#it was tempting me when is aw it on offer at work at I've been like eyeing it all week so fhdjdj

[gentaro-kinniecom]

Jealous much?

Characters: Solivan Brugmansia/gn!reader

C/w: jealousy, friends to lovers troupe, reader helps Solivan with some bullies, Crowe and his feelings for the reader, Sol takes care of reader <3

A/n: I might make a sequel to this post cause..why not? I have at least 3 more works in progress of tkatb so stay tuned for more >:3. This was SUPPOSED to be more early but with graduation and my summer job its been hectic 😔 (not proofread)

Rain drops fell gently onto the surfaces that it could. The cloudy and cold atmosphere bringing back unwanted memories for me. It took me back to when I was a happy child running around the fields that my family owned. Why did fate had to be this way? I couldn't relish in the sad moment for long, my life had changed, some may think for the better, but in all honesty, I've lost myself in it.

The city life was not for the weak, especially in this society that judges you based on your backgrounds. Hallways and classrooms were empty as I walked by, meaning another day where I would stay behind until the sun rised up, studying in the library. It felt depressing, well, it was. Even with all my friends who share classes with me, I’ve never felt a sense of comfort around anymore. Upon arrival, I sighed gently while scanning my library card, heading towards my favorite spot and to hopefully meet him again: Solivan Brugmansia, the same man who I aided long ago.

Some bullies had cornered him, if it weren’t for me, he could’ve gotten bruised up badly(or so I thought). Sol’s strength was enough to not be messed around with yet, he was always careful with me. His long, black hair with green stripes was noticeable from afar, a smile subconsciously appeared across my features, walking towards him with my books in one arm and a cup of coffee in my hand.

“Hi” I spoke, my voice a mear whisper as he smiled, kissing my cheek while allowing me to sit beside him.

“Hey..thanks for the coffee, I saved your seat in hopes you’d be here” His gaze remained on the hoodie I wore, a purple-ish one with some designs around it, though I could tell something bothered him.

“Aw, that’s real sweet of you Sol..!” Taking the vacant seat by the window, Sol’s eyes returned to the book at hand, analyzing the text while taking a casual sip or two after some pages. I placed my books aside, taking out my computer and working on some last details for an upcoming presentation.

“Is that sweater you’re wearing someone else’s?” The question caught me off guard while Sol closed the book, his attention returning towards me as I continued to type away

“Crowe made me borrow it, he said it would get cold during the night, even if I insisted it was fine” A glint of jealousy made his eyes glimmer with a bit of rage, directed towards Crowe who had the audacity, in Sol’s words, to lend me something of his. After the small talk, we returned to our devices while Sol’s cup inched close to me. Which I thought nothing of it until the, now warm, liquid splashed against Crowe’s hoodie.

“Sol! Ah..what am I going to do now?” My eyes widened as the panic settled in. Pouted lips looking down at the mess that occurred while Sol spoke.

“I can wash it, and hand it over tomorrow..if you don’t mind?” The offer was tempting, and besides, the washing machine at my apartment had broken down. It was like an angel had been sent down from the heavens truly.

“Really? Well, if you’re offering..” With a smile, Sol helped me take the sweater off, folding it and placing it in his backpack. Was he really concerned or jealous by me wearing it? After an hour or so spent in the library, my sleepy eyes gazed over at Sol’s figure that had finished his book a few minutes prior 11:00pm.

His eyes turned to stare at me, as if, he knew I was staring beforehand. The library air making goosebumps arise on my skin as Sol noticed. A small warmth wrapped around my body, making me sigh while laying my hand down onto the table, resting for a bit as he smiled.

It was past noon when I woke up in a different place rather than the library. A soft, warm bed beneath me made contrast to the heavy rain pouring outside, making me groan and stretch my limbs, still remaining in the bed as the door suddenly opened. Solivan stood outside, entering shortly after while smiling, his body beside my own as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“Mn, how did I get here?” Too tired to even acknowledge the strength he had to take me here, in his home, I was glad he did. The moment didn’t last long as I was now wide awake, staring up at the crimson eyes that gently creased while smiling

“You were tired and..we couldn’t stay at the library for too long, I hope you don’t mind” Room infused by Sol’s cologne made my heart flutter, it seemed he recently got out of the shower. Soft damp hair met my face as I buried it on the crook of his neck. Our actions were far too intimate to call this as “only friends”. Every reasonable thought left me as Sol wrapped an arm around my back, lips caressing my forehead and cheeks while smiling.

“It’s okay, you know I trust you Sol..” More rain could be heard from his room, creating a cozy and cold atmosphere around us. There was no one else I’d rather be with during these moments, so close yet…

“Are you hungry? I made some soup earlier..perfect for this weather, isn’t it?” I nodded, watching as he parted away from my body. Planting a kiss on my neck while walking towards the kitchen. The fresh and soft aroma of the miso soup he prepared made my stomach rumble with hunger

“You always make the best food Sol” Now reachinh the kitchen area, I sat by one of the bar stools, admiring the pink apron he wore. A bowl was later on placed in front of me, its contains making me smile as Sol spoke

“Mn? You really think so?” He asked, grabbing a bowl for himself. Standing in front of me while meeting my gaze, smiling as he enjoyed eating with me.

“Mhm! There’s no one else’s food that I’d enjoy then yours..” A hand was placed on my cheek, staring at Sol who leaned towards me, our lips meeting briefly as he smiled.

“Then..I wouldn’t mind cooking meals for you, my darling.” We shared another short but sweet kiss while smiling. Sol quickly went to wash the dishes, later returning to his bedroom, hand in hand. Warm touches graces my skin as Sol filled my embrace, kissing my face while sighing in peace.

Sequel (coming soon)

[fandomofone]

DMs and fanfic and identity reveals, OH MY!

I'm so excited to finally share a new fic I've been working on with @kuromori4 for @mlbigbang2024 !!

On Good Author-ity is a collab (about a collab!) that features loads of flirty late-night DMs, two unwitting partnerships and three separate reveals. Join Adrien & Marinette as miscommunication abounds and (identity) shenanigans ensue- and they get to know one another far more intimately than they ever expected.

Rating: M (Mature)

Check out the summary and Adrien's teaser below! (And be sure to visit @kuromori4 's profile for Marinette's!)

See you in January! 😉

Summary:

When the Ladyblog debuts a new fanfiction feature, Marinette wants nothing to do with it… until an unlikely recommendation piques her curiosity. She discovers— much to her dismay— that fans are writing salacious, and frankly, quite shocking things about Ladybug and Chat Noir! Scandalized, she’s ready to write fanfiction off for good, until she receives a link to a fic that’s too tempting to resist— leading her to #1LadyFan, a surprisingly good author that writes convincing romance, and seems to have an alarming amount of insight on the duo’s dynamic that isn’t public knowledge. Flustered, irritated, and admittedly a little intrigued, Marinette creates the username PolkaDotPrincess and contacts the author to offer constructive criticism on what she considers to be glaring inaccuracies. 

Meanwhile, Adrien is thrilled to learn that his Ladynoir fanfiction is gaining popularity, and over the moon when a reader reaches out. After weeks of increasingly flirty late-night conversations with his mysterious online friend, Adrien notices that she seems to know an awful lot about Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eager to learn more about her, he puts her critique to the test and challenges her to join him in a collaborative effort to write a more ‘realistic’ romance featuring Paris’ favorite superheroes.

Snippet:

Adrien sat down in his seat, ignoring Alya and Nino’s cutesy love play in favor of his coffee, when he heard the group of girls behind him exclaim, “Ooooooh!” in unison. Turning around, he caught Rose’s eye as she wailed, “He’s soooo romantic!” Amused, he hitched a thumb over his shoulder and asked Alya, “What are they looking at?” “New Ladynoir fic just dropped late last night. I’ve already read it twice myself. It is capital H- Hot.” Her voice, and her eyebrows, climbed suggestively on the last word as she punctuated her statement with a sharp nod. “Different from the rest too.” “What do you mean?” Adrien asked casually, not conceited enough to actually believe that she might be talking about his story. Still, the wayward thought crept into his head- he had posted his story in the wee hours. “Hot, Agreste. Steamy. Smoking. Sex-y.” She enunciated both syllables as if Adrien was a small child. “Surely you know what that means.” Alya arched one eyebrow, pinning him with a knowing look. His cheeks pinked up at both the words and her mockery; he couldn't help it. “I know what sexy is, thank you very much,” he muttered. “Do you think I live under a rock?” Alya’s eyebrows climbed, and she and Nino exchanged an amused look between them. “Don't answer that,” he grumbled, annoyed that it was even slightly true. “I meant, what do you mean by ‘different from the rest’?” “I meant that I hope Ladybug doesn't know who #1Ladyfan is, or she's probably gonna be knocking their door down when she gets her hands on it.” Adrien coughed, choking on air as he sat up straighter at the mention of his pen name. She was talking about his fic! And she thought it was sexy!! And the other girls in the class were into it too!!! He was glad his cheeks were still slightly pink from earlier because he could feel them heating up again. He smiled to himself as he turned back around to face the front, his day already looking up.

All the thanks to my co-author, @kuromori4, for taking on this insane project with me, and the artists joining us on this crazy journey, @ayekasong and @eclipsesmoonshine14 . Big thanks also to the entire @mlbigbang2024 discord server- y'all have been super helpful every step along the way, and been even more fun to hang out with!!

[underskz]

➪ choi yeonjun x reader ✩ w.c ~900 — 18+ minors dni —

✰ DARLING LINE PARTY HOUSE AU

pov: party boy yeonjun is annoyingly tempting

note: tbh idk what this is i just opened tumblr drafts and started typing which is the most unhinged thing i've done in a long time,,, i blame this wholly on the darling line party house bc they’ve been just rotting my brain… i haven’t even skate ratified em i don’t know whats going on someone HELP ME

warnings: suggestive language..blatant to be exact, yeonjun is a player, alcohol, otherwise this is pretty tame for me lol.... nothing too spicy

"So, come here often?"

You bat away his hand before he can fully sling his arm around your shoulder, that famously smug grin of his tearing across his face when you try to side step away only to be blocked by a wall of people.

"You ask me that every single time, Yeonjun." You sigh, making a point to roll your eyes at him.

You tried not to make it a habit to attend the so called “darling line” parties, every single one just an excuse for the three hosts to charm pretty little clueless things into their respective beds— though you and half the population are well aware the rumors of them taking sharing is caring to a new level are very much true.

But the parties are admittedly fun, plenty of free booze, actual good music and a grossly impressive and spacious house since all three of them are even more grossly rich. Awful.

"And it works." He takes a swig straight out of the bottle of Hennessy he's been clutching in those lithe fingers. It's maddeningly hypnotizing, his adam's apple bobbing with each languid gulp.

"It quite literally, doesn't." You narrow your eyes at him.

“But it will, eventually.” He shrugs, that irritating smirk curling at his lips. And this shared haughtiness the three of them have is the worst part about any of it, Changbin being the most tolerable, more loud than anything, Wooyoung falls right in the middle and Yeonjun is…Yeonjun. “C’mon let loose a little, you never have any fun.”

“I just beat Changbin and Chan at pong, shotgunned a beer with Beomgyu and watched Mingi do a striptease for San. I’m having plenty of fun, you’re the issue.”

He stares at you, there’s flash of something that can only be described as devious in his eyes before offering you the bottle and even if the guy pisses you off you’d be a fool to say no.

And just as you try to grab it from him he pulls it back, wagging his finger in your face and clicking his tongue like he’s admonishing a child.

“Yeonjun.”

“Say ah!” You consider turning on your heel, chalking this down to being the final straw and going back to ignoring him for night. But the quirk in his brow is a blatant challenge, and there’s no way in hell you’ll let him win.

Hesitantly you tilt your head back, letting your lips part just enough. Before you can react his hand comes up, fingers gripping your cheeks and forcing you to open your mouth a little more.

He’s careful enough to pour the liquor right into your mouth, even though you half expect him to make a mess. The moment he pulls back you shove at him, trying your damndest to not let your face screw into something ugly as the bitter liquid crawls down your throat.

“Too bad I like it a little messier.” Yeonjun sighs, only spurring you to curl your lip at him.

He’s standing too close, trying to trap you into a corner so you’ll be forced to look at and pay attention to nothing else but him.

“Aw, is the undeniable sexual tension between us making that pretty little head spin?” He leans in, pouting when you dodge his hand coming up towards your face. You contemplate grabbing the bottle of liquor from his hands and making a proper break for it, deciding that anywhere else in this godforsaken house is better than here.

“You fucking wish.” You mumble.

“Yeah, I wish I was fucking you.” He takes another step forward.

“In your dreams Choi.” You try to map out an escape route.

“How did you know?”

“Don’t you have some drunken new target wandering around here you could bother instead?” The place was crawling with more than enough people willing to spread it for him, but he always has to make point to come bother you.

“Booooring!” There's a glimmer in his eye, something devious and tempting. “Dance with me, baby.”

That bit of alcohol muddling your brain almost has you agreeing, your teeth coming down on your tongue just hard enough to keep you from falling right into his hands.

“Nope! Oh look there’s Jisung, bye.” And just as you take a step he catches you by your waist, yanking you back so you’re pressed against him.

“You’re always running away from me.” His lips come up against the shell of your ear. “Scared you’ll fold?”

“As if, I just can’t stand you.” You helplessly try to pry his hands off of you, an irritated whine escaping you as he snakes his arms around your waist.

“Mm, nah, I think you like me, I think you want me so bad you don’t even know what to do with yourself.” His voice is low, forcing a warmth to spread across your cheeks and snake down into your belly. Helplessly you blame the alcohol, thankful that he can’t see whatever expression you’re making right now.

"Get bent." You grit out, forcing your elbow between his ribs and managing to escape his grasp.

"I'd rather be bending you over!" He calls out shamelessly after you, your only reply throwing the middle finger over your shoulder.

[denaliwrites]

Imposing Figure

River Cartwright x GN!Reader

Summary: "You're stupid. I like that in a man."

Requests: Tentatively open-ish. I'll try to get to them.

Warnings: The world's himboiest himbo to ever live himboing around himboingly.

It was still before sunrise when you stepped into the dark, dusty halls of Slough House. Lamb didn't care one way or another whether his agents got an early start -- however, you enjoyed the nice bit of quiet the office offered before everyone else arrived. The setting was professional enough that you didn't feel tempted to slack off, but it was quiet and lonely enough that you could relax and take your time with tasks.

You settled into your chair, opened your work playlist on your phone, popped your laptop open, and got to work. An hour went by uninterrupted. The sun rose, you made yourself tea, and all was well.

At first, you didn't realize that a mysterious rattling that had picked up was coming from the door. You noticed it, of course, but thought nothing of it -- Slough House had recently encountered a problem with a persistent little rat. You thought it was surely just the little critter trying to get into a filing cabinet or something.

It was when you got up to get more tea that you finally saw the shadow lurking in the door and realized that what you'd heard before was what should've been the unmistakable clattering of someone trying to brute force the door open.

Without thinking, you immediately pulled out your firearm and aimed it at what you assumed was the figure's head, though the way they were hunched over made it hard to tell.

You were just beginning to wonder why they hadn't busted the glass in when the pathetic voice of your coworker piped up quietly from the other side of the door.

"Hey -- I know -- I know someone's in there! I can hear your music. Can you... could you let me in please?"

You rolled your eyes as you holstered your weapon. "Why can't you let yourself in?" you asked.

"I... lost my keys..."

"Again?" you said in disbelief as you approached the door, unlocking it and opening it to reveal River, shifting embarrassedly at the jamb.

You sized him up with a quirked brow as you joined him in leaning against the doorframe. "You really cut an imposing figure, y'know?"

"I must've dropped them after -- sorry, what?"

"Like, just now, when I didn't know it was you at the door. It was kind of scary."

"Oh. Thank you?" He was visibly confused, but simultaneously seemed uplifted by your words.

"But then you opened your mouth, and I thought, 'oh, never mind, it's just River.'"

You watched as he deflated. "Oh."

"It's just that, y'know, physically you're quite intimidating, but when you speak I can just tell you've only got one brain cell in that pretty head of yours."

"I like to think I've got at least three still working."

"Aw, stupid and funny. I appreciate those qualities in a man."

He looked thoughtful for a moment -- eyes visibly taking their turn at sizing you up, now. "Why the hell would you be into idiots?"

"River, do you know what a himbo is?"

[merakiui]

for the fwb asks, "you're enjoying this way too much." with trey please? I am. frothing at the mouth <33

<3 forgive me for being indulgent with this. I wanted to include food play as well,,, orz please enjoy the tasty treat that is Trey's dick. >:D

(fwb dialogues)

In hindsight it was dangerous to do this in the Heartslabyul kitchen where anyone could walk in at any moment. But it's late into the night, and Trey had been kind enough to sneak you in on account of owing you a favor. That's all your relationship really is, truly. Just transactions. Mutual give and take. You help him relieve some stress (because Queen knows managing Riddle is an undertaking in itself) and in return he offers to pay you in sweets (and bodily pleasures, but the former is far more tempting).

You'd been expecting one of his renowned strawberry tarts or a slice of cake, so you're stunned when his lips lift into that trademark scheming smirk. He holds up a can of whipped cream next. Having known Trey long enough to decipher his tastes, it doesn't take a genius to figure this one out.

"You're crazy," you breathe, eyes wide.

"Just risky," he corrects, pushing his glasses up, because everyone's mad here. Moonlight catches on the lenses, shimmering back at you in a foreboding glint.

"We can't do that in here. What if someone walks in?"

Trey procures his magic pen from his pocket, pressing it to his lips. "I won't tell if you won't."

Right. Doodle Suit. Convenient.

"All right then. Get on with it," you concede after a short internal debate. The rewards outweigh the risk in this case. Something tells you Trey would bail you out even if you get caught. Partially because he'd be just at fault.

Trey grins. "Would you like to do the honors?"

"Absolutely. Did you even have to ask?"

Snatching the can from his hands, you squirt some on your finger for a taste while he works to fish himself from his pants. He works himself slowly in one hand, peering down at you after you've lowered to your knees. This isn't the first time you and Trey have fooled around with food and it certainly won't be the last.

You make quick work decorating his erection, unable to tamp down the delighted giggle when it twitches in response to the cool cream.

"Eager," you comment, finishing off with a dollop to his tip. You set the can on the tiled floor and admire your handiwork with an approving nod. "Do we have any cherries? Ooh, what about sprinkles?"

Amusement flickers on his face. "I've been meaning to pick some up. We used the rest of them last time."

"Aw. This'll have to do for now then." You press your lips to the head of his cock, swirl your tongue over it, and draw away with a mouthful of whipped cream. "It's still just as good."

Trey inhales sharply, grabbing at the counter behind him to brace himself. "Mm, yeah," he mumbles, clearing his throat. "T-That'll do..."

Scooting closer on the ground, you place your hands on his thighs and lean in again to lick a languid stripe up the underside of his shaft, gathering cream as you go. The motions come easily; you've had his cock in your mouth more times than you've truly studied for any of Professor Crewel's alchemy exams, a bad habit Trey's working to correct. To think you could retain information better when he's blowing your back out... Isn't that something?

