#if only because she's can be immediately neutralized by idols

[victorluvsalice]

We return to the Chill Valicer Save on Fall Friday, with another, shorter update featuring the gang back to their usual routines -- namely, taking care of the farm and getting those shelves filled at the store! Let's get right to it, shall we?

-->First things first though -- adorable kitten times! Alice and Smiler both met our new arrivals Shock and Surprise last episode, so it was Victor's turn to get introduced to the kittens! A process that took longer than anticipated, because of course adorable kittens have to do adorable kitten things, and that often involves hiding under couches and rolling over and running around all over the shop while their poor owner waits patiently for the "Wait For Pet" interaction to finally complete. XD Oh, Sims 4 pets... Shock and Surprise, you're lucky you're cute. :p

-->While I was waiting for the kitten nonsense to complete, though, I did notice that we still had an unwelcome visitor hanging around -- Temperance! Despite having been thoroughly cowed by Victor's bizarre idol last time, she was still in the back yard talking to the local specters instead of properly fucking off. I plopped the bizarre idol back out for a bit while Victor got to know the kittens, and she FINALLY took her leave. Off with you, ghost who is the "big bad" of the Paranormal stuff pack and yet is somehow less annoying than Guidry himself.

-->With Temperance banished and the kittens introduced to all the various members of the family, it was time to get started on the day properly! Smiler was already busy editing their new fashion vlog so they could get it out while the trend was still hot -- once that was done and the video posted, I sent them out to the greenhouse to get Bugs and Elmer the garden-bots out and running while Victor and Alice enjoyed some breakfast (buttered crumpets and chicken chimichurri skewers respectively). The bots got busy watering and weeding while Smiler started harvesting all their herbalism stuff and plasma fruits --

Only to be attacked by bees. Darn things apparently objected to Smiler picking their chamomile today. *shakehead* Fortunately the injuries were minor, and Smiler managed to pick up Gardening Level 6 from their harvesting, so that was good! (And it's not as bad as what MIGHT have happened -- I foolishly went into Build Mode to try and move some of the seed packets the gnomes had left behind during Harvestfest while Smiler was getting the bots ready, only to remember too late "SHIT THAT MIGHT AUTO-HARVEST THE PLANTS INTO THE HOUSEHOLD INVENTORY." Fortunately I was lucky and all the produce stayed on the vine, whew. A narrow escape!)

-->While all that was going on, Victor went around the front to check on Toothy the cowplant -- and found their bin knocked over! A final "fuck you" from Temperance as she left, or the result of an angry townie? The world will never know... Fortunately, it wasn't a big deal -- Victor just picked up the bin, sorted through the trash pile for parts, then recycled it and all the other crap in his inventory for bits and pieces. Keeping the farm nice and eco-friendly! :)

[rinniewvrld]

𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗦 !

summary, after overworking yourself pass your usual hours to handling your unit and preparing for a big event, you ended up sleeping while hanging out with them.

featuring, mayoi ayase, arashi nakurami && ibara saegusa w/ gender-neutral!reader (romantic, separate)

tags, established relationship, all fluff no angst, headcanons, ooc

notice, first enstars post yippie 🎉 taking a break from grinding so much for the spider halloween event.. reader is a producer if it wasn't obvious.. highkey ooc?? esp for ibara, as much as i love him, i suck at writing characters like him huhu

— m. ayase

the two of you were baking in the dorm's kitchen when you suddenly passed out. just a few hours ago, you had proposed to mayoi to spend the day off with each other and decided baking something would be nice.

after all, after a hectic week of working yourself to the bone, what's a better way to spend the day than hanging out with your beloved boyfriend?

mayoi, at first, was cautious. he had been watching you veryy closely (and he's absolutely sorry-not-sorry for doing that) for pasy few days and noticed your signs of exhaustion. but still, he couldn't resist accepting your date idea when you begged him so desperately.

mayoi stared down at the mixture he's been mixing for a couple minutes, his brow furrowed in uncertainty. is he 100% sure this is how it's supposed to look?

then, mayoi turned around to face you. "uhmm... (name), could you— eek!" just as he did, he had witness your body collapse, hitting the floor with an extremely loud and audible thud that rang through the kitchen like a big bang. mayoi's face turned pale as he immediately ran up to your spot and kneeled down, checking you thoroughly.

his hands were stained with cookie batter, but he couldn't care less at this point and rolled you on your back. he put your head on his lap, pushing your hair out of your face to only be greeted by your peaceful, sleeping expression. he carefully felt your pulse on your neck and immediately let out a sigh of relief when he felt soft thumping under the pads of his fingers.

mayoi sighed, "thank god... you're just unconscious, i don't know what i would've done if you..." he stared down at you again, caressing your cheek. at any other situation, he would've found your sleeping face cute, but the guilt of agreeing to do this with you even when you're exhausted was chewing him up.

he immediately got cleaning up the mess you two made and hurried you to the infirmary. after the nurse was done checking you and confirming it was just exhaustion and stress and not anything serious, he was left alone to sit by your side and wait for you to wake up.

throughout it all... mayoi was nervous. the intrusive thoughts are coming to his head, making up scenarios that your condition became serious and had put you in a coma... he knew it wasn't going to happen, but the thought terrified him still.

when you woke up, mayoi immediately got on his hands and knees and apologized to you with genuine tears. it's gonna take a while for him to calm down...

"i-i'm sorry! i was aware you were overworked a-and yet i still made you bake w-with me! i'm an awful and pathetic person, i don't deserve your forgiveness!"

"m-mayoi, i said it's fine... c'mon, get up.."

— a. narukami

arashi finally got a day off from idol work and modelling, so she decided it would be fun to tag you along for shopping! it's been so long since she has been able to do some retail therapy, but it's much more longer since the two of you gotten on a date and it was starting to irritate her.

even if you were tired from handling your unit and trying to keep them out of trouble or paying the consequences of their stupid decisions, you still accepted the offer because you missed her a lot as well! you can handle to stay awake for a couple more hours, right?

... right?

arashi finished zipping up the dress and after doing a couple of practice twirls, she stepped out of the dressing room in an elegant and stylish manner fitting for the outfit she's trying on.

"(name), darling, what do you think? should i get it or not?" she spun around once more, showing off a full 360 of her look. when she didn't hear your voice praising her or doing commentary, she took a good look of your slumping figure and noticed that you had fallen asleep.

"oh dear," she chuckled, finding the way your head keeps flicking whenever you hunched too far cute. she sighed and shook her head, "you really should know better than overworking yourself, whatever should i do with you?" then, she walked up to you and tapped you on the shoulder, "come on, let's go home and do a spa day instead!"

when you grumbled something akin to a protest, she merely tutted and kissed your forehead. "mhm, whatever you say, dear. let me change back first and we'll head home, okay?"

"mmmgh... okay.."

true to her words, when you two arrived back, she immediately began setting the things up and prepared all the necessities for a spa day.

facemask? check. her favorite scented candles? check. the two of you in fluffy white robes, sipping on some tea with your feet deep in a bucket of warm water and epsom salt and your favorite drama playing on the tv? check, check and check.

arashi made sure your sitting arrangement is as comfortable ss possible, and frequently checked on you to see if you're in deep sleep. once the time is up, she'll gently shook you awake to let you know and cleaned up the place before bringing you down on the couch for a cuddle.

"i love you, (name), so please don't do that again, okay? i won't scold you right now since you need to rest more, but next time know your limits please. overworking is bad for your health."

— i. saegusa

it was rare for ibara to come back home for a day off. apparently, he was urged by his unit members to take a break and spend some time with his lover aka you, especially since the event is over now, and he had finished months worth of work in one sight.

although, it didn't take the rest of eden long to convince him to go home as he was already prepared to come back to your arms. after all, distance brings fondness and oh does he yearns for you.

he arrived at your apartment in a timely mannera and while his appearance is poised as usual, there was a slight element in his body language that told you he hurried his way back. he never been this ipatient.

there was time to go out for a date, but the two of you lacked the energy to even step out and interact with the world after a hellish week. ibara came rushing to you and spooning you in his arms.

"— it was hard to pull in the reigns on that problem child, but thankfully he seemed to understand and followed my instructions this time around... oh, i'll surely miss that part of him now that this event is over." ibara sighed, playing with a strand of your hair and twirling it between his fingers.

then, he shook his head, choosing to forget about his stressful week and focused on you now. this is the limited times he's able to see you outside of work and he didn't want to talk your ear off about every miniscule thing that has happened the previous days. he wanted to focus on you and you only for now.

"moving on. what about you, my dear? anything interesting happened to you?" he asked, waiting for an answer. he waited, and waited, assuming your silence was just you thinking about what to say. yet you still continue to be silent, confusing him and worrying him slightly.

"(name) dear?" he looked down at your face and relaxed immediately, making a sound of acknowledgement as he found you fast asleep in his arms. he chuckled, shaking his head gently. he said nothing more and joined you in your sleep.

even if the whole conversation he had with you was mostly one-sided, he's still glad he could spend his time with you. when you woke up from your nap, he had put a blanket over you and let you rest on the couch.

he even went out of his way to prepare food for the two of you, just in case you woke up hungry. the table was set nicer and better than you could ever done, and the food looked and smelled like heaven.

"hm? you're finally awake, i see. come, i've prepared us dinner, won't you join me? then, after this, let's talk some more. you still haven't told me how your week went, after all."

notice, leave a like, comment or reblog if you liked the hcs! it helps me a lot, ty^^

[chexxycheol]

Chapter 7. Piece of Happiness || 13 Forget-Me-Nots

Seventeen x Reader

title 13 Forget-Me-Nots or 13 Eternal Loves

synopsis You couldn't wait for your 20th birthday to finally reveal the one person you'd spend the rest of your life with. Well the 13 peopleyou'd spend the rest of your life with. Or that story where reader has 13 soulmates, who happen to be idol group seventeen

genre Fluff, Angst, Romance

tags Soulmate!au, Idol! seventeen x Non-idol! reader, OT13 x Reader, Seventeen x Reader.

warnings Anxiety, Mature language, Inconsistent upload schedule, Reader is gender neutral but sometimes certain depictions lean feminine.

⚘ author constructive criticism is welcomed and my asks are open for feedback! this story is a work of fiction and should be separated from reality. thank you and enjoy!

Join the taglist by commenting on any post!

—chery

wc 1.6k

《 previous || masterlist || next chapter 》

It had been a few days since your phone call with Mingyu and he had texted you every day either to complain about everyone being mean to him or just to talk to you. You did set up a time to meet everyone, but you had to meet with Seungcheol and their company first. 

It wasn’t your first rodeo when it came to this type of stuff, having to go through it with JYPE. Though this time it’s different, it’s now to deal with your soulmates.

You arrive in front of the HYBE building, thanking the driver they had sent for you, and head into the lobby of the tall building, you head to the front desk and get checked in before being escorted to the conference room where Seungcheol and their management team would be waiting for you.

As you round the corner you can see two people talking, you notice it’s Mingyu who can see you and someone else who has his back to you. They were talking quietly before Mingyu saw you from behind him and smiled at the man before nodding his head in your direction causing the man to turn around.

Seungcheol turned around and was stunned by how beautiful you were, though your demeanor was uncertain being there but he knew this meeting had to happen. 

“Hello, I’m Y/N” You introduced yourself bowing to the unfamiliar man.

“Hello I’m Choi Seungcheol, It’s nice to meet my soulmate” He smiled widely at you, good grief he was handsome. You were now sure all your soulmates were extremely handsome.

“Nice to meet you, Seungcheol” You smiled at him.

“Please call me Cheol” He wanted to sit there and get to know you but knew this meeting had to happen before proceeding with anything else.

You enter the room behind Mingyu and see Woozi and Joshua sitting there talking to a woman with a computer in front of her. They both look up at you smiling once they see you arrived. 

A man approaches you introducing himself as SEVENTEENS manager and goes around the room introducing everyone else before starting the meeting.

They ask you basic questions, then they immediately got down to business. Your soul mark.

“If you don’t mind, we’d like to see your soul mark. All the members present in here will show theres as well but if you’d be more comfortable with it showing it to a female staff members then we can make it work” The manager laid it out for you. Though you didn’t mind showing it because some of your shirts were low cut or off the shoulder, but being in the room with a bunch of men with only 4 woman present didn’t help ease your nerves either.

“With all due respect Woozi, Mingyu, and Joshua have already seen it. Isn’t that enough?” You were on guard now.

“We understand that, but to ensure the protection of our artists we need to verify it is the same mark to ensure you’re not a stalker” Their manager, though his voice stern along with everyone's demeanor in the room, his eyes showed some sympathy. This wasn’t the first time this had happened apparently.

You hesitated but pulled down your shirt enough to show your mark, a female staff member came next to you and held your hand. She smiled at you and her warm gesture was enough to give you some confidence.

Seungcheol stared at it, seeing the array of colorful and colorless flowers and he wondered which one that was colored was his. Your mark now had 4 flowers showing the blue color.

“The rest of you, show us your marks” 

Seungcheol and Mingyu pulled their right arms out of their sweaters and showed their biceps, Woozi removed the bandaid behind his left ear, and Joshua extended his left hand onto the table. All their soul marks now had a soft blue color to them.

“Well I think this is enough proof we need, we would like for you to sign a nondisclosure agreement known as an NDA. Are you familiar with it?” The man sitting across from you pushed a packet of papers to you.

“Yes, I am” You began to skim through it as the man talked more, assuming it was someone from their legal team.

“It’s pretty standard” You nodded but noticed in the agreement it required you to move to Korea.

“I see a problem, I can’t move to Korea. I’d like to stay in the States and finish my studies before moving here” You slide the paper back to the man, Seungcheol looks at you incredulously.

“We understand that and we can transfer you to any university of your choosing out here” The man tried to bargain with you.

“No, I will finish my studies in the States and then move here” You stood your ground, the other parts of the NDA were standard, but this was one of the things you had thought long and hard about.

You would not move wherever your soulmate(s) were, you wanted to finish your studies where you chose to go to school, you didn’t care if it was the top university in the world, you chose this school and would finish your degree there.

The man sighed before pulling out his computer to modify the document. Seungcheol was shocked, he admired how firm you were. 

“The changes have been made, I'll be right back to go grab the updated agreement”

He exited the room and left you with the members and their team, your phone was blowing up. Felix was texting you asking for updates.

“I’m Rin, I’m one of the managers” She smiled warmly at you. She had a motherly presence to her.

“Thank you for that” You held her hand and conversed with her more before the man entered the room you figured out his name was Daejung. He was supposedly really nice but his attitude always changed when it came to work, but outside of work, he was supposedly nice.

“The document is fixed, please read it over” He slid the updated version in front of you and you read it once more before signing it and sliding it back to him.

“Perfect, we’ll leave you all be. If any more problems arise please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’ll be in contact” He handed you his card and walked out with everyone, leaving you with Joshua, Seungcheol, Jihoon, and Mingyu

“How’re you?” Joshua asked in English trying to make you more comfortable talking in a language you were more familiar with.

“I’m okay, it was different from when I had to sign the NDA for JYPE but it wasn’t too bad” You smile at him.

“Which flower is mine?” Seungcheol cut in from the head of the table. They were scattered around the big table.

“Oh! It’s this one” You pull your shirt down enough and point to the flower, he stares at it amazed.

“So we understand if you don’t want to do this but” Joshua stops looking at the other members in the room.

“The others are here for practice and we’d like to meet you, they don’t know you’re here so it’d be a surprise. No pressure though” Joshua quickly says the last part. 

You thought about it throughout the last few days and though you were hesitant to meet them considering you would be meeting 9 more people all at once but figured meeting them wouldn’t be too bad.

“I’ll meet everyone as long as it’s just us in the room, this is an intimate moment for all of us” Seungcheol let out at breath he didn’t know he was holding, Mingyu had the biggest smile on his face and the other two were smiling at you.

“So what are we waiting for? Let’s meet the rest of my soulmates!” You say with genuine happiness. 

You thought surprising them was a nice idea so you all devised a plan to meet them in the practice room.

Seungcheol walked into the practice room quickly asking their managers to get all the staff out so you could meet them without it being a show for others. 

Their managers got the staff present out of the room saying there was an ‘emergency meeting’ and the others didn’t seem to mind, stuff like that was normal so they all decided to continue stretching, lounging, and or sleeping to kill the time.

What nobody saw was Joshua set up his phone to capture this moment between them all.

Seungcheol called them all to the middle of the room to talk.

“This better be good, if we have to talk about whatever this is” Hoshi grumbled to Jun who was half awake.

“Does this have to do with our soulmate? Do they not want to meet us? Do they not want to be our soulmate?” Dk asked hoping this wasn’t that type of talk to break their hearts. They didn’t notice you open the door and close it quietly, their figures blocking the reflection of the door.

“Now who said I didn’t want to be your soulmate?” You chimed in from behind them, causing all their heads to snap in your direction.

Their faces were a mix of shock and longing before a tall man who looked like he was ready to cry approached you.

“Hello, I’m Y/N. Your soulmate” You introduce before the room erupts into chaos. 

The man in front of you immediately picked you up and hugged you, spinning you while the others started to cry from the happiness of seeing you, meeting you.

“Ya!” Woozi yelled, getting everyone's attention. 

“I think we should properly introduce ourselves,” He said, reading Seungcheols mind. The tall man put you down before Seungcheol called out

“Say the name! Seventeen! Hello, we are Seventeen” Seungcheol started. Most all had tears but the biggest smiles on their faces.

Maybe having 13 soulmates wouldn't be so bad.

taglist @gigglensnort @amanda08319 @neivivenaj @allys-reads @sarabencze @kkochiau

[weeeeeekly]

the inheritance – hybrid!ot5 txt x human gn!reader

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

blurb !!! Your grandmother left behind her home to you in her will. As a recent college grad, you take on the responsibilities – you never expected to find 5 hybrids living in your new home

info !!! gender neutral pronouns for reader, no reader body shape mention, no use of y/n, non-idol au, hybrid au, strangers to lovers, ot5 txt x reader, kinda a/b/o, inspired by the monster’s bride webtoon, ppulbatu, & txt lore (please do not ask me about it bcuz I don’t know anyyyythingg)

WARNINGS !!! SFW but MDNI 18+ blog, swearing, not proofread just pure free flowing thought, wouldn’t recommend reading if you were close to your grandmother, she passed away, & are still grieving

wc 2k

author’s note !!! if you don’t like it – don’t read it!

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾 CHAPTER FOUR

Dinner had been going smoothly.

You all sat down at the kitchen table to eat; the table laid out, with help from Soobin and Kai, with food you prepped with a last-minute trip to the grocery store. The food all matched their dietary needs that you hastily listed in your phone’s notes after asking them earlier in the store.

Your guests dig in as you carefully watch their reactions, knowing that if they were not pleased you would be upset but if they were pleased you would still be upset because you still don’t know how you were going to make enough money to keep the house, get necessities, and help for the guys.

Yeonjun nudges you shoulder as look at him confused.

“I’ve been calling your name.”

“Oh, you have? What’s up?”

“Thank you for making us dinner.”

And he grins at you showing his smiles, canine teeth on display. You weren’t expecting that, you feel your face heat up.

“It’s no problem.” Throwing a smile back at him.

“Can you pass the salt?”

Beomgyu shrugs at Yeonjun. “I don’t know, can I?”

The fox hybrid rolls his eyes, “Can you please pass the salt?”

“I don’t like the way you said ‘please’.” Beomgyu moves the salt farther from Yeonjun.

“Pass the salt, mutt.”

Beomgyu’s eyes widen as his jaw slacks. “What did you call me?”

