#i only started liking shin when i played the game for a second time. like Oh……. you’re kind of sad and pathetic now that i have context………

[dailykeiji]

i think it’s really funny whenever i see people talk about playing yttd for the first time and absolutely Hating keiji. i never had this experience but i did hate shin

[millyh23]

Rivalry To Romance

Katie McCabe x Reader

Word count: 13.4k

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Katie McCabe had always prided herself on her loyalty to her team and her country. Playing for the Republic of Ireland wasn’t just a position—it was an identity. That’s why, when Arsenal announced their newest signing, Katie’s stomach churned with a mix of anger and disbelief.

Y/N Y/L/N from Northern Ireland. Her fiercest rival.

The rumors were true; Y/N had signed with Arsenal, her club, her territory. Katie couldn't shake the memory of their last match, where Y/N's last-minute tackle had nearly cost Ireland the game. She could still remember the cold glares they exchanged, the heated words they spat across the pitch, and the way Y/N stood unfazed by Katie’s ire.

“Hey, Katie, look who’s here!” Leah called, snapping Katie out of her thoughts as Y/N entered the locker room, glancing around the space as if she owned it.

Katie clenched her fists. Here they go.

“McCabe,” Y/N greeted, her voice cool as she acknowledged her.

“Y/L/N,” Katie replied, voice icy.

From that first meeting, it was like the air between them carried an electric charge. Training drills became intense battles; Katie would push Y/N off the ball, and Y/N would retaliate with a perfectly-timed tackle. The team was torn between amusement and exasperation, watching the two rivals go head-to-head every day.

Arsenal’s training grounds hummed with the usual energy, players jogging onto the pitch and taking their positions. The team was warming up, but Katie could feel the static tension creeping up her spine. It wasn’t just the usual excitement of a new training session. It was the unmistakable edge she felt every time Y/N was nearby.

Katie glanced to her right, where Y/N was adjusting her shin guards. She caught Y/N’s eye and rolled her shoulders back, flashing a smirk she knew would rile her up.

“Ready for a proper session, Y/L/N?” Katie said with a challenging grin. “Or are you only fierce when it’s Northern Ireland on your shirt?”

Y/N scoffed, crossing her arms. “Trust me, McCabe. I don’t need a green shirt to beat you.”

Their teammates watched as the two squared up, a mix of amusement and anticipation rippling through the group. This rivalry had become daily entertainment.

Coach Jonas clapped his hands. “Alright, let’s go—small-sided games. Five-a-side!” He started dividing players, and by some stroke of either luck or irony, Katie and Y/N ended up on opposing teams.

It was a fierce game from the start. Katie and Y/N seemed to gravitate toward each other, each of them upping the intensity with every pass, every tackle. Katie saw an opening, her teammate Leah ready to receive the ball, but the second she passed, Y/N was there, intercepting the play and charging up the field.

Katie chased her down, getting close enough to snap, “Keep dreaming if you think you’re gonna get past me.”

Y/N didn’t break stride. “Watch me.”

Katie lunged in, aiming to win back possession, but Y/N anticipated it and deftly sidestepped, sending Katie stumbling as Y/N dribbled past. Laughter broke out from the sidelines, and Katie’s face flushed as Y/N shot her a triumphant smirk.

Katie felt a flash of anger surge through her veins. She caught up to Y/N, deliberately closing in too fast, and clipped her ankle just as she went to take a shot. Y/N stumbled, barely staying on her feet, and whipped around to glare at Katie.

“Seriously?” Y/N snapped, her voice sharp. “What’s your problem, McCabe?”

Katie put her hands on her hips, unbothered by the accusation. “My problem? Maybe it’s that you can’t keep up, but you’re always running your mouth.”

Y/N stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. “Keep up? I’m leaving you in the dust every time, and you can’t handle it.”

Katie rolled her eyes, putting her face inches from Y/N’s. “Please, you only look good out there because I’m going easy on you.”

“Oh, that’s hilarious,” Y/N shot back, sarcasm dripping from every word. “Keep telling yourself that, Katie.”

The tension had hit a breaking point. They were nose-to-nose, both breathing heavily, eyes locked in a fierce standoff.

Before either could say anything more, Leah stepped between them, her tone somewhere between amused and exasperated. “Alright, alright, break it up, you two. You’re both as stubborn as bricks.” She looked between them, raising an eyebrow. “If you spent half this energy playing together instead of against each other, we’d be unstoppable.”

Katie huffed, but took a step back, her eyes never leaving Y/N’s.

Y/N finally let out a slow breath, her gaze just as intense. “Fine,” she muttered, brushing past Katie as she moved back into position. “Just try to keep up.”

But as they returned to the game, something had shifted. Every pass, every movement, had an extra layer of intensity, neither willing to back down. For better or worse, training with Y/N had become Katie’s new battle, and she was all in.

Training was in full swing under a blazing sun. The team had split into small groups for a scrimmage, and as usual, Katie and Y/N had found themselves on opposing sides. It was a familiar, tense setup, but today felt different. The energy between them was sharper, like a wire pulled taut, ready to snap.

The game had barely begun when Y/N received the ball in the midfield. She pivoted, sidestepping an opponent, her eyes scanning the field for an opening. Katie saw her chance and surged forward, narrowing in on Y/N like a missile.

Y/N barely had time to react before Katie came in, sliding in with a tackle that was nowhere near clean. Her cleats clipped Y/N’s knee, sending her sprawling to the ground. The sound of the impact echoed, and a few teammates gasped as Y/N hit the turf, hard.

Katie pushed herself to her feet, but before she could turn away, Y/N was already up, her face twisted in fury.

“Are you kidding me, McCabe?” Y/N barked, shoving her back.

Katie staggered a step but quickly steadied herself, her jaw clenched. “What? Can’t handle a little tackle?” she shot back, voice dripping with mock innocence. “Maybe you’re not cut out for the game.”

Y/N’s fists clenched at her sides. “A little tackle? You practically tried to break my leg!”

Katie stepped closer, her voice low and menacing. “Maybe if you were quicker, I wouldn’t have to.”

That was it. Y/N’s hand flew out, giving Katie another hard shove, this time with more force. Katie’s expression shifted, anger flashing in her eyes as she recovered and shoved her right back. It was harder, enough to make Y/N take a few steps back, but she recovered just as fast.

Without thinking, Y/N surged forward, and suddenly, they were chest-to-chest, faces inches apart, breathing heavily as anger radiated between them.

“Say that again,” Y/N hissed, her eyes blazing. “I dare you.”

Katie leaned in, her eyes flashing with a dangerous glint. “You heard me. Maybe it’s time someone knocked you down a peg, Y/L/N.”

Y/N let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “You’re so full of yourself, McCabe. Just because you’re Ireland’s pride doesn’t mean everyone else is beneath you.”

Katie’s jaw tightened, her expression turning icy. “And just because you wear a badge doesn’t mean you belong here. You’re not Arsenal material.”

That hit a nerve, and Y/N’s patience finally snapped. She grabbed the front of Katie’s training shirt, pulling her closer, but Katie was just as quick, gripping Y/N’s wrist and holding it in a tight lock. The tension between them was palpable, both locked in a furious standoff.

Their teammates were watching in shocked silence, unsure of whether to intervene or let them sort it out.

“Katie, Y/N, that’s enough!” Leah shouted, stepping forward, but neither moved.

Katie’s grip tightened on Y/N’s wrist, her voice barely above a whisper but laced with fury. “You think you can come in here, walk all over everyone, and just fit right in? I’ve been here for years. I’ve bled for this team. You haven’t earned it.”

Y/N yanked her hand free and shoved Katie again, harder this time, and Katie stumbled backward, but she quickly regained her footing, fists clenched. Before she could respond, Beth and Leah stepped in, each grabbing one of the girls to separate them.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Leah said, her voice firm. “You two are acting like children.”

Katie glared over Leah’s shoulder, still breathing heavily. “Tell that to her.”

“Oh, please, Katie!” Y/N spat back, struggling against Beth’s hold. “At least I don’t go around acting like I own the place.”

Beth rolled her eyes, trying to keep Y/N steady. “Look, if you two want to kill each other, do it off the pitch. Right now, we’re a team.”

Katie huffed, finally breaking her gaze from Y/N, though her face was still flushed with anger. “Fine,” she muttered, wrenching herself free from Leah’s grip. She stormed off a few paces, but couldn’t resist one last glare back in Y/N’s direction.

Y/N shook her head, shrugging off Beth’s hold. “Whatever. Just keep her out of my way,” she muttered before turning to walk back to her spot on the pitch.

As the two resumed their positions, their teammates exchanged uneasy glances, but one thing was clear: this wasn’t over. The fire between them had only been stoked, and it was only a matter of time before it flared up again.

Preseason camp had only just begun, and the Arsenal players were still settling into their assigned rooms. Spirits were high as teammates unpacked, talking excitedly about the upcoming season and all the memories they’d make on this trip.

But down the hall, the atmosphere was anything but cheerful.

Katie McCabe stood frozen outside her assigned room, staring at the name on the door next to hers in disbelief. She rubbed her eyes, double-checking. There was no mistaking it.

“Room 14A: Katie McCabe and Y/N Y/L/N”

A frustrated groan escaped her lips. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

At that very moment, Y/N rounded the corner, stopping in her tracks as soon as she saw Katie standing there. Her eyes fell on the door, and she blanched, reading her worst nightmare confirmed in bold letters.

“No way. This has to be a mistake,” Y/N muttered, her voice dripping with irritation.

“Believe me, I couldn’t agree more,” Katie snapped. “Who thought it was a good idea to put us in the same room?”

Y/N clenched her jaw. “Just great. The one person on this team I can’t stand, and I’m supposed to live with her for the next two weeks?”

Katie crossed her arms, shooting Y/N an icy glare. “Don’t worry; I won’t be throwing you any welcome parties either.”

The two stood in tense silence until Leah walked by, catching their expressions.

“What’s up with you two?” she asked, looking between them with an amused smile.

“What’s up? What’s up?” Katie fumed, hands gesturing wildly. “I’m roomed with her, that’s what’s up!”

Y/N threw her hands up in exasperation. “Oh, don’t act like this is a dream come true for me either, Katie.”

Leah stifled a laugh. “I don’t know; maybe you two will actually learn to get along if you’re forced to spend some time together.”

Katie scoffed, but Leah was already walking away, ignoring her protests.

“Learn to get along?” Katie muttered, turning to Y/N. “She’s delusional.”

Y/N didn’t waste a second to turn away, muttering as she marched toward her teammates who were gathered down the hall. As soon as she reached them, she put on her most pleading expression. “Please, someone switch with me,” she begged. “I’ll take anyone—even Beth, and she snores like a lawnmower.”

Beth raised her eyebrows in mock offense. “Hey, don’t drag me into this! Besides, I think it’s poetic justice.” She exchanged a glance with Leah, both grinning as they enjoyed the unfolding drama.

“You all think this is hilarious, don’t you?” Y/N groaned.

“Absolutely,” Leah replied, not even trying to hide her laughter.

Meanwhile, Katie was ranting to her own little group on the other end of the hall.

“It’s like the universe is punishing me. I finally make it through all the preseason drills, and now this?” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “All she does is talk back, glare, and then act like I’m the problem!”

Jen leaned against the wall, clearly amused. “You’re the one talking about her nonstop, Katie. Sounds like you’ve got it bad.”

Katie shot her a glare. “I do not ‘have it bad.’ I have it terribly.”

Down the hall, Y/N continued her complaints to Beth and Caitlin, who were listening with barely hidden amusement. “I’m telling you, I’ll be lucky if we don’t end up killing each other by the end of the week,” Y/N said, crossing her arms. “She’s got this whole ‘I’m too good for everyone’ thing going on, like she’s the queen of Arsenal.”

Beth shrugged, clearly unfazed by Y/N’s complaints. “She’s been here a long time. She probably thinks you’re here to take her spot.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “As if I care about taking her spot.”

“Maybe,” Caitlin interjected, smirking. “But she thinks you do.”

Just as Y/N was about to retort, Coach Jonas walked by and caught a few words of their conversation. He paused, taking in the glares Katie and Y/N were shooting each other across the hallway.

“Alright, alright,” Jonas said, clapping his hands. “If I’m hearing complaints from both sides, then maybe this arrangement is exactly what you two need. Who knows? You might actually learn something from each other.”

Katie opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off with a knowing look. “No room swaps. Consider it a preseason exercise in…team bonding.”

He walked away, leaving Katie and Y/N fuming in the middle of the hall.

Once he was out of sight, Katie threw her hands up, clearly frustrated. “Fine. But stay out of my way, Y/L/N. We’re on opposite schedules. I’ll shower at night; you take the morning.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Great. Fine by me. I’d rather not have to look at you first thing in the morning.”

Katie shot her one last glare before grabbing her bags and shoving her way into the room. Y/N followed suit, dragging her things in and slamming the door behind her.

And so, the rivals were roomed together, forced to share a space and to tolerate each other’s presence. But if one thing was clear, it was that neither would make this easy on the other.

Preseason training was already intense enough, but it quickly became clear that the real entertainment of the camp was Katie and Y/N’s constant bickering. It didn’t matter if they were running drills, passing the ball, or even just grabbing lunch—Katie and Y/N managed to turn every moment into an opportunity to one-up each other.

And their teammates were absolutely here for it.

The day started with a light warm-up, but the tension between Katie and Y/N was thick as ever. They were supposed to be practicing passing drills together, but within minutes, the shouting began.

“You call that a pass?” Katie sneered, catching the ball and immediately firing it back with unnecessary force. “I’ve seen toddlers with better control!”

Y/N scoffed as she trapped the ball. “If you’d stop kicking it like it’s a cannonball, maybe I wouldn’t have to adjust every time.”

Caitlin and Beth watched from the sidelines, exchanging amused glances.

“Oh, this is going to be good,” Caitlin whispered, nudging Beth. “Ten quid says Y/N snaps first.”

Beth grinned. “I don’t know. Katie’s got that fiery look in her eyes today. I’d bet on her.”

Meanwhile, across the field, the argument had only escalated. Y/N rolled her eyes at Katie. “Maybe try aiming, McCabe. I’m not out here trying to dodge bullets.”

Katie shrugged with a smirk. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have signed up to play with the big leagues, princess.”

That was all Y/N needed. She fired the ball back at Katie’s feet with a little too much force, and it nearly tripped Katie, who barely managed to regain her footing. A few of the other players tried (and failed) to stifle their laughter.

Alessia, standing nearby with her hands on her knees, was practically in tears. “How long do you think they’re going to keep this up?”

Leah, leaning against the goalpost, chuckled. “With those two? At least another hour. Maybe all season.”

By lunchtime, Katie and Y/N had managed to argue about nearly every topic imaginable. As they filed into the dining hall, Y/N immediately rolled her eyes when she saw Katie heading for the same table.

“Oh, fantastic,” Y/N muttered. “There are about ten other tables here, but sure, sit right here.”

Katie plopped down across from her, eyes glinting mischievously. “What’s wrong, Y/N? Can’t handle sharing a table either?”

Y/N shot her a glare, stabbing her salad with extra vigor. “It’s just bad for digestion, you know? All this hostility.”

Katie laughed. “Maybe that’s your excuse for that horrible passing earlier.”

Caitlin nudged Leah as they sat nearby, enjoying their front-row seat to the show. “I swear, they’re like an old married couple,” she whispered, trying not to laugh too loudly.

Leah smirked. “Right? Just imagine if they actually liked each other. They’d be unstoppable.”

Across the table, the two rivals continued their snarky back-and-forth.

“You’ve got dressing all over your face,” Katie said, smirking as she pointed to Y/N’s cheek. “Or is that just part of the look?”

Y/N wiped her cheek with a napkin, scowling. “At least I don’t inhale my food like a barbarian.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “Barbarian? Just because I don’t nibble on my food like a rabbit doesn’t mean I’m a barbarian.”

Beth let out a loud snort, drawing both Katie’s and Y/N’s glares.

“Sorry,” she said, holding up her hands in surrender. “It’s just…this is the best free entertainment I’ve had in ages.”

The others at the table nodded in agreement, smirking as Katie and Y/N exchanged another round of withering looks.

As they all finished lunch and moved on to free time, the team decided to cool off by the pool. But even there, Katie and Y/N couldn’t seem to stay out of each other’s way.

As Y/N was leaning down to grab her water bottle by the poolside, Katie “accidentally” bumped into her, causing Y/N to stumble forward, nearly losing her balance.

Y/N whipped around, eyes narrowed. “Oh, that was subtle. Are you five?”

Katie shrugged, feigning innocence. “Sorry, didn’t see you there. You’re just kind of…in the way.”

Leah, lounging on a sunbed nearby, turned to Alessia with a grin. “You think if we lock them in a room, they’ll either end up being best friends or kill each other?”

Alessia laughed. “I’d bet on the killing.”

That night, back in their shared room, Katie and Y/N’s bickering reached new heights.

“I can’t believe I have to share a bathroom with you,” Y/N complained, huffing as she watched Katie brush her teeth.

Katie raised an eyebrow, not bothering to pause her brushing. “Believe me, I’m not thrilled either. You leave your stuff everywhere!”

“Oh, please,” Y/N shot back. “The only thing I’ve left out is a toothbrush, while you’ve somehow managed to scatter your entire life all over the place.”

Katie spit into the sink, wiping her mouth with a towel. “You’re dramatic, Y/L/N. Maybe if you could manage a little…organization?”

“Oh, now you’re giving me life advice?” Y/N scoffed, rolling her eyes. “The last thing I need is tips from you.”

Beth, eavesdropping through the thin walls, laughed softly, turning to Leah in the room next door. “They’re still going at it.”

Leah shook her head, chuckling. “At this point, maybe we should let them keep fighting. I think it’s the most energy they’ve had all camp.”

Katie trudged back to her shared room with Y/N after an exhausting day of training. All she wanted was a hot shower and the blissful silence of some music in her headphones. But as she reached the door, Katie slowed down, hearing Y/N’s voice muffled through the wood.

It wasn’t unusual for Y/N to take phone calls; most of them seemed heated, muttered complaints or irritated sighs that Katie had learned to tune out. But this time, something was different. Y/N’s voice was low and…trembling?

Katie hesitated, hand on the doorknob. She could have walked away or given her roommate some space, but curiosity got the better of her.

“Look, I get it, okay?” Y/N’s voice cracked slightly, and Katie leaned closer, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. “You… you don’t have to make excuses. If you’re done, just say it.”

A thick silence hung in the air as Y/N listened to the voice on the other end, her breathing shaky.

“Right. Yeah, it’s probably for the best.” A forced laugh. “I mean, I’ll still see you around, yeah? At least we don’t have to make a scene about it.”

Katie felt a pang of guilt for listening in, but she couldn’t seem to tear herself away from the door. She heard the faint sound of a sigh, one that held both resignation and defeat.

“I just… I thought maybe this time it would work,” Y/N continued, her voice barely above a whisper. “But I guess I was wrong. Again.”

Another silence.

“No, don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” she said quickly, though her voice wavered. “It’s just… I mean, you could’ve told me sooner, you know? Instead of letting me hold on thinking…”

Katie’s brow furrowed, a strange ache forming in her chest as she listened to Y/N’s words. Y/N, the stubborn and fierce player she clashed with daily, sounded so small, so fragile.

“Right. Well… good luck with everything,” Y/N said, her tone hardening. “Goodbye, then.”

There was a soft click, and Katie heard Y/N let out a shaky breath, followed by the muffled sound of her trying to hold back tears. Katie swallowed, suddenly feeling like an intruder in her own room. But before she could figure out what to do, the door swung open, and there stood Y/N, her eyes red and rimmed with tears.

