#i love my tall friends sm except when they call me short

[one-idiot-one-braincell]

man I'm so lucky to have a Ranboo and Tommy fictionkin as online friends even if we aren't from the same timeline. I'm really glad they're so close and nearby and that on discord we have matching pfp because we are friends still despite everything. They care for me and i care for them, not the same timeline but we might as well all be from the same timeline with how well we clicked together still. im a very lucky Tubbo. im very thankful for Boo and Toms...

[boyfhee]

GET TO KNOW ME GAME !

tagged by · @dearhee

tagging · @koishua @yujipg @amakumos literally don't have anyone to tag 🤣 just do this even if ur name isn't here

birthday: 25th may, i wish i shared it w someone

favourite colour: rose gold, gray rose / gray lavender, ice blue

do you have pets? no, but i do have a stray cat i feed and she basically lives in my backyard

how tall are you? no

how many pairs of shoes do you own? 😵‍💫 around 20

favourite song: sherlock ( oceanfromtheblue ) 긴밤 ( seori ft GIRIBOY ) mimi ( youra ) by my side ( junny ) i have so many help

favourite movie: interstellar, literally the best thing ever directed. also, these are not movies but 2521 ( kor. ) first love ( jap. ) threads our tapestry of love ( jap. )

who would be your ideal partner? lee heeseung yeah, he is the standard. but fr i like people who i can communicate with easily, without much issues ( i mean, we can understand each other ) the main thing i look for is probably, how they are under pressure or how they deal with things / serious things. this is very important to me because i need that person to be there when we're going through something so it's really important that they don't avoid problems ( besides, people like that annoy me help ) also someone who's fun but is also smart ? like, we can joke around and also discuss about something academic, it's fun. i mean i love to talk about interests and how things work, everything logical. i also like pretty ppl and heeseung is very, very pretty.

do you want children? ok i'm gonna be honest. like a few years ago, i was so against it, but now, i can consider. i mean, i'm not saying i will have kids in future, but i can consider. i can at least adopt one so yeah, can consider.

have you gotten in trouble with the law? no

what colour socks are you wearing? i don't wear socks off season ( no one here does )

favourite type of music: classical, but most recently added is krnb

how many pillows do you sleep with? one

what position do you sleep in? straight ?? it's good for posture

what don’t you like when you’re sleeping: noise. loud music, or talking too much. u want to talk, go do it somewhere i am not sleeping

what do you have for breakfast: fruits / fruit juice, milk ( with toast, optional ) on school days. when i'm home, i usually have a bowl of fruits with coffee ( odd choice, i know, but it really gets me through next 5-6 hours that are very crucial )

have you ever tried archery? except in amusement parks, no

favourite fruit: guavas, grapes, kiwis, bananas

are you a good liar? very, very good liar

what’s your personality type? intj, i like being smart fr

innie or outie? former

left handed or right handed? ambidextrous hehe i can write + draw with both hands ( love me for that )

favourite food: we have these dishes called pav bhaji & idli sambhar, honestly heaven

favourite foreign food: pasta ( creme cheese one especially )

am i clean or messy? both, more on the clean side

most used phrase: innit, "just like me fr," at the most random times, "help me" as a way to express delight "sweetheart," to call my friends help does that count?

how long does it take for you to get ready: 20 minutes, at most. i don't use makeup except eyeliner & gloss but even if i opt for anything more like blush or eyeshadow, it takes 30, at most

do you talk to yourself? it's a coping mechanism

do you sing to yourself? all the time

are you a good singer? i think? i mean, i passed 2 rounds of sm global auditions so that says something

biggest fear? yk deep water? where you aren't able to see anything except pure darkness? the eerie feeling it carries? that. it's not a phobia, but it's to the point that i get scared even by looking at it in pictures so i avoid those

are you a gossip? we all are, to an extent

do you like long or short hair? medium to long

favourite school subject: science, biology specifically ( zoology, in that ) and that's why im pursuing med lolol, also i love english, engineering graphics and math minus commercial mathematics and trig

extrovert or introvert: introvert but i talk quite a lot when i'm with family or with close friends ( the classic, yk )

what makes you nervous: doing something for the first time, going to a place i've never been, MAKING SPECIMEN SLIDES i swear i've spent my highschool years making microscope slides but it never fails to make me nervous like what !! if !! there's !! an !! air bubble !! v good at it but i still have tendencies to mess up

who was your first real crush? this guy from tenth grade, we went to a competition together from school and got lost in the city so ig that's where my feelings originated from

how many piercings? 2

how many tattoos? none

how fast can you run? idk bro but it's pretty decent

what colour is your hair? black

what colour are your eyes? black

what makes you angry: when i can't do something that i know i can do ( like when i mess up a painting, or some questions ) people who think they're entitled to everything, people who talk shit behind others ( i mean we all do that, but like, i dislike ppl who use others and then talk behind their back ) people who avoid responsibilities, PEOPLE WHO ARE CRUEL WITH ANIMALS i swear if u dont treat animals nicely you will have a miserable life

do you like your name? definitely

do you want a boy or a girl as a child? can't pick

what are your strengths? i am very, very calculative so i make decisions i do not regret ( slay ) my determination is through the roof, i've been told that i'm eloquent & clear with agenda which is such a plus point for me, i have experience with tons of things ( science, math, art & painting, music, dance, basketball, volleyball, swimming, cricket, badminton, chess, baking, finance, coding & computer science, writing, tutoring, public speaking, basically everything that my parents ever made me learn plus it's v fun tbh ) i can adapt quickly, i am amazing memorizing skills, quick learner

what are your weaknesses? i know i sound like im bragging in prev question, but i have so many weaknesses to cover my strengths up . major one being finding it hard to concentrate and staying motivated, getting things done on time, my laziness god i am so lazy. it's super hard for me to build a habit and ever harder to get rid of one, i can't cook for the life in me and i have so much trouble trying to mix up with new people

what is the colour of your bedspread? teal

colour of your room: one wall is pink while rest 3 are off white

[tartglias]

Xiao, Zhongli and Venti with an immortal s/o

“Sooo 👀 can i request so some fluff hc for venti, xiao and zhongli with an immortal s/o?”

thank you so much for requesting!! this is my first time writing for more than one character at a time so it was a challenge lol thank you sm!!

Xiao

Xiao never understood the importance of time. Days, months, even years feel like nothing when you’re immortal. What a funny thing that is, immortality. He knows normal humans would do anything for it, and he despises them for that. Nothing so great came free, he knew that well. He was freed from tortures, only to get tormented by karma. He could still hear the voices and screams calling for help from tortured souls, these still haunt him daily. But the worst moments come when he sees that figure, that person who he once considered close. So close he could use the human word “soulmate”, if he believed in those, to describe who that person meant to him.

Many centuries back he met you, such a gentle person who got to break down his hard walls. A smile, a touch, a kiss. That’s all it took. So many meaningless years, and he never once encountered a person as kind yet strong like you. Someone who made the daily nightmares cease, with a simple smile and brush of fingers.

He remembers your last words like it was the day before. You were on top of one of the tall stones in Huaguang Stone Forest, Xiao laying his head on your lap and you placing small qingxin flowers on his hair. He wouldn’t allow anyone do that to him ever, but in the end, you were you. And you were different.

“Xiao” you called, once you were done placing the flowers. He opened his eyes and muttered a “hm?” in response. “I have to leave soon. Mondstadt calls me”

He sat up.

“What do you mean?”

“By tomorrow morning, I’ll be on my way back to Mondstadt” you said, quietly standing up.

He stood up too.

“When will I see you again?” he asked, now not being able to look at you.

“I don’t know” you said, reaching out for his hand and taking it. You placed a soft kiss on his knuckles, and he felt himself calm down at the gesture for a moment.

“I meant it when I said I’ll love you forever, Xiao” you said, finally locking eyes with him. You had teary eyes, he dreaded to see you like that. If it were up to him, he would swallow every bit of pain in your body and soul, just to see you smile.

And with that, you disappeared. As quickly as you broke down his walls, you disappeared just as quick the next day. Days, months and years became even more meaningless, but somehow he felt them longer. He missed you every day, he whispered to the moon every night, wishing that some archon would hear and bring you back to him. He knew you were like him, but he never heard from you again. Were you able to finally cross to the other side? He tried to erase those thoughts from his mind.

He later found himself in that very same stone, the one in which he last saw you. New Qingxin flowers blossomed, and they reminded him of you. He sat down, staring at the horizon. But then, he felt a strange swift of wind, and a presence behind him. He quickly stood up, ready to put his mask on and kill whoever dared to interrupt his solitude. But he didn’t. The mask in his hand dropped to the floor, next to the flowers.

“I’m back” you said, with a shy smile.

“You’re back” he said, more to himself than to you. Were you really there?

His question was soon answered, once you stepped closer and pulled him in a hug. He found himself wrapping his arms around you, holding you as close as he could, while trying to hold back his tears.

“I’m sorry I took so long, my beloved” you said as you locked your eyes with his. You grabbed his hand and held it, but you never once let go of the hug.

“I’m here to stay now” you whispered.

Zhongli

“You need to stop playing with people’s hearts” Zhongli said, as he sipped on his tea and looked at you questioningly. You rolled your eyes in response and put your focus back on your potion. A few petals from the most exotic flower in Teyvat, a little bit of juice made from vines and a teaspoon of slime condensate.

“Sometimes mortals need a little push in the right direction” You said, finishing up the mix and transferring it to a small bottle made of glass. “Plus, we’ve been here for centuries, I’m bored and I need a hobby”

“I don’t think that messing with human’s love lives can be considered a hobby. I don’t think it’s morally correct” he said.

“You’re very dramatic. I can feel the true desires of every being that touches the soil in Teyvat, and if I sense that the desire is mutual, I simply work my magic” You said, sitting back on your chair next to the tall man.

“Can’t you let them figure it out by themselves?” He asked.

“That’s no fun Zhongli” You said, finishing up the sweet perfume-potion you were creating.

You and Zhongli have been friends for centuries. You met when you moved to Liyue as the representative of the Dendro Archon, someone you really looked up to. Zhongli was kind enough to make you feel at home, and soon became friends with the Geo Archon. Though you must admit, you always wished it was something more.

Maybe that’s why you picked up this “hobby” of yours. Unrequited love is something painful and mortals only live a short life, you believe they should live it fully, if possible.

“Are you alright?” Zhongli asked, interrupting your thoughts with a concerned look on his face. You didn’t realize you had a sad look on yours.

“Oh? Yeah of course” You said, quickly brushing it off and proceeding decorating the small glass bottle.

“Y/n-“ he started, placing a hand on top of yours in order to get your attention. “I’ve known you for a long time. I know when something is wrong”

It was funny. He knew you like the back of his hand, he knew how to read you since the first time he laid his eyes on you. Yet he never found out how you truly felt about him, how your heart made like a million flips whenever he did something as simple as hold your hand, or brush a hair away from your face. All these little things and gestures, have been making you swoon over your closest friend for years, centuries even.

“Time and love are strange concepts, aren’t they?” You asked, looking straight at him. Here goes nothing, you thought.

“I believe those are rather simple concepts”

“You can spend a lifetime with someone, know every habit and expression but you don’t know how they truly feel about you” You said staring at him, searching for any hint that indicated he knew what you were talking about. But you saw nothing. Who were you kidding? He’s just your friend, has been for a long time.

You let out a defeated laugh, standing up and letting go of his hand. “Forgive me, I don’t really know what i’m saying” you said, grabbing the potion and starting to leave. But you felt his hand on your wrist, stopping your movements.

“You said you felt the desires of every being that stepped foot on Teyvat’s soil, am I right?” he asked, looking at you. You nodded. “Does it work on me?”

“You wanted to get close to me, as a friend”

“My apologies my dearest y/n, but I think your blessing is wrong” he said, standing up and holding your hand once again. “I did want to get closer to you as a friend at first, but not any longer. I’ve been observing mortals for a while as well, on my daily walks through Liyue Harbor, and I think I finally understood my feelings”

You were sure that if Zhongli listened close enough, he would hear the fast beating of your heart.

“I’ve been waiting for you to use your love potion on me, my dear y/n. I’m sure it wouldn’t have worked anyways since I believe it would take a lot of effort to make an effective potion that could work on me. But it would have given me the excuse to tell you how I really feel” he said.

“How do you feel then?” you asked him, looking up at the tall man.

“I think I’m very lucky to have you by my side, and it makes me want to travel to the Dendro nation and personally thank the Archon for assigning you to Liyue. I also want you to still be by my side for the centuries to come, if you’re okay with that” he said, lowering his voice by the end.

You acted before you could process your thoughts. You stood on your tippy toes and kissed his cheek gently, never letting go of his hand. He liked you, he felt the same way about you. It was real.

“I’m okay with that” you replied.

Venti

It was almost noon, almost an hour after the original time you accorded with Venti to meet. You planned a picnic date by the big tree near the statue of the Seven, your favorite spot. The same spot which later, became Venti’s favorite spot as well.

He wasn’t a person who would jump straight to conclusions. You were late. Maybe you fell asleep, maybe you couldn’t find the guitar you promised to bring so you could play a duet. Being late doesn’t mean something bad happened, right?”

He decided to wait a few more moments, but once the sun set, he had enough. He went out to try and find you. He went to your house, but noticed the door was locked and no one was inside. “They left” he thought.

He slowly but surely started to get desperate. Where were you? Were you hurt? Did you get lost somehow? He went to Angel’s Share, and not even Master Diluc had seen you. If Venti wasn’t in such a panicked state, he would have noticed the rare concerned and worried look Diluc had on his face.

If any traveler walked by literally any road in Mondstadt, they would soon encounter a big rush of wind. Venti went from here to there as fast as he could, trying to find you.

He soon enough found you in Stormbearer Mountains, fighting hilichurls and two pyro mages. You looked tired, sweat covering your body and your clothes were dirty. It was obvious that this has been going on for a while. You gripped your sword as hard as you could, and kept fighting. Why didn’t you call for him? With no exception, Venti tells you daily to call for him if you ever encounter a problem. It’s not that he doesn’t think you’re strong, oh no, he believed you were the strongest mortal in Teyvat. But in the end, to him you were still a mortal. Fragile and over-sensitive. He often told you to call his name, that the wind will carry it and he will appear there to help you out. So why didn’t you?

“y/n!” he screamed, once he laid his eyes on you. You turned around and saw a rush on wind, and felt his presence. What you didn’t feel though, was the pyro attack coming from one of the mages. The mage summoned three pyro artifacts that surrounded you, and burnt you. You felt your energy slip away, your head dizzy and your body burning. Then, you felt the cold wind, Venti quickly finishing off the mages and the remaining hilichurls.

Venti thought it was over. You were kneeled down, burnt skin, gasping for air. It was over, you were going to die. He felt his eyes water and fear running through his veins. He wrapped his arms around you, making you lean on his chest.

“Don’t leave me” he begged. “please”

“My dear, I don’t think I can” you said, letting out a short laugh.

“Please stay strong, I think I can carry you to the cathedral but you need to hold very still so-“ he started saying, now fully crying but you interrupted him by putting a hand on his cheek and wiping his tears with your thumb.

“I’m serious, I don’t think I can leave anyways. Venti, I literally can’t die.” you said, with a laugh and slowly standing up.

“You... you’re immortal?” he asked, looking up at you, not being able to leave the floor.

You nodded. “I thought you knew”

“I hate you” he said, standing up and wiping away his tears. “I do”

“No you don’t. But you’re cute though!” you said, grabbing his face and kissing the tip of his nose. “I’m very sorry I’m late though, my commission took longer than I thought but let me compensate you with dinner and a bottle of wine”

“But you’re still burnt?” he asked you, concern still in his face.

“Oh don’t worry about that, it will rip out when I start walking. I have healthy skin underneath” you said, like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Why do I feel like this is not your first time getting so hurt?” he asked letting out a soft chuckle, suddenly feeling lighter now that he knows you’re okay and will probably be okay for a long long while.

“Eh, been there done that a few times” you simply said, taking his hand and walking back to the city of Mondstadt.

[candlewaxandp0lar0ids]

Don’t Go Baking My Heart || Seokjin

Pairing: Seokjin x reader

Summary: You fall in love with Kim Seokjin’s bakery after wandering into it to take advantage of the post-Valentine’s Day discount on the chocolates. Maybe it’s the owner’s bad jokes, maybe it’s the other regulars, maybe it’s the delicious pastries. Or maybe there’s something more that keeps you coming back to that shop.

Also available on Ao3.

Word count: 14.7k

Genre: Strangers (to Friends) to Lovers, Bakery AU, tooth-rotting Fluff, some smut

Warnings & Tags: mentions of insecurities and of former relationships, smut (vaginal sex, oral [male receiving], fingering), Jin makes Bad Jokes, Valentine’s Day themed

A/N: Soooo this was supposed to come out for Valentine’s Day, but it wasn’t ready then, so you guys get it now instead! I’m bad with puns so I definitely had to look online for those used in this oops. Finally, I’d like to give a big thank you to the amazing @elidebrey​ who actually worked in a bakery shop and told me all about (I’m sorry you guys ran out of milk all the time). She’s an amazing writer and you should check her out if you like the Batfam! Hope you’ll enjoy this one-shot!

