific warnings before each chapter.

Chapter Warnings: slow burn, fluff, smutty smut smut, fingering, public fingering, dirty talk, playfulness, drinking, dirty dancing, and a bit of a daddy kink.

Word Count: 3,764

Chapter 3:

It was a crisp autumn evening and as the three of you walked, the leaves crunched beneath your feet. You guys decided to walk the short distance to the bar, it was only about a block or two away from your motel, you all were planning on drinking a little too much tonight. You were still lost in your thoughts. Thinking about what both Sam and Dean said and how they reacted when they saw your outfit. As you ponder it, you remember how Dean had that flash of anger cross his face while Sam was staring at you and complimenting you. Maybe he was jealous? But as soon as you turned your attention to him, his mood shifted and that little moan he finally let out in front of you after eyeing you in your outfit, fuck. It was so sexy. God, you would do anything to hear him moan like that all night long. 

You and Dean have always had a weird relationship, sometimes sending flirty signals but sometimes it felt like he saw you as nothing more than a little sister. Recently though, you’ve been noticing things more and more, like the way he will wet his lips and then bite them ever so subtly every so often when your around, or how his eyes have been lingering on you alot longer than usual. This sudden change in his behavior has you thinking about the past as well, to see if maybe these cues and tells have been here all along you just didn’t notice them because in your mind, he would never see you that way. Then you start to remember little things. Like how when you would wear your favorite sleeping outfit around the motel room, boy shorts and an oversized t-shirt (usually one you managed to steal from either Sam or Dean), Dean's eyes would linger on your ass and your exposed legs but would snap away the second you caught him. Or how when you would wear your fed outfit he would glance down at your chest a little too often, again looking away and acting as if nothing happened if you managed to catch him. You thought it was either because he disapproved of what you were wearing, or because he was a guy and they can’t help themselves when it comes to things like that.

All that time you have had a crush on him, the thought never crossed your mind that he could feel the same. Now you feel somewhat stupid for not noticing these things sooner, but a bit more confident in your plan to try and get some attention or even a reaction from him tonight, you have no idea how but you’ll make it up as you go. Who knows what he will do, but either way you’ll have your answer. 

You are almost to the bar and you are a few feet ahead of Sam and Dean. You hear Dean smirk off to Sam, “So, you actually gonna get lucky tonight Sammy? Or are you gonna tap out early like usual and go read like the nerd you are?” You stifle a giggle when you hear Sam land a punch against Dean’s arm. “Very funny Dean. How about you man up and finally make a move on…” Now it was Dean’s turn to punch Sam. You were already at the bar door when Sam made that comment so he probably thought you were far enough away that you couldn’t hear them, so you pretended you didn’t hear anything...even though your stomach was now alive with a million butterflies fluttering about, and turned to the boys to say, “Well, we made it! Who’s ready to party?!” Both brothers flashed you a smile and you all made your way inside. 

The music was loud and the bar was decently packed. You walked up to the counter and the boys went to find a table. You ordered two beers and a bottle of whiskey for the boys while ordering yourself a bottle of Malibu rum. You found out early on that shots was the way to get you drunk because A) you hated the taste of beer and B) even if you didn’t you can’t drink enough of them fast enough to actually get drunk. The bartender hands you everything along with three shot glasses and you make your way back to the boys who chose a table situated right in between the pool tables and the dance floor. You set everything down and the brothers both look up at you with dorky smiles. “You really meant it when you said you were ready to party huh?” Sam said, while smirking and raising an eyebrow at you. “Really princess, Malibu?” Dean chimes in. You fight back the butterflies and heat rising to your cheeks at the new nickname and smack his arm “Shut it Winchester, I happen to love coconut and I want to get drunk this is the quickest and easiest way!”

“Easy princess I was joking, and FYI I happen to love the taste of coconut…” Dean says while smirking and eyeing you up and down. This time though, you don’t look away, instead you decide it’s your turn to lick your lips and eye him up and down. Damn does he look good tonight. He's wearing a pair of jeans that are worn in perfectly and a tight black shirt under your favorite red flannel of his, which is now rolled up to his elbows and hugging his biceps just right. Just his forearms are enough to get you hot and bothered, their so thick and his veins are popping just right, and then his biceps….fuck, they look like they can just bust right through the flannel with enough force. Then you look up to admire his face for a split second. His stubble is the perfect length, his eyes look like shiny emeralds under the neon lights, and his lips look more kissable that ever. You realize that he noticed you checking him out and a small smirk forms on your lips, Sam completely oblivious to the exchange happening. Instead, he’s opening the whiskey and your rum and pouring the first of many rounds of shots. 

“Well, here’s to the brothers who save the world and who saved my life.” You toast but before you all down your shots Dean adds, “and to the girl who saved ours.” Sam smiles then downs his shot. You and Dean both take yours without breaking eye contact with each other. You set the glass back down on the table and break the gaze. The familiar coconut taste and slight burn run through your body and you giggle “Another!” Sam shakes his head and begins pouring another round. You smile back and clap your hands excitedly causing Dean to let out a full on laugh. That sound made you want to faint, it was beautiful and music to your ears, and boy did he look adorable too. “Oh god, what did we get ourselves into Sammy?” Dean asks, still chuckling. “A fun night Winchester, just you wait…” you responded poking him in the chest, a cheeky smile playing on your face. 

You and the boys took four more shots after that and then they decided to drink their beers before they got too warm. You were okay with taking a break because after the fourth shot you were feeling buzzed, six in now and you are already getting drunk. You didn’t mind though. You planned on taking a lot more, but wanted to pace yourself that way you could still somewhat execute the plan you formulated back at the motel. It was already working too, Dean was getting a bit flirtier with you, and you with him. Sam and Dean were talking about who knows what, you tuned out of the conversation a while ago, and you scanned the room, your eyes landing on the dance floor which had quite a few people on it already. You were in a small college town, so most of the girls and guys on the floor were that age, your age, you sometimes have to remind yourself, because only a year and a half ago you were in college but then your life was turned upside down thanks to a pack of werewolves and you’ve been hunting with the boys since. 

You are ripped from your thoughts as a new song booms over the speakers, just then you get the idea to find a way to dirty dance with Dean, you know... some bumping, some grinding, working your curves. The outfit you're wearing and the liquor in your system gives you confidence. You bounce up and down excitedly in your seat, you turn towards Dean and put your hands on his thigh. He takes a sharp breath and looks over at you, his and Sam’s conversation immediately over because his attention is fully on you now. You muster up the biggest puppy dog eyes and the sweetest, shyest smile causing your dimple to come into full view. “Deeeaaannn… will you pleeeaaassse come dance with me?” You catch Sam smirk and shake his head out of the corner of your eye, probably egging Dean on, because if you read the comment outside the bar earlier right, Sam doesn’t think Dean has the balls to make a move on someone, and you’re really hoping that someone is you.  

“Sweetheart, I… I don’t really… I’m not really good at dancing.” He stammers out.

“Please D, you won’t have to do much, trust me.” you say sticking your lower lip out and giving him your signature pouty face while moving one of your hands to rest on his bicep and keeping the other on his thigh. 

 

He looks down at both of your hands, then back up into your pleading eyes. “You’re lucky you're cute when you pout princess.” he says with a small smile. Now you’re smiling like an idiot because not only did you get him to agree but he also used your new favorite nickname and called you cute in the process. You took one more shot of rum, because you knew you would need the liquid courage, and then you stand and practically drag Dean to the dance floor. Sam just laughs and heads to the bar to get another beer. Right when you make it to the dance floor a new song begins and a wicked smile hits your lips, it is your favorite song at the moment, and when the boys are gone you dance to it all the time. It’s the perfect song to not only swing your hips to, but the beat also gives you an excuse to bump and grind up against Dean. You lead him towards the middle of the dance floor so that you are in between all the other people who seem to have the same idea because in no time every girl on the floor is with a guy and putting on her best moves. You take a deep breath, time to put the plan into full motion. 