Katie froze, her usual witty remark caught in her throat as she registered the devastated look on Y/N’s face.

Y/N’s expression turned to one of horror and anger in equal measure. “Were you… listening?”

Katie opened her mouth to deny it, but no excuse came to mind. “I… I didn’t mean to, I just…” She stopped, realizing that anything she said would sound weak.

“Just what, Katie?” Y/N’s voice was tight with anger, but her red-rimmed eyes betrayed the vulnerability behind her words. “Eavesdropping for fun now?”

Katie’s defenses kicked in, feeling suddenly cornered by Y/N’s hurt. “Look, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, okay? I came back to the room and… I just heard you talking. I’m not some heartless creep.”

Y/N laughed bitterly, brushing past her and tossing her phone onto her bed. “Well, if you’re done with the free show, you can leave now.”

Katie hesitated, watching as Y/N crossed her arms and looked away, trying to hide the way her lip trembled.

“Y/N…” Katie said softly, but Y/N cut her off.

“Don’t,” Y/N snapped. “I don’t need your pity. I don’t need anything from you.”

Katie took a breath, swallowing the instinct to fight back. She remembered the conversation she’d overheard—the pain in Y/N’s voice, the vulnerable words that had cracked her usually unbreakable armor.

“Look,” Katie said, softening her tone. “I didn’t mean to intrude. And I’m… I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to have someone walk out on you.”

Y/N scoffed, clearly unimpressed, though the hurt was still evident on her face. “Oh, great, Katie McCabe is getting all sentimental now. Just what I needed.”

Katie clenched her jaw, resisting the urge to snap back. “You think I wanted to see this? That I wanted to hear it?”

Y/N glared, but her expression softened just a fraction, enough that Katie noticed. She took a hesitant step forward, her voice gentle.

“For what it’s worth, it sounds like you deserved a lot better than whoever that was,” Katie said.

Y/N’s shoulders dropped slightly, her eyes darting away. “It doesn’t matter now,” she murmured, her voice barely audible. “She… she didn’t want this.”

Katie studied her for a moment, feeling a strange pull to offer something—anything—to take away the hurt in Y/N’s eyes.

“You know…” Katie began, shoving her hands in her pockets, “you don’t have to pretend you’re fine. Not with me.”

Y/N let out a humorless laugh, blinking quickly. “Right. Because we’re best friends now, is that it?”

Katie shrugged, feeling a tinge of awkwardness but pushing past it. “Maybe not best friends. But we’re teammates. And even if we don’t always see eye to eye… I wouldn’t want you to go through this alone.”

Y/N didn’t respond immediately, just stared at her with an unreadable expression. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her voice softer than before.

“Well… thanks, I guess,” Y/N mumbled, still avoiding Katie’s gaze. “But I’m fine. Really.”

Katie bit back a sigh, nodding as she made her way to her side of the room. She didn’t say anything else, sensing that Y/N wasn’t ready for any more sympathy. But as she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, Katie couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d just seen a side of Y/N that no one else had.

And as much as she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling just a little bit protective.

It started with the water bottle.

Katie noticed it one morning at training. Y/N had been running late, clearly flustered and fumbling through her bag for her water bottle, only to come up empty-handed.

Katie had shrugged, grabbing her spare bottle and sliding it onto the bench beside Y/N’s stuff, just within reach. Y/N, too busy running drills, hadn’t even noticed when she came back for a quick drink, grabbing the bottle and taking a long gulp before heading back onto the field.

Katie rolled her eyes, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. Some gratitude.

But she couldn’t help herself. Over the next few days, Katie found herself picking up little habits to look out for Y/N, in ways so subtle even she didn’t notice at first.

It was as simple as setting a towel aside when Y/N forgot to bring one for cooldown. Or holding the door an extra second when she saw Y/N coming down the hall, still pulling her hair into a bun. Or making sure to hang back at dinner, subtly positioning herself between Y/N and some of the louder teammates whenever Y/N looked especially worn out.

The more Katie did it, the more she expected Y/N to notice. And each time Y/N passed her without so much as a glance, Katie felt a small sting of frustration.

One afternoon after practice, Y/N was struggling with the zipper on her duffel bag. It had been giving her trouble for days, and she kept muttering about needing to get it fixed.

Katie watched, casually leaning against the wall, as Y/N huffed and tried to yank the zipper free. It gave a metallic whine, refusing to budge.

Katie sighed, strolling over without a word. She knelt down and fiddled with the zipper for a moment, pressing her thumb just right to ease the snag. With a tug, it slid smoothly back into place.

“Oh,” Y/N said, glancing down at her now-functional zipper, then back up at Katie. “Thanks, I—” But she cut herself off, barely waiting for a nod from Katie before scooping up her bag and heading for the showers.

Katie watched her go, feeling a mix of annoyance and something strangely warmer, despite herself. Typical.

The next day, during scrimmage, Katie spotted Y/N wincing after a hard tackle. She wasn’t limping enough to stop, but Katie could tell her ankle was bothering her. Katie bit her lip, feeling her usual urge to call Y/N out on pushing through pain. Instead, she jogged over, staying close enough to offer support without being too obvious.

When they got a break, she made a detour to the medical kit, grabbing some extra ice packs and placing them discreetly on Y/N’s spot on the bench.

When Y/N finished her reps and slumped onto the bench, she picked up the ice packs and simply placed them over her ankle, not once questioning where they’d come from.

Katie shook her head with a chuckle. “Anytime,” she muttered to herself.

Later that week, during a team meeting, Katie noticed Y/N stifling a yawn and blinking rapidly, clearly struggling to keep her focus. She could tell Y/N had been staying up later than usual, maybe trying to brush off whatever was bothering her from the breakup.

The trainer’s voice droned on, and Katie waited until Y/N was busy with her notepad before she nudged her coffee closer to Y/N’s side of the table. Y/N glanced down, grabbed the mug absentmindedly, and took a long sip.

Katie waited for a glimmer of acknowledgment—a nod, maybe even a “thanks.” But Y/N just sipped the coffee and jotted down notes, her eyes still fixed on the front of the room.

Katie felt a small surge of irritation but forced herself to push it aside. Why am I even bothering?

Yet, despite her frustration, she found herself continuing with these tiny gestures. An extra granola bar left on Y/N’s seat before team meetings, an occasional shoulder check to steady her if she stumbled during drills, even switching spots with her in line to help her avoid the players she didn’t mesh well with.

Finally, after nearly two weeks of subtle attempts, Katie had reached her breaking point.

During one particularly long cooldown session, Katie found herself stretching next to Y/N. Y/N didn’t seem to notice her there, too focused on a knot in her calf muscle. Katie watched as she grimaced, clearly not getting anywhere with it.

Without thinking, Katie moved closer, reaching out to massage the muscle. “You know,” she said, her voice holding an edge of exasperation, “you could at least say ‘thank you’ once in a while.”

Y/N looked up, her brow furrowing. “What?”

Katie huffed. “You seriously haven’t noticed, have you?”

“Noticed what?” Y/N said, genuinely perplexed.

Katie shook her head, half-amused, half-irritated. “The water bottle? The extra ice packs? The coffee that you practically inhaled every team meeting?”

Y/N blinked, realization dawning slowly. Her mouth opened slightly, like she was about to say something, but then closed again. Her gaze dropped, and for the first time, she looked… apologetic.

“Oh,” she finally muttered, scratching the back of her head awkwardly. “I… didn’t know.”

Katie rolled her eyes, exasperated. “Of course you didn’t.”

Y/N laughed, a small, awkward sound. “Well… thanks. I mean, you didn’t have to do any of that.”

Katie shrugged, masking the warmth that flickered in her chest. “Yeah, well, someone’s gotta keep you in line.”

Y/N smirked, her usual attitude returning. “Oh, is that what you’re doing? Babysitting me?”

“Just think of it as… charity work,” Katie shot back with a grin.

They both laughed, the tension between them dissipating, at least for the moment. And though Katie tried to play it cool, she couldn’t help feeling that maybe—just maybe—Y/N was starting to see her in a new light.

Katie hadn’t planned to tell anyone. But that afternoon, as she sat in the lounge with Beth, she couldn’t keep it in any longer. The Arsenal squad was in rare form, laughter echoing around the room as they wound down after another tough practice, and Y/N, as always, had been at the center of Katie’s attention.

Beth nudged her, eyes gleaming mischievously. “You’ve been staring at her all week, Katie. What’s going on?”

Katie hesitated, glancing around the room. Most of the team was busy in their own conversations, so she leaned in closer to Beth, muttering, “Okay, fine. But you cannot tell anyone. I… might like her.”

Beth’s eyes widened, a huge grin spreading across her face. “Oh. My. God.”

Katie shushed her quickly, cheeks blazing. “Quiet! I mean it, Beth. I didn’t even want to tell you, but… it’s just been eating me up. She doesn’t even notice half the things I do for her, and I can’t figure out if she hates me or if she’s just clueless.”

Beth stifled a laugh, bouncing on her toes with excitement. “Katie, that’s huge! Why haven’t you told her?”

Katie sighed, shrugging. “I don’t even know if she likes me back. I mean, she barely notices anything I do—she probably thinks I’m just being a decent teammate.”

Beth shook her head. “Katie, you’re doing all these things for her! Trust me, she has to have noticed something by now.”

Katie smiled, shaking her head. “Yeah, well, don’t get your hopes up. This is between you and me, got it?”

Beth nodded, miming zipping her lips. “My lips are sealed.”

But Beth’s “sealed lips” didn’t last very long.

Only a few minutes later, Beth noticed Leah, Viv, and several other teammates standing around the table. The temptation was too much for her, and before she could stop herself, she burst out, “Katie just told me she likes Y/N!”

The room fell into a stunned silence.

Katie’s eyes went wide, her face flushing a bright red. “Beth! Are you serious?” she practically hissed, mortified.

But it was too late. Leah’s face lit up with a teasing grin, Viv stifled a laugh, and soon enough, the entire room erupted with whispers and giggles.

Katie felt her heart pounding. She couldn’t bear to stay there a second longer. Without a word, she stood up, gave Beth an incredulous glare, and marched out of the room, ignoring the amused looks from her teammates.

Katie headed outside, needing air. She leaned against the wall, letting the cool breeze calm her as she took deep breaths, trying to settle her nerves. How could Beth just blurt it out like that? she fumed internally, running a hand over her face.

She didn’t expect anyone to follow her, let alone Y/N.

“Katie?”

Katie froze, her heart skipping a beat as she turned to see Y/N standing a few steps away, her expression a mix of confusion and… something else Katie couldn’t quite read.

Y/N stepped closer, her voice soft. “Did… did Beth mean what she said in there?”

Katie took a breath, her heart racing as she nodded. “Yeah. She wasn’t supposed to say anything, though. I didn’t even know if you’d feel the same way, and now the entire team knows, so if this is weird for you—”

Y/N cut her off with a quiet laugh. “Katie, it’s not weird. Actually… I’ve been wanting to tell you something too.”

Katie’s eyes widened, her heart pounding as Y/N closed the gap between them.

“I didn’t realize it at first,” Y/N began, looking down, cheeks tinged with a soft blush. “But over these past few weeks… you’ve been doing all these little things. Looking out for me in ways no one else does, even when I’m too dense to see it. And I guess… I’ve kind of been waiting for you to say something.” She paused, biting her lip nervously. “I like you too, Katie.”

Katie blinked, almost unable to believe her ears. “You… you do?”

Y/N nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah, I do. Even though we were at each other’s throats when I first joined, I think I just tried to deny what I was feeling. But… the way you’ve looked out for me, Katie, it’s hard not to feel something.”

They stood there in silence for a moment, the weight of their confessions hanging in the air between them. Then, Katie finally let out a small, relieved laugh. “I was terrified you’d laugh in my face.”

Y/N grinned, taking a small step closer until they were just inches apart. “Oh, I’m laughing, just not in the way you thought.”

With that, Y/N reached for Katie’s hand, intertwining their fingers. Katie felt her heart leap, the warmth of Y/N’s hand grounding her, making all the embarrassment from earlier disappear.

Inside, the team was still chattering excitedly, clearly wondering what was going on. But as Katie looked into Y/N’s eyes, she found she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was right here in front of her.

Y/N squeezed her hand, giving her a playful smirk. “Now, what do you say we head back in there and let them have their fun?”

Katie laughed, shaking her head. “Fine, but if they start planning our wedding, I’m holding you accountable.”

Y/N grinned, tugging her hand gently as they turned to head back inside, this time together, ready to face the team—and whatever teasing awaited them—with their newfound feelings finally out in the open.

Katie and Y/N paused just outside the team lounge, exchanging sly looks. The buzz of conversation inside was unmistakable; their teammates were clearly still talking about Beth’s big reveal.

Katie raised an eyebrow. “So, what do you say we make them sweat a bit?”

Y/N smirked. “I’m in. Let’s give them a little show.”

With that, the two of them arranged their faces into tense expressions, putting on their best fake scowls before stepping back into the room.

As soon as they entered, the chatter quieted, and all eyes turned to them. Katie glanced at Y/N with an exaggerated look of disdain.

“You know what, Y/N? I don’t know why I even bothered!” Katie said loudly, throwing her hands up. “Trying to be nice, trying to get along… I’m done with it.”

Y/N crossed her arms, glaring right back. “Oh, you’re done? Trust me, Katie, I’m the one who’s done. You don’t make anything easy, do you?”

Their teammates exchanged wide-eyed looks, glancing at each other nervously. Leah, who had been watching with an expectant grin just moments before, now looked on in alarm.

“Uh… guys?” Beth said hesitantly, guilt creeping into her voice. “This wasn’t… I didn’t mean for you two to—”

Katie cut her off, waving a hand. “You know what, Beth? Maybe next time, don’t go blabbing about things that aren’t your business.”

Beth’s mouth dropped open, her face a mix of shock and regret. Leah stepped forward, trying to smooth things over. “Hey, maybe we can all just, uh, talk this out?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Katie and I don’t need to talk it out, Leah. Maybe everyone just needs to mind their own business.”

Viv and Alessia looked around nervously, while Beth buried her face in her hands, clearly mortified.

Katie shot Y/N a quick, barely perceptible wink. “You know what, Y/N? I’d say you’re insufferable, but I think that’s what I’m starting to—”

“Love about you,” Y/N finished, barely able to keep a straight face as she leaned toward Katie with a smirk.

The whole team froze, blinking in confusion as they processed what they’d just heard. It took only a beat before Y/N and Katie broke into laughter, dropping their ‘argument’ and looking around at their stunned teammates.

Katie grinned, finally breaking character. “Honestly, the lot of you are terrible at keeping secrets. Who does Beth blurt my business to the second she hears it?”

Beth’s face went from horror to relief as she realized they’d been messing with her. “Oh, come on! I just—well, it’s your fault, Katie! You’re the one who’s been acting all lovesick and obvious.”

Leah crossed her arms, trying to look stern but failing to hide her grin. “So, all this fighting was just to get back at us for meddling?”

Y/N shrugged, trying to keep a straight face as she raised an eyebrow. “What can we say? This is what happens when people get nosy.”

Alessia let out a dramatic sigh of relief, clutching her chest. “Honestly, I thought you were about to rip each other’s heads off. That was terrifying!”

Viv laughed, shaking her head. “Katie, you and Y/N put on quite the performance.”

Katie chuckled, leaning back against the wall. “Glad you all enjoyed the show. But seriously, maybe next time let me handle my own feelings, yeah?”

Y/N joined her, their hands brushing together subtly as she added, “Yeah. We don’t need the whole squad poking around in our business.”

Beth raised her hands in surrender, laughing. “Alright, fine, we’ll leave you two alone… for now. But I make no promises if you keep acting so obvious!”

Katie smirked, glancing sideways at Y/N. “Well, then, it looks like we’ll have to give you even more to talk about, won’t we?”

The team groaned, but the laughter filled the room once more, and Katie and Y/N couldn’t help but share a quiet smile. Their secret was out, but they couldn’t have cared less. They had each other’s backs—and they’d gotten a good laugh at everyone’s expense in the process.

It had only been a few months since Katie and Y/N had made things official, but to the rest of the Arsenal squad, it felt like they'd been together forever. The two of them were always bickering over the most trivial things, and yet, anyone could see they were absolutely smitten.

This morning, their “married couple” energy was on full display.

As the team gathered for breakfast at the training camp, Katie spotted Y/N piling her plate with pancakes and shook her head in disbelief.

“Seriously, Y/N?” Katie huffed, grabbing the last banana from the fruit bowl. “Do you ever think of eating something healthy?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, sprinkling powdered sugar on her stack with a flourish. “Relax, Katie, it’s not like I’m eating this every day.” She took a big bite and chewed dramatically, as if daring Katie to say something else.

Katie squinted at her. “You say that, but I’ve seen you at every team breakfast loading up on pancakes like they’re going out of style.”

Y/N shrugged, unbothered. “I need my fuel to keep up with you, don’t I?”

Beth, sitting across from them, tried to hide a laugh behind her coffee cup. Leah, on her right, leaned over, whispering loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Are we sure they’re not already married?”

Katie shot Leah a mock glare. “Oh, don’t start, Williamson. You should be grateful I’m trying to keep her in check!”

Y/N scoffed, reaching over to grab a bit of fruit from Katie’s plate. “I think we both know you’re more high-maintenance than me, Katie.”

Katie smacked her hand away, giving her a playful glare. “Get your own fruit!”

Viv, sipping her tea nearby, raised an eyebrow. “This is seriously like watching my parents fight,” she said, shaking her head with an amused smile.

Katie and Y/N both shot her glares, in perfect sync. “Excuse me?” they said in unison, which only made the team laugh even harder.

Rolling her eyes, Katie sighed dramatically. “Alright, fine. Go ahead, eat all the pancakes. But don’t come crying to me when you’re too sluggish to keep up in training.”

Y/N put her hand over her heart, feigning offense. “I would never blame you for my poor training performance, darling.” She winked, causing Katie to flush just a little as the team watched with knowing grins.

Beth nudged Leah, barely able to contain her laughter. “This is top-tier entertainment.”

After breakfast, the team gathered for a light warm-up, and Y/N, still high on carbs and a little bit of mischief, kept tripping Katie up by tapping her ankles or nudging her playfully whenever Katie wasn’t looking.

“Will you stop it?” Katie snapped, swatting Y/N’s hand away for the third time. “You’re like a child.”

“Oh, come on, you love it.” Y/N smirked, running ahead to avoid Katie’s inevitable comeback. Katie shook her head, unable to hide the smile tugging at her lips.

Later, during a water break, Y/N handed Katie her water bottle, and Katie took it, squinting at her suspiciously. “Why are you being nice all of a sudden?”

Y/N shrugged innocently. “Can’t a girl do something nice for her girlfriend without being accused of having ulterior motives?”

Katie narrowed her eyes, then reluctantly took a sip. “Fine. Thanks, I guess.”

Just as she was about to take another drink, Y/N added, “By the way, I might have accidentally taken a sip out of that earlier.”

Katie’s eyes widened, looking at the bottle with mock horror. “Oh, you’re disgusting.”

Y/N gave her a cheeky grin. “You’re just figuring this out now?”

They continued their playful back-and-forth as the training session wound down, and their teammates could only shake their heads, thoroughly entertained. By now, it was a given: if Y/N and Katie were in the room, a bit of banter was sure to follow.

As they walked back to the locker room, Katie nudged Y/N, speaking just loud enough for only her to hear. “You’re lucky I love you, you know that?”

Y/N grinned, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, trust me, I know. And I love you too, even when you steal all the bananas.”

Katie scoffed but leaned into her, their usual bickering temporarily replaced by a comfortable silence.

From behind them, Leah whispered to Viv, “I swear, they’re like an old married couple.”

