#i’m low key scared cause the days are already getting shorter day by day

[martiansodas-blog]

bed rotting is OVER i’m redying my hair

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Pixie hair cut (Preferences)

Requested by @imuniz-04: May I request a batboys x reader where the reader has short hair (like pixie short) and how they would react to it 🥺👉🏼👈🏼 I absolutely love your writing ✨❤️

A/N: I kinda changed it into how they’d react if you’d cut it, because that would make a bit more sense in my mind, hope that’s okay. Also it’s a bit short

Dick

He

Will

Have

Heart

Eyes

YOU CAN’T TELL ME OTHERWISE!!!

HE THINKS YOU LOOK SO AMAZING AND YOU’RE SO CUTE AND YOU’RE SO HOttttTTTttt

Okay For real, I had a somewhat pixie cut only a year or so ago (I’m letting my hair grow out at the moment so that I can tie it up again, because I miss that, but maybe I’ll cut it again after) 

And I know no-one cares, but the point about it is that after I first cut it from like chest-length to shorter than my ears 

I RUFFLED IT SO MUCH

ALL THE TIME because I wasn’t used to it

AND GUESS WHAT

So did my family

AND SO WOULD DICk

He’d have his hand in your hair almost 24/7

Even more in the beginning

so don’t even think about trying to style it, because you won’t be able to

That hair-change could maybe inspire him to grow his hair back out and please dear god keep his brothers from killing either him or you when they find out

They will beg you to keep Dick from growing it out

He’s just too much of a diva with all that hair

He’s already enough of a diva without that hair

Jason

To be honest I don’t really think Jason would care to much

He just really doesn’t care about how you look

he loves you because you’re you not because of what your hair looks like (neither do the others, but you know what I mean)

He’ll still make you complimets and tell you how great it looks (and maybe make a bit of fun about you too, but in a loving way, because it’s still Jason and he still loves you)

But he won’t make a big deal out of it

At first he might miss your old hair, especially cause I headcanon him to be quite touchy in private (and in public, but that really depends on where and the situation) and that he likes to run his hands through your hair

But just like Dick he finds out that it’s just as good when your hair is short

In fact, in my opinion, it’s almost like petting a cat or a dog (at least for me) and we all know as much as Damian is the pet-person in the family, Jason will die before he doesn’t pet a cat he meets

Also, as a person with fabulous short hair, Jason will absolutly teach you how to use hair products (like gel that shit can really suck) if you want to style your hair 

Tim

Tim is like the chill mix

Like he’ll be your biggest fanboy like Dick would be

But at the same time he couldn’t really care more if you dye it grass green

He just wants you to be happy 

that’s all that matters to him

He still is a bit confused at the beginning tho

Like he is with you in the salon (cause we stan a supportive bae) and holds your hand if your nervous (this weird happy-nervous that’s not quite excitement, but also not not excitement), but when he sees you the day after he’ll be shocked that your hair is gone

Not like bad shocked

Just confused

it will be that way for a while until his brain got the message

He might or might not want to keep your old hair because he’s low-key scared someone could try to clone you

His best friend is a clone so he knows it’s not impossible

not by far

And he doesn’t want to take any chances that you could be replaced by an evil-you created out of a strand of your hair

but I Digress

Damian

Damian loves you no matter how you look like (just like his brothers)

But, he’s still a trained assassin and killer

And that side of him looks at it logically 

And thinks that you have a technical advantage with shorter hair

Nothing falling in your face or harming your sight

No possibility for someone to grab onto and bash your head (At least not as much) 

Short hair is more practical in a combat situation

so he’ll dig it

His beloved shouldn’t fight, but if she has to, she should win

And he’ll take every advantage that she could get as a plus

just like the hair

[luna-teeth]

Green | 2, 618 Words

High school is hard enough to get through. But when you have to tutor the quarterback, things could get worse.

Pairing: Dream and George.

Chapter(s): 1/?

“I need help.” Books slam down onto George’s wooden desk with a loud thud. The Brit looked up to find a blonde staring down at him.

“Look, you’re the smartest kid in class.” The taller male started. George blinked up at him.

“I am?” George answered stupidly. The kid rolled his eyes and continued.

“I need you to do my homework for me.”

“For you?” George blurted. The kid nodded. George studied him for a moment. Freckles adorned his face with bright green eyes staring back at him.

“I can’t just do your homework for you.” George’s accent came out thick, causing the blonde to smile.

“What do you want for it? I can pay you?” George shook his head quickly.

“I don’t want to be paid.” The blonde let out a huff.

“Mr. Clay! Take your seat right now!” Their teacher yelled, causing the both of them to flinch. The boy named Clay grabbed his books and mumbled profanities under his breath as he made his way back to his seat. George noticed that he didn’t sit too far away from him. How did he not notice this before. Maybe because he actually paid attention in class instead of looking at cute boys. George mentally shook himself from his thoughts and dragged his gaze back to the front of the room. The bell rang and kids reduced their conversations to a low chatter.

“Alright class. Today we are starting a new project.” Everyone let out a groan.

“Everyone is going to be paired up with a partner.” Kids were starting to look around the room, shouting at one another and waving their hands.

“I will be picking partners.” Another loud groan erupted from the class room. Their teacher always did a good job of ignoring their antics. As she went through everyone’s names, George started to get more and more panicked. His only friends in that class had already been paired up with someone else. Karl giving him a knowing frown. George started to chew on the inside of his lip, tearing pieces of skin off in the process.

“George and Clay.” The Brit heard his name called. He looked up from his desk, being ripped away from his day dreaming.

“Who?” He asked, looking up at his teacher.

“Clay.” She repeated. His eyes scanned the room, falling upon the blonde he had exchanged words with not too long before class had started. Clay was already staring back at him, a shit eating grin on his face. George knew all too well that he was going to be the one doing the whole project.

“I was really hoping we would be paired up together.” Karl said as he set his plate down on the table. George, Karl and Alex all sat down at the lunch table together.

“I was hoping so too.” George agreed.

“Who did you get paired up with?”

“Sam.” Karl shrugged, picking at a soggy carrot on his tray.

“Oh. That’s not bad.” George admitted. Karl nodded his head.

“He at least will help you.” George’s eyes fell upon Clay who walked into the cafeteria with a few of his friends. The brunette let out a light sigh before turning his attention back onto the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that was in front of him.

“Yeah. You got paired up with Clay!” Karl couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s not really that funny.” George said before taking a bite from his sandwich. Alex chuckled lightly.

“It kind of is.” George rolled his eyes.

“I’m just not looking forward too doing all of the work. He already tried to get me to do his homework this morning.”

“I saw that.” Karl laughed.

“Don’t be a push over.” Alex suggested, biting into his limp pizza.

“You know. This food is shit.” Alex said around a bite of his food. Everyone nodded.

“It’s why I pack everyday.” George rang.

“Have you even talked to him about the project yet?” Questioned Karl. George shook his head. Karl let out an audible sigh.

“Yeah. You’re screwed buddy.”

“Hey!” The slam of metal next to his head caused George to jump, almost slamming his fingers in his locker. The brunette whirled around to find Clay staring back at him.

“So about that project.” He started. How did George know this was coming?

“I’m a little busy. You know with football practice and everything. So I was thinking that you could do it without me. Plus you’re smarter than I am.” George rolled his eyes, slamming his locker shut and ducking under Clay’s arm.

“I’m not doing this by myself.” George stated simply.

“Oh come on!” Clay pleaded, following George down the hallway, stepping backwards carefully.

“Either we do it together or we both get a bad grade.” This little outburst of his surprised not only Clay but himself as well. Usually George didn’t care if he did other people’s homework or finished their projects. But something about Clay irked him.

“I need this grade, though.” Clay pleaded.

“I guess we are going to have to work together then.” George shrugged. Clay’s mouth fell open. George came to a halt in front of one of the classrooms, turning towards the tall blonde.

“We have study hall together don’t we?” Clay raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll see you then.” The taller male opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. It was usually the period he skipped, except for one time which was the beginning of the school year. How did George remember that? The Brit asked himself the same question.

“I…I guess.” Clay stumbled over his words as George started into his next class.

The rest of the school day went by fairly quickly. It usually did after lunch. All George had left was two more classes and then study hall at the end of the day, which was nice because he could relax a little. Clay stepped into the cafeteria and looked around the room at the sea of students. He spotted George, alone, at one of the tables in the far corner. Heading towards the back of the room, he plopped himself down at the table with a loud sigh, frightening the smaller male out of his thoughts.

“What are you working on?” Clay asked as George gasped at the sudden company.

“Geeze Clay! You scared me!” George hissed. Clay laughed, a bright smile on his face. George shoved his books aside and got out his blue folder which was labeled ‘Science’.

“You ready?” The Brit asked, barley glancing up to meet Clay’s gaze.

“Not really but go off.” George rolled his eyes again. That was becoming a thing with Clay. George felt the sarcasm in Clay’s energy. George slowly started to explain the project, trying to make sure that the blonde understood everything that they needed to do.

“So wait,” Clay started, words falling short. George sucked in a deep breath, trying not to get aggravated.

“Basically we have to make a diagram of the star constellations. It’s easy.” Clay nodded slowly and George could tell that he was still lost. He looked up at the clock, the bell for the end of the day was about to ring. Shit.

“Listen. I know you’re busy but I need this grade.” George started, looking at Clay.

“I need it too.” Clay agreed.

“Can we do this after school?”

“What do you mean after school?” George let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“I mean like, you come over to my house and we work on the project.” Clay blinked a few times.

“That sounds lame.” He stated. George let out a frustrated groan.

“Shhh!” Their teacher glared at them from the front of the room before looking back down at her papers. Letting out a frustrated sigh, George looked back to Clay.

“Listen, it’s either that or we are going to fail.” Clay pondered for a moment, scratching his stubbled chin.

“Fine. But only for an hour. I’m not throwing away my social life for this shit.” George nodded.

“Fine. One hour. Everyday.”

“Everyday?”

“Everyday.”

The bell rang and kids started to flood the halls. George made his way over to his locker to drop off his books.

“Hey George!” Alex walked up from behind the brunette, leaning against the locker next to him. George turned to greet his friend.

“Hey Alex.”

“Did you want to jump on Minecraft when you get home?” The shorter male asked. George simply shook his head.

“I have work to do. Stupid project, remember?” Alex nodded, pursing his lips together.

“I thought it was a group project? Did you work on it in study hall?” George let out a light sigh as he slammed his locker shut and turned towards Alex.

“I tried.” George admitted. Alex chuckled lightly.

“That bad, huh?” George nodded in defeat.

“And now we have to work on it outside of school because he won’t cooperate.”

“Wait wait wait.” Alex waved his hands in the air, shaking his head.

“You guys are working on it outside of class? Clay, the Clay, is actually doing school work on his free time?” Alex let out a loud cackle.

“You broke him!” Alex followed George as they started for the front door.

“I just told him we needed to do it if we were going to get it done.” George shrugged. Alex let out another laugh.

“Clay doesn’t even do his own homework, let alone work outside of school!” Alex couldn’t stop laughing.

“What? What!?” George was getting frustrated with the shorter male.

“Good luck.” Alex finally said between hiccups. George rolled his eyes.

“It’ll be fine. We could probably finish the project by tomorrow and not have to worry about it anymore.” Alex slowly nodded with a smirk on his face.

“Sure.” He stated simply as he started to brake off from George, heading for the bus.

You don’t want a ride today?” Alex shook his head.

“I told Darryl that I would go with him today.” George nodded.

“Alright. I’ll talk to you later.” George waved his goodbyes before heading for his car.

“I’m home!” George called into the quiet house.

“I’m in here!” His mother called from the kitchen. George kicked his shoes off at the front door and dropped his back pack on the ground near the hallway table that held a small plant and their keys.

“Hey mom.” He simply said as he walked into the kitchen, the smell of cookies filling the air.

“What are you doing?” George looked around the room to find trays upon trays of chocolate chip cookies. His mother turned towards him with flour all over her apron, her shirt, and even splashed onto her cheek.

“Bake sale, remember? It’s tomorrow.” George nodded his head, pursing his lips.

“I think you went a little overboard this time.”

“What? No I didn’t!” She defended. George chuckled lightly.

“And you have a little.” George pointed to his cheek. She pointed to her cheek before smearing the flour across her face even more.

“Nevermind.” George shook his head, a smile spreading across his face.

“Oh hey.” He started, keeping his mother’s attention for another moment.

“I have someone coming over to work on a project with me.” His mother raised an eyebrow.

“You’re working on a project with someone?”

“Don’t make it a big deal mom.” George went into the refrigerator to grab a Coke.

“Well you never have anyone over except for Alex and Karl. It’s neither of them right?” She bent down to grab another tray of cookies out of the oven. George shook his head, taking a sip from the can in his hand.

“No. His name is Clay.”

“Well I’m glad you’re making new friends.” His mother said with a smile.

“He’s not a friend.” George leaned against the marble countertop. His mother rolled her eyes. George reached for one of the cookies, snatching it before his mother caught him.

“Just be cool when he gets here.”

“Cool.” She repeated.

“I mean it mom.” She nodded.

“I can be cool!” She retorted.

“You say that and then you try too hard and scare everyone off! You even scare Alex sometimes and that’s hard to do!” She laughed.

“That is hard to do. Alright I’ll be cool.”

Clay rang the door bell as he bit at his cuticle. No answer so he rang it again.

“Coming! Coming!” A female voice came from the other side of the door. The big wooden door quickly opened to reveal a woman with long brown hair and a thick British accent.

“How can I help you?” She asked, sounding a bit out of breath.

“Yeah, uh, is George here?” Clay stumbled over his words, looking everywhere but at the woman.

“Oh yeah! You must be Clay!” She held out her hand, covered in flour. Clay shook it anyway.

“Nice to meet you.” Very cheery, Clay thought. Just the opposite of George.

“Well come on in!” She ushered Clay into the house before shutting the door behind him.

“George is upstairs in his bedroom if you want to head up there.” She suggested as she headed back into the kitchen.

“Or I can get him for you?” She peaked her head out from behind the kitchen wall to look at him again.

“I’ll go up, thank you.” Clay said, turning towards the stairs. He kicked his shoes off and shrugged his backpack further onto his shoulder before heading up the stairs. George’s room was the first door on the right. Clay knocked on the doorframe lightly, startling the smaller male. George looked up from his desk to see Clay standing in the door frame.

“Oh.” He simply stated as Clay walked into the bedroom.

“What? You didn’t think I would actually come, did you?”

“Honestly, no.” Clay chuckled lightly, setting his backpack down on the ground.

“You already started working on it, didn’t you?” George looked down at his desk and then back at Clay.

“No.” He tried to defend. Clay snatched the paper up from George and looked it over.

“You did!” The blonde let out a loud wheeze. George couldn’t help but smile.

“Give that back!” He snatched it from Clay’s hand and put it back down on the desk.

“Why did you come? Just to harass me?” Clay shook his head.

“No. I need this grade. I’m failing this class.” The taller male admitted.

“You’re failing?” George questioned. Clay nodded.

“Quit paying people to do your homework.” George mumbled. Clay sucked in a deep breath.

“Well I don’t get like ninety-nine percent of the stuff our teacher is talking about!” George shook his head.

“Have you thought about a tutor?” The brunette suggested. Clay fell silent. George could slice the tension in the room with a knife.

“Would you be my tutor?”

“Me?” George pointed at himself in shock. Clay nodded.

“Yeah! Why not? We have to do this stupid project anyway. Why not do both?” George shook his head.

“No.”

“What!? Why not?” Clay questioned, his shoulders slumping. The blonde took a seat on George’s bed with a sigh.

“Because that’s extra work for me.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“What’s with you and paying people?” Clay shrugged.

“It just works.” George rolled his eyes.

“Fifty a session.”

“That’s everyday.” George nodded, a smile on his face. He knew Clay wouldn’t go for it.

“Okay.” George’s mouth fell open.

“You need the help that bad? What’s your grade in this class?”

“An ‘F’.” Clay whispered under his breath. He really had his work cut out for him. The quarter had just started and he already was failing that miserably?

“Fine. But we do things my way.” Clay nodded.

“Fine.”

[silvermoonshipping-is-love]

DrownedSilver Week Day 7: What If

WARNING: Hints of child abuse/physical abuse. Which should obvious, given the character(s) in question, but still. Stay safe once again.

*

‘How could you?! We gave you what you wanted! And you betray everyone?!’

‘I-I...-’

‘Try running, we will find you!’

‘Everything you have will be for nothing!’

The hand tightened around his throat.

‘You don’t deserve anything… And we’ll make sure of that.’

*

Ben shot up, panting from the nightmare, regaining his breathing. He puts his face in his hands, kinda tugging at his slightly too long bangs.

‘I thought I was getting better with this…’

How come that now that everything has been fine for so long, memories of his childhood; if you can call it that; reemerged stronger than ever.

Ben sighed as he calmed down, but still feeling uneasy.

He recalls his therapist having mentioned that anxiety may cause unpleasant thoughts like these to come more frequently. Guess they were right. That was an especially horrific nightmare this time.

So Ben stayed silent and brought his knees up to his chest, trying to tell himself how it wasn’t real. He kept staring ahead, the room being engulfed in darkness, so Ben instead turned to watch the sleeping figure next to him.

Because he was still there, alive and well as he slept peacefully, back turned to his husband. So was their bedroom with their figurines and games, Hibiki’s books and glasses still on the night table, his prosthetic legs besides them, even the box with cat toys. Though their two companions haven’t joined them for the night, resting in the living room or so Ben presumed.

It was calming him, no matter how much the words still lingered in his mind and he can’t help but smile as he kinda drifted back into the past.

*

“Um… Hey. What’s your name?”

Ben looked up, his hood and messy wavy hair covering most of his face, a pathetic attempt to hide the bruises, other than band-aids. He saw a boy around his age standing in front of him, eyes and hair a very dark brown, almost black, his legs being the most noticeable part as they seemed fake and like he had trouble standing upright. The boy looked nervous, but still polite.

While not showing so in his expression, Ben was surprised somebody even talked to him, considering he’s just the quiet kid hanging around by himself near the swings like everyday. There are many, surely more interesting, children around them.

The boy started again, going a bit slower: “What’s your na-”

“I heard you the first time.”, Ben cut him off, the boy taken aback, but gaining a wonky smile.

“Oh, sorry. But you gave no answer and some kids say I talk weird sometimes. Or too much and fast, so they don’t know what I meant. ...So you wanna tell me?”

Well, the kids were at least right when it came to the talking too much, but he continued to stay apprehensive, the grip on the swing tightening just slightly. “What do you want from me?”

The boy blinked: “Your name? As I said.”

“Why?”

“Because I keep seeing you around school and wanna meet you?”, the boy answered, moving aside to lean against the swing set instead of just standing around, “You always seem so sad.”

Ben was shocked, he didn’t even think anyone noticed him, or even would talk to him. Most of his classmates ignore him, calling him rude or even creepy.

“I’m fine by myself though”, Ben said, believing it to be true. He wasn’t friendless after all, and he didn’t wish for any more friends.

But he still lied about one thing: “And I’m not sad by the way.”

“Oh… I misunderstood then.”, the boy frowned a little and stopped leaning at the set, maybe now he’ll leave.

But instead he held out his hand to Ben: “Then I’ll just start. I’m Hibiki.”

Ben didn’t return the gesture, still too shocked and confused why this boy hasn’t left him alone yet. A part probably wanting to yell at him to do so, but another stopping him from doing so, yearning for this kind of bond with anyone.

“I’m… Benjamin.”

“Can I call you ‘Ben’ then?”

“No.”

Hibiki pouted, but then accepted it.

They started a; more or less one-sided; conversation. Ben learning way too much about one person just today than he wanted or expected. Like how Hibiki’s family moved here from Japan, some hobbies of his, how invested he is towards animals and how he dreams of having an own bakery or cafe one day.

Most of the time Ben only gave half-assed answers, yet Hibiki never seemed to have minded, while his classmates would have told him off for being arrogant already by this point. It felt… nice.

At one point Hibiki noticed Ben’s Triforce necklace, asking him about it, Ben too ashamed to say too much like usual. So instead Hibiki just pulled out his key-chain of a pink fairy looking thing, the left side missing an arm and wing, as well as the color fading away. He explained it being a Celebi from the Pokemon franchise, but Ben knowing way too little about it to understand a single thing being told to him.

And while it was a strange first encounter, Ben started seeing Hibiki at school or so more and more; Hibiki being just one grade under him; and slowly but surely warming up to him, spending away the days. As long as his parents and… ‘father’ didn’t interfere.

Then again… Ben wasn’t sure if eventually Hibiki would catch on, maybe he’d even join. For him surely. And then it happened sooner than expected.

“Ben… Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Silver.” A nickname Ben picked up after allowing Hibiki to call him just ‘Ben’ finally. Even if more often than not it annoyed Hibiki, because ‘The protagonist is named Gold, the rival is Silver’, but he refused to listen.

“Why are you bruised so often?”

Ben froze and sat up from having laid in the grass, staring at his friend’s worried expression.

“Do you get into fights that often? Do they hurt you badly-”

“No, I don’t get into fights!”, Ben said, a bit too loud as Hibiki flinched, “I-I mean… I get them… I… it’s from baseball practice, remember?”

“I never once saw you play baseball, you never tell anything… And I don’t think that baseball can leave such bad wounds…”

“I get hit in the face A LOT.”, Ben tried, looking around, trying to find any lie or explanation, not noticing how his hands started to shake, “It’s really okay, Hibiki.”

“Somebody keeps on hurting you, don’t they?”

Ben fell silent.

Hibki huffed, attempting to look brave: “Who are they? If they keep doing that-”

“It’s nothing… I deserve it anyways…”, Ben muttered. He couldn’t find anything anymore, too tired for it.

So instead he braced himself and told Hibiki. About his home life and… even the cult.

But he insisted Hibiki never told anyone about it, and he was sure it would be that way.

However just a few weeks later the police scanned the entire city, ending up at Ben’s home, arresting his parents, as others looked for any trace of the leaders and any still missing children. The officers tried to assure Ben that everything was fine now, but also tell them everything he knows that can help them. It scared him, everything fell apart, what if it had consequences? He could feel tears welling up, ready to spill out, but then felt a squeeze at his hand.

Since Hibiki told his parents and the police about it, he also insisted on coming to Ben and comfort him. And he held his word, as he gave a reassuring nod, holding his hand the whole way through as Ben gave in and explained everything.

And since then Hibiki never strayed from Ben’s side. Even when he was sent into an orphanage, far away out of safety with the cult. It was more difficult now of course, states away from each other, but they kept contact up as much and as long as possible.

They met again in a cafe, both grown up, having needed a moment to recognize each other. But once they did, it ending in a heartfelt reunion and looots of catching up. While Ben still had his mostly green clothes; as well as his now even longer wavy brown hair, securely tied in a pony tail now most of the times, due to it no longer having to hide his face; Hibiki changed remarkably.

He’s grown way taller, having been slightly shorter to around the same height as Ben as a child, his hair being dyed a warm reddish brown, Hibiki mentioning he thinks of getting a new hair style as well, and deep red glasses on top of his nose. He became a real adult as Ben would joke, while he remained looking like a teen almost.

It was a joyous moment to find out that Hibiki had moved to a town nearby, meaning it was now easier to uphold contact for them.

The few years after that were messy, Ben’s study in IT leaving him stressed out, while Hibiki never gave up his dream of opening his cafe, so as they got closer started to live together in a nice little apartment. And from there it all came naturally. Confessions, dates, adopting their cats and finally Marriage.

*

Ben returned from memory lane back into their bedroom, realizing he started embracing Hibiki from behind, a content smile having stretched across his lips. Hibiki was always by his side, even through the troubles and fights and annoyances, mostly towards him.

Like how Ben still never gave up on his nickname ‘Silver’, or how he can’t cook to save their lives or him having refused to go seek a therapist the first few years.

“You worrying about tomorrow?”, a voice asked, catching Ben off guard as Hibiki moved to lay on his back, returning the embrace with one arm, showing him to be awake. Ben remembering that even Hibiki’s voice changed to a low warm tone.

“...No… Just a nightmare…”, Ben muttered as an answer, nuzzling his face into his lover’s chest, closing his eyes; wishing to no longer think about those words and pictures. “About back then…”

Hibiki looked stern: “Just to let you know, I never once regretted it.”

“I know.”

Ben sighs, finally looking back up, smiling: “But I’m better now… I just… started to reminiscence of the past a little…”

“Oh, really now?”, Hibiki chuckled, turning fully on his side instead to look into Ben’s eyes, them sparkling with curiosity to listen. “Like what?”

At least one thing from his child self remained within him.

“Oh, you know, just… back when we were just stupid kids, and how much had changed or not changed when we met again. ...Maybe I should change myself a little like you.”

Ben looked up, smirking: “You think colored contacts would work? And hazel or grey ones? Oh, do you think blond dyed hair would suit me?”

Hibki placed a hand on his husband’s cheek, caressing it with his thumb, cutting him off from his ramblings. “I think you’re beautiful regardless. Especially your eyes. I love your heterochromia, don’t hide it.”

Ben blushed for a second, but then rolled his eyes: “I know that, you sap. But just speaking.”

“Well then. In my opinion, I think blonde hair wouldn’t suit you at all. I can’t force you otherwise though of course.”

Ben giggled: “What, why?”

“I just can’t see it. You and blonde hair? Ugh.”

Ben playfully punched Hibiki in the arm, who didn’t even react to it, still smiling lovingly: “Much better now?”

“I suppose… I’m not… thinking of the nightmare anymore at least.”, Ben trailed off, “But I’m still nervous…”

“What if I fail the interview or… or the cycle continues? I’ll be like them, I-”

“Ben-”

“I can barely take care of myself, I’m not the kindest or so like you, what if I’m gonna ruin everything-”

“Ben!”, Hibiki finally got through as Ben looked back up, still in his arms.

“You’re going to be a wonderful dad. You wanted this for so long, didn’t you?”

Ben hesitated, but nodded.

“See? I know you’re going to love and care for the child the best you can. And if you’re nervous of being bad: Remember that you knowledge it and worry about it being the case. So you can’t be all that bad.” Hibiki pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. “Because only bad people don’t care about the wrong they’re causing.”

“...How many times am I going to hear that sentence from you or Steven in my life?”, Ben joked.

“Well, until it is finally ingrained in your brain.”

Hibiki snuggled into his lover’s soft hair as he brings him closer.

“It’s late, let’s try and sleep. We’ll have more restless nights afterwards.”

Ben nodded once more, trying to fall back into slumber.

He does so, hoping the best for tomorrow.

[bakugouscentedcaramel]

💕Soft Bois Hour 💞

We all just need some softies up in this bitch, buckle up your hearts y'all because here's a bakers dozen of soft Bois here to soothe your affection thirsty hearts

Bakugou

You're planted firmly in his lap with your back flushed against his chest

His chin resting on your shoulder and his arms wrapped around your torso

You both are just watching a video on your phone, you laugh which causes him to watch you instead

Your laugh was what first started it, he felt his heart swell with softness

The vibration in your body warmed his senses as he felt himself smile at you

His eyes locked onto your face, the eyes that melted him, the mouth that showered him in love, the blush he craved every single waking day

He nuzzled into your neck and sighed contently

You could feel his steady heartbeat on your back as he leaned further into you

"You're so beautiful Y/n..." He grumbled against your skin as his arms softly tightened their hold on you

Todoroki

You two were on a date and decided to sit outside at a café

The sun was beaming and so we're you

To be honest he wasn't paying attention to what you were trying to tell him, he was too busy being infatuated with you

Your bright eyes shone with enough light to put the constellations to shame

Your lips were more tempting than any cafe cookie, the way they moved put him in a trance

The way your hair blew in the wind could've been out of a movie scene

And he loved every second of it

He reached out to brush the back of his hand against your cheek and smiled softly

You paused at the sudden touch before you saw his eyes lid softly before

"Y/n, I love you more than anything..." He grabbed your hand and kissed it tenderly before taking a sip of his coffee, basking in the blush that dusted your cheeks

Midoriya

You two were just laying down after a hard busy day

You were laying on his chest with his arm around you, just listening to him rambling about his day, occasionally adding your input

Until your answers got shorter and more simple

You could feel the sleep shrouding your eyes

Izuku kept rambling for about 15 minutes before he realized you fell asleep

He smiled softly

He always found it cute that his voice alone could put you to sleep, but he also couldn't help but feel that he bored you to sleep

His thoughts snowballed causing his anxiety to rise

Until you shifted into him and murmured a "Keep going, Izu.."

