#if you’re worried your suggestion is ‘cringe’ don’t worry. cringe culture is dead and with our powers combined we can kill it further

[thereareeyesinsidethetrees]

give us any media (show, comic, game, etc.) and/or creature and we’ll design a sona for it

we’re also thinking of just finding some to do cause this sounds fun and we really want to try it

[babypandawrites]

Allies, Pt. 8

The Deserter

Pairing: Sokka x F Reader Warnings: Burn Injury  Word Count: 3,300 Summary: As usual, things do not go as planned. Lesson learned, going to a Fire Nation festival should always be tucked into the bad idea folder. 

-Navigation- | -Allies Masterlist- | -Atla Masterlist- 

Taglist: @boomeraangin​​

Eyes wide, Y/n snatched one of the pages hanging from the notice board before the others could see it. It was a wanted poster of her. It wasn’t the first time the Fire Nation put one of these out for her, but that didn’t make it any less alarming! She balled up the page as Katara approached the notice board, and shoved it into her pocket.  Grimacing, she moved to stand next to the girl. None of them saw that, right? “This should give us a good idea of what’s around here.” Katara noted, as she looked over the board.  “See if you can find a menu, I’m starving.”  The two girls ignored Sokka, as Aang rushed up to the board. He pointed to a colorful flyer that had been hung up. “I bet we’ll find something to eat here! The Fire Days Festival. Fire Nation cultural exhibits… jugglers, benders, magicians. This’d be a great place for me to study some real firebenders!”  Looking at her friend, her eyebrows furrowed together. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Aang.”  Sokka pointed to something on another side of the board. “Yeah, you might wanna rethink that. Look at this.”  Y/n walked over to see it was a wanted poster of Aang, the boy soon joining as well. There was also one for ‘The Blue Spirit’- That being the masked person who ended up being Zuko- and a white haired man.  “Hey, a poster of me!” “A wanted poster. This is bad.”  Aang took the wanted poster off the board as Katara walked over to look at it.  “I think we better keep moving.”  “I have to learn firebending at some point, and this could be my only chance to watch a master up close.”  Katara looked at the ground, thinking for a short moment. “I guess we could check it out.” “What!? You want to walk into a Fire Nation town where they’re all fired up with all their, you know, fire?”  Crossing her arms over her chest, Y/n looked between Katara and Aang. “I’m gonna have to agree with Sokka on this one, this is a terrible idea.”  “We’ll wear disguises and if it looks like trouble, we’ll leave.” Katara suggested, as her and Aang walked over to Appa.  Sokka breathed out a sigh. “Yeah, because we always leave before we get into trouble.” 

On a hill outside of the town, Aang told Appa and Momo to hide, only one of the animals being successful in the feat. Y/n giggled watching Appa attempt to hide behind a small bush, he was truly adorable.  “Ready disguises!”  At Aang’s words, Y/n, Sokka and Katara pulled the hoods of the cloaks they wore over their heads. Aang had pulled the top of his shirt over his head in a completely ineffective disguise. He grinned at the three, as Sokka crossed his arms over his chest. Katara and Y/n laughed at the silliness of it.  “It’s like you’re a whole different person.” Sokka spoke sarcastically.  Aang started to lead the way down the hill. “Let’s go!”  The group walked down to the main square of the town, it was full of people. Several of the people enjoying the festival wore colorful masks.  “I think we need some new disguises.”  Sokka looked at his sister, somewhat annoyed. “Where are we gonna get masks like that?”  Nudging him gently in the side, Y/n nodded her head over to a stand a few feet away from them- It was selling masks.  “Get your genu-ine Fire Festival masks here!”  “That was surprisingly easy.”  Each of them had gotten masks to wear- Sokka wore one with a happy expression on it and Aang wore one with a sad expression. Looking between the two, Katara and Y/n took the masks off the boys and switched them, matching their masks with their moods. Walking further into the town square, Aang pointed ahead.  “Hey, there’s some food.”  “Finally!” Sokka rushed up to the food stand. “What do you have?”  The food merchant grabbed a small bag, steam came from it. “Flaming fire flakes! Best in town.” Sokka grabbed the bag from him. “I’ll take ‘em!” He stuffed them into his mouth, but quickly started to scream and huff, steam blowing from his mouth. He partially removed his mask to cool his tongue. “Aaaaah! Hot! Hot!”  Katara crossed her arms. “Flaming fire flakes, hot? What do you know.”  Y/n snickered. “Never would have guessed that.”  Aang looked off to the side, and started to walk away. “Hey, look at this.”  The three followed after him, stopping near a puppet stage. The audience in front of the stage was composed of children. The curtain in front of the stage drew open, and a puppet of the Fire Lord appeared. The children cheered.  “Don’t worry loyal citizens! No one can surprise the Fire Lord!”  Behind the Fire Lord puppet, a puppet of an earthbender rose up, with a rock ready to strike the other puppet. The children in the crowd cried out warnings. The Fire Lord puppet suddenly turned around and torched the earthbender puppet with a gout of flames. As the children cheered at the display, the group turned away from the performance, and followed Aang as he led them to another area.  “Aang, hold on! Where are we going?” Katara questioned as they walked.  “I don’t know, but there’s a big crowd so it must be good.”  “Knowing the Fire Nation, it’s probably an execution.”  Y/n furrowed her eyebrows together under her mask. “The Fire Nation doesn’t hold public executions..” She mumbled to herself, following after her friends to get a better look at the stage.  A firebending performer stood on the stage, manipulating flames for the crowd's delight. He extinguished the fire and produced a small flock of white birds that flew off the stage.  Aang partially took off his mask, watching the birds fly away. He turned back to the stage, a large smile plastered onto his face. “I gotta learn that trick!”  “Thank you! For my next trick I need a volunteer from the audience!” Aang’s hand shot up in the air. “Oh! Oh! Me! Me!”  Sokka looked at him. “What do you think you’re doing?”  “I want to get a closer look.”  Y/n’s arms crossed over her chest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  “It’s better that we don’t attract any attention to ourselves.”  The performer pointed at Katara, after she finished speaking. “How about you, little lady?”  She backed away, shaking her head. “Uh…”  “Awww, she’s shy. Leeet’s give her some encouragement, folks!”  Someone in the audience pushed Katara to the edge of the stage, where the performer grabs onto her and hauls her up.  “Awww! That could’a been me.”  The performer ushered Katara to the center of the stage, sitting her on the chair that had been brought out. “This next trick is called ‘Taming the Dragon’. You will be my captured princess!”  He used a maroon ribbon to tie her to the chair, before beginning to bend a huge fire comet from the fires that stood atop the pillars of the stage. He looped it close to Katara then moved it back away. He controlled it by a flame rope that connected to his hand.  “Don’t worry, young maiden. I will tame this fiery beast!” He continued to control the fire comet. “It’s too strong, I can’t hold it!” “We gotta help her!” There was a hint of panic in Aang’s voice.  “No, we don’t want to make a scene!” Sokka tried to stop him.  “Yeah- Aang, it’s just a performance-”  “The rope, it’s breaking!”  The rope the performer was using to control the comet broke, the flames charging at Katara. She cringed and cried out. Aang airbended himself up, Sokka, Y/n and another man failing to restrain him. He dropped down in front of Katara, and created a whirlwind that dissipated the comet in a shower of confetti.  The performer looked at Aang. “Hey, you tryin’ to upstage me, kid?”  The crowd started to ‘boo’ Aang, and as he did a little dance to amuse them, Sokka and Y/n hopped up onto the stage to untie Katara.  “Hey! That kid’s the Avatar!” Someone shouted from the crowd. This caught the attention of three Fire Nation guards, who started to weave through the crowd to get to the stage.  “I think it’s time to go.” Sokka said, as the group removed their masks.  “Follow me! I can git ya outta here!” The man who tried to help stop Aang before called out to them. He stood near a broken wall at the back of the stage, waving them over to it.  “There they are!” One of the guards shouted as they got to the stage. They ran through the broken wall, and once they were through the man threw a smoke bomb at the guards to obscure their view. The group ran through squares and alleys, the man who helped accompany them. A guard pointed at them, as they passed him.  “Over there!”  “I’m calling Appa!” Aang got out his bison whistle and blew into it, as a group of guards started to pursue them.  “I hope he can really hear that bison whistle!” Sokka commented.  “This way!” The man turned into an alleyway, that was a dead end. “Okay! Not this way!”  They turned to leave, but the exit was blocked by guards. The man threw another smoke bomb at the guards, allowing the group to run past them. They ran into another alley, but it was also a dead end.  “Appa! Down here!” Aang called to the bison as he arrived just in time. Appa landed between the group and the guards and hit his tail against the ground, blowing the guards out of the alley.  They all got up onto Appa and took off. The man who had helped them used a bomb like object to set off fireworks that had been in the alley. He removed his hood as they flew away.  “Nice touch setting off the fireworks.” Aang commented, watching the fireworks go off.  Sokka looked at the man, impressed. “You seem to really know your explosives.”  “I’m familiar.” He turned to face them.  “You’re a Fire Nation soldier!”  “Was. My names Chey.” 

The group settled around a campfire that night. Chey was speaking with them.  “I serve a man. More than a man really, he’s a myth, but he’s real, a living legend, Jeong Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general, or wait, was he an admiral?”  Sokka looked at the man blankly. “He was very high ranked, we get it.”  “Yeah! Way up there! But he couldn’t take the madness any more. He’s the first person to ever leave the army- and live. I’m the second, but you don’t get to be a legend for that. That’s okay though. Jeong Jeong’s a firebending genius. Some say he’s mad- But he’s not! He’s enlightened.”  “You mean there’s a firebender out here who’s not with the Fire Lord?” Aang stood up, excited. “We’ve gotta go see him! He can train me!”  “We’re not gonna go find some crazy firebender!”  Chey stood up. “He’s not crazy! He’s a genius! And he’s the perfect person to train the Avatar! That’s why I followed you into the festival.”  Sokka also stood up. “Look, thanks for the help, but we’re leaving for the North Pole in the morning.”  Aang furrowed his eyebrows together. “Sokka, this could be my only chance to meet a firebending master who would actually be willing to teach me.”  “It can’t hurt just to talk to him.” Katara said, standing up.  “That’s what you said about going to the festival! Why doesnt anyone ever listen to me?!” Sokka turned to look at Y/n, who has yet to speak. “Come on, Y/n, you’re with me, right?”  She was silent for a moment, thinking. “Well… Aang does need to learn Firebending eventually… Hmmm..” She shrugged her shoulders.  Groaning in frustration, Sokka turned to stalk away from the group, but stops having nearly run into a spear. Suddenly, they were all surrounded by men wearing straw hats and armor, each of them wielding a spear.  “Don’t move!”  They were led through the forest by the rebel men, after a long time walking, they came across a small shack that had been settled at the bottom of a hill.  “Go on. He sees you only.” The man who’d Y/n had learned the name of was Lin Yi, spoke to Chey.  “Oh that’s okay, we can chat later.”  “Is that where Jeong Jeong is? I need to talk to him right away.” Aang tried to walk towards the shack, but was stopped by a spear shaft blocking his path.  “No! You wait there.” Lin Yi pushed Chey forward roughly. “Go now!”  “Don’t worry! Everything’ll be fine. He’s a great man, great man!” Chey walked down to Jeong Jeong’s hut.

Y/n had fallen asleep during the wait and in the morning had learned Jeong Jeong agreed to teach Aang firebending. She sat on the ground outside, doing some stretches while listening in on the lesson between Jeong Jeong and Aang.  “Widen your stance. Wider! Bend your knees. Now, concentrate. Good, good!”  “Wait! What do I do now?”  She glanced over to see that Jeong Jeong had begun walking away.  “Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Look at your friend,” He pointed at Katara. “Is she talking? What about her?” Then he pointed at Y/n, before pointing at Sokka. “Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he’s doing.”  “Hey!” Snickering, Y/n went back to focusing on her stretches.  Aang breathed out a sigh. “But what am I concentrating on?”  “Feel the heat of the sun. It is the greatest source of fire. Yet, it is in complete balance with nature!” “So when do I get to make some fire?”  “Concentrate!”  Katara, Y/n and Sokka all laughed a bit as Aang tried to concentrate, feigning innocence when he turned to look at them all. 

