#im still finishing small gods but i could fit in a bit of a fifth elephant of thud reread this remaining year maybe

[cosmicrhetoric]

i should be reading more watch books lol we just watched hogfather and the simple sight of a nobby nobbs loose in the world filled me with childlike wonder and awe

[obeiii-mee]

So, I finally finished part 2 for the original ask. I’ve had a bit of trouble with writing the twins because I think this would affect them particularly bad. I hope you enjoy all this angst, cuz I sure as hell didn’t im fucking sobbing alright?

Pt. 1

Enjoy!

————————————-

The Brothers Reacting to MC sacrificing themselves to bring Lilith back, Part 2:

Satan:

-Satan felt like the stupidest demon in DevilDom. He was supposed to be the intellectual, the logical one, the one with more than a few spare brain cells to work with. And yet he never twigged there was anything going on with you. The signs were all there. You had asked him for very specific book recommendations for the past few weeks, about the Celestial Realm and the full power of souls. He even let you borrow some from his own collection without giving it a second thought!

-In hindsight, your goal was very obvious but at the time, he hadn’t even stopped for a second to consider it. It just didn’t seem like something you would be capable of doing. But you did. Of course you did. You were the most driven human he had even met. You managed to live for a full year with seven of the most dangerous demons in hell and make pacts with them no less, so anything is fair game when it comes to you.

-Lucifer and Lilith found him in the library, like usual, reading what seemed to be a very graphic book on different wars that took place in the human realm over the centuries. What can I say, the man wanted to know more human history for your sake. He was one of the few brothers who hadn’t even noticed you were missing and never thought anything was amiss. Sure, he missed your presence but the cynical fourth born isn’t exactly paranoid.

-Now, if it was Lucifer alone that had come to check up on him, Satan would have been very tempted to just ignore him. But obviously he noticed a slightly smaller, less threatening figure next to him and he forced himself to look up from his book. Lowkey hoping it was you because he often complained his brothers got to spend way too much time with you. Satan and Lilith technically never met, face to face. However, I like to think that since Satan was born out of Lucifer’s wrath, he has a small connection with his memories and therefore Lilith. After all, Satan was the only one that never participated in the war or actually fell down as angel.

-He never met her before. Yet he immediately recognised her as she came in. She had every trait you would expect an angel to have. Except she wasn’t an angel anymore of course. She was dead. Or at least supposed to be. Lucifer just stood in the doorway as she approached him. Lilith fidgeted in front of him as she tried to come up with the right words to introduce herself.

-“I’m really happy to actually-“

-She didn’t get to finish because Satan had embraced her almost immediately, almost like he was on auto mode and couldn’t help himself otherwise. She welcome the gesture, glad their first meeting wasn’t as awkward as she had predicted it would be. The eldest brother was watching, slightly in awe because, as far as he knew, the only person he had ever hugged before this was you.

-Of course, the spell had to be broken. Lucifer knew better than to step in and allowed his sister to explain. Satan was going to have a bad reaction nonetheless, but he might become even more aggressive if it was him delivering the news. Lilith never had to deal with this particular brother of hers or any of his fits but somehow, it was like she knew what to do.

- Their sister did her best to explain it to Satan as calmly as possible, as if that would make much of a difference. Satan remained oddly quiet throughout all of it, showing no reaction besides a neutral one. Lucifer found this strange. Yeah, his brother/son was usually the silent type, the sort of demon to think, not speak. But he expected some sort of emotion in there. Anything, really. Anger definitely. Maybe sorrow and misery. But not this.

-Lilith noticed the shaking before even Satan did. His body had just started convulsing on its own as he processed the idea of you laying there, unmoving and cold; dead. He involuntarily clenched his fists and he had to sit down before his legs gave over. Lucifer was still outright confused while Lilith struggled to soothe her brother. He hated feeling like this. All vulnerable and weak, like the skies of hell will fall on him and crush him. He was Satan for fuck’s sake. He was probably considered the most fearful creature in all of existence. He shouldn’t be feeling like this.

-But of course he did. You were always able to do that to him, bringing out that soft side of him he never knew he had. Or at least refused to acknowledge he had. The funny thing was, since you were the one being subjected to that side of his, he didn’t mind. Because you are MC, a literal ball of sunshine. Nothing him and his brothers deserved but you were still willing to spend time with them. The least they could have done was to protect you.

-They couldn’t even do that

-He couldn’t even do that

-Satan is even more retreated now than before, more hostile toward his own brothers and basically everyone else. He will snap at anyone for very minor reasons and lock himself up in the library even more than usual. Anything to get his mind off how much he must have disappointed you. It hurts too much to even hear your name being spoken. God forbid they choose another human to come down there as an exchange student because he will unleash all of his wrath on them on your behalf. How dare some lowly human try to replace you? He’s more prone to fits of anger now too. Long gone is his self control and calmness.

-The one person that understood him was dead. The one person he allowed himself to be close to and genuinely kind to was gone forever. Satan will never get over this. Or the fact that you were smiling so brightly before you died.

Asmo:

-He’s just so sick of it. So so so sick of it. So sick of watching everyone he cares about either die or get taken away from him. If he was a mortal he would have probably gone crazy. Maybe he already reached insanity and just didn’t realise it. After all, everyone has a breaking point, even demons. And once you go beyond that point, your whole world will shatter.

-To him, it seems almost impossible that just that morning he had seen you at breakfast, laughing along with his brothers and overall just being the intriguing, silly human you were. You were right there! Right in front of him, talking to him like it was any other day. And now he has to deal with the unbearable fact that he will never hear your voice again.

-Asmo was out, hanging out at the Fall as usual, when he realised he had missed several, frantic calls from Mammon, who at that point wasn’t aware that you were long dead.

-He brushed him off, initially, thinking his brother was just having another one of his melodramatic moments. So the fifth born went around Majolish, basically buying everything he could get his hands on to ignore the uneasiness creeping up on him. He could feel something bad was happening. He just didn’t know what.

-At this point, he was a bit unsettled which is very unlike him. He is pretty optimistic as a whole so seeing him so startled and on alert was a sort of disturbing sight to see. Lucifer called him after lunch and told him to come home. Normally, Asmo wouldn’t have taken his older brother’s words too seriously but hearing his strained voice on the other side of the phone forced him into action.

-He rushed home, faster then he had ever done before., because let’s be honest, he prefers being outside of the house more often than not. He searched for you everywhere, but you were nowhere to be found. However, he bumped into Lucifer and Lilith in the middle of the upstair’s corridor in his frantic search for you.

-Unlike his brothers, Asmo noticed Lilith immediately, way before he even acknowledged his brother. It was such a shock to him that he thought for sure that he was hallucinating, though things like that never happened to him beforehand. Asmo stopped breathing for what felt like centuries because he didn’t want to raise his expectations, he didn’t to be disappointed if Lilith truly wasn’t there and he was just making her up. He didn’t want to deal with the grief once again.

-However, Lilith remained exactly where she was and flashed him one of her brilliant, warm smiles that he had loved so much back in the Celestial Realm. That he, on more than one occasion, tried to copy because he wanted to have as much in common with Lilith as possible. He wasn’t imagining her and the moment he realised this, he threw himself at her, the worry of his hair being ruined long forgotten and now his only concern was that she would dissipate in thin air.

-Lilith did not yield and embraced her brother, she gave enough hugs today to last her a lifetime but she couldn’t be happier to see her beloved brothers again. It took every ounce of strength on Lilith’a part not to burst into tears from both joy and sorrow.

-Lucifer hated this. He hated having to cut in the happy moment and lay down the bad news. But he had do it. Because no one else would. He was the eldest. He was responsible for everyone. A sadist he may very well be, but it absolutely destroys him to see his brothers suffering from such extreme distress. He told Asmo everything as bluntly as he could, thinking that ripping the bandaid straight off would result in a better outcome.

-It did not.

-Mammon’s reaction to your death was expected, but Asmo’s took both Lilith and Lucifer by surprise. They didn’t expect him to be as emotional as he ended up being and both of them handled it awkwardly because the Avatar of Lust was usually such a confident and admirable creature, it felt weird to see him act in such a way. He fell to his knees in a moment of pure despair and cried enough tears to drown himself in them later. He sobbed for a long time and did not stop immediately, instead going through several stages of weeping, from hiccuping to panting and then back to crying. It was an endless cycle of sadness.

-Lilith half carried half dragged him to his bedroom, while her other brother watched, a bit mesmerised. Asmo usually loved having company and now that his sister was back, he 100% needed it but at the same time, he wished to remain alone for a while. It would be painful but he needed to gather his feelings in one place before he could even put together a conclusion on how he was feeling. So they both left and with the door closed, all the air seemed to suffocate him and drag him into endless despair.

-Asmo received a lot of damage from your death, changing his personality very abruptly. Compared to his brothers, his change in attitude is not so subtle and now he basically hates anything that reminds him of you. He no longer enjoys hanging out or clubbing at the Fall or even go shopping anymore unless it’s necessary because those were things he used to do with you! And now, they seemed so pointless he often wondered what was the point of actually doing it. The only sort of satisfaction he gets is being in your room because if he closes his eyes, just for a moment, he can pretend you’re still there with him, whispering words of comfort to him.

-Yes, he still has one night stands and tries to seduce people left and right but it’s a sort of distraction more than anything else. He doesn’t do it out of need anymore, but out of desperation to get you out of his head. He’s also been sneaking to the Human Realm a lot as of late, as if hoping to randomly bump into you up even though it’s not possible and he knows it. He’s just torturing himself further. Hopeless. Just hopeless.

-You made him feel so much more than just Lust. And now that he had you, even if it was for just a short amount of time, Asmo knew he would never feel that way to anyone ever again. He would never fall in love with anyone ever again.

-He knew the risks of getting attached to a human. He knew how much he would suffer in the end. After all, humans are mortals, they are not destined to live for long. And yet he went and did it anyway because you were too amazing to ignore. You gave him something he never realised he yearned for and you left before he could reciprocate.

The Twins:

-Neither Lilith nor Lucifer was surprised to find the two of them together, relaxing in the attic. It’s common knowledge at this point that the twins have a hard time being separated. And especially more so than before after the whole attic incident, which concluded with them refusing to leave each other’s side. Usually, you were with them too, of course, for good measure. Obviously, they weren’t able to find you anywhere like everyone else. Belphie got tired of searching and just suggested that they go upstairs and that eventually you’ll joking them.

-Lucifer was, understandably, extremely worried at how the twins would react to all of this. Just seeing their adored sister in the same room as them would be more than enough to cause them to malfunction. But if he let them know that you died mere hours ago? And for smuggling Lilith’s soul back into existence no less? It would be chaos. At least with his other brothers, their reactions he could more or less predict. But the twins were slightly different. Especially Belphie. You can never really tell what goes on inside his head.

-Beel noticed his sister before Belphie did. He was so taken aback, he tumbled backwards and off the bed, accidentally dragging his twin with him. It was quite a comical fall actually. Lilith would’ve laughed if it wasn’t for the circumstances. She missed them, of course. Truth is, she missed all of her brothers and their memories back in the Celestial Realm. It always hurt so much to think that she could see them but never really interact with any of them. Except through you since you were heir in a way.

-Beel was a mess, first of all. You can easily imagine the distress he was in at the sight of his little sister. His dead little sister. Dead because of him. It might’ve been centuries since Lilith fell from the heavens and got transformed into a human but he continued to carry that burden with him because how could he not? He should’ve been able to save both Lilith and Belphie even though, logistically speaking, it would’ve been impossible. He saw the despair in her eyes right before she disappeared below the clouds. That image had and will haunt him for the rest of his eternal days.

-He was on his knees before her in a split second, grabbing the hems of her sleeves and sobbing into them as if the whole of DevilDom was about to crash down on all of them. Beel was yelling incoherently, switching between begging for forgiveness and stuttering mid sentence, unable to get the rights words out. The whole mansion was filled with his distraught weeping and he just couldn’t stop.

-His sister knelt down and embraced him, almost awkwardly because of the position they were in, as she began crying as well. Out of exhaustion more than anything. She’s dealt with so many breakdowns in one day that she couldn’t handle holding her emotions in anymore. With the death of her descendant and the sorrow of her brothers, she wished from the bottom of her heart she had just stayed dead because everything would have turned out alright that way.

-Belphie was more cautious. He stood at the back of the room, watching as his sister hugged Beel and sort of held him in a way that would quieten him down. Careful. He casted Lucifer a glance, as if to ask “what the hell is going on?” before once again staring at the ridiculous sight before him. Usually, he wasn’t one to look to his eldest brother for help. There was some dangerous hatred he harboured for him deep in his heart after all. But he was so confused and conflicted, he couldn’t fight the urge to seek guidance from him.

-Lucifer didn’t know how long it had been since he last saw his youngest brother be that openly vulnerable. It felt like an eternity now, to be honest. He was like a rock hard, clamped sea shell since their fall as angels. He walked over to him and placed his hand on Belphie’s shoulder. For the first time in millenniums, his brother didn’t try to swat it away.

-“Lilith is back.”

-That was all he needed. Those three words. As soon as Lucifer finished his sentence, he ran straight into his siblings who were still crying on the floor. He almost bulldozed them over if it wasn’t for Beel’s strength. The youngest landed on top of them, almost starting to cry as well. Beel, seemingly tired himself out so much that he went a bit limp in Lilith’s arms, still gripping onto her for dear life as if she were on the verge of disappearing again.

-���MC is dead.”

-It was a horribly timed moment to drop that bomb in, to be fair. Lucifer tried saying it as casually as he could but he could hear his own voice crack and see his own hands tremble. His mind was focused but his body had betrayed him. The twins were so into the moment, so glad to see their sister after all this time, it was almost like they didn’t hear him. So he repeated the statement, this time in a more composed manner. Belphie immediately reacted. He got off his siblings and straightened his back, glaring at Lucifer in shock from the other side of the room. Beel stayed where he was, but craned his neck to gawk at Lucifer, who was standing solemnly, waiting for the predicted chaos. Lilith closed her eyes and winced.

-Beel was in outright denial which was surprising. He wouldn’t, or rather refused, to accept that you could be dead. I mean, the idea itself was propestrous, right? You’ve almost died once and you managed to outdo death. Or more accurately, your future self did. You could do it again, couldn’t you? Just the image of you laying dead somewhere was enough to send him in panic and another, this time almost silent, meltdown. He seized fistfuls of his hair and pulled, as a method of escaping the pain that came with the thoughts of you and death being correlated in any way. If Lilith’s death wasn’t enough to push him over the edge, this sure as hell was. Could demons go insane? Probably. Beel certainly felt like he was. Even with Lilith there comforting him, he had the impression he couldn’t stand or even look up from the floor.

-Belphie didn’t make a move to aid his brother or help his sister. He stood, teeth gritted and jaw clenched, staring at his oldest brother with an odd gleam in his eyes. For a few moments, he was motionless. Then, he turned on his heel and marched out of the attic, slamming the door behind him so hard that the whole room shook. Lucifer didn’t try to stop him. It would be meaningless anyway. He wouldn’t listen to him. And his sister was still occupied with Beel, who kept mumbling with tears trailing down his cheeks about everything being his fault and not being there when he should have.

-The twins did not even go through the same stages of mourning their brothers did. Beel was dealing with the grief of someone incredibly close to him by eating even more than he normally would, causing his siblings quite a bit of concern. But they couldn’t argue much. He was the epitome of gluttony in the end. Belphie didn’t change much in terms of his daily activities. He slept as much as he could during the day. And at night, he stargazed as he always did. But more bitterly than usual, despising the fact that he wasn’t going to enjoy another starry night with you ever again. He didn’t blame you for dying. He was angry you left and to do something so stupid as bringing Lilith back in return for your lost soul. He was angry you couldn’t be selfish for once and let yourself be happy with them.

-He was angry at Mammon too. He learned he was supposed to be with you earlier that day. He wasn’t. And now the two aren’t speaking. For some reason, he is slightly upset with Lucifer too but that is only because he was the one who delivered the sad news. But most of all, he was very furious with himself. Because he promised that he would never let anything happen to you again after the whole choking incident. He swore on his honour as a demon to protect you and he couldn’t.

-Don’t tell him they’re bringing another exchange student in. He will kill them. He 100% will kill them. He doesn’t want to replace you. And neither does Beel. He would probably eat the new student within a few minutes. But it would take a while until all of that is sorted out. After all, even Diavolo himself is bound to be mourning in his own way. Not like you were meant to know, but you were definitely the favourite child exchange student.

-It wasn’t fair you had to leave. It wasn’t fair that you didn’t even get to say goodbye. It wasn’t fair that the three of you couldn’t spend more time together. Beel won’t be able to ever taste your cooking again and Belphie won’t have anyone to cuddle with in the morning and be generally lazy with. And again, they had even more of a reason to curse their father for ruining the one good thing that’s happened to them since their glory days as angels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-The 7 brothers will continue to grieve your death for the rest of eternity, be assured. Their sister just as much of course. And at some point, the whole of DevilDom had to in a way as the prince himself wasn’t his usual, peppy self. At least Lilith’s presence had a calming effect on them but not one that could compare to the trauma of knowing you were truly gone. They would wait and with time, there will be healing.

-Except time doesn’t heal anyone’s wounds. It just teaches them how to deal with the pain.

——————————————————————-

This took so much longer than planned, Jesus Christ! I guess I was really unhappy with it at some point and gave up, then sort of rewrote it which took a while. And now it’s done! I’m sort of proud on how it turned out. A bit cliche but I feel like it created the right atmosphere. Also, the last quote above is a favourite of mine that I thought would be a good idea to add in.

The twins are joined because I thought it would not only save time but also make more sense since the two are together almost all the time. Hope no one is upset I didn’t do the twins separately, it would’ve taken even longer then!

To add, 1,080 followers???? Wtf, I haven’t even posted anything in a while, thank you so much! You’re all too nice istg.

@doggonudez asked me to tag them in this post, so I hope this actually works lmao.

Al~

[nitannichionne]

If He Was YOUR Fan Chapter 19: The Cavill Challenge (Henry Cavill Fan Fic)

CHAPTER 19: The Cavill Challenge

                                          You are waiting. You didn’t go to the Durrell challenge, even though Henry asked you to over and over. You hadn’t trained for it, and you just weren’t ready for a 13K run. And then, in a public social setting for the first time was something you weren’t ready for. You couldn’t tell him that for some reason. People had seen you around town, but not necessarily together. You went shopped with Stella, even hit the pub once with her:

“Who’s your friend?” a man asked Stella one weeknight. When Stella shook her head, he turned to you. “What’s your name?”

“Piss off, Lars,” Stuart warns.

“Ah, come on, a name, if only to say hello?”

You glance at the good looking man, noting his size and good looks, but say, “Taken.” You turn back to your drink.

“Ah, like your friend, Hannah?” he asks, looking at you both. “Mentally dating Henry Cavill or something?” He laughs. “Hey, Archer! This one says her name is Taken.”

