#just so everyone know i had it all prepared yesterday but spotify took of the lyrics so i couldn't make this until today 😭

[buck2eddie]

buck according to albums: the tortured poets department by taylor swift (part. 1)

[annieharkness]

Glimpses: Part 12 (Kathryn Hahn x Fem!Reader)

Part 1 // previous chapter <<< >>> next chapter

Summary: Will you be able to go with Kathryn?

Word Count: 2k

A/N: This is a little shorter, I know, but I hope all of you still enjoy it. Look at this little tag list we have going on now!! - I might actually get a little emotional that so many of you are still reading this little story. With all that being said, here we gooooo. xx

Tag List: @danvers97 @zafirosreverie @srtamercurio @wanatag @pulledbythestars17 @plantowl​

Don't forget to check out the new official Playlist! :)

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“You can’t take her.” Jennifer is walking up and down in Kathryn’s office. She arrived here right after you had left, ready to plan to thrip to New York, as well as the upcoming project. Kathryn shifts her focus from her hand to her manager and huffs. 

“NO. Kathryn, no. You know it yourself. First of all, she is a distraction. Yes, you like her, I KNOW, but this is not you. This is not how you do your job.” Jennifer looks at her boss with pleading eyes.

Running her fingers through her long mane, Kathryn bites the insides of her cheek. “you’re right, I know you are, but at the same time…”

“NO BUTS, Kathryn.” Jennifer interrupts her, prompting Kathryn to shoot her a short glare. 

“…but at the same time I haven’t been this happy in years.” Thinking back at the time you spent with her, a small smile creeps onto her face.

Jennifer gets it. She understands Kathryn’s point, but as her manager it’s her job to secure the actress’ job, which is why she needs to make sure there are as few distractions from work as possible included in the trip.

Placing a hand on her arm, Jennifer looks at Kathryn with warm eyes. “Sweetie, I know you don’t like it. I don’t like it either, because I know how good the time with her is for your heart. But we can’t have this. Not now. Not during your shining moment. Yeah?”

Slowly but surely, Kathryn starts to nod as she can feel the sadness rise in her chest.

Meanwhile, you and Alex are having the same conversation back in your room. She tries to talk sense into you and talks animatedly to her phone, as you try to find a way to accompany Kathryn.

“Honey, you simply can’t. There is no way. It’s during the exam phase. You can’t be abroad for that.” She shakes her head.

Considering your options, you try to talk against her. “I could ask for online exams.”

“… there is a multiple hour time difference - you can’t be serious, Y/N.”

“I could postpone exams?” You raise an eyebrow.

Alex shakes her head harder now. “NO GIRL. No. Kathryn wouldn’t want you screwing up your education for this. You have leftover classes, exams to write and then you’ll have to write term papers you have to prepare for,” you take a visible breath. “Yes love, I am aware you could write those on set but we all know you wouldn’t. It’s better for you to stay.”

You want to argue. You really do. But there are a few things holding you back. First of all, you know Alex makes a valid point. Second of all, you don’t even know where you are standing with Kathryn. What are you to her? What is happening with her? The lines are so blurry that it’s hard for you to see, so you think it might be better not to assume and make a fuss about all of it.

Lastly, you don’t even know if she wants to have you by her side in the first place, because, again, it’s not like she is your girlfriend or anything. Not that you wouldn’t want her to be.

So, just like Kathryn does with Jennifer, you agree to what Alex says and make your decision to stay, even though it hurts your heart just as much as it hurts hers.

Given the fact, that she has to leave for New York right the next morning, it’s not possible for you to see her again. You think back at the soft kiss she planted on your lips as you left her house under yesterday’s hot afternoon sun. You feel so good with her and you can’t stop to think back at how beautiful her eyes look up close - even more beautiful than on all her pictures that Alex and you have been sending back and forth whenever Kathryn did a new promo shoot.

It’s late afternoon as you’re lying on your bed and stare at the ceiling, a random Marvel movie running in the background.  Alex has been trying to hype you up all day, but, given the fact that Kathryn is gone for an unforeseen time, you still feel sad.

You turn off the movie because you can’t seem to concentrate and connect your phone to the speakers to play some music. You remember that you can sit on your windowsill that’s facing the backyard and and decide to sit down and watch the birds in the tree outside your window as you open Spotify and it starts playing the last song you stopped on. “She” by dodie fills the room and you don’t think you related to a song like that ever before.

It really describes the feelings of uncertainty that you have right now. It doesn’t help that you never really took the chance to talk to her about all of not. Not properly, at least. This mistake leaves you with this endless feeling of emptiness that seems like it’s eating you up from the inside as you don’t even know if she feels the same in any way. 

Your phone chimes and you nearly fall off the windowsill as you shoot up to reach for it. It’s the group chat you thought had died a while ago that you joined right after Kathryn appeared on Wandavision. 

Apparently, news of Kathryn’s casting already sank through and everyone is screaming about it. Unwilling to share any knowledge, and also way too careful with it, you want to put your phone away as it chimes again and your eyes widen.

You immediately click the message.

“New York is wild! Haven’t had time to get to you yet. Seems like everyone and their mom wants to speak to me today. Just left my second meeting and now I have to leave for a work dinner in a few. How’s the day going back home? xxx K.”

A bright smile creeps onto your face as you realize she uses the “everyone and their mom” phrase that you use so much whenever you describe difficult situations to her. You decide not to reply immediately - you don’t want her to assume you are sitting on your phone just waiting for her. 

Instead you opt to create some art and grab your supplies. There is an empty canvas behind your bed and you feel like there are enough feelings trapped in you to create something cool on it.

Your mom works long on Mondays, so you haven't realized just how much time has passed as you perform the last of the night and call it a day. Your picture is colorful. Very much so. The acrylic paint hasn’t even dried yet, but there are already tons of ideas floating around in your head about what to do with the artwork from here on out. Maybe you should get some fine liners and work out the edges, maybe do some highlighting as well, you don't know yet.

Just as you want to put the brush aside your phone lights up on your bed. You can't pick it up just now because the slowly drying paint sticks to your fingers and you anxiously reach for the closest paper towel to white it off as best as you can. Not expecting anything, you finally reach for your phone and pick up the call before reading the name - an automatic reaction to late night calls from Alex.

You are greeted by a very familiar, yet unexpected, face. Kathryn smiles into the camera and adjusts the lights around her. She is clearly in her pjs, with no make up on, her hair open and messy, falling off her shoulder. You can see she is wearing a loose gray shirt and your whole body starts tingling as you realize it's the shirt she gave you to sleep in last weekend. Immediately, your brain runs wild and you try to figure out if she packed this exact shirt on purpose or just grabbed the one that was available easiest as she was probably in a rush.

Luckily, Kathryn interrupts your train of thought. “Hey! Hiya hon! I just wanted to check in. Make sure you’re alright because you haven’t replied to my message.”

For the first time you look at the clock. It’s 8.30pm and you haven’t had dinner yet.

“Shit.”, you mutter and your hand flies to cover your mouth immediately. 

Kathryn, who hasn’t heard your muttering, looks confused. “Sweetheart, is everything alright?”

You smile thankfully. “Yes! Yes it is. I guess I was just wrapped up in my art and you pulled me out of it and I always need a minute to adjust. I’m fine. It’s late though and I haven’t eaten yet. Thank you for reminding me.”

“Good. Do you want me to order you pizza or something. Because I totally would.” She reaches for a notepad.

“Alright Mom…” she looks at you for a moment and you can’t tell if she is shocked or amused or anything really because she stopped reacting completely and just stares at you. Right when you are about to start panicking about the situation she bursts into laughter.

“I mean I’M SORRY. How dare I offer pizza.” She continues laughing. You love this. This is easy and light and you realize once again just how much you enjoy her company. Gosh, you miss her already.

You remember her message as you make your way downstairs. “How was dinner, Kathryn? And the rest of your day? Tell me about it!”

For the next 10 minutes, as you prepare your own dinner, she tells you about her day and the plans for the next few weeks. The two of you laugh and make jokes and for a moment it seems like both of you have forgotten that you won’t see each other for a while. After she finishes talking, you fall into a comfortable silence and just look and smile at each other for a moment.

“I like you, you know?” She is the one to interrupt the silence. “Spending time with you makes me really happy and I’m sad you can’t come to Europe with me. I need you to know. I wish I could’ve taken you with me.”

Your heart melts and your hands start to shake as you realize Kathryn might indeed feel the same way. You put the knife, that’s in your hand from making dinner, aside. You’re unable to answer right away and fight for the right words, so she continues on with her short monologue.

“I just wanted to call tonight to check in and see how you are doing since I had to kick you out so abruptly last night and maybe we can do this from time to time, check in on each other? I would love that.”

Check in on each other? Why is she so vague all the time? For a moment you thought she’d confess her feelings for you but here you are again, uncertain of what she really thinks about you. You smile, though, and try to keep it calm because you don’t want her to get annoyed with you already.

You realize it’s getting close to 9pm, which means it should be about midnight at her place. Taking responsibility, you send her off to sleep and have a short dinner followed by some reading yourself.

Before Kathryn hangs up, she promises you to call again before leaving for Europe completely. She also wants to know if you want a souvenir from NYC (why is she so cute?) and tells you to call her anytime you need something or someone. With that, she shoots you the brightest smile and leaves you to it.

The ecstatic feeling you felt when you talked to her fades quickly as you come down from the call. Suddenly, your home feels all quiet and lonely and the silence is killing you. You walk back up to your room to sit on your bed and stare out of your window to enjoy the night sky. The tree right next to your room is slowly moving in the wind as its branches scratch the glasses surface.

You decide to call it a day as the week ahead is full of work and school and the weekend was eventful, so you change into comfy clothes and get ready for bed immediately. You fall onto your bed a few minutes later just as your phone lights up again.

"Good night, Sweetheart. It was great seeing your face. xxx K."

[1ddotdhq]

◟̽◞̽ Tues 24 Nov ‘20 🐠

Grammy Nominations and Live Shows OH MY!!

LOUIS’ BACK!!! And I don’t mean “oh he liked something on Instagram” or “oh he tweeted about a RHCP concert”, I mean he’s going to be doing a VEEPS LIVESHOW! And so we solve the mystery of the Spotify vids (they were a stage!): a few hours before the announcement, he tweeted, “Hope you’re all doing alright. Exciting stuff coming up!!”, and then left the masses to wonder what could possibly be happening and when. Three anxious hours later: “So excited to announce that I’m getting my band and crew back together to put on a special show for you all that will be streamed December 12 [!!!adkhfkadhfjj!!!] and will be available for 28 hours after. The show will support 5 important causes very close to my heart”. The causes Louis Tomlinson Live From London will support are FareShare (they redistribute food to communities in need), CrewNation (the LiveNation COVID crew fund), StageHand (similar to CrewNation, but UK based), Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, and paying Louis' own touring crew! The tickets go on sale TOMORROW. If you can't afford one, Luke Massie (founder and CEO of Vibe Tickets) is giving funds away on twitter to fans who want to watch the show! “I’ll do my best to help as many of you as I can see him and his amazing crew perform,” he said. Louis has said that there is no cap on the ticket sales, so I’m taking him at his word and hoping that Veeps is prepared for what's about to happen (they're REALLY not lol.)

And that’s not all!! The press release for the show promised “songs from… ‘Walls”...alongside a few surprises” (I - could it - new music????), as well as “an exclusive range of new merchandise” that comes out tomorrow! The merch proceeds will go to the charities listed above. And! The Telegraph published an interview! Louis promises AN UPCOMING NEW ALBUM (“I had basically penciled down a plan before corona took over our lives”). He says again that he wants to move into the KMM style rock sound, “I think there were some songs where I took slightly more risk and owned what I love, saying, this is who I want to be..there is a certain energy in [KMM], in its delivery, in its attitude, that I want to recreate. People are struggling at the moment so I want to create a raucous, exciting atmosphere in my live show, not a somber, thoughtful one.” He says that he wants this next album to be more optimistic, because that is who he is, but new songwriting is HARD during a pandemic: for him (like for all of us), his days have fallen into a routine, and so he has no ‘new experiences’ to draw from. And, once again, Louis brings up John Frusciante and how he “fucking wishes” he could chat with him. Louis - drop your RHCP stan account PLEASE! We also learned that fans were RIGHT in speculating that he’s been in LA recently (though likely not for the reason the Telegraph wants us to think). About his travels, Louis says, “[The spot he goes to] is remote and kind of weird, and I’m going to go there for three days and write. I don’t know why I’m so drawn to it... it’s got some very interesting (peculiar?) locals who live there...it feels like you’re going back in time when you’re there.” ANY COMMENT, @/visiteroda??? And, in a rare look ahead, Louis reveals that he wants to manage an all-women’s rock band playing instruments (hey, friend, you know where women could play instruments? YOUR OWN BAND, MY DUDE! Just a suggestion). He said that his process with Syco had become “challenging and frustrating” because the kinds of artists he wants to develop aren’t “ready-made” - he sees a lot of artists that were “rough and ready” but labels want to see “something that works straight away”. But with Syco dust in the wind he can get back to it: HELL YEAH! The band he’s currently got his eyes on is Fickle Friends (an indie Brighton all-female rock band); he says this is the kind of band he wants to manage, “because there’s no one in that space. And I know eventually if I don’t do it, someone else will!”. Guys, I say this a lot, but really, Louis is about to make some WAVES in that space and I can’t WAIT to see it play. But first the concert, please!

AND!!!!!! Harry has been NOMINATED FOR THREE FUCKING GRAMMYS!! GUYS, HE MADE IT! The categories he is up for are: Best Music Video (Adore You - the TASTE), Best Pop Solo Performance (Watermelon Sugar), and BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM! I know that we’re always like, Grammys mean nothing, and how can we feel otherwise 1D was never nominated, but this is a MILESTONE in his career, and I am so happy to see his work getting the recognition it deserves! There were no nominations for him in the general field this year (artist or record of the year) BUT just you WAIT. Everything that Harry does makes me think that he is gearing up for a very long and successful career and I am. Very Happy for him. And so is everyone else! Harry’s friends, family, colleagues, and labels have all been quick to congratulate him on his well deserved recognition. In other Harry news, we got some stills from an Austrailian movie called “Holding the Man” which bear remarkable similarities to the Golden music video. (Were Harry's Vans really in there as a tribute to the film or did that part just work out very well for him??) The movie and the song don’t have anything in common thematically except being gay, but it really looks like a visual homage to this film (or, my personal theory, a fix-it fic to give it a happy ending!). And! Harry was papped on the DWD set with Florence Pugh again today, in a suit and an opulent background - it’s hard to make out Harry’s face, but I think we can guess that it's beaming in pride, as it should be.

GQ Spain did a piece on Liam’s Hugo capsule, praising it for being “the utilitarian style” (“the star trend of 2020”). They’re very nice about it, and seem to be genuinely interested and like the color scheme of the clothes: “the monocolor look...is an irrefutable argument in men’s clothing”. They also praise the collection for being an example that “you don’t need to spend hours in front of a mirror to dress like the best dressed men on the planet”. All of these were meant to be compliments, I SWEAR! Niall was around on Twitter yesterday, reminiscing about the time when some fans asked Justin Beiber to take pictures of them with Niall, it's true Niall that IS hilarious and also good psychic timing: that's EXACTLY how relevant Justin Beiber should be (yes I AM bitter the Weeknd was ROBBED). He also congratulated Shawn Mendes for his documentary, “So proud of this boy. He’s smashed it and always so humble. Well done to everyone involved.X”. I have not seen this documentary but if there are any more “Camila Cabello orders bananas at sushi restaurants moments” PLEASE let me know!

[kookitykook]

Seven Soulmarks: Hoseok (”Can you even breathe in those pants?”)

~genre: soulmate au, fluff, humor, sfw, hoseok being an absolute chaotic mess

~word count: 2.8k (this is short but one of my fav things i’ve written pls give it a chance)

~pairing: dancer!hoseok x yn

~warnings: record store owner!yoongi (and his soulmate) make an appearance if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing 

~summary: At the exact moment of your twentieth birthday, the first words your soulmate will ever say to you appear in black ink on the inside of your left wrist. Seven boys meeting their soulmates is just more proof that the universe knows what it’s doing. 

See how the other boys meet their soulmates (all interconnected) 