“This is the worst firebending instruction ever. All he does is leave me alone for hours to concentrate or breath.” Aang complained, as he held a leaf with a small hole burned in the center in his hand.  “I’m sure there’s a good reason.”  Y/n nodded in agreement with Katara. “There most likely is. Jeong Jeong is a Master, he’s bound to know what he’s talking about.”  “But I’m ready to do so much more.” His face lit up when an idea came to mind. Widening his stance, he began to take in deep breaths. The leaf he held started to smoke, before suddenly bursting into flames. With the leaf disintegrating, Aang was left holding a fireball in his hand. “I did it! I made fire!”  Katara took a few steps closer. “Aang, that’s great, but you should take it slow.”  Eyebrows furrowing together, Y/n once again nodded in agreement with the girl. “Yeah, this doesn’t seem like a good idea, Aang.”  The flame got bigger, in reaction to Aang’s annoyance with their comments.  “Careful!”  Aang regained control and reduced the flame to its former size, but he nearly fell into the river doing so.  “Now that’s firebending!” He shot a whip of flames into the distance, before beginning to juggle the ball of flame happily.  Y/n took a few steps back. “Aang, you should stop.”  “Yeah, you’ll hurt yourself!”  She was about to tell Katara to get back, but was a bit too late. Aang created a circle of fire around himself, pushing it outwards. The flames burned Katara’s hands, when she raised them to protect her face. Crying out in pain, she crumpled to her knees.  “Katara!” Aang and Y/n shouted in unison, rushing over to her. The latter kneeling down next to the waterbender.  “Katara, I’m so sorry.”  Sokka rushed over. “Katara, what’s wrong?!” He looked at Aang, clearly upset. “What did you do?”  Aang held his hands up in defense. “It was an accident! I was… Katara, I’m so-” He got cut off, from Sokka tackling him to the ground.  “I told you we shouldn’t mess around with this! Look at what you did! You burned my sister!”  Katara got up, and ran away. Getting up herself, Y/n rushed to grab her bag, before running after the girl. 

“Katara?” Y/n tentatively approached the girl, as she sat at the riverbank her hands dunked into the water. “I have some salve that should help your burns…” Trailing off, she watched in shock as Katara’s hands glowed underneath the water. They glowing stopped as she lifted her hands from the water, the burns on her hands now gone.  “That… also works.”  “You have healing abilities.” The two turned to see Jeong Jeong approaching them from behind. “The great benders of the water tribe sometimes have this ability.” The man took a seat next to Katara. “I’ve always wished I were blessed like you- free from this burning curse.”  “But you’re a great master. You have powers I’ll never know.”  “Water brings healing and life. But fire brings only destruction and pain. It forced those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor’s edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart.”  Suddenly, the water in front of them is blasted with gouts of flame. Jeong Jeong stood quickly, taking a defensive stance before breaking the flames that threatened to hit him, Y/n and Katara. Fire Nation riverboats floated across the water towards them.  “Go get your friends and flee! Do not come back here or you will all be destroyed. Hurry!”  Y/n helped Katara off the ground, before the two ran back in the direction of Jeong Jeong’s hut, where Sokka and Aang should be. They ran up to Sokka, where he was preparing Appa to leave. He turned to look at them, worry written onto his features.  “Katara! Are you all right?”  “I’m fine, we’ve got to get out of here. Where’s Aang?”  Sokka pointed his thumb in the direction of Jeong Jeong’s hut, turning to Y/n when Katara ran down to it.  “What’s going on?”  She tossed her bag up onto Appa’s saddle. “The Fire Nation found us. Jeong Jeong is dealing with them right now but honestly I’m not sure how long that will last. We should leave and fast.”  “Right.” He nodded in affirmation, before raising an eyebrow. “What did you do to help Katara?”  “I was going to give her some of the salve I have for burns but, turns out she didn’t need it.”  “What do you mea-”  “Come on!” He got cut off by Katara, as she ran over and clambered up onto Appa.  Once the three were all up on Appa’s saddle, they went and got Aang, before leaving.  “Aang, you’re burned.” Katara said, once they were up in the air. His sleeve was torn, burn marks covering his skin. “Let me help you.” She opened her water container, before wrapping some of the water around her hand. It started to glow, as she placed it over Aang’s wounds. After a moment of concentration, she pulled her hand away and the wound was healed.  “Wow! That’s good water.”  Sokka looked at her confused. “When did you learn how to do that?”  She offered a shrug. “I guess I always knew.”  “Oh… well then thanks for all the first aid over the years. Like when I fell into the grease briar bramble and that time I had two fish hooks in my thumb!”  Y/n let out a snicker. “Two?”  “He tried to get the first fish hook out with another fish hook.”  “Wow.”  “Oh, and the time that big snake bit me! Thanks for healing that up. That was great. Really helpful.” He continued, as they flew into the distance.

[hannahmcne]

Westward sc 3

When he woke up, he was buried underneath a very large, heavy blanket that was pressing him into a thick comforter. The feeling would have been relaxing if it hadn't been so unbearably hot. Slowly, Ben crawled out from underneath the weighted item and discovered that his shoulders, knees, wrists, and ankles were sore. He winced as he rubbed them and then squinted at the daylight visible at the top of the teepee. It looked like mid-afternoon outside and was high-noon in Agrabah inside the teepee.

Ben picked at his clothes. He looked like he'd walked through a waterfall. He was completely drenched in his own sweat and completely parched. He ran his hands through his hair and then found, like Evie had promised, a new outfit laid on a tarp at the center pole of the teepee, where he had originally fallen asleep. A long-sleeved maroon shirt that looked like something that would keep him warm on a jog in November, some tan pants with very deep pockets, and a pair of shoes that were brown with black designs on the sides. He wondered if Evie had made them.

He wasn't too excited to see the winterish clothes but grateful that Evie had come through nonetheless. He wondered what his wardrobe would be the next few months and found he wasn't exactly sorry to say goodbye to suits and polished shoes for a little bit.

He rolled the sleeves up on the shirt to his elbows before he wandered closer to the flap of the teepee. He could hear people bustling around outside. He wondered if it was 'safe' to go out now. He wasn't exactly wearing Auradon colors anymore. What if Evie, Mal, or Uma got mad at him?

He pushed the flap open and stepped out. And the sight outside shocked and scared and thrilled and amazed him all at once. There were so many people.

People were rushing across the camp, which was actually much larger than Ben had first realized. People were standing and chatting, passing water bottles back and forth with bright smiles. People were tending small shops and exchanging wares. Hurt people sat in chairs and talked with each other. Young children raced on little horse and dragon toys, and there were even young adults his age who were walking arm in arm, shoving each other, everything. There were carts and small wagons lining the outside of the main road, which stretched for at least two miles in either way. There were other teepees and small structures, but it appeared everyone was living out of wagons and off the land. How extraordinary.

"Ben!" Someone called, and Ben's head snapped up in the direction of Jay, who was sitting on the back of a cart with Mal and Carlos. Mal was kicking her legs back and forth nonchalantly, and the sight of her made him pause before he glanced to make sure he wouldn't run into anyone and then crossed the road to join them.

"Sleep well?" Jay asked with a laugh as Ben neared them. "You look like you came back from the dead."

"Close enough," Ben shrugged, shielding a yawn. "How long was I out?"

"Four years," Mal drawled. "We made it all the way to the new land without you."

Ben snorted at the same time as Carlos. He took that as a good sign – he was catching on to her humor rather well. Mal looked down at him, carefully taking in the red shirt and his mussed hair, and then glanced away.

"It's only just starting to become evening," Jay assured him. "But we've got things on their way. Some people are already packing up. I think Evie is gonna have your teepee dismantled with the rest and put your stuff in with Carlos and I's wagon. That okay?"

"Only if it's okay with you," Ben assured Jay. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Nah, it's cool, man," Carlos nodded. "We've never met a king before. We'll have to assimilate you into Isle culture."

"Assila-wha?" Jay crinkled his brow. "You and Evie both talk mouthfuls."

"It means to integrate. To mix," Ben supplied.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Well, look at this, guys," he elbowed Carlos with a roll of his eyes. "He's pretty, he gives inspirational speeches, and he has a brain."

"Two of those are true," Ben conceded. "However, I'm not sure my looks prevailed after having my face in the mud and then passing out for, well, all day." He tried not to look at Mal or Jay too hard or to sound like he was accusing them.

"Beauty is pain," Mal drawled, pulling her leg up onto her knee and continuing to kick the other one out. "And it could be worse. You could have been woken up right before midnight, hiked through the forest with a defense squadron thinking that the high kingdom had sent someone to order you to move or be moved, accidentally kidnapped the King of Auradon and then stayed up till now without a nap so you could go hunting to feed two-hundred kids and young adults." Mal let out a long, loud, piercing yawn. "I have been up for seventeen hours on two hours of rest."

"My cot is still set up if you want it?" Ben offered, cringing a little as he imagined how damp it might be from him basically drowning in his own sweat. Luckily, Mal didn't seem interested. "And wow, you lead defense squads, cast magic spells, and feed the masses. Anything else?"

"Spray paint," Jay mumbled under his breath. Mal kicked him.

"Excuse you," She spat. "Spray paint is a noble art form. I'd like to see you create anything remotely intelligible."

Jay furrowed his brow. "Intelli-wha?" He asked.

"Don't hate on the spray paint," Carlo nodded. "Her crap is pretty darn near perfect."

Mal let out a snort. "Ha! That's me, I am perfect. She multi-tasks; she dabbles."

"You're the best," Carlos shrugged. Mal nodded in agreement.

"Are you guys… a couple?" Ben asked slowly, glancing between Mal and Carlos. Carlos burst into laughter while Mal gave him an unimpressed look.

"No," She shook her head. "No. So don't get all worried, Prince Charming."

Ben's face turned red as he held up his hands. "I wasn't implying anything," He insisted. "I just wasn't expecting such high praise among friends from the Isle of the Lost."

"We're more like family," Jay explained. His face had taken on some dark tones and he was examining Ben in that same way Evie had been.

"Nah," Mal shook her head and kicked him again. "The King's right. We're like a gigantic lust-fest. You, me, Evie, and Carlos. We're all in a gigantic, messy relationship together."

"Oh, does that mean I get to hold your hand and bring you flowers?" Jay puckered his lips out as he teased her. Immediately, a cloud of rage darkened Mal's face.

"No, that's what Evie's for," She shoved Jay off the cart this time. "But you can walk down the street and make sure Shrimpy isn't messing anything up."

"You're too much work, Mal," Jay sighed. "I'm breaking up with you. You can keep Evie and Carlos."

"Who's Shrimpy?" Ben asked, crossing his arms and choosing not to comment as Carlos began to laugh even harder.

"Uma," Jay rolled his eyes. "She and Mal are having this power struggle that Evie usually balances out."

"It's not a power struggle," Mal hissed. "I'm more powerful than her. Especially here. Her little seashell trick only works near the ocean. I can turn into a dragon wherever. What we have is her thinking she can control me, and Evie trying to convince me to let her."

"So Evie's in charge?" Ben asked, glancing between Carlos and Jay in amusement.

"Evie's our people leader," Jay explained. "She's the, uh, Carlos, what's the word?"

"Executive person," Carlos supplied. "She works better at getting the people to rally behind her, though Mal and Evie both think they're effective leaders." He elbowed Mal, who simmered. "Uma is better at dividing resources and keeping track of things, so she's our Resource Advocate. Mal, you probably noticed, is a fighter. She's the one who keeps us safe and handles the weapons, the squads, anything involving hunting or fighting, etc…"

"Military," Ben supplied. "Cool. It looks like you have things going."

A whiff of something nice caught his nose and he turned to look down the road. In the distance, a thin smoke was rising. "Is that where Uma is now?"

"Yeah," Carlos nodded. "Mal and whoever else was hunting today brought back a few deer. Uma, Harry, Gil, and the pirates used to work her mom's food shop on the Isle, so they and whoever else can cook are handling it."

"I hope she falls in," Mal muttered under her breath. "I wonder what fried octopus tastes like."

"Have you ever tried being nice to her?" Ben suggested, raising his eyes at Mal.

"Have you ever tried kissing up to a live wire?" Mal shot back, turning her fiery gaze on him.

"No, why did you do that?" Ben replied. Carlos snorted and shoved Mal's arm. Mal scoffed and kicked her leg out at Ben. Ben caught her boot and held it up higher. Mal yelped a little as she scooted forward and scowled at Ben as Carlos and Jay both laughed at her. Ben took a moment to examine her foot in his hands. It was small – he could wrap his entire hand around her sole – and he probably had mugs at the palace with a wider diameter than her ankles. Tiny little Cinderella feet, this girl had. But she made up for her size with what looked like acres of toned muscle. He could see strength in every single tendon going up her leg. It helped that she was wearing tight pants with a few threadbare places behind her knees, across her calves, and even stretching up inside her thighs.

He dropped her foot as he felt his face growing a bit warm. Mal scowled a little as she moved back to her original position but didn't seem to have noticed him examining her. Either that, or she seemed to not care. Jay and Carlos, on the other hand, exchanged a cautious look.

Jay leaned forward and clapped Ben's shoulder. "Come on," He invited. "I'll show you Uma's area. You'll probably be helping us pack things up there tomorrow."

Ben nodded and let his eyes rest first on Carlos and then on Mal. He put a hand behind his back and bowed to them both, to which Carlos snorted at again. Then, without another glance back, he followed Jay away.

As soon as they were in the midst of the crowd and out of sight of the cart, Jay swung an arm around Ben's neck. "Okay, listen up," He whispered in a hushed, warning tone. "I want you to picture Mal for a second. Don't ask questions; just do it."