February 15th

You first walk into Kim Seokjin’s bakery the day after Valentine’s Day. Your eye was caught by the chocolates and cakes you noticed on sale from the outside, and also the name of the place, The Rolling Scones, which is either genius or terrible, you can’t pick. The door bell chimes happily, first when you push the door open and then when it closes behind you.

The place is empty. There’s no one behind the counter, and you find yourself hesitating there for a second, both arms behind your back like a shy schoolgirl — which you once were, but that was a while ago now. Natural light, the cold sun of February, is falling through the bay windows, and the place is cute, clearly decorated with love and care. It makes you feel just a little warmer inside.

Since no one seems to be showing up, you take your time to look at the display. You’ve spent the past week crying over the end of your two year relationship, and you’re desperately craving something sweet and sugary to fill the hole in your heart and in your life. Post Valentine’s Day discount is definitely the best way to do that.

If you’re being completely honest with yourself, you knew this relationship was never going to be your forever. It was just a nice and comfortable situation to be in, and you expected you and him to part ways at some point.

You just didn’t particularly expect it to be now.

“Jungkook!” a strong voice shouts from the back of the shop, startling you. It’s quickly followed by a curse, and then a man walks in, glancing back with a worried expression, tying an apron around his waist and adjusting a small black hat on his head. You notice the ‘Jungkook’ tag on his apron, and it makes you soften in sympathy. The second his eyes fall on you, he recomposes himself, and shoots you a smile that’s professional, though the nervousness doesn’t quite disappear. “What can I do for you?”

“I was just looking,” you say, and he leans forward, probably straining to hear. Your voice has always had that weird tendency to become inaudible when you’re talking to strangers. “You don’t have anything with strawberries, do you?”

“I’m afraid everything we had went yesterday,” he says with a sympathetic frown.

“Oh, right,” you mumble. You’re disappointed to a stupid degree, and you know it’s because your emotions have been running wild recently, to the point where any small contrariety threatens to make you cry. Fortunately, you don’t, right now. That would be horribly embarrassing. “Um, I guess I’ll take that box and, uh, the éclair, please, then.”

“Of course!”

His movements are quick and precise as he takes it out, and you could be mistaken, but you think he’s deliberately not looking at you. You’re not particularly blaming him for it, though, because you’re doing the exact same thing.

“Anything else?” he asks once he’s done, and you shake your head, avoiding eye contact. “For here or to go? We’re also a café,” he elaborates when you give him a surprised — and slightly panicked — glance.

“Oh. To go, please,” you say, not so much because you actually want to, and much more because you’re bad at changing your plans when you had already made your decision.

Except… You eye the bakery. It’s not like you have anyone to come back to, and you don’t particularly want to be back at your apartment to wallow alone. You might even get some things done while you’re here.

“Um, actually, would you mind if I…?” The question dies on your lips. You’re already feeling too embarrassed to continue, but he looks up, eyes wide, and nods.

“No, no, please take a seat! Do you want something to drink as well?”

“That— That would be nice, actually.”

“Alright, just give me a second and I’ll bring you our, er, menu.”

It’s not a menu, it’s a list of drinks the owner printed and coated with plastic, and insists on calling a menu, but he isn’t going to tell you that.

You pick a table that faces the door, and after choosing and ordering your tea, pull out your computer. It’s not that the things you have to do can’t wait, but you don’t like sitting alone doing nothing. The shop is desperately empty, and part of you is terrified by the idea that Jungkook could come over to talk to you. That would probably end up not being completely unpleasant, but you’re not sure you can handle that much interaction with other human beings right now.

While scrolling through the text you are currently working on editing, you pick a chocolate out of the box to eat it and hold back a satisfied moan at the taste. The fact that it’s so good makes you feel a little more upset that you’ve never been in a relationship for Valentine’s Day and therefore have never been given anything like that.

It’s always been bad luck really, because you’ve been in a few relationships, but even with your last boyfriend, the two of you were on a break in February. The others never made it longer than a few months, and never fell at the right time. It’s not even like you want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, you do think it’s mostly a commercial holiday, and you definitely don’t want any expensive gift, but you’d be happy to have someone by your side to make fun of other couples with. Someone to love you, and someone to love.

God, you want to be in love so bad. For a few months, you thought you had it with your ex, and maybe you did, for a moment, but it had slipped from your fingers without you managing to do anything about it, leaving you sad and empty. You want to feel everything the movies and books promised, the butterflies in the stomach, the rush in the beat of your heart. You want to feel like someone holds your world in their hands. You want them to love you back — really love you, so much that you’ll catch them looking at you and see it in their eyes immediately, so much that they’ll remember how you like your tea in the morning.

You don’t think your ex ever loved you, and you don’t really blame him for that. He liked you, certainly, and for a long time that was enough for you. But now, with it being over and him telling you he’d ‘met someone’, you want more out of your next relationship.

Then again, you’d thought that last time as well.

You’re grateful when Jungkook brings you your tea, tearing you away from thoughts you really don’t want to be having right now. He gives you a smile, then is quick to retreat back behind the counter, and something tells you that he has the same difficulties talking to people as you do.

That can’t make his job fun.

You’re soon able to immerse yourself in your work, much to your surprise. Usually, you’re hyper aware of your surroundings, and it’s hard to get work done unless you’re in a place that’s both quiet and familiar, but the atmosphere in here is so warm and pleasant that you’re able to relax and focus, all while drinking your tea and eating your sweets. It’s quite close to perfect, actually.

Which is why you jump violently when someone’s voice booms into the shop.

“Jeon Jungkook!”

You look up, panicked, and Jungkook turns around with the exact same look on his face. You don’t remember the doorbell ringing, so it has to be someone from the shop, and indeed, a tall man with short black hair walks in from the same place Jungkook entered. And your brain short-circuits.

It doesn’t happen all that often, for you to simply find yourself frozen because of how good-looking someone is, but in that case, you just can’t help it. The man who just walked in is tall, with very nice, broad shoulders, and the apron he is wearing underlines the muscles of his chest in ways you didn’t think were possible, but more than that, he’s also, quite possibly, the most handsome man you’ve ever laid eyes on. When you glance at his plump, full lips, you find yourself having a hard time to tear yourself away. You’re relieved that you didn't have to order from him, because you’re sure it would have made you blush and stutter.

“Jungkook, there’s a mess in the back! What are you waiting fo—” Jungkook gives panicked glances in your direction, and the man catches your presence from the corner of his eyes, turning his sentence around as smoothly as is humanly possible, all while his lips curve up into a professional smile. “Ooh, hello, dear customer! I don’t think we’ve seen you here before, have we?”

A smile spills on your mouth, much to your surprise.

“No, it’s my first time here,” you answer. Your voice isn’t as strong as you’d like for it to be, but at least you didn’t choke. You suppose still being heartbroken serves as a shield against the man’s handsomeness. “I figured there’d be some discount after Valentine’s Day, and I was hungry, so…”

“You figured you’d kill two birds with one scone?” the man asks while Jungkook, behind him, silently smacks his forehead. You figure he’s heard it a million time before, but you haven’t, and you can’t help but laugh. That makes the man’s smile widen genuinely and his eyes crease.

“I guess you came up with the bakery name,” you chuckle.

“Absolutely. Isn’t it a great name?”

Jungkook shakes his head in disgust.

“It’s genius,” you say, and the man slams his hand on the table.

“See? I told you! Jungkook keeps saying that I have a terrible sense of humor—”

“I’ll be in the back if you need me,” Jungkook grumbles.

“Hey, what do we say to customers?”

“Ah— It was nice to meet you!” he says, turning around to look at you and he seems somewhat sincere. “I hope we’ll be seeing you again.”

Then he bows his head politely and disappears in the back of the shop. The other man — who you suppose is the owner of the place — watches, laughing fondly, but goes quiet after that, so you go back to your work.

You don’t stay around too long, not wanting to overstay your welcome, but you’re still the only one in the shop by the time you decide to walk out.

“Was the tea any good?” the man asks as you walk by him.

You nod and smile.

“And the chocolates were delicious,” you add. “I’ll make sure to come back.”

“That’s music to my ears,” he says, dramatically putting a hand on his chest. That’s when you notice the ‘Seokjin’ tag on his apron. You don’t know what to do with that information, though. You don’t call strangers by their first name and you also don’t stalk people on line.

Especially not when you don’t have their last name.

You say a quick ‘goodbye’, then walk out. Jin’s eyes follow you for a few seconds, before he sighs and turns around, already taking off his apron.

“Jungkook!”

The boy is quick to appear again, scanning the shop for your presence.

“She’s gone?” he asks, and Jin gives a slap at the back of his employee's head with a groan. There’s no strength in it, though, and Jungkook barely reacts to it.

“How could you run away like that, you little—”

Jungkook easily avoids him when Jin tries to him it again, laughing at his outrage.

“We’re not going to be getting a lot more clients today, are we?” he asks, looking outside at the passers-by that don’t even spare a glance at the little shop.

“No,” Jin groans, letting himself fall on a chair.

The depressing calm that follows what is possibly the busiest day of the year for him is just one of the reasons why he absolutely despises Valentine’s Day.

February 22nd

When you show up at the bakery again, about a week later, you’re feeling surprisingly good about it. Last time went well, you decided, and the people were nice, so you’re not afraid to throw a quiet but polite “Hello!” when you walk in. It’s kind of funny — or is it sad — how it always surprises you when people are nice to you, much more used to passive disinterest at best.

There’s another man in the shop this time, with a laptop and a coffee in front of him, but he doesn’t look up at you. A head lifts up from behind the counter though. You feel vaguely embarrassed that you remember this one is Seokjin, and you only feel more awkward when he gives you a dazzling smile.

A glance at the display tells you that they have restocked on their strawberry-based pastries, and you happily pick a slice of cake for yourself.

“For here or to go?”

“I’ll have it here,” you say with a smile. You feel strangely proud of yourself for being able to say it spontaneously. He has no way of knowing it, but it’s quite the victory for you. Usually, you try to run from the presence of others as fast as you can, and it’s even worse those days. “And I’ll also have Darjeeling tea with it, please.”

“Coming right up, just take a seat and I’ll bring it to you,” he says, and then he winks. He doesn’t stick around to see the surprised look on your face, so you just do as he told you, wondering if he was flirting with you or if he’s just Like That. You think that second explanation might be the answer.

“It’s nice to see you again,” he says when he arrives with the cake and the tea. You’re pretty sure he can’t place you exactly, just thinks your face is familiar, but it still makes you happy.

He tells you he hopes you’ll come back when you leave, and you decide you want to believe it.

June 1st

You’re not sure when you become an official ‘regular’ at the bakery. Maybe it’s when you ask Jin if they even do scones, and he leans over the counter to tell you conspiratorially that he actually wanted to call the shop ‘bake it ’til you make it’, but was told it was too long. That elicits a brief burst of laughter from you, and Jungkook tells you to stop encouraging him, but Seokjin looks so happy with himself when you laugh that you decide not to listen to him. Jin has that way of breaking past your shyness that fascinates you. It might be what keeps you coming back, more than the delicious sweets and how beautiful the two workers look.

Or maybe it’s when Jin tells you that it’s not fair you know their names but they don’t know yours, and that he’d ask you for your ID before selling you stuff if you don't tell him. When you tell him, he repeats it a couple of times, like he’s tasting it, before nodding with satisfaction. After that, him and Jungkook start greeting you with it, and insist you do the same with them. You’re reluctant at first, feeling somewhat confused about the whole thing, but it turns out to feel… nice, to have people to greet, and who also know your name.

Maybe it’s when Jin tells you that you’re late when you come in, or complains when you don’t show up on one of your usual days because you had a meeting with your boss. He doesn’t say anything on the day where you take your pastries to go because you’re visiting a friend at the hospital, though, and you wonder if he can just tell. Regardless, you appreciate it.

You find out about other people who come here frequently, too, and especially the ones who are friends with Jin and Jungkook. Namjoon, who sits with his laptop at the opposite end of the café from you. Yoongi, who usually sits in the same spot as you, and eyes you threateningly when he comes in and you’re there the first time, until Seokjin tells him to knock it off. Taehyung and Jimin, who always come in together, and who Jungkook usually joins to bicker and laugh with them. Hoseok, who likes to waltz in at random times, and whose smile actually rivals Jin’s.

You yourself come in twice a week, getting to your usual place to work — except on the couple of occasions where Yoongi gets there before you and gives you a triumphant smile when he sees you. You enjoy the way you’re always greeted by Jungkook or Seokjin, like they’re genuinely happy to see you. You discover that the old ladies who come here to gossip love to flirt with Jin and that, even though he flirts back outrageously, much to their delight, his ears tend to turn a bright red when he does.

You even bring your friends on a couple of occasion, and Seokjin jokes that you’re responsible for half of his turnover at this point. Your friends enjoy the food, and the drinks, but they enjoy the handsome employees and customers a lot more.

“So this is where all the hot men were,” Hana marvels when you walk out, and you burst out laughing. You like that you’ve shared this place with her, because it’s something that makes you really happy these days, motivates you to come out of your bed, and even to talk to people, something you’ve never been good at.

When you walk into the shop and make small talk with the people you’ve come to know, something you used to consider yourself terrible at, it might be silly, but it kind of feels like home.

June 21st

You are pretty sure you know when you go from regular to friend, though. It’s a day like any other and you hum on your way to the shop. Instead of the joyful “Welcome back, (Y/N)!” that you’ve gotten used to hearing these past few weeks, however, you’re greeted with Seokjin shouting “(Y/N), my savior!”.

You freeze on the spot and give him a worried look. From his table, Namjoon looks up, just as puzzled.

“Is everything okay, Jin?” he asks.

“Jungkook isn’t there today,” Jin tells you. His voice doesn’t sound different from usual, but there is a glint of panic in his eyes.  “I need your help.”

Namjoon stands up.

“Why didn’t you ask me? I could—”

“Stay where you are and don’t even think of approaching my kitchen,” Jin says threateningly. “(Y/N)? Please?”

Well. You suppose your work can get done later. You’re more productive when you come here, so you have some advance on your usual deadlines these days. But you don’t know what Jin wants from you and you’ve never worked in a bakery.

“What do you want me to do?” you ask cautiously.

He grabs your shoulders and your eyes widen at the contact. Not that it’s unpleasant, just unexpected.

“I knew when you first walked in here that you were a godsend,” he tells you seriously, looking right into your eyes, and you tell yourself that if he’s that good of an actor, you should probably watch out. “We’re out of milk.”

You blink.

“Okay. Is there a specific type of milk you want?”

“Just, milk. Get me milk and I’ll worship the ground you walk on until the end of days.”

You roll your eyes at his dramatics, and take your bag off your shoulder, handing it to him.

“Look after that, okay? I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll protect it with my life,” he says solemnly. “Also paper napkins please!” he shouts as you’re already walking out.

“Will do!”

“Bake a leg!”

You want to protest the joke that even you find to be quite bad, but the door has already closed behind you, so you just shake your head at him, only to see him laughing with satisfaction through the glass, and head to the nearest supermarket.

You come back with two big packs of milk and a lot of paper napkins, just as two men are exiting. You’ve seen them before, but they never stay to chat. Inside, Jin is juggling three women, and he looks more relieved than you’ve ever seen him when you walk in.

“I’ll help you with that,” Namjoon says immediately, bumping in the table as he gets up.

“If you break anything, I’ll kill you,” Jin warns him. He’s smiling like he’s joking, and his tone is light, like he doesn’t want to scare off his customers, but his eyes say he’s sincere.

You’re quick in the back, and Namjoon does drop the packs once, but nothing bad happens. He presses a finger against his lips to tell you to keep it a secret, and you grin without a word. Part of you is kind of wondering what you’re doing there, why Jin feels comfortable letting you in the back and why he asked you to do that, but you don’t have an issue with it, not by a long shot. This is… kind of fun, actually.

“Anything else you want me to do?” you ask Jin when you come out, and he looks at you in a pleading way.

“You don’t mind?”

Something tells you you shouldn’t accept too quickly, that you could end up in way over your head faster than you know. But his brown eyes are wide and desperate and you just can’t say no. So you smile and shake your head.

“Of course not. You look like you really need a hand here.”

“I do.”

That’s how you find yourself in an apron, with the cute, black hat Jin and Jungkook always wear on your head. Jin mostly sends you in the back to pick up things he needs, or makes you bring the beverages to the customers, which you’re thankful for, because that way you don’t have to greet anyone. Time flies quickly, and you can barely find a second to breathe for the first few hours.

“Sorry, it’s lunch time,” Jin grimaces as he passes you by, and you think to yourself that at least, it will get better, but it takes a while even after that, and when it’s done, Jin sends you to buy some more stuff from the supermarket, because as it turns out, things go fast.

Before you know it, it’s closing time, and you look outside in disbelief. The sky is starting to turn a nice pink, and other shops are putting up their shutters.

“You can go, if you want,” Jin tells you. He sounds terribly sorry, and that makes you feel bad. It’s such an unusual tone for him to have.

His offer is tempting, of course. Your feet hurt, your head aches a little from all the noise that never bothered you before but turns out to be a lot when you’re there all day, you’ve burned your hand against an oven, and you’ve found out that carrying things ends up really hurting your back. But you know that he’s experiencing the same thing you do, and you just don’t have the heart to abandon him here. Also, you’ve already lost your day, so you might as well help him out now.

“It’s fine,” you sigh. “Do you want me to help with anything?”

