#i got a marker that looks a lot nicer for his hair so i went on a shin drawing spree lol

[singular-braincells]

howdy party people, guess who got into genshin impact? its me. good news, hot people. bad news, subjecting all of you to ramblings about said hot people.

i am so salty over not being able to pull thoma during the yae miko banner so here i am thinking about fictional people as a sad coping mechanism. anyways, thanks for coming to my ted talk

not proof read brain go brr i will fix in the morning when braincells decide to function again and maybe went a lil overboard with diluc 🙃

genshin characters (kaeya, lisa, and diluc) when they see you napping

kaeya

draws weird shit on your face with a permanent black marker 

kidding lol

you just came back from doing multiple commissions and helping out the acting grand master with a horrendous amount of paper work

working since six am till about one in the afternoon, lisa forced asked you and jean to take a break

she took jean to the angel’s share tavern and promised to bring you lunch from good hunter’s. you went to an empty unused room in the knight’s headquarters to take a short break 

you pulled out a book lisa had lent you and went to an unoccupied couch in the room. located next to the window, you could feel the sunshine on your skin and see the clear skies out 

flipping through pages of your book, the warm sensation on your skin along with the minimal hours of sleep you got the night before had pulled you into a much needed nap. feeling your eyelids getting heavy and your breathing slowing down, you feel yourself succumbing to an afternoon nap

your normal aware and alert state that being an adventurer has refined over the years has left you vulnerable as you continue to doze off. kaeya considered himself lucky when he accidentally came into this room looking for jean

your relationship with kaeya was a bit odd, not gonna lie. you thought he was nothing more than a big alcoholic flirt who wanted nothing more than to inconvenience you. kaeya thought you were way too uptight for your young age and wanted to somehow crack the serious front that you put on (he knows that there is a nicer side to you, he has seen you interact with kids. the serious mannerisms falls and all that’s left is a kind and playful young soul)

luckily kaeya didn’t wake you up, he always thought you were kinda cute but with the way that the sun hits your face, the way your hands carefully clutch your novel, and the particular way that your chest goes up and down... he could feel his chest just tighten up a little bit (not that he would ever admit that)

for once, kaeya decides to be a nice person and drapes his tacky fur coat over you. he notices part of your hair covering your face and moves his slender hands to brush it out of your face and behind your ear. “my, you are awfully cute when you’re not always overworking yourself.”

kaeya leaves a cup of ice water for you on a nearby table and a note for you for when you wake up. maybe he’s not too much of an inconvenience. you’ll thank him by buying him a couple of drinks at angel’s share next time you see him stumble in after your shift 

lisa

you were tasked with being lisa’s little library helper by the knights (something you personally didn’t mind, it was better than having to babysit kaeya at the tavern)

lisa needed help putting away recently returned books while she ran some errands for the acting grand master

she gave you a list of the books that have been returned and where they needed to go. she apologies for leaving the work for you and promises that she’ll make the two of you some tea when she returns

you tell her to not worry about it since it’s the reason why you are here helping her in the first place. “why, thank you cutie. i’ll be back right before you know it” you wouldn’t admit this to her, but every time she calls you “cutie”, you melt on the inside like a popsicle in summer heat

you wave goodbye to her as she leaves the library, trying to keep your flushed face out of lisa’s sight

you looked up to lisa, like a lot. the way she was able to handle the knights’ workload and to be able to maintain the library without breaking a sweat. the way that she effortlessly makes you feel giddy just from the way she talks to you. every hug that she gives you is like a slight squeeze to your heart

determined to make lisa’s workload easier, you get to work by sorting out the returned books by author’s last names alphabetically

hours go by before lisa returns to the library and you manage to go through 90% of the books and have tried putting them in the right spots

the only books that were remaining were books checked out from the restriction section. you’d have to ask lisa for help with those books

there was one book on the shelves that had caught your eye when you were working. taking it off the shelves, you go to a quieter area of the library to read your book. there was a rather big leather chair next to two potted plants 

cracking open the book, you begin to read the pages leisurely while waiting for lisa’s return so that she can help you with the rest of the books

you can feel your eyes droop and the somewhat shady area you were in made you want to sleep even more. you notice this and shake yourself awake. you had to stay up in case lisa returned.

well that was short lived because before you knew it, you were out. snoozing peacefully, you didn’t realize that lisa had returned by the opening of oak doors at the opening of the library

lisa kept calling out your name, tea and lunch hot in her hands. she wanted to take you to the benches located by the knight’s headquarter entrance to eat lunch

what she didn’t expect is to see you sleeping soundly with a novel in your hands. “how cute.” lisa thinks to herself as she sets down the food and drinks in her hands

she leaves for a brief moment to go to her desk. opening the drawer, she retrieves a soft grey blanket and heads back to your sleeping form

she drapes the blanket over you and takes the book from your hands and sets it on a table next to the chair

lisa pats the top of your head and tucks you in, doing her best to not wake you up. “we can have lunch as soon as you wake up cutie.” 

diluc

you and diluc were good friends (well at least you thought you were good friends, didn’t want to ask him though in case y’all weren’t friends lol) who occasionally helped you out with your commissions. in return, you would help out in the angel’s share in place for charles (for emergencies or just to give the poor man a break from all the drunks)

you had learned all the bartending ways from your grandmother and grandfather. you don’t consider yourself a very very good bartender, but good enough to keep customers happy

 you weren’t one to keep up with all the various holidays that the city of mondstat celebrated, but you kept track of holidays in case the angel’s share needed an extra set of hands during busy days 

diluc would normally be the one to approach you when they needed help (he knew where to find you anyways)

today’s commissions seem to be piling on more and more for some reason. many adventurers took off for a holiday, but it had slipped your mind

thinking that today was like any other normal day, you tried to finish as many commissions as possible. hilichurls, finding lost animals, delivering packages, and everything in between

by the time the evening arrived, you were beat. ecstatic to finally be able to go home, you head towards katheryne to claim the commission rewards for when you see diluc

“oh, good evening master diluc. didn’t expect to see you here this late.” waving at him, you flash him a tired smile

as you hand katheryne all the commissions that you’ve completed, diluc and you make casual conversation

“that reminds me, would you mind giving charles an extra hand tonight? it’s rather packed in the angel’s share and he could really use the extra help.” there goes your plans for resting tonight. you didn’t want to say no to diluc and you didn’t have plans anyways

“uh sure. let me finish a couple of tasks first and i’ll be there as soon as possible.” diluc nods and thanks you. “of course. don’t mention it”

you finish whatever tasks you had left as quickly as possible and head over to the angel’s share. when you came in, it really was packed to the brim with adventurers, citizens, and entertainers alike

you go behind the bar and greet charles as you get to work. tying a black apron around your waist, you put on a tired smile and start whipping drinks together

hours and hours pass but as the most people know, time flies fast when you’re working hard. you don’t notice your fatigue and the screams of your body telling you to rest

after the last drunk has been kicked out from the bar, the two of finally have a seat. a huge sigh of relief escapes your lips as you take a large sip of water

“thank you so much for your help tonight, (y/n). i really couldn’t have done it without you.” you brush off charles appreciation. “not a problem. it had slipped my mind that today was special. would have come in earlier had i remembered.” 

you don’t notice, but diluc slips into the enterance of the bar to help you and charles clean up after a chaotic night. you glance up from your seat to see him, all in his bartender fit glory (you think he looks like 10000 times better in this outfit but would never tell that to his face)

“nice to see you again master diluc.” he nods towards you. “likewise. how was tonight?” him and charles seem to be talking, but none of what they’re saying is processing through your head. feeling your head pound, you decide to put your head down on the table and close your eyes for a brief moment

as soon as your head is in your arms, you doze off. after the large amount of commissions and mixing drinks / tending to customers all night long, you hadn’t realized how exhausted you were

diluc noticed that you hadn’t given your input on anything for the past 10 minutes and turns his head in your direction. he notices the slow rise of of your chest 

diluc feels awful for making you work so late and hadn’t even realized the state you were in before asking you to help out at the share. normally he would have noticed your exhaustion, but being busy with preparations for a busy night he hadn’t taken it into consideration. he sighs and takes off his coat. diluc glances at the goosebumps on your skin and puts his warm jacket over you

he and charles clean up the bar while you nap peacefully. after the bar is clean, diluc sends charles home. by the looks of it, you’re gonna be out cold for the whole night. he lifts you up and takes you to an unoccupied couch

somehow, you don’t stir in your sleep at all. diluc gets a small pillow and puts your head on it, moving slow and carefully. 

while you are slumped over the couch, diluc uses his coat to cover you as a blanket. there's enough space on the couch for diluc to take a seat next to you

before you know it, he's fast asleep next to you. another idiot prone to overworking himself to exhaustion

[occasionalsnippets]

Escapism AU (Y/n) & Passione

This is mostly about mc’s interactions with the gang including a bit of La Squadra and Unita Speciale. I’ll probably add more as I think.

Bucciarati’s Gang 

Mc crashes at their house from time to time even though she has her own apartment

This either because she wants to sleep over for fun

Or because she’s finished a mission and their house is closer

Sometimes she shows up at 2 AM and just passes out on their couch

It happens more often than it should

Bruno eventually gives her a copy of the key

She steals food from the fridge too but makes up for it by buying groceries

They leave a toothbrush and cup for her in one of the bathrooms since she comes over so much

Before everyone was recuited, there were extra bedrooms in the house that weren’t being used

They left a guest room for mc but she doesn’t use it all the time, opting to pass out on the couch first

Either Bruno or Abbacchio usually brings her to her room though Abbacchio would never admit to it

Mista draws on her face with marker sometimes but leaves her on the couch most of the time. He can’t ruin her cute face all the time

Narancia cuddles with her on the couch or join Mista in doodling

Fugo leaves her on the couch but gets a blanket and readjusts her position if it’s uncomfortable

However, after Mista got recruited, mc gave up her room so Mista didn’t have to room with anyone

Now, she just sleeps on the couch or whoever’s okay with her borrowing their bed

She has tried several times to get them to wear normal clothes outside (they dressed perfectly normally before joining the mafia!) and only about half those times did it actually work

Mc is strong enough carry everyone in the group bridal style

The only ones who gets particularly mouthy when she does is Abbacchio and Mista but only because Mista wants to carry her too

She joins Fugo, Narancia and Mista in doing stupid things but it’s fun

She knows the torture dance

Mc isn’t technically a part of their team but they consider her to be because of how often she stays over and tags along for missions

She doesn’t expect anyone to really like her the way they do despite how obvious their feelings are

Part of it is because she isn’t supposed to be in this universe in the first place, that she’s an outsider of sorts. She’s here to make sure they don’t die

The other part of it is the guilt of leaving them to die in the first timeline. She feels like she doesn’t deserve how highly they think of her because of how readily she was to let fate run it’s course the first time around, even if they don’t remember it

She’s sooner die then let any of them do the same

Giorno

Mc meets Giorno before he’s recruited into the gang since she does go to the same school as him even though she doesn’t really show up to classes that often

She’s about 2 years older than Giorno

They became friends prior to his hair turning blond and she almost didn’t recognize him but his eyes are rather distinctive

When it did turn blond, mc got a vaguely panicked call in the morning from him saying his hair turned blond for some reason

She’s the first person to braid his hair with the needlessly extra loop at the end after it turned blond

She wasn’t sure how the donuts worked but the next time she saw him he had the signature donut hair so she guessed he figured out how to do it

It becomes routine for her to braid Giorno’s hair when she notices it’s undone

She gave him a crash course on stands when he found out she had one

They spend a lot of time in libraries

Mc insists on paying for food when they get lunch together though Giorno always refuses

I feel like Giorno lowkey craves intimacy?

Mc calls him “GioGio” sometimes

Trish

Hmmmmm, gay

I really like Trish hence why she’s included in the harem

Out of everyone in the gang guarding her, she’s the closest with mc since they’re both girls which is also why Bruno assigns mc to her the most often

Convenient for Trish since it means more time to flirt

Unfortunately, mc does fall under the “are we just being nice to each other or are we flirting” when Trish is just about ready to ask for her hand in marriage

She’s flirting, no doubt

Trish lets mc rest her head on her thighs which mc can confirm is very comfortable

Trish is one of the two people she trusts to do her make up, the other one being Abbacchio

You know that picture where there’s one girl sitting on the other girl doing her makeup

That’s basically Trish and mc

Post-Vento Aureo, they stay in contact and remain good friends as Trish pursues a career as a singer

Narancia

Mc joined Fugo on that walk where they found Narancia in the alleyway so she’s partially responsible for him joining the mafia

They bring him to Libecco where Bruno is and he gets food before going to the hospital to get his eye treated like in canon

She goes shopping with him after he’s out of the hospital

They get normal clothes but the next she sees him, he’s wearing his canon outfit and she wonders why she even bothered with his fashion sense in the first place

She’s the one who buys him his bandana that he wears in his canon outfit

They’re pretty cute together actually

She calls him “Nara” 

While she isn’t available all the time to help Fugo tutor him, when she is around, she tries her best to help

They listen to music together and mc ends up reccomending a lot though some songs haven’t come out yet so she’s only able to play them on her phone

“If I run and jump at (Y/n), she’ll definately catch me!” “Wait, I’m holding a mug-” *Drops the mug and catches Narancia*

Hugs with Narancia often end with his face buried in the crook of her neck

Fugo

Probably the one mc goes with on missions the most

Part of it is because they’re the closest in age prior to everyone else joining, another part is due to mc’s nullifying ability effectively making her immune to Purple Haze’s virus

Mc be like “if I got infected with purple haze’s virus, I would simply become immune. rip to everyone else but I’m different.”

Still, Fugo is still very cautious when it comes to pulling out Purple Haze

Fugo buys her lavender hand lotion once and she decided she liked it so she continued to use it

He sorta associates lavender with mc

Mc buys him strawberry earrings. Sometimes she spontaneously buys stuff that reminds her of him

Fugo isn’t particularily fond of contact (backstory trauma) so mc tries to keep it to a minimum unless he gives an okay

Probably a few missions together where mc saves him, they’re walking down a street together and he just slips his hand into hers

Asadlskjh, I want them to hold hands

When she’s doing school assignments over at the Bucci house, Fugo helps her look over and proofread them despite the fact she has access to the internet through her phone and can search stuff literally from the future (not that he knows). She appreciates the input

I think that after Fugo leaves the group during Vento Aureo, I would like to bring him back somehow before the end of Vento Aureo

Abbacchio

He didn’t like mc at first, no surprises here, but after they went on a few missions together where she saved his life, he begrudgingly opened up

She reminds him of his dead partner due to how reckless she is in saving people

She an idiot but she’s his idiot

He’s likely one of the most worried when she gets hurt since he doesn’t want to lose another person who died protecting him

Abbacchio does come off as very tsundere seeing how prickly he is to everyone except Bruno but everyone except for mc notices that he isn’t that prickly to her either

Mc doesn’t expect him to like her to any degree so whenever anyone points out that he’s nicer to her, she’s like “what?”

They have late night talks a lot

Abbacchio stays up late drinking and mc doesn’t sleep consistently enough

Sometimes they go up to the roof of the house to talk

She has fallen alseep on him multiple times. His tiddies make great pillows. 

Generally, she’s got her head resting on his tiddies, one arm hanging over his body, the other spawled out somewhere. He keeps one arm around her head and the other around her waist

Bruno

Mc with Bruno is oddly domestic?

she helps around the house, buying groceries, helping out in the kitchen and cleaning from time to time

Bruno appreciates it a lot

If Abbacchio and mc have late night talks, Bruno and her have early morning talks when everyone else is asleep and the sun is just barely rising

Bruno keeps telling her it isn’t healthy to sleep only 3 hours so he convinces her to fall asleep for a few more hours

He spoils her a lot and brings her to cafes

Bruno is one of the last people she would expect to like her more than a friend due to the “bruno’s a mom” memes and he’s nice to everyone (almost everyone, excluding ememies), there’s no way he would like her more

Sure, he kisses the crown of her head and the back of her hand from time to time and they cook together

But they’re just good friends, right?

He frequently lectures her on being more careful and not being so reckless

Mista

They discuss weird stuff a lot

The combination of mc’s general knowledge of random things due to the internet and Mista’s bad timing when bringing up topics leads to interesting conversations

Like, your tongue never sits comfortably in your mouth, your skeleton is wet, are you inside your skeleton or is your skeleton inside you?

Mc is always in a constant state of worry when he’s on a mission because his bullets always end up in his own body something

The only reason he isn’t dead yet is because his dumb*ss aura surrounds him

Mc qualifies as a cute girl 11/10

He flirts with her casually and the pistols tell her his thought even when he doesn’t want them to but she never seems to notice

“You’ve been flirting with me?” “Have been for the last year, thanks for noticing.”

Mc gets Mista a gun holster after the events of Vento Aureo because he really shouldn’t be tucking his gun in his pants like that

If someone was really angry, they could lean over and shoot his d*ck off

La Squadra

I sorta debated whether la squadra should be a part of the harem or not but I think mostly no

That’s because I don’t really have an age range for them but Risotto’s like 28 and big age gaps are creepy. So, I guess for some of the la squadra members, it’s up to interpretation whether it’s romantic or platonic. I’m inclined towards platonic though

I’m not sure if I want to save Sorbet and Gelato yet

Mc, of course, goes along for missions as she’s ordered to

La squadra is so broke. Why doesn’t Diavolo pay them more? They literally kill people for their job

Mc doesn’t crash at their house very often but she stops by to hang out and drop off food

She buys them groceries when she notices their fridge is super empty. She doesn’t need them to pay her back (her paycheck is suprisingly big), but they should stop eating takeout all the time

She usually calls Risotto to ask if there’s anything specific they want

She’s rather fond of Pesci. They go fishing together when they have time

Illuso and mc are gossip buddies

Melone gets kink shamed during missions

Ghiaccio and mc have gone ice skating together before

I don’t really have anything else for the others... I’ll think about it

When Vento Aureo begins, mc is trying to save them though she isn’t directly working with them

La Unita Speciale

These are pretty random

Tizano and Squalo are gay, mc was there when they proposed to each other

Mc gets ordered to buy food when they have meetings though it’s pretty rare

When she does show up to drop off food, it’s a constant feeling of “let me leave quicker please” because Cioccolata is freaky

She thinks she runs into Doppio way too often when she’s doing missions

The only good thing about it is that Doppio is pretty nice when Diavolo isn’t kicking about. On one hand, Doppio=nice, on the other Doppio=Diavolo

Mc feeds Secco sugar cubes when Cioccolata isn’t looking

She would not trust Cioccolata to patch up any of her wounds, he’s likely to dissect her

Mc gets missions through calls and emails but sometimes Doppio’s around to tell her what they are 

[rudylloyd]

also I saw that you haven't uploaded some of the stuff you've sent in my server to your blog- if you're comfortable with it, could you let the tumblr peeps know what they're missin' out on? (not mad or anything I'm actually very flattered, it's just nice to have stuff in one place for archival purposes whenever I'm looking up oc character info :))

yeah here's some of the written things ppl here have not yet seen.

Kevin used to hang out with Meadow, Mason Sr., and Robert meaning that there were a lot of sleepovers and at one of those sleepovers, Meadow fell asleep firstof course the other three got markers and drew on Meadows face, but Kevin also cut their fuckign hair into the iconic style we all know.

meadow was a role model for a lot of kids in that town alone. Mason Sr. encouraged his kids to look up to meadow bc he was the responsible one in their friend group. though with that, Jr. found a podcast thing with Meadow saying a lot of. really negative things about Kevin and Jr. just really went with the looking up to thing. came to bite Jr. in the ass later in life after Meadow criticized Jr's sleeping around. Jr. has gotten over the situation. he enjoys Kevins attention bc Kevin is nicer and actually asks Jr. questions abt his professions.

so as I've revealed before, Mason Sr. is bisexual. that being said there was a long path that led to this being figured out. mainly testing the waters with several friends of his. including Kevin, except where Kevin and Meadow stopped hanging out after their thing, Mason Sr. and Kevin treat their thing as a joke. now, why Kevin has slept with two of his male/masc friends is beyond anyone's understanding, it happened and had different outcomes, except nobody knew Abt Mason Sr. and Kevin that shit was locked TIGHT in a secret safe in the brain. and Kevin still went on to go "yes I'm heterosexual why would anyone have doubts about that??"

there were at least three people who knew before Kevin came out honestly and it was Mason Sr., fuckign ALIYAH, and Loralie. very weird set of folks

that's just some stuff

[etoileholland]

Hold me tight, tell me I’m the only one

Pairing: Peter Parker x female reader

Word count: 4.1k (I got a tad bit carried away oops)

Warnings: so much fluff that you may just have a mouthful of cavities.

Summary: In which you ask a clueless & oblivious Peter to the 60′s themed prom. The description doesn’t do it justice okay I’m bad at summarising I apologise.

A/N: This is the first time I’ve written for my little angel Peter! Also I wish my actual prom went as well as it did here. 

Prom. It was arguably one of the most important events in your junior year. Homecoming paled in comparison to prom, and it was a massive deal to ask someone, and to be asked in return.

People were getting asked out left and right, and in the most elaborate ways possible.

Except for the trio, not surprisingly.

It was a week before prom, and the prom committee was hanging a large banner in the cafeteria. The theme was the 1960’s, and the writing was in the same font as 'The Beatles' logo.

Peter sat down, joining Ned at their usual table. Ned was going on about something, but Peter wasn’t listening to anything that he was saying. He was too focused on you, as you stood on the ladder hanging up the banner.

You weren’t the most popular girl in school, but you were popular adjacent. You took AP classes and were nice and pretty, so naturally people noticed you, but you were a notch down from the ‘elites’. Peter liked that you were nicer than they were, and that you didn’t let your ‘popularity’ go to your head.

Peter knew he had no chance with you whatsoever, but it didn’t stop him from admiring and pining over you.

What did stop him was a swift smack to the back of the head, courtesy of MJ’s binder.

“Ow! What the heck MJ, what possessed you to do that?” Peter rubbed the back of his head, wincing while doing so.

“Because I caught you looking at her again.” She shrugged. “I’m trying to get you to stop doing that, so now when I catch you looking at her, I’ll smack you.”

“What would that help?” Peter asked as he took a bite of his pizza.

“It’s classical conditioning, Peter. It’s basic psychology. Didn’t you pay attention in class, dork? You’ll associate her with being smacked upside the head and then you’ll stop staring at her like a creep.” She grinned as she stole a carrot from his lunch tray.

“Yeah well I’m not one of Pavlov’s dogs, I don’t need to be classically conditioned.” He propped his arm on the table and leaned on it, as he let out a sigh, continuing to watch you talk with your friends.

“Just ask her to prom already.” MJ took a loud bite of the carrot and didn’t bother to close her mouth as she chewed.

“I can’t do that, she doesn’t even care that I exist. Besides she’s probably been asked by someone way more popular than I am.”

“You’ll never know until you ask.”

Ned chimed in, “That’s true, maybe it’s like a paradox. You would think she’s already taken because she’s semi popular, but if everyone assumes she’s already been asked, then no one will actually ask her.” He paused as he took a bite of his granola bar. “I have an idea. I sit by her in AP US History; she always gives me snacks because she knows I’m hungry. Anyway I’ll see if she’s been asked, and if not then you need to hop on the opportunity.” Ned added as MJ gave him a high five.

“Precisely, what he said.” She stole another carrot from Peter’s tray, and he just pushed the tray towards her so she could eat them.

“Fine, but I still have no chance.” He uttered, taking a sip of his juice box.

--

The next day, Ned practically knocked Peter over at his locker.

“Dude, dude you are not going to believe it! Okay so yesterday (Y/N) asked me if I was going to prom with Betty and I said no, because we were going to see a movie together instead. But then she asked if you were going and I said no, but then she was like ‘Well that’s a shame, prom would be a lot more fun if you guys went.’”

“Sooo?” Peter grabbed his book from the locker and slammed the door shut.

Ned grabbed his shoulders and shook him around. “It means that she wants us to come! Maybe she wants you to ask her, I mean why would she ask me first if we were going. She knows I’m with Betty which means she was inquiring about you! Think about it!”

Peter grabbed Ned’s arms and pried his hands off his shoulders.

“Or maybe it’s because she’s on the prom committee and she wants people to attend. It’s her job to recruit people.”

“Hm, you might be right. That would be more plausible.” Ned said as he and Peter walked down the hallway. “But hey, at least she knows you exist.”

“Did you find out if she’s already been asked to prom?” Peter nudged Ned in the shoulder. “Oh rats, I forgot to ask that. My bad.” Ned said as he snapped his fingers.

“Sometimes dude, you are no help.” Peter said as he dodged the herd of students trying to get to class.

Peter insisted on walking the long way to Chem because then he could pass by your locker and get a little glimpse of you. He would notice you always organising your books in the same order, and checking yourself out in the small locker mirror to make sure you looked alright. Even though walking the long way would mean he’d be a minute or two late to class, it was well worth it.

You grabbed your statistics book out of your locker, and to Peter’s surprise, you waved at them. At first he wasn’t sure it was directed at him, but once you said “Hello Ned and Peter!” he knew it was directed at him.

You walked over to them, clutching your textbook to your chest and slightly rocking back and forth on your heels.

“Hey! Ned said yesterday that you weren’t going to prom, so why not? It’ll be a ton of fun, and I’ve also been working really hard on it and I want my efforts to be appreciated.”

“That’s nice of you to ask (Y/N), but I don’t really like going to dances. I was planning on having a Star Wars marathon instead.” He grimaced when he realised how stupid and pathetic it actually sounded, but you didn’t jump at the opportunity to make fun of him.

“Me either, to be honest. I only attend because I plan them; apparently you can’t plan a party and not attend. I mean sure, Gatsby did it but then again it wasn’t required for class participation. Anyways, it’ll be so much fun if you went, please? For me?” You drew out the last word and pouted, and Peter had to grab on to Ned to make sure he wouldn’t faint.