Ben blinked. It wasn't hard to conjure up the image of the purple-haired fairy – especially so soon after glancing at those long, long legs she had. "Okay?" He questioned, furrowing his brow.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Jay pressed his lips together. "I'm sure you noticed how her mouth is all one color and how her eyes have those little flecks that catch the sun, right?"

Ben's mouth went dry. "Jay, if she's yours, then-"

"She's not," Jay hissed, cutting him off. "She's no one's. That's why I'm telling you this – don't go after her. She's pretty to look at, but don't touch her. She's dangerous."

Dangerous. He said it the way you would talk about a person's identity. They're Christian. They're Bisexual. They're president of the women's court or they're the national tourney champion. Not a description; a title. "That's what Evie told me about her," Ben nodded. "But, uh, Jay, I wasn't-"

"Evie's right," Jay interrupted. "Because that purple-haired pixie has more fight in her pinky finger than the rest of us do in our bodies. Even Uma. And she doesn't exactly consider love a priority."

"Jay," Ben interjected with a blush coloring his cheeks. "I'm, uh, taken back home. I'm not going to make a move on Mal."

Jay blinked in surprise. "You're taken?" He asked. "As in, you've got someone waiting for you? Why did you agree to stay, then?"

"I, uh-" Ben stammered and then swallowed. "It's complicated. But she'll understand."

"Sheesh," Jay snorted. "Must be one heck of a patient lady. Alright, then."

They stepped under a little string of blue lights and Ben saw people hard at work cutting up the carcasses of several deer. Dozens of small, hot fires were being tended to by a variety of people in teal blue. Most of them seemed to be pirates. Ben watched a pirate with a teal sash tied around his hat take a large, clean knife from a collection.

"Be warned: Uma might put you to work," Jay called in his ear to be heard over the noise.

Ben looked around at the hustle and bustle. His stomach growled a little at the good smell in the air. "I'd be happy to help,"

"Wonderful," A voice came from his immediate right. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Uma put a hand on his bicep and turned him around. "You ever done any of this before?" She gestured over her shoulder to the deer, which had been strung up with rope so they could effectively get the meat off, and pulled a long, sharp, clean knife out of the pile.

Ben glanced over his shoulder and discovered that Jay had vanished. That didn't surprise him. "I have done high school dissections and I'm a quick learner," Ben shrugged. To be honest, he'd much rather be tending the fire than dismembering meat, but if that's what Uma needed then he would do it.

"Lovely," Uma clapped him on the arm and handed him the knife. "Gil has been at this for four hours since Mal's crew started bringing in the first few. They brought in extra so we could smoke some and that way we don't have to stop as we travel. I'm going to have him show you how to do it so you can take his place and then when all is said and done, you'll either be on the smoke racks or cooking things with Harry." She pointed at a tall, bulky, blonde-haired man who was mostly apart from everyone else. Ben nodded and, taking the knife firmly in his hand, headed towards the lone outsider.

"Hey, I'm Ben," He called when he got near enough. "Uma sent me to help you out. She said she wants you to teach me how to do this and then take a break."

Gil wiped off his forehead as he stood up and looked at Ben. His face lit up with a bright, childish smile. "Hey man! I know you! You're the character who passed out in the teepee today when we were bringing you your cot!"

Ben turned a little red. "Yeah, sorry about that," He apologized. "I meant to be awake to help you guys but I, uh, had lost a lot of sleep."

"Hey, no problem," Gil reassured him. "And uh, you're King Ben, right? I know you, man!"

"Really?" Ben raised an eyebrow and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "No one has recognized me yet."

"Well, my dad talks about your dad a lot," Gil said nonchalantly. "My dad… well, I'll give you a hint. He's quick, slick, and his neck is incredibly think."

G. Gil. Gaston. Ben inclined his head. "Do you… have a problem with me?" He asked cautiously. "I mean, I don't have a problem with you, but…"

"Nah," Gil shook his head. "I never really cared. But hey, when you get back to the castle, tell your mom that Gaston says hi, and tell your dad that – well, actually, don't mention that." He snorted and then gestured to the deer he was working on. "I already got the insides out and took care of the fur. We have someone from Evie's crew working on the hides because they're tough and we can make things with them. Mal has this nifty spell she made up that makes it so we don't have to wait for the meat to get older so it's softer. Usually, you have to wait until after this thing that Evie and Carlos know the word for goes away. It think it starts with an r…"

"Rigor Mortis," Ben supplied.

"Yeah, that's the word!" Gil nodded in approval. "We basically do it piece by piece. I already did the shoulders and that's the easy part, but I'll help you go through the rest. We have people over there with smaller knives who are getting things ready to be smoked or dried or cooked. The important thing over here is to not let it touch the ground and to not shred the meat to bad – oh, have you washed your hands?"

"I haven't," Ben shook his head. "But I will right now." Gil nodded and turned back to the beast. Ben turned away and spotted a line of people rinsing their hands off under a stream of water. He followed them, scrubbed his hands off(they even had soap… in the forest?) and then returned as Gil was handing off a few large pieces of meat to a young girl who'd come to get them.

Gil carefully explained how to trim the fat so that Uma could have the others turn it into soap or use it for whatever else she could find. Then, he guided Ben through the butchering process. Ben never, in a hundred years, had imagined he would be doing this, but decided it was best to consider his life choices when he wasn't holding a very large and heavy knife.

Gil stopped helping him after a while and went to go clean his knife off and get his water bottle, but then he returned and started talking to Ben as Ben worked, occasionally giving advice but mostly telling jokes about Auradon, the villains, and everything else he could think of. It was refreshing – Ben couldn't remember the last time he'd actually laughed with a friend.

"Hey, Ben," Gil started, taking a swig of his water bottle. "Do you know the name of the prize my dad won?"

Ben paused to briefly examine Gil, who was trying his best to not smile as he kept his eyes off his new comrade. "No," He responded slowly. "Does it have anything to do with hunting?"

Gil shrugged. "Depends on your point of view?" He shrugged. "I don't think so."

Ben shook his head. "I give up," He declared. "What was the name of the prize your dad won?"

"The No-Belle prize," Gil responded, snorting a little as he spoke.

Ben burst into laughter – the embarrassing kind where you snort and chortle more than you actually laugh. He turned away from Gil as Gil began to laugh even harder at his embarrassment, and then leaned his head against the tree they'd been working beside. "Oh my gosh," He gasped. "Oh my gosh."

Gil smiled brightly and took another drink before he pointed to the sky. "The sun is going down," He pointed out. "We better finish up soon. Do you have a place to stay? It'd be nice to have a bunkmate. Harry usually hangs with Uma."

"I've been put with Jay and Carlos," Ben explained. "But maybe I'll switch around. I like you a lot."

"Me too," Gil nodded. He got to his feet. "Let me finish up these last little bits. If you take what you've cut up over to Harry and everyone, they can show you how we get things done."

Ben nodded. He would have shaken hands with Gil, but his hands were kinda gory. So instead he laughed and thanked Gil and then took the collection of his work over to the opposite side of the road, where he put it down on a rack, like how he'd seen another young boy do it.

"Well, well, well," Someone drawled over his shoulder. "Wha' a lovely surprise."

Ben turned and found a man's face hovering close to his. He leaned back a little, eyes wide, and the man let out a tiny, barking laugh. "How's it feel being a king now?" He asked, leaning in even more with a crazed glint in his eyes. Then, maniacal laughter spilled from his lips as he retreated, curling his fingers and removing his pirate's hat. His red and white clothes were in tatters and clutched in his left hand was a glinting, slightly dinged pirate's hook.

"Give it a rest, Harry," Uma rolled her eyes, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder as she navigated around him. "He's still new."

"Aye, we nicked him," Harry agreed, a mischievous glint in his eye. "How long d'ya think he'll last?"

Uma laughed. "Evie told us not to scare him off. Honored guest."

At this, Harry's face twisted into something similar to rage, though a strong sense of humor remained trapped underneath his skin. "You said I could hook him!" He declared, brandishing the hook at Ben.

"I said if he didn't do his work," Uma corrected, rolling her eyes. "And you don't need to get all jealous. If anything, he's gonna end up Evie's second." The daughter of the sea witch gave him a cursory glance. "Though he probably wouldn't mind if Mal decided she wanted a partner."

Ben's cheeks burned red. "I'm not here for any relationships," He corrected Uma quickly. "I'll be working with them, and you, but I'm, uh, already spoken for back home."

Uma raised an eyebrow and turned to Harry. "Don't listen to him," She advised. "You should have seen him turn into a fish when he first saw Mal. Even if he is spoken for, it won't last long with her around."

"I'm married," Ben interrupted. He felt around his neck and pulled up a ring on a chain strung about his head. "I don't wear the ring while I travel in case of ambushes but I'm married."

Uma gave the ring a cursory look. She hummed. "Pity for her," She shrugged and then turned around. "Alright, Harry, how much more?"

Ben let the comment slide. True, Mal was lovely, and yes, Evie seemed to be rather offended that he didn't find her equally so, but he was tied to Audrey by law. There would be no ruination of that fact while he remained here.

Uma and Harry wandered away without giving him any more commands, and Ben shifted uncomfortably before glancing down the assembly line. It amazed him how many people there were. Children and teenagers were everywhere, tending to all sorts of different tasks. He noticed that there were fewer of them further down the path, where large drying racks were set up beside fires and a couple of smaller children occasionally turned the meat so it would dry evenly. He headed down that way.

Ben supposed, gauging from the shortage of helpers and the type thereof that this was a task reserved for the small children, but seeing as he'd been given no other orders, he guessed that this would be a good place for him to pitch in until Uma came up with another job.

A bright-eyed little girl with colorful streaks in her brown hair was chatting happily with anyone who dared come too close to her lively spirit. Ben examined her from a distance – the colorful, jeweled headset around her head, the large glasses, and frilly dress. It struck him how alike she and Evie were. He'd assumed all of the people on the Isle simply went around ruining each other's lives over and over again and again, yet it seemed he couldn't have been farther from wrong. These people were creative, dedicated, and happy. Sure, they could all probably kill him and they had all had their fair share of hardships, but they were good. A deep love was taking root in his chest for every single one.

"Can you acquaint me with the process?" He asked cheerfully, stepping up next to the small girl. She looked up at him with a bright, fearless smile. "Of course!" She exclaimed. "We're just rotating everything around every half hour to make sure it dries evenly. And there's a system! Those ones over there will need to be done in five minutes, and then those and those-" She pointed to each of the fires in turn and it occurred to Ben that there were six fires. Clever.

"So, what's your name?" He asked, reaching up and helping her begin unpinning strips of meat. They had a nifty contraption that looked like a giant shelf, but with thin boards that held clothespins to dangle the meat in the smoke and above the flames. There were four to each fire set at equal distances with about two or three hovering around the one he had joined.

"I'm Dizzy," the girl introduced. Ben cast his mind back to his list of villains that he'd memorized at fourteen for his ninth-year history project – she could be the daughter of Doctor Doom or Doctor Doofenshmirtz, but his best guess was Lady Tremaine's granddaughter.

"Drizella's daughter?" He asked to confirm.

Dizzy nodded a little, keeping her mouth closed in an easygoing line. "Yeah," She agreed softly. "What about you? Were you sent to the Isle afterward? You don't seem like someone who was there for very long."

"Neither do you," Ben pointed out, casting his mind back to Mal, Evie, and Uma. "And no, I'm someone Mal picked up on the road yesterday and I've decided to hang out."

Dizzy looked over at him with wide eyes. "Oh!" She gasped and almost dropped the piece of meat she was turning. "You're the king? You're the person who's going to be helping us?"

Ben could blush and stutter out something. Or he could tease her for not knowing him. Neither seemed like the best reaction. So, instead, he stopped and wiped his hands on his pants for a second before he bowed, picking up Dizzy's hand and kissing her knuckles for a few seconds. He could feel eyes boring into his back – maybe Uma, maybe Harry, maybe any number of Islanders. Or maybe Mal. He imagined her green gaze watching him and a smile crooked his mouth as he stood back up. "I'm Ben," he introduced, leaving out the title. It was better without the title. He was more like them without making himself out to be something he had never really been able to play the part of. "Please to meet you, Lady Dizzy,"

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" A sultry voice came from behind him. He glanced over as he straightened up and saw Evie, still in her clothes from earlier, looking a little offended as she watched him release Dizzy's hand. "Where was that chivalry earlier when I was with you?"

Ben's danger sense, however weak it was, started tingling. "I don't usually do that," he admitted with a light blush. "I just thought that… the situation called for it." He wanted to impress the younger girl. He wanted to make her feel special.

"Ah," Evie's lips curled. "I see. You shake hands with me, kiss Dizzy's hand, and get on your knees for Mal."

"I did not-" Ben began before he recalled what she was referring to. He exhaled. "Evie, is it so much of a problem to you if I want to make Dizzy feel special? Could you perhaps be grateful for the way I did act rather than terrorize me for not immediately being smitten?"

