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casey-v · 4 years ago

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Valentine

Ethan x Casey

I haven’t written any fics for quite a while, but with OH3 coming soon I’m getting these vibes again….

I always wondered: what would the closing of Edenbrook mean to E x MC’s relationship? Here’s my attempt to this part of the story.

Sorry in advance for any mistakes, English isn’t my first language.

Warnings: none, I guess (maybe a few smutty thoughts)

Words: 3K

Disclaimer: all characters owned by PB

Participating in @choicesfebchallenge Day14: Valentine

“Good morning Dr. Valentine. This is your day today, isn’t it?” The nurse Rose greeted Casey as she entered the free clinic.

“Good morning. Yeah, I get that a lot.” Casey tried a friendly smile. Since she had been a child everyone referred to her last name on Valentine’s Day, making a remark or joking around. As a teenager it had made her feel special, but by now she was tired of hearing it. Especially today.

She had been in a bad mood since she woke up and it had nothing to do with her last name or Rose. But it had everything to do with the man who simply ignored this day today, probably didn’t even know it existed.

It was perfectly clear to Casey, that these kinds of traditions meant nothing to Ethan. Nevertheless, her disappointment was huge because she had had great expectations for today. After a few difficult weeks she had hoped that a romantic dinner could bring them closer together again.

After the gala and their public kiss everything had seemed perfect and she had spent some time on cloud number nine. But then Ethan gradually became distant and a little grumpy again. They both often worked double shifts and meetings outside the hospital became rare. And they never talked about their life after Edenbrook’s closing. Whenever they got close to that topic, Ethan would change the subject. And Casey was also in denial; she hadn’t applied to any jobs outside greater Boston because she didn’t want to lose Ethan. But maybe it was too late now anyway, she didn’t even know what point in their relationship they really were at.

“Has he told you yet?” Sienna interrupted her thoughts.

“Hi Sienna. No, I still have no idea what we’re doing tonight.”

“Oh, that’s so romantic. For sure he has something incredibly special planned for the two of you.”

Casey tried to maintain a cheerful façade even though she actually felt like crying. But Sienna’s enthusiasm was also kind of sweet, so she managed a smile.

“You seem more excited than I am.”

“I’m hosting a lonely-hearts roomie dinner tonight, so at least let me enjoy the romance in your life.”

Casey felt bad that she was being dishonest with her friend. It was silly, but she would rather spend the night at the movies on her own and then sleep in an on-call room than admit to her friend that Ethan wasn’t going to take her out on a date. Besides, talking about it would make it more real: their relationship was probably on the rocks.

A busy morning at the clinic kept Casey occupied and gave her no opportunity to dwell on her misery. As she was preparing an IV for a patient, she suddenly sensed someone right behind her.

“Dr. Valentine, can you please run some tests on this patient and then get back to me as soon as possible?”

Usually her favorite baritone voice quickened her heartbeat, but today it sounded businesslike and not appealing at all. When she turned around Ethan didn't meet her gaze. Instead, he just thrust a patient chart into her hand and was gone before Casey even had the chance to respond.

At first, she stood there with her mouth open, unable to move, a dreadful feeling spreading through her chest. She had barely seen him all week and that was all she got?

When her vision started to get blurred by tears, she quickly ran to a supply closet, locked the door and sank to the floor.

What now? She couldn’t decide whether she was more sad or mad. How could it be, that things went wrong so fast after everything they had been through together? And how dare he talk to her like a random intern, shoving that patient file into her hands so rudely. He wasn't even her boss anymore.

She still held the chart clutched to her chest and now wanted to check what seemed so urgent. But what she saw didn't make any sense. There was only a last name on it and an address, but everything else was blank. As she turned the page her heart took a leap. She wiped away a few tears and stared at the blank piece of paper. Two words stared back at her.

Dinner tonight?

When she finally remembered to breathe again, she flipped back to the first page and now the pieces were falling into place.

Sorellina, Huntington Ave.

She knew the name had sounded familiar. ��Sorellina” wasn't a patient's name; it was the name of a fancy Italian restaurant in the Back Bay. To be sure she pulled out her phone and searched the internet. And what she found there brought a bright smile to her face.

…the ultimate destination if you're looking to really impress a date…

.. one of the most romantic spots in the city…

…awesome place for date nights…

So he didn’t forget after all! But why the strange behavior? Some things didn’t add up. You don’t get a reservation like this one day in advance. He must have planned this weeks ago. A lot had changed since and now maybe he just wanted to give them one last shot? He wouldn’t be so heartless to dump her on Valentine’s day, would he?

Casey was totally confused. Was she just misinterpreting the whole situation? But she couldn’t be that paranoid. Something was brewing and she was determined to find out tonight, no matter what. This time she would confront him and for once she wouldn’t let him off the hook so easily.

But first she had to get through the day somehow, and she had to head home during her lunchbreak to choose a breathtaking dress. And pack an overnight bag, just in case. Not to forget the special brand of scotch she had ordered for Ethan. And she had to tell Sienna. And…

Okay! First of all, she had to calm down and concentrate on her work. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she took a pen out of her pocket and wrote below Ethan’s message.

Tell me when and where and I’ll be there 💕

After leaving the supply closet she randomly grabbed two other files, placed hers in between and handed them to an intern. “Please get this to Dr. Ramsey immediately.” Then she went back to her patient, who was still waiting for his IV.

The day seemed to drag on endlessly. In the afternoon she found the piece of paper out of the fake patient file in her coat pocket.

Dinner tonight?

Tell me when and where and I’ll be there 💕

my office, 7 pm 😊

He had even drawn an emoji! Smiling she added one more line.

Dessert at your place?

Then she quickly ran upstairs, sneaked into Ethan’s office, and put the piece of paper onto his desk. Her eyes fell on the big clock on the wall: 4 pm! Three more hours to go.

*******

Ethan sat behind his desk, already dressed in his tux, trying to focus on some files. But instead of working, he kept repeating in his head what he wanted to say tonight.

It was ridiculous. Usually, he gave speeches in front of hundreds of fellow doctors and here he was, being nervous about talking to one single woman. The difference was that he felt very qualified to talk about his profession, but he was totally insecure when it came to talking about his feelings. With Casey, he wasn't Dr. Ramsey, a famous and respected diagnostician; with her, he was simply Ethan, a man struggling with the changes in his life.

The sound of high heels echoed through the hallway and announced Casey's arrival. Trying to calm his nerves Ethan busied himself with his paperwork as she entered the office. He didn't raise his head, instead he just glanced at her over the rims of his glasses. As he did, she put her hands on her hips, pushing the winter coat aside to give him full view of her stunning dress. And it had the desired effect. The small piece of black nothingness took his breath away.

“Dr. Ramsey, don't you think it's inappropriate to look at a colleague that way?”

He swallowed hard, but he wouldn’t let her tease him like that.

“Dr. Valentine, don't you think it's inappropriate to wear something like that in your workplace?”

She smirked at him.

“Not as much as taking it off right here in your office.”

Defeated he shook his head, a smile showing at the corners of his mouth. He had to fight the urge to leap over his desk and take her right there against the office door, but instead he only sighed deeply and reached for his coat. This had to wait.

“We better get going or I don't know what I'll do!”

Together they left the office and walked to his car, holding hands. But despite their little banter just now there was an odd silence between them.

*******

The restaurant really was the perfect setting for a special date. Casey was overwhelmed and also kind of intimidated by the atmosphere. To her, it felt more like a first date with a guy she had a crush on than a dinner with the man she had been dating for month. And Ethan seemed equally self-conscious. But after some champagne, they both loosened up and had a really great time.

Almost.

Casey knew Ethan too well by now not to notice that something was strange about him tonight. She couldn’t shake that nagging feeling in her gut.

Back in his apartment, after she had given him her gift, he sat down on the couch with a serious face and asked her to sit down as well.

“I have something for you, too”

Blushing slightly, he handed her a small box and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I wanted to…, I mean this is… Oh, just open it and then I’ll explain!”

Carefully, she lifted the lid of the box and saw, lying on a tiny silk cushion, a key. From the looks of it, she assumed it was the key to his apartment. Casey gave Ethan a questioning look and waited for the promised explanation. But it didn’t come. Ethan seemed uncomfortable and pinched the bridge of his nose. Finally, he just blurted it out.

“Want to move in with me?”

Of all the things she had expected him to say, this certainly wasn’t on the list. But why now? Hundreds of different thoughts whirled through Casey’s head all at once. At first she just stared at him, then she burst into tears. For a long time Ethan looked at her helplessly, finally he ran a hand through his hair in frustration and murmured: “Obviously not.”

At that, Casey’s head snapped up. “No, no, no! I do, of course I do!” She wiped some tears from her face and explained between occasional sobs.

“The thing is: Whenever I imagined moving in with you, I got sad about not living with my friends anymore. And now I’ve just realized it doesn’t matter because in a couple of weeks they’ll all be gone anyway, scattered across the country. I’m going to miss them so much. And since I don’t know where I am going to be, there’s no point in moving in with you either.”

She shook her head, trying to keep the tears at bay.

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess, it just seems that everything is falling apart. This morning I wasn’t even sure whether you want to break up with me or not and I thought that…”

“Whoa, hold it right there. What on earth are you talking about?”

From Ethan’s shocked expression Casey could tell that it had obviously never occurred to him to break up. Slightly embarrassed she continued in an unsteady voice.

“I mean, the way you’ve been acting lately, especially this morning, you’ve been so rude….”

Ethan gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, wiped away her tears, and sighed.

“Oh Casey, I’m so sorry. But you know me; you know that I hate talking in front of patients. And I had a lot on my mind; I’ve been nervous all day about our date.”

He smiled shyly and shook his head. Then his gaze darkened again, guilt clearly written on his face. His brows furrowed, and he backed away a little.

“Although you’re right that I’ve been putting some distance between us lately. But I needed clarity about the whole job situation. And us. All my life I’ve planned everything three steps ahead and then suddenly it felt like I was losing control. I know I can’t ask you to stay because you have to finish your residency at one of the best hospitals in the country. Thus, I have tortured myself to figure out how we can make things work and I’ve been miserable all this time. Until I realized the answer is fairly simple.”

Casey couldn’t believe that they had both been so distraught for weeks, and instead of sharing and confiding in each other, they were just brooding over the challenges ahead, each to their own. Slowly, the uneasy feeling inside her stomach began to dissipate, although she had no idea what he was talking about.

“What answer?”

Ethan took her hand and he gently drew circles on the back of it with his thumb, his eyes following its movement.

“Edenbrook has been my home for almost 12 years now, and if they take it away from me, what else is there? Naveen, of course, and my father nearby, but other than that ….”

All this time Casey held the box with the key in one hand. Now he took it from her and raised the key to eye level. Her gaze wandered back and forth between the key and Ethan. He cleared his throat in search of words, but they didn’t come. Her heart hammered in her chest, the tension almost unbearable. Finally, his blue eyes met hers and he found the courage to speak, his voice husky and low.

“This isn’t just the key to my apartment, Casey. This key means I want to live with you, wherever that may be.”

His last words were only a whisper. “If you’ll have me, that is.”

Casey couldn’t even begin to grasp what it all meant. She would be able to apply to any hospital in the country and Ethan would be with her. Live with her.

An overwhelming feeling of happiness spread through her body.

“You really would do this for me?”

“No, if I’m honest I’m doing this not for you but for myself. I don’t want to go back to being that grumpy cynic I once was before I met you. I’m lost without you.”

The full meaning of his words sent a prickling sensation down her spine, but she was also amused.

“Ethan, you’re one of the most famous and respected physicians, you’ve managed perfectly fine without me for 36 years.”

Ethan put down the key and the box from her hand and took both her hands, his gaze intense.

“But it’s taken me 36 years to find out what it means to be genuinely happy.”

Those last words took all her breath right out of her and her heart was ready to explode. His eyes pierced hers as he waited for a response.

He moved closer und squeezed her hands tightly, his eyes still dark.

“So, what do you say?”

She couldn’t resist the temptation to mess with him.

“Let me get this straight: You’re telling me, if I said no, there would be no one to tell you if you’re acting like a goddam diva again?”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth realizing what she was getting at. “Probably.”

Grinning she went on. “And who would be there to help you with your social media accounts?”

“Nobody.”

Ethan’s eyes began to light up as she moved onto his lap, mischief in her smile.

“And there would be no one who would dare to tease you?”

“Right.”

Their faces were now only a breath away.

“And nobody there to make you pancakes?”

“Exactly. What would become of me?”

Her mouth moved to the side of his neck. After a line of soft kisses, she started nibbling on his earlobe and whispered. “And no one, who would do this?”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s not hard to find someb…”

She quickly backed away and punched his arm playfully. “Don’t you dare!”

Ethan was now gleaming all over his face. He tucked a finger under her chin and gently nudged her nose with his. “So is that a YES?”

“Do I even have a choice?”

“Not really!”

And then at last his lips found hers, first slowly, barely touching, until they both gave in and melted into each other. All the tension of the day, all the pent-up emotions of the past weeks fell off and there was only him and her. While the kisses grew more and more urgent, his hands started to roam over her body and slowly he unzipped her dress. As his warm hand gently slid down her back, Casey felt his hot breath on her ear.

“If I remember correctly, you promised me dessert.”

“We already had a selection of delicious Italian desserts.”

“But I’m still very hungry. And first of all, this dress has to go. The sight of it has been tormenting me all evening.”

*****

The bedroom was almost dark. Ethan lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He was unable to put his mind to rest after the events of the day. He turned over to watch the stunning woman sleeping next to him. The moonlight on her face made her even look more beautiful. From now on, he would have the privilege of waking up to this sight every morning. That thought alone made his heart leap.

Gently, he draped the sheets over her shoulder, brushed her hair out of her face and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek; always careful not to wake her.

Smiling down at her he whispered. “I love you, Casey Valentine.”

Never before had these words left his lips. And now didn’t even count either because she couldn’t hear them. He had tried to tell her many times, but the moment never seemed right. Today would have been the perfect occasion, but he had chickened out again.

It was absurd. They had started to plan their future together. Why was it so hard? Three simple words!

Laying back down he whispered, more to himself.

“I’m going to tell you. Soon.

Maybe tomorrow.”

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

Thank you if you have made it so far.

This piece has really been a challenge, it took me forever. I’ve changed it a couple of times and I am still not quite satisfied, but at some point you just have to let go.

Tagging seperately.

#choicesfebruarychallenge2021 #open heart #playchoices #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #casey valentine #ethan jonah ramsey #my writing #fanfic

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manic-kagura · 2 years ago

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alright so some shit in my life has happened and im just reaching breaking point after breaking point and this post + its possible following reblogs exist to help me vent

general tw, but specific to domestic abuse, narcissistic abuse, and anything that can occur within those two categories (im exhausted i cant think of all the issues that may pop up)

theyll all be under readmores

so for context: my dad has undiagnosed narcissistic personality disorder - while it may be undiagnosed by technicality, i consider this to be his state of being because, like narcs do, he refuses to get help, because THAT would mean something is WRONG WITH HIM!

I’m 27 years old - I didn’t get out of that emotionally abusive household until i was 25, and even then I was unable to fully escape it. in late february of 2020 my dad crossed a line that just...lit the lightbulb in my head and i chose to go live with my current boyfriend, who i had known for about a month and been dating for maybe 2 weeks at the time. it’s been 2 years since i left, and after a long time of slowly getting things in my control (finances, my dog, my car, my bank account, etc) i was finally able to start going low contact 10 months ago. unfortnately, this also meant i couldn’t call my mom because he would turn the volume on the tv down so he could hear me talking to her over the phone. i didnt want to risk her safety further, so we just...dont call each other unless shes in the car.

this specific post is not for me to go into details on the bullshit i endured (i may do that elsewhere another time with heavy tw) - this post is specific to a rather recent set of events and how this has, today, crumbled into causing me a downward spiral.

my dad has threatened my mom with divorce A LOT over the past 2 years - it started getting really aggressive when i caught covid and she was asking him to back off because (SURPRISE) his meddling was making my symptoms worse (and i didnt even live with them...controlling ass freak). so anytime she vaguely annoyed him, he’d threaten it. my mom is very very Christian (unfortunately), and from South Africa - the idea of divorce is terrifying to her on so many levels, and no matter how many times ive tried to get her to leave she always had an excuse.

well, one day he made the threat, and she said “bring the papers and i’ll sign them.”

the threats calmed down. I don’t know when they started getting aggressive again, but in May of this year (2022), he finally decided he’d bring them. he told my mom she had time to look for living arrangements, and when she did he’d start finalizing divorce shit. when i learned this i blocked him everywhere i could manage - no phone calls, no texts. saving face has no purpose anymore when theres nothing to salvage.

my mom has been working her ass off for like 4 years - my dad lost his job, and with it any financial stability we may have had (all the Amazon boxes stacked around the house every day would make you think otherwise though). i learned my mom had NO ACCESS to her income. it went to a joint account that she was unable to get into.

well with this actual divorce going on and her job working her to death (like she goes in at 7 am and leaves at 12 am - fuck publix), she has had literally no way of packing shit up to start getting ready to leave. she has not opened a new bank account for her income. she hasnt found a lawyer. despite me telling her id help her with these things, shes declined and ive backed off.

until today.

on a whim i decided to check my old email (a rarity in the past 2+ years honestly). i noticed some emails in there that were sent as a text, from a phone, which was something i had seen before (my dad had done this somehow by accident before in 2019, but it was always in a text chain that included me).

this one did not include me. i dont know how im receivng these. but its a text chain between him and some woman that i do not know - number and name dont ring any bells, she isnt in our family, shes not a friend ive ever heard him speak of.

he was asking her about “tourism visas” for someone coming from the Phillipines.

its not for work. not only does he not even do shit in the line of work in which hed be talking to people in other countries now, but TOURISM VISAS arent for work.

a good friend of mine from high school has a shitty dad too. we laugh at how fucking similar they are. turns out, her dads had shit like this too! fucking mail order brides!!!

i start sending my mom screenshots. im frantically texting her to contact me. she hadnt contacted me in about a week so in a fit of fear i decide to call her, which is something ive done my best not to do, at all, ever.

i asked her “can you talk? are you alone? can we speak in private?” she said she was at home, to call back in 10 minutes. i told her ok, but she needs to check her texts.

we start texting. she says my dad was asking why i called, what it was about, what i was gonna text her about. she said she didnt know (which is only half a lie tbh).

his response was “when you get home tomorrow, we need to finalize things.”

i ripped him apart in my texts. i told her she needs to get her finances together ASAP. no more waiting. he didnt give a singel solitary shit about her or our fucking family, hes trying to fuck her over. hes hurt us enough. i told her i had screenshotted all of the messages, i told her to ask for a small vacation from work to get her shit together and out, i told her to stay with a friend when my boyfriend and i couldnt be with her to pack.

shes finally decided to get a lawyer. she said to keep everything on hand. shes finally seeing the fucking lightbulb.

im hoping in the next week she’ll be having more days off to deal with this shit. my only high points within this situation today were to see her finally turn around and the mere fucking thought that i made my life long abuser shit himself, all because i said “i need to talk to you in private” to my poor fucking mother.

i hope this fucker burns in whatever hells exist. i hope he burns in every single torturous afterlife and his soul never rests. but most of all i hope he realizes he will leave this fucking world cold and alone, just like he raised and left us.

