#i gave up midway so that's why it looks half-done

[rednite-dork]

I'm never drawing 3+ characters ever again

[jals-stuff]

dudeeee orter is SOOO overworked it's crazy. man just looks like a stick and he can probably sleep while standing it's almost scary 💀 love him tho!

IKR man can probably sleep with his eyes open too, just imagine laying in bed and he's sitting in an armchair in the corner of the room with his eyes wide open but he's sleeping LMAO best sleep paralysis demon tbh. your ask did inspire me tho thank you anon ♥ just a very short one!

word count: 900 ish

Train ride.

"Are we there yeeet?"

Your voice took him out of his intense focus as he looked up from his book, golden eyes narrowing in annoyance at your childish whine. You had been Orter's teammate for about a year and a half, so he was pretty much used to it now.

"Will you stop asking? The train left less than an hour ago."

A deep sigh escapes your lips and you rest your head against the table in sheer boredom. It was your idea, after all, not to bring any distractions because what's a few hours long train trip anyway? Nothing you can't handle, or so you thought.

The two of you were on your way back to the Bureau after a long, exhausting mission that should've been mainly investigation, but had somehow escalated into a wild goose chase after the main suspect had ran away.

Your eyes shot up to look at him but his attention was already back on his book. Out of curiosity, you switched your seat and plopped down next to him to read a few lines of it— which was dumb, he was already midway through the book.

His eyes travelled to your form for a few seconds before he resumed his reading, not minding your closeness as long as you wouldn't disturb him. "Why didn't you bring a book? Or... whatever things you allow yourself to be entertained by."

You shrugged dismissively as your eyes kept carefully following the lines. How interesting is it that the human brain can make something this boring look so enticing whenever there are no other distractions around?

"It's fine... I can read your book, too."

He decided not to respond and flipped the page to keep reading. What was interesting, however, was to know what kind of books Orter likes to read, even though you couldn't really guess what the story was about right now.

"Aren't you tired?"

He adjusted his glasses on his nose and quietly cleared his throat.

"What gave you this impression?"

Answering him that "oh, your reading speed is slower than usual, your hair is just a little messy and you blink very slowly" would be admitting that you've been staring a little too long at his handsome features.

"...call it a hunch." You chuckled softly at your own thoughts and he raised an eyebrow but didn't dig any deeper.

He flipped yet another page after a while, but it was just a little too quick for you.

"Hey, hey, I wasn't done! ..let me hold the book on this side." He sighed deeply but knew very well that if he didn't abide to your tantrum, you would probably be more annoying.

So here you were, holding half of a book while he held the other part of it. Your thumb was holding the page a little deeper than necessary to make sure the book wouldn't escape your grasp or that he wouldn't try to turn a page without asking.

Another page flipped, and you found yourself quite relaxed, your shoulder resting against his, reading peacefully... until he was done with the page you were holding— or almost.

You see, your thumb was covering a small part of it, and instead of asking out loud, his hand made his way to yours and he gently brushed your thumb aside so he could keep reading.

Needless to say, you were really agitated now. You decided to let him turn the page, unable to focus on the story any further and trying to control this embarrassing blush that had crept on your face.

No questions were asked, and he flipped the page again. You tried to read the first few words again, but it now felt like you were fully aware of his shoulder against yours, of his leg against your own on the train's sofa, and of his soft sighs as he kept on reading.

You really did try to keep reading for a long time, and you realised Orter hadn't flipped the page in a while now. Was he... waiting for you? You were about to apologise for taking so long when you felt his head against your shoulder.

He hadn't let go of the book, but he was now peacefully asleep, looking very relaxed against your shoulder.

His warm, soft breathing against your neck only made you more flustered, but it was somehow extremely soothing. You carefully removed his glasses and folded them on the table.

You slowly pushed the bookmark inbetween the pages and closed the book, sliding it on the table as he let his hand fall back to his lap.

Now, to see which of you would be more embarrassed when he would wake up...

After three or so hours, his eyes fluttered open, only to be greeted with an unusually blurry vision... where were his glasses?

As he was about to reach for them, he felt some kind of weight against him and, upon further inspection, it seemed to be your limp figure, sleeping with your head on top of his.

One movement too quickly made and your head fell from his, landing on his shoulder and visibly not disturbing your sleep enough for you to wake up. You only gave a quiet groan as you softly nuzzled him.

He gave a deep sigh as he looked at you and your messy hair, eyes closed and looking so peaceful...

He mindlessly brushed a few strands of hair away from your face, gently placing them behind your ear, his thumb lingering a little against your cheek as he chuckled quietly.

He rested his head on top of yours and closed his eyes again. The ride wasn't over yet, surely he could indulge in a bit more of this temporary peace, right..?

[utilitycaster]

Sorry for the rant. I think the fact that they didn't wait until after the Candela finale was a missed opportunity that would have felt less, jarring 1. they could breathe and RP for a session after coming back from the moon reconnaissance mission (this is also considering that whether or not Matt made the party fight Otohan and have a PC death) Matt could have told them to end that particular session at Keyleth's camp and even tell Liam to wait and call Dorian at the end, and then have the party switch. it's also so strange to split the session in two for whatever reason

2. having the party switch after Candela would allow for a good window of time for the Crown keeper to do what they need to in case they can't reach a good point to return to BH in 2 hours, maybe a session and a half at most

3. assuming Dorian, and maybe others with him, come back to the group after whatever this intermission is done, i think it would be hard for them to split the attention between Keyleth encampment and debriefing - mourning FCG - guest players in a way that wont feel like it makes a disservice to another one of these topics (focusing on Guests and FCG's death could make it so the debriefing for the mission they spent 10+ episodes on feels lackluster, and vis versa)

As someone else said, it feels like they are giving us a palate cleanser as i was halfway through a good meal, but also they gave us another meal and after two bites they took it away so i could finish it in two weeks

there is also this limbo feeling of that we are getting late to the airport (freeing Predathos) but also we are taking a stop for sightseeing, and snacks, and bathroom and- it's like they are trying to convince us that "there is an urgency and we have to get there now now, but also nevermind that, lets catch up with these other characters for a bit"

It's just an ODD choice no matter how you look at it

So the urgency doesn't bother me. This was a weird thing in the fandom during the Solstice Split too (god i blocked so many people for constantly shrieking ARE THE OTHERS DEAD in the main tag every week, like no they are fine, they are narratively on pause) but like. Time is frozen for Bells Hells right now. We are following another group. We are not going to get snacks; we are looking in on what other people are doing, concurrently with this campaign. Indeed, that's not a bad idea. In a good campaign, there is this sense that the rest of the world exists and is doing things as you go about your own business - you are heroes of the story but you're not the only people who matter or do things.

It really is like. In some fantasy in which I were personally asked "hey, we want to do this thing where the Crown Keepers show up midway through the episode, and we follow them for that half an episode and then the beginning of the next episode, where would you put this?" I would, to be honest, say "maybe just do it as a standalone episode itself" but if I had to it would just be, again, Not Now. Cutting away while the party is on the moon! Cutting away while they're headed to the moon! Cutting away a week from now! Cutting away just before the Otohan fight! Hell, I even think that while I would have initially been far more annoyed if we started the episode and it was the Crown Keepers the whole way through this week, it would feel more coherent. But like, on a list of 20 places to insert the Crown Keepers scene, "halfway through an episode following a particularly dramatic and tragic character death" would be 21st.

(I also do want to push back against the idea that Sam needs more time and so this is why; you could just. run more episodes without him. Travis voluntarily sat out of almost 5 episodes. It took 2 episodes for Caduceus to show up. Team Wildemount had more episodes than Team Issylra. It is literally fine if he misses a few more episodes.)

[anonymouswriter2311]

Dressed to Impress - Swan Queen

***

The lunchtime bustle at Granny’s Diner was in full swing. Plates clattered, forks scraped against dishes, and the hum of chatter mixed with Ruby’s quick banter as she darted between tables. The familiar, homey chaos of Storybrooke swirled around, but at the corner booth by the window, Regina Mills sat in serene detachment.

Regina always had an uncanny ability to make the mundane seem regal. Seated with perfect posture, she sipped her coffee as though it were a rare delicacy rather than Granny’s standard brew. Her dark blouse, impeccably tailored to fit her figure, paired with a burgundy pencil skirt, gave her an air of effortless authority. It was a far cry from the jeans-and-boots aesthetic of most Storybrooke residents, but then again, Regina wasn’t like most residents.

Across the diner, Emma Swan sat at the counter, toying with a half-eaten slice of pie and trying—unsuccessfully—not to look at Regina. She had no idea how her day had spiraled into this. What had started as an innocent coffee stop had turned into a growing compulsion to sneak glances at the former mayor, each one leaving her more flustered than the last.

It wasn’t her fault, really. Regina had a way of commanding attention without even trying. Whether it was the glint of her silver bracelet as she reached for her coffee, the sharp line of her jaw as she turned her head, or the way her dark hair framed her face like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine—Emma couldn’t help but look. Unfortunately for Emma, Regina was also disturbingly good at noticing when someone was staring.

The first time, Regina had glanced up abruptly, catching Emma mid-stare. Emma had whipped her head away so fast she nearly sent her plate of pie flying.

The second time, Regina’s eyes had narrowed ever so slightly, a knowing glint in their depths. Emma had pretended to drop her napkin, disappearing under the counter in a clumsy effort to hide.

By the third time, Regina was clearly done humoring her.

“Sheriff Swan,” Regina called out smoothly, her voice cutting through the diner’s noise like a blade. “Is there something on my face? Or are you simply incapable of subtlety?”

Emma froze, fork midway to her mouth. The entire diner didn’t stop, but a few heads definitely turned. She swallowed hard, glancing over to find Regina watching her with an arched eyebrow and a faint smirk tugging at her lips.

“Oh, uh, no!” Emma blurted, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. “No, nothing on your face. You’re—you’re good. Everything’s fine. Totally normal.”

Regina’s smirk deepened, and she tilted her head, leaning back in her seat like a queen enjoying her court jester. “Then what, may I ask, has you so utterly fascinated?”

Emma’s brain scrambled for an excuse, anything to explain her behavior that didn’t involve admitting she’d been mesmerized by Regina’s impossibly perfect existence. “I was, uh…” She cleared her throat. “I was just admiring your… outfit.”

Regina’s expression didn’t change, but Emma swore she saw the briefest flicker of surprise in her eyes before the usual cool mask returned.

“My outfit,” Regina repeated, drawing out the words like she was testing them for sincerity.

“Yeah!” Emma said, suddenly feeling as though doubling down was her only option. She gestured vaguely in Regina’s direction. “I mean, you always look so, y’know, put-together. Polished. Like, uh… a fashion magazine or something.”

Regina leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on her hand. “Go on.”

Emma winced. Oh no. She had to think fast. “And, uh… I’ve been thinking that maybe I could, um, use some advice in that area? You know, since you’re so good at it.”

There was a beat of silence. Then another.

Finally, Regina’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “You want fashion advice? From me?”

Emma nodded, hoping her overly eager expression could mask the sheer panic bubbling under the surface. “Yeah! That’s it. Fashion advice. Totally why I was looking. Nothing else.”

Regina regarded her for a moment, clearly enjoying watching her squirm. Then she leaned back, crossing her arms with a glint of amusement in her eyes. “Well, Sheriff, I must say this is a… surprising turn of events. But I suppose I could take pity on you and lend my expertise. Heaven knows your wardrobe could use it.”

“Hey!” Emma protested instinctively, but the words lacked heat. She was too busy trying to figure out how she’d gotten herself into this mess.

Regina rose gracefully from her seat, smoothing down her skirt with practiced ease. “Come along, dear. Let’s not waste time.”

“Wait, what?” Emma blinked. “Now? You want to do this now?”

Regina’s smirk was nothing short of predatory. “Why not? You came to me for help, didn’t you? Or were you hoping to simply stare at me all day?”

Emma groaned, burying her face in her hands before reluctantly sliding off her stool. “Fine,” she muttered. “But I swear, if you make me wear anything ridiculous…”

Regina’s laugh was rich and smug as she strode toward the door, leaving Emma to trail behind her like a lamb to the slaughter.

***

The drive to Regina’s mansion was oddly silent. Emma, who was usually full of sarcastic remarks, was uncharacteristically quiet, her hands gripping the passenger seat as if they could somehow anchor her thoughts. Regina, however, seemed perfectly content, her calm demeanor betraying nothing as she drove. The sun was low in the sky, casting a golden light through the trees lining the road to Regina’s imposing estate.

Emma glanced at her from time to time, half expecting Regina to start teasing her again, but the former mayor was too busy navigating the winding streets of Storybrooke to pay much attention to Emma. Maybe it was a sign that things wouldn’t be so bad, Emma reasoned. Regina would probably tell her how awful her clothes were, give her a couple of pointers, and then send her on her way. Simple.

At least, that’s what Emma thought.

As they reached Regina’s home, Emma was reminded once more of how out of place she felt in this world of luxury. The mansion loomed before her, an intimidating mix of stone and glass, every window reflecting the sunlight as though the building itself were some kind of gleaming fortress. Regina didn’t wait for Emma to fully process the magnitude of her surroundings. With a confident stride, she made her way toward the front door, throwing a glance back over her shoulder. “Well? Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to come inside for your fashion lesson?” she asked, voice dripping with amusement.

Emma took a deep breath and followed her, stepping through the door and into the sprawling foyer. The air smelled faintly of lavender and leather, and the floors were so polished that Emma felt like she was walking on glass. She silently cursed her sneakers for not matching the level of elegance around her. She was just starting to wonder whether this had been a mistake when Regina turned and fixed her with a raised eyebrow.

“Ready for your wardrobe overhaul?” she asked, as if she were offering Emma a glass of wine rather than a challenge to her very sense of self.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Emma said, although her tone lacked any real conviction. Her stomach was doing flips as she followed Regina up the staircase.

Regina led her into a massive walk-in closet that could have been a room in itself. Rows upon rows of neatly hung dresses, skirts, blouses, and jackets filled the space, each more meticulously arranged than Emma could ever imagine. The air was crisp with the faint scent of expensive perfume and fresh fabrics. It felt like stepping into a dream—an overwhelming, intimidating dream where Emma was most certainly the underdressed nightmare.

“You’ll have to trust me if this is going to work,” Regina said, her voice slipping into something more commanding as she turned back toward Emma. “I know what I’m doing.”

Emma raised her hands in mock surrender. “Yeah, okay, sure. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Regina smirked at her response, clearly not taking Emma’s sarcasm seriously. “This isn’t a suggestion, Emma,” she said with a touch of amusement in her voice.

Before Emma could protest, Regina was already rifling through her selection of clothes, pulling out items with the ease of someone who knew exactly what they wanted.

“Try this,” Regina said, holding out a perfectly fitted, crimson blouse. “It’ll make your eyes pop.”

Emma took the blouse, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I don’t know if I’m ready to pop anything,” she muttered under her breath, but Regina’s sharp gaze caught it.

“I assure you, you’ll be doing just fine,” Regina said, her tone cool but firm. “Now, if you please, get changed.”

“Here? In front of you?” Emma asked, wide-eyed, suddenly aware that Regina’s idea of “fashion advice” was about to take a very personal turn.

Regina’s expression was almost a challenge as she crossed her arms. “Do you want to leave or do you want my help? It’s really that simple.”

Emma bit her lip, and though the thought of changing in front of Regina made her stomach do somersaults, she nodded. “Fine. I can handle this.”

“You’re the one who insisted,” she said smoothly, and Emma shot her a side-eye that was lost on the taller woman, who was already pulling more clothes from the racks.

Emma tugged off her leather jacket and jeans, standing in front of the mirror in nothing but a tank top and light blue underwear. The space felt too big, too grand, and her own reflection seemed a little too… vulnerable in the face of Regina’s overpowering presence.

“Do hurry,” Regina called from behind the screen. “We don’t have all day, and I suspect you’d rather move on to the next item on the list than stand there making faces at yourself in the mirror.”

Emma swallowed hard, half-wondering if she could just sneak out and run for the hills, but when she turned, wearing the crimson blouse and dark slacks, Regina’s gaze softened just a fraction.

“Well, that’s a start,” Regina said. “But it’s too casual. You need something that brings out more of the you you pretend not to care about.”

Emma tilted her head. “What do you mean by that?”

Regina walked over, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor with purpose. She gently adjusted the collar of the blouse Emma had chosen, her fingers brushing Emma’s skin as she did. It was a small thing—so subtle, so seemingly insignificant—but Emma’s heart skipped a beat. Regina’s proximity was making everything more charged than she’d ever expected.

“Look at you,” Regina said, her tone softening slightly, her fingers lingering just a moment too long on the fabric of the blouse. “You wear the Sheriff badge like armor, but beneath it… beneath it, I think there’s someone who wants to be seen. Understood. Someone who deserves to be admired.”