Jungkook -- Taehyung -- Jimin -- Namjoon -- Yoongi -- Jin

~~~~~~~~~

Hoseok lived and breathed dance. Movement was in his bones, his blood, every muscle and ligament and tendon in his body. It was his one true love.

And you can’t have dance without music. 

That was the initial reason why he had started setting up his street dance sessions in front of music stores. Surely if people loved music then they loved dance too and would be willing to drop some cash, right? And that had proved to be mostly true, but the only drawback was that the music store owners and managers tended to not like him all that much. 

It made no sense to Hoseok. If people were coming to check out the music and saw him along the way, it’s a win. If people were coming to see him and decided to check out the music too, also a win. 

Unfortunately, the four music store owners and managers that banned him from their sidewalks never did see his point of view. 

Yoongi did, though. 

It had been Hoseok’s junior year of college and he had invited his new buddy Jungkook, who was a freshman at the time, to come and street dance with him in front of a new music shop he had found, Agust D’s Records. 

When Yoongi had come out after seeing the crowd watching the two dancers, Hoseok had been prepared to take another loss. To his surprise though, Yoongi had just offered to let them borrow better speakers since Hoseok’s were, in Yoongi’s words, “complete trash.” 

And thus blossomed the oddest friendship. Hoseok, sunshine incarnate who could never stop dancing, and Yoongi, an old man trapped in a young man’s body who just wanted to sleep. Their biggest similarity though was their drive and work ethic. 

Sure, Hoseok was silly and Yoongi was serious, but both of them worked their asses off for their dreams and that was the foundation of the mutual respect driving their now their years-long friendship. 

And that very respect is what had Yoongi telling his friend:

“Get the fuck out of my store or I will beat your ass.”

“Hyung, it was an accident!”

“How many times have I told you not to take drinks into the aisles?”

“Not many—”

“Seventeen times. Get your ass out, you’re fired.”

“I am not fired.”

“You’re suspended.”

“That’s not even a thing.”

“Why did she have to find her soulmate?” Yoongi lamented dramatically, referring to his other best friend/employee, who had cut back to part time hours since getting together with her soulmate Namjoon, one of Hoseok’s best friends from college (yeah, small world, I know), who was also rich as hell so she didn’t need to work as much anymore. 

“Why did I hire you?” Yoongi continued. “Why, God?”

“Shut up,” Hoseok said, laughing at Yoongi’s dramatics. “I’ll clean up the mess.”

“What mess?” 

Both men snapped their head over to where Yoongi’s very pregnant soulmate was waddling out of the bathroom. Her eyes narrowed in Hoseok’s direction and he winced. 

“Did you spill a drink in the aisles?” she asked. 

Normally, Yoongi’s soulmate was the sweetest, most calm and caring person ever. But pregnancy a week and a half past her due date had … changed her, to say the least. 

“Hoseok!” she shouted at his guilty expression. “And it’s all over your pants!”

Hoseok looked down at himself and sighed. Sure enough, coffee was drying all over the right side of his pants leg — his very tight pants leg. 

“Yeah, Hobi,” Yoongi taunted, going over to gingerly help his soulmate over to a chair behind the counter. “How are you ever going to attract your soulmate with dirty, tight pants?”

“Watch it,” Hoseok said with a point.

Soulmates were … a touchy subject for Hoseok. 

When he was 20 his words had appeared like everyone else, no big deal, right?

Big deal. 

While all of Hoseok’s friends had soulmarks that were interesting and exciting and vague in the coolest ways, his was … embarrassing, to say the least. And he didn’t get embarrassed easily, so that was saying something. 

But for the last six years, the words “Can you even breathe in those pants?” were in bold, black letters right across his wrist. 

Can you even breathe in those pants?

Seriously?

It didn’t even make sense when they appeared! Hoseok rarely wore tight pants at that age, opting for joggers or shorts so his dancing didn’t feel so … restricted. 

But he sure started wearing them after that, even if his friends gave him hell for it on a daily basis. 

“Yeah Hoseok,” Yoongi’s soulmate teased, grimacing briefly as she finally sat down and rested her hands on her swollen abdomen. “That coffee stain is awful distracting.”

“Are you really going to tease me about my soulmark Miss I-Silently-Stalked-My-Soulmate-For-A-Year?”

In a normal situation, Yoongi’s soulmate would have taken the gentle ribbing with grace, probably blushing in embarrassment briefly before looking over at Yoongi and deciding she didn’t care about the teasing. 

But throw pregnancy hormones and lack of comfortable sleep in the mix? Not the same reaction. 

“Shit, shit, I’m sorry!” Hoseok said, rushing over to her and Yoongi as tears welled up in her eyes. “I’m an idiot, don’t listen to anything I say, I’m sorry!”

Yoongi sighed, letting his soulmate turn her head into his shoulder and cry against him. “Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll fire him.”

“Promise?” she choked out.

“Promise.”

“Wait, what?” Hoseok balked.

“You,” Yoongi said lowly, meeting Hoseok’s eyes over his soulmate’s shoulder. “Go upstairs, change into a different pair of pants, then come back down and prepare to do expense reports until your fingers bleed.”

Hoseok didn’t even bother responding as he took off to the stairs leading up to Yoongi and his soulmate’s apartment above the store. 

***

You were not a dancer. 

Well — correction: you were not a good dancer. You accepted this about yourself and were completely content with it, had been all your life. And this small little detail did not keep you from dancing anytime and anywhere you wanted to. When the music touched your soul, you were going to move. You couldn’t help it! And if anyone had a problem with it they could get over it! 

This is the attitude you tried to have all the time, and mostly succeeded in. 

But your soulmark had to go and make things difficult for you. 

“Nice moves.” 

 You just knew — you knew that the words were said sarcastically. No one in their right mind would look at your flailing about and say “nice moves” in a genuine fashion. 

So your soulmate was a little sarcastic brat then. Fine by you! He would meet his match whenever you heard him say the words. Oh yes, you had practiced many a comeback in preparation of the day you met your soulmate. You couldn’t wait to shock him and make him fall in love with your startling wit. 

So maybe you were a little bitter about your soulmark. But just a little, honestly. It’d been four years since the words had showed up and you had gotten used to them (and were well prepared to hear them of course). 

You still danced so … joke’s on them. 

“Now tell me again what kind of headphones she wants?” you asked your brother, holding your phone to your ear and trying to talk quietly so as not to disturb the other people in the store. 

You were in a music shop you had never been to before called Agust D’s Records, and the owner had briefly introduced himself earlier while holding a very pregnant crying woman. Other than that odd moment, the store was really cool. 

“The rose gold Beats,” your brother responded. You were shopping for a birthday present for his soulmate and because they lived on the other side of the country, you didn’t know her that well and had asked for gift advice. “But if they’re too expensive, it’s really fine.”

“No I can afford it!” you defended yourself. “I sold two paintings just yesterday thank you very much.” 

“Woah, really?” 

“Yeah, it’s actually going really well,” you said with pride. “I’ve got a few well-to-do clients that like my stuff. And the museum wants to promote me to full time next month since their other art curator’s assistant is retiring.”

“Y/N that’s awesome!”

You grinned. “Thanks. I’ve been saving up to fly out and see you guys, too. And I want to get to know my brother’s soulmate better, you know?”

“Hey, maybe when you can finally get out here you’ll have a soulmate of your own I can meet.”

“Ack, shutup,” you muttered. Your brother only laughed. “Anyways, I’m in a store so I should probably get off the phone. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“You got it. Bye, sis.”

“Bye, love you.”

After ending the call you pocketed your phone and wandered back over to the headphones. Sure enough, there were the rose gold Beats. You picked them up with a grin, then saw that the store had placed a blue pair out with a sign that said “Try Me!” 

Might as well, you thought to yourself. You pulled your phone back out and opened Spotify, plugging in the headphones and pressing play. The last song that had been playing was from your “dance jams” playlist and damn you forgot how good this song was. 

Soon enough, you were in your own little world, just you and the music. So much so that you didn’t notice the guy standing behind you. 

***

“Oh wow,” Yoongi said, doing his best to bite back laughter as Hoseok walked down the stars — well, more like waddled. “Babe, babe look up, this is going to make you feel so much better.”

“Nothing can … oh my gosh.” Yoongi’s soulmate switched from crying to laughing in the blink of an eye as she looked up to see Hoseok wearing a pair of Yoongi’s skinny jeans, which were practically high waters on him. 

“I don’t want to hear it,” Hoseok said as he made it back to the store floor, pulling at the crotch of his — no, Yoongi’s pants without shame. Gosh he could hardly breathe in these pants.

… Wait a minute.

“If you don’t meet your soulmate today, nothing makes sense in the world,” Yoongi said with a laugh. His soulmate was still cackling.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Hoseok stuck his tongue out and grabbed a box of records that needed to be shelved from the countertop. “I’ll get to work.”

“Please do,” Yoongi responded, he and his soulmate still cackling like children. If Hoseok weren’t struggling to walk he would have taken a moment to appreciate how cute they were. 

There were only a few customers in the store, and they all looked at him with amused expressions. Fortunately for Hoseok, he was the type to play up an embarrassing situation so he laughed right along with them. 

It was fine. Everything was fine. 

“Yoongi you skinny ass,” Hoseok muttered, dipping into the empty headphones aisle to pull at the pants once more. These jeans did not factor in his dancer thighs. 

Movement to his left suddenly caught Hoseok’s eye and he froze, hoping he hadn’t just severely embarrassed himself even more, but …

Nope. Nope, this time he was not the one to be laughed at in this situation. Instead, the girl dancing like an absolute idiot was the embarrassing factor. 

What was she doing? Hoseok didn’t know what song she was listening to but there’s no way she was dancing on beat because … well, because she wasn’t dancing to any beat. Her arms were flailing around and her hips were … gyrating? Not in the sexy way though, but in a … he didn’t know, but some odd kind of way. 

And even though she looked like a total moron she was also … smiling so big? He couldn’t help but grin even though his dancer brain wanted to grimace. She just looked so happy. Her eyes were closed and she was just listening to the music and dancing. Dancing badly, but … dancing all the same. 

“Nice moves!” he shouted loud enough to cut through the sound of the headphones. 

The girl jumped, opening her eyes and looking over at him, surprise and shock in her eyes … but no shame. Hoseok liked that. 

She blinked, scrunching her eyebrows in a way that said she hadn’t heard him at all. 

While reaching to press pause on her phone and take off the headphones, Hoseok repeated himself.

“I said—”

***

Shit, shit, shit.

You pressed pause on the music, taking the headphones off in a motion that made your hair go everywhere, turning to the cute boy that was clearly amused by you and was trying to say something. 

“—nice moves.”

Your heart dropped. Actually, your phone dropped, but the sentiment still remained. 

It was time. Your moment had come. IT WAS TIME. 

Finally, now was your chance — your one chance to say something snarky to your little asshole soulmate making fun of you. 

But nothing had prepared you for how cute he was. A heart shaped mouth, hair that looked so soft it should be illegal, glowing, dewy skin, eyes twinkling with damn starlight, and —

The tightest highwater pants you had ever seen. 

“You’re a,” he pursed his lips mid-sentence to stifle a chuckle, “a really great dancer. I like the arm flailing the best, very nice technique. Where did you train?”

Your mouth dropped. 

What a brat!

“Can you even breathe in those pants?” you snapped without hesitation.

All of your memorized comebacks and that was way better than anything you had prepared. You wanted to pat yourself on the back. Hell yeah.

“Ha!” 

“The world makes sense after all.”

You and the boy turned at the same time to look at the owner and his very pregnant soulmate (you guessed) laughing hysterically. 

“Can I just say that I know you’re his soulmate,” the pregnant woman said to you, “and I already very much love and adore you. Please put this brat in his place daily for me.”

“What—”

“I think I get all the credit for this match,” the owner said.

Your soulmate pinched his nose in exasperation. “Hyung…”

“What? They’re my pants.”

“Why are you wearing his pants?” you asked incredulously.

“Because he spilt coffee in the aisle.”

“But there’s a no drinks sign.”

“See, Hoseok?” You take mental note of your soulmate’s name as the owner speaks. “Your soulmate is clearly smarter than you, like I always predicted.”

“Please stop talking,” your soulmate muttered, ears turning bright red much to your amusement. 

“Sweetheart,” the pregnant woman said in between bouts of laughter. “We’re sorry, but this is very exciting for us. We’ll give you an item from the store for free, I—”

The woman froze suddenly, her eyes going wide as she…

“Oh and you yell at me for spilling coffee!” Hoseok shouted as her water broke all over the record store floor. 

“Shit, shit,” the owner said, grabbing his wife’s forearms to hold her upright. “We’ve got to get to the hospital. Can you drive?”

You blink as you realize the owner is talking to you.

“Who, wh — me?” 

“Yes, you! My car is almost out of gas and this idiot only has a skateboard, so can you drive?”

“I — y-yes. Yes, I can drive!”

“Well go get your car! Hoseok, go with her and meet us out front. Everybody! Shop’s closed, get out!”

“Come on,” Hoseok says as he grabs your hand and drags you toward the front door. 

“Wh — I — what is going on?”

“I’m Hoseok, you can call me Hobi, I’m your soulmate, and my best friends are having a baby and you’re driving us to the hospital. Where’d you park? Where’s your keys?”

“I — across the street.” The bell jingles and you barely know which way is up. “My keys are—”

In your nervousness and confusion, you drop your keys to the sidewalk. 

“Don’t worry I—”

The rip of Hoseok’s pants as he bends down to pick up your keys is the loudest, most hilarious noise you have ever heard. 

A beat passes before you promptly burst into hysterical laughter. Hoseok takes one look at you as he stands back up to his full height, a slight breeze on his ass, before joining you in hysterics. 

With a grin still plastered on your face, you throw your arms around his neck and plant a kiss on this stranger’s lips, both of you still smiling. 

“I’m never going to let you live this down, I hope you know that, soulmate.”

“Yeah, yeah, when you embarrass yourself during our first dance when we get married the tables will turn.”

“Deal,” you say as you kiss him again. 

“What are you idiots doing? My wife is having a baby, get in the car!”

[honestlyfrance]

Title: Music on the Eve

Square Filled: Free Space

Warnings: Slight cursing

Summary: New Year’s Eve party, and Sam stumbles upon Bucky alone.

—

Bucky Barnes has this extensive and flexible music taste as he hoards every genre into his song list. Tony Stark pays for his Spotify, Pepper Potts and he shares iTunes, and Steve Rogers shares his vinyl records. You can count on him already hearing a song you’ve just heard yesterday on your YouTube recommendations, and you can expect him to have a dance matched to it; Yes, Barnes knows how to appreciate music as much as you would like to think, and he’s expected to bring more to the table as the New Year comes by. 

Nine more hours until Stark’s fireworks display, and nine more hours until the Avengers would be screaming until their throats burn out. Sam thinks. Shame on Carol Danvers for suggesting that. He likes the idea though, creating noise. It’s music for him.

Everyone was preparing for Tony Stark’s get-together at his Lakehouse, exclusive only for the Avengers and friends. Sam Wilson was assigned for drinks, and he’s brought as much alcohol as his car can take ( some six cases in the trunk and Natasha Romanoff assures him that she can arrange ten more cases into his car and carry five bottles of aged wine on her lap in the passenger seat ). When everyone heard that Natasha was helping him, they’ve placed bets on how much they’re bringing; the highest bet was twenty cases or so; the two swore to beat that.

Natasha had attached a wagon at the back of his car and at least ten cases sat there ( even then, Sam had told Thor to bring his Asgardian mead and was more than happy to oblige ). The four had also decided to play a scam; Barnes would come early with Steve Rogers ( who were assigned with pool stuff, especially Steve’s vast water guns; where he got them, no one knows ) and then placed a late bet of three hundred euros that at least thirty cases or so would arrive; Sam and Natasha would have sixteen cases plus ten which would be twenty-six, and Barnes would bring four cases of vodka which Natasha would sneak in with to claim it as hers. Steve wouldn’t know, and if he did, “Sam told Buck to hold it for him during the drive since the car was too full.” Fuck yeah, it’s foolproof! and if Tony doesn’t want to lose thirty grand, Thor wouldn’t give his mead to anyone but the super-soldiers, i.e. Steve, Natasha, and Barnes. 

“You wearing that?” Natasha asked Sam as he entered the driver’s seat. Her eyebrows were raised as her lips twitched into a comfortable smile. “Looks good on you. Never saw a man pull off that look like you do. Only, like—several.”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “Have you looked at a mirror recently? ‘Cause you look great. Seen it on a mannequin before, but it looks great.”

Sam wore the same suit he wore in one of his interviews as Captain America, the velvet three-piece tuxedo, wherein ( in favor of Bucky’s suggestion right after wearing it for the first time ) he got rid of the maroon tie and unbuttoned the first two buttons, got rid of the silk jacket in favor of some random latte coffee-colored coat that seemed too big for him but looked too good on him to take off, leaving the white button-up and rolled it to his elbows, he also left the velvet pantsuit, he exchanged his loafers for his brown boots, and he seemed all set for the party. He wasn’t exactly the fashion kind, but he had the sense to pull off the attire to the best of his abilities. 

Natasha wore a white off-shoulder top and a maroon skirt that reached past her knees. It was a new look Sam saw her wear, more her. Her heeled boots matched his, and she had a velvet plaid scarf around her neck in some intricate braid as well as yellow-tinted sunglasses. Her fiery hair with platinum blonde highlights was pulled into a braid that wrapped around her head that fell into a low bun. She had her dark brown coat wrapped around several bottles of wine—at least seven. She, on the other hand, had a sense of style among them, and she never failed once ( unless her cover called for bad outfits ).

They looked like they were planning on matching, and at that, they laughed heartily until they were gasping. 

“Here—little something to pop that color on you.” Natasha removed her scarf around her neck and placed it lazily around Sam’s neck. It did bring out the purple on his suit, and Sam shook his head in amusement at that. 

That was some time then. It’s six-hour hours until New Year’s Eve when they arrived.

They were greeted by the Stark family, little Morgan more than enthusiastic as she blew on her colorful horn in greeting on the doorstep. They were then helped by Happy Hogan in placing the cases inside that joined Barnes’s contribution, and they’ve reached thirty or so cases of alcohol ( Steve collected the betting money from everyone and was happy that he was entering the New Year with something in his pocket ). The cases were cracked opened almost immediately once the Asgardians came ( even Bruce had his early share, surprisingly) and three cases were already used. By then when the Guardians came, the party was in full swing.

Sam had a glass in his hand as he walked down the hallway leading to the backyard with Maria Rambeau on his left and Pepper Potts on his right. Rambeau had been talking enthusiastically about some mission she recently has done with Fury while Pepper shared her ridiculous shenanigans with the Avengers just as enthusiastically. Sam would converse about the ridiculous things he’s done for Steve but — he was distracted. 

Before they both separated at the doorway, she whispered something to Sam, and Natasha was right: “Bucky was serving looks Tony couldn’t whip out.”

Bucky stood in front of the crowd on a table with Natasha on his arm, laughing and hollering about some story Sam couldn’t bear to hear over the loud drumming music that Peter Quill burdened to play. Something that definitely should’ve buried itself in the sixties. Bucky wore a mustard v-neck sweater and black jeans that clung onto him—fucking cuffed too. He wore his favorite brown boots, caked with mud he couldn’t wash off. He wore a mocha-colored velvet jacket folded to his elbows in which showed the latte color inside of the jacket. He had on those ridiculous gloves Sam dared him to wear as a joke, and the fact Bucky went through it made him laugh.

Bucky saw him and showed him his best attempt at jazz hands, cutting himself off to show the black motorcycle gloves with the stupid Captain America logos on them, turning to the crowd as Natasha continued the lively conversation for him. 

“I didn’t know Bucky knew to dress,” Rambeau said. 

Pepper sighed. “Tony begged me to let him approach Barnes to ask.“ 

Sam raised an eyebrow. “You still told him to keep his distance?" 

Pepper shrugged, a glint in her eye as they stood on the porch. "No. But he has promised to keep his hands to himself about the arm." 

Sam hummed as his eyes settled back on Bucky, and it almost seemed ephemeral. Sam almost felt overdressed—Tony had a full-fledged suit, but that didn’t matter. Bucky looks like himself, with his cut hair and beard; sporting clothes Sam knew to be the real him, Bucky was enthusiastic and at the same time was his quiet self. 

After a few drinks and more chattering, the party was ready to hit the New Year: everyone had a drink in their hand, some even had grabbed a bottle for themselves ( the vodka was that good ); there had almost been a fight ( Clint Barton couldn’t bear seeing the thirty or so cases, and even argued that Bucky shouldn’t even have bet at the last minute ); Tony had generously awarded several people as Best Dressed, Sam included with five other people ( Natasha, Bucky, Pepper, Rhodey, and Hope Van Dyne took the cake ); and the crowd dissipated into several places—the car park where there was a movie going on, near the lake where most of the girls were sharing two cases of beer on the grass, the gazebo swarming with people around a pool table, some guys on the deck seeing who can throw the farthest rock, and some went inside to listen to the early century music playing ( more of jumping between Bach and Louis Armstrong while Natasha shows people how to drink like a Russian ).

Sam wanted quiet. That’s what he was searching for. 

Sam placed his glass on the edge of the pool table and let Rhodey take over him. Wiping the corner of his lips as he took off his coat, Sam greeted some more people as he made his way inside. 

Inside, he fixed his collar as he heard some quiet laughter by Maria Hill, Natasha, and Rambeau. Natasha motioned for the stairs, and what overcome Sam to follow her instructions baffled him and scrutinized him. He went up the stairs, and it was almost empty except for the lounge area where all of the teenagers were playing their music from the small speaker Harley Keener brought. 

Michelle "MJ” Jones thumbed towards down the hallway, towards where the driveway situated and spoke no further. Sam followed—Why he was following subtle blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments from these people, he did not know. 

Sam rubbed the back of his neck as he ended up at the end of the hallway; he tried every door he passed him but they were locked. At the end of the hallway was a window doorway hidden by a curtain, and Sam pushed the door and was immediately greeted by Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra faintly played in the background. He closed the doorway and saw Bucky in the far corner on the armrest of the love seat there reading a book, biting on his flesh thumb as his legs splayed out beneath him. The moonlight and lamp beside Bucky served as his light, and the sudden chill of the night breeze urged Sam to rest his coat on his shoulders. 

Bucky didn’t notice Sam, being too indulged in his book to bother to look up—but Bucky knew someone was with him; he heard the creak of the doorway and the footsteps that lingered on the other side.

Sam leaned against the railing as he looked out on the dirt path that faded into the front yard of the house where five cars parked, and if Sam turned to the extension of the balcony on the other side of the building, he would be able to see from above the current drive-in-movie happening. 

“You got a nice birds-eye-view there?” Bucky calls out, not looking up from his page. 

Sam turns around and grins at the joke, sauntering over to him and sitting at the far end of the red loveseat, throwing the throw pillow at Bucky who caught it. “There’s the light of the party. What? Are the War Machine stories not good enough? Said you’d love it,” Sam said. Bucky sat on the seat now, his feet against the wall as his legs rested on Sam’s lap; with a growing grin he suppressed with his teeth, he continued to read his book, his face suddenly lighting up with The Look. 

“No, I love them…” Bucky turns to the next page; he held a paperback novel in his hands, too invested in the middle of the thick story to keep up with the conversation. His eyes were digesting vivid construction, all playing well into his imagination. “He’s funny, really is. I can see them… so vividly.”

“Are we talking about Rhodey or your book? What’s the title?”

Bucky stopped and his eyes peeled out from the book, and Sam could see his blue eyes glint with amusement and thrill. Bucky resigned to show the cover of the book as he draped an arm over his forehead theatrically, Sam smirking as he read The Da Vinci Code and Dan Brown on the worn-out cover covered with plastic. 

“Have you read such a masterpiece?” Bucky said, his eyes closing as his companion laughed as he took the book away from him. Sam read the page he was on, and saw the familiar scenes, ingesting them as if he was in the book too. 

“I’ve watched it, barely remembering it used to be a book,” Sam saw the exaggerated look of betrayal on Bucky’s face as the man took back the book, burying it even more to his face, mostly to avoid attention to his expressions. Bucky was growing into showing more unwanted emotions and was aware of the fact. 

“We gotta watch it together,” Bucky whined, his voice muffled. “Langdon’s amazing. So is Sophie. So is fucking Dan Brown.”

Sam shook his head as he fell into a burst of easy laughter. “Sure. Whatever you say.”

The air settled down into a comfortable silence, with Frank Sinatra playing in the background, and Sam was still trying to figure out where it was. Some pop music was playing behind the wall, and the faint Jazz piano played from below, but Frank Sinatra was a stubborn bitch and ended up taking over Sam’s ears.

After long deliberation, Sam asked: “Where the fuck is that coming from?" 

Bucky said, "What?”

“Frank Sinatra. Where is it?”

Bucky, without looking up from his book, raised the red speaker from the floor and onto his stomach, the faraway voice of Frank Sinatra played at a low volume with a few pitter-patter of rain in the background. Bucky raised the volume from his phone and continued to read, his eyebrows knitted in commitment. 

Sam chuckled. “That’s cute.” He mumbles. 

“Hmm… cuter,” Bucky murmured, covering his face with the book as he slides downwards into the love seat, half his body on Sam as the other man set his arm across the couch and the other arm on Bucky’s leg. 

“What was that?”

“Hmm… seen cuter,” Bucky grumbled.

Sam shakes his head, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back, listening intently to the rain background on the song edit. He knew better than to realize it was an edited loop, at least an hour. 

Bucky turned his body away from Sam as he rested his chin on the railing, sitting upright; Bucky had his eyes widened as he read the next few lines, but not only that, his chest tightened and he felt his blood rise to his cheeks. Did he call me cute? Fuck, did he? He couldn’t seem to turn the page, and however many times he read the page over and over again, he couldn’t understand it; all he could read was Sam Wilson.