#personal #negative #tw abuse #tw emotional abuse #tw narcissistic parent #vent #add later

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petri808 · 3 years ago

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Bakudeku canon divergent, vampire quirk AU

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24

“How are you holding up son, are you eating enough food? You need to keep up your strength.” Mitsuki Bakugou questioned through the phone when her son called to give her an update.

“Yeah, yeah, of course I am! And, um, thanks for the money you put in my account,” Bakugou mumbled his appreciation.

“It’s from us, Inko, and All Might— actually he’s been putting up the bulk of it. We’re all hoping you find Izuku soon, but until then we’ll make sure you have what you need, just bring him home.”

“I’m working on it. Bastard’s not making it easy, but at least the damn authorities haven’t picked up on the trail yet.” It was a good thing, because Bakugou didn’t need them scaring Midoriya further away.

“You’re like a dog with a bone when you put your mind to something, so I know you’ll find a way.”

“I can’t believe you just equated me to a dog!”

“Oh, bite your tongue boy! It’s an expression!”

“Yeah, yeah. I better go, the train’s here.” He could see it pulling into Kawaji station.

“Are you still not gonna tell us where you are?”

“Nope. He moves around a lot anyways. Just know we haven’t left Honshu.”

“Alright. Good luck son. I’ll pass on your update to Inko and All Might.”

This game of hide and seek was physically wearing on Bakugou, but there was nothing short of a full incapacitation that would keep him from searching. After the Ena incident, Midoriya’s tactics had changed somewhat. The man moved more frequently and, in a zigzag, whereas in the past it had been heading in a straight line towards Shizuoka to the southwest. But there was one thing Midoriya couldn’t hide— victims. It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together.

There were still times victims were drained, but not all of them. Bakugou surmised in order to not leave them fully incapacitated like before, his friend wasn’t always waiting until he was hungry, or he hadn’t learned to control it yet. He probably fed almost nightly, picking drunkards who wouldn’t remember what happened, and even less likely to report the incident. But less reports made it harder to track, and less blood also forced Midoriya to drink more often. Bakugou hoped that with shorter times between attacks, the man would get sloppy and make a mistake.

There were a lot of small towns all over, including abandoned structures from older times. Plenty of places to hide, not to mention dense forests and the mountainous terrain of central Japan that a person could disappear in. When tracking a lack of victim reports grew frustrating, Bakugou started looking for other clues, and in one town, a perceptive police officer commented about thefts he’d been hearing about from the surrounding areas. Random stores or restaurants, even some homes reporting the theft of food, sometimes clothing, basically survival type supplies but no valuables, which are not the norm of a burglary. It was brilliant.

Bakugou had thanked the officer for the information and immediately began inquiring in towns and watching newspapers where they were having both types of problems. It took almost a month, including a couple of near misses, until Bakugou knew he was closing in.

Local newspapers were reporting about unusual happenings in the smaller towns. In Ieyama city, high up in the mountains north of Shizuoka, Bakugou spoke with a police officer and confirmed a rash of strange incidents reported. Three burglaries of just food, one bath house broken into after closing, and a couple of reported attacks where the victims had marks on their necks. So far, Izuku’s new behaviors included sticking around the same area for about a week before moving on. With these latest cases only 3 days old in total, Bakugou knew they were a fresh lead.

“Yesterday, right?”

“Yes, the last burglary was in the afternoon while the homeowner was at work.” Using a paper map, the police officer showed Bakugou the location of the most recent burglary as well as two others over the last couple of days. It was very telling. The three places were centered around a 4-block radius. “If you are looking for hiding spots, there is an abandoned factory in that area. I’ll give you the address.”

“Thanks. I doubt they’d stay so close to the attack grounds, but I’ll check it out.” He didn’t want any of them following him.

It was still daylight, but Bakugou didn’t want to waste any time and risk his friend moving again after dark, heading straight for the dilapidated warehouse. The place looked like it had been emptied for a longtime. There was a rusted, chain link fence around the property, many broken windows, and weeds growing over the structure. Bakugou crept up to one of the windows, and heard nothing, so he moved slowly, quietly around the exterior paying close attention to any sounds or movements inside. But he heard nothing to indicate anything was there, not even an animal. Maybe it was another dead end, or maybe Midoriya was just sleeping. Un-phased, he moved inside the two-story building to make absolutely sure.

It took a while to search cautiously through the darkness, watching his step so not to step on anything or make a noise. The vastly open bottom floor was almost completely empty aside from a few left behind junk. So, Bakugou moved to the second floor where offices once were. Of all the areas, the top floor would provide the warmest cover, as well as quicker access to the roof. Like a trained tactical soldier, he cleared room after room, moving down the hallway that separated the individual offices, and one by one, eliminating them from the search. Finally, Bakugou reached the last one and heard the soft breathing of a sleeping person. Well, that meant two options, it’s just a homeless person or he’d finally caught his friend off guard.

Bakugou peered cautiously around the door frame. It was dark, but just enough light from a small window allowed his eyes to adjust quickly on a form lying down on the floor. Next to the person was a backpack, empty food containers strewn around, and possibly other items from the burglaries. There was also a make-shift hearth of broken bricks and a metal bowl with dark residue inside. He could even smell the light scent of soot mixed with burnt wood. ‘Gotcha!’ He smirked as he pocketed his flashlight and pulled out a special pair of handcuffs used to dampen quirks. It didn’t completely shut down a person’s quirk, but it kept them from using its full power. He was ready for Midoriya this time.

‘Almost there…’ he crept forward in a crouched manner ready to pounce like a predator stalking its prey in careful movements since he no longer had the flashlight out to see by. ‘Damn minefield,’ Bakugou grumbled as he navigated around the strewn mess of stuff the sleeping man had around him. ‘Almost there—'

*Crunch*

A piece of glass shattered below his boot, the sounds reverberating off the silent cement walls. “Shit!” Bakugou dove forward when Midoriya immediately popped up and tried to dash away. “Not this time nerd!”

“Waaahhhcchan!” Midoriya screamed as he was tackled to the floor. The two men fought, vying for footing, but the blonde kept them on the ground. Bakugou grabbed for and slapped one end of the handcuffs onto one of Midoriya’s wrists. “Nooo!” The man screamed.

“Not this time Deku! You ain’t getting away!”

Weakened by the cuff, Bakugou poured all his strength into jerking the disheveled man, flipping him onto his stomach, and tweaking his arm behind him into a wrist lock for leverage.

Midoriya screamed again from the pain, but nevertheless fought with all he had. Unfortunately, the cuffs were doing their job. “Please, Kacchan! Don’t do this!”

“Tough shit!” Bakugou snapped back and attached the other cuff to his own wrist. The effects would hamper them both, but “I dare you, nerd, you can’t beat me in a contemporary fight.” He was confident of such, having always been the physically stronger of the two regardless of quirk. “I’m taking you home!”

Midoriya wriggled, and tugged, but it was of no use. His friend had planted his feet, dropped his weight, and refused to budge. He didn’t want to risk exhausting himself and triggering a full-blown thirst like last time, so he stopped struggling.

After a few seconds, Bakugou got off the man and turned him over so he could sit up. Midoriya nursed his arm and rubbed at his wrist to soothe the pain. “Of course, I want to go home,” he sighed. “But it’s too dangerous Kacchan, why can’t you understand that?”

“Eri’s getting better every day, one day she’ll be able to control her quirk and fix you.”

“That’s not good enough. What are you gonna do, lock me up hoping she can fix me?! You saw what happened! Just like we eat food every day, I need blood, how are you gonna deal with that?!”

“Fine,” Bakugou shrugged, “we’ll hook you up to an IV and feed you blood when you need it.”

“No,” Midoriya started tugging again as tears flowed down his cheeks. “Please,” he begged, “this is too embarrassing, don’t you understand! I’ll never be able to be a hero again, my reputation will be ruined once everyone finds out! Hero society will look bad! It’s better I stay away!”

Frustrated with having his wrist yanked, Bakugou whipped his friend around and put him in a carotid choke hold. “Well, I’m not fucking leaving,” he spat, “so, we need to come up with a solution. Now stop fucking fighting me and get it through your head, the reality is I’m not going anywhere.”

Midoriya clawed at Bakugou’s arm trying to pull it away from his neck, but the man had it cinched in tight. If he kept struggling, he was bound to pass out. Exhausted, he finally relented and turned into a dead weight, sobbing quietly. “Why are you doing this, Kacchan… why?”

“Because a friend once told me I need to save to win, and right now you need to be saved for me to win.”

“Right? Win, I get it,” Midoriya narrowed his eyes along with tone. “This is an ego thing? You’ll take me back to show how you’re still better than me?” His heart didn’t believe those words, but as a coping mechanism, it did.

Bakugou let go of the man and shoved him so hard Midoriya face planted on the floor, stretching the handcuff chain to its limit. “I ought’a punch your lights out for saying that! I’m trying to win my friend back you asshole! You think I’d spend all this time chasing you if I didn’t care?!”

“Kacchan…” The man sighed and slowly propped himself back up. “There’s nowhere safe for me to go.”

Bakugou ignored the man and looked at his watch, noting the sun would have fully set by now. It might best to stay another night while he came up with a plan. “Tch, I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, behave or I will just knock you unconscious.”

“Fine, I won’t fight. But I do need to feed tonight.” Midoriya lifted his arm to flash the cuff. “Guess you’ll have to help me.”

“Why? You feeling the urge?” Midoriya nodded yes. “How can you tell?”

Midoriya thought about the answer for a minute before responding. “It’s like feeling dehydrated, maybe, at least in the beginning, but then it starts to get painful if I don’t feed it. I guess think of it like if you don’t eat for so long your stomach hurts— that’s what it’s like.”

“Sounds like it sucks.”

Midoriya snorted. “Understatement. It takes control of my mind by that point, almost as if it’s a survival instinct to protect itself.”

“Well, mister know it all. You ever heard of this kind of quirk before?”

“No,” Midoriya shook his head.

“Do the vestiges have anything to say about all this?”

Again, Midoriya shook his head.

Bakugou groaned and ran a hand down his face. “Whatever. Doesn’t matter for the current situation.” He looked up again fixing a stare at his friend. “So, what do you do to get the blood?”

#bakudeku #bkdk #bakudeku au #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #bakudeku fan fic #bakudeku fan fiction #vampire quirk #katsudeku #ktdk #ch 7 #bloody passion #eventual smut

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propertyofwicked · 5 years ago

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a-z of dating will schofield

(ive kept blake alive bcos im not a monster, and he has sisters rather than daughters :) ) pls request more for me to write i am bored of my half term lol

a- argue

both of you are fairly neutral people, so you rarely have arguments of significance. when you do however, the aftermath can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days - both of you too stubborn to admit your faults so resorting to silent treatment. the periods of silence ended when one of you couldn’t take it anymore, usually him. he would approach you when you were pre-occupied, take you in his arms and whisper an apology. if that didn’t work, he would begin telling bad jokes, refusing to let you go until you cracked even the smallest of smiles.

b - body (his favourite body part of yours)

will loves your lips. on the one hand, he loves when your whole face lights up in laughter, or perks up with a smile. he loves seeing your lips curl up into a small grin whenever you see him across the street or when you share a look from across busy rooms. on the other hand, he loves how your lips fit perfectly with his. when you get intimate, he loves how they wrap around him and he loves when they fall open to let out the bliss sound of your moans.

c - care (how you care for each other when you’re sick)

when will is ill, he’ll pretend it’s nothing and continue working himself beyond his ability. it’s almost your job to make sure that when he’s ill, he remains in bed - or at least the house - in order for you to keep an eye on him and make sure he stays hydrated and well fed. when you’re ill, he will stay with you as much as he can. before he has to go to work, he’ll place a glass of water and medication next to your bed and put soup into a pot, ready for you to just heat it up when you needed it. when he comes home, he’ll come straight up to you and wrap you in his arms, peppering your face in kisses. he didn’t care if he too got ill - it just meant more time with you.

d - dates (what do you guys do?)

you and will weren’t a typically outgoing couple, whilst you both came from money and could afford to splash out - neither of you wanted to. you’d rather stay at home, curled up on a sofa, humming along softly to the murmurs of a record playing softly in the background. he’d play with the rings that adorned your fingers whilst he listened to you talk about anything that came to mind. you listened to him talk, sometimes he’d tell stories of his time in the war - maybe he’d recount something he’d seen or something that blake had told him in passing, he did love to tell stories after all. when you did go all out, it was to celebrate anniversaries or birthdays, and even then, it was a dinner and then a walk home, gazing at the stars.

e - engagement (how he proposed)

it was on your 7 year anniversary, sometime in early 1922, and you go to a local restaurant to celebrate. something feels different though. as you walked in holding hands, his became clammy and throughout conversation at dinner, he stumbled over his words and found it hard to stay on one topic for more than 5 minutes at a time. on the walk home he takes you down a different street and says he “just wants to show you something”. without questioning him, you follow him and end up at the bench you first met. it wouldn’t be will, if he hadn’t planned out a long speech that built up to the final question but in his stress manage to forget it and resort to just going on one knee and smiling up at you, “i love you, will you marry me?”

f - friends and family (do they like you/him?)

his family adores you. his younger sisters loved to have someone to talk to and someone to braid their hair whilst their big brother was away at war. whilst he was away, his mother loved to have you other for dinner, desperate to have anything the remind her of her son. his dad and you weren’t massively close but there was an aspect of mutual respect. you had many mutual friends as you grew up in the same area, attending local schools and all of them were obviously delighted to see their two friends happy with each other. your parents adored him too, he was the son they never had whilst also being the best thing to walk into your life.

g - gifts

will loved to shower you in gifts. they were only little but they were something so deeply special to you. it was weekly flowers, that he’d buy on his way back from work, or maybe a punnet of cherries from the green grocers - he was whipped and you were equally.

h - how you met

you met when you were 17 and he was 18 in 1915. your town had been holding a small travelling festival consisting of a circus and fun little game stalls. your friends had insisted you go, as it may be your only chance. they didn’t mention though, that whilst there they would be meeting their boyfriends - leaving you alone, wondering around admiring the lights. in your meandering, you bumped into the dusty blond who stood as good head above you. in doing so, you knocked the toffee apple out of his hand, and insisted on buying him a new one with the the remainder of the 10 bob your dad had given you on the way out. you spent the rest of the evening sat on a bench, talking about the stars that shon above until your friends turned up to take you home.

i - intimacy (how often are yall getting down?)

despite his shy outer shell, william schofield was not afraid to show you loving almost every day. can’t sleep? hungry? need to go shopping? this man does not care. if you need anything, he’ll give it to you and god does he know how to work his way around that bedroom.

j - jealousy

your’re both the jealous type, but not the type to make a public show about it. the pent out anger is usually taken out behind doors if you get what i mean ;) when will gets jealous, he makes sure you know by squeezing your hand harder or moving it over to graze the top of your thigh and he’d play with the ends of you hair. you’re more discreet about it, maybe getting a little argumentative with whoever is making you jealous.

k - kinks

william schofield - king of praising. he loves to hear you call out his name as much as he likes to make you. if he could spend all day making you shake, he would.

l - long distance

whilst will was away at war, things got hard. despite only being together 6 months when he left, it was like a piece of you had been torn away, and you spent every day praying for his safe return. but when he did come back on leave, it wasn’t the same as you knew he’d had to leave again and the risk of never seeing him again got more prevalent. sending letters was always hard, often he’d find the small marks where ink had bled from your tears, his heart shutting down to repress his own feelings. his letters went from happy to bland. no emotion, just vague descriptions of his days, his meals - nothing about him and how he was doing. so when the war did finally end and he came back to you, he returned to being the will you had grown to love.

m - moving in

towards the beginning of the war, you had received a letter from will declaring how the moment he came home, he wanted to make a woman out of you. so when the war finally ended 4 years later, and he returned, the first thing you two did was go on the hunt for a smallish house. you opted to move more into the city as the jobs and travel was considerably better. living together was a dream, though you had to adjust to each others bad habits, and being young and living together meant you had the constant questionings as to when you would start a family of your own.

n - nights out

ofcourse, living in closer to the city provided you with better opportunities for nightlife. friday nights were dancing nights. you two, your friends and partners and whichever girl tom picked up that week would all stumble down to the dance hall and spend hours, drunk dancing to the likes of marrison harris, only to return home at early hours and pass out on the living room floor.

o - open with each other

at the start of your relationship, will and you were very open with each other, discussing your boundaries and respecting them as such. you would talk about everything, from friends to family to school. but after the war, will became a closed door - refusing to talk about anything that happened whilst he was away, you respected this but wished he’d open up the slightest, just to be able to connect to him in anyway. after a few months, he became the same man he was before he left, just more mature - a look that really suited him. in his months of silence, you opted to fill this by just talking non stop, anything the provoke a reaction. and you’ll never forget when he had not said a word for 3 days after returning and whispered a quick “i love you” as you fell asleep that night.

p - pda

neither of you were big on over-the-top pda, choosing to just hold hands or accept slight pecks. affection was saved for a private environment around only each other or very close friends. although in crowded areas, will would stand behind you, wrapping his arms around you securely.

q - questions (what you talk about late at night)

it’s 3am, you can’t sleep, so you roll over and stare will in the face until one eye peaks open.

