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ddaengtae · 4 years ago

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see you around || jjk

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

genre: college, strangers (idiots) to lovers, fitness instructor! jungkook, fluff, smut

word count: 13.9k

summary: you know those beautiful strangers that you admire from afar and obsess over with your friends, but know there’s about a one percent chance they’ll ever talk to you or even know who you are? that’s precisely what jeon jungkook was to you; a piece of delicious eye candy that you could daydream about all you wanted, but had to accept that it was too unrealistic to ever happen. or so you thought. after an embarrassing accident at the gym that makes your worlds collide, maybe you had been wrong about your chances all along.

a/n: when i came up with this idea in my head, i guessed it would be around 5k words. guess my hands slipped. this is only my second bts fic, but after getting good feedback for my first one, i decided to give it another try and this is what happened. i tried to edit closely, but there may be a few types so i’m sorry! thanks for reading & pls lmk what you think. :)

Another week, another million reasons to be stressed. It really seemed like that was the never-ending pattern of the college lifestyle. The weekend was never long enough to truly allow yourself to unwind. Sure, those two days were great, but how was two days enough to destress from the agony of multiple all-nighters to keep up with the shitload of work that all of your professors always deemed it acceptable to assign? There was no way for you to prove it, but you believed in a conspiracy theory that all of the professors would meet up at the beginning of each semester and choose to make all of their huge assignments due on the same days just to fuck all of their students over. There could be no other explanation for the hell that was midterms season.

While during your first two years of college you would barely be hanging on by a thread during the busiest weeks of the semester, you were now a junior and had at last adopted a regime that helped you burn off some steam when the tension became all too much. Somewhere along the way, you started to realize that inhaling mozzarella sticks and Red Bull at two in the morning the night before an exam did very little to make you feel better and that it would probably be a better idea to take up a healthy lifestyle and better time management skills sooner rather than later. In the process of getting your life together, one Tuesday evening in the spring of your sophomore year, one of your roommates had convinced you to accompany her to a group fitness class at the gym on campus. To your surprise, you fell in love with it and the feeling of adrenaline and accomplishment that came along with making it through the hour. From that day on, you vowed to yourself to make it to the gym most days of the week.

There was something about group fitness classes that made you feel much more comfortable than going to the gym and working out on your own. Perhaps most glaringly, the classes were dominated with like-minded girls who just wanted some peace of mind for an hour. Most of the instructors were girls too, except for a few guys who seemed to understand why a lot of women chose to avoid the rest of the gym. It was quite unsettling to work out by yourself on the main floor and be surrounded by conceited guys who always seemed to either be undressing you with their eyes or judging you because, god forbid, you couldn’t squat three-hundred pounds like they could. The whole place just always reeked of toxic masculinity, or so that was what you had thought until you found out about the group fitness classes that the facility also held. They seemed to be a sort of heavenly escape from the rest of the place that resembled a fraternity initiation ceremony.

That was precisely where you found yourself this Monday evening. In dire need of a break from studying, you found yourself sitting on the floor of the group classroom surrounded by your equipment and waiting for your favorite instructor to arrive. The concept of a high-intensity circuit training class had initially terrified you when you first decided to try it out last semester, but it had quickly become your favorite class and one that you attended every week without fail. It was incredibly satisfying to track your progress and watch your body evolve as you adapted to be able to lift heavier weights and make it through the cardio outbreaks without feeling like you were going to drop dead every second.

Taking a long sip of your water, your eyes remained down on your phone as you heard the door of the room open and close again. As it was still ten minutes before class, you didn’t think much of it and assumed it was probably just more people piling into the room and rushing to get their equipment ready.

“Uh, hi guys! The usual instructor for the class is unfortunately sick so I’m filling in for her tonight,” an unfamiliar-- but yet also eerily recognizable-- male voice echoed through the room. “I was just recently certified so this is actually the first class I’ll be teaching here. I promise I’ll try to live up to her hype.” The unknown source let out an awkward laugh, which was met with relative silence from the rest of the room.

The moment your eyes moved up to fall upon the new instructor, your breath hitched in your throat, causing the water you had been attempting to drink to flow down the wrong pipe. This wasn’t just any unmemorable college boy filling in to instruct the class. There at the front of the room stood none other than Jeon Jungkook. The breathtaking Jeon Jungkook was going to be leading the class and you were supposed to be able perform-- let alone breathe-- properly? Oh no.

You and Jungkook were not friends by any means. Hell, it was highly likely that the boy didn’t even know who you were. You know those beautiful strangers that you admire from afar, yet know there’s about a one percent chance that they will ever know who you are or ever speak to you? The ones you tell all of your friends about and you go out of your way to use your FBI-level stalking skills to find their social media in hopes of finding out more about them so you can daydream about your nonexistent, fantasy future together? The ones you’re always hoping you’ll cross paths with while walking to class because even a glance of them will make your day a little more exciting and give you something to talk about with your friends? That was what Jungkook was to you.

Jungkook had become known as ‘hot coffee shop boy’ amongst your friend group after you had noticed him studying in the same coffee shop as you one day in the fall of your sophomore year. As you always chose to study at the least favorite and therefore least populated coffee shop on campus, it was shocking the first time someone as beautiful as Jungkook sat down at one of the tables across from yours and settled in to do his homework as well. His presence offered you a paradox; while seeing him looking like a model wearing his oversized clothes and sighing at his laptop screen was certainly a distraction at times, it also served as a form of motivation to force you to focus because you didn’t want him thinking you were slacking off. He seemed to enjoy the quiet ambience of the specific shop because after that first day, he began to frequent it almost as often as you, always sitting at the same table by the third window. On some occasions, one of his friends who always seemed to be changing hair colors would accompany him. After some research completed by your enamored friend Jennie who sometimes accompanied you, she discovered his name was Park Jimin. He quickly became known as ‘iced chai’ after that seemed to be his regular coffee order.

It was an exciting day amongst your friends on the first day of classes in the spring of your sophomore year when Jungkook happened to enroll in the same Earth Science lecture as you to satisfy the science gen-ed requirement at your university. Rocks and rivers weren’t exactly interesting, but the back of Jungkook’s head from the row in front of you certainly was. The group chat really blew up the day he spun around in his chair and asked you if he could borrow a pen. They were right that it would’ve been easier for him to just ask one of the people next to him, but you were smart enough to not think into it too much. Maybe you just seemed like the type of person to carry around an abundance of stationery materials (you weren’t, and you ended up not taking any notes that day after giving him the only pen you had).

So here you were, practically choking on your water as Jungkook started to set up his own equipment at the front of the room. How dare he invade your safe space? You suddenly felt as if you barely remembered how to do a jumping jack, let alone have the facilities to pick up a weight.

After organizing his weights at the front of the room, Jungkook’s eyes began to scan the participants in the room, likely counting how many people had shown up. The moment his eyes met yours, your whole body froze in place. Oddly enough, his seemed to do the same. His doe eyes became wide and his mouth fell into an ‘o’ as he looked at you for a few seconds too long, and you swore there was an expression of recognition on his face. Before you could convince yourself that anything of the sort had truly happened, Jungkook was blinking rapidly and shaking his head at himself before his eyes darted away to scan and count the rest of the room.

“Alright everyone, we’re going to get started in a minute here,” Jungkook announced a minute later, looking down at his phone as he connected his music and began blasting it through the speakers. “Just remember to follow my lead and please don’t hesitate to wave me over if you have any questions or are struggling with form. I’ll try to keep an eye on all of you and come over to help you out anyway.” His eyes crinkled into crescent moons as he offered the class a big bunny smile. Oh god, you were going to pass out. “We’re going to be starting with a pretty intense cardio circuit here to bring those heart rates right up and set the tone for the rest of class.” Great. Your heart rate was already accelerating through the roof just at the sight of him. “Try to keep up, but if you need to grab some water or take a break at any point, please don’t hesitate to do so. We’re going to get started in 3… 2… 1… Go!”

To your surprise, you were able to make it through the first couple of circuits without too much trouble. You made it your mission to zone in on each of the exercises you were doing, and that every time you were forced to face forward you would fixate your gaze on the back of the girl in front of you. It was shockingly easy to forget about the beautiful man in front of the room while you were gasping for breath after numerous rounds of burpees and mountain climbers. The goal was to look calm and fit without calling attention to yourself. Outside of your heavy breathing that was likely being drowned out by Jungkook’s loud music, you could say you were succeeding.

About twenty minutes into the class, Jungkook signaled a transition into an upper body circuit. While you were delighted to get a break from cardio and to allow your heart rate to calm down for a bit, following the exercises now required you to face forward and watch for his cues. This would be fine as long as you didn’t focus on his gorgeous face that was currently glistening with sweat in the most pleasing way possible, right?

“Alright, we’re going to start off here with some overhead shoulder presses for the first minute. I’d recommend something on the lighter side, but make sure you’re challenging yourself.” With a slight nod of his head, Jungkook picked up his own weights and counted down the class to begin the first exercise of the circuit.

Shoulder presses weren’t bad. You could do this. Inhaling a deep breath, you made an attempt to wipe your sweaty palms off on your leggings before picking up your dumbbells and getting in position to begin your shoulder presses. After the first few reps, you quickly fell into a rhythm that was both comfortable yet challenging, feeling that delicious burn in your shoulder muscles. At the halfway mark through the minute, your eyes had remained glued to the same girl in front of you. You finally felt a sense of peace. One look at Jungkook couldn’t hurt, right?

Wrong.

Against your better judgement, you decided to shift your eyes to the front of the room and take a good luck at a combination of both Jungkook’s back and the reflection of the front of his body through the mirror before him.

The string of events that occurred immediately after that moment was a blur. As Jungkook pressed his set of dumbbells above his head, his baggy shirt slid up his body, exposing his sweaty, toned abs that looked as though they were sculpted by the gods themselves. What was likely an audible gasp escaped from your lips as your eyes remained frozen on the sight in front of you. It was unclear if it was your mesmerized state, your sweaty hands, or a combination of both, but seconds later, the dumbbell in your right hand slipped out of your grasp and quickly went crashing downward.

“Oh my... Fuck!”

There was a moment of dissociation before you realized that the loud cry had, in fact, come out of your mouth, and that the dumbbell that had glided out of your hand had, in fact, come crashing down onto the big toe of your right foot. Your head was spinning as you began to process the throbbing feeling radiating throughout your entire foot, as well as the weight of what had just occurred. Within moments, the eyes of all of the participants were on you, as well as the eyes of the one person whose attention you really did not want in such an embarrassing moment. No, no, no.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Jungkook’s panicked voice echoed throughout the room as he spoke into his headset and he quickly dropped his weights on the ground. “Um, okay, the rest of you can keep going! I’m going to get someone else to come in within a few minutes so I can help her.” Within moments, he was shoving his way through the room until he was right in front of you and pulling the microphone away from his mouth so the rest of the class wouldn’t hear your interaction. “Are you alright? Oh my god, you shouldn’t be putting pressure on it. Let’s get you out of here and get some ice.”

You genuinely thought you were going to pass out. It had little to do with your toe, and a whole lot to do with Jungkook’s sudden closeness. His concerned face was just inches away from yours as his eyes scanned yours for any sort of explanation for what had just unfolded. His presence was intoxicating. You could smell the combination of his cologne and sweat, and you had yet to tear the image of his gleaming six-pack out of your mind. Oh my god. That had really just happened. The first impression you made on Jungkook, AKA hot coffee shop boy, was you making an absolute fool out of yourself and possibly breaking your toe while doing a simple exercise. You were never going to live this one down. You were going to throw up.

When you hadn’t responded to Jungkook within a few seconds, he took it upon himself to drape an arm over your shoulders and pull your body against his side. “Here, lean against me so you’re not putting weight on it. I’m going to bring you to the first-aid room and get you some ice… At the very least.”

It was quite possible that your brain had chosen it was better to black out the memory as Jungkook began to pull you out of the room, yelling to one of the workers at the front desk to quickly find someone else to take over the class. Your legs felt like jelly as they moved beside his, only functioning out of muscle memory rather than true volition. Here you were, body pressed against that of the guy you had admired from afar for over a year. In any other circumstance, this would have been like a dream come true. Instead, you wished the ground would swallow you up and put you out of your misery.

It wasn’t long until you were pulled into what was likely the first-aid room and instructed to sit on top of the counter by a very stressed Jungkook. The more you thought about it, the more horrible you felt. Not only was this the Jeon Jungkook of your fantasies, but it was also the Jeon Jungkook who had informed the class before it had started that this was the first class he had ever led. You had quite literally ruined his first class, and had set an appalling example of what he would expect going forward. If your toe hadn’t been throbbing, you would have seriously considered running right out the door.

“Okay, if you don’t mind, just take off your shoe and sock while I try to find an ice pack,” Jungkook commanded as he nervously raked a hand through his already-messy hair, frantically rifling through the cabinets. Your eyes watched his back as you followed his instructions, guilt filling your entire body. He seemed stressed. Nervous, even. It made sense, if you thought about it. Your foolish accident had just become his responsibility, and he was a new employee. You would be nervous too.

“Found one,” he breathed out, hitting it against the counter a couple of times to activate the coldness. As he turned around to face you, his eyes wandered down to your exposed toe. “Oh no, that looks pretty swollen. Does it hurt really badly? Are you okay?”

“It doesn’t feel great, but I’m okay.” No, no you were not okay, but you needed this to be over. Meeting his eyes, you realized those were the first words you had spoken to him since this whole debacle had unraveled. He probably thought you were crazy. Taking the ice pack from him, you chewed on your lower lip. “I’m… I’m really sorry.”

Jungkook furrowed his brow as he looked up from your foot to meet your gaze, tilting his head to the side. “Huh? You have no reason to be sorry. Accidents happen. I get it… I’m pretty clumsy too sometimes and have hurt myself much worse than this for much stupider reasons. Really, don’t worry.” He was rambling, and if you hadn’t been so distraught, you would have perhaps realized just how nervous he really seemed. Offering you a shy smile, his eyes averted away from yours as his cheeks flushed a shade of bright red. Redder than they should have been from just working out.

Looking down at your foot, you placed the ice pack on top of it and shook your head. It was difficult to form words with him so close, but you knew you had to if you wanted to redeem yourself at all. You already had created a mental plan to avoid him at all costs and hide from him whenever that wasn’t possible, but this was the least you could do. “No, I’m really sorry. You said at the beginning that this was your first class and I… I kind of ruined it for you. I’m sure you were really excited about it.”

Jungkook remained occupied with your toe as he moved the ice pack to the side, feeling around the bones and moving it gently in various directions to see how bad the pain was. “I don’t think it’s broken. Definitely pretty swollen, but not broken. However, I’m clearly not a doctor so you might want to get a second opinion.” Standing up straight, he offered you a warm smile. “But seriously, don’t worry about it. There’s always going to be more classes for me to teach and I wasn’t just going to let you suffer there. I’m happy to help.”

God, not only was he gorgeous, but he was also this friendly? It was possible that he was just being nice to keep you calm and keep his job, but regardless, he just seemed so perfect. So perfect that you feared being so close to him, for your endless flaws felt as if though they were being magnified. Clearing your throat, you forced yourself to return the smile. “Thanks. I really appreciate it, but I’ll be fine.” You needed to escape. You needed to get out of there so you could cry to your friends about just how mortified you were and how you now really never stood a chance with hot coffee shop boy. “I should probably get going. Don’t want to hold you up any longer.”

“You’re not holding me up at all, I promise,” Jungkook responded a bit too quickly, but yet again, you were too focused on your own embarrassment to notice. Crossing his arms over his chest, the tall man tilted his head to the side. “How are you going to get back to your dorm? Do you have a ride? You definitely shouldn’t be walking on your toe.”

Fuck. He had a good point. Regardless of the pain flowing through your foot, you were willing to walk on it just to escape this situation. However, you knew you couldn’t tell him that. “I, uh, one of my roommates has a car and I was going to call her to pick me up.”

“I have my car here. I could drive you.”

Wait, what? Had he really just offered you a ride? If you had met his gaze, you would’ve seen that he looked just as surprised that such an offer had slipped out of his lips so casually. Instead, you stared down at your lap as you attempted to process his suggestion. If the situation had been even slightly less humiliating, a car ride with the Jeon Jungkook would have sounded like one of your fantasies come to life. However, at the current moment all you could imagine was the intense awkward silence that would likely fill the car as you contemplated how to successfully fling yourself out of the window. That would not do right now. You were not in the right headspace to muster up any coherent form of small talk. The offer was likely just extended out of pity anyway. He was a good guy and deemed that that would be the righteous thing to do. No need to burden him and actually make him follow through with it.

“No, no. I wouldn’t make you do that. I’m going to text my friend right now,” you assured him, weakly smiling as you moved the ice pack to the side to retrieve your removed sock and shoe. “You have a workout to finish anyway.

“It wouldn’t be any trouble,” Jungkook insisted, watching intently as you carefully put your sneaker back on and tied it up at lightning speed. When he realized you had no plans of speaking again, a defeated sigh pressed through his lips. Why was he so set on helping you? “Okay, okay. As long as your friend is coming soon, that’ll work. I can walk you to the lobby though.”

Realizing he wasn’t going to let you just run out of the room alone, you forced yourself to nod your head in agreement. You were being dramatic. You could handle one more minute in his presence before you imploded. “Sure, thanks.” The response came off a bit snappier than you had intended, but did that really matter at this point? You weren’t going to be able to show your face around him ever again to begin with.

Once you pushed yourself off of the counter, Jungkook encouraged you to lean most of your weight against him as he led you out the door. As you were already on the first floor of the facility, the walk to the lobby luckily didn’t take too long. Upon arrival, you plopped down in one of the plush chairs by the door, fishing your phone out of the pocket of your hoodie and pretending to draft a text. In all honesty, the moment Jungkook disappeared, you intended to wobble your way back to your dorm by twisting your foot to the side to avoid putting pressure on the big toe. You were well aware that you were going to look ridiculous, but nothing could be more mortifying than what you had already experienced.

Jungkook stood over your chair, rubbing the back of his neck as he rocked from side to side on his feet. Something about him just exuded nervous energy, and it was making you feel even more on edge. “You’re sure your friend is able to come soon, right?”

Nodding your head in response, you lifted your hand into a thumbs-up that you regretted the second your hand formed it. God, you might as well have hit him with some finger guns. Could you be any cringier? “Yes, don’t worry. She’s on her way. Really, thank you though.”

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his athletic shorts, Jungkook’s eyes scanned your face one last time. It was almost as if he was searching for any hint of a lie, but if he had been, he wasn’t able to find it. “Okay, okay… If you insist. I’m sorry this had to happen to you. I hope it heals quickly.” His lips stretched into that signature bunny smile you had witnessed so many times while seeing him with his friends in public, but it almost looked a little more… Bashful. “I’ll see you around, okay?”

No, no he would not. You weren’t even sure that he had recognized you from being at the same coffee shop so often, but regardless, you had already planned to avoid the location at all costs. You couldn’t stand the thought of him possibly approaching you out of pity to check and see if you were okay.

Instead of expressing any of these concerns, you twisted your lips into a small smile and nodded your head at him. “Mhmm. See you around.”

After lifting his hand in a wave, Jungkook smiled at you once more before turning on his heel and slowly starting to make his way back toward the main area of the gym. You watched as he began to disappear, as you planned on rushing out the door the moment he was out of sight. Right before he rounded the corner, his body twisted to face you once more. If you hadn’t been so fixated on your own embarrassment, maybe you would’ve noticed the way his cheeks flushed a deep shade of red before he nervously laughed to himself and rounded the corner quickly so he was out of your line of vision.

The moment he disappeared, you gathered your belongings and rose to your feet a bit too quickly, immediately noticing how you forgot to avoid putting pressure on your toe. Fighting through the pain and fighting to maintain any sense of pride you had left, you began your walk-- or rather, wobble-- home.

God, you needed some wine.