“Mutt – which is what you are!”

“Holy fuck.” You lean forward resting your elbows on the table, cradling your head in your hands in hopes to quell the throbbing headache you were currently nursing.

Your headache could have dissipated if not for the incessant noise in the form of arguing happening at the dinner table. Thanks to Beomgyu and Yeonjun’s fight, Soobin and Taehyun tried to calm them down, Kai in turn made a passing comment about how Soobin finally figured out how to read the room making Soobin argue with him. Taehyun could only do so much when Beomgyu then began insulting Soobin as well.

Shutting your eyes, you press your palms against your ears in attempt to drown out the noise, but to no avail. Your patience breaks when Yeonjun begins throwing salt at Beomgyu, and in turn, adding unnecessary levels of salt to the food on the table – the same food you just spent so much time preparing.

“Oh my god!” You stand up abruptly causing your chair to fall to the ground and slam your hands on the table. “Stop fighting and sit down NOW!”

As if you had magic, all 5 guys immediately sit down in their chairs and shut up. None of them dare to move.

“If you excuse me, but I’m going to shower and then sleep in my room – alone. Wash the dishes and toss it the food because it’s too far salty to be saved.” You turn on your heel and stomp upstairs, slamming the bathroom door behind you.

You spend the rest of your night in your room, stewing in anger under the covers of your bed. The quietness in the room is a stark contrast to the kitchen.

Sighing, you pull down on your sleep mask and drift into a very unrestful sleep of constant tossing and turning.

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

After finally falling asleep once you heard birds chirping, waking up to no surprises in your bed was off putting. Usually by now either Soobin or Beomgyu would be putting half of their body weight on you after sneaking in during the night, but your outburst must have got through to them. You do feel bad, having an outburst in front of them after knowing for less than a week.

Gathering all your strength to get up, you get out of bed and begin getting ready for the day. Nothing too exciting since you just showered and changed out of your pajamas into stay-at-home clothes. It was surprising that when you walked out of your room to the bathroom to hear no loud noises from downstairs where the guys were.

When you’re done, you go back to the kitchen to see that it was spotless, and the trash was taken out. You peek into the living room to see if any of them were on the couch, but it was empty. Calling out their names as you move about the house as your nerves are growing. You hope that they didn’t run away.

As you frantically run around the house, a figure in the widow makes you pause. In the background are your roommates.

“Uh, you guys scared me why are you–?”

Stopping mid sentence at the sight of Soobin in his dog form, looking lethargic.

“Holy shit, is he sick?!”

Taehyun tells you, “We think he ate some chocolate.”

“Shit. Is there anything I can get him? Some over the counter meds to throw it up? I’ll call my friend again.”

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

After a long phone call with your friend, you have the list of medications that will have Soobin feeling better in no time. You’re browsing through the aisles of the pharmacy with your headphones on playing your favorite playlist when a tap on your shoulder pulls your attention. Turning to your left as you pause the music playing to move the headphones to your neck.

The pretty redhead smiles at you with a dazzling smile as she says your name with the sweetest tone.

“Uh, do I know you…?”

“It’s me, Maddie!”

You feel the air get sucked out of the room as the sound around you turns into tv static. This can’t be the same Madeleine that you were best friends with for the first 2 years of middle school until the first day of 8th grade she decided to stop which broke your 13-year-old heart.

It’s true that when you’re 13 – it feels like the entire universe is against you, but you’ll never forget that feeling when you jogged up to her at 7 AM all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed dressed up in new clothes and ight makeup you begged your mom to let you wear only to watch Maddie’s face turn to disgust as you waved. The malice in her voice as she made fun of your outfit and acted like the last 2 years meant nothing to her. But you change your mind a lot in middle school when you’re desperately trying to fit in.

“Oh, Maddie. I didn’t recognize you.”

She surprises you by throwing her arms around your shoulders, “You haven’t changed!”

You’re not sure if that was a compliment or a jab at your style for not changing since middle school, too stressed out over Soobin’s health to mull over it too much. You pat her back and move backwards, turning your attention back to the shelf to grab the last bottle you need, dumping it into the basket.

“It really is nice to see you again after all this time.” She tells you.

“Did you enjoy going to Academy for high school?”

She snorts, “I barely made it a month before being homeschooled! Didn’t have any friends the rest of high school. It sucked, but kinda serves me right for being so nasty to you in middle school.”

Oh, so she did reflect on how her actions have consequences.

“I have to head home, but it was… nice seeing you again.” You say with a small smile.

Maddie gasps as she grabs your free hand. “We should get lunch and catch up!”

The comment makes you freeze in place as her hazel eyes stare into your soul, trying to telepathically make you say “yes”. You love seeing the goodness in other people and people do grow up and change, but part of you wants to protect your younger self and turn her offer down.

She notices your hesitation. “Here, I’ll write my number down if you want to have lunch. No pressure!”

And with that, she twirls around and walks out of the store, leaving you to wonder if she stopped you from outside the store window or if this was all by coincidence.

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

“Guys, I’m back!” You yell into the house as you put the car keys into the bowl by the door. You hear the footsteps of the guys rushing from downstairs as you slip your indoor shoes on.

Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Kai form a wall around you as they throw question after question at you. It’s when you take your coat off when their faces turn from glee to grimace.

“Something reeks.” Yeonjun snaps

“Um.” You say taking full offense of his comment. Quickly ducking your head to your armpit to see if your deodorant wore off only to still smell “fresh & clean”. “Excuse you.”

Taehyun shakes his head as he takes your coat from you, holding it as far away as his arm length would allow him. “No, we smell someone else.”

“But I didn’t –.”

You remember that Maddie hugged you. The guys are probably smelling her with their hybrid senses, in fear of causing another fight like last night’s dinner, you step backwards.

“Is there anything I can do? Take a medical grade shower? Lather tomato paste like a skunk attack?”

“Don’t see other people.”

Kai hits the back of Beomgyu’s head as he complains.

“Well?” You cross your arms in an attempt to lessen the smell of others.

“There’s one thing that would help.”

“Yeonjun.” Taehyun grits out.

“What? I promise I’ll try to be understanding.”

“Could we… scent you? Like rub your wrist against our neck, it’ll transfer our scent to you and you’ll smell like us. Like our pack.”

Oh.

If you think back to your freshman year of college, you remember reading something about scenting with hybrids for your intro to humanities class. How it calms one to have all members of their pack smelling like them.

“You think I’m part of the pack?”

Without missing a beat Kai answers, “Of course you are.”

The thought of being welcomed into their pack makes your heart flutter. This is all you wanted growing up – people that wanted you.

“Well, I won’t stop you from scenting. It’s okay, guys.”

All their jaws slack as their eyes flicker to each other, still unsure if you’re agreeing. You nod once more at their hesitation and with that final confirmation, Yeonjun and Beomgyu pull you into a hug. Your eyes widen at how close up you’re seeing these eternal beings; Yeonjun’s full lips that trace over your left wrist, Beomgyu’s long lashes brushing against your right wrist, Taehyun’s nose over your left shoulder, and Kai’s blonde hair tickling your right ear as he finds your pulse point below your jaw. You tighten your fists as you try your best to maintain your composure at the slightly intimate moment.

You duck under their arms and through their legs when you see Soobin standing at the edge of the staircase, holding his stomach.

“Soobin! I have your meds!” You rush out as grab your purse that was placed on the couch, hastily grabbing the various bottles. Offering your hands out to him as your chest moves up and down.

“Thanks.” He weakly smiles as one hand goes to grab a bottle.

🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾・・・🐾

Soobin begrudgingly takes the meds you bought him and, thankfully, he’s back to his regular self within the hour.

You turn to leave the guest room to let Soobin rest more when you pause at the doorway. The first two times you woke up, you had woken up with Soobin sleeping next to you (and on top of you), so you assume that he has a habit of doing this. And you still feel bad for how dinner went.

Oh, screw it.

“Can I sleep next to you?”

Soobin sits up as he gives you a confusing look.

“I’d like to have a little sleepover. I feel bad about how dinner went and then you got sick.”

“I would like that.”

You head back to your room to grab your pillows sending Yeonjun a smile as you pass him by in the hallway. Soobin scoots over as you lay down on one side, putting the pillows in between you two. He makes no mention of it as you close your eyes.

“Good night, Soobin.”

“Good night.”

masterlist | previous | next

author’s note it’s a christmas miracle! i finally updated ti!! so this is my present to you.

missing soobin every single day. i hope tubatu are enjoying their break <3

[martletfan64]

Yapping about Chujin and Martlet's relationship

This is just a jumble of thoughts I've had about Martlet and Chujin's relationship in Undertale Yellow.

Aside from Clover, Chujin is Martlet's most important relationship. He taught her woodworking for free, and was always kind to her. She clearly idolized the man, to the point of trusting in his words enough to break into the True Lab and steal a Determination serum out of the fear of humanity his warnings gave her. Indeed, although her anti-human beliefs are clearly not as strong as Chujin's, and completely disappear in Pacifist or low-LV Neutral, but she does have some anti-human sentiment ("You're a human through and through" in Vengeance, though she follows this with "I want you to know, I don't hate your kind," and she'd clearly never say something as strong as that they're "incapable of decency in any form", except for maybe the very end of a Vengeance route; even in that route she says she longs for eventual peace between humans and monsters, and, of course, she is deeply unwilling to intentionally kill Clover1, much like Clover is very unwilling to kill her; part of which makes Vengeance a tragedy). Martlet also states that Chujin was "almost like a father" to her (which leads me to believe she didn't really have a father figure before, though that's getting into headcanon territory). And, given she doesn't really mention having friends besides him, I do believe it's unreasonable to believe Chujin was Martlet's best friend too.

Of course, her relationship isn't as perfect as Martlet thought it was (in True Pacifist, Martlet she once saw Chujin as "the perfect monsters"); Chujin is very secretive by nature, and he didn't even reveal her the tapes, unlike what she did with Ceroba with the tapes, there's no evidence she ever met Kanako, and though she did meet Ceroba, as confirmed in Neutral, she only refers to her as an acquaintance (though interestingly, the final Pacifist boss fight includes the flavor text "Ceroba tries to ignore the condition of her friends," plural).

And when Martlet watches the tapes, she posthumously learns his secrets, his experiments (and she didn't even watch the secret tape! Imagine how she'd feel if she learned his mentor unintentionally killed a child and didn't really feel that much remorse, from it, and instead that child's SOUL for his experiments.) And, in contrast to Ceroba's devotion to the goal, harmful as it is to her and everyone to herself, because she can't bear failing him, realizing her beloved husband might have been wrong, Martlet realizes what the serum means for Clover, someone whose protection she is dedicated to at this point, an innocent child, human or not2, and is immediately opposed to it. She is immediately critcal of him, and although I imagine post-Pacifist he'd still be fond of him and the positive aspects of his legacy (small acts of kindness, helping others; I do believe Martlet starts mentoring others in the future), his memories would be tainted by his plan, the plan that led to his death, the destruction of a family, Clover nearly getting murdered and Starlo and her being badly injured, for a serum that was never proven to work. And, of course, she'd realize both humans and monsters can be good... and flawed. By the end of Vengeance, the cycle of vengeance continues, Clover has killed Martlet and Chujin has been vindicated. By True Pacifist, Martlet and Clover overcome their prejudice against the other race, the cycle of vengeance can be broken, and Chujin has been proven wrong: humans can be good people too. Difficult as it is, the cycle can end, there can be peace between the two races.

Though it's a shame Martlet never got a happy ending with Clover. Well, Undertale Yellow was always going to be a tragedy. It's ironic, but in a game about justice, the pair never truly get it. Thanks to Flowey, thanks to the unjust anti-human law, Clover was never allowed the happy childhood they deserved, the one Martlet would have tried their best to give them. In the end, the anti-human law ended harming monsters too. Martlet always tries to do the right thing, and yet she's too powerless to win in any ending. She didn't deserve the fates her universe gave her. Poor bird... and yet, she'd never stop trying to do the right thing, and never forget Clover... and Chujin, the man who taught her woodworking, who was always kind to her... and the man who taught not to put others on a pedestal.

1: Though she can totally unintentionally kill even a Pacifist Clover lol. Definitely would feel an immense amount of guilt about it if Flowey didn't reset.

2: Incidentally, one of my favorite Martlet moments is when she states that no, the future children would not deserve to be murdered.

[jeeseth]

DEBUT — izna x f!reader

izna members reaction when they saw their girlfriend in the crowd cheering loudly for their debut .

tags 💭 — fluff, drabble, idol au, all of this is based on my delusions, lowercase intended, mens dni, grammatical errors .

a/n — congrats to my girlies on their debut! stream izna!

> mai !

at first, she doesn’t noticed you standing in the crowds yet. but while she’s interacting and waving to some of the fans and that’s when she spotted you. you could immediately see her eyes and smile lit up! just by seeing you there in the crowd cheering, it already makes mai feel so much better! suddenly her nervousness vanished in an instant once her eyes landed on you.

also also! mai will find herself giggling during her ending fairies because you were screaming her name so loudly <3

> jeemin !

seeing jeemin debuting almost makes you shed a tear. (i did cry my whole life out) you told jeemin beforehand that you’ll be there at her debut showcase. once jeemin walks into the stage, her calm and neutral expression can be seen as she waves to her fans. jeemin saw you in the crowd not long after, you swear you can see jeemin trying not to smile when she saw you. she would frequently do some poses your way so that you can capture it and put it on your lockscreen like you always did.

also… jeemin making your mouth went wide open by seeing her performance. like damn. you’re lucky.

> jiyoon !

this girl is lowkey so goofy 😭 i can imagine jiyoon doing goofy little poses for you just to see you laugh. but but! she’ll definitely impress you with her live vocals. like girl? you literally melted on the spot once jiyoon started talking. well that’s the thing, you don’t really care because yk you’re gonna hear that pretty voice of hers everyday :P

she’s a completely different person when performing tho! just like that her goofy personality are replaced with her idol personality(?) i suck at english excuse me.

> koko !

goofy girl number two! she’s not as goofy on stage because she’ll definitely find her ways to impress you with her dance! you knew your girlfriend is good at dancing but DAMN? she saw you in the crowd and suddenly her confidence level went 🆙

would secretly sends hearts your way and it makes you giggles happily knowing that your girlfriend still doesn’t forget to interact with you <3

> sarang !

this flirty girl. her eyes immediately landed on you once she’s on the stage. and yk, she won’t stop winking and giving you flying kisses every two minutes. i feel like sarang won’t even care about the other fans once she saw you 😭 girlie don’t give a damn about those dating scandals.

not only that, this girl literally won’t stop flirting with you hello? like the cameras?? EVEN WHEN PERFORMING. she’ll send winks your way and it makes your heart melt every now and then. also i can see sarang doing whatever it takes to meet you backstage later.

> jungeun !

i can imagine jungeun going soooo shy when she saw you in the crowd. she would waves at you before quickly looking away, trying to hide the blush creeping up her cheeks! would frequently steals a glance your way even when she’s performing.

ALSO jungeun doing the aegyo challenge clearly caught you off guard but but! it warms jungeun heart when she saw you laughing happily.

> saebi !

she’s already all smiley and happy once she stepped into the stage but her smile gets even wider when she saw you in the crowd! her eyes is literally filled with love and affection as she gazed at your way 🥹

saebi can barely focus on what she’s doing because she can’t help but to glance at you every seconds. also saebi getting all pouty when you raised your phone which has her goofy polaroid on the back!

[shinystealingbirb]

I wanted to figure out if Yona actually likes us.

Quick notice before we begin: It's extremely hard to figure out what Link's thinking, so I won't even try on that front. Sidon's perspective has been debated back and forth for the year or so that totk has been out, and for even longer during botw, so I'm only gonna skim over his. Yona is the one I'm most interested in.

Alright! everything else is below the cut!

Yona.

I care about two things with Yona, and they're the two things that motivate the Player's interactions with her. The first interaction (her style of speech) and the Zora armor.

So far, the basic things we know about Yona is that she's from a Domain outside of Hyrule. She looks like a moray, like Mizu, suggesting that Dorephan's wife might have also been from outside Hyrule, and Mizu just stuck around as an envoy. She wears gold instead of silver, as do her attendants. She speaks English- the only Zora we know of that speaks English.

What I find more interesting than this is the fact that we don't actually know when Link met her, or if he even knew of her existance before he arrived. I'm going to assume he's been to Zora's Domain plenty during the seven year gap between games, but when the Player first meets Yona, she doens't have a nametag. Link doesn't seem to recognize her.

She talks in a more formal way than most of the Zora, who talk to each other like they're extended family. She even talks to her attendants that way, so I'm assuming her Domain is a fair bit more political than ours, and she's used to double meanings and stuff. Which is interesting for worldbuilding, but just something to keep a note of for our interactions with Yona. Because cheerful does not mean interested in our interactions.

But despite Link not recognizing her at all, despite her being foreign to Hyrule, she has our damaged Zora armor. She knows where the rest of it is. She was trying to gift us the full set.

I'm gonna assume everyone knows the significance of Link's Zora armor, especially the chestpiece. Given that it seems Yona arrived just before the Upheaval, and that the Player had no idea who she was, I don't think Link gave it to her to repair. I think he gave it to Sidon, being the Zora Link has the best relationship with, to fix. And apparently, it found its way to Yona, probably because Sidon's been stuck at Mipha Court the entire time. Which means Link's probably immediately on guard, as I was, about the fact this random person has my really important armor.

Nevertheless, Yona treats it really well, and by extension, us. If she were being passive agressive, she could have replaced the damaged scales with another Zora's scales. Or, if she feared consequences from other Zora a bit more, replaced it with a lower-quality fish's scales. But she doesn't. She specifically asks for ancient arowana, which isn't easy to find. She acknowledges the armor as "treasured" and "precious" and says, "I'm honored to reunite you with this armor." Usually her language is pretty neutral, so her actual meaning can swing either way. This time, she's using only positive language, and it's clear that she respects the meaning of the armor, knows where it came from, and what it means to Link.

She had plenty of chances to be an ass when it came to the armor. She also didn't have to tell us where the Zora pants were, or instruct her attendants to get the Zora headpiece. But Yona did, so we can call the armor a decent show of goodwill.

Yona likes us. At the very least, she approves of us, because during the armor quests, she uses mostly positive language. Yippee. We got approval from the harder of the two Zora to read.

and now a quick note about sidon.

I'm not going to touch on the ambiguous will they/won't they relationship that nintendo may or may not be hanging over this. What I care about with Sidon is whether he cares about us as a friend or an idol.

I say idol as a person one might look up to, I should mention.

So in the first game, Link is recognized as Mipha's "friend", and thats enough for Sidon to trust us and hang around. I mean, if your big sister, who you absolutely adore, had a friend, what do you do? Steal said friend. By which I mean make friends with that friend. Link is kind of an object of mystery here, and when Sidon lets us ride on his back, it's more like riding a horse than anything. He's actively making himself a tool at our disposal- not an even partnership by any means, but it does require a significant degree of trust.

Tears of the Kingdom... well, it has the new statue, which shows this part of Botw. If Sidon still thinks of Link this way, by which I mean constantly looking up to Link and idolizing him, not as "miphas fiance" but "cool dude who did cool shit," it's a little more balanced, but still uneven.

However, he treats us more like a friend when we actually go talk to him. He lets us talk to him and break his concentration, which actually says a lot. The other Zora are posted far enough away that it sort of discourages conversation, because this guy is a hundred percent focused and definitely stressed and definitely tired, cause hes been up there since the Upheaval happened. But Sidon chats with us, he opens up the waterways, and he defends us. We're clearly included in people he cares about, but it's hard to say whether that category is friend, idol, or boyfriend.

i dunno, just thought itd be interesting to point some of these out idk.

