#i'm hyena wheezing over here

[eyeswaitingfortuesdaynight]

original: https://x.com/GameDesignDan/status/1808118393381236765#m

[hwashotcheeto]

𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅'𝒔 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓

Best Friend's Mother Masterlist

Chapter: Prologue/Teaser

Milf!Park Seonghwa X gn!reader

Summary: Winter Break is fast approaching. With nothing else to do, you ask your best friend, Wooyoung, if you can go home with him and meet his family.

WC: 982

CW: Nothing, just the set up for what's to come

AN: AAH, my first series! I'm so excited for this one! I'm putting a lot into this, as this is an idea I've had since this photoshoot came out (Park Seonghwa, you'll be the death of me-)

Tag List (Please ask if you wanna be added!): @hyunjinsjeans

It was the end of November in your third year of college, sitting by the windows in your study hall period. You were lucky enough to get one for your first semester, so you used it to relax before your final class of the day. 

The large room was filled with light chatter of other students, collaborating or spending the period as a social hour. You kept mostly to yourself, not knowing any of the other people and not wanting to talk to them anyways. 

That was, until a familiar face stumbled through the doorway ten minutes after the bell rang. You looked up and smiled at your best friend, Wooyoung, who smiled back at you. He was about to make his way over to you when the professor cleared his throat, motioning for Wooyoung to come talk to him. Wooyoung held up a finger, as if to say “one moment” before he went to his desk. You couldn’t help but laugh softly. 

Wooyoung eventually made his way over to your table and sat next to you. “I got moved here because they realized they put me in the wrong class,” he said loudly. Wooyoung never cared about his volume, he just liked to talk. 

“And why did you stay in the wrong class for-” You counted the months since the beginning of the school year “-Four months?”

“Because I didn’t say anything.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because I wanted to see how long it would take them.” 

Your eyes went wide as Wooyoung giggled at himself. Ever the brat, he was. 

“What class was it?” 

“One I took last year.” 

You choked and coughed, making Wooyoung laugh harder. His laugh was turning into his high pitched witch cackle that could’ve been trademarked as his. There was no other witch cackle like his. 

Once you recovered, you looked at him incredulously, to which he laughed silently in a wheeze, smacking his hands on the table as he leaned over it. The sound made a few people turn their heads, including the professor. 

“You sat in a class you already took for four months just to see if the professor would notice?!” You couldn’t believe what you were saying, it was so ridiculous. Then again, this is Jung Wooyoung. 

Wooyoung, through gasps and fits of laughter, tried to explain himself, but he devolved into giggles every time. And eventually, it made you start laughing too, until you both were trying to hold back from dying laughing like hyenas. 

A few of your classmates looked over in disdain, and the professor looked at you two over his glasses disapprovingly, but you two couldn’t care less. You’d really lucked out finding Wooyoung, and you didn’t want to lose him. 

You’d gotten put in one of your general classes together in your first semester of your first year. He came over, introduced himself, and the rest is history. The two of you hit it off, and you’ve been inseparable ever since. 

Wooyoung introduced you to his other friends as well, Yeosang and Jongho, and his “definitely not boyfriend” San. The four of you all got along well, you all hung out together when you could, went out, took each other to parties, your average college friend group. 

But you and Wooyoung had a special bond, and you were so grateful to have him.

You and Wooyoung were on the phone later that night, and eventually, you got on the topic of what you were doing for Winter Break which was coming up soon. 

“Are you going to your mom’s or your dad’s for break?” You asked him, laying on your bed, looking at your ceiling. The stupid little popcorns stared back. 

“My-” Wooyoung paused, as if he had to think about it. You looked at your phone and was about to ask him if he disappeared when he continued. “My dad’s.” 

“Did you not know?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I’d rather go home with my dad. He took better care of me than my mom did anyway.” 

Wooyoung had talked about his childhood sparingly, and usually didn’t talk about either of his parents. You didn’t push, in case it was a sensitive topic, and let him open up or tell you what he wanted to. Therefore, you knew virtually nothing about either of his parents or his home life. 

You hadn’t told Wooyoung much about your childhood either. You’d cut contact with both your parents after you went to college. You still talked to a few of your cousins and some of your aunts or uncles, but you didn’t want anything to do with your parents. You hadn’t gone home for any of your breaks, the most you did was hang out with some of your cousins for a few of them. 

And as all of that came back to you, you realized you dreaded the idea of spending another break alone when all your friends went back home, and you were left by yourself. Your own family was busy this year, so there was no hanging out with them either. 

So you desperately threw out an idea, hoping it would land. 

“Hey, I know this is out of nowhere, but do you think your dad would mind if I went with you?”

And at first, there was silence. It made you start rethinking, regretting such an awful decision to ask. How could you intrude on another family like that? You opened your mouth to take it back, but Wooyoung piped up. 

“I have to ask him, but I don’t think he’d be against it.” 

You sighed heavily in relief and smiled. “Thank you, thank you so much.” 

“Hey, I still have to ask.” 

“The fact that you’re asking at all means a lot, Wooyoung.” 

“Don’t mention it. It’s what family does, right?” 

Of course. Family. That felt good to hear. 

Thank you for reading! Please reblog if you enjoyed! 💜

This is a work of fiction written by me. This does not represent the idol(s) in any way. Any re-upload is not allowed and will be reported.

[rattlyglitch]

Kindness is Better than Things

This s the fic for the anon requester. Hope you enjoy.

Ruggie sighed and walked into the garden trying to rub away the sleep from his eyes. Lena had called him into the garden with another job for him. It didn't take much to guess what the job was when Ruggie spotted Silver lying across the lion beastman's stomach, seemingly comfortable. The nap needed to come to an end though. Leona had to leave soon to go away for a week back to Sunset Savanna against his will this time. Ruggie reached down his hands to pick up Silver when a tight grip grabbed his wrist.

"He'll move in a moment. Don't wake him and I'll give you whatever thaumarks I have on me." Ruggie snickered quietly and moved his hand back before sitting next to Leona. "I see it is true that Leona enjoys the naos he has with his napping buddy?" Leona didn't respond and stayed still his eyes closed and black in the position he had been in. Ruggie rolled his eyes and waited.

After what felt like forever Silver got off of Leona and sat up. He let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes before shaking up. "Leo time to wake up. You gotta go right?" Leona took his time to get up seemingly and only opened his eyes after Silver went to relentlessly shaking him. "Alright, I'm up brat. Now remind me what I have to do?" Silver shook his head disappointedly and looked at Leona.

"You need to go home. It's Prince Cheka's birthday remember? He's turnin'…..six…same age as me. Which means he can come to visit. You told me I could meet him after his birthday!" Silver seemed to light up as he looked at Leona intensely a wide smile on his face. "I know I said that. Now stop smiling so widely or flies will fly into your mouth." Silver closed his mouth but continued to look at Leona. Ruggie couldn't help the snicker he let out. "I'm sure Cheka will be as excited as you are to meet your SIlver" Ruggie spoke up.

Silver turned upon hearing Ruggie's voice and about pushed the sitting beatsman over. "Ruggie!" The hyena beastman only had a second to ready himself before SIlver ran at him full force and in the end, tackled him to the ground and a bit away from where he had been sitting. "Oof. It's nice to see you, Silver." Ruggie managed to wheeze out. "You too" Silver responded quickly before getting off of Ruggie. "Can you help me get Leo to move? He needs to go!" Leona didn't seem too excited to move while Silver on the other hand was trying to pull him up into a sitting position. Once Leona was standing up Silver crossed his arms with a proud smile on his face.

“See that wasn’t so bad Leo. Now you gotta get going,” Silver got behind Leona and started to try and push him towards the door that led into the school. “I can’t just leave you out here.” Silver nodded. “You can! Ruggie’s here.” Leona turned to look at Silver. “He won’t watch you if I asked him to. I already said he could have what thaumarks I had in my pockets.” With the thaumarks now on Ruggie’s mind he swiftly got them out of Leona’s pockets with a smile. “He’s right Silver.” Silver crossed his arms.

“Then Ruggie will be nice.” Ruggie raised a brow. “Now who said I was being-” Silver looked back at Ruggie. It was a cold dead stare, his face blank of emotion. “You’re going to right Ruggie?” Ruggie and Leona both shuttered when they saw the look. The hyena beastman let out a nervous laugh. “Of course, I’m going to.” Ruggie had learned not to test kinds when they had a look like that on their face. Either they were bluffing or it was a warning for what was about to come. Ruggie didn’t care to find out if it was or warning or was simply a look. “Well then I guess since I have someone to watch you I’ll be leaving runt.” Leona said with a sigh. Leona smirked at Ruggie.

“Bye Ruggie. Know that you agreed to do this from the kindness of your heart.” Ruggie rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Yeah. Have a fun time Leona.” Ruggie looked around after Leona left before looking down at Silver. “Now since you’re stuck with me for the time being, think you can help me gather some things? It’s just some fruits that are up in the trees of the school garden.”

Silver turned to look at the trees and titled his head. “Which ones?” Ruggie took out a list from his pocket. “Just some apples and pears is all. I promised to get Trey fruits from the school garden if Riddle didn’t use his signature spell on me for a day after I accidentally took his tarts.” Silver looked at Ruggie with a “what is wrong with you look” before taking the list from Ruggie and going over to the trees. “You have to wait. I’m going to need to help you up” Ruggie called out as he walked over to the trees. “You don’t have to. I got it.” Ruggie looked around confused before looking up to see Silver had climbed into the apple tree. He was surprised at first before letting out a delighted laugh.