Breathing through his nose, he tamps down the slew of sinful groans and instead grips the counter with more force. He's purposely holding back, whether for the sake of keeping quiet or because it's the build-up that entices him. You're not sure which it is, but you're determined to break him tonight.

Licking your lips clean, you look up at him through your lashes to assess the lustful haze glazing his eyes. Whipped cream spots your cheek; you pay it no mind and lean in and wrap your lips around him once more. It's sweet. There's definitely an innuendo to be found there, and Trey seems to notice it right away. He throbs in your mouth, painfully hard.

"You're enjoying this way too much," you say around the mouthful.

Trey chuckles, feigning sheepishness. "It's that obvious, huh?"

You pull away to speak more clearly. "It's cute."

"Not the adjective I'd use, but if it fits..." He laughs, shaking his head. Your word choices always enthrall him. Once you called him a midnight snack, a callback to previous times spent wrapped around one another. He doesn't mind it. Not particularly.

His fingers card through your hair to hold you firmly in place. "Sorry in advance."

"You don't mean that," you tease, and both of you know it's true. He likes seeing you choke on his cock. It's exhilarating.

You don't mind it. Not particularly.

[ynnllsn]

Master of my Lifeline

Rin Obami x F! READER

Warnings: Domestic abuse, curses, gambling, crazed, heart attack/conditions, cheating, adultery, maybe a little too sweet of Rin as well, some error grammars.

Words: almost 14k.

--

"You lost 200 million yen, Y/n... Do you have a way to pay for it?" The soft and yet chilling voice of Kirari made your way to your ears but on your expression, it didn't even affect you to but. You smiled brightly.

"None! I only live with my mama and somehow, I know I can make that money back." Kirari chuckled at your odd behaviour. How incredibly interesting to act rationally and normally when you have a burden.

"A life plan works really great on you. You have a fair look... I think that one is a suitable payment." Kirari expect a scared look on her face. But...

"Sure. I'll take it. This is a payment for now, but if I manage to pay the 200 million will you withdraw it back, Momobami-san?" Kirari giggled and nodded. It was quite a surprise. She release a 50 million yen as a down payment and give it to Kirari.

The 50 million yen is the one she won in some random deliquent in school.

"Nyaha~ so deducted the payment, it's now 150 Million Yen."

-

You are the biggest prankster kitten. You are a first year in Hana Class and ever since the news spread that you lost to the President. The bullying started however you don't mind being boss around. But if they mock you, you will mock them back.

"Aw you only survived because you're daddy's only successor, you don't even look like a proper heiress to me~. Daddy must be so disappointed to raise you up~" You giggled and stuck your tongue out.

You are seriously a one tumor in the council's name. Even the head of the beautification chair girl has trouble controlling you.

"That's not my fault! She's being mean!!" You release a small 'hmph' to her and drop the cards. "Why you always challanged people who goes against your guys will?"

"I mean that's how we punish them, put them into more debt, but in your case..." Midari glared at your chips, your chips is way ahead of hers! "What a troublesome pet..." She whispered and in the end, you are carrying 20 Million Yen!!

"Hee hee~ thank you for giving me such a great time~ I will put all I've won today directly to my debt!!" Midari sigh. Even the President won by luck with you.

The only reason why you got challanged is because you put a air fart bag in the president's seat. And it seems the President is amused on how you acted. Despite the life plan that have been forced to you.

And there are only few people are allowed to gamble with you. But despite that, you still manage to stand out. If a normal student or powerful heir or heirress decline your offer to a game. You would simply just gonna say something that would crush their pride just to take you on.

And when Rin Obami came here for the first day. You also prank him with the same prank as what you did with the President. Even Yumeko is not safe with your pranks. Hell, not even the oh so strict Manyuda Kaede.

"What an interesting girl." Rin smiled as he looks at her laughing state. It's so immature yet so entertaining, specially that she's a pet and then she have guts on doing this. Rin have wondered how easy you are to be swindled but boy oh boy~

"There is no guarantee that you will win and these shitty coin will raise their price! If you lose or worst you got kick your ass out, that would be the end of it and I will not trade my votes!" with that signiture 'hmph' of yours.

How smart. For a pet like you.

"But this scumcoin can really help you from getting out of your pet status." He convinced and pretty good and tempting reason to take a risk.

"So 'scumcoin' is... The name of these shitty coins. Pretty weird name, it suits the word scum because you're a scammer~" She giggled while stick her tongue out. "I am not gonna fall for this coins, Obami. In your dreams!!"

"So what are you planning then?"

"I'll earn votes the normal way. I have 3 now. And if the price go higher, I would sell them to pay my debts." He smiled and then you showed him a book from your coat. "So I can finally get rid of this. This haven't stressing me out yet since it will take place once I graduated highschool but I better make a solution." You pout and eat your ramen.

"Life Plan..." He whispered and you nodded. He took that to open it and start to read it, he can't help but to feel disgusted to what he is reading. So this is what Kirari do to those you can't pay their debts? It's sickening. "Marriage? Birth? This is disgusting, what a sick plan." he throw them back to you.

"I know right?! Like I already said that I would only make myself troublesome so the man on the list can finally let me go but Runa-chan said to me that they would force me!" I pout and right now you still have 130M¥ remaining debt. "Since I am limited to who I should gamble with. It's hard to make money in games and that is my only source of income. I can't trouble my mom!" you put them back in your chest.

-

"You told everyone that you're a busy person, Rin." You said and look at the pastries that Rei is serving in the table and you glared at the black haired man, enjoying his tea. He finally look at you and smiled.

"Yes, time is very important to me."

"No, shut the hell up. Why are you inviting me to have a 'private' chat with you? For the third time that is!" You pointed out and he chuckled. You already reject his swindlous offer, but he still kept pestering you every break, lunch and after school hours!! You suppose to be gambling, make your way to survive your housepet status!

Not chatting nonsense with this guy. You sigh.

"Ibara is the one who's doing business, truthful business, so I considered it is my free time." He tried to persuade yoh by his innocent sweet facade that it's not even working on you. "Come on Y/n have some tea, and let's talk about the future~"

Is this how rich people do? How boring. "I don't like tea, I'm sorry." you decline. You get up but he asks Rei to stop you. "Rin, seriously, I need to get votes now!"

"Please~ the election just started, why won't we talk." He pout and you straight up and breath in.

"You know, Rin. I am not a good pawn. You will mever gain something from me, so save the flattery alright? You can just fool other girls, just leave me alone." You convinced him. But he smiled.

"I know. But I didn't invite you over for that. I just wanted to talk with you. Don't you like to talk to me?" Wow, now he's gaslighting you? The nerve after he tried to persuade and swindle you.

"It's not like I don't, I just don't see the goods for it." You honestly told him. He smiled, you are so honest with him and you are always frank, you're good with reasonings and never lie about your reasons, however, you are hard to swindle despite being so honest

He wanted to take his sweet, sweet time with talking until you allowed him to take over you and devour you.

"I have always wonder what your parents do for living?" Your brows furrowed but leave a heavy sigh. You think it won't hurt to just tell him everything, right? He might leave you alone after that.

"My father left us with some random chick, it's just only me and My Mother. Mother owns a ramen stall near school. You probably won't like it since you're rich. Ugh rich people." You stick out your tongue and pretended to be disgusted.

Good laugh, since your father left your Mom after he met that rich ass bitch.

"I-is that so? I'm sorry. I-i am not trying to pry, I swear-"

"It's fine. It's not like it will do something if I get sad over it." You assured him. You don't know if he's lying about being so sorry about it. You hope that he won't lie anything about this, but who knows? You definetely can't trusts a swindler like him. "I did a very great job pranking that lady." his eyes immediately lit up when he heard you.

Oh yeah, he always laugh at your stories whenever you tell him about your pranks and mocking people here. He always find it amusing on how you manage to survive this school. Apparently, you are a scholar and manage to pass the entrance exam, you also have an excellent grade... Even if money is what circullating this school. Kirari have some charity.

"What happened? What did you do?"

"I did a lot of trauma from that lady, I am shock that she never even hit me or something. As she should because I have pictures of her fucking with my father and I can sent her to jail for that. First I embarrassed her to a meeting. Shout at her that she's a homewrecker, a whore and blablabla"

"Oh god!!" He laugh and you honestly can figure out that he likes riot or something. It's probably entertaining for him. Well it does. And you're quite glad that, he didn't show this emotion to others. Aside from his family, probably.

"And? And??"

"I put holes in her tires, make a huge gossip about her and throw a huge pile of cake when she's giving her speech in the party." He gasp and laugh loudly. Suddenly Ibara barge in to report at Rin.

"HAHAHA!"

"Whoa! Rin-san what's up. And hey L/N-san." You nodded and you could see Rin wiping his tears from laughing.

"Oh hey Ibara. Why don't you sit down, were just talking and Y/n told me about some of her silly stories."

"Yeah, Obami is lazying out instead of helping you. Your boss is lazy as fudge." I roasted and Rin pout.

"Hehe~ I don't really mind, L/n-san."

-

Rin is gamblimg with the Vice President and you feel relief because you now have a time to gamble. Rin is very clingy. He even convinced you to call him in his first name and introduced you to the other branch of the family.

You get along with Yumi a lot more since everyone is a lot more tought and serious when they started to discuss the reason why are they here. So whenever the discuss something that is really serious, both you and Yumi would try make it atleast to ease them all up. You get along with Rei too and share your ramen recipe to him.

Yumi always question you about your relationship with Rin and you just smiled and never gave her a definitive answer since you, yourself is also confuse why Rin keeps you around. Even the President asks you often whenever you come at her for updates regarding the life plan.

"I see so you also pranked him and he tried to persuade you into these scumcoins." You nodded and Kirari giggled. Kirari always think that you are very confusing... Despite being devoured you continue to swim around and hang on tight. You survived her aquarium far more than she anticipated.

" I decline. I told him how I see that as a fraudulent offer. Since there is no guaranteed that he will win and he might run after he win. He explained the risk and it's pure gamble but I can't take that much risk now nobody would trusts their possession to someone they just met. That was a good one tho, the student body was fooled by it." Kirari giggled and Sayaka gave you a cup of hot chocolate. "Thank you, Igarashi-san."

"Scumcoin are getting popular now. But I have always wonder how long this will keep up." You shrugged your shoulder and take a sip.

"Who knows. Anyways I am off to go. This might be also the end of his career as a swildler, he's up to the Vice President as of the moment." She chuckled and giggled.

"You must have low hopes for him..."

"I just have high hopes for your twin. I mean... She's a Momobami after all. And your double, yourself." You gave her a small smile and bow. "Expect a payment. At the end of the election, probably." She smiled and nodded.

"take care."

Soon you found out about Sayaka's buying votes and when you figure out that it's only 3 million yen. Sayaka offered it to you but you immediately decline to sell it. It's too low for now, you have to stay back and keep ypur votes in hand.

You decided to gamble more, poker, roulette, rock paper scissors. Anything and now your vote count is now 5. It is a small process but this five votes can reach it's proper value up to 30 Million Yen at the end of the election.

The sun will shortly set. And you saw Rin walking down the hallway, talking with Ibara shortly he saw you and asks Ibara if he can give the two of you a private time alone, Ibara agreed, they seem alright, did they won? He looks in your eyes and you giggled.

"What's up?"

"Well... I lost the 200 votes." And you giggled. You saw his frown. "And I got de-facto out of the election." he told you what happened and how his pride was crushed in oblivion by Ririka. But even after that huge lost...

You can sense that, he's alright with it. You chuckled.

"You sound like you're fine staying in hell..."

"Absolutely." He said and you smiled. "I did the best I could, and to think that Ibara have forgiven me and accepted me and my illegal ways, that put me into rest."

"You know what, let's get you something to eat. Do you wanna eat at my Mother's ramen stall? I swear it's good. It's probably not as good as what you usually eat-"

"I have something to confess, Y/n..." Your eyes blink and you look at him. Your heart is beating so fast but he smiled cockily. "I asks Rei to make it for me when I found out you shared the ramen recipe."

"That's not even a big issue, Rin." You rolled your eyes and he laugh.

"Now you know how it feels to be prank. That's just a mild one. But anyway, you probably expect a lot more dramatic base on your expression." He pointed out and you giggled. Seriously, this guy is just so sharp at reading people.

"I thought you would decline since it's lame to eat in my Mother's stall." You said honestly and truthfully, you will feel heartbroken if he think that it is lame. You honestly swore to yourself that you will never make friends with rich people anymore because of this reason. It became your biggest fear to look down upon by your so called friends.

"What? I'm heartbroken. I will never say that to you." He said and pout. Your eyes widened and look at him. He held your hand and he ran, dragging you along, he exit the academy and spoke again. "I like the Ramen that Rei made for me. If Rei mastered it perfectly at first try and it's already delicious, what more if your mother made them? I wanna taste it, right now, Y/n!"

Your heart feel like it will expload so suddenly. He said that to your face and he genuinely wanted to try them, you can't see a hint of lie or pretentiousness in his voice and expression. He... Genuinely excited about eating your family's signiture dish. And it made you smile, happy.

How many times this swindler will going to surprise me? You asks yourself.

"Don't freak her too much alright. She have some heart conditions." and he looks at you worriedly.

"And yet she still works so hard?"

"Don't get me started, I convinced her everyday to let it be and just let me do the work myself and she said that it will make her sicker if she won't move too much. Besides, Mother wants me to finish in Hyakkaou Academy. And move to a great university." I said and he looks at your eyes. With such admiration.

"You people are hardworking." You look at Rin and gulp. One thing you're scared abput is him swindling not only you but your family. You're not worried since their family is way ahead of his but you are still worried. But you wanted to test it out. You wanna see how he will react at your mom.

"At this hour the stall is now close but... We can go straight ahead to our Apartment." you informed him and he smiled while nodding in a fast way. The excitement on his eyes never cease and the way he walks to the way he speaks.

You smiled secretly.

This will be alright.

-

"is this your boyfriend Y/n?!" The moment Rin introduce himself to your mother, this is the immediate question she did asks you. Your mother smiled warmly at him while asking him to take a seat on your small living room.

You try to control your expression but the heat on your face rose up and immediately decline.

"Hahahue, It's not my boyfriend. He's a..." You hesitate to said who he is since it's the first time you introduce someone as your Friend. "He's a friend of mine."

"Oh? You've been studying there for quite sometime. You just got a friend?" I knew she would question you immediately.

"W-well..."

"Y/n prank me on my first day of school and we became friends." You blushed even more when Rin told your mother how the two of you interacted.

"So she still haven't let go her few old habits." Your mother rose a brow at you.

"Mom we didn't came in here for that..."

Your mother scold you and threatened you to spank your butt when Rin leaves the house, you pout while Rin is just trying to control his laugh. You glared at him. Then your mom asks Rin if he already ate dinner and he shook his head. So your mom prepared a meal for the both of you.

Surprisingly, your mom get alomg with him... Perfectly. You just watch the two of them while Mom told him how hard-headed you are while she started to cut some vegetables for the Ramen. You start to do the noodles yourself. While Rin just watch you and listen to your Mother.

"Now I know where you got your talkative traits." Rin whispered and held your waist! You flinch and shake your shoulder.

"Rin, space." you whispered back... Because you can feel his hot air that he's releasing as he whisper in your ear! It's making you flustered and it's ticklish! He watch how you knead the noodle dough.

While your mother make the broth. He didn't put his hand away from your waist. He comfortably wrapped his arms around it as he watch your hand. He keep laughing at your mother's story.

You were very glad your mother is cutting vegetables, you're facing her bareback while you knead the dough in the table. So you're mother is turning her back on both of you.

Rin is very flingy indeed. You thought, while flattening the dough until it's thin enough. But this is the first time he hugged me like this. He just usually held your hand in the hallway, have tea with you during breaks. Always fetch you after class.

Always looking forward with your stories, and keep you away from trouble. Or needless to say... He only wants you to prank him. You tried to push him away by pranking him more but it didn't work. Always attempt to devour you with his lies but it didn't also work well.

He's gentle and sweet. Clingy and always touchy. He didn't mind showing you around despite your pet tag status. He kept you around. Even buy you lunch so you could save up some money.

Why am I suddenly thinking like this? Your face heat up. Is falling in love is also one of the category of being devoured?

-

After the three of you eat, you let your mom to rest, hopefully she forgot tye deal about spanking your butt. Fortunately, she did sleep after she take some meds. Rin finally called Ibara to get him here so he could go back to the Academy, since his dormitory is there. While waiting, the two of you decided to talk for a while.

"Your Mother is very sweet." Rin said while waiting outside. You smiled. Ever since your fether left, she set aside those sadness away and keep on moving forward for the sake of you and her, but while doing that, her heart is also getting weaker and weaker.

For her, there's no point of getting sad when you are in the dark, might as well cheer yourself up and keep on working hard. Just smile while finding your ways to survive the crisis. You smiled...

"She is."

"Just like you." He said and you look at him. "I never had a Mother like yours, mine always pressure me because I am their successor." He added, trying to divert your attention from his compliments.

"You can come by to see her if you like. It's not like I mind it." He chuckled. You may not say this often but, you do want him to make it feel how to have a peace of mind, how to be happy despite being in a hardship situation, because frankly, that's how poor people survive. He works hard like anyone else from his family and that's good already, he doesn't need to exert too much effort to be the best all the time. You saw that with your own eyes.

"I'll keep that one in mind." He whispered and then you saw the car came and the window went down to see Ibara. Rin smiled at you and nodded. "The ramen is so delicious. I'll come by again for sure."

"Have a safe way at home."

-

After that, he felt great, although he's hiding from his costumers specially to whoever wanna cash out their scumcoin. A real swindler indeed. You went inside a room where you definetely know that he's staying, and you were surprises when he immediately wrapped his hand around your waist with a pout. What a clingy bastard.

"What too you so long?" He looks like a... Dog who misses it's owner. You giggled and pat his head. Both of you take a seat

"I made an excuse to Itsuki, she's watching the grandmeeting and it's starting, so might as well let's go to wherever Terano is." But you saw in his phone that he's already watching Erimi and Yumeko.

"Do you have any idea how this thing will turn out? Do you think she will win?" Rin asks and you frankly dom't know but one thing for sure.

"Who know's what's inside of their head, I only knew that once someone won this grand meeting or after this grandmeeting, the votes value will also drop." He chuckled, yeah you're keeping five, and as of now, the value of these votes are 8 Million Yen a piece. If someone will win, the price will certainly go down and it's such a problem.

"Well atleast I can pay 40 Million Yen. I am thinking about selling it right now to Sayaka but I also need to wait a bit more." Rin smiled. And patted your head. He stand up and lend out a hand, you took that and went out of the room.

"I can always raise the price, Y/n..." He just said and smiled at you. "I can make it an auction type, deal with Sayaka Igarashi. Just give me your word." He said, because right now, he still have one card left and it will benefit you, and the entire family.

