#ig i could take out one of the cardboard sides if i really need to.

[autism-corner]

i love handsewing but man this would be 100 times easier if i actually had a machine.

[mojofun]

Caution - Keep out of children's reach. Yes Sirius, you too (Sirius x Reader)

Hello everyone. This is an entry for a writing challenge I’m taking part in, launched by the awesome @approved-by-dentists​ for reaching 400 followers; congratulations again :) The prompts I chose were <<So you’re telling me you read the instructions and still managed to get this result?>><<I did! Okay, I tried… Well, I tried to want to?>> and <<How on Earth did I ever get so lucky to be loved by you?>>

It’s a piece of fluff set in absurd situation and it came to me after a rather disastrous trip to IKEA (I’m still laughing). Anyway, enough with the chatter. I hope you enjoy it!

Gif not mine, credits to @snuffles-padfoot07​

<<Shit, Y/N’s home, Y/N’s home!>>

Alarmed whispers and jarring sounds of moving furniture were what welcomed the H/C-haired girl in the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, and occasionally -much more often than one might think- his best friend.

Suspicious, to say the least.

The young woman took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for whatever could be waiting for her in the house. Her preparation should have been a little more physical, however, as all the years she’d spent with her other half should have taught her.

Maybe she decided to have some faith in him, even just a little…

That trust resulted in her almost face-planting against the floor after tripping over something. Luckily, two strong arms caught her before severe injures occurred

<<Y/N! Are you ok?>>

She tilted her head upward, meeting the young man’s steely grey eyes, filled with concern. 

Well, at least for that she could count on him.

The thought brought a smile to her face, but it was quickly wiped off her face when she took in the state of the room

<<What the hell, Sirius?>>

Cardboard boxes, sellotape shreds, bolts and screws littered the floor, along with some tools like hammers and… Was that a saw?

Parts of what she guessed were supposed to be chairs and a couch completed the mix. All in all, it looked like a jenga game gone wrong.

The sheepish twenty-something wizard awkwardly scratched the nape of his neck, avoiding her gaze

<<Well, you see…>>

<<Yes, I do see! The living room is a mess! Did a bomb explode in here or something?>>

In the corner James was crouching out of sight behind what should have been the back piece of the sofa

<<No, wait; a bomb would have caused less damage than you two>>

<<I’m sorry! We needed new chairs after the, uhm… Accident>>

Y/N crossed her arms, pinning him with a glare

<<Oh, you’re talking about the time you got drunk, changed into Padfoot and chewed all the legs off the furniture?>>

He gulped guiltily, still not looking at her.

Merlin knows what would have happened if Remus had not intervened to restrain him

<<Uh, yeah>>

<<And?>>

<<We went to that strange stores muggles call I… I…>>

<<I… What?>>

<<Wait, it’s on the tip of my tongue…>>

<<Su->>

<<Prongs, what the hell was it called?>>

<<I… Ig… Ice…>>

<<Are you two talking about IKEA?>>

<<YES!>> The two Marauders exclaimed in unison <<How did you know?>>

<<I’m a muggle born, remember?>>

Sirius smirked

<<Darling, how could I ever forget? My parents’ reaction when they found out I’m dating you will be forever burned in my mind>>

It was Y/N’s turn to grin at the prospect of stumping her significant other

<<Really now? Is that the only reason you are dating me, Sirius?>>

He rushed to her side, taking her hands in his and spewing reassurances so fast that she had trouble understanding him

<<No, of course not. I love you, your beauty, your sense of humor, your intelligence, your kindness…>>

Sirius was a little flustered; Y/N giggled

<<Are you done, darling?>>

<<Uhm, yeah>>

<<Good. Now, shall we take care of this mayhem together?>>

Both boys nodded fervently, making the female chuckle

<<Awesome. Will one of you hand me the instructions sheets, please?>>

That simple question was enough to make them freeze like two criminals caught red-handed

<<I’m scared of asking, but I’ll take the chance… What happened to those papers?>>

Her boyfriend looked like the statues outside the Hogwarts castle; his best friend hesitantly lifted his hand, pouting at a pile of scraps in the corner

<<What the hell?>>

Y/N suddenly had the feeling that she would be repeating that sentence a lot more during this absurd conversation

<<Well, you see…>>

<<No, this time I do not see! Why would you do that?>>

<<What makes you think it was me?>>

The young witch cocked an eyebrow, crossing her arms with a snort

<<Please: I’ve seen you in action as Padfoot>>

<<Alright… I may have chewed them out of frustration>>

<<Very mature>>

<<They were unintelligible! I was going crazy! I mean, look at this chair!>> He exploded, pointing at the piece of furniture by her side.

At first Y/N merely glanced at it, not finding anything out of the ordinary. Then, she froze; her brain refused to elaborate what she saw, so she slowly turned around again and came face to face with… An unusual sight, to put it nicely

<<What the hell?>>

Yes, the feeling was right

<<What is this? It looks like something out of a modern art museum!>>

In spite of themselves Sirius and James laughed, unable to hold back. Her glare brought them back in line though

<<Would one of you care to tell me why this damn chair has eight legs?>>

<<The drawings->>

<<Wait wait wait wait wait>> She held up a hand, trying to prepare herself again <<So you’re telling me you read the instructions->>

<<We read them!>> 

<<And still managed to get this result?>>

<<I did!>>

For the second time Y/N pinned him with a  harsh glare, making him squirm uncomfortably

<<Okay, I tried…>>

Her scowl worsened

<<Well, I tried to want to?>>

In the corner, James was still hiding behind the back piece of the couch.

The woman let out a long, frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose

<<I can’t believe you two…>>

<<Hey, did you expect us to understand Swedish?>>

<<The English version is written on the back, you idiots!>>

<<Oh>> They gaped

<<Don’t “oh” me>> The exasperated female scolded, taking in again the chaos the living room had been reduced to

<<There better be no more surprises in the house>>

<<Well, we were thinking of tackling the bed, but->>

<<No!>> She hastened to stop them <<You know what? Why don’t you two go buy groceries or something and I’ll deal with this… Octopus chair and the rest of your bedlam>>

At that, the other guy immediately ran out of the house, leaving his best mate to face his unnerved girlfriend. He just gave her an enormous smile and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her

<<How on Earth did I ever get so lucky to be loved by you?>>

<<The real question is, what did I ever do to deserve you?>> She mumbled in his chest, making him cackle

<<You lucked out, darling>>

<<It wasn’t a compliment, you dumbass>>

The coal-haired wizard let out a belly laugh, pecking her on the forehead

<<I don’t care what you did, but I am grateful you did it; my life wouldn’t be even half as wonderful without you in it>>

The S/C-skinned witch raised her face to look him in the eyes, smiling sweetly

<<You managed to placate my fury, but it’s not gonna last long, so I suggest you apparate as far away as you can while I can still keep my killing instincts at bay>>

<<Roger that, my love. I’ll see you later!>>

With that, he was gone.

Y/N chortled, shaking her head in amusement

<<Whatever it is I did, Sirius, I am immensely grateful I did it too…>>

She pulled out her wand and got to work.

A couple of hours later the house looked fit to live in again. All pieces of furniture had the correct number of legs and there was no litter on the floor; it was spic and span.

That was the sight that greeted Sirius when he decided to go back home. It made him smile as he headed to their shared bedroom.

There, he found his girlfriend lying on the bed, taking a rest after working out the mess he’d made. To make up for it he’d bought her a bunch of F/F and a plushie

<<Y/N?>>

<<Mh…>>

<<Darling, could you wake up a moment?>>

Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up, stretching and yawning

<<What is it? What did you do now?>>

Chuckling, the young man revealed his surprise

<<Well, I wanted to give you something to thank you for being so wonderful to me and tolerating all the trouble I stir>>

The smile she gave him made him melt. She accepted the flowers but, before she could move a muscle, he put them in a vase that was somehow already on the bedside table.

The plushie made her giggle

<<Dear, it’s ok. You are a wonderful boyfriend, you just suck at putting together furniture.

You really need to learn, though>>

He furrowed in confusion

<<Why? We don’t need anything else from I… Ic… Ig…>>

<<IKEA, Sirius, and yes, we do need one more thing>> She informed him with another yawn, getting back under the covers

<<What would it be, my dear?>>

<<A crib>> She murmured.

Four letters.

That was all it took for a wizard who’d faced countless Death-eaters to freeze on the spot

<<A c- A cri- Y/N?! Are you->>

A teddy to the face was his answer

<<Yes, yes I am. Now let me sleep>>

The H/C-haired witch did not see the tears pooling in her boyfriend’s eyes, nor the humongous smile stretching his lips.

He lay down beside her and slowly, cautiously, rested his hand on her abdomen

<<How on Earth did I ever get so lucky to be loved by you?>>

That was the last thing he said before succumbing to sleep.

Sirius did not see her smile either, but he did feel her squeezing his hand.

He was looking forward to their next trip to Ic- Ih- whatever the hell that store was called.

[pocketseizure]

Disneybound

Case #0180602. Statement of Ted Nakamura, regarding a strange experience at the Haunted Mansion attraction in Disneyland, California. Statement recorded directly from subject on June 2, 2018.

Jonathan takes the statement of someone whose memories may not accurately reflect the events of his childhood. He then has a short conversation with Martin and learns something (perhaps not so) surprising about Elias.

The events of this story take place after Episode 103, "Cruelty Free" (the one in which Jon reads the statement of a farmer in New Zealand with a monster pig).

( This story is also on AO3. )

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jon cast a level gaze at the American sitting on the other side of the table. He was fit and clean-shaven, and he appeared to be in his early thirties. He wore a wide grin and a bright red shirt depicting Minnie Mouse posing in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Jon sighed and pressed the record button of his tape recorder.

“Statement of Theodore Nakamura – ”

“Call me Ted, please. Or Teddy, if you like. All my friends do.”

“Ted Nakamura, regarding a strange phenomenon he experienced at the Haunted Mansion attraction in Disney World – ”

“Sorry, but it’s ‘Disneyland.’ Disney World is the one in Florida.”

“In Disneyland, California. Statement recorded directly from subject on May 25, 2018.”

“This is exciting! I love the detail you’ve devoted to authenticity. The tape recorder is a nice touch.”

Jon grimaced. “Statement begins.”

A hint of uncertainty crept into Ted’s smile. “I’ve never done this before. Is there a protocol? Maybe some sort of standard introduction I should start with?”

“Just tell me about the incident you came to report. You can start whenever you’re ready.”

“All right, I’ll start at the beginning.”

Ted clapped his hands on his knees and took a deep breath. Jon watched as his eyes made a brief circuit around the densely packed shelves arranged in disorderly rows at the rear of the room before finally coming to rest on one of the objects jammed between the accordion folders and cardboard boxes. He’d witnessed this process often enough that he could pinpoint the object of the man’s attention – a cloudy snow globe with a tarnished metal base. It wasn’t connected to any of the cases on file in the archives, merely something Gertrude had brought back from one of her travels on a whim.

“I guess you could say that I’m not the sort of person who would be the star of a Disney movie,” Ted began. “I’m not an orphan, and I had a happy childhood. My mother was an architect who moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles during the construction boom of the 1980s, and my father went to business school at UCLA and never left. His family is from Seattle, and they made some money in real estate in the 1990s. We’re comfortably middle class, but I went to one of the big public schools in Orange County.”

He paused, seeming to expect some sort of reaction. When it became clear that no such reaction was forthcoming, he continued.

“Even in LA, where everyone tries to stand out, high school was all about belonging to a group. I didn’t have any interest in the grandstanding of my school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, and I didn’t have the looks or the talent for the student theater club, which is where a lot of kids like me spent a year or two on their way out of the closet. Mostly I kept my grades up and my head down as my circle of friends from middle school gradually went their separate ways.

“My mom worked from home, and she made sure our house had the first high-speed internet connection in my neighborhood. I don’t mind admitting that I spent a lot of time online. I posted an embarrassing number of bad stories about cartoon characters on LiveJournal, and I eventually ended up being invited to join a popular Disney fan community moderated by a friend of a friend. All the people I spoke with on the comm were strangers, at least at first, but we gradually got to know one another as we responded to each other’s posts and comments.

“Between one thing and another, we somehow managed to figure out that most of us were the same age. Oddly enough, a lot of us lived in SoCal, so we decided to meet up over the summer at Disneyland. Everyone showed up, and we had a great time. We met again the next summer, and then again after my senior year.

“Nothing bad happened, but I stopped updating my LiveJournal after that. I went to college in New York, got a job in the city, and fell out of touch with most of my online friends.

“I moved back to LA four years ago, not that I do anything glamorous. I manage the back end of a tech company’s website and intranet, mostly database stuff, but I still have an IG account. I started it just for fun, but I joined early and picked up more than a thousand followers in less than a year. Someone suggested that it would be cool for me to visit to Disneyland and post photos, so I thought, why not? Like, I love Disneyland!”

Jon cleared his throat. “And what is this ‘strange incident’ you came to report?”

“Hold your horses, I’m getting to it. It’s important that you know my background, right? What I’m trying to say is that I’d only been to Disneyland three times before. It wasn’t a major part of my life. But it was a good part of my life – that’s important.”

Jon nodded in acknowledgment. “Very well, then. Duly noted.”

“Disneyland was considered to be a little seedy when I was in high school, but it’s gotten fancy in the past ten years or so. It used to be that you could just walk in, but these days you practically have to make an itinerary. So I did some research, got a group of people together, and we went and saw the sights. Everyone wore an outfit to match the style of a character, and we took a lot of pictures. The photos were so popular that I hit 5k followers in less than 24 hours, can you believe it? Everyone and their sister is into DisneyBounding these days, but picking up that sort of following from on-location fashion photos was still a thing you could do in 2015.

“Like I said, I had a happy childhood, but no one ever paid me that sort of attention. It was such a dopamine hit, you have no idea. Or maybe you do?”

Jon grit his teeth. “Please continue with the statement.”

Ted laughed. “Pushy, aren’t you? But that’s all right. It’s weird, but I feel like I can tell you anything. Has anyone ever said that to you before?”

“You’re not the first.”

“Maybe it’s the librarian thing you’ve got going on – or archivist thing, sorry. Puts me right at ease. And I appreciate that. If there’s an adult who willingly goes to Disneyland for fun, especially someone like me, people tend to think that’s creepy. The therapist I was seeing at the time called it ‘Peter Pan Syndrome,’ of all things. I never went to another appointment with her again, but that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say is that I kept going back to Disneyland, usually with friends but sometimes with my boyfriend, who I met on Insta. We bonded while sharing theories about the Haunted Mansion, which is… Well, it used to be my favorite ride in the park. It still is, I guess, but I can’t go on it anymore.

“It took me long enough to get here, but this is the part of my story that should interest you. The reason I like the Haunted Mansion is because it reminds me of my mother, who passed away from a heart attack while I was living in New York. It was very sudden, completely out of the blue, and I never got to say good-bye. I never cared about the Haunted Mansion when I was in high school – we all thought it was cringe for some silly teenage reason that probably involved how awkward it would be if we were in the dark with each other. It wasn’t until I visited the park again as an adult that I finally went on the ride. When I did, I had this sudden flashback to a childhood memory.

“I must have gone to Disneyland with my parents when I was young, because standing in the dark and listening to the music made me recall being on the ride with my mother. This was during the lead-up, before you get in the Doom Buggies and begin the ride proper. I remember being absolutely terrified by what I thought was an endless maze. I felt like that line, after it entered the building, lasted forever. Kids can be like that sometimes, but my memory of this is crystal clear – the corridor genuinely didn’t end. I felt like there were people all around us, there had to be, but somehow it was just me and my mother, alone in the darkness.

“And then I remember that this terrible thing appeared out of nowhere. I’m not sure how to describe it. It definitely wasn’t a person in a costume, but it was too realistic to be the projection of a cartoon, and it was talking to us in voice that sounded like laughter and crying at the same time. Like it was hurt, but it found its pain amusing. Meanwhile, the walls kept stretching, and as they got taller I started to see awful things in the gaps between the ceiling and the floor.

“My mother held my hand the whole time. She kept whispering to me: ‘It’s going to be okay. You are brave, and you are strong. Nothing in here can hurt you.’ Just that, over and over, until the ride was over.

“When we finally got out, I ran straight to my dad, who knelt down on the pavement on the other side of the gate and hugged me. He and my mother both patted my back as I cried. I was so relieved to be outside again that my tears wouldn’t stop.

“My dad seemed confused by how afraid I was. This didn’t occur to me until I started thinking about it much later, but isn’t it strange that he didn’t understand why a young child would be frightened by a scary ride?

“I moved back to LA almost immediately after my mom’s funeral, but Dad became a little distant with me. We were both grieving, and it must have seemed callous to him that I was posting shots of myself at Disneyland on social media right after Mom died. Really I just needed a break from the move, from my job, from mourning, from everything – and I guess a part of me felt like my mother would never die as long as I kept returning to that memory of her holding my hand in the Haunted Mansion.

“My dad eventually moved on and married a younger woman. She would probably be my evil stepmother if my life were a Disney movie, but she’s actually a princess, and I adore her. I spend more time with her than I do with my dad these days, but I’m trying to do better. I thought I could reconnect with him if I took him along with me on a visit to the park, but he turned down my invitation. He told me he enjoyed my photos, but that he had never been to Disneyland and had no interest in going. Too many screaming children, he said.

“That was a surprise to me, so I told him about my memory of the Haunted Mansion. While I was talking, his face went completely pale. I don’t mean that as a figure of speech – it was like all the blood had been drained from his skin.

“He insisted that he had never been to Disneyland with me and my mother, but then he told me something strange. When I was about five years old, we went to visit his family in Seattle. My grandfather had just taken on management of a property in Capitol Hill, one of the old Gothic Revival mansions that used to be common there before the neighborhood gentrified. It was an old house, almost as old as the city itself, but my grandfather was having trouble finding potential buyers. The property had been designed by the student of a famous British architect by the name of Robert Smirke, and he wanted my mother to come take a look. Do a walkthrough, point out any potential areas of interest and value, that sort of thing.

“According to my father, my mother had a bad experience in that house. She refused to talk about it with him or anyone else, and she never went back to Seattle. She took me along with her on her tour of the property, and I was apparently just as upset as she was when we came out, even though my dad says we spent less than ten minutes inside. If I thought this place was the Haunted Mansion, and if the ride at Disneyland evoked such a strong memory, it makes me wonder – what did we see in that house?

“I checked with my grandfather, and he said the property never did find a buyer. The only person who seemed seriously interested was a British woman by the name of Gertrude Robinson. Shortly after she made inquiries, the place burned down. Imagine my surprise when I ran a search and learned that this Gertrude Robinson was employed by an institute dedicated to paranormal research.

“So,” Ted concluded, meeting Jon’s eyes, “I gave you my statement. I hope it will be useful to you. I was wondering what you could tell me in return.”

“Not much, I’m afraid. As you can see, we’re still in the process of organizing our records. We’ll investigate to the best of our abilities and contact you if we learn anything.”

“I would love that, thank you. Well, you have my information so…”

“We’ll be in touch. I believe I see my assistant Melanie hovering around. She used to have a large following on social media herself. I’m sure she’d be happy to show you outside.”

“So you’re from LA,” Jon heard Melanie say as she held the door open. Ted directed his dazzling smile at her, which she returned before allowing the door to slam shut behind them.

“Statement ends,” Jon muttered as listened to their conversation growing fainter. He ended the recording and leaned back in his chair.

“Any thoughts you’d like to share, Martin?”

“Oh, I, um,” Martin stammered. “I didn’t want to interrupt the, you know. The statement.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he emerged from between the shelves.

“It’s fine, Martin. It was a relief. To know that you were listening.”

“I’m sorry, I… What? It was?”

“I’ve never been good with people like that.”

“People like… Wait, excuse me?”

“People who are so…” Jon made a vague gesture to illustrate his point. “Sunny. Bright. Content. When someone comes here to make a statement, they’re usually upset.”

“Ah, right. I can see what you mean. But he looks like he just got back from a trip to the happiest place on earth.”

“The happiest place on earth?”

“You know, Disneyland Paris.”

“Disneyland Paris? They finished construction?”

“A few decades ago, actually.”

Jon sympathized with Ted Nakamura’s father. Between the crowds and the relentless sunshine, he couldn’t imagine a more ghastly location, and by this point he considered himself something of an expert on cursed geography.

“I don’t suppose we’ll have to go there ourselves to investigate,” he said, making an attempt to smile. He failed. His muscles were still tense from the process of taking a statement, and his face felt frozen.

“Really? You… want to go to Disneyland Paris? I suppose I could come too, I mean, if it’s not…”

Jon was alarmed by how red Martin’s face was becoming. Did Martin want to go to a theme park? Jon didn’t know much about Disneyland – or Paris, for that matter – but his childhood had been unusual, to say the least. He’d never asked, but Martin’s family couldn’t have been much if he had nowhere to sleep but down here in the archives. Perhaps he could use a vacation. Perhaps they both could.

Jon turned to face his assistant. “Martin, I…”

“Did someone say Disneyland Paris?”

Jon frowned. “Does this conversation interest you, Elias?”

“I heard you were planning a trip. You really must go sometime. It’s fantastic, quite the experience. I went myself, back in 1996.”

Elias made a quick series of taps on the screen of his phone before holding it out in front of him. Jon and Martin leaned forward to get a better look.

In the photo, Elias was posing next to someone wearing a Mickey Mouse costume. He wore an aloha shirt over denim shorts, and he was grinning from ear to ear. The camera had caught him in the act of pulling a tall man with a square jaw and a severe expression into the frame. The image quality was poor, but the man seemed far too pale for the summer sunshine.

Jon’s frown deepened. “And that is…?”

“Oh, this is Peter. You’ll meet him soon enough, I’m sure.”

“Do you, um. Do you go to Disneyland often, then?” Martin asked.

“Just the once. Peter lost a bet, you see.”

“Right.” Jon couldn’t put his finger on it, but he had a bad feeling about this.

“I wouldn’t mind going back. We could all go together, make an office party of it. It would be fun. You do know what fun is, don’t you, Archivist?”

Martin’s eyes darted between Elias and Jon. “I don’t think it’s safe to…”

“Come now,” Elias interrupted. “Would you have any reason not to?”

“China.”

“Excuse me?”

“China. I need to follow up on a statement, something Gertrude was looking into before she traveled to New Zealand.”

“Excellent. I’m glad that’s settled. I’ll leave you to your preparations, then.”

“Damn it.” Jon clenched his fists on the table as Elias left. A trap had been set, and he’d walked right into it.

“Don’t feel bad,” Martin said, oddly perceptive. After everything they’d been through, Jon was coming to appreciate that about him. “At least we know that Elias is still human. He likes Disneyland, after all.”

Jon wasn’t convinced that a fondness for theme parks qualified someone as being ‘human,’ but what would he know? He had to admit that Elias was right about one thing – it would do him good to get out of the archives.

“Are you really going to China, then?”

“I suppose I am.” Jon removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead.

“I’ve always wanted to go someplace like that, somewhere far away,” Martin said, his eyes darting to the tape recorder on the table. “I’d like to hear about it. If you don’t… If you don’t mind, of course. Maybe I could, I mean, we could go out for a coffee together. After you get back.”

“All right,” Jon replied, replacing his glasses. That would be rather nice, actually. “After I get back.”

[toomanysurveys9]

Does anyone know your bank pin number other than you? Who?

Probably not.

Have you ever had a boyfriend/girlfriend who was depressed?

That’s usually my job. -insert eye roll-

Would you be able to climb out your bedroom window to sneak out?

I wouldn’t need to since I’m an adult, but probably not. I would need a ladder anyways to do it.

What would you do if you found out the last person you called was pregnant/got someone pregnant?

I don’t know who I last called even was.

Can you taste the difference between brand name food and store brand food?

Some things, yes.

Would you be embarrassed to buy pads/tampons/condoms? Which one more?

I used to be embarrassed to buy all of them. Now I just turn a little red when I am buying condoms.

If a stranger went in your bedroom, would they be able to tell what gender you are from just looking at it?

I doubt it. Since there are 4 people basically living in it.

Are your parents gullible?

My mom might be to some degree. She tends to read things on facebook and believe it too easily.

Do you still own a VCR?

My mom would like to buy one since we have a million VHS tapes, but no.

About how much money have you spent on food in the past two weeks?

Uh, like $55 or something.

If you were in a car accident would the last person you kissed care?

I would hope so since we’re married.

If you were looking for a new pair of shoes where would you go?

Probably Walmart. They’re cheap.

How much was the last pair of shoes you bought?

It was Converse, so more than I usually spend on myself.

What color is the computer/laptop you’re on? Did you buy it yourself?

Black, and no. My parents bought it for me right before I graduated college because the one I bought myself right after I graduated high school wasn’t holding up anymore.

Do you have a second home?

I do not.

Would you be surprised if you saw the last person you texted smoking?

Kind of, yeah.

Does the smell of cigarettes, weed and beer repulse you?

I don’t really enjoy the smell of any of those things, but especially cigarettes.

Was the last person you kissed younger or older than you?

He is younger by a whole 22 days.

Do you think people have any misconceptions about you?

Oh, I am sure they do.

Have you ever purchased Girl Scout cookies?

I have, but not usually for me. I don’t really care for them.

Do you like waffles?

Sure. I don’t eat them often though. 

Do you watch birthing videos on a day-to-day basis?

No. I used to watch birth vlogs on youtube when I was pregnant with Wyatt, but those don’t show everything. Just labor and then baby after, usually when they’ve been cleaned up a bit.

Do you find piercings/tattoos attractive?

Depends on the person, but sure.

Would you talk to someone you don’t know on the internet?

I have several times. 

How often do you drink Monster?

Pretty much never these days.

Have you ever made totally pointless videos with your friends?

When I was younger, I did that a lot.

Do you like to buy those Warped Tour compilations?

No idea what those are.

Do you like sitting on the inside or outside of a restaurant booth?

I prefer the inside. But I’m almost always put on the outside so I can feed my babies, or assist them in feeding themselves. Because Jacob evidently can’t.

Do you own a nightgown?

I do not.

Have you ever made a house out of a giant cardboard box?

Kind of, yes.

Have you ever made a tent out of sheets in your bedroom?

Ohh yes. Many times.

Do your grandparents know how to operate a cell phone?

My grandpa on my dad’s side does not. My grandma on my dad’s side can barely. It’s interesting to see her comments on Facebook. My grandpa on my mom’s side can’t really. My biologically grandma on my mom’s side passed away, but she could handle a basic phone well. I’m sure she’d love the phones now. My grandpa’s girlfriend, who’s like a grandma, does really well with her phone.

Have you ever had sex or something like it?

I have two kids. What do you think?

Have you ever read a George Orwell book?

I don’t think so.

Have you ever worn fishnets?

Yeah. For Halloween.

How many piercings and tattoos do you have?

I don’t know what piercings are still open. I have 3 tattoos. I want more tattoos.

Is someone in your family affected by Asperger’s?

One of Jacob’s cousins.

In a hotel do you always nose through all the drawers and cupboards?

Not anymore.

Would you rather go out to eat or be eaten out?

Go out to eat. I’ve missed going out to eat, and I’m too tired to deal with having sex.

Do you always wear your seat belt?

Probably about 98% of the time.

Have you ever liked someone much older than you?

Celebrities.

Have you ever been in a play?

I was in a musical in middle school.

Do you have any secrets that nobody knows about?

Probably.

Is there ice cream in your freezer?

There is, actually.

Have you ever started to laugh but played it off as a cough successfully?

I’m sure I have.

Have you ever liked the lyrics of a band but hated the music?

Yup.

Does your bathroom have a window?

Unfortunately. I hate it.

Do you go somewhere to get your eyebrows done?

I do not.

When you were younger did you read the A Series Of Unfortunate Events books?

Some of them. I never finished the series though.

Who was the last band you saw live?

Does Ed Sheeran count?

Do you believe prayer really works?

I do not. 

Are you a fan of the band Gym Class Heroes?

I liked a couple songs.

Frosted flakes or frosted mini wheats?

Lately, Frosted Flakes. 

Have you been on a date in the park?

I guess so, sure.

Ever dated someone you were best friends with first?

Not best friends. But we were friends.

Are there any diseases/health problems that run in your family?

Yup.

Do you have asthma?

I do.

Are tongue piercings slutty?

Of course not. 

Is there anybody you think is hot over the age of 40?

Jensen Ackles. Misha Collins.

Last person to take off your pants, besides you?

Probably Jacob.

Do you remember those cool highlighters that smelled like popcorn?

I do not.

Might you enjoy hanging out in the woods for day or two?

Eh. Maybe if we’re camping.

Have you ever written something on a bathroom stall?

I have not.

Least favorite alcoholic drink?

Jager.

Have you ever kissed someone named Paul or Luke?

I have not.

How did you meet the last male you texted?

Middle school. He used to sit on my lap and eat my lunches.

Have you ever had an embarrassing email address?

I guess so.

Do you put shampoo in your left or right hand?

Left.

Do you have a bull ring through your nose?

I do not.

Do you and your dad get along?

We do. Might not be as close as I am to my mom, but we get along well. I’m a lot like him in a lot of ways.