“Good job getting up there. You good?” Silver gave Ruggie a thumbs up. “Grab a basket so you can catch the apples with it.” Ruggie saluted to Silver. “Sure thing tree climber.” There weren't any basket’s around but the next best thing seemed to be a bucket. “I’m ready to catch-” The sentence hadn’t even left his mouth before Silver began plucking apples and tossing them down to Ruggie who only had seconds to gather them.

“I gave you nine right?” Silver asked after the exchange of tossing and catching apples had ended. “Yep, you did. Now let’s go to the pear tree next and after that, we'll go to the orange tree before picking the blueberries and strawberries.” After a few minutes, all the pears and oranges that were on the list had been picked. “Hey Silver, now it’s onto the blueberries.” Ruggie didn’t hear a response and turned to look. “Silver?”

He spotted Silver talking to a group of three random third-years. Silver grabbed one of their hands and started to walk towards Ruggie with him while the other two followed. “Ruggie, they're going to help us.” Ruggie shook his head no. “Silver not right at the moment ok. They're going to ask for thaumarks Silver or something else" Ruggie replied trying his best to discourage Silver from asking the three-third years for help.

"They promised Ruggie. Please let them help?" Ruggie looked up at the third years not quite believing them. "Is this true?" A brown-haired deer beastman nodded. "He's right. We promised to help since he asked. We were just walking around." A shorter purple-haired boy immediately agreed with his friend. "Yeah, same here. We promised." As much as Ruggie was still hesitant to accept their help he agreed nonetheless.

"Fine let's do this then. We're picking strawberries and blueberries. There are some bins for them over there. Make sure whichever you decide you stick to that one. I have no idea what kind of allergies someone may have either among you or anywhere else so don't cross-contaminate got it?"

The three-third years nodded in agreement before helping Ruggie collect the berries. With their help, it took less than if it was just Ruggie and SIlver and job was done within an hour. "Do you want help carrying these to where you're going?" the black-haired third-year asked. Ruggie hesitated. "Nah I'm good me and the kid can do this." The deer beastman shook his head no.

"You are both going to need help. Whether you like it or not you can't take all this fruit wherever you're going at one time." Ruggie sighed and shook his head. "Fine but you're leaving immediately afterwards." The third years agreed and the walk to the Heartslabyul began. Silver casually chatted with the third years asking them what their schooling was like and if they enjoyed it as he carried the apple he had collected. Trey met the five of them outside the dorm.

"Thanks for getting the fruits Ruggie and thanks to your helpers as well. Bring them into the kitchen." Silver hurried after Trey to the kitchen with Ruggie and the third years following after. "Now you guys can leave if you want. I was going to ask Ruggie and SIlver though if they wished to help me make the tarts." Ruggie was about to protest but Silver beat him to a reply. "We can help?!" Silver yelled excitedly. Ruggie looked down at Silver tiredly. "Silver I was hoping to take you back to Diasmonia. They're probably wondering where you are." Silver shook his head no.

"Wanna help Trey." Ruggie looked up at Trey a bit agitated. "Fine, we'll help Trey." Ruggie dawned on an apron Trey handed him before helping Silver to put one on as well. Multiple types of tarts were being made with the fruits. Some had multiple fruits and some had singular fruits. They were each assigned their ovens and eventually all the tarts were made. "Thank you both for helping me with these. Someone is having an unbirthday party and they requested tarts." Silver clapped. "Tell them I say happy unbirthday."

Trey chuckled before ruffling Silver's hair. "I promise I will. Since you both helped would you like to have some of the mini-tarts? You did help make them after all." Silver's eyes seemed to light up as soon as Trey said that they could have tarts. "Yes please." Trey smiled and took out two plates with tarts on them."I'm going to put these tarts in the fridges next door. Enjoy the tarts."

Trey took a couple of the strawberry tarts before leaving Ruggie and SIlver to sit and eat the tarts. Halfway through their eating and after Trey had put away a few more tarts Ruggie decided to ask SIlver a question. "Why are you so nice? I mean yeah you're a kid but you're so quick to help people." Silver looked at Ruggie confused.

"Because it good to be. You not?" Ruggie shook his head no. "I guess I am but I think it's odd that you don't seem to want to get something out of someone after that help you is all. Usually the people I know do help others.expecting something in return is all."

Silver had a disgusted look on his face. "That's not nice. I mean it's ok sometime but not all time. Be nice Ruggie. It's gooder that way." Silver and Ruggie didn't talk much more after that. The two said bye to Trey after they finished their tarts Silver was dropped off at Diasmonia and Ruggie did whatever he had planned for the day during the rest of it.

It would be a lie though to say that as Ruggie lay in bed SIlver's words didn't stick in his head. Was it truly better to be helpful without something in return than doing things for something in return?

[ticklish-n-stuff]

uwaa please do something with lee!Hiyori 🙏

The hyena's revenge

Haha there's no need to beg, just asking nicely is good enough for me~

This is based around the Jun hyena scout story where Hiyori and the others are teasing him for his role, idk that scene cracks me up XD

Merry Christmas~!

___________________________________________

Hiyori x Jun (interpret as you wish)

Lee: Hiyori

Ler: Jun

Warnings: Tickles!

___________________________________________

"Pfft- Hahaha...".

"Ohiisan, how long are you going to keep laughing? It's pissing me off...".

"Ehehe- I'm not laughing Jun, I'm listening seriously!" Hiyori tried to muster up a serious face, but a smile still crept out his lips.

"Yes, I've been listening to you seriously as well. Jun's role as a hyena sounds good" said Nagisa, causing Hiyori to lose it and burst out laughing.

"Don't laugh out loud like that! Dammit!".

"Sorry sorry- But your reaction to my teasing is always so good~" Hiyori couldn't help but keep chuckling at him. His comment made Jun blush a bit, rolling his eyes in annoyance. It looked like Hiyori wasn't planning to stop teasing him anytime soon, so... why not return the favor?

"If you want to laugh so damn badly then here!" Jun lost no time digging his fingers into Hiyori's sides, causing him to squeal and fold on himself.

"wahaHAIT! JUN YOU BRAHAT STAP THAHAHAT!" poor Hiyori went crumbling down to the ground, Jun following him with ease, now opting to dig his thumbs into his hipbones.

"No no, you brought this onto yourself!" Jun's angry glare slowly softened up to a more teasy smirk, having fun in this situation even if the goal was to punish his partner.

Nagisa took a step back, watching the scene in amusement. Not wanting to interrupt their fun.

I'm pretty sure Hiyori's loud bouts of laughter could be heard all across the CosPro building. I wouldn't be surprised if someone filed a noise complaint.

The greenette would twist and turn, throwing his head back as he laughed all hysterically "AHAHAHA! J-JUN STOHOHOP!".

"Hmm..." Jun pretended to think for as he halted his fingers for a moment, allowing Hiyori to catch his breath. He then looked down at him with a sinister grin "Maybe I'll stop... if you beg me to~" and just like that he went back to squeezing repeatedly at his partners hips, chuckling along as Hiyori fell back into hysterics.

"WAHH! N-NEHEHEVER!" of course begging for mercy was hard for Hiyori, he felt like it would hurt his pride after all. And that's exactly why Jun went with that approach. It was nice doing the teasing for a change.

"Suit yourself then~" Jun then abruptly changed to squeezing down at Hiyori's kneecaps, causing him to somehow squeal even louder as he kicked his legs out like a silly 'lil puppy.

It didn't take much after for Hiyori to crack "WAIT! WAIT-! OKAHAHAY! I GIVE! I GIHIHIVE-!" poor Hiyori wheezed through his laughter, his face fully bright red all the way down to his neck. Even his eyes were starting to get sparkly from the tears forming.

"Oh? Is that so? Mm... I'm not fully convinced~" Jun then softly traced along his kneecaps, he wasn't a complete sadist after all. Hiyori would try to catch his breath but would end up hiccuping and giggling all over again.

"Ahahahaha! P-plehehease, mercy!!!".

Jun cringed a bit at Hiyori's shriek, slowing his fingers to a complete stop. Hiyori quickly gasped for breath, sucking as much air as he could through his leftover giggles.

"That should teach you to stop teasing me...".

"Oho please, don't act like you don't like it~" Hiyori sent him a playful wink as he slowly got up to his feet, causing Jun to let out a flustered groan.

___________________________________________

Jun really can't catch a break from all the teasing, someone save that poor boy lol

Also I wrote this in like an hour and didn't proofread sooooo... you've been warned XD

[jax-is-rattled]

Ghouboys

Ghoul cowboys

Bowcoys

Yeehaw ghouls

Yes? Yes

DO U WANT BAD END CB AU ANGST? NO? TOO FUCKING BAD SUGAR, THATS WHAT UR GETTING. (Love you honeybee)

CW// DEATH. I PUT THAT OLD MAN ("KRAKEN"/SOLUM) AND HIS SON ("FROST"/BW) IN A SITUATION. THE SITUATION IS DEATH. AND GREIVING. And denial. Mostly denial.

Thank oskar for this. It fed my brain worms. This is the EXTREMELY shortened version of events bc me and him spent literally an entire night talking about that shit

"The hell are yall here for-"

"Kraken is dead." He's told flatly by one of the two Rebellions fellow bandits that had found him.

And he laughed.

That high, hyena like cackle that put people on edge no matter their affiliation with the icy mercenary.