“I, erm, well haven’t had anyone to ask yet, I mean I’m not sure anyone would want to go with me anyway.” Peter rambled as you looked at him sympathetically.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t been asked either, so you wouldn’t be alone.” You hinted, hoping that Peter would ask you to prom.

You had always liked Peter. He was patient, kind and extremely intelligent, there was never a doubt about that. He was always sticking up for people, and you were amazed at how he never lost his temper. You loved his curly hair, his freckles, and how he always smelled like vanilla. He always avoided you when you had a class together, so you assumed that he didn’t care for you much. You had no idea how wrong you really were.

Ned elbowed Peter in the side as he tried to prompt him to ask you out. You were standing right in front of him, and yet Peter was frozen.

“Ah, well it’s not that bad. You have a week to find someone to ask you.” You visibly frowned when he said that, and you just nodded your head.

“Y-yeah, I do have some time, thanks. Anyway see you around.” You walked in the opposite direction from the boys, and Ned elbowed Peter in the side again.

“You idiot! You messed it up!” Ned was smacking Peter continuously, not even caring when Peter pushed him, as Ned knocked over a trash can.

“Oh come on, she didn’t really want me to ask her, did she?” Peter asked, and Ned just slapped him again.

“She did! Why do you think she came over to us and said hi, and then mentioned that she hasn’t been asked to prom yet. She wanted you to ask her to prom and you blew it.”

Peter leaned his head back as he covered his face with his hands. “Oh my god, I really did mess it up.”

“Yeah you think?” Ned was cut off when the bell rang, signaling that they were late to class.

“See you at lunch, Ned.” Peter waved to Ned as he trudged to class.

He knew that he blew it with you, and the last thing he wanted to do was go to class. But he made his way to Chem, hoping that it would distract his mind from what just happened.

He only had to make it through the rest of the day, and then he could go home and cry about it.

—

“I can’t believe it, I tried to hint at him to ask me out but he didn’t.” You signed to your friend Daphné as you plopped on the floor, sitting criss cross.

You and Daphné were best friends since the first grade, and when you learned that she was going deaf, you both learned sign language together so that you could communicate.

“Boys don’t get hints, you know, Peter is pretty clueless.” Your friend Daphné signed back, emphasizing the sign for ‘clueless’.

“I know, but he’s so cute. He doesn’t seem to like me though, he told me that I’ll find someone soon to ask me. Like no, you dork, I want you to ask me out.”

“Trust me, he is always staring at you. Maddie texted me saying that she overheard Ned say that Peter walks the long way to Chem so that he could pass by your locker every day. He clearly likes you, but he’s nervous. Why don’t you ask him out? If he’s too clueless to take a hint, then you should take matters into your own hands and ask him.” Daphné grinned as she signed.

“Maybe I will, thanks Daph.” You signed back as Daphné grabbed a piece of poster paper and some markers. She handed you the materials, and you signed “thank you” to her.

“Ask him at lunch.” She signed as you nodded, grabbing your pencil as you began to sketch out the design.

—

As lunch came around, Peter sat there at the table glumly, not even caring when MJ took his burger from his tray.

“Hey sport, what’s got you down and out?” She said with her mouth full.

“Peter blew it with (Y/N). She saw us in the hallway, and actually spoke to us. She said that she hadn’t been asked to prom yet, and you know what this idiot did?” He motioned to Peter as he let out a sigh, leaning forward to rest his head on the table. “He said, ‘Well you’ll find someone soon to ask you’ like a doofus.”

“Oof, you really did ruin it Peter.” MJ agreed as she continued to eat his burger.

“Don’t remind me, I just need this day to end.” He groaned. He began to lightly hit his head against the table while saying “I. Am. Such. An. Idiot.”

Just then, you were approaching their table, poster in hand. You strutted over to them, and Ned gasped as you stood right behind Peter, tilting your head to see why he was slouched over the table. You gently placed your hand on his back, and let out a little “Peter” in a soft voice.

He shot his head up, nearly giving himself whiplash as he recognized your voice.

“Oh hi, I wasn’t sleeping or anything.” He said as he slapped his forehead with his palm. God I can be such an idiot, he thought.

“That’s good, because I have something to ask you.” You grinned as you held the poster behind your back so that he couldn’t see it.

“Uh yeah sure, what is it (Y/N)?” He asked as you pulled the poster from behind you, opening it so that he could read it.

The poster was black with little stars, and it read: “Yoda one I want to go with to prom”, with baby Yoda right next to the words. The print was in the same font as the Star Wars logo, and the word ‘prom’ was filled entirely of glitter. You clearly put a lot of effort into it, and he couldn’t stop grinning at how precious you were.

“I know you like Star Wars so, yeah. That’s all.” You grinned as he sat there shocked. This can’t be happening, he thought, I can’t believe she really wants me to go to prom with her.

“Well Peter, are you going to give me an answer?” You asked, swaying back and forth on your heels.

“Of course.” Heat rose to Peter’s cheeks as you hugged him from behind, wrapping your arms around his shoulders. You took a step back as Peter got up from the table and pulled you into a proper hug. Applause filled the cafeteria when they noticed he said yes, and you let go of Peter’s embrace.

“Penis Parker got asked to prom by (Y/N)? God what day is it, ‘ask a dork to prom’ day?” Flash exclaimed as he got a few laughs from the kids in the cafeteria.

“Ignore him, thank you for saying yes.” You said as he nodded and added “Thank you for asking.”

“You can keep the poster.” You handed it to him, and he rolled it up and put it in his bag. You stood there for a second, unsure of what to do next, but you didn’t want to bug Peter anymore. “Okay well have a nice lunch.” You began to turn around, but you stopped when you felt that Peter grabbed your hand.

“Um, would you want to eat lunch with us? If that’s alright with you and your friends of course.” He asked as you looked down at the hand that he was holding, smiling. “Yes of course, let me just grab my things.” You let go of his hand as you practically ran back to your table, grabbing your food and backpack as you made your way back to Peter’s table.

You set the pizza box down on the table that you ordered from Postmates earlier. You then sat down, making yourself comfortable as you opened the box and grabbed a slice. You noticed Peter eyeing the pizza, his mouth slightly watering as he continued to stare at it.

“You can have a slice, Peter.” You motioned to the pizza as he eagerly grabbed one and took a huge bite out of it.

“Someone” he tilted his head to MJ “ate my burger.” He said as you patted him on the arm sympathetically. “It’s okay, you have an even better lunch now.” You added as Peter nodded.

Sitting and eating pizza with Peter was the best lunch you’ve ever had.

—

The dance was only three days away, and you were staying at the school late, working on the decorations and ordering last minute supplies. You stayed behind while everyone else left, not wanting to miss their other obligations.

Peter stayed late for an academic decathlon meeting, and as he was walking down the hallway, he heard music playing from a classroom. He followed the music and noticed that you were in the classroom by yourself, dancing to the music as you were gluing a flower to the backdrop. He stood in the door frame, admiring how cute you looked when you were dancing. Your head bobbed to the music, your hips slightly swaying to the beat as you hummed the lyrics.

“Do you need some help?” You heard a voice from behind you, and you turned around to notice Peter standing in the doorway. He looked cute in his sweater and jeans, and you noticed his hair was slightly ruffled.

“I think I’m good, thank you for asking though.” You said as you turned the music down slightly. “What are you doing here so late?”

“I could ask you the same, but I just got out of acadeca practice.” He rested his arm on the door frame, and you couldn’t help but smile at how cute he was.

“Wow, you’re cute and smart.” You said, and Peter began to blush.

“Thank you, you as well.” He said as he felt himself blush.

“Would you like some help?” He took a step into the classroom. “I’d love to help you out, it seems stressful to set the whole prom up.”

“It is, and I would love the help, thank you Peter. Maybe this can wait until tomorrow, I’m pretty exhausted. I’m just worried that this-” you motioned to the backdrop “won’t be finished in time by Saturday. I haven’t really had much help with it.”

“Well I’d love to help you tomorrow after school, I’m available all day.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” You pulled him into a hug, but he stood there motionless, unsure of what to do. You idiot, hug her back, he thought to himself, but before he could put his arms around you, you had pulled away.

“Can I walk you to your car?” Peter asked as you grabbed your things.

“I’d love that, thank you again. Do you need a ride home?” You asked as he nodded his head no. “My aunt is actually waiting for me in the parking lot.”

“Good, I want to make sure you get home safe.” You replied and Peter smiled. “You too, now let’s go.” He said as you turned the lights off in the classroom, locking the door behind you as you two left.

—

Saturday finally rolled around, and you were beyond excited. You loved everything about the ‘60s, from the fashion, to the music, to the dancing. You were so happy the committee chose your theme, and you were so committed to the theme that you asked your grandma for a dress from that era. She had an extensive wardrobe with many outfits from the decades she’s lived through, and they were in nearly perfect condition. You decided to go with this dress, which was a peach coloured long sleeve dress, with buttons and a collar. You paired the outfit with white and black patent leather short block heels.

Your grandma even helped you with the makeup, giving you a Brigitte Bardot inspired look, and did your hair in the same way. You really wanted to look and be as authentic as possible.

Admiring your outfit in the mirror, you danced to “A Night To Remember” from the High School Musical 3 soundtrack, practicing the twist and other dance moves.

--

Peter wore a suit and tie, and had May help him with the tie.

“I can’t believe it, you’re actually going to prom! I remember my prom like it was yesterday. I went with Marc Fisher, and he and I danced all night, and stayed up all night too if you know what I mean.” She winked as Peter gagged. “Just be safe, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Remember that.” She placed a kiss on his forehead and helped him straighten his tie. “You are so handsome Peter, I know for sure she is one lucky girl to be going with you.”

“Thank you May, I feel like the lucky one for being able to go with her.” He added, smiling as he fixed the curl in front of his face.

“Now remember Peter, be a gentleman. Open doors for her, ask her if she wants to dance, and make sure that you give her your jacket if she gets cold.” Peter nodded as he was making a mental note of everything.

May patted Peter on the back and handed him the corsage. “Now dance the night away and get groovy with it.” She laughed as she began to dance, while Peter headed towards the door. “Love you May.”

“Love you too Peter, be safe!” She called out as he closed the door.

You told him that you would pick him up at his apartment, so he waited outside for you to pull up. A few minutes later, you drove up in a retro 1960′s Mini, embellished with a union jack painted on the roof of the car. He then gasped as you stopped the car and got out, as you looked like you stepped out of a retro cover of Vogue.  

“Wow” was all he could say as you stood there in front of him, arms at your side as you spun around so that he could see the whole outfit. “You look extremely beautiful; I am truly the luckiest guy in the world right now.” You blushed as he handed you the corsage, and luckily it matched your dress colour perfectly.

“Thank you Peter, you look very handsome yourself.” He blushed as you interlocked your arm in his.

“Tell me honestly, did I go a bit overboard with the whole outfit, even going as far as renting a vintage car?” You asked and Peter shook his head no. “Honestly, I love how dedicated you are to the theme, it shows you really care.” You smiled as you took Peter’s hand in yours, as you led him to the car.

You drove to the venue, which was a community center by a lake, and it was a beautiful location. The committee set up the night before, so that you would have the day of prom to get ready. Peter was amazed at how gorgeous everything looked, and he knew that you had worked so hard on it. He noticed the backdrop to the photo booth that he helped you work on, and he couldn’t help but smile. It felt bittersweet knowing that once prom was over, he wouldn’t have a reason to hang out with you anymore. He didn’t want this night to end, because then he’ll just be back to Peter Parker, and not your date anymore.

Music filled the air as people were around dancing, and the music was a mix of modern and music from the 60s.

“Wanna dance?” You asked as you held your hand out, and Peter gladly took it. “Disclaimer, I’m not the best dancer though.” He said as you led him to the dance floor.

“I doubt that, everyone can do the twist.” You said as you danced and he joined in.

‘Hold Me Tight’ by the Beatles came over the speakers, and you squealed. The Beatles were your favourite band and you had always dreamed of dancing with someone to this song. You were happy knowing that the ‘someone’ was Peter.

‘It feels so right, now hold me tight. Tell me I’m the only one, and then I might, never be the lonely one.’ They sang as Peter held you close to him. He had one hand on the small of your back and the other holding your hand as you two danced to the music.

Peter and you were singing along to the lyrics, and you didn’t realise how close he was to you. “It feels so right, now hold me tight.” Peter sang into your ear, causing you to blush.

“Tell me I’m the only one.” You whispered back, and Peter held you even closer. He looked at you with so much love and adoration, and in that moment it only felt like the two of you, dancing to one of your favourite songs. You two swayed and moved to the beat, but suddenly you two stopped dancing.

Peter looked into your eyes, and then back down at your lips. He licked his, causing you to look down at them. You two were so close that you could feel his heartbeat, and you could see each and every one of his freckles up close. You wrapped your arm around his shoulder, and he pulled you even closer to him, as he pressed his forehead to yours.

“(Y/N), thank you for asking me to prom, I’m sorry I didn’t have the courage to do so before.” You leaned in so that your lips were only a few centimetres apart, and all you wanted to do was lean in more to kiss him.

“You’re welcome, Peter. I’m just happy you said yes.” Peter let out a “mm” as he cupped your cheek, and you leaned into his touch.

“May I please kiss you?” You whispered, and he replied “Yes.” His lips grazed yours, and he pressed his lips to yours. His lips were soft and they tasted like vanilla chapstick.

After a few seconds, you pulled away first. Peter, suddenly with a bit of confidence, pulled you into a deeper kiss. You were shocked at his burst of confidence all of a sudden, but were happy that he was finally showing you he liked you too.

“I feel like the happiest man ever.” He said against your lips, as you just pulled him into another kiss.

High school musical was right, this truly was a night to remember.

——

Additional A/N: hi! I hope you enjoyed it! Anyway as always, if anyone has any requests please send them my way! Also if you want to be added to the tag list also let me know! :) 

Mes petits anges: @scarletxwidow​ @starkissedholland @fangirlwithasweettooth

[2018shawn]

the anatomy of you and i | s.m

Hi I was wondering if could do prompt cozy 3 and 12 with Shawn and inexperienced!y/n she’s never shared a bed with a boy before or something only if ur comfortable u don’t have to of course just thought it would be soft and sweet 🙈❤️

cozy prompt 3: “Don’t be nervous, you can come closer”

cozy prompt 12: We could... take a nap together?

a/n: so it came out like college!shawn x college!reader au bc that’s just kinda what flowed so i hope that’s ok and i also really kinda wanna do a part 2 to this because it turned out more of a fic than a blurb lmao 🥺👉🏽👈🏽 also pt 2 i’m sorry the layout of this is gross i’m on my phone and can’t figure out how to do anything ok bye

warnings: just swearing and i think that might be it

the music from the room next to yours was something you imagined only happened in movies. it was loud and bassy and everything you didn’t want on a wednesday evening; you knew part of living in dorms would entail disturbances and inconveniences, but a party? on a wednesday night? you picked up your tote bag full of reading and text books after throwing your trusty vans jumper over your head, all ready and prepared to head down to the 24/7 library on campus. 

if you thought the music was loud in your room, you could think again, because in the hallway, not only could you hear the echos from the speakers, you could hear the shrill screams and yells from the party goers. the further away you got from your neighbouring apartment, the (thankfully) quieter it got and your short trip to the library was soon complete, the dull street lamps and soft breeze in the trees accompanying you along the way.

just as you thought, the library was empty, nothing but the sound of the door clicking shut behind you filling the room. a relieved sigh left your lips as you tugged your bag close to your body, as if the room was full of robbers who were about to mug you for your oh so precious books. opting for a more relaxed approach, seeing as it was 10.45pm, you headed to the sofa area, half thinking it would be a great place to take a nap.

instead, the anatomy of the heart was more important and your assignment was due in within a matter of days. you grabbed one handle of your bag, stretching it away from your body so you could pull out your book of choice before coming around to the front of the sofas so you could finally relax and take your time and- oh. you weren’t the only one here.

even though he was sprawled across the sofa, you could tell he was tall, really tall. the cap, embroidered with the college logo, covered his hair, but from the few stray strands, you could see wild, chocolatly curls falling loose. his eyes were shut, almost peacefully, arms crossed across his chest and very, very quietly, you could hear the soft sound of music coming from his headphones. his eyes flickered open, feeling a presence above him, and he laughed at you when you freaked out, realising you were staring at him. creepy or not, he thought you were cute; the way your finger twirled the front sections of your hair, the way your hip popped to the side as you watched over his resting frame, the way your eyes pulled into a squint as if it was the most bizzare thing to see another person in the library. the very public library.

you muttered a very embarrassed i’m sorry, before turning to walk away from the chilled area of the building. he pulled out his headphones, the sound of the 1975 becoming much more prominent, and propped himself up on his forearms. “hey, no...” he spoke, “come sit.”

scoffing, you rolled your eyes as you thought to yourself, as if you was going to let a random (but incredibly handsome) boy tell you what to do. as if you was going to actually listen and do as he said. as if- who are we kidding; your feet brought you back to the sofas, perching awkwardly on the end of the seat opposite his. he smiled, not smugly, not suggestively, not even cockily, but just a pure, genuine smile. “sorry i didn’t realise people actually like...”

“used the library?” you raised an eyebrow and he threw his head back in laughter, forearms still supporting his body which only made his t shirt strain against his chest. you recognised him from around campus, and you thought he was one of the music kids, one of the ones that did open mic nights and played guitar on the beach until 1am, but from the judgment of his toned physice, you thought maybe he played a spot of sport on the side, just for fun. not like the serious jocks who lived, breathed and worshiped football. he was definitely friends with your roommates boyfriend too, or friends with one of his friends, or- something like that, there’s a lot of people at college.

“yeah, well, no. but at this hour? why don’t you just read in bed?”

you sank back into the cushions, bringing up your legs and crossing them infront of you, looking like a little buddha wearing a vans hoodie and comfy leggings. “why don’t you just lay down in bed?”

this time, when he smiled, he smirked. “touché.”

he popped his headphone back in his ear, and the music died down again as he let his head fall back to the sofa, eyes closing shut. you wondered what had happened to bring him here, why the somewhat popular boy was cooped up in the library at this hour with clearly no intent of using the facilities. he thought the same about you. you felt awkward at first, pulling out your reading and note books, turning to the pages you had marked and setting them down around you. unbeknown to you, he cocked his head to the side slightly, eyes opening into thin slits as he watched you. he’d seen you around, even told one of your friends that he thought you were cute, but you were from different stretches of the college and really, he was nothing but the friend of a friend of a friend of a friend. he wanted to tuck the fallen piece of hair behind your ear and help you lean onto him as he noticed how you struggled to manage holding two books at once and tell you not to grind your pen in between your teeth as you thought about your work and- “can i help you?”

busted.

“sorry, i just... what you reading?” he asked, even though he could quite clearly see the front cover of the book, which read a bold title of the essentials of human anatomy and physiology. and even though you held the front cover up further, showing him more of what he could already see, you confirmed it with words.

“i got an assignment on the heart, so, yeah...” you shrugged, peeling off a post it note marker and sticking it to a relevant paragraph in the book.

“can i see?” he didn’t know why he was asking, he just knew he wanted to be closer to you. he genuinely was interested in what you were learning, and although you’d only spoken a handful of words to each other, he thought the way you spoke and tone of voice was the nicest he’d ever heard. nicer than any voices he’d heard during his classes and he studies with people who sing all day. he pushed himself up, body resting into the corner of the sofa, leaving an empty space on the pad next to him. you took that as an invitiation, not entirely sure where your sudden confidence and welcoming of strangers had come from. “what are you studying?”

“human evolutionary biology and biological science.” it rolled from off your tongue like you said it every living minute as you rested down on the sofa next to him. “you?” even though you were 95% sure you already knew, you didn’t want to let on.

his answer was much simpler, and in all honesty, he felt like a fool. “music.”

“that sounds fun.” you nodded with a smile. he reached over for your book, fingers running down the edges as he looked over the words which looked like a completely different language. your body was tense, and the closer he got, the more you could feel your heart beating, which just felt highly ironic.

“these words...” he laughed, mentally kicking himself for sounding like a dumbass who literally just knew how to strum a few chords. “chor... da? tend.. in.. ee?” you giggled innocently at his attempt, but he found it in no was patronising or belittling. in fact, he thought it was cute.

“chordae tendineae.” you confirmed, looking up and directly into his eyes for the first time. you were instantly lost in the hazel pools that looks slightly lighter when certain flashes of light fell across his skin. “heart strings, to you and i.”

you went on to explain that heart strings were in fact not just an expression that people used when they felt some sort of emotion, that you could actually physically hold a heart by their - chordae tendineae - strings and they wouldn’t break because they’re so tough. you told him it would take a lot of strength and pain to actually break one. he admired how passionate you were about the subject, reeling off facts as if you could tell them in your sleep. “sorry, i get carried away.”

your cheeks blushed a deep shade of pink and you did that hair, twirly thing you did when you felt nervous. “don’t apologise, it’s nice.” he restored your faith that not all pretty boys were assholes, and maybe it was just your poor judgment in the past that had led you to ever think that. as you stared down at your book, he stared at you, wondering if he was being overly friendly or super creepy or just a total inconvenience to your evening. you thought he was neither of those, but simply a nice addition.

“so, what brings you here at...” you looked at your watch for time reference, eyes widening as you realised you been sat boring him for the past 20 minutes... about heart strings. “11.30 on a wednesday night.”

he shrugged, leaning back and falling into the cushions, hoping a more relaxed body language would help you to relax a little more too. he could tell you were just perched on the edge of the sofa for fear of touching him. “sick of my room mate fucking his girlfriend like a porn star, dont know how he’s got it in him.” your lips formed an open ‘o’ shape, not expecting the sudden change in tone or language. “told him i was going out, he said he’ll be done by 11.30.”

“and they said chivalry is dead.” you dryly commented, only to make his eyes crinkle up as he laughed. “do you have a rota for that kinda thing or is it just a come and go as you please kinda rotation?”

“well, my rota’s severely empty.” you were shocked, and thought maybe he was just saying it because he might be a total fuck boy. you could imagine he had girls falling at his feet, and you wouldn’t blame them, because those eyes. “what about you?” you furrowed your eyebrows at him and tilted your head. “no... i mean... the why are you here part... not the sex rota part...” he pulled his cap further over his forehead, wanting to bury himself in a pit of embarrassment. if you didn’t think he was a creep before, you most probably did now, he was sure of that.

to say you were, inexperienced, would be total honesty. you’d slept with one guy and one guy only, and he was someone who thought having sex on the foot of the bed was adventurous, and you vowed never to distract yourself from your studies with boys who would waste your time. it was also just a couple of hook ups, nothing serious, in fact, you’d never even shared a bed with him overnight- and you laughed at yourself for ever being the naive girl that thought he wasn’t just using you to get laid. “there’s a party next door, they usually go on until the early hours, so whether i’m here or there, i still get no sleep.” you confirmed, and he nodded, half wishing you were going to tell him your rota was also empty. not because he wanted to pounce on you and take advantage, but because the hopeless romantic inside of him thought maybe there’d be a pathway to something special. “also, it’s 11.30, so your probably safe to head back.”

he thought maybe he was an inconvenience to your evening, that you said that because you wanted him to leave you in peace so you could crack on with what you’d set out to do. shoot your shot, shawn, he thought to himself, pulling his bottom lip inbetween his teeth and you had to force your eyes away from him because you suddenly felt all warm and bothered. “you wanna come?”

“huh?” your head snapped up, book also falling from your grip and you fumbled to stop it from landing on the floor. it was an expensive book, and you weren’t about to let some cute ass boy ruin your pages.

“not like... i mean... if you want somewhere to stay. i can take the sofa.” in the 8 months you’d been at this college, not one boy had offered you an invitation back to his dorm. mainly because you hid from any form of human contact and spent most of your time cooped up in your own room with no intention of leaving.

something in you switched, when you looked back to him to see he’d taken his cap and flipped it backwards, the peak of the hat now dipping behind the back of his neck. more light hit his features, and you felt like jelly, realising just how incredibly perfect he was. even the little scar on his cheek was kissable and you don’t know where this new confident you had appeared from this evening. you leant closer, placing your book down - carefully, of course - on the sofa, letting your hands rest on his thighs and you thought you felt him tense up, but you were probably just imagining it. “only if we can stop for hot chocolate.”

“i think we have some.”

“whipped cream?”

“is that for the hot chocolate or for me?”

although he was joking, he didn’t know if what he had said had sent a wrong message, because on the walk back to his dorm, you went back to being your quiet little self, answering questions briefly and turning the questions around onto him more often than not.

you didn’t think he had sent a wrong message, but you were well and truely helpless at flirting and maybe he wasn’t even flirting with you and you was completely overthinking it, but nevertheless, it made your stomach tighten and breaths deepen. whether it was an accident or not, your hands brushed against each other’s several times on the walk back, and it was one of those cliche, awkward moments where you both look at each other and laugh awkwardly like little kids. both of you also introduced yourself, coming to the realisation that no names had been exchanged but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t already know yours because he definitely searched for you came across you on facebook. “are you sure you’re okay? i can stay with you in the library if you prefer?” he asked, although you were both nearly at his door.

“you think i’m walking all the way back over there? nuh-uh, plus, you promised hot chocolate.” he smiled and nodded, “unless... you don’t want me, and then i totally can leave you alone.”

“no i do want you.” he spoke so quick he thought he must’ve sounded so desperate. “do want you to be here, i mean, like, if you’re cool.”

you nodded, feeling somewhat... wanted? by a cute boy? who treat you like a lady and offered you his jacket even though you had your own? who literally peeled your bag from your shoulder, just so he could carry it for you? and made you walk the side of the sidewalk furthest away from the road? and took a genuine instrest in what you said?

you’d be damned if you didn’t wake up and it was all a dream. this was by far the most college-ey thing you’d ever done; meeting a random guy in a random location and deciding to risk your life by going back to his place. maybe risking your life was a bit dramatic but we’ve all seen what happens in horror movies.

when you both reached his door, he unlocked it with the key and swung it open, holding out his arm as invitation for you to go first. of course, you thought, just be even more of a gent. inside the room, it was very similar layout to yours - you walked straight into the living/kitchen area and three doors were spread across the two back walls, one of which you guessed to be the bathroom and the other two to be bedrooms. the room was dull, the television being the only thing to illuminate the area and shawn sighed with relief when he saw his roommate and his girlfriend chilled on the sofa. “well, looks like we’re safe from the porn.” he whispered to you, throwing his keys on the table next to the door.

when his roommate’s girlfriend heard shawn speaking, she shot up and peered over the back of the sofa. her eyes flickered between you and shawn, before she poked at her boyfriends arm to get his attention. “brian...” he ignored her at first, popping another piece of popcorn in his mouth. “brian. shawn has a girl here.”

