#kenzie needs help

[buddiedaydreamer911]

the literal way i had a full blown heart attack during the last commercial break because all i could think about were these few facts-

- we knew there would be a buck and eddie scene at the end of the episode

- we knew the mustache would be gone

- we then knew buck was single and tommy was gone

- “i think you’re denying yourself joy”

i seriously thought we were about to get our kiss. i seriously thought buck would storm into eddie’s house, probably as eddie was shaving. just walk right into the bathroom already venting that tommy broke up with him and that-

eddie would’ve just turned around and kissed his best friend on the lips with shaving cream still on his face.

because he was denying himself joy and eddie took his chance before he stopped himself.

don’t get me wrong, i absolutely love the end of the episode and how it turned out. but i was hyperventilating because i was convinced that’s how we were gonna get our kiss.

[kawaiianimeredhead]

Whispers

I'm getting seepy

[ahmedfreepalestine]

Voice from Gaza: A Call for Rebuilding💔🚨📢

In a small alley in Gaza, there was a small shoe shop brimming with life and hope. Ahmed, the owner, built his dreams with every piece of leather. But the war left nothing intact. His shop was destroyed, and his home was reduced to rubble. Now, Ahmed and his family live in a tent, dreaming of one day returning to normal life. Let us help Ahmed rebuild his life, and bring back the smile to his face. Every donation, no matter how small, is a step towards making that dream come true.

This is where the displaced live. In a plastic tent made of nylon. This place is home to people with higher degrees, doctors, businessmen, students, smart people, merchants... women, children, infants, the old and the young in a very small spot searching for safety, but there is no safety. This is where people live! This is where the forced Gazan lives!

“Ahmed dreamed of becoming the best shoemaker in Gaza. His shop was more than just a place to work, it was a place where people could gather and laugh. But the war destroyed everything. Now, Ahmed sits alone in the rubble of his home, remembering the good old days. Can you help us rebuild Ahmed’s dream? Donate now, and let him return to the work he loves.”

Destroy everything💔

Unknown future🇵🇸🍉

A lost dream💔

“Imagine losing everything you built with your hard work in a single moment. Watching your dream fade away before your eyes, becoming a refugee in your tent, far from your land and your loved ones. This is the story of Ahmed, a young Palestinian man who owned a small shoe store in Gaza, until the recent war destroyed it.”

“Ahmed is not just a number, he is a human being dreaming of a better future.”

“Your donation is a spark of new hope for Ahmed and his family.”

“Let’s join Ahmed in writing a new chapter in his story.”

“Every donation, no matter how small, will make a big difference.”

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[razantarek27]

🚨URGENT, I'm asking ur help to evacuate us out of Gaza after we lost everything🚨

Dear Friends and Supporters,

This beautiful girl, my little sister, is 13 years old, She was supposed to be at school with her friends, but her school was destroyed in the war and she lost some of her friends.

She wishes she could return to her previous life, to her school and to see her remaining friends.

Every donation, no matter the size, will directly contribute to getting us out of Gaza and contribute to our needs - shelter, food, medical assistance, a memorial service, the hope of starting over, and my little sister can go to school and live the life that all children deserve.

Hello, my name is Kenzy Alshamali, a 13 -year- old

My sister , brothers and I lost all our belongings and memories in the house. My father lost his source of income for 13 years, Our lives are at a standstill For 7 months now, Now all we have left are our souls, and all I want is to protect my family from the bombing, war, and famine that exists in Gaza so far. More than 230 days of danger, hunger, the destruction of ambition, and the destruction of homes.

Every donation, no matter the size, will directly contribute my needs—shelter, food, medical assistance, memorial service, and the hope to start anew.

[godslino]

IN BLOOM | jisung first date series. second chance lovers.

pairing: jisung x fem!reader word count: 13.2k genre: childhood friends au, angst, fluff, songwriter!jisung, florist!reader warnings: swearing, minor character death, grief/loss (nothing to do with any of the members!) summary: it's february. the tulips are in bloom. jisung is back.

chan | minho | changbin | hyunjin | jisung | felix | seungmin | jeongin · · · ♡ series masterlist · · · ♡ taglist · · · ♡

a/n: *taps mic* hello?? is this thing on?? oh good. yes. hi. hello! it's been a while, as most of you can tell. thank you all SO MUCH for sticking around. if you've been reading my asks you'll know that march and april were rough months for me personally. shout out to my anons and mutuals who kept my spirits high and made my days brighter. uhhh, this was originally supposed to be a stand alone fic but i figured hey, what the hell, and made it into jisung's first date chapter. it's pretty heavy stuff. lots of feelings, lots of love. i hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as i did writing it! again, thank you so much for waiting for me. i'll be back soon with more updates! all the love <3

also thank you kenzie for being such a light during all of this. i hope all my screaming in your messages was worth it!

“All of these had to be pulled.” Hyunjin huffs, dropping a few crates just past the doorway. 

“Again?” you ask, hands on your hips as you stare at yet another wasted supply. “I don’t understand, they sold so well last year.”

Hyunjin gives you a sad smile. “It’ll pick up eventually, don’t worry. I mean the holidays just finished and business usually slows down in the months after anyways.”

He’s being sincere, you know that. But there’s a part of you that also knows it’s a lot more than just the usual ebb and flow of sales. He’s being nice for your sake.

“Maybe we could try coming up with other ideas?” he suggests, because Hyunjin is nothing if not kind. Always willing, always finding a way.

He moves past you to grab a fresh pair of gloves. The ones he’s wearing are dirty, pollen-stained and ripped at the edges. 

“You’ve always been really good at basket arrangements. We could try to make some for Valentine's Day. Different sizes, maybe? The big ones will probably do well for online orders since they’re more optimal for things like office deliveries and stuff like that.”

You hum in approval. “True. I mean, I was kind of worried we would have to skip out on deliveries this year since we don’t have the manpower to handle all of that, but I think Jeongin’s been looking to pick up hours around here again. He said something about his program giving them a month of independent study, so he’ll be home for a bit.” you say, scribbling down a reminder in your notebook. “I could ask him to help with driving the truck in his free time?”

Hyunjin lights up– he always does when Jeongin is mentioned. 

It’s been a lot quieter ever since he left for college. There were so many tears and so many hugs that were met with countless 'you guys are dramatic's in return. But it’s hard to not feel sad when people leave town; when they decide the borders lined with apple trees and rice fields aren’t enough to stop their dreams from blooming into more than what’s capable of being pursued here.

That, unsurprisingly, is something you know all too well.

“Can’t believe he’s driving.” Hyunjin laments as he wipes his floral scissors with a rag. “I used to spend my days changing his diapers and spoon feeding him redbulls– but now? Driving? My baby is all grown up.” he fake sniffles. “By the way, I’m gonna take my fifteen after I’m done snipping these tulips.”

You snort, bending down to take the crates of wilted flowers to the back for disposal. Hyunjin moves to help but you shake him off.

“Sounds good. Also, don’t let Innie hear you say that. I’m about a thousand percent sure he has the strength needed to throw you into the dumpster with one arm now.”

“My baby would never do that to me!” Hyunjin calls out as you round the corner, bumping open the back door with your hip. 

February brings a lot of rain in Jeju. Today is no different; fat drops landing on your head as soon as you stumble out into the alley behind the shop. Footsteps heavy on wet brick, you curse under your breath as you run as fast as you can to the dumpster.

There’s still a few supply boxes from yesterday’s shipment laying around. You meant to bring them in, but you were so exhausted that it slipped your mind while you struggled to make sure everything inside the shop was figured out.

Scrambling, you haul them in one by one, shoes squeaking against the floor as you alternate in and out, soggy cardboard pressed against the front of your apron. 

Hyunjin’s on break. A necessary one at that. You can’t bother him, especially not when he’s done enough by taking on more responsibility both as a physical worker and a newly actualized business partner recently. A few stacks of boxes and wet hair seem like a fair trade off for what he’s had to sacrifice in the past year now.

“Idiot,” you mumble, cursing yourself for carelessness. Your slip ups have been more frequent lately, evident in the way you constantly forget things and can’t seem to push away the haziness clouding your mind. 

If it weren’t for the timing of it all, you’d blame it on the weather. The gloominess. The overcast skies probably have some sort of hand in your lack of clarity. Shrouded.

But it’s February. And in Jeju— it rains.

By the time you make it back inside, you’re drenched. 

“You look like you just got dunked in a pool.” 

You frown, ringing your hair out into the trash bin by the door. It’ll definitely take time to dry off, both your hair and your clothes are soaked through.

Hyunjin watches with an amused look, arms crossed as he leans his back against the counter.

“Might as well have. It’s insane out there.” you sigh. “How was your break?”

You look up to find that his face has gone unreadable.

“Yeah, about that…” Hyunjin trails off, voice suddenly smaller than before.

“Everything okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah it’s just–” Hyunjin chews at his bottom lip.

You push past him into the supply room to switch out your apron just as he says, “Do you mind if I leave a little early today?”

You scoff, turning to face him. “Hwang Hyunjin,” you scold, lips twitching when he visibly startles at your tone, “You don’t have to ask me that. We’re partners now, remember? We run this place.” 

He shifts on his feet, still unsure.

“Besides,” you huff, tying a knot behind your back, “We were friends way before that, too. You don’t have to be all proper with me. Of course you can leave early. It’s slow today, I can take care of it.”

Hyunjin sighs after contemplating for a second. “Are you sure you’ll be okay, though?” 

When he stares at you for a moment too long, you know the real reason for his hesitation. It makes something twist deep in your gut.

Guilt, maybe, amongst other things.

“Of course.” you shrug, doing your best to seem nonchalant. 

Hyunjin’s ability to read people is kind of intense, a little scary at times. You happen to be one of his favorite subjects in that regard.

“Have fun. Tell Minah I said hi.”

He pales, sputtering around words as he struggles to say something. It’s cute, his plump lips opening and closing, eyes wild.

“I’m not going to see her! I’m–it’s just a movie! How did you—God, you’re so annoying. I should’ve made you trim the tulips. Hah!”