"Oh wow," he giggled as he wiped a tear from his eye, "awful joke. AWFUL joke. That old man should know by now that I'm not gonna fall for that shit. I'm not a kid anymore." He laughed with a sigh, standing back up from where he was bent over to finish getting the reward from his last job to the bag on his bulls back.

The looks on the others faces sent a cold zap of fear and panic down from the base of his neck to the tip of his tail.

They weren't laughing.

They looked almost... sad?

Like they were pitying him.

He laughed again. More of a nervous wheeze this time.

"What-" He swallowed thickly, "what happened."

He was met with silence as the two that were sent to gather him looked at eachother.

He could feel his hackles raise.

"The funeral is in three days."

"Take me back home."

The entire ride back he could stop hoping that this was just a real sick joke. That he could see that old fuck and absolutely tear into them for making him worry so much. He was gonna beat the shit outta them when he saw them.

He didn't like this joke.

They got back just in time. It took them all three days just to get back to the outpost that he called home.

Home... The word was heavy in his head and his heart. It burned his tongue like a hot iron and he hadn't even said it outloud.

He remembered the first time he accidentally called the outpost home. Sol- Kraken, he reminded himself, laughed at him so hard they had to lay down on the dirt to catch their breath. He questioned why he didn't just fucking shoot them when he was paid to the first time.

Funny how that worked out. He was paid to kill a bandit leader that killed some important old fart of a guy and now he called that bandit leader his da-

No.

Stop.

When they got back to the outpost everything was so quiet besides the bird song that he could hear a pin drop. It was pretty outside. Not too hot but not too cold as the morning sun peaked over the mountains. It was a perfect day. But everything was so quiet.

Too quiet.

He could practically feel his heart fall out his ass at that. The outpost was ALWAYS loud and bustling. It felt empty. Because it was empty. Everyone was gathered at the center.

The center where the funeral was being held.

The crowd parted pretty easily for him when he walked up. He was well known in the land. He was a fearsome mercenary, loud and angry and energetic and with not a single thought for ENYONES preservation to be seen. And somehow, he was the quiet and calculated bandit leaders right hand man. They were very close. Practically family. Almost like he was their so- no.

They parted so easy for him that it didn't take long for him to see the casket.

He started laughing again as he walked through the crowd. No this isn't right. This joke isn't funny.

This isn't fucking funny.

The ones who didn't know him personally were throwing him sneers of disgust that someone would laugh that loud at a funeral. The ones who did simply lowered their heads.

He reached the casket and laughed louder. "This isn't funny old man. Get up."

The air was getting colder. Cracks of ice forming under his boots.

There was a black sheet covering their head where they lay in the casket. Their hands folded over their chest as if they were just napping.

"I said, this isn't fucking funny. Come on. Get up." He wavered, voice cracking. The air was cold enough that he could see his own breath. But he couldn't see Solums.

"Dad?" He whispered, going to grab their hand to pull at it. It was as cold as him own.

He wailed as he sunk to the floor.

[potaeto-writes]

Coffee

pairing: Yeosang x oc

genre: fluff, crack

wc: 6k and sprinkles

warnings: Frat party, alcohol poisoning, mention of fatigue/burnout

synopsis: In which he becomes her partner in crime

a/n: Yes, the face claim is Jiyeon of T-ara. Yes, my oc has the same name. No, none of the characters represent the idols in real life.

The bell chimed as she walked into Cafe Aurora, and she half-expected it to echo in the near-empty eatery. With dusky sunlight filtering through the blinds, the air was calm, serene even. But not for long.

As she strode confidently into the cosy, aesthetic shop, Jiyeon had to bite back the cheeky smile that threatened to give away her thoughts. She went up to the barista, and, feigning innocence, put her plan to action.

"Hi there! My friends are about to come here for a meet-up, and I wanted to place their orders beforehand. We'll pay before leaving since they might want to get seconds. Would that be ok?"

"Sure, do the orders have to be served all together?" The barista had a smooth voice, and she made a mental note to ask for his name after she was done with all this.

"Oh, no, no need for that." She paused, finally letting her lips curl up mischievously. "I was hoping you could make them one by one, and for each, announce the name given on the cup. It's a surprise, so..."

"Aww, that's so sweet. You can write down the orders over here since I'm assuming there's many of them."

"Of course! Thanks for helping, it means a lot."

She quickly jotted down each of her friends' favourite drinks, giving a name against it. Handing it to the barista, she hoped he would play along. The boy raised his eyebrows as he read the list, and when he looked up at her, she suddenly felt very nervous at the thought of him declining. 

"So you want me to be your partner in crime, huh?" She could only nod, hoping her unease wasn't visible.

But then he tipped his head back and let out a chuckle so rich and warm that it made her laugh with him.

"Seems fun enough. I'm in."

Only when she sat down at a large circular table for nine, staring out through the blinds with her back to him, did she notice she was blushing. As much as she would hate to admit it, she spent the next quarter of an hour thinking about the cute barista's voice, and just how much it reminded her of coffee.

It took an almost violent tintinnabulation of the doorbell to shake Jiyeon out of her thoughts. She looked up to see all seven of her friends, and she put on an innocent grin as she greeted them. They all joined her at the table, and the eight of them fell into comfortable conversation. All her friends were impressed by this new cafe and just how cosy it was, and just as Yunho was saying how this should become their new hang-out spot (as much as they all loved the Matz apartment, it was much too small for eight rowdy friends), there was a shout behind them.

"A Cold Brew with Salted Cream Cold Foam for Korean Big Minion!"

The entire cafe went silent for a moment, even the handful of other customers there were too stunned to speak. Then it exploded in laughter, Wooyoung's laugh ringing above the others'. Hongjoong was pushed towards the counter by his friends, and despite there being virtually nobody there, his face was still beet red as he came back with his favourite drink. They still hadn't lived it down by the time the voice rang through the store again.

"Cappuccino for Toothless!"

The cycle of embarrassment continued until Golden Retriever had his Peach Green Tea Lemonade, Dorito Devil had a Signature Pink Drink, Pinki got a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino, Hyena received a White Chocolate Mocha, and Apple Monster took an Americano.

Needless to say, they laughed like they were crazy. They playfully shouted out in mock accusation, and Mingi's look after "being betrayed by the one he trusted most" had them wheezing. Not one of them cared about the looks that people gave them, all of them in their little bubble of happiness. Once they calmed down a bit, though, they were impressed at how good the drinks were. As Jiyeon laughed and talked along with her friends, a cup was placed in front of her. She looked up to find the same barista smiling shyly.

"I noticed you didn't order anything for yourself, so I got this for you. It's my favorite drink from the menu, and it's on me. I hope you enjoy it."

As soon as he was out of earshot, they all started talking about it. Whistles and hoots, 'ooh's and 'aah's, she felt her ears turn red as they teased her about admirers and crushes.

So maybe her plan backfired.

But as she was sitting there, sipping on the best drink she had ever tasted, surrounded by her friends, and thinking about the amazing guy she just met, she didn't really mind.

The next day, instead of staying back to study in the library like she usually would, Jiyeon headed straight out of uni and to the cafe. The place was quiet and serendipitous when not housing all eight crackheads at once. Besides, she had a cute barista to admire.

She was much more reserved when not around her friend group, and it showed as she stumbled over her words, asking for the same drink as last time. The barista-slash-admirer gave her a warm smile, instantly calming her down. As she settled at the same tall stool as the previous day, she found herself smiling too.

She was soon lost in her work, a benefit of choosing a stream she was passionate about. The architecture major was working on her essay about Mughal architecture when the barista dropped off her coffee, the same as yesterday. She thanked him and sipped on it as she worked.

Soon, she was done with her work for the day. She packed up, thanked the barista, and headed to her shared room. While it was a bit far from the university campus, it was cheap. She managed to keep the place hygienic, and she split the rent with a hospitality major who was usually out tending bars.

Not feeling especially hungry or tired, she set to work making soap bars. She ran a small business online, which is how she was able to pay rent. Granted, the place usually looked and smelled like a mad scientist's lair, but better to live in half a mess than have no place to live.

It had been three weeks since she discovered the cafe, and Jiyeon had shown up every day at the same time without fail. 'Her' barista, as her friends called him, knew by now to drop off her drink at her usual spot. They had fallen into a comfortable rhythm, and they both enjoyed the brief interactions they had with one another. Sometimes she'd bring along some or all of the guys, and each time, he'd remember their order. They didn't know each other's names, and they definitely wouldn't call each other friends, but in that short while, they had grown so close that neither of them could imagine going even a day without seeing the other.

It was just another Thursday evening, and she was at her spot, working away. While dropping off her order, the barista noticed that she seemed a bit tense. Brushing the thought away, he got back to work. But he couldn't help but feel uneasy as she came up to the counter for a refill. It was unusual for her to finish her drink before her work, and even more so for her to plan to stay long enough for a second serve.

The pastel sky of dusk gave way to twilight blue, but she was unaware of the rising moon, a con of choosing to study her passion. Soon, steep moonlight shone through the blinds, gently illuminating her face. She wasn't beautiful by convention, but there was something undeniably appealing about her twinkling eyes and round face that was, more often than not, framed by stray locks of soft brown hair. Her metal-rimmed glasses were perched low on her nose while she worked, and the mole on her neck only added to her beauty. She never wore make-up, but knew her skincare - her wheatish skin was clear, and she always smelled faintly of vanilla and strawberry.