Evie flinched and frowned and Dizzy set a hand on his arm. "It's okay, Ben," she consoled him. "Evie and I are like sisters. And she's been through lots. You can take the Isle out of the girl, but you can't take the girl out of the Isle!"

That doesn't stop Evie from turning and striding away.

"I hurt her, didn't I?" Ben whispered as he watched Evie disappear.

"It'll be okay," Dizzy shakes her head. "She's just been clued in to how she's still bending to her mom a little. We all forget; it's hard when we haven't been gone so long yet." She glanced through a rack at Ben. "Her mom used to beat her for every man who didn't stare when she walked past. So she's always tried really hard with people who don't react as quickly. And it doesn't help that you're a King with a big castle." Dizzy paused as she flipped around another strip of venison. "How many rooms in your castle?"

"I, uh…" Ben stuttered, completely thrown off by what Dizzy had revealed to him about Evie. He couldn't imagine being beat because other people didn't look at you as you walked past. "Uh… too many. Too many to count."

Dizzy nodded like this made sense. "Do you think there'd be enough for every one of us to come to live there?" She asked. "I know Evie said that we're going to go build our own place, but I was just wondering."

"I don't think so," Ben replied honestly, looking around at everyone surrounding them. "I wish, though. I'd take you all with me in a heartbeat." Then, he smiled at Dizzy. "Especially you."

"I've always wanted to go to Auradon," Dizzy sighed dramatically. "Do you really have carpets you can walk onto? Have you been to a swimming pool before? What does ice cream taste like?"

Ben stopped and stared at her. There was this horrible building in his chest that felt like he was being filled with hot tar. "Carpets?" He asks weakly. They have carpets everywhere. They have carpet decorations hanging on some of the walls. Little Belle has bright pink carpets that make his head hurt every time he walks in. Audrey has her own thick, plush carpet rug that he's not supposed to touch. And swimming pools… he's taken Belle to the pool more times than he's taken her anywhere else. She doesn't like swimming but he makes sure she goes and that she knows how to swim, no matter how much of a fit she throws. "I, uh, yeah," He agreed softly. "I'll have some carpets sent to you guys when you get things set up. Big ones with fun colors that feel soft. And, uh, yeah, I love swimming. Ice cream… well, there are different flavors, but it's cold and sweet, and if you eat it too fast, then it gives you a headache."

"Really?" Dizzy gasped, eyes growing large and bright in excitement. "I've never had ice cream and most of the carpets are ruined. Cruella De Vil has lots, though, but we're not allowed to touch. Mal once threw a party at Carlos's house and so I got to see them then. And I don't know anyone except for Uma and her pirates who can swim."

"You live on an island," Ben blinked. "You can't swim?"

"There's a barrier," Dizzy shook her head. "Even Evie and Mal can't swim."

The back of Ben's neck grew hot, as if someone was glaring at him from behind. He stored that bit of knowledge about Mal away and then exhaled. "If you can't swim… how did you make it here?" He asked.

"Carlos built boats," Dizzy shrugged. "After he broke the barrier and Mal kept it open for everyone to get out, they put everyone on boats. And Mal cast an invisibility spell so we could cross without Auradon finding out. That's also why Uma was allowed to come."

There was so much information in that sentence that Ben had to stop and stare. Carlos built boats. Carlos broke the barrier. And Mal held it open. Holy crap.

"That's cool," he managed to choke out after a little bit. "And good that you were able to come over. I… wish I'd been able to bring you over myself. I guess I was too busy being king… gosh, that sounds lame." He exhaled and shook his head. "So, what about you? What was your life like?"

"I worked in Grandma's hair shop," Dizzy answered. "I had a few customers… a witch here and there. I mostly did lots of scrubbing and scouring and sweeping. Lots and lots of sweeping."

"Sounds like the old Cinderella treatment," Ben mumbled.

Dizzy's eyes flicked back up through the rack, and then she glanced past Ben as a group of kids ran by screaming. "Yeah," She mumbled. "She went from Wicked Stepmother to Wicked Grandmother."

Ben gestured out to the kids with a thumb. "You want to join them?" He whispered.

Dizzy shook her head. "Not really," She declined. "I know I should, but I'm used to the work. It still feels weird to play."

A little boy that only came up to Ben's knee dashed up and tapped his hand on Ben's thigh. "Diseased," He announced. "You're diseased."

Diseased. Ben glanced up as the group of kids all howled and shrieked at him. He reached over and tapped Dizzy. "Now you're diseased too," He laughed.

"Me? I can't be diseased!" Dizzy stared at him. "Who will tend the fires?"

A man in white and red stepped up out of the shadows that Ben hadn't even realized were falling over the camp. It was Carlos, who had apparently made his way down to Uma's side of the camp. "Go on, Diz," he encouraged her. "You need a break. I'll cover you."

Dizzy hesitated, and Ben took her shoulders and shoved her away. "Go on," He told her. "Go play. You're only a kid once."

The little boy jumped up for Ben's hand. "You too!" He declared, yanking on Ben's fingers.

"I dunno," Ben shook his head. "I've got to help Carlos with the – Woah!" He tripped forward, glimpsing only Jay's long, brown hair as he caught his balance, and then the other diseased kids flooded around him to pull him in as Mal's two associates began finishing the fire he and Dizzy had been on. Dizzy shrieked as she was pulled into the vortex of screaming kids.

Ben laughed as he was pushed to the ground and then started grabbing random children, gathering them into his arms, and tickling their sides mercilessly. He laughed, then let out a little roar that made all the kids scream and giggle. Little ones climbed up onto his back and older children hung off his neck as they tried to team wrestle him to the ground. Some danced out of his reach and pointed their fingers with little shrieks. "Beast!" They cried. "Beast! Beast!"

It appeared word of who he was had gotten around. Ben didn't mind all that much as he picked up one of the smallest children and tossed them, squalling above his head, into the air. More kids gathered around. "Me! Me! Me!" They begged. Others held fast to his back. "Piggy-back ride!" They shrieked.

Instead, Ben reached out to one of the older kids. "Tag!" He yelled. "You're diseased!" Immediately, everyone jumped away, screaming, and took off running as the child tried frantically to tag everyone who dashed past. Ben jumped out of the way and about ten small children and older toddlers ran after him, letting out little yells as they dashed away from the tagger.

The sun went down. Ben did his best to guide the cluster of children away from the fires, but they all slowly dropped out one by one as the sun dipped out of sight and the night grew cool. Some mothers and caregivers called the children for dinner while others went of their own accord. Eventually, Ben was left to pick up three tiny kids who hadn't yet recovered from Isle emaciation and head up to the camp with Dizzy looping her arm through his and resting her head on his biceps. He balanced one kid on each shoulder as they yawned and stuck thumbs into their mouths, and then one six-year-old boy climbed onto his back and burrowed his nose into Ben's shirt as they walked up. The racks were still up, but adults were now switching the meat from side to side as the children all ate and went to sleep. Ben found several clean blankets stacked beside a wooden cart and spread them out, laying each of the three kids comfortably before covering them from the night chill. Dizzy he let use his arm a little longer as she tried to find Evie and then finally set her inside what she said was her cart so she could curl up with a soft sigh on her own blankets.

Ben leaned against a tree and watched as Uma directed for bones to be chopped up for broth to be made with and a large collection of young adults started packing away the jerky venison for the trip. His arms felt a bit sore from playing with all the kids, but he supposed he'd better get used to it. A few days more, and they'd be packing up this small camp and heading west.

He wondered if Audrey had been informed he'd vanished yet.

Someone slinked up through the shadows to him and held out a white plate to him. He took it, curious, and then saw green eyes light up through the dark. His hands went a bit clammy and a deep fire lit in his stomach as he stared at her. Mal.

"Good job tonight," She commended. "That looked absolutely exhausting."

Ben laughed a little, nervously. "What's this?" He asked.

"Dinner," Mal declared, stepping forward and leaning against the tree as well. She was facing the other direction and not nearly close enough for him to touch, but it was still close and he felt his breath hitch. "You missed it, so Uma put that aside for you."

"Ah," Ben nodded, squinting through the dark and then reaching down to feel some jerky and something that felt like a fresh vegetable on the side. "Thank you." It occurred to him that he hadn't eaten all day. "Is it safe?"

Mal burst into laughter, rolling her eyes, and Ben blushed. "Sorry," He apologized. "I didn't mean to accuse or anything."

"No, no," Mal shook her head. "I get it. Be careful of the food offered by kids of villains. I'm sure every kid in Auradon would know that."

"No!" Ben disagreed, snapping a little in his haste to explain himself. "No, that wasn't it at all. I totally trust you!" And to prove this, he reached down and found a piece of the vegetable, quickly raising it to his mouth and biting. Mal watched him with slatted eyes. It was so dark, he could barely tell where her body was, though he knew in the back of his mind what she looked like. Thin and powerful and with calluses and muscle in place of everywhere Audrey had soft skin and plush weight. He remembered, briefly, what it had felt like when he and Audrey had last lain beside each other over two years ago and then pictured Mal lying at his side in his wife's place.

God, was he so twisted that he was replacing Audrey after being away for a day?

'A month,' a voice nagged in his head. 'You haven't seen her for over a month. And she didn't look at you when you went to see her, so she hasn't seen you in longer.'

"I was just joking," she started in a slow tone. "I don't expect you to trust us after knowing us for a day and for, well, everything last night."

Ben blinked back at her and he hoped he could see the honesty in his eyes. "But I do," he replied.

Mal rolled her eyes. "Well, maybe you're a fool after all," She declared, and then pushed off of the tree. "Don't die overnight. Evie's rather fond of you."

"No, she's not, but she thinks I'm fond of you," Ben refuted. His words made Mal stop. She didn't turn to look at him, but he could almost feel her lips press closed.

"Careful, your majesty," she mumbled in a little hiss that had him immediately drawing connections to snakes and lizards and dragons. "Hasn't anybody bothered to warn you yet?"

"Only every person who mentions you," Ben raised an eyebrow. It was dark, but he somehow knew she would know. "It makes me wonder what happened to the last poor fellow?"

Mal snorted a little like he was a small child who'd said something particularly amusing and then walked away, still not looking back at him. He frowned a little and finished his dinner in the dark. Then, minding the ground, he headed back to the fires. In the light of one, Uma and Harry were standing very close, speaking to each other with tiny grins and soft whispers. Uma wrapped her fingers around Harry's hook carefully, and he watched her with a crazed look.

Ben set his plate down with a small stack of others he could vaguely see the outlines of. Uma glanced up at him. "Oh, good, you did get something to eat. I was wondering."

Ben nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. "Thanks for setting it aside for me."

Harry tilted his head a little and frowned at Ben as Uma's face twisted in confusion. "What?" She asked.

Ben stopped and examined her face. Pure, unabashed loss. She had no clue what she was talking about. "Oh," he shrugged it off. "I must have been misinformed. Pardon me. Well, I'll see you in the morning, then."

He turned and walked away, and Uma did not follow.

He went back up the road and found where Jay, Carlos, and Mal had been before. Jay and Carlos were curled up in their cots in the backs of their carts, and in the middle was a spare one for Ben. He hopped up, pulled his shoes off, and glanced around and up at the stars before noticing the next cart over. It was darkened, but nothing could silence Mal's striking green gaze as she hovered on the edge of the cart, gazing out over the road with her slatted gaze and watching everyone come and go. Watching him, specifically. She was like some emerald-gazed gargoyle, staring down from above.

Ben didn't say anything to her. He had a feeling he'd done enough damage for one day. He pulled up under the blankets and pressed his nose into the pillow, trying to put out the girl next door from his thoughts without forcing his head to acknowledge that there might be a small problem.

[aboutcaseyaffleck]

Casey Affleck Is a Full-Time Flag Football Coach, Part-Time Actor

The quiet Affleck is known for soul searching performances, but mostly he's just trying to call the right play.

Looking for Casey Affleck? Head to the park. It’s where he’s doing some of his finest work — and spending a hell of a lot of time. 

“My son got into flag football so I started coaching it,” says the actor and father of two. “I coach his team and then the parents of his friends asked me to coach their team. I coach three flag football teams and a baseball team.”

The last time we saw Affleck, 43, on screen, he was a burnout saddled with raising a nephew he didn’t want after his own kids died in a house fire. The sublimely quiet performance earned him a best actor Oscar for Manchester by the Sea. But it was just a performance. Despite his introverted public persona — so much for that Ocean’s 11 loudmouth — Affleck is incredibly present in his children’s lives and specifically on the sidelines of their various games. In fact, Affleck explains that he has eschewed blockbusters to ensure he has time with his sons, Indiana, 15, and Atticus, 11. He didn’t want to show up after they were already out of the house. He wanted a major role in their lives.