Cleaning up goes quietly in the main shop, and that soothes you a little. You don’t mind the silence, even enjoy it, and find yourself relaxing for the first time today. Surprisingly, you’re feeling… satisfied. It’s not something you would particularly look forward to doing again, but you’re happy you did it, happy you helped Jin, and you feel like you’ve accomplished something today, which is always a good thing.

“You have flour everywhere,” he tells you bluntly when you walk in the back of the shop, and you laugh.

“Well, it got everywhere,” you reply, trying to rub some off your face, and it’s Jin’s turn to laugh when you fail miserably.

You know you shouldn’t do it, but you gather a small handful of flour from the table, and throw it at him. A good chunk hangs in the air and makes you cough, but the rest does land on his apron. His mouth falls open into an ‘o’ shape and you know you’ve messed up.

“Listen, I am so sorry—”

“No you’re not,” he says, taking a step towards you. His hand is on the table, which is covered with flour, and you swallow.

“Sure I am, Jin, please—”

But your pleas fall in deaf ears, and flour is soon flying your way. It’s your turn to stare at Jin in disbelief, and then you’re laughing, loud and clear.

Maybe that’s the exact moment when the two of you become friends — really friends.

Or maybe it’s seconds later, when the room you’re in turns into the scene for an all-out flour battle. Regardless, you’re laughing the whole way through, when you’re not choking on the flour hanging in the air. Jin’s laughter is quieter than yours, miles away from the booming and somewhat fake laugh you’re used to hearing from him.

The fight only escalates when Jin picks up an egg. You shake your head, mouth ‘no’, but he doesn’t listen, and after that, things get a lot messier. By the time the two of you, exhausted and bent in half because of how much you’ve been laughing, finally stop, you can feel yoke trickling down your back, and you know the sight can’t be pretty. Jin reaches out to you in a useless attempt to wipe some flour from your face, only to laugh more when it, of course, fails once more.

You try not to think about the jolt of electricity that ran through you when his fingers came in contact with your cheek.

“I’ll clean up in here,” he tells you, “but you should go take a shower upstairs.”

“Are you sure?” you ask, surprised. Suddenly, you’re very conscious of the fact that you don’t know him that well. In recent months, you’ve talked to him more than you do with your close friends, and you did just throw several eggs at him, but you don’t know him. You’re aware of the fact that he lives above the shop, but you’ve never been there. The two of you have never even exchanged numbers.

He makes dramatic hand gestures to signal you to get away, like you’re bothering him, and you leave with a last laugh. You don’t notice the way he looks up when you do, or the way it makes him smile. He can’t help it, he just loves that he makes you laugh.

You’re relieved to step into the shower, both because you’re happy to clean up and because there was something really awkward about being in Seokjin’s apartment for the first time, alone. The place was not quite as decorated as the bakery was, with paler colors. Walking through it, you had noticed big speakers, some books in a shelf, and a couple of cute plushes that you had had to resist not to fawn over. The place worked for him, you had decided. It was more understated than you would have expected when you had just started to know him, but it doesn’t surprise you anymore. Jin tends to be quiet when he doesn’t have to be ‘on’, and it’s something he doesn’t seem to feel he has to do around you anymore.

You sigh in pleasure when the hot water hits you, close your eyes. You’ve been craving it for hours now — long before the food battle with Jin. It helps relax your aching muscles, washes away all the sweat from the day, and you have to resist not to just let yourself fall down onto the floor. Your back hurts, but the worst part has to be your feet. You feel yourself gaining a lot more appreciation for Jin and Jungkook, who are always kind, smiling and polite despite all of this. The only thing that kept you from biting someone’s head off tonight was your crippling anxiety when it comes to interacting with strangers.

It’s almost funny now to think you used to feel that way around Jin.

You look around for some soap you could use, and in your search, you’re surprised to find shampoo that was definitely intended for a woman. You don’t know why you’re surprised. It’s no wonder that Jin would have a girlfriend, really, it’s the opposite that should shock you, but you still didn’t expect it. You force away the pinch in your chest. Jin is a new friend, you can’t have your heart fluttering like that.

You consider using it for half a second, before deciding that it would be very awkward if you came out smelling like his girlfriend. Instead, you do your best to get rid of any egg, and tell yourself you’ll wash your hair at home. You barely hear the sound of the door opening and closing over the water, and you’re startled by Jin’s voice outside the bathroom.

“You can take a towel from the chest of drawers,” he tells you, “and I’ll leave a shirt outside, if you want it.”

“Thank you!” you shout back.

Seokjin stands there a few seconds, before quickly shaking his head and walking away. He knows his ears are turning red, and he hates himself for it, but is it his fault, really? Is he supposed not to think about you, right now, in his shower, water running down your body? He never even thought to pretend he was that innocent.

He occupies himself by preparing a drink for the two of you, and then by cleaning around. He’s not particularly messy, though, and there isn’t much to do, so he ends up sitting on his couch, feeling awkward in his own house, and scrolling aimlessly through his phone. He freezes again when he hears the bathroom door open and close, guessing you’re picking up his shirt. Which means you’re— God what is wrong with him tonight? When did he regress to the state of a hormonal teenager?

He hopes he looks natural when you come out, because he’s doing his best for that. The nervous way he’s running his hands over his thighs would probably give him out, though, if you weren’t feeling just as stressed as him.

“I’m done,” you mumble, your shyness coming back, which you decide is to be expected in that situation.

It vanishes the second Jin looks you over and snorts.

“What’s wrong?” you ask, glancing down, and immediately you know that you’re probably ridiculous in his black shirt. It looks like it’s swallowing you whole. “It’s not my fault if your shoulders are that broad,” you pout.

“You look so small,” Jin chuckles. He sounds endeared, and if you noticed that sort of things, you would absolutely realize that his eyes linger on you in his clothes fondly — and a little longer than necessary.

“Want something to drink?” he asks, gesturing at the stuff he got out of the fridge when he didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Sure,” you smile, letting yourself fall down on the couch next to him and pouring yourself a glass. The brief awkwardness that washed over you when you came in vanishes already, because of how comfortable you feel around Jin. He’s always been good at making you feel that way, and now he doesn’t even have to try.

“So, how did you find your day?” he asks you, and you look at him, surprised by his tone. He sounds quiet, cautious almost, like he’s worried about what your reaction might be, or that he could be bothering you.

“Fine,” you say with a shrug. “I can’t say I’d want to do it again— When is Jungkook coming back?”

Jin chuckles, and again, it takes you by surprise. It’s so… quiet. So discreet, compared to his usual attitude.

“He should be there tomorrow, don’t worry about it.” Then, he grimaces. “But seriously, thank you for helping out today. I owe you.”

“Yes you do,” you say with a grin, bumping your shoulder against his, trying to lift the mood a little, because he sounds genuinely worried. “Just offer me the tea next time, and I’ll consider us even.”

Finally, a smile forms on his lips, and he shakes his head dramatically, putting his hand over his heart.

“No, I don't think I could ever repay you,” he says, and you laugh at his antics, like you always do. He looks a little appeased by that, and that’s a relief. “Your back must hurt,” he says. “Turn around.”

You raise an eyebrow, but do as he says, startling when his hands fall on your shoulders. They’re large, engulfing you easily, but they also move gently as he slowly massages you.

“Oh,” you gasp, leaning back into him. This is— good. This is very very good. For a few minutes — or maybe much longer, you couldn’t tell — you just stay there, eyes closed, lips parted, focused on the delicious feelings of his hands gently rubbing all the pain and soreness of the day away. When he stops, it takes you a few seconds to come back down to reality, and maybe, just maybe you miss the feeling of his hands. “Oh,” you repeat, rolling your shoulders slowly. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Jin says. “It’s kind of my fault.”

You turn around, shaking your head.

“Seokjin,” you say. “It’s fine. I didn’t mind helping.”

“You’re too kind,” he frowns. “You shouldn’t let people take advantage of that.”

“I’m not!”

Then Jin smiles, in a way that only lifts one corner of his lips, and suddenly you feel— you’re not too sure. Something seems to melt inside you, something moves in your stomach like you’re free falling. You probably should recognize the feeling. It’s not like it’s anything new to you, and yet you miss it. You do something you almost never do in that situation, and you take a step back. You glance up from his lips, shoot him a smile, and get up from the couch.

“It’s getting late,” you comment. “I really need to go home.”

Jin is on his feet immediately.

“I’ll walk you back,” he says, concern flashing in his eyes.

“I’m good. It’s not that far and I need to clear my head after, you know, everything today.” You’re not sure you know, but Jin nods, though a little reluctantly.

“You’re sure?”

“Very.”

He sighs. He doesn’t seem too pleased about it, but you guess he doesn’t want to insist too much, either.

“Give me your phone,” he says, and when you hand it to him, he types his number in, pouting as he explains himself to you. “Text me when you get home, alright? Otherwise I’ll just worry all night, because everyone is so unreasonable, and just wants me to lose sleep, and—”

You take your phone back from him with a laugh.

“I’ll text you,” you promise, briefly putting your hand over his. That feels— normal, you decide. It’s not like your hands have never brushed in the months since you’ve started frequenting the bakery. It just feels fine, and whatever there was before could just be a false alert. But then Jin looks into your eyes, and the feeling comes back.

“You better.”

You practically flee the bakery. You’re trying to make sense of the whole thing in your head, and it doesn’t go over great. You let Jin know you got home safe, and then do your best to push the whole thing out of your mind when you go to bed. You refuse to think about it too much. Not because you don’t understand what’s going on, but because somewhere, deep down, you do. This isn’t— this isn’t something you do. You fall hard and fast, that’s— that’s your thing.

Sometimes it’s nice, others it’s disappointing, but most importantly, it means that when the relationship is over, your life just goes back to what it was before. It you ever had feelings for a friend, someone you’re so used to having around… You’re sure it would truly break your heart.

July 15th

Summer is horribly hot this year. Fortunately for you, your favorite bakery has started serving ice cream. There is air conditioning in the store, but with the door constantly opening and closing, gusts of hot air regularly reach even you. No one seems too happy with the situation, with Jungkook seeming to slowly come apart under the temperature. Even Namjoon has abandoned ship, leaving much earlier than usual today. He waved at you when he got out, and you waved back.

Who knew, maybe the two of you would actually talk next time.

Jin uses a lull in the otherwise busy afternoon to drop at your table, and you smile to him. You haven’t really gone through anything like that night ever since, and you decided it was just a one time thing. You were tired from the work, and you were touch-starved, and, surely, there was nothing there, other than you gaining a new friend.

Yup. Nothing to see at all. Even when he’s sitting next to you, trying to fan himself with one of the bakery’s menus, head thrown back in a way that makes his Adam’s apple even more prominent.

You never thought yourself as someone who particularly enjoyed necks, but it seems you were wrong.

Not that that has anything to do with feelings, of course. Jin’s just hot. You already knew that.

“Hey, (Y/N), what’s your favorite cake?” he asks you.

It takes you just a second too long to answer.

“Uh. Anything that has strawberries in it, I guess,” you say, and he nods, but he’s also frowning. “Are my tastes not up to par?” you grin, raising an eyebrow.

“Clearly, your tastes are great, since you keep coming back,” Jin answers immediately, with the confidence that you now know to be mostly facade, but that you’ve still come to love. “No, strawberries are good. I can work with strawberries.”

“I actually wanted strawberries the first time I came here,” you reminisce. “But there weren’t any left because that was after Valentine’s Day.”

Jin clicks his tongue in disgust.

“Worst day of the year,” he says, “though February is a bad month for strawberries in general.”

“You don’t like Valentine’s Day?” you ask, and if you were a dog, your ears would be perking up with interest. You’ve always loved to hear people’s opinion on the holiday, because it’s so divisive. “You guys must make quite a lot of money…”

“I’m wounded that you’d think money is all I care about,” Jin sighs dramatically, though the glint in his eyes lets you know that he’s only joking. “It’s just very busy,” he admits. “It’s a lot of work to prepare, people place a lot of orders, and we basically don’t get a minute to ourselves. Not to mention— do you know what it does to a person to know that the food he lovingly prepared is probably going to be eaten off someone’s body?”

You can’t help it. You burst out laughing. When you do, you’re completely unaware of the fond way Jin looks at you. He’s always liked that he made you laugh, from the very first day you came into the store.

“No,” you admit, “no, I haven’t thought about it.”

“Well I have to.”

“I’m so sorry for you.”

“I’m sorry for me too.”

Then Jimin practically waltzes in and energetically greets everyone in the room, including you, and Jin gets up to serve him and Taehyung because Jungkook looks like he’s about to collapse, and you don’t give much more thought to the conversation.

But Jin remembers that strawberry cake is your favorite.

September 18th

Somehow, you get roped into helping Jin with his grocery shopping. He sat at your table and complained about how Jungkook wouldn’t be able to help him that week, and you voiced your sympathy, and next thing you knew, you were in the supermarket with him.

Well, maybe you’d offered your help. Maybe you just didn’t want to admit it because of that time he’d told you you were too kind.

“You know, I thought I’d be helping you for the bakery,” you comment, “but this mostly looks like it’s for you.”

“I am the bakery,” Jin replies, and you grin.

You watch him as he carefully crosses item after item of his detailed list. You expected him to be messy, to grab whatever he wanted, but he is as meticulous with this as he is with the baking he does for his customers. Which is— strangely endearing to you.

“Most of what we get comes in bigger orders,” he explains to you once he’s done with that aisle. “Sometimes, we find ourselves missing some things…”

“Like milk.”

“It’s always the milk,” he sighs, shaking his head it brings back bad memories. “But that’s not an issue for a lot of thing, unless something very specific comes up. Like a customer wanting  a pineapple pie.”

You tilt your head as he cautiously picks pineapples. You’re not even sure how you can tell if a pineapple is ripe, but he looks like he knows what he’s doing.

“That sounds… interesting?”

“It’s going to sound very interesting when I’ll make you carry half the bags,” Jin says, and you roll your eyes. Does he think you’re going to bail on him? You would never do that.

Well. Until your eyes fall on Minho, standing there, like he hasn’t simply vanished from your life six months ago. There’s a woman with him, and she’s laughing at something he said. You suppose she was the one he met — or maybe another one, there’s no way of knowing, really. But they look like they’re getting along well, and it— it makes you happy. You think.

“Huh,” you mumble. “That’s my ex over there.”

Jin looks up so fast you worry he might hurt his neck.

“What? Where? Do you need me to insult him?”

You’re about to say no when Minho turns around, and his eyes meet yours. He gives you a hesitant nod, and you think that’s going to be it, but then, after a few seconds of obvious inner debate, he makes his way towards you.

Great.

“(Y/N),” he says, a bit awkwardly. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too,” you reply softly and, much to your surprise, you mean it. You did your best not to let yourself miss him, but you suppose you did. It’s been a long time since you last saw him.

“This is, erm, this is Lisa,” he says, gesturing at the woman, who gives you a polite smile. It looks like she knows exactly who you are, and you suppose it must be uncomfortable for her as well. “My girlfriend.”

Yeah. You’d pieced that together. But then, Minho’s eyes move to Jin, and he raises an eyebrow, and you realize what he’s thinking about.

“Oh, this is—”

“Seokjin,” Jin says, extending his hand. “I’m her boyfriend.”

You’re sure that anyone looking at you can tell from your expression, from the way your mouth falls open and from the incredulous way you shake your head that that’s not true, but both Minho and Lisa are looking at him, and miss it completely. When Jin looks at you, he gives an imperceptible nod and puts an arm around your shoulders.

The warmth is— kind of nice. Maybe it even sends a shiver down your back, but you’re sure it’s because you’re still quite touch-starved those days.

Nothing else here.

“That’s great,” Minho says, and he looks relieved. “It’s great that you’re with someone.”

“Isn’t it?” Jin says before you can think of anything to answer to that. “She walked into my bakery and I just knew she would become my favorite client. Basically love at first sight.”

“Love at first sale, maybe,” you can’t help but answer, even if you know, reasonably, that you shouldn’t entertain him. You’re pretty sure he’s trying to show off in front of the two, which is really unnecessary, but you appreciate the gesture. “Jin makes the best cakes you can find in the whole town,” you tell them. Not to show off, but because it’s true. There are a lot of good things you could tell them about Jin, come to think of it. A lot.

“Maybe we should try it then,” Lisa says, smiling. She looks more relaxed than earlier, though you suppose she could also just be trying to get out of this conversation.

“Oh, it’s a must,” you reply sincerely, and Jin laughs, pulling you against his chest a little.

“She’s too nice,” he says, and you immediately protest that no, definitely not, he does, and you’re sure you look like a very annoying couple, because it doesn’t take long for Minho to clear his throat.

“Well, we have to go but it was— it was nice catching up with you.”

“Same,” you nod, and when he leaves, you can’t help but watch him. You don’t really feel anything right now. You were sincerely happy to see him, but it felt like running into a childhood friend you haven’t seen in a long, long time, and now have nothing in common with outside of those memories. Except it hasn’t been a life time since you last met him. Just a little over six months. Soon, he’ll just be someone you used to know.

You wish you were more upset by this. You wish there was anything that told you that what you had with him actually mattered. Instead, this vague indifference lets you know that your paths had probably diverged before the two of you even broke up. And that makes you kind of sad.

“Are you okay?” Jin asks. He has that quiet voice you’ve heard a few times now.

“I’m fine,” you nod, “but you really didn’t have to do that. I wasn’t— Minho and I aren’t— there really was no need.”