Bucky knew that Sam still had his head leaned back and that only made Bucky tenser than before.

“What,” Bucky heard Sam say. “Getting into it?”

Bucky saw Sam enter the party and knew he was doomed from the start. Bucky started drinking so much, and he had drunk five bottles of beer within the first hour with Valkyrie, or Brunnhilde as he was allowed to call her, grateful that no one had the right mind or acknowledgment that he was a super-soldier, so everyone ultimately never knew that he couldn’t get drunk. Bucky then excused his blushing over his supposed drunkenness instead of seeing Sam in his ( Bucky’s ) coat and the collarbone he showed off. And was that the scarf that he gifted Natasha with? That bitch. 

Bucky hummed. “Pretty fucking intense.”

“Tell me about it." 

Bucky could feel his heart in his throat, almost choking him as all the heat gathered on his face, and he knew he didn’t need a mirror to know he was red. 

Bucky grabbed his beer bottle and sipped at it, and not wanting to turn, Sam had brought the cushioned chair from below the table and brought it across Bucky, sitting on it; Sam propped up an elbow and rested his cheek against his palm, raising an eyebrow as he gave Bucky a patient look. 

Bucky hid behind his book, quietly whining to himself. 

Sam lowered down the book with his finger, revealing the blue eyes that lingered onto the words inked into a page, and the flustered skin of Bucky Barnes; as far as Sam was concerned, there was no part in the book that could make Bucky this embarrassed. Maybe me, Sam thinks, but that seems too farfetched to consider. 

"I love it so much, you don’t understand,” Bucky murmurs, his eyes still on the book as it rests too near his lips. Sam hasn’t lifted his hand off of the book, and he doesn’t plan for it so soon. “The pacing and clues and everything. His cleverness—” Bucky’s eyes met brown ones. “—it’s something.”

Sam tilts his head, smiling. Damn that smile. “That character really is something.”

Bucky hums, not leaving his eyes. “He is, ain’t he…" 

"Who are we talking about…”

“Take a wild guess—it’s not the professor anymore…”

Sam chuckles, still not looking away. “So, edited songs? Never should surprise me, but… it did.”

Bucky snorted, looks away only to meet eye contact again. “Why would it surprise you so much? You’ve known me so well I wouldn’t be surprised if you knew." 

Sam’s lips parted. "Knew what?" 

Bucky dog eared his page and placed it on the flat surface of the railing, burying his lips into his wrist as he looked away for a complete moment; for a moment, Sam saw his cheeks flare. "That…” Bucky scratched his head, avoiding eye contact. “I… can’t get… drunk?” Bucky raises a hand and an eyebrow; the two sharing a short laugh. “No—that, I, too, am a super-soldier." 

"I knew that.”

Bucky stops himself, burying his lips into his fist as he closed his eyes. “Fuck, What don’t you know about me?”

Sam sighed, leaning back, looking out toward the horizon. “Well, shit, I don’t know, Your New Year’s resolution?” He said, looking back at him coolly. “Tell me all about it.”

Bucky stares at him, looking something past Sam’s irises in search of something malleable, something tangible. “I want to stay like this,” he tells Sam, and he’s so sure of it. “I want this to be… anything stable… and agreeable." 

Sam searches for the same thing Bucky searched in his eyes— something agreeable, something that says, Here. This. This is where we are, where we agree, where we stay. And so Sam says: "No one’s calling for us. What else do you want?”

“Hmm…" 

Frank Sinatra plays in the background, and Bucky replays the one hour loop as they stayed still, afraid to ruin the constant they wanted to bring to the next year; they both feared the worst, but who was able to take this away from them? A villain? Another Avengers Fallout? The other? No. Sam and Bucky were so good for each other that they’d have to be joking to leave the other behind. 

"Go with me,” Sam says as he searches for some sort of resistance from the other man.

Bucky laughs at some distant memory. “I’ve got you,” he whispers. “in exchange for everything you’ve done for me, I got your six, your twelve, your nine, your everything." 

"You have nothing to exchange.”

“Don’t think of it as a favor. Think of it—Think of it as my…" 

Sam said, "What?”

Bucky shrugged. “Partnership. Compassion. Love?” His face contorts into something that was convincing itself that he did hear what he did say.

Sam chuckles as he breathes in, hearing the faint bellowing countdown of the people in the far distance, but Frank Sinatra is a stubborn bitch and he’s all Sam and Bucky could hear as the mimicked sounds of gunfire echoed in the inky atmosphere, and in the far distance, if they craned their necks at the right angle, they could see the winking flames of different colored fireworks in the distance over at the other side of the lake. The sounds of fireworks sound too much like bullets firing, but they were too deep into this to be afraid anymore.

Sam sighs. “I like the sound of that." 

They don’t share a kiss, although they both knew what the other wanted to bring onto the table as they entered the new year: Music, one that consisted of both of their drumming hearts as they beat against their ribs, aching for release. Music, one they shared, one that their voices will drum together to say, I love you, as always.

[flowery-mess]

Night ride | Ethan Dolan

My very first Ethan imagine inspired by the concept I got✨

‘Let’s take a ride somewhere.’

Your phone lit up with message from Ethan. Needed to say that it was 1AM and you were laying in your bed in your PJ’s.

‘U serious???’

‘Yeah can’t sleep, Grayson’s deadly asleep and m’bored.’

‘u r crazy aren’t u’

‘’ll be there in ten ;)’

“Oh my god who am I friends with.” You said out loud to yourself while climbing out of your bed. As it was said, you had only your sleeping shorts and t-shirt on, but it was just Ethan so why changing into something normal? He’s not just Ethan. He’s the guy you met nearly year ago at some workshop for editing and directing. He was there with Grayson, they wanted to improve their videos and you wanted more than just your college classes. Long story short, he bumped into your camera and it fell on the floor, you both went to pick it up and boom, there you are with the twins being one of your closest friends. You love Gray for sure, but there’s always been something more about Ethan. We all know how extra he can be and he’s for sure extra when you’re around. But not extra like we can see in videos, but more like shy but also extra you know? He tries to be funny when you’re around, but in a cute way, not to look silly. But you love when he’s silly. He’s one of the funniest people you have ever met and having sleepovers at the Dolan place is one of your favourite things to do.

He knew, you knew and everyone knew that you could never say no to him, even if it was 1AM and he would like to go for a ride. So here you are, standing at your door waiting for him to text you he’s down.

You didn’t change your outfit, you just took an old sweatshirt out of your closet, put your sneakers on and put your hair in bun.

‘I am here’ you read on your phone, locked the door and headed outside.

It was chill night in LA, just right for the sweatshirt you brought. He was waiting in his jeep right in front of the complex you lived in and waiting for you to jump in.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

He was wearing a red shorts, typical, and black sweatshirt. His eyes were sleepy and hair messy. Proof of that he tried to sleep.

“So where are you taking me at this time Dolan?” You put your seatbelt on and turned to look at him.

“I have no idea, but I know you like night drives so we’re just going to drive out of town somewhere I guess?” he lifted one of his eyebrows as if he was asking for approval.

“Okay, sounds good.”

He started the car and you begin your night trip.

He had music on, probably his spotify playlist which you weren’t fan of, because if there is something you and the twins have not the same taste in, it’s music. You can agree here and there, but most of the times it’s rock, paper and scissors to decide who’s going to be DJ that time.

And when this song you really hate from the bottom of your heart comes on, Ethan simply says “You can change it if you want. Put your playlist on or something.”

He said it quietly. No one is used to Ethan talking in this tone. It seemed like the problem with falling asleep wasn’t the only thing that bothered him.

“Okay.” You said in a quite tone too. You could sense he’s sad. Or mad? Angry? Tired? You didn’t know exactly, but you wanted to figure it out so you could help him to get in better mood.

“How was your day?” You started with simple question as the first song of your playlist started.

“Good. Yours?”

“Fine. I had some classes, then I had lunch with Bella. Do you remember how I told you she’s dating that stupid football player and how did I say he’s going to break her heart? Guess what happened.” You turned around to see his facial expression or something at least similar to smile. And he did. He did at least tried to smile, but you knew that if you wouldn’t be looking at him he wouldn’t even do that.

“Nevermind, I had to deal with her crying for like two hours, don’t want to talk about all of that again. What about Gray? Did he got the new tattoo he was talking about?”

“Yeah yesterday.”

“Cool.” After that you both went to silence. Even without talking you could sense something is not right. You really wanted to talk with him, to ask him about his day, how’s Lisa doing, when they are going to visit New Jersey and many other things. So you tried again. But what you got? One word answers.

“Okay Ethan, what’s up?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can feel something is up with you, why don’t you talk to me. If you wanted to have silent ride you could just go by yourself.”

“I’m sorry Y/N. I’m not in the mood really.”

“Yeah I can see.” You crossed your arms on your chest and looked out of your window.

“Where are we going?” you asked.

“There should be an caffee opened nonstop in like thirty minutes.”

“Okay.”

You drove for another ten minutes, but still couldn’t let it go of your mind.

“Ethan if something is bothering you, you can always talk to me you know that right?”

“Yes.”

“So please just don’t keep it to yourself. Whatever it is saying it loud could help you.”

Another silence as an answer. Another ten minutes of driving. Until your favourite song came up.

 Well, I will call you darlin' and everything will be okay. 'Cause I know that I am yours and you are mine. Doesn't matter anyway. In the night, we'll take a walk, it's nothin' funny. Just to talk.

The last sentence expressed how you were feeling. You wanted just to talk. You wanted Ethan to tell you everything what’s on his mind until you both couldn’t talk anymore.

Put your hand in mine, you know that I want to be with you all the time. You know that I won't stop until I make you mine. You know that I won't stop until I make you mine, until I make you mine.

You silently singed under your nose. You thought Ethan couldn’t hear you, but he could and it just made everything harder for him.

Well, I have called you darlin' and I'll say it again, again. So kiss me 'til I'm sorry, babe, that you are gone and I'm a mess. And I'll hurt you and you'll hurt me and we'll say things we can't repeat.

You thought about the lyrics. You and Ethan had called each other pet names many times. ‘Oh darling what would you like for breakfast today?’ you smiled about this memory, when you slept over their place and the night before you and Grayson made bet about Ethan making you both breakfast. Grayson said he won’t, you said he will. And you won. Until that morning every time you or him were making breakfast you used this phrase. Every time he called you darling, it felt like something inside you erupted but you didn’t know what. You didn’t know what you were feeling towards this boy sitting next to you at all.

“Okay fuck it.” You heard Ethan said and it made you wake up from your little day dreaming. He suddenly pulled to the side and stopped the jeep. Turned the radio down and turned towards you.

“You want to know what’s on my mind? You. You are always in my head and that’s why I couldn’t sleep tonight. And this song, this stupid song. I know how much you love it and I hate it because it tells exactly how I am feeling. I have called you darling so many times that it drives me crazy you don’t take it seriously. Did you never notice me staring at you?” he asked and looked right into your eyes and slowly reached for your hand.

“I can’t be this way anymore. I understand if you don’t feel the same, but I need to let it go from my heart. I need you to know that. That I love your sense of humour, your directing and editing skills, your cooking skills, how talking to you when I can’t sleep can suddenly make me sleepy, how you look when you can’t take the shot you really want. I love when you sing and dance even if you are really bad at it.” After all those things he said he wasn’t looking sad anymore, he was smiling and his eyes were shining. Needed to say that you were in shock. You didn’t expect this at all when he texted you if you want to go for a ride.

“So what am I trying to say is that I am in love with you. I love you Y/N.” After those last words you were speechless. Your confusion about what you feel towards this boy that just let his heart out to you became more clear. You were pretty sure that you felt pretty similiar feelings for him.

“I, Ethan, I don’t know what to say I didn’t expected this at all.” His eyes lost some of the little starts in them when you said this. His hand slowly lost the grip on yours.

“No no no wait.” You reached for his hand back and took it into both of yours.

“I am not saying I don’t feel the same I just wasn’t prepared to share it with you like right now you know?”

“You don’t have to feel the same way Y/N, I just wanted to finally tell you.” He whispered.

“I know.” You rested one of your hands on his cheek and leaned until you foreheads were touching.

“I am not going to lie it’s hard for me to express what I am feeling. But I like you. I like you too much that I think I am in love with you.” You paused your little speech as you felt his lips brush over yours.

“Can I kiss you?” he did this little gesture that made you smile. He asked, because he wasn’t sure if you really love him or if you just said it so he wouldn’t feel embarassed. It made you smile. So with this lovely smile you nodded your head yes and leaned in.

You could feel the fireworks going through you body. After the kiss you rested foreheads against each other and you could see the biggest smile on his face. Finally.

“I love you Ethan.”

[lockdownuk]

Lockdown Diary Part 1

A personal account during the lockdown in the UK due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

23/03/2020 8:30pm Boris Johnson, UK Prime Minister, gives a live address to the nation to, effectively, put the country on lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain, Covid-19.

Many of us have been self-isolating for days but this latest development within the UK in reaction to the pandemic feels very serious and very scary. I decided to keep a simple diary and where better but online.

Day 1: Last night Boris called it, today we’re doing it. I had started working from home (wfh) yesterday as had most people at my work (RCI)..last week I had been preparing laptops as fast as poss for everyone. Even just today, the idea of going into work seems alien and dangerous. Now lockdown (ld) means that it would soon be illegal to do so unless utterly necessary.

Online, FaceBook (fb) especially, is awash with reaction…a lot of calling out people who are out and about in greater numbers than 2, which is against ld rules.

Day 2: Just trying to let work occupy my thoughts and time which is easy enough ‘cos everyone I support (IT engineer) is new to wfh and is having teething problems with all the new laptops. Meanwhile, I keep abreast of comings and goings online…actually socially interacting more than I might otherwise, weirdly

Day 3: Highlight of the day is an online quiz organised by a chap called Jay Flynn on fb…a bunch of us took it as individuals while chatting on Messenger while Jay streamed quiz over fb live and YouTube. It was a good crack and I had two cans of Coors Light which got me pissed!

Day 4: Work is still mad - so many people with IT issues wfh…it’s challenging trying resolve all these probelms remotely but I am rising to it. I actually enjoy it. It satisfies my want for problem-solving.

The ld is in full swing but it’s very early days. The news is dominated, obviously, by Covid-19 and the ever changing stats of infections and deaths. Today, for example, the USA took over, from China, as the country with the most infections. I know there will be an end to all this and I am determined to be there, going out, getting pissed down the pub, gigging, shaking hands with my mates, hugging anyone and everyone who’ll let me - it’ll be a proper party. But I am filled with a dread that it’s going to be a fucking long time coming.

This evening was spent virtually with Foggy, Ham and Andy P…doing a quiz - a rehearsal for Foggy in the hope of doing one to a wider audience next week. It was good fun and great to have a few beers chatting with everyone, Later I video called Fog and we drank ‘til gone midnight, putting the world to rights. I was well pissed.

Day 5: First non-work day of the ld. Housework, daily walk, out for supplies (drop a script order off…queuing outside boots for 15 minues!, bread, baccy and booze). This evening, I’m listening to the next album in NME list of 1985 albums I’m working through - Grace Jones Slave to the Rhythm…fucking pain in the arse ‘cos it’s not on Spotify so I am searching for each song, in order, on YouTube. Plus eating and drinking, of course. Quick video chat with karen and Grace, Dan in the background. I wanted a tin of kidney beans for chilli but Karen hasn’t got one ffs. Burger it is. They are all playing scrabble - I’d love to join in…

Day 6: A quiet day…housework, cooking, daily walk. Highlight was a half hour chinwag with dad who, as I would expect, despite his 84 years, is coping and doing just fine. Most other people with a dad that age would have, on top of their own concerns, something more to worry about during this crisis….for me, it feels like I’ve got someone to turn to, should I need to.

Day 7: Work is starting to feel more routine but it’s a long way off being in the office, which is never routine anyway. That may seem surprising since I do IT support but it’s a varied role, especially at the modern dinosaur of an organisation that is RCI. I try to be as disciplined as possible but I miss not dressing for work, not driving to work, not needing to actually prepare lunch (until lunchtime). I don’t actually need to shower every morning. I don’t think I have to ordinarily but do because I’m mixing with others in the office. I certainly don;t need to now. I only mix with me, so showering becomes a chore but I’m doing it every other morning in the name of the aforementioned discipline. I am worried how long RCI can keep going before laying staff off. I dread being out of work full stop, let alone during this ld, or even thereafter. I think the economies of the world will need time to recover so finding work will be tough à la 2008. I think, if lay-offs were to occur, I’d be in real danger. Last in first out and all that. But, I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.

Day 8: At work there was a large online meeting whereby the MD told us that RCI are going to furlough some staff. The UK, and Ireland staff will be consulted this coming Thursday and Friday (it’s Tuesday today). I shall be reading up on what the furlough arrangements are in the UK due to Covid-19. I know the government have set aside some money, I need to know what I might get paid and how to claim it. In the past, when I’ve been out of work, I’ve been entitled to jack shit other than JSA, This time around, should I be laid off as I expect, I might not have to eat into my savings, fingers crossed. Meanwhile, I have decided to knock up another blog with a photo of myself each day of the ld (from now on) - it’s a sister to this diary.

Day 9: Actually typing this on day 10. Yesterday was a strange day as I contemplate being furloughed (hope for the best, expect the worst)…I’d be paid 80% of my wage according to what the government have said to assist in the Covid-19 crisis…so, were that to be true, I’d be OK money-wise, although still earning way less than I want to prepared for retirement (I am currently still waiting for feedback on a pay increase request I put in at work last year!) I’m more worried about how I would fill my day if I wasn’t working. So, that being said, I flopped and moped about all yesterday evening after my daily walk and, without achieving much at all, didn’t find time to write this entry on the right day…so maybe I can fill my days without much effort!

Day 10: I was furloughed today, starting 5pm tomorrow (Friday 3rd April) and it’s fucked me off. I know it’s not personal but, actually, do I? They’re cutting back the Kettering Desktop team by one, redacted It seems obvious to do this by the ‘last in, first out’ maxim but what about money? others are on more than me (redacted). What about offering it voluntarily - others might go for 80% pay for fuck all - others have family at home to occupy the day  (redacted) . A little bit of me thinks it might be preferable furlough me  (redacted) …others seems to be a favourite and that annoys me. It annoys me because I think I shoot myself in the foot too often. I’m too vocal about some of the (redacted) decisions and practices at work, plus other reasons that I know but can’t be bothered to type. But, my point, is I don’t play the politically correct, corporate game and therefore forget to look out for my own best interests. FUCK.

So, as of tomorrrow evening, I’ve no work to do. The challenge will be to find a way to occupy my day. I’ve already registered to volunteer for the NHS during the ld…let’s see what becomes of that. And I’ve signed up for web development course. I’m going to get fucking pissed this w/e, starting early tomorrow evening.

Day 11: It’s day 12 as I am writing this entry…that might tell any reader, and remind me, that I did as I promised and got pretty drunk. I spent the day geting my work affairs in order i.e. clearing down support tickets assigned to me. I did a good job, nothing left to handover to the remaining team (Jim, Cristina and Mark) and onky one ticket put into the assigned pool. Some nice converstaions were had with associates, many of whom are, too, being furloughed. Nice words were said and Jim and Mark both were supportive in conversations and messages - they both know I don’t wnat this and, I think, they are both relieved it’s not happening to them. 5 pm arrives and I shutdown my work laptop for the last time for at least 12 weeks. After my daily walk, I video chat with Karen, crack open a beer, make Chinese chicken curry (fucking loads, fucking tasty), finish watching The National Theatre stream of One Man, Two Guvnors (really good, see twoinchreview) and the caught up with, and talked bollocks with Andy, Marc and Ham - we tried getting Rog in on it, no dice. I then watched The Heat (I fucking love that film), ate some more, smoked several single-skinners, drank, in total, three cans, seven bottles. I went to bed shortly after 4am. I felt resigned to my furlough and pleasantly wasted.

Day 12: A subdued day…didn’t wake until gone 1:30pm. Jaded but not really suffering. Mooched about, social media, listening to music, watching telly, farting about on the iPad. My daily walk, over the last fews days, has taken a twist…I am trying to run parts of it. Mainly short distances, 80-100m (I estimate) three, maybe four times. It’s fucking knackering me out. I used to run everywhere when I was a teen. Attempting to run now just makes me feel fucking old. Well, I am, so that’s about right.

Day 13: Another day like yesterday except I got up at 10:30 and didn’t feel jaded. The subdued feeling comes from the realsiation that the ld isn’t being treated as seriously as it should be across the board. The news and even posts by locals on FB (Oundle chatter group) suggest groups still meeting up. The weather this w/e has been a factor - 17°c today. I think a total ld will be enforced soon and that would fuck me off. My daily walk is pretty essential for me nowadays not least for the ‘good for your soul’ benefits that dad has always mentioned. Even today’s walk saw a car parked at the gates to the field on the way to Ashton and people on a blanket soaking up the sun, dogs off their leads and people (looked like a family) playing footy on South Road field. Individually they are not presenting any danger, what with the fact they are either living together or far away from others. But they are flaunting the rules and the more that happens the less likely they’ll carry on getting away with it, which will mean total ld for all! I finished the 50 1985 albums today. It mostly confirms to me that I only listened to two albums released that year (Kate Bush, The Waterboys) any other vinyl I spun would have already been in my collection pre-85.

The sausage casserole I made for tea was fucking lush - 4 birdeye chillies. I saw and spoke with Dan and Grace this morning, they were just coming back from a walk. I am pleased to fuck they are together and sorted out the issues they had earlier this year.

Day 14: My first day proper of furlough. Finished my two inch review of the NME 50 albums. Long chat with Rita, quick one with dad. Messaged Sam about Romiley’s present - she’s 10 on the 9th April (Thursday) - ordered some Lego thing from Amazon. Turned the car engine over (reminded myself the driver-side wing mirror is fucked) and moved it to another spot in the Co-op car park - bumped into Matt T. He’s struggling - no work coming in and he can’t claim any of the money on offer ‘cos he’s not being totally honest about his circumstances - made me realise I’m not that bad off…..but I feel depressed about it all, especially with the news that Boris has gone into intensive care.

Day 15: I began a diploma (?) course on web design with Shaw Academy (it was free). They have actual classes (which are recorded) which you schedule yourself. The first one was, I have to say, really interesting - I look forward to continuing. On my walk today, I saw a car parked at the gate to the field at the bottom of Riverside Close; it was branded with Cunninghams Estate Agent with a 01536 number. I am pretty sure I saw the driver walking her dog (unleashed) on the field. I took a photo and rang the number. Yes, I ratted the culprit out…fucking annoys me that I had to. Better than reporting to the police, all round. Hopefully her work will put a stop to her doing it and, the more people that adhere to the rules without the police getting wind of infractions, the more likely we’ll be able to continue to exercise away from home.

Day16: More online learning including checking out other sites (pluralsight) for more learning opportunities. Coded my first web page, basic but mine, in HTML and CSS. A few beers & smokes and watching White Boy Rick in the evening, interspersed with the usual social media / messaging shit, incuding this entry, of course!

Day 17: Typing this on Day 18. After a few beers last night while chatting with Fog (twice - the first chat ended with him ‘having’ to go to bed. Later, I noticed he was commenting on FB, so I video called him…round two of chatting!). I got quite fucking pissed. Bed around 4am.

Day18: Up at 1pm. Long walk today, 7 km. Anything over 40 minutes, I’ve realised, results in a hypo.

Day19: Well, having gone to bed at gone 5am I got up at nearly 1pm feeling far better than I should have. Breakfast followed by a walk, spoke with Karen (mowing her front lawn) and Dan. He and Grace have split up which is sad news but he seems OK. Went shopping (milk and sweets) and ended up with a shit load of booze, the post of which on FB was quite amusing. Homemade burgers for tea (they’re in the fridge as I type) - gonna try and make Five Guys…

Day20: The Five Guys burger attempt didn’t go as well as I wanted. I think less than 5% fat mince just doesn’t bind that well. However, I managed to get something resembling a burger into the bun and, with cheese, hot sauce and jalapeños, it was tasty enough. More of the same when I finish typing this entry. Strange Easter Day today, as I knew it would be. The best thing I saw today was a video Tom posted on FB of him and Molly doing a mashup of Starsailor and George Michael - Tom on guitar singing the former, Molly singing the latter. It was fucking fantatstic.

Day 21: Easter Monday. Surreal…it’s feeling very surreal now, this lockdown.

Two things that bother me right now:

i) The political point scoring on FB. I get it, I really do…people like to bring up ‘obvious’ failings in the party’s mistakes. For example, Marc posting comparisons between UK and Germany’s figures of cases and deaths due to Covid-19. I doesn’t make impressive reading for the government and it should be held accountable. But not fucking now!

ii) Will they introduce rotational furloughing at RCI? It’s only been a week, 11 to go. And, it bothers me that I was furloughed rather than Mark. Pathetic of me, I know! But, should it last the 12 week stretch, I want to go back to work and let someone else have the chance to have fuck all to do all day! That being said, I’m still learning web design through Shaw Academy. Even today, bank holiday, I revised Lesson 2.