Can you see your purse right now?

I don’t carry a purse. 

Are you wearing any perfume? What kind?

I am not.

Are there products in your hair?

Nope. Unless you count the remnants of the Splat hair dye.

When you get colds, do you use nasal spray to help get your nose unstuffy?

Not usually.

Do you actually like sneezing?

I hate it.

Have you taken a shower yet today?

No. I did Sunday. And I will probably take another in the morning before work.

Do you have one best friend who is always there for you?

I guess.

Do you wear skirts a lot?

I do not.

Do you wear sweatpants a lot?

Not really. I wear leggings pretty often.

How many pairs of jeans do you think you have?

Maybe four.

Do you like hoodies?

Looove them.

Big ones or the form fitting kind?

Big ones. The bigger and comfier, the better.

Do you wear polo shirts a lot?

I do not. Ever.

Did you ever actually have a rubber duck?

I think so.

Are you one of those people who claim to live with no regrets?

No. I definitely have regrets.

Do you love your computer?

I like it. It works for my purposes.

Do you drink coffee?

Every now and then.

Do you basically like all of your clothes?

I mean. For the most part, sure.

Do you shop mostly with your parents, your friends, or by yourself?

By myself or with my mom.

[glamrockmonarch]

Summer Lovin’ - Ben Hardy Fluff

Request: Hey I sent a request a few weeks ago I just wondered if you received it? It was about Ben taking the reader in cute ass date (go carting or something really fun) and to an American diner like something out if grease and he keeps hold of her hand all day and is super attentive and sweet. (Thank you @littlehopelessdreamer47 for this request because it is so cute I needed it! And I’m so sorry it comes so late :S)

A/N: It’s a bit longer than I anticipated... but I think it’s cute af so proceed!.

Ben pulled his red jacket on and turned around in time for you to come back from your room with your bag and denim jacket in your arm, not quite certain that you would need it for that day’s date.

You smiled at the sight of your blonde boyfriend, he looked handsome as ever with his casual outfit and hair combed to the back and to the side as he finally let it grow out after having wrapped shooting for his last film. He also had the appearance of a kid who was about to follow his mother into the playground across the street.

Of course, you were still not sure what the two of you were doing this day, he had basically called the night before and asked to see you in the morning. He arrived early and you were still in the shower so he had to chat with your roommate for a while before you were ready to go out with your hair pushed back by a ribbon, curled at the ends in what you would call record time. You felt cute in your white summer dress and sandals, hoping for a sunny day in London was a lot, but up until now, it had been worth the morning prayers to Apollo.

“Are you excited?” You inquired as you came up to him, being received by his strong open arms. “What do you know that I don’t?”

Ben pursed his lips and his pointy chin looked more prominent but a side smile cracked his expression and he chuckled as he leant down to capture your lips in a tender kiss.

“Can’t a man treat his girlfriend from time to time?” He said in a soft playful voice, his hands squeezing your sides as he looked up from your pink lips to your e/c eyes. “I missed you so much these past months… next time you have to come with me!”

You rolled your eyes at his comment. You admitted to him a good month into shooting that you missed him like hell, his remedy had been to get Joe to send you a cardboard cutout of himself. Yeah, Joe did and jokingly he also added that you should update Ben via IG about your adventures with this little “gift”. For months you had been feeling like a child, thankfully distracted by the task at hand: placing Cardboard Ben on benches, sitting him on the London underground, taking him to a night out at the club and making it look like he was drinking with you, getting on the London Eye with him when Rami was in town so you and Lucy took him on the cheesiest tour around town to visit the classic tourist attractions (although he had already seen half of them).

“I have a job to do over here, you know?” You laughed and put your hands around his elbows, looking deep into his green eyes. “Maybe next time we could get on the same project…”

Ben let out a laugh and took a step back, going for the door as he blabbered about not liking musical theatre.

You were glad to follow him, Ben pulled you behind him by holding your hand in his. The two of you made your ways downstairs and left the apartment building to find an oddly warm day developing outside.

“I really don’t get it, you have such a lovely voice!” You complained as you started walking towards the stairs leading to the underground.

“Everybody knows you’re the voice in this relationship Y/N. Don’t try to change it!” He warned you, walking side by side now.

A smile spread across your face and you pulled his arm closer to your side as you leant onto his side. Ben pulled his arm out from your grasp and wrapped it around your shoulders, pulling you closer.

“Alright, where are we going?”

You looked at your boyfriend once you went down the stairs leading to the underground, feeling a sudden chill run down your spine as you left the warmth of the sunshine behind in favour of the shadow provided by the ceiling.

“Well, you will see!”

And oh, boy did you see! Ben took you on a long ride through the underground, changing at a few stations and making a run for it once when you thought you would be left behind by the crowded car. You finally made it before noon and you could not stop laughing at Ben when he pulled you inside a large building where you then found out you were going to be driving go-Karts.

“Ben no!” You laughed, following him to the desk at the front as he greeted the person in charge.

“Ben yes!” He turned his head back at you and beamed with joy.

The blonde had made a call the day before and clearly, the people at the establishment were expecting you. He had to agree to take a picture with one of the young girls working there and as you were showed some helmets he answered some of the girl’s most pressing questions about what it had been for him working so close to Roger Taylor.

“Are you ready to lose?” Ben wondered, picking out a dark blue helmet for himself.

You put the bright yellow one you picked out for yourself against your hip and stuck your tongue out at him.

“Hell no! You’re going down Hardy!” You pulled your bag’s strap off your shoulder and shoved the bag onto his chest, starting to walk towards the karts parked on the side of the large track.

“Hey, not fair!” Ben called back, looking down at your bag and wondering what to do with it as his instinct told him to run behind you.

It was a long day at the track for the two of you. At first, you were taught the basics about the karts, they were absolutely not for children, these small cars would not go as fast as a formula 1 car, but they could run quite fast. You were told to change gears and look out for the breaks as you should not go too fast once you were in the curves. Between jokes and laughter, you and Ben had a slow first lap around the track.

The everlasting joke throughout the day was that Ben had chipmunk cheeks with the helmet on. It was hilarious and distracting, you would not admit: he looked cute.

Although you would have loved to spend more time there, you had to leave at some point and after goofing around the track and having a couple of races your stomachs begged for attention.

“I cannot believe it, I must have hit the brakes or something…”

Ben made up excuses as to why you had won on the last race. Both of your faces were still marked with lines from the cushions inside the helmets.

“Suck it up, you’re a big boy!” You poked his ribs with a smile and watched him laugh at the tickling. “I’m hungry.”

Ben took a jab at you, “suck it up, big girl!”

Narrowing your eyes at him you put out your bottom lip, feeling honestly disappointed in him for not agreeing with you that he was hungry too.  

He mended it a second later when he pulled you through the street and said he knew just the perfect place to go eat.

You walked along and had a laugh while listening to your boyfriend talk about his new friends from his last project. It seemed he had had a great time and this always lifted your spirit: knowing he was happy and living his life on a positive note, enjoying his time working as much as his time between projects.

You were asked by the blonde about your own gig, while he was away you prepared to appear on the West End production of Les Mis as Eponine (at last!), which was a big accomplishment since landing the role of “whore number 2” was your usual best when auditioning for the production in past seasons, but on this one...yeah, on this one you had worked your ass - or better put: your vocal chords with your vocal coach during the break to help you improve your technique and support higher notes with as much power as you usually could. The role of Eponine was in the bag, your coach said it himself, and when Ben got the news from you he was so proud he could not help but brag about your talents with his cast members in the midst of shooting.

Ben heard everything about your first rehearsal and how you were bored out of your mind when you had to give the book by Victor Hugo a read (again) in order to get a better understanding of your role on the play.

Once you started talking about the other cast members you reached a large building with wide windows around the front. A snort escaped you and Ben turned his face to grin at you.

“Care to come?” He extended his arm and opened one of the double doors for you, allowing you in as you rolled your eyes and twisted your tongue inside your mouth with great amusement. “I thought you’d like it here.”

Ben’s sweetness had been evident all day, he had been the most thoughtful man! His hands gripped on your waist as you walked in front of him, and he followed with a happiness that he could only ever achieve while being with you, his best friend, confidant, and not least importantly: lover. It bothered him sometimes that other men stared at you, or even went as much as to stare you up and down while he was around, so he made sure you were secured in his arms at most times.

“You’re tickling me!” You complained about a playful tone to your voice. “I like this booth, come on!”

Ben sat across from you and the two of you smiled at each other without saying a word for a moment. The place was decorated in a retro style like an American diner brought back from the ’20s. The black and white tiles on the floor, the thick frames all over the walls… it all seemed casual and relaxed, you did not need more than a second to love the place, although it was a bit far from where you lived.

“Love, I can’t live like this anymore,” Ben shook his head with a line forming between his brows, suddenly you felt your heart drop.

“What?”

“You are thirty minutes away from me when you should be at arm's length -at most!” He complained.

You processed his words so slowly you could almost hear the dial-up sound coming from your head.

Ben held your hands in his, smiling.

“Just move in with me already?” He cocked a brow, pleading with his eyes.

You looked at the menu on the side of the table and pouted.

“Maybe if you help me finish a large order of fries and…” you paused for dramatic effect as you cocked a brow at him, “a milkshake.”

Ben bit his lip and stared at you before re-adjusting himself on his seat and nodding.

“I’d finish a half-pound burger for you, but if that’ll do?” He looked away in search of a waitress and put his arm out to call her to your table, “it’s game on!”

“Actually...I want to add the half-pounder pretty boy, see how you handle that.” You played along.

Ben winked at you, of course, it was not the best meal to keep Ben’s “Angel” body, his coach would kill him when he found out Ben had eaten this kind of food, but God Bless him...he deserved a treat and what was the point of coming to such a nice place if you were going to get a water and a salad?

Tuning out Ben’s conversation with the waitress you only managed to catch him asking for two straws on your milkshake and a glass of water for each.

“This place is wonderful, Lucy had us all come here for her birthday, you’re gonna love their cake and -”

“Hey, Ben?” You nodded at his words but wanted to tell him something real quick. He stopped talking and hummed as a positive response. “you know I will move in with you, right?”

“Of course, I know!” Ben shrugged with a look of cockiness. “Cause you love me. ANNND, I’ve got you wrapped around my finger!” He made a gesture with his hand, rolling his index in the air with a smug grin.

“Oh!” You rolled your eyes, “no, no, no, no! Don’t get it twisted Hardy!” You shook your head and leaned forward and halfway across the table, “I am the one accepting this deal!”

Ben huffed and turned his head to the side, looking around for a second before he licked his lips and leaned across the table too.

“But I am the one punching way above my weight!” He stared you in the eyes. “I mean look at yourself! I’m dating freaking Eponine? What’s next, the Witch of the West?”

You pouted to try and hide your smile.

“I am the one sitting over here with the unofficially adopted son of a rock legend.” You argued, “besides, your career is taking off! I am shocked you even speak to me still…” You put a hand on your chest over your heart.

Ben let out air through his lips and rolled his eyes.

“Drama queen.” He muttered.

“Takes one to know one.” You said equally low.

The two of you gave each other serious stares for a moment before you leant forward and delivered a peck to the tip of his nose.

“Love ya.” You mumbled, Ben’s hand cupped your cheek in an instant ready to put an actual kiss on your lips, although he knew it would only leave him wanting more. Much more.

“Ditto.”

[aliferous-ly]

Forgot

WOW I TOTALLY DIDNT FORGET ABOUT SECRET SANTA AHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA ME??? FORGET??? NEVER

Summary: “Logan, meanwhile, was struggling to suppress the growing panic in his chest. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Logan chastised himself, rubbing his gloves together, breaths making little puffs of white in the cold air. What would still be open? Walmart? Probably? For those as irresponsible and foolish as he?” 

Words: 3866 bc i’m uncontrollable

Genre: fluff??? idk my man

Pairing: there’s no explicit romance. logicality if you squint but its like, heavy platonic shipping ig? i’m a mess forgive me

warnings: uhh ghosts implications, there’s a cancer mention, self deprecation, i think that’s it?? if there’s something else let me know!!

tags: @sassy-in-glasses @rose-gold-roman @justanotherpurplebutterfly @echomist13

THIS IS FOR @kaana-the-ace-witch idk who else to tag for the secret santa thing but UR THE MOST IMPORTANT GOTTA MAKE SURE U SEE THIS

Logan wasn’t a forgetful person. He kept a very specific itinerary, thank you very much, and it was color coded (no, it wasn’t a bullet journal, Roman) for easy reading. Really, nothing could go wrong, if he followed the schedule.

But when Virgil said, “Oh, hey, we’re going over to Pat and Ro’s room for Christmas tomorrow morning, Pat said they’re putting together a huge breakfast,” at eleven thirty pm on December twenty-fourth, Logan felt like a bucket of ice water dumped down his back and trickled through his veins.

“O-oh, alright,” Logan said, like his world hadn’t just fallen apart at the seams.

“You good?” Virgil asked, eyes flicking from the TV displaying Uncharted IV to Logan’s face.

“Peachy,” Logan said. He abruptly stood. “I’m going to turn in. Goodnight.”

“Um, okay, Logan–” Virgil paused the game to face him fully. “Are you sure you’re okay–”

Virgil blinked at the empty room, eyes narrowing. Had he just seen the front door closing, or was that just his imagination?

The sounds from the television drew him back to the screen and Virgil settled back down. If something horrible was going on, Logan would give him at least some sort of warning. Maybe he just forgot sleep existed, and being reminded of the next day’s activities sparked that well-known responsibility.

Virgil shrugged, ate some chips, and unpaused the game.

Logan, meanwhile, was struggling to suppress the growing panic in his chest. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Logan chastised himself, rubbing his gloves together, breaths making little puffs of white in the cold air. What would still be open? Walmart? Probably? For those as irresponsible and foolish as he?

Logan couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t believe himself. How could he forget – no, how could he neglect to receive any form of gift for the gift-giving season? Hell, he gave Virgil a Hanukkah gift on the first and last day, with Patton and Roman filling the days in between.

Not a single gift. Not for Roman, not for Virgil, and most importantly, not for Patton.

Undoubtedly Patton had gotten him the best, most thoughtful gift he could think of. What if he spent hours and hours focusing on his gift, only to be presented with a last-minute dump of a present? Logan could hardly live with himself. He simply couldn’t believe...

Walmart wouldn’t have a decent gift. It would be picked clean. Could he buy something of worth before tomorrow?

Maybe he had something at his parents house? But that was three hours away, he would get little to no sleep on a gamble. He couldn’t call Roman, he would tell Patton – they lived together, after all – and if he didn’t intentionally tell him, Patton would figure it out – he was much smarter than he let on. Plus, Roman would just have to be overly dramatic – “I can’t believe you forgot to gift the most wonderful human being, me, with a present! The audacity!”

He couldn’t tell Virgil, Virgil was... Virgil. Virgil didn’t need any added stress in his life, he’d finally relaxed, and Logan knew how empathetic Virgil was. Virgil would definitely get himself all wrapped up in Logan’s issues and ramp up his own stress in the process. Logan couldn’t – wouldn’t – do that to him.

And obviously Logan couldn’t tell Patton. Never. Logan was well aware of his shortcomings as a friend, and expressing love was definitely fell into the “needs work” category. Patton... Patton was the best friend anyone could ever have, and Logan couldn’t stomach presenting his failures to Patton, let alone deal with his “it’s okay, Logan. No, really, don’t worry about it!” Mostly because Logan wanted to be a good friend, he wanted to be the best friend anyone could ever have but it was so hard, none of it came naturally to him.

Logan walked through the park to reach downtown, but paused when a figure slide across the pond, the metal of their skates glinting in the moonlight. They slid over to the edge of the pond, mere feet from where Logan had paused.

“Whatcha doing out this late on Christmas Eve?” they asked, their voice gravely but soothing.

“Finding a gift,” Logan said, the words falling unbidden from his lips. He shoved his hands further into his pockets, fighting the urge to defend himself with I swear I love them, I’m just foolish, please don’t think I’m some deadbeat...

“Ah. Forget?” they said, eyes shining with the reflection of the snow. Logan supposed their eyes must be a lighter color, maybe blue or green. Wrinkles lined their cheeks, or what Logan could see of them. “Or did someone finally convince you?”

Logan scrunched up his nose. “I forgot. I have no idea what to get them.”

“More than one person?” they asked.

“Yeah,” Logan released a puff of air, frustrated. “I can’t think of anything for any of them. It’s too late.”

“It’s never too late,” they said. Their skates touched the snow and they walked, gait smooth despite the blades on their feet, and approached a bench.

“What about you?” Logan asked. “What are you doing out so late?”

“It was a tradition of my daughter and mine to ice skate on the Eve,” they said, lowing themselves onto the bench with an oof. They patted the spot next to them. “Humor an old man for a few minutes?”

Logan nodded once, twice, and then delicately sat next to him. The man sighed. “She was gorgeous, my daughter. Hair was always chopped short, the sharpest eyes you’d ever seen.”

“What happened to her?” Logan asked.

“Cancer,” the old man said, smiling softly. “Hated wearing wigs, so she never did.”

There was a beat of silence, and Logan had no idea what to say. I’m sorry for your loss?

“What about your gifts?” the man asked. “Who did you forget?”

“My best friends,” Logan said, that twinge of frustration twisting in his gut. “All three of them.”

“Tell me about them,” the man said. “While I rest my old feet.”

“Okay,” Logan said, taking his hands out of his pockets to rub them together. “Um, one of them is as quiet as the night, and he’s insanely clever while being obscenely obtuse at the same time. He loves to write... and another is loud, loud as the sun and just as bright, and he doesn’t like to be called a nerd, but...” Logan’s lip twisted. “And then there’s... well. He’s like... he’s... inexplicable. He’s smart, so smart, but in every way I’m not. He could make friends with just about anyone, and he cares, so much, about everything.”

“Ah,” the man said softly. “They sound wonderful.”

“They are,” Logan said, the words landing woeful instead of wistful. “And I can never live up to that. I can never give the best gift...”

“Well, I might have a little something for the first friend of yours,” the old man said, fishing through his pocket. He pulled out a small colored pencil set, with five colors – red, yellow, blue, black, and white. “Of course, it doesn’t seem like much at first glance.”

“Oh, I... I can’t take this,” Logan said. “Um, it’s yours, and it looks... important.”

“Oh, everything has its own importance,” the man said.

“Also...” Logan frowned at his hands, not wanting to burst the man’s bubble. “I think Roman is getting him prismacolors for Christmas. It would pale in comparison.”

“Oh, but this isn’t any regular old pencil set,” the man said. “It’s magic.”

Logan snorted softly, holding the pencil set carefully. The cardboard was worn and didn’t seem to have any brand logo on it. They were obviously used but still had a good amount of lead left, and Logan couldn’t figure out why he loved them so much.

“Magic, hm?” Logan turned the pencil set over in his hand. “What’s so magic about–”

Logan blinked at thin air, lips parted. He tentatively reached out and touched the wood, furrowing his eyebrows and frowning.

Where...

He looked back at the pencil set in his hand and pocketed it, standing slowly. The world felt off-kilter, like he’d just woken up, and a street light flickered.

“Okay,” Logan murmured to himself. “Maybe you just blacked out and missed the goodbyes. That’s fine. That’s normal.”

He started walking down the path, fingers running over the small, angular box. Weird...

He almost tripped on something, catching himself just before hitting the hard concrete.

“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry!” a tinny voice cried out, a small girl appearing in his line of sight and picking up a wooden ball. She cradled it to her chest, curly brown hair framing her face.

“Uh, hello,” Logan said, rigid. He did not know how to handle kids. “Um, what’s your name?”

“My name?” the girl cocked her head. “What are you doing out so late?”

Winded, Logan took a breath. “What are you doing out so late?”

“Waiting for my Gran,” she said. “She’ll be here soon.”

“Okay,” Logan said uncertainly.

“She really loves me,” the girl continued. “I love her, too, but sometimes I feel like I’m invisible. Do you feel invisible sometimes? I do. It’s her birthday next week and I don’t know what to get her. What do you get your friends for their birthdays?”

“I... don’t know,” Logan said. “I’m trying to find Christmas gifts for them right now.”

“Right now?” the girl cocked her head to the side. “Okay. Can you find them?”

Logan shook his head. “Not very well.”

“What are they like?” the girl asked, expression open and vibrant.

“Um.” Logan cleared his throat, feeling an odd sense of deja vu. “One cares so much about everything but pretends he cares about nothing, another is passionate and vigorous, and he does everything all or nothing. The last is... he’s... he’s like a blanket, or the smell of baking cookies, and he’s so talented at so many things I don’t think I can live up, sometimes...”

Logan’s throat closed and he settled his gaze on the ground. Why... how... where did all that come from?

“Oh!” she said, delighted. “I have something for your second friend!”

“What?” Logan said, barely managing to get the word out before she shoved the ball into his hands. Smooth, round, with chipped red paint... it didn’t look like much.

“I can’t take this,” Logan protested. “This is yours!”

“But it’s magic,” she said sagely, voice whisper-quiet, lips stretched into a secretive grin. “Touch it, and all your wildest dreams come true!” She wiggled her fingers, making small explosion noises with her mouth.

“Um,” Logan twisted the ball in his hands. “Like a magic eight ball?”

“A magic eight ball?” she repeated. “What’s a magic – oh!” her eyes widened comically, gaze darting around her body. “Oh, oh!”

“What’s wrong?” Logan looked around him, searching for danger. “What’s...”

Logan froze. “Where’d...” he said into empty air, cold and sharp. “But...” he looked at the wooden ball, feeling the grooves and chips against his fingertips.

He pocketed the ball and slowly got to his feet, stretching his fingers and rolling his wrists. Everything seemed... off. Off in an indescribable way.

Okay, he told himself. Get to walmart, find something for your friends. Or... he ran his fingers over the pencil set, over the wooden sphere. For Patton...?

Logan shoved his hands deep into his pockets and continued on, keeping his gaze on the ground so he didn’t see any ice skating men or little girls with wooden toys. He had to keep staring at the path, get to walmart, maybe buy and obscene amount of candy to cover up his complete and utter incompetence.

“Hey!”

Logan flinched. He didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to see someone else, didn’t want to –

“Hey!” a rough hand pushed at his shoulder and he almost fell over, slipping on ice only for the same hand to catch his arm, whirl him around and spin him upright again.

Logan heaved a few breaths, eyes wide as he stared into golden brown eyes.

“What’s a guy gotta do to get someone’s attention, huh?” he said. He released his hold on Logan, crossing his arms and scrunching up his nose. He appeared the same age as Logan, maybe even younger, but...

“You’re in college, right?” he said, voice sharp and snarky.

“Yeah,” Logan said. “You?”

The guy shrugged. “Never made it out of highschool.”

Logan furrowed his eyebrows. “What...?”

He glanced at him, and unreadable expression in his face. “Why’re you out here, man? You look like you got friends. It’s like, midnight.”

“I forgot to get them gifts, so,” Logan shrugged. “I’m getting them some.”

“Wow,” he laughed, raucous and loud. “That’s awesome. Great. Fantastic. You sound like the most wonderful friend of all.”

“Yeah, I know,” Logan said. “I gotta get to it, so...”

“Wait,” he said, reaching out but drawing back at the last moment, fingers curling in. “I... kinda know what that’s like.” He scuffed at the ground. “Not knowing what to get friends, I mean. Or...” his face twisted. “Boyfriends.”

“Boyfriends?” Logan said, blinking.

“Hold onto them,” the boy said, glancing at him and trapping him in his gaze, eyes blazing like fire. “Hold onto your friends because one day you’ll disappear.”

“You mean they’ll disappear?” Logan said, leaning back.

“Y... yeah, of course,” he said, pulling away and leaning against a tree. “Sure.”

“Um, I’ll be...”

“Wait, just...” he sighed, looking far more dejected than any teenager had business being. “Tell me about them? I miss having friends.”

“Okay, well...” Logan almost denied his request but after seeing his downcast gaze, his frustrated scuffing, he relented. “One is... one is soft and sharp at the same time, one is angry and freakishly patient, and the last is... he’s, just, he’s clever and thoughtful, and he tries so so hard to help other people but he forgets to care for himself, too, and we forget to care for him sometimes...” Logan snapped his mouth shut. Why oh why did he always start to ramble about them?

The boy’s mouth flickered into a smile before he schooled it back into a scowl. “Yeah, okay. I think I got something for the last one.”

“What are you talking about?” Logan asked, reaching into his pockets in confusion. “I don’t want anything from you.”

“It never matters if you want anything, does it?” the boy said. “Not now, anyway. This is about them.”

“I... yeah,” Logan said. “But...”

“Okay, let’s just get this over with,” he sighed and reached into his sweatshirt pocket, pulling out a gilded bracelet. “This... yeah, whatever, you’ve heard it all, yadda yadda.”

“What?” Logan said, feeling winded.

The boy shoved the bracelet in his hands. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“I’m not, I’m just...” Logan looked down at the bracelet, a golden chain with small leaves hanging off like a mini flower crown. With... leaves instead of flowers. So not really a flower crown more of a leaf crown and Logan should really, really stop thinking.

“Thanks,” Logan said, looking up. He took a step back at the complete emptiness that greeted him, but he wasn’t completely surprised, either. Somehow he knew the teenage boy would disappear, just like the old man and the little girl.

“Thanks,” Logan said again, softer. He gently placed the bracelet with his other three gifts and turned around. Undoubtedly they would be disappointed with his gifts and would have that “thanks...” tone, of subtle disappointment, but Logan couldn’t bring himself to take a trip to some capitalist department store to grab some cheap gimmick.

They would be disappointed, but at least they wouldn’t be disappointed in a cheap car charger.

He trudged home, watching his step. He heard the giggle of a girl but saw nothing when he turned, and he noticed a figure moving across the pond but when he raced through the path to the edge there was nobody there. A scoff followed him home, and Logan carefully opened the door to his dorm, peaking to see if Virgil was still awake.

Bright lights spilled across the carpet, the intro screen to Uncharted IV dancing across Virgil’s face. Virgil, however, was dead asleep, mouth hanging open and light snores falling from his mouth.

Reaching down, Logan carefully picked him up and carried him to his room, gently setting him down on the mattress and pulling the comforter. Come morning, Logan would have to drag him out of bed, and Virgil would hang off of him until they got to Roman and Patton’s room, where he would promptly hang off of Roman for the better part of the morning.

But until then... Logan had some gifts to wrap.

—

“Okay, I know I sounded like, hella ungrateful when I opened those pencils, but they’re magical or some shit, I swear to god,” Virgil said the moment Logan opened the door.

Logan froze, halfway through taking off his coat and shoes. “Oh?”

“Yeah, like,” Virgil waved around the black pencil emphatically. “I always get the color I’m trying to blend! And I used to hate coloring with colored pencil because it’s not like acrylic paints where you can test the color before blending so I always hated using colored pencils but these work like god herself crafted them.”

“Um, I’m glad,” Logan said, a grin twitching onto his lips. “I’m... I’m really glad.”

“Yes, bless these freakish colored pencils,” Virgil said reverently. “Also, Roman called me, he’s looking for you.”

“Why didn’t he just call me?” Logan asked. Virgil gave him a look. “Right, okay, he didn’t just call about me. Thanks.”

“Sure,” Virgil said, chewing on the back of the red pencil.

Logan finagled his phone out of his pocket, dropping some books on the counter in the process, and called Roman. He picked up on the third ring.

“Logan, my favorite person in the entirety of the world!” Roman greeted him.

“What do you want?” Logan asked flatly, holding the phone up with his ear and flipping open his chemistry book.

“You wound me,” Roman declared. “Insinuating I only call when I need something, that’s cruel.”

“Mmhmm,” Logan said.

“I just... wanted to let you know, or, I mean,” Roman’s voice lost the exuberance and settled into something softer. “Thanks for that wooden ball thing. Like, I thought it was the lamest thing at first, because, a wooden ball, really? But every time I’m nervous for an audition, or I don’t think I’m going to pass a test, I just... wish on it, like you told me to, and it’s like all my hard work pays off. It’s weird and there’s probably no correlation but it happens too often to be normal so I thought I’d just... thank you.”

“Oh,” Logan said. His phone almost slipped from his shoulder but he caught it before it fell too far. “Um, that’s... that’s crazy. I mean–”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Roman said, voice slipping into ramble mode. “I mean, it’s crazy, right? It shouldn’t matter, because it’s a wooden sphere, like one I could buy at Hobby Lobby, and the paint is chipped in lots of places like my mom painted it when she was seven or something, and–”

“Roman,” Logan said.

“But it’s really very great,” Roman said softly. “Thank you. And sorry for being a jerk on Christmas.”

“You weren’t a jerk, Roman,” Logan said. “Trust me. I know when you’re being a jerk.”

“Okay,” Roman said, uncertainly.

“And, you’re welcome, I’m glad it’s working so well,” Logan said, flashing back to the little girl. Your wildest dreams will come true indeed.

“Oh, and Patton’s at Crimson Valley, you should go say hi,” Roman said. “He mentioned thanking you for his gift, too, but wanted to do it in person. Said it’s more authentic?”