"Please, don't. I don't wanna think that I am using you besides, I can totally see this as a gamble. I'll figure it out myself if i lose." you don't mind staying as a housepet for quite sometime, it can take time to make money.

-

But then you recieved a very bad call. Your mother suddenly collapsed and will be needing an urgent heart surgery. You were crying all night, just by thinking where will you be able to get 28 Million Yen. So you decided to get all the money for your college at the bank, your mother has been saving for you for years.

It's an emergency and you need to use it for her, her health is the most important. Rin found out about your situation shortly, you plan to never tell him about it but, Itsuki spilled the news to him accidentally.

"I will try and use the college funds that my mother has been saving for a decade." You said to him after he spoke that he would love to help you out. As much as possible you don't wanna asks for his help. The surgery is expensive enough, and I know the 28 Million is just a coin to him.

But, your conscience just can't. You just asks him to give you a ride to the bank to deposit all the money, but also a bad news happened that made you see red.

The college funds were already deposit, you were also surprised that the bankbook that belong to your mom was also named to your father.

"Bring me to the XXX Company." Rin swear that he felt so scared for his life.

"Y-you... Heard her Ibara. Ehem." He tried to calmed you down by reaching for your hand since he has no idea. He only found out when he accompany you to ypur father's office. You run and slapped the man, who he assume that is your father.

"HOW DARE YOU STOLE THE MONEY THAT YOU NEVER EVEN WORK HARD FOR?!" Rin tried to stppped your outburst but once he heard your father response...

"That money is mine! Remember that your small and crook stall of your mother was there because of me. Don't you dare raise your vouce at me, Missy!" He lets you go suddenly and slapped him again. He lets you go on purpose

"YOU CRUEL BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MY MOM! MOTHER DID EVERYTHING SHE COULD TO SAVE THAT MONEY! GIVE IT BACK! GIVE THE MONEY BACK!!!" Your tears starts to flow and in the first time, Rin felt furious. Those angry tears, never belong in your expression. And yet your own father swindle and scam you.

"THAT MONEY BELONG TO MY MOTHER! She needs it..." your voice is dying out as you went on your knees. "P-please... Hahaue is dying... She needs that money..." Rin tried to grabbed you and glared at the man infront of you.

At the end you were kicked out of the building, and you haven't stopped crying. Rin tried to comfort you but you keep on looking at the huge building infront of you...

"Y-y/n-" he hugged you. He never felt bad for anything. But you... You work hard and yet... How could some other people just go and ruin and step on you. He felt furious... Suddenly he remember this company. He kept on rubbing your back as you cry on his shoulder, he carried you to the car.

"T-that money... H-how could he d-do that..." soon you stopped talking and Ibara kept on looking at Rin from the rear mirror simce his face is so dark from madness. Although his gentle touch on your skin made you doze off.

"Ibara, contact my father." Rin has a wicked smiled on his face. He'll make sure that these people will suffer for the rest of their lives.

-

Rin never left your side since then.

"Y/n..." You woke up and he helps you sat up, but the joy on your face wasn't there. He know to himself that he swindle a lot of people, but not like what your Father did to you and your Mom. "A-about your father-"

"There's no point into getting dramatic, Igarashi is still buying votes right now. I'll sell these five." You stand up and tried to prepare but Rin stopped you. You just got up, you didn't even eat anything.

"Calm down, please." Rin tried to persuade you and you stop to look at him. "Try to get yourself something, first. I also heard from someone Igarashi has no funds left, and trying to gamble to earn votes instead."

"She what?!" You panicked but he held your hand.

"Calm down first. Terano and the rest of the family talked and... We decided to come up for our last card." Rin told you about his plan to use the Scumcoin again to gain votes, just transfering the entire rate to Kirari's vote count.

"Terano lost the gamble..." You whispered. I-if that happened then the value of these votes drop rates up to 0. You lose the gamble. You felt defeated. It didn't happen the way you predicted.

"You're not lost yet." Rin cupped your face. A sinister smile on his face, a crazed that is rushing on his entire face. "Please... Gamble with me. And I'll make sure you will win." You gulp but you felt your heart race.

"I..." You're father betrayed you and your mother, you can't let Rin to devour you this time!! Your Mother's life is on the line!!

"You have to take the risk, there's no time for you to be scared of it, this is Hyakkaou Academy." You felt your tears starts to burst but he quickly wipe them off. "Y/n... What's your entire conclusion. All you have to do, is wait for tommorow."

"But Mother-"

"I know... But Tommorow, I promise you.." You look at his eyes, sincerity is all you could see. "I'll scam the entire student body but you." He release his pinky finger and for the first time in your life... You trusts him. But you have wondered what will he get in return, why is he doing this?

You will survive this crisis not on your own but because he help you entirely and all you have to do is to trusts him and everything else is on him. What is he after?

"I know what you're thinking, Y/n." Rin said and look at your eyes, he held your wrists firmly as his other hand tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear. "Hmm... Indeed, what a smart question. How am I going to benefit in this promise... You are risking your pet status and your mother's life... How about me... What am I risking?" he smiled tenderly and lean in your ear.

"I'm risking of losing you..."

-

"Rin-san, are you sure it's okay to move without Y/n-san's approval?!" Ibara asks. Because this is insane, Rin called his father to swindle every single penny of the company of your father. Your father is the one who's managing all the assets of his affair. The woman is naturally the CEO of the Company but since they are together, the woman make your father as a manager.

"I have more plans." Rin whispered. Ibara look at Terano who sigh. "Y/n won't accept any help from me, because to her, it will only hold me back. However, I can help her in other way where she can accept. I'll use our current plan to raise the price of the votes. I can bet that Sayaka Igarashi would borrow money from the Academy's treasury."

"But what if we ended up winning." Terano asks and Rin sigh. He knows very well what kind of risk he's going to deal with but this his work to begin with. And Rin's priority is Y/n and only her.

"I'll pay out to her."

Terano sigh. There is no point stopping Rin once he focused on something.

"I wanna make everyone suffer for stepping on her. I want her to be my wife and queen, And i'll punish everyone who will act hostile towards her." Ibara gulp and Rin smirked. The Obami family is really something, they are considered as the secomd devious family in the entire clan. And they are never called devious for nothing. "So first, I'll scam their company. And I will make sure that they will never be able to stand again."

"Then second, while your father do his thing outside the Academy, you and Terano would work together, use the Scumcoin to swindle the entire Student Body again. Except Y/n." Ibara said and Rin nodded. The thing here is, they are not only trying to defeat Sayaka Igarashi, it's also Kirari. But there is no guaranteed that the other side won't win too.

"This effort will only lead us to lose. But I guess we need to give this one a try." Terano said. Either way, if they end up winning everything will go in Rin's way. If they won the vote buying war, Rin can pay Y/n out for her five votes, but 1 vote should only cost 10 Million First. If Sayaka raise the prices so they are.

They will keep going until one of them can't.

"Third, if Kirari or Terano ended up winning, you'll asks the president to change Y/n's life plan."

"Isn't that outrageous? You can just asks Y/n once she pay her debt and also her mom's condition, that is just 28 Million Yen." Miyo asks and Rin explained her debt.

"So you are not only trying to save her mom, but also her debt here?" Nozomi asks and Rin giggled.

"Well you can't stop him, he's insane when it comes to her." Terano said and shook his head and now she thinks that he and Kirari are both the same. "And Y/n just so stubborn to asks for help." Rin smiled. For him, he saw her as an independent who always make her way out of predicament. But luck is jot by her side now, since her mother was included, and that is a different situation for her. That's why he love her.

"Besides there is other way on how to defeat Kirari. She may continue to lead the school and the family but what will happen if she don't have funds anymore?" Rin asks and giggled. "Well it may work well but for sure it will bring a lot damage on her."

"You're so fucking smart." Miyo snorted.

Considering that they are in a devouring clan.

-

"You can go on..." Rin smiled and patted your head. You hesitated because you felt bad. Rin smiled to assure you so you shyly made your way to Sayaka's team and hand over your 5 votes. For you, the plan worked well. Your mother can finally have a surgery now.

Everything works well in your way but you felt terribly sad for Rin and the rest of the family, they didn't won the election. But Rin assured you that it's okay. They lost fair and square and not because of you.

He accompany you to the hospital and make appointments, you also pay for it immediately so the operation will start now. The doctors immediately move your mother to the operating room. But before that, you held her hands as tears stream down your face.

"Hahaue... Please... Stay strong... Don't leave me yet." You whispered as you look at her sleeping form. Rin patted your back to comfort you.

"She will be alright." He kissed your forehead. The nurse went straight ahead to the operating room. While doing so, Rin look at you and smiled.

"It will never happen without your help..." You whispered shyly and he smiled.

"I think it's good because it benefits not only me... But also the entire Family." Rin smiled and cupped your face. "Igarashi took the bait, I don't know what will happen to the Council now." Then he started to tell you about his plan to dig Kirari's grave.

"I know this Academy probably have 250 Billion to 300 Billion in their treasury. It already came into my mind before... And since this Vote Buying War started, I kinda want to stirr things up. But ofcourse for it to happen, I want Sayaka Igarashi to take the bait and it happened. Well if it didn't work we would naturally win." He explained and you smiled. So not only ypu who's gambling in the game, so does she and everyone from the Clan

"So you're planning to burn all those 300 Billion Yen?" You asks and Rin nodded a little. "Ah! Sayaka Offered 100 Million Yen per vote and there is 3000 students in Hyakkaou Academy!" You suddenly realized but Rin chuckled.

"Igarashi is smarter than that, she only needs enough votes that will secure Kirari's position. Maybe she'll burn around 100 Billion Yen. However it's still a cash that she don't owned. So, naturally, there is no exception about the Secretary of the President being a housepet. So she will be..." You nodded in realization.

But another question is... "What will happen if all of this didn't happen?"

"Well... First, Terano will have 507 votes now and has the power to control who's going to win. Second, you may sell your vote for 40 Million each to us instead. You have 5 so, you will be having 200 Million. That is still enough to pay for Mom's surgery but won't be enough for your housepet status." Rin explained and you nodded. "But I also prepare a seperate gamble for that, haha~" You look at him flatly and pinch his side but then your expression soften...

"So all this risk, you are planning to save me all along. I-i... Why?" He suddenly turned red at your sudden question and turn around. You look at confuse.

"C-can you give me some time? I-i'll explain everything once the d-dusts is settled. I-i'm still waiting for the result." Result of what? The election? But why?

-

Since then he started to avoid you, I feel extremely furious because he never invite me for tea every break. He usually do that routine. Is he busy? You asks yourself. Did I say something that isn't suppose to say? You asks again. You usually never question your behaviour but it's been 3 days since this strange events is happening.

The election is over and Kirari won. You were surprised about the turn of the events, specially Yumeko. But that doesn't matter as of now! Rin is avoiding you for no gold reason at all. Your housepet status haven't been settled as well.

Well you pay the hospital bills and every maintenance that your Mother needs. The operation went smoothly, you can now breath properly now that your problems is now over. You still have the 450 Million Yen on hand.

Also the Momobami Clan's branches started to leave one by one!

I-is Rin is avoiding me? Because he's leaving? You started to over think even further. Well Terano told me that the reason they were here in the first place is because of the Election that was held by Kirari. Kirari offered not only the President's seat, but so does her position as the leader of their Family. So now that their business is over with this school.

Does that also mean that they will leave now? Is that the reason why he is avoiding you?

Also Kirari refuse to also, accept your payment suddenly that's why you still have tons of cash in hand, Runa also talke back the Pet Tag, so you returnednto your humanhood. It's all confusing!! Runa also asks for the Life Plan. It was withdraw she said or rather there will be some major changes.

You heart is beating rapidly, Kirari told you that your lifeplan will take place once you graduated from here? Did they change it? Is my arrange husband wants me now?!!

"What's the matter, Y/n?" Itsuki looks at you worriedly. You suppose to be happy that your problems has been lift up, your pet status is now gone, your Mother is now okay. "You look bothered."

"Well... Itsuki... Can I asks you something?" you asks and she looks at you. "Have you feel lonely when... Someone dear to you, starting to act strange?" You asks and she looks at you and take a seat beside you with a soft smile.

Itsuki is your classmate, but after you got your ass beat by the President, the two of starting become close, and then introduce you to her Second year friens.

"Is Rin Obami is avoiding you?" She asks and you nodded. Wait, you suppose to be worried about the strange things that is happening in regards to you life plan!! Not Rin Obami. "You two became so close, and to be honest, Y/n..."

"H-hmm?"

"I started to think that both ofyou were dating or something." You gave her a flat look. Well yes. Everybody would think that way. "You two are just so close with each other..." she's right. To the point that he helped you in every problems you had. To the point that he met your Mother. You put bounderies to yourself to not be friend with rich people here.

But that didn't happened, because of Rin Obami.

"I think you're inlove, Y/n... I mean I felt this way too when Manyuda-senpai abandoned me, since he is my accomplice but you two are more than partners you know. He helped you... He always be with you. When he lost his votes you were there for him, even go further as entering your private life." she pointed out as you turned red but it do make sense.

"I-itsuki!! Tone your voice down!!"

"But that's true!" she shouted quietly. "Besides, Rin will mever help you like this, if he doesn't love you.." She said and you blushed even more. It suddenly feels extremely hot even though the whole cafeteria is air conditioned.

But it did make sense. You held your hand in your chest.

Do I love him? You suddenly remembered all the things that the two of you do together, during breaks he always look forward of your stories. How persistent he is into swindling you, that didn't even work. The way he feels happy about simple things you do.

The way he smile to the way he held you.

You feel your heart beat so fast as heat rush in your face. Your thoughts has been cut off when Itsuki giggled.

"I d-don't know, Itsuki. I just feel upset." You said and you frown. Upset because he suddenly start to avoid you.

"Come on, Y/n whenever you feel upset, you just shrugged it down and do stir more trouble." You pout because that's what you've been doing a lot.

"B-but I am afraid to approach him. And I feel anxious." You whispered and you look at Sumeragi. "He probably avoiding me now since he will leave the Academy." She looks at you weirdly.

"Huh?"

"I-i mean, all the President's family is leaving one by one! Maybe he's next or something." You can feel your nose tingle as the thought of him levaing you. But why are you even afraid about it? You were whole prepared for this!

Itsuki sigh and she was about to say something but the bell rang, perfect timing since you were about to cry in any seconds. You suddenly miss him. You stand up and ran in the bathroom. And decided to skip class to go somewhere in the Academy, hoping for Ikishima not to caught you but you suddenly remembered about the Life Plan.

"Shit I almost forgot about it, I should have inquire about it with Sayaka and The President!!" you quickly ran in the Council Room. But you saw Rin went outside of the room with Ibara, Terano and Yumi. You felt your feet petrified.

You gulp and look at the floor.

"Ah... L/n-san. What brings you here?" You look at Sayaka and you quickly went to her. You ignored Rin and the rest who did the same however, Ibara's face is distorted. Like he's guilty or something.

"A-ah... About..." You look at her and proceed. "About my Life Plan. I wanted to asks why it was withdrawn and a-about my debt? R-runa told me about it, that I shouldn't pay for it anymore. What happened?" Sayaka smiled and come up with a great explanation.

"We are busy to settle matters, The election just ended, so we are not accepting payments about the debt, we will announce when we will be collecting them." She response calmly and she proceed. "About the life plan, maybe there will be some changes." but why your pet tag was also withdrawn and you're the only one who doesn't have a pet tag among all the House Pets.

Your name was also removed from top list.

"I-i see... A-alright. Thank you for making it clear."

"Please proceed to your class." She said but you smirked.

"Oh no. I'll skip. Bleh." You stick up your tongue and ran in the hallway.

-

You pout while the beautification chairwoman scolds you terribly.

"What happened to your owner?! Where is that bastard! Whole election, Y/n!! Whole goddamn election this office was at peace! AT PEACE!!" You pout as she keep on ranting about how you behave. About how there is no deliquent pet or troublesome pet she is punishing the whole election because of your 'owner' or so called Rin Obami.

And since you won against her so many times in a gamble, she didn't punish you like that. You were just in detention for 2 hours, let you listen about her rants.

"But I no longer a pet, look I don't have a tag."

"That is why I am not gambling with you, it us because of that." She scoffed and you giggled.

So for two hours, you listened to her blabbers.

Then after that, she let's you go and look for your locker, you opened it to change your shoes but a letter dropped as you open the door of your locker. You look around you, there is no longer people around you.

You opened it and you sigh.

'I heard you finally got out of your pet status, well done~ I am so glad that you return to your Human Hood, so... Tommorow at YYY Restaurant, after school, meet me there. -M'

"WHO THE FUCK IS THIS BTCH?" you asks and glared at it. He just insulted you and asks you out on a date?! "What happened to hi and hello? To greetings? To get to know stage? Ugh romance in this academy is also crazy." You said as you also torn the letter in pieces and throw it in a trashcan.

Whoever that M is, it's probably an upperclassman.

-

"Seriously?! You're going to feel shy now?!" The green eyed woman glared at Rin who keep on rubbing his nape. "She asks you why! That was your moment!!" Terano shouted at him which he felt even more shy.

"W-well it caugh me off-guard!!" He reasoned out but Terano can't even more stressful. He already went too far, as buying that stupid book. The reason why they were inside the council room is because they wanted to arrange something.

Rin asks Kirari a favor about changing the arrange husband. Or tell her that, Rin would pay the 130 Million Yen debt. At first Kirari disagreed because you don't know anything about Rin's schemes. But she agreed now since it was interesting.

In the end, your debt was paid and your pet tag was retreived. But your life plan was bought by him.

"You can't get her out of this school. Y/n just barely started highschool. That's our agreement." Then Kirari get the lifeplan from Sayaka and open it.

"If Y/n asks you about it, keep it a secret." So That's why Sayaka told you a very good lie.

Back to the topic.

"After all the strings you pulled? You're going to back out now?!" Terano shouted at Rin. Terano can't believe how this idiot is acting upon Y/n. After all the stun he pulled all for the sake of that lady.

"I am not backing out! I just feel nervous!!"

"You..." Her face scrunched in annoyance. "I don't even wanna say it." It just feels ridiculous how this person is feeling nervous about saying his true feelings for her. Or maybe because he is born a liar so admiting something true is not in his character. That's why Terano shut up. "Don't waste your time, you are upsetting her." That is all she just said and nodded at Yumi.

Rin knows that she's very upset for avoiding her but it just feels like his heart is going to get out from his chest just by thinking what he did behind her back.

Terano is just mad right now because he's chickening out after he spend money all for her sake. Her debt is paid all because of him. He feel like she won't agree to this. But he... He likes her so much. Because no matter what kind of tempting situation he gives, she never bite. For the first time, he failed his duty as a Swindler.

She continue to be a smart, and cunning lady who always saw through his lies. She never fell into a trap, but as time went by...

He fell even harder, how she loved her Mother, and...

How he feels guilty by robbing her even a single yen. He can't bring so much pain to that Lady. He can't even treat her that way, he never felt so guilty about it. And the way he looks forward into talking to you, always listening to your silly stories, and how you won with the Student Coucil Midari because she tried to punish you.

