#it would be way easier to try this shot on pc now but i already had this one so. here it is

[robo-dino-puppy]

little comforts

[jolalibrary]

Hello fellow scout,

I’m here on official scout business! I would love, love, love to know what your writing process looks like - do you meticulously plot out everything beforehand or are you a dash out ideas in note form and see what your characters are up to kind of person? Does everything get written on your phone or are you a big screen only kind of writer? Do you only get inspo first thing in the morning or last thing at night?!

I’d love to hear anything you’d like to share!

Much love,

Al 🖤

Al!! 🩷 i love this question, but i need to apologise now for how lengthy this is likely about to get, because your girl does not have a linear process.

for your eyes and ease, i have listed in bullet points:

sometimes, i need a detailed plot if there's lots of moving parts within the piece. so if there's lots of build up and i need to weave, then a chapter by chapter (but this isn't rigid) process needs to be built.

but often, I'll have the summary, and then i write the ending/last scene first. because then i have a direction.

i try to then write the beginning scene/opening chapter, even if it's the roughest (because first chapters and opening scenes are always - in my opinion - my weakest) because then it's there.

from then, i fuck about and find out. sometimes i know X, Y and Z needs to happen before i reach the ending, and sometimes a scene will pop up in my head that I decide needs to be in it, and so i then have to move things around to make it work.

if it's a series, I'll have a document of rolling ideas, a document of dialogue (dialogue comes to me easier than scenes) and then my plot. if it's a one shot, I'll separate the document into sections to achieve this so i can work in one place.

before i get into the gritty of it, i need to know my characters. for pedro boys, it's a little easier as I'll already have a concrete-ish idea of who they are, but the person they're paired with often i need to spend a bit of time with. usually they either come to me or i have to work a bit harder (use spotify to find their song, pinterest to find their vibe and play around with dialogue to find their voice).

phone versus PC: i write on both, i tend to find i can write my first draft on my phone - this does also allow me to move around rooms. sometimes, i start something in one room, and then need to sit somewhere else. i can write on my laptop, but the vibe and the mood needs to be right, but my phone doesn't need a lot of that. i can only edit on my laptop though, and usually in a quiet room (i'm dyslexic, so i dread to think what would happen if i didn't). when i edit on my phone, it's for a quick drabble and I'll spend so long editing that i give myself a headache... not ideal.

poor @goodwithcheese and @secretelephanttattoo know the wind can blow and i get inspo. i am somehow incapable of having ideas, it's just that some are like fun "OMG IMAGINE" and some are like, "i need to write this". but i can only write either later at night (post 7pm) or early in the morning (4am-7am) anything between 7-7pm has to be like so good i can't put it down. it does happen, but it's rare and special when it happens. (do me yourself is the exception, if i can squirrel myself away, i can write it, it's the most fun I've had writing in a really long time).

EXTRA BONUS FACT: music is always involved. i have playlists for almost all moods and some fics, and often, i can't begin something without a song. music matters to me a lot.

EXTRA EXTRA BONUS FACT: my commute is 30 mins each way and i usually turn over difficult ideas or issues in plots, and so this either leads to a voice note that i have to cringingly listen back to, OR a note OR, i work out i need to rewrite the chapter. ugh.

I am sure there's likely more jo-weirdness, but i feel I've talked so much, so i'm going to stop, but feel free to ask follow ups if I've not been clear hahaha.

ily, thank you so much for this lovely ask

[nightghoul381]

HeYYooo! I'm so happy you reached 100 followers!!! (Insert party popers emojis because I'm on PC) I would love to have Harrison with the injury prompt (The reader being injured) in Harrison's POV. I hope you have a good day (Or night), and again congrats!!!

Thank you so much for the request! I love writing from the suitor's POV and this was a great way to explore Harrison's personality and inner monologue. I hope you enjoy it!

At Fault

Pairing: Harrison Gray (POV) x Reader Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort WC: ~1.3 C/W: Mentions of blood and critical injury

This wasn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to be me. They were aiming at me. Me!

I slam my fists on the wood of the wall outside your hospital room. You were in there fighting for your life because I was too stupid to see you coming until it was too late.

—Bang!

The moment keeps replaying in my mind in slow motion. You jumping in front of me as the silver bullet hurtled toward me. The second the metal pierces your delicate skin of your chest. The spurt of crimson blossoming in stark contrast to the white of your blouse. The way your eyes rolled back in your head as your body slumped to the ground.

Vivid images flash through my mind in a torturous torrent, leaving me trembling.

“Harry—” Liam’s cautious approach seemed to be drowned by a thick curtain of water, so very distant and gentle. It never would have made sense to anyone else. They didn’t understand how gut-wrenchingly guilty this entire situation was making me feel. I was supposed to know he was going to shoot.

I can’t believe I didn’t pay close enough attention. I can’t believe I let myself get distracted. And now you’re paying the price. You were lying there, critically injured because of my incompetence.

I shoot a glare at Liam, trying to keep my rage in check. The startled look in his fuchsia gaze is almost painful to see. I know it’s not his fault, I know that taking my internal hatred out on him will do nothing but make me feel even more guilty later.

I try to keep a lid on my emotions. I’ve prided myself on keeping a level-head in the most heated situations, but now I don’t think I can force myself to hold back anymore. I’m drowning in the sea of pain and rage and sorrow and fear.

Liam moves just a bit closer, hand ruffling his pink hair in apprehension. He can tell. Of course, he can tell. He’s known me better than anyone else in Crown and I know I can’t truly hide anything from him.

“—we should go to another room,” Liam offers gently, holding out a hand to me. “I stole a bottle of whiskey from Roger so let’s go knock back a couple of drinks.”

It was a lie. I didn’t even need to use my ability to know that. There was no way Roger would let his alcohol go without a fight, but even still, I appreciate the sentiment and solemnly follow Liam into the other room.

“You want to talk about it?” Liam asks hesitantly, handing a small glass to me. I take the drink and swirl it around in my hand, but set it down on the table in front of me. I slump down onto the couch, shoulders hunched and head hanging.

“It’s my fault Liam. It’s completely my fault that she got shot and I don’t know how to handle it.”

The admission causes hot tears to prick at my eyes. God, I haven’t cried in so long, it feels so wrong.

“The guy said he wasn’t gonna shoot if I backed down. I wasn’t paying close enough attention. I should have seen that he was lying. That’s my entire job and I failed at that. And now she’s paying for my idiocy.”

“Harry you wouldn’t have been able to stop her, even if you had known he was going to shoot. Knowing her, she’d already made up her mind to protect you, regardless of if you knew he was telling the truth or not.”

Liam’s words cut into me like a red-hot knife. I want to keel over. It’s so much easier blaming myself. It makes so much more sense to blame myself. Surely you weren’t foolish enough to put yourself in danger just because of me.

I wanted to keep telling myself it was a mistake. My mistake. I know it’s not true, but I want it to be. I want it to be true so badly I’d been repeating it to myself like it was a mantra.

“I just need her to be okay…” My voice cracks on the last word and I wince at how weak I sound.

Liam places his hand on my shoulder, a sign of support. He knew me well enough to know that words weren’t going to do much of anything to help ease the painful ache in my heart.

Just a short moment later William entered the room a soft smile on his face. I jumped to my feet as he approached me, anxiety causing every nerve to burn while I awaited his news.

“They were able to remove the bullet. It seems that she was quite lucky. The bullet had managed to lodge in one of her ribs, and this was enough to prevent any vital organs from being hit. She’s going to be extremely sore for a few weeks, but she’ll be okay.”

I felt an overwhelming rush of relief wash over me and the strength seemed to vanish from my legs, sending me to my knees.

I felt so light headed and dizzy, I couldn’t even move.

She’ll be okay.

The words kept cycling through my mind and I didn’t hear Will continuing to talk. Liam crouched down and shook my arm.

“Did you hear him? He said she woke up. She’s asking after you. She wants to see you and know you’re alright,” Liam murmured gently. The obvious love and care glistening in his pink irises warmed me and I was finally able to regain my composure. I nodded, unsure if I would be able to form any coherent words.

Liam bounced up, offering me a hand, and helping me to my feet. Together we made our way down the hall back outside your room. Pushing through the door, I saw you reclined on the bed, a tired smile gracing your features as our eyes met.

Once again the relief I felt knowing you were okay seems to sap the strength from my legs and I shakily stepped over to you, dropping to my knees at the side of the bed. I grab one of your hands in mine and pressed a kiss against it, a tear managing to escape and roll down my cheek.

“Harry. I’m so glad you’re okay,” you smile, voice shallow and raspy.

“Shhh, sweetheart. You shouldn’t be worrying about me. I love you, I’m so incredibly relieved that you’re alright,” My words come out in a choked whisper as another tear falls from my eyes.

I have so many things I want to say. I want to scold you for being so reckless with your life. I want to thank you for saving mine. I want to tell you how lost I felt at the thought of never seeing you again. I wanted to make sure you knew how much I love you.

But my throat was too tight. Too choked with emotion to allow any verbal expression. I pushed myself up, curling onto the bed beside you and pressing the softest of kisses to your hair. Your scent filled my nostrils, calming my racing heart.

You were safe. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to finally relax. As the tension left my body, so too did my energy. I heard a soft huff of a laugh and the comforting touch of your hand filled me with so much warmth.

“I love you Harry,” you whisper. The sound of your quiet breathing is the last thing I hear as my mind fades away and sleep overtakes me.

Taglist: @aquagirl1978, @themiscarnival @abundance-pathchooser @candied-boys

Feel free to message me if you'd like to be added to the tag list!

[sportsminorityreport]

Flugar’s Act 12: Colorado’s one shot, The Arizona risk, and the declining revenue sports attendances in the west.

Greg Flugar’s “Peak around the Corner” podcast has been an informative and entertaining show to watch lately for a PAC follower.   He has been talking about the PAC struggles as a series of plays.  

He said something happened may 6th or 7th in the PAC (act 10) that will have big raminfications in Act 12.

Now he is saying act 11 has Colorado in the middle of the stage and Arizona is moving towards the middle of the stage.   He is saying Gonzaga has left the building.  

Finally he says Act 12 will occur on June 1st and it will likely devastate the PAC. 

Now honestly I HATE the analogy, but I think It finally clicked in my head and I can explain what he is codedly saying.

My speculation is that what he is hinting at is that maybe the PAC leaders wrote off the long discussed idea of adding Gonzaga as an Olympic member. (Gonzaga has gone home).

My general impression is that many if not most PC leaders are both risk averse in addition to being academically overly selective and even on the edge of disaster would slightly prefer to roll forward with the existing 10 teams if the media deal amount is viable.

Or maybe a better way to put it is 6-8 school prefer expansion in a league that historically has required a unanimous vote.

BUT the fact that the PAC has to pay off their legal issue --- repaying comcast $50M --- which has already lead Washington State to freeze new athletic spending, may create issues. 

Every PAC school has to dig up $4M to pay back comcast.

Now the rumor floating out there is that Colorado had to scrape around to find the money to pay Deion Sanders. Now obviously CU has access to money far, far, far in excess of $4M, but moving money from academic spending to athletic spending is cloying.

The implication is that for Colorado digging up ANOTHER $4M to pay back comcast might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. The idea implied seems to be that on June 1st Colorado will use the excuse of no acceptable TV deal presented by the PAC leadership to allow them to buckle to the wishes of their fanbase.  Colorado has the sexiest brand in the PAC 12 today in Deion Sanders’ dumpster fire. 

The idea is that Colorado wants to move first rather than potentially having say Arizona, SDSU, UConn, and Memphis move to the Big 12 and CU losing their landing spot.

It is a reasonable premise that CU has maybe been told that there are 4 spots open and 8 schools (CU, UU, UA, ASU, MEMPHIS, UConn, Temple, AND SDSU) under consideration. 

If it is the 4 corner schools that join the Big 12, its a ton easier for the Big 12 because the money from the media partners is far more likely be there.

Maybe they have even suggested that they are GUARANTEED a spot in a league that is about to push hard into basketball (and turn that sport into a serious revenue generator) if they move by June 1st.  Maybe after the 1st, the Big 12 tries to build a basketball foursome around UConn.

That seems a reasonable premise.  (Colorado is in the center of the stage with Oregon and Washington on the first row taking notes.  Uconn is also in attendance, observing.)

Arizona and ASU have built their academic stature on the PAC association and access to California students --- just like Utah and Colorado more recently have been doing. I have read enough to conclude their leadership truly doesn’t want to leave.  Leaving WILL hurt their academic brand.  But Arizona may think they can academically bare it. 

The PAC closing the door on Gonzaga likely has pissed off Arizona, as the Arizona leadership doesn’t WANT to leave the PAC, but the PAC has NO developed basketball programs while the Big 12 has Kansas, plus large turnout schools Tech, ISU, plus on the court monsters Houston and Baylor...and seems primed to try to add more basketball heavy hitters.

The more tourney teams you have, the more supplemental revenue you can pull from basketball.  The PAC today is an afterthought in that regard. There is NO supplemental basketball revenue.

Oh there is San Diego State on the horizon, but San Diego State may not even get added unless a school leaves.... based on the PAC’s historic very cautious expansion behavior and reports from Jon Wilner.. 

Jon Wilner has already said that if Colorado goes the PAC will probably simply add SDSU in the hope there will be stability.  (That does suggest that SMU might be on the list in large part just to open DFW recruiting up for media darling Deion Sanders.)

Is that going to be enough for Arizona? 

It seems that is a VERY risky premise with Washington and Oregon consistently trying to join the Big Ten as junior members. (And likely Stanford and Cal probably trying as well via back channels.)

Where are the 4 corner schools if the Big Ten pulls Washington, Oregon, Stanford, and Cal because they conclude the ACC implosion is at least 4-5 years of legal wrangling away?  

(Pulling the remaining media jewels of the PAC at a discount rate could both turn the fire up under Notre Dame, FSU and Clemson to get out of the ACC.  It could help the Big Ten’s sweet nothings whispering with Notre Dame.  And given the discount rate the PAC schools took, you could see the ACC targets  --- UNC, Virginia, FSU, and likely also Clemson, Miami, and Georgia Tech with the slight possibility of Pitt, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech figuring in --- also willing to take junior partner rates for a few years. )

The Big Ten has an expansion shopping budget for roughly 6 schools at their current payout rate. I think it is POSSIBLE that they might chose to add 6 western schools today to basically keep as much as possible of their longtime partner conference if they think the ACC implosion is years away.  

Given that Junior Partner status  in terms of payouts iis being discussed for this contract window, If the Big Ten went west they could take 8 PAC schools, but lesser numbers..6,4,2. are probably increasingly more likely.

If the Big Ten took 6,  would they take the Arizona duo or would they take Colorado and Utah --- two schools in quicker growing states...?  Where is Arizona on the Big Ten’s PAC expansion list?  6th? 8th? 

Arizona has to be looking at the landscape and freaking out.

Arizona has to be about leaving with the the next wave of defectors or signing a ridiculously ironclad agreement with the other members of the PAC academic spine.  The first option may be the one that looks reasonable to them.

Take a look at college basketball overall today. 

Look at the top 30 basketball programs in the US:

Do you see the issue?

Where are the other western basketball powers?  There is Arizona.  There is San Diego State, who might not get in soon. There is BYU that the Bay PAC schools don’t want. 

Creighton and Marquette are not leaving the Big East. Louisville is not leaving the ACC and lacks a PAC academic profile. 

The PAC leaders STUPIDLY dragged their feet and missed out on Kansas, Texas Tech, and Iowa State. 

Who is out there? Memphis? Dayton?  Not exactly close to the PAC footprint. 

The liberalism of the western states is absolutely brutalizing PAC negotiations. Liberals took covid seriously. They have opted to be safe and so you have seen attendance down pretty much across the west in both revenue sports.

The MWC and PAC used to have strong basketball attendance. But the MWC basketball powers outside of SDSU have fallen off competitively and attendance wise. 

Arizona does one thing well athletically....basketball.  And because the rest of the Pac has been lousy in basketball forever and now has lost USC and UCLA....?

I think this premise IS very possible. (Arizona is stepping from the edge of the stage closer to Colorado in the middle of the stage.)

This is why expansion should have come first. 

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: May 15th Part 2

And here’s the next part of the long answer set of the day!

When will OL: N&F take place? Beginnings and Always took place during summer breaks, will now and forever take place during a fall break or will the characters be going to school at the time of the events we play through? 

It takes place over all of the fall season, so school will be happening in OL2. Some events do take place in school, though many times events only start after school is already out for the day, haha.

Hey!! I have kind of a weird question?? I’m sorry if it’s been answered before and I just haven’t seen it but is OL 2 taking place during the same years as OL 1? I’m just curious, thank you for such amazing games!!! 

It’s a similar time frame, but not 100% exactly same.

Do you have any idea when the demo for now and forever will be available? 

Hopefully this fall! But that’s not a guarantee.

Okay the crime show in Step 2: Growing up. Long blonde hair, police station, crime series? Was it The Closer? Because I’m the same age as MC and Cove and my mom was constantly watching that when I was 13. 😂 

Haha, yeah! The Closer and, to a lesser degree, Medium were the kind of shows I was referencing there. My mom also used to watch those back in the day.

Hey um this might be an odd question but if the setting of OL: N&F is  fall/autumn, what country or city will it take because my mind tells me it is either Poland or Canada. Also I can't wait for the game I am hyped 

It’s set in the USA again. We’d like to be able to have cameos and that’s easiest to do if the OL games take place in the same country.

Is it possible for the PC of OL to have non-seriously dated other people in the in between years even if they’ve had a consistent crush on Cove? 

You can causally date Baxter in Step 3 if you get his DLC and then ultimately choose Cove in Step 4. If you mean off-screen people, it doesn’t really come up, but you can certainly headcanon that. The game never says Cove is the only partner you’ve ever had.

Is there going to be a Kickstarter for Now and Forever as well? For like voiced names and stuff again? Didn’t find B&A until after it was released and I’d really love the opportunity to hear my name in the game 🥺 

Yeah, we are gonna have a Kickstarter with getting a voiced name as a reward! Though, it will be more expensive than it was for OL1. I feel bad to raise the price but we realized too late the first time around that it was being super undersold for the amount of work it took, aha.

Do you know how much the remaining DLC for OL will cost? (Step 4, Derek, Baxter) 

Step 4: Free

Wedding DLC: $2.99USD

Derek DLC: $4.99USD

 Baxter DLC: $4.99USD

Has an artist for the new position been picked yet?! I'm super excited for the new game! 

We did fill that spot. Thank you so much for taking the time to apply!

hmmm what would it take to get each of the XOXO jerk squad to feel the need to hug you? 

They’d have to first like you a fair amount, otherwise the most you’d get is maybe a pat on the shoulder. If they were attached, they might hug you if you broke down crying or if you gave them super good news.

Unless it’s Shiloh, of course. If you want a hug you only have to ask!

May i ask how the Derek DLC will work? I believe that there aren’t any memories in step 4 and doesnt derek’s dlc take place during that step? So will the dlc add memories? Thank you! 

Derek’s DLC will add five Moments to Step 2 (a new page will appear on that screen if you get the DLC). Then in Step 4 you’ll have to choose between playing the default epilogue or going through the Derek romance story.

Is the pc version on itch,io different from the steam version? Like an offline one or something? 

Steam has achievements, but that’s about it. Both can be played offline, if you prefer.

I've been wondering this for awhile, what determines if cove winds up with a ponytail in step 3? I've done multiple runs with different MCs with varying hairstyles. Or does it have to do with a particular moment in step 2? 

I’m afraid I can’t say exact choices that determine things. But generally it’s preference based options in the Step before that decide those things.

Any Floret Bond updates? 

No, the artist had to leave the project and it’s been on-hold. I’m not sure if I want to try working just with what we have or replacing it all entirely. The design is a bit too specific for us to easily find someone who could mimic it. Hopefully we’ll work things out later, though.

In step 3 is Cove's plan always to stay in sunset bird? 

Yeah. He is never ready at 18-years-old to make a big life change.

I love your content! If it's alright to ask, you answered in a previous ask about how Jeremy was too particular with what he likes his types to be romanceable with just any MC and it's sort of got me wondering.. What /are/ his types and/or preferences and such? Sorry if it's a lot! 

Jeremy likes stubborn jerks and will not date someone who’s sweet or even generally a decent person, haha.

uh, excuse me if you said this somewhere before, but how will step 4 be actually? Will it he like an actual step and have moments and dlc and all? Or will it be more like a long epilogue of some sort?

Will the step 4, the wedding and extra routes dlcs be paid too? Im just confused, sorry if im asking too much

Step 4 is only an epilogue, so it’s just a long series of scenes one after the other rather than a collection of Moments you can choose from.

The Step 4 epilogue is free, the wedding DLC, Derek DLC, and Baxter DLC cost money.

i’m not sure how much of the wedding dlc you have planned already, or if this would be to spoilery, but what kind of wedding traditions will be included? i keep thinking about how flustered cove would get over a garter toss & was wondering if we’d see a scene like that haha. obviously no worries if it’s not included, i’ll enjoy literally anything cove related 

I don’t know for sure yet, haha. Right now we’re focused on the parts before the big day. We’ll see how many scene alterations we can include for the wedding itself later on.

Hello! Firstly, thank you for creating such an amazing game like OL, and I couldn’t be more excited for OL2! Out of curiosity, are you looking for any writers to come on for OL2 or are you all pretty much set in that department? Just thought I’d shoot my shot haha but I’m still excited regardless ^^! 

We will be hiring writers for OL2 later this year! Thank you for the interest.

Will we be blessed with a spin-off Yandere Cove, like XOXO Blood Droplets? 

Sadly, no. It’s a shame but there’s not enough time to keep making OL1 bonus/spin-off content.

How is Q pronounced?

I’m afraid Q’s full name hasn’t been publicly announced yet so I can’t answer here (Q and T are the first letters of the names for the new LIs in Our Life: Now & Forever).

Question; is the steam version getting a Mac update?  I purchased the dlc there thinking it had Mac support without realizing it and just wondered if I’d need to refund it to purchase on itch.io 😭 

I’m really sorry, you will need to get a refund from Steam. We do hope to have it there for Steam eventually, but have no idea of when it’ll happen. Apple requires special notarization to be an officially accepted app for their devices. We don’t have that. Steam requires having that, Itch will let you release it as an non-notarized third party app. That’s why Itch is the only place that has the Mac version right now.

would you mind posting outfit sheets for Cove in every step? it would make things a lot easier for us artists. it would save a lot of time spent looking for references 

I think we did do the earlier steps when they were finished way back in 2019 (this game took a long time to make, aha), but we can probably repost them sometime!

In our life n&f, will we be able to get into qprs/will there be more options in regards to having deep platonic relationships with the love interests? Because as an aroace individual, it would be great if there could also be emphasis on platonic love so that it's more aspec inclusive. 

It’s a little hard to say at this point. There may not be things like a wedding DLC for OL2 and so the relationship for platonic and romantic feelings might not go as far as it did in the first game. We’ll kind of have to see how much we can do based on timeframe/budget constraints that will only be set near the end of the year. But we will be keeping things like that in mind at least.

hi! i really really like your game and im absolutely in love with it! i cant wait to try your other games like xoxo droplet and future OL NF :))

during the step 3 erands moment i got curious, which fudge flavor is his favorite? it seems like he likes all of them, but which 4 do you think he would like best?

also i noticed that in some playthroughs cove would let me give him a piggy back ride, and in some he wouldn't, how come?

how does your choices affect cove's interests or looks? i replayed the game without changing any choices but i got cove to look different, is it just random?

thank you!