"A-anything for you, Y/n..." He kissed your forehead and continued his banter about the silver age of heroes, his voice now significantly softer than before as an actual attempt to get you to fall asleep

Shinsou

He didn't understand any of this

You were just cooking but you were so..

Breathtaking

The way your hair fell on your shoulders, your fluid movements, and god your humming...

He couldn't help himself from walking up to you and hugging you from behind

His arms wrapped around your waist and he rested his head on your shoulder

"Are you sure you don't want my help, love?"

Your affirmation was just as intoxicating as how your eyes looked at his with such a love filled energy

He chuckled and started swaying the two of you to the beating of his own heart

He hummed a melody of his own making, the vibrations tickling your skin

Slow dancing with his glorious Sun was all he could ever ask for

Kaminari

"Hey Babe! Whatcha think?" You gave your Thor Knockoff a twirl

You came out of the dressing room with full on Chargebolt merch

He whipped his head over and you could see him about to short circuit, a soft dorky smile gracing his face

Unknowing to you, you gave him the knock out move

You giggled at his reaction and flashed him that dazzling smile

The lights flickered and he was down for the count

Once you explain to the staff that he is indeed ok and there's no need to call an ambulance, you drag him into the dressing room, power bank charger in hand

After a few minutes of charging his batteries he let out a dazed chuckle

"Y/n... I'm so grateful for you, you have no idea, hot stuff"

"Clam it pika, you can't be doing this at every single store we go to."

Tokoyami

You two were in a tree, just watching the stars through the cloudy sky

You were laying in his lap and your back against his chest, his arms keeping you steady and secure on the branch

Everything was so peaceful, until he let out a frustrated sigh, Dark Shadow eyeing his weilder

"I'm sorry that the sky isn't clear enough for this, Y/n. The forecast said it was going to be crystal clear."

You laughed causing him to recoil in surprise

"Love no, it's already perfect. It's so pretty how the stars peak through the clouds like this, they dazzle through the leaves and it's like a little show for us. Not to mention any time we spend together is already perfect!" Lean further into him and look up at him, giving him that intoxicating smile.

His features relaxed and his grip on you tightened, Dark Shadow finding a more comfortable spot on the bark

"You are too good for me, my Queen of Darkness.."

Kirishima

You've just gotten out of the shower, already dressed and your hair in a towel

Your Shark boi wasn't about to pass up this opportunity

"Hey Y/n, want me to do your hair?" His smile should've been illegal

You shrugged and agreed, no harm in it right?

As soon as the towel came off he was starstruck

Got a whiff of your shampoo and nearly keeled over

Brushes your hair for you and makes sure it doesn't pull, taking impressive care not to be too rough

Low-key spends most of the time combing through your hair with his fingers

Eventually gives you a braid crown

"Every Queen deserves a crown, and your hair is like the threads of heavens harp, my goddess..."

Iida

You were working later than usual, and he hated it

He knew how hard you were on yourself if you didn't "work to your fullest"

So he did the best he could

He cleaned your shared apartment and left you dinner in the fridge, did your laundry for you, the whole 9 yards

But you were still out later than he thought

Ended up leaving four voicemails, each one sounding more tired than the last one, always ending with "I love you, Y/n, come home soon"

You came home to him asleep on the couch, his mouth partially open and his arms crossed

Once he heard your keys rattling on the table he groggily woke up

"Nngn, welcome home, Y/n... Let's go to bed.."

Aizawa

He must've fallen asleep on the couch you two just bought

The last thing he remembers was stretching out on it and you joining him

Now he's awake and you're still asleep, on top of him, your gentle snores causing a smile to creep on his face

He picked up the blanket from the floor, you must've shook it off in your sleep

He tossed it over the both of you, hoping you wouldn't wake up from the movement

You only just stirred before nuzzling into his chest

He chuckled quietly before playing with you hair, twirling it between his fingers

"My Nap Queen..."

"...ngn.. Nap King..."

Fuck you heard him

Now he has to come up with a clever excuse for his blush

Toshinori

He was up extremely late grading papers and customizing each of his students training regiments

You loved the fact he cared so much about his pupils but he needs sleep too, and you've gotten into the habit of sleeping with him so sleeping by yourself was out of the question

You watched him from the doorway of his office, blanket draped over yourself like a gown, the dim light of candles illuminated his desk, the smell of papers and ink flooded your senses

You couldn't help but yawn at the relaxing atmosphere

Toshi huffed and turned to see your sleepless self watching him

"I'll be finished soon, I promise my love." He gave you a weak smile, his eyes hazed with his own tiredness

"Toshi, please darling. You know I can't sleep without you, I can come by tomorrow for the class as an apology for their papers not getting graded. Please come to bed, hon."

He couldn't help but smirk at your plea

"I suppose" he blew out the candles and made his way over to you

He picked you up gently and started princess carrying you to the bed

"You certainly are the best decision I've made, my heart."

Dabi

You were full of piss and vinegar today, and he might've just unleased a rabid beast

One of his teases sent you over the edge

You were bottling up all of the weeks frustrations but his snide comment just uncapped it all

"You're a son of a bitch Dabi, you know that? You never fuckin help me with ANYTHING but you want me to cater to your lazy ass??? YOU FUCKING WANT FOOD GO GET IT YOURSELF YOU FOOTBALL LOOKIN MOTHER FUCKER-"

He was starstruck, a normal person would've retreated with their tail between their legs but he was infatuated with every emotion, every expression, every syllable

You truly were his very own wildfire

He slammed his lips into yours with an unexpected energy

It was soft and sincere which was unlike him

Was this his way of apologizing? Or was it..

He's smirking at your bafflement

"Relax Dollface. Don't worry about dinner. I'll take care of it. What's my wildfire of spite in the mood for tonight"

You could've sworn you saw a shit-eating grin through his honeyed words

Shigaraki

You two were sleeping next to each other, but with different blankets

You knew he was scared of ever touching you but tonight was going to be one of the worst

He started tossing and turning suddenly, unconsciously scratching in his sleep, he was having a nightmare

His trembling form rattled the bedframe. His breaths that choked him, his frantic mumbles, his desperate clawing, all filled the room

You gently shook him awake, worry filling your heart and mind. His eyes shot open, red and bloodshot, a tear rappelling down his face

He shoved you away and sat up, his back facing you while he tried to catch his breath

You laid against his form, hoping your warmth would comfort him like normal, you hummed one of his video games' melody in hopes of calming him

He didn't acknowledge you, but you could feel him slightly relax under you, a shaky huff escaping his lips

He's slowly getting used to contact, he just needs some time

[taelme]

Dance major!Sicheng

genre: school!au,  dance major!sicheng (slight angst, fluff, slow burn) 

pairing/s: Sicheng / Reader (ft Xiaojun, Ten and Renjun n some of the 127 boys!) 

word count: 18k+ 

tw: mentions of alcohol use, like tension between Sicheng and his parents...(this is fictional of course pls keep this in mind Sicheng’s relationship with his parents that I portrayed in this is in not real and this is just based off of personal experience pls) 

a/n: only now am I realizing how many of my works include substance use lmao I need to calm down.. anyway this is just something I wanted to do for Sicheng inspired by his ‘lovely’ dance with Ten for ‘Rainbow V’ as well as by the videos of him dancing Chinese traditional dance in general!! believe me,... the amount of videos and compilations I've watched of him doing traditional dance is....a lot more than I'm proud to disclose HAHHA .. also there are some mandarin words mentioned here that I referenced from things sicheng has said before so yes that's all anyway enjoy!!

“We’re gonna have to start closing up soon,” you murmured, leaning down to massage your calf, beginning to feel sore after what felt like a whole day of standing.

It was your faculty’s turn to raise money for underprivileged students in your school to start the second half of the semester, the classes in your department setting up various booths ranging from food and beverage to booths like yours, selling customized handmade bracelets.

“You look tired,” one of your friends told you, earning a wholehearted nod from you.

“Very.”

Laughing, she shook her head at you, handing you the file containing your money collected from your sales, “D’you mind helping us collate this? We’ll go grab the rest of our bags and stuff from the lounge.”

You nodded, getting your phone out and kneeling at the table, dividing the money by quantity and starting to key in your phone calculator, your train of thought getting interrupted when you’d received a text from your friend Xiaojun, finishing your calculations before checking his message.

xiaojun 5:07pm -i can come to ur booth now !-

You huffed, your knees starting to hurt from the rough surface of the floor, typing out your reply to him with your pen still clasped in your hand.

5:09pm -we’re already almost closing ure a little late-

xiaojun 5:09pm -its ok i have friends with money they can donate even if they dont buy anything! where is ur booth-

5:09pm -@ the entrance of the design and performing arts school- xiaojun

Xiaojun 5:09pm - perfect -

“Y/N!” you heard the echo of someone whose voice was so distinctively Xiaojun it gave you goosebumps, looking up from your phone and spotting the boy himself walking alongside two other boys. 

You first noticed they were very well dressed, giving you the vibe that they were from the design and arts department, possessing a different sort of charisma that was made even more obvious when they were walking next to a bouncy smiley Xiaojun.

You gave him a grimace, looking back at the list of ibanking transactions, adding up the total of that with what you’d calculated for physical money, eyebrows raised in surprise at the total, not expecting to have raised so much more than your class had initially expected.

“Y/N, this is Ten and Sicheng,” Xiaojun gestured to the two boys next to him, identifying the shorter of the two with short cropped hair with multiple piercings adorning his ear to be Ten, and the other taller boy with dark brown hair to be Sicheng, who simply gave you a nod in greeting.

“Nice to meet you,” Ten had smiled at you, instantly brightening his demeanour as he gravitated towards the beads and string. “Can I make one?” he was already starting to pick up the roll of thread, measuring it around his wrist.

“You didn’t even wait for her to say yes,” Sicheng pointed out with a sigh despite being busy with his phone, causing Ten to give you a sheepish smile.

You nodded reassuringly, gesturing to the materials, “sure, go ahead, we’re already done for the day, anyway,” you smiled.

Xiaojun had made his way around the table, making a loud displeased sound when he saw that you were kneeling on the floor. “Can’t you at least sit on a chair or something?” he clucked his tongue, making you roll your eyes. Your bickering had unknowingly caught Sicheng’s attention, the boy silently observing the way you and Xiaojun interacted as he typed out a reply to Renjun who was currently asking where on earth he was.

“I would if there was any chairs here,” you scoffed.

Xiaojun was about to retort when his gaze flickered to the numbers you were so busy writing down, “Wow! You guys made this money just selling bracelets?!” You shushed him quickly, not wanting to attract unwanted attention, but at the mention of money, Sicheng visibly perked up, making his way away from Ten to the table you and Xiaojun were at, curious to see the amount.

His eyes widened upon seeing the number, glancing quickly at the rates you sold each bracelet for. 

“Wow,” he drawled, his eyebrows raising in surprise, “have you guys done this before?”

You were startled to find how different his voice sounded from what you’d expected, low and holding a certain thickness to the sound. Watching him pull the sleeves of his sweater to his elbows, he’d picked up the sheet of paper, analysing it before placing it back down on the table with a nod, looking back at you for your reply.

You knew you thought he was pretty when you first saw him, but your breath hitched at the discovery that he was even prettier up close. Sicheng. Even his name was pretty. You thought Xiaojun took care of his appearance, but Sicheng was on a whole other level.

Realising he was still waiting for your reply, you quickly shook your head, watching how his lips curved into a small smirk, nodding with an impressed pout on his lips.

“Well you should, you wouldn’t even need to get part-time jobs if you just promoted these,” he proposed casually. This earned him an obnoxious snicker from Ten, whose neck was still craned as he made his bracelet, struggling with a particularly small one.

“Saying it like that isn’t gonna make them give you any of the profit, you know,” Ten’s teasing tone did nothing to deter Sicheng, who simply shrugged.

Xiaojun chimed in quickly, waving his finger at Sicheng as he laughed with Ten, “This guy’s like that. He’ll propose the idea and make you do everything else,” he told you, making Sicheng scoff, a small smile of embarrassment on his face at his friends’ teasing.

“That’s called doing business. It’s so troublesome to do all of it yourself, might as well get people to help you carry it out,” Sicheng gestured as he spoke, waving his friends off. You scrunched your nose in amusement, shoving Xiaojun aside so you could straighten up, putting the paper with the calculations into the file with the money and setting it aside.

Sicheng tried not to make it too obvious that he kept looking at you, deciding to pretend to be interested in what Ten was doing so you wouldn’t notice his furtive glances. “Who are you making that for?” he nudged Ten.

“Not you.”

A sharp tut of the tongue left Sicheng’s mouth.

“Yeah, I know. I wasn’t—never mind forget I asked,” he laughed, taking his phone out to act busy with it.

You spotted the teacher-in-charge of the event gesturing for you to start packing up. 

“Do you guys need help cleaning up?” Xiaojun gestured at the tables.

You’d started by squatting next to the table, picking up the multitude of beads that had fallen down throughout the day. Sicheng had gone over to help you since Xiaojun had chosen to hurry Ten into making his bracelet so you could pack up. He’d noticed how poorly you were balancing, wanting to tell you you could let him do it but he was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone, getting a phone call from somebody but simply tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder as he continued picking up the beads.

“Y/N,” you heard your friend’s voice, turning around a little too quickly and almost stumbling, anticipating the impact on your bum when you felt a hand on your arm, pulling you steady. Eyes widening, you regained your balance quickly, Sicheng still talking to whoever was on the phone in what you could decipher to be rushed chinese, casually removing his hand from your arm.

“What are you doing?” Renjun’s tone was exasperated, “You said you’d be here 10 minutes ago!”

Sicheng straightened up once your friend had approached you, “I got held back, I’m helping Xiaojun’s friend with something,” he emptied his handful of beads into their respective sections.

“I’m hanging up, I’ll be there in 5 minutes,” he told Renjun, hanging up promptly after.

“Guys, I have to leave, i’m gonna go find Renjun,” he spoke, Ten and Xiaojun both turning around and bidding him goodbye as he left.

You’d gotten up a little too late, your conversation with your classmate having distracted you into not noticing Sicheng leaving.

You’d gone to help your classmates bring back the tables to the storeroom, “So...” your friend drawled, mischief laced in her tone, “Xiaojun’s friends, huh?” she smirked, making you roll your eyes, a flustered scoff escaping your lips.

“What about them?” you raised an eyebrow at her, already skeptical about what she was about to say.

She shot you a look of disbelief, her smile widening, “I saw what happened just now, when the tall cutie saved you before you could fall on your ass,” she shrugged in mock nonchalance.

“He kind of scares me...” you admitted, making her burst into laughter, the obnoxious sound echoing in the empty corridor you were walking through.

“Didn’t seem like that just now when he grabbed you,” she sing-songed.

You shot her a glare, dismissing her accusations with a shake of your head. “Can you stack the tables properly,” you gestured to the haphazard stack of tables placed in an empty area of the room in her haste to get it over with, not being able to help yourself from laughing at her sheer excitement.

“Don’t try to avoid my question!” she waggled a finger at you, urging you out of the room so she could continue her interrogation.

“I’m not avoiding it, there’s literally nothing to say! I barely spoke a sentence to him,” you defended.

“What’s his name?”

“Sicheng,” you replied a little too quickly, making her squeal, “I think,” you added, just to make it seem like you totally weren’t sounding out his name in your head just moments before.

"What?" you snapped, hating how embarrassed her cheeky grin was making you, especially with her shrugging her shoulders suggestively, quirking an eyebrow and smirking at you as you returned to where Xiaojun and Ten were, seeing that your other friends had left already.

“Are you going home after this?” Xiaojun came over to you and asked once he'd noticed you were back. You nodded your head, earning a frown from Ten.

“We’re gonna stay to hang with Sicheng and Renjun, see you on Monday, then?”

Nodding, you waved goodbye to the both of them, endeared when you saw that Ten was already proudly wearing the bracelet he made, “Alright, see you.”

Glad to have made new friends, but strangely curious about Sicheng, feeling like you’d just been left hanging.

===

Thankfully for you, you had friends like Xiaojun. Though times like this you weren’t so sure whether you were so thankful for the boy sitting next to you whining about how late his friend was to meet him.

“Maybe he’s busy or something,” you shrugged, adjusting your legs so you were sitting cross legged, your laptop perched on your lap as you continued doing research for your essay.

“If he’s so busy he shouldn’t have started teaching Ren—oh my god, finally!” your head shot up from your laptop, turning to him with a confused gaze before seeing him frowning at something in front of him, turning your head to spot Xiaojun’s friend from that day at the charity event.

“Oh?” you’d accidentally blurted, catching Sicheng’s attention, making him look at you in surprise, giving you a small close-lipped smile in greeting, shoving his hand into his pocket as his other hand fiddled with his phone.

“Where did you go?” Xiaojun asked, genuine confusion laced in his tone, switching to Mandarin while he was talking to Sicheng. Not because he didn’t want you to understand, of course, but more because he was more comfortable this way. (And plus, you liked to think you had sufficient mandarin knowledge).

“What are you talking about? I told you I was outside helping Renjun this whole time,” Sicheng furrowed his eyebrows, a hint of amusement on his features. You understood the part about him being outside, somehow finding Sicheng’s personality to be rather strong, especially showcased when he was speaking mandarin.

Xiaojun’s mouth closed shut, looking slightly embarrassed, ignoring the knowing look you were giving him at how quick he was to scold Sicheng for being late.

“Oh, okay.” Xiaojun bid you goodbye quickly, Sicheng helping him off the floor and leaving promptly.

You found it strange, how he’d spent so much time in your faculty building when he wasn’t even from this faculty, only realizing why when you’d gone to help your groupmates who were spray painting their crafts outside the lounge, seeing the area usually occupied by students from the dance club practicing now taken over by Sicheng and a petite boy that you recognized to be from your faculty.

You heard the petite boy whine sulkily, looking at Sicheng with an exasperated look on his face, simply receiving a shrug and a smile from Sicheng.

“I never said this was easy to do,” he sighed deeply, looking towards the mirror to observe Renjun, catching a glimpse of you in the background.

You held the collar of your shirt over your nose, regretting not having better protection against the fumes of the spray paint, feeling a little bad for the people around you in case the fumes were too strong that it disrupted them as well.

“This one’s done, I’ll bring it aside,” you told your group members, seeing their nods of acknowledgement before using one hand to drag the long and heavy piece of cardboard to the more airy part of the area.

Sighing, you let go of your shirt, dabbing at your sweat with the back of your hand and looking around to see if anyone had been annoyed by the spray paint fumes, accidentally making eye contact with Sicheng through the large mirrors. Something made you feel prompted to say hello, but you decided against it, looking away quickly and continuing with what you were doing.

You tried not to let yourself get too distracted by seeing his demonstrations of the dance he was teaching to Renjun, trying to focus on finishing your task as fast you could so you could go back into the student lounge where there wouldn’t be a Sicheng to distract you.

Settling for just nodding in greeting to him, exchanging small smiles, you carried on seeing him and bumping into him in your faculty. Each time trying to ignore the way your mind was starting to create scenarios in your head about how you would approach Sicheng and start a conversation in another universe where you were confident enough to approach someone as pretty as him.

Sicheng too had been going through a similar dilemma in his head, debating on whether he would send the wrong message if he were to ask too many questions about you. He wasn’t usually the type to put himself out there or pursue potential love interests, it was just something about seeing you around so often and his unceasing curiosity that was starting to get the better of him.

“Your friend is my age, right?” he asked as casually as he could once when he was teaching Renjun at the mirrored area outside the student lounge, curious after seeing the multitude of things it seemed that you had to do (or maybe, just curious about you in general)

Xiaojun shot him a look of confusion, shaking his head rapidly.

“Oh my god, no, she’s my age,” he laughed, finding it weird that Sicheng would think you were his age, wondering momentarily if you looked that old.

“Oh,” Sicheng said, not realizing Xiaojun wasn’t listening to him anymore, too busy deciding whether you looked like a solid 20 year old or barely 19.

“Why’d you ask?” Xiaojun snapped out of his thoughts, turning to Sicheng with a questioning look on his face.

Sicheng shrugged casually, commenting that Renjun had done well before replying Xiaojun, “Nothing. Just…didn’t know why they looked so busy when I look at how free you are,” he grinned cheekily at the end of his statement, letting out a relieved sigh when Xiaojun had bought his excuse.

It wasn’t like Sicheng wasn’t telling the truth, because you did have a lot of things to do. Making Sicheng just the least of your worries at this point. You’d been so busy trying to churn out assignment after assignment that it was starting to take a toll on you. You hadn’t gotten a proper sleep in what was probably weeks, too busy thinking and planning time for all the things that were yet to be done, the constant worrying ridding you of a guilt-free sleep.

It wasn’t any better that you and your friends had all started spending long hours cooped up in the student lounge doing work; going home later and later as a result. And though many people would probably see that as a normal part of school life, you weren’t one for hustle culture, and you definitely weren’t used to experiencing it to such an extent, the stress from it all making you increasingly sensitive.

You’d been with your friend in the student lounge, with her trying her best to help you think of ideas that you could do for your assignment. (You didn’t think of yourself as the most creative person in the world). Hugging your jacket closer to yourself, you sighed, looking at your computer as you wracked your brains to think of a possible solution.

“I'm sorry, writing really isn't my strong suit, but I’ll try my best," she told you, tilting the computer slightly more in her direction, eyes rapidly scanning through what you had typed so far to see if she could get any inspiration for the other aspects of your assignment you had yet to think of.

You felt a sinking feeling in your stomach when you saw that her mom was calling her, asking—or demanding, it was a very fine line these days—her to come home since it was getting late. From the way she'd ended the call and looked at you, a certain reluctance mixed with sympathy in her expression, you already anticipated what she would say next.

"Y/N—" she started hesitantly.

"It's fine, really, your mom's gonna be pissed if you stay. I'll just..." you glanced at your work, trying to ignore the headache building at your temples, "...figure something out."

“—I’m really sorry,” your friend murmured, picking up her bags and shooting you one last sympathetic expression before leaving.

And now that your friend was gone, that left you sitting on the floor of the student lounge, your back against one of the pillars near the corner of the room. At this point, you'd managed to finalize your ideas, desperately wanting to get this over with, but the more you tried to think the more your ideas just weren't making sense.

Sicheng had just finished teaching Renjun for the day, strolling into the student lounge with his water bottle in hand, spotting Xiaojun sitting at the sofas using his phone.

"Renjun went home already?" Xiaojun asked, earning a nod from Sicheng, who flopped down on the sofa next to Xiaojun, a tired sigh leaving his lips.

"Do you have the stuff I needed help printing?" Sicheng felt a wave of relief upon seeing the clear plastic folder Xiaojun had taken out from his bag, handing it to Sicheng. In the process of leaning over to get his bag from where it was next to Xiaojun, Sicheng had caught a glimpse of someone that reminded him of you with your head resting on your folded arms placed on the table.

"You would not believe what I went through this morning..." Xiaojun began, not realizing he may as well have been talking to the wall due to Sicheng clearly being preoccupied with staring at your direction in concern.

Wondering if it was you, he'd glanced at the time on his watch, confirming the first bit about it possibly being you since he'd noticed you tended to stay in the student lounge later during this period.

"Yeah, and to make it even worse they're making us go to the farm!..." Xiaojun went on.

Sicheng’s suspicions were confirmed even more when he'd recognized the jacket you were wearing, having seen you wear it earlier on in the day when you'd greeted him on your way to the washroom.

She seems really tired, maybe I should tell Xiaojun? she is his friend after all...Sicheng contemplated, coming back from his thoughts to look at Xiaojun blankly.

"What did you say?" he asked Xiaojun, seeing the boy look up from his phone.

"Oh. No, I just said I needed to get going, I’m meeting my parents for dinner outside," he said simply, not seeming to have noticed that Sicheng hadn't caught a single word of his that came prior to that.

Nodding slowly, "Oh," Sicheng dragged his gaze away from you. "Okay, I think I’ll just stay here a little longer, I’m kind of lazy to leave.”

Xiaojun wasn't stupid, he'd caught Sicheng staring at your direction the moment he'd grabbed his bag, figuring he would let things flow and wait for the (much expected) updates he was likely to get from you the next day. Eyeing Sicheng suspiciously, he nodded, "Bye, see you," he waved, slinging his bag over his shoulder and leaving.

Sicheng frowned when he'd looked back at you, a part of him growing slightly hopeful when he saw you finally lift your head from the table top, rubbing at your forehead where there was now a red mark, your other hand coming up to wipe your tears roughly.

Seeing as no one else was there, and something was compelling Sicheng to check on you, he did exactly that. Making his way over to you, he crouched down next to where you sat in a squat, the feeling of a presence next to you making you turn, startled when you'd spotted Sicheng there.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Your hands flew to your face in your hurry to wipe the tears threatening to spill, turning your face away from him quickly, pretending to be busy and picking up your drink that had been neglected for God knows how long to take a sip. Ignoring the way the drink tasted diluted now from all your ice having melted, you turned back to him, holding a thumbs up with a small smile.

"Yeah, fine," you managed to muster out, trying to even out your breathing and calm yourself down.

“Uhhh...” he glanced at your face, searching your expression, noticing how your eyes got teary when you looked back at what was on your laptop screen, “hold on,” he murmured, and you tried not to let yourself get too nervous at his proximity.

Sicheng let his legs fold under him, resting his hands on his thighs as he inspected what was on your computer, receiving a pleasant surprise when he’d realized he’d done this module before.

“Do u need help? I did this module last year,” he told you, making your eyes widen, wondering just what you did in your life to warrant you such kindness from a stranger (or acquaintance, if you were being generous).  

You shot him a hesitant look, feeling embarrassed if you were to ask someone you barely knew to help with your assignment.

“Honestly, I just need to know if my ideas make sense, because I’m really rushing for time right now and every time I look at them again it just feels like I’m talking a whole lot of bullshit so I’m literally stuck because I can’t think of anything else,” you rambled, out of breath when you were done.

Not that Sicheng minded your rambling, since the boy was more focused on reading whatever you had on your computer screen, his eyes squinting as he concentrated.

In your assumption that he was squinting because he couldn’t see the words well, you’d made the words a lot bigger, making him let out a small huff of laughter.

“Thanks,” he whispered, continuing to read.

“Okay,” he turned to you with a small huff, “it’s really not as bad as you’re making it sound,” you frowned at his wording.

“So it’s bad?” your lips parted in dismay.

He giggled softly, shaking his head, “No, it’s not. After reading it, I can see that you’ve sort of got all your points here, you just need to find a way to pitch them, like...sell it, you know?”

You nodded slowly, looking back at what you’d written. Sicheng figured he’d better guide you through it since your expression remained lost as your hands hovered over your keyboard, not quite knowing how to start.

“Okay, how about, you just try to follow this structure while writing and I’ll guide you as you go, how does that sound?”

You nodded, thoughts wandering to how surreal all of this seemed to you. You already had an interest in Sicheng from all your previous encounters in school, and to have him here now offering to help you with your work just seemed a little too good to be true, like what you’d imagined would only happen to you in another universe but you figured since it was already happening you should put it to full use, nodding at him (it was clear your priorities were a little mixed up now that Sicheng was in the picture).

Sicheng gave you a sweet smile, relieved that you hadn’t rejected his offer. Not wanting to get carried away, he’d immediately started giving you prompts for your first idea. Doing as he told you to, you were surprised at how quickly you were able to get your assignment done. This was of course aside from the time you spent being distracted by his proximity while he pointed at your screen once in a while to tell you what you could do while you were ‘stuck’.

Attributing your success to him having done this subject before, you’d finished way earlier than you expected. However, just glancing at the clock you felt the dread creeping up on you as you thought of what other assignments you had left to do, your long-awaited rest just seeming to grow further and further away from you.

Sicheng leaned back in his seat, resting his elbow on his knee as he looked at you, a small smile playing at his lips as he saw the way you let out a relieved sigh as you hurriedly saved your work.

“Satisfied?” he’d asked once you finished saving your work and closing your laptop.

You couldn’t help yourself from nodding vigorously, immensely thankful for his timely appearance.

“I really can’t be assed to think any more about this stupid assignment,” you admitted, making him laugh, shaking his head.

Glancing at his watch, Sicheng looked back at you with an expectant gaze.

“Do you live nearby?”

You sighed, shaking your head as you stretched your arms out, “Takes me about a half hour bus ride? to get back?” you yawned, hands going to cover your mouth quickly.