And for once, neither Y/N nor Katie could argue with that.

The Arsenal squad had been dropping hints all week, not-so-subtly trying to convince either Katie or Y/N to take their relationship to the next level. With every passing day, the nudges and winks became more obvious.

During a team meeting, Leah leaned over to Y/N and whispered, “So, when are you finally going to propose? Don’t you think it’s about time?”

Beth joined in, nudging Katie. “You’re both head over heels. One of you has to pop the question sometime.”

Katie and Y/N exchanged a quick look, and that was all it took for them to come up with the perfect plan. If their teammates wanted drama, well, they’d get some—but not in the way they expected.

That Friday, right after training, the team was lounging in the common room, chatting away. Katie and Y/N entered the room together, but the air between them felt… tense. They both wore exaggerated frowns, and the whole squad quickly sensed that something was off.

Katie sighed loudly, folding her arms as she glanced around the room. “You know what, Y/N? I think we need to talk.”

Y/N crossed her arms as well, turning to face Katie with an indignant glare. “Oh, I’m the one who’s difficult? Right, because it’s never you, Katie.”

Their teammates immediately exchanged panicked glances, sensing trouble. Viv’s mouth dropped open slightly, and Leah subtly motioned for everyone to keep quiet.

Katie sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, I don’t think I can deal with this anymore.”

“Oh, I don’t think I can deal with you anymore!” Y/N shot back, her voice getting louder. She placed her hands on her hips and turned to the team. “Can you all believe this? She thinks she can just tell me what to do like I’m some rookie!”

Beth’s eyes widened in horror as she looked at the others, mouthing, “What did we do?”

Leah, clearly caught between intervening and staying out of it, held up her hands. “Hey, guys… maybe we can talk this out? I mean, no need to… break up or anything.”

Katie scoffed. “Why not, Leah? Maybe it’s exactly what we need. It’s not like she listens to me anyway!”

Y/N threw her hands in the air, her voice tinged with mock hurt. “Fine, Katie! If that’s how you feel, maybe we’re just better off apart!”

The whole room fell into a stunned silence. Alessia looked horrified, Beth looked guilty, and Viv was on the verge of intervening. Just as they were about to step in, Y/N turned her back to Katie, but not before giving her a tiny, knowing smirk.

Katie matched her smirk and kept her voice stern. “Fine. Then let’s be done with it.”

At that, the team could no longer hold back.

Beth jumped up, wide-eyed. “No, no, no, don’t do this! This is all our fault. We pushed you two too hard!”

Leah held her hands out pleadingly. “We’re sorry! You two are great together. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Katie and Y/N shared a quick glance, barely containing their laughter. But they kept up the act a little longer.

Y/N shook her head, turning toward the door. “Maybe if everyone minded their own business, we wouldn’t be here.”

Alessia let out a desperate sigh, looking at them with puppy-dog eyes. “Please, just… don’t break up because of us. You two are like… Arsenal’s power couple!”

Finally, Katie and Y/N couldn’t hold it in anymore. They both burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs as they doubled over. The rest of the team looked on, baffled.

Y/N, still giggling, looked up at them and said, “Relax, we’re not actually breaking up.”

Katie wiped a fake tear from her eye. “But maybe you all should consider giving us some space before you end up with real relationship drama!”

The realization dawned on them, and the team’s horrified expressions turned to annoyed glares.

Beth threw a pillow at them. “You two are the worst! Do you know how much we panicked?”

Leah shook her head, laughing despite herself. “Honestly, I’ve never been so terrified. Thought you two were about to kill each other!”

Y/N grinned, wrapping an arm around Katie. “See, maybe this is a lesson. Next time, stay out of our business, alright?”

Katie gave Y/N a wink. “Or we might have to pull something even bigger on you lot.”

Viv crossed her arms, her lips quirked in amusement. “Duly noted. Maybe we’ll just let you propose when you’re ready.”

Katie and Y/N exchanged a secret smile, knowing that their real proposal would happen when they were ready—not a moment before. And for now, they were more than happy to keep their teammates on their toes.

It was a crisp autumn day at Arsenal's training ground, the air buzzing with anticipation. It had been exactly a year since Katie and Y/N’s infamous “breakup” prank, and Katie had been quietly planning a real surprise that would catch everyone off guard: a proposal. But, naturally, she couldn’t do it without one last prank.

The plan was simple: after a light morning training, Katie would gather everyone, fake a “heated argument” with Y/N, and then propose right when things seemed tense enough. With the ring already secured, she felt confident it would be a day no one would forget.

Training went smoothly until Katie called everyone over during the warm-down. Y/N, feigning confusion, trailed behind the team, giving Katie a questioning look as she shot her a conspiratorial wink.

“All of you, come here!” Katie called, looking as serious as possible, her tone carrying an edge that made everyone straighten up.

The team gathered around, exchanging wary glances. Leah raised an eyebrow, sensing something was off. “Katie, what’s going on?”

Katie crossed her arms, putting on her best frown. “I’ve had enough,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Y/N widened her eyes in mock alarm, playing her role perfectly. “Excuse me? You’ve had enough?”

Katie jabbed a finger in Y/N’s direction. “You never listen, Y/N! I can’t deal with this anymore.”

Beth’s eyes went wide as she exchanged a look with Viv, who mouthed, “Not again…”

Y/N crossed her arms and threw her head back. “You’re really doing this now, Katie? Here, in front of everyone?”

Katie clenched her fists, doing her best to look frustrated. “Yes, right now. Because apparently, nothing gets through to you otherwise!”

Leah stepped forward, looking horrified. “Guys… please, don’t do this again.”

Katie glared at Leah, not breaking character. “Stay out of this, Leah. This is between me and Y/N.”

Y/N scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Fine, then. Say what you have to say.”

The tension was thick, and the entire squad looked on, barely breathing. Alessia clutched Beth’s arm, her voice barely a whisper. “Are they seriously breaking up again?”

Just as the tension seemed unbearable, Katie sighed deeply and reached into her pocket. “You know what, Y/N? There’s only one thing I have left to say to you.”

Katie took a deep breath, pulled out the small black box, and dropped to one knee. The entire team gasped, jaws dropping in unison as realization hit them.

Katie looked up at Y/N, her eyes softening. “Y/N, you’re my everything. I love you more than I can even say. I’m done pretending, done pranking—well, after this one, anyway.” She chuckled softly. “Will you marry me?”

Y/N’s jaw dropped, her eyes wide as she took in the ring in Katie’s hands. Then, after a beat, she broke into a wide grin and nodded, letting a few tears fall. “Yes, Katie, of course!”

The team erupted in cheers, jumping and hugging each other in excitement and relief. Beth clapped her hands together, looking overjoyed. “Oh my god, this is amazing! Finally!”

Leah had tears in her eyes. “Katie McCabe, you scared us half to death again. But this time… I guess we can forgive you.”

Katie, still on her knee, shot them a mischievous grin as she slid the ring onto Y/N’s finger. “Didn’t think I’d let this go down without a bit of drama, did you?”

Y/N laughed, pulling her fiancée up into a tight hug. “You’re an absolute menace, you know that?”

Katie smirked, pressing a quick kiss to Y/N’s lips. “You love it.”

The team huddled around, bombarding them with hugs, questions, and a few well-deserved playful shoves. Viv crossed her arms, feigning annoyance but with a huge grin on her face. “You two need to stop toying with us!”

Beth wiped a tear away, grinning. “You’re officially banned from pranks after this. Next time, just get married in private and save us the heart attacks!”

Katie laughed, holding Y/N’s hand and looking around at her teammates—her family. “Alright, alright, no more pranks. But now you all owe us a huge celebration.”

And as the room filled with laughter, cheers, and a few well-placed jokes about “prank-ception,” Katie and Y/N shared a look, feeling incredibly lucky to be surrounded by the people who loved them, ready for this next chapter together.

It had been a few weeks since Katie’s dramatic proposal, and things had finally settled down. Y/N wore her engagement ring with pride, and Katie seemed to love showing off her fiancée at every opportunity. But Y/N couldn’t help but think that maybe Katie deserved a little payback for all the times she’d pulled off elaborate pranks over the last year. So, Y/N hatched a plan of her own.

On a sunny Thursday morning, Y/N decided to start her prank. She went about her morning as usual, chatting with Katie and joking around as they got ready for training—but she purposely left her engagement ring on the dresser. Katie didn’t seem to notice at first, so Y/N held back a smirk as she joined her fiancée in the kitchen for breakfast, acting like nothing was amiss.

Katie, completely oblivious, handed Y/N her coffee and started talking about the team’s drills for the day. Y/N kept the conversation going, waiting for Katie to catch on, but Katie remained oblivious until they arrived at training.

In the locker room, Y/N made sure to keep her hands visible as she changed, hoping one of the girls would notice first. She could see Katie a few lockers over, chatting with Beth and Leah, so she subtly flashed her left hand to Viv, who immediately noticed.

“Y/N… where’s your ring?” Viv asked with a surprised look.

Katie’s head whipped around so fast it could have caused whiplash. She immediately zeroed in on Y/N’s bare finger, her eyes narrowing.

Y/N feigned a casual shrug. “Oh, must’ve forgotten it this morning.”

Katie’s face fell, clearly caught off guard. “Forgotten it? How do you… forget it?”

Y/N kept a straight face, casually slipping her socks on. “I don’t know, Katie. Just did.”

Katie stared at her, brow furrowing, clearly perturbed. “Didn’t think it was something you’d forget,” she muttered, crossing her arms.

Beth and Leah exchanged amused looks, sensing the tension. Leah, never one to resist poking the bear, gave Y/N an exaggerated gasp. “Y/N, isn’t that ring, like, supposed to be your most prized possession?”

Y/N bit back a grin, shrugging as nonchalantly as possible. “I mean, it’s important, sure, but people forget things, right? Just a ring.”

Katie’s mouth dropped open. “Just a ring?!” she repeated, louder than she meant to. “You do know I picked it out especially for you, right?”

Y/N gave her an innocent look. “Of course I know, babe,” she said sweetly. “I’ll just… wear it tomorrow, okay?”

Katie’s face went through a rapid cycle of emotions—disbelief, annoyance, and, finally, resignation as she turned to Beth. “Can you believe this? I spent weeks picking that ring out, and she just forgets it.”

Beth, barely able to keep from laughing, put a sympathetic hand on Katie’s shoulder. “Hey, maybe she just needs some time to get used to it.”

Katie looked back at Y/N, an incredulous expression on her face. “Are you serious, Y/N?”

Y/N stifled her laughter, holding Katie’s gaze. “What? I’m dead serious. It’s not a big deal. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

Katie huffed, mumbling under her breath, “If I’d known you’d be this casual about it…”

The rest of training was filled with Katie throwing occasional glances Y/N’s way, muttering to herself whenever she saw that bare finger. The team, now fully aware of what was going on, watched with barely concealed amusement. Katie was wound up, and Y/N could tell she was doing everything she could not to bring it up again in front of the team.

After training, as they headed back to the locker room, Katie finally pulled Y/N aside, her voice low and urgent.

“Alright, what’s going on, Y/N? Are you… are you having second thoughts?”

Y/N’s eyes widened, and she could see genuine worry in Katie’s gaze. Immediately, she softened, realizing she might have taken the prank a little too far. But the teasing part of her couldn’t resist one last push.

“Second thoughts?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Maybe about who’s better at pranks…”

Katie blinked, processing what Y/N had just said, then narrowed her eyes, realization dawning. “You… you’re pranking me?!”

Y/N laughed, reaching out to take Katie’s hand. “Guilty. Thought you could use a taste of your own medicine. Didn’t like thinking I’d forgotten the ring, did you?”

Katie’s face turned from annoyance to a playful smirk. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”

Y/N grinned, pulling her fiancée close. “That’s why you love me.”

Katie sighed, rolling her eyes with a reluctant smile. “Fine, fine. But don’t ever forget that ring again—or I’ll find a way to make you pay for it.”

Y/N laughed, bringing her hand up to show the ring she’d stashed in her pocket the whole time. “I could never actually forget it. Just needed to remind you that I can keep up with your pranks any day.”

Katie leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “Noted. But next time, just wear the ring. I like showing off my fiancée.”

As they headed back to the team, hand in hand, they could hear the cheers and applause of their meddlesome teammates, who’d been watching the entire exchange. Katie just rolled her eyes, but Y/N squeezed her hand, grateful for every second of their ridiculous love.

A quiet evening had settled over London, and for the first time in what felt like ages, Katie and Y/N had the night all to themselves. No pranks, no training early in the morning—just the two of them, sprawled out on the couch, a bottle of wine between them, with an old movie neither of them was paying much attention to playing softly in the background.

Y/N swirled her wine glass and leaned back, a lazy smile on her face. "Remember when you hated me? How I 'ruined' every Arsenal training session?"

Katie snorted, nearly spilling her wine as she nudged Y/N with her shoulder. "Correction: you ruined my training sessions. And yes, I remember. Loud and clear."

Y/N rolled her eyes, chuckling. "The first time we trained together, you went for my ankles like I’d stolen your dog."

Katie threw her head back laughing. “You’re not far off. In my defense, you were showing off a Northern Ireland crest tattoo , and I was not ready to see that at my club.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow. “And that justified tripping me every five minutes?”

Katie smirked, leaning a little closer. “You kept saying you’d 'walk right back to Ireland' if I tripped you one more time. I was just… testing your resolve.”

Y/N let out a fake gasp, pressing a hand to her chest. "Oh, so you were helping me develop mental toughness?”

Katie grinned. "Exactly. You should be thanking me."

Y/N laughed, shaking her head. “You were ruthless, McCabe. Always muttering something under your breath. I thought you’d genuinely curse me every time I touched the ball.”

Katie shot her a playful glare. “Oh, believe me, I was close. I couldn’t stand seeing you on the pitch. And you didn’t make it easy with your cheeky little comments about the ‘inferior side’ either.”

Y/N snickered, taking a sip of her wine. “I don’t know why I did that, honestly. Probably because of the look on your face every time. It was priceless.”

Katie rolled her eyes, but her expression softened as she looked over at Y/N. “The thing is… somewhere along the way, I kinda started to look forward to those arguments. It was the highlight of my day. Even if it drove me mad.”

Y/N smiled, her eyes warm as she studied Katie’s face. “Me too. I never thought I’d actually like you, let alone… you know, love you.”

Katie softened, a little smile tugging at her lips. “You’re pretty impossible not to love.”

Y/N’s smile grew wider, and she nudged Katie’s leg with her foot. “Careful, you’re getting sentimental on me.”

Katie laughed, leaning into her fiancée’s shoulder. “Fine, no more mushy talk. But I’m glad we got past all that rivalry stuff. I couldn’t imagine my life without you now.”

They both fell silent, their gazes drifting to the city lights through the window. After a moment, Katie broke the quiet.

“Do you think we’d still hate each other if we played on different teams?”

Y/N pondered it, tapping her fingers on her glass thoughtfully. “Probably. But I’d also be wondering what you were up to, wondering if you’d still get all mad whenever I got near the goal.”

Katie chuckled, shaking her head. “Knowing us, we’d probably be rivals forever, but the kind that secretly roots for each other.”

They both smiled at the thought, and Katie leaned closer, resting her head against Y/N’s shoulder, intertwining their fingers. The silence between them wasn’t awkward; it was comfortable, the kind of peace that comes when you’ve been through enough ups and downs together to appreciate the simple moments.

Katie eventually broke the silence again, her voice a soft murmur. “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”

Y/N gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “We really have.”

For a while, they just sat there, sharing the quiet, letting the past fade as they enjoyed the present, right where they were supposed to be—together.

The stadium was buzzing as the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland lined up across from each other. The energy was electric, and the fans were on their feet, ready for an intense ninety minutes of international rivalry. But neither team was as fired up as Katie and Y/N.

Katie met Y/N’s gaze from across the pitch, her eyes narrowed with a fierce, competitive glint. Y/N shot her a smirk, giving a small, taunting wave. Katie rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the tiny smile tugging at her lips.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Katie muttered as she jogged past Y/N in warm-ups, a hint of playfulness in her voice. “We’re taking you down today.”

Y/N snorted, tilting her head. “Good luck with that, McCabe. Northern Ireland’s ready for anything you throw at us.”

The game kicked off with both teams giving their all, and Katie and Y/N held nothing back. The crowd watched in awe as Katie, with her usual intensity, threw herself into tackles and pushed her team forward at every opportunity. Y/N matched her, intercepting passes, making blocks, and turning every corner into a chance to push Northern Ireland on the offensive.

There was a moment in the first half when they clashed, literally. Katie went for a sliding tackle, and Y/N dodged it just in time, but the two ended up shoulder to shoulder, glaring at each other with intense, unwavering stares.

Katie huffed out a laugh, her voice just low enough for Y/N to hear, “You’re not getting past me, Y/N.”

Y/N smirked, leaning in just a bit. “We’ll see, Katie. You’re not as tough as you think.”

Katie’s eyes narrowed, and for the briefest moment, Y/N thought she saw a twinkle of amusement there. “Keep dreaming, Y/L/N,” Katie shot back before sprinting after the ball.

As the game wore on, Northern Ireland managed to secure a goal, and the crowd went wild. Y/N, barely containing her excitement, ran back down the pitch, purposefully catching Katie’s eye with a smirk. Katie clenched her fists, determination blazing, and pushed her team even harder.

In the final minutes, with both sides exhausted, Katie got the ball in midfield and went on a run, weaving past Y/N and narrowly missing a goal with a powerful shot that hit the crossbar. Y/N bit back a sigh of relief as the whistle finally blew, signaling the end of the match.

Northern Ireland had won.

Katie, catching her breath, stayed on her side of the pitch, hands on her hips, looking frustrated but undeniably proud. Y/N jogged over to her, eyes gleaming as she slowed down right in front of Katie.

“Guess the best team won, huh?” Y/N teased, her smile mischievous.

Katie rolled her eyes, trying to hold back a grin. “Don’t start, Y/N. We’ll get you next time.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow, leaning in closer. “You sure about that? Looked like your team was working pretty hard to keep up.”

Katie huffed, crossing her arms in mock annoyance. “You’re lucky we’re off the pitch right now, or I’d wipe that smirk off your face.”

Y/N chuckled, stepping even closer until there was barely any space between them. “Oh, would you now? Guess we’ll never know.” Her voice softened as she nudged Katie’s shoulder, eyes softening as she spoke. “You played amazing, Katie. I mean it.”

Katie’s faux-scowl melted as she looked back at Y/N, a smile breaking through. “You too, babe. Guess we really do bring out the best in each other, huh?”

Y/N nodded, her heart swelling. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching and then quickly pulled Katie into a hug, burying her face in Katie’s shoulder for a brief moment. Katie hugged her back just as tightly, whispering, “I love you, but I’m still mad you won.”

Y/N laughed, pulling back with a grin. “You’ll survive. And besides, this just means I get bragging rights all month.”

Katie groaned, rolling her eyes but unable to hide her smile. “Fine, fine. But don’t get too used to it.”

They exchanged one last look before heading back to their respective teams, but both knew they’d be right back in each other’s arms as soon as they could slip away.

Back at the hotel that night, after a post-match dinner and some inevitable teasing from teammates, Y/N finally managed to catch Katie alone in the hallway. Katie smirked as soon as she saw her, folding her arms.

“Don’t think this means I’m letting you off easy. You might’ve won today, but I’ll be back,” Katie said, trying to keep her tone serious but failing to hide the sparkle in her eyes.

Y/N grinned, stepping close and resting her hand on Katie’s arm. “I’m looking forward to it, McCabe. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Katie gave her a teasing glare. “Just you wait, Y/L/N. Next time, it’ll be me teasing you.”