The rest of the week passed by without much trouble, but maybe that was due to your advanced avoiding skills. Due to having three midterms throughout the week, most of your time was spent holed up alone studying. While you usually would do most of your studying in your favorite quiet coffee shop, you made it a point to steer clear of it at all costs. You were well aware that Jungkook also spent a lot of his time in that specific location, and you weren’t ready to show your face to him if it could be prevented. He had been right; your toe wasn’t broken, but instead just badly bruised. While your toe may have been fine, your ego certainly wasn’t. After stumbling home after the incident on that Monday evening, your roommates had a laughing fest at your expense over a few too many bottles of wine. They attempted to convince you that what had happened really wasn’t that embarrassing, that Jungkook seemed to be really sweet about it, and that such a chaotic event would be ‘the most epic story to tell people about the start of your relationship at your wedding.’ Although you indulged in their pipe dreams for the time being, you were going to stick to your plan: avoid Jungkook at all times possible until enough time had passed that he likely forgot about your humiliating catastrophe.

After a week of cramming for exams and perfecting your evading abilities, you were beyond ready to take a night to unwind and destress. That was precisely why you found yourself out at one of popular college bars by your campus with your friend Jennie on Friday night. The pair of you weren’t exactly the type to go out and let loose very often as you tried your best to prioritize your studies, but once you allowed yourself to get dressed up and had a few vodka-crans running through your veins, you understood why a lot of college students went out so often and remembered why you used to so much during your freshman year. The sensation of being tipsy and laughing with your friends was truly therapeutic and a much-needed antidote to counteract the toxic environment of never-ending stress.

Having been at the bar for over an hour, it started to get quite crowded. As you twirled your straw around in your half-empty drink, you watched as Jennie began to look around at all of the new faces in the bar before freezing and pursing her lips. “Okay, not to make you freak out or anything… But hot coffee shop boy AKA sexy fitness instructor boy AKA Jeon Jungkook is here,” she whisper-yelled at you as she leaned toward your ear. “He seems drunk… Like really drunk.”

Blinking rapidly as you tried to process this new information, you pulled back from her and began to shake your head. This certainly was not what you needed to hear right now, but the alcohol in your system calmed you down at least a little bit so you didn’t immediately book it out of the place. “So what you’re telling me is that I need to hide in the bathroom for the rest of the night?” Despite your fears, you really wanted to get a glance of him. Although the bar was quite large, you told yourself it would be too risky. If experience had taught you anything, it was that even one glance at him could be fatal for you.

“Stop being ridiculous,” Jennie scoffed, shoving your shoulder before taking a long sip of her drink. Her gaze remained set on the area of the crowded bar that you refused to look toward. “He’s…” She paused for a moment before her eyes widened. “Okay, I might be a little drunk, but I’m almost positive he keeps looking over here.”

“Maybe because you’re staring at him and drawing attention to us,” you scolded, narrowing your eyes at her. “Please stop before I jump over the actual bar and hide behind it.”

Jennie laughed at your dramatic suggestion, eyeing your nervous persona up and down. “Relax, relax.” She looked over your shoulder yet again. “Oh, wait. He’s on the move now so I don’t think you have to worry.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, you took an extra long sip of your drink. “Thank god. I don’t need to relive my earlier trauma on a night out.”

“Wait, fuck. I think--”

“Ah, is that toe girl?!”

Your whole body froze as you heard the close proximity of a very familiar male voice behind you. You wanted to believe that your initial guess of what was occurring wasn’t true, but the mixture of shock and amusement on Jennie’s face as she looked over your shoulder at the sight behind you confirmed that your worst nightmare was, in fact, true.

Sucking in a deep breath and downing the rest of your drink before placing it down on the bar, you gave yourself a mental pep talk before slowly turning on your heel to face the source of the voice. If there hadn’t been a decent amount of alcohol in your system, you were quite certain that you would’ve passed out right then and there.

There before you stood Jungkook with a cheeky grin spread across his lips and arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at, unfortunately, you. He was sporting a pair of tight, ripped black jeans and a matching black t-shirt. The clasping of a beer bottle in one hand and the way his arms were folded made his bicep muscles protrude in a manner that had you ready to start drooling. Jennie had been right; his face was glowing a bright shade of red, likely due to a great deal of alcohol consumption.

Clearing your throat, you forced your lips into a shy smile as you folded your hands together in front of you. You wished you hadn’t finished your drink so you had something more natural to do with your hands. It felt as if though your heart was going to explode through your chest, but he was here now and there was no escaping. “God, is that really what I’m known as now?”

“I mean, kind of.” Jungkook let out a loud laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did so. How was he so fucking gorgeous? And why the fuck was this beautiful man going out of his way to talk to you on a night out? “But I won’t call you that anymore. It’s Y/N, right?”

Your brow furrowed as your mouth opened in surprise. Wait, what? Jungkook knew your name? It felt like your mind was moving at a million miles a minute trying to process just how that could be possible.

A hand reached out from behind you to squeeze your shoulder, Jennie stepping forward and revealing herself after you had forgotten about her existence for a minute. Her lips were twisted upward into a mischievous smile. “I see a couple of my friends from one of my classes. Gonna go say hi to them. I’ll meet up with you later.” After not-so-discreetly wiggling her eyebrows at you, she mouthed what appeared to be “good luck” before sauntering off.

“Looks like you’re stuck with me now.” Jungkook chuckled quietly as he watched Jennie walk away before setting his eyes back on you and smiling warmly. You were convinced that his smile was going to be the death of you. “Hopefully you won’t try to run off as quickly as you did the other day.”

“I did not run off!” you scoffed immediately, crossing your own arms over your chest as you feigned offense. Once again, thank god for alcohol, for you were well aware that this conversation would not be happening without it. He was right, but you hadn’t realized he had noticed your urgency in escaping that day. ‘I… I wasn’t even aware that you knew my name.”

“Suuure you didn’t. You couldn’t get away from me fast enough,” Jungkook teased, leaning forward a bit to nudge his shoulder against yours. The area of skin he touched immediately felt like it was on fire, as did your cheeks. “But of course I know your name. We had Earth Science together last year and you’re always studying at the same coffee shop by North campus that I do. You’re kind of hard to miss.”

You? Hard to miss? Not to mention, the Earth Science class was a lecture with over one hundred students in it, and the professor hardly ever took any form of attendance. Sure you could say the same thing about you knowing his name, but that was only because you had gone out of your way to find out who he was after becoming captivated by him upon seeing him at the coffee shop. This didn’t make any sense. Were you dreaming? Hallucinating?

Raising an eyebrow at him, you decided to keep your response simple. “You’ve never talked to me, though…”

“I know, I know.” Jungkook unfolded his arms and clasped both of his hands around his beer bottle, staring down at his fingers as he tapped them against the glass. Maybe it was the dim lighting in the bar, but you could’ve sworn his cheeks darkened as he avoided your eyes. The aroma of cologne and beer coming off of him at the close proximity had you feeling light-headed. “I’ve always wanted to. Planned to talk to you at the coffee shop this week, but you were nowhere to be seen. You just… I… You’re really pretty and you’re always smiling and I kind of freaked out when I saw you taking that class on Monday. I’m pretty shy and not exactly the most confident person so I have no idea why I’m saying this right now… Definitely all of the beer I’ve drank… But I probably shouldn’t be overstepping or saying any of this anyway since I’m starting to realize that you’ve probably been avoiding me or think I’m weird or something. Sorry for offering to drive you home the other day… I realized after that that probably seemed creepy coming from a total stranger.” He looked to the side as he began to nervously tap his foot against the floor. Something that sounded like a nervous laugh pressed through his lips. “Fuck. This is why I barely ever drink.”

Your body remained frozen as you stared at the side of his face, fully aware of the fact that your jaw had dropped and you were visibly gaping at him. No. There was absolutely no way that those words came out of his mouth and he meant them. It had to be the excessive amount of alcohol in his system, right? Or maybe he was just sweet talking you to try to get laid. That had to be it, right? You weren’t sure if you were going to throw up, pass out, or do both at the same time. The vodka taking over your own system was preventing you from being able to form any sort of coherent thought. Still, he deserved a response.

“What? I don’t think you’re weird at all,” you reassured, chewing on your lower lip as you tried to read the expression on his face. God, you really could have come up with something better than that.

Jungkook’s doe eyes at last met yours again, a disbelieving look in his eyes. “Then why’d you lie and say your friend was picking you up and end up walking home on a possibly broken toe instead of letting me drive you home?”

Oh my god, he had seen you do that? You were certain he was completely out of sight when you had dragged yourself out of the building. To be fair, you hadn’t taken into account the fact that the place was covered with windows that would have given anyone access to see outside the front of the building, but why would he have been looking anyway? Just as you thought that day couldn’t have gotten any more embarrassing, it did.

The mix of alcohol in your system and your heart pounding in your chest was quickly becoming too much to handle and making you lose control over your faculties. Maybe that was why you blurted out, “I-I don't know… You make me nervous.”

“You make me nervous too!”

Before you could even begin to comprehend the weight of his words, another male figure popped up beside Jungkook and draped an arm over his shoulders. His bright pink hair made him easily identifiable. It was iced chai, also known as Park Jimin. If Jennie had noticed he was there, she certainly would have been freaking out.

“There you are! I’ve been looking for you. You just disappeared on me,” Jimin informed Jungkook, his gaze quickly moving to set on your distraught form. If you hadn’t been so out of sorts, perhaps you would’ve noticed the look of recognition in his eyes as they set on you. “I’m sorry, is he bothering you? He never usually goes out with us and gets drunk like this, so I’m sorry if he’s a little chaotic.”

Shaking your head at Jimin, you offered him a comforting smiling. You could feel Jungkook’s concerned eyes burning a hole into the side of your face. “No, no. He’s not bothering me at all, don’t worry.”

“Oh, thank god. I was worried he might do something stupid.” Jimin let out a sigh of relief, looking between the pair of you. Could that ‘something stupid’ be what had just occurred? At last, he gave Jungkook a firm pat on the shoulder. “We have to get going right now. Hoseok thought it’d be a good idea to down five tequila shots in a row after all of the beer we drank back at the dorm. He has his head down on the bar with his eyes closed and I want to get him out of here before he starts puking everywhere. Afraid you might end up in the same state if you keep drinking at this pace too, dude.”

“I’m fiiine,” Jungkook snapped back at him, rolling his eyes as he shrugged Jimin’s arm off of his shoulder. He peered at you for a quick second before his eyes averted downward, the nerves that had been there before refusing to go away. After taking a few moments to ponder what his friend had just told him, he let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. We can go. Only because it’s Hoseok though.”

“I’ve already requested the Uber so we should head outside now,” Jimin urged, glancing over toward where Hoseok likely was sitting at the bar.

“Um.” Jungkook at last forced himself to look at you, his lips curving upward into the slightest smile. It seemed forced though, and you knew it was because you didn’t have the opportunity to elaborate on and finish the conversation you were having before Jimin butted in. You also felt as if though you were about to self-implode and needed some time to comprehend what had just unfolded. “Sorry. I have to get going, I guess. I’ll see you around though, okay?”

Nodding your head in agreement, you allowed yourself to return a reassuring smile. “Okay. I’ll see you around.” This time, it was possible that you meant it.

After he gave you one last anxious look, he turned on his heel and followed Jimin’s lead, disappearing out of your sight.

Where the fuck was Jennie?

After scoping out Jennie in the corner of the bar, you had convinced her that it was absolutely necessary to immediately take an Uber home to debrief on what had occurred. Within half an hour, you had managed to arrive back safely to your dorm and had replaced your uncomfortable clothes with pajamas and your vodka crans with a bottle of wine. Although your mind felt quite foggy from trying to piece together everything that Jungkook had said, you were able to provide Jennie with at least the majority of the details.

“Wait, hold on. Let me think about this.” Jennie threw herself back against your bed, staring up at the ceiling after her head hit the pillows. “So basically what you’re telling me is that you are to Jungkook what Jungkook is to you? Like he pretty much admitted to admiring you from afar and being too afraid to talk to you all of this time?” she questioned, eyes wide in amazement. “God damn, why can’t shit like this happen to me? This is like some fairytale shit. You’re so fucking lucky.”

Taking a big swig directly out of the bottle of cheap rosé, you let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t know. It seems too good to be true. Like, what if he was just really drunk and didn’t know what he was saying? You even said he seemed really drunk. Or like, what if he was just being nice because he was trying to get laid?”

“Y/N, don’t be ridiculous. I know this all seems so unreal because we never thought something like this was possible, but the things he said to you were way too specific to just be a fluke.” Jennie sat up straight again and pulled the bottle of wine out of your hands, taking a sip herself. “Besides, I was watching you guys from across the bar. He looked absolutely smitten with you and ridiculously nervous, drunk or not.”

“Fuck, I’m so much better at just daydreaming about guys than actually knowing how to talk to them and attempting to form actual relationships,” you groaned out, closing your eyes and resting your head on Jennie’s shoulder. “What am I supposed to do?”

“I hate to break it to you since I know this is very out of character for you, but you’re going to have to make the next move. He laid his cards on the table, and now the ball is in your court.” Jennie allowed her head to fall on top of yours and passed the bottle of wine back to you. “Based on what you explained to me, you didn’t really provide him with a whole lot of reassurance that the feeling was mutual and he’s probably feeling super embarrassed right now… Like, definitely more embarrassed than you felt after the whole gym incident. You have to let him know that you’re interested in him too.”

Letting out a huff, you tapped your fingers against the glass of the bottle of wine. Jennie did have a valid point, as much as you hated to admit it. Regardless of Jungkook’s intentions and just how drunk he may have been, he had seemed incredibly flustered after rambling on and exposing what he had to you. As much as there was still a part of you that was convinced that he hadn’t meant what he said, there was a bigger part of you that was excited about what this could possibly lead to if you followed through with it. You would have to throw away your nerves and muster up the tiny bit of confidence you had if this was ever going to happen.

“Okay, so what’s the game plan?”

The plan you and Jennie had concocted ended up being a lot more difficult to follow through with than you had initially imagined. The original scheme involved you approaching him at the coffee shop you both always studied at, but despite the numerous occasions you dropped by and spent hours studying there over the next week, he was nowhere to be found. It was almost as if he had adopted the same avoiding technique you had the week prior after being embarrassed at what unfolded at the gym. You weren’t exactly surprised, but it was making this whole thing a lot more complicated for you. Furthermore, the longer it dragged out, the more anxious you got that maybe this was all a bad idea and that you had misunderstood what he said at the bar.

After a week with no luck, Jennie had convinced you that maybe it would be a better idea to try to track him down at the gym. Despite going almost every day and keeping your eyes peeled for him, he was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t until a few days later that it dawned on you that the group fitness class schedule was posted online, and that it was possible that he now had some classes that were officially assigned to him. Sure enough, upon checking the recreation website, you quickly discovered that he did have a couple classes that he was set to teach. While this information certainly was helpful, it was quite unfortunate that every class he led happened to be at the ass-crack of dawn. God, were you really interested in the type of guy who gets up extra early to work out? Apparently so.

So that was precisely how you found yourself rolling up to the gym at 6:45am on a Tuesday morning, eyes heavy with exhaustion as you searched for the room the class was being held in. Your heart was pounding and your palm was sweaty against your water bottle, but you were too dedicated to turn around at this point. You had spent over a week trying to track him down, and you at last had.

When you entered the room, Jungkook had not arrived yet. There were already quite a few girls in the room setting up their equipment, so you followed suit. As most participants were often too intimidated to take the spots up front and center in front of where the instructor stood, you took it upon yourself to do the honors. Of course you knew this would make Jungkook want to run the other way, but the thrill of making him as nervous as you were that last time was too exciting to turn down.

The door of the room opened and closed once more, and you didn’t even have to look up to feel his presence. Here we go. “Hi, everyone! Welcome to class. My name is Jungkook and I’ll be your instructor toda--” His voice cut off at the end of his statement, and when you finally allowed your eyes to set on him, he was already looking at you with wide eyes and tinted cheeks. Within a millisecond, his eyes found the ground and he apprehensively took his spot directly in front of you. The poor guy didn’t have a choice. “U-Um, if you guys have any questions before we get started, please don’t hesitate to wave me over!” You had a very strong feeling he was praying you wouldn’t wave him over.

The plan you had created before arriving was to wait until after class was over to ask him if he could talk for a few minutes. You knew it wouldn’t be fair to put him on the spot before class, and you didn’t exactly feel comfortable confessing your feelings for him in front of twenty other girls who were probably drooling over him as well either.

You managed to follow through with the plan, not communicating with Jungkook at all before and throughout the class except for a few soft smiles and some attempted eye contact. The eye contact thing didn’t go over so well though, for whenever you did manage to get Jungkook to lock eyes with you, he’d immediately turn bright red and force himself to look everywhere but at you. His nervous stammering through the microphone when giving instructions was almost too cute to handle.

When the class finally did come to an end and you were a sweaty mess, you sucked in a deep breath as you watched the rest of the participants start to put away their equipment. Setting your eyes on Jungkook, you smiled slightly. “Hey, can we talk?”

Jungkook looked up from his phone, eyes wide and clearly panicked. He scanned your face carefully, almost as if he was trying to guess what your intentions were. At last, he swallowed the lump in his throat and shoved his phone into his pocket. “U-Um, sure, I guess. Let’s just wait until everyone clears out.”

Nodding in agreement, you sat back and watched as the rest of the participants put their materials back in the closet and slowly began to file out of the room. With each person that left, you could sense Jungkook getting more and more anxious. He seemed to be mindlessly checking things around the room, his eyes darting back and forth between the door and any part of you that wasn’t your eyes. By the time the last girl exited, your heart was pounding in your chest as well.

Clearing your throat, you watched as Jungkook walked to the front of the room to shut the door, seeming to take as long as humanly possible to pull it closed. Just as you were about to speak the pitch you had practiced in your head and to Jennie numerous times over the past week, he opened his mouth.

“Look, I’m not sure exactly what’s going on here and I know that I might have been a bit overbearing when I was drunk last week, but if you’re just here to make me nervous and make fun of me and my awkward self for having a crush on you, you can just leave.” He at last whipped around to face you, a sad expression taking over his features as he began to pace back and forth, running a hand through his sweaty hair. He resembled something like a wounded puppy, and the longer you stared at him, the more you noticed just how exhausted and agitated he looked.

That definitely was not what you had expected and you felt awful that he had spent over a week thinking that you were probably teasing him with your friends for what he had said to you at the bar. Furrowing your brow, you pushed yourself up to your feet and crossed your arms over your chest. The planned speech was not going to do in these circumstances. You would have to cut straight to point.

“I dropped that weight on my foot because I’ve been ridiculously attracted to you for over a year and got embarrassingly flustered at the sight of your shirt riding up during class.”

Jungkook stopped dead in his tracks, clasping both of his hands behind his head as he at last allowed himself to look at you. His eyes were wide in shock, his head tilted just slightly to the left. “Wait, what?”

“I didn’t want you to drive me home because I was already so embarrassed and was so nervous that I would’ve only embarrassed myself more trying to talk to you without making a complete fool out of myself.”

As you spoke again, Jungkook hesitantly took a couple of steps in your direction. It seemed as if though his expression was slowly softening, and what almost appeared to be a small smile was fighting to form on the corners of his lips. “I asked you to borrow a pen that one time in Earth Science with plans to work up the nerve to talk to you at the end of class when I had to give it back, but instead I just kept it and ran out of the room because I got too nervous.”

Unable to hide your own smile now, you allowed yourself to take a step toward him. The closer you got to each other, the more the tension in the room built. “I lied and said that I had an extra pen that day, but really I gave you my only one and just didn’t take notes that whole class.”

At last, that familiar bunny smile stretched across Jungkook’s whole face, his chest bubbling in laughter as he threw his head back. “I once tried to ‘accidentally’ drop a book near you at the coffee shop in hopes that you’d pick it up and talk to me, but instead I just dropped it and tripped over it.” Another step forward.

Giggling quietly, you chewed on your lower lip as you advanced forward. “My friends and I have collectively referred to you by the code name ‘hot coffee shop boy’ ever since the first time I saw you there. Also, ‘sexy gym instructor boy’ since last week.”