Emma’s breath caught in her throat, unsure whether it was the weight of the words or the way Regina had delivered them that left her speechless. She quickly recovered, but the blush creeping up her neck gave her away.

“Uh, you know, I didn’t really come here for a therapy session,” Emma muttered, trying to mask her nervousness with humor.

Regina’s lips curved in a small, knowing smile. “No? Well, I do find it difficult to resist helping someone in need, particularly when their wardrobe is in dire condition.”

Before Emma could respond, Regina was already pulling out the next outfit—a sleek, tailored jacket, a pair of designer trousers, and an elegant silk scarf. “Try this next. It will show off the fact that you are in charge, but without the intimidating factor. Keep the blouse on.”’

Emma glanced at the clothes with trepidation but, against her better judgment, she took them from Regina. “If you say so, your highness,” she grumbled under her breath, stripping her clothes off once more. She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

But one thing was certain: Regina Mills wasn’t just handing out fashion advice. She was taking control of more than Emma’s wardrobe, and the longer they stayed in that bedroom, the more Emma realized it was going to be a lot harder to resist the pull of Regina’s influence than she’d ever imagined.

Regina’s sharp gaze never left Emma as she continued to assess the fit of the crimson blouse. There was a moment of tension in the air—one that Emma could feel tightening the space between them. Regina’s eyes flicked over Emma’s attire, considering how to move forward.

“Well, that blouse fits you… but it’s not quite right,” Regina said, her voice measured but firm. Without missing a beat, she stepped forward, her heels clicking against the floor with each calculated step. She reached for the buttons of Emma’s blouse, and Emma froze, unsure of what to expect.

Regina’s hands were steady and deliberate as she began undoing the buttons one by one. She moved with a calm precision, each motion slow and purposeful. Emma’s breath caught slightly as Regina’s fingers brushed over her skin. Regina was meticulous, taking her time as she moved from one button to the next.

“Relax, Emma,” Regina said, her voice soft but commanding as her eyes locked with Emma’s. “I’m only helping you find something more fitting. You wanted fashion advice, didn’t you?”

Emma swallowed, nodding stiffly. She hadn’t expected the process to feel so intimate, so charged, but she couldn’t deny that there was a quiet authority in Regina’s touch that made her nervous in a way she wasn’t used to.

With the blouse now open, Regina stepped back, glancing over Emma with approval. She made a small noise in the back of her throat before reaching for the next shirt hanging in the closet—a soft, pale blue button-up with a subtle pattern.

“Now this will do,” Regina said, offering it to Emma. “I want to see you in this next. It will give you a more polished look, and it’s still comfortable enough for you to move in.”

Emma took the shirt, her fingers brushing against Regina’s as she did. There was a lingering feeling in the air, but she tried not to dwell on it. She quickly turned and let the opened blouse fall from her shoulders, half in relief and half in discomfort. Regina had already moved on to the next outfit, her confident composure never wavering.

Emma pulled the shirt on, the fabric soft against her skin, and stepped back into view. Regina gave her a careful look-over, her eyes tracing Emma’s frame as though she were admiring a piece of art.

“It suits you,” Regina said, her tone both approving and playful. Carefully she picked up the blazer, handing it to Emma. “See? I do know what I’m doing.”

Emma let out a small laugh, trying to lighten the moment. “Yeah, you’ve got a whole wardrobe wizardry thing going on.”

Regina smiled, her eyes twinkling with satisfaction. “You should know better than to doubt me. But we’re not done yet, Emma. You still have a lot to learn.”

Emma couldn’t help but roll her eyes, though a small part of her found herself intrigued by what else Regina might have in store.

Emma shifted awkwardly in the pale blue button-up, tugging at the cuffs as Regina circled her like a hawk. “I don’t know how you wear this stuff every day,” she muttered, glancing at herself in the mirror. “It’s so… stiff. Doesn’t it drive you nuts?”

Regina paused mid-step, arching a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “Unlike you, dear, I don’t measure my wardrobe’s success by how well it survives a back-alley brawl.”

Emma scoffed, crossing her arms. “Excuse me for prioritizing function over… whatever this is.” She gestured vaguely at the sleek, professional look Regina had just outfitted her in. “And let’s not even get started on the death traps you call heels.”

Regina smirked, stepping closer—so close that Emma instinctively leaned back. “Ah, yes, heels. A concept you’ve avoided like the plague, I see.” Her voice was teasing, but her eyes gleamed with something sharper. “Heels aren’t death traps, Emma. They’re a tool. They command presence, demand respect. Of course,” she added with a sly grin, “they’re not for everyone. They require a certain… grace.”

Emma’s jaw dropped, her indignation flaring. “Hey, I’m plenty graceful! I’ve saved this town in a pair of boots, thank you very much. Practical ones, by the way.”

“Practical,” Regina repeated, drawing out the word as though it offended her. “If your red leather jacket and scuffed boots are what you call ‘practical,’ then I shudder to imagine what you consider fashionable.”

Emma flushed, pointing a finger at her. “First of all, my jacket is iconic. Second, the boots are—”

“—Loud. Gaudy. And clearly from some kind of discount apocalypse collection,” Regina interrupted smoothly, taking another step forward. Her proximity was disarming, and Emma struggled to focus on her words when she could practically feel the heat of Regina’s presence.

“Okay, ouch,” Emma muttered, running a hand through her hair. “You don’t have to go that hard on my boots.”

Regina’s lips quirked into a smirk as she reached out, brushing an imaginary speck of lint from Emma’s shoulder. “I’m only being honest, dear. But if you must know, I find your loyalty to that red leather rather… endearing.”

Emma blinked, thrown off by the subtle shift in Regina’s tone. “Endearing?” she repeated, her voice catching slightly.

“Hmm,” Regina hummed, tilting her head. “There’s something almost… charming about your stubborn refusal to evolve.” Her eyes locked onto Emma’s, lingering there for a moment too long. “But even you must admit that some evolution is necessary.”

Emma swallowed, her usual bravado slipping as she found herself lost in Regina’s gaze. “I mean… I guess,” she stammered, her cheeks heating. “Doesn’t mean I’m giving up my jacket, though.”

“Of course not,” Regina replied, her tone teasing but her expression thoughtful. “We wouldn’t want to strip you of your signature look.”

Emma opened her mouth to retort, but the words tangled somewhere in her throat as Regina moved even closer, reaching past her to retrieve a scarf from a nearby rack. The motion brought them nearly shoulder to shoulder, and Emma’s breath hitched when she caught a faint hint of Regina’s perfume—warm, sophisticated, and utterly distracting.

“I think this will work,” Regina murmured, holding up the scarf for inspection. Her voice was low and deliberate, and Emma could feel her pulse quickening.

“Y-yeah,” Emma managed, though she wasn’t entirely sure what she was agreeing to.

Regina’s eyes flicked to Emma’s, a knowing glint in them. “Careful, Sheriff. You’re blushing.”

Emma’s hand immediately flew to her face, and Regina let out a soft chuckle, clearly enjoying herself. “I’m not—”

“You are,” Regina interrupted, her smirk widening. She stepped back just enough to give Emma room to breathe but not enough to fully break the spell. “But don’t worry. It suits you.”

Emma groaned, tugging at her collar. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“And you’re predictable,” Regina shot back, still holding the scarf. “Now hold still.”

Before Emma could protest, Regina stepped closer again, lifting the scarf and carefully draping it around Emma’s neck. Her fingers brushed against Emma’s skin as she adjusted the fabric, the touch light and deliberate.

Emma tried not to shiver, focusing on literally anything else—the ornate wallpaper, the polished wood floor, the faint ticking of a nearby clock. But it was impossible to ignore Regina’s steady hands or the way her gaze seemed to linger on Emma’s face longer than strictly necessary.

“There,” Regina said finally, stepping back to admire her work. “You look almost… presentable.”

Emma let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding, forcing a lopsided grin onto her face. “Almost? Gee, thanks.”

Regina arched an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by Emma’s attempt at deflection. “Don’t get used to it, dear. You still have a long way to go.”

Emma couldn’t tell if Regina was talking about her wardrobe or something else entirely, but the way she smiled—a slow, deliberate curve of her lips—left Emma both flustered and intrigued.

“Fine,” Emma muttered, breaking eye contact before she completely lost her composure. “What’s next?”

Regina smirked, stepping back toward her closet. “Oh, we’re just getting started.”

And Emma, for all her bravado, wasn’t entirely sure she was ready for whatever Regina had in store.

***

Emma tugged nervously at the hem of the midnight blue dress Regina had chosen for her. The fabric clung to her in all the right places, the open back leaving her shoulders exposed, and she could feel the cool air brushing her skin. She stood awkwardly in front of the full-length mirror, avoiding Regina’s piercing gaze.

“It’s too… much,” Emma muttered, barely managing to get the words out.

Regina, standing behind her, tilted her head in mock disapproval. “Nonsense. It’s stunning, and it fits you perfectly.” Her tone was light, but her eyes were intent as they swept over Emma’s reflection. “You should really stop hiding behind those bulky jackets and scuffed boots. You’re much more striking than you give yourself credit for.”

Emma’s cheeks flushed a deep red, her fingers fidgeting with the straps. “Yeah, well, I’m not exactly going to be chasing down suspects in this,” she said, her voice cracking slightly.

Regina’s lips curved into a sly smile as she took a step closer, closing the space between them. “Oh, please. If anyone could make this dress work while apprehending a criminal, it would be you.” She leaned in, her fingers lightly brushing the back of the dress as she adjusted the fabric. Emma stiffened at the contact, her breath catching in her throat.

“Relax, Sheriff,” Regina said softly, her voice dipping into something warmer. “You’re tense. Why is that?”

Emma’s mind raced, but she tried to play it cool. “I’m not tense,” she lied, her voice uneven. “Just, uh… not used to wearing stuff like this.”

Regina chuckled, the sound low and melodic. “Oh, I believe that. But I don’t think that’s the real issue here.”

Emma’s heart pounded as she felt Regina’s gaze on her, sharp and knowing. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, her tone defensive.

Regina stepped around to face her, folding her arms and fixing Emma with a pointed look. “Come now, Emma. Let’s not pretend. I caught you staring at me at Granny’s this morning. Multiple times.”

Emma’s face turned scarlet, and she opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out.

Regina’s smirk widened as she took another step closer, their proximity almost overwhelming. “Fashion advice, was it? Do you really expect me to believe that’s why you came here?”

“I—” Emma stammered, her hands flailing as she tried to find a convincing response. “I was… I mean, you’ve got good style, and I—” She groaned, cutting herself off. “Okay, fine!”

Regina arched a brow, clearly enjoying every second of Emma’s discomfort.

“I panicked, alright?” Emma blurted, her words tumbling out in a rush. “You caught me looking, and I didn’t know what to say, so I just made something up. And yeah, maybe I wasn’t looking at your clothes. Maybe I was looking at… you.”

The room fell silent, save for the faint ticking of a clock somewhere in the distance. Emma rubbed the back of her neck, her face burning. “There. You happy now?”

Regina blinked, her expression unreadable for a moment before her lips curved into a slow, mischievous smile. “Very,” she said smoothly, her voice soft but laced with amusement.

Emma’s eyes snapped up, her breath hitching. “Wait, what?”

Regina took another step forward, close enough now that Emma could feel the heat radiating from her. “Oh, Emma,” she said, her tone both teasing and sincere. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? I’m not blind, dear. And frankly, I’ve found your attempts to avoid the truth… quite charming.”

Emma gaped at her, struggling to process the words. “You—you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” Regina asked, tilting her head. “If anything, I find your flustered honesty rather endearing.”

Emma let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head. “Well, great. Glad my awkwardness is entertaining for you.”

Regina’s smirk softened into something gentler as she reached out, adjusting the strap of the dress on Emma’s shoulder. “Oh, it is. But you should know, Sheriff, you don’t have to come up with elaborate excuses to spend time with me. Next time, just ask.”

Emma blinked, stunned. “Wait… next time?”

Regina chuckled, stepping back and folding her arms. “Of course. Unless you’d prefer to continue this charade of fashion consultations?”

Emma groaned, burying her face in her hands. “God, no. I think I’ve had enough wardrobe criticism for a lifetime.”

Regina smirked, walking over to the closet and retrieving a leather jacket that somehow managed to look both sleek and edgy. “In that case, you’ll be leaving in this outfit,” she declared, holding out the jacket. “Consider it a gift. A reminder of today’s… progress.”

Emma eyed the jacket suspiciously. “Is this your way of saying I need all the help I can get?”

“Not at all,” Regina said, a glint of mischief in her eyes. “It’s my way of saying you look good in blue.”

Emma hesitated but eventually took the jacket, shrugging it on over the dress. “Thanks, I guess. For the… lesson.”

As she turned to leave, Regina’s voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Emma,” she called, her tone deceptively casual. “Next time, I might model a few outfits for you. Wouldn’t that be fair?”

Emma froze, her brain short-circuiting as she turned back to stare at Regina, who was watching her with a smug, satisfied smile.

“You… you’re kidding, right?” Emma managed, her voice an octave higher than usual.

Regina’s smile deepened as she walked past Emma, opening the door for her. “Perhaps,” she said cryptically. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

Emma stumbled out of the room, her face burning as she muttered something incoherent. Regina’s soft laughter followed her as the door closed, leaving Emma with nothing but her racing heart and a newfound determination to figure out exactly what she’d just gotten herself into.

[eveningspringbreeze]

Double Face TRIP Campaign MC Minitalks

Nebula

Madara: “Hello, everyoooone! It’s me, Mikejima Madara!” 

Kohaku: “An’ it’s me, Oukawa Kohaku. Our biggest thanks ta everyone attendin’ our celebratory live for Double Face’s album release.” 

“Our first song today is our brand new song for the album, Nebula.”

“This live here’s our first time ever performin’ this on stage. Did everyone like it?” 

Madara: “...Thank you so much for the huge applause! Kohaku-san and I rehearsed up 'till the very last minute ☆” 

Kohaku: “Hey, don’t go yappin’ bout that. We looked so cool till ya said that.” 

”Givin’ insider info ruins that, yanno. Anyways, just the thought o’ our very own independent live really fired me up.”

Madara: “Everyone, we’d love for you to stay glued to the culmination of Double Face…♪” 

“Alright. Looks like all preparations are done. Let’s bring in the next song!”

“We'll be continuing with =EYE=! Sear the sight of our performance into your eyes.” 

=EYE=

Madara: “ —And that was =EYE=! We don’t stop! Let’s keep revving up the live!”

Kohaku: “Madara-han, yer even more hyped than when we rehearsed, eh? Make sure ya take care to not run outta fuel and collapse midway through.” 

“Though, seein’ everyone in the audience is excitin' me too.” 

“=EYE= was our very first song from when we started workin’ as Double Face. Our first step, so to speak.” 

“I love all of our songs, an’ while I wouldn’t be able to rank any as better or worse than the other, this one truly feels special.” 

“I’m really happy to be able ta perform it once again in front of everyone, now that we’ve grown so much alongside Double Face.” 

“...Hey, Madara-han, why are you listenin’ so intently? Don’t just humor me, where's the witty commentary?"

Madara: “Hahaha! Witty commentary, huh? Well, there’s some parts I definitely want to talk about—” 

“But let’s leave that for later. First and foremost, I want everyone to hear the next song— CROSS SHINE!”

CROSS SHINE

Madara: “Did everyone enjoy CROSS SHINE? I’d like to reintroduce myself here.” 

“My name is Mikejima Madara. Normally, I’m active as the solo unit MaM—” 

“And when I team with Kohaku-san, I take on Double Face’s name.” 

“...Just a bit ago, Kohaku-san was talking about his experiences starting out with Double Face, right?” 

“I’ve aaalways worked alone by myself. It’s simply what I thought fit me the most—” 

“To think we’d release an album, and then even a celebratory live. I never imagined we’d be able to get this far.” 

“All of this is thanks to the people that needed us, every one of you that supports us.”

“Truly, thank you so much.” 

“Haha! Our live’s just starting, but the atmosphere feels so solemn now.” 

“Next up will be No name yet. These buds that have finally started to blossom— may they reach you.” 

No name yet

Kohaku: “And that was No name yet. Did our feelings reach you?” 

Madara: “How about reintroducing yourself here, Kohaku-san?” 

Kohaku: “Oh yeah, didn’t ya do that earlier? Everyone already knows, so to sum it briefly–” 

“I am Crazy:B’s Oukawa Kohaku. When I'm workin’ with Madara-han, we make up Double Face.” 

“Around the time No name yet first released, we were a real mess behind the scenes.” 

Madara: “Hahaha! It feels like we’re always a real mess whenever something happens!” 

“That time was quite hectic. Kohaku-san even ended up punching and kicking me!” 