Day22: Nice catchup with Dad today - he and Rita seem to be more than OK with lockdown. I actually cannot wait until we can meet up at The Farmers again!

Day 23: While I had a Corvee engineer come to the house today to do a gas safety check (I waited upstairs while he was here, self-isolation and all that), and had the fourth online web design lesson, had a trip to Boots to pick up insulin, got milk from Tesco’s, saw American Rachel and had a chat (while we both queued to get into Tesco’s) and had a very nice walk along a different route from the norm, in the pleasant sunshine and watched Contagion on Netflix - all today - I AM STILL BORED AS FUCK!

Day 24: I had plans for today - revise the last two lessons of Shaw Academy’s web design course, investigate a ethical hacking course, do some washing, clean upstairs (or at least the bathroom) plus all the usual stuff. Then, as a reward, have some beers. Well, guess what. I am not having beers this evening. I managed the laundry. Plus I manged to subtitle my YouTube perfect snabby video (something I have been meaning to do for a while, but, come on!) It took me fucking ages. But it is funny! So, a fucking far from fruitful day. Plus the government announced at least 3 more weeks of lockdown. There’ll be loads more, I reckon. Tomorrow…I promise I’ll be better tomorrow…

Day 25: I did do better! Firstly the Corveee man fucked the boiler which I only noticed late yesterday but still managed to get sorted today. I did some excellent revision and learning of HTML (tags) and CSS. I cleaned the bathroom and hall. And I discovered TikTok (fucking excellent dancing and funny vids) plus discovered a new FaceBook word game (Sam sent me an invite) called WordBlitz and I am pretty good. Having beers now (nearly 11pm).

Day 26: Today I found myself calling 111. I had a pain in my side last night, I thought it might be constipation! That not being the case (!), today I went to 111.nhs.uk and, following their questions, it recommended I seek out a GP straightaway. Once I let the website know that is not possible, it directed me to visit walk in centres. I spoke with Karen thereafter - for advice about whether it’s a good idea to enter such an establishment - I really don’t want to increase me chances of catching the Covid-19 virus. Karen recommended ringing 111 since the website does not take into account my diabetes (so bloody sensible a suggestion!)

After ringing and answering many questions, the lady said she’d get an OOHS GP to call. The doctor called soon after and it seems most likely I have a grumbling appendix (chronic appendicitis) and to ring again (well, 999) if the pain becomes unbearable.

I now have a bag at the ready for hospital which I really hope I don’t have to use. Today, I  have, therefore, done fuck all - not even a walk - but I am having a beer now (midnight) and shall attempt to sleep as well as possible and hope this pain subsides naturally…

It occurs to me that I turn to Karen when things become flumoxing - my excuse, this time, is she works at the surgery but that was mere convenience.

Day 27: My ‘appendicitis pain was the same when I woke up (10:20) but no worse. I managed to change bed clothes and clean my bedroom but didn’t risk a walk (in case something drastic happens when I’m in a fucking field).

People’s responses and questions online have been heartening (Rachel Harris, Susie Grange, Bethan, Jo, Tracey Weber, Debbie De Prisco and, not least Dan). As the day progresses, I feel better but not right. I spoke with Dad about it and, as I told him, I shall ring Oundle GP tomorrow. Meanwhile, I did Sam Clew’s FB Live quiz, which was good, and am now having a beer or two.

Day 28: The pain in my side has definitley diminished. I called the Oundle surgery today to talk about what treatment I should have for ‘grumbling appendicitis’. The reseptionist organised a call back from a GP - Dr. Cash. Basically, he said he didn’t believe the condition existed, that acute appendicitis doesn’t happen after the age of 35, and ‘his gut felling’ is it will all just clear up.

I shall seek a more sensible diagnosis after lockdown and hope it doesn’t flare up again before then.

Day 29: I sent an email to the team at work today (Jim, Mark, Cristina and Sueanne). I hadn’t heard from them and I wanted to check in and, also, make a point that I will be posing the ‘rotational furlough’ question to HR at some point. It was as I wrote the email that I realised it’s only been two weeks and two days of furlough, and that includes Easter! Seems so much fucking longer. Anyway, everyone replied and it was good to hear from them….Mark came off his bike and broke ribs and collarbone! Lesson 5 of the Web Design course with Shaw Academy. It’s becoming apparent that, if you don’t pay for the course ‘toolkit’ it’s all rather patchy! The instructor dives into lines of code (HTML, CSS and Java) with no explanation….I feel like I did on the ifrst lesson of further maths ate Stamford School! I shall soldier on and beef up the missing parts with W3Schools (a great website and learning aid for coding). Two quick points. I am no longer running any part of my daily walk; hurts too much. I am addicted to Wordblitz and TikTok. Day30: I am writing this on day 31, I just forgot yesterday! It was a non eventful day. I did watch Midnight Run (again!) and had a couple of midweek beers though.

[munchyn]

Blue Eyes| Daniel x Reader Chapter 12- What Am I

A/N: I'm going to make a pretty hugetine skip to make sure that this is up to date. Woah this is 2000+ words long. Jeepers.

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Daniel POV

I sat on the couch, leaning agains the arm rest. I had my guitar on my lap trying to come up with a song for this month. But the only thing I could think about was Y/n.

My mind spaced out as I imagined holding Y/n in my arms. Giving her kisses and whispering sweet nothings into her hear throughout the night.

My mind had already drifted deep into imagination before I realized that I had been subconsciously playing the guitar.

"That sounds good," says Corbyn, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked back down at my guitar after nodding at Corbyn.

"Oh, uh thanks," I tried to figure out what I had just played on the instrument. After a while of playing the same five notes I gave up and tossed it onto the couch. I rubbed my face with my hands a lolled my head back. "Ugh!"

"You got a little somthing troubling you Daniel?" says Corbyn. I looked at him with a glare that screamed that I was tired of life.

"My brain is blank and I have zero ideas," I groaned into my hands. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, it was 3 a.m.

"Write about whatever's on your mind," says Corbyn. He was holding a mug of milk and was wearing a blue fuzzy coat.

"There's only one thing on my mind right now Corbyn," I said. "I think you know what it is."

"Then use her as inspiration." Instead of answering him, I just stared at my guitar. Eventually, Corbyn went back to sleep while I stayed on the sofa.

[Time skip brought to you by Lavender]

I woke up to the sun shining in my eyes. I saw a bunch of papers surrounding me. I racked my memory for an answer to what had happened yesterday. That's when I remembered that I had stayed up all night writing the new song.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. I cleaned up the papers and stacked them neatly on the coffee table before walking into the kitchen.

"Dude," calls Zach from the table as he eats scrambled eggs. "Did you stay up all night writing that song?"

I ran my hand over my face and prepared myself a bowl of cereal. I nodded and sat at the table. Facing Zach. "Can I see what you wrote?" I nodded once more and he went to grab the papers on the coffee table.

When he came back into the kitchen this is the first thing he told me, "Wow, your writing is terrible when you're sleepy."

"Shut up and read," I told him. At some point while I was grumplily eating my cereal, Corbyn had walked in. "Hi Corbyn."

"This is the song you get when you think about Y/n?" he sid with eyebrows raised. Zach snapped his head to look at me.

"You were thinking about Y/n when you wrote this?" he said with a small smile on his lips.

"Just read," I say and glare at both of them. When they finished reading, they placed the papers on the table. "So..."

"I like it," they say simultaneously.

"I mean," says Corbyn. "We'll make a few changes. But I like the basic idea of it." I nodded and finished my cereal.

"Then I guess we're going to the studio today," I tell them and go to my room to change into some clothes. After everyone was ready to go, we went to work on the song.

We had all made a few changes to it to make it better. After that, we got to work on the music. We had been there for a little under an hour before we took a water break.

I opened up my chat with Y/n and began texting.

D: Hi We're working a new song right now.

Y: Babe I'm in the middle of class

D: Tell them you have to go to the bathroom

Y: You are reckless. You know that right?

D: So are you in the bathroom?

Y: Sure, why?

D: I just wanted to talk to you.

Y: I'm going to get suspended Anyway, you were saying?

D: We're working on a new song

Y: Can I see?

D: Nope. It's a surprise.

Y: Well bye

Y/n left the chat.

D: Y/n? Y/n are you there? Aww come on. Don't just leave me. Y/NNNNNNNNN!!!

I looked down at my phone sadly. Staring at Y/n's last text. I turned the my phone off and slouched in my chair. I could hear Corbyn snickering behind me. "This is not funny," say without turning back to face him. "Y/n's not answering and she's ignoring me. I can't live without her talking to me!"

"Bro, we're live," says Jack. As he laughs from the other side of the table. My eyes widened and turned back to see that Corbyn was indeed filming everything. I groaned and sunk lower in the chair.

"Why is it always me."

Corbyn POV

I scanned the comments until suddenly a familiar username came up on the screen. My mouth shaped into the form of an 'o'.

"Oh gosh," I say trying not to laugh. "Y/n's watching the live." The look of terror on Daniels face was priceless. As he hid in his jacket. His blonde hair sticking up. Y/n commented something. "Y/n says; 'aww he's adorable 😘😛'."

I heard Daniels muffled voice saying, "Why do you do this to me Y/n?"

[Timeskip brought to you by my spotify playlist; MunchyN]

After the live we started working on the parts we were going to sing. The end result of the song was good. Obvously we were all going to reveal that Daniel was thinking of Y/n while writing it.

Y/n POV

I was sitting on my bed. My homework done and my laptop sitting in front of me. I was waiting for the premiere of What Am I. There were just five minutes left and then I felt my phone vibrate next to me. I begrudgingly picked up to answer them before the premiere.

I saw Daniel's name on the screen. He wanted to face time with me. I rolled my eyes at the sweet Giraffe and accepted his call.

"Hi Daniel," I say. Looking at his face through my phone.

"Are you watching the premiere?" he asks in a rushed voice. His question shocked me and my mind went blank for a second.

"Um yes," I say. Confusion evident in my voice.

"Okay, good," he says and takes a deep breath. "Keep watching." I furrowed my brows but stared intently at my laptop screen. The one minute countdown started and both Daniel and I stayed silent. The screen suddenly went black and two simple words appeared on the screen.

For Y/n

I couldn't help the small gasp that escaped my lips when I read those words. I gave a quick glance at my phone to see Daniel biting his lip nervously.

I met her on a Monday evening She was standing outside of the park and ride And I said, "Hey Ma where you been?" "Been looking for a woman like you for all my life"

I smiled sweetly at the words. Laughing softly because that was totally not how we met. It still made me feel all bubbly inside despite that.

And she said, "Hola, talk to me, before I have to leave" And one day we could be Maybe more than two lost souls just passing by

My smile widened when I heard the Spanish. A language I had always wanted to learn. (Unless you already know Spanish. Then you get the drill.)

Knew I was falling when I looked inside your eyes She said, "I know you are, but what am I?"

'I thought it was just me.'

Tell me, have you seen a sunset Turn into a sunrise? Kiss right through the night? 'Cause we should try that sometime Hold you 'til the mornin' And if I said I'm fallin', would you just reply "I know you are, but what am I?"

I closed my eyes as I listened to Daniels voice I started humming along to the song. Forgetting Daniel was watching me. I was also unaware as I started to softly sing along.

(Ah-ooh, Ah-ooh) What am I? (Ah-ooh) What am I? (Ah-ooh)

Open the door to my apartment, when we get in Kissin' on my neck and throw my jacket to the side And I know your heart is beating quick And if you put your head on my chest, hear the same in mine, yeah And we'll be making love Until the sun comes up But one day maybe I I could put a ring on your finger before you change you mind, yeah

I blushed profusely as I sang along to Zachs part. I bit my lip and I looked at my phone to see Daniel was also blushing. He tried to explain but was a stuttering mess. I just shushed him and continued watching the premiere.

Knew I was falling when I looked inside your eyes She said, "I know you are, but what am I?"

Tell me, have you seen a sunset Turn into a sunrise? Kiss right through the night? 'Cause we should try that sometime Hold you 'til the mornin' And if I said I'm fallin', would you just reply "I know you are, but what am I?

(Ah-ooh, ah-ooh) What am I? (Ah-ooh) What am I? (Ah-ooh) What am I? (Ah-ooh)

I felt tears pool around my eyes as I listened to the lyrics. This was the sweetest thing that had happened in a while during my life. The sound of the boys' voices was relaxing and soothing.

Tell me, have you seen a sunset Turn into a sunrise? Kiss right through the night? 'Cause we should try that some time Hold you 'til the mornin' And if I said I'm fallin', would you just reply "I know you are, but what am I?"

Tears ran down my cheeks and I brushed them away with my hand.

Tell me, have you seen a sunset (Yeah) Turn into a sunrise? Kiss right through the night? (Through the night) 'Cause we should try that sometime Hold you 'til the mornin' (Hold you 'til the morning) And if I said I'm fallin' , would you just reply "I know you are, but what am I?"

By now, tears were rolling down my cheeks like waterfalls. I didn't even bother hiding them. The screen went black on my laptop once again and these words appeared;

Will you be my girlfriend? -Daniel

My hands flew to my mouth as I gasped. The video ended and I closed my laptop. I threw myself back onto the pillows I laughed nervously beforr sitting back up. I wiped the the tears off my face as I looked at Daniel through face time.

"Oh my god," I gasped. "I don't know what to say." My lungs felt like they were being constricted. "I need more time to think about it." My heart shattered when I saw the frown on his face. I felt like I had just kicked a puppy.

"I'm sorry," I say and hang up. I buried my head under a pillow and let out a sob. "I'm not ready for this," I said to no one ib particular. "I'm not ready."

Daniel POV

I stared blankly at my screen. 'She hung up on me.' I tried to tell myself that she just needed more time. It's what she said. More time.

I turned off my phone and stared at my food blankly. I was having dinner with all the guys. They were all excited to see what she would say.

"Hey Daniel," says Corbyn, with a hopeful look on his face. I looked at him with tears threatening to spill. "What did she say?"

"She needs more time," I choked down a sob as I said it. I stood up and walked up to my bedroom. I needed to be left alone right now.

🍎🍉🍎🍉🍎🍉🍎🍉🍎🍉🍎🍉

A/N: While writing this I found out they had written this song a year ago. But we can all just ignore that for the sake of my fanfic right? Thank you for reading my story and I would truly appreciate it if you voted and commented. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[brainstormingtattoos]

Are You On The Menu? - Chapter One

hi hi, so I’ve posted a new fic on A03, so here’s the link to read it there (otherwise i’m posting it below):

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18291323

also! I have a playlist for the story on spotify here:

https://open.spotify.com/user/missy325/playlist/1bXq1fWF8UciYpehSaITPa?si=yo0Ovd9rTnG6rhIvFPLNCg

anyways, here it is! I hope you like it:)

He’d finally did it. It took him years, but he’s finally here. After getting his business degree, moving to New York and revamping the building he bought, he- Eddie Kaspbrak- was finally opening his coffee shop. He couldn’t believe it. Eddie had spent so long dreaming of the day he would finally succeed and here he was.

Just yesterday was the grand opening day. It took loads of preparation to say the least. Bill, Eddie’s best friend and new barista, had told everyone at his old job about it. Eddie spent hours each day leading up to the opening to advertise it all over social media, making sure to mention the free donut with every purchase the first day. So, it was no surprise when after all of this build up to the big day, Eddie was a bit disappointed.

They did okay, that’s for sure. But nothing was quite right in his eyes. He forgot about the music. How could he forget about the music? There was a heavy silence every time someone left the shop, followed by Bill letting out an exaggerated yelp of happiness. No one knew how to clean up after themselves, so Eddie found himself running back and forth between the register and the tables to tidy up. The air didn’t seem quite right to him, either. He knew it sounded ridiculous to base his day off of the air- but it just didn’t smell right. It wasn’t the normal nostalgic air he’d woken up to every day that week. It was more dull and just- there.

Nonetheless, the day came to an end. They really did pretty alright for their first day, especially with the small staff. But Eddie couldn’t pull himself out of his head. The music, the customers, the air; the everything.

‘Hey, c-c-come on Eddie. We did fr-freaking amazing today. And you were so good with the tables, I didn’t even th-think of that. I can feel it- tomorrow’s gonna be even better!’ Bill was cleaning off the front counter. He could sense his friend getting overwhelmed, and he didn’t want to leave him like that.

‘I know I know, I just- I think I’ve got it from here. Go get some rest for tomorrow, ‘Kay?’

‘You s-s-sure, Eddie? I can stay, no problem.’

‘Promise I’m good. I trust your feeling- tomorrow’s gonna be even better’ Eddie couldn’t decide if he was trying to convince Bill or himself. He needed tomorrow to go better. He left everything behind for this. He had so much weighing on this working out.

‘A-Alright Eddie, see y-ya tomorrow bright and e-early!’ Bill ruffled Eddie’s hair before skipping out the door.

Eddie decided today was just a little bump in the road. Tomorrow was the real show time. He got out his laptop from behind the counter and started working on a playlist to play in the shop. It had to be perfect. He added some good hits from the charts first. Then some throwbacks from all genres, to keep everyone going. Next was the more chill music, for anyone needing some motivation. Finally he added some of his favorites, because that’s definitely the least he deserves. He plugged the laptop into the speakers so he could really get to work now.

He started with rearranging some of the trashcans for a more genuine flow (and so people wouldn’t forget to be decent human beings). He then added some stuff to the chalkboards behind the counter. He and Bill thought the menu looked more humble on a chalk board, and Eddie has to admit it was their best decision. He settled with adding some little drawings and doodles around the drink names. He then grabs the ‘Foaming Glory’ sign that’s in the window and makes sure it really pops. He puts it a little closer to the door this time.

When he starts yawning he comes to the conclusion that he might actually need sleep. After all, it was 12am now and they open at 5. He packs up everything and heads out. As he’s locking the door, he takes one final look at his achievement. He did this. He smiles to himself for a second and starts down the street to his apartment.

- The beeping of the oven shakes Eddie awake. He can’t honestly remember waking up this morning, and he can’t even fully remember how he got to work. But he’s definitely here and somehow he’s heating up the first bagel of the morning. He gets the bagel out and places it into the bags he designed about a month ago, he’s quite proud of them. They have a big coffee cup with two boys sitting in it, and ‘Foaming Glory’ written in fancy lettering above it all. He stuffs in a few napkins, a plastic knife and cream cheese and calls it out with an enthusiastic ‘Have a nice day!’.

Today was going to be long. He looks around to see no one but Bill at the register. ‘Hey! Last night I made us a playlist so it wouldn’t be so quiet, wanna hear?’ Eddie didn’t wait for a response, he was already plugging in his laptop and pressing play. Bill hummed along in agreeance, satisfying Eddie enough to go back to the coffee makers.

It was quiet for the first hour, being it was 5 in the morning. But low and behold, two boys came in at 6 sharp, ruining the whole vibe Eddie had going. They were in the middle of a very loud conversation, and if Eddie wasn’t awake before, he definitely was now. Come On Eileen was playing in the background, but all he could hear was their voices (more like one specifically). The boys were both pretty tall with dark, curly hair. One had significantly more curls, freckles kissing every bit of his face and sported big, bulky glasses that made his eyes look buggy. Eddie swears he might’ve fallen in love right there. Eddie was pulled out of his thoughts when Bill started taking their order.

‘Yeah uh I’ll have a large iced caramel coffee’ The boy replied, eyes meeting Eddie’s from what seemed like miles away. ‘Well you’re a sight, are you on the menu?’ He’s now wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at the shy boy who is now blushing.

‘Oh my god, excuse him. Richie never knows when to stop.’ The boy’s- Richie’s- friend says, moving them down the counter to wait for the coffee.

‘Stanley, my kind sir, I have to appreciate precious cargo like-‘ Richie pauses, and leans with squinty eyes to read the barista’s nametag. ‘Eddie! I have to appreciate little Eds over here!’ With that, Eddie spins around on his feet and finally contributes.

‘Actually, it’s just Eddie. No need to shorten it, but here’s your coffee’ He responds with a small wink. He doesn’t know what possess him to be so forward but before he knows it, he’s letting his fingers linger on Richie’s for a few moments. He wondered if he’d ever see him again. Maybe he should give him his number right now. Richie looked as if he practically melted at the touch of Eddie’s fingertips, which fed his overconfidence even more. ‘You should come back here, maybe a new menu item will come up soon’

Richie practically choked on air. Eddie could barely process what was happening, then another customer came in. He had to get back to his job. But before he turns to make the next order, he hears ‘Hope it’s your number, cutiepie’. Richie and Stanley then exit the shop and Eddie’s heart drops a little.

‘I-I can’t believe that j-j-just happened’ Bill teases. Before the smaller boy can reply, they hear a whistle from outside, making them abruptly turn. It’s Richie. ‘God, he’s an idiot’ Eddie whispers, but inside his heart is pounding. Richie brings his hands up and makes a heart before blowing a kiss. Eddie’s heart jumps. Stan grabs onto Richie and they finally go on their way.

‘S-S-See? Told ya today was g-gonna be better!’ Bill bops Eddie’s nose. ‘S-Somebody’s got a c-crush’ He slowly returns to the register, fiddling with the laptop to change the song.

‘Oh shut up’ Eddie scuffs. Gosh, he really hopes those rascals come back tomorrow.

[agustdef]

Here & Now - Chapter 5

Pairing: Yoongi x OC

Genre: Fluff; Chill romance

Word Count: 3,273

Warning: None. It’s a little longer than the others. 

Banner Marker: @dee-ehn​

Off days were something I tried to take once every two weeks. Off days with a strict, no contact rule in place was a once a month thing, but the last month was so much that I needed a second one.

I wasn't allowed to do work, be asked about work or think about work. Either I sat home and did nothing or ventured out into the world to do something. The first day I slept, ate and caught up on some TV shows. It was so good I'd planned to do it again, but of course, that wasn't going down.

The moment my closest friends found out I was free they all had ideas on what to do, but I'd managed to dodge all of them. Sadly, Marcus liked to work against me. He was one of the few with a key to my home and he'd passed it on to Halsey. She broke into my house around noon with Yoongi.

I'd been standing in the middle of the kitchen singing along with Tiffany Evans' Promise Ring and drying off dishes when they appeared. As I was reaching to put the last plate in the cabinet the reflection in the glass showed them standing behind me. I nearly had a heart attack.

"Alexa, pause," I said, my voice shaky.

Turning around I became acutely aware of me being in a long shirt I'd had forever and pajama shorts that disappeared under it, but it was less important.

"What in the actual fuck people?"

At first, they just stared at me, Yoongi's poker face stronger than Hals. She broke first, laughing obnoxiously and then he followed suit. Almost making me piss myself something they found amusing.

My eyes narrowed and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Haha. Why are you here?"

After a few seconds, they collected themselves, wearing twin smiles. Hals had mischief in her eyes.

"You're off today, so we're doing something," she said.

Before I could open my mouth to protest she held up a hand and shook her head. "Nope. You told me you stayed in most of yesterday, so I know you're rested. Going out can be relaxing and good for you."

Again I wanted to shut her down, but she started pouting.

"Nothing crazy, I promise."

Sighing, I leaned against the counter and stared into her eyes. Nothing felt like I was being plotted against, but a lot of me didn't feel like venturing out into the world. My gaze shifted to Yoongi who'd taken a seat at the island. He just sat there and smiled.

"How did she rope you into this?"

He shrugged and Hals scoffed. "It was partly his idea."

My brow rose in shock and all my attention shifted back to him. His expression didn't change, he just shrugged again and continued smiling.

I had several questions, but I'd keep them to myself.

"Fine. You're right. Give me fifteen minutes."

With that I left them alone, dragging my feet to the bedroom. The situation didn't call for me to put in effort to look cute so I wouldn't. Though I'd say that I looked adorable most of the time without effort so whatever I wore would be fine. I snatched up some shorts, a Sailor Mercury top, and a flannel and threw them on.

Since I'd left the apartment only once the day before and that was to get my done I didn't have to do much. I always got it straightened to get it trimmed, so I whipped off my bonnet and carefully brushed it down from it's wrapped state. It fell the way I wanted so I left it be and wrapped a headband around my wrist just in case.

After going through my skincare routine and ensuring unchapped lips I ventured back out with my shoes in hand. Both of them had moved to the living room, playing on their phones.

"Ready."

They both glanced up at me, Halsey rising from the couch and messing with my hair. "It grew a lot in six months."

"Less split ends too. Lana actually sounded proud of me when she was explaining how much healthier it felt and looked."

"So switching braiders helped?" she asked.

"Yup."

All while we had our little conversation Yoongi stood there was a brow raised. He did that when we'd disappear into our own little world. As if he was intrigued with the way we interacted. It was honestly either very calm or very chaotic when it came to us. One could never be too sure what would go on.

"So, where are we going?" I asked, walking towards the door to slip on my shoes.

"Since someone here has people stalking him twenty-four seven," she paused and glared at Yoongi who just shrugged. "We're going a little far out to eat and walk a more isolated beach area. Hopefully, no one sees us, but if so it'll be fine."

"Statements ready in case," Yoongi added.

After grabbing my bag and phone from the table I swung the door open and motioned them out. As I locked the door something dawned on me.

"Wait, am I driving?"

They both paused and looked at each other than me. Hals smiled sweetly and Yoongi bit his lip, looking as he was fighting off laughter.

I groaned, tossing my head back. After a second I glared at her, but she maintained her "sweet" look. Yoongi finally let go of that chuckle and I could see on his face how prepared for this he'd been.

"One, I hate you." I then turned my attention to him. "Two, stop helping her. I thought we were closer than this Yoon."

With some fake sniffles on my part, I turned on my heel and stormed down the hall. My dramatics consistent until we'd reached the parking garage and my car.

Yoongi hopped into the front seat, all but shoving Hals out of the way to get it. Her sound of protest was so gentle I barely heard it, but it was still hilarious.

Once inside and with the car turned over I realized how warm it would be and was glad for air conditioning. There was no way I could put the windows down since the tint was the only thing stopping people from quickly spotting Yoongi.