How you had guts to even sneak a fart bag into the President's seats. He remember all your stories. Every single one of them.

"Y/n..." Oh how he missed you.

-

"Huh?"

"WHATEVER YOU ARE SCHEMING, YOU BETTER STOP IT!!" you look confusely to your Father who is pointing his finger at you.

You were suddenly got arrested for no good reason at all when you are on your way home and then the Police informed you about that your Father file a case to you, and your mother a Fraud... So you shouted at the your Father.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO MY FACE?! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO ROB HER HARD EARN SAVED MONEY!!!" you shouted as you try to raise your hand it him but the Police stopped you.

"How could you believe him?! This is ridiculous!!!" You said as you explained the Police Man about how your Mother was on the hospital for 5 days now, since she got a heart Surgery. And then he look at your ID and found out that you studied in Hyakkaou.

And since you're underage, they file a case against your Mother instead, making you mad at him even more.

"How dare you!! We didn't steal anything!!!" You shouted but you got kicked out of the Police Station. Your father exit there and glared at you and grabbed your collar to slap yoh across the face. You felt the stingy pain on your cheeks.

"You brat! You cause me so much trouble, you better stop it now or else, I will fucking kill you." He said and you gulp the lump in your throat as you look up in the sky.

"You..." You whispered and bang him in the forehead, hard and nut. "BASTARD!!"

You ran away and hide somewhere.

Tommorow and you still went to class to asks for some good lawyer, Itsuki and your friends gasp to the way you look.

"Y-y/n!!" Suzui is the first one to approach you and you bit your lip. "Who did your fought to?!"

"What happened, Y/n?! Who did this?!" Mary asks you while Yumeko is worriedly rush to the canteen to get some ice because of your swollen cheeks. Itsuki wrapped it in a handkerchief and put it in your cheek.

"G-guys...do you know any Law Firm around the city? I might need a Lawyer." then you started to tell them who did this to yoh and how you are accused by Fraud.

"Is he even thinking? How can you destroy a big company, just like that?" you shrugged at Itsuki's question while contacting Manyuda-senpai. "That is ridiculous."

"And they arrested your Mom instead?! They arrested a disabled person! So the police is, around at your Mother's room?!" Mary asks and Ririka tried to asks for some help for ypu too, even contacted their Family Lawyers.

"Yes. It's stressing me out now, she just got a successful heart surgery, I don't wanna stress her out so I need a Lawyer now. But nobody would probably stand up for me since I am underage." You massage your temple as you sigh.

-

"I see.." The blue eyes girl look at the Aquarium Tank. "News really does have wings." She said to Sayaka.

"I saw her in the cafeteria making commotion, she have a poorly made head patch on her head that she probably did herself, and also a bruise cheeks. So I tried to listen to their conversation." Sayaka said and she giggled.

"Rin better make his move now, right, Terano?" She look at the opposite side of the table and smiled.

-

You are walking down the hallway when you but as soon as you turn your left, you bump into someone and it hit your wonded forehead. You yelped in pain as you tried to fix your patch.

You look up to see a pair of purple eyes that you quickly stand up as you pretended that nothing happened however he grabbed your arm to stop you.

"What happened to your face?" He said and look at you. You kept your mouth shut. You've been hiding on him, ever since that talk you had with your Itsuki and the others, you just stay somewhere else, to the place that he barely visit or staying in.

However he didn't like your silence. "Y/n.." as always, he would found out about it wether you tell him or not, you asks Itsuki to never spill a word about your condition. But he manage to find out about it anyways.

"It... Shouldn't concern you." You whispered, well you felt very very embarrassed about saying that word, after everything he'd done for you. You missed him so much but what's the point of getting him involve in your life if he's avoiding you?

But those expression. His madness is visible in his eyes, you can totally see that.

"Even if you tell me or not, I have ways to find out." He said to you. Almost like threatening you. You look away, however he kept on touching your swollen cheeks. From the looks of it, you were slapped by a rough hands. He look at the poorly made bandage, he already knew that you made them. "What on earth did you do this time, Y/n?" He whispered and carrassed your cheeks.

"This time, huh?" you felt your heart feelimg heavy. "I don't know either. I don't know what kind of mess I was involved to either." He looks at you but you felt your tears flow down. All the frustrations you felt, you're mother is detained even if she's in a confinement room. It was all mess up.

The police told you that I might got involved into a massive Fruad out of desperation to make you afford the Surgery. Non from the Law Firm wanted to accept your case. If this keeps up...

Your mother would be put in to prison, she doesn't even have an ounce of idea what kind of mess she was put into. Rin hugged you, putting his hand on your head and the other hand is in your back, rubbing it tenderly

"Haha. I was just avoiding you for days, and yet you were in another trouble... Seriously, Y/n..." You didn't listen as you continue to sobbed in his chest. "There's no one controlling you... Hmm?" Everybody do have weakness... And he already assumed that your Mother is involve to it. He knew you, you loved your Mom dearly, and that is the only reason why are you crying right now.

"I don't know. I was accused of defrauding the Company that my Father work into." When you said that he was stunned to the point and bit his lips. "Nobody from the Lawfirm in the City wanted to take my Case, My Father probably pulled some strings-"

"I did that." He told you on point. Your eyes widened and he smiled cheekily.

"Y-you what??" he smiled and patted your head.

"Well, only the 40%. The remaining 60% is all up to you." then he told you, what he did. How he swindled and made a huge fraud to your Father's company. And the reason he did that is... "They are the people who deserved to be devoured, and I don't like what they did to you." And now that he saw how your Father reacted to you and hurt you.

He's livid again. He wanted to make him suffer and begged on his knees. And you sense a sinister crazed from him, just by looking at him makes you shiver.

How many times will you go through lenghts just for me?

"Rin... Stop." You whispered and he shook his head.

"I'll take care of your Lawyer. Let's burn his cash, assets and properties. And let's see how far they would go." Your eyes widened. He's going to help you again and you won't let him this time!

"Why are you always doing things for me?!" You shouted and he look at you. You mever shouted at him like this. "I always asks you why! Is this fun to you? Stop making me crazy, Rin!" the tears that you've been trying to hold back kept on flowing. "I asks you why you help me so much, and you told you will tell me..."

"But why are you avoiding me? And then you will show up to me then tell me you would help me, again!! I don't understand you at all!!" Ypu kept on ranting about how much he hurt you and how much you miss him. "I hate it when I am left behind! I hate it when I don't understand you! I hate it, that I have to be so curious what have I done. And you know what, Rin? I am only like this to you!"

All you want is an answer from him, an answer why! So you would stop hoping too that he loves you as well. That if only you're rich as him, you would help him to achieve his goal and rule over his family... But all you could give is, his comfort and peace that is even a bare minimum, compare to what he do for you and your mother.

You hate this... You hate this so much that you can't even do something useful for him.

"I miss you so much! And I want answers from you! I want a closure between us! Because this, this is ridiculous! Because I kept on hoping! Hoping that you love me too!" You confessed already and your eyes widened. Rin looks at you. He was red. Your voice suddenly stop making noise, your throat started to hurts even more as your nose tingled.

You broke down.

"Y-y/n..." Rin called you and tried to touch you but you get your hands up and put it on your face to cover it as you cried.

You've been hoping all this time... hoping that everything would fall into right places at the right time. That everything would be alright, in this school, everything is decided in gambling. You wanted to take a risk but the world hates you so much. The world, the odds and even the gods hates you and confuse you!

"I-i know I am a brat! I am a deliquent and I deserve this! But I don't deserve to be in this mess! My mother don't deserve to be robbed! To be in jail as she recover! She d-did everything for me! And yet she's suffering! Because of that bastard. And you! Please... stop confusing me! Stop making me crazy, Obami!"

You spoke between your sobs, as you tried to push him away because he kept holding you forcely, all the frustrations, desperations and confusion starts to surge in every corner of your head.

"I hate that I can't even do anything to pay you back from everything you have done. I hate it that I am not rich enough, good enough to help you too." He lets you cry while holding you in his arms. He felt... mixxed feelings, he felt sorry for all your frustrations, that he's making you upset and bothered.

But the other half makes him feel... great, that you felt bad because you can't help him. That you genuinely want to give everything he did for you.

Those broken sobs turn intl silent breath, those force coming from your hands that trying to push him away turn meek and slowly giving up in to putting distance between the two of you. He took the opportunity to comfort you as he completely wrapped his arms around your frail body.

I made... her cry...

"I'm sorry." He would let you hit him until you felt enough if that would earn him your forgiveness, losing you is not in his option. "I don't want to keep you stalling." He doesn't know how to start admiting his own revelations either.

You didn't spoke. So he continue.

"I don't wanna upset you, gods knows how much I missed you, Y/n-" He suddenly stopped talking when he felt your entire weight in his arms. And yelp as he tried to catch you in his arms. You passed out suddenly out of weakness. "SHIT."

-

"She's too young to handle mental and physical predicament. Also, from the beating she got, and not getting helself anything, she experienced lack of physical energy." Rin immediately get you in the nurse because you suddenly passed out. "We will conduct few more test on her."

"Thank you, Miss." Ibara was the one who thanked the nurse, Rin didn't even spare her a glance however his ears were all up. Y/n's health is going downhill. He doesn't know what to think or who to blame. He just want your normal self back in his arms. He held your hand and kiss your knuckles. The door closed.

"I heard she's all stressed because she can't find a lawyer who wanted to accept her case. Given the situation, that she got 500 Million Yen so suddenly became a huge evidence to press charges." Ibara said and Terano is just listening. "She's underage, so they press charge to a disabled person instead."

"If were talking about law, that is possible. If were talking about Humanity, that's sick." Rin just kept on listening, because his kind can't drift to anything else.

"She didn't eat anything today, she tried to seek help to her friends, but all those lawyers doesn't wanna take her case." Ibara also added.

"Due to-"

"Enough." Rin whispered.

Everyone shut up and the room was filled in silence. Rin is in deep thought he cant help himself to feel distraught and blame himself why your Father press charges to you and your Mother, he was the person behind the Fraud and yet you suffered the consequences.

"To be honest. I don't know what to think anymore."

"That's not your fault, Man." Ibara tried to comfort hus cousin but he glared at him.

"But I was the reason! The reason why her Mother is getting to jail, and why she is on that bed! This plan backfired her a lot!" Why not him? That bastard. "Heh... he's testing my patience. He took thus opportunity to corner her..." But that is his work too.

"That bastard sure is smart." He doesn't like it anymore, he does not like what he will become if this continue further. A fact that the person he loves the most was affected so much.

She confessed how bothered she was. She confessed how much his avoidance cause her so much stress and confusion. Her situation that he started backfired her so much that her health detoriates rather quickly.

He doesn't like it.

"Prepare my lawyer. I will fix this mess. Bring guards for her and her mother. They are the top priority. Were all done with Kirari, might as well bring her in higher priority." He said while looking at her ease face. She's resting. That's what matter the most. It is much more better to set things straight and to also make sure everything is done the moment she wakes up.

It is much better.

"Yes, Rin-san." Ibara said and went out of the room. But before he close the door, he gave them one more glance. Rin is really serious but above all the scariest thing he could pull off. There is a soft eyes always glancing towards Y/n. Finally, he closed the door. "Everything for the love of his life." Whispering while shaking his head.

-

Y/n slowly have her own conciousness, she can feel her limbs, her control at the tips of her fingers. She slowly open her eyes. Where am I? What happened? Where's Hahaue?

She felt a hand that holds her firmly. She looks at her right side to see the sight that made her heart beat so much. She blink her eyes to see if she is still hallucinating or dreaming but it was indeed him.

Tears build up in her eyes. "R-rin." She said in a meek voice. He was there, exhausted, and looks so worn out.

How many days has it been? The last time she remember is that, he said sorry.

Those two words rang in her head as if it is what her heart desire the most. As if her entire body system has been waiting for his words of apology.

"Obami..." she called him. His body was so tired and stress, from so much work and worries to her mom, to her father's ruthless behavior, to Rin's unusual avoidance towards her after he helped her.

Her tears won't stop. Why is he here? What is he doing? Those question lingers in her head as she pour all her tears out.

She felt so many emotions that driven her to cry more. She felt happy and sad, she felt relief yet frustrated. Even herself does not know how can one feel so messed up.

But a hand cupped her face to wipe her tears, her irises met the blue ones, there is only one thing that matters.

"I'm here..." he is there with her no matter what. "Use me, take me, anything, Y/n... Nothing matters anymore."

"R-rin..." She felt conflicted, she does not want to risk on being associated with Rin. For someone like her, for someone who did nothing in her life but to be fair and truthful... She feels conflicted to be with someone who did nothing but injustice and lies for a living.

"Do not fret, everyone will pay for the damage they have caused you." He said and smiled warmly at her. He does not look down at her for being vulnerable, he does not mind seeing her being a human. "Even I, will pay for what happen to you." He whispered and all she could do I cry.

Cry her heart out.

"So tell me, you were my benefactor and also my punishment... What do you want me to do?" To Rin, Y/n is his saviour and yet his trial, Y/n will decide if she will pardon him or make him guilty. She is his one and only salvation, his goddess.

"I-i..." she start to speak between her sobs and Rin waited patiently for her. "I-i... Want..."

"I-i... I want y-you... To never l-leave me... Again." She whispered and Rin smiled ever so tenderly. "D-don't lie to m-me. D-don't leave me..."

"I won't..." When it comes to her, he never lied. "The moment I failed to swindle you is the moment I would never lie to you." And this perfect and right moment, the moon shone upon their window... He said those words. "I love you..."

"Y-you... Did?" she asks and Rin smiled. "Y-you loved me?" hoe could he love a peasant like her?

"I do... Even if I eat dirt. As long as I am with you, everything is okay with me."

"H-how could you... Love me?" she asks, she can't believe it.

"So many answers to thay question. I would be more than happy to answer them for a lifetime." He whispered and kissed her temples.

-

"She fell asleep." He whispered and kissed her forehead. He look behind him and saw Kirari. "How odd. It seems she also hold a piece of your heart to visit her personally."

"Someone outside of my aquarium decided to reek havok inside without my permission. Trully unacceptable." She said and went closer to her. "She's so worn out."

"You knew all along what is happening."

"I did..."

"Then why you didn't tell me?" Rin asks but somehow he knew the answer why Kirari did not tell him.

"It's fun. Besides, she has a head as hard as cement. She will never yield or asks for help, considering the amount of money she have now, she have the power to put her father on prison..." but Y/n surprises her by yielding at the end.

Love is the most twisted gamble and curse in this world.

"Was it you who pulled the strings why Y/n can't have a lawyer?" Rin asks hardly.

"What do you take me for?" Kirari asks with her brow raised. "I play fair, I would never do something so unfair in the game. The reason why she can't have a lawyer because her case is so hard for those incompetent fools." her hand went to her forehead and kiss her hand. She stand straight and look straight to Rin who has no reaction, maybe because its practically Kirari's hand that met her lips and not the skin of her forehead.

"She has to be better, before she fight. So she could use you perfectly." Kirari said and left. "Feel free to use the Momobami's Lawyer. This is my gift, for your soon union."

"Union?"

"You guys don't plan to get married?" He turned red and got flustered. "That expression is unlike of you, stop that." In her head, he finally get it what was Terano's talking about when she said he is chickening out of the things he started.

-

"You have to get well, Y/n." He said as he feed her some warm soup. He also prepared some ginger tea.

"I'm worried at Mom. Can I see her?"

"She is just next door, we can but you have to finish this first." She nod her head and open her mouth. Rin told her about what happened and everything he was about to do on her Dad's life.

He started to tell him how, step by step, how he will accurately destroy his useless life. Your father will never ever lay his hands on both you and your mother ever again.

"If you were not going to stop me, this is what exactly would happen." he said and he look at you... He saw no reaction.

"It's much more worst than what he did to us." It's triple the hardship, it's triple the pain. "Back then when he left, he stole Mom's savings for my college. Then he stole all of the money under my name this time."

"Ibara did some investigation why your Mother's illnesses suddenly flare up." Rin said and he opened a drawer beside your bed, he gave you a piece of paper regarding your Mother's insurance and pensions.

When he gave it to you, your eyes started to tear up, your hands is shaking, it is loke your body was blowned revelation after revelation, you feel sick in to your stomach. You put your hand in your mouth.

Rin surely does not want you to know but you have to decide. He can't do this without your permission. But seeing your sick reactions he can't help but to feel disheartened and hurt. You don't deserve it, this pain that your father inflicted you.

"R-rin..." You choked the lump in your throat and cry. You sobbed hardly when Rin held you so tight in his arms. "H-he's trying to kill her. T-that evil bastard."

"So that was w-why... Why he told me t-to g-get out of his way."

You broke down and cry again on his chest, and all he did is to comfort you, rubbing your back while your heart has been thorn to multiple pieces.

He has another support to continue devouring your worthless father.

"I... I want you to do it. Merciless, d-don't hold back. Ruin his life as he did to mine." He smiled softly and nod.

"Yes, as you wish."

-

"I hope you understand what is the situation here." Rin gaze coldly at the man who is wearing orange suit with a cuffs wrapped in his wrists. "Or even just the severity of the situation." His eyes turned dark.

"W-why... Are you doing this? Why are you ruining my life?!"

"Your company is in poor debt because of your poor management skills, not only that, you evade taxes, hire ghosts employees, used dual contracts, and ommited revenue, and many more wasn't mention." Rin started with a cold and ruthless smile.

"Y-you... Just who are you Obamis? You were the one who swindled my company and stole 100 billion yen! You were the bunch of scammers here!"

"If I were you, you would becareful on what you say, especially when you don't have evidences against us." Rin said and roll his eyes. "Because of your debt, you committed a sin by attempting to murder Mrs. (Mom's name). We conducted a test on her, that the medicine she used has a side effect to make her condition much worst. I met her 2 days after Y/n receive an emergency call that her mother got an heart attack."

"Too much of a coincidence, no? What a pity, Mother in-law was so healthy when I met her thought... And this evidence points at you, because these description came from your company. The serial number of this medicine is in one of your records."

"M-mother in-law?" He gasps when he realized who did he messed up with. "Y-you were the one who is helping Y/n?!"

"The reason why you wanna kill her is because of the insurance and pensions under her name, you want to robbed Y/n again."

"And pinned her to the corner, because your plan to kill Mrs. (Mom's name) did not succeed, so you blamed her for corrupting your company." Rin said and shook his head. He can't talk, he also robbed people of their money, now that he saw what are the effects of these work to someone... Trully breaks his heart.

"I just visit to see the reaction on your face before I ruin your company and your life. It is a pity, that you have to live the rest of your life looking at your shoulders, since you break her heart in a million pieces, I am more than happy to devour you in one whole as well. Not even bones will remain in you." He smiled and left the interrogation room to meet Ibara and Miyo.

"No blood in your hands." Kirari said which surprises him because she is here. "I lost to Mira." He rolled his eyes.

"Mira made sure that he will know his place when he gets to the prison." Miyo said and Rin nods... It was exhausting to deal with this people. How about the CEO? Well she abandoned her boyfriend. Since she help Rin to gather evidences, she had a lighter punishment. She just have to work the rest of her life under the Obamis.