“She truly is,” Archer nods, his arm curling around Hannah. Her eyes harden at you, but you are grateful that neither tell more than they should.

“If Archer can’t be a nice consolation, why can’t I, love?”

You sigh. You pull out your phone and start paying attention to it. You check messages. You expect none from Henry; he was probably fast asleep. You feel like this is a mistake now. You went out with two couples and even though Stuart and Stella assured you wouldn’t, you feel like fifth wheel.

You look around Henry’s home: You bought a mat to go in front of the fireplace. You have lavender lotion at the ready. You bought Egyptian cotton sheets for his bed, determined to make up for your disappointing him for not coming to the Durrell Challenge run. Your phone rings.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?”

You recognize Stella’s voice. “Stella?”

“Everyone knows that Henry’s going to a pub at the end of his race,” Stella whispers. “It looks like every girl in the town is here!”

Your breath hitches. “There can’t be many—”

“Does there have to be?”

The line clicks off, and you feel a panic. You trust Henry right now, but is it too early in the relationship to when he has so many options? He went out with an actress for twelve days once. You more than beat that record, but…?

You tense...right now, you shake your head at your own thoughts. You should be there to show support of what he believes in. You realize your needing more time to adjust to a public eye, even a small one like a town near the movie set, might be unrealistic and selfish. There will be more eyes from here on out, you deduce. This is as good as a springboard as any. This could mark the sunrise of your time as Henry’s lady friend, and let’s face it, you wanted to stay private so that when he tired of you, your heartbreak could be the same as it set.

What if it doesn’t? What if it does because of this decision?

You take a breath. If he was any other guy, you knew you’d meet him at the finish. Chastising yourself for your mistake, you run to the mirror. Ugh, not like this!

You look into your backpack and the athletic bag left at Henry’s, biting your lip as you pull together an outfit: A teal sports bra top, black leggings and a black form-fitting jacket that accents your curves. You do your facial treatment, determined not to wear makeup, looking fresh faced, and then apply mascara and lip gloss for good measure. Eyes and lips matter on stage, and everywhere else for that matter. After pulling your ponytail through the back of your baseball cap, you walk outside and grab your mountain bike, looking at Henry’s. He bought one, saying he would ride with you one day, but not as of yet.

You load your leg pack, fill and put on a Camelback pack and take off. This is an ten mile ride. He’s running and then stopping at the pub miles from there. You have to move it! You put your earpiece in. “Call Stella.”

“Calling Stella.”

You wait as the line rings.

“Hey!”

“Where is he?”

“I hear he is less than halfway,” she says in a low voice. She listens to your breathing. “Where are you?”

“On my way,” you pant softly.

“You’re biking, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“You brought your headlights, right?”

“It’s broad daylight, but yes, Stella, I did.” You steer to the right, letting cars go by. “Don’t tell him I’m coming, alright?”

“Alright.”

You click off, and increase speed.

An small SUV goes by and you swerve, going off the road and purposely falling into the bushes to avoid rolling and falling into trees below at the bottom of a small ravine. You have cycled in snow and rain and wind and it pays off, only feeling a little bumped, maybe bruised. You try to see the license plate as you walk your bike back on the road but it is gone by the time you think to even do it, a bit unsettled by the near accident. Time passes and you see the town square opening up to you. It’s not very big, but big enough. You see quite a few SUVs parked, and they all look the same. It dawns on you that these are rentals and probably from the movie set. Could someone have tried to hit you?

You see Henry’s truck parked and go to it. You hitch your bike to a sign post and walk to the pub door. You take a deep breath and try to smooth yourself over. You can’t look all that together after a ten to twelve mile ride, but you made it. You nod respectfully to the man at the door who opens it and step inside.

You scan the place. He’s not there! You hear your name called and see Stella waving you over frantically. You speed over to her.

“He’s running at a park near here,” Stella says softly. “Cindy says his finish line is not in town, but four miles away.” She holds her phone and shows you where it is. “He met others here and they all drove to the start. You might not make it—”

You aren’t listening. You’re gone.

You hop on your bike, put the name of the place in your phone and hit the road again, this time putting the rubber drinking tube in your mouth to get water from your pack since you didn’t drink anything at the bar. You are solidly counting on Cindy’s information and the Google Map God. You take a cleansing breath and push on. You put on music as you listen to the English Siri tell you what to do.

You bike a trail in the natural park as you reach it, and your memory sparks at what you see before you in Instagram photos. You are in the right place, and this fuels you. Now that you know, the posts and the trail map are your best friends. Deductive reasoning tells you which paths to take, as there are a few turns, but you are making it.

Finally you reach a clearing, and you see Henry and security as well as a few people from work all laughing and smiling, drinking water in the distance. You stop short, watching him. You said you weren’t going and now you’re here?! How will he take that?! You use your time to catch your breath, unsure what to do, and insanely contemplating turning around as he takes a selfie of himself and Kal.

Henry calls your name. You stand still, gripping your handlebars and smile, but your stomach is doing flip flops while your heart is in your throat. What a time to reconsider—

“You came?!” He is grinning. “Oh my God, you came!” He starts toward you with Kal trailing behind and you walk your bicycle to meet him. “You biked here?”

“Knee injury, don’t run anymore, I told you,” you pant, tapping your knee which is in a brace. “but I wanted to be here to support you, being by yourself, but you’re not by yourself—” He smiles and you feel heat creep up your cheeks, taking a deep breath as your mouth goes dry. “I just wanted to be there for you.” That sounds stupid, all of a sudden. The man is fully confident and able to do whatever he wants whenever he pleases. “That sounds crazy, doesn’t—” He shuts you up with a kiss and you feel his arms encircle you as yours settle on his shoulders.

“Thanks for wanting to support me,” he says softly, his voice taking on that purr that just makes your knees go weak. His hand cradles your face as his thumb caresses your cheekbone. He looks down again  rocking your body with his hips, which seem to be naturally aligning with yours. “You biked here?!”

“Yeah!” you laugh happily. “I used to bike all the time back home, good way to integrate exercise into the day.

“On these roads?!” He frowns. “That’s not easy.”

“It’s not that hard,” You retort, knowing you’d do it again for the warmth you’re feeling from him now.

He takes your bike and steers it with one hand, holding yours with the other and guides you toward his running party.

“So did you do this on purpose?” he asks. “Surprise me, I mean.”

“Actually, no,” you shrug. “I was setting up a nice spa night at your place—”

“Spa?!” he repeats with a raise of his eyebrow. “Spa? Like massage and bath?”

“I was about to make you something to eat when I changed my mind,“ You say apologetically. “but it can wait, I can make—”

“We’ll have a drink and some supper,” he says quickly. “then head back.”

“I thought—”

“Now I’m the one who can’t wait,” his says softly, his blue eyes changing to a shade that takes your breath away. He makes introductions to people you have seen and were never introduced to, his arm going around you as a warming symbol of his affection and protection. Everyone seems friendly enough and you wonder what you were worrying about.

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Looking forward to hearing from you! Enjoy and feel free to check out my master lists for my other Cavill fan fic stories!

[lookatallthosefreckles]

Where’s The Romantic Music?

When you were born, you had a 'tattoo' (technically it's a birthmark, but tattoo sounds cooler) with your soulmate's last name on it. Cas had always liked tracing the loopy lines of the 'W' in 'Winchester' as a kid, loving the ups and downs of the cursive that was imprinted on his lower back.

Sam had loved the straight, sharp lines of 'Novak', the word written on the back of his neck.

Neither of them really liked the word all that much when they got introduced to their college room mate.

"Hey," Sam said with a smile, holding out his hand to the blue-eyed man he was to be rooming with. "I'm Sam Winchester."

Cas almost dropped his bag.

"Is everything alright?" Sam asked, his eyebrows scrunching together in concern.

"Casti.... Castiel Novak," Cas choked out.

The two men looked at each other in alarm.

According to literally anything that has romance, when you met your soulmate, you were supposed to feel  something. There were supposed to be fireworks, sparks of some kind, possibly red hearts floating in the air. You were supposed to fall in love with every little thing.

But all Cas felt was surprise.

And maybe a little bit of disappointment. How on earth was he supposed to fall in love with this giant? Cas was 6"1 (A/N: im going off a Pinterest thing thing thing I saw a looong time ago for his height so possibly  not the best source), and he had to crane his neck  to be able to see Sam's eyes.

"Oh," Sam said, feeling incredibly awkward. According to his brother's chick-flick movies (that he swore  he did not own), there was supposed to be romantic music playing in the background. Sam was supposed to just have rushed here from the air port, or maybe the hospital, thinking that he'd never love someone again- and then he meets his soulmate.

In reality, Sam had just spilled his coffee on his top layer of flannels, took the shirt off, and (much to the surprise of the rest of the people at Starbucks) walked away with the other 4+ layers still on his body. He'd bumped into a door (maybe he was the clumsy side of the pairing?), gotten his car pooped on by a bird, and run here to meet his room mate.

Not exactly the starting of an incredible love story.

"Uh," Cas repiled.

"I guess, we should, uh..." Sam gestured to the door of the dorm room, his keys jingling.

"Yeah. Yup."

Sam swallowed, and tried to fit his key into the lock.

It was, evidently, the wrong key.

He tried a few more, swearing each time another one didn't work, while Cas stood behind him awkwardly.

"Uh," Cas started, stepping forward when the fifth key didn't work. "Maybe I should try?"

"Oh, yeah." Sam backed away from the door, feeling stupid.

Cas unlocked the dorm easily and stepped inside, tossing his bags on one of the beds.

Sam sat down on the second bed, and they stayed like that. About six feet apart (A/N: mm good the boys are practicing social distancing), both of them silent.

Just all-around awkward.

After a few minutes, Cas cleared his throat. "Do... Do you wanna... I mean, we should probably go out on a date, right?" He winced. Wow, he really knew how to ask someone out, huh?

"Oh, yeah," Sam answered. "Probably. Do you... I mean, I know a bar that's open tonight."

"Yup. Okay. See you... tonight. Yeah."

And they saw each other that night. And, you know, every other second of that first day. Because they were fucking room mates.

Cas honestly just wanted to die right there.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cas had drunk a lot of alcohol.

The 'date' (aka two people sitting at a table and repeatedly ordering drinks) had been the most awkward two hours of both guy's lives. So, to make up for it, the had both gotten drunk.

Cas was definitely more drunk (he was pretty lightweight), but whatever.

While they were walking up their hallway, Cas tripped on a fold of the rug that was sticking up. Sam caught him. It wasn't romantic, like you would expect from your soulmate; there was no pausing as they both realized how close their lips were- it wasn't even the kind of catch just before you kissed the bride at a wedding -, no blush heating their cheeks. Sam just sorta... grabbed Cas's arm.

Sam pulled him up. "Thanks," Cas muttered.

"No worries."

When they got to their door, Cas searched his pockets for the key. "Shit," he grumbled. "Must've left it in the room. Sorry."

"Uh, it's fine," Sam coughed. "My, uh... my brother knows how to pick locks? I'll just ask him if he can come over."

"No, we shouldn't bother him," Cas rushed. "It's like twelve,"

"Honestly, it's fine," Sam laughed. "I'm not sure he actually does  sleep. He texts me from like twelve to three am every night without fail. He'll be fine with it."

"Okay," Cas conceded, still unsure.

Sam took out his phone and searched through the contacts. The phone hadn't even finished the first ring when he said, "Yeah, hey, Dean."

Silence for a moment.

"Me and my room mate are sort of locked out of our dorm." A moment of silence on Sam's part. "Why are we out at- Dean, we're in college!  Of course  we're out late! I-" he paused. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I know,  Dean! God," He muttered. "Could you just get over here? We need you to pick the lock." He waited for his brother's response. "Thanks. See you soon."

He hung up and sighed. "Dean can be such a jerk  sometimes," he rolled his eyes, and Cas laughed. "What?" Sam asked, confused.

"It just sounds like me and my brother," Cas explained.

"You and your... wait, you have a brother?" Sam's mind whirled.

"Yeah. Why?" Sam didn't respond, and just then a man with blond hair came strolling down the hallway.

"This the dude, Sammy?" the guy asked, nodding at Cas.

"No, Dean, this is actually the guy who just murdered my room mate," Sam responded, sounding exasperated. "Yes, this is my room mate."

"'Sammy'?" Cas repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Dean laughed. "Alright, alright," he addressed 'Sammy', then looked at Cas. "What's your name?"

"Castiel Novak," Cas felt flustered for absolutely no reason.

To be honest, it sucked.

"Novak?" Dean asked, surprised.

Sam watched carefully. "Cas, you said you had an older brother?"

Dean's face fell, but only for a second. Then he stitched a smile right back on and said, "Is his soulmate's last name Winchester?"

"Yeah," Cas was slowly realizing what Sam had already figured out. "But mine is, too."

Dean blinked. "Oh," he said. "So, you and Sammy are...?" he pointed at each of them with one finger, then pointed the fingers at each other.

"First of all, ew," Sam answered. "Second of all... no, I don't think so."

It took Dean a second to realize what this meant. He squinted at Cas, and shrugged. "Always thought I had a thing for blue eyes."

Cas gave Sam a once over. "My brother is really small," he said.

Sam paled. "Like... he's really young?"

"Oh, God, no," Cas laughed. "He's just..." Cas took his hand and held it up to the middle of his stomach, then made a patting motion.

"Oh," Sam swallowed.

"Heh," Dean smirked at his younger brother. "Looks like you'll have lots of excuses to pick him up and... ya' know," he pushed his two pointer fingers together again.

"Ew," Sam shivered. "Please, please  stop."

Cas smiled apologetically. "My brother is like that too. He'll want to..." he gestured to Dean, not wanting to do what the green-eyed man had done. "a lot."

Sam held his stomach. "Can you just please  get us into the room," he asked Dean.

Dean grinned. "'Course," he took out an old card from an arcade that was probably long since shut down, and edged it into the slant of the lock. He pushed it forwards a couple of times, and the door unlocked (A/N: that wasnt the best description of this but whatever). "There ya go," Dean announced, stepping back from the door.

"Thanks," Sam muttered.

Cas smiled at Dean, noticing for the first time that when the light caught his eyes just right, you could see flecks of gold in them. Then Cas looked at Dean's lips.

Cas rushed inside his dorm, blushing like crazy, trying to forget what he'd just thought of doing to that man. "Oh, God," he groaned, collapsing on his bed.

Completely forgetting that Dean was still right there.

"Oh, I can't wait  to find out what you just thought of," Dean said with a  mischievous smile. "Hopefully hands-on learning."

Cas covered his face with his hands.

Dean laughed and shut the door.

Good lord, that man was going to kill Castiel dead.

[iamnotbrianmay]

The A Experience

Hey boys, Im back! So not really a maylor centric chapter but yeh, I love this story so much and I’m so excited cause im getting so close to finishing it! 

the taglist goes as follows: @seven-seas-of-why, @twotitsjohndeacon, @dancindeaky, @gee-uloser, @mozzarellamazzello, @mozzie-s, @deracine-dogma-deux, @shutupanddontjudge, @warping-reality, @demianhill , @zodiacal-dust-and-curls

so, on with the chapter boys. 

One Month After the Incident;

‘3 queens and one (1) old lady’

The Impostor: u said eggs, milk and what else

The Impostor: ?????

Melina: sugar

Melina: really darling, it’s like the fifth time you’ve asked me

Melina: get a grip, taylor

The Impostor: Fuck You

Diqi <3: Bring some cereal too

Maggie: And some chamomile tea, please. -Bri.

The room dissolved into laughter at the thought of Roger reading the message and angrily cursing at Brian for his texting habits. He and John were shaking with laughter while Brian sat, smiling smugly, on the chair closest to the fireplace. A book in his lap and his cellphone in the other.

‘3 queens and one (1) old lady’

The Impostor: Fuck You, too.

Freddie was comfortably nestled in the sofa, a pen in one hand and the other tangled in his boyfriend’s unruly hair, while a cheesy love song streamed out of the old turntable John had managed to fix up. Their single Billie Holiday record had been playing on repeat for the better part of the afternoon, yet none of them seemed to mind.

These were Freddie’s favourite days, when the rain was pitter-pattering lightly against the window panes, the house smelled of the cinnamon rolls which were baking in the oven, and his boyfriend was draped over his lap.

The only thing that was be missing from the happy scene at the moment was their drummer.

Roger had almost instantly fit in perfectly in their small family, a contrast to Brian and Deacy’s calm and a counter balance to Freddie’s much more animated personality. They had found that in the short months that Roger had joined their group they had grown so used to his presence that not having him there was jarring, to say the least. His absence was a tangible thing, yet in this case it was their own fault that he wasn’t there with them.

They had kicked him out the night before, when the small amount of clothes that he had in Brian’s closet had all been deemed dirty, and all of his contact lenses had been used up.

They had told him to go to his flat, get clean clothes, buy new contact lenses, and get some groceries on his way back. It had started to get ridiculous as he stumbled around wearing Freddie’s old Rolling Stones t-shirt, tripping on the hem of Brian’s too-large pyjama pants. Then there was the day he’d tried to justify a Star Wars shirt and Deacy’s old ripped jeans as the wardrobe of a respectable pre-med student. In fact, it was getting so ridiculous that Freddie had seriously considered just asking Roger to move in with them.

Not that it would make much of a difference except that the rent would be split 4 ways instead of 3.

He had been trying to find the right moment to talk about it with the two other occupants of their flat, but always found himself being cut short by Roger’s arrival or his fear of the request being met badly. Which was quite unlikely, given that they had all become quite smitten with the blonde drummer.

A particularly loud clap of thunder was accompanied by a flash of lightning; the lights in the flat flickered slightly and the record skipped a beat or two. It only lasted a moment, then Freddie looked down and resumed running his hands through Deacy’s hair.

John sat up suddenly, closing his book.

“We should ask Roger to come live with us” he said, as if he had read his boyfriends mind.

Freddie smiles and sighed in relief, “Oh, I’m glad we can agree that it’s about time!”

“It’s just ridiculous not to,” John continued, “We like him, he likes us, and selling furniture and splitting expenses could really help towards recording our first album.”

Freddie frowned, “Selling our furniture?”

John nodded, as if it was the most logical thing in the world, “He has furniture, we have furniture too, we could just see which is in a better and sell what we don’t want.”

“That’s brilliant Deaks!” Freddie took the chance to give John a quick peck, “You’re brilliant. What do you think, Maggie?”

Brian made a pained face, “I like the idea, it’s just—”

“Oh, come on!” Freddie interrupted, “It’s not like he doesn’t pretty well live here already!”

“I know, but—!”

“But?” John asked, “He sleeps in your bed every night Brian! It’s not like you have a problem with him being around!”

Brian made a frustrated noise, “Will you just let me finish?!”

That shut them up, and soon they were both expectantly waiting for Brian to explain himself. Freddie felt especially confused, fully knowing that Brian was currently head over heels for Roger, and couldn’t imagine what possible objections he could have to him moving in. Brian muttered something softly and Freddie frowned.