But don’t think that his turn as a dad is a conventional leading man part. The actor who plotted a murder as a sociopathic teenager in Gus Van Sant’s 1995 classic To Die For, the guy who gunned down Brad Pitt in 2007’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, isn’t what you’d call a cool dad. He says he lectures his sons, annoying them constantly. “Here’s a tip,” he laughs. “If you’re driving in a car with two kids and you turn around and see they’re both wearing headphones, you’re talking too much.”

Still, that’s not going to convince Hollywood’s most notoriously reserved star to stop talking.

“I could talk about my kids all day. Being a parent has taught me more about myself and about life than any other experience I have ever had. I want to soak up every minute of it. It’s a priority I’m happy I have,” says Affleck, who will debut Light of My Life, an exquisite yet grounded film he wrote about a father and daughter navigating a post-apocalyptic world this summer. He says the science fictional elements are sort of a metaphor for his anxieties as a parent. (Not-so-much the flag football playcalling anxieties. More the bigger stuff.)

Affleck spoke to Fatherly about being a nearly full-time youth sports coach, how parenthood changed his career, and how his sons influenced his new film.

I’m told you are quite the dedicated coach. Are you, like me, all about winning?

I’m that coach inside, but I try to contain it. I love doing it. I was never into football when I was a kid. My son got into flag football so I started coaching it. I coach his team and the parents of his friends asked me to coach their team. I coach three flag football teams and a baseball team.

Coaching to me is incredibly rewarding. To have the kind of relationship with your kid in a different way is really great. They come home and they critique my coaching style. They write plays for me. They do it with me. It’s an extra little bonding experience. Also, I get to know other kids. When you’re the coach, they give you a kind of authority you don’t deserve. There’s a lot of trust and respect. There’s a mob of kids over here at the house all the time. They don’t always listen, but when you’re their coach, it’s a different relationship.

When I talked to you a few years ago, you were wary of even revealing your first son’s name. How have you kept them out of the spotlight? I mean, look at your brother Ben Affleck. He gets it so bad.

He does get it bad. If you’re two celebrities who are married, that is just gossip and fodder and crack. It’s double trouble. Jennifer Garner being so famous and Ben… they just get the worst it. I hate it for my nieces and nephew. It’s so intrusive. It’s so awful. They manage it really well. They talk to the kids about it and explain it. With my kids, I think it helps that the paparazzi don’t care about me that much, which is amazing and thank God for that. I was really vigilant early on about protecting my private life and making choices that would keep me out of the spotlight. I didn’t do that much press. I wouldn’t talk about my kids. But my kids now give me career advice. They’re old enough.

Like what tips do they give you?

My son told me I had to get a verified Instagram account. My heart sank. I need all the help I can get. My son is 15 and knows what it is. At a certain point, you can protect from the world but then you have to move into the world with them. To me, that has meant allowing them to be online with the rest of the world.

In terms of your career, did your Oscar change things for you in a major way? I know you’re particular about what you work on.

You can be very picky and still end up in things that aren’t great. There’s no formula. I would like to rethink my strategy of being so picky. I don’t put being successful or being in a great movie ahead of everything else in my life. This summer, I wanted to spend the summer with my 15 year old. I didn’t want to be away all summer, no matter how good a project it was. It’s been tough. I’ve had to let go of a lot of professional experiences that I really wanted. I wanted to be at home more. Winning the Oscar didn’t change anything. It’s not me being regretful.

Do your kids care that you’re an actor? Have they seen your movies?

They have very little interest in watching the movies I do. They care about when I talk to them about movies. That way they can understand that I actually do something. Some parents work in banks or in schools. I act. It’s a little harder for younger kids to grasp. I ask for their advice all the time on what projects to do. When the movies come out, they’re not that interested. They don’t go to the movie theater that much. They like plays. I took my youngest kid, at 11 and two of their friends, to the sound stage when I was shooting this movie. They lasted about four minutes. They went to the hallway and played tag.

Let’s talk about the new movie, Light of My Life. The opening scene with Anna Pniowsky, who plays your daughter, is so intimate, so sweet, especially when you’re telling her the bedtime story you made up on the fly.

It was pretty easy and relaxed. For one thing, Anna is just naturally a great actress. She’s relaxed on camera. She has a lot of emotional intelligence and depth that is apparent. But also, like with any scene, the scene begins the first minute you meet them. Anna and I — I love her to death. We got along so well. She’s such a sweet kid. But the time we got into shooting that scene, she was in a groove.

This movie is about an apocalyptic future, but it’s mostly about being a dad. Could you have written it before you had kids?

I wouldn’t have written the role if I wasn’t a dad in real life. It’s about being a parent to me. All the science fiction stuff, the action, that was secondary. My experience with being a parent… that’s what it’s all about. The dynamic with me and Anna is stuff I draw on from being a dad.

How did your kids influence the development of the film?

My oldest son came to a reading of a scene and he gave me two pages of notes. They were the best notes that I got from anyone. I’ll save them forever. At the end of every movie, I make a t-shirt for everyone on the crew. On the back of the shirt, I put all his notes. Some of it was from his point of view. Some of it was objective stuff about storytelling. There’s too many moments where I’m like this or like that. They were sophisticated suggestions.

So you’re basically saying, you benefitted from child labor.

Yes, for sure. I’ll put something extra in his allowance.

On a not wholly unrelated note, I’m curious how you, as a celebrity father and well-known guy, work to ensure that your children don’t become entitled. I think it’s something a lot of parents worry about. I know I do.

Oh man. Just the fact you care is 80 percent of it. But I have to give credit to their mom. Their mom has done the best job and has an innate understanding of how to raise good kids.

I’ve been in places where there is extreme poverty. Seeing those kids can really give you a great perspective on parenting — suddenly their finicky eating doesn’t seem like such a giant problem. Our culture of fear and hyper-vigilance and media saturation can be an obstacle to giving them roots and letting them go a little bit. You have to trust that they’ll be ok.

I think that’s dead on. I also think it’s hard not to overthink and under-do.

The thing that affects them more than anything is how you live. If you’re on your phone 24 hours a day, they will be too. If you’re an entitled person, they’re more likely to be that way.

And you can’t indulge their every demand or whim, which is pretty damn hard.

My son said he should start thinking about getting a car. I told him to start thinking about getting a job. I’m not the parent that will buy them a car. They will have to earn it like I did. They give me that look like, ‘Give us a break!’ and I wonder if I am being too hard.

I do want them to hang out with me when they’re older and when they have kids.

What do you do that totally, utterly humiliates your kids? Every parent has at least one of those behaviors.

I’m overwhelmed thinking about all the embarrassing things I do. The things that make me suddenly cringe are all the dumb things I’ve said and done as a parent.

Here’s a good one: My son had a birthday party. There are these kids over here. It’s the best party I’ve had in my house in ten years. I found out that 15 year olds are really fun and I wanted to hang out. I said, ‘Let’s play some ping pong’ and I got the look. My son just looked at me like I was the least cool person he’d ever seen. He wanted me to give them space. I was trying to fit in.

[hellfire-damnation]

Promposal (No Homo) || Marginally Catholic

In which Gaston and Claude have a conversation in an empty bar. Somehow, it turns into talk of corsages. 

@every-last-inch-of-me

GASTON:

Gaston was getting quite used to having the priest at his side when he closed up the bar. It staved off the loneliness at least and was probably quite good for his liver, considering he didn’t have the opportunity to inhale a quarter bottle of vodka by himself. Granted, Claude didn’t fit into his usual style of friends: big mindless things that looked and talked and thought like him. If they’d met as teenagers, he could scarcely imagine the world of annoyance and ridicule he’d subject him to. But perhaps that was the difference. You needed someone who didn’t think like you to pull you back down to earth. And, sometimes, he’d throw on that leather jacket and you could almost forget he was a priest - if it weren’t for all the religious iconography pasted all over his skin.

He tucked the last of the cash under his armpit and flicked a flyer for prom that had been left at the end of the bar in Claude’s direction. “You need to get out more.” He nodded at the picture. “And before you say it, this,” he gestured to the bar, “doesn’t count as out. This is just an extension of your previous in.”

CLAUDE:

There was something quiet about the bar after closing. Soothing, even, when there was not the threat of a bar fight going on around him. The priest had been glad that he could come back into the place without being hit with a wave of nausea. It would have hurt him deeply. He enjoyed going there, speaking with Gaston. It had become an extension of someplace he was comfortable, and for the fight to shake such a sturdy foundation was inexcusable.

For his part tonight Claude was merely keeping Gaston company while he closed, counted out the till. Claude had been reading through his finances, as had become their habit. Ever since he’d gotten a look at them the first time around, the priest had taken it upon himself to balance it all out. Gaston was shit with the bar finances and, seeing as how Claude often balanced everything the church was given on his own, it was a simple task for him to do.

Looking up from the pad he’d been scratching numbers into, the Frenchman raised an eyebrow at the flyer shoved towards him. He smiled slightly before speaking. “I wasn’t going to, Gaston. But,” he slid the flyer away a bit. It had covered one of the sheets he was going over. “I am alright, thank you. I’ve no one to go with anyway.”

GASTON:

Gaston rolled his eyes and smacked the priest gently on the back of the head with the cash bag as he walked past. He’d never understood the whole ‘I’ve got no one to go with so I just won’t go’ thing people did. In his mind, you went the fuck anyway and found someone while you were there. Or, failing that, brooded attractively by the drinks until someone found you.

“Not with that attitude you won’t,” he called from around the corner as he shoved the money into the safe. “Anyway, I’m going. I’m someone. I promise I won’t abandon you for any more or less time than it takes to have a quicky in the toilets.” That came with another little teasing nudge as he emerged from the back room again and began turning the chairs onto the tables, ready for someone else to mop in the morning. “Just because you’re a priest doesn’t mean you have to act like one.”

CLAUDE:

Claude hunched his shoulders as Gaston walked by, already knowing the bag was coming, even if it was just a light little tap to the back of his head. He rolled a shoulder out when he was through, stretching his arm until it popped before standing. Maneuvering around the table, the priest began to turn over some of the chairs, the distinct impression-memory of chairs strewn across the floor and a table slamming into the wall with Gaston behind it making him flick his gaze up to the other man every so often.

Shoulders stiffening as he cringed and wrinkled his nose, Claude shook his head. Then, a moment later, a mischievous smile took over his features. “Mon Dieu, and here I thought you liked to be wined and dined before you were fucked, nounours.” He smirked, then, leaning against a table and crossing his legs at the ankles, eyes crinkling at the corners. “Or is that just me? I am flattered, truly, I will remember to ask you to return the favor.”

Claude winked and chuckled quietly to himself, entirely amused. Quasi had been scandalized by the things Gaston had said and had told him immediately. Of that entire argument, it was the one thing he found amusing. After a moment, Claude dropped his shoulder and gave a small shrug, running a hand over his eyes and through his hair.

“You realize it is not just because I do not want to go, yes? It is- I haven’t done anything like this in years. Probably since I got these,” he pulled his collar down and gestured with a hand towards them. “It is frowned upon, just as much as these were. And if Laurent had known who I was going with,” he splayed his hands, helpless. The look on his face suggested what would have happened, gaze heavy, even if he didn’t have to say it. “There would have been more than just…a talking to.”

Despite the heavy turn the conversation had taken, Claude laughed at the other man’s final quip. “Yes, because that is what you should be taking from this conversation.” Shaking his head, the priest moved closer, helping lift one of the particularly cumbersome stools up onto the bar. When he spoke next his voice was pitched quieter. “It is not that I do not want to go, it is that I do not know what to do when I get there, Gaston.”

He wasn’t talking about the dance though.

GASTON:

Gaston rolled his eyes. So the squirt had told him about that. Well. There wasn’t much he could do about that. Besides, it seemed to have tickled the man at least, which was better than could be said of some of his other jokes that day.

Though he felt the tone quickly shift into something slightly less easy. Even when he’d finished with his comments about the man Gaston was coming to refer to as 'The Devil’s arse wipe’.

He didn’t like names, especially in reference to evil. Though his parents had come from the deep mountains of France, where religion ran deep and magicks were frowned upon, the culture of folk magic ran like lifeblood through the small towns. People still touched wood and threw salt over their shoulders and believed that names held power and saying one enough could breathe it back to life.

“You don’t need to know what to do. It’s a party, not a test. You stand around and talk to people and have fun. Slide a few drinks in the gap.” It was a little sad, that somehow the priest had come so far and still feared to let loose a little; that he couldn’t let go of what the man would do. Even though he wasn’t around to do it. “No one’s going to be keeping notes on you. And if they do, I’ll knock them out. Simple.”

CLAUDE:

Claude smiled to himself when he saw Gaston roll his eyes. Clearly, he knew what he was referencing and knew that Quasi had told him. That was fine. The boy wouldn’t get in trouble and, really, it had been one of the better things he had said that day. The priest hardly took offense to it, either. It was quite amusing.

The mood shifted, though, the moment Laurent’s name left his mouth. It made Claude wonder, really, what exactly was going through Gaston’s head to put that look on his face. The priest stopped, leaned back against the bar, studying the other man for a second. It was…peculiar, seeing something like that cross his face before he could control it. A look Claude very rarely, if ever, had seen in his life or, at least, directed towards him because of him.