“I was happy to do it,” Jin says, and you notice how petty he sounds. “It’s always a joy to let an ex see how much better than them you’re doing.”

You laugh. You probably agree with him on that, but you’re not going to help feed his ego even more. Jungkook would probably never forgive you for it.

“I don’t think your girlfriend would like you doing that,” you observe, and Jin answers that remark with a blank stare.

“When have I ever said anything about a girlfriend?”

“Well, there was a bottle of shampoo at your place that—”

“So a guy can’t like having his hair smell like fruit, huh?”

“That’s not what I—”

“Wow, way to reinforce stereotypes, (Y/N). I expected more of you.”

He ignores your attempts at protesting and strides away from you. It takes you a few moments to catch up, because of his stupid long legs of his.

“If I had a girlfriend, I would never stop talking about her,” he lets you know while you’re catching your breath. “So don’t worry. You’ll know about it.”

“Duly noted,” you say. You maybe feel a little too happy about that new information so, to distract yourself from it, you change the subject. “So I’m your favorite customer?”

He scoffs and glances away from you, refusing to meet your eyes. He thought you hadn’t picked up on that.

“You’re a strong contestant, I guess,” he says reluctantly, and you laugh, not pushing it further.

“Anyway— Minho broke up with me a week Valentine’s Day,” you say. You’re not sure why. Maybe to let Jin that you’ve been over it for a long time.

“That’s rude,” Jin comments with a disapproving click of his tongue.

“He probably wanted to spend it with her,” you shrug. “When we got together, he told me he didn’t cheat. He left. So— I guess that was it.” Then there’s a laugh, and you can’t tell if it sounds bitter. You hope not. “I’ve actually never had a boyfriend for Valentine’s Day,” you confess.

The silence that follows is unusual for Jin. When you glance up at him, he’s just looking at you, and for a second, you think it’s pity you find in his eyes. But, from the way he frowns, you realize it could just be genuine sympathy.

“Would it make you feel better if I tell you it’s a terrible holiday that’s just there to sell things?”

“I already know that,” you chuckle, even if it does make you feel a little better. “I just want someone to buy me roses once, you know?”

Jin doesn’t answer, just looks at you, and something about the intensity of his stare makes you feel— feel things you told yourself you weren’t feeling for him. But then, you just ran into Minho, didn’t you? It makes sense that you would be all over the place emotionally.

“Anything more on your list?” you ask, and Jin blinks.

“Yeah, that way,” he says, sounding a bit off, but then he adds “More things for you to carry,” and you decide to brush it off.

But he stores the information in his mind. Strawberry cake and roses. Duly noted.

October 31st

“So do you actually like Halloween, or is this just another shameless cash grab for you?” you ask Jin when he brings you your tea.

You have to admit, him and Jungkook truly went all out for this. They’ve decorated the shop with pumpkins, and there are fake bats hanging from the ceiling. There are also themed cakes and chocolates shaped like spiders. It’s spooky, and it delights the kids that come in and ask the parents about it. You definitely appreciate the atmosphere it creates — and you also appreciate the way Hoseok jumped when he walked in front of the witch that lets out an evil laugh when someone passes the movement detector.

“Halloween is not terrible, I guess,” Jin says, like him and Jungkook don’t take a full day out of their schedules and bring in some friends just to decorate the shop. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” you answer sincerely, and Jin’s expression softens.

“Hey, we’re having a small get-together after closing tonight,” he tells you spontaneously. “Wanna join us?”

You take a second to answer. It’s not like you don’t want to — far from that — but there’s that voice inside of you that tells you that you’ve been weird around Jin, and you don’t want to be weird around him. You want to keep things as they are, because he’s such a wonderful friend to have around. You’d hate yourself if you changed that.

But if the point is to have him around, then surely, telling him no right now would be counter-productive, right?

“Absolutely,” you say with a smile, and Jin beams, and you feel all warmed-up inside.

You already know that you’ll have fun, and you’ll laugh, and he’ll insist on walking you him and you’ll tell him no. And it sounds exactly like how you want to spend your evening.

January 10th

You first meet Sungho on New Year’s Eve, at Hana’s party. The two of you click immediately, and you enjoy the familiar rush of feelings, the waiting for a text after you’ve given him your number, the anticipation of knowing where this is all leading, if everything goes right. After a week, you run into him at the bakery, or, well, you’re sitting in your usual corner when he comes in. He doesn’t see you immediately, but when he looks in your direction after a little while, you happily wave him over.

“You don’t usually come here, do you?” you ask him. “I would have seen you by now if you were a regular.”

He chuckles, flashes you a bright smile, and you smile in return. Sungho has a nice smile. He doesn’t laugh easily, though, from what you saw when you met him, which is a shame, but definitely not a dealbreaker, even if you love to hear people laugh.

“No, I saw you were talking about this place a lot online, and I figured I would come and check it out. Of course, seeing you here is the best part,” he adds with a wink, and he leans towards you a little. The obvious flirtation sends a wave of heat through your chest, and you don’t hesitate to lean forward as well, resting your elbow on the table and putting your chin on your hand. You enjoy the closeness, the proximity, the chase.

You pull away when Jin arrives with Sungho’s order.

“This looks great,” Sungho comments. “I’m glad (Y/N) advertised you so much.”

“Well, there’s a reason she’s our favorite customer,” Jin replies, smiling, and when you meet his eyes, they’re fond and— and something else that makes it hard to breathe for a second.

But the smile fades when Sungho takes a portion of his cake with the spoon and offers it to you.

“Wanna try it?” he asks, and you do, because you know everything Jin makes will be amazing. You’re not sure you love the gesture itself — it’s kind of cute, but you’ve also just met him and it feels a bit strange — but you still giggle and take the bite.

And all Jin can do is stand there, looking at the two of you. He feels something he has felt before, and it’s that he let something he wanted pass him by. He waited too long to make a move, once again, and once again, it’s cost him something he doesn’t know how he’ll live without, and now he’ll have no choice but to figure it out.

You glance up, and he catches himself, plastering a smile on his lips.

“Enjoy yourselves!” he says, a little too loudly, and he knows, from the way you blink and the puzzled look you give him, that you’ve noticed and it’s— it’s horrible. It’s horrible that you know him that well and that you’ve seen so many facets of him and you’ve chosen someone else. You don’t ask anything, though, and he’s quick to leave.

He’s also quick to ask Jungkook to replace him in the shop, and he, very deliberately, doesn’t ask anything about how things went. Doesn’t want to know if you kissed, or worse, if you left together.

He’ll be fine. It’s not like it’s anything he hasn’t been through before.

February 5th

You feel impossibly excited when Sungho asks you out for Valentine’s Day. You gush about it to your friends, a lot, and Hana is delighted for you — and very pleased that her circles of friends are meeting like that. Jungkook sounds happy, too, though slightly more reserved, but you get the type of enthusiasm you wanted from Jimin and Taehyung.

Jin gets quiet when you let him know, though. It’s not something you haven’t seen before, but it does take you off guard, because you’ve never seen it happen while in the shop, where he’s usually on top of his game.

“Are you okay?” you ask, worried, leaning over the counter to put a hand on his arm. “You look a little under the weather these days.”

He smiles, but it lacks his usual flamboyance.

“Valentine’s Day is coming,” he tells you. “The worst day of the year.”

You laugh at that, relax, and take your hand off. You miss the way his eyes fall on the place you were just touching.

“Well, not this year, hopefully. Not this year.”

Yeah. He’s not so sure about that.

February 14th

It’s your first time, ever, having a date on Valentine’s Day, and you’re determined to do everything right. Sungho is taking you to a fancy restaurant, so you decide there is no issue in going all out. You take the day to prepare yourself, enlist Hana to do your make-up and hair, and you use the opportunity to wear a lovely bright red dress that you had been saving for a special occasion.

Hana whistles when you come out of your room after you’ve also put on half-transparent black tights.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” she says with an appreciative nod.

You glance down at your body self-consciously and try to smooth the fabric of the dress. You do think it looks pretty good, but you could be wrong. Does it show too much of your legs? Does it hug your curves too tightly?

“You think he’s going to like it?” you ask, somewhat shyly.

“He should if he knows what’s good for him,” she replies, expression turning murderous, before softening. “Just… Are you sure you want to be doing that?”

You give her a confused look.

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, going out with Sungho,” she says with a vague hand gesture. “I just— I don’t know. Do you like him that much?”

It’s funny. You haven’t really asked yourself that question. You’ve just been going through all the usual motions — the flirting, the dates, and, inevitably, the start of the relationship, which is probably for tonight.

“We— we get along fine,” you answer. “I like him.”

You leave the words ‘well enough’ out of that sentence. You like Sungho well enough. But then, that’s always been good enough for you, so why should it change now?

Hana seems to think about it for a little while, then shrugs.

“Okay then. Do you need my help to walk to the cab? I would not trust these things.”

She’s pointing at your heels, and it makes you laugh. These aren’t even that high, and they’re pretty stable. You don’t think you’ll have any trouble walking in them. Hana wouldn’t abandon her flat shoes to save her life, though, so you suppose the question was to be expected.

“You can just tell me if you want to hold my arm,” you tease, and it seems to take her by surprise, before she chuckles.

“You’ve gotten a little too good at that. I don’t know if I like it.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid Jin has infected me.”

That gives her pause, and she shoots you a weird look, but you miss it. She opens her mouth to say something, then gives up. She could be wrong, after all.

She kind of hopes she’s wrong, or that if she’s right, you’ll realize it soon enough.

The dinner is perfect. You’re dressed perfectly for the occasion, fitting right in the restaurant’s decor, Sungho complimented you when you walked in and you told him he looked great, which is true, the food is delicious, the conversation flows easily, and there are roses on the table. They’re not for you, part of the decoration, and it doesn’t look like Sungho’s gotten you any, which gives you just a little pinch of disappointment in your chest, but it’s also not a big deal. It’s fine. Everything is fine.

And you’re not happy with it.

You can’t place it, and it slowly drives you insane, as you and Sungho make your way through the meal. You try your best not to let it show, but you think he notices your increasing restlessness. You feel bad about it, because really, he hasn’t done anything wrong. You just— something’s not right.

Dammit. It’s your first time having a date on Valentine’s Day, and you can’t make it work.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Sungho says while the two of you are waiting for your desert, and you do your best to snap out of whatever is going on in your head to focus on him.

“Tell me,” you smile, though the smile is polite, rather than genuine.

He takes a deep breath and reaches over the table to take your hand. It’s far from the first time the two of you make physical contact, you’ve even kissed a few times, and it was nice, but something makes you want to recoil, in that moment. You don’t, though. Why would you? It doesn’t make sense. Nothing about you makes sense right now.

“I like you,” he says, and you find the breath knocked out of you. It’s not unpleasant, though, it’s very nice in fact, and it almost completely dissipates your previous discomfort. “And I think— you know. We haven’t said anything about being exclusive yet, so I figured I’d— ask.”

He looks pretty confident, which you thought would put you off, but it doesn’t. The answer seems obvious to you. It’s been just a little over a year since you broke up with Minho, which is a reasonable time, so your lips part to let him know that you’d be happy to—

It’s then that you remember. You remember what you told yourself after that break-up, and what you thought after the break-up before that, and the time before as well. You remember you told yourself you wouldn’t settle for less than what you really wanted. You told yourself you wanted to love and be loved. You told yourself you wanted someone who’d remember how you liked your tea.

And, just like in a movie, Jin’s face appears in your mind. You almost dismiss it, tell yourself it’s just because of the tea, until you realize it’s not. It just isn’t. You should have noticed earlier, you know that, but you’ve never been friends with someone before developing feelings for them. You’ve always told yourself you were an ‘all or nothing’ kind of person, that you were the type to know immediately if things could happen. Maybe you didn’t quite believe in love at first sight, but you’d always thought that love didn’t wait.

Apparently you were wrong.

Jin’s the one who inadvertently makes you pulse rush, when his hand brushes against you. Jin’s the one who lifts your spirits, no matter what. Jin makes you happy, makes you want to get up in the morning, has done that for months now. Jin actually knows you. Jin looks at you like you’re precious to him. Maybe that doesn’t mean love, maybe to him, it’s all just friendship, but to you, it’s much more than that. And the feeling you get is so strong, so powerful, that you understand that you need to tell him. Need to tell him now.

“I’m sorry,” you say to Sungho, who’s been waiting for an answer all this time. “I’m really sorry, I don’t think that can work out.”

His face falls, but he looks far from heartbroken.

“Oh,” he says. “Um. That’s—”

“I’m sorry,” you repeat, already getting up from your chair. You’re buzzing with excitement, with feelings. “I have to go. I’ll pay for the meal, okay?”

“No, don’t—”

“Sorry!”

You stop at the counter briefly before rushing out into the night. You feel that you know exactly where you need to be.

You get to the bakery minutes before closing time, which is exceptionally at 9 p.m. for the day. A couple is just coming out, and that leaves only Jungkook inside. There’s nothing left on display, and you know it’s been impossibly busy, which means Jin is probably in a bad mood, but you can’t wait until tomorrow. When you walk in, Jungkook looks up from behind the counter, clearly surprised by the sound of someone coming in that late, and a puzzled look settles on his face when he notices that you’re out of breath, your previously perfect make-up now looking a little worse for wear.

“Is everything alright?” he asks. He sounds worried, and any other day you would take the time to reassure him, but in that moment you’re pushed by an energy that can’t be stopped, so you just nod quickly as an answer.

“Is Jin here?”

“In the back,” he says, tilting his head in that direction, and you’re pretty sure a glint of understanding lights up in his eyes.

“Can I….?”

He nods, a grin on his lips, and now you’re sure he knows why you’re here. You don’t wait for him to tease you about it, quick to make your way past him.

You freeze the second you walk into the backroom, though. It’s not just because of Jin’s back, though that definitely has more of an effect on you than you’d like to admit — the broad shoulders, the muscular back, and inexplicably, the nape of his neck. It’s also because of the large bouquet of red roses, standing in a vase on the table next to him. Your breath catches in your throat as you look at them. They look beautiful, vibrant, their fragrance floating through the room, all the way to you.

“Who are the roses for?” you ask, making Jin jump.

Any other time, you would have been pleased to take him by surprise for once, but right now you’re hanging on his words, waiting for an answer. The air feels heavy between you, and it doesn’t help that he doesn’t answer immediately, swallowing silently as his eyes travel over your body. You had almost forgotten about the dress you were wearing, and, instead of making you feel comfortable and confident, like it had earlier, you feel naked and vulnerable under his gaze.

Finally, his eyes meet yours, mouth slightly open, and by that point your heart is hammering in your chest. You wonder if he has any idea of how you’re feeling right now. Had he noticed your feelings when even you weren’t aware of them?

“What?” he croaks, voice dry, like he’s forgotten what you said.

“The roses,” you repeat. “Who are they for?”

You need an answer. Desperately.

Jin’s eyes move to the roses, and his face falls. He turns his back to you again as he goes back to whatever he’s cleaning.

“Didn’t you have a date tonight?”

You shrug, though he can’t see it.

“I broke things off with him,” you say lightly, and you don’t miss the way his movements pause, or the way his shoulders tighten, for half a second, before he keeps moving. “Are you— are you meeting someone?”

“No,” he protests immediately. “You know I don’t believe in Valentine’s day.”

You do. You remember that. So you wait for an explanation. It takes a while, and you just wait silently behind him, suspecting that he’s waiting for you to go away. After a few minutes, though, he slams his hand on the table, still not looking at you.

“They’re for you, okay? You said you’d always wanted roses for Valentine’s Day, and I figured, maybe your stupid boyfriend didn’t know that yet, and that I could maybe just drop them off at your place, and—”

“You didn’t ask me why I broke up with him,” you interrupt him, cutting his rambling short, and he falls silent. You catch his eyes from over his shoulder. Finally, you’re feeling yourself calm down, and at the same time you’re practically shaking with anticipation. “I realized I had feelings for someone else,” you say when he still doesn’t ask, just watching you, lips tight.

“…You do?” he simply says in reply. He’s tense, guarded, and you take a careful step towards him.

“Yeah,” you nod. Your eyes aren’t leaving his, not even for a second. “He’s smart, and kind, and handsome.” You take a step for each description you give, and you can’t help but smile on the last word. But your smile doesn’t reach Jin’s lips, and he’s just looking at you like he’s expecting you to tell him someone else’s name, or to make fun of him. “And he makes me laugh,” you add quietly, as you get to him, leaning against the table. “A lot. Some have even said it was a little too much.”

“So who is he?” he asks, and you smile. It’s wild to you that you haven’t understood earlier how absolutely head over heels in love with him you are, especially right now, when you’re standing so close to him. It’s also wild that he can’t see it, because you feel as though you’re radiating with that emotion, feel that anyone should be able to tell.

“It’s you,” you breathe out. “It’s obviously you.”

Then you’re pushing yourself up against his mouth, soft and slow. One of his hands closes around your waist as he leans forward, towering over you. His eyes are shut, and you close your own, reveling in the feeling of his warm body pressed against your own. You feel his tongue darting out to brush against your lips, and they part to grant him access, eager to taste all of him and—

“Couldn’t you tell me that earlier?” Jin protests loudly, tearing himself away from you, and your eyes snap open. “I would have planned the best Valentine’s Day you’ve ever—”

You groan and cut him off with another kiss, faster and harder this time, grabbing his wrists to guide his hands to your hips. You moan in contentment into his mouth when he kisses you back and he swallows it eagerly, pressing you into the table, bodies meeting like they’ve been waiting for it for forever and you—

“I wanted to make you an amazing strawberry cake! Now I don’t have any strawberries left!”