“Speak up, Bri we can’t hear you.”

Brian nervously tucked his hair behind his ear and cleared his throat, “If he moved in we wouldn’t need to share a bed anymore.”

“Oh,” Freddie’s felt his heart melt a little for his awkward friend, “oh, Brian. That is so cute.”

“You’re utterly fucked, mate ” John added.

Brian glared at Deacy, which lost its effect somewhat when combined with the blush spreading across his cheeks. “Like you two are any better!”

‘3 queens and one (1) old lady’

The Impostor: bri there is no chamomile tea! :((

The Impostor: I’ll bring you some other types of tea to make up for it

The Impostor: sorry <3

“I feel like Roger won’t be keen on sleeping alone either,” Freddie commented as Side B of the record came to an end and Deaky got up off of the sofa to change it, “you could always talk to him about it.”

“Freddie.”

“I know, I know, you’re giving him his time, but you also have to think about how it’s hurting you.” There was a beat of silence, before ‘I’ll be Seeing You’ started to play softly, “This waiting is hurting you, too Bri.”

Brian let his eyes drift over to his phone, which was still displaying Roger’s message on the screen. Freddie watched as his friend’s eyes softened and his shoulders dropped; he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him, not to mention a little guilty.

He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Brian, finding someone like Roger, having to pretend for god knows how long, before getting smacked in the face with the reality that they wouldn’t be able to get together because of what Freddie had done.

Yes, he most definitely still felt very guilty for that particular incident.  

The younger man’s eyes drifted from the phone to the single photo that had been left on their wall after Tim’s true nature was revealed. It was a snapshot of the three of them, huddled together in the snow, drinking hot chocolate.

Freddie could still remember that afternoon quite clearly. It was back when they weren’t a group yet, back when Deaky was just his friend, and Brian was just a nerdy guy with a strong personality and flair for the guitar. For a second Freddie wondered what their life would have been like if Roger had been a part of that photo.

Would they have already released an album? Would Brian and Roger be a couple? Would they be rich and famous by then? Or would their band have fallen apart before things even picked up?  

“I can’t do that to him.” He was taken out of his thoughts by Brian’s voice, “I can’t tell him to hurry up because I no longer want to be single. It doesn’t seem fair. Even if it hurts me to know it was so close but seems so far away.”

“Brian—”

“Let him finish, Fred.”

The guitarist shot Deaky a grateful look, “He needs his space, so I will give it to him. He needs time to get his thoughts in order, so I will wait for him. I can do that, I don’t mind. I’ve survived this long haven’t I?”

Freddie could see the reasoning behind his thinking, but couldn’t help but feel a tug in his heartstrings on behalf of his friend. Brian May, his soul brother, his Maggie deserved the world and more. He did not deserve to have to wait for a love that in the end might not come to be.  “Does he knows this?” He asked.

Brian bit his lower lip, then shook his head, “Well, sort of? I told him that I wanted to be his friend and give him time but...” Brian shrugged.

The thought left unfinished, Freddie let it hang in the air until it became clear that Brian wasn’t going to add anything more.

“I think you should tell him.” In the end it wasn’t him who spoke, but Deaky, “Tell him that you are willing to wait for him. Make it clear you aren’t going anywhere if he doesn’t want you to go.”

Brian frowned again, “That’s what I was planning on doing.”

“And what exactly is stopping you?” Deaky pushed.

“I guess..” Brian paused. “I guess I just don’t want to say that and end up pining for someone for years and never getting anything in return.”

That hit Freddie where it hurt, mainly because he knew it was partially their fault that Brian was feeling this way. All of the teasing, in their minds, was always just that, teasing. But on more than one occasion Freddie found had himself wondering if they sometimes took it a little too far.

Clearly they had, far enough for Brian to feel so ashamed about his lack of love life that he had decided to find a fake boyfriend Tinder, of all places.

“Maggie, darling, you have that drummer wrapped around your pinky finger. I’m pretty sure he would wait a thousand years for you, too.” He smiled reassuringly.

Private Chat

The Impostor: freddie

The Impostor: m8

The Impostor: brian likes cheesecake right?

The Impostor: i want to get him something nice

“And if he isn’t willing to wait a thousand years for you, then I guess we’ll just have to kill him,” Deaky said ,with a straight face.

That made Brian laugh, and Freddie took the opportunity to text a quick, ‘yeh’ back to the blonde, before continuing with the conversation at hand. “ I don’t think we have to plan his murder just yet. First you’ll  have to talk to him, invite him to move in, and then declare your undying love for him. If all that doesn’t convince him, then we can start planning his murder.”

Brian laughed again, only this time it sounded more like a nervous kind of laugh, and Freddie just wanted to wrap a blanket around Brian’s shoulders, to keep him safe from all the things that affected his sensitive friend so deeply. Finally, the guitarist turned back towards his friends and smiled softly, “Thanks guys.”

“Don’t thank us yet,” Deaky said, “Thank us on your wedding day!” He winked.

Brian chuckled, “Okay Deaks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

The song changed from Billie Holiday’s soft crooning to a long trumpet solo, before Brian spoke again.

“Do you really think he’d wait for me too?”

There was a soft ding from the kitchen, announcing that the cinnamon rolls were ready to be taken out of the oven, and both Freddie and John ignored it in favour of finish their talk with Brian.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Brian,” John said, he might have been the youngest, but he was often the most sincere, “he’d wait an eternity for you, that ridiculous satsuma boy.”

That seemed to reassure Brian, he seemed to relax somewhat at the mention of the nickname and of the ridiculous story they had crafted for the sake of his grand deception.

“Brian, darling, come take my place. I’ll go make sure the flat doesn’t burn down with the cinnamon buns.”

The younger man did as he was asked, crawling over the sofa to lean against Deaky’s back while Freddie went to the kitchen to take care of the baking. He took meticulous care when it came to baking; carefully spreading the icing on every single treat, and lovingly sprinkling them with what little cinnamon and sugar they had leftover. Once they were done he came back to the living room, only to find that the record had finished and his two boys had fallen asleep.

Smiling fondly at them, he placed the treats on the tea table, and turned the vinyl over yet another time. A lovely melody filled the apartment once again and Freddie couldn’t help but wonder how people could possibly prefer phone speakers to the heavenly sound of a record player. Then soft rattling came from the front door as Roger stepped into the flat. Freddie went over to help Roger with his backpack or the shopping bags, and found that Roger was only carrying only one of them.

“Liz, darling, where are your clean clothes? You did do laundry didn’t you?” He gave Roger the serious eye.

Roger smiled at Freddie shaking his hair lightly to rid himself of the few raindrops that hadn’t soaked through his hair. He left the bags on the kitchen counter and smiled at Freddie as he began undoing his coat, “Of course I did laundry! But don’t worry, I’ll go home tonight. Even I know when I’ve overstayed my welcome, Fred.”

Freddie crossed the few steps in between them in the blink of an eye, and started buttoning up his coat. The younger man just stared at him in bewilderment. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t be daft, dear,” he chided Roger, “I’m buttoning your coat again.”

“What for?” Roger asked, still clearly confused.

Freddie smiled brightly, “‘Because we are going back out to get your clothes, lovie. Why else?”

The smile Roger gave him was enough to make the singers chest fill with warmth. He could only imagine how he’d look once they asked him to move in— Freddie couldn’t wait.

[wonderlustlucas]

warmth - wong yukhei

⇢ prompt It’s like a breath of fresh air on the first day of spring, filling you to the brim with new life and you can't get enough. ⇢ pairing yukhei x female reader ⇢ word count 16k ⇢ genre fluff & slight smut ⇢ warnings oh my GOD the fluff in this killed me, resuscitated me, & then hit me with a car. if you squint really hard there is like a teaspoon of smut & implied s e x ⇢ summary Meeting NCT was definitely not something you or your best friend ever imagined would actually happen on your road to stardom, but Wong Yukhei falling for you never once crossed your mind. Lucky for you, a touch of jealousy, fifteen rounds of Fortnite, impromptu snuggling, and a splash of soju is the perfect recipe for falling in love. ⇢ a/n ok FIRST OF ALL since this is my first actual fic im posting i feel like i should warn u all & apologize for my use of italics, im a little obsessed cuz when i go over & read what ive typed i always put emphasis on specific words so ya just roll w that. secondly i tried sosososo hard to include every member but obviously some got more spotlight than others thats just how the cookie crumbled BUT I TRIED. and lastly the beginning to this is a little rough but i swear it gets better trust me on this, warmth is my bby rn & im proud cuz it gets real good as u keep reading. enjoy:)

“Kim Mina and ___ ___, welcome! Take a seat! How are you?”

Yuna’s greeting is welcoming but it barely calms your nerves. Your grip on Mina’s hand is like iron, but you finally have to let go and give your best smile before shimmying onto the high stool. Mina starts the small talk with the two anchors and you can’t help but silently thank her. Lord knows small talk was not your thing.

Meanwhile, you glance around the large room, taking it all in—from the brightness of all the screens to the professional video cameras facing in your direction and all the way to the small crowd of fans cheering outside. How did you end up here?

“So, tell me, what started this amazing journey the two of you have gotten yourselves into?” Seojun, the second anchor, asks with a beaming grin. You look to Mina and she nods to you in approval. Deep breathe. Don’t panic.

“Well, Mina and I have been best friends, if you’d like to put it that simply, since we were freshmen,” the three chuckle at your comment, “we both shared and bonded over our love for BTS, actually, and then Seventeen, NCT, Red Velvet, and so on.”

You pause to lick your lips and take a deep gulp of air.

“We both weren’t very active nor athletic. First, we played volleyball, then lacrosse, and we even tried golf but sports just wasn’t really our thing. So, we eventually settled for a gym membership and spent a lot of time there together, and over time we really got into shape,” you stop again to laugh when Yuna reaches out to poke at Mina’s very prominent bicep muscle.

“And so one-day junior year we were jamming to, uh, I don't know,” you laugh, glancing to Mina. “BBoom BBoom,” she says, “by MOMOLAND.”

You smile to yourself at the fond memory. “Anyway, Mina randomly suggested that we should learn the full choreography and not just random parts. At first, I laughed at her ‘cause I thought there was no way either of us was bright enough to remember the full thing. But she was so serious about it that I eventually just agreed to it to humor her, and we actually learned it by ourselves.”

“It wasn’t as easy as I thought, though,” Mina interrupts, “it took a really, really long time just to get the footwork and so many times I knew ___ wanted to shoot herself for agreeing to do this,” she laughs and the three of you join her. “But once we got it, we recorded it, and we were just amazed. Like, ‘Wow, we did that! That’s us!’ and we showed everyone we knew. The sense of pride motivated us to do it again. So we did Mic Drop by BTS, and when we uploaded it on YouTube it really blew up within our school,” Mina stops and looks at you to continue.

“Our friends and family really started spreading the word about us after the fourth or fifth video we uploaded. In the meantime, a lot of kids thought we were really weird for, you know, putting ourselves out there like that. But it was just so fun to dance that we really didn’t care about both the positive or negative feedback we were getting. After all, we were only seventeen, you know. But things really started getting serious about two months ago when we uploaded Baby Don’t Stop from NCT U and CLAP from Seventeen. Someone big must have stumbled upon our account because a week later we were in the newspaper. Something about ‘arising local stars,’ I think,” you pause when Yuna shuffles through her papers to pull out the exact article you were talking about.

“Yep,” she pauses to flip through the papers, “‘___ ___ and Kim Mina: Small-town Seniors to Stardom,’ wow, so you two really caught someone’s eye,” she comments as Seojun nods in agreement.

“So yeah, that’s basically it. We still plan to graduate high school and all, but right now we’re not sure if we want to go to college at this point. We have a steady income as of right now and hopefully, we can really make this into a career. It’s kind of our passion at this point, not just a hobby,” you finish, fixing the collar of the rather fitting romper you were wearing.

“Wow,” Seojun comments and brings his hands up to clap, “talk about an inspiring story.”

“Hopefully. We tell our followers that even if you may feel really lost in the world right now, you will find something that you’re passionate about, it’ll just take time and probably some stupid idea,” Mina concludes with a beaming smile and an arm around your neck, tugging you in close.

Yuna and Seojun coo in unison at the affectionate act and you can’t help but squeeze Mina back.

“So, we have a few more questions,” Yuna finally says after you pull away from your best friend. You sit up straighter in your seat and nod excitedly.

“This one’s easy. Who is your favorite group?” Seojun asks once he’s done flipping through the pile of note cards in his hands.

“NCT, for the both of us,” Mina replies easily, and you nod in agreement. “And do you have a bias, as I’ve heard you call it, in the group?” Yuna asks and you immediately feel the heat rush to your cheeks. It wasn’t that you’re embarrassed, you just don’t want to talk about it.

So, yeah, maybe you’re embarrassed.

“Uh-oh, ___ is red,” Seojun catches on and you squawk in embarrassment, having to hide your face from the cameras just so those watching wouldn’t be able to see you flush so badly. “Well, my bias is Taeyong,” Mina replies while soothingly patting your arm to get you to look back up.

“Yukhei,” you eventually squeak out after sitting up.

“Which choreography so far has been you’re favorite?” Yuna moves on instead of picking on your red-hot embarrassment anymore and you quietly thank the gods.

“Oh geez, I can’t choose one. CLAP, HIGHLIGHT, Burning Up, DNA, Cherry Bomb, 7th Sense, Baby Don’t Stop, Boss... all favorites. No way we could simplify it to one,” Mina laughs after naming off a few.

“Alright, last question before the surprise,” Yuna says, winking at the camera mischievously, “if you could go back in time, would you have started this journey earlier than you had?”

You glance at Mina and pause to think for a moment. Would you? Mina opens her mouth to say something but closes it again, clearly stumped by the question.

“No,” you speak up, “I think the way we did it worked out in the best way possible. It started as a joke for us, but the music we love turned it into something we’re passionate about. If we started this when we were any younger, we wouldn’t have been as mature and probably wouldn’t have gotten as much attention as we have. We would’ve looked like even more idiots to the public. It all happened for a reason, and I wouldn’t want to change it one bit, you know?” You rant, picking at your nails as you do so. Was that too much? Too little? Hopefully I didn't sound cocky.

“There you have it, folks! Wise words from eighteen-year olds ___ ___ and Kim Mina!” Seojun cheers and Yuna claps. Mina bows and you smile appreciatively. “Don’t leave just yet! After this commercial break, Mina and ___ will be performing live before the show ends! Stay tuned everybody!” Yuna finally announces and you can finally breathe again now that the cameras are off.

“Go on and get changed, kiddos. Don’t wanna miss your own performance,” Seojun smiles. “Thank you. And thank you for having us. This was amazing,” you reply, hopping off the seat and giving him and Yuna firm handshakes before storming backstage with Mina.

“You spoke so well! What the fuck? What happened to little ol’ ___ stuttering and dying when she has to present?” Mina exclaims excitedly, spinning you into a hug in the dressing room. “I don't know! I just—I have no idea! I felt so, so... proud, you know? Look how far we’ve gotten,” You speak hurriedly, peeling everything off your body.

“I know, this is crazy. I feel like I’m gonna shit myself,” Mina replies as you both unclasp each other’s bras to replace them with sports bras. “Me too. I don’t know why I’m so nervous to perform, we could do this choreo asleep, with our eyes closed, and our legs cut off,” you exaggerate, tugging up your ripped black skinny jeans and hopping around to get them up.

“With our legs cut off?” Mina laughs as she pulls up her denim shorts. “But no, I feel you. It’s because it’s live, we usually have the comfort of knowing that we can mess up without anyone knowing,” she explains as you push your arms through the sleeves of the cropped white tank you decided on.

The two of you finish getting dressed, quickly stretch, and hurry back out before you actually are late. “Good luck, don’t mess up,” Mina whispers, fixing your braids and giving your hands a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Thanks, asshole. You too.”

Baby Don’t Stop starts from the speakers, extremely loud but too quiet and exhilarating but soothing all at the same time. It’s a natural habit now—the way your body moves to Ten’s absolutely panty-dropping voice and Taeyong’s aggressive rapping—arms twisting in ways that used to hurt and legs reaching new angles every second.

But it’s happening all too quickly—you want it to slow down so you can bask in the feeling of doing what you love for everyone to see.

You find yourself singing along like you usually do, and start to worry that it could be heard. What if you sound like a crow, squawking Ten and Taeyong’s beautiful lyrics? Focus. You mentally slap yourself when you lean over a minute and a half in to scratch Mina’s chin and head. So you keep going.

You always dance Ten’s role—it was something you begged Mina when you chose Baby Don’t Stop as the next choreography you two would learn. Mina had no problem with it, considering she wanted to dance her own bias’ moves.

Two minutes in and you were officially breathing heavier after the last few complicated moves you had to do. Then the transition to Cherry Bomb started and you took a couple much needs breathes before continuing.

These last two minutes of Cherry Bomb you performed were always the hardest, especially since it was mainly beats rather than actual singing or rapping. There were so many movements that needed perfecting, so many angles that needed to be reached, and so many changes that had to be done quickly all had your head spinning.

Your legs are burning. God, they hurt. You can feel the sweat dripping across your neck, down your spine, and into the waistline of your jeans like a waterfall. However, you receive an adrenaline rush sent by the heavens after the first time you have to fall back onto the floor only to quickly lean back up and do a few more grueling flips and tumbles.

After your very difficult part on the floor, you finally rejoin Mina for the last forty seconds to begin your descent to an almost-split before jumping back up and finishing the song.

The loud music is cut off and you are left with only you and Mina’s heavy breathing, blood rushing in your ears, and the loud applause coming from the crew, anchors, and friends and family off to the side.

Oh my God. We did it. You quickly turn to Mina and engulf her into the tightest hug of your life, not caring about the slick layer of perspiration between you. “I’m so proud of you,” you mumble into her neck, giving her one last squeeze. “Of us,” she quips as Seojun and Yuna stop next to her.

“Kim Mina and ___ ___, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you all for watching and have a wonderful night!”

You wave tiredly at the camera and give a weak smile, but all you can focus on is how heavy your breathing is and an annoying bead of sweat rolling down into your asscrack. Seojun and Yuna say something about relaxing for a while in the private lounge upstairs and as soon as you hear water and brownies you’re off, racing Mina up the stairs no matter how badly your legs scream at you not to.

“I can’t believe we did that!” Mina screams, spinning around and making a bee-line for the table full of beverages and food. You quickly yank your sweaty tank off your body, crumble it up in a ball, and toss it at her head. “Oh my God, you’re a disgusting, repulsive, ugly, sickening rat,” she hisses, swatting your outreaching hand away.

You chuckle to yourself as you grab a water bottle, pausing for a moment to grimace at the copious amount of sweat in your cleavage before cracking the cap off of the bottle and nearly inhaling the delightfully cold, refreshing liquid.

“You know, maybe we should just forget about this. I’m so tired of the way you treat me,” you start, finishing the bottle before cracking open another one without even glancing her way.