Cove’s favorite flavors are ones with nuts and that are fruity! But he appreciates them all. Whether or not you can give him a piggyback ride depends on if your MC is fit/large enough to hold a muscular 6-foot-tall beach boy, haha.

Cove’s appearance does depend on choices and it’s generally tied to choices that are preference based rather than emotion/action based, such as which key chain you pick in Step 1.

Is it possible for cove to reject MC's proposal at the end of step 3? 

Nope. He’ll always accept.

hi! i was wondering how heavily the side characters will be featured in the our life wedding dlc? obviously it'll be cove & mc focused, but i was thinking it'd be sweet if we could take lizzie dress / suit shopping or dance with cliff at the wedding or something. 

The side characters are there about as often as they are in normal events. So, it’s clearly focused on Cove but he’s not the only person you have any meaningful moments with.

When will responses be sent out to applicants? 

I’m afraid we don’t send responses out to all applications, only ones we’re interested in offering the position to. Not everyone likes rejection emails and the amount of applications is too high to contact them all to say we’re not hiring them. We post updates on the job page when a position has news. Right now we’ve filled every role that was open.

Is there also going to be the option to keep your relationships with the love interests platonic in Our Life: Now and Forever? That's something I really appreciate in Our Life: Beginnings and Always

Yeah! OL will never force you to end up in a romantic relationship with someone.

I was wondering, in the Step 3 Happiness moment, what are the different fishes Cove can compare MC to? I got "you'd be a paradise fish, because being with you is paradise," but my friend got "you'd be an angelfish." Are there more variations? 

He says paradise fish if you’re a couple, angelfish if he’s just crushing, and then a royal dottyback/queenfish/emperor tetra (based on your gender) if he likes the MC platonicly.

Hello! So, in one of the Step 3 DLCs, Cove's arm was gone. I think it was to show him putting his arm behind his back. But if that wasn't the case, did it get yeeted? 

Thanks for letting us know. That was an error we tried to fix a little while back. When did you make the save file you were playing? If it was older that might be why it happened. Or maybe the error wasn’t fully fixed after all.

Asking for your opinion, but do you think Cove would at all be into ABBA? Because all I could imagine during the car trip in step 3 was him and the MC belting to Mamma Mia. 

Haha, yeah, there’d definitely be some ABBA songs he was into.

So throughout the game, Cove can develop different interests depending on the player’s choices; does this mean that he can have different careers in Step 4? Or his is line of work in adulthood never mentioned at all? 

He can have different career paths in Step 4!

Hi!! I'm so so sorry if this has been asked before but I just acquired knowledge about the so famous nsfw dlc for OL and nearly chocked on my bubblegum 💀💀💀 So, my real inquiry is if that specific moment will have any kind of impact at some point of the fourth step OR if it will just be treated as a side-story-ish “what if” scenario.Also, is there any chance there'll be something similar for Step 4? Haha jk,,, unless 😳Questions apart let me thank you profoundly for making the best visual novel I've ever played 😭 Really really looking forward the epilogue and OL2 💕 Have a nice day 

It’s just a bonus side story that’s fully separate from the main game.

It would be nice to have one for Step 4 too, but I sadly don’t see us having time to actually do it. I don’t know, if people are still asking for more OL1 content several months from now it might be doable and worth doing.

I'd just like to ask, when is Baxter's birthday :0 -- I'm really curious esp with their zodiac signs so ;w; 

I don’t know, haha. Maybe I’ll come up with one someday.

Please help!! I bought the Step 3 DLC but I still have no idea how to get to where you can propose to Cove - any tips? 

&

How do I get the option to propose to Cove at the end of the game?

You can click HERE for a discussion on that.

I love that Miranda and Terry are getting together! I'm curious if you have canon sexualities for them? Also just wanted to say how much I love OL and how much joy it brings me everytime I play it <3 

Terry likes ladies and Miranda likes dudes!

ngl Step 4 Terry's design reads like y'all see trans guys as their assigned gender more than you see them as men to me (a trans guy)... like maybe if he isn't heavily dysphoric, I could see it, but everything you've said about him doesn't line up with that. Even then, immediate warning bells go off in my head looking at him. I wouldn't have touched the game if I saw him ahead of time.

I’m sorry you aren’t comfortable with the way the design looks. The situation with Terry is that he’s now open about who he is, but the body he was born with is still physically the same. He only came out recently as an adult and hasn’t gone through any treatments/procedures yet (his chest is flatter because he wears a binder). However, even though his body hasn’t transitioned at the point Step 4 happens, no one treats him as anything other than the guy he is. Having a trans character who’s identity is supported/respected from the start is what we’re going for in this case. But what we’re doing with Terry isn’t the only trans content we’ve ever had/ever will have in the future.

how would baxter react to bae pyoun and vice versa? and can you please detailly explain both love interests personalities from our life 2: now and forever? i was just curious, sorry for dumb question!! 

I imagine it’d be pretty opposite experiences, haha. Bae would initially think Baxter is pushy and thoughtless, but would quickly realize, oh, he’s instead a soft, considerate boy. Very cute. Baxter would first be struck with the impression that Bae is charming and gentlemanly, but then would realize that, no, he’s a sarcastic asshole. And I’m afraid we can’t reveal the personalities for the next game yet.

Sorry if you've already answered this, but I have a question about the patreon exclusive moment you're working on. I was wondering if it's mainly going to be CGs or if it's mostly character sprites + backgrounds with some CGs.

Either way, thank you for doing the Lord's work and not only making Cove, but making this bonus moment as well 😌😌😌

It’s mostly sprites/backgrounds with two CGs!

—– —– —– —–

Thank you again for the interesting questions everyone :D

We released a new FAQ! It answers common questions and we’ll keep adding more to it. Please check there before sending an ask. FAQ   Also, if you prefer to just see the main posts without all the asks/reblogs, feel free to follow our side account instead: GB Patch Updates Blog

[necros-writing-stuff]

I agree with that other anon. More Mason with a breeding kink please! Maybe pc isn't aware he actually has one and is just constantly teasing him with it, especially if the class is already hitting him with personal questions.

So I'm combining these. Leighton encouraging the corruption of Mason is so good

NSFW below

Leighton keeps popping into classes, watching over the swimming students. In particular, he watches you.

The way you follow Mason around the pool, joking and asking questions.

It had been a couple of weeks since he filmed the teacher fucking you on that bench, and both of you keep trying to act normally. As if nothing was wrong.

Good. If you're still comfortable around each other, then you should be easier to convince to play.

Not that he needed to convince. Blackmail is excellent motivation, but the more real the affection looked, the better the pieces would be.

You lean into Mason, whispering into his ear, and Leighton is treat to the lovely sight of the man blushing.

Yes, it was time for another round.

Leighton stays after class, requesting to speak with you, and you already know what it's about.

"This time... the nurses' office, I think," Leighton considers for a moment. There's a bed there, they could see Mason bend you into all sorts of positions.

He can still remember seeing his seed drip from your hole, the way it had oozed out tempting him to lick you clean and then fill you again. He wanted you full, wanted you to gush cum till your thighs were slick with it, too.

You both follow, obedient and quiet. Mason tries to hide his excitement, guilty that he can't wait to be inside of you again.

There was also a slight thrill in being filmed. Of there being evidence of how good he could make you feel. But it's wrong to think that way, and he knows it.

Leighton has them strip each other, camera clicking every few seconds.

Every new inch of you uncovered makes Mason desperate. Even as you look away, only giving him small smiles to let him know you're okay, that you can do this, he wants you ruined.

He sits you on his lap, spreading your legs wide so he can finger you open in full view of the camera. Your body shakes, though its hard to say what the cause is. It could be shame, it could be pleasure, though the likely answer was that it was both.

"They respond so well to you Mason, you've trained them excellently," Leighton's praise is unfortunately welcome, encouraging the swimmer to kiss along your neck and stroke your sides.

"You look amazing," he whispers into your ear, determined to make this good for you.

Something is tossed at the two of you, landing with a thud on the medical bed.

It's a bottle of lube. Mason snatches it up, coating his hands in the goop and slathering his leaking cock with it.

You lay down on your back, arms encircling his shoulders so you can pull him in for a kiss as he enters your body.

If Leighton wasn't here you'd be screaming for it, thrusting you hips up to meet your lover's, but a feeling of pettiness keeps your lips busy teasing Mason's rather than give the headmaster the satisfaction.

But its easier said than done, you feel so full and warm, so loved in the way Mason caresses your skin.

You moan out, breaking the kiss to let your head fall back.

"Mason!" you yell, scratching at his back when he hits that one spot, the one he focuses on and keeps pounding till you're seeing stars.

Theres a vague awareness that Leighton is tossing himself off while snapping shots, but you're past caring at this point.

"Mason, need you to cum in me," you whimper, biting down on your lip.

His hips stutter, Mason having to readjust his grip on your hips. Oh fuck, he wants to, so bad he wants to do that again.

"Gonna breed you full," he groans, surroundings melting away. It's just the two of your right now, no nurses room, no Leighton, no pressure of blackmail.

Mason becomes relentless in his thrusts, smacking of skin-on-skin so loud people would be able to hear it if they passed the door. Hopefully no one would.

You grip tightly to his shoulders, toes curling and muscles tightening as your orgasm builds.

It's intense when you release, moans being cut off by a sharp intake of breath. You stop breathing, arching off the flat mattress below.

Mason sucks in a breath between clenched teeth, grip bruising as he presses into you one last time, balls clenching as he spills his seed inside your welcoming heat.

He stays inside even after he's done, unable to look away from the fucked out visage you present.

The click of a camera makes him jump, and he remembers all at once where he is.

Slowly, Mason pulls out, eyes focused on where you joined. Leighton points the camera over his shoulder, wanting a shot of you leaking cum himself.

It's exactly what he wanted. And he's starting to get hard again, watching the heaving of your chest and how your skin glistens with sweat.

Leighton laughs when he slides his cock back in.

"Maybe you should flip them over."

Maybe he should.

[anotheronechicagobog]

Rangers, Lead The Way - Chapter 2 - Jay and Hana

written by @anotheronechicagobog

warnings: swearing, cannon typical violence, jealousy, abandonment

When Jay had gotten a call from Kenny at three-thirty in the morning he didn't exactly know what to expect. Sure, he could have called because someone died, but he could've also called because he wanted to debate the pronunciation of 'avocado' (something he'd already done twice). So when Kenny's name flashed across his phone screen he just took a deep breath and went to the hallway, leaving a sleeping Hailey alone in bed. "Halstead."

"Hana got shot."

"What? Hana? Your Hana?"

"Yeah- it was a fugitive. She- she's fine. Shot in the foot. She was on leave for a bit, stayed with her parents, but now she's on desk duty. She was going to be with us, but apparently, she was helping the cyber division track some hackers, and they're connected to an organized crime group in Chicago. And she's going to be working with the unit that's been conducting the investigation into that organization. Your unit."

"Yeah, we were told that an FBI cyber analyst was coming down to work with us but they didn't tell us who. Okay, well, she'll be perfectly safe. Our tech room is in the basement with secure entrances, and I'll see if I can get either myself or Hailey assigned to work with her."

"Thanks man, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"Actually I do, remember?"

"Yeah, any advice on how to get through it?"

"I'm not gonna lie, it's gonna be hell, but you'll just have to hang in there and trust me."

"Okay."

"... So I'll finally get to meet Hana..."

"Yeah, I'm hanging up now. Bye."

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"Everyone, meet special agent Hana Gibson from the FBI. She's the tech specialist here to help us out with the Anderson family. Play nice." After his... Enthusiastic introduction, Voight walked back into his office and shut the door. "Hi, I'm detective Jay Halstead and this is my partner Detective Hailey Upton, it's nice to meet you. I can show you where you'll be working if you want?"

"That would be great." Jay moved to the desk by the stairs. "Okay, this desk is just like ours, older than our boss and with a PC on it. The tech room is downstairs, this is mostly for basic searches and so that the tech expert can be with the group when we debrief and work the board and the like. The stairs over here take you down to the garage which is where the tech room is. The stairs are old so they creak a lot but don't worry, they're perfectly safe."

"Sorry to interrupt, but is that a cage?"

"Yes, but don't worry, we don't use it. It's from the old guard, you know, when cops were assaulting people for no reason and no one would say anything. At least now people are talking about it."

"I sense a 'but'."

"But... I wish that cops who were still like that actually got arrested, or never made it out of the academy."

"You and me both."

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"Okay, so the Anderson family has been selling legit products online but then stealing and selling the credit card info, they've been covering their tracks pretty well up until now. That means that something changed. What that is could be key to catching all, and I mean all, of them. Work your CI's, talk to victims, flip some people. Figure out what it is." The team nodded and turned to their partners to figure out their next move.

"Should we head out to Cook County? There's an inmate there connected to the Anderson's, right? Maybe they could give us something."

"Actually, I was thinking maybe I could head out there with Ruzek and you could stay with Gibson because you found their online pattern and figured out which products and websites were theirs. Maybe you two could find more together."

"Sure, that sounds okay but, we're good, right?"

"Of course we are, we'll always be good. I just think this will be best for the case, plus you have the most experience working with the FBI, and her being here has put Voight on edge which has put everyone else on edge."

"Good point, I'll see you later." His eyes followed her until he couldn't see her anymore and he let out a breath, it was different this time. Last time, when Hailey hadn't been here, OA had kept an eye on her but his partner wasn't there so that made it a bit easier, but Hailey was here and now so was Hana. It would take some finessing to have both of their backs but he figured if they were in the same place it would be a little easier. "Halstead? You ready to head out?"

"Yeah, let's go."

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

Cook County was as unpleasant as always. Angry convicts yelling at them through their cells that they wanted to slit his throat. Lovely. But that wasn't what got to him. Leonard Mitchell, the man they were there to see, wouldn't say anything helpful. He wasn't even threatening them or insulting them, he was just asking "where the smoking blonde from last time was". It was taking an enormous amount of restraint to keep him from jumping across the table and tackling the guy. "You're here for hacking the Chicago Municipal Courts website and unsealing confidential information. You're in the high-security ward and have more restricted access to places in the prison than most inmates. You don't have much going for you, maybe if you give us some information we can help you out."

"That's a joke, I'm not saying anything to either of you. Now that blonde, get her to show up for a conjugal visit, then maybe I'll consider it."

"Okay! So, we're done talking, we're going to search your cell and work station now, and you know what, because you have been so unpleasant to deal with today, we're also going to search the cells and workstations near you. Have fun explaining to your neighbours why their contraband got carted off by Chicago PD." Jay marched out of the interrogation room before he lost his cool even more than he already had. He gestured for the warden to get some guards together to start the search. He took a deep breath to try and calm down. "Hey Halstead, are you okay? I mean, what he said about Upton..."

"I'm fine. I don't like hearing anyone talk about my partner that way, but I'm fine."

"Really? Cause the stuff he said was pretty..."

"She's back at the station with Gibson in probably the most secure room there, far, far away from that perv. And if she's okay, I'm okay."

"You should ask her out. I mean, I know it might be weird considering I'm her ex, but you're so far gone on her it's ridiculous and I think that you'd make a cute couple. Think about it, man"

"Uh, yeah. I'll think about it, come on, let's go see if the warden's ready for the searches." Jay's heart was pounding and he felt like he'd just jumped out of the way of a moving train. Nobody knew about them yet, but they were all criminal investigators surely they'd picked up that at least something was different.

They searched Mitchell's room and found a burner phone... Behind his toilet. "Man, I am so glad I don't have to touch that thing. That's Upton and Gibson's job."

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

"So I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, we found a cell phone. The bad news is, it was behind his toilet."

"How lovely."

"Well, you can thank Leonard Mitchell for that. Hey, how's it been working with Gibson?"

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"You seem really interested in her, that's all. Do I need to be worried?"

"No, I just want to make sure that she feels welcome and won't give us a bad review to the FBI."

"I know what you look like when you're lying, Jay."

"Hailey..."

"Just... Go back upstairs, Jay."

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

"How's everything going?"

"Other than the fact that I'm in the doghouse, good."

"What'd you do?"

"I was a little too protective of Hana, I guess. Hailey picked up on it and I couldn't exactly explain without blowing our cover."

"That sucks, man. I'm sorry but honestly, it sounds like you were gonna end up sleeping on the couch either way."

"Yeah, how are you? You holding up alright with Hana gone?"

"No. You were right, this is hell. I keep looking around to make sure she's covered or to offer to get her that terrible coffee she likes and then she's not there and it feels like whiplash." Jay could practically feel himself sharing the weight on Kenny's shoulders. "It doesn't get any easier, it actually gets a lot harder, but she won't be here forever. She'll be home soon and you'll be able to breathe again."

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

Hailey was still giving him the cold shoulder when he went around to take lunch orders. She was curt "my usual" before turning back to her computer screen and completely ignoring him. He did what he could to not let the pang in his chest play out on his face but from the way Hana looked at him it was obvious, he'd failed. "What about you Gibson? Do you need a copy of their menu?"

"No, that's okay, I looked it up. I'll get the spicy shrimp pad thai."

"You got it." He was about to leave when Hana gestured for him to lean down close to her. "Just apologize for whatever you did, it'll go a long way. She's been off since you dropped off the cell phone." He wanted to say something, explain that he was just caught between a rock and a hard place, but the words were trapped in his throat. Hana sent him a I-know-what-I'm-talking-about-if-you-don't-listen-to-me-you're-probably-going-to-regret-it look and all he could do was allow his shoulders to slump and nod.

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

The intense silence of the bullpen was interrupted by Hailey entering behind Hana, who looked incredibly confident on her crutches. "We got something off of the phone." Hailey moved to the board with some papers as Hana plopped down into the office chair at her temporary desk. "It took a while to crack some of the files but I got it. They're transactions between an off-shore account and a shell company based out of Arkansas. While the account was set up there, it's been used mostly in New York, Washington DC, and Chicago. The most recent transaction was for 85K."

"Hana and I also found some emails with photos of military-grade weapons. Guns, missiles, and grenades. Mitchell isn't the buyer or the seller, it looks like he's mediating between the two. We don't have an ID on the buyer yet, but we have one on the seller. Lori Anderson, member of the Anderson crime family. Got no idea what they're planning, but the Anderson's were particularly interested in armour-piercing weapons and rocket launchers. And two days ago she asked Mitchell if he could put her in contact with an explosives supplier. We need to talk to organized crime, both from CPD and FBI, this looks bad. There are still files and emails that we have to go through, and his calendar makes no sense it's all in code. It's probably pretty important because he was in prison and couldn't actually go anywhere. We're also still combing through the contraband from the other cells just to make sure none of his neighbours were also involved."

"Alright. Upton, Gibson, good work. Keep at the phone. Atwater and Burgess you two talk to organized crime, see what you can dig up and alert them of our discoveries. Ruzek and Halstead, flip any CIs you've got. We need to get ahead of whatever they're planning."

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

They were supposed to be safe. They were supposed to be safe. They were in the precinct, they were surrounded by on-duty cops, there was another detective unit across from Intelligence, Platt was at the front desk, Hank-don't-you-even fucking-dare-Voight was in his office. They were supposed to be safe. But they weren't.

They'd just left one of Adam's CIs twitching in excitement down the street as he counted his money when they got the call over the radio.

"10-1! 10-1! Shots fired at police at 21st district! We're pinned down!" They had a moment of stunned silence together before they hauled ass to Jay's truck and high-tailed it back to the district, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Jay's body was moving on autopilot, which probably wasn't good considering he was speeding in a large vehicle down busy roads, the only thing that was going to calm him down, that would quell and panic and rage bubbling up in was seeing Hailey alive. He would move heaven and earth to make that a reality.

Pulling up at the district he vaguely remembered he had to look out for Hana too, but lord help him, and whoever stood in his way, if he didn't see blonde hair and blue eyes attached to the fiery woman who held his heart.

The lobby reminded Jay of Kandahar, there were bullet holes lining every vertical surface. Blood pooled under the bodies of the injured. He did a quick sweep of the room, finding nothing but injured cops and civilians, none of whom were Hailey or Hana, or the attackers. The door to intelligence hung open, barely attached at the hinges. "They went up to intelligence! Move your asses!" Platt didn't spare them a second glance as she went back to ordering the remaining able-bodied patrol officers around.

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

"Kim!"

"I'm okay, I'm okay."

"We're okay too, just so you know."

"Where did they go, Kev? What happened?"

"They went down to the garage-" Jay didn't have it in him to finish listening, he just ran, gun raised. "Hailey! Hana!" It was bad enough that he might lose Hailey, the woman he loved more than anything, but losing Hana too? He wouldn't be able to look Kenny in the eye ever again.

"We're over here!"

"We're okay!"

And then he could breathe again. Oh thank god, she's safe, Hailey's safe. She's mad at me but she's safe... Does my heart always pound this fast when I'm not with her and I'm just noticing now? No, it's probably adrenaline because... I almost lost her. But I didn't. They were tucked into separate corners of the tech office, Hailey, covered in blood that she immediately indicated wasn't hers, was armed with her Glock and Hana armed with her crutches. There were five men in black tactical gear with ski masks lying in various positions on the floor. Four had obvious non-lethal bullet wounds, a courtesy from Hailey, and the fifth was still moving and being hit repeatedly by Hana with one of her crutches. "Stop. Moving. Already. You. Ass!" Jay would've been more impressed if he wasn't still coming down from the adrenaline. "Thank god. You're both okay? Hailey?"

"We're fine."

"Hails-"

"We're fine, just help guide the ambos here, please?"

"...Okay." God, he could feel his heart start to splinter. Less than a minute ago he'd thought that his world had been savagely destroyed, but now... All he wanted was to hold her and it only made him ache more when she pushed him away. He just walked over to the garage door to allow the paramedics easier access, only his footsteps and groans of pain coming from the goons kept the room from being dismally silent.

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

"She's completely fine, so before you freak out just know that she's in the exact same shape she arrived here in."

"That is a terrible way to start a phone call Halstead! Was that supposed to calm me down or help in some way? What even happened?"

"The Genna's hired some local weapons enthusiasts the bust into our precinct and steal what we knew about them. They trashed our bulletin board and tried to get to the computers in the tech room but Hailey and Hana whooped their asses. When I got there Hana was actually beating one with one of her crutches. Hana's a badass."

"Damn right she is... But she's okay?"

"She's pissed off, but there's not a scratch on her."

"Good... That's really good."

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

"Hailey?" Jay knocked again, using every last thread of hope he had that she'd answer. It didn't matter that she was still upset with him, he just wanted to see her face. She and Hana had been whisked away by the FBI and IA right after the ambulances picked up the hired help. He just wanted to see her for more than thirty seconds, reassure himself that she was okay and that she still loved him. That he could fix everything, that he would at least get to hold her one last time. "Hailey, please open the door." He was only met with soul-crushing silence. "Please."

The relief he felt when the lock turned and the door opened could not be described. "Hana is inside if you want to talk to her."

"I'm here for you, Hails. Please, just... Talk to me. I love you, I love you more than I ever thought possible to love someone and today I found you hunched over, covered in blood. It doesn't matter that the blood didn't end up being yours. I was- I still am- terrified. I could have lost you today and I don't know how to face that. Can I just have a hug, at least, please? I just- I can't-" And then she was wrapping her arms around his waist, her tired gravity pulling him to her. He honestly considered being able to wrap his arms around her in return, and burying his face into her hair a gift from the gods. "I was so glad that you weren't there, because it means you weren't getting shot at, I've had to deal with you getting shot more than enough times, I couldn't deal with it again, Jay. I... I love you too." Jay didn't know how much longer they stayed like that, enveloping each other, but he cherished every second of it. And when they finally parted it was like coming down from an adrenaline high. "Do you want to come in? We were about to order from Bartoli's."