“girl can hear you. and so can shawn.” shawn said, rolling his eyes as brian also shot up, smirking as the four of you all entered a staring competition.

was it such a big thing he had a girl here? because you didn’t think it would be so much of a huge deal. have you seen him? perfect college boy with incredible muscles (from what you’d seen in your imaginatation), and here you were, stunning the members of the household into silence. “hi, uh, i’m y/n?” you almost sounded like you were questioning yourself, unsure whether you were meant to say anything or not.

the girl got up from the sofa, offering you some popcorn as a peace offering before she finally spoke to you, instead of about you. “so sorry, shawn just, never brings girls here because - ow!” shawn lightly jabbed her on the arm, taking the full bag of popcorn for himself and grabbing a handful. “it’s nice to meet you, i’m winnie. and brian...” she pointed at the boy still sat on the sofa who was too busy sending brain signals and eye expressions, about the random girl in their apartment, to shawn to notice he was being introduced. “brian was actually just talking about getting a mcdonald’s so, we can go do that and you can do... your thing.”

“nothing like that,” shawn was quick to jump in and although you weren’t necessarily here for a quick fuck or a one night stand, you felt slightly disappointed.

“oh? okay, well, let us know.” she smiled and snatched her popcorn back from shawn. “i know shawn doesn’t take long.” she laughed, clearly joking about the situation which only made shawn feel like he was dealing with bringing a girl home to his parents for the first time. before thinking about it, shawn grabbed your hand and dragged you towards one of the back rooms, presumably his bedroom.

you figured it must be when the door opened and you saw three guitars perched against the wall, an unmade bed, a laptop open on the desk and a bunch of photos on the wall of him with numerous other people. “make yourself comfortable, i’ll be back in a second.” he smiled and vanished back out of the room.

taking the time to be a bit nosy, you let’s yourself study the photos on the wall. a shorter, younger girl appeared in a fair few, along with two older adults who would appear to be his family and it made you smile at the fact he wasn’t afraid to have them on display. you felt a light twinge in your heart as you looked at a picture in which a girl was kissing his cheek, even though you had no right to feel any form of jealousy. moving on, you found the notebooks on his desk that was already opened up on a page which sent your notebook organisation through the roof. the page was full of messy scribbles, more than half of the words had been crossed out aggressively and replaced with new words. it was quiet, only the sound of quiet mutters could be heard from the other side of the door and you tried you’re best to listen in to what they were saying.

dude, she’s hot

you’ve never made any other chick hot chocolate

go back in that room and get some

at least try

you tried to look like you weren’t eavesdropping when he came back into the room, holding two mugs of hot chocolate, and just as you’d requested, with whipped cream. shawn thanked brian and winnie and their weird ass sex kinks for that. “thank you.” you smiled, taking it from him and wrapping your small hands around the mug to be met with warmth.

“i’m, uh, sorry about them..” he said, setting his own drink down on the bedside table.

“don’t be. they seem nice.”

“so, if you wanna go to sleep i can leave you be and like i said, i can take the couch and you can have the bed.”

“we could both have the bed?” you’d said, before even having time to think about letting the words fall from your mouth. his eyes almost looked like they’d lit up and you blew into your hot chocolate just so you had something to do instead of awkwardly staring back at him. “if you want, i mean, i can go home, i’m sure the party will die down soon.”

“stop doing that.” he rolled his eyes, leaning back against his headboard as you sat cross legged at the edge of his bed, surrounded by the navy duvet.

“doing what?”

“doubting yourself.”

“well i’m good at it.” he laughed at you, reaching his hands out and taking your hot chocolate mug from your grasp.

“i wanna know more about that heart shit.” he admitted, missing how you passionately spoke about something you were so interested in.

“heart shit... you mean the thing that keeps you alive? maybe tomorrow, i’m all organed out.” he looked a little disappointed and you thought maybe he was thinking you’re suggesting you don’t wanna stay up with him. he was wrong. “although, modern family is back on netflix now and that is something i will never turn down.”

he grabbed his laptop from his desk, setting it next to you at the edge of the bed. you adjusted yourself, moving more to the middle of the mattress, therefore, slightly closer to shawn. you could smell his cologne, just like you could when you sat close to him in the library.

smiling at how you twirled your hair, bit your lip when you concentrated on what people were saying, covered your mouth with the sleeve of your sweater when you started to yawn, he thought; it was weird, how he just had this feeling that he wanted to spend countless nights with you, learning about whatever organ you needed to. and you thought too; how you felt more comfortable around him than any other person you’d met at college thus far.

still sat upright, cross legged in the middle of his bed, your back started to ache and legs started to feel numb as the second episode started. you stretched out as much as you could before looking behind you and eyeing up the empty space next to shawn. “i was wondering how long before you couldn’t sit like a buddha anymore.” he laughed, speaking over the familiar theme tune coming from the laptop. “please get comfy, you look in pain.”

“i am not in pain, i am simply just... respecting personal space.” in all honesty, you couldn’t remember the last time you cuddled up to a boy. the last guy used to literally leave as soon as he’d done what he needed to do, leaving you empty and alone every night. “and you might not want me, all up in your space.”

“oh my god, just stop!” he laughed, despite his demanding tone.

“stop what?!”

“doubting yourself... again!”

you huffed, uncrossing your legs and crawling up to where shawn was sat. he smirked as you got closer, settling down next to him, your back also against the headboard. your legs were outstretched, finally free from their crossed positioning, and your hands fell to your lap. another ten minutes of the episode went by when you get yourself getting tireder, head leaning to one side a little more.

shawn noticed how your body was a little more relaxed, less rigid than when you first joined him at the head of the bed. risking his move, he stretched his arm behind you, draping it over your shoulder which caused any relaxed part of your body to stiffen back up. “don’t be nervous, you can come closer.”

you looked up to him, shooting him a warm smile. it didn’t take long for your body to relax again, and it actually felt nice how natural it felt to be curled into his body. his fingers traced patterns on your shoulder as your head moved in time with his chest, a loud yawn escaping your mouth. “tired?”

“mhmm,” you answered, evidently too tired to even speak an official word.

“we could... take a nap together?” he stuttered.

“a nap? shawn it’s like 12.30am, we need a full ass sleep.” you giggled, leaning up off him to pull your sweater over your head.

“then a full ass sleep we shall have.” he sorted the set up out, turning off the laptop and placing it back on the desk. he took out a t shirt and shorts from his drawers, putting them on the edge of the bed before retrieving and additional pair of shorts. he told you he was going to change in the bathroom, and to put his clothes on, only if you wanted, before disappearing out. you took advantage of the empty room, immediately peeling off your own clothes and replacing them with his. they smelt like him, like citrus and cassis and as you climbed back into the bed, where you were previously sat, a light tap on the door sounded.

“yup,” you said, popping the last letter as he shot his head around the door, smiling when he saw you’d taken up his offer of borrowing his clothes. he says borrow, but he’d be more than happy for you to keep them, because you looked a hell of a lot better in them than he did.

he’d lost his t shirt, not that you were going to complain - and yes, he did have muscles exactly how you’d imagined him to - and the sweat shorts he’d changed into hung low from his hips and you’re pretty sure you’ve never seen a sight like it. shawn wasn’t the type of boy to feel embarrassed or nervous; hell, he’d managed to shit talk his way into getting you to come back to his dorm, just in a bid to keep hold of your company because he’s never felt a feeling like it. shawn’s clothes were the first you’d ever borrowed from a guy, never having the experience of the morning after or spending a long night with someone you really like, staying up all night and talking about nothing in particular. it was also a first that you’d let yourself be conned into coming back to a guys dorm.

“you sure you don’t want me to take the sofa?” he asked as he stood at the side of his bed, unintentionally towering over you, almost making you feel as big as ladybug.

“stop doing that.” you raised your eyebrows, pushing back the duvet so there was an empty space next to you.

his face showed pure confusion, having no idea what he’d done. “doing what?”

“doubting yourself.” you mocked his voice the best you could, dropping a few pitches and moving your head theatrically.

he rolled his eyes, plopping down into the empty space next to you, and although his clothes smelt like him on your body, he could still smell the orchid and vanilla scent that covered your skin. “i don’t sound like that.”

rolling onto his side, he turned to face you, slightly closer for comfort than he would normally like to be, but with you, he didn’t think he was close enough. you were on your back, eyes tracing the outline of the shadows on the ceiling that crept through from the blinds. “you kinda do.”

“oh... as opposed to, the deoxygenated blood travels into the left ventricle-” he’d put on his best higher pitched voice.

“right atrium.”

“-and opens those little valvey things-”

“just valves is fine.” you rolled onto your side to face him, but he was too busy mocking you to notice.

“-which make your heart do the ba-dum thing that i’ve been able to feel in my fucking throat all night-”

“you mean the heartbeat?”

“-all because you’ve been pulling on my chordane tendineae because you’re just too fucking amazing.” you swolled hard, and suddenly it was you who could feel the ba-dum thing in your throat. he was just looking at you, now aware you were face to face with him, only inches apart in his queen sized bed. he had just tried to twist your words in a confession of admiration, but couldn’t help but think he’d just sounded dumb instead. “no smart ass comment?”

normally you’d be offended at someone calling your comments smart ass, because they were in fact just the truth, but you knew shawn was messing, although, maybe not about the heartbeat part. you’d found yourself being drawn in, faces getting closer together with each breath, so much so you almost didn’t notice how his hand was stroking over the skin of your hip. he was searching your face for an invitation, he wanted to kiss you so bad, but at the same time, didn’t want to scare you off. the air was thick, and you were sure you could hear your heartbeat, but shawn was convinced it was his. his breath fanned against your lips, creating a cool minty sensation, and as your eyashes fluttered, your eyes looked straight into his. “kiss me.”

shawn taglist: @imaginashawnns @fallinallincurls @mendesficsxbombay @fallinfortom

[addictofsupernatural]

Emotions (pt. 5)

Billy Hargrove x reader

Summary: Billy and y/n go to prom together, but some people and things get in the way of the two.

Word Count: 2047

Chapter 1 • Series Masterlist • Chapter 6

"Guess where we're going."

You stared at the paper, frowning. "I've never been to one of these before. It's not on the list."

He flashed you a grin, pulling out your folded up bucket list from his pocket. At the bottom he scribbled the words prom together in marker. "Sure it is. What do you say?"

You stood, holding Billy's hand. He stood as well, and the two of you went to your room. You sat down on your bed and sighed. "That's a lot of people Billy. I don't know how I'll do with a big crowd."

He sat next to you. "What do you mean sweetheart?"

"Everybody's going to stare at me. It bothers me when it's a lot of people."

"Why do you think they'll stare at you? Is it because wearing a dress makes you a lot more cuter?" He teased.

You began to play with his hair while resting your head on his shoulder. "You attract a lot of attention, which isn't a bad thing. It's because you're so pretty, but people look at me funny when we're together. It makes me feel weird about myself."

Billy felt a pang of guilt and sorrow. Though you didn't realize it, you basically told him you feel insecure standing next to him. "Sweetheart, never be embarrassed about yourself. You're pretty damn gorgeous if you ask me, and it takes a pretty person to know a pretty person. So go find yourself a cute dress, and get ready for prom in two days. I'll be your date."

"I've never had a date before." You quietly said.

"Well, you got a pretty handsome first date. You must be special or something." He playfully nudged you.

You giggled. "Something like that."

Once he left, Mike walked into your room. "Hey, so, I know that I always talk crap about Billy Hargrove for being a man whore, but really. Be careful. Even though you're an ass most of the time, I still care about you."

You smiled. "Thanks Mike."

Joyce was more than happy to take you dress shopping, after she heard about the prom from Hopper complaining about it. You got a shoulderless, flowy dark blue dress and styled your hair the way Billy likes it.

There was a knock at the door, and Eleven answered to reveal Billy, in a black suit with a dark blue tie. Max was behind him, and shoved past him to get to El. Billy shook his head and huffed while walking inside, where Hopper looked him up and down. "Just, home by 10. Please. And no bad stuff." Billy smiled and nodded.

You walked out of your room, and Billy was blown away. Damn, you were just too sexy for your own good. You walked up to Billy, smiling as he gently grabbed your arm and put a blue corsage on your wrist. He took your hand and the two of you walked out of the house in silence. "So damn beautiful." Billy whispered into your ear before he opened the car door for you.

When he got inside, you immediately reached over to him and gave him a hug. "You're so perfect Billy."

He hugged you back. "Just trying to live up to you sweetheart." He paused. "Could you actually do me a favor?"

You pulled back and gave him a smile that cause him to unconsciously lick his lips. "Anything."

"Could you give me one of those little braids that you did when you were at my house?"

You giggled. "Sure Billy." He scooped you up into his lap, telling you to continue. You shook your head, smiling wider. "Such a charmer."

When you got there, the two girls in front handed you a ballet. "Vote for prom king and queen!"

You both looked at it. "Huh." Was all Billy said.

"Why are our names on it?" You asked.

"Guess people think we look cute together." Billy said, with his head on your shoulder. You looked back at him, and he looked up at you, grinning.

The two of you had fun together. You laughed, you danced, you took pictures. Though Billy didn't show it, this wasn't something he really wanted to do. He wanted to get you dressed up and make you feel special, but he didn't like how many eyes where on you two, or that the music was too loud to talk to each other. But he made you feel special, and you were a potential prom queen. He knew he would make you feel amazing, so it's worth it.

When they called for the king and queen candidates, it was no surprise to you that Billy would win. He looked back to you, giving you a smile and a shrug. You gave him a thumbs up in return, flashing him a grin. "And the winner for this year's Hawkins prom is... Heather Halloway!"

You smiled and clapped. Though you had to admit that it would feel like a fairy tale if you and Billy were king and queen together, you didn't really think you'd win. It's not like people like you, so why would they vote for you. But still, you were very happy for Billy to get his crown.

Billy's smile was wiped clean off when they announced Heather as the winner. She excitedly got her tiara and was immediately on Billy when they had to take a picture together. Right before the flash, she turned his head and gave him a kiss on the lips. He looked over to you, who was watching this happen and walked into the crowd, where he couldn't see you.

Shit. Shit shit shit! Why did you see that?! He didn't want the kiss. He didn't want her. He wanted you! Where were you now? You didn't leave, did you?Shit!

You walked over to the beverage table, where you saw Jonathan in an old light brown suit chaperoning. "Well, I didn't think I'd see you here." You said with a smile.

He looked up and smiled. "Yeah, right back at you. You look nice."

"Thanks. And you look very handsome in that suit." He let out a breath and looked down. "Need community service hours?"

He playfully scoffed. "Why else would I be here?" You giggled. "So, why are you here?"

"Oh, I'm here with Billy."

"Um, Billy Hargrove?" You smiled and nodded. "Isn't he, like, a lady's man or something?"

You smiled and shrugged. "We're actually just friends. Believe it or not he doesn't make moves like that on me. He's just playful with me, is all."

He nodded in response. "So, where is he now?"

"He was voted prom king, so right now he's dancing with his queen." Your smile became a little more forced.

"You like him, don't you?" There was no disgust or judgement in his voice like anyone else; only pure curiosity.

You put your finger to your lips with a smile. "Shh. I know someone shouldn't have a crush on their best friend, but sometimes you just can't help it."

"Yeah, I get that." He nodded, to which you made a face. He noticed. "Try to be nicer to Nancy. She's different from everyone else."

"If you say so." You shrugged. "I just don't like some of things she says and does." Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck. "Your mom was amazing, by the way. For taking me to pick out the dress."

"Yeah. Even though she's a little tomboyish, she really liked it. It's something that she can't really do with her sons, y'know?"

You let out a fake gasp and held his hand. "Don't talk about yourself like that! I'm sure she would love to go dress shopping with you, if that's what you want." The two of you laughed together.

As Billy went searching for you after the dance, he found you grabbing another guy's hand and laughing with him. Billy figured that he deserved that, considering he had another girl pressed up on him for almost 5 minutes. He crept up behind you and grabbed your arms. "Boo." He whispered in your ear.

You jumped, turning around and smiling so brightly. "Hey Billy. Congrats. Feeling like a king?"

"Feeling like I got the wrong queen." He said, taking your hand. "C'mon."

You looked at Jonathan. "Don't tell Nancy, please. I don't want to hear it." Jonathan only nodded.

Billy pulled you away, and another slow song started playing. You loosely put your arms on his shoulders when he grabbed your wrists and wrapped them tighter around his neck. Smiling, you watched him wink at you before putting his hands on your hips. "I didn't want her to kiss me, by the way. She just did."

You nodded lightly. "You don't have to explain yourself Billy."

"I know, but friends don't lie, right?" You chuckled and nodded. "Speaking of which, who was that?"

"Oh, Jonathan? He's the brother of one of El's friends. He's pretty nice, but he hangs around a girl that I don't like."

He hummed. "And here I thought you were kind and adorable to everybody."

"Mm. I'm only adorable to you. Anyways, she's got a boyfriend, Steve Harrington, and–"

"Ugh, King Steve," Billy interjected. "Don't see how he'd ever land any girl."

You laughed. "He's not that bad anymore. He's nice now. He treats me normally, so that's something." Billy made a tsk at that. "Anyways. She strings him along like a little puppy, even though it's obvious that she doesn't like him like that anymore. But she also leads Jonathan on and keeps him with her at all times. I just feel like she wants the best of both worlds, and that'll end up hurting both."

"What's so special about that girl? She got beer-flated nipples or something?" You both laughed.

"Excuse me." Heather said, grabbing your shoulder. "Can I cut in?"

"No." Billy said.

"Billy, you always play hard to get." She smiled. "Let's dance. Don't you want to dance with a real queen?"

Before Billy could say anything, you said, "How about after the song is over, hm?" She gave you a dirty look, but nodded and left. Billy looked at you miserably. So you did get the wrong impression. You pressed yourself against Billy and whispered in his ear. "Let's get out of here." He grinned. Or maybe you know him better than he thought?

The two of you then got fast food and brought it back to his house, considering Neil was on a business trip for a few days. You both sat on the floor and ate while watching TV and talking. You were sitting in between his legs and leaned on him. "I love this movie!" Was what you said before falling silent to watch Back to the Future.

Billy's mind began to wander to places they shouldn't. He thought about how your chest was snug in your dress, and how looking down at you gave him the perfect view. He thought of your soft hair that lay on your bare shoulders. He thought about your skin, looking so soft and calling for his touch. His mind wondered to how your head was tilted, almost like you wanted him to kiss your neck.

Billy cursed himself for thinking like that. You were friends, he shouldn't be thinking that way about you. What would you do if you found out about the ways he thought about you sometimes. What would you say? Would you still want to be friends? He unintentionally jumped a bit when you turned around. You gave him a bright smile. "Why are you staring at me?"

"You're just so damn perfect, my mind can't help but wander." He breathed out. He didn't think before he said that, but it was out now.

Your smile faded as your eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips. You then said in a quiet voice, "If you get romantic feelings towards your best friend, what do you do?"

Billy felt a surge of confidence as he took your face in his hands and went for a kiss. Billy has kissed lots of girls before, but it was never like this. It was never slow and sweet. It was never this kind of passionate. It was never as special as this.

He felt the warmness of your hands as they slid up his chest. As Billy pulled back, he saw you open your eyes and give him a beautiful smile. "I got a crush on my best friend too sweetheart." He said.

You wrapped your arms around his neck loosely. "So, what happens now?"

One arm snaked around your neck to hold you close to him. "Now I get to take you on romantic dates, and be around each other more, and make out and shit."

You giggled. "So it's how we are usually, but closer?"

He chuckled as he admired your happy glow. "Oh, pretty girl."

"Handsome boy."

"Your handsome boy."

"Your pretty girl."

---

Tag List:

@roxytheimmortal @shane-isa-shame @actuallyazriel @tanovic54321 @chipster-21 @jula-bear @ellie2468 @sassysmiles @frozenhuntress67

[diddlesanddoodles]

Dumpling ch. 23

Whether he knew it or not, Keral had left her with a great gift.

“...I don’t think ya were ‘is true target.”

Those words were as freeing as rusty shackles being cut from her wrists and she felt as though she could happily burst into song. For months it seemed as though her entire being had been weighed down by her nightmares and the memory of the catacombs and for the passed week, the image of that man. Then all at once it was no longer a great weight, but a feather she could easily dust off her shoulder. She had faith that Keral would track him down and Maevis, now having a sense of the deviant’s magic, would know if another assault was coming. He couldn’t touch her.

Oh, what a marvelous feeling it was.

Sawyer noticed the change in her immediately when it came time to start gathering Nenani’s things and preparing for her to be released.

“I take it whatever Keral had to say was good news?” she asked, rolling Nenani’s dress up her arms so as to better help the girl slip into it. Nenani nodded fervently as she pulled on her slippers and then raised her arms. Sawyer tugged the wool dress down over the girl and gave the hem a good pull before standing. “Usually, folks leave conversations with him frustrated and pissed off.”

“He’s nicer than he acts,” Nenani replied, smiling so hard it almost hurt. “Farris is like that too.”

“Oh, I know,” Sawyer said with a knowing smile and then laughed. “Farris scared the ever living piss out of me when I fist came to live here.”

Nenani grinned. “He says he does that to all the humans.”

“See, Yaesha didn’t both to tell me that I needed to keep my marker on me at all times, so when I went to go ask if he had any dried mugwort, Farris thought I was trying to steal it and it was like the market all over again. He put me in a cage and did his big bad giant ‘gonna throw ya in the fuckin’ stew’ thing. Only got things cleared up once Yaesha came looking for me. He had the decency to apologize, though. But Gods I really thought he was gonna eat me.”

“He did that with me too,” she replied. “Put me in a cage.”

“And you showed up during the feast right?” Sawyer asked with a pitying smile. “Oh, I bet those kitchens looked a proper fright with all the butchering they must’ve been doing.”

“Oh yeah.”

“And I bet them boys had a field day with ya too,” she said.  

“Yale did, yeah.”

They waited on a table underneath the large window looking over the main room of the infirmary. It was cold outside and there was even frost along the window’s edge, but the sky was clear and they were pleasantly warm. When Yale finally showed up to take her home, she was almost giddy with relief. All through her recovery, Farris was the only one Yaesha permitted to visit her and his visits were few as the rebuilding of the kitchens was underway and took up most of everyone’s time. When the dark hair giant stepped into the infirmary, Nenani jumped to her feet and raised her arms above her head, waving like an idiot.

“YALE!” She cried excitedly from across the room, not even caring that the volume made her head ache.

Yale caught sight of her from the doorway and grinned widely, waving his arms above his head and mimicking her movements. “DUMPLIN’!”

Yaesha was very displeased at their volume and hissed at Yale, swatting at him disapprovingly. “If you don’t mind, sir! I do have other patients still recovering!”

“Sorry!” Yale quipped, clearly not sorry in the least, and happily scampered past the physician towards the table. Nenani was surprised when that instead of picking her up, he knelt down until he was eye level with both humans, his chin resting on the table top. His copper eyes sparkled as he took in the sight of Nenani. “Ready to go?”

Instead of answering him, Nenani sprinted over and with open arms latched onto his head. She nuzzled her face into the thick brush of his hair. Yale chuckled, it was a warm and pleasant sound. “Suppose that’s a yes, then?”

“Mm-hm,” she replied. Pulling away slowly, Yale looked to Sawyer who was watching them with a warm smile.

“You two are cute,” she said. “Now, before you go whisking her off, I’ve got some things to go over with you.”

Yale’s exuberant grin faded and he stood up. “Oh? Ah, right then.”

Sawyer grabbed up the satchel sitting at her feet and walked over to the pair. “These are some tonics and medicine for when she feels tender headed or dizzy. And some tinctures to help her sleep. She’s still recovering so she’ll be more fatigued then normal until she regains her strength. Don’t let her do anything too strenuous like climbing table legs or walking the bulkheads.”

“We didn’t let her do any ‘a the sort before!” Yale laughed. He looked down at Nenani and winked. “Guess we’re just gonna have t’ wrap ya in silk and set ya on a shelf fer a week or two, Dumplin’.”

She frowned. “But I’ve practically been doing that this whole time!”

Sawyer laughed, holding the bag out for Yale who carefully took it in one hand and slipped it onto his apron pocket. “I formally release her to your questionably responsible hands, Yale. She’s free to go.”

“Thanks, Sawyer. I – Oi! Wait a minute!”

Sawyer was still laughing as she walked away. “Take her home, Yale.”

Yale grumbled as though he wanted to protest, but his attention was draw down towards Nenani. She was pulling at his tunic. “Can we go now?”

“Okay,” he smiled, easing his hands around her and slowly applying pressure as though gauging whether or not he was hurting her. Once was assured she would break apart like cracked glass, he lifted her up and set her into the crook of his arm. “Really itchin’ to leave this place aren’tcha?”

She gestured for him to move in closer and he obediently bent his head down. When he was close enough, she whispered up to him, “It’s really boring in here.”

“Ah, well that won’t do,” he grinned. “Let’s go find some excitement, then.”

………………………………..

“Just a warnin’ to ya now, Dumplin’,” Yale said as he navigated the corridors. “Avery’s gonna wanna show off his scars. He’s very proud of ‘em.”

“Did you get hurt any?” she asked him.