In the few weeks he had known her, the barista had committed her every detail to memory. He didn't know what, but something about her drew him in. Maybe it was that he got to see her crazy side first, or how her giggly laugh sounded oh-so-melodic to him. For some inexplicable reason, he wanted to be close to her, wanted her to be close to him.

Now, as she sat there, unaware of her surroundings, he almost felt bad about disturbing her. Hesitantly, he walked up to her, gently tapping her shoulder twice. She hummed in response, looking up from her laptop.

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's already 10:30. I need to close the store now, so..."

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't notice the time, I should have left earlier..."

"Oh no, please don't apologize, it's completely fine! I did have something to ask you though... Can I- Would you- uh, is it fine if I walk you home? It's quite late, and I wouldn't want you walking home all alone right now."

That's how she ended up waiting for him outside while he closed shop and changed out of his uniform. Soon, he emerged in a black hoodie and jeans. Once the main entrance was locked, they started walking. Well, she was skipping ahead on the footpath, and he was following her, trying to figure out where she would go next. Once he caught up to her, she spoke up.

"There was one thing I've been wondering about..."

"What is it?"

"Is there a name to the drink you give me?"

"It's an iced caramel macchiato, but I have a secret recipe for it." There was a pause as if he was deep in thought, and it seemed to Jiyeon that their conversation had ended. He surprised her when he continued.

"The first time I tried coffee was when I was ten. It was a Sunday afternoon, and my dad made me that same drink. When I heard they were gonna open a cafe near my uni, I decided to quit my old job at the car wash."

"Wait, you go to the same university as us?!"

"If you go to Horizon University, then yeah, I do."

They spent the rest of the walk talking about uni. It turns out that they never met since she was an Architecture major with a Cosmetology minor, whereas he was an Astrology major. The conversation between them was easy as if they'd known each other forever, and it wasn't long before they both stood in front of the nondescript apartment complex.

She invited him inside, saying it was the least she could do after he bought her a coffee and walked her home. However, she regretted that decision instantly as the two of them walked into the fully-furnished flat. All of a sudden, she was aware of just how cluttered the whole place was. Thankfully, he piped up before she could stumble over an apology.

"So this is the stuff you were talking about for your online business?"

She mumbled in agreement, one hand fidgeting with her earring nervously.

"Cool." He said simply, plopping down on the couch after clearing out space. The poor boy was too tired to wonder what she was doing in the kitchen. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, lying on the soft couch in a moment of rest, surrounded by myriad comforting scents.

He awoke a short while later to a soft hand shaking his shoulder gently. He was about to apologize, but she cut in.

"Here. Eat."

She handed him a bowl of ramen with chopsticks, and he accepted it gratefully, eating the food slowly. She held him with a soft gaze as they both ate, comfortable silence settling over the two of them like a blanket made of honey and clouds.

Once he was done, she took the bowl back to the kitchen to wash it. She was glad her roommate Jurin was out tonight, or else there would have been many more dishes to wash.

"Are you sure you'll be able to go home?" Despite her efforts to not sound like his mom, her tone still betrayed worry and concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit tired." He said while rubbing his eyes.

"Okay, promise me you'll go straight to bed as soon as you get home."

After a bit of bickering back and forth, he agreed not to do his homework and immediately go home to get some shuteye. She also made him save his number on her phone so she could check up on him. They both went back out, the cool breeze blowing just a little stronger on their backs while they said their goodbyes as if to push the boy back home. Not even ten paces into the journey, he hears her calling out to him.

"I didn't catch your name!"

"It's Yeosang!"

"It's nice meeting you, Yeosang!"

She couldn't help but smile like an idiot as she walked back upstairs. Little did she know, the same wide grin was painted on his face too.

Jiyeon was up early the next day to film an ad for her new scrub formula, and the first thing she did in the morning was text Yeosang (or, according to the edited phone contact, 'yeo🏆'). He responded half an hour later, saying he was done for, and that he'd never finish his work before class.

One look at the time and she knew there was an hour before his classes would begin. Hers would start even later, as she studied in the afternoon slot.

She told him to come over to her place so she could help with his work. He was in disbelief at first, but 15 minutes later, Jurin was groaning at her to get the door.

She had already finished half the editing work the previous night at the cafe, so she was done with everything by the time he showed up.

"The stars never rest, do they?"

Yeosang gave his signature chuckle, the one she found so endearing the first time she heard it. Again, she thought of how he was the personification of that special caramel macchiato he made.

They both got to work, and as it turned out, Jiyeon's creative streak made her a natural at making tarot cards. An hour was more than enough for the two of them to finish up, and soon she was watching him walk away, backpack slung on his shoulder.

Once again, all eight of them were seated at the round table at Cafe Aurora. After hearing about what happened the previous night, the boys agreed to come with Jiyeon every day. Whenever they could, they'd go straight to the cafe, that was the agreement.

She went up to pay, Jongho being sent behind her to 'spy on the lovebirds'. She struck up an easy conversation with Yeosang, blissfully unaware of the muscular boy eavesdropping from near the bathroom door.

"... you need to teach me how you made those tarot cards- Um, can I help you?"

He look over her shoulder towards Jongho, who struggled to pretend like he wasn't just caught snooping about. To make matters worse, Jiyeon whipped her head around, looking straight at Jongho.

"I-I was wondering if there was an issue, y'know, since it was taking so long..."

Jiyeon narrowed her eyes, but thankfully, Yeosang seemed to buy it. After any and all issues had been addressed, the duo went back to the table.

"So, any progress with your barista, lovergirl?" Yunho asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Okay, first of all, I am NOT in love! Secondly, his name is Yeosang, and we're actually getting friendly with each other."

Of course, they all teased her for how defensive she was getting. After a while, Seonghwa suggested they all get to work, and while there was still the occasional joke that had them all cackling, they mostly focused on coffee and work.

Every once in a while, someone would switch places across the circular table to help someone else out. In fact, Jiyeon was the only one who didn't do this even once, choosing to stick to the spot she always took.

Once they were done, everyone decided to break off for the evening and later meet up at Hongjoong and Seonghwa's shared apartment for a movie sleepover. Upon unanimous consent, they all decided to invite Yeosang as well, the boys wanting to see for themselves what kind of guy he was.

He was the last to show up, having had a few customers later in the evening. As a result, when he stepped in, it was already chaotic. Wooyoung, San, and Mingi were fighting over a pack of honey butter chips in the kitchen. Seonghwa, who had a sheet mask on, was painting Hongjoong's nails blue to match his hair, both of them seated on a pull-out couch. Jongho was seated at the dining table, singing IU's 'Good Day' while cracking apples onto said table. Yunho was lying stomach-down on a mattress lying on the floor, picking out a movie on his laptop. Yeosang took a moment to absorb the mess, then looked at Jiyeon smiling awkwardly in the doorway.

With a chuckle, he entered the living room, greeting everyone. He wasn't formal, but not rude either. He and Jiyeon joined Yunho on the floor but opted to sit a bit further back.

"I'm sorry about the mess-" She began, still worried that he was uncomfortable.

"Don't be, I like the energy this whole group has. I can't help but think the cafe lights up whenever all of you come by." Yeosang mumbled something incoherent after that, making her ask him to repeat. "I said I wish sometimes that I could be a part of your group, okay? Can't a guy want what y'all have?" It was then that she noticed how his ears were just a little pink. She giggled at how shy he was getting. He even scanned the room to make sure no one overheard his confession.

"Relax, silly, we're not the FBI. You can join us if the chemistry matches, and something tells me you're gonna fit in just fine." Before he could counter that with a self-depreciative comment, their little bubble was broken.

"Guys, we're watching The Spiderwick Chronicles, is that good with everyone?" There were noises of agreement, and soon everyone had settled in front of the tv. Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, and Mingi were on the couch, which was 'on sleep mode' as they liked to say. San, Jongho, and Wooyoung lay in front of Jiyeon and Yeosang, who had their back to the couch. Four bowls of popcorn were being circulated to avoid any quarrelling.

It started with their hands touching ever so gently on the mattress. After an eternity of waiting to see if the other would pull away, Yeosang was the one who was able to muster enough courage to thread their hands together. She turned to look at him, his face had the same faint blush and the lopsided grin that she knew hers was painted with. She only smiled wider and looked back to the movie.

They stayed like that for a while, and when the fae flowers revealed themselves to the children at the psychiatric clinic, she naturally put her head on his shoulder. His eyes widened for a moment before his face broke into a smile and he put his head on hers.

The jumpscare a few minutes later made them squeeze each other's hands at the same time, and it took a while for both of them to calm their heartbeat after that. Soon, the movie was over, and everyone moved on to the next phase- skincare and gossip.

They piled onto the bed, some pulling chairs from the dining area. For the next hour and half, they talked about pretty much every student at uni. Yeosang was reserved at first, but he soon opened up about his side of campus, even doing a bit of tarot reading with the cards she had made earlier. Surprisingly, they discovered that Yeosang was Wooyoung's friend from middle school. 

"Wait, you're shrimp tempura Kang?!" And so began a not-so-friendly-looking bickering session that involved exposing some of the most embarrassing middle school secrets. It then moved on to a dance battle between the two, and everyone was amazed at just how well Yeosang danced. 

But the hoots and cheers were nothing compared to the absolute mayhem that ensued when Traag started playing on shuffle. It would be an understatement to say people twerked as if their life depended on it.

Due to high risk of spinal cord injury, the song was not put on loop, and everyone decided to get some shuteye. After all, they had the whole weekend to enjoy.

Yeosang awoke to find that everybody else was asleep. Force of habit had forced him up at 8 am on a Saturday, and not for the first time. But all that was forgotten when he realised something.