“He is dead, Gaston,” he murmured, a small, sad smile on his face. Head cocked to the side, he nudged him with the knuckles of his hand. “Do not look so angry hmm? It is…a learning process, non? I must learn to adjust to a life where I do not need to look over my shoulder. This is one of those things.”

The younger man’s comment made him laugh, eyes crinkling, and Claude ducked his head as he shook it, hand falling away from Gaston’s side. “You cannot protect me from everything, nounours. I’d rather you not start a fight over something insignificant. I’ll swoon another day, hm?”

GASTON:

Gaston stared at him, lips pressed to one side and eyebrow curved. “You’re a little shit, you know that,” he said, with at least some lightness in his tone. Though, he wholeheartedly believes it to be true. Sure, Claude played the delicate priest figure. But there was some mischief lying behind those eyes of his. “One day you’re gonna make me roll my eyes so hard they get stuck like it and then I’ll be no fucking use to anyone,” he continued. After all, for Gaston, life ended with an abnormality.

He twisted one of the chairs against the wall and rested an elbow against it as he turned back to Claude. “Anyway, none of this is the point. Are you coming with me or am I dragging you?”

CLAUDE:

The priest laughed harder, shoulders shaking, and turned his face towards the other man. An innocent smile played across his face but it was broken by the twitching of his lip. “Who, me? Non, you must be mistaken Gaston. I would never do such a thing. And, God forbid, if that happened I would help you. It would be a true shame.” The look on the other man’s faces worth it, he’d decided, to take a bit of a ribbing. Inexplicably, Gaston was one of the few, if perhaps the singular, individuals in this town that he felt entirely comfortable around.

Or, at the very least, comfortable enough to joke in such a way.

Claude gave an indelicate snort and heaved himself up onto the bartop, plopping himself down with his legs wide and arms crossed over his chest, a brow cocked. “You’d like that wouldn’t you, hm? I did think you would be the handsy type. Do not worry. I will not tell your secrets.” He winked, a lopsided grin crossing over his face abruptly before it fell away and he was serious again.

With a shrug, Claude stretched until his shoulder popped, mulling over the things he could wear. “I believe I have a blue suit that I could wear, if that would be acceptable to your delicate sensibilities.”

GASTON:

Gaston let a few short huffs of laughter from his nose and shook his head. “Get a boob job and I’ll think about it,” he returned.

If he wasn’t growing so familiar with the priest, he might have been surprised by the assertions. They were a little suggestive and certainly indelicate. It was the sort of thing he imagined would cause outrage among members of the congregation, if they heard it and, to some degree, he was almost proud that the subtle darkness in the priest’s personality was exposed nearly exclusively to him. Even if meant he was dragging him into the depths of hell with him. At least they’d do it laughing. Though, perhaps, Claude could drag him up enough that they could meet in the middle.

He stepped forward and folded his arms, stopping a little way from the other man’s knees. “Sure. I’m not the fashion police. Hey, you could be a modern mobster. If other people dress up as priests, I’m sure you could go as a normal looking human being,” he said with a smirk.

CLAUDE:

Eyebrows drawing up in surprise, the priest let out a bark of laughter at the quip, covering his mouth with a hand. He wasn’t offended in the slightest and, really, he almost respected something like that from the other man.

Gaston was unsubtle about the people he chose to chase after. Even still, Claude could not help himself. The joking was easy and the banter something he could do with very few other people if any. If the congregation had ever heard him speak like this, many of them would have been scandalized though, he knew, some would chortle at the joke. There were many people, he had discovered, that over the years believed he was only a priest. That he had no other duty or wants beyond his station, that he was ineffable, merely a conduit for God.

Gaston didn’t.

It was one of the many reasons he was thankful for him, truthfully.

Claude watched as the younger man moved closer, leaned back on his hands, noticing when Gaston stopped just past the reach of his knees. He snorted again, lifting a leg to poke him in the ribs. “I was asking to know what you were wearing, LeCarriere. If I need to take that into account or not. I have a grey suit, too, but that one reminds me of a funeral.” He wrinkled his nose at the thought. Honestly, the last time he had worn it was probably at a funeral.

GASTON:

What he was wearing… Gaston laughed at the thought. What a woman’s question. He wasn’t much one to plan outfits. He had clothes in his wardrobe that he liked, or more importantly, made his biceps pop and he put them on when he wanted to wear them. The concept itself seemed entirely other to him. If clothes he had didn’t fit by the theme that had been elected, he’d buy new ones. Even if they were only the first thing that popped up on an Amazon search.

“Why? You expecting me to buy you a corsage?” He teased, knocking the priest’s knee away. “Or do you just want us to match? Christ, Claude, who knew you could be so needy?”

He’d only ever coordinated outfits once in his life. For his year’s official leaving prom and it had not gone well. In part because the girl in question was a bit of a freak. But also because he’d been excluded for setting fire to the toilet roll on the toilets, and subsequently half a stall, and was no longer allowed to go.

CLAUDE:

Blowing out a breath through his nose, Claude leaned forward, hands no longer propping him up. He crossed his legs, knocking into the other man in the process, and gave a bit of a grin. Shaking his head, the priest lifted himself off the bartop, landing easily on the balls of his feet inches away from where Gaston stood. He quirked a brow and tilted his head, a smirk playing across his face before he straightened and moved away.

“Non, but keeping with the theme is easier, is it not? Blue is also less..drab. Though I believe it would be a boutonnière, not a corsage. Baby’s breath would be a good choice. They go with any color suit.” He laughed quietly to himself and ran a hand down his face. “And you are the one who asked me to. So, really, you should be buying them.”

GASTON:

Gaston had never bought anyone flowers. Not to wear, not to hold, not to put in a vase on the window sill and slowly kill. The closest he’d ever got to a real bouquet was dodging one at a wedding. And frankly, he didn’t plan to change that any time soon.

“You’re a woman, Father Frollo. And you’re getting a corsage,” he said, folding his arms with a little smug smile.

Well, perhaps apart from for a cheap joke.

[cringeculturekiller]

EPIC INTRO POST!

Hi there, you can call me Buttons or Queenie, whichever name works for you, I’ll have most of my posts tagged under Buttons however, just for the sake of constancy. I’m 18, however I will not accept any sort of NSFW/NSFT submissions/talk on this blog. MAYBE mild suggestive jokes, but I know a lot of people aren’t comfortable with NSFW/sexual topics so as such I’ll avoid them as much as possible. I use she/he/they and some neos, my main ones being kni/knives, zeep/zeeple, room/rang, and dia/diam, and I’m bi, greyace, autistic, and genderqueer. And I self ship and I love crossovers, so theres that as well.

Anyhoo, welcome! This blog is dedicated to discussing and dismantling cringe culture/fandom cringe poisoning, and also for providing people a safe space to talk about things such as interests, headcannons, crossovers, ideas, identity and whatnot! 

RULES/BYF (these apply for asks, submissions, ect.): - Try to avoid bringing up heavy topics, such as extreme angst, wump, extreme gore whatever people call it these days. You can talk about light angst and whatnot, just make sure to include the appropriate content warnings - I will not allow any sort of dead dove do not eat/proship content on this blog  - I do not want to engage in fandom discourse, it’s draining and at the end of the day that’s not really what this blog is for.  - I WON’T ALLOW ANY SORT OF KINK/NSFW, PERIOD. Even “sfw” kinks, because at the end of the day it will still make people uncomfortable and violated.  - Of course DNI if you’re a terf, exclusionist, anti neopronouns, ect., just I’m not going to engage in queer discourse here.  - Same if you post “otherkin cringe” or whatnot or think kins are cringe, and if you’re ablest  - I will note that often times I’ll have periods where I’m offline from tumblr due to mental health/irl events, so if I don’t get to your ask instantly, don’t worry, it’s likely due to the listed reasons - Just!!! Have fun :D

[taeguboi]

“Tease” [TaeJin Fluff/Smut] PART 01

Pairing - BTS V / Taehyung ¦¦ Jin / Seokjin

Summary: What happens when the social butterfly gets a fluttering feeling of his own?

Kim Seokjin. The reason Taehyung has been visiting the local entertainment store daily without fail for the past 2 weeks. At best, the variety the vicinity had to offer was mediocre for Taehyung’s eclectic music tastes and was usually exceptional enough to drop into once a fortnight or something...

Since the arrival of the new employee however, his money had been squandered on: 2 deluxe versions of CDs he already has, 5 DVDs, a pair of headphones - perhaps the only thing he actually needed - and 4 posters that sadly stand rolled up in the corner of his room, like Christmas wrapping paper that you forget about when you’ve bought too much of it, buying to gift 30 people and then realizing you have 4 friends to buy for…

But he doesn’t mind. Every trip so far has proved worthwhile, never failing to conjure up a conversation with the cutie behind the till who has surprisingly been on shift there every time… it’s almost too perfect.

Entering the store once more on a quiet Friday evening, after college as always, Taehyung paces straight to the end of the first aisle down which he can see Seokjin knelt restocking the vinyl shelves. He should be used to this by now, approaching the guy, but there’s this adrenaline that fills his system every time he is about to greet the man.

“Hello stranger” Taehyung coyly smiles, looking down onto the attractive broad shoulders of the elder.

Now, usually Taehyung would only go for someone more around his own age, specifically the cute little mochi with the Busan accent that used to work at the local convenience store down the road from his house that sadly moved out of town… He swears to God if this guy moves away too, he’s resorting to online shopping…

They’ve talked about everything over the past days - culture, food, sports, tv… you name it, and it’s given Taehyung sufficient knowledge about his newfound crush, bar the mystery of the man’s sexuality,

“Ah, I was wondering when you would come over here first” Seokjin asserts, flustering Taehyung a tad.

There was a truth to that, Taehyung can’t deny; just coming into the store more often than usual was courageous enough for Taehyung. You wouldn’t think it if you saw him around college, socializing with literally everyone on the premises, but when he spots a guy he really likes, that confidence just disappears and he’s a completely different person.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Taehyung knowingly smirks in response.

He knows he’s a sucker for a cute guy and when he falls, he falls hard; always has, always will, the most cringe-worthy example being in the final year of high school when he had this huge thing for the school prodigy Jeon Jeongguk who was placed in a lot of Taehyung’s classes… He was such a boisterous, informal teenager that could talk to everyone and anyone, until this guy sat next to him one day and bam - jelly legs, empty stomach, dizzy head…

“Although this does mean you’ve already broken our little tradition…” Seokjin replies, bringing himself to his feet. “But since the store is so dead today, there’s little point in beating around the bush… Now, how can I help you today?”

“I’m thinking of just chilling out on the couch tonight with a film, so…”

“Then allow me to escort you to the film aisle” Seokjin jests, bowing his head down and pointing in the right direction, to which Taehyung chuckles as he leads the way.

*

The boys pace minutely across the floor, engaging in conversation about the different films and tv series that Taehyung points at

“See, I really like stuff like this,” Taehyung begins, picking up a copy of an earlier series of the anime Detective Conan, “and it would be ace to collect stuff like this, but I kind of think it’s worthless when it’s all available online, like I don’t think it’s good enough to pay for when it’s all free…”

“Yeah, I feel you man, like some things are worth buying even when they’re available for free online, and it’s nicer to have a solid copy of something, but there are some series that can feel a little repetitive in that sense I suppose… So like what you have there, I feel is more something that is nice to watch one or two episodes of to kill an hour or take a break from a challenging task… I probably shouldn’t be saying this when I work in a store like this though, right?” Seokjin laughs.

They move onto the film section of the DVD aisle, inspecting the shelves that hold special offers. All the ‘classics’ that everyone has known and seen that show up on normal tv channels every weekend… With some exceptions.

“Ah…” Seokjin mildly grins, pointing at a darker dvd case. “Have you seen it?”

“Uh, I… Yes” Taehyung hesitantly replies, not wanting to seem like a complete and utter pervert as he registers which DVD Seokjin is talking about…

“Everyone always raves about it, but I don’t know… What did you think of it?”

Taehyung at this point is having an internal freak out right now. How is Seokjin asking these questions so calmly and seriously? Taehyung hasn’t even had time to contemplate whether he will be comfortable talking about such topics around this guy… Why must he have pointed at that film in particular? Why not just have a perfectly innocent conversation about one of the action films or something? Okay, technically that film is action, but not the James Bond kind of action… Kind of.

“It was… alright I guess?” Taehyung replies uncertainly, figuring that he’s going to have to force himself to be a bit more open about himself if he wants this crush to go anywhere, or at the very least get answers to the questions that run in his mind.

“Look, I’ll be perfectly honest here with you Seokjin, I don’t exactly… Let’s just say it’s not something I can engage with…” It’s very indirect and ambiguous but Taehyung hopes that’s enough to put across to Seokjin his orientation.