“Me? Nah,” Yale replied flippantly. “Just fell on my arse a few times. Bart got himself a few nasty ones though. Gjerk almost lost an ear. Ah, but don’t look so down, Dumplin’. We’re all alive and that’s somethin’ to be grateful fer. Could’a been a whole lot worse than it was.”

A silence feel between them as a melancholy fell over Yale’s eyes. He turned left through an open door and ahead of them lied a set of stairs leading downward. The passage was gloomy and Yale paused just before the first step.

“Really thought we lost ya,” he said softly, copper eyes staring back at her mournfully. “No one had any idea where ya were in all the commotion. There was so much debris. We were diggin’ through the ruble in the kitchen when Lolly told us Maevis had ya and ya were alive, but hurt bad. Then Yaesha wouldn’t let anyone see ya...”

She leaned into him affectionately, burying her face into the fabric of his tunic. He smelled like thyme and fresh baked bread. “I’m okay now, though.”

He huffed a small humorless laugh, bringing her up closer to nuzzle her lightly. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I dunno what I’d ‘a done if we’d really lost ya. I promised ye I wouldn’t let anythin’ bad happen to ya and I here I go already breakin’ it.”

There was something inherently wrong seeing Yale so upset and she decided that she didn’t like it. So she slapped him on the nose.

“Ah! Oi, what was that fer?” He blinked at her in confusion. “That...actually smarted a bit.”  

“I’m alright though, so there’s noting to be sad about,” she told him flatly. “So stop that.”

He eyed her with an incredulous smirked at her. “Are ye...are ye orderin’ me to stop mopin’?”

She grinned back him. “Yes.”

“Seven hells, she startin’ to sounds like Farris,” he muttered, but she was glad to see his cheeky grin again. “Lolly’s gonna have a right apoplexy.”  

“If it makes you feel better,” she offered, “I promise not to fight anymore giant lizards.”

Yale laughed at that. A real laugh like she was use to hearing and it brightened her spirits greatly.  

“Aye,” he said with a breathy chuckle. “I’ll be holdin’ ya to that now, Dumplin’.”

At the bottom of the steps, recognition hit and she suddenly knew where they were. Yale stepped of the last stair of the servant entrance and into what remained of the kitchens. It was bare now, all the ruble and debris from the attack had been cleared, but so had everything else. The tables, the tools, and all the food. All of it was gone. The fractured remnants of shelve were bare and in their absence one could fully make out just how much damage had been done. The hard stone floor was shattered with whole chunks missing and the rest covered in cracks that spider-webbed from impact sites. The green door to Farris’s spice pantry was broken with only pieces of the door remaining, hanging limply on their hinges. The windows were broken out and the stone archway was nothing but a gaping hole with wooden scaffolding now supporting what remained of the wall. The repairs had begun, but there was so much more to be done yet.  

She stared in horrified awe of it.

“Depressin’ ain’t it?” Yale asked. “Took a whole slew of us three days to clear it out. Th’ masons are saying it’ll be a few more days before they get the wall and doorway fixed. The floor will be a bit longer since the cement has to set proper. By the end of this month we’ll be back in workin’ order.”

“How are you suppose to cook without a kitchen?” she asked. “Where are you even sleeping?”

“We’re managing alright with the braziers and some good ol’ ingenuity,” Yale explained as he left the ruins of the kitchen and out into the courtyard. “We took over one ‘a Verhn’s old storage huts and set up the cots in there. Little cramped, but it’ll do fer now.”

There was a fine frost across the yard and even a week after the event, Nenani could still see the ruin left behind. The stone walls surrounding them were marred with long gashes from hideous claws and great furrows had been reaped into the earth, plowing up the grass and stones. At the center was a dark spot, a center of charred and burnt earth.

Yale caught her staring. “Aye, that’s what’s left of the bastard. Well, they cleaned up the bones, but other than that...that’s all that’s left.”

Nenani felt chilled and she was not convinced it was because of the weather.

“Can we go?” she asked in a small, disquieted voice. Without a word, Yale was moving away and they left the courtyard behind.

“Sorry,” he said. “That was probably hard to see so soon after. Ye alright?”

“Mm-hm,” She nodded, rubbing her temples and pressing into Yale’s warmth. In her head, she could still see the milky white orbs of it’s eyes staring into her.

  …………………………………

She could smell the cook fires before she saw them. That, and whatever they were preparing, sent wafts of perfumed mist through the air and Nenani’s mouth watered. She hoped there would be bread. They passed several footman and servants, but none paid them any mind as they entered the cook camp. The storage hut was larger than Nenani would have thought and a length of tawny canvas had been strung from the side and secured with stakes at the bottom, creating a make shift lean to which held the surviving lipper barrels. Another large canvas tent was settle on the other side of hut. Bart and Avery were both at a table near the largest fire, brandishing cleavers and hacking up the skinned carcasses of several sheep. Saen was at the cook fire, tending to a large cauldron that bubbled and boiled, leaking plumes of steam into the air. On the other side of the camp, a brazier had been set up and what looked like a giant oversized metal bowl had been set just above and heated by the fire beneath. But they had put it upside down so the curve of the bowl pointed towards the sky. It was there that she could see both Quinn and Kol. Kol was working a wad of dough between his hands, passing it hastily back and forth and stretching it out into a large flat disk so thin that light passed through it. Once he seemed satisfied with it, he slapped it onto the hot surface of the bowl. The dough immediately shrank inwards, bubbling some, and crisping up. In a matter of seconds, Quinn was using a long poker to stab at it and pull it off, chucking it into a basket with many more similar flat breads. Both Gjerk and Herit were pealing rhotas outside the door to the hut and she could see one of Gjerk’s ears had a sizable notch in it. Farris was no where to be seen.

“Oi! Fellas, look what I brought ya!” Yale hollered as he approached, lifting Nenani up above his head. The sudden increase in height startled her and bit down on a cry of surprise, grabbing at his writs for extra security. From all over camp, heads lifted from the focus of their tasks. Saen immediately left his spot by the cauldron and sprinted to meet them. He held out the long spoon which he had been using to stir the stew with and offered it Yale who looked at it confused.

“What?”

“You take this,” Saen instructed and almost as a compulsory reaction, Yale did so without issue. With his hands now free, Saen reached out and plucked Nenani from his fellow’s grasp and turned to walk back into the camp. “...and I’ll just be takin’ the lil’un fer a bit.”  

“Oi now-!” Saen seemed very pleased with himself and only grinned wider as he poked Nenani’s side, eliciting a yelp that slipped into a fit of giggles as she tried to guard herself from the attacking fingers. The giant released his captive onto the table, keeping a grip on her for a second longer to make sure she had her footing before letting her go.

“Good t’be seein’ ya up and about, lass,” Bart said, adjusting his apron. “Ye can hardly even tell ya were almost snapped in two by a rabid wyvern.”

“Oi, Dumplin’, look here,” Avery said, a mischievous glimmer in his eye. He rolled up his sleeve up to his shoulder to reveal three long gashed across his bicep, long scabbed over. “Battle scars.”

“Bah, that ain’t nothin!” Bart snorted and rolled his own sleeve up, just to his elbow. Three similar gashes marred his forearm and the hair from the damaged skin had not yet grown back, making them appear more severe. Avery scowled at the butcher, slowly rolling his sleeve back down.

“Oh, I got one too!” Nenani said, pulling her collar down over her shoulder to expose the long slash. There was still slight bruising around it and the scar was an intense red in stark contrast to her pale skin. Despite it’s unsightly appearance, Sawyer and Yaesha both declared it to be healing just as it should. But at the sight of it, Avery sucked air between his teeth and Bart glowered. Both Saen and Yale were also looking at it with an oddly angry expression. Nenani frowned at their reaction.

“What?” she asked defensively and pointed to the red mark with a frown. “Battle scar.”

That seemed to bring them back and Bart laughed.

“Yer right, lass. That’s worthy of being called a battle scar,” the butcher conceded and then smiling, winked. “Just try not t’be so proud of it, eh?”

Saen barked a laugh at the absurdity of it all. “I’d show ya mine, but it’s not in a place fer polite society.”

Yale walked up behind the cook and smacked him on top of the head with the flat part of the spoon, the sound of it making a loud THWAK.

“SON-OF-A-!” Saen doubled over clutching his head. Laughing, Yale slipped the offending spoon into Saen’s hand. “Fuckin’...piece a….”

“No one wants t’see yer hairy arse, Saen,” he replied with a sly grin. He looked to Bart. “So where’s Farris? Figured he’d be here to welcome her back.”

Bart, having gone back to breaking down the sheep carcasses, only shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya. He got a note a bit ago and went off. No mentionin’ of where he was goin’ or when he’d be back.” He eyed Yale knowingly. “But ya can be sure he expects this all to be finished by the time he gets back.”

“Aye. Will do. Has anyone started on the duxelle yet?”

“Herit’s still lookin’ fer the garlic,” Bart answered and then gestured to Nenani when Yale would have picked her up. “Ye can leave the lass with us fer a bit. It’s warmer over here besides.”

“Speakin’ of warm,” Quinn said, appearing behind Bart. Grinning, he held something up, held aloft between his hands. “Got somethin’ fer ya, Dumplin’.”

It was her quilt, the one Lolly and Ginger had made her. Somehow it managed to survive the chaos of the attack without even a single tear. The baker held it delicately between his hands as he came up to her and with one fluid motion, wrapped the surprisingly warm quilt around her. It smelled of bread and spices and Nenani wrapped it tightly around her, relishing in it and making a pleased hum. The heat sank into her sore body and eased the dull pain from her many bruises.

“And since I know fer a fact the food in the infirmary is right shit,” Quinn said, reaching into his apron pocket and pulling out a small portion of the flat bread he and Kol had been making. “Give this a try. Since we can’t use the ovens, we’re trynin’ out an Ibronian flat bread recipe.”

It was warm and soft with the underside hard and crispy from where it had adhered to the hot metal it had been baked on. The top was sprinkled with salt and an herb Nenani did not recognize. She bit into it and she immediately started salivating. The herb was lemony and sharp, but not overpowering and had a mellow pleasant finish. She took another, larger bite, cheeks stuffed as she happily chewed. “Mmmmmm...”

Quinn grinned and looked back across the camp towards Kol, giving him a thumbs up and calling back to him, “We got the Dumplin’s approval.”

And suddenly it was as though the passed week and a half had not happened at all. There were jokes and jeers as they all went about their work and the good humor continued on through the afternoon.

She felt warm and she felt safe and that was all she had ever wanted.

………………………………..

Night finally fell and the cook fires were extinguished. Everyone gathered inside the hut and sat in their cots to eat their supper, a simple affair of flat bread and hunks of hard cheese and ale. Still, there was still no sign of Farris.

“I wonder what’s keepin’ ‘im,” Kol mumbled around a mouthful of cheese.

“There’s no tellin’,” Bart replied, peering into it mug. “My guess is it’s somethin’ to do with the rebuildin’.”

“Maybe they’ll expand the kitchen,” Avery suggested. “We could do with more storage.”

“Be nice,” Yale agreed, breaking off a small chunk of cheese and handing it to Nenani who sat on his knee, still wrapped up in her quilt. “Maybe re-do the barracks.”

“I wouldn’t be hopin’ too much fer any ‘a that, lads,” Bart cautioned. “My guess is the treasury is balking at the cost and is tryin’ to cut corners.”

Quinn scowled. “Yer probably right too. Remember Thame’s face when Farris sent ‘im the cost breakdown fer the wedding feast? Bastard just about fainted.”

As Nenani chewed on her cheese, she became aware of a strange sound. It started as a low keen and was so soft she was not certain if she had actually heard it until it stopped. A few moments later, it started up again and she tilted her head, trying to pick up the sounds better.

“Ye alright?” asked Yale. Nenani blinked and shook her head as though to shake the low keen from her ears. “Yer head hurtin’ ya?”

“No,” she replied, squinted at nothing in particular. “Well, not very much. It’s just...I hear something funny...”

“Hm? Hearin’ something funny?” They were all quiet and the only sound was the crackling of the fire in the brazier set in the center of the hut. But then, the keen started up again. It seemed to carry on the wind, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

“That!” Nenano said excitedly, looking at everyone’s faces. “Can you hear that?”

There were several nods and murmurs of affirmation as they all strained their ears to pick up the noise. From his cot, Bart perked up as sudden recognition hit him.

“I know what that is,” Bart said grim faced. “Those are funeral horns.”

[daybreak-tkler]

Punishments.

Title: ‘Rule Breaker- part 2'

https://gigglee-joong.tumblr.com/post/189142523393/punishments

Please read the first part before this one!

Lee(s): Sanha

Ler(s): MJ and JinJin

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

۵

The first punishment was simple enough, of course it was. Sitting in his hyung's lap? Yeah.. They were definitely going easy on him. There's a first time for everything, he supposed. Myungjun was squeezing the boy tightly so he couldn't escape from his position and Jinwoo was ready to attack. "ready Sanha?" Myungjun asks in a teasing tone. Desperately, the maknae shook his head. Jinwoo only looked amused as he dug his fingers into Sanha's sides. "nohohohohoho!! Hyuhuhuhung plehehehease!" The youngest begs and the two oldest members only shake their heads fondly. "oh Sanha, you never learn." Jinwoo playfully sighs as he squeezes the younger's tummy "begging won't get you anywhere with us~" he sing songs. The maknae squeals as he feels twenty fingers scurrying around his torso in every place he could think of. His ribs, his tummy, his pits. MJ didn't even have to hold him in place anymore because he was already laughing so hard. Soon enough the torture stopped. "ten minute break, hun. While we prep you for the next one." MJ says softly, gently pushing the younger from his lap.

—

The next punishment wasn't as bad, he guessed. JinJin was sitting on his ankles with myungjun opposite him. The two of them can't help but spend a moment or two teasing Sanha about his socks. "wowie, JinnieJin. Look at these cute little socks!" Myungjun gasps teasingly, grinning ear to ear. "wow~ this maknae must like chicks a lot~" Jinwoo muses. Sanha, who's face was bright red, whines "hyungs! Just get it over and done with! Stop teasing!" he asks brattily. The two just share a look before giggling to themselves. A teasing finger or two start stroking at the boy's feet. "nuhuhuhuhu.." The baby chick squeaks. "plehehehease juhuhuhust dohoho it!" he begs. "alright maknae, whatever you want!" wait.. That actually worked? Oh wow.. That never usually works.. Sanha thought. Slowly, the two socks are peeled off of Sanha's feet; leaving them bare. Both pairs of hands start working on the boy's soft feet. "ahahahahahhaa!!" The youngest was immediately in laughter. "coochie coochie coo!~" MJ coos "sing for us maknae!" he giggles in a teasing manner. "does it tickle a lot?" Jinwoo asks in mock curiosity. "yehehehehehahahas! Stahahahahahap!"

—

"I look silly.." Sanha whines as his hands were tied over his head. "weeeell~ I think you deserve to look silly." MJ muses, tapping the maknae's tummy. Sanha pouts softly. He looks down to see that the eldest was unbuttoning a few buttons on his shirt, revealing his soft tummy. "this one's suuuuper simple Sanha-ssi. Five raspberries and you can't laugh." he explains. "what happens if I laugh?" The youngest asks cutely. Myungjun only smiles "more raspberries. Oh! And the others are gonna help us out with this one." he nods. Sanha didn't think he had ever blushed harder when the other three members walked in to see the position he was in. "oho! So the maknae is finally getting punished for being rude to his hyungs!" Minhyuk teases. He seemed eager. Speaking of being eager, Minhyuk went first. He straddled Sanha's lap and gave the other a smile of pure evil. He took a deep breath in before blowing a raspberry on Sanha's soft tummy. Sanha bit down so harshly that his lip might've started to bleed. Next was Moonbin, he had this stupid cute smile when he was looking down at Sanha. The young boy's face flushed. Another raspberry was sent to Sanha's tummy, right on top of his belly button. Next was Eunwoo. Honestly, Sanha was completely unprepared for what the other said. He leans down to Sanha's ear and whispers a bit. "I know how embarrassed you must be at the moment, don't worry though. I'd be embarrassed too if the others saw my underwear." he teases and leans back up for a moment. The maknae's face was a deep scarlet as he only just realised that his underwear could be seen a little bit from where his shorts had fallen down a little bit. They had cute little cartoon bears on them. How embarrassing. He was so embarrassed by it in fact that when Eunwoo blew a raspberry on his tummy he forgot that he couldn't laugh and burst out into loud squeals.

—

"I've been tickled, embarrassed and teased. Now what?" he asks in a whining tone. "we can make you more embarrassed if you want~" Myungjun smiles as he watches the maknae shake his head desperately. "this one's nicer since the last two are gonna be super mean." Jinwoo explains. Yeah, sure. Having three massagers strapped to your tummy is a whole lot nicer. "we'll be back in a bit with a drink for you, kay? Don't have too much fun because we aren't done yet!~" Myungjun teases as he switches on the massagers and quickly takes Jinwoo's hand, leaving the maknae to suffer for a while. "EHEHEHHAHAHA!" was all that could be heard from the shrieking maknae.

—

Sanha throws his head back and laughs loudly, pulling on his arms and legs to no avail. "ahahahahahha!! Nyahhahaahhehehe! Pleehehehehehehehease!!" The boy squeals. "please what? Please continue? You've got it, hun." Myungjun teases as both him and Jinwoo made the torture even worse. The scrubbing at his soles that were wriggling in the stocks and the scratching at his underarms got even worse. Sanha was crying at this point until the torture randomly stopped. "... H-Hyungs.. I've learnt my lesson now I promise..." he huffs out causing the eldest to giggle "don't thing you're getting out that easily~ we've got one more thing up our sleeves~" he sing songs. The baby chick looks confused for a moment but his eyes widen when JinJin grins, showing the boy a pack of markers. Sanha's face visibly pales. "First you get a bigger break, because we're not holding back this time." Myungjun nods as he gives the younger a drink and a snack. He strokes Sanha's hair in sympathy as the younger eats. "this wouldn't have happened if you stuck to the schedule, yanno?" The eldest muses. "I know.." Sanha whines.

—

"hello students!~ welcome to my art class!" Myungjun giggles. He had a shaking Sanha who was stretched out in the spread-eagle position and four very eager 'art students' with some colorful markers at the ready. "The only rule is to not overwhelm the canvas, mkay? This may be a punishment but the canvas still needs to be treated with respect! Understood?" he asks "yes teacher!" The other four chime.

"NAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" Sanha shrieks as he feels all of the different marker pens brushing gently over his soft and sensitive skin. There was no way he would survive this.

Sanha had been reduced to a crying, laughing mess. The other five had covered his body in tickly drawings. Minhyuk had drawn some more.. Inappropriate things... On Sanha's thighs and legs. Eunwoo had drawn some cute cartoons on the baby chick's tummy, he drew a lot of the bear cartoon that was on Sanha's underwear near the boy's shorts too. Moonbin had drawn feathers and teasing words wherever he could and the two eldest had teamed up to just draw squiggles all over the maknae's poor body. "alright class! Now it's time for the most important part!" Myungjun explains. "washing the canvas!" The small boy squeals. A loud "NO!!" is heard from the maknae though and Myungjun bursts into bubbly laughter. "I'm joking! Now it's time to cuddle the baby chick, he's learnt his lesson that's for sure."

And Sanha definitely had, he was never going to stay out later again if he could help it.

[detectivedreameater]

Woah, Oh, It’s Magic|| Natalia and Marley

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @castillos-curses SUMMARY: A date, a staring contest, and a happy ending. 

Anyone who suggested Dell's needed a portfolio update, and Marley wasn't opposed to being the one to show them the ropes, especially if it was an attractive woman. Natalia seemed eager, too, to know what Marley had up her sleeve for the after party. And boy, was it gonna be a good one. She'd have to test the waters first, of course, but Marley had great intuition, and her intuition told her that Natalia was more than what she showed. Whether that more was a good more or a bad more, was all that was left to be sussed out. Either way, it was a win for Marley. She got to the restaurant a few minutes early, not her usual game, but it was important that she did this time. Watching someone's approach could tell you a lot about a person, and if Marley could get just thirty extra seconds of establishing a baseline with Natalia, she'd take it. Finally, dark curls appeared from around the corner and Marley couldn't help but notice she looked much nicer in person than in her online profile. "Good to see not everyone lies on their online profile," she jested, giving a grin.

Natalia wasn't the hugest fan of Dell's - to be honest, she barely went to any of the non-supernatural spots in town on any kind of a regular basis. But it was the most well-known and, she thought, least offensive of prospective human only bars to suggest for a first meetup. Marley seemed incredibly against the idea, which was just further points in her favor in Nat's mind. This Marley was not only hot, but also a cop, and potentially a cop who was well in the know? It was like hitting gold. She arrived at Dell's perfectly punctually, dressed down, unsure of what to expect for the evening. "You weren't expecting a catfish, I hope?" Nat replied with a smirk, tossing her hair as she peeled off her denim jacket. "It's nice to meet you - officially, and all. Though, I am sorry to have brought you somewhere that you have such a detestation for."

Marley gave a light chuckle, grinning from behind dark sunglasses again. She wondered if Natalia would immediately find them odd. She found a lot of people who were in the know did. "Maybe," she said coyly, strutting up to the door, "it works out either way for me. I'd just arrest them, so." She pulled it open to allow for Natalia to go in first, giving her a hand wave before following her in. "The only thing Dell's is good for is cheap pre-game drinks. And they're on you, so," she shrugged, heading up to the bar, "I can't complain, right?" Gave a grin as they reached the bar. Natalia was certainly nice to look at, even dressed down. Casual but still cute. Extremely attractive, with an air of mystery.

"Arrest someone for posting misleading pictures on a profile?" Natalia laughed, thinking she was going to like this woman just fine. She stepped inside, curious if Marley was going to keep the sunglasses indoors as well. Her online account didn't give off any markers of her being some kind of supernatural - but then again, not everyone was as obvious as herself. "Fair enough," Nat agreed, bouncing into a stool against the bar. "Two beers?" She asked the bartender, once gaining his attention. With a sly glance at Marley, she added quickly "And a round of tequila shots - thanks." He bustled away to get their drinks, and she grinned at Marley. "Might as well pre-game correctly, right?"

"It might not be real grounds for arrest, but it'd sure give them a good scare," Marley said with a snicker, following suit and pulling herself onto a chair next to Natalia. She hadn't taken her for a beer kind of gal, but the two tequila shots definitely made sense. Natalia was a confident woman, and she seemed very sure of herself. Marley appreciated that. "What's the point if you don't do it right?" When the bartender returned, she scooped up her shot and held it up to Natalia's, ready to cheers. "Here's to an exciting night," she grinned, before tossing it back, that burn traveling all down her throat. "So tell me," she said, leaning on the bar top, "what brought someone like you to White Crest?"

"I hope so." Natalia clinked her shot glass against Marley's, downing it in sync. She let out a small cough at the burn, licking her lips against the smoky tang. The plain taste of the cold beer made for a nice chaser and she took a sip, glancing at the mirrored lenses of her date. "Business, mostly." Nat answered truthfully, "Turns out White Crest, Maine is a great place to make a ton of money for my incredibly specific business." She laughed at the absurdity of where she had ended up. "I'm sure the cops around here are kept as busy as me, with everything that goes on." Her eyebrows raised questioningly, though the question was innocent enough.

Marley grinned. She couldn't help it. She was in a good company, drinking free alcohol, and everything Natalia said had that little devious hint to it that she often found herself using. "Business? What kind?" she asked, sipping her beer. She liked the tequila better, but this would do for now. "Oh, yes, we're kept plenty busy. There's definitely a lot more murder here than in Albany, but I like staying busy. Beats sitting around bored, plus every case here is always so...interestingly different. It's fun finding a new way to say 'coyote attack' when it was very obviously not a coyote. But hey, what Sarge says goes, and if I get paid at the end of the day, that's what matters," she answered, taking another long sip. Normally, she'd be looking around the entire place, picking out things that piqued her interest-- but here, only Natalia did. "I take it you're enjoying the town, then? You don't seem as timid about this place as most others I've met."

Natalia was leaning more honest than she might normally have. Marley seemed to be taking everything she said in stride, and perhaps throwing in some coy comments of her own. "I run an occult shop - on Amity Road. This town has proven incredibly lucrative for me." She chuckled, surprised at the woman's forthcoming nature, and surprised to hear her reference all those bogus 'coyote attacks' she kept seeing in the news. "Yes, those 'coyotes' just don't know when to quit, I think." It was interesting that she mentioned her Sargent enforcing the cover ups - was the entire police force 'in on it', so to speak? "I do like it here," She agreed reluctantly. "Money's great, I've made a lot of connections for my work...but I've been all over the world - it's a bit /quaint/ here, for my taste." Nat shrugged, taking another drink of her own to match Marley. "There are far more intimidating places in the world than White Crest. Though, I've never been to Albany - can't speak for that one."

"Occult shop, huh?" Marley said, grinning as an idea struck her. "Sounds like a very niche business, but I can definitely see why it's something popular here. Whether it's real or not," she added on, wondering how she'd react. Marley had a hunch, but it was always more fun to guess than be told. "Didn't think running an occult store would warrant world travels, or, er-- 'connections'," she went on, putting quotes around the word, a brow raising from behind her frames. "Don't bother, Albany is boring. Quaint is one word for this town, but maybe it's just because you're hanging out in the wrong places. C'mon," she said, downing the rest of her beer, "let's get out of here. I wanna take you somewhere fun." Slid from the bench and held out her hand, looking at her from behind her frames sharply.

Niche was right, though in this town that niche was a bit more mainstream than one small pocket. Natalia couldn't suppress a smirk at the question of validity of her shop. "I get plenty of business from people who believe and who don't." She replied coyly. "I didn't always have an actual store. Before this, I would travel all over buying and selling rare occult items for clients." This was, strictly speaking, the truth, though it was a little more in-depth than she let on. But Marley was moving on quickly, and Natalia liked that restless energy - it crackled between them as she wondered what her idea of 'fun' would actually entail. She finished her beer in suit, leaving a couple of tens on the counter to cover the tab. Her hand grasped Marley's after a second's hesitation and she scooped up her jacket on their way out. "Fantastic - what did you have in mind?"