[pretty-idol-hell]

Idol Land PriPara 10

Well... That was a lot.

I figured I'd open this post the exact way the episode opened. Mario's crotch.

(I'm trying to compare this scene with anything that happened in King of Prism and having a surprisingly difficult time. I think we may have gotten a few Alexander crotch shots, but they were surprisingly rare now that I think of it. And yet, here we are in Idol Land PriPara...)

So, Mario is back in DanPri with his strawberry boxers on full display as he tries his best to overcome his embarrassment so he no longer turns into his rabbit form.

And, actually, it works. Literally flinging the crowd's chant of "deseze!" (lame) back at them, he is able to change it into IIZE!

And so, with a brainwashed Shinya and lots of bugs in tow, Mario's rampage begins.

Instead of getting brainwashed, the dark key meant fror Amamiya ends up locking him in the bathroom, though.

(Which may have answered one of the most randomest questions I've had about PriPara/DanPri. Are there bathrooms? Are they gender-neutral? Yes, but no it seems.)

Mario decides to give the dark mic he found at the end of the last episode to Shinya, and he goes ham as well, launching a direct attack on PriPara as a concerned Ushimitsu ninja follows him.

Amari and SoLaMi Dressing arrive to find PriPara in shambles, with everyone feeling the brainwashing "whatever" effect of the dark keys.

Mario confronts them, causing Shion and Dorothy to immediately whip out their kendo sword and okonomiyaki spatula respectively as this is war.

Amari brings out her greatest weapon, Mario's strawberry boxers, only to discover it no longer works. Mario even offers to show them before Amari quickly interjects.

Meanwhile, Shinya is confronted by Ushimitsu just outside the gates. Ushimitsu sobs and grips onto Shinya's leg as Shinya rejects him. But just as Ushimitsu is about to be consumed by the bugs, however, WITH arrives with vacuum cleaners and goat onesies to save him.

After a quick scuffle, Koyoi is able to incapacitate his former teammate as he can see his weak points... only for Ushimitsu to throw a smoke bomb and allow Shinya to escape out of habit.

Ushimitsu quickly realizes what he's done but it's too late as Shinya runs off to wreak more havoc.

Meanwhile, back inside the gates, Non Sugar has joined the battle, as well as the PriPara nurses. But just as things seem like they are looking up, another threat is revealed:

Shion is dueling a copy of herself. The bugs have started replicating everyone and making dark copies!

The dark copies each threaten their originals in different ways. (Dark Dorothy just lounges around picking her nose, causing Dorothy to flip out about her image being ruined.)

Gaarmageddon-Mi is also fighting the battle in their own way, by performing a ritual outside the gates, when Gaaruru feels the bug inside her stirring again. She wanders off and runs into Mario again who recognizes the bug inside her, reminds Gaaruru of her past, and asks her to join him and return to the way she used to be.

She refuses, so Mario calls Shinya to call bugs to consume her. But Falulu suddenly appears to push Gaaruru aside at the last second and the bugs take her instead!

Mario, however, is pleased with this. Falulu is the ultimate vocal doll, the ultimate idol. Copying her would make the ultimate dark idol!

Falulu vows to protect PriPara, and agrees to challenge Dark Falulu as long as Mario agrees to leave if she wins.

Mario winds up Dark Falulu for the challenge. (I don't think we've ever actually seen the crank on unawakened Falulu used before, have we?)

Mario declares the winner will be the one who completes Cyalume Change. Which is very usual to me, because Cyalume Change has never been difficult to achieve in the past? Don't we usually declare the winner by who has the most iine? Hmm???

This is the halfway point of the episode, btw.

Falulu changes into her unawakened form to challenge Dark Falulu (as apparently she can do that at will?) and we get this kinda cool mirrored performance of the vintage 0-week-old.

Dark Falulu proceeds to copy everyone's Making Dramas just like Falulu once did in season one. But Falulu states what she herself learned, that you can't win that way, and awakens herself again in her original Making Drama.

Falulu Cyalume Changes and Dark Falulu is just never seen again.

So, since Falulu is the clear winner, Mario agrees to leave... the arena, He's not leaving PriPara.

Instead, Mario and Shinya escalate things even further, now hurling bugs into the SKY!

Hibiki, observing the situation from their helicopter, quickly decides Meganii is not doing enough to protect PriPara and once again takes things into their own hands.

The sky is darkened, and Yui is no longer responding as Takki is frozen shut. Mirei points to the sky, where the Yumeme is swarming in bugs. Janice and the time twins rush to try and free it.

As the others try to decide what to do, a crying voice can be heard. "Amari-chaaan!!"

It's Pololo. She thought she was coming to PriPara to visit with everyone, but now she's crouched at the entrance crying in fear over what's going on.

But, determined to show Pololo that PriPara is still PriPara, Laala steps in to solve this problem like she solves every problem: A live!

SoLaMi Dressing and Gaarmageddon plus Gaaruru, Falulu, Fuwari, and Ajimi put on a repeat performance of All Idol Song Precious from the PriParis movie!

This screen is shown before the performance despite several characters above not appearing in the performance because they weren't characters yet when the movie came out.

But anyway, again it seems to be working! Pololo's happiness starts to convert the bugs once more as kirakira rockets up towards the Yumeme key. A quick shot shows us that Mario isn't going to stand for that, however, and just as the girls begin their Cyalume Change...

The performance is interrupted as bugs rocket up from the manhole covers to flood the skies once more. A live feed comes up to show Mario explaining the "present" he sent them is all the bugs Laala has been collecting all this time have now been released from the cave all at once... (Wow Laala was working hard... but anyway.)

The kirakira has now been depleted to the point where even the time twins and Janice can't keep up. The key falls from the sky to crash into the fountain and Janice even turns back into a baby, falling from the sky as well to safely land into Non's arms.

Shinya is celebrating their victory when he is swiftly and quietly kidnapped by Ushimitsu and WITH while everyone is distracted.

Meanwhile, Amari, who has been suffering internal conflict throughout the episode, drops to her knees as she looks upon what PriPara has become. The fallen key, Pololo's tears. It's all my fault. Why am I like this!? She thinks to herself. And, in a moment of weakness she yells out how much she hates herself, for everyone to hear.

Mario appears before her and once again invites her to join him, as they'd once planned. But, she slaps his hand away, deeply disappointing him once again.

And, through tears, Amari formally challenges Mario. If he wins, he can do whatever he wants. But if she wins, he has to stay out of her sight forever.

Mario gloomily accepts.

Amari quietly apologizes to everyone, and explains that since she's the one who created him, she's the one who has to defeat him.

To be continued.

So... yeah uh, as you could imagine. I have a lot of thoughts about this episode. A lot of mixed opinions.

Idol Land PriPara has been honestly amazing and the pacing has been surprisingly good... up until now. This to me is the first and only episode so far that felt extremely rushed. But with the length of the current series as a whole, that's kind of impressive in itself.

If this were classic PriPara, several filler episodes would have taken place in between this episode and the last while Mario tried and failed to handle his embarrassment before finally succeeding and launching an attack. Considering the whole Mario turning into a rabbit thing was just introduced in the last episode only to be overcome in the next, it made me initially wonder why they bothered to introduce it at all.

Also, the whole Falulu vs. Dark Falulu thing would have been its own episode as well, and it would have been proceeded by some scenes if not a whole episode to remind us of the connection between Gaaruru and Falulu. I mean, yeah it makes total sense that Falulu would jump in to save Gaaruru like that, but anyone watching just this series wouldn't fully understand why. It kinda comes out of nowhere.

And it really felt like Falulu, who played such a huge part in this episode, barely spoke at all. Heck she's barely spoke in Idol Land at all!

So this episode was at least three episodes in one, basically. I think they could have easily just made this whole episode just around Mario launching an attack, Pololo getting scared, and the other girls trying to fix things before failing without any of the Mario rabbit/Falulu duel stuff leading up to it. Why bother?

Or so I ask myself while already knowing the answer.

The Mario rabbit thing was just too good to let go. The Falulu duel was too good to let go. This was all stuff they planned out long in advance, perhaps before they knew the series was going to be this short, and they were too good to let go. So they made it work. Sort of.

And honestly. I appreciate that.

That shows love. That shows people who really care about PriPara, about this anime.

So at the end of the day... I liked this episode. They did the best with what they had.

All Idol Song Precious is again, a VERY special song/performance to me (actually my favorite PriPara performance of all time!) and I remembered that recently even before this episode aired while going through my old ticket binders since I found I was using the PriParis coords in some of my last games before leaving Japan. The red/white/blue one had to be collected by visiting the movie theater week after week so it's somewhat rare to have collected all of it.

(Sadly, I left before the actual song was added to the arcade though...) So, I was really happy to see it featured again! I was literally thinking wow, it's so nice to have a version of this uninterrupted by the battle that takes place during the movie when--IT WAS INTERRUPTED and they didn't even finish the song. GAAAAHHHnoooooo...

But I do understand, as far as the episode narrative goes.

And Amari yelling about how she hates herself even after all the growth she went through this season hit me right in the feels. Goddamn, she's so relatable.

And Mario. Behind all of this he's just hurt and lonely and just wants Amari to acknowledge him. So I'm sure that will come out in the next episode.

Anyway, there were no new coords in this episode so I don't know if we'll be getting an episode-based gatcha? They probably will release those PriParis coords in some way but IIRC they were all just SRs so I don't know if they would bother with a gatcha.

If anything, the next song might be morning? (Falulu's arcade song. I think it was on the Switch.)

Oh, I guess I was thinking of one of the 3DS games. I'm surprised 0-week-old is actually on the Switch. So yeah, definitely our next song.

[decaffedthoughts]

Firsts and Flowers

pairing: non idol sana x gender neutral reader

word count: 4.6k

fluff and a touch of angst

summary: scenes from yours and sana’s relationship firsts, accompanied by the bouquets you bring to each, from introduction to anniversaries and beyond.

a/n: guess who’s back! i do have specific photos for what sana is wearing for every single scene lol, ask me if you’re interested. low/no plot, just me fawning because i am down horrid for sana. this is for clownracha’s may prompt, flower language

First date

Bouquet: white roses, calla lily, hibiscus

Her number had come through a mutual friend, Bang Chan. A former coworker of yours and a current coworker of hers. You'd heard her name a few times through him but not much else. Chan knew practically everyone in the damn country, or at least seemed to at times, so you trusted that he could tell who was similar and who would work well together, at least as well as one human could.

So, you sent a small "hello" to the provided number that night.

Hello

Is this Sana? Chan gave me your number

Sana speaking

And who might you be

The first tricky part of meeting someone was completed. Now it was just the other hard part of staying in touch. It was a Friday, so both of you were relatively free to text late into the night, not needing to worry about your semi-soul-crushing schedule ruining the night. At some point, you realized you'd never seen her face and decided to shoot your shot for a selfie. You told her to choose whatever she pleased, hoping it's not too glamourized to make you unintentionally feel wrong in your chip-dusted sweatpants.

In the end, nothing could have prepared you. Sana was clearly in lounge clothes, she might have even taken it right before sending it to you, but she was still the most gorgeous woman you had ever seen. Maybe it was because she was not some high-held celebrity that hardly seemed human, but something about her still felt otherworldly.

Your sleepiness allowed much of that sentiment to flow through your texts, which you could worry about later. For now, it was simply wondering how Chan could have set you up like that without warning. You'd be sure to get him back for that somehow. Your attention diverted from revenge plans back to Sana when she sent a simple question mark, and you realized that the effusive praise was simply a draft.

Sorry you broke my brain by being wildly gorgeous

Did you take that just now?

Mhm

Decided you were special enough to get a never before seen picture

Chan likes everyone, but he doesn't keep everyone around

It's almost annoying how many friends he has

I can barely have a public conversation with him, I swear

It was easy like that for weeks. One text every few hours, or on lucky days a spree of a few hours with just a minute or two between responses. It progressed to something other than simply friendship feelings for you. Could you continue to be friends if that invitation was rejected or didn't work out? Sure, but you wanted to try, and I hope that Sana feels that same feeling too.

Hey

Do you want to get dinner with me next week?

Are you asking me on a date? Spicy

Give me the details

You did, and she agreed. It felt unreal. Maybe she didn't have the same feelings yet, or maybe she did, but it seemed she was at least open to them. Next week was far enough away that it gave you enough time to adequately plan everything, but now the same date was too far away, and each minute of waiting seemed to drag on.

As time does, it passed, and the day arrived in front of you. Sana's apartment was closer to the restaurant, so you agreed to meet there and walk over. You ended up very early due to sheer nervousness and saw a flower shop not far away. Not wanting to show up that early, you headed over but only planned to look.

Almost immediately, many of the flowers caught your eye, and you rethought that "just looking" idea. Deciding that the cashier would likely know more than you do, you headed up to them.

"Hey, any good recommendations for a first date? Kinda impromptu, so I don't have much time." You explained to them, Dongmin, according to the name tag.

They nodded and took you around the shop, picking up a few flowers and explaining their meanings. You checked the time and had a few extra minutes, especially if you walked quickly. On the way out, you thanked Dongmin, and they wished you good luck on the date. You smiled, fresh white bouquet in hand. Maybe you could come back if all went well.

Steadying your shaking hand and knocking on the door correctly took you a moment. Before properly taking in Sana, you shoved the bouquet toward her. You knew you might end up stunned by her, so you took a moment before it happened. When you finally got the courage to open your eyes, you were more right than you knew.

Her hair was now a soft purple, tied up by a large black bow. She wore a shoulderless black sweater under her blue-gray dress, and, as predicted, you just couldn't stop staring. Silently, which may have made her a little nervous or uneasy, admittedly, but what words could you use to describe the practical angel in front of you? And she wanted to go on a date with you? She took the bouquet with gratitude and a smile, bidding you wait a moment while she put it in a vase. There wasn't much else for you to do or anywhere to go, so you inspected what you could see of her apartment from the doorway. When she returned, she held out the flowers in a large jar, notably not a vase.

She laughed sheepishly as you stared, "People don't really give me flowers, so I didn't plan for this. More about the flowers than the container, right?"

You didn't have an answer, so you just nodded because they looked perfectly fine in the jar. You were more surprised that people didn't give her flowers often. If you had to guess, you would have said she had a long line of suitors waiting to give her gifts. Maybe she did, and they just weren't partial to flowers. It was the only thing that made sense; Sana was too beautiful not to give gifts to.

You walked down the street together, unpopulated since it hadn't warmed up too much. Despite having only text conversations to that point, your conversation flowed well, and the silences were short but comfortable. Each of you had various ideas and stories to share. Walking down the street also provided plenty of distractions for you both, mainly in the form of cute animals needing the time to be outside.

It passed in what feels like no time at all. And the meal went just as fast. The food was acceptable, but you knew that wouldn't be what you remembered regardless. Instead, you noted how Sana's face lit up when she laughed or how shyly she reacted when you complimented her, among other things. Surprisingly, she retaliated on the compliments quickly, smirking when you responded.

Honestly, you didn't see the sun setting in the window, nor the number of people that entered and exited as you sat there talking. As expected, a waiter came over eventually, asking if you wanted to pay. You almost didn't notice them in the middle of a story of one of your coworkers nearly destroying the microwave.

For a few minutes, you gathered up everything and left, but the moment you were back outside, you began to laugh together again. That seemed to be the theme of that first date, and there was no reason you could find to complain about it. It was significantly darker that time, which removed your visibility of Sana's face, but it made it easier to step closer and feel the backs of your hands brushing as you walked. You didn't know who finally made the move to intertwine your fingers, but neither stopped to comment, simply enjoying the moment and letting it breathe. Her hand was soft, and you found yourself wondering what it would be like to be able to hold it as often as you wanted in the future.

You arrived at her doorway faster than you had expected and far quicker than you wanted to. After a few minutes of awkward and stuttered goodbyes, Sana took a step forward and briefly hesitated before pressing a kiss on your cheek. When she stepped back, she opened her mouth to say something, but you felt a small and uncontrollable smile spread across your lips. She must have seen it because she closed her mouth and gave you a small smile. Each of you whispered a final goodbye before you turned and headed back down the hallway.

First makeup

Bouquet: chamomile, zinnia, lotus flower

It wasn't a fight about something stupid; you had learned better than to minimize your own feelings by now, but it was something that didn't need to be a fight at all. One or maybe a few conversations, and you could have worked it out together. Instead, you held it in because of a misguided vision of being a "good" and "unproblematic" partner, especially this early in your relationship. Eventually, as should be expected, you couldn't hold it in anymore.

You felt that Sana didn't set aside enough time to text you or text you back during the day, and she was equally unavailable on some nights. On the weekends, she was much more active in calling or texting you. But other times, she could be virtually unreachable for hours.

You could hardly remember what had set you off just a few minutes later. The more you walked and thought, the more embarrassed you became. Here you were, with an adult job and living independently, yet you still didn't communicate properly with your girlfriend.

Without really realizing it, you had walked the reverse path you usually did. That time from Sana's door to the flower shop you often visited. You walked in, unsure if you wanted to buy anything, but simply being around nature was calming.

Ultimately, you decided it couldn't hurt to show up at her apartment with a bouquet. Along with a heartfelt apology and readiness to communicate, pretty flowers always help. So you asked the cashier if there was a common "after a fight" bouquet or flower they might recommend.

It took a few minutes of searching, in which you stewed in your thoughts even more, but they did come back. The chamomile and the lotus were instantly recognizable, even to you. And the other one was a white zinnia. Or was it a zinnia? You couldn’t remember, but it was a pretty flower and fit perfectly with the calm white theme.

You distracted yourself on the way back by constantly fiddling with the flower petals and placements, not wanting to think about what you'd do in a few minutes. What would you do if Sana turned you away or didn't open the door? You'd have to leave the flowers, text her that they're there, and hope she reads them rather than just swiping them away. You wouldn't blame her if she did, but you'd continue hoping for the best.

You knocked hesitantly and waited, scuffing your foot along the floor. Mercifully, she opened the door, but her face fell slightly when she properly saw you.

"You're not my kimchi jjigae." She said simply.

You winced. Kimchi jjigae was a spicy comfort food for her, so it must have hurt her more than you thought.

"I'm not. I hope you'll let me apologize anyways. I'm sorry for not talking about any of my problems before they exploded. I didn't want to cause any problems so early into our relationship, and I wasn't sure what you would think if I did. Clearly, this was worse, and now I seem immature as well. It doesn't have to be right now, but I hope you can forgive me."

You chewed and pulled at your bottom lip as you waited for her to answer, and her face was impressively smooth and impassive.

"I'll need more time to move on, but I forgive you. Come in, and I'll tell you how to make it up to me."

You perked up significantly and followed her inside as quickly as you could.

"Yes, ma'am! Thank you, baby. I'm sorry again."

"First step in making it up to me. Stop apologizing."

First birthday together

Bouquet: yellow tulip, yellow jasmine, dwarf sunflower

It was Sana's first birthday while she was with you, and it was a big moment. You wanted to get a gift that she liked and made the day worth her while. It was mid-winter, so flowers were generally out of season, but that wouldn't stop you. Quite the opposite even. You'd be going for a yellow bouquet to mimic a piece of the sunshine that you were so missing during these months. It included some dwarf sunflowers, which, despite the name, were still relatively large and perfect for your idea.