His eyebrows raised in surprise, “You should probably be getting back, then, it’s pretty late..” He stood up with a grunt, extending a hand for you to take.

Accepting it, and standing up, you let him go grab his things as you slung your bag over your shoulder, glancing at the other people in the student lounge who were starting to leave as well, knowing for a fact that if Sicheng hadn’t offered to help you, you would be still here looking at them leave in envy.

Walking out of the student lounge with Sicheng, you’d realized just how empty the school was at this time of the day, something about the mood of the sky and the breeze you felt walking out adding to your confusing mix of feelings.

“What bus do you take?” Sicheng asked you.

Replying him quickly, you were confused as to why he’d asked when he’d just continued using his phone after that, frowning as the conversation went silent.

“The next one’s coming in 8 minutes,” Sicheng told you casually, shoving his phone into his pocket.

You never knew Xiaojun had such considerate friends.

“What bus are you taking?” you’d asked, seeing him turn to you briefly before looking back ahead.

“The same one, goes to my house as well,” he told you with a shrug, though obviously he didn’t include the part about it being like 20 minutes longer than his usual bus, but he felt like you could use the company, with the way he could practically hear you stressing from beside him.

“You look really stressed—" he cut himself off at the sound of his ringtone, seeing the caller ID had read that it was his sister, “—wait, hold on.”

He held a hand up in a gesture to stop, picking up the call and switching to mandarin to talk to his sister.

“Where are you? what are you out so late for?” she questioned.

“I’m already on my way back, don’t worry. Don’t call me, I’m hanging up.”

Ending the call quickly, you looked at him in fascination, finding the way he spoke enough to put you in a trance.

“Okay, where were we?” he said, his tone a lot more gentle than it was to whoever he was speaking to on his phone. “Right, I was gonna ask you why you looked so stressed,” he tilted his head at you, spotting the bus driving towards the bus stop.

You huffed in half-hearted laughter, gripping the strap of your bag tighter.

“I mean like...you know, with submissions and everything...it’s kind of hard for me to not think about the rest of the stuff I have left to do,” you murmured.

“Do you have a lot left?” he asked, earning a shrug from you.

You narrowed your eyes in thought before shaking your head, “It’s only a few assignments, but the problem is not really the quantity more than the tedious....ness of the assignment,” you hesitated, unsure if you were speaking actual words, but you were glad that Sicheng didn’t seem to mind, nodding patiently as you spoke.

Getting onto the bus, you’d taken a seat between the window and Sicheng, hugging your bag to your chest, Sicheng fiddling with his phone in his hands.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way through it. I mean, if Xiaojun can do it, you definitely can,” you laughed at his consolation, something in Sicheng feeling triumphant at how he’d been successful in making you smile.

“I sure hope so,” you huffed, letting a silence fall between you both.

"Thank you so much for helping me, by the way," you murmured, seeing him shake his head dismissively.

"It's okay, you don't have to thank me," he laughed.

"No, I do! What are you talking about? You didn't have to help me but you did, so you have to know that I'm really really thankful for that, okay? I like....basically owe you," you frowned.

"Look," he turned to you with a soft smile, "you can worry about repaying me another time, yeah? For now, just focus on getting a good rest at home and getting the rest of your work done."

You hummed, shooting him a reluctant look but nodding anyway, looking out the window at the passing buildings, less clearly visible due to the time of day.

“Which stop are you stopping at?” he asked you after a moment, telling him the location, murmuring that you were about to get off the bus soon, “That’s fast,” he murmured, starting to regret and wonder if he should've used the chance to make more conversation with you during the bus ride.

“How many stops do you have left?” you asked him, seeing him shrug, knowing he had at least nine more.

“About five-ish?” he shrugged, not wanting you to feel bad for him when you were already so stressed from school.

You nodded, “Alright," you frowned at the bus nearing your stop, a part of you wanting to talk more with Sicheng especially since this whole situation made you kind of forget that you had work to do for a moment.

Turning to get out of your seat, he'd given you a shy smile as you tapped out, stopping at the bus stop to wave at him through the window, making him smile at you, waving back but not without mouthing a "dont stress!" to you, holding his fist up in a gesture to cheer you on.

Nodding, you left before your smile could grow any shyer.

===

"Y/N," you heard someone call you while you were in the queue to buy coffee, turning a full circle before realizing Sicheng was standing behind you in the queue, dressed in a plain black shirt, tucked into black jeans, hands fiddling with his phone and wallet in hand.

"Oh, hi!" you said, shock evident in your tone, you noticed the petite boy who you figured was Renjun, standing next to Sicheng, eyeing him suspiciously, before turning to you and giving you a small smile in greeting.

His hair was more messy today, but not the i-just-woke-up kind of messy, but more of the I've-just-been-dancing-and-pushed-my-hair-back kind of messy.

In short, you thought he looked hot.

Brushing the thought away, you thought on your feet, hoping you could find some way to repay him for what he did.

“Believe it or not, I still feel bad about how you stayed behind to help me the other day, can I like...buy you a drink or something? for the sake of my conscience?" you laughed, seeing him tilt his head at you in amusement.

He hummed in thought, "I guess you can make it up to me by getting something to eat with me after your assignments are all over," he shrugged casually.

Renjun looking at him, clearly scandalized, his mouth falling open as if Sicheng had just transformed into another person.

You nodded, collecting your drink, turning back to him with a grin, "I'll take you up on that, see you.”

You tried your best to remain calm, before practically running back into the student lounge and almost tackling your friend with how excited you were.

"What does it mean if a guy you barely know stays back to help you with your work and accompanies you home and then asks you out for a meal after hell week is over?!" your words came out a mile a minute, almost spilling your drink with how she had writhed when you touched her calf, forgetting momentarily how ticklish she was.

"Is it the tall chinese-speaking cutie?!" she asked, earning a vigorous nod from you.

"Yeah! I saw him when I was getting coffee just now, and i was saying like hey, you know, why don't i buy you a drink cause like you know, I felt like I owed him for being so nice to me," you started, your friend nodding along as she listened intently to your story.

You took a sip of your drink halfway, constantly glancing around to check if anyone was within earshot, suddenly embarrassed about telling her what happened.

"Okay, so then, he suddenly says like..." you dropped the tone of your voice to a much lower one in a poor imitation of his voice, "'i guess you can make it up to me by getting something to eat with me after hell week,' and I'm like," you raised your eyebrows, eyes widening and a strangled sound of excitement escaping your lips, not being able to find a word to describe what you were feeling.

"Oh my god....so what did you say?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"I said yes, duh!" you scoffed, groaning at how she'd hit you repeatedly on the thigh after that.

"Do you think I should have, though? I mean, he's like Xiaojun's friend and all, but like still....I don't really understand why he would go out of his way to do that for me?" you frowned, taking a long sip of your coffee.

"I mean, yeah, why not? You could be missing out on a pretty good opportunity here if you say 'no'," she told you matter-of-factly.

You frowned, picking up your laptop and placing it onto one of the stools near you, scrolling to find your work.

"I know, but it's just weird, I mean. No one's ever approached me like that, especially when I don't even know them that well," you made a face of uncertainty to her.

"Maybe you should like interrogate Xiaojun or something, see what kind of person Sicheng is," she shrugged.

You had to say, there were pros and cons to that plan, but you figured it would probably be a good move to do that.

Little did you know Xiaojun was conducting his own interrogation outside the lounge.

"You should've seen him, he was actually initiating an outing with this girl!" Renjun scoffed, looking at Xiaojun in exasperation.

Sicheng rolled his eyes, focusing on stretching before him and Ten started practicing.

"Yeah why don’t you just announce it over the PA system while you’re at it," Sicheng commented, bending down sit on the floor, stretching his leg out and reaching for his foot, grasping it easily.

Ten shot Sicheng a look, "what's your plan?" he questioned, narrowing his eyes at Sicheng.

"I don't know," Sicheng shrugged, Xiaojun didn't seem to be buying any of it.

"Do you like her?" Xiaojun asked, finding it amusing to see how much Sicheng was trying to divert the topic.

"Ten, are you done stretching?" he avoided Xiaojun's question, giving a pointed look to Ten who simply smirked at his friend.

"I'll be done when you answer Xiaojun's question," he shrugged.

Sighing, Sicheng stood up, directing an annoyed look at his friends.

"I wanna get to know her first, okay?"

Ten made a face, trying to stifle his laughter. Renjun simply sighed loudly, "he's gone, just you wait, he's gonna fall in love by next week.” Ten stared wistfully into the distance, causing Xiaojun to erupt in a fit of giggles.

"You know it's true," Xiaojun gave Sicheng a knowing look, simply receiving a shake of the head in response.

"Whatever," he nudged Ten with his shoe, "let's just start."

===

Soon enough (and very fortunately) you were done with your assignments, and though Sicheng still had one major assignment left, the moment Xiaojun had given his contact to you, you had taken the liberty of texting him to let him know you were done with your assignments.

sicheng 7:53pm -congrats, r u taking me up on my offer now, then?-

He had happened to reply you when you were talking to Xiaojun over the phone.

"What do I say?"

Xiaojun groaned, "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're his friend! You're supposed to tell me how to approach this!" you frowned, though you knew he couldn't see you.

Xiaojun scoffed, "Sicheng is the least romantic person I know, don't get your hopes up.”

You frowned.

“Then do you think i'm getting ahead of myself with this?" Xiaojun could sense the excitement leaving your tone, making him regret saying that, not intending to have upset you, but at the same time not knowing what to tell you since Sicheng wasn't one to show his affection very freely.

"No, i mean like, Sicheng's just kind of weird in how he expresses how he feels," Xiaojun explained.

"So do you think he's just being friendly by asking me out?"

"I don't know, that really depends on how he acts around you from here on, but i've never seen what he's like when he likes someone so I really wouldn't know. But trust me, he's.....interested," he chuckled, making you gasp.

"Don't lie, are you sure?"

"I mean, forget it. It's not my place to say, i'm not him so I really wouldn't know, he's kind of hard to read if you haven't noticed." The thought lingered with you as you typed out a reply to Sicheng.

8:12pm -only if u want ofc-

sicheng 8:15pm - r u free this week? -

You typed out your reply quickly. 

8:15pm -i'm free for dinner on wednesday- 8:15pm -i end classes at like 5 that day-

sicheng 8:16pm -sure thing, but i have dance practice until like 6? u ok w meeting at 7?-

You refrained from squealing out of excitement. 

8:17pm -sure, see u then! :)-

sicheng 8:17pm - :) -

That was what ended you up in a popular hotpot restaurant at 7, reaching earlier than Sicheng who had texted you saying that he was on the way.

You definitely weren't expecting that he would walk in with the staff greeting him as if he owned the restaurant. Dressed in a casual grey hoodie and dark checkered patterned sweatpants, smoothing his hair down and adjusting his cap as he slid into the booth you were sat at.

"Sorry I'm late, did you have to wait long?" you shook your head. He wouldn't tell you, of course, that the reason he was late being that Ten was busy briefing him on how and how not to act while on a date.

"These soups are really nice, the rest are kind of weird," he admitted, gesturing to a few on the menu.

"Is there anything you don't eat?" he asked, already writing down on the menu, making orders of a considerable amount of dishes.

"Nope, go ahead," you smiled, looking at the menu and making your requests, seeing how he'd called the waiter over and ordered quickly, as if he'd done this a thousand times.

"You seem to be pretty familiar with the place, are you like a regular here?" you asked, seeing him rest his elbows on the table, covering his mouth with his hands as he smiled shyly.

Nodding with a small shrug, Sicheng glanced around at the interior of the restaurant.

"Used to come here a lot back when it wasn't so expensive, now it's kind of like a once in a while kind of thing, but the food here is great," he told you with conviction, his phone lighting up with notifications but he'd simply pushed it aside on the table.

"What did you do today?" he asked.

"Nothing interesting, if that's what you're wondering," you laughed, "just lessons, we haven't gotten any of our assignments back yet, Imean, not that I want to but-yeah." You stopped yourself, realizing you were rambling and trying your best to ignore the way Sicheng was looking at you, his blank expression making you feel like you were boring him.

Little did you know Sicheng was busy distracted by the way your lips moved when you talked, accompanied with the sweet tone of your voice making him almost forget he was part of the conversation.

"That's pretty much it, what about you?" you pressed your lips together, seeing him look up, trying to remember where you stopped.

"Right, okay. I just had a meeting with Ten to practice for our showcase, which is basically our last assignment but it's not due for another few weeks."

Your eyes widened, nodding at him, "That's pretty cool, do you guys get to choose what you dance to?"

Nodding, he moved back in his seat as a waiter came to deliver your food, giving her a nod in thanks.

"To put it simply we get to choose the song ourselves and choreograph a routine, design the set blah blah blah the whole production has to be designed by us basically, on top of the write up and the oral presentation," he told you after the waiter had left.

"That sounds tough," you murmured, reaching for the plate of meat but Sicheng had gotten to it before you could, "It's okay, don't worry. I'll do the work," he told you, the tip of his tongue peeking out from his lips in his concentration as he placed the different items you ordered into the soup.

"I guess it is tough but you know, it's worth it when you get on stage and feel everything come together and just....you know, dance," he shrugged, glaring at the meat as if it would make it cook quicker.

"So—" you were startled when you saw one of the staff of the place, seeming to be one of the managers, approach Sicheng with a loud squeal, draping her hand over his shoulder as he beamed at her, greeting her before she'd started speaking to him in mandarin.

"Si si! It's been so long since I've seen you! How are you?"

He nodded politely, "I've been good, just busy with school. You guys look like business has been pretty good here?”

She nodded at him with a proud smile.

"Of course! you were right, word of mouth does wonders," she told him, nudging him and looking at you with a smirk. "Are you not gonna introduce us to each other?"

Sicheng smiled shyly getting your attention in english, introducing you to her, seeing her smile after you greeted her.

"Are you sure she's just your friend?"

Sicheng scoffed, "Don't talk nonsense," he laughed, making her let out a sound of disbelief.  

You'd managed to pick up on what they were saying, understanding this part since you heard Xiaojun say it pretty often.

"Whatever you say, Si si. Okay, okay. I won't interrupt you two any longer," she drawled, smirking.

Sicheng shooed her away promptly, and you swore his cheeks started tinting pink as he turned back to you and apologized.

"Well she seems nice," you smiled, starting to eat after Sicheng had deemed the meat to be cooked enough.

“How is it?” he asked, eyes widening and an eager smile on his face as he gripped his chopsticks in anticipation.

Upon tasting the meat, your eyebrows lifted, Sicheng mirroring your wide-eyed expression as his smile grew bigger.

“Wow, it’s really good,” you hummed.

Sicheng clasped his hands together triumphantly, nodding his head at you with an overconfident smirk, “Of course it’s good! Since I was the one that recommended this place,” he held his arms up in a shrug.

You rolled your eyes, giggling at his demeanour as he put more food into the pot.

"Did you understand what she was saying?" he asked you.

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, seeing him gesture with his thumb over his shoulder and you realized he was referring to the staff. You raised a hand, tilting it in a 'somewhat' gesture.

"Roughly, I used to learn mandarin when i was younger but it's been pretty long since then and I lost most of my knowledge, I only understand bits and pieces that i've heard from Xiaojun before," you laughed, the way he looked at you with a mischievous glint in his eye making you feel a certain type of way.

"So you don't understand what I'm saying now?" he asked you in mandarin, making you narrow your eyes at him.

"I feel like you're asking me if I understand what you're saying...." you guessed, eyebrow raising in the hope that you were correct. Your heart practically jumping at the way his lips curved into a smile, nodding.

He'd set his chopsticks down, holding his head up with his hand, elbow resting on the table as he looked at you curiously.

"What if i said you were a rice bucket (饭桶)?" you didn't catch what he said, the way he pronounced words being rather rushed, tending to mesh and mumble his words together, unlike Xiaojun who tended to enunciate his words strongly.

You frowned at him, chewing your food as you thought, piecing together the words you'd managed to catch, "I eat rice?" you asked.

You weren't expecting the burst of laughter Sicheng had erupted in, his deep laugh sounding throughout the booth you were in, making your eyes widen and look over to see if anyone was looking, thankfully seeing none.

"What's so funny about that?" you asked, genuinely concerned, meanwhile Sicheng seemed to find it the funniest thing ever that you didn't understand him, shaking his head at you.

"Nothing, you're correct," he said, calming down and sipping his drink, his cheeks red from how hard he'd laughed, scrunching his eyes shut in a failed attempt to stop laughing.

You'd let a silence fall between you two as you ate, Sicheng was almost done with his food, forgetting what Ten had told him about his bad habit of eating quickly so no one could take his food.

Glancing at the pot of soup, he'd picked up pieces of meat with his chopsticks, placing it into your bowl, something that he'd never done before other than for his parents, his behaviour shocking even himself.

Nodding gratefully but hoping you could hide how flustered you were, you broke the silence, asking, "anyway, are other people allowed to go for the showcase?" you asked, seeing his eyebrows raise.

"Uh-huh.”

You felt your anxiousness increase, having expected him to ask if you'd wanted to go, now making you wonder if it'd be weird if you asked if you could go watch.

"Can I uh...watch?" you asked, diverting your gaze to your food immediately after you asked, missing the way he scrunched his nose up with a smile, pressing his lips together to contain it before replying to you.

"No," he joked, making your head shoot up.

Sicheng giggling at your reaction, "I'm kidding, of course you can. I'll let you know the details closer to the date." he told you.

"You're not from my faculty, right? I was wondering cause you're in our building so much you could actually pass off as a student there," you laughed, seeing him give you a sheepish look.

"Well, I mean, i'm from the dance department but I've spent a lot of time in your faculty building recently ‘cause one of my juniors Renjun asked me for help for one of his routines and it was a good meeting space for us, since it had that area with the mirrors and all," he gestured with his hand as he spoke, picking his chopsticks back up and shoveling the noodles into his mouth.

You made a 'o' shape with your mouth in understanding.

"Which year are you in?" you asked him.

"I'm in my last year, actually. the showcase is kind of part of our graduating project," your eyes widened, realizing this made him your senior.

"Oh," you murmured. Seeing your phone light up in your lap with a text from Xiaojun.

xiaojun 7:40pm - hows ur date going -

You saw Sicheng move as if getting ready to stand, "Where are you going?"

"Bathroom, be back soon," he murmured. You simply nodded, too preoccupied with replying Xiaojun to pay attention to anything else.

7:40pm - pretty good, kinda weird. he told me in chinese that i ate rice for some reason -

xiaojun 7:41pm - r u sure he didnt just call u a fan tong -

You frowned. 

7:41pm - he did....but isn't that what it means???-

xiaojun 7:42pm - no omg can u just... google what it means -

You did as he had instructed, understanding why Sicheng was laughing so much when you'd seen what it meant, and just as you'd found out, he'd come back to the table, hands resting in the front pocket of his hoodie.

"Ready to go?" you nodded.

"Also, you're a rice bucket!" you told him, seeing him laugh, realizing you'd found out what it meant. But you were momentarily distracted when he'd walked right past the cashier.

"Hey hey, wait aren't we gonna pay?" you grabbed his arm, seeing him shake his head and continue walking, dragging you out with him.

"I paid already," he nodded goodbye at the cashier, leaving you to fumble for words as he waved the receipt at you as proof.

"What the heck, when?"

Sicheng shrugged, "when you were busy finding out what a rice bucket meant."

"Well, then how much do I owe you?" you asked, trying to get the receipt from him, seeing him shove his hands back into his front pocket.

Sicheng pointed at a nearby convenience store, "wanna get ice cream?"

"Sicheng," you frowned, reaching over in an attempt to pull his hands out of his pocket to get the receipt, seeing him pull out the receipt quickly, tearing it into pieces and throwing it into the next trashcan you walked past.

"What did you do that for?!" you whined, letting him lead you across the street to the same line as the convenience store he was pointing at earlier.

He turned to you with a blank expression.

"Look, I said you could repay me by coming to eat with me, not paying for my meal," he gave you a calm shrug, "plus, i chose the place, wouldn't be nice to make you pay ‘cause its so expensive."

"And it's fair for you to pay?" he gave you a tired look.

"This isn't about being fair, Y/N. It's about me paying because i wanted to, alright?" you scrunched up your nose in distaste, but chose to accept your fate anyway since he was so insistent about it.

"I take it back, you're not a rice bucket," you huffed.

He'd led you into the convenience store, grinning at the wide variety of ice cream, Sicheng choosing his quickly, glancing at the aisle of candy and sweets.

"Do you want any of that?" you asked, watching him drag his gaze away from the colourful array of snacks to look at you with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Are you offering to get it for me?" you shrugged, pulling the ice cream bar you wanted out of the cooler and shutting it tightly.

"I want to," you said, emphasizing your tone to make it similar to his when he'd explained the whole paying situation to you.

Sicheng grinned, moving to the aisle and picking out a packet of cookies, handing it to you together with his ice cream with a childlike smile on his face.

After paying, you'd walked out of the convenience store, Sicheng ripping open the packet of his ice cream quickly, taking a bite out of it and waving his arms happily.

Dear God, please help me not make it too obvious that I think Sicheng’s absolutely adorable.

"Is it far from here to your house?" Sicheng asked, and only then did you look at your surroundings, realizing you may be closer to your house than he thinks.

"There's actually a way to walk from here to my house," you said, seeing him nod.

"Alright, let's go."

"Huh?" your eyes widened, biting your ice-cream in your shock and shivering as a result.

"I'll walk you home." He said, gesturing for you to lead the way and so you did, wondering what about you was warranting such niceness from him.

You let him follow you anyway, shoving your hands into your pockets as you walked so you wouldn’t awkwardly brush hands with his.

Figuring you might as well take advantage of the time you had, you let your curiosity fuel your conversation.

"So, what are your plans after you graduate?"

Sicheng grimaced, not expecting you to have asked him that. At the thought of university, Sicheng couldn’t help but think of his dad, the overload of emotions and information that he desperately wanted to tell you making him eventually shrug at the question, not wanting to overwhelm you with the sheer weight of his emotions.

"I actually wanna go to this acting academy, but of course that's all dependent on how well I do,” he huffed.

You pursed your lips at the implication of his words, "Is it hard to get in?"

He nodded vigorously.

"They only accept a handful of students each year...but it'd be a dream if I actually got in," his voice dropped to a murmur, finishing his ice cream and tossing the packaging into a trash bin you walked past.

"Who knows, maybe you will," you shrugged confidently, not knowing just how much comfort the statement gave him.

Sicheng looked at you blankly, a certain warmth spreading in his chest. You turned to look at him, watching as a small smile gracing his features.

"Maybe I will," he murmured.

“Have you spoken to your parents about it? I know it took Xiaojun ages to convince his parents to let him do his course,” you mentioned, noticing the way Sicheng seemed to have tensed at that.

Sicheng pressed his lips together firmly before letting them part slightly, looking as though he wanted to say something.

Eventually, he nodded, “they know I want to pursue acting and dance.”

You raised your eyebrows slightly, craning your neck slightly to get a better look at his expression, “you can tell me if you don’t want to talk about it, but.. something tells me they’re not happy with it.”

Sicheng let out a deep breath through his nose, nodding at you.

“Yeah, they’re not. They never really…were keen on me pursuing arts. I mean like my mom sort of gave up trying to change my mind but my dad is um…” he paused, a huff of bitter laughter leaving his lips, “how do I say this in a nice way..”

Sicheng shook his head, “He’s just very… traditional.”

Sicheng expected to hear what he usually heard at this point, that his parents only mean well and that they’re just worried for him, but your response was something he hadn’t seen coming.

“So how does that make you feel?” You asked. And sure, it was a simple question but for some reason, it was making Sicheng feel as though he was being wrapped in a blanket and soothed like a child.

Sicheng couldn’t help but huff as he shook his head, “I mean, at the end of the day they’re my parents and I know that, but it still makes me feel.. hurt, I guess. That they don’t want to support me to do what makes me happy and what I’m actually passionate about, you know?”

You nodded, “I get where you’re coming from, and I know I’m not in any position to help you make any changes but…I hope you don’t let that stop you.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

You shrugged, unsure where your wisdom had stemmed from, but you figured it was from all those sleepovers with Xiaojun where you two could rant for hours.

“It’s easy to let yourself sacrifice things for people you care about, but I hope you never sacrifice your happiness.”

Sicheng looked away, trying to suppress the smile from his face as he nodded, glancing at you quickly before looking away, knowing it would do him no help in trying to conceal his smile.

You'd talked more about whatever you could think of, growing to enjoy Sicheng's company the more you spoke with him, not noticing how fast time passed until you were rounding the corner to the street you lived.

"I had a nice time with you tonight," you said, Sicheng able to sense that you were slowing down, having reached your driveway.

"Me too," he smiled, "thank you, for....your time." Sicheng internally cursed, thankful Ten wasn’t here to hear whatever bullshit he just said.

Your lower lip jut out slightly in a pout.

“Well, I mean, it doesn't have to be the last time we go out....you know, we can still hang," you let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding, seeing him nod, diverting his gaze elsewhere and fidgeting with his cap.

"Absolutely, you know, I'm basically free other than practices with Ten, just uh....let me know if you're ever like....bored and you wanna hang out or something," he mumbled, looking up from the floor to tilt his head at you with a smile, your heart nearly exploding with how cute the gesture was to you.

"Goodnight." You waved, seeing him nod at you, waving as you entered your house.

===

You were currently sitting in the library trying to do some readings for class.

Sicheng had just finished his practice for the day and was going to find you in the library, wearing a yellow hoodie and jeans, his hair (courtesy of Ten) was curlier today, since they'd gotten carried away with thinking of possible ways to style themselves for the performance.  But you thought it wasn't such a bad thing. Because after it was messed up from the movements of the dance you had to say he was hard to look away from.

Spotting you at your desk in the library, he'd felt almost endeared looking at how concentrated you were, a part of him feeling overwhelmed with the urge to pinch your cheeks with how serious you looked. This left Sicheng with no other option than to resort to his only method of coping with it: teasing you.

"What are you doing?" he asked you in mandarin once he had reached your table, flopping onto the seat next to you, making you furrow your eyebrows at your computer screen.

"Readings for class," you murmured, using your pen to follow where you were.

“Okay, let me see your pretty face," he teased, making you huff, not understanding what he was saying.

"What does 'pretty face' mean?" you asked him distractedly, scribbling something on your notes.

"Your face," he said smoothly, so smooth you didn't even realize it wasn't what the word meant.

"That's how you say it in chinese?" he nodded.

"Learn something new everyday," you commented, turning back to face Sicheng only to see he'd already whipped out his phone and pressed on his game app, leaning his head on his arm that was resting on the back of the chair, looking at you with a lazy smile as it loaded.

"Aren't you tired from practice? and why is your hair curly?"

He nodded, pouting at you, "I'm tired, but never too tired to win," he said with an exaggerated amount of confidence, making you scoff.

“But do you like it?" he asked, taking a lock of his hair between his fingers, pulling on it before messing it up a little, you had to remind yourself not to stare.

"It's.....nice," you shrugged, turning back to your computer as Sicheng simply smiled, logging into his game.

By the time you were done with one reading, Sicheng had finished his game as well, the both of you getting ready to leave when you saw a girl that looked younger than you approach your table. You were sure you haven’t seen her before, looking at her in very prominent confusion before you realized she was looking for Sicheng.

The first thing that stood out to you was that she'd called him her older brother (哥哥), a term you knew held certain meaning to some guys as you'd learnt from Xiaojun, but not like you were in any position to be jealous or anything.

"I was hoping I'd run into you, do you know where I can find this teacher?" you heard her say, your gaze hardening from the way Sicheng smiled at her, nodding and giving her directions, a part of you wishing he would act colder towards her, but knowing it wasn't in Sicheng's nature to behave that way towards juniors.

"Thank you so much!" she said, beaming at him shyly before she left.

"Who's that, huh?" you asked, smirking at Sicheng.

"Just a junior," he shrugged, the both of you walking into the lift, squeezed at the back behind a crowd of students.

You pretended to be deep in thought, "Didn't seem like it though, did it, older brother?" you mocked, repeating the words of his junior.

Sicheng almost immediately replied, "Oh my god, shut up that was so gross, don't ever say that again," he shivered, trying to hide the fact that he was absolutely endeared to you and secretly wished you would say it again, but knowing he wouldn't be able to contain his happiness if you did.

You gasped, slightly offended at his outburst as you walked out of the lift.

"What?! What's so different about me saying it and her saying it!" you scoffed, seeing him shake his head, giving you a patronizing smile.