You take Dean’s hands in your own and guide them to your hips watching as he swallows hard and his eyes seem to fill with what you can only describe as lust. You turn in his arms so that your ass is now facing his front and you start swaying your hips to the beat, his hands guiding your movements. You take a step back and brush your ass up against his front where you can feel his growing erection straining against his jeans then continue to sway your hips so that you are now brushing up against his cock. He leans in closer and slides his hands from your hips down your thighs then back up, some of his fingers now brushing the bare skin between your skirt and your cropped sweater. Your confidence is growing steadily as you sway your hips and bend over a bit more so that your ass is now grinding against his cock with each motion. Dean leans his head down and moans deep and course into your ear his breath fanning over the shoulder your sweater left exposed, sending a chill down your body and heat coursing between your legs. You’re sure your panties will be ruined by the end of the night, maybe even the end of this dance. Dean’s nose brushes up your neck and then your ear, “I know what you’re doing princess, and it’s working” he says, his voice low and gravely. 

You turn to face him now, your confidence at an all time high, and wrap your arms around his neck while you continue to sway your hips back and forth. “Hmmmmm” you hum, “I’m not doing anything” you say innocently. Dean uses his hands on your hips to jerk you up against him. He grips your hips tighter, hands fully on the bare skin between your skirt and sweater now, still guiding the sway of your hips making your front now grind up against his cock. He leans back down, his lips brushing against your ear, “I didn’t go with Sammy to get food sweetheart, I heard you in the shower. Heard you touching yourself, heard those pretty little moans leave those innocent lips, and I heard you all but scream my name when you came.” You choke in a breath as heat rushes to your face. “I.. I… um….” 

Dean’s hands suddenly slide down and grope your ass and he lets out the sexiest moan you have ever heard. “Shhh. Don’t worry sweetheart. I’ve wanted you from the moment Sam and I met you, but I didn’t think you’d ever feel the same. Then after the vamp hunt and what happened on the way back to the motel, I decided to stay and try to talk to you after your shower. Then I heard you, and fuck y/n, it took everything I had not to walk into that bathroom and make all your dirty fantasies come true right then and there. So I waited, and then as if my cock wasn’t hard enough, you came out in nothing but a towel and started teasing me in front of Sam, thinking I wouldn’t notice, but then I thought, maybe you wanted me to notice. Then this outfit…” He leans in even closer, and deeply moans while raking his hands up and down your body then returning them back to your ass. “I wanted to bend you over right then and there when I saw it. Your ass looks so fucking good and it hugs your hips just right. Your bra is just barely showing but showing enough for me to imagine what the whole outfit underneath could look like. You look so cute and innocent but also so fucking sexy princess.” You clench your legs together because your pussy was now throbbing. “I saw how confident it made you, and decided to let you take the lead tonight and see if you would finally tell me how bad you want me.” he finishes saying while nibbling on your ear. Thank god he’s holding you up by your hips because your legs are turning to jelly at his words and the gruffness of his voice. A new song starts to play, but it’s still one that you and everyone around you can grind to. 

“Fuuuccckkk Dean.” you moan as he turns you around so that your ass is now grinding against his cock again, a bit faster due to the new song’s beat. He leans back down but this time he begins kissing and nibbling your exposed shoulder and up your neck. “Tell me babygirl, tell me how bad you want me, that I’ve all you been thinking about. Tell me that is the reason you dressed up the way you did and why you dragged me out to this dance floor. Tell me how many times you’ve imagined grinding up against my cock while my hands roam your body.” he growls in your ear. You’re panting now and your panties are soaked through. Dean’s hands are now exploring your body as promised and you let your head fall back against his shoulder as you continue to grind against him. “Ohh Dean,” you moan,  “I want you, I’ve wanted you for so long. This…” you gesture to your outfit, “and everything underneath it, it’s all for you. I wanted to see if you felt the same way so I figured I would try to get your attention…” you gasp as his hand suddenly snakes under your skirt moving your panties to the side to feel just how wet you are for him. 

“Oh, you got it baby, and fuuuccckkk…” he moans sliding one and then two fingers into your dripping pussy. Your eyes quickly scan the dancefloor to see if anyone is looking but everyone is too wrapped up in their own dirty world. Dean slowly pumps his fingers in and out, curling just right to hit your g-spot, all the while his other hand is still guiding your hips to move so it looks like you guys are still somewhat dancing. The buildup from the night's events is causing you to reach your orgasm a lot quicker that usual until, “Oh god. Daddy.. Don’t stop… please....” you choke out not meaning to let the daddy card slip just yet, but your high is taking over and you couldn’t help it, it just felt so right. All you can think of right now is letting the coil in your stomach snap while trying your damnedest to keep quiet, thanking the heavens the music is so loud right now. He turns you around so that you’re facing him again, somehow managing to keep his fingers in you while doing so and begins to pump faster, his fingers hitting your g-spot every stroke and his palm rubbing your clit with each thrust in. Your legs start to shake and you lean in close to Dean, your forehead resting on his shoulder. “Fuck. Daddy.. I’m… I….” He leans in low, biting your ear then growling low, “Yeah princess, cum all over daddy’s fingers. I wanna taste how sweet your pussy is.” 

And with that you let go, Dean covering your moans by pressing his lips to yours in a crushing kiss. And it was euphoric. He tasted like mint and whiskey and his tongue was dancing around yours as your body shook while he milked out your orgasm. As you were coming down from your high your body went limp and if it weren’t for Dean’s hands holding you in place, one by your hip and the other by your pussy, you would’ve probably turned into a puddle on the floor. You broke the kiss, your lungs screaming for air, and Dean placed his forehead against yours. He gently removed his fingers and resituated your underwear and skirt before pulling his fingers up to his mouth and licking them clean of your glistening juices. “Mhmhm princess, you taste better than I imagined, and boy are you good enough to eat.” he said, licking his lips and letting a wicked grin settle on his face. 

The song faded out and since your legs still felt like jelly, Dean helped you off of the dance floor and back to your table where Sam was now sitting with a pretty, young blonde named Jenna...Jenny....something like that, you were too sex drunk and drunk drunk to remember. Dean sat down and helped you settle in next to him. He slung an arm over your shoulder and pulled you in close, Sam smirked, “It’s about damn time you two.” You and Dean looked at each other and giggled, you lined up the shot glasses and poured another round, “to a night off the Winchester way, getting drunk and getting lucky!” the boys busted up laughing and soon you joined in. You guys took the round of shots, and then another. The boys finally caught up to the level of drunk you were at. Somehow all four of you made it to the dance floor and were having a blast, you grinding on Dean and the blonde on Sam while you all tried to drunkenly sing along to every song that came on. 

You didn’t even notice that it was nearing ‪2 a.m.‬ until the bartender yelled out last call. With that, Sam decided he was going to head back with the cute blonde, “don’t wait up guys, but for the love of everything holy, don’t do anything in my bed!” he drunkenly yelled across the bar as he was leaving. “No promises Sammy, technically it’s my bed too!” you yelled back, earning a chuckle from Dean. You turned to him and the look that crossed his face could’ve made you weak in the knees. “Well princess, looks like we have the room to ourselves, and I never got my desert after we ate…” You blushed “Well Winchester, you did say I was good enough to eat.” you quipped back.