“O-oh, okay,” Logan said. He sat still for a few solid moments. “I mean, I was going to start studying.”

“Dude, we don’t have school, what are you doing,” Roman said, words edged with disbelief.

“I’m behind on some stuff,” Logan said, running his hands through his hair. “And I don’t want to fall behind.”

“Do you want Patton to be alone at the cafe?” Roman asked, and they both knew Logan’s answer before Logan opened his mouth.

“Of course not,” Logan said. “I’ll be there in ten.”

“Yayy!!” Roman said. “I mean, I’m not going to be there, but Patton’ll be happy.”

“I’m sure,” Logan said, sighing. “Okay, talk to you later.”

“Bye!” Roman cheered. For what, Logan couldn’t say.

The phone clicked underneath his ear and Logan resigned himself.

“I’m going out,” Logan said.

“Again?” Virgil asked.

“Yup, Patton’s alone at a cafe,” Logan said. “Roman enlisted me to keep him company.”

“Sounds like Roman,” Virgil said. “Good luck.”

“Good luck?” Logan repeated. “I’m not going into war.”

Virgil turned towards him, shifting his whole body so he could give Logan another look.

Logan rolled his eyes, shrugging his coat on. “Fair point.”

“See ya.”

“Bye.”

Logan walked steadily to the cafe, and braced himself the moment he opened the door. When he wasn’t instantly barraged by an armful of Patton, he opened his eyes.

Patton, tucked into a corner of the cafe, was quiet.

Logan walked up to him and slid into the seat opposite him. “Hey.”

“Oh, hey!” Patton said, expression instantly shifting from pensive to happy. “How are you? I wasn’t expecting you here!”

“Roman told me to come,” Logan said, and then instantly regretted it. “Um. He said something about my christmas present...?”

“Oh, this!” Patton said, lifting up his wrist to display the glittering bracelet. “I... the weirdest thing happens when I touch it. I’m just overwhelmed with this... this affection and wonder for everything, especially my friends.” Patton stared him dead in the eye. “Especially for you.”

Heat rushed to his cheeks and Logan stared pointedly at the table.

“And it’s so magical, and wonderful, that I thought I’d let you know,” Patton said, smile gentle and soft.

Logan glanced up at him, ears hot, and noted the pink dusting on Patton’s cheeks.

“Um, you’re, you’re welcome,” Logan said, coughing.

“It’s so strange,” Patton said. “All of your gifts seem so simple, but they have such a large impact.” He held the bracelet up to the light and admired the way the gold glittered in the sun. “Where did you find them?”

Logan smiled. From an old man with nostalgia, a little girl with wishes, and a teenager with hopes.

“I found them on Christmas Eve,” Logan said instead, and when Patton turned to look at him, the light shone through the window and ignited the deep browns and golds of his irises.

Something crashed, and they looked to the left. A little girl frowned at a shattered cup but laughed when someone who looked like her grandfather gave her candy and promised her another cup. A teenager rocked on his chair, pressing his feet against the table and scowling.

Patton blinked at them and giggled before turning back to Logan.

“I’m glad you love it,” Logan murmured, touching the gold of the bracelet lightly.

Patton smiled, cheeks red, and Logan grinned right back.

[gamerwoo]

Wonwoo & Mingyu: Glitch

Characters: Wonwoo x female reader but also Mingyu x female reader

Genre/warnings: hacker au, angst, fluff somewhere in there, enemies to lovers, mentions of abuse, kidnapping, implied torture/abuse, mention of death a lot, depression, mention of separation anxiety, brief mention of alcoholism, and smut at the end (threesome, ig sub!reader???, oral [male and female receiving] double penetration, some praise sprinkled in]

Word count: 18,751

Summary: After your boyfriend goes missing and you can all only assume he’s dead, your boss assigns you a new partner. But considering you don’t want to get close to anybody again in fear of something going wrong again, living together is a lot easier said than done. However, you don’t get hurt the way you think you will.

a/n: wow my longest writing yet!!! shoutout to @neverknewgrey2016 for helping me with the fighting toward the end because i didn’t know how to end this bitch, and also shoutout to markiplier because i had him playing fnaf in the background while i wrote the smut lmao

Masterlist

Very few things in this world could bring you joy: hot cup noodles at 3am, honey butter chips that greased your fingers and your keyboard, warm blankets fresh from the dryer that draped over your shoulders while you worked, and the rare moments of free time where you could spend time with the one thing that made you the happiest.

Mingyu was the one who would cook you ramen at 3am when you hadn’t eaten yet, would keep the cupboards stocked with your favorite chips that he’d gotten you addicted to, and would toss your favorite fuzzy blankets in the dryer to keep you extra comfortable while you worked. He was your best friend, your partner in crime, and the only person you truly loved in this world. You would do anything for him, and he would do the same for you. Despite your dangerous jobs, you loved each other more than anything.

You met through work. You two were the hacker extraordinaires that the agency relied heavily on. That was how your little rivalry started. He’d hack you, you’d hack him back; it was almost a game, really. It started out with ddosing and deleting important files, but it quickly turned into changing wallpapers to memes and leaving dumb notes open for the other. You were always one to keep people at arm's length because your job could get you killed, but you found yourself looking forward to Mingyu’s dumb antics everyday.

Eventually, you just grew closer. Mingyu wanted to video chat out of nowhere -- he just called, he didn’t even ask -- and the first thing that came out of his mouth was, “Should I dress as a sexy maid for this next mission?”

“Uh...what?” you asked, his question causing your fingers to stop typing codes.

“I have to go out for a mission, and I have this sexy maid costume I never used,” he explained as if he was talking to a close friend. “It’s not something I got myself but since it was a gift, I figure I--”

You interrupted his babbling, “Why did you call me?”

“Because,” he sighed happily, holding up his phone for you to see the screen, “I found your info on the agency’s database and you looked cute.”

“I-- Why are you hacking into the agency’s database?”

“Because I wanted to know who I was messing with for the last three months.”

You wondered why you didn’t bother trying to look up Mingyu. You also wondered why the agency’s database was easy enough for one of their workers to hack into it -- then again, you and Mingyu were the top hackers and could hack pretty much anything.

But now that you were looking at who was supposed to be your rival to compete against, you realized...he was really cute. His shaggy brown hair, tanned skin that glowed, and his smile that was even brighter, you wondered how someone like him was a hacker and not some kind of model. Then again, you didn’t think you were awful looking, so…

You spoke with Mingyu for hours while you worked. Even when the two of you fell silent to work, it was comfortable having Mingyu there -- well, not physically but still. That was how your relationship grew until he was taking you on a date, moving in with you, and talking about your future together. Mingyu was the only thing in this world that you truly had an attachment to that you wanted to keep safe -- other than his friends, who quickly became your...acquaintances.

But Mingyu was the same way, which was why he did what he did.

For once, you were asleep in your bed beside Mingyu, clinging to his side to steal his warmth. You had been awake for three days straight, so Mingyu wasn’t surprised when you slept through the intruder alarm going off. The alarm had never gone off before since your security was so tight, but it was a good thing Mingyu installed the precaution anyway. It just made an annoying beep that wasn’t too loud to alert anybody else to you knowing there was a break-in, but it was just annoying enough to wake anybody who hadn’t pulled an all-nighter for the last 72 hours.

Mingyu climbed out of bed, making sure not to wake you as he grabbed his gun and checked the small monitors. Apparently the intruder was in the lounge where the front door opened to. He opened the door quietly and went out to go apprehend the intruder.

That was around the time you woke up. Mingyu yelled, there was a loud bang like somebody had fallen, and you immediately jolted up.

“Gyu?” you asked into the dark bedroom. Realising he wasn’t beside you, you got out of bed as quickly as you could, pressing the emergency button by the door as you exited the bedroom. “Gyu!”

But Mingyu was gone. And there were no traces of him or the intruder.

Various people from the agency arrived to investigate. They said that your push of the emergency button was the only one they got -- Mingyu never pressed it. You wondered why he wouldn’t press it if there was an intruder. You wondered how there was absolutely no trace of him. The place was so clean that even the best investigators couldn’t figure out who took him or how they broke in.

But you held out hope, along with his friends, for three months. They’d reassure you that Mingyu must be out there somewhere, fighting to get back to you. Everybody knew that Mingyu loved you more than he loved anything, and he would do anything to be with you.

“Are you sure you don’t want somebody to come stay with you?” Seungcheol offered. “It might make you feel less lonely.”

“Plus with somebody breaking in, it’s better for you to have more protection in case it happens again,” Minghao agreed.

“Ah, I heightened the security,” Soonyoung scoffed. “She’s safer than the Crown Jewels.”

“I’ll be fine,” you reassured them, though you weren’t smiling, and your heart still hurt over Mingyu. You weren’t really fine. “It would be...awkward having anybody else live with me.”

“Gyu thought it was awkward living with you at first too, and yet…” Hansol’s sentence trailed off with a chuckle. “You guys really were perfect for each other.”

“Dude, shut up!” Seungkwan scolded him.

You opened your mouth to speak when there was a knock at the door. Your head shot up, looking at the monitor only to see a masked figure dressed in all black leaving your front door. Immediately, your hand hit the emergency button, and you could hear the alarm going off in the back of the video call of a few of the agents you were speaking with.

“___?” Seungcheol sounded worried. “What happened?”

“Somebody showed up at the door, but they were dressed in all black and hiding their face,” you reported as you went to review the security tapes. “They left something on the doorstep.”

“Don’t touch it,” Joshua advised.

“Yeah, we’ll be there soon!” Jeonghan chimed in before he ended his call.

One by one, they ended their calls to get to you.

When the agents arrived, they scoped everything out before deeming this another cold case. Nobody knew where the person came from, where they had gone, or who they were. They even checked whatever the person left to see if it was safe, and after careful examination -- including seeing what was inside -- Jihoon gave you the small box.

“You… You’ll want this,” he mumbled, handing it over to you.

As the boys continued searching for clues through the security tapes, you lifted the small lid on the box. There, resting on the cardboard, was Mingyu’s promise ring. The ring that looked exactly like yours; the rings neither of you took off. They signified that one day, the two of you would get married and be happy without worries.

Giving you this ring was like giving you his dead body. You fell to your knees, unable to even touch the ring, like it would burn your skin. Your eyes welled with tears that you couldn’t contain, and a loud sob cut through the murmurs of the agents and the clicking of keys.

It was official. Mingyu was gone forever.

-

“___, did you sleep at all?” Seokmin wondered as he stared at the dark circles under your eyes. He knew that the camera didn’t show just how severe they were, but the sight still worried him. “You can’t keep staying awake for days on end just to pass out for a few days straight and then repeat.”

“I slept enough,” you shrugged before letting out a wide yawn. “Fuck, I need another energy drink.”

“You need sleep,” he sighed. “I know it’s only been two months but you need to take better care of yourself--”

“Or you’ll send someone to take care of me,” you groaned, sitting back from the computer and rubbing your face with your hands, “I know, I know. You sound like my parent, y’know.”

“Somebody has to since you clearly can’t function as a real adult,” he chuckled.

“Are any of us real adults?”

“Cheol, maybe. ...Not so much Hoshi, though.”

“He’s good with security, though,” you laughed softly, stretching your arms above your head and letting out a groan. “Hey, have you heard from the boss yet?”

“About what?” he questioned.

“I was approved to move but he had to pick the location,” you explained, spinning slowly in your computer chair. “I was hoping he would’ve told one of you to relay the message since he’s avoiding my calls and emails.”

“Why would he be avoiding you? Don’t tell me you scare the boss?”

“No, I think I annoy him more than scare him.”

Suddenly, your phone started ringing on your desk. You checked the ID and saw it was Seungcheol, so you told Seokmin to be quiet before answering the call.

“Hey, ___,” he began, though he sounded...uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” you asked, furrowing your brows together. “You don’t sound too good.”

“Because I think you’ll find this news to be not-too-good,” he chuckled nervously. “So uh...boss decided it’s best that instead of moving, he’ll give you a new partner to work with.”

“No,” you immediately replied, your mind already made up. “If I didn’t want any of you to live with me--”

“I know, ___, but that’s out of our hands. We just got a new guy in a few weeks ago, and boss thinks he’s about as good as you -- if not, better.”

“Better?!” you scoffed, rolling your eyes. “Please, nobody’s better than--”

You heard your front door open, causing you to pause your sentence abruptly. Seungcheol kept saying your name while Seokmin watched you curiously. He had heard the noise too.

“Do you want me to call somebody?” he offered.

“Is anybody home?” you heard a deep voice call out.

“Ah!” Seungcheol’s voice suddenly sounded brighter. “I guess Wonwoo’s found his way to your place!”

“Wonwoo?” you repeated.

“Wonwoo?” Seokmin repeated after you, looking confused. “Isn’t that the new hacker?”

“Helloooo?” the intruder apparently named Wonwoo repeated, holding out the last vowel.

You sighed, getting out of your chair and leaving Seokmin on his own, “Seungcheol, I’m gonna call you back.”

After hanging up on your friend, you left your room to go find this Wonwoo character. He was in the lounge, looking around with a duffel bag over his shoulder, and round glasses pushed up his nose. His sharp eyes landed on you when you appeared, but his expression stayed neutral.

“Oh, there you are,” he said as if he was playing a casual game of hide-n-seek. “You know, your system to keep out intruders is very complex.”

“Then how did you get through it?” you quizzed, crossing your arms over your chest.

He just shrugged, “I said it was complex, not impossible to get through.”

“You could’ve rang the bell like a normal person.”

“Considering how long it took you to emerge from your room to find what could’ve been an intruder, I can only imagine how long I’d be waiting outside for you.”

“Yes,” you nodded, turning your nose up at him, “because I didn’t agree to a roommate.”

“I’m not a roommate, I’m a housemate,” he corrected. “My name’s Wonwoo.”

“Do you tell every stranger your real name?” you sighed. “Don’t you have an alias?”

“Woo.”

You frowned, ‘Just like Agent Gyu.’

Wonwoo either didn’t take notice of your facial expression, or he didn’t care, “Do you have one?”

“Glitch.”

He chuckled with a snort, “Where’d you come up with that?”

“It was Agent Z, but...somebody gave me a new one,” you nodded, saying the last part softly.

Wonwoo nodded before he went back to scoping out the lounge. There were a few articles of clothing thrown around, a few empty soda cans, chip bags, and ramen noodle cups, and you weren’t sure when the last time you vacuumed was, but Wonwoo didn’t comment on any of it. Hey, he was a hacker too, there was no way he could always be clean.

“So…” he began slowly as he took careful steps further into the house as if he hadn’t hacked into your security system and technically -- no, he did -- break in, “where do I stay?”

“Away from me,” you replied, turning on your heels and starting back toward your room. “You can crash on the couch.”

“Where does my setup go?!” he called after you.

“Not my problem!”

-

You didn’t see Wonwoo for two days. You were holed up in your office doing work the entire time, and you lived off of the few snacks you had stored in there. But your friends knew when you ran out because your stomach would make loud noises that nobody could miss.

“___, you need to eat something,” Jeonghan had scolded.

You just shrugged and carried on with your work, ignoring Junhui’s comments about your dark circles. You knew you looked like a mess but you always invested so much into your work -- even more so after Mingyu died. Did they really think you’d suddenly change just because some guy had to move in with you?

But things did change. On the third day, there was a soft knock on the door. When you didn’t reply, the door opened slowly, light from the hallway streaming in and making you squint. Wonwoo walked in with a plate a sushi, setting it beside your keyboard. You stared at it like you’d never seen sushi before.

Truthfully, nobody had ever taken care of you, even if it was just bringing you food. Mingyu was the only person who ever made sure you ate. Other than that, it was completely up to you -- other than your friend berating you to eat something or catch some z’s. So your new housemate suddenly showing up with food was...weird.

“What...is this?” you wondered before you looked up at him.

He shrugged, “You haven’t been out of the room in three days and I didn’t know if you had anything to eat. I ordered some takeout and I figured you might want some. Do you like sushi?”

“You know there’s plenty of ramen, right?”

“Clearly, you live off of ramen, and that’s awful for you. I also noticed all those chips and--”

“Don’t touch the chips,” you snapped.

He held his hands up in surrender, chuckling, “I wasn’t planning on it. My point is, you can’t only eat ramen and chips. Just say thank you for the meal, and I’ll leave.”

“Why should I say thank you for something I didn’t ask for?”

Wonwoo let out a deep sigh, his glasses slipping slightly from his nose, “You’re stubborn, aren’t you?”

“Mmm,” you just hummed in reply, looking back at your computer screen.

He just shook his head and left the room, leaving you in the dark once again.

You didn’t touch your sushi.

-

“So what’s her deal?”

Your friends had brought in a nice welcome wagon for the new recruit, and they quickly became friends. Seungcheol had called to make sure he was settling in well, and of course, the conversation drifted to you. Wonwoo explained how you were cold toward him and had hidden away in your room for the last week. So far, your new housemate knew virtually nothing about you.

“Oh, uh,” Seungcheol scratched the back of his head, unsure how to explain your situation, “it’s...a long story.”

“Didn’t you say she had a housemate before me?” Wonwoo wondered as he did some side works on his computer. “How did they warm up to her?”

“Mingyu? Oh, well...I think he hacked the agency to look up her information.”

Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed together, glancing at the screen where Seungcheol’s face was, “Why would somebody do that? Didn’t he get in trouble?”

“Nobody even knew he did it!” Seungcheol laughed, remembering Mingyu bragging to him about it. “The two of them were the top hackers in the agency, and now it’s you two; that’s why the agency had you live with her. She was originally going to move away somewhere else.”

As Seungcheol spoke, Wonwoo’s fingers danced across the keyboard, interested in getting more information on you -- or at least whatever the agency had available. He knew it was an invasion of privacy, but he didn’t want to live with someone he was so distant with. He wanted to know more about you, and hopefully help you at least sort of tolerate him.

“Why was she going to move away?” Wonwoo wondered, his eyes scanning the screen as his fingers moved diligently.

“Well, if you’re doing what I think you’re doing, you’ll find out soon enough, won’t you?”

Quickly, Wonwoo found the files he was looking for. He scrolled down the names, noting a few of them as he scanned them. Choi “Coups” Seungcheol: active. Lee “Dino” Chan: active. Kwon “Hoshi” Soonyoung: active. Kim “Gyu” Mingyu: terminated.

Wonwoo stopped, his eyebrows pulling together as he clicked on the file.

“Who was Mingyu, and why was he terminated?” he questioned as he began to scan through the information. “Oh, was he Glitch’s roommate?”

“Yeah,” the older boy nodded solemnly, “but he’s why she was going to move.”

“Because he was fired? Oh wait...oh…”

Wonwoo got to the bottom of the page and read that he was deceased. It said the cause of death was unknown, but that he was kidnapped from his home -- the home that Wonwoo knew he shared with you.

“No wonder she wants to leave…” Wonwoo muttered as he continued his search.

“Yeah…” Seungcheol nodded. “Mingyu and her were inseparable.”

Wonwoo kept Mingyu’s profile up but went in search for yours next. He didn’t know what to look for since he didn’t know your name, but he knew he could at least find you based on your alias. But as he scanned all the files, he found nothing. Every name he didn’t recognize did not have the alias he was looking for. Kim “Kai” Jongin. Park “Chim” Jimin. Lee “Onew” Jinki. You just weren’t there.

But then he remembered what you had told him.

“It was Agent Z, but...somebody gave me a new one.”

Wonwoo went down the list again, softly clicking his tongue as he looked for the new alias. Sure enough, there it was: ___ “Z” ___: active.

“Cheol,” Wonwoo spoke up as he opened your information, “isn’t her name Glitch?”

Seungcheol shook his head, “Not officially.”

There wasn’t much information on you except your name, your address, your height, the year you were born, and a picture of you. Other than that, it said you currently weren’t deployed for an outside mission, and a few details about Mingyu’s kidnapping. It said you were in the house and asleep when it happened, that you knew nothing, and you weren’t a suspect. He also saw that it read, ‘priority,’ on your profile, which he assumed meant you were a valued hacker and were to be taken special care of. He only knew because he was added to that one-person list, so now it was the two of you.

But he at least had something to work with. He knew your name, that was good. That would have to suffice, at least for now. Although, he was a little curious about you and this Mingyu person, but Seungcheol had warned him prior to not say anything about your previous housemate. Maybe he could work up to it, though.

Wonwoo stretched, deciding he was hungry now, “I’ll be right back, Cheol. I’m gonna find some ramen or something.”

“‘Kay,” he replied as he continued to do whatever he was working on.

That was around the time you decided to emerge from your dark room to stock up on more food. You walked into the lounge, expecting to see Wonwoo working away since that’s where his desktop was now -- you only knew thanks to security cameras you accessed from your office. However, he was gone, but his work was still up.

You didn’t think much of it, simply glancing at his screen as you walked to the kitchen. But then something caught your eye: you. Your face was shown on the screen. So you walked over and sat down, scanning the page. He’d hacked the agency’s files to research about you. Your jaw clenched. He was doing exactly what Mingyu had done, and it had those memories flooding back into your head. You hated it because those happy memories only made you more upset.

You were about to look away to go chew out Wonwoo, but then it only got worse.

The familiar smile of Mingyu was peeking out behind the window that had your information, and you saw that Wonwoo was even researching about him. Boy, were you livid now. It was bad enough he was snooping around about you, but now Mingyu? Why would he do that? What right did he have to bring up Mingyu after what happened?

“Oh, ___!” Seungcheol jumped when he realized you were there, red faced and glaring at the screen, hot tears burning your eyes.

Wonwoo heard the older boy say your name, so he walked out of the kitchen to see you standing up to face him, your hands balled into fists at your side.

“So, your name is ___, huh?” he smirked, leaning up against the doorway.

“Do you really think I’m here to joke around with you?” you asked, seething with rage that dripped into the tone of your voice.

Wonwoo’s joking demeanor fell as he really took in your body language. You were so mad, you were shaking Tears were about to spill over, and he’d never seen your face so red.

“___--”

“Why did you look up all that information?” you demanded, cutting him off from whatever he planned to say to attempt to make this better.

He gestured to the computer, getting defensive, “So it’s okay that Mingyu did?”

“Don’t talk about him like you know him!” you shouted, your voice breaking toward the end. “You and him are two completely different people. Why did you even look him up? You don’t need to know anything about him except that he’s gone, and that’s it! Anybody else who mentions him to you will have to deal with me, because he is none of your business, got it? And if you ever look me or him up again, you’ll be the next person to disappear without a trace.”

All Wonwoo could do was stare at you, his mouth slightly agape. You thought it was because you’d really yelled at him, but then you realized you were crying when tears started to fall onto your shirt.

“___, I’m--”

“Shut up,” you snapped, wiping your tears before quickly stomping out of the room.

Wonwoo stood in the same spot for a moment after hearing your door slam before going over to the computer again. Seungcheol looked disappointed in himself, carding his hands through his hair. He let out a deep sigh, shaking his head.

“I shouldn’t have said anything to you,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I was the one who decided to research,” Wonwoo nodded. “It was my own fault. I was hoping I could use the information on her to get to know her better but…”

“She’ll come around,” the older boy promised. “She did before.”

-

Wonwoo gave you space the next week. He knew you were upset because of something dumb he did, and he did plan on apologizing, but he wanted to give you space beforehand. He knew you needed to cool off, but he also needed to figure out how to go about making it up to you. He wanted you to know he did really feel bad for snooping.

He didn’t know much about you, but he picked up on something you liked a lot: honey butter chips. The only times he ever saw you, it was when you made the walk from your office to the kitchen, and you had to go through the lounge. You’d walk back toward your room with your arms full of the bags before he’d hear your door close again. Well, after his little stunt, he noticed you were clean out of the snacks. He didn’t know if your feelings were causing you to eat more of them or not but he knew he should buy you more anyway just to apologize, even if it was a small gesture.

So Wonwoo went to the store in some sweats to grab you some. The cashier definitely gave him a weird look for buying copious amounts of chips -- only chips, and one box of protein bars for when Wonwoo couldn’t have a real meal -- and leaving, but he didn’t pay her any mind. He just wanted to get home so he didn’t have to be out in public for too long. He knew nobody would know he was an agent or anything, but he still hated being in public without some sort of disguise, or a hat at the very least.

When he returned home, there was no trace of you. You hadn’t left your office in four days, and he wasn’t sure if you were even sleeping anymore. But clearly, now wasn’t the time for him to lecture you on how to live your life.

He walked down the hall to your office, where he could hear a male’s voice.

“___, you need to sleep in a real bed, not your office chair,” they sighed.

At least you were sleeping, then.

“Are you sure you’re not working more to keep your mind off of...something?” a new voice asked.

“If you’re talking about Wonwoo, the answer is no,” you replied sharply. “I don’t care what he’s doing as long as it doesn’t involve Mingyu anymore.”

It hit Wonwoo that he shouldn’t be listening in on your conversation. So he knocked on your door before waiting for a reply. When he didn’t get one, he slowly opened the door, peeking inside to see you staring blankly at your many monitors. He frowned seeing the state you were in. Your hair was greasy and matted, your eyes had bags and dark circles, and you were hunched forward like you were going to pass out at any second.

“___?” his voice was soft as he fully entered the room. “I wanted to apologize.”

“You’re forgiven,” you said flatly, “now get out.”

He let out a sigh, “I’m serious! I even went out and bought you more honey butter chips, but I won’t give them to you if you don’t listen to me.”

Your eyes shifted from the screen to your housemate, narrowing at him as he dangled one of the bags in front of you, “You’re forcing me to listen to you with food?”

“Is it working?” Wonwoo asked with the hint of a smile.

“...Maybe.”

“I really am sorry for what I did, ___,” he repeated, turning serious again. “I won’t do anything like that ever again. I just wanted to get closer with you since we live in the same space, but your life should be your life; you should tell me what you want to, and keep secret what you want to. I should’ve respected that, and I’m sorry.”

You just stared at him for a moment before nodding slowly, “Thanks.”

“Then, here’s your chips,” he said, dropping the bag on your desk, “but you have to promise to eat this first.”

He then opened a box he had pinned between his arm and torso, and took something out of it. He tossed it to you, and you read the wrapper, scrunching up your nose, “Why?”

“If I’m being honest, you look awful,” he chuckled. “You can’t live off of chips, ___.”

“That’s what we tell her!” one of the voices from her computer shouted.

“Then make sure she eats that,” Wonwoo told them before exiting your room.

Immediately, you set the bar down on the desk, and went to open the chip bag. You were interrupted by Junhui’s voice.

“What was that?” he wondered.

“It’s a meal replacement bar,” you shrugged, pulling down on the chip bag to rip the side.

“Eat it,” Minghao ordered.

You paused, looking at the boys on your monitor, “Why? It’s still not real food.”

“But it’s better than chips!” Seungkwan agreed. “Please just eat it before you eat more chips. You haven’t been taking care of yourself, and you need to.”

“If you’re not in good health, you know what the boss will do,” Junhui reminded you.

With a groan, you tossed the chip bag onto the desk and picked up the bar. You tore the wrapper open with your teeth, spitting the plastic off into the darkness of your room before taking a bite out of it, and silently cursing Wonwoo.

-

You wandered out of your room one night to get some ramen or something. Seungcheol was scolding you because of your health and eating habits, so you were forced to go find some “real food” or Seungcheol would tell the boss.

With your shitty luck, you ran into Wonwoo as you passed through the lounge. He was staring at his setup before he noticed you walking by. He frowned, seeing you in real light for the first time. You looked even more awful than he thought.

“___,” he called your name softly, though you didn’t stop on your way to the kitchen.

“What?” you spat.

Wonwoo stood to follow you, pushing his glasses up his nose, “You should take some time for yourself before going back to work. Shower, take a nap, and such.”

“You should mind your business,” you shot back, looking through the pantry.

Suddenly, the door you held open was slammed shut. Wonwoo was staring down at you, his expression neutral, “___, please.”

“And what do you care? Huh?” you quizzed.

The two of you stood there in silence, simply having a staring contest with each other. Finally, you let out a loud groan and went to a cupboard. You opened it, took out a bottle of sake, and left the kitchen. You made it a point to stare at Wonwoo as you casually opened the bottle and took a swig before exiting.

“That’s not what I meant by taking time for yourself!” he called after you.

“This is my self care, asshole!” you shouted back before he heard the slam of your door.

Truthfully, it was your self care for a long time. It was how you coped with Mingyu’s disappearance for a while, which definitely wasn’t the most healthy way to deal.

Anybody would argue that your current actions -- or lack thereof -- were because of what happened to Mingyu. You didn’t take care of yourself, you deprived yourself of nutrients, sleep, and hygiene, and you shut people out. People like Wonwoo who were just trying to do their job, and help you. But you always insisted you did all of that because it wasn’t pertinent to your job.

You thought about all of this as you flopped down onto your bed, staring up at the ceiling. Mingyu had stuck a bunch of glow-in-the-dark stars up there because the two of you hardly got to go outside to look at them at night. He thought it was a funny joke, and you thought he was a big dork for it. But that was why you loved him. He was a big dork, but it made your life more tolerable; maybe even enjoyable.