You giggle. “It’s funny that you think I wouldn’t know, especially with the way you love to actually make yourself look busy whenever she stops by to say hi.”

“I am busy.” he mumbles, looking away. “I just emphasize it a lot more when she’s here.”

“Sure,” you roll your eyes, “Let’s go with that.”

He whines a couple more times, trails after you around the shop and laughs when you swat him away with a rolled up newspaper that’s used for wrapping vases.

It’s loud. Easy. Hyunjin is a gentle reminder that normalcy still exists in your day to day, even if it’s hard to find. 

When he finally decides to leave, he lingers for a moment, triple checks that you’ll be okay. You roll your eyes for what feels like the millionth time today, but deep down you’re grateful. 

“Love you,” he says, one foot out the door. “Call me if you need anything.”

You shake your head, ignoring him. “Love you too.” 

And then he’s gone, a skip in his step as he heads down the sidewalk, leaving you with nothing but freshly-trimmed tulips and the sound of rain. 

“Herb snips, shears, tape…” you mumble, scanning the supply shelf. 

There’s not much to do in-shop right now. Almost all the arrangements have been tended to by Hyunjin already, his specialty being his keen eye. That’s why he handles the appeal of the shop, leaving you to figure out all the logistics. Learning it all was easier said than done.

In reality, it was never your intention to take over the shop at all. 

“When I die,” your grandma would always say, ignoring the way you groaned and begged her to stop bringing it up, “Sell this place. Use the money for something worthwhile. A trip to Greece, maybe?”

“Nana,” you would scold, glaring at her where she stood next to you, trimming a batch of roses.

Wrinkled hands that still held all the skill of youth. Fingers moving at a speed others could only ever dream of having– you included.

Your grandma handled flowers with the same amount of care she did everything else. It’s no wonder that when they grew they would lean in her direction, drawn to her like they would be the sun. 

“I’m not selling this place. It’s too special, too important. A vacation only lasts so long, Nana. This is forever.”

She would smile, turn petals over in her hand. Sometimes the marigolds would match the glow in her eyes, a testament to the belief you harbored as a child that she had the ability to sprout blossoms from her fingertips.

“The one thing you shouldn’t do, my dear, is rely on forever. Because that, too, is uncertain.”

You wish you hadn’t been so hard headed. Wish that you would’ve believed her, taken the time to listen, cherished the moment a little bit longer instead of relying on the promise of tomorrow.

I’m sorry for your loss.

Your grandmother was a wonderful woman.

She’ll be with you in your heart, forever.

Oh, what a lie forever is.

The shop stays empty for the rest of the day. There were a few passersby, all of whom simply stopped to scan the arrangements along the windows before giving a polite nod and carrying on their way. 

Realistically, the shop has no problem with attracting customers. It’s a sight to behold: mid-floor to ceiling windows with various displays, hanging baskets of winding greenery, countless arrangements that fill the shelves and add a pop of color, and a wide assortment of flowers for each season. 

The real issue lies in your inability to sell. Most people regard the place as being good for nothing more than window shopping and the usual photo-op.

Business has slowed since your Grandma passed; since you took over as the sole owner and were suddenly face to face with the task of making decisions in the shop’s best interest– both integrity wise and from a business standpoint.

“I know, I know,” you say around the pen cap between your teeth, “You used to be the brains around here, not me. I’m not creative enough for all of this, you know? No matter how much I try to be.”

You look up from where your notebook lays open, dozens of scribbles for arrangement ideas and planning. The picture on the wall stares at you, unmoving, eyes as bright as marigolds.

“Don’t give me that look.” 

She stares. A gaze that holds all the answers while also saying nothing at all.

“Ugh.” you groan, leaning your palms on the desk.

You allow your head to hang forward, defeated, exhaustion flooding your bones. 

Just as you’re about to speak again, to complain about yet another thing that probably has her rolling around in her grave, the bell at the front counter dings.

The clock on the desk reads 6:55pm, five minutes until close. You hadn’t even heard anyone come in.

“Be right there!” you call out, rushing to grab your apron from where you’d thrown it on one of the chairs. 

In your haste, the box of seed packets you’d been inventorying goes tumbling to the floor.

“Fuck,” you mutter, bending down to pick everything up. One more thing to add to the list today. 

Off-kilter. Disoriented. Exhausted. 

You sniffle a few times, blinking against the sting behind your eyes as you stand up to put the box back in its place.

One deep breath, a shake of your shoulders. Just enough to chase it all away until later. 

“Sorry about that,” you say cheerily, pushing past the hanging beads that separate the front of the shop from the back. “How can I help you?”

There’s a stranger, his back turned, attention focused on a batch of tulips. Freshly cut. White, blue, purple.

You realize, belatedly, that you’d forgotten to grab your apron in your haste to clean up the seed packets. Another slip up. Nana always prided herself in her apron, wore it like a badge of honor, raised you to do the same.

Just as you spin around to grab it, the stranger says, “It’s okay. I just, um, I wanted to say hi.”

You freeze. There’s a long moment where his voice rings loud in your ears, reverberates against the walls of your brain until it travels through your blood, the feeling like wildfire in your veins until it settles deep in the pit of your stomach. 

Slowly, you turn, heart clamoring in your chest, threatening to stop altogether as soon as you come face to face with the one person you never thought you’d see again.

Because there, at the front of the store, is Jisung.

Jisung, with wide eyes and parted lips. Jisung, with hair that still curls at the ends and falls in shags around his face. Jisung, broader, more actualized, now grown into his features but still undeniably soft around the edges. Jisung, with thick framed glasses pushed up his nose and silver hoops dangling from his ears. 

A stranger. But undoubtedly Jisung. 

“You look…nice.” he says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly with his free hand.

Three words is all it takes. Ice turns to fire. The blood that had drained from your face returns with the blaze of a thousand suns, anger burning your throat. 

You reach forward, grab the remote for the neon Open sign and click the power button. Jisung watches in confusion.

“The shop is closed.” you manage on a shaky breath.

Jisung sighs, something heavy. “Listen, I’m—”

“The shop–” you try again, louder, “–is closed.” 

Jisung stares. His eyes are still the same velvety brown; big and round and just as you remember. 

There was once a time where the sight of Jisung in your Grandma’s shop made your heart sing. A soft tune, the thrum of a thousand harps, a song only for him.

His heart-shaped smile as he helped her hammer some of the shelves onto the wall. The sound of his laughter whenever you’d enter a sneezing fit from accidentally rubbing your face with a gloved hand. His rosy cheeks, burnt from the wind whipping past his face as he ran on foot to make sure you were okay the one time an angry customer smashed a vase on the floor and you called him crying.

But now, seeing him here, a stranger in a body you once knew like the back of your hand— it feels wrong. 

“I…” he trails off, registering the way your fists are clenched at your sides. 

“Okay,” he resigns, licking his lips. “I, uh– have a good night.”

He gives you one last look, bottom lip pulled tight between his teeth, and then slips out the door. You watch his retreating figure through the glass panel, dark gray skies muting the sound of your rattling heart.

It’s February. The tulips are in bloom. Jisung is back.

And in Jeju– it rains.

There’s an apple tree in the middle of town where Jisung told you he loved you for the first and last time. 

Off the corner, a few minutes down the road from where your houses stand a mere five hundred feet away from one another.

Your grandparents were farmers. Your grandma started her floral business a few years before you were born, a dream she always had that your grandpa urged her to pursue once he decided to sell the animals to a younger, more capable couple that could take care of them. 

Jisung’s parents, new residents on the island, looking to settle down and start a family. 

That’s how it happens. Yours and Jisung’s story, two authors of the same book, destined since the start.

Jisung was born on the same night your mother left you at your grandparents’ doorstep. One note, an apology, is all you’ve ever known about her. Your grandma never cared to indulge you. You’re glad in a way. She provided more than enough love to make sure you never felt an absence in her wake. 

The townspeople used to say you and Jisung were soulmates. Something about the heavens knowing he would need a friend, hence why you were delivered that night. From that moment on, the two of you were inseparable. 

Attached at the hip, you and Jisung grew up together. First steps, first birthdays, firsts for everything under the sun.

Jisung was there in the morning to walk with you to school and he was there at night when the two of you tucked into bed, sleepovers a regular occurrence, both of you counting the pale green stick-on stars dotting his ceiling until you fell asleep. 

Jisung was always around. He held your hand and walked with you to the nurse’s office the first time you got stung by a bee. He wiped your eyes when the boy you liked told you he only ever saw you as a friend, your first rejection. He sat with you under the stars the night your grandpa died, your face tucked into his neck as you stained the collar of his shirt with tears until you were too tired to cry. In the years that followed, he took care of you and your grandma like the two of you were his own. 

Jisung, for lack of a better word, was your first forever.

“You could come with me, you know.” 

Under the stars, real ones that time, Jisung had turned to you and offered the world. 

The air was cold. The apple tree was bare.

“It’ll be fun. We’ll be together, we’ll experience new things. I can do music and you can study all that history stuff you like to learn about. You know, nerdy things.”

“They’re not nerdy things, Ji. Don’t you know everything we have now is because of what’s happened before us?” you’d asked. “Doesn’t it make you wonder? Learning about the past helps us better understand the present, and ultimately the future.”

Jisung had hummed softly, an agreement. “I don’t care about the future, though.” he’d said. “I care about right now. You, me, this.” 

When you turned to look at him, he propped himself up on one elbow and stared down at you from above as the moon casted a halo around his head. 

“I love you,” he whispered, “And I want you to come with me.”

Jisung, with all the stars in his eyes and a heart full of dreams. Jisung, with the world at his fingertips and the ambition to make it his own. 

You, with all your hopes stuffed tight into a suitcase and chained to a boulder, thrown into the ocean. Sinking and sinking until it hit the bottom.

“I love you too,” you whispered back.

Images of marigolds flashed behind your eyes when you closed them, a tear rolling down your cheek. Jisung’s mouth was soft when he kissed it away, salt on his lips. Burning. 

“But I can’t.” you choked. 

Under the apple tree, Jisung told you he loved you for the first and last time. He promised that the distance would be no match for him, that he would traverse oceans to find his way back. He promised forever.