“___,” she starts to interrupt, but you don’t let her. “Like, the amount of disrespect I get is nauseating,” you continue while reaching for a brownie and basically shoving the whole thing in your mouth. “___,” she says again.

“I just don’t understand. I do nothing but love and support you, clean the house, nurse our children,” you pause to chew on a chocolate chip cookie, “pick up the dog’s shit, for crying out loud! And this is what I get back?” You finally end your sarcastic rant, popping pieces of cut fruit into your mouth before breaking into a fit of giggles.

“___!” she shouts this, and you finally look at her, wondering if you’ve somehow offended her. You follow her gaze once you realize she’s not even paying any mind to you or your shenanigans.

And there they are.

All eighteen of them.

Right across the room.

The water bottle doesn’t make it to your mouth this time but instead falls from your grip and onto the floor. You don’t even notice it, considering all eighteen fucking members of NCT are sitting only a few yards away, their mouths slightly agape and a shocked expression mirroring your own.

You don’t know how long it takes for one of you to finally say something. “Am I hallucinating or is NCT in our room?” Mina whispers.

You blink hard. Rub your eyes. Pinch your skin. “No. They’re there.”

And then you sob. You don’t know what happened, but something within you snaps and a choke sounds from your lips and tears swell from your eyes.

“Oh my God, don’t cry,” someone says and seconds later engulfs you in a hug.

They were here. In the same room as you. Had they watched you perform? Were they invited, or did they coincidentally have an interview here as well? You sob into the jacket of whoever is holding you, your knees buckling beneath you as they hold you.

“Why are you crying?” None other than Nakamoto Yuta asks quietly, his hand placed gently on your head rubbing soothing circles.

You finally pull away and wipe underneath your eyes. When you look up at him you nearly choke again. He’s so beautiful. “I—how? I just—where did you? What the fuck?” You cry again and nearly melt into a pathetic puddle when he wipes the tears from your eyes.

“Should we leave?” Yuta laughs, his hands resting on your bare shoulders. “No!” You shout, too loudly. You look down in embarrassment. “Okay, good. I was beginning to wonder you actually didn’t like us,” he chuckles again, and this time you look at his face and nearly faint when you see his gorgeous smile you’ve spent hours gawking over.

“No, never. I’m just... confused? How—who? How did you guys get here?” You stutter, shaking under his gaze.

“Well, we were kind of notified that you two would be performing our songs and thought it would be pretty cool to surprise you,” a new voice appears. You feel like throwing up when Mark Lee comes into view.

“I don’t—I literally don’t know how to talk anymore. How is this happening?” You whisper to yourself, hoping they don’t hear you but by their chuckles they apparently do. “Sorry we surprised you to the point you practically shit yourself,” another someone laughs.

Lee Je No has joined your little circle now too, and you reach out to the table next to you to stand properly. “Sorry, give me a moment,” you chuckle, not because you find it funny, but because you’re so entirely wound up you think death is quite possible.

After a moment or so of you controlling your breath and the three awkwardly standing there, you finally lean up and look over them again. Calm down, idiot. They’re people. People that you have read smut about way too many times and have cried your heart out over. But still people.

“Hi, I’m ___,” you eventually opt for, reaching out to whoever. Yuta takes your hand first, then Jeno, and finally Mark. They introduce themselves as if it was totally normal. Mina!

“One second,” you quip, shuffling over to see Mina in her own little circle of Park Ji Sung, Kim Jungwoo, Kim Dong Young, and Lee Tae Yong.

She was with Taeyong!

You scan over the rest of NCT some who are in their conversations or awkwardly standing there. After all, it was eighteen meeting two. Your eyes don’t stay on one person for too long, just because your excitement is so overwhelming and you need to see everyone.

Wong Yukhei. There he was. Six feet tall in all his glory, rocking on his heels as he laughed loudly with Qian Kun. “Lucas is here,” you say suddenly and to no one in particular.

Your statement comes off more as a question and the trio laugh. “Well, he is part of NCT, is he not?” Mark asks with a grin. “Shush, she’s going through a midlife crisis over here. You heard her earlier,” Yuta retorts with an elbow to Mark’s side.

“Oh God, did he hear me say that he’s my bias?” You hiss, slapping yourself on the forehead. “Well, we were all watching, so I’d say so by the way he blushed about a hundred shades red,” Jeno says, giving your shoulder a squeeze. He blushed?

“C’mon, you should meet everyone,” Marks luckily saves the day and changes the subject. He reaches for your hand and you take it gently, looking down in hot embarrassment. You aren’t wearing your shirt! You’re mouth forms an ‘o’ as recognition hits you like a train and you let go of his hand to pick up the crumpled shirt on the floor.

Even after you pull the damp tank back on you still feel incredibly embarrassed for having been so exposed to the boys and can’t seem to shake it from your mind until you start meeting everyone.

It’s awkward at first, but they’re all incredibly sweet—sweeter than they are online—and you fit right in. After thirty minutes or so, you’re finally led to the last few members.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Lucas. What do I say? Act normal? Pretend he isn’t my lock screen or the reason I’ve been up until four in the morning on so many nights? You have yet another midlife crisis and opt to just smile at him.

But you can’t look away. The tall, beautiful, genuine, hilarious, pure, wonderful boy you never in a million years thought would be so close. You can barely breath when his eyes lock with yours and every working brain cell disintegrates.

His lips. They were even plusher and poutier in person and you wanted nothing more than to touch them. His dark hair fell messily over his forehead while a few blonde strands brushed his long eyelashes and you nearly cried at how soft and fluffy it looked. Defined eyebrows, darkdarkdark brown eyes, sharp jaw, and the soft slope of his nose were the only things you were focused on and yet you couldn’t find yourself to care despite the incredibly long staring contest the two of you were having.

“I was just telling everyone that you’re my mini-me,” Ten giggles and it finally brings you back to reality. You look away from Lucas to quirk an eyebrow at Ten’s statement. Just how long were you staring? Long enough to not know what they’re talking about, clearly. “You know,” he elbows you, “you dance my part in Baby Don’t Stop.”

“Oh,” you laugh, curling into him when his arm drapes over your shoulder, “I wouldn’t say I’m a mini you. Nowhere’s close.”

“You’re lying,” Lucas interjects and it takes everything in you to look at him again. “I think you dance it even better than Ten,” he teases and when he laughs something deep within the confines of your heart sparks—it’s a loud, hearty laugh that you swear on your life is the best sound you have ever heard. Your mouth falls open at his compliment and can’t help the hotness that rushes up your neck and onto your cheeks.

“Ouch,” Ten fakes to cry, finally removing his arm to place his hand over his heart. What were you to say? You simply could not form a coherent reply and instead stood there like an idiot, completely starstruck.

Eventually, conversations start to slow down and everyone is sitting, either on their phone or piling junk food onto plants and chowing down. You find yourself gravitating to the empty seat next to Mina and as soon as you sit down, she grins at you.

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” You laugh, toying with rips in your jeans. “I don’t know. All I do know is that I don’t ever want them to leave,” she sighs, and the realization hits you.

They were going to have to go eventually, and no matter how close they lived to you or not, the chances of ever being able to see them were incredibly low. It was like a dagger to the heart, twisting and digging into you as the disappointment settled in. “At least we got to meet them,” you whisper, trying to be optimistic.

“I know, but now that I’ve had a taste, I want the full platter,” she mumbles and you feel like smacking her for having to sound so wise.

Before you can reply, Chenle appears next to Mina and leans on his elbows, wisps of blonde hair falling into his eyes. “Hey, so, would you guys want to come back to the dorms with us? We’re doing a vLive and thought it would be cool to have you guys in it. It’ll be a truth or dare kind of thing with all of us. You guys should come.”

You gape up at him. Go back to the dorms with them? “Could we take a shower?” Mina asks.

“Yeah, of course. vLive can wait,” he laughs, the high pitch of it makes you laugh as well. Mina looks at you, silently pleading to agree.

“I’ll have to ask my mom.”

It took a lot of pleading and begging and fake crying for both you and Mina’s parents to finally agree. After a whole lecture about boys only wanting to get into girls’ pants, arguing that they aren't like that, and making you promise to never leave each other’s sides, you were finally at the dorms.

After Jaehyun guided you both to the bathrooms, you finally got the shower you desperately needed. After shampoo and conditioner, you scrubbed the layer of dried sweat off your skin and simply stood under the warmth of the water. Your muscles were so damn sore, and you were so incredibly exhausted that you feared you would be knocked out and miss out on the fun.

When someone knocked on the door and teased you about taking forever, you started to feel bad and eventually turned the water off. You dried, brushed your damp hair, and swapped your towel for leggings and a black t-shirt that stopped mid-thigh all under fifteen minutes before finally exiting the bathroom.

You hear laughter coming from down the hall and aimlessly follow in that direction, hoping to find your newfound... friends and not walk into some important meeting. Although, who would be meeting at seven o'clock at night?

“___, we got pizza!” Johnny calls from across the room, being the first to notice your entrance. Wow. The dance practice room is even bigger in person? Your fingers trace the mirrors on every wall as you make your way over, completely entranced with the large room.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Win Win asks, clearly catching onto your awe. “Yeah, I can’t believe how... how big it is,” you gape, spinning on your heels to take it all in again. Imagine how awesome it would be to have all this space!

“That’s what she said,” someone comments, and you look over to see Jaehyun smirking and can't help but laugh at his stupid line. “How original,” you snort while the rest of the boys roar in laughter.

“How did you manage to finish before me?”

You’re surprised when Mina appears by your side but also relieved that she’s finally here. “’Dunno, a lot of weird things have happened today.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Are you guys going to eat or did we order four boxes for nothing?” Taeyong asks and you roll your eyes while Mina mumbles something along the lines of ‘so damn aggressive’ in your ear.

You skip over to the table and grab at a slice while discerning where to sit. Were you to just sit anywhere randomly? By yourself? With someone in particular? This is awkward. Jaemin must have read your mind since he calls you over and pats the open spot on the windowsill next to him.

“Thanks,” you smile, pulling your legs up and sitting crisscross. “So,” he starts, and you glance up at him.

Damn.

Jaemin always had a special place in your heart, so having him right here in front of you made concentrating on one part of his face rather difficult. “So.”

“I thought you and Mina’s whole story was really cool. Since it started as a joke and such,” he says, casually leaning back against the window. “Aw, thank you! As much as it would be super cool to be able to tell people dancing has been our passion our whole life, that’s just not the case. We just lucked out, I guess.”

“Heck yeah, you did. I mean, look at you! It’s a shame you don't sing too—you’d really be a knock-out,” he compliments rather smoothly, crisscrossing his own legs so that your knees were now touching. You couldn’t tell if he was flirting or not, not that you minded, but quickly brushed it off.

“Nana, are you flirting with a girl older than you?”

You look up and nearly shit yourself when Lucas leans against the wall next to you, his muscular thighs just barely pressing gently against your bent knee. “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Jaemin replies, clearly not fazed by Lucas’ sudden bossy front.

“Anyway, I’m off. Catch me later, yeah?” Jaemin beams, playfully bumping into your shoulder before hopping off the sill and walking away. Leaving you by yourself. With Yukhei.

“Hello,” he greets, his voice deep and his grin wide, making his big eyes scrunch up in delight. “Hi,” you squeak, voice quiet and rather pathetic. “I’m starting to think you don’t like me, ___, and I’m really hurt,” he sighs from his position still next to the wall. Very intimidating for such a soft boy. You take a deep breath. Act normal.

You scoff. “Ah, yes, Yukhei, I’m sorry to break it to you, but I don’t like you.”

“You know you can call me Lucas.”

“I’m aware,” you laugh, suddenly hyper-aware of the sudden lack of space when he leans even closer. “Then why do you call me Yukhei?”

You swallow the thump in your throat and force yourself to look at the boy you have once claimed your undying love for. “’Dunno. I’ll start calling you Lucas if you really want me to.”

“No! No—I didn’t mean it like that. I just—never mind.” Bingo. Finally broke his little facade. “Gosh, Yukhei, you shouldn’t be flirting with a younger girl,” you use his words to Jaemin somewhat against him, and the sudden confidence has you grinning up at him. His mouth hangs open a bit.

Before he replies, Taeyong claps and everyone’s attention is on him. “We’re starting the vLive so if everyone could somehow come over here that would be fantastic.”

You shift off the windowsill after popping the last piece of pizza in your mouth and look up at Lucas, who’s still looking at you with his jaw slack. “Sorry, I’ll go back to being nervous around you,” you tease before bouncing back over to the two sofas.

Despite everyone’s pleas for you and Mina to sit on the couch, you opt for the floor and sit next to Jaehyun who greets you with a heartwarming smile. “Have you ever done a vLive before?” He asks once you’re comfortably settled next to him.

“Oh yeah, we’ve done a few. It’s kind of hard when you’re still a senior and have a shit ton of homework. Plus trying to learn new choreography takes a lot of free time,” you laugh. “I mean, you would know,” you add, hoping to not sound cocky.

“I feel that,” he smiles, moving his arm from between you to rest around your shoulders. You can’t help but smile at it.

“And... we’re on!” Jungwoo cheers, finally moving away from the phone set up on a tripod a few feet away. Everyone cheers and waves so you awkwardly join in, hoping to somewhat seem as if you aren’t freaking out internally.

Taeil, Mark, and Renjun go back and forth asking everyone watching to drop questions along with ‘good dares because we’re not pussies in this bitch,’ as Haechan whispered from behind you. It doesn’t take long for the comments to start flooding in, and you watch from Mina’s phone that a lot of them are mainly asking who you and she are.

“Guys, this is Kim Mina,” Taeyong finally announces, patting her head from his spot on the floor next to her.

“And this is my best friend ___ ___!” Jaehyun shouts, pulling you into his chest. “Woo!” You cheer, your heart ready to burst at his outburst of affection. “If you guys didn’t catch their performance today, definitely check out their YouTube channel. Super talented gals,” Taeyong finishes.

“Except they don’t sing!” Jaemin shouts and you glance back to give him a playful glare.

“Actually, I heard ___ singing my part in Baby Don’t Stop today,” Ten interjects and you want to die. The boys break into a chorus of ‘oooh’s, turning their attention to him. “She’s pretty good, not gonna lie. Not as good as me, of course,” he giggles.

You laugh, more thankful that you apparently don’t sound like a toad from Hell itself when you absentmindedly sing along during performances.

“I found a question!” Yuta hoots. “Mina and ___, are you dating anybody?”

You glance at Mina and break into a fit of laughter. “If we were dating anybody we definitely would not be here right now. Plus no one in our school wants to date us, we’re losers. So no, we’re not dating anyone,” Mina laughs.

“Way to lighten the mood,” Chenle cackles like a dolphin somewhere behind you.

“Oh, I got a dare. Jungwoo, you have been dared to slap Doyoung’s booty,” Jaehyun calls from next to you. Ah, yes. You’d finally get to see Dowoo in action.

After a few moments the two get up and stand right in front of you, and Jungwoo gives the most aggressive slap he could have done that has the whole room roaring in laughter while Doyoung basically cries.

“Mina, someone asked you to marry them, what do you say?” Ten shouts. “Sure! I’ll marry you!” The pretty girl next to you says to the phone, adding a charming wink that has them laughing again.

“Wow, I feel left out on this one. But someone asked that Mina, ___, and everyone from the Firetruck music video perform the first minute of the choreo,” Jeno reads and your eyes nearly bug out of your head. More dancing? “I don't think my legs can take any more moving,” Mina sighs.

“I’m with you on that one.”

“Do you know this?” Mark asks, walking with you to push the tripod back so everyone could fit within the frame.

“Yeah, might be a little dusty though,” you laugh. “That’s okay, so are we,” Yuta reassures before getting into his position. The song begins and luckily it only takes you a few moments for it to come back to you, but the song is paused after at the minute mark even before you can really get into it or break a sweat.

“That was fun,” you comment, sitting back down next to Mina and Jaehyun. His arm goes back around your shoulders and you’re left thinking way too far into it, your heart beating wildly at the older boy’s sudden attachment.

“Truth for Mina again: how are you so gorgeous?” Chenle reads and you watch as her face turns a deep shade of red that has you all cooing at her. “I’m not. But thank you,” she rushes and you smack the back of her head.

“I got a dare! Ha. Jisung, you have to eat a raw egg,” Jungwoo giggles and everyone cries ‘eww’ in unison. “I hate you all,” he grumbles, getting up and jogging out of the room. Moments later the blue-headed boy returns, glass in hand.

“You’re all going to burn in Hell for this,” he says before bringing the glass to his lips and chugging the egg down like a shot.

“Ehhhhhhh, ew, oh gosh, ewww,” he whines second later, his tongue wiggling out of his mouth and his face contorting into a disgusted grimace.

“Dare for ___ and Mina! You guys have to do splits,” Johnny reads, glancing up from his phone to wiggle his eyebrows at you.

“I can’t do a split,” you grumble, stumbling up to your feet. You move away a little and suddenly feel incredibly self-conscious when Mina goes down once and gets it perfectly. Your mouth hangs open. “Yeah, I don’t do that.”

“Try!” Someone hoots and you opt for a straddle since you almost have that during Cherry Bomb. You start to spread your legs, going lower and lower until the muscles in your thighs are screaming. “You got it!” Mina cheers you on, “helping” you by pushing your back lightly.

Instead, you lose your balance and stumble over, groaning when your chin hits the hard floor. “Thanks, stupidhead,” you mumble, your face red in embarrassment because you just face planted in front of NCT and their fan base.

You stand back up and brush yourself off with a smile, trying to seem unbothered, especially when Jaehyun shoots you a sympathetic smile from the floor. You make your way to the table and pour yourself a cup of soda despite the fact that Lucas was right there, ignoring him altogether to avoid another awkward encounter.

But, unfortunately yet somewhat, fortunately, he has a different idea. Before you can manage to walk away, his large hands reach out, attach to your waist, and pull you down until your sitting rigidly on his lap, perfectly set within the space of his chest and the arm of the sofa.

You attempt to not think too far into it, reminding yourself of all the times members randomly pull one another into each other’s laps. But this was Lucas, pulling you onto his lap. Your heart is beating sporadically now, all the blood rushing to your head and goosebumps rising along your skin.

He clearly notices it, too, since his one hand still on your waist squeezes while the fingers on his other trace the bumps on your forearm. You twist your head to look at him. “What are you doing?” You hiss after it finally hits you—people were watching.

“Am I still you’re favorite?” He grins, obviously mocking the question posed by Yuta. “Not right now you aren’t,” you retort, eyes wide when he laughs loud and incredibly obnoxious. Now everyone was really looking.

“Sorry! ___ is just super funny!” He laughs again and your eyes go wide as everyone takes in the scene before them. After they all get over it and go back to the vLive, you look at him again.

“Are you on drugs? What’s up with you? You’re even crazier in person,” you whisper, your voice clearly shrinking when his hands go back to wrap snugly across your stomach. “Not crazy.” Is all he says.