The more you thought about all of it, the longer the drinks you took from the bottle became. You’d never admit it, but you missed Mingyu so much that it hurt. You missed him so much that it felt like every breath you took ignited a fire in your lungs that made it hard to keep breathing. You missed him so much that your heart felt like it was slowly shattering each and every second, to a point where it was hard to stand anymore. You just wanted your Mingyu back, but he was never coming back. The ring that belonged to him that you wore on the thin silver chain, hidden away under your shirt, was a reminder of that.

Mingyu was gone forever.

“Fuck,” you sighed, realizing your eyes were welling with tears.

So you wiped them with your sleeve, and took another drink.

-

You had no idea what you were doing. Stumbling out of your room an hour or so later, drunker than you’d been in a while, and sputtering out your need for chicken and pizza.

Of course, Wonwoo heard you down the hall, and concern showed on his face. He’d never heard your voice so garbled before. But then he remembered how you walked off with the bottle of sake, and he assumed you probably had a lot to drink from the bottle.

Soon enough, you found your way into the lounge where Wonwoo was, and you raised your eyebrows when you saw him standing up already, “You’re...tall.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I noticed. Are...you okay, ___?”

“Yeaaaah,” you slurred, waving away his question while almost knocking yourself over from the movement, “no biggie.”

“You sure?” he asked, moving away from the couch and coffee table to go over to you.

Hesitantly, Wonwoo put an arm around your waist, and almost relaxed himself when you let him. You leaned into his side, having a hard time standing on your own, and gripped the side of his shirt with one hand. He led you over to the couch he was sitting on, setting you down slowly. However, you didn’t release your grip on Wonwoo.

“I haven’t been around anybody since Mingyu,” you spoke up, just blathering out whatever was on your mind, and Mingyu was all you could think about. Your voice was soft, but your words still ran together, and you were hiccuping between every few words. “You’re...warm.”

Wonwoo chose to ignore the first part, knowing you didn’t want him talking about Mingyu, “Do Seungcheol and the others not come visit you?”

You shook your head, “Nobody has the time. I lived with Mingyu, but...he was taken.”

Clearly, you wanted to talk about Mingyu, so Wonwoo had no choice but to ask, “He was taken?”

“Kidnapped,” you nodded, your face falling before you added on, “and killed.”

Wonwoo sat down beside you, “How do you know he was killed?”

“They sent me this,” you pulled the ring out from under your shirt, letting Wonwoo examine it between his fingers. “We had promise rings, and this one was Mingyu’s. I still wear mine. I couldn’t...I couldn’t take it off.”

Wonwoo heard you sniffle, and his eyes glanced up at your face as he let the ring drop from his hand. You rubbed at your eyes like a child, wiggling your nose as you sniffled again. Wonwoo frowned.

“___…”

“I miss him,” you admitted, coughing like you were trying to hide the fact you were about to cry. When you removed your fists from your eyes, your eyes were red and glossy. “I miss having somebody that loved me as much as I loved them.”

To that, Wonwoo didn’t know what to say. You had only been cold to him, and now you were suddenly blabbering everything you felt. While he was happy you were letting him in, he felt dirty because he knew it was just because you were drunk.

He noticed you started to cry, so he did the only thing he could think to do: he held you. He pulled you to him and let you cry. You weakly held onto his shirt like it was a security blanket, letting out all of the emotions you kept held in. He rubbed your back, trying to soothe you as best as he could.

Wonwoo let the two of you sit like there for a moment before he decided to take you to the bathroom to get you cleaned up, and hopefully a bit more sober. He managed to lift you relatively easily, carrying you down the hall to the bathroom. He set you down on the counter before going to turn on the shower and setting the temperature.

“Wonwoo?” you spoke up suddenly, watching him from where you sat. He looked over at you, humming in response. “...Why are you nice to me still?”

He shrugged, unsure of how to reply, “Well...if we live together, it would be kind of shitty to hate each other, right?”

“I guess,” you shrugged, leaning back against the mirror. “It’s just...hard. You remind me of Mingyu sometimes.”

That piqued Wonwoo’s interest, “I do? How?”

“He went by Gyu, and you go by Woo.”

“That’s it?” he chuckled, walking over to lean against the counter beside you.

“I wasn’t done,” you huffed. “You both always tell me what to do. Like, he would tell me I have to eat real food, and so do you. And you’re always like, looking out for me, I guess. Nobody looked out for me other than Mingyu.”

“So...do you want me to stop?” he wondered, furrowing his brows together.

“I...don’t...know,” you decided chewing on your lower lip as you thought about it. Part of you liked it -- liked Wonwoo, even -- but part of you still felt uncomfortable about that. You wanted to both push Wonwoo away, but also pull him closer.

But what if you lost Wonwoo too?

You didn’t want to think about that.

“You should shower,” Wonwoo said after the brief silence. “I’ll be in the living room when you’re done. I’ll make you some food, okay?”

“Wonwoo?” you slid down from the counter as Wonwoo opened the bathroom door. “Thank you.”

It was the first time you has genuinely thanked him before, and he smiled, “No problem.”

After the door was closed, you peeled off the clothes you’d been wearing for however many days -- you lost track -- and stepped into the shower. The water was hot, but not scalding. You found it comforting, and just stood there for a while without doing anything. You just...thought about things. About Mingyu, and Wonwoo, and how things were different but how things were still similar.

You spent a lot of time thinking about Wonwoo, though. You tried your best to avoid him, but you just chalked it up to you being angry about people moving on from Mingyu’s death so quickly. You were telling everyone -- including yourself -- that you were angry because you wanted to be alone and move out of this house, but the boss gave you the exact opposite of what you wanted. And sure, that’s what it was at first, but then it was something else.

Wonwoo watched over you. He made you eat real food, he tried to learn about you in the same manner as Mingyu, and he even used the same method of choosing an alias as Mingyu had. He reminded you so much of Mingyu, and it upset you and frightened you. You liked Wonwoo. You saw familiar things in him that made you feel something, and that scared you. What if Wonwoo got taken away too?

In your drunk state, you started crying all over again. You felt so many things at once that your drunk mind couldn’t process, so you just cried. And once that was all out of your system, you washed your hair and body before getting out of the shower and wrapping towels around yourself.

Once you were dried and dressed, you walked out of the bathroom and into the lounge. Wonwoo was working to pass the time, but immediately looked up when he saw you. He was pleased to see your hair was a wet mess, meaning you did actually wash your hair.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

You shrugged, “Still kinda tipsy, and I have a headache.”

He gestured to the coffee table, “Aspirin and water.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled, shuffling over to take the medicine and gulp down half the water bottle. Then you sat down beside him, pulling your knees to your chest. “I’m sorry for--”

“Don’t be sorry about anything,” he told you, sitting away from his computer and laying his head back against the back of the couch. “Somebody important was taken away from you; I can’t imagine how you’d be feeling.”

“And I’m not the best at expressing feelings,” you deadpanned with a breathy laugh.

“That’s okay,” he shrugged, “not everyone can express themselves with words. We’ll make things work.”

You nodded, staring straight ahead at the TV that wasn’t turned on -- you weren’t sure when you had last used it. Maybe before Mingyu was taken? You wondered if Wonwoo ever used it, and what he watched.

“Are you hungry?” Wonwoo’s deep voice pulled you from your thoughts.

You nodded, so he stood and gestured for you to follow. He had you actually sit at the counter -- something you hadn’t done in months -- to eat the meat and rice he’d made for you. It definitely wasn’t the prettiest plating, and it looked slightly overcooked, but hey, he tried. So you sat down and ate while he ate the little bits you didn’t want, as well as what was left in the pan.

While the two of you ate, you each found out small things about each other. How you were in love with the honey butter chips because of Mingyu, and how Wonwoo had a soft spot for cheesecake. How Wonwoo was terrified of dogs, and you always wanted one -- that made him laugh a bit nervously. But they were all tiny details, nothing like major facts about your backgrounds and where you came from.

By the time you were done eating, you were yawning and rubbing your eyes. There was still a little bit of food on your plate, but Wonwoo made sure to give you extra since you had barely eaten anything other than chips and ramen.

“C’mon, I’ll help you to bed,” Wonwoo offered with a warm smile as he went around to the other side of the counter to help you.

He placed an arm around your waist and guided you to your room as you tripped over your own feet. You were too sleepy, which mixed with the fact you were still a little bit drunk. Thus, you were half-dragged to your room where Wonwoo helped you lay in bed. He even tucked you in.

“Goodnight, Wonwoo,” you said softly, already half asleep.

He half-smiled, turning just as he exited your room to see you pull the blankets closer, “Goodnight, ___.”

After he closed the door and walked back to the living room, he thought about you. You said you were bad at expressing your feelings, but truthfully, so was he. Wonwoo was always alone; he never had anybody to take care of. He always wanted somebody he could look out for and take care of, but he never had it. So he usually shoved that want to the back of his mind, pretending like he didn’t feel completely alone.

But now he had someone to care for. Now, Wonwoo had you.

-

You slept for three days. Wonwoo made sure to check on you every few hours when he was awake -- he just wanted to make sure you hadn’t fallen into a coma or something -- and was prepared to order plenty of food when you did wake up because he knew his cooking skills were subpar.

When you did wake up, it was morning. The sun streaming in from your slightly-parted curtains was a clear indication of that. You checked your phone that was about to die where it was in your pocket, and you were impressed with how long you slept. However, you were also impressed with the amount of texts and emails you had.

You got out of bed, changed clothes, and went straight to the bathroom to at least fix your hair a little. You’d brush your teeth after eating, which was also a top priority. Your stomach loudly rumbling was a clear indication of that.

When your bladder wasn’t close to exploding, and your hair wasn’t as big of a mess as it was, you left the bathroom to go to the living room. As expected, Wonwoo was there, already working. However, he dropped everything he was doing when he saw you, his face brightening.

“Well, look who’s alive!” he teased with a bright smile that even made you smile a little.

Honestly, getting all your drunken feelings out kind of made you feel a little better about being around him. Sure, you didn’t completely tell him how you felt, but you definitely felt less tense around him.

“Unfortunately,” you joked with a yawn, stretching out your limbs.

“Your friends were worried about you, but I told them you finally went to sleep,” he chuckled, holding up his phone to signify that he was also blown up with messages. “They sure get worried about you.”

“They were Mingyu’s friends before they were mine,” you explained as you walked over to the couch and plopped down. “They’re nice, though. They make for good company since I was always alone.”

“Didn’t it get weird having them just...pop in out of nowhere?” he wondered, sitting back as he stretched out his arms with a grunt.

“Sometimes,” you nodded with a soft laugh. “It’s definitely a bit weird, but it’s something I got used to.”

Wonwoo just nodded, letting the two of you fall into an oddly comfortable silence. You could hear the purr of Wonwoo’s setup but that was all the noise you heard. You were surprised that you didn’t feel uncomfortable, and you assumed it was because you’d pretty much broken down that barrier you had put up between you and him. But was it really that easy? Just crying about your pent up feelings really solved everything?

It seemed too easy.

“Are you hungry?” Wonwoo’s voice broke you from your thoughts.

As if it understood, your stomach growled loudly. Wonwoo’s laugh was deep and loud and warm, and it made you smile. It reminded you of the loud laughs Mingyu would let out at the dumbest things. Your heart fluttered for a moment.

You did understand Wonwoo and Mingyu were different people, but there were things you saw in Wonwoo that reminded you of Mingyu. Did that mean you only liked Wonwoo because he reminded you of Mingyu? No. You liked Wonwoo because he did things that made you happy. Mingyu just happened to also do those things.

But did you want to like Wonwoo? No.

“C’mon, let’s go out for breakfast,” Wonwoo suggested as he pushed himself off of the couch.

Your thoughts seemed to stutter to a stop as your head whipped around, following Wonwoo as he walked toward the door, “Out? Like...to a restaurant?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, slipping his feet into his sneakers. “I think there’s a diner nearby, right?”

“Uh...I-I think so,” you stammered.

“What?” he chuckled, noticing how odd you were acting. “Do you not go outside?”

“I haven’t in a long time, no,” you answered truthfully, finally getting off the couch to go put on your shoes that had stayed untouched by the door. “I get everything delivered to me.”

“We need to get you some vitamins,” he said, making a face as he opened the door. “Let’s hope you don’t melt in the sun.”

The walk to the road was pretty long considering your security measures. Your front door could only be reached by a long driveway, which had plenty of cameras, motion triggers, and the like. Of course, you could turn them off via your phone, but the walk was still long because the path was long to give plenty of opportunities for warning and/or capture of any intruders in case any of the other traps didn’t work.

Once the two of you reached the road, you turned right toward the diner Wonwoo was talking about. You hadn’t been there in months -- the last time was with Mingyu -- but you remembered exactly where it was. You didn’t know if it was still there, but if it wasn’t, you could probably find somewhere else to have breakfast.

You reached a crosswalk, and went to just walk even though the little light didn’t tell you to. It was something you always did when there wasn’t traffic or the cars were momentarily stopped, figuring it wasn’t a big deal. However, Wonwoo grabbed your shoulder and pulled you back, almost pulling you over.

“Hey, what the--” you whined, turning to face him.

“You have to wait, ___,” he stated, hitting the button with the side of his fist. “If you get hit by a car--”

“I have yet to get hit by a car,” you told him, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Everyone has a first time to die, ___,” he stated matter-of-factly, “and it’s usually their last.”

You opened your mouth for a rebuttal, but came up with nothing. So you just snapped your jaw shut, taking note of the smirk on Wonwoo’s face.

When the light showed the little glowing person, Wonwoo gripped your upper arm and helped you across the street like you needed the assistance. But instead of pulling away, you just let him.

When you reached the diner, you sat yourselves at a booth, sitting across from each other. Wonwoo grabbed the menus from where they were pushed up between the wall and condiment holder, handing one to you before he opened his own. But you already knew what you wanted because you always got it, and Mingyu would tease you for it.

Wonwoo noticed you just put the menu back, smirking at you from behind his glasses, “Already decided that quick?”

“Chocolate milk, coffee, scrambled eggs with wheat toast, bacon, and potatoes, and two cinnamon buns,” you stated with a solid nod.

“Why do you need chocolate milk and coffee?” he asked with a chuckle.

“To appease the child in me, and the other part of me that’s dead inside,” you deadpanned.

Wonwoo nodded, raising his eyebrows as his eyes drifted back down to his menu, “I’ll cheers to that.”

The waitress came over to take your order, and you repeated everything you wanted, exactly how you wanted it. Wonwoo then gave off his order, and the woman wrote it down before going to turn to leave.

“Oh!” you suddenly spoke up, remembering something you forgot. “Can we have a Belgian waffle as well?”

The waitress added that to the list before walking back to the kitchen.

Wonwoo laughed, shaking his head at you, “You really are going to eat all of that?”

“Oh, the waffle was tradition for Mingyu and I,” you explained as another woman came over to pour coffee into the mugs already on your table. “We used to share it when we’d come here.”

Wonwoo thanked the woman before his attention was back on you. He looked interested in your little story, his hands folded together in front of him.

“So...should I share it with you?” he wondered softly, before quickly added, “Unless you want to keep it your thing with him.”

“I...don’t know,” you admitted, your brows knitting together as you thought about it. Would you feel like you were betraying Mingyu by sharing something you did with him, with Wonwoo? “What do you think?”

Wonwoo chewed on the inside of his cheek as he thought it over, “I think...you should leave the other half. For him. Kinda like pouring one out.”

You nodded, looking back at Wonwoo with a warm half-smile, “I like that.”

So you enjoyed your breakfast with Wonwoo, eating only half of your waffle. You laughed, talked, and you ultimately felt closer to Wonwoo afterwards. The two of you split the check, but Wonwoo insisted on leaving the tip himself. And then you left the diner, leaving the other half of the waffle behind for Mingyu. In a way, it felt like some form of small closure.

-

Things got better over the next two and a half months. You and Wonwoo spent more time together, you left the house more, and your health was getting better. You didn’t sport dark circles as frequently, and you were forced to eat a proper dinner at least four times a week. Wonwoo typically ordered out, but he was trying to learn how to cook. You taught him little things you’d picked up from Mingyu, since he was a fantastic cook despite his laziness when it came to actually making meals. You even let him sleep in your room since you didn’t have a second bed, and you often found yourself laying extremely close to him when you woke up in the morning. You also let him move his setup to the bedroom since yours took up the entire office.

Your friends noticed the change, too. They were pleased to see you weren’t as grumpy, and they wondered if you were finally coming out of your depression over Mingyu. Obviously, there wasn’t a time limit on how long you could mourn somebody, but you had mourned Mingyu for a long time, and you hadn’t really let your feelings out until that night you got drunk and cried in front of Wonwoo. You didn’t completely let everything out, but you addressed the biggest thing: you missed Mingyu, and you hated feeling alone. You’d conquered those feelings, and let somebody new in. Now, you didn’t feel so alone.

Wonwoo and you were closer than ever. However, that scared you. You realized you were starting to feel similar feelings toward him that you felt toward Mingyu, but you didn’t feel those things because he sometimes reminded you of Mingyu. You felt those feelings because he was Wonwoo, and you just liked Wonwoo.

Maybe even loved Wonwoo…?

When you thought about it, the fact was that Wonwoo took care of you, and you liked it; you loved it. You loved feeling cared for and loved. You loved having Wonwoo nag you to take care of yourself because he wanted you to be healthy. The fact Wonwoo took time out of his day just to make sure you were doing alright made your heart race, and your stomach do flips. That was something only Mingyu did for you, but now Wonwoo was doing it, and you thrived off of it. You figured it was because you never really had a proper family to care about you, but you absolutely loved being cared for.

But there were things Wonwoo did that Mingyu didn’t do, and you still loved those things. He wouldn’t let you go on work binges where you’d stay up for days at a time. He would force you to go outside at least once a week, even if it was just for walks. He liked to invite you to watch movies with him that weren’t just crappy comedies that the two of you would make fun of. Sometimes they were horror films based off of real events, or sometimes they were documentaries that made you think about the world, and cry sometimes. But Wonwoo was always there to comfort you, and he never laughed at you for crying.

Mingyu was Mingyu, and Wonwoo was Wonwoo, but you loved Wonwoo like you loved Mingyu, and that terrified you.

But some sadistic part of you wanted to love Wonwoo anyway.

One of the times the two of you were on the couch together watching a movie, you decided to play a drinking game. You were watching some classic horror movie, and you were supposed to take a shot every time a certain thing happened or someone said a significant word or line. It didn’t get you really drunk, but it got the both of you drunk enough to start talking about your past lives.

“Don’t you wonder why other people leave their lives and families to do this?” Wonwoo wondered after swallowing a shot. He placed his shot glass on the table before leaning back and sighing. “This is the shadiest job ever, so only people with shit lives could take up the offer.”

“So you had a shit life?” you assumed, hiccuping at the end.

He nodded, running his slim fingers through his hair, “I had a younger sibling who passed away from leukemia. My parents stopped giving a shit after that so...I left.”

“Oh…” you nodded, not really knowing what else to say. “I’m sorry.”

He just shrugged, “‘S okay. What about you?”

“I was raised in an abusive household, and one of the neighbors basically stole me away and had me training for the agency ever since,” you explained shortly before taking a shot just for fun. “That’s why I’m the best.”

“One of the best,” Wonwoo correct with a smirk. He wiggled his eyebrows when you playfully glared at him. “You and me are tied, cutie pie.”

“Cutie pie?” you scoffed, trying to ignore the heat rising in your cheeks. “That’s new.”

“You know what I think, ___?” Wonwoo asked, leaning over to pour himself another drink. He didn’t continue what he was saying until he had another shot ready in his hand. “I think Mingyu started calling you Glitch because you like...glitched out his heart.”

You paused getting yourself another drink, all of your attention hyper focused on Wonwoo now, “...What?”

“In our business, we’re not supposed to give a shit about anybody, right?” he asked. “But I give a lot of shits about you, ___. You like, glitched out my feelings and you just...you made me feel...things.”

All you could do was laugh, but the kind where you just exhaled out of your nose, “I make you feel things?”

“Yeah, like...warm, fuzzy, heart racing feelings.”

“Are we in kindergarten, Woo? You can just say you like me.”

“But I don’t like you,” Wonwoo groaned, running both hands through his hair, “I love you!”

You were completely frozen now. Yes, you loved Wonwoo, which you were still coming to terms with, but you didn’t think in a million years that he would ever love you back! So...what did you do now?

“Y-you love me?” you stammered out in a whisper.

Wonwoo just stared back at you, staying silent for a few seconds, “You know, if I wasn’t kind of drunk, I wouldn’t have told you like this.”

“How would you have told me?” you wondered, just staring at Wonwoo.

“Well…” he began slowly, sitting up a little straighter and taking your hands in his, “I’d sit you down, completely sober--”

“Already doing great,” you joked lightly.

He snorted a bit, but kept going, “And I’d look you in your eyes…”

You just barely nodded, “Y-yeah…”

Wonwoo leaned in slowly, his lips getting closer and closer to yours, “And I’d ask if I could kiss you…”

You stayed still, anticipating what you knew would happen next. When you didn’t stop him, Wonwoo let his lips press softly to yours. Your hands instinctively went up to his shoulders, and one of his hands cupped your cheek as the other held your waist. His kiss was slow and sweet, his lips moving cautiously against yours in case you wanted to stop. But nothing in you wanted to stop. In fact, every single part of you wanted to keep going.

His lips tasted like the alcohol the two of you were drinking, but it somehow seemed like the alcohol from his lips got you drunker than the alcohol straight from the bottle. Your head felt like it was spinning in the best way possible, and your heart was pounding in your chest. You hadn’t felt like this in a long time, and you didn’t want it to end. You didn’t feel afraid to love Wonwoo anymore, you felt somewhat comforted.

As the kiss got deeper and his lips moved a bit faster with yours, you found him suddenly on top of you. You were on your back, your legs wrapped around his hips as Wonwoo held himself above you just enough that he wouldn’t completely crush you.

“I love you,” he mumbled into the kiss, making your heart beat so quickly, you were sure he could feel it.

“I love you,” you replied, not even giving it a second thought.

You could feel Wonwoo smiling against your lips, pulling back to look at you, “Really?”

You nodded, “Really. I was afraid to, but...I do.”

“It’s okay, I get it,” he reassured you, stroking your cheek with the pad of his thumb. “We’ll take it slow, don’t worry.”

“You...do realize you’re completely on top of me, right?” you laughed.

The serious, sensual mood suddenly shifted as Wonwoo let out a deep belly laugh, his face turning red, “Okay, yeah, you make a good point.”

Wonwoo sat up, climbing off of you and sitting back in his original spot on the couch. This time, though, you sat closer to him, resting your head against his shoulder.

“Actually, that was why Mingyu called me that,” you informed him suddenly. “He started calling me Glitch when he started to like me, and then he told me he loved me by hacking into my computer because he said it was ‘only fair’.”

Wonwoo laughed deeply, shaking his head, “He sounds like he was funny.”

“He was definitely something,” you agreed with a laugh of your own. “It doesn’t hurt to talk about him anymore. I still miss him, but I don’t mind telling you about him.”

“That means you’re coping,” he chuckled, letting his head rest on top of yours.

You fell into silence, just watching the movie. You weren’t really paying attention to the movie, though, because you couldn’t get over what just happened. Wonwoo actually loved you, and you loved him. You had to realize you couldn’t just shut yourself out from others; you had to move on if Mingyu wasn’t ever going to come back. These last few months, you had realized it’s okay to be happy.

And Wonwoo really made you happy.

-

You sat at your computer, eyes staring at the screen. They were dry, but you just powered through, wanting to get this last bit of the project done before you stopped. Once it was done, then you would take a break. That’s what you told yourself.

Of course, it wouldn’t be work without somebody distracting you.

“How’s it gooooing?” Soonyoung sang.

“Do you ever do work?” you asked with zero emotion in your voice.

“Do you ever take breaks?” he shot back. “Don’t you know what day it is?”

“I do, but I need to get this done,” you replied, your eyes flickering back and forth between monitors. “Besides, Wonwoo’s working too.”

“Is he?” Soonyoung asked with a smirk in his voice.

You finally peeled your eyes away from your work to look at Soonyoung’s face in the corner of your screen. As expected, he was smirking at you expectantly, wiggling his eyebrows.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you asked with a sigh.

“Go see for yourself,” was all he said before ending the call.

You let out an even deeper, longer sigh as you leaned back in your computer chair, running both hands through your messy hair. Deciding you could just pick up where you left off, you went to go check on Wonwoo like Soonyoung suggested, trudging to the bedroom in your sweatpants and thin t-shirt. However, your bedroom was empty.

“Woo?” you called out.

“Kitchen!” he replied.

You groaned loud enough for him to hear across the small house as you stomped toward the kitchen, “Why are you and Soonyoung doing this to me? I’m almost done with work, and you guys just--”

You stopped when you saw the kitchen lights dimmed, a chocolate cake with the words “Happy One Month Anniversary” written poorly in red gel frosting, and various takeout boxes on the counter. Wonwoo was smiling brightly, gesturing to it all.

“Happy anniversary!” he cheered.

“Oh my god!” you laughed, shaking your head. “Woo, it’s just one month!”

“One month since I told you I love you, and that’s a big milestone for both of us,” he stated proudly as he walked over to you, his hands settling naturally on your hips, “C’mon, let me have an excuse to eat junk, drink alcohol, and get you naked.”

“You just want your dick sucked,” you scoffed, playfully rolling your eyes as his lips pressed against yours.

“Sort of,” he grinned, “but that, among other things. My dick is not the point, ___.”

“Well, thank you for buying all of this food,” you finally sighed, letting him kiss you again. You backed away from him to grab some food since you hadn’t eaten since morning. “I appreciate it.”

After that night that you and Wonwoo confessed to each other, you both just kind of...assumed you were dating. He referred to you as his girlfriend, and you referred to him as your boyfriend. Nobody was really surprised -- to be fair, Wonwoo had told all of your friends about his feelings for you -- but they were definitely happy that you were moving on.

Things were going well, too. You still got anxiety about Wonwoo suddenly getting ripped away from you, but he did everything he could to make you feel better about it. He definitely understood you had separation anxiety after what happened, so he always tried to make you feel like everything would be okay. He had yet to really see how afraid you were -- you never had somehow been able to avoid anxiety attacks around him  -- but he knew you were severely worried. But he did manage to make you feel better. You really had to learn to trust him, and you were. So much so that you took off the ring that matched Mingyu’s -- you still wore Mingyu’s on a necklace, but nobody expected you to take it off.

Wonwoo grabbed plates and got you some food before getting his own. As the two of you sat at the counter to eat, you suddenly felt your phone vibrate where you had stashed it away in your pocket. You ignored it, wanting to just spend time with your boyfriend. However, you then heard the security system announce an “intruder”.

“It might just be a package,” Wonwoo shrugged, thought he went to stand up to check anyway.

“Security disarmed,” the system said in it’s female-sounding voice.

Your eyebrows furrowed, knowing only very few people could disarm the system: You, Wonwoo, Soonyoung, Junhui, and Jihoon. However, the next words from the system had your heart stopping completely.

“Person identified: Kim Mingyu.”

Wonwoo whipped his head around to look at you, his expression unreadable. You just stared back wide-eyed until you managed to fumble around in your pocket and fish out your phone. You opened the security app and searched through all the cameras until you saw a figure in tattered clothes, but his head was aimed down. However, the height was the same, and his build almost looked similar to Mingyu -- just thinner than you remembered him.

But...there was no way...

“Stay here,” Wonwoo said before going off to investigate.

He did grab a knife before he left the kitchen, going toward the lounge. But despite Wonwoo’s instructions, you followed behind him, wanting to know who was pretending to be your dead boyfriend.

Wonwoo stalked up to the door right as there was a loud knock. You gripped the back of Wonwoo’s shirt tightly as you poked your head around him to see.

Cautiously, he opened the door, but it was quickly shoved open before being slammed closed behind the intruder. They were panting, and looked afraid with their clothes a dirty, tattered mess, and their face just as dirt-stained and beaten up. However, you still recognized him under all the blood, bruises, cuts, and grime.

“Mingyu?” you breathed out, stepping out from behind Wonwoo.

“Oh god, ___!” Mingyu sighed, already holding his arms out for you.

Without a second thought, you threw yourself into his arms, immediately sobbing into his shoulder. Mingyu just held you -- he definitely felt thinner than you remembered -- enjoying the feeling of having you in his arms again.

“Fuck, I was afraid they got you, too,” he mumbled.

Wonwoo wasn’t really sure what to do -- you were his girlfriend now, but here was the boy you were in love with first -- but Mingyu’s last sentence really caught Wonwoo’s attention, “Who’s ‘they’?”

Mingyu lifted his head to study the unfamiliar boy in his house, but kept his arms around you as you cried, “The pricks that kidnapped me! We need to get out of here; they’ll come find us.”

“W-what?” you pulled away to look up at Mingyu, your face streaked with tears. “H-how did you…?”

“I barely escaped, but I did,” he explained quickly, “but I’ll tell you everything when we get somewhere safe. Call Seungcheol, tell him there’s a code black. I’ll start packing things.”

“I’ll call,” Wonwoo told you as Mingyu pulled away from you to go pack some of your belongings, “you help him.”