Y/N laughed, pressing a quick kiss to Katie’s cheek before pulling her into a hug. “Bring it on. But until then, you’ll just have to deal with the fact that I’m the winner.”

Katie groaned but hugged her tighter. “Yeah, yeah. Enjoy it while it lasts, Y/N. I’m coming for that win next time.”

They held each other close, the rivalry left on the field as they enjoyed the comfort of each other’s arms. All the banter, all the competition—it only made this moment feel even sweeter.

Three years had flown by, and Y/N and Katie’s lives had changed in ways they’d once only imagined. Now, not only were they partners in life and still teammates on Arsenal’s pitch, but they had a little girl, Ava, who had quickly become the light of their lives. With Katie’s fiery attitude and Y/N’s quiet determination, Ava had inherited quite the personality—and a strong set of lungs to match.

The whole team had gathered at the park for an impromptu picnic. As Ava toddled around, squealing in delight as she chased the team’s soccer balls, Katie and Y/N watched on with quiet smiles, occasionally casting each other amused glances.

Leah, watching Ava attempt to kick a ball with all her might (and only managing to send it rolling gently forward), chuckled and leaned over to Katie with a smirk. “So…have you two decided yet?” she asked mischievously.

Katie squinted at her, confused. “Decided what?”

Leah tilted her head toward Ava, grinning. “Which team Ava’s going to support, Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland?”

Y/N laughed, rolling her eyes. “Oh, don’t get her started, Leah. She’s already making plans.”

Katie nudged Y/N, giving her a mock glare. “Oi, plans? She’s obviously going to support Ireland—my Ireland.”

“Oh really?” Y/N shot back, folding her arms, a playful challenge in her eyes. “She’s as much my daughter as yours, Katie. Northern Ireland’s got plenty to offer.”

Katie scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. “Name one thing Northern Ireland’s got that beats a Republic of Ireland jersey with ‘McCabe’ on the back.”

Y/N grinned. “How about an NI jersey with Y/L/N on it?” She glanced over to see Ava waving the soccer ball at Leah, who was playing along by dramatically pretending she couldn’t catch it. “See? She’s already got Leah wrapped around her finger. An arsenal fan, through and through at least.”

Katie gasped in mock offense, clutching her chest. “Leah, you traitor!”

Leah shrugged, holding back laughter. “Hey, don’t drag me into this! Besides,” she teased, winking at Katie, “everyone knows I’m Ava’s favorite. So, maybe she’ll grow up as a Lioness.”

Katie rolled her eyes. “Lioness? Not a chance. You’ll see—first time she sees her mama in green, she’ll be cheering with pride.” She reached over and scooped Ava up, spinning her around, and Ava squealed with delight. “Right, Ava? You’ll wear green like your mama, won’t you?”

Ava’s tiny fists pumped into the air as she babbled excitedly, though neither Katie nor Y/N could make out a single word. But Ava’s enthusiasm was enough to make Katie beam, certain she’d just gotten the confirmation she wanted.

Y/N laughed, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “We’ll see about that, Katie. I’ve got time to win her over.”

Katie turned back, smirking. “Oh, it’s on, Y/L/N. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you’re dealing with a McCabe superfan in a few years.”

The two shared a laugh, but as Katie pulled Y/N in close, their teasing faded into warm smiles. Ava squirmed between them, clearly ready to return to her soccer ball, and Katie set her down with a grin. They watched Ava charge toward Leah, babbling in her own language as she went, and Katie squeezed Y/N’s hand.

“Guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Katie murmured, her voice soft and full of affection.

Y/N leaned her head against Katie’s shoulder, eyes on their little girl. “Yeah, but whatever team she ends up cheering for, she’ll always be our little star.”

Katie nodded, resting her head against Y/N’s. “Our little Ava—future football legend, no matter the color.”

As Ava squealed with joy, Leah joined the couple, shaking her head in amusement. “I’ll say this, though—Ava’s got the luckiest parents in the world. And if we’re being honest,” she added with a grin, “she’s going to be one heck of a player no matter which team she roots for.”

Katie and Y/N exchanged a proud smile, both knowing that Leah was absolutely right. Their daughter was already shaping up to be just as fierce and full of heart as her mothers.

Seventeen years had passed, and the day Y/N and Katie had always joked about—but secretly dreaded—had finally arrived. Their daughter, Ava, now a young football sensation in her own right, was making her England debut. England. Of all teams. She was a Lioness.

As the stadium buzzed with excitement, Katie sat grumbling in the stands, arms folded across her chest. Y/N was next to her, frowning at the England flag waving on the big screen as it showcased Ava’s name. Meanwhile, Leah, sitting on the other side of Y/N, was practically bouncing with pride, her England scarf wrapped around her shoulders.

Katie leaned toward Y/N, muttering in a voice loud enough for Leah to hear, “Unbelievable. How did we let this happen?”

Y/N sighed, shaking her head. “Years of her godmother whispering in her ear, that’s how.”

Leah laughed, unfazed by their grumbling. “Oh, come on, you two! You can’t deny she’s right where she belongs.”

Katie scoffed, her arms still crossed tightly. “I can’t believe I’m about to cheer for England. My own daughter… in a white jersey!”

Leah rolled her eyes, turning to Y/N. “Come on, back me up here, Y/N. You’ve been through her endless debating, the sleepless nights before choosing. You know she loves this team.”

Y/N groaned, torn between her pride for Ava and her allegiance to her own roots. “I know, I know. But it’s still surreal, Leah. Our little Ava could’ve chosen any team.”

Katie shot Y/N a look, nodding in agreement. “Exactly. Republic of Ireland was right there.”

Leah laughed again, shaking her head. “Oh, come on. We all knew from the time she was little that she’d choose England. I mean, look at her godmother.” She winked and pointed proudly to herself, her England scarf gleaming under the stadium lights.

Katie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, exactly. Look what we’re stuck with. This is what happens when you let Leah be a godmother.”

Y/N chuckled, nudging Katie’s shoulder. “Oh, stop it. It’s not the worst thing in the world. At least she’s playing for someone’s team here.”

Katie huffed, waving her hand dismissively. “Fine, but I’m blaming Leah for the rest of my life.”

At that moment, the players ran out onto the field, and Ava’s name flashed on the jumbotron. Leah jumped to her feet, clapping and cheering, while Katie and Y/N joined in, though their clapping was far less enthusiastic.

As Ava glanced up toward the stands, she spotted them, giving a big grin and a wave. Katie softened just a bit, nudging Y/N. “Look at that face. She’s having the time of her life, isn’t she?”

Y/N smiled, a mix of pride and amusement in her eyes. “She is. And she looks just like you when you played your first match. Well…minus the green jersey.”

Katie rolled her eyes but couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face. “Alright, alright. I admit it. I’m proud. But I’ll be even prouder if she scores against Leah’s team.”

Leah laughed again, clearly enjoying every second of this. “In your dreams, Katie. Ava’s going to make you eat those words when she scores her first England goal!”

As the whistle blew, the game kicked off, and for all their grumbling, Katie and Y/N couldn’t take their eyes off their daughter, watching her every move with a mixture of awe and pride.

And when Ava did finally score—her very first goal in an England shirt—the stadium erupted in cheers, with Leah leaping to her feet, shouting, “That’s my goddaughter!”

Katie let out a groan but stood up, clapping nonetheless, and muttered under her breath, “Fine… maybe England isn’t all bad.”

Y/N squeezed Katie’s hand, her eyes misty as she watched Ava celebrate with her teammates. “Yeah, maybe not. Just this once.”

Leah smirked, her face filled with triumph. “I knew you two would come around eventually.”

Katie shot her a playful glare. “Don’t get too smug, Leah. She may be wearing white now, but she’ll still always be our daughter first.”

Leah threw an arm around both of them, laughing as the three of them watched Ava jog back to the halfway line, glowing with pride and excitement. “Lucky for her, she’s got the best of both worlds.”

Y/N and Katie exchanged a look, finally giving in and laughing along. For all their teasing and the years of rivalry, nothing could change the love they felt for their daughter, no matter what colors she wore.

After the international break the transfer season opened up, and with it a whole other can of worms.

Ava’s transfer to Chelsea had been the talk of the league for weeks, but when the official announcement dropped, it hit harder than any of them expected. Ava McCabe-Y/L/N, a product of the Arsenal academy, and the daughter of two Arsenal legends, was making the switch to their fiercest rival.

When Katie and Y/N arrived at the pub, the mood was thick with tension, and every player they passed wore expressions ranging from shock to outright betrayal. By the time they reached the tables, the team was buzzing with mixed emotions.

Katie put her hands on her hips, eyeing everyone. “Alright, everyone, calm down.”

Leah, looking stunned and visibly heartbroken, crossed her arms and let out a deep sigh. “Calm down? Your daughter—who we’ve all practically raised at this club—is now playing for Chelsea, Katie. Chelsea!”

Y/N let out a small laugh, though it held a hint of nervousness. “Oh, believe me, we didn’t see this one coming, either. You think we’re happy about this?”

Beth groaned dramatically. “How could she do this to Leah? How could she do this to me? To all of Arsenal? And, uh, to you two, of course,” she added, glancing apologetically at Katie and Y/N.

Katie grumbled, crossing her arms with a huff. “Tell me about it. But we’ve got to support her, don’t we?”

The room erupted in laughter, though it was more out of disbelief than humor. Viv, shaking her head, muttered, “This is unreal. She grew up at that club. Arsenal is in her blood.”

Y/N sighed, shrugging helplessly. “We thought so, too. But she’s her own person, and she wanted to follow her own path.” She exchanged a look with Katie, who looked like she was fighting an internal battle of pride and frustration.

“Her own path at Chelsea,” Katie scoffed, though a small smile broke through as she shook her head. “A part of me can’t help but respect her for it.”

Leah threw her hands up in mock surrender. “Oh, don’t tell me you’re on board with this already!”

Katie chuckled, giving in. “No, no, of course not! I still can’t believe it. But we both know Ava’s always had a mind of her own.”

Y/N gave Katie a soft nudge. “She’s a McCabe—she was bound to do something this dramatic at some point.”

The entire locker room dissolved into laughter, with Katie shaking her head in defeat. “Alright, alright. I suppose she gets that from me.”

“Absolutely,” Leah said, wiping away a tear of laughter. “But you two better not show up in Chelsea blue any time soon, or I’m done.”

Katie threw her hands up in surrender. “Relax, Leah. We’re Arsenal through and through.” Then, leaning back with a smirk, she added, “Though, if you ask Ava, she might have other ideas.”

The room filled with laughter again, with the team gradually accepting that, while Ava’s decision was shocking, it wasn’t the end of the world. She’d always be their Ava, even if she wore the wrong colors. And though Katie and Y/N weren’t thrilled with her choice, they couldn’t help but feel a little proud of her fierce independence—even if it meant she was now the product of their greatest rival.

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The End

[jayflrt]

𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝟕𝟖𝟔 19. attention seeker

welcome to the second act. warnings for this chapter include depictions of alcoholism and family issues

'BEING AN INFLUENCER WAS A REAL JOB THAT REQUIRED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK.'

Yeah, right.

Shin Yuna heard phrases along those lines all the time. Whenever she watched other people's content, a good majority of the influencers would rant about how difficult their life was, or how stressful their workload was when it came to recording and editing.

Sure, it took some effort to edit and upload new content. Yuna allocated several hours a week to do so, but all she had to do was set up a livestream for the cash to start rolling in. Wear something skimpy. Bat her lashes at the camera. Pout a little. Play up the damsel in distress act. It was simply too easy.

princessval***: omg girl pls stop drinking 😭 onlyyuna03: she's so messy i love her luvyuna***: you're back already? i thought you were taking a break onlyyuna03: @luvyuna*** you must be new LOL she always does this

But this—the flood of comments that poisoned her screen—was the curse of putting herself on the internet.

It wasn't like this during her first year of streaming. Back in high school, Yuna's parents were fighting every day, and since she didn't have any friends to talk to, she turned to the internet. She would stay up all night in random Discord servers, chatting with strangers and confiding in them about her family issues.

Naturally, these chats turned into voice calls, which later turned into video calls. Initiated by her, of course. No one else had their cameras on, though; Yuna quickly grew comfortable being in the spotlight, basking in the glow of praise from strangers. Comments like 'you're so gorgeous' and 'you should be a model' made her forget all about her family issues for a split second. Like that, it became like a drug for her.

Yuna, who was starved of attention, relished in the validation she got from online strangers. Strangers who wouldn't even share any personal information about themselves, going by fake names and hiding how old they were.

Soon after, she made her own Discord server, inviting everyone who wanted to see her get in front of her camera and talk about her day. She knew how to play her angles well, acting as if she was everyone's girlfriend while using them to satisfy her need for attention. It was a classic marketing strategy: Yuna knew her asset was her beauty, so she used it to her advantage.

All she had to do was send a picture of herself or talk in a cute voice, and everyone would fawn over her in seconds. In a life where Yuna's own parents neglected her, she found people who cared. Maybe their intentions weren't in the right place, but they were present and ready to listen to whatever she had to say.

She got ambitious, deciding to start live-streaming to a wider audience. Yuna started on Twitch, playing various games like Overwatch and League of Legends. She didn't have to be very good as long as people liked her face and stayed for her reactions.

As she grew a following, she moved to YouTube and TikTok, doubling her follower count in only months. Before, she would be talking to an audience of around 20 people, but now she was racking in thousands as soon as she went live.

Of course, there came drama, too. And Yuna found it exhilarating.

If someone called her out on something, all she had to do was come up with some sob story about how she didn't deserve to hear that, and everyone would come with pitchforks to defend her. She was very calculative in that way, knowing exactly when and how to turn the tide if it wasn't in her favor.

For some reason, that never seemed to work with her parents.

"You're a disappointment," her father spat at her the day she showed him her Yale acceptance letter. She had sparkles in her eyes and a bright smile all day, only for her to feel completely crushed. She couldn't understand why; it was her father's dream for her to get into Yale, after all. "This is the only acceptance letter you've got, huh?"

Yuna hesitated. The competition for all of the Ivy League schools was rough this year; she had been getting rejections left and right, but she thought her family would be satisfied with Yale. After all, it was her father's alma mater.

"Yeah," she answered in a small voice. She looked down at her acrylic-damaged nails, neglected from years of biting the skin until they bled. "I thought you'd be happy with Yale."

"Happy?" Mr. Shin barked out a laugh. "You didn't actually get into Yale on your own, you know that, right?" He scoffed when Yuna gave him a confused look. Then, Mr. Shin slammed his phone against the dinner table, causing his wife and daughter to flinch. "Five hundred thousand. I paid five hundred thousand to get you in. Mr. Nakamura only paid two to get Kazuha in, but I had to pay five. That's how useless you are."

"Sunoo? You know my old boss's son?" he would provoke her for the rest of dinner. "He got in all by himself. You know Hyejin's son—Anton—he got into Yale and Brown on his own, too."

"You need to work hard, Yuna," Mrs. Shin said before stabbing at her salad. "Your dad could only get you in as an undeclared major. You need to get into pre-med on your own."

Tears prickled her eyes, but she stayed silent. Even her college acceptance was a fraud; she had done nothing out of her own hard work.

Except her skyrocketing career as an influencer.

The high of her fame only lasted a short while, though. During the summer before her freshman year of college, Yuna's parents discovered what she had been getting up to on the internet.

Shameful, they called it, as if Yuna was committing a crime.

Yuna's parents were surgeons, and rather good ones at that. They both got their undergraduate degrees at Stanford, and then their doctorates at Harvard. The two of them became neurosurgeons after their residency and board exams, and then transferred to Mercy Health where Mr. Shin became the Chair of Neurological Surgery, which set the bar a little high for Yuna.

She was never spectacular. She was always more interested in makeup and clothes instead of science and medicine. Yuna would've rather worked toward a career as a fashion designer, often dreaming about fashion shows she could design for. She knew she would make it far, too—even Donatella Versace told her backstage during Paris Fashion Week that she had an eye for fashion, and that she could go far.

The few times she visited your house, she remembered meeting your mom, a well-known fashion designer herself, and showing off her sketches. Yuna distinctly recalled her words of approval, and she had to bite her tongue whenever your mom would offer to take Yuna on a tour of her studio, only for her parents to turn down the offer.

Her parents were so adamant about Yuna following their path to becoming a surgeon that they threw away all of her sketchbooks and colored pencils when she showed them her work. Even when she got the opportunity of a lifetime to be taken under Vivienne Westwood's wing, her parents crushed her dreams under their heels.

From a young age, she knew that hard work was only determined by her parents. Her true efforts were simply considered a waste of time.

Naturally, Yuna let out all her emotions when she live-streamed. It just so happened that her parents found out through the families of people who knew her. First, she would be grounded. When that wouldn't work, she would get all of her devices taken away. When she found a loophole around that, she would have to endure her father's rage.

Halfway through her first year at Yale, her parents disowned her.

She was on academic probation after her first semester. While she was trying to file a restraining order against someone who was stalking her (who claimed to be a fan), her grades managed to slip until she failed most of her classes. The worst part was, she had been expecting her parents to worry about the stalking incident, but they only cared about her GPA. Casting Yuna away was just protecting the Shin family's shiny status.

Everything was gone. Yuna was no longer part of the world you and Sunoo lived in. All her connections to the medical field, all her connections to the fashion industry—all out of her grasp. Still, maybe it was her flickering hope to somehow please her parents that kept her on the path to become a doctor. Not that it something she was genuinely interested in, but she knew it was the only way her parents would take her back.

Now she had to keep up her influencer career to support herself financially. There was no way she would be able to pay off tuition, even if Sunoo had generously paid the deposit for her small apartment. She had to keep up with bills, rent, and utilities all at once, and it was all too much for an eighteen-year-old to handle.

She got used to accepting help because of that. You helped foot some of her bills, Sunoo helped with tuition, Anton helped make sure she was eating, and the money she got from streaming and posting videos was enough to cover the rest of her expenses.

Even with an outlet to express her concerns to her fans, though, Yuna was struggling with barely making friends. You, Sunoo, and Anton were the only ones who lent a shoulder and an ear for her to dump all her pain and worries to. But she still had to hold them at arm's length. After all, all of their upper-crust families were in close contact with each other.

And then there was Lee Heeseung.

He was a new face in the socialite scene. No one had heard of him or his family before. Heeseung was probably Yuna's ideal type—handsome, intelligent, popular, and someone who hadn't been sucked into her world yet. Although he was alledgedly close to you and Park Sunghoon, no one else had any idea of what his family did.

Over the years, Yuna was terrified that she had built a reputation among the rich families that were in her circle. She could feel the disdain in their eyes when she was at social events, steering clear of every adult that looked as though they wanted to probe her for information about her college admissions.

Heeseung, however, was like a breath of fresh air. There was no judgment in his eyes when Yuna spoke to him, and that might have been the very moment she fell for him.

He was different. He didn't have any expectations of her nor did he feel uncomfortable when he found out she was a streamer. She liked that he came from a humble background, and he never judged her from where she came from. Even when Yuna confessed that she had been disowned, Heeseung never looked at her with pity in his eyes. He simply told her that he would be there if she ever needed him, and he left it at that.

She tried her best to get close to him, but the closer Yuna got, the more she saw under the surface—the more she realized she was heading toward heartbreak. It was clear as day that Heeseung was deeply in love with you, and it seemed as though he had no intention of considering any other woman. Even Yuna could tell he would give up everything in a heartbeat for your sake.

Yuna did her best to avoid conversations about Heeseung with you. She figured that if they never brought him up, then you wouldn't start to feel differently about him.

To her relief, you started dating Park Sunghoon.