It was technically a late birthday gift and date, as her friends got the first pick for surprising her on the day of. Genuinely, it was more than worth it. You had shown up for a date as if you weren't taking her directly to them when they were simply waiting just around the corner, almost literally, just behind a curtain in the private area of the restaurant. She had left your side to greet them almost immediately, though not without a small kiss full of gratitude first. It didn't bother you at all, her friends were all wonderful people, and she looked radiant as she took in the whole scene. When you left for the night, she had complained about her cheeks hurting from smiling so much, but even the whole way home, she couldn't stop gushing and giggling about it all.

So, you simply sat back and listened, nodding even though you were sure she wasn't paying attention to you. You knew you'd get her full attention the next day regardless. Though when you returned to her apartment, you told her how beautiful she looked so happy, which only made her laugh again and jokingly swat at your arm.

She joked about it again the next day, asking if you were taking her on a date this time or if you'd secretly bring her to see her family. Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea for a future birthday, but you didn't say that, only repeating the idea in your mind to return to later.

The aquarium was rather crowded when you got there, with many people having the same idea. A weekend, insulated from the cold, and a generally nice place for a date. Of course, you had been expecting this, so it didn't ruin your experience entirely, even if it made moving around and looking at the tanks a little more difficult.

You'd been to an aquarium on a previous date, it was hard to come up with wholly original date ideas all the time, but this one was much bigger. That experience helped you know that Sana's reactions would be much more entertaining to watch than the fish ever could be. She had a perpetual curiosity and affection for the creatures of the world that you never got tired of. One of her many admirable and adorable traits. If you got into all that, you could be there all day.

The water shimmered and moved, entrancing patterns across the angles of her face, and you truly couldn't look away even if you wanted to. After watching the school of fish moving in inscrutable patterns, she finally noticed you staring at her and started pouting and whining.

"Look at the fish! Aquarium time, baby!" She took your hand and dragged you closer to the glass, forcibly turning your head with a pout every time you tried to rotate it back and look at her.

Eventually, you accepted the motion and stared at the fish, slowly separating your mind from all the people you knew were there and immersing yourself in the sight. Of course, Sana began to get impatient and tugged on your hand again after a while. You snapped out of your haze and followed wherever she planned to go next. Planning was evidently a generous word, as you were sure she was just walking to whatever caught her fancy as she saw it, but you would have followed her anywhere by then.

Much of the time passed like that: watching Sana and then watching the fish at her urging before she saw something new and exciting and dragged your stumbling self behind her. You wouldn't even dream of having it any other way.

You told her you wanted to take a slight detour on the way back. You didn't tell her where, but it wasn't like the florist was overly exciting by now. Or, it wasn't for you, but Sana's previously mentioned affection for the world often extended to plants as well. Especially very pretty plants like all the flowers hung up in that shop. You freed her to wander around as she pleased while you headed up to grab your pre-ordered bouquet. It was even prettier than you thought it would be.

"Princess!" You called out to her and heard Sana's shoes hitting the floor a moment later.

"Baby?" She asked before seeing the bouquet in your hands and running the last few steps.

"Oh, it's so pretty! My personal sunshine for the winter months, I love it." She took the bouquet from you and stared at it, sighing dreamily.

The walk back to her apartment was filled with her softly stroking the flowers, sighing, and several instances of her almost tripping. You very nearly teased her for it, but it was hard to when it happened because she was too busy staring at something you bought her.

She thanked you one more time at her door with a small kiss, and you were left staring at her door with a little dopey smile.

First anniversary

Bouquet: daisy, hibiscus, white jasmine

It was hard to believe a year had passed with Sana at your side. At that point, something very obvious first came to mind to commemorate the occasion. Buy a new bouquet. They were a nice way to celebrate big events and a reminder of you that Sana could look at every day, even if you couldn't be there with her. After confirming they would work with flower meanings, you decided to ask the florist for a bouquet meaning something like "love for a beautiful person." It was the one major descriptor that came to mind when you thought of your girlfriend. She was beautiful in every way, inside and out.

In the last few years, so much had happened, individually and together, but the excitement of knocking on her apartment door was always the same for you. Sometimes, between the moments of knocking and Sana answering, you daydream about when you wouldn't have to knock on this door at all. You would plan a day and simply see Sana emerge from behind a door while you waited. Or maybe you would make her wait for you. Whatever the situation, you longed for the day that you could share more time and space with her.

For now, the excitement remained. When Sana opened the door that time, you were more than excited, you were shocked. She opened the door, peeked around it, and you saw her hair was pink! You gasped and pushed in to get a proper look at her. As if the sight was unbelievable, you reached out and ran a small amount through your fingers, but the color stayed the same. It was a delicate floral pink, and it made her shine. Maybe you should go away for a few days more often if something like that was going to happen. As soon as you thought it, you knew that was unsustainable because you couldn't even imagine being away for that long now, and certainly not by choice.

"I love it. You're gorgeous. And happy anniversary, I love you." You stepped forward and rested your hands on her hips, practically hypnotized by the smile your words brought forth.

"My beloved," she crooned, holding you close. "Happy anniversary to us, the first of many, I'm sure."

You stood there for a few minutes, simply enjoying each other's presence before you had to leave and face the wide world once more. Thankfully, when you stepped back, you could survey her outfit. You didn't have to, as you could be sure she looked great, but then again, why wouldn't you? A simple black outfit, a skirt with a little pearl belt, and knee-high black boots. But you processed all that fairly quickly, though with some needed appreciation for her legs, because you were drawn back to her bright hair falling down her shoulders.

The way Sana giggled made you sure she noticed, but if she didn't expect that much reaction, you clearly hadn't shown your appreciation for everything about her well enough thus far.

Sometimes you thought your relationship became a little routine, which was comforting in its own way, and wondered if you and Sana could even surprise each other anymore. Well, this was proof that you most certainly could.

If it were someone else, or maybe some time else, you might have been concerned about someone trying to make a move on her. By then, you were confident and secure enough. She had told you that when she dressed up, it was for herself and maybe for you. And if anyone else had the gall to approach her, she was generally quick to rebuff them and point you out as her loving, doting, and sole partner. Although there had been a few times she'd let them keep trying for laughs as you looked on from a few feet away. It was mostly fun to watch the excitement dull as they realized she was not some doll to bend to their whims but a strong-willed and opinionated person.

Thankfully, tonight no one like that should bother you. It was a little cliche, but you returned to the restaurant of your first date, and it felt like stepping back in time. The place wasn't popular enough to have the money for major renovations, but it was popular enough that it was well-maintained and looked practically the same as you remembered it.

It wasn't private by any means, but that worked to your advantage as you and Sana spent about an hour scoping out passers-by and making up stories about what they might be doing. You both started pretty regular, but as time passed, you both came up with more ridiculous possibilities that sent you both into giggling fits.

The sunset, and eventually, you both had to leave. Not because you were disturbing people but because you had other exciting places to be. Or you might have planned for that, but Sana immediately turned back towards her apartment, pulling you behind her. When you wordlessly expressed your shock and confusion, she giggled.

"Listen, I had fun, but I'm tired and don't want you to leave yet. I mean, you can if you want, but I want you to come with me."

"No! I wanna go with you; we can do whatever you want at your apartment. It's our anniversary until I leave."

You walked the rest of the way back in happy, companionable silence. As soon as you got in the elevator, you drifted towards each other, pressing as much of yourselves together as possible. Of course, you reached her floor all too quickly, but Sana didn't hesitate to pull you forward, clearly excited as a puppy for whatever she had planned behind her apartment door. And you followed dopily, endlessly drawn into her gravity.

First proposal

It is the height of summer, but thankfully there is a light and cool breeze for your picnic today. Sweating through the heat is not generally attractive. Sana is wearing a rather casual outfit filled with bright yellow and pink for the summer, topped off by heart jewelry she had bought on a previous date. You've got a camera bag slung over your shoulder, with the excuse that it's just a nice day and you want some pictures. In reality, you want something like a proposal to be captured with something better than a phone camera. Which is all well and good if she says yes, but that inevitably leads to what will happen if she says no. No, you will not psych yourself out 2 minutes before you need to leave.

To your credit, it's a cute ass picnic date, even without the promise of a later proposal in your mind. You spend it talking about nothing, asking benign questions, and hardly paying attention to the answer because you could be entranced by your pretty girlfriend instead. It's a beautiful arrangement.

The sun is still high and hot in the sky, but when you look at Sana, it simply feels right. So you stand up and reach a hand out to her.

"Will you come with me, princess? I have a place I want to show you." You say.

The place is not the thing of importance that you want to show her, but she doesn't need to know that yet. A small clearing dotted by flowers and a surprising lack of weeds. You put the bouquet and the basket down while she looks around and peers at every type of flower.

"Baby?" You call, and she comes bounding back to you, her smile wide and eyes gleaming.

"Yes, darling?"

"The bouquet. The white roses you may recognize from our first date, where I ambitiously got them as a sign of new beginnings. I wanted so badly to know you better and hoped I could convince you to stay. I'm so glad that whatever I did or said worked. The little ones are yarrow for everlasting love. Which I hope we have because I can't imagine life without you now, and I hope I never see what it's like. Honeysuckle are the spindly ones poking out the sides, and they're for the bonds of love. For me, that is not a duty to stay but rather an agreement that we both have made and wish to stick to. And the firework-like ones are myrtle, but there's something else I have to do first."

There's no grand reaction, so you don't think Sana has caught on to you yet. Or if she has, she is holding her emotions in very well. You reach into a tiny pocket at the bottom of your camera bag and pull out the small blue box. There's no hiding what it is, so you turn and push out one knee. And the way her face scrunches as she bursts into a strange combination of tears and smiles is the picture that will be etched into your mind forever.

"The myrtle means love in a marriage, which I believe we could have for the rest of our lives if you would like. So, Minatozaki Sana, will you marry me?"

"Oh goodness, of course I will! I'm too in love to ever dream of saying no, and how dare you think otherwise."

You laugh through what may be your own tears; no one can confirm nor deny and wonder how you could have believed otherwise. You've never felt this happy before, and you won't likely have many moments better than this one, if any.

"I love you, princess. I love you so much."

"And you better keep loving me. You're stuck me to you now, and I'm not letting go."

"I would never want you to."

[knightyoomyoui]

UPCOMING SET 6 (...AND FINAL?) LINE-UP

HERE’S MY UPCOMING SET 6 LINE-UP TO BE RELEASED IN THE FUTURE!!! Just a reminder tho, Set 5 isn’t done yet. We still have two one-shots for Chaeyoung, one each for male and female readers. I just released this earlier because I had these prepared quicker than I expected. Notes:  - All individual and unit one-shots will be gender neutral from now on.  - This is probably my final line-up of upcoming one-shot works, I'm not sure yet but... I'll just place it like this because I've been thinking of ending the book now for some reasons. - Some of these stories were requested by my readers. Again, thank you so much for helping me come up with new ideas to try. - For the first time, I wrote a summary so that you all would get a sneak peek of what to expect in each of the new stories I’ll be writing, except for the Cry For Me series. I’ll keep it hidden because I already started it on Set 5 anyway, so it’s up to you to learn what’s going to happen in the upcoming parts.

 1.) Tzuyu x M & F Reader - “The One That Got Away” (Fluff, Angst)

- 70-year-old Chou Tzuyu revisited her love story with her husband/wife YN to share with her grandchildren on the day of their anniversary. 

 2.) TWICE x M Reader - “Cry For Me” : PART 3 (Angst) 

 3.) Nayeon x M & F Reader - “No Problem” (Fluff)

- It follows YN who lost his/her job after the company where he/she works officially shuts down their service. His/her girlfriend, Nayeon who is getting suspicious of his/her mood, learns about the news, and proceeds to take action immediately to cheer him/her up. 

 4.) Jeongyeon x M & F Reader - “Won't Go Home Without You” (Fluff, Angst)

 - YN and his/her group embark on a mission to attempt to bring back their former teammate and old friend who switched to the dark side, Yoo Jeongyeon. 

 5.) Momo x M Reader - “Crazy Stupid Love” (Fluff, Angst) [Requested by: Dumbledore_1]

- Following the events of "Somebody That I Used To Know" from Set 4, YN and Momo cross paths once again a few years later; where the improved and matured character of YN takes it as his/her opportunity to apologize for what he/she'd done to his ex-girlfriend in their past relationship. 

 6.) TWICE x M Reader - “Cry For Me” : PART 4 (Angst) 

 7.) Sana x M & F Reader - “I Want It That Way”  (Fluff, Angst) [Requested by: ShaShaSha029]

- A story between the student council president and the school’s princess. After a bad break-up with his ex, YN finds him/herself alone with Nayeon in the Council room. She ask him/her to be his fake boy/girlfriend so that the school jock could leave her alone. 

 8.) Jihyo x M & F Reader - “Opposite Attracts”  (Fluff, Angst) [Requested by: ShaShaSha029]

- The heirs of two conglomerate corporations, YN LN and Park Jihyo are to be wed in an arranged marriage. Only problem is that they don’t have a thing in common, they are literally the opposites of each other. Can they make it work? Or will they be forced to be together by their parents? 

 9.) Mina x M & F Reader - “Bewitched” (Fluff, Angst) [Requested by: YourHeartStation]

- The story revolves around the rival students YN LN and Myoui Mina who studies and trains their magical powers in a wizarding academy. Their bickering and outshining each other came to a point where they accidentally unleashed chaos around the academy, and it's up to the two unlikely allies to fix their mess together, which unknown to them; it would open the possibility of them getting enchanted more to each other's unescapable charms. 

 10.) TWICE x M Reader - “Cry For Me” : PART 5 (Angst) 

 11.) Dahyun x M & F Reader - “The Second Coming” (Fluff, Angst)

- YN is a retired superhero who has a tragic past, as he suffered guilt and despair due to the loss of his/her friend and sidekick after failing a mission. One day, he met a fan who idolizes her named Kim Dahyun; who is also a secret superhuman just like him/her; proposing an offer of partnership with him/her when a new foe emerged to annihilate the city of Seoul. 

 12.) Chaeyoung x M & F Reader - “Presa Prinsesa (Strawberry Princess)" (Fluff, Angst)

- The story follows the fanboy/girl story of YN, a die-hard ONCE and a huge TWICE Chaeyoung stan. He/she loves everything about the idol a lot, even considering her as his/her celebrity crush. The admiration causes him/her sometimes to imagine being in a relationship with the idol despite already saddened by the early acceptance of a reality that it's too impossible to happen. 

 13.) Tzuyu x M & F Reader - "The Red Thread Of Fate"  (Fluff, Angst) [Requested by: ShaShaSha029]

- Two childhood friends were separated when Y/N had to move to Australia. They see each other again at JYPE when Y/N was casted. However, when they meet again they’ve forgotten each other, especially Y/N doesn’t remember as he had amnesia from when he got into an accident when he was a kid. 

 14.) TWICE x M Reader - "Cry For Me" PART 6  (Angst)

 15.) NaSaMi (Nayeon, Sana, & Mina) x M & F Reader - "You Belong With Me" (Fluff, Angst) [Requested by: misamomixmaknae]

- Two women who have a history with YN from his/her past relationships, Im Nayeon and Minatozaki Sana; have to encounter another contender when they learn that YN met an artist named Myoui Mina, who shares the same interests as him/her that develops their closeness to one another. With this, the three of them must compete to win YN's heart. 

 16.) TWICE x M Reader - "Cry For Me" PART 7 (FINALE) (Angst)

[sadgirlsex]

Miku raises an eyebrow as soon as the new performer is introduced; her focus changing from the game to the stage a bit more often, even if she still looked tired and pretty neutral about it all.

Just another soul to chain to this place, she thought, and so she takes a longer sip, finishing the drink that was left in her glass.

At first, the ex-idol gets distracted after noticing she won the current bet on the roulette, so she goes to make the next one, and then…

…the stage lights illuminate the new singer at the center and that makes Miku freeze for a moment, specially when she saw the flash of pink hair from the corner of her eyes.

"L-L-…" Teal hues nervously gaze in direction to the stage, and after blinking a few times, her eyes open wide and her hand tightens around the small amount of chips she was going to bet next; fingers trembling the moment she can feel anxiety starting to build REALLY fast inside her chest.

Before she can place her bet, she stands all of a sudden, while tugging at her clothes by mere reflex and grabbing the necklace she hid beneath.

"S-Sanae…S-S-…" It wasn't only her movements- as soon as they started singing, she recognized her voice immediately. There's no way she was some kind of imitation, or a hallucination, right?

Taking a few steps away from the table she was sitting in, the other players and the croupier would look weird at the ex-idol for leaving the table all of a sudden, but with the darkness of the room due to the show having just started, it was easy to miss noticing her in-between the rest of clients.

Miku stumbles through the rest of tables before removing the hood from her head; teal hair and twintails pretty recognizable among others, but the more she walks, the more she feels as if air was being stolen directly from her lungs.

Sanae was here?…in the Red Light District?…how did she end here of all places?…how did-

Miku's so distracted with staring at her ex-lover and feeling as if her body was going to stop working, that she didn't notice the waitress she came across, crashing with her on her way to get closer to the stage, and having the poor bunny girl yelp as the tray falls, with all the empty glasses included.

"Watch where you're going!- look what you-"

The ex-idol's trying to recover her balance from falling to the floor, completely ignoring what's going around her because her eyes were completely FIXATED on looking at Sanae. Like if the rest of the world stopped spinning and she was the only other human in existence at the moment.

"S-Sacchan…" Her lips tremble and her chest hurts. She can feel her eyes watering and her trembling hands working to try and unzip the hoodie to not feel that suffocating sensation, opening it to try and feel the air better, but even with that…

…not long before she's just a few feet away from the stage itself, her body and mind decide that it's been enough, and slowly, she falls on her knees, then her whole weight on the floor.

With half-closed eyes, she stares at the stage with Sanae and all the lights, getting blurrier by the minute due to her tears and because she's fainting, and obscured once she can notice the people from around her standing up to make sure she's fine.

Then, her eyelids give up completely, and all goes dark.

No Sanae to see, or to hear.

Once it's a minute before the show starts, the lights begin to dim. Chattering, lively conversations in the audience pause in an instant, already knowing that it was time for one of the usual bunny girl performances. Some hushed whispers continued to be spoken, amidst those who had noticed Yuuna wasn't anywhere near the stage this time.

The announcer's voice cuts through the last lingers of noise, as jovial as ever.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and generous patrons, we have a brand new act for you tonight! You'll be sure to see our wonderful Lucky Bunny later, but we have a different kind of Temptation you're sure to adore! Please welcome... our Blackjack Bartender!"

The audience gives their usual cheers and applause, because it's right then and there that the electric guitar bursts from the speakers. Each of the letters in "BLACKJACK" light up with each note that jumps through the air. And soon joining those notes... would be the star of the show herself.

Megurine Luka to most- but Miyakawa Sanae to only one in the audience tonight.

Dashing across the stage like a gust of wind, doing choreography that she's practiced alone, now performing in front of a crowd again. She's in her element, the air around her in her command, even smirking with newfound confidence. Every pose, every gesture, and every movement was made with purpose.

To express. And express she does, with her usual deck of cards in hand, a blackjack table, and with a swing of her hips. She gets through the first chorus with ease, not having noticed anyone standing out from the crowd.

"Red noise sunders the moonlit night,

Shout it out, let it echo, 'hit me.'

Come now, stick out those cold lips,

I'm sure the lies will come spilling out."

Oh, how those words would take on a whole new meaning tonight.