“What, then? Are you suddenly super clingy or something? Or just drunk out of your mind?” You keep egging him on—you need to know what’s going through his damn head. “First Jaemin, then Jaehyun, and then everyone’s whispering about you,” he replies, his voice deep and raspy in your ear.

“Excuse me?”

“Gotta make sure I’m still you’re favorite,” he whispers, smiling innocently against your shoulder. Your mouth falls agape. What the fuck was going on? Since when? How? When did this all happen?

As the vLive dragged on, there wasn’t many dares or questions posed anymore, and everyone was just joking around and talking. At times when both you and Lucas were laughing, you thought you could make an escape but his long fingers became an iron grip on your ribs if you even tried moving. And he was acting so normal; still cracking jokes and making faces and acting like an idiot as if you weren’t even there.

So, you eventually give up and decide you might as well get comfortable, moving around so his hip bone wasn’t uncomfortably digging into you or that you weren’t awkwardly just plopped on his lap. After all, it’s not like your making out with him or doing anything bad. Sitting on laps was a fairly normal thing, right?

And oh God, did he smell like heaven. It was as if sandalwood and peppermint were clouding your brain, and every time you glanced up you got a little peek at his gentle features you had found yourself so in love with when he first debuted. How did you find yourself so close to someone that nearly fills up half of your camera roll?

“Anyway, guys, I think we’re gonna log out for tonight.”

You turn your attention back to the original reason you were even here, heart thumping against your chest and whole body on fire. You cannot concentrate with Yukhei’s body heat warming you head to toe and his breathing against your neck or his occasional laugh, let alone his long fingers spread across the dips of your waist and his thighs beneath your own. You blink until you refocus, quickly realizing everyone was waving and shouting goodbye. With an apprehensive and rather awkward wave, you watch in relief as Taeyong finally ends the live.

You hold your breath—what now? As soon as his grip loosens you’re up, moving a few feet away to stretch and simply breath. Lucas follows after a few seconds, raising his long arms over his head and stretching them with a yawn.

“That was fun,” he says with a smile plastered on his face. You glare at him, not entirely too sure what to say. What was there to even say? ‘Hey man, what the fuck was that?’ or were you to just act normal about it? And what were the NCTzens going to say or do, and how many questions were going to be asked? Hopefully, people wouldn't delve that far into it.

“You guys should always come over when we go live,” he says, rocking on his heels. Oh, was this what we were going to do? Act normal? “I don’t think your fans would like that very much,” you laugh awkwardly.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I mean, or we could always use more members for NCT. Make it twenty,” he jokes and you truly laugh this time. “Yeah, no. I’m holding out until NCT Antarctica.”

“That would be exciting, you could impress everyone with your almost-there-but-not-really split,” he teases, laughing loudly again. There you go being embarrassed again, face burning red. “Shut up.”

“I’m kidding, I certainly can’t do that,” he says. “Gee, that makes me feel better,” you scoff playfully, rolling your eyes. He gasps. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hey, I hate to say this, but are you ready to go? I’m so knocked.”

Before you can reply Mina is next to you, pressing her body weight onto your side. “Uh, yeah, I’m ready if you are,” you smile to her sympathetically. “Thank the heavens, I could sleep for a year.”

“Mina and ___ are leaving, guys!” Lucas suddenly shouts and everyone breaks into a chorus of ‘aww’s. Ignoring the painfully obvious disappointment, you and Mina say goodbye to each member, offering a hug and quick exchange of appreciative pleasantries.

“What’s your numbers? We’re adding you to a group chat,” Ten says after releasing you from a hug. “What?”

He beams at you and you stutter your number out, Mina doing the same, and watch in complete astonishment as Ten types them into his phone. “Thanks,” he grins again, bringing you into another quick hug. He and Lucas walk the two of you to the door, and when Lucas wraps his arms around your waist after hugging Mina you feel as if you’re literally flying—physically and emotionally—as he lifts your feet up off the ground.

“Bye, ___,” he mumbles after setting you back down. “’Night, Yukhei.”

“Am I still your favorite?”

“Yeah, don’t you worry.”

Forty-eight hours later when you’re in the middle of studying AP Chemistry vocabulary, you receive a text from a number not saved. When you swipe it open, it’s a group chat full of exactly twenty people, and the only name in there is Mina.

Seventy-two hours later you have plans for Saturday night.

Forty-four hours later, you are sitting on the same sofas from last week, watching NCT U practice Boss while the backup dancers give you and Mina the rundown.

You’re nervous. You’ve done this choreography before, basically have it memorized like the back road you take on the way home, but you never did it as a group. The version with just two people was significantly different; plus having to do it with NCT? You would’ve never dreamt of this in a million—trillion—years.

You spent way too much time watching the dance practice on their channel and practicing it with Mina. Both Jaehyun and Win Win were feeling ill, and although the live could have just been pushed back, Taeyong insisted the two of you came and joined in for ‘shits and giggles,’ as Mark texted.

Thankfully it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing and it wouldn't be uploaded anywhere. But it would be live, which meant absolutely zero mistakes.

Mina squeezes your hand when the two of you finally move to the boys and get in your respective positions, the live already started a few minutes ago. “You ready?” Lucas turns around from in front of you, offering a reassuring smile. You nod quickly, swallowing the lump in the back of your throat and focusing on the positives.

Hey, maybe this would help your future career. Being with NCT for the second time may shine some light on you and Mina and could possibly give you major popularity. Nothing but good could come out of this, you tell yourself.

The song starts and your mind completely goes into business mode, your brain remembering twists and turns correctly until you’re following each part spotlessly, especially Jaehyun’s solo part, no matter how awkward it is looking into the phone all to yourself.

And you can’t help but feel as if your pushing yourself harder simply because Lucas is there with you. Sure, you’re scared shitless of messing up, but knowing he might be watching most definitely gives you a push, even if you don't want to admit it.

But you mess up.

It’s minor—incredibly minuscule that no one besides you probably notices it. Your ankle twists in an awkward angle and a searing pain shoots up your Achilles tendon that has you breathless for a moment. You dance through it though, and the song ends before you even know it.

The only sound throughout the large room is the heavy breathing from everyone followed by a joyous cheer. “That was so fun, holy shit. Dancing with a group is so... so empowering,” Mina stammers with her hands on her hips, breath heavy. You simply nod in agreement, your mind too caught up in how much your foot burns. Fuck.

“Showers and pizza, yeah?” Doyoung asks, running a hand through his dampened hair. Everyone nods in silent agreement before splitting up in different directions in search of a free bathroom.

You wobble behind Mina and it doesn't take her long to realize something’s up.

“You're hurt,” she notes, watching the way you limp. “Yeah. It’s fine. I’ll be okay,” you mumble, shooting her a smile and ignoring the rise of her perfectly sculpted right eyebrow.

But it still hurts, even after your shower.

Simply trying to pull your cotton shorts up your leg is an ordeal and you’re left out of breath once you have them on. Instead of heading back to where everyone else is, you wander through the corridors for the kitchen and once you’re there, you open the freezer in search for an icepack.

“Whatcha looking for?” You practically jump out of your skin at Lucas’ sudden appearance, leaning on the counter. “An ice pack,” you grumble, shoving an ice-cream carton out of the way.

“Yo, yo, yo, no need to get aggressive with the Rocky Road, man. What do you need an icepack for?”

“Foot. Ankle. Tendon. That area,” you reply, lifting your foot and pointing to the now swollen area. “Foot-ankle-tendon, that’s new.”

“Shut up,” you laugh, lightly smacking his hand. “Sorry, sorry,” he laughs freely now, the loud, angelic sound filling the room. He scoots you out of the way and continues digging through the freezer until moments later, he comes up with a beloved icepack. You beam at him in appreciation.

“C’mon, follow me,” he says, linking his arm through yours and leading you down a different hallway. Once he opens the door and flicks the light switch on, you realize it’s his and Kun’s room and your mouth slightly falls open. “Sit.”

You do so quietly, watching from his bed as the tall boy rummages through a dresser and seconds later whips out an ace bandage. “I can do that, you know,” you laugh awkwardly, ogling at how his beautiful face scrunches up in concentration as he kneels down and begins to snugly wrap the whole area.

“You can also call me Lucas,” he retorts, pinning the bandage in place and kicking his door closed. Your heart beats faster now. “Oh my God, what’s wrong with calling you Yukhei? Unless you truly don’t like being called that,” you laugh as he plops down beside you and turns the television on. Your heart settles.

“No, I don’t mind. I’m just not used to people I’m not super close with calling me Yukhei,” he admits while flipping through channels. “Oh. I’m being honest, I’ll call you Lucas from now on if you want.”

“I’m teasing, you can call me anytime,” he looks over with a wink, but then his face falls, “wait.”

You genuinely laugh at him this time, watching as he frowns. “How did you forget the whole beginning to that pun?”

“I don’t know. Shut up,” he snickers, then tosses the remote down next to your leg with a huff. He quickly turns to you and you look expectedly at him. “Have you ever played Fortnite?”

You laugh again. “I’ve played mobile but never Xbox or PlayStation,” you admit, watching joyfully as his eyes light up. “Can I show you how to play? We can do duos. We have two TVs, Kun and I usually play together. I mean, only if you want, you don’t have to, but—”

“Yes, I’ll play!” You interrupt, your mouth truly hurting from laughing as the beautiful boy in front of you rambled on. “Really?” He beams.

“Really.”

“Oh my gosh, this is probably the best day ever. I’ve never been able to teach anyone how to play, it’s really so fun, well you said you’ve played before so you know, but still. I feel so bad for all the girlfriends in the world who don’t play and just get annoyed ‘cause they're really missing out, you know? I’m so happy you’re somewhat experienced though, that kind of makes this a little easier. But, ah! This will really be fun,” the tall boy goes on and on, and you simply listen with a smile on your face as he sets up the two screens.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, I got super excited. I promise I’m not that weird,” he chuckles uncomfortably, looking at his feet while the Fortnite screen loads. “Pfft, don’t be sorry. And that wasn’t weird at all; super cute, actually,” you smile, surprising even yourself with your blunt honesty. The pink hue of his cheeks darken and your stomach leaps—you did that!

“Okay, this is just the lobby so I can show you some stuff before it actually starts,” Lucas says, sitting back on his bed and scooting to lay back against the wall. He passes you a PlayStation controller and cups your hands in his. “Okay, this is to move,” he demonstrates and you look up to your screen and back to his fingers.

He goes on and on from explaining the simple goal of the game to shooting, jumping, crouching, and so on, but in all honesty, all you can focus on is his soft hands on yours. Luckily once the game starts you sit in comfortable silence aside from random comments about finding a chest or ‘there’s a shield over here,’ until, alas, there are only twenty people left and you encounter another duo.

The two of you break into a chorus of shouts, warning each other and groaning when you mess up. Your aim isn’t horrific, but definitely not amazing, and you’re wasting ammo terribly. When you have to reload, the opponent shoots you dead and you drop your controller with an annoyed sigh. Seconds later, he dies as well.

“Sorry, that was my fault,” you grumble, wiping your now sweaty hands on your t-shirt. “Don’t worry, eighteenth place isn’t too shabby for your first duo,” he reassures you and sets his controller down.

“Are we going to play another?” You inquire and he raises a thick brow in response. “Do you want to?”

“Um, yeah!”

You play fourteen more rounds, ranging from fiftieth, seventeenth, sixth, and sometimes even fourth place. On your last round, however, Lucas dies and leaves you to battle the last duo.

With a clever jump while reloading, you’re able to quickly kill one player and when the last player hides behind a tree, you find the perfect angle and come in first place.

“Oh my God, we won! You won!” Lucas hoots, shaking you by your shoulders until you’re cheering with him. “Yes, yes, yes!” You shout, grinning ear to ear. “I’m so proud, now you can tell everyone I’m the best Fortnite tutor ever,” he brags, running his hand through his hair and you have to keep yourself from drooling.

You check your phone. 9:47 PM. You’ve been in here for two hours. “I think we’ve played enough for tonight,” he chuckles, turning one television off and switching the other to cable. Now what? Should I leave?

“Holy shit, Zootopia is on,” he suddenly gasps and you look over to see him wide-eyed. “I thought guys weren’t supposed to like stuff like this?”

“We’re not supposed to,” he shrugs, looking over at you with a wide grin, “but I can’t help myself.” You don’t reply and instead sink lower into the mattress, fixing the pillow behind your head in order to get comfier. You keep going back and forth from watching the movie and sneaking glances at Yukhei in his red sweatshirt, hood up and hiding most of his face. Regardless, you can still see strands of his soft hair falling into his eyes and the outline of his lips and begin to feel dizzy by something so incredibly simple but still so breathtaking.

Your eyes begin to grow heavy and burn from the brightness of the television compared to the darkness of the rest of his room and you force yourself to blink hard a few times to keep them from fluttering closed. Don't fall asleep now, he's so close. He was leaning his weight on you, slightly slumping on his side with his arm and thigh pressing against yours and you could feel him breathing.

You blink again, but you don’t open them right away this time just to give them a rest. A few minutes won’t hurt, right?

You quickly fall asleep to Nick Wilde telling Officer Judy Hopps that she needs to give him that pen.

Warmth.

That’s exactly what you wake up to—you can feel warm sunlight dancing on your bare arm and face as it shines shamelessly through the curtains, the white duvet tucked up to your neck engulfs you like a hug, and overall warmth surrounds you on this lovely morning.

Never getting up, you think to yourself, or maybe you even grumble it, you don’t know. You sigh softly and curl your arms and legs tighter around your body pillow, pressing your face against it and breathing in the familiar scent—

Wait.

You inhale deeply again. Sandalwood and peppermint.

Sandalwood and peppermint?

Your eyes are open in a millisecond, but you quickly squeeze them shut in fear of that what you think you saw isn't what’s actually there. You force yourself to peel an eye open again and nearly vomit at how breathtaking the view before you is.

“Yukhei,” you finally breath, barely audible, testing to see if he was up. He doesn’t budge or flinch or sigh—nothing. He stays asleep, his breath softly fanning over your chest from where he lies. The same soothing sunlight warming your skin makes his honey skin gold, and his eyelashes cast soft shadows across his cheekbones while his lips are just so pouty you aren't even thinking when your hand leaves his side to trace his Cupid’s bow.

If your phone was in reach you’d take a picture right then and there and selfishly keep it to yourself, something no one else could have because it’s your memory to keep. But you can’t seem to move. Instead, you stay still, memorizing every plane and curve of his face because you know nothing will ever be as ethereal as what you see right now.

One, five, ten minutes later, you have no idea nor do you care, you realize you should leave. This wasn't right, as much as you hated to admit it. Your heart was completely on the line here and you weren't prepared to be utterly heartbroken in the long run.

You start to shift, slowly, barely an inch at a time, further from the comforting warmth radiating off his body. You’re closer to the window now, and once you detach his remaining hand, you can easily lean up and make your escape.

You shakily reach for his long fingers spread across the small of your back and gently slide it off and lay it on his pillow.

Yukhei groans into his soft pillow and you freeze, hoping he’ll just turn away but no—both hands come back this time, reaching for your body. And once they find your waist you’re being pulled back even closer now.

He sighs against your collarbone and you start to melt. “Don't go. You’re so warm,” he breathes, turning his face so that his cheek lies flat on the center of your chest. “I think I should.”

“No, shut up,” he mumbles back, completely locking his muscular arms around your back.

You huff in defeat and rest your hands around his shoulders. He seems to already be back asleep, so you absentmindedly run your fingers through his hair you've been dying to touch and practically cry when he hums in response. So you continue to, gently scratching his scalp and untangling the ends until he's softly snoring against your collarbone once more.

Your heart genuinely aches—you can feel it in your chest, months and weeks and days and hours of adoration for the boy clinging to you swelling from inside and out and you cannot comprehend that you're even here with him. What did this mean? Friends who have only met twice and randomly texted throughout a single week did not share a bed, let alone spend the morning like this.

You sigh, mainly out of guilt but also sadness—you wanted to wake up like this every morning, stay up every day the way you had, fall asleep with him beside you every night. But would it happen? It was incredibly unlikely and you wanted to sob.

You huff again, pushing your thoughts into another corner of your brain and deciding to just relish in the moment now. You wiggle further down until finally, you’re face to face with perfection himself, his nose just barely brushing your own.

You close your eyes again, hoping maybe you’d fall back asleep and when you wake up again he wouldn’t be there anymore.

“I knew you wouldn’t leave.”

Your eyes are open in a flash, widening at his words and at the fact his own were staring at you intently. “Only because you asked. And you’re very comfy,” you admit, hoping he wouldn’t see right through you. “So I’ve been told.”

“Oh, yeah? By who?” You can't help but ask, not only were you curious but you genuinely wanted to hear his raspy morning voice again. “Oh, you know...” He trails off, and you’re not aware of his hands on your waist until they start tapping against your skin.

“Jungwoo?”

“Yeah, Jungwoo,” he breathes, nuzzling his face back into the crook of your neck and you can’t help but notice that he inhales deeply. “You alright?” You ask gingerly, placing your free hand back on his head and playing with an oddly darker strand of hair.

“Mhm,” he hums against your skin, “comfy. And you smell good.”

Your heart jumps over hurdles at his words and you’re so entirely grateful that he can't see the way your cheeks burn. You stare at the wall for the next few minutes in silence, your mind blank until he starts to breathe heavily and you can only assume he’s fallen asleep once more.

You must have fallen back asleep as well because when you open your eyes again the tall boy isn’t next to you, but sitting on the edge of the bed and prodding you awake. And by prodding, you mean attacking your sides and tickling you until your mind registers the dull pain.

“Stop, stop, stop!” You cry, leaning up and tearing his hands away. “I’m up, I’m up. Jesus,” you hiss, leaning against the wall and smoothing your hair.

He’s grinning so big you fear his face might break. “Sorry, you wouldn’t wake up so I had to do it the hard way,” he laughs.

“Did you try saying my name?”

“Yeah.”

“Poking me?”

“Yep.”

“Oh,” you sigh, “sorry. I guess I was really knocked.” He laughs. “Don’t worry about it. I would’ve let you just stay there all day but your phone was blowing up,” he explains, standing up and stretching. He’s already dressed, so when you check the time you aren't surprised to see that it’s noon.

Mina has texted you nineteen times. Some are from last night simply asking where you were, then calling you out for leaving her alone with Jeno, followed by texts from this morning calling you ‘such a thot and you know why’ and ending with something along the lines of ‘Taeyong isn’t my bias anymore;)’ and you’re laughing.

“What?” Lucas asks and you just show him, watching his expression grow until he’s laughing too. “I feel bad, I stole you from her,” he chuckles, running a hand through his hair. How were you supposed to reply to that? “That’s okay, she’s left me all by myself at parties plenty of times, this isn’t a big deal.” You notice the way his face falls but brush it off when he smiles softly and sits down beside you. “Good. How’s the foot feel?”