It was February. The tulips were in bloom. Jisung left to pursue his dreams with a guitar on his back and your heart in his hands. Your understanding of forever was shot at point blank. The bullet passed clean through you. 

And in Jeju– it rained.

“I think you should talk to him.”

The sun is out today. Perfect weather for another field harvest. The distributor had called you early in the morning to ask if you’d be willing to accept a drop off even though it’s the weekend. You’d agreed, calling in your most reliable help for the job.

“And I think you’re not helping.” you huff, snipping the head off another hyacinth.

“Agreed,” Hyunjin parrots from beside you, currently in the middle of putting together an arrangement, “This guy sounds like a total dick.”

Chan sighs from behind the two of you, his knees knocking against the legs of the desk when he swivels back and forth in the chair. 

Besides Hyunjin and Jeongin, both of whom moved into town after you’d already graduated, and of course, Jisung– Chan is your oldest friend. 

Chan was also a neighbor of yours. Three years older than you and Jisung, he was the one who acted as a role model for the two of you when growing up. Nowadays he helps his parents run the largest orange grove on the island during the day and DJs one of the clubs in the tourism hub at night. 

“Jisung’s not a dick, he’s just–”

“An asshole.” you finish, smirking when Hyunjin cackles. 

Chan sighs. Again. “Yeah okay, I’ll give you that one.”

“Listen, I know I’ve never met him, but isn’t it weird that he just, like, showed up?” Hyunjin asks, setting down his scissors. You continue trimming the hyacinths, listening halfheartedly.

“I mean, think about it. Dude disappears to pursue music, right? He’s gone for what– three years?”

“Four.” you correct.

“God, even worse.” he grimaces.

“But yeah, okay, four years. And then boom! He just strolls in through the front door without so much as a word during the time he was gone? No letters, no phone calls, not even a damn visit. Nothing! All so he can pop up and go ‘oh, you look nice’? Come on.” he scoffs, crossing his arms.

You wince, caught off guard because you’ve never really heard it phrased as bluntly as Hyunjin put it just then. It’s no surprise that he’s annoyed, having only just heard the full story thirty minutes ago. He’d been shocked, partly because you never told him and also because he just couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Okay, yes, he was wrong for that. But isn’t part of you even just the least bit curious as to why?” 

You pause mid-snip, mulling Chan’s words over in your head.

The most frustrating part about it all is that you are curious. You wish you weren’t, though. Not when you’ve spent the past four years trying to convince yourself that you don’t need to know what Jisung’s been up to, don’t need to know if he’s been okay since he clearly held no concern for you in that regard anyways.

“What?” you ask when you realize that both boys are staring at you. 

“Well?” Hyunjin pushes. “Are you?”

You shrug. “No, not really.” 

There’s a total of five seconds that pass before Hyunjin is stomping over and hauling Chan up out of his chair, pushing him towards the front door as he protests.

“Out! Out, out, out, we have important business matters to discuss.”

“But we were supposed to get lunch—!”

“We’re taking a rain check!” Hyunjin fights back, shoving him out of the shop before he has a chance to answer. He drops the shade to cover the glass, Chan’s sad figure left alone on the other side.

You gape at him. “What was that for?”

Hyunjin scoffs. “You think you’re convincing? Think again.” 

He hops up on to the counter and gestures for you to do the same. When you do, he pulls you closer, grabs your hand in his, and pushes your head down until it’s resting on his shoulder. 

“Tell me the truth now,” he says, soft. “I know there’s more to it.”

Hyunjin’s warm to the touch. The heat seeps through the fabric of his shirt, igniting the skin of your cheek until you feel like you’re standing too close to the sun. A star. Hyunjin is a light in your tunnel.

“I am curious,” you start, “About him, I mean. I’ve– I don’t know. It’s been so long. I tried to pretend I didn’t care when I saw him, but the minute I looked into his eyes it was like I was eighteen again. Eighteen and happy and looking at someone that I always thought would be there, you know?” 

Hyunjin hums but doesn’t say anything. He squeezes your hand once, a signal to keep going. 

“I’m scared, though. Part of me doesn’t want to know.”

Hyunjin takes a deep breath. “What are you scared of?”

Through the gaps in the beads you can see into your office, the picture of your Grandma hanging on the wall. She stares at you, unblinking. 

“What if he tells me that it’s true?” you ask, lifting your head to look up at him. “What if he says that I was right, that he didn’t care? That he left and didn’t want to call because it no longer mattered to him? That he loves his life there and only came back to clear his own conscience?” 

“Oh honey,” Hyunjin soothes, pulling you into his chest. You hadn’t realized you were crying, that the anger and fear had bubbled over until there were tears falling down your cheeks, wetting the fabric of Hyunjin’s sweater. 

He lets you cry for a while. It’s nothing new; Hyunjin has seen you break down countless times. He’s been there through the worst of it, held your hand even in the aftermath. He’s picked you up off the floor more times than you can count, has grounded you when you felt like the world was gonna open up beneath you and swallow you whole. Salt of the earth, returning you to its core.

Once you’ve quieted into nothing more than shallow breaths and a few scattered hiccups, Hyunjin speaks again.

“Can you be honest with me?”

You nod, the hair stuck to your cheek with tears rubbing against his shoulder. 

“Do you love him?”

It nearly knocks the wind out of you. This concept, so foreign to you now, shoved to the back of your mind to make room for the things that matter most. Hospital visits, labor cuts, wage increases— none of it left any room for love, let alone the thought of someone else. Especially someone as all-consuming as Jisung.

Slowly, you inhale, breath shaking on the exhale. Hyunjin squeezes your hand to remind you that he’s there.

“I don’t think I ever stopped, Hyune.”

The silence stretches thin. The realization is dizzying. Years of suppressed emotions, of telling yourself and everyone around you that it wasn’t a big deal. The sad eyes of the townspeople whenever they’d see you sitting beneath the apple tree. The gentle touch of your grandma’s hand when she’d find you on the front steps alone, staring at the stars. The soft hum of the radio in the shop, set to a playlist of all the songs he’s written, the only reminder that somewhere out there he was doing well.

The final crack in the dam, its water pushing until it gives way.

“Then you owe it to yourself,” Hyunjin says. “You owe it to your heart to get an answer. Free yourself from this pain, love. Don’t let yourself suffer forever.”

Forever. That word again. No matter how many times you’ve tried to escape it, it always comes back.

“It’s gonna hurt.” he sighs, tightening his grip when you sniffle. “It’s gonna hurt so fucking bad, babe. But you can take it. You’ve got people who love you enough to stand in front of you and soften the blow from time to time. But you’ll be okay. I’ll make sure of it.”

He hops down from the counter and moves to stand in front of you, right between your legs. Placing both hands on your shoulders, he pushes until you’re sitting with your back straight and lifts your chin. 

“You deserve an answer.” he says, with conviction this time. “Okay?”

He lets his thumb swipe beneath your eyes, smiles softly. Unconditional— that’s what he is. Hyunjin burns brighter than any star in your sky, the heat wrapping its arms around you like it’s too scared to let go, to watch you freeze and die out like so many others. 

“I don’t deserve you, though.” you say, laughing wetly when he rolls his eyes.

“Shut up,” he chuckles, pulling you in for a hug, “You deserve everything and more.”

When Jisung comes into the shop two days later, you’re ready for it. 

Chan had talked to him. No surprise, really, not when he’s been letting him crash in his spare room ever since he figured out that he was holed up in one of the hotels out in the tourism hub. 

If there’s one thing about Chan, it’s that he’d rip the shirt off his back to clothe anyone in need. Housing a friend is nothing, especially when that friend is Jisung.

“I don’t know how much of a consolation this is,” he’d said nervously, watching as you regarded him with an expectant look, “But he’s pretty cut up about you not wanting to see him. Which, I know, is stupid. He is the one who fucked up. But I just– I don’t know. I’ve never seen him like this, I guess.”

It’s not a consolation, not really. Knowing that Jisung is struggling is far from anything you want to hear. 

Sure, there’s anger present. Anyone would be stupid to not feel the least bit frustrated with what’s happened. Years lost, time stripped away. But you’ve long since come to terms with it, the anger turning to sadness in the meantime.

“Also, he leaves tomorrow.” Chan smiled sadly. “He really wants to talk to you before then.”

Hyunjin left early again today to give the two of you space. Not before making a show of his own though, threatening to incite violence with his arms that are supposedly ‘shredded’ from years of lifting boxes filled with petunias. 

The shop is slow again, not many sales nor a lot of foot traffic. Usually when the sun is out there’s more to do; people to see, smiles to give. But there’s nothing, just the chirping of birds and the sound of cars rolling by. 

Maybe the world knows that this is what you need. The calm before the storm. 

Five minutes until close. You’ve spent most of the day pacing back and forth. Waiting. Anticipating. 

Chan had said Jisung planned on stopping by, trying again. You’d told him that was okay, and his eyes lit up. Too much hope, maybe, that something might come of this. 

You’re seated in the back office, staring at marigold colored irises when the front door opens. You hear it this time, ears fine tuned, waiting. 

Slowly, you stand, make your way to the front. You don’t realize you’re holding your breath until you pull back the beaded curtain and Jisung’s figure comes into view. 

He looks the same as he did the other day: curled hair, thick glasses, parted lips. His sweater, fluffy and striped, hangs off of his shoulders in a way that boxes off his tapered waist, one that you know is hidden beneath all the layers. The sleeves are way too long judging by the way it curls over his fingers. 

“Hi.” he breathes out, watching as you step into full view.

You blink. “Hi, Jisung.”

His name feels weird on your tongue. Bitter. It’s been years since you uttered it, forbidding yourself from the luxury out of fear that it would make his absence more real. Talking about him in the past tense always scared you off before you could even get the chance. 

“How– How’ve you been?” he chews on the inside of his lip.

You want to scold him, tell him to stop the habit just like you always would in the past. He’d make a joke then, tell you to kiss him so that he had something else to do instead. You would laugh, feign disgust, but in the back of your mind you’d wanted it more than anything. 

You’d waited for it, the day you could kiss him without warning and melt into his touch as he kissed you back. Another stupid bet on forever; the belief that you had all the time in the world for things to get to that point.