"It's really gross when you say it cause you're my friend!" he told you, making you scoff, at a loss for words.

Was this....him friendzoning you?

"Let's just go home." you shook your head, pushing the conversation behind you.

===

"Do you think this means he doesn't like me?" you sighed, seeing your friend shrug, you and Sicheng had developed a routine of seeing each other after classes or practice, even if it meant just hanging out and watching movies, or just him coming over to your house but ending up falling asleep on your couch because he was so tired from practice, but what bothered you wasn't the routine, but incidents like those in the library that made you confused over how he saw you.

Sure, he did nice gestures for you, but anyone could be nice to you with unromantic intentions. Xiaojun was nice to you, but he had no intention of dating you, so how could you be sure about the fact that he was interested in you?

"You can't be sure....i mean, from what I'm seeing he does a lot of nice things for you..but he doesn't necessarily...outrightly tell you things that can make you sure that he likes you?"

You sighed, waiting for your food to be ready. You'd planned on surprising Sicheng and bringing some food to him since you told him you'd meet him in his practice room.

"Don't overthink it," your friend gave you a sympathetic look, "Maybe he's just not that great at expressing how he feels?" she shrugged, making you shrug with her, collecting your food.

"You're going to see him now, aren't you?" you nodded, giving her a grim look. "All the best," she laughed, waving you goodbye as you left in the direction of the practice room.

What you didn't expect to find was to see Sicheng lying on the floor of the dance studio, sprawled on his back, wearing the same checkered sweatpants and a plain white shirt. He looked as though he was sleeping, not making a single move even when you entered the room loudly.

"Sicheng?" you called, not seeing him move, finding his demeanour similar to when you'd seen him the previous week, sleeping off his stress when he was supposed to be fine-tuning the report with Ten.

You set your bag down next to his, bringing the packets of food as you made your way next to him, not wanting to disrupt his sleep but at the same time knowing he had to eat.

You decided to text Ten first, in the hope that it would give you some insight as to how Sicheng was feeling.

6:23pm - hey, how was Sicheng during practice today? -

ten 6:23pm -???? we didn't meet today we said today would be a rest day-6:23pm - why?? did smth happen? is he ok? -

Frowning, you checked the date, it was only a matter of days before Sicheng and Ten's showcase, and you could tell that Sicheng was nervous, especially judging from his behaviour today.

"Hey, Sicheng, wake up," you murmured seeing him frown, his eyes opening slowly to see you sitting next to him, blinking at you before letting out a deep sigh.

Sicheng felt as though he was in some sort of hazy dream, the sight of you and the smell of food making his head spin, not being able to quite remember how he ended up asleep on the floor.

"What were you doing here the whole day?" you worried, seeing him push himself off the floor to sit with his knees up, resting his folded arms on his knees.

"Practicing....I guess," he shrugged, his gaze travelling to the bag containing food that sat next to you.

Realizing what he was staring at, you started emptying out the bag, laying the food in front of the both of you.

"Here, eat," he nodded at you wordlessly, starting to open the packets to eat.

You felt a little concerned at his lack of a response, not knowing if your presence here was welcomed or not, but Sicheng was thankful, even if it was hard for you to see that.

"Ten told me you guys were supposed to have a rest day today," he looked at you and nodded, confirming it.

"And?" you asked. "What part about 'rest' in 'rest day' do you not understand?" your eyebrows knit together in a frown, unsure what Sicheng's take on this was.

"I had to practice, Y/N." he swallowed his food with a wince, and looking down you realized he was almost done with his food. "I needed to just shut myself in here and concentrate. I know myself best and I know that I wasn't putting my all into this the past few practices," he told you, making your frown deepen.

"What makes you think that?" you murmured, looking down at your food, poking at it for lack of appetite, your worry for him getting the better of you.

Sicheng looked at you with a nervous expression, looking as if he was withholding something. What was he supposed to answer to that? oh, because I couldn't stop thinking about you? or oh, because I keep wanting to get it over with so I can meet you after? or oh, because I'm so stressed about how I can't bring myself to tell you how much I like you?

His expression was blank, shrugging as he mumbled, "just a feeling."

"Look, I know, you're stressed, but you have to trust me when I say that I've seen your rehearsals and you and Ten are doing so well!" you murmured, not missing the way he sighed as he reached for the plastic bag, dumping his empty packaging into the bag and leaning back to rest his weight on his hands.

"That's different, Y/N. You're you, and the teachers are the teachers. Not to mention my parents."

You raised your eyebrows in confusion, prompting him to elaborate.

“You're a lot nicer to me than they are," he murmured.

You felt something in you hurt when you heard how defeated he sounded, giving him a reassuring smile, "Hey, when did that ever stop you?" you asked, seeing him look at you, a tiny glimmer of hope in his eyes, shaking his head.

"Stop running away from your problems, man, face them head on! Sleep's not gonna perfect your dance for you," you held your fists up in a gesture to cheer him on, seeing him shake his head with a smile, rolling his eyes as he got up from the floor, nodding.

"Can you help me?" he asked, telling you what he wanted you to look out for, and to help him find ways to improve his expression from an audience's perspective.

You nodded, finishing your food and setting it aside, jogging over to a space in front of the mirrors and sitting down in front of it, opening your packet drink as he passed you his phone, with the song on the screen already.

"Ready?" You asked with a smile, seeing him cast you a unsure glance, leaning his head back with a groan.

You'd pressed play to the song, seeing him start his routine, only when he'd gotten to the part where he had to do a one-handed cartwheel had he stopped after that, wanting to restart.

You paused the music, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, looking at you with an expression you couldn't place the feeling of.

"Just calm down, relax. You know this routine by heart, just don't think about anything else.." you

saw him nod at you, getting back into his starting position.

"Ready?" he nodded again, and when you played the music this time, you could see how much more in his element he was, letting his movements flow, performing tricks with ease, not to mention the intensity with which he performed, almost like an upgrade from the past rehearsals you've seen.

Once the song ended, he looked at you with a shy smile, smiling widely even as he caught his breath, and you couldn't help yourself from cheering and clapping.

"That was great! Best I've seen from you by far," he gave you a look.

"Why were you so nervous about it anyway? You danced it so well!" you said, seeing him shake his head at you.

"You know contemporary dance isn't my specialty, right?" Your eyebrows raised, making him laugh his deep bubbly laugh, covering his head with his hands. The way he looked at you now was the mischievous kind of look he gave you whenever he knew something you didn’t.

"It isn't? Then what is your specialization?" you wondered, sipping on your drink as he did a small turn.

"Chinese traditional dance," you gasped, almost being able to imagine Sicheng dancing that style of dance, and how mesmerising he would look while doing so.

"Oh my god...can you show me?"

Sicheng laughed, "huh?" his tone was embarrassed, as if he was suddenly too shy to dance for you.

You nodded vigorously, "please, I really wanna see," you clasped your hands together, rubbing them together in a pleading gesture.

He nodded. 

"Anything for you," he told you in mandarin, you being to excited to fully process what he was saying.

"Can you reach in my bag and take out the fan?" he pointed to his bag, and you'd rolled over, reaching his bag and taking out a fan that was considerably bigger than you'd expected, handing it to him.

"This is really short, but just something I choreographed a while ago," he murmured, and you swore you saw a tint of pink shading his cheeks as he scrolled his phone for the song, pressing play and proceeding to dance the most enchanting thing you'd ever seen him dance.

You knew he was talented when you saw how he danced with Ten, but seeing him dancing something that he had so much skill in, so much technique and control over, it was like you'd fallen for him even more while watching him.

"Wow..." was all you could muster when he was done, turning back to you and hiding his face with the opened fan as he laughed, the way his tone would rise as he laughed serving to endear you even more to him if that was possible.

"What?" he asked you, making you shake your head, a giddy awestruck look on your face.

"I don't know how to describe it, but all Iknow is that I loved it," you told him, seeing him raise his hands dramatically, bowing dramatically in all directions.

"Thank you everybody!" he said in mandarin, sounding similar to those actors you would see at award shows.

You scoffed playfully, feigning hurt, stomping up to him, with your hands on your hips.

"Why are you thanking everyone! I'm the one who was encouraging you," you laughed, seeing his eyes widen.

Grinning at you, he blew a flying kiss to you with his fan.

"Oh, right, thank you, kiss kiss (么么哒)," he said, making you laugh.

"I don't know what that means but...i'll take it," you murmured, seeing him close the fan, looking at you with a tired smile. The kind of smile you would see in movies when the protagonist realizes he's in love, but in this case, Sicheng was the protagonist, and he was currently kicking himself on the inside because what are you doing!!! now is the perfect time to tell her you like her!!

But all Sicheng could do was smile, his words failing him at the worst of times, leaving an awful big load of tension between you two as you secretly hoped this movie-protagonist-in-love look would mean you would receive a slow-mo worthy confession now, only to get a shock when Sicheng had broken the silence.

"The tickets are with Xiaojun," he blurted, your potential movie-moment slipping away just as fast as Sicheng snapped his fan open, walking over to your bags and wrapping the plastic bag of your trash as a way for him to hide how frustrated he was with himself, scrunching his eyes up with an annoyed tilt of his head.

You were busy trying to hide your disappointment as well, using the time he was preoccupied with clearing the empty food packets to take deep breaths, calming your racing heart every time it remembered how close you came to revealing your feelings for him.

"Ready to go home?" he murmured, standing up and turning to face you, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Recovering from your shock you nodded, "Yep, yeah. Let's go."

===

"Okay, let's do it again, just pretend I'm Y/N," Xiaojun said, not bothering to adjust his sitting posture, making it very hard for Sicheng to imagine the skinny boy in front of him chewing loudly on his lunch to be you.

Sicheng shot Renjun a helpless look, "save me, please."

Renjun shaking his head at the same time as Ten chimed in, "Me, me! I'd do it a lot better than Xiaojun," he claimed confidently, crossing his legs and straightening his posture, giving Sicheng a sensual look.

Sicheng shoved Ten, groaning, "None of you are actually helping, you know."

Renjun shook his head in disapproval at Xiaojun and Ten, pulling Ten out of his seat so he could sit in front of Sicheng, looking at the older boy with a neutral expression.

"Okay, pretend I'm Y/N, and just try to tell me something you've wanted to tell me for a while now," Renjun said simply, as if it should be second-nature for Sicheng to do.

"For someone who wants to go to an acting school, you really suck at this roleplay thing," Ten commented, arms folded over his chest as he watched Sicheng and Renjun.

"It's not as easy as you think, okay?" Sicheng groaned, “I regret asking you guys for help.”

Sicheng knew he’d only ended up in this situation after he told them what had happened in the dance studio the other day, the boys immediately initiating a plan to help their friend gain the courage to express his feelings to her.

“Focus!” Renjun clapped his hands in front of Sicheng, who had managed to get his expression to be neutral, his leg starting to bounce anxiously as he thought of what to say.

“Y/N,” he started, “well...you know...we’ve been friends for a...substantial amount of time now...”

“Cut!” Renjun yelled, making Sicheng frown, wondering what he said to make Renjun stop him so fast.

“Firstly, you’re not gonna confess to her in mandarin, are you? And second of all, that was the most unromantic starting sentence I've ever heard.” Sicheng sighed, switching to english.

“Okay, rewind.Y/N, I....” Sicheng felt himself start to second guess the sentences he had planned, suddenly feeling like for every way he could think of to confess to you, there would be a nicer way to do it that he would think of immediately after, making him stop himself, sighing again.

“You know maybe his saving grace will be that she still likes him even though he’s not very good with his words,” Xiaojun shrugged, making Sicheng shoot him a look.

“In all honesty, I feel like i’m okay expressing my feelings to her, just that I didn't know how she’d react, like, what if she wasn’t looking for a relationship-”  Xiaojun practically burst out laughing at that, shaking his head at Sicheng as the three of them looked at him in curiosity (and a little bit of concern).

“Believe me, you’re way off if you think that,” he laughed.

Sicheng gave him a look, “What do you mean?”

Xiaojun raised his hands in defence, “I mean, i’m not gonna out her, but all I’m gonna say is that the last thing you should be afraid of is that she isn’t looking for a relationship.”

Sicheng hummed thoughtfully at what Xiaojun was implying.

This thought lingered with Sicheng until the day of the showcase, when Sicheng had been greeted with the news that his teacher had invited his family to watch the showcase, and as if that wasn’t horrifying enough, they actually agreed.

“Dude,” Ten called at the jittery boy who was currently squatting behind the stage curtains, peeking out to search for his parents in the crowd, and silently hoping to God that he wouldn’t spot them.

When Sicheng hadn’t answered, Ten tried again, “Dude!” he called, louder this time.

Ten sighed when Sicheng’s head whipped around quickly, his expression panic-stricken.

Walking over to where Sicheng was squatting, he cast the boy a sympathetic look.

“I heard about the um...parents thing,” he told Sicheng, the mere reminder of it making Sicheng let out a deep breath he wasn’t aware that he was holding.

Sicheng felt suffocated, the murmuring of the crowd only seeming to grow in volume.

“I’m gonna go get some air,” Sicheng sighed, Ten letting him walk out, hoping the air would do his dance partner some good as well.

You had just reached the performance venue with Xiaojun, you were already seated with Xiaojun when you’d started to feel a little thirsty, wanting to step outside to find something you could drink. Already having bought your drink, you were about to make your way back, opening your phone because you’d wanted to send an encouraging message to Sicheng, almost groaning when you saw a text come in from Xiaojun.

Xiaojun 5:37pm - can you get me a water too pls ?? renjun wants a coke -

Sighing, you made your way back to the vending machine, about to take your wallet out again when you’d spotted someone seated at one of the benches near you, head buried in their hands.

Frowning, you wondered if they were alright, pushing the coins absentmindedly into the vending machine as you tried to lean back as much as you could to get a better view of the boy.

The boy had looked up, making eye contact with you and looking away quickly, his hands going up to wipe at his eyes, and you realized only then that that was Sicheng.

Frowning, you carried the drinks in your hand as you walked over to where he was sitting, taking as seat next to him on the bench, looking at him in concern.

“Hey, are you okay?” you frowned.

Sicheng had avoided your gaze, fidgeting with his hands as he shrugged. “My parents are here,” he finally sighed, making your eyes widen, knowing the implications behind that.

“It’s my first time actually performing in front of them...like, ever.”

You weren’t sure what came over you when you reached a hand out to grasp his gently, surprised when he’d fidgeted with your hand instead, letting you grasp his hand and you squeezed his gently, hearing a shaky sigh leave him.

“I want to make them proud. I really do. But I just feel like I’m not ready yet, I don't know why my teacher invited them without telling me I wasn’t prepared for this at all and I’m so-” he stopped abruptly, a sigh leaving his lips as he looked up, blinking rapidly to stop his tears from spilling out.

“So worried that they won’t have a reason to be proud of me after watching me.” he mumbled, his words muffled by his hand that reached up to dab at the tear that had rolled down his cheek.

“Hey,” you started, seeing him look towards you, inhaling deeply as he tried to regulate his breathing, “I know I won’t understand exactly how you feel, but I can tell you that if you really want to make them proud, your job is to go out there and show them just why you love performing so much. You’ve worked so hard up ‘til this point, there’s nothing else left for you to do other than to just show them the result of this hard work,” you told him, hoping your words made sense as you tried to console him.

“Xiaojun and Renjun are already inside. We know what you’re capable of, and we’ll be supporting you,” you flushed, suddenly feeling shy to be telling him this but going out on a limb and telling him anyway in your desperation to make him feel less anxious.

“I’ll be rooting for you,” you mumbled, looking away in your embarrassment, not noticing the way Sicheng’s lips had trembled, his eyes not welling up in tears but his throat feeling as though it was closing up on itself, his chest feeling like it was almost burning with warmth, wishing you hadn’t stood up so quickly.

“You should probably be going in, the showcase is gonna start soon,” you gestured to the entrance, picking up the drinks in your hands and turning to bid Sicheng goodbye, the boy contemplating whether or not to hug you, realizing his contemplating had made him miss his chance when he saw you walking away from him.

Later on, you felt yourself growing nervous as you saw Sicheng and Ten step onto the stage, the announcer introducing them and giving a small background about the piece they would be performing. Sicheng felt it too, shutting his eyes after he got into position and breathing slowly. Opening his eyes again, he’d made eye contact with Ten, who gave him a reassuring smile.

And you were glad to say he had danced more beautifully than you had ever seen before.

After the performance, he and Ten had gone outside the venue after it was over to take pictures with friends who had shown up, seeing you and Xiaojun waiting there, you nervously clutching a bouquet of flowers in your hand that Xiaojun basically forced you to buy.

Tugging at the sleeve of your sweater, you waited impatiently for Sicheng to finish taking pictures with his teachers and other friends—Renjun would joke and say your flowers would be dead by the time they were done— and Xiaojun had eventually gotten sick of waiting and dragged you by the arm to where Sicheng and Ten were, with Renjun following close behind.

“Hey guys,” Ten drawled when he saw you, Xiaojun and Renjun approaching, looking at Sicheng with a pointed look, nudging his head in your direction, to which Sicheng furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“What?” he said in mandarin, eyes widening when he saw you holding out the bouquet of flowers for him, trying to distract yourself from the fact that the leather jacket he’d put over his performance outfit was distracting you greatly, having already given one bouquet to Ten while he was distracted.

“You guys wanna take a picture together?” you heard Renjun yell, and Xiaojun took that as his queue and pushed you towards Sicheng. You winced as you lost your balance with a yelp, only steadying yourself when Sicheng grabbed your arm, taking the flowers from you with a grateful nod.

“Stop being awkward,” Renjun mouthed with a glare, and you’d fixed your hair, suddenly feeling shy about your proximity to Sicheng, not knowing how to arrange your hands, but thankfully for the both of you, you had Ten on your side.

Sicheng had started simple, by placing his hand over your shoulder, his other hand holding the bouquet, tilting his head towards yours for the picture.

Meanwhile Renjun was hard at work bending down to find better angles to capture you both in.

“Okay..okayy,” you laughed, hoping you would hear that Renjun was done taking photos, but instead hearing Ten’s commentary as he watched Renjun taking photos of you.

“Okay, change pose,” he said, making you and Sicheng flustered, not knowing what other pose you could possibly do, Sicheng with his arm around your shoulder, looking at you with a tilt of the head as if to ask you what pose to do next, making you shrug.

“Should we just end it now?” he leaned closer to whisper, making you nod with a small wince.

Sicheng waved his hand dismissively, letting go of your shoulder and telling them that photo taking was over, Renjun putting his phone down with a huff and you swore he was muttering something about you guys being unappreciative.

They were all preoccupied with airdrop-ing the photos to each other, giving you a chance to properly congratulate Sicheng for successfully getting through his showcase, pulling him down for a hug to congratulate him, your heart jumping for joy at the comfort you felt when he hugged you back.

It felt like you hugged him for the longest time, and Sicheng knew this too, his free hand going up to cradle your head before pulling away, embarrassed that you’d hugged him in front of Ten, Renjun and Xiaojun.

You glanced at Sicheng, searching his expression and noticing how his eyes looked a little teary and bloodshot.

“Thanks for coming,” he murmured, his voice sounding slightly shaky which made him clear his throat quickly, making Renjun scoff.

“Did we have a choice? Ten would’ve killed us if we didn’t show up,” Renjun rolled his eyes.

“Did you tell her about the party yet?” you heard Ten ask, seeing you frown in confusion.

“What party?” you asked him.

His eyes widened in realisation, “Oh, right.  I'm having a christmas party kind of thing, and i was wondering if you wanna come?”

You thought about it, Christmas wasn’t until next week, so you were pretty sure you would have enough time to prepare something to wear for the party.

“When is it?”

“Uh..we wanted it to kind of happen early because Ten’s flying home for Christmas, and I’m flying to China to go see my grandparents for christmas as well, so we were thinking of having it this Saturday?” he asked, and you’d glanced at your phone for confirmation.

This meant you had 3 days to prepare gifts for them and figure out what you were gonna wear.

“Oh.....well, alright then, that’d be nice,” you nodded, slowly recovering from your shock to give him a smile.

“Should I be anticipating your gift?” he asked, making you shake your head firmly.

“God, please don’t. I suck at giving gifts,” you laughed, “should i be anticipating yours?” you asked, just for the fun of it, both of you not expecting the way Sicheng had simply nodded.

“Yes, I'd like you to.”

===

That very statement was what left Sicheng a whining mess up until the day of the party, trying to figure out what the hell had compelled him to say that when he didn’t even have a proper gift in mind yet, almost contemplating asking his mom for advice when he heard her loudly packing in her bedroom.

“Ma,” he’d burst her bedroom door open, realizing with a disappointed sigh that it was his dad and not his mom.

“Your mom’s downstairs,” he told Sicheng, who had then promptly ran down the stairs of his house, finding his mother in the living room wrapping apples for the people she’d planned on giving them to on Christmas.

That’s when it hit him, he knew what he was going to give you for Christmas.

You on the other hand, weren’t having such luck in the gift department. You wanted to get Sicheng something meaningful and nice, but for lack of better ideas you decided on buying Sicheng a new set of headphones. You were familiar with Sicheng’s complaints about his parents nagging him for staying up late whenever he was gaming his parents since he didn’t use headphones, being too lazy to buy them, so you figured you’d do both him and his parents a favour with this gift.

Whereas for Ten, Xiaojun and Renjun (the only ones you actually knew who were going for this party) you’d already settled their gifts. So to any other person, you would have seemed to have everything under control, except, you had no idea what to wear.

Ten had tried helping you, suggesting you should wear something comfortable since it was cold out, but you weren’t necessarily sure how to impress Sicheng with your comfortable clothes, eventually letting Ten pick out for you a simple outfit, even forcing you to wear a scarf over it because he claimed Sicheng would think you looked cute.

So you trusted him (whether this was a good choice or a bad choice is up to you, really), and had brought your gifts, specially and individually wrapped, along with your own little handwritten note to Sicheng, and followed Ten to the party.

Only upon reaching were you truly thankful that he’d made you wear a scarf, it was cold out, and you were thankful that Sicheng’s house had pretty good heating. Not that you didn’t like being in the cold, you were just pretty sure you wouldn’t have liked it as much if you’d gone with your previous outfit choice.

Walking into the party, you’d spotted Xiaojun quickly, walking over to where he was in the kitchen, Ten having left you to greet the other guys Sicheng invited that you weren’t familiar with.

“Hey,” he waved, the sleeve of his oversized sweater engulfing his arm, making him look even smaller than usual.

Your greeting came out muffled as you loosened your scarf, hanging it around your neck loosely instead, “Have you seen Sicheng?” you asked, seeing him shake his head.

Feeling a little more than disappointed, you’d taken a drink from him before looking around the house, realizing that maybe Sicheng was a little more well-off than he’d let on, impressed by the warm lighting accompanying the chandeliers and very comfortable looking sofas, you’d been dragged by Renjun to join their movie session in the living room, only then realizing that Sicheng was there, engrossed in the Narnia movie that was playing on his (big) television set.

“Y/N’s finally here,” Ten’s voice had captured Sicheng’s attention, the boy turning around in his seat to look at you, and only then did you realize how good he looked.

Wearing a thick dark green sweater and jeans that were folded up at the bottom, not to mention his hair was styled up, he turned to you with a wave, patting the seat next to him as an invitation to sit there. In your attempt to get over your shock over his outfit, you took your time in placing the gifts at the Christmas tree, bringing his gift to where he sat, tucking it between your legs and the sofa as you sat down, realizing the space was tighter than you’d expected, making you have to squeeze shoulder to shoulder with Sicheng- almost spilling your drink in the process.

“Are those glasses real?” you whispered, not wanting to interrupt the rest of the guys who were watching the movie, the younger looking one sitting next to Renjun with bright orange hair eyeing you and Sicheng with a knowing look.

Sicheng shook his head.

“Nope, they were a gift from Jaehyun,” he pointed at one of the guys sitting on the floor next to the coffee table, wearing a black sweater and very ripped jeans.

“I’m wearing them because he was so insistent that I didn't like them,” he explained, and you desperately wished he would whisper because the way his hushed tone sounded so near to you wasn’t doing anything in calming you down.

“When did you get here?” he asked, making you shrug, not really wishing to disclose the time you spent in the kitchen hiding from the crowd.

“Not long ago, I was just in the kitchen with Xiaojun,” you told him, the mention of the kitchen directing his attention to the cup in your hand, leaning over to sniff it, his proximity to your face making you lean back.

Leaning back after sniffing your drink, he raised an eyebrow at you, “You drink this stuff?” his voice was surprised to say the least, relief washing over him when you shook his head.

“I don’t even know what it is, I just took it from Xiaojun but it smells like the hospital,” you made a face of disgust, hearing him let out a huff of laughter, grabbing your arm that was holding the drink and bringing it up to his face, downing it in one go before taking the cup from your hands and leaning forward to place it on the coffee table, returning to his original position and giving you a small smile.

“One less thing to worry about,” he shrugged, and you went back to watching the movie, seeing that it was only at the part where Edmund meets the witch.

The more you watched, you felt your head start to loll back, not realizing the movie had ended and the guys were now trying to decide whether to play 2 truths and 1 lie.

Sicheng had purposely shifted around in his seat more to wake you up before you could fall asleep, your head shooting up quickly, catching the attention of a few of them who turned to look at you curiously.

“Y/N, you wanna play 2 truths and 1 lie?” Renjun asked, making you frown.

“I really suck at that game though..”

Sicheng gave you a reassuring look, about to say something when he was interrupted.

“C’mon, in the spirit of christmas!” Xiaojun had chimed in to encourage you, earning nods and cheers of agreement from the rest of them scattered around the room.

Hearing the sound of them putting on a christmas playlist, you’d felt encouraged for some reason, giving a small shrug of agreement. You figured it wouldn’t be that bad.

That was until it was Sicheng’s turn and you found yourself panicked beyond belief, growing more nervous to see what he would say.

“Hmmm...okay, got it, I have someone I'm interested in, I have mistletoe hanging in here, and I’m afraid of heights.”

The boys had immediately chimed in with their various opinions, Ten shooting Xiaojun an impressive look at Sicheng for being so bold with his choice of truths, being the only ones that knew of Sicheng’s...character development. Though they weren’t sure if it was because of the drinks he had prior to that or whether he was simply feeling confident today.

“This one’s easy!” a guy with short brown hair had raised his hand, “The lie is obviously that he’s interested in someone, he hasn’t been interested in anyone for ages,” he’d said confidently, making Sicheng smile, just as another boy had chimed in.

“I feel like he had mistletoe here somewhere at the last party, though,” a younger-looking boy said, earning a, “You wish, Mark.” from another boy with a sharper pitched voice and very pretty tan skin.

“The lie is.....” Sicheng made a cute sound that he’d always done before announcing things, “I have mistletoe in here,” he said, the crowd of boys erupting in shouts and protests at the answer before moving on to the next person, who had seemed to capture their attention for long enough.

“Wanna go upstairs? I wanted to like..give you your present...and stuff,” Sicheng leaned over to ask you softly, making you nod, grabbing his present and following him upstairs, the boys noticing but choosing not to say anything.

Once you’d gotten upstairs, he stopped you for a while so he could go into his room, coming out with a small paper bag and continuing to lead you upstairs, glad you hadn’t taken off your scarf when he’d opened a door to the rooftop, revealing different plants and even a stone walkway leading up to a sheltered wooden planked area where you sat down with him, looking through the transparent glass of the balcony at the buildings of his neighbourhood, finding it cute how he had little lights hanging from the shelter.

You’d sat in silence initially, enjoying the feeling of the cold breeze against your cheeks, shutting your eyes instinctively in your attempt to savour the feeling.

“Thank you, by the way.”

You opened your eyes, eyebrows raising at Sicheng, “Oh, it’s no big deal, I didn’t have anything planned for today so-”

“No, not for coming today. I mean, that too but...I sort of meant for like..comforting me the other day,” Sicheng looked at you, a small shy smile playing at his lips, “I really needed that.”

Your lips parted, wondering what made him suddenly want to thank you for that. Choosing to give him a nod, you shook your head, “I really did mean what I said.”

Sicheng nodded, “I know.” He smiled, letting his gaze travel elsewhere as he stretched his legs out in front of him, swaying them side to side as he tried to contain his smile.

“Can I go first? My gift is pretty underwhelming,” you said, seeing him let out a tiny giggle but nod nonetheless, taking that as your queue to take out your gift from the bag, giving him the wrapped package of the headphones, watching him rip the packaging open casually, his eyes widening when he realized what it was. He’d placed the envelope containing your christmas letter for him gingerly back into the bag.