Jungkook’s eyes were boring into yours at this point, his body inching forward just slightly as his toes finally bumped against yours. The tension-- not just from what was happening at the moment, but also from a year of pining after each other-- was so close to bubbling over. “My friends and I know you as ‘hot coffee shop girl.’ Also, ‘toe girl’ since last week.” The warm smile on his lips had twisted into a sort of mischievous smirk.

Leaning your head forward the slightest bit, your breath hitched in your throat as you could feel the warmth of his breath against your lips. “If I haven’t made it clear yet, I’m extremely into you.”

Jungkook’s eyes-- which had darkened quite a bit over the last minute-- flickered down to your lips, his own head leaning forward an inch. With this movement, the tip of his nose brushed against yours. “And if I haven’t made it obvious yet, I’m extremely into you too.”

Before you could utter another word, Jungkook closed the minimal space remaining between the two of you by crashing his plump lips into yours. His hands moved up to cup your cheeks, one moving along the back of your head to tangle into your hair. Your own hands gripped to the front of his shirt as you stumbled back a bit due to the impact, your back bumping against the mirror in the front of the room. The tension that had previously been building had popped the moment his lips met yours, but as his fingers tugged on your hair and his tongue found its way between your lips, you felt it resurfacing, this time between your legs. You felt a bit flustered getting turned on this quickly by him, but when you put it into perspective, you had been waiting for this moment to unravel for over a year. As your hands slid up the front of his shirt to rest on his defined core, you were certain you could feel his length getting hard against your thigh.

Pulling away after a minute, Jungkook rested his forehead against yours and stared deeply into your eyes as he breathed heavily. There was a playful smirk on his lips as he dropped the hand from your face and rested it on your hip. It was nice to see that he had finally let his guard down. “So, I have to ask. Are you more for sex first or a fancy date first? I’m happily offering both, but we’re both kind of coming off a bit impatient here.”

Biting your tongue to hold in your laughter, you couldn’t ignore the way that the heat in the pit of your stomach was quickly sinking down lower between your legs. “You know, if you hadn’t been so difficult to track down this past week, I may have taken you up on that fancy date first.” You ghosted your fingers over his stomach, eliciting a surprised jolt out of him. “But after you made me wait so long, I think you just might have to fuck me first.”

Jungkook’s eyes widened in surprise at your lewd words before he smirked and pressed his body against yours a bit harder, leaning forward to kiss a trail of wet kisses down your jawline. “I’m happy to be at your service, but we’re kind of out in the open here. I could drive us back to my room, that is if you’ll actually get in the car with me this time.”

Rolling your eyes at his teasing comment, you shoved at his chest. Regardless, you couldn’t deny the fact that you were feeling incredibly impatient and weren’t sure you would be able to handle the wait while he transported you across campus. Chewing on your lower lip, your eyes scanned the room. “Equipment closet. It’s spacious enough, it locks, and there’s no windows.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jungkook muttered under his breath, eyes searching your face for any hint of a lie. When he didn’t find any, he smirked and pulled back, grabbing your hand in his. “You know, I had planned on doing a lot of things today, but fucking in an equipment closet at the ripe hour of eight in the morning certainly wasn’t one of them.”

“Get used to it, hot coffee shop boy.” Smirking to yourself, you allowed him to drag you towards the closet, pressing your back against the door after he closed and locked it behind you. “Are you complaining?”

Rapidly shaking his head, Jungkook leaned forward and peppered kisses along your neck and collarbone, only pulling back to tug your shirt and sports bra over your head. “No, no. Just concerned you’re going to be the death of me before I even get started with you.” Taking a step back, he pulled his own shirt over his head before allowing his eyes to rake up and down your body. A combination of lust and admiration filled his eyes as he stepped toward you again. “God, you really are so beautiful.”

Despite the fact that you had both been completely open with each other and the current situation being far from romantic, you felt your cheeks heating up at his compliment. Shaking your head, you poked him in the stomach. “Speak for yourself. That’s the reason why I almost broke my toe.”

Throwing back his head in laughter, Jungkook stepped forward and wrapped his arms around your waist, lifting your body up and placing you down on top of a few stacked crates full of equipment. “Mmm, I can make it up to you right now.”

Leaning forward, you pressed a few kisses along the corners of his lips and his jaw. “And how are you going to do that?”

“Shhh, patience.” Jungkook grinned as he bent down, slowly kissing a trail down your neck and collarbones. When he reached your breasts, he slowed down his pace, carefully taking one of your nipples between his lips and softly sucking at the skin. Once he established a rhythm that he was satisfied with, he lifted a hand and latched it around your other breast, kneading the skin between his fingers.

Letting out a soft moan, you threw your head back in pleasure and closed your eyes. Your hands fastened around his neck, gently tugging at the hair on the back of his head. The longer his lips and hands worked at your breasts, the more the heat between your legs throbbed. “How am I supposed to be patient when I’ve waited so long for this?”

Jungkook’s eyes flickered up to meet yours, his lips making a popping noise as he removed them from your breast. “You make a fair point.” Kissing down your stomach, he urged you to lift your hips as he tugged your leggings and panties down your legs and allowed them to fall into a pile on the floor. Kneeling down on the floor, his lips trailed their way up the inside of your thigh. “Mmm, so wet already and I’ve barely even touched you.”

Whimpering softly at the feeling of his lips so close to where you needed them, you bucked your hips upward in an attempt to feel any sort of friction. “P-Please.”

Chuckling quietly, Jungkook’s dark eyes remained on yours as he ghosted his lips over your dripping pussy. The shy, insecure boy that he claimed to be earlier was nowhere to be found. Instead, he was now indulging in the power he held over you. “Who made you this wet? Tell me.”

“You, J-Jungkook. You did,” you whined out, attempting to push down on the back of his head.

Jungkook flashed you a satisfied smirk, nodding his head. “That’s all I needed to hear, babe.” Without another word, he gripped his hands around your thighs roughly and lifted your legs to drape over his shoulders. Leaning forward, he closed the remaining space and attached his lips to your pussy. Rather than making you wait any longer to have the tension relieved, he immediately went to work on your throbbing clit, gently sucking at the sensitive bundle of nerves. Once he was pleased by the moans leaving your lips and the clenching of your thighs, he pulled his lips off and replaced it with his tongue. Expertly circling his tongue on your clit, he reached one hand down and, without warning, began to pump one of his fingers in and out of your pussy.

“F-Fuck, oh my god, Jungkook,” you moaned out loudly, pulling harshly at his hair with one hand and reaching the other up to pinch at one of your nipples. “R-Right there.”

“Mmm, need to get you stretched out and ready for my cock,” he murmured against your heat, quickly inserting another finger and curving them at the perfect angle to hit your g-spot with every pulse. After circling your clit with his tongue a few more times, he encircled the bud with his lips yet again, this time humming against it to add an extra feeling of friction.

The sensation of his tongue and fingers working on your pussy and the sight of his glistening face was quickly becoming too much to handle. With every movement, the bundle of nerves in your core was getting closer and closer to snapping and sending you into that blissful state you so longed for. Biting down on your lower lip roughly, you closed your eyes tightly. “I-I’m close.”

“Open your eyes. I want you looking at me while you cum all over my tongue,” he rasped out after pulling back slightly, only leaning back down once you obeyed his command. After a moment, he wet two of his fingers on his tongue before quickly beginning to circle them on your clit, moving his tongue in and out of your cunt at the same speed.

“F-Fuck, Jungkook!” you yelled out, forcing your eyes to remain open and fixed on his as you were quickly sent over the edge and into a state of ecstasy. Your walls spasmed around his tongue as your vision became blurry and filled with stars. The feeling was only prolonged as Jungkook kept moving his tongue until you couldn’t take it anymore and reached forward to push his head back slightly, left completely breathless as you stared at him.

Getting off his knees and onto his feet, Jungkook stared down at you in awe, leaning forward to press his forehead against yours. The sight of your release on his lips that he refused to wipe off had your core already begging for more. “God, that was so fucking hot. You’re so fucking beautiful.” Letting out a deep breath, he pecked your lips a couple times.

“How are you so fucking good at that?” you muttered against his lips, blindly reaching forward in search of the tie on his sweatpants. Once you found it, you tugged roughly at it, sitting up straighter to urge both his pants and boxers down his thighs.

Chuckling to himself, Jungkook assisted you and pulled the articles of clothing down the length of his legs, stepping out of them once they reached the floor. “I’d like to think that I’m a gentleman in the streets and a freak in the sheets…” His eyes wandered around the room for a moment. “Or in the gym equipment room, apparently.”

Rolling your eyes and giggling at his joke, you pulled him forward again to peck his lips. “You know, if you moved to the side and let me get up, I’d happily return the favor.” Your eyes wandered down the front of his body until they set on his hardened cock resting against his stomach, the sight of it causing you to clench your thighs together.

Shaking his head in response, Jungkook flashed you a shy smile. God, how could he be so sexual yet so cute at the same time? “As enticing as that sounds and as much as I would never turn that down on any other occasion, I’m afraid I’m not going to last if I don’t fuck you right now.” Stepping forward, he looked down before cursing under his breath. “Fuck, I don’t have a condom on me. We don’t have fuck to if you’re not comfortable.”

“Wow, you didn’t bring a condom with you to your 7am fitness class? How irresponsible of you,” you joked, shoving his shoulder before pulling him closer to you. “I’m on the pill and I’m clean, so as long as you’re clean it’s fine with me.”

“You know, you’re going to regret teasing me,” he warned, laughing softly as he nudged his nose against yours. “But yes, I’m clean too.”

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you raised a mocking eyebrow at him. “Oh yeah? And why am I going to regret it?”

Without another word, Jungkook reached down and grabbed his cock with one of his hands. Rather than pushing it right inside of you, he instead slowly started to rub its angry red tip up and down your folds. His eyes remained on yours, a teasing smirk tugging at the edges of his lips.

Biting on your tongue to suppress your whimpers, your eyes wandered down to the area between your thighs. “W-What are you doing?”

Pressing his lips against your jawline, he let out an amused chuckle. “Nothing until you tell me what you need. Use your words, sweetheart.”

Reaching around him, you dug your nails into the skin on his upper back. It wasn’t in your character to beg during sex, but the sight of the tip of his cock glistening in your juices from your first orgasm was enough to make you give in. “P-Please fuck me, Jungkook.” You forced yourself to lock eyes with him, hoping that the desperation you were exuding would be enough to make him cave.

Grinning in amusement against the skin of your neck, he nodded his head. “Good girl.” Sliding his cock down your folds one last time, he slowly slid it inside of your entrance once he reached it, a loud groan escaping his lips as he pushed all the way inside of you. “F-Fuck, you’re so tight.”

Moaning out in pleasure at the feeling of fullness, you whimpered as you watched the sight of his cock disappearing inside of you. The spectacle alone was enough to make the heat in your core reemerge, and your body was pleading for him to do more. “M-Move. F-Faster, please.”

Grabbing one of your legs, he extended it upward and propped it over his shoulder. After getting a good grip on it, he quickly began to thrust in and out of you. “Yeah? You like that, babe?” he breathed out, his eyes screwing shut in pleasure before he buried his face into your neck again.

Dragging your nails down his sweaty back, you were sure you were going to leave some marks behind. It only took a few moments for the feeling of overstimulation to wash away, and a new, deeper pleasure to replace it. With your leg hanging over his shoulder, his cock managed to hit you at just the right angle with every thrust. Using your grip on his back to press your body closer to his, you took the opportunity to wrap your free leg tightly around his waist. The new position made it so his cock brushed against your clit every time he pulled it out of you, the feeling nearly having your eyes rolling to the back of your head. “O-Oh my god, right there.”

Jungkook’s half-lidded eyes remained fixed on yours as he lifted one hand off of your thigh, pressing his index and middle finger together and moving them toward your mouth. “Open.” Once you complied, he inserted his fingers into your mouth. His teeth dug into his lower lip as he watched the way you closed your lips, swirling your tongue around his digits a couple of times before sliding your lips back up and releasing them with a loud ‘pop.’ There was a mesmerized look in Jungkook’s eyes as his thrusts slowed for a moment. “J-Jesus fuck, that was hot.”

A cocky smirk initially tried to spread across your lips, but it was washed away the moment he began to circle his lubricated fingers over your clit, his cock pounding in and out of your pussy at a pace that had you ready to unravel at any second. “I-I’m close.”

Letting out what sounded like a combination of a groan and a whimper, Jungkook leaned forward and brushed his lips over yours. “Cum all over my cock for me, babe.”

“J-Jungkook, f-fuck!” The sound of his raspy command and the feeling of his cock inside of you was all it took to push you over the edge again. Your second orgasm hit you even harder than the first, a sensation of rapturous bliss overtaking your senses as your toes curled and your thighs were left convulsing around his body. While your mind went foggy for a few seconds, the strain that was left in the back of your throat suggested that you had yelled out in pleasure quite loudly. The euphoria was dragged out even longer as Jungkook had yet to reach his own high, his thrusts becoming sloppier as you stared up at him with hazy vision, gasping for breath.

“I-I’m close too,” Jungkook whimpered out, eyes screwing shut as your walls continued to twitch around his cock in the aftershock of your orgasm. “W-Where do you want me to cum, babe?”

Coming back to your senses, you blinked a few times until your vision returned back to normal. Finally processing his request, you used quite a bit of your strength to push him back a bit, ignoring the confused look on his face. Using the space in front of you, you pushed yourself off of the elevated surface before getting down on your knees. “My mouth.” Reaching forward, you grasped his shaft in one hand, pumping his length a few times before leaning down and capturing his tip between your lips. After circling your tongue around it a few times, you hollowed out your cheeks and began to bob your head up and down.

“O-Oh my… F-Fuck, Y/N.” Jungkook quickly adapted to the new sensation, his hands reaching around your head to tangle into your hair and urge your head down his cock further. He locked eyes with you from above, his legs trembling around your head. Taking notice of just how close he was, you forced your mouth down further to accommodate the rest of his cock in your mouth, swallowing around his length at the bottom. The motion and the feeling of the tip of his length hitting the back of your throat was enough to make you gag, and that was all it took to push Jungkook to his climax.

Jungkook was a groaning mess above you as he released his load down your throat, unconsciously thrusting into your mouth further a couple of times to ride out of high. After a few more spurts of his hot cum filled your mouth, you worked your mouth back up his length. Once your lips popped off of the tip of his cock, you pulled back and swallowed thickly, the salty taste of his release lingering in your throat.

After taking a few moments to catch his breath, Jungkook reached down and grabbed your hand, pulling you up onto your feet in front of him. Despite the crude nature of what had just occurred, the smile stretched across his lips seemed so… Innocent. “Well… That happened.” He reached up and pushed the sweaty hair that was sticking to his forehead out of his face.

Laughing softly at his words, you bit your lip and crossed your arms over your chest. “I mean, that’s certainly one way to work out at the gym.”

Jungkook’s whole body shook as he erupted into laughter, leaning down and beginning to grab all of your discarded clothing articles off of the ground. He sorted through them and handed you back yours, beginning to redress himself after. Once he was dressed, he grabbed a towel out of one of the crates and made sure the area was clean. “Don’t forget we worked out before too. That’s two whole workouts. We’re going to need to fuel up with some electrolytes or coffee or something.”

Forcing your damp leggings back onto your sweaty body wasn’t exactly the easiest or most enjoyable thing to do, but you managed. Once your shirt was back on, you looked back over at him and feigned an exaggerated amount of excitement. “Oh my god, am I going to be able to get coffee with hot coffee shop boy?”

“Only if hot coffee shop girl would be so willing to accompany him,” Jungkook jived, nudging your shoulder with his before unlocking and pulling open the door of the closet. To your relief, the room was still empty and there seemed to be no one lurking outside of it. Grabbing his backpack at the front of the room, he slung it over his shoulder. “It might be a good idea for us to shower first, though. I have a strong suspicion that we probably smell prettttty bad.”

Grabbing your own bag and water bottle, you laughed in amusement as you followed him out the door of the classroom and into the main area of the gym. “I have a feeling you’re right. Should we shower and plan to meet up after?”

Walking through the lobby, Jungkook held open the main door for you before following you outside. It was much brighter out now than when you had arrived at the facility almost two hours prior. Time really does fly by when you’re having fun. “I feel like we can’t really be trusted with the whole ‘see you around’ thing and going our separate ways just yet after the shit we both pulled avoiding each other the past couple weeks. Plus, I’m not quite done with you just yet.”

Snickering at the reminder of your past dramatic behavior, you nodded your head in agreement. “So what did you have in mind?”

Stopping in his tracks, Jungkook turned to face you. “So first, I was thinking you could come back to my place and we could both shower there. I could provide you with some clothes for the time being, but if you need to change later, I can bring you back to your place.” The corners of his lips began to twitch upward. “However, that would require you getting into my car with me, and history suggests that doing so ‘makes you nervous,’ or something like that.”

“Hmm, I’m pretty sure I remember something about me making you nervous too. I think some weird drunk guy told me that.” Scoffing at his flirtatious teasing, you playfully shoved his chest. “Anything else planned?”

“Hey, that ‘weird drunk guy’ is the reason we’re here today,” he scoffed, grabbing one of your hands off of his chest and lacing his fingers with yours. “Then I was thinking we could go to our favorite coffee shop. But… And I know this is kind of a wild idea... I’m thinking we sit at the same table for the first time instead of dropping pens and books to try to get each other’s attention from across the room.”

Squeezing his hand, you began to follow him as he led the way to what you assumed was going to be his car. “A bold suggestion, but I’m into it. Might have you drop a book at my feet and I’ll stare at you across the room longingly just for old time’s sake.” When you reached a shiny black SUV, Jungkook unlocked it and walked around the passenger side, opening the door for you. “So I’m guessing these plans involve us skipping classes today?”

“Well, obviously.” Jungkook flashed you a bright grin as you climbed into the car, shutting the door gently once you were in the seat. He ran around the front of it and quickly hopped into the driver’s seat, leaning over to look at you once inside. “And then once the evening comes, as I suggested earlier, I would still love to take you out to dinner, if you’d let me.” Despite everything that had just unfolded and all of the confessions you both had shared, there still appeared to be a glimmer of nervousness and hesitation in his eyes.

Leaning to the side, you reached over and placed your hand on top of his. Your lips formed into a reassuring smile. “I would love to.”

Jungkook lifted your hand that was over his to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against your fingers. “Good.” Turning to face forward, he started the car and began to back out of the space. As he looked at the pathway in front of the gym, he directed a mischievous smirk at you. “Remember that time you walked back to your room on a swollen toe to avoid getting into my car with me? Good times.”

Letting out a groan, you covered your flushed face with both of your hands. “If you don’t shut up, I’m about to hit you with a ‘see you around’ and roll right out of the side of your car while it’s moving.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorrrry,” Jungkook laughed to himself, grabbing the wrist closest to him to pull your hand off of your face. “As compensation for your shame, I will make another embarrassing confession.” He knitted his brow together as he thought for a few moments before chuckling to himself as a memory came to mind. “I once accidentally liked one of your Instagram pictures that was like… 72 weeks old and almost considered moving to another country and changing my identity. I unliked it right away and you probably didn’t even notice, but I was stressed. There. Does that make you feel better?”

Gnawing on the inside of your cheek to hide your smile, you glanced at the side of his face. “Mmm, a little bit. I think I’m going to need you to keep going.”

Jungkook scoffed as he placed your hand that he was holding down on his thigh, shaking his head in disbelief. “How is that fair? I think I deserve some form of payment if I’m going to keep exposing myself too.”

“Fine, fine.” You gently squeezed his thigh, your mind sifting through all of the embarrassing things you had done in the past due to your embarrassing infatuation of the boy who was now sitting beside you. “I tried to order you, like, a sort of secret admirer coffee on Valentine’s Day, but the barista ended up giving it to the wrong guy and I ended up leaving the shop because I was so mortified.”

“Aw, I’ve always wanted to have a secret admirer,” Jungkook teased, parking the car in front of his building. “God, we really could go on forever with these embarrassing stories, huh?”

Nodding your head, you reached your hand up and playfully poked at his dimple. “It sure seems that way. We’re kind of the worst.”