Yuna used Heeseung's vulnerability to her advantage. As much as she liked him, he was a coward when it came to his own feelings; Heeseung could only bring himself to come clean about how he felt for you after you started dating another man. Of course, he was turned down—ignored, even. In your mind, you just wanted to keep up the fantasy of having a close childhood friend to the point where you had Heeseung bottle up everything he felt.

Yuna thought you were cruel back then, but she was even more so.

She knew that Heeseung couldn't do anything about his feelings no matter how much it ate at him, so Yuna pretended she wanted to listen to him go on and on about how miserable he was. It was all because of you, and, for a period of time, Yuna despised you for it.

Months rolled by, and Yuna found herself going over to Heeseung's dorm room nearly every day. They talked about anything and everything, and then the conversation would eventually shift to you. Yuna felt something chip at her heart every time he mentioned your name, but she braved through it all.

"Thanks for coming over," Heeseung murmured, running a hand through his already-messy hair. Yuna could smell the alcohol on his breath when she sat down next to him on the floor. Heeseung laughed. "One-month anniversary. Y/N always told me she found those stupid."

Yuna pressed her lips into a thin line. She remembered walking to class with you last week and hearing you gush about everything you bought Sunghoon for your one-month anniversary as a couple. She thought it was sweet back then, but hearing it come from Heeseung made Yuna feel sick.

"You don't have to thank me," she said, hugging her knees to her chest. "I just wanted to be here for you."

The first time she tried to kiss Heeseung was that night.

The first time Heeseung rejected her was right after he stopped her.

"I can't," he said at the time, drawing away from her. "I'm sorry, it's just—"

"You're not over Y/N," she finished for him with a twinge of bitterness.

He shook his head, saying nothing. Yuna felt a surge of misdirected anger.

Yuna knew from the moment she met you that people like you were the shiny gold coins that everyone wanted to have, and people like her were rusted-over pennies on the sidewalk to be stepped on and forgotten. She was a fool to think that Heeseung would see past that.

"I know that." Her tone was sharp as she got to her feet, and Heeseung followed suit right after. "But I suggest you get over her soon because it's not gonna happen."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. Y/N would never go out with you. She already turned you down, anyway."

"Is that so?"

When Yuna turned around to look at Heeseung, his expression was like stone. Something ugly was twisting its way around her heart, squeezing out every semblance of affection she ever had for you.

"Yeah," she replied with a simpering smile, "because she's just too nice to choose the guy who broke her friend's heart."

"Broke—?"

"And," she said louder, cutting him off, "Sunghoon doesn't know, does he? Wouldn't he feel really betrayed if he found out?"

Heeseung kept his face impassive, but Yuna could tell he was seething. She cornered him quite well.

She kept that farce up for years. It was easy keeping Heeseung in line when you only had eyes for Sunghoon, and Heeseung was just so easily discouraged by Yuna's words. It was almost like he had no hope that you would take his word over hers, and that sent Yuna on some sort of power trip.

Her relationship with you was strange. Maybe it was at that moment when she realized that she was someone important to you, and that made her feel invincible somehow. She could do anything as long as you were on her side.

She liked drinking. Not because she particularly liked the taste of alcohol, but she loved the feeling of forgetting all her responsibilities. Every rotten memory of her parents would bury itself under the sand for the time being, and all she could feel was adrenaline pumping through her blood.

But she was never exactly in control. It only took a year to slip up in front of her friend group (thankfully when you weren't around), so she begged Karina, Yeonjun, and Giselle to keep quiet about her crush on Heeseung. They weren't even extremely close at the time, but they knew better than to tread on a situation between you and Sunghoon, whose parents were far more influential than theirs.

"It's only gonna cause more problems if she finds out," Yuna told them through choked sobs. "If Y/N finds out, things will never be the same between us, and Sunghoon doesn't even know that Heeseung has feelings for Y/N." As Giselle stroked her hair gently, Yuna said, "I can get over him on my own. Just please keep this from Y/N."

Karina and Yeonjun exchanged nervous looks before they reluctantly agreed. She had always been wary about Karina. Giselle was overly-empathetic to her situation, Yeonjun was a good listener because he thrived off of drama, but Karina had always seemed more skeptical.

And, as Heeseung knew, Yuna always found a way to silence people who she felt she couldn't trust, so she played dumb when she outed Karina on live.

It was a stupid move on her part, to be fair. Yuna deeply regretted it as soon as she realized what she said. Karina iced her out for months, and everyone else was on the colder side—even Sunoo, who had been her close friend for so long. She always felt strangely jealous of Sunoo, who got the approval of her father when she couldn't, but seeing him give her the cold shoulder nearly sent her over the edge.

"I apologized so many times!" she cried to him. Sunoo kept his guard up, but he always heard her out when she needed him. "I just don't know what else to do. I keep fucking up."

Sunoo frowned. "Do you even feel bad about what you did, or do you feel bad because you were caught?"

Yuna didn't respond to his question, but she knew exactly what the answer was. Was she pathetic? Probably.

She ruined everything. She always ruined everything.

Maybe it was just easier that way. Yuna knew that if she tried her best to please everyone, it would still never be enough. Hurting them before she cared too much was just a defense mechanism, as selfish as it sounded. If you chopped down the tree before it grew too tall, it wouldn't hinder the plants under its shade from growing.

The thing was, Yuna received blow after blow all her life without any acts of mercy. She was struck over and over again, and no one delivered the final coup de grâce.

Naturally, Karina came around and forgave her. Another missed blow. It was like Yuna was drunk off the drama itself because if she kept acting out and causing all these problems, then she could keep everyone's attention on her.

And then she wouldn't have to be so alone.

But the cycle went on and on, so when Yuna found herself texting Jay and Sunghoon in her drunken stupor, she hardly considered the consequences when she mentioned the long-kept secret of Heeseung's first love. You trusted her to keep your conversation with Jay about breaking up with Sunghoon to herself, but she violated that as soon as she could, too. She wasn't sure what it was, but whenever she looked in the mirror, all she saw was that she was as bad as her parents.

Yuna was fated to fall into the same destructive cycle over and over again until it stabbed her in the back for good. Until she bled out, though, everything was fair game.

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SUMMARY ▸ private investigator jay park just wants to complete his mission quietly and move on with his life. you, his new assignment who keeps consuming his thoughts, don't make that very easy for him.

TAG LIST ▸ @zdgx1 @smouches @heesdazed @teawithbucky @leep0ems @peachpie4you @niniissus @kgneptun @jaeyunluvr @hooniesuniverse @zerasari @enhalov @sophiko22 @iselltulips @hoondiors @baekhyunstruly @jays-property @woninluv @heerinnie @fakeuwus @yizhoutv @en-happiness @theothernads @y4wnjunz @dammit-jjk @en-happiness @mari-oclock @enhypens-baby @soonyoungblr @jakeslvt @taetaenic @jebetwo @fairysungx @hsgwrld @shmooooo @ineedsomezzz @mrowwww @enha-stars @isawritesss @seongclb @lockburn-castle @alyssajavenss @enczen @calumsfringe @w3bqrl @luvyev @uhsakusa @luvnicho @wildflowermooon @navsnct

[serxinns]

Really liked the last ask! Liked it so much I wanted a second serving. So please, can I have the water nymph anti-hero deal with a romantic Yandere class-1A? Same song and dance will do, just with a pinch of Yandere EraserMic fam. Please and thank you 💙

You ask I deliver!!!

Part 1 is here!

Aizawa Knows something weird was up with his class there's no doubt about it always following around you, having picky arguments about who knows you better, and trying to ask you about your life, it was to the point he had to glare at them to make you back off a bit from you but even after that they'll still surround you and try and win for your affection

Hizaahi, on the other hand, was a bit Jealous and angry that his child guest was being coddled by His Husband's Students he saw the way Izuku would ask you about your information to draw it down in his little notebook,

How Ochako would stare at you like you were more important than the lesson, Bakugo complained because you didn't eat lunch with him, and the other extras he even saw Jirou glaring from a distance when you were talking with Momo and saw Momo smirking from that

You on the other didn't give a shit but at times their antics by doing little petty things to try and get your attention even when you were busy like when Mina interrupted your conversation with Shinso cause she wanted to invite you to a night out and when you asked if shins could join she made a weird face at him and immediately said girls are only allowed while she walked away Hitoshi grumbled something under his breath,

Sato pulling you away from your video game making you try out his sweets to make sure to give him a good ratingDenki and Sero trying to flirt and tease you while you stare at them unamused, Aoyama forcing you to eat some sort of cheese even tho you didn't like cheese that much, and you could've sworn seeing dark shadow peaking through the door?

They would always throw at each other whenever you were on the topic bragging about who knew you better, who they spent more time with, and who was your "best friend" to the point it was a blood bath and war

One day Mr. Aizawa had a very special announcement "Class we are going to go on a field trip today" Everybody in your class cheered Cleary was excited to go on this trip while you weren't paying attention as you were sneaking and playing on your phone "but you gotta pick a partner with you" as soon as you heard the word partner the world became slow and the realization hit as you saw your classmates eyes on you as if they were about to pounce on you

When you were about to say a word every single one of your classmates started banging on your desk begging you and demanding you be their partner

"y/n can I be your partner!?"

"No y/n wants to be my partner! *kero*"

"No y/ns too manly she can be mines"

"Fuck off shark week shes my parther"

"No Mines cmon y/n please!"

"No ochako its my turn"

"Y/n you can be my parther cutie 😏"

"FUCK OFF MINETA"

Everyone started arguing and causing a riot even Iida and Momo couldn't stop it cause they were also arguing with each other

That's when Aizawa banged a Ruler hard on the desk grabbing everyone's attention "Since you brats can't handle finding who will be your partner I will be choosing and y/n will be partnering with Hitoshi" everyone tried to protest saying it wasn't fair but Aizawa threatened them with detention so they kept their mouth shuts still seething with rage at one another secretly blaming each other

as you thank the God's that Mr shouta saved your ass

[erwinsvow]

i’m lime green jello rn… need some jealous shy!reader and rafe

rafe had said he invited some other friends. you thought it would be a quiet gathering, just topper and kelce like usual, playing their games and discussing whatever it was your boyfriend talked about with his friends over beers.

you didn't do so well with big crowds, something rafe knew already, but you were getting used to hanging out with the three of them together. you got along with them well, and they didn't seem to mind your quietness like you worried they would.

in the car ride over, rafe told you some other people might be coming. you had tensed up immediately. your first thought was wondering if you could handle being around new people, your second if you could make it through the night like you had originally wanted to.

you knew it was stupid, it always felt that way. and normally rafe was so understanding about your personality, so accommodating. you felt guilty even bringing it up tonight, not wanting to burden him with your issues. sucking it up, you went inside, thinking you could make it work.

you did for most of the night. after rafe left to try and sell like he always did, you talked with kelce and topper on the couch, eating pretzels while they went through beers, introducing yourself to one or two people who came to say hi to them.

you didn't do well away from rafe in situations like this. yes, it was fucked up, that you were so reliant on your boyfriend. you knew it and didn't care anymore, craning your neck to see where he'd gone off to.

"he's over there, princess," kelce comments, gesturing to the far corner of the room. the nickname made you feel clammy and embarrassed—it only felt right coming out of rafe's mouth. you turn to look, watching rafe talk with a pretty girl, leaning in close to say something, the girl smiling and laughing.

in that moment, everything went silent except the sound of your heart thumping in your ears. she was pretty, with an aura of self-assurance that you so profoundly lacked. she didn't seem painfully shy or skittish, she didn't seem like talking to a stranger made her face burn and shoulders shake. she talked to your boyfriend like she knew him, like they were close.

jealousy rakes over you, painting your features green with envy. first, that rafe was talking to this girl so closely, that he had forgotten about you on the couch with his friends. second, that this girl seemed like the epitome of everything you wanted to be—surefooted, confident, pretty enough that she knew it without someone having to remind her all the time.

"who's that?" you ask, though it comes out shaky.

"uh, i think that girl he used to date-" topper starts, but kelce kicks him in the shin. "ow, what the fuck?"

kelce shakes his head, motioning with his eyes to your figure, eyes fixated on your boyfriend and the girl.

"oh, um, the girl he used to hang with. yes, hang out with. that's right," topper corrects with a cough.

it all seems like background noise. you get up, leaving the boys on the couch and heading towards rafe without a second thought. when he sees you, he smiles, opening his arms to bring you in. you don't lean in though, like you always do.

"hey, kid. this is my friend sofia."

"hi," you say, smiling at the pretty girl. "nice to meet you." you turn to rafe, talking so quietly he has to lean in. he brings an arm around your back, bringing you a few feet away.

"hm?"

"can you take me home, please?"

"y'just got here. what's up?" you hesitate for a moment, faltering. then you glance back at rafe's friend, looking at the two of you, her gaze on rafe.

"i didn't come here to watch you talk to some other girl all night." rafe blinks, a little taken aback. in all the months he's known you, he doesn't think you've ever said something so sharp to him.

"excuse me?" he thinks you'll apologize like you always do.

"you heard me," you reply, crossing your arms. "can you take me home or should i walk?" even with your attitude, the question is asked politely, or so he thought. "if you're so busy with her, i'll walk."

rafe laughs, and your eyes get watery. it would be one thing if he understood your feelings once you said it, but he laughed. you turn away, when rafe grabs your arm and keeps you close to him, bringing you further away from the crowd of people.

"what, kid? you jealous, hm? is that what this is?" tears spill down your face before you can stop them, an angry retort bubbling up. it dies in your throat before you can get it out. "she is a friend, s'all. you got that?" rafe brings his knuckles to your temple, tapping softly.

"you didn't tell me about her, and topper said she's your ex girlfriend-"

"he's got a big fuckin' mouth. we went out once. one time. haven't seen her since."

"you invited her-"

"i invited two people, she came with them. now, you want me to leave with you?"

you feel another tear spilling down. you don't rafe to leave the fun for you. he brings his hand to your face, wiping it away.

"we can go right now. don't care. not here for her or anyone else, here for you. got that?" you nod, leaning into his touch. an apology lingers on your touch, but you refrain, still a little angry.

you grab rafe by the collar of his shirt, pulling it in towards you and into a kiss. you stay like that for minutes, not letting go while you make out, catching the attention of others around you. when you let go, his shirt is wrinkled and his lips are red.

"okay, let's go." he follows you out, laughing to himself.

"jealous. you're cute, kid."

[asunsetgrace16]

Hiiiii!!! Can I request literally anything written about Fraser Minten lol. I was thinking maybe she’s having a sleepover at his house for the first time and is a tad bit shy and nervous about them sharing his bed maybe with prompts 35 and 39 from your fluffy list???

Thank you so much!!!! I’m obsessed with ur writing

✧ 𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥 ⎥ 𝗙𝗠39

Pairing: Fraser Minten x fem!reader

Warnings: fluffyyyyy, one kiss (I think), one swear

Summary: Y/N stays over at Fraser's for the first time after their usual Hockey Night in Canada Saturday date

Notes: Thank you so much for the request! I love writing for Minty and there is a lack of Minty content on here. Hope you enjoyed!! Prompts 35: "That's my girl" and 39: "You're blushing" "No I'm not". I also made up the entire game except for the misconducts that were given in an actual Florida-Ottawa game last fall.

masterlist⎥ navigation

Word Count: 978

As per weekly Saturday tradition, Y/N and Fraser watch whatever hockey game is on TV. Both avid hockey fans and players, they both grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada, rooting for their teams with unabashed pride; Fraser for Vancouver and Y/N for Winnipeg. Occasionally, their hockey-watching dates are over FaceTime when Fraser is out of town for games and he often falls asleep, his phone dying overnight. 

Tonight, however, isn’t one of those nights. The Blades played a rare Saturday matinee game, ending just before four. This gave the couple time to make dinner before the start of the game. His billet family is away visiting relatives for the weekend, so it’s just the two of them. They settle in for the game with plates of spaghetti and salad. Ottawa is playing Florida tonight.

“This should be interesting.” Y/N comments, “nothing good ever happens when the Tkachuk brothers are on the ice together.”

“Very true. How many fights do you think will happen?” Fraser asks, half-Joking, half-serious.

“Oh, easily three or four.”

The game starts off fairly uneventful. No goals from either team and only a penalty or two. But you can tell the teams are chippy with each other. It's the start of the second when things finally amp up. It starts with a slash to the shins of Jakob Chychrun from Nick Cousins, sparking Brady Tkachuk to get involved. The refs are able to break it up before anything exciting happens. There is a pair of goals in the last 10 minutes of the first, so the teams are tied heading into intermission. The second follow is much of the same pattern; a goal for each team, a few minor penalties, and one scuffle. They had barely taken their gloves off before the refs broke it up, boring.

“ Boo.” Fraser says to the TV, “Let them fight, it’s more exciting that way.” 

Y/N laughs and rolls her eyes. But he's not wrong, “You just like to see Matthew stir shit up.” 

“You've got me there.” 

It's in the dying minutes of the third one Fraser gets his wish. A cheap shot from Carter Verhaeghe sends Parker Kelly into the boards awkwardly. He doesn't get up as both teams end up in the corner. Claude Giroux tries to pull Parker away from the fight. The rest of the guys grab each other and start fighting, well most of them anyway. Brady and Matthew are both in the mix. Helmets are off, gloves and sticks are scattered on the ice and the refs are circling. Parker got some help getting to the bench and is getting checked by a trainer. The fight goes on, eventually guys are in headlocks, jerseys are half off, and others are piled on the ice, still swinging punches. The refs break up the fight, sending the guys towards penalty boxes before dishing out the penalties. 

“Every player on the ice gets a 10-minute misconduct, except for the goalies and Ottawa number 27.”

Both Fraser and Y/N are staring, absolutely dumbfounded. Almost never do 10 players get game misconducts. 

“Well, there's the entertainment for the night.” Y/N quips.

The last few minutes pass quietly, the benches are looking very bare, five guys gone from one side and four from the other. Fraser has nodded off by the time the game ends, and Y/N isn't far behind. She turns off the TV and folds the blanket that she used. She sighs tiredly, looking around the dim room. Fraser’s half-asleep on the couch, all sleep-warm and face cast with shadows from the kitchen lights. Y/N moves about the room, gathering her bag and phone. She smiles softly, love in her eyes as she looks as Fraser. She wakes him gently, prompting him to go to bed.

“Just stay.” Fraser mumbles sleepily, yawning. 

“I…I don’t know.” Y/N hesitates, wanting to say yes.

“Please.” He interrupts, giving Y/N a soft, pleading look.

Y/N stays quiet for a minute, reaching out to brush a piece of hair off of his forehead, “Ok. I’ll stay.”

“That’s my girl.”

Y/N flushes, turning shy all of a sudden. She looks away, avoiding his gaze. They haven’t slept over at each other’s places yet, and it makes Y/N’s cheeks warm.

“Why’d you get shy?” He asks as they walk to his room.

“What? No I didn’t”

“Yes, you did. Look, you’re blushing.” He grins at her, poking her cheek.

“No I’m not.”

“Yes, you are. And it’s cute.”

Y/N gives him an exasperated look, she will never admit it but Fraser is right. It’s their first night sleeping over together so it takes an extra few minutes to get everything sorted. She is a little jittery, nervous to share Fraser’s bed with him. Her brain goes into overdrive as she tries to avoid making things weird. Fraser gives her a shirt to sleep in and he pulls on a pair of sweatpants. They stand on opposite sides of the bed, unsure of how to proceed. Sure, they have cuddled before, but usually that was on the couch or her cramped twin bed at school. Fraser climbs in, throwing back the covers and he holds his hand out for Y/N to grab. She takes it climbing into the other side. He pulled the covers over them, rearranging his pillow for optimal comfort. Y/N does the same, relaxing more as the minutes go by. Fraser reaches over and shuts off the lamp, sending the room into darkness. By the light of the moon, they face each other. Fraser pulls Y/N closer, giving her a sweet kiss on her forehead before tucking her into his chest. Before long, the couple has drifted off, wrapped up in each other’s arms like it's the most natural thing in the world.