“Oh my god.... thank you so much,” he said, his eyes practically sparkling with how much he’d liked the present, making you shake your head.

“Use them well, okay?” you murmured, seeing him hesitantly reach over to pick up the bag containing his present for you, only serving to heighten your curiosity for what could’ve been in that bag.

“Okay, oh my god, why am i so shy,” you heard him whisper, making you laugh, “Hold your hands out and close your eyes,” he instructed, making you do as you were told, anticipating your present, shocking you when you’d felt something cold in your hands, opening your eyes to see....an apple?

“Is this another one of your jokes,” you pouted, seeing him shake his head, staring at the apple as if looking for answers.

“My family, uh...we have this like..tradition thing, where we give apples to people for christmas... like....to the people we care about,” he murmured, a shy smile gracing his features, looking up at you to see your reaction, wanting to reach over and pinch your cheeks when he saw your wide eyed expression, gripping the apple tightly in your hands.

Sicheng shivered at how cringeworthy he felt his words were, his hands going up to cup his neck, and for a moment you were distracted by his actions, concern for him taking over your shock.

“Are you cold? Do you want my scarf?” you asked, genuinely concerned for him only having a sweater to protect him from the cold.

Sicheng burst into laughter, looking at you with a raised eyebrow, “Isn’t that usually the other way around?”

You furrowed your eyebrows, only realizing then the context of what you’d said, making you hide your face with the apple in embarrassment, feeling him pull the apple away from your face, tilting his head at you in amusement.

“As I was saying....i would give you a thousand apples if i could, but that was impractical and sounded like a lot of work, but I just want you to know that if I could, I would have. But okay back to the point, the point is that, I care about you...like, a lot,” he paused, pressing his lips together and taking in a deep breath, “and not just as a friend.”

You pressed your lips together in a firm line, biting down on your lower lip trying to keep your composure, shyness taking over you at how close you were to Sicheng, not to mention what he was saying, especially given the context of the situation.

“Was that what you meant? When..you said just now during the game that you were uh... interested in someone?” you plucked up your courage to ask, seeing him bite the inside of his cheek, nodding wordlessly at you.

“Just kinda wanna know if this person’s interested in me too,” he murmured, making your cheeks heat up, wishing he hadn’t taken the apple from your hands so you had something to hold onto.

You nodded, “She is-i mean, yeah. I am,” you blurted, fumbling with your words like an idiot (a very love struck idiot, in fact).

Sicheng nodded, his smile growing wider, and just like that, it was like everything was more obvious to you, the sound of the christmas songs playing echoing up through the open door of the rooftop, to the sound of the guys fooling around downstairs, down to the sound of the cold breeze bristling your faces, and the warm lighting around you both. Sicheng felt it too, and now it was his turn to feel like the protagonist of the movie, now having to find something smooth to say that would make his love interest kiss him and then the story can end happily.

But Sicheng being Sicheng, just blurted out the next thing that came to his head, “Oh, look, how convenient, mistletoe,” he commented, glancing up at the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling of the shelter, dangling over your heads mockingly.

You gasped, “You totally lied just now, that was 2 lies,” you laughed, seeing him shake his head.

“In my defense, I told them ‘in here’, they just happened to interpret that as the living room,” he shrugged, your laughter dying down as he looked at you, fiddling with the apple in his hands.

“Can I..kiss you?”

You smiled, pretending to hesitate, “Let me consider.”

In his offence, he’d reacted quickly in rushed mandarin, “You still need to consider?! Isn’t it just agreeing!”

Nodding at him, he’d leaned forward, removing his glasses and setting it aside with your apple, bringing up a hand to hold it under your chin, tilting your head up as he connected your lips, smiling at how you could feel his hand slide under your scarf, placing at your neck gently, his hand doing a lot better at warming your neck than your scarf did, following his lead in the kiss.

You almost frowned when you felt Sicheng pull away slowly, but he didn’t give you a reason to. Sicheng’s other hand came up to rest gently against your cheek as he pressed soft kisses to the corner of your mouth, then your cheek, letting out an amused huff before he pressed a final soft kiss to your forehead, suddenly feeling like you were indoors, warmth enveloping you despite being outside in the cold.

You’d leaned over to rest your head against his shoulder, “Can we stay like this for a while before going back down?” you murmured softly, practically being able to hear him smile.

He continued in mandarin, his voice not making you shiver this time, but instead, comforting you beyond belief.

“Anything you say is fine by me.”

===

You’d gotten a video call from Sicheng on New Years Eve, celebrations had ended and you were already tucked into bed, slightly buzzed from the drinks you had at your house with Xiaojun and Renjun earlier when they’d come over for dinner, claiming you didn't have Sicheng here to drink your drinks for you so you might as well enjoy it.

“Hey,” he murmured, lying on his bed in his checkered pajamas, resting his head on his arm as he gave you a smile.

“Hi,” you said, giving him a lazy smile, making him raise an eyebrow in amusement at your buzzed-looking state.

“I see you’ve had more than a couple drinks with Xiaojun and Renjun just now?” you laughed, nodding, prompting him to continue, “I know it’s a little late, but...I just read your christmas note you gave me,” he told you.

“You’re only reading it now?”

He scoffed, nodding as if you should’ve known that, “Yeah, of course, I was saving it so I could read it on Christmas day itself...but I didn’t have the time and then the only good time I had was now and now...after reading it, it made me wanna call you because...I missed you,” he murmured, changing his position so he was resting his chin on his arm.

You scrunched your nose up out of shyness.

“Since when did you get so bold?” you laughed, seeing him shake his head.

“Anyway,  I just wanted to check in on you. Had a good day today?” you nodded, telling him all the minor details about your day as he nodded, smiling and laughing and commenting every so often.

You’d listened to the details of his day as well.

“We just finished dinner, thought i would call you now before they all gather in the living room to watch movies,” he told you.

Nodding in understanding, you yawned, blinking tiredly, making him huff. “You should go to sleep now, i’ll talk to you more tomorrow....” he murmured, seeing you give him a tired yet reluctant nod.

“I’m really sorry, I wanna talk to you more because you’re spending New Year’s over there but the sleep is starting to creep up on me,” you pouted.

Shaking his head, he simply looked at you with that same relieved smile he gave you, realizing just how much he liked you, the extent threatening to tip over the line dividing like and love.

“Happy New Year, cheng cheng,” you teased, recalling what you heard his grandma call him, seeing him bury his head in his arm, his laugh muffled but no less cute.

“Happy New Year, Y/N.”

You’d ended the call, and his mother had walked into the room, a knowing look on her face, “Done with your sappy phone call yet?” she teased.

Sicheng simply sighed, flopping onto his back with a giddy smile on his face.

“Ma, I think I'm in love.”

[sevenincubistolemyheart]

Safe Haven

Au: Librarian! Jimin x Reader

Tag list: @xsunnyhoseokx @amiraclerenee

Rating: PG-13

Potential Triggers: Brief mentions of unease in the dark, and brief cursing!

Pairing: Librarian! Jimin x Reader

Genre: Fluff! So much fluff!

Length: 2.9k+

Summary: When the new librarian startles you while making tea on a cold winter day, you quickly find yourself warming up to him. As the storm grows worse outside, he quickly devises a plan to keep you warm and content, even when the power and heat go off.

Unlike other people who looked to coffee to give them their daily energy boost, tea had always been your go-to. Tea and books had become the perfect combination for whenever you needed comfort. There was nothing better than a light, sweet cup of tea and a fantasy novel as it rained outside your favorite little library.

There was something to be said for the expansive, seemingly never-ending library a few blocks up, but you’d always felt more at home here, in the more quiet, out of the way library. There was always noise in the other library which stopped you from becoming fully immersed in your novels as you wished to. So when you stumbled across this one, you quickly fell in love.

Sure, there wasn’t as many books, but there was plenty of stories even with the smaller selection. The atmosphere was always peaceful and calm, and the staff was consistently welcoming. It became your home away from home, and you quickly became family as you visited every day without fail. There was a room with an old school fireplace, of course, situated a good distance away from any bookshelves in its own little room along with several comfy chairs which became your safe space.

You stopped by for at least an hour every day after school, despite it increasing how long it’d take you to walk home from here. For Christmas last year you’d brought in one of those Keurig pod machines with a decent mix of hot chocolate, tea, and coffee pods, plus a few mugs and Suran had nearly cried from the happiness of not having to go out of her way to head Starbucks every morning just to get her coffee fix. All of the staff was super appreciative and pitched in every month to get more drink pods when they began to run low.

Currently, you were refilling your tea mug and reading while you waited for the machine to finish brewing. It’d been a long, boring day of classes and getting cat-called on your way here hadn’t done anything to improve your mood but you already found yourself calming down now that you were here.

“Oh wow, I didn’t know we had a Keurig here!”

The excited voice right next to you made you jump, an unladylike sound escaping your lips in surprise as you dropped your book, pouting as you realized you had definitely lost the page you were on. You bent down to get it, but another hand grabbed the book before you could.

“Ah, City of Bones huh? The Mortal Instruments is a classic for the Supernatural Romance genre.”

You blushed a bit, used to being judged for your reading preferences as you turned to look at the boy currently holding your book captive. He was cute, with purple hair he somehow made look casual and thin round glasses. His outfit was semi-professional since he was wearing a suit and tie, but he's definitely added his own flair with the dark green plaid jacket he was wearing and black jeans.   He raised an eyebrow at you and you flushed as you realize you’d been staring at him like an idiot while he waited for you to respond to his statement.

“Y-Yeah I totally agree. I love the series, this is actually my second read through since Cassandra Clare just released the next trilogy. I just want to make sure I’ve got all the characters and lore set straight in my head before I start the next series.” You rambled a bit out of embarrassment and turned to tend to your tea as the Keurig beeped.

“That’s right, I totally forgot A Queen of Air and Darkness dropped recently! I’ll need to pick that up. Anyway, the name’s Park Jimin. I’m guessing you're the girl that likes her tea more sugar than tea that my new coworkers have been telling me about?” He joked as he watched you stir a good amount into your cup before picking it up and turning to face him again, leaning on the table and taking your book from his hands as he offered it with your free hand.

A fond smirk tugged onto your lips as you laughed slightly. “Hey don’t knock it till you try it Jimin. Your coworkers only drink their coffee black to match their bitterness over my bomb ass tea.” You introduced yourself as well as he gave the most adorable giggle at your playful retort. “Well, we’re in the same boat then cutie. I’m a fan of sweet tea too.”

You looked over at Namjoon as he walked over to get his daily 8 cups of coffee a day. “You both are crazy, black coffee is the best. Your tounges are just defective. Anyway, rookie stop flirting with our favorite bookworm and get over here and help me restock these books. You can talk to her some other time, she’s here every day.” He said after he finished brewing his coffee, smirking at the blush that lit up the younger man’s face.

You rolled your eyes, lightly shoving Namjoon’s arm. “Good job Joon, you broke the poor boy.  Go easy on him, it’s his first day.” Namjoon chuckled, slinging his arm around the shorter boys shoulder as he steered him towards the book cart they would be dealing with. Jimin came to his senses a few seconds later calling back to you over his shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later if you’re still here!”

You shook your head with a wistful smile and took a sip of your tea as you headed back into your secluded room, the fireplace crackling peacefully as you made yourself comfortable and prepared to read the afternoon away. You set a quick alarm on your phone to remind you it was time to go home and were lost in the fantasy world of your book mere minutes later.

Sometime later you jumped as someone startled you by placing a hand on your shoulder out of nowhere, but sighed in relief as you realized it was just Jimin, a silly grin on his face. “You’re a jumpy one aren’t you?” He teased a bit, taking his hand off your shoulder. You bookmarked your page and turned to him fully. “Only when I’m reading. I tend to get lost in the world. Anyway, how’d book sorting with Namjoon go?” His nose crinkled as he pouted. “It was fine, he’s just a little bossy. It’s going to take some getting used to.” He admitted. You stifled a laugh at that, knowing very well how intimidating Namjoon could be if he had to after being here for so long.

“Don’t worry. He may seem like kind of a stuck up jerk, but he’s actually really sweet. He’s only so particular about books because he loves them so much. This library is his life, ya know? He built it from the ground up, so it’s very important to him.” You explained as Jimin’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? I had no idea.” He mumbled. You looked down at your alarm as it suddenly blared and quickly turned it off, smiling apologetically at Jimin as you gathered your book and schoolbag, taking the now empty teacup to wash it before you left.

“Sorry, that’s my cue to go home now.”

You headed to the door with the boy in tow and he snorted, looking at you like you were nuts. “No way. You’re gonna freeze to death out there! Did you even bring a hat and gloves?” He asked in a scolding tone, making you roll your eyes. “No, it wasn’t that bad out earlier, why would I have?” You asked as you headed to the tea station, washing your cup before drying it and placing it neatly back on the rack. “Maybe so you were prepared for the huge snowstorm that’s currently going on out there?” He sasses back, motioning to one of the large windows.

A quick glance confirmed your fear. Much as you hated to admit it, he was right. The wind was howling and no doubt ice cold and the snow would be flying right in your face from the speed. You couldn’t walk home in that storm.  “But the library’s going to close soon!” You mumbled worriedly, causing Jimin to perk up. He got an idea and headed over to the front desk where Suran was currently working and leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially. “Hey, can I stay here after closing with her? She walks home and I can’t in good conscience let her go out there without a hat, gloves or even a proper coat.”

Suran looked at you for a moment before she sighed and nodded, reluctantly. “...Fine. But only because I know her so well and trust her. Thank God Namjoon had to leave early today. Here’s the key.” She took out the key from her desk drawer and handed it to Jimin. “Make sure to lock up when you leave, and you’re on cleaning duty this weekend to make this up to me.” Jimin smiled victoriously and nodded. “Deal! Thank you so much Suran, I owe you!” She nodded with an amused smile and stretched, getting ready to head out herself as she put on her coat.

Jimin walked back over to you and you looked up from texting your family you’d be home late because of the storm. The smile on his face made you wary and you questioned him. “...What’s with the ear to ear grin Park? You’re kinda creeping me out here.” He smirked and let a key dangle from his fingertips. “I’ve got the keys, so we can stay here until the snow dies down and I can walk you home!” He said smugly, looking awfully proud of himself. The gesture was incredibly sweet and you found yourself smiling back at him.

“Thank you so much, that’s perfect! I can’t believe you pulled that off!” You chirped happily, and Jimin felt his heart warm at the innocent glee in your eyes.

Jimin all but purred at your praise and puffed up. “Never underestimate Park Jimin! I can charm anyone if it means keeping you safe and warm!” He said, pulling a superhero pose and making your happy giggle fill the air again. He was just thankful that he could convince you to wait it out, scared you were going to go out and risk getting sick.

As it turned out, the storm had no intent on slowing down and in fact only got worse as time passed much to your irritation. “Why is Jack Frost being such a dick? For the supposed Guardian of Fun he sure is sucking at his job…” You pouted but your grumbling only made Jimin’s eyes light up. “You know Rise of the Guardians? That’s my favorite movie!” He exclaimed making you smirk at him. “Somehow I don’t doubt that.”

Your light banter was cut short as the power suddenly went out, making you gasp as you were plunged into darkness, save for the small light from the fireplace. Besides that light glow, however, it was totally pitch black thanks to the winter months making the sky darken at a much earlier hour. Thanks to both of your phones dying an hour or so ago, and Namjoon’s hyper-fear of the books catching fire making sure no candles ever made their way into the library, any other sources of light were nonexistent.

“Welp. That’s what you get for provoking him.”

“Ow!” Jimin huffed as you thwacked him playfully for his comment, though there was a fond, if nervous, smile on your face nonetheless. He gently took hold of your arm after faintly making out your form and moved closer to the fire with you, feeling you begin to shiver as the heat was turned off along with the power. “Stay here.” He whispered to you quietly, moving to release you and leave you in front of the fireplace momentarily. “Where are you going?” He could detect the slight undercurrent of uneasiness and worry in your voice, and knelt down again, observing the way the flames made shadows dance across your face. He reached out and gently cup your face in his palm, keeping it there when you didn’t pull away, and instead leaned into his touch.

He looked into your eyes and whispered again, as if speaking any louder would awaken some great beast hidden within the shadows. “I’m just going to go get some blankets for us babygirl. Be good, and stay warm in front of the fire. I promise I’ll be right back. Okay?” He held out his pinky after pulling away from your face and you intertwined yours with his after a moment’s hesitance. He brought his thumb to his lips making your cheeks color at the intimate feeling of it all as you followed his lead and did the same. He gave you a cheeky grin. “There. Now it’s sealed with a kiss. I have to come back or you get to break my pinky.” You shook your head in disbelief of his antics but it had helped alleviate much of your unease, and you were thankful for that.

“Okay. But hurry back doofus. It’s not as warm without you next to me.” The confession slipped out from between your lips without thinking and you flushed in embarrassment but Jimin’s smile only widened before he got up and exited the room to go further into the darkness of the library.

It had only been a few minutes, but you were starting to get fidgety. Just as you were debating getting up to go and look for him, a blanket suddenly covered your head, making you squeal in surprise, much to Jimin’s amusement. “Did ya miss me princess?” He teased as he made himself comfortable once again beside you, cuddling underneath the blanket and gently pulling you into his side. You blushed, and probably would’ve pushed him away in any other circumstances, but he was just so warm and comfortable. You nuzzled closer into him and sighed in content and he aww’ed at you making you give him the finger.

He snickered, and you felt his body shake with his laughter. It wasn’t long before you were nodding off, the heat exuding from both the fireplace and Jimin getting to you as your eyes began to close. Jimin had been rambling on about something his friend Jungkook had done, but when he looked down and saw you sleeping peacefully against his shoulder, his eyes softened and he sighed in utter contentment. He slowly moved to lay down, gently positioning you so you were laying more comfortably against his chest, and placing the pillow he snagged from one of the chairs underneath his head.

He observed your sleeping form for a moment, clearly contemplating something, before he gingerly kissed your cheek. He couldn’t help it, you just looked so cute like this! Cheeks burning, he made himself comfortable and made sure you were fully covered by the blanket before closing his eyes and quickly falling asleep himself.

Namjoon walked into the library the next morning bright and early after getting a call from the power company that he should go and check that everything was working alright. He’d always been a night owl, but thankfully the second cup of black coffee in his hand was giving him enough energy to be somewhat alert. So, when he went to open the library door and found it unlocked a flash of panic went through him as he rushed inside, careful to be quiet in case an intruder was still around.

He crept around the all too familiar library and found himself confused as not a single book seemed out of place. As he made his way towards the secluded room, he quickly relaxed at the sight before him, stifling the groan he wanted to let out as he saw you sleeping peacefully on Jimin’s chest, while said boy held you close to him protectively.

He couldn’t resist taking out his phone and snagging a few pictures. Perfect blackmail material for Jimin. Revenge would be sweet. Almost as sweet as the way you made your tea. The idea that suddenly hit him made him grin wickedly. He checked everything was working, locked the doors and then left, leaving you two to sleep a little longer.

It was 2 weeks later when Jimin and you were officially dating that Namjoon struck. You were chatting casually with your new boyfriend about where to go for your planned date that night as you made your cup of tea as you usually did. As you went to grab the sugar, you found it filled not with sugar, but with coffee. You sighed, figuring someone had made a mistake, and opened the plastic container usually filled with the sweet spice, ready to fix it as you had in the past only to look down to and flush bright red in embarrassment at the post-it note on top of the coffee. Curious at your sudden lack of response and blush, Jimin looked your shoulder to read it as well.

‘In case your wondering, this is how bitter I was when I found you sleeping here overnight with the doors unlocked. Enjoy your tea without sugar for a little as punishment~ :)’

Namjoon snickered behind his own mug of coffee at your reaction, though he quickly swallowed as Jimin whirled, and quickly spotted him. Uh oh.

“You’re the one who posted the photo in the library group chat! I’m gonna kill you!”

Namjoon quickly ducked out of there, all while hiding a smug grin behind his mug.

Worth it.

[woundedheartwithin]

from these dark waters (from this dark world)

Far Cry 5 | Hurk Drubman Jr./Female Deputy | Fluff and Angst

First chapter: prologue Previous chapter: chapter two

For notes and extras, find it here on AO3!

chapter three

“You been quiet these last couple ‘a days.” Hurk says as he approaches her. She’s leaning against the new truck the people of Fall’s End had dug up for her with her arms crossed, staring at the big YES sign in the mountains beyond the town.

“Guess I’ve had a lot on my mind, Hurk.” She replies, still staring at that sign.

“Like the defector?”

“Yeah.” Bailey sighs. “What a colossal fuck up, huh?”

“Wasn’t your fault.”

“Sure it was.” She huffs. “I’m gonna blow up that fucking sign.” The change of subject is jarring, and Hurk just blinks dumbly at her for a long time. “I’m gonna get a plane, fly it right at that sign, and jump out right before it hits. Boom.” She unfolds her arms and mimes the explosion with her hands.

“Hell yeah, sounds fun. Can I come?” Hurk says, sort of relieved. Blowing up John’s tribute to his dick sounds like the most fun they’ve had in a long time, and he’s sure it’ll act as a kind of therapy for her.

“Yeah. Let’s go find a plane.” She says, grinning and pushing off of the truck’s bumper.

—

Bailey stands at the base of the burning YES sign screaming up at the Chosen planes to just shoot her already. They oblige her willingly, and Hurk barely has enough time to grab her by the waist and drag her back into cover before they turn her into Swiss cheese. She fights him and they tumble a few feet down the mountain, grunting when he lands on top of her, snarling when he won’t get off.

He straddles her and pins her arms, baring his teeth and squeezing her legs with his knees to keep her from nailing him in the nuts.

“Stop it, you dumbass.” He growls, but she only fights harder. She yells and he covers her mouth with one hand, hissing at her. “You’re gonna give away our position. Fuckin’ Peggies are on the mountain, too. Gonna get us fuckin’ killed.”

She bites his hand.

He jerks backward and she manages to wriggle out from under him. She kicks him in the gut and scoots away from him.

“Don’t you ever do that again.” She says, low and dark, watching as he struggles to breathe again.

“Yeah, back at ya. Fuckin’ lunatic.” He wheezes.

—

She doesn’t speak to him for three days. They travel together, they work together, but she doesn’t say a word.

Then, at the end of the third day, she tosses him the keys to the truck and climbs in the passenger seat. He sighs and gets behind the wheel, easing out onto the road.

“Where to, boss?” He asks, not expecting an answer.

“Don’t care.” She replies, frowning. “Just wanna sleep for a bit.”

“How ‘bout I find someplace with a bed or two?” He asks, glancing at her. “You look like you could use a good night’s sleep.”

“Whatever.” She huffs, then pulls the bill of her hat down low.

He drives until he hears her begin to snore, then he heads for that old hotel by the hot springs. They say it’s haunted, but Hurk doesn’t believe in that shit. Humans are the real monsters, not ghosts. He’s sure Bailey would say the same.

It’s full dark when he pulls into the parking lot. No one is around, so no one can question him when he goes around to the passenger side to pick her up and carry her upstairs to one of the rooms. She groans softly and presses her face into his chest, and he can’t help but smile as he climbs the stairs.

There’s only one available room, so Hurk puts Bailey in the bed, then sits on the floor and falls asleep against the wall.

When he wakes up, he finds her sitting up in bed watching him. She smiles when he meets her gaze.

“You didn’t have to sleep on the floor.” She says softly. “I’m sorry for being such a bitch.”

“Nah.” Hurk says, chuckling and heaving himself up. “I deserved it.”

“No, you didn’t.” She huffs. He sits on the foot of the bed and looks at her. “I just… it freaked me out, is all. Took me back to being strapped in that fucking chair. I know you care about me and I know you didn’t mean to scare me, and that you wouldn’t hurt me. I shouldn’t have given you the cold shoulder just for trying to keep me from killing my stupid self.”

“See? Told you you just needed a good night’s sleep.” He says, putting a hand on her ankle and squeezing it gently. “Don’t worry about it, Bailey. Really. I got your back.” He smiles again. “And I’m sorry for scarin’ you.”

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She says softly, putting her hand over his. “Anyway, now it’s your turn to get some sleep.” She says, pulling away and standing up. She gestures to the bed and smiles. “Promise I won’t take off without you. Get some real sleep.”

—

She’s not there when he wakes up. He panics for a moment, rushing to the window to make sure the truck is still there. It is, but she could have just left it and taken another car.

He pulls on his pants and shirt and practically trips down the stairs, earning several alarmed looks from the nearby Cougars.

“Where’s Bailey?” He says to the room, staring around until someone raises a shy hand to point outside.

A small figure sits at the edge of the hot springs, legs disappearing over the edge and into the water.

He takes a deep breath and steps outside, waving awkwardly when she glances back at him.

“I said I’d still be here.” She says softly, swishing her feet in the water.

“I guess you did.” Hurk replies, sitting down heavily next to her.

“You ever wish for something bad to happen, just because you want to prove to people that you can handle it, and then regret it the moment it comes true?” She asks, suddenly very still and very serious.

“Can’t say that I have, Ladybug.” He replies, because he doesn’t know the right answer. Doesn’t know if she even knows it.

“I have.” She says, kicking one foot out of the water so that the spray hits them both. “And I regret it. I regret a lot of things. And I wish I could take it back.” Her foot lands back in the water with a splash. “But I can’t take it back. You can’t take shit back, Hurk. No matter how much you hope and you pray and you wish, it doesn’t change anything. It’s done and there’s nothing you can do about it.” She turns to face him then, staring into his eyes and making him suddenly feel very uncomfortable.

“Bailey, I don’t know what —“

She kisses him. Just snaps forward like a snake, grabs the back of his neck with one hand and a fistful of hair on the side of his head in the other, and kisses him so hard their teeth clash, pinching his bottom lip between them and breaking skin. The bright taste of his own blood on his tongue surprises him, has him pulling back and gasping for air and apologizing for everything under the sun all at once.

He freezes, staring at her and the hurt and regret that slowly blooms in her eyes, and he hates that he’s caused it. Before he can talk himself out of it, he takes a deep breath and leans forward and kisses her back, a soft press of his lips to hers, chaste and sweet. She makes a soft, content sound in her throat, the hand gripping his hair loosening as she relaxes, her other hand sliding to cup his jaw as he smiles against her lips.

—

They don’t talk about it. Bailey offers no explanation as to why she’d kissed him, no comment about him kissing her back, and Hurk is too scared to ask. Too scared of breaking her trust. Too scared of losing their friendship. It was probably the beer he thinks he’d tasted on her lips. She’d been buzzed and stressed and he’d simply been there.

But then he finds himself grabbing her waist and pulling her back into cover yet again, baring his teeth and growling something about her being a crazy fucking bitch. She fights him, knocking them both off balance and onto the floor of the abandoned house the Peggies have them cornered in, and they both freeze when he raises up onto his elbows and looks down at her.

It’s Hurk’s turn to scramble away this time, ignoring the shock on her face as he turns and takes cover behind the sofa.

“Hurk?” She mumbles later as they’re poking through the bodies for money and ammo.

“What’s up, Ladybug?” He asks, distracted by the Clutch Nixon bottle opener he’d just pulled out of one of the dead Peggies’ pockets.

“Thanks for earlier, I guess.” She replies, almost too quietly to hear. He glances up at her and smiles.

“Don’t mention it, amigo.” He says, then pockets the bottle opener and goes back to searching Peggies.

—

“You okay, honey? You seem distracted.”

Hurk looks up from the bottle opener he’d been turning over in his hands and sighs.

“Yeah, mama. I’m fine.” He replies.

“Bullshit.” Adelaide snorts. She sits down next to him on the dock and bumps his shoulder with hers. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Nothin’. Really.”

“I know that look, Hurky.” She says, pulling off one boot and dipping her foot in the water. “It ain’t nothin’. So tell your mama what’s goin’ on in that crazy little head a’ yours.” Hurk snorts and puts the bottle opener back in his pocket.

“Got a stupid-ass crush on a girl.” He says after a moment. “She’s way the fuck outta my league, though. I just wish I could stop thinkin’ about her.”

“She like ya back?”

“Hell if I know.” Hurk snorts. “No, I don’t think she does.”

“Why don’t you try askin’ her, Hurky?” Adelaide says, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “Here’s a secret, honey. You just gotta talk to her, and then listen when she talks. That’s all a girl ever really wants.” She stands up then and steps back into her boot. “Life was short before these cult assholes showed up. It’s even shorter now. You like a girl, then you better go tell her. Before one or both of ya gets killed.”