Unbuckling his seatbelt and hopping out of the car, he met you at the front of it and draped an arm over your shoulders. “Good. Just gives me another reason to keep you around longer.”

And while ‘see you around’ hadn’t been a promise that either of you kept before, keeping you around from then on certainly was one that he fulfilled.

#jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #bts smut #jungkook imagines #jungkook fluff #jungkook x you #jungkook fanfic #bts fluff #bts imagines #bts scenarios #jungkook fic #college au #bts college au #jeongguk fic #ddaengtae #shamelesslyimagining

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hyrule-kingdom-updates · 3 years ago

Text

Jou never really took the Champions seriously.

It wasn’t that she thought of them as lesser, or below her, Urbosa was probably the one Jou tolerated on an equal level, but that was about it. Whenever they came up in conversation, she couldn’t help but mentally think: Ah yes, the King’s personal hype party.

She meant no disrespect (At least that’s what she’d claim, but I can assure you—she did mean disrespect) as after all, they were the living symbols of their people’s greatest talents; practiced fighters, intelligent, captains of ancient beasts built by the Sheikah, long ago. And while she might argue that it was strange for the Hylian Royal Family to lead the operation for some other foreigners to take charge of the machines built by her people (without so much as even a Sheikah Champion, Jou might add), she respected them just enough to not make vocal comments on the matter.

Just enough.

But she was surprised that they had turned so quickly, she’ll give them that.

Nonetheless, she was grateful for the opportunity for an easy vent of frustration, a free breathing session. As again, acknowledgement of their external skill aside, Jou didn’t take the Champions seriously.

Which is why she just scoffed when Revali cut off her hair.

She didn’t know what she was expecting from that weird purple blade of his, but a slicing sweep of wind certainly wasn’t in the top ten. Jou held up the broad side of her blade to block her face, but the wind came forcefully enough to tear at her silk dress, and cut her hair bun in half.

Jou looked back at the loose strands of black and white drifting away in the breeze. She looked back at Revali, who had now flipped the blade into his talons as he flapped to keep steady in the air, with that insufferable smirk of his.

She just laughed, as she tidied her hair, sinking her sword into the roof to free her other hand.

“Ooh...” she cooed, quietly, fitting her hair into a loose ponytail, two streaks of black running through. “...You. Bitch.”

“Watch the tongue now!” Revali crowed. “Aren’t you an ambassador or something? Would hate to report you for improper manners.”

Jou said nothing as she smiled warmly—but warm in the sense that you might find a heated piece of iron warm after it had had a screaming plunge into a quench.

She didn’t bother to fix the black cowlick portion of her hair, and she once again grabbed for her sword.

Revali acted fast, diving in to swipe with his sword again. It slashed the air and another blade of wind came forth between her and her nodachi. Jou just sighed at the interruption, and instead went to fix her dress. There was never a good excuse to not look perfect, no matter what the occasion.

The Rito keep his distance and slashed again, wind chasing after her. Jou flicked a wrist and was gone in a poof of smoke and fluttering paper talismans. She reappears on the wooden end of the roof’s spine, still adjusting her dress. She tore off the sliced off edge completely, the red and gold trim now cut diagonally from her upper right hip, to just above her left knee.

Jou closed her eyes and clasped her hands, shaking them up and down, like a disappointed mother scolding a child.

“You...Bitch.” She said it again, with a harsher articulation.

Revali slashed once more with the windblade. The wind was force forward in a thing, vertical line between her eyes.

Another poof, and her sword was in her hand, and she slashed it—A shot of red energy paralleling the wind clashed into its opposite, and it was like the threat had never even existed.

Jou smiled, and made a series of gestures with her hands, bending her fingers under and over each other.

My turn.

She focused her vision at Revali, and at once, a beam of bright blue energy shot itself at the Rito.

It collided mostly with the windblade in his left wing, as he instinctively held it up to block. Yet still, he was thrown back into the mountain side behind the house, and the rubble crumbled off the cliff side.

Jou didn’t stop there.

She disappeared in a flutter of papers once more, and reappeared are the other end of the roof. She closed her eyes and let her fingers dance once more.

She thought of her husband, her nieces, her son, and the still corpse of her long murdered brother. She thought of her duty, her desire, she thought of me.

She exhaled.

Gesturing in front of her, Jou summoned a giant blue barrel of explosives. Somehow, Revali was already prying himself from the rocks. She launched it down in a diagonal angle.

It exploded on impact, and rubble sunk into the lake below.

“Don’t. Fucking touch me. Or my family. Ever.” Jou’s red gaze peered down at the rippling water. “Or maybe next time, I’ll try to really kill you.”

In the distance, someone was yelling to the crowd, but she ignored it, still scanning the lake.

Something bobbed up to the surface, and Jou raised her hand, preparing to strike it with a laser or explosive.

It was a plate of Ancient armour.

Strange, she thought. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen him wearing it through their whole fight. Perhaps it had fallen off during some earlier incident. I imagine it’s difficult to fly around with that strapped to your—

Something burst out of the water, a rush of wind, with pink and black mist.

Jou didn’t hesitate to strike at it with a slash of red energy from her sword. But it didn’t harm me.

I mean what did you expect? I don’t want damage to my produce.

Revali rose out of the wind and mist, not quite flying as he walked on pink air. Jou held her blade in front of her. She could now see malice creeping up one of his wings, now all the way to his shoulder, and creeping at his neck. A trickle of blood was instantly soaked up by the dark mixture, and any wounds or scar were long since covered up.

For a second she thought one of his eyes was gold. She blinked, and they flickered to a hollow green.

He walked forward, talons grasping at my power with each step.

“I am getting...incredibly tired...of you Sheikah getting my feathers wet.”

#???#Assivus Hartell #The life of the party and then death #hku spoilers

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thewritingstar · 5 years ago

Text

Up in the Clouds

Fandom: The PowerPuff Girls

Pairing: Blossick (Brick and Blossom aka Reds)

I have been on a hype for the Reds lately and i have almost forgotten how much i love my og otp. This fic is kinda of all over and messy but its cute and i like it. A little out of character but i have a soft spot for the hc that the boys grew up and soon they all became closer, so the most unoriginal idea ever.

Hope you enjoy! I should prob right for the other pairings too lol.

------

“For this assignment, you will be given an emotion at random and must write AND present about.” The class groaned as she handed out the papers. “You can look at it however you want. Whether its stating things that occur during emotion or what you personally feel, be creative. You’ll present at the end of the month.”

Brick took the papers and passed them back to the next student as the teacher came by and dropped a folded piece of paper on his desk.

“Also there will be no changes. You get what you get.” She stated and he rolled his eyes as he opened the small piece.

Love.

His hands crumbled the paper in his fist and he knew it would be pathetic to try and get someone to change. He could do this. All he needed to do was make up some sappy shit and piss on about it. He thought about talking about platonic love or family love. How even though his brothers made him want to smash their faces into walls until their blood flows down his hand, he still cared about them. It felt more like he was obligated too anyways.

“I got happiness, which is pretty vague. Hey Blossom? Which one did you get?” A fellow student, he thinks is named Alicia asked the pink puff.

“Oh I got sorrow.” She responded and everyone had gone into discussions about their ideas and assignments.

A guy turned to Brick to ask about his but he was already out the door as the bell rang.

The cafe welcomed him as the small bell chimed. His head had been a mess after the assignment was made and although he had seven drafts planned out, none of them seemed to work. He even asked Boomer about it and as he went into detail about a blue eyed, pig tailed super hero, Brick was already regretting asking him.

He ordered at the counter, just a simple soda and a crepe and turned to find a seat. He saw an empty table pressed against the wall to his left but as he turned to the right he saw another table. Occupied with a pink eyed, bow wearing superhero.

He was already at the table before he registered what was happening. She seemed to be alone and he took her by surprise as she looked up.

“Oh, Hi Brick.” She said and he gestured to the seat and she scooted a book out of the way before he plopped down.

“What are you doing here, its like eight o’clock on a school night.” He noticed that the sun was dying down.

She shrugged and pointed to her milkshake. “I had a craving, plus I have a late start period for school so I came here to clear my head. Plus Bubbles was being especially loud on the phone.” he already knew that she was referring to her and Boomer. They had been talking nonstop and not even a lamp thrown at his head would shut him up.

“What are you doing here?” She asked him and he mimicked the shrug and pointed to his crepe.

“Cravings. And needed some space, this English assignment is kicking my ass.” He didn’t know why he admitted to that and he saw her eyes perk up.

“The emotion one?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

That took him by surprise. She was the one who was always raving with emotion, this should be a breeze.

“What did you get?” She asked him. His eyes traveled to his plate were warm chocolate and fresh strawberries collided.

“Strawberry.”

She let out a small laugh and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“I meant for the project.”

oh.

He felt incredibly dumb at that moment and she bubbled out another laugh. That small sound was actually pleasant to hear and for some reason, he wanted to hear it again and again.

“Oh. Um I got love.” He didn’t know why he felt slightly embarrassed and he picked up his drink to chugged it down as she held a puzzling expression.

“Hmm that is a tough one. There’s all types of love.”

“That’s what i was thinking. Well, what about you?”

“Sorrow.”

“Well that’s easy, just pick something sad.”

She said nothing for a moment and instead went to her milkshake, which he noticed was also strawberry, not that it mattered.

“I don’t think its thats simple. Jeremy got sad and I got sorrow so i need to make sure it doesn’t sound similar.”

“But they are similar.”

“Well yes but-”

“Just talk about a loss you had as a superhero. What it feels like to not be able to save the day or something.” He was met with another round of silence.

Her eyes traveled outside the window. the sun was now in its sunset glow and the sky had become a mixture of purple and pink as it faded out the blue. From the cafe you could see the lines of the city skyscrapers blending into the sky. It was quiet on this side of town and he wondered what it would be like to float onto those clouds, careless and free.

And so they did. After she finished her milkshake and he his soda, he posed that they traveled to where only they could go. Why? He didn’t know and neither did she.

Her legs dangled off the cloud that hovered just above the ocean. Some would be afraid that they would fall through but they had used their powers to keep them up.

The cool air blew against their faces and he felt like he could breath better than on the ground.

“Have you ever been in love?” She asked out of the blue, her eyes were focused on the small waves rolling onto to the shore.

“No.” A simple answer that he wasn’t to sure of. he should of been certain. he didn’t know what love, a romantic connection felt like. He had dated girls before, all throughout middle and high school but never once did those words cross his mind.

“Me either.” She responded and he turned towards her.

It was almost as if he couldn’t breath. A swell inside his chest had taken hold and he wondered why she looked so...beautiful against the light. the soft glow of the sun setting made her hair more vibrant and her baby pink eyes sparkle. He wanted to scream at himself for thinking like that but when she turned and caught his eyes, he watched the blush spread slowly on her fair skin and that protest had been silenced.

They held each others gaze. He was right, he had never been in love before, but if he had then he would need a new word for what was happening to him now. His memory fled back to every girl he had ever dated and some how, somewhere, she was there in the background. During their fights or even civil conversations, she was the only one to catch his attention.

They had grown up together, viciously of course but after spending his adolescent wanted to rip her head off, he just wanted to pull her close. He never believed in fate or soulmates or what not but sometimes, even as a stupid kid, he wondered if that pink counterpart of a girl was actually made for him.

“Thats a shame.” He whispered and he leaned closer as she did the same.

“For the both of us.” But they barely beard her words as their lips connected.

Her lips were soft as the cloud they were on. The taste of strawberry was on her lips and her hands wrapped around his neck as his got lost in her long ginger locks. They had spent all their time avoiding each other when they both knew that they would always return to each other.

Every break up was about her. The girl getting mad at how he stared at her or made time to study but not for them. he didn’t realize it until now but that hatred he carried at the start of his creation had melted away slowly like an icicle at the end of winter.

They pulled away and it felt colder than it was before. Her eyes still locked to his. Pink and Red. Just like the sunset and sky. Just like the glow of a bright raging fire. Just like them.

it felt like eons had passed before she looked towards the city. That vibrant sunset was long gone as the sky had turned a deep black and was now painted with stars.

“i should go.” She said but it sounded forced as if she was saying she didn’t want to.

He nodded and they agreed that it was best to part separate since she lived on the other side. He helped her stand up, their feet sinking into the cloud and she turned to him with a soft smile. “Have a nice night Brick.” And soon the dark sky had a flash of pink that disappeared quickly under the stars.

Bricks mind was lost and he tapped his pencil to his desk quietly. the presentations had started for the week and so far happiness, anger, fear and sorrow were up. His mind finally came back to focus towards the end of Blossoms piece and he had cursed himself for barely hearing the first half.

“Its empty and cold, like an unforgiving stare. It haunts you in your dreams and leaves you feeling numb. It lingers and when you think that the pain and suffering is done, it washes over you again, taking and taking until the only sensation left is a hollow shell.

My sisters and I have felt this on multiple occasions. When you can’t save everyone and feel the pity and sadness within the air. But joy and laughter can bring the sadness to a end. The sorrowfulness lasts longer than you think. And it makes you believe that nothing matters anymore.” Blossom finished the last of her piece. Her eyes, along with others in the class had glazed over and she was sure her teacher had been brought to tears at her story and ending.

The applause from the class surrounded the room and she took a small bow before returning to her seat.

Maybe after class they could talk.

The bell sounded through the class and Blossom made her way out of the class. Another school day over.

“Hey.” She turned to see Brick. The students around them were bush trying to leave and get out quickly before a line at the parking lot formed.

“Hey” She returned softly and it dawned on them that they really didn’t know what was between them.

That night a few weeks ago had not be forgotten but was placed high up on a shelf, they almost forgot about it, almost. Its not like they were avoiding each other, no, school and work had overcome both of their lives, mostly hers of course.

“So do you maybe wanna go-” He started but the red pair was interrupted with a flash of blue between them.

“Hey Blossom! Hi Brick.” Bubbles smiled brightly. “Oh Bloss just to let ya know tonight is Sister Showdown.” Her smile held a evil glare and she turned and exited school.

“What the hell is Sister Showdown?” He asked and Blossom blew up her bangs.

“Its a competition thing between Bubbles and Buttercup. Last time one was held, we had to replace our roof so I’d rather not be there.” The hallways were no empty and it was just them. “So what were you saying?”

They ended up at the cafe for the third time that week. Every milkshake and crepe was finished with a trip to the clouds as they watched the sun set. They never spoke about what they were or the emotions, just enjoyed each others company and maybe left the night with a kiss or two.

They talked about anything and everything, sometimes just sitting quietly and counting the waves.

Her sisters would asked where shes been and she had the same studying excuse before humming to herself and falling asleep with a smile at her lips.

His brothers would hound on him, teasing him and slapping him until he would throw them off and the subject would be dropped, but they never missed the fact that he was in a better mood.

It was their secret. The clouds and them. He found it easier and easier to write his paper after watching endless movies, though in the back of his mind, the two main love interest were always replaced with a pair of redheads. Pink and red.

The end of the presentation days came and of course Brick was the last to go.

“That’s the thing about love. You think you know yourself as the days go by, that you recognize every moment as what they are. Love can’t blind you if you’re always aware. It won’t bother you as you keep it in line, making sure that you don’t slip up as you keep reminding yourself there’s no point.” He looked up and was met with a wide pair of eyes.

Pink. Bright pink.

“And then you jolt awake. It hits you faster than the speed of light and soon you are falling. Your lungs squeeze tight as you gasp for air and only when you admit to yourself is when you can breath. Love will force you to look at all the positives. It forces that other person onto a silver platter and a podium that is so small, only they can stand on it. They might not think they are perfect but your mind becomes numb and blind to the heart, its the only explanation. That’s the thing about love, right when you think you’ve fallen, you hit the ground.”

He hadn’t even looked at his paper as his eyes were still lined with hers. The applause in the room shook him to his core as he broke the gaze held with the fiery redheaded girl.

“And when you never think love will come towards you, you might find that its been there all along.”

He couldn’t tell you what the teacher said as he returned to his seat and his mouth was parted open slightly as it dawned on him what he had just done.

He wrote that for the assignment. Based off of shitty romance novels and movies. But in the end, it had been for her.

Always her.

She found him high up in the clouds that night. They hadn’t spoken since and every word he said had ran through his mind.

Their shoulders touched as she sat next to him. Both their eyes focused on the waves below. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, it felt natural and good. Although the quiet night was peaceful, he was ridged and frozen in place.

Even with his blank expression, she could tell his mind was racing. He was choosing his words and mapping out the thoughts and scenarios one by one. And she was doing that too but there were times where planning and perfection weren’t always the best plans.

He turned towards her, his mouth open as if he were ready to speak but she had already decided that he had said enough. The next thing he knew, her lips were connected with his.

Its soft and sweet. Delicate but fragile. His eyes had closed and his hand gently rested on her cheek as she leaned into his touch. He could hear her heartbeat thumping at a fast pace and knew his was just the same. A small sound escaped her lips as he tilted his head and soon her arms were around his shoulders as they fell deeper into each other. She could feel the smirk on his lips as they pulled away.

Both breathing heavily for air as their foreheads rested against one another.

“Did-did you mean what you said.” She whispered and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Everything you said?”

He rested the urge to not pull her back into another breathtaking kiss but instead raised an eyebrow. “What if it wasn’t about you?” He teased but they both knew the truth. They couldn’t lie anymore, not to each other at least.

She smirked as she placed down between them before meeting his eyes. That motion alone had him spiraling as she leaned in closer, her lips brushing his. “Then I guess it would be a shame to say that I’ve fallen.”

“It would be a shame for the both of us.” He kissed her. “But I’ve been on the ground for a long time.”

“Good.”

---

I hope you liked it!!!

#blossom x brick #blossick #blossick fanfic #powerpuff girls #ppg x rrb #ppg #rrb #ppg fanfic #thewritingstar #reds #blossom ppg #brick rrb

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letterboxd · 4 years ago

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Best of the Fests 2020.

From 17th-century werewolves to WWII gremlins to present-day nomads, the stripped-back, mostly virtual 2020 fall festivals still managed to bring the goods. Our team rounds up the very best titles we saw at TIFF, NYFF, the BFI London Film Festival and beyond.

LISTEN: Gemma Gracewood and Ella Kemp chew over their festival favorites in the latest episode of The Letterboxd Show.

Kudos to the teams at the Toronto, New York and BFI London Film Festivals for pulling excellent hybrid festivals together in extremely weird, not-at-all-ideal circumstances. From the always-excellent conversations (and Cameron Bailey’s always-excellent suits) to the hybrid options for viewing, we left feeling hope for our favorite art form.

We have been keeping track, over on our Twitter account, of the many film festivals going online, and it’s safe to say that virtual film festivals—and the wider accessibility they offer—have been a silver lining to this mostly awful year. Indeed, the 58th NYFF was one of Film at Lincoln Center’s most-attended festivals, with 70,000+ attendees in all 50 states and beyond. (We participated in a NYFF Industry Talk, along with MUBI and Rotten Tomatoes, about the future of online film conversation, moderated by Indiewire’s David Ehrlich.)

Attempting to replicate the extreme fatigue of the real thing, our festival team (Ella Kemp, Aaron Yap, Kambole Campbell, Jack Moulton and Gemma Gracewood and—helping us bridge the geo-locked divide—Canadian TIFF regular Jonathan White) disregarded international date lines and dove right in. We saw many films to love, but by consensus (and a poke around your Letterboxd reactions) these are the ones we’re still thinking about.