 "And what about you?" Marley asked, not so coyly this time. "Do you believe or don't you?" She took Natalia's hand and wrapped her cold fingers around hers, leading them out of Dell's-- finally-- and towards the street that led to Amity. She knew exactly where she was going to take Natalia, and she was increasingly more excited to see the look on her face when they arrived. "It's a surprise," she said with a devious grin, hooking their arms together as they walked. "Tell me more about this fascinating job of yours while we walk."

Natalia was again taken aback by her upfront nature. It was rare that people so bluntly asked if she was being serious or not. "I do." Natalia decided to answer honestly, based on her own suspicions of her date, they could have a lot more in common than she though. "You could even call me a witch!" She made a pretend scary face, wiggling her fingers for dramatic 'magical' effect. "But would /you/ believe that? That's the real question." Once they hit Amity, Nat had a pretty good idea of where they were going - but it was a little shocking Marley even knew it existed. Their arms entwined, she chuckled. "I don't know what's there to tell. Taking away the exotic items and locations, I'm just a glorified import and export curator." Importing and exporting endangered species, killer monsters, deadly weapons...but still.

"You know, when you say it like that, I think I do," Marley said, grinning back at Natalia. The truth was, of course she did. Marley knew a few other spellcasters, after all. She tossed her head back and laughed at Natalia's display of finger waggling. "I get the feeling it's a little more than that, but fine," she said, pausing once they'd reached the entrance to the 'Dancing Dryad'-- a front for what was really inside. Marley reached into her pocket and pulled out a matchbook before leading Natalia inside. The little song and dance that was played to gain entrance to the Magic Circle was one Marley had done many a time, and she presented the matchbook along with a dip of her glasses-- proof she was of the supernatural variety-- before turning back to Natalia as the new door opened. "Now it's time for some real fun."

Natalia watched Marley present the requisite items for entry into the Magic Circle with a smug feeling of superiority. She /knew/ it. Hunters should hire her out for her impeccable ability to spot a supernatural being from a mile away, really. "I know how /I/ know about this place - but how do /you/?" Nat didn't miss that moment with Marley dropping her shades, though she wasn't actually able to see her eyes from this angle - more and more intriguing questions popping up as this night went on. As they headed inside - the bouncer giving her a nod in recognition - she looked around, hoping not to see too many people she knew here. "I like your idea of fun - this is certainly a better spot than Dell's, you were absolutely right."

"Can't a girl keep some mystery about her?" Marley followed Natalia in and up to the bar, ordering some nice drinks for the two of them, before turning back to her. She tapped the lens of her sunglasses. "So you are a real witch, then, aren't you?" she said, handing Natalia the drink. "Looks like I just keep getting more and more lucky tonight. First, you're a gorgeous lady, not an old man trying to catfish me-- and now I find out you're a real spellcaster?" She looked around the room, before finally pulling her glasses off. Even inside, the low glow of her red eyes was visible. "I suppose I owe you a little secret, too, since I know yours."

"Yes, really," Nat replied, taking the drink offered. She wondered if she should do a little fun spell to prove it, but really didn't feel like messing it up and losing face. She laughed in response with a hint of a blush creeping up her ears. Gorgeous, huh? Marley's secret finally revealed, she grinned like the cat that ate the canary. A /mara/. And a cop?? How wonderful. "I wonder if there's even one normal human in this town?" Nat asked, chuckling. "It is nice to not have to pretend for the rest of this night - how incredibly tiresome."

Marley grinned. "Unfortunately, there's all too many normal humans in this place, it really kills my vibe sometimes," she said with a wave of her hand. "But tonight we don't have to worry about that at all, right?" She tucked her glasses into the 'v' of her shirt and led Natalia to a more private booth in the back. "So, I take it you come here often? I caught the way the bartender nodded at you. One thing you should know about me is that I'm really good at reading people."

They settled into a quiet booth near the back of the bar, away from the crowd beginning to form at the bar, and she sipped on her drink. It had a bit of a fizzy sensation up her nose, without any carbonation to speak of - magic. "Yes, you caught me." Natalia sighed. Just /how/ good at reading people, she wondered? "I'm quite the regular here. This is a decent place to do business, and as you put it - regular people really kill my vibe." She smiled in response, looking into her faintly red eyes with interest. It was while looking in that direction she caught sight of a regular of her own - fucking Keith. He was making a vicious beeline for their table, so it was too late to pretend not to see him. "And here comes that business right now to ruin my night." She whispered to Marley, standing up and trying to head him off. "Keith - babe, I thought I told you I don't do refunds. You asked to curse your ex-wife, and I did!" The man got close into her space, eyes flashing angrily, and jabbing a finger in her face. "She's a worm! You turned her into a fucking worm! We have kids! The cat tried to eat her!!" Natalia stifled a giggle - it was kind of funny, and she'd been drinking. "No, Keith, /you/ turned her into a worm. I think your words were 'make her feel what she makes me feel like'? Curses are very literal. I only sold you the kit, you did it your-" As she tried to calm him down, he got a fistful of her jacket, shaking her a bit as he kept yelling. She stopped talking pretty quickly.

Marley was about to reply when Natalia looked straight past her. Turning her head, she noticed someone stomping towards them. A little ruffled that her night was being so interrupted, Marley opted to stay put as Natalia rose from the table to intercept him. She took a decent sip of her drink-- letting it fizzle in her mouth-- watching the two. A client, it seemed, mad about what he'd gotten for his money. Marley very nearly spat out her drink trying to suppress a laugh, putting a hand over her mouth. It was, however, very quickly stopped when the man grabbed her date. Marley was out of her seat in mere seconds, glad, for once, that her glasses were already off. "Hey!" she snapped, in a low growl. And instant the man's eye line went from Natalia to her, she stared him down until he was nothing but a crumpled mess on the ground, stricken with the fear she knew she instilled. When she felt satisfied enough to stop, she blinked and stepped back. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to hit a lady?" she said flatly, before sliding back into the booth as if nothing had happened.

Natalia eagerly slid back out of the man's reach as he quickly dropped her and focused on Marley. She watched Marley stare the man down - no words exchanged, no physical blows dealt, yet he fell to the ground in a heap, shaking and terrified. Her mouth popped open, impressed and mildly scared. Mildly turned on. "Get the fuck out of here, Keith - I don't wanna see you again. Ask Vera to help you, she needs the money." He scrambled away, half-tripping and half-running. Nat sat back down into their booth, eyes fixed on Marley with an incredulous expression. "Thank you...for that. I'm terribly sorry to have /work/ interrupt our evening." She cleared her throat, still amazed at having seen a mara in action. "That was...interesting."

"If there's one thing I hate more than someone interrupting me," Marley said matter-of-factly, sipping her drink, "it's a man who thinks he can put his hands on a woman without her permission." She let her eyes wander from the table and up to Natalia. She didn't find her intimidating like everyone else, right? Did she think she was a monster, too? Like Deirdre? Like Erin? Like the rest of her kind? Ruffling her brow, Marley looked down, sliding her glasses back on. "Interesting is one word. I'm sure he'll think twice about messing with people now," she said, grinning again, though softer this time. "Now, where were we?"

"Agreed." Natalia nodded sagely, taking a drink with only the slightest of shake in her hands. Though she acted unflappable all of the time, having someone bodily grab her and scream in her face still took a minute to get past. "You're quite the knight in shining armor, I'm even more glad to have your company tonight." Her smile was flirty, looking over the rim of her glass. It was downright attractive to watch someone mentally scar a guy on her behalf. "I think the night was /just/ getting interesting, don't you?"

Marley, being the person she was, noticed the slight shake in Natalia's hand as she took a sip. Marley watched her for a moment, giving a smirk back. "I prefer the dark, no shining here." After a second, she removed herself from her side of the booth and slid in next to Natalia, taking her drink from her hand and setting it on the table. She looked at her evenly from behind her glasses, letting her know that she wasn't a threat to her right now, wondering if she needed to reassure her, before leaning in and pressing her lips to Natalia's. She tasted like sweet cinnamon and alcohol. When she pulled away, she murmured, "What do you say we get out of here? My place is right down the street."

[vminni]

Coffee Shops and Clichés

“What do you think is a bigger fanfic cliché?” Jisung burst into Woojin’s room, ignoring his friend’s groan of protest at his loud voice. “Falling in love with a barista at a coffee shop or a florist?”

“I think I told you not to come into my room without knocking,” Woojin spun around in his desk chair and threw a pen at Jisung’s head, which the younger boy easily avoided. “Barista. Why?”

“It’s for my final paper for my research writing class.” Jisung dramatically spread his hands, “Fanfic Cliché: Possibility or Pure Fantasy?”

“I don’t think that’s the kind of research you’re supposed to be doing.”

Jisung waved him off with a flick of his wrist, “I talked to my professor already. She said it sounded interesting and told me it was fine. I just need to find a test subject. Hyunjin would probably know someone.”

“Great,” Woojin got out of his chair and crossed the room to his friend, nudging him towards the door. “Go bother him and leave me alone.”

“Rude,” Jisung huffed, but he allowed himself to be ushered out of Woojin’s room. He fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Hyunjin, flopping down on the couch as it rang.

“Sup?”

“What coffee shop near campus has the hottest barista?”

“The Beanery,” Hyunjin answered immediately. “It’s two blocks off campus. Right by the record store Chan works at.” “Thank you so much for your contribution to my project. I’m citing you as a source in the final paper.”

“What are you talki…” Jisung hung up the phone in the middle of Hyunjin’s sentence, choosing instead of pull up ao3. Time to do some more research.

-

Jisung had decided that this paper was more important than anything else currently going on in his life, and therefore had made the decision to skip all of his classes and go sit in the coffee shop that Hyunjin had recommended for the entire day.

“I need you to know that I don’t support this,” Woojin muttered, rolling his eyes as Jisung preened in front of the mirror. “I also don’t think it’s going to work.”

Jisung ignored him, “How do I look? Leather jacket is super cliché, right?”

The younger boy was sporting torn black skinny jeans, a low cut white v neck and a distressed leather jacket paired with high top black Converse. Two chains dangled from his left ear and a hoop from his right, his hair mussed just enough to look sexy without looking like any effort had been wasted.

“Do you think I should put on some eyeliner?”

“I think you should go to class and not be an idiot, but you’re not going to listen to me anyway. You look fine, don’t bother with the eyeliner.”

“If I bring you back a pastry from the coffee shop, will that help your attitude?” Jisung huffed, opening the door to their shared apartment and letting Woojin step out first. “As my best friend, you should be more supportive.”

“I’m not your best friend,” Woojin rolled his eyes. “Felix is.”

“Well, Felix went back to Australia for a few months, so you are my stand-in best friend and I need you to be nicer to me.”

“You’re gorgeous, the barista is going to take one look at you and instantly fall in love. He’ll write his number and a cliché little message on your coffee cup and not only will your paper be a huge success, but you’ll also have a hot boyfriend,” Woojin deadpanned. “How’s that?”

“Better, thank you,” Jisung pulled up the directions to the coffee shop on his phone as they stepped outside. “I’ll keep you updated.”

Woojin sighed as they parted ways, “For the love of god, please don’t.”

-

When Jisung arrived at the small coffee shop, he took a peek in through the window and noted that the barista behind the counter was a girl. A pretty girl, but not what he was looking for.

“It’s eight in the morning, why are you calling me?” Hyunjin’s groggy voice crackled through the phone. “You know I don’t have class until two on Mondays.”

“The hot barista. Boy or girl?” “Boy. I know you’re gay, Jisung. I wouldn’t have sent you to stare at a girl.”

“Just making sure,” Jisung hitched a foot up against the wall of the building and leaned back. “Do you happen to know if he’s single? And likes boys?” “I don’t know anything about him.” Jisung could practically hear Hyunjin scrubbing his face in frustration, “I just know he’s hot. I thought that’s all you wanted.”

“Well, I’m trying to fall in love. So I do kinda need him to be hot, single and ready to mingle. With me.”

“I would ask what’s going on, but it’s too early to deal with you. Please call me back at a more reasonable hour and explain.”

“Useless,” Jisung muttered as Hyunjin hung up. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and wandered away from the coffee shop’s storefront, stopping when he reached the record shop where Chan worked.

It didn’t open until nine, but he could see his friend inside, a stack of records in his arms. Jisung banged on the door until Chan stomped over and cracked it.

“We aren’t open.”

“I know,” Jisung tried to slip inside anyway, but Chan was too strong. He couldn’t get the door open enough to pass through. He let his lips droop down into a pout, “Fine, if you won’t let me in, can you at least answer a question for me?”

“What’s up?” “The coffee shop over there,” Jisung gestured vaguely behind him. “Do you know anything about the baristas that work there? Specifically a hot male barista?” Chan rolled his eyes, “Dude, you know I don’t drink coffee.”

“Coffee shops don’t just sell coffee,” Jisung huffed. “I don’t know, maybe you’ve bought a scone from them or something? Or maybe the baristas shop here?” “Fine, there’s one guy that works there that comes over here a lot. I imagine that’s who you’re asking about. His name is Minho. He occasionally buys some Lady Gaga stuff.”

“This is why you’re my favorite,” Jisung chirped, pressing up onto his toes so he could smack a loud kiss off Chan’s cheek. “Thank you!”

Chan scrubbed at his cheek, his grip on the door relaxing,  “Was that helpful information?” “Very helpful!” Jisung bounced in place, throwing a glance over his shoulder at the coffee shop. “One more question, do you know when he normally works?”

“Not until later. He usually comes over here on his break, around two. He probably starts at eleven or twelve.”

Jisung grinned and took advantage of Chan’s relaxed state to push inside, ducking under the other boy’s outstretched arm, “Looks like you’re stuck with me until then.”

-

Jisung entered the coffee shop at a quarter after twelve, running a hand through his hair as he casually sauntered his way up to the counter. He offered a smirk to the pretty boy stationed there, a smirk that said ‘yes, I am hot and yes, I do know it.’

The barista just rolled his eyes, “Hi, what can I get for you today?”

Jisung tilted his head to the side as he surveyed the menu, feeling the chains that dangled from his ear graze his jawline. He’d spent the last half hour practicing that move in the bathroom of the record shop after Chan had locked him in there for being too annoying. He had it down to an art.

“I’ll take a medium caramel macchiato and your number.”

Minho huffed out a laugh and keyed the order into the register, “The coffee will be 2.50. My number is gonna cost you a lot more than that.”

“That’s a price I’m willing to pay, baby,” Jisung winked, handing over the cash and making sure his fingers brushed against Minho’s as he did so.

The older boy just rolled his eyes again and grabbed a cup, marker hovering over the cardboard, “And what’s your name?”

“Just describe me,” Jisung dropped a few bills into the tip jar on the counter and winked for a second time. “I”ll know who you mean.”

Jisung wandered over to the front window as he waited for his order, making sure to stand at an angle that offered Minho the best view of his profile. Just in case he was looking. “I have one caramel macchiato for ‘the baby playing dress up in his dad’s leather jacket.’”

Jisung stomped back up to the front of the shop and glared at Minho as he took the coffee from his hand, “Rude.”

Minho laughed, a bright happy sound that shot straight to Jisung’s heart, “You said to describe you. I’m just calling it like I see it.”

-

Jisung was sitting on the counter of the record shop, sucking on a lollipop that Chan had given him to shut him up, when Minho entered a few hours later.

Jisung smirked around the stick in his mouth and quirked an eyebrow at the older boy, “Fancy seeing you here, babe.”

Minho ignored him, choosing instead to flip through a bin of records as if Jisung hadn’t spoken. Jisung pouted slightly, then hopped off the counter and crossed over to the other boy. He draped an arm over Minho’s shoulder and leaned in, looking at the records the boy was browsing, “Looking for anything in particular?”

Minho pinched the sleeve of Jisung’s jacket with two fingers and lifted his arm off him, as if it was a dirty tissue, “Don’t you have a kindergarten class to be attending? Or is it bring your five year old to work day today?” Chan poked his head out of the back room, “Jisung, stop harassing customers. Minho, be nice to Jisung, he’s sensitive.”

“I am not sensitive,” Jisung huffed, stepping away from the barista so he could flip Chan off.

Minho stifled a laugh in the sleeve of his shirt, turning away from the bin, “Definitely sensitive.”

“I’d be less sensitive if you’d give me your number,” Jisung swirled the lollipop around his mouth before pulling it out with a loud pop and drawing Minho’s eyes to his lips. “What do you say?” “I say you aren’t my type,” Minho’s gaze dropped to Jisung’s chest and he reached out to poke him lightly. “Prefer a little more something there, if you get what I mean.”

Jisung’s eyes widened in horror and he stepped back, red creeping its way into his cheeks, “I’m really sorry. Chan said you liked Lady Gaga and I just thought…”

“Stereotyping me, huh?” Minho grinned, “I’m just messing with you. I am gay. But you still aren’t my type.”

Jisung’s pout returned, “Why not?” Minho backed towards the door and offered the younger boy a wink and a teasing grin, “I don’t date boys who are prettier than me.”

-

Now that he knew Minho’s schedule, Jisung was able to attend his classes and still work on winning over the other boy. He showed up at the coffee shop a little after noon, once again rocking the leather jacket Minho had made fun of. He figured that could be their thing, Minho’s joking and his jacket.

After gathering opinions from all his friends on Minho’s parting words from the day before Jisung had decided that Minho was most definitely flirting with him and would be delighted to see him again.

Jisung bit down on his bottom lip a few times as he pushed into the coffee shop, hoping to make his mouth look that much more kissable. Minho was leaning on the counter when he entered, and the older boy straightened for a second before recognizing Jisung and relaxing once again.

“Afternoon, babe,” Jisung drawled, snatching a coffee stirrer from the basket on the counter and perching it between his lips. “Same as yesterday please.”

“What makes you think I remember what you got yesterday?” Minho reached over and grabbed the stirrer from Jisung’s mouth, tossing it in the trash behind him. “Also stop trying to be sexy, it’s not working.”

“Medium caramel macchiato,” Jisung drummed his ring covered fingers on top of the counter as Minho punched it into the register. “So if you don’t like pretty boys, what kind of boys do you like? Because I can totally be that.”

“Boys who aren’t using me as a test subject for a school paper, for starters.”

A flush spread up Jisung’s cheeks from his neck and he avoided Minho’s gaze, flicking at a few stray grains of sugar that littered the countertop, “Who told you that?”

“Chan.”

“But I didn’t even tell Chan about the paper.” A look of realization crossed his face, “Woojin probably told him. But I can’t believe he told you. What a traitor. Why did he tell you anyway?”

It was Minho’s turn to blush and he averted his attention back to the register, randomly punching at some keys, “No reason.”

“You went back and asked him about me,” Jisung crooned, leaning over so he could poke a finger to Minho’s flushed cheeks. “You are interested.”

Minho slapped his hand away, “Not anymore, I’m not. You were just going to use me.”

“Forget the paper. The paper is in the trash. I’ll fail research writing, it’s fine.”

Minho laughed softly, his fingers falling to play with the hem of his shirt. He looked up a Jisung from under lowered lashes, his cheeks still dusted a pretty pink, “You’re actually interested in me?” “Well, yeah,” Jisung furrowed his brow, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I’d like to,” Jisung fished his phone out of his pocket and held it out to Minho with puppy dog eyes. “May I please have your phone number?”

Minho took it with a sigh, “You’re lucky you’re so cute.”

-

“So what did you end up writing your paper on anyway?” Minho asked, carding his fingers through Jisung’s dark hair. They were lying tangled on Jisung’s couch, a movie playing softly in the background.

“What paper?” Jisung twisted around to brush a few kisses along the underside of his boyfriend’s jaw, enjoying the way the older boy’s skin heated under his touch.

“You know, the fanfic paper. For your researching writing class. The reason we met a month ago.”

Jisung bolted up, detangling himself from Minho and dropping unceremoniously to the ground, “Oh my god, I totally forgot about it. Shit, that’s due tomorrow.” “You’re an absolute idiot,” Minho sighed fondly as Jisung snatched his laptop off the table and flipped it open, panic written all over his face. “Write it about me, it’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Jisung gnawed on his bottom lip and opened word, fingers hovering over the keys. “I promised you I wouldn’t.” “Yeah, well, that was before. It’s fine.”

“Before what?” Jisung had already begun to type, but he turned back to look at his boyfriend with a question in his eyes.

“Before we proved it true,” Minho wrapped his arms around the younger boy’s shoulder and planted a kiss on the top of his head. “It is possible to fall in love in a coffee shop.”

[jupiterjunebug]

@actually-a-taco, here I am, eight THOUSAND (three days?) later, with a response. Which means I’m done with all the prompts I’ve got, so people should send me more.

It took Stern about forty-five minutes to realize he’d been dumped.

After that, it took Stern another forty-five minutes of staring at the no signal marker on his phone to realize that, seeing as his boyfriend had taken the car with him, he was stuck at the Kepler Pass Campground for the night.

Once those two realizations were out of the way, it was worryingly easy to decide the solution to those two problems was to finish off the drink he’d been nursing over during dinner and then open another one. And another one. And a few more after that.

Given that he had been just on the line of the ideal amount of tipsy before that, this left him slightly drunker than he’d intended to get. Actually, quite a bit drunker than he’d intended. Which was fine. It was fine, and he wouldn’t regret it while trying to check out tomorrow at all.

That was about the time he’d gone for a walk. Which was a bad idea, because it turned out he’d left behind his sense of direction somewhere between getting tipsy and getting drunk.

Stern held up the empty remains of his ill-advised drink, preparing to fling it at the wall of the anonymous tree he’d almost wandered into. Miraculously, his brain worked well enough to go if you do that you’ll feel bad about it the entire time you’re hungover tomorrow. So instead he set it down on a nearby picnic table, crumpled down to sit on top of it, and took a moment to feel sorry for himself.

“Hey, uh, you okay?”

Stern’s FBI combat responses kicked in, and he grabbed for the bottle. Unfortunately he was drunk, so he missed the bottle. Stern’s FBI combat responses didn’t kick in fast enough to stop him from wobbling to the side, overbalancing, and nearly breaking his nose as he crashed to the ground.

“Alright, that’s a no, then.”

“I’m fine,” Stern said, and ended up with a mouth full of pine needles for his troubles. He rolled onto his back and blinked up at the person he’d nearly physically assaulted.

He was glad he hadn’t, for a lot of reasons. Firstly, he was pretty sure he remembered a thing or two from FBI training about not throwing beer bottles at people. Second, the guy the voice belonged to was – if his estimation was accurate, which he wasn’t too sure about – at least half a foot taller than him and could probably break him in half.

The third reason was the completely involuntary, and very regrettable, fact that his first thought upon catching sight of the man’s face was he’s hot.

“You sure? It’s, uh. Ten. And you look like you’re at least midnight drunk.”

“I’m fine,” Stern repeated, spitting the pine needles out of his mouth. Yep. Done with camping. Well, at least it was dark. If he was lucky, this guy wouldn’t recognize him during the day. Which, given that he’d just been broken up with in the middle of nowhere with no car and no cell signal, was very unlikely.

“Do you need help?”

“I’m-“ Stern stopped, because if he said I’m fine again, that would pretty much destroy any chance of this guy believing he was fine. “No. I don’t. I’m just having a…” He stopped again, because he was nowhere near drunk enough to get actually sick, but definitely drunk enough for his insides to inform him he’d made a mistake.

“Bad night?”

“Mmm,” Stern groaned. Nice job, Stern. Making a great first impression, Stern. Really not letting this whole thing get to you, Stern.

“Wanna talk about it?”

Stern forced himself to sit up, which was a bad idea. Really, just about everything was a bad idea at this point. Now that he was vertical, he could get a better look at the hot stranger. Who was, in fact, still hot. And also just as tall as he’d estimated.

“I…no offense.” Stern knew he was speaking far too slowly to pass as properly sober, but it was speak too slowly or make no sense, and Stern hated it when people couldn’t understand him. “But I don’t really…do having emotional talks with strangers.”

“Well then,” hot stranger said, taking a step closer to Stern. “I’m Barclay.”

“What?”

“I’m introducing myself. You know, so that we’re not strangers?”

Stern blinked at him.

“I…people try and use that trick in real life? I thought that was…I thought that was a thing from TV.”

Barclay chuckled, running a hand through his hair. It was hard to tell in the dark, but Stern was pretty sure he had a crooked, slightly embarrassed smile on his face. Barclay shifted and, yes, there was the glint of teeth in the moonlight. Barclay had a nice smile, the stupid, drunk part of Stern’s brain decided. The not-drunk part of his brain informed him that he’d just been broken up with, and he should stop thinking about how handsome someone that was most definitely still a stranger looked.

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

Stern snorted. If he were sober, he’d come up with a witty response to that. Well, no, he probably wouldn’t. Stern was only good at being eloquent when he had a little time to practice, and being randomly accosted in the woods had caught him off guard.

“Well, then. I’m Stern,” he said, instead. That sounded decent. Barclay nodded slowly, and Stern suddenly wondered whether Barclay was a first or last name. It was rude to give someone your surname when they gave you their first name, right? He thought that might be rude. Which meant that Stern was usually rude, given that he could count on his hands the number of times he’d given out his first name in the past decade.

Sober Stern hadn’t considered that detail, which meant drunk Stern had to. Unfortunately, he was drunk Stern, which meant he didn’t have the brainpower to reevaluate his entire life and hold conversation.

“So, now do you want to talk about it?” Barclay asked. He sounded just a little annoyed, but mostly…was that worried? Stern supposed that sitting on the ground in the woods and not responding to external stimuli for a couple of minutes was probably pretty worrying, so he’d let Barclay have that.

“What?” Stern asked, because his life crisis had kind of driven the beginning of their conversation from his mind.

“Not really.” Yes, actually. He really wanted to talk about it, but he most definitely was not going to on account of it made him sound like an idiot. Which, he already looked like an idiot, so maybe he ought to care less about sounding like one. But he technically did have a reputation to maintain. Sure, Barclay probably wasn’t going to go tell the FBI about Stern whining to him at ten fucking pm on a Friday night, but it was the principal of the thing.