Dean growled and then without warning he bent down, threw you over his shoulder, and walked out of the bar back into the crisp autumn air. You started giggling which earned you a swat on the ass, you couldn’t help but moan from the shock wave it sent through you. “Babygirl, if you keep making those noises we won’t make it back to the motel.” Dean said, playfully biting your thigh and then slapping your ass once more for good measure, before setting you down. “Keep it in your pants until we are behind closed doors D, we already did it in public once tonight, we don’t need to push our luck.” you say while stumbling beside him. “Fine, but we’re never gonna make it there with how slow your walking, climb on.” Dean bends down so you can climb on his back, you wrap your legs around him and nustle your face into his neck. His musk making your panties wetter and wetter. “I knew you wanted me to ride you tonight, but this isn’t what I expected.” Dean laughed as he started off for the hotel. “You know, that smart mouth is gonna get you in some trouble... besides I want you to do more than ride me sweetheart. But, you have to wait. Closed doors and all. Your words, not mine.” A breathy moan was all you could muster in response as you imagined all the things Dean was going to do to you and you to him once you made it back to the room. 

To be continued...

@akshi8278

Part 1 (Top)

Part 2 (Bottom)

[writingwhimsey]

Kitsune's Love Ch 3

Chapter 3

After three days of travel we arrived in Lord Tae Jun's territory. We were greeted at the castle gates by Lord Tae Jun, a group of attendants, and a woman who appeared to be his wife, as she stood beside him.

"Welcome!" He greeted us with a warm smile and a deep bow of respect. He was a tall slender man who appeared to be just a few years older than myself. He had dark hair and ocean blue eyes.

We dismounted our horses, and attendants from his stables were taking them as more attendants came to take our bags. The three of us walked up together and returned the bow.

"Thank you for the warm welcome." Hideyoshi replied.

"It is my honor to have you here, Lord Hideyoshi, Lord Mitsuhide." Tae Jun said, looking at each of the men in turn. Then he turned that disarming smile on me. "And a special welcome to you, Princess Ava."

"Thank you, I am happy to be here." I replied, bowing once again.

"I'd like you all to meet my wife, Lady Hinata." He said, gesturing to the woman standing beside him.

She smiled as she bowed to us. "Welcome, I am pleased to meet you all and welcome you." She greeted us.

I couldn't help but to admire how beautiful Lady Hinata was. Her hair fell to her waist in warm wavy auburn locks. She had the most striking green eyes I had ever seen. Her skin was flawless. While I didn't swing that way, I could easily see she was gorgeous. And her clothes! Oh they were the most beautiful I had ever seen and in the most exquisite colors and fabrics!

I really hope I get to talk with her! I thought. I'd love to know where she gets the fabric for her clothes and who designed her outfits.

We were then led inside Lord Tae Jun's castle and shown to our rooms. The room we were led to was a large common area for sitting and possibly even eating. There were several doors off of the room, leading to our bedrooms and a couple of rooms for bathing.

Lord Tae Jun had informed us that we were welcome to freshen up and rest from our travels for a spell and then we would be able to join him for dinner. I had gone into one of the bathing areas to take a quick bath to wash the dust from travel off. Once I had finished, I wrapped up in a robe and then went into the room where all of my things were and began to get ready.

I sat in front of a mirror and began to try to fix my hair. I was having some difficulty with getting it just right, when Mitsuhide came in. Naturally he was dressed and ready. "Having troubles, my dear?" He asked, coming to sit behind me.

"Maybe...a little." I confessed.

Mitsuhide chuckled and took my brush and comb from me. He brushed my hair out and then began to comb through it with his fingers. Why does this feel so damn good? I thought as I felt the tension I hadn't even known I'd been carrying begin to leave my body.

I glanced in the mirror as Mitsuhide continued to work on my hair. His eyes were focused, but held a tender gentle look there. He combed my hair up, styling it beautifully and then placing the blue bell flower hair pin he had gifted me in it.

"Now turn this way." He instructed.

I complied and turned to face him. Mitsuhide gently kissed my lips before taking and placing a bit of rouge on them and some light makeup around my eyes. Once my hair and makeup were finished, Mitsuhide helped me into my princess robes. I was then looking at my reflection in the mirror, not recognizing myself.

"So, do I look like a princess?" I asked.

"Only the most beautiful one." He answered, taking my hand and lifting it to place a kiss on the back.

We stood there a moment, our gazes locked on each other, my hand still in his, still at his lips. "Ahem."

I jumped slightly at that sound, having not even heard the door open. Hideyoshi stood there, giving us one of his classic scolding looks.

"What is it, Mother?" Mitsuhide asked, looking at Hideyoshi almost in annoyance.

Hideyoshi glared at him. "Need I remind you two we are here as representatives of our lord? Have some propriety and decency."

I felt my cheeks blazing as bright as the sun.

"We have both." Mitsuhide countered. "I was merely helping my lovely bride get ready and relax. We can't have her be a tangle of nerves for the meeting."

"Just behave." Hideyoshi lectured us before we all left to join Lord Tae Jun and Lady Hinata for dinner.

In Echigo...

Sasuke sat in the tallest watch tower in Kasugayama castle. He held a spiral bound notebook in his hands and a pencil, two of the only modern possessions he still held. He kept looking up at the sky every few moments and then writing something down, the light of the full moon providing him enough light to see.

"I knew I would find you up here."

Sasuke looked up from his notebook at the sound of his friend's voice. "Is something up, Yukimura?' He asked.

"Lord Shingen and Lord Kenshin are calling a council." Yukimura answered.

"This late?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

Sasuke nodded and then tucked his notebook and pencil away. He had finished his calculations and was glad to see that though there was another wormhole appearing, that it was nowhere near himself or Ava. It would be manifesting around a port town in three days time.

Once they were inside the council room, Shingen was sharing a report from his Mitsumono. "So, what's the big news?" Yukimura asked.

"We received word that the Oda forces are acquiring another ally." Shingen answered. "Lord Tae Jun is allying himself with the Devil King."

"We know this for certain?" Kenshin asked. Though Tae Jun didn't have military might, he had great influence and access to trade through his port cities.

"Yes, Nobunaga has even sent both his right and left hand to Tae-Jun's territory to form an alliance. The report also says that he's sent the princess along as well." Shingen answered.

Sasuke had to keep himself from jumping at this news. "How long are they going to be there?" Sasuke asked.

"They arrived today and will be there for a week working on negotiations." Shingen answered.

There was more discussion and then Sasuke was returning to his room. He pulled out his notebook and double checked his calculations. "This isn't good." He said.

"What's bothering you?" Yukimura asked. "You've been acting weird since Lord Shingen mentioned that Ava was with that Kitsune and Nobunaga's right hand man."

"I can't really explain." Sasuke answered. "But I have to go and get them out of there."

"Do you believe Ava is in danger?' Yoshimoto came in to ask. "I too noticed your change in expression when Ava was mentioned."

"Not really danger." Sasuke answered. "It's complicated, but I have to go and get her to leave Lord Tae-Jun's domain quickly."

"So, you're just going to leave and not say anything to Lord Kenshin? You know he'll get stab happy." Yukimura said.

"I was hoping I could get my BFF to cover for me." Sasuke replied, looking at Yukimura pointedly.

Yukimura looked at Sasuke and saw the determination in his face.

"I'll cover for you, Sasuke." Yoshimoto said. "If this is something for Ava, I want to help and I think you need to take Yukimura with you. I will cover for you both."

"Good because I was going to tell him I wasn't letting him leave alone." Yukimura agreed.

"Thank you, both of you."