Kohaku: “I did not kick ya. I simply gave yer abdomen a good blow ‘cause ya kept doin’ whatever ya wanted, that’s it.” 

Madara: “Ah right, it went like that. How nostalgic……☆” 

“We pray no more once on shore or whatever (*), but when I think back to everything, I realize just how many good memories have piled up.” 

“You can’t predict the future. That's exactly why it’s important to enjoy the present, right?” 

“And so, our next song will be HELLO, NEW YEAR! Let’s welcome it with our special guests ☆”

-

(*) Madara uses half of the proverb 喉元過ぎれば熱さを忘れる (one forgets the heat once it’s past the throat), which afaik has multiple equivalences (I used “once on shore, we pray no more”). Basically means once you’re past something difficult the initial suffering doesn’t matter to you anymore. 

HELLO, NEW YEAR!

Madara: “That concludes HELLO, NEW YEAR! Now it’s time for introductions! Please welcome our special guests: Arashi-san, Tsumugi-san, and Natsume-san!” 

Arashi: “Hello! How was our performance?” 

Tsumugi: “Thank you so much for having us as your guests. We had fun performing.” 

Natsume: “Farewell, everyoNE. Make sure to enjoy the live to your heart’s contENT…♪”

Madara: “You three, thank you for heating up the live with us…☆” 

“Earlier, the topic had turned quite somber. Now, I want to talk about something brighter.”

“During the MV production, I painted several pieces. The final painting, a floral piece, took a hefty amount of time to finish.”

“It took me about a week to finally be satisfied with it.” 

“Accomplished yet fatigued, I ended up dozing off while I waited for the staff. Seems like that’s when Arashi-san whipped out her phone…” 

“And just like that, it was used in the MV. Oh dear, how embarrassing ☆”

“Our next song will be Bye-Bye Buddy! Let’s start the infiltration mission……☆” 

Bye-Bye Buddy

Madara: “And that was Double Face’s Bye-Bye Buddy!” 

Kohaku: “Earlier, ya mentioned how shootin’ yer MV was a lotta work.” 

“But this MV ended up bein' just as much hard work, no?” 

Madara: “Haha, MV shoots always end up being really fun and exciting. Because I tackle them with everything I’ve got, it’s never felt laborious to me.” 

“Still, that scene where I had to drop the gun might have been just a little tough.” 

Kohaku: “Hey, at least there’s no way they’d ever actually shoot ya, right?” 

“That scene alone took up at least half the day though, didn’t it?” 

Madara: “Yep! I have nothing but gratitude towards the staff for persevering with me, as well as Kohaku-san for waiting for his turn so patiently.” 

Kohaku: “It took a lotta time ta make Bye-Bye Buddy’s MV, so it’s a rather elaborate one as well. I’d be happy if everyone would watch it over an’ over.” 

Madara: “Well then… Next up will finally be our last mission.” 

“Kimi Shirushi Be Ambitious!!, and then Stippling! Please listen to these next two songs!” 

Final

Kohaku: “That was Stippling! With this, our mission's complete.”

Madara: “To all of you in the audience! Did everyone enjoy Double Face’s solo live?”

Kohaku: “...Kokoko ♪ Thank ya kindly for the wonderful cheers an’ applause. I’ve also had a blast, I’m completely satisfied.” 

Madara: “I'd loved to have enjoyed this a bit longer, but it’s about time we part ways.” 

“Until our next order. Let’s meet again!” 

Encore

Madara: “Everyone! Thank you for calling for the emergency mission-- an encore!”

Kohaku: “Thanks to Madara-han’s cool sendoff earlier, it feels just a tad embarrassin’ steppin’ here again, though.” 

“Givin’ us an encore made me really happy. Thank you so much, everyone ♪” 

Madara: “Last up’s gotta be this song! Let’s sing this one together! Double Face’s—” 

Madara and Kohaku: “BRAND NEW STARS!!” 

Epilogue

Kohaku: Thank you for the encore! This will be the real ending to Double Face’s solo live.” 

“...I had fun all the way from the bottom o’ my heart. Thank you, Madara-han.” 

Madara: “Same to you, Kohaku-san. Thank you for running alongside me, buddy ♪” 

“I’ll pray for the day we’ll get to you see all of you again! This was Double Face’s Mikejima Madara—” 

Kohaku: “An’ Double Face’s Oukawa Kohaku! Well then~ ♪”

Madara: “Bye-byeeeeeeee…..☆”

------- Notes ------

Shakes fist... I'm struggling to find the minitalk post-campaign and don't have the JP text so just know that this isn't proofread

[a-really-cool-blog-name]

ADOLESCENT EVIL TURTLES: April and Casey edition!

I'm so glad to finally have references for these guys done! (Just pretend the perspective on Casey's hockey stick worked and it doesn't look like it's been chopped in half or just pretend it was chopped in half I don't care I kind of gave up on him)

As per usual I am probably going to get rambly with details so this may or may not get long.

April!

Like with the turtles, this reference photo depicts her at the start of the crossover I have planned, age 28. At the start of the story itself she'd be 23.

Personality: To most people April's a very sweet and caring individual and for most people this is true. Keyword being "most". Unfortunately for people April hates, April is fully willing to ruin their lives. She may be a scientist but she has a very concerning set of skills that no one's really sure how she got. I'm talking like she will straight up commit a crime and then frame them for it, she will dig up dirt that not even the person she hates is aware of, and when push comes to shove "get her hands dirty", no matter how much she hates doing that. It takes quite a bit to make April truly hate someone but it's happened multiple times.

Random facts:

5'4

April's just....like that? Nothing really happened to her, she had a great childhood and still has a good relationship with her family but still she does the things she does.

April's family is of a fairly high standing, so she'll often say things not realizing how prestigiously ignorant (?) they come across. She's the type to ask you if you've ever gone on a cruise while you're working at McDonald's and then when you say no she asks why. She has no malice behind this by the way she's genuinely curious. She's gotten better with this over the years this was more of an issue in her early twenties.

April's very protective of the people she loves, never forget that.

At the beginning of the story her and Casey are just boyfriend and girlfriend but sometime in between the start of the story and the start of the crossover they get married and have a kid named, Marie. (Don't ask me specifics I haven't fully figured out the timeline yet)

Her and Casey kind of stalk each other I'm not going to lie but they're both kind of into it. I'm talking like *an unhealthy obsession starts playing* by type stuff. This lessened significantly when they moved in together.

Her and John Bishop really hate each other.

Mikey's on very thin ice with April, April cares for him deeply but... He could turn it down the pranks a little bit, couldn't he? Safe to say she's getting very annoyed.

Whenever Mikey's not annoying April, April slowly becomes more and more concerned due to the fact that Mikey is apparently "in charge" (?) and has been since he was 12 (!!??)

April's suspecting that part of the reason Mikey pranks her so much is due to just how concerned she's getting and Mikey doesn't want to deal with his emotions and have a chat about that so better to annoy her than her confront Mike about those complicated emotions he keep shoving down, right?

Eventually April is going to confront Mikey sometime before the crossover I have planned. Their relationship gets better after this.

April has a motorcycle and the second outfit shown is what she wears when she doesn't want to be identified, you see April doesn't usually take her motorcycle until she has to do something "out of character" for her image in which case she'll put on the full gear to not be identified or when Casey wants a ride. Yes, Raph has tried to steal her motorcycle before. Yes, he was caught Midway through trying to steal the motorcycle, it was very awkward.

Her and Donnie are science buddies and will often just experiment together. Donnie tries (usually fails) not to trash talk Casey during that time, "it's sacred" he says. (April doesn't let Donnie know this but part of the reason for this is so Donnie doesn't make weapons of mass destruction, it's getting concerning how quickly he will attempt to make a weapon of mass destruction unless instructed not to.)

Leo will sometimes start rambling to April about his newest interest, April doesn't understand any of this, but will gladly listen anyway.

April is probably the most sane one (which is saying something) and is very worried about everyone in this group. (Casey's not only included in that, he's specifically targeted.)

Casey!

(Look I know I messed up on the hockey stick I don't want to redraw it. I know nothing about hockey and I drew that without a reference without realizing how long they were, forgive me.) Once again depicted at the crossover, age 27. At the start of the story he'd be 22.

Personality: Casey Jones as an individual can be summed up in many different ways "insane maniac", "funny little goofy guy", "a good friend", "'Oh, the years start coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming personified", "loyal to a concerning degree", "haunted by his past actions and even more haunted by the fact that he would make the same decisions again and again", however you slice the hockey player shaped pie, Casey Jones is an interesting individual to say the least.

Random facts:

5'11

Casey Jones is The only name he's ever had, he's never been called anything else (illegally or legally), it is the name that is on his -totally legal- birth certificate which he did not have to reforge after the incidents, if you're wise you'll stop talking. (If you can't tell that entire sentence was me saying that he has been called by other names before)

The thoughts can't get to him if he doesn't think about them! :D (LIEEEEEE)

Crime list longer than a CVS receipt

Concerningly loyal somebody cares about tells him to kill someone and they mean it, he's not questioning it, he's doing it. Guard dog looking ahh

Born to dilly dally, forced to lock in.

Forced to wear the jacket by April or else he's not allowed on the motorcycle. He also has to put on a helmet but that's easier to put on at a moment's notice. This is saved him from injury at least twice, Casey doesn't argue anymore about that.

Ah well, I guess there's no more beating around the bush, let's talk about Casey's family. (AKA: I talk about Casey going through a blender then a meat grinder and then back into a blender for several sentences) Casey's dad, Oroku Hun or more commonly known as Arnold Bernard Jones Sr, is the son of, you guessed it, ✨ Oroku Saki✨. (Sorry not sorry, Casey, your grandpop is the shredder)

I don't know how to format this part so I'm just going to give you a little familial history, so the shredder has two children Karai and Hun, and Saki like really sucks as a dad so Hun runs away from the foot clan and and maries Casey's mom (he changes his name to Arnold and also takes his wife's last name just to avoid the... association his previous name has.) then starts his own gang called the purple dragons. (both the foot clan and the purple dragons are both kind of cults I'm not going to lie)

Now Casey's dad is not a good father, at all. The purple dragons is horrific. Casey literally gets branded with their insignia across his back, (for normal members this goes on the back of their neck but Casey -unfortunately for him- was not considered a normal member because he's kind of considered an heir to the spot of leader in this very cult-like scenario okay I think it is just a cult) (in the more modern time, Casey not only always wears a shirt, but also wraps himself with bandages just in the worst case scenario. He only doesn't wear those when he feels really safe. The first time he does this besides being completely alone in his own home was with April.)

Casey's kind of forced into a soldier archetype for a while when he was younger. (He doesn't like getting back into that mood at all because he barely remembers what happens nowadays when he does. April calls it a "trauma response" but Casey likes to call it "locking in")

When Casey was quite little he managed to get a kidnapped child (Angel) out of the purple dragons and back to their family, Casey got punished severely for this but he didn't really care.

The first person he felt comfortable enough with to to even mention some of this to was April.

Raph and Casey are best friends. They are voted most likely to break into a wrestling event, win the wrestling event, and then leave before collecting their reward or saying their names.

Casey is completely unaware that Donnie hates him. And even if he was aware that Donnie hated him he would refuse to have beef with a teenager, "only people you should be concerned about have beef with a teenager, I'm not going to waste my time on that." Casey states after Donnie chills down and tells him to his face that he was his mortal enemy for years and have now cooled down to friendly rivals. (Casey thought the "I would experiment on you if people I love to didn't love you" was a joke, he was wrong.)

Every single time April gets pranked by Mikey he has to hold back laughter because he knows his wife is going to be pissed at him if he does laugh, even though it's really funny to him every single time.

Casey definitely notices the turtles are... struggling sometimes. Early on into knowing them he doesn't exactly know what's going on he's just trying to be a shoulder to cry on. Raph appreciates him not asking questions and just listening the most.

When Marie is born Casey is a good dad. The more he cares for his own daughter the madder he becomes at his father, and then Casey just becomes melancholy because he can't really do anything else because his father's already dead.

Has probably robbed a bank before.

Yay! April and Casey Done!

(based on that one post that was like couples T-shirts that's "I bet on losing dogs" and "losing dogs" that didn't bother finding again)

Also if you haven't seen the turtles' references I'd highly recommend you check those out,

[movedto-bunny-lovers]

📞 for Rumi and Keigo both! :]

-@huggsbury

Hope you & your f/os have a wonderful weekend & thank you for the ask! 😊💛 @2022riddler @shirogane-oushirou @mahitoslittlebird @hades-beloved @jedelx @itfitsitshipsart @eid0lons

Keigo/Hawks

Band-aid 🩹 - If there was one thing about your f/o that you'd want people to understand, what would it be?

Keigo is actually smart & he's also optimistic!

Balloon 🎈 - Does your f/o celebrate their birthday? Additionally, does your s/i or yourself celebrate yours? If so, what's the special day looking like?

Yes & yes! It depends on what we want to do for one of our birthday. For me, every birthday of mine, I always want to to the mall & have lunch at a restaurant.

Microphone 🎤 - Does your f/o sing or play music? If so, how are they at their craft, and what's your favorite thing about it?

He does sing well. As for crafts, he's very good at them. My favorite thing about Keigo's crafts is when he makes something of using his crimson feathers.

Phone 📞 - If you and your f/o have cellphones of any kind, what's their contact name in your phone, and what's theirs for you?

Keigo's contact name in my phone is: Keigo Keigo's phone contact name for me is: Dove

Dance 💃 - Can you or your f/o dance?

Yes, we both can dance!

Romance 🌹 - What's the most romantic thing your f/o? Furthermore, what's the most romantic thing you have done for your f/o?

Keigo & I were watching a romantic movie & he fell asleep midway into the movie while I continued watching it. The 2nd half turned out to be quite emotional. Near the end I started crying softly. He woke up to my tears and immediately wrapped his arms around me to sooth me. He asked if it was the movie and I nodded. The next morning when I woke up, he was eating breakfast in front of the TV. It was the movie from the night before. I asked him why he's watching it. He gave me a sweet, sincere look and said, "I wanted to see what made you cry."

The most romantic thing I've done for Keigo was when he had a rough day & I simply put his head on my lap & petted his head & gently scratched him until he fell asleep.

Bed 🛏️ - Where does your f/o like to sleep? Are they conventional with a good schedule, or do they find damp corners to call their bed?

He likes to sleep on the left side of the bed. Yes, he has a good schedule for bedtime

Crystal Ball 🔮 - Is your f/o superstitious? Do they believe in the paranormal? If so, what kind of stuff do they believe in/fear?

No & no!

Feather 🪶 - If you and your f/o were animals, which animals would you be and why?

I would be a cat, 'cause I'm a cat person & an introvert.

Smile ☺️ - What about your f/o makes you smile every single time? Furthermore, what's something you do that makes your f/o smile every time?

How Keigo is sweet & caring is what make me smile every single time.

It's when Keigo sees me smile & he also love when I bake anything that is chocolate.

Rumi/Mirko

Band-aid 🩹 - If there was one thing about your f/o that you'd want people to understand, what would it be?

Rumi isn't tough when she's not in hero mode. She's clumsy but also a softie.

Microphone 🎤 - Does your f/o sing or play music? If so, how are they at their craft, and what's your favorite thing about it?

Yes, she does sing very well. She's okay with crafts & she made DIY clay bunny bowls. I thought those were so cute!

Phone 📞 - If you and your f/o have cellphones of any kind, what's their contact name in your phone, and what's theirs for you?

Rumi's contact name in my phone is: 🐇Rumi🐇 My contact name in her phone is: Rebecca ❤

Dance 💃 - Can you or your f/o dance?

Yes, we both can dance!

Romance 🌹 - What's the most romantic thing your f/o? Furthermore, what's the most romantic thing you have done for your f/o?

Rumi surprised me when she baked one of my favorite chocolate desserts for the first time. It was delicious!

It was when I cooked one of her favorite meals for dinner for the first time. I thought it wouldn't turned out okay but Rumi told it turned out very well & she loved it!

Bed 🛏️ - Where does your f/o like to sleep? Are they conventional with a good schedule, or do they find damp corners to call their bed?

She likes to sleep on the left side of the bed. Yes, she has a good schedule for bedtime.

Crystal Ball 🔮 - Is your f/o superstitious? Do they believe in the paranormal? If so, what kind of stuff do they believe in/fear?

No & no!

Sick 🤒 - Your f/o is sick in bed, what do you do?

I check her temperature, make her soup & give her a glass of water.

Feather 🪶 - If you and your f/o were animals, which animals would you be and why?

I would be a cat, 'cause I'm a cat person & an introvert.

Smile ☺️ - What about your f/o makes you smile every single time? Furthermore, what's something you do that makes your f/o smile every time?

Definitely her looks & her smile! I also love how tough & strong she is!