“yeah?” he mumbles sleepily.

“do you love me?”

“mhm”

“no say it”

“i love you, now go to sleep, it’s 3am”

r - reproduction (do you want kids?)

you’ve always wanted kids, knowing that you grew up mostly alone as a single child. will had also wanted children until he saw what war could do to a child. he feared that he would be putting a potential son at risk by just simply creating him. it took a lot of convincing to retrieve will from the mindset he had fallen trap to, but he eventually did come around to the idea of having his own little family to protect.

s - surprising (what surprised you about him)

he was really bold when you got to know him well enough. on the surface and to people who had not spoken to him, will seemed like a quiet but wise soul. one getting to know him, anyone could realise that he had the sense of humour of a champ and was really outgoing. often, being around tom brought this out in him, challenging to ridiculous games of drunk darts in a dingy pub.

t - together (what you do together)

you just vibe together. sometimes you cook together, other times you sing or you dance along with the wireless - him twirling you around the kitchen was a favourite of his. sometimes you’d read together or to each other and other times you’d go out dancing till early hours of the morning.

u - under the influence (drunk vibes)

will and tom were hell to reckon with alone, but when alcohol was thrown into the mix it became a harder battle. you’d opted out of going out one night after a long, tiresome day. this led you to be left to deal with two fully grown men, giggling like school girls in your living room at 2am. will refused to sleep till he had gotten a kiss and tom refused until he was tucked into to bed and sang a nursery rhyme. but quite frankly you wouldn’t have it any other way.

v - vacations

at it was only the 1920′s, you guys tended not to go abroad. instead you travelled the country, hiking in the peak district and swimming in the sea at cornwall.

w - wedding

you had a small wedding service, attended by family and close friends - and it was absolutely perfect. the service was followed by an evening of dancing and drinking alongside the people you loved most.

x - xray (when he’s hurt)

it was almost impossible for a man to return from war unharmed, which left will with a weak left hand from a bad experience with barbed wired and then the carcus of a man. some days, it would get so bad, that he was unable to lift a glass in that hand, and on the days, you’d remind him that you were there to help whenever he needed it. whether that meant giving him medication or ringing a doctor, he was constantly reminded of the love you had for him.

y - you (a random headcannon)

will had left early that morning, saying he’d be home late and not to wait up. you didn’t question it, as often he would travel for his job or go for drinks with tom. for some reason that night you couldn’t sleep without him, so took out his shirt and held it close to you, managing to fall asleep comforted by the smell of him. what a sight that was, for him to walk in a few hours later and find you curled up with his shirt. he had never been more in love with you than at this precise moment.

z - zzzzzzzz’s (sleeping routine)

you’d be in bed first most nights, after bathing away that days dirt. will would emerge at the bedroom door half an hour later, in just a towel, to gaze at you absorbed into a book and oblivious to his presence. he’d put on his pyjamas and climb in next to you, his arm find his way under your back. this way he was able to pull you in and rest your head on his chest. he’d press a kiss to the top of your head, then tilt your chin up to connect your lips together in a sweet kiss.

#1917 #george mackay #dean charles chapman #tom blake #will schofield #will schofield x reader #will schofield imagine #sam mendes #tom blake x reader #tom blake imagine #george mackay x reader #george mackay imagine #a-z #this is shit im so sorry ahaha

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reshirement · 4 years ago

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30 Questions

I was tagged by @lordoftherazzles who is always fantastic, thank you so much my dear. <3

1. name or nickname: jess 2. gender: 3. star sign: virgo 4. height: 5′3ish 5. time: 2:10 am 6. bday: september 7. fav band(s): fleet foxes, glass animals, sleeping at last 8. fav solo artist(s): fiona apple, david bowie, chris cornell 9. song stuck in your head: no roots - alice merton 10. last movie: yentl <3 11. last show: hannibal 12. when did i create this blog: this account was technically created three or four years ago, but all the old posts were deleted and the blog changed to the current one sometime in early 2020, i think. 13. what do i post: i reblog mostly bagginshield content, but lots of other lotr-centric posts, gifs, thoughts and fanart from a variety of amazing blogs. unless, of course, you're talking about what i post personally, and that's just the occasional drawing, and some weird rambling. 14. last thing i googled: how to distract my cat overnight so i don't shove him in a box and sit on it because congress has been a real bastard lately and i'm tired of getting booped in the eye at 3AM (google is terrible with specifics, by the way.) 15. other blogs: i'm going to put my active ones because i've had about 40 in the last decade or so, and that's this blog and @squeakysleeper 16. do i get asks: two weeks ago i would've said no, not really, but i've been getting some really grumpy anons lately 17. why i chose my url: i was initially roaringpines, but then i saw 'reshirement' in an ao3 tag somewhere and i was just like, yep that's the vibe 18. following: 328 19. followers: 358 20. avg hrs of sleep: it's either 1-3 or 10-12 depending on the day 21. lucky no.: according to the only lucky number generator i found during a twenty second search that had nothing to do with lottery numbers, i have five of them. five, nine, one, eight, and for some reason, eight again. 22. instruments: i can play a few songs on both piano and guitar, but lack the ability to play anything organically. 23. what i’m wearing: jeans. 24. dream job: unfortunately, i haven't quite figured that out yet, though i've done many different things over the years. 25. dream trip: spending a month driving up and down the west coast with my three best friends. 26. fave food: anything free. 27. nationality: american. 28. fav song: make you better - the decemberists, but it changes all the time. 29. last book: technically 'the complete works of william shakespeare' but i was just brushing up on henry iv to help someone who is taking a class. 30. top 3 fictional universes i wanna live in: all the universes i can think of right now are often generally a terrible place for innocent bystanders. maybe tolkien's if i could be well-traveled without dying horribly. the jurassic park universe possibly, because knowing there were living dinosaurs somewhere in the world would be neat, aaaaand for the last one i would like to live in a universe where i am not absolutely terrified of the sea because i really love fish.

as for NO PRESSURE tags, let's do @tamloid, @yacrimago, @weirdo-with-a-nametag, @brglhobbit, @zeldapanda and @lindirs-gaze as as well as anyone else who is interested and tag me so i can see your answers! <3

#tag game #this was fun!!#thank you again!! <3 #not lotr

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religioused · 4 years ago

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When the Spirit is in Charge

by Gary Simpson

Acts 10:44-48 (CEV)

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit took control of everyone who was listening. Some Jewish followers of the Lord had come with Peter, and they were surprised that the Holy Spirit had been given to Gentiles.

46 Now they were hearing Gentiles speaking unknown languages and praising God. Peter said, "These Gentiles have been given the Holy Spirit, just as we have! I am certain that no one would dare stop us from baptizing them." Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they asked him to stay on for a few days.

Reflection:

“While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit took control of everyone.” “The Holy Spirit took control.” Keep this line in mind. We will come back to the theme.

There is a lot going on today. This is Mother’s Day. We are combining Mother’s Day and Father’s Day into one day. We are celebrating family. This is also the second week of Asian History Month.

This is a day when we recognize and appreciate the many people who had parenting roles in our lives, including, but not limited to:

• Biological, foster, and adoptive parents.

• Parents of choice.

• Aunts, uncles, grandparents.

• Teachers.

• Neighbors, employers and supervisors.

As I prepare to light this candle, I encourage you to think of people who provided loving parenting and quasi-parenting roles in your life.

The second candle is for all members of our families.

The third candle is for the Asian people in our community and our lives.

We light these candles as a way of thanking God for the people who built into our lives, for families of origin and families of choice, and for Asians who pioneered Canada and who continue to pioneer Canada.

May is Asian History Month. During May, Canadians are encouraged to learn more about the achievements and contributions of Asian Canadians. A few groups we might not think of as Asian, include:

• Some Arabs, such Lebanese, and some Jewish people, and some Russians.

• Persians, Afghanis, Turks.

• Indians and Pakistanis.

There are so many Asian different countries of ancestry and so many different cultures, languages, and religions that we could spend years learning about our neighbors, friends, classmates, and colleagues.

Currently, I think we might be seeing more hate targeting Asian communities than we have seen at any other time since World War 2. The importance of learning about the history and contributions of Asians is very high. Some people are calling the Coronavirus the Chinese virus. Let’s compare hate crimes before and after the Coronavirus pandemic. A comparison of Vancouver hate crimes between January and September of 2019 and 2020 showed an 878% increase in hate crimes targeting Asians.(1) This is added to the ongoing problem of hate targeting many people of broadly Asian descent. About 18% of all Canadian hate crimes in 2017 targeted Jewish people. In 2017 17% of Canadian hate crimes targeted Muslims.(2) A total of 35% of all hate crimes were religious hate crimes. Because some Muslims and some Jewish people have Asian heritage, this means that some of the religious discrimination is targeting Asian people.

In contemporary society, it almost feels like there is no such thing as a freak accident – somebody always has to be at fault, so we seek to blame and to litigate. So some people are referring to the Coronavirus as the China virus. That might be a factor in the massive increase in hate directed toward Asians.

Because of the pandemic, we are afraid – afraid for our jobs and businesses, our freedom and convenience, our way of life. We are also afraid of getting sick. We may mask our fears with angry outbursts and hate. Some of the anger and fear targets Asian people. Fearing members of other groups, xenophobia, is nothing new. Some xenophobia was probably working behind the scenes in ancient Palestine.

Perhaps, Jewish people had reason to feel a little threatened by non-Jewish people. There is a history of conflict ranging over more than 4,400 years. An USA Today article indicates that Jerusalem was captured and recaptured at least 20 times. Conflict over Jerusalem seems to have started no later than 2,500 years before Christ and ended in 1967.(3) Over 575 years before Christ, Solomon's Temple was destroyed. Another Temple was built about 515 years before Christ.(4) Jewish protests against Antiochus IV resulted in a backlash against Jewish people. He marched on Jerusalem, ordered the killing of 80 thousand people and sold about the same number into slavery. He also desecrated the Temple.(5) By about 63 AD, the area of ancient Israel came under Roman rule.(6) Jewish people, once again, found themselves under the control of a foreign imperial power. Roman rule was not always ideal. Pontius Pilate was so brutal that in 37 CE, he was ordered to give an account to the emperor.(7) The roots of xenophobia were probably fed, watered, and nourished by oppression coming from Gentiles.

Earlier in Acts Chapter 10, Peter has a vision that shows Peter that God is a universalist God, an inclusive God for all people. Then we read part of Peter’s sermon and we see the Holy Spirit poured out upon the Gentile Believers. “I am truly convinced . . . that there is no favoritism with God, but that He is ready to receive any man in any nation who reverences Him and who does what is right.”(8) “The Holy Spirit took control.” As Peter is making the point that righteous people of all nations are accepted by God, the Spirit fills the Gentile followers of Jesus. This sermon could be the first sermon preached about Jesus.(9) There are a number of important elements in Peter’s sermon. I think two important parts of the sermon are the universal, worldwide nature of the Gospel, and the anointing of God being poured out upon Gentiles.

The dream helped Peter understand that the Kingdom of God is inclusive and universalist and that God breaks down the barriers of fear, prejudice, discrimination, and hate between groups of people. “The Holy Spirit took control.” The Spirit comes down on Jesus' Gentile followers. This manifestation of God was not expected by Jesus' Jewish followers and it was evidence that God accepted Gentile Believers completely. Seeing an unexpected move of God in the lives of others has the power transform our lives and to help us love people we used to fear or believe are either deficient or defective.

God’s love is impressive. From a Trinitarian perspective, God’s love is shown in the incarnation. “In Jesus, God entered the world and took on” human life. God loved and cared enough accept the “limitations of humanity.”(10) This is a love that let the world slander Christ, brand Christ a heretic, pursue Christ, and judge, crucify, and bury Christ.(11)

Vernon McGee’s Bible commentaries are interesting. He relates interesting illustrations. He tells a story about a small-town storekeeper. A family arrived and wanted to know what kind of a town it was. The wise storekeeper asked, “What kind of town did you come from?” The reply was that they came from an incredible town. People in their former town cared about each other. The storekeeper replied, “This is just the same kind of town.” The family decided that they just might make the town their new home. A little later, another visiting family arrived. They also wanted to know what kind of town it was. The storekeeper asked what their old town was like. The family indicated that the town was mean. The people did not care about anyone. The storekeeper replied, “This is just the same kind of town.” The second family decided to drive on.

A person who heard both stories asked what the storekeeper was doing, because he gave the two families very different responses. The storekeeper responded, “I've learned that any town will be the same kind of town that you left – because you will be the same kind of person.”(12)

When the Spirit of God is in control, we are a different people, a people filled with the Spirit of the risen Christ. Because we are different – Spirit filled, we notice that others are different too. When the Spirit is in control, love is present. The transforming love of the risen Christ is generally seen as a proof that we walk in the footsteps of Christ. John 13:35. “If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”(13)

I am going to conclude with one more story. This is about how God changes people by the proof of the Spirit of God moving in people's lives who we do not think God moves in.

Grant is a United Methodist pastor. He has over 304 thousand followers on TikTok. He is a dynamic, loving figure on TikTok. He did not start as a progressive pastor. He was a conservative Evangelical. He admits that he was one of the kind of Christians who would leave comments on social media telling progressive Christians that they were going to hell. Something changed.

He relates that while he was still conservative, he was welcomed into the church and became friends with a person who helped change his life. This person, on his first Sunday at the church, came up to him, hugged him and said, “I am the resident lesbian,” and she welcomed him, telling Grant how glad she was that he was at their church. Grant was at the church to be the youth director. He got to know her, her former husband, and the children. The love they shared as a family caught his attention.

He notes, “The first step to me changing my faith was seeing fruit in people that I previously thought were wrong.” He saw love in people he disagreed with and his theology started to change. He started to see complexity and nuance in the Bible. What I think was the key in his story of change is what he describes as “seeing the Spirit of God” in people he previously disagreed with and that made him realize that “God is love.”(14)

Notes

(1) Sherina Harris. "Reported Anti-Asian Hate Crimes up 878% in Vancouver: Police." 2020 October 30, 13 April 2021.<https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/anti-asian-hate-crimes-2020_ca_5f9c3403c5b61b5109e705a6>.

(2) "Facts and Figures: Discrimination and Hate Crimes Statistics." Government of Canada. 16 October 2020, 13 April 2021. <https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/federal-anti-racism-secretariat/facts-figures.html>.

(3) Oren Dorell. “Jerusalem has History of Many Conquests, Surrenders.” USA Today. 05 December 2017, 02 May 2021.

<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/12/05/jerusalem-history-israel-capital/923651001/>.

(4) David Horton, ed. The Portable Seminary. 2nd ed. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House, 2018), 239.

(5) Horton (2018), 240.

(6) Horton (2018), 241.

(7) Horton (2018), 242.

(8) William Barclay New Testament, Acts 10:34-35.

(9) William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Acts of the Apostles. Kindle ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), e-book.

(10) William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Letters of John and Jude. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), e-book.

(11) William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Letters of John and Jude. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), e-book.

(12) J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. Kindle ed. (Pasadena, California: Thru the Bible Radio, 1998), e-book.

(13) Contemporary English Version.

(14) “Story Time: Deconstruction.” @pastor_g TikTok. 04 May 2021, 04 May 2021. <https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeqSR5KB/>

#christian #church #sermon #bible #progressive christian #love #reflection #LGBT #LGBTQ

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slapshot-to-the-heart · 4 years ago

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Flatbush & Atlantic: part ix

part i part ii part iii part iv part v part vi part vii part viii

And here we’ve got part ix! This will be the second-to-last part of the series, I’ve got some thoughts also running around for a possible epilogue if that’s something anyone would be interested in reading. As always, there’s literally nothing writers love more than hearing from you all, so don’t be afraid to come and tell me what you think - my inbox is open, comment on the post, reblog with your thoughts!

part ix

April 27 (tues)

Mat’s mind was racing. If he was honest, he hadn’t been able to concentrate worth a damn since Cass had dropped the news about her job offer. Hong Kong? He knew she was brilliant, knew that her skills could and should take her anywhere in the world she wanted to go; the thought that she might leave New York, leave him, was still terrifying. Becoming more worried by the minute, he pulled out his phone, dialing the first person he could think of that might be able to help.

Tito answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Hey, Tito. What’s up?” Mat asked nervously.

“What’s wrong, Mat?” He immediately asked. Mat cursed under his breath; even over the phone, Beau was always able to read him like a book.

Mat grimaced. “That obvious, huh?”

“Mat, we see each other pretty much every day. Not to be a jerk or something, but you don’t really call me unless something’s wrong. What is it? Did you and Cass have a fight?” Mat could imagine him crossing his arms on the other end.

“Not exactly,” he said, scratching his head as he wandered aimlessly around the park. “She got this job offer, and it sounds like a really exciting opportunity, but…” He trailed off.

“But?”

“It’s all the way in Asia. It’s in Hong Kong.”

Tito sucked in a breath. “Oh, wow. That’s a big one. Big move. Has she said if she’s going to take it?”

“Not really, she hasn’t decided.” Mat shook his head, not realizing Tito wouldn’t be able to see. “We talked through it a little, they’re offering a really good starting salary and she likes the company values, but it’s such a huge jump that she’s not ready to make the call yet.”

“Did you talk about what it would mean for you as a couple?”

“A little, though not as much as we probably should have,” Mat admitted. “Neither of us would want to break it off just because it would be long distance, but logistically it would just be a nightmare. It’s something like a 15 hour flight from New York, so it’s not like either of us would ever be able to make that more than once or twice a year. Did you know that it’s a twelve hour time difference from here?”