[wintfleur]

Stella has been rejected by guys before so the only person she trust to comfort her about that situation is Trevor. He’s ready to beat this guy up but instead decides to hold her and reassure her that there are other guys out their for her!

ꔫ Boys suck anyway!

°. — pairings ( Estella Hughes oc! X Platonic! Trevor zegras )

°. — details ( g; fluff?, angst?, w; original male character is a major jerk, cursing, I think that’s all?. wc; 3.8k )

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( thank you so much for sending in a request! I decided to turn this into the first fic of of this AU! Stella is 15 in this while Trevor is 18! So happy to write one of my favorite friendships, so sorry that this took so long to get out! I hope you enjoy! please don’t be a silent reader!! )

°. — ( feel free to send any requests of things you would like to see in this series, or if you just want to share some thoughts! I would absolutely love that! Please comment if you would like to be added to the tag list! )

au masterlist — you can find asks under #💌stellahughes!

“These are delicious” Trevor practically moaned as he shoved another Annie's cinnamon donut bite into his mouth, licking his lips from the excess sugar. Trevor and the youngest Hughes were walking through the second floor of the mall, wanting to go shopping instead of staying home and playing video games with her brothers and their friends. It was normal for the two of them to go out and do things, most of the time it being shopping or going mini golfing. 

“Uh huh” Stella absentmindedly agreed with him, her head nodding along with her words, but her focus was on something else…on someone else. Trevor noticed her emotionless tone and quickly looked at her, watching as her eyes quickly went from in front of them to behind them. Trevor tries to follow her gaze to figure out what she was looking at, but no dice. Trever raised his eyebrow and spoke quickly “Are we being followed or somethin?” 

“What?” Stella spluttered out as she quickly turned her head to look up at a confused Trevor. Trevor stops at a table for two, setting the bag of donuts and his bag from hot topic on the table before sitting down. Stella joins him sitting down, her eyes going to the fountain where her attention was being lured too. Trevor opened his mouth to ask what is up with her, but instead chooses to just follow her gaze. 

His eyes widening in surprise when he sees what — no who, that had stolen Stella's attention. There sitting at the fountain, now alone; was a boy who seemed to be Stella's age, maybe a year older. Trevor looked back and forth between the two a few times in shock, the look in Stella's eyes was clear, it was obvious Stella had a crush on whoever that boy is. Trevor didn't know how to feel about that, when did Stella even start to like boys? Trevor thought with a confused frown. 

Trever pushed that protective urge to the side, and before he could stop himself, he was saying “You should go talk to him.” 

“Who?” Stella tried to play it off, acting as if Trevor totally didn't catch her staring at her crush. She quietly panicked, she had tried so hard to keep her crush a secret, only her best friends Lily and Carmen knew about it. Stella doesn't necessarily think Trevor would tell her brothers about her crush, but still, it's embarrassing. 

“I don't know bigfoot  — obviously the boy you have been staring at like some obsessed fangirl” Trevor snapped, his tone full of sarcasm. Stella feels her cheeks warm up in embarrassment, and she was quick to deny his words. “I was not!” 

“You were drooling and everything” Trevor smirks, he was obviously teasing her. Stella’s eyes widened and for a foolish moment she believed him, she brought her hand to her mouth and Trevor broke out into his loud laughter. Stella realized he was just joking and gently kicked his shin from under the table, bringing her hands up to cover her warm cheeks. “Trevor!” 

“But seriously, just go talk to him” Trevor speaks up after he was done with laughing, wiping at his eyes where tears almost fell out from how hard he was laughing. Stella rolls her eyes and drops her hands from her face to rest on the cold table, nervously playing with the corner of the plastic bag. “I can't” stella mumbles out with a defeated sigh, her eyes drifting to him one again before looking down at her hands. 

“Why not? Does he have a girlfriend? Look at you tiny Hughes, going after a taken man” Trevor smiles cheekily, shaking his head dramatically. Very much enjoying teasing her. Stella's eyes nearly bulge out of her head, and she shouts quietly so the couple at the table near them wouldn't hear “he doesn't have a girlfriend!” Trevor feels a faint smirk form on his lips at how defensive she sounded. 

“Then I don't see the problem” his confusion is obvious in his tone. He doesn't have a girlfriend, he's sitting alone, her brothers aren’t here to stop her, it's the perfect chance for her to go talk to him. 

“I…i don't know what to say” Stella muttered, so quiet that Trevor almost didn’t hear her. Her voice showed how embarrassed she felt, she didn't have experience talking to boys that weren't her brothers or their friends. Especially popular boys from her school like he is. Trevor lets out a small hum of understanding now getting why she was acting so shy about this. Well, this is his time to shine, knowing that her brothers will not give her dating advice. 

“So, this is the plan” Trevor starts, his mind already coming up with a plan that would help Stella talk and maybe even ask the guy she obviously has a crush on, out. Stella listens intently to everything that was coming out of Trevor's mouth, she knew he had experience with dating. Trevor starts explaining the plan as if it was a hockey game plan, and poor nervous Stella tried her best to keep up with what he was saying, but she was getting lost with his hand movements and some terms he used. 

“Are you sure?” Stella asked him unsurely, her eyes glancing back to the fountain where he was still sitting, his attention on his phone. He was so different from the boys she was used to, he didn't play hockey, he was on the baseball team, and his personality was completely different from Stella's. Her best friends Lily and Carmen honestly didn't understand why Stella had a thing for him, they didn't really like him. Trevor gave stella a reassuring smile and nod “You'll be fine stell”

“But..But I'm hanging out with you, i don't wanna leave you alone” Stella frowned, not wanting to leave Trevor alone. She came to the mall to spend time with him, not someone else. And she was also stalling. Trever smiled at Stella's words; she really is the sweetest. Trevor waves stella off “Ah don't worry I’ll be fine.” 

“Go get him tiger” Trevor gave Stella a reassuring nod, before playfully doing a scratch movement with his hand and if Stella wasn’t so nervous, she would have laughed at his humor. Stella let out a heavy sigh and gave herself a reassuring nod before she got up and slowly walked towards the fountain. Her mind tried to look back on Trevor's plan but all that came up was blank and that's when Stella started to panic, she turned around to go back to Trevor and give up. She makes eye contact with Trevor who's giving her a smile and thumbs up, shooing her off with his hands. 

“I can do this” Stella muttered, she turned back around and this time her steps were not as slow, and they were much more confident. She stopped when she was a few steps in front of him, she swallowed the lump of nerves and formed a smile on her lips “Hi Max” Max looked up from his phone and to stella who was standing in front of him, squinting his eyes for a moment as he tried to remember who she is, his mind raked through the memories he had of some of the hottest girls in his school and he still couldn't remember who she is, only realizing when he remembered seeing her with Luke and jack in the halls. 

“Oh, Sarah, right? Jack and Luke's little sister” Max had a cocky smirk on his face as he looked at Stella up and down. Max’s words had Stella's smile falter, but she still tried to keep her smile up even though his words hurt a little. “It's stella actually, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to join me getting some ice cr-” 

“Wait, are you asking me on a date Hughes?” Max cut Stella off, a laugh leaving his lips. He was in shock that she had asked him, he stood up and took a step towards stella. Stella felt so small under his gaze and height, she felt intimidated, and he wasn’t even that much taller than her. Her eyes glanced at the table where Trevor was sitting, hoping that he would sense her panic, but Trevor noticed her head turning and quickly looked away, not wanting Stella to know that he definitely was watching them. Stella started fidgeting with her fingers and her nervousness showed as she stumbled over her words “I…i don't know, i guess.” 

“You don't know? You guess?” Max tilted his head as he looked down at her, his tone sounded as if he was mocking her, and he spoke slowly as if he was talking to a child. Stella frowned and looked at him in confusion, why was he being so mean. Max looked away from Stella for a moment and glanced at a pretty blonde girl that was walking out of pink. She had a big grin on her face as she talked with her friends, her makeup looked so pretty on her, she was wearing a short skirt that showed off her nice legs and a crop top. Completely different from Stella, who was a brunette, who had no makeup on, who was wearing a pair of mom jeans and wearing one of her mom's old hockey sweaters. Max smirked tauntingly down at stella “Sorry Hughes, you're nowhere close to my type.” 

Stella felt tears form in her eyes as she watched Max walk away from her and towards the group of girls, Stella's hands dropped to her side in defeat and a strong and unexpected feeling of heartache and self-doubt came over her. She turned and sat down on the edge of the fountain, her eyes looking down at her converse that had a ton of doodles on them from her and Luke, she sniffled and tried to stop her tears from falling. Trevor who was watching felt his stomach drop at how defeated Stella looked, he had noticed the smirk the boy had given Stella and immediate red flags went up. 

Trevor grabs the two bags off the table and quickly walks over to Stella, guilt in his chest knowing that he was the one to push her to talk to him and seeing by the way he walked off and the way she was on the verge of tears, it did not go well. And man did he want to storm after that cocky fuck and show him what happens if he makes stella cry, but he was more focused on making sure she was okay and how to make her feel better. 

“Come on” Stella lifted her head at the sound of Trevor's voice, and she's welcomed with Trevor holding out his hand for her. Stella sniffles and tries to blink away her tears, she didn't want to cry about some stupid boy, a stupid boy that her friends warned her about, she should have listened to them. Stella grabbed Trevor's hand and let him pull her up to her feet and lead her away from the fountain “Where are we going?” 

“I’m taking you to get some ice cream” Trevor smiled as he pulled Stella towards the food court, where the ice cream shop he noticed Stella's eyes brightened up at the sight of, earlier. Trevor didn't let go of Stella's hand as they walked towards the food court. A frown decorated her face “But we just had donuts.” 

“No, you had like one donut bite, and I ate the rest of them, who cares anyway” Trevor shrugs before glancing at Stella who still had a frown on her lips, he felt really guilty. Trevor nudged stella’s shoulder with his and gives her a cheeky smile once she looks at him “I'll even get you 3 scoops as long as you don't tell Ellen” 

“How are you not getting sick?” Stella questioned Trevor, a slight look of disgust on her face as she watched Trevor scarf down his third scoop of rocky road, she didn't understand how he could eat so much. The two were sitting at one of the tables in the food court, Trevor was happily eating his ice cream and jumping from topic to topic to try to distract Stella from what had happened. Trevor looked up from his dripping cone and across the table where Stella is sitting, she was absentmindedly stirring the ice cream that was in her bowl, she had barely touched her 2 scoops, only picking at the reese’s she had as a topping. 

“I have the stomach of a bear” Trevor said with a mouthful of ice cream and waffle cone, Stella grimaces and gives him a look of confusion at his words “What does that even mean?” 

“It means if you're not going to eat your ice cream i am” Trevor snaps at her jokingly, as he licks his lips free of ice cream. Stella almost smiled at the goofy look Trevor had given her, he really was trying to cheer her up and she really appreciated it. Trevor looked behind Stella and his eyes lit up with an idea on what to do next, hoping that it would cheer her up. Trevor takes one more big bite of his ice cream before he stands up and tosses the rest of his cone in the nearby trash bin. 

“Come on, I have a fantastic idea” Trevor grinned, really expressing the word fantastic. Stella doesn't complain as Trevor also throws away her ice cream, usually Stella would have been pissed if someone touched her ice cream…but she just wasn't in the mood. Stella lets Trevor help her out of the chair and drag her away from the table, following after him and sassily saying “Now that's a scary sentence” Trevor looked back at her and gave her an unimpressed look at her words. 

“Ta-da!” He excitedly exclaimed as he pointed towards the stand that had a line of different animals that you could ride, Stella had seen kids ride on them many times whenever she came to the mall. Emphasis on the word's kids, so she was confused on why Trevor would bring her here. Stella voiced her confusion “Trevor what are w ⸺” Trevor cut stella off with a smile and a pat to the shoulder “Wait here, I'll be right back.” 

Trevor walked up to the stand and greeted the girl working at the stand with a smile, the said girl looking up from her phone boredly at the sound of approaching footsteps. “We’d like two animals please” Trevor smiles as he tilted his head, motioning his head towards Stella who stood a few steps behind him. 

The girl with the name tag ‘Lani’ looked between the two, Stella giving her a shy smile when they locked eyes. Lani looked back at Trevor, “Aren't the two of you a little too old for this?” she asked boredly as she loudly popped the gum in her mouth, her freshly manicured finger pointing towards the sign that had the height limit. 

“Listen this dickhead just broke my little sister's heart, so no i don't really care if we’re too old” Trevor whispered quickly as he leaned towards the girl so Stella wouldn't hear. The girl's eyes softened, and she glanced behind him to see Stella awkwardly standing there, looking down at her shoes. Trevor could see the hesitation in Lani’s eyes and he's quick to pull out his wallet from his pocket and hold out a 20-dollar bill “I'll give you an extra 20.” 

“You guys can pick your animal” Lani spoke loudly so stella could hear as well, giving stella a smile before looking back at Trevor and speaking quietly so only he could hear “Keep the 20, but here” Trevor slips the bill back into his wallet and watches as she quickly writes something on a sticky note before holding it out for him, he sees a number on the bright green paper and he takes it into his hand and looks up at her, Lani giving him a wink before she moved to go help stella. 

He whispers a cheerful ‘Score’ as he slips the paper into his back pocket, he walks over to Stella and smiles when he sees her sitting on a panda, Lani unlocking it for her and turning it on. Stella was a little hesitant about doing this, but Lani was nice and complemented her choice of animal. Stella smirked at Trevor when she noticed him walking over to her, she points to the black and white striped animal “You have to ride that one.” 

Trevor rolls his eyes but nevertheless he moves to get on the zebra, it was true they definitely were too tall to ride them, well Trevor was. Stella could comfortably put her feet on the footsteps while Trevor felt his knees already start to ache, but the slight pain was all worth it when he saw the smile on Stella's face and heard the laugh that escaped her lips as she moved past him, she was smaller so her panda could move faster. Something that Trevor loudly complained about. 

Stella and Trevor's motives quickly became competitive as they raced around the course. While Stella grinned and led the race, Trevor trailed behind her and laughed as she almost tipped over a few times as she went around the corners. If he wasn't so determined to try to beat her he would have pat himself on the back for taking her mind off the disaster that happened not too long ago. He was relieved to see Stella smiling and laughing, especially because she made it clear she wasn't interested in his idea at first. 

After a few more laps the smiling duo got off the animals and Stella went to sit on a bench while Trevor paid. A frown couldn't help but make its way back on Stella's face as she sat there alone and thought about what happened. It was humiliating and embarrassing. Stella looked at Trevor and watched as he happily talked to Lani as he paid and her frown quickly disappeared, she was lucky to have someone like Trevor in her life. 

Yes, he could be annoying at times, but he cares for her and that means a lot, and even though it didn't work out, he did spend five minutes trying to help her come up with a plan to talk to a guy she liked, and then spent the next hour after, doing his best to cheer her up and make her feel better. Stella was so lost in thought she didn't notice Trevor walking back over to her and sitting next to her on the bench.  “Do you wanna talk about it?” Trevor asked her, breaking her out of thought. 

“He’s not worth the words” Stella smiled as she turned her head to face a now grinning Trevor, he was happy to hear her say that because she's right, he's not worth it and he's a fucking idiot for treating her like that, and he wants to make sure she would never let a guy treat her like that again. Trevor rests his arm on the bench and twists his body to face her “Boys suck anyway!” 

Stella smiled and let out a small laugh, nodding in agreement, that boy in particular sucked a lot. Trevor gently squeezed Stella's shoulder and gave her a smile, and Stella could see that his eyes didn't hold any humor, he was serious as he spoke “Whatever he said that made you cry, just know that it's nothing but lies. Okay?” Stella nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. 

“Thank you trev” Stella broke the silence between the two, Trevor looked away from the small group of laughing kids and their parents and looked to Stella, a confused look on his face. “For what?” If anything, I should be apologizing because I'm the one who convinced you to go talk to him, he thought to himself. 

“For getting me ice cream, for making me ride those stupid animals” Stella started, and before Trevor could defend the animals she continued to talk. “And helping me realize that he's just a stupid baseball boy” The look of disgust that comes across Trevor's face at her words is comical. 

“He plays baseball. Of course, he's a dick” Trevor scoffs and shakes his in disbelief while Stella rolls her eyes at his dramatics. Trevor continued his rant as he gave Stella a disappointed look “That's where you went wrong tiny Hughes, you gotta go for a hockey guy!” 

“I would never!” Stella exclaimed loudly with a look of disgust, quickly shaking her head no in disagreement, a hockey boy?!?!? Stella would never! “Hey what's that supposed to mean?” Trevor asked her, his face showing how offended he is, he rested his hand on his chest in shock. Stella just laughs loudly and gives him a pointed look; he really didn't want her to explain further.

“Mark my words Estella Hughes, you will end up marrying a hockey player” Trevor smirked proudly as he leaned back on the bench, spreading his arms wide to rest on the back of it. Trevor laughed when he saw Stella scrunch her nose up in disgust and shake her head, but she still had a smile on her face, her dimples out on display. They made eye contact and laughter quickly erupted from their mouths. 

“Besides I should be thanking you” Trevor smiled as he nudged her knee with his after they both calmed down from their laughter. Stella hummed and turned her head to face him “Why?” 

“Who knew girls find boys who are sweet to their little sister so attractive?” Trevor smirks jokingly as he pulls out the paper with Lani’s number out of his back pocket and holds it up. Stella smiles and glances between Trevor and back at Lani who seemed to be getting her things, maybe her shift was over? Lani was nice to her in the tiny time she knew her “She's really pretty, you should go talk to her.” 

Trevor smiles at Stella's kindness, she was a great wing woman. Trevor slipped the paper back into his back pocket before wrapping his arm around Stella's shoulder and pulling her closer, playfully putting her in a soft headlock that made her laugh, before resting his arm around her shoulder when Stella slapped his arm. Trevor smiled down at stella who was already looking up at him “Nahh, I'd rather hang with you.” 

Stella grins and rests her head on his shoulder, Trevor was a great friend and even better honorary brother. And even though some things she wished she could forget happened today; it was a great day, nonetheless. Trevor was right, boys do suck, with the exception of him of course. 

“Ditto” 

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( I love Stella and Trevor’s relationship so much, they are so fun to write! Max is a major jerk and one my friends who read this over for me mentioned bringing max back for some drama? I’m not so sure, let me know what you guys think! )

°. — taglist ( @privatemythss @juraj-slafkovsky @cixrosie @toasttt11 )

[beesspacedotorg]

bbeebeeeeebebebeeee what abt the convo we’re having rn…. a lovely wonderful date with your sweetie hybrid boyfriends linocat and binnierabbit

Hey bro happy birthday. It's still your birthday where I live, so please accept this gift. Thank you for being my friend !! I hope this year around the sun treats you well. I also hope skz comes to (redacted for privacy) so we can meet up. @cbini

There's no smut in this because uhm. Because. But there are sex jokes because I'm me.

You love your boyfriends very much. When they started living with you, everyone called you insane. They asked why you would have a cat hybrid and a rabbit hybrid at the same time. Rabbits can be messy and cats cause problems on purpose they had said. Rabbits are just cats with longer ears and curled tails they had said. You’re signing yourself up for trouble they had said. You had waved your hand in dismissal, pointing at your boys and how much they loved each other and went about your business. Looking at them now, you’re starting to wish you hadn’t brushed off their concerns.