“Jin, please,” you sigh, unable to tolerate any other interruption, “would you just shut up and kiss me?”

And, finally, he does. Holds you like he never wants to let you go, kisses you like there’s no tomorrow, and when the two of you part, he rests his forehead against yours like he can’t bear the thought of being away from you even for a second. The silent stretches, comfortable, only filled with your respirations, until someone clears their throat, and the two of you jump away from each other.

“Sorry,”Jungkook says with a shit-eating grin that tells you he’s not sorry at all, “but I was about to leave. Will the two of you be okay?”

“I’m sure we can work things out without you,” Jin says. “Goodbye!”

But Jungkook doesn’t leave right away, turning his smile to you. You would hide into Jin’s shoulder, but you feel so good you can’t be bothered right now.

“Goodbye (Y/N)!”

“Bye, Jungkook!”

“That kid, I swear,” Jin says, shaking his head, as Jungkook leaves, his laugh hanging in the air behind him for a few seconds.

“I quite like him,” you comment, fingers dancing down Jin’s neck to come trace the border of his shirt.

“Oh, you do?” There is a dangerous edge to his tone and you glance up, surprised.

“Are you jealous?” you ask. “I didn’t know you were the jealous type.”

“I’m not.”

“Because it’s not Jungkook I abandoned my date for.”

“Good that you did. I never liked him.”

“So you are jealous.”

Seokjin mumbles something incomprehensible and you laugh and hug him tighter. And when he asks you if you want to come upstairs, even if he doesn’t have the perfect Valentine’s Day dinner planned, even if really, all he has to offer is himself, you tell him yes, of course.

Because he’s all you want right now.

It turns out, you wouldn’t have eaten the dinner anyway. The second the door closes behind you, you’re pulling him down against you for a kiss, and he doesn’t oppose any resistance, doesn’t protest like he did before, just lets out a moan into your mouth. He’s just as eager as you are to get rid of that tight dress.

“Careful with the tights,” you warn when his hands start roaming your thighs.

“Take them off then,” he groans.

You press a few kisses against his mouth, feeling delighted with the way he restrains himself, hands turning into fists against your hips as he stops himself from tearing off your closes. Finally, you pull away with a giggle. His eyes are wide and dark with desire, and they only get wider when you playfully slide off your dress’ strap.

“Don’t tease,” he says, practically growls, but you decide that you will. You guide him to his couch, push him down onto it, and evade him when he tries to pull you down with him, slipping out of his grasp. You stand just out of his reach, but more than close enough to be tantalizing, and you see in his eyes that it’s working just fine.

You take the time of making a show out of sliding down your dress down your body, letting it pool down at your feet before stepping out of it. The heels are the next thing to go, and then, finally, the offending tights. The second you’re out of those, Seokjin pounces, grabbing your hips and pulling you onto the couch.

“If you want us to move this to the bedroom, now would be a good time to say it,” he says as he kisses your neck, hands traveling up and down your body, large and calloused, but kind and gentle.

“I’m good here,” you say, arching your back to grant him better access — and to roll your hips against him. “Are you good here?”

You feel his breath catching in his throat when you move, as well as something hard pressing against you in his pants, and his voice is slightly choked when he answers.

“Yeah. This would happen at some point anyway.”

You laugh. You can’t wait to try this in all the places the two of you can think of in his apartment.

“Then let’s get to it, shall we?”

Jin doesn’t seem to have anything to answer to that, especially not when you hook your leg around his, using your heel to push him down on top of you. He’s still dressed, but you plan on rectifying that. You stop kissing him to work on the buttons of his shirt, and he lets you, breathing heavily. Your fingers explore the skin you reveal in the process, and you’re delighted when he shivers as you find out where his sensitive spots are — right under his collarbone, his nipples, his ribs.

Finally, the shirt joins your dress on the floor. You take a second to marvel at his body. His shoulders are even nicer to look at like that, you decide. You capture Jin’s mouth again, this time with your hands fisting his hair. You’re feeling yourself growing more impatient, wetter, and while your panties are the only thing still covering your body, he’s still wearing pants — which is far too much clothing.

“I want you so bad,” you whisper to him, and his breath catches in his throat.

“Fuck. You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

That makes you grin, and you arch your back into him again, pressing yourself against his now rock hard crotch.

“Oh, I think I do,” you reply devilishly, and all Jin does is to bury his head into your neck. His fast breathing tickles your skin, and you love it. You love discovering that you have that effect on him, love how you can make him come undone. Another night, you might really, really enjoy teasing him about it, but you have something else on your mind tonight.

Your hand travels down his body to palm him through his pants, and he groans, bucking his hips against it involuntarily.

“Let me take care of that?” you offer, and he pulls away to raise an eyebrow at you.

Wordlessly, you guide him so he’s sitting on the couch, and then, without breaking eye contact, you drop to your knees. You watch as his eyes go wide and he swallows loudly. You don’t give him time to regain his composure, gently nudging his legs apart so you can place yourself there comfortably.

“Fuck,” he repeats as your hands travel over his thighs before unbuckling his belt.

He lifts himself off the couch so you can slide down his pants and underwear, and that leaves him in his naked glory. And boy, is he glorious, dick standing erect and proud, precum already dripping from the tip. You suppose it’s been a while since the last time he had any sort of intercourse, and so you decide that you will do everything that’s in your power to make it worth his while.

You do your best to maintain eye contact with him while you lean forward to gently take in the head of his cock, wrapping your red lips around it as your hand grips the base.

“Ah,” he gasps, and you wonder if he gets loud during sex.

You hope he does.

You mostly tease him at first, running your tongue over the tip, and you feel his hand grabbing the back of your head gently. He doesn’t try to control your pace or to push you down. He seems to just be anchoring himself as he lets you do whatever you want. Glancing up, you see that he’s thrown his head back and his mouth is hanging open, letting out quiet moans that sometimes get high-pitched.

For some reason, the sight of his exposed throat turns you on impossibly. You slide a hand down your body to try to get some relief as well, and you moan loudly when your fingers finally find your clit. The vibrations have Jin push his hips up as his hands tighten on you. A second later, his eyes snap open.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s fine,” you reassure him, “I don’t mind but— Do you have a condom somewhere?”

He hesitates, then reaches for the coffee table. He opens the drawer, rummages through it quickly, and finds what he’s looking for.

“Taehyung said it was good to have them all over the house, just in case,” he feels obligated to explain to you, even while he struggles to open it and to put it on.

Well, you owe Taehyung one, you decide, but now really is not the time to discuss that, so you pull him down for quick kiss before he can lose himself in his ramble.

“Want you now,” you tell him, and it sounds like an order.

“Yes ma’am,” he mumbles, pulling you back up onto the couch.

Your panties are soon gone, and he spreads your legs open with utmost care. Even if you’re pretty sure he could just slide right in, with how wet you are, he pushes a long finger inside you, then another.

“You’re so wet for me,” he marvels. “So wet, and I haven’t even touched you.”

“Don’t flatter yourself too much yet,” you moan. “There’s still work to be done here.”

His eyes are full of love when he looks at you, taking in your body, now completely naked and offered. Just for him.

“Oh, I’ll do it. Don’t you worry about that.”

You’re about to call him out for his cockiness when he lines his cock with your entrance, tip rubbing against your folds, and you close your mouth instead, wisely choosing not to provoke him when he could so easily make you pay for it by making you wait. Except it seems he’s just as impatient as you, because he pushes himself inside you without pause.

You moan and shift to accommodate the stretch, and Seokjin goes still on top of you.

“Are you okay?” he asks. You’re satisfied with the strain in his voice, like knowing you’re not the only one to be so affected here.

“Hmm,” you hum. “Can you— move? A little?”

He pulls out a little, experimentally, and you moan louder than before. It takes you a few minutes to figure out the pace, as your hips keep moving, desperately searching for more friction, but they’re not unpleasant, filled with kisses, sweet nothings and the feeling of his warm skin against yours. In those moments, you feel like you’re discovering him all over again, and you find yourself enjoying that more than you can say.

Finally, you find yourselves, and the sound of skin against skin fills the room, along with your loud, high-pitches moans, and Seokjin’s — softer, quieter, but definitely there. You meet each of his thrusts, with one hand between the two of you to rub against your clit. When you first clench around him, he finally lets out a moan that’s as loud as yours.

“Fuck, fuck, fffuck,” he says, head falling against you, cheek pressed against your collarbone. “If you— If you do that again I’ll— Wait, please, wait, wanna— wanna cum with you—”

You arch your back, your nipples grazing against his chest, and force up the pace of your hips. Jin is moving incoherently, begging into your neck, and you want to give him exactly what he’s asking for. When you clench around him again, it’s with your orgasm. It’s all it takes to push him over the edge as well, but you barely feel his hips stutter into you, completely taken over by your own pleasure.

It takes you a little while to come back down from your high, and when you do, you meet his eyes. They’re soft and gentle, and, more than anything that’s happened until then, they make you melt.

“Hey,” he whispers, “you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, more than okay, in fact. You?”

“More than okay, too,” he says as a lazy smile spreads across his features.

“Good. That’s good.”

Pillow talk is not your forte.

“Hey,” Jin says, coming to rest his forehead against your shoulder.

“Hmm?”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

You chuckle.

“I think I’m in love with you too.”

“That’s good,” Jin says, but his voice sounds choked up, raspy, and you know he’s probably blushing. So you don’t add anything, just run your fingers over his scalp, the nape of his neck, down his back. Let him know you’re here, that you’ve got him, that you’re not going anywhere.

“Are you— are you staying the night?” he asks.

“Sure, unless you’re kicking me out.”

His arms tighten around you possessively.

“I would never.”

It takes a little longer before Jin manages to get the two of you off the couch to go get cleaned up, and then into bed, but of that night, there is not a second that you would call unnecessary or superfluous. Not one.

Every single one of them, every moment you spend with Jin on that first night, are essential, and you could not pick one of them to take back.

March 14th

The bell chimes happily when you walk into the shop, and even though Jin is busy with another customer, his eyes immediately find you. It’s something simple, yet it’s something you love about him. The way he always seems to find you, and the pleasant warmth that fills you without fail when you see him. You’ve been told that it was just the high of the first months of a relationship, not to get too used to it but you hope that, even if it dims, it won’t go away completely.

“Hey, Jin, your ears are turning really red. Why are your ears turning red?”

You laugh while your boyfriend turns to shoot a furious look at Yoongi. He’s sitting in your spot, in the back of the shop, and he’s looking smug. That comment of his has become a pretty common thing to hear whenever you walk in, or just when Jin and you are speaking. To be completely honest, you’re not too mad about it. Jin is good at acting like you have no effect on him, but the blush betrays him, and it’s been both cute and useful to see what actually gets to him, or bothers him sometimes.

“I’ll kick you out of my shop if you keep that up!” Jin shouts at him. “Don’t think I won’t!”

But Yoongi just chuckles into his mug, clearly not taking him seriously — and he’s probably right for that.

“So, do you know what today is?” Jin asks nonchalantly after he’s turned back to face you, gesturing for Jungkook take over with the other customer.

Your eyes widen in horror.

“Please don’t tell me you want us to celebrate our one month anniversary. I haven’t planned anything for that.”

Jin rolls his eyes.

“I would argue that our one-month anniversary is tomorrow, if we’re being precise, because that’s when we, um, really talked about it.”

He’s not wrong. It had been a pleasant thing, to wake up in his arms the morning after, to the sensation of his lips gently kissing your neck, and an even nicer thing to take your breakfast with him. You couldn’t pinpoint why exactly. It had just been what had absolutely and irrevocably sealed the  deal for you. You knew it hadn’t been a mistake. You wanted to be with him.

“Hmm, but there is still some sort of anniversary to be celebrated tonight then,” you say, leaning over the counter. “I’m sure I could prepare something for that.”

His ears and neck flush, and Yoongi has the delicacy of not pointing it out this time.

“That’s not— That’s not what I’m talking about! Today is the white day.”

You raise an eyebrow.

“That’s when boys are supposed to give chocolates back to the girls they like,” Jin elaborates.

“But I didn’t give you chocolates,” you say.

“No, but you’re still the one who— Yoongi, I swear to God— You know. You’re the one who took the first step.”

Despite his recent outburst, it’s obvious that he feels embarrassed and vulnerable in that moment. You’d kind of gathered that he really regretted not asking you out before Sungho had, but you had never thought that it was actually an issue.

“I’m really happy I did,” you tell him quietly. He’s not fond of PDA, but you still allow your fingers to brush against his. That feels discreet enough.

“I know,” he says, and there’s so much love in his eyes when he looks at you that it’s a real miracle that you don’t melt into a puddle right then and there. “But I still—” He sighs. “You’re really ruining my plans. This was meant to go over smoothly.”

“Sorry,” you apologize with a wide grin while he picks something up from behind the counter.

“There,” he mumbles, handing you the box.

You open it, genuinely curious. You feel the eyes of everyone else in the shop — Yoongi, Namjoon, Jungkook and, of course, Jin — on you, and you want to tell most of them off, but you suppose that since this is where most of your relationship development happened, they’re kind of part of the story too.

The box is filled with chocolates shaped like roses.

“I know it’s not much,” Jin is quick to say, “but I just wanted to—”

“Jin?” you interrupt him.

“Y-yeah?”

“I’m going to kiss you.”

His eyes go wide, and then he sighs, but he can’t force away the smile that’s forcefully making its way on his lips.

“Well, if you absolutely have to—”

But he doesn’t protest when you pull him over the counter to kiss him, hands gently closing over your shoulders. He even brings you back for a second, even briefer kiss, and there’s something fierce in his eyes then. He superbly ignores the cheers that come from your friends in the room.

“I have to warn you, you’re never getting rid of me now,” he says, and it’s light-hearted, but you know there’s a lot of truth behind those words.

“Good,” you simply reply. “I wouldn’t want that for the world.”

He looks like he wants to add something to that, but he chokes on the words, and he falls quiet instead. It’s just as good, really.

There are some things you don’t need words for.

Some things that can be expressed just as easily with a box full of rose-shaped chocolates.

[masjestickingdom]

FRIENDS (Part 2)

Pairing: NCT Jaehyun x reader

Genre: Angst, slight fluff

Summary: After returning to Korea to work for one of the biggest entertainment companies, SM Entertainment, memories of your life in your home country before you left for university flood your mind. Swallowing the past behind you, you decide to be professional and face the people you haven’t seen in a while--including the boy whose name you dared not think of for the past five years.

Note: What was originally supposed to be a oneshot turned into a two-part series. I’m so glad that a lot of you enjoyed the first one and reached out to me to request a second part, so here it is! Oh, and if you haven’t read the first part, go read it here.

_______________________________________________________________________

    Under the light the street lamp posts provided him, the youthful boy ran towards the run-down store under the bridge. He didn’t know why he was heading for the closed store, but his legs had a mind of their own. He ran and ran until he heard a voice.

    “Jaehyun!” it called.

    Suddenly, his legs weren’t mindlessly running on their own. It was as if the sweet voice that called his name controlled his legs because he found himself slowing down, looking around his bleak surroundings. The store was old and the bridge seemed ancient with vines traveling down it. The ground was concrete, but it had a few cracks. This seemingly desolate place had no meaning to Jaehyun, yet there he was, searching for the owner of the voice that called his name.

    “Jaehyun!” it said again.

    Before he could take another second to turn around, a pair of hands, rather slim and somewhat fragile, covered his eyes, blocking his vision. An unknowing smile appeared on his face while his hands, trembling with happiness, reached out to touch the soft hands.

    “Guess who?” it spoke with great excitement.

    Hearing the familiar voice up close, a brighter smile tugged his lips upward. As the owner of the faceless voice, which belonged to a girl, gently removed her hands from his face, she finally revealed herself. With one of her hands holding onto his right wrist, the girl appeared in Jaehyun’s view, the wind blowing past her face, causing her hair to cover half of her face. She smiled at him endearingly, and the sound of her laughter carried along the cold wind. She led him closer and closer to the store, but they never reached it. Jaehyun, however, got a clearer view of the sign on the store and when he did, the girl’s smile wasn’t a bright smile anymore. It was bittersweet. “Pain” were the letters written out on the sign in red ink.

    “It’s a pain spending time with you,” the boy heard his voice echo, but it didn’t come out of his mouth. Somewhere in the mystifying darkness, behind the legs of the bridge, the voice boomed, “It’s a pain.” In an instant, the floor rumbled and the bridge above his head began crumbling into pieces. “It’s a pain,” the voice repeated, causing more and more disruption. The girl, unlike him, stood still and watched his frightened face, continuing to smile the same way she was.

    “Y/N,” escaped the awoken boy, drenched in sweat. With wide eyes, he frantically scanned his setting, searching for the girl in his dream--nightmare, rather. When he realized that he was in his room, which he shared with fellow groupmate Jungwoo, his eyes contracted and his breathing slowly stabled. Uttering a breath of relief, Jaehyun checked the time on his phone, and his eyes quickly dilated again as soon as he saw that it was two in the morning. He groaned and tried to fall back asleep, but no matter how many times he twisted and turned, he was wide awake.

    And it was all because of a girl he hadn’t seen in five years.