[ablobwhowrites]

splat comforts: a long day

splat comforts: a long day

(non yandere) head canons of the Splatoon idols or other characters that might come in this series making food after you had a long day and I will make a yandere version don't worry:) and sorry if I used the same color Tumblr don't give me much options and yes I'm working on your guys request and adding some new yandere's to the field. But you can request this series call 'splat comforts' and request it to be yandere or non yandere so yeah👍

Callie

Callie can cook but ...she can't really pay attention very well as she gets easily distracted so she goes to marie to cook as Callie has many games for you and her to play, and has Marie join as you too play doom eternal and lay in bed when there's no songs needing to be recorded or sung so Marie and Callie just lay in bed as you sleep after a good meal and a good game

Marie

Marie kinda takes care of everything after you called her about the bad day, so she went to the store and to crusty sean to get some snacks for you to enjoy while watching movie. And gets dinner ready and when you two eat she listens to you vent about stuff that happens, you too rant about your days as it's a healthy thing to listen to your partners about things that happened, then when it's night she puts in movies and borrows the games that Callie borrowed form her but forgot to give back. And just cuddle as a movie plays in the background then Callie ends up in the cuddle session because either she couldn't find a stuffed animal she like to sleep with or just wants to cuddle.

pearl

Pearl knows how to cook, she cooks for you and marina cause when you joined their relationship she kinda thought it was her responsibility to cook cause marina deals with music and publishing costs and you deal with other stuff to earn extra money and pearl kinda calls Marie to see if she can borrow a cook book and stuff then it just ends up with Marie coming over to show pearl how to cook. Pearl is shockingly good at baking as she sees marina always eyeing sweets in splatsville shops and how you kinda pick up mixing powder and look at cookies, cakes, cupcakes and candy. Pearl may not know how to make candy but she can definitely bakes. Marina comes home first and likes to take pictures of pearl mid cooking and not the food when it's done cause pearl gets annoyed when the food is hot but it gets cold cause of the pictures. Pearl asks marina if she can help with a little thing when you come back from work and when you come back you see food hot a ready on the coffee table with a movie ready to be played and pearl in pj's with marina

Marina

Marina knows a little about cooking but pearl mainly does the cooking as marina does have a lot on her plate too, and after dinner was ready you came in tired but smelling pearls food you decide to eat then go to bed for the next day and marina decided to go out and get some stuff at the splatsville mall getting some games, clothes and movies. Coming home you'd see that pearl or any of her food ready on the table but just thinking they had a concert and we're tired so taking off your coat and shoes walking to your shared bedroom and shocked to see a little fort on the bed as a movie about to begin with pearl and marina in pj's about to eat with one plate of food not touched and ready to eat, while after eating and watching movies the three of you fall asleep cuddling as tomorrow marina called in your work for a sick day

Frye, shiver, big man (disclaimer big man isn't in a romantic relationship with shiver or Frye but is their as kinda a emotional and friend support and big man likes to be their with his gay friends but I don't write for female reader, only gender neutral and male okay?)

frye makes traditional foods and loves cooking as she gets some foods from other countries as she loves to travel and making the food makes her feel like she's traveling all over again, and seeing you stress as you come back home Frye immediately asks what’s wrong and when she heard your whole day she became sad at how hard you’ve been working even though she is a idol in splatsville she understands you wanting to help out a little so she gets her lover shiver to help with your self care week and big man in on it too. Shiver orders some spa and other thing that are needed for a self care week they go into the bedroom and making the bed as comfortable as possible before you get home setting up things in the bathroom to either a shower or a full blown bath as they like to prepare for both and gets in comfortable clothes as do Frye and big man just puts on fuzzy socks with a little nightcap but depends . Big man do as he might...can't cook but doesn't stop him from trying but Frye got the cooking down as shiver alright has the self care preparations down to a T, so big man waits till you get home kinda helps you with your stuff and sense he's big, fyre tells big man to kinda distract you as Frye gets the plates off food and stuff up into the room and big man is good at it then fyre kinda gives the signal and big man just scoops you up and carries you to the room and the four of you kinda just have a fun time watching movies and doing shivers face mask and after y'all lay down on big man and big man puts his big fins as a big blanket to keep him and the three of you warm

(IM SO SORRY BROS, IVE BEEN SO BUSY BUT IM WORKING ON THE REQUESTS AND OF YOU STILL GOT SOME PLEASE SEND THEM FOR ME TO DO LATER CAUSE MY WRITING ADDICTION...an I'll do thsi as. A series of y'all want just request for certain ones if you want -from blobs)

[weeeeeekly]

love me please – kang taehyun

blurb !!! You always thought love potions were made up – only real in movies and books. Lo and behold, when your best friend gives you one, you jokingly use it on your crush.

info !!! gender neutral pronouns for reader, no reader body shape mention, no use of y/n, non-idol au, college au, universe where love potions work, popular student!taehyun, shy student!reader, ft park jisung as reader’s bestie, just fluff

WARNINGS!!! SFW but MDNI 18+ blog, suggestive, swearing, not proofread just pure free flowing thought

wc 1k

author’s note !!! if you don’t like it – don’t read it! HAPPY (belated) 23RD BIRTHDAY TO THEE KANG TAEHYUN!!! international holiday week.

This is FICTION!!!!! Everything is made up also, please don’t take any info shared here seriously, my class hasn’t gotten to the communication module for relationship counseling. The stuff written out is not meant to be a representation of the people, places, or ideas mentioned.

The month of February has always been a regular month for you. And Valentine’s Day has always just been a day for you.

That was until you met Kang Taehyun, the guy who sits in front of you in Relationship Counseling, and your crush for the semester. You had fallen for his charisma, charms, & smart brain. The way that if you leaned a bit forward in your seat you could see the perfectly organized notes from the pre class reading next to his notes from class. How his veiny hands delicately held his favorite gel pen.

God, you felt like such a loser.

It’s almost been a month into the spring semester, and you haven’t uttered a single word to him, let alone held eye contact with him for longer than a few seconds. Every time you stare longingly at him, and he looks back, you immediately look away in embarrassment. This has been the routine for yourself every Monday and Wednesday from 10 AM to 11:15 AM.

“Seriously, you should talk to him.” Jisung tells you as you pick at your lunch.

He’s right, but you don’t want to give him the satisfaction, so you roll your eyes as you drink water from your emotional support reuseable bottle.

“Your birthday present to me can be striking up a conversation next class which also happens to be his birthday too.”

You should listen to your best friend as he would know. Park Jisung, born on February 5th, 2002, and shared every class (and many class birthday parties) with Taehyun in elementary and middle school. They were best friends until they naturally grew apart during high school, but Jisung claims that even though he hasn’t directly spoken to Taehyun since they were 15 that he’s still the same.

You believe him. Taehyun is just like the popular character in movies and tv shows – the kind of popular person who deserves to be popular because they’re kind to others. It just makes you want him more.

At least the version you have romanticized in your head.

“Oh yeah!” Jisung blurts out as he reaches into his backpack to pull out a gift.

You hesitantly accept the gift. “Don’t tell me you’re confessing your undying love for me that you kept a secret since high school.”

He lets out an exaggerated gasp, “How did you know?”

Rolling your eyes at his sarcasm, you unwrap the gift to be greeted by the sight of a small, clear heart-shaped bottle with light pink liquid inside. There’s no label to indicate what’s inside and nothing else in the wrapping paper.

“Thanks for the, um, mystery bottle?”

“Mom says it’s a love potion made by a matchmaker she met on her cruise. You’re supposed to spray it on like perfume. She specifically bought it for you.”

“Oh great, your mom thinks I’m bitchless.” You set the love potion on the table. “Not that I believe in that stuff, but there’s no instructions.”

Jisung shrugs as he eats his lunch. “Beats me.”

“Today we’re talking about communication.”

The people around let out a collective sigh as your professor cues up the powerpoint presentation.

“For today’s attendance activity, I want you to find a partner and come up with some reasons why it’s important for couples to effectively communicate with each other.”

Leaning down, you reach into your bag to grab your textbook and brush your fingers over Jisung’s mom’s gift. You glance around you to see the people in row sitting in other areas of the classroom, so you spritz the so-called love potion on your shirt. What the hell, sure.

This is your chance to finally talk to Taehyun. Tell him about your crush on him or at least say “hi”. You lean forward and tap him on his shoulder. Your breathing halts as he turns around to face you with his face sculpted by the gods and big, beautiful sparkly eyes that are now focusing on you.

Taking a moment to calm yourself, you smile and say, “Hi, could we be partners?”

“Of course. I’m Taehyun.”

“I know.”

He smiles as you mentally cringe at your response. You introduce yourself and turn back to your textbook to find the chapter on communication. The next 20 is spent brainstorming 5 reasons for couple effective communication, mainly Taehyun talking and you just agreeing with him.

“Time’s up. Lily and Jay will present their reasons.”

Taehyun gives you one last smile as he turns back around to the front of the class as you lean back in your seat. You’re proud of yourself for actually talking to him.

You know the love potion is just chemicals mixed together that smell like warm brown sugar, but you can’t help but feel a little disappointed when Taehyun didn’t randomly blurt out an “i love you”, let alone talk to you the rest of class. It was silly to think that magic exists.

you the love potion didnt work

jiji wait

jiji you actually used it

you yeah

you its silly idk why

jiji youre allowed to believe in magic

jiji my fav stem major

Walking out of class, you hear your name being called in the hallway, turning around to see Taehyun jogging up to you.

“Hey, can I have your number? Maybe we could grab coffee together? Have a study date?”

Beaming at him, you nod. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

masterlist

author’s note heyyyy uni has been kicking my ass sorry

[all-pacas]

Amber's reads on Cameron and Chase in S4 is a whole other fascinating thing, because at this point she doesn't know either of them at all and is just basing her perceptions on whatever rumors she's heard. And what has she heard? That Cameron is compassionate, and that Chase hates House. She appeals to the former's sense of justice and kindness, and repeatedly tries to promise Chase that helping her will help him get revenge (Chase, amusingly, isn't buying this for a second, in part because Cameron offscreen warned him this was coming).

-

I think Cameron's feelings towards House are kind of a spinning rotisserie chicken, lol. She seems to stake quite a lot on being the person who gets House, for a lot of the show: she wants to be the person who understands him, who can see through him. She tells him how he feels about her, that she knows what he thinks; she tells him he only does what's right, that he loves her, that he feels this, that he feels that. I don't think Cameron is wrong, precisely, or at least not all the time: she is acutely aware that House's facade is a facade, that he does care, intensely, about many things; that he has a pretty intense moral code in his own way, that he really does respect you more if you stand up to him and fight back. But she also tends to over interpret, I think. She can't help but assign extra meaning to his actions because she wants there to be extra meaning; she wants House to always have reasons and meaning, to always be on the side of moral correctness.

She also takes a lot of pride in being a House Whisperer, especially in S4 and 5: she revels in telling the new kids how House thinks and how to win his love. One of my favorite little moments is in The Itch, an episode where Cameron is genuinely able to guess and counteract House's moves, but also where she blithely informs 13 and co. how to deal with House, only to be immediately walked over by him. She wants to be the person who understands House.

By contrast, Chase doesn't actually… seem to work that hard at it. He likes House and intentionally emulates him, but in S1 he's just as likely as Foreman to roll his eyes at House and make fun of Cameron for idealizing him: he's an asskisser, yes, but he doesn't really spend time trying to pick apart House's psychology and motivations the way Cameron does. There's a few early episodes that do a really interesting thing with the team: Foreman will say House is insane and talking out his ass, Cameron will immediately counter with no, he knows what he's doing, we should trust him, and Chase tends to be the one to demure, to say "let's just do what House says, who cares if he's right or wrong." He's neutral. He's an asskisser for sure, but he's not invested in idolizing or demonizing House. In Detox, Cameron keeps insisting House doesn't have a drug problem; Foreman keeps insisting he's a useless addict, and when House irritably tells Chase he's fine (while he clearly isn't), Chase just shrugs and says he knows.

And what's fascinating is that Chase is really good at understanding House anyway. It's not just House, to be fair. In the aforementioned Amber example, he had her pegged immediately. In the Foreman Resignation Drama, he didn't figure out just House, he had Foreman dead to rights too: Chase is also consistently spot on when it comes to Cameron's feelings and insecurities. He's actually really good at reading people, period. Chase is kind of apathetic, though, and comes off cynical, and I think that actually helps in House's case: where Cameron is perceptive but picking at things like an archeologist, trying to interpret the real meaning (and how it means what she wants it to mean), Chase just… sees House doing shit and calls it out. On the surface Chase and House aren't that similar, but they have the same fucked up DNA, and he's pretty consistently able to go of course House is fucked up about his dad or House wanted me to rat on him because he's worried about losing his edge or even, as in 97 seconds, Chase can just undercut House's entire angry spiel in five words:

CHASE: Were the men wrong? HOUSE: No. That doesn't change the fact… CHASE: Why are you yelling at me? HOUSE: Because performing tests for someone who is not a doctor in this hospital… CHASE: You're frustrated. If you want help, I'm here. If you just need to vent? Leave a message.

Like. Look at this. He completely shuts House down. House has no counter. When does this ever happened. It's so good. (No wonder Cameron looks like she wants to jump him.)

So let's go all the way back to Unfaithful.

CAMERON: House is playing with you. If you let him get away with it, he's not gonna respect you anyway. CHASE: Or House is helping you. He knows it probably won't work out. And he's actually doing you a favor. CAMERON: Yeah, that sounds a lot more like House.

Cameron reads House as being manipulative and cynical and his demand that Foreman and 13 break up as a secret test of character, because if House is hard to interpret, and Cameron is the best at it, then she knows him best. Because she consistently… isn't wrong, exactly, but does treat House's motives as needing interpretation and reading and does think of herself as the House Whisperer.

But Chase is probably right. I'm honestly not sure House was thinking that far ahead and considering the long-term implications of the Foreman/13 romance, but House does see (and tells Foreman directly) that the romance is interfering with their work, and so he wants it to stop. Chase isn't quite right about the motives, but he's right that House is just trying to react to the inevitable, and Chase is right because in a weird way he doesn't care; he has no stakes or vested interest in being the one who understands House best, which is ironically why he often is.

-

Alternative explanation #3: Foreman/13 was openly negatively affecting Foreman's job and medical license. However, when Chase and Cameron started sleeping together, Chase started solving cases left and right. Therefore, getting laid clearly makes Chase a better doctor and Foreman a worse one. Therefore, House thinks Foreman and 13 need to break up.

so in 5.15 House says either 13 and Foreman break up or he fires one of them. 13 goes to Cameron about job openings in the ER, which leads to this exchange:

CAMERON: House is playing with you. If you let him get away with it, he's not gonna respect you anyway. CHASE: Or House is helping you. He knows it probably won't work out. And he's actually doing you a favor. CAMERON: Yeah, that sounds a lot more like House.

idk I want to talk about this because. It's Very Interesting to me. Chase being the one to offer the interpretation that House is trying to help, Cameron going for eight layers of "this is a game and you need to do moves and counter moves to see through the game." I'm not sure either of them is completely right (I think House was actually being sincere when he said Foreman, you keep fucking up and it's getting in the way of your job), but it's really interesting that Chase's interpretation is House cares and Cameron's is he doesn't.

[mewberii]

Streamer!Scaramouche [2]

thanks for all the support in the first part! i wrote a second part where scaramouche plays genshin + the reader comes in (i tried to make it as gender neutral as possible, so let me know if there’s something off!). you’re a close friend of scaramouche and also a voice actor!

i had been planning this since i wrote the first part, but because i was busy and uninspired i couldn’t finish it. but here it is and it’s actually pretty long (over 5k words...)! i hope you guys will like this!! obviously he’s a little nicer than he is in game but,,, for the sake of the plot + it being a modern au, it had to be done sjnfdskjf

He was selected to play the beta for genshin because of his popularity and tbh he really wanted to play it

The game hadn’t really caught his eye all that much when he first heard about it but he saw how everyone online went crazy over it (plus other streamers who also were selected to play it in early access kept talking about it) and he became more curious to know what it would be like and if it’d live to everyone’s expectations

However he couldn’t really play it until it was officially released because he had a very busy schedule, and when he saw other streams of people playing it he was,,, lowkey jealous because it did look fun

When it was finally released and the game finished downloading and installing, he went live right away

And since so many people were looking forward to seeing him play plus the game was getting so popular so fast, that stream of when he first played hit his biggest milestone of live viewers ever

ANYWAYS skip forward to further into the game

when it comes to the gacha,,,

we’ve established that this boy is loaded. he won’t hesitate to throw some big amounts of money at the game to get every single character and weapon he wants and get their constellations to the max

i feel like he’d make little bets (and it works as a way to thank the chat for the support) like “if i get (insert newest character) in the first 50 pulls, i will gift 50 subs”

he’d be SOOOOOOO LUCKY it’d make everyone who doesn’t play think that it must be very easy to get the 5 stars or that the drop rate must be very high,,,

so in the end he’d have to gift the subs and it’d be funny to see the chat go absolutely crazy because everyone is commenting at the same time trying to see if they got lucky too and got the sub

but the chat goes so fast that they can’t even see their own comment after they send it sNDJGDJSK 

he’d end up turning subs mode on for a while because it goes crazy

and that’s when he’d see people going “I GOT THE SUB-” all excited and he can’t help but chuckle and congratulate them for being one of the lucky ones

probably another game he can use to play with some subs once in a while! they could play co-op and when he’s a very high level he’d go to the worlds of some of his subs with lower level to help them with whatever they need

SO, LITTLE SKIP HERE

this is where i want the reader to slide into the picture

you’d be a voice actor, and also you have been a friend of his for a very long time

he met you even before he started streaming and you were always so supportive of him, as he was of every and each of your dreams

in fact, he would have invited you over more than once to stream with him

people don’t say anything bc they’re afraid of scaramouche banning them (it’s happened before) + they understand it can be disrespectful... but…

some people lowkey ship you two a little bit,,,,,, you didn’t hear it from me. scaramouche don’t ban me----

so one day he’s making another livestream playing genshin (sponsored by mihoyo to promote the newest update and event) and they’re going to release a new character 

AND he has told everyone that you are the voice actor of the new character, who will be introduced in the event and is also getting their own banner

so everyone is very curious of what they’ll be like, if scaramouche will try to get them (obviously he will, he has every single character…. the amount of money he has put into the game…. just thinking of it gives me the heebie-jeebies) 

could he even,,, main them,,,,

spoiler: he won’t because he’ll stay honest till the end (and no hard feelings) but there are other characters that he has built up to the max just like them and still work better with the way he plays but he’ll still find a chance to use them often

he didn’t know anything of what the character you voiced would be like because you wanted to keep it a surprise and he knew his audience would enjoy seeing his first reactions

I think the character you voice in the game would have the role that Scaramouche has in the actual game, and their design would be fairly similar (maybe similar color palette) to the design fans made for him as a genshin character (the one i mentioned that he uses for popup notifs of subscriptions and all!)

needless to say he’d absolutely love their personality and the charisma you showed in their lines

of course when he finally gets them he shows everything about them including all their voice lines and he compliments y/n’s voice acting… that was the first time people suspected that....

mayhaps… scaramouche….

has feelings for you....

it’s in the soft gaze in his eyes,,, the gentle smile on his lips,,, his soft voice when saying “I think this one is my favorite line of theirs”

and just how BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL his laugh sounds when someone comments he should invite you and ask you to do that voiceline live for him and everyone else

he’d jokingly reach for his phone and be like “should i call them? i could” 