She loves when I cook anything healthy for her & I. She also love how I'm kind to people.

[membermentmania]

August 20th, 12:00-12:33am

When it ended, Clyde let out a dramatic sigh. Tweek went to ask what was wrong but Craig pinched his side. He whipped around to give him a look, but Tolkien had already asked the simple question. 

“I love Buffy so much,” he lamented. 

“Like, the character or the show in general?” 

“OH MY GOD! WAIT. WAS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME WATCHING IT?” Tolkien and Craig both let out a dramatic groan. 

“Yes?” 

“Did you like it?” 

“Say no,” Craig begged quietly. 

“I thought it was cool.” 

“It’s more than cool! Okay, so like, it’s in monster of the week format.” Tweek nodded. “And basically we just follow Buffy doing cool shit. And she’s, like, so cool. Like, we’re still early in, but she’s already had so much character development and the vampires are actually kinda disturbing in this and not just, like, hot immortals.” Tweek gave him a slow nod of comprehension. “BUT MY PROBLEM LIES WITH XANDER.” There was another dramatic groan from the two. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Tweek asked, giving Clyde more fuel to work with. 

“Oh. My. Fucking. God. He’s the fucking worst!” Tweek tilted his head slightly. “He’s so flat. Like, I feel like all he does is whine, like, 70 percent of the time. Which is saying so much coming from me!” 

Tweek laughed. “Mhm.” 

“Like, we’re only midway through season three, but I just can’t find him likable. And I tried, Tweek. I really tried.” He shook his head. “I fucking hate him.” More laughs were bubbling out of Tweek at this point as he continued on. Tweek let him go nearly uninterrupted for a good thirty minutes before Clyde’s everchanging rant ended. “All in all though, that leads me to my final question.” 

 two who did not even try to participate in this conversation. Tweek figured they’d heard this throughout all three seasons. “Yes?” he asked with a snicker. 

“You like me, right? Like, we’re bros?” 

“Of course.” 

“If you randomly got turned into a vampire, would you turn me into one?” 

Tweek made a face. “Is that, like, something you would want?” 

“YES!” 

He laughed. “Well, if it was what you wanted, I don't see why not.” 

“SEE!” He yelled, gesturing wildly at Tweek. “At least SOMEONE understands me!” Craig flipped him off and Tolkien followed suit, doing the same. A small laugh bubbled out of Clyde. “Okay, okay. I’m done.” 

“Anyways,” Craig said. “Did you guys know Cartman’s back?” 

“WHAT?!”  the two responded in unison. “WHY THE HELL DID YOU LET ME GO ON THAT LONG OF A TANGENT WHEN YOU WERE JUST SITTING ON THAT INFORMATION?!” Clyde yelled. 

“Didn’t know you were so invested in his whereabouts,” Craig noted with a laugh. 

“I am! Where is he back! What the hell, Craigory!” Tweek bit back a laugh, imagining the earned glare from the nickname. 

“Denver. He works at the aquarium.” 

“How the hell did he wind up there?” Tolkien asked, genuinely taken aback. 

“Turns out he got a degree in zookeeping. Started working there a few weeks ago. I just found him, like, the other day.” 

“No shit,” Clyde muttered. 

“How is he?” 

“He seems… happy? Or whatever his approximation to that would be.” 

“We have to go visit him!” Clyde demanded. 

“He’s coming here, actually.” 

“When?!” 

“Sometime tomorrow. Or maybe late tonight. Not exactly sure. He said he’d call me when he got in.” 

“Okay, sweet.” 

The group carried on for a bit longer. It was getting late though. “So Tweek, you’re leaving tomorrow?” 

“Yeah,” he responded, trying to keep the way too painful thoughts at bay. This was the hard part. Saying goodbye was always the hard part. He tried not to think about the hardest part. 

“When are you coming back?” Clyde asked. Craig’s arm around him tightened the tiniest bit. 

“Eventually,” he responded with a sad smile. 

Clyde let out a small hum. “Just don’t stay gone too long, yeah?” 

“I won’t.” 

Tweek stood and  gave Tolkien a half hug goodbye. “Take care of yourself, okay?” 

“You too, Tweek.” 

The moment Tweek let go, Clyde ripped him into a bone crushing hug. “It was so good to meet you, bro. I hope I see you soon!” 

“It’s always good to meet you too, Clyde,” he responded, hugging him back tightly. “I can’t wait to see you again. Take care of yourself.” He leaned in a bit to whisper. “Take care of Craig while I’m gone too, okay?”

He pulled back, beaming at Tweek. “Always will.” 

Tweek smiled. They would all take care of each other. They’d be okay. “Goodnight guys. I’ll see you later.” 

[writermuses]

How long had Yulia been waiting for a moment like this? Her dreams were haunted by the thought of Alonso showing up in the city across the country she'd taken refuge in, telling her he loved her. It was that fact alone that had her stopping her routine and letting him kiss her. For the briefest moment she stood there and then the next she was holding his waist and kissing him back. It was selfish with so much left unsaid, so much Alonso didn't know, but maybe that was why she stole that moment and savored it while it lasted. She didn't see how he'd look at her like that again when he knew the truth. It took every once of strength to pull away and step back. "I need you to listen to what I have to say— even though you're not going to like it."

Keeping the same distance with her hands on his hips, Yulia walked him back to the couch. "I have to sit on your lap, just put your hands on my thighs and if they come, squeeze and I'll keep dancing again." This conversation couldn't wait and she half expected him to throw her midway through it, but at least she could say what needed to be said and they could both move on. "We didn't just have good times together, Alonso. You were my escape from my alcoholic father and my mom who let him beat me when he was done with her. I knew it was going to get worse once I didn't look like a little girl anymore, but you didn't just let me follow you around like a wounded puppy. You were my happy place and you showed me what a healthy, loving relationship could be like."

Yulia gave pause, sliding her hands up his chest and holding his neck, her thumbs brushing across his stubbled jaw. "A month after you left my dad broke my arm. He was drunk and mad that I'd missed school and they kept calling asking where I was and for a doctor's note. I'd been sick and missing my job, too. Everyone kept asking for a doctor's note so I dragged myself over to one thinking it was the flu only to find out I was pregnant and had hyperemesis gravidarum. They kicked me out and I took my GED to test out of school. I didn't have a phone or computer, I just had a job I couldn't get to and I was staying at a shelter. When I stopped at the house to see if I had any mail, hoping to hear from you, they told me no and to never go back. I didn't know what to do."

"At work there was this guy that always came in and sat in my section, left really good tips. He seemed rough around the edges but nice to me. When he asked me out I told him I was a pregnant and homeless high school dropout, not exactly someone anyone was looking for in a partner. He told me to shut up and that he'd take care of me... and he did, for a while. Chris was a Reaper and the club got in trouble. One day he disappeared and when people came looking they beat me to hell trying to find him. I lost the baby and his cousin was nice enough to send me out here. The McKenzie MC runs this place, so I guess they're like East Coast friends or something. But you deserve to know that I'm not the same girl you left behind."

@xwhiskeymuses

This wasn't how AJ wanted to run into her again, to be sitting in a private room of a strip club as she danced on a pole in front of him. He had planned to call her in a few days after his friends bachelor weekend had ended, and he had some free time to take her to dinner to talk out his feelings. Now, he was stuck between wanting to watch her with lustful eyes or being a gentleman and staring at the wall. He somehow settled for both, switching between watching Yulia's body as she danced and looking at the ceiling. "I guess for starters, I wanted to say I'm sorry for never keeping in touch when I left. As crazy as it may sound, I missed you every day and knew if we kept in touch, it would tear me apart," Though it already did even without them talking. "We had a lot of good times together, and it was hard for me to even look at another girl, let alone be in a relationship with them." Alsono was never good with words, and he felt what he was trying to say wasn't being executed the way he wanted, especially with how he was eying her up and down. He stood from the couch and crossed the floor to where she was dancing, reaching out for her hand and pulling her carefully toward him. It was dangerous for him to do this, knowing Yulia could get into a lot of trouble for his reckless behavior, but he didn't care. If it were necessary, he'd pay off her boss to let her keep her job if she wanted to keep it. "What I'm trying to say is I love you, Yules.. and I'm sorry it took me this long to realize it." Not waiting for a response, he leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

[gyeomsweetgyeom]

[11:54 am] 

(cw: mark calls himself a loser, food)

Anything that could go wrong was going wrong. It wasn’t very often that you let your most charismatic and outgoing friend convince you to do things out of your usual routine. This time you had been convinced to go on a blind date, obviously with a stranger, but a stranger with a great reputation. You had nothing but good things about him, but now you were really starting to question all these good things.

This guy, Mark, as cute as he was, had come running into the cafe out of breath and disheveled almost 40 minutes past the meeting time just as you were about to give up on the date. You were embarrassed, feeling like a fool for waiting alone, angry that you had waited so long, and even anxious that you maybe had the wrong cafe. Even though there was no way you had the wrong place because you had checked over a dozen times in your 40 minute wait, there was still that thought in the back of your mind that maybe he was waiting for you in the “right” place. 

In his out of breath, gasps for breath, and rosy cheeks, Mark had apologized profusely promising that the universe just wasn’t on his side today. He gave you a sheepish smile, “y/n I’m so sorry I’m late. The bus ran late so I took the train and then the train broke down so I had to walk because I had to walk and then I realized I was super late and I was still a couple miles away so I had to run.” That sounded legit.

In your short wait in line, you both made small talk, talking about your mutual friends, and interests. 

“Order whatever you want, I got it,” Mark smiled. Normally, you would decline and pay for your own food or at the very least offer to pay for your own food, but maybe as a little punishment for Mark being late he could pay instead. You ordered your usual coffee and even became shy, avoiding Mark’s gaze when he ordered a huge chocolate chip cookie to share. Maybe he had seen you eyeing it while you both waited in line. 

As the cashier read out the total Mark reached for his pocket, then the other until he was frantically patting his pockets and retracing his step around the cafe. You sighed, the baristas had already started on the drinks, “I got it Mark.”

He was already profusely apologizing as you took out your card to pay for the food, so you nodded along just to appease him. There was like a 30% chance you would ever see Mark again if you could help it. This date was a total disaster.

While you waited for the drinks to come to the table you both made more small talk. Awkward, small, surface-level, talk. Why would you ever need to know the first time Mark found out he was super lactose intolerant in 3rd grade on a school field trip to the zoo? He really liked to overshare you learned.

When the drinks came Mark hesitantly held up his glass in cheers. You obliged, clinking your glass with his own. It was fun and cute until Mark reached out his glass for a second time when you didn’t so half of his cold, very cold drink spilled down the front of your shirt and onto your lap.

You stood up in shock, chair screeching against the floor of the cafe, “I need to go. It was nice meeting you though, nice to finally match a name to a face.”

With one hand you dabbed at your shirt with napkins while with the other you gathered your things before heading to the door.

You could walk home from the cafe and curse your stupid friend in you head and then do it over the phone when you got home. You were never going on a blind date again no matter how cool they sounded or how cute they looked in their instagram posts or how you had had a very tiny, minor crush on the person upon first seeing them on a friend’s instagram story. Never again.

You were midway through calling your name every combination of curse words in every language you knew, when someone stopped you. 

That someone being Mark running out in front of you, once again out of breath. “Wait! I know I’ve done this a million times today in the half hour I’ve known you, but I’m sorry. When I asked for this to be set up I never imagined that things would go this horribly. I was too shy to do anything myself and I’m such a loser for ruining this for myself and for you. I’m so so sorry.”

“You asked for this to be set up?”

“I- I didn’t realize I had said that out loud, but yeah I did. I just had heard so many good things about you and you seemed so cool and I ruined everything. I know you probably never want to go out with me again, let alone see me again, but I wanted to apologize.” 

You stopped him with a hand on his forearm, “Mark, it’s fine. I forgive you, even for ruining one of my favorite shirts.”

He chuckled awkwardly, “Can I take you out again? To make up for this awful first date. I promise everything will go perfectly.”

He was just too cute to say no to, “Fine. One more chance Mark.”

[leviathanspain]

i don’t deserve you

frank castle x reader

synopsis: he told you that he didn’t want to have to break your heart no more, yet he found himself at your doorstep once more

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

a swift knock at the door had you padding to open it. it was late, you didn’t know how late but your eyes were crusted over and your bones ached.

you looked through the peephole and found a hooded figure staring back, one that made you suck in a deep breath.

you unlocked the door and opened it to find a bloodied frank castle staring back at you.

“hey.” he greeted, not cheerfully but you stepped aside to let him in, and not because you chose to, but the security cameras in the hall would make your building security question why a bloodied man is outside of your door late into the night.

“what are you doing here frank?” you crossed your arms in anger as frank threw his duffle back down by the kitchen island. he stripped his jacket off and you hissed a breath as you noticed his muscled body, blood covered it but not the rippling muscles as he moved.

“i needed a place to stay for a night, figured that offer was still on the table.” you’ll always come crawling back, and when you do, i’ll be here.

your own words were now biting you in the ass. you shrugged, “heat of the moment.” and moved to the sink, grabbing one of your kitchen towels to wet it under the sink, “you know, i have a bathroom. with a shower..”

frank nodded, “i need to clean my wound first.” he pointed to the jagged slice on his side and you nodded, wiping the wound clean and you sucked in a breath as frank winced slightly.

“hold on.” you gave him the towel and you rushed out to your bedroom for the first aid kit. you grabbed a bandage and wipes, returning to frank. you cleaned and bandaged it, kneeling down to do so. frank peered down a smile drew on his face, but you raised an eyebrow at him, “don’t you dare, castle.”

frank chuckled as you handed him the bandages, getting up. he took them and you explained, “they’ll probably get wet after your shower, i assume you can redress it yourself?”

frank pursed his lips, “when i can have you on your knees again? maybe not..” he commented and you rolled your eyes, “whatever, castle.”

you padded back to your bedroom but you stopped midway, looking over your shoulder to frank, “there’s some of your old clothes in my bottom drawer.”

you paused, the words coming out before you could even think, “come to bed when you’re done.” and frank didn’t reply as you tucked yourself into the covers, head hitting the pillow softly.

you had many opportunities to be angry with frank. but he always used the same excuse of “i don’t deserve you.” and damn right he didn’t, but he was your world, frank was your only reason of being, even if you couldn’t claim him as yours, you were always going to be his. to be honest you didn’t care either way, even when you had seen him with that blonde, your jealousy was enough to make frank cut connections with her.

frank also came in and out of your life, it’s been at least a year and a half that he left you but you didn’t go a month without his visits of ‘checking in’ or ‘wanted to see your face’ so you used those times to your advantage to get fucked. literally.

ypu felt the bed dip next to you and you smiled to yourself that frank actually listened to you. you felt him scoot in next to you and wrap his big arms around your waist. you hummed in relief at his warmth, and frank kissed your shoulder before he closed his eyes.

tje next morning, it was no surprise to find the bed empty and a simple note, ‘thank you’ and no frank castle in sight.

[mochiswifey]

TUMBLED

REPOST FROM OTHER ACCOUNT {PART ADDED}

Rindou X Ex Wife *ANGST* MDNI

"What now?" He didn't hide his annoyance at your attitude. You retort and left the living room and headed straight to the guest room only to have him almost tearing down the door. "Out." You didn't even look at him and kept your eyes outside of the window. You knew it was over the moment he looked at her with the eyes he used to look at you. "C'mon now don't be fucking ridiculous." He snaps at you before throwing the chair from the guest's room's vanity to the wall. Rindou doesn't act like that. He's more composed compared to his brother so it startled you to the point your eyes were in the verge of spilling tears from fear.

"You love her." He shakes his head and tried to deny the fact you're stating.