Lovers Rock Directed by Steve McQueen, written by McQueen and Courttia Newland. The ‘Small Axe’ anthology will be released on a weekly rollout on Amazon Prime Video beginning November 20 with ‘Mangrove’, then ‘Lovers Rock’, ‘Red, White and Blue’, ‘Alex Wheatle’ and finally ‘Education’. Seen at: NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

Lovers Rock, the first part of Steve McQueen’s ambitious, multi-part film project Small Axe, feels like a massive stylistic departure for the filmmaker, in a manner that completely transfixes and astounds. It’s no wonder that this one turned heads at multiple festivals, as it’s immediately warmer, more freewheeling and sensual than any other McQueen work. It’s defined by a hypnotic focus on sound and touch, represented in its earliest scenes with a tactile close-up of a heated comb working its way through hair, and later with its focus on hands wrapped around shoulders, moving across shirts and dresses, people joining together and/or colliding through song and dance. Despite being made for television, it’s astounding how little Lover’s Rock feels that way. Often impressionistic and unbound to the kind of urgency or efficiency that naturally comes with having to adhere to a time-slot, it simply rests in the moment. With the seismic protests being undertaken by Black people this year, Lovers Rock feels like more than welcome respite from a hateful populace—visually rich, gorgeously soundtracked Black joy and love. Also, man, those shirts are incredible. —KC

Nomadland Written and directed by Chloé Zhao. In US theaters December 4. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

“I am already convinced that Chloé Zhao deserves the whole world,” writes Jaime of Nomadland, the TIFF People’s Choice winner. Personal security is something we don’t think about on a daily basis. We have shelter, we can buy food, anything else is bonus. But what if those two basic tenets vanish? While the global financial crisis affected all in 2008, it affected retirees more. Supposedly secure retirement investments vanished; security no more. What do you do? Survive. Zhao’s adaptation of Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction masterpiece Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century is a beacon of human spirit and survival. It may not be pretty, but it’s real. It’s not something to be embarrassed about, it’s something to be proud of. Those that let this happen to good, honest working people should be the ones embarrassed. —JW

Minari Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung. No release date announced. Seen at: Middleburg Film Festival.

Minari is the medicine for these tough times. It’s a wonderful, wonderful, deeply personal, utterly serene and metaphysical portrait of America—freedom, faith, superstition, forces of nature, and ambition collide with the costs of intoxicating capitalist dreams, but not without a whole lot of heart. This is elegantly crafted, at once organic in its approach and always sweepingly cinematic. The film’s gentle sense of humor ensures that it never takes itself too seriously and allows the weight of its poetic images and juxtapositions to guide the narrative. The brilliant ensemble should grow to join Steven Yeun as household names (well, cinephile households). Youn Yuh-jung and Alan Kim are bright sparks as the latest classic duo of sassy grandma and precocious grandchild, but it’s Han Ye-ri—taking on the surrogate role of director Lee Isaac Chung’s mother—who provides an overlooked and tender sounding board for familial bonds in fraction. Minari is truly one of 2020’s most invaluable and essential pieces of art, living up to the hype built since Sundance. Korea came to the USA for the Oscars earlier this year, and if 2021 shows similar mercy, there’s a chance you’ll see this home-grown Asian-American picture mounting that stage in future. —JM

Wolfwalkers Directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, written by Will Collins with Moore and Stewart. Recently released in UK theaters; coming to Apple TV+ December 11. Seen at: TIFF, BFI London Film Festival.

The much-anticipated Cartoon Saloon adventure Wolfwalkers was met with only joy around here. A fable about what happens when a colonizing force tries to tame a wild forest, set during Oliver Cromwell’s Siege of Kilkenny, Wolfwalkers builds to “one of the most sensational animated third acts I’ve seen in years,” according to Animatedantic. The film’s themes are embedded in every hand-drawn line and stroke. “It’s not sleek and seamless and modern,” writes Cow Shea. “This is transparently a true work of art where all the work of that art is part of the finished product.” Mebh and Robyn are animated action heroes for the ages, and you’ll hear a lot about ‘Wolfvision’ in the weeks to come—for very good reason. Werewolf films have, for years, tried different ways to put us inside the beast’s mind, but Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart followed their noses and it’s as thrilling as things get. —GG

David Byrne’s American Utopia Directed by Spike Lee. On HBO and HBO Max now. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF, BFI London Film Festival.

David Byrne’s American Utopia is well on track to join Jonathan Demme’s film of another Byrne stage outing, Stop Making Sense (1984), as one of the highest-rated anythings on Letterboxd. We’re still deciding whether this film is sublime because the stage show itself is sublime, or because Spike Lee has sublimely captured the whole joyous thing for us to inject into our eyeballs, time and again, for far less than the price of a Broadway ticket. Let’s be honest: it’s due to both, and more besides. It’s a blessing upon 2020, of that we are certain. As Clint writes, “The phrase ‘this is the film we need right now’ is such a creaky cliché, but there’s an ineffable feeling that, if David Byrne and Spike Lee can’t heal the world with grey suits, bare feet, and some of the most all-encompassing works of music ever written, no one can.” As my colleague says, “will rewatch to death”. —GG

Shiva Baby Written and directed by Emma Seligman. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF, LFF.

A girl walks into a shiva and bumps into her sugar daddy. What sounds like a joke sets up 77 minutes of note-perfect comedy horror in Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby, her feature debut adapted from her dissertation short of the same name. It’s funny, horrifying, excruciating and so painfully, accurately Jewish. Isaac Feldberg calls it “cruelly hilarious about everything smothering and inevitably miserable about Jewish family gatherings”, but Seligman’s sharp eye for comedy, her affection for her teen hero Danielle (Rachel Sennott, a bona fide star) just figuring her career out and owning her sexuality (Molly Gordon playing Danielle’s overachieving ex-girlfriend Maya is a highlight) cuts straight to the core, however you relate. Matt Neglia points out how Shiva Baby “captures the behaviors of its characters with the same level of dry wit and detail as the Coen Brothers would”. What a thrill for a young, smart, Jewish, bisexual woman to be setting the pace now. Keep an eye on Seligman’s bright, bright future. —EK

Tove Directed by Zaida Bergroth, written by Eeva Putro. Released in Finland; on the festival circuit elsewhere. Seen at: TIFF.

If there was a film swoony enough to fill the Portrait of a Lady on Fire-sized hole in your heart this year, it’s Zaida Bergroth’s Tove, a bewitching biopic of Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, creator of the beloved Moomin cartoon characters. Set in Helsinki during and post-World War II, the film orbits around her boho world, flitting between her creative struggles as a painter and deep sexual awakening with married theater director Vivica Bandler (Krista Kosonen). As Lillian says, “Lesbians and Moomins is such a huge fucking mood I never wanted it to end.” Alma Pöysti shines effortlessly in the lead role. “The film happens on her fantastic face,” writes Hannu. Seth agrees: “a captivating first-class drama about a world-renowned talent in search of her own identity, love and freedom.” A cozy fall-season perfection. —AY

Shadow in the Cloud Co-written and directed by Roseanne Liang. Slated for a summer 2021 release. Seen at: TIFF, AFI Fest.

A proud addition to the “she did that!” canon, the single downside of Roseanne Liang’s genre-perfect, “deliciously fearless” Midnight Madness winner Shadow in the Cloud is that there was no Midnight Madness to experience it at—but thanks to a juicy sale out of TIFF, we can look forward to a premiere next summer. Chloë Grace Moretz is Maude Garrett, a WWII pilot assigned to transport a highly classified package over the Pacific. The all-male crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress banishes her to the lower ball turret, where they harass, gaslight and leer over her—and that is nowhere near the worst part of this bonkers, non-stop hell flight, which Moretz carries like the future action hero she must now become, if the movie goddesses are listening. —GG

Pieces of a Woman Directed by Kornél Mundruczó, written by Kata Wéber. Coming soon to Netflix. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF.

You will be hearing a lot about Vanessa Kirby in the months to come. Pieces of a Woman is an arresting, often taxing watch, but few actors have delivered a performance as utterly overwhelming as Kirby portraying Martha, a grieving mother processing the loss of her baby. The filmmaking team (Mundruczo and Weber share a “film by” credit) zoom in on deep, jagged pain, and tease out some of the most affecting moments put to screen this year. Jack calls the film “an intensely intimate depiction of mental and marital deterioration caused by tragedy” and nods to master Howard Shore’s “subtle yet potent” score. It’s poetry in motion, with stunning turns from Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn, Sarah Snook and Benny Safdie also. But proceed with caution: “this film will destroy you”, Alisha Tabilin warns. —EK

Underplayed Directed by Stacey Lee. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF. (Also recommended in our music movies round-up.)

Women-in-the-workplace movies aren’t usually this banging. Stacey Lee’s documentary Underplayed focuses on one corner of the still wildly sexist music industry—the dance-music scene—and lays out both the facts and feelings regarding why women still, always, deserve better. A number of key names guide the story—Rezz, Alison Wonderland, Nervo, TokiMonsta—giving the viewer a taste of what we’re missing out on while booking the same old men, over and over. And it’s not just because of the stats or the injustices that this is a must-watch: in times of limited social interaction and when the feeling of an adrenaline-fuelled crowd feels like a foggy memory, Lee captures some truly electric moments of these women thriving, captivating thousands of music lovers at once. “Buy yourself good speakers and turn them up because this movie is fun and it deserves it,” writes Matt Brown, and he’s absolutely correct. Underplayed is essential and exciting. The most entertaining education of the year. —EK

Another Round Directed by Thomas Vinterburg, written by Vinterburg and Tobias Lindholm. Awaiting new UK date due to lockdown. In US cinemas soon. Seen at: TIFF, LFF.

Another Round reunites filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg with his muse Mads Mikkelsen, in a lads-on-tour buddy movie, except the lads are four middle-aged high-school teachers, and the tour features a very casual, very constant level of intoxication each man commits to in the name of a social experiment. What could possibly go wrong, you ask? Plenty, naturally—but Vinterberg marries the slapstick moments of bumbling drunks falling over themselves with more mature, poignant scenes that question just how far you can or should go to feel that little bit more alive. There’s a lot to love here, but if we’re being very precise, it’s “rock-solid proof that Mads Mikkelsen is one of our greatest actors,” says Karen Han. Come for the wise, contemplative study of youth and spontaneity, stay for rock-solid proof that Mads Mikkelsen is also, somehow, one of our greatest contemporary dancers. —EK

One Night in Miami Directed by Regina King, adapted by Kemp Powers from his own stage play. In select US theaters December 25, coming to Amazon Prime Video January 15, 2021. Seen at: TIFF, NYFF.

Ladies and gentleman, Regina King has arrived. The actor wastes nothing in her feature directorial debut, bringing to the screen Kemp Powers’ vivid stage play of the same name with a heavyweight cast of greats. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr. are Malcolm X, Cassius Clay (before he took the name Muhammad Ali), Jim Brown and Sam Cooke respectively, as the four men celebrate Clay’s victory over Sonny Liston in February 1964, during One Night in Miami. Rachel Wagner notes how “they all feel like friends and have chemistry, but each with a unique perspective”. This chemistry comes from King’s perfect alchemy of mood, design and structure; she lets her men speak, but her voice is never lost. “Queen King never wavers on her vision until every bit of flesh is torn off each man,” Ben notes, admiring a film that shines for all its famous faces, but stands the test of time for its rich, piercing empathy for every other one waiting in the shadows. —EK

Supernova Written and directed by Harry Macqueen. Awaiting UK and Ireland release due to lockdown; in select US theaters January 29, 2021. Seen at: BFI London Film Festival.

Colin Firth at his very best, Stanley Tucci losing his grip on himself, the luscious Lake District and endless cozy, delicious, warm knitwear. Supernova is every bit as beautiful as it sounds, but also packs a major punch when it comes to mapping a lifelong love story, and the cost of loyalty and pride when you’re fighting against pain nobody can control. As Sam and Tusker, devoted to one another for decades, come to terms with Tusker’s diagnosis of early on-set dementia, there is as much care and sadness as is to be expected, but it still feels brand new and cuts deep. Every good love story is its own. Director Harry Macqueen and his two shining stars understand this better than anyone. —EK

French Exit Directed by Azazel Jacobs, written by Patrick DeWitt. Scheduled for US release January 21, 2021. Seen at NYFF.

Armed with acerbic wit and sharpened claws, Michelle Pfeiffer delivers a vulnerable close-to-career-best performance in French Exit as a mother free-falling from wealth and reconciling with her son, an expertly cold Lucas Hedges. What appears to be formal and dry (“rich white-people stuff”, blegh) is actually wonderfully weird and surprisingly spiritual. There’s a divisive scene at the half-way point that instantly unroots the movie from any grounding we assumed it had established. In any other film, it would open up an entire world of possibilities, but French Exit decidedly treats it as matter-of-fact in order to focus on the emotional journey. It’s the decisive moment—you’re on its wavelength, or you’re overboard—and the rewards for staying aboard are plentiful. Patrick DeWitt’s adaptation of his own novel is in good hands with director Azazel Jacobs. —JM

Still Processing Directed by Sophy Romvari. On the festival circuit. Seen at: TIFF.

A final, honorable mention for Sophy Romvari’s Still Processing, the highest-rated short film out of TIFF, and an excavation of grief like no other. “You’ve got to watch this one twice,” writes Martyn. “First viewing to just weep every two to three minutes. Second viewing to really appreciate how great it is.”

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avengersandlovers · 6 years ago

Text

Derby Girl

Viktor Drago x roller derby!Reader

Warnings: smut/18+ only, injuries?

A/N: So I had to completely rewrite the smut in order to make this work. So now I just have almost an entire Viktor smut scene lying around with nothing to go with it so there’s that. If you want to know more about Roller Derby you can watch this video from The Try Guys. It’s about 22 minutes but it’s very informative and funny. The roller derby in this is a bit sensationalized so if you are a derby player please bear with me.

REPOST FROM MY OLD PAGE PLEASE REBLOG

“Come on Viktor it’ll be fun.” His friends goaded as they dragged him along behind them.

This old rink had been run-down for what seemed like forever until last year when someone finally bought it and fixed everything up. It had basically turned into an attraction in their small town when it opened. The loud music, the neon lights, people of all ages just hanging out and having fun.

Except for weekend nights, those were bout nights and they were an even bigger attraction than the open skate nights. People lined up to get a front row seat to the matches. Most people were either just there because they were hoping for a fight to break out amongst the players or because they had a particular player they liked to ogle but there were a few, like Viktor’s friends who just enjoyed cheap beer and good competition.

When they got inside all they could hear was the Ramones playing through the speakers. They quickly moved through the crowd and got their beers before pushing their way to the front of the crowd so they could get Viktor a front row seat for his first match.

The lights and music turned down and spotlights danced across the rink. The announcer came out and started speaking into the microphone. He welcomed everyone to the match and announced the teams.

“First out is the Rose City Rollers, who are here all the way from the USA!” His voice boomed through the building, the crowd cheering in response with each player’s name being read off the list.

Once the first team was on the track, your team was announced.

“And next we have our undefeated home team the White Night Furies! First out is HULKKKKK!” The announcer started to get really hype now.

You fist bumped your lead jammer and she popped her mouth guard in before rolling out onto the track and waving to the roaring crowd.

“Oh captain, my captain, next out is the Duchess of Pain!” He called your derby name and you rolled out into the rink and up to your teammate, waving to everyone as you passed by.

When you stopped at the starting line you finally turned to the crowd and actually took a good look at them. For the most part it was all the same faces that you usually saw. While derby was an attraction for this otherwise boring and small town, the sport definitely still only attracted a certain kind of crowd. As your eyes scanned the crowd they landed on him.

You knew who he was, everyone knew who he was. He was Viktor fucking Drago. And he was staring right at you. Your vision began to tunnel and everything else started to tune out as you both stared at each other for a few moments. He didn’t seem particularly thrilled about being there but he also didn’t seem mad about it either. You were actually finding him incredibly hard to read but you couldn’t take your eyes off him.

Your teammates rolled by and patted your helmet, knocking you out of your hypnotic state. You shoved your mouth guard in and turned around, getting ready for the bout to start. The whistle blew and your jammer started squeezing between the blockers as she forced her way out in front. She took off skating and you ducked through the crowd and followed close behind her, pushing away other blockers who were trying to bump her off the track.

By the time half time came the match had been eventful for the crowd but nothing special for your team. You were up by 15 as you stayed off to the side and tried to watch the show. But you couldn’t help yourself as your eyes started to drift through the crowd again to see if he was still there.

Viktor was laughed as his friends shoved him playfully. They were giving him a hard time for getting as into the bout as he had. He had been cheering every time your jammer pushed through the pack and booed when the other team hip checked a blocker a little too hard. He hadn’t even been looking forward to the bout, his friends had just dragged him along but seeing how much you and the rest of the women seemed to be enjoying the game had unexpectedly changed his mind.

You continued to study him from afar until something caught your attention from the corner of your eye. The other team was huddled around talking, and every-so-often they would turn to look at you. Just from the brief glance you bothered to give them, you could tell they were up to something. You turned around to your team and pulled them in for your own huddle.

“Something’s about to go down. Stay sharp and keep an eye out for anything weird.” You told them.

The second half started about the same as the first half. You trailed behind your jammer, keeping an eye on the other team when out of nowhere you spotted 2 of them coming up behind you quickly. You tapped your jammer on the shoulder indicating to her to speed up. You transitioned to skating backwards as you faced the blockers coming your way and attempted to stop them but they didn’t seem as interested in Hulk as you had thought.

One of the blockers came up on your left, hip checking you in the back of your leg as she passed. The other blocker who was a few paces behind her didn’t seem nearly as considerate of the contact zones and basically gut punched you while your footing was off, sending you rolling to the bottom of the bank.

The crowd gasped as you rolled down to the center of the rink. You groaned as you felt a sharp pain to your ribs. You could hear the distant sounds of your teammates calling for skater down and getting mad at the refs for not seeing the foul.

You managed your way onto your hands and knees as you breathed through the pain. Not that this was the worst injury you had gotten but getting hurt doesn’t really get any easier. You lifted up your head just in time to see the second blocker coming back around. You could almost feel your eyes turn red and fumes coming out of your ears as though you were some sort of cartoon character.

You shot up off the ground and barreled your way towards her so quickly she didn’t even see you coming until you finally collided with her so hard you shoved her over the railing and into the laps of Viktor’s friends. The drunken men sat there mouths agape for a second before bursting out into raucous cheering.

The ref’s whistle blew and you were called for penalty time for what was obviously an illegal hit but you didn’t care. She started it after all. You just wished you had done more.

Your response to the other team’s flippant disregard for your safety and the safety of others on the track seemed to have sent the right message and the game ended without another incident and ended in your significant favor.

You took your time changing in the bathroom after the game even though you were just putting on sneakers. You poked at the already prominent bruise on your ribs and winced in pain. You had also managed to obtain a nice little shiner by accident when a rookie skater flailed when they fell instead of falling small. But it looked like those issues were going to be a problem for tomorrow you. You threw your coat on and grabbed your bag and made your way outside where your friends were waiting for you.

You immediately walked up to Hulk and laid your head on her shoulder, not even realizing who she was talking to beforehand. She laughed and pushed you off.

“Hey hot stuff, how you feeling?” She joked, grabbing your face and poking the bruise.

“Come on, don’t be a bitch.” You sneered, pulling away from her.

“Whatever, you coming out with us?” She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

“Us?” You whispered as you realized there were others standing around her.

You turned your head to see Viktor and his friends standing off to the side. They all had huge smiles on their faces as they waved at you, except for Viktor who still seemed reserved.

“Or do you need to go to the ER?” She questioned, looking you over as you adjusted your bag on your shoulder awkwardly.

“What? No, I’m fine.” You brushed her off.

You heard the footsteps next to you but didn’t even think about who they belonged to until a large hand gripped your side and squeezed. You screamed and swung your fist around, landing a punch on the chest of whoever was holding you.

“I know a cracked rib when I see one.” He looked down at you, an almost smile on his face, like you hadn’t just hit him as hard as you could.

“Go to the hospital.” She crossed her arms and glared at you.

You in turn glared at Viktor who seemed unthreatened and unbothered.

“They aren’t going to do anything. Just give me an x-ray and tell me to rest.” You tried to argue.

“GO!” She insisted, grabbing your shoulders and turning you around before shoving you away from her.

You stomped your foot and whined, looking at her over your shoulder.

“I’ll call you later and I expect to be told how it went.” She called back to you as she started walking away.

You sighed, and conceded before hailing a cab and heading to the hospital.

2 hours and several x-rays later, they told you exactly what you expected to hear and basically wasted your time and money.