Sasuke and Yukimura packed a few things and then departed Echigo quickly. It would take some hard riding, but Sasuke knew that they could make it. He just really hoped that they could make it in time.

See what happens next below!

https://writingwhimsey.tumblr.com/post/661390331627061248/kitsunes-love-ch-4

[milasartblog]

Value of the messenger

Sometimes there is a moment where we have to stop and think about all the things we did, all the things we achieved, all the people we've met and all the decisions we chose. For some of them we feel pride and happiness, to others - sadness and regret, to some even a confusion and feeling of emptiness that we can't explain. It can take a day or even a week to analyse ourselves and make some conclusion. Today was such a day for angel Anoli. It's been a long time since she and Chris became a couple and are in a relationship, since she gain friends and began to take care of nephilim. Time flew fast, and yet slow at the same time. During such period of time, one question was still bothering the messenger. How long will all of this last? How long will her relationship with Chris last? She is not a mortal anymore. Before all of this, things were simple for her: she was just an angel wandering around and sending positive messages to people that need it. But now....she can't help but think about what if one day...her beloved one dies? Is there a way to prevent it? If yes, what price is required? How high is the price? How much time does it require? How painful will it be? If there is no way...does it mean that she became an angel for nothing? Does it mean that she has to break up with him, even if it makes both of them suffer emotionally? So many questions and almost no answer. She didn't want to worry her boyfriend and friends, but at the same time she couldn't handle such questions on her own. And so, she decided to organise a meeting with her guardian, Michael. Anoli was sitting on one of the building's roof, waiting for archangel to show, while watching the beautiful sunset and enjoying the cool wind caressing her hair and wings. The waiting was not so long as Michael finally appeared.

Michael: Good evening, Anoli. You called me?

Anoli: Good evening, Michael. Yeah, I was wondering if-...You're in human clothes?

She examined Michael's outfit as the archangel giggled awkwardly.

Michael: Sorry, I was just on my way to Lucifer.

Anoli: Oh, I see. Sorry if I interrupted your meeting.

Michael: Don't be. If you need help with something, I will do my best. Besides, knowing Lucifer he will definitely find something to do. I will apologise to him later.

Anoli: Hehe, true.

They smiled and giggled as Michael walked closer and stood next to Anoli, watching at the sunset for a couple of minutes.

Michael: So, about what did you want to talk with me? Is Liya causing troubles again?

Anoli: Oh, no, it's not like that. I mean, she sure still does her pranks and stuff, but less. Plus, she is teaching Nazeel how to use fire magic.

Michael: Umm, won't it cause the fire at home?

Anoli: Yeah, but not trusting her is also not right. She is one of my friends after all, and not allowing her to grow up and become wiser will be not right from me. Plus, with Lucifer it would be much greater fire than with Liya.

Michael: Hehe, true. I'm glad that you can do such decisions. You become wiser and wiser, Anoli. I'm so proud of you.

Anoli: Thank you, Michael. But I called you for...another reason.

She looked down sadly, which made Michael be concern a bit.

Michael: What is it, Anoli?

Anoli: I....You know that I'm in a relationship with Chris, right?

Michael: Yeah, I do. You told me a lot about him. Did something happen between you two?

Anoli: Oh no, it's not like that. It's just....can an angel live with a human? I mean, as a couple, as a family.

The archangel didn’t expect such question to be, which made him think for a moment. 

Michael: Well, as a rule, angels are not supposed to be in a relationship with a human. They're guardian angels, they guard and guide human to the right path. Any physical contact with human can cause some troubles, and-

Anoli: So I was not supposed to be in a relationship?

The messenger was stunned. Realising what he just said, Michael tried to get the situation under control.

Michael: No no no, dear, you still can be with Chris. Just with you it's different and...kinda complicated. Since you were a human before, it's understandable that you want to be in a relationship with him.

Anoli: But that's the problem. I'm no longer a human, Michael. You resurrected me as an angel, gave me a new life, new goal. And as an angel I was supposed to follow the rules, right?

Michael: Well, technically yeah, but-

Anoli: Then does it mean....that I have to break up with Chris? Make him forget about me? About others?

Michael: What? No, you don't have to. Like i said, as a rule it should be like this, in practice anything can happen.

Anoli: But aren’t angels supposed to follow the rules and laws? I have already broken this rule and now....now i'm having the sense of anxiety. A feeling that....one day I will lose my angel disguise and that I will not be able to be with Chris anymore.

She looked at Michael with upset and crystal from upcoming tears eyes. Realising what he just said, the archangel was lost for a moment, words couldn't put themselves together. And yet he couldn't admit that as an angel she did broke the rule of being with mortal. But no big consequences followed yet, right? Moreover he gave her new life outside of the Heaven, so basically he broke the rule too, right? He looked down with upset look, while Anoli looked at him with the question she was hoping to get the solution from it.

Anoli: You must have seen situations like this before, right? Maybe there were angels like me who also were in love with their humans and whom you have helped them be together, right?

But Michael only shook his head sadly. Angel’s face was now hopeless.

Michael: I’m sorry, Anoli, but...most of angels have followed their rules and even if they had feelings to the mortal, they had to erase their memories about them in order to not burden them and not to spell out the secrets of Heaven. I’m not even talking about giving the immortality to the mortals they have interest in. I hope you know why.

Anoli: ...Because of the balance between life and death.

He nodded as Anoli looked down. Tears were coming right away. Anoli tried to hold them, but her soft nature prevented her from doing it. The guilt crawled on Michael’s back to the every inch of the feather. But what could he do? This is something that no divinity dares to do. He felt that Anoli realises the consequences of such actions and yet he knew that it was not something she wanted to hear.

Anoli: Sometimes I even ask myself if it was worth to become a messenger, if it was worth to agree with you. No matter what I do, it’s always not enough. Was it really worth if you can’t even enjoy the life fully, can’t be in love with the dearest person to you, can’t be...free?

She sat down on the edge of the roof, hugging her knees and burying her face into her arms and knees. For a couple of minutes they were like this, silent. Suddenly Michael remembered one thing that his brother Gabriel told him, about Sybil and her decision to be with human she is supposed to guard. It was so controversial for them, but in the end he and his brothers had to accept Sybil’s choise. Taking someone’s freedom of speech and action away is not according to the angel. But would such example help in this situation? It’s not a secret that times in Heaven have change, but not that drastically like in Hell. And yet, it was worth a try, he thought. Michael sat down next to her, carefully putting his hand on her shoulder. Anoli flinched, but...didn’t push it away.

Michael: Look, Anoli, I admit that...my action towards you was not right. But it’s not technically right also according to angel’s rules.

Anoli:...Really?

Michael: Yes. You see, I saved you from an unfair death out of...my own will. And THIS is something that was not written in the rules. So, technically, I broke the rule too. Do you want to know why?

Anoli: I...I think you told me before, but it won’t hurt to remind.

Michael: I did it because when I was watching over you, I noticed a spark in your soul. No matter what happened in your life, you did your best to stay positive. You wanted to bring this positivity to everyone, which is not possible for everyone. Of course right now you realise that sometimes there are “not really” nice people, and yet you didn’t give up on it. That was something that...made me feel like getting close to mortals, to learn something from them too. And because of this and thanks to demons’ influence, not only me, but some other angels began to be interested in mortal realm too.

Anoli: Really? But what about the rules? 

Michael: Like in mortal realm, Heaven laws sooner or later also face some changes. It’s inevitable. Just it took us a long time to realise it. Some of them tho are still active, like the immortality one.

Anoli: I see....So, my resurrection as an angel made a push to the changes?