With everyone buckled in, I pulled out of the spot and out of the parking garage. The car was silent for a while and then when we reached a stoplight Halsey was flinging herself between the seats to grab my phone. I slapped her hand and she reached again, but I moved it out of reach.

"What do you want?" I asked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.

"It's too quiet, we need music," she said.

She wasn't wrong, if I went too long in silence I'd be driven mad. Grabbing the phone I unlocked it, ensured it was paired with the car and went to my Spotify. Extending my arm I bypassed her hand and gave it to Yoongi. She grunted and sat back, probably rolling her eyes.

I'd only been able to catch a second of Yoongi's reaction before I had to pull off again. He appeared confused and then amused, taking the phone without question.

A minute or so passed before any sound filled the space and when it did my eyes went wide and I shook my head.

"Nope. Not that, change it." I tried to grab the phone, but he kept it out of reach.

"What? Don't like Thong Song? It's on your phone." He teased, like the butt he was.

In no way was I embarrassed by having the song, it had grown on me over the years; but my face did not agree. I could feel the burning of my cheeks and the mild discomfort in my stomach, but I pushed it down.

Clearing my throat I turned to him, eyes narrowed. "Different song or Hals gets control."

For a moment his thumb hovered over the phone as if he wasn't going to change it, but then he tapped the screen and a new song started. J. Cole's Cole World fills the space and my body relaxes.

It takes me getting to the freeway before I realize I had no clue where the heck we were going. Hals shrugs and Yoongi takes over, tapping an address into the GPS; his manager had researched some places that would lessen visibility.

On the way there we all talk on and off, avoiding work subjects. The moment I even slightly mention anything that will lead to work Hals shuts it down and eventually, Yoongi started to as well, leveling me with disapproving glances.

By the time we reach the small beach town, Hals is pouting in the back, upset that Yoongi and I started focusing our teasing purely on her. I all but dragged her from the car because of it, with her muttering under her breath about getting back at us.

The town was indeed not that packed. Of course, most people migrated towards the beach, but even then it wasn't a lot going on and they were all on the older side. Yoongi still kept on his beanie and mask on though, because fans came in all ages and you never knew when one could pop out.

Hals took the lead once she'd finished her fake sad girl act and we followed behind her. The beach farther down the road was less packed, so we spent a great deal of time loitering around there. We kicked off our shoes and walked partly in the water, we walked in silence or just talking about anything.

Something I'd learned and loved about being friends with Hals is we could have those random talks. With Yoongi it was the same way and it felt so natural even after a short time. Being able to talk and the other know if it was just you venting or needing some sort of response.

At some point, I waded father in, glad to be wearing shorts. Hals had stopped to take a picture of something and Yoongi was just staring out into the water. What I hadn't realized is that he snuck up on me, until I was being pushed forward.

"No," I squeaked.

A deep laugh came from behind me just as I was pulled back.

Once my feet were firmly planted I whipped around to see a smiling Yoongi. My eyes narrowed and I shoved him lightly, only displacing him a little.

"Don't do that, ya butt."

All my remark did was make him laugh, but when he saw me go to move past him he stopped.

"I would never. I know it would have effect on..." he trailed off and gestured to my straightened, and slightly poofy hair.

There was the smallest temptation to continue down my pouty path because I was annoyed, but something about it made me stop.

He understood what would come of my hair getting wet, but the fact that he felt comfortable enough to joke with me like that felt nice. Not like he'd been uncomfortable with me after a week or so, but there were levels to comfort and friendship.

A smile formed on my lips and before I could say anything Hals caught my attention. She was on her phone and was frowning deeply. Wading out of the water I stopped a few feet short of her.

"Mhm. Okay." With that she hung up and stared at us, frown deepening.

"What's wrong?" Yoongi asked.

She rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. "Something came up at the studio. They thought it would be fine last night and this morning, but they lost half a song. I need to go back and re-record."

The urge to ask a million questions about how they fumbled that without any backups presented itself, but she didn't need that.

"Okay. We can grab our shoes and drive back."

"No, no, no, no, no," she said, pushing me back as I tried to walk further onto the beach.

"What?" I asked.

She shook her head and took careful steps back.

"You two enjoy yourselves. I gave my manager a heads up on where I'd be, so a car was sent already because it looked bad like an hour ago. They're minutes out. I'll leave and you guys do whatever."

For a moment I wondered if it was some cliche set up, but nothing about the situation screamed that. And even with her facial control, she wasn't that good.

"You good with that?" I asked, turning to Yoongi.

He nodded.

"Okay then."

We walked her back to where I'd parked and were met with the car in a minute or so. After seeing her off we kind of just stared at each other, not really sure what to do next.

"So..." I trailed off.

A second or two of silence and he spoke. "Food?"

Without another word we got into my car and after a few seconds of him playing on his phone he tapped something into my GPS. The address was in Chinatown, which had me pausing because of the number of people that would be there.

"It's fine. Manager cleared it," he said without even looking at me.

I believed he wouldn't do anything to get himself mobbed or me, so I went along with it. We rode in silence and it was comfortable. How he always made the quiet feel calm and not awkward was beyond me.

"Favorite song?" he asked in Korean, drawing my attention.

"Um..." I hummed, chewing on my lip as I thought. "Can't think of an overall fave."

"Of the moment?"

"Hm..." Nothing was coming to me, my mind blanked completely.

Before I could get it together and respond I was being told by the GPS that we'd arrived at our destination. Yoongi directed me towards a different direction and I parked in an alleyway parking lot of the place. It was thankfully pretty empty.

Once out of the car, he led the way, knocking on the back door. In seconds we were met by his manager and led inside the place. Inside was much like the outside, which I chalked up to them ensuring there would be no random photo ops and swarms of people.

While we were seated closer to the back of the place his manager sat up front with someone I wasn't familiar with. I didn't care to know or figure it out though, seeing as it was none of my business.

A woman around my age came out to hand us menus and drinks, smiling politely.

"Take your time," she said as she left.

Yoongi skimmed his and I glanced down once before pulling out my phone to check for any messages. I had a few emails and an apology text from Hals. After responding to her I slipped onto my "professional" twitter to see what was going on.

I don't know how much time had passed before my phone was snatched from my hands and I noticed Yoongi's glare.

"I called your name."

"My bad."

I reached to reclaim my phone, but he slipped it off the table into his pocket. With a raised brow I stared him down, but he just shrugged and pointed to the patient waitress.

"I'll just have whatever he got."

"It was seafood."

"Then I will not have whatever he got. Instead, I will have..." I looked at the menu and pointed to something in the beef section. "...that."

She left us and he stared me down, expression blank. I stared back because what the hell else was I supposed to be. When that morphed into a competition I wasn't sure, but eventually, a throat was being cleared and my tea was being sat down.

My cheeks burned from being caught in our weirdness, while Yoongi tried to hide his smile. The dork.

I busied myself drinking tea as I regained composure. Mid-sip a thought came to mind. "Oh, it's Promise Ring by Tiffany Evans by the way."

"What?"

"My current favorite song. It isn't new, but it's what I listen to at least five times a day," I said.

His brows furrowed and then he nodded his head. For a second he pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, and I protested vigorously. He just swatted my hand away until he was done and pocketed it.

The smirk he wore when I glared at him made me want to thump him, but I refrained and refused to speak until the food came.

We spent our eating time in silence or just talking about things we enjoyed. We'd spent enough time together that it wasn't some ice breaking get to know you stuff, but a deeper dive into our hobbies.

He'd grown more interested in my writing and though I'd begged him not to read anything I'd published he kept asking too specific questions. I tried to trip him up or get him to admit it, but he was a steel trap.

Just as we were finishing up his manager appeared and whispered something to him. Yoongi nodded and turned his attention to me as he walked away.

"I have a schedule later. So I have to leave soon." A small frown formed on his lips.

I waved him off. "It's fine. I too have a schedule... with my bed."

His frown vanished and he laughed at my lame answer.

Since I finished first I waited for him to be done and then we both stood from the table. When I turned to the front of the restaurant I noticed his manager with a credit card in his hand and a confused expression. The hostess was pointing in my direction and motioning for him to put it away.

A smile fought its way onto my lips, but I still tried to hide it with my hand. Yoongi handed me my phone and looked at me with confusion. Suddenly, his manager walked by and told him he'd wait out back. Before he left he thanked me for paying.

"How?" Yoongi asked, voice almost a whisper. The confusion from earlier only increasing in his expression. I guessed he was trying to figure out when I'd slipped away or called ahead.

"Oh sweetie, this is one of my favorite restaurants. They know me well and they knew that if I'm here then I pay. Regardless of how hard everyone else fights to."

He looked awestruck. I just laughed, patted his shoulder and headed towards the exit. "Maybe next time."

When we got out back his manager was already there in a car. We said our see you laters and then parted ways.

That evening as I was curled up on the couch half-watching The Office and scrolling through my stan account's feed something felt off. I refreshed the screen and saw a barrage of posts about Yoongi and it clicked.

Yoongi texted me just as my feed refreshed again to a post of pictures of the three of us and another of just him and me laughing. Sighing, I rolled my eyes and opened his message.

"Sorry, we tried to get it handled but couldn't. Statement already released. I'm really, really sorry."

I hoped he wasn't being too hard on myself, it wasn't his fault. The risks were known the moment I agreed to go out with them. Besides I wasn't bothered at all, especially since it was a good day.

But goodness, the shit show would not be fun to sift through later.

[taehyungiestummy]

Summer Dreams -- Chapter Sixteen

Masterlist     Previous     Next

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3053

         “I admire Nari’s work ethic, and how she only took off a few days when we got here, but I wish we could spend more time with her,” Emily sets her camera down on her lap, picking up her pencil to write down another scrapbook idea in her notebook. She’s claimed the recliner today as she works on her passion.

         “I don’t want to interrupt her life too much, though,” I wiggle back to get back into a sitting position against the arm of the couch. I’ve been working on planning characters for a story while also playing phone games when creativity lulls. “We are only here for a few months, and then we will leave, and she’ll have to go back to a normal life without us. I don’t want us to become too much of a constant in her life.”

         “I understand that,” Emily nods a few times. “But she did agree to let us come over, so I think she has prepared herself.”

         “I’m just glad that she takes the time to give us Korean lessons, and that she is cool with letting us do basically whatever we want. Just opening up her home to us for a few months is more than I could have asked for. She’s gone above and beyond. I’m going to miss her so much.”

         “I don’t even want to think about leaving and missing people yet. There’s still a good chunk of summer left, and still so much to do.”

         “You’re right,” I chuckle, stretching out my fingers. “This is going to be the first time we don’t see fireworks on the Fourth of July.”

         “I can’t believe we’ll be spending our first American holiday outside of the United States,” Emily sets her pencil down, quickly putting her hair into a ponytail. “Do you think Nari will let us have a little party with American food?”

         “I don’t think why not,” I shrug. “She has spent her whole life learning and experiencing two cultures, so she would understand us wanting to have a little fun.”

         “We could even ask the boys to come if they can get the time off.”

         “That would actually be amazing,” I grin, looking back down at the spiral notebook on my lap. “It would be a lot more fun with more than just the three of us.”

         “We still have to meet two members, as well.”

         “Then we can dive headfirst into their music, and music videos, and interviews. It will still be weird since we know them, but it will help when we can’t see them.”

         “You just want to be able to see Taehyung even when you can’t be in the same room as him,” Emily chuckles.

         “I mean, yeah, that’s part of it,” I slightly smile.

         “Never thought that my best friend would be in a long-distance relationship, but if she’s happy, then I am over the moon.”

         “I am very happy right now. Oh, I just remembered, that quote you said yesterday,” I put down my pencil, looking back up at my best friend.

         “You did write it,” Emily looks up from her camera. “I remember from some story you had me read. I’m not sure what, but it was you. I’ve always like it, so that’s probably why I remember it.”

         “I’ve been thinking about it. The puzzle of my life is slowly coming together, year by year, more pieces are placed. This summer, I think that I have figured out a lot more than I was planning, so that is fun,” I awkwardly chuckle.

         “I’ve figure out that I do have the best friend in the world. Also, boys aren’t terrible, and can make me so happy.”

         “Well, I’ve already known that first one for a while since I love you and all. But, I think, that the other half is true for me in a different way. I knew that boys could be good if I found the right one to get close too, but I didn’t think it would happen for a while.”

         “Taehyung is a good match for you. The way he tries so hard to meet up with you, and how he makes you smile, and just how he wants to talk to you. It is so heartwarming to see it. More so with you being my best friend. All the trouble you’ve had with boys in the past, you deserve happiness with him.

         “It’s hard to fully fall for him since he’s a Korean star and all, though. It feels like an out-of-body experience when we are together, like he could disappear at any moment.”

         “And he has the choice of so many other girls? That scares you too, right?”

         “Yeah,” I take a deep breath. “It seems like a joke.”

         “Amber, you can’t see it, but when Taehyung looks at you, his eyes show it all. There is a sparkle that shines when his eyes land on you. He truly likes you. There’s no doubt about it. Trust me.”

         I look down at my writing: pages full of characters falling in love, something I really want. “Thank you.”

         “What?”

         “Thank you for telling me that. I needed to hear it.”

         “Oh, you’re welcome.”

         “Now, keep taking pictures, or looking through them to plan your scrapbooks, and I will keep writing away at something.”

         “I believe Taehyung is what you’ve been waiting for.”

         “I believe Namjoon might be for you.” I glance up to see my best friend smiling.

         “Maybe. I’m not objecting, and we keep getting closer by circumstances, so it is possible.”

         “He’s a little more reserved, so it is hard to tell, but I think he enjoys being around you. He knows that every time that Tae meets up with me, he gets to see you. I think it is sweet that he’s giving you a chance.”

         “I mean, he kind of has to since Taehyung needs him to talk to you.”

         “He could have just been polite without getting to know you, so I think you are just saying bullshit because you don’t want to admit that you could have a small crush on that boy,” I tilt my head just enough to see Emily’s cheeks reddening.

         “You did the same then before admitting that you liked Taehyung, so do not flip this on me,” she smirks, catching my gaze. “I’m testing the water, to see if what I am feeling is true. Don’t worry, you will be the first one to know how I feel when I figure it out.”

         “Good,” I look back now at my papers. “I need to be in the loop.”

         “You do know that we have to ask Nari if it will be okay to come back next summer?” Emily throws the conversation into a new direction.

         “I know, but I am just waiting for the right moment to run the idea pass her. Plus, I don’t want to think too much about next summer because the only way we can come back is if we want to leave, and I am not ready to leave yet.”

         “Then you probably don’t want to think about your birthday.”

         “Hm, no, we can talk about me birthday. It will be weird not being back home for it, but I think that we will still have a great time here.”

         “I know you will want a chocolate cake, as you have for the past five years.”

         “I think it has been six,” I giggle. “I love me some chocolate.”

         “We’ll probably have it here to make it easier. Take-out for the meal to make it easier, and you’ll probably invite the boys.”

         “Of course,” I smile, wishing that my phone would ring. It’s been silent since this morning, as Taehyung greets me through text every morning. “It would be boring without them.”

         “It would also be the last guaranteed day that we could be together.”

         “What did I say about talking about the end of the summer? I don’t want to think about the last anything.”

         “It’s not for over a month, so there is no reason to fret over it.”

         “The saying is that time flies when you are having fun, so I just know that the days are going to start flying by.”

         “Just knowing that we are getting closer to half-way sucks.”

         “Thank you for bring that up,” I let the sarcasm drip off my words, looking up to glare at her.

         “Sorry, sorry,” Emily raises her hands in defense. “What do you want to talk about?”

         “How about I turn some music on and we just focus on what we are doing?”

         “That sounds like it would be for the best,” she slightly smiles. “Maybe the boys will text soon to let us know when we can meet another member.”

         “I just want someone to text,” I pick up my phone, going to Spotify for the K-pop radio. “Now, let us enjoy some music as we continue to relax.”

********

         “Girls, I have to say, that I am impressed at how quickly you are picking up this language,” Nari widely smiles as we finish up our Korean lesson for the night. “I am also proud at how you are so willing and eager to take on the challenge that is Korean. You can have short conversations now, which is a lot more than you could say just a few weeks ago.”

         “It’s all thanks to you, Nari,” I place my notebook down on the coffee table. “Without you, we would be mispronouncing every other word, and probably wouldn’t have gotten far with learning.”

         “Thank you for being an amazing teacher,” Emily adds. “This is only the beginning of us tackling Korean, so I hope you are prepared for being our teacher for a long while.”

         Nari chuckles, “Of course. I will be your teacher until you two tell me that you don’t need anymore help. I’m sure it won’t take you two long to master Korean, and by that, I mean as much as I know and can teach. There are still areas of the language that mess me up sometimes.”

         “I think that everyone feels that way with their native language,” I settle back into the couch. “English can still be a struggle.”

         “There are so many rules in English,” Nari shakes her head. “If I didn’t grow up learning both languages, then we would not be having this conversation right now.”

         “I can’t even not being here right now,” I sigh, looking over at Emily. “Everything is perfect right now.”

         “I have to agree,” Emily lazily smiles at me. “Amber have the chance to picked from a multitude of family from all over the world. I’m glad it ended up being you.”

         “Ah, yes, your parents told me that when they contacted me the first time,” Nari nods a few times. “I was so scared because I hadn’t talked to you for many years, and I hadn’t been with you in person since your birth. All I could think about was freaking you out, pushing you away, ruining my chance to be the one you picked to spend a whole summer with. It would have sucked if you decided to go with another family member. I love that I was able to open my home to two curious girls, and that they fell in love with my country.”

         “The first time we Skyped, I was surprised because up to that point all the other people I was talking to were a lot older than me,” I look over at my cousin. “That was a point in your favor, as I knew the others would force me to do certain things on certain days. I just wanted to be able to relax and have fun while exploring a new place, culture, and language.”

         “I was sold when Amber showed me pictures of the area,” Emily speaks up. “It was a little odd that we would be coming to Korea, but knowing that a young cousin would be taking us in made it much better.”

         “I am so glad that I was lucky enough to be the one you picked,” Nari giggles. “It’s a good thing that I am young and understand what it is like to be a teenager that just wants to have fun.”

         “Fun means doing little but spending it with the people you love,” I fall onto my side. “To me, anyways, as I am introverted, and people tire me out.”

         “That’s why I am her best friend,” Emily taps my back with her foot. “We balance each other out, as I am more extroverted, and can talk when she shuts down.”

         “You two are super close, too,” Nari says. “If I remember correctly, you have been friends since elementary school. That’s more than half of your lives. I’m sure you know everything about each other.”

         “We have secrets,” Emily and I say as one.

         “Gah, that freaks me out,” Nari wiggles as a shiver runs through her body. “You are like the twin girls in The Shining, which I can read the book, but the movie gives me nightmares.”

         “Come play with us, Nari,” Emily and I are quick on the draw, but can’t help bursting into laughter.

         “I was going to rush out of the apartment if you two didn’t just burst into laughs,” Nari chuckles, shaking her head. “Now, I want to be caught up on your adventures, so what have you been doing the past few days?”

         “Three days ago we met Hoseok at the café, so that was nice to get out,” I answer. “The day after tomorrow we are going to meet another member, which is exciting and saddening because that we have almost met all the boys. It is just crazy how this summer is turning out.”

         “I have to agree with that.”

         “Other than that, we are just staying in,” Emily continues for me. “Playing video games, or doing our own little projects. I’ve never cooked so much in my life, so that has been fun.”

         “I love that you girls cook,” Nari runs a hand through her hair. “All you have to do is follow a recipe, and then it is perfect.”

         “I am more of a sweet making girl, but I have enjoyed making simple Korean dishes.”

         “It feels better knowing that we are making something to give to another person and not just ourselves,” Emily nods a few times.

         “Sure, sure, now, back on topic, what is up with you and your crushes?” Nari smirks.

         “I am just happy whenever Taehyung is able to meet up, and I am taking every day one step at a time,” I answer. My fingers instantly reach down to mess with the hem of my shirt. “I’ve had crushes before, but he makes me feel much different than those. Probably because he is reciprocating the feelings back to me, and I don’t have to stress over if he likes me or not. I know he does, and I hope that we keep getting closer.”

         “It warms my heart knowing that you are finding good friends, and possibly a future boyfriend,” Nari clasps her hands together. “I am still trying to wrap my head around that those friends are idols, but I trust that they are good people.”

         “Emily is also developing a crush that she will not accept,” I shift back into a sitting position. “You two gave me shit for not admitting I liked Tae, so now I feel like the same should happen to Emily.”

         “Namjoon is a nice guy, and I appreciate all that he has done for us,” Emily speaks up. “But I don’t want to mistake those feelings for me thinking I like him. I am just waiting to see how we continue to be around each other as our Korean knowledge expands. This is a different situation than yours.”

         “Shut up,” I pout. “I just didn’t want to be teased anymore. However, I do believe that Emily is forming a crush on Namjoon, which is super cute.”

         “Maybe,” she mumbles, adverting her gaze as her cheeks begin to take on a red tint. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up and find out that he doesn’t like me back. Taehyung clearly likes you, Amber, but Namjoon has yet to say anything close to that towards me. He’s just being a gentleman, and I can’t know if he is like that with everyone he meets since I barely know him.”

         “I completely understand that, Emily,” Nari speaks up. “There’s no wrong way in approaching a relationship, and maybe this is just a crush that goes nowhere. It is okay if the two of you stay just friends. I think that you’ll find someone that fits perfectly with you, and that is all that matters. Lucky for Amber, though, because she seems to have already found that person.”

         My cheeks heat up at the comment. “That’s very nice of you to say, Nari. I’m hoping that it all works out.”

         “Well, I think that we have exhausted the topic of boys,” Nari slaps her hands on her thighs.

         “Hold up,” I narrow my eyes at my cousin. “What about you, noona?” I tease. “Is there not a boy that you like?”

         “Me?” Nari points at herself as a chuckle leaves her mouth. “Oh, that is sweet to ask, but I do not have my eye on anyone. I dated briefly in high school, but then I dove into my work and didn’t have time to be in a relationship. That is fine by me, of course. It is the path that I chose.”

         “So, you just need someone who understands hard work like you do, and then it will be perfect.”

         “But also someone who knows how to have a fun time and relax,” Emily adds in. “There has to be a balance.”

         “I guess so,” Nari shrugs. “Don’t go out of your way to find someone for me, though. I am happy with my life at this moment, and I don’t think that I could handle being in a relationship at this time.”

         “Sure,” I goofily smile. “How about we watch a drama to end the night? They’re starting to grow on me, and I think I may be hooked.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hope you enjoyed reading! I wish I could tell you how many chapters are left, but I don’t even know yet myself. Another chapter will be out on in a few days, so be prepared for that! :D

[johnboothus]

VinePair Podcast: Eric Asimov Takes Stock of the Wine Industrys Pandemic Shakeup

This week on the “VinePair Podcast,” hosts Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe are joined by New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov to discuss the many ways that Covid-19 has affected the wine industry — and whether many of the pandemic-related changes will last.

For example, will the shift toward algorithmic online wine purchasing continue unabated, or will customers once again rely on personal recommendations as they return to wine shops and restaurants? What will happen to the role of wine professionals within the post-pandemic restaurant economy? Plus, Eric’s thoughts on non-alcoholic wine, the New York State wine industry, and more.

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Or Check out the Conversation Here

Adam Teeter: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Zach Geballe: And in Seattle, Wash., I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the “VinePair Podcast.” Zach, how are you doing?