Of course, Seokjin is quite an intelligent man, Taehyung has gathered, and he seems to pick up the meaning, indicated by his tone “Oh, right, I see…” and what he says next all confuses, intrigues and scares Taehyung “I get you there, man, completely… She isn’t quite everyone’s type, is she?”

‘What does that mean?!? Is he like me… he said he gets me? What does he mean by ‘not quite everyone’s type’? Not everyone’s type by personality, appearance or gender? This is mental…’

“Um, no…”

“I’ll admit, I can relate to the guy in a roundabout kind of way, but… Just not with her… Simply put, you can’t really beat a dick, can you?”

‘Wow. Fuck. Fuck. This is escalating SO fast! Why is he being like this? Has he clocked on that I fancy him more than a big juicy steak being offered to a starving dog?... Omo Tae! Quit it with those thoughts!... He’s playing me, isn’t he? He’s fucking playing me…’

“Um, no, I guess not” Taehyung utters with a stiff smile that could easily be translated as an awkward smile of admittance rather than nervousness.

This shouldn’t be a problem at all, Taehyung figures. They’ve spoken about everything and anything lately and have become quite comfortable around each other… Yet this is real. This is Taehyung’s crush having a discussion based on sex; this makes Taehyung feel all sorts of things.

“Sorry, that was a little weird” Seokjin apologises. “I just… I guess I feel comfortable around you, that’s all… I don’t really talk to many people about…”

“Your sexuality?”

“Yeah.”

“Neither do I really…” Taehyung confesses. “‘Wasn’t even planning to come out at school, you know, until I kind of made things really obvious with this one guy around…”

“Oh dude! That’s like literally how I knew what I was, you know. Like one day, you’re thinking about what x times y could mean whilst trying to ignore your acknowledgement of a super hot classmate in your algebra lesson… and then you realise that x times y is basically xy…”

An awkward silence takes its place in the flow of conversation for a second as Taehyung fails to recognise the reference.

“Like the chromosome…?... Sorry, I’m just blabbering shit now…”

“No need to apologise, I, uh… it’s actually kind of a relief for me” Taehyung manages to admit.

“A relief? How so?”

This is it. The moment in which Taehyung is about to either make a complete fool of himself, or say the sentence that could be the start of something cool.

“I guess I’ve been wondering…” is all Taehyung musters before leaving another silence in the air.

Taehyung’s brain comes to a stand still. His fear of rejection is proving to be a barrier, stopping him from proceeding any further. He urges himself to continue, having already gotten nearer to confessing to Seokjin than he has with any other guy before. It would be a shame to stop when he’s come this far.

“So have I, actually…” Seokjin pipes up. “This… this is kinda nice, and… I’m gonna come clean here; I may have been picking up extra shifts this week…”

“Really?” Taehyung enquires, now feeling much more at ease that he doesn’t have to worry himself with what to say next. “Well, in that case, I have a confession to make also…”

“How many of the things that you’ve purchased here over the past few weeks are things you actually wanted?”

Taehyung chuckles, unashamed now to be called out on his frequent visits “I mean, there was the headphones…” he pauses. “Ah, that’s it” he concludes, hands in pockets, looking down at the floor, unsure where to look.

“Are you free after my shift?” Seokjin asks, causing Taehyung to lift his head back up. “I’d like to talk more outside of this same old place.”

“Of course” Taehyung grins.

“I’m really glad you like music, Taehyung.”

“I’m really glad I like music too, Seokjin.”

“Wait outside for me, yeah?” the elder winks, wandering away down the aisle and toward the till where he has noticed a customer ready to pay.

There aren’t many places to go at 6.30 on a Friday evening, and when you’ve only known one another for just under a fortnight, suggesting going back to one of the other’s house would seem a bit off… So here they sit, in front of some garage door at a parking lot, looking onto the city traffic.

“It’s strangely therapeutic, huh?” Seokjin asks, admiring the aesthetic of the lights with the dull evening sky.

“Yeah, I guess it kind of is; it’s quiet and away from people, yet you wouldn’t go crazy from the loneliness because people are getting on with their lives right over there.”

“So, sorry if this is weird and completely random, but it’s just that I’m eager about finally being able to talk to someone who can relate… How was it telling your parents about…?”

“About me being gay? I kind of didn’t tell them really, I just brought a boy home one day and formally introduced him as one would with a girlfriend and they kind of just gathered from there... How was it for you?”

“Probably the other end of the reaction spectrum!” Seokjin laughs with embarrassment.

“It wasn’t that bad was it?”

“I mean, it’s one of those things that a funny to look back on, but dreadfully humiliating at the time…”

“Seokjinnie, stop stalling and tell me!” Taehyung demands, playfully tapping Seokjin’s shoulder.

“Oh!” Seokjin gasps positively. “Is that a nickname for me?”

“Hmm… maybe” Taehyung leans forward with a grin. “Do you like it?”

“Hmm… maybe” Seokjin repeats back, also leaning in forward quite close so that the two boys’ noses almost touch

“Well you won’t be hearing it anymore if you don’t tell me” Taehyung backs away with a laugh, leaning backwards to rest his head against the garage door.

“So I kind of underestimated how intrusive my family can be…”

“Oh no, they found everything, didn’t they?” Taehyung asks with much empathy in his tone, tilting his head back upright, figuring that he would like to admire Seokjin’s facial features as he explains his story.

“Right down to these weird beads that I never even ended up using!”

“Oh right? I actually kind of like those ones…” Taehyung admits, then wondering why the heck those words just left his mouth...

“Well, you see, I prefer to stick to the front…” Seokjin openly states. “Stop me talking at any time if you want by the way, I understand this isn’t exactly what could be viewed as appropriate conversation material…”

“No, no, carry on. I just like talking to you” Taehyung beams.

“I feel awkward now because I stopped the flow of talking about the subject by directly mentioning it…”

“Somehow, I’ll try and continue for you then…” Taehyung manages to assert, rather surprised, yet pleased, at how he’s managing to come out of his shell more around a cute guy. “So by sticking to the front, is that just out of laziness, or…?”

“Uh, no, actually… I’d say far from it, in fact” Seokjin interrupts. “I… I often use my imagination to like make things feel more… real… and since I know my own preferences, it just sometimes started to seem kind of weird and not as great when I would… put something inside…”

Suddenly Taehyung feels feverish as different conclusions conjure in his head, all of a similar nature. Unsure of what he would have had Seokjin down as, if he had given it some prior thought, Taehyung doesn’t know what to do with this information and its potential meaning…

“I suppose although in reality, I’m a bit of a switch, in my fantasies… I’m mostly the dominant one; it gives me such a sense of excitement, you know, to be essentially in control of someone else’s pleasure when I…”

Taehyung interrupts Seokjin by urgently leaning in forward and presses his lips against the elder’s. He can’t take it anymore; these feelings for Seokjin were overwhelming before today as it was without all this talk about Seokjin’s sexual preferences… it’s such a turn on and too much for Taehyung that it has come to this; having to stop Seokjin in his tracks before his words have too much of an effect on him… Although in this moment, Taehyung is unsure as to whether he’s really made matters that much simpler for himself at all…

Though the kiss is forced and very in the moment, it also manages to have a tender side to it with the new and compelling feeling of Seokjin’s supple, smaller pout against Taehyung’s wider, yet still full, lips that might still be a little dry from the lack of focus he has had on himself. Taehyung’s large hand cups Seokjin’s smooth cheek which eventually releases itself of tension upon registering the intense moment.

Seokjin allows sufficient time to appreciate the kiss before backing away to speak “See, there was a reason I pointed out that DVD earlier, you know…” he begins, running his index finger along Taehyung’s chest, pausing at a button. “I can be terrible for acting in this way, I know…”

“You are indeed terrible Seokjinnie…” Taehyung agrees, running his thumb gently along Seokjin’s cheek bone. “You’re trying to get me worked up on purpose, aren’t you?... You’re not even going to be surprised when I tell you…”

“...That all this talk about sex has affected you more than it should have?”

“Uh-huh” Taehyung instantly admits without any sense of dignity or patience, feeling humid now even though the evening air is rather breezy.

Seokjin leans back in so that his forehead presses against Taehyung’s and he closes his eyes. He can hear Taehyung’s shaky breath that he receives as nervousness, causing Seokjin to open his eyes to take in the appearance of the boy in front of him.

As Taehyung runs his tongue around his lips to give them moisture, languidly blinking a couple of times, Seokjin just has to draw Taehyung back in for another kiss by hooking his finger into Taehyung’s shirt to pull him in. This time, there is much more fire and intensity, so as Seokjin crashes his lips against Taehyung’s, the latter returns the sensation, turning the kiss into a passionate one.

A passionate kiss turns into a passionate make out as Seokjin increases the intensity by taking in the taste of Taehyung with a loose tongue, and in turn, Taehyung explores all that is Seokjin, tracing his hands along Seokjin’s neck, down to his shoulders, then his upper arms, lingering with a firm grip for a while before travelling his hands further down to lace his fingers between Seokjin’s.

Some more gentle kisses are exchanged between the two before Taehyung manages to shift his weight to lean and rise over Seokjin, guiding him back to rest his back against the cool brick wall that borders the garage door. Taehyung positions his knees on either side of Seokjin’s thighs, allowing more intimate contact… Possibly more intimate than the younger bargained for as his slowly hardening member presses up against Seokjin’s stomach, eliciting a muted hiss from the tip of his tongue and through gritted teeth.

“Oh man, this sucks…” Taehyung states with a nervous laugh, throwing his head back in frustration.

“I know right…?... It seems my plan has backfired on me if I’m honest with you…” Seokjin desperately replies with a low tone, breath shaky.

No more words are spoken as they continue to plant kisses on each other’s lips, taking shallow breaths between each. It’s getting increasingly difficult for either to contain themselves as each is getting more and more aroused with each second that drags by.

Seokjin can feel Taehyung’s perfect lips getting softer and his breath hitching more with each touch the elder gives him, from a caress of the face, to a needy grip of the hair at the nape of his neck, and especially as Seokjin runs his fingers down Taehyung’s back. It becomes a constant fight between Seokjin and his urge to completely have his way with Taehyung here and now… after all, they’re in a public place…

“Definitely backfiring” Seokjin repeats the second Taehyung presses his weight against Seokjin’s now sensitive crotch.

“Maybe we could set up camp here...I’ve built something of a tent in my trousers…” Taehyung jests, attempting to relieve the two of their hunger for each other by adding some humour to the atmosphere.

“Now if only we did have an actual tent though… That would solve our little problem…”

“I know I’m probably getting myself in way too deep here but…” Taehyung begins, wrapping his arms around Seokjin’s neck. “Hypothetically, what would you do if it was just us two in a tent?...” he enquires, raising his eyebrows.

“Well that all depends…”

“On what?”

“On what you like…”

“I would like to hear more about ‘in control’ Seokjin… It sounds… hmm…” he hums, tilting his head playfully “...hot.”

“Well then…” Seokjin rasps, tilting his head to the opposite side to allow his breath to be felt upon Taehyung’s lips which breaths of anticipation escape past. “First, I’d tease you relentlessly, pretending to be unknowing of how I’m making you feel… I like to tease, you see; I like to see what effect I can have on someone before I’ve even started… I have to have that sense of excelling in making someone want me for me before I get too eager to take all my clothes off…”

“How would you tease me?” the younger asks, planting a single kiss against the elder’s lips.

“Hmm…” Seokjin ponders. “Well, I must reach out to all your senses, so a combination of things… Starting with more subtle things such as unnecessarily licking my lips for you, and maybe other poses and gestures that are seemingly innocent on the surface…” he informs as he indeed parallels his words by moistening his lips.

“...So that’s why you’d always gaze into the air seductively when you would claim to be thinking about something…” Taehyung responds.

“What do you mean ‘claim to be thinking’?” Seokjin questions. “I could hardly have been thinking about nothing could I? That’s imposs…”

“Alright, you know what I meant…” the younger rectifies. “That you probably weren’t thinking about the things you said you were like restocking, and…”

“I guess you got me there…”

“I bet you were thinking about making your face look as… as luscious as possible…”

“Then I’d kick it up a notch” Seokjin interrupts. “ I’d react to things with moans, an ‘accidental’ brush against your skin, and again, it’d seem innocent and unintentional… But I always know exactly what I’m doing…” he growls

“Damn right you would…” murmurs Taehyung.

“How easily would you give in Tae?...” Seokjin asks with a grunt, dropping his head back against the wall. “Would you be patient and resilient…” he begins to ask, lifting his head back up to make direct eye contact, “or would you falter at the first gesture?...”

“You have the looks of a model and the aura of a stud… Of course I would give in…” Taehyung declares, confidently maintaining eye contact.

“Are you weak for me Taehyungie?”

“I really am… Especially now you’re talking like this… Damn, I wish we could be somewhere else!” Taehyung sobs subtly.