“Wow. Gee thanks, mama.”

[hysterialevi]

When the Devil Cries pt. 8

Author’s note: A bit shorter than my other chapters, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless :) 

From Arthur’s POV

NOON

BLUEWATER MARSH

Watching the gators feed on Middleton’s corpse as blood flooded through the swamps, I observed the morbid scene from a distance and bid farewell to the assassin, still thinking about the fight I had with him not too long ago.

I knew next to nothin’ about Thatcher, or what his business with Eddie was...but something in my gut told me I had just killed a man who was better off left alone.

After all, Middleton seemed like the type of feller to have friends in high places, and I could only imagine the sorta folks I’d pissed off by putting a knife in his throat. 

A troubled sigh escaped me.

Lord...what had I gotten my sorry ass into this time?

Not only did I murder a man today, I also just fed him to a bunch of beasts like some goddamned animal. I knew I weren’t no saint, but even then...I still had some twisted sense of honor to keep my sanity from deteriorating completely.

But perhaps...it was already too late. Perhaps my sanity crumbled the minute Dutch and I fled from Blackwater. Or even before that.

I just didn’t know anymore.

Turning away from the gators, I lightly snapped my horse’s reins and galloped out of the marsh, hurrying my way back to Saint Denis while the day was still young. 

I had left Eddie alone for much longer than I was comfortable with, and despite Thatcher being gone now...I still couldn’t stop myself from worrying about the pianist’s safety.

I mean, someone clearly wanted that man dead. But who? And why? What had Eddie done to get an assassin sent after him? 

Was this boy really who I pegged him to be?

Or was he just another crook wearing a mask...like the rest of this damned country? ...Like me? I certainly hoped not.

Whatever happened, I doubted our problems would end here. 

If I recalled correctly, one of the first things Eddie told me was that he was also lookin’ for freedom. But from what? Debt? Middleton? Both?

Well...Eddie did say he was gonna explain it all later, so I guessed I’d find out soon enough. 

I just had a feelin’ I weren’t gonna like the answer. 

A WHILE LATER

SAINT DENIS, RYAN RESIDENCE

Riding up to Eddie’s house, I quickly hitched my horse next to Thatcher’s mount -- who I didn’t think realized his owner was dead just yet -- and hurried inside, constantly checking over my shoulders to make sure no one was followin’ me. 

Barely half of the day had passed, and already I’d dug myself into a deeper hole than the one Dutch was currently workin’ on. 

I mean, technically, what Middleton said was right. None of this was any of my business. I had no need to get involved. No need to protect Eddie. And yet...I just couldn’t stay out of it. I couldn’t walk away...no matter how much I probably should have.

There was just somethin’ holding me back. Something preventing me from doin’ what I normally did, and leaving people to their own problems. 

Dutch, Hosea, and I...we was strugglin’ enough -- what with all the Pinkertons and lawmen and O’Driscolls on our tail. The last thing they needed was for me to go and throw some more bullshit onto their plate.

But...regardless of whatever regrets or second thoughts I had, it was far too late to back outta this now. 

Thatcher Middleton was dead. And Eddie Ryan was alive. 

All because of me. 

And I was just gonna have to live with that.

Rushing back into the house, I wasted no time in climbing the steps to where Eddie was, only to come across the most peculiar scene once I reached the second floor. 

Instead of wiping away a puddle of blood like I was expecting him to be doing, it looked like the boy had already cleaned up the mess and was now silently sitting at his piano, staring blankly at his notes while his head hung low in fatigue.

He weren’t playing any music...and I didn’t even think Eddie had realized I was there yet. He just appeared rather...depressed. Emotionless. Like the life in his body was just...gone.

It was the first time I’d ever seen him like this, and it...well, it concerned me. 

What was goin’ on?

Slowly walking into the quiet room, the floor creaked underneath me as I cleared my throat and knocked on the doorframe, alerting him of my presence before leaning on a nearby wall.

I hesitated for a moment.

“...Erm...Eddie?” I called. “It’s me. I’m back.”

Almost instantly, the pianist turned around at the sound of his name and faced me, his expression covered in distress.

“Oh...Arthur!” Eddie greeted, his mood lightening with relief. “You’ve returned. Are you okay? Did anyone see you? Were you followed?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so. What ‘bout you? Anything happen here while I was gone?”

“No,” he replied. “One lawman showed up to ask me what the gunshot was all about, but I managed to shoo him away with a made-up excuse.”

“Good,” I said, stepping next to the piano. “...Now, you mind tellin’ me just what exactly is going on here? What did that bastard want with you?”

Eddie turned back to the piano, mindlessly tracing his hand across the keys.

“It’s a long story,” he explained, “but basically...I owed Thatcher a lot of money.”

I chuckled, taking a seat beside him on the bench. 

“I guessed that. But...why was he after you? What is happening, Eddie? ...Who did I just kill?”

The musician let out a defeated sigh, clearly not comfortable with talking about this. 

“Listen, Arthur. I appreciate what you did for me today -- I really do -- but the last thing I want is to drag you into this mess. I can’t risk your safety as well as mine.”

I persisted.

“If you’re in some sorta trouble, Eddie, I wanna help.”

“I know,” he responded. “That’s what worries me. Though, I suppose...after the way you saved my life...you deserve to know the full story. If you’re willing to listen, of course.”

I nodded in an understanding manner. “I am.”

Eddie glanced away for a second and took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for my reaction. 

Just how bad was his situation, exactly?

“Well,” he began, “first things first, then. Eddie Ryan...isn’t my real name.”

Nice to see he was easin’ me into this.

“Then what is it?” I asked. The boy looked me in the eye, his gaze filled with both freedom and anxiety. It was like he was finally takin’ off a mask, but scared to see what I’d think of the person hiding behind it.

Eddie gulped. 

“...Theodore,” he confessed. “Theodore Bishop.”

I shrugged. “Maybe it’s just ‘cause I ain’t never been to England, but that name don’t really mean much to me. You a...fugitive or something? A wanted man?”

He quickly shook his head. “No! Nothing like that. In fact, I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just because of my father that I’m in this mess.”

I scoffed. “O’ course. It’s always the father, ain’t it? Believe me, I know what that feels like. But...what’d your daddy do?”

Eddie’s shoulders slouched a bit with calmness, and he didn’t appear as tense as before. I guessed he had been waitin’ for a while to get this off his chest.

“Well, when he was still alive, my father worked as a criminal. He always got involved with the local gangs in London despite my mother’s protests, and there was one man in particular that he befriended. A man named Atticus Rose. He’s a gang leader who originally came from America, actually.”

I quirked a brow. “That so?”

“Yeah. I don’t know too much about his past, but apparently Rose used to operate in a place called New Austin.”

I let out a soft laugh. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. Even now, New Austin is next to lawless, and the word ‘civilization’ don’t even exist out there. Makes sense that someone like him would come outta that desert. But...you said your daddy befriended him?”

Eddie nodded. “Right. Or, at least, he thought he did. See, Atticus and my father were mates for years. Half a decade, I would estimate. They were almost like brothers. And despite being a criminal, Atticus always treated me with kindness. Though...it’s clear to me now that it was all just an act.”

I had to admit, that seemed like a bit much even to me.

“Wait, Rose pretended to be your father’s friend for half a decade...and it weren’t even real? Why?”

“Because my family had money,” Eddie replied. “And Rose wanted it. So, he got close to my father, bled him dry of all his wealth, and then...assassinated the man when he was done. Thing is, though: Atticus only planned to kill my father in the beginning.”

I readjusted myself on the bench. “What changed?”

“My father exposed him. That’s what. Just before he was murdered, my father managed to unveil Rose’s true intentions to me and my family, and told us to run. That’s why I came to America. But, of course, Atticus couldn’t let us get away. Loose ends, and all that. So, he sent Middleton to hunt us down. Another ‘good friend’ of my father’s.”

I glanced at the notch in the wall from where Thatcher’s knife stabbed through the wood, thinking back to the whole mess with him.

“But...Middleton didn’t kill you?”

“No,” Eddie confirmed. “And I don’t know why. That bastard killed my father, my mother, and my sister, but for some reason...he was willing to spare me. At least, in exchange for money. Still though, I always found it odd that he agreed to my deal. I may not have known Thatcher that well, but he never struck me as the kind of man to make exceptions.”

I let out a breath in place of the absence of words, unsure of how to even respond.

“I...don’t really know quite what to say,” I admitted. “I’m sorry you’re goin’ through all this, Eddie.”

The boy beamed at me, bringing back that smile I had grown to be so familiar with.

“Don’t be. I know you weren’t aware of who Thatcher was when you killed him...but you avenged my family, Arthur. Somewhat, anyways. After all, Atticus Rose still lives. And he’s the one who’s truly responsible.”

I leaned in slightly. “You think Rose will retaliate if he finds out Middleton’s dead? And you’re still breathing?”

Eddie’s expression dimmed with fear. “...It’s...certainly a possibility. I mean, Atticus doesn’t come across as the type of man to grow attached to his allies, but I know he and Middleton had a long history together. And on top of that, he wants everyone in my family dead. So, even though I doubt he’ll come after me personally, he could very well send another assassin.”

Without even thinking about it, I placed a comforting hand over Eddie’s and looked him in the eye, making him a sincere promise.

“Then I’ll kill another one.”

The pianist paused at that and met my gaze, the confidence steadily returning to his drained face once he realized he was safe around me. 

It was pretty obvious that it had been a long time since Eddie had anyone he could trust, and when he affectionately squeezed my hand in return, I instantly knew damn well that I wouldn’t be able to leave him behind like I kept sayin’ I would.

Christ, not again, you moron... I cursed to myself, scolding the hopeless romantic inside me.

I didn’t have the strength to do this for a third time. Not after how things went Mary. And Eliza.

...I just couldn’t handle that pain again. 

I couldn’t lose someone else.

Retreating my hand with a certain fear, I awkwardly backed away from the boy and put some distance between us, scooting towards the end of the bench as I stared helplessly at the floor. 

Even though I wasn’t looking at him, I could still sense Eddie’s somewhat hurt gaze falling onto me, and I felt terrible for reactin’ the way I did. But...no matter how much I disliked it, it was for the best. 

Eddie’s life was already a disaster without me fanning the flames. The last thing he needed was for me to come crashin’ into his life, trying to play the hero when we both knew the boy was better off without a lowlife criminal dragging him down.

I finally decided to tear myself away from the man and reluctantly rose from the bench, still avoiding eye contact with the musician.

“I, um...” I stumbled over my words, suddenly feeling more alone than I had in months. “...I should get going. I won’t keep you any longer. ...Good day, Eddie.”

Fleeing from the scene without looking back, I rushed out of the house like there was no tomorrow and sped through the front doors, immediately mounting my horse the minute I saw her before sprinting back to camp.

I didn’t know what the hell just happened, or what I was so damned afraid of...but something in me just...broke back there. 

The way Eddie looked at me...I had seen that face enough times to know what it was. 

That poor fool was falling for me. Slowly, but surely. 

And like the selfish bastard I was...I was lettin’ him do it. 

God...why couldn’t I just push him away? I mean, sure it would hurt, but at least he’d be safe. And I’d be able to focus entirely on the gang. We’d just go our separate ways, and pretend the other person never even existed. I could’ve ended this, here and now.

...But I didn’t. 

Instead, I simply ran away like the coward I was and left with more questions than answers, hoping that Eddie would somehow forget about me and build a true career for himself now that Thatcher was dead.

I scoffed to myself, laughin’ at the dolt I was.

Geez...I had really gone and done it this time, hadn’t I? 

I just had to get involved, and bring on whatever storm was coming our way. 

Well, no matter what happened in the future, I would always stand by what I said to the pianist, and protect him regardless of how distant we was forced to be. 

Theodore Bishop may have had a price on his head, but that weren’t the man I knew. 

His name was Eddie Ryan...and I wasn’t letting anyone lay a finger on him ever again.

ONE HOUR LATER

SHADY BELLE

Climbing off my horse, I hitched my companion with the rest of the gang’s mounts and gave her a friendly pat, feeding the girl a small treat before returning to my business.

Even with Karen and Grimshaw at each other’s necks again, things seemed mostly calm at camp, and it didn’t look like I had missed too much during my time away.

Javier was sittin’ at the campfire with his guitar while Uncle enjoyed a beer next to him, the two of ‘em singing songs as Pearson chopped away at some meat, preparing today’s stew.

Meanwhile, Mary-Beth and Tilly worked on their typical chores while enduring Swanson’s drunken ramblings, chatting to each other about the romance novels they was reading, and giggling at how silly the stories apparently were. Psh, if only they knew mine.

On top of all that though, Dutch and Hosea were keeping each other company on a balcony overlooking the camp as they discussed something -- probably the bank in Saint Denis -- while relaxing in the shade cast by the roof.

But...of course, outta all the people in the gang, the first one to greet me had to be the second grumpiest son-of-a-bitch to ever walk by our side.

“Hey, Morgan!” Bill’s sharp voice called as he paced towards me.

“...Williamson,” I said back in a blunt tone, lighting a cigarette. “What you want?”

The man studied me for a minute with that permanently sour face of his, eyeing me up and down.

“I wanted to ask you something.” He said. 

I was silent in response, urging him to go on.

“Back at the theater,” Bill recalled, “why’d you go soft on that boy? Y��know, the one who was holdin’ a gun to your head.”

I puffed out a cloud of smoke. “What you talkin’ about?

“I mean,” he reiterated, “what was that shit you was tryin’ to pull off with him? When I found you two, you were approaching him like some fool trying to tame a wild horse. Why didn’t you just beat him like you normally do?”

I furrowed my brow in annoyance, cocking my head to the side.

“You just answered your own question, dumbass. ‘Cause he was holdin’ a gun to my face. If I had done anything else, that boy woulda put a bullet between my eyes.”

Bill was unconvinced. “Oh, I doubt that. Look, Morgan, I know I ain’t the dullest tool in the shed--”

“--Sharpest.”

“Whatever. Point is: even I could tell that boy hadn’t shot no one before. And he sure as hell wouldn’t have shot you.”

I sighed. “Well, there’s a first time for everything. But -- why are we even arguin’ about this? What point are you trying to make?”

Bill gave me a cautionary glare. “I’m just saying, Morgan...it’s dangerous to make a move like that. That boy, whoever he was, nearly botched the entire robbery. If someone ever tries to do that again, we gotta beat ‘em down.”

I took a step towards Williamson, glaring directly back at him from under the rim of my hat as smoke danced from my cigarette.

“...I got it.” I whispered.

Bill backed down at that, unsure of what to say next.

Before he could do anything else though, I threw my cigarette to the ground and squished it under my boot, walkin’ away as if the conversation never happened.

Things was tense enough between me and Eddie. I didn’t need Bill to jump into the chaos with us. And Lord knew the pianist didn’t neither.

I was just concerned about what would happen if anyone in the gang actually met Eddie. I mean, Dutch was already suspicious that there was a rat among us. If he learned I was in contact with someone outside our little “family,” I could only imagine what his reaction would be. And I certainly didn’t want to find out for myself.

Regardless of the mayhem in his life, Eddie was the only person I knew who weren’t involved with this disaster. The only person who had yet to let this world’s struggles take him down. 

As for the rest of us...we were pretty much more ghosts than people. Just fightin’ to survive, but never actually living. And I sure as hell didn’t want Eddie to become like that.

His previous life as Theodore Bishop sounded harsh enough. The least I coulda done for the boy...was ensure no harm came to him in this one.

Especially not from me. 

[cursedstrayct]

Renjun college oneshot: Trust

Author’s note:

I made this in like 20 minutes while I was waiting so it’s low key garbage but like the good kind, y’know that golden trash bag meme? that thing exactly. also writing this was like and emotional trip of “oh my god the dreamies are old and all of the 00 liners are going to college next year”

Words: 1410

Studying law was hard but it was what you had always dreamed of, you couldn’t put your finger on what was about it that interested you so much but ever since you were a child you wanted to be a lawyer.

Anyways, even though you had enjoyed your first year of career you still knew it was going to be hard, you had spent the last 30 minutes looking for a book in the college library because you weren’t able to find the PDF and then, to not much of your surprise, the book was 176 pages long, 176 pages you were going to carry all the way home to read about 20 of them. Your back already ached thinking about this.

“Hey I’ve seen you walking around for a while now, you need something?”

Someone asked near you, you turned around and saw a guy with a smile as soft as his voice, he was kind of short but it didn’t look bad on him and his eyes looked as if he was trying to hold a laugh, at least a small one.

“Yeah it’s a book by Grover Cleveland, I can’t find it anywhere and the teacher is going to base the next class out of one chapter.”

You answered loosely, you weren’t expecting much help from someone that wasn’t in your same career to find an obscure book about starting your laboral life.

“Is it about sharks or something? I saw one that was placed in the wrong cabinet.”

“It’s about law but yeah it has sharks in the title”

You laughed a bit and he did back. You walked down the aisle and you started looking at this guy a bit more and that’s where you recognized him, Renjun, you had seen him at one of the college’s open forums of discussion, he was taking a degree in secondary education. It was always funny to see freshmen taking that degree, it was like seeing highschool students studying to be a highschool teacher.

“You’re ___, right? I remember seeing you at one of the forums”

He asked looking over his shoulder a bit.

“Yeah that was me, I remember you were there too, what you said was actually really interesting”

“Well we were talking about young people and well, I’m young and at some point of my life I will work with young people so I thought I had something to say”

He chuckled a bit and you thought it sounded nice.

You reached the aisle M and there it was, Swimming lessons for baby sharks by Grover Cleveland, you had no idea how it ended there.

You took the book and you decided to invite him to study with you, sometimes you liked having someone by your side even if you weren’t talking to them, luckily he said yes.

After a while of doing some reading you guys went back to the theme of the last forum, you talked about why you chose your respective careers, some past experiences, conversation with Renjun came very naturally to you.

Then you realised that of the 3 hours you spent at the library, 30 minutes were used to find your book, 2 hours was talking with a cute stranger and it was about 20 minutes of actual reading.

“Was the chapter at least a bit interesting?”

He asked smirking a bit.

“I’m not even sure, I payed proper attention to like 3 pages, the rest is just blur”

The two of you left the library and left to your respective dorms.

…

The months passed and you had become pretty close friends with Renjun, you talked with his friends and he talked with yours, it was nice to have two groups of friends but with one friend in common. The moment that made you bond the most was probably you two having the same class but with a different teacher so you would either study or just discuss what happened, sometimes these talks could get really childish about how the moustache of one of the teachers was lame. You got to know each other so much more in these moments.

You enjoyed each other's company, it was fun, relaxed and you felt like you could trust Renjun so much. Obviously your friends sometimes teased you about this, it seemed like only them noticed how you two looked at each other, how your eyes lit up when you two talked about random stuff. They thought it was a cute relationship broiling, you thought it was them saying dumb stuff.

…

One weekend, Jaemin, one of Renjun’s friends, invited you to a party, with the excuse of getting rid of stress before starting end of semester exams.

Like any college party there was drunk people, between of them Renjun and a tipsy you.

You were seeing more familiar faces as the night went by and then you saw Renjun, he looked good to be honest, it seemed like he was having a great time.

“Hey ____! I was looking for you, wanna dance?”

He said giggling as he extended his hand towards you, which you accepted. You were dancing for a while when he started talking weird. Of course you’ve seen him drunk before and you knew he maybe could get a bit more reckless but this wasn’t like him.

“You smell good”

He was nuzzing at your neck and you could feel him smiling lazily.

“You look so good tonight, I could kiss you”

It wasn’t like you weren’t enjoying it but you had found sentiments about this, especially because of what he said. Was he thinking out loud? Did he actually mean it? You looked at him and you noticed that you were really close. He looked at you in the eyes and leaned in. It took you a bit to notice he was kissing you. He was gentle, almost like he was regretting it because you weren’t giving him an answer, you decided to kiss back. Until this moment you’ve never really thought of Renjun like this but right now it felt like the right thing, like it was meant to happen, he was the person you trusted the most and something this spontaneous didn’t bother you because it was him.

You broke the kiss after a while, it felt shorter than what it actually was.

The night went by and you kept hanging out with Renjun until you went home.

...

After that night, everything just got awkward, he was straight up avoiding you, he wasn’t even looking at you in the eyes and everyday that passed by it got worse. At the beginning you tried to reach out to him but after a couple of weeks you just gave up until you were pretty much strangers again, this broke your heart, the only conclusion you could get is that he was trying to get advantage of you but maybe you weren’t good enough. Now it didn’t even bother you that you parted ways.

One day you were studying at the library like you often do and you noticed a hand tapping your shoulder to get your attention. It was Renjun. When you looked at him he looked a bit flustered.

“Hey I was wondering if you had some notes of the last class, I had to skip it”

He sounded so shy, it was like he was trying to act like a friend but just couldn’t pull it off.

“Yeah sure, I still haven’t organized them well but you can understand them”

You passed him a couple of papers expecting for him to scan them or take a picture of them but he just stood there looking at the floor.

“Actually, that wasn’t what I wanted to tell you”

He looked at you shyly

“I’m sorry I was and idiot, I just got scared and then I didn’t knew what to do, and I messed it up so badly that we even lost our friendship and it was all my fault cause I didn’t knew how to confess and”

He probably was able to just keep rambling things to you but he stopped as soon as you held his hand. You were just looking at each other in this comfortable silence, you smiled a bit.

“Do you still like me though?”

You asked

“A lot actually”

He said, with a smile slowly beginning to trace his face.

“Then maybe we could try again”

[mjolfarr]

ONE SHOT

TITLE: A SLAVE TO YOUR KING

original inbox request- Hi I was wondering if you could write something where Loki is king and Reader is given to him as a gift from a rival kingdom as a peace offering. As like a bed slave or something, I would love to see some Loki Dom and reader sub kinky stuff because I noticed you haven't written any kinky scenes yet. Maybe a bj lol that leads to other stuff. Also, I hope you don't mind I inboxed it instead of commented i wanted to stay anonymous.

Warning: This chapter will contain sexual scenes and situations if you are uncomfortable reading things like that please skip this chapter- Eira

---Loki's Pov---

It has been three months since I was crowned king of Asgard and other kingdoms were already begging for my mercy. Most people think I am quite hasty in my decisions regardless of how much I think before I act. This is why I have messengers coming with gifts daily begging me not to start a war with them and instead be allies. It was a stupid notion that I would ever jump straight into a war only after three months as sitting king but the gifts were pleasant so I did not bother to correct anyone. Perhaps I should have and I wouldn't be sitting in front of four girls dressed skimpily in chains kneeling before me. "This, your highness are four of the most lovely women our kingdom has to offer. The king would be honored if you choose one to be your bed slave." The advisor said in a proud voice, now I knew that most kingdoms were far is the past compared to Asgard but this was remarkable. Bed slaves have not been used for decades by kings and I honestly wouldn't know how my people would react. I would have to choose because if I didn't that would be grounds for war, something I couldn't afford. "Shall I examine them?" I told rather than asked he bowed backing away from the girls allowing me to get up close and personal. The first one was a red-head which wasn't a turn-off but I disliked how significantly shorter she was than me. I shouldn't matter since I had no intention of laying a hand on any of them but I did want to choose one I liked. "What is your name?" I demanded, looking at her stubby legs, "Whatever you wish to call me master." Ugh, nothing was more unattractive to me then not having your own identity so I walked over to the second girl. She was around my height with long brown hair and elven ears to match; I've heard they're quite flexible so I was intrigued. "What is your name," I asked fully prepared to choose her no matter the answer, "Whatever you wish to call me master." Her voice had to be the most shrill thing I've ever heard in my life, that was a for sure no. The third one's face had an attitude on it which caused me to walk straight past her without stopping. Now the last one she was just so interesting, her (h/c) reached around (h/l) on her body. Unlike the rest of the girls, she had a realistic body type that I wouldn't mind grasping. The messenger read my mind, "You can touch them if you wish your highness." A wicked opportunity I couldn't pass up it would be the only time I enjoyed her body so I might as well toy with it a bit. I grabbed her hips pulling them towards me sharply causing her to stand, she didn't dare protest but it did come as a surprise. I let my hands dance up and grip her breasts and tugged her back against my chest roughly. The sheer white dress she was wearing didn't put much distance between me and her flesh so I used it to my advantage. I teased her nipples rolling them in my fingers slowly kneading them until I heard her breathing quicken. It didn't take much to excite her but I enjoyed playing with her, I let go of her and stepped around for her to face me once again. Instead of looking at me directly like the other girls she had her head down and cheeks flushed. "What is your name?" I questioned, she didn't look up but she did speak, "(Name) master." the other girls gasped at her answer and she raised her face in shock of what came out of her mouth. "My apologies your highness she is new in our program and isn't quite bright." The messenger walked with heated footsteps but I waved him away and reached out to touch her face. She flinched away as though she thought I was going to hit her so when I stroked her cheek everyone was surprised. "I desire this one, (name) is it?" she leaned into my touch and bowed her head to me, "Yes, master." she spoke only to me, "Take her to my chambers I have other duties to attend to at the moment," I told to the servants that her standing on hand and watched them loop around her arms walking her out of the room. The other girls' chains rattled just as much as (name)'s had when they were told to stand and were walked out of the room. I would much rather tend to (name) but the royals of the court she came from where excepting me to entertain them and talk treaties for the rest of the morning. This couldn't be over any faster.

----Your Pov----

His room was really big it shouldn't be a surprise because he's a king but this had to be the biggest room you had ever seen. You wished the servants had released you from the chains connected to your ankles, wrists, and neck. They made it so hard to turn your head or walk at all but either way you waddled up to the big window near his bed. Asgard was so beautiful, you would probably only see what you could from his bedroom widow but you wouldn't take it for granted. He was just as intimidating as everyone told you and the other three girls, he was so tall and his green eyes were hard to read. You wondered why he chose you over the other more attractive options; no one guessed he would have. The only reason you were even here was because the girl who actually got chosen lost her virginity to a stable boy and you were the only one on hand. With a limited amount of submissive training and lessons you were already messing up telling him your real name was a rookie mistake. You felt tired after the long carriage ride of your teachers drilling you all in preparation of meeting the king. You hadn't eaten or slept in days so his grand bed was looking so nice and comfortable. Luckily you knew better than to do that you were not supposed to touch anything unless told to. You compromised and took at pillow off the bed and a throw blanket from a chair to make a spot on the floor to sleep. If you were going to be punished for anything it would be for using his pillows to sleep something you could live with.

----Loki's Pov----

That took much longer than I had anticipated it was at least 12:00 at night and I only just got away from the ongoing banquet I threw in their honor. At this point I just wanted to go to sleep, once I reached my room  satisfaction crept over me I finally got to be alone. The room was strictly lit by moonlight and a silhouette was lying on the floor, Fuck I forgot about the girl. The further I went into the room the better I could see her figure lying there. She was sleeping in an uncomfortable position because it appeared no one released her from her bonds, "Is everyone useless?" I muttered under my breath storming around looking for a key, I dug through my drawers loudly and I heard stirring behind me. "Master?" Her voice was still laced with sleep which made it all the more sensual and appealing. I spotted a little pink box with a bow that had a key on top of it, "Hold on," I replied walking over so I could unlock her. She was sitting up with her wrists out for me, "How long have you been asleep?" I asked shedding her of all the shackles and tossing them across the room, "Has someone fed you?" she shook her head and rubbed her neck. "No master," there was that low and sexy voice again I had originally promised myself I would refrain from touching her but it proved to be harder than expected. "Are you hungry," I spoke pulling her up to stand, "No master." Something inside me twitched if she used that voice one more time this would be a very different night indeed. "You're a virgin aren't you," she nodded feebly and a small smile to match. "Sit on the bed," I demanded pushing her towards it she looked scared but complied with my order. "I have rules that you will always follow do you understand?" she nodded again not speaking which was probably for the best, "In private you will always call my master no exception, while in public you may call me whatever you desire except my first name. You will sleep in my bed every night and that's me being generous, you will not talk back to me ever or you will be punished. You will have your own wardrobe of anything you wish but any outfit that is short, sheer, thin and leaves room for imagination will only be worn in front of me. My pleasure always comes before yours, you will swallow what I give you and be a good girl, if you follow these rules you will never want for anything and get plenty of rewards." She was looking at me intently soaking in all of my words, "Now I will call you pet or (name) when I choose to." She tilted her head thought, "thank you for your kindness." I sighed running a hand through my black hair I didn't know where I was going with this but I knew where I wanted it to. "Are you fearful of me?" She hadn't met my gaze yet and it was getting quite annoying, "yes master," I swallowed hard, "look at me when I'm speaking to you." she raised her head and looked at me directly that I could manage but when she bit her lower lip absentmindedly it pushed me too far. Lust and desire overwhelmed my senses a needed her now, "I had originally promised myself I would not lay a finger on you and treat you as a guest instead of a bed servant. It is clear to me now that isn't going possible since you're quite tempting. Now be my good girl and get on your knees pet." She didn't protest my order and did as she was told promptly, "I assume you've been taught but I shall let you learn firsthand."