Even though Wonwoo was trying to help, you could tell his demeanor shifted. His eyes seemed...sad. But you couldn’t focus on that, you had bigger things to worry about, like everybody making it out alive.

You ran off to help Mingyu pack and delete data from the computers while Wonwoo called in the emergency. Seungcheol was confused as to why there was a code black, but he couldn’t question it when everybody was safe. So Wonwoo was connected to the boss, to whom he explained the situation.

“There’s a safehouse on Jeju Island, inside the city so it’ll be harder for any kidnappers to be discreet,” the boss told Wonwoo. “Delete all data before going to the airport. You’ll have three plane tickets under the name ‘Kim Jisoo’. I’ll have Agent Vernon drop off your fake IDs in one hour, so please be there on time.”

“Three?” Wonwoo questioned.

“You’re also in danger if you live there, Agent Woo,” the boss stated. “You’ll go with Agent Z and Agent Gyu to Jeju; please do not be late.”

With that, he hung up.

Meanwhile, you and Mingyu had come out of the bedroom with duffel bags and backpacks. Mingyu had changed into cleaner clothes -- you had kept a few of Mingyu’s things just because they were your favorite things to steal from his closet. He tossed a bag to Wonwoo before helping you get your jacket on.

“You’re coming, breadstick,” he stated.

“That’s Wonwoo to you,” Wonwoo informed him neutrally.

“What did the boss say?” you asked as you slipped on your sneakers.

“We’re going to Jeju Island, and Vernon will meet us at the airport in an hour,” Wonwoo reported.

“Then let’s get going,” Mingyu said, opening the door and ushering you and Wonwoo out. “The sooner we get to the airport, the safer we’ll be. I’ll drive, you keep ___ safe.”

Mingyu pulled a gun out from the back of his jeans, tossing it to Wonwoo like it was nothing. All Wonwoo did was nod curtly before placing a hand on the small of your back and leading you to the garage under the house.

You knew which car Mingyu would go to since it was “his baby”. It was the fastest car in the garage but you had never touched it since he was kidnapped. But getting back into the car in so long made you nostalgic for the rare midnight drives with him. The car even still smelled like him.

Mingyu got in the front to drive while Wonwoo sat in the back with you, one arm protectively around you. All thoughts of your one month anniversary were gone now that he knew you were possibly in any danger, so all he could focus on were the windows. His eyes were scanning the surroundings carefully while Mingyu peeled out of the garage and left your house behind, pulling onto the road and weaving easily through traffic. He was always amazing at driving.

“So,” Mingyu began as his sharp eyes checked every mirror while also watching the road to make sure nobody was following him, “who’s this?”

“Wonwoo,” you replied as Wonwoo muttered, “Why does it matter?”

You looked up at him, “What does that mean?”

“I think you know what it means, ___,” he said harshly.

“Is he your…?” Mingyu let his question trail off, unsure if he even wanted to know the answer.

“Well…” you began slowly, but you knew things would only be made worse with Wonwoo if you didn’t outright say it, and it was better to only deal with an angry Mingyu rather than two angry boys, “yeah; Wonwoo’s my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Mingyu said flatly, and you noticed his knuckles gripping the wheel tighter.

You groaned, “Jesus, Gyu, can we deal with this when we’re not in danger?!”

“As much as I’d love to get through this awkward situation as soon as possible, I agree,” Wonwoo decided.

“Nobody cares what you think,” Mingyu grumbled.

“Mingyu!” you growled.

“Alright, alright!” he sighed, deciding to drop the topic for now. “But once we’re on that plane, we’re having a talk. All of us.”

After that, the car fell into a tense silence as Mingyu drove to the airport. Thankfully, Wonwoo didn’t seem to see anybody following the three of you, but he refused to let his guard down. That meant all you were left to do was think. Think about how you loved Wonwoo, but you still loved Mingyu. About how you’d have to choose between them but you weren’t sure how that would ever happen because you loved them both just the same.

Mingyu finally pulled into the airport parking lot and went to the trunk to grab all your stuff. Wonwoo helped you out of the backseat and held you close even as Mingyu handed him things to hold. Mingyu stood on your other side, keeping an arm around you almost in a territorial manner as the three of you walked into the airport to find Vernon.

Wonwoo took out his phone to find the information given about where to meet Vernon, “He’ll be waiting by the McDonald’s with Hoshi.”

You heard Mingyu let out a short laugh, so you looked up at him. He was actually cracking a smile, and it made your heart flutter.

God, you missed that smile.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen them,” he said, running his free hand through his matted hair. “They don’t know I’m back, huh?”

“No,” Wonwoo replied, “I haven’t told them. Only the boss knows, unless he told them, too.”

“At least Hansol has to know,” you realized, remembering that it was Hansol that was usually in charge of making fake documents. “If he had to make our IDs, he would need to know Mingyu’s alive if he was asked to make one for him.”

“Can we at least keep the reunion short?” Wonwoo requested as he held the door open for the two of you. “We’ll be safer waiting at the terminal.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Mingyu replied, waving his free hand. His other hand moved away from your waist to hold your hand tightly. “C’mon, breadstick.”

“For fucks sake, it’s Wonwoo!” he groaned.

Without even having to think about it, your other hand reached behind you to grab onto Wonwoo. He walked closer to you, putting his arm around your shoulder. Your arm went around his waist, your hand fisting his shirt as Mingyu dragged you toward the McDonald’s to meet Vernon and Hoshi.

The two boys weren’t hard to spot. They were standing up against the wall together, talking casually, but their eyes were sweeping the airport in search of the three of you. When they spotted you, Vernon’s face broke out into a smile, and Hoshi looked like he was about to pass out.

Mingyu let out a loud laugh before letting go of your hand to go hug his friends. Wonwoo scoffed beside you, but you weren’t going to feed into his immaturity.

When you reached their little reunion, the three boys were talking and laughing like old college friends meeting at a bar. Vernon’s eyes finally landed on you while Soonyoung was still giggling at Mingyu. Vernon looked confused, and you noticed his gaze had zeroed in on how you and Wonwoo were holding each other. He had seen you and Mingyu holding hands just before the tallest agent had ran over…

But thankfully, Hansol didn’t ask.

“We’ll make sure you’re safe,” he assured you. “I have the passports, and Soonyoung will bring the car to HQ so Mingyu doesn’t have to worry about his baby.”

“Good,” Mingyu nodded with a pout. “Don’t scratch her.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Soonyoung smiled, waving away Mingyu’s concerns.

“Here’s your documents,” Hansol said as he distributed them to their respective owners, “and some money.”

Vernon held the back of one of your hands in his palm before placing a wad of money in your hand and closing your fingers around it. He looked deeply into your eyes for a moment, trying to tell you something you couldn’t understand. It was like he was worried for you specifically, and you had a feeling you knew what it was: he was worried you’d be left alone again. He knew you loved Mingyu, and he knew you loved Wonwoo. So the money was for you to take care of yourself more than anything else.

Hansol suddenly pulled you in for a hug, pulling you away from both boys to wrap his arms around you.

“Be safe,” he whispered, “and watch out for yourself. Call if anything happens, and we’ll come get you.”

“Thanks,” you replied quietly, letting your arms drape around his waist.

He pulled away and hugged the two boys while Soonyoung pulled you into a spine-crushing hug. Once all the goodbyes were done, Hansol dragged Sooyoung off to get Mingyu’s car and get back to HQ. That left your awkward trio alone once again.

“Alright,” Mingyu nodded, “guess we should get going. Do you need anything before we go through security?”

Both boys were looking down at you -- Mingyu really didn’t give a shit if Wonwoo needed anything, and vice versa -- so you shook your head, “No… I’ll relax when we get on the plane.”

“Okay,” Mingyu sighed, placing a hand on the small of your back and leading you toward bag check.

Everything went by in a blur. Your bags were taken care of, you got through security no problem -- you trusted Vernon’s skills -- and you were waiting at the terminal in what seemed like a short amount of time. Your head rested on Mingyu, your eyes looking up at him as you couldn’t believe he was here in front of you. He had excused himself to the bathroom to wash up, so you could actually see his skin a lot better. He was a little bit paler, he had some scars you didn’t recall him having before, and he still had some cuts on his face that were healing. He definitely looked tired, but his eyes were hard and determined as he stared straight ahead.

Meanwhile, your hand was in Wonwoo’s, gripping it as tightly as you could. His hand was warm despite the tense situation. He was silent the whole time, only speaking up to ask if you needed anything. But you could tell he didn’t really want to hold your hand since his grip wasn’t as solid as it normally was. It was loose, and he didn’t lace your fingers together. He held your hand like Mingyu liked to hold your hand, but Wonwoo always held your hand with your fingers woven between each other. It just didn’t feel right.

But what did feel right currently? Mingyu was angry, Wonwoo was upset, and you were caught in the middle. Nothing felt right anymore, at least not right now. And you were pretty sure nothing would really feel right after this, either.

You didn’t notice your eyelids drooping as you thought about the two boys beside you. You hadn’t realized you’d dozed off until Mingyu helped you up so you could walk down the terminal and onto the plane. But once you were in the seat between the two boys, you were out once again, and you wouldn’t remember the walk from the airport to the airplane.

Neither of the boys spoke to each other on the plane. Mingyu stared out the window while Wonwoo just stared blankly at the movie playing in front of him. They chose to pretend the other wasn’t there instead of at least trying to be civil. Mingyu hated Wonwoo because he was the new guy, and Wonwoo hated Mingyu because he was the old guy who was supposed to be dead. Both had ruined the others plans.

But then there was you. They were both upset with you: Mingyu was upset that you moved on, and Wonwoo didn’t know why he was upset with you, but he was. You knew deep down that both of them had some harsh feelings toward you, but you were trying to put that conversation off for as long as possible. You were scared they’d both just leave you, and you couldn’t handle that. You lost Mingyu once, you couldn’t lose anybody else anymore.

The plane landed safely in Jeju, and Mingyu gently shook your shoulder while Wonwoo gathered your carry-ons. Wonwoo just carried everything off the plane while Mingyu helped you walk in your sleepy state. A car was ready for you when you got to Jeju, so all you three had to worry about was getting the rest of your belongings from bag check, and following the directions to your new house.

By the time the three of you reached the car, you were wide awake. You helped put bags in the trunk before getting in the backseat with Wonwoo -- he refused to sit near Mingyu -- again. Mingyu just started up the engine and drove to where the GPS told him to, not saying anything to either of you.

It was nighttime, but you couldn’t see the stars here like you did back home. The lights of Jeju City made the stars invisible, and it made you miss your home even more. But you couldn’t focus on that, you had to let the agency know you arrived safely in the city.

You texted Seungcheol to let him know, and he called you immediately after. You put the phone to your ear, guessing exactly what he would say next.

“Vernon and Hoshi said Mingyu’s alive,” he said quickly, though it sounded like a question.

“He is,” you insisted, nodding even though he couldn’t see you. “He just...showed up.”

“Holy shit,” Seungcheol breathed. “How is he?”

“Thinner, paler...dirtier,” you listed off, remembering the scars you’d seen on his skin. “He hasn’t said much about what happened, so I can’t tell you anything. Sorry.”

“Can I talk to him?”

“He’s driving.”

“Can you have him call me as soon as he can? But make sure he gets some sleep. The boss will call when you guys get to the house, though.”

“Alright, got it.”

Seungcheol kept the conversation short since he figured you were stressed out and exhausted. But that just left you once again in an awkward silence among the people in the small car. But hey, you’d be living like this for a while, so you might as well get used to it.

-

The house was small but it had a basement with computers already set up. There was a bedroom on the main floor -- the house was only one floor if you didn’t count the basement -- and a bed in the computer room in the basement. That meant only two beds, and three of you. So somebody was sharing, and you weren’t sure who it was going to be.

Other than the beds, though, there was a bathroom, and a small living room/kitchen. Basically, the house had the bare minimum, but it was really all you needed for now. Besides, the less conspicuous, the better.

All of the bags were dropped on the floor in the basement while Mingyu turned on all the monitors and towers. While he did that, Wonwoo looked around slowly before breaking the silence.

“I guess we should talk about this now, then,” he decided.

“No, we--”

“Good idea,” Mingyu agreed with a way-too-cheery tone. His sharp gaze went straight to you, and you almost flinched. “___, care to tell me why you’re dating someone else?”

You gave Mingyu an incredulous look, “Are...are you serious?”

“I was only gone for a few months!”

“Mingyu, everybody thought you were dead!”

“Oh,” he let out a harsh laugh, “is that why I found this in the nightstand?”

Mingyu’s hand came out of his pocket, holding your promise ring between his index and middle finger. His eyebrows were raised, waiting for your response, but all you did was stare at the ring, every memory with Mingyu suddenly hitting you all at once. You missed him so much it hurt, but all he was doing was accusing you for doing what? Moving on? Not being miserable forever?

All of your emotions escalated into anger.

“Mingyu, you’re acting like a dick!” you burst.

“Me?” he snorted before his expression turned dark. “I was kidnapped and tortured, and you went and found someone new as soon as you could!”

“I waited months, Gyu!” you told him, standing toe-to-toe with him and leaning up to get even more in his face.

“Yeah, she held out hope for a dead guy,” Wonwoo scoffed to himself, but it was still loud enough for both of you to hear.

You looked over at him where his fingertips were running over one of the keyboards, and you saw his eyes roll in the dim glow of the monitors.

“And you,” your anger was now zeroed in on Wonwoo, who looked up at you like he didn’t expect the outburst, “what do you have against me now? Do you think it’s my fault I loved Mingyu before I even knew you existed? Is it my fault Mingyu came back?”

“No, but you have to choose one of us,” Wonwoo stated, trying to avoid making sense of why he was so angry at you. “We both know it has to happen.”

“Ugh, I can’t!” you shouted, your hands slapping against your thighs as your head dropped back and you just stared at the ceiling. You lifted your head to look between the two boys that were surprised by your outburst. “I still love Mingyu, but I love you, too! I-- I can’t help it; I can’t decide!”

“Just admit I’m a second choice, ___,” Wonwoo scoffed.

“Oh, fuck off. You and I both know that’s not true. You reminded me of Mingyu, but you are not Mingyu. I didn’t fall in love with you to get over Mingyu, I fell in love with you for you.”

“Then what am I, huh?” Mingyu chimed in, holding his arms out. “Just the dead boyfriend?”

“Oh, don’t you act like I haven’t been clinging to you since you walked through my door,” you frowned, your hands balling into fists at your sides. “I think we all know how I feel about you, otherwise Wonwoo wouldn’t be acting like a huge fucking baby right now.”

“That’s not--”

“You--”

“You numbskulls do realize we’re all being hunted down by whoever the fuck took Mingyu, right?” you quizzed them, interrupting their arguing. “So until you two can get your goddamn priorities straight, you two can share the bed down here!”

With that, you grabbed your things and marched up the stairs before slamming the door closed behind you, leaving the two boys in a stunned silence.

-

You didn’t go see either of them for two and a half weeks. You were furious and upset and afraid and confused all at once. All you did was cry and talk to whoever was available to listen to your worries. You knew you should’ve tried to fix things, but you were just so angry with them for worrying over who gets your heart when you could die at any moment. Not only that, but you loved them both. How could you let one of them go?

Slowly, though, you were gathering your thoughts. You were figuring out the best way to go about handling the situation -- with a little help, of course -- and you were mentally preparing yourself to finally go and talk to them. It had been two and a half weeks, anyway, so you figured you should go check on them.

“What’s the worst thing that could happen, anyway?” Hansol had asked through the phone.

“They could both decide to not be with her,” Jihoon deadpanned.

“Technically the worst thing that could happen is that the island explodes,” Seokmin interjected.

“Neither of you are helping,” Hansol sighed.

Jihoon shrugged, “You asked.”

“I’m just gonna go do it before you idiots make it worse...” you grumbled before hanging up from the call and trudging down the stairs.

To your surprise, all was silent.

“U-um...” you didn’t really know what to say, but the sound of your voice made both boys look up from their work, “hello...”

“Wow,” Mingyu was the first to speak up, “I thought you were going to leave us down here to rot.”

“We’d deserve that,” Wonwoo nodded, standing up from his chair. “Are you feeling better, _____?”

Your eyebrows furrowed, “You guys...aren’t...mad at me anymore?”

“We shouldn’t have gotten upset with you in the first place,” Mingyu admitted with a sigh, standing up as well and going to stand beside Wonwoo in front of you.

“We did some talking and--”

“You talked?” you asked.

Wonwoo chuckled, “Well, after messing with each other for like, a week -- give or take a few days.”

“But we realized we were the jerks,” Mingyu continued.

“And we’re both just afraid of losing you,” Wonwoo admitted.

“So,” Mingyu’s face began to break into a smirk.

You made a face, eyeing the taller boy up and down, “I don’t like the look you’re giving me...”

“Stop that,” Wonwoo scolded, whacking Mingyu in the stomach and making him laugh. Then he turned his attention back to you, looking at you softly. “It’s okay if you love us both.”

Your eyes widened, playing his words over and over in your head, making sure you heard him correctly, “I-it is...?”

“Yeah, only if you’re okay with it,” Mingyu smiled to show you that everything was okay now. He even tossed an arm around Wonwoo’s shoulder. “We can share, we’re big boys and shit.”

“W-wait,” you stuttered, leaning away to look seriously at Mingyu, and then up at Wonwoo who was watching as his chewed on his lip, “what about...you two?”

Mingyu shrugged, “I mean, I personally don’t get what you see in him, but I think he’s alright.”

Wonwoo playfully scoffed as he brushed Mingyu’s arm off of him, “You’re no prize, either,” he chuckled before turning serious again and looking at you. “We’ll make it work, _____. We know you're afraid of losing both of us, but you won’t have to worry anymore. Neither of us are going anywhere.”

“Yeah, nobody will leave,” Mingyu agreed, walking over to stand behind you, his hands moving to your waist and holding you flush against his body, “okay?”

You nodded slowly, breathing out, “Okay.”

Mingyu’s lips pressed to the skin of your neck, nipping softly and playfully as his thumbs pushed up your shirt just enough for him to touch our skin just above your shorts. You whined and tried to elbow him away.

“Stop, I missed you!” he whined back. “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Yeah, but Wonwoo--”

“He can watch, I don’t care,” he chuckled. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you again? The boss could walk in and that wouldn’t mean shit to me.”

Wonwoo’s eyebrows twitched upward as he turned to go sit back in his chair, “Yeah, pretend I’m not even here.”

Mingyu cupped your cheek and turned your head to look at him, gently pressing his lips to yours. Mingyu bit down a little harder on your flesh, making you gasp, and he deepened the kiss. But Mingyu was always a little more impatient when he hadn’t seen you in a while, and this time, it had been the longest you’d gone without seeing each other. So he was already trying to tug your shirt off over your head.

“She likes being teased more,” Wonwoo murmured, his eyes scanning his screen as if he wasn’t even paying any attention to the two of you.

Your eyes snapped open again at the sound of his voice, already so lost in Mingyu that you actually kind of did forget his presence.

“I will tease her,” Mingyu pouted, managing to pull your shirt off over your head before throwing it directly at Wonwoo, the clothing landing on the older boy’s head. “Don’t tell me how to fuck my own girlfriend.”

“She’s my girlfriend, too,” Wonwoo reminded him, glancing over at him. “Maybe I should show you how to do thing properly with her since it’s been a while for you.”

You tensed as arousal suddenly shot through you at the thought.

Mingyu smirked as he caught your reaction, “I think she likes the idea.”

“Oh really?” Wonwoo asked, a smirk of his own growing on his face as he slowly stood and walked over to you until he was right in front of you, cupping your jaw. “Would you like that, baby? Do you want me to join you and Mingyu?”

Slowly, you nodded.

Wonwoo leaned down to kiss you, his thumb rubbing softly against your skin. Mingyu brought his attention back to your neck, nipping and sucking and kissing. After a moment, the two men switch spots with Mingyu’s lips on yours. But you soon turned in his arms and your lips went to Mingyu’s neck to nibble on him like he had with you. Your hands moved straight to the waistband of his sweats, slowly pulling them down. Mingyu whined into the kiss -- he hated when you didn’t pull his pants down quickly, and you knew it.

The clothing pooled around his ankles, and you let one hand drift over his boxers as you sucked a mark on Mingyu’s neck. You could feel his member starting to get hard, so you palmed him through the thin material, smirking when he moaned softly. You even heard the older boy chuckle.

But your actions were stopped when you felt a hand on your wrist, tugging your and away from Mingyu’s crotch. You pulled away to see Mingyu staring at you with a raised eyebrow, “You don’t get to tease me, baby. We’re going to tease you.”

Wonwoo smirked immediately, eyeing you up and down, “I kind like that idea. Why don’t you strip for us, baby?”

The two boys moved to sit back in their computer chairs. Wonwoo undid his belt and jeans while Mingyu pulled his half-hard member from his boxers and started to stroke himself. Both pairs of eyes were on you as you stood before them in just a shorts and your bralette.

Your clammy hands moved up to grab your bralette and tug it over your head. You heard Mingyu suck in a breath between his teeth, and when the article of clothing had dropped to the floor, you could see him staring at you through lidded eyes.

“Fuck, I haven’t seen you in so long,” he groaned as his hand stroked up and down his length slowly. “My memory did not do you justice.”

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Wonwoo agreed as his fist wrapped around his own cock, watching you as he licked his lips.

“You two talk too much,” you smirked, rolling your eyes. “Neither of you know how to just shut up and enjoy a show.”

Mingyu’s eyes slid closed momentarily, “She still loves to talk back, huh?”

Wonwoo let out a low groan, “Y-yeah. I think she likes punishments.”

You were almost completely hypnotized by the boys in front of you that you almost forgot to remove the rest of your clothes. You shimmied out of your shorts before kicking them off to the side, and then you turned around and bent over as you slowly discarded your panties that had your arousal pooling in them.

Wonwoo pointed over to the bed, “Go lay down on your back.”

You did as you were told, swinging your hips as you went. You sat down on the mattress and laid back on your elbows, watching the two boys. Mingyu walked right over to you, taking off his shirt and boxers, tossing the clothing off in a random direction. Wonwoo just watched you as he started discarding his own clothes.

Mingyu eagerly kissed your lips, his hands finding yours and holding them above your head. His lips trailed down lower, his tongue momentarily flicking over one of your nipples before he carried on, going lower as his hands slid down your body. He held your hips in place with one hand while the other parted your legs. He settled between them, his hot breath fanning against your core. You could feel your arousal dripping down your thighs and onto the bed, and Mingyu smirked as he assessed how wet you were.

“You want both of us, hm?” his voice was low and rough as his eyes glanced up at you through his lashes. “C’mon, _____, I know you can speak. Say you want both of us.”

“I want both of you,” you breathed.

“Good girl,” he hummed before pressing his tongue flat against your clit.

You let out a soft moan, trying to push your hips into Mingyu’s face, but he kept his grip on you solid. You went to at least move your hands down to his hair, but you felt the bed dip before you felt strong hands on your wrists. You looked up and saw Wonwoo kneeling beside you, his hands holding yours above you, and his half-hard cock in your face.

“I think the idea was for you to stay where you are,” he mused as you bit your lip, feeling Mingyu’s tongue slip in and out of you. “Maybe you need a distraction.”

Wonwoo used one of his hands to hold his length, lightly tapping the side of your face with it. You opened your mouth, looking up at him with wide eyes because you knew he loved when you looked at him like that. He bit his lip, inhaling sharply.

“Fuck, you look so good like this,” he grunted, cupping your cheek.

Mingyu looked away from what he was doing to watch you and Wonwoo. Your head bobbed at a slow pace, trying to get him fully erect before you did anything more. You sat up on one arm while your other hand wrapped around the base of Wonwoo’s member. The older boy let out a shaky breath as he watched you before his eyes flickered to Mingyu, meeting his darkened gaze for a moment.

You started taking more of Wonwoo in your mouth, letting him thrust into your mouth as he pleased while his head dropped back, letting out throaty moans. His hand moved from your cheek to your hair, guiding your head to move just how he liked. His Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed thickly, groaning softly.

“Fuck, you’re so good, love,” he mumbled.

Mingyu wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked, making you moan around Wonwoo. The vibrations made the older boy moan out louder, and he suddenly pulled himself out of your mouth with a pop.

“I wanna cum inside you,” he said softly, his finger tracing over your jaw. He turned to look at Mingyu, who was still working his tongue against you. “I have an idea. Lay on your back.”

“Since when am I taking orders from you?” Mingyu mumbled, sitting up before crawling to lay on his back beside you. 

“Since now,” he replied before he looked at you and nodded toward Mingyu. “I want you to ride him.”

“What do you have planned for yourself, then?” you quizzed as you straddled Mingyu’s hips.

“You’ll see,” Wonwoo sang with a smirk before he got off the bed and walked over to the corner of the room the bags were still dropped in.

As you sank down on Mingyu’s length, you let out a soft moan, enjoying each delicious inch of him. Mingyu just watched you, relishing in the look on your voice, and the noises you made. His hands held your waist, guiding you down onto him.

“You feel so much better than I remember,” he groaned, waiting for you to move. “Fuck, I missed you so fucking much.”

Just as you were adjusted and ready to start moving your hips, you felt something cold against your hole. You sucked in a breath between your teeth, not expecting the sudden coldness.

“Shh, relax,” Wonwoo cooed as he swirled around his finger coated in lube. “Have you done this before?”

“Plenty,” Mingyu replied with a breathy chuckle. “She’ll be okay.”

“So,” Wonwoo began, his voice a little more mischievous than you would’ve liked, “if I did this, then…”

Wonwoo slid his long digit in slowly, leaning around you to watch your face for any signs of discomfort. While your eyes did close, the noises you made were all out of pleasure. You whimpered, but pushed back on his finger, therefore swiveling your hips a bit on Mingyu, causing him to let out a quiet moan.

Wonwoo smirked, “You like that, don’t you? You want more, huh?”

You nodded, biting on your lip.

“Words, baby,” Mingyu told you teasingly.

“I-I want m-more,” you managed to stammer out.

Slowly, Wonwoo added more of his index finger, making sure you were still okay before each move he made. Mingyu was patient about it, not expecting you to move much while Wonwoo stretched you out with more fingers. Just being inside you, watching your expressions, and hearing your moans was enough for him anyway. It had been so long since he was touched at all that even this was amazing to him.

Finally, Wonwoo coated his length in the cold lube before lining his tip up with your hole, “Relax, baby.”

You nodded, feeling his warm hand move down your back before resting on your waist. Carefully, he inserted his cock into you, your eyes squeezing shut as your mouth opened without sound coming out.

Mingyu watched, biting his lip as one of his hands moved down to your clit. His thumb rubbed small circles into the bundle of nerves, and your hips jerked at the sensation. He smirked, nodding to Wonwoo who was looking to Mingyu to see if you were okay.

“Shit, you’re such a good girl for us, _____,” Wonwoo breathed when he was completely buried inside you. “Look how well you take both of us at once.”

The praises motivated you to slowly lift your hips before moving them back down, a low, long moan trailing from your lips. Mingyu groaned out your name quietly while Wonwoo sucked in a sharp breath.

“Oh fuck, you’re so tight,” Wonwoo mumbled before slowly thrusting in and out of you in small movements.

Mingyu matched his pace despite the fact he wanted things hard and fast. He knew he wouldn’t last nearly as long as the two of you, but he just wanted to finally cum. But he held back and copied Wonwoo’s movements to bring you the most pleasure.

You’d never felt anything like this before. You’d never felt so full, and the feeling was euphoric. You couldn’t even open your eyes, your nails digging into Mingyu’s chest as he held you close to him. Wonwoo’s hands held your waist tightly as his thrusts became longer and faster, and your moans started to turn into high cries of pleasure.

“Are you gonna cum, baby?” Mingyu cooed in your ear as he thrust up into you in between pants and gasps, his thumb still circling your clit. “Are you gonna cum on my cock like a good girl?”

“God, fuck--! Y-yes,” you cried, nodding frantically as you swiveled your hips, chasing your high.

Your need to reach your orgasm had Mingyu releasing without warning, filling you with warmth as his head dropped back. You peeled your eyes open to see his Adams apple bobbed as he groaned out your name, his hips bucking up into yours sporadically.

Wonwoo leaned down slightly, still thrusting into you. You whimpered loudly as your orgasm hit you, your eyes meeting Mingyu’s for a brief moment. Your eyes squeezed shut as your back arched forward and away from Wonwoo’s front that was flush against your back. Your toes curled, and your legs shook from the intensity, everything behind your eyelids going white. You clenched around both boys, making Mingyu cry out softly, and Wonwoo groan deep in his throat.

“Fuck, that’s it,” Wonwoo’s breath was hot on your neck as he praised you through your orgasm.

With a few more thrusts, Wonwoo released into you as well, his arms snaking around your waist and holding you close to him, his face buried in your neck. Mingyu ran one hand through your hair as he rode out his release, his teeth grazing against your bare shoulder.

“Fuck,” Wonwoo panted, gently pulling out of you before rolling over to lay down on his back beside Mingyu. “God, that was… Fuck…”

Mingyu placed a kiss on your jaw before looking up at you, smiling as brightly as he could for somebody was tired out from sex, “You did so well, baby. I’m proud of you.”