Michael: Your situation was one of those that helped us to move from the dead point. Plus, there is only few messengers that can bring the light even if there is no hope. They’re little helpers that value even more than just a simple guarding task. And I’m saying the truth. Plus, who knows what Liya would do without an angel like you.

He smiled to Anoli sincerely, drying her tears kindly. Anoli thought for a moment, then smiled.

Anoli: You’re right. Even if I’m not able to bring happiness to everyone, I still have dearest people to me. But it still didn’t answer my question.

Michael: About that....I...will try my best to search for a solution, but no immortality.

Anoli: Really? You will...really look for other way?

Michael: However, all this is still up to your partner. When the time comes, you two should think about it carefully, and only then I can do something. 

Anoli: But won’t it cause troubles for you? You’re an archangel, the face of Heaven.

Michael: I...I know. But not helping my ward is also not right from me. So, I will see what I can do, but it’s all up to you and your partner.

Anoli: I see...Heaven’s laws are sure complicated.

Michael: Hehe, agree. 

They looked into the horizon for a moment. The sun almost disappeared under the blanket of the night, promising to come back another day. 

Anoli: Thank you, Michael.

Michael: Huh? For what? I didn’t do anything.

Anoli: And yet, you gave me a hope that we still can do something. Together. As friends and as a family.

Michael was surprised for a moment, but smiled too as they looked at the horizon again. It was getting darker and darker and soon it was time for Michael to go to the meeting. He looked at Anoli as offered a hug. The angel looked at Michael and after a couple of seconds hugged him.

Anoli: You need to go now?

Michael: Yeah, Anoli. Even if Lucifer has enough patience to wait for me, I still have other duties to do. But don’t worry, even if I don’t have the solution now, I will do my best to help you. No matter what?

Anoli: Promise?

Michael:...Promise.

They kept hugging for one more minute before saying goodbyes to each other and come back to their casual routines. Even if the problem is still in the air, there is still a light of hope at the end of the tunnel.

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

And that's another story for the universe^^ A little update on our universe, to show that it's still alive XD Hope you will like it^^

Anoli and Michael belong to @wildstarfan and @milasartblog (both me)

Sybil belongs to @captainthane

Okaria et Feria belongs to @wildstarfan and @captainthane

[salenakingston]

Mystery March Day 20 - The Future

(Today’s prompt is very special. Today’s actually my wedding day! So how could I not do something wedding themed for today? I’ve done this one in a similar format I did for Dream. I hope you all have an amazing day, and I’ll see you tomorrow!)

It’s about time.

Whenever it came to Vivi and Lewis, those three words could be applied to a multitude of things. It was about time the two friends that spent months dancing around each other finally took the next step in their relationship. It was about time when they reconciled once the gang got back together. It was about time their flame was rekindled. And finally, it was about time they went through with making their union official.

Did it matter that Lewis was now a ghost and couldn’t really give Vivi as much as he would in life? Of course not. In fact, he would argue she had grown more starry eyed over having a supernatural partner. There would be complications, but nothing the pair weren’t willing to put all their love into making work.

And he couldn’t help but be happy for the two of them. It had been a long time coming.

I'm worried 'bout the future, future

Ain't fuckin' with that past shit baby

I'm worried 'bout the future, future, future, future

It did make him think about both the years to come, as well as looking back on the past.

Looking back was dismal. Sure, he could point back to all the good times the three of them shared, but it was marred by everything that once tore them apart. Arthur’s feelings he kept to himself, the leading cause that brought Lewis to his death. Those the others did everything to put the blame on anything but him, it was something he would never let go. He had a part to play, and to gloss over such a thing would be foolish. As Mystery had once put it, if they didn’t learn from what happened to them, something was going to happen again. Their past was a lesson, one all of them had grown from in a way. Granted, he probably took the longest, as he wasn’t always the best when it came to opening up to the two most important people in his life, but to his credit, he had gotten better.

No one could predict what would come of their future. There were many hypotheticals, so many possibilities. One thing was certain, nothing was going to break these two apart. Not anymore.

Ain't got no money for the nice things

I barely got enough for rent

Ain't got no clue 'bout where I'm going

Ain't making dollars

But at least I'm making sense

It had been a smart choice on both parties to ensure that not only was this ceremony small, but consisted only of family. Anyone outside that group would have made things… complicated. There was only so much Lewis was able to do in order to disguise himself in front of others, which usually came with a pair of sunglasses. To anyone else, it might seem a bit odd to have them be included in his outfit. The only person outside those that knew the man’s secret was the officiant.

And even that one person didn’t have to stay the entire time. Once the ceremony was over, they would be on their way. Then the groom could be free to be his true self. By now everyone else was in on the whole thing. It took longer than most, but the Peppers were overjoyed to have their son back, even if from beyond the grave.

Vivi’s family seemed suspicious, especially when Mystery’s true nature came to light. Oddly, the one least surprised was the bluenette’s grandmother. He wasn’t sure if there was a reason for that, and for someone as small as she was, she was certainly intimidating. Perhaps it was best he didn’t even try touching that subject.

And his uncle Lance, well, he seemed to be taking everything in stride. He imagined the older man would have been on the same level as Vivi’s family were it not for the fact he had been present the night all of them finally came together again. He never did understand their dynamic, but was just glad his nephew had those special in his life. So long he had spent alone, and neither Kingsmen could imagine being reverted back to a time before Tempo.

Neither bride or groom went for anything too flashy. That had never been the most important part. All that mattered was the two of them.

Don't need no cash, it ain't got no soul

Don't need the flesh, just want control

Never grown enough, you know it's just the way I do it

I want the gold

I ain't no sucker, baby

And when you least expect it

I'll be coming for ya

The ceremony was beautiful, but damn what higher being there might be if it didn’t turn out to be a little chaotic. Being that there was only family present, there weren’t as many bodies for the traditional sort of stand in. Of course Lewis wasn't hesitant to ask him to be the best man, but it was a lot more hectic on Vivi’s end. The only stand-ins for her would be Lewis’ sisters, and each one of them were, at least at first, trying to clamor for a chance to be the one standing up there with the three friends.

Eventually it was settled that all three of them could be on her side, which made for an interesting procession.

Everything from there seemed to follow a traditional format. When it came time for the vows, it was almost predictable the groom would say the sappiest things. He poured his heart out to her, and as a demonstration of his love, passed her the locket he wore. There wasn’t a day he didn’t have that showing, the excuse being it was a glowing locket given to him by someone special. Everyone bought it.

Her hands wrapped around the heart, and then it came her turn.

In typical Vivi fashion, there was no way to hide the enthusiasm she shared with everyone around her. He could see her struggling, if only not to bring up the fact that her soon to be husband wasn’t really alive. Then again, if there was anything that came from reading all the time, it was her clever use of word play. Arthur found himself chuckling mentally a couple times through the whole thing.

“Til death do us part.”

Quite, though he was sure if the bluenette died, she’d find a way to come back as a ghost too.

“Til acceptance do us part.”

I'm worried 'bout the future

Ain't fuckin' with the past

Everyone filed out, the ceremony coming to a close.

Vivi and Lewis walked arm in arm, the latter nearly taking off into the air with excitement, taking his new wife with him.

Arthur watched from the distance, a smile he held since the very beginning faltering.

Ain't got no time to waste on bullshit

You know I gotta keep my head on straight

'Cause at the rate the times keep changing

I don't really care about second place

Lance placed himself at his nephew’s side, now two sets of eyes falling on the newlyweds. Their focus rarely left one another, content to bask in the joy that was their union. He spotted the smile fall. It was hard not to look at your two best friends in the world, knowing they had so many years together in the comfort of one another. Where did that leave him? Well, he wouldn’t be a third wheel anymore, but there was that worry again.