---Your Pov---

As soon as your knees hit the ground he had moved and sat on the bed removing his pants completely. He took a fist full of your hair and dragged you closer to him, "Like I said you will swallow and what I give you if you dare spit it out there will be consequences." His eyes were dark and lust filled the tight grip he had on your hair sprung tears from the corner of your eyes. "Yes master," you choked out and he released you all at once offering you his mostly erect member. You didn't want to do this it made you feel more disgusted at yourself than anything, you didn't have choice he owned you this was the first night to a long life. You sucked in a deep breath and took the large length in your mouth wrapping your hand around it trying your best to stroke it. "Too slow," he hissed gripping the back of your head again and forcing it down on his length. You gagged feeling it at the back of your throat it was hard to breathe but he didn't allow you to raise your head. He groaned and thrusted into your mouth without letting go of you, you pulled away quickly coughing and panting to catch your breath. He grabbed the hair on the top of your head even tighter than before making you wince at the shooting pain. "Don't you ever pull away unless I tell you to or you won't live to regret it?" The tone of his voice was frightful you didn't dare protest, "Now go back to work," He grunted letting you take control instead of gagging you. You went as fast as you could trying  and your best to please him, you still were having trouble breathing but you didn't dare stop now. He seemed to be enjoying what you were doing because he kept groaning and encouraging you with soft hair caresses rather than yanks. The longer you did this the better you felt, you were getting making your movements smoother and faster you could feel him nearing his end. He stood pushing your head deeper and giving more affirming groans of pleasure. "Eyes up here, now" he demanded you to watch him; you brought your face up and saw his pleased expression that motivated you to keep going. He started to moan in a low tone dipping his head forward, you felt him twitch in your mouth and hold you more closely. His warm seed darted into your mouth until there was no more to give you, it was absolutely disgusting and you didn't want it in your mouth but you had to swallow it. You forced it down and gagged once it was all gone, your stomach turned but at least it was over. He looked impressed while you wiped the corner of your mouth, "you are a good girl aren't you?" He spoke with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "As I promised I will give you a nice reward for your good behavior." He gestured for you to bend over his lap and you obeyed standing up slowly but he wasn't having that so he tugged you onto him. You felt his hand creeping near your nether regions, "Oh look at this pet, and you're far more excited than you let on." It was true but it only made you more embarrassed, you had never volunteered for this job yet here you were. He started nudging a finger at your entrance coaxing quiet moans from your lips, you used your hands to cover your mouth but he used his hand and pulled them behind your back. "Tell me how badly you need it," you squirmed underneath him trying your best to stay calm and collected. He took another finger and prodded more but not enough to give you the pleasure you wanted. "You will answer me pet," he smirked pressing his fingers deeper inside of you. It wasn't that you didn't want to answer him but you couldn't form any words all that came out were squeaks. A hard slap came on your backside, the mixture of pleasure and pain proved too much to hold in. You finally found your voice and started moaning aloud giving him the confirmation he wanted to hear. "How badly do you want me?" he made you quiver with a cocky tone of voice, there was no point lying about it or denying how aroused you were. "I need you really badly, please," he chuckled at your desperation and curled his fingers in you. "Really, that bad hm?" you tried bucking your hips against his hand but he wasn't allowing you to, "Yes, please I need it." You begged, he retracted his hand completely and lifted you up placing you on the bed bent over. You knew exactly what he was going to do and you wanted it, it made you sound like a freak but you really wanted it. You felt the pressure of his member aligned to your entrance he didn't give you once second to brace for what was coming before the thrust inside of you. It hurt way more than you had expected it to, you screamed out in pain but he didn't stop of slow down. He took one hand and held your hip while the other covered your mouth to silence you and your shouts. He did slow his pace but it didn't feel any worse or any better until about five minutes in where everything turned into sheer enjoyment. he started a steady pounding pace that made you grab the sheets out of frustration you couldn't get a better grip on him. It was almost  like he felt the same so He turned you abruptly making your face in his eye line and yet that still wasn't enough. He lifted you up not to exit you but to slam your back against a wall; you wrapped your legs around his waist and arms around his neck so he didn't have to stabilize you. He then proceeded to bite your lower lip hard enough to draw blood and licked over it demanding his tongue entrance into your mouth. You retaliated by tangling your fingers In his black hair and opening slightly for him to gain access. Your tongues engaged in a needy desperate fight for dominance but it was harder to focus when you kept moaning against his mouth. He broke the kiss and pinned your wrists over your head and using his other hand to guide your hips once more driving you insane... you needed more of him. A wave of tingles ripped over your body letting you tighten around him, "Say my name," he said through gritted teeth. You didn't know if he meant what he told you to call him or his first name, your brain was going numb so you said the only word that passed through your lips. "Loki," you groaned arching your back off of the wall and shaking from your orgasm. Loki followed in pursuit pressing his forehead against yours while he became undone inside of you releasing your wrists and focusing on holding you while you took him in. Once it was all said and done with you both were breathing jaggedly, "You broke a rule," he whispered into your ear that shot fear down your spine. Was he going to hit you or something worse? It had to be about the name you called him.You opened your mouth to say sorry but he cut you off, "My pleasure always comes before yours but since you pleased me so well pet I shall let you get away with it. He let go of you and you slid down the wall on shaky legs and a stinging tingling coming from between your legs. Even though you slept for hours that whole thing exhausted you immensely, He still towered over you menacingly as always. You doubted you would ever not fear him but you did like him, He kissed your temple and chuckled, " you're exciting pet I chose well, now come I require rest as do you."

-FIN

[ask-svt-hearteu]

Hogwarts! Woozi

Anon requested: “I love the hogwarts au!! Please continue with other members, maybe Jun or Woozi?????” and "Hello! I was wondering if I could request a woozi hogwarts au like wonwoos, I absolutely love the seventeen hogwarts au's I find them so cute and I need more 💘💘💘💘"

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 2312

he’s kind of a mystery to everyone who doesn’t really know him

he’s just known as a fourth year slytherin who comes from a pure blood family

never brags about it though and no one would even have known

he never treats anyone like he's superior

he's just mysterious

friends with Wonwoo, Soonyoung, and Jun and their friend group

all 13 of them are pretty well known as one of the biggest friend groups at Hogwarts

even though they're all from different houses

they always hang out and sit with each other for meals

and they're split into groups by age for classes

but they're all like one big family and no one in Hogwarts can deny how close they all are to each other

and although they're all pretty different, they all somehow fit together perfectly as if fate deemed them destined to be best friends with each other

Jihoon doesn’t really talk all that much in his classes

but from his exam scores he’s basically acing everything

most people call him Jihoon, his friends call him Woozi or Jihoon

but again, no one really knows what kind of person he is besides his own friends

since he's pretty quiet and doesn't ever start conversations with anyone unless he's forced to

though don’t ever call him cute

for some reason whenever someone calls him cute

like this fourth year ravenclaw in potions

they end up getting hexed

that ravenclaw had his shoes turned into spiders

and Jihoon just walks past listening to him shouting and tries hiding a smile

“Again?” Soonyoung asks Jihoon as they walk to their next class

“It was just a small hex, no harm done.”

“You’re too mean, Jihoon.” Soonyoung says laughing

Jihoon simply replies with an evil giggle

“I know.”

never gets caught for it either because he's mastered casting hexes without saying incantations aloud

the one always hexing his friends too since they tease him and call him cute too

cast the full body bind hex on Mingyu once just because he told Jihoon

“but hyung, you’re shorter than me”

his favorite subjects have to be potions and charms

again always using hexes here and there to annoy his friends

or slipping them a potion that makes their voice sound high-pitched for the rest of the day

and although he’s quiet, he really loves his friends

and everyone is always surprised to know he plays as the other slytherin beater on the quidditch team

because he doesn’t seem like the type

but everyone cowers when Jihoon has his beater’s bat

the guy may be short, but his swing is no joke

and the bludgers he hits don’t generally miss

him and Minghao are a deadly duo as the slytherin beaters

and you're the fourth year slytherin seeker

so you know most of his friend group pretty well since the two of you are close friends

you both met on the Hogwarts express during first year

he had asked to sit in your compartment

and although you both didn't say much at first

he saw a pin on your trunk

the one with a broomstick

"Do you play quidditch?"

"Yea, I'm going to try out for the team at school." you say smiling shyly

"Me too."

and you both took off from there

realizing you both got sorted into the same house

giving him a high five as you both sat next to each other

and had all your classes together

and when you went to try-outs

the both of you practiced together in the rain really hard for hours each day after the homework

and you both made it in

which forced the two of you to get to know each other a lot more

you watched as he grew up in Hogwarts and earned himself a sort of mysterious guy image

especially when some of the girls in Slytherin were always coming up to him while the two of you did hw in the common room

younger girls who would giggle and push each other forward to congratulate Jihoon on the victory of the latest quidditch game

and you weren't sure why but you would always get annoyed at them

but Jihoon never really acknowledged them

"Thanks but our seeker, y/n, did most of the work" without even looking up from his paper

which made you smile and blush

while the other girls gave you dirty looks

"Don't all the fangirls get annoying?" you say rolling your eyes

"What fangirls?" he'd say, "Just finish your paper so we can go practice"

and you weren't sure why

but every time Jihoon brushed off the fangirls like the savage he was

you would always be pretty smug and satisfied

you and Jihoon would always hang out at Hogsmeade together with the others

though you didn't really have many friends outside of Jihoon and his group

you were close friends with the other fourth years; Wonwoo, Jun, and Soonyoung

and Jihoon would always make time for you even if you told him it was ok to just hang out with his friends

"You're their friend too, come on, won't be the same without you."

which is kind of how you became part of that huge friend group

you and Jihoon would always work on hw together

and anytime you needed help, he was there in a heartbeat to explain confusing concepts in a way that made sense

or just occasionally letting you copy

though if Soonyoung came around, he'd refuse

"Why does y/n get to copy but I don't?" Soonyoung would whine

"Because y/n and I have practice and she's smarter than you" Jihoon would say looking at you to hurry up

you both walk around the grounds a lot too

discussing strategies and talking about the opposing team's game plan and how best to beat them

"You're probably not going to catch the snitch if Jun's actually playing that day." Jihoon says

"Junhui, my worst enemy," you joke, "yea I never win against him."

"That's ok, just stall him long enough for us to get a more than 150 points lead." he'd say

"That I can do."

he's someone you can always rely on to talk about stress since you both take the same classes and have quidditch practice

and he talks to you about his fears and worries because he trusts you so much

at some point, just to save time

you both share food and water like you've been friends your whole life

he's always looking out for you

once you got hit by a bludger and ended up in the infirmary

and he stayed there all night catching you up on the win and helping you with the hw

and being the best friend you could ever ask for

staying up and helping you with anything you needed

"I can get water by myself just fine Lee Jihoon" you smirked

"Nope, I can get it hang on."

and you weren't sure when

but your feelings for Jihoon kind of outgrew just being friends

the classic falling for your best friend cliché

and that complicated shi

it hit you once when you were about to hex a girl who gave Jihoon chocolates

like you felt jealous

which is weird and gross and what the heck was wrong with you

in all your time knowing Jihoon, he never once showed any interest in dating girls or having other feelings for you besides friendly ones

and so your one-sided feelings sort of consumed you

but little did you know that the rest of Jihoon's friend group can read him a bit better

especially after another slytherin fourth year tried hard core flirting with you in herbology

but you weren't paying his advances any attention

and later Jihoon hexed the poor boy until he was hanging upside down from a tree

"You obviously like y/n, why don't you just ask her out?" Jun says smirking

"Just because you have a girlfriend, have you decided you're our official cupid now?" Jihoon says blushing

"OH MY GOD IT HAS TO BE TRUE LOOK HE'S BLUSHING."

"Soonyoung, I'll turn your food into spiders, I will."

"Just tell her already!"

"No! We're friends, you know how that goes." Jihoon sighed

but that didn't stop the rest of Svt from always trying to put you and Jihoon together

and Jihoon always blushes like crazy because of them trying

but you're low key ignorant of it

"Hey y/n, Jihoon was complimenting you on your flying the other day." Jun says sliding next to you

"Hahaha Jun, you can't distract me, I'll finally beat you this match. And Jihoon never compliments me, he's the one giving constructive criticism, and I like that better anyway." you smile leaving the table

and you don't hear Jun screaming

"Jihoon you don't ever compliment her?!?!? JUST BE SINGLE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE THEN!"

which results in Jihoon complimenting you that night when writing your charms paper

you nearly choking on your water

"Jihoon, are you sick?" you laugh

"I can't compliment you?" he said blushing furiously

causing you to blush too

"No thank you, it's just you never do so..."

"I SWEAR THEY'RE BOTH SO HELPLESS" you and Jihoon look up at Jeonghan who yelled that

Jeonghan just waves meekly and runs away like shi they heard me

followed by awkward silence

before Jihoon stands up and tells you night before going to bed

leaving you sighing

you knew that whole bs with ruining friendships because of feelings

and you didn't want that to happen

and it seemed like Jihoon was catching on and avoiding you for that

when in reality it was quite the opposite

Jihoon liked you too, but didn't know how to express it

and he was scared for your guys' friendship too

and all the others just watching the two of you like we have to do something before we die of old age and these two lovesick fools still haven't confessed

also low key trying to get Jihoon back for all the hexes and potions pranks he's pulled on them

but also they don't like seeing the two of you obviously not happy because of the whole situation

and so they use Seungkwan as a sacrifice

"Woozi-hyung, you're so cuuuuutttee." Seungkwan running away for dear life afterwards

and Jihoon just fake smiling like Seungkwan I'm going to get you later

and he makes a potion that turns the person's hair color a shade of minty neon yellow green and then to pink lemonade

and he slips it in Seungkwan's goblet during lunch waiting for Seungkwan

but surprise surprise

you get pulled over by Seungkwan who hands you the goblet

and Jihoon is terrified

and grabs the goblet from you and drinks it before you can

with all of Svt laughing their heads off

as his hair changes color

and you're standing there confused af

"JIHOON JUST PRANKED HIMSELF TO SAVE YOUR HAIR COLOR Y/N!"

causing Jihoon to turn as pink as his turning pink hair

"Just admit you like each other already, legit the whole castle knows except for you two!"

everyone smacks Soonyoung for yelling that

as you turn as pink as Jihoon's hair too

and Svt kind of leaves the two of you

"I mean..." you start, "I've known you for a while Jihoon and I didn't want to mess up anything, so I get it if you want to pretend my feelings for you were never like that and just stay friends." you finally say sighing

ready for a cold rejection like the ones you've seen before from him to other girls

"But I want to date you, I like you a lot, y/n" he says looking away

and like that first day on the train

instead of awkward silence

the two of you clicked and everything worked itself out

Jihoon taking your hand in his and smiling into your face incredulously

thinking he must have gotten hella lucky

and that you're incredible and amazing for liking him too

that's why they say falling for your best friend is the best thing ever if it works out

because you both realized you liked each other

and you were both already so comfortable with each other

you'd both be holding hands and whispering sweet nothings during quidditch practice before the captain yells at the two of you to practice

at the same time not a lot changed

you both still did just about everything together from hw in the common room to practicing on the quidditch field

but now all the fangirls backed off from Jihoon, knowing very well they stood no chance against his best friend

which you were happy with

always ready to hex some witches though if they ever came close to even batting an eyelash at Jihoon

same with any guys around you

they were always careful so as to avoid Jihoon's wrath

you both become known as the most famous couple in Hogwarts

with all your PDA in the hallways like hand holding, hugs, and him carrying your stuff sometimes or you carrying books for him

you both always sat together for meals with one hand on your fork and another holding his hand under the table

and with Svt making gagging gestures every time the two of you were doing something cute

"UGH YES YOU TWO ARE TOGETHER NOW, YOU CAN BUY US FOOD TO THANK US LATER JUST STOP WHATEVER IT IS YOU TWO ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!"

the both of you always together in the library for papers with one of you usually sleeping on top of the other

and the celebratory hugs where he'd pick you up and twirl you around if you won the quidditch match

and all the "aw's" everyone gave the two of you

because wow what a cute couple

The Seventeen Hogwarts AU Series:

| S.coups | Jeonghan | Joshua | Jun | Hoshi | Wonwoo | Woozi | DK | Mingyu | Minghao | Seungkwan | Vernon | Dino |

MASTERLIST

[salamadersaurus-rex]

For this wonderful idea from @majordetectiveagent

//

Lucy’s wiping down the sticky bartop when Dale dumps his ass down on his favourite bar stool. She nods, making sure to expose the column of her neck just enough for his watery eyes to drag down it. He gestures at the Guinness tap with two stubby fingers.

“Coming right up,” Lucy says, tossing the rag over her bare shoulder. It’s damp, and her skin prickles under the cloth but Dale’s already reaching into his pocket for ten so she pulls his pint as quick as she can.

It foams a little over the top and she smiles wryly.

“I hate to say this Dale, but too much head.”

He cracks a smile and offers her twenty crumpled bucks. “Pour yaself somethin’ sweet, baby.”

Lucy waits til he’s nose deep in his drink before snatching a bottle of Templeton and pouring a couple of fingers into a rocks glass. To hell with not drinking on the job. M’gann took one look at her regulars and gave her full second-to-top shelf access.

Dale grumbles something into his glass, foam dripping unpleasantly from his stringy moustache when he lifts his head like a dog from a water bowl and asks “Said where’s your boyfriend?”

“In back,” Lucy lies.

James’d quit maybe a month back, got himself a job at a magazine and damn, Lucy was proud of him for dragging himself out of the dive bar but it’s hard to pretend your boyfriend’s gonna beat on skeezeball strangers when he’s not even your boyfriend any more.

“He’s there a lot,” Dale says.

“Got a lot of heavy lifting to do back there. He’s a strong man.”

“Don’t doubt it.” Dale drops his head back into his beer.

Lucy eyes her watch, four minutes after she last checked and rouses Dale with a soft wave of her hand. “Get back in your corner.”

Dale groans. “That time already?”

“’Fraid so,” Lucy sighs, pretends she’s hasn’t been counting down the hours since her shift started.

Dale creaks off the bar stool, shuffles his way back to the dark corner by the jukebox and the unisex bathroom. He digs in his pockets and feeds a quarter into the machine.

Lucy combs a hand through her hair til it’s just the right side of rumpled, checks her rippled reflection in a highball glass. She pouts, draws her bottom lip back in to bite it just a little bit more red. She tugs her tank up to leave them guessing, hips swaying unconsciously to the low strains of Hozier.

Up in the far corner by the door, the bell jingles sweetly. The clock hits six, and with a burble of outside traffic and chatter a bundle of local cops spills into the bar.

Lucy steadfastly ignores them. Beat cops in blue aren’t who she’s looking out for. She pours pints without looking, letting her disgust settle at the base of her spine when Todd and Chad and Derek brush her hand when she takes their cash and keeps the change.

The girls must be chalking up overtime, equal at arrests for the day so it’s a game of who can stay the longest at the precinct. Lucy doesn’t mind. The later they come in the later they stay, the drunker their colleagues are and the more Lucy can tease without losing out on the straight white male revenue stream.

They’re really fucking late though. Lucy’s on the verge of getting fake James out the back, Derek’s grabby hands creeping closer and closer when Maggie’s sexy, smoky voice curls its way round him and straight into the pit of Lucy’s stomach.

“You wanna stop before I cuff you, Big D?”

Me next, Lucy thinks with a smirk as Derek’s balls suck back up inside him. Maggie appears at his left, a foot shorter and infinitely scarier. She meets Lucy’s gaze, drops her eyes to her lips, her cleavage, and back up in time for a wink.

“You’re in my seat,” she says and Derek’s scrambling before she’s even finished her sentence. Maggie takes the stool next to his and slips out of her jacket. There’s a pair of aviators tucked into her Henley, dragging the neck a little bit lower than usual.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” Lucy asks Maggie’s collarbones.

“Parking her bike.”

“Only because someone took my spot.” Alex leans against the bar. “And she’s not my girlfriend.”

“So you’re single?” Lucy asks Maggie with a wink.

Alex’s frown is dark in the low light. “She owes me a game.”

Maggie holds up two fingers, drops a few bucks on the bar and lets Alex drag her by the elbow to a free pool table. Lucy grins, the clack of Alex grumpily setting up balls loud in the quiet between jukebox tunes. She twirls her bottle opener between her fingers and slides Todd a quarter, his throat bobbing as he downs his drink and hurries over to the jukebox to play her favourite.

Lucy uncaps a couple of Wild Sages, draws two tiny hearts in the condensation sweating down the necks. When Black Velvet’s bassline starts throbbing low through the bar she scrubs the doodles away with her thumbs and makes her way over to the girls.

Maggie’s fist is curled loosely around the cue, dropping down and back unconsciously as she stares blatantly at Alex’s ass.

“I’m a little bit jealous of that stick,” Lucy murmurs in Maggie’s ear when she presses the cold bottle into her chest.

“I’m shit at pool, Luce. Gotta distract her when I can.”

Lucy presses close against her. “Don’t think it’s working.”

Alex pots a red in the far right pocket, her hair falling back in her face when she straightens up. Lucy saunters over, hips swaying to Alannah Myles’ crooning and hands Alex her beer. She reaches up and brushes Alex’s hair out of her eyes, fingertips lingering on her warm cheek.

She can feel Maggie’s eyes on her ass, Alex’s face bare of jealousy cause hers are too busy trailing down Lucy’s chest to notice. Lucy shifts her weight, amused until Alex bites her bottom lip and suddenly something’s rushing deep in her stomach. She coughs to cover up the blush, turning on her heel and tossing come shit about getting back to the bar over her shoulder.

Todd’s waiting and he’s barely into his beer but she pours him another anyway.

“Good song huh?” He asks as Lucy crouches and pretends to fiddle with something, nearly sticking her face in the ice bin to cool it. “Got you a bit warm?”

Lucy straightens up menacingly. She’s got a baseball bat in the back she was thinking of naming James but the poor guy’s too soft for that so she’s scrawled Lucy Pain in sharpie on it instead. She grabs the extra beer she poured for Todd and hides it on a low shelf. “Walk it off buddy.”

Todd pales, grabs his drink and hurries away towards his buddies.

Lucy glares at the clock, wishing it’d shrink back just as apologetically when it tells her she’s still got an hour left.

“Is he bothering you?” Alex’s quiet, concerned voice throws Lucy for a loop. “I can have a word.”

Lucy blinks, shakes her head. “Nothing I can’t handle, detective.”

“You get this a lot?”

“Perils of the job,” Lucy shrugs. She winks and gestures down her body. “And looking this good.”

When Alex bites her lip this time Lucy’s ready for it, reaching into the cooler for another couple of beers. “You guys ready for another round?”

Alex shakes her head. “Actually… we’ve been called back to work.”

Lucy sighs. “Way to ruin my fun, Danvers.”

“No rest for the wicked,” Maggie grumbles, clacking their empties down on the bartop. Lucy tosses them into the glass bin behind her, Maggie and Alex waiting expectantly for her when she turns back.

“One for the road?” she asks uncertainly.

Maggie looks at her oddly, fiddling with the phone in her hands. “Just… stay safe Luce, yeah?”

“Always,” Lucy says. There’s a cold feeling in her chest as the two detectives leave, Alex holding the door open for Maggie and the faint scream of a siren rolling in to fill the silence they leave behind.

//

M’gann texts about a quarter of an hour later.

Got some bad news Lucy. Lock up early and head home. Quickly.

Heart tripping oddly in her chest Lucy rings the bell for last call. It doesn’t help the cold feeling crawling down her spine when most of the beat cops file silently past her, more than usual leaving their empty glasses on the bar instead of by the urinal or on top of the jukebox. Todd drops his card by her hand as he passes.

“For real, Lane. You call if you need us. We’ll come.” He looks tired all of a sudden, his voice serious.

Lucy cleans up and closes down the bar as quick as she can. Dale’s disappeared, leaving a half drunk Guinness on his table. Her scalp prickles when out the corner of her eyes she thinks she catches a shadow in the grimy window but she brushes it off.

Her phone buzzes, M’gann again saying to wait at the bar for her to come pick her up.

Lucy bundles herself into her coat, tucks her thick scarf under her chin. She shuts off as many lights as she can until the sickly crawl of ice up her spine gets too much and she’s left alone under the bright strip light over the bar.

She’s not scared, people are just acting funny. Must be a full moon or something because damn if Maggie and Alex and M’gann don’t know she can take care of herself.

Outside a car pulls up, headlights sweeping past the darkened windows set in the door. Lucy’s keys jangle as she tucks them between her fingers, flicking off the last light and closing up behind her.

She crosses the parking lot at a jog. M’gann’s just a shadow in the driver’s seat, idling under the low street light. Exhaust fumes roll out and crawl into the black sky like fog, blotting out the stars Lucy can’t see.

“What the hell’s going on, M’orzz?” Lucy hisses, throwing herself into the seat.

“You’ll see,” a man’s voice growls, his heavy hand clamping tight over Lucy’s mouth.

[lovelylunarwriting]

Slytherin!Chan x Ravenclaw!Reader

As far as overprotective mom friends go, Chan did not think Minghao and Jun could become even more of overbearing mothers than they already were.

But he was quickly proven wrong. One night after going out to practice quidditch by himself, he came back up to his dorm room, ready to flop on his bed and go straight to sleep, only to be greeted by Jun and Minghao throwing confetti at him and popping party poppers directly at him (which it says on the box clearly not to do but that wasn’t the point)

Chan: “What the he-”

Minghao & Jun: “Surprise! This is an intervention”

Chan looked up to see a banner strung on the back wall, with “intervention” carefully written across it.

Chan: “If this is an intervention, why are you wearing party hats and throwing confetti at me”

Jun: “The intervention was Minghao’s idea, and I thought it might come off a bit harsh so he let me decorate”

Minghao: “Chan, we’re having an intervention for you because we’re worried. From what we’ve seen, you’ve been practicing quidditch more and more, and studying less. How are your grades right now?”

Chan: “My grades are fine! I mean, except for Charms… I’m not exactly passing that class right now”

Minghao: “Your grades should be better than ‘fine’, and Charms is easy as long as you do the work! Have you been doing the homework?”

Chan: “I haven’t had the time, I’ve been practicing for our upcoming match! I want to make sure we win the cup this season”

Minghao: “That’s great and all, Chan, but you can’t keep managing your time like this. Jun, tell him”

Chan: “Jun, tell me what?”

Jun: “Chan, as captain of the quidditch team, I am only permitting you to come to our scheduled practices. So no practicing on your own”

Chan: “But I practice on my own almost every day!”

Jun: “We know, but you have to be passing your classes, and should want to do really good in those classes. So instead of practicing, we’re going to get Wonwoo to tutor you almost every day, until your grades go up and you’re passing Charms”

There’s a little flashback for some context, now we get to see things from your eyes, lovely reader.

Back to present time- where you come in.

You’re sitting at a table in the library, waiting for whoever Wonwoo told you you’d be tutoring. All you were told is that his name is “Lee Chan”, but you don’t have anyone with that name in your classes.

You’re like “meh, someone will show up”.

But. They. D o n ‘ t.

You wait in the library for two hours before giving up and leaving.

You wander around the castle trying to find Wonwoo, to see what the heck the deal is with this kid he asked you to tutor. If there even was someone you should be tutoring, or if this is Wonwoo’s idea of a stupid joke.

When you realize that if Wonwoo is anywhere in Hogwarts, it’s the library. So you make your way back to the library, semi-defeated already.

You see long legs sticking out between two shelves of books and you're like “well there's Wonwoo”

You round the corner of the bookshelves on the opposite side from where you spotted Wonwoo’s legs, to see him sprawled out on the carpeted floor of the library, his cat in his lap and nose in a book, as expected.