They took you to a restaurant, a nice fancy one, to celebrate. They’d told you to get a little dressed up, so you had, and they’d shown up with their slightly dressy attire and you drooled a little and Changbin had to wipe it off your chin. They’d taken pictures with you, nice aesthetic ones in the low light of the dining area, Minho’s glass of wine temporarily acting as a prop. Minho had made a salacious joke about licking wine off of your body and Changbin had kicked him in the shin. Minho then accused him of being jealous and offered to lick wine off of his body, too. It made the younger flush and shout indignantly.

All in all, the night had gone well. Your boys were handsome and polite to the waitstaff, they’d taken turns making you flush with love and something else, and they’d both made promises about what awaited you at home. The problem only started when they’d gotten their food.

You’ve seen them eat before, you know they have slightly weird eating habits brought on by them being alive or their hybrid genes or something, but it didn’t click in your mind that they would do it at restaurants, too. It had been seconds after Changbin had gotten his plate of pasta, the waiter barely away from the table, that he flipped it over onto the table cloth and started to eat it that way. You stared at him for a minute, mouth opening and closing like a fish as you tried to come up with something to say.

“Was there something wrong with the plate?” You asked, staring at the mess he was making of the table.

“Too small. The vibes were bad,” he said simply. You blinked a couple times at him before turning your attention to Minho when you heard a choking noise.

“Oh, Jesus, this is why you need to slow down when you eat.” You hand him a water and a napkin, praying he doesn’t upchuck all over the table.

“What if it runs away?” He says, staring at you. You watch his ears twitch on his head, listening to the sounds of the waitstaff milling about and the chatter of the other customers.

“Where the fuck is it gonna go?” You point at the food he’s practically inhaled, “It’s dead.”

“You never know,” is what he gives you. You sigh, looking up towards the ceiling before hanging your head in defeat. You start to eat your own food, and outside of their initial outbursts, things seem to be going fine. That is, until Binnie’s ears stand tall above his head and his nose twitches, leg thumping under the table,

“Stop that,” he says, glaring daggers at Minho.

“Stop what? I’m not doing anything.” Minho has a shit eating smirk on his face. He is most definitely doing something.

“What’s that noise then?”

“What noise? Are you hallucinating, Changbinnie? Should we take you to see someone?” Minho fakes concern and you hear the soft little growl that comes out of Changbin.

“Two can play this game, hyung.” You’re suddenly worried for the state of the restaurant.

“What if none played this game? Wouldn’t that be nice?” Your pleas go ignored.

“And what exactly are you planning on doing?” Minho is leaning across the table now, shoving the pretty centerpiece out of the way so he can get closer to Changbin and it’s not too long after that you hear a chirp. Minho’s ears twitch and his pupils widen before he shakes his head and glares.

“Low blow, Seo Changbin.”

“And playing frequencies only I can hear isn’t?”

“You’re just a sore loser.”

“Loser? I haven’t lost anything.” You sigh when you hear Changbin’s voice start to rise, quickly calling for the tab.

“I’m so sorry,” is what you say to the waiter after he comes back, gesturing to the mess your boyfriends made of the table and the way they’re almost wrestling right now. You tip him well, it's the least you can do.

When you get your card back you stand up, grabbing your things and hauling your boyfriends out of their seats by the collars of their shirts. If you were meaner, you’d pinch their ears between your fingers for causing a ruckus, but you aren’t, so you don’t.

Changbin’s ears hang droopily when you get outside, and he hugs your arm tightly.

“Did we make you upset?” You turn your head to look at him and his eyes are as wide as the moon. You think of that tweet, I’m not arguing with a man who has pretty brown eyes. Whatever you say, beautiful. You sigh and pet the velveteen fur of his ears softly.

“A little bit, but, I’ll get over it.” Minho plasters himself to your other side, and when you turn to look at him, his ears are pinned down.

“Ah, I’m sorry, jagiya. I just wanted to have a little fun.” Changbin punches him in the shoulder and he winces.

“Like I said, I’ll get over it.” You start trying to walk to the car, but it’s easier said than done with the two of them hanging off of you like this. You see their heads move a bit out of your peripheral vision before Minho makes an affirming little hum and you’re being half-carried half-dragged down the sidewalk.

“You’ll get over it faster if you have help,” Minho says, and Changbin nods, long ears flopping around.

“Exactly. We have to apologize to our sweetie.” You squint at them. It’s never good when they both agree on something.

“What are you going to do?” Changbin opens your car door and nudges you gently until you’re all the way in.

“Have you ever been to Paris?” Minho asks, buckling himself into the backseat.

“I was thinking about seeing the Eiffel Tower,” Changbin finishes, sliding the key into the ignition. You snort at the joke, rolling your eyes.

“I think a little tourism would be nice.” Changbin smiles at you, nose scrunching slightly, and rests a hand on your thigh.

“Good. We were thinking the same thing.”

[coffeeghoulie]

as you wish

no content warnings, just around 900 words of Aether, Aeon, and Dew being sweet

"Whatcha reading?" Aeon asks, tilting his head back to look up at Aether. He's sitting on the floor between Aether's shins, back pressed against the couch, switch in his lap, the Minecraft soundtrack playing gently from the speakers. He squints, trying to read the upside down title of the book in Aether's hands.

Aether shifts his reading glasses, smiling fondly down at the other quint. "Swiss lent me his copy of the Princess Bride," he says, running fingers through his two toned hair.

"How's it?" Aeon slurs, eyes drifting back into his skull as Aether plays with his hair, his gentle touch drawing chuffs and half-bitten off whines from his throat. He melts into the touch, tail wagging happily.

"It's one of my favorites, pup," Aether says, eyes crinkled and grinning as he looks at him over his glasses. "We should watch the movie next time we have a pack movie night."

Aeon stiffens, turning almost owlishly to look at him. "Do I have to read the book first?" He asks. "Sunny keeps saying books are always better than the movies, and I don't wanna watch it if I haven't read the book-" Aeon begins to ramble, and Aether cuts him off with a gentle hand through his hair.

"I'll tell you a secret, pup," Aether says, something bright and mischievous in his eyes. "This is one of the only books that I actually prefer the movie."

"Really?" He says, cocking his head like a curious dog.

"The book's still very good, but there's just something about the movie," Aether trails off, still running his fingers through Aeon's hair, almost absentmindedly. "Though, if you want, I'll read it to you while you play. I think you'll really like it."

Aeon chuffs, rubbing his cheek against Aether's thigh. "Would you, Aeth?"

"Of course," he laughs, chuffing back at him and slipping a bookmark into where he's left off, flipping back to the beginning. He pats his thigh, and Aeon chitters excitedly, scrambling up onto the couch to lay his head down in his lap. "Comfy, pup?"

The younger quintessence ghoul nods, turning down the volume on the switch as he curls up against Aether's thigh as he adjusts his glasses.

Aether smiles, beginning to read, watching Aeon's expression as he tries to split his focus between the story and his game.

Halfway into the first chapter, Aeon turns off his switch, reaching and setting it on the coffee table, fully engrossed in the story. His tail wags lazily, and Aether entwines his with it, playing with the spade.

By the end of the second chapter, Aeon's eyes flutter shut, drifting off into an impromptu nap. Aether chuckles softly, marking the spot and going back to where he left off before he started reading aloud. "Sleep well, pup," he whispers, readjusting his glasses.

Aether's just finished reading the swordfight when someone clears their throat. He looks up, startled, posture only relaxing when he sees Dew leaning against the doorframe.

"Darling," Aether greets him, grinning at his mate.

Dew doesn't respond, stalking over to the back of the couch, rummaging through the pile of throw blankets, most of them ones Cumulus had knitted on the tour bus. Dew hums, pulling out a purple and teal blanket, the softest one on the pile. Aether watches as Dew wordlessly covers Aeon in the blanket, who stirs but doesn't wake.

He plops down on Aether's other side, resting his temple on Aether's shoulder, purring almost aggressively.

"You're really warming up to him, darling," Aether says, unable to keep himself from snorting at his own joke. Dew rolls his eyes, smacking Aether's thigh, the one not being used as a pillow, with the spade of his tail. But he curls in closer anyways.

"He's a good ghoul," Dew says, not looking up at him. There's silence for a long moment, and he turns to look Aether in the eye. "I still love you, though. You're still my mate. Not replacing you."

Aether smiles, chuffing as he rubs his horn against the crown of Dew's head. "I know, darling. But I'm glad you're nice to him all the same."

Dew splutters, but his lips turn up in a small smile. "Just didn't want the voidling to get cold, is all. And it's better to nap warm."

"Just didn't want him to get cold my ass, darling," Aether laughs quietly. "You looked through the entire pile of blankets to give him your favorite."

"So what?" Dew says, but there's no heat behind it.

Aether shakes his head, bookmarking the Princess Bride and setting it down next to Aeon's switch. "Nothing, darling. Nothing at all. C'mere."

Dew presses closer as Aether wraps his arm around him, chuffing into his mate's hair. "I'm gonna assume we're watching that next movie night?"

"Not unless you have any complains, my Buttercup," Aether says, playing with the ends of his golden hair, curling the strands around his fingers.

"Shut up," Dew hisses, but he purrs nonetheless. He grabs another blanket, black and white granny squares, and wraps it around his and Aether's shoulder.

"As you wish," Aether smirks, and he laughs at Dew's resulting groan, holding his mate close and running fingers through Aeon's hair, content to enjoy a lazy afternoon with his boys.

[filmofhybe]

A Magical Christmas with enhypen

🗯️ pairing : ot7 x oc 🎀 GENRE : fluff , 8th member of enha. 1093 wc (approximately)

; AUTHORS NOTES : welcome to day 6? of “24 days of Christmas with filmofhybe!!” Hope you guys enjoy this one!! And happy birthday to Niki & sunghoon!!🤭 (even tho it was yesterday)

MASTERLIST to my other works

정원 jungwon

He knows you have major, and I mean MAJOR SEASON DEPRESSION. All the members could just tell it has hit you when you start spacing out during the comeback recordings, not even trying in practices, rarely posting on weverse and giving fans less attention during offline fan sign. (you weren’t trying to be rude, again is just SEASON DEPRESSION and is draining you.) Is like you want to do good during winter comebacks but can’t because you HATED winter and as I said - season mf depression.

Jungwon being jungwon - whose a really good leader. Decided to take you out during Christmas just try to help you feel a bit better. Takes you to eat Korean BBQ in your cozy pajamas, buys you hot chocolate while you guys enjoy the beautiful Christmas lights all around seoul. He helps you take photos despite you being in your pajamas. Saying it would be nice to update your fans once a while to know you’re not “dead”. You captioned “thank you to our lovely jungwon for the pictures!!”, fans thanking him for taking you out during Christmas to feel the festive season and grateful that he cares about you, as well as understanding your seasonal depression.

“thank you for making my Christmas a bit better wonnie.”

“is okay! I’m glad your happy, not letting that silly season depression get to you!”

“Is still here but you made it better.”

“I’m flattered. This could be our little tradition.”

“Maybe if I’m in the mood to come out again next year!”

박종성 Park Jeongseong

Remember how he said he took Niki back to his place during their break. Yeah that would 101% be him. He knows how it feels to not being able to celebrate such a special occasion with your family, so he doesn’t hesitate to ask his parents to let you stay over. They all loved you anyways. His house was filled with really Christmas vibe decorations and a large Christmas tree in the middle of the living room and you’re groups signed album on the shelves which reminds you of your home :(

He cooks with dad during Christmas Day and it’s so good. You kept going back to his steak because who wouldn’t. They will include you in their Christmas karaoke later on as well as make you and jay perform your songs, which they will film it and send it back to your parents.

Not to mention, they brought you gifts and when you open each one of them, it made you really emotional because it felt like you were part of their family. Your parents were so grateful that they are taking good care of you, even miles away where you can’t celebrate Christmas together.

“Thank you so much for these gifts, I’m so thankful for all of you…”

“There’s no need y/n you would always be a family member to me!”

“Jay you’re gonna make her cry even more..”

“Good so I can post this on weverse..”

“WHAT NO?! IDOL PROTECTION HELLO??”

희 승 heeseung

Would stay in the dorm with you and you guys will just play games the whole time while streaming it. Either valorant to roblox, or even just chilling while listening to music. Constantly going into each others room to say hi to each others chat. And reading out funny donations.

“When’s the groups next comeback?”

“Guys we just had one?!”

“Did we-?”

“If you mean the one where you only sang for 6 seconds than yes..”

“SHUT UP HEESEUNG.”

Munching on shin ramyun and you both did a room tour of your rooms, showing how festive it is. Telling the chat what gifts you guys got each other and told them this is how you would be spending your Christmas with them. They honestly love you for that. Will go viral on Twitter for being the “best gaming duo.”

“What about your families?”

“Oh me and heeseung’s family hang out yesterday so we are just vibing today. The others are out.”

“We wanted to talk to engenes and play games so please enjoy!!”

심재윤 Sim Jaeyun

You both decided to film a cover for the fans during Christmas, so the whole day you guys were just in the HYBE building, vibing to Christmas music with the staff and filming. You will update your personal insta account of you and Jake that day. Showing the cute Christmas doughnut he got you along with a gift, and both of your microphones. Teasing the fans with the upcoming cover.

It maybe a simple Christmas but it would always be fun with Jake because he also brought in Layla. She will constantly come up to you, begging for body scratch or even treats. Even posting a selfie of you and her on twitter.

“YAH Y/N YOU’RE STEALING MY DOG?”

“UH NO IM NOT? SHE JUST RAN TOWARDS ME FOR TREATS?”

“Istg that dog likes you more than me…”

“Maybe if you start feeding her than she will..”

“I DONT STARVE HER STOP BEING A HATER YOU BOTH😔😔”

okay but MOVING ON. When the cover dropped, IT WENT VIRAL VIRAL. The Christmas lighting, the eye contact between you both was IMMACULATE. Fans felt the warmth after listening to it, like drinking a hot chocolate on a cold winter day. They kept asking for more covers between you both, maybe you guys would do one on New Years🫣

성훈 Sunghoon

Mr takes you to ice skating on Christmas. Both of you are known to be the ice skaters of enhypen. Both extremely good at it so it wouldn’t be a problem. Kept trying to show off your moves to each other. Everyone on the rink jealous that you both could do these amazing tricks. Even though you guys kept going head to head in the rink, obviously he got to take pictures of you so you can post on Instagram.

Man you almost couldn’t land on one of the turns and he zoomed right beside you to catch you. You kinda blushed🤭 anyways. The pictures you guys posted was so cute and majestic, fans was so happy that you guys are hanging out together during Christmas.

“omg the ice prince and princess together on Christmas!!”

“We love to see them back on the ice once again :( “

“We need a performance from them.”

선우 Sunoo

The type to just drag you to every single café and enjoy each others presence while filming for en-log. It was just a soft cute Christmas and you both also exchanged presents. Linking arms as you both went to different phootbooths and thrift stores taking those 90s pictures.

“y/n~~ you look so silly In that hat HAHA!!”

“what do you mean sunoo? I look sexy😝”

“Whatever you say😐”

He loves including you in this sunset photos so when he added you to his little dump, everyone freaked out because that means you guys were hanging out together during Christmas. Very grateful to have each other during this cold season. Just wrapped around warm coats and each others presence.

“BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DUO FOR SO LONG🥹”

“WAR IS OVERRR!! WE GOT OUR AGEYO DUO🤭”

“THEY CHOSE EACH OTHER FOR CHRISTMAS!!”

にしむら りき Nishimura Riki

Since both of you can’t go back to visit your family, you both decided to just go to a shopping trip. Kept buying stuff like non stop. At the end of the day you both have at least 15 bags on you.

“So do you think our manager will say anything about this addiction?"

“y/n I think he has gotten use to it by now..”

“You’re right..”

You both got caught by a fan and they said you both was struggling to hold your bags but you guys looked so cute struggling😭 They even saw you vibing to Christmas songs and you buying Niki hot chocolate because he wanted it so bad #stillachild . Fans was so surprised by this duo because they actually never saw it coming.

“Idk whose influencing who😭”

“Is giving older sister bringing her younger brother on a shopping treat”

“Sometimes I forgot they are both making BANK”

“Y/n struggling while Niki sipping on his chocolate is too unserious💀💀”

No because tell me why your stuff can’t even fit in the car.. you both were suffocated at the back of the car. Your manager laughing at you both and begging him to spare some mercy on you😭 you guys are just too funny.

“Next year same time same amount of stuff?”

“NIKI I DONT THINK I CAN SPEND MORE…”

“WE ARE MAKING MONEY!?”

“True…”

[howlyourmelancholy]

Isn't It Lovely?

summary: in which he gives you aftercare.

warnings: sub/dom tones. subspace. aftercare. sirius praising his girl like it's second nature. reader being entirely smitten with him also a bit of a nympho. sirius also being his smug, teasing self.

words: 966.

notes: this is more so implied smut then actually in the moment smut but it was nice to write sirius is a soft!dom light instead of his harder dom persona.

You came back to yourself a piece at a time, almost as though you were liquid being poured down your own spine, your consciousness slowly filling your body. You felt like you were floating somewhere above the clouds. It was only Sirius' soft voice that brought you back into the present moment. Sirius rubbed his hand slowly up your back, his calloused fingers rough against your skin, which was still sizzling and sensitive. You whined under his touch, your body twisting restlessly and your hips wriggling enticingly.

He might have been enticed to fuck you again had he not already broken you.

"There she is," Sirius cooed when you peeled your heavy eyelids open to stare at him. Your eyes were glassy and your vision was blurred, but he was a beautiful vestige that broke through the haze that clouded your thoughts. His hair was damp with sweat, clinging to his forehead and sticking to his neck in the shape of inky-black tendrils. As you blinked away tears, a slow smile crept across your lips. You could see the marks you'd left on his skin—shallow scratches and love bites here, there, and everywhere.

He looked perfect; no, he was perfect. Sirius was the only man who loved you how you needed to be loved, the only one to fuck you how you craved to be fucked. In the evening, when you'd had a long, tough day, it was his cock that split you open while your ankles framed his pretty face. It was his palm prints that stung your face, thighs, and arse, and it was his name you screamed.

"Hi, pretty girl," he whispered as he leaned down to press soft kisses against your forehead and cheeks before finding your mouth. You parted your lips for him, tasting yourself on his tongue when it swept through your mouth in search of your own. It was messy and passionate; a string of saliva connected your lips when he slowly retreated.

"Hi," you answered, your voice dripping with exhaustion. You managed a sleepy smile as he manoeuvred you onto your back. "Siri, m'all achy."

“I know, but you did so good.” His voice was deep, having dropped an octave or two and turned into a rasp that made you rub your thighs together. You felt the sticky mess of both your orgasms against your skin and whined. You swore he did it on purpose—he always did. Sirius treated it almost like a game. He could turn you off with a look across the room, a simple touch, or even a word when whispered in that rasping voice.

He moved to kneel between your legs, which fell open for him, either on instinct or invitation. Sirius chuckled as he ran a hand up your leg, starting at your shin and then pausing for a moment at your need before drifting slowly, higher, and higher. "Felt so good fucking you, pretty girl. Pussy was so wet for my cock. She must have missed me today, huh?"

Your breath hitched when his fingers prodded the crease of your thigh, right where it met your mound, so close and yet still so far. Every word he said and every touch he made felt like lightning arching through your body, like an electrical current that left you squirming on the sodden sheets. You were hypersensitive, to the point where it still felt like flames were licking up and down your spine, but Sirius could play you like a damn fiddle. Each stroke of his fingers was precise enough to hurl you into the depths of desire all over again.

"Siri," you gasped as you canted your hips towards his touch. He smirked at you, a lazy tipping of his lips that made your heart somersault inside your chest. He was looking at you with dark, hooded eyes, as though you were the only woman in the world. He looked starved, and you wanted desperately to satisfy his hunger.