"I would love that."

"Good, cause we've left Hana waiting for a while."

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

"So, now I get to have the legendary deep-dish pizza, huh?"

"Yep. Best damn pizza in the world."

"Damn straight."

"You know, I think you two are a little biased."

"You sound like the partner I had while I was in the FBI, OA Zidan, he was always riding me about my opinion on pizza." Jay froze. He could feel himself freeze up. He could feel Hailey and Hana eyeing him in confusion. Shit. "What is it, Jay?"

"Sorry, I just don't like remembering that my partner was away from me for so long, and had another partner in that time period."

"Really, Halstead? You don't need to get all territorial, Hailey clearly doesn't want to be anywhere but with you. Seriously, you should have seen her when the FBI and IA showed up-"

"Hana!"

"What? He's the one who got all stiff when you brought up the FBI"

Phew, they didn't know, thank heavens.

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

Everyone was back the next day, ready to keep moving, to catch the people who organized the break-in of their precinct which injured twenty-three and killed four. It was bad enough that they'd tried to bust into Intelligence in the first place, but to hurt innocent people in the process? That was just plain wicked.

Hailey and Hana were working side by side, delving into the cyber goings on of the Genna family, Kim and Kevin were working with the crime lab to analyse the precinct, and Jay and Adam were back to flipping CIs. Jay felt better about where things stood with Hailey, but he was still grumpy that he couldn't be in the temporary bullpen with her today. He knew that she was capable and that she didn't need him to hover, but that didn't make being away from her after she was almost killed any less difficult. They were supposed to be in the most secure place in the precinct, how were any of them supposed to feel safe working in a place that had been breached by mercenaries in only a few minutes? He tried to shake off the worry and fear, but he just couldn't. And it was made worse by the fact that it wasn't only Hailey who had been in danger- Hana was too. And Kenny had already lost so many people that he really didn't know how he would've handled that situation. Having to tell one of his best friends that the woman he was in love with was dead while dealing with the exact same senario.

The second last CI on their list had been dodging them all day, and Jay's sanity was already hanging on by a thread- he did not have the strength or patience to deal with this. So instead of trying to track him down again, he just put out a BOLO and waited until patrol brought him in, kicking and screaming. When he entered the interrogation room Marcus went on a tirade, "what the FUCK, man!", "we had a deal!", "are these handcuffs really necessary?". Jay just stared at him. He didn't have the energy to try and get the guy to shut the fuck up, so he just sat silently across from him, trying to make him as uncomfortable as possible. "... Are you okay, man?"

"No, not really, Marcus. See, I've been calling you all day. I've called up other CIs and they were all okay to meet. But not you. No, you ghosted me and I had to get patrol to drag your ass in here. You still have robbery charges I could lay on you. This is about to get a whole lot worse because I have exactly no patience to deal with any BS right now, but yours especially. So. The Genna family. Tell me everything you know."

And he did. He sang like a damn canary, which Jay attributed to luck, and Adam attributed to Jay looking like he was going to tear the poor bastard limb from limb. Seriously. Adam made a mental note not to piss off Jay, which he subconsciously realizes means that as long as he didn't hurt Hailey he'd be fine. But he didn't have time to dwell on that as Jay exited the interrogation room looking like the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow. "I've gotta get this to the girls, you're not gonna believe what this bastard knew."

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

An apartment, down in Canaryville, was occupied by Daniel Anderson's mistress. And she wasn't just his mistress... She was his accountant. She didn't just file his taxes, she managed his money, she knew everything that it was used for and how they got it in the first place. Jay ran to the temporary tech room ready to drop a bomb, only for his fiery girlfriend to beat him to it. "We found out where they got the weapons and ammo! The navy didn't put out a report until they'd finished their investigation, but it's their stuff. It all came from Norfolk, but they were shipping it to Kandahar when they were robbed by a twelve-person team, well-skilled and heavily armed. But look at this surveillance video, where part of the leader's sleeve got torn off."

"That's... That's Daniel Anderson. He's got that tattoo. We can get a warrant with that, but what about this- Daniel has a mistress in an apartment in Canaryville. She's his accountant, she knows everything. And if we can get a warrant with what you found, we can search that apartment too because it's in his name." Hailey smiled that vindicated smile that just lit up her whole face and made her eyes shine with pride. Jay could feel himself mirroring her and he just couldn't look away, finally feeling like they got their groove back, their relationship back. "Hey guys? I'm glad you made up but can you either get to work or get a room? I don't need  a front seat to this."

"Oh, admit it Gibson, we're your OTP."

"I admit to nothing, Halstead."

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Honestly, the raid of all of Daniel Anderson's properties, and consequently the collapse of the Anderson crime family, was dismally anti-climactic. They found boat-loads of evidence, Daniel's wife, mistress, and right-hand man all turned on him, and the FBI and NCIS were currently fighting over jurisdiction even though the case was already solved... By the CPD. Truthfully no one minded, because it meant that once they submitted their case notes and raid reports, they were done and might not even have to go to trial, the feds could handle that. While the majority of Intelligence decided to go to the regular watering hole, Hailey and Hana had made other plans and were dragging Jay along for the ride. And it was all going well, until they started talking about roommates. "I like Zadie, but she's gotten annoying now that she's dating my partner. So has he honestly. I mean, who thought that Kenny Crosby, an ex-army ranger would be acting like a thirteen-year-old that was in his first relationship? 'Is that text from Zadie? Is it about me? Were you guys talking about me while you were in the kitchen together this morning?' He was It's... A little exhausting. All he can talk about, is her. And whenever we hang out it always involves her somehow. He won't say it but I know he was a little disappointed when I came back and interrupted their 'love nest." All that Jay was able to gain from that other than the echo of sadness from behind her eyes, was that Crosby was dating someone who was not Hana. Which would be weird if he talked about her constantly on the phone, which he does, have an intimately trusting relationship with her, which he does, and ask one of his old army buddies to keep an eye on her while he can't because he cares about her so much and can't bear to lose her, which he did. So in conclusion; the fact that Kenny is dating someone who is not Hana is weird and will require further investigation.

"So he's constantly asking you about his girlfriend?"

"Well, she is too. But it's more annoying with him because he's my partner, we work together."

"But you live with her."

"It's... It's just different." Jay could see that she was mentally grasping at threads while trying to keep herself from falling into a black hole, this clearly meant much more to her than she was letting on so he decided to drop it. It was good timing too, because Hailey returned to the table with their food. Hair up, with a cute little Greece-themed apron on, ignoring her older brother's teasing from the kitchen. "Σκασε ηλιθιε!" (shut up idiot!)

"Μην μου πεις να σταματήσω, αυτό είναι το εστιατόριο μου!" (Don't tell me to shut up, this is my restaurant!) Jay found himself chucking at the Upton sibling banter. They interacted a lot less than he and Will did, though he supposed part of that was because he and his brother ran into each other through their work fairly often, and it was nice to see them... Happy with one another. Hailey usually looked like a constipated pigeon whenever she talked about her family so it was nice that she had reconciled with at least one sibling. After they were all able to move out, their relationships with each other got much more contentious. Theodore was the middle child and believed that they should quietly encourage their mother to leave their abusive father and just silently support her, Declan was the oldest and quite firmly just didn't care about their parents anymore and wanted nothing to with either of them because one was the abuser and the other was the enabler, while Hailey was the youngest and wanted to drag her father to prison by his ear herself. "Your brother seems like quite the joker."

"Oh, he is. He's always been the comedian in the family, a bit of a cross between SpongeBob and Chandler Bing. When I was seven, Theo put these gummy spiders in random places all over the house. It scared the crap out of my dad when he opened the- a top kitchen cupboard and about twelve of these spiders fell out, scared him even more when Theo grabbed one off the floor and bit into it, I think he ate three in total, one was completely whole, talking about how 'tasty' they were before my dad needed to sit down. It took him longer than he will ever admit to realize that they were just candy."

"Oh, that is good. I used to use some of those YouTube jump scare videos on my parents. I thought it was the funniest thing ever, especially because I used Elmo jump scares. So they'd be freaking out, and I'd just ask them why they were so afraid of a red puppet. My mom still doesn't trust me to show her videos."

"Well, it sounds like you and my brother would get along like fire, you should meet him later. He said he'd join us for dessert." Wait... What? Oh no... I know that look, she's trying to set Hana up with her brother! As much as I'd like Hana to be my sister-in-law, that would preferably be through a different brother.

."That sounds great, I really like Theo. What was that thing we had last time we ate with him and... Her name was Kate, right? Do you know how they're doing? I feel like I haven't heard about her in a long time." Hailey gave him a look. A I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that look. "No, they're not dating anymore. I thought I mentioned that."

"Oops, seriously though, what was that dessert we had with them?"

"That was revani, we can ask if that's what my brother has here today."

"Uh- what is revani, if I may ask, as the only non-Greek and non-Greek-dating person at this table?"

"Ha, of course you can ask Hana. It's a semolina cake, flavoured with lemon and orange zest. It's really good."

"That sounds great, but do you think I'd also be able to order some takeout for tomorrow? I just have a long day of travelling via bus tomorrow and I don't know when I'll get the chance to eat, so I figure having a big breakfast might help with that."

"That sounds like a cool idea. Hailey, why don't we all order some food to go and eat it tomorrow morning together?"

"You mean as like a big Greek breakfast?"

"Yeah."

"I wasn't thinking that initially but I'm glad Jay did, it sounds great."

"Alright, yeah, let's do it. I'll go talk to Theo and order somethings that reheat well." Hailey left them with a smile to go bother her brother in the kitchen, their discussion in Greek filling the restaurant with jokes and quips only a few present were able to understand, forging smiles on the faces of strangers as they listened to the voices in the kitchen. Hana looked apprehensive, and he doubted it was about the long bus inter-state bus ride. "Hana, I'm sure that your partner missed you, maybe he didn't say it, maybe he needed a distraction, but he missed you."

"How do you know? You don't even know him." If only you knew.

"Trust me on this."

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

"You fucking idiot." Jay was trying to keep his voice down so that he didn't wake Hailey, who was asleep in her bed (where he wanted to be), or Hana who was asleep in the guest bedroom. As much as he loved her with his entire being, Jay had to admit that Hailey was a fucking demon if you woke her up without 'just cause'.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me Crosby!"

"What the hell Halstead?!"

"You called me at three-thirty in the morning, worried out of your mind about Hana, asking me to keep an eye on her, to protect her, all while you're dating someone who isn't her!"

"Oh, yeah, I'm dating her roommate-"

"Zadie. I know. Why do you think I called you to yell at you at two in the morning?"

"Hey, back up man. I don't know what you think you're talking about, but just because I'm dating Zadie doesn't mean that I don't care about Hana. There is very little I wouldn't do to keep her safe... If I could even do it."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I... I was right there. I should have been able to help her. So, so why couldn't I help her? Huh? She is so important to me, okay? I don't even know how to describe it."

"Try."

"She... My mom told me that to make a woman fall in love with me I had to make her laugh, but every time she laughs I'm the one who falls more and more in love. She is astonishingly intelligent and I have never been more glad to feel like a complete and utter fool just by standing in someone's presence. If I had to crawl to hell and be tortured by the devil himself to keep her safe, I'd do it. I have never felt as wholly accepted by anyone else in my life, she has found ways to motivate me to climb out of my own grave on my darkest days. Every time a look at her, I see a glowing, deliriously happy future that I know I don't deserve." Heavy silence bore on both sides of the phone, dragging Kenny deeper into the dark crack in his chest, and delivering Jay an epiphany.

"... Have you ever thought that maybe it's about what she deserves?"

"Hm?"

"Listen, man, not everything is about you. This is about her. You just said you would let the devil tear you apart to keep her safe, and yeah maybe you don't deserve her, but she deserves you. She deserves someone who would do whatever it takes to make her laugh and keep her safe at whatever the cost all in the same day, and it sounds like that's you."

"Jay..."

"Just think about it man. And while you're at it, stop neglecting Hana, okay?"

"What?"

"You constantly talk about Zadie, you always involve her somehow when you're hanging out with Hana, and Hana's been getting the vibe that you're upset she came home and disrupted the little bubble you had going on with Zadie."  

"She told you that?"

"Me and Hailey, when we were all out at dinner. Just listen, pay a bit more attention to her, stop treating her like the middle man between you and your girlfriend, and work on your self-worth, man. You're a good person and an even greater friend, don't sell yourself short."

"Thanks, Halstead."

"No problem, Crosby."

"So what exactly makes me a 'great friend', Jay?"

"Uggggghhhhhhh."

"Hey! You said it, can't take it back!"

"... This is why we can't have nice things Kenny, goodnight."

"Wait you didn't tell me-"

[joonni]

Christmas lights | Jimin x reader

Characters: Jimin x reader, ft. Taehyung, a bunch of 95 liners and Jungkook

Tags: friends to lovers, high school reunion

Genre: fluffy fluff🌼

Word count: 8,9k

Warnings: alcohol consumption

Summary: A reunion with your high school classmates, a lit-up Myeongdong, bustling streets full of people shopping for Christmas presents, your dear friends that you haven’t seen in so long. It already sounds like a fun evening. What you don’t expect to find out though, is the reason why Nayeon always has and still apparently hates you. And that it has to do with Jimin.

- a part of the Christmas collab by @kooala​ 

a/n in the tags! hope you enjoy!💕 

Song recs: christmas lights, from: me, love you on christmas 

It looks like it’s going to snow. The air is crisp, and the thick clouds are covering Seoul like a heavy blanket. You stuff your hands into your pockets as you scold yourself for forgetting the handwarmer you bought earlier. It would come in handy now. The subway ride had warmed you up, but all of the warmth escaped your body once you climbed up the stairs and took a lungful of the cold outside air.

You’re now standing in front of the sixth exit of Myeongdong station, waiting for Wheein and Hyejin who organized this whole thing of a reunion. A sign on a nearby bus stop says it’s just one degree above zero and this new acquired piece of knowledge only makes you shiver more.

Seeing a group of high schoolers in their uniforms pass by made you reminisce those times, when life was probably a bit easier than now, even if it didn’t seem like it back then. You used to be an inseparable trio in high school, always hanging out together, spending your free time either in one of the many coin noraebangs or pc bangs around your school. It made you miss the idle afternoons spent singing your heart out into the microphones with those thin fabric covers and becoming so hungry that you each ate a whole serving of tteokbokki and then get scolded at home for being too full to eat dinner.

When you found out that you got into a different university than your two friends, you all promised to keep in touch and to meet often. Which you did, if you’d define often as once every few months.

Today was finally one of those days. You were excited to meet them both, but they could hurry up a bit. You pace around the entrance to the shopping district in an attempt to warm yourself up, the tower on top of Namsan peeking through the clouds signaling the air pollution is fairly bad by its yellowish color.

Your toes are starting to get cold and your ears are not much warmer but then you feel a weight landing around your shoulders. You jump up because of the sudden intrusion into your personal space but calm down as soon as you see two familiar faces.

“Y/n! Sorry for being late!” Wheein sheepishly grins at you, her head poking out of a giant fluffy scarf.

You know her far too well, when was she ever on time. You still haven’t lost hope with her though and always come on time.

Hyejin then adds as she sneaks her arm around yours, “I tried to make her hurry, but you know how she is.”

Wheein furrows her brows at you both as you start walking but soon joins in and locks her arm with your other one. It only makes you laugh, and you stumble, arm in arm, through the crammed streets of Myeongdong.

“Your hair is so long now, Y/n.” Hyejin comments. “I may be swayed by the bob trend, but I like short hair better. And I realized only after cutting it that long hair is such a pain.”

You chuckle at that. “My mom cut my hair short my whole childhood. Don’t you think I deserve long hair at least now?”

“Suit yourself but you’re gonna understand sooner or later that short hair is superior.”

“Yeah, sure, sure.” You brush off her words jokingly.

“Not to interrupt the hair debate but, Y/n, are you sure you’re gonna be alright if Jimin comes?”

You look at Wheein with incredulous eyes while holding on to both of your friends so that you don’t lose each other in the crowd. “How many times do I have to tell you I’m long over him. You’re both insufferable, you know that?” You say laughing and poke Wheein with your elbow.

So far, this evening looks like it’s going to be great. Having these two by your side makes you feel invincible, the same as in high school. The swarm of people blocking your way seems like a piece of cake to get through with them next to you.

The only thing that bothers you is that Hyejin with Wheein invited every single one of your classmates. It was up to them if they decided to come or not after all. They assured you that people change and grow up, that it’s been three years since you last saw everyone.

You wanted to believe your friends, but your gut feeling was telling you some people are never going to change.

 The pub Wheein booked is located in one of the smaller streets that connect the main streets, and one would most likely miss it if not looking for it specifically. Your fingers slowly start to melt as you go up one flight of stairs and enter the already bustling pub, your two friends following right behind you.

As luck would have it, your eyes fall on the one person you hoped not to see. Nayeon spots you and your friends as soon as the glass door closes behind you, sending you a crooked smile. You can’t help but sigh at the sight of your high school nemesis. Right next to her sits Jisoo, a girl that never really did anything bad to you but being a bystander to Nayeon’s shenanigans was as bad in your eyes.  

Why the girl didn’t like you, she never said, but she did make it obvious enough. Even now, as she stared you up and down with an irritating look.

Some people are never going to change, you thought. What a lovely start to the party.

Hyejin obviously notices the shift in your mood and pulls you by your hand to the other side of the tables booked for your class.

“Y/n, don’t let that girl ruin your mood so easily!” She sounds worried but her voice is firm. “Three years went by since you last saw everyone, are you going to let her ruin this for you? For everyone? Don’t even look her way if she’s going to act like a brat.”

You can see the sincerity of Hyejin’s words in her eyes and try to look as unbothered by Nayeon’s stare as possible.

“I know, thanks.” You give her a small smile.

It’s not easy to fool your friend, but she must have seen your will to at least try because she’s sitting you down at the table next to your friends which you haven’t seen since graduation and joining Wheein at the counter, probably because of some more organization with the pub staff.

 Once the two finally join in on the fun, much more people have come and you are actually having a nice conversation with Woosik, Taehyung and a boy you weren’t sure you remembered the name of. You were talking about everything and anything that happened during the time you haven’t seen each other. Which universties the others are attending, how your homeroom teacher had quit and started her own business and that one of your classmates is already married with a child on the way.

Nayeon is still slightly getting on your nerves because you can hear her obnoxious fake laugh from the other side of the room but it’s bearable with the others distracting you. A lot has changed since high school, but of course her demeanor stayed the same.

“So, guys, the food is unlimited for that set price I sent you earlier so just remember how much you drank, got it?” You hear Wheein shout and clank a chopstick against a bottle of soju in the middle of the pub.

“I’m really happy so many of us gathered today so let’s have some fun!” She continues even louder and everyone including you shouts in celebration, some people even clapping and clinking glasses.

 “Cheers!” Taehyung raises his glass over the center of your table, which happens to be a grill with sizzling meat, but people seated around you immediately join the toast. “Cheers to Jimin hopefully arriving before we get too drunk.” He then adds.

You see Woosik raising his brows in surprise. “I assumed he’s not coming since he’s not here already. What happened to our always on time class president?”

Everyone laughs at that, remembering that Jimin was always the first one in class in the morning.

Taehyung then proceeds to defend his friend after downing the shot of soju in his hand. “He’s really punctual even now. He just had something important at school he couldn’t afford to miss. But he’ll be here any minute now, I think.”

You hear Hyejin scoff. “It’s a Friday evening for God’s sake! Let us live, professors!”

A few people start complaining about the stuff their teachers make them do but before you can share your complaints about all the assignments you had to complete by the end of the semester, you hear excited welcomes from the other part of the pub. Nayeon’s squealing is especially hard to miss.

It makes everyone from your table lift their eyes to the entrance, where stands no one else than your class president.

“Speak of the devil.” Woosik says and Hyejin sends you a wicked grin and wiggles her eyebrows.

No matter how many times you told her that you really are over your high school crush, she wouldn’t believe you.

 “You don’t have any closure though.” Was what both her and Wheein would tell you every time. Did you really need closure for a crush that never developed into anything more than that though?

Your high school self thought that a one-sided love was pretty great. You could like a person as much as you wanted and then stop whenever you felt like it. And you convinced your heart you felt like stopping once you graduated.

Your friends then tried setting you up with some guys, you went on dates with some of them, but the spark was never there.

At some point you managed to persuade your girls to stop trying so hard, which only reinforced their belief that Jimin was still occupying a part of your heart.

 “Jimin!” Taehyung jumps up from his seat, soju bottles on the table shaking and the chair he was sitting on almost falling over.

You see Jimin’s features soften as his excited and a bit tipsy friend tightly hugs him like a koala.

He looks so different from the boy you used to have a crush on. His hair is now longer and a silverish color, both of his ears pierced by two small golden hoops, he’s wearing a bright red cardigan under a long black coat and black boots that make him look taller than what you remember.

The one thing that hasn’t visibly changed is the way his eyes turn into half-moons when he smiles.

Your heart does a flip when his eyes stop on yours for a while, that smile still plastered on his face.

 Maybe you do need closure after all.

 When you wake up from your daze, Taehyung is already dragging a free chair to your table, making Woosik and the other boy scoot over so that they can all fit.

Like that, you find yourself seated right across from Jimin, stealing glances at him while trying to keep track of the conversation as well as your composure. It could be just your imagination, but you feel his eyes on you too. You’re just not brave enough to face him, not trusting yourself judging from the glitch in your brain his mere presence caused.

The waitress brings a new glass and a plate for Jimin and as soon as she turns around, everyone’s attention is on the latecomer. Hyejin compliments his hair color but Taehyung immediately gushes that the pink he had on before was so much better.

“I got tired of it, Tae. Why don’t you dye your own hair, huh?” Jimin rustles his friend’s overgrown curly hair as he defends his hair color choice.

“I treasure my hair more than to bleach it.”

“You sure do. That’s why you‘ve gotten it permed.”

“Yah, Jimin! You don’t have to call me out like that.” You all crack up at that, Taehyung’s face turning into a sulking grimace.

Even though Jimin looks so different, he still seems to be the same boy inside, cracking jokes with Taehyung yet appearing to be the calmer one of the boys.

Some shots of soju and classmates’ stories later, Hyejin starts grumbling about the other table. “I thought Nayeon would calm down, but she’s still the same, huh?”

“I seriously don’t understand how Jisoo tolerates that girl’s temper.” You add. “I don’t even know what I did for her to hate me so much.” A pout forms on your lips.

“Right!” Hyejin is leaning in your direction to hold your hand with both of hers. “She’s never had a real reason to be so mean to our Y/n.”

“Wait, you seriously don’t know why she didn’t like Y/n?” Woosik then asks.

You look at him with a puzzled expression, your eyes then falling on Jimin who is seemingly… blushing?

“How would you of all people know that, Woosik?” Hyejin squints her eyes at your classmate who only chuckles and pats the blushing boy’s shoulder before continuing.

“She had the biggest crush on Jimin!”

“And…?” You pause, taking in Jimin’s embarrassed face. “What’s that to do with me?” You were confused to say the least.

Hyejin was more bored than anything by his statement. “Everyone knows that, Woosik. She walked around having it practically written on her forehead all throughout high school.”

You notice Jimin is pouring himself a shot and downing it right away, as if trying to catch up with the rest of you. You feel like everyone except for Hyejin and yourself knows some amazing secret that they were never kind enough to share.

“Ouch!” Woosik then cries out. “What was that for?” The table trembles a little.

Taehyung shakes his head at him. “Woosik, you sure talk too much when you’ve had something to drink.” He forces a smile that looks more intimidating than friendly. Jimin sitting between them is just looking down at the table, as if the plate in front of him was the most interesting thing in the world right now.