You let yourself relax onto Mingyu’s chest, your cheek squished up against his sweaty skin. One of your hands wandered over to Wonwoo, your thumb stroking his cheek as you stared at him.

“I love you,” you mumbled sleepily. “Both of you. I don’t ever want either of you to leave.”

“We won’t,” Wonwoo promised, holding your hand to his cheek as he leaned over to press a chaste kiss to your forehead. “Neither of us.”

“Promise?” you asked as your eyelids got heavier.

“Promise,” Mingyu mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Promise,” Wonwoo agreed, his smile being the last thing you saw before your eyes closed.

-

You rubbed your dry eyes, letting your head drop back against your computer chair. You knew you should’ve gone to bed two days ago, but you thought you were on the verge of getting through this firewall. But then there were other obstacles that had popped up, and you kept telling yourself you were almost there. Therefore, you persisted on for three days straight.

Wonwoo wasn’t happy about that, and neither was Mingyu.

“_____!” Mingyu called your name from up the stairs. “Dinner’s ready!”

“Just a sec!” you called back, your hands moving from your face, up to your hair and carding through it.

“No, now!” you heard Wonwoo’s deeper voice shout.

You let out a loud groan, frustrated you had to stop your work when you were -- yet again -- so close to being done. But you knew better than to argue against both of your boyfriends, so you pushed yourself up from your chair and went up the stairs.

The house smelled like food, and you knew Mingyu was trying to teach Wonwoo how to properly cook. Both boys were in the kitchen, bickering as usual. They were facing away from you, looking down at the stove instead. Mingyu seemed to be showing Wonwoo something while the older boy watched beside him, squinting down at the stove like it had just insulted his mother. The two  continued to bicker about something Wonwoo didn’t understand about cooking.

“Hey, don’t tell me dinner is ready when it’s not,” you pouted, crossing your arms over your chest.

Wonwoo turned around, laughing at your expression, “Don’t ‘hey’ me. Dinner is ready, he’s teaching me how to make dessert.”

“But it’s our one year,” you pointed out, sitting at the counter as you waited for Wonwoo to bring over the plates, “I thought we had...not food for dessert.”

“No, that’s still the plan,” Mingyu nodded, untying the apron from his waist, “but he wanted to know how to make something himself.”

You rolled your eyes as Wonwoo placed a plate full of food in front of you, “Woo, you act like you’re a worse cook than you actually are.”

“She has a point,” Mingyu agreed, walking around to the other side of the counter to sit beside you and eat.

Wonwoo shrugged, bringing over the last two plates, “Yeah, but Mingyu’s better.”

As the three of you ate in a comfortable silence, your mind wandered to moving. The three of you were moving into a new house tomorrow that would be larger to accommodate all of your things. Since it had been a year since Mingyu escaped his kidnappers -- he never would tell you exactly what happened, though he did tell Wonwoo, and Mingyu often woke up from nightmares -- the agency deemed it safe for the three of you to move into a better living space. Security would still be tight, and you were going to be living closer to Minghao, who was a pretty decent assassin when he had to be.

“_____, stop that!” Mingyu frowned, his thumb pressing down on the crease formed between your eyebrows.

You looked up at him, “What, stop thinking?”

Wonwoo snorted, covering the lower half of his face with a napkin.

“You’re stressing over moving again,” he sighed. “C’mon, we have everything packed, and nobody is tracking us. Things will be okay.”

Mingyu’s warm hand landed on your knee comfortingly, his ring shining in the light from the kitchen. Then, you felt Wonwoo’s on your other knee, stroking your leg through the fabric of your jeans with his thumb. He had gotten you and him promise rings about six months after that first night the three of you spent together. You looked between the two boys, both giving you looks like just screamed, ‘stop worrying’.

So you sighed and nodded, knowing with both of them with you, things would be okay, “Alright, fine.”

“Good,” Wonwoo smiled before pressing a chaste kiss to your temple.

“Well then,” Mingyu sighed, shoving his half-empty plate away, “I’m ready for dessert.”

“We’ve hardly even started eating!” Wonwoo pointed out.

“Just wrap it up,” he shrugged before he stood up. You thought he was going to go get whatever Wonwoo had made, but instead, you were tossed over Mingyu’s shoulder as he said, “I’ll take dessert to go!”

You let out a squeal, “Mingyu, put me down!”

“Yeah, put her down!” Wonwoo agreed, which had Mingyu pausing as he went to walk to the bedroom. But the older boy’s next sentence had him laughing with glee. “We’re supposed to share dessert, remember?”

[mystic-vision]

Highschool AU : HC where RFA+V+Saeran react to MC being too friendly with her teacher??? (RFA+V+Saeran is also a student and they're not a pair yet, but they fell hard for MC)5

(warning, really long mini-fanfics ahead! )

it’s really weird to be too friendly to a stranger teacher so i made them relatives^^

Zen

nights spent under the dim light of the han’s basement which the drama club called their theatre were the best to the class. be it the hundreds of pillows and fur carpets or the many snacks and drinks provided to the students.

despite the various studies and homework piled over them, they didn’t really care as topics threw themselves around, from stories to gossip, everything was taken in and joked about.

hyun sat hugging one of the colourful pillows as he scrolled through his ig, behind him was a fellow clubmate who had the honour of braiding his hair as they listened to the chatter of the others. “ hmm? ” she suddenly spoke. “ isn’t that MC ? ”

with a nod of his head, he liked the picture and scrolled past. “ have you heard though? ” someone from the back spoke, gathering the attention of everyone. “ she’s hitting it off with vanderwood! ”

gasps spread throughout the large room, earning a laugh from hyun. “ she’s just really friendly, ” he argued. “ extremely nice and easy to talk to. ”

“ look at you and your crush ! ” they laughed as blood rushed towards hyun’s face and he started laughing loudly, pushing the topic aside.

okay maybe, just maybe , his friends were right about her being too friendly with the teacher- but there’s no way, a teacher!

he grit his teeth as he watched vanderwood rest his hand on her arm, giving her a couple of papers before she had smiled at him dearly.

the sight horrified him- he realized how possessive he seemed but the heavy knot she had tied him with was driving him crazy, he couldn’t deny her charm and he hated the sight of her, with his least favourite teacher.

as the said hated man walked away, MC was left standing alone besides her locker. a chance that couldn’t be wasted, hyun did grasp it and walk towards her. “ hey babe ” he winked, earning a laugh from her.

“ hello, zen. ” she emphasized at the nickname the school gave him, as she opened her locker, shoving her books inside before taking others out.

a smile tugging at his lips, he rested the side of his arm on the locker, looking at the shorter female, “ i’ll give you the honour of calling me hyun. ”

she smiled and the butterflies decided to go mad and tug on his heartstrings. “ i know, uh, this seems really mad. ” he suddenly said, courage taking the best of him. “ but everyone’s going around saying you’re kickin it off with vanderwood and some other rumors of you havin a boyfriend and i tho- ”

the sudden words brought a loud laugh out of her, interrupting the white headed, “ vanderwood ? ” she said, unable to contain her shock. “ he’s my cousin- last time i checked, i didn’t have a boyfriend ”

information running through hyun’s mind took him a moment to process them properly. surprise was no doubtly showing on his face as MC excused herself and walked away, a smile still on her face.

what a pleasing thing to learn, he thought as relief washed itself over his chest. so he had a chance with her and that assured him very much.

Jumin

school festivals weren’t really jumin’s thing, until of course his parents decided to endorse into the activities of the school and thus, he was forced to join in on the hype, much to his dismay.

he sighed, looking at the list of requirements as his friends on the other hand seemed to be having the fun of their lives. really, what was so pleasing about cleaning and decorating yourself when someone could do it for you?

but well, not everyone is from a rich family like you, mr han.

sighing once more, his dear friend jihyun pushed a box towards him which seemed to be filled with different and colourful decorations.

okay, maybe helping the others wasn’t a bad thing, he thought as he saw who happened to be a family friend and his crush, MC, walk into the room carrying large cardboards.

jumin, being the gentleman he is, did not hesitate to rush in and help her in carrying the large amount she was carrying.

as he was setting them aside, their art teacher walked in and his immediate reaction was to wrap his arm around MC’s shoulder.

she didn’t shy up from his behaviour and instead smiled at him, resulting in jumin’s stomach aching as if it was tied in a knot.

soon enough, MC had excused herself out and the teacher remained to help along with the cardboards.

a chance was given to the chaebol as he was left alone in the room with the teacher. and as the mentioned man had requested a hand from jumin to tie ribbons around the classroom, the student didn’t reply and started at the teacher. “ are you and MC dating ? ” he asked, bluntly.

“ i quite fancy her and thus, i’ll be the selfish and spoiled child i am, ” he added, “ i will tell the management about this. you know clearly we are not of the legal ag- ”

the laughter erupting from his teacher’s lips filled the quiet room and brought a shocked expression upon jumin’s face. “ god, han. ” he said as he tried to regain his breath, “ have you forgotten that i’m her uncle ? ”

sudden realization hit jumin, “ i apologize. ” he replied sternly, “ i fear i am too attached. ” he said with a chuckle, receiving a nod from the teacher.

Yoosung

the blond tried to mantain the best of his sanity, keeping his mouth shut and eyes open as he read through the japanese book- god, who decided learning japanese as a secondary language midway was a perfect idea?

the quiet atmosphere of the library didnt help. and you know what was worse? his elementary crush which happened to still be his crush in highschool sat opposite to him, studying whatever she was doing.

yoosung just wanted to look up from his book to admire her beautiful features, sinking deep into his mind palace which was literally filled with imaginations of her, but really- he had a test tomorrow!

focus yoosung, focus.

a sudden figure sat down in the opposite table where MC was and yoosung had noticed it from the top of his eyes.

curiousity took the best of him and he looked up, to find his history teacher seated rather close to MC, who smiled at him as she tugged a fallen strand of hair behind her ear- the simgle gesture tugged a smile on the teacher’s lips-

furious, yoosung didn’t know how to react to the sight infront of him, he wanted to scream at the teacher yet he tried to keep it in, fuck’s sake it’s a library.

nope, he couldn’t. he wanted to be the good guy here and thus he gathered up his books, forcing them into his bag as he got up to wherever his feet would take him.

lack of sleep due to excessive gaming was a norm to the blond, but lack of sleep due to excessive gaming because his crush was being too nice with his history teacher was certainly rather specific and strange.

he spotted the culprit of his sorrow, the history teacher himself, standing infront of the vending machine, sipping his iced coffee.

with no hesitation, yoosung walked up to him and stared right up into his eyes. “ are you flirting with MC ? dating her ? ” he said, fists clenched.

the teacher almost spat his drink out from the sudden outburst of his student- “ i’m her brother’s boyfriend.. ”

the sudden realization hit yoosung- of course, he forgot because he didn’t care! the history teacher came out to the class last year and he indeed mentioned he was getting engaged to someone!

how immature yoosung seemed had his cheeks painted with the darkest shade of red, “ oh god i’m so sorry mr park! ” he said loudly as he continuously bowed his head.

in response, the teacher merely laughed, “ you have a thing kickin for my lil sis in law huh? ” he said before patting yoosung’s shoulder, wishing him goodluck.

and that was how MC learned that yoosung had a crush on her and why she decided to confront him about it next day. and to say the least, both were very happy about the results of them helping each other out with history and japanese in the comfort of yoosung’s shithole of an apartment since they were kicked out of the library for being too loud.

Jaehee

chemistry class, how fun it was for jaehee.

mostly because she was partnered up with her dearest friend and crush, MC. the naive girl couldn’t tell of jaehee’s obvious feelings towards her and that sent doubts upon jaehee.

was MC into jaehee? into girls even? the thought of this topic brought shivers down jaehee’s spine often yet she promised herself to enjoy each quality moment with MC anyways.

the book didn’t help much in describing what needed to be done and certainly the two didn’t understand anything, and thus MC decided to call for the teacher-

the teacher, the smile on jaehee’s face died down as the man headed towards the two. she hated him, for the reason that he seemed to be too comfortable and flirty with MC and it made jaehee personally uncomfortable for her friend.

as soon as he arrived and leaned down hand wrapped around mc’s shoulder, she smiled at him and explained the struggles of the two with a soft, polite voice.

jaehee frowned, huffing as the teacher explained a point similar to what jaehee had in mind earlier but MC refused to do-

but as soon as the teacher had suggested it, MC rushed to do it without hesitation, pushing jaehee on her nerves even more.

shortly after class, the two girls sat in the cafeteria discussing different topics all coming from MC. the other gal replied dryly and seemed to be lost in a daze.

the sudden switch of behavior confused MC and she decided its best to discuss the elephant in the room. “ are you okay ? ” she asked, resting her arm on jaehee’s shoulder.

with a distressed look and a confused mind, jaehee found the courgae inside of her, “ look, i dont want to lose you as a friend-” MC frowned at the sudden talk, “ but are you and that teacher a thing ? ” she asked.

“ you see- ”

MC groaned. “ he’s my brother! ” she said. “ alot of people mistake us for one because he loves hugs ” she huffed. “ besides i’m not even into men, i thought you knew that ? ”

jaehee’s eyes widened, “ n-no, actually i never knew. ”“ oh gosh, i hope you don’t feel awkward now ! ” MC suddenly said- blood rushing to her cheeks. “ i mean well um- ”

jaehee smiled widely. “ hearing you say that gives me confidence to tell you that i really like you- ” she shot up, her cheeks painted with the hues of red.

MC smiled, closing in on jaehee to give her a chasté kiss on the lips. “ i hoped so. ”

707

with an assignment due ending tomorrow, saeyoung had a rough time deciding whether he should spend his night hours surfing through the internet or continuing his work.

the answer was obvious when it came to saeyoung, he could finish the essay easily before handing it in but he could never see the hundreds of posts waiting for him again!

with a few clicks, he had opened his ig and continued to scroll through whatever he had on his feed, stopping and laughing at the silliest of memes.

after a while, he had stopped at a picture of the girl who captured his heroific heart, the one and only, MC.

he didn’t know whether it was her keeping up with his retarded jokes or be it her own dorky personality but he knew more than well that she had him hooked up and knotted around her little finger.

but, she wasn’t alone. along her was his teacher, vanderwood, hugging her tightly to his chest.

he couldn’t believe his eyes. vanderwood knew of his crush on the girl since the two were closest as friends rather than teacher and student.

he rushed to his text messages, about to write to his so-called-friend before realizing it would stirr problems. bros before hoes.. right?

but vanderwood broke the code first- well, he would talk to him tomorrow.

the sudden overwhelming atmosphere had saeyoung too frustrated to continue scrolling and so he decided he should finish that essay.

rushing into the teacher’s staffroom, he found vanderwood standing- but not alone.

there stood MC, smiling up at vanderwood as he rested his arm on her shoulder.

saeyoung grit his teeth, feeling sick at the mere sight. he wanted MC to be his for sure but if she was happier with vanderwood..

insecurities hit the redheaded like a truck. he felt himself shrink and a heavy weight was pushed onto his back.

“ oh! choi. ” the voice recognized as vanderwood’s had saeyoung look up at the teacher. “ hey, did you meet my cousin? ” he said and saeyoung’s eyes widened.

MC giggled, “ hello! godly 707, savior of the universe ! ” she grinned as she saluted him.

the silly gesture sent a smile on saeyoug’s face before confusion looked at vanderwood. “ what ? youre cousins ? ”

the two relatives nodded, “ today’s my birthday you dumbass, where’s my present? ” vanderwood crossed his arms.

collecting the fragements, saeyoung started to laugh loudly, shocked at the information he never knew.

saeyoung threw the assignment papers at vanderwood, before laughing more. “ savior of the universe 707 shall take his 606 and leave! ” he shot up, taking MC’s hand and rushing out of the staffroom.

V

school trips especially to the wonderful natural sightspots were one of the most favourite things to jihyun. the rustling of the win against the trees as the leaves fell far from their home was a pleasing sound to his ears.

his love for nature was undeniable indeed, but only one thing beat that passionate connection and it had to of course be the one person that enchanted him with her grace.

she stood beneath an apple tree outside the old manor they were visiting. her lonely figure attracted him to go downstairs and outside to see how more she could make him fall for her

yet as he went through the garden door, she was no longer in solitary as she stood next to a taller figure which jihyun could recognize immediately.

the teacher accompanying them had took the empty spot next to her and she smiled at him dearly.

envy rushed through jihyun’s veins and he cringed. was he too possessive? yes, excessively but what could he blame himself for? he was too attached ever since she had transferred to his class last year, when she had offered to help him in researching about the different species of animals and plants for his essay.

as the teacher left, jihyun sighed to himself in relief. he was about to enter as well before MC herself caught up to him, grinning. “ hey ji ! ”

he smiled back at her, emotions mixing up. her smile wanted to wash away the jealousy yet he had noticed how overly friendly MC was with that teacher when he was announced as their companion. as a matter of fact, she burst with happiness when she heard the news.

“ hello. ” he tried to reply with cheer tainting his voice but she of course, noticed the fake smile and damn her she had the audacity to ask what was wrong.

being the simple man he was, jihyun thought to himself that it would be better to have her ask but he brushed it aside, replying with a dry nothing, yet his facade was seen through.

MC hummed an alright before she started talking about different topics. jihyun listened to her ramble about the place and it’s beauty before- “ even my brother liked it! ”

brother?

“ your brother is with us ? ” he said with surprise. the girl nodded and explained that the teacher accompanying them was actually her brother!

thanks to that information, jihyun felt at ease. the tightened feeling around his chest vanished almost immediately and a smile was set wide on his face. MC had noticed the change of heart and she had to address it. “ something wrong ? ”

jihyun laughed and explained his misunderstanding. “ you must really like me, huh? ” MC winked and let out multiple giggles as she saw the reddening of jihyun’s cheeks.

Unknown

surprisingly enough, the test was rather easy to answer for saeran, thanks to saeyoung’s hours of lecturing in order to make a powerful genius duo but the younger twin just couldn’t buy the whole ‘godly duo’ shit saeyoung was selling.

he hummed his way through the hallway as he looked for his companion which happened to be the deadly woman who caught his heart and ripped it out.

although he had yet to regain that heart, it didn’t really matter to him because he knows it’ll be safe with her.

with her completely out of sight, saeran presumed that she had already left the building and was somewhere outside.

his feet rushed him to the entrance of school and as he got closer, he saw her standing there with a gorgeous smile on her face. her face was flustered with the brightest of expression as her cheeks were painted with the darkest shade of blushing red.

with his lips tugging up in happiness as butterflies started to tug at his heartstrings, he hurriedly jogged towards her- but he realized, she wasn’t alone.

it was that damned teacher,

the teacher that pissed off saeran the most. he always pushed himself on MC and what made saeran feel worse about him was that MC happily accepted it.

the thought pissed him off and to see MC smile at him so dearly made the student burn with jealousy tainting his every inch.

as that teacher left MC’s side and headed back inside, saeran rushed into a corner that wasn’t quite visible to where his bestfriend stood.

the moment the teacher had passed by saeran, he caught a grip of his arm and pulled him in, staring deadly into his eyes.

naturally, the teacher was shocked to say the least as he looked up at the student, “ i’ll say it nicely, you have zero chanced with MC. you’re too wacky and you have a horrible taste in those.. ” saeran looked up and down at the teacher, “ gosh, hideous. ”

as he let go of the teacher, he glared at him once more. “ you know we ain’t legal and she’s out of your league. ” he said once more as he walked away.

MC rushed towards saeran, eyes widened. he looked at her in utter confusion, waiting for her to say something. “ did you call my brother hideous ? ”

i fucked up

the gal started to giggle suddenly, “ you really got him ! ” she said, trying to breathe in as much air as she could, “ i never saw him so surprised! he really likes you. ” with a grin on her face, she reached up to kiss saeran’s cheek.

“ and i do too ! ”

[theenchantedwonderrland]

REP ROOM EXPERIENCE

ok I cant believe I’m typing this out right now AHHH!! ok so I went to the tour alone because no one ever wants to go smh! And I went to the 1989 tour alone also so I was determined to make some new friends and have fun! So I went to my seat and I meet this guy with an incredible costume he made a snake out of cardboard and had “REP” in lights on his shirt and I was like oh my god I love your costume and I noticed he had 2 snake rings and I was like hey I have mine too and we took a picture of them and we became like bestfriends instantly! So when it was almost time for Taylor to come on I noticed that people were standing around b stage and I didn’t know if we could stand there so I went and I met Salli aka SWIFTIEGINGER13 on ig @swiftieginger and she is the sweetest most amazing person ! Ok so her and I were at b stage the entire time talking and bonding and now we are bestfriends too lol ! and so when Taylor came out on to the b-stage we DIED! She started crying and I started crying it was a mess! And when Taylor was walking to the other b stage I told her to go to the other side with me but we lost each other, so after I went to the second b-stage I went back to my seat! So I found my other friend with the big snake and he was jamming out having a good time and when I saw him just going crazy having the time of his life I joined him! So THIS IS WERE MY NIGHT CHANGED!!!! Taylor was singing Don’t Blame Me and omg that is my fucking song so I was going crazy (lol)! and towards the end I turn to look at my friend and I see andrea !!!!!! WHEN I TELL YOU I RAN !!! I freaking ran! she gave me the biggest hug and my friend was still dancing! So she looks at him and goes are you guys together ? And I was like yes ofcourse ! And she’s like that is sooo cool! and she started walking towards him and was like so are you guys together! I was like no lol I came alone and so did he so we just kind met here and she’s like so you guys barely met and are dancing like this together? You guys are practically bestfriends and I was like heck yes! and she goes “have you guys ever met Taylor before” WHEN I TELL YOU I FREAKED IM NOT LYING GO LOOK AT MY PICTURE ! My friend and I looked at each other and we were like no and she’s like “you promise me?” And I was like I swear! and she looked at the lady next to her and she’s like “you are going to the rep room!” WE STARTED BAWLING AND SCREAMING SO LOUD AND JUMPING ! the rush I felt during that moment oh my gosh ! My dream was literally coming true and I just screamed!!!

ok so flash forward to the end of the show my friend and I ran to the section we were supposed to but we went outside the stadium instead of inside lol so we went inside and met everyone who was going to rep room and everybody there deserved to meet her so much! They all had such beautiful stories as to why the wanted to meet her and I’m just so happy that everyone in there got to meet her ok so we filled out whatever we were supposed to and we started walking back to the rep room!!!! AHHH I SAW THE DOOR AND MY HEART DROPPED! ITS EVERYTHING YOU THINK IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL ALL THE COSTUMES AND THERE WAS PIZZA COOKIES BROWNIES SODA!! TAYLOR LOVES US SO MUCH OMG! OK AND THEN EVERYONE WAS TAKING PICTURES, WITH THE THRONE AND THE COSTUMES AND IT WAS JUST SUCH A GOOD FEELING ! AND SCOTT CAME IN AND WAS LIKE HI AND HE SAID THAT IT SHOULDNT BE LONG TILL TAYLOR CAME IN AND HE WAS SO NICE HE WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW EVERYONE ALWAYS COMES UP TO HIM SCREAMING ABOUT HOW THE WISH THEY COULD MEET TAYLOR AND THAT HE TELLS THEM HE DOESNT DO IT AND THEY NEED TO FIND ANDREA AND HE CONTINUED AND WAS LIKE IM A SMART DAD I DONT DO THAT STUFF AND EVERYONE STARTED LAUGHING THEN A GIRL ASKED IF HE HAD GUITAR PICS AND HES LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT I DO AND HE TOOK THEM OUT TO GIVE THEM TO EVERYONE AND WE ALL CROWDED HIM TO GET A GUITAR PIC AND HE YELLED “IM FEEDING CHICKENS” AND ANOTHER PERSON TOLD SCOTT “THANK YOU FOR MAKING TAYLOR” AND SCOTT SAID YOURE WELCOME IT WAS FUN AND EVERYONE DIED LAUGHING OK SO EVERYONE WAS JUST CHILLING AND TAYLOR JUMPS IN AND IS LIKE “BOO!” AND EVERYONE STARTED SCREAMING SHE SAID SHE WAS SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG BUT SHES EXCITED TO MEET US ALL AND THAT SHE WOULD SEE US INSIDE !! THEY HAD US LINE UP TO MEET HER AND WHEN IT WAS MY TURN I GOT TO ANDREA AND SHE HUGGED ME AND SHE WAS LIKE “AWW MY LITTLE PERUVIAN” and was oh no lol that’s not me that’s her and I pointed to the girl in the back and she stepped back and took a better look and was like oh my gosh no that’s right you were the one that ran to me and the one that was dancing with that guy! It’s all coming back to me” and I was like yes!! And she goes you guys could be sisters you look so much alike and I was like aw thank you lol I’m Mexican not Peruvian but hey and she’s like ahhhh mexicooo! and she went in and gave me another hug and said I’m sorry hun this 60 year old brain of mine sometimes jumbles things and I was like oh my gosh no it’s ok I forget stuff all the time and I’m only 20! she started laughing and SHE NEVER LET GO OF ME SHE WAS LIKE HALF HUGGING ME THE ENTIRE TIME!!!! so then we were talking basics like what’s your name, are you from here! What was your favorite part and I was like honestly it was when you told me I could come meet her and she’s like omg you are so cute! And she was like so are you and that guy gonna keep in touch and I’m like yes definitely! we already followed each other on instagram and Twitter we got each other on everything and she’s likes that amazing and you came alone? And I was like yeah no one in my family really supports my “obsession” And she started laughing she’s like well they are gonna kick themselves when they find out you met her and I’m like oh my gosh yes I can’t wait to go and tell them! and she was laughing again and said I love the way you say that and I’m like it’s true and I told her that I had been wanting to meet her so I can ask her about how she was doing and I wanted to find her for her and not just for Taylor! And she’s like I know I felt it ! It was so genuine that’s why I picked you! and I was like omg ! And she’s like how do you come to the shows by yourself and I was like I don’t know I kind of had to it was either I come and see Taylor for the first time love by myself or I don’t and I would rather be here with Taylor that miss out cause I didn’t want to do it alone and she’s like wow you are so brave a lot of people don’t do stuff by themselves and that shows how brave you are! and I was like reeling on a high at this point !

[neverisalongtime-ja-blog]

Chapter 28: A date?

Another week, another chapter. Y’all have no idea how much fun I’m having writing this thing and I really hope you all are having tons of fun reading it!

Thanks to everybody who send me DM’s on Instgram I love to meet RHCP fans all over the world! And of course I live for your comments and questions here on Tumblr so keep it up!

Remember to visit Anastasia’s IG profile:

Anastasia_Truman  ❤️️

Thanks to everyone who reads the fic, much love to you all! ♥

Read chapter 27

And just like that it was time to tour again. Anastasia was feeling anxious and confused about the whole Josh situation, one day she hated him for being a fucking cheating asshole and the next she was thanking him for singing Landslide to her in a concert. She couldn’t believe he involved something so holy like Fleetwood Mac was for her. Truth is, now she was stuck in two long weeks of seeing him every day. She could deal with that, at least she was preparing her mind for it. She wasn’t sure if his girlfriend would be there; she didn’t show up for the Los Angeles shows, which was a great thing because An didn’t want that to ruin those for her. She meditated a lot and then some more before taking the bus to Oakland.

For this part of the tour they would be traveling in amazing busses that looked almost like houses, each Chili Pepper member had one and all the Dead Curse members would go in one, it wasn’t something they hadn’t done before. At their first local tour they rented a black Chevrolet van and traveled all over California and the nearby states. Now, they had a huge bus for themselves. Dead Curse didn’t waste time and started the party right away. It was nice, just the four of them there, having drinks and talking about the first tours almost ten years ago. Eric, whatsoever, was looking at his phone a lot.

 -          Is there something wrong with Hannah? – Anastasia couldn’t help but ask.

-          No – Eric laughed – It’s Josh, he is bored and I told him we are kind of having a party here.

-          Well, that happens when you are too famous you’ve got your own bus – Mandy said.

 It was an almost seven hour drive to Oakland, so it was normal that everyone had to make a couple stops on the way there. With that in mind, Anastasia had an idea she never thought it would cross her mind.

 -          Why don’t you tell Josh to come join us the next stop? – She suddenly said and everyone looked at her.

-          Are you sure? – Eric asked with a derisive smile on his face.

-          Look, I’ll be stuck here with him for the rest of the tour, which is gonna take us a least two more months and before having whatever the hell we had, Josh and I were really good friends, why can’t we be friends now? – Anastasia said while the rest of her bandmates looked at her in disbelief.

-          That’s very mature of you – Nick was the first to talk.

-          Or very stupid – Mandy said.

-          I can’t get away from him, Mandy. We are both here – Anastasia said to her friend – Besides, I’m cool with the whole Josh issue, believe me. I’m ready for the next step. It didn’t even last that long, anyway.

 Mandy didn’t dare to say anything else, she always knew when to give Anastasia the space she needed and this was one of those moments. As much as they both loved and supported each other, they always respected each other’s decisions and they were always there for the consequences. Eric did what Anastasia told him and, apparently, Josh was more than happy for the invitation. And in the first stop next to Bakersfield, Josh came over to the opening band’s bus. He sure seemed happy to be there.