"You look so good like this," he cooed as he pushed his fingers through your puffy lips, the tips of them gathering the mess of your mixed releases. You keened when he slipped those same fingers inside your hole, pushing the mess inside as his lips followed the path of your tears into your hairline. Sirius moved his mouth to your ear, where he nibbled on your lobe and where he could whisper his next words as though they were a terrible secret for you alone.

"Look so fucking pretty with my cum leaking out of you. It makes me want to fuck another load into you. Would you like that, pretty girl? I'm sure you would. You're such a good girl for me; take my cock so well, and always use your manners when you want to cum." He was rambling, drunk on you, high from the contact of his lips on your skin and his fingers in your cunt.

Your eyes rolled back into your skull when his thumb found your clit. You grappled wildly at his wrist—whether to pull him closer or push him away, you didn't know yet. "I-I c-can't." You said quickly, words strained as he circled your nub once and then twice, his fingers working you quickly into over stimulation. He'd made you cum six times tonight already; you didn't think you'd survive a seventh time.

"You need a rest first?" He hummed, his lips finding your neck so that he could suck a dark mark into your skin. "You deserve it. You did so well for me; always do so well for me. I'll get you cleaned up and then get you some water. How's that sound?"

You could only hum in response when he finally removed those damnable, perfect fingers, granting you the rest your body craved.

[sseastar]

제이크 、SIM JAEYUN !

— THE ONE WHERE YOU’RE TWO OBLIVIOUS BEST FRIENDS

info. jake x reader. fluff. childhood bffs to lovers. warnings. physical touch. not proofread. a lot of rambling. listen to. a little less sixteen candles, a little more "touch me" by fall out boy.

inside jokes and laughing into each other.

i think this builds off of the clinginess aspect of your friendship, but you and jake have hundreds of inside jokes. that being said, you know the little cute giggle that jake does? whenever you guys hear something related to one of your inside jokes and you catch each other’s eye, both of you will literally go into that do not laugh mode. but as soon as you guys think about it again like three seconds later, you would both giggle at each other from across the table, or from your seats in the car, or if you’re next to each other, you would curl into each other to laugh about whatever it is. of course there’s times where it’s more formal and you’re with new people so you can’t outwardly laugh or giggle, so you’ll just lightly kick each other’s shin or foot, nudge each other with your elbows, or just have a knowing look on your faces that tell each other ‘no, yeah, i know what you’re thinking. we can laugh about it later.’

hyping each other up.

as much as i thought it would’ve made me cringe ngl, seeing jake doing his double pat to his chest and then the macho arms is one of the most endearing things ever. it makes me chuckle whenever i see him do it, and i have no doubt in my mind that as his best frend, you would get that habit of doing it too. maybe yours is more lowkey, but you and him would definitely do it to each other or say ‘let’s gaur~’ whenever something good or exciting happens. you always hype each other up despite being introverts because who cares? my best friend did something amazing so of course i’ll cheer for them. always high fives you, saying “woo! let’s gaur, up top, bub!” no matter how big or small the accomplishment is - whether you aced a test, got a promotion, or just passed a level in a game you insist on playing. sometimes, he’ll attack you in a big ikeu hug because he’s overcome with so much emotion for you. the moment you do the same back for him, he’ll melt.

sleepover routine over the years.

since you were a kid, it wasn’t rare for you and jake to sleepover at each other's house whenever it got too late for you to walk back home. all you had to do was tell your parents where you would be, get changed into the clothes jake let you borrow (you used to bring your own, but ever since you realized how comfy his clothes were, you only started bring an extra change of clothes for going out the next day - not that jake minded; he realized early on that he liked when you wore his clothes), and plop down next to him after brushing your teeth. jake is a clingy sleeper, so you always wake up with him pressed to your back and softly breathing into the nape of your neck, or if it’s too hot, his arm lazily draped over you.

scrolling on your phone in the morning together.

it’s usually you who wakes up first as soon as the sun starts to shine through the gaps between his shutters. it’s your habit to grope around his nightstand for your phone before realizing he had plugged it in for you by his desk. jake always wakes up enough when you gently slip out of his hold, asking if you can bring him his phone too, and when you come back, the two of you just proceed to check through your notifications next to each other in silence. on weekends when you have nothing to do in the morning, he’ll lay his arm out on his bed for you to hand him his phone and for you to rest your neck on. you know how he does the thing where he wraps his arm around jungwon and then uses the phone? it’s gonna be like that but instead, both of you are scrolling, but you just have his arm slightly blocking your view. you’ll always show each other things - when jake wants to show you a tiktok or something on youtube, he’ll gently tug his arm so that you’re semi-forced to look at what he’s showing. when it’s you, you gently tap his arm to get his attention and he turns toward you, doing his little jayla thing as he rests his cheek on your head.

not being afraid to cling to each other.

it’s not a secret that jake is one of the clingiest members in enhypen, and i think that’s something that would transfer to anyone he cares about. here i go again with my jake friendship analyses lol, but as i watched a bunch of heejake and jakewon tiktoks, i saw that jake tends to curl into other members when he’s shy, scared, or honestly whenever he wants to. remember when jake got scared from the i-land ghost and just curled into heeseung? or when niki was telling ghost stories on vlive (and jake curled into heeseung)? or when they were teasing jay about not having graduated yet and jake scooted away from the poor boy (again, towards heeseung)? yeah, that’s the two of you. you’ll cling to each other whenever you’re scared or shy - even if you’re just sitting next to each other. he’ll do the thing he does to jungwon to you where he just presses his face to your shoulder or tucks his chin onto it. you do the same and he honestly gets really giddy when you do it - and sometimes he wonders if that giddiness means something else.

always taking silly photos.

you know that video of jake in milan when they’re at that museum thing, and he points to a statue and says something along the lines of, ‘hey, that dude was the one who originally made this pose’ and is all ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ ᕙ(⇀‸↼‵‵)ᕗ around a bunch of super famous fashion people? like jake gives me the vibes of the best friend you can never take a serious photo with. somehow, the two of you always end up with those really cute best friend photos where you’re play fighting or just laughing at each other or doing silly photos. jay and sunghoon once brought you two to the city to go and take nice model-like photos, but they both got headaches struggling to get you two to pose seriously because you were both too busy chasing after pigeons or stopping and petting every dog you passed. eventually they gave up and let you be, taking photos that you normally would with jake. at the end of the day though, as jay scrolled through his phone to airdrop the photos to the two of you, he found one with the two of you overlooking the view together, your head on jakes shoulder as the both of you leaned on the railing. there was no way jay wouldn’t take credit for that one when you would (finally) realize your feelings for each other.

⌕. author’s note ; hihi! this is probably one of the fastest things i’ve ever whipped up but i woke up today and this was like the first thing i thought of as i rolled in bed to reach for my phone. tbh jake to me is one of the easiest members to write about just because he radiates total childhood best friends to lovers energy and that’s something i never had. it’s easy for me to picture stuff i never had but want for some reason so here i am lol. consider this part 3 of 4 of enha hyung line’s friends to lovers series. sunghoon (hopefully) coming soon!

⌕. taglist ; @soobin-chois @koishua @enhacolor @chrysbibi @acaiasahi

[strawberryjamsara]

Illumination Studios Your Turn To Die! Trailer

Joe voiced by Chris Pratt: Hey Sara, what did you write down for number 6 on the homework?

Sara voiced by Scarlett Johansson: Well, I thought that the opening line was a mockery of the Capulets and Montagues, saying they’re alike in dignity by subtly implying they have none.

Joe looking at his homework that says 27: Huh… so I got it way wrong.

(Tick Tock by Ke$ha starts playing)

Sara: So this facility has death traps

(Cut to Nao Reko and Sara looking into a bed of spikes)

Sara: Dolls that look and act like humans

(Cut to Ranger standing over a crying Kanna)

Ranger voiced by Ben Schwartz: Wow, all I said was that she looked like a booger. I didn’t even start the she’ll never amount to anything speech!

Kanna voiced by Eden Sher: Sou make him stop!

Sara: And these collars we can’t begin to understand. Do you have any idea who could’ve done this detective?

Keiji voiced by Danny Devito: Give me a second Sara.

Keiji making a doll of Shin slap itself in the face repeatedly: Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself? Why are you hitting yourself?

Sara: Ugh.

(Get ready…)

Nao voiced by Kristen Schaal: You know Professor Mishima says not to use violence against others…

Qtaro voiced by Seth Rogan: Well, that’s a good lesson-

Nao: BUT THE PROFESSORS DEAD! EAT THIS PAN!

Kai voiced Jonathan Banks: That’s not mine is it?

Nao: Too late! I got him! Take that!

(For your turn…)

Shin voiced by Tom Kenny: I sometimes feel like the only intellectual in a death game full of morons.

Sara: Didn’t I see you crying because you fell trying to stack chairs to reach something on a high shelf?

Shin: … And the morons are planning my downfall.

Keiji: Actually, you had the downfall.

Shin: CAN YOU LET ME MONOLOGUE IN PEACE?!

(This summer…)

Reko voiced by Kimberly Brooks: You’re not gonna tell them who you are.

Alice voiced by Charlie Day: I’m not gonna tell them who I am.

Nao: What are you guys talking about?

Alice: I’m not gonna tell you.

Reko: (Facepalms)

(This summer…)

Joe: Me and Gin are gonna beat the bad guys!

Sara: And how are you gonna do that?

Gin voiced by Tara Strong: Apparently, Safalin has a cat allergy, meow!

(Will be time for…)

Sara: Now you’ll see what happens when you mess with a Samurai Woman

(Your Turn To Die)

Midori voiced by James Charles: Ooooooooh. Well, show me what you got Sara

(Coming to a theater near you)

[dotster001]

I just had an idea for a request! What if MC is asked to cook the meals for each dorm when there's a special occasion? And everyone believes that she can't do it but, lo and behold, she manages to cook up a whole feast. I hope this is okay!

Caterer

A/N: Fun fact, it takes me a long ass time to get to requests...so I hope you're still around anon 😅

CW:Fem! Reader

"Alright, you said you need food on Thursday for Sebek's birthday, right?"

"Yes, preferably by three."

"Okay, and you guys need food for the basketball club on Saturday?"

"Yeah. And Floyd wants to remind you he wants shrimp on the menu."

"Duly noted."

How did you get here? How did you become NRC's most popular caterer? Well…

Three months  prior

You had stopped by the Heartslaybul Dorm to visit Trey, who was still recovering from his broken leg. It appeared you had stepped into a warzone.

"Sevens! What are we supposed to do?"

Riddle was pacing back and forth, while an exhausted Trey looked on.

"We can ask Octavinelle. I'm certain Azul will have dishes worthy of an unbirthday party."

"And be indebted to Housewarden Ashengrotto for the rest of my life? Absolutely not."

"Wait, you need food for an unbirthday party?" You finally piped in, startling both the boys.

"Yes, but as you can see, Trey is still incapacitated. And the freshmen he has been trying to train are not ready to take on the project."

"I can do it," you offered.

Again, both boys just stared at you.

"You do know the unbirthday party is…tomorrow, right?" Trey asked. "It's not that I don't believe in you, it's just a lot of food to take care of at the last second."

"Well, I don't believe in you," Riddle said dryly. "There's only one person I believe can pull off something like this alone, and he's laying in that bed."

"Thank you?" Trey questioned.

"Well, just for that, I'm gonna do it! Just to prove you wrong!"

"Y/N…"

"What time do you need the food by, housewarden?"

"1:30 tomorrow. Think you can handle that? Cause if not-"

"I know, I know. It's off with my head or whatever," and then you stormed off to the kitchen.

"Please don't be too hard on her…"

"It'll be her own fault for promising the impossible. That will be all on her."

….

Ace had wandered down for a late night snack. The closer he got, the more it sounded like someone was in the kitchen. Which didn't make sense, because Trey was still injured, so who could possibly…

"Sorry, no entrance if you aren't on the list."

He looked down to see Grim standing in front of the door like a bouncer.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean, rat?"

"It means you aren't allowed entrance. Cause you aren't on the list."

Ace knelt down to Grim's level with a smug grin.

"Oh yeah? And what are ya gonna do about it?"

Then the door opened, revealing you in an apron, covered in flour.

"Grim, please remove the distraction from the premises."

"I'm on it, oh great food master. He was just leaving," Grim responded, shoving Ace for good measure.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait! Whatcha cookin, I'm hungry!" Ace began attempting to push past Grim into the kitchen.

"Back off Ace. I'm not playing this game with you tonight. This is for the unbirthday party."

"Wait what? Dude, Trey starts like a week ahead of time, isn't that tomorrow? There's no way you're gonna finish anyway, just let me have a bite!"

You glared for a moment, before looking at your kitty companion.

"Grim, remove the trash please."

"Yes, my lady," he began kicking Ace's shins as you returned to the kitchen.

….

Ace returned the next morning, with an entourage of Jack, Epel, Sebek, Deuce, and, of all people, Jamil.

Before Ace could say something snide to you or your kitty bouncer, Jamil called into the kitchen,

"Hey, it's Jamil. I was wondering how things are going, or if you need any help?" 

"Nah I'm good, but thanks for the offer," came your reply through the kitchen door.

"Ace and Sebek have 30 madol on you not finishing in time," Epel said with a snicker.

"Grim, tell Ace to fuck off."

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Grim said, kicking Ace's shins again.

Jack took the opportunity to speak to the door, "Y/N there's no shame in asking for help, it's a lot of food…"

"And Heartslaybul has the highest retention rate of all the dorms, so it's more food than any other dorm," Deuce added.

"It just can't be done, human! Allow the canine one to help you!" Sebek called.

"Look, Mr Doubter, I'm almost done. In fact, you be here at 1:30 to join the unbirthday party, so you can eat my food, and your words!"

There was a crashing sound from within, and all the boys almost burst through the door, if not for you peeking out from it yourself.

"Not to worry, I just hit an empty tray with my elbow, everything is okay. Now go away!"

The six boys, confused and concerned as ever, made their departure.

…. 

As the clock struck one, a crowd had set up outside the kitchen door. Students from nearly every dorm had huddled outside to see what the end result would be.

Then they heard a shout.

"Finito!"

And Grim hushed the crowd.

You emerged dramatically from the kitchen, and looked around at your audience, calm and collected as ever. 

"I need some volunteers to set the table."

Immediately, some students joined you in the kitchen, and then they were parading out tray after tray, stacked high with shimmering desserts of all kinds; tarts, cookies, macarons, and a three tiered cake, decorated in red and white hearts. Then came the teas. It appeared you had brewed at least five varieties of teas. 

The crowd outside stared in wonder. Silent murmurs of awe passed through the crowd, before Rook Hunt pushed his way to your side, kneeling at your feet.

"My Lady, Pomefiore would like to request your skills for a ball next weekend."

Before you could respond, Azul had elbowed his way forward, and placed an arm around your shoulders.

"Prefect, have you ever considered working for the Mostro Lounge?"

Leona somehow made his way over.

"Shove off, tako, the herbivore is going to be cooking for us!"

And thus, the Ramshackle Prefect became NRC's caterer. And no, you obviously are not getting paid for it. Who the fuck are you kidding?

....

Tag list-@shytastemakerthing @leonia0 @eccedentesiast-sapphic

[cryptid-pet]

Diabolik Headcanons before 2023 ends (LATE Christmas Edition)

Sorry that’s it’s short shshshs

Ayato still believes in Santa after he touched the Elf on the Shelf

There has been a whole scene on Christmas where Kou says to Yuma that only serial killers eat a candy cane STARTING at the curved end (Yuma does that)

Ruki enjoys hosting Christmas at his place when it’s just him and his brothers

Twelve deers followed Subaru home after he did (poorly) shopping for the holidays

Can’t explain how many times Laito had “All I Want For Christmas is You” playing in the manor, but it was enough for Shu to have a mental breakdown

Yui does all the baked goods for Christmas, being taught by her father ofc

Normally Kou has a winter concert every other year, but he likes doing it on his birthday since it’s more crazier

Azusa had another fit in the mall when he wasn’t able to take a knife home for h itself as an early Christmas gift (if yk then yk)

Ayato pulled the Buddy the Elf move in the mall and attacked a fake Santa

Kino fails to comprehend why Christmas has to be spent with those close to him, all he needs is his five stars from every gacha game he plays

The exception every New Years Eve for Azusa to drink ONE glass of alcohol is officially a tradition

Kanato hates Christmas movies, music too

Again, Shin and Carla dressed up as Santa and damn reindeer

Ayato and Kanato got in a fist fight after Ayato held Reiji gun pointed to put cookies and milk out on the damn table (Kanato took them after spotting them within 4 seconds)

Every day through December, Kou and Kino get a hot chocolate from the vending machine (bc you apparently can get hot chocolate in a can in Japan I think)

[calxia]

I had the most stupid thought. Monopoly with the ghouls... I just know that'd be a disaster. Somebody would be trying to eat the game pieces. Others are fighting over property.. Somebody is just sitting in the corner scared of everything that's happening.

I imagine Copia had put them in timeout many times which did not work and ended up having to ban the game completely because they can't act right

- 🎸 Anon

I very almost added the Monopoly videogame to the 'ghouls and videogames' ask you sent last until I had images of the Nintendo Switch being thrown out of the window when someone gets bancrupted.

The pack has never actually been able to finish a game of Monopoly because it always ends up with someone crying (normally Phantom) and someone in a blind rage flipping the table (Dew.)

The fighting always starts from the second the game box is opened when everyone quarrels over which piece they all want, despite how they always pick the exact same ones every time. Mountain prefers to just watch and mediate any quarrels that break out while Copia acts as the banker because nobody else can be trusted with the fake money.

everything goes smoothly for the first few turns until more and more properties get bought up. the board quickly fills up with bought properties. Sunny somehow always manages to lose all her money which prompts an argument if she gets new notes or if they consider her bankrupt already. The table gets knocked and they have to pick everything up off the floor and try to remember who was where.

Swiss rolls the dice so hard it goes skidding off the table and under the sofa, so they have to pause the game to move it to retrieve it. It's already been an hour and most of them are getting bored. Phantom ended up in jail 2 turns ago and is unable to roll a double so he has to mortgage his properties to pay bail. Cirrus and Cumulus have somehow managed to build houses already which sends Dew into a blind rage when he lands on them.

Copia has had to move the bank to the other side of the room because Rain kept trying to distract him to steal money so he doesn't have to mortgage his properties. Aurora and Phantom quickly get bankrupted when they run out of properties to mortgage. Cirrus now owns half the board.

Swiss has gotten bored by this point and has started flicking houses at Phantom from over the table. He then pulls a card and has to bankrupt because he can't pay his taxes. Only Dew, Aether, Cirrus and Cumulus are still in the game by this point. Dew and Aether have about four properties between them and the rest is owned by the ghoulettes. Most spaces now have hotels on them. Aether loses to Cumulus.

Dew tries to kick Cirrus from under the table but instead boots Phantom in the shins which makes him burst into tears. He gets told off but it only makes him more angry. Aurora and Sunny are trying to stack the unused house pieces as high as possible on the edge of the table.

Dew lands on Cirrus' Boardwalk with a hotel, immediately loses all his money and gets bankrupted. he flips the table in a blind fit of rage and starts screaming at Cirrus. She screams back at him. There are game pieces all over the floor in the living room. Phantom is crying in the corner with Swiss trying to stop him. Aether is trying to calm down Dew while the ghoulettes try to calm Cirrus down. Rain is somehow managing to ignore the chaos while playing Pokemon

Copia bans the game after that. (it's not like they'd have been able to play again anyway given how most of the pieces were now missing)