“Me too… You’d make such beautiful noises, I know you would… I just wonder how much I could change that killer deep voice of yours…”

Seokjin was intending to carry on with the talk, but stops as Taehyung stumbles to his feet and holds a hand out, offering to help Seokjin stand. Instead of reaching a hand back out, Seokjin just looks up at Taehyung with a confused expression.

“We need to move away from here” Taehyung states, eyes glancing left and right wearily.

“Where to?” Seokjin enquires, finally taking a hold of Taehyung’s hand and bringing himself up on his feet.

“We’ll figure something out” Taehyung replies, beginning to move one foot in front of the other, causing Seokjin to follow, still holding on to the younger’s hot sweaty palm.

The boys travel with urgency and desperation, almost brisk walking and staggering on the tips of their toes across the car park.

Leading out onto a main street through they walk down there quite innocently, now properly holding hands, fingers intertwined, Seokjin making sure to be on the outer side nearer to the road, almost as if he is protecting the younger. The city lights that have a recent glow to them seem hazy under the heavy eyes of the two infatuated boys that seek privacy to fulfil each other’s desires.

“It’s kind of ridiculous how few places one can actually get away from the world in peace, huh?; considering that everyone out here is minding there own business, not even caring for what goes on in the distance” states Taehyung, still scanning the streets for even a hint to the answer he seeks.

“I guess so… I suppose really it’s just because the chance of being caught is still there nonetheless, causing us to be more wary” answers Seokjin. “Um, you can tell me if I’m being way too forward here, but… We’re actually not far from where I live…”

Taehyung flashes Seokjin an inviting smile “Man, why didn’t you say that earlier?”

“As I told you Tae…” Seokjin grins, tightening the grip on Taehyung’s hand and now swaying the control of the path they lead to his instruction, “I’m a bit of a tease…”

Seokjin leads as the boys rush through the gateway and the elder searches the pocket of his hoodie for the house key. The lock rattles as Seokjin’s shaky hand attempts to unlock the door

“Nice place you’ve got!...” Taehyung exclaims.

Seokjin hushes the younger boy: “There’s one thing I should have mentioned before; there’s like a 50-50 chance that my housemate will be in….” he explains, cut off by a voice unknown to Taehyung.

“Hey Seokjin, man! What time do you…” A face appears to be paired with the voice and the housemate registers the arrival of a guest and stops in his tracks.

The housemate appears to be just as enthusiastic about music as Taehyung himself is, the latter notes, observing the headphones that rest around the boy’s neck.

“Ah, Yoongi, this is Taehyung…” Hesitantly, Seokjin tries to introduce his guest to his house mate “He’s my… friend…”

“Alright…” Yoongi unsurely voices. “Nice to meet you Taehyung. Don’t mean to be rude but I.... was... actually... about to go to bed… yeah, so…”

“Perfect!” Seokjin is quick to say out loud. “Uh… I mean, cool, yeah” he corrects to which Yoongi lets out a chuckle.

“You kids have fun” Yoongi tells the two, obviously having caught on to the nature of Seokjin and Taehyung’s relationship. He exits swiftly, placing his headphones over his ears.

Seokjin awkwardly looks down to the floor whilst Yoongi exits to his room as Taehyung lifts Seokjin’s chin with his index finger and the younger raises his eyebrows suggestively once eye contact is made.

“I don’t know why you’re raising your ‘brows at me like that Taehyungie… We’re gonna have to be hella quiet; are you sure you can handle that?”

“Looks like I’m going to have to, doesn’t it?” the younger smiles back, taking a hold of Seokjin’s hand.

Part 2 coming soon [hopefully]

[captainvictoryboat]

Behind The Scenes 3 (4.5/???)

Author’s note: It may be a while till I post the next scene. I haven’t had any time or inspiration to continue writing BTS 3 where I left off (Don’t worry I’m talking about my Malaysia scenes. There is still a bit to go before you all catch up to it). I need to buy myself more time so I can start writing and perfecting the last scenes of BTS 3. Sorry for any errors or any cultural and environmental inaccuracies.

Genre: Fluff-ish?/ Angst? (Suga, Jungkook)

Word count:1826

City: Shanghai

Summary: You, Jungkook and Suga go out to the beach.

Other parts: HERE

This is my GIF. I made it based on this scenario series.

The beach was beautiful. The three of you made it to the shore almost at sunset, just when the sky was its most colorful. Even though there were quite a bit of people, you didn’t really mind. You weren’t too scared of running into any fans.

When the three of you came closer to the water, you all removed your shoes to let the dying waves splash over your feet. As always, y ou and Jungkook held hands. Jungkook being the “gentleman” he was, held your shoes for you. Suga straggled behind the two of you, constantly stopping to take a few pictures.

“Damn, it’s such a nice evening.” Jungkook said.

“Right! The view is so amazing!” you said looking past him to see the hues of yellow and orange.

“Finally you agree that I look amazing!”

“Shut up!” you laughed.

You could hear the sound of water splashing behind you and soon Suga appeared next to you. “What are you guys talking about?”

“About how good looking I am!’ Jungkook stopped, let go of you, tossed the shoes in the dry sand and moved into a dramatic model pose. “Yoongi quick! Take a picture. I can’t hold my breath forever!”

Suga rolled his eyes at him. He lifted his camera, but he didn’t bother to aim it, he just lazily clicked away a few times.

“C’mon let’s keep walking!” you laughed. You tugged on Jungkook’s arm, but he refused to move.

“Jagi no! He needs to take a good picture!” Jungkook said still holding his breathe.

You gave one last tug and he dramatically fell to the ground, making sure to land where the water didn’t reach him. “Jagi! Why?!? I thought you loved me?!?” A last puff of air escaped him before he played dead.

Immediately, Suga crouched next to him and took many pictures of Jungkook at all angles. “Ah yes! These are the images I want!” He laughed

Jungkook broke into a smile. “Ya!” He laughed, pushing Suga away and picking himself up. “Yo, take a picture of me and y/n. We can put it online! Baby, do you wanna take pictures?” he asked, turning to you.

You shrugged, “Eh, I guess so.”

The two of gave your back to the water and faced Suga. Jungkook came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your shoulders. You put your hand on his and smiled into the camera.

“Smile.” Suga said bitterly as he aimed the camera at you and Jungkook.

After only a few shots were taken, Jungkook practically shouted, “Wait!”

You jumped up a bit at the loud voice that boomed right in your ear and you looked up at him with a bit of a snarl.

“Jagi, let’s make this one a funny one!” he suggested.

“Kookie no!”

“C’mon it’ll be fun!” he insisted.

“Fine!”

In a aplit second you put yourself back in a happy mood and you both proceeded to make derp faces at the camera. Suga continued to take a few pictures, but he didn’t even seem a tiny bit amused by the stupid faces you were making.

“Kookie, can we stop now? Let’s take better ones.” you whined

Suga’s expression cringed into an even more bitter expression. “Why are you guys acting like that? There aren’t even that many people around and it’s not like anyone knows what we are saying!”

“Cuz we can’t hide our love!” Jungkook shouted, staying in character. You could feel his arms tightened around you. “Look at the beauty before us! How can one not show her affection!” All the noise coming from him was earning “a bit” of attention from the people around you.

You felt so paranoid with so many judgmental eyes staring at you all. You turned around and hid your face into Jungkook’s chest. “Oh gosh, don’t be so loud.” you whispered

“I’m getting people to stare so all this doesn’t go to waste, but I’ll stop if you want me to.” He whispered.

You nodded.

“Are you two done?” Suga asked. It was easily to tell he was annoyed about something.

“What’s with you?” Jungkook asked with what you thought was the slightest hint of a smirk.

“Nothing!”

“Are you sure? What’s wrong?” you asked.

“I said its nothing!” he said walking off down the shore on his own.

Jungkook picked up your shoes and grabbed your hand. “C’mon, let’s keep walking.”  

You quickened your pace to try and catch up the Suga. “Yoongi, can I see the pictures?” you hoped that talking to him would get him out if whatever mood he was in.

He didn’t say anything or even look back at you. He simply handed you the camera. It was already opened to the pictures he took of you and Jungkook.

You couldn’t help but shriek when you laid eyes on the pictures. “Aah! I look so gross! Why did you actually take these?!?”

“Nah, you look cute, an ugly cute, but still cute.” Suga said, keeping his eyes forward.

Jungkook took the camera from you. “Oooohhh, looks like we found our BTS meme queen!”

Almost immediately, Suga ripped the camera from his hands and turned it off.

You looked back at Jungkook, but all he did was shrug at you.

Things were silent amongst the three of you until you heard a phone ringing. Suga pulled his phone out from his pocket and when he looked down at the screen, he broke into a small smile. “Oh, hey Aiko!” he answered cheerfully.

Instantly you could feel your insides twist. You felt a pang of jealousy hit you in the chest just from hearing him say her name.

“Yeah I’m just here on the beach with y/n and Jungkook.” He continued. “Shanghai… ha yeah, I guess you could you could say I’m the third wheel… Well, if you were here, it would be a different story… Hang on a second.” He covered the speaker of his phone and finally turned to face you and Jungkook. “Do you guys wanna go back to the hotel? It’s kinda hard for me to talk to Aiko with so many people around.”

“Already?” you frowned. “I was just starting to have fun…”

you could see Suga frown a bit himself. “Ah, well y/n-“

“Huh? That’s funny. I thought it shouldn’t matter what you say. It’s not like anyone around us can understand what you are saying.” Jungkook spat back with smirk.

Suga locked his gaze on Jungkook. “This is different!”, he said sternly. Then he looked back at you. “Why don’t we all go back? It’s getting a little late anyway. We should get back before Namjoon does.” by his tone it was as if he was almost begging you to go back with him.

“You go. Y/n and I are going to stay a bit longer.” Jungkook said.

Suga squinted at him.

“Go.” Jungkook insisted. “We’re fine. I can get Tae to tell us when he and Namjoon are getting back if that’s what you’re so worried about.”

Suga grumbled under his breath. You thought he said “not really.” but you weren’t too sure of that was what he really said. Suga looked back at you, and you could see he wanted you to go back with him. “Are you sure you don’t wanna go back?” Suga asked.

“… You go. I wanna stay longer.”

“Well… ok…” He picked up the phone again. “What were we talking about?” he asked as he walked off back to the hotel.

You watched as his figure got smaller and smaller as he left. You didn’t go back to walking in the water until you no longer saw him. On the inside, you were a bit mopey, but tried not to look too upset. “The sunset is so pretty.” You said. A part of you knew it was best to stay out with Jungkook. This was such a beautiful evening and it was possible you wouldn’t get another chance like this.

“Yeah it is…” You felt Jungkook lean closer to you. “Time out… Before we left the hotel, I really did text Tae to let us know when they’d be getting back. I didn’t want a repeat of what happened in Beijing…” He whispered.

You didn’t bother to say “time in” and you let your actions speak for you to let him know to get back into character. You squeezed his hand tighter and tip toed to give him a small peck on his cheek.

You both continued to walk in blissful silence. You took in the sounds of people laughing and having fun around you, the sounds of the waves crashing on shore and the sound of the sand crunching under your feet. You walked and walked until you got a bit tired.

“…Can we sit down?” you peeped.

“If you want.” Jungkook pulled you away from the water and to an empty spot on the beach.

You both saT down on a cool patch sand and you dug your feet into it. You rested your head on his shoulder and enjoyed the view. Thankfully, the calming minutes seemed to go by so slow. It felt as if you had been able to have a relaxing sit in the sand for hours. By now the sky was filled with oranges and pinks with the slightest hint of purple. Just when the orange was about to disappear and as the purple grew, the sky looked its most beautiful.

You turned to Jungkook. “Ooohh can you take a picture? The sky is so pretty right now!”  There were way less people around compared to before, making it the perfect time to take a decent picture.

Jungkook shrugged. “You can take it if you want.” He pulled out his phone and opened the camera for you.

You probably took about 50 pictures until you felt satisfied that you got a good shot.

“Hey! Calm down. You got like a five hundred pictures of the same spot!” He laughed.

“I had to make sure I got a good picture… Here, I’m done now.” you smiled tossing his phone back to him.

“… Y/n”

“Hm?”

“Time out again real quick. You wanna take a better picture to make up for the stupid ones from earlier? You didn’t seem too happy with those. If we take better ones I can post those or something.”

“Well we don’t have to. Do you really think we’ll need to take another one?”

“Well, I guess not. I’m not too sure how this whole dating lie should work. I feel like compared to real couples we don’t have a lot of pictures together.”

“That’s true… Yeah, we are probably slacking when it comes to this whole thing… Yeah, let’s take some nicer pictures.”

To embrace in the scenery of the beach, Jungkook made a big heart in the sand. He lay his head in one side and you lay your head on the other side. He got a good three pictures, before an obnoxious laser sound rang from his phone and a text from V appeared on the screen.

“Oh shit! We gotta go back now!”

You both jumped up immediately and maneuvered through the still crowded beach. Thankfully it didn't take Jungkook too long to hail a taxi and the two of you made it back to the hotel before V and the monster did.