(but he wouldn’t because he doesn’t want to disturb you, you may be busy, considering you still hadn’t replied to the messages he sent to you before he started the stream a few hours ago)

if anyone dares be mean to you saying you got the chance to voice act for genshin just bc of scaramouche

or implies that he did something to get you there he’ll get quite mad even tho he won’t speak up about it (he might if enough people say it) 

people can see something shift in his gaze,,,, and he bans them permanently right away

it’d be kinda funny when he does those “reading unban requests” streams and he goes past immediately rejecting people who said those kind of stuff, not even reading the apologies JSNKJFNDSJKGNSDK

some people say he’s too strict about it but literally his stream his rules. people who don’t like him should just not watch him

and people who like him should NOT speak badly about you or doubt your talent and effort, which is what brought you that opportunity in the first place

one day he’d be streaming playing the game, he had been using your character and gathering materials to get their last ascension

and at one point he’d grab his phone and look at the screen for a second before putting it back down and saying he had planned something else for tonight besides playing genshin for a while

then, the doorbell would ring (before he could even close the game-) and it’d be heard from his setup room so people in the chat heard it and they’re all like???

it’s definitely not takeout because scaramouche never orders takeout when he’s on his own, he usually cooks for himself and just orders it when he’s with friends and they all feel like eating something different

actually, offtopic, but i have a feeling he’d be very responsible when it comes to food and like he’d cook himself proper meals all perfectly balanced and all- he could afford having someone cook for him but his house = his privacy and personal space so he’d rather do it himself

it’s like, past 10pm, so no way it would be a package or mail at that time

and then he says “we have a visitor tonight”

and then the chat goes crazy saying “CHILDE” “HARBINGERS” but mostly “Y/N!??!?/PLEASE LET IT BE Y/N”

AND IT WAS YOU!!!!

and omg you brought takeout--------

it had been a while since they had seen you in scaramouche’s stream and you didn’t have your own channel (even though there were many people who encouraged you to open one)

SO everyone was very excited

i feel like scaramouche wouldn’t be the biggest fan of eating on camera so you guys would put the food away so that you can eat it later on your own without an audience

and you two would just spend a while talking to the chat, watching videos

AND reviewing fanart and fanmade content together!! it’d be so cute especially fanarts of the two of you together, little animatics or comics of funny clips or memes from his streams of you two,,,

someone made a little felt plushie of the genshin character you voiced and the way you COOED because it was SO cute

only those who were truly paying attention were able to notice the soft smile on scaramouche’s lips and the way he looked at you as you gushed over how cute the little plushie is and how talented the person who made it is!!

also you’d tell him you saw signora make a stream where she talked to some of her fans on discord individually to give them advice on their life/problems (nothing too serious) and it was very funny and you wanted to do that with him someday

and he’s like “that… could be a huge mess. people could say some crazy stuff” and you’re like “NO but i talked to her about it and she said she got her mods to talk to them first and approve them before they moved them up to the channel where she was to talk to her”

and he’s like “still…….. what if people lie and then when they get to talk to us they say something-”

and you’re like “BOY!!!! DO YOU NOT TRUST YOUR FANS *GASP*” and everyone in the chat is also going “GASP” “HE DOESN’T TRUST US…” “IS THIS YOUR IDOL…..?” “SAY SORRY” (all good fun, obviously he’d love to talk to everyone if he could make sure there won’t be anything disrespectful said)

SO!!!!! you two say you’ll plan to do something like that soon and everyone is very excited, they can already tell it’ll be both super cute and hilarious

before he ends the stream, you two watch some videos together

some are about some upcoming videogames and he talks about them and what he knows and explaining things to you... he is.. so knowledgeable…

the way you look at him as he goes into a little rant about it… cinematic parallels with the way he looked at you before

ONCE AGAIN, people aren’t blind. they notice. but they keep it to themselves bc scary scara (the way i had to resist overusing this one joke with his name-)

so the stream ends and you two walk out of the setup room to go to his living room and eat the takeout you brought while watching something on tv

he apologises because the food is cold now, but you brush it off saying it’s ok, you had missed being on his streams and you two can just heat up the food again

he doesn’t look at you in the eyes as he mutters that you know you can join his streams whenever, and instead just says it as he makes his way to the kitchen to heat the food

you join him in the kitchen soon after and tell him you also bought something for dessert and put it in the fridge already before

and honestly he didn’t know how much he wanted to eat that dessert until it was in his fridge, so he can’t stop himself from sighing and saying “god, i love you”

there’s silence for a second, right as the microwave beeps as it finished heating the food

it feels eternal to him, but you immediately started laughing and said jokingly “of course you do! you’re welcome!” 

he’s happy you took it as a joke because that’s not how he planned to confess (he didn’t plan to confess anytime soon in the first place) but at the same time ?? he’s lowkey offended inside because? you took it as a joke?? is it so unrealistic that you wouldn’t even think that he meant it romantically?

it’s at that moment that he realises that if he didn’t want to confess before, now he does.

he wouldn’t want anyone to know about how he let that slip because he’s sure no one in you two’s friend group even knows he likes you

but you,,, actually,,,,, were actually caught off guard too because scaramouche wasn’t precisely one for words of affection and he showed his care for everyone with his actions

in fact, you had never heard him say those words before but well- it was kinda nice- if only he meant it as you feel it- but he couldn’t, right? who’d confess their feelings so casually while looking at a dessert in the fridge with desire-------

that night, it gets pretty late and to be honest he’s a little too tired to drive you home as he usually would, so he asks if you’d like to sleep over

it wouldn’t be your first time doing so, not even the first time you stayed unplanned, and he had a couple guest rooms that you could use so you accepted

also, staying for longer meant you could keep watching some more of that series with him without worrying about it getting late

or,,,

“actually” you said in a low voice, almost a whisper, since it was getting late and you two had been in complete silence while watching the series “i lowkey still wanted to stream some more”

he scoffs but then lets out a short chuckle, replying in the same volume

“it’s past 2am, who’s going to watch me stream now?”

“i would” have mercy for his poor heart- “but i’d be the streamer too this time so it doesn’t count” 

“what even would we do”

“can we play that co-op game you played with childe? it was so much fun” 

had you not brought it up, he wouldn’t have offered that ever because? if he had recently played it with childe he didn’t want to stream it again and make it feel repetitive for his audience 

(jokes on him because when genshin came out they put up with it being the only thing he streamed for over a week. they’d rewatch any game if it’s you two playing it)

but to be honest, he didn’t really want to stream anymore that day and just wanted to be with you, just you and no one else

he got up from the couch and walked towards the hallway, making you look up to him in confusion for a second, but then started getting excited knowing this meant he was going to let you play it with him

“i don’t really feel like streaming anymore today, but we can still play it. let’s go”

the next day, you two wake up around the same time and make breakfast together

scaramouche i feel is not very talkative in the mornings 

in fact, i feel like he’s just not the most talkative in general. he’s more the type to listen, but it’s different during his streams because he’s doing what he loves and talking about what he loves

and when it comes to you and he talks more it’s because he’s talking to who he loves----

before you’re going to leave and you’re standing at the door about to say goodbye to him, he suddenly speaks up before you can

“do you want to go somewhere tomorrow?”

you raise your eyebrows in curiosity from the sudden request, but then smile at him and nod

“yeah sure! what do you have in min-”

“it’s a date” he said, interrupting you, which was weird enough of him (since he would never interrupt you), but his words were even weirder-

“h-huh?” you felt the heat rising to your cheeks, and scaramouche just repeated his words

on the outside, he looked so casual and just, confident- bUT INSIDE he was actually panicking a little bit 

but just a little bit.

After a moment, you smiled at him again, this time somewhat more shily but also excited for your date!

“I look forward to it”

Just with that, you two knew you had made the first step

You weren’t just friends anymore

You two had hung out on your own many times before, in fact and as it was mentioned before, you two had even slept over at his house or yours many times before

but it had all always been purely platonic, and you guys had never even questioned that aspect of it even after realising you had romantic feelings for each other

he’d spend the rest of the day thinking of what you could do the next day, as if he hadn’t been brainstorming for ideas all night either

i feel like he hasn’t gone in many (if not any--) dates before

solely because he has never been interested in romance plus he had never liked someone or at least, not as much as he liked you

and even when he found out he felt something for you, he just always told himself he was okay with how things were, because he’d never experienced anything beyond friendship and didn’t feel the need to try and maybe ruin the friendship

SO he didn’t have many ideas of what a good date could be

he definitely didn’t want a cliché corny date, but he really didn’t have any idea of what was good enough for a date

(and if for future dates you want something he’d consider a “”cliché corny date”” he’d do it for you and actually enjoy it)

the last thing he wanted was to have to ask you what you could do for your date

1- because he didn’t want to show you any side of him that didn’t look like he always has everything under control and he’s always composed (as if you wouldn’t want to see every side of him, even his most vulnerable sides- you’d have to work on that with him when you two become official)

2- he… kind of wanted to surprise you…..

but it really got to the point where he really didn’t know what you’d like the most (or what he’d like the most too) and what he wanted most over anything else is to not disappoint you in you two’s first date

SO he finally texted you asking if there was anything special you wanted to do (and therefore indirectly admitting he……….. just really wanted to ask you out. so much he did it without thinking of what he’d do if you said yes--)

you didn’t seem to mind, and in fact you were happy he asked for your opinion 

overall, scaramouche was very independent so he wasn’t one to ask others for advice, opinions or anything, much less for help regarding anything

“how long has it been since we last went to the arcade? we could go there! i heard from childe that they added new games!”

and he’s like !?!?!?? THAT…. is…….. the perfect idea

“that actually sounds perfect” he admitted, and the message brought a big smile to your face 

“just don’t get mad at me when you lose at all of them” he sent right after, teasing you, and you couldn’t help but let out a laugh out loud

“the last time i won in your favorite game” you reminded him, and even after he read your message, he took a little bit to reply

(he needed a second to put the pieces of his pride together SJNFKJDS)

“don’t get used to it, it won’t happen again”

“we will see about that” the more you two joked like this, the more excited you got thinking about tomorrow

scaramouche was sure now that it’d be a great first date that you’d both remember forever

the next day, it was almost the time for the date and scaramouche was going to pick you up at your house

i feel like scaramouche would be very fashionable and even in his style he doesn’t try to hide that he’s loaded…

not that he cares about buying cheap clothes, literally he’d say if he likes it and it’s good (aka it’s not cheap because it’s made of something that won’t make it last longer than 3 weeks) he’ll get it

but it just so happens that many times… the clothes he likes most are from famous brands…

AND THIS DAY!!!!!! he’s putting together one of his favorite outfits because it’s a special day

it almost hurts me just how nonchalant he’d look on the outside, making it a little hard to know exactly just how much this date meant to him (because as i said he’s not one to be very vocal about his feelings or even his thoughts)

BUT i trust that you… since you know him well…. can see past all that and you know that this is not just anything casual to him. this is special.

STILL!!!! he’d try his best to not let the blush rise to his cheeks and show, as well as to not let his voice shake when he complimented that you looked very good

ANYWAYS i think i think Scaramouche wouldn’t be one for big pda

the most he’d do where anyone can see is hold your hand or put his arm around your waist

WHICH IS WHY he’d try to be all smooth (and he would manage) reaching for your hand and lacing his fingers with yours

he wouldn’t make eye contact because then he’s sure it’ll show on his face that he’s getting somewhat flustered, but he’d still ask if you’re okay with it, to which you said yes

the area where the arcade was is always somewhat crowded so when you two were getting there, scaramouche would tighten the grip on your hand a little bit to make sure you wouldn’t let go and you’d be pulled apart by people trying to walk past however they can

you know that if you two got serious about your relationship, he would want to be the first person to share the news with his fans

BUT since he was so popular now, you two lived in a pretty big city and now were at a popular area (+ scaramouche wouldn’t be the type to try and hide his identity because he’s never had people make a fuss when they recognise him)

you were a little worried someone would see you two and maybe take a picture and post it online and it’d go viral before he can admit it himself

because of that, you end up throwing back to him the question he had asked when he held your hand 

“are you sure this is okay?”

your question confused him because he didn’t know what you mean, so he finally looked you in the eyes and waited for you to explain further

“it’s just- what if somebody sees us and recognises you?”

he looked away from you and back at where he was going, taking a few seconds to answer before he just shrugged

“i don’t care”

you softly let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding as you waited for him to say something, and almost missed the way he whispered

“as long as it doesn’t affect you”

for someone who seemed and actually tried to seem to self-sufficient, who appreciated his friends but was also okay on his own because he was absolutely comfortable with himself, he was actually…

more selfless than people would ever know, especially when it came to you

you two would have SO much fun in the arcade, trying every single game many times

this time though, scaramouche won in his favorite game so he lived up to his words

you two won so many tickets you literally didn’t even know what to do with them once you got the couple prizes you were interested in

you bumped into a couple fans of his, so you talked for a while

once again, you were met with suggestions of opening your own streaming channel, and even scaramouche said “i’ve told them that many times too, but they always say they think their streams won’t be fun enough”

and the fans are like “NO!! literally everyone thinks you’re super nice and fun!! of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but we’d love it!!”

one of the fans (exaggerating a little as a joke) said “i’ll be your number 1 fan i swear” and the three of you laughed, except scaramouche who just scoffed and smirked 

“i am ALREADY their number one fan. but good try” <- scaramouche in his head. say it outloud u coward.

but at the same time it was a joke scaramouche chill pretty much everyone knows you’re their number one fan……. even though you think you’re so smooth………. they just don’t say anything 

they were very nice and fun to talk to and you knew scaramouche and you didn’t really want anything else from the prizes, so you offered you two’s tickets to them

“we don’t really need these anymore so maybe you’ll have more use for them!!”

they got SO excited, the way their eyes lit up :( scaramouche is convinced you’re an angel but he’s also very happy to see how joyful his fans got because those were more than enough for the prize they really wanted-

so after that cute little interaction and having used up your energy for competition, you two leave and think of buying some ice cream or a milkshake or something to end the date nicely and to enjoy while you walk back home

the arcade was not exactly very close to where you two lived (it was far from your house, but even farther from his-) so he asked if you were okay with walking back or if you two should get an uber or something, to which you said you were okay

walking back with him meant!! a little more time you could spend with him

and he was happy you said that because he was feeling the same way and still didn’t want the day to end

we’ll see more about the kind of things he likes and dislikes if he’s released as a playing character BUT FOR NOW i really get this vibe that he’d LOVE boba tea

i even think he’d?? enjoy tea in general??? classy boy…

SO you two would end up going to get some boba 

it was very touching how, when reading the flavors they had that day, he suddenly and casually went “oh, they have your favorite” and you looked at the one he was pointing at and !!! indeed it was your favorite!!!!!!!

he remembers this kind of details very well

you take the chance to talk some more as you’re walking home

scaramouche asks about your job with voice acting and you tell him that you actually have been recording some new lines for your genshin character lately because in the next update there’ll be an event involving them

he’s looking forward to it but he teases you a little asking if it’s okay for you to spoil him with such information

but it’s okay because it’s not like he’d tell anyone, especially knowing it could get you in trouble

when he drops you off at your house, he has a hard time saying goodbye

literally you’re standing at your door and he’s in front of you, a couple steps away, looking away from you

you don’t say goodbye either, mainly because you know scaramouche is working the courage to say something, and you can also sort of guess what he wants to say

you think of saying it first, but then think that it would make scaramouche proud to be honest about his feelings and confess first

“i’ve liked you for a long time”

you can’t help the smile that makes its way onto your face, unconsciously reaching a hand up to slightly cover it

“i feel the same way” you replied to him in a soft voice

he took a deep breath and exhaled it softly, finally lifting up his gaze and making eye contact with you

it was already dark outside, so you couldn’t appreciate the faint rosy blush on his cheeks well

“can i kiss you?”

your eyes widened for a second, not expecting him to ask and if anything, thinking he’d just step forward and do it

so you were a little embarrassed and caught off-guard to reply properly, so you just nodded and put your hand down as he took the last couple steps and his face was right in front of yours

he’d cup your cheek in one of his hands, feeling the warmth of your skin

you closed your eyes, and he looked at you for a second longer before he finally leaned in and closed the short distance that separated your lips

at that moment you both knew that you had been missing on so much more when you two just settled and were content with your friendship

but!! that was about to change now, so it was all worth it

after that, scaramouche would make clear that this would be the first day of your relationship!! and even if he didn’t say it with words, you could just feel his happiness!!

so!! after that, because of work you two got a little busy the next couple months so dates weren’t very frequent 

or at least, they weren’t dates like the one you first had

but still whenever you two were free he’d go over to your house, or you’d come over to his to play, stream together, or literally just spend time together doing anything

he wouldn’t let people know you two had started dating straight away (if anything, only his other streamer friends -aka you two’s friends in common- knew)

but the day he said it, he wanted you to be there

SO one day you two were streaming and you were currently reacting to one fanart of you two together

so he looked at you and you made eye contact and it was like you two spoke with your eyes like

“do we tell them now”

“let’s tell them.”

so scaramouche would clear his throat and without closing the fanart, he’d say he has something he wanted to announce

everyone was excited thinking it’d be some new project, maybe involving you

maybe some merch??? and the fanarts had reminded him of it???????

BUT THEN he straightforwardly said

“y/n and i are dating”

and everyone goes aBSOLUTELY CRAZY

amidst the chaos, you two catch a comment saying “will you unban the people who shipped you two” and you laugh

and you look at each other like “did you read that one?” “yeah”

and scaramouche is like “yeah, i guess i will have to unban some people”

and when some get unbanned they’re like “fREEDOM!!!!”

and jokingly they’re all like “APOLOGISE!!!!!!!! SAY SORRY!!!” so he just laughs and you join them being like “!!! apologise!!! you banned them for it and!! look at you now!!”

so he ends up trying to hold in another laugh as he mutters a halfassed ‘sorry’ and everyone starts commenting claps and hearts and celebrating that he apologised. now justice has been made.

the rest of that stream suddenly feels livelier and brighter!! you two are laughing a lot and so is everyone in the chat!! 

and also the new genshin event would’ve already just been released that same day so you can talk about some of your experiences with recording or what you thought of it

and scaramouche would let you play it yourself!! (he still hadn’t played it) and it was also the first time you played genshin live!! you’d show people the characters you have and everything and tell them some anecdotes

people would be SHOCKED because you!? don’t have the character you voiced!? D:

and you’re like “yeah… i pulled for them and used up all my primogems and… didn’t get them”

and your banner is back because of the event, so scaramouche won’t let this slide!!!!!!!!!! YOU WILL GET YOUR CHARACTER.

your luck is terrible compared to his so at one point you’ll literally feel bad for how much he’s spending for you to get it

but he doesn’t mind at all and everyone is having fun so!!

and once you finally get them you’re sO HAPPY and everyone in the chat is celebrating

and you think it’s over but scaramouche is like ???? what are you doing?? open the wish page again. you’re going to get them c6.

and you’re like oh my gOD PLEASE NO DON’T SPEND MORE MONEY ON ME FOR THIS

but he won’t listen and he’ll do it

so!!! he’ll always do his best to be the best boyfriend he can be for you!! so you better give him your heart!!!!

[alpacaparkaseok]

The Pact - Shocker

Pairing/Genre: OT7 BTS x reader (not poly), idol!BTS, best friend BTS

Word Count: 8.1k

Premise: The truth about the pact the boys have about you has been revealed. What happens when you agree to go on a single date with each of them?

Warnings: angst, lots of feelings, but a lot of those are fluffy, happy feelings lol

a/n: there’s not much left so say except for thank you. I hope you enjoy, I tried my best!