...

    For you, summer was the worst season of all: the sun stared into your soul until you broke down in slimy sweat; in the afternoon, the sun blew hot air against your body, causing your clothes to absorb the revolting sweat; at night, even when the sun set, it managed to influence the moon to blow steamy air at your face. For those reasons, you liked mornings the best. You didn’t care if it was hot then because you rarely left the house in the morning anyway. You got to sleep in late with blinds shielding you from the sunlight. You got to wake up late and peacefully watch the shadows of the tall trees outside dance to their normal routine, swinging back and forth behind the blinds. It was wonderful, really. Of course, you realized that wonderful things were momentary because after getting a job at your older sister’s company, you had to wake up at half past six in the morning and be at your cubicle by eight. However, it didn’t matter that you had to deal with the awful mornings outside of the mini apartment you shared with your sister; you were on a plane to Korea.

    It had been five years since you were in your home country. After getting your bachelor’s degree in Communications and Psychology earlier than your peers, you studied furiously to the point you felt dead instead to obtain your master’s degree in Psychology in a year. Fortunately, you got a paid internship at your sister’s company, a therapy-based workplace, until your sister recommended you for an open job position in Korea. More specifically, SM Entertainment was looking for a full-time, SM-focused therapist. It was funny how things worked out, but you couldn’t pass on the amazing opportunity. As an employed therapist, you would be helping the company’s artists become healthier in a psychological aspect.

    To Korea, accompanying you was your college friend Bora and her two-year old daughter Eunkyung. Eunkyung was the most adorable toddler you had come across, given you didn’t encounter many kids in your life. Like her mom, she was a jokester, and she loved tugging your hair whenever she could. It became a bad habit. A really bad one.

    You were on the plane, sitting at the window seat, while Eunkyung was situated in the middle (thankfully because it was a vacant seat) and Bora in the aisle. Eunkyung started pulling your long hair towards her body, giggling, but she soon retracted her hand when her mom scolded her.

    “She didn’t get any sleep last night,” Bora lectured gently. “The last thing we want is to wake her up.”

    “Why?” Eunkyung asked innocently, tilting her head upwards at her mom.

    “Why can’t we wake her up? Your poor auntie was up trying to find us someone who would let us stay at their house, and once we land, she has to go straight to work.”

    Yes, you were a poor thing, but you were a poor lucky thing because after five short years of dedication to studying, you landed on this golden opportunity. That’s why when you woke up at the shaking plane, ready to land, instead of getting cranky and groaning like you would have normally done, you gratefully closed your eyes again and enjoyed the last few minutes of laziness.

    In a blink of an eye, you were somehow seated in the shotgun of your friend’s van, heading to your new workplace.

    “You wouldn’t believe the look on Y/N’s face when her mom told her she couldn’t stay at their place,” Bora spoke, sitting in the back seat with Eunkyung on her lap.

    “Y/N? Getting mad? I would like to see that,” your friend Hyunwoo said jokingly.

    “Thanks for letting us stay over the last minute,” you said, brushing off his comment. “My mom’s not usually the type to back out like this, but she apparently had a big fight with my dad, and the tension won’t serve any good to Eunkyung.”

    Hyunwoo simply shrugged. “I’m glad to have the company. Ever since my roommate moved out, I’ve been feeling kind of lonely.”

    As he gradually stopped the car at a red light, you took the moment to look out the window on your right, and you immediately spotted a dome-looking venue. It was flocked with decorations, mostly banners of people’s faces you couldn’t make out, but when the car pulled forward, the wind blew past the banners, straightening them out in a certain way. The only thing you got the chance to see was the bottom part of the nearest banner that read “NCT 127”.

    An unsettling feeling sat in your stomach. It was weird. You heard about NCT 127 from your friends back in college, but it was weird to see their faces plastered on banners in your home country.

    You ignored the lump in your throat as you set your eyes on the road.

    ...

    Six months passed, and you loved your job. With the exception of a certain friend, you met practically everyone from the company. It was certainly an exciting job to talk to celebrities, so every so often you had to remind yourself that they were humans too to calm your beating heart. You also had a routine down. Every morning, you would leave Hyunwoo’s place on an empty stomach, but you would be greeted by the sweet pastries fresh from the oven of the first floor cafe in the building. Every afternoon, you would stay in your office like a loner and eat chips for lunch. Every evening, you would enjoy the view of the falling sun from your desk. It wasn’t until the last night of June that your routine was disrupted.

    Your last session that night ended at ten, and you were more than ready to go home. Well, that was until you heard a knock on your door. That knock gave you the impression that you would be there longer than you wanted.

    As you struggled to switch from your heels to sneakers behind your desk, you yelled, “Come in.”

    Just as you managed to slide the heels of your feet into your cushioned sneakers, the door swung open. You rose from the ground, pushing your uselessly uncomfortable heels under your desk with your toes, and when you looked to see who was at the door, your breath hitched.

    It was him, your former best friend, the guy who pushed you away. He was soaked from the summer rain and had bloodshot eyes. His hair was a mess, and it appeared to you that he was out of breath because his chest rapidly rose up and down. It was the first time you had seen him in five years, and that was how he presented himself to you, unannounced.

    “Jaehyun, what...?”

    You found your feet taking you to Jaehyun step by step. Your eyes studied his, worry evident in yours. You wanted to comfort him, to hug him as hard as you could for all the years you couldn’t, but something inside of you screamed at you to stop. There weren’t any cameras installed in your office. In fact, your office was one of the rare areas in the building that didn’t have CCTVs for the sake of privacy and efficacy of your delicate work, but you couldn’t bring yourself to fling your arms around on the drenched boy. You couldn’t... but he did: as soon as you were a few feet away from him, he suddenly advanced towards you and engulfed you in a tight hug.

    “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice unbelievably shaking. “I’ve missed you.”

    At those simple words, an overwhelming wave of emotions washed over you. Despite the coldness provided by his wet clothes, your heart felt warm. After five years of nothing, no voice nor touch, he had finally reached out to you, and that was all you needed.

    “I was a jerk and an idiot,” he said, tightening his grip around your waist. “I shouldn’t have pushed you away, but I did.”

    His body was trembling while yours was stable. Your hands were by your sides, but you slowly raised them, secured them around his body, and patted his back the way he used to do to yours whenever you were uncontrollably sobbing after a sad movie. To your surprise, it seemed as though your actions caused the opposite effect because another wave of tears stained your back.

    “Shh,” you said, rubbing your hands on his back in circular motions.

    He buried his wet face in your neck and choked out, “I’m sorry.”

    “I heard you,” you whispered, slightly rocking him back and forth.

    After what seemed like a short minute (when in reality it was five), Jaehyun finally loosened his grip, and you pulled away, gripping the side of his arms. The two of you stared off into each other’s eyes and let the silence overtake the room. His eyes were full of sorrow and regret, and all that clouded your mind was how tired and worn out he looked. You were the first to offer a smile.

    “You should go back to your dorm and dry off,” you told him in a soft voice. “Otherwise, you’re gonna catch a cold.”

    With droplets of water dripping from the tips of his tousled hair, he shook his head.

    “I need to tell you why I did what I did.”

    Your smile faltered noticeably, your stomach twisting into knots. You were beyond nervous to hear his reason for pushing you away. Were you really annoying? Did his friends secretly think you were annoying? Whatever it was, Jaehyun had no hint of tenseness nor anxiety; he was ready to tell you.

    “I had a crush on you.”

    There and then, the world stopped: your analog clock stopped ticking; your phone, which was on silent mode, stopped ringing; the whispering drops of the rain outside stopped talking. To you, the only sound that was loud and clear was your rapidly beating heart.

    “When you came over for Chuseok dinner, when you told my parents that we were like twins, I-” Jaehyun stopped in mid-sentence, biting his lower lip in embarrassment, but you patiently waited for him. “I was frustrated at how you thought of me as a brother and a platonic friend rather than something more..” Before he continued, he rested his hands on your shoulders and stared dead straight into your eyes. “When I said it was a pain spending time with you, I meant that it was painful for me to contain my feelings around you because you didn’t look at me in the same way. I’m sorry that I lashed out. ”

    You let your hands hang onto his elbows as you barely audibly said, “Thanks for telling me.”

    The intense, yet soft look in Jaehyun’s eyes was the same gaze he gave you the day he yelled at you. It was then, you realized, that he was still in pain.

    “What is it?” you asked, your curious eyes searching his for clues.

    The now anxious boy let out a shaky breath, his eyes leaving yours. You took your hands and lifted his chin slightly upward, forcing his eyes to land back on yours.

    “You can tell me,” you encouraged.

    And before you knew it, Jaehyun was blurting out the words “I’m still in love with you”.

    .

    .

    .

    That was the quietness that filled the room. That was also the blank state your mind was in. You didn’t know what to think. You loved him, yes, but you loved him platonically. How could he, your childhood friend, still be in love with you after all those years? You couldn’t take your eyes off of the loving but painful expression in his eyes.

    For the first time in a long time, Jaehyun let out a chuckle, earning him a confused stare.

    “I know how you feel about me, and unlike my former self, I’m okay with it.” After a moment of silence, a gentle smile grew on his lips. ”I’ll wait for you.”

    Cue the waterworks and the hug. This time, it was Jaehyun rubbing your back.

    “I’m not gonna go anywhere,” he said quite confidently. “So when you’re ready--whether it be rejection or welcome--I’ll be here.”

    “Except when you go on tour and stuff,” you murmured, to which the both of you laughed.

    Fortunately for you, Jaehyun did wait. When you confessed your feelings to him, a year had already gone by since he promised he would wait. To him, your best friend and now lover, you were worth the wait.

_______________________________________________________________________

Additional Announcement: Thanks for waiting to read this second part! I hope that it was “worth the wait”. Anyway, this may be the only post for the month of August due to SAT season. I will make no promises to make an update this month, so please hang in there! And for any of you taking the August SAT too, good luck! If you aren’t taking it, please send your thoughts and prayers to those who are. We really need all the hope we can get.

[adellovesrowan]

RSA- I don’t know when Finn became a werewolf (maybe he was born as one, is that a thing in this world?). I’m picturing him as a tiny blonde werewolf cub though he ends up being Mina’s height. Wait how tall is Cherry bc rip to her if she has to deal with two of her friends being taller than her. Off topic but Adel with short hair is so cute!!

hmm im not sure unless his parents are both werewolves ?? idk either tbh DJSKSHD ohhh blond baby ww🥺 HDHDJDJD idk ab cherrys exact height but i dont think shes like TALL tall or too short either. maybe 5’5” by fifth year. and OHHHH THANK YOU SM ,,,, she feels comfortable w short hair god bless

RSA- some details about school dances and such(also wait did I already cover this): Penny leads the decorating committee, Mina wore the same dress to every event until her friends took her with them to go dress shopping (plus she outgrew the dress at that point), JT and Merula were tasked with finding out what music to play at one of the parties and then never again bc they couldn’t decide on anything, they ended up calling Flitwick for suggestions.

penny DEF leads the committee !! OHH PLS the friends going shopping with mina🥺 DHDHDHDH god bless flitwick for helping them

RSA- I mentioned the hufflepuff girls all cut their hair short at some point in their lives and consider: Beatrice shaving her head, probably in her seventh year. I don’t know if she keeps it short or grows it out as an adult. Also maybe she travels with Alanza. I wonder how she would feel about her since Alanza has a similar personality to Penny except she worries less. Also maybe their traveling is how Khanna academy becomes known across the world, or at least one reason.

I LIVE FOR BEA SHAVING HER HEAD YESSSS !! she keeps it shaved HDHDJSJ GOD BLESS I LOVE IT. ohhhh ur right ab alanza being a lot like penny tho ,, and YEA i can agree !!

RSA- I mentioned a film club and consider: Corey Hayden as like the club teacher. I haven’t reached year 7 yet so idk if he would be the type to do that or not. But from what I’ve seen he seems like it (he’s genderfluid too. He/She and possibly They pronouns). Also Cherry being interested in baking is so cute 🥺 What does she like to bake? I’m sure her friends help out but I’m not sure which ones. Mina grows different plant ingredients for her to use. What quidditch role would Cherry play?

SCREAMS YESSSS i haven't reached year 7 either lmao i just know that yess corey enby also good character ( SHE HE THEY PRONOUNS FOR COREY THO ,,,, YES ,,,,, ) and thank u !!! 🥺 she loves to bake anything but she bakes cakes more often !! sheet cake, cupcake, brownies, etc. ohhhh god bless mina and friends !!! imagine the chaos in the kitchen LMAOO. and im thinking she plays chaser or seeker like her mother did !! in my hc rowan later also played as seeker for ravenclaw for a year or two bc yes HDHDKD

RSA- Mina is the only child between her bio parents though her other parents might have kids as well so it’s kinda funny to picture Cherry talking with her about how they’re both only children only for Mina to be like “No, I have siblings”. Or the siblings who are old enough to go the school asking about Mina and her friends wondering why this random kid who’s not in their grade is asking about the somewhat introverted plant girl. I haven’t figured out if Finn is an only child or not.

HDHDHDHD OHH THATS SO COOL LMAO minas friends are jus confused HDJDJD. i think i like finn being either !

RSA- Penny’s family when she’s a teacher . Penny seems like the type to have kids, I think she’d name one of them after Bea or something similar to her name. Beatrice herself is probably the ‘cool aunt’. The kid (she/they pronouns) is a squib which reminds me that I should look more into what Khanna academy is like for non-magical students. I think she’s between Cherry and Mina’s age, similar to Finn, their birthdays were in spring 2003. Now we just need a winter birthday kid.

yes penny would have kids i believe so too !! COOL AUNT BEA !! omggg a squib kid character🥺 HDJDJDJD winter bday kid now pls😩

RSA- headcanons about their parents’ pregnancies and Cherry and Mina’s early childhood. Rowan would be the type to read to Cherry while she was pregnant and after Cherry was born. Her parents give her old stuff from when she was a baby after Rowan and Adel tell them that they’re looking for baby stuff. Mina was tiny when she was little ( don’t worry, she was always okay) and bc of that, JT thought she’d be short. Also baby Mina and the family cats 🥺/ Cherry and Fuzzclaw.

OHHH U ARE RIGHTT rowan would definitely read to cherry a lot !!!!! OMG LITTLE BABY MINA PLEASEEE😭🥺 and THATS SO CUTE ohh the babies and cats🥺 hdhdhdhdh fuzzclaw and cherry would have a love hate kind of relationship tho. baby cherry always loves to cuddle and play with fuzzclaw but the cat is very hostile and scratches her a lot so rowan has to keep her away from the cat LMAOOO. on the other hand tho shes good friends with rowan jr. aka adels pet crup !! rowan jr is very friendly and affectionate with baby cherry🥺

RSA- Cherry and Mina knew each other since they were little but they didn’t fully become friends until they both went to the school bc before that they didn’t live nearby so they only saw each other at get togethers like reunions or weddings. Mina was excited to hear that they would be roommates since she’d at least share a dorm with someone she knew ( I still have to figure out who the rest of the roommates are but I like to think that they’re all friends :))

OHHHH PLS dhdhdh them being a bit shy when they first met at someones wedding or smth and their parents are like go on dont be shyy. and YESSS PLS ofcourse theyre all frens !!!

[jisungsmochi]

wherever you are - m.l part two

every night i almost call you, 

just to say it always will be you

 wherever you are

the next few days, Mark had been an absolute mess. his new friends had noticed his change in behaviour, but were often too afraid to ask. Mark went along with his days, mostly with his head down, and barely speaking any words to anyone. he didn't feel that close to anyone at the company just yet, but was beginning to open up to a boy named Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck took the initiative and decided to ask Mark what was on his mind. "um hey Mark?" he asked cautiously before taking a seat next to him on the couch in the practice room.

 "oh uh, yes Donghyuck?" Mark snapped out of his inner thoughts as soon as he heard the younger boy speak. 

"are you okay? i mean, you've just been really down lately and i wanted to make sure you were alright" the younger boy questioned him.

 Mark wasn't sure how to reply. he knew people were concerned about him, but he didn't know if he was going to be able to express his feelings and thoughts properly. everything seemed so jumbled up in Mark's mind at the moment. if he replied to Donghyuck and said he was okay, he would be lying, but if he said he was not okay, he felt the need to delve deeper. and he just wasn't ready yet. 