The wind outside picked up and you pulled your jacket closer while you tried to type your location into uber. Suddenly a truck pulls up in front of you and parks before the passenger door swings open.

“Thought you could use a ride.” Viktor called out from the driver’s side.

You hesitated for a moment, not sure about getting into a car with a man who you only knew stories about but if it meant you saved a couple bucks and didn’t have to stand in the cold then it had to be better than your current situation.

You climbed into the truck and closed the door behind you, immediately relaxing as the warmth of the inside overtook you.

“How did you even know I was done?” You questioned, pulling out your phone so you had somewhere to look.

“I was waiting for you.” He shrugged.

You looked up from your phone and stared at him. “Well that’s not creepy,” you said sarcastically.

Viktor looked startled as he looked back between you and the road.

“What? No, no, it’s just…I just…” He tried to explain as he got more and more flustered.

“Should I be concerned?” You teased as you watched his face grow bright red.

“No, no. I felt bad.” He finally managed to get out. “I was the reason your friend made you go so I thought I would make it up to you.”

You nodded in response. “Didn’t you want to stay out with your friends?”

“I have training tomorrow.” He shrugged again but gave no more explanation. “So…do you want to tell me where to go?” He looked over and smiled at you as you suddenly realized you were still in the hospital parking lot.

“Oh shit, right.” You fumbled with your phone as you pulled up directions to your place while he laughed quietly at you.

It was quiet for a little while between you two as he drove you home, with only the sound being your phone’s navigation system.

“So it is always that crazy?” He asked.

“What?” You looked up as his voice pulled you out of your day dream. “Oh the bout, right. Yeah sometimes, I guess. Those women took it a little too far tonight. But things happen, we get hurt all the time. It’s not a big deal. One of the girls broke her collarbone in a bad fall just last week.”

You looked over at Viktor who was looking at you like you were crazy.

“What?! You’re a fighter, it’s literally your job to get hurt. How is that any different?” You huffed, crossing your arms then immediately regretting it as you put pressure on your rib.

Viktor reached over and touched your arm gently as you winced.

“You have to be more careful.” He whispered, pulling your arms apart.

You watched him carefully as he laid your arm on the armrest. His hands were rough like you expected them to be but his touch was so soft.

Silence fell over you both once again. You sat there rubbing the crick in your neck awkwardly for the remaining few minutes until Viktor pulled into your driveway. You went to reach for the door but he stopped you and asked you to wait. He got out of the truck and walked around, opening the door for you and grabbing your bag. He held out his hand and helped you out of the passenger side.

“Viktor it’s just a cracked rib, I’m not made of porcelain.” You laughed as he walked you to your door.

“I know, I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” He said quietly while not making eye contact.

You sighed and looked him over before unlocking your door.

“Come on.” You waved your hand calling him inside behind you.

“Oh, uh, I shouldn’t.” He hesitated.

“Nonsense, you did a nice thing for me, now I’m doing a nice thing for you. Come inside, I’ll make you some coffee for your ride home.” You insisted, pulling on his arm.

You took off your coat and tossed it to the side while Viktor followed you to the kitchen, setting your bag down on a table for you before pulling up a chair. You filled the coffee maker then leaned against the counter and began rubbing your neck once again.

“Are you okay?” He asked from the chair.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I think I just pulled something tonight. It’s not a big deal.” You replied, letting your head fall back as you found the knot in your muscle.

You heard the chair move across the floor then felt Viktor’s intense body heat in front of you.

“Here, let me help.” He said softly.

You hesitated but turned your back to him, putting your hands on the counter as you tried to relax. He placed one hand on the small of your back while his other hand found its way to the the spot where you had been rubbing. He started with squeezing your shoulder then he would run the heel of his palm down your shoulder blade and back up before his thumb found a spot just to the side of your spine that seemed to be the source of your pain. His thumb dug into the muscle in a circular motion and you couldn’t help but to let out a little moan. He took a step closer to you but you couldn’t tell if it was because he was just really focused on getting this knot out of your back or if he just wanted to be closer to you.

You decided to take a chance so you took a step back towards him. Your bodies just barely touching. Viktor’s hand on your lower back started to drift until it was sitting on the side of your hip. His hand was now running up and down the length of your back as you felt him take a step forward which also pushed you forward.

You stood against the edge of the counter, Viktor’s hot breath in your ear speeding up as you started to grind your ass against him. His hand left your back and trailed across and up your stomach until it cupped your breast over the sports bra you were still wearing.

You could feel Viktor’s cock pressing against your ass now so you started to pull on your shorts, getting them down to your knees where you were able to shimmy out of them the rest of the way. Viktor reached for the hem of your shirt, moving quickly to pull it off until he heard you hiss in pain.

“Shit, shit, I’m so sorry.” He apologized, running his hand gently over the fresh bruise.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, just don’t stop now.” The words spilled out of your mouth and were much whinier and needier than you intended them to be.

You finished taking your shirt off then Viktor very carefully helped you take off your bra as he was much more concerned about your ribs than you were at the moment. Then he quickly followed suit with his own shirt, tossing it aimlessly to the ground with the other articles of clothing.

Viktor ran his hands over your bare back, letting his thumbs dig in just a little as they rubbed your sore muscles. You moaned again, pressing your ass even harder against him. You could feel him reach between the two of you as he began to undo his pants. You turned around, taking the waist of his pants and underwear in your hands as you pulled them down while you dropped to your knees in front of him.

He looked down at you, smirk on his face as he looked over the messy makeup still smeared across your face from the bout. He reached down and brushed his thumb across your lips. You of course in turn took his thumb in your mouth and sucked on it, while looking up at him through your lashes. He let out a whimper as you released his thumb and took his thick, hard cock in your hand. You licked a long stripe up the underside of the shaft before taking just the head in your mouth and sucking on it. Viktor brushed your hair out of your face and held it back for you while you brought your hand up, gripping the base of his cock as you took the rest of your mouth, bobbing your head up and down on it, taking as much of it in your mouth as you could.

Viktor’s chest heaved up and down as he enjoyed every second of watching spit drip down your chin while your lips remained tightly wrapped around his cock. Your other hand traveled up his thigh and scratched lightly across the soft skin, making him tense under your touch.

Finally Viktor had enough. He grabbed you arm and pulled you to your feet, spinning you around and pushing you back up against the counter. He spread your feet apart just enough before thrusting deep into you. You let out a guttural moan as his cock hit your g-spot over and over again and stretched you just right. You tried to pull yourself up on the counter just a little so you could be at a better height for him. Viktor noticed what you were trying to do so he grabbed your hips and helped lift you up as you lay your chest down on the cold counter in front of you.

Viktor ran his hands up and down the back of your thighs as he took a moment to recollect himself but then he was right back at it. He thrust into you once again. This time one hand reached underneath you, rubbing your clit with his fingers while the other gripped your ass. You arched your back, pushing your ass up a little as the feeling became overwhelming in the best way. Pleasure flooded your body as you felt your cunt tense around his cock and your wetness dripped down the inside of your thighs. Viktor groaned loudly, lurching forward as his grip on your ass tightened meaning he had fallen over the edge not long after you and you were both able to ride it out almost alongside each other.

When you were done, Viktor took a step back, putting his hands on the counter to hold him up as he caught his breath. You slid off the counter but were still cage in by his arms and body.

“Well, that escalated quickly.” You tried to joke.

Viktor just looked at you and shook his head.

“I feel like I should state that when I invited you in for coffee, like I really did just mean coffee, I didn’t intend for this to turn into something out of a shitty porno.” You just kept digging the hole deeper.

Viktor laughed this time at your poor attempt at a joke.

He finally let go of the counter and reached down to pull his pants up and grabbing your clothes. You both put your shirts back on and you pulled up your panties. Just when you looked back up Viktor leaned down and gave you a gentle peck on the cheek.

“Are you alright? I didn’t grab your ribs again did I?” He asked, as he ran the back of his hand over where the bruise was.

“I’m fine.” You smiled at him, your cheeks growing surprisingly hot.

He placed his hands back on the counter behind you and leaned over so you were eye-to-eye.

“I was worried you were going to hurt yourself when you wanted up on the counter.” He laughed again.

His laugh was so deep it reverberated through his chest and it was like you could feel it in you and it sent tingles up your spine. You were not expecting this.

“Then why did you help me up?” You giggled.

“You seem stubborn.” He beamed at you like he was giving you a compliment.

“That may be one of the nicer words people use to describe me, yeah.” You bit your lip and held your breath.

He laughed again. “I’m sure it is.”

Silence fell over you both as you just stared at one another.

“I know you’re busy tomorrow but what are you doing the day after?” You asked sheepishly.

His smile grew bigger. “I have work and training but if you’re able to, I’d love to see you on my lunch break.”

“It’s a date.” This time it was your turn to give him a peck on the cheek. “And I’ll be sure to bring coffee that I didn’t burn.”

TAGS:

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#viktor drago #viktor drago smut #viktor drago x reader #viktor drago imagine #viktor drago fanfic #viktor drago fanfiction #viktor drago fic

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sparda3g · 5 years ago

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Kimetsu no Yaiba Chapter 169 Review

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A long time ago, Gotouge has promised that the Rock Pillar is the strongest Pillar. Honestly, I have recently found out and while I’m not entirely sure to be the case, I would have believed it easily based on this chapter alone. It’s finally the time for him to get into the action and what better way to challenge than Kokushibou. After series of hype demonstration, now it’s his time, and man, it certainly delivered and then some.

Before getting into the chapter, once again, the cover tells a story and this time, we learn that Tanjiro and Giyu are back up and moving. I wonder how the anime would handle these covers since they’ll eventually lead to somewhere. It’s good to know their status, though I wonder where they will go to now. I don’t think they will bump into Kokushibou or other Upper Moon. I believe they will go straight to Muzan; hopefully everyone alive will regroup in time. This is hyping me up. Speaking of hype, the chapter now begins.

Even before Gyomei makes a move, I can already feel the hype aura surrounding him. We got a taste of it back when he was trying to kill Muzan, but now, this will be a real one-on-one fight. I really like the subtly of Gyomei’s bond with Sanemi with the advice to heal up while he fights. Sanemi’s reaction reflects the backstory’s scene, where he was a cold and Gyomei was visibly upset. It did leave a bad impression, but this recent moment is like water under the bridge; let bygone be bygone. It’s why Sanemi reacted with a bit of a shock and thankful. It’s a nice subtle moment.

Kokushibou has been incredibly impressive; taking out three Slayers alone. He can even use the Transparent World, which doesn’t come off as a surprise, but still incredible. As impressed he was with the past two Pillars, Gyomei is the one that legitimately got him hyped. He can’t help but feel the excitement; visibly smiling in front of them. I like to think he’s channeling us fans on the thrills and chills. Can’t blame him.

I thought this chapter would stall the fight in order to create a suspense for the next chapter, since this is before a holiday break. Like it didn’t want to start and reserve it for next time. I wouldn’t mind, depending on the content, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case. The fight hasn’t started but the startup is nerve-racking. Gyomei is preparing to combat; drawing in the air with his chain. I felt like I needed to hold my breath for the intensity. I’m just waiting for someone to scream, “Hajime!” When the action starts, oh ho, it’s great from start to finish.

Gyomei starts to strike and while he missed the first part, the chain of action, no pun intended, doesn’t slow down one bit. He can throw the ball and the axe simultaneously, meaning if he miss the ball, he can throw the axe immediately or even at the same time. He doesn’t need to rebalance his position. That’s pretty impressive. I like how Kokushibou was about to use Moon Breathing, but caught off-guard from the axe. Luckily for him, he dodged it but damn, that was close.

He tries to use Moon Breathing, but the pacing is fast. You would think Gyomei would be strong but slow due to heavy weapons. Instead, not only he’s greatly built for them, but he keeps up the pace and increase it. At one point, he does a Stone Breathing to lift up the ball to strike him. An enemy cannot take their time to strike back. The sequences have been great so far. It’s not only thrilling to see them in combat, but also thrilling to see the attempts to land a hit on Kokushibou. Since he has been dodging many close calls, at this point, it will be unbelievable to see him hurt. Leave it to Gyomei to give it a try.

The ball and axe are crazy strong, but the chain itself is also crazy strong. The fact Kokushibou can’t even break it with his sword is quite telling. It’s practically unbreakable. It could have demolished him, seeing how he was wrapped up, but it only cut his hair. Let me tell you, that haircut is as remarkable as landing a hit. I even gasped when it happened. That’s how intense the fight is.

The best part about it is how it doesn’t feel one-sided. Although it’s a hype showcase for Gyomei, it doesn’t resort to Kokushibou getting overwhelmed easily and exposition his opponent’s techniques. While he does explain their skills and feat, never did he feel like he’s going to lose. Also, his words are filled with compliments to his enemy, so it’s not devaluing any Pillars. Everyone is treated with respect; it’s just that Kokushibou is too damn strong. Only exception was Genya, but it’s not done to hate on him as shown by its narration. Gyomei received plenty of compliments, delivered his credibility, and rightfully so. He is damn strong. With all that being said, the fight feels like evenly split, and that’s exciting.

The action grows intense as both are trying to land a hit. Each panel increase my leg’s shakiness. At this rate, I’m begging for Gyomei to scratch him. It’s seriously unnerving. Kokushibou tries to use Moon Breathing while his sword was chained, but it finally breaks apart. I gasped even louder than the haircut. Both are them go “Screw it,” and go for direct hit with both Moon and Stone Breathing techniques. That double-page spread is filled with greatness. It’s like watching two titans going at it; “Let them fight!” I don’t recall seeing two Breathings collide, but it was spectacular.

It was said earlier that Kokushibou’s sword is made out of his flesh. That’s disgusting, but again, complement his design wonderfully. I should have expected his sword to regenerate, but regardless, that’s just crazy. Gyomei takes the hit first. Dammit. The chapter could have ended with a normal cliffhanger, but since there’s a break coming up, Gotouge wanted to end with sheer hype. Gyomei is about to go all in with an attack reserved for Muzan. When you hear that, you know this got serious really fast; like muttering, “Holy crap…!” Now I regret wanting the action to begin here.

This was a really entertaining chapter. I would love to see this animated, let alone all other scenes in general. Gyomei is really strong and impressive. He came really close on leaving a scratch. The action was great and intense. Choreograph was very solid. The artwork was clean and really good, especially the double-page spread. The cliffhanger leaves a serious hype for the next chapter, which is sadly coming much later due to the holiday. Enjoy the break for now, because the Rock Pillar will come down crashing soon.

#demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #chapter 169 #review #spoiler

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theprodigypenguin · 6 years ago

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Moon Sick

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Pairings: Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter

Summary: James is in his final year at Hogwarts, seventeen and thriving, but no matter how long he'd spent in Slughorn's class over the past few years, he still didn't much see the point of potions, and he was running out of time to finally get motivated about it. His seventeenth Christmas at The Burrow, however, proves a better teacher and motivator than Slughorn or his father ever were, as a dear friend becomes ill, where the only method of healing and relief is through the brewing of a special tonic. Though James has little to no interest in such things, if it's to help relieve the pain of someone he truly cares for, he would do just about anything.

Words: 9511

Warnings: fluff!

Notes: MY VERY FIRST JEDDY FIC! Quick background: in this fic Teddy and James 100% like each other but 100% don't realize it. Teddy and Victoire DID date for a bit, but broke up mutually and are still extremely close friends, because I don't believe in adding toxic exes where toxic exes don't need to be. Victoire is an amazing character and deserves respect, so I hope I don't see any hate on the fact she dated Teddy in this fic. Featuring the entire spectrum of Weasley cousins, because I got two requests in the comments of "Thicker Than Water" to add more of the family! I AGREE THEY ALL NEED TO BE LOVED! I had to take some creative liberties about their personalities, but I hope everyone likes how I characterized them! I've grown especially fond of Fred Junior! Also featuring one of my favorite personal Teddy Lupin headcanons, where he gets sick during the full moon! He's not a werewolf, but surely being a hybrid would have some unforeseen effects.I think that's it, so please read and enjoy!

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James never really cared for his Potions class, from his first year at Hogwarts and onward. The Professor was interesting, and so were the tonics and potions that they read and created while in class, but James never saw much point in it. Charms and Transfiguration, now those were two skills he wanted to know more about and perfect, because using magic was what they were at school to learn after all. They were wizards, not druids.

What was the point of something physical like Potions when it would be better in the end to perfect spell casting and magical wand defense? Of course, James would never say that aloud, especially in front of his teacher or father. He mentioned only once that he wasn't entirely fond of the class, and Harry had just smiled at him.

"I didn't care for it in the beginning either, I was never very good at making potions, and the Professor I had most of my time there was... difficult. When Slughorn took over the position, though, I really started to have fun."

James tried to accept that without bugging his father about his first Potions Professor being difficult ("Didn't you name Albus after him?"), but it was certainly a trial. Harry said potion making had come in handy many times during his life, both as a student and as an Auror, and James had smiled and agreed, but it still wasn't very interesting to him.

He was good enough at it, he read the text and did his homework, fine, but he just never felt much excitement or passion for the class. What was he supposed to do about that? Fake it? For six years of school he just didn't care about Potions. He excelled because he had too, but every class, every exam, just made him sigh in boredom.

It was over Christmas break in his seventh year that he started to gain some form of interest towards potion making. He was hanging tinsel and garlands around The Burrow with Lily, throwing bits of the metallic silver shavings into Albus' hair whenever they crossed paths and giggling until his brother had realized it and started cursing from behind him.

James and his family had arrived at The Burrow just that morning, though Christmas was still a day away, so they were fixing up some last minute details in and out of the house before the rest of the family arrived. Throughout the day, Hermione, Ron, Hugo, and Rose had come home, greeting Arthur and Molly with a kiss on the cheek and excited hugs. Around noon, Percy and his family came alongside George and his. Charlie had been there for days already. The family was slowly filling into the old Weasley home, helping with decorations and cooking, some of the younger kids running through the house with bags and rolls of wrapping paper yelling at the adults not to look as they finished last minute present wrapping.

It was James' favorite holiday, because though he got to see his cousins all the time at Hogwarts, this was one of the only times that all of those from the Potter-Weasley clan got together under one roof in one area. Even Charlie had made it a new promise, that even if he couldn't get away from work during the rest of the year, he would always be there for Christmas to see all his nieces and nephews (and absolutely spoil them rotten because, according to him, since he had no children of his own, that gave him the divine right to hype the children up with snacks and cackle madly as they shot through the house in a sugar rush).

So far the only ones who hadn't arrived were Bill and his family, and Andromeda with Teddy. They always came for Christmas, always. Ever since James could remember, Andromeda Tonks would be sitting in that hastily patched armchair next to the fireplace, while her grandson, sporting a blend of ginger and black hair, would bounce around the house enjoying every Weasley and Potter that would let him hug them (and the ones that wouldn't; they really didn't have a choice).

James was hoping they wouldn't be too late. It was already getting dark out, he could smell the scent of dinner wafting through the entire house, Lily was starting to fidget and pace, bounce on her heels as her stomach growled and she whined under her breath, trying to concentrate on the ornaments she was adding to the tree. Albus had a broken stick of peppermint hanging out of his lips as he set out hand knitted doilies on the coffee tables and took presents from Fred to tuck safely under the tree, their cousin sneaking small cubes of toffee from the candy dish on the table whenever Albus turned his back. Everyone was starving, but they wouldn't start before the others arrived.

James was hanging stockings at the mantle when Bill's family finally arrived, bustling through the door covered in a dusting of snow. Louis went right for Fred, who was closest, and pounced on him in a hug, while his older sisters opted to remove their coats and cloaks so they wouldn't get the floors wet. He overheard Victoire asking if Teddy had arrived yet, frowning at his Uncle George's old stocking at the taste the question put in his mouth (dusty, sour), and hanging it before pulling the next from the box under his arm.

It was Teddy's, made special by Molly with knitting of a dozen colors, something to represent his uniqueness and the way his hair changed according to his emotions. There was a T right in the middle, stitched there in gold. His Uncle Ron used to joke about it, saying Molly had spent days lamenting over what name to use for Teddy's stocking and sweaters. His name was Edward, but he went by Teddy? E or T? In the end she settled on using the T, because it just looked right.