“Alright then. Um. Is there someone I should go…bring here?”

Stern took a deep breath, because the alternative was probably screaming and he most definitely didn’t do that in front of still kind of strangers. Especially hot ones.

No, drunk Stern. Stop thinking about how he’s hot.

“There’s no one,” he said, and he only sounded kind of pathetic. Or, he thought he did. Barclay looked kind of concerned, though, so maybe not. Stern sighed, and admitted to himself that the urge to complain about his shitty day overpowered the urge to not vent in public. “Okay, so, maybe I do need to talk.”

Barclay nodded, then carefully sat down beside Stern. Closer than Stern felt almost complete strangers should sit, but far enough away that idiot Stern that keeps forgetting he just got dumped felt disappointed.

“So, uh, bad breakup?” Barclay guessed. Stern laughed, a short, harsh laugh, and he wished he still had a drink to take a dramatic swig of.

“That obvious?” He replied, settling for a self-deprecating smile.

“Well, I was pretty sure no one died. So it was that or you got fired. Glad I guessed right, though.” Barclay grinned. Yes, drunk idiot Stern’s initial conclusion that Barclay had a nice smile was correct, and not-idiot Stern was very annoyed. “Would’ve been kinda awkward if I’d been wrong, yeah?”

“Getting broken up with is just getting fired from being in love. Basically.” It had sounded more eloquent inside his head, but Stern would settle for coherent. More than settle, because Barclay chuckled again, and idiot Stern decided it was even nicer than his smile. Not-idiot Stern gave up.

“And getting fired is just getting dumped by your boss?” Barclay shot back.

“Exactly.”

They shared a look, and Stern felt himself smile. Well. This was ruining his plans to find some corner of the woods and sulk for the entire night, but he found he didn’t mind too much.

“So, how long ago did it happen?” Barclay asked.

“You said it’s ten, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s been, hm. It was eight thirty when I started getting worried and went to go look for him…so an hour and a half, maybe?”

“Shit, I’m so sorry, I figured you were out camping to get over-“ Barclay paused abruptly. “Wait, look for him?”

Stern nodded, which didn’t do great things for his internal sense of balance.

“He said he had to go to the bathroom. Thirty minutes later, I get worried and go to check on him. Guess where he wasn’t?”

“Are you sure he hasn’t been, uh, kidnapped or eaten by a bear or-“

“His car’s gone,�� Stern said, scowling. He felt a little bad about cutting Barclay off, or maybe just about the fact that it’d made the other man flinch. “Which, you know, is the car we both drove up in.”

There was a moment of silence. Stern spent most of it trying to decide whether to be angry at his brand new ex, or annoyed with himself, or worried that he’d killed this conversation for good.

“Sorry I. Wow. That’s.”

“Yeah. You know, I’ve heard of going to the bathroom to ditch a bad date, but I’d thought he would be too polite to do that where I have no cell reception.”

“Do you…” Barclay winced. “No, sorry, that’s a personal question. Nevermind.”

“Do I know why he did it?” Stern leaned back on his hands to look at the sky, in the hopes the stars would make him feel better. They didn’t, and looking up just made him fall onto his back, so instead he turned back to Barclay. “No idea! We were just talking, having a normal conversation that was going perfectly well. Then,” Stern reached into his jacket pocket, panicking when his hand didn’t immediately close on his badge. As it turned out, his pockets were just a lot deeper than he’d thought. He waved the badge in front of him as he continued, “he asked me about this.”

Barclay just looked confused, and Stern realized abruptly that the way he’d phrased that last sentence made no sense.

“Sorry. It’s…I’m in the FBI, and I just got transferred. He asked…he asked what the department was, and when I said he went…you know.”

“He fucked off?”

“Yeah.” Stern squinted at the badge. “Don’t know why, though. If I told him I was specializing in homicide then hey, maybe that just means I was dating a serial killer but…”

“But what?”

“They put me in Unexplained Phenomena. You know, the paranormal division?”

Stern thought Barclay might’ve stiffened for a moment. Thought that the laugh he let out a second later might’ve been a little nervous. But hey, he wasn’t disappearing into thin air, so it was better than the last person he’d mentioned his job to.

“I know,” Stern said, deciding that it must’ve just been how unrealistic it all sounded. “I mean, I always figured that the United States government had a paranormal division, I just never thought that I’d…join it.”

He slipped his badge back into his pocket, deciding not to mention that it was basically the job he’d dreamed of getting as a kid.

“So, what, do you go find psychics or something?”

“No clue. My new superiors were…well, they were pretty vague, and I don’t start till Monday.” Stern smiled, trying not to look too bitter. “This was supposed to be us celebrating the new assignment.”

Barclay hummed sympathetically, some strange look on his face that Stern would make sure to overanalyze in the morning. If he remembered it.

“Well, if he’s not going to celebrate with you, would. Uh. Would some strangers work?”

Stern stared at him for a second, trying to process that offer. He failed.

“What?”

“I’m here with some friends. They’re, uh, kind of rowdy. But they like celebrating stuff, and they don’t run off in the middle of the night.” Barclay paused. “Well, a couple of ‘em do, but that’s just to go make out in the woods, and they usually get back to their tents after.”

“Are you sure? I’ve never, you know, gone on a group camping trip,” aside from FBI wilderness training, which very much didn’t count, “but uh. I’m sure bringing a sad drunk guy to the party breaks some kind of rule.”

Barclay scoffed, already standing. Even though they hadn’t been sitting that close together, Stern still felt the chilly air left by his absence.

Ugh, he could feel the cold. That meant he might be sober soon.

Stern was coming to grips with that fact as Barclay held out his hand. He reached out and took it on instinct, and ended up so distracted by how warm it was that he hardly noticed as Barclay easily pulled him to his feet. He stumbled a little bit, reaching out with his free hand to stabilize himself. Somehow, this meant his hand ended up on Barclay’s chest.

Stern tried to remind himself that he just got dumped, and he was drunk, and he should probably chill for at least a day because rebounding never worked out. But, hey. It wasn’t rebounding if he was just making himself a little dizzy with the realization that the handsome guy that had invited Stern to his campground was definitely strong enough to bench press a tree, right? That was just being reasonable, and besides, Barclay had given absolutely no indication that he found Stern attractive. So it was fine. Absolutely fine.

“I know I’ve been asking if you’re alright a lot. But are you, uh, alright?”

Stern really had to figure out how to be drunk without standing and staring at nothing – or at people’s faces – for longer than he could pass off as casual.

“Hey, it could be worse. You could be an angry drunk. Or, uh, a crying drunk. One of my best friends is a crying drunk.”

“I said that out loud,” Stern said, and wanted to die.

“Sure did,” Barclay replied, smiling. Stern was pretty sure he should be annoyed about someone laughing at him, but on Barclay it somehow didn’t seem cruel. “Now, uh, do you wanna get going?”

Stern nodded, following Barclay until they reached a campsite just two lots away from his. He resisted the urge to back away and sprint into the woods. You don’t know if they saw you feeling sorry for yourself, he told himself. Barclay didn’t react, which meant Stern had probably managed to keep the thought inside his head.

“Barclay! We thought you got lost!”

The woman who had said that was sitting backwards on a folding camp chair, which should’ve looked awkward. Somehow, she pulled it off, just like how she pulled off the bright red pompadour. She was grinning, and Stern got the feeling she was the kind of person that grinned easily.

Then she caught sight of him, and that grin turned…curious? Maybe sly. Definitely sly.

“Who’s that?” She asked, and the man sitting next to her gave her a look.

“Aubrey, stop trying to give people meaningful looks. It’s fuckin’ unnerving.”

“Yeah, well, I’m always right, so,” she trailed off. Barclay sighed.

“When you don’t scare ‘em off.”

“Aw, c’mon Duck! That was one whole time. And technically one of them was Ned’s ex, who came back eventually and therefore doesn’t count.”

“She has a point about that,” a man, probably Ned, added helpfully.

“I’m not cooking breakfast for you tomorrow, Aubrey.” Barclay stepped into the circle of camping chairs and Stern followed. There were…a lot of people. Stern was rapidly coming to the conclusion that this was a mistake, but by that point Barclay was gesturing toward an empty seat and he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

As soon as he was close enough for the firelight to illuminate his face, Aubrey narrowed her eyes at him. She stared at him. He stared back. She continued staring at him. Stern got even more annoyed with himself for staring at people while drunk, because having turned against him was very unsettling.

“Oh, hey!” She finally said, leaning back in her chair. She flailed a little as she almost lost her balance, and the tall, blonde woman on her other side put a hand on her back to stabilize her. “You’re the guy that was solo drinking earlier!”

“I should go,” Stern said, “I just realized I have something I need to do.” Like hiding in his tent for the rest of his life.

“No you don’t,” Barclay said, then turned to Aubrey. “Please, Aubrey, I’m begging you. Stop being like this for ten minutes.”

“Okay, fine.” Aubrey made it sound like that was some sort of great burden. But, when she continued with, “so, who is this?” There was less innuendo and more genuine curiosity.

“I’m Stern,” he said.

“But what’s your name.”

It was Stern’s turn to squint at her.

“Oh. Wait. My name’s a word,” he said, once he managed to fully process what she’d just said. “I’m drunk.”

“Yeah, we got that.” Duck shifted, adjusting the Smoky the Bear ball cap he was wearing.

“I don’t normally get drunk at eight pm. Or alone.” Or ever, really.

“Sure,” Aubrey said, and almost sounded like she believed him. Another woman, off to the side of the fire, scoffed in a way that indicated she very obviously didn’t.

“My boyfriend dumped me and now I’m stranded in the woods.”

He hadn’t meant to say that. But he’d already complained to Barclay, which meant there was a decent chance they’d find out anyway. Besides, it turned out complaining felt pretty damn good, especially with how offended Aubrey immediately looked.

“Okay, fair,” Duck said, as the blonde woman put a hand on Aubrey’s shoulder and forced her to stay sitting.

“I’ll fight him for you,” Aubrey declared.

“Babe, he drove away,” the blonde woman said. It didn’t sound like she was arguing with the concept, just the logistics.

“Did he take his stuff?” Aubrey asked. Stern shook his head. “I’ll fight him when he comes back for his stuff, then. I can wait for that. I can wait a long time.”

“You’re not gonna fight him when he gets back, Aubrey. You’re just fuckin’ tipsy.” Duck rolled his eyes, then looked at Stern. “She gets enthusiastic when she’s tipsy.”

“I’m always enthusiastic!”

“Alright, she gets more enthusiastic.”

“I will assist you in destroying him, if you – unlike some weaklings – have the courage to wield me,” a muffled voice said from inside a nearby tent.

“Who said that?” Stern asked.

“Uh, absolutely no one. Definitely not-“

“It’s Duck’s stupid action figure,” Aubrey interrupted, “Got it for his sister’s kid, then forgot to take out the batteries when we got here.” Aubrey tilted her head meaningfully toward the tent. Duck sighed, unzipped the tent, and disappeared inside.

“That’s…” Stern paused, trying to think of a way to express his thoughts that wasn’t rude.

“A shitty toy?” Duck guessed from inside the tent. “Yeah, I’m realizing that.”

There were more muffled sounds, and then complete silence as Duck…was Duck piling every single duffel in the tent into a corner of the tent?

That was a problem for sober Stern, drunk Stern decided.

“Hey, uh, sorry about the whole innuendo thing,” Aubrey said, out of nowhere. Stern wondered if that was a distraction. It worked.

“It’s no problem?” He hadn’t meant for it to sound like a question. Barclay dropped into a seat beside him, sighing heavily.

“Aubrey, please. I’m begging you. Shut up.”

“No, I need to apologize properly.”

“This ain’t apologizing,” Duck chimed in, not looking away from whatever he was doing. “This is furthering your fuckin’ agenda.”

“It’s just that you’re Barclay’s type, so I assumed-“

Barclay interrupted her by groaning, and by the time Stern’s head whipped around to look at him – which was, despite the fact that he was slightly less drunk than before, still a bad idea – his head was in his hand.

“Babe, please,” the blonde woman begged. Aubrey smiled unrepentantly, and high fived Ned. Tried to high five Ned. They both missed.

“I hate to admit it, but he ain’t wrong,” the woman from the other side of the fire said. Barclay let out a noise that might’ve been a scream.

“I’m your what?”

“That’s not why I did…Aubrey, why are you implying…I’m so sorry about her, that wasn’t why I did that.” Barclay was definitely blushing, and Stern wasn’t sure if that had him excited or panicking.

You can’t try and rebound literally an hour and a half after getting dumped. Stern reminded the smart part of his brain that he’d already told it to be quiet.

“I wasn’t trying to come onto you, I promise. I was just worried about you.”

“Um,” Stern said, then took a second to try and think of something valid to follow that up with. “It’s…fine? I didn’t think you were.”

It had been kind of disappointing, actually.

“Anyway, Duck. Do you have your situation handled?” The blonde woman asked, cutting into the awkward silence.

“Yeah,” Duck responded, stepping back out of the tent and zipping it back up with more force than Stern thought was warranted. “Anyway, what the hell were we talking about before?”

“How you ate shit skateboarding last week!” Aubrey said, enthusiastically. Duck looked like he regretted his entire life.

“I did not.”

“You did to.”

“I am inclined to agree with Aubrey, my friend.”

As the argument settled into comfortable background noise, Stern leaned over to Barclay.

“You’re my type too,” he whispered as quietly as he could manage. The others didn’t stop their conversation, which Stern hoped was an indication he hadn’t mucked it up too bad.

“What?” Barclay asked, eyes wide.

“You’re my type, too,” Stern repeated, then realized Barclay most definitely wasn’t asking because he hadn’t heard.

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that because you’re drunk?”

Stern hummed thoughtfully.

“I am stupid when I’m drunk,” he mused, softly. Barclay deflated, just a little, which very much wasn’t Stern’s intention. “Hey, do you think you’ll still be awake in an hour?”

Barclay glanced over at the rest of the group, just in time for Aubrey to laugh loudly enough to break noise curfew and nearly topple into the blonde woman at her side.

“Even if I didn’t want to be, yeah. Why?”

“That’s how long it’ll take for me to not be stupid,” Stern said, in what he hoped was a properly serious voice. “I’ll tell you again then.”

Barclay opened his mouth. Barclay closed his mouth. Barclay opened his mouth. Barclay gave up on whatever he’d initially intended to say, and smiled.

[wrennytenten-blog]

UnNamed WIP

Chapter 6 Section (Unedited)

“If we're going to stop, I'm getting something to drink,” Gareth sighed. Swiping the tail of her coat aside, she pulled a leg over the saddle. She came down too fast, bowing her head with a huff and freezing in place. Bryn grimaced, all too familiar with the jolting pain of broken ribs. Gareth still had healing to do, and dealing with Bankol hadn't helped.

Ruvyn eyed her from atop the saddle, every bit a noble first born with his lifted chin and skewed lips. He didn't like Gareth, disgusted in the least, wanting down but above asking for her help.

“I'll get the kids,” Bryn spoke up. Too much weight on her ribs would only cause more damage anyway.

“Should be able to get off on his own,” Gareth passed him a glare as she left.

“She's rude,” Maylin announced, eyeing the ground as Bryn set her down.

“Maybe its where she's from. Lots of different cultures in Eporis. It might seem rude to us but it's common elsewhere.” She helped Ruvyn get down, ushering them both to the tavern stairs.

It was signature of a small town. Empty, quiet, and filthy. There was mud caked on everything three feet off the ground or less, including the stairs. Ruvyn walked on tip toes, making a disgusted noise as he pressed the door open. Inside it was warm and well lit, oil lamps dangling from rafters with a wide fire pit at the back end of the room. Filled with the smells of broiled meat and spilt alcohol, it was far better than the dampness outside.

Few people were at the tables. All were busy in their cups with only a few of them actually eating. Gareth sat herself along the far wall at one of the longer, log tables. No one else was on that side of the room, seeming a perfect place for her. Bryn sat beside her, not wanting her or the kids picking a fight with one another. Gareth slouched on the table, one arm hooked about her middle, head faintly turning as she scanned the tavern.

It didn't take long for a barmaid to come over. Everyone noticed them come in with the place practically vacant. She was short, stocky, with long brown hair tied low on her neck. She started to say something but stopped as soon as she saw the kids. “Well, it isn't too often we get little ones. Such sweet faces,” she paused, glancing to Gareth. Hesitating she moved on to Bryn, “are you mom?”

“Not exact—”

“Careful,” Gareth interrupted, light in tone, “she gets touchy about her age. Just hit a big marker and she's liable of depressed bouts at the mention.” She lifted her head, smiling out from under her hood.

“Oh dear,” the barmaid placed a tender hand on Bryn's shoulder, “there's nothing wrong with that. You've done well for your age. I don't even have a husband yet and I'm twenty.” 

“Don't rush it.” Gareth sat up, “It's not all it's hyped up to be.” The barmaid sighed, took one look at the kids, and her smile went south.

“I do need to warn you. This table is usually for other patrons. They're particular in where they sit.”

“They'll be alright,” Gareth waved it away. “We're already comfortable.” 

“Alright, if you insist,” her uneasy air made Bryn nervous. “Well, what can I get for you all?'

“Dark for me,” Gareth looked down the table, “two milks for the brats, and…?” she waved at Bryn.

“Do you have any coffee?” Bryn smiled hopefully. 

“I can start you some.” She winked and turned away.

“Coffee?” Gareth scowled, “by the time we leave here, we'll have to find somewhere to set up camp. We're about to bed down and you want coffee?”

“That's why I need it.”

“What is coffee?” Maylin asked. She stood on the seat, hand on Bryn's shoulder as she watched the fireplace.

“It's like tea, but strong and bitter,” she sat back as Maylin reached across her, boldly tapping Gareth's arm.

“Why do you drink so much?”

“So I don't have to try so hard to ignore you,” she answered without missing a beat. “Sit down before you manage to hurt yourself.”

“Our father made a mistake,” Ruvyn muttered.

“You bet he did.”

“He would never choose someone like you to take care of us.” Gareth slammed her hands on the table, leaning over to glare at him.

“That's just it –he didn't choose us to take care of you. Do you know what taking care of people means in my line of work?”

“Alright,” Bryn hissed, holding a hand up between them, “let's start over.”

“I want to go home,” Maylin whined. 

“It's okay, hey, don't worry.” Bryn cooed, petting her hair, “We're going to go see your mom. That's nice, right?”

“I don't know her,” she started to cry, soft sniffles into her hands.

“Great,” Gareth mumbled.

“You caused this. Could you be a little bit nicer?” She only rolled her eyes.

“Oh no! No worries,” the barmaid was back, setting glasses down. She gave Maylin hers first, “there you are dear. Don't cry. Are you hungry?”

“And a little tired,” Bryn chuckled. “We're going to get the stew.” she pointed over to the board by the door. It listed the special of the day, and meat and vegetable stew. The barmaid glanced to Gareth, Bryn already able to feel her glare.

“Sure. I'll have that right out.” She reached out, patting Maylin's head and hurried off to the kitchen.

“So, let's all start over, because we've got a long way to go and we don't need it to be any more difficult than it already is.” She looked to the kids and then to Gareth, “Okay? I'll go first. My name is Bryn, from Calvalio. I'm a soldier, a King's Blade.” 

“What is that?” Ruvyn was leaned over, curious, “A King's Blade?”

“Like a knight, a personal guard for the King of Calvalio.”

“You're an Independent? Do you not like the Empire?”

“Never lived there,” she shrugged. When Gareth didn't say anything Bryn nudged her.

“What do you want me to say here?” She waved towards another table of people. She huffed as Bryn continued to stare, and then leaned closer to whisper. “People pay me money to kill other people.” And then sat back. Maylin gave another whine into her glass. “Great idea.”

“Here you are! Nice and warm.” the barmaid sat a bowl in front of Maylin and Ruvyn. “I'll bring the others, one moment.” Maylin settled into taking up her spoon, sniffling over her bowl as she stirred at it. Her brother shot Gareth a glare before starting to eat. 

“Maybe start telling people you do other things for a living,” Bryn turned to face Gareth, voice low. “You know, for say's sake.”

“You want me to lie? It that right, Blade? You're telling me to lie to the children.” She was having fun, angry and uncomfortable. “I thought you were supposed to be all good morals. Righteous and all that.”

“Look, I don't know how you grew up—”

“Pretty well, actually.”

“Alright, so they're children. Can you tone it down for them? They've been thrown out of their home, hidden from their family, sent across the country. They're young. Can you cut them some slack?”

“Fine,” she huffed, looking up as the barmaid returned again. The stew looked delicious, thick, brown broth with slices of potato, onion, carrot, and some strange yellow chunks. It smelt savory, broiled, making her stomach growl in anticipation. Gareth took more interest in her mug of dark ale, letting her food cool.

“So,” Bryn continued to whisper, “when you said you work to protect those who can't protect themselves, who did you mean?”

“Who I said.”

“Like…? Do you have an example?” Gareth lowered her mug, thinking on it as she wiped her mouth.

“I once had a mother hire me to kill her husband. A poor couple. Cobblers, I think.” 

“And you just killed him? Just took her word and shoved a blade in his back?” Gareth paused from her next sip, eyes set across the tavern.

“You know, I did. Cut him to pieces and had him fed to a pig farm –thought it was fitting.”

“Just because she said he was a bad husband?”

Gareth set the mug back down with a clatter. She turned to look at Bryn with a precise turn of the head, their eyes meeting. Unblinking, she leaned in close, holding there for a moment. “I made him disappear because I saw their twelve year old daughter he had been raping.” Bryn couldn't move, feeling foolish as a cold sickness rose in her gut. Gareth drew back, taking a swig. “Who's going to believe the poor wife of a man who runs his own business?”

“You did.”

“Because I saw evidence. I always need evidence because I have standards. Usually its nobility, stewards, sheriffs, people with power who can get away with anything. Murder, rape, child marriages. Anything, unless they're dead. That's where I come in.”

“Like a vigilante,” Bryn whispered. Gareth was like tales she heard as a child. Shadow warriors who punished the bad, agents of the afterlife goddess, Itris.

“Vigilantes work for free or the goodness of their hearts. That, I don't do.” Her face sharpened, lowering her mug from another sip to squint at the door. A group of men entered. Dirty, armed, and slouching, they piled in from the matching village outside. Stomping boots and growling mumbles, they all looked over at their table, stopping short. The barmaid watched from the other side of the room, hands pressed to her mouth as everyone else looked on.

People turned away, stiff and jumping at any small noise. Eyes remained in their plates as if trying to stay out of the way. The leader of the group, a pale, gangly man, stared at them. He wore only slacks and tanned boots that were tied up by leather straps. He looked like someone who had just crawled out of the wilderness. Wiping a hand across his bearded mouth, he strode towards their table.

Gareth pulled a dagger from her belt, keeping it in her lap.

“Uh-uh,” Bryn grunted. She kept eye contact with the man, smiling as he stood across from them. “Evening.”

He grinned in return, “evening.” he was gruff in speech, smelling damp and sweaty. Glancing between them he chuckled, “Not from here, I take it.”

“Not really.”

“Good,” he turned to Gareth, locking stares. They reminded her of wild dogs, ready to pounce with hair hackled and teeth bare. “Otherwise, I'd kill the lot of you for sitting at our table.”

“A shame that is,” Gareth took a drink.

“You shouldn't speak to us like that,” Maylin boldly pointed her spoon at him. Ruvyn clamped a hand over her mouth, pulling her hand down. The man turned to look at them, brows falling over his sunken eyes. Maylin tried saying something else, garbled in her brother's hands.

“You the local badger?” Gareth asked with a refreshed hiss from her drink. She sat the mug down as gently as a lady arranging her tea cup in its saucer, leaning back in her seat and looking up at him. “I didn't see no mark on the door.”

“We can move,” Bryn offered.

“No, we won't,” Gareth growled. “These boys can get over their favorite spot. They should know their manners. Haven't you ever heard of ladies first?”

He swiped for the table, never reaching her mug as Gareth sprung up, dagger at his throat. She had another knife stripped, ready to throw. “Easy there, Cad. There's children, don't want them to see you bleed all over dinner. Right gents?” She called to the others. Bryn had a hand on her sword, other arm stretched across the kids. The air was thick, no one moving as Gareth kept her knives ready.

“Maybe we can talk this over,” Bryn said with care. As slow as she could, she got to her feet, giving view of her sword and blocking the kids. “No need in getting violent over a few seats. There's plenty of other tables. Besides, my friend here is a bit hasty. She's not afraid to get her hands dirty. But I don't want anyone to get hurt. We just want to eat our dinner and leave.”

Not even the staff made a sound.

“Easy enough for an outside to make this mistake. Maybe we can share.” She was partly speaking to Gareth as well. No one seemed ready to back down, too tense to move.

“I know who she is,” one of the gang members piped up. “The one in the hood –I recognize her now. She's the Silver Fox of Mazame, Queen of Cull and Crash.” Bryn stared at him, certain he was speaking actual words. She knew them, just not the order of them. It sounded like another language.

“You've got me mistaken for someone else,” Gareth answered, slow with a warning bite. “I'm too small for any mill or crash. A thimble like me is into baz and prigging at most.” Bryn glanced over at her, fumbling to make sense of their ramble.

“Priggin' here? In our territory?” Another, bald member pressed. He dared a step closer and Bryn thumbed her blade from its sheath just enough to get it to scrape. They all froze like deer.

“Surely, gentlemen, there's a misunderstanding,” She matched Gareth's cold tone, “she's working with me, on an errand.”

“And just what are you up to now?”

“Having dinner,” Gareth snarled.

“She's right. Having a bit to eat between jobs. We've ben hired for different work. I assure you, neither of us have been taking part in, er, cull and crash.” With a slow tilt of the head, Gareth glared at her.

“Who you pulling for?” The leader asked. 