He couldn’t possibly insert himself into their lives whenever he wanted. Would they seek to push him out now? They hadn’t before, why would they now?

He felt a hand along his shoulder, amber gaze bringing his uncle into focus. He didn’t turn his gaze to meet Arthur when he spoke, “What’s eatin’ at ya kid?”

“What? Nothing Uncle Lance.”

The gruff man only raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced by that answer. It seemed no one would believe it coming from Arthur. Not his friends, and now not even his own family. Something always seemed to bother him, and no one would settle for him bottling it up. Before he could come up with something to say, the older one spoke again, “Are you upset?”

“No, that’s not it Uncle Lance. I’m overjoyed for them. I just…” he sighed, looking back to the happy couple as they embraced, “I don’t want to be forgotten again.”

“Geez, fur bein’ best friends, ya can be so thick sometimes.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Have a little more faith in ‘em.”

With that, his uncle left the blonde to himself, heading over to mingle with the other adults. Arthur’s gaze drifted to the side. A little more faith.

Don't need no cash, it ain't got no soul

Don't need the flesh, just want control

Never grown enough, you know it's just the way I do it

I want the gold

I ain't no sucker, baby

And when you least expect it

I'll be coming for ya

The night went on as normal, and soon enough, it was just the three of them, alone. All families had gone home for one reason or another. Really the only one that seemed to have a good excuse were the Peppers since Lewis’ sister were still young. They probably had a set bedtime, one that couldn’t be broken. They spent what remained of their time talking, just like they always did.

It was nice, but even they would have to get home soon enough.

Arthur pushed himself up to head to the van, offering the lovebirds a ride home. Vivi was quick to grab him by his right wrist, ensuring he felt it. His head spun around, looking at her. Confusion washed over his face as she pulled him back down to sitting with them. Lewis and Vivi exchanged glances before the ghost pulled a small box out.

When it popped open, there was a simple, golden ring resting inside. He looked between his friends and the ring, “I don’t understand.”

Their smiles softened, Lewis pulling his hand close and Vivi slipping the ring onto his finger. His face felt a little hotter, but his confusion just deepened. What was the point of all this? When the ghost released his hands, his eyes didn’t seem to focus on anything but that ring. The bluenette gave a small laugh at his reaction, but tried to clear it up, “It’s our gift to you.”

“To me?”

Lewis came next, “Our biggest mistake was making you feel unwanted, or that you had no business being with us so long as we were together.”

“So, this is our way of showing we don’t want you to leave. Anytime you start feeling like you’ve been left out, you look at that ring. We’re all stuck together until the end. Are you with us Artie?”

He didn’t say anything at first.

Lewis piped up when the silence continued to stretch on, “What do you say Artie?”

Finally his smile returned, “You two don’t even have to ask. I couldn’t imagine going on without you two.”

I'm worried 'bout the future

Ain't fuckin' with the past

Arthur sat in bed once he got home, holding his hand out in front of him to marvel at the gift his two friends gave him, on the most important day of their lives. Have a little more faith in them. He had far more than just a little.

He wasn’t sure what the future might hold for them, but it was far brighter now than it ever was before.

[scarletwinterxx]

Timeless pt.2

this was a fun chapter to write, plus a little added bonus pic. Hope you like it! -A

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2020 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

PART ONE || PART TWO || PART TWO.5 || PART THREE || PART FOUR || PART FIVE || PART SIX || FINALE

It wasn’t a secret that I was engaged to be married, but I also wasn’t telling it left and right every chance I get. So when the news got out, courtesy of our parents,  I was bombarded with a mixture of congratulatory messages and a whole lot of who is the guy I’m getting married to. 

One morning, the news was apparently announced to the world with no warning given to me or my fiancé. To say I was taken aback would be an understatement. 

The first one to corner me was my long time friend, Soo Young or who also goes by the name of Joy. 

“WHY IS IT SUDDENLY BROADCASTED TO THE WORLD?” were her first words to me when she saw me walking across the field

“What’s being broadcasted?” I asked back

“That you’re engaged! I know it’s not a secret but it’s literally on the news” 

I admit it was too early for me to process her words, and I wasn’t aware they were going to make such a big announcement about it. 

“My engagement?” I asked again repeating what she just told me, clearly still very confused “So you didn’t know they were going to announce it today? Oh wow, I feel bad” Joy said, she took her phone and scrolled through it before passing it to me,

Just like she said it was already announced online, 

“Son and Daughter of Business Magnates engaged to be married: Son of chairman of Kim Industries and current COO: Kim Doyoung and the daughter of the current chairman of Lee Tradings Corp was announced to be engaged and soon to be married. Sources say that the two have been close friends since childhood and it was no surprise that the two would end up together...”

“Did they really have to include a whole story-telling portion to it?” I asked then passed her phone back to her

“Does this mean the wedding is close? I mean I know it’s some time after graduation” she said as we walk towards campus

“Yea, our mom’s are probably already planning it behind our backs as we speak. We said we wanted to talk about it first, Doyoung and I, before we settle on anything but I guess they decided to announce it”

“Is it bad that I feel bad for you?” this question made me turn to my friend, 

“Why?”

“Because why would you want to put yourself through something like that? I know you and Doyoung are friends and all but don’t we all deserve to atleast choose who we end up it” Joy had a point and I know she only means well. 

There was no malice behind her statement, only concern for me. I appreciate that. 

I’m glad you’re the one I’m marrying

The words Doyoung told me a few nights ago ringing in my head, a ghost of a smile forming on my lips

“It could be worse, don’t you think?” I told her “I like Doyoung, we’re friends. It’s complicated in a very non-complicated way”

“Remember when you confessed-" “I really don’t want to refresh that memory”

She put her hands up, an action that says she wasn’t about to continue her story, a story that involved on too many counts of soju and maybe a bit of tequila. Not that I remember, all I can recall from that night were the stories Joy have told me.

“You got turned down hard” She mumbled under her breath

My face heats up at the memory, still hazy because I had one too many drinks during that time but Joy would not let me live it down. 

“Stop it, I don’t even remember it. All I know from that night is from all the stories you’ve told me”

She had a knowing smile on, something I’ve noticed she has whenever she’s not saying the full story

“There’s something you’re not telling me” I told her, she quickly put on a blank face then walked ahead of me

“Ya Park Soo Young!”

After a very long day of repeated congratulations and thank you’s thrown my way, I was finally on my way home. Just as I was about to exit the building, I see someone from afar. His back to me but I would recognize that profile anywhere. 

I walked quickly to where the guy was, calling him out when I was close enough

“Doyoung? What are you doing here?” At the sound of my voice, Doyoung turned around to face me

“Came here to get you, Your class wasn’t finished yet so I decided to have a look around. Nothing much has changed here” He said while looking around the hallway. 

When you’re in college, people usually don’t care what happens around them if it doesn’t concern them directly. One of the things I love the most about being a college student, most people know how to mind their own business. 

But I think the sight of Doyoung still in his full suit and tie outfit, standing in the middle of the hallway while the rest of us were dressed as casual as we could be on a school day was enough to catch the attention of students passing by. Some even recognized him. 

“You just graduated last year”

He went to the same university as me but he was a year ahead. We hung out when we could but since we had different schedules before we weren’t seen together in campus that much

“My guess is you already heard the news” I told him as we make our way out of the campus

“First thing that welcomed me when I got to the office, where were you?”

“Joy literally ran to me screaming about it” I chuckled “Did they tell you they were going to make an announcement?” I asked but he just shook his head.