He. Was. Spooning. Her.

His face heated up, blood pounding in his ears, as he stared, wide-eyed, at the girl sleeping in his arms. He looked and looked, and looked some more, but he couldn't bring himself to disturb her peaceful slumber. He lay there, trying to calm his beating heart, thinking it was embarrassment that made him like this. He unconsciously nuzzled into her, and her scent calmed him down to an extent. He had learnt to recognise that scent, those traces of strawberry and vanilla hanging in the air around her. Now, so close to her, that same scent comforted him, lulled him to sleep.

"They're so cute oh my god!"

Jiyeon rubbed her eyes, a flash of light having ruined her sleep. Sitting up, she let out a little yawn. That's when she saw it.

The frat boys and Jongho surrounded her, phones whipped out, now frozen in fear. Yeosang woke up beside her, reaching the same conclusion that she did. A moment passed in complete silence, and then all hell broke loose.

Jiyeon chased her friends around, trying to snatch their phones and delete whatever pictures they took. Yeosang was still sitting on the mattress, trying to process what happened. In the middle of it all, Hongjoong and Seonghwa came in carrying takeout. The eldest duo immediately broke up the fight, and they all got scolded for running around in fuzzy socks.

Everyone elected to have breakfast on the mattresses, and they practically wolfed down the waffles, not being used to having such a late breakfast. Everyone decided to break off, making plans to see each other at the frat party that night.

Once again, Yeosang walked Jiyeon to her apartment, not minding the long walk. They talked about how this crazy friend group had its own charm, and how easy it was to just let go and be yourself around some people. Too soon, Yeosang walked away from her door, not completely aware of that part of him that yearned to stay.

Tipsy Jiyeon was a lot more giggly and touchy and just generally cute, Yeosang soon concluded. He had no idea how long they had been playing beer pong as a team, and somewhere along the way, he had lost count of how many shots he'd tipped back.

While they won every once in a while, they'd had absolutely zero beginners' luck, and by the time they understood how to play, neither of them had full control of themselves. Still, Yeosang took the heaviest hit, taking most of the shots from their losses. He also played more than her, simply because she back-hugged him whenever she wasn't playing.

He'd just drained another 12 ounces, getting ready to make the final shot of the round, both teams now down to their last cup, when soft hands on his abdomen made his breath hitch. Instead of cheering loudly as she had been for a while, she got up on her toes to whisper words of encouragement into his ear.

A part of him cried out when she pulled away from him completely, giving him space to play. He shook the thought away, bringing his hazy focus to the solo cups in front of him. As if in slow motion, the ball left his hand, bouncing on the table once before perfectly falling into the cup. Deafening cheers engulfed them for a moment before he teetered backwards, falling into her arms just as perfectly.

The two of them stumbled upstairs on unsteady legs, one struggling to haul the other. Lewd noises made it evident that every room was occupied, and her clouded mind struggled to make the decision of going to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

The two of them melted to the floor in an exhausted heap of limbs, breath heavy and ragged, flushed faces pressed against the cool tiles. They lay there like that, bodies entangled, hearts beating in sync, roaring in their ears. With how close they were pressed against each other, they could feel this matched pulse, and it brought a comforting warmth to them, similar to the physical warmth they felt from proximity.

Then Yeosang grabbed onto the tap and pulled himself up, retching into the toilet bowl. It was like that for a while, Yeosang puking out all the booze he'd gulped down so she wouldn't have to. She was seated behind him, rubbing small circles on his back while she uttered sweet nothings to him. Once he got it all out of his system, she gave him some time to calm his breath before getting up on wobbly feet and pulling him up by his hand.

Unfortunately, neither of them had the balance to counter the momentum of the pull. They both stumbled across the small bathroom until he held her by an arm around the waist, the other hand planted firmly on the wall to keep them both from falling. They stared into each other's eyes, faces intoxicatingly close. Then they broke out in laughter, and she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at that familiar laugh.

Eventually, they had to leave the bathroom, and not seeing any better option, Jiyeon decided to take him back to her place. She felt bad for him, having to walk that far when he was basically sick, but he was too far gone to even tell her his address, let alone help her decide what to do.

So they walked, her tiny frame awkwardly half-carrying his undeniably buff one. It wasn't just about the height difference, she looked downright pocket-sized beside him. Still, she half-dragged him under the night sky, knowing he was fighting to keep his eyes open. The guilt swirling in her stomach kept her deep in thought, not really aware of where she was taking both of them 

"You're like the stars, you know?" The words were mumbled and slurred, and it was by pure luck that she heard them. "Tiny ball filled with happy, could stare at you forever, mm, make me smile, draws me closer..." the way he listed it all while looking up at the sky made her feel all warm, her stomach tingling as if she'd just been dropped from a rollercoaster. A shy giggle rang across the silent street, and she was gonna reply when-

"Hey, who's that?!" That definitely sounded like one of the campus guards. Her eyes widened, and she quickly ran back to where they came from, holding on to Yeosang for dear life. She heard footsteps behind her, and she knew it wouldn't be long before he caught up to her.

Doing the first thing she could think of, she made a mad dash for the main road in front of the university campus. Her plan may have been absolutely bonkers, not to mention near impossible considering she was carrying around a whole human being, but it was the only thing she could think of.

Crossing the road, she went to the back of the cafe, immediately climbing the emergency staircase. Well out of sight on the rooftop, she put him on his belly before joining him. The voice of her pursuer grew louder and louder, fueling her fear. But miraculously, he began moving away after reaching the main gate of the campus. She spent who knows how long consumed by her dark thoughts of being expelled, but once she was able to break out of her reverie, the night was quiet except for the deep, even breathing beside her.

Yeosang had somehow managed to fall asleep in this madness, and she couldn't blame the poor guy. Slowly, hesitantly, she peeked over the ledge, and she allowed herself a sigh of relief upon realising the coast was clear. 

After waiting a little bit longer, she lugged the boy back down to the alleyway, quickly making her way home. He was getting a bit cold, and she was afraid he'd gotten alcohol poisoning. She put him in bed sitting upright and wrapped a blanket around him. Gently waking him up, she gave him a glass of water.

She spent the rest of the night making sure he got water in his system, was able to vomit without choking, and didn't get cold. She didn't even feel the need to sleep, adrenaline still pumping by the time the sun rose. Seeing that he was feeling slightly better, she now deemed him fit to walk to the hospital.

It took half an hour for them to confirm that he did indeed have mild alcohol poisoning, but that the vomiting, as well as all the water she made him drink, had flushed out most of it. After listening to all the instructions given by the doctor, the two of them walked back to her place. They both dropped onto her bed, feeling exhausted after all that had happened.

It was a few hours later that Yeosang woke up to a gentle pat on his cheek. Jiyeon had made him Haejan-guk for his hangover, and despite some protests, she insisted on spoon-feeding him. He watched as she blew on each spoonful, barely being able to open his mouth when she'd bring it to his face.

As she fed him yet another time, she watched his eyes flutter shut, having fallen asleep before he could even finish the bowl. She cooed at how peaceful he looked, tucking him in before finishing the lukewarm soup so she could put the bowl away and join him in bed.

The click of the door opening woke them both up, the late afternoon sun illuminating the room as seven boys filed in.

"So... you guys fucked last night?"

"I need a moment to absorb this information."

"..."

"Okay, I'm ready now. WHAT!?!?!"

"I'm not explaining all that again."

It's safe to say the boys were taken aback, having expected that the duo had spent their night most other college students do after meeting someone at a frat party.

Still, they all took it in good spirit, being happy that no one got seriously harmed and playfully scolding Jiyeon for being a 'troublemaker'.

"Well, if she's guilty, then so am I. I mean, I am her partner in crime." Somehow, that brought back the rollercoaster feeling from the previous night, taking her back to the day they first met.

They spent their time laughing, and as evening fell, Jurin decided to graciously cook dinner for all of them. Seonghwa, feeling that it was unfair how a girl who barely knew them was doing the chores, decided to help out with the huge task of cooking for ten hungry stomachs. Of course, he got teased for it, and the way he was stuttering made even Yeosang doubt if Seonghwa was truly just helping out with no ulterior motive.

"He has a crush on her, I think. I hope, in fact, because that girl cannot hide her feelings at all." Jiyeon may not have spent a ton of quality time with her roommate, but living with someone really does make you learn a lot about them.

Dinner actually turned out to be delicious, and Yeosang seemed to be attacking the fried chicken, explaining that it's his favourite food between bites. Jiyeon noticed how he ate with a pout even when it wasn't someone else feeding him, and she found it adorable.

They soon left after that, wanting to get some good sleep before the dreaded Monday. Once again, it was just the two of them.

"Thanks for everything. For playing nurse for me all night, for introducing me to your friend circle, for letting me into this beautiful world of yours, this world of being chased by guards and failing at beer pong and caramel macchiatos and making tarot cards and sleepovers and just you. I don't know if it's romantic, but I like you a lot. Whenever you're around, I'm always happy, and I hope you can always be a part of my life. Goodnight Jiyeon."

Before she could even say anything, he turned around and simply walked away, leaving her dumbfounded. That night, as she lay in bed, all she could think of was how her name rolled off his tongue, and how he made her feel emotions she couldn't even name.

It had been nearly two months since 'the attempt on multiple lives', as the boys would call it. Not much had changed, except for the fact that now, Yeosang would join the daily cafe study sessions whenever he could. He'd often go to her place for homework, and on the weekends, they'd pretty much just chill at the Matz apartment. Everyone seemed to be against partying for now.