“I’ve been better.” you say, taking a deep breath. “What about you?”

Good, you think. He’s been good. He looks good. He doesn’t need this place.

“Me too.” he says instead. “I’ve been better.”

You don’t know what to say to that. Silence fills the room, heavy on both your chests. The anticipation feels like it might kill you before anything else does. 

“I’m sorry that–”

“Is that all you came here to say?” you cut him off.

“What?” he asks, confused. “No, I– no.”

“What, then? What is it you want to say, Jisung?” your voice is firm. He winces when his name leaves your mouth. “Because, honestly, I’ve waited all this time to hear literally anything from you, and if all that comes out of this is that you’ve ‘been better’ I might actually lose my fucking mind.”

The words tumble out faster than you intend. You can’t help it, not with the way anxiety has been bubbling over in your chest since the moment you woke up this morning. You could barely sleep last night, not when you were playing out every possible scenario in your head, the anticipation of it all making your sheets feel scratchy against your skin and the lumps in your pillow more discernible. 

“No, no, of course I wouldn’t do that.” he says quickly. “It's just that I didn’t know where to start. I don’t know how much you’ll allow me to say, what the boundary is here. I didn’t want to just barge in and demand you listen to me. You don’t owe me that. You don’t owe me anything. Not after what I did.”

What I did, his voice rings loud in your ears. He’s aware of it, of the pain he caused. 

He takes a step forward, and then another, again and again until he’s right up against the front counter, an arm’s length away. 

Your breath catches then, when you see him up close for the first time in four years, see the way he’s grown and changed with your own eyes. 

Stubble dotting his chin, laugh lines around his mouth, the dip and curve of the bow above his lips that you always loved. Brown eyes, soil and stardust. 

“Tell me what your conditions are,” he says quietly, “And I’ll give you every explanation I have.”

The sincerity on his face is blinding. Your stomach twists at the thought of hearing what he has to say, that same fear brewing in the pit of it. You take a deep breath, feel the phantom ghost of a hand squeezing yours and a crescent moon eye smile. 

“I waited four years for you.” you say.

“I know.”

“I trusted that you’d be back. That you would keep in touch during the time you were gone.”

“I–” his voice cracks. “I know.”

“You lied to me.”

Jisung tips his head back then. Swallows down a lump in his throat. Blinks rapidly at the ceiling, veins of ivy crawling along the expanse of it.

“I know.”

“So you owe me everything. I deserve that. I deserve answers.”

When he brings his head down to look at you, it’s unreadable. A mix of emotions that you aren’t familiar enough with anymore to decipher. Fear, guilt, sorrow. Hope, too. Maybe.

You stare at him head on, fully letting your eyes meet for the first time in what feels like an eternity. He holds your gaze, unwavering. Determined. The sight makes your heart clench. 

“Okay,” he says after a beat of silence. “Okay. I can do that.”

Despite the ever-growing mountain of things to address, you decide that the first thing you want to hear from Jisung is about his time in Seoul. 

You’re only human, after all.

Best friends from the start– you can’t stop yourself from wondering what life has been like for him. Jisung’s always been good at storytelling, animated in his features and gestures to the point that you’d be rolling around and clutching your stomach from laughter. It’s one of the things you missed the most, just talking and being present in one another’s lives.

The two of you end up at one of the diners down the road. The owners, an elderly couple, coo as soon as they catch sight of you.

“My flower girl,” the old lady, Mrs. Kim, greets.

“Mrs. Kim,” you beam, moving in for a hug. When you pull away, Jisung is behind you, hands clasped behind his back and feet together like he has his tail between his legs.

“Halmeoni,” you say, gesturing at him, “Do you remember Jisungie?” 

His eyes go wide at the nickname, and you try to ignore the heat creeping up your neck, avoiding his gaze and instead watching as Mrs. Kim blinks in surprise.

“Oh! Oh my goodness, our Jisungie? Honey! Honey, look, Jisung is here! Oh you crazy boy,” she scolds, rushing forward to hit his shoulder and pull him in for a hug. “Where have you been? It’s been ages!” 

Jisung lets out an oof! as her body slams into him, all of his anxiousness dissolving into laughter as he hugs her back. 

“Hi Mrs. Kim, how have you been?” 

“Me?” she asks, pulling him away to hold at arm’s length, “Nevermind about me! I’m old! How have you been?”

Good, you think again, a mimic of earlier. Jisungs eyes flit over to yours for the smallest of moments before he answers.

“Better,” he says. “I’m doing better.”

Once both Mr. and Mrs. Kim are done doting over the both of you, they seat you by the window.

The island is always beautiful on sunny days: trees swaying, golden rays painting the rooftops in hues of pink and orange, the indigo shimmer of the ocean off in the distance.

“So,” you say, catching Jisung’s attention, “Tell me about Seoul.”

He hums. “It’s busy. Stinks. Lots of people.”

“Dream come true, yeah?” you joke, taking a sip of your water.

Jisung chuckles. “You could say that, I guess.”

“I mean, it was yours.”

“It was.” he sighs, looking down at the table. “I don’t know. It’s nice. I met good people, made even better connections. I live in this one bedroom studio apartment just outside of Itaewon, so I’m close to where all the foreigners hang out. I’ve learned a lot, gained a lot of inspiration for my music.”

You follow along, staring at him intently. His mouth, still heart-shaped, twitches when he catches you in the act.

You clear your throat, glancing away. “Yeah, I’ve– uh, I’ve heard some of your songs.”

He raises his eyebrows, almost like he hadn’t expected you to say that. “Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I hear them on the radio sometimes.” A lie. “It usually takes me a second to realize that it’s you.” Another lie. “But they’re good, you’re doing well.”

Pink dusts the tops of Jisung’s cheeks as he turns back to the window, clearing his throat.

He looks younger like this, like he’s still the same boy who would sit across from you all those years ago. Cherry-stained lips and a smile so bright it put the sun to shame.

He talks a bit more about his music, about how he’s with a good company that gives him creative freedom and enough support to pursue more if he desires.

His eyes light up when he tells you about his studio, a small room on the fifth floor of a building in the middle of the city where he does all of his writing. It’s equipped with an entire soundboard, full of instruments that he says he’s been able to get signed by artists that come in and out. Most notably, his guitar, the same one he left with. 

Slowly, like a flower blossoming, petals opening one by one, you feel yourself falling back into step with him.

Everything is so familiar: the curve of his smile, the tilt in his voice when he gets excited, the rumble of laughter when he recounts an embarrassing run-in with an A-list celebrity in the company’s cafeteria. He shares stories that fill your heart as the two of you fill your stomachs.

But with the ease comes something more, something you recognize as longing. You hadn’t realized how much you longed to be there through this part of his life, how you wished you’d been the one to answer a video call as he showed off his apartment the first day he moved in, his company badge when it was newly issued, every moment of happiness that you’d been absent for just as much as he was absent for yours.

He seems to share the same sentiment then, when he sets down his fork and stares at his empty plate. 

“You run the shop now,” he says, “How’s that been?”

You purse your lips, nodding your head slowly. You knew this conversation would happen, that it was coming.

“It’s good, I guess. Been almost a year now since, uh, it was left to me.” you shrug. “I’m not alone though, Hyunjin is a big help. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Jisung noticeably bristles. Eyebrows pulled together, staring more intently at a crumb on his plate. It looks like there’s a lot he wants to say, like he can’t find the words to say them.

So, naturally, you do it for him. 

“I assume Chan told you so I wouldn’t have to, by the way.”

He looks up then, as if he wasn’t expecting you to address the very obvious elephant in the room.

“He did, yes.” Jisung says after a while. His voice is quiet, gentle, like he’s walking on eggshells. “I– I didn’t know how to bring it up. I assume you’ve heard it all already but– I really, really am sorry to hear about Nana.”

The way her name sounds coming out of his mouth turns your mind to static.

Suddenly you’re in the hospital again, monitors beeping, hands as soft as petals cradled in your own and wishing that you could bury your face in a familiar neck as you cried and watched the marigolds wilt. 

“I don’t need an apology for that.” you croak, blinking back tears. Jisung is somewhere in your periphery, your vision blurry around the edges.

“It wasn’t sad. Her life, I mean. It was full. Of love. Of light. She left this place happy. That’s what she told me, at least.”

You take a deep breath. “So don’t be sorry about it.”

Jisung sniffles, and the sound shoots straight through your chest. 

“I know. I just– I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I should’ve been. I had no idea that–”

“Nobody did, Jisung. Don’t punish yourself for that.”

He sees it then, when you finally meet his eyes, the acceptance. You’ve come to terms with things a long time ago, have fought tooth and nail to come out on the other side of all the guilt and resentment and grief alive. Scathed, but alive nonetheless.

“You’re right.” he sighs, wiping at his eyes quickly. “She’d probably yell at me for saying that.”

You laugh, suddenly, the noise startling him. Jisung looks at you like you’re crazy.

“I think she has a lot more to yell at you for than being sorry that she died.”

The bluntness punches a chuckle out of him, and you giggle at the thought.

Your grandmother was always such an outspoken person. She always said what was on her mind, speaking it loud. There’s no doubt that if she was here she’d be berating Jisung, smacking him upside the head before pulling him into a hug and cooking his favorite meal. Tough love, but still, love.

“She would’ve loved to be able to see you.” you say once your laughter dies out, the air a bit lighter between the two of you. “She always wondered if you’d grow your hair out without her around to nag you about keeping it short.” 

He reaches up to run a hand through his curls, the strands falling around his face in a way that has your heart stammering in your chest.

“Well, clearly I don’t know how to listen.”

“No, you don’t.”

Jisung smiles softly. “Maybe I’ll cut it now. You know, since I’m here. And because I know she’d want me to.”

You watch him carefully, searching his eyes. For what, you don’t know. All that’s in them are stars. 

“Yeah,” you say quietly. “You’re here.”

By the time the two of you leave the diner, stomachs full and enough bags of extra side dishes hanging off of your arms to last you at least two weeks, courtesy of Mrs. Kim, the sun is almost fully set. 