Shocker (finale)

series masterlist

“Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood.” -George Orwell ‘1984’

Sunday, 3:12 am – immediately following the events of date #7

           The fact that the lights are still on isn’t surprising in the least. It’s been like this after every date. Yoongi is no exception, apparently.

           He pauses outside the door, resting his hand gently against the doorknob. It’s nearly silent, but he can hear familiar voices speaking in hushed tones on the other side of the door. He stares at the dark door, unable to shake the memory of your tear-stained cheeks and swollen ankle from his mind. You had sounded so worried, so afraid of what comes next.

           You’d mumbled out his name when you made it to your bed, the exhaustion on your face momentarily replaced with a look he could only interpret as blind fear. And the way you’d looked at him, wide eyed with a quivering lip…he doesn’t think you noticed, but he nearly caved. He almost laid down beside you and taken you into his arms, deeming the time on the beach not enough.

           With you, it was never enough. Slivers of time and longing looks you never noticed; it would never be enough.

           If the botched date wasn’t evidence enough, it was then, when you gazed up at him and mumbled out his name, Yoongi knew.

           Tonight…it wasn’t enough.

           So he just leaned forward and watched how your eyes fluttered shut as he pecked your nose.

           “I know.”

          Jungkook straightens up from where he was slumped on the couch beside Jin the second the door opens and Yoongi walks in. The scattered conversation that they had all been using as a distraction fades out as each boy focuses in on the newcomer.

           Hobi is practically invisible beneath the huge sweatshirt he wears, his face barely visible as he speaks. “How was it?”

           For some reason or another, there’s always been a postdate analysis of sorts. It’s usually just like this: all of the boys gathered up in the living room in various states of consciousness. Jimin was the only one to slide by without an impromptu meeting after his date, partially because he was too exhausted to see straight and also because everyone knew he’d tell them all the details at breakfast the next morning. He did, and Taehyung actually managed to break a bowl when he lost it over the story of how you and Jimin got kicked out of the basilica.

           Namjoon, on the other hand, had been pretty grim when he realized that Jimin had been teasing you endlessly about your little kiss.

           Now, Yoongi shuffles inside and plops down unceremoniously beside Namjoon, who looks a little worried at the silence. Dropping his heads in his hands, Yoongi rubs at his face before leaning back against the couch.

           “It was fine, if you don’t count the twisted ankle.”

           “What?” Jimin sputter out, suddenly wide awake. “She got hurt?”

           “What happened?” Hobi follows up, leaning forward until he’s nearly slipping off of the couch. “Is she alright?”

           Yoongi is quick to explain your little accident, omitting your tears from the storytelling. He doesn’t want to embarrass you or make the others feel bad. The others listen with rapt attention, Jungkook’s mouth in a little ‘o’ all throughout.

           Jin remains silent on the couch, as he usually does during these little meetings. He’ll occasionally comment on something or voice a question, but he tends to remain fairly quiet. Drinking in the information, eyes clear despite the late hour.

           It’s unnerving.

           “So…it’s not a bad injury?” Namjoon asks, crossing his arms.

           “No, she’s fine,” Yoongi reassures. “Just tired. She went straight to bed after I dropped her off.”

           Taehyung grins knowingly. “Adorable.”

           Everyone is silent as everyone turns to their thoughts, the same thing on everyone’s mind. It’s Hobi again that breaks the silence, stretching and yawning as he gets to his feet.

           “Well, that’s that. It’s over. Gentlemen,” he eyes everyone around the room, shuffling toward the hallway where the warmth of his bed calls to him. “It’s been a pleasure working with you.”

           “Wait!” Jungkook also hops to his feet, much more alert than the older boy. “What happens now?”

           There are a few non-committal answers from around the room, but two people remain silent. Meeting eyes from across the space, Jin and Yoongi share a silent agreement.

           Jin clears his throat, and it’s only then that the boys realize that it’s been hours since he last spoke. With a soft smile he utters, “We let her choose. Whatever she wants, if she wants to go back to normal or decides to date someone.” His eyes return to Yoongi, and suddenly the memory of two years prior is laid out before them. “Then…we let her go.”

           “I’m just saying, if he didn’t want you to find it, he would’ve hidden it in his underwear drawer. Sock drawer is a stupid way to go.”

           You sip at the horchata Gina brought over for you, huffing out a laugh. “You’re so weird.”

           Gina shrugs. “Just saying. So what did you get up to yesterday?”

           Yesterday. You had woken up with red eyes and puffy cheeks from all the crying you had done the night before. Slightly embarrassed but more feeling miserable for yourself, you had crawled to the shower and tried to get your thoughts straight.

           When you emerged, you had a couple of texts to welcome you. They were from Jimin and Taehyung, welcoming you back to the groupchat. There were plenty of happy emojis and balloons taking up the messages, enough to make you crack a smile. You shot back a thank you text, letting out a sigh of relief.

           It was good to be back.

           When Namjoon texted and tentatively asked about the state of your ankle and if you were open to them popping over, you took nearly an hour to decide. Nervous about seeing all of them, cautious because you had no idea what would happen if you were in the same room.

           Who would you radiate toward, without even realizing?

           It was then, when that question popped up, that you realized that you had known the answer all along.

           It was startling, how the answer had been there all along. So simple, yet so unattainable.  

           “The boys wanted to check in on me,” you sigh, glaring down at your ankle. It’s still sore, but much better today. Although it’s safe to say you won’t be flying kites anytime soon.

           “But…?”

           “The thought of all seven of them in my little apartment at the same time was overwhelming,” you admit. “I needed a minute. To think. And I know I’ve had weeks to think about it, but yesterday was the first time I felt like I could see the full picture…if that makes sense.”

           Gina nods thoughtfully, reaching over to refill your glass of horchata. The sun is steadily making its way to the horizon, another day wrapping up. “It does. You’ve been going out with someone different each week, you’re probably suffering from information overload after all of those dates and the confession on the pact…how are you not exhausted?”

           “I was yesterday. I was torn – Gina, I want to go back to normal so bad. Just the way it was.”

           “Ignorance is bliss.”

           You set your glass down, pushing back from the table and crossing your arms. “Wouldn’t that be better?” You muse. “That way, nobody gets hurt.”

           Gina tilts her head to one side, eyes flashing. A smirk forms on her face. “You wouldn’t be saying this if you hadn’t already decided on someone.” She leans forward in her seat, staring into your soul. “Who?”

           You school your features into a neutral position. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

           “No, no. You don’t get to shut me out. You have feelings for someone, don’t you!” Gina points an accusing finger at you, letting out a startled laugh. “You totally do! What went on in your head, yesterday? Or maybe you’ve loved them for a while, and this is what it took to realize it-”

           “I can’t do it, Gina.” Your eyes are wide as you plead more with yourself than her. “I can’t do that to the others.”

           “And what, you plan to just let him go?”

           Dropping your head into your hands, you squeeze your eyes shut. “Do I have another choice?”

           The scrape of the chair against the floor alerts you to Gina rising from her seat, and you expect her to leave. She has every right to, you’re frustrated with yourself as well. However, a second later she’s rubbing your back, urging you to look up. Once you do, she offers you a small smile.

           “You always have a choice.”

           Gina stays for a couple more hours, offering her support as you blubber on about how worried you are. While your heart is urging you to throw caution to the wind and go after what you’ve wanted for longer than you ever realized before, your mind does a great job of conjuring up different reactions from the others.

           All of them are depressing. Every time you close your eyes you’re met with the crestfallen expressions of your best friends. Scenarios play out in your head, where you’re blissfully happy for a few seconds before everything comes tumbling down.

           “You’ve gotta get out of your head,” Gina chides as she eases off the couch. “You’re miserable.”

           You sigh, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s just…I can’t do anything. I can’t. That’s horrible of me.”

           “They’re grown boys; they knew what they were getting themselves into with this. Just…tell me something before I head out.”

           “…ok.”

           Gina pauses before the door, hands on her hips. “Why him? Because from where I’m sitting, they all love you.”

           The question takes you by surprise, but the answer is rolling off your tongue in an instant. “I want to be loved, yes. But more than that…I want to be understood.” You stare at a framed photo on the wall, solemn. “He understands me.”

           You don’t hear when Gina leaves, the thoughts in your head too loud. Instead you stay seated on the couch, chewing on your lip. Wondering.

           Remembering.

           All the times he’d been there – he was always there for you, how could you never notice? – never drawing attention to himself. Just there. Just in case you needed him.

           What’s stopping you?

           A knock on the door stops your train of thought, and you hobble up to your feet. Swinging the door open you say, “Did you forget something?”

           Jin stands on your porch, clutching a garment bag to his chest. His ears are bright red, set aflame by the setting sun. He’s wearing his glasses, which he pushes up on his nose. “I…no?”

           “Oh!” You step back, wincing a little from your ankle. “I thought you were Gina! I…hey.”

           “Hey.” Shuffling on his feet, Jin looks down at the bag he’s holding, seeming to remember why he was here in the first place. “Oh, here. I know it’s a little late, but I got your dress dry cleaned and…well, yeah. Here you go.”

           His hands tremble a bit, but you don’t comment as you take the bag from him. “Thank you. Your sweater is actually hanging up in my room…why don’t you come in while I grab it?”

           “Can I?” Jin looks down at your doorstep, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “I don’t want to intrude…”

           “Just come in!” You call over your shoulder, already heading down the hallway. “This will only take a second. Besides, it’s cold outside.”

           The door clicks shut, Jin stepping inside and shoving his hands in his pockets. You rush inside your room, throwing your dress on a hanger in the closet and scanning your clothes for Jin’s blue sweater. When you find it – grinning at the whale on the front – you pause. Holding it in your hands, you take a deep breath.

           “Hey,” Jin’s voice rings out down the hallway. You catch a slight tremble in his tone, which is mirrored by your shaking hands. “I a-actually wanted to talk to you for a second. If that’s ok…?”

           Clearing your voice of the emotion that’s riding you, you respond. “Just come down here.”

           A second later Jin is tentatively peeking inside your room, giving you a nervous smile. His eyes then land on your dresser, widening a bit.

           “So you did steal my copy!”

           Gasping, you toss Jin’s sweater at him and lunge for the dresser. There’s the pact, out in the open for anyone to see. “I- I was gonna give it back-”

           “I can’t believe you’d steal from me.”

           “It was for a good cause!”

           Jin rolls his eyes, laughing as he snatches the pact from you and holds it up in the air. “Nuh-uh, I’m taking this home with me. You’ve had it for long enough.” He makes a point of folding it up and sticking it in his back pocket, staring down at you with an amused expression.

           Suddenly you’re transported to his living room, dancing in his arms. Staring up at him like he put the stars in the sky while he looks at you like you’re the forbidden fruit.

           Is that why he’s here, now? To finally give in to the temptation?

           From the way the smile slides off his lips, you can tell that he’s remembering the same moment. His mouth opens a bit, looking as though he’s about to speak. After a moment, it shuts. Then he slowly reaches out, arms encircling you as he studies your expression. Waiting for any moment of discomfort.

           The second Jin pulls you into his embrace and you rest your head against his chest, his shoulders deflate and he lets out a long sigh.

           It’s not a sigh of relief.

           “Do you remember the first time we hung out together? Jimin wanted to bring you to the Spring Day set, and it was freezing. We were all complaining about our toes falling off and yelling at Namjoon for writing about such a cold song.”

           You chuckle, nodding. Jin’s voice rumbles through his chest as he continues. “I thought that it was so embarrassing, too. We were complaining like kids in front of Jimin’s pretty friend. I figured that you’d never want to hang out with us again. I’ll never forget how angry Jimin was with us after, saying that we were probably making you uncomfortable. Obviously, we all said that it was stupid of him to bring you to a freezing music video set for our first meeting.”

           Jin tightens his grip, laying his cheek atop your head and swaying gently back and forth. You’re not sure if he even realizes that he does it, but you don’t ask. Not as he’s walking down memory lane. It feels like it’s been centuries since you first met.

           “You know what I remember the most about you from that day?”

           You hum, nuzzling in a little closer. Hanging on for just a moment longer.

           “You never complained. Like, at all.” Jin cups your chin, making you look up at him. He smiles softly, but his eyes are sad. “I thought it was a superpower or something, seriously. You just smiled and joked around with Jungkook and Tae. If you were cold or uncomfortable or even weirded out by us, you didn’t say anything.”

           You roll your eyes, latching your hands behind Jin’s back. “I was definitely weirded out, but I didn’t want Jimin to feel bad. He was so excited for me to meet you guys.”

           Jin chuckles, the sound momentarily warming you up. “But the point is, you didn’t complain. You’ve always been like that. Even now, being dragged on seven dates and having to deal with us figuring out our own feelings, you never once complained. You never backed away.”

           The sadness that lingers in Jin’s eyes has you tightening your hold, wondering how to get rid of that sorrow. Your train of thought is interrupted when Jin brushes back a strand of hair, softly tucking it behind your ear.

           “You are beautiful and a wonder. You will always be important to me, no matter where life takes us. You will always be that person that I’ll drop everything for, ok?” Jin takes another long, adoring look at you before reaching behind him and gathering your hands in his. He slowly pulls away from you, staring down at where he holds your hands. “I might be an idiot at times, but I can tell when I’m in the way.”

           As he takes a step back, you watch as he drops your hands. “Jin, wait,” you reach out, grasping his arm as he moves to turn away. “Jin- Seokjin, what’s going on-”

           “You and Yoongi have that in common, did you know that?” Jin offers you a close-lipped smile, placing his hand on yours where you cling to his jacket. His thumb swipes over your knuckles once – twice – before he’s stepping back yet again. “Neither of you are complainers. I mean sure, there’s the funny complaints that everyone makes. But he has a penchant for suffering silently. I’d say he’s a bit of a masochist, but that’d be a lie. He just cares.”

           Jin has made it to your doorway now, where he pauses and leans against the doorframe. He crosses his arms, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought, a faraway look in his eyes. “I think he doesn’t know what to do with it, all those feelings. He just cares so much, about everyone. For you.”

           “Jin,” you gasp out, “what are you doing?”

           One corner of his lips pull up in a smirk. “Me?” He shifts his weight to his other leg. “Letting go.”

           “What are you even talking about?”

           “Don’t get me wrong, I intend to complain. You’ll get an official complaint in the mail soon enough, just give it three to five business days to get here. But I realized something a little while ago: complainers always find some new to complain about. And while that sucks, it also means that they move on. They find something new, no matter how long it takes.”

           He keeps looking at you with that sad smile, and it’s ripping the ground out from under you. You want to scream, throw something, or perhaps dissolve into tears. But nothing happens. You just keep breathing.

           In.

           Then out.

           And Jin keeps speaking. He’s rambling now, something he does when he’s nervous. His brows are still furrowed, and you wonder if he’s making this up as he goes. If the only thing he knew what that he had to find a way in, only to find a way out.

           “As twisted as my logic sounds, I think it gives me hope. Eventually, I’ll be ok. Probably be complaining about the weather or maybe even a girl in no time. Just give me some time, and I’ll bounce back.”

           “Jin,” you croak out. “…you don’t complain, not about these things. Why are you doing this? S-stop doing this.”

           “But it’s like I said: Yoongi doesn’t complain. Jagiya, I know him. Better than you do.” Jin closes his eyes, pinching them shut before opening them again. “He’ll never get over you. I mean it. And if my logic holds true…that means that you’ll never move past him, either.”

           Folding his sweater over his arm, Jin steps back into the hallway. You step forward, your stomach churning.

           “Seokjin!”

           He hesitates for a single heartbeat, almost looking like he’ll turn back around and declare it all some twisted joke. Like he’ll pull you back into his arms and admit that he’s been inside his memories for the past two weeks, replaying “La Vie en Rose” as he lies awake at night.

           But he doesn’t. He refuses to look at you as he marches down the hallway. As he walks, he continues to speak.

           “I was angry that night, when you called him instead of me. When you accidentally deleted your essay. He left, and I was stuck at home, pining after you like some teenage boy. I think even then, I knew that it wouldn’t be me in the end. But I’d die trying.” He laughs, joking but it doesn’t come off very funny.

           It’s when he’s reached the door and goes to pull it open that you call out to him again, sounding like you’re on the verge of tears. “But it was you, wasn’t it?” You run a hand through your hair. “You wrote the note, o-on the back of the pact.”

           With his hand on the doorknob, Jin glances back at you over his shoulder. Now you understand why he couldn’t stand to look at you a moment earlier. Those are tears glistening in his eyes.

           He looks at you for a long moment, eyes so clear and bare that you can see the very moment he lays down his weapons and admits defeat. “Would it change anything?”

           He’s already twisting the doorknob, but just before he opens the door, he hesitates. Waiting for an answer, you realize. Some small part of him still pulses with hope, even after all he’s said.

           You can’t give that hope.

           “There’s a difference, you know,” Jin mumbles, eyes dropping. “Just because I loved you first doesn’t mean I can love you the best. I think sometimes the world forgets that.”

           And then he’s gone.

           In.

           Out.

           Perhaps the most shocking development has been the fact that you’re still breathing. When Jin leaves your apartment, the sky doesn’t fall. Your heart, while aching, doesn’t shatter into a million little pieces. The quiet hum of your dishwasher continues on, oblivious to all that’s transpired.

           A few tears slip down your cheeks, which you quickly wipe away. When your dishwasher buzzes, you drift over to it as though in a daze. Wiping your hands on your dishtowel, you move to open the dishwasher.

           But it’s that dishtowel with stitched stars that Yoongi gifted you forever ago. Stars.

           You are the stars I’ve been reaching for ever since that night.

           Snatching the towel from where it hands off your oven, you fumble for your phone. Dishes long forgotten, you bring the phone up to your ear and nervously tap your foot. “C’mon, c’mon…”

           “Jagiya?”

           “Hobi!”

           “Hey, what’s up? How’s your ankle?”

           You chew on your lip, struggling to regain composure. “I- yeah. The ankle’s fine. Look, I need to cash in my question now.”

           Hobi chuckles on the other side of the phone. “That’s what I was afraid of. Wanna come over to the studio?”

           “Be there soon.”

           It’s dark outside, countless stars winking down at you as you hurry inside the Hybe building. You throw a glare up at them, wondering if they were in on it the entire time. If the stars have always been aware that Min Yoongi had no interest in them, much preferring your company to the twinkling lights in the heavens.

It’s your first time in here, the boys having recently moved into the new building. As such, you’re instantly disoriented. At a loss for where to go, you call Hobi.

“Hey, where…?”

“Turn around!”

You whirl around to see the elevator doors sliding open, Hobi hopping out. “Hey, you made it!” He instantly pulls you in for a hug, which you gratefully receive. “Everything ok, jagi?”

It’s then that you realize how you must look. Tear-stained cheeks and tired eyes don’t make for the best combination. “Oh…yeah. I’m alright.”

Hobi doesn’t believe you at all, but he doesn’t push it. Not here, out in the open lobby. Instead he pulls you into the elevator, punching one of the buttons. “Long day?”

You laugh quietly, leaning up against the wall of the elevator. “A little, yeah. What about you? What are you up to?”

“Oh, we’re recording a new Japanese OST. Wanna listen to it once we get up there?”

“Is that even a question?”

It feels unbelievably good to be here with Hobi, falling into an easy conversation despite the nervousness coursing through your veins. Once you reach the eighth floor, Hobi leads you down the hallway toward a closed door.

“What’s that?” He asks, pointing to where you still hold the dishtowel in your hands.

You blink, not even realizing that you brought it in with you. “Oh…um…part of my question, I think?”

Hobi chuckles, pausing outside of the door. “I was wondering when you were gonna use that question.”