“Uh, better, I think. I haven’t walked it yet so I’m not sure.”

Goosebumps rise along your limbs the second he reaches for the white blanket and his knuckles brush your skin and you just pray he doesn’t notice. You watch silently as he unwraps the bandage and presses the skin around your ankle. “Well, it’s not nearly as swollen so that should be a good sign, right?”

“I suppose so,” you laugh, twisting your ankle in his gentle hold. Luckily there’s no major pain so you shimmy off the bed (as much as you don’t want to) and stand up, testing your weight as he watches on. “I think it’ll be okay.”

“Phew, thank Jesus,” he smiles, getting up as well and swinging the door open. “There’s still some leftovers from breakfast if you want some,” Lucas says as you walk down the corridor to the kitchen. Jisung and Haechan pass you on the way and when they wiggle their eyebrows, all you do is smile and look down at your feet.

“Breakfast sounds amazing.”

When you enter the kitchen only Mina and Jeno are in there, sitting on high top chairs at the counter. Mina sees you first and her eyes light up. “___! Look who decided to wake up!”

“Sorry,” you laugh, “I was super tired I suppose.”

“Mhm, I wonder why,” Jeno smirks and your mouth falls open. “NO!” You and Lucas shout at the same time and Mina and Jeno break into a fit of giggles. “We played Fortnite all night. And watched Zootopia,” you grumble, smiling appreciatively when Lucas passes you a plate.

“Is Fortnite a new code for f—”

Lucas glares at Jeno angrily and he quickly shuts up, turning to Mina with a grin. “When did that happen?” You scoff, pointing between them. If they were going to play like that, so would you.

“Well, when you two disappeared she was all alone so we hung out and even practiced Go,” Jeno retorts back. You roll your eyes in defeat and hold your plate out as Lucas spoons what’s left of scrambled eggs and toast on your plate. “Thank you,” you beam at him.

You eat in relative silence except for the occasional snicker when Lucas leans over to show you a meme on his phone. After helping to clean up, you and Mina finally deem that it’s time to leave and say goodbye to whoever is out and about in the dorms.

You find yourself wrapped in Lucas’ muscular arms once again and you can't help but feel at home in his warm embrace. Discreetly as possible, you scrunch his sweatshirt in your palms and breath in his alluring scent, praying, hoping that this won't be the last time you’ll ever be so close. “Text me, okay?” He mumbles in your hair.

“Yeah, sounds good,” you smile, finally pulling away from his hold.

And so you do. You’re lying in bed, fresh out of the shower on Tuesday night with all homework complete and Mina on FaceTime.

“Jesus Christ ___, just send it. You slept in the same bed for crying out loud,” she hisses and your face flushes at the recent memory. “Okay, okay. I’m sending it.”

9:53 PM - To Lucas: hey yukhei!!

“Oh gosh, I sent it,” you gasp, tossing your phone onto the floor and smacking your face. Mina looks at you with a raised eyebrow from the screen of your laptop. “I have to tell you something.”

Now, this makes you look up, completely forgetting about the text. “I hate that sentence,” you say, but luckily she doesn't seem too fazed. “No, it’s not bad. Well, kind of. I don’t know,” she sighs, worrying you, “remember when I texted you saying Taeyong isn’t my bias anymore?”

“I’m guessing you weren't just joking around?” You ask slowly.

“I wish. Well, when me and Jeno were hanging out all night I hadn't really realized until he was talking all philosophical to me just how cute he was. And once I did, I noticed how hardcore he was flirting,” she rambles, never looking directly at the camera, “so while you were sleeping in the same bed as Lucas I was, you know, flirting back, and we uh—we kissed. And then he apologized for rushing and I said that I was sorry too and, well, now we’re going on a date tomorrow!”

Your mouth falls open. Mina and Jeno? “I—wow. I don't know what to say,” you laugh, “that’s amazing!”

“You think so?” She’s beaming like a little girl on Christmas morning now. “Yes! While Taeyong is a god, he’s way too old for you while Jeno is our age. Plus, he’s a sweetie so I support.”

“Oh, gosh. He’s such an angel. He’s so adorable and so funny but if he thinks a joke is rude he always apologizes and God, he’s so sweet,” she goes on and you can't help but smile for her. Your phone dings from the floor and Mina stops to smirk at you. “That might be him!”

You squeal, leaning off your bed and picking up your phone.

9:57 PM - To You: Hello ___ !!!

“Oh my God, he replied,” you squeak excitedly, bouncing excitedly. “Yes!” Mina shouts and you can’t help but laugh. “Ask him how he is.”

9:58 PM - To Lucas: how are youuuu

“So yeah, I guess we’re going to have to double date now,” she giggles and if she was next to you, you would have smacked her. “I don’t want to mess this up, you know? It’s still so unreal to me,” you sigh.

“I mean, you’re already pretty good friends with him and you had a major snuggle session, plus I think you’re both whipped and should just marry now,” Mina says and you laugh at her honesty. “Ah, yes. Marriage is always the answer.

10:01 PM - To You: Im doing better now, how are u?:))

You can’t help but squeal again. “Anyway, I’m going to go. I still have to do these god-forsaken note cards,” she sighs, waving her blank cards dramatically, “have fun talking to your boyfriend. Text me if anything juicy happens.”

“Okay, I will. Goodnight sweaty, love you.”

“Love you too shithead,” she giggles before hanging up and you close your laptop to finally head to bed. Or, lie in bed while on your phone.

10:03 PM - To Lucas: im swell. school SUX tho

10:03 PM - To You: Aww I’m sorry, is something wrong?

10:04 PM - To Lucas: no, i just want to be out of there and live my life u kno?

10:04 PM- To You: Yeah, I understand:(

10:04 PM - To You: I have a question

10:05 PM - To Lucas: sure

10:05 PM - To You: Is my bed comfier than urs

The butterflies in your stomach are becoming painful now, stirring such emotions within you that you feel as if you might just explode. You’re grinning like an idiot, too, typing back quickly just so the conversation doesn’t die.

10:06 PM - To Lucas: it depends. theres a few factors that could change my answer

10:06 PM - To You: Such as?

10:06 PM - To Lucas: whether you would be there or not

You have to bite your lip to hold back another squeal of excitement. Where did this confidence come from and how did you just say that? You can’t believe you actually texted it and hope it’s as smooth as it sounded in your head. You could only pray he would flirt back.

10:07 PM - To You: Idk how to reply back smoothly but I hope u know Im smiling like a dork rn and Kun is making fun of me

10:07 PM - To You: How do you do that???

10:08 PM - To Lucas: <33

10:08 PM - To Lucas: do what?

10:09 PM - To You: Everything you say or do makes me smile. And idk why like even when u told me to shut up I couldn't stop grinning. Or when you pretend to be disinterested and lie so I can't see how u actually feel. It makes me smile and I feel weird when Im around u

You can't breathe at his text. Your head is spinning and you have to read it three times to actually comprehend that Wong Yukhei sent that to you.

10:10 PM - To Lucas: i could say the same ab you. you make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

10:10 PM - To Lucas: gosh, was that too much? sorry

10:11 PM - To Lucas: sorry for always being a mess around u. u still make me nervous

10:11 PM - To You: Yeah. Me too

10:11 PM - To Lucas: really?? u hide it really well

10:12 PM - To You: Yeah man. U make me really anxious. In a good way. I know you won't but I always get scared you'll think im a weirdo

10:12 PM - To Lucas: i could never

10:13 PM - To You: I don't know how to end this conversation now Im too happy but Im super tired and I have practice tmrw

10:13 PM - To Lucas: hm. well. how bout one of us says goodnight and then the other says it back ?

10:14 PM - To You: Clever

10:14 PM - To You: Goodnight ___💗💗

10:14 PM - To Lucas: gnight lucas❤️

You don't fall asleep for another half an hour, your mind buzzing with excitement and affection for the boy who still is your lock screen.

Saturday evening Ten calls you. “___!” He shouts, nearly deafening you.

“Hello!” You shout back.

“I know it’s last minute but I have an invitation for you and Mina,” he’s still talking excessively loud but you find yourself not minding but just grinning at his clear excitement. “Ooh, an invitation for what?”

“If I’m being honest, an invitation for a terrible hangover and quite possibly things you’ll regret. But no, seriously, a friend of Johnny’s friend is having a big ol’ party in his disgustingly large frat house for the end of the semester and it’s open invite. So,” Ten explains, “some of us are going and thought, ‘Hey! Let’s invite our bestest pals Mina and ___!’”

A frat house? A party in a frat house? This would be a precursor to every party ahead of you if you do in fact go to college.

“We’ll be there.”

You should have mentally prepared yourself for this kind of party. You aren’t a very big high school party-goer to begin with, so when you entered the large house with Mina at your side you couldn't get over the sheer magnitude of it all.

Everything was extra—from the extravagant chandeliers and metal railing along the marble stairs to the large rooms seemingly bigger than your own home, to the swarm of sweaty students bouncing to the incredibly loud music, and even to the amount of liquor on counters and tables and the intense smell of hormones.

It was quite suffocating at first and you found yourself clinging to Mina, the extrovert between the two of you, and followed her around like a puppy. Eventually, you warm up after two drinks she passes to you, starting to feel more relaxed in Mina’s navy bodycon dress she forced upon you.

“I think I see Jaehyun!” She shouts in your ear even though you can hear completely fine. You watch against the counter as she jumps up and down like an idiot, waving her arm to catch his attention.

You’re even more surprised when it works. You can tell the gears are short-circuiting in his brain until recognition finally lights up his features and he smiles brightly. He turns for a moment, but then looks back and waves you over.

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” you sigh, downing your fourth shot in a weak attempt to wash all your insecurities away. You slowly follow behind Mina, hopping along to take your heels off so you don't end up embarrassing yourself.

“I didn’t know you guys were here yet!” Is the first thing you hear and it’s Yuta, standing up and grinning beautifully before enveloping you in a hug.

“Surprise?” You draw out once he pulls away.

“C’mon, everyone’s downstairs,” he continues, intertwining his fingers with yours and leading you through the crowd. “Who’s everyone?” You ask on your descent down the steps. “Ugh, well. Me, of course. Taeil, Johnny, Tae, uh...” he trails off, “everyone but Dream members.”

You want to ask if Lucas was there, of course, but you also don’t want to seem clingy and instead kept your mouth shut. After all, you had been texting quite a lot and he never mentioned if he was going tonight. Poor Mina, you think, Jeno won’t be here and their date went well.

“God, he’s already staring and we just got down here,” Yuta mutters, and it takes you way too long to process what he means. “Who?”

“Yukhei. He hasn't stopped talking about you since last week, and now you’re here when he’s been drinking? You’re in for a ride,” Yuta explains as you near the group, but you already feel the anxiety blooming inside your gut. “What does that mean? What do I do?” You hiss, walking slower now.

“I dunno. That’s something you gotta figure out,” he says with a shrug, tapping your forehead with his free hand. You swallow the lump in your throat and just nod, your head suddenly throbbing and you’re not sure if it’s from the soju or what Yuta just told you. Or the fact that Yukhei looks like a whole meal and he’s staring at you just the same way.

Your stomach flips as he scans you head to toe and back again, from your bare legs, up to where the navy lace stops at the expanse of your thighs, to the way the dark material hugs deliciously at your waist and dips sinfully to reveal cleavage that could give a nun a heart attack.

And you can't take your eyes off him. Why did he always have to look so... so good? He could wear a trash bag and still look like a model.

He’s in regular denim skinny jeans that, although he’s sitting, show off his thick thighs and leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. The white, long sleeve tee he’s wearing has a low collar and you can see his collarbones and the way his Adam’s apple bobs. His fluffy hair is messily parted down the middle to show off his forehead and his eyes are so dark you feel as if you suddenly can't breathe oxygen and can only survive off him.

You don’t know how long you’re staring at him until Mina accidentally bumps into you on her way to sit down on the carpet, shaking you from your thoughts. “You good?” You ask each other at the same time. She laughs obnoxiously, the alcohol in her system already in effect.

“I’m good, but are you good?” She asks knowingly, twitching her head in the direction you were just entranced by. “Yeah, just peachy.”

You don't know if you really are good, but what you do know is that that was the hottest checking out experience you had ever shared and can't shake the feeling of excitement setting fire to your nerves.

“C’mon, sit. I’ll get you a drink?” Yuta speaks up again, finally letting go of your hand and moving it to your back to walk you over to an open spot on the couch. “Um, yeah. Sure,” you smile, trying to brush away the feeling that Lucas is still staring, “thank you.”

He only beams back in return before he’s off, and you’re left sitting between Taeil and Kun. “How’s the party so far?” Taeil shouts from beside you and you’re fairly surprised that he initiates small talk, considering you haven’t spoken with him much. “I don’t know, to be honest,” you answer, realizing your throat is going to be dead by the end of the night with how you have to shout, “I’ve only been here like, fifteen minutes. And I’ve never been to a place so big!”

“Really?” He asks, clearly surprised.

“Yeah, not really a party person. High school parties are always in smelly basements and all there is is cringey rounds of truth or dare, spin the bottle, or seven minutes of heaven.”

“Still happens in grown-up parties, sorry to tell you,” he laughs, pausing to take a sip of whatever’s in his cup, “it’s okay though, it’s always fun no matter what we do.”

“I can tell. Except I feel like I’m going to go deaf,” you exaggerate, spinning to look at the monstrous speaker on the wall. “At least they play good music,” Taeil replies and you shrug, “I guess. It’s probably better when your dancing, though,” you say, turning back to him.

Yuta returns moments after that, holding out a cup and you take it and smile appreciatively. When you take a sip, you practically choke on how strong it is but swallow it anyway with a grimace. Once the burn goes away you take another sip and deem it’s not as bad as you initially thought.

“Jesus, slow down before you give him a heart attack,” Kun hisses in your ear, and you glance at him with widened eyes. “Who? And what about me? What if I have a heart attack?” You joke.

“I swear you’re clueless, but I’m hoping that it’s just alcohol shutting down your brain,” he sighs in defeat, “Lucas, of course. He looks away for one second and then when he turns back you’re doing something that surprises him.”

You roll your eyes. “What, am I not allowed to drink?”

“Well, you are underage. But no, seriously. I can tell he thinks it’s hot. Plus, I can practically smell his jealousness from here,” Kun replies, side glancing for barely a second before looking back at you. “You should have seen him when you walked down holding Yuta’s hand.”

You swallow, suddenly feeling guilty.

“Don’t worry about it, he’s not one to stay pissed. He’s obsessed with you already,” Kun smiles, but hides it by taking a sip from his cup, “but hey, next time you sleepover, warn me? Please? I walked into our bedroom the other night and nearly shit myself when I saw you wrapped around him.”

“Sorry, I probably would’ve shit myself too,” you giggle and when something moves out of the corner of your eye, you frown to see Lucas walking away. “He’s getting away,” Kun sings and you look back to him in a panic. “If I follow him I don’t know what could happen,” you sigh honestly.

Of course, you want to go after him just to talk to him privately, but Lord knows what could happen when you have liquor in your system.

“Bullshit! Don’t let that stop you,” Kun smiles, slipping his hands to your back and shoving you to your feet. You sigh, finally standing up and chugging the rest of your drink. “Do I look alright?”

“You look stunning, stop worrying. He went upstairs, probably to piss. Go get ‘em, tiger,” he replies, and you smile and lean back down to squeeze him in a hug. “Thank you,” you whisper, and then you’re off.

You don’t know if it’s the sudden buzz in your brain or not, but going up two flights of stairs leaves you way too winded and dizzy then it normally does. You lean against the wall to catch some air while scanning over the crowd from a higher view. C’mon, where are you?

“___?”

You practically jump out of your skin when he says your name and slides his hands around your waist, tugging you around to face him. “Ha. Hi Yukhei. I was just looking for you,” you gulp, suddenly losing brain cells with him being so close again.

“You were?”

“Yeah, I thought we could, um, catch up. Or something,” you chuckle awkwardly, mentally slapping yourself for being so nervous again.

“Actually, I have something to tell you,” he suddenly says, standing taller and you feel so small when he does that. “You do?” You squeak, afraid it would be something terribly disappointing or terribly heartwarming.

“Yeah, c’mon,” he says, reaching for your hand and guiding you to an open door. Luckily it’s not a spare bedroom but just the bathroom and you can’t help but sigh in relief once he’s locked the door and flicked the light switch up.

“So, we recently had a meeting with our managers and stuff,” he starts, and you can’t help the quiet ‘oh’ that slips from your lips. That was not what you thought he would be talking about.

“What?” He stops, a look of worry crossing his face.

“Oh, oh. It���s nothing. I was just, ugh,” you pause, racking your brain to say the right thing, “expecting you to say something else.”

“I’ll get there in a bit, don’t worry,” he smiles softly, bumping into you until you’re pressed against the sink and straining to look directly up at him now, “just listen to this first, yeah?”

You nod quickly, your throat completely dry and brain on fire with his body so flush against your own. “Anyway, we were talking about backup dancers, for the most part. And it occurred to me that we don’t have any female backup dancers. So I asked why and they kind of just... ‘I don’t know’ed it, you know?” He explains, and you genuinely have zero clue where this is going. You nod anyway.

“So Taeyong asked what they thought about hiring some female backup dancers. Like, long-term jobs, not just a one-song-and-done. And they kind of did a little manager huddle and said why not and to let them know of anyone we know so they can do auditions and stuff,” he goes on, and by now you can’t think straight. He hasn’t said it yet, but what if?

“We all thought the same thing, but I said it first and, so, I told them about these two girls I know and how talented they are and how, well, sweet and smart and genuinely amazing they are. And pretty, but that’s beside the point. So I showed them some videos and stuff. Anyway, that’s not important,” he pauses to lick his plump lips, looking at you directly now, “and so they said that if you and Mina came in and auditioned it would be a delight to have you on the team. If you want, of course.”

You don’t know what to say, do, or think. You’re hyper-aware of his large hands cupping your face, index fingers rubbing soft circles beneath your ears but also still have the weight of what he just said sinking into your brain. You don’t know whether it’s the alcohol or simply shock but no words come out, your lips staying parted in complete and utter surprise at such a bombshell.

“I don't—I can’t,” you stammer, shaking hands gripping his shirt to steady yourself, “thank you. Fuck. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Holy shit. Oh my God. I don’t know what to say, holy fucking shit.”

You’re breathless, slumped against the granite and nearly pulling the lanky boy down with you. “I have more to say,” he says, quieter this time. You gulp, eyes searching his face. Still, you can’t comprehend anything besides you and Mina may have just fallen into one of the best opportunities of your life.

“Okay,” he sighs softly, his large hands still cradling your face. “My first thought last weekend when I woke up with you beside me was ‘Fuck, what did I just get myself into?’ but when you said something about never getting up and whispered my name in that scared little voice I nearly lost it,” he goes on, eventually looking away from your face and fiddling with the lace material on the neckline of your dress. He suddenly looked incredibly innocent and you wanted nothing more than to hold him once more.