“You’re so secretive guys!” Hyejin whines, leaning on her hands against the table. “Tell me, tell me.” She seems already drunk by the way she can’t sit straight and also by the fact she can’t read the atmosphere.

“I’m gonna use the restroom for a bit.” You quickly make your escape from the tense air that surrounded your table. As you take a peek over your shoulder at where you were sitting a few seconds ago, Hyejin is still whining about them not letting her in on the secret and Wheein is just moving to yet another spot, probably trying to talk to every single person present tonight.

 When you wash your hands and look at yourself in the bathroom mirror, your clouded mind wanders to the previous conversation again. If you think about how Woosik put it, it almost sounds like… like Nayeon didn’t like you because you were in her way, blocking her from snatching Jimin.

You’re pretty sure you never told no one about your crush, apart from your two friends whom you trusted to not spill anything. Also, she wouldn’t hate you just because of that, right? Other girls, God knows maybe even guys, must have been crushing on Jimin, so why would she hate you of all people?

 Lost in thought and wiping the water from your hands in your trousers on your way back, you’re suddenly stopped by a wall. Wait, a wall? You lift your head to inspect the soft obstacle that has made you stop and the sight you’re met with is enough to make your heart skip a beat.

Jimin is standing mere inches away from you, looking as confused and dumbfounded as you.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you. You okay?” he asks, his voice laced with concern, both arms gently holding your shoulders.

You take a quick step back from him. “I’m alright. Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Can it be more awkward than this, you cry out in your mind and you pace out of the dim corridor. Jimin’s appearance managed to agitate you once again tonight.

“Y/n…!” Jimin’s voice stops you in your tracks. “I’m… I’m sorry for that earlier. The air became so heavy, I’m not even surprised you ran off from that table. You’re not upset, right?” He hesitates a little on that last sentence and you see a shy smile spreading on his features when you face him again.

As expected of the attentive and kind class president, always caring for others before thinking about himself.

Shaking your head, you reply. “I have no reason to be. If anyone should be upset, it’s you.” You shoot him a sheepish smile. “You looked pretty uncomfortable when the topic was brought up.”

“Ah.” Is what falls out of Jimin’s mouth and he reaches for the back of his neck, rubbing the spot hesitantly. “I know I’m supposed to treat everyone objectively as the former class president but… Nayeon is a bit too much to handle, you know?”

“Yeah, she was always a force to be reckoned with. Especially when it comes to you.”

“Right…” He sighs. “Sorry again for bumping into you like that.”

“It’s really nothing, Jimin. Don’t worry.” At that, he only smiles and passes you in the way to the bathroom.

 You return to the table only to find Hyejin almost laying on the table face-front, mumbling something about Taehyung being a meanie. A long exhale escapes your lips at the thought of helping Wheein carry Hyejin to their apartment.

“Who’s down for round two?” Taehyung asks, hands busy playing with the strap of a cap from some soju bottle. “This place is dying down!”

“Let’s git it!” Hyejin mumbles and slaps one of her palms against the table surface. Both Woosik and Taehyung look at her with disbelief but start laughing after a while.

“Hyejin, you’re going home.” You scold her as if she were a kid. “No more drinks for you tonight, girl.”

“Y/n, I can take her home just fine, you go have your fun.” All of a sudden Wheein appears next to you and flashes you a brief wicked grin right after finishing her sentence.

“Whee, are you sure?” You send her a concerned look, baffled by the timing of her appearance. “I know how she gets when she’s had too much soju.”

She just waves her hand at you dismissively. “Don’t worry about her so much. We’re gonna get home just fine. It’s the opposite direction from your place anyways.”

“Okaaay, so Y/n is coming with us!” Taehyung then announces right as Jimin comes back. “Woosik? You down?”

“Sure, let’s burn this Friday down!”

Taehyung then continues, turning to the silver haired boy. “Jimin, you have no right to object. You came late so you need to make up for it.”

You were about to reject the invitation but Jimin was faster at replying. “Guess I have no choice.” He then lifted his gaze at you. “Let’s try to stay the more sober ones, Y/n. These two are already doomed to have a bad hangover anyways.” He gestures to Taehyung and Woosik. “Sounds like a plan?”

The idea of leaving drunk Hyejin with tipsy Wheein and staying out with the guys suddenly didn’t seem that bad. The things you do because of him.

“Sounds like a plan.” You repeat, the meaning of the words only sinking in once the guys are getting up and heading to the counter, searching their respective pockets for wallets to pay the dinner with.

“Go have fun, Y/n!” Wheein encourages you. She knows you don’t go out to party that often but there’s probably another reason why she’s so fervent about it. That reason being the boy that’s now heartily laughing at something Taehyung has said.

“I guess I owe you one, Wheeinie.” You say as you hug your girl friend tightly. “Get home safe and text me if Hyejin survived.”

“Don’t mention it. But I want updates about you and your prince charming!” the mischievous look coming back to her face.

Before you can retort to her request, the three boys are gesturing for you to hurry up. “Y/n, let’s go!” Taehyung shouts across the pub.

His loud voice makes a few people lift their heads, most of them just waving their goodbyes to you four.

Right as you smile and thank the waitress after getting back your card from her, you hear that high-pitched voice again.

“Jimin! Are you leaving?” Of course it’s Nayeon.

At that, Taehyung turns his back towards the pub and starts pushing Jimin out through the glass door, as if in panic. Woosik tags along and seen you don’t want to spare that girl a single look more, you bow to the waitress one last time and follow the three of them onto the stairs and down. The chilly air hits you right when you step out of the door and you hurriedly put on your scarf, a shiver running down your spine nevertheless. The things you would do to have Wheein’s chunky scarf right now.

The narrow street was completely empty except for the four of you and one older guy leaning against a building a few meters away, cigarette smoke leaving his mouth as he spares your group one look before minding his own business again.

You were never scared of the night but having three friends next to you made you feel very safe. Myeongdong may be a relatively small and safe district, but these alleyways are scary anywhere.

 “Do you guys know any good spots around here?” You remember that no one mentioned where you were headed for the second round of drinks.

“Don’t worry, miss, I know of a lovely place around Jongno.” Taehyung says in a lively tone. “It’s called XX. A brilliant name for a bar, don’t you think?” He then stumbles a few steps forward, apparently more drunk than you thought.

“He’s just saying that because he has the fattest crush on the bartender there.” Woosik scoffs with a laugh. “It’s a nice place though. Not too loud and it has a nice ambience.”

Jimin then speaks up, way more sober than the two boys who are leading the way. “I’m gonna have to trust you on that too. You’re finally showing me the place, Tae.”

You then watch a scene of the two of them bickering about Jimin not making enough time for Taehyung so that he could show him the bar and the bartender lady he likes so much unfold in front of your eyes. It feels like you traveled three years in time, back to your teenage years, except you’re tipsy and out after midnight in the city center. Woosik is laughing at the two friends’ antics and you join in.

Joking around with them like this makes you relax even when you’re still trembling from the cold when the wind gets under your jacket. The nervousness you felt during the evening when you were around Jimin long forgotten.

The streets of Myeongdong are now almost empty compared to the amount of people you saw earlier that night. You exit the district, cross Euljiro where at this time of the day are only taxis waiting for their drunk customers and lastly you cross a bridge over Cheonggyecheon where you stop your steps, even though the wind is stronger here.

The way the trough of the stream is decorated with Christmas themed lanterns and various lights is mesmerizing to say the least. You marvel at the delicate snowflake-shaped lanterns that hang above the water surface as if they were falling.

Only when Taehyung calls out your name, you realize that the three boys kept walking while you stayed behind, bewitched by the beauty of your surroundings.

“It’s so pretty!” You shout back at them, your voice louder than usual thanks to all the soju in your system. Stretching out your arms, you point at the lanterns and wave at the three of them to come and take a look at the decorated stream too.

Taehyung wobblingly rushes back first, almost bumping into you as he leans against the bridge right next to you. Jimin follows right behind, circling around you and leaning against the railing from your other side.

“Waah, it looks like we’re in a fairytale!” The curly boy marvels at the sight of the illuminated water stream. “We should take a picture! Let’s take a picture!”

Woosik then joins you in slow strides. “You’re impossible. First you rush to see the bartender and now we’re taking pictures. Fine.” A sigh escapes his mouth, but he still stretches out his arm as a sign for Taehyung to give him his phone.

Before you or Jimin have a chance to protest against the idea, Woosik is taking a few steps back with Taehyung’s phone pointed in your direction.

“One, two… Jimin, what’s with that stiff smile. At least stick a bit closer to each other, it looks like a very bad family picture right now.” Woosik comments while switching his attention from the screen to you three.

Taehyung does as he’s told, squishes closer against your body but retorts to Woosik’s comment feigning annoyance. “Since when were you so passionate about photography?”

Jimin leans closer against you too. The one with a stiff smile is now probably yourself. When was the last time someone’s bare proximity made you this flustered? The speed of your racing heart only amplifies when Jimin’s arm slips around your waist. He’s suddenly so close that you catch a whiff of his perfume, only making you dizzier.

“Okay, whatever. My fingers are gonna freeze off.” Woosik’s voice brings you back to reality. “One, two, three, kimchi!”

It took you a few seconds to register, but you burst out laughing at his cheesy way of telling you to smile. “Who even says that anymore?”

You feel Jimin’s hold on you tighten as he can’t hold his laughter either. You remembered it was a habit of his to fall onto the thing closest to him when he was laughing, but actually being the object in question is very endearing.

“You’re so cute when you’re drunk, Woosik.” Jimin manages to get out as his body shakes with laughter.

“Hmph.” Woosik huffs. “Let’s go Tae.”

Your heart does a flip when the boy holding you looks you in the eyes, his own still resembling two crescent moons. “Let’s hurry, you must be cold.” He says, head motioning to Woosik and Taehyung who took off already and his arm letting go of your waist.

The reply you manage to give him is a simple nod, afraid your voice would give away the state he put you in.

“Here.” Jimin offers. You look down to his extended arm, only to spot a pair of gloves in his hand. “They’re really warm, put them on.”

What is he so kind for, you internally scream. “Ah, thank you.” You say as you accept the garment from him with a smile. “Won’t you be cold though?”

“I’ll be fine. Or you can always hold my hand and share some of the warmth.”

It takes you a while to process what he just said but when you do, your eyes widen and you feel heat rising to your cheeks.

“Come on, let’s go or we’re gonna lose them.” Jimin grins and begins walking in the same direction as your two other friends.

Was he always this flirty or is that the soju he downed speaking? Anyhow, it made you feel all giddy because you’ve never before witnessed him acting like this. Not that you ever had a chance to see him tipsy since you weren’t allowed to drink yet back then.

As you catch up with the two that are leading your way, you’re tempted to really hold Jimin’s hand like he told you to, but the liquid courage doesn’t come that easy to you. Jimin never said he was joking, yet you can’t seem to shake the thought that he’s just very kind and would give up his gloves for any of his friends.

 With Jimin occasionally sending a smile your way, the four of you made your way to the bar. A small neon sign above the entrance spells “XX”, purple light from it and from the lights along the stairs that lead you below the ground level illuminating your steps.

If it wasn’t for Taehyung leading the way, you’d think it’s some sketchy club. Your opinion immediately changes once you set foot on a soft red carpet that covers the dark wooden floor. A few guests are sitting in leather armchairs that are placed around delicate looking tables, soft warm light coming from little lamps illuminates the space and Christmassy jazz music plays in the background. Though the whole room is a sight to behold, the wall of liquor bottles behind the long bar counter steals the spotlight.

Behind the counter you see a woman, maybe in her late twenties, hair tied neatly in a low bun, her bangs making her look elegant but youthful at the same time. By the frozen reaction of Taehyung, it’s most likely the bartender Woosik mentioned earlier on.

She’s very attractive, wearing a black shirt tucked neatly into her trousers but slightly unbuttoned at the neck and a golden name tag pinned on her chest. If it wasn’t for your crush on Jimin occupying most of your mind, you’d probably girl crush on her big time.

You follow Taehyung who takes a seat on one of the bar stools, closer to the bartender than at a table but still far from where she’s standing. The stools are more comfortable than they look, and you feel more tense about Jimin’s proximity than about your feet barely reaching the footrest.

“Good evening, what can I get for you?” the bartender asks, looking at you.

“Uhm…” it was your first time in a western-style bar like this and all of the bottles on display right in front of your eyes made it look intimidating. “Would you recommend me something?”

Dreading her reaction, you were pleasantly surprised to see a warm smile spreading on her lips. “Would you prefer something sweeter or something that’s more on the bitter side?”

After a moment of hesitation, you answered. “Sweet, please.”

“I’ll think of something for you, then.” She reassures you and you notice the shiny name tag on her shirt spells Hani. “And for you, gentlemen?”

As she turns to them, you see Taehyung rub his hands on his legs, probably sweaty because of the nervous state he’s in.

“I’ll have an Old Fashioned.” Jimin orders with assurance and Woosik follows by ordering a simple Cuba Libre. When it’s Taehyung’s turn to choose a drink, a silence spreads across the counter.

“Should I bring you the usual?” Hani proposes after a while.

At that, the curly boy nods and answers with a quiet “Yes, please.”

The bartender nods as well and proceeds to prepare the drinks. No sooner than she turns around, Woosik starts teasing the other boy about their brief but awkward interaction. You too were surprised that the always loud and outgoing boy became so timid in front of the bartender, but your thoughts are dispersed soon.

 “Noona!” You hear a voice that seems somehow very familiar but Jimin’s expression shifts into a dubious one at the sound of it. Once you peer in the direction it came from, you’re met with a beaming face of your hoobae from your English class.

“Ah! What a coincidence.” The boy leans on the empty bar stool where you set your purse and Jimin’s gloves. “You’re not here with anyone?” It was out of his character to be out at a bar like this. Or at least out of the character he presented himself with at school.

Jimin’s attention is now on you, and it could be just your dizzy consciousness messing with you, but you swear you feel him move closer to you, his scent stronger than a while ago.

“Here’s the Old Fashioned, and a Soul Kiss for you.” Hani slides the drinks in front of you in a graceful manner. “I hope the drink suits your taste.”

You nod and thank the bartender.

“I’m here with Lisa, noona.” He says in a hushed voice as soon as Hani moves closer to the other two boys..

Your eyes widen at his words. “You finally asked her out!”

The younger boy’s cheeks turn to a pale peachy color, unable to hide his shyness at your statement. “Sort of… I’m working on it.” He then replies, fidgeting with the hem of his sky-blue shirt that fits him like a glove. The tension that momentarily formed between Jimin and the younger boy disappearing at once.

“I told you she has a thing for you.” You playfully poke at his shoulder. “Ah, right! I haven’t introduced you two. Jimin, this is Jungkook, my hoobae.” When you turn your head in Jimin’s direction, he’s closer than expected but you try to keep your cool. You don’t bother introducing him to the other two, because there seems to be no end to their bickers.

“Nice to meet you, Jimin-ssi.” A smile blooms on Jungkook’s face, showing his bunny teeth. “Are you noona’s boyfriend?”

The younger one’s bluntness almost makes you choke on the sip of alcohol you just took, blocking any words from coming out of your mouth to reply to his curious eyes. Jimin does the job for you though, all while leaning even closer to you so that Jungkook hears him better.

“Unfortunately, I’m not. We went to high school together.”

His statement makes your heart sprint. Did he really just say that?

Jungkook’s eyes grow in size, a mischievous grin making its way on his delicate features. “It’s great keeping in touch with old friends, right?”

“It would be a shame to lose precious friends just because you don’t go to school with them anymore.” Jimin adds.

“Of course!” The standing boy nods but stills shortly after. “Ah! Lisa’s back, can’t leave her waiting.” His playful attitude now slightly stiffer. “It was nice meeting you, Jimin-ssi. See you in class, noona.” The suggestive eyebrow wiggle he manages to send without Jimin noticing makes you clench your fist.

“Yah!” You chide not so subtly.

Jimin truly didn’t notice Jungkook’s grimace because he’s looking at you with confusion written all over his face. “Why scold him, he seems like a nice kid.”

“He’s nice, but…” You honestly didn’t have anything to defend yourself with.

“But?”

“He likes to tease everyone. Including those older than him.” You reply after giving it a bit more thought. “Except for Lisa, the girl sitting opposite to him. He becomes putty in her hands.” You motion to the pair with your head.

“Seems like someone we both know.” Jimin adds as he looks over to Taehyung.

You can’t help but giggle. Taehyung was like a different person in the presence of Hani. But who are you fooling, Jimin has a similar effect on you too.

 “I guess you don’t go to bars that often.” Jimin asks and sips on his drink, a pleased smirk forming on his face after placing the glass back down.

“I don’t even go out that often to begin with…” Your words drift off.

“Really? You don’t seem that fazed by the amount of soju we had at the pub earlier.”

“I’ve always had a pretty good tolerance.” You take a sip of the orangey liquid in your glass. Your higher tolerance of alcohol was something you weren’t too fond of though. It made it harder to lose some inhibitions like other people. The liquid courage was never something you could achieve with an acceptable number of shots and getting wasted to the point of not remembering what you were doing was never your thing. “I hope it’s not limited only to Korean drinks though.”

“I guess we’ll see.” Jimin chuckles at your statement.

“How’s the kiss?”

“What?” Your eyes shoot up in his direction.

“The drink.”

“Ah.” An obvious blush spreads across your cheeks. “Yeah… It’s- It’s sweet. I like it.”

“Do you wanna try mine? It’s a little bitter though.” He offers.

“Sure.” You don’t think you’re going to exactly enjoy his drink of choice but you’re too curious as to what Jimin’s taste is to not have a sip.

He slides the low glass closer to your hand and you pick it up, briefly examining the contents’ color. Your face scrunches into a grimace as the liquid hits your taste buds.

“So bitter!” You let out after putting the glass back down on the counter.

Even though the sip you just took wasn’t a pleasant experience, Jimin’s reaction definitely is. Supporting himself by his hands on the counter, he’s falling over with laughter.

“You’re really cute, you know that?”

Jimin, you’re really blunt when you’ve had something to drink, you know that? You answered in your mind with a question.

“You expressed the taste so well with your face.” He’s still laughing.

“Why do you drink it, then?” You ask with a pout, stealing glances at his laughing form.

“I like this kind of taste.”

The silver haired boy proceeds to swipe his hair back, only for it to fall into its former place. You also don’t fail to notice the short swipe of his tongue over his lips. It suddenly makes you wonder what kissing him would taste like. Like the bitter drink he sips on? Or would the sweetness of your cocktail overpower it? You try to imagine the taste but there’s not one good comparison you can think of.

 “Y/n,” Jimin starts after a short silence due to your mind wandering off. “Do you want to know the reason why the girl we barely avoided earlier disliked you? But if you don’t feel like talking about it, we don’t ha-”

That definitely woke you up from your thoughts, not even giving you the opportunity to blush. “I don’t really mind… But you seemed quite bothered by it in the pub. Why bring it up?”

“Well… It has to do with you after all.”

“I don’t-“

“Back in eleventh grade, Nayeon overheard one conversation she wasn’t supposed to hear, hell, nobody was supposed to hear.” Jimin visibly shifts in his seat, gripping the glass in front of him a bit tighter. “I told Taehyung something that I’m a little scared to say to you even now.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Your worried look easing his unnerved figure slightly, shaking his head.

“No, no. It’s not you. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Jimin lets out a huff. “It’s me. I was being careless.” He pauses for a moment, eyes lingering on yours until you evade his gaze. “I told Taehyung that I like you. And she overheard it. So… It’s my fault she was so hostile towards you. I’m sorry.”

The words ‘I like you’ ring in your head, almost muting what he said afterwards. You stay frozen, your heart about to give out from the speed it’s beating at.

“Jimin… I-”

“I’m really sorry, I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn’t listen to anything I was saying.”

“Do you mean that?” you take a quick sip from your glass, praying the liquid would give you the courage you need.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry.” Jimin’s eyes drop down.

“No, wait, why weren’t those words in the past tense?”

“What do you mean?”

“Jimin, do you… do you like me?” You gather your courage.

“I- I…” He stutters before nodding. “Yeah, I like you.”

“Jimin…” you place your hand over his that is clutching his drink with too much force. He tenses at the contact but eases his grip soon enough. “Why did you never tell me?”

After a silence that followed your question, you can’t help but continue, the alcohol taking control of your voice. “I guess for the same reason I never told you…”

“Huh?” A confused murmur escapes his mouth.

“I had a huge crush on you during high school.” You sheepishly admit, your hands letting go of his and retreating closer to your body. “But I was never bold enough to tell you and you were out of my league. Being friends with you was more than enough for me.”

Jimin sips on the drink he was clutching so hard just a while ago and hums. “That means you don’t feel the same way anymore. It’s understandable, I’m the foolish one here when it’s been three years since we last spoke.”

There’s a sadness that spreads on his features even though the corners of his lips curl slightly up.

“I was convinced about it until a few hours ago.” You confess. “But now I feel like I’m seventeen again.”

 “Jimin,” a voice interrupts you before Jimin manages to reply. It’s Woosik. He’s on his feet already, supporting wobbly Taehyung as the gets up from the bar stool. “We’re gonna get going. Tae’s had enough. Are you coming with us?”

He pauses after examining the situation he intervened in some more because of the silence that spreads around you. Both you and Jimin are looking elsewhere, his hands fiddling with his drink and yours clenched tightly in your lap. “Did I interrupt something here?”

The boy sitting next to you replies. “I’ll stay some more. We still have a lot to talk about with Y/n, isn’t that right?”

You nod and shift your focus on the two standing boys. They don’t seem to be too concerned about you and Jimin, focusing on standing straight and not forgetting any of their belongings.

“Get home safe, you guys.”

“You always end up so drunk, Taehyung. You’re unbelievable.” Jimin says but pats his friend on the shoulder.

Woosik only snorts. “Why is it always me taking him home?”

“Maybe because he’s always willing to pay for the cab and you live in the building next to his place?” Jimin retorts playfully.

“I hate you.” Is the only thing Woosik says goodbye with before heading to the staircase leading out.

“Love you too.”

 Woosik butting in ended up lifting up the awkward tension between you two because you let out an unrestrained laugh, Jimin soon joining in.

“You guys really haven’t changed one bit.”

“You neither.” Jimin leans his chin against his hand, all while studying you with his eyes. “Only your hair got longer, and you’re not wearing a school uniform.”

“Oh? That’s all?” You pout.

“And you got even prettier.” He grins.

The instinct to hide your face behind your palms kicks in at once but Jimin is faster to get a hold of your hand, lightly holding it and kneading circles into it with his thumb. The soft gesture causes you to almost melt under his touch, biting on your lip.

“We may as well be the biggest fools on Earth, Jimin.” Your hand in his hold shifts so that you can intertwine your fingers with his.

“I know… Now I feel really bad, I’m sorry.” Jimin apologizes again but tightens his grip on your hand.

“Okay, no more saying sorry tonight. We can’t do anything about the past anyways.”

“Does that mean that you want to do something about the present?” A flirty smile returns to his face.

“I mean… Only if you want to.” Where did your confidence from a while ago disappear to, you’ll never know.

“I sure do.”

You look at each other for a while without saying a word but start giggling when the silence becomes too much.

“I can’t believe this.” You glance at your intertwined fingers, then at the boy’s brown eyes, taking in the tender look he’s giving you. “Doesn’t stuff like this happen only in movies?”

“Hmm, I’d say we’re living proof it happens in reality too.”

 “Was the drink to your liking?” Hani inquires when she notices your glass is empty.