Mark let out a small sigh before opening his mouth to reply

 "don't worry about me, i will be okay" he tried his best to give a smile but it instantly faded as the rest of the boys filed in for the rest of practice. Donghyuck was unconvinced but knew it was best to listen to Mark's words, until he was ready to open up. 

when Mark arrived back to his dorm room, he shuffled himself out of his worn out sneakers, threw off his shirt that was drenched in sweat and replaced it with a new one. his mind becoming dizzy with the amount of things going on. he was set to debut soon, which was amazing news. he was beyond excited, but he didn't particularly have anybody in mind to share the news with, other than you. his hand gripped his phone firmly, he scrolled through his contacts until he saw your name. he didn't even know if you had the same number, it had been a while since you last spoke. he was hoping that if he called you at that moment, you would instantly pick up. but he knew that wasn't going to be the case, instead he placed his phone back on the side table near his bed. 

he laid down gently, placing a pillow in his arms, staring at his ceiling. it happened almost every night that week. where Mark would be so close to calling you, but instantly drew back from doing so. he knew he had made a mistake that night. the words replayed in his head, the last words he said to you, how broken you sounded, and how much his heart hurt. he knew for a fact, it was always going to be you, wherever you were, and where he was.

i could fly a thousand oceans, 

but there's nothing that compares to

 what we had and so i walk alone

as he watched the clouds beneath him, he couldn't help but feel a pain in his chest. he was travelling the world with his new group. he was going to become successful. this is the entire reason he had moved to korea. but it felt unsatisfactory.

 his fingers tapped on the arm rests of the seats, music blasting through his earphones, not caring it anybody heard it. all he could think about, was how much he wanted you to experience this with him. the views, the music, the people, everything. he barely knew what you were up to nowadays. he had detached himself from your life almost entirely, including your friends, meaning he had no idea what had now occupied your life.

 as he walked through the streets of foreign countries he was visiting, he noticed things around him. he noticed a particular couple, sharing a milkshake whilst holding hands and chatting away.

 he remembered how every day after school, while you were walking home together, you would get distracted by a small cafe. you would always drag Mark with you to try the new specials or just order a milkshake each before sitting and talking. you could have easily done this at home, but Mark knew how much you loved the milkshakes. he loved how you would order a different shake for each of you, before changing your mind and making Mark switch his with yours. he loved how you would come up with almost any topic possible to talk about just so things wouldn't get quiet. he loved how you would always offer him a bite of your muffin even when he already had his own snacks with him.

 to say he was envious of that couple, wouldn't be correct. instead he found himself comparing them to you and him. but to him, nothing in this world, compared to what you two had. so, he turned his foot away from the couple in sight, and walked alone.

i wish i didn't have to be gone, 

maybe you've already moved on 

but the truth is i don't want to know

as he was wrapping up one of his first shows, he couldn't help but smile widely at the crowd. so many people around the world absolutely adored him. he was grateful for every opportunity he had received, leading up to this moment. this is what he wanted, and he finally made it. the group decided to go out and eat in order to celebrate for their hard work. 

"Chenle! come sit with me" Mark ushered the younger boy over to him, pulling out a chair at the table where everyone was eating.

 "thank you!" Chenle smiled at him before taking his seat and digging into the food. after a few random conversations, Chenle began showing Mark some photos of his friends. they stumbled upon one of his friends named Renjun. Chenle raves on about how talented Renjun was at singing and how he was practically begging him to come and audition for the company. Mark chuckled at Chenle's expressions whilst explaining everything, they went through Renjun's instagram account where he often posted videos of him singing, when one particular photo made Mark choke on his drink. 

"Are you alright?" Chenle furrowed his eyebrows, while grabbing onto Mark's shoulder. 

"yeah i'm fine, i just uh, swallowed too fast" Mark awkwardly smiled, assuring the young boy, before directing his eyes back to the screen. 

there you were. Renjun's arm around your shoulder while you both posed under a cherry blossom tree with cheesy smiles on your faces. Mark didn't understand why a photo like that, had so much effect on him. it had been months since you were last in contact, he was almost getting over his feelings, until he saw how happy you seemed without him. he couldn't bring himself to admit that you could have moved on. but he knew it would be the best if you did. not only for you, but for himself. 

——

you were walking with Renjun whilst on your short school trip to Korea. a small group of about thirty students were attending, you and Renjun luckily made the last two spots.

 "y/n, my friend texted me saying he wants to meet up! you should come with me, i feel bad if i leave you alone" Renjun urges you to come with him, pulling on your arm.

 "but wouldn't it be awkward? i don't really know him?" you questioned with uncertainty. 

"it's fine! he's super friendly and he has some other friends too" Renjun smiled at you brightly, making you roll your eyes before nodding. he cheered to himself before leading you to the meeting place his friend had organised. 

you stood in front of a tall building, the name plastered on the front saying; "SM Entertainment" your jaw almost dropped to the ground.

 "Renjun, why didn't you tell me your friend was in SM?" your eyes widened at your best friend who seemed equally as concerned. 

"i thought he was bluffing about making it in! i didn't even know this was the address to the company building" you rolled your eyes before crossing your arms. your bit your lip out of nervousness. maybe his friend didnt even know Mark. possible change he did, but you were hoping for the first one. you were caught up on Mark's debut and genuinely felt proud for him. there were times when you wanted to send him a simple text to congratulate, either as a friend or just a stranger, you didn't mind, you wanted him to know you were proud. but insecurity and anxiety took over you.

 Renjun looked over at you as he saw Chenle walk towards you guys, while exiting the building. there were around 5 other boys walking behind him, some of them were mucking around with each other, but one person stood out to you.

 "Oh my god" you spoke under your breath, starting to feel uneasy. Renjun was panicking himself, unsure of what to do in this situation. Chenle and the rest of the boys were now standing in front of you, your eyes were burning into the concert beneath you, your arms you wrapped around your body and your face was stone cold. you felt someone staring at you, but you were too afraid to look up. 

"It's been a long time!" Chenle greeted Renjun cheerfully, before turning to you, "and you must be y/n! i'm Chenle, this is Jisung, Jeno, Jaemin, Donghyuck and Mark" your head raised slowly to meet the boys, giving them all a small wave, making eye contact with everyone except for the one you were dying to see the most. 

"Shall we all get something to eat?" Jeno offered immediately, before gaining a cheer from Renjun. he got along with the rest of them fairly quickly to your surprise, you were happy he was becoming more social but also frustrated because it left you and Mark trailing behind the group. you felt Mark, match his walking pace to yours,as he stole quick glances at you. his mouth was dry and his palms were sweating. at this point, he felt like he could faint if he didn't say a word to you. 

"y/n" you head snapped to look at him for the first time since you had last spoken. you acknowledged him, giving him a small nod. he stepped towards you, the group was now inside the restaurant. 

you let him approach you, too afraid to say no. 

"mark" you whispered back, unable to tell if he had heard you. 

"it's been a while hasn't it?" he swayed his feet back and forth, which was a small habit of his. you just nod at his words, noticing the rest of the boys looking at you guys through the window. 

"can we go and talk?" he suddenly offered, making you snap your eyes to meet his. 

"really? right now? i don't think it's the right time" you mutter to him, feeling bad you were going to leave the group behind. 

"but when will it be the right time? we need to talk now, i- i want to talk to you" he stepped even closer to you, not touching you but he was close enough that your head was tilted for your eyes to meet. 

"fine." you spoke, noticing his face soften at your words. you both walked away from the restaurant, leaving the other boys confused but at this moment, there were more important things at hand.

 "how have you been?" he awkwardly asked, his hands placed in his jacket pockets while yours were hanging by your sides. 

"okay i guess, not much has happened" you gave him a general answer, finding this situation entirely tense. 

"that's good, i guess" he mumbled, looking everywhere else but at you. eventually you reached a table outside of a cafe and decided to take a seat. he still hadn't made proper eye contact with you, making you feel uneasy. there was so much you wanted to say to him but nothing was coming out. 

he ordered two milkshakes. your eyes finally meeting his, making him crack a small smile at you. 

"can i ask you something?” you finally decided to ask him questions instead. he nodded at you before taking a sip of his milkshake. 

"why?" was all you could come up with. 

his face was washed with confused. 

"what do you mean by that?" his eyebrows furrowed, his attention was drawn to you. 

"why are we even doing this? you made things clear the last time we left things? why all of this?" you didn't mean for it to come out as rude, but there was no other way to word this situation. he thought for a while before answering you.

 your milkshake was left untouched, your eyes fixed on his hands and how shaky he was becoming. 

"you want to know why? it's because i missed you okay. i missed you and i wanted to talk to you again. didn't you miss me at all?" his words made your heart ache. you missed him more than anything. tears were forming in his eyes, his shaky hands, harshly wiping them away. you looked at him with sorrow in your eyes, regretting asking him in the first place.

 "i- i missed you too" you spoke as you laid your small hand over his shaking ones. he looked at your hands, then back at you. he heard you sniffle softly, making him frown. he tangled his fingers with yours before making you look at him again. 

"i'm so sorry. for everything. i wasn't thinking right at the time. i was so caught up with everything i completely forgot how much you meant to me. while i was having the toughest moments in my life i only wanted you by my side to reassure me. i only wanted you be with me while i was laying alone in bed. i only want you. right here. right now." his words stunned you. his eyes not breaking contact with yours, your gripped your hands tighter around his. 

"and i wish i could have been there with you through it all. but look at you now, you did all of this on your own. you will become successful in life and that's all thanks to yourself" you have him a small smile, squeezing his hand. he chuckled softly before rubbing his thumb across your skin. 

"i know i was a total jerk to you back then. i regret everything. i'm sorry i let things get to me so easily. i want to be with you, it doesn't have to be now. or anytime soon. but i see my future and its with you. no body else even compares at the point" Mark placed a soft kiss on the back of your hand, awaiting your response.

 "i've never stopped loving you. i don't think i ever could. we're still young, Mark. we are still figuring things out, and i want us to do that together. i want to be with you just as much, but i want this to take time" you explained, making sure he understood. 

"all i’m asking for, is for us to give this one last shot" he pulled himself closer to you, your faces not too far apart. he was smiling at you widely, his eyes focused on your lips. you smirked at him before giggling, 

"okay" was all you said before you placed your lips onto his. your hands detached as he brought his palm to your cheek. your head tilted while the kiss went on, both of your emotions becoming overwhelming. as you both pulled away, Mark's face was flushed pink. his hands went to rejoin with yours and your placed small kisses on his knuckles making him giggle softly.

 you looked at his milkshake, giving him a smirk before switching your drinks. 

"some things never change" he sat back and looked at you with the utter most admiration in his eyes.

 "there they are" Renjun was ready to stumble towards you two before the boys stopped him. 

"let them have their moment!" Jaemin pulled Renjun back, dragging them all to an arcade located close by.

you and Mark, were hand in hand walking through the streets of Korea. 

"hey, i kept my promise" you suddenly brought up while taking a sip of your second milkshake of the day.

 "what promise?"

 "wow you didn't even remember? so much for you never forgetting about me!" you teased while jogging away from him. 

"that's not fair! you know i'm a forgetful person" he shouted after you before catching you in his arms. 

"true true, i just made a promise that i'd visit you in Korea. which i did, because here we are" his face softened at your words, making bend down slowly to peck your lips. 

"thank you, for everything"

---

OK NOW ITS DONE LMAO HOPE U ENJOYED THIS SOMEHOW XOXO

[sbxrm]

Candle Lit Confession

a/n: Ok, so I was going to write my sister a fluffy Mark Lee story, but y’all can enjoy it too!

Mark Lee x Reader

Genre: FLUFFY FLUFF

You’ve known Mark for a little while now, about a year or so. He and the other NCT members have all become great friends of yours, luckily SM allowed you to be a part of their lives. During the last three months. you felt yourself growing more and more fond of a specific NCT member...Mark. His charming and dedicated personality won you over and his giggles melted your heart.

One day during their practice, you got a facetime call from the boys. 

“HI (Y/Y)!!” You’re best friend, Donghyuck, yelled into the phone earning a giggle from you. 

“Hi Hyuck! How are you guys doing?”

“We’re good! Say hi, guys!” Hyuck said as he held the phone out further so you could see everyone. Everyone said hello happily except for Mark,  who shyly waved to you before running off screen. 

The call ended shortly after. You sat there wondering what made Mark act so weird.

Maybe he was just busy. You sighed and thought to yourself before turning your attention to the pile of homework sitting in front of you. 

Another month has gone by and Mark has still been acting weird around you. The boys are even noticing his strange behavior. Taeyong started to question him about it when they got time alone, not wanting his younger member to feel awkward around one of their closest friends. He told Taeyong everything, he explained his crush on you and that he was scared that you didn’t feel the same way about him. Haechan sneakily heard every word of it from outside the door.

The gossip spread like wildfire through the NCT dorms. They all knew about Mark’s crush on you, and they had a feeling you liked him too. Haechan pestered Mark every chance he got until Mark finally snapped and told them about it. Before Mark knew it, the Dream members developed a plan with the 127 members, mostly because of Haechan. they called it “Mission Get Mark a Girlfriend” I know...so creative

Mark wanted to confess his feelings to you, the 127 boys helped him prepare a song for you. They even helped pick a location for him to confess. Taeyong and the Dream members all ran out that day to set up for the confession that would take place soon after sunset while he perfected his song for you.

Haechan stopped by your house with a card. He handed you the envelope and spoke quickly before you opened it. 

“Wear something nice. Be there at 8pm!” With that said, he took off.

Confused, you read the letter. It was an invitation. 

“Meet me at the top of the hill tonight after sunset.”

You knew what hill he was talking about, you watched the stars there with the NCT gang plenty of times when they were stressed out from too much training. You did as your best friend told you to do. You got dressed and went to the hilltop as the sun was setting. When you got there, you saw the only tree there lit up by strings of fairy lights, a small picnic table was beneath it with a few candles lit in the center of it. As you walked closer, Mark stepped out from behind the tree holding a bouquet of flowers. 

You stopped in your tracks, shocked to see him. Nervously, he took a deep breath and began to sing the song he wrote for you. His voice was a little quite and shaky at first, but he grew a little more confident as he continued. Tears began to fill your eyes as the beautiful lyrics flowed around you like a warm summer breeze. As he neared the end of the song, he walked up to you and shyly handed you the flowers. His cheeks were flushed bright pink and his hands were slightly shaking from nerves. 

“(y/n), I-I wanted to tell you that..I like you.” He started speaking.

“And its ok if you don’t feel the same, I just wanted to tell you that every time I see you, I get really nervous. You’re so pretty and you know exactly what to say when SM starts being too hard on us during practices. Your smile is so beautiful, And..” He started nervously rambling on.

You grabbed his hand, trying to calm him down. “Mark, I like you too!” You spoke softly, looking into his eyes. After you said that, you could see his eyes sparkle with happiness as a smile spread across his face.

“Can I...kiss you?” He cautiously asked before he slowly tucked his hand on the side of your head. You nodded, a small smile on your lips. 

He leaned in slowly as you went up on your tip toes to be able to reach better. (ok, he’s tall)

His warm breath fanned across your face gently as he leaned closer. His soft lips gently met yours, in a shy but sweet first kiss. Your heart fluttered at the sensation. The kiss was short, but it was perfect. As he pulled away, a fit of giggles took over him, infecting you with laughter as well. Butterflies swarmed in your stomach knowing he actually liked you as much as you liked him.

Months went by and Mark has been the best boyfriend you could ever ask for. SM asked that you keep the relationship a secret, but they support you both. They had turned over a new leaf since you and Mark had shown them how happy you were together and how you encouraged Mark to continue working hard. They wanted to see their artists happy, they took better care of them, they got the rest they deserved while still remaining a successful group. All of NCT loved you two together, and of course, Donghyuck teased you two to no end.

[reekierevelator]

A Single Bed

A short story by Brian Bourner

Karen gradually became conscious of a noise.  It dawned on her that it was her own heavy breathing.  She was awake.  A drum was banging inside her head and her tongue felt glued to her mouth. She decided to wait a few minutes before attempting to open her eyes. When she did the ceiling was still spinning and she immediately felt wobbly, nauseous, and so closed them again.  She forced her tongue slowly around her mouth.  The obnoxious taste caused a facial convulsion. Worse than that though, opening her eyes again, she didn’t recognize the room.  A dusty aroma tickled her nose.  Christ, she thought, what the hell have I got myself into now?

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up slowly. She knew she had been sleeping naked by the slight chill on her shoulders. Light seeped in through a gap between green patterned curtains on her left.  Looking round more carefully she noted the tired, peeling wallpaper opposite her, partly hidden by old furniture, a wardrobe and chest of drawers.  A nondescript threadbare carpet covered most of the floor, except at the edges where bare floorboards were visible.  Leaning forward, Karen saw her clothes lying scattered round the foot of the bed. Looking right she tried to scan the darker side of the room.  On the floor she found a long uneven mound of brown blanket with a black thatch poking out the top. And on the floor beyond that a randomly stacked pile of clothes topped by a bluish shirt. Karen’s eyes widened.

“Who the fuck’s that?” she asked herself out loud.

The mound moved, made some snuffling noises, and as she watched, fascinated, the black thatch moved and emerged from the blanket with a head attached. It came complete with a grey face, half-shut bleary eyes, a narrow nose, and a thin-lipped mouth surrounded by stubble.

As if with the last ounce of energy, the blanket was rolled back and pushed to one side.  Karen recoiled at the sight of a completely naked man, a man who, gradually and unsteadily, rose to his feet and stretched his arms.  Then the man, with eyes still struggling to open, became aware of her.  His face cracked into something approaching a smile.

“Fuck me, some night eh?”

Head still thumping, Karen desperately tried to engage her brain.  What the hell had happened last night? She remembered having a few drinks in the flat she shared with four other girls. Then Siobhan had grown tired of swiping left on the faces that appeared on Tinder and insisted they all go out. So Steffie got her phone out, tripped over her feet, and fell giggling onto the sofa as she tried to order a cab to take them to the club.

More memories returned.  The girls tumbled out of the Uber car and she felt the cold in her skimpy blue Primark dress. They fell through the door illuminated by the fluorescent purple tubes that spelled ‘The Houghmagandie Club’.  Inside it was loud. Strobe lights and glitter balls. Three or four deep at the bar. Heaving. Sweating. After a couple more drinks they were dancing. Yes, that was it. Then Abi and Rachel were finding seats beside two cute-looking guys who’d been giving them the eye and she was left with Steffie and Siobhan, huddled round a small table.  