Z: Pretty good, man, settling into the new house. It almost feels like spring here in Seattle. It’s nice, sunny weather. I had to mow the lawn, which was something I was not totally prepared for. It was my least favorite chore as a kid, and it has returned to my life after 20 years away.

A: Oh my gosh. Well, I did something that you are going to be proud of me for.

Z: Oh, I know what this is.

A: Guess what I did. I took a picture of a bottle of wine at a restaurant.

Z: I know. I was so excited! It’s embarrassing how excited I was by this.

A: I hate doing it. It’s not my thing. I want to be in the moment, which is why I always forget some of the things that I drink but I was feeling good. I ventured into Manhattan from Brooklyn and went to two places that I really enjoy in the East Village. First, I have to give a quick shoutout to Mister Paradise. They were one of the people that we had on the podcast really early on in the pandemic. I went to see how they were doing and had a delicious cocktail they just added to the menu called Dinner at Cote, which I didn’t ask if it’s in reference to Cote the restaurant, but that felt really weird that was the name of a cocktail I got. They’re nowhere near the restaurant, and they have nothing to do with it but it was a really delicious cocktail. Then, I went down the street to Kindred, which we’ve had on the podcast and they’re good friends. Alexis, one of the owners, and a sommelier brought out a Bardolino Classico, and it was really delicious. I was feeling really good. My wife and I and our friend Lena were all sitting outside and I said to myself, “I got to take a picture of this label.”

Z: Did you think of me when you took the picture?

A: I did. Then, I especially thought of you when I posted it on Instagram, because I also don’t do that. I almost never post bottles on Instagram, but I was feeling happy. It felt so normal, too. It was Saturday in New York City, and it was probably the first time it felt normal in the city. The city felt very alive throughout the day. We walked around throughout the day and every place was brimming with people, wearing masks, but brimming with people. Luckily, I knew the people. There’s no way we would have gotten sat at Kindred if I didn’t. It was a really nice experience and everyone who worked in restaurants was in great moods, too. I said, “OK, we’re coming back.” It was awesome. What about you?

Z: Well, I have both news on that front and also on the drinking front as well. I actually had a job interview yesterday. It was my first time back in a restaurant in a while.

A: Wow.

Z: I won’t go into more details because I don’t know if I’m going to be offered the job, and I don’t know if I’m going to take it. However, I was in a restaurant and there were people in it. I really miss that energy. Yes, it’s definitely weird. Everyone’s masked up when they’re at the table and it feels a little strange for sure, especially for me, because I haven’t put myself in that setting. But I miss the energy of being in a restaurant both as a diner, but especially for me as a professional, because it was such a part of my life for so long. I don’t know if I was just caught up in the moment, but I felt that I could work there. I would like to serve people wine because I miss doing that. It was great to be back in that setting. Now, the wine I had recently that I was excited about was a rosé made by a friend of mine, Leah Jørgensen, who’s a winemaker down in Oregon. It was a rosé of Cabernet Franc. She’s very passionate about Cabernet Franc as a variety. She makes rosé a mix of different red wines and also a white wine from Cabernet Franc from which I also very much love. It was one of those privileges being in this industry is getting the opportunity to have wines, beers, or cocktails made by people you know and like. That is really fun. It’s hopefully something that you and I are able to convey sometimes to listeners because there is something really delightful about being able to enjoy a drink made by someone you know. That’s a cool privilege in this industry.

A: Very much. Well, I’m going to go ahead and bring on our guest for this week, which we’ve had on before, but we’re super thrilled to have on again, which is Eric Asimov. Eric, welcome so much to the podcast.

Eric Asimov: Thanks for having me back.

A: Of course. Thanks for coming back. Before we jump into all of our questions, Zach and I always have this conversation about what we consumed recently that we loved. Is there anything that you want to chat about?

E: Well, like you, I’ve been going to restaurants for the last few weeks for the first time in God knows when. It’s such a joy to get back to that simple pleasure and enjoy it without fear of harming restaurant personnel or other people. It made me so happy. I confess it: Pretty much for the last year I’ve done little but post bottle shots on Instagram.

A: It’s just my weird thing, Eric.

E: Yeah, I’m one of those guys.

A: I’m not judging people that do it at all. I just never think to do it. I’m really bad at social media. I think I’m quite bad at it.

Z: It’s true. VinePair does a great job, but Adam Teeter doesn’t.

E: I don’t know if posting badly framed shots of bottles on Instagram constitutes being good at social media, but it’s what I can offer.

A: I love it. It’s so great to have you back. There’s so much that I want to talk about with you, especially in terms of how everything has evolved in this last year. I think one of the first things we want to talk about is a general conversation about how you may or may not have seen your readers’ taste preferences evolve. One thing that I was really curious about and we’ve been looking both at the VinePair insights data we have as well as sales data, which really showed that during the pandemic there was a return to what we call comfort food wines. The Cabs, the Merlots, and the Chardonnays. Did you see that as well? Were you receiving questions from readers asking to write more about those? If so, did you adapt your coverage?

E: No, first of all, very early into the pandemic, I did an article on comfort wines because I sensed that people were going in that direction. The people I talked to, a lot of whom I confess were in the wine industry, talked about their own comforts. Frankly, I don’t know what my readers are drinking specifically, nor, if I had that data, would I use it to shape my coverage. My role, in my mind, is to introduce people to things that they may not have considered. It’s not just to give them what they think they want, but to offer them something that they didn’t know they wanted. I’m not really catering to where they’re going but there may be other reasons why you see an uptick in consuming those comfort wines. A lot of that may have to do with online shopping, where you’re left to your own devices for the most part. You’re going to pick something that you know about, rather than something that’s suggested to you or something you’ve heard nothing about. Also, for the last year or so, we have not had the voice of the sommelier in people’s ears saying, “Well, if you like that, you should try this.” The act of introducing people to new and different wines in restaurants plays such an important role in wine education in this country.

A: It’s interesting, in this one answer you have touched on almost everything we want to talk about with you. One of the things I want to talk about first is that I completely understand what you’re saying in terms of not adjusting your coverage. That makes total sense. I’m also interested in there being so many articles touting the move to online commerce. Specifically, the move to online commerce is the future. Zach and I talked about this a lot on the podcast. While that’s good in some ways, how is that going to ultimately impact discovery? Personally, I love the wine shop. I love walking into the wine shop. I’m always one of those people that is not scared to talk to someone. I recognize that people jump on their phones in the wine shop and do their own research. They are scared because there’s some fear that someone’s going to sell them something that they don’t want because they think it needs to be moved. However, I like talking to people and I’ve discovered amazing wines that way. The more that transitions online, it’s going to be these algorithms that push in the same way it works on Amazon. You ultimately wind up buying all the Amazon products because that’s where the big margins are for that retailer. Have you thought about that? What do you think are the positives and the negatives of this move to consumption of online alcohol sales, especially wine?

E: In general, I mentally divide the wine-buying public into two large groups. One group is not that curious about wine. They like it. They want something that’s pleasant to drink, that’s inoffensive. But they’re essentially just looking for an alcohol delivery system that they can enjoy. These people may make up supermarket buyers. Also, they may very well end up doing most of their buying online because it’s simply more convenient, the way Amazon is. The other group, which I think is smaller but more ardent are the real dedicated wine lovers who are curious about what they’re drinking. They are interested in where it comes from, how to serve it best, who made it, how the grapes were grown and how the wine was made. All of these nerdy details. I’m not sure that they’re going to default into buying from the equivalent of the supermarket, which is online services such as wine.com or Drizzly. Those services seem to be the easiest and most convenient. They may be sitting at a computer ordering from a wine shop in their city or from a good wine club or directly from a producer. I don’t think they’re going to wholly give up the task of selection to an algorithm. Judging from, whether it’s Amazon, Netflix, or any algorithm, they’re so lame that you’re never going to find some computer-generated substitute for actual exploration and personal decision making.

A: Interesting. OK, that makes a lot of sense to me.

Z: Yeah. I think this is interesting because, in this context, we talked about online alongside retail in people buying wine for consumption. I think you wrote, almost two months ago, something that hit home to me, in part because I wrote something about this problem also. What will be the role of the dedicated wine professionals, sommeliers, and wine directors in restaurants moving forward? Obviously, we’re still discovering, the restaurant industry has been through an incredibly traumatic last 12 months or so. Do you think that piece that you just mentioned, Eric, the fact that people still want to explore, they do want to discover and have someone help them with that. Will this provide space for dedicated wine professionals in restaurants or does this feel as an endangered species at this point?

E: No, I don’t think it’s endangered. I think that we’ve really gotten used to it, and it may not come back immediately. Starting with high-end restaurants, so many restaurants have sold off part of their wine inventory just for survival. I think as they reopen, particularly high-end ones, they’re going to want to build it back up because wine is a profit center, and wine directors and sommeliers help generate those profits. The big restaurants that are able to afford them are going to hire them right back as if they’ve never left. It’s really the middle-range restaurants where you’re going to see people doubling up. You may not have one person solely acting as wine director. They may be serving tables. They may be taking on other sorts of managerial tasks. There is going to be some period of reckoning for restaurants as they try to get back on their feet. It’ll be interesting also to see where restaurants are opening. In my household, we’ve been debating whether Manhattan is ever going to come back and what it’s going to look like. Given the real estate, the rental prices, and the seeming refusal of landlords to bargain or relent on leases, I don’t really see restaurants returning to Manhattan immediately in the way that they were pre-pandemic.

A: Well, I think that what’s interesting about that, Eric, is I definitely think if they do return at least anytime soon, they’re going to be backed by big restaurant groups. It’s people with large piles of cash. Is that what we want? Probably not.

E: Yes, you’re exactly right. Those restaurants also cater to business clientele. We don’t know if the business clientele is going to be back in midtown Manhattan. It’s going to be really interesting to see how that plays out.

A: The one thing I’m curious about is: I understand some of the high-end places ultimately adding sommeliers. What I’ve heard from a lot of my peers in New York is that sommeliers, even at these high-end restaurants, are being asked to also act as servers. They’re being asked to run food, and a lot of them don’t want to do that. They’re basically leaving the profession. Is that going to last for too long? I believe the sommelier is going to come back. I don’t think the sommelier is never going to come back, but maybe come back as a whole new generation of sommeliers.

E: We may have this fallow period. Even before the pandemic, a lot of people sought success as a sommelier so that they could move on to a less demanding job. That was the model before all the shit of the last year. I agree, I think there’s just going to be this period of sorting out where restaurants are going to have to see where they stand. They’re going to have to measure who’s coming in, what their clientele wants, who they are, what they can sustain, and how they can build back. I think last year has just exposed how fragile the restaurant business is. I’m not sure that everybody is going to want to jump right back into the way it was.

A: One other question around that: I’m wondering if you’ve heard similar things that Zach and I have heard is, people are trying to figure out where they’re going to wind up. A lot of people, obviously, who are former sommeliers are moving into peripheral professions and some are moving into winemaking. I’ve heard blowback from winemakers who are saying, “Why are they doing this? I went to school, I did all these things. I’ve had apprenticeships. Just because this person was a famous sommelier, they think they can put their name on a bottle and be equivalent to me?” Are you hearing that, too, or is this just a bunch of people complaining?

E: I haven’t heard that, but bitterness and recriminations are part of the wine business. There’s always resentment. A third-generation farmer in Napa Valley sees the medical parts billionaire that comes in and buys up and charges hundreds of dollars for a bottle of wine that’s never been made before. Sadly, them that has, gets more. I don’t know that people are going to buy a wine because it has a sommelier’s name on it, but it’s a foot in the door.

Z: What about from the production standpoint? It’s been a challenging year, and it goes beyond a pandemic, although that’s a big part of it but, we had these tariffs that were imposed on a number of different European imports; we had a devastating fire season in California and other places as well. Recently, there were frost events in France and other parts of Europe. Has everything felt shaky because the last year was so unstable, or has the wine industry been a shaky place as a whole? I know it’s very hard to generalize, but I’m going to ask you to do it anyhow.

E: Well, there was so much uncertainty in the wine industry, and going back a year ago, the method of sales and distribution had just been completely disrupted. Nobody knew what they were going to do, but I think American producers proved amazingly adaptable at pivoting. Direct selling, I think on the part of wineries, is here to stay. Producers were so successful in adapting to that that I don’t really see any reason for them to give that up. It turned out that the fires caused far more problems than the pandemic did as far as production. It was just tremendously disruptive. If you look at fires as part of the overall effect of climate change, whether it’s late frosts in Europe or the wildfires on the West Coast. Every year there is going to be something now until producers and growers figure out how best to adapt to that.

A: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I also wanted to talk to you about visiting these wine regions, which is a huge part of what we all do. For the last year and a half, we haven’t been able to do that. How has that affected your own job?

E: Well, I like the wine producers, I’ve had to adapt and pivot. I had a bunch of major trips planned in 2020, all of which was we’re going to yield multiple stories. I had to move as the news moved. I ended up writing pieces that I never would have imagined. Comfort wines, drinking alone, and other issues of the pandemic. One in particular, for me: I’ve always said that writing about wine has made me feel connected to nature in a way that I never would have experienced living in a city for most of my life. That’s restored each year when I visit wine regions, walk in the vineyards, smell the air, and smell the life that’s around me. I am educated by farmers about how they go about managing and nurturing a vineyard. That has proved so valuable and meaningful to me that I really felt the absence in the middle of the summer of 2020. I grew up in New York, and I’ve lived near the water all my life except for a brief amount of time I spent in the middle of the country in Chicago. Even though that was near Lake Michigan, not being near an ocean gave me an unpleasant physical sensation, almost a claustrophobia. I had that same feeling this year.

A: Is there any place you want to go to soon?

Z: Yeah, I was just going to ask if you had anything lined up.

E: No, I don’t have anything lined up yet. I’m still planning to go to a major tasting in Atlanta, in late June.

A: Is that the High Museum thing?

E: No, it’s a private thing.

Z: You are not invited, Adam. I’m sorry.

E: It’s not my wine. Otherwise, I’d invite you. I need to go to the West Coast because ordinarily, I would have been out there at the fires, looking at the after effect. I’m holding a bunch of plane tickets from last year, but I eventually will be traveling. I have so many places that I want to go to. I know France said that if you were fully vaccinated, you could come this summer. That all depends on what else is going on. Are they still going to be in lockdown because of their deficient vaccination program? What about the rest of the EU? Right now, it’s just going to be easier to travel domestically.

*Z: It’s not as if there aren’t plenty of things to see and do in the U.S. when it comes to wine, I know you just wrote about New York State wines. I obviously encourage people to go read that, but as far as what’s going on, what is it that in particular people should be aware of?

E: As I wrote, New York is the least-known great wine region in the U.S., and it’s because it is probably the leading cool climate wine region. A lot of places on the West Coast claim to be cool climates, but if you go out there and it’s 107 in August and they’re getting ready to harvest, that’s just not true. The Finger Lakes really is a cool climate. When you get a bunch of wines from the Finger Lakes and they are all 12 percent alcohol or so, it’s a very different experience than drinking 14.5 percent wines.

A: I love the wines of the Finger Lakes.

E: I think Long Island is coming along, too. They went through their California wannabee period, and I think they’ve emerged from that. I don’t think they’re as far along as the Finger Lakes in figuring out what they have to offer in particular, but I think they’re really on the path now. The Finger Lakes are just so exciting. There’s just so much interesting stuff going on up there. That’s another trip I need to take.

A: Yeah, I went a few years ago, but I would love to go back. I saw your article, but for those that didn’t, are there are a few producers that people should look for in terms of Finger Lakes and the North Fork?

E: There are the Finger Lakes, Ravines, Forge Cellars, and the old standbys: Herman J. Wiemer and Dr. Konstantin Frank. There’s Red Tail Ridge, there’s Empire. Nathan Kay and his partnership with Pascaline Lepeltier. These are just terrific wines. There’s a lot more on the North Fork. There is Paumanok and Macari. I have to investigate a new incarnation of Shinn Estate. I haven’t had their wine and they’ve just relabeled to what they are now known as Rosehill. Then, there’s Wölffer Estate, Channing Daughters, and Lenz. There’s a lot of good places, Bedell.

A: There’s another new winery out there, RGNY. I think it’s a Mexican family that also makes wine in Mexico. Definitely interesting stuff happening for sure. It’s very cool.

E: Yeah, I haven’t heard about that particular winery.

Z: I also wanted to ask about another thing you wrote recently, which is about non-alcoholic wines. It is something that I’ve talked about a little bit on the podcast. I think the expectation is that the wine writer is going to trash non-alcoholic wines. My sense of your perspective was that at worst, it was an interesting category that you are keeping an eye on. Does that accurately reflect how you felt about it? Also, do you see there is a place for this in the wine industry?

E: Well, I’m surprised by the huge amount of interest in these wines, but I think there’s also a lot of misinformation about them. I think there are people who, for whatever reason, can’t or don’t want to drink alcohol anymore. They expect that if you simply remove alcohol from wine, you have this wonderful, complex beverage that is non-alcoholic. And it’s not true. Removing alcohol from wine is a major manipulation. What you are getting is a compromise at best. I tasted a few of them, and sure, they’re pleasant. They’re inoffensive, but they’re not what people are looking for in wine. If you understand that once you take the alcohol away, it’s not going to be the same thing, but this is something that can be enjoyed, I think that’s an honest assessment and honest understanding of what it is. I think that it’s also a pretty small category, although it’s definitely going to grow, given the apparent interest in it. Until now, a lot of stuff that masqueraded as non-alcoholic wine was really just grape juice unfermented. I think anybody who really understands wine knows that once you ferment it and then put it through whatever technology you need to do to remove the alcohol and then reconstitute the beverage, knows that that’s not what any conscientious winemaker would do to make good wine, so you’re going to end up with something different.

A: Right. Well, Eric, this has been a really fascinating conversation with you, as always. I want to be conscious of your time and thank you so much for joining us again. I thank you as well for your column every week. It’s always something that VinePair looks forward to, and I’m sure our listeners look forward to it as well.

E: It’s always a pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Z: We’ll do it again sometime after we’ve all had a chance to travel and discuss the world of wine outside of our homes.

E: Done!

A: Well, Zach, I’ll talk to you next week.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show.

Now for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City, and in Seattle, Wash., by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tasting director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who is instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: Eric Asimov Takes Stock of the Wine Industry’s Pandemic Shakeup appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/eric-asimov-post-pandemic-wine-podcast/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/vinepair-podcast-eric-asimov-takes-stock-of-the-wine-industrys-pandemic-shakeup

[wineanddinosaur]

VinePair Podcast: Eric Asimov Takes Stock of the Wine Industry’s Pandemic Shakeup

This week on the “VinePair Podcast,” hosts Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe are joined by New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov to discuss the many ways that Covid-19 has affected the wine industry — and whether many of the pandemic-related changes will last.

For example, will the shift toward algorithmic online wine purchasing continue unabated, or will customers once again rely on personal recommendations as they return to wine shops and restaurants? What will happen to the role of wine professionals within the post-pandemic restaurant economy? Plus, Eric’s thoughts on non-alcoholic wine, the New York State wine industry, and more.

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Adam Teeter: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Zach Geballe: And in Seattle, Wash., I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the “VinePair Podcast.” Zach, how are you doing?

Z: Pretty good, man, settling into the new house. It almost feels like spring here in Seattle. It’s nice, sunny weather. I had to mow the lawn, which was something I was not totally prepared for. It was my least favorite chore as a kid, and it has returned to my life after 20 years away.

A: Oh my gosh. Well, I did something that you are going to be proud of me for.

Z: Oh, I know what this is.

A: Guess what I did. I took a picture of a bottle of wine at a restaurant.

Z: I know. I was so excited! It’s embarrassing how excited I was by this.

A: I hate doing it. It’s not my thing. I want to be in the moment, which is why I always forget some of the things that I drink but I was feeling good. I ventured into Manhattan from Brooklyn and went to two places that I really enjoy in the East Village. First, I have to give a quick shoutout to Mister Paradise. They were one of the people that we had on the podcast really early on in the pandemic. I went to see how they were doing and had a delicious cocktail they just added to the menu called Dinner at Cote, which I didn’t ask if it’s in reference to Cote the restaurant, but that felt really weird that was the name of a cocktail I got. They’re nowhere near the restaurant, and they have nothing to do with it but it was a really delicious cocktail. Then, I went down the street to Kindred, which we’ve had on the podcast and they’re good friends. Alexis, one of the owners, and a sommelier brought out a Bardolino Classico, and it was really delicious. I was feeling really good. My wife and I and our friend Lena were all sitting outside and I said to myself, “I got to take a picture of this label.”

Z: Did you think of me when you took the picture?

A: I did. Then, I especially thought of you when I posted it on Instagram, because I also don’t do that. I almost never post bottles on Instagram, but I was feeling happy. It felt so normal, too. It was Saturday in New York City, and it was probably the first time it felt normal in the city. The city felt very alive throughout the day. We walked around throughout the day and every place was brimming with people, wearing masks, but brimming with people. Luckily, I knew the people. There’s no way we would have gotten sat at Kindred if I didn’t. It was a really nice experience and everyone who worked in restaurants was in great moods, too. I said, “OK, we’re coming back.” It was awesome. What about you?

Z: Well, I have both news on that front and also on the drinking front as well. I actually had a job interview yesterday. It was my first time back in a restaurant in a while.

A: Wow.

Z: I won’t go into more details because I don’t know if I’m going to be offered the job, and I don’t know if I’m going to take it. However, I was in a restaurant and there were people in it. I really miss that energy. Yes, it’s definitely weird. Everyone’s masked up when they’re at the table and it feels a little strange for sure, especially for me, because I haven’t put myself in that setting. But I miss the energy of being in a restaurant both as a diner, but especially for me as a professional, because it was such a part of my life for so long. I don’t know if I was just caught up in the moment, but I felt that I could work there. I would like to serve people wine because I miss doing that. It was great to be back in that setting. Now, the wine I had recently that I was excited about was a rosé made by a friend of mine, Leah Jørgensen, who’s a winemaker down in Oregon. It was a rosé of Cabernet Franc. She’s very passionate about Cabernet Franc as a variety. She makes rosé a mix of different red wines and also a white wine from Cabernet Franc from which I also very much love. It was one of those privileges being in this industry is getting the opportunity to have wines, beers, or cocktails made by people you know and like. That is really fun. It’s hopefully something that you and I are able to convey sometimes to listeners because there is something really delightful about being able to enjoy a drink made by someone you know. That’s a cool privilege in this industry.

A: Very much. Well, I’m going to go ahead and bring on our guest for this week, which we’ve had on before, but we’re super thrilled to have on again, which is Eric Asimov. Eric, welcome so much to the podcast.

Eric Asimov: Thanks for having me back.

A: Of course. Thanks for coming back. Before we jump into all of our questions, Zach and I always have this conversation about what we consumed recently that we loved. Is there anything that you want to chat about?

E: Well, like you, I’ve been going to restaurants for the last few weeks for the first time in God knows when. It’s such a joy to get back to that simple pleasure and enjoy it without fear of harming restaurant personnel or other people. It made me so happy. I confess it: Pretty much for the last year I’ve done little but post bottle shots on Instagram.

A: It’s just my weird thing, Eric.

E: Yeah, I’m one of those guys.