When we got to his car, he opened the door for me before walking to the driver’s side

“Where are we going anyways?”

It wasn’t usual that we see each other on weekdays, with him busy at work while I had classes to attend. 

“Just somewhere, are you hungry?” he asked, his eyes focused on the road. I studied his profile for awhile, trying to read his mood at the moment. But it’s Doyoung. Even if I’ve known him for pretty much my whole life there are times he put his walls so high up I’m left with no choice but to wait for him to tell me himself. 

“We can grab dinner, if you want” I suggested, opting on not asking him any other questions.

For the rest of the ride we didn’t really talk that much. The man beside me looked like he was deep in thought, I didn’t dare to disrupt him. I just looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery passing by. 

We decided to eat a ramen place, it was like one of those spontaneous trips you go on and try out places you’ve never been too. When we saw the little restaurant, we decided to stop by and check it out. 

“So what’s this little surprise trip for?” I asked Doyoung after we ordered, it took him a while before he looked up from the menu he was staring at

“Just wanted to get out of the city for awhile”

“You okay? Something bothering you?”

“More like what isn’t bothering me nowadays” he mumbled, he looked like he did need this time away. I didn’t want to ask more questions because he looked like he didn’t want to talk about it but I also wanted him to know I was here to listen.

“If it’s work related, try and not to think about it after you’ve left the office” I said, he looked up at me with one brow raised

“There should be a good work and life balance, just like how you try not to bring your issues at home to the office then shouldn’t be the same way around?”

“I can’t just stop worrying about it”

“Well try atleast when you’re back at your place, if you don’t then you’re just stressing yourself more. Wouldn’t be better for you and more effective if you can get some rest at home” I said, trying to reason out with him

“I’m relaxing right now”

“You don’t look one bit relaxed, Doie. Don’t try and pretend when you’re with me, it’s not going to work” I told him. with this I leaned forward the table to reach across the table. My thumb on the middle of his forehead, trying to tell him not to frown too much

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that” I mumbled, he was just looking straight at me before taking my hand in his

“You haven’t called me that in a while” He said with a small smile on, his eyes on our hands

“Huh?”

“Doie” this time he looked up at me, I don’t know why I suddenly felt all flustered under his gaze but I couldn’t keep the eye contact and opted to look around the place

“You used to call me that a lot when we were kids” he still has my hand in his, now his thumb was lazily drawing circles on the back of my hand. All I’m hoping for is that right now my hand won’t get all clammy. 

“I still call you that, it’s still your name on my phone” I answered, this time I looked back at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I mumbled, he shot me quick smile and gave my hand a squeeze before letting it go. 

I pulled my hand back, waiting for his answer

“I’m trying to decide whether we should really just runaway”

That was not the answer I was expecting but I also am not sure if he’s being serious or not. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. Where would we go anyways? My backyard? I don’t have a backyard anymore” I told him, this time he let out a laugh. We both know what I’m referring to. 

It wouldn’t be the first time, one time when we were kids we decided to ‘runaway’. And by that we mean, hide somewhere in our backyard the whole day. We even packed some snacks, blankets and some toys. I don’t know who convinced who to runaway but we always stuck together. We only separated after we were called inside the house and Doyoung had to go home. 

Those were the days when it felt like 24 hours weren’t long enough to be together, when we were just two kids living in our own world. 

He looked like he was genuinely thinking about where we would go, I almost wanted to tell him to pack his bags and just go.

“This time we won’t have to go home, we can stay out as long as we want, go wherever we want” he said, I just smiled back at him. We didn’t say anything for awhile, just enjoying the silence and each other’s presence. 

“We should decided on a date, for the wedding I mean. If we don’t, our parents might decide for us like they did today” he said, long gone was the smile he wore only a few seconds ago and was now replaced with a more serious look

“Can it be some time around fall?”

“If you want” he told me, “Sounds good and I know you hate hot weather”

“That wasn’t so hard, should we plan the whole thing?” I asked jokingly

“I’ll have to see my schedule, see if I could squeeze you in”

“Yah, this is your wedding too. Make time for your future wife”

“I’ll give you an hour to present, how about that?” he asked, this time looking less serious. Less like COO Kim Doyoung and more like just my Kim Doyoung

“That’s all the time you can give me? I might have to re-think this marriage Mr. Kim”

“An hour and another dinner date, how about that?” 

Good thing I was looking down at the food on the table because when he said the word date my eyes went big as saucers. 

I cleared my throat before giving him a reply, praying that he won’t see my burning cheeks

“Is this how it’s going be? you bargaining with me? You know you always do that” 

“You always say yes to me, so it’s not really my fault” he replied, I could see the smile he was wearing and I wanted to say yes to him over and over again just to see it again. 

[hermannsthumb]

So I just saw your Halloween prompts! I don't think you've done this one yet so could you do "we hate each other but we were invited to a mutual friend’s party and were warned to be civil so you complimented my costume and fuck you, i haven’t changed yet"?

from halloween prompts here

ok I thought I'd get a little funky with this one and set it within the first year of them getting shoved in the shatterdome together when they’re just total dicks to each other. for reference this is the ABSOLUTE EXACT OUTFIT NEWT IS WEARING!!!!!

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

Newt arrives fashionably late to the party.

Well, it’s more just like late late. His date with a hot ranger hopeful went a little over schedule, so over schedule Newt had to straight-up bail on the guy before they got the check, which he felt bad about, and then he left his phone in the bar and had to double back for it (awkwardly pretending he didn’t notice his date chatting up another guy at the counter), and then he missed his bus and had to hail the most expensive Uber ride of all time, and basically didn’t make it back to base until well after he’d promised to appear with cupcakes. Newt spent a shit-ton of time on those cupcakes and basically sold his soul to get the ingredients for them (rationing, man, it’s killing his amateur baker dreams), so he books it to the break room with the tray without even bothering to change into his costume first. These are more important.

Everything is in full swing when he gets there. The lightbulbs in the overhead lights have been swapped out for purple ones, and the music is pulsing so loud Newt feels it vibrating in his stomach; tacky Halloween garland, most of it homemade, is hung from practically everything; every available surface not cluttered with bottles of cheap booze or chip bowls is cluttered with plastic Jack-O-Lanterns and dripping black candles. In short, it looks pretty fucking fun. Newt squeezes his way through the costumed crowd, rearranges a few candles to carefully slip his cupcakes onto one of the repurposed card tables in a place of honor, and resolves to make himself a drink with the first bottle of something he finds that’s not fruit-flavored—he’s earned it after his shitty night.

There’s a tap at his shoulder before he can make good on his promise to himself of a drink. “Yeah, whatever, I know I’m late, dude,” he shouts over the music. “It’s been a night. I—” He turns. “Oh.”

It’s not Hermann like he (admittedly, foolishly) thought, but rather Tendo, who’s already flushed a bright red, undoubtedly from whatever horrific purple concoction is in his paper cup. Newt wonders if it’s what’s currently foaming in the ominous black cauldron labeled Witch’s Brew next to the cheese dip. He’ll pass, thanks. “It’s about time,” Tendo says. “Gottlieb has been on my ass all fuckin’ night long about where you are. Go find him already.”

“Hermann’s been on your ass about me?” Newt says, eyebrows jumping. Out of everyone in this entire goddamn room—including the janitorial staff, who have had a bone to pick with Newt ever since his ill-advised kaiju eyeball experiment, and resulting explosion, that left the laboratory coated in slime for a week—Hermann is perhaps the very last person he would ever expect to give a shit about his whereabouts. It’s just that Hermann prides himself on not caring about Newt’s personal life, something he takes great care to remind Newt of at every possible opportunity, and Newt would’ve thought he’d have jumped at the chance to enjoy every Newt-free second to the fullest. He should know well enough by now that Hermann manages to find something to complain about in anything. “Why?” he says, and this time, he rolls his eyes. “Did he miss having someone to bitch at? Or bitch about?”