At the end of your date with Hobi two months ago, he’d allowed you two questions about whatever you wanted to know. You only asked one, wanting to keep the other for a future time. You never thought it would lead to this.

“Ok, let’s head inside.”

Your eyes widen, but Hobi doesn’t notice as he pushes the door open and strides inside. The sight that greets you makes you want to sink through the floor.

Namjoon and Jungkook sit in front of the recording equipment, while Taehyung and Jimin lounge on the couches at the back of the room. Yoongi is busy on the other side of the glass, eyes closed as he raps into the mic. His dark hair is straight, kissing his brows while he clenches his fists at his sides,

You’re frozen in place as suddenly you’re surrounded by his voice. It’s lilting, more like singing than rapping. The words coming from his mouth stop your heart.

“Don't have to be right, just wanted you to stay the way you are, kindhearted, always smiling, but-”

“Hey!” Taehyung jumps up from his seat, alerting everyone to your presence. “You’re here!”

Jungkook swivels around in his chair, wide eyes crinkling as he grins. Namjoon quietly greets you, cheeks pink as he struggles to focus on the task at hand.

It’s Jimin that notices how lost you look. “Everything alright?” He ambles over to you, bending his knees a bit to look at you. He grabs your shoulder, eyes scanning your face. “Jagiya? Want to sit down?”

But you’re still clinging to Hobi, one hand wrapped up in the fabric of his jacket. “I…actually, Hobi, weren’t you gonna show me your new studio?”

You look back at Hobi, aware that everyone in the room is now staring at him as well with confused looks. You give Hobi a pleading look, but not before you see someone on the other side of the glass.

Yoongi stands before the microphone, frowning as he looks at you. As you lock eyes, he tilts his head to one side and mouths a single word.

Jin?

“I…uh, yeah. Yeah, let’s go look at it first and then come right back, right?” Hobi says, the confusion clear in his voice. Thankfully, he doesn’t question you and instead steps back through the door. “Be right back, guys.”

Just before you walk away, you turn back to try to communicate to Yoongi that you’re here for him, not Jin. But he’s gone, the side door to the studio still swinging from where he walked out.

           Your head is still spinning by the time Hobi heads into his own studio, hardly pausing to admire it before he’s whipping around to face you. The second he closes the door, he’s crossing his arms and giving you a worried look.

           “What was that all about?” He asks. “What’s going on?”

           “Hobi,” you croak out. “Hobi, I need help. I need answers.”

           Plopping down on his cushiony swivel chair, you squint at him. You can feel a headache coming on.

           “I can’t give you the answers if you don’t ask the questions, jagi,” Hobi chides, pulling up another chair to sit in front of you. His gaze catches on your wrist. “You still wear the bracelet I made you?”

           You pause, glancing down at the bracelet. “Of course. Everyday.”

           Hobi smiles softly to himself before leaning back and letting out a long sigh. “Ok. Tell me what’s going on.” He eyes the star-spangled dishtowel still in your hands. “I assume this is about Yoongi?”

           “I…how did you know?”

           He nods to the towel, chuckling softly. “He came to me asking if I knew how to embroider. I didn’t, but I got him a little embroidery kit to practice with on tour. It cracked me up when he ended up buying plain white dishtowels and would spend his time backstage embroidering little stars on them. I didn’t know he was planning on giving them to you at the time…do you guys have some sort of inside jokes with stars or something?”

           You stare at Hobi like he’s just grown a second head. “He what?”

           “What?” Hobi blinks. “Did you not know that he stitched them?”

           Of course not. When Yoongi had gifted you the dishtowels, you’d thought it was sweet, if a bit odd. You even remember joking with him about it, saying that he’d paid off the neighborhood grandma to do it for him.

           “No! I never knew that! Why would I…why would he…”

           “So…you don’t have an inside joke about stars?”

           You sigh, throwing a hand over your eyes. “How could I be so blind?” Slumping down in the chair you ask miserably, “I mean, it makes sense, I guess…he’s done so many things-”

           At this, Hobi stops you. “Like what?”

           There is a long, long list of things that Yoongi did for you that he never told the boys.

           “Or there’s that time he passed up on his Laker’s tickets because I had that end-of-year project due, and I was worried that nobody would show up to my presentation.”

           You remember that with a jolt. You had to give a twenty minute presentation on the effects of addiction, something that hardly seemed like a riveting topic. The general public was invited to the lecture hall, but despite your valiant efforts handing out fliers and sending e-vites, you were convinced that it was going to be a flop.

           It was. There were about seventeen people scattered about the hall that typically seated three hundred. Your hands were shaking and you thought you might burst into tears on stage because you felt like an utter failure, but then movement caught your eyes.

           Sneaking in and taking a seat on the very back row, sat Yoongi. His bucket hat was pulled low across his eyes and a couple of body guards tried (and failed) to looked inconspicuous as they took seats near him. When you stuttered, he help up a thumbs up and quietly encouraged you to go on.

           Jin’s words from earlier come back to you. I think he doesn’t know what to do with it, all those feelings. He just cares so much, about everyone. For you.

           By this point, you’re exhausted with all of the things Yoongi has done over the years. How blind you’ve been to his unadulterated kindness. Hobi senses it, seeing your shoulders droop. He falls silent, allowing you to sort out your thoughts before you speak.

           “Does he still want me?”

           Looking up at Hobi, you allow yourself to feel the question at you repeat it. “How could he still want me? After how blind I’ve been to my own feelings?”

           Hobi smiles softly, leaning forward to take your hand in his. He gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Jagi…I don’t think Yoongi completely understood his own feelings most of the time.”

           “But he’s done so much-”

           “That he has. But when you love someone, you don’t do those kinds of things for gain. He didn’t do those things to make you fall in love with him.” Hobi laughs to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. “He did it because you’re the right person. And when you’re with the right person, it’s simple. Does he still want you? Simple.” He shrugs. “Yes.”

           Yoongi is gone, Jungkook tells you when the boys eventually come knocking at Hobi’s studio. They sit in a semi-circle, pondering all that they’ve learned. Hobi had quickly explained the situation to them, and despite your worry, nothing happened.

           Nobody yelled, nobody banished you from their life.

           Instead, Jimin had laughed. Laughed.

           “Pay up, loser,” he’d commanded as he elbowed Taehyung. Taehyung whined and said that he’d Venmo him in a second.

           “Wait, you made a bet?” You shriek. “About who I’d go for?!”

           The boys all laugh nervously, Namjoon slowly edging toward the door. You snap your fingers at him, glaring. “You don’t get to leave, Kim. Were you a part of this?”

           “I…yeah…”

           “But Yoongi’s gone,” Jungkook repeats. “Aren’t you gonna tell him?”

           You sigh. “How am I supposed to tell him? Just march up to him and throw myself at him?”

           Namjoon shrugs. “I mean, that’d work for me.”

           “Yeah,” Jungkook chuckles darkly. “Just go for that.”

           Hobi rolls his eyes, leaning forward in his seat. “Just do whatever you feel comfortable with, jagiya. But do it soon. You’ll psych yourself out if you wait much longer.”

           It feels like you’ve time-traveled back to middle school, gossiping around the lunch table about your crush. Somehow, that’s comforting. While there’s a bit of awkwardness in the air, you can’t help but feel like you’re back.

           “Oh,” Taehyung snaps his fingers, mouth open in a little ‘o’, “but whatever you do, make sure there’s cookies. Or some sort of dessert.”

           “What?”

           “You know, to celebrate if he accepts your confession, or to make you feel better if he rejects you.”

           Gasping, you jump up to your feet. You point an accusing finger at Hobi. “But you said that he’d still want me!”

           “He does! Taehyung, take that back right now.”

           Tae stands up, his grin softening as he steps forward. That’s when you see how much they’ve been hiding behind their playful demeanors. For you. To help you.

           Wrapping you up in a hug, Taehyung squeezes you tight. “It’ll be fine. Don’t you worry.” And then, quieter so no one else can hear, “We’ll be fine.”

           You’ve never considered yourself to be a nervous baker, but here you are. Sliding another cookie sheet into the oven while two batches are cooling on your kitchen table.

           By the time you made it home last night, you could hardly keep your eyes open. While sleep did come to you relatively quickly, you were wide awake the second the sun crested the horizon. Wide awake, and a nervous wreck.

           Is this how the boys felt when they came to take you out? If so, they deserve a medal of bravery. You’re still within the comfort of your own home, but you can hardly breathe properly.

           Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that Yoongi just sent you a text that he’s on his way. Bouncing on your feet, you run your hands under the cold water in an effort to rid yourself of clammy palms. Drying your hands on the infamous dishtowel, you smile softly.

           Everything is going to be ok.

           Yoongi doesn’t get there for a long time. It’s long enough that you’re worried, and you pick up your phone to call him. A second later, you hear another phone ringing just outside your door. Hardly believing it, you rush toward the front door only to pause.

           “Here we go.”

           Swinging the door open, you come face to face with a guilty looking Yoongi. He’s halfway back down the stairs, but freezes in his steps as he hears the door open.

           “Yoongi?” You’re absolutely bewildered. “Where are you going?”

           Letting out a breathy laugh, Yoongi slowly begins trekking back up the stairs. “Oh…um…I thought I left something in the car.”

           “That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

           “What, are we not lying to each other today?”

           Smiling softly, you shake your head and open the door a little wider. “No. Not today, I’m afraid.”

           Something akin to fear flashes in Yoongi’s eyes at your words, but a second later he’s back to normal. “Smells great. Are you baking cookies?”

           “I’ve baked about a thousand, yeah. Can’t stop. It’s a condition.” You ramble as you turn and head into the kitchen, hoping that he’s following. The sound of his footsteps confirms that he is. “Want some?”

           When he doesn’t answer, you turn around to see what’s going on.

           Yoongi stands beside your table, fists clenched in the sleeves of his cardigan. He’s practically staring holes into the sweet treats, brows furrowed as he takes a deep breath. When he exhales, it’s shaky.

           “I’m fine, you know,” he grinds out, not looking at you. “You didn’t need to bake me cookies. I’m not…I’m not mad.”

           “Mad? What?”

           “Isn’t this why you brought me over? To let me down easy?” His voice is quiet, yet every word is like a bullet. “That’s why you were at the studio last night, wasn’t it? You were talking to the others about Jin.”

           Your heart stops.

           Is that why he disappeared last night? He thought that you’d made your decision, and it wasn’t him?

           “Yoongi, that’s not-”

           He’s already stepping back, refusing to look at you. His eyes are trained on the floor as he stumbles back toward the entryway, looking like he’s doing his best not to full out sprint. “I’m fine, jagiya. I know you’re worried sick about us, but don’t worry. I already told you not to worry, don’t you remember? I shouldn’t have said all of those stupid things on the beach…is that why you brought me over? You felt like I needed some sort of special treatment?”

           You take off after him, unable to believe what you’re hearing. “Yoongi, listen to me. This is for you. It’s all for you.”

           But he doesn’t hear you, he’s busy fumbling with his shoes that he slipped off beside the door. His hands are shaking, but he still refuses to look at you. “I’m so sorry for worrying you,” he says earnestly. His black hair is falling in his eyes, but it doesn’t shield his pink cheeks from your eyes. “I…wow, this is humiliating, isn’t it? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come-“

           “I invited you-”

           “-but I didn’t want to worry you even more, so I came over – why can’t I get these shoes on?!” He collapses to his knees, dropping his head into his hands as he finally gives up on his shoes. “Even that was a stupid mistake,” he whispers, never one to raise his voice. “I bought these for our date but then I realized that they would be stupid to wear to the beach.” He laughs at himself, no humor in the sound.

           You take a look at the dark shoes, which appear to be made of leather. They lace up, but it’s obvious that they’re not broken in yet. Crouching down beside Yoongi, who keeps his face hidden in his hands, you struggle to find words.

           “They look nice,” you mumble, voice raw. Have you been screaming? Or perhaps it’s the emotional exhaustion, finally setting in. “Very pretty.”

           “I wanted to wear them for you. Just once.” Taking a deep breath, Yoongi sits back and brings his knees up to his chest. He back presses against the back of your couch.

           And you’re here. Sitting beside him in the entryway to your small apartment. So far away from where you thought you’d be.

           As Yoongi glares at his shoes, you notice just how bloodshot his eyes are. Like he hasn’t slept in days.

           “Isn’t it odd?” He muses, tired eyes dragging over to meet yours. You’re unable to breathe as he stares at you without the barriers he usually puts up for himself. For the first time you can ever remember, Yoongi looks at you and lets you see everything. Perhaps he’s too tired to mask the longing anymore.

           Your voice comes out as nothing more than a whisper. “What’s odd?”

           He inhales sharply before breathing out slowly. “After everything, I’m still trying to impress you.”

           The small confession strikes you like a bolt of lightning, and you screw your eyes shut. Once the feeling passes and you’ve composed yourself, you open your eyes again to find Yoongi’s again on his shoes. He nibbles on his bottom lip as he reaches out and eases his shoe from your hands. Then, he slips it on his foot.

           As he begins to tie the laces, you open your mouth to say all of the things you should have a long time ago.

           “I see you everywhere I go.” Your eyes are trained on his deft fingers as he pauses for a moment before continuing to lace up his shoe. “For a long time, I didn’t know what to do about it. I just brushed it off as a side effect of our friendship. In my mind, it was better to ignore it than to face it, because then what? I could never have you.”

           His hands are trembling again as he finishes his right shoe and reaches for the left.

           “You’ve always been so good. There whenever I needed you, there just in the off-chance I called. On stand-by, like my own personal assistant.” You chuckle, perhaps a little insane by this point. “And I convinced myself that whatever that was between us, it was enough. It was just gonna be me and my seven best friends for the rest of my life. But then…things started to change. You guys challenged me to view you as something more.”

           He’s nearly finished tying his shoe now, your time is nearly out. But he fumbles, unable to quite finish.

           “That night you guys came up with the dating idea, I knew I was walking into a trap. I wasn’t worried about anyone crossing any boundaries, I was worried about me making the biggest mistake of my life. Sitting there I think I was starting to realize I had feelings for you, and I was one slip-up away from hurting everyone else.”  Now he stops breathing. But his fingers are still slowly working at the laces. “I cared for you then, but I loved you when you showed up at my door seven dates later.”

           He’s just managed to finish tying his shoe when you stop speaking. He doesn’t speak, only staring down at those laces with wide eyes as he processes what you just said. You take his silence in stride, still talking. Still confessing.

           “I didn’t know how to tell you that I was torn between the what-if’s and the what-is. That I was drowning in the possibilities everyone was offering me, but that when I was with you I was finally able to see the world for what it is. But you just said, ‘I know’ and I thought that you did. I figured you knew, because you’re you, how could you not know what I was thinking? You always do.”

           Yoongi stops nibbling on his lip long enough to voice a question, his voice hoarse. “The world for what it is…what is it?”

           You take courage in his curiosity, deeming this a good development. “It’s only tolerable because you’re in it.”

           He falls silent again, deep in his thoughts.

           “Yoongi,” you call softly, heart hammering against you ribs. “Could you look at me for a second?”

           He does, eyes wide with confusion.

           Those eyes, the ones you see everywhere you go. Crinkled up in laughter, joking with you over something stupid. Proudly watching you from the back row as you present to a small crowd. Filled with adventure as you sneak your hand into his pocket at the haunted house, inviting you to dive inside.

           It was those eyes that you saw looking back at you that night with Jungkook, out of breath and lost as suddenly it wasn’t Jungkook kissing you, but Yoongi. That forbidden dream become real as you squeezed your eyes shut and allowed yourself to pretend for a moment longer before pulling away.

           It’s now, looking into Yoongi’s dark eyes that hold so much promise, that you find it easier than ever to say what you should have said that night when he showed up to help you with your essay. Looking frazzled but ready to swim the entire ocean if it would help you. Instead, you had just given him a lingering hug before excusing yourself to go to your room and sleep.

           Sleep hadn’t found you that night, because you had been awake and asking your ceiling why a man like Min Yoongi would do anything for you.

           “Yoongi,” you whisper. “I love you.”

           He doesn’t move, but just blinks. Once. Twice. You see the doubt swirling in his eyes, so when you reach out to pull at his shoelace, you repeat it.

           “I love you.”

           One shoe at a time, you untie the laces. You undo the pain you’ve caused him, break down the barriers he put up.

           “I love you.”

           You continue to repeat the words, focusing on his shoes and not daring to look up at him just yet. Not until you get his shoes off, because then you feel like he can’t run away.

           So you undo the knots and repeat those words with a shaking voice. “I love you, Yoongs.” When you go to slip the shoes from his feet, he helps you, kicking them off and reaching forward to place his hand under your chin and make you look at him.

           Yoongi is crying when you look at him, the tears falling silently. A part of you wonders if he even realizes that he’s crying.

           “You…” he swallows, those eyes so wide. “…love me?”

           It’s simple.

           “Yes.”

           Yoongi furrows his brows again, trying to understand everything that’s happening. “But…Jin.”

           There will be time to explain everything. For now, you answer the question Jin asked you yesterday, standing before this very door. “The pact, the note. It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change how I feel. He came over yesterday to ‘let go’, he said.”

           Something like recognition flashes across Yoongi’s face at those two words, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he nods slowly, trying to follow what you’re saying. “And you feel…”

           “I feel very in love with you, yes.”

           What happens next is burned into your memory for the rest of your life.

           Yoongi sits up, reaching across to you in a flash, pulling you until you’re falling forward. He lets out a shaky breath, pulling you into his lap just like he did on the beach. And as he holds you, he laughs. He’s still laughing as he plants a soft kiss to your forehead. He’s grinning as he presses his lips to your cheeks.

           Tears are still falling down his cheeks as he brushes his lips against your own. Hesitantly, as though worried you might pull away and tell him it was all a joke.

You return the kiss fervently, speaking in a language only you two can understand. He pulls away, staring down at you as though surprised to find that you’re really here and not just a figment of his imagination.

“I love you,” he whispers. And then he’s kissing you in earnest.

Breathlessly, desperately, and with a touch of insanity that only comes after spending two nights wide awake and heartbroken. As he holds you tight and kisses you harder, you know that he’s healing himself with each touch.

           One kiss, one shattered fragment of his heart sliding back into place.

           Your hands wrap around his neck and wind into his hair, pulling him impossibly closer as he gasps and whispers those three words again. “I love you.”

           When the smell of burnt cookies pulls you apart several minutes later, Yoongi wraps his arms around your waist and sticks to you like glue. He rests his chin on your shoulder, planting a few lazy kisses along your jaw that sets your skin aflame. “Mm, I love you,” he mumbles between kisses.

           Placing the burnt cooking atop the stove, you chuckle. “I know.”

           “Agh,” Yoongi groans, burying his head in your shoulder. “I thought you meant something different, ok?”

           “I know.”

           “Yah! I was trying to be understanding of your feelings I thought you had for Jin!”

           Reaching to turn off the oven, you grin. “I’m never letting you live that down.”

           As Yoongi feigns annoyance while shoveling cookies into his mouth, you marvel at all it took to get to this point. Yoongi notices your attention, puffy cheeks turning pink. But he doesn’t shy away, instead he silently offers you a cookie.

           “So…” he begins, a smirk playing on his lips. “I’ve been thinking.”

           “Dangerous.”

           “Well, I know how much you like bad boys.”

           “Mm, true.”

           Yoongi laughs along with you before continuing. His eyes sparkle like the night sky, drawing you in. “Are you free this Saturday?”

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thank you all for reading! I’ll be back with an inside look at the pact as well as answering any questions you may have. Feel free to send your questions in! 

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Love you all! 

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