James was about to hang it up next to his own when the fireplace started to make a sputtering noise, shaking a bit, and it only occurred to him that someone was using the floo before they appeared in a spit of green flame, so close to James that all he saw was a flash of pale blue and gray before they had collided against him, sending them both crashing onto the floor, the box of stockings falling from his arm and skidding across the floor spilling socks.

James could only grunt as he hit the ground, his head smacking against it, a heavy body landing none too gently on top of him, practically dead weight that groaned in pain and muttered curses as Harry and Molly hurried into the room and the floo roared to life again. Andromeda Tonks was the one to step out of the fireplace, dusting a few specks of ash from her shoulder and carrying a bag, pausing and staring down at her grandson, who, James was finally realizing, had been the one to fly out of the floo and knock him to the ground.

"Teddy, honestly," she chided him, but she looked incredibly worried.

James lifted a hand in greeting, "'Ello, GrAndy!"

"Owe," Teddy's voice was muffled against the floor, finally shifting to push himself up and shuffle away from James, who felt winded and somewhat flushed as he sat up grinning, hoping he didn't look as exhilarated as he felt.

"Quite the entrance, Ted!" he said, rubbing the back of his head as Teddy pushed himself, somewhat heavily, to his feet, laughing like he hadn't caught his breath yet.

"My humblest apologies, James," he said, holding his hand down for James to take and hoisting him up to his feet before turning to meet his grandmother, who was patting away the specks of ash caught on Teddy's shirt and muttering about him being unsafe while he grinned.

Harry went directly to hug his godson as Molly picked up the box of stockings, which James took from her so she could hug Teddy next, pulling back and squeezing his cheeks between her hands.

"Looking peaky, aren't you Teddy? Staying over at the office?"

"Course not, ma'am," Teddy said through a grin, but even Harry looked a little concerned, waiting until Molly had moved away to greet Andromeda before he reached out to Teddy's face, "I'm fine, Harry, really."

Harry didn't look very convinced, and frankly, James didn't feel convinced either. Teddy did look washed out. His hair, while blue, looked very dull and almost pasty, and his face was pale and somewhat flushed, but not from the cold. His eyes were currently a steely blue and glazed. Maybe he was feeling unwell? Had he gotten sick in the weather? Or maybe he was overworking himself like Molly had hinted?

"What are you doing standing, James?!" Molly asked, and James stared at her in puzzlement.

"Well gran, I was putting stockings up like you told me too before Teddy came crashing in."

"Oh!" Molly exclaimed and looked at the mantle before walking over and sifting through the box, "Just need Percy's now, Percy and Lily, where's hers; there we go," she pulled out two before patting James' cheek, "Now take the rest upstairs and find your brother to help."

"What's he need help with now?"

"It's Albus, he's probably done something," Molly said, and James heard Albus yell from the other room.

"I BLOODY HEARD THAT!"

"I'll help with that," Teddy offered, taking the box from James, "I did knock him down. You hit your head?"

"Teddy I hit my head daily. It's a problem. Al says it's why I'm so dumb."

"You're not dumb, James," Harry said, then turned to Teddy, "Don't worry about helping with boxes or decorations, have a seat. Mum, can you get some tea?"

Molly had her hands at her chest, "Course I can, dear. Andy, would you like to help?"

"I'd love to."

"And you sit," Harry pointed at Teddy as the older women went from the room.

"Harry I'm fine," Teddy said on another laugh, "I think I can carry a box, see? Besides, James is the one who hit his head."

He started for the stairs and James gave his father a puzzled look, but Harry was still watching after Teddy with a severe light of worry in his eyes. Figuring he'd get no answers from him, James just followed Teddy, hiking up the steps two at a time before reaching Teddy and slowing down. He looked over his shoulder to watch Harry leave the room before turning to Teddy.

"You okay? What's riled everyone up? Did something happen?"

"Don't think so," Teddy said, but he looked distinctly uncomfortable with the question, which made James a bit more uneasy.

"Your gran seemed worried too."

"She worries over everything, James, don't you know?" Teddy laughed, but it sounded wrong.

Forced, airy. James narrowed his eyes and watched Teddy as they continued up the steps. There was definitely something wrong. Teddy's laughs sounded wrong, he was moving slower than he usually did, he was pale and seemed unfocused, continually looking down at his feet and once or twice almost tripping on the steps.

It wasn't until they were at the top and Teddy had stowed the box into a broom closet that James said something, standing in the narrow hall with his arms out and hands against either side of the wall, blocking Teddy from moving. Teddy just set a hand on his hip.

"James you know I can just apparate around you, right?"

"Something's wrong," James said, staring directly into Teddy's eyes, "You're gonna tell me what."

"C'mon, Jamie."

"Are you sick? Is the ministry overworking you? Have you been sleeping enough? Or eating?"

"James," Teddy rolled his head from one side to the other, "My gran's been getting on me all day with this, not you too, I am fine."

"Teddy your hair is turning gray!" James snapped, and Teddy looked at him blankly before lifting a hand to his hair, as if touching it would make it easier to see.

He sighed after a minute of James glaring at him, burying a hand into his hair, which had indeed paled from a frosty blue to a dull blue tinged gray.

"Look, it's just a bit of a headache. I get them all the time. Way more than you probably think."

"Headache?"

"Yea, I get them sometimes."

"Like, recently enough for everyone to worry over you?" Teddy nodded and shrugged, "Wait, why don't I know about this? How long have you been getting them?"

"I don't know... they started when I was five or six maybe?" Teddy was rubbing his neck, and James just gaped at him.

"I've never heard you complain over a headache..."

"Well they're not all bad. Sometimes they're easy to ignore, you know?"

"And when they are bad?" James asked, and Teddy stared at him again before forcing a smile onto his lips.

"Hey don't worry so much, Jamie. It'll go away in a bit."

"You sure? You don't need anything?"

"I'm sure," Teddy paced over to him and turned him around, putting an arm around his shoulders and leading him down the hall, "I appreciate that you're worried, James, really. Just... don't mention it to Lily? Or Victoire? I don't want any of them to worry."

"Vic doesn't know?" James asked in surprise.

"Well, I didn't think it was something she needed to know..."

James felt a swell of pride at that, at the fact Teddy didn't take much prodding before he told James what was wrong, while he hadn't told Victoire. The entire family seemed to think she and Teddy were soul mates, meant for each other, so they would probably be stunned that Teddy hadn't told her anything of his chronic headaches. It wasn't like they were dating, though. They didn't need to tell each other everything, and they wouldn't have needed to even if they had still been dating. Come to think of it, it was likely no one else in the family knew about their breakup either. Teddy had been blasé about it, still smiling with Victoire beside him.

"It was mutual," he said, an arm propped against Victoire's shoulder, "Snogging her is very fun, but-."

"But I want to date someone more available," Victoire had interrupted, arms folded, while Teddy's face darkened and the tips of his hair got pink, "He's just going to get busier now that he's an Auror, and I have my own ambitions. Not to mention, I think both our eyes have been turned towards other people."

"Merlin, what?!" Dominique had gaped, standing beside James and Fred, who were both just as dumbstruck.

"Teddy likes someone else?" Fred asked, pointing at the older man.

"So do you?" Dominique pointed at her sister, who rolled her eyes.

"So you're breaking up?" James asked, and Victoire shrugged.

"Well, yes. I'll still snog him if I'm bored though."

Teddy just laughed, the pink in his hair disappearing, and James tried to ignore the excitement he felt at their breakup while also wondering why he'd be happy at all.

Teddy leaned against him as they descended the stairs, and James got the sense it wasn't to be funny. He could feel Teddy shaking a bit, trying to hide it, or thinking he could from the way they swayed while walking, but even his voice held a tremor as he talked about his work and prodded James into talking about school, his steps faltering more on the way down than they had on the way up. The last few steps, James put an arm around Teddy to help him down, then helped him back into the currently vacant living room, where he sank down onto one of the couches.

"Pretty bright in here, isn't it?" Teddy asked, and James glanced around.

The Christmas lights in the tree were on, but the rest of the room was rather dark, there wasn't even a fire in the fireplace. He looked back at Teddy, who was squinting at the tree, a clear wince on his face.

"Maybe you should lie down," James offered, and Teddy blinked at him before shaking his head.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jamie, we haven't even had supper!"

"Yea, but-."

"Don't worry about me, James," Teddy insisted, "Really, I'll be fine."

James wanted to believe him, and he did admit Teddy hid his pain way better than James expected when Molly called for dinner. Teddy sat across the table from James, smiling and laughing with everyone else, he seemed to be having a great time. When he caught James watching him, he just smiled, and James smiled back, but he still felt worried.

If Teddy having a headache made Harry as worried as he was acting, then James got the feeling it was a lot more serious than Teddy made it out to be. Of course, that just made James more uneasy, eating only because it was an automatic response, eyes down as he scooped casserole onto his fork and pushed it into his mouth while going through a long list of both muggle and magical possibilities for Teddy's headache.

Sleep deprivation, fumes from potions he was making (because Teddy made potions quite often as it was a huge part of his job; and because he had a habit of making Wolfsbane potion just for kicks. He called it a hobby, for some reason, and always carried at least seven bottles with him "just in case"). Maybe the headaches were from overwork, or not eating enough, dehydration, casting a spell too advanced for him and leaving him with physical side effects, maybe he got cursed on his last mission. Honestly, it could be anything.

"You're being unusually quiet this evening," Albus noted from beside him, working on his dessert, which James hadn't realized had been set out.

His slice of pie was already almost entirely gone and he was feeling pleasantly full from food.

"Got a lot on my mind, that's all," James tried to counter, finishing that last bit of pie as Albus stared at him.

"How much could you even fit in that head? Isn't 80% of your brain Quidditch wired?"

"Al don't be ridiculous, Quidditch takes up no more than 50%."

James heard Teddy snicker, and met his bemused eyes as the Auror continued to laugh at him, but James just grinned back. Albus looked between them before something seemed to dawn on him and he turned away, nose wrinkled.

"Ugh."

Dinner finished and half of the family moved to help Molly clean up, Percy and Ginny worked to get the youngest kids to bed, Lucy was the only one who went without a fuss, Fred and Roxanne complained with Louis about wanting to stay up later to wait for Santa to come, Dominique muttered about Santa not being real and there was a short uproar of adults scolding her and Hugo shrieking that she was a liar. James, still seated at the table enjoying a cup of tea, saw Teddy wince at the noise, his face paling a few more shades. James was tempted to leap up and tell everyone to just shut up already, his fingers biting into the porcelain of his mug and eyes glaring until the youngest of his cousins had finally left the kitchen.

Molly brought Teddy a new cup of tea before his first had even been finished, simply because she decided he'd let it get too cold and that was unacceptable. Andromeda left with a promise of returning the next morning, and tried to get Teddy to come with her, but he insisted he stay.

"I'm still drinking my tea, gran."

"Don't worry, Andy, we'll take care of him," Molly assured, and Andromeda nodded, squeezing her hands before kissing Teddy's cheek and leaving through the floo.

"Bedtime, James," Ginny called, and James gaped at her.

"What for? I'm not a kid, can't I stay up?"

"No, James," Ginny chided, and Teddy grinned as he groaned and pushed himself up.

"I'm seventeen, this is dumb."

"Nighty night, Jamie," Teddy sang, and James stuck out his tongue defiantly.

He passed Ginny in the doorway, accepting the kiss she placed to his forehead, "Sleep well, darling."

But he didn't go straight to bed, and hovered just around the corner as Ginny joined Harry, who was talking in a low voice. James inched closer to hear better.

"Did you take something?"

"Yes, just before I came," Teddy was the one to answer, "I really am fine."

"You should sleep," Harry said to him, clearly not caring for his words, "Tonight will probably be the worst for you."

"I just didn't want to disappoint Lily or the others by not coming," Teddy admitted, sounding tired, "I'll be okay."

"Do you want a bed, darling?" Molly asked.

"That's okay, gran, I can take the couch. I think that would be best."

James scrambled up the stairs before they walked out of the kitchen and ducked into the first bedroom he came to. All the boys had been set up in one bedroom, the girls were in another, Christmas was always set up like that, and James normally loved it. Accept, Teddy usually took the room with the rest of them, but now he would be downstairs. Because he was sick with a bad headache and didn't want to worry any of the younger kids.

James would be sharing the room with Fred, Louis, Albus, and Hugo. Victoire, Dominique, Rose, Roxanne, Lily, Lucy, and Molly were all in the room just next door. Fred was bugging Albus when James walked into the room and shut the door, all of them curled up in sleeping bags on the floor, or the little bed that Louis and Hugo had commandeered as theirs. Albus was curled up on the couch trying to ignore Fred, holding a pillow over his head.

"Come on, Al, one game."

"Sod off, I'm tired."

"Why are you so moody all the time?" Louis asked, smiling at James but frowning immediately, "Where'd Ted go?"

"Uh, he's staying downstairs tonight."

"Too good for us small kids?" Fred asked, abandoning his quest to get Albus to play wizards chess in favor of sitting on his sleeping bag.

James just laughed and made sure the door was shut before walking over and taking the sleeping bag next to Fred, between he and the couch where Albus was laying.

"It's nothing like that. He's just, you know, talking with the adults right now, and doesn't want to wake us up later by sneaking in to sleep, so decided to just take the couch."

"That's a lie!" Hugo said, then leaned down to whisper, "He's in the living room. He's trying to catch Santa. I know Dom was lying, he is real, and Teddy's gonna catch him tonight!"

Louis rolled his eyes and flopped onto his back as Fred grinned, biting back a joke as James nodded fervently.

"You got that right, Hugo, but we better be quiet, otherwise Santa won't ever come."

"You're thirteen, Hu," Louis noted, "How has Uncle Ron kept you believing this nonsense?"

"I've seen him Lou, with my own eyes!" Hugo argued, and there was a knock on the door.

"Sleep well, boys," Harry's voice came through, and the five boys waited and listened for his footsteps to lead away before James pointed his wand at the lamps on the table to flick them off without having to get up.

"Let's go to sleep now."

"I'm not sleeping," Hugo said wisely, "I'm staying up all night to help Teddy catch Santa."

James laid down with a sigh, "Hugo, you're the light of my life, but if you bother Teddy tonight, I'll hang you out the attic window by your ankles and bind you there with spelotape until you apologize."

"And I, will help," Fred added, and Hugo mumbled something before the sound of rustling sheets and comforters filled the room.

James stayed on his back, staring up at the pitch ceiling with his wand in his hand as he waited for the sounds of his cousin's finally sleeping. It seemed to take forever before Hugo's soft snores began to rise from the bed, Fred's slightly louder snorts coming from beside James, and the occasional mumble in Louis' sleep, in French (an absolute phenomenon, because while awake, Louis had trouble speaking more than a few basic words, but while sleeping he appeared fluent in his mother's language).

James almost jumped when Albus spoke in a whisper under his breath, "Is Teddy okay?"

"Merlin- I thought you were asleep."

"I'm not."

"I noticed."

"He didn't look too good today."

"He's just overworked," James lied, "He needs sleep, that's what dad said."

"... fine," Albus decided, blankets shifting as he turned, "Try not to worry too much."

"I'm not worried."

"Sure, James."

James didn't know if he or Albus fell asleep first, but the next thing he knew he was waking up sometime during the night, tangled up in his sleeping bag with Fred partway on top of him, having rolled closer in his sleep and deciding James would make a nice cushion. It was pitch black, but he was pretty confident that what had woken him was his brother's hand dangling in his face, which he pushed back onto the couch before grumbling and sitting up, rubbing his hands into his eyes before squinting around the room.

There was no way to know what time it was without leaving the room, so he slipped away from Fred's grasp and slowly rose to his feet, picking up his wand and shuffling over to the door before cracking it open and slipping out, shutting it and whispering "lumos" to dimly light the tip of his wand.

The clock hanging on the wall just in front of him ticked with a dozen hands, but the two largest were at 2:23 a.m., so James turned to return to bed, but paused when he noticed a dim orange glow from the stairs. His thoughts on Teddy, he crept to the steps and began descending them, shaking the light in his wand dark and stopping halfway to the first floor, crouching to peer between the bars of the staircase railing into the living room.

Teddy was sitting up on the couch, clearly awake, the blankets still folded beside him with an untouched pillow sitting on top. Sitting on the coffee table in front of him, for some reason, was a case that held, from what James could see at the distance he crouched, potion ingredients and other oddities. The fireplace was crackling with orange light that send oddly colored shadows across the room, the lit up Christmas tree adding to the coloration, and Teddy was slumped forward, his face in his hands, his hair a color of pitch and tar that seemed even blacker than normal black hair.

James stowed his wand in the pocket of his sweatpants and snuck the rest of the way down the stairs, rounding the wall to reach the living area and slowly coming up to Teddy from the side, not wanting to startle him so calling out softly.

"Teddy? Pst! Hey, you okay?"

Teddy moved sluggishly, pulling his hands away from his face and cringing, pushing them back up and grinding the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"Jame... Jamie, yea, I'm... what are you doing awake?"

"Fred rolled on top of me, I was suffocating and needed to check the time. It's almost 2:30."

"Is it?"

"Have you slept?" Teddy just laughed and James drew his brow as he stepped closer, lowering himself to sit next to Teddy, as close as he could, "Is it your head?"

"I just... need a minute."

He sounded breathless and in pain, and James felt something like panic spark through him as he put a hand in Teddy's shoulder, rubbing small circles into his back as Teddy continued to cling to his face, fingers digging into his hairline and his body trembling.

"I'm okay."

"You're not okay, Teddy, Merlin. Let me help, how do I help?" Teddy shook his head, "I'll get my dad, he'll know what to do."

"Don't wake him up for this, James, I just need a minute," he winced, "Owe..."

James had his hand on the back of Teddy's head now, stroking his unusually dark hair and turned towards him, his other hand curled around Teddy's wrist.

"Teddy I can't help you unless you let me. You're used to these headaches, right? So tell me what to do to help."

Teddy was still for a moment, shadows from the Christmas lights and the fireplace casting across him, and James rubbed his back as he started to pull his hands from his eyes.

His face seemed even whiter than before, if that was possible. The flush in his cheeks had gone green, and the white had tinged gray, he almost looked seasick, or like a ghost, his black eyes blank and glassy like he couldn't see straight. What really made James panic, though, was the blood.

A single fine line of scarlet that dripped from Teddy's nose, across his lips and down his chin, stark against the pale white of the rest of his face. James felt himself choke and reach out, instinctively pressing the sleeve of his shirt under Teddy's nose, the light gray staining quickly as Teddy tried to pry him away.

"Stop, you'll make a mess."

"Teddy you're bleeding!"

"Shhh!" Teddy cringed, pulling James' hand away, the blood smeared and dry edges if the line flaked across his lips and chin, nodding to the table.

James was reluctant to look away, but did so anyway, to see that Teddy had set up a few potion ingredients, a small cauldron sitting next to them, but he seemed to have stopped in the middle of weighing strands of hair-thin willow bark.

"What's that?"

"Tonic... for my head. Kingsley Shacklelbolt developed it with a bit of help from Slughorn when I first started getting my migraines. It... it helps. The first potion I learned how to make, because I needed it. I ran out, though, too embarrassed to tell Harry. I've been so busy I didn't have time to make more before coming, so I figured I'd just whip up a small bit while I was here. But my... my head got really bad... it's pounding, it hurts so bad, my hands are shaking too much."

"I'll do it!" James offered immediately, snatching the paper sitting on the table that held the directions for the potion, "Just lie down, okay? Close your eyes."

He scrambled around, pushing the pillow against the arm of the couch on the other side of Teddy, then taking his shoulder and urging him to slowly lie down, wincing as he went and rolling onto his side, taking the handkerchief James gave him with shaking fingers and holding it against his nose to keep the blood from getting on Molly's furniture.

"Just lie there, okay?" James said, rounding the table and kneeling down, going down the list and repeating everything at least eight times in his head, "I'll take care of it."