 -          I was so bored at that damn bus by myself – Josh said while Nick handled him a beer.

-          Welcome to the party, bro! – Eric said laughing.

-          Well, it’s not like a real party but at least you’ll have company – Nick said.

-          That’s what you get for being famous – Anastasia told Josh faking a big smile.

-          You are famous too, so… - Josh said smiling wider.

-          Who’s on the main band of this tour? – Anastasia asked

-          Oh yeah, I forgot you are just opening for me – Josh said laughing and Eric and Nick joined him.

-          Wow, Joshua is back at it again with the low curves – Anastasia said taking a seat in front of him at a small table where Nick and Eric were already sitting.

-          My name is not Joshua, it’s just Josh – He said with a serious face.

-          I’ll call you whatever I want to call you – Anastasia said.

-          What about Jak? – Josh said smiling sweet and looking through her eyes – That’s how I’m saved on your phone, isn’t it? – That was a real low blow for Anastasia, she wasn’t expecting for him to say such thing. It was a dumb thing but she then remembered that time at Moscow when they went out to eat and she told him that he was Jak on her phone because that’s how she wanted to call him when they met at an Eric’s birthday party in 2011.

-          Fine, Joshua – Anastasia said getting up from the table as Josh laughed making an eye roll – I’m gonna get some rest, you can continue the party.

-          I’ll go with you – Mandy said.

 There were four individual beds on the bus and a double one at the back, Mandy and Anastasia walked straight to that one.

 -          There is so much tension between you too – Mandy started to say lying in bed next to Anastasia.

-          Oh, shut up… - Her friend answered.

-          For real, An – Mandy said – You know I don’t like to stick my nose into your business but be careful, you promise me? – Anastasia looked at her fixedly.

-          I promise you – Anastasia said – Pinky promise.

 Both friends smiled and joined pinkies.

 They arrived in Oakland at night and everyone was very tired to do anything so they decided to go to their rooms and just sleep. Besides, Eric, Nick and Josh were a little bit tipsy from the ride.

The show next day was amazing, everybody bonded again; Anastasia and Mandy even joked a little bit with Flea and Anthony using two big cardboards with their faces on it. It was like they never left and everybody was having fun on tour once again.

 That night after the concert Anastasia started to feel a little bit ill, she felt her throat sore and started to sneeze constantly. She knew the flu was coming, and the universe added a bad allergy just to spice things up. Next morning they traveled to Portland and once there, Carl took her to see the tour doctor. She had visited him before, Doctor Ramos, because of her allergy issues. He was a sweet old guy with an incredible temperament and an answer always ready on his sleeve. But when she got to his consulting room she didn’t see him, instead there was a younger man; he was wearing a black scrub and his skin was tanned, his eyes were brown and big and the smile on his face was friendly and wide, he was a shocking view. Anastasia could see his well build arms behind that scrub; he had an undeniable Latin vibe.

 -          Hi! You must be Anastasia – The man said looking at a piece of paper.

-          Yes. Where is Doctor Ramos? – Anastasia could barely talk because of her sore throat.

-          I am Doctor Ramos – He laughed – But you must be asking for my dad – Anastasia could notice an accent on his voice – Sit here, please – He showed her the small bed on a side – Let’s see that throat. My dad told me you had a couple of serious allergies during last year’s tour – Anastasia nodded – But for what I see here – He was inspecting her throat with a small light – this is a case of the flu. I’m gonna give you a B12 shot, you’ve got tattoos so you aren’t afraid of needles – Anastasia said no with her head while he proceeded to give her the vitamin shot – Also I’m going to give you this, but don’t tell my father – He handled her a couple of small pink pills, Anastasia looked at him with a worried face – Don’t worry, these are ginger toffee, they will make miracles to your throat so you can sing tomorrow. The thing is that my dad doesn’t believe in natural remedies – He put one in Anastasia’s mouth and she felt instant relief – I’m Alex, by the way. Well my name’s Alejandro but Alex is easier for everybody around here to pronounce – They stretched hands. He smiled again and Anastasia felt she could stay there, watching him forever.

-          What happened with Doctor Ramos? – Anastasia had to ask.

-          He is on a well deserved vacation in the French Riviera at the moment, I’m gonna take care of everything around here for a while. I would like to recommend you not to ingest dairy nor any alcoholic beverage and that you come and see me tomorrow before the show – He smiled again.

-          Where are you from? – Anastasia asked not listening to what he just said; she was lost in his face and watched him get confused – I mean you have an accent.

-          Oh – Alex laughed – I’m from Venezuela, well my whole family are – She didn’t recall hearing an accent on Doctor Ramos’ voice, actually she never paid any attention to it, she was always sneezing on that consulting room – I’ve been living here for two years, well, in Miami, actually.

-          Wow! That’s so cool, we are going to Miami for this tour – She just wanted to stay there talking to him.

-          I know… - He said smiling.

-          Well, I think I should go – She said a little bit ashamed – No dairy, no booze…

-          And eat another ginger candy tonight before sleep…

-          And coming to see you before the show tomorrow – She was walking backwards to the door praying to not trip on any machine.

-          You got it.

-          Thank you very much – Anastasia talked fast and disappeared at the door.

 That guy sure made an impact in Anastasia’s day; she couldn’t stop thinking about him in all day. He seemed so sweet and looked incredible hot with his tanned skin, he had an amazing aura around him.

 -          We have Doctor McDreamy on tour now! – Anastasia said once in Eric’s Hotel room where Nick, Josh and Mandy were hanging.

-          How come? – Mandy asked.

-          Doctor Ramos is on vacation so his son is now the tour doctor who is also called Doctor Ramos, well his name is Alejandro – She said struggling with the pronunciation – The point here is that he’s fucking hot! – Anastasia said sitting on Mandy's legs.

-          Really? – Josh asked.

-          I mean look at me! Just by seeing him I feel so much better – Anastasia and Mandy laughed.

-          I gotta get sick too – Mandy said.

-          Back off. You got Peyton, I have nobody – The friends laughed again and Josh looked to the floor – But for real, I need some rest so I’ll probably sleep for a while, wake me up if you come up with plans to do something today.

-          We will – Nick said and Anastasia left the room.

 She had to admit to herself that the faces Josh made when she was talking about the new doctor gave her some rejoicing, but she wasn’t totally happy, it would be a childish move from her to make Josh feel jealous, but Alex did leave an impact in her. She went to her room, closed the curtains, took her ginger candy (which tasted terrible), and got in her bed. She felt asleep and dreamed about Alex.

 By the time of the show in Portland, Anastasia was feeling fine, her voice was back to normal, although she had to do more warming that she used to but in general it was an amazing show. The camaraderie backstage between both bands, Dead Curse and Red Hot Chili Peppers, was at its highest peak, everybody was having the time of their life and Anastasia was usually joking with Anthony and Chad or going out to eat with their manager, Nick, Eric and Josh and having girls nights with Mandy, all the things she didn’t enjoy before because she was always with Josh. This is the touring life she loved and surprisingly she was getting along with Josh scarily well. The two were always joking and making musical comparisons, Anastasia was always explaining new pop songs to him and he would always answer “I’m too old to know that group / singer”, but then Anastasia would play some 90’s pop and would sing it and dance it to Josh and he would laugh a lot watching her. She felt nervous at first but frankly being around Josh was so easy for her and he seemed to feel the same.

The band traveled to Canada and gave a show in Vancouver, they had a concert the night before too so everyone was kind of tired, but that morning Alex knocked on Anastasia’s dressing room at the venue.

 -          How are you feeling? – He asked once she opened the door for him.

-          Great! I can sing like angels again – She answered smiling.

-          Yes, I heard you, it was amazing – He said without entering the room, because Anastasia never told him to and he was a Latin gentleman – Listen I know that you have a show tonight and you had one last night also and you’re probably tired, but I have a friend who owns a Venezuelan restaurant nearby and I was wondering if you wanted to join me in lunch.

-          Of course! – Anastasia was enthusiastic about it – I love to try new foods all the time.

 And so they went. Alex took her to a small but picturesque place one block from the stadium, there he saluted a couple of guys behind the bar who looked shocked when they saw her and then the two sat on a small table at a corner.

 -          Do you know anything about Venezuelan food? – Alex asked giving her another smooth smile.

-          I know about arepas because there is a small place near my house that sells them. I always eat one with avocado, they are delicious – She answered and he looked surprised.

-          Well, I’m going to show you something more, even better than arepas – He laughed and walked to the ordering bar.

 Once there, he started to talk with the guys he greeted before, they were speaking Spanish and even though Anastasia knew some of the language they were far enough from her to properly understand, they were laughing now and Alex gave Anastasia a cute look. She wasn’t sure what this was, she definitely didn’t want to get involved with someone, her heart wasn’t properly restored after Josh but she was enjoying it, Alex was an easy going guy, relaxed and incredibly good looking. After a few minutes he came back with two trays.

 -          Try this first – He said handling her a plate with some kind of tortilla with cheese to her. She tasted it, it was sweet and the mix with the white cheese was perfect, she smiled as a sign of approval – That’s a cachapa, it’s made with sweet corn. And now taste one of this, my favorites – She picked a fried dough stick and gave it a bite, she felt like her life was making sense again, it was the most delicious thing she ever had. It was filled with white cheese again and tasted so, so good. Her smile must have been wide because he laughed.

-          What are these? – She said before take another bite.

-          That is a tequeño, it’s filled with cheese and it is the official Venezuelan party food – Alex answered while he was eating his own cachapa.

-          Guess this is a party then – Both laughed.

 Alex and An had the most varied conversation, they went through as many topics as they could. Talking and talking the hours went by fast and then she realized it was late and she needed to go back to the venue. Alex paid the check and he walked her back to the stadium. Once there, she realized she had the first date in a long time, or maybe she was unconsciously being expectant about this whole Alex deal.

 -          Where were you? – Mandy asked Anastasia when she came back to the dressing room – We take the stage in an hour. Nobody could find you for interviews.

-          Interviews? – Anastasia asked.

-          Yes, Eric and Nick had to take care of that – Mandy was doing her makeup.

-          Wow, for once? – Anastasia answered sarcastically – Poor guys, they had to do an interview. It must have been a pain.

-          You know they don’t like it

-          Welcome to the music business…

-          What the fuck is wrong with you? – Mandy asked angry.

-          Nothing – Anastasia looked to the floor – I’m just confused, that’s all. I had a date with Alex.

-          Doctor McDreamy? – Mandy’s face lit up.

-          Yes – Anastasia smiled stupidly.

-          How was it? – Mandy asked.

-          Fun. Easy.

-          Why don’t you invite him to your birthday party? – Mandy asked excited.

-          He doesn’t live in LA. I don’t know if he can make it – Anastasia said.

-          You won’t lose anything by just asking – Mandy got up from the chair – Now, come here so I can do your makeup. We don’t have enough time.

  The Vancouver show felt amazing, people there weren’t that familiarized with Dead Curse but that didn’t stopped them from having fun.

Read chapter 29

[dreamin-of-somewhere-else]

Brown Cardboard Box

Characters: Dean x sister!reader, Sam [mentioned], Lisa + Ben.

Words: 2400-ish.

[Previous character death.] - That’s the only warning I can think of really.

A/N: Hey guys! Guess who wrote a fic instead of studying for a Spanish test? Anyways, I started re-watching season 6, because I wanted watch a few souless!Sam episodes, and after 6x01 I got this idea. So the fic takes place in between season 5 and 6. 

Not my GIF

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Sometimes you imagined what it would be like if you didn’t live the life. Wondering. Making up your own little scenarios and such. How you would live in Lawrence, and how you would have actually grown up there, how you would maybe have a pet (probably a dog, satisfying Sam’s everlasting love for them), how you would have childhood friends, how you would do sports in school. How you would all graduate and then how you would go to college. Grow up. Meet a partner (hopefully). Maybe have a family of your own someday.

Now, in this very moment, you were standing here with a brown cardboard box in your embrace. A single brown cardboard box containing whatever sad excuse of a wardrobe you had, as well as the few things that actually were yours. Photos, diaries, a gun and so on. You were moving into your own place. You never thought the day would come.

You had imagined it though. In your daydreams, infinite fantasies. In those, you were moving out to go to college. That wasn’t the case right now, but that’s whatever. You were getting your own place.

You never even had your own room. It was a big deal.

In your daydreams, you had imagined your mom and dad being there, helping out. But more importantly, your brothers. They had been there too. Now, your logic, the rational part of your mind, was telling you that it was probably unlikely. You were the youngest, so Dean and Sam had probably already moved out. Heck, maybe they would have been on the other side of the country. But still, your daydreams had no limits, and you always had wanted them there. Part of the scene, in frame. There when the cameras were rolling. Wishing you luck.

Now, in the real world, present time, Dean was here. It felt good and reassuring and it almost brought a smile to your face. Almost. It had, if it wasn’t for the fact that Sam wasn’t here.

Sam was dead. The cold hard truth that always caused a paralyzing pain through your body, twisting your stomach, and it felt like you couldn’t breath. It’s amazing (in an absolutely horrifying way) that a word can do that to you. But it could, and it kept being proven to you.

Sam wasn’t here. He wasn’t by your side, he wasn’t helping you carrying boxes (that should have been more than one) to your car. He wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t even grunting in mock annoyance when you would have given him another thing to pretty please fix for you, like helping out with a second box. He wasn’t here to give you a goodbye hug. To tell you to stay safe and take it easy, or he (and Dean) would come and get you back home. He wasn’t here to wish you good luck. Or to ruffle your hair.

Sam was burning in hell, alongside with Lucifer and Michael. It still didn’t feel real, it was too absurd, too scary. Too disturbing. But the dull, but ever so lasting, throbbing pain inside of you, clenching your heart, told you otherwise.

Instead of Sam, there was Lisa and Ben. Dean’s new family.

Okay, you shouldn’t say it like that. Dean had told you off, saying that it wasn’t true. ’Don’t say that (Y/N).’

And maybe it was your realistic, fine, maybe cynical, viewpoint — but it kind of was the truth. For now, at least until Sam was back (because, yes, you would get him back). But, well, maybe for the future too. Who knows if he even wants to return to the life. Most people probably wouldn’t. Who would want to continuously risk their life for strangers, spending their life in a car, missing out on what most people just simply considers life. Why would you do that when you could have a real home, a partner, a kid, real food everyday, friends, stable routines? All that with a quite a lot higher percentage of a chance making it to a tomorrow.

Pretty much no one.

”Are you sure about this? I mean, you could just stay here?”

The voice is distant, kind of feels like you were underwater and someone was trying to talk to you from above the surface, but the words quite never reached you. You were too occupied with absentmindedly watching the beautiful speckles of light dancing in the water, broken sunlight, created by the water surface.

”(Y/N)?” Your big brother calling on you again brought you back from the sea of thoughts.

”Huh?”

”I said, are you sure you want to do this?” He gestured with a hand towards the cardboard box in your arms. ”You could just stay with me, Lisa and Ben. Right, Lis?”

Dean looked over his shoulder, where the dark-haired woman and her son stood. Her arm was gently draped around the preteen’s upper back, as they stood huddled together, watching you with kind, respectively curious eyes.

”Yeah, of course. The guest room’s always available—” Lisa nodded, but you interrupted her.

”Thanks, Lisa, I appreciate the offer. But I’m good.” You reassured her, and then looked back into Dean’s solemn, green eyes.

The truth was that you sort of felt like an outsider. A guest. You didn’t fit in. You were a piece of a different puzzle, a stray piece that got mixed up and ended up in the wrong box. This wasn’t your family. It never was meant to be. Dean was your family though. Dean and Sam.

But you couldn’t keep on living here. It was hard enough these first three weeks. It was hard leaving too. But your intuition, your gut feeling, was telling you that it was the better option. You didn’t wan’t to descend upon them anymore, gate-crashing. It was time for you to leave and go on — by yourself.

Because this, this was Dean’s. Dean’s own little family. That was ’stupid enough to take him in’ (not your words). Dean, who had been yours (and Sam’s) for all your life. Who laid down anything for you, no matter if you told him not to. And this was, for the first time, only his, and it was cosy, loving, and safe. And you didn’t want to ruin that, not for the world. It was his, and you wanted him to have it.

Speaking of Sam, you were going to find a way to bring back your other big brother. You would not stop until you got results, or you died. That was the only two possible outcomes. And that was a promise.

Dean’s lips curled into slight grimace that you could tell was supposed to be a little smile. He didn’t like this. Even though it was for his best. But he tried, for you. It hurt to look at him though, so you turned to Lisa. She immediately opened her arms, and you gratefully gave her a hug.

”Thanks for everything Lisa. Really. You took us in when we really needed it.” You pulled back from the hug and met her chocolate gaze. ”Tell me, whenever, if there is anything I can do to make it up to you. I owe you, big time.”

Lisa just smiled. ”It was nothing.”

You rolled your eyes slightly, but laughing a little meanwhile, to show that you weren’t serious. You would object, if you didn’t know that Lisa would immediately do the same, and you would just continue that way, forever.

You turned to Ben next. He was still in the age where hugs, if they weren’t from his mom, still were kind of awkward, and frankly uncool. So you settled on reaching out a hand, which he took and shook. And then, quickly before he could protest, you ruffled his hair.

”Promise me something Ben?” You asked, as you slightly bent down to his height. Then you pointed at Dean. ”Keep an eye on that one for me, would you? He can be pretty good at getting himself in sticky situation, but if you check in on him every now and then, I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

”Yeah.” Ben grinned slightly as his round eyes turned to Dean, excited and proud that he had gotten that mission. To keep an eye on Dean. ”I promise.”

”Great.” You grinned back.

You glanced sideways, and caught Lisa smiling. And Dean… Dean himself looked even more emotional.

”Well,” you said as you bent down to pick up the box that you had sat down on the pavement by your feet before hugging Lisa. ”I probably should get going.”

Dean nodded, pensively.

”Bye, (Y/N).” Lisa waved.

”Bye!” Ben echoed behind.

You smiled, before starting walking away from their porch and towards your parked car on the street. Dean followed next to you, if not slightly behind.

Once you reached the car, it was quiet for a moment. But, with you and your brothers, silence wasn’t awkward or scary — sometimes it was needed. And you three could always tell when. So you just waited for Dean collect his thoughts. Soon enough he did speak up.

”You sure you don’t wanna stay here?” He pressed a last time, gruff voice laced with hope, his green eyes almost pleading.

”I need to go, Dean.”

”Why?”

The question left his mouth before he could stop it. It was innocent, almost childlike. It made you feel guilty.

”You know why, Dean-o.” You smiled sadly. ”This is for you. Not for me.”

Dean nodded and looked away. He kind of looked teary eyed, but you weren’t going to point that out.

”I’m gonna be less than an hour away.” You tried to lighten the mood. ”It’s nothing. You can visit whenever, easily. And you better.” You quickly added that last sentence, while you nailed him with a hard gaze.

Dean chuckled just a little. You smiled. It was nice to know that you still knew how to get a laugh out of your brother. Still had it in you.

”I promise.” He smiled back, this time an actual one, as he repeated Ben’s words. ”If you promise to swing by here every now and then.”

”Deal.” You agreed, and you fell in silence again.

Dean looked sad. Actually even more so than you had expected.

You could imagine how he was feeling. How he didn’t want you to go your separate ways. Because, in a way, that meant that Dean lost another sibling. That it would only be Dean, on his own in the world. Of course, he had Lisa and Ben. But they weren’t you and Sam, because you two were a part of Dean. Lisa and Ben were a part of the world Dean had to face.

It was hard for Dean to let you go. All his life, he had been watching over you. Keeping you right by his side, under his protection. Hunting together. Dealing with the crap life had thrown at you. Seeing the country with you. Meeting new people with you, sharing friends. Basically doing everything together. And now you wouldn’t even live together anymore.

Slowly, you turned around to your car, that you had been facing away from whilst talking to your oldest brother, and opened the passenger door and placed the cardboard box in the seat. It wasn’t like anyone was sitting there anyway, like it had been for all your life. You were truly on your own now.

When you turned back towards Dean, he surprised you by enveloping you with his arms, clutching tight, hiding his face in your hair. You gently patted his back, and held on tight as well.

”I’ll miss you, squirt.” He murmured quietly, but loud enough for you to hear it clearly. The words tugged at your heartstrings, and suddenly you doubted your decision.

But, then you regained your determination again. Dean’s life. Dean’s family.

”I’ll miss you too, jerk.” You smiled into his shoulder. You really, really would.

It wasn’t like you never would see each other again. But when you go from living with a person, seeing them everyday — to once every two weeks, once a month or maybe even every other month — it was difficult. Especially when this person was not only your brother, but your best friend and right now the only person you had left of your family.

But you let him go. And he lets you go. After placing a lingering hand on his cheek, giving him a final smile, you walked around the car, and got in behind the wheel.

Hand placed on his hip, Dean ran a hand over his face, thinking that you wouldn’t notice, but you did. You didn’t point it out though.

You closed the door, and started the car. Rolling down the windows, you said goodbye to Dean once again. He appeared at the window, sending you a shadow of a smile.

”Good luck, (Y/N).” He said with a gentle voice, slightly strangled, if not.

”Good luck, Dean.” You responded. Always good luck to you. You and Sam.

Then he tapped the car twice before straightening up. You nodded meanwhile.

It was hard to press down on the gas, but eventually you just did. Driving away from the Lisa’s street, you looked through the rearview mirror. There you saw them, Dean, Lisa and Ben, all waving at you. You stretched out your arm through the window by the driver’s seat — that also was rolled down — and waved back. Soon, they were out of sight.

The weather of this moment was beautiful. It was a sunny and warm evening in May (one of your favorite months). Everything was mildly lit up in this golden light, and the sun was about to set on the blue sky decorated with pink and orange tinted clouds. The wind, as you drove, tousled your hair.

You glanced over at the brown cardboard box — that was just sitting there in the passenger seat — and that’s when you saw the old photos sticking up from the bundle of flannel that you had quite carelessly thrown in there.

You took your eyes away and focused on the road. You didn’t even need to inspect the most visible photo, to know what it pictured. You had already seen it so many times, in fact it was one of your most prized possessions.

It was one of you, Sam and Dean all together, smiling. It was taken a few years ago. You were only 18 in that one, barely an adult. Sam was 22 and fresh out of college, and Dean — full on laughing — was 26, wearing John’s old leather jacket, as well as the amulet and was happy to have his little siblings together and right by his side again. So that he could watch out for them like the mother hen he was and tease you senseless like the annoying bastard he also could be.

You missed those times. Of course you did. But more than that, the photo built onto the burning fire of pure determination to get the three of you back. You were going to take another photo like that, all three of you together, smiling happily.

Tags: @winchesters-favorite-girl @daughters-and-winsisters @evyiione @samanddeanshotsis @darkestgrungeuniverse @fabulouslycassie @delessapeace-blog @mariairwin666 @1amluke @saveprettydays @cookee50 @yoursmilemakesmeloveyou @infamati--et--obliterati  @stillcooli0

If you want to be tagged in my fics: Read this and then send me an ask telling me which one you want on :)

[eris0330]

The human weapon | Part one

Pairing: JungkookxReader

AU: Robot!Cyborg, Sci-fi

Genre: Angst - Romance

Word count: 3k

☽M. List☾ ; 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10 [END]

A/N: If this is going to a flop, i’m not sure if i will continue it. Or do it for my own entertainment. Let me know~ Also HUGE SPECIAL THANKS to @lets-go-north ♡♡♡♡♡ with her Jungkook au video edit. It gave me inspiration and a story line to work with! Video link here -> Tumblr | IG 

In the year of 2045, everything has changed for the worse. Not far from Seoul, a war had broken out. A man named Min Yoongi, which were nothing but a leader of a cult, destroying and get what ‘belongs’ to him. His greed grew bigger, as more people understood and wanted the same. The past 4 years, had been hell around Asia, getting countries in ruins and suffering. The government, had been asking five scientists, to create a weapon, that will be used for when Min Yoongi had planned to attack South Korea.

Kim Namjoon was one of the few scientists, that were elected. He was rarely outside, or in the newspapers. But his high IQ and college degree had the government, to set him as their specialist in technology. He liked to be unknown, creating weapons for the military. He found a purpose in life, helping the ones in need for his brain. As months passed his weapons were soon outdated, as Min Yoongi copied his work. Namjoon needed to find another solution, with a hidden creation, that only he knew about. After years of studying the human body and technology, he has finally created what people would call a “cyborg”. It wasn’t just made of metal, but was partly human. His research on DNA and microorganisms to create human like skin and organs in his lab.

A cyborg, with the given name “JJ97”. Metal, with human skin and microorganisms to give him senses. It was limited, but it was the effects that Namjoon could create. Namjoon dedicated his own blood, to let the human heart in JJ97’s chest, run forever. Chords and the strongest metal, kept a shield around the soft place. JJ97, had no pain tolerance and bled blood which was stored for his skin to be moisturised. It was a side effect, that could cause problems if it wasn’t solved, but even for the robotic skeleton, JJ97 looked like any human on earth. His skin and face, were to perfection but his brain was nothing more, than a computer. Even though, Namjoon was a clever scientist, he didn’t know anything about human emotions, fighting or communications in the society. That’s why, he sent his creation to you.

After going to high school and college together, he knew how smart you were in psychology and how physically strong you were. Seeing you at the MMA, rooting to win a fight, he knew that JJ97, could learn how to fight in your commands and strategy. Namjoon requested, as your best friend and mentor, to let JJ97 in your hands. You were doing nothing, after your latest accident that made you unable to fight against a component again. Your career as an MMA fighter has ended, leaving you as an asocial butterfly in your apartment, to gather courage to find a new spark to pursue.

Everything was the same, every day. The war was in the news most of the time, as you cooked breakfast. Eggs and bread were the same, tasted the same, but you didn’t mind. You were stuck in a loop, without anything to change. Your black shorts and loose top, with the same hairstyle and makeup. Sometimes, you didn’t know why you even got out of bed, to doll up. But you didn’t want to let go of living either, as mornings turned to night. The only accomplishment, was the books in your room, that kept you occupied. The urge to work out as you used to, was picking on your skin. Your sister would sometimes call, to hear how you were doing. She was afraid, you had fallen into a depression, or even got insane. Asking if you would come visit her in Busan, but knew it was always a ‘no’. After the final MMA match against Yoon Si-hyuk, she attacked with swinging your body in the air and against the ground. Your back took the fall, as you weren’t prepared. Your spine took the break for it, getting the doctors to screw bolts in, keeping it steady. You could function like any other person, but there was a high chance your spine would break apart, if you ever began to fight again. Your spirit and career was falling apart in merely hours, getting insurance money to live off at home. The news was devastating, separating you from your friends and trainers in the MMA. Leaving yourself, to find the spirit in a new career. But everything seemed useless, without the feeling of victory. A book by your side, was all you got.

Since a year ago, you had been stuck in this loop. It was, until the day someone knocked on the door. The familiar sound echoing through the apartment, made you knit your brows. No one had been to your place in months, and you couldn’t figure out, why someone would come. Your muscles flexed naturally, after being taught in self defends. Walking with light steps, to look in the peep hole. It was dark, making your conclusion clouded. Without a second thought, you opened the door. A box, taller than yourself and wider, with a mail man beside it.

“Is this Y/F/N?” He questioned, tapping onto his Ipad. You nodded, as he handed the squared pad and a touch pen. “Please sign here” He requested, while pushing the giant box inside your house. You were at loss for words, but signed it anyways. The mailman settled the box in your living room, flashing you a wink before walking past you. With swift movements, he took the Ipad from your hands. A delightful smile, with his eyes squinted made your loss of words, come back.

“Who’s this from? And what is it??” You finally spoke, making him knit his brows. He shrugged his shoulder, as he looked upon the LED screen. “Erhmm… Kim Namjoon sent it. No idea what it is, since it’s restricted to be government grounds” He answered back, making your eyes widen. “Government grounds?? What??” You blurted out, making him smile again.

Everything went upside down in your mind, as you were confused of the situation. The mailman left in a hurry, leaving you in the door way alone. It wasn’t cold, but neither was it warm. August was known to be at the passing from summer to Autumn. With the birds chirping, you looked back inside, to see the box in full cover. It was just a regular cardboard box, it could be anything. Maybe it was the words from the mailman, that gave you an unsettling feeling about it. Why would your best friend, send you a giant box, under the government? Neither have you heard from him, since last month. Everything was a puzzle, while you walked around the box. Nothing indicated, what could be in it. Until, you noticed a small letter attached on the back. It was dirty, with black fingerprints on the cover. You chuckled, realising he might have been working, as he wrote the letter. Namjoon was usually rushing himself, forgetting to clean his fingers before touching anything. You missed talking to him, but right now, finding out what was in the box, was more important. Peeling off the red seal, you opened the letter.