And that company will be now transfer to Obamis.

"How come your father agreed to all of this?" Kirari asks and Rin smiled wickedly.

"I made a gamble with him."

"Hmm... With the look on your face, it seems like it worked."

"It does."

-

"Y/n..." Rin whispered to you. You regain your composure and maintained your health after a week. You visit your mother all the times and also in those times you visit her you also told her what happened.

"I-i cant believe that, he would do this to me." Your mom shudder as if feeling the chill in horror on what your father has been on.

"Everything will settle now, I made sure that he will be sentenced life in prison, not only that both of you will be compensated." Rin said. And your mother thanked him a whole bunch.

"I don't know how am I suppose to thank you enough..." He smiled brightly.

"I... I wanna asks for Y/n's hand in marriage." Your mother gasps. Marriage?! You also choke on your water and has been coughing non-stop.

"Wait... I know were together already... But marriage?" you asks

"It's for the future, since..." He showed you a packet. And you gasped. "I have this now."

You grabbed Rin's collar and glared at him. "We will talk." You dragged him away from your mom's room who is very confuse, you slam the door and went to your room.

"You... You bought my lifeline?! WHY! "

"I... I love you. I wanna corner you, I don't want your eyes on someone else. It's toxic! I know, and I am so sorry if I didn't told you! But... I... I wanna be with you forever."

"Rin... I am not mad about you doing things for me, I am not mad even if we get married now! The thing here is, my mother doesn't know about this packet." Rin blinked his eyes in shock. Yeah your mother doesn't even know your schemes at school or what is happening in that school.

"E-ehem." He cough while your eyes is glaring daggers at him. "Right I-i also forgot."

"But why? Why did you bought my lifeline."

"I asks Kirari... To take care of it for me, and to convince my father. If there is someone who could order him, it's Kirari." He said and sigh. "I asks her to change it for me but I have to pay for it in order to do so. I... After the election I paid that remaining debt, of course without a second thought. I did."

"You did?"

"Yeah, that's why, Sayaka didn't accept your payment."

"But why?"

"I don't ever want you to experience something like this again. And for it to guaranteed you have to get my name, and be with me. I don't see any issue with this, I love you and I am willing to be your husband, and also to protect you under my wing."

"Y-you don't have to lie to become one of us, you can still live a normal life if you want, you can still join to a university and study for college. You just... Have to take my name."

"This is really one of the weirdest way to propose. But... Y/n, you were amazing, most loving, and independent woman I've ever met, I was entranced the moment I heard your laugh after pulling that prank, I don't deserve someone like you but an Obami like me is a greedy bastard, so please accept me, marry me."

"Rin..." He went on his knees and you gasps.

"I don't need your answers now. I just... Want you to know why am I going through so much for your sake. I don't wanna confuse you anymore, I don't wanna make you cry." He opened the box and there it show the most beautiful radiant black ring. "I love you and I wanna be with you for the rest of my life... Will you marry me please..."

Tears starts to flow down your cheeks. And he was startled at your expression.

"What if you met someone else?" He calmed down a little and give you an assurance smile.

"It won't happen. If it does, I will have the entire Obami wiped out of the Momobami name, not only that, Kirari will strip of our status, money, and my head."

"Wait what?"

"I have the blessing of the Momobamis."

"When... Are we getting married?"

"According to your packet, we must get married at 18."

"I see.."

"Were 17 we still have little time, so we have to hurry." He smiled and you went on your knees to match his height, and there, you kissed him fast.

"Aren't we too young? Do you have the power to alter the packets since you are the master of my lifeline." you asks with a smile. He blushed furiously and laugh it off.

"Hahaha. Yes, it's okay."

"Rin..." You whispered and look at his eyes.

"Yes, love?"

"I love you too. You swindler."

A/U: goodness I have been writing this since 2022 I can't believe its finally over! I honestly have so many stories or AU of Rin. I had so so so much fun for real! Well time to let this fic fly.

[kit-kat-katie]

I love you, but you love him, and he loves me

A/N: Sometimes I forget that the things that I say have a tendency to age like milk... apologies for the lack of updates and fics. I've been drowning in schoolwork since the semester started and I haven't had much of a chance to work on an extended fic like Our Time. The current plan is to have this post up for February, put up a Johanna fic in April/May, and then finish up Our Time over the summer (hopefully). Anyways, here's some Clove fluff that's a week late for Valentine's Day! :D

oh, thanks for 100 followers! I am so happy that people enjoy my content without a regular schedule. thank you so so much again!

TW: underage drinking/smoking, brief mention of weed, small fighting scene, reader is put into uncomfortable romantic situation

Pairing: Clove x GN! Reader (Rivals to Lovers in 2x speed)

Summary: You love Clove. She likes Cato. Cato likes you. Your life is a comedic love triangle until your best friend's drunken disaster causes you to connect with Clove and discover something new about her.

“On your left.” 

Catelyn gives you a quick warning before flipping you on the back and slamming you against the mat. You squirm against her grip for a moment before spotting a weakness in her legs.

An opening.

You grab her leg and pull her to the ground before taking her hands and pinning them to the ground.

“Don’t count me out yet.” You sneer as she scoffs.

“Fucker.” She mumbles as a buzzer goes off in the distance.

You immediately jump off of her and offer a hand up, which Catelyn begrudgingly takes.

“Trying to impress your girl?” She raises an eyebrow before you shove her aside.

Clove’s staring at the two of you, well, just you since Catelyn’s stepped off the mat to grab a drink of water. Her eyes immediately drift off to look elsewhere as you let out a sigh.

You wish she’d look at you longer, as much as she looked at Cato.

It’s funny, in an ironic way.

You love her.

She loves him.

And he’s paused his sparring to walk over to you.

Probably to ask you on a date or to go drinking or to go do something with romantic undertones that you don’t want to do.

So he loves you.

Catelyn had egged the two of you on before realizing that you wanted nothing more than for him to leave you alone. You didn’t want to refuse Cato’s invitations - he was the choice for a Hunger Games tribute in the near future, and that’d piss off more people than your trickiness could outmaneuver.

Perhaps running through a nearby window would be the best way to avoid him?

…And he’s right in front of you.

You glance behind him, only to see Clove's jaw tighten.

Fuck.

~

An invite.

“That's all he wanted?” Catelyn teases as you make your way to the place where Cato always invited you after sparring practice.

It wasn't like the two of you were going to be alone. It was a tradition for the top contenders for this year's Hunger Games to engage in a few… adult activities before the Reaping occurred. This way, the two tributes shipped off could get to enjoy a little bit of adulthood before heading to the Capital.

It wasn't anything too awful, just some cheap booze and a few blunts to pass around. Any people that passed you all by would simply look the other way - who'd want to risk being harassed by a group of teenagers?

You didn't usually partake beyond a few sips from some cheap bottle of booze - someone needed to carry Catelyn home, after all.

When the two of you slip behind a pair of buildings, a few boys around Cato's age wave you over.

“Let's get this over with.” You grumble, hoping to spend this evening without uncomfortably resting in Cato's arms.

~

You failed.

Horrendously.

When you arrived, Cato threw an arm around you and hasn't let you go since. You're tempted to drink more so you don't remember what he's said or done, but seeing your friend nearly face plant into a campfire has you rethinking that decision.

As if matters couldn't get any worse, Clove arrived just in time to see Cato place a kiss on your cheek. She huffs before glaring at the two of you from a fair distance away.

This time, you notice, her glare isn't directed at you.

She's glaring at him.

~

Catelyn's barely able to stumble forward as you throw an arm around your shoulder. She excitedly points at a lamppost and tries to point at it, but she ends up falling out of your grasp and onto the barren road.

“Catelyn, c’mon,” You try to coax your friend from the ground, but she shakes her head, “We've got to get home before sunrise.”

“Nu-uh!” She slurs, face-down in the pavement.

You sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose until you hear footsteps come from behind you.

“Need some help?” 

In all of her brazen glory, your knight-in-shining-armor (a black leather jacket, a plain t-shirt, and blue jeans), Clove, offers to help.

“If you don't mind, I know you might be busy with someone else.” You quietly say as she shakes her head.

“I wanted to take a walk to clear my head, away from everyone else.”  She grabs Catelyn from the ground, who whines like a petulant child, before you hoist one of Catelyn’s arms over your shoulder.

Clove does the same, and the three of you walk in silence until a biting question slips off her tongue.

“Do you like Cato?”

“Absolutely not.” The answer leaves your lips before you can refine the words with a bit more thought. “We're friends, sure, but I don't feel anything for him.”

Relief escapes her lips as she takes a deep breath out, then in. She smiles, as do you in return.

“Good, good. I was worried that you were into him.” 

“Why?” You stop, which causes Clove to stop.

“I thought- I thought I liked him, but I saw him kissing you and… I didn't like how it made me feel.” She blushes at her honesty as you bite your lip.

“If you like him, Clove, you can have him. I certainly don't want him.”

She harshly laughs before turning to look at you.

“Don't you get it? All of those times that I saw you two together, I thought I was jealous of you. Today, after seeing him draped over you, I realized that I'm jealous of him.”

Her confession leaves you breathless as you pause to consider her words.

She… likes me.

“Clove, I…” It's your turn to get nervous as you try to meet Clove’s unwavering gaze. “I really, really like you too.”

Catelyn, in a moment of drunken clarity, lifts her head up to look at the both of you before loudly sighing.

“Just kiss already, you idiots!” She lets go of the both of you to (not-so) gracefully fall on the ground as your arm finds its way around her.

You lean in to kiss her, before pausing.

“Is this okay?” You mumble, centimeters away from her lips. 

A mischievous smile slips onto her face as she answers by kissing you back.

You wouldn't have many nights like this again, but this night would always be special to you.

[angelsanarchy]

Glass Houses: Jack Thurlow x Y/N Series CH 21 -> CH 22

Tagging:@roryculkinluvr@thatsthewrongwallcraig@icarus-star @cc-luvr @madamemaximoff06@shady-the-simp @quicksilversg1rl @s-0lar @kristennero-wallacewellsver@ophelialaufey @mayathepsychic1999 @x-prettyboy-x @rorylover71 @auggiethecreator @tempt-ress @blacksoul-27

Jack woke up the next day feeling lighter. He felt like the group session really helped him get some of the toxic thoughts out of his brain and all he had on his mind today was asking Y/n out on a proper date.

"Today's the day Ace. Eat up buddy because I'm going to have to drop you at home before I head out." Ace wasn't paying any attention to Jack as he was scarfing down his food. Jack made sure to clean the house up in the event Y/n actually took him up on the offer of a date. He showered and even put on cologne. He felt like he was a complete newbie, as if he never tried to go out of his way to impress anyone before. It had been a long time since he's had remotely romantic feelings for anyone who wasn't Cleo so he wasn't sure what he was doing.

He dropped Ace off at the house before stopping off and grabbing a few things with some helpful suggestions by her mom. When he walked into the clinic, there was a short older woman sitting at the desk with a huge smile.

"Hi sweetheart! Who might you be looking for?" Her nametag read Joy.

"Hi Joy, I'm looking for Y/n. I believe she's a nurse here." Joy smiled at Jack, face lighting up as she looked him up and down.

"You must be Jack Thurlow, the cute neighbor!" Once she spoke, two other women behind the desk paused.

"This is THE Jack?"

"Oh he's so much cuter than she described."

Jack couldn't help but laugh.

"I hope all the things she's told you are good things because I kind of want to ask her on a date and I'm kind nervous she'll say no." Jack explained as the three started making noises of disbelief.

"I'll fire her if she says no! She's been swooning about you forever now and we've been pushing her to ask you out since you seemed a bit...slow on the punch." Joy rolled her eyes playfully and Jack nodded.

"I've been a bit out of it lately and busy with my house renovating but I have the time to completely dedicate my attention to just her." Jack explained but before the gaggle of ladies could say more, Y/n appear from the hallway with a chart in her hand. She froze.

"Jack?" She said his name like she was scared something had happened but Joy stood up.

"Shame on you for not telling us how pretty this man is!" Joy scolded Y/n and she blushed.

"Look Y/n, he brought you flowers. You know yellow roses are a friendship flower right?" One of the other nurses spoke up.

"Yeah but she expressed they were her favorite." Jack explained earning a smile from Y/n.

"I also brought you coffee." He added holding it up. The women made noises of awe and Y/n sighed.

"Okay, that's enough. Let's get back to work ladies. I can take it from here." Y/n shooed the ladies away and Joy sat with her chin resting on her hand.

"Oh honey I work right here." She smirked as Y/n walked around the desk and pulled Jack by his elbow towards the empty waiting room.

"Sorry, I would have texted you but I wanted to surprise you." Jack held out the coffee and Y/n took it.

"I usually don't like surprises but this is a really nice one. I like this one." She sipped the coffee and closed her eyes with a sign of enjoyment. Jack had kept the receipt from when Y/n had brought him coffee just to memorize what she liked for breakfast. He thought it would be a useful thing to know if she ever stayed the night but this worked too.

"I dropped Ace at the house and your mom's day nurse said you were here covering someone's shift so I figured I would bring you a mid-day pick me up." Jack held out the flowers to her.

"These aren't from mom's garden...she'll be devastated." Y/n joked.

"Yeah well I figured having her cut me some flowers first thing in the morning wouldn't show much effort on my part." Jack laughed.

"You came all this way to brighten my day just because I let Ace stay the night?" She smirked and Jack shook his head.

"Actually, I came all this way to see if maybe you would consider having dinner with me tonight? Your mom's nurse already said she didn't mind working a double." Y/n couldn't help the grin on her face. He had gone through a lot of trouble just to ask her to dinner.

"I work until 10:00 tonight-" Joy cleared her throat catching their attention.

"I'm sure we can get you out of here by 9:15...9:30 at the latest." Joy mouthed a solid DO IT! to Y/n and Jack chuckled.

"You don't have to agree to it but you told me to wait until my head was clear and I woke up today feeling like a new person. I felt lighter and excited for the future. I also couldn't stop thinking about you." Jack stepped in closer to Y/n trying to have a somewhat private exchange with Y/n while the others watched on.

"No pressure-"

"I would love to." She smiled at him taking the flowers and holding them to her chest.

"Really? Great." Jack shoved his hands in his pockets not wanting to seem fidgety with excitement.

"I'm going to stop home and shower after work but I'll text you once I'm walking over." Y/n she put her free hand on his chest and Jack nodded in understanding.

"It's a date." He said patting her hand as it slid down his chest. He made sure to stop off at the desk before leaving.

"Joy, you're a sweetheart and my new favorite person. Never change." He grinned making Y/n laugh as he walked away. The women immediately began to bombard Y/n about Jack the moment he was out of ear shot but she wasn't paying attention to them. She was enjoying the coffee and roses that he had brought her that seemed to make her heart beat faster.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Copycat: Genesis —(Marvel Fem!Oc)

A/N: When I write smart characters is always a pain in the ass but Cat’s big brain empty energy gives me peace -Danny

Words: 2,048

Phase Six Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to: ‘intimate moments’ -by Isaac Dunbar

vii: Space & Time

"You're quiet today," May mentioned on their way to her house. "Something on your mind?"

Cat nodded, eyes looking ahead. "I have something to do and I've been delaying it for quite a while."

The woman hummed. "It's hard, doing things you don't want to—"

"I wanna do it," she retorted, tightening the coat around her body. "It's, uh— it's... I have to go home."

Aunt May seemed surprised. "I thought you were staying here for good?"

Cat kept her eyes ahead. "Peter's only helping me get back on my feet, but there are things I've got to do."

"And you have somewhere to go to?"

"Of course," she smiled. "And they're worried sick. I wasn't meant to stay here for long... my problems stayed behind and I liked how liberating that was... but I have to go."

"You sound like you're apologizing," May said bemusedly. "I'll be sad to see you go, it's been a while since I saw Peter... well, he never talks about his life nowadays... not after Gwen..."

The silence became too uncomfortable to bear and Cat stopped right at the woman's doorstep, inviting May to walk in first. "I should hurry, your nephew's waiting for me."

Peter's aunt cupped her face. "Look after yourself, okay? My door is always open if you decide to pay us a visit in the future."

"Thank you."

Cat felt tempted, she wanted to be someone slightly more normal than who she was in her world, at least from time to time, but to agree to that would be agreeing to mess with the natural laws of the universe, she was tired of causing trouble for everyone.

"Why are we sneaking into the subway ruins, Parker?"

"Told you we were gonna work on the beeper."

"But why here?"

"Shut up and walk!"

"Rude..." she muttered.

"If someone hears us—"

"We can handle a few guards on our own," she complained.

"Violence must always be the last option, Jane."

"Okay, Yoda. Weren't you the guy who stopped pulling his punches?"

"Rude," he pushed up a metal curtain so she could pass. "I haven't done that since I came back from your world."

"My Peter really did a number on you," she teased him, crawling under the opening.

"You say it like it's a surprise..." he grunted, shuffling after her.

"Not a surprise, just... too good to be true. I tried to stop doing what I do many times but there's always a bigger guy, who needs a rougher beating, and so on..."

"Eh," he shrugged. "If you lived in my world, it wouldn't be that hard to accomplish."

"Is it really that quiet?"

"Well, you've been here for a month, you tell me."

"But you've fought genetically enhanced nutcases!"

"That was years ago," he climbed up to the abandoned station, then offered his hand to her.

"What is this place?" She looked around. "It's old..."

"It's old," he nodded. "My dad turned this place into a private lab where to keep the stuff he didn't want to share with Oscorp. Watch this."

Parker walked up to a wall and inserted a coin into an old turnstile. Cat felt the floor vibrating and she pressed herself against a wall. "What did you do?"

"It's okay," her friend pointed to the train tracks. "Look."

Cat stared in awe at the subway car emerging in front of them. "Your dad did that?"

"Yup," he looked at the scene proudly. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Your father was a genetics scientist, right?"

"Yeah."

"So how on earth a genetics scientist builds this thing all alone?"

"It's not that hard," Parker said casually.

"Right," she stared at him. "Just another Tuesday for you Parker geniuses, huh?"

He winked at her before approaching the subway car. "This is where I keep all my research," he signaled her to follow him in. Inside the secret laboratory, Parker had a bunch of post-its and printed papers stuck to the walls with red tape. "I don't know how much of it will be useful without the beeper but I didn't throw it away just in case..."

"You think she'll be of use?" Cat took E.D.I.T.H. from her shirt. She approached the wall and stared at his notes. "Nice handwriting..."

"At least I can write." Parker approached from behind. Cat turned in outrage, he laughed at her reaction. "You deserved that! You haven't stopped whining since we left the apartment."

"Because I'm cold and you didn't let me eat before coming here," she complained, trying to ignore his proximity.

"We had to be here early! Listen, I promised I would bring you here and I brought you, but here..." he walked up to a locker and pulled a bag from it. "I got a—"

"Secret snack stack!" She exclaimed, her eyes brightening.