The ocean is calm, the evening breeze just barely brushing the surface of the tide. Jisung walks in step with you down the street, one side of his face cast in a glow from the sun’s fading rays. 

“Do you think you’d maybe want to stop by the arcade that Old Man Park runs? Just for a little?”

You snort. “Why? So I can embarrass you?”

“Hey!” he puts a hand on his chest, offended. “I’ll have you know that I let you win all those times.”

“How do you let someone win after spending hours practicing while I worked at the shop?”

“I was being nice!”

“Uh huh.”

“Don’t believe me?” he grins. You try not to look, afraid of how bad your blood pressure might spike from the sight. 

“I’ll have you know that I’m one of the best Kart Rider players in the PC Bang scene back in Seoul.”

“Jisung,” you scold, “That’s a computer game. These are coin-ops. There’s way more skill needed.”

“No there isn’t!”

He knocks his shoulder against yours, tucking his chin to his chest to hide his smile when you try to fight back.

It’s easy. Nice. There’s a soft melody echoing in the dust-covered chambers of your heart. You still know all the chords.

Old Man Park’s arcade is a few doors down from the shop. You stop there to drop off the food, spare a glance in the mirror hanging in your office to fix your hair.

Your grandma’s picture stares at you from the other wall, eyes bright.

“Love you,” you say, kissing the skin of your fingertips and pressing it gently against the frame.

Jisung is toeing at a few rocks on the sidewalk when you walk back out. He doesn’t see you, too busy with his eyes casted down at the concrete, hands shoved into his pockets. 

It’s still hard to believe that he’s here. Flesh and bone. For a long time it felt like he was nothing but a distant dream, someone who only existed in the memories that you kept locked deep within your heart, the key somewhere on the streets of Seoul.

“Ready?” you ask.

He looks up, his glasses moving when his cheeks round into a smile.

Something passes across his face– a myriad of emotions in just a fraction of a second. Hesitantly, he holds out his hand. Long, delicate fingers.

You stare at it, swallowing roughly around the butterfly wings flapping inside your throat. 

The one thing you shouldn’t do, my dear, is rely on forever. Because that, too, is uncertain.

Forever isn’t promised. But even then, there are things you know for sure:

It’s February. The tulips are in bloom. Jisung is here. Living, breathing, in the flesh. 

So you take his hand, watch as relief floods his features, and let yourself feel.

The wind in your hair, the calluses on Jisung’s palms, and the warmth radiating out of the smile that threatens to split his face into two.

And with that certainty, the two of you start walking. A silent agreement to focus on the now.

You. Him. This.

“God, I can’t believe everything is only one coin.”

You laugh, watching as the multi-colored lights cast a glow on Jisung’s face. 

“Stop acting like you don’t remember this place.”

“I don’t!” he argues, smiling. “We stopped coming here, what, in middle school? Once Chan hyung started driving? We would always ask him to take us to the other one out in the big town!”

Chan’s first car was an old Camry with leather seats and enough room for the three of you to pile into after school. Used, but still with enough juice to satisfy three young kids who felt like they were on top of the world.

You used to sit in the back, the wind whipping your hair every which way while yours and Jisung’s hands lay side by side in the middle seat, pinkies brushing but neither of you willing to take it further. 

“Oh, shit!” Jisung gasps, letting go of your hand as he runs up to the space invaders machine. 

“Here we go,” you sigh, following after him. He’s like a kid in a candy store, face filled with innocent wonder and joy.

“Aren’t there, like, I don’t know– things better than this in Seoul?” you ask as he shoves a coin into the game.

Jisung turns to look at you with a devilish grin. “Obviously,” he says, “But I can’t beat anyone’s high score over there. Here though? Ha! This place is ancient. I can finally be at the top of the leaderboard in something.”

“We’ll see about that.” you mumble, the noise of the game booting up drowning you out. 

Jisung sticks his tongue out when he focuses really hard on things. It’s cute, the way the end of it sits between his lips, spit-slick and parted just a little bit.

He’s glowing, probably because of the lights, hues of red and green and blue flashing across his face. But then again, Jisung has always shined brighter than anything. 

The game beeps to signal that he has one life left. He grunts a few times, his fingers tapping the buttons madly as his other hand handles the joystick in a frenzy of movements.

When it ends, he groans, throws his hands up in defeat.. 

You shake your own head knowingly, watching his eyes bug out of their sockets as soon as the leaderboard appears on the screen, the 8-bit letters blinking at him. 

“You’re joking.” he laughs in disbelief, turning to stare at you. “Please tell me you’re joking.” 

There, on the screen, is your name. The highest score. Jeongin and Hyunjin’s names sit just below you, respectively.

“What was that again about finally being able to be at the top?” you mock him, smirking.

“Since when did you get good at this?”

You shrug. “Had to find something to do in my free time.”

“No,” he says, rolling up his sleeves. “Nuh-uh. No way. This is not happening. I will beat you.” he holds out his hand for another coin, to which you roll your eyes and place one in his palm. 

“You might as well give up now. We’ll be here all night.”

“In your dreams.” he scoffs, assuming his position as another round loads onto the screen.  

Jisung has always been competitive. It’s one of his more hidden characteristics. 

It persists still, you realize, as you watch him burn through the styrofoam cup of coins that Old Man Park had given the two of you. Free of charge for old time’s sake.

Fort-five minutes. All he’s managed to do is bump Hyunjin down to fourth.

“Ugh!” he groans, kicking the machine lightly with his foot. 

“Look at you throwing a tantrum.”

“I’m not throwing a tantrum.” he pouts. You raise an eyebrow.

“Okay fine. I’m throwing a tantrum.” 

“Thought so.”

“Can you blame me?” he asks. “This is, like, our first date. And I’m sucking. Hard.”

“Our–” you stop, eyes wide. Jisung mimics you, almost like he didn’t mean to say what he did. 

Heat rushes to your cheeks. Your mind goes blank. But the world doesn’t end. Time keeps moving. Jisung is still here.

“I didn’t–”

“I like the sound of that.” you say quickly. “Of this being our first date, I mean.’

He smiles. Slow and sweet like molasses. Blinding.

“And the fact that you suck.”

The moment is shattered, his resulting whine echoing throughout the arcade.

“Come on you big baby,” you laugh, grabbing his hand. “I know a game you can beat me at.”

He lets himself be pulled, pretending that he’s upset, but you can see the smile tugging at his lips when you lace your fingers together.

The feeling is still new, this ease you have with him. The wounds you sported all those years are still healing, some more fresh than others. But with each laugh that comes out of Jisung’s mouth and shared glance, every note that your heart sings, you can feel them beginning to fade. A balm to soothe the burn.

The Pac-Man game is situated in the back corner of the arcade, right next to the jukebox. It used to be your favorite, because Jisung would always use his own coins to play songs for you while you tried to score higher than twenty-five thousand points. 

When you get there, he frowns. “The only game you think I can beat you at is Pac-Man?” 

“I don’t think,” you say, grabbing a coin before shoving the cup into his chest. “I know.”

The game boots up instantly, and you smile softly to yourself when Jisung moves wordlessly behind you, slips a coin into the jukebox.

“Play something good, Jisungie.”

He freezes. Out of the corner of your eye you watch him stare at you for a long moment. And then he smiles. Stardust.

“You got it.”

In a matter of seconds, Lovers In A Dangerous Time by Bruce Cockburn rings throughout the arcade, the speakers on the ceiling fighting past the static.

An old song. The same one your grandparents would dance to in the mornings, eggs on the stove and love in the air.

Your grandma used to say it was written for them, because when they fell in love the war was at its peak and she didn’t know if he’d ever come home. 

After he passed, she still played it, except those times it was Jisung who twirled her around and painted a smile on her face as you watched from the same spot you grew up in. Always there.

Jisung, Jisung, Jisung. 

When the game starts, you try your best. It’s hard. You’ve always been terrible at anything involving quick decisions. Focusing on everything at once isn’t easy for you, that much is still true. 

“Shit.” you mumble, the top right corner of the screen reading ten thousand points as the ghosts run into you.

Jisung lets out a low whistle. “Harsh.”

“You wanna go back to space invaders and waste the last of our money?” you raise an eyebrow. 

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. Go ahead.” he says, holding the cup out for you to take another coin. 

You try a couple more times, failing each and every one. You can tell that Jisung is growing more and more amused with every attempt, and the smugness radiating off of him is starting to rub you the wrong way.

“If you’re so good,” you say after a particularly sad attempt, turning to glare at him. Jisung has his lips pulled tight to stop himself from laughing. “Then why don’t you try?”

He chuckles then. “I’d rather help you, if you’ll let me.”

“How are you supposed to do that? We only have one coin left.”

Jisung doesn’t say anything. He puts the cup down, the last coin held between his fingers. You watch as he slips it into the machine, move to get out of his way once he’s done, but he stops you by grabbing your hand and spinning you back around, his fingers placed over yours on the joystick. 

With your back flush against his front, caged in by his arms on either side, Jisung takes a deep breath.

“This okay?” he asks right next to your ear, the curls on the side of his head brushing your cheek when he leans down to get a better look at the screen.

Warm. He’s so warm. The material of his sweater only worsens the heat, and the faint scent of vanilla makes your head swim.

It’s more than okay. Great, even. It’s Jisung. Everything and more.

“Yeah,” you say, letting him control your hands as he flicks the joystick. “It’s okay.”

The hair against your cheek moves when he smiles. “Good.” he says, and then hits the start button.

The game begins but you’re barely processing what’s happening, too aware of the feeling of his body pressed against yours. 

A firm chest, different from what’s observable on the outside, what with the fluffiness of his sweater and soft features. His arms too, encasing you, the bulge and flex of his biceps every time he moves.

It’s all so intoxicating, so much so that you don’t even realize you’ve beaten the highest score in the system by the time he loses his last life. 

“What?” you blink. “What the hell?!”

You laugh, spinning to face Jisung who’s grinning from ear to ear. In your excitement, you jump, flinging your arms around his neck. He’s surprised, but catches you nonetheless, circling his arms around your waist.

“Holy shit how’d you do that!” you squeal while he swings you around, feet off the ground.