“No,” Tito said, “and it’s obviously not like I know exactly what you’re going through. Paige is a kindergarten teacher, so it’s not exactly like her job would suddenly pick up and move to another country. But it’s obviously a different story with me.”

As distracted as he was, Mat felt compelled to respond. “You know they’re going to resign you, right? It would be a terrible move for them if they didn’t.”

“Yeah, I mean that’s what I’ve figured,” Beau responded. “And my agent told me to expect negotiations to start in the next month or so, but still. I could be sent to Winnipeg or Phoenix or Vancouver pretty much without notice, and I wouldn’t want to ask her to just pick up her whole life and follow me. So, I get the feeling.” He paused for a moment. “How do you feel about it?”

“Mixed feelings,” Mat answered honestly. “I’d never want to hold her back from anything, that’s not the kind of person I am and it’d be a dick move regardless. She’s her own person and deserves to be able to make her own decisions. And I would never want her to grow to resent me if she decided to stay for my sake. That would almost be worse. I just..I really love her, Tito, and I would hate for us to never be able to see eachother because of her job. Or worse, for this to mean the end of us because the distance was too hard to deal with.”

It took Tito a minute to respond. “I know you love her, Mat. It’s pretty obvious. You look at her like she hung the moon. But if they all say that things will work out if you love each other and talk it through, then what are you so worried about?”

Mat took a deep breath before answering, trying to gather his thoughts as best he could. When he spoke, his voice wavered. “Because I’ve never been this gone for a girl, Tito. What Cass and I have...I don’t even know how to describe it. I’d stop the Earth turning if it made her happy. It’s just...she’s it for me. I’m done looking. And the idea that I could be 13,000 kilometers away from her isn’t even something I had considered. I wouldn’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do.”

“Wow. That’s...that’s big, Mat. You serious?”

“As a heart attack,” he replied.

“When do they need to hear back by?” Tito asked.

Mat looked down at his watch, checking the time. “Not for a few weeks. She’s got some time to decide, which is almost worst.”

Tito hummed sympathetically. “Just talk it through. I can’t pretend like I know what’s going to happen, but I have faith in you. It’s going to work out.”

“I hope so.”

May 13 (thurs)

It was nine days before Cass graduated, and if she was being honest, her time may have objectively been better spent studying for her finals, the first of which was Monday. But this was Mat, and this was the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and she supposed that her studies could wait for a night while she spent her evening at Barclays. It was Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final, and there was no way she was going to miss her team’s chance at the Wales trophy. The tone in the arena was tense from the moment she stepped in; ever the optimist, Cass liked the Islanders’ chances, but the fact remained that they were down 3-1 in the series after a 4-0 rout by the Lightning in Game 4. The series had started off with forward momentum after winning the first game at home, but the three-game losing streak had done little for the fans’ hopes and even less for the team’s morale.

The only bright spot, if she could call it that, was Mat’s return to the ice. He knew as well as anything that the recovery time was for his own good, but he wasn’t made to be cooped up in his apartment for nearly two weeks straight, save only doctor’s appointments and short trips to the complex gym. Per his usual dramatic fashion, Mat had been cleared in time for Game 7 of the second round, returning to raucous cheers and scoring two goals in the eventual 4-2 win over the Capitals. She had caught up enough on her work to be able to make the game, and it was one of the great joys of her life to be up in a box surrounded by her friends when the love of her life scored the goal that sent the Islanders to the conference finals for the first time in nearly thirty years.

That kind of a dramatic win had made the losing streak that much harder. Game sevens are always exciting, especially with someone coming back off of injured reserve. While the win hadn’t made the team cocky by any means, the confidence had carried over into something more closely resembling complacency. They won Game 7, they won the first of the next series, so some of the team — mostly the younger players who hadn’t yet cut their teeth in the league — had made the mistake of assuming that the rest of the round would be smooth sailing. They should have known better, Cass thought ruefully as the Lightning scored two minutes before the first intermission to even the score at 1-1. Why couldn’t this be the round before, filled with confidence and coordination and laser-focused passing on every line? Why couldn’t it have been the celebration after?

---

May 3 (tues)

Winning a game sometimes called for going out. Winning a series almost definitely called for going out. And winning a series in Game 7 that sent your team to the conference finals for the first time in recent memory called for going out, and going out hard. As much as Cass would have loved to get as hammered as the rest of the group, especially considering the stress she was under with finals and graduation and her job offer piling up, they didn’t want a repeat of the afterparty from the All-Star Game, and Cass still had school the next day. So, she had committed to limiting herself to three drinks. “I want to be tipsy, not shitfaced,” she had explained to Paige on the drive over. Tito had driven his car over, Paige volunteering to DD so the boys could let loose and everyone could let off some much-needed steam.

Someone had already opened up a tab for everyone by the time their car had gotten there, and it wasn’t ten minutes before they had claimed a few couches in the corner and Cass had a caipirinha in her hand. She was a little worried that Mat’s tolerance had tanked in the past few weeks; he hadn’t really drank since before the concussion and it was their first time at a bar in a few weeks regardless. Mat noticed her nervous glances out of the corner of his eye. “I’m fine,” he reassured her. “I specifically asked the doctors if I was good to drink at my last appointment and they said I was in the clear.”

Cass giggled, sipping her drink. “You asked your doctors if you could drink alcohol?”

“What can I say?” Mat shrugged. “I wanted to go out and get lit with friends, can you blame me?”

Cass’ giggles had evolved into full-on belly laughs. “Lit? What are you, sixteen?”

Mat’s cheeks reddened in what was probably a combination of alcohol and embarrassment. “My cousin said it once.”

Cass headed back over to the bar a few minutes later for another drink, leaving the boys to talk amongst themselves with the occasional interruption from an excited fan. On a high from the win, the team were more than happy to take photos and have quick chats with anyone who stopped them, and thankfully weren’t mobbed by the crowd inside the bar. For the most part, Cass and her relationship with Mat had been able to fly under the radar — well, as much as she could being Mat Barzal’s other half. Her Instagram hadn’t been private since college, and while a fair few fans and fanpages followed her, it had all remained mercifully low-key. Waiting at the bar, she resigned herself to scroll through Twitter for a few minutes, knowing it would be a little while before the bartender got to her.

“Are you Cassidy Shaw?” Cass’ head turned slowly towards her right, where a short blonde girl looked at her with a shocked expression.

“Cabrera Shaw, but yes?” She answered slowly.

“Sorry!” The girl apologized, “I didn’t mean to be weird or anything. I follow you on Instagram, it’s just so weird to finally see you in person.” Cass gave a nervous laugh. She had fans? On Instagram? Who were excited if they met her in real life?

“One Southside and whatever your favorite IPA on tap is, please,” Cass said to the bartender who had just leaned over the counter to get her order. “Thank you? You’re welcome?” Cass smiled awkwardly.

“I just wanted to say that I think it’s super cool how you’re not a typical WAG or anything. My name’s Sierra, I’m a junior at St. John’s. I’m applying for law school next year. It’s just, like, awesome to see a woman being successful in her own right apart from her partner, especially when they’re in such a visible position and it’s not what’s expected of them. I’m sorry — I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

Cass laughed, a genuine one this time. “No, you’re totally good. Don’t worry. That’s really sweet of you to say, thanks a lot!” She sipped the Southside the bartender had just handed her, sliding Mat’s beer over. “Yeah, I have so much respect for the other women who choose to do more philanthropic work or be stay-at-home moms, but that’s not what I feel pulled to. Right now, at least.”

“Right, totally,” Julia said, grabbing what looked like a rum and coke from the other bartender. “Anyways, I should let you get back to the celebration. Tell the team congratulations, it was a great game to watch!”

Cass picked up the other glass, nodding. “I will. Thank you for your kind words, that was sweet of you to say.”

“Anytime!” Julia chirped happily.

Cass walked carefully back over to the group, keeping an eye on the drinks. She handed Mat’s beer to him. He looked up curiously, taking a sip. “Something hold you up at the bar?”

She shook her head, then nodded, then shook it again. “Kind of? I think I just had my first fan encounter.”

He laughed, leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek. “Comes with the territory, babe.”

---

The game was scoreless through the second period, which didn’t help the tension in the stadium or Cass’ blood pressure. She and Paige had decided to get actual seats for the game, which Mat and Tito were more than happy to arrange. The Islanders were doing well through the first half of the third period, other than a little bit of messy passing the lines were good. But good wasn’t good enough sometimes, good wasn’t close enough to score and give them the lead. Cass’ heart sank as soon as one of the defensemen, she wasn’t sure who, made a turnover in the neutral zone to give the Lightning the puck. Kucherov picked it off, skating past the defenders and around the goal while the rest of the line nearly tripped over themselves trying to skate back in time.

She was on the edge of her seat as he wrapped around the goal, silently praying that Varlamov would somehow be able to get a piece of the puck with his blocker or that it would have one of those one-in-a-million deflections off of the post. You could hear a pin drop in the stadium as everyone waited for the shot; tall of the sudden, time seemed to move like molasses. And then the puck went in, the red light went on, and the scattered sections of blue-and-white clad Lightning fans threw their arms up in celebration.

Cass allowed herself exactly ten seconds to hold her head in her hands. There was still seven minutes, thirty nine seconds left. There was still time. Then there was five minutes, forty-two seconds left, and Maroon got two minutes for tripping, and that was their chance. That was supposed to be their chance. But then the penalty came and went, and it was three minutes left. Two minutes left. They pulled Varlamov at one minutes fifty-eight seconds left, and then it was the last shift. Forty-nine seconds left, and it was time for a Hail Mary. Out of habit, Cass’s lips began moving in the prayer. Hail Mary, full of grace...It was a holdover from her lacrosse days, when they were down in the last quarter with seemingly no hope in sight. It didn’t always work, but it sometimes did. It didn’t work that night. It didn’t work because the clock ticked down to zero, the score was still 2-1, and the Islanders had lost. They were out of the playoffs. Fans began shuffling out of the rink, shoulders slumped and heads down, as Cass bit her lip and tried not to cry. The team had worked so hard for this. God, they had worked so hard. And if she was taking it this badly, if it was affecting her this much, then she couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was like for the guys on the team.

Paige turned to her after a few minutes, when there were only a handful of people still left in their seats and the Zambonis had come out to resurface the ice one last time. “We should probably get down there, do you think?” She asked softly. Cass nodded. She was referring to the tunnel, outside the locker room where everyone usually got to greet their partners with kisses and hugs and words of congratulations, but where the mood would be profoundly different on that night. Cass grabbed her bag and straightened out her jersey, squeezing Paige’s hand. Neither of them really knew what the environment was going to be like after such a devastating knockout; Paige had started dating Anthony the summer before, and Cass obviously had even less experience. They had dealt with losses, they had dealt with disappointments and losing streaks and points droughts, but this was something new entirely.

They rode the elevator in silence before walking down the corridors to the room, where the rest of the WAGs and other family had congregated. Kerry rubbed her shoulder sympathetically as Lauren walked over. “We in the Islanders family have a lot of experience with getting knocked out of the playoffs,” she said with a weak smile, trying to crack a joke, “so here is how it usually goes. The guys should be coming out in a few, it takes longer than usual because the media typically has some end-of-the-season wrapup questions and Trotz and Anders will probably make speeches or say something. Some others might too.” The two women nodded. “Don’t treat it like just another loss, but it’s also no good to hover too much. It’s obviously a real disappointment, so it usually takes a week or so before most of them bounce back to being their normal selves. They know what coping mechanisms work best for them. Most will hit the gym more, read or cook if they’re into that, something to get their mind off of it. Obviously they’re still players and still want to know how they can get better, so they might want to go over tapes of the games and make notes of where they went wrong. That’s fine, but don’t let them beat themselves up about it too much. This was a hard series, and Mat especially,” she gestured towards Cass, “tends to be more than a little bit of a perfectionist.”

“I’ve noticed,” Cass said.

“One last thing,” she continued. “Let them process, let them cope, but a loss not an excuse for them to treat you any worse, any less kindly. Be understanding, of course. But don’t take any crap from them, regardless of the circumstance.”

“Thank you,” Paige said gratefully. Cass echoed her sentiment. The next ten minutes were filled with checking emails and making half-hearted conversation before the team started to trail out of the room. Embracing their partners and families, most couples exchanged no more than a few words before turning down the hall that led to the players’ parking lot. Paige left with a squeeze to her shoulder and a promise to get coffee the next week before grabbing Tito’s hand and guiding him towards the cars.

Unsurprisingly, Mat followed right behind. He hadn’t combed his hair after his shower, the top button of his dress shirt was undone and only haphazardly tucked into his pants. Mat had been on the shift when Kucherov scored, and if there was anything she knew about her boyfriend, it was that he’d take it personally. He dropped his bag on the ground as she embraced him, and the thud against the concrete floor felt as if it could echo all the way across the Long Island Sound.

“I’m so proud of you, Mat. So, so proud. I know this didn’t end how you wanted it to, but you worked so fucking hard to get here, and that’s what I see. That’s all I see,” she whispered.

Mat wasn’t crying, but his breathing was labored nonetheless. “I just feel...I feel like I let everyone down. I wasn’t supposed to be that far up on the ice, and if I hadn’t, maybe I would have gotten back in time to steal the puck, or check him or something, or…” He trailed off.

Cass sighed. “I know, chou, I know how you feel. But just try to remember that this is a team sport. You win with the boys, you lose with the boys. Do you get mad at Tito when he makes a bad play? Or Jordan, or Anders?” Mat shook his head. “It’s the same way with you. They don’t stop being proud of you or think you’re any less of an incredible player because you made a bad decision. Bad decisions get made all the time, and it doesn’t have to reflect on the person who made them. It’s a hard game, love, but you did your best and that’s all anyone ever has a right to ask of you.”

Mat’s thumb rubbed against the small of her back. “I know I’ll be fine, eventually. I mean, we’ve all dealt with this before. It just seems different this time, because we were so close to actually making the finals. It seems kind of silly to say since I know I’m only 23 and I know I’ve got so much time left to play, but,” he took a shaky breath, “I look at all the veterans, all the amazing players whose entire careers have gone by without ever having gotten the Cup. Lundqvist and Thornton and Marleau and all of these legends. And it sounds kind of selfish and naive, but I don’t want to be one of them.”

They stood like that for a few more minutes, just holding each other, before either spoke again. “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” Cass murmured to Mat as she carded her hands through his hair. She felt a tiny, almost imperceptible nod against her shoulder. Her bag had her laptop, books, and chargers. She had a whole drawer in Mat’s room by then, a combination of stray shirts that were his-turned-hers, a few pairs of leggings — they took up an entire drawer of their own back at her apartment — and balled-up socks from her one unsuccessful attempt at doing the laundry in his building. She had a spare box of tampons in his bathroom, her floral shampoo next to his 2-in-1 Old Spice. No matter how hard she pushed, Mat remained oblivious to the benefits of having separate shampoo and conditioner.

He pulled away, reaching into his pocket and handing over his keys. “Do you mind driving?”

She shook her head. “Not at all. Whatever you need.”

The ride back home was about forty minutes, and it was almost halfway through before either of them spoke, the lull of the 80s rock channel filling in the silence. “Where’s your head at, Mat?” She asked carefully.

He was looking out the window, distracted. “Hm?”

She repeated the question and he tensed slightly, leaning back into the passenger seat. “Just feeling kind of...confused about the whole thing. Seems like I’m being pulled in a thousand different directions one day, but then all of the sudden something like this happens and I’ve got nothing. It’s overwhelming. I know I have a life outside of hockey, I know it’s not all of who I am, but sometimes it seems hard to believe that when it seems like that’s all I’m recognized for.” Keeping one hand on the wheel, Cass reached over to cover his hand with her own. His fingers held onto hers like a lifeline.

“You’re right, you know?” She said as they passed into the Queens-Midtown tunnel.

“About?”

“Being so much more than people perceive you to be. I get that, it’s like that for me too sometimes. And Mat, you are so much more than ‘just a hockey player.’ You’re a good son and an amazing brother to Liana, and an awesome friend to Tito and the guys on the team and everyone back home. And,” she added, cracking a smile, “you’re a pretty good boyfriend too.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Just pretty good?”

“I didn’t want to fluff your ego too much,” Cass said. “But seriously, Mat. You’re incredible entirely on your own merit. You care so deeply for the people in your life and you love so hard, and it’s an honor and a privilege to be able to witness that firsthand.”

Mat bent down to the center console, brushing a kiss over her hand. “How do you do it?”

Now it was her turn to question. “Do what?”

“Always know the right thing to say.”

“I don’t,” Cass admitted. “And sometimes I get it wrong. But I know I love you, and I don’t want to see you hurting if there’s anything I can do about it.” The car exited the tunnel into the dotted lights of a Manhattan evening.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, “if there was an Oscar for pep talks, I’d have to give it to you, hands down. No offense to any of the guys on the team.”

She laughed, stopping at the light. Right on red wasn’t legal in New York City, a rule she found out the hard way two months after moving. “I’m glad it helps.”

“It does,” Mat said softly. “It means the world to me that you care enough to do it. You mean the world to me.”

Her cheeks heated. “You sure know how to flatter a girl, eh, Barzal?”

“I meant every word.”

---

May 20 (thurs)

She was done. After three years, six semesters, dozens of classes, and hundreds of hours studying, Cass had just finished her last final of law school. Her classmates stumbled out of the lecture hall, not entirely believing that all of their tears and heartache and hard work had come to a head in such an anticlimactic fashion. Turning on her heel, she walked south. It was just before seven, and her friends had a group reservation at some ridiculously extravagant French wine bar. It was Les’ idea, who had a penchant for all things expensive and who had made the reservation months prior because “you never know, John Mayer could book the whole place up and as much as I love dollar slices, we don’t want that to be our only option for what’s supposed to be a very prestigious celebratory dinner.” Les, Fiona, and Samaira were coming, along with Daniel, another editor on the law review, and Robin, one of Cass’ friends from first-year criminal law and the president of the Women’s Law Association. She had initially been wary about inviting Mat; it wasn’t that she didn’t think he’d get along with her law school friends, but she didn’t want him to feel out of the loop. After Les had announced that he was bringing his boyfriend, Xavier, Cass had extended the invite to Mat as well.