Your eyes were scanning the paper, repeatedly. Nothing made sense, while his words were playing in your head. Did he really create a cyborg? Looking at the big box, you grew curious if it was true. Part of you hoped it was a prank, but what cause would that make for Namjoon? Reading over the information about his weapons, you were certain that this thing, was dangerous. You had no clue, how much this cyborg knew already and neither did you know. The only thing you could teach him, was martial arts. You sighed to put the piece of paper in your back pocket, knowing this will be a complete failure. Getting a knife from the kitchen, you cut the tape away. The last cut, showed off a human boy. He was taller, muscular and in a police uniform. His closed eyes made him look innocent, as if he was sleeping. The veins on his skin looked real, just like the rest of him. No one, could ever tell that this was made out of metal. His brown locks were smooth, while his cherry plumped lips showed off his front teeth. Looking at him intensely, you noticed how he reminded you of a bunny. It made you smile, while an aroma struck your nose. It was sweet but manly, and it made you dizzy. Did Namjoon go all in on this?

“Erhm… Hello?” You hesitantly called out. There was no answer, than complete silence. It was creepy, seeing this handsome sleeping boy in the box. Unsure if he was awake, you poked his cheek. His skin was cold, but felt like your own. It made you back away, to have your heart raise. Racing against horses, you picked out your phone to text Namjoon.

A groan escaped your lips, as you threw your phone into the couch. The sound of your heart beating at a normal rate, made you gulp at the boy. You, were going to kiss him. But this wasn’t just an ordinary kiss, it was your FIRST kiss. Doing high school and college, you were too occupied with training and never got around to date. It wasn’t a priority, doing the MMA’s. The thought of kissing an inhumane object, made you chuckle of the situation. Stepping closer to see his features, of perfect smooth skin and his pink lips. Thinking about it, made you flustered.

“Come on Y/N! No one is going to find out anyways…” You encouraged yourself, to purse your lips. But backing out, of embarrassment. It was probably just a cyborg, but it was still weird. Your hand clutched to your head, as you shook it like a dog. Everything, was too surreal that it was hilarious. You did rethink, if you had gone insane like your sister had predicted. You kneeled, taking in deep breath. Scanning the boy once more, you sighed heavily.

“It’s just metal” You whispered, lowering your sight onto his crotch. The thought of Namjoon’s words, made you blush slightly. Heavy red cheeks, felt like burning. You went back to the kitchen, to grab a glass of cold water. The liquid erased your dry throat, as you walked back to the living room. The boy, has still not moved. Your foot tapped onto the wooden floor, before you set the glass aside. Going back to your bedroom, you snatched the lip balm from your bed side table.

“I wonder if he knows about lips balms?” You questioned, putting the strawberry cream onto your lips. Feeling them get moisturised, as you walked back. Stepping closer, to stand only an inch away, you felt your heart beat slower. Reaching out a hand, to touch his light brown locks in between your fingers. It was soft and it smelled nice, but it softer than his skin. Your finger ran down his jaw line, feeling every sharp curve. Mustering up the courage, you tip toed to brush your lips against his. Even though you have never kissed anyone, his lips were like any others. Time froze, as you heard the sound of clicking and air hitting the side of your cheek. The feel of pressure against your body, and a pair of arms snaked around your waist. His lips started moving, and so did yours. The sensation was too much, that you closed your eyes. A warm source build in your core, as your cheeks heated. Instinctively running your hands back into his hair, made you get swayed away. The kiss continued, while his tongue brushed against your bottom lip. Letting him in, he got a taste of you. A taste, that was indescribable, making you break the kiss and back away. Panting and heart racing faster than a horse, you looked him in the eyes for the first time.

They were chocolate brown, and were to die for. It was probably the kiss, that made your knees weak. His arms kept you above the ground, as you tried to get a hold of yourself. Shaking your head, you pushed his arms away from your body. Your motion made him confused, as he stepped out of the box. It was scary, but intriguing.

“Who are you…?” You questioned with a whisper, while your heart got a steady beat again. He looked from side to side, before his eyes got locked with yours. “I’m JJ97, you are Y/N” His voice was angelic and deep, making you gulp in the process. They were firm and easy to understand, like a script.

“How do you know my name?” You asked again, making him come closer. His hand took a strand of your hair, to let it slide against his palm. “I know, almost everything about you.” He answered, walking to sit on the couch. You were speechless, of what to tell him. The fact that Namjoon created this beauty, was more than imaginable.

“Do you know, who created you?” You spoke, seating yourself beside him. His aura of being relaxed, made you sit close by. His features were magnificent and his skin looked beautiful in the sunlight, while his chocolate eyes turned almond. “Master Kim Namjoon, created me” He spoke firmly.

His answer made you laugh, while hitting your thigh. The fact that Namjoon had installed JJ97 to call him master, was hilarious to you. Wondering, what else he got in store. “You’re going to be my mentor?” It was the first question, he ever shot your way. Without a second thought, you nodded in response. His posture got stiff, when you moved your head. As if, he was scared. Your eyebrows furrowed of his action, making him gulp. “It says, that you are a scary person, if you are mad at someone” He whispered, making you giggle of his innocence.

“Is that what Namjoon has installed in your memory?” You asked, making him nod. “I’m going to kill him” You spoke again, with a smile plastered on your face. Making horror, flash on JJ97’s. You looked at him with widened eyes, before you waved a hand at him. “Not like that, it’s just a thing you say in between friends, for people who needs to be lightly punished, for their doings. I’m not actually going to kill him, just hit him lightly.” You chuckled, making his shoulders fall. There was a bit of silence, making you stare at him. The atmosphere wasn’t weird, neither was it pleasant. His shoulders were tight, as you stared him down. Realising, this is what Namjoon meant with human communication. JJ97, does not understand what to do, unless given orders or questions.

“How much do you know about human interaction?” You asked curiously, to be sure not to teach him something he already knows. He bit onto his bottom lip, before he answered “Basics. I have the whole dictionary installed, and I know how to answer questions. But human emotions and physical touch, separating normality from danger is lacking in my system.”

His voice was making you swoon, as he stared you in the eyes. You bit on the inside of your cheek, before standing off the couch. His eyes following, making him purse his lips together. “I also know, the thing we did, was a kiss.” He added, making you blush of his words. The heat rise in your cheeks, making you remember the scene that just took place, minutes ago. “It was my first kiss” He bluntly stated, making your eyes soften at him. You walked back to kneel in front of him, as you looked him in the eyes.

“It was my first kiss too” You blurted out, making him smile back. JJ97 didn’t want to be someone, that has never tried anything before. Learning there was people like you, who made him comfortable in his surroundings. “You know, you’re going to live here for a while, right?” You asked, making him nod in response. His little head bopping, made you smile.

“We got a lot of things to catch up on, but firstly. ‘JJ97’ sounds too generated, let’s give you a real name. That way you can seem more human, than robotic” You suggested, making him nod again with an excited smile. He was like a kid, but too big for a little kid.

“JJ… hmmm… J-Jung, Jungkook? How does that sound? Is there a last name in your dictionary that you like?” You questioned, making him ponder on the word. His eyes seemed distant and darker, indicating he was searching in his database. “I like Jungkook… Jeon is one of Master Namjoon’s friends.” He explained, making you clap your hands together.

“Jeon Jungkook!” You spoke fondly, making him giggle. This was the first time, she showed off his whole smile, with his nose scrunched. The giggle was top of the ice cream, wanting to squish his cheeks. He was adorable, and handsome. How were you going to live with this angelic cyborg, for seven months?

“Is Namjoon my dad?” He bluntly asked, making you chuckle but wonder. Namjoon did create Jungkook, so basically, he was kind of his dad. “He is, kind of. He created you. Though, it’s without the sexual stuff.” You explained as you walked away to the kitchen, having him to follow you.

“Sexual stuff?” He asked, making you widen your eyes. Were you hearing wrong, or did Namjoon not install the way people make babies? The decision was on you, if you were the one to burst his bubble. His uniform, was practically giving you unusual thoughts. He never noticed what he wore, but quickly found the baton, that were clicked to his belt. Swinging it around, you noticed his skills were already on point, but it needed a little help.

“Let’s… talk about that another time. First, we need to find proper clothing.” Staring at his dark blue uniform, with black pants. His eyes followed yours, staring at his outfit. If he needed to go out in public, the uniform was too eye catching. You, were going to transform this cyborg to become human and yet, a deadly weapon.

[stonsthro]

When we last saw our heroine, she had just paid off her first home expansion to immediately request the first room addition to incur another 300 something thousands bells worth of debt.

Will she pay it off? Will she do it in a day? She honestly doesn’t remember so she’s gonna refer to a calendar and various strings of text messages, google hangout chats, and Instagram DMs to try to retrace the past 8 days of her ACNH life.

25 march 2020

It seems I failed to mention in my last post that my first new neighbor had arrived that day. His name is Boomer, and I met him on my first mystery island trip. We did not interact very much on that fateful first meeting, but I was on a mission (I believe to collect iron nuggets) and he is only an NPC with limited responses to limited interactions anyway.

Boomer is a funny little penguin. I also only found out yesterday that he’s a penguin. I thought he was just a non-descript bird. He likes bugs and snacks. He calls the bugs his friends, so I don’t think he eats them. He also really likes pear furniture and wooden simple beds. He has shared the wooden simple bed recipe with me twice already. If you need one, you know who to go to.

26 march 2020

Thursday. The second neighbor arrived that day. She is a pink panda named Pinky. She likes pink things. I don’t remember very much from this day. Neighbors aren’t worth much time the day that they first arrive to the island. They stay in their homes amidst stacked cardboard boxes sweeping away and never seeming to make any progress no matter how much time has passed from when you last checked in on them. Why is it important at all to greet them on their first day? These are questions I have asked myself. Do I have an answer now? Not really.

I’m pretty sure I mostly focused on paying off my debt this day. One of my friends shared a flower breeding efficiency guide, so this might have been the day that I started organizing my flower beds and got it in my head that I wanted to organize my fruit trees. I might be wrong about which day, but it definitely happened on some day.

AH. Whatsapp has reminded me that I actually didn’t do very much in this 24 hour period, because I spent most of my IRL night drinking. Oh to be human and feel alive.

27 march 2020

Friday. Friday Olive moved in. She is the last of the first 3 new island residents (where I suppose Stinky, Reneigh, and myself are all founding residents?). She’s a sweet little bear. She reminds me of either an older woman friend or an aunt or a best friend’s mom. A few days ago from today, she gave me a gift (I don’t remember now what it was, I probably sold it /: ) but she did say that she thought it was very kind and thoughtful of me to come and say hi to her on her first day on the island. So maybe that is worth something.. Although I’ve said hi to everyone on their first day and Olive was the only one to ever acknowledge it later…

I must have done quite a bit of island work, harvesting wood, crafting, selling fruit and furniture. And island hopping as well. This day I created a Google sheet pulling from multiple resources containing fish/bug information (seasons, times of day, and selling price), and a list of craftable recipes (how to obtain them, raw materials required, selling price). I was very tired of having all these tables that could not be easily sorted. I also made a calculator so you could quickly know how much the items in your pocket would return (not that you can’t trust Timmy and Tommy) or so you could quickly compare the value of say 10 non-native fruit versus a tadpole (spoiler alert, the tadpole isn’t it).

Quick note that might actually be helpful to some who aren’t as into this game as I am: A stack of non-native fruit will return 5000 bells. A stack of coconut, 2500 bells. A stack of your native fruit, only 1000 bells. Most bugs won’t return more than 1k, and fewer than half of the fish species will net you more than 2.5k. So know your valuable species and save your pocket slots for whatever’s gonna reap you the most return.

Spreadsheets are very helpful to me. I would one day like to make a craft recipe database that would let you know, based on what raw material you have on hand, which recipes would yield the highest return for material. I haven’t quite yet wrapped my mind around how I would do this (I think Notion would be the better tool for it, rather than Google Sheets), but I’m also hoping that maybe someone will do it before me. (And it’s exactly this attitude that keeps me from ever becoming an entrepreneur.)

I caught a koi this night! I only am able to remember which night is was because I took a little video! (Oh and I can actually share some images now because I set up a new twitter account exactly for this purpose.. I will be going back through previous posts to add a little imagery).

And I was hoping to find Celeste that night. I thought I saw a few shooting stars, but I didn’t know what to do about them. I had read an article a few days before this about Celeste giving a wand recipe and star fragments and wishing. But I didn’t commit the information to memory and also I hadn’t seen Celeste around anyway.

28 march 2020

Saturday Saturday.. I didn’t play as many hours as I was awake on Saturday.

IRL I had some errands to run that day. I got morning announcements and stayed busy while waiting for Nook’s Cranny to open.

Resident Services was closed this day for renovations. I was droppings bags of bells off in my house between trips to Nook’s Cranny. I didn’t do as much island exploring as I thought I might the day that RS wasn’t open for business. I had been wanting to try to land on tarantula island, but I just wasn’t up for flying.

29 march 2020

SUNDAY!

milestones: Resident Services opened in their brand spanking new building with actual walls. Isabelle is here, and from articles I’ve read online other players are very excited about that. I never played New Leaf (and definitely never got onto Pocket Camp), so I don’t know anything about her. But she is a welcome break from Tom Nook. Nothing against him, but you do get tired of certain character’s mannerisms, yes?

I had also read an article that misleadingly used a headline suggesting that Tom Nook is nicer in NH than in previous games. But the game creator said that Tom has always been a nice guy, and that the structure of this game perhaps just allows that to be more apparent now.

Daisy mae was at Stonsthro, and also at every other island that witch. I had not got around to selling my turnips from the week before so when I dug them up from my garden they were of course spoiled. I am not in desperate need to catching ants and flies, so I sneakily sold them to Timmy and Tommy (for probably zero bells, but still – they’re purported to not accept turnips, in any condition I would think, on Sundays).

The HHA gave me a rating of 30something thousand. And I think they also gave me kitchen furniture? In addition to my Nook Shopping packages I had a number of gifts in the mail. One was from Boomer, as a late island-warming gift or something like that. Even though he was the one to move here! (I’m so impressed with how much the game developers put into these characters.)

According to Whatsapp, this morning I still owed 54k to Nook for my 1st addition. I don’t know why I felt that was worthy of reporting to my group chat when 54k could easily be crafted and earned in mere minutes if the raw materials are already in storage.

AHH THIISS was the day that I actually organized my flower beds. I think on Thursday I just planted more flowers in a way that would be conducive to breeding, but I didn’t go full out and arrange the beds. Sunday I did exactly that and moved my outdoor workstation to make way for 3 flower beds – tulips, hyacinths, and windflowers. And I made moves with organizing my trees this day too. A little messy but still. Mostly I just carved a keep clear path to the entrance of Nook’s Cranny.

Sunday was an incredibly productive day on Stonsthro. All of this and with the RS open again, I scouted the area for our first incline (east side of the island, north of Boomer and Pinky’s houses) and paid it off.

I scouted the relocation of Reneigh’s house (FINALLY!) and paid that immediately (I think because I was required to…). She’s actually just north of the river from my house now. When I moved her house I did feel a little bit mean just uprooting her. But she was programmed to be on board with it. Even still, being aware that she likes to sleep in, I moved her to the west side of the island and because she seems to like her space she’s the only inhabitant in that area. Anyone who wants to come bother her will either have to cross a river or take a ladder down.

And the last milestone I covered this day was the placement for the campsite.

I think I did hop around this night hoping to land on tarantulas, but it didn’t happen. I hit a normal and the bell rock island. Normal island was a quick trip. I just knocked all the rocks mostly, fished each spot once, maybe twice, collected all the fruit and went back home. Bell rock island I spent a lot of time on actually. After knocking all the rocks I stayed and fished. The moat around the bell island spawns pond fish, probably because it doesn’t feed into the sea. I caught SO MUCH koi. And my boyfriend caught me on his IG stories absolutely geeking over my spreadsheet. (Koi banks 4000 bells a pop, so fuck all the dabs you might have caught on the beach.)

Oh but Sunday night! I did run into Celeste on Sunday night and I wished on SO MANY stars. More than 30, forsure. When talking to the neighbors that day, they were all going on about the meteor shower so I knew it was happening. Which makes me question why I thought I saw shooting stars on Saturday. Ohhhhhhh. I know. It’s because the game’s not so good with optical flow so when you’re running around the island, really bright stars dart around in the background instead of appearing still. That trips me up pretty often actually. I’ll be running and come to quick stop like a dog who’s just sighted a squirrel.

“I’m excited for tmrw! Bigger hours, reneigh will be in her new location instead of stupidly in front the of the museum, new ramp, and star fragments!” An actual text message I sent out to my group chat. Oh right. I paid off that 54k to Tom Nook and, of course, requested my 2nd addition.

30 march 2020

I have no idea what to do with my 2nd room. I don’t have enough items catalogued or recipes discovered to craft a proper bathroom or a proper kitchen. I don’t care to have a second bedroom. I don’t actually want to build a spa. I mean I do, but I kind of want an outdoor one (wah).

With the first infrastructure project done, the next was to build a bridge connecting the founder’s portion of the island to the most central part (which is also were I placed Nook’s Cranny). It’s the most frequently crossed portion of river for me, going back and forth between my house and the store to sell or buy (but mostly sell, amirite?).

Reneigh’s new place.. I love that it isn’t at the old place. The campsite.. is underwhelming. We didn’t have any visitors this day. But we did have Flick. Flick is very weirdly into bugs, but at least he knows that he’s weird about it? I didn’t catch a TON of bugs just because he was there, but also because bugs aren’t worth all that much to begin with so 1.5x on em is like eh. Pretty much I just caught bugs as I normally would and brought them to him instead of to the Cranny. I also gave him the tiger butterfly to create a … model? Statue? I wished it would have been the emperor butterfly instead but.. I just didn’t catch as many. I’d forget to save them and would sell them to him instead.

Well with the 2nd addition comes even more debt. It was 500somethingk this time around. I had absolutely no aspiration to pay this debt off quickly. Partially because I’d rather build more infrastructure on the island. Partially because I wouldn’t even know what to with whatever the next expansion is. Whether it’s more square feet or another room, it all needs more furniture to fill. So for now I’m just gonna buy new things every day so I can have the option to buy them again later. One thing that bums me out is that I wish that once you crafted something you have the option to just buy it for a marked up price later.

I did wood harvesting this day. Chopped and shook down all my trees. “Got stung 5 times, went through 4 axes, and shook 2 pieces of furniture out!” Around 8pm when that message went out. I crafted all that could be crafted and went to bed with my pockets full.

Oh! Worth mentioning: I collected something like 13 or 17 star fragments this day. I don’t even know what to do with all of that. I only have 2 wand recipes and both wands do the same thing -__- I ended up crafting just a bunch of bamboo wands. I wanted to give them away, to Reneigh and to Olive and maybe to Pinky. Reneigh was already asleep. Olive didn’t seem very impressed with the gift, but she did reciprocate and gave me a striped dress (that I really like, actually). But since she didn’t care much for it, I decided to sell the other wands instead of giving them to my neighbors. I think they go for a couple thousand bells, I can’t remember. I don’t regret it because at this point I don’t like Pinky all that much anyway.

31 march 2020

I fucked up this day. Straight up just fucked up.

IRL, I had a project deadline Tuesday morning that I honestly should have spent time working on Monday night to finish but if you’ve been reading you’ll know that I mostly was at Stonsthro catching some bees and chopping some trees, as Wilbur says.

So I didn’t have my usualmorning gameplay. Instead I was up at 6 and having a real work day straight through 3pm (which is honestly nice in these crazy times to have a feeling of things needing to get done). I also had some … let’s call it “exciting” IRL stuff go down, which on top of my work day left me just OVER IT.

I didn’t return to Stonsthro until 11pm. I didn’t realize how I fucked up until I came on and Isabelle started to read me the day’s announcements. THE ANNOUNCEMENTS AT 11PM. Nook’s Cranny, already closed! And my pockets still full from the night before. Not a single bell to be earned this day.

RS at least seems to be open 24 hours a day. I was able to give orders for the next infrastructure project, another incline just west of Olive’s house. I feel like naming the different areas of my island for easier reference.

And the campsite had a visitor. His name was Julian, he seems to be a little too woowoo, even for a unicorn. Maybe it’s ironic. At least I was able to talk to him and get him to stay at Stonsthro permanently, so the day wasn’t a total loss.

Because I’m not sure when this fits in, I’ll just drop this here: “My annoying neighbor horse is actually growing on me like she’s still a bitch but when’s all uhh I already talked to you today I’m like bye bitch and then she’s all :greetings: smize and I’m like okay grrl see you tmrw” And excuse my stupid texting, but it is true that I’m warming up to Reneigh. She doesn’t want me all up in her air, and she lets me know, and I respect that.

This one time I gave Reneigh this ugly ass pink Sherpa skirt because I didn’t want it and she has pink hair so idk. She said it isn’t really her thing, and gave me something in return. It was a basketball tank. Also not really my thing. I felt like we understood each other a little better after that.

1 april 2020

CHERRY BLOSSOMS!

This morning the island was undeniably PINK. What I love most about this is that I can now very very easily tell which trees are fruit bearing and which are not. Thank you, spring (:

Since I somewhat had organized my fruit trees already, the only ones that are unsorted are the native pears which just.. exist everywhere alongside the hardwood.

There are new bugs out too! Common bluebottle, peacock butterfly (am concurrently learning that this is not new to April, just new to the fact that I bred some blue hyacinths), locusts, water bugs. It was exciting to be in a new season because I was getting tired of the tiger butterflies and the paper kites. They’re still around but it’s nice to see something new.

I do have more to share about yesterday and about today. But it is 11:49pm right now and I think I’ve been at this since 8:30. Whyyyyyy?!??!?! Literally nobody is asking me to do this!

I don’t know I think it helps to feel like I have some kind of a grasp on where my days have been going.

[topicprinter]

Hey - Pat from StarterStory.com here with another interview.Today's interview is with Ashley ‘JP’ Lockwood of Deskmate, a brand that sells affordable standing desks.Some stats:Product: Affordable standing desks.Revenue/mo: $10,000Started: January 2017Location: LondonFounders: 2Employees: 2Hello! Who are you and what business did you start?My name is Ashley ‘JP’ Lockwood. I am the co-founder of Deskmate. We are a standing desk startup on a mission to make the world work better.I met my now business partner, Arthur at the back end of 2016 during an incubator called Escape The City. Both working on separate projects and set up Deskmate as a side hustle to earn some extra money whilst we were living and working in London.We have two products, Deskmate, for large setups, desktops, keyboards, and Minimate, which is specifically for laptop only users. All of our products are environmentally friendly (cardboard) and take less than 10 seconds to pop up.We are proudly the cheapest standing desk available, globally. Which is pretty cool I think? We’ve sold over 5,000 units since launch, to just under 100 countries.Cool fact: Deskmate started on £300 and we launched in 3 weeks.imageOur first homepageWhat's your backstory and how did you come up with the idea?We were working from a coworking space and wanted standing desks. We asked the community managers if they’d considered them. Answers ranged from, ‘too expensive’, ‘space doesn’t allow them’, ‘why do you need one?’, I guess that was the lightbulb moment.The idea behind Deskmate was quite simple really, there was no affordable standing solution in the UK. We did the typical google search, amazon check and there was nothing there. We saw the gap and went for it.With regards to the standing desk and office furniture market, we had no idea. I’d recommend anyone launching a business in an area they don’t understand to research but not to overthink it. Learn on the job.I was personally from an e-commerce background, having launched an online shirt retailer at University. I then went into Fintech and left as Sales Director of a venture-backed startup. I’ve been working for myself for about a year and a half.Take us through the process of designing, prototyping, and manufacturing your first product.I had a family member working in cardboard production and we had a rough design. We sent it over and within a week we had a prototype.We launched without a website with a pop up at WeWork and sold 5 desks in the first 30 minutes.I had a friend, Tara, who was working as community manager who said we were too early stage to pop up. I left it with her but said if anyone cancels, we'd be happy to fill in. The next week a coconut water brand cancelled, we got the gig!That was idea validation, market testing and customer feedback all in one hit. We had no real business plan, cash in the bank or strategy, but we knew if could sell in WeWork, there was a market, at least in the start up space.We bought 250 white units and realised we didn’t get a logo printed. Here’s a photo of Arthur sticking the Deskmate logo manually to our first ever batch:imageimageDeskmate first pop up at WeWork - no website, stickers purchased on the internet and stuck on product 10 minutes before we startedDescribe the process of launching the business.We built version 1 of deskmate.co in 14 days on Shopify and launched a week later.Sales were slow to start and we didn’t have that much content to start advertising online, we took our own cameras wherever we went and shot the product. Not everything we shot was useable, but it built up over time.This was with no coding background and on a shoestring budget. As the units began to sell (slowly) we realised we needed some capital and formulated a business plan.We approached Virgin for a startup loan and raised an initial 12k. This is the only debt the business has taken on to date.Biggest lessons I’d give anyone is to only outsource if it’s absolutely necessary. We’ve used agencies, PR people and Sales execs before but until you absolutely know your product, you are the only one who should be selling and marketing it, especially if you are selling in a niche, like ours.Personally, I’d also recommend anyone moving from ‘side hustle’ to ‘full time start up’ to have a real plan and make careful considerations on the position of your team and co founders.We’ve had a few people come and go since launch, with me and Arthur consistent throughout. Startups are tricky, you have to be 100% committed and you need a thick skin.imageSince launch, what has worked to attract and retain customers?Deskmate is a really interesting product in that it has multiple customer channels and routes to market.We break our sales channels into three main sections;1 - B2C (direct to eccom)Driving customers directly to deskmate.co. Main traffic drivers are paid ads, PR, social media (IG, FB, Twitter) and blog posts.Google ads are challenging (CPC is high due to competitors price point being 10x higher), so we’ve worked hard on FB adverts, building content to help the top stage of the funnel understand who we are, what we do and how we can benefit.2 - B2B (business to business)Our direct to business sales mainly consists of outreach out to businesses directly that look to sell multiple units, directly to businesses.Main drivers for this are email marketing, LinkedIn, strategic sales calls and hustle! We use G sheets to track our leads and conversion rates.3 - Wholesale (retailers, partnership channels, amazon)These are third parties that either resell Deskmate or are able to promote the product to their network. Deskmate is available on Amazon, Wayfair (hopefully US) soon and we regularly offer the product on third party relevant websites.I have also had meetings with a host of other wholesalers who have said no: ASOS, Urban Outfitters, Argos, the list is extensive!Segmenting like this allows you to have a clear understanding of what's working and what's not.We also use different marketing techniques for each market, e.g. B2B is directed far more in relationship management, email marketing and targeted sales calls. B2C is more digital marketing, paid ad spend and content marketing.Within our marketing efforts we use digital advertising (IG, FB, etc), PR (via a programme called response source), SEO (blogs), and partnerships (Virgin, WeWork, Three), to attract customers.Via basic outreach, I have secured PR with Forbes, and other major newspapers in the UK. Be consistent with your outreach, create a positive message and be clear on what you are offering.We’ve partnered with the likes of Three, Virgin and WeWork to sell to their customer bases. We started our relationship with Virgin through start up funding. We used their network internally, asked for introductions and eventually find our way into Virgin Red, who are Virgin’s customer loyalty app. This was a slog and took around 3 months!Why? It’s great distribution and usually free marketing if you can get in there. My advice for any start up would be to think about their sales channels and how to sell to them before you start!How are you doing today and what does the future look like?Gross margin is around 65%, monthly traffic to the site is around 10k and our customer database (B2B + B2C) is 14k. Our sales funnel is long and takes time to educate people on the product. The business is tricky today and it will be tricky tomorrow, but our aim for 2020 is to break 1m units sold.Our Operations are lean, we manufacture, pack and ship from the same factory in the UK, meaning less time from production to customer and also means we can stay nimble on stock, test product ideas quickly and provide a great service to the end customer.Through starting the business, have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?In hindsight, I would have started selling other products earlier, hired interns to help with admin and onboarded international shipping from the start.Deskmate has done well with our partnerships, considering we are a niche product in an emerging category. I think signing contracts with Three and Virgin are the two that stay front of mind.Our PR has always been strong, and I’d recommend any business with a unique idea or service to start reaching out to journalists right away. They don’t bite!What platform/tools do you use for your business?Slack - communicationWhatsapp - quick answersGmail - emailKlaviyo - emailsShopify - e-platformResponse source - PRGoogle Docs - to do lists every weekGoogle sheets - a great way to process orders with fulfilment centre if you can’t afford to right awayHave also used:Trello - better for larger teamsMonday.com - same as above, good programme thoughWhat have been the most influential books, podcasts, or other resources?The Subtle Art of Not Giving A FuckShoe DogStart With WhyAdvice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out?Don’t overthink your MVP, keep your business as lean as possible until you have validated your idea, don’t overspend on outsourcing, you can figure most things out yourself and call in as many favours as you can.Are you looking to hire for certain positions right nowWe are currently hiring a sales intern and a marketing intern. Drop us a note if you want to apply! hello@deskmate.co.Where can we go to learn more?www.deskmate.cohttps://www.facebook.com/wearedeskmate/https://www.instagram.com/wearedeskmate/?hl=enLastly, we are currently looking for a partner to expand our US presence. Previous background in e-commerce, furniture, and early-stage products preferable.imageIf you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!Liked this text interview? Check out the full interview with photos, tools, books, and other data.For more interviews, check out r/starter_story - I post new stories there daily.Interested in sharing your own story? Send me a PM