Now, it was Saturday night again, and no one really knew what to do. Suddenly, Jiyeon sat up, looking at everyone smugly, eyes dancing such that they all knew nothing good would come of the plans brewing in her head.

"So I was thinking... What if we break into Cafe Aurora? Like, right now?" It took way too much begging to convince the Matz, even after Yeosang himself agreed to use his keys. So, twenty minutes later, they were all standing outside the building while Yeosang unlocked the front door. 

Once they were inside, the frat boys immediately went into the kitchen. It took them 30 seconds flat to start going crazy with the waffle iron and blender. Jongho found a pineapple in the fridge and made it his life mission to break the thing open with his bare hands. Seonghwa was trying to maintain peace and order, and Hongjoong, who was originally with his hyung, deviated to tinkering around with the music system.

Taking his hand in hers, Jiyeon and Yeosang looked at each other before running into the kitchen. After defusing any situations that could end in a fire, Yeosang started making all the usual drinks, and as he went about it, she watched in amazement. She opted to sit on a ladder kept between two shelves, watching him work in front of her. They were both enveloped by a comfy silence, up until she realised something.

"Wait, you're making them in the order that you made them the first time?"

"Of course. I always make them in that order. It's how I'd remember who is who back when I didn't even know their names." For some reason, she was touched by this little habit of his, by the fact that he remembered something so small. they both went back to their comfy silence, but as he got done with Jongho's americano, she offered to leave.

"I know the recipe for my drink is a secret, and I wouldn't wanna intrude."

"No no, it's fine, you can stay. In fact, I can teach you the recipe if you want."

And so he explained the recipe, as if he were a middle school teacher showing a kid how to do the activity. He spoke with a soft yet rich voice that made her think about how he seemed to be the personification of the drink.

In the calm after the storm, they all stood outside, sipping their drinks and munching on pineapple that Jongho had indeed broken apart with his own hands, as well as Nutella waffles. They had been able to cover up their tracks more or less, and Yeosang was just giving finishing touches to their work. Once they started walking, Yeosang and Jiyeon fell behind, not really apart from the group, but enough for them to be in their own bubble. Jiyeon was looking at the ground, their steps in sync, and despite her nerves, she began what she'd been wanting to say for a while now.

"Remember how you told me you liked me? Well, I've come to realise, I like you too, but I think I'm in love with you, like, romantically. Of course, you needn't reciprocate, I'm not asking that of you-" She was cut off by Yeosang taking her by the shoulders, making her look up at him.

"Are you asking me to be your partner in crime?"

"Y-yeah, I am-"

"Well I can't let that happen, now can I? You asked me last time as well, it's my turn now." Jiyeon didn't understand what he was on about, so she could only look up at him with a confused pout while he cleared his throat.

"Park Jiyeon, would you like to be my partner in crime?" Her face lit up, and she didn't waste a single moment, pulling him down by the collar of his hoodie to kiss him. Cheers erupted around them as they broke apart, his hands cupping her jaw as she whispered.

"Always and forever."

A/n: If you've reached all the way here (highly unlikely), consider sending in feedback! I wanna hear all you have to say

Also, I will be coming out with a chaptered fic (more like editing the rushed shit I uploaded a few months ago due to creative angst). It's called Falling, and I'm very excited for the ideas I've put together there. So promo ig (I am so lost abt all this)

[aerialflight]

Fic Recs (monster long list for autumn month)

[The Witcher] (my current interest feniwoafpe hELP)

A United Front by didoandis

Ship: Yennefer/Geralt/Jaskier

“The only solution is a united front,” Yennefer says. When this just prompts blank expressions, she sighs. “Honestly, do I have to spell it out? I mean the two of you should get married.”

Geralt stares at her. Jaskier’s mouth drops open. Tissaia says, thoughtfully, “that could actually work.”

“No it couldn’t!” Jaskier says, loud and shrill.

After Calanthe and Eist are killed, the fate of Cintra hangs in the balance. The only solution is an alliance between two men: the witcher Geralt of Rivia, bound to the princess by the Law of Surprise, and Cirilla’s uncle Julian, better known as Jaskier the bard.

(Love their relationship and how damn HEALTHY it is, seriously. All the characters' characterizations are amazing, especially Jaskier in particular. And Ciri really feels like Calanthe's granddaughter, what a lion of a girl! The premise and how the author explored it was so good and I finished this fic so fast! Seriously, please read!)

Silver and Copper by Heronfem

Ship: Geralt/Jaskier

Geralt is just supposed to pass through the quiet Lettenhove area. He's not anticipating being begged by its people to help save their viscount from a curse that keeps him from daylight. Lord Jaskier, they call him, and he's likely dying.

As Geralt struggles to untangle the ugly web of history that has lead to the increasingly complicated curse, he finds himself spending more and more time with the strange young viscount and wondering just what he might have been before the curse, and who he might be after. But things are not always as they seem, and as the curse tightens its grip on Jaskier, Geralt is forced to face the fear of failing yet another person whose choices were stolen from them.

Or-

Jaskier is kept from becoming a bard. Geralt finds him anyway.

(I know this is old but if anyone didn't read this gem? Please PLEASE do. God, this fic hands down became my favorite witcher fic, everything about it is perfect. It made me feel deep disgust and horror yet hope and love for humanity at the same time?? And the ambiance! The setting! This felt like a dark fairy tale and Geralt is the hero trying to save the prince. The author does such a good job sucking me into the mystery and getting invested in all these fleshed out OC characters. Geralt and Jaskier just, hell, they broke and repaired my heart a thousand times over the course of this fic, I love them so much here. Seriously, this is the one witcher fic you've got to read, it's incredible!)

My Witcher Isn’t Working, Can I Get a Refund? by byronicmusings

Ship: Jaskier/Geralt

Jaskier stared in horror at the man before him.

No, not man, because no man would ever do something so horrifying and appalling such as this without so much as a twitch to his face, and even though Jaskier spent most of his time and effort trying to convince this self-deprecating hunk of a witcher that no, he was not a heartless monster and was in fact, still human in many aspects, Jaskier could not bring himself to do it now. Not this time.

Maybe not ever.

~

You know how some game mechanics make sense in games but are absolutely ridiculous in real life?

Crackfic where instead of grand adventures and heroics, Jaskier spends his travels having to deal with Geralt’s absurd behavior - from horrifying eating habits, his ridiculous collection of broken rakes, aggressive herb gathering techniques, to a frankly scary obsession with Gwent, among other things.

(I LAUGHED LIKE A HYENA THE ENTIRE TIME READING THIS OH gOd. I legit collapsed on the floor and pounded my fist as I wheezed with tears in my eyes. It's so fucking funny, I'm half tempted to buy the game just to see if half the shit that happens in this fic actually happens. 😂)

(when you just can't seem) to shake the weight of living by WingedQuill

Ship: Yennefer/Geralt/Jaskier

Geralt's muscles heave backwards, flinging him down against the bed. He tries to struggle upwards but it feels like he’s been buried beneath a mountain. Every inch of him is pressed completely still. His eyes close, and he’s left in the dark with nothing but his racing heart for company. He’s not tired, he’s never been less tired. But the curse wants him to sleep, it seems. It’ll force him to lie here until he does. How much of his life will it start to control, now that he’s declared war against it? Now that he knows it’s lurking in his bones, now that it doesn’t have to be subtle?

He swallows. Takes a long, deep breath, gathering every bit of courage he has to stop himself from slipping back into panic. He still has control over his lungs. He still has that.

For now.

(Or: Witchers don't retire. They stay on the Path until it kills them. They hunt monsters and they want nothing from life. This isn't exactly by choice.)

(I am ADDICTED to this fic. I was genuinely horrified while reading this and I couldn't stop. I HAD to know what happened next. Definitely 100% recommend.)

A Song of Selfish Hearts by gremble

Ship: Geralt/Jaskier

Geralt loses a chunk of his memories, meets an overly-friendly bard, and comes to the obvious conclusion: that somewhere along the way, he apparently lost his godsdamned mind and decided to take a human lover on the Path with him.

(Geralt is trying SO HARD and it's honestly sweet. He's drawing all the wrong conclusions and it's GREAT! XD Meanwhile, Jaskier is mentally screaming in confusion the entire time, I fucking can't, poor bard lol)

A Name to Give you Pause by StarsInMyDamnEyes for brothebro

Jaskier waited for Geralt of to distance himself from the camp well enough, before shuffling off his sitting place atop a rather uncomfortable tree stump, positioning himself so that he was eye-level with the extremely nonplussed horse.

Not, of course, that he wanted to shoo him from his own campsite, but how the hell else would he corner the man's horse?

At Oxenfurt, Jaskier had, much to his vexation, learnt that the word ‘nonplussed’ had two meanings – the first being ‘unsure about what to say, think, or do’, and the second, ‘not bothered, surprised, or impressed by something’. It was almost a contranym, it caused him no end of frustration, and it was the perfect word to use in this scenario, because how the hell was one supposed to get a read on the complex emotional state of a horse?

Nonplussed was right, because Jaskier couldn’t read Roach for shit, so he might as well have covered all his bases, instead.

“So,” he began, and it was a good way to open a dialogue, very solid, “why are you a horse?”

Or: When Jaskier finds Geralt and Roach at Posada, it's less of a first meeting, and more of a reunion.