It was, unfortunately, a very complicated potion. After lighting a small magical fire under the cauldron that wouldn't smolder the wood of the coffee table, he began weighing ingredients and adding them; willow bark and heavily diluted dittany, an eighth of an ounce of powdered silver, exactly two drops of Salamander tears, and a handful of other ingredients that made the tonic bubble a strange orange.

James was absolutely silent the entire time, concentrating harder than he'd ever done before for any potion or tonic, even during an exam. He just wanted to get this right, so Teddy could stop hurting. After adding in another few ingredients, he stared in awe as the potion turned an odd silvery color that took the appearance of mercury, added Flobberworm slime to thicken it, mixed it exactly sixteen times counterclockwise, and nudged Teddy.

"Teds, I'm done. Did I do it right?"

Teddy opened his unfocused eyes and sat up, shaking worse than before, James noticed the ring of white in the middle of either iris, and he stared at the tonic, nodding slowly.

"Yea... yea, it has the right consistency, the right color."

"Right, good," James carefully ladled the tonic into a cup that had been waiting nearby, sitting on the couch next to Teddy and waiting for the Auror to wrap his hands around it.

Still shaking, so James kept a hold on the cup as well, helping to lift it so Teddy could drink it, his face twisting in dislike but drinking all of it and turning away to cough into his arm.

"Did it taste right? Did I do it right? Are you okay?"

"You did fine, James, I trust you," Teddy promised, but James felt wary as he set the cup back down, taking the handkerchief from Teddy's weakly clenched fist and cleaning away the blood on his chin.

"I thought from the silver... does this have to do with your dad?"

Teddy winced at that, "I'm not a werewolf."

"Yea I know, but-."

"I get migraines when the moon is full," Teddy mumbled, "No one picked up on it immediately, took a few years for my grandma to realize the headaches came so frequently around the same cycle of the moon filling out. There's never been a case of a werewolf having a child before, not like me, so no one really knew what would happen. I guess... even if I'm not a full werewolf, even if I don't transform, something in me still reacts to the full moon. My head feels like it's shrinking in on my brain, like my skull is shattering open. It's horrible. It can get so bad that I black out, I get nauseous, have nightmares."

"I'm sorry," James said it softly, still trying the wipe away the blood from Teddy's nose, "Do you... get nose bleeds a lot?"

Teddy nodded, "If my nose starts bleeding it's a pretty clear sign my headache is getting too severe. Normally I'm supposed to take that tonic before it happens. After it bleeds, then I start feeling nauseous, and by then it's too late to take my tonic, and I usually black out."

"Did you take it too late now?"

"No, I think I got it in time...," he managed to smile at James, taking the handkerchief from him, "Thank you. I don't think I would've been able to finish preparing it had you not come along to help. I'm sorry, though, that you have to see me like this."

"I don't care about that, Ted," James assured, keeping a hand on his shoulder, "You don't have to hide anything from me just to keep me from worrying. If you need help with this again in the future, let me know, okay?" he waited eagerly for Teddy to nod, then pulled away his hand, "Good then. Lie down again since you've taken the tonic. I'll put all this away."

"You go back to sleep too," Teddy insisted, watching James put all the potion supplies back into the small case.

"I will, I promise, just let me do this much more for you."

Teddy didn't complain, either he was too exhausted to or was genuinely fine with James doing more. He sat quietly on the couch and finished cleaning up his face as James finished putting everything away, filling a few vials with what was left of the tonic and stowing them in the box as well, shutting and securing it before sitting back on the couch next to Teddy.

"Aren't you going to bed?" he asked, James was pleased to see his eyes were lightening from the pitch black.

"Um, duh?" James pulled at the blanket that was hanging over the back of the couch, "I'm getting settled now."

"You should go back upstairs."

"Fred and Hugo keep snoring, Louis talks too much in his sleep, and I woke up with Al's hand in my face. I'd probably sleep better down here anyway," James decided, wrapping the blanket around himself, throwing the other side around Teddy, who seemed like he wanted to protest.

James didn't give him time to, just took the second blanket that Molly had left there for Teddy and wrapped that one around them both before curling up, feeling the weight of his worry mix with the early morning hour and yawning through the crackle of the fire.

"You can use me as a pillow," he said to Teddy, but he didn't really expect him to take the offer, so when he did, slumping and lying his head on James' shoulder, he tensed up in surprise, wide eyes staring at the mantle.

"Thank you," Teddy mumbled, he sounded truly exhausted, and James looked down at him, eyes closed and face still too pale.

His hair, luckily, had changed from that tar black, and the shade it had taken made James blink a few times in surprise. Pale, powdery pink, like crushed peppermint.

Teddy fell asleep within moments, and James curled closer to him, ensuring the blanket was securely around them and shutting his eyes, lying his cheek in Teddy's hair. He smelt like peppermint, too...

It didn't take James long to fall asleep either, and by the time he woke up, it was already nine in the morning, which was much later than he'd expected. Though he did stay awake with Teddy for pretty long, at least an hour. At first he didn't understand what had woken him, peeling his eyes open a crack just to stare at the fireplace, the stockings all stuffed and the fire newly stoked.

Then he heard it, the condescending sound of someone sipping tea, and blinked his eyes open, rolling his head to see both Albus and Lily sitting in armchairs across from the couch against the wall, holding cups and wearing matching red and green rimmed Christmas themed sunglasses that twinkled at the edges, the lenses a flashing gold and silver; gifts from Ron no doubt. The two of them were watching him with simple expressions, their eyes hidden by the glasses, but when they seemed to catch him looking at them in bewilderment, they lifted their tea cups from their saucers and brought them to their lips in a ridiculously well rehearsed and simultaneous movement, taking slow, very loud, very condescending sips.

"What... the devil... are you two doing?" James managed to ask through his tumble of confused emotions, and Lily slowly lowered her teacup back into the saucer held in her other hand.

"That, Mister Potter, is what we should be asking."

"How long have you been sitting there?" James asked, shifting, pausing when he felt Teddy's weight still rested against him, head against his shoulder.

"What time is it, Miss Potter?" Albus asked, and Lily answered without looking away from James.

"It's 9:23, Mister Potter."

"Then we've been sitting here for thirty minutes maybe."

"Why do you sound so proud of that?" James asked, still so entirely confused, "You two are freaking me out."

"When did you come downstairs last night?" Lily asked, and James gaped at her.

"I don't know, two o'clock I think?"

"And why did you come down so early, Mister Potter?" Albus asked, "Surely you don't believe in Santa, do you?"

"What? Don't be ridiculous."

Both of them stood up at the same time, setting their saucers and teacups on the table as Lily whipped out a muggle flashlight and flipped it on, shining it into James' face.

"So you admit you came down here to see Teddy?"

"What? I mean, yea? Where did you get that?"

"And what were you doing?" Albus asked, and James squinted against the light to see him.

"I was sleeping, what the bloody else would I be doing?"

His younger siblings crowded closer, "I don't know, James, what would you be doing at 2 a.m. Christmas Eve, sneaking downstairs to visit Teddy?"

"Sleeping, I just told you!"

"Kids, I said not to wake them up," James looked to the side where their father was standing, arms folded and one eyebrow raised, still in his sleepwear and his hair tangled in a bedhead.

Albus and Lily backed away, and Lily shut off her flashlight before picking up her teacup, "He woke up on his own, we didn't do anything, right Al?"

"Yea, dad."

Harry looked at James, who just blanked at him, "I don't even know what's going on, dad."

"Oh both of you!" Ginny snapped as she walked up beside Harry, and Lily and Albus scrambled to grab their cups and leave the room with their mother following, scolding them about bothering their brother, let Teddy rest, blah blah.

"How's he doing?" Harry asked, stepping further into the room and glancing at the closed potion kit before looking at Teddy, whose hair had changed to it's natural tawny brown color in sleep.

It was the best way to know he was really sleeping and not faking. Teddy always kept his hair blue, or other wild colors, only allowing it to change back to the shade he was born with, his father's hair, when he was truly relaxed, not paying attention. Usually when he was sleeping. James loved how fun Teddy's hair could be, but he loved it when he showed his true colors even more. He just wished he could see Teddy's blue-green eyes more often.

"I dunno... he wasn't doing too good last night," James said, looking at his father, "Why did you never tell me about his migraines?"

Harry paused beside the couch, one corner of his lips twitching in a controlled smile before looking down at Teddy, "Well, it wasn't entirely relevant, and would have just worried you."

"His nose was bleeding, too," James said, looking down at where the stained handkerchief was clutched in Teddy's loose fist, "He was hurting pretty bad."

"So he didn't take his medicine after all," Harry looked again to the potion kit, and James shook his head.

"He said he ran out and didn't have time to make more because he's been so busy with work."

"He knows I would have helped," Harry said, looking both guilty and indignant, like he was upset he hadn't realized Teddy was lying and mad that Teddy had lied in the first place, "Honestly."

"I made it up for him," James assured, "Last night. He was starting it but couldn't finish, so I did it for him and made sure he drank it."

"He still looks pretty ill," Harry sighed, "I'm going to let your grandmother know, she and I will make something to put color back in his face," he paused while turning, smiling at James, "Good job looking after him. You must have fixed the potion quickly if he slept so easily."

"Think so?" James asked, "I was worried I may have gotten something wrong. That probably would have made him sicker, I don't want that."

"James, you did fine," Harry chuckled, "Just keep doing what you're doing, okay?"

Still feeling worried, but grateful, James nodded, watching his father leave the room before settling back, looking over at the tree. There were still presents sitting there, so James had a feeling everyone had been waiting for he and Teddy to wake up before tearing into them. That was nice of them, though James felt a bit guilty about making the kids wait.

They wouldn't have to wait much longer, though, as Teddy shifted and lifted a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes and blinking them open, keeping a hand on his head as James reached over to him.

"Teds. You feeling better?"

"Yea," Teddy said blearily, sitting up and detaching himself from the blankets wrapped around him, stretching his arms up until his spine cracked a few times and rubbing his eyes again, "Wow, yea I feel much better. Headaches almost completely gone."

He smiled at James, who had to grin back, because his eyes were that shade of pale blue and icy green that he'd inherited from his father. He must not realize what he looked like yet, still sleepy and not paying attention. James rarely if ever got to see Teddy like this, with his guard completely down; he really did look like his father.

The shade of his eyes flashed to a darker green as blue rapidly colored in his hair and footsteps pounded on the floor, the back door opening and most of the Weasley kids crowding back into the house covered in snow, Lily prancing back into the living room and brightening when she saw Teddy awake.

"Happy Christmas, Teddy!"

Teddy laughed and caught her in a hug that she threw at him, "Happy Christmas, Lils. What time is it?"

"Like 9:30," Albus answered, his Christmas sunglasses pushed onto his head, nestled in his dark hair, "Dad said we weren't allowed to wake you up."

"You should've," Teddy said, eyes wide and looking guilty for some reason, "I don't want to make anyone wait to celebrate."

"It's not a celebration without you though!" Lily argued, pulling away from Teddy and bouncing on her feet, "Dad! Dad! Mummy! Everyone's awake! Daddy! Gran! C'mon! Auntie!" she darted from the room and Teddy laughed loudly.

He stood up and picked up his potions kit, stuffing it into the bag he'd brought along and stowing it back behind the couch before anyone realized what it was and started asking why he'd have it out in the first place. A few of the family were eating or drinking tea and coffee in the kitchen when James and Teddy walked in, but the kids were flitting about in excitement over the presents under the tree.

Molly had Teddy sit, despite his swears that he was fine, and set a plate of breakfast in front of him, ordering him to eat and not move a muscle until he'd finished. James sat with him to eat his own breakfast, not caring that it was a little different than Teddy's.

"Join us when you finish," Molly said, hurrying around the kitchen to tidy up a bit before leaving to join everyone else in the living room.

Teddy and James just laughed about it and finished their food. Like Harry had hoped, there was a lot more color to Teddy's face once he'd finished eating, balancing a mug of cider in his hand as he followed James back into the living room. Teddy seemed to be feeling better, but James kept one eye on him the rest of the morning, even when Andromeda came back, this time through the front door.

Wrapping paper was thrown everywhere, little Molly couldn't decide what she liked better, the bow that had been tied around her present or the thick sweater her grandmother had wrapped it around, everyone was wearing their new Weasley sweater, even Teddy, while eating the candy and looking through books or toys. The adults had gone into the kitchen to cook and talk, half the kids were outside playing in the snow. Teddy tried to join them, but Harry asked him to stay inside ("Just for now, rest."). James was silently pleased about it and stayed inside with him despite how Hugo and Lucy tried to get him outside for a snowball fight.

"The last thing I want to do is ruin your Christmas, James," Teddy muttered, and James just stared at him.

"Name one legitimate way you've ruined my Christmas at all," he dared, and Teddy frowned.

"You had to take care of me last night, I made you wake up late-."

"Teddy I said a legitimate way. Taking care of you didn't ruin anything," James said it with a smile, and after a moment it had the effect he wanted as Teddy smiled back, the ends of his hair paling into that same powder pink that it had been before he'd fallen asleep just the night before.

The pink changed back to blue after a moment, but through the rest of the day it kept popping back up at times. Sometimes just the tips, sometimes whole streaks would flow into existence before changing back to blue, and Victoire was becoming increasingly fascinated by it, looking far too amused and absolutely beaming whenever the pink would show up again.

The more Teddy noticed her grinning, the more frustrated he seemed to get with her, but that just seemed to amuse her even more, and the entire time James just smiled at their interaction, innocently oblivious to whatever silent conversation they were having.

"Stop smirking at me," he heard Teddy whisper at one point when he was focused on something else, and Victoire whispered back.

"You're being very conspicuous, you know?"

"Shut up."

"Do you want a hat?"

"I swear to Merlin..."

"Just be happy he's a complete idiot."

"What are you two whispering about?" Albus asked, from behind them, making them jump in their seats.

"Nothing, Al," Teddy assured quickly, "Grown up stuff."

"Sure," Albus said, reaching up to slide down the red and green sunglasses and lifting up a bottle of Butterbeer with a straw sticking out of it, "but keep in mind, Teds. I, am not a complete idiot," Teddy actually looked a little frightened at that, while Victoire just grinned more, and Albus lifted his drink, "Cheers," and walked away.

"Sometimes I love that boy," Victoire revealed, and Teddy sunk down in his armchair, taking hold of the neck of his sweater and lifting it over his face to hide in it.

By supper time, Teddy seemed to be back to normal, though a bit tired. Sections of his blue hair kept changing to pink, and he'd mutter under his breath in annoyance after realizing it, but he was in much higher spirits, and despite how worried James had been for him, he felt that Christmas had been a success, and was eager to get back to school. It was his last year after all, he wanted to make the most of his Potions class.

"I think I might want to look into being an Auror," James said nonchalantly to Teddy, having taken the seat beside him for dinner that night, and Teddy glanced at him in surprise.

"Really?" he asked for clarity, leaning closer so they could hear each other over the roar of voices passing around the long table, "What brought that up?"

James shrugged, one elbow against the table and his chin in his hand, "Dunno. Guess it seems like a good career."

"You shouldn't pick a job just because it sounds good. You've gotta be passionate about something or you might start slacking, and a Ministry job isn't something you can slack on."

"I know that already," James said in annoyance, "I just wanna learn more about Potions and Tonics, and Aurors use them a lot, don't they?"

Teddy stared at him for a moment, assessing his words, not realizing his blue hair was quickly changing back to that powdery peppermint pink color. Not just strands this time, but entirely.

"Yea, they do," Teddy agreed as James slid his fingertip around the edge of his glass, "You know, there are other careers where you can research Potions. You could go into medicine and work at St Mungos, that could be nice."

"Yea, but you're not at St Mungos, you're at the Ministry," James said, holding up his hand in a "blah" way as if he figured his reasoning was already obvious.

"I thought you weren't that interested in potions?" Teddy asked, dragging his water goblet closer and hiding his face in it as he tried to fix his hair back before more people noticed it.

Already Victoire was snickering again, Albus and Lily had slowly lowered their matching Christmas themed sunglasses over their eyes (where had they even gotten those?), and Harry was glancing between he and his oldest niece with a look of confusion. He could only take bits of comfort from the fact they couldn't hear his conversation with James over the table.

"Well, I wasn't really," James folded his arms over the edge of the table, "They seemed kind of pointless, you know? If I can cast Charms and Spells, why do I need something as physical as Potions? But... I think I get it now, after last night."

"Last night?"

"Well, yea," James gave Teddy an innocent look, one eyebrow raised, "I can't imagine there's a spell I could've cast to make your migraine go away, right?" Teddy choked on his water, "Potions have their uses, they're important; I get it now," James smiled at his plate as he went back to his food, not noticing the way Teddy tried to drown himself in his goblet.

"You're sure you can't stay?" Molly was asking Andromeda at the door later in the night.

The kids were back in the living room trying to clean up, but constantly distracted by the tinsel, toys, and wrapping bows. Harry, Molly, and Ginny were at the door seeing off Andromeda and Teddy, who'd finally managed to fix his hair right and was playing with the strap of his bag.

"We would, but you know how I like spending some alone time with him," Andromeda smiled over at Teddy, who was saying goodbye to Harry, "Besides, we still need to visit Cissy and Draco."

"Yes, of course," Molly looked towards Andromeda's bag, where she'd placed three more wrapped presents, sweaters Molly had made for the three Malfoy's.

While Molly Weasley had found common ground with Narcissa and Draco, and liked Scorpius, she'd conveniently forgotten about Lucius; but she was sure he wouldn't mind; and she didn't care even if he did.

"You'll be apparating there?"

"That's right."

"Well go quick, it's supposed to snow again soon," Molly hugged the other woman before hustling Teddy into her arms, then patting his cheeks and praising him for looking much healthier than he had before.

The two of them stepped into the snow beyond, and Molly shut the door to keep out the cold, moving to the window instead to wave them off. James was at the other window across the room, opened and leaning out to wave at Teddy.

"Happy Christmas! I'll see you soon!"

"Yea?" Teddy grinned and trudged through the snow to reach the window, "See you at the Ministry?"

"Absolutely! And you have to come meet me once I'm home from Hogwarts! Meet me at King's Cross and see me off! It's my last year remember!"

"I couldn't forget if I tried," Teddy promised, digging in his bag for a moment, "One thing, Jamie, but would you watch something for me?"

"Hm?" James frowned, watching Teddy pull out a glass vial of his tonic, and a familiar folded piece of paper, both of which he handed to James, who cradled the vial before unfolding the paper, "Your tonic?"

"Yea, keep it," Teddy said, "I've got it memorized already. Keep that bit just in case I forget again, and keep the recipe too, just in case."

James gaped at him, "Are you sure? This is your health you're giving me, it's no small gift."

"No, I know," Teddy smiled, cheeks flushed from cold, "It's a metaphor, Jamie."

"I'm not that great with those."

"I figured," Teddy started backing up, snow crunching under his boots, "If I trust anyone with my health, it's you," James felt his face warm, and Teddy laughed a little, like he'd made a funny joke, "Happy Christmas, James."

"Yea," James smiled again, lifting his empty hand in a wave, "Happy Christmas."

Teddy and Andromeda apparated seconds later, and snow started drifting down from the dark sky. James leaned back into the house and shut the window, reading over the recipe again before stowing it and the spare vial of tonic into the pocket of his jeans, turning around and jumping in place when he found himself face to face with Lily and Albus.

"Bloody fuck!" he gasped, grabbing his chest and leaning against the wall, "Why have you two started doing this? What pleasure do you gain from giving me these heart attacks?"

"What did Teddy give you?" Lily asked, and James frowned, folding his arms.

"A potion recipe, why?"

"Why'd he give you that?" Albus asked next.

"To practice. I'm going into the Ministry as an Auror after graduating."

Lily and Albus exchanged a look before slowly sliding their sunglasses onto their faces.

"Sure, James, we believe you."

"Where did you even get those?!"

Gleeful laughter and carols sung off key continued to lift from the Burrow into the night as the snow continued to fall and blanket the ground, the sky cloudy, but near midnight when the snow finally paused, there was a break in the clouds, letting a newly waxing moon shine light over the field of white.

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