A: I’m not judging people that do it at all. I just never think to do it. I’m really bad at social media. I think I’m quite bad at it.

Z: It’s true. VinePair does a great job, but Adam Teeter doesn’t.

E: I don’t know if posting badly framed shots of bottles on Instagram constitutes being good at social media, but it’s what I can offer.

A: I love it. It’s so great to have you back. There’s so much that I want to talk about with you, especially in terms of how everything has evolved in this last year. I think one of the first things we want to talk about is a general conversation about how you may or may not have seen your readers’ taste preferences evolve. One thing that I was really curious about and we’ve been looking both at the VinePair insights data we have as well as sales data, which really showed that during the pandemic there was a return to what we call comfort food wines. The Cabs, the Merlots, and the Chardonnays. Did you see that as well? Were you receiving questions from readers asking to write more about those? If so, did you adapt your coverage?

E: No, first of all, very early into the pandemic, I did an article on comfort wines because I sensed that people were going in that direction. The people I talked to, a lot of whom I confess were in the wine industry, talked about their own comforts. Frankly, I don’t know what my readers are drinking specifically, nor, if I had that data, would I use it to shape my coverage. My role, in my mind, is to introduce people to things that they may not have considered. It’s not just to give them what they think they want, but to offer them something that they didn’t know they wanted. I’m not really catering to where they’re going but there may be other reasons why you see an uptick in consuming those comfort wines. A lot of that may have to do with online shopping, where you’re left to your own devices for the most part. You’re going to pick something that you know about, rather than something that’s suggested to you or something you’ve heard nothing about. Also, for the last year or so, we have not had the voice of the sommelier in people’s ears saying, “Well, if you like that, you should try this.” The act of introducing people to new and different wines in restaurants plays such an important role in wine education in this country.

A: It’s interesting, in this one answer you have touched on almost everything we want to talk about with you. One of the things I want to talk about first is that I completely understand what you’re saying in terms of not adjusting your coverage. That makes total sense. I’m also interested in there being so many articles touting the move to online commerce. Specifically, the move to online commerce is the future. Zach and I talked about this a lot on the podcast. While that’s good in some ways, how is that going to ultimately impact discovery? Personally, I love the wine shop. I love walking into the wine shop. I’m always one of those people that is not scared to talk to someone. I recognize that people jump on their phones in the wine shop and do their own research. They are scared because there’s some fear that someone’s going to sell them something that they don’t want because they think it needs to be moved. However, I like talking to people and I’ve discovered amazing wines that way. The more that transitions online, it’s going to be these algorithms that push in the same way it works on Amazon. You ultimately wind up buying all the Amazon products because that’s where the big margins are for that retailer. Have you thought about that? What do you think are the positives and the negatives of this move to consumption of online alcohol sales, especially wine?

E: In general, I mentally divide the wine-buying public into two large groups. One group is not that curious about wine. They like it. They want something that’s pleasant to drink, that’s inoffensive. But they’re essentially just looking for an alcohol delivery system that they can enjoy. These people may make up supermarket buyers. Also, they may very well end up doing most of their buying online because it’s simply more convenient, the way Amazon is. The other group, which I think is smaller but more ardent are the real dedicated wine lovers who are curious about what they’re drinking. They are interested in where it comes from, how to serve it best, who made it, how the grapes were grown and how the wine was made. All of these nerdy details. I’m not sure that they’re going to default into buying from the equivalent of the supermarket, which is online services such as wine.com or Drizzly. Those services seem to be the easiest and most convenient. They may be sitting at a computer ordering from a wine shop in their city or from a good wine club or directly from a producer. I don’t think they’re going to wholly give up the task of selection to an algorithm. Judging from, whether it’s Amazon, Netflix, or any algorithm, they’re so lame that you’re never going to find some computer-generated substitute for actual exploration and personal decision making.

A: Interesting. OK, that makes a lot of sense to me.

Z: Yeah. I think this is interesting because, in this context, we talked about online alongside retail in people buying wine for consumption. I think you wrote, almost two months ago, something that hit home to me, in part because I wrote something about this problem also. What will be the role of the dedicated wine professionals, sommeliers, and wine directors in restaurants moving forward? Obviously, we’re still discovering, the restaurant industry has been through an incredibly traumatic last 12 months or so. Do you think that piece that you just mentioned, Eric, the fact that people still want to explore, they do want to discover and have someone help them with that. Will this provide space for dedicated wine professionals in restaurants or does this feel as an endangered species at this point?

E: No, I don’t think it’s endangered. I think that we’ve really gotten used to it, and it may not come back immediately. Starting with high-end restaurants, so many restaurants have sold off part of their wine inventory just for survival. I think as they reopen, particularly high-end ones, they’re going to want to build it back up because wine is a profit center, and wine directors and sommeliers help generate those profits. The big restaurants that are able to afford them are going to hire them right back as if they’ve never left. It’s really the middle-range restaurants where you’re going to see people doubling up. You may not have one person solely acting as wine director. They may be serving tables. They may be taking on other sorts of managerial tasks. There is going to be some period of reckoning for restaurants as they try to get back on their feet. It’ll be interesting also to see where restaurants are opening. In my household, we’ve been debating whether Manhattan is ever going to come back and what it’s going to look like. Given the real estate, the rental prices, and the seeming refusal of landlords to bargain or relent on leases, I don’t really see restaurants returning to Manhattan immediately in the way that they were pre-pandemic.

A: Well, I think that what’s interesting about that, Eric, is I definitely think if they do return at least anytime soon, they’re going to be backed by big restaurant groups. It’s people with large piles of cash. Is that what we want? Probably not.

E: Yes, you’re exactly right. Those restaurants also cater to business clientele. We don’t know if the business clientele is going to be back in midtown Manhattan. It’s going to be really interesting to see how that plays out.

A: The one thing I’m curious about is: I understand some of the high-end places ultimately adding sommeliers. What I’ve heard from a lot of my peers in New York is that sommeliers, even at these high-end restaurants, are being asked to also act as servers. They’re being asked to run food, and a lot of them don’t want to do that. They’re basically leaving the profession. Is that going to last for too long? I believe the sommelier is going to come back. I don’t think the sommelier is never going to come back, but maybe come back as a whole new generation of sommeliers.

E: We may have this fallow period. Even before the pandemic, a lot of people sought success as a sommelier so that they could move on to a less demanding job. That was the model before all the shit of the last year. I agree, I think there’s just going to be this period of sorting out where restaurants are going to have to see where they stand. They’re going to have to measure who’s coming in, what their clientele wants, who they are, what they can sustain, and how they can build back. I think last year has just exposed how fragile the restaurant business is. I’m not sure that everybody is going to want to jump right back into the way it was.

A: One other question around that: I’m wondering if you’ve heard similar things that Zach and I have heard is, people are trying to figure out where they’re going to wind up. A lot of people, obviously, who are former sommeliers are moving into peripheral professions and some are moving into winemaking. I’ve heard blowback from winemakers who are saying, “Why are they doing this? I went to school, I did all these things. I’ve had apprenticeships. Just because this person was a famous sommelier, they think they can put their name on a bottle and be equivalent to me?” Are you hearing that, too, or is this just a bunch of people complaining?

E: I haven’t heard that, but bitterness and recriminations are part of the wine business. There’s always resentment. A third-generation farmer in Napa Valley sees the medical parts billionaire that comes in and buys up and charges hundreds of dollars for a bottle of wine that’s never been made before. Sadly, them that has, gets more. I don’t know that people are going to buy a wine because it has a sommelier’s name on it, but it’s a foot in the door.

Z: What about from the production standpoint? It’s been a challenging year, and it goes beyond a pandemic, although that’s a big part of it but, we had these tariffs that were imposed on a number of different European imports; we had a devastating fire season in California and other places as well. Recently, there were frost events in France and other parts of Europe. Has everything felt shaky because the last year was so unstable, or has the wine industry been a shaky place as a whole? I know it’s very hard to generalize, but I’m going to ask you to do it anyhow.

E: Well, there was so much uncertainty in the wine industry, and going back a year ago, the method of sales and distribution had just been completely disrupted. Nobody knew what they were going to do, but I think American producers proved amazingly adaptable at pivoting. Direct selling, I think on the part of wineries, is here to stay. Producers were so successful in adapting to that that I don’t really see any reason for them to give that up. It turned out that the fires caused far more problems than the pandemic did as far as production. It was just tremendously disruptive. If you look at fires as part of the overall effect of climate change, whether it’s late frosts in Europe or the wildfires on the West Coast. Every year there is going to be something now until producers and growers figure out how best to adapt to that.

A: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I also wanted to talk to you about visiting these wine regions, which is a huge part of what we all do. For the last year and a half, we haven’t been able to do that. How has that affected your own job?

E: Well, I like the wine producers, I’ve had to adapt and pivot. I had a bunch of major trips planned in 2020, all of which was we’re going to yield multiple stories. I had to move as the news moved. I ended up writing pieces that I never would have imagined. Comfort wines, drinking alone, and other issues of the pandemic. One in particular, for me: I’ve always said that writing about wine has made me feel connected to nature in a way that I never would have experienced living in a city for most of my life. That’s restored each year when I visit wine regions, walk in the vineyards, smell the air, and smell the life that’s around me. I am educated by farmers about how they go about managing and nurturing a vineyard. That has proved so valuable and meaningful to me that I really felt the absence in the middle of the summer of 2020. I grew up in New York, and I’ve lived near the water all my life except for a brief amount of time I spent in the middle of the country in Chicago. Even though that was near Lake Michigan, not being near an ocean gave me an unpleasant physical sensation, almost a claustrophobia. I had that same feeling this year.

A: Is there any place you want to go to soon?

Z: Yeah, I was just going to ask if you had anything lined up.

E: No, I don’t have anything lined up yet. I’m still planning to go to a major tasting in Atlanta, in late June.

A: Is that the High Museum thing?

E: No, it’s a private thing.

Z: You are not invited, Adam. I’m sorry.

E: It’s not my wine. Otherwise, I’d invite you. I need to go to the West Coast because ordinarily, I would have been out there at the fires, looking at the after effect. I’m holding a bunch of plane tickets from last year, but I eventually will be traveling. I have so many places that I want to go to. I know France said that if you were fully vaccinated, you could come this summer. That all depends on what else is going on. Are they still going to be in lockdown because of their deficient vaccination program? What about the rest of the EU? Right now, it’s just going to be easier to travel domestically.

*Z: It’s not as if there aren’t plenty of things to see and do in the U.S. when it comes to wine, I know you just wrote about New York State wines. I obviously encourage people to go read that, but as far as what’s going on, what is it that in particular people should be aware of?

E: As I wrote, New York is the least-known great wine region in the U.S., and it’s because it is probably the leading cool climate wine region. A lot of places on the West Coast claim to be cool climates, but if you go out there and it’s 107 in August and they’re getting ready to harvest, that’s just not true. The Finger Lakes really is a cool climate. When you get a bunch of wines from the Finger Lakes and they are all 12 percent alcohol or so, it’s a very different experience than drinking 14.5 percent wines.

A: I love the wines of the Finger Lakes.

E: I think Long Island is coming along, too. They went through their California wannabee period, and I think they’ve emerged from that. I don’t think they’re as far along as the Finger Lakes in figuring out what they have to offer in particular, but I think they’re really on the path now. The Finger Lakes are just so exciting. There’s just so much interesting stuff going on up there. That’s another trip I need to take.

A: Yeah, I went a few years ago, but I would love to go back. I saw your article, but for those that didn’t, are there are a few producers that people should look for in terms of Finger Lakes and the North Fork?

E: There are the Finger Lakes, Ravines, Forge Cellars, and the old standbys: Herman J. Wiemer and Dr. Konstantin Frank. There’s Red Tail Ridge, there’s Empire. Nathan Kay and his partnership with Pascaline Lepeltier. These are just terrific wines. There’s a lot more on the North Fork. There is Paumanok and Macari. I have to investigate a new incarnation of Shinn Estate. I haven’t had their wine and they’ve just relabeled to what they are now known as Rosehill. Then, there’s Wölffer Estate, Channing Daughters, and Lenz. There’s a lot of good places, Bedell.

A: There’s another new winery out there, RGNY. I think it’s a Mexican family that also makes wine in Mexico. Definitely interesting stuff happening for sure. It’s very cool.

E: Yeah, I haven’t heard about that particular winery.

Z: I also wanted to ask about another thing you wrote recently, which is about non-alcoholic wines. It is something that I’ve talked about a little bit on the podcast. I think the expectation is that the wine writer is going to trash non-alcoholic wines. My sense of your perspective was that at worst, it was an interesting category that you are keeping an eye on. Does that accurately reflect how you felt about it? Also, do you see there is a place for this in the wine industry?

E: Well, I’m surprised by the huge amount of interest in these wines, but I think there’s also a lot of misinformation about them. I think there are people who, for whatever reason, can’t or don’t want to drink alcohol anymore. They expect that if you simply remove alcohol from wine, you have this wonderful, complex beverage that is non-alcoholic. And it’s not true. Removing alcohol from wine is a major manipulation. What you are getting is a compromise at best. I tasted a few of them, and sure, they’re pleasant. They’re inoffensive, but they’re not what people are looking for in wine. If you understand that once you take the alcohol away, it’s not going to be the same thing, but this is something that can be enjoyed, I think that’s an honest assessment and honest understanding of what it is. I think that it’s also a pretty small category, although it’s definitely going to grow, given the apparent interest in it. Until now, a lot of stuff that masqueraded as non-alcoholic wine was really just grape juice unfermented. I think anybody who really understands wine knows that once you ferment it and then put it through whatever technology you need to do to remove the alcohol and then reconstitute the beverage, knows that that’s not what any conscientious winemaker would do to make good wine, so you’re going to end up with something different.

A: Right. Well, Eric, this has been a really fascinating conversation with you, as always. I want to be conscious of your time and thank you so much for joining us again. I thank you as well for your column every week. It’s always something that VinePair looks forward to, and I’m sure our listeners look forward to it as well.

E: It’s always a pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Z: We’ll do it again sometime after we’ve all had a chance to travel and discuss the world of wine outside of our homes.

E: Done!

A: Well, Zach, I’ll talk to you next week.

Z: Sounds great.

Thanks so much for listening to the “VinePair Podcast.” If you love this show as much as we love making it, then please give us a rating or review on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever it is you get your podcasts. It really helps everyone else discover the show.

Now for the credits. VinePair is produced and recorded in New York City, and in Seattle, Wash., by myself and Zach Geballe, who does all the editing and loves to get the credit. Also, I would love to give a special shout-out to my VinePair co-founder, Josh Malin, for helping make all this possible and also to Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tasting director, who is additionally a producer on the show. I also want to, of course, thank every other member of the VinePair team who is instrumental in all of the ideas that go into making the show every week. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again.

Ed. note: This episode has been edited for length and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: Eric Asimov Takes Stock of the Wine Industry’s Pandemic Shakeup appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/eric-asimov-post-pandemic-wine-podcast/

[taetaesource]

Out of the Ordinary

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 

You won a lucky draw chance to meet BTS backstage and got to know Min Yoongi. 

As BTS was growing bigger and bigger, Yoongi's burdens seemed to get heavier and heavier. BTS moved dorms, took on more endorsement contracts, upgraded their studios and Yoongi got a much bigger studio with the freedom to decorate or put whatever he wanted in there. He was getting more responsibilities at work. He would usually only be in charge of writing songs after songs and producing a few of them. Most of the work was done by the older and more experienced song producers and writers of the company. The rappers of BTS were only contributors to a small part, mainly coming up with beats or the hooks of the song, the bulk of the production came from the backend team. But after hyyh proved to be a huge success, the company allowed Namjoon and Yoongi to take charge of more production. WINGS was the album that Namjoon and Yoongi poured their hearts into. You knew the efforts that were taken to produce this album and the scepticism Yoongi had towards it. Yoongi was not as involved as Namjoon as he was working on his mixtape at that time, but he was definitely stressed out over the two projects.

The number of sleepless nights, long discussions and quarrels with Namjoon, wrestling back and forth between the different drafts, this album deserved to be a hit. When Yoongi was working hard to prove his worth through his mixtape and album, you were working hard on your final year thesis. You had countless of sleepless nights as well, flipping through pages after pages, academic journals after academic journals, researching and fitting everything into coherent chapters of essays. While Yoongi went back and forth between Namjoon and the senior producers, you were constantly going back and forth your professors' offices.

Dates with Yoongi was no longer a thing as both of you were just too busy and stressed out. Occasionally, you would text Yoongi in between breathing time such as when you were waiting for your food to be done at the takeaway, and he would sometimes call you in between his breathing time such as when he was waiting for his computer to finish saving and uploading the file that he was working on.

When WINGS was out, you were in the final week before your submission. The album was such a hit that everyone was talking about it. BTS was on the TV and radio everywhere, the streets were playing their songs and their advertisements were all over the bus stops, underground tunnels, subway and LED screens. Yoongi was busy with his promotions and he knew that you were busy too so he could not call or text you during the period. You were too busy and stressed out with perfecting your thesis that you hadn’t noticed his silence. The last time he texted you was to tell you that the album was out on itunes and spotify and you were on your way to your professor’s office so you left him on read receipt. The meeting with your professor turned out to be a stressful one as he pointed out the points that you would need to change in order for your paper to be more coherent. “You have 5 more days to go young lady, and I am not sure how you are going to get all these changes done. I can only say that you should have gotten more research done a month ago and not at this last minute. With a paper like this, you should be happy with a C grade.” 

So even if WINGS topped the charts and BTS has been winning at all the music shows, you could not bring yourself to congratulate Yoongi. Heck, you could not even find the time and mood to watch and follow BTS news and updates. You literally had 5 days and a disappointed professor to deal with. You barely even had time to eat and sleep properly. 

The day before your submission deadline, you were holed up in the library finishing up the final chapter of your paper. You still had to prove read the entire 12 chapters and polish up your acknowledgment and citations pages. You worked through the night and finally submitted your paper at 8am. It was not your best as you felt that you could have done better if you had even just one more day. So you turned your paper in with a less than satisfied heart and not as relieved as you thought you would be. Nonetheless, you were so tired and exhausted, all you wanted to do was to get in bed and sleep till the next day. 

That evening, after you woke up from your long nap, Hee Ji suggested to go out for dinner in celebration of your thesis submission. Although you were still feeling the fatigue, you thought it was a nice idea to finally get out to see the world after weeks of hell. The both of you headed to the chicken store near your dorm. 

The shop had a good business but it was not very crowded so you didn’t have to wait for long to get a table. After settling down and placing your order, you noticed Hee Ji singing along to the song that was playing in the shop. The song was very catchy and had a chorus that sounded like, “money money money money.” You started to nod to the rhythm of the music and when the chorus kept repeating, you said to Hee Ji, “this song is so funny, are they really singing about money??” 

“Oh my god girl, it’s BTS telling you “i want you many many”???”

Your first reaction was to look around as if to check if you could see what you were hearing and indeed, the music was coming out from a TV screen at the side of the store. The TV was playing the music video and you could recognise that it was BTS. But the truth was cemented when you saw Yoongi in the music video. A weird feeling came up to you. You suddenly realised that you had no idea when exactly the album was released. You had no idea how does the song sound like, how does the album look like and how does your boyfriend look like in this comeback. You remembered reading the texts that Yoongi sent you but you have not listened to the album that he had put in so much effort into making. You felt guilty and you suddenly missed Yoongi alot. You picked your phone up, attempting to reply to his last text but figured that you should at least listen to the album first before talking to him about it. 

That night, you ran the album on spotify and read up on the latest news of the comeback. You texted Yoongi and surprisingly got a quick reply from him. 

Send: I just managed to listen to the full album and saw the MV while i was eating at the shop just now. I am so proud of you my love. 

Message from Yoongi: you submitted your paper? Ya the album was well received thankfully. I’m going for a radio show in awhile. I’m so goddamn tired. 

Send: All the best! Please eat well 

Message from Yoongi: we are on 009FM if you want to hear my voice. 

Send: why would i want to? I’m going to sleep. I literally just submitted my paper this morning with no sleep yesterday. 

Message from Yoongi: Fine. Don’t listen to it. 

Send: Promise you would say something funny on the show and I will listen to it. 

Message from Yoongi: Forget it. Sleep. 

Send: I am tuning in now. Remember to be funny, I’m listening. 

Send: And I miss you. 

Message from Yoongi: Idiot 

You had your radio on as you prepared for bed. You had washed up, applied your night cream, turned off the main light and lying on your back on your bed with the warm bedside lamp on and the soft music playing from the radio station. 

“It’s 11pm and you are listening to 009FM. How have your Monday been? Were you feeling the blues as you were getting to work or school this morning? As the day is coming to an end, I hope you would be encouraged that you made it through today and tomorrow is a brand new day again.” 

“For our dear listeners tonight, are you waiting for our special guests to be on air tonight? Are you exciting to listen to them on this show?” 

“Our guests are here with us tonight and they are BTS. Say hello to our listeners please.” 

“Hello, we are BTS!” 

“Wow so much energy from this bunch, it suddenly feels like our late night show has brightened up so much. Please introduce yourself and tell us how you are feeling now.” 

“Hi I’m Rap Mon, nice to meet you tonight” 

“Hi I’m Jin, I’m glad to be here on this show tonight” 

“Hello I’m Jimin. Please enjoy the show tonight.” 

“Hi I’m Jhope! Wah I see so many of our armys outside. Hello!” 

“Hello I’m V. Please send us lots of love.” 

“Hi I’m Jungkook. Nice to see all of you here.” 

“Hi I’m Suga. Nice to meet all of you on this show tonight.” 

“Wow I’m sure your fans are happy to meet all of you on this show as well. Congratulations on your new album! Please tell us more about your new comeback.” 

Rap Mon: “Yes, this album is our third full length album with 7 solo songs from the members. We have put in alot of effort in this album, with our own compositions and performances. The concept is new as well, it’s about meeting and overcoming the temptations that youths face.” 

“Ahhh are there any temptations that you face as well? Could each member tell us about your temptations? Let’s start with Jin?” 

Jin: “oh yes... that would be food for me.” 

“Oh yes, that is a temptation that is hard to resist. There’s just too much good food around isn’t it?” 

Jimin: “computer games” 

V and Jungkook: “me too, computer games.” 

Rap Mon: “sleep” 

Suga: “Yes, I am tempted to sleep now.” 

*everyone burst out laughing*

Jhope: “armyyyyyyys” 

“Hahaha and why would armys be your temptation?” 

Jhope: “they seduce my heart.” 

*everyone burst out laughing* 

“Hahahaha pretty sure love is one big temptation that every youth encounters. Is love a big concept in your new album?” 

Suga: “yes i would agree with you that love is a big temptation in youth and we have incorporated that into the album as well. If you listen to our title track “Blood Sweat Tears”, you would see lyrics that are along the lines of “getting drunk on love” and “wanting you many many”....

“And are these inspired by your experience of love?” 

Suga: “oh is this a trick question? hahaha i would say love is a big temptation because all of us know that love is a nice feeling- from movies, from books, from songs etc. Many times, we draw inspirations from these sources and we imagine and translate them into our songs and music. Love comes in many forms as well, it can be love between friends, family, and we hope to put in and show different aspects instead of just love between lovers.” 