It was only a ten minute walk, and the hostess directed Cass to their table, where she realized that she was the last one to arrive. “Don’t worry,” Robin said, “we’ve just been interrogating your man.”

Cass scooted in next to Mat, kissing him quickly before rolling her eyes. “I hope you haven’t been too hard on him.”

Mat smiled. “Nah, they’ve been good. But being questioned by six lawyers who all seem very adamant that I don’t deserve you —”

“You don’t,” Samaira cut in, though it was clear she was joking.

“Was more than a little intimidating,” Mat finished, handing Cass the menu.

“Order whatever you want, I’m paying,” Daniel said as he flicked through the wine menu. “Well, technically, my parents are.” Daniel came from money; his mom was a partner at a firm in Chicago and his dad was a law professor at the University of Chicago. “If they’re going to insist on sending me to law school and sheltering me my whole life, the least I could do is take advantage of their generosity,” Daniel said, plunking his credit card onto the table. Fifteen minutes later, the group was sharing plates of escargots, crab tartine, and roasted cauliflower; twenty minutes after that, entrées were served. Mat had recognized the waitress’ accent and was chatting to her in French in between plates. Cass sipped on her wine, a pinot noir, and took a moment to look around the room, a moment to relax. Two more days, and she graduated. Everything that she had worked so hard for was finally coming to fruition. She still had to pass the bar in July, sure, but for one night — for a few days, really — she was going to let herself finally rest in the ability of her accomplishments.

Dessert was maple bourbon crème brûlée with Sauternes, and Mat may have had a little too much fun breaking the caramelized sugar. Cass was full of good food and conversation; after everyone was done it was after nine. Les, Daniel, and Xavier had decided to get drinks, but Robin had barely slept at all that week, Samaira was going to watch a movie at her boyfriend’s, and Cass and Mat had to wake up early to get her grandparents from the airport. Mat took her hand as they walked towards the subway station. He had parked a few blocks away and offered to drive Cass back to her apartment, but she didn’t want him to go out of his way and all things considered, taking the subway at night had become something of a routine for her.

They walked down Manhattan Avenue, resting in the kind of comfortable silence that only came with being with someone who really gets you. Cass had decided not to take the Hong Kong job the week prior. It was just too much distance from her family and Mat, and while the job seemed interesting enough, it wasn’t the kind of position she thought she could really be happy in long-term. “Have you figured out what you’re doing yet?” Mat asked as they turned the corner. “I’d say you should just move in with me and become a full-time housewife, but something’s telling me that’s not exactly the kind of opportunity you’re searching for.”

Cass laughed, bumping him with her shoulder. “Tempting offer, the housewife thing, but I think I’m going to have to pass. Plus that would necessitate you wifing me up.”

Mat kissed her head. “All in due time, pretty girl.” “But anyways, about the job search.” Cass said, a smile playing on her lips. “I was going to wait until graduation to surprise you, but since you asked…” She paused for dramatic effect. “Chris offered me a job. Permanently.”

Mat stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “Chris? Like Islanders Chris? Lawyer Chris?”

She giggled. “Yes. Islanders lawyer Chris. You’re looking at the new Associate Counsel for the New York Islanders, Mat.” Mat damn near hollered in celebration, picking Cass up and spinning her around before pulling her into what was very possibly one of the best kisses of her life. Cass barely took notice of the tourists watching them from the side or her own public display of affection. It was New York City. They had seen weirder.

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of Mat’s chest. He was being honest when he said that he wouldn’t have done anything to get Cass to stay, it just wasn’t his place. But he also would have been lying if he had said it would be anything but heartbreaking to see her leave. It was like he told Tito. Not even giving the future a chance to work itself out would be worse than a breakup. And with any luck, they’d never have one of those either. They rounded the last corner, steps down to the subway in sight, when Mat remembered what he had wanted to ask her but had been interrupted by her news. Her incredible, perfect news. “What would you think about spending some time in Canada this summer?”

Cass, seemingly oblivious, answered, “Oh? Like as a vacation?”

He shook his head. “No, like in Coquitlam with my family.”

“You want me to spend the summer with you and your family?” Cass asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah, only if you want to, of course. And I’m not sure when the job with the team starts, or…” He looked down.

Cass smiled. “I’d love to, but are you sure it isn’t too much? I don’t want to feel like I’m intruding on family time, I know you don’t get a lot of time with them since you’re here most of the year. I don’t want you to feel like you’re obligated to bring me around just because we’re together.”

They stopped by a lamp. Cass leaned up against the post. “Cass. My parents have made it very clear to me that you’re family, and that they’ll have my head if I’m ever dumb enough to let you go.” She snickered. “Just so we’re clear, I don’t intend on ever letting that happen. My family loves you, my sister thinks you’re way cooler than me.”

“She’s got good taste,” Cass said, tilting her head.

Mat laughed. “She does. She told me you guys were texting the other day about the guy she’s interested in, giving her advice. Sure, it was my idea to invite you, but they were so on board from the moment I mentioned it. Plus, my friends back home are getting annoyed with me because they haven’t met you yet with how often I talk about you.”

She bit her lip. “How long were you thinking of staying?”

Mat shrugged. “Leave in a couple weeks, I usually stay two months or so, so until sometime in August?”

“I’d have to fly back to take the bar in July, and I’d still need some time to study while we’re over, but my contract doesn’t start until the end of August, so…”

“You’ll come?” Mat smiled hopefully.

She nodded. “I’ll come. I’ve never been to Canada before, did you know that?”

He shook his head, leaning in and brushing a kiss on her hairline. “You’re going to love it.”

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pbandjesse · 4 years ago

Text

Ugh today. Thats how I feel right now. I am glad tomorrow is the start of spring break, even if Im working through most of it. I need a change of pace.

I slept okay I guess. I calmed down after being so upset. And I didnt have as hard of a time falling asleep but staying asleep was harder. I did let myself sleep in until after 930. And didnt get out of bed until 945. So I had a lot less time. But I got up and dressed and while my hair looked filthy, I felt cute.

I had a bagel and watched a video and was out the door with some art to show the kids. It was muggy out today. Not rainy like yesterday, but humid.

Work was alright. Only a couple kids again. I got to work on some collages with stickers with one of the kids. And later in the day I showed them the art I make and they used those sticker collages to create their own drawings. I made one too and it was just a nice project.

But before we did that I had my meeting with my manager. It went okay at first. When I had filled out my SWOT analysis thing I was really upset. It was last week when everything was bad. And she knew that, as I had warned her to take it with some salt. And she did. And a lot of things I had thought, like independent work time and schedules were confirmed. I got things clarified that I didnt know. And that helped make me feel more secure.

But then at the end of the meeting she tells me that she needs to talk about how I crossed some lines and boundaries yesterday and I was like. What?? Im like running through the whole day and I couldnt think of anything except the kids yelling? But apparently because Im an aid at this site, and not a lead teacher, I shouldnt be talking to parents? I shouldnt be checking in? I shouldnt be doing a bunch of things that have to do with the end of the day.

And I was shocked. Because I have been at this site for a month. And I have been doing a bunch of these tasks every day. Because I had been told to. It was just shocking. And I started crying. But I was embarrassed and I was like I know I am crying but this is not because of you I just cant stop. And she was taken aback and I think she tried to keep talking to make me understand but I was just like. How would I know I shouldnt be doing something I was told to do?? And it was just. Really shocking.

One of the things that bugs me is this aid thing. I dont care about being an aid, its all good. But also I dont understand why I was the lead at the other two sites but not this one? And like. I wasnt in trouble. But the way it was phrased. Crossing a line. Going outside my boundaries. Made me feel like I had done something really bad and offensive and it really hurt my heart. Because I had been trying to do the things I had been told to do from the trainings I did right before I started at this site. Talking to and checking in with parents. Leading projects. Delegating as a team with the other teachers.

But it just felt like. I was being told I was both doing to much and not doing enough. And that was really hard.

So I dont know what tomorrow will look like. And at the end of the meeting I was still very teary. I went to the upstairs bathroom that no one really uses and cried for a few more minutes. I tried to get my face to stop being so red. And headed back to class.

It was a mostly quiet day though. We did another story telling game. We did my drawing project. And made little paper crowns. It was mostly a good afternoon.

Before I left for work today I told James I hoped all the kids would leave by 4. But at 4 we went to the gym to play basketball. We were only in there for a few minutes when I realized that the other side of the gym had a family playing basketball with no masks on so I called upstairs to ask what to do. And she was like. You gotta get out of there. So even though the boys were upset, we went upstairs to the yoga studio and played catch. Me and the only girl did some ballet at the barre. It was nice.

But then all of a sudden everyone was getting picked up!A And we only had one kid left. And since we have another staff at night I got to bounce. Awesome.

I was home before 5. I put my stuff away, put a pizza in the oven, and played some animal crossing. I was supposed to have a meeting at 6 so I prepared myself for that. But then it got pushed back until 7. All good. James went for a walk and brought me french fries home. And I had a really nice meeting with Alexi about camp.

Im going to be going out there for the first 3 days of next week for a spring break camp. I have a bunch of projects to come up with for programs. Im really excited.

I still hope things are a little more normal after this summer and I can work closer with camp rather than any other job. But well just have to see. Im really excited to go out there for this little bit of time.

James made cupcakes for me to take to work tomorrow. And while they were finishing that I went and took a bath. Helped my back a little bit. And Ive just been hanging out on the couch for a bit.

Now Im going to brush my teeth and try to sleep. I got my schedule at work changed so I dont have to go in til 1 tomorrow, and noon on T/W/T, so Im pleased about that.

I hope you have a great night everyone. Sleep well. Wash your hands.

4 notes · View notes

waejinyoung · 4 years ago

Text

Can’t Swim - EP . 4

word count: 9.7k+

a/n: i’m late. I’m well aware. i don’t really know what to say to be honest. i hope the episode being close to 10k words makes up for the long wait. there’s alot that goes on this episode. enjoy! we get a peak of jinyung’s pov at one point too! so exciting! no swimming lesson for today though :)

warnings: fluff shit near the end, swearing, dirtyminded stuffs, change in langugage at one point (ive placed translations too so no worries)

EP . 1 , EP . 2 , EP . 3 , EP . 4 , EP . 5 , EP . 6 , EP .7 , EP . 8, , EP . 9

Thursday had arrived and you spontaneously called a friend who had come down to Jinhae to see if she was available midday. She happened to have some time to spare between her schedule so you two met up for brunch and a simple walk around a local park.

Thursday midday

“It’s been so long since we got to hangout Tan.”

Tan, short for Tanya, was your close friend from university. She now works in a global firm which meant she travelled quite often. You knew she was in Seoul and was going to travel to Busan for a bit. You asked if she could squeeze a bit of her day to travel to Jinhae to hangout and she was happy you offered.

“Tell me about it Y/N. You always claim that nothing had changed but I’m still going to ask. Anything new in your life? Anyone new in your life?” Tan had a smirk on her face knowing she was hitting spots that were non-existent, she thought.

“I usually answer no.” Tan’s face lit up due to the unexpected change.

“Go on…” She was getting extremely excited.

“I’ve met this guy- “

“You… MET A GUY??” Tan had absolutely lost it at this point, and she didn’t even know his name.

“Tan calm down. We’ve only known each other for a week and a half. He joined my beginners class last week.” She bursted into a loud laugh.

“You are telling me the guy you met can’t swim.”

“YA! Don’t be mean. He’s at least mustered up the courage at this age to come and learn. Some people can’t even manage to do that these days. They care too much about image.”

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect you to meet your soulmate in a swimming lesson. I thought maybe at the office- “

“You know how I’ve said I would prefer to spend the rest of my life with someone in a different sector of work. I won’t be able to stand someone from the same field of work bringing nothing new to the relationship.”

“I know, I know Y/N. You want to learn from each other rather than talk about the same topics. I understand where you are coming from.”

“But yeah. I don’t actually know what he works as. I’m meeting him tomorrow afternoon for ‘thing’ as he described it. He said I’ll be able to know then what he does then.”

“He seems really mysterious. I hope you’re not getting into something dodgy.” Tan was always protective when it came to you and guys. She knew you had a gullible and fragile personality when it came to men.

“I don’t think so. I don’t even know how to explain it. Every time I’ve been with him I’ve felt giddy and bothered. He does the bare minimum and my whole world flips- “

“Y/N”

You stop in your tracks realising that you had gotten way too ahead of yourself.

“Y/N, you sound like you’re in love. Or close in the least.”

“Tan I’ve known the guy coming up to 2 weeks.”

“Yes Y/N. I understand but you sound like you’ve known him for years and you’ve only just realised your feelings towards him. I haven’t even gotten to ask, what’s his name?”

“His name is Jinyoung. I don’t want to jump in too deep. These feelings need to be reciprocated in order for there to be progression. To him I’m probably just his swimming teacher.”

“Right, and since when did students meet their teachers outside of lesson hours and not only that basically go on dates.”

“YA don’t call them dates. We are just hanging out.”

“Hanging out my ass. He’s bringing you into his life and introducing you to his world. Enjoy the ride Y/N. He sounds like a keeper.”

“You think?” Tan nods and helps you come clear with your feelings.

You two continued with your walk in the park with Tan and settled on a bench after a while.

*ding*

You checked your phone having received a notification. It was Jinyoung.

“Hey Y/N. I hope you’re doing well. If you are still able to come for tomorrow we can meet at 7:00 pm. I’ll be waiting for you at the parking lot again.”

You hadn’t realised but you were smiling like a fool beside Tan.

“Yep, confirmed. It’s him isn’t it?”

You look up at Tan as she took you away from your little bubble. You gave her a nod.

“Y/N this is thee guy for you.”

You didn’t understand how Tan could be so sure. Yes, you have feelings for him but to claim Jinyoung as the guy for me was a little too much, right?

“How can you tell?” You were interested on what she had to say.

“You’re smiling like a 5 year old on Christmas Day. I haven’t seen you like this since you got a first in our last year of uni. This guy’s effect on you is so obvious. He can’t be empty back; I can bet on it. With me just talking about him you’re smiling like an otter.”

You hit Tan on the shoulder lightly for teasing you. You were going to be open-minded about the situation and know that anything can be possible.

“Anyways, why did he text?”

“He just let me know what time to meet up. He hadn’t mentioned it at first.”

“Good luck Y/N.”

Your day with Tan continued. You appreciated being able to catch up with an old friend. You started to feel thankful for Jooheon’s call off. You were able to do things you may have had to wait months for. Although you still wished the call off was given for a better reason.

…

Your day with Tan sadly ended earlier than you wanted, and she was off back to Busan for work.

You prepped breakfast for yourself this blissful Friday morning. You laid out a traditional Mediterranean breakfast since you now had the time. You missed it back home. To have this breakfast alone did drain it’s vibe, you were used to having these large breakfasts with your family. You took advantage of the weather and had breakfast on your balcony. The bay had to keep your company for now until you went back home.

You were caught off guard by a call from your company. You picked up.

“Miss?”

“Yes, Beck”

“We’ve got a dilemma.” You weren’t surprised.

“Go on.” You’d be shocked if something hadn’t gone wrong while you were out of office.

“The eco-hotel that was going to be built on two pieces of land- “

“What about it Beck?” Oh boy. What now?

“Another firm somehow bought one piece of land which we were going to use for the greenery requirements to pass the eco test.”

“Which firm? Beck I’m gone for a couple days and shit has hit the fan this badly?” This was the biggest project in your hands, and it was slipping right through.

“The next door firm- “

You hung up immediately. You were using all your might to not dash your phone into the sea ahead of you. Your rivalry between the next door firm had been going on for years but this time round it was going to be rougher than usual.

You rushed over to your closet and took out a navy suit alongside a simple white shirt + a pair of clear heals. With that you took your car keys and some documents to head to the company.

The speeding cameras could probably understand from the speed you were going at that something important was going on. You arrived at the entrance of your architecture office.

Yes, your full time job was as an architect.

You chucked your keys at the door keeper to park your car and dashed up to the 4th floor of the office. The whole company had turned into chaos in a matter of 2 days. All your employees were rushing around and there was around 6 people all surrounding Beck.

Beck was the second shareholder alongside you of the company. You both graduated as architects and decided to start your own firm as junior architects. Whenever one was out of office, the other covered for the both but this time round Beck was not able to handle all of this by himself.

You called out to Beck and his face changed from stressed to relieved. You and Beck moved to your office and discussed the situation working towards a solution.

A couple hours later

“Wait, Beck”

“Why can’t we just implement all the eco-factors into the hotel on one piece of land?”

Beck’s face was blanked 90% of the time until he heard your suggestion. He sighed a breath of relief.

“We can just add terraces and add green to the lobbies, outdoors and any other dead space we have.”

“You’ve done it again!” Beck rushed to hug the shit out of you. He raised you off your feet and swung you around.

“Beck, calm down!” He put you back on your feet with a large smile on his face.

“Y/N this is exactly why this company needs you?” You high five each other. A weight had lifted off both of your shoulders.

You hit Beck’s shoulder realising the rush you had been to get here.

“We could have solved this with a Facetime call. Did I really have to rush over here?”

Beck just gave a childish smile. We all knew he just wanted you to be there physically. He couldn’t be the only one suffering in the company. Even if it was for a couple of hours.

“That’s all?”

“Yep, can we not have a tea? You haven’t been at the company for days.”

You checked the time and saw it was 4:00 pm. You could spare some time for a quick tea.

“You did absolutely ruin a lovely breakfast that I had prepared at home. Tea’s on you.”

You guys walked down to ground floor to grab a tea from the company café. There was a duo table free near the entrance windows, so you guys sat there.

“Y/N. How do you manage to keep up with the projects and the swimming classes? Isn’t it too much?”

You’ve heard these questions from Beck on countless occasions. He knows the answer but just can’t process how it’s possible.