“Oh, yes, it was delicious. Thank you.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” After collecting the emptied glass, the bartender turns to Jimin with a softer look occupying her face. “Is the man that walked out leaning on his friend’s shoulder okay? He seemed very drunk…” Her words drift off.

“Ah, you mean Taehyung? He’s going to survive. You don’t have to worry about him too much.” Jimin answers a little startled.

“Taehyung…” Hani repeats after him, collecting the glass in front of him as well.

“Should I pass him your number?”

The bartender’s eyes shoot open at his suggestion. “I shouldn’t be doing this during my work hours…” After hesitating for a short while though, she swiftly takes out a business card out of her shirt pocket and slips it close to Jimin. He only winks at her and hides the paper in his back pocket. Hani then dashes off to busy herself with work, cheeks slightly flushed.

“Wow, are we really not in a movie? Do you think she likes Tae?” You say, after letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.

“I’d say it’s clear as day.”

“Cupid must be busy tonight.” You let a sigh escape when you spot your hoobae in the back of the bar and motion his way by lifting your chin.

Lisa is leaning against him, sitting side by side in a small sofa looking extremely comfortable. Jungkook’s arm is holding her shoulder, pressing her body tighter to his, a humongous grin plastered on both of their faces.

“One would think you’re jealous, Y/n!” Jimin teases.

You can’t help but pout at his accusation. “I’m just surprised by this outburst of luck and love from the universe.”

“Well, it’s Christmas soon.”

“Do you believe in Christmas miracles?” you ask Jimin.

“I think I might from now on.”

“Cheesy!” You punch his arm lightly.

“Yes, yes.” Jimin’s resigned reply makes you both giggle. “Should we get going too? Leave those two a little privacy.”

You snort at his words. “I’ll probably hear about it all from Jungkook the next time I see him anyways. But I feel like my wallet can’t take many more of these drinks. Let’s go.”

 The night air is crisp but there’s some humidity that makes it feel colder than it actually is. A pout is slowly dissolving below your scarf as Jimin intently insisted that he was going to pay for your drink as well. Because he made you stay out longer and dragged you along to Taehyung’s bar of choice. You squeeze the pair of gloves he lent you earlier and burry your chin even more into the scarf that Jimin helped wrapping around your neck.

“You must be cold.” Jimin’s neck is pretty much exposed to the freezing air but he still shakes his head in denial.

“I’m good.” He then reaches out for your hand and your palms mold into each other as if it was the most natural thing. “Do you want to see the lanterns some more? You looked bewitched by it on the way here.”

“It was so pretty! Can’t blame me.” You hope the scarf around your shoulders and the darkness make the blush on your cheeks less visible but then you stop, making him turn around and face you. “Wait, Jimin, is that it? Are you trying to find excuses not to go home yet?”

“Is it that obvious?” Jimin fakes a laugh.

“Well, I want to spend more time with you too.” His eyes widen for a little bit as a current of wind ruffles his hair but then he smiles again. “Let’s go, before you freeze to death.”

“I’m not cold, Y/n!”

“Yes, yes.”

It was how comfortable he made you feel, joke around with you, yet still making your heart flutter. Just that. No other guy was able to evoke that kind of feeling in you. Just by walking next to you, holding your hand, softly bumping into each other’s shoulders on your tipsy feet.

The wind is playing with his silver hair, sometimes revealing a little more of his forehead and you almost forget to look where you’re walking as your eyes are engrossed in studying his features. The lanterns hung above the stream are of no big interest to you, mind occupied by the man next to you.

“Isn’t it too cold here?” Jimin asks, concerned.

You walked down to the path that is directly next to the icy water to see the scenery from a different perspective but failed to consider that. Water really made the air colder.

“We can just walk closer to each other.”

Jimin then guides your hand that he’s holding into the pocket of his coat but doesn’t let go. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”

“Do what? Walk next to Cheonggyecheon at two in the morning in freezing weather?” You tease.

“This.” He says as he gives your hand a gentle squeeze. “Give me your other hand.” Jimin requests and halts his steps. You comply right away, stuffing his gloves you’ve been holding into his still empty pocket along with both of your intertwined hands, leaving you standing face to face.

“It’s so warm.” You purr as his body heat reaches your skin. “But your neck still looks very cold.”

“It’s not like I will freeze when my pockets are this warm.” He defends himself with a smug smile.

Obviously not enough to convince you, before thinking twice, you close the distance between your bodies and lay your chin on his shoulder. You catch a whiff of his scent and the intimacy of standing so close to Jimin makes you melt against him.

Just then something cold lands on your nose.

“Y/n! It’s snowing!” Jimin lets out, excitement in his voice.

White fluffy snowflakes slowly fall all around you and fill the night sky. Everything seems quiet, as if the time has stopped, but the snow continues to fall, disappearing once hitting the ground.

“You know what they say about the first snow.” Jimin speaks up again. “If you’re together with someone during the first snowfall...”

He pulls away slightly, leaving your hands in his pockets and cups your face with his warm hands. You notice a few snowflakes get stuck in his hair, but they melt too soon for you to brush them away.

“You will stay together for a long time.”

“Hmm, I want to believe that.” You say, hands tightening in fists in Jimin’s pockets when you feel him pull you closer.

“Me too.” He almost whispers before his lips find yours, hasty at first, only slowing down when your arms encircle his waist.

You were right. No drink a bartender can mix can possibly come close to this. The keen movement of his lips still manages to be soft, sending shivers down your spine as he tucks a strand of loose hair behind your ear. Why drink alcohol when there’s something as addictive as this.

It seems you’re not the only one thinking that. No sooner than you pull away to catch your ragged breath, Jimin’s lips crash onto yours once more, this time in a more fervent manner, as if you’d disappear if he stopped.

You have an urge to pinch yourself just to make sure this is not a dream but the cold reassures you it’s not. Snow is still falling onto you both, lanterns swaying above your heads, but the only thing you can focus on is the man kissing your lips and his arms wrapped around you.

“Jimin-” You let out when he breaks the kiss, only to stare deep into your orbs and hum as a sign for you to continue. “I like you a lot.”

Jimin can’t contain the smile that overtakes his face, leaning his forehead against yours.

“You don’t even know how happy that makes me… Because I like you a lot too.”

“I know.” You plant a peck on his freezing nose and barely escape his counterattack.

You must look like a pair of fools, giggling and chasing each other in the middle of such a cold night, trying to steal kisses from one other, but you couldn’t care less.

As long as you’re with Jimin.

Epilogue:

 Beagles 00:24 am

Whee: You should have seen Nayeon after you guys left hahaha

Whee: She made a ruckus that she couldn’t even talk to Jimin when she was ogling Dowoon the whole time

Hyejinie: Gets on my nervres so mu

 Beagles 00:26 am

Whee: Hyejin dropped her phone lol

Whee: Hope you’re doing better than this wasted missy, Y/n

 Beagles 01:03 am

Whee: Just got home

Whee: You should see Hyejin hahahahh

Whee: …

Whee: I really hope that you not replying is a good sign and you’re not passed out somewhere

Whee: I trust you Y/n!

 Beagles 11:01 am

You: Should I start believing in Christmas miracles too?

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction | Audio Engineer [Request]

Seokjin:

Namjoon had left hours ago but you and Yoongi were still sitting in front of the audio system going through everything over and over again trying to make sure the songs were perfect. There wasn't much time left before they had to present the album to Bang PD and they were more than nervous about all of it and so were you. You were a new Audio Engineer at BigHit though you'd been working with other companies and they loved you this was your first time working with your boyfriend and his band.

"Y/n?" You hummed hearing Jin calling out your name, you were exhausted and staring at the screen was starting to get to you.

"Hmm?" You turned to look over your shoulder and he was standing in the doorway of Yoongi's studio. Usually, Yoongi insisted that he work alone but there was something about you that made him want you there, you figured it was just because you were dating Jin and had grown close to all of them.

"Yoongi I'm stealing them back," Jin said looking at you, you looked like you hadn't slept in days, you were wearing one of Jin's hoodies and some sweatpants.

"We've almost finished Jin, give me ten more minutes." You told him turning back to the sound system and starting to the song back up from the beginning. Taehyung's starting vocals filled the studio, you smiled as you heard the backing music fill in afterwards. The song was finally starting to feel perfect rather than just okay. Yoongi was nodding his head along to the beat of the song while you listened intently trying to figure out if it needed something else doing to it. It felt as though it was almost there but there was something missing from it,

"I know that look. No. Home, it's 3 am." Your eyes shot open as Jin told you the time, it couldn't have been. You'd been there since 9 am there was no way it was 3 am,

"It is, you should head home. I'm sorry I kept them so late Jin." Yoongi grumbled yawning and stretching as he shut down the systems you'd been working on.

"But we're almost finished-"

"It will still be there tomorrow. Home." Jin ordered coming furhter into the studio and taking your hand into his, you smiled as he began ranting about how he was going to have to start treating you like he did Yoongi and Namjoon when they first started. Making sure they went to sleep and ate on time, it felt nice to have someone care about you that much but you didn't need him to do that, you knew how to care for yourself.

"I'm okay baby, let's just go home." You whispered to him as you walked through the empty halls of the BigHit building. You'd wished you could say you'd never been here this late but there had been days where you hadn't left the building for maybe two days. Sleeping on the sofa in Yoongi's studio or stealing Namjoon's sofa for the night, it was easier than going all the way home in the middle of the night.

Yoongi:

Yoongi groaned rolling over on the bed, he went to throw his arm over you only to find that the space in your shared bed was empty and you were nowhere to be seen. He sat up in the bed and checked his phone, 

[You]: At the studio, nothing's right. Make sure you have breakfast.

He threw the covers from his body and looked around the room before heading over to the wardrobe to get changed. He was now starting to see why you used to get so overprotective over him whenever he used to not come home or stayed late. You'd promised him you'd be home last night and it looked like you hadn't been in the apartment in days. 

"Thanks," You said as Yoongi walked into the studio holding out a cup of coffee and breakfast for you. He placed a soft kiss on the top of your head and then looked at you, you looked like you hadn't been to sleep yet, your hair was a mess and you just looked drained. You were starting to eat the bagel he'd gotten for you when he looked over the files, 

"You haven't slept yet have you?" You shook your head, there was no use lying to Yoongi. You'd always been a bad liar and Yoongi had this aura around him that made it impossible to keep things from him. 

"I was thinking I work all day until like 3 pm, go home, catch a few hours and come back again later. You know I work better at night than I do in the day." He watched you eating, his eyes were filled with concern as he heard you planning on staying up all night once again. He didn't want that, he wanted you to be at home in bed with him and now he knew how you felt when they first started out. 

"Come home and sleep," He mumbled looking down at you as you practically swallowed the bagel whole, he didn't even think you'd chewed it. 

"Slow down, it's not that important." You sighed at him, you couldn't even say that he didn't understand because he did. He went through all of this and was still going through this, this was their self-produced album. 

"I mean it or I'll take you off the project." You stared at him with a blank expression, you knew that it wasn't an empty threat. He'd already kicked Jungkook from working on the audio systems because he was working himself half to death.

"We go home, we get you rested and we'll come back to it. We have time, we have four audio engineers working on this." He reassured you and you sighed staring down at the cup of coffee he'd brought to you, you were really tired and sleep did sound like the best course of action right now. 

"Fine. But not because you're telling me too...But because I just so happen to be tired,"

"Mmm-hmm," He hummed sarcastically and shut down everything on the PC that you had been working on and began helping you pack your things up to take home. He was beginning to notice just how alike you really were when it came to working together, you had a bag full of supplies as if you were moving into the studio.

Hoseok:

When you walked into your small studio that night you were expecting to see it the same way you'd left it but instead, you were greeted by candles lighting up your desk, floor and the small coffee table that you had inside your studio. You hadn't been working for BigHit that long but they'd given you your own studio rather than making you work in and out of random ones that were free.

"Hobi?" You questioned dropping your bag down onto the floor and kicking off your shoes, he blew out the match stick he was holding and smiled over at you.

"You're early." You nodded at him but still gave him a questioning look as to what was going on but he pulled you into the room and sat you on the floor in front of the coffee table and began setting food down for you.

"I came in earlier to work on your solo song for the album, what's all of this?" You laughed looking as he placed all your favourite meals in front of you before sitting down across from you and nodding for you to eat.

"You're taking the day off, we're going to eat this and then head out for the day." You stared at him as you started to eat some of the food he's laid out for you,

"I have to work-"

"Namjoon is taking over for the day, you're taking the day off and we're spending the day together." You nodded along with him, you actually couldn't remember the last time that you and Hoseok had spent the entire day together that wasn't working on the album you were all grinding over.

"What are the plans then?" You took a sip of the water he'd given you and he smiled at you glad that you were agreeing to relax with him for the entire day.

"I'm going to take you to buy some snacks and we're going home to relax-" He stopped when the door opened and Soobin walked into the room.

"Are you busy?" He questioned looking around the room, it was obvious that you were busy but you weren't going to let the younger boy down when he needed something.

"No-"

"Yes, they are, what's up?" Soobin shook his head promising you that it was nothing and that it could wait before leaving the room.

"Hobi." You groaned turning to look at your boyfriend who gave you a warning look,

"Spending the day together," He said before feeding you some of the noodles from his plate, you rolled your eyes playfully at him and swallowed the noodles he was feeding you. You had been working on a lot of albums lately not just BTS, but working alongside GFriend, TXT and starting to work with Seventeen as they joined the BigHit team.

"We don't get to do this often so we're spending the whole day together, no work, no stressing." You nodded along with him knowing deep down he was right about this.

Namjoon:

Namjoon had been the one to get you the job at BigHit in the first place, he knew how good of an audio engineer you were and insisted that you get a job at BigHit.

"Hi Baby," You said as he walked into your home studio that night, you'd been rushed off your feet trying to help him and the boys with their new album that they were working on but it was proving harder than it seemed at first. It was your first huge project that could get you fired if it wasn't perfect even though Namjoon was assuring you it was fine and nothing would get you fired.

"What are you working on?" He questioned, he only ever saw you in your home studio when you were working on your own music and he was excited to see what you'd come up with.

"I'll show you," You hit play on the keyboard and the room filled with music along with Jin's opening vocals you turned to Namjoon expecting him to look impressed but he looked pissed off more than anything.

"What? Is it bad?! I asked Jin and he said he was in love with it." You sighed turning off the music and looking at Namjoon who was now staring at you with pleading eyes,

"You told me you had the week off." You nodded at him,

"I do have the week off-"

"So why are you working on our album?" You sighed, you and Namjoon had been having the same reoccurring argument about this since you began working on the album with him. He was sure you were doing too much and were going to end up hurting yourself despite you telling him that everything was fine.

"When was the last time you worked on any of your own music?" His voice was laced with concern for you and you sighed knowing that it was coming from a place of heart but you weren't in the mood to work on your own stuff anymore.

"This is more important than mine Namjoon, yours is your life-"

"Exactly my life, which means I should be working on it. I don't want you putting this much pressure on yourself to get some of it done." You frowned at him,

"What are you saying?"

"I'm taking you off the project, you can work on something else while we work on the main album." Your heart sank, it felt as though he was trying to fire you without actually firing you but it all hurt the same.

"Namjoon-"

"You're great at what you do and I love you for it but Y/n...Please, you have to see that all of this overworking, taking time off and still working is too much for you." He was starting to tear up and you could tell he was serious about you taking time off and relaxing.

"Okay baby, I'll stop. I'll relax I promise." You shut everything down in your studio and got up to hug him, promising him you would take it easier from now on.

Jimin:

"You can't be serious right now." You turned to look at Jimin as he walked through the door of your hospital room, you stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What's the problem?" You questioned, he stared at you and then pointed at the laptop which was sitting in front of you with all of your work beside it. The small portable keyboard that you used to create remixes with as well as the extended hard drive for the songs that you worked on.

"What's the problem?! You're sitting in a hospital bed after having surgery and you're just working?" You nodded, you were long overdue on a bunch of songs you were supposed to be mixing together for the single EP's and if you didn't have them done Yoongi was going to have your head on a stick.

"They need finishing-"

"Someone else will finish it." He shut the laptop lid down and you stared at him, he knew how much of a workaholic you were and that the surgery you'd gone through wasn't going to stop you from doing it.

"They remove my appendix Jimin, it's not like they chopped off my hands. I can still work." You told him trying to open the laptop back up but he shut the lid again and took it over to his bag.

"You're going to relax. How do I know that this wasn't what caused your appendix to burst, it's all related to stress." You knew he was just trying to look out for you but he was coming across as the overbearing boyfriend type and you just wanted to get some work done instead of staring at the same four walls.

"Everything is related to stress but I wasn't stressed." You told him as he walked over to your side of the bed and sat down in the visitor's chair. He was going to stand his ground he didn't care if you didn't see that it was related he was going to make sure you took time off and relaxed a little.

"You can tell Yoongi why his remixes aren't finished." You tried to threaten him but he wasn't bothered when it came to standing up for you and making sure you were well-rested he would even go up to Bang PD and tell him you were taking some well earned time off. Jimin folded his arms over his chest and nodded,

"I'll tell him when he comes by later then." You groaned knowing you weren't going to win this one and were going to have to sit in the hospital bored until they released you into Jimin's care.

Taehyung:

After your interview Taehyung made you promise that you would go and find him no matter what the outcome was so you went straight to where you knew he would be hiding out, The BigHit lounge. As soon as you walked into the room his face fell flat, you looked sad and it made him want to rush over to you and make sure everything was okay.

"I didn't get the job baby," You lied sitting down next to him and Kai from TXT. Taehyung began running his hand over yours trying to find anything he could do to comfort you,

"Did they say why?" You nodded your head,

"They told me that my intermate relationship with my super guiliable boyfriend wouldn't be a problem and I should start working with Yoongi right away." You started laughing along with Kai as Taehyung stared at you like you'd just betrayed him.

"Sorry baby! It was too good to resist, I start work tomorrow." You smiled at him and laid your head on his shoulder. The door to the lounge opened and Yoongi walked in holding a clipboard,

"I'm looking for Y/n y/l/n," You rolled your eyes at him and nodded holding up your hand for him to see,

"That's me Sir." He nodded and sat down in front of you clearing his throat as he began to read off the clipboard, at first you thought he was just pretending to read something until he began reading off the name of the school you attended and where you'd taken your gap year.

"Hey! Where did you get this?!" You yelled taking the CV away from him and putting it into your bag he shook his head at you,

"Yelling at the boss isn't a good start-"

"You're not my boss, Bang PD is. You're just a loser I have to work with." You joked pushing his chest away from you and turning to lay back with Taehyung who was shaking his head at you.

"If that's how you're going to act with him I don't think the arrangement will work, Might as well fire you now." You scoffed at him and playfully jabbed him with your elbow before turning to Yoongi and telling him how excited you were to be able to work on the new album with them.

Jungkook:

It was another long boring meeting with everyone that had been working on the album with the boys along with the head of the BigHit company. All of them talking using giant words that you didn't even understand, you looked to your left to see Jungkook pretending to pay attention to everything going on around him. He'd already told you he didn't want to be there five times that morning, it was just the final product presentation. None of them had to be there except for you, Namjoon and Yoongi but they were all there to make sure that Bang PD and other heads like the album that you'd been working hard on over quarantine. You'd only just gotten a job with them when lockdown came into place, you'd only just gotten the job for a month when everything went into lockdown mode and the boys decided that they were going to produce an album alone with only a couple of other helpers.

"Stop it," You warned Jungkook as you felt his hand trail onto your waist, no one else except for Jungkook and the boys knew of your relationship and you were sure if the big bosses found out you would lose your job instantly. Company relationships were forbidden from happening and it was within your contract but you'd been dating Jungkook long before you applied to work at BigHit.

"I want to go home and cuddle you." He whispered but you ignored him and went on to explain what you had done on the album while everyone stared at you. Jungkook kept his hand on you the entire time, wanting to feel close to you in any way he could even if he couldn't show everyone that you were his and he was proud of you.

"Thanks, Y/n." You smiled at Bang PD and then turned to look at Yoongi who was now giving his speech on the album, Jungkook was just staring at the side of your face though and wondering how he was so lucky to get someone like you. He was so proud and all he wanted to do was scream from the rooftops about how great you were.

Tagline: 

@writingdreamsnottragedies​ @lyoongx​ @lynnthevirgo​ @jooniesdarlingdimples​ @snowy-meowl​ @mitzwinchester​ @fan-ati--c​ @callingmyangel​ @rjsmochii​ @btsiguess-kpop​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @taestannie​ @supresoo​

[thedumpsterqueen]

Standards of Performance, Chapter 6: Buckshot and Tequila

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

AO3 Link

Finally, I write most of the chapter before the day I’m supposed to post it. This was mostly done on my laptop (which I’m not used to) as we just moved and my PC is barely set up, so forgive anything that looks weird or wonky. As always, I hope you enjoy. I love getting all your kind messages <3 (Also message me if you want to be on the taglist - I suppose I should be better about that!)

Summary:  You’re the BAU’s newest intern, desperate to prove yourself amongst an established team of much more experienced profilers. Agent Hotchner, the seemingly infallible team leader, sets strict expectations for your performance. He commands your respect without even trying, but is there something more to your relationship than a simple desire to impress your stony-faced boss?

Chapter: 6, Buckshot and Tequila

Chapter Summary: Events during a new case test your ability to keep your feelings hidden, and a night out takes an unforeseen turn. 

Words: 3736

Rating: Explicit, 18+. Warnings on AO3.

Pairings: Hotch x Reader, Hotch x You

Turns out, lying to Hotch was easier than you thought.

It helped that you were lying to yourself too, of course - that you pretended your gaze didn't linger on his form whenever he was in your vicinity, that the swell of pride in your chest when he agreed with something you said was purely professional. There were times, though, that the facade was much harder to maintain. The most recent case had been one of those times.

You had been tracking down an unsub abducting children in a rural Iowa town. Three kids had gone missing in the span of two weeks, and after Garcia matched the victimology and MO with neighboring states, it looked to be close to a dozen in the years before that. The case started off rough enough - locals refused to believe it could be one of their own, police resisted the BAU’s guidance, the usual - but it came to a head when a fourth child went missing during the investigation.

Thankfully, the team figured out the identity of the unsub relatively quickly. Reid did a geographical profile of all the locations where victims were taken and found a public health clinic that had branches in each area. Garcia cross-checked the employee records to find that only one doctor had done travel shifts at each clinic during the time the children were taken, and within minutes, you were rushing to his address.

The SUV carrying Hotch, Rossi, and Prentiss arrived long enough before yours that by the time you pulled up, they were already kicking down the door and entering the home. The first thing you heard after you flung the car door open was the deafening crack of a weapon firing, and despite your lack of training with firearms, it was apparent that it was not an FBI-issue pistol.

You would never describe yourself as fragile - you couldn't be, not in this line of work. But when you registered the implications of that sound, your knees buckled, instantly bringing you down onto the dusty ground outside the farmhouse. The rest of the team sprinted in, guns drawn. You faintly registered Prentiss yelling inside, then more gunshots, but your head was ringing so loudly from the visceral panic that you couldn’t make out anything specific.

When Hotch burst back out onto the porch, you thought you might honestly sob with relief. That is, until you caught the glint of the sun in the slick, dark blood dripping down the sleeve of his suit.

That was when you puked.

Something about the sight of Aaron Hotchner bleeding felt so wrong that even as you struggled to your feet and stepped over the pile of sick you left in the dirt, even as you got closer and saw the rivulets of blood drip down to his fingertips and dot the wooden floors of the porch, you felt like you were in a dream. Your mind couldn’t grasp the sudden shock of his mortality, that he could bleed, that he could die, even, and he very well might, depending on what vessels were hit. You made it up the steps, only managing to call out his name - his first name - your throat still burning from bile. Despite the chaos of the current moment, he still whipped his head around at the sound of that, as if hearing the name Aaron desperately falling from your lips was more attention-grabbing than the rest of the team gathering around him trying to stem the bleeding.