“And then you didn’t leave, even though I know you wanted to. But it suddenly felt so right, you know? Like everything that had happened that night ended with such a perfect morning,” he sighs, glancing up for a second to check how you were taking it all so far. When you offer him a warm smile, heart beating wildly against your chest, he returns it with pink blush adorning his cheeks.

“I thought you felt it too, but then later when I woke you up you had said it wasn’t a big deal, and I was so sad because I thought it was. I mean, how often do you play fifteen rounds of Fortnite, share the same bed, and wake up cuddling with someone you don’t have feelings for? And then I got even more confused when you texted me during the week, and fuck, everything you said had me smiling at my phone and Kun was making fun of me,” Lucas goes on, never stopping to breath until now.

“So, my question is, what are you thinking? Because I know I was your bias, or whatever the heck you guys call it before we met, and you still act nervous around me. And those texts and even this is not something just friends do. And you look so damn kissable right now, and while I want nothing more than to kiss you, I won’t in case that’s not what you want,” he finishes, his voice noticeably lowering as he tentatively leaned closer, his face and nose and lips only mere centimeters away.

You swallow once more, finally letting the reality of his words hit you. You swipe your tongue over your lips once, just in case, and he glances down just in time to catch it.

And that’s it.

He quickly surges forward, and the cord holding you together suddenly snaps when his lips are finally on yours. It’s like a breath of fresh air on the first day of spring, filling you to the brim with new life and you can't get enough. You both are doing nothing but everything at the same time, hands not knowing where to go but stinging skin in their wake. His lips make it impeccably wet and messy, teeth and tongue, but you don’t care, and your hands finally find the collar of his shirt and yank him to come closer, allowing his tongue to finally swirl with yours and you feel as if you’re drowning in him and the way he tastes and feels. It’s like sunlight in the morning, washing over your skin until it’s warmed all the way to your very being.

After what feels like an eternity you pull away, your head swimming with the fact he just kissed you. He leans back, breathless but seemingly more alert now, blunt fingernails digging into your bare thighs. His eyes scan your face again, searching for any trace of regret and when he finds none he comes back for more, kissing you softer this time. It’s so raw that it hurts, adoration and admiration flowing from the depths of your heart and you can’t fight it anymore.

You’re practically limp against him when his warm lips move from your lips to your jaw, down the column of your throat and to your bare chest. “God,” he breathes, moving back up to suck the delicate skin on the side of your neck between his teeth before going back with his tongue to sooth the pleasant pain, “I didn’t know if I’d be able to wait any longer to kiss you.”

Your head lolls to side as he continues his ministrations against your throat, completely lost in his touch. Your grip on his shirt finally slackens and you finally find the confidence to slide your hands under the fabric, leaning into him so you can further trace the expanse of his torso.

“Stop,” he suddenly hisses, pulling away to grab your wrist, “you’re going to give me a terrible boner and I’m not fucking you in this dingy house.”

His words made your stomach squirm even at the possibility and he clearly notices, lips quickly finding yours and hands holding your waist once more. You’re almost too busy trying to slip your tongue within the confines of his mouth to notice his right hand slowly descend until it’s resting between your thighs, pushing them apart and you gasp into his mouth.

You feel his mouth quirk into a sly smirk and can’t help but smile too, that is until his fingers slip past the hem of your dress and brush against the cotton of your underwear.

He breaks away and laughs at you when you whimper at the loss of contact. “Don’t frown,” he mumbles, keeping eye contact even as his fingers drag agonizingly slow along your clothed folds and it’s the most sensual thing you might ever experience.

A loud knock on the door quickly interrupts your faintest of moans and you suddenly feel incredibly exposed. “I swear to God, if you two don’t get out of there soon, we’re leaving without you. We’re going home, they ran out of Malibu and that’s apparently the only thing Jaehyun likes!”

You swallow, looking away from the door and back to the panting boy leaning on you, irises blown out and lips pink and plump.

“Do you want to have another sleepover?” He asks quietly and you can’t fight the smile that tugs at your lips.

"Oh my God,” you wake up with a low groan escaping your lips, a headache throbbing painfully in the refines of your skull as soon as you gain consciousness. Is this what a hangover felt like? You sigh, squeezing your eyes to shut out the sunlight. You turn away from that direction only to not-so-gracefully bump into something.

By the entanglement of limbs and bare skin pressed flush against yours, you can only assume something is actually someone and everything from last night crashes back, your headache increasing tenfold. Your eyes are open in a flash, not because you're scared or regretful, but just to make sure you were correct. And safe, not in some stranger’s bed.

Just like last week, Wong Yukhei is beside you, cheeks flushed pink against his warm honey skin and lips pouty as always. Except, this time, he’s awake, lying on his side and staring at you with wide eyes full of something you could only pinpoint as adoration.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” he replies, and not until now do you notice his hand on your very, very bare hip. “Do you want something for your headache?” He asks, voice low before leaning inches closer and pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead. “Yeah, but I can wait—”

You don’t get to finish because he’s already rolling out of bed, taking most of the sheets off of you and you’re left completely naked, forcing you to grasp for the white duvet crumpled at your feet to cover your body.

Except, not that it matters, because he’s incredibly naked too, and you’re amazed at how tall he is when he’s like this, no matter the circumstances. You quickly look away in fear he’d catch you staring, a blush working its way up your cheeks as you suddenly become aware of the pleasantly dull ache throbbing in your abdomen.

He’s back at your side moments later, this time with pineapple print boxers on, holding out a half-full water bottle and two Advil’s. “Thanks,” you sigh, swallowing them quickly.

“This wasn’t just a one and done thing, right?” He asks suddenly, and you look up at him where he’s leaned against his dresser, fingers tapping the edge. You could quite literally cut the tension between the two of you and suddenly want nothing more than going back to sleeping in his arms.

“No! No, I hope not. I mean, unless you want it to, in that case, I’ll go n—”

“No, please don’t go! I just wanted to make sure, in case... in case I completely misread this whole situation,” he sighs in relief, finally moving away from his dresser and rolling back into bed beside you. “Did you mean everything you said last night?” You say quietly once he’s settled and pulled you back against him.

“Of course.”

“Okay,” you let out a sigh of relief, reaching up to play with a strand of his caramel hair. “I’m sorry, too. For when I said this wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t realize that you—you felt something. For me. Which is dumb, because it was kind of obvious. But it’s kind of scary assuming things when it comes to someone who didn't know who you were when you’ve been in love with them for months,” you talk absentmindedly now, not realizing the words are spilling out of your mouth until they’re already out. After all, you were a NCTzen before any of this and there was no way to avoid that when it came to your love for not only him, but the rest of the group.

“I knew who you were,” he laughs above you and you glance up in confusion, quirking an eyebrow. “One of your videos came up on my recommended one day and I was kind of obsessed with you guys since,” he admits and it’s by far the cutest thing you have ever seen.

“No way.”

“I swear on my life,” he grins brightly, wrapping his muscular arms around your back and pulling you up beside him so you were face-to-face. It’s quiet again, and you find yourself once again tracing the outline of his face; his defined eyebrows, big doe eyes, his cheekbones, his chin, his lips—everything.

“What now?”

“Well, we probably should have gone on a few dates first and fallen in love, even though I’m already full of adoration for you already, and then I would’ve asked you to be my girlfriend and then we would’ve had mind-blowing sex. But we kind of went backward and already had the mind-blowing sex, so how about grabbing lunch as our first date? I mean, even though you’re a younger girl.”

You’re grinning like an idiot now and can’t help but kiss him. It’s soft and gentle and sweet and makes everything inside of you warm and fuzzy only because it’s him.

“Okay, I like the sound of that,” you whisper against him, kissing his cheeks, his nose, his forehead and finally his velvety lips again, “only because I’m full of adoration for you too.”

After all, Wong Yukhei was the warmth you so desperately craved for and needed in your life.

[tsunrugi]

hello it’s the last day of the year and what better time for some more gouenji meta?? whole lot of rambling under the cut. note: i haven’t read/watched/played anything for a long time. everything in this post is based on memory.

so recently i was encouraged to write out some of my new ishido shuuji thoughts as a drabble thing (this is a first draft form please forgive me) and because of that actually a lot of things that i’d considered about gouenji separately kind of started to fit together!! and that is this:  gouenji is super concerned about the welfare and happiness of kids. and i know that’s kind of something that seems like duh, of course, but imo he goes out of his way to look after the kids in his care in a way that maybe some of the others don’t!

i’m not saying the other characters don’t care about kids. they obviously do. but they have careers and motivations outside of that. imo this is something gouenji consistently returns to, and explains why he’s the one out of all of them that becomes the head of the youth soccer federation in galaxy. 

so to start obviously there’s yuuka. he adores yuuka and is protective of her and all of that. i don’t need to remind anyone how much he cares about the wellbeing of his sister. this could just be “well duh he’s going to care about his own baby sister”, but then in comes toramaru! gouenji gets super invested in toramaru. the other inazumas acknowledge something is going on with the kid but they’re mostly content to be like “yeah that’s strange” and continue within the boundaries of their ffi rules/training. but gouenji doesn’t. he noses his way in and very inelegantly almost forces himself in to the senpai role. it’s subtly different to the ways he deals with his peers! because they have that senpai/kouhai dynamic, and i think a bit of gouenji’s want to look after younger kids comes out in the way he acts w toramaru.

doing a bit of a time jump, we have ishido shuuji. ever since i first watched go i’ve LOVED trying to work out his motivations for doing the whole seitei thing, and in that drabble i linked up there it goes in to some things i’ve been thinking about lately! to sum up: he realises that, actually, when they played as kids the level of harm they faced was really not ok, that even though kageyama was gone there were still the forces that supported him and his actions, so obviously someone who isn’t going to deal with that bullshit needs to step in and make sure the new kids don’t get maimed and/or die. because it’s fic obviously it’s all my interpretation but here are some things from canon that i think support it:

- gouenji used his position to set up support systems, training programs, charity events, etc, for disadvantaged kids/kids who didn’t have the opportunity to play soccer otherwise

- fifth sector was created to combat the unofficial ranking and competition that had taken over the middle school league: it’s founding intentions were to level the field for all kids, not just the ones in elite soccer schools, to be involved in the various competitions

- i’ve written before abt how i think gouenji wore those stupid sunglasses in the god eden movie bcs he wouldn’t have been able to hide his disgust at what was going on there. his displeasure is palpable throughout that whole film and imean come on he sent fubuki there to undermine it so he’d have a legit excuse to shut it all down lbr here

- also i’m 90% sure hakuryuu says in one of the games that gouenji made sure all the god eden kids were looked after

- there’s also the fact that he’s obviously quite close to taiyou. taiyou doesn’t know him as gouenji shuuya - he knows him as ishido shuuji. that makes me think that visiting kids in hospitals and stuff isn’t out of the norm for “ishido”! he also very seriously considers taiyou’s emotional as well as physical wellbeing when he wants to play in the vs arakumo match and he’s on edge the entire time in case shit goes south (it does) (but not for taiyou) (i hate that match)

- also he clearly paid for yuuichi’s surgery

- and it’s really obvious how much he cares for his seidouzan team. they adore him. he encourages them. he knows if they beat raimon he’s never getting out of this ishido shuuji thing but DAMN he’s so proud of them and part of him does want them to win, not for fifth, but for themselves. when you recruit the seidouzan captain (kurosaki?? i forget his name) in chrono stone he’s all upset that they couldn’t finish the match and kind of implies he feels like he let ishido down which is cute. kurosaki (IF THAT IS HIS NAME) knows a lot of gouenji’s hissatsu and they share a kesshin so imean it’s c ute

there’s all of these things that he does in the background or get mentioned offhand that kind of show just how much he does for the children!! and sure, the other adults have their kouhai and they have their teams but i don’t think any of the others have such a wide amount of young soccer players with whom they have a direct mentor relationship.

moving on to chrono stone, gouenji does a lot of legwork for the kids, but also it’s probably because he wants endou back too lmao. BUT one thing that stands out is towards the end (of the game) when he and goggles are brought to the future to coach the teams agains the second stage children. he’s angry. he wants his friend back. he wants the future to stop fucking with the past. and then he finds out about the second stage children’s shortened lifespans and their hardships and his sprite goes from super mad to super sad really quick. it’s a little subtle thing but imean!! it would have been just as easy to write him in a way where he didn’t have that small sad reaction. so im counting it.

and this gets us to galaxy! to be honest i was a little surprised that he’d gone to a corporate role so young in his soccer career when i first watched galaxy, but i kind of just brushed it aside as “well level-5 probably wanted to include the original raimons somehow”. and yeah that’s probably still the case but THAT’S NOT FUN TO THINK ABOUT. instead, let’s think about it in terms of a continuation of what he’s done since go! fifth is gone and they still need a managing body. he has experience. as much as funagi/funaki (i can never remember) likes to throw ishido in his face, he has done good, and even his critics acknowledge that. he clearly cares about the work. he could have just as easily gone back to playing pro, or gone to coach somewhere like seidouzan, but he didn’t. he chose to take responsibility for the WHOLE organisation. there’s so many maybes as to why he did this!! maybe he realised he could help a whole lot more kids this way. maybe he wanted to make sure the programs he put in place as ishido stayed funded and running. maybe he wanted to make sure that the corruption that had been in the organisation since kageyama was actually gone. either way, it fits in terms of character and development and i like it a lot.

this has been a long-ass meta post

[steven-blanco]

1-200!!! I can't choose just a few so answer them all please (unless there's ones you don't want to answer!)

200: My crush’s name is: I have two crushes. His name is Franco and her name’s Montse.199: I was born in: January 30th198: I am really: Funny197: My cellphone company is: Telmex196: My eye color is: Hazel195: My shoe size is: I think in USA would be 8 or 8 ½194: My ring size is: No clue193: My height is: 5’ 11"192: I am allergic to: Dust191: My 1st car was: None190: My 1st job was: I’ve did a couple things for money but I don’t consider them as jobs.189: Last book you read: It’s actually a play. The White Devil by John Webster.188: My bed is: my husband and wife.187: My pet: are my life. 186: My best friend: I have a lot of best friends tbh.185: My favorite shampoo is: Pantene184: Xbox or ps3: PS3183: Piggy banks are: really useful 182: In my pockets: my phone181: On my calendar: Waiting for fall.180: Marriage is: kinda risky but beautiful.179: Spongebob can: just end?178: My mom: Chaotic neutral.177: The last three songs I bought were? 1. Love of the Loveless by The Eels.2. Italian Leather Sofa by Cake.3. Seven Hours With A Backseat Driver by Gotye.176: Last YouTube video watched: Smiles and Tears - Ocarina cover. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kDSKLzmHhg175: How many cousins do you have? Jeez, a lot. 174: Do you have any siblings? Yep. I’m the little one.173: Are your parents divorced? Wait. 172: Are you taller than your mom? Yes.171: Do you play an instrument? I don’t, sadly.170: What did you do yesterday? Not hoping I was dead. It was a good day.[ I Believe In ]169: Love at first sight: Yes.168: Luck: Of course.167: Fate: Sure.166: Yourself: Indeed.165: Aliens: Sí.164: Heaven: I hope. 163: Hell: I guess.162: God: Yes.161: Horoscopes: Kinda.160: Soul mates: Absolutely159: Ghosts: I live with one.158: Gay Marriage: Sure.157: War: Combo breaker! No. 156: Orbs: I have a few photos of them.  155: Magic: 100% Yes!

[ This or That ]154: Hugs or Kisses: Kisses.153: Drunk or High: High.152: Phone or Online: Phone.151: Red heads or Black haired: Red heads ❤️150: Blondes or Brunettes: I don’t care.149: Hot or cold: Cold.148: Summer or winter: Winter.147: Autumn or Spring: Autumn 146: Chocolate or vanilla: I love both!145: Night or Day: Night.144: Oranges or Apples: Oranges.143: Curly or Straight hair: I love my curly hair. 142: McDonalds or Burger King: McDonalds.141: White Chocolate or Milk Chocolate: Don’t do this to me!140: Mac or PC: PC. 139: Flip flops or high heals: High heals are fun but flip flops are comfortable. I’ll take flip flops.138: Ugly and rich OR sweet and poor: Sweet and poor. 137: Coke or Pepsi: Coke.136: Hillary or Obama: Obama.135: Burried or cremated: Cremated.134: Singing or Dancing: What!? I can’t decide.133: Coach or Chanel: This is so american.132: Kat McPhee or Taylor Hicks: This is so american x2.131: Small town or Big city: Big city.130: Wal-Mart or Target: We don’t have Target in Mexico. Wal-Mart. 129: Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler: I can tolerate Ben Stiller a little bit more. 128: Manicure or Pedicure: I really need a manicure right now. 127: East Coast or West Coast: East Coast?…126: Your Birthday or Christmas: Christmas doesn’t make me feel old.125: Chocolate or Flowers: Flowers. 124: Disney or Six Flags: I’ve only been in Six Flags.123: Yankees or Red Sox: Yankees, I guess. [ Here’s What I Think About ]122: War: Without sense.121: George Bush: Did 9/11120: Gay Marriage: Still waiting for being legal in my whole country. Sadly, it’s never gonna happen.119: The presidential election: Do we still think democracy it’s real? 118: Abortion: Agree. But just as a final resource. 117: MySpace: Never had one. 116: Reality TV: Some are entertained but when people always talks about them and nothing else it really annoys me. 115: Parents: I love mine. 114: Back stabbers: Watch out.113: Ebay: Useful but watch out again.112: Facebook: It was fun when I was 14. Now I barely post something.111: Work: Do something that you love. Then it’s not work.110: My Neighbors: Someones are really hot. 109: Gas Prices: I’m going to walk all my life.108: Designer Clothes: I wish I can fit on that.107: College: Good experience until now.106: Sports: I love doing sports.105: My family: Fucked up in a humorous way.104: The future: I’m terrified tbh.[ Last time I ]103: Hugged someone: 10 minutes ago.102: Last time you ate: I just had a snack.101: Saw someone I haven’t seen in awhile: Yesterday.100: Cried in front of someone: Two months ago.99: Went to a movie theater: Four months ago.98: Took a vacation: Can’t remember.97: Swam in a pool: Two years ago.96: Changed a diaper: Never.95: Got my nails done: Like two years ago too. 94: Went to a wedding: Can’t remember. It’s been a while.93: Broke a bone: I’m not sure if I was in 1st or 2nd grade.92: Got a peircing: Never.91: Broke the law: Four months ago.90: Texted: 20 minutes ago. [ MISC ]89: Who makes you laugh the most: Rick and Morty88: Something I will really miss when I leave home is: Security.87: The last movie I saw: I re-watched Sympathy for Lady Vengeance86: The thing that I’m looking forward to the most: Being an actor.85: The thing im not looking forward to: Being rich or famous. 84: People call me: Steven, Svenson, Child face. 83: The most difficult thing to do is: Staying quiet.82: I have gotten a speeding ticket: No.81: My zodiac sign is: Aquarius.80: The first person i talked to today was: My dad.79: First time you had a crush: I was eight. 78: The one person who i can’t hide things from: Myself.77: Last time someone said something you were thinking: My acting teacher. I love him. 76: Right now I am talking to: My nephews. 75: What are you going to do when you grow up: Have a lot of fun.74: I have/will get a job: when I finish college.73: Tomorrow: I’m going to relax. My fridays are always cool. 72: Today: I’m going to suffer. I have a lot of things to do and here I’m… procrastinating. As always. 71: Next Summer: Wasting my time without guilt.70: Next Weekend: A play to do. 69: I have these pets: Dogs.68: The worst sound in the world: Alarms.67: The person that makes me cry the most is: Selma fucking Jezkova. 66: People that make you happy: Family and friends. 65: Last time I cried: Last week.64: My friends are: fun hoes.63: My computer is: dead. I’ve being using my brothers Mac. 62: My School: Is ok.61: My Car: Doesn’t exist.60: I lose all respect for people who: doesn’t respect other people.59: The movie I cried at was: Only Yesterday.58: Your hair color is: Dark brown.57: TV shows you watch: Mostly cartoons. 56: Favorite web site: Youtube.55: Your dream vacation: Anywhere with a pool.54: The worst pain I was ever in was: when I broke my left foot.53: How do you like your steak cooked: Well done.52: My room is: Always clean.51: My favorite celebrity is: Hayden Panettiere 50: Where would you like to be: 2001.49: Do you want children: Yes.48: Ever been in love: Yes.47: Who’s your best friend: I have a lot. It will be pretty unfair if I miss someone.46: More guy friends or girl friends: All my life I’ve been surrounded by women.45: One thing that makes you feel great is: working out.44: One person that you wish you could see right now: My friend Luck. 43: Do you have a 5 year plan: Kinda. 42: Have you made a list of things to do before you die: Yes. 41: Have you pre-named your children: OF COURSE. 40: Last person I got mad at: a classmate. He can be an irresponsable pain in the ass.39: I would like to move to: Canada or Japan. 38: I wish I was a professional: musician.[ My Favorites ]37: Candy: Pecositas.36: Vehicle: None. 35: President: None.34: State visited: My family visited a lot of states when I was a baby. I can’t remember anything. 33: Cellphone provider: I don’t care.32: Athlete: I don’t know any. 31: Actor: Gary Oldman.30: Actress: Susan Sarandon.29: Singer: Emilíana Torrini. 28: Band: Gorillaz.27: Clothing store: None.26: Grocery store: A market. 25: TV show: Daria. 24: Movie: The Fifth Element.23: Website: YouTube.22: Animal: Fox.21: Theme park: Only know Six Flags.20: Holiday: Halloween/Día de Muertos.19: Sport to watch: Golf.18: Sport to play: Baseball.17: Magazine: Quo.16: Book: Momo.15: Day of the week: Saturday.14: Beach: Meh.13: Concert attended: Someone take me to a concert, because I’ve never attended any. 12: Thing to cook: Any dessert. 11: Food: It’s really fun cooking japanese food. 10: Restaurant: A mexican one. 9: Radio station: Any with 80′s music.8: Yankee candle scent: What?7: Perfume: Any.6: Flower: Sunflower5: Color: Blue4: Talk show host: Stephen Colbert.3: Comedian: Wanda Sykes, Anjelah Johnson and Bo Burnham.2: Dog breed: Pug or Schnauzer.1: Did you answer all these truthfully? I think I did. 