“Beck you know that the swimming classes don’t feel like a job to me. It’s so nice to share a skill with those who are unaware of it. I love seeing all the kids smile every lesson. It’s so refreshing and fun it makes me forget about the projects. When it comes to the company, I have a really reliable shareholder who fills my absence when needed.” You smiled at Beck knowing he would get an ego raise at the compliment.

“You bet. The other shareholder is extremely reliable.”

“You can always tell me if I start to drift a little too much from the company. I sometimes lose track on how much time I’ve spent on both jobs.”

“Y/N are you kidding me? You somehow do the same amount of work as me whilst having another time consuming job. You finish project drawings in less time than the workers that have nothing better to do. You’re doing more than enough, trust me.”

You smiled. It felt good that you were able to balance both jobs well with any concern.

“That’s good to hear. I have plans for the afternoon so I’m going to have to dip early. Thanks for the tea. Next time, consider a Facetime call when it comes to a similar dilemma.”

Beck waved you off as your car was brought back from the parking lot to you. You waved Beck goodbye as you drifted from the company back home to get ready for this “thing” tonight.

You arrived home to see the time was now 5:00 pm. You need to leave at 6:40 pm. That gives you an hour and forty minutes to get ready. You didn’t even know if there was a dress code. Was this a meal or an activity that you were going to? You circled in your walk-in wardrobe trying to figure out an outfit that would suit most occasions. You looked at casual floral dress. It would work only if it were daytime, it’ll be close to the evening so that won’t work. Jeans and a top? Too boring? Ugh.

You spent 30 minutes trying out outfits and hadn’t settled down on even one. You figured to solve the dress code problem by giving Jinyoung a ring. As much as it may be an embarrassing question you didn’t care. You weren’t going to take the risk and make a terrible impression of yourself to his circle.

He picked up.

“Hey Y/N. Are you well?”

“Hi Jinyoung. I’m well. I hope you’re too. I was getting ready for this ‘thing’ of yours, but I have no clue if this ‘thing’ will be taking place in a casual or formal setting. Basically, I don’t know what to wear.” You chuckled as you gave up trying not to be direct about why you called.

“Hahaha,” Great made a fool of yourself again, “I understand. I wouldn’t call it a formal setting. That’s for sure. A simple casual outfit would do. Just don’t come looking like a hobo.” He chuckled again.

“Great you just saved me from my worries of making a laughingstock of myself.”

“Don’t worry you won’t. See you at 7.”

“See you!”

Now that, that was out of the way you went back into your closet to pick out an outfit. You chose a pair of denim mom jeans and a black sleeveless bodysuit. You glammed up your outfit with silver jewellery pieces and your black Chanel bag. You wore a pair of white air forces to make sure your feet were comfy and headed over to your makeup stand.

You weren’t exactly a big makeup girl. You tended not to use a skin makeup like foundation or concealer. You basically used mascara and that was about it. You weren’t going to fake it; you were happy the way you were. Your lashes were curled, and you glided some mascara onto them. You weren’t going to bother with contacts this afternoon, so you put back on your turtle shell brown glasses. It was now 6:00 pm.

You had 40 minutes to spare so you went on your laptop to reply to some emails and work on some renders for the eco-hotel you worked on with Beck today.

40 minutes flew by and you shut your laptop and took a deep breath. Don’t fuck this up Y/N, you thought to yourself.

You hopped in your g-wagon and drove a new route to the entertainment company parking lot. Jinyoung was there like he had promised and waved you hello. You flashed your headlights as a way of reciprocating to Jinyoung’s wave. The gates slid open and parked your car in a free slot. There were more cars this time round. You guessed that there was something going on at the company.

“How have you been Jinyoung?” You greeted him as you locked your car.

“I’m a little nervous,” He saw your puzzled face, “You’ll understand why soon don’t worry.”

“Can’t wait.” You both strolled towards the entrance of the company. The same flashes started again. Like last time.

Jinyoung wrapped his arm around your shoulder and guided you quickly into the building. He whispered in your ear to keep your head low until he said so. You did as he said. Around 10 steps after walking into the building Jinyoung let you know that you could look up now. You were puzzled as ever. What is going on? Jinyoung realised the both puzzled but also annoyed/stern expression.

“Just a little longer. I promise.”

You guys took the escalator to the 2nd floor this time alongside several other people. It was busier than the last time you were here. A lot of cameras and staff. You could hear them whispering among themselves in the lift. You were sure you heard the words ‘actor’ and ‘script reading’. You had no clue what they were referring to. Probably some entertainment company things.

The lift arrived at the corresponding floor and you guys all stepped out. You were registering the things around you. There were banners hung up near the glass room ahead. They read ‘drama script reading’ and we were walking straight towards it.

You tugged on Jinyoung’s sleeve. You kind of felt uncomfortable feeling so alien-like in an extremely new environment. He took you to aside to avoid being in people’s way.

“Y/N I wouldn’t do anything to harm you. Trust me. This is all new to me as much as it’s all new to you. I wish I could be by your side, but we’ll be separated. Remember Bambam for last time?,” You nodded, “I’m going to sit you next to him and my other friends he’ll introduce you to them. Don’t worry they wont bite.” He lightly chuckled.

You guys slowly headed to the glass room. It was packed with tons of staff and people like you. A long banner was pinned up to the wall. When My Love Blooms was what it read. Underneath it in smaller font read four names. One of which was… Park Jinyoung.

He’s an… actor?

You saw Bambam like Jinyoung had said and was seated next to him. You took this chance to ask Bambam what in the world was going on.

“Hey Y/N.” Bambam seemed really excited too.

“Hey Bambam. Can I ask what’s going on?” He realised your puzzled expression. He could tell Jinyoung hadn’t told you anything about tonight.

“Jinyoung hyung hasn’t told you?” You shook your head no.

“Today is the first script reading of a drama Jinyoung hyung will be acting in. He’s the second male lead actor. He plays the younger version of the main character.” So, he was an actor.

“He didn’t even tell me that he was an actor. He hasn’t told me anything about his work.”

“That’s typical Jinyoung hyung. He’s usually secretive when it comes to work and this industry. It’s kind of complicated to explain but he treats all the new people in his life the same way don’t worry.”

“Right…” This whole industry thing was new to you too. You were going to go with the flow and see what happens.

“He also mentioned meeting his ‘circle’ as he described it. Who exactly is he referring to?” Bambam’s eyes lit up as he looked to his other side which consisted of 5 other guys. Very handsome you must say.

“Guys!” Bambam got the attention of all 5 of them.

“Bam what do you want now?” The guy with 2 moles on his eye lids looked up from his phone.

“Jinyoung hyung wants us to meet a friend of his.” You were kind of nervous. The one who had replied to Bambam had a bit of a cold aura.

“Really?” His expression kinda lightened.

“Yes hyung. Guys this is Y/N.” You gave a smile to all of them not knowing who should speak next.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you all.” That should do it.

“Hello Y/N. I’m Jackson.” He had a bright puppy smile on his face. He seemed like a social butterfly very eager to meet new people.

“I’m Mark.” Mark raised his hand to show who was talking. The staff were making a bit of noise, so his voice sounded a little muffled, but you were able to hear him. He seemed cool though.

“I’m Jaebeom.” The 2 mole guy spoke. He gave a sweet smile. You take back your thought of him having a cold aura. He seemed nice.

“I’m Yugyeom.” He started throwing gang signs trying to act cool. The guy beside him bursted out laughing and hit his shoulder trying to get him to stop. You joined in with him due to his contagious laugh.

“Hi Y/N. Last but not least I’m Youngjae.” He gave you wide and welcoming smile.

“So that’s everyone Jinyoung hyung wanted me to introduce you to. You’ll most likely see us often. We stick together most of the time.” Jaebeom rolled his eyes at the clingy child.

“How did you meet Jinyoung?” Jaebeom asked after putting his phone away.

“Actually, Jinyoung is my student. I’m his swimming teacher.” The guys looked at each other and started laughing.

“Waaa, that punk actually signed up to take lessons. Good on him, I thought he wouldn’t be able to.” You were kind of confused

“How come?”

“Jinyoung doesn’t like it when he’s not good at something. He’s an absolute perfectionist so to see him show a side of himself to people in a skill where he’s not thriving in… I didn’t expect him to actually sign up for classes.”

Ahh, so he’s a perfectionist.

“I didn’t know but he has been attending and cooperating well. He’s also a quick learner so he’ll be advancing quickly from my inspection.”

“Typical Jinyoung hyung,” Bambam commented, “He’s always good at everything.”

An old man stood up from the table Jinyoung was on and silenced the whole room for the beginning of the script reading. You looked over at Jinyoung to see that he was already focussed on you. He looked a little nervous so you sent over a small smile and nod to let him know that you’re fine and that he can do this.

“Thank you all for joining us today for the first script reading of When My Love Blooms. We will now be starting with the first episode reading. Let’s see how the actors have worked on their characters.”

You were excited to see what this was going to be like.

The script writing commenced, and everyone was concentrating on all the characters and the scene. The story line sounded really interesting and the chemistry between the actors and their characters seemed like a match made in heaven. You internally giggled when you found out that the main characters name was Jaehyun, remembering that this Jaehyun wasn’t the lifeguard Jaehyun back at the centre.

This side of Jinyoung looked so classy and sophisticated. He had a similar pair of glasses on like you and a simple black shirt on. He would move his glasses up whenever they would slip a bit whilst looking at his script. You could see how much he was in character and the passion in his voice trying to voice his inner Jaehyun.

“From today onwards, we’re dating.” The dialogue between Jinyoung and the younger role female lead continued until the director interrupted.

“I wish…” Everyone started laughing at the director’s sudden comment. I don’t blame him. The story line is to die for. If only life was the same.

Every now and again the boys beside you were trying to contain their laughs. They were like a bunch of brothers trying to find dirt on Jinyoung to tease him about later. They reminded you of your friends when you all hangout together specifically for someone’s occasion.

The script reading ended soon after the funny moment. The staff started packing up all the refreshments and the paperwork everywhere. The actors were taken to a little set up area to take teaser photos ready to be posted before the launch of the drama.

“So, Y/N…” Jackson caught your attention and you drew your eyes from Jinyoung and the other actors to Jackson.

“Yep.”

“You teach swimming lessons. Is that your full time job or is it a hobby sort of thing?”

“It’s a part time job I do on the side. I pursue a more serious career as an architect.” Jackson’s expression turned surprised.

“You’re an architect?” The rest of the guys circled around you with interested looks.

“Guys calm down. I just design buildings for a living. Me and a friend own a company- “

“You’re CEO?” Jaebeom launched himself forward towards you since he was out of it at first. Was it this big of a deal?

“More or less.” The boys all started clapping. The staff joined in thinking they were clapping for the actors and the end of the first script reading. You joined in to cover up for their initial intention.

Jinyoung joined you guys as the claps continued. He was baffed at what was going on, but you just shook it off. He whispered a simple ‘you good?’ in your ear. You nodded in response to his question. The group + you faced Jinyoung and continued clapping in his face like a bunch of seals. Jinyoung wrapped his hands around yours to stop you from clapping. The contact between you and him caught you off guard but his hands were warm and protective. Your small hands fit perfectly in his much larger hands. It felt like the contact you wished for years to happen between you and your dad but that never happened. Your eyes were close to tearing, but you knew showing any sign of sensitivity will trigger another load of questions not only from Jinyoung but the rest too. He removed his hands realising the awkward closeness he showed among all the guys.

The clapping ended.

“How was I?” Jinyoung diverted his attention from you to the rest of the guys.

“Jinyoung hyung as always performed well. I’m starting to get used to the fact that you’re good at everything hyung.” Yugyeom tried to act unphased but we all knew the experienced actor could see right through his lie.

“You outdid yourself again Jinyoung.” Jaebeom patted his shoulder like a granddad (lol).

“I’m jealous of the female character.” Everyone looked at Bambam waiting to continue why he said what he said.

“I’d wanna be dating Jinyoung hyung too, it’s not fair.” Jinyoung put an arm around Bambam’s shoulder and you all started laughing at the absurd comment.

“Jinyoung hyung already has someone in mind Bambam. You have to go search for someone else.” Jinyoung had someone else in mind? He likes someone? You just kept smiling trying to show you weren’t hurt from the sudden confession. Damn… looks like you were a little late Y/N. Of course, a fine man like Jinyoung wouldn’t go for you, you thought.

Jinyoung gave Youngjae a death stare. You guessed that wasn’t information he was willing to just share casually.

“I’m sure she’ll fall for you with those acting skills.” You tried to lift up the mood that had turned awkward. The guys gave you a look and then looked at Jinyoung. They knew who Youngjae was referring to. You were the only one that was oblivious to the situation.

“I hope so too Y/N. I hope so too.” Jinyoung gave you a warm smile. His eyes crinkled and his teeth gleamed white. Whoever she is, she’s lucky you thought.

“I’m starving, can we go for a meal?” Mark suggested as he changed the topic.

“Yh, Y/N you can also join us unless you’re busy.” Yugyeom kindly offered.

“No there’s no need. I don’t want to be interrupting your guys’ meal.”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m sure Jinyoung will be happy with you joining us anyways.”

You looked over at Jinyoung and he just smiled. You guessed Bambam was right. You had nothing planned for the rest of the evening, so you joined them.

“Did anyone come by car? All the staff vehicles are being used for the director’s team.” Mark raised his hand although there was still a problem.

“Yh but there’s 8 of us Mark. Your car can hold 5 of us, what about the other 3?”

“Looks like it’s good that I’m coming then. I came by car too. The other 3 can come with me. I’ll follow Mark.”

“Are you windows tinted?” What a weird question to ask.

“Erm.. yes.”

“Great, that works.” Jaebeom clapped after the situation was solved.

“Let’s go half and half. I’m going with Y/N.” Bambam came by your side ready to follow you to your car. Jinyoung joined him and shrugged a helpless shrug towards Mark.

“You fuckers are leaving me, wow.” Mark put a hand on his heart acting like he was heartbroken.

“Don’t worry Mark. I’ll join you.” Jackson and Yugyeom joined Mark.

“Rock, paper, scissors?” Youngjae offered to Jaebeom.

“Guys it’s just a car rid- “ They were actually doing this weren’t they.

“Rock, paper, scissors!” Youngjae threw rock and Jaebeom threw paper.

“Good luck putting up with Jackson and Yugyeom.” Jaebeom waved Youngjae a farewell. Now that this was decided, you guys headed out of the company building.

“I’ll tail you until our destination. Just in case we lose your car, does anyone riding with me know where we are going?” You walked along Mark settling on an agreement.

“Yh, Jinyoung knows where we are going. He can guide you just in case you lose the car.”

“Great.”

“By the way Y/N…”

“Yes…”

“Actually, don’t worry. It’s nothing important.”

“Sure…” You couldn’t lie. You kind of wanted to know what it was that he was going to say.

“WAAAAA… Y/N you’re full of surprises. First it turns out that you’re actually an architect now we find out you rock a classy car too. Keep it coming.” You guess Bambam is the type to hype his friends. Like you mentioned before, praise is something that motivates you. It’s rewarding.

“WAAAAA… Bambam it’s just a car.” You mimicked him.

“Yh… but a really nice car.” He eyed your possession and circled round it.

“Look at this big boy… what did you name it?” This kid honestly.

“I shall not be disclosing that piece of information.” Bambam gave you puppy eyes in hopes for it to work.

“Fine. He’s called Prince.” You shut your eyes with your hands to avoid the embarrassment.

“Ahhhh and because you own him… does that make you a Queen?” You laughed at Bambam’s analogy.

“No specific reason for the name Bambam. Come on, Mark and the others are waiting for us.”

Jinyoung took the passenger seat beside you whilst Jaebeom and Bambam sat behind. Bambam specifically behind you.

“Everyone seat belts on please. I trust my driving, but I don’t trust the driving of others.” You smiled at your comment. So vain.

“I’m going to tell Mark hyung you don’t trust his driving.” Bambam is an actual kid, you concluded in your mind.

“That’s not what I meant Bambam.”

“I know, I know.” You started the car as all of the guys, and you had put on your seatbelts.

You signalled to Mark for him to go ahead since your car was now ready. You followed his white Jeep out of the parking lot and started your journey.

“So where exactly are we going to?” You still didn’t know what you was going to be eating for dinner.

“We often go to this seafood place near the bay. The fish comes fresh every day and they also have non-fish options too. Jackson doesn’t like seafood much, so it works well for him too. You’ll definitely like it.”

Hmm, there was a restaurant at bay that you also went to often similar to what Jinyoung was describing. Maybe it’s the same place.

“What’s the place called? I live near the bay so I may know of it.”

“It’s called Ali’s Clam.” Bambam responded from the back.

“Ali with the lisp?” If he replies yes now, you knew exactly where you were going.

“You know of him?” Of course.

“We come from the same country. I’ve known him since I moved to Jinhae. He was one of the first people I met.”

“Small world. Weird how we didn’t recognise each other. We must have been present at the same time at some point.” Jaebeom figured.

“I would agree but I always order into the company or home. I don’t usually have the time to eat in. It’ll be a great surprise for him too since it’s been a while I’ve been at the restaurant.”

A couple minutes of silence went by. You had some music from back home playing quietly as you drove to Ali’s. You do love jamming loudly to music but only when alone. You weren’t going to embarrass yourself in front of people you’ve only met a couple hours ago.

“So where exactly are you from Y/N?” You appreciated how the guys actually wanted to get to know you.

“My parents are both Turkish. Although… I was born and raised mostly in London. I did go back often to see family, but I lived and grew up in London. Studied there and then work led me to Jinhae.”

You stopped at a red light.

“I was going to ask what coloured contacts you used. I guess they are real.” Bambam and his ridiculous questions.

“Yes, they are real Bambam. Sorry to disappoint.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just stare at them instead.” This kid. Jaebeom and Jinyoung laughed at the sadness in Bambam’s voice.

“I’ll let you borrow them if you want.” Bambam triggered your sarcasm to come out. What a fool.

“I’d be honoured.” You liked how he continued.

“So, Y/N…” Jinyoung spoke up.