Steffie suggested a round of shots and promised to get them on her way back from the loo.  A good-looking guy in a blue silk shirt and chinos, with deep dark eyes, threaded his way through the crowd towards them.  He asked if he could sit on Steffie’s stool, very friendly, and started talking to Karen.  She couldn’t hear all he was saying but caught the words ‘pretty’, ‘attractive’, ‘music’, ‘dancing, and ‘drink?’  And then his friend – red rimmed glasses and shiny suit – appeared, standing smiling behind him. Then Ken was up dancing again.  After that?  It was all a bit of a blur.

In the dim light Karen looked into the man’s eyes.  Sure enough, they were dark and a little sunken; more red-rimmed and bloodshot than she remembered. He was staring quite openly at Karen as she sat up in bed looking quizzically down on him.

“Nice tits” he said, suddenly reminding Karen that she too was naked.

She tried to pull the heavy duvet up over her chest in best movie fashion, but it was too much for her in her present state. She let it drop again.  

Actually, she thought, they really are pretty good; probably just as well to keep the focus on them rather than some of my other features; the short legs that need high heels and the bum that seems to be expanding daily.  I’m not bad looking really even if they did call me duck-face at school. My face though….

She ran her hand through her copper-coloured shoulder length hair and felt, as expected, a matted, tangled mess.  She touched her eyes and inspected the resulting black marks on her fingers.  She concluded that, as she’d suspected, there had been no effort to remove make-up with cold cream last night. From past experience she knew what that meant - smudged mascara and eye-liner, smeared lipstick. Yes, it was the morning after. At such times her green eyes, dinky little snub nose, and wide mouth, were not particularly alluring.

After a seemingly lengthy pause the man asked. “So why’d you kick me out of bed last night Love?”  My own bed too!”

Although he looked a little bedraggled Karen noticed a little sparkle in those deep-set eyes. And beneath some dark camouflage his male equipment looked in tip top condition.

She screwed up her face as she struggled for an answer, but explanations resisted all attempts at recall.

“Well,” she paused to consider,”it is only a single isn’t it?...  And, em, it’s a very thick and heavy duvet – er, maybe I was getting too hot?”

“Too hot? You were hot last night all right; a hot little zephyr around me in the darkness. But once we reached the bedroom it was ‘God, I’m so exhausted, I have to sleep now before I collapse. Ok if I use the bed?  I’m so knackered.” The whiny little girl voice in which he said this, while drawing a drama queen arm across his face, made her cringe.  

Tired, yes that was it, she thought, more memories trickling back.

“Night shifts” she heard herself say out loud.  “It’s the night shifts. I’ve been on night shifts for four days. Got back from work yesterday, Saturday morning. My flat-mates were all up and about when I got in. Apparently I’d agreed it was my turn to do the shopping and the lunch so I wasn’t allowed to crash out. And after we’d caught up on the goss while eating, Abi decided it was time for afternoon cocktails. That girl is full of dangerous ideas.  God, by the time we’d decided to go clubbing it was way too late to think about going to bed. I must have been awake at least thirty-six hours by the time we reached the club.”

“All play and no work….”

“I mean, is it any wonder?”

“No, I suppose not. As the man said, work is the curse of the drinking classes. Just as well I keep the foam bedroll and extra blankets in the wardrobe in case of unexpected guests.  I’m sure there used to be a sleeping bag around the flat too but it looks like someone grabbed it.”

He stumbled over to the tall window, stretched until he stood erect, took a deep breath and threw the curtains wide open to look out on to the world perfectly naked.  

She admired the large white unicorn which reared up across his back within a dense, multi-coloured forest. For some reason the tattoo’s single horn seemed particularly phallic.

“God, you’ll scare the horses if they look up and see you there in all your glory.”

He turned his head and smiled. In the full light Karen was able to appreciate the admirable torso; broad chest and long, well-defined, muscular legs and arms.

“It’s a long time since any horses trotted up this street.”

“You’re getting cold,” she said, appraising him carefully. Patting the bed she said “Do you want to get in here before you shrivel up altogether?”

He smiled a broad smile, stepped back towards her and pulled the sheets back on the bed.  “God, you could do with a holiday in the sun,” he exclaimed, “You’re as white as a porcelain doll. Nice belly piercing though. Looks like a pearl.” And jumping in beside her he affected a Sean Connery voice, uttering the old cliché – “Good mannersh too. I shee the collar and cuffs shtill match.”

“Shit, how old are you?  Daniel Craig’s been 007 for donkeys now.  Anyway, I suppose it doesn’t matter, not so long as you’ve still got your license to thrill.”

Wrapping himself around her he whispered “Don’t worry, I’m just a young imposter Bond. Hey, you do remember I’m Richard, Rich, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course I do. What do you take me for?” Karen replied, having been glad of the reminder.  “And what’s my name then?”

“Oh dear, I think it begins with a ‘K’” he teased, “Could it be Katy, or maybe Kylie?” But when she playfully beat her fists on his back he quickly submitted. “Ok, ok, Karen, no need to break my bones.”

“Can I stay for breakfast?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah, of course.  It’s Sunday isn’t it, and it’s not twelve yet.  There’s plenty of stuff in the flat, at least there was yesterday.  My flatmates might have tanned the fridge by now.  We can have breakfast - well maybe more like brunch - here if you like.  The guys don’t use the kitchen that much. Hardly at all really.  Or there’s a pub on the corner does good coffee and an all-day breakfast.  You don’t have to rush off do you?  It would be good to get to know you.”  

“Mmmm” said Karen, “the pub sounds good; later though, eh?” And she leaned over to lock lips with Rich as they squeezed together under the duvet, nuzzling into one another, her arms caressing his tattoo while his hand gently cupped her breast and began fondling.  But the staccato buzz of a mobile phone suddenly interrupted them, demanding attention.

“God, that’s mine,” Karen complained as she detached herself from Richard and clambered out of bed.  Rootling around amongst her scattered clothes she located the phone in a pocket.

“What’s happening?” asked Richard, throwing the covers to one side and sitting on the edge of the bed.

“It’s Steffie on WhatsApp.”  She stared intently at the smartphone’s small screen.  “My flatmate Steffie.  She’s back home and awake.  Abi and Rachel are there too.  They’ve just realized that I’m not home, checking that I’m ok.  There’s a photo. Three girls on a sofa looking anxious; or maybe just glum and hungover.”

She spun round holding the phone in front of her and there was a small flash.

“Just sending a photo back.”

“Of me?” Richard asked, startled. “With no clothes?”

“It looks like they lucked out last night. I’ll Instagram it.  It’ll be a little something to cheer them up. Let them know I’m ok, in good hands.”

“You were certainly in good hands a minute ago.”

But Karen wasn’t listening.

“Hey, but there were only three of them there, weren’t there?  No me, but no Siobhan either.  I wonder what’s happened to her?”

“Oh, no reason to call out Sherlock Holmes on that case.”

“No?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Eh, no.”

“She’s next door with Andy.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Red-framed glasses, sort of wine coloured shiny suit?”

“The same. Andy Naismith, Randy Andy.”

“Sounds like they’d have a good time. Anyway, let’s see if they’re awake and we can all head for the pub… but I need to wee, where’s the loo?”

“Door straight opposite”

“A hair of the dog will set me all right again,” Karen said as she stepped into her crimson thong, hauling it up before pushing her arms through the straps of the matching bra.

“Ok,” said Richard, trying to keep the disappointment out his voice as he got up to open a sideboard drawer, pulling out a fresh pair of shorts.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

“Sunday night?  Back on shift. Ten pm sharp. Should have plenty time to get home and change before going out again - assuming it won’t take too long getting home.” She scooped up her tartan tights and creased blue dress as she hurried from the room. “By the way, where exactly are we?” she asked, before closing the bedroom door.    

[oceanicdaniel]

I’m answering these because I’m bored and in study hall where I have no homework, questions from skylerwritestoomuchphansmut

1: How tall or short do you wish you were? 5′3″ 2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not)  another dog 3: Do you have a favorite clothing style? the most depressing look i can achieve with really tight jeans 4: What was your favorite video game growing up? tekken 2 and frogger on the playstation 1, frogger on the atari, and mortal kombat on the nintendo 5: What three things/people do you think of most each day: sleeping, eating, and why i couldn’t be older so i could’ve graduated already 6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? warning: says too many swear words, extremely awkward and polite. approach at your own risk 7: What is your opinion on [insert thing here]? i love science sm it’s my fav subject tbh  8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] i don’t know, i’m too lazy to google these 9: Are you ticklish? extremely, sadly 10: Are you allergic to anything? no, but i have hayfever (so fun) 11: What’s your sexuality? the most extreme rainbow out there (i’m pansexual but i make gay jokes too often) 12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa? Hot Chocolate (cocoa and hot chocolate are different things you can fight me on this) 13: Are you a cat or dog person? dog 100% but i like both, i’m just saying if i had to choose what to adopt one 14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson? vampire 15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber? subscribe to AmazingPhil on YouTube. 16: How tall are you? 5′7″ and a half 17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? My name is already Jesse but my birthname is way too feminine for my agender ass 18: How much do you weigh? i don’t know i lost a lot of weight recently bc i was sick and couldn’t eat 19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? yeah i guess 20: Do you like space or the ocean more? space!!!! (i’m sorry i’m an astronomy nerd) 21: Are you religious? i don’t think jesus would appreciate it if i was 22: Pet peeves? loud chewing, smacking gum (oh my god do not do this around me), chewing with your mouth open are the mains  23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? i already am nocturnal 24: Favorite constellation? too many to choose 25: Favorite star? i don’t really have favorite stars 26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls? what  27: Any phobias or fears? hecking yes, the dark (depends on the situation though), tight spaces, crowds sometimes (again depends)  28: Do you think global warming is real? um yes??? the world will get warmer then fix itself and get colder?? the world will end with the icecaps melting then they will freeze??? 29: Do you believe in reincarnation? not really 30: Favorite movie? holy heck!! i don’t know!! maybe return of the jedi 31: Do you get scared easily? nah 32: How many pets have you owned in your lifetime? 4 33: Blog rate? [You’ll rate the blog of the one who’s asking.] YEET i’ll just rate my blog -10/10 34: What is a color that calms you? black or blue 35: Where would you like to travel and/or live? i would absolutely love to go to Key West again!! 36: Where were you born? in Mediapolis, Iowa (techincally west burlington but you know what) 37: What is your eye color? one eye is bluer and one eye is greener but technically blue 38: Introvert or extrovert? both i guess 39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? yes i love astrology but not horoscopes  40: Hugs or kisses? hugs!!! 41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now? i would love to go see AmazingPhil who you should subscribe to on youtube 42: Who is someone you love deeply? my best friend and my dogs 43: Any piercings you want? 6 in each ear 44: Do you like tattoos and piercings? yes! 45: Do you smoke or have you ever done so? i don’t but i’ve tried a cigarette before (nasty dont do it) 46: Talk about your crush, if you have one! he’s tall-ish, has really beautiful hair, nice green eyes, this rlly cute face freckle thing, and he’s really funny 47: What is a sound you really hate? scratching nails against paper or a window 48: A sound you really love? piano and uke 49: Can you do a backflip? on a trampoline yeah but i haven’t ever tried on the floor 50: Can you do the splits? yepp 51: Favorite actor and/or actress? Jennifer Lawerence  52: Favorite movie? this was already asked but Return of The Jedi or The Revenge of the Sith 53: How are you feeling right now? Tired  54: What color would you like your hair to be right now? black or rlly dark brown 55: When did you feel happiest? when i am asleep 56: Something that calms you down? reading 57: Have any mental disorders? depression, social anxiety, and ADHD 58: What does your URL mean? the ocean is pretty and so is dan howell 59: What three words describe you the most? emo, nc-17 (inside joke), hungry 60: Do you believe in evolution? yeah  61: What makes you unfollow a blog? if they turn into a different fandom blog that i’m not in 62: What makes you follow a blog? i like their content 63: Favorite kind of person: funny and sarcastic and polite/nice 64: Favorite animal(s): dogs!! 65: Name three of your favorite blogs. @Amazingphil and idk the other two i’ll look later 66: Favorite emoticon: i don’t use them that often and i mainly only use like four 67: Favorite meme: spongebob  68: What is your MBTI personality type? oh man i don’t want to take another quiz 69: What is your star sign? Aquarius  70: Can your dog roll over on command, if you have a dog? nope haven’t taught him that yet 71: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? jeans, sweatshirt, and vans 72: Post a selfie or two? no thanks 73: Do you have platform shoes? platform heels, yeah 74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself?  75: Can you do a front flip? yep 76: Do you like birds? yeah 77: Do you like to swim? yep, i do it competitively actually 78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? ice skating 79: Something you wish didn’t exist: homework 80: Some thing you wish did exist: the ability to drive golf carts in the street in my state 81: Piercings you have? zero 82: Something you really enjoy doing: reading 83: Favorite person to talk to: my best friend 84: What was your first impression of Tumblr? i don’t remember i’ve had it for the longest time 85: How many followers do you have? idk i can’t open another tumblr tab im on my school computer 86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? yep, i used to be a long distant runner in track 87: Do your socks always match? heck no 88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely? yep 89: What are your birthstones? Amethyst  90: If you were an animal, which one would you be? hopefully a dog 91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be? black rose (bc i’m emo af) 92: A store you hate? JUSTICE or abecrombie & fitch (oh lord) 93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day? none but i drink like 200 hundread cups of  mountain dew a day 94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? fly tf 95: Do you like to wear camo? who wears camo anymore you know besides rednecks 96: Winter or summer? Summer 97: How long can you hold your breath for? too long to be considered human 98: Least favorite person? everyone in my grade except for my best friends 99: Someone you look up to: adults bc they’re usually taller than me 100: A store you love? barnes and noble 101: Favorite type of shoes: vans or converse 102: Where do you live? some cornfield in iowa 103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why? i don’t live in the correct family to be either of those, we eat hamburgers every friday and steak every sunday 104: What is your favorite mineral or gem? sapphire 105: Do you drink milk? yeah but i’m lactose intolerant  106: Do you like bugs? as long as they don’t attack me (except i always hate moths) 107: Do you like spiders? if they aren’t crawling on me 108: Something you get paranoid about? when i come home alone late at night and al the lights in my house are off 109: Can you draw: not well but yeahhh i’m a trashy artist 110: Nosiest question you have ever been asked? “is that a thong on your bathroom floor?” it wasn’t, it was a bikini top 111: A question you hate being asked? “when’s your sex reassignment surgery?” no joke a kid asks me this everyday 112: Ever been bitten by a spider? yep 113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach? heck yeah i do 114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days? sunny 115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now: i’d very much like to cuddle dan, his tummy chub is sososososo cute 116: Favorite cloud type: Stratus and Stratocumulus  117: What color do you wish the sky was? i like the current color 118: Do you have freckles? no but i wish i did  119: Favorite thing about a person: eyes or shoulders (idk why?? strong shoulders just wow) and dimples (if they have some) i love to poke peoples dimples sm 120: Fruits or vegetables? fruit 121: Something you want to do right now: go to the bathroom and eat cookies 122: Is the ocean or sky prettier? the night sky is gorgeous  123: Sweet or sour foods? both 124: Bright or dim lights? dim 125: Do you believe in a certain magical creature? tf no, no matter how much i love harry potter, magic doesn’t exist 126: Something you hate about Tumblr: how much people steal pictures 127: Something you love about Tumblr: a way to express myself since i can’t in my house 128: What do you think about the least? what people think of my sexuality 129: What would you want written on your tombstone? “ 130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now? this kid in my class who won’t stop calling me dyke 131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself? my hair 132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures? yeah (even though they’re ugly af) 133: Computer or TV? yes 134: Do you like roller coasters? hECK YES if i get taken to a theme park for a date i am marrying that person right away 135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness? nope 136: Are your ears lobed or attached? attached 137: Do you believe in karma? nope 138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? -10 139: What nicknames do you have/have had? jay, jj, dad, (and some stuff with my birthname) 140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? no 141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? yep 142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others? bad in some situations, good in others 143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help? i don’t know both ig 144: What makes you angry? school 145: How many languages do you speak fluently? one 146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries? yes 147: Are you androgynous? yeahhh 148: Favorite physical thing about yourself: nothing 149: Favorite thing about your personality: my humor 150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person: dan, phil, and amandaschronicles 151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose? ancient greece 152: Do you like BuzzFeed? i like the ladylike series 153: How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? [If you have one.] n/a 154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons? yes! 155: Do you like to play with others’ hair? no i like when they play with my hair 156: What embarrasses you? if you point me out in a crowd oh nelly 157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious: i have social anxiety so a lot of things 158: Biggest lie you have ever told: idk 159: How many people are you following? 37 160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)? idk a lot 161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)? 1 162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)? 92 (i just reblog everything i like) 163: Last time you cried and why: last night, my mom was trying to force me to take a 14 hour class that i didn’t want to do and i got so frustrated i cried 164: Do you have long or short hair? short 165: Longest your hair has ever been: to the bottom of my ribs when it was straight 166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon? dislike because i don’t believe jesus or god exist  167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created? yeah i’m a science nerd as i said 168: Do you like to wear makeup? god no 169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds? yeah 170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully? yes mom