"I-I What are you even talking about? I love you! That's why I'm married to you!" He raises his palm and pointed at the ring on his finger that was supposed to symbolize the union of the two of you but now has just become a reminder of the misery the two of you are in. "Don't try to deny it Rindou. Everything we had has already fallen apart. You stopped loving me the moment I got a miscarriage." He clenched his jaw as you yell the reason he fell out of love with you. "What the fuck do you want me to say? I'm here telling you that I love you." He punched the wall leaving a dent on it. "Yes, maybe you do. But you love her more." "Stop talking nonsense-" "I'm not talking nonsense and you know it!" You screamed at him smashing the flower vase near you. "I'm tired. You don't love me anymore so why do you keep me? Let's file for divorce. This is not worth it. We're still young and let's just end this miserable marriage and avoid the future pain." The moonlight illuminates your face and there was no sorrow or a thing that's holding you back. "Is that what you really want?" He asks you and you nodded before leaving the room and going to spend your night on a hotel not far from the place where the two of you made a vow to each other. Everything was just a memory now and all the things you've given each other disintegrated. The scars you two have are irreversible. And no amount of love could held the two of you together at least for you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The next day you two meet each other for the last time and quietly signed your name on the divorce papers. He was visible lighter and you were too. You knew it was the right decision for the two of you. Your heart is still hurting but you know the pain will disappear eventually. Due to his influence the divorced was granted within an hour and when all was done you simply walked away. "Gia." You hear his voice and you stopped midway the flights of stairs outside the city hall. You look up to him and your eyes met his exhausted purple eyes. Your thumb then touched the cold ring on your finger and you slowly took it off before walking back up to him. "Thank you Rindou." You say placing a soft kiss on his lips before putting the ring that tied you to him on his hand. You gave him a small smile acknowledging the defeat you two had before continuing on your way towards your new life. Rindou watches you and never removed his eyes on you even when you were already in your car. The memories of you with him played on his mind and your voice filled with happiness echoed to him. "I've gotta let you go, I know. But why do fools like me only realize they love someone like you when they're already gone?" He asks himself looking at the ring on his palm that he once slid on your finger. He's a cruel fool. And he only realized that he never stopped loving you when you were content and have given up on fixing the broken love you two had.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half a year later. You heard the news of him being remarried to the woman you feared. But the pain was temporary. And you find yourself smilling to small things again.

You learned to love yourself and value yourself first before anyone else. And even though there's a part of you that wished you could be with your husband again, you were able to push forward.

Years passed and you completely rebuilt your life. Love. You weren't lucky to find someone but you found yourself. It's enough. You needed to lose him to love yourself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was all going well until one knock came to your doorstep. It was exactly 12:29 am. You were exhausted from all of the work you've finished for the charity you started. And was about to fall asleep when Ran Haitani. Your former brother in law came to your house.

The years have worn him out. He's gotten older but the beauty never faded. Though the cunning and mischievous smiles he always had seemingly vanished as if it had never been there in the first place.

"Ran? What's wrong?"

"Please come with me." He sounded so helpless you didn't argue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your heart sank as you saw the man who once protected you, lay on the bed looking so weak and so lifeless.

The sound of the machines beeping are the only things that could be heard.

"Car accident. His marriage has been bad. He has never been happy. Not since you two broke up. He- He tried to end everything. It's fucking painful for him." Your former brother in law explains as you sat down on the chair beside your former lover.

"Rin..."

Everything slowed down. The beeps of the machines became faint and you could only focus to your former lover.

"Please wake up."

You said grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze. Hoping that he'll recognize you and magically opens his eyes.

"Please Rin.... I know you can hear me."

He can hear you. He's still in there. He was ready to let go until he heard you. Now he just need to hear one thing from you. He knows he doesn't deserve it but if you just say those words he'll fight till his body started to crumble from exhaustion.

"Please Rin, your brother needs you. Your friends need you. You have a lot to lose. You can't leave. Please wake up." You tell him a lot but nothing of those was what he wanted to hear.

"I need you Rin."

It's that simple. But even as the days becomes months that eventually turned into years he never heard those words from your mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a miracle that his eyes opened. And the he was able to recover so quickly after being in a coma for 7 years. He was eager to see you.

To tell you how much he missed you.

But it was his turn to have his heart broken after seeing you with your own family. He should've known better. He should've stopped and let go as soon as your visit became less and less. He should've just died as soon as you stopped visiting him.

It hurts.

But he hurt you first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading. Don't copy.

[salemwritesbaybeee]

mutual understanding

hiii everyone, i hope u r doing well! first, i wanna say thank you so much to everyone who liked my last fic! i did not expect anywhere near this much engagement so yay :))))) i'm glad you guys enjoyed it :D secondly i finally got to a point where i'm happy with this fic! yay! so here it is i hope you enjoy <3

yaoyorozu momo x gn!reader (they go into the same bathroom so just assume their school has gn bathrooms)

word count: 5.4k jeez louise

summary: you and momo are paired together for a project that you don't understand as well as she does. later, you guys party together. (sorry y'all i hate this summary i just don't know how else to summarize it)

warnings: cursing, teenage alcohol/drug comsumption, vomiting, kissing, implied sexual activity kinda?

Yaoyorozu Momo has always strived to be the best she can be. It goes without saying that this is her attitude towards her academics, demonstrated by her consistent top marks and articulate nature. It felt good to have those achievements and she was incredibly knowledgeable about a variety of things. This was in part because of her quirk, but she genuinely enjoyed reading encyclopedias and she didn’t care if it was nerdy because she loved to learn. She carried that passion with her to school every day and that is why she is staring at you with furrowed brows, trying to figure out how to help you do this project, and trying to figure out why you look so…upset? Tired? Perhaps they didn’t get enough sleep last night, she thought. 

She sat at the desk in front of you. You had gotten your tests back at the beginning of class and were going over the answers. After, Momo turned around to face you, clearly trying to bit back a smile.

“What did you get on the test, Y/n?” She asked politely.

You looked at her and paused. “A passing grade.”

“Glad to hear it.” She said, giving you a sweet smile. 

Cute, you thought. She bit her lip a bit and you realized she wanted you to ask her what she got on her test. You decided to indulge her (why not?) and asked her what her score was.

“I got 50/50 correct!” She beamed. “Thanks for asking.” She said a little softer. Cute.

Your teacher finished the review and then began to introduce a group project where you were working in pairs. Your teacher showed you the group pairings and you were paired with Momo. You both turned to look at each other and she gave you a big smile. You gave her a half-assed smile back. She immediately dove into an explanation of her view for your project, which you zoned out on about midway through. Instead, you looked at how her eyes lit up as she used her hands to explain whatever she was talking about. You observed her dark, thick lashes, her beautiful gray eyes that looked like smoky quartz, and her light pink lips. She was so pretty. You wondered if that was something she even cared about - academics seemed to dominate her life, at least, from your perspective. 

“So, what do you think?” She asked, finally done with her explanation.

You blinked. “Yeah, sounds good to me.” You were sure whatever plan Momo had would be a good idea, she would know, wouldn’t she? She gave you some things to research and you began doing just that. And that’s when the comments began. 

The first was about how you had organized your research (“I think it makes more sense if you split it up into these categories..”), the second was about how shocked she was that you didn’t know about “basic Japanese history” (you’d never heard of it), and the third was about you being on your phone because “we should take advantage of the class time given to us to work on this project” (you were checking the time, you had it out for like 2 seconds). 

And now you sat here, with Momo looking at you with confusion and slight pity which made your frown deepen slightly. You could tell the gears in her head were turning, trying to come up with her next criticism. 

You cringed ever so slightly when she opened her mouth and then she said, “You misspelled Mesopotamia.” You fought the urge to roll your eyes but then Momo said, “Are you okay?” 

You looked at her face to see if she was joking, but she wore a look of genuine concern. “I’m fine. Just because I don’t know the answer to everything and misspelled a word doesn’t mean anything’s wrong with me.” You said in a cool tone. 

Momo turned red instantly. “I-no I didn’t mean it like that! I just-um, I noticed, um, you kind of have, um, bags…” she paused, gauging your reaction before continuing, “...under your eyes. I just was wondering if you, um, if you got enough sleep.”

You gave her a wry smile. “I definitely did not get enough sleep last night.”

“Why not?”

You shrugged. “I was at a party.”

A party? Momo had never been to a party before, despite being well into her second year of high school. Despite Momo’s studious lifestyle, she desperately wanted to go to a party. The sensationalized high school parties from media had hooked her since she was young and she longed to have that experience at least once in her life. And here Momo saw the perfect opportunity to get into a high school party.

“Whose party?” She pressed.

You smirked at her persistence. “Kei’s party.”

“When’s the next party?” She asked in a tone that conveyed nonchalance, yet her face gave away her excitement.

“Why, you wanna come?” You teased, making her blush.

“Maybe.” She muttered out, looking away. “Depends on whether or not I can make it.” She said, tilting her head to the side and shrugging, still trying to play it cool.

You paused, trying to discern what her motives were, and then told her, “He’s having another one tonight actually. Do you know Kei?”

“Kei Yukiji, right? We have biology together.” She stated with a smile. She was certain she was going to this party tonight and was already planning how she would ask Kei to come, her outfit, her ride, etc.

“Yeah.” You smirked at her then the bell rang. “Well, I hope to see you there.” You said, gathering your things and heading out. 

You will, Momo thought to herself as she pulled out her phone to text Kei.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei never responded to Momo. She huffed as she threw her phone on her bed and went to work on the project. She decided to thoroughly review the work you had done so far, leaving numerous comments and suggestions. She smiled when she was done, feeling productive. 

The next day at school she sauntered into your class she was excited to further discuss edits for your project. She walked with a bounce in her step and she sat down rather abruptly, causing you to look up from your seat. 

“Hello, y/n!” She greeted you cheerfully.

“Hi, Momo.” You said, offering her a small smile.

“I made some edits and left some comments on the work you did yesterday, have you had a chance to look at them yet?” She asked, eager to discuss the intricacies of ancient history.

“No. I can look at them now.” You told her, opening your laptop.

She nodded and got out her own materials, beginning to do her own work.

You made your way through her edits and suggestions. Some you accepted, some were a bit hypocritical so you ignored them. She was very thorough with her suggestions but you didn’t mind too much. They were just that, suggestions. 

You both continued to do your work in peace. When you finished your write-up, Momo said she could review it. You nodded in response and began working on something else. 

“I think it would be better for you to talk about the government first, or at least before talking about their systems of trade because I think that would be a better way to introduce the class system and the various jobs people had.” Momo began. She continued to tell you how she thought you should reorganize your writing, without pausing to ask for your input. 

You knew she was the smartest kid in your class, she was probably the smartest kid in your year. She knew all the answers, turned in the best, neatest, work, and went above and beyond to ensure her academic success. You knew her teachers all adored her and that any work she turned in was perfect in their eyes. You knew that however she was telling you to organize your work was probably better than what you had originally done and you knew that she was trying to be helpful. 

But you weren’t the smartest kid in your class. You didn’t know all the answers, you didn’t go above and beyond in your work. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to be an outstanding student, of course, you did. It just wasn’t that easy for you to turn in outstanding work and understand everything your teachers were trying to tell you. And seeing how easily Momo could succeed made you feel insecure. It felt condescending, really, her telling you to reorganize everything you had done like it wasn’t good enough. Like she thought she was better than you. (You knew deep down, of course, that she didn’t think that, but that’s still how you felt).

“Momo.” You interrupted her. 

“Hm?” She looked up from her computer screen.

“I clearly don’t have the grasp on this concept that you do, but I don’t need you telling me how to do my work. You can make your little suggestions, but you don’t need to redo everything I did.” You said to her, the bite in your words more intense than you intended it to be. 

Momo’s mouth opens slightly, her eyes wide and her face red as a tomato. Your eyes widen too, both of you a bit taken aback by what you just said.

“I-I’m sorry-that’s-that’s not what I meant to do at all-” she stuttered out, very embarrassed. She turns away from your desk for a second, then turns her body back towards you, although her face is looking down at her hands in her lap. “I’ll just, um, make suggestions from my computer.” She says, looking up at you for a second, then quickly looking back down again. “Sorry.”

And then she turns back to her desk, back to you, and begins to make edits. But as she begins to type a comment, she can’t even focus on what she’s writing. Then her vision blurs and she realizes she’s about to start crying. She is not about to cry in class because you told her to make fewer edits on your work, absolutely not, she can’t let that happen. Her hand shoots up.

“May I use the restroom?” She asks, doing everything in her power to make sure her voice doesn’t crack. She seems to succeed as your teacher simply nods at her and she bolts to the bathroom. 

The second she leaves the classroom she can already feel the tears beginning to fall. Dammit, dammit, dammit, she thinks to herself as she speed-walks to the bathroom. Once in the safety of the stall that’s furthest from the door, she leans against the door and cries quietly. She feels so stupid, why is she even crying? She feels awful, she never meant to make you feel like she knew more about the project than you and she definitely didn’t want you to feel like you had to redo your work at all - she thought your work was good, actually, just that certain sentences and paragraphs went together better than how you had originally written it. She feels awful because she thought she was better than that, that she had more self-awareness and that she wouldn’t let herself be condescending towards her peers - it had happened before in elementary school, and she felt horrible when she realized that while she had been trying to help her classmates, she had actually just been making them feel stupid and belittled. She vowed then to never make anyone feel that way again, but dammit she did it again! Why couldn’t she just keep her big mouth shut and let you do your own thing?

She moves to the toilet and sits down, leaning forward to put her face in her hands as she continues to cry quietly, consumed by her thoughts. She doesn’t hear the door open, nor does she hear you walk in. 

But you can hear her quietly sobbing, and you curse under your breath because you heard her voice break when she asked to go to the bathroom. Fuck, you thought, I made her cry. 

“Momo?” You ask softly.

Momo’s head shoots up at your voice. Why were you here?

You don’t wait for an answer. “I’m so sorry about what I said, that was rude and mean and I know that you were just trying to be helpful and you didn’t deserve that. I just-” you pause and let out a short, breathy laugh. “You seem so knowledgeable about this stuff and you’re obviously very intelligent and a good writer and I’m not. And it just…it’s hard to not feel like you’re way above me and looking down on me, I guess, even though I know that that’s not how you feel-”

The door to Momo’s stall suddenly opened, stopping your speech, and she stood there, eyes red, glossy, and slightly puffy. Her cheeks and nose were bright red and she sniffled slightly as she offered you a small smile. You instantly felt a pang in your heart at the upset you had caused her.

“Thank you for saying that.” She said to you, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand and sniffling again. You felt strongly compelled to hug Momo, so you wrapped your arms tightly around her shoulders. Momo stiffened slightly at first, not expecting you to hug her, but then hugged you back. She smelled like jasmine and orange blossoms, a pleasant surprise that caught you off guard, making you blush slightly, but thankfully she couldn’t tell. 

“I’m so sorry I made you cry, Momo.” You told her. 

“It’s okay.” She said, lightly patting your back. You smiled at that and released her. She took a deep breath.

“I’m glad that you said that because I really don’t want to be condescending or to make you feel belittled, that’s the last thing I want to do and I-it makes me feel horrible to think that I made you feel that.” She paused and took another shuddery deep breath.

You offered her a kind smile. “I know you mean well.” You told her, then paused. “I think it was a bit overwhelming to hear all of your critiques at once.”

Momo nodded aggressively. “Okay, thank you. I’ll try to be more mindful of that.”

“I’ll be kinder and calmer if I do have any more issues with your critiques.” You told her, nodding once.

You both smiled at each other for a bit, both relieved to not have upset the other and to be reassured that you were on good terms. 

“Did Kei respond to you about the party?” You asked.

Momo frowned and pulled out her phone. Then her face brightened. “Oh! He did!” Momo opened her phone to read Kei’s text.

kei yukiji: hey yaoyorozu! i’m having a party this friday at 7 and you’re totally welcome to come! you can bring a friend too if you’d like :)

sent 12:34pm

Momo couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. Finally, she was going to a party. She was ecstatic. 

She looked adorable, you thought. “I take it you’re coming on Friday then?” You asked, smiling at how excited she was.

“Yes!” She nodded. She clenched her fists and let out a little squeal. Oh my god, she’s so cute, you thought to yourself, blushing lightly and laughing with her. Momo let out a little laugh before taking a deep breath to calm down. 

“Should we head back to class?” You asked. Momo paused and looked in the mirror. She frowned, the evidence of her crying was still present on her face. 

You knew what she was thinking. “Splash some water on your face,” you offered.

She turned on the sink and let the water pool in her hands. She splashed her face a couple of times and you grabbed some paper towels for her. 

“Thanks,” she said with a smile as she took the paper towels from you.

“You’re very welcome.” You said, matching her smile.

Momo dabbed at her face and stared at herself in the mirror for a bit, watching the redness slowly fade. When she felt ready she turned to you and nodded.

“Thanks for waiting for me.” She said with a grin.

“No problem.” You said, “it’s not like I want to go back to class anyway.” She laughed at that.

You started walking back to class when Momo paused. “Y/n?” 

You turned back to look at her. “Yeah?”

“You do have a good understanding of what we’re working on and I think you are a good writer. Everything you wrote for the project was good, aside from maybe some grammar things, but you are smart.” She told you with a very serious look. 

You blushed, a bit taken aback. “I-” you let out a short, breathy laugh, “Thank you, Momo. That’s very kind of you to say.” You offered her a small smile.

“It’s the truth.” She said, smiling back at you.

You didn’t know what to say to that, so you just smiled at her, a smile that said thank you. “Shall we?” You asked, nodding towards your classroom. She nodded and you went back to class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yaoyorozu stood in front of her full-length mirror beaming. She had chosen a deep turquoise lacy top and matched it with a nice pair of brown corduroy pants and a brown flannel. She decided to wear her hair down (which Mina had told her to do) and put on some jewelry. She was very anxious on the way to Mina’s, constantly fiddling with her fingers and hair. When she arrived, Mina dragged her inside, sat her down, and did her makeup.