“You’re an architect?” You just nodded and you kept your eyes on the road.

“Why teach swimming then?” This question again.

“Here’s how I’ll answer that question,“ He was listening, “Isn’t it so refreshing and fun being with the kids in our group? To see their faces light up every Monday morning because of me and my lessons. It’s an amazing feeling knowing I’m touching their lives by giving them a life skill that they’ll be grateful for. It never feels like work.”

As you explained your reasons, Jinyoung had been staring at you in deep thought. The way you were concentrating on the road as you spoke about pure innocent things. The way you were so passionate about helping the kids learn a vital skill. He couldn’t register everything at once and felt so overwhelmed. Your eyes glistened as you continued talking about your love for the kids and how much you loved swimming. He watched your every move and could feel his heart thumping stronger than usual. He knew what was happening and was willing to comply to his heart.

You realised you had been rambling off for a while and hadn’t heard a single thing from Jinyoung. You glanced to your side to see a loving stare coming your way. You wished you could reciprocate but eyes on the road was something you were going to stick to. He realised his own stare and directed his look to Bambam. You just smiled. Luckily it was dark, so your flamed up cheeks weren’t visible to anyone.

…

Your phone rang… it was Max. You guys still hadn’t sorted out whatever it is that’s between you two now. You didn’t know if you should pick up. Due to the lovely thing called technology, your car picked up on the fact that you were getting a call so everyone could see who was calling. Jinyoung aware of who Max was.

“Feel free to pick up.” Jinyoung prompts you to pick up.

“You guys okay if I pick up?”

“Go ahead.” The other two responded.

You picked up the call.

“Hey Max, how are you?”

“Doing better Y/N. You free to talk?”

“Yh sure, go ahead.”

“I wanted to talk about Monday.”

You looked over at Jinyoung. He didn’t seem phased, but you felt uncomfortable.

“I’m listening.”

“Stay away from him.” Not this again.

“Elaborate ‘him’.”

“You know who I’m on about Y/N. Don’t make me say his name.”

“Elaborate or I’m hanging up.”

“Fine. I’m on about Jinyoung.” Oh boy the air in this car just got even more awkward.

“Fuck my life Max. You’re still dragging this out? Can you speak up like a man with a pair of balls?”

Jaebeom and Bambam looked at each other. They sensed the change in atmosphere as expected.

“Alright Y/N. What I’m saying is you have to stay away from Jinyoung from now on! I see the way he looks at you Y/N. His ass is so whipped for you and it has only been 2 lessons- “

“And?” The awkwardness had hit cloud nine. You wanted to hide in a box and stay away from humans for weeks at this point, but you had to stay strong. You weren’t going to give in like a weakling.

“What do you mean ‘and?’? Aren’t you bothered? Are you ready for someone else to crush your heart again just like Chas- “

“Don’t you dare say his name.” Max was crossing over the line. This call being on speaker didn’t help either.

“You get the point. Your ass is going to fall deep into his trap too only to be left like a shattered mirror again. Continue being like this and I won’t be there to fix you either.”

With that Max hung up. You didn’t speak. You were trying to contain the anger you were feeling rise up. You were carrying lives in the car. You weren’t going to express the anger now.

“You good?” Bambam couldn’t stand the silence and asked the comforting question. You had to be honest. You weren’t exactly feeling like answering although you thanked him internally for caring.

You mustered up the energy to talk after burying the anger inside.

“I deeply apologise for what just happened. I didn’t exactly want you guys to witness this not-so-nice side of me let alone on our first meeting,” You faced Jinyoung for a split second, “I owe you another apology. I don’t know what’s gotten into him but- “

“You truly are unaware aren’t you.” Jaebeom interrupted you. Kind of rude.

“I don’t know who that guy was, but he sounds extremely jealous.” This again. Jinyoung opted to stay silent.

“You think?”

“I think? It’s almost fact. He sounds so riled up. As a guy the only reason I’d ever be so ‘like him’ would be because I’m jealous.” For everyone to say this keeps solidifying the assumption. You guess everyone was right.

“Jaebeom hyung is usually right when it comes to knowing things. What he says usually turns out correct. I also agree. He sounds pissed and jealous.”

You chose to stay silent until you arrived at the restaurant. Everyone went back to what they were doing before the rude call. A couple minutes later you all arrived at Ali’s Clam.

You and Mark parked near the venue and walked it to the table Ali had given the rest.

“No way!” Ali ran up to you and gave you a warm hug. It had been around 1 month since the last time you saw him. Although you could feel the life being squeezed out of you too.

“Ali let me breath,” you laughed as you hugged him back, “It’s good to see you too.”

“Y/N seni bir aydır görmüyorum. Nerelerdesin?”

[“Y/N I haven’t seen you for a month. Where have you been?”]

“Bizim büro büyük bir proje kaptı. Beck’le onun üstünde çalışıyoruz. Biliyorsun ki yüzme derslerim de var buraya gelmeye zaman bulmak zor oluyor.”

[“Our firm received a big project. I’ve been working on it with Beck. You know about the swimming lessons too, it’s hard to find time to come.”]

The guys all picked up the change in language. This is what it must feel like for our fans, they thought to themselves.

“So how come you know of these lot?” He was referring to Jinyoung and the rest, “And how do you guys know of Y/N?”

Yugyeom stepped up to explain.

“Long story short, Y/N is Jinyoung’s swimming teacher. The rest of us met Y/N today at Jinyoung’s script reading.”

“Riiiight… So, what can I get you guys today? Everything’s on me!” Ali clapped in excitement for reuniting with his friend alongside his favourite customers.

“Can we get our usual lobster in the middle plus the baby crabs plus Jackson’s order?” These guys don’t order the stuffed oysters. What in the world?!?

“You know what else to add Ali. I can’t believe you guys don’t order the stuffed oysters. It’s Ali’s signature dish.”

“I got you Y/N! I’ll make it a bigger portion so the rest of you guys can try it too.” Ali jotted down the order on his little notepad.

The small chit chat continued. You were sat between Jaebeom and Jinyoung. Your table looked out to the bay and was decorated with shells and blue and white ribbons. You always loved the ambience of this restaurant. It reminded you of the fish restaurants back in Turkey that you and your mum would go to when you were younger. Whenever you felt homesick you knew you could come here to sink the feeling away.

“So, Miss is an architect.” Jinyoung turned to you as the rest spoke among themselves.

“I guess I am, and Mr is an actor” You chuckled. You both found out each other’s careers in very different ways.

“I guess I am.” He mimicked you. You eyed him having picked up on what he was doing.

“So, what’s the story behind you and everyone? How did everyone meet each other?”

“Get ready for another surprise. I’m not exactly just an actor… All 7 of us make up a k-pop group called GOT7.”

“Yh, right.” You laughed at him assuming he was joking around.

“Wow don’t believe me. Guys!” Jinyoung got the attention of the rest of the guys.

“Jaebeom hyung when did we debut?”

“16th Jan 2014.”

“Seun-ah what was our debut song?”

“Girls, girls, girls they love me” Jackson sang and displayed some hand movements along with it. Were they being serious?

Ali came over with the baby crabs and the stuffed oysters. He was just about to go back for the lobsters but Jinyoung asked Ali the same questions he had asked Jaebeom and Jackson.

“You guys debuted under JYP Entertainment as GOT7 on 16th Jan 2014 with the song,” he changed his stance like he was ready to dance, “Girls, girls, girls they love me.”

“Jackson also had a plant sticking out from the top of his head then.” The boys started laughing but Jackson gave Ali a deaf stare. Ali gave him an apology hug and insisted that he couldn’t let the opportunity slide.

“Is that why you kept your job a secret at first?” Jinyoung nodded.

“People tend to act different towards us as if we are not ordinary people. There seems to be this analogy of a pedestal where we are placed higher and we don’t really like that since it makes it hard for us to get to know genuine new people. Me keeping that a secret meant you looked at me for who I was not for someone who was a singer.”

“That makes sense. People forget behind the stage and platform there’s someone just like all of us with feelings and hobbies. We all like to chill, lounge around, go for a walk. It makes up only a part of us not all of us, but many people don’t see it that way. So, I understand why you chose to hide it although I can let you know that I’m not one of those people. It’s the inside that counts.” You pointed to your heart. Jinyoung just kept falling for all the mutual comments you were making. He agreed with everything that was escaping from your mouth.

“I’m happy we are on the same page.” He ruffled your hair like you were a 10 year old kid. His eyes gleamed with playful energy. You wish you could have stared longer but you were among his friends. You didn’t want them to get the wrong idea. With that you sorted your hair along with Ali placing the lobster and Jackson’s dish on the table.

“Ellerine sağlık Ali. Her zaman ki gibi çok güzel kokuyor her şey.”

[“Thank you for the meal Ali. Like always the food smells really good.”]

“This isn’t fair we don’t understand.” Bambam started sulking like a kid.

“I’ll try and contain myself. Since I usually come here alone I’m used to speaking in Turkish with Ali. Sorry.” You showed your innocent eyes (not an aegyo way, not a fan) to Bambam.

“If you look at me like that, how can I even get annoyed? Talk all you want I trust you wouldn’t speak ill of us to Ali.” You smiled at the kind words from Bambam.

“Let’s tuck in!” Youngjae suggested. You all started tucking into the food laid out. You had convinced Jaebeom to try the stuffed oysters since no one would say yes. You showed him how to open the oyster and scrape the filing with one shell from the other. Then eat from it like it was a spoon.

“How is it?” You tried to read his expression. He continued chewing and his eyes started to widen.

“We’ve been missing out.” Mark passed his plate over to you for you to put some oysters on his plate after seeing Jaebeom’s reaction.

“How do you did it again Y/N?” Mark asked.

“Let’s do this. Anyone who wants to try it put your hand up?”

Everyone but Jinyoung and Jackson put their hand up.

“I’ll let Jackson slide since you don’t like seafood,” You turned to Jinyoung, “This is bad sportsmanship come on everyone’s willing to try.”

JINYOUNG’S POV

She’s hitting you with those colourful starry eyes again. How could you say no?

“Fine Y/N. For your sake.” A wide smile spread across her face. She passed you an oyster too.

“If everyone’s ready, watch me then copy. We good with that?”

“This sounds like another swimming lesson.” You couldn’t help but remind her how similar her instructions sound like her lessons.

“Wooow. Are you criticising my teaching?” You could now pick up on her sarcasm. She wasn’t being serious. You just shrugged playing secretive like always.

“You should appreciate you haven’t drowned with your skills.” Oh no she didn’t.

“WAAAAAAA… I like it. Finally, someone else as savage as me.” Bambam high fived you across the table. Jaebeom had his mouth agape and Youngjae looked at you.

If the guys had made that sort of comment, it would have been game on. But when it came to Y/N, you couldn’t even find a way of retaliatin. Not only did you not know much about her, you got caught looking at her in disbelief. Your brain couldn’t register a comeback.

“Waaa… she actually got him silent. You achieved something I haven’t for the past 6 years Y/N.” Yugyeom started clapping. You looked at him and your eyes did the job. He stopped clapping as soon as he realised he weren’t going to take shit right now.

“Like I was saying. We ready?” Everyone raised their oysters. You watched her eagerly demonstrate how to eat her cuisine. Her passion for her homeland was present and you liked how she was patiently teaching you all how to eat the delicacy.

“Then you scrape it like it’s a spoon using the empty shell, like this.”

Surprising you all were pretty good. None of you dropped the filling on your plate.

“Then…,” Y/N got up from her seat and grabbed a lemon slice, “You squeeze some lemon on it. Keep your oysters up a little I’ll come around and squeeze some.”

She went around the table and dispersed some lemon.

“Now voila, eat.” You were a little hesitant. You weren’t a big fan of oyster, but you were willing to try it based on Y/N’s recommendation.

And you weren’t disappointed. The combination of the crustacean, rice and the herbs worked so well together. You could see why Y/N was surprised when this wasn’t a part of the group’s order. It tasted delicious.

“I can read all your faces now and no one seems disgusted besides Jackson.” She laughed at Jackson’s reaction to all of you tasting the new dish.

“Bro, how do yall do it?” Jackson questioned.

“Do what Jack?” Mark didn’t understand.

“Eat seafood. Madness.” Jackson resumed to eating his burger.

Ali dropped by having seen you guys taste the oyster.

“What do you guys think?” Ali asked.

“Y/N is right. Ali where have we been?” Youngjae was experiencing his version of food enlightenment.

“I don’t know Youngjae. Where have you guys been?” Ali laughed at Youngjae’s absurd question.

You guys dug into your food whilst conversing and getting to know each other. It turned out that Jackson and Y/N were close to meeting each other earlier on in life. If they had both pursued in their sports and competed in the Olympics there was a chance they would have met. Small world. Jackson explained to Y/N how he switched his career path and Y/N spoke about the lack of opportunity and motivation in that field left her to divert her attention to architecture. Both succeeding exceptionally well in their fields.

Y/N’S POV

“So, what’s been like your biggest project so far?” Mark asked since you both stopped eating having felt close to full.

“We have an active project going on right now for an eco-hotel set to be built near the end of the bay. The client is a really well-known person although I can’t disclose who he is due to privacy regulations. I can say you are all well aware of who he is that’s for sure. I never imagined someone with such high status would want us to design something for him but yh… we are working on it.” Y/N explained.

“That’s really cool. It’s nice to hear what people are doing in different industries. We are always surrounded by the entertainment industry so it’s nice to see a different expression of creativity going on around us.” You appreciated Mark’s kind words and appreciation for the architecture field. The field didn’t receive much cover and is overlooked so it was nice to hear those words.

“I agree. The same thing goes for you guys. I have one friend who does work got to do with music production although I didn’t really get much insight into what he did. It must be really warming having an audience who support you and your work constantly.” You liked having logical conversations. It seems like Mark’s somebody you would get along with well. He seems very knowledgeable.

“Ali! Can you bring over a couple bottles of soju?”

“Coming right up Jaebeom!”

Ali came pacing to our table and placed 7 glasses and 5 bottles of soju. He knew you didn’t drink.

“You forgot another glass.”

“Ah, I don’t drink.” You waved off Jaebeom.

“Waaa… does that mean we all get to drink? We have a driver to get us home guys!” Jaebeom joked around since you would be sober.

Ali came back since he heard what Jaebeom had said, “7 drunk guys and Y/N that sounds like chaos.”

“Come on Ali! We aren’t that bad drunk, are we?”

“Definitely not Jaebeom.” You picked up on Ali’s sarcasm.

“I’ll join Y/N for today. We won’t drink you guys go ahead.” Jinyoung joined the sober team for today.

“Jinyoung hyung~ you’re like the most entertaining person when drunk. Are you just too scared you’ll end up confessing to Y-“ Yugyeom smacked his hand across Bambam’s mouth and kept it shut. Was he about to say your name? Nah… surely not.

“You guys know I’ve been cutting down on drinking. There’s no other reason besides how wild we are when we are drunk. Can’t let Y/N handle all of 7 of us alone.” You appreciated his concern.

“Thanks.”

…

It took about 20 minutes for all 7 of the guys to be out of it. You and Jinyoung took the opportunity to part from the group and walk along the beach.

You could hear the waves crashing gently in the summer breeze. You took a second to take deep breaths of fresh air.

“Ah…” You sighed as you let out the fresh air, “Don’t you just love the sea?”

“I think I would like it more if I could swim in it.” You giggled at his confession.

“I’ll make that happen one day. I promise.” You smiled up at Jinyoung as you watched your feet sink into the sand as you guys walked. You both stayed silent until something came up to mind.

“I mean you can still have fun in the sea without having to swim in it.”

“Wow, I thought Jaehyun was the dirty minded one. I can see who he learnt it from.” He eyed you knowing that what he was hinting at was most likely something that wasn’t on your mind.

You were gobsmacked. Him too? Were all guys like this?

You slapped his shoulder, “You guys are atrocious. I meant splashing each other.” As you said the word ‘splashing’ you knelt down and splashed water at Jinyoung.

He was ready to win you over at this fight. He retaliated with even more water and caught you off guard. You guys ran up and down the beach trying to splash one another as well as not get caught by the flying water droplets. The cool breeze made the water on your body colder than usual. You guys were practically drenched when you dropped on your ass because your foot got caught sunk in the sand.

“You okay?” Jinyoung crouched down to your level and smiled at you like a child.

“I would be if my ass wasn’t soaked.” He lent you a hand. Was he this naïve? You took the opportunity to give Jinyoung a taste of what it felt like. You grabbed his hand and dragged him done to your level.

“I should have seen that coming.” Damn right he should have. You both chuckled as you watched the moon and the rippling reflection on the sea’s surface.

You started to tear up at the familiar scene although the person beside you wasn’t the person in the flashback. It was Chase. Chase was your ex-boyfriend. He was probably the best shot you had with a guy and things were going well until you found out that he was cheating on you for 2 months with a waitress at Ali’s restaurant. You had shared your ups and downs with him meaning him cheating on you left you extremely hopeless for other guys. Max’s extra possessive and protective reached its peak during that time hence the phone call today. When Ali found out, he fired the waitress immediately knowing how hurt you would feel every time you came across her at the restaurant. Even worse when she was with Chase. You guys would hang out at the beach after meals similar to how you and Jinyoung had today. Although today felt different, Jinyoung meant more to you than Chase in a shorter period of time. You still lacked on so much about Jinyoung, but he never gave off a single bad impression on any occasion. You trusted him.

He realised your mood change.

“Did you come here often with him?” How did he…

“I can tell you haven’t been here alone before. Did you guys come here together before? With the guy Max was about to mention on the phone call.” Smartass.

“Wow, I didn’t even need to explain. You’re spot on.” You let out a chuckle. It must have been really obvious.

“It must suck. We can go back-“

“No, no… I’m not going to let past memories be the reason for me to run away from a beautiful landscape. You being here helps too.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Although my backside is about to drop off.” You had completely forgotten that your bottom halves were being repeatedly soaked by the crashing waves.

“Not having much fat in that area is a struggle isn’t it. I can’t relate.”