"Don't know if it's a secret, I'm the only person that comes here," he snorted, placing the bag in her hands and moving past her. "Enjoy the sugar rush."

"You are my only sugar rush, sweetie," she retorted playfully, her attention on the bag.

Parker turned abruptly and stared at her with a huge smile. "Did you just flirt with me?"

"Don't act like it's such an accomplishment," she glanced at him before grabbing a KitKat.

"You hadn't done that in a while," he approached her again.

Cat used a piece of Kitkat to point at him menacingly. "Stop. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What? I'm hungry," he seized her hand and took a bite from the candy bar without breaking eye contact. She scowled, mentally stomping on the heat that was forming inside her. "What's wrong, Janie?" He took a second bite, but this time he pulled the snack out and held it between his lips, smirking, only then he stepped back.

"That was gross," she lied in a plain voice.

He turned away shrugging, taking the chocolate off his lips. Parker continued to talk as if nothing had happened. "I thought you'd be quiet once I gave you something to eat."

She forced her eyes to look away from the hand holding the piece of chocolate. His fingers were too long and they were distracting her. "I'm being serious."

"No, I don't think you're being serious," he crossed his arms, pretending to examine his wall of post-its. "But I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. All I wanna do when you act cute is wrap you in a blanket and kiss all over your face. I can't help it."

"You're aware I'm a mercenary, right?" Cat's eyes were glued to Parker's back.

"That doesn't make you any less attractive."

"Okay. Well, anyway," she decided to pay attention to the post-its at last. "Your research looks like you wrote it on a caffeine high at four in the morning. Why is this on a wall and not on the computer?"

"I'm a little paranoid about that kind of thing," he replied. "My dad got killed over a digital file, imagine what others might do to me or May if they discover this."

"And keeping this here is... safer?"

"No one knows about this place."

"Are urban explorers not a thing in your world?"

"I have the feeling you're trying to be mean, so I'll ignore your questions," Parker ate the last part of his chocolate, unstuck a few papers from the wall, and skimmed through them.

"I was thinking," Cat leaned on a table and ate her second Kitkat of the day. "Stark's time machine—"

"We're not building a time machine."

"Let me do the dumb talk for a moment, okay? It's been a while since I used fancy words..." Cat picked up a notebook, close to it was a pencil with almost no tip, but she grabbed it anyway. "We traveled through time and space— we had to show up in 2014 on another planet, so our wrist thingies had a timer and a compass thingy to put coordinates in..." he got closer to look at what she was scribbling in his notebook. "What you built was a type of multiversal magnet, right? It wasn't meant to travel to any universe, it was meant to track mine and take you to it."

"I... guess?"

Cat let out a little scoff of annoyance, she really didn't know how to explain herself better. "I've been thinking... I remember I tried to use the beeper once, but I didn't remember you had it. Your machine would've remained dormant had I not jumpstarted it from the other side. Like throwing a match over a trail of gasoline, I threw the match."

Parker tilted his head. "So... is that match-throwing something we could maybe replicate?"

She thought about it. "Well, without a Stark satellite, Edith's nothing more than just a pair of glasses."

"Right. I remember reading about them."

"You— you what?"

"I remember the whole stuff," he took the notebook and wrote down a few things. "It could be similar to the ones we have here, I just need to look it up to know which one is the best option."

"You're saying you remember something that you read two years ago?"

Peter looked at her. "Yeah, but it's not that weird."

"You remember the whole text?"

"Yeah!" He scoffed. "Not everyone has a shitty memory, Jane."

"Not everyone can do that either," she frowned. "You have a photographic memory?"

He gestured vaguely. "Kinda. I guess, but I'm not sure it's like that—"

She shook her head. "I'm getting sidetracked here, you're saying Edith can connect to one of your world's satellites if we can get her to turn on?"

"Yeah, no worries," Parker took away his post-its. "I'll connect Edith to this..." he went to the desk and placed the notes on it, pulled out a drawer, and grabbed something from inside. "This is a portable battery, but I might charge up Edith a bit..."

"And?"

"If we fix the beeper, the traces of your universe in her signal might be able to jumpstart my 'magnet' again."

It wasn't great news, but it was something.

"That's a lot of 'ifs'," she frowned, "and not of the kind I like."

"It's progress," he looked at her with a teasing smile. "You said you weren't smart but look at you, bringing something to the table," he studied the notebook and realized she'd only drawn the things she'd said. It made him laugh. "Take a seat, we got a lot to do."

"Parker," Cat sat next to him. "Why did you build this?"

"I already told you," he frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"My Peter said something when I couldn't remember him... he said we planned a life together because we didn't have anything else to do," she shifted in her place, staring at Parker with a small frown. "It's not real, right? I mean, had Peter survived the snap, I would've built a life with him. Those were my intentions, I wasn't lying... you're a version of him, do you think he was lying when he said he didn't mean it?"

Cat didn't let him answer her question, she got up and started to take down the remains of the red tape from the wall. the mutant could feel Parker's eyes on her.

"I mean, you built this because you wanted to see me, you felt something real for me, or at least real enough to get you moving— if I get rid of Russo, and I finish the whole pest control thing, what then? I always go back to twiddling my thumbs until I'm needed. I hate that, but I don't wanna stay, I feel you only care about me cause you have nothing else going on. Just like Peter said."

She turned around to face him, something like understanding was painting his features, but she wasn't sure that was what it was, it could also just be pity. "No," was all he responded. "I don't know if he was lying, but that's not why I did this."

Cat waited for him to explain further, but he didn't. "That's it? You don't have a speech to ease my mind? You're older than me, you should know better!"

"I'm three years older! Not a lifetime away from twenty-five..." he said with a pout.

"You don't have anything to say?" She insisted. "Why did you do all this?"

Parker shrugged, he lowered his gaze to the pencil in his hand. "I just can't seem to die, so I thought... might as well do something fun while I wait for that to happen."

"So you do cling onto me out of need," she said with dark satisfaction.

"Maybe," he said, his shoulders tensed as he spoke. She had the feeling he wasn't being honest, but he wasn't lying either. "But needing someone is also a choice. Isn't that enough?"

"Judging from past experiences," she replied. "I don't think so."

Next Chapter—>

Taglist.

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[romilly-jay]

In Praise of Short Stories

A perfect match to my shortened attention span and a merciful way to respond to my sudden, panicked feeling that I've been a Big Fraud when it came to claiming an identity as a reader because - hadn't really been doing all that much reading as it turns out...

This is also In Praise of Library Books and - not unrelatedly - In Praise of Those Emails That Warn You Just Before Those Library Books Fall Due For Renewal. [Today, they are due back - today.]

Used to think of myself as not especially interested in short stories. Did I think you couldn't get enough of the key details in before the wordcount ran out? I was wrong. I'm astonished how wrong I was.

(And I think that's because I'd completely under-estimated how much the reader's mind contributes - how many details we colour in for ourselves, how attuned we are to taking gestures and hints and making worlds from them...?)

Also, I now know that I love a *collection* of short stories - as in, by a number of different writers - and that's because // probably relevant in part to why I am less able to consider myself "a vociferous reader" than I imagined myself to be // - I'm PICKY. Meg-Ryan-ordering-lunch-In-When-Harry-Met-Sally levels of picky...

I want my stories to be comforting but not at the expense of intelligence... having room for ambiguity and spikiness without actually being gross or mean... not needing to spell everything out but also having coherent and discernible internal logic... with characters who have lived a little and who don't need to be likeable exactly but who also aren't AWFUL, because, my g*d, we're hanging out here voluntarily so it needs to be at least a little bit fun.

There were two stories in this collection that especially hit the spot for me - and that's great, isn't it, because now I can go and look for their longer works*. Roadside Attraction by Alix E. Harrow and I Remember Satellites by Sarah Gailey. Even better, I probably wouldn't have picked up a story called Roadside Attraction and more fool me because it was the absolute BEST.

This is not - NOT! - to diss the other authors. I'm sure the other stories are also excellent, if perhaps slightly better attuned for different readers, or myself in another moment/version of self. (Happens that the story by Catherynne M. Valente was actually set as one of our texts for my genre fiction class in the City MFA and - I really liked it at the time and if, this time, I found it hard to re-read that is no question a matter for me and late night reading and reaching the end of the day's allocated attention span...)

After all, they have in common the same editor and all of them also comes with Verified Publishing Track Record.

But Alix Harrow and Sarah Gailey won the rosettes from me, this time... so much so that in playing the little True Reading Name game with my occasionally-local bookstore, my mind bent from the overall collection to the first story within it and I borked the assignment.

Quite liked both the resulting name-smashes, though, if I'm honest...

*Which BTW is **precisely** how I found author Charlie Jane Anders (the first story from Even Greater Mistakes is *chef's kiss* IMO).

PS I was super happy to swing by the library and find that this book was out on the "just back" table of tempting offerings... I'm projecting, of course, but it feels slightly like an endorsement of my good taste in picking this collection to borrow (and my innate decency slash fear of consequences that had me return it... ;) )

[zaunseye]

Seeing her smile in such a shade brought him a spark of joy. She was always going to be his daughter, shaped in his own image in so many little ways. Her hidden and cryptic expressions reflected his own in a way, and seeing them on her features flickered up the sense of kinship between them.

His wry smile grew when she explained her own personal improvements to his plan. Seeing everything he had built stripped away from him would be pure satisfaction. It would be a fitting fall for the Man of Progress, after all he had denied Zaun with his petty little inventions. Her hand touched his wrist, and his gaze fell back upon her. When she detailed the idea of stealing the man away for torture and captivity, his eyes widened, and he looked at her with a tint of curiosity.

He hadn't considered it an option, really, until then. The prospect of keeping Talis captive and slowly draining him of the will to live was more tempting that it would have been before his second rebirth into shimmer. Now, with the inner rage consistently fanned by the drug pumping through his system, it was an idea he liked more and more.

"I've always appreciated the way your mind works, but now I can finally understand it." He nodded his head slowly. "Yes, we should take him once he's fallen from grace. To show him not only our truth, but his own. He will know he's nothing more than a shell of a man playing at being a leader."

When she sat down and began to examine the gemstones, he watched her. Even as a child, she had the mind of an inventor, and he was watching the cogs turn in her mind for her next creation. He took the offered gemstone, looking at its rippling clouds of arcane energy with pointed interest. He'd spent only a little time holding a gemstone before, when she had presented him with the first one she'd managed to steal. Given more time with the things, he wondered if he would lose the awe he was always struck by when looking at them, or if they would always manage to lure him in with their beauty.

At her request for him to stay and help her, he snapped out of his transfixed state. He didn't hesitate. Surely, the rest of the organization would need him eventually, but for now he would be by he side. He leaned against the table over her shoulder, saying, "You have me, Jinx. I'll stay a while." He reached down, handing her back the gemstone with a calm, smooth motion. "Show me what you know. We'll work together." He might not have been quite the same inventor she was, but he was skilled at basic assembly of parts, as well as wiring. Of course, the wiring he was used to doing didn't involve magic, but he was a quick study.

Jinx had understood why Silco had hid that side of his face for so long. It had all started with a prank, when she was barely in her teens. She had gotten into her make up and covered it all up fully expecting him to be angry at her. However, he didn't get angry, no he said he loved it. Because while she found that part of him beautiful, no else did. They looked at him differently, couldn't look him in the eye without staring at that side. Without dealing with their judgement.

Now, they didn't have to, he knew that now, too. Just like her he embraced the monster with open arms. It was tempting to bring her hands back up to touch the marred skin again, before he was doing it himself. "You don't have to worry about what they think about you, anymore, daddy." There was a flicker of smile, one that only he ever saw.

Contrary to what she felt minutes ago, there was an excitement that ran through her. The loose cannon hid well under a serious expression, but the energy could be felt. She looked on as he explained in detail what his plans were. It was apparent that she wasn't the only one eager over the prospect of ruining the hextech wonder boy's life.

"You know what will be more satisfying? Watching everything that was handed to him to be stripped away." The boy had been handed everything on a silver plater, no, a gold one. He had all over these promises for greatness, only to hog it all for himself and Piltover. "He's just an inexperienced little boy that was handed a position he didn't deserve."

Her eyes lit as an idea hit her. "You know, after we've taken everything from him, we could capture him." Jinx suggested as she reached out to touch his wrist. There was determination in her eyes now. "After we ruin his reputation, they won't come looking for him, we could make his life hell, down here too. Show him real monsters."

With a sudden burst of energy and full of motivation, Jinx let go of his wrist and sat back at her work table, reaching for the two gemstones on the table. The gemstones glowed brightly, the bright blue contrasting heavily to her fuchsia irises. These were his creations, creations that would be his undoing in the end.

"It will all start with these." She finally grinned back at Silco as she held up one of the gemstones, offering it to him. "His own gemstones are going to be his undoing and he doesn't even know it yet." Jinx waited until he held the gemstone in his head to stand back up. "Will you help me with the arm? I miss working on things with you. I could even show you how to weaponize these gemstones."

[meowhawkk]

despite my body screaming at me I've bought the new monster drink

[electricshoebox]

Hi friend!! I am here for pain hehe. Can you please share more about the RDR2 grief WIP you had on your list? 👀

Hello lovely!! Thanks for asking!!

I've had this one half-finished since I first finished the game, but I can never quite bring myself to take it off the list because I do want to finish it.

I'll give a summary and snippet below the cut but SPOILERS FOR RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 BELOW

So this is a post-canon Charles/Arthur fic that focuses mostly on Charles processing his grief at losing Arthur as he helps John build the life Charles and Arthur didn't get to have, and that Arthur died in part to give John. I love the hell out of this game and the way it does satisfying tragedy, and I just had a lot of thoughts about how that end game might feel if Charles and Arthur had been lovers.

Here's a flashback bit I felt pretty good about (here's me waxing on about the angst when this is actually sort of sweet, but it's in the context of Charles remembering as he's building a house for John instead):

"What I wouldn't give for a hot bath and a soft bed right about now," Arthur grumbled. He shifted his shoulders around where he lay on his back on his bedroll, stretching his bare toes toward the fire.

Charles chuckled. He'd paused the movements of his polishing rag along his rifle as Arthur settled back, watching him. "Is that your plan for your share of the treasure we're chasing?"

"Oh dream big, Charles," Arthur said, a glint in his eye. He never could quite keep from smirking when he was trying to tease. "I'll build myself a whole fancy house full of feather beds. Get a bath tub made of gold. And I'll hire myself a pretty thing to scrub my back for me." He raised his eyebrows. "Job's open."

Charles snorted, turning back to his rifle. "What a tempting offer."

"Aw come on, you can share my fancy bed, too," Arthur said. Charles could hear the grin.

"Oh, I don't get my own in this house full?" Charles said. "Stingy."

"Yeah that's me, ole Penny-Pincher Morgan they call me," Arthur said. Charles heard him rummaging through his pack now, likely to fish out his journal.

"Never could get the hang of sleeping indoors anyway," Charles said. "Too quiet."

"Oh, was I giving you the impression we'd be quiet in this shared bed of ours?" Arthur said, and Charles looked back just to see the shit-eating grin he knew would be there. He rolled his eyes.

"Not sure I trust this house to stand if you're building it," Charles said. He tried to keep a straight face, but Arthur's mirth was contagious.

"Oh, now that hurts, Mr. Smith," Arthur pressed a hand to his chest. "Guess you'll just have to help me do it right, then."

"You just keep putting me to work in this dream of yours," Charles said, giving the rifle on last pass with the rag and lifting it close to inspect it.

"Oh they'll be plenty of play, too," Arthur said. "Come here and I'll see if I can't convince you."

Charles shook his head, but he set his rifle aside. 

[Send me a WIP from this list and I'll give a preview or share a summary.]

[jeonggukkiepabo]

CRYSTAL SNOW ❄ MYG

SUMMARY: Christmas has always been a stressful time for Yoongi: buying presents, decorating the tree, baking cookies, you name it-Yoongi does it. It wouldn't be so difficult if Yoongi had someone to help him, but all he has left in his life is his beautiful daughter Ara.But maybe this year, he won't be all alone.

GENRE: christmas fluff  ❄ a bit of smut

WORD COUNT: 7,3k

WARNINGS: f l u f f, single parent yoongi, kindergarten teacher y/n, oral, satoori, domestic christmas vibes :(, mentions of death

AUTHOR’S NOTE: the secret collab is finally here! thanks @kimtaehyunq​ for letting me join💞 i’m so excited to read the other fics as well! & thank you Mags for doing this amazing banner I think this is the prettiest banner I've ever had. 🤧 Tysm love💞

MERRY CHRISTMAS

People usually say she looks a lot like her father, but all Yoongi sees in Ara is his wife. Wherever his daughter goes, his wife's ghost follows, the memory of his teenage love and the wonderful years they spent together until she left their lives.

Min Dasom died almost one year after Ara was born, her death coming too sudden for anyone to bid their last goodbyes-leaving her husband and baby heartbroken and alone.

It was awful, Yoongi won't be able to forget that one night the police called him, telling him that his precious wife drowned in the ocean during her monthly trip to the beach with her friends. 

Ever since that call, Yoongi has never stepped near a beach again, never felt hot sand between his toes again, never went swimming again.

It was hard, being a single parent and Yoongi was tempted to give up many times, but seeing Ara grow and bloom into the beautiful girl she is now, Yoongi is beyond thankful that he survived the pain and sorrow.  

He never drowned his thoughts in alcohol because his sunshine always looked at him with her sad little eyes, almost as if she knew what he wanted to do and hugged his legs tightly until Yoongi set the bottle away and picked Ara up and spent the night cuddling her.

Things got easier as soon as Ara was old enough to finally go to kindergarten, allowing Yoongi to work more hours and on a daily basis again. It's not like he needed a lot of money, it's just that Yoongi needs to work. 

He's used to working all the time, he's always been-because working doesn't give him time to think about the tragedy that is his life.

Money wasn't an issue for the Min family, Yoongi used to be one of the most successful pianists and producers in South Korea, but he gave up on that as soon as Ara was born, just to have time for his family.

His friend Hyunjin offered him a job as a songwriter and composer at his own label JinHit Entertainment. 

Yoongi could work from home whenever he wanted and needed to, but the studio Hyunjin set him up was way better and filled with new technology that Yoongi loved playing and experimenting with.

The acclimatization to her new daily routine wasn't easy for Ara because she wasn't used to having women in her life-until now, it has always been Yoongi and Ara. They ended up switching kindergarten two times before Ara came into the one that you've been working at for a while now-instantly falling in love with you.

The first few days with your new reference child we're quite… interesting because the little girl was full of action and so curious about every little thing in the room that you couldn't sit still and talk to her father for a while because Ara grabbed your hand and pulled you towards the next game she wanted to play.

Her father, Min Yoongi, sent you an apologetic smile as he watched you play with his daughter from a distance, giving you time to get used to each other and build a bond. You winked at him as you took a seat next to Ara and started to explain the rules of the board game to her-impressed about how well she was understanding them.

It didn't take Ara a long time to send Yoongi home, waving him goodbye and pressing a loud kiss onto his lips. "Go and work, Appa! Uncle Hyunjinnie waits for you to make good music!"