When they were done, they headed to Kei’s.

“Are you excited?!” Mina asked in the car, giggling and grabbing Momo’s hand.

Momo nodded, “but I’m feeling a little nervous.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I guess ‘cause it’ll be a lot of people and stuff and it might just be overwhelming .” She responded, looking out the window at the houses they were passing. 

“Well I think it’s mostly people from school so you should know them and if it’s too overwhelming you can wait in the bathroom and call me!” Mina said matter-of-factly.

Momo laughed. “Thanks, Mina. I’m mostly excited.”

“Good!”

You were at Kei’s, standing in with your usual group of party people. You had done shots and were now having hard seltzer, joking and talking with your friends all throughout, but you kept glancing at the door to see if Momo had arrived. You hoped you weren’t being too obvious, you couldn’t help but be excited to see Yaoyorozu. What will she wear? Would she do something different with her hair? You could imagine how beautiful she’d look with her long dark hair framing her face. You imagined all the different outfits she might wear while you chatted with your friends.

“Hey y/n?” Kei asked, tapping you on the shoulder. “Wanna help us set up for Rage Cage?”

“Of course.” You responded, turning to follow Kei to his dining table. 

As you walked inside, the door opened and Momo and her pink friend (whose name you didn’t know) walked in. She beamed at you and Kei, exchanging hugs and greetings. Momo looked gorgeous (obviously) and she had worn her hair down which framed her face beautifully and you felt lucky to be able to see her look like that. Her outfit was fairly modest but it accentuated her body nicely. You bit your lip, slightly taken aback by her beauty. 

“It’s good to see you.” You told Momo with a smile.

“You too!” She paused to smile at you. “This is my friend Mina! Mina, this is y/n, we did our history project together!”

“Nice to meet you, Mina.” You said.

“Likewise.” She responded.

“We’re about to set up a game of Rage Cage, do you guys wanna play?” You asked them.

“Absolutely!” Mina squealed. “Yaomomo, you’ll love Rage Cage, it’s super fun.”

Momo gave you an almost expectant look, which was incredibly cute and you realized she was hoping you would explain the words to her so you did. You filled and placed the cups, announced to everyone that the game was starting, then took your places around the table. Yaomomo stands to your left and you can smell her perfume despite the sweaty teens, alcohol, and weed. 

The game starts and everyone becomes engrossed in bouncing the balls into the cups. When it was Momo’s turn she felt a rush of anxiety and excitement trying to get the ball into the cup. On her third try, it went in and she fist-pumped, cheering as she passed the cup. 

“Nice!” You said, high-fiving her. 

“Thanks!” She giggled.

The game went on and Momo and you had to take a few drinks. Towards the end of the game, there were only a few cups left in the center. When it was Momo’s turn, only the bitch cup remained in the center. 

“You can do it, Yaomomo!” You cheered from her right.

“Go, Yaomomo, go!” Mina cheered from her left. 

She shot once, twice, three times, and missed each time. You both yelped each time the ball began to roll away and you scrambled to get the ball to her when she dropped it. 

The other cup was slowly making its way toward Momo, and if it passed her she would have to drink the bitch cup. She took a short deep breath and focused on her bounce. You watched with anticipation as the ball hit the edge of the cup and then bounced in. 

Momo and you turned to face each other, cheering, and Momo suddenly leaped into your arms, squeezing you in a bear hug. You paused at first, slightly shocked, then quickly hugged her back. She was warm and smelled like jasmine and you silently thanked the dim and crowded party atmosphere for hiding your flushed cheeks. 

Momo released you and you turned your attention back to the game. Momo was filled with adrenaline from playing a drinking game (an essential component of high school parties that she had dreamed of) and slightly buzzed from the drinks she had. She was exhilarated after the stressful game. 

“Hey, wanna do shots?” Mina asked, grabbing her hand. 

“Yes!” Momo responded with a big grin.  

After three shots Mina handed Momo a drink and pulled her over to where people were dancing. She felt warm and loose and she and Mina kept giggling while they were dancing. Momo felt elated and she lost herself in the moment. At some point during their dancing, Mina grabbed Momo’s shoulder and whisper-yelled in her ear. 

“Look at that guy behind me! He’s so hot!” 

Momo scanned until her eyes fell on a boy with red and white hair.

“Yeah, he’s cute. Are you gonna go talk to him?” She asked.

“Yeah, let’s dance our way over there!” Mina exclaimed.

So they gradually pushed their way over to the boy until Mina was looking him directly in the eye. She gave Momo’s hand a squeeze and then yelled “I like your hair!” To the boy. 

Momo continued dancing as she watched them flirt out of the corner of her eye. She rolled her eyes, suddenly feeling self-conscious because her one friend had left her to talk to some boy.. 

Meanwhile, you had been drinking and talking with your friends, who eventually decided they also wanted to dance. As you made your way to the dance floor, your eyes found Mina’s pink hair easily in the crowd, but you didn’t see Momo next to her. Frowning slightly, you scanned the crowd for her, eyes landing on her slightly to the side of where Mina was. She looked a little bit somber, and you wondered why. You watched as she danced, slowly pushing her way through the crowd, probably attempting to escape the gaggle of kids dancing. As she reached the edge of the crowd she caught your eye and smiled, and you smiled back. You both began to approach one another but right before Momo reached you she rolled her ankle slightly and fell right into you.

Her drink spilled all over you and you attempted to catch her. You were able to grab under one of her arms so she didn’t hit the ground too hard. 

“Oh my god, y/n, I’m so sorry, I totally ruined your shirt!” Momo exclaimed, completely embarrassed.

“It’s totally fine, Yaomomo, don’t even worry about it.” You reassured her, helping her stand back up. “Are you okay?”

She nodded aggressively, looked you directly in the eye, and asked, “Would you accompany me to the bathroom?”

“Of course.” You told her. She smiled and grabbed your hand, guiding you both to the bathroom. Her hand was soft and warm and her fingers are long and wrapped tightly around your hand. She has purple nail polish on. You thought about how nice it would feel if she cupped your face with her pretty hands. You wanted her to drag her thumb across your bottom lip. You wondered what her fingers would taste like. 

You reach the bathroom and shake yourself from your thoughts. Based on the party atmosphere, they’d probably taste like sweat and alcohol. Ew… You probably wouldn’t mind the taste if it was her fingers.

Momo pulls you into the bathroom and you turn to shut the door behind you. Momo seats herself on the edge of the bathtub while you walk up to the sink and inspect the stain on your shirt in the mirror. You frown, the stain was basically centered on the front of your shirt. You would have to take it off to wash it. You turn back to tell Momo, who quickly looks at the ground when you face her. Weird.

“Um, I’m gonna take my shirt off to wash it.” You told her.

“Ok, do you want any help?” She asked.

You smiled. “No, that’s okay. I’ll let you know if I do.”

She smiled and nodded, resting her head in her hands. She watched as you turned back to the mirror, and held her breath as she watched you pull your shirt over your head. She could feel her cheeks getting red and hoped she could blame the alcohol. She was definitely drunk. Her head was spinning, and she couldn’t help but slightly rock from side to side; if she didn’t she was sure she would fall asleep. Or vomit. Or both. Plus, it felt fun to sway, she could feel the alcohol moving in her body when she did. Her gaze was locked on you as you scrubbed your shirt in the sink. Were you always this beautiful? She knew you were pretty, sure, but she never put much thought into it. But watching you now, she felt dumbstruck by how simply beautiful you were. Just standing there, washing your shirt, you looked so effortlessly beautiful, so…

“...perfect,” Momo mumbled. Fuck, did she say that out loud?

“Huh?” You said, turning around to look at her.

Momo’s face was bright red, she could feel it. “No-nothing.” She said, trying to give you a convincing smile. She averted her eyes to the ground. She could feel her heart beating faster as self-conscious thoughts swarmed her mind. Why was she staring at you? Why did she let herself get caught? She stared at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She could feel her stomach churning uncomfortably. 

You noticed she was staring. Was she uncomfortable with you being shirtless? As you turned back to ask her, Momo slipped off the tub and was kneeling in front of the toilet. Oh god. You hurried over behind her, throwing the toilet seat up and sweeping her hair into your hands right as Momo began to vomit. 

“It’s okay, you’re okay…” you cooed, attempting to soothe Momo. You ran your hand over her hair until she stopped heaving.

“Ugh…” Momo groaned as she slumped back and leaned against the bath. You let go of her hair and went to grab a towel for her to wipe her face. 

“How do you feel?” You asked as you handed her the towel and sat down next to her. 

“Crappy.” She responded, lightly snorting. She took the towel from you and slowly dabbed her face. Her cheeks were very red, she was certain of it. Her mother would highly disapprove of her behavior. How could she let herself drink so much? If there was one thing Momo had mastered, it was self-control, due to years of discipline from her family, but tonight Momo felt like almost everything was out of control. She glanced over at you, still shirtless, and she felt her cheeks heat up even more. Dammit! She put her head between her knees to hide the redness. Why was this happening? It’s not like she’d never seen a naked person before. 

You were watching, concerned that Momo’s stomach was still upset and she would need to throw up again. 

“Are you gonna throw up again?” You asked, putting a hand on her back to soothe her. She jumped at your touch, which surprised both of you, and you retracted your hand. You locked eyes with a very clearly embarrassed Momo, and that’s when you realized what was going on. 

Momo barely heard the small ‘oh’ that escaped your lips over the pounding of her heart. She shook her head and you smiled at her.

“Good.” You said. 

“Thank you.” She said, averting her eyes to the floor.

“Of course, I don’t want you to be sick.” You responded matter-of-factly.

“Sorry for spilling alcohol on you.” She continued, still not looking at you. 

“You already said sorry.” You paused, waiting for her to look at you. She didn’t. “You don’t need to apologize again.”

She smiled, finally meeting your eyes again. God, you looked beautiful. She couldn’t stop herself from imagining what it would be like to kiss you right now. Your lips looked plump, soft, perfect. She wanted to feel them on her lips, her face, her neck. 

“Yaomomo?” You asked. She was staring at you again. You smirked as she blushed and looked away. “I know it’s hard to not get caught up in my amazingly good looks.” You joked. 

Momo blushed harder. “W-what? I wasn’t -”

You laughed at her reaction. “You’re so cute.” You told her with a smile. 

“I didn’t mean to stare, I’m sorry-”

“Oh my god, stop apologizing, obviously I don’t mind!” You interrupted her. Does she not realize how beautiful she is? You had no qualms with her looking at you.

“...you don't?” She asked, meeting your eyes.

“Well, not from a beautiful girl like you.” You said with a smirk, reaching out your hand to lightly touch her cheek. Momo’s eyes shifted to the side, registering your touch, before looking back at you. 

Momo didn’t know what to say. Was this really happening? She looked down at your lips and leaned into your hand. Then she looked back at you. Maybe it was the alcohol or the fact that you seemed so comfortable telling her you were attracted to her, but she felt the need to be kissed. And yet, you still weren’t kissing her. You were just sitting there, staring at each other, waiting. 

Frustrated, she asked, “Are you gonna kiss me?”

You laughed. “If that’s okay with you?” You asked with a smirk. 

“Yes.”

And then you kissed her. She tasted like alcohol and bile but you didn’t care. Her lips were soft and plump and they fit perfectly with yours as you kissed her again and again and again. Her hands landed on your shoulders and yours fell to her waist as you pulled her towards you. She pulled away momentarily to straddle your lap before sitting down and resuming your make-out session. Your hands roamed her body and hers hesitantly began to do the same. The high of having her like you back felt glorious.

Suddenly there were a series of loud knocks on the door.

“Are you done in there? I need to pee!” A loud feminine voice called from the other side. 

You and Momo paused and looked at each other. She couldn't help but start giggling. She felt so giddy. You joined her. You were both very very happy. After her laughter subsided, Yaomomo stood up and helped you back up. She watched as you put your shirt back on and you grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. The girl waiting to pee gave you guys a look that neither of you registered.

“Let’s go find a closet or something.” You told her. She giggled and nodded and you wandered off in search of a place to continue your activities. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

<3 i hope you all enjoyed! xoxo

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 140: I Need You

"Alright, Potter," Robards said, "I need you to finish filling out these papers, then I need you to finish that proposal we're sending to the minister about increasing the DMLE's budget for next year."

"Right," Harry said, taking a fortifying breath.

"Don't forget how important it is that we get that extra funding," he continued. "It could be the difference between life or death for some of our aurors."

"Yes," Harry affirmed. "I'll have it ready. I'll take it to Kingsley myself this afternoon."

Robards looked at him curiously, "This afternoon?"

"We've got a meeting about the upcoming charity season," he added. "trying to decide which events I'm needed to speak at."

"Right. Good," Robards said, and Harry could see the wheels in his mind turning already as he thought about the leverage this could conceivably give Harry.

Before he could say anything more or ask Harry to do something else that he wasn't entirely comfortable with, Harry fled, waving to Robards as he made a beeline to his office. He closed the door as quickly as he could, separating himself from the pressure waiting just outside his door.

"Rough start to the day?" Draco queried lightly.

Harry turned and glared at him, "I hate budgeting time! I hate charity season! I hate that I can't even make it to my desk in the morning before I'm accosted by these-" he broke off, searching for the right word, "these vultures!"

"Well, if it helps I brought you a pumpkin latte," Draco offered, pointing to the to-go cup on Harry's desk.

"That does help a little," he confessed as he made his way over to his desk and dropped his bag on the floor.

(Read more below the cut)

"So I'm guessing that we'll not be heading out on an active duty assignment today," Draco said with a sigh.

Harry winced and rubbed the back of his neck, "Probably not."

"Well. Which part should I help with first?" Draco asked.

He shook his head, "You don't have to-"

"What else should I do? Just sit at my desk all day and watch you?"

Huffing a defeated sigh, Harry held out the beginnings of the budget proposal he'd been writing, "Could you work on the budget, then?"

Draco took it from him, "Good choice," he said. "You know, our partnership really did end up working out well," he mused. "All of my father's political expertise has come in handy after all."

And Harry didn't say anything, but that was probably one of the most disheartening things he'd heard all day. Draco had joined the aurors to avoid becoming like he father and here he was, doing exactly what his father would have done, thanks to Harry.

If he hadn't felt like crap about himself before, he certainly did now.

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

It was a long day (most days were, if Harry was being honest) and after leaving a board meeting with Kingsley and a handful of other Ministry officials Harry trudged back to his office because he wasn't sure he'd be able to make it any further.

He collapsed into his chair and put his head down on his desk and tried to not think of all of the things he'd been asked to do, of all of ways he was needed.

"Hey," Draco said, entering the office behind him and Harry startled.

"What are you still doing here?" Harry asked, sitting up to look at the other man.

Draco shrugged, "I just had a few things to finish up," he said. It was a lie and they both knew it. "Wondered if you wanted to come to mine for dinner?"

Without letting himself think about whether it was an imposition or not, Harry nodded.

The other man smiled at him, "Let's go then. Everything else can wait until tomorrow."

"Oh," Harry said, frowning at the papers on his desk and thinking that he really ought to make himself a list of the things he'd agreed to at the very least, "I should just-"

"It can wait until tomorrow," Draco repeated, somehow firm but gentle all at once, grounding him in the way that no one else seemed able to these days.

He nodded once and they made their way toward the floo. It was late enough that the lights had all been dimmed and only the enchanted brooms and dusters were out, tidying from the day.

Harry followed Draco through the fireplace into his kitchen and collapsed into the chair at the kitchen table.

"I hate charity season," Harry groaned as Draco passed him a beer, the kind that Harry knew he didn't even like but got because Harry was at his house so often.

"Let's not talk about work," Draco said, as he headed toward his door just as the door bell rang, "Our Indian food is here, anyway," he added with a smirk since he knew that Harry could never work out how Draco always knew when the food was going to arrive.

When he got back to the kitchen, carrying bags that had Harry's mouth watering, Harry asked, "What would you like to talk about, if not work?"

"Literally anything," Draco said, handing him a container of rice and the chicken vindaloo.

He frowned as he dipped his food, trying to think of anything that he could talk about that wasn't related to work.

"You work too much," Draco informed him.

"You work as much as I do," Harry protested.

The other man snorted, "Only because if I didn't, you'd never leave."

"Great," Harry said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Let's just add one more thing that I am responsible for that I can proceed to fail at living up to," he snapped.

Draco's eyebrows rose in surprise as he froze with his fork midway to his mouth.

"Sorry," Harry said, shaking his head and trying to clear it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Harry," Draco said softly, laying a hand on Harry's arm to draw his attention outward.

"What?"

"Relax," he said. "I don't need you."