“Grand Prince—”

“The Grand Prince of Buckles, the Son of Fog, the Jack of Crows,” Gareth announced with dangerous strength in her voice. “I may be just a prigger, but anything happens to us, and you'll have the Son of Shadows and Queen of Cull herself at your doorstep.” She let the blade bite into the man's neck, just enough to draw blood. “Your next move is going to depend on how long you want to live.”

[btsmutimagines]

Home

Request ➸ Can you make a fluff with Jungkook when you go to bed after a long day at school and you're really tired but he tries to wake you up and you're really pouty and ask why and he says that you need to take your makeup off cause it's bad from your skin but you're too lazy to so he does it for you EXTRA FLUFFY PLEASE 

Word count ➸ 2k

You woke up to the sound of your loud alarm clock, you never being gladder to hear the ringing for the first time. In the midst of your nightmare, Jimin successfully captured your boyfriend, Jungkook, heart with a simple air kiss. As much as you loved hanging out with him and the rest of his friends but at times, Jimin seemed more like a rival than a close friend.

You shivered, getting out of bed and quickly getting into the shower. The hot water tingled against your skin, washing away grogginess along with the odd feeling of jealousy that lingered due to your dream. You hoped that you wouldn’t accidentally snap at Jimin the next time you saw him. 

Dressing into a bomber jacket, one of Jungkook’s old white shirts and high-waist jeans, you lazily tied your hair back because the spark that caused you to dress up died as soon as you saw your hair.  It momentarily returned as you did your makeup, although going for a more natural look since you were short on time. You gave yourself a once-over in the mirror that hung on your door before going into the kitchen. You settled for a pear, the juicy green fruit deserved more love than the typical apple. Tossing the core into the trash, you grabbed your bag from the floor where you left it yesterday and noticed one of Jungkook’s socks behind it.

You sighed, the lone sock triggering the memory of when Jungkook asked you to live with him. It was probably three months after you two started dating and after a handful of times when his friends had walked in on the two of you. He was so abrupt about it, you jokingly agreeing to it at first until he showed up to your old apartment with a bunch of classified ads and a red marker. Of course, having a place to yourselves meant no interruptions but getting to know each other in the same house had its cons. Especially since Jungkook liked to eat your leftovers when you specifically tell him not to, or the fact whenever he offered to help you with the grocery, he loved to place your favourite snacks on the top shelf of your cupboard like the evil giant he is. Not to mention his habit of losing socks that turn up after weeks of being missing.

You dryly laughed to yourself, remembering that your boyfriend was currently on a trip for the next few days for his portfolio. That boy loved his camera as much as he loved you, although he couldn’t answer whether he would save his camera or you in a fire without hesitation.

This wasn’t the time to think about Jungkook, you told yourself and picked up your bag. You placed the sock on the coffee table and left the apartment. You caught the bus, rushing up the back of the bus before the driver sped down the streets. You watched the passing cars and bikes, the fall leaves adding colour to the grey asphalt of the road. The familiar scenery of your campus came into view and you got off the bus, walking down the path. People on their bikes pass you, stopping at the bike racks up ahead and you reached the corner where your best friend, Sol-ji usually popped up.

“Boo!” Just as you predicted, she came from behind you to cover your eyes and you smiled at her failed attempt to scare you.

“Halloween ended two weeks ago.”

“I meant that as an endearment.”

“Explain covering my eyes.”

“A magician never reveals all her tricks.”

“Sol-ji, you literally walked up behind me. The only magic here is how you managed to trick yourself into blatant fibbing.” You two walked up the steps into the hall, seeing people sitting in lounge chairs and others rushing up the stairs to whatever class they’re about to be late for.  

“You’re so mean, Y/N~ Did Jimin say he was going to steal Jungkook away again?”

“Only in my nightmare, yes. Sorry for my outburst, I feel strange today.”

“Oh, you miss him that much.”

“I miss not having to climb the counter to grab the peanut butter and my snacks or not waiting for the bathroom in the morning? I think not.”

“The amount of denial you’re having is astounding.” You rolled your eyes, focusing on walking up the stairs as Sol-ji continued to talk to you. She was bashing her roommate, as usual, talking about how she had come home to the floor covered with pictures of cats. Somehow, her roommate hadn’t noticed that her camera was connected to the printer and she had unknowingly printed 50 Polaroid photos of her cashmere cat.

“I’m honestly questioning why I said I was okay with pets on that survey.”

“You were just being an honest person.”

“How did the system think that I and she were 85 percent compatible when she is, 100 percent accuracy, the worst roommate I ever had.”

“Just ask for a change.”

“But she makes the best cookies,” you rolled your eyes, was she seriously going to let her sweet tooth be a deal breaker, “and I might be over-exaggerating.”

“I noticed.” She elbowed your side as you laughed while you two entered the classroom. A few people were early as well and you two sat in the middle rows. You two readied yourselves for class anyways, Sol-ji pouting as she did so.

“Meanie.” You were about to reply but a soft tap on your shoulder made you turn your head to the owner of the finger.

“Hey, Y/N.”

“Oh, Himchan.” Himchan was the secretary of the student union which you were the vice president

“I’m just reminding you about today’s emergency meeting at 2.”

“What happened?” You took out your water bottle, taking a sip as Himchan nervously scratched his head.

“Mi-woo’s sick.” You choked on a sip, you quickly coughing to recover. Minwoo, the president, hasn’t missed a meeting since she became a member and usually filled you in on what happened because you were typically late to meetings because of a certain someone.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s fine, how did she get sick? “The annual cook-off, someone had the flu and everyone there got sick. I’m glad I hate cold cucumber soup.”

“Alright.”

“You can’t be late to the meeting this time, alright?”

“Okay.” You slumped in your seat as Himchan left the classroom, your professor entering at that moment.

“Look on the bright side, at least the meetings are just an hour long.” It was as if the universe heard Sol-ji’s words at that very moment and decided that today was the day it should mess with you.

You were on time because one of the other members spotted you and walked with you to the meeting room. It was going smoothly; the group was listening to you and you could see yourself wrapping up the meeting early until Himchan started discussing the holiday event for December and all hell broke loose. It was a shouting match and members shoving ideas at you as they angrily argued which idea was best for the student body. Mi-woo, you lucky wrench, you managed to avoid this. You ended the meeting about 30 minutes late, but your day wasn’t over yet.

One of the fine arts students that knew you through Jungkook needed a replacement model for her art piece and she had the largest puppy eyes (after Jungkook, of course. That boy gives you that look intentionally and unintentionally). You forced a smile as you agreed, and she happily dragged you into an art studio where she spent three hours to paint you, which didn’t look much like you but you didn’t have the heart to tell the girl. It was about 6 when you went out to the bus stop, waiting almost an hour for the bus and you missed your bed more as the bus ride went on.

You took the elevator up, going straight into your apartment and walking straight into the bedroom. You heard water running, your tired mind playing tricks on you as your head hit the pillow and you cuddled up to the sheets.

“Babe?” You were questioning your sanity when you thought you heard Jungkook’s voice and only made you want to sleep sooner.

“Babe, wake up.”

“Why does the universe hate me so much-” You sat up to see Jungkook sitting next to you and your faces were close enough that your nose brushed against his.

“Surprise?”

“Have I lost my mind?” He laughed, you blinked in response. Jungkook is here, alive and well while you were ready to pass out. Typical.

“Did you miss me that much?”

“It really is you, the same annoying Jungkook.”

“I thought you would be happier to see me.”

“And I thought I would be able to get some sleep.”

“I guess I could remove the towel to make things easier-”

“That’s not what I meant, horndog.”

“Okay, you’re cranky.”

“I had a long ass day and I just was some R&R.”

“You could at least change and take off your makeup.”

“I don’t really care, Jungkook.” You let your head fall back onto your pillow, Jungkook poking the back of your neck.

“That’s not good for your skin, baby.”

“I’m tired, Jungkook.” You heard him tsk at you, taking the sound as a sign of victory as he got up and walked somewhere else. You were barely entering the sleep cycle when you felt him yank the sheets off you and you snapped your eyes open and looked up at him.

“Rise and shine, sweetheart.”

“One day, I’m going to find out your weakness and kill you.”

“Did you eat a lot of sugar because it’s starting to melt into your personality.”

“You’re probably the meanest girlfriend on Earth.”

“I would be a lot nicer to you if you weren’t robbing me of my precious sleep time.”

“Can you at least sit up for me?” You sat up, cross-legged, for him regardless of your sharp tone with him and he pulled the makeup wipes off the nightstand. He sat in front of you

“Shut your eyes for me.” You did so, feeling the cold wipe run across your eyelids one by one and gently over your eyelashes. He ran a clean side of the wipe across your cheeks and lips before stopping.

“Jungkook.”

“You’re so beautiful.”

“So cheesy.”

“The prettiest girl that ever lived.”

“Quit it.”

“Why~ Your cheeks are burning, aren’t they?”

“Shut up!” He placed his hands on either side of your cheeks, verifying the heat in your cheeks as you tried to push him away.

“Your cheeks are going to leave a burn on my hands. You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“Meanie.”

“So that makes the two of us, two peas in a pod.”

“To think I missed you even in the slightest.”

“So you did miss me, huh?”

“Shut-” He cut you off, swallowing the syllables with his lips as he kissed you. Your hands grabbed handfuls of his shirt as one of his hands slipped to your side. He pulled away, you look away and Jungkook poked your cheek repeatedly.

“Should’ve known since you’re wearing my shirt anyways.” He pulled you into his lap, your arms resting on his shoulders and your hands playing with the ends of his obsidian hair.

“Why can’t you be cute and silent?”

“Because my sexy voice shouldn’t go to waste.”

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“It’s true.” You sighed, how did you manage to find a guy like him? You placed your hand on his cheek, slowly caressing it with your thumb running across the smooth skin.

“I missed you so much, Y/N.” He pressed his lips again yours once again, his movements much more languid and gentle as his body molded into yours. He kissed away the tiredness of a long day, his touch awakened you and his presence made you feel whole.

“Welcome home.”

[emperor-lover]

hello! can I request for college! au jihoon ?

hello! of course you can~ here you go! im not used to writing for idols who are younger than me so hopefully it’s ok hahaa… (btw go read my Minki college!au if you havent yet, because im real proud of it woohoo) - I’ve edited it so no more typos woohoo

Park Jihoon College!AU

So there’s this guy in your lecture hall

And he sits in a spot a few rows down and to the right from you

so if you tilt your head slightly he’s in your perfect line of vision

he’s someone who’s always caught your eye because he’s literally so good looking???

and he looked super familiar but you can’t put a finger on why

in lectures he’s always taking down notes and listening intently to the lecturer

he sits with a couple of his friends and they all seem like a nice bunch of pals

y’know, the typical joking around, slapping each other on the backs, fist bumps, the stuff you see in stock photos and teen movies

and he has the nicest smile??? like wow this boy was blessed with some photogenic wonders that do not come by easily in this world

after a lecture one day you’re packing up your stuff and filing out of the room with everyone else, when you realise you left your jacket on the back of the seat you were sitting at

you trudge up the steps quietly to get where you had been sitting when you notice two girls, one of them giggling away whilst pushing the other up to the cute guy who’s still joking round with his mates

“Um…Jihoon?”

He pauses and turns to look at her

his facial expression is still smiling, waiting for her to continue speaking

“Would I be able to talk to you…in private?”

Jihoon’s friends are all like :o and trying to warn the girl with their expressions that this is not a good idea

and you’re a bit taken aback by how sharp his gaze has turned

it’s kinda scary, like he’s still smiling, but his eyes are cold

“anything you say to me, I’ll tell them anyway, so you might as well tell me in front of them”

the girl and her friend are taken aback, but she still manages to stutter out a confession

Your heart goes out to the poor girl, it’s takes a lot of courage to confess to your crush

you’re kinda amazed by the events unfolding in front of you so you squat down behind the seats to see what will happen next

You swear Jihoon just rolled his eyes???? wow rude 

He folds his arms across his chest “i don’t think you’d like me very much if you knew what I’m really like”

The girls just shakes her head, not wanting to take no for an answer but he cuts her off mid rebuttal

“anyways, im not interested in dating you. You can go now.” 

The girl’s friend quickly grabs the girl’s hand and pulls her out of the room before the waterworks starts and you hear Jihoon sigh in relief

Woweeee what a jerk

you’re surprised, because he seems like such a warm individual with his friends and from what you’d seen of him

his friend Woojin nudged his shoulder, “Jihoon, that must’ve been the 6th confession you’ve got since the semester started…”

Woojin had actually gone to the same high school as you, and although you weren’t close, you knew him as a warm and funny individual

So after what you just saw happen, you were surprised to see that him and Jihoon were so close

“I don’t get why they keep confessing to me, I’m not interested in dating right now, I thought I made that clear.”

he runs his hand through his hair, and your heart speeds up a bit

like ok he’s a jerk but he’s a good looking one

You realise you’ve been sitting there for a while now and you remember that you were meant to be on your way to your next lecture

You try to sneak out the back entrance without disturbing the guys’ conversation

but lol you trip

of course

out of all times to trip

you trip now

good job, you get an A+ for stealthiness 

And Jihoon and Woojin’s heads snap up to where you’re sprawled out on the stairs

and you make eye contact with Jihoon who’s staring at you with this look that can only be described as annoyed curiosity

Suddenly you realise where you recognise him from and before you can stop yourself, you hear your own voice echoing through the lecture theatre

“hey, you’re Wink Boy….”

There was this guy in all the commercials promoting your college, and the ending clip of him winking had highkey gone viral - hence “wink boy”

Like people were fangirling over him and coming to the college 

it was one powerful af wink

Jihoon sighs and looks like he’s about to say something but you haven’t finished talking

“….thought you’d be nicer, but guess not…”

Woojin starts snickering hysterically in the background, he’s surprised you’re talking back to Jihoon because you were always super nice when you went to school with him

Diverting your attention to Woojin you gave him a cheery wave, “hey Park Woojin, good to see you”

“Y/N, good to see you too! how long were you listening there for?” 

As you make small talk with Woojin, you notice Jihoon getting crankier by the minute.

First you insult him, then you ignore him completely as if nothing happened? 

“See ya later boys, don’t break anymore girls’ hearts”

And you left the pair with a blinding smile, flicking you hair behind your shoulder as you headed off to your next lecture (playing it cool, make them forget you just tripped over)

“Who was that?”

“Oh, that’s Y/N, I went to high school with them.”

Jihoon nods, deep in thought “…she’s pretty.”

Over time, you didn’t really have that many interactions with Jihoon

you’d still admire his good looks from afar in your lectures,

and your crush on him was still the same

but it didn’t really affect you that much that he didn’t spare a glance your way so you just kept living your life peacefully

or so you thought

Jihoon pestered Woojin about you, and how you two knew each other

poor poor woojin

Jihoon also hadn’t been going to all the lectures recently, and you were kinda like oh well, guess i don’t have any excuse to be distracted in lectures anymore

then one day it was time. 

time for good ol’ group projects woopdedooo…the true cupid but also kills friendships lmao

so far you’ve had good group project experiences so you’re excited to see the new faces you’ll be working with for the next few weeks

“Squish over will you?”

that is, until you look up and see that Jihoon has come over and is standing next to the table you’re at

“eh? Wink boy, what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? I’m in this group too.”

Everyone in the group was stoked that Jihoon was in their group because he always had some of the highest grades in the class and whenever he was in a group, they always got super good marks.

Like the lecturers and markers always love Jihoon and will give him good marks for his presentations 

and you knew he was capable, because you had been talking to a freshman called Lai Kuanlin who was getting tutored by Jihoon

But for some reason, you were struggling to believe it all now because for the past 3 meet ups, Jihoon’s sole focus had been on his phone

Usually you’d have the meetings at Jihoon’s dorm, because it was on the uni campus and that meant he wouldn’t have much of an excuse not to be there

But just the fact he never contributed any thoughts or ideas was starting to get on your nerves

The epitome of the “I’ll let you guys do all the work” member of the group

Everyone was too wary or polite to say anything but you could tell it was starting to get tense

One day after a meeting you tapped his arm as he slung his backpack over his shoulder

“Jihoon, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“What is it?”

“Is there something going on? You barely say 3 sentences in each meeting we have for this project…”

He opens his mouth to say something, and you wait for a response but he stays quiet

You can tell he’s hiding something but it’s not like he’s going to tell you his secrets anytime soon, so you just shrug and sigh

“Look, I know we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot, but can you at least put some effort into the project for the others? I don’t think it’s fair that everyone else is trying so hard and you’ve done nothing”

You head towards the door, but Jihoon grabs your arm

“Y/N-”

“make sure you send all the stuff you’ve done to me by tomorrow otherwise we’re all going to fail, and i’m not letting that happen”

Jihoon just nods at you and you look into his eyes, trying to decipher what’s going on in his head

“You know you can talk to me right? I’m not going to judge you.”

“I…I’m…never mind”

You didn’t want to push further so you just nodded and headed off home leaving Jihoon in a daze. There weren’t many people he had met at college who genuinely cared about people like you did.

However, even though you were holding back as much as possible, you had been delegated the role of putting everyones work together and submitting it

So when it was the day before the deadline, and Jihoon still hadn’t sent his work through to you….

you just snapped, storming over to his dormitory and knocking roughly on the door

“Jihoon, open up! It’s Y/N”

Standing outside for another couple of minutes you figured that he must not have been home and you were about to head off when you saw him round the corner 

“Y/N? what are you doing here?”

“The project? You haven’t sent me your things yet, and you havent been replying to any of my messages”

“You sent me messages?” He took his phone out of his pocket, gulping nervously when he saw the list of missed calls and unread texts.

“Look I can explain, do you want to come in first?”

He opened the door to his dorm and ushered you inside, before you can answer

“Last month, I was scouted by a company to become an idol….”

Recently, he had been training non-stop, which explained why you hadn’t been seeing him in all your lectures like usual

He’d get home late, have no time to work on anything or relax

And the company trainee contract meant that he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about his training and he still had to attend as much college as possible

As Jihoon explained his situation, you saw the exhaustion on his face and how genuine he was explaining himself

You sat down next to him, getting your laptop out of your bag

“Well, it’s called a group project for a reason, I can give you a hand”

“No, it’s fine really, I’ll get my part done and send i through to you ASAP, you can go.”

“And risk you falling asleep halfway through and not meeting the deadline, no way.”

You end up working all the way through the evening, stopping briefly to wander to the kitchen to make some coffee

Woojin was there making something to eat and he looked up at you in surprise

“Y/N? What are you doing here?”

“Oh I’m working on the group project with Jihoon, we’re a bit behind schedule”

Woojin looked disappointed, “Is that all? Jihoon hasn’t told you anything…interesting?”

You raise an eyebrow in confusion, “interesting? Oh you mean how he’s a trainee?”

“Yea-! wait no! He told you that he’s a trainee?” 

“Yeah, it explains why he hasn’t been at lectures”

“Ah never mind that, there was something else he’s been wanting to ask you!” Woojin giggles, “Jihoon’s a good guy, just give him a chance alright.”

“A chance for what?”

“I said too much, never mind” 

You shake your head, not too sure what Woojin was going on about, but you took the two coffees and headed back to Jihoon’s room

Closing the door behind you were about to ask Jihoon to decipher what Woojin had just said when you noticed him fast asleep at his desk

Setting down the coffee gently on a coaster you sighed.

This was probably the first time he slept in a while judging by his under eye bags

You walked slowly to his bed, and grabbed the fluffy blanket, placing it over him

You took in his appearance as you stood looking over him

He looked so relaxed when he was asleep, so different to the cold stare he had given that girl who confessed to him during your first encounter

His eyelashes are long and they flutter gently whenever he inhales, his body rising and falling steadily with each breath

You tear your eyes away from him and back to your laptop screen, trying to snap yourself out of the daze, you have to finish this project by tonight

It’s only moments later when you realise that you’ve also drifted off into a slumber

The feeling of something soft is over your shoulders, and you realise the blanket has moved from its owner and is now covering you

It smells like Jihoon though and you find yourself closing your eyes again relaxing in the warmth

—Wait. You fell asleep? 

Your eyes flicker open just in time to see Jihoon printing out sheets of paper and stapling everything together

You glance at the clock and you swear your eyes are playing tricks on you when it reads 3AM

“When did I fall asleep??”

Jihoon is startled by your voice, causing him to drop the stapler he was holding

Both of you reach down to grab it, bumping heads at the same time

You both pull back rubbing your heads in pain, before looking at each other and bursting out into giggles

He looked at the clock, “You probably fell asleep a couple of hours ago, I finished the rest of it and printed everything out so don’t worry. It’s really late though so I should’ve woken you up earlier, I’m sorry.”

You shook your head, “It’s my fault! I shouldn’t have fallen asleep. But seeing as you’ve finished everything, I should probably head home now.”

“W-wait! Let me walk you home at least”

You were taken aback, but it was late, so you figured better be safe than sorry.

You only realised how cold it had gotten as you stepped outside and the air hit you

You shivered slightly, your cardigan wasn’t doing a great job at keeping you warm

Jihoon looked over at you as you walked together, noticing that your teeth were chattering

He reached into his pocket, and handed you his handwarmer

“Take it.”

You look at him in surprise, “Oh I’m fine really, we’re nearly at my place anyway.

“Just take it.” He places the handwarmer gently but firmly into the palm of your hand

The dim street lights make it hard to tell but you swear can see faint traces of a blush on Jihoon’s face

“Y/N, your hands are freezing?!”

You shrug, “it’s just bad circulation, i’ll be fine with the handwarmer, thank you”

Jihoon shakes his head in concern before grabbing both your hands in his

His hands are warm and soft against yours and you blush at the close proximity

He brings your hands up to his face and slowly breathes onto them, the warm air hitting them

It’s a sweet gesture and you’re getting even more flustered because who wouldn’t want their longtime crush to do something like this

You tried to divert your attention to something else, so you started up another conversation

“Oh, so Woojin was telling me that you had something interesting to tell me?”  

“Oh um.” Jihoon lets go of your hands and scratches the back of his head awkwardly

You’re a bit sad at the sudden lack of warmth of his hands round yours but you just ignore the feeling

“Must be something juicy, what is it? Do you like someone?”

Jihoon’s eyes widen, and you realise you hit the nail on the head.

Your heart sinks a bit but you force a smile on your face, “ah how sweet, what are they like?”

He takes a deep breath, eyes practically glazing over as he speaks, “she’s beautiful, and kind and has the most breathtaking smile…”

You nod silently, glad that your house is literally only a few more steps away

“and also..well…you’d probably know better than me.” Jihoon stops walking, making you pause mid step. 

“Uh….hmmm, is it Sohyun? oh, wait, what about Jaehee? Am I right? Yes? No?”

He’s looking directly at you, his stare burning straight through you. “You really have no idea who I’m talking about….”

You’re literally so confused, trying to think of everyone in your class.

“For someone as bright as you, you’re quite slow on the uptake aren’t you?”

Next thing you know, Jihoon has reached over to you and pulled you to him

His lips are sweet on yours and your mind is racing as his arms embrace you gently

You can feel his heart hammering quickly against his chest under your palm and you can feel your own heartbeat pounding in your ears

When you pull apart, both of you are too shy to make eyecontact and you splutter out a goodnight

you reach up and give him a quick peck on the cheek before zooming inside your house, immediately resting against the door as soon as it closes behind you

A few minutes later your phone chimes and you pick it up tentatively

It’s a text from Jihoon. 

From: Park Winkboy:Hope you sleep well tonight and I’ll see you in the morning. Thanks for helping me out with the project.

You smile gently, and you’re texting a reply when your phone chimes again

From: Park Winkboy:P.S. I really like you 

i can totally picture college Jihoon embracing his dorm!jihoon self and going full tsundere mode lol - This is so long tho omfg when did i become winkboy trash.  

[amaanogawa]

words can’t espresso how much you mean to me

Pairing: KuroDai

"(Long story short, Kuroo slipped into Daichi’s life where he fits like a puzzle piece, like he was always meant to be there, and it had all somehow started with a cup of overpriced coffee and a lopsided smile.)" 

A Coffee Shop AU.

word count: 3,754

also available on AO3

Daichi wonders how, in a year of 365 days that should logically all be 24 hours long, he is currently stuck in the longest day known to man.

It is only 11AM and so far he has successfully slept in for a final exam worth half of his overall grade, slipped and fell on the ice patch on his front steps evident by the large black bruise spreading across his ass, gotten splashed by an onslaught of slush spraying up from a passing car, missed his bus, and then had to bear the embarrassment of waddling into his lecture hall soaking wet and nearly an hour late. His professor had just given him an obvious once-over before pointing to an empty seat at the front of the class. It wasn’t until after Daichi took his seat that he realized he forgot to bring a pencil.

And that brings him to now, standing outside victim to the blistering winds of winter, snow soaking through his shoes and a sigh weighing heavily in his chest.

He needs caffeine.

Daichi’s usual go-to would be canned coffee from the vending machine outside his lecture hall, or maybe the dollar coffees in his school canteen, considering he’s a student and he’s got to pull stops where he can. But on this day he thinks that he wouldn’t mind finding a slightly nicer café, with coffee that doesn’t taste like burnt grass and maybe a nice buttery pastry. He remembers the café that he passes by on his way home every day, one that looked too trendy and overpriced for him to ever step foot in on a normal day. That one would do just fine.

He trudges onwards, ass sore and hands stuffed in his pockets, until he sees the familiar logo of a sitting cat emblazoned over the store front sign. A small bell on the door jingles as he walks in, and an immediate aroma of coffee washes over him. There’s a fireplace, and some comfy looking couches, and yea, this was definitely what he needed today. As Daichi approaches the counter, he’s slightly intimidated by the menu- he has no idea what anything is.

“Hello hello, you’re a new face.” A figure saunters up from behind the counter, all long legs clad in tight black jeans, a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and a half-apron tied around his waist. He’s got a crooked smile smug enough that it makes Daichi clench his teeth, sharp eyes and the most ridiculous hair Daichi has ever seen in his life. “What can I get you?”