[imaginetonyandbucky]

Hi i just wanted to say i adore ypu blog❤️ So my prompt is a Highschool AU with a Nerdy!Shy!Tony and a Popular!Jock!Bucky and bucky askes him on a date and you can get creative after that or just finish it there! Thanky You

Combined with:

In high school, Tony was in love with the school’s star quarterback, Ty, who used and abused him. Bucky was in love with Tony, but beyond smiles and friendly gestures Tony didn’t really notice him. 5 yrs later Tony is quite disillusioned with chasing after people who stomp on his heart, and is determined to live a quiet life with his roommate, fellow scientist Bruce. All that changes when he meets Bucky (now a mechanical engineer) at a tech conference.

Now

“C’mon,Brucie, stop looking like you’re carrying an unexploded bomb andhave some fun!”

Brucesighed and pulled the lanyard over his head. “It’s a roboticsconference, Tony; I don’t think ‘fun’ is really the word you’relooking for.”

“Sureit is!” Tony said, sweeping his arm to encompass the labyrinthineshowroom hall they were entering. “Cutting edge gadgets! Demos thatare going to fail horribly to laugh at! All the free crappy pens andstickynotes and branded toys you can shake a stick at! And best ofall, booth babes!”

“Youridea of fun and mine are very, very different.” Bruce rolled hiseyes, but he gamely accepted the bag that Tony handed him to putmarketing swag in. The bit about booth babes was bullshit; Tonyhadn’t so much as gone on a date in almost two years, focusinginstead on building his fledgling company.

Tonyconsulted the floor map. “Let’s see, where should we start?”Bruce didn’t bother answering. He’d only agreed to come with Tonyto the conference because the symposium on medical applications ofminiaturized robotics sounded interesting. “Oooh, robotics-enhancedprosthetics!” Tony crowed. “That’s right up my alley, come on!”He charged up one crowded aisle without looking to see if Bruce wasfollowing.

Brucefollowed anyway. By the time Bruce caught up with him, Tony wasalready staring at a display model behind plexiglass, showing theinner workings of a mechanized arm. “Bruce, look at this! They’reusing that specialized weight-distribution joint that I designed lastyear, but they’ve reworked the power core. This is gorgeous,I can’t even–”

Theguy behind the counter turned toward them with a professionallybright smile. “Good afternoon, sir, can I he– Tony?”

Tonylooked up from the arm and his eyes suddenly went round. “Oh mygod,” he breathed. “Bucky?”

Bruceblinked. That was a name he hadn’t expected to hear, here, thoughhe heard it often enough when Tony was drinking or sleep-deprivedenough to start rambling about “the one who got away.”

(Look out for the cut.)

Then

“I’mgonna do it at lunch, Steve.”

“Goodfor you, Buck. Do what, exactly?” Steve didn’t even look up fromwhere he was copying Bucky’s CompSci homework.

“Haveyou even been listening? I’m gonna ask Tony to prom.”

Stevefrowned, compared what he’d just written to Bucky’s notes, thengrunted irritably and started erasing the line he’d miscopied.“Isn’t he dating that asshat Stone?”

“Youreally haven’t been listening, have you?” Bucky demanded. Hewaved a hand under Steve’s face and waited until his best friendfinally looked up at him. “They broke up last night. It’s allover school.”

“What’sthat, the fifth time this semester?” Steve mused. “You know theynever stay broken up long.”

“That’swhy I’ve gotta ask him at lunch!” Bucky said. He felt giddy withexcitement. He’d been nursing this damn crush for Tony since theeighth grade; it was damn well time to do something about it. “Theydon’t have any morning classes together; they won’t have had timeto get back together! If I can get him to say yes now, then he won’tbe abletogo back to that jackass.”

“Idon’t think it works quite that way,” Steve said.

“Maybenot, but I have to try,” Bucky said. “We’re gonna graduate intwo months, and I’ll never see him again.”

Stevelooked thoughtful. “Yeah,” he said. “Okay. You’re right. Do it. I’ll keep an eye out for Stone’s cronies.”

Now

Jesus,Tony looked even better now than when they’d been in schooltogether. In high school, Tony had been a quiet, nerdy kid, kind ofscrawny, always so desperate to please everyone that he never quitefit in anywhere. But he’d filled out in the years since, still leanbut now sporting wiry muscle, and the sparse and scruffy facial hairhe’d once had had filled in and been immaculately trimmed intosomething that made his face sharper and more striking.

Andit wasn’t like Bucky hadn’t known that Tony had turned out to bemoderately successful – it was no accident that the new prostheticdesign had incorporated some of Tony’s developments in robotics –but there was a world of difference between looking at thecarefully-curated photos in the industry journals and seeing the manstanding not three feet away, just as surprised as Bucky and visiblysteeling himself

“Inever thought I’d see you again,” Bucky heard himself say throughthe shock.

“Oh,I’m like a bad penny,” Tony joked lamely, then looked down at thearm on display. “They give you a patter for this thing? Or betteryet, a datasheet? I’d love to pick the design team’s brains.”

“You’relookin’ at ‘im,” Bucky said.

Tonyglanced up at him again, eyebrows lifted in surprise. Bucky pushedaside the pity party that had been building and found his show grinagain, because there was no way he was going to let a five-year-oldheartache stop him from taking credit for the work he was so proudof. Laying groundwork for a strategic partnership with StarkIndustries would be good for Bucky’s career. The damage to hisheart was already done; he might as well get somethingoutof it.

Hethumbed the security lock on the display case and lifted out the armso they could take a closer look. “So, what d’you want to know?”

Then

TheStarks lived in a big, fancy house, damn near a mansion. Buckycouldn’t believe someone who lived in a place like this had saidyes to someone like him.He chewed on his lip and stared up at the house for a good fiveminutes before he finally made himself get out of the car. He brushedthe wrinkles out of his rented tux and reminded himself not to crushthe little plastic box that held Tony’s boutonniere. Every step hetook up the path that led across that immaculate lawn seemed to makehis heart beat a little harder.

Hehad to take another few breaths before he rang the doorbell. He hadto calm down a little; if Tony’s parents were anything likeBucky’s, he was going to have to make small talk for a while andlet them take about half a million pictures before they were finallyable to make their escape.

Hewondered what kind of curfew Tony’s parents were setting. Buckyusually had to be home by midnight on the weekends, but his mom hadtold him not to worry about it tonight – just to be home bybreakfast, and to text whenever he was going somewhere new.

Herang the doorbell, and then waited. And waited. He was wondering ifhe should ring again when the door opened to frame a thin olderwoman: Tony’s mom. “Hello?” She looked down athis tux, the boutonniere box in his hand, then up at his face again,apparently confused.

HadTony not toldhisparents he was going to prom? Or had he not told them that he wasgoing with another guy? Shit shit shit… “I’m, I’m here topick Tony up,” Bucky managed to say.

Thewoman looked him down and then up again. “Tony left half an hourago,” she said.

That…didn’t make any sense.

“ButI told him…” Bucky started, and then stopped himself. Mrs. Starkwouldn’t have any answers for him.

Shegave him an apologetic smile. “Maybe he misunderstood,” sheoffered, “and is planning to meet you there?”

Howcould “I’ll pick you up at seven” be misunderstood?

Obviously,there was somesortof misunderstanding going on. Bucky gave Mrs. Stark a small, tightsmile. “Maybe. I’ll… I left my phone in the car; I’ll texthim. Thank you.”

Hisheart was beating faster, now, with something closer to panic thanexcitement. What had happened? He all but ran back to the car andfumbled for his phone.

MessageNot Delivered.

What?He poked the Retry button.

MessageNot Delivered.

Whatthe hell? A sick twist in his stomach, Bucky started the car andheaded for the prom, alone.

Now

Themore Bucky explained the design decisions and concepts, the more Tonyhated himself for having let Bucky get away, five years ago. Tony hadknown even then that Bucky was smart as hell, but this exceeded evenTony’s expectations. He was still hot, too, of course. Theintimidating breadth of muscle Bucky had maintained as a member ofthe football team had melted some without constant upkeep, but it hadleft behind just the faintest hint of roundness that Tony founddesperately appealing

Andthe way his eyes sparkled and snapped as he pointed out some of themore subtle features – Tony probably could’ve fallen for areasonably well-dressed monkey if it had that level of passion andfire.

Brucekept giving Tony that Look every time Tony turned his way, too. Tonysteadfastly ignored it. He’d lost that chance, thrown it away withboth hands. He was lucky Bucky was even willing to speak to him.Probably wouldn’t, if it wasn’t a tradeshow and Bucky’s actualjob to do so.

Eventually,though, Tony ran out of things to ask. He was going to have to walkaway, knowing exactly what he’d thrown away… Of all the horriblethings Ty had done to Tony, this was probably the worst, in the longrun.

Bruceglared at Tony as he stepped back, and caught his arm. “I wouldn’tmind having a quiet dinner back at the hotel if you guys wanted tomeet up after the floor closes tonight and reminisce.”

Tonycouldn’t help the flinch, or miss the way Bucky’s professionalsmile went brittle and cold. “There’s not that much to remember,”Bucky told Bruce. “We can pretty well sum it up with, ‘Hey,remember that time you stood me up for the prom?’” He made anoise that approximated a laugh and pointedly did not look at Tony.

Then

“Oh,goodness, Anthony,” Tony’s mom said, looking out the window.“Your date really went all out, didn’t he?”

“What?”It was only six-thirty; Bucky wasn’t supposed to pick him up untilseven. Tony ran up beside her and looked.

Sureenough, there was a limo parking at the curb. “Crap,” Tonygasped. He ran his hands through his hair – he hadn’t had time todo it properly yet, but he didn’t dareletBucky come inside to be grilled by his mom, or worse, his dad. “Okay,I’m going!” he said brightly, dashing for the stairs before shecould grab him. “Don’t wait up!”

“Anthony!”she protested, but he pretended not to hear her, jogging down thestairs and practically diving through the door. He slowed to a briskwalk as he crossed the lawn, his heart hammering with excitement.

Thecar’s driver was waiting to open the door as Tony approached, andTony flashed him a huge grin as he ducked into the vehicle.

“Wow,Buck, this is–”

Thatwasn’t Bucky, lounging in the plush seat.

“Ty,”Tony snapped. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh,darling,” Ty sighed. “You didn’t really think that BuckyBarneswasactually going to take you to prom, did you? I know you’re given toflights of fancy, but that’s a bit farfetched, even for you, don’tyou think?”

“Wait,hang on,” Tony told the driver before he could shut the door. “I’mgetting out.” Tony glared at Ty. “We’ve been planning it forweeks, so yes, I think that Bucky Barnes is going to take me toprom.”

“Oh,darling,” Ty said again, shaking his head. “It was a prank. Asetup. He was never going to show up.”

Tonytried to ignore the way that echoed his own late-night fears. “God,you are such an asshole.”

“It’strue,” Ty insisted. “I heard him planning it with Rogers in thelocker room.”

“Rogerswould never. He’s such a goody two-shoes,” Tony protested.

“That’swhat he wants everyone to think, but you should’ve seen what he didto Rumlow after the Homecoming game,” Ty said with a sympatheticwince.

Noone had ever confirmed what had happened to put Rumlow in thehospital for two weeks after Homecoming, though rumors had flown fastand thick. Rumlow himself wouldn’t talk about it. “Rogers didthat?”

Tynodded. “I helped pull him off, or Brock probably would’ve died.Coach swore everyone to secrecy.” Ty grimaced in distaste. “He’svicious, when he wants to be.”

“I’dstill rather go stag than go with you,” Tony said.

Tysmiled, that bright, slick smile that he saved for when he knew hewas going to get exactly what he wanted. “And walk the gauntlet ofthe entire school as they laugh at you for showing up without the‘date’ everyone’s heard about? Come on, Tony, you know betterthan that.”

Tonyclosed his eyes, unwilling to let Ty see how much he was hurting.God, he’d thought Bucky had actually likedhim.What an idiot. He should’ve known he couldn’t be that lucky.

“Ofcourse you do, you’re too smart to let a thing like that happen.Luckily, I overheard them and decided to come to your rescue. For oldtime’s sake.”

Tonydrew a breath and held it for a count of ten, until he was sure hewouldn’t let a single tear slip free, and then slid silently ontothe limo’s bench seat.

“That’sa good boy,” Ty purred. The driver shut the door, finally, a heavyslam that felt like the vault door on Tony’s heart. “Come on overhere. Delete that asshole from your phone and have a drink or two,” Ty suggested, and the cabin filledwith the smell of rum. “Once you’ve loosened up a little, youmight even have some fun. And I’m sure I can think of a couple ofways for you to show your gratitude, later.”

Now

“Itwas Ty,” Tony said softly, not looking at Bucky.

Theold rage and hurt blossomed to life again behind Bucky’s sternum.“I know it was Ty,” he growled. “Steve told me you two showedup, already half-lit–”

“Tytold me,” Tony said, a little louder now, riding over Bucky. “Hetold me that you were never going to show. That it was you and Rogersplaying a, a fucking pranktohumiliate me.”

Buckyopened his mouth, closed it again. “Why the hell would we do that?”was all he could think to say.

“Topunish me for trying to get above myself?” Tony grated. “I don’tknow. It doesn’t matter. Rogers cornered me on Monday and damn wellput me in my place. He told me that you–”

“Iwent to pick you up,” Bucky said, the flame of anger snuffing andleaving behind only the hurt. “And you were gone, so I went to theprom and I saw… I saw you dancing with him. And I left.”

Tonyhad wrapped his arms around his middle and was staring into thedistance, off to the side. “Well, those weren’t the words heused, but I… figured out that Ty had lied. To prove that he couldstill make me dance to his tune. To get revenge on me for breaking upwith him, I guess. For… for daring to be happy.”

Buckydidn’t know how to respond to that. He should have known that wasTy’s fault, shouldn’t he? He should’ve marched into the damndance and told Ty to take his disgusting, lying hands off Bucky’sdate. He should’ve… at least asked.Everyone had known how Ty treated Tony. But Bucky had been so hurt hecouldn’t think straight.

Buckycast about for something to say, anything.Tony’s friend caught Bucky’s eye and raised an eyebrow, noddingtoward Tony significantly.

Buckyopened his mouth, closed it again. He knew he shouldsaysomething, but what? He could practically seeTonyshrinking back into a timid, shy kid with no self-esteem.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” Tony said. “For whatever that’s worth. I never…I’m sorry.” He took a step back. Another, slowly, as if he werehoping to be stopped, but Bucky still had no words. Tony turned.

“Wereyou really happy?” Bucky blurted.

Tony’shead lifted, though he didn’t look back. “What?”

“When…Before Ty fucked everything up. Were you really happy that I’dasked you?”

Tonylaughed, just a little, or maybe it was a choked-back sob. “I don’tthink I’d ever been happier before in my life.”

Buckybit his lip, glanced at Tony’s friend. The curly head bobbed infervent approval.

“Havedinner with me?”

Tonylooked at Bucky finally, hope and fear twisting his mouth. “Really?”

Buckynodded. “Seems I owe you a date.”

“Youdon’t–” Tony’s friend elbowed him, not being at all subtle. Tonyglared back, but took a breath and turned back to Bucky. “Okay,yeah. Yes. Dinner.” Tony glanced down at the schedule. “Pick meup at eight?”

“I’llbe there,” Bucky said. He grinned a little, to take the sting outof it, and said, “Wait for me this time.”

“I’vebeen waiting for five years,” Tony said. “What’s another coupleof hours?”

~ @everyworldneedslove