“It looks worse than it is,” said Rossi, peering through the holes in Hotch’s mangled sleeve. “It was just buckshot, and he barely hit you. Nothing a few stitches won’t fix.”

He turned out to be right, thank god, and later that afternoon, Hotch was freshly bandaged and sitting across from you on the return flight to Quantico.

So, yeah, the “lying to yourself” thing wasn’t going so well at that moment. Hotch was absorbed in paperwork while the rest of the team napped - because of course he was; even being shot didn’t sway his apparently relentless refusal to relax - and each time he winced at the movement of his arm, your vice grip around your chest tightened a little more.

He must have sensed you staring, because he looked up, frown softening slightly as he saw the concern on your face.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” he assured you with a half smile.

Teetering on an emotional precipice, too scared to respond for fear of falling over the edge, you went back to your reading. After a few minutes of listening to him write while not turning a single page in your book, he set his pen down and took a breath.

“You were screaming my name,” he said, quietly, despite you two being the only ones awake.

“What?”

“Earlier,” he clarified, “when we went into the house. I could hear you outside, yelling my name.”

You looked at him, incredulous. “Of course I did. I heard the shotgun go off. Clearly,” you gestured at his arm, “I had a reason to be worried.”

He shook his head and cleared his throat, as if you didn’t understand the question. “Dave and Emily were with me. Any of us could have gotten hit. You only yelled for me.”

Oh.

You shrugged. “You’re the team leader. It’s my instinct to call for you when something goes wrong."

It was a lie, and a bad one at that, but Hotch gave you an unreadable look and let the subject drop.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, and when you finally made it back to your apartment, you had no plans other than to sleep off the stress of the case and the embarrassment of Hotch calling your actions into question. Garcia, however, wasn't about to let that happen.

BAU-tiful People Group Chat

Garcia: *added You to the conversation*

Garcia: Ok, my lovely children, I know you’re all tired, but I miss your faces, so I’ll see u at Whimsy tonight at 9! Notice I didn’t use a question mark bc it is NOT a question!

You knew from overhearing the team talk that Whimsy was a bar downtown they liked to frequent, but you’d never been invited before. Despite your overwhelming exhaustion, the idea of going out with the team, of finally feeling accepted by them, was enough to make you amenable to the concept. It may have seemed insignificant on the surface, but Garcia adding you to their group chat was the biggest welcome gesture you’d received yet.

Morgan: Only if you wear that dress you know I like ;)

You lived for the day they would realize they were actually flirting with each other instead of just pretending to.

Prentiss: Garcia… you’re killing me… but you know I’ll be there.

JJ: Contacting the babysitter as we speak.

Morgan: Fuck yeah!!! Pretty Boy, you in?

Reid: Can’t we ever go somewhere quiet?

As the group chimed in with various iterations of, “Shut up, Reid,” you hesitantly typed out a text to confirm your attendance. You were excited, of course, but nervous to be the new kid at their favorite hangout. After today's events, though, the desire not to be sober won out over nerves.

You: I’ll be there! Thanks for the invite!

Rossi: Hope you kids are ready for me to drink you under the table, as usual.

Morgan: Eyyy, you KNOW we party hard! See y’all tonight.

____________

Turns out, Morgan was not exaggerating. Not even a little bit. By the time you arrived, 15 minutes late, everyone looked to be at least 3 shots deep. Garcia ran over to greet you, squealing, and wrapped you in a suffocating hug.

“I’m so glad you came! What do you drink? Tequila? I’ll grab the next round!”

You laughed and confirmed that tequila sounded great, and as she scurried off to the bar with Morgan on her heels, you had a chance to look around.

The atmosphere of the club surprised you - it was all glass and steel and modernity, packed with people dancing to something with intense bass - not the low-key joint you’d pictured the team wanting to unwind at. But as you watched JJ, Prentiss, and Rossi cheer on Reid as he threw back a shot, doubling over in hysterics as he coughed and sputtered at the taste, you realized that this place was just loud and energetic enough to keep them from thinking about anything other than work. In that way, you definitely saw the appeal.

“I come bearing shots!” Garcia yelled as her and Morgan made it back to the table. “Grab yours… here we go- whoops! Alright, everyone got theirs?”

She turned to you, grinning behind a pair of hot pink spectacles. “Cheers not ONLY to rescuing four kidnapped children alive, but also to our lovely intern and her first Whimsy outing!”

The team erupted in cheers and you smiled back, downing the tequila. You chatted with the group while Garcia ordered more drinks, and then more drinks, and soon you felt a pleasant buzz filling your head.

“Morgan, you better ask me to dance right now before I go find another man to do the job,” Garcia said with a wink in his direction.

Morgan grinned and mock-bowed, holding out a hand for her to take, and led her off to the dancefloor.

“Should we join them?” JJ asked around the table.

“Someone’s gotta make sure they don’t do anything worth getting kicked out for,” Prentiss shot back. You giggled and followed the girls, leaving Rossi and Reid behind at the table in the midst of a heated debate about childhood brain development that you couldn’t even hope to comprehend.

Not long after you started dancing, you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder and turned around, looking up into the stunning green eyes of a man who looked to be about your age. It was hard to really tell what he looked like in the dim lighting, but by the way Prentiss was giving you a thumbs up and mouthing, “Go for it,” from your side, he was good enough for you.

“Do you want to dance?” he asked above the music. You smiled and nodded in confirmation, letting him wrap his arms around your waist and pull you to his hips.

He knew how to move, that was for certain. He ground against your backside lightly, snaking his hands around your stomach. You weren’t used to this kind of thing - dancing with random men at bars, letting them touch you like this - but the combination of the music and the booze and the relief at the last case being over was making you feel more free than you had in recent memory.

You exchanged grins with Morgan, who was dancing a few feet away in a much more R-rated manner with Garcia. The man behind you (whose name you didn’t know, but who cared?) leaned down to kiss your neck and you arched against him in response, reaching up to run your hand through his hair.

Throughout the song, you had rotated back to facing the table where the rest of your team was sitting. You glanced over, saw Reid and Rossi still deep in discussion, along with another man in a black button-up with a very familiar side profile and-

Hotch.

Hotch was here, and as if the powers that be were insistent upon proving to you that the opposite of serendipity existed, at the exact moment you had that realization, he turned and made direct eye contact with you. Drunk, wearing a skintight dress, a random man grinding on your ass, and staring right back at your Unit Chief at the motherfucking Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Your heart dropped to your stomach, and if you had been drunker, you might have hurled tequila all over the dancefloor. Instead, you pulled away from the mystery man behind you, ignoring his shocked, “Wait!” and beelined to the bar.

“Tequila. Shot. Please, I’m sorry, just saw someone I didn’t expect to,” you blurted out to the bartender, swearing you could feel Hotch’s eyes on your back from across the club.

The bartender, probably having seen much worse, nodded in understanding and poured your drink. You gulped it down, wiped your mouth, and leaned on the bar to get your bearings.

It’s not weird. It’s not. It’s a bar, it’s outside of work hours, it’s perfectly fine that you’re buzzed and dancing and having fun. Everyone else is!

Really, it wasn’t that you were worried about your job, or even that he would judge you (he probably would, but that was unavoidable regardless of the setting), it was just that you hadn’t mentally prepared yourself for the possibility that he would come. He was in the group chat - obviously, if he had seen Garcia’s invite - but had never struck you as the social type, the kind of boss that would interact with his team outside of work.

“Did you see that Hotch is here?” Prentiss asked breathlessly, appearing at the bar beside you.

Apparently, you weren’t the only one surprised.

“I did,” you whispered back, despite the thumping music and the rowdy patrons making it logically impossible for your words to reach the table 20 feet away. “Does he usually join you guys?”

“Never,” she said, before thinking and correcting herself, “Not in years, anyways. When Haley… we used to drag him out, but we stopped after a while.”

“Why do you think he came tonight?"

She shrugged. “Who knows? Far be it from me to explain why Hotch does anything.” An idea seemed to pop in her head, and she grinned. “Maybe it’s because of you!”

“M-me?” Your reaction to the suggestion wasn’t nearly as nonchalant as you’d tried for, but Prentiss was too drunk to notice.

“Yeah, gotta help initiate the intern on her first night out, right?” She grinned and clapped you on the shoulder, then turned away to head back to the dancefloor, leaving you alone. You sighed, gathered yourself as much as you could considering the effects of the tequila, and turned around to go greet him.

“Hey, Agent Hotchner. Didn’t expect to see you tonight!”

“Yes, well. Thought I’d show up for a bit; it’s been a while.” He gave you a tight lipped smile then looked back down at his glass of whisky, the awkward energy palpable.

Probably because he just saw you basically dry-humping some random dude.

“Well, I’m glad you came! Feel free to, uh, come dance if you want! Morgan and Garcia are showing us all up,” you said, gesturing to where Morgan and Garcia were in fact drawing the attention of several onlookers.

He chuckled at that. “They’re certainly a sight to behold, aren’t they?”

You nodded in agreement and headed back to the bar, the brief conversation pointing you towards yet another drink. Talking to him was so easy , sometimes, and others it was like pulling teeth to get a human response out of him. Could you blame him, though? Your last one-on-one interaction was you basically inviting yourself over to his apartment with takeout and listening to him spill his guts about his dead wife and kid, and he probably felt uncomfortable with you after that, and then you went right to this case without any chance for things to go back to normal, and then he got shot, and oh my god, you didn’t even ask him how his arm was doing, how fucking rude can you be, dumbass? and-

“Whoops! Shit, I’m sorry!”

You looked at the person you’d just bumped into in the midst of your internal crisis.

“Hey, it’s you!”

The man you’d been dancing with earlier, now much more obviously handsome in the brighter lights of the bar area, grinned in recognition.

“Hey, I thought I’d scared you off there!”

You laughed and shook your head. “No, I’m sorry. Just saw my boss and freaked out a little bit.”

“Oh shit, your boss is here?” he asked. “That’s uncomfortable, damn. I’m sorry.”

“No worries, it’s just… yeah. Anyways. Wanna pick up where we left off?” you asked, more desperate than ever to get Hotch out of your head. If he didn’t want to see you having a wild night, he shouldn’t have come to the club.

He took your hand, looking pleased. “Lead the way.”

It really was so much easier, you thought, to let yourself feel attraction for guys like this. Uncomplicated, willing to take what you give them, no backstory to speak of. They weren’t riddled with tragic history, unattainable in both position and personality, not to mention impossible to even imagine ever returning your feelings. Guys like Cooper (you’d finally learned his name somewhere amid the grinding and groping) were easy and fun and they didn’t keep you up at night agonizing over whether that thing you said at work was impressive enough.

But then again, they didn’t give you the roller-coaster feeling in your stomach that Aaron Hotchner did every time you locked eyes.

And lock eyes you did - an increasingly frequent number of times, actually. It seemed like whenever you turned to face his direction, he was staring you down. He always went back to his conversation with Rossi and Reid, but you noticed that he seemed to get more and more pissed off with every song that played. His frown was deepened, his expression dark, and you could tell even from a distance that his knuckles were white from gripping his glass.

You shrugged it off as Hotch being Hotch - who knew what that man was thinking? And besides, you were trying to forget him, damn it. At least, that was until a particularly raunchy song came on and you were in the middle of getting your ass felt up, when you felt a hand squeeze your shoulder and whip you around, bringing you face-to-face with your boss himself.

“Hey, what’s going on? Is something wrong?” you asked, utterly bewildered as to why he was interrupting you.

He ignored you, instead staring down Cooper, who very quickly decided Hotch wasn’t one to fuck with and walked away.

“Hotch! Is there a case? Should I grab the others?”

He shook his head. “Can you come with me, please?”

Perplexed, you acquiesced (not that you had much of a choice, with the way he was gripping your elbow) and followed him through the crowd, out the back door, and into an alley. He let go of you then, sighing and crossing his arms.

Your mind was wild with questions - did you do something you shouldn’t have? Get too drunk? Everyone was drunk, though, and you weren’t even half as wasted as some of the others. Did Reid or Rossi tell him something bad about you? Were you about to somehow get yourself fired off the clock?

“The boy you were dancing with was bad news,” he said, after an uncomfortably long period of silence.

What the fuck?

“What the fuck?” you repeated, this time out loud, and you knew you shouldn’t be talking to him like this, but you were too caught off guard to conduct yourself more appropriately.

“He was a drug user,” Hotch said, as if that would explain everything.

“A drug user,” you repeated back, no less confused.

“Cocaine,” he continued. “He was high - his pupils were dilated, he was rubbing his nose, and he's been to the bathroom several times.”

“So… you’re going to arrest him? For doing cocaine?” you asked, still baffled as to what he was insinuating.

“What? No,” he said, “I’m trying to warn you not to get involved.”

You had entered some parallel universe, you decided. There was no other explanation for your boss, a man you’d known all of four months, dragging you outside a bar on a Friday night and telling you not to dance with a hot stranger because he was on cocaine.

You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself before you really did get yourself fired. “Sir, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t think it’s really any of your business.”

His face hardened at that. “It is exactly my business,” he said, eyes boring a hole through your skull, “to watch out for things that may compromise my team.”

“Compromise your team?” you repeated his words again. “I was dancing, not getting engaged to the guy.”

“Should I allow you to dance with a sexual sadist if it’s just dancing?” he pressed, using the stern voice that usually caused any sort of dissent to whither and die right in your throat.

It didn’t work this time, probably because he was acting fucking insane. “Are you seriously comparing a sexual sadist to a guy who does cocaine while he’s out partying?”

“It’s not just while he’s out partying, by the way he conducted himself, he was a chronic-”

“It doesn’t matter!” you said, nearly yelling now. “You had no right! I'm sorry, what are you, my dad?!”

His eyes flashed at that. “If I hadn’t already had to sit through an 8 hour surgery not knowing if Garcia was going to make it out alive because her date shot her, then perhaps I would have no right. But as it stands, I do. Please be more careful with who you associate with, even if it’s just dancing.”

He spat that last part out, more vitriolic than you’d ever seen him, and stalked back inside. You were left outside in the alley, alone, reeling from confusion surrounding the entire interaction and shock at the emotional charge he’d leveled at you.

Reentering the bar, you saw that Hotch’s seat had been vacated and his jacket was gone. You rolled your eyes, and on your way to the bathroom, nearly ran into Cooper again.

“Hey!” he said. “What was that all about? You good?”

You looked up at his face and for the first time, noticed faint traces of white dust around his nose. He looked keyed up, jumpy - his pulse racing and visible on his carotid. You sighed.

“I’m good. Just not in the mood right now, sorry,” and pushed past him into the bathroom.

Hotch was an emotionally stunted asshole with a control complex, but he was also never fucking wrong.

[domesticblisss]

By My Side | Pt.02

Timothy Thatcher x Female Reader (Nicknamed ‘Baby’) Rating: Mature (Minors DNI) Word Count: 2257 Warnings: Smut, angst and fluff. PiV, oral (female receiving) rough sex, relationship discussions, alcohol mention and language. Inspired by INXS’ song, By My Side. Pt.01

“Welcome to NXT, Thatcher.”

Timothy turns around and stops for a second, staring at her. Baby looks him in the eyes, not blinking once. Silence is shared between them for what feels like an eternity. Tim hugs her as tight as he can, knocking the wind out of her, but Baby doesn’t reciprocate, her arms limp by her side as Tim holds her. 

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” Tim breaths on her hair.

“Fucking liar.” she whispers back to him. 

Tim releases the hold he had on her, but still keeps her close by keeping one hand on her shoulder. “Can we talk? I feel like we need to talk. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to, I understand that you hate me, you have all the right to. But can we please talk? I’m staying at Junior’s, if you want to...”

“Fine. I’ll be there at 7.” and she leaves before hearing his answer. 

Dakota and Rhea find her a few minutes later on the locker room, crying.

“Baby, what happened? You were talking to Thatcher and vanished from the gym. Did he do anything to you?” Kai says as she wipes her friends face clean.

“Do you want me to beat him up? You know I’d anything for you...” Rhea offers her.

“God, Rhea. No! But thank you. I don’t think I ever told you guys about this part of my time in Germany, yeah?” she tells them everything. About how they met, them touring together, all the happy moments and their downfall.

“We never fought, not once. Whenever something the other did bothered us we would just sit and talk. He always told me how great I was, how I was one of the best professionals he had ever seen. We talked about our dreams. I still can’t understand why he didn’t believe I couldn’t get here.” her voice breaks at the end and Baby starts crying again. Rhea hugs her, dries her cheeks once again, while saying “First of all, you need to stop crying, he doesn’t deserve it. Second, you guys really need to talk.”

“You do, babes.” Kota intervenes, “You guys need to have some closure to it. You left without even officially ending your relationship.”

“I know. He asked me to meet him tonight. I agreed to it. I don’t know why I got so shaken up after seeing him. I thought I had gotten over it, you know?” Baby sighs.

“Look, it’s normal. Just go, talk to him. If anything, call us and we break his nose again for you, yeah? Ripley offers.

“Okay, I love you guys.” 

The day goes by way too quickly and when she realises, it’s almost 7. Sometimes, it’s a good thing that her and Junior live on the same Condo, being so close to each other really makes things easier when they want to do something together. Right now she is regretting that nearness. She wishes she had some little time to give herself a little pep talk before seeing Tim again. 

She arrives just as Marcel leaves his apartment with Fabian. Both of them hug her and tell her to call if she needs anything as Tim waits by the door.

“Hello again, Timothy” she says, entering the apartment.

“Timothy. Wow.”

“Can’t call you chocolate eyes like I used to, can I?”

“Well, technically you can, my eyes hadn’t — “

“No technicalities here, Timothy. Let’s get this over with, please.”

“Right, I’m sorry. Please sit.” he begins. “Do you want something? Water? Beer? Also, I ordered take out from that Lebanese place Junior said you like so much.”

“Tim...” she sighs, exhausted. “I’m not hungry or thirsty. Can we please get over with it?” Noticing how harsh she was and the sad look on his face, she continues “Fuck, I’m sorry. I appreciate your efforts but I really can’t do this. Not right now, I can’t pretend everything is fine and dandy and eat and drink like nothing happened.”

“No you’re right. I just... I really need to apologise to you. I was so frustrated that everyone I knew was getting what they wanted and I kept stuck in one place.  It felt like I was getting on a dead end road. I panicked when I noticed you were leaving, I felt like I was losing the one good constant thing in my life, the most important thing in my life. And I fucking did because of how much of a prick I was to you. I am so, so sorry for that. I won’t ask you for your forgiveness, it would be nice, but I understand if you don’t want to.”

“We could’ve worked out the whole ‘long distance’ thing you know... anyway Tim, you fucking broke me. I don’t think I ever loved anything, anyone more in my life than I loved you. I thought we were going to be together forever, you know? I couldn’t imagine my life without you... and you just insulted me, insulted the only thing I was proud of, the only thing I’ve ever felt I was good at when my dream was becoming a reality. The truth is I’ve already forgiven you. I did it as soon as I calmed myself down because I knew how much in distress you were. But you’ve broken me and I don’t feel like things can come back to how they were. I’ll try to stay out of your way as much as I can in the PC, I would appreciate if you did the same. I really don’t think we have anything else to say to each other, so goodbye.” She kisses his cheek and leaves before he can say anything else. 

It has been months since they talked and Baby was able to stay away from Tim. She made sure to workout whenever he wasn’t at the Performance Centre. Whenever they had classes together, they would stand on the opposite sides of the room, far from each other. She never looked at him, but could feel his eyes staring at her. She was also very thankful to whatever high power that exists that they never got paired together. She had finally moved on. 

Whenever she wanted to see Marcel or Fabian, they would either go to her place or the three of them would meet at a bar. For some reason, today’s bar date felt like a deja vu. They were on a booth, her with her back to the bar’s entrance, nursing a beer while Junior and Fabian took shots. The boys were in front of her, laughing when she felt her anxiety creep in. A few moments later, a presence is felt and Tim stands there, in all his 6ft3 glory. 

“Good evening, guys.” Tim says to everyone, but his eyes never leave hers. Baby answers him back, while scooting a little far into the booth so Tim can sit by her side.

They never directly talk to each, their interactions only happening when Marcel and Fabian say something that requires an answer from the both of them.

She can feel Tim is nervous, his leg bouncing like crazy by her side, the fabric of his shorts rubbing on the skin her skirt didn’t cover. Baby has lost count on how many times she has held herself back from putting her hands on his knee to rub her thumb on it, like she always did when he was nervous.

The night went on like this. Soon enough, Junior and Fabian were shit faced, making Tim and Baby take them home together.

They arrive at the boys place, the both of them taking their designated drunk to their respective room and meeting back again on the living room. Tim speaks first before she tries to leave.

“Does this feels like deja vu to you too?

“God it does! Except it was Mack instead of Fabian last time.” she laughs softly back at him.

“I guess the next thing should be me raiding his fridge for a beer, right?” he asks reluctantly, afraid of her answer.

“Yeah, I’ll wait for you on the balcony.”

Tim is back a few moments later, “I don’t know where Junior finds all this european stuff.”

“Oh, there’s a store nearby that sells foods and drinks from around the world. The day we first went there he was so excited I thought he was gonna pass out.”

“That does sounds like him. Look, I didn’t know you would be at the bar tonight, if I did, I wouldn’t have gone, as much as I want to see you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I know it was Axel’s fault. But yeah, I wanted to see you too.” She tells him, a bit ashamed and they both smile at each other. They share a few moments of silence together, just appreciating their beers and the light breeze they were getting tonight. 

She’s moves around on the balcony to stand somewhat in front of him, and is the one to break the silence. “The PC is doing great things to you. Your ‘Thatch-as-Thatch Can’ segments are incredible. You’re better at talking, more confident, it really suits you.”

“Thanks. I saw you’re doing moonsaults now. I remember you always wanting to do it but afraid of. They look great. Everything you do is impeccable. I always knew you would be able to.”

They stare at each other in silence for what feels like ages, the breeze picks up again, making her hair fall to her face. Tim brushes the hair out of her face, glides his thumb across her right cheek and then her lips. On impulse, Baby grabs his t-shirt and crashes their lips together. When Tim feels her letting go, he holds her close, trapping her in his arms and deepening the kiss. 

It’s a raw, desperate kiss. Teeth clashing and tongues fighting for dominance. She moans when he lets go of her lips, leaving a wet trail of rough kisses from her face to the sweet spot on her neck, giving little bites to the space behind her ears.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you so much, Timmo.” She says, rubbing her core on his hardening length.

“Me too, doll. C’mon, let’s go to the bedroom”. 

They are attached to each other, stumbling on furniture, knocking down the living room lamp. When they get to Tim’s bedroom, they don’t bother on wasting time to take their clothes off. Tim pulls his shorts down and snakes Baby’s legs around his waist, lifts her skirt up enough to easily shove her lacy panties aside and fuck her against the wall.

It’s angry and rough, the result of one year worth of pent up rage and regret. They don’t care about the noises they’re making, fuck the neighbours, fuck Marcel, fuck Fabian, they are in their own little world now. Tim pulls the straps of her bra down, enough to attach his lips to her left nipple.

“Tim, babe, please don’t stop, I’m almost there. FUCK!”