Harry nodded, tears stinging the back of his eyes, "No, I know-"

"I do want you," he continued. "I want to be your partner, I want to be your friend. I'd want to be more if that was something you were interested in. But I don't need you."

Harry swallowed, a bit at a loss. He'd wondered (hoped) that Draco might feel the same way he did but he wasn't sure what to say.

"The pressure you're under," Draco said with a little shake of the head, "It's a lot, Harry. And I need you to know that no matter what, I'm here for you. I will always support you, I will always do my best to help you, and I will always tell you to take a break and take care of yourself," he said. "Or I'll insist that you let me take care of you."

"You shouldn't have to take care of me," he protested.

"I don't have to, I want to," he replied. "It's a small, but important distinction," he added with a little smile.

Harry looked down at his food.

Draco let him think, let him mull it over while they ate and listened to the quiet music drifting through the wireless.

Eventually, Harry said, "I think I want that, too," he swallowed. "The more than just friendship part."

The other man stayed silent, letting Harry speak and process.

"But I can't just jump into another commitment right now," he said. "Being a boyfriend seems like a lot of work, and I don't think-"

Draco's hand covered his and Harry looked up to see that Draco's eyes were on him, soft and understanding. "It's okay," he repeated. "If you just want to keep things the same as they are now, that's okay. If you want to spend Fridays cuddling on the sofa in front of the telly, that's okay. If you want to have someone to take to events with you, or if you want to take a step back," he shrugged. "It's all fine, Harry. I've loved you for a decade at this point, nothing's going to change."

A pleasant tingle of surprise drifted up his spine. "If I wanted to kiss you?" Harry asked before he could think better of it.

The corner of Draco's mouth curled at the corner, "I'd let you."

He leaned across the edge of the table and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Draco's mouth where his smile had blossomed.

"Can we take this slow?" Harry asked, still only inches from Draco.

Draco nodded, "Slow as you like. All you have to do is tell me what you want."

"Can we cuddle after dinner?"

He smiled, "I'd like that very much."

"Would you-" Harry started before breaking off and pulling back slightly so he could search Draco's face.

"Tell me," Draco encouraged.

"Would you stroke my hair?" he asked quickly before his courage could desert him. Draco had done that once, when they were very drunk and Harry still let himself go back to that place in his mind when he was feeling tired or upset.

Draco smiled at him, "Yes," he replied immediately. "Yeah, I would like that very much, too."

"And if that's all I'm ready for?" Harry asked.

"Then that's what we'll do," Draco replied with a little shrug like he really didn't mind. "Let me," he whispered, thumb brushing over the back of Harry's hand. "Let me love you in any way you feel ready right now."

He took a deep breath. It was surprisingly terrifying, even letting down his guard that much, allowing even that tiny amount of vulnerability. "Okay," he finally said.

"Yeah?" Draco asked, eyes skimming over Harry's face, searching for any sign of unease.

"Yeah," Harry repeated, smiling at him.

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

After dinner the moved into the living room and Draco put on a movie. They just sat next to each other for a while, Harry's shoulder pressed against Draco's, his right thigh pushed up against Draco's left.

After about half an hour, Harry finally broke the silence. "Can you-?" Harry started before trailing off.

Draco looked over at him and gave him a little nod, putting a cushion on his lap so Harry could lay his head down. And then he started playing with Harry's hair, gently rubbing his scalp, combing his fingers through Harry's curls.

"Thank you," Harry murmured after a little while, feeling calm and a bit sleepy for the first time in ages.

"Anytime," Draco replied as he continued to toy with Harry's hair.

"I think I'm going to fall asleep," Harry mumbled.

Draco just kept stroking his hair. "Good," he murmured. "Sweet dreams."

And as Harry drifted off, he found that his dreams were in fact very sweet.

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

Day 139: Expectations | Day 141: What? Why? How? When?

[rafaelblackbird15]

Teen Wolf Fic Recs Part 2: Steter

It took me quite awhile to gather all these together, so please enjoy discovering more parts to the incredible world of Teen Wolf, provided to you by the wonderful writers of our fandom.

Leave comments and kudos for these writers if you can, they really deserve it, they're wonderful. And it's my honour to try and share their creations with tumblr.

These are Steter, Stiles Stilinski/Peter Hale fanfictions. Read them at your will. Check the tags on the actual fics for warnings and such.

I have included links to authors that write a lot of Steter as well, and some of their fics for examples. I'm sorry this post got so long, haha, but enjoy the stories, they're worth it.

If any of the links don't work, just comment and I'll fix it.

Check out my other Sterek fic recs [Part 3] and [Part 4] and Steter fic recs [Part 1]

*********

Broken Bones and Broken Bonds by twothumbsandnostakeincanon(somanyofthekids) on Archive of Our Own

Words: 20148

Chapters: 4/?

Summary:

Stiles kind of wished that he’d at least tried weed before this. 

Or something, you know? Maybe taken up a graffiti hobby, or even just skateboarded in front of City Hall often enough to get a citation. 

He wished he’d done something to be deserving of the looks people gave him now, rather than just being the recipient of his dead father’s unused power. 

**********

Stigmata by twothumbsandnostakeincanon (somanyofthekids) on Archive of Our Own

Words: 1661

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

He feels so hollow that he almost wonders if he's been turned inside out. This emptiness he feels; is it the vastness of the entire world?

How do you fill a world? With people, he supposes. But his people no longer want him.

He needs people.

*********

Beefcake Mountain by twothumbsandnostakeincanon(somanyofthekids) on Archive of Our Own

Words: 14565

Chapters: 7/7

Summary:

Shortly after moving back to Beacon Hills, the left hand of the Hale Pack opened a text from a mysterious number.

"Is there a mirror in your pants? Because I can see myself in them."

What the f—

**********

Steter Week 2019 by twothumbsandnostakeincanon(somanyofthekids)

Works: 4

Complete: No

Summary:

There isn't a summary listed so I've included the first fic underneath:

Marvelous Miss and Magnificent Mischief by twothumbsandnostakeincanon(somanyofthekids)

Words: 3346

Chapters: 1/1

also Part 1 of the Magnificent Mischief series

Summary:

“Marvelous Miss and the Magnificent Mischief!” the carnival barker shouted just outside the corridor with all the food tents. “Come see Miss Paige do amazing tricks with her talking raven! He not only speaks, but he jokes! He teases! He philosophizes!”

********

Author: twothumbsandnostakeincanon(somanyofthekids)

This author has a lot of wonderful Steter fics, and their writing of the pairing is really worth having a good look through.

*******

Blood Runs Cold by Smalls2233 on Archive of Our Own

Words: 111408

Chapters: 22/22

Summary:

“So then why are we letting Scott and Derek search for it if you know it's useless?”

Peter looked down at Stiles and cocked his head with a grin. “Because I think seeing my nephew and your best friend run around like headless chickens while I think up a plan is hysterical.”

“And the plan is…?”

----

Trusting Peter Hale is something that Stiles had repeatedly told himself to never do. He had seen first hand the results of Peter's plans and schemes, but when a shadow began tormenting Beacon Hills, he found that sometimes he'd have to to play along with Peter's games.

This story does include a dose of Chris&Stiles interaction about midway and carries on throughout, and then Chris/Peter towards the midend, which also carries on. And it kind of dissolves into Chris/Peter/Stiles. If that's not your taste, that's fine, because the majority of the story is Stiles/Peter, and that majority is really really good Steter.

**********

No One Listening Tonight by Smalls2233

Words: 6985

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

That left… well it left Peter and only Peter. Relying on Peter for help was only slightly better than stabbing himself through the eye with a hot poker. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

Of course, there was always the option of packing up and letting whatever was trying to destroy the town succeed this time. Stiles snorted under his breath as he thought about how that would probably leave him with fewer injuries than dealing with Peter would. But unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Stiles knew he needed to head downtown to Peter’s apartment and pray the man was willing to work with him.

----

Stiles stumbles into a magical trap forged by a wannabe warlock.

*********

Author: Smalls2233

*********

Blue by Wynnebat on Archive of Our Own

Words: 3179

Chapters: 2/2

Summary:

Derek brings both Scott and Stiles to the hospital to prove a point about hunters, but Stiles isn’t sure the point he’s getting is the point Derek’s trying to make. Especially when his black and white world explodes into color the moment he looks into Peter Hale’s eyes.

*********

The Long Way Around by Wynnebat on Archive of Our Own

Words: 15569

Chapters: 3/3

Summary:

When Peter leaves Beacon Hills for good, he expects that to be it for the broken bonds of the last remaining members of the Hale pack. Fate and Stiles Stilinski aren’t of the same opinion.

**********

Prowl by Wynnebat on Archive of Our Own

Words: 3454

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

Laura's body is never found, but instead of continuing with his murder spree, Peter gets distracted by the scent of his mate. Stiles gets very distracted by the huge wolf that starts showing up at his house all the time.

**********

Author: Wynnebat

This author writes some really interesting, deep stories about Steter that are really beautiful.

**********

your last white lie (everything is not alright) by snowdarkred on Archive of Our Own

Words: 4023

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

Stiles says yes, and things go downhill from there.

**********

reflect by snowdarkred on Archive of Our Own

Words: 569

Chapters: 1/1

Part 1 of the dig your teeth in and tear until you taste (peter/stiles oneshots) series

Summary:

(previously posted to tumblr)

When he dreams, he can sometimes still hear his mother’s voice, explaining it to him: Reflections are the price we pay for what we are.

*********

sentire by snowdarkred on Archive of Our Own

Words: 1027

Chapters: 1/1

Part 2 of the dig your teeth in and tear until you taste (peter/stiles oneshots) series

Summary:

[to feel]

Stiles hears the whisper of death before it strikes.

**********

Author:

snowdarkred

This author writes some really intense, interesting stories about Peter and Stiles. Not as long as some fics are, but they're really good adaptions of Steter with a lot of feeling.

**********

The Striking Complication by aurevell on Archive of Our Own

Words: 27235

Chapters: 4/15

Summary:

The smile slips off Stiles’s face. “Hey, um. Why am I here?” he asks, voice unsteady. “I’m—I have this weird feeling like I shouldn’t leave you. I’ve felt all day like...” He can’t finish the thought.

Peter looks as surprised as Stiles feels. A strange expression passes over his face, there and gone before Stiles can decipher it.

Stiles snaps awake each morning with the sense that he’s missing something. Weirder still, he can’t wrap his head around his sudden, inexplicable trust in Peter Hale, who seems to know way more than he’s letting on. Nor can he guess why a half-remembered nightmare seems to haunt his every move.

Rinse and repeat. Because time loops suck, apparently.

*******

Author: aurevell

This author has 11 Teen Wolf fics under their belt. 5 Sterek and 6 Steter. Happy rummaging!

**********

the teeth right down to the blood by sazzafraz on Archive of Our Own

Words: 2133

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

‘We’re pretty fucked right now.’ Scott says. Stiles doesn’t speak but there’s something singing in his bones that says Scott got the message anyway. (In which both are bit and things are gruesome.)

This has a sprinkling of Scott/Stiles, Scott/Stiles/Peter, and Scott/Allison as well as Steter, but it's worth the read, a good story with an interesting concept.

*********

Author: sazzafraz

This author doesn't have that many Steter stories, although they do have a few. Although they do have some pretty lengthy Teen Wolf fics about other characters of the show.

***********

Everything goes (wow) by midmorning_bomb on Archive of Our Own

Words: 8215

Chapters: 5/5

Part 1 of the Aranea & Babewolf series

Summary:

It was supposed to go like this:

1. Peter summons demon to the circle.

2. Demon remains in said circle until Peter outlines their contract.

3. Demon agrees to elegantly crafted contract, becoming loyally bound to Peter and Peter alone.

Instead, the creature steps casually out of the circle, tosses its things onto the leather sofa, and starts immediately meddling in Peter’s immaculate space, touching all of Peter’s very expensive things.

*********

It's only by midmorning_bomb on Archive of Our Own

Words: 2905

Chapters: 3/5

Part 2 of the Aranea & Babewolf series

Summary:

“Darling, please don’t pout.”

“You’re pouting.” Stiles pouts, from the upper corner of the library, everything from his hip bones down an angry mass of hissing fangs and venomous chelicerae. “Why would we ever go back to that garbage town? Everyone there is the worst, the only good thing is the very rad and awesome curse I laid.”

*********

You are a memory by midmorning_bomb on Archive of Our Own

Words: 900

Chapters: 1/1

Part 2 of the Little glimpse series

Summary:

If he has to bleed to breathe warmth back into Peter’s icy body, he will.

Because Peter’s done the same for him.

********

Author: midmorning_bomb

This author has 16 Steter fics. A little unfriendly to some of the other characters, but it's only kind of obvious because it's not subtle about it, and not exactly underserved. Has some really interesting ideas as well as some kind, well developed Steter. Definitely have a read through.

***********

[0097linersb]

Pink Lemonade

CHAPTER 3

Pairings: Jaemin x Renjun x Haechan x Jeno x Mark x Reader

Genre: Smut, Fluff, Humor (I guess), Slow burn af

Summary: The dreamies decide to spend some weeks at an Inn in the middle of the nature to relax and enjoy some outdoor adventures, far away from their crazy idol life. What they didn’t expect was the nice girl running said Inn.

Word count: 4.1k

A/N: hEy guys, I’m SO sorry for 1. taking so long for this shitty chapter and 2. I will no longer be tagging new people simply because I am so lost and I feel like I will miss half of the people who asked so I don’t want to make anyone feel forgotten or upset

THIS ISN’t PROOF READ I SUCK I KNOW I hate thIS STORY

☼  previous / next  ☼

The next morning you woke up before Jeno, you tried to silently sneak out to give him the chance of pretending nothing happened, in case he decided it had all been a drunken mistake and it should be forgotten. Your plan was proven kind of difficult with the whole having to untangle yourself from the man and unzipping the tent open situation, bright sun rays suddenly filling the space. You winced at the light and tried to quickly close the door back up, startled by a groaning sleepy Jeno who confusedly sat up and rubbed his eyes, “What’s going on?”

“Sorry, I was just trying to get out,” You apologized.

“Oh, ok. What time is it?”

“I have no idea, my phone died.”

The man searched for his phone among the covers and sighed when he realized he had run out of battery too. You awkwardly stared at each other, not really knowing if one of you should bring up what had happened or just casually move on.

“I don’t think the others are up yet,” You tried to start a conversation before the tension could swallow you up.

“Probably not. I’m still sleepy though, could go for a morning nap,” He smiled before lying back down, you were thankful he was trying to end the awkwardness too.

“I love morning naps.”

“Come join?” He asked with hopeful eyes and you nodded before practically throwing yourself back into his side, careful to not touch him in case he wasn’t interested and you didn’t want to impose yourself. You turned your back to Jeno and closed your eyes, ready to fall asleep in seconds, but was surprised when you felt the man’s arm silently wrapping around your waist and his chest pressing against your back before lazily whispering a “Good night” against the back of your neck. You smiled contently to yourself, hearing Jeno’s breathing get heavier and slower as sleep took over him, following his steps soon after.

The second time you woke up, was to a screaming Jisung. You and Jeno both jumped awake, startled, before running outside thinking there was a snake or something dangerous like that. The two of you were soon staring at the young boy judgingly, looking between him and the cockroach on the floor.

“Jisung, it’s dead,” Jeno sighed, trying to not get annoyed at the young man.

“It’s still moving!” He whined, still refusing to go down from the camping chair.

“They do that,” You sighed too, giving up on trying to make sense of the situation and approaching the boy with your hand out to help him down. “C’mon, help me to put the things back in the truck so we can go back to the Inn.”

Jisung reluctantly did as you said and Jeno started to wake up the others, everyone folded their tents and picked up the trash in silence, too tired and hungover to play around. If looked from afar, one might have you mistaken for extras on a zombie movie.

As you arrived back at the Inn, everyone crawled into their rooms without muttering a single word. You took advantage of the moment to take a shower since you were still in your bikins and Jaemin’s sweater, feeling completely disgusting after a day (mostly a night) of sweating. You were deep in your nirvana state of mind, enjoying the hot water relaxing your muscles and finally cleaning your hair of all that lake water, when you heard a bang at the door. You jumped in shock and looked over at the door instantly.

“Whoever is there, please let me in, I really need to pee!” Jisung screamed, fist still knocking on the door in urgency.

“You can use the bathroom downstairs!”

“Cockroaches,” He squealed before letting out a loud whine. “Please, I’m going to explode.”

You lightly groaned at the inconvenience before quickly shutting the water down and wrapping your towel around you, opening the door and signaling to Jisung that the bathroom was all his. He banged the door shut and you leaned against the hallway wall, waiting to return to your very good shower that you were missing very much after experiencing the chilly wind outside.

“Is there anything wrong?” Jaemin asked after opening his door, seeming like he had just woken up from a deep slumber.