(The premise is bonkers and I love it. Roach is Jaskier's sister and somehow, it's not just crack, there is a perfectly good (okay, still insane) explanation for all of this. I am utterly charmed and found this fic unexpectedly sweet as well. Give it a go if you're even a little curious on what's going on XD)

ask me tomorrow by Emamel

Ship: Geralt/Jaskier

"Why -" he gestures expansively towards Jaskier, his lute, the forest around them, his swords now strapped to Roach "- are you doing this?"

A bard seeking fortune wouldn't watch Geralt across the fire with eyes half-full of tears that he didn't bother to blink away. An artist looking for a muse wouldn't press close, desperately close, against Geralt's side until he finally gave in and turned his head. A young man after a quick fuck wouldn't grip Geralt to him hard enough to bruise even a witcher.

The way Jaskier looks at Geralt makes him think he should know the answer already, but he doesn't, he doesn't.

"Because I know you," he says at last. "Because I have known you. Because I will know you. Isn't that enough?"

(One day, Geralt will understand that it was the closest thing Jaskier will ever have to a goodbye, and it's enough, it's enough.)

(I cried reading this, this fic broke me. Ask me fucking tomorrow, holy shit. That line. Why?? *sobs*)

-

[The Hobbit] (I went on a spree and honestly I'm still obsessed rn)

Once Upon a Contract by I_Got_Lost

Ship: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins

In the Shire there were two truths. The Tooks were odd and the Baggins were respectable. The Baggins family dealt in contracts and favours, and while the Shire knew that the Tooks were odd, it was the Baggins family that had other blood running through their veins.

Bilbo Baggins did not go running out his door for want of an adventure, he went running out his door because of a terribly worded contract and a laughable quest that somehow held the spark of other.

In this story, it is not the Tooks that held fae blood in their family tree, it is the Baggins, and theirs is so much closer to the surface.

(WORLDBUILDING WORLDBUILDING WORLDBUILDING!!! *screams*)

Oak and Mistletoe by HildyJ

Ship: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins

After a life dominated by a strange form of sickness, Thorin is sent to the Shire to seek a cure only Bilbo Baggins can offer.

(It's old and I can't freaking believe I never stumbled on this until now. Reread this 3 times by now and I kept searching for fairy tale kind of fics after reading this, as you'll probably see the more you go down this list. Just, please read. It's amazing!)

Falling Leaves by northpeach, wolfsrainrules

Leafs tumble from the tree tops. Some are caught in the wind and brought far off places. Others land upon the earth and become brown and dead. A series of Hobbit oneshots for the ideas that refuse to die. (refer to each chapter for warnings and summaries! All my dwarven words are from the wonderful Dwarrow Scholar, blessings upon him. These ARE Adoptable so long as we are informed and credited of course. WE WANT TO READ THEM)

(I love every single AU in this fic, not a single bad one in this batch!)

Here and Gone Again: the Dwarf-King's Tale by psyche_girl

Ship: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins

One evening in early summer TA 2941, Thorin Thrain's son, called Oakenshield, was interrupted by thirteen very unexpected Hobbits knocking at his forge door.

(The role reversal I never knew I needed. Poor, poor Thorin X'D)

To Kiss A Stranger: Bella by Bead

Ship: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins

Ori Rison asks a group of strangers (strangers to each other) to share a first kiss. He asks his distant cousin Thorin Oakenshield into it, egged on by Thorin's nephews. To Thorin's great surprise, he agrees.

Meanwhile, Ori's lighting designer Bofur ropes his friend Bella Baggins into it.

Inspired by "First Kiss," a gorgeous video of twenty strangers kissing, which can be found here.

(This gave me SO MANY FEELINGS. Hot damn! Dicjiwjfie)

A Gift of Daisies by issaro for crystalphobic

Ship: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins

Every Hobbit was gifted a soulmate, a promise from the Green Lady that they’d never be alone. Sometimes though, the gift is a bit less straightforward than a Hobbit might wish.

(Such an interesting soulmate au! It's the kind of au where it wouldn't compel me as much if it weren't set in this fandom. Beautiful, just beautiful!)

Through Shadow and Flame by Cinderstrato

Ship: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins

Summoned to Erebor for his particular talents, Bilbo Baggins (formerly of Bag End) simply meant to explore the East, uncover the cause of old King Thráin's peculiar behaviour, and perhaps cast out a troublesome wraith or two.

He certainly didn't intend to kidnap the Crown Prince.

(*clenches fist* Thorin is somehow so innocent here?? Not as world weary. And Bilbo being this wandering free spirit knowledgable about the world is such a concept, I loved this so much! Also, the fic is very fairy tale like too.)

The Antidote by Atisenia for You_Light_The_Sky

Ship: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo Baggins had lived a comfortable life in the Shire, tending to his garden, minding his own business. And then the Dwarves thought they could come and disturb his life with stories of faraway kingdoms, enchanted kings and magical gardens.

Bilbo was not amused.

A different take on the quest where Erebor never fell, Thorin has been poisoned and the Dwarves are in dire need of a gardener.

(Bilbo the gardener trying to save a Sleeping Beauty Thorin is the epitome of a fairy tale and I still can't believe this exists. It's like the universe plopped this fic on my lap and told me to go for it. I'm in love with this and am counting down the days until this fic updates!! Please join me!)

-

[Naruto] (read all or perish there's no inbetween)

a symbol of subjugation by evocates

Ship: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama/Uzumaki Mito, Senju Touka/Uchiha Hikaku/Uchiha Izuna

“Consider how this looks. The Senju proposes peace at the height of their power. The Uchiha, already losing, don’t have the resources to match the Senju. If the Senju provides us with food and armour, the Uchiha must become subordinate. Is that what you think of as peace, Senju? Over at the Uchiha compound, we call that subjugation by the most powerful.”

“It seems that there is only one possible solution: the Senju must choose a symbol to subjugate itself to the Uchiha to balance out the scales. For that role, I volunteer myself.”

The wise ones know: fires can warm and not burn; and rivers, if given strength and permission, will carve the land.

(Or, the one in which Tobirama becomes Madara’s concubine, and peace is won and held through neither power nor love, but food, water, clothes, and medicine.)

(*deep breath* I can't even begin to explain how fucking phenomenal this fic is. Words can't do this fic justice, it's on a whole new level when it comes to worldbuilding, plot (fuck, the plot), characters (I love them all), politics, the tone, writing, literally everything has been elevated to the highest peak. This fic legitimately reached a conclusion that achieved world peace in the naruto world. No shortcuts, no easy answers, it is as in depth and thoughtful any work of fiction can be. If this was a novel, I would buy this is in a fucking heartbeat, it's that damn good. So for the love of god, read this.)

Strays by Ourliazo

Naruto finds a dog door installed in a quiet, clean apartment, for the village’s stray dogs. The flap is pretty big, and as it turns out, children can also fit inside.

Rookie 9 are best friends long before they're team mates.

(The fluffiest fluff to ever fluff wojfowjf)

Gem of the Eddy by beetlebee

"The fall of Uzushio collapsed our economy, our protections. You might think I'm being rosy, but they really cared about us. And they knew how to party. You know they had a seal that could swap body parts? Wildest night of my life,” the boatman’s eyes go distant for a long moment, “...but you kids are too young to hear about that.

“Anyway,” he continues, “our economy’s been a shambles since; maybe gets going for a year or two before it collapses again. No security of stability, so assholes like Gato think they can waltz in here and take charge. Boy, he'd be singing a different tune if the Uzumaki were still around."

Sakura’s eyes widen a bit at that, and even Sasuke looks up. Naruto opens his mouth to say something, but Kakashi puts a firm hand on his shoulder.

“What an… illuminating piece of history,” says Kakashi, “Thank you for sharing.”

-----

(Kiri may have won the battle, but not the war. The island of Uzushio might not be as dead as previously believed.

All Kakashi knows now is that he really should have refused that mission to Wave.

An island lives, people change, foxes laugh, and Team Seven goes on a wild journey!)

(*deadly serious* I would die for this fic. It is chaotic to the point of no return and EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE shows up in this fic. It's like watching a row of dominoes topple against each other, creating a chain reaction that has multiple lanes falling all around and making a fucking mess on the floor. And the plot doesn't miss a fucking beat, all of it somehow making sense!! It's glorious. I have never been happier. Please, please read this!!!

Worm Charming by GremlinSR

After Minato's death, Shikaku is thrust into a position he never expected and certainly never wanted. It isn't long before he discovers a wealth of corruption and sabotage that threatens the very foundation of the village he is sworn to protect. Using every ounce of his famous Nara intellect and cunning, Shikaku struggles to outmaneuver hidden enemies in order to keep his village and family safe.

Or: A for want of a nail story in which Nara Shikaku becomes Hokage after Minato’s death and promptly turns everything on its head.

(VOTE FOR NARA SHIKAKU AS HOKAGE! God, I WISH the series went like this. Shikaku is a competent man and I stan him so freaking hard here! Also, I swear there is a perfectly good reason why the title is accurate. Let it entice you into reading this, you won't regret it!)

-

[Stranger Things] (smh)

Make my mark in the world - with a bat and a blade by Spicy_Cannoli_AKA_Lia for QueenMissFit

Her height was wrong, she looked younger than he remembered, and her hair was too long, but as he looked at her face he knew she was unmistakably-

‘’Robin’’ he said, not realising he had opened his mouth until the name was already out.

Robin turned her face towards him, a recognition that shouldn’t be there flashing through her blue eyes.