“Magic, I guess.” he chuckles. 

The closeness of his voice brings you crashing back down, suddenly aware of what position you’re both in. You pull back quickly, clear your throat, and watch as his face falls from the loss of contact.

It’s been a long time since you hugged Jisung. The thought transports you to that day four years ago, standing under the apple tree, the future uncertain. Forever promised.

Things are different now.

“Sorry,” he backtracks. “I didn’t– um, I wasn’t trying to–”

You cut him off by throwing yourself at him for a second time. Intentional. Breathless. Tired of running and acting like it’s not the thing you want most in the entire world.

Jisung doesn’t react until he feels your face against the skin of his neck. On instinct, he hugs tight, hands around your waist, breathing in the smell of your hair.

“Hi.” you whisper against him. 

One word. Simple. However the weight of it sends a chill down his spine. It feels like home. 

He tightens his hold. A silent understanding. The two of you never had much of a need for words anyways. 

“Hi.” he whispers back.

The apple tree is much bigger now.

Long, thick branches, a wide trunk, a slight tilt in its shape.

It’s bare. The season is long gone. But it’s okay, because it means that the view of the stars isn’t blocked when you and Jisung lay beneath it.

It’s the same but it isn’t. There’s gaps– periods of time where the two of you grew separately. There are moments and memories tucked away that neither of you know about, whole lives to discover. 

But even so, it feels right. His arm wrapped around you, your head on his chest. The stars and the moon. You and Jisung.

It’s nice. Perfect, even. But there’s a conversation that needs to be had. One that can’t be put off any longer.

“Ji.”

“Hm?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Jisung shifts beneath you, tightening his hold. The grass is damp. Neither of you care, too caught up in each other to stress about whether or not it’ll stain.

“Of course.”

“Am I ever gonna see you again?”

He takes a deep breath. “Yes.”

“You said that last time.”

“I know.”

“So what makes this different?” you ask, sitting up. He watches you carefully, eyes trained on every movement like he’s scared you’ll get up and run away.

When he realizes you’re waiting for an answer, he sits up too, pulls his knees to his chest and wraps his arms around his legs. 

He doesn’t say anything, just wordlessly reaches into his pocket. Silently, he hands whatever he grabbed to you. A guitar pick.

It’s white, a marbled design. Golden flecks infused into the lines. There, on the front, is a singular marigold. When you flip it over, you’re met with a tulip. 

“Do you remember that one time, when you called me crying at midnight because Nana told you that she didn’t know if she’d be able to afford school in the city?”

You nod silently, still turning the guitar pick over in your hand. 

It was one of those nights where the rain was relentless. Monsoon season always tagged on to the tail end of the school year, bringing with it a more intense gloominess than usual. 

You’d been angry. Stressed. Irritated that other kids at school were making plans to go to the mainland for college and you were stuck helping your grandmother trim foliage and wrap vases in newspaper.

“You told me that you couldn’t do it anymore.” Jisung whispered, staring up at the sky. “That you were tired of being here. That you needed to get out.”

You remember. Jisung had walked through the rain to show up at your window. Had climbed in with muddy shoes and sat on the floor of your room with you until the downpour stopped and your tears dried.

“And I said that I would make it happen, that I would invent a way to live amongst the stars so you could be as far from here as possible.”

“So what?” you ask, looking at him. “Did you finally do it, then? Is that why you came back?”

“Don’t be like that.”

“No, Jisung, I’m gonna fucking be like that.” you scoff, rising to your feet. 

There’s a fire in your veins, stoked until the embers are burning hot against your throat. Too good to be true. You should’ve known that there was no explanation left for him to give.

Jisung scrambles to his feet. “It wasn’t like I wanted to–”

“Oh like hell you did.” you say, turning to face him. “Four years, Jisung. I waited four years and you just– you come back and decide to tell me about some make-believe bullshit to save yourself and feel less guilty about the fact that you left.”

“It wasn’t make-believe to me,” he argues. “It was real. Everything I said was real. I left and I tried for years to make something of myself so I could come back here and get you.”

“Oh so it’s my fault? I made you leave, is that it?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“So then say something else!” you yell. The stars rumble, threatening to fall out of the sky. “Say something else, then, Jisung. Why didn’t you call? Huh?”

“Because I–” he stops, licks his lips. “God. Fuck. I couldn’t face you if I had nothing to show for myself, okay? It wasn’t fair to you for me to leave you behind just so I could fail.”

“Ha!” you laugh, running a hand through your hair in disbelief. “So you decided to go radio silent instead? Decided to not only leave me alone but let me suffer and wonder about where you were because that’s so much better than telling me that you were struggling, right? Great choice, Jisung. Really.”

He blinks a few times, watching as you pace back and forth in the grass. 

Anger bubbles deep in your gut. This whole time, he knew. It was a conscious decision. Jisung deliberately didn’t contact you because he chose not to.

“Did you ever even love me?”

The words tumble out before you can stop them. Jisung’s entire body goes rigid, his face falling and eyes hardening within a fraction of a second.

“Watch what you say.” he says, his voice low in his chest.

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d just be honest.”

“I’m trying.” he pleads. His eyes are glossy. Big and round behind his glasses. Illuminated by the moon. 

“I fucked up, okay? I prioritized myself and the way I felt over you and fucked everything up. But I tried. I tried so fucking hard. And I’m sorry it took me so long but I wanted– no–  I needed to make sure that I had everything figured out before I came back. I promised I would.”

“No, Jisung, you promised me that–”

“I’m not talking about you.” he says then, taking a deep breath. “You weren’t the only one I made promises to back then.”

Before you have a chance to speak, Jisung says, “I promised her. I told her I’d get you out of here. That I’d give you a life that you deserved, because she knew she couldn’t.”

You drop to your knees when the first sob hits, the force of it racking your body so hard you feel like you’re drowning. Jisung catches you on the fall, holds you up, lets you bury your face into his neck like he had so many times before.

“She told me you believed in forever. She wanted me to give that to you. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

Jisung lets you cry. He holds you through the storm, your wails as loud as thunder and tears as heavy as rain. Four years in the making; the sky and the earth colliding until the dirt and layers of sediment give way to the molten core that’s been hiding beneath the surface all along.

Pain. Grief. All of it pent up and leading to this moment. 

“You should’ve told me.” you cry, beating a fist into Jisung’s chest. “You idiot. You fucking idiot. You should’ve told me.” 

Jisung pulls you in closer, takes each hit as long as it means that it’ll soften the blow on your heart. He whispers apologies in your ear, runs a hand through your hair. 

When it quiets again, the worst of the storm gone, he shifts so that your head is in his lap, his legs crossed and tucked beneath him. A few stray tears wet the fabric of his jeans, your eyes focused on the field of flowers across the street.

“I won’t ask you to come with me.” he says after a long while, when your breathing has evened out. “I know that things are different. You have a life here that you’ve made for yourself, responsibilities to bear as well.”

He pauses to push a few strands of hair out of your face. His fingers are gentle against the skin of your cheek.

“But I promise it’ll be different. I spent too long away from you, was too selfish for my own good. I won’t disappear again. I’ll call every day. I’ll visit. You’ll get every part of me that I kept away from you all this time, and I’ll get every part of you in return.”

Your heart thrums. The thought of having what you’ve wanted for so long. Of having Jisung.

“And when you’re ready, when you feel like you can’t do it anymore, there’ll be a place for you.”

His voice is firm. Confident. More sure than he’s ever sounded before in his life.

When you turn to face him, he’s already staring back. Jisung, with all the stars in his eyes and a heart full of dreams. Jisung, with the world at his fingertips and the offer to make it yours.

Under the apple tree, Jisung leans down and kisses you for the first time. Twenty four years in the making, soft and slow, his lips a perfect fit against yours. A starboy and his flower girl. His glow is so bright it makes blossoms sprout from her fingertips.

Soft curls tickle your eyelids when he pulls away to rest his forehead against yours. You reach up to run a hand through them, smiling softly when he presses a kiss to the tip of your nose. 

“I love you.” you say first this time. 

He reaches out a hand, closes it over your fist that’s still clutching the guitar pick. A marigold and a tulip, both working together to make a perfect harmony. 

“I love you, too.” Jisung whispers back. “Forever.”

Jisung stops by the shop early to say goodbye.

There’s less tears this time, less of a reason to be sad. But still, when he wraps his arms around you, vanilla filling your nose and curls against your face, you feel your composure crumble.

“Every day.” he says, repeating the same thing he did all night. “I promise. Morning and night. Also at lunch. Oh, and on your days off. Matter of fact, you can call when you’re on the toilet too.”

The last part earns him an elbow to the ribs, his laughter bubbling up and out of his throat as he tries to dodge any and all subsequent attacks.

He kisses you stupid before he goes, Chan rolling his eyes from his car out front. You flip him off blindly, Jisung’s lips still attached to yours, earning a loud honk in response.

When he leaves, the shop is quiet, the only sound being the buzzing of your phone as Jisung blows it up with text messages the second the car pulls away.

You’re too busy replying, giggling to yourself when a slew of cute emoticons start appearing one by one, that you nearly fall over out of your chair when Hyunjin bursts through the door.

“Jesus Christ Hyune, did you have to–”

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks, breathless. 

“Uh,” you blink, glancing round. “Working?”

“Is Jisung not on a damn plane right now?”

“I mean he’s on his way to the airport. Chan is–”

“Chan hyung told me that Jisung wanted you to go with him.” Hyunjin says, brow furrowed.

You sigh. “He didn’t want me to go with him. Well, okay, he did. But I told him I can’t just pick up and leave. He knows that. Nana left this place to me and–”

“You are so stupid.” Hyunjin sighs. 

“Excuse me?” you ask. You stand up, crossing your arms as you walk closer to the counter. 

“Come on. We have to go.”

“Go where, Hyunjin? I’m not leaving to–”

He cuts you off, places an envelope on the wooden surface. “And I am not letting you stay here and pretend that this is what you want.”

“What is that?” 

“A plane ticket.” he says, pushing it towards you. “To Seoul.”