“I have you know I have an ass.” You were dying at the confidence. You make sure to check him out secretly when the peach is in view.

“Clearly not big enough for the cold.” He pushed you over and your back got soaked from the damp sand.

“Ahhhh! Jinyoung I’m gonna catch a cold. It’s freezing!”

You were going to get your pay back. You launched your hands onto his shoulder in the hopes that he would also fall back but you underestimated his strength. You guys squabbled trying to put the other down. As expected he had you done in no time grasped onto your wrists. Some water droplets from his shirts fell down onto your warm skin. The position you guys were in raised the heat of your body at an unhealthy rate. Your faces were inches away just like how they were at during the water dodgeball game. Your chests heaved trying to get back your breaths, but he looked too good to be true. How could you go back to breathing normally when he looked gorgeous?

“Still cold?” He swept you away from your thoughts.

“Y-Yh…” You were boiling to be exact.

“This should help.” He dropped lower towards your face. Your noses brushed each other’s, and you could now feel his warm breath across your face. He looked deeply into your eyes as if there was a transcript written in them. He took his time analysing your features until he got to your lips. He couldn’t help staring at your lips for a little longer than your other features until he couldn’t take it anymore. He was going to make the first move he wanted to make since the beginning.

He teased your lips slowly making contact with them not knowing this was going to be the beginning of something life changing. You moulded into his lips and you could understand that he wanted this as much as you did. The passion as he moved trying to taste every inch of you made you blame yourself for not noticing his interest sooner. You were most definitely not cold anymore.

You were happy that your interests were not one sided and couldn’t wait for what else this new possible love had in store.

---

Thank fudge cakes this episode is over. I apologise for how late this episode has been. I think the word count being close to 10k explains why it took so long. I struggled to find a place to stop for this episode, so I just continued writing until I was happy with it. A lot goes down in this episode so grab a snack and enjoy. It was also really nice bringing in some native tongue into the series. I’d like to get your opinions on whether I should continue with the native tongue conversations between Y/N and Ali. I also introduced Y/N’s full time job. I hope it was a nice surprise for you guys. Until next episode 👋

writer-nim x

23 notes · View notes

oliviastan17 · 5 years ago

Text

Just a dream (5/7)

Warnings: 18+, all the fluff in the world, language, smut

Length: 3.6k

A/N: I am a nurse so this is way more medically accurate than what is needed for the story. I just started typing and all this nurse stuff came out (#nurselife) and I took a lot out but sorry if it’s too much. There’s nothing graphic though. I put a lot of gifs in because I don’t feel like I can accurately describe what I dreamt. I own none of them. DO NOT POST ON ANY OTHER WEBSITE! Please reblog and I love reading comments!

It took 2 months but today was the day. It was packing day. Your brother needed to drop Harper off because she had a fever and couldn’t stay at daycare. She seemed to be feeling okay after some ibuprofen and was playing with some toys with Sebastian (or so you thought) while you worked on packing.

You walked into your bathroom to find Sebastian sitting on the floor facing away from you and Harper brushing something on his face. Wait, is that my makeup brush?

“When did you guys come in here?”

“He’s almost ready,” Harper informed you.

“Ready for what?”

“The party. Auntie, you sit there,” Harper commanded.

“Okay then,” you said sitting on the edge of your bathtub. Harper had been really into makeup lately so you exactly what she was doing and couldn’t wait to see her masterpiece.

As Sebastian turned around you gasped, “Oh, Harper! He is so beautiful! You did such a good job!”

He had red lipstick covering his mouth and part of the stubble on his chin. There was charcoal grey sparkly eye shadow all the way above his eye brows and his cheeks were a bright pink. Sebastian just looked at you and smiled as he held up his hands.

“Oh, you did his nails too? They look amazing!”

“It’s your turn!” she exclaimed.

Just then your brother walked through your door effectively saving you from a makeover.

“I hear your daddy,” you said and then Harper ran out to see him.

You and Sebastian followed and as your brother took in the sight of Sebastian and laughed.

“Hey kiddo! You feeling better?” he asked as she ran up to him.

“She had motrin at 4:30,” you informed him.

“Thanks Y/n,” he said looking around at all the boxes. “Man, it’s weird to see this place packed up. Am I seeing you before you leave?”

“Probably not. Did Mom call you to have you help move what I don’t take into storage?”

“Yeah, we’re coming on Saturday. Well drive safe. Call me when you get there.” He offered a handshake to Sebastian and said, “Sorry about all that,” he said referring to the makeup.

Sebastian shook his hand, “It’s no problem.”

Harper gave Sebastian a hug and then you knelt down to hug her. You didn’t want to let her go. “I love you forever.”

“Love you!” She said laughing while you kissed her cheek and then blew a raspberry making her laugh. You had tried your best to prepare her for not seeing you as often but you weren’t sure how much she actually understood.

Your brother came over to give you a hug.

“Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you,” he said as he hugged you.

“Love you. Have Noah FaceTime me later okay?”

“I will,” he said as he turned and he and Harper walked out of your house. You closed the door behind him and Sebastian wrapped you in a hug. He was trying to say comforting things but as you looked up at him you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing.

“I can’t take you seriously when you look like that,” you said laughing. “There’s makeup wipes in my bathroom.”

“No, I think this is a good look. Get used to the new me,” he said leaning in to kiss you but you playfully dodged it. He had too good of a grip on your waist so you ended up with lipstick all over your face.

“You want to order in? I’m not taking you anywhere looking like that and you just ruined what little makeup I had on.”

“Sure. Whatever you want,” he said.

As he walked away you took a look around at all the boxes around the house. You were definitely sad to be leaving but you were also excited about your future. It was scary but it would be an adventure. Everything with him was an adventure. Even something as boring as packing was fun with him.

After one more day of packing, you did it. You packed up your car and drove (well Sebastian drove) to New York. The drive up went as smoothly as it could. Between his carpool karaoke and the games you created on the way it really was fun.

On the second day of the road trip your brother called you to inform you that Harper was put on antibiotics for strep throat and that she also came down with bronchitis. Great you thought as you remembered her coughing directly in your face.

Three days later and you were at the doctor for the same thing. Nothing was able to stop you from coughing so the doctor gave you some cough medicine. The good kind with codeine.

Sebastian was doing a great job taking care of you and went to three different stores to find apricot nectar because that’s what your mom would give you when you were sick. When he got home the first thing he heard you say was, “Oh my god, Chris! Watch out!”

Why is Chris here? He rounded the corner and found you on the couch watching Civil War stoned out of your mind.

“What are you doing?”

“That’s not your ass,” you said pointing at the screen.

He just laughed, handed you your nectar and went into his office.

His office was very close to the living room so he could hear every comment you made even though you were hoarse and could not stop laughing.

“Oh, that was so hot!”

“It’s not Bucky’s fault Tony!”

“Back the fuck off T’Challa!”

He finally gave up and walked out of the office and over to the couch. He lifted your legs up, sat down and laid your legs across his lap.

“I thought you didn’t want to watch?”

“I want to hear your commentary.”

“Hey, can you introduce me to him?”

“Downey?”

“No, Tom. Cause if I was 10 years younger…”

“Get out,” he said pointing at the door.

You laughed and grabbed his shirt to pull him closer for a kiss but then you stopped yourself.

“No, I don’t want to get you sick,” you said as he kept moving closer to you.

“I’ll take my chances,” he said before he kissed you. You fell asleep soon after.

Living together came easy. Everything was going great. You had found work doing some consulting for a production company and could mostly work from home. He had a few months until he started a new project so he was home. When you finished work you two would go explore the city. Some mornings you would go for a run, some you would stay in bed and just be together.

You hadn’t felt up to running the last couple of weeks. You just felt so tired but now you felt like you were gaining some weight because you spent the last 2 weeks being lazy around the apartment and eating crappy food. Today when Seb got home from his run and you were still laying in bed curled up he got a little worried.

“It’s probably just a stomach bug. I’m fine. I just need to rest,” you reassured him.

The next day you weren’t much better but you still got up and did some work in his office. Then the following day Sebastian wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Alright, that’s it. We’re going.”

“No, I’m fine Seb. Really. I promise I’m…” your sentence was cut off by you taking in a sharp breath as you grabbed your stomach in pain.

“No, you’re not. It’s been 2 days Y/n. Let’s go,” he said as he reached for your hand to help you up.

After a short cab ride you arrived at the hospital and were in with the triage nurse.

“Any chance of pregnancy? Last menstrual period?”

“I’m on birth control. They are really light if I even have one at all. I don’t really remember.”

After a ton of other questions and taking your vitals she brought you back into a room.

“Just change into this gown and the doctor will be right in.”

You rolled your eyes at the gown.

“Just put it on. Humor me,” Sebastian said.

“This is stupid. I’m fine,” you said but you had your hand resting on your stomach.

“Stop being so stubborn, babe. Just do what they tell you to.”

“Hi, are you Y/n?” a nurse asked walking into the room.

“Yes,” you said as you sat on the bed. You weren’t going to put the gown on unless they absolutely made you.

“And your birthday?” she asked looking at your hospital bracelet.

“Y/b/d.”

“Okay, I’m Caryn and I’m going to get a blood sample and put an IV in. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the absolute worst, what would you rate your pain at?”

“Maybe a 6.”

“Is it constant or does it come and go?” she asked while getting the supplies out of the locked drawers.

“Comes and goes.”

You answered all of her questions. It’s been 2 days of intermittent cramping, no bleeding. You were tired and felt kind of bloated and were sure this was just a stomach bug.

The nurse drew your blood and put the IV in then walked out of the room. Sebastian stood up and leaned over to kiss your forehead. He started walking around the room snooping in the cabinets and drawers. He pulled the otoscope down from the wall and turned the light on.

“What do they do with this?”

“Have you ever seen a doctor? That’s what they use to look in your ears.”

His mouth pulled up into a frown as he nodded his head. He put it back and then started to pull the covers for the otoscope out of the dispenser and placed them on his fingers.

“It’s like those me me’s of Chris with the fingernails.”

“God, my boyfriend is a 12 year old. And it’s meme. Not me me.” You knew he was just trying to distract you and it was kind of working because he was so adorable.

The doctor then came in the room and introduced herself.

“Okay, so we got the results of your tests back and it seems you are pregnant.”

“I’m sorry…I’m what?”

“Your blood tests came back positive for pregnancy. I’m guessing you didn’t know?”

You and Sebastian looked at each other in shock.

“No, I’m on birth control.”

“Birth control is only 99% effective so becoming pregnant when taking it is rare but not unheard of. Have you been on any antibiotics recently?”

“Yeah, like 2 months ago.”

“That could definitely be a factor as well. Some antibiotics lessen the effectiveness of birth control. Now you have had no bleeding so that is a good sign but I’m going to do an ultrasound to check on everything okay?”

Frozen in disbelief you didn’t answer so Sebastian did.

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

You had stopped listening and weren’t sure when exactly when she left. Sebastian brought you out of your haze. Sitting on the bed he grabbed your hand and said, “Hey, look at me.”

“This can’t be happening. How did I not know?” you asked. As you looked at his face he seemed so unbelievably calm.

“Whatever happens, we’re going to get through it. We are going to be okay. I’ve got you, okay?”

You took a deep breath and closed your eyes.

“Yeah, okay,” you agreed.

“Come on,” he said as he pulled you into his arms. He lifted your head up to kiss you.

“I love you.”

“Love you.”

The doctor came in bringing in an ultrasound machine and you laid on your back. Sebastian was sitting in his chair next to your bed and was holding your hand between his and resting them under his chin.

As you turned your head and looked at him he smiled and said, “I’ve got you.”

You forced a smile. The room was quiet with the lights turned down and you were holding your breath for what seemed like an hour while the doctor started the ultrasound. You were too scared to look at the screen so you just stared at Sebastian.

“Okay, so based on the measurements I would say you are about 7-8 weeks along. If you look here, this is the amniotic sac and this is the baby right here,” the doctor said pointing at the screen. You turned and looked at what she was pointing at. “And this flickering here is your baby’s heartbeat.”

You stared at the little moving black and white form on the screen and you brought your free hand up to your mouth while Sebastian let out a breath and kissed the hand he was holding.

“Is the baby okay?” Sebastian asked the doctor.

“I would say so, yes. The heart beat is strong. You’re still going to want to go see an obstetrician as soon as you can but I think everything looks great here. Some women experience pain in the beginning of pregnancy because their body is preparing for the growing uterus so your pain is not unusual.”

You were ugly crying at this point but you didn’t care. You had gone from being in pain to being a mom not knowing if her child was okay or not to being the happiest you have ever been.

“I’m going to print some pictures for you and I’ll get you started on some prenatal vitamins. You can take tylenol for the pain. The nurse will be in shortly to take out your IV. Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” you said as she walked out of the room. You looked at Sebastian and started to say something but were cut off by him crashing his lips against yours.

“You have no idea how happy you just made me,” he said hugging you, then kissing you, then hugging, and kissing and all over again. You had never seen him this happy before. He looked like pure joy wrapped in bliss and covered with all the love in the world.

“Oh my god…Oh god. What if I’m not ready? Oh my god, I’m not ready!“ you started freaking out and panicking.

“Are you kidding? You’re going to be the best mom. I’ve seen you with Noah and Harper. You always know what to do and they love you so much. You’re going to be amazing. I have no doubts.”

“I have doubts! Me! I have doubts!”

“Y/n,” he said holding your face and looking deep in your eyes. “Let’s go home and I’ll tell you 1000 reasons I know you are going to be a good mom. And I’m going to tell you over and over until you believe me.”

His eyes always had a way of hypnotizing you and calmed you down.

“Ok,” you said as you wrapped your arms around him and he held you tight.

“I love you so much,” he said.

“I love you too. You better be right or I’m going to be so mad at you.”

It took him 2 days but he eventually convinced you. Then it was his turn to freak out. It was so nice of you two to take turns. He had been so busy keeping you calm and convincing you that you would be a good mom that he didn’t even think about what this made him.

“You know how I know you are going to be a good dad? You don’t give up when things get hard. You let Harper put makeup on you. You fixed her toy that she broke. You love me so you are obviously smart. You are so wonderfully caring and considerate. And your mom raised you right. You’ll know what to do by just being her son. I have no doubts.”

“None?”

“I have zero doubts,” you repeated as you put your arms up around his neck and kissed him. He had his arms low and around your waist. “We have 7 months to prepare. We are going to be fine.”

“You better be right or I’m going to be so mad at you,” he repeated your words back to you. Even when he is scared he is still trying to make you laugh.

With both of you finally done with your freak outs you decided to keep the news between just the two of you for a little while. It was sort of fun keeping a secret. You had both known for about a month so you were now 12 weeks pregnant and definitely starting to show.

You and Sebastian FaceTimed with your family and told them to which your mom cried happy tears. You and Sebastian went to dinner with his mom and stepdad and told them. They were thrilled of course. His mom told you, “Good luck with finding a name. Nothing goes with Stan!” You told a couple of your close friends back in Atlanta and they were sworn to secrecy as were Seb’s close friends.

They all had the same follow up question to the news: when’s the wedding? You never really gave Sebastian a chance to say anything because your response was, “I have bigger priorities right now.”

Everyone asked. Everyone except Chris. God bless him.

“Not drinking Y/n? Are you pregnant or something?” he asked jokingly when he met you and Sebastian for dinner while doing press in NYC.

When you said nothing and Sebastian just smiled Chris turned into a child on Christmas morning.

“No way! Seriously? I’m so happy for you! This is so great!” He stood up and hugged you and then Sebastian. “So I’m like the godfather right? I mean I’m the reason this is happening at all.”

“Yes, Chris you will be the one doing all the hard work,” you sarcastically responded.

“Well, Chris…it’s a great name. Something to think about,” Chris offered.

“Yeah, not happening. Sorry man,” Sebastian said

Dinner was spent catching up. You hadn’t seen Chris in at least 5 months and probably only talked a few times. Sebastian talks to him more. You and Chris were weird. You could work together every day for months and then not see or talk for months but you always picked up right where you left off.

After telling Chris 3 more times that he would not be naming his child Chris, Sebastian looked at you and asked, “You ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go. Chris…thanks for dinner.”

“I’m so happy for you guys,” he said giving you a huge hug and then one to Sebastian. “Hey, I’m back in New York in a few months so if I don’t see you before then just do me a favor. Promise me you’ll think about the name. Middle name would work!”

“Quick. Just walk away,” you said grabbing Sebastian’s hand and walking away.

Once home you went straight into the shower while he returned a call to his manager. You were in there for maybe 5 minutes when Seb walked into the bathroom on the way to the closet. As he walked in he saw you through the steam and the glass doors. Your hands were running through your wet hair and your stomach was beautifully plumped out with his baby.

When you noticed him standing there you simply opened the door and asked “Are you coming in or not?”

He immediately undid his belt and zipper and walked out of his pants while taking his shirt off. Stepping in to join you he walked you backwards until your back hit the wall. Despite it being a hot shower the wall was cold and you took in a deep breath as the temperature change shocked you. His lips were on yours while his hands were massaging your breasts as he leaned against you. You brought your hand down to stroke his cock and he sighed into your mouth.

He slowly moved his hands down your sides stopping at your hips and tightening his grip to pull you even closer. One hand continued to trail down your side to cup your ass and the other reached up to move your stroking arm up around his neck so you would have something to hold on to. With both hands on your ass now he lifted you off the ground and your legs were hooked around his waist.

Wasting no time he lined you up perfectly and with one thrust he was in. He gently moved his hips so he was moving in and out while his mouth was on yours. You broke the kiss when he began to speed up his rhythm and he buried his face in your neck. Your grip on his shoulders was getting tighter and he knew you were close so he didn’t hold back. Giving you all he had he felt you tighten around him as your back arched and his name passed your lips. He loved hearing you say his name and it took only a few more thrusts for him to come.

You brought your hands up to cup his face and kissed him as he set you back on your feet. He told you he loved you as his hands rested on your stomach.

“I love you too. I’d love you even more if you went out and got me a cheesecake.”

“Whatever you want,” he said with a loving smile.

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