Yoongi looked at her with a pout, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're telling me to leave? Just to go and work? That is rude, princess."

You giggled and hugged Ara as she ran over to you, Yoongi long forgotten.

"Would you like to bring your dad to the door, Ara? I think he might be sad if you won't. Remember: he won’t see you for a few hours and you don’t want your dad to be sad during lunch, right?"

Ara giggled but nodded nonetheless and grabbed Yoongi by the hand. "Hurry!"

Yoongi looked at you in shock, desperately trying to hold in his laugh. "I think you gave me Ara's evil twin instead of my sweet little princess! Where is my nice girl that always kisses Appa goodbye?"

You shrugged your shoulders playfully as one of the other kids asked for you to help him with building a big tower out of building blocks. "Have a nice day, Mr Min. Oh and make sure you won't forget about our appointment on Thursday! I don't think it'll take longer than an hour, it's just to talk about Ara's development so far."

Yoongi was one of the few parents that were always punctual, not even a minute too late-and the only parent you've never felt any kind of rage towards. Not only that, but he attended every kindergarten fest, always prepared little cupcakes for Ara's birthday to bring with her to kindergarten and share with her friends.

May was rolling around quickly and you were as eager as always to craft some little gifts for the children to give their mothers. 

You prepared some candle wax and melted it so the kids could fill it in plastic forms and add glitter and scent to their preference, just to have a nice little gift to give. 

Most of the kids had fun, some of them were a bit grumpy because they got glitter all over themselves, but there is one little girl pouting and trying not to cry in front of them, not even touching the wax.

Ara.

It breaks your heart every time, knowing that Ara's mother died years ago and that she probably had no other woman in her life because you’ve already heard that her father works quite a lot. 

Squatting down next to the little girl, you gently pinch her stomach just to hear her little giggles. 

"What's wrong, sweetheart? Don't you want to make a nice candle?"

Ara looks up at you, one single tear slipping out of her eye. "I don't have a mom, so no candle for me."

You coo, playing with Ara's hair as you stand up again, leading her towards the crafting table.

"That doesn't matter, Ara. I think your dad will be happy to get a candle too! We can pick a different color than pink, what do you think does he like the most? I’m sure we will find something!"

Ara taps her chin, smiling slightly as she thinks about Yoongi's favorite color. "Black! He wears black clothes! Always! Do we have black glitter, Y/N?" 

She scrunches her nose at the first few oils, but one scent really lights up her face. "This smells like Appa! Can we use this?" 

"We do, I didn't put it on the table because usually nobody wants it so it sits on the shelf, all by itself. I think the glitter finally deserves to be used!" You smile at the kid, grabbing the small container of glitter from the shelf and handing it over to Ara.

"We do have a few scents, would you like to smell them? Choose whichever you think smells the best and we can put a few drops in the wax,' you offer the bowl of different oils to Ara and help her open the lids.

Ara holds up the little bottle of rose oil and you smile to yourself. Black roses, that really seems to fit the impression you have of Mr. Min.

"Of course. Now, let's mix the glitter with the wax and we can put it into the mold. Alright, now stir it while i put in a few drops of the rose oil, okay?"

You guide her through the process, talking to her and listening to her rambling about the piano lessons Mr. Min gives her on a regular basis, just because Ara wants to be like her favorite man in the world.

"He is a great dad, Ara. You're so lucky to have him, I know that he must be sad sometimes too, but you're such a sunshine and help him as much as he helps you," you hug her from the side, enjoying the way Ara leans into the hug as well.

"I want a mom, but Appa is almost like a mom! He lets me paint his nails, goes to ballet with me and always bakes princess cookies for our tea parties!"

Ara giggles as she dips the wick into the liquid wax.

"Appa needs a woman to love, the only dates he goes to are work-dates with uncle Hyunjin," she says.

And yes, you think so as well.

One day around September, you decide that it’s definitely hot enough to prepare the blow-up outside pool for the kids, allowing them to change into their swimsuits and let them play around, even adding some bubbles to the water to let them experiment.

Mr. Min smiles at you, his gums fully showing and you can’t help but smile as well as you hear his words.

“And I think there’s no job that you could do better than this one.”

You’re sitting next to the pool on a bench in the shadow, reading some books to those few kids that don’t want to hop into the water as Ara jumps out of the pool.

“Y/N, come inside as well, it’s so nice!” She jumps up and down, her wet ponytail dripping onto her shoulders.

You pout, pointing to the kids next to you. “I can’t, you know that some of the kids are still afraid to go into the water with so many other children around. Maybe next time. Now, go and enjoy it, it’s super hot and I don’t know when autumn will come around and surprise us with bad weather!”

Ara nods quickly, hopping back into the water and continues splashing some water around with her friends, but she glances at you every few seconds. Then, she whispers with her two best friends before all three of them nod as they look at you.

Suddenly, they run towards you, surprising you with wet hugs and loud giggles, leaving your white summer dress almost see through.

Suddenly, there’s someone clearing his throat right behind you and you wish you could sink deep down into the pool once you see that it’s Mr. Min. 

“Girls!,” you can’t help but yelp, the cold water causing you to jump up from the bench. Yet, you laugh with them, the cooling really helping you with the heat.

“You can’t just do that, Ara. Look at my dress now, you can almost see through it, you’re lucky that the parents won’t come in within the next two hours, otherwise they would see me like this,” you try to look stern, but to be honest: you would have done the same if you were Ara.

“Ara, why did you do that?,” he asks with his calm voice and tries his best not to look at your hardening nipples under the dress. 

Ara’s bottom lip trembles as she looks at you with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I just thought it would be funny…”

Mr. Min turns to you and bows slightly. “I’m sorry, she shouldn’t have done that. And well, I came to pick her up earlier because we will visit her grandparents over the weekend. I should’ve informed you earlier. Is there any way I can help you with your… erm, dress?”

Mr. Min nods at you, picking up his-still wet-daughter as he looks you up and down slow enough to leave goosebumps all over your skin once again. 

You blush, shaking your head as you grab Ara’s clothes and hand her to her father.

“It’s alright, Mr. Min, it’s not your fault-and a water fight is too much fun to just not do it, right, Ara? It’s sunny enough so I’ll just bring the bench into the sun and I’ll be dry soon enough! I hope you’re having fun with your grandparents, Ara! Have a nice weekend, Mr. Min.”

“It’s alright, Mr. Min, really. You don’t know how many children happen to call one of us mom without realizing it. It’s nothing too wild, I’ve gotten used to it and I think especially in Ara’s case… It was supposed to happen, you know? I mean, I don’t want to intrude on your private life, but I suppose you’re not seeing another person and Ara isn’t growing up with other females, so she takes those she sees here as a female person to bond with, you know?”

“Thank you, mommy! Oh… I mean Y/N..,” Ara quirps as he turns around in her father’s arms, even though it doesn’t look like she’s really sorry at all.

“Ara!” Mr. Min gasps as he looks at his daughter. 

Yoongi shakes his head. “I haven’t seen another woman ever since my wife died. Ara is the only woman in my life, the only one I give all my love to. She deserves it,” he sighs. “But you’re right, I think another female person would really help her with growing up. I just don’t want to introduce her to some random woman I might not even want to spend the rest of my life with. Is this egoistic?”

His honest words hit you, knowing how lonely he must be, all alone with his little girl and a bunch of work he has to do. “It’s not, Mr. Min. You don’t have to date just because you think it would be the best for Ara. There are many single fathers that raise their kids perfectly fine and I think you’re one of them! Ara never tells bad stories about you and I think you’re doing a really good job, spending all of your free time with her and allowing her to experience so many fun things. I’ve met so many ‘happy’ families that didn’t even manage to pack breakfast for their kids, so really, don’t break your head over something like this! I’m happy that Ara accepted me so much and that she always comes to me whenever she has a problem. This is why I chose my job.”

Over the next few months, Mr. Min is all that’s on your mind, even though you know how unprofessional it is, but he’s even kinder to you than he’s been before. You usually have a small chat with every parent whenever they bring or pick up their children, but Mr. Min makes sure to always catch you and ask you about your day, if there’s anything new in your life and you can’t help but ask him about his work and the songs he’s been working on as well.

“Ah, it’s really stressful right now. I’m working with this band that’s debuting soon and we have to prepare and finish the entire album I wrote about five songs for. They’re really good but still so young, I think the oldest is 16? Or was it 17? Whatever, that’s like ten years younger than me! I think I’ll grow grey hair soon when I keep on working with such young idols,” he sighs playfully as he helps Ara to put on her shoes and jacket. 

“I mean, you’re not that old, Mr. Min. Don’t worry-as long as you keep that handful smile you will look like you’re straight out of some perfume poster. But I’d love to listen to one of your songs! I mean, if you’d let me,” you smile with honesty as you hand Ara her backpack. 

Mr. Min shrugs, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he opens his Spotify account. He types something in and turns the screen towards you. AGUST D, it says. You scrunch your eyes at the name, trying to remember where you’ve known it from, but it doesn’t ring a bell right now. 

“I’ll make sure to listen to some of your songs, I hope they aren’t too sad though, I prefer my music to be more… pop and rock?”

You cringe at your own words, hoping that the man knows what you were trying to say. 

And fuck, you did like it. Turns out that AGUST D wasn’t some softie that plays guitar lullabies, no. 

Yoongi cracks a grin, then winks at you playfull before he takes Ara’s hand after she said goodbye to you.

“I think you’re going to like it.”

AGUST D seems to be one of the best rappers in the music industry that you’ve ever been listening to. He sounds so aggressive and fast that you needed to listen twice to some of his songs to understand what he was saying, but you ended up adding much more songs into your playlist than you’d like to tell him.

But you did tell him.

“Oh, I’m not doing that crazy rap thing anymore. It was a phase, I guess. By now, I use the name to help smaller musicians and trainees, produce their songs and write their lyrics. It’s better to do so with a bigger name, but AGUST D died a long time ago, I guess I killed him.” Mr. Min says the next day.

"I mean, as long as you keep all of them on Spotify, I'm alright with that. Most of those songs match my aggressive driving vibe and I can't imagine driving to work without it." You try to joke before you realize what it must've sounded like. "Oh lord, I didn't mean it like that!" 

You blush, trying to hide your reddened cheeks in your palms, but Mr. Min just laughs it off.

"Don't worry, I get what you mean. I usually play Love Talk as soon as i leave this building."

He even has the audacity to wink at you before he leaves with a grin, causing Ara to coo.

"Appa really likes you if he teases you!"

And the teasing goes on and on, there’s almost no day without a snarky comment from Mr. Min or a sarcastic comment from you-but neither of you takes those words to heart because that’s what you need in your lives, someone to laugh with, someone to make jokes with.

Even though there are plenty of other children in your group and so many parents you talk to daily, the only one you’re happy to see in the afternoon is Mr. Min.

The summer is long gone and fall said goodbye a few weeks ago, December came around and your little crush on Mr. Min isn’t as little anymore-and you can’t help yourself but wonder if he might be into you as well. You’ve shared a few noons talking about Ara’s development and if she’s ready for school next September, but most of the times you didn’t talk about the girl for more than thirty minutes before one of you switched the topic to something more private as the man leans closer to you and locks his gaze with yours.

You’re not as nervous around him as you were before and you can feel him starting to open up towards you as well. Yet, you’ve never met outside of the kindergarten, knowing it would be way too unprofessional and you’d never want to ruin the wonderful bond you share with Ara just because you’re desperate to jump into her father’s lap and call him Daddy too.

You’re not one of those women to go into a club and have a dirty one night stand with a random stranger, but you’ve been too busy to actually go and meet people, so you’ve kind of gotten used to being alone, even though you’re really missing late night cuddles and Disney marathons.

It’s Saturday afternoon and you’ve been strolling through the mall for a while now, looking for some christmas presents for your friends and family-but also wanting to treat yourself because work has been more than just exhausting lately.

You’ve been handling the entire group alone, having a lot more smaller children because new kids have been coming to kindergarten and having to deal with so many parents alone can be pure hell. Sadly enough you’re living all by yourself, only having a few close friends that don’t understand why you’re even doing this underpaid job and your last relationship crashed almost two years ago.

The mall looks amazing, beautiful christmas ornaments are hanging from the ceiling and there must be someone playing the piano somewhere because the soft melodic tunes fill the entire mall, reminding you of Mr. Min once again.

You just stepped out of a lingerie store, something you’re really passionate about even though nobody but yourself sees you in it, but you love the feeling of lace on your skin, love how beautifully the soft colors compliment your skin and love imagining Mr. Min ripping the soft material off you.

The small paper bag in your hand, you look around for another shop that might hold the next christmas present for one of your friends. 

“Appa, please! I already have a picture but we need you to have one too!”

You know that voice too well to ignore it, searching the area for the small owner of it, giggling as you found her. Ara and Mr. Min are in the Santa area of the mall that gives you the ability to sit on Santa’s lap and take a picture with him as you tell him your biggest christmas wishes.

But the little girl is not sitting on Santa’s lap, she’s trying to push her father towards the man with the fake beard, clearly wanting him to sit down on that lap.

You giggle, walking towards them just to find out what’s going to happen.

“Ara, I’m too old and heavy for poor Santa, I think he prefers girls your age-wait, no not like that. I think he likes boys and girls-ugh. You’re driving me crazy, princess. Look, there’s a few other kids wanting to have their time with Santa as well, why don’t we just leave and try to find some more presents from the giftshop here, hm?” The man tries to talk his daughter into leaving the uncomfortable situation, but Ara is as stubborn as ever-she always gets what she wants, especially from her father.

“But… I want you to have pictures with Santa too!” She pouts, looking over at the confused Santa before she hears your giggle. “Y/N!”

Mr. Min turns around, a shocked expression on his face and a soft pink tint on his cheeks.

“Oh, Ms. Y/L/N. What a surprise.”

You giggle even more, stepping closer towards them. “Hello Ara, good afternoon Mr. Min,” you bow slightly before accepting the little girl’s hug. 

“I see, you really want to sit on Santa’s lap, but Ara doesn’t want to let you because she’d be embarrassed.” 

Yoongi hums in agreement. “Horrible, those children. I mean, I just want a nice christmas picture with Santa, but you know how they are… right before puberty hits them.”

“Y/N, Appa doesn’t want to take a picture with Santa, would you sit on his lap and take a picture for me?” Ara looks up at you with her big eyes and like always, you can’t say no. Instead, you hand Mr. Min your bags-not thinking about the fact that one of them is from the lingerie store-before taking Ara’s hand and walking over to the smiling Santa.

The picture is quickly taken and not even five minutes later, Mr. Min hands you your bags, whispering, so Ara wouldn’t hear you. “I think the peach one will suit you the best.”

Ara nods and rips the bags out of Mr. Min’s hands to show you her cute dresses and bows while the man just stares at you with an open mouth. Did you really just say that to him? 

You gasp, hiding the bags behind your back but who are you to deny the fact that this man is the exact reason you stepped into the store?

“Thank you, I hope someone will get to see them before Christmas. It would be a shame to waste those pretty pieces for some lame mirror selfies,” you smile innocently before squatting down next to Ara. “Did you buy something nice yet?”

“Appa, we wanted to get hot chocolate, can Y/N come too please?”

Yoongi is speechless once more as he quietly follows his daughter and her kindergarten teacher towards the mall’s cafe-realizing that he shouldn’t have chosen his tightest pair of skinny jeans because somehow, they got quite uncomfortable as soon as you arrived.

Yoongi raises an eyebrow at his daughter before he picks up all the dresses that Ara tried to shove back into the bags. “If she wants, she’s welcome to join, but I think you should ask her first, maybe she is busy.”

You blush at the invitation, not sure whether to accept it or not-but you’re not one to decline on hot chocolate. Smiling at Ara, you nod. “Show me where to get the best hot chocolate, I’m craving something sweet and thick down my throat.”

He watches you as Ara grabs your hand and swings them around with a soft giggle, heart warming as he sees your fond smile.

Ara talks about you a lot-hell, Yoongi asks about you a lot whenever Ara doesn't want to talk about you but watch her favorite show.

It's unprofessional and probably not allowed, Yoongi knows, but Ara leaves for school in March anyways, so who cares? 

It's obvious to the both of you that you're interested in each other, the flirting and teasing coming to a point where Yoongi can't wait for another snarky remark of yours.

And now that he has the chance to sit and talk with you outside of your workplace, you just chose to buy a bag full of fucking beautiful lingerie (yes, Yoongi looked inside, no, he doesn't regret it).

Ara leads you into this beautiful cat cafe that apparently has "The best hot chocolate and bubble tea, but it's too cold for bubble tea… Can they make hot bubble tea?" as Ara says, earning a harsh "no" from Yoongi, because that's something he wishes for as well.

"Go find a place with Mr. Y/L/N, Ara. I'll get your order, yeah? What can I order for you?" Yoongi looks at you as he pulls out his wallet, giving you some time to read the menu.

"Oh, the candy cane hot chocolate, please! And please, as long as we are not talking inside the kindergarten, call me Y/N. I mean, you've seen my underwear, I think you deserve to call me by my name."

Yoongi blushes, nodding and rushes towards the cashier to order your drinks. You smile at the man, then at the cats-they look somewhat similar-before you sit down next to Ara who is currently petting four cats on her lap.

"They're adorable," you coo, "Do you have any pets?"

Ara nods with a big smile and hands you one of the cats, a pretty one with orange fur and big eyes. 

"I have a turtle! Gukkie gave it to me and Appa didn't like it first, but I love her!"

You enjoy the cat's purring as you gently stroke her chin. "A turtle sounds lovely, I hope you can show it to me one day."

"Oh, that won't be a problem, I can invite you for dinner and Appa will get shy and red in the face, but he wouldn't say no because he's super soft for-" "ALPACAS! I'm soft for alpacas, haha, here we go, three hot chocolates."

Yoongi appears with a pained expression as he places your hot chocolate right in front of you.

"Thanks, Yoongi," you smile at the man and Yoongi swears that his heart stopped beating for a second. "I'm soft for Alpacas as well."

Right after you all finished your drinks, Ara decides that it’s time to walk through the mall once more, just to make sure that Santa is still there and will take another picture with hot chocolate-filled Ara. 

“Did you enjoy your date with Y/N, Appa?” She looks up at her father as you walk towards the mall. Yoongi trembles, blushing brightly. “I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a date, Ara. Don’t assume things like this, it’s rude,” he mumbles as he gently pets her head to make sure she isn’t hurt by his comment.

You giggle, whispering loud enough for Yoongi to hear. “I really liked it, Ara. Your Appa can be funny if he wants to.”

The picture with Santa comes out pretty, even though the man groaned as two grown adults decided to sit on each of his legs, the bright smiling Ara kneeling in front of them. But it’s really worth it, because Yoongi’s smile never leaves his lips this evening, gums showing beautifully on the picture and you quickly make sure to get a copy of that picture as well.

Yoongi’s eyes widen. “So was this a… you know?” It’s endearing, how shy he suddenly seems to be. You’ve never seen him like this. Stressed, overworked and happy - yes. Shy and blushing? Never.