Your mouth opens and closes, lost for words. Hyunjin is already moving around the counter, pushing past you with an expression the most serious you’ve ever seen on him.

“Hyunjin I– I can’t– where did you even…?”

“Chan hyung has a friend.” he mumbles as he begins pulling stuff out of the office. Your planning notebook, your apron, the picture of your grandma off the wall. All of it thrown into a small box he managed to snag from somewhere off to the side.

“His name is Seungmin or something. Met him out in the tourist hub. Dude’s super rich with tons of miles and apparently owed Chan for a drunken night where he needed to be escorted to his hotel. So thanks to him, you’re leaving.” he explains as he grabs the box with both hands and starts walking towards the door.

“Wait.” you stop him, watching as he turns to regard you with a look that says his patience is running thin. 

“I told you I can’t leave, Hyunjin. This place is where I need to be.”

He huffs, places the box on the ground in front of him. His hair falls in waves around his face, a shimmery dark brown beneath the rays of the sun poking into the room. 

“Can you be honest with me?” he asks. 

You nod, slowly. 

“Do you love him?”

Hyunjin watches you with careful eyes. Reads you like a book, something he’s always been good at. You don’t doubt that it’s written on your face. Star-kissed cheeks and eyes as bright as marigolds. 

“So much that it hurts, Hyune.”

Hyunjin smiles, eyes watery. “Then you deserve to go. You deserve your chance to be free. Don’t worry about this place, I’ll take care of it.”

The familiar sting of tears sits behind your eyes. Your heart swells full of love for this friend, this light, this beacon of unconditional love in the shape of your best friend.

“I don’t have clothes.” you manage to say around the lump in your throat.

Hyunjin shakes his head, tears spilling down the bridge of his nose. 

“I’ll send them to you.”

“There’s a lot to do around here for just one person. What if you need me?”

“I’ll manage.” 

You round the corner quickly, throwing yourself into his chest. He catches you with ease, wraps his arms around your body as the both of you cry into each other.

“I’ll miss you.” you say weakly.

Hyunjin’s throat bobs against the top of your head. “I’ll always be here in our little corner of the world.”

The two of you stay like that for a while. Hyunjin’s warmth seeps into your skin, lights you ablaze. By the time he pulls away, his hands on your shoulders, you feel like you’re floating. Unreal.

“I don’t have a way to get there.” you say quickly, glancing at the clock. 

Jisung’s plane leaves soon. The airport, the only one on the island, is a thirty minute drive. You’re at a disadvantage the more time you spend not moving. 

“Don’t worry,” Hyunjin chuckles. “I’ve got that taken care of.”

You open your mouth to ask him what he means when you’re cut off by the sound of honking from outside. Confused, you run to the door, your jaw dropping as soon as you realize who’s waiting for you.

“Hurry up people we don’t have all day!” Jeongin calls, his upper body hanging out of the window. He’s parked outside in a beat-up truck, arms waving wildly when he spots you.

“Innie!” you scream, pushing through the door to run at him. He jumps out of the truck just in time for you to barrel into his chest, laughter loud in your ears as he spins you around. 

“You’re here! Oh my god I thought you weren’t coming for another two weeks.” you say in disbelief once he puts you down.

He looks older, more sophisticated. His hair is rusted and falls past his ears, the ends just barely touching his shoulders. 

“Yeah, well,” he shrugs. “I figured I’d show up earlier. You know, see you before you leave, catch up with my parents, help Hyunjin break into your house. The usual.”

“Help Hyunjin break into my what–” you say, but you stop when your eyes fall on the small suitcase in the backseat. Your own bag, the one that’s been sitting in your closet untouched for years now.

“For the last time,” Hyunjin says from behind you, carrying the box in his arms. “It’s not breaking and entering if I have a key. Which, by the way, I told you would come in handy one day.”

He sets the box down next to the luggage and dusts his hands on his pants. When he turns to face you, he’s smiling, eyes disappearing into crescent moons.

With tears threatening to spill once again, you stare at the both of them, your heart bursting at the seams. “I love you guys.”

Jeongin grimaces, opts for getting back in the driver’s seat as you laugh. Hyunjin rolls his eyes and ushers you inside of the truck.

“Yeah, yeah. Save it.” he says. “Right now, you have a plane to catch.”

The airport is crowded. 

There are tons of people everywhere, some saying hello and some saying goodbye. Hyunjin explained the gate system to you before you left him and Jeongin on the curb, and you keep glancing down at your ticket to make sure none of the information has changed in the past thirty seconds since you last looked. 

Thankfully, your gate isn’t far. With twenty minutes to go until boarding, you can feel the sweat building up beneath the hand that’s curled around your suitcase handle. 

It’s scary thinking about the fact that this is it. That you’re finally leaving. 

It’s bittersweet, too. There’s an excitement in the pit of your stomach as well as a feeling of dread in your chest, both of them meeting in the middle somewhere. 

You let your eyes scan the crowd, searching for wavy hair and thick-rimmed glasses. However, the first thing you see is the familiar neck of a guitar, strapped right on to a back that you would know and recognize anywhere without warning.

Jisung is seated near the gate, his eyebrows furrowed and lips set in a pout as he glares down at his phone. You realize that he’s probably wondering why you won’t answer, why all of his emoticons are going ignored. 

Quietly, you come up behind him, reach into your pocket, and say, “Excuse me? I think you dropped this.”

Jisung startles, his eyes falling on to the guitar pick being held out in your hand. Slowly, he lets his gaze follow upwards, wide-eyed and shocked.

“What– what are you doing here?” he asks. 

You place the pick in his hand. “I'm on my way to Seoul. There’s a guy there that I’ve been trying to find for a while.” you say. 

Jisung catches on quickly. “Oh, really?” he asks, moving over so you can sit beside him. “This guy must be pretty great if you’re leaving for the mainland.”

The rain starts hitting the tarmac outside right as you sit down. “Hm, yeah. He is. He really likes the stars. He says that he found a way for me to live in them, too.” 

He laughs, the sound making your stomach flip. “Sounds like you’re excited.”

You nod. “I am. He promised me that we’d do a lot together, experience new things. Apparently he’s gonna write songs and I’m gonna be a nerd.”

Jisung snorts and reaches across to link his hand with yours.

“He’s really lucky.” he says, leaning over to plant a kiss on your lips.

You smile into it. “So am I.” you whisper into his mouth, your heart stuffed to the brim with flower petals. 

And when Jisung smiles back, his other hand coming up to cup your cheek and give you another kiss with the force of a thousand suns, you feel the key you’d been searching for finally click into place. 

Salt of the earth. Soil and stardust. A boy who glows so bright that his girl sprouts blossoms from her fingertips. 

Forever isn’t promised. But then again, with Jisung by your side, there are things you know for certain:

It’s February. The tulips are in bloom. In Jeju– it rains.

And no matter what, despite all odds, you and Jisung will always find your way back to each other in the place where marigolds grow.

[tags: @skzstarnet @snowyquokka @palindrome969 @summergirlsmj @n1staytiny @drhsthl @strwbrrychannie @shays-library @giuliadesu @iknowyouknowminho @linocz @pynchkilledme @jisunglyricist @itsgghowitsgg @alician87 @skzms @meloncremesoda @ilychee08 @allaboutsan @legally-lixs @stayceebs97 @candyquokka @chans1aptop @liknws @realrintaro @beeracha @vxllxnsworld @feelikecinderella @caitxx1 @lilac13 @sebastianswhore13 @classiclitandmemes @hyunverse @linosazuna @lastgreatamericandynasty1 @bubbly-moon @cookiesandcreammy ]

[footygirl114]

Operation (Leah Williamson x Reader)

This is definitely a result of too much Grey's anatomy but I was told that I need to let some of the ideas out of my noggin so here you go? (I think). Also I could be persuaded into this becoming a series...

Your pager going off interrupted the scrolling of TikTok you were doing while enjoying your morning coffee, after rounding on your patients. You glanced at the screen and noticed it was a 911 to the ER for an incoming Trauma. Kicking yourself into gear you moved and started to make your way down, the whole time kicking yourself for jinxing your pager since you were hoping to catch the Arsenal vs. Manchester United Game at the Emirates on TV during your shift. 

Knowing that wasn’t going to happen as you walked into the ER and it was organised chaos. You walked towards the head of the ER and asked “what happened?” 

He turns to you and says “A car jumped a curb at the Emirates stadium before the game, ran into a few pedestrians including an 8 year old and her dad. We have the driver, a 43 year old male, and the two victims on route now.” 

“damn it, how bad?” you ask him as you move to pull your hair back, and put on a trauma gown and gloves. 

“the dad, is in critical condition, they say he was able to get the girl out of the way but she sustained injuries when he shoved her out of the way.” He says as you walk with him to the ambulance bay waiting for the incoming ambulances. 

As you wait for the ambulance you listen to the other doctors conferring over what they think the driver was on, but you take the second to glance at your phone and double check the texts with your fiancé. They state that she was there an hour prior to this happening, and knowing the teams timing you knew she was on the field for warm up. 

When they finally pull up you wait to find out what one your patient is in. Once you know where the child is you step up and move beside her gurney listening as the paramedics rattle off her name and vitals. She meets your eyes and you can see how scared she is and you say to her softly “Hi Kenzie, I’m Dr. Y/L/N, and I am going to be taking care of you.”

She’s shaking as she asks “where’s my dad?” 

“Sweetie, he’s being taken care of by some of my very good friends, You and I are going to get you checked out so you can be ready for him okay?” you tell her as you move your hand to tuck a loose piece of her hair behind her ear checking her pupils as you do this. 

When she nods, you move to grasp her hand as you gesture for the team to get her gurney moving. You had waited so they could get her father inside so she wouldn’t have to see him too injured. Once you get her into a room and transferred onto a gurney you start your exam on her. 

She’s stays silent as you explain what you are doing, you tell her that you specialise in helping kids who have been injured or sick, and when you press on her belly and he’s hisses and pulls away in pain you know she may have some internal injuries. 

Once you determine she’s stable and waiting for scans you go to move away from her but she grabs your hand and says “don’t go.” 

You turn and squeeze her hand back and says “i am just going to check on your dad and then I will be right back, I promise.” 