He goes in harder, rougher and in no time she comes, flooding their clothes with her juices. Tim only stops when he feels her spasming against him, letting her gain some strength back. They move to his bed, taking the rest of their clothes off and Tim on her again, kissing her heat, sucking on her clit while he fingers her, mercilessly. It’s not long before she comes again, stronger than before, while gripping her hand on his hair, tears involuntarily streaming down her face.

He comes up to her lips, lays his body on top her and kisses her sweetly. “I’m sorry, doll. Was I too rough on you?” She lazily nods her head, silly smile on her face, still speechless.

Meanwhile, she strokes his still hard cock, lining it on her entrance, Tim asks if she still can take it, she only nods and lets out a soft “Mhmm”.

This time, Tim is gentle, rocking his body in an almost teasing motion, all while kissing her, telling her how much he missed her. They come together a few moments later.

Tim tumbles to his side of the bed, bringing Baby to lay her head on his chest, both of them coming out of their highs, just cherishing this moment together.

“I love you.” Baby finally breaks the silence. “I love you so much it hurts. I’m sorry I’ve been such a stubborn idiot.”

“Doll, you have all the right to be stubborn, I was a prick to you. And yes, I love you too. I love you more than anything, you still are the most important thing in my life.”

“So… do you want to try this again?” Baby offers.

“More than anything.” 

Baby wakes up around 07am, their limbs tangled together. She tries to get up without waking Tim up, failing. He holds her hand and asks where she’s going, “Breakfast”, she answers sleepily.

“Your famous eggs and bacon?”

“If Marcel has any on his fridge, yeah.”

“Yes!!!” she laughs at his attitude and goes to the kitchen. 

A few moments later Marcel appears in the kitchen, stops in his tracks and asks “What are you doing here? Did you fuck Fabian???”

“She didn’t fuck Fabian, dipshit.” Tim says as he walks past the german, who has a confused look on his face. He eyes Tim’s back, all red from the scratches she left behind last night, and it comes to him.

“What do y – oh my god, yes! FINALLY!”

[shesawriter39049]

|Got Me Loosin All My Cool| M|

Pairings: Jungkook X Reader | Jimin X Reader( Smut) FT- Side Tae & Yoongi

Note: Kook is in 80% of this but he’s “new” to the dynamic...so the smut is with Jimin and the OC...not Kookie!

About- Jimin and yourself take Jungkook shopping for a new suit to wear to the “Spectrum” launch party! OH, and Jimin fucks you in the backseat of your truck in the parking garage of the mall…..

OR: You know Kookie still in that “Broke college grad” phase only being with the company barley a month, and you don’t want him to feel self-conscious at the event! You’ve also been too busy to really check in with him to see how he’s adjusting! So, you thought something like this, in a more laxed atmosphere, would be a good solution! Oh and Jimin, honestly he’s just nosey as fuck and inched himself along, like nobody really invited him he invited his damn self! Also Jungook can’t underatand why the fuck your all so damn attractive...like...why!?

Jungkook’s a sweetheart and lowkey confused and whipped for everybody

Tae’s kinda being a spoiled asshole

Yoongi’s over it!

Jimin’s being a brat, he’s not use to having to “Behave” around others, espeically while your wearing “that” dress.....

-Song Reference- COOL-  Dua lipa

WC: 6K

WARNINGS: Semi-public sex/Top OC/Power bottom Jimin/ Spit play/ Cum play/ Fingering (F receiving) Cockrings/Lube (yes ppl actually use that IRL )Dirty talk/ biting, finger sucking

FINAL NOTE: This little excerpt is the prequel to the next full-length one-shot “All Eyes On Me” which is Hoseoks official ‘Intro” if you will. The full Summary for that can be found in the Masterlist which is linked below! Also if you’re new here..this is a stand-alone one-shot within my OT7Poly AU called “7 Deep” Short version: Your husband Namjoon and yourself run a successful Adult Film Entertainment Company called “Onyx” with your 5 best friends from college who you also happen to be in an open relationship with!