You tried to act casually, like you weren’t standing around in just a towel, “Everything’s awesome.”

Jaemin had his mouth open to start saying something else when another door opened, an annoyed Haechan appearing behind it, “Who’s yelling and why?”

“Jisung needed to use the bathroom,” You explained, feeling way to exposed and embarrassed to elaborate.

“Can’t a guy ever sleep in peace?” Renjun’s suddenly appeared from his room, whining at his friends and rubbing at his eyes sleepily.

“Ok, can everyone please stay inside their rooms for the next 30 seconds?!” You requested loudly in frustration, kind of laughing internally at the way Jeno was midway through opening his door before muttering a sorry and closing it back in super speed.

“Yeah, sorry,” Renjun apologized before going back to his nap, but you didn’t miss the way he gave you a once-over first.

“Enjoy your shower,” Jaemin smiled at you before copying his friend.

Haechan simply stood there staring at you and you looked at him in expectation and a ting of annoyance. The man smirked at you before winking, “Looking good.”

“Yeah, and very much naked, so if you could like, just go inside for a minute,” You politely requested.

“But that’s very much what I’d like to see,” He playfully flirted with a low voice so no one would hear, slowly approaching you. He gave you no time to react as he looked down at your chest, right hand suddenly pinching your hardened nipple and you gasped in surprise, “Cold?”

He looked up at you with a teasing look and you nodded with furrowed eyebrows, confused as to what he was playing. Haechan whispered a “cute” against your ear before returning to his room with a smirk, right on time for Jisung to open the door, “Thank you so much! I’m sorry for interrupting your shower. I think I had the content of two whole wine bottles in my bladder.”

“It’s ok,” You assured him absently, still bothered by Haechan’s antics. You honestly had thought he was all bark and no bite, you two have been playfully flirting since day one and you had guessed it was just part of your friendship dynamic considering you both always laughed about it.

Well, you could do nothing about it except from seeing where life would take you two.

            _____________________________________________

After showering, you prepared some yogurt bowls with fruits and granola for breakfast, figuring you could all have a late lunch. Jaemin came downstairs after an hour and helped you out, stopping you from murdering another poor orange.

“Do you think everyone will be up for an activity today?” You asked, hoping they would opt for a more relaxing afternoon, as you were pretty much tired and hungover yourself.

Jaemin softly laughed, “If the activity is dying on the floor of the living room, yes.”

“Oh, thank god.”

“Slept late?” He raised an eyebrow at you and you almost dropped the knife you were holding.

Does he know?

“I went to bed right after you did, red wine is just not my friend,” You awkwardly laughed, trying to calm your mind down. He couldn’t have heard anything over the loud singing yesterday and Jeno probably didn’t tell him.

Jaemin said nothing to that and you both enjoyed a semi-comfortable silence until he offered, “Want me to teach you how to peel an orange?”

“Theoretically speaking I know how to do it, I just can’t make my hands actually work,” You laughed, but moved closer so he could show you anyways.

“I’ll teach you an easier way then, it’s not ideal but it’s better than losing half of the orange,” He teased and you glared at him. “You just have to cut it in half like this, and then like this. Actually you can cut it as many times as you want to. When they are in slices like this you can just use your fingers to pull the peel away.”

“Oh, I think I can do that,” You exclaimed in excitement, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Hey, do you by any chance have more of that pineapple cake?”

“Chenle finished it but I can go to town to buy some more when we’re done with this. You can come along if you want to, they have a lot of options.”

“That sounds great.”

The two of you managed to quickly finish decorating the bowl, even adding some pretty flowers Jaemin went out to pick on top of it. After placing it all in the fridge so it wouldn’t become a mess until the others woke up, you scribbled down a note letting them know you had gone to the city and would be right back before heading outside to the car.

“Can I drive?” Jaemin asked jokingly, knowing your car was very dear to you.

“If you crash it, you’re giving me that watch,” You rolled your eyes, throwing the keys at him, who looked surprised at your compliance but laughed excitedly when catching the keys. His watch was probably worth more than your car anyways.

You hesitantly climbed into the passenger seat and tried to not say anything as Jaemin left the property in reverse, you hated riding shotgun.

He did look kind of hot, though.  

“I know how to drive, you know? You don’t have to grip the handles so tight,” The man laughed once you were already on the road.

“I’m just not used to not being the one behind the wheel,” You apologized, forcing yourself to relax your hands on your lap so you wouldn’t offend a man’s driving’s skills. “Turn right on that street. Did you enjoy skiing?”

“I did, yesterday was just a fun day as a whole. You also looked really pretty in my sweater,” He looked at you softly and It took a lot of control for you to not melt into the seat.

“I’m giving it back as soon as I wash it, by the way. Thank you again for not letting me freeze.”

“Don’t worry. You can keep it, it looked better on you.”

“Jaemin, I know you’re trying to be a gentleman and all but that’s a Balenciaga swea-“

“And I’d like for you to have it.”

“I’m really living everyone’s fanfic’s dreams, aren’t I?” You giggled softly.

“Do you read those?” Jaemin chuckled.

“Of course. I live in the middle of nowhere, anything to pass the time. Follow that Sunny Mountain sign.”

“Ok. You should teach me how to find those, I’m curious as to what our fans write about us.”

“Uh, you really shouldn’t.”

“Dirty stuff?”

“Lots of it, probably.”

Jaemin laughed at that but said nothing more, deciding to pay attention to the road for once. You were distracted trying to find a cool Spotify playlist on your phone when you felt the man’s hand on your thigh, he didn’t move it and he didn’t look at you, just staring straight ahead with a casual demeanor like it was something you did all the time. You said nothing about it, just enjoyed the touch and followed his lead.

As you arrived at the city, you directed Jaemin around until you were parking right in front of the little traditional bakery.

“Good morning, Mary. Looking beautiful as always,” You complimented the old lady behind the counter, who you have known since you were a little girl. “Please tell me you made some pineapple cake.”

“My dear, if I didn’t I would run out of business,” Mary laughed. “I’ll wrap one up for you.”

“Thank you. Jaem, do you want to try something else?” You asked, pointing to the display in front of you full of a variety of cakes, which this region was famous for.  “This is a banana one, it’s so good. The wine one is also tasty.”

Jaemin shivered at the word wine and you laughed because honestly, same.

“The banana one sounds good,” He agreed.

“Mary, I’ll take one half banana, half peach.”

The boy looked at you surprised that you remembered his favorite fruit and you just smiled at him, showing you were also paying attention.

“On it. Is that your boyfriend? I’ve been praying for you to find someone to keep you company in that big old house for ages,” The lady started, taking the cakes from the displays to cut them for you.

“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” You joked, winking at Jaemin who gave you a teasing smile back. “But unfortunately he’s just a guest at the Inn.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate, but it’s a pleasure to meet you anyways. Maybe it’s better this way, my Gus would be jealous.”

You laughed in joy at the mention of your childhood summer friend, “How is he? I miss him!”

“He’s doing amazing,” She answered with a smile when talking about her grandson, placing the cakes’ halves on a plastic plate. “He just graduated last year, rented me a fancy dress and all.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that! I need to congratulate him. When he’s back in town, can you ask him to drop by the Inn really quickly? We’re having some internet problems as always.”

“Of course, dear. He will love that, I bet he’ll come around by the weekend. Here’s your cakes! I’ll put it on your account.”

Jaemin helped you getting one of the boxes from the balcony and you got the other.

“Thank you, Mary! Have a nice day!”

“You kids too!”

You carefully placed the cakes on the back seats, wrapping the seatbelts around it so they wouldn’t move during the transportation as Jaemin looked around, appreciating the view.

“The city is pretty cute, right?”

“It is, actually. Is that an ice cream place?”

“Kind of. But they do have an ice cream buffet.”

“That sounds awesome, can we go there?”

“I guess the cakes won’t go bad in the car if we’re quick.”

“They won’t, it’s kind of cold today.”

“Right? I thought I was sick or something,” You complained, pouting at the temperature change.

“Here, let’s go freeze,” Jaemin laughed, wrapping one of his arms around your shoulders and leading you across the street.

                              ______________________________

You figured you liked Jaemin. As in, you really liked Jaemin. He was just so easy to talk to and a genuine funny caring guy – You didn’t see much of those anymore.

What was supposed to be a quick trip to the town turned into a 2 hour long tour around all the little spots the city had to offer, playfully taking photos of each other like you were in a romantic movie or something.  When you finally went back to the Inn, your heart was swollen and your cheeks were hurting from smiling too much.

“Be right back my ass,” Haechan welcomed you with a grunt.

“We took long but we brought cake,” You pinched his pouting face.

“Ok, I forgive you.”

“Are you guys hungry?”

“For cake? Yes,” Jisung excitedly exclaimed.

“I meant for real food, it’s past lunch time.”

“We actually just ate breakfast, Jeno is still sleeping,” Renjun informed.

“It’s ok, I’ll cook today,” Jaemin messed with your hair and you glared at him.

“No, you won’t. You’re a guest here.”

“And I’m a great cook, so get your ass back in bed and I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“That’s rude of you, Na Jaemin,” You joked.

“Learning from the best.”

You glared at him but decided to accept your fate. After your nap with Jeno and your shower, you were not sleepy anymore, so you decided to invite the rest to sunbathe in the lower deck by the lake. Haechan and Mark were happy to join and the three of you sprawled around under the blue sky after changing into your bathing suits. You were struggling to get sunscreen on your back and Mark silently asked for the tube in your hand, doing It for you as Haechan blabbed about League of Legends – It was really hard to hide the chills across your skin when you were wearing basically no clothes.

After Mark got over being awkward because of your exposed skin, he was actually one of the most fun people to be around that you had ever hung out with. He literally laughed and got excited over everything you and Haechan said and it made you feel special, you definitely understood his charms now. Also, with him being from Canada and all, you two had a lot more in common than you had imagined, which was revitalizing.

Soon enough, both boys started bickering over something and you just closed your eyes and tried to drift off, this was supposed to be relaxing time. But then again, it was hard to put relaxing and Haechan in the same sentence.

After what seemed like ten minutes of the men next to you arguing, you suddenly heard your name and opened your eyes begrudgingly with a “Huh?”

“Help us. Who’s right?” Haechan asked.

“I ain’t even listening, I’m sorry.”

“Haechan over here seems to think he has a bigger chance with you than I do,” Mark smirked and you chocked around air. What kind of demon possessed Mark Lee’s body?

“Of course I do, don’t I?” It was Haechan’s turn to smirk at you and you just stared between them totally lost. They were arguing about song lyrics a few minutes ago, what the fuck happened? “So? Who’s right?”

“Huh?”

“You heard me,” Haechan lifted an eyebrow at you in a challenging way.

“Let her speak,” Mark cut him off and you felt goosebumps up your body once again at his strict tone. Damn, that was definitely not expected from Mark Lee.

“This is very unprofessional,” You muttered in shock, not really knowing what to say.

“Oh, c’mon. You think I didn’t hear your little show with Jeno the other night?” Mark laughed darkly and you shrank into yourself.

“What? What happened with Jeno?” Haechan asked confused.

“Nothing,” You quickly inform, trying to end that conversation.

Mark tsks and softly put your hair behind your ear, looking at you with endearing eyes, “Our pretty Y/N had some fun times with Jeno in their tent, didn’t she? Tell Haechan.”

You gulped and turned to Haechan, only nodding in shame because you were not about to admit you sucked his friend out loud. The boy’s eyes only widened and you could see Mark’s smirk from the corner of your eyes, what a wicked man.

“Guess none of us have a chance, then. Since Jeno got to you first,” Mark played and you briskly shook your head, feeling how you were already pulsing between your legs. The man raised an eyebrow at your reaction, like it wasn’t what he had planned, “Oh?”

“Please,” Was all that you managed to let out. Too embarrassed to elaborate.

“Kiss her,” He ordered and you noticed he was talking to Haechan, who smiled widely before bending down to capture your lips.

His kiss was playful like his personality, his hand found its place behind your neck and he lightly nibbled on your bottom lip with his teeth, not allowing you to deepen the kiss like you wanted to. When you whined in frustration, you felt his smirk against your lips before he harshly grabbed your hair and pulled you closer, his tongue finally against yours.

Well, this was not how you expected your day to turn out.

You were so focused on how good it felt to melt into Haechan, that you jumped in shock when you felt Mark’s fingers playing with your bikini bottoms.

“Look how wet she it, Haechan,” He commented like he was hypnotized by the view and you two broke the kiss so he could look at where his friend was staring. Mark’s middle finger started to lightly circle your clit over the fabric and you moaned, hiding your face in shame. You were probably about to have sex. No, not sex. A threesome. With your guests!!!

“Y/N.”

“What?” You groaned.

“Y/N!”

You uncovered your eyes annoyed only to find Haechan and Mark staring at you weirdly, sitting up on their own beach towels like well-behaved boys.

“Did I fall asleep?” You asked confused.

“Yeah, we thought you were having a nightmare so we decided to wake you up,” Mark explained softly and you gulped.

“Thank you, it was horrible,” You lied, heart beating fast and chest heaving.

Mark and Haechan went back to arguing while you tried to recompose yourself, but as soon as Haechan shot you a knowing smirk, you quickly got up and left, figuring you could play cards with Renjun or something.

                                            ____________________________________

Jaemin didn’t lie when he said he was a good cook, and not only that, but he was also an organized worker, washing and cleaning everything right after using it. What a dreamy man. You were still too bothered over having a weird wet dream with your guests, who were right beside you, to think much about how amazing Jaemin was.

After everyone had lunch (and you decided to sit far far away from your sunbathing partners, safely cuddled between Chenle and Jisung at the end of the table), you washed all the dishes left while Jeno dried them, thankful that you two managed to not let things go south after your little encounter.

The Inn still had no internet so there was nothing much you could do with everyone being tired, so like Jaemin predicted, you all sprawled around the living room’s floor and played some games. After a few hours, you started getting tired of playing and turned the Tv on, trying to find the least terrible channel the Tv’s antenna could pick up, settling on a game show that got everyone pretty excited. Somehow you ended lying on Jaemin’s chest and you noticed Jeno giving you a look but couldn’t quite catch what he meant with it. He seemed normal with you after it, so you decided to let it go, realizing you were only overthinking things.

For dinner, you all had some leftovers from lunch and lots of cake. You had spent so many hours talking that you felt like you have known these boys since forever, or at least you wanted to. There was just not a moment around them when you weren’t laughing or smiling, and besides the obvious sexual tension moments, it felt really comfortable to be around them. Of course they could be annoying and inconvenient at times, they were men after all, but it was not hard to get over that.

Surprisingly enough, even after sleeping until way past noon, the boys were still tired and went to bed early with the promise of fun adventures for the next day. You and Renjun stayed back in the balcony talking about life and art, looking at the stars and drinking a glass of wine. It was nice sharing your deep thoughts with someone who matched your intensity and excitement, Renjun was indeed an artist and you loved experiencing the universe with him for a night.

When it was around 1 in the morning, the two of you said goodnight with a soft smile, knowing you two now shared a bond.

Entering your room and turning the lights on, you were surprised to find Jeno playing with his phone on your bed.

“Hey,” You offered confused.

He gave you an eye smile before dropping his phone on the bed, “Hey.”

“So, you’re in my room…”

“Just wanted to ask if I could sleep with you, it’s nice.”

“Oh, ok. Yeah, I’d like that. Let me just change,” You agreed and laughed at the way Jeno covered his eyes when you grabbed on the hem of your shirt and pulled it off, “I think we’re way past that, Jeno Lee.”

“Sorry, it’s automatic,” He explained as he dropped his hands back on the bed, watching you silently as you changed into your pajamas. You sleepily climbed into bed next to the man, both of you lying on your sides and staring at each other. “You’re so pretty.”

“Thank you,” You softly breathed out. This seemed all too familiar.

He delicately pressed his lips against yours, hand grabbing your cheek so his thumb could soothingly caress your cheek. You closed your eyes and enjoyed the soft touches, reciprocating the kiss with the same fluttering intensity. Jeno simply did that for a few minutes before breaking away from you and smiling, “Sorry, I just really wanted to kiss you.”

“It’s ok,” You giggled, content and in peace.

taglist:  @eggbutnotyolk @lauraneuuh @geeisaclown @jenotation @riemm @junguwuuu @prettychaeng @satanssugaraddiction @luvlyjaemin @sweetjaemss @oofimdumb @junglekooks @unknown5tar @rosedchae @deantrblismyhusband @yukheisworld @chippijunxiao @kkakkdugi @luvenshiti @sleep-is-all-i-seek @aka-minhyuk-kun @elithereal @jenniferecand @tacojisung @tiramisubox @hobicore-smut @renjunniex @markresonates @hufflepanda221b @ncttboo @neejaatjeh @heyyyun @yutaalove @iwishihadabettername