“Easy,” Tendo says warningly. He pokes his finger at Newt’s chest. “Try to keep it civil, boys, okay? I am not having you crush our chances of Pentecost approving a New Year’s bash with a repeat of—”

“Okay, okay,” Newt sighs, waving him off. He doesn’t exactly want a reminder of his and Hermann’s, uh, behavior at the somewhat disastrous Valentine’s Day party, either, or how tense the lab was for weeks following it. Well. Tenser than usual. “I got it. No fights. Where is he?”

“Hiding in that corner,” Tendo says. He gestures with his cup, splashing purple Witch’s Brew all down the front of his dumb greaser costume, and Newt squints where he’s directed; he thinks he can make out pale, sharp cheeks and the flash of a tweed coat. Trust Hermann to wear tweed to a Halloween party. He’s so lame. “Nice pants, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Newt says, distracted, and pushes his way through the crowd.

Newt’s surprised that Hermann even bothered showing up in the first place, and he can’t imagine he’s been very exciting company to anyone all night. The guy hates parties. Sure enough, he’s staring sullenly at his shoes when Newt finally reaches him, back pressed against the wall, soda can gripped so tightly in his free hand Newt can see the aluminum starting to crinkle under his fingertips. Newt doesn’t say hi, just sidles up next to him. Hermann doesn’t seem to notice. “How’s the party?” Newt says.

Hermann’s whole body goes rigid; when he turns to Newt, his lips have curled down into an ugly grimace, like he just ate a whole lemon or maybe caught sight of his tragic hairdo in a mirror. It’s good to see you, too, Hermann, Newt thinks. “Distasteful,” Hermann says. “They haven’t a single decent thing to drink anywhere.”

“Hm,” Newt says. He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I heard you were asking about me.”

“Hardly,” Hermann says with a scoff.

“I heard Tendo didn’t get a second alone you were asking about me so much,” Newt says. “What, did you miss me? I bet you just came here tonight to hang out with me, didn’t you? I bet you were all disappointed when I wasn’t here, and…”

“Hardly,” Hermann snaps. Newt grins. “My presence at this party is in no way affected by your own. Don’t flatter yourself.”

“You were asking where I was, though,” Newt says.

Hermann’s lips contort again, this time into a thin line, and he turns a glare on Newt—though, Newt notices with a flare of glee, his cheeks have gone a bit pink. “I was aware you had…a date, tonight,” he says, slowly, “and—when you were not back by a reasonable time—well, forgive me for worrying that something may have happened to you.” His soda can begins to bend inward. “I wasn’t fancying the idea of having to tack on all of your work atop mine, is all.”

“Sure,” Newt says. He’d be touched, he thinks, if Hermann wasn’t the worst. “Anyway, look, I promise I’ll stay out of your hair—Tendo told us to behave ourselves. Just wanted to brighten your night real fast.”

Hermann snorts. “He warned me similarly. Well—in the interest of civility, I suppose I should compliment your costume.”

The grin vanishes off Newt’s face. Any feelings of good will towards Hermann—any sentimental feelings of companionability—that have been steadily building vanish with it. “Costume?��� he says.

“Yes,” Hermann says. He waves his cane up and down, vaguely, over Newt. “Costume. ‘S better than mine, all I’ve got are some bloody vampire fangs in my pocket I haven’t even bothered to put on. You’re a clown, are you not?”

Briefly, Newt considers upending Hermann’s soda can over his head, or maybe indulging in a repeat of the Valentine’s Day party and using that whole fucking black cauldron. Instead, he just blushes and scowls. “Do you have to be such a jackass all the time?” he snaps. “No, I’m not dressed up like a fucking clown. These are my date clothes. A clown—that’s something coming from you, Doctor Sweatervest, you wouldn’t know fashion if it crawled out of the fucking Breach and stomped on you.”

Hermann looks mortified. Good—he should. “Newton—I didn’t—"

“Have a fun time,” Newt says, and storms off.

The thing about Hermann is that he’s a real square who knows exactly how to get under Newt’s skin, even when he doesn’t mean it; the thing about Newt is that he’s majorly cool and knows exactly how to get under Hermann’s skin, and he almost always means it. Newt thinks, if they were other people, he might consider them Frenemies, but he really can’t imagine a world in which Hermann would ever willingly be his friend, so half of that is a bust. Besides, Hermann’s not really his enemy either. He’s more of a…rival. Though it does complicate things severely when Newt takes into account how bad Hermann wants to get into his pants.

“That’s really great and all,” the guy Newt’s been chatting up by the snack table says, “but I don’t have any idea who you’re talking about.”

“It’s just like,” Newt says, “I know he wants me. I’ve caught him staring at my ass, like, twenty times in the lab. And when the eyeball incident happened—he was way too happy to strip me down for the emergency shower.” The event was very conflicting for Newt, too, to be quite honest, and he still looks back on it (Hermann, shouting at him and calling him an idiot, while ripping off his sizzling clothing) with a mixture of annoyance and arousal. He shrugs. “I just don’t know why he doesn’t admit it to himself. We’d all be happier. Can you believe he said I was dressed like a clown?”

“Uh-huh,” the guy says. “Look, Dr. Geiszler, I’m just trying to get some pretzels.”

“What?” Newt says. “Oh. Sorry. Here—” He uses a plastic spoon to scoop some out onto his new friend’s orange paper plate, and finds himself alone again very swiftly.

It’s not like the clown comment ruined his night or anything. It’s just that he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it, once, or stop talking about it either, and every time he does, he feels angry and embarrassed all over again, and maybe sort of wants revenge against Hermann for it. He think he might know how to get it, too.

Hermann is lurking in the same place Newt left him, though instead of his soda can, he’s tensely nursing a paper cup. His name is Sharpied across it in his familiar scribble. Newt announces himself by wrapping his fingers around Hermann’s, raising the cup to his lips, and taking a sip. (It’s more soda.) “Hey, Hermann,” he says.

Hermann stares at him blankly; a familiar blush is making its way back to his cheeks. “Ah,” he says. “Hello.”

“What’s up?” Newt says. He scoots in next to Hermann until their shoulders touch; then, for good measure, he brushes his hand over the one Hermann has clenched firmly on his cane. He feels Hermann shiver. “You having fun?”

“Not—” Hermann clears his throat. He’s looking down at their hands. “Er. Not particularly.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Newt says, and (this time, settling his hand on top of Hermann’s) adds in a low voice, “I bet I could make it more exciting.”

The revenge plan was pretty simple. Preying upon Hermann’s obvious feelings for him, Newt would seduce him, get halfway through makeouts in some secluded hallway, and then pull away and be like just kidding! You suck!, announce he was going to find the sexy ranger he had a date with tonight who was totally into him, and go enjoy the rest of the party while Hermann—well, moped, Newt guessed. At least understood how Newt felt earlier. Except once they actually start making out, Newt realizes that’s kind of fucked up of him, and if Hermann tried the reverse (not that Newt has feelings for Hermann, obviously, but like—hypothetically), Newt would probably lock himself up in his quarters and cry for weeks. Plus, Hermann is apparently kind of awesome at making out?

“I take it your date did not go well,” Hermann breathes in his ear. “I can’t say I mind very much. Will you pull my hair again?”

Newt’s going to examine all this later. “Fuck yeah,” he says.