You nod with a soft smile as you lay your hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, I’d like that to be a ‘you know what’, Yoongi.”

You can't even tell when the two of you officially started dating, but you'll never forget the first kiss you've shared during one of your walks-thanks to Ara for snapping a picture of it. Yoongi's hands wrapped around your waist, eyes clenched shut and lips curled in a soft smile as fresh snow fell down on you.

Seeing Yoongi at work wasn’t as weird as you had expected it to be, it’s quite the opposite. He’s attentive and lovely, bringing you fresh croissants or donuts every morning or puting little chocolate for you and Ara in his daughter’s lunchbox.

He’s caring, picking you up after your shift to invite you to dinners and walks through the forest with Ara, because that little girl just loves walking in the fresh snow that has started to fall recently. She takes pictures of your footprints with Yoongi’s phone and makes him promise to print it for her to hang up.

“Of course I can, Ara. You’re already wearing your sleeping clothes and you’ve brushed your teeth with Appa, so hurry up and pick out the book you want me to read!” 

Ara grows closer and closer to you, until that one day where you stay over the Min’s house for dinner, she asks you to bring her to bed.

“Can she, Appa? I want her to read my favorite bedtime story to me! Please, Y/N,” Ara looks up at you with a pout, her beautiful eyes-that remind you of Yoongi-sparkling with admiration. 

That girl really makes your heart melt, combined with the soft smile that Yoongi gives you. And suddenly, you feel like you’re meant to be here, helping that man that you’ve grown so close to, helping the girl that lost her mother way too early and maybe even helping yourself with accepting that love really comes unexpectedly.

You gently tuck the soft blanket over Ara and place her favorite stuffie next to her as you smile at the girl fondly. "Sleep well, Ara," you whisper quietly, trying not to wake her up.

"Kissies, please," she mumbles sleepily and makes grabby hands towards you.

"Ara, I-" "Please," she whines and opens her eyes, tears starting to build up.

"Okay, it's okay, Ara." You swipe her hair out of her face before you plant a soft little kiss onto the girl's forehead. "Good night, sweetheart."

"Good night, Y/N. Will you be there tomorrow morning?"

Your smile fades, unsure if you really want to tell the little girl the truth. 

"Probably not, I have to get ready for work. You know that I love to wear dresses on Thursdays and I didn't bring mine. But we will see each other in the kindergarten!"

"Okay," she whispers before she falls back into a quiet slumber.

Yoongi has cleaned the kitchen in the meantime and poured more wine for the both of you to enjoy in front of the fireplace.

"She really adores you," he says as you sit down next to him, sipping the rosé Yoongi bought just for you.

"And I adore her. She's an angel. Thank you for allowing me to spend so much time with her, Yoon."

Yoongi blushes again, shaking his head. The greyish blonde hair got messier as the evening passed. "No, Y/N. You're the first mother-figure Ara has, I have to thank you in both mine and Ara's name. I know that dating a single father is a lot, but you're accepting my family so well… I never thought I'd find another woman in my life again. Ever since my wife died, it was hard for me to even look at other women, let alone build up something like a relationship with them because I always felt bad. But that's what she would have wanted for me. To love again, to not waste my last handsome days," his lips curl into a smirk before he shakes again. 

Then, his sharp eyes met yours and soften within seconds. 

"I… I don't know if it's the right time, we've known each other for two years, we've been officially dating for only three weeks, but I think I won't change my mind about it-no I know that I won't change my mind. I love you, Y/N. And I know that Ara loves you too."

You gasp, lips beginning to tremble once your eyes meet Yoongi's. "Yoongi…," you whisper before you place your glass on the table and basically jump onto his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck. 

"I wanted to be the one to tell you first. I love you so much, Yoongi. I've had this stupid crush on you ever since you saw me in that wet dress, ever since you've shown me your music. Ever since I've seen you being the wonderful father you are-and that's so sexy, you can't even imagine."

Yoongi smirks as his hands find their place on the curve of your ass. "Sexy, huh? Me, doing the laundry and cooking dinner? Or me walking Ara to kindergarten with the homemade lunch boxes? That turns you on?"

You laugh, hiding your face in his neck as you lean closer to press your lips against his ear.

"All of that-and the way that you love Ara with all your heart, that's maybe the sexiest thing about you."

The man groans as he grabs you even tighter. "I never thought that sweet talk would turn me on even more than dirty talk," he laughs shakily as he wiggles his hips slightly to get into a more comfortable position that won't suffocate his hardening erection.

You sigh, sit up and run your hands through his hair. "Isn't all of this too early? I always tell myself that I shouldn't fall so fast, but here I am, ready to go every step with you."

Yoongi nods before he presses a peck on your nose. "Same, but we have all the time on earth. Ara wants us to get married by tomorrow, but I'm sure she'll survive it if we decide to postpone it for a few weeks."

You giggle as you look over your shoulder to the fireplace. "Did someone ever suck you off in front of a fireplace? Isn't this the definition of Christmas?"

The man underneath you gasps in shock. "No, but… I mean, I… You don't… have to?"

Laughing, you slide out of his lap and onto the floor, thankful for the soft carpet. "I want to, bubs. I wouldn't do something either of us isn't comfortable with. I assume you're alright with it?"

"Of course, but… I guess nobody ever did it because they wanted to, but because they feel like they had to?"

You raise an eyebrow at him, obviously disappointed in his previous partners. 

"It's as much fun and pleasure for me as it is for you, believe me, Yoon. Now lay back and enjoy, yeah?" You give him a calming smile as you open his pants carefully, then sliding them down his toned legs.

You press kisses all around his thighs to warm him up to the feeling, knowing that it has to be overwhelming to have some that close after all that time. Then, you gently remove his boxer shorts as well, leaving him bare and proud in front of you.

You groan as you start to stroke his cock, earning a low growl from Yoongi. "So beautiful," you whisper, then you take him into your mouth, getting a feeling for the weight on your tongue before you start bopping your head. 

Yoongi tries to contain himself, knowing that Ara could wake up every second, but alone the sight in front of him could make him come with a scream.

Instead, he cups your cheek, feeling the bulge that he causes there. Another groan leaves his lips. 

You look up at him, smirking-or trying to, with a mouth full of cock-and leading his hand into your hair, using it to push you down even more.

Yoongi's eyes lighten up. "Really?"

You almost laugh out, but you're doing your best to contain yourself and nod, placing your hands on his thighs to stop whenever you can't take it anymore. Yoongi is long and thicker than the average you've had before, but it's a challenge that's worth it.

He pushes you down slowly, enjoying the hot warmth of your mouth and then your throat as he pushes in-surprised that you didn't really gag around him.

Spit trickles down your chin as he moves faster, thrusting his hips to meet the movements of his hand and enjoying the gurgling sounds you make.

He comes far to quick for his own liking, shooting his load down your throat with a quiet groan. "Fuck."

You giggle as you swallow what he gives you, standing up to sit back on his lap to kiss him.

"You're welcome." 

Then, before you can grab your wine again, he flips you around and goes on his knees in front of you. "My turn," he smirks, eyes shining dangerously behind his fringe. 

"Yoongi, I-," you try to say, but he shushes you with a sloppy kiss.

"I know that I have to, but believe me: I love giving pleasure more than receiving it."

You pout, hands running through his soft hair.

"I didn't shave…," you whisper, a bit ashamed because you didn't come prepared, not thinking that this would be happening today.

The man in front of you raises an eyebrow.

"Do you think I am a 15 year old, pre puberty fuckboy that cares about shaved pussies? It's natural, love. Even if you can't believe it: I grow hair too, nobody is freshly shaved every day. I don't mind that, okay? Now, stop pouting and let me do my work, will you? Can you be a good girl and do that for me? All you've got to do is lean back, open your legs, throw them around my shoulders and let me devour you."

His shameless words turn you on, you can't even deny it-especially not when your panties are that damp. So, you naturally obey and help him to remove your pants.

"I told you, peach is your color," Yoongi groans in his deep Satoori as he looks at your clothed core. The peach colored lace has darkened from your arousal and the man can't help it but press his face against the material, licking one bold stripe over it.

Nobody has ever done that to you, rather pulled them off in a hurry because they thought that body fluids were disgusting, but Yoongi didn't seem to mind as he gently bites your folds through the lace. 

"God," you moan in pleasure as Yoongi finally pulls your panties to the side and spits onto your pussy, making it even wetter.

You're a whimpering mess as soon as Yoongi's tongue is on you, flicking and playing with your clit, collecting your juices and spreading them all over your pussy. You've read about that before; men eating pussy like they're starving, but Yoongi is somewhat different.

He eats pussy like he wants you to always remind it, to make you obedient and never being able to enjoy anyone else doing that job.

He does it well-of course. His tongue is as fast as he's been spitting rhymes on his mixtape, and you're more than thankful for that.

He doesn't even get to use his fingers before your orgasm approaches you, strong waves of pleasure hitting you as Yoongi keeps on kissing and slowly licking you through your high.

Then, he grins at you. "Round two, here we go."

And this time, it's not only his tongue working wonders, but also his fingers stroking you on the inside until they found your spot. 

You press your hands on your mouth to keep yourself from screaming out loud, hips bucking wildly as you come for a second time within less than ten minutes. And again, Yoongi guides you through it and softly caresses your stomach.

"Fuck, I love you," you pant as he comes back up and steals a kiss from you.

"I can't wait to have you in my bed properly," he whispers and takes a large sip from his wine. 

You can only agree.

You've started to spend the nights at Yoongi's more often, bringing Ara to work with you and helping Yoongi with her and the household whenever you can. Your relationship blooms beautifully and Ara is the happiest little bean when you're around.

Obviously, you spent Christmas with Yoongi and Ara as well, buying little presents and enjoying the comfortable atmosphere with the family.

Yoongi gave you a spare key to his house, so you're always able to visit them, spending the nights there and soon enough, you moved in.

❄❄❄❄

The Christmas after that, you surprised Ara with the adoption papers, telling her that now that she's in school and not one of your kindergarten kids anymore, she'll be able to finally call you Mommy (not that Ara minded before, you just felt weird and guilty about it).

And here you are now, preparing the huge breakfast for your third Christmas around, smiling at the ring that adorns your finger. 

"Smells fabulous, Mama," Ara says as she runs towards you and falls into your arms.

"Do you want me to help you with dessert, Mrs Min?" Yoongi asks as he presses a kiss onto your cheeks. You lean into his touch, shaking your head. "It's almost done. You can go into the living room, I'll be there in a minute to open our presents, bubs."

Yoongi prepares the fireplace, lightens some candles with Ara and lets his daughter hand out the presents. 

"I have one more for you, Yoon," you whisper as you hand him a small box.

"Oh? Can I open this first?" He tilts his head curiously, shaking the light box.

"Open!" Ara squeaks and sits down between her father and you. You nod with a fond smile as Yoongi lifts the top. Then, silence.

"Really?" He whispers with teary eyes.

"Yes, finally," you smile, "Ara, you'll become a big sister!"

Yoongi sniffs, hugging his family tight.

"And she'll be the best sister in the world. Merry Christmas, loves."

[shieldofrohan]

Is it true that grrm defended massacre of asaptor by Dany? I know he told in an interview that her story isn't about white savior as slavers bay have people of mix race( which is bullshit). At one point he says that Dany is dangerous but at other point he is defending her atrocities saying she was young and inexperienced.

Hello Anon,

I believe you saw that from this ask: X1

This was the fan-ask and the answer:

Q: Was it difficult to you when you wrote D*ny's scene with the slavers in SOS? Was that one of the moments where the character spoke to you and changer their direction? Cause for me that act of D*ny's seemed out of character. I know she dislikes slavery, but she must have killed an awful lot of innocent people there, plus her motives to me seemed suspect. Yes she freed the slaves, but she also got a large army for nothing. And right after she left the slavery started up again.

GRRM: D*ny is still very young. She has lessons to learn. That was one of them. It is not as easy to do good as it might seem, no matter how noble your intentions. [SSM 2001]

Well, he defended her more than he ever tried to defend Sansa if you ask me, so...

At least we can surely say that he minimized the reasons and results of such a drastic and horrible event.

Ordering a massacre doesn't seem like a childhood mistake too me but whatever.

And he bluntly lies?? What noble intentions? If anything he makes sure in the books that D*ny had very selfish and hypocritical intentions. She agrees to buy a slave army, she was ASSURED that these slaves have no sense/understanding of freedom before BUYING them:

“The Good Master has said that these eunuchs cannot be tempted with coin or flesh,” D*ny told the girl, “but if some enemy of mine should offer them freedom for betraying me . . .”

“They would kill him out of hand and bring her his head, tell her that,” the slaver answered. “Other slaves may steal and hoard up silver in hopes of buying freedom, but an Unsullied would not take it if the little mare offered it as a gift. They have no life outside their duty. They are soldiers, and that is all.”

“It is soldiers I need,” D*ny admitted. [ASOS- Da*nersy]

She orders the massacre AFTER she bought them so they were already her SLAVES (who had no notion of freedom).

D*ny turned the whip in her hand. Such a light thing, to bear such weight. “Is it done, then? Do they belong to me?”

“It is done,” he agreed, giving the chain a sharp pull to bring Drogon down from the litter.

D*ny mounted her silver. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She felt desperately afraid. Was this what my brother would have done? She wondered if Prince Rhaegar had been this anxious when he saw the Usurper’s host formed up across the Trident with all their banners floating on the wind.

She stood in her stirrups and raised the harpy’s fingers above her head for all the Unsullied to see. “IT IS DONE!” she cried at the top of her lungs. “YOU ARE MINE!” She gave the mare her heels and galloped along the first rank, holding the fingers high. “YOU ARE THE DRAGON’S NOW! YOU’RE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR! IT IS DONE! IT IS DONE!” [ASOS- Da*nerys]

I've always believed that this whole army buying plot was very important to understand D*ny's true character. I think she wanted to "rescue" those slaves too in her mind but this was never her only or the biggest intention.

She needs an army, she buys an army, she knows said army will belongs to her only because slaves have no notion of freedom, she makes sure that no one in the future can buy such an army by destroying the city (and tbh it doesn't even work because slavery starts again...). Even a child could have seen the future outcomes of her actions so I don't buy that "noble intentions" nonsense for a second.

Like I said this whole plot is important because it shows the core of her character: She sells illusions. What we read was an illusion of heroism (just like she gave an illusion of freedom to her slaves). This is why her fans are having a hard time to accept her true story arc. She made them believe that she is the hero... she believed this herself too (which is one of the main themes of Asoiaf btw). This is a very powerful characterization and I think Martin did it well.

I believe that Martin just doesn't want people to see her as pure black.. he wants to paint her grey and when a fan points out a dark thing he tries to put a little grey to keep the balance.

"My problem" is that he doesn't do this for good characters like Sansa who can use some author support in fandom and in this D*ny-Astapor example it was unnecessary and insensitive (considering the issues such as slavery in that plot) to defend/minimize such actions.

And he did the same with that white-saviour issue. Maybe his intention wasn't creating a white-saviour but in the end there is a typical WS in the books. Denying it is useless and it makes him look like he's clueless or worse stubbornly ignorant. I also think that the year 2001 was too early for him to speak more open maybe...

So I had some problems with his answer but what the hell I know? I am not American. LOL.

Thanks for the ask, have a nice day.

[bonvoyagenoona]

Hi been a while since I’ve been here but umm I need advice lol. So I’ve been talking to this guy for a while now, we would text and call pretty much everyday been vulnerable with each other something he encouraged me to do considering I’m not the type to talk abt her feelings I’m more of an avoidant. Anyways, he just randomly stopped talking to me 2 days ago and no he’s not busy or smthg bc I see him answering other peoples comments on another app meanwhile my text is sitting there. So I decided to unfriend him. I know very mature. But I still kind of wanted him to reach out to me bc I thought he at least cared about me enough to want an explanation, but he didn’t. And now I’m tempted to send him a text just to tell him how much of an asshole he is for pretending to care about my feelings just for him to turn around and do exactly what I told him would hurt me. But idk if that’s the right move. What do you think?

Also sorry about the lack of punctuation I’m writing this while crying so I couldn’t care less but I hope it’s understandable lol<3

Aw friend. I'm sorry that it's been a while since I've gotten to chat here, and chat with you! I'm still working my way back to our beautiful purple bubble here, and I really want to get to all my asks, but I wanted to take a bit of time to respond to this particular one to share that, hey! Hi! You're not alone! These things are always interesting and challenging. And thanks for sharing with me — it made me feel a little less alone as well!

First of all, I'm hoping you're taking some time to breathe, feel, and then, self-care. Drink some water. Eat well — whether that means something healthy or yummy or comforting. Sleep. Channel your emotions through creative outlets, like music or art, or writing, even journaling!

And, most of all, be kind to yourself.

We've all been there, we will all continue to find ourselves there in the future from time to time, and I am also still figuring out what my best communication styles with people are. I'm thinking of that clip of Jungkook and Kang Ho Dong talking about being flexible with people and for yourself, like in wrestling:

Source: JTBC Entertainment

There is no one right way to act in a situation. Even if you feel you are experiencing the same situation over and over again, as if it were a pattern, there's no escape hatch or solution. You will have these experiences, and you will take them as they come. You will learn from them and figure out what the best course of action is for you, at that time, with that person. You will continue to be the strong, beautiful person that you are.

So be kind to yourself. Focus on yourself. Really try to understand where your very valid feelings are coming from. And then you can decide.

Is it worth it to you to spend energy to say your piece to this person? Why do you want them to know how you feel? Does it bring you comfort or closure in some way?

Is it worth it to you to conserve energy and move on? What do you lose if you cut off contact? What do you gain? Where can you spend that energy instead?

Do you want to sit with it for a bit? Not react at all? Wait it out and see, especially if you're still feeling activated emotionally?

My close group of friends helped me through a recent situation like this, and for the person I was going through the situation with, I happened to decide that it was worth keeping the connection, while revisiting how much energy I was putting into the connection. I had to take accountability for my expectations out of the situation, too. And I am planning to say my piece when the time is right, trusting that I feel clear-headed about the outcome, no matter what it is.

But that doesn't mean that if I am faced with a similar situation that I will take the same course of action. Lol like I always say, it's always about context!

So, in words paid forward from those who showed me how to be wise and brave, I am offering this: take the focus off of this person, and focus on you. What do you want to say or not say, for you? What do you want to do or not do, for you? Release what you cannot control, and temper your expectations of others. Focus on what course of action will give you peace, regardless of how others react. And then you'll know the answer.

You'll always know the answer, because you are the expert on your life.

And be patient and kind to yourself if you need a bit of time to share it, or if those answers change with time.

The world is so excited to have your amazing energy in it, and there will be people along the way who are ready to receive it, and people who just aren't, and both are perfectly fine. How amazing it is, then, when you find people who are ready and open.

I think you've found one here! (It's me, I'm one, I celebrate this little gift of your energy in this ask!)

So again, thanks for sharing, take care, and sending you so many warm fuzzies and smiles. You've got this!

WE'VE got this!