Attempting to sneak up on him, you carefully make small steps towards him until you're about two feet away from him and he still has no clue you're there, smh

You immediately shout “JEON WONWOO!”, causing him to drop his book and his head to snap up to see what the f r i c k you were doing. You accidentally spooked the cat though, and it bolted away from the both of you.

Wonwoo: “Three things- 1.) This is a library, you can't yell like that, 2.) I will get you back for scaring my cat like this, and 3.) I'm busy, so what do you want?”

You: “Wait, so having me tutor this ‘Chan’ kid wasn't a joke?”

Wonwoo: “...no? Why would it be?”

You explained to Wonwoo how no one had showed up and how much time had already passed.

Wonwoo: “Maybe he just didn't see you and left? Did you see a really smiley guy with dark brown eyes, and short, brown & probably messy hair? When he smiles his eyes squint up kind of like Soonyoung”

You: “I didn’t see him. If I saw anyone like that, I'd remember. He sounds really cute”

Wonwoo: “He is very cute, but that's not the point. If you want to find out why he didn't show up, you should go ask his mothers”

You: “His w h a t”

Wonwoo then tells you to go find the “Slytherin hooligans”, and figure it out yourself.

You start make your way down to the Slytherin commons, only to pass Lee Jihoon in the hall.

It occurs to you that Jihoon is a Slytherin. And his last name is Lee?? So is Chan’s. Maybe he’s one of Chan’s moms??

So you awkwardly clear your throat to get his attention (tbh you’re a little intimidated by him, from all the stories you’ve heard from some of the Gryffindor kids)

But he turns around and is like “hmm? Do you need help with something?”

And you’re lowkey shook because- woah he’s actually pretty nice. AJU NICE

Which makes your next question more awkward.

You: “Um are you perhaps one of Lee Chan’s… mothers?”

His face became the physical embodiment of “-_-”

Jihoon: “Over my dead body, I am. They honestly need to leave him alone”

You: “So you know who they are? I need to talk with them”

Jihoon: “Yeah, you’re talking about Jun and Minghao. Minghao could be anywhere, but you’ll probably find Jun clinging to someone or wherever there’s food”

He pauses for a minute, seeming hesitant to ask you something.

Jihoon: “If you’re looking for them… I mean… is Chan okay?”

You’re like “wow, the Lee Jihoon is worried”, and assure him that Chan is probably fine, but that he was supposed to meet you for you to tutor him and never showed up.

Jihoon: “Normally, as prefect, I’d do something about it, but I think the wrath of his ‘mothers’ will be all the scaring he needs. Especially Minghao”

You thank him for his advice and walk away, a little concerned on what the ‘scaring’, that Jun and “especially Minghao” will do actually entails. Shrugging it off, you make your way to the dining hall, even though you doubt that anyone would be there at this time of day.

The minute you step in, you see two boys at the Slytherin table. They’re literally the only ones there, besides you. One is tall with pitch black hair, and the other, a slightly shorter and thinner boy, with deep chocolate brown hair. They were in obviously in the middle of a conversation, the darker haired one cackling at something the brown haired boy hair said. You felt a little bad for interrupting them but you needed to know if they were 1.) Chan’s mothers?? (you still felt dumb asking people that) and 2.) if they weren’t, if they knew where/who the heck Jun and Minghao were.

You: “Um excuse me, are you two Jun and Minghao?”

The boys turned their attention to you, only now noticing that you were in the room, even though you're only like four feet away from them. They glance at each other like “do you know them??”, before directing their attention back to you.

Jun: “Yes we are! And you might be?”

You: “Oh I’m Y/N, are you two supposed to be Chan’s mothers?”

Minghao: “Yeah that’s us, but he’s studying with Wonwoo right now, so if you need him you’ll have to catch him later”, he said, popping one of the chocolates, which were spread out across the table, into his mouth nonchalantly, as if declaring yourself someone’s mother was a totally normal thing. (it is, I am the mom friend to several lovely kids idiots)

You: “Studying with Wonwoo? I’m the one who was supposed to tutor him today, but he never showed up”

Minghao sharply turned to Jun and mumbled something along the lines of “I knew Wonwoo was too lazy to tutor him”, and they briefly had what seemed like a whispering argument low key lover’s quarrel before they turned back to you. Jun looked inconvenienced by this news, if anything, but Minghao’s forced smile and eyes full of fiery rage made you very much glad that you were not going to be on the receiving end of that wrath.

Even though you don’t know this Chan kid, you figured he at least deserves a chance to explain himself before Minghao… does whatever he’s planning to do. Probably yell at him, you figured.

Minghao: “If you’ll excuse us, we need to go give this kid a talking to, so we’ll have to leave”, he said with tension dripping from his voice.

You step in front of them as they try to exit the dining hall, pleading “Let me talk to him instead! So you can think about what you want to say to him? I mean, I just-”

Jun: “They’ve got a point. Plus, they were the one he stood up”

Minghao looked like the last thing he wanted to do was agree, but with a knowing look from Jun, he nodded, and told you that Chan was almost definitely practicing quidditch in the stadium.

You thanked them and left the dining hall, walking out to the courtyard and resting on a bench for a few minutes, because this was the most walking around you’d done in a while.

After regaining your energy, you make your way to the stadium, planning to curse every god and goddess above if Chan isn’t there (because it’s a far freaking walk and you are already tired by this point, tbh I’d be dying if I had to walk around that much)

Quietly entering the stands, the first thing you see is a person-sized blur whip past you- someone on a broom going insanely fast. Your initial reaction was “what the hell was that”, but you quickly realized that it’s probably Chan, that thought persuading you to slowly make your way down the steps of the stands and to the railing at the edge of the stands, the closest point to the field.

For about fifteen minutes, you don’t say a word. You just watch him practice, entranced by his constant effort to catch the snitch he’d been chasing since before you entered the stadium.

He suddenly started picking up speed, reaching out with his right arm, until he closed his hand around the tiny speck of metal. Gradually slowing down to a stop mid-air, he was maybe twenty feet from where you were standing, in the high stadium stands, but his smile shone radiantly even with the distance between you two.

You decided now was probably the best timing you were going to get to talk to him, but you were in such awe at what he just accomplished that you start cheering and clapping for him.

Chan, thinking he was alone in the stadium, got so startled by your hollering that he almost fell off his broom. After his initial shock, he noticed that you were cheering for him, causing him to look down with a faint blush evident on his cheeks.

You waved him over and he flew over to where you were in the stands, flying over the railing and hopping off his broom, and landing directly next to you with an impressive amount of gracefulness.

Chan: “Do you need something?”

You: “Yes actually, I was supposed to tutor you today and you never showed up. Have you been practicing this whole time?”

You didn’t know someone’s eye could get so wide. His face covered a variety of emotions ranging from shock, to guilt, to annoyance, before he seemed to remember that he was mid-conversation with you. Coming back to his senses, he sat down on the bleachers and patted the seat next to him for you to join him, which you do gladly because tbh he’s really cute and obviously talented so you’d be lying if you said you weren’t beginning to catch feelings.

Chan: “Wasn’t Wonwoo the one supposed to be tutoring me, though?”

You: “He asked me if I’d do it because he was ‘too busy’, but I’m pretty sure he just didn’t want to be bothered. I don’t mind though, teaching someone else the material is one of the best ways to study”

Chan: “I thought I was standing up Wonwoo, if I had known someone as nice and gorgeous as you would be helping, me I would’ve showed up an hour early”, he said with a sign, somewhat lost in his own thoughts. Realizing he just called you gorgeous to your face, he became cutely flustered. “I mean I wouldn’t judge you based on your appearance, it’s just that you’re really pretty and obviously smart and caring and I should really stop talking right about now”

You just laugh it off, flattered, and thinking he’s freaking adorable.

You: “How often do you practice by yourself like this?”

Chan: “Almost every day for a few hours”

You: “!!! Every! Day! When do you sleep? Or study? Well I guess you’re probably not studying much if a sharp guy like you needs a tutor… but why do you practice so much? From what I’ve seen, it’s obvious that you’re good at quidditch”

Chan: “But I don’t want to be just ‘good’. I want to be the best that I can be, because as the Seeker, the whole game relies on me catching the snitch as fast as I can. If I don’t do well or if I slack off, my whole team will lose and it’ll be my fault. But Jun and Minghao are dead set on me not practicing and… I don’t know if I can do that and be happy with myself as a part of our team”

At the beginning of the day, your impression of Lee Chan was some punk that skips out on tutoring for no reason, but after hearing all this, you see the reality- that he’s a loyal and dedicated member of his team, who he obviously thinks the world of. With this, you decide that you should help him out as best as you can.

You: How about this, I’ll talk to Jun and Minghao about working out a schedule where you can spend a little time practicing each day, but also spend time studying with me. That way you don’t have to stop practicing to do your best, but you still do well in your classes. Sound like a deal?”

He looks so surprised that you’re offering to help him, looking at you with wonder, as if you might not be real.

Chan: “Are you an angel?”

You: “Is that a crappy pick up line?”

Chan: “No! I just- well I stood you up today but you’re offering to still help me out, so I’m really thankful”

Now it’s your turn to be flustered, because here’s this sweet boy sitting next to you, being so genuine, even though you haven’t known each other more than half an hour.

You: “But in all seriousness, if you’re going to go talk to Jun, and especially Minghao, you might want me there as a buffer. Minghao seems p i s s e d”

As soon as you say this, his expression changes from interest in you to looking like a kicked puppy.

Chan: “Please come with me, you don’t know how scary Minghao is when he’s mad”

So you and Chan make your way back to the school grounds and about three steps into the building, Minghao appears from around the corner of a hallway and is giving Chan the most intense death glare. Instinctively, Chan hides behind you a little and squeezes your hand tightly, lacing your fingers together. Your heart is suddenly beating faster, but not because of Minghao’s intimidating expression.

Minghao: “Chan, explain please”, he asks in the most passive aggressive tone possible trumped only by Jeonghan’s passive aggressiveness

You and Chan take turns explaining how he’s feeling about the whole situation, and your study & practice plan.

By the end of this conversation, Minghao seems pleased enough, and doesn’t yell at Chan like you both thought he would.

You three actually end up chatting in the hall for a little while, and all initial fear you had of Minghao went down the drain. He’s a soft bean, just a confrontational soft bean.

Minghao yawns and is like “well it’s getting late, we should all go to bed”

You’re about the part ways with them when Minghao tells Chan to go on ahead without him, and turns to face you.

Chan looks at the two of you together with a subtle, jealous stare and trudges down to the Slytherin dorms.

Once Minghao is sure the Chan’s out of hearing range, he begins to speak to you in a parental tone of voice.

Minghao: “When you’re with him make sure that he’s drinking enough and staying hydrated. And whenever he goes to practice on his own, if it’s not too much to ask, could you go with him? I want someone there with him so he doesn’t over-exert himself, or in case he injures himself. I’m begging you, please take care of him. He doesn’t know how to take care of himself, it doesn’t even occur to him that he should. I know that you have no reason to accept, but I really trust you with him, and I’m a good judge of character. Plus, he’s a great guy, so it’s not like I’m asking you to spend time with a complete idiot Soonyoung”

You accept, more than willing to get any excuse to spend more time with this very passionate, pretty boy by the name of Chan.

You also begin to understand why Jun & Minghao are referred to as Chan’s moms. And how they might appear a little overbearing, but in reality they’re just worried about him.

The next morning at breakfast, you walk up to Chan at the Slytherin table to confirm the time you’d meet today for you two to study, and the whole time you’re talking to him, he seems kind of flustered and reserved. On the inside you’re like “lol why tho, you poured out your heart and soul to me yesterday after 10 minutes, why are you shy now”, but you brush it off and go back to your table once you finish your conversation.

As soon as you go back to the Ravenclaw table, and sit between Wonwoo and Jeonghan, you hear someone yell obnoxiously loud from the Slytherin table, “No way Chan! Are you dating them?!”, with such a tone that you couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing.

All the thoughts pouring through your head are, “what did he tell them about me”, “are they mocking me?”, and “maybe Chan isn’t as nice as I thought”

For the rest of that meal you close up a little bit and don’t chat a lot, much to the dismay of DK, in the seat across from you, who spends more of his meals talking than he does eating.

You try to rush out of the great hall when you’ve finished, but as soon as you step five feet out of the room, someone grabs your wrist and whips you around to face them.

Not much to your surprise, it’s Chan. You don’t want to let him get the first word, though.

You: “Is this some kind of joke to you? Are you just making fun of me?”

He looks taken back, and a little hurt, but quickly apologises.

Chan: “I’m sorry for that guy shouting out like that, I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything. He just was really surprised when I told him that I think I really like you. He said something about ‘what kind of a person does it take to get Chan to like them more than quidditch”, but that’s you. Right now I’m not thinking of when I get to practice next, I’m thinking of when I next get to see you. Even if that means I have to end up studying, I know it won’t be all that bad, because I’ll be with you”

Your heart does a 180 flip, from “how could he do this to me” to “what did I do to deserve such an amazing guy like him”

Stunned into speechlessness by his confession, instead of telling him how you feel, in a split second decision- you choose to show him. You wrap your arms around his waist and bury your face in the crook of his neck.

Chan: “So I’m assuming you’re not mad anymore?”, he says, chuckling and pulling you closer.

You: “Yes, and I like you too, but you still have to study later”

Chan: “Well d a m n”

Jun: *somewhere in the distance* “CHAN DON’T SWEAR”

From this point on, you help Chan study every freaking day until he passes Charms. When he finally passes, the way he tells you about the big news is by sprinting towards you when he sees you in the hall, swooping you up into a hug, and spinning you around.

When you’re like “Chan I love you but what is this about” and he tells you he’s passing, you immediately pull him down by the collar of his shirt for a kiss, as a reward for studying so diligently.

So this is how your relationship with Chan blooms, whether you’re somewhat forcibly making him study, or cheering him on from the stands as he practices quidditch, and even stealing a victory kiss from him after a successful match, you two are hands down the sweetest and most caring couple at Hogwarts.

[gonnagetyoubaby]

Author’s Note: Chapter 6. I can’t believe I’m back like this. Have mercy if it sucks.

Evil Friends: Chapter Six

Her fingers ran over the rusted, but nonetheless sturdy, lock of the gate. Without a sense of time, it was difficult to determine if he’d arrived early or late. Her stomach felt perpetually empty, so hunger wasn’t the best indicator either. She wondered if she asked for a clock, would he find one for her?

“So this is how our handsome prince likes to cage up his little birdy.”

She turned sharply around, her heart pattering against her ribcage before she could even register the new voice, smooth and low.

He was shorter than Baekhyun, but his stature let him loom straight and rigid over her, the dark waves of his hair tousled in a perfect quaff, falling just above his equally dark, large eyes. He smiled and appeared almost angelic as he looked over the warehouse of a room. She waited, anticipating.  

“Not a bad chamber room you’ve got here, sweetheart… Our little Byunnie does like to take care of his pets.”

He grinned, looking down at the keys in his hand. She followed his gaze, noting the rabbit’s foot hooked to the chain. Baekhyun’s rabbit foot. His thumb rubbed over the matted fur.

“He’s still got this thing, huh?” he chuckled, “Isn’t that sweet?”

She glanced at the door, expecting Baekhyun any moment. The boy drew closer. She folded her arms.

“You know I gave this to him?” he grinned, “Years ago. Actually. I wasn’t too nice to him back then.”

She swallowed, then squeaked, “Who are you?”

“Ah, really?” he tsked, “I’m a little disappointed. He didn’t tell you about me? Or the others, I’d bet. What bad manners.”

The dark eyed boy sighed, rolling his eyes before turning them to her. The smile seemed plastered on his face as his gaze traveled over her, lingering on her face, her breasts, her legs. He bit his lip and took another casual step forward, almost dancing his way to her. For a split second, the thought occurred to her.

“Lu-Luhan…?”

His loud laugh made her recoil. He shook his head and sat in Baekhyun’s usual seat. Where was he? She stared at the small horizon of light beneath the door, hoping for the darkness of shadows.

“Well, I guess he told you about him, huh?” He bit back a grin, nodding to himself, “Must’ve scared you straight with Luhan.”

She didn’t speak, not for lack of questions, but for fear of giving away the tremble already threatening to shatter her lips. He paid no mind, turning on his heal and exploring the empty walls as if to find some secret scrawled on the walls.

“I’m not Luhan, no. You don’t have to worry about that, sweetheart… at least.”

“Then… who…”

He glanced over his shoulder at her, as rigid as ever.

“I’m… not a person of much importance. Don’t you worry.” He smiled shortly, “Just curious how our little Baekhyunnie’s treating his latest toy.”

“Toy?”

“Oh, he has these habits.” He fiddled with the corner of one of the boxes piled in the corner, “Picking up strays and nursing them back to health. He’s got a real thing for birds with broken wings.”

She shook her head without realizing. He glanced up, chuckling. “Sorry to tell you, sweetheart, but it’s the truth… I don’t much get it, either, but it gets him off, so…”

“Why are you here?” her voice shook as she grit her teeth, “What do you want from me?”

“Want from you?” he flicked a speck of dust from a box and looked up at her, “I don’t want anything from you. I already said, I was just curious… how Baekhyun was treating you… how close you two’ve gotten… what he plans to do about that and all.”

He took a step forward, stuffing his hands in his pockets. She glanced down.

The fluorescents flickered overhead, ringing in his head. Baekhyun stuffed his hands in his sweatshirt pockets. He shifted between the chips and candies, glancing up at the clerk every now and then. He must not have been more than 16, leaning against the counter doing homework in his awkwardly oversized uniform as Baekhyun roamed the aisles by his lonesome.

He glanced out the window, spotting the van in the handicapped parking spot. With the sun setting, it was difficult to see Sehun through the windshield. His nerves trembled the muscles of his fingers. He felt the cool metal of the gun in his pocket, urging his index finger around the trigger. With the heat still on them, this was risky. Far too risky for his liking. So why did he suggest it?

He glanced at the cashier again. Nothing. No guilt. No pity. He could shoot him right now and not blink an eye. Why?

He roamed through the magazines, picking one up to look over the ads absentmindedly. Makeup, high fashion, medication. His eyes went out of focus looking at the glossy sheets, waiting. The bell rung. A woman stepped in, mumbling to the gangly cashier.

“10 on pump 3, please.”

He watched the exchange from over the magazine, occasionally dropping his gaze. The boy smiled and thanked her, handing her change.

“Come again.” He grinned before returning to his homework, pencil in his mouth.

She strode out, the bell ringing above her again. Baekhyun watched from the window. The lone car aside from the van pulled out and zoomed off. He shut the magazine and brought it to the counter, hands in his pockets.

The boy looked up, fumbling. “Sorry.”

He set aside his homework and took the magazine. The scanner beeped as the price illuminated on the keypad.

“Would you like a bag?” he offered with a smile.

“Yes please.”

Baekhyun glanced at the camera overhead. Broken. The red light blinked incessantly. The boy bent down to retrieve a bag. In a second, Baekhyun pulled out his gun, flicking off the safety and pointing it at his head.

“Oh my--!” he whimpered, hands in the air.

“Take that bag and empty the register into it.” Baekhyun leaned on the counter, using the gun to gesture towards the cash register. “Don’t fuck around.”

The boy’s lips trembled as he opened the register, stuffing the bills into the bag. Baekhyun watched, shifting his gaze from the register to the boy’s face.

“Don’t forget the bills underneath.”

He nodded, lifting the drawer to pull out the larger bills. He kept his gaze down, eyes watering. Baekhyun tilted his head, narrowed his eyes and watched the tremble in his features. Suddenly, the gun seemed incredibly heavy in his hand.

He straightened up.

“Hurry.”

The boy nodded. “Sorry.”

“No… it’s fine. Just hurry.”

The boy glanced up for a second, then finished filling the bag. He handing it across the counter, eyes low, staring at his homework.

Baekhyun took the bag and a step bag, gun still pointed ahead.

He noticed a row of chocolate bars beneath the counter and grabbed one, taking a bill out of the bag.

“Sorry kid.”

The bell rung as he sprinted out and into the passenger seat of the van. In an instant, Sehun pulled out, swerving onto the street and falling into anonymity with the cars on the freeway.

“How much?”

“Enough.”

“No cameras?”

“I’m not a fucking idiot.”

“You didn’t… I mean, did you kill him?”

“There wasn’t any need to. He’s not gonna say a thing.”

Sehun arched a brow. “You didn’t just spare him out of, like, mercy or something?”

“Don’t tell me how to do my fucking job, Sehun.” He snapped.

A moment of silence. The vehicle hummed along the pavement, the red and blue of the neon store signs flashing across Baekhyun’s pale face as they passed by. Sehun glanced at him staring out the window. His lips opened as if to say something. He struggled to form the words.

“Did you… get a text?”

“No.” Baekhyun piqued, “Why?”

Sehun pressed his lips together. Baekhyun turned his attention to the boy, his features contorting in confused frustration.

“Why, Sehun?”

Light was normally seen as a beacon, not just for her, but most people. She stared at the small ray of light from beneath the door unblinkingly, praying for darkness.

The door slammed open before she saw the darkness beneath it. A sob escaped her lips. A sob of joy.

“What the fuck did you do to her?!”

He strode forward in three quick steps, grabbing the black haired boy by the collar and pulling him up to his feet. He chuckled, the knife dropping from his hand and clattering to the floor beside her.

“What the fuck did you do?!”

Baekhyun shoved him against the boxes lining the wall, a cloud of dust bursting into the air as his body fell into the wreckage. Baekhyun picked him up again, slamming him against the wall and punching him square in the face. The boy laughed out loud, feeling the wall behind him as his toes hung just above the floor where Baekhyun held him.

“Your tell is showing, Baek.”

“We weren’t supposed to touch her till Kris comes back you sick fuck!” he slammed the boy’s head into the wall, causing the smile to drop for an instant as his eyes seemed to lose focus.

Then the smile returned. “You didn’t hear?”

Baekhyun punched him again, feeling the warmth of his blood on his knuckles.

“Baekhyun, put him down.”

Sehun stalked into the room, pulling Baekhyun away by the shoulder. The black haired boy fell to the floor, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his hand as he stared up at the two.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Sehun shoved him.

“You didn’t hear, did you?” The boy called from the floor.

Baekhyun glanced between the two, panting.

“What?” he hissed.

“Kris is coming back.” The black haired boy grinned from ear to ear, blood staining the crevices of his teeth, “Day after tomorrow.”

Baekhyun took in a sharp breath. He glanced down at her for a split second, writhing on the floor, clutching her cheek where blood seeped incessantly. He blinked, fighting back the angry tears that threatened to spill. He inhaled, in, then out, nostrils flaring.

“Kyungsoo’s right.” Sehun muttered, “I thought… they told you too.”

Baekhyun stepped forward, hardly an inch from Sehun’s face, pointing down at the bleeding boy. Through gritted teeth, he spoke, “He doesn’t come anywhere fucking near here till Kris comes back, or I’ll kill him my fucking self.”

Sehun furrowed his brow. Baekhyun shoved him in the chest before turning back to the girl on the floor. Sehun watched in silence as he bent down, taking her head into his lap before bending down to pick up Kyungsoo.

The smaller boy flung his arm around Sehun’s shoulder, leaning on him as Sehun headed towards the door.

“Watch where you keep your alliances, Baek.” Sehun called over his shoulder before dragging Kyungsoo out of the room.

Baekhyun watched them leave before turning back to her, clutching her face in his lap. She sobbed quietly, her hands shaking. He bit his lip, hesitantly lifting her fingers. She whimpered, but let him lift her fingers, revealing the deep gashes of what would have been the cut of her cheek bone, as if Kyungsoo intended to rip it from her face like a cut of meat. Baekhyun swallowed a gag, his face contorting in a mix of pain and regret.

“I’m so sorry.” He managed, letting her fingers fall back over the wound. “I’m so sorry.”

It wasn’t until he noticed the droplets falling on her cheeks that he realized he was crying. She buried herself in his lap, wracking a sob.

“I’m gonna get you out of here.” He whispered, “I promise.”

[ittybittykozume-blog]

@yoimafiaweek​ Day 7: Free day      Prompt: Goodbye Warning: Otayuri, language,

“Yuri...Let me go.”

There it was again, that voice Otabek only used when he was being dead serious, but that’s not what Yuri wanted to hear. He wanted to hear a playful tone, he wanted Otabek to call him “Yura” or “kitten” or anything else besides that with the tone he was using. He didn’t want this to be serious, it had to be a joke right?

“But Be-”

“Stop. Don’t say it, don’t call me that.” Otabek said through gritted teeth before ripping his arm away harshly from Yuri’s grasp. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Yuri, he didn’t want to see the pain and betrayal in his eyes. Otabek just couldn’t leave successfully if he turned back now and looked at the blonde.

“Why are you doing this, Beka?” Yuri asked, his voice breaking as he reached out again to grab onto Otabek’s coat. Otabek balled his hands into fists by his side before he spun around, slamming his hands harshly against the wall behind Yuri and pinning him there. Otabek kept his eyes closed as he breathed harshly through his teeth.

“I said don’t!” Otabek shouted, his tense shoulders dropping as he opened his eyes to see Yuri looking up at him with a fear that Otabek had wished he’d never never caused. It was heart wrenching, sending a pang of guilt through his chest.

“Tell my why...Please…” Yuri whispered as his bottom lip quivered and a small, hiccuping sob passed his faint, pink-tinted lips that Otabek had spent so many long nights kissing and nipping, running the pad of his thumb over repeatedly and the sins spoken from those lips that were forever ingrained in his memory. That’s why. That’s why he had to do this.

“Do you really want me to tell you? Fuck-” Otabek stepped back, running his hands through his hair as he groaned low in his throat and closed his eyes once more. He didn’t know if he could say it. “Yuri, I just...I can’t be around you and do my job here. It won’t work.”

“Yes it will, Otabek! Doesn’t loving someone give you more of an incentive to keep them safe?! If you love me-”

“Don’t you dare pull that card on me, Yuri Plisetsky. Don’t. You. Dare.” Otabek said as he spun back around, pointing a finger accusingly at Yuri who seemed to shrink against the wall he still had his back against. “You made me chase you for months on end. You made me feel like my love for you was one-sided and impossible.  I have loved you for so goddamn long and you played it all off like a joke because you were scared of your own feelings. You don’t have the right to say that to me because I do love you, I love you so fucking much Yuri Plisetsky and that is why…”

That was only one reason, there had been another that came into play just a few days ago. Five days ago to be exact, Otabek had received a job offer. He would be lying if he had said that it didn’t make him physically ill to see the offer printed on such fine paper in his hands but the pay was better, nearby, and, most importantly, it was something he could do without having to worry about love getting in the way. At least, not yet.

Yuri was staring up at the other, his words striking his heart with every punctuation that Otabek used to make his point.  

“I can’t do my job properly if all I’m focused on is you. I’m not here just for your fun and games. I’m here to protect the whole Plisetsky family and I can’t do that if I’m off with you all the time. I have to be here for Nikolai and Yakov too. It’s not always about you, Yuri, no matter how bad you want it to be, it can’t be.” Otabek made sure to keep his eyes focused on the end table near the door, keeping them focused anywhere but on Yuri’s face. He knew the looks that Yuri was capable of, and all of them could melt his resolve in two seconds flat.

Yuri had nothing. He didn’t know what to say because everything Otabek had stated was true and he couldn’t defend himself or he knew he’d be lying.

Otabek took the silence as a good point to leave, he couldn’t keep going much longer before he’d give in and stay. He had already made up his mind but Yuri was talented at tearing him apart and making him second guess himself.

“Tell Nikolai that I’m sorry I couldn’t be of better service to the family.” Otabek said, grabbing his keys from the end table and quickly making his way outside to his motorcycle that was parked on the curb. He told himself not to look back as he climbed onto his bike but he did anyway. He looked back to see Yuri standing in the doorway, his hair a mess and tears mixed with mascara running down his cheeks. It had been a mistake to look back but he couldn’t take it back now. Prying his eyes away from the beautiful mess that still managed to have such a tight grip on his heart, he left.

Yuri stood on the doorway, watching the tail lights of Otabek’s motorcycle disappear down the street in the nighttime traffic of the city. He took a few steps out the door, sobbing quietly as he watched the only person he’d ever loved leave him. He knew Otabek wouldn’t be coming back and it was all his fault.

SO ACTUALLY I had a really fun time writing this and got super invested in it that I’ve decided to start on another mafia fic based off this. It’ll probably be significantly shorter than what I have planned for ‘Gods & Monsters’ but I couldn’t just leave this one-shot to go unfinished....