“Uh.” Daichi says, sliding his eyes back up to the menu and squinting. “Can I get a recommendation?”

The man hums, cocking his head to one side. “Something sweet?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“The mocha or peppermint lattes are popular this time of year. You could double dip and go for the peppermint mocha.”

“That sounds great.”

“Whipped cream?”

“Sure.”

The man grins, plucks a cup from the pile, marker ready in his other hand. “Can I get your name? For the cup.”

Daichi looks around pointedly- there’s not a single other person in line.

“Is that really necessary?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

He sighs. “It’s Sawamura. And could I also get one of the chocolate croissants, please.”

“Sa-wa-mu-ra. So that’s one medium peppermint mocha,” the barista enunciates his name with a syrupy sweet smile, writing each character onto the paper cup before setting it down and reaching for the metal tongs, clicking them together with one hand while punching a few buttons on the cash register with the other. “And a chocolate croissant. That’ll be $8.49.”

Daichi almost chokes on his own tongue. He could buy five shitty burnt-grass coffees with that money, with some change left over for a snack. He could probably buy lunch and dinner with that money, if he were feeling particularly frugal. But he grits his teeth, pulls his wallet from his back pocket and tugs a ten dollar bill out.

“But luckily for you, we have a one-time only, complimentary order for first time customers who look like they’re having a hell of a bad day.”

He eyes the barista wearily. “Excuse me?”

The man just smiles, pops Daichi’s croissant into the toaster and busies himself with making Daichi’s coffee order. Daichi has no idea what’s going on, his mind muddy from sleep deprivation and stress, but he slowly places the ten dollar bill back into his wallet.

“Sawamura-san!” The barista calls his name from the other end of the counter, setting down a plate with his pastry on it, as well as a cup of coffee with a swirl of whipped cream so large that Daichi’s thinking it can’t possibly be the standard amount. There's even red and green tinted sugar crystals sprinkled daintily on top. The man’s eyes squint when he smiles this way, observant and thoughtful in a way that betrays his appearance. “Here’s your order, enjoy.”

Daichi takes the plate and the cup in weary hands. He bothers looking at the nametag pinned to the man’s shirt for the first time since entering the café.

“Thanks.” He says, walking over to the plush couch next to the fireplace. A groan works its way out of his chest when he sinks into the soft cushions, setting his plate onto the small coffee table in front of him and cradling his hot beverage between his fingers. He can’t even bring himself to think about how he’s got three more exams in the next week and he already feels like he needs to pass out. Absentmindedly he brings the cup to his mouth.

Holy crap.

His drink is downright delicious. It’s minty and chocolatey with an edge of bitterness from the coffee that definitely doesn’t taste like burnt grass, coating his tongue in a warm, rich happiness. Daichi leans his head back and closes his eyes.

He doesn’t think he’s going to be able to go back to canned coffee after this. Damnit.

“How’s the drink?” The barista calls from behind the counter, crooked smile on his face as he leans on his elbows. Daichi slides his eyes over, already feeling a lot better than he had when he stepped foot into the café.

“It’s great.” He says, a small smile finding its way to his lips. “I think you just saved my entire day.”

“Glad to hear it.” The barista, Kuroo, says. “Hope your day gets better from here on out, Sawamura.”

--

Daichi returns to Nekoma Coffee after his next exam. It went pretty well for the most part which is a relief, but he’s running on 3 hours of sleep and desperately needs a pick me up. He pushes the worn handle of the wooden door, stepping into the comfortable warmth of the café before reaching to brush the snowflakes out of his hair. When Daichi looks up, Kuroo is smiling over from behind the counter.

“Hey, Sawamura! I was wondering when you’d stop by again. Give me a sec and I’ll be right over to take your order.”

There’s another barista here this time, a small blond boy leaning against the back wall of their work area playing a handheld game console instead of helping Kuroo with their customers. Kuroo’s hands are flying, making drinks with practiced ease and quickly calling out name after name. It really doesn’t take long before he’s walking up behind the cash register, wiping his hands on his apron.

“Sorry for the wait. You’re looking a lot better than last time I saw you.” Kuroo grins. “Looks like my peppermint mocha did wonders, huh?”

Daichi raises his brows. ”I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult, really.”

“I’ll leave it up to you to decide.” Kuroo hums, plucking a cup from the pile. “What’s it gonna be today?”

“I thought I’d go with another recommendation, if you’re up to it. Something simple.”

“Let’s start you out with a latte, then.” He punches a few buttons on the register. “That’ll be $3.85.”

Daichi hands Kuroo a five dollar bill and stuffs his change in the tip jar before heading to the end of the counter to wait for his order. Watching Kuroo work, Daichi thinks that he’s never seen anyone move with such fluidity as Kuroo does. He moves gracefully, which is really a strange word to describe part-time coffee making but there’s not really any other way to describe it so much as grace. He pours the milk into Daichi’s cup, jiggling the small metal pitcher back and forth before finishing in a gentle swipe of his arm.

“One latte.” Kuroo says, placing the cup on the counter. Daichi stares.

“There’s a leaf in my coffee.” He says, surprised. “That’s amazing, did they teach you that here?”

“No, I get bored on slow days so I youtubed tutorials and practiced on my own.” Kuroo chuckles, handing Daichi a lid. “I can do a few other designs, but right now I’m learning how to draw a cat.”

“Wow.” Daichi picks up his drink and notices the writing on his cup. Thanks A Latte! is written neatly on the paper, with a small drawing of a cartoon coffee cup smiling and waving. Daichi raises his brows, looking up at Kuroo, unimpressed. “That’s awful, Kuroo.”

Kuroo just grins, lopsided and soft, and Daichi has to admit that maybe there’s more reason to stop by than just the fancy coffee.

--

Nekoma Coffee quickly becomes a permanent part of Daichi’s routine. He stops by so often after his classes that Kuroo soon memorizes his class schedule and often has a drink already waiting for him by the time he gets there. It’s a different drink every time and there’s always a personalized message written on it- a pun bad enough that it has Daichi glaring daggers, or sometimes an oddly thoughtful reminder to get some more sleep instead of just overloading on caffeine.

(You Mocha Me Crazy!, Where Have You Bean All My Life?, and You’re Brew-tiful! being a few that Daichi cut from their cups and pinned to a cork board in his room because he couldn’t bring himself to throw them out.)

When Daichi’s gone through Nekoma Coffee’s entire menu, Kuroo starts making drinks off what he calls their ‘secret menu’, which is really just bizarre concoctions of his own making that logically shouldn’t ever work together. Daichi begrudgingly admits that they’re usually delicious.

(They don’t talk about the iced 5 shot 3 pumps pumpkin sauce, dirty chai with oat milk. It’s a traumatic experience that they chalk up to Kuroo’s momentary insanity.)

One day, Daichi has to stay behind to speak with his professor about their term paper. As a result, he’s over an hour late showing up to grab his drink, which of course had long gone cold. Kuroo suggests that Daichi take his phone number so he can text Kuroo in case something like this happens again- purely for practicality’s sake, of course. Daichi agreed, feeling a little guilty that he had wasted a perfectly good drink, but by the time he got home he already had four unread texts from Kuroo, all unrelated to coffee.

Kuroo texts Daichi way too much for someone that he sees almost every day. Daichi doesn’t tell him so.

It’s midterm season when Daichi stops by, not having slept in nearly four days, and decides to rest his eyes on the couch for just a few moments. By the time he wakes, it’s past opening hours and the coffee shop is empty. There’s an unfamiliar jacket covering him, and Kuroo is behind the counter humming softly to himself as he wipes down the table.

Daichi had apologized profusely, face burning red. Kuroo only laughed before telling him that he’s almost done closing, and since he has nothing else to do for the night and he’s such an incredibly nice person, he’ll walk Daichi home.

(Long story short, Kuroo slipped into Daichi’s life where he fits like a puzzle piece, like he was always meant to be there, and it had all somehow started with a cup of overpriced coffee and a lopsided smile.)

--

“So this is your new secret hang out spot, huh?”

“It’s not really a secret at all…” Daichi says, pushing the door open. “They have good coffee and I’m friends with the barista, so I come often.”

Suga just hums, looking around the coffee shop. “It’s a nice plac- woah-”

It’s busier than usual today and Suga stumbles over someone’s foot, grabbing onto Daichi’s sleeve to steady himself.

“You okay?” Wrapping his arm around Suga’s waist, Daichi pulls him further from the crowd waiting to pick up their drinks, and into the line waiting to order. Kuroo is behind the cash register, face looking a little pinched. Probably because there are so many customers that even Kozume is helping out, the edge of his game console peeking out from his apron pocket.

“Hey, Kuroo.” Daichi greets. “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Kozume move that fast before.”

“Sawamura.” Kuroo’s tone is light, but his smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Yea, well, it’s all hands on deck right now as you can see. What’ll it be?”

“Any additions to the secret menu?”

The response is curt. “Not today.”

Daichi frowns, slightly concerned, but figures that it’s just from a stressful day of work. He makes a mental note to bring Kuroo some lunch tomorrow to cheer him up, and quickly places his order so that he doesn’t hold up the line.

“What are you having, Suga?”

Suga is still studying the menu with a concentrated stare, but turns when Daichi calls him, batting his lashes.

“Are you paying? Aw, Daichi, you’re so good to me.” Kuroo’s expression is getting tighter by the minute, so Daichi ignores Suga’s sarcasm for the moment and opts to get out of Kuroo’s hair before they cause any more inconveniences. “Hurry up and order, already. We’re holding up the line.” “Yes, yes, geez, you’re so feisty. I’ll get a medium iced matcha latte.”

After paying and waiting for a few minutes, Kozume approaches the counter with their drinks. He holds them in his hands without a word, first sliding his eyes from Daichi, to Suga, to Kuroo, and then returns to Daichi, staring with a mysterious intensity before finally handing them the order.

“Uh, thanks, Kozume.” Daichi tries a friendly smile, but it’s promptly ignored.

He can’t seem to catch Kuroo’s eye, either. More than a bit confused, Daichi exits Nekoma Coffee with Suga behind him.

“What was with the blond employee?” Suga laughs, sipping on his drink. “How’d you piss him off?”

“I swear, I don’t know. I’ve barely even spoken to him before…”

His words trail off as turns the paper cup around in his hands, suddenly realizing that the writing he had gotten so used to over the past couple weeks was missing. There was no pun, no silly cartoon drawing- just a plain brown cup. For some reason, the sight of the barren paper makes an unknown feeling turn round and round in the pit of his stomach.

“Daichi? Something wrong?” Suga leans over, frowning. “Why do you look upset?”

“It’s nothing,” Daichi says with a small shrug. “It’s just, Kuroo, the barista back there. He always writes something on my coffee cup and this time he didn’t. Kinda weird is all.”

“Writes? Like what?”

“Usually a joke. Sometimes a reminder to eat more than just cup ramen. It’s nice- he’s nice. He’s a really nice guy.”

Suga’s stare is piercing. “Daichi. You didn’t tell me you were dating someone.”

“Huh? I’m not.”

An expressive facial journey is laying itself out on Suga’s face right before Daichi’s eyes. Irritation. Exasperation. Bemusement. Confusion. And then, finally, understanding.

“Oh, sweetie.” Suga says, voice dripping with a tone that feels too much like pity to be genuinely sympathetic. He lays a light hand on Daichi’s shoulder and shakes his head. “Oh, Daichi.”

“What?” Daichi demands, more than a slight edge to his voice. “Spit it out, already. You know I hate when you patronize.”

“You didn’t really think that he was just being a friendly neighbourhood barista, did you? He goes through the trouble of writing something cute on your coffee cup for weeks and you think he’s just, what, giving great customer service?” Suga huffs, placing a hand on his hip. “Let me lay it out for you: he wants to climb you like a tree, Daichi. He wants you to give him some great customer service, if you know what I mean. He wants your- mmf!”

Daichi clamps his hand over Suga’s mouth mid-sentence, a flush already working itself across the height of his cheekbones.

“Kuroo does not,” he hisses through his teeth, “want any of those things. We’re just friends.”

Suga raises his brows, then fixes Daichi with his look that specifically asks: are you sure? And throughout the history of their friendship, if Daichi is sure about anything, it’s that when Suga gives anyone this look it means that they are in fact not sure, no matter how sure they think they are.

So begrudgingly, he takes his hand off of Suga’s face and steps back. He reconsiders. True, Kuroo has been very friendly since the first time they met. He did give Daichi a free drink, but he had said that it was the store’s policy or something, so that doesn’t mean anything. And then there were the jokes and the little notes, but he feels like that’s just the way Kuroo is? And sure, Kuroo had walked him home a few times, and there was the smiling, and the teasing, and the half-lidded stares, and- Oh.

“Shit.” Daichi whispers, before he turns around on his heel and books it back the way they just came. “That’s what I thought!” Suga’s laughter trails behind him, no doubt paired with a roll of his eyes. Daichi hates when Suga is right. It fuels his already larger than life ego, but for good reason he supposes, because Suga is almost always right. Daichi both loves and hates that about him.

He bursts into the cafe, red in the face and short of breath. Kuroo is in the middle of writing a customer’s name on a cup when Daichi makes his appearance, jumping as the door swings open and slams loudly against the door stop. He turns, infuriatingly handsome as ever, even with his eyes wide and mouth half open in shock.

“Sawamura? What’s going on?”

“Have,” Daichi wheezes, doubling over to catch his breath for a moment, “have you been flirting with me?”

Kuroo is staring, brows raised high. He opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again before he finally speaks with disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”

“Have you?”

“Look,” Kuroo says sheepishly, glancing off to the side. “I’m sorry if I caused any trouble between you and your boyfriend. I didn’t know-”

“Suga isn’t my boyfriend.” Daichi interrupts, furrowing his brows in confusion.

Kuroo’s head snaps up at this, and again he looks like he’s imitating a fish with the way his mouth hangs half open. “Wait, seriously? I thought for sure-”

“Answer the question, Kuroo. Have you been hitting on me this entire time?”

“Well, no shit.” Kuroo frowns. “Of course I have. Wasn’t it obvious?”

“But you never-” Daichi can feel the blush start to burn across his cheeks. He feels like an idiot, but there’s no way he could have known when Kuroo was so stupidly vague about it. “You never actually said anything. I didn’t know.”

There’s a beat of silence, and then two. Daichi’s sweating.

“You’re joking.” Kuroo says, slowly. “You actually believed that our shop has a complimentary order for first time customers having a bad day or whatever the hell I made up on the spot that day?”

Daichi’s entire face is on fire. No, scratch that. His entire existence is on fire. Maybe if he just gave it some time he’d burn up completely and disappear into thin air. He raises his arms to hide his crimson face, heart pounding in his ears. Every customer in the cafe is staring, their heads swivelling back and forth between the two of them as they speak, like they’re watching a tennis match.

“I didn’t think you were lying,” Daichi finally says, words muffled.

The silence is suffocating. All eyes are on him, possibly the densest person in existence, who had an unfairly good looking barista hitting on him for over two months without any idea at all. A barista who also happens to be kind and funny and smart and has really pretty eyes that shine golden in the sunlight. Who happens to be Kuroo. Daichi wants to sink into the earth.

“Sawamura,” Kuroo says, a hint of bemusement starting to creep its way onto his voice, “for an incredibly intelligent guy, you are maybe the stupidest person I’ve ever met.”

“Does that mean you don’t want to date me anymore?” Daichi blurts, peeking out from between his arms. He figures that since he was already doomed to move away from this town forever and pursue a life of monkhood due to embarrassment, he might as well make sure of where he and Kuroo stand.

Instead, Kuroo is just smiling softly, with a look that could only be interpreted as fondness.

Maybe more, if you looked closely.

“No, I do.” He says, smile growing. “With all my heart. Let me take you out, Sawamura.”

Daichi can’t possibly speak right now, but somehow he manages a shaky nod. Before Kuroo can respond, the entire coffee shop erupts in applause, wolf whistles and cheers all around them. Daichi’s about to pass out- he has never been so embarrassed in his life. But he doesn’t regret turning and running back the moment he figured it out, not one bit. He thinks, maybe, for Kuroo, he’d even choose to do it all over again.

(Later that night, when Kuroo kisses him on his doorstep, Daichi isn’t surprised to find that he somehow tastes like coffee, even after wine and dinner and popcorn at the movies.)

(Daichi isn't sure how, in an hour of 60 minutes that should logically all be 60 seconds long, time slows down around him when Kuroo kisses him the way he does, soft and slow with his thumb just grazing the edge of Daichi's jaw.)

(He chooses not to question it.)

[autistickogaynewrites]

To Do What They Can

My piece for the @miraculeanonmezine, which you should check out over here!

“Hey guys,” Nino spoke, breaking the silence that had fallen over the class and fiddling with his cap as they all turned to him, “Do you ever think about how exhausted Ladybug and Chat Noir have to be?”

With the silence only broken by the occasional screams of Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting off the newest akuma down the street, and the class huddled inside to avoid the danger, they all stopped for a moment to think on Nino’s question.

“What do you mean?” Mylene asked from where she was curled against Ivan’s side, his arm flung protectively around her shoulders.

“Well, Hawkmoth’s been sending more and more akumas, so they’ve been fighting pretty much everyday. On top of that, they’re probably around our age, which means they’re fighting akumas on top of any schoolwork they have, and they probably have the worst sleep schedules on the face of the planet with how many akumas recently have been in the middle of the night. I mean, I know they’re the heroes of Paris and they told us that they’re here to protect us all and keep us safe, but who’s out there watching their backs and taking care of them?”

The class seemed to pause, thinking on what Nino had said as the sounds of fighting continued outside, interrupted by a shout of ‘Cataclysm’ from a certain leather wearing, cat boy superhero before continuing.

“I guess I never thought of that,” Nathaniel muttered with a frown, getting several nods and whispers of agreements, “I just always thought that they’re superheroes, so it’s fine, but they’re people just like us under those suits.”

“We could be the ones taking care of them,” Juleka spoke next, voice a low murmur that may have been missed completely if it weren’t so silent.

“What do you suppose we do though? Suit up and go fight crime with them? We don’t have super powers like they do,” Alix groaned, brim of her hat covering her eyes as she leaned back against the wall behind her.

“I don’t we have to go that far. I think if we could just show them that we’re there for them when they need it, that’d probably mean a lot to them.” Nino responded, arms crossed over his chest.

“It sounds like the battle is pretty much over, so we can head home, but we should have an actual meeting about what we can do if we’re serious about this.” Alya spoke up, tucking her phone back into her pocket from where it had been propped up on the windowsill recording the fight outside, “My place tomorrow?”

Most of the class nodded and agreed, gathering their school supplies and heading out, a few of them, like Rose and Juleka muttering between themselves ideas of what they could do to help. Nino and Alya stayed behind a moment, watching their classmates leave as they looked out the window at everyone getting back to what they had been doing before the akuma had attacked.

“Do you think Marinette and Adrien actually think that we don’t know they’re superheroes?” Alya asked, turning to raise an eyebrow at the DJ standing next to her.

“Those two are rather dense. I don’t doubt they think their ‘secret identities’ are completely secret.” Nino replied, smiling when Alya chuckled next to him.

“They’re so lucky we love them. We should get going though. If we want to have the meeting at my house, I’m going to have to do some chores first to convince my parents.”

Nodding, Nino grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before following her out, smiling to himself as she talked about her plans for the upcoming meeting.

“Alright, so I guess this is the first of the ‘Hero Helpers’ meetings! Marinette couldn’t make it due to some last minute designs she needed to finish, and Adrien said he has a photoshoot he can’t get out of, but otherwise, everyone’s here,” Alya spoke, looking out at her classmates scattered around her living room, “My dad let me borrow this giant whiteboard for planning, and I added you all to the discord group, so we can talk and plan even when we’re not all together. Our first order of business is figuring out exactly how we’re going to help Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

A few ideas got passed around, ranging from Rose’s baking them cookies to Mylene’s making them sweaters, before Nino finally chipped in.

“What if we made Hero Kits?”

The class paused in their musings, turning to where Nino was laying, legs up against the wall while his torso was stretched across the carpet.

When no one responded, Nino shifted and stood, saddling up to Alya’s side as he held out his hand for her marker.

“Hear me out here,” He started, turning so his back faced everyone as he scribbled and drew out his plan, “Rose, you’re part of the sewing club, so you could help make little bags, that we could then fill with supplies to give Ladybug and Chat Noir. It could just be stuff like granola bars, water bottles, maybe some ibuprofen and muscle rub? We could hold a bake sale to raise money for the supplies, and if we get enough, we could throw some nicer things in there too.”

“Ooh, we could also put our phone numbers or a way to contact us really quickly in each bag so that next time they need one, they can just tell one of us and we can drop it off in a secure location for them, so they don’t have to worry about their identities!” Alya chimed in, grabbing a spare marker off the counter so she could scribble along with Nino.

When they both stepped aside, the board was a mess of green and orange marker, but a plan was clearly outlined, and within a few moments, everyone was excitedly talking about what they could do to help.

Chloe went with Sabrina, Rose, and Juleka to a nearby fabric store, telling them all that her daddy could foot the bill for them helping out Paris’ heroes, while Alya and Nino quickly wrote up a list of supplies that should be in each pack. Alix ran errands with Kim and Max, running between several stores and the house with supplies like bandages, muscle rub, and small snacks as Mylene and Ivan set to work dividing up the supplies so they could easily be packed away into the ‘Hero Kits’.

Each person made plans to bring five packs home with them, as well as the supplies to create an extra five packs, so if Ladybug or Chat Noir asked for one, whoever was closest would be able to take it to them without any problems.

Alya set up a group phone number that when texted, would send a message to each person individually, and they could then message each other in the group chat to decide who would be taking a kit to the superheroes. It was also decided that each person would try to have one kit near them at all times, whether that be in their backpack, their locker at school, or their bedroom.

Alya watched as everyone worked together to create the kits, smiling when Nino threw an arm over her shoulder, giving her cheek a quick peck before turning to look at the others as well.

“Chloe put a fifty euro Lush gift card in each kit,” Nino spoke up, causing Alya to turn to him with a choked laugh.

“You’re kidding.”

“Not even a little,” He grinned, holding up one of the aforementioned gift cards, smile widening as Alya laughed.

“Why?”

“She said something about how the heroes of paris deserve to relax like the heroes they are after the battles.”

“Hmm, do you think once we tell Marinette and Adrien we know, they’ll share them with us?”

Snickering, Nino set the gift card down and pulled Alya in for a full hug. “Guess there’s only one way to find out.”

When Adrien shows up nearly an hour late for date night, hair ruffled and clothes a wild mess, Nino and Alya give each other the look and decide that maybe they should let their superhero partners know that they know. The idea is only cemented when Adrien starts rattling off apologies, hands fluttering in front of his face, eyebrows furrowed in worry. Marinette ducks in three minutes and fifty-seven seconds later, apologies leaving her lips before she even sees her partners.

Sighing, Nino nudges the two to sit in the middle of the couch, Alya in the kitchen making hot cocoa as he wraps the two of them in the thick quilt that was usually thrown over the back of the couch. The apologies only stop once Alya is back in the room, pressing hot cups of warm chocolate into their hands and Nino takes his seat between Adrien and the edge of the couch, and Alya does the same on the other side of Marinette.

They sit in silence, Alya and Nino’s hands linked on the back of the couch behind Marinette and Adrien’s heads as the two drink, relaxing and melting into the couch a little further with every sip. Once the cups are empty, Alya and Nino gently push them onto the coffee table and adjust themselves so they’re all able to cuddle properly. Silence reigns for a few moments as it seems that it may just be a regular cuddle date, with Adrien and Marinette drifting off to sleep when Nino breaks it.

“We know. About you two being Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Alya was lucky enough to have been stretching when Marinette bolted up, but Nino wasn’t and instead took a headbutt to the jaw.

“What? Me Ladybug?”

“That’s just ridiculous!”

“I mean, really-”

“Out of everyone in Paris-”

“Her hair is so much bluer than mine-”

“And we have completely different hair styles!”

The two stammered, only stopping once their mouths were covered by Alya and Nino’s hands.

“Guys, when we say we know, we mean we know,” Alya spoke, removing her hand from Marinette’s mouth as the girl fully stilled, “We weren’t planning on telling you, but you guys get so stressed every time you’re late or miss something because of an akuma, so we wanted to let you know that we understand, and it’s okay.”

“Yeah, you’re still Adrien and Marinette, so we’re not breaking up with you, and we don’t blame you for trying to keep it secret.”

Adrien and Marinette seemed to calm at the news, slumping against their partners as the quick jolt of adrenaline faded.

“We also wanted to tell you because the class started discussing ways to help you guys while you’re fighting, so we’ve made kits with supplies for if you detransform mid-battle, or just after you detransform and head home. They’ve got granola bars, water bottles, pain relievers, and Chloe may or may not have snuck Lush gift cards into every pack. Which we are expecting you to share.”

“How did you figure it out?” Marinette whispered a few minutes later, half asleep and incredibly relaxed from the feeling of Alya’s hands running through her hair.

“We can tell you when you guys are more awake, but to be honest, it wasn’t that hard. You transformed behind a park bench once Marinette. A park bench.” Alya responded, smiling as Marinette giggled into her chest.

“You guys are so wonderful,” Adrien muttered from where he was laying across Nino’s chest, pressing a quick kiss to his collarbone before adjusting to get more comfortable, “I’m so glad to have you all.”

“We’re glad to have you too Sunshine,” Nino replied, gently scratching at the nape of Adrien’s neck and smiling when the stuttered purr burst forth, “We wanted you two to know that we’re here to help you, in any way we can, whether that be giving you the notes from class to covering your tardies and absences.”

By the time he was done speaking, their two superheroes had passed out, soft snoring escaping them both as Alya and Nino simply relaxed into their positions as cuddle buddy pillows. Today they had been lucky to get away with only needing to supply cuddles and reassurances to the heroes, but there would be days they would need the Hero Kits, and there would be days they would need to supply more help than they’re kits could provide, but they had each other, and for now, that was more than enough.