“And what kind of love is the greatest temptation for you?” 

Suga: “haha another trick question?” 

Jhope: “love from armys” 

Jimin: “yes, our army’s love is irresistible.” 

Suga: “I guess it’s the love from someone who loves you unconditionally. When you love a person and the person loves you back even greater, even more than you expected, that’s when it becomes a temptation. A temptation to get closer, to give more and to love more.” 

Jhope: “that’s why we are always giving back to our armys greater music, greater songs, greater performances.” 

“Ahh that makes sense. To our armys listening to this show, are you feeling the love from BTS?” 

“To let our fans know how much you love them, please say something to those who are listening to our show.” 

Jimin: “thank you for loving us and supporting us, we will show you a better side of us with this new album and the performances to come.” 

Suga: “To the you, listening to this show, and the you who loves me, thank you for your love. I love you too.” 

“Our dear listeners, can you hear the love from BTS? May the love from this 7 lovely young men warm up your hearts tonight and give you the strength to live beautifully for the week. Goodnight.” 

[breeeliss]

[Miraculous Ladybug]: A Full Commitment’s What I’m Thinking Of

idk man, i haven’t written the lovesquare in a while, and for some reason i wanted come crack-ish MiracuClass antics, so sue me

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Link to Archive of Our Own: [AO3]

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Title: A Full Commitment’s What I’m Thinking Of

Summary: Sometimes, when you’re friends are so obviously in love and they’re taking forever to get with the program, it’s time to take matters into your own hands. 

In which Alya takes matchmaking to a whole new level, Nino tries to be the voice of reason, the entire class is incapable of keeping a secret, and Marinette and Adrien just try to have a decent picnic

A Full Commitment’s What I’m Thinking Of

“A class picnic?”

Alya nodded as she scribbled a time and a location on the back of Marinette’s hand. “Yup. I figured it’d be fun. School year’s ending, the weather is beautiful, and exams are just about wrapped up. Thought it’d be a cool casual thing.”

“You didn’t tell me you were planning this,” Marinette said. “I could’ve helped you!”

“Oh, don’t even worried about it, girlie,” Alya assured. “You’ve been so busy with class rep stuff lately I just went and asked Nino for help. Worked out just fine, too. He’s been helping me handle music and food.”

Marinette smiled. “This is so sweet! I can’t believe you did all this for everyone. Is everyone else coming?”

“Oh yeah,” Alya insisted. “Everyone in class. Even Adrien.”

Alya expected some blushing and stammering, but Marinette merely blinked at her. “Adrien’s going to be there?”

“Of course! He was super excited when he found out you were coming.”

Marinette lifted both of her brows in surprise. “He was?”

Alya patted Marinette on the shoulder. “I would never lie to you. So yeah, you should definitely come. After school today, don’t forget.”

“Ok cool!” Marinette nodded. “Do you wanna walk over together with Nino and — ”

“ NO!” Alya shouted, hands darting out to grab Marinette’s shoulders. Marinette jumped in shock and leaned away from Alya’s frantic looking expression. Alya bit her lip and sighed out through her nose. “I-I mean….nah, i-it’s fine. I have to help Nino with….something after school anyway. Uh….I’ll meet you there a little afterwards.”

“Um...okay,” Marinette said. “You sure you and Nino don’t need any — ”

“Nope! No help!” Alya insisted, spinning Marinette around and marching her over to the locker room. “You just get your books together and meet us at the park. It’ll be a blast.”

She left Marinette in the locker room alone while she let out a huge sigh, and jogged to the back entrance of the school where Nino was waiting for her. Alya grabbed his arm pulled him away from the door and around the corner so that no one would be able to hear them. “Alright, is everything set up?”

“We’re good,” Nino confirmed. “Speakers, blankets, basket of food, you name it. They just need to show up.”

“And you’re positive Adrien said he’s coming.”

“Dude yes,” Nino said with an eye roll. “And I told him that Marinette would be there, just like you told me.”

Alya smirked. “Excellent.”

“You know, there are easier ways to shack these two up together,” Nino reminded her. “Marinette isn’t a total mess around him anymore, and Adrien is starting to get to know her. It’ll probably happen naturally anyway — ”

“Listen,” Alya interrupted. “I have learned to stop giving these two the benefit of the doubt. I love them dearly, but they’re hopeless as all Hell. And if you want something done, you have to do it yourself.”

Nino tapped her on the nose. “See, that’s the kind of attitude that’s going to get you arrested when you become a reporter,” he warned her. “You’re too nosy.”

Alya waved him off and stared down at her phone. “Whatever. We don’t have time to argue this. We’ve gotta make it to the park before they do.”

“Alya this is so extra. Even for you.”

“You already agreed to this, Nino. Don’t you start complaining on me now.”

Adrien looked at the back of his hand and double checked the time and location that Nino had given him. 2pm by the gates of the park. He sort of expected to see some of his classmates along the way since they were all meeting here, but even though the park was crowded, he didn’t really see anyone he recognized. Did he get the day right? Nino definitely said it was after school today….

He walked away from the main paths and over to the grassy area where people were either playing lawn games or laid out on blankets. Right next to a line of bushes were two huge picnic blankets laid along with a large picnic basket, probably filled up with all the food that Nino said he and Alya had spent all night preparing for the class. There looked to be only one person sitting in the middle of the blanket and looking through their phone out of boredom, and Adrien sighed in relief when he saw that it was Marinette.

“Oh, thank goodness,” he sighed out when she waved back at him. “I thought I’d gotten the day wrong or something.”

“I thought I had gotten here too early or something myself,” Marinette laughed. “At least we can keep each other company until everyone else shows up.”

“That’s true,” Adrien smiled. He quickly looked around at the other park goers that were nearby and lowered his voice as he spoke to her. “How are you feeling, by the way? I know I woke up super sore from that akuma attack last night.”

“Doing better,” Marinette promised. “Back’s a little achy, but I think the bruise will go away by tomorrow. Are you alright? You took a nasty fall…”

Adrien rolled out his shoulder. “It’s fine. Just a little stiff, but like you said, we tend to heal up pretty quick.”

“Let’s hope an akuma attack doesn’t happen during this picnic,” Marinette joked. “It’s gonna be hard to explain to our whole class why we have to spontaneously run away.”

“Don’t jinx it!” Adrien chuckled. “It’s just gonna be a normal picnic with no weird surprises. You know, when everyone decides to show up.”

“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Marinette frowned. “Where is everybody?”

“Ugh, why are they whispering? I can’t freakin’ hear them! Why did you pick a spot in the bushes so far away?”

Nino frowned and snatched the binoculars away from Alya and lifted them to his eyes. “Because you’re loud as hell and I don’t need these two knowing we’re spying on them because you decided to be freakin’ extra!”

Alya smacked him on the thigh. “I am trying to make them fall in love, and you’re being super unsupportive right now.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I still say they would’ve figured it out on their own.”

“I have no patience for that nonsense. Now is the music ready?”

“Yeah, the speakers are in the picnic basket.” Nino held up his phone. “And I’ve got my Spotify hooked up. They’ll have plenty of background music.”

“And you put all the songs on it that I told you?”

“.....I mean, yeah, but Al, these are all cheesy American love songs. I don’t know what you’re going for here.”

Alya lowered the binoculars from his face and turned his head so that he was looking her straight in the eye. “Repeat after me. Ambience . There is a method to my madness.”

Nino muttered. “Emphasis on the madness…”

“Shut up,” Alya frowned. “Alright. So this is how this is going to go. First we’re going to — ”

“Holy shit, you guys picked the absolute worst place to stake out this date. Talk about amateur hour over here.”

Alya and Nino both snapped their heads to the left and saw Chloe and Sabrina crouched behind the bushes next to them. Alya scrambled away from the two girls and backed up into Nino’s chest. “What the hell are you two doing here?”

Chloe looked absolutely ridiculous — she was dressed in a beige trenchcoat dress with a black sunhat, a huge pair of sunglasses that covered half of her face, and yesterday’s newspaper rolled up under her arm. “I overheard you and Nino planning this last week, so I decided to tag along. I have personal feelings about his interest in Marinette of all people, but Adri-kins likes her and I will support him and all his romantic pursuits because I’m such a good friend.”

“What are you wearing?” Nino asked.

“Proper stake out attire,” Chloe snorted, as if the answer were glaringly obvious. “What the hell are you wearing?”

“Normal clothes!” Alya exclaimed. “Just like Sabrina.”

Chloe rolled her eyes while Sabrina scratched the back of her head. “I kinda got dragged into this late in the game, so I didn’t have time to change. But we wanted to help with the plan! Adrien and Marinette are adorable together.”

Alya rubbed her temples and sighed. “Fine, you two can stay. But this is a serious mission, and you all need to behave yourselves — ”

“Oh here they are! Juleka! Rose! They’re over here!”

Alya turned around to the line of trees that were behind their hiding spot and gaped in horror when Nathanael, Juleka, Rose, Mylene, and Ivan all snuck out from behind the trees and ducked behind the bushes to join the rest of the class. “Are Marinette and Adrien there already?” Nathanael asked. “I brought my own binoculars just in case.”

“Ivan and I brought snacks!” Mylene whispered excitedly. “Snacks are good for stakeouts.”

“Ooooooh, I’m so excited!” Rose squealed. “This is love in the making, can you believe it?”

“Holy shit,” Alya hissed. “Why are you all here?”

“Oh dude, I found them!” Kim exclaimed as he joined the rest of the group behind the bushes, Max and Alix crawling up behind him. “We’re not late are we?”

Max checked his watch. “Only about 7 minutes late. I doubt much has happened yet. We’re fine.”

“Good,” Alix snorted. “I’ve been waiting months for these two kids to get it together.”

“Okay,” Alya announced to their — wow, yeah, their entire class . “What the hell is going on?”

Chloe cleared her throat. “Well, I overheard your plan so I insisted on coming. Sabrina doesn’t come without me. I told Nathanael. Sabrina told Mylene. Mylene doesn’t go anywhere without Ivan. Ivan told Max. Max told Kim. Kim told Alix. Alix told Juleka. Rose doesn’t go anywhere without Juleka. And that’s everyone.”

Nino nudged Alya in the side with his elbow. “Next time? We plan via text only.”

Alya shushed everyone and smacked Chloe on the back of the head to make her stop talking so loudly. “Listen! If you’re all going to stay, you have to be quiet and do exactly as I say. I am not jeopardizing this operation because you all decided to join in. Is that clear?”

Everyone nodded happily while Chloe rolled her eyes and asked Nathanael if she could borrow his binoculars. “Whatever….”

Alya turned away from the mess and pointed to Nino. “Okay. Romantic playlist. Go.”

The two of them were chatting about classes and what their summer vacation plans were when suddenly music started coming out of the picnic basket next to them.

Marinette turned around and furrowed her brows at the noise. “Um. I’m not the only one hearing that, right?”

“Nope,” Adrien muttered. “I think our sandwiches are singing at us.”

Marinette crawled over to the picnic basket and shoved around the thermoses, tupperware containers, and wrapped sandwiches until she pulled out a pair of portable speakers that were playing some jazzy, bluesy song in English that Marinette didn’t recognise. “What on Earth is this?”

Adrien leaned his ear against the speakers and hummed in thought. “Oh wait a minute, I think I know this song. It’s Careless Whisper.”

Marinette frowned. “How did you know that?”

“Oh, it’s a Tumblr meme!”

“You knew this off a meme?”

“Don’t judge!” he exclaimed. “It’s supposed to be like super romantic or something.”

“Romantic?” Suddenly, Marinette groaned and covered her face with both of her hands. “Oh my God, I think I know what this is.”

“What?” Adrien asked.

“Nino and Alya invited us to a ‘class picnic’?” Marinette air-quoted. “Only the two of us show up? Romantic music playing from mysterious speakers? They set us up!”

“Set us up? L-Like….like on a date?”

Marinette bit her lips and tangled her fingers into the fabric of her skirt. “I-I mean it….it feels like it, doesn’t it?”

Adrien nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess it does…”

Their crushes on each other was something that was still unspoken between the two of them, even after they found out each other’s identities. Marinette had been meaning to sit Adrien down one day and get on the same page about it — whatever what meant for them — but it seemed as if their friends were rushing the process along without them realizing it.

Adrien looked uncomfortably at the speakers next to them, and Marinette figured that this wasn’t exactly the kind of environment to be having a serious conversation like this. As much as she loved her friends, the gesture was a little heavy handed. This definitely had Alya written all over it.

Marinette shrugged. “Wanna just….go along with it?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re already here,” Marinette pointed out. “And we have food and drinks and….questionable music. We can have a nice picnic and just hang out later if you want! It’s been awhile since we’ve just hung out with only the two of us.”

Adrien immediately perked up. “Man, it’s been weeks, it feels like! Exams were awful, weren’t they?”

Marinette smirked. “I don’t know about you, but I think we deserve a break. It’s a beautiful day, might as well.”

Adrien started sifting through the picnic basket and pulled out a wrapped sandwich for each of them. “Hey, I’m with you. If all this food is for us, I don’t see why we should complain.” He frowned suddenly, reached into the corner of the basket, and pulled out a note. “Uh oh. What’s this?”

Marinette shrugged. “This isn’t my circus show. Read what it says.”

Adrien sighed, unfolded the note, and read off of it. “Dear Hopeless Lovebirds. You’re no strangers to love. You know the rules and so does she. A full commitment’s what she’s thinking of. You wouldn’t get this from any other girl.” He darted his eyes up towards Marinette and he shifted uncomfortably for a moment before clearing his throat and announcing, “Er, it’s not….signed.”

“Weird,” Marinette muttered. “Isn’t that a song or something?”

“Is it?” Adrien asked. “I just think it’s bad poetry. Is this supposed to be romantic? Who wrote this?”

“I’m trying to be romantic for them and these nerds are complaining?” Alya fumed.

Nino rubbed her back. “Babe, chill, please, holy shit. Let it happen organically, okay?”

“That was a stupid idea though,” Chloe said, licking the tip of her finger and flipping a page of her newspaper. “Just saying.”

“Nobody invited you!” Alya snapped

“ Ssshhhhhh!” Nathanael hissed, slapping Chloe on the arm while looking through his binoculars. “I’m trying to hear what they’re saying!”

“Oh man, these are Nino’s mom’s sandwiches!” Adrien grins in delight as he unwraps one of the sandwiches. “Ugh, I’ve missed these.”

“Are they good?” Marinette asked.

Adrien scoffed. “Good? They’re amazing! They’re seasoned and toasted and absolutely brilliant. Here, want some of this one?”

Marinette laughed. “Oh no, that one’s yours. I’ll just take one of these.”

“No, no, seriously!” Adrien ripped the sandwich in half and handed it to Marinette. “This one has really good lunch meats in it, I’ve had it before. I promise.”

“Okay,” Marinette relented, grabbing the sandwich and folding the picnic blanket over her lap to catch the crumbs. “I feel like I’m about to be blown away.”

“Oh you are. We’ll do it on three, okay?” Adrien grinned.

Marinette nodded and waited for Adrien to count them up before they both leaned in and sunk their teeth into the sandwich halves at the same time. It only took a couple of seconds of chewing before Marinette was moaning delightfully at the taste. “Oh my God , these are fantastic.”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Adrien said through his mouthful. “Nino’s mom is the best! ”

“This is so bad, I’m going to blast through all of these sandwiches,” Marinette pouted.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Adrien squinted at Marinette’s face and pulled out a napkin from the picnic basket. “Oh wait, come here. You have some sauce on your face.”

Marinette reached a hand up and rubbed the wrong cheek. “Wait, where?”

Adrien didn’t think much when he licked the tip of the napkin and beckoned Marinette over. “Come here, I’ll get it.”

Marinette hesitated for a brief moment, but carefully crawled over to him until her face was close enough for him to brush at the sauce that was on the corner of her mouth. His other hand was cupping her other cheek and holding her head steady until he was satisfied that her cheek was clean. “There we go. Good as new.”

“Thanks,” she said, licking her lips that suddenly felt too dry. “I guess I got overexcited.”

Adrien smiled softly and kept his hand on her cheek for just a few seconds longer before he moved away and sat back on his ankles. “It’s okay,” he assured. “Seeing you get excited by things is cute.”

Ladybug was never much of a fan of Chat Noir’s flirting, and he almost expected her to just cleverly wave away the compliment like Marinette had been doing ever since she found out he was actually Chat Noir. It was just how their friendship worked, and it was just an amusing way to tease her and try to dissolve the tension. Except it didn’t quite work the way he thought it would because Marinette’s eyebrows were raised and her cheeks were growing pink as she stared at him in shock. “Oh….” she sighed out.

Adrien drummed his hands on his lap. “I-I didn’t….upset you, did I?”

“No!” Marinette interjected quickly. “I was just surprised, that’s all. You don’t usually flirt with me like that.”

Adrien frowned. “I flirt with you all the time.”

“No,” Marinette insisted. “Usually you’re doing it to be over the top and funny, which is fine. But….you don’t always say it so sincerely. Like you didn’t just spend a whole minute trying to think of a good line.”

“Well….” Adrien began. “I never don’t mean it, you know. But I guess….sometimes you make the words come out without me needing to try.”

Marinette smiled with all of her teeth showing. “That’s sweet of you.”

Adrien shrugged. “It’s my pleasure, my Lady.”

Marinette giggled, seeming to fall back into a sense of comfort after hearing the nickname. “Want something to drink?” she asked him. “I think I saw some apple cider in the thermoses there.”

“Yeah, sure,” Adrien agreed, pulling the basket closer to them and taking out the tall metal thermos. “I can pour it if you want.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” Marinette said. She moved closer to Adrien until she was sitting close enough for their knees to touch. She screwed off the plastic top of the thermos and started to pour the apple cider out into the cap. But the moment she did, suddenly everything was spilling out of the cup and straight into Adrien’s lap.

“Oh my gosh!!!!” Marinette exclaimed, setting everything aside and reaching into the basket for more napkins. “I’m so sorry!!!! I didn’t mean to spill it on you!!!!”

Adrien was laughing and shaking his head. “It’s okay, don’t worry about, it’ll dry.”

But she was already frantically blotting his wet jeans with the napkins and firing off apologies every two seconds. “The cover must have been cracked and everything just spilled through, I’m so sorry, I should’ve checked first!”

He laid his hands over hers and tried to slow down her panicking. He grabbed one of the napkins out of her hands and started to help her dry off his pants. “It was an accident, Marinette, don’t worry about it,” he assured.

“Ugh, I was hoping I wouldn’t pull some clumsy nonsense while we were out,” Marinette frowned. “I owe you a pair of pants.”

“Washing machines are a thing, Mari,” Adrien said. “Although, I’m not going to complain over an original pair of slacks by Marinette Dupain-Cheng herself.”

Marinette giggled. “Would you like some?”

“I was just kidding.”

“I wouldn’t mind, you know,” Marinette shrugged. “God knows you’ve saved my life I don’t know how many times. If all you’re asking for is a pair of pants, I’m pretty sure I could manage.”

Adrien smiled. “Well, I certainly can’t say no to a face like that.”

Marinette looked up at him and tapped him on the nose. “Was that another one of your ‘it came out without me needing to try’ moments?”

“You said it, not me,” Adrien winked.

“I can’t believe you drilled a hole in their thermos so that would happen!” Rose gasped.

“I didn’t think that actually worked in real life,” Juleka said.

Kim scoffed. “Nah, dude. Classic romcom stuff. It always works.”

“I think it’s just because Marinette and Adrien are like that though,” Ivan interjected. “They’re one of those classic romantic couples.”

“You’re totally right,” Mylene agreed, eating some of the cookies that she brought to share with the group. “This is going really well.”

“Not well enough,” Alya grumbled. “By my calculations, they should’ve been making out by now.”

“Isn’t that rushing things a little bit?” Sabrina asked.

“You’re talking to Alya,” Nino sighed. “She doesn’t know how to not rush anything.”

“Um, I’m making a future relationship happen over here!” Alya exclaimed.

“We have a history test next week,” Alix commented. “Like, how much free time do you have to meddle like this?”

“I’m sorry,” Alya said sarcastically. “Am I imagining the fact that all of you are literally staking out this date with me?”

“I mean, it’s good entertainment,” Max said. “Good break from video games.”

“Exactly!” Alya pointed out. “So shush all of you. I don’t want to hear any complaints about this operation.”

“I feel like we’re the only ragtag team of weirdoes who would ever do this to a couple of people they knew,” Nino sighed. “Like, we need to debrief after this and think about our life choices.”

“You really underestimate the rest of the world,” Chloe said sagely. “I’m sure we are not the only people who would be staking them out like this if they gave enough of a shit.”

“Hey,” Marinette said in between sandwich bites. “Where are the kwamis?”

Adrien checked in his shirt pocket and shook his head. “Not sure. Knowing Plagg, he’s getting himself into trouble.”

“And Tikki’s probably busy trying to get him out of it.”

“What’s taking them so long!?”

Plagg sighed and reclined back on the leaf of the tree they were hiding in. “Tikki. You have a problem.”

“I’m just trying to be supportive of our Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Tikki explained. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“Okay, we’ve had this conversation hundreds of times. Literally. You involve yourself way too heavily in your humans’ affairs. Do what I do. Find something to keep you occupied and distracted from the nonsense. Like cheese. I really recommend cheese.”

“We haven’t had a Ladybug and Chat Noir fall in love for two hundred years,” Tikki pouted. “Let me be excited about this! Plus imagine if they get married. The two of us would get to hang out all the time.”

“As lovely as that sounds, you spying on our charges during their date is over dramatic even for you.”

Tikki turned to him and glared. “Leave me alone! Don’t you have cheese to eat?”

“I’m out!” Plagg scowled. “That’s how long we’ve been in this tree watching them!”

“No, that’s how quickly it takes for you to literally inhale your food,” Tikki frowned back. She turned back to the date happening below them and sighed. “I’m going to give Marinette a pep talk tonight. Hurry things along. Maybe that’ll help.”

Plagg poked Tikki in the cheek. “You’re too invested in this.”

“I’m sorry that I care about true love!”

“Honestly, who decided that you should be in possession of one of the most powerful miraculous stones in the universe? You’re such a sap!”

“This coming from the kwami with cheese crumbs still stuck in his whiskers.”

Plagg groaned and swatted the cheese crumbs off of his face. “Oh shut up! It’s not like they’re doing anything interesting anyway. They’re just eating and talking about that silly video game they love playing.”

“You’re so cynical,” Tikki scolded. “So the date’s hitting a lull. They’re having fun and that’s what matters. I’m sure something interesting will happen soon.”

Chloe pouted. “Nath, has anything interesting happened yet?”

Nathanael sighed boredly and laid down his binoculars. “Nope. Nothing. Just more talking.”

“Someone pass the chips,” Sabrina asked. “I’m starving.”

Nino spoke through a mouthful of cookies. “So I thought they were supposed to be making out by now…”

“Nino,” Alya warned. “I will punt you across the park.”

“Someone say something to pass the time,” Alix complained. “Quick. Before I die.”

“Uhhh,” Alya hesitated. She turned to Juleka. “Why were you akumatized last week?”

Chloe gasped dramatically and pressed a hand to her chest. “Oh my God , Alya. You can’t just ask people why they’re akumatized.”

“Yeah, that’s super rude,” Mylene frowned.

“Well excuse the hell out of me, I was just trying to pass the time!”

Everyone was silent for a long moment before Chloe cleared her throat and tapped Juleka’s knee with her foot. “......wait so seriously, what happened?”

“I got a bad grade on a maths test,” Juleka shrugged.

The rest of the class nodded in understanding.

“That test was brutal. Sorry, dude,” Nino comforted.

“It’s okay,” Juleka said. “I’m over it.”

“You know what I’m not over?” Alya said. “How boring this date just got. They’re just talking! ”

“This is the perfect time for us to leave then!” Nino finally exclaimed. “Seriously, these kids are doing just fine on their own. Talking is totally normal and healthy. Stop trying to make everything come together in some melodramatic burst of romance and let’s go .”

“I just want them to become a fully committed couple because I know that’s exactly what the two of them want and they’re totally thinking about it. I’m helping.”

“You need to be stopped.”

Alya looked down at Nino’s phone and started to flip through the music that he saved on his playlist. “I’m gonna pull out the super romantic songs. Just to give this a huge push.”

Nino reached out and tried to grab his phone back. “Give me that! You’re not doing this!”

“Hey, paws off!”

“No! It’s my phone! Give it back!”

“I need to do this for them!”

Alya was leaning back to try and keep the phone out of Nino’s reach, and she was pushing against Chloe’s side as she did so. Chloe shoved her back roughly. “Get off of me and shut up! They’ll hear us!”

“Don’t push me, Chloe!”

“Hey, don’t be mean!” Sabrina spoke up. “We shouldn’t be fighting in the first place. Calm down, both of you.”

“Nino get off!” Nathanael hissed out, “You’re stepping on my foot!”

“Alright dudes, break it up,” Kim demanded.

“Kim you’re stepping in the cookies.”

“I said give me my phone Alya!”

“Not yet! I’m not done here!”

“Alya get the frilly fucking hell off of me or I swear to God!”

“Nino! My foot!”

“Oh man, this is hilarious.”

“You’re shoving me into the bushes Alya. Don’t make me kick you!”

“You guys are gonna fall through. Be careful!”

“Alya you’re gonna make me trip!”

“Guys you are going to fall!”

“ Alya!!”

“Hey,” Adrien muttered. “Do you hear that?”

Marinette sat quietly for a moment and tipped her ear up to the sky. “Um….I don’t think so. What are you hearing?”

“I dunno….screaming I think.”

“ Alya you’re going to make me trip!”

Marinette snapped her head towards the bushes to their right. “Okay, wait, I definitely heard that.”

“Was that Alya’s name?”

“What’s happening — ”

Right at that moment, Nino and Alya came tumbling out of the bushes in a pile of tangled limbs, both of them clutching onto a cell phone. They paused their bickering once they realized where they were and guiltily looked up to where Marinette and Adrien were sitting. The four of them stayed silent for a moment before Nino held up a hand and waved. “Hey, bro. What’s up?”

Nathanael stood up from behind the bushes and hid his binoculars behind his back before Marinette and Adrien saw them. “Well. That lasted long.”

The rest of the class reluctantly stood from their hiding spots and looked at the ground guiltily as they moved into sight. Chloe unfolded her newspaper, held it up in front of her face, and tried to surreptitiously sneak away from the scene before Sabrina grabbed her sleeve and rooted her to the spot.

Marinette was gaping. “What are you all doing here?”

No one knew what to say, and the only thing that broke the silence was the next cheesy, romantic American song coming from the speakers of the picnic basket. Adrien frowned, stared at the speakers, and scoffed as he recognized the lyrics from the note that was left in the basket.

“Huh. I guess you were right. I forgot this was a legit song.”