(Sneak peek)

~~~~~~

ONXY ENTERTAINEMENT 10:45 AM

Jungkook’s happy I guess almost surprisingly so, I mean yeah Yoongi and yourself seemed cool in the interview, and when he did is work interview the vibe was chill. But let’s get real, we all know shit always seems better than it actually is in the interviews!

For one he honestly wasn’t expecting to be given such free reign already which is also why he’s happy as hell he didn’t listen to his roommate’s Mark and Ten and lie on his resume. Granted, everything still had to go through Yoongi first but he wasn’t just... I don’t know editing thumbnails like he thought he was actually doing real work. He’s been here barely a month and he already has reels he can add to his portfolio! Learning new tips and tricks, believe it or not, even through his internships he’s learned that some people are stingy when it comes to sharing knowledge. Yoongi however was far from that, thankfully he was well aware that just because you teach someone your “secrets” doesn’t mean you’re essentially replacing yourself! What makes you good at your job isn’t just how it’s done its how you do it!

If only Kookie could stop internally fangirling over Yoongi his life would be a little easier! He’d seen hundreds of your companies films before and being the production major he is..of course, he’d watch it the first time to jack off..then the second time he’d find himself just as if not even more turned on for the production quality. That’s something Onyx is always praised for..”Aesthetically pleasing porn”. Every morning, Yoongi would sit him down and show him something new and for the first time he finally understands what people mean when they say that someones mind is..attractive! Not Yoongi himself though, because that’s his boss and that would be weird but like his brain, ya know? Yoongi’s brian is sexy in a broboss way...I don’t know just go with it!

Anyway, Kook’s current project was actually one of his favorites so far because it was forcing him to actually challenge himself! This was something actually requested by Hoseok, who he learned was 26, the head of marketing, always bouncing around like he’s had 6 expresso shots and somehow manages to make streetwear look professional…. But anyway the task is creating trailers for films that are pc enough to not be blocked on platforms like IG but spicy enough to get ppl to wanna watch the full thing. Making a climax without the actual climax if you know what I mean. So he’d have to sit there and watch the films, try not to get hard and wanna jack off while watching said films...then take notes and screencaps of the best moments and compile them together without showing “too much”. He’s never been so thankful that he could wear sweatpants to work….because…..yeah it was hard..literally and figuratively hard...but like I said he’s happy and can pay his bills so that’s cool too!

Don’t get me wrong he still feels a little out of place at times and surprisingly enough not for the reason he expected! Two months shy of his 21st bday he assumed he’d feel a type of way because he’s the youngest but that’s not the case! Hell, they went to Nobu for lunch last week and Jin actually slid him his drunk so he wasn’t the only one not drinking!  Flashing him a cheeky little wink and whispering “Don’t tell mom” in reference to you once Kook looked back at him like a deer in headlights! It seems as though they care more about his talent than his age which is the way it should be because he knows he’s good at what he dose!

However, Onyx is kinda like those offices you see on TV, the kind he never thought where real, behind closed doors the environment is far from pc! It’s not a normal morning unless somebodies cursing out there computers! This morning he swore Taehyung told Jimin he had a shrimp dick…… There’s “that’s what she said” jokes being thrown out left and right, people cracking jokes on one another. And it’s not that he feels uncomfortable by any means again he’s a 20 y/o kid from LA it’s just ...he’s new...ya know? So he doesn’t know if he’s “allowed” to do that! So in the meantime, he just spends his days laughing until his chest hurts!

But besides that everybody’s chill , he’s still trying to learn people, regardless of how laxed the office is everybody’s busy as all hell especially Namjoon and yourself! The two of you are actually his biggest mystery, he’s never thought of marriage being something that he’d want. He’s always heard that people change, and shit gets boring, but even in a work environment that’s far from the vibe he gets from the two of you! You actually make marriage seem exciting, worth it, like a gift, not a task…..

Something else that he can’t truly wrap his head around is that your his boss, like legitimately his boss! Somebody that looks like you,I mean fuck your not even 30, you sway around the office in your little dresses and designer heels! Always dolled up hell sometimes he questions if he’s the one in some upscale porno! Actually, not just you all of you why the fuck are all of you so effortlessly attractive and put together?! To make it even worse you all know your shit too! Two days ago for example Kook went to Yoongi to ask if there was a certain way he wanted the ending credits to come into frame, and instead of Yoongi responding you did! Using terminology that had him ready to run home and pull out his “Intro to production” text box! Shit don’t make any Goodman sense...even Yoongi sitting in his office looking like he could be in one of the films he’s editing and no, god no why is he thinking this about his higher-ups?! No, no, nope try again Jeon!

However, now that we’re on this topic, there is one person that he can’t quite wrap his head around...I mean yeah he’s nice but he just seems more reserved around Jungkook than everyone else. Which is odd considering he’s the one Kook meet first, he’s actually the one that encouraged him to even submit his resume, to begin with! What makes it even odder is Yoongi and yourself actually told him that Tae was the most outgoing...it’s not that Jungkook nessercally thinks Tae dislikes him it’s just ...I don’t know, I don’t know…I guess he was just...warmer when the two of them met at Starbucks then he is now that they actually work together!

...And I guess that’s why he almost shit himself when his phone rang and the incoming name rang though as….”Taehyung Kim”...he kinda hoped he pocket dialed him and would just hand up! But wait, I guess you can’t really do that from a landline can you?? Fuckkkkkk

“I know technologies come a long way Kook, but phones don’t answer themselves ya know…” Eyes fluttering over to see Yoongi smirking at him, tone blatantly amused as he flipped through a file he had in his hands.It’s like he could sense how nervous he is too “Don’t worry about Tae, he’s more bark than he is bite, he’s literally a puppy dressed in Gucci…” Flicking his chin in the direction of the phone with a reassuring smile.

With a timid nod and shaky fingers Jungkook picks up  the call on the final ring “H-hello??”

“Jungkook? Can you come to my office in the next 5 or so minutes?” His tone wasn’t rude by any means but it also wasn’t the most inviting. Eyes fluttering overly timidly in Yoongis direction because he knew Tae was loud enough that the elder could hear and he smiled fondly, nodding in approval. Arms crossed firm against his chest, head cocked to the side, eyes squinting slightly from under his black baseball cap, as if he was now purposely trying to hear the conversation.

“Umm, yeah, yeah of course…” God, why does he sound like he’s still going through puberty right now!? Voice fluttering ina and out of an octave!

“Great!”

Tae just hangs up, no goodbye ...promoting Yoongi to roll his eyes, with an exasperated sigh...Jungkook just sits there for a moment, not too sure what to do!

“You’re free to go, Seok dosen’t need these until Friday and your deifiently far enough along, a little time away from your desk wont hurt! Oh, just save your stuff first though! The systems moving slow as fuck and I’m about ready to break my damn computer so I’ll probably do a system reboot while you’re gone!”

Jungkook nods timidly, swallowing so hard he’s sure Yoongi heard it, fingers scattering to do as Yoongis instructed, he literally feels like he’s going to throw up! Why does Tae make him so nervous? I mean no offense but Tae isn’t even his boss why is he more freaked out of Taehyung than is actual boss!

He hears a heavy sigh fall from behind him, as Yoongi invites himself to take a seat, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder ‘First off, you’re doing fucking great, and I mean that, so step back...and breath...” Squeezing his shoulder slightly, tone calm yet stable enough to ground the younger! 

 “Second, I’m ordering lunch from that coney up the street, Hyungs treat” He watches Jungkook go to open his mouth in protest and Yoongi just groans, loud and obnoxious, eyes fluttering to the back of his head more times than he can count!

“Don’t even try and give me that “Your not hungry bullshit” Eyes narrowing in the youngers direction challangingly “So let’s try this again, what do you want? And yes Tae can wait I already texted him and told him so you’re fine! Now go to google and pull up Leo’s menu and lets order lu-”

“Yonngggggiiiii!!!’ Whines through the studio, which only promps the man in question to slowly sink into his chair as if he was trying to make himself dissapear! And before Jungkook can even make heads or tails as to what’s happening...a pair of skin-tight leather pants, a florial silk shirt, that was sitting so low it mideswell not even be buttoned, flashy shades and windswept pastel pink hair comes strutting in... Looking like something straight out of Vouge so again he asks why the fuck does everybody look like this!?

Not even botherng to ask if he’s interupted anything, just flinging his arms around the production manager’s neck, propping his chin on top of his head,

“I need like...20 headshots edited...in the next half hour” Jungkook watched Yoongi go completely ridgit a scowl on his face as he tried to pull away but the casting manager only held on tigher “...and before you kill me even though I drunk some of it this Amerciano is for you soooo, I feel like I’ve made it worth or while, please and thank you! ” Smiling so big his eyes dispered into his face it took everything in him not to coo and swoon all at the same damn time!

Jimin fucking Park......

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

Heyyyyyyyy,

That’s all she wrote for now, don’t know the post date yet, I’ve written up wo when they actually go to the mall so it’s like halfway done.....

MASTERLIST FOR THIS AU IS DOWN BELOW, I’M GLAD PEOPLE ARE ENYOING THIS “UNIVERSE”!

7 DEEP

[probably-writing-x]

Live Capture.

Arón Piper x Reader

Request by anon: would you be able to do an Aron Piper imagine where his girlfriend is a YouTuber but she’s very shy to show him on her channel as a way of protection even though he’s used to the public & then they go out in public & a fan starts to record them...you can take it on from there :) hope you’re staying safe xx

Gif is not my own

Requests are open 🤍

“On your left, on your left!” You call through your microphone, “Yes, downed him, another team coming up behind us.”

Your friend speaks through your headset and updates you on his own progress as both of you were midway through a game on Warzone. You took a moment to glance at the chat on your livestream to YouTube and smiled at a few of the messages before turning back to focus on the game.

“Alright we’ve got enough for a loadout,” You comment, “Cover me.”

He follows your advice and does exactly that, only moments before you’re shot at from another direction and both of you are killed.

“Shit man,” You groan, “I really wasn’t on it that game.”

“Still top ten though,” Your friend points out, “Alright, Imma head off for the night. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

You say your goodbyes and turn back to your chat, reading a few of the comments you’d missed, “I think I’m going to turn in for the night too, thank you guys so much for watching this livestream. And I’ll be uploading a video tomorrow at 6pm so keep your eyes peeled for that one. Good night guys!”

You turn off your stream and shut down everything on your PC, the true sign that you’d be turning in for the night. You grab the empty plate from where your dinner had been and the empty drinks from over the course of the hours that you’d been on stream.

“Hey honey, any luck?” Arón asks from the couch, where he lay with his arm tucked under his head, turned to watch the TV screen.

“We got a couple of wins,” You nod, “Nothing great. I didn’t know you’d still be up.”

“And go to bed without you? Would I ever?” He laughs, “C’mhere.”

You yawn and walk over until you’re close enough that he can reach out and pull you down to lay with him, letting you rest on top of his chest, “What are you watching?”

“One of your videos,” He chuckles, “There was nothing on TV and I didn’t want to watch any of that series without you, so I’m watching your channel.”

“Why?” You smile, looking at which video he’d chosen.

“This is from that day we went to the beach and you were teaching me how to surf. I dont know how you managed to keep me out of the whole video!” He exclaims, “Genuinely there’s not even a glimpse of me.”

“Because I spent about four hours rewatching it and re-editing it to make sure. I’m very secretive when I need to be,” You remind him, leaning up to kiss at his jaw, “They all still ask questions.”

He hums in response, “Do you want to go to bed darling?”

Your eyes are already fluttering shut as he asks the question and he somehow has to figure out how to get you from the couch to your bed without disturbing you too much. It was a regular occurrence after you streamed late at night, and he’d grown to be very good at taking care of you after you’d drained yourself after a long day.

You’d been dating for a little under a year now but it felt like you’d loved him for a lifetime. He’d quickly become everything you could ask for in a boyfriend and the two of you somehow became the perfect match for each other. With him as an actor, and you as a YouTuber, both of you lived very unconventional lives at times - but that’s what made it work so well. You’d kept your relationship away from the public for this entire time, not wanting to risk it ending up like the majority of YouTube relationships nowadays. You liked the fact that your relationship still felt like your own, and you didn’t have to fear the audience response to seeing you with a boyfriend. They’d never seen that side of your life, and truth be told, you were fearful of showing them. For now, it felt so much more comfortable to keep Arón separate. Like it still meant you had him all to yourself.

- - - - - -

The next day, after waking up a little too late, you make sure to post your video on time and read through the comments as soon as it reaches your audience. It had been a fitness challenge that you’d had to ask Arón to help you film when you were at the gym. He’d spent half the time zooming into your face far too close or stopping filming because you’d made him laugh and you could hear him on the recording. Somehow, you’d still managed to avoid showing him in the footage and made sure that he couldn’t be heard too much through the microphone.

“What do you fancy for dinner, darling?” Arón asks as he steps into your filming room and sees you sat at your desk in your gaming chair.

“I’m just reading through the response to the video,” You explain as he comes up behind you and wraps his arms around your shoulders, you run your hands along his arms as they encase you.

“Are they all talking about my brilliant filming skills?” He grins, kissing your cheek.

You point out one comment that questions in all capital letters ‘who does she have filming this? Y’all seriously can’t tell me she’s still single!!!!!’

Arón laughs and clicks to read the responses to the comment, pausing on one that is a timestamp from the video. A specific second in the footage that you find yourself skipping to on the video timeline to find exactly what one of your fans was talking about. Quite rightly so, at that exact second, you can just about make out Arón in the reflection of one of the mirrors in the gym. His face isn’t visible but his distinctive curls are obvious enough.

“Shit, do you think they know it’s you?” You ask, sitting more upright in your chair as you look through the rest of the comments about that exact moment.

Some people were suggesting different names, different people that could take the face of that curly hair - but only a few had actually suggested Arón. Someone mentioned the fact that you’d been at the Élite premiere and pointed out that you could’ve been going as his date rather than just a guest at the event - that was, in fact, the truth. Someone else mentioned how Omar followed you on Instagram - the initial way you’d met Arón.

“Oh come on, look, they’re saying loads of names,” He points out, “Theyre all just guessing, my name was bound to be in there at some point.”

“I’m so sorry, I had no idea that they’d be able to see y-“

“Hey,” Arón turns your chair around so you’re facing him, “It’s fine, honestly. I don’t care, okay?”

“Are you sure?” You sigh, smiling as he cups your face in his hands.

“Positive,” He nods, leaning in and kissing you, “I say we just order in for dinner.”

You laugh and let him pull you up to stand, “Good idea.”

- - - - - -

The following day, you and Arón are on your way to your parents place for your father’s birthday. You manage to get up at a semi-acceptable time and keep yourself away from social media to avoid all of the questions about your mystery boyfriend. You step into the taxi and try to keep yourself relaxed.

“Hey! I know you!” The taxi driver speaks up, glancing in the mirror at Arón, “You’re on Netflix. My daughter watches your show all the time!”

“Thanks man, that means a lot,” Arón smiles politely, glancing at you for a second.

The man rambles on a little more about the show and how much he’d learnt about it from his daughter, laughing at how jealous she’d be that he’d met Arón.

“And is this your girlfriend?” The taxi driver asks, glancing at you in the mirror too.

“No, just a friend,” Arón nods, forcing a little smile in your direction, “So, have you been busy today?”

You’re relieved that he steers the topic away from you and tries to keep some level of awkward small talk with the driver as you eventually pull up in town.

“You can just drop us here, buddy, thank you,” Arón comments, getting out of the car and waiting for you.

“That’s a sign! That’s a sign, people know about us,” You state simply as you step out of the car, “I’m certain.”

“(Y/n)!” Arón laughs, “It’s fine! We have no certainty that people know we’re together, and we’ll let it stay that way. Stop worrying honey, you’ll give yourself a heart attack.”

You sigh and try to relax under the influence of his words.

“You’re cute when you get stressed,” He chuckles, reaching for your hand and squeezing it, “Really cute.”

You cock a brow, “You know, maybe I should tell everyone about us - feed you to the lions type of attitude.”

Arón laughs, “They’ll fucking love me!”

He cups your jaw with his free hand and dips his head to press a kiss to your waiting lips. It’s soft and it gives the sincerity to his words that his tone hadn’t done. You were so worried about everyone finding out about you, mainly because you were terrified of it ruining a time in your life where you were happier than you’d ever been. It was silly but you liked the idea of preventing your relationship from being strained by the public view. For now, it felt so much easier to keep this between you. When it had first started, you wanted to keep things private until you knew that this was something real and something you were sure of. But when you’d started to feel that way, it felt even more important to keep that private - knowing that you cared too much about Arón to jeopardise anything.

“Come on, lets go grab some food,” He encourages, locking his hand with yours before swinging an arm over your shoulder so that your interlocked hands rested just over your heart, “What are the odds that the taxi driver was actually a fan? I bet he doesn’t even have a daughter!” Arón jokes and yet again manages to say exactly what you needed to hear to ease your stress.

- - - - - -

A little later, as you’re sat at your parents house with your parents and your siblings, Arón comes walking through from the kitchen with your nephew in his arms.

“There she is!” He grins when he sees you, letting your nephew run over until he jumps into your arms.

“Where have you two been?” You laugh, looking at his disheveled Arón appeared.

“We’ve been on the trampoline,” Arón groans, flopping down beside you, “I think I’m too old for that now.”

“You think?” You smirk, “You’re a mess!”

He grabs your phone from the side and checks his appearance in the black screen. Your nephew giggles and reaches over to grab at his messy curls. Arón smiles and goes to tickle him, only glancing away when he sees your phone ping in his hand.

“Jeez, you’re popular today,” He comments, showing you the endless list of notifications on your phone.

“Probably just the boys asking about playing later, can you open it for me?” You ask, shifting your nephew so he was now stood on your thighs facing you as you make silly faces at him to keep him occupied.

“Oh shit...” Arón mumbles.

“Arón!” You hiss, making wide eyes in the direction of your nephew.

“Sorry, babe, but you need to see this,” You set your nephew down and he runs off to his own mother before you take your phone from Arón.

His reaction now seemed completely justified. In a group chat with a bunch of your friends from YouTube, you’re being bombarded with messages. Some of them are accompanied by photos but the majority are accompanied by laughing emojis. Quite rightly so as the photos show clear shots of you and Arón from earlier. The images had clearly been taken from across the street when you’d first got out of the taxi. One of you laughing at something he’d said, one of you kissing, another of you kissing, and a few of you walking away with his arm around you.

“Who took those?!” You exclaim, “I didn’t even see anybody... or hear anybody...”

“Hey, hey, look,” Arón nudges you, handing you his own phone that showed all of his mentions on Instagram.

You’d already been tagged in a flurry of posts about the situation - 100% of them being purely positive and excited for both of you. People saying how perfect you were for each other. Some pointing out moments from your streams and from YouTube where it was obvious you were talking to someone behind the camera - who they now understood to be Arón.

“They’re all so excited,” You half-laugh, “Look, theres even a fucking video of us!”

You show him a video a fan had taken of you two together that’s accompanied by the caption - ‘I wanted to speak to them but they’re just so fricking cute I didn’t want to disturb them!!!’

You smile at all of the supportive messages from your fans, commenting on how happy they were for you, though some were jealous of you being Arón’s girlfriend.

“Well, looks like that turned out better than we expected,” Arón comments, “Should we say anything?”

You look at him and grin, flicking your Instagram camera on as you pose for the photo. He wraps an arm around your shoulder and rests his head against yours as you both smile at the screen.

You type out a quick caption ‘You got us...’ and post it to your story. Though you lock your phone before you can become too bombarded by replies to the image.

“Shit, does this mean I can play Warzone with you now?!”

“You’re still terrible, maybe when you get a bit better,” You laugh, kissing him quickly.

[chaser-mw]

Game changer

(Based off of BTS Run where they play the pc games)

Paring: taehyung/reader

Genre: crack, fluff

Au: best friend to lovers

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: swearing, bad bitch energy, friendly teasing, sexual tension

You all headed to the set where the boys were filming bts run, they had invited you because you’re their best friend but also because they needed an eighth person so the teams were equal. You arrive and you can tell obviously Jungkook and Taehyung are excited as they would spend hours on end playing over watch or pubg. You had tried to play overwatch with the help of Jungkook but nearly threw a fit after he had tricked you into killing one of your own team members. Now pubg was a different story, you had been playing pubg since you were fifteen after being influenced by the boys at school. Playing pubg was like breathing to you.

You play the first few games of the episode with a clumsy hand, usually placing moderately in fourth or fifth. Jungkook and taehyung play each game with little to no struggle, even if the had never played the game, filling in the first and second spot each round. “Hey Jungkook, wanna take it easy on us for a bit?” you complain after he had won again for the nth time. “Then I would lose and that’s no fun.” he chuckles with a smirk hanging on his lips. Everyone else just quietly grumbles except for taehyung, knowing he’s also doing a lot better than everyone else.

Once you finish the first episode you get a little 5 minute break to have some snacks and chat for a little bit. You hang near hobi and the snacks not really saying anything while overhearing jimin, Namjoon, and yoongi complain about how it’s not fair that Jungkook and taehyung are allowed to play. You laugh in your head thinking about how pretty much every game they came in third last to dead last. You remember that pubg is the last game to play and you get excited to yourself as you plan on busting taehyungs ego by showing him who the REAL boss at pubg is. “Okay, everyone back together. Cameras on in 60 seconds!” You hear one of the staff yell, you all head back to stand in a line in front of the computers to pick teams. One to the camera crew staff members counts down from 3 to 0 on his fingers to let you and the boys know the cameras are rolling.

“Okay the next game we’re gonna play is pubg, here we will split you into two teams and you will fight against each other. There will be 3 rounds and the team that wins the most will win a prize of a 3 hundred thousand won gift card!” You see everyone’s faces light up at the thought of the prize even though you are standing amongst literal millionaires. “Each team will have a captain, team 1’s captain is Taehyung since he plays the most and team 2’s captain will be y/n since she asked.” Taehyung gives you a weird look as the staff member mentions that you’re the second captain. See about six months ago taehyung found out you play pubg by seeing it on your phone, you both thought it would be fun to FaceTime and play duos together when you’re not at their dorm. He hadn’t asked how long you’d been playing so one night when you were playing duos you decided to play it up as if you were a newbie. You have always been told you’re not a good actress or liar but somehow he fell for it, you had unexpectedly kept this act up for a bit longer than you had expected. You couldn’t help it, he looked and sounded so cute when he would give you little tips and you couldn’t help but adore how soft he would get for you and how he would always reassure you it was okay when you died or needed supplies. Saying things like “it’s okay, I got you covered.” Or “don’t worry, I’m right beside you and I have more bullets just in case you need some.” with his sleep filled voice. You spent many nights internally yelling at yourself for almost falling asleep to his voice or imagining his smile while he gently speaks to you.

So when he heard you were the other captain, he couldn’t help but look at you like you have 3 heads while also trying to contain his laughter. You played rock, paper, scissors to see who would pick their teammate first and you won. ‘Off to a good start’ you thought to yourself as you now had the chance to pick Jungkook knowing that’s the reason taehyung looked so annoyed losing at rock, paper, scissors.

You face your whole body towards taehyung with serious eyes and a slightly cocky smirk. “Jungkook” you say looking him dead in the eyes, Jungkook quickly moves to stand behind you with a giddy smile on his face. You can tell he’s excited for this game too. “Jin-hyung” taehyung says while still staring into your eyes trying to figure out what’s going on with you and why you look like you just stole his girlfriend. “Yoongi” Everyone is slightly taken by surprise as he has been in second last place every game but he moves to your side regardless. Your smirk doesn’t falter as you continuously stare at taehyung trying not to get distracted by his unbelievably handsome face. It takes more effort than you accounted for.

“Hobi-hyung” he says with cocky tone but you know by the way his eyes look at you that he is utterly clueless to what’s about to happen and he feels scared that he may be the only hope for his team. J-hope isn’t the best but is very persistent, you somewhat regret not choosing him as you know he will do everything taehyung says and do it exceptionally well. Taking him down will be a challenge but you’ve played long enough and known these boys long enough to know exactly how to take everyone down, including your own team.

“Jimin” you name your last teammate and revel in the fact that you won rock, paper, scissors. You don’t mean to offend anyone but can’t help but be at least a little grateful Namjoon isn’t on your team. He is an amazing human being and truly a breath of fresh air but he has probably never even heard of pubg never mind actually played it, though neither has jimin.

You internally thank your clever mind for asking about future Bts run episodes a few months back. You had heard of speculations of an episode like this and immediately backed it up saying it was their best idea yet. On that same day you set up a whole plan on how to secretly surprise and destroy taehyung at pubg. When you say it out loud it sounds silly but it will be worth more than gold just to see his face, if your plan works.

“Each team gets a 1 minute huddle to discuss, a timer will go off at one minute and you will return to the computers sitting with your team.” Your team makes a huddle and Yoongi and jimin look slightly worried no doubt thinking they’ll be killed first. “Okay, Jungkook I want you by my side always, I know games like these are your forté so I’m not worried about you. Yoongi, as you have probably never played this they will be on your ass like crazy. Let’s keep it that way, taehyung will most likely send Namjoon and hobi after easy kills like you and jimin so I want you to keep their attention on you. Jimin, you are the final puzzle piece. I need to you to do the same as Yoongi while also complimenting and flustering taehyung as much as possible. But not too much to where he notices, just enough to make him blush.” The timer goes off seconds after you finish your little speech, not forgetting to mention to leave taehyung for you and you can’t help but feel proud of your plan. Yoongi being the old soul he is, is 110% being labeled an ‘easy target’ by the other team along with jimin. Putting jimin in blush control has to be the idea you smiled the most about, you know how easily taehyung can be flustered and when he is he can’t focus. And that’s exactly how you plan to get him.

Once everyone has settled into their seats, seconds before the game starts you give everyone a once over making sure they remember their duties. They confirm and you put your game face on, you don’t think you’ve ever taken a game so seriously. It’s like you can’t focus on anything but taehyung and you find that this isn’t the first time that’s happened.

They follow you the whole way til you drop at your location and just as you thought you already hear footsteps heading towards Yoongi. “Yoongi, do you have any weapons?” “No.” He responds meekly with a hint of fear and you think it’s more of fear of letting you down but it’s only making you happier. The closer Yoongi is to you the closer a member of the other team is and the easier you can slowly take them out one at a time. “No rifle, siper, hangun??” You quickly ask fearing Yoongi will be killed quicker than you expected. “No.” This time it’s definitely fear. You can see that the footsteps are close and it seems that Yoongi is just running around him. Jungkook is hiding on the roof one of the buildings, you told him to tap your hand or look at you when he sees someone from the other team, you hear Namjoon mumbling something to himself and that’s when you feel it. Jungkook ever so slightly taps the side of your hand, gunshots fire and Namjoon goes silent. The amount of players in the corner goes from 8 to 7 and you allow a smirk to creep onto your face.

“Headshot” Jungkook says just loud enough for you to hear. “Nice” you give him a light high five when you catch sight of the next poor soul. “Taehyung I wanna find youuuuu.” Jimin whines from your side or the table. You can’t help but chuckle a little as it actually does slightly fluster taehyung. As jimin goes running off to find taehyung of course, not really part of the plan as he will most likely get himself killed but that’s not the issue right now. The issue right now is Jin heading your way with a gun pointed right at you, thankfully you were able to pick up a military helmet and bulletproof vest from the drop box so even after the few shots Jin takes at you, you still have full health. You hide in the building and wait for Jin to move closer. Jungkook seems to be on the move for hobi but still staying relatively close enough to help you if you need it.

You park yourself right at the top of the stairs where you can get Jin first, and seeing as he is wearing a police bulletproof vest, killing him should be quick and easy.And it is. Jin groans from the other side or the room “Yah I thought you loved me so much you would die without me!” You laugh at that but continue on with Jungkook. Jimin got himself killed by hobi a little while before you killed Jin and you and Kook head that way assuming taehyung is over there seeing as Jimin headed that way. You creep along in a crouch hoping for the best coverage from the bushes but you hear a zip and about eight more bullets fly right past you into Jungkook causing him to die.

At this point you slightly get worried but decide not to question you’re abilities, you know how good you are with a good scope and with your 6x scope you should be able to spot hobi like a sore thumb. And you do, now it’s just you and taehyung. “Hm it’s just you and me now, wanna surrender?” “Mhmm I guess it is, now why would I do that?” You question. “Oh well I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings, I know you’ve only been playing for a little while but sometimes you have to lose-“ taehyungs eyes go as wide as saucers. While he was talking you found his location easily as he didn’t move his character. “Hm? What was that?” You chuckle loudly as he is still left speechless, Jungkook throws another high five your way with a lot more weight to it this time and a hard slap is heard throughout the room, followed by two more. You couldn’t have asked for things to go anymore perfect. You all stand up and you give taehyung a hug out of sympathy and he looks like he’s a kid learning the abc’s for the first time.“H-how?? I can’t believe that just happened??!” “I wanted to play a little joke on you, I would say it worked.”You can’t help but say it with the biggest smile on your face. ‘He looks adorable’ is all you can think right now and his pout makes you feel a little bad for lying to him you have to admit it, his reaction was totally worth it.

You and the guys finish up the the filming and grab your things to go home. As you pack into the car with Yoongi, taehyung, Jin and hobi, you notice the slight pout on taehyungs face is still there and decide to sit beside him. “Hey are you okay? I didn’t think it’d hurt your ego this bad?” You attempt to comfort him but it seems that it only makes the slight blush on his cheeks worse. He chuckles “Nah, I’m not that butthurt I’m just sad that you didn’t tell me, we could’ve been the iconic killer pubg duo! IKPD, what about that that doesn’t sound absolutely sick!” You all let out a hearty laugh at that. “That does sound dope, well now we can be the IKPD.” He smiles at that. “So how did you get so good? When we were playing you needed help with basically everything, I think I have less kills then the amount of times I have saved you.”

You tell him the whole story along with the plan and he looks more interested in staring at you than actually listening. He can’t help it though, he is already so enamoured with you. The late FaceTime calls, playing pubg and sometimes just the multiple hour late night talks really created a place for you in his heart. But something about you secretly being really good at pubg and making a plan that revolves around him made his heart swell. He has to be honest he really wasn’t listening completely to you just hearing while admiring your beauty in the terrible car light. He is baffled with how you look so good when the lighting is so bad but what he doesn’t know is you’re asking yourself the same thing. Once you finish your little speech you yawn mumbling something about how you’re so tired from staying up last night with taehyung but all he can focus on is your head on his shoulder and your soft snores ricocheting from you to him. He thinks he’s about to explode and melt at the same time, he can’t help the feeling of wanting to take care of you. After so many months of babying you on pubg he realizes he’s doing it in real life as he slowly takes off his coat to put around you. He wraps it around your frame carefully not to wake you or knock your head. You snuggle a little closer adorably enjoying his warmth and he doesn’t think his cheeks can get any rosier until your lips unintentionally bush against his neck. You decide to place a light kiss there and sleppily mumble a thank you. He freezes, his mind automatically going into overdrive. He’s dreamt about moments like this, the way you talk to him and act around him convincing him he was just a bro was the only think stopping him. But this, bro’s don’t do this. You slightly wince thinking that was the wrong move and you quickly pull your head away, a heavy blush not too far behind.

You look out the window watching the city buildings past by and you’re so completely embarrassed until you feel a finger brush under your chin and pull your head to face the owner. Taehyungs looking at you with the softest look of adoration and he can’t help but think he’s never been more in love with you. “You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed.” He says it as if he’s so cool but his mind is racing and he’s very much not cool. His heart pulls him to focus and not get lost in your eyes. His finger lifts your head up to face his and he leans in. You start to realize what’s happening and relish in the fact that your one and only dream for the past 3 months is coming true. You lean in as well and wait for the connection of your lips, you’re so close you can feel his breath on nose and if you moved less than half an inch closer his lips would be on yours. He moves to fill the gap as you’re so close BUMP! You go over a speed bump and you’re in the parking lot for his building.

Everyone piles out of the car and not wanting to be locked in you both get out as well. You walk into the building and up to their dorm, with taehyung playing with his rings and you holding your elbow, both of which are very clearly nervous habits and you both know it too. Once you get inside everyone is there and obviously you’re not gonna pull taehyung into a kiss in the middle of the living room so decide to wait. It’s almost dinner time so you a few of the guys ask you would like as take out is tonight’s delicacy. You decide on Chinese from a place not too far that you’ve all been to one time or another. The tension between you and taehyung is so noticeable even the other members catch on. Also the fact that the both of you are strangely quiet but what they think the state of your relationship is, is completely opposite to whats going on. They assume you’ve fought because of pubg but really you’re just two fools in love but too scared to say anything. After dinner is finished up and the table has been cleared, you join the boys in the living room chatting with Jin about something, you’re not really focused as you’re mind is clouded with the events in the car. What would’ve happened if you kissed? Is he ignoring you now because he’s embarrassed? All your thoughts pause when grabs you off the couch by your hand and pulls you to his room. Once the door is closed he pushes you against the back of it “I’ve wanted to this for so long.” He immediately grabs your face with one hand and your waist with the other. It takes a second for your mind and heart to catch up but you finally kiss him back realizing what’s happening. Of course his lips feel like silk pillows but you swear you hear fireworks. You only realize how long you’ve wanted this just when he pulls away to catch his breath. You stare into his eyes and already miss his lips on yours. “You’re the only win I want.”

[my-arlington-academia]

Ellie happy birthday fanfic!! 🎉🎁📚📖

Well, by now you know the drill! Scholar is back to being a he in this one, I'm constantly switching it up! On a side note, since we're in June but still quarantined, the teachers are sending us a lot of work to finish up the year so I have less time than usual to write this! 😖 (I mean I guess I could just put it off and write it after but I can’t be late my whole life now can I?) Hopefully it won't be bad though! Please tell me what you think, I'm okay with anything at this point tbh. You guys can just leave me with a key smash and I'll be super happy 😂

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

Ellie looked at the exam schedule, and like every single year she got annoyed with just a glance.

“Being born in June sucks...”

She muttered quietly enough so the teacher wouldn’t hear but loud enough so her friends seated next to her could. Tyler gently tapped her shoulder, clearly he wanted to cheer her up but it is unfortunate that every year her birthday coincides with the exam period. He tried to bring her morale up nonetheless.

“Don’t sweat it, we’ll throw down a party once the exams are over! We’ll invite everyone, this way we’ll all have something to look forward to! That’s even bette-”

“Mr. Williams, if you’re any louder than this then I’m afraid I won’t be able to go through every single piece of advice I have to give you before the end of this period.”

As much as Tyler wanted to go on and ignore the teacher’s warning, like he usually does, his reasoning got the better of him and rightfully so. It would be extremely stupid to get an unpleasant note in his school file just before the exams. Though the “pieces of advice” weren’t any more useful than usual. It was all the same generic tips teachers give knowing fully well that many students won’t follow them and study just the day before the exam by pulling “almost-allnighters” with maybe a 2 hours long nap if they’re lucky.

After the lecture, when coming out of the classroom, Tegan and Tyler were thinking that Ellie would soon forget about that whole birthday thing and go back to being her usual happy-go-lucky self. But she kept on hanging her head low and sulking. It was so uncharacteristic of her that even the people who don’t know Ellie on a personal level started getting worried. Despite her short legs, Ellie has always been the type of person to hurry herself over to wherever her next destination is. So looking at the usually cheerful Ellie dragging her feet on the ground was a sad sight indeed. She sighed for at least the 10th time since the morning lecture.

“Maybe when my dads adopted me I should’ve just asked them to move my birthday to the beginning of July or something... what do you guys think?”

Tegan awkwardly extended his hand towards Ellie and rubbed her back.

“Well um... that wouldn’t really fix the problem now, would it? You’ll still know the date of your real birthday even if you change it. There really isn’t any meaning in doing that... I think. And I’m not even sure if that’s legally possible.”

As Tyler and Tegan were once again desperately trying to console Ellie, Scholar made his way towards them from afar.

“Ellie! You’ll celebrate your birthday after the exams, right? That’s awesome! It’ll be a breather for everyone and I’m already thinking of some presents I can giv- Uh. I guess I shouldn’t tell you what I’m thinking of or else it’ll ruin the surprise.”

In a matter of seconds, Ellie’s mood did a complete 180 and she was happily conversing with Scholar. TnT looked dumbfounded, all it took for Scholar to cheer Ellie up was to flash a smile and ramble about random stuff while they had to give up on some of their snacks for her and she was still being gloomy. Tyler carefully nudged Tegan and whispered.

“You see what I see?”

“You mean how Ellie turned back into a ray of sunshine the moment Scholar showed up? Yeah, nothing new here...”

After a few minutes that seemed to last way too long to Tyler and Tegan, Scholar hurried himself over to his room, saying that he “absolutely needs to study” or else he’ll be kicked out of the school if he doesn’t make it in the silver tier. Ellie turned back to face TnT only to discover their betrayed faces.

“Uhhh? Is something wrong you guys?”

Tegan stayed quiet, not really caring at this point to be honest, and Tyler pulled off the most offended attitude he could.

“Oh no nothing. We’re totally not salty that Scholar is sooooooo awesome that he can lift all of your worries away by just gracing you with his all mighty presence.”

Throughout this whole thing, Tyler kept on dramatically rolling his eyes. Ellie was internally laughing at how bitter he sounded but also she was a bit embarrassed at how obvious her feelings towards Scholar are.

“Oooo-kay Tyler! No need to throw so much shade haha. You know that I love you guys much more than anyone else.”

“Psh. Yeah right, I can garantee you that this is not what you’ll say in a couple of months when you’ll be jumping in Scholar’s arms on a daily basis and kiss him under the moonlight.”

Ellie is usually hard to tease, she’s the one doing most of the teasing after all. However, when it comes to Scholar even the smallest thought can make her go from a 0 to a hundred real quick. Ellie punched Tyler in the shoulder, a punch that was surprisingly really powerful for such a little fist.

“It’s not like that! I’m not sure about anything...yet.”

Seeing how unsure Ellie was, Tyler stopped the teasing and looked at Tegan. It was the first time any of them had a crush on someone. Despite all of the joking, they know that they have an unbreakable bond and they’ll stick with eachother no matter what happens. Only problem is... none of them have any experience with dating, or hell, even just flirting. Tegan looked hilariously confused.

“Okay so uh. Do we just like... help you have alone time with him, or what? It would be so much easier if this was a visual novel with multiple-choice answers, in that case I could’ve helped you no problem.”

Tegan shot a shy glance towards Tyler, he shrugged in return.

“Hey don’t look at me like that! All I know is a bunch of cringy pick-up lines that can only be used as jokes.”

Suddenly Ellie broke into a genuine laugh under the confused gazes of her friends. They were trying so hard to help that it was actually really adorable.

“The two of you are such dorks! You don’t need to take this so seriously, I’ll do whatever needs to be done on my own. And if I do need help with something, I promise I’ll hit you guys up!”

That’s right. There was no reason to be hasty. No matter what will happen, it all seems so far away. Especially when there’s the exams just before it. Ellie was stirred up for a couple of months now, and she honestly wasn’t really counting on doing anything in particular. If something is meant to happen, it’ll happen. That’s what she thought and she was sure of it more than anything else.

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Et voilà! I’m not sure how well this turned out since I did this in one go but I just hope it’s not too sucky! Also this is the first time I directly wrote this on my laptop and wow... the emojis are so fcking ugly on PC tumblr 😂 I can’t believe they looked at them and were like “yeah, perfect for our hellsite”. Tumblr really needs a revamp or something. Also, just to be sure, the exam period in America is in June right? If not then I effed up with this whole thing lol. Uuhhhh I’m pretty sure there’s something else that I wanted to say but it’s 2am and I don’t remember... Welp! In any case thank you so much for reading! ♥

[lyrishadow]

Author interview

tagged by @crqstalite <3 thanks!! tagging: @swtorpadawan, @mimabeann @swaps55 , @mallaidhsomo  and anyone I cant think of tagging to tag right now. Enjoy.. my answers after the cut. 

Name

Fandoms

Where you post

Most popular oneshot

Most popular multichapter

Actual worst part of writing

Favorite story you wrote

Story you were nervous to post

How you choose your titles

Complete works

Incomplete works

Do you outline?

Coming soon ideas, maybe? Wouldn’t that be nice?

Ask me anything

Best writing traits

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write

Spicy Tangential Opinion

Name: Lyri, Lyrishadow or Jaki

 Fandoms: Mass Effect, SWTOR, Dragon Age.

 Where you post: I post my stories mostly to Ao3. I also have posted a couple of really short stories just to Tumblr. So here and “A Bounty Hunter’s Scrapbook”

Most popular One-shot: Reunion: Pierce SWTOR: short fic regarding the reunion with Pierce which my Sith Warrior experienced.

 Most popular multichapter: With you All the Way’  Mass Effect: A Garrus Vakarian viewpoint fic, which is now old enough that it requires editing :D but I love the concept of the story still.

 Actual worst part of writing: Editing. Self-doubt in the process of what you are writing as being worth reading.

 Favorite story you wrote: So I have an OC from Mass Effect named Egan Shepard, who now lives rent free in my brain because of this story:  “Starry Nights” 

Story you were nervous to post :  Hahaha this is a SWTOR story I am still TOO SCARED to post because it STARTS with a sex scene in a hotel. Plus it’s not finished, and I think I will finish it before I post it.. Yes it is a tricky post..

 How you choose your titles: Randomly? Often I don’t choose a title. I have a lot of “untitled documents” still. But if it is a prompt its from that, or its from some clever word thing my story does.

Complete works - nothing is ever completely complete there is always something I can add.. Or the characters want more. - Ok so my With you All The Way is complete.

 Incomplete works - notable ones.. My NANOWRIMO fic from 2020; my Bounty Hunter’s story. I feel the worst for the Nanowrimo fic.. But have had health issues and its going to take a LOT of writing.

Do you outline? Do I what now? I sometimes do I guess. Tend to scribble physical thoughts on paper.

 Coming soon ideas, maybe? Wouldn’t that be nice? f! Ryder with a Kaidan Alenko… I was challenged and it will be an interesting woven path :D but yeah Kaidan in Andromeda.

Ask me anything - why do you write and post? -- i have always been writing since I could hold a pen. My goal is someday to be published and somewhat successful as a writer. Towards that goal, i need to write.  I *do* have works that are in progress in my folders that are original and it’s currently really hard for me to write them. I find world-building is challenging at the moment, my brain does not wish to co-operate. The fact is, i have a pinched/crushed nerve in my neck which creates pain in my hands and makes it so I cannot write for as long as I would like (I could happily spend 10+ hrs. on my pc writing if I could) but the other issue is this is also taking a hit to creativity and energy. So im fan fic writing Also I love fan fiction, I love building into a world that already exists, to see something from a different view.  I post to share my stories. To back them up. To have a means of making another person enjoy something i have enjoyed, and sharing the games and lore and stories of the games I play with anyone who will listen.

 Best writing traits - persistence, perseverance.. The worst trait is inventing my own words.

 Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write- see above about the f!Ryder one.

 Spicy Tangential Opinion - I am hard to offend, harder to get rid of once I friend someone. And yes this is how I play my Shepard’s too - and why my SWTOR characters are so dang loyal. I also believe we should model healthy relationships, and healthy marriage as writers, so I try for this. Naturally, it is easier for me to write about established dedicated romances because I have a very established, dedicated real life one.