He knew they weren’t supposed to meet yet, but the fact that he found her here, in a place he had never heard of from her, gave him hope, hope that he wasn’t alone. But he had to make sure, so he opened his mouth and in perfect Russian recited-

‘’A trip to China sounds nice”

“if you tread lightly.’’

.

Steve Harrington never understood loneliness until he was stuck five years in the past with nothing but a whole lot of trauma, insomnia, and a stupid fear of flickering lights. But still, alone or not he had the perfect opportunity to change what happened. To make sure none of his shitty kids has to sleep with the lights one because of the monsters they know are real. He could save Barb, he could save Bob, he could save- Billy.

And maybe, just maybe, Steve isn't as alone as he first thought.

(Robin and Steve's friendship is everything and the fact this is such a good time travel fic won me over entirely! Absolutely fantastic!)

-

[The Magnus Archives] (a wild tma)

Life Preserver by PitViperOfDoom

Ship: Gerald/Jon

Admittedly, Jon has been known to make impulsive decisions. Taking a part-time job at the campus library on his last year of university. Going in after dark to check on a book. Putting the lighter in his pocket. Asking out the cute goth who, as far as he knows, narrowly avoided a brush with a Leitner.

Gerry told himself it was only going to be one date, just to see what it was like. How was he supposed to know he'd get attached?

(This fic turned me into a Gerald fan and Jon is peak Man In Love With No Plan Help This Disaster. Stellar. 👌)

-

[Ted Lasso] (I know, I didn't expect this either yet here we are)(this show stole my heart)

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered by mardia

Ship: Ted Lasso/Trent Crimm (The Independent)

Ted Lasso: Schrodinger's Witch.

Or, the one where AFC Richmond are leading the Premier League table, and Trent Crimm and the rest of the British press are slowly losing their minds as a result.

(TED LASSO IS A WITCH AND NOTHING CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE I AM LOSING MY DAMN MIND sCReaMS)

[faetarou]

FAE'S 300 EVENT !!

order for @shinomiis

ask. athena. she/her. yaku morisuke. pineapple sorbet.

from fae. athena !!!! tysm for participating, you are the sweetest person EVER and i love you sm <333

disclaimers. swearing

your trope is ...

friend of a friend !!

with yaku morisuke <3

"where are you taking me again?" you asked, somewhat uneasily, folding your arms as you walked.

your closest (and, affectionately, most annoying) friend, tetsurou, laughed, patting you on the shoulder with enough accidental force to almost shove you off the sidewalk. "ease up, 'thena. i just want you to meet one of my friends from volleyball."

you narrowed your eyes. "tetsu. for the last time - i am not desperate enough to for you to set me up with a guy who dives after a sphere of synthetic leather like he's gonna die if he misses."

he just laughed again. "well, trust me here. whether you get a relationship out of this or not, you're gonna get along with yaku."

"i finally get a name," you grumbled. "yaku? like the milk?"

"athena," tetsurou admonished. "don't insult my friend by comparing him to fermented dairy. he- oh, look, he's right there!"

you'd both ended up outside some cute cafe you'd seen a couple times, and tetsurou was pointing to a strawberry blond guy lounging at one of the outdoor tables. he had naturally large eyes that you found undeniably attention-capturing, a cute pout that hung over his bored face, and he wasn't that much taller than you.

"yaku!" tetsurou cheered, easily throwing himself into a chair next to the stranger. you followed suit, slightly more reluctantly. "this the girl i was telling you about, athena. athena, meet yaku morisuke. yaku, meet athena!"

not quite sure of what to do, you extended your hand with a quiet, "hi."

yaku, to your surprise, snorted as he shook your hand. "i don't bite, you know, no need to be shy."

you hadn't expected to be called out within seconds of meeting someone new, so his comment shocked you into silence, which your friend easily broke with one of his hyena laughs.

"don't worry about it, athena's not really shy," he wheezed. "just quiet around people she likes."

realising that he was implying something ridiculous in front of a guy you'd never met, you delivered a swift slap to his forearm and sent him a scathing glare. "at least i don't try to insult people with chemistry formulae. and that'd explain why i'm never quiet around you, wouldn't it?"

tetsurou was immediately silenced as he frowned down at the table, and it was yaku's turn to laugh loudly.

"oh, she's great!" he grinned, turning to you. "you're great - much better than this bedhead captain we both unfortunately have to deal with."

his comment made the corners of your lips turn up unbidden. "you're not that bad either."

yaku's focus became solely centred on you, and for some reason, that made your heart flutter.

huh. he really isn't that bad.

࿐ 𝐟𝐚𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 !!

[ienveeus]

"And I'm dead" for (If we can chose the pairing) Taegi, please? I'm missing you so much thank you ;;

As soon as I saw this one I had an idea omg

This is set in the same AU as i only have eyes for you because I love the taegi in that AU lots and have wanted to get more into their story forever. 

Taegi, 100, “And I’m dead.”

(873 words super fluffy, kindergarten teacher!Taehyung, super-powers) 

Yoongi has come to terms with the fact that it is very crucial he make his death as over-dramatic as possible when he’s shot in the chest with an imaginary fireball. 

It requires lots of spluttering, clawing at his torso, falling to knees and some words of vengeance that will never be fulfilled because his opponents are a bunch of kindergarten students and Yoongi, well, the way they giggle and cheer when they collectively manage to take him down is kind of adorable. 

Of course, in these games, he is always the super villain. Here to kidnap their Prince Taehyungie right out from under their noses. It’s been routine for a few months now, that when Yoongi comes to visit Taehyung at the kindergarten, he will be forced to battle the kids for the right to see his fiancé. 

For these visits, he’s taken to wearing things with a little bit of give, so that when he crashes to the ground his clothes don’t tear. He’s ruined way too many pairs of jeans for the sake of pleasing these children and yeah, okay, maybe he’s soft for them, but clothes are expensive and he has some limits. 

Today he’s here for lunch, had to set the take-out he’d brought aside before coming in through the gate. God knows what the little shits might do if they get their tiny little hands on his food. Taehyung loves them almost as much (if not just as much) as he loves Yoongi so he’ll make some excuse for them but Yoongi’s fondness only stretches so far and he’s paid thirty thousand won for said lunch. 

There will be tears and Taehyung has made a point of saying countless times that he doesn’t like seeing Yoongi cry. 

Yoongi finishes a particularly loud death gurgle and collapses to the ground, rolling onto his back as half a dozen children rush towards him. They pounce on him, like little tiny hyenas. A little girl thumps down on his chest and knocks the air straight out of him. 

‘And I’m dead,’ Yoongi wheezes. The girl on top of him giggles and Yoongi grins up at her despite the fact he’s seriously concerned about whether his ribs are still intact. 

And okay, maybe he should’ve established some rules in the game, because before he knows it, the girl is off his chest and he’s being lifted off the ground by one of Taehyung’s kids. Wonbong, a five year old, obsessed with Hoseok of all people and one of the kids that actually does have superpowers. He’s lugged over to the sand box and dumped into it rather unceremoniously. Before he can stand up and escape there’s little hands scooping sand and shovelling it on top of him. 

‘Hey,’ Yoongi says, trying to get up but Wongbon pushes him back down again. Jesus, the kid can’t even be three feet and he’s probably strong enough to lift a bloody car over his head. Yoongi huffs as more sand is shovelled on top of him. ‘What are you guys doing?’

‘Burying you, ahjussi.’ 

Yoongi groans, he really should’ve figured. The endearing quality of the kids is steadily decreasing as the seconds tick on and when one of the kids dumps sand on his fucking face his patience disappears altogether.

‘Taehyung!’ he calls out. Sand gets into his mouth and he splutters. ‘Jesus, shit, Taehyung!’

Several of the children gasp, pointing chubby accusing fingers in Yoongi’s direction. 

‘That’s a bad word!’

‘A swear.’ 

‘I’m gonna tell!’ 

It’s at that moment that Yoongi hears laughter. He looks up, seeing Taehyung standing over them, grinning his box grin and honestly Yoongi doesn’t know how long he’s been standing there, but it is almost definitely far too long. 

‘Hi babe,’ Taehyung says. Worming through the kids, he leans down and plants a kiss on his cheek. The majority of the kids let out retching noises and Taehyung just laughs, eyes so incredibly fond Yoongi can’t help but melt a little bit just watching him.

He rubs his thumb along the silver band of his engagement ring, warmth flooding his chest. 

‘How about you guys go play on the jungle gym for a bit?’ Taehyung says. There’s some protest and he sighs, pulling a face. ‘I need to have a word with this villain here. Make sure he knows what will happen if he’s bad again.’ 

The kids stay stubbornly where they are. Taehyung sighs.

‘There may be more kisses involved.’ 

The kids scatter, screaming as they go. Yoongi pushes himself up to his elbows with a groan. 

‘You need to get Namjoon in,’ Yoongi says. ‘Get him to talk to the super-powered babies about using super-powers on normal people.’ 

‘They’re not babies,’ Taehyung says, dusting the sand off Yoongi’s front. ‘And I’ve talked to Wongbon. He knows not to use his powers on the other kids.’

‘And me?’

‘Well you’re a super villain, babe,’ Taehyung says. ‘Different rules entirely.’ 

Yoongi grumbles, decides against lightly punching Taehyung in the shoulder for fear of the consequences of harming dear Prince Taehyungie. 

‘You’re lucky I love you.’ 

‘Yeah yeah,’ Taehyung says kissing Yoongi’s forehead this time and ignoring the jeers from the playground. ‘You’re so scary.’