She shakes her head and holds up her other hand, leaving her pinky up as she asks softly “pinky promise?” 

You smile at her and wrap your pinky around hers and say “I pinky promise sweetie.” 

She lets go of both of your hands and you move outside the door, watching as your favourite ER nurse immediately steps in and starts talking to the patient, keeping her distracted, you walk out of the room and the last thing you hear is them talking about the arsenal team. You smile to yourself knowing that she will be okay for a few minutes. 

You take the time to order scans for her, and check on her dad, you also manage to talk to someone from social services who is looking for her next of kin, but they are having no luck since her fathers License is from Ireland, you know it will take some time for anyone to get over here. 

Walking back into her room you smile at her and say “Hi Kenzie, I am going to take you upstairs now.” 

She meets your eyes and asks “how is my dad?” 

Moving back towards her you sit down on the edge the bed by her legs and say “he’s been taken into surgery, by those friends of mine. He’s getting the best care possible and they will do everything they can to help him.” 

She starts to cry and you move to grasp her hand and she says “I want my daddy.” 

It breaks your heart and you move closer and pull her into a hug softly whispering “it’s okay sweetie, let it out.” 

After a few moments of letting her cry she’s sniffles and pulls back and says “I’m okay, I can be a big girl.” 

You smile and wipe under her eyes and you say “you are strong sweetie, now lets go get some scans of your belly and then we can get you fixed up to be ready for your dad okay?” She nods and you gesture to the nurse to get her ready for transport upstairs for scans then into the paediatric floor. 

**

Less than an hour later, you walk into her room on your floor. You were one of the attending surgeons on the paediatric floor. “Hi sweetie” you tell her as you walk into the room when she turns and smiles softly at you, you continue “They called your grandma, and she should be here tomorrow.” 

“Grandma is old and cant move fast” she chuckles at you. 

“Well she does have to fly over her, like you and your dad did sweetie. Why were you over here?” you as her as you fiddle with her IV. 

She gasps and says “the game! I missed the game.” 

“The arsenal one? Were you guys over here to watch it?” you ask her. 

“It was my first game, daddy saved up and finally was able to bring me over to watch my favourite team play. Did I miss it? Can I still go watch?” she asks you with wide eyes pleading. 

You sit beside her hip on her bed and say softly “sweetie, your scans came back and I need to go in and fix your belly, we are going to do it now.” 

“So i wont get to see the game?” she pouts. 

You smile sadly and hold up your pinky and ask “I pinky promise when we’re done, I will come and watch the full game with you right here.” 

She smiles and wraps her pinky around yours and says “deal.” 

Before you can say anything more the surgical team walks in and you know its time to go, You turn to her and say “We’re going to take you in and put you to sleep and when you wake up we will get to watch Arsenal kick butt okay?” 

She nods and says “okay.” 

You follow the surgical team push her towards the OR, you help them transfer Kenzie over and you stay with her until she’s out. You move into the scrub room and pull out your phone, texting Leah like you did before every surgery, and told her that you would be in the OR and will update when you are done. 

**

Almost 6 hours later you were sat beside Kenzie’s bedside, it was dark and quiet and you were not expecting her to be awake anytime soon but you wanted to be here when she did. It had started to get late and when your phone buzzed you knew it would be Leah. You saw it was and you turned and looked out into the quiet hallway and decided to take the phone call there. 

You had been with Leah for almost 5 years, and it was the best 5 years of your life. You had been still a resident and Leah was gaining popularity and you both decided that you wanted to keep your relationship quieter. Leah was worried that some of her more enthusiastic fans would attempt to contact you through the hospital and she wanted to make sure that you were safe. 

It was sweet and when the opportunity came up to be an attending at this hospital in the middle of London you jumped at the chance to be close to your fiancé. You had been at this hospital for 6 weeks and as far as you knew, no one was the wiser to if you were single or in a relationship. Which is why you would make sure no one was around before you answered a phone call from her. 

“Hi babe” you greeted her when you picked up the phone call. 

“Hi love, are you still working?” she asks with a chuckle. 

“I am, I’m gonna stay here tonight actually.” you tell her with a soft smile, eyes on the sleeping form of Kenzie in front of you. 

You can hear her moving and she says “Are you going to be in surgery all night?” 

“no actually, this patient came in and I operated on her” you tell her softly. “She’s 8 and was here with her dad to watch your game, but she was hit by a car on the way to the stadium.” 

“Oh, love, is she okay?” she asks softly. Your heart grows three times the size as she just immediately understands why you need to be here and why you cannot leave her.

You pause on answering when Kenzie moves in front of you, but when she settles you say softly to Leah “she’s all alone Lee and I promised to watch the game with her when she wakes up.” 

“You’re amazing and I love you” she says “and I will miss you tonight.” 

“I miss you too babe” you tell her with a soft smile.

You listen as she moves around and it sounds like she’s gotten into bed and she asks “can you stay on the line with me while I fall asleep?” 

Smiling you move and adjust the chair so you are reclining as you softly ask “Do you have training tomorrow?” 

“No.”

“Good, I will definitely be home tomorrow babe” you say softly. 

“Mhmm I want you here” she sleepy says. 

You stay on the line listening to her breathe evening out and you smile to your self, thinking about how much you love this woman. “Sleep tight babe, I love you.” you whisper when you hear her softly snoring you hang up the phone. Turning in the chair to settle into a light sleep. 

**

It’s early in the morning when you hear Kenzie moving around in her bed in front of you. You open your eyes to see her eyes open looking around. You wait to see if she will fall back asleep but when her eyes lock on yours you says “Hi sweetie.” 

“hi” she whispers. 

You move to stand up and check her vitals and move your hand to check her incision site and you ask her “how are you feeling?” 

“Tired” she answers softly. 

“do you want to go back to sleep?” you ask her, and move your hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. 

She shakes her head and says “Can we watch the game now?” 

You chuckle and tell her “yeah? lets watch.” 

You move the table over the end of the bed to be closer and you pull out your phone and find the recording of the game. You always set Leah’s games that you miss to be recorded so you can watch them back. You pull the chair closer and you set the phone up so you both can see. The first 15 minutes are quiet but when Arsenal scores one she gets excited and sits up more. 

After the third goal she’s more animated and is excitedly talking about the game and the players. The game has made her feel a lot better and more like a little girl and you are happy that she seems to be doing better. 

You are lost in thought watching when she says “holy crap thats Leah Williamson.” 

You chuckle without taking your eyes off the screen and say “sweetie she’s been on the whole game.” 

“No, she’s right there!” she shouts. 

You turn and meet the eyes of your fiancé standing in the doorway of the hospital room with two coffees, she winks at you and says “I heard we had a fan here that wasn’t able to make it to the game.” 

You pause the game and move to stand up and step closer to Leah and you say “this is Kenzie.” 

“Hi Kenzie” Leah says and she hands you a coffee and brushes by you to stand beside the bed “are you watching the game back?” 

“yeah, I missed it cause Dr. Y/N was operating on my belly.” Kenzie says, the smile bright on her face. 

“she’s pretty Awesome” Leah says and then continues “Can I watch the rest with you?” 

“Yes please!” Kenzie answers quickly with an excited smile. 

“I guess you don’t need me anymore” you say with a chuckle. 

Leah smirks at you and says “Sorry love.” 

“It’s okay, you guys enjoy I am going to shower and change.” you tell them both. “Kenzie please make sure to ask Leah all the questions okay?” 

“I will! She’s my favourite player.” Kenzie says with a smile and moves to press play on the TV as she says to Leah “What did the ref say to you there?” 

You chuckle to yourself and move outside the room, and you stand on the outside of the window looking in and you feel your heart grow again watching as Leah and Kenzie both talk with their hands about the game and you can feel the smile growing on your face knowing it may be time to have a conversation with Leah about what you want next. 

[xxkissesforchanniexx]

hellooo, i would like to proudly announce that i absolutely love your work, like it’s amazing - you’re amazing

anywho

can you write a soft dom seungmin smut please

you may take that very vague prompt and run with it 😭

i just need soft seungmo in my life rn

- much love, kenzie <3

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬

Pairing: Seungmin x fem!reader Word count: 650 Genre: Smut 🔥❤️ Warning: Seungmin is a troll, unprotected sex(erm use protection), name calling >.> (dirty baby, puppy, nun else fr), ironic name for how he goes abt things... >.> i think thats all... (im bad at warnings lord help me-)

Gentle kisses were peppered on your neck by the man who sat in bed beside you.

You looked up from your phone at Seungmin. "May I help you puppy?"

He smiled innocently at you.

You hummed and looked back at your phone, effectively getting a pout from the man. You smiled to yourself as Seungmin grabbed you gently around the waist and pinned you to the bed.

"Stop ignoring me." He muttered, kissing your neck gently.

"'M busy." You muttered.

"Looking at shoes is important?" He made a face.

"Mhm." You kept scrolling until he gently pried your phone from your fingers, laying his head gently on your chest.

"More important than me?" He pouted.

You giggled and ran your fingers through his hair. "No."

Seungmin smiled and moved up kissing you gently.

You wrapped your arms around him and he hummed against your lips, mouth curving into a smirk. His hands traced down your sides before sliding under your shirt, he looked at you with an incredulous look, "No bra?"

You ruffled his hair. "Nuh uh."

He smirked and lifted your shirt. "You're so pretty y'know."

You blushed and kissed him softly. "You're prettier."

He chuckled softly and kissed your neck before lifting your shirt off. Kissing your chest before taking your nipple into his mouth, he pinched the other gently. You arched your back into him, whining softly.

"You want me to make you feel good?" He pulled at your nipple.

You nodded and moaned.

"Say please." he smiled lazily at you.

"Please." You pouted.

"Please what?" He tilted his face.

"Please fuck me." You batted your eye lashes innocently.

"Dirty girl." He pulled your panties off and groaned at the sight of your already wet sex, rubbing your clit gently. "Dirty baby wants me to fuck her?"

You whimpered and nodded. "Please Seungminnie!"

"How can I say no when you look so cute?" He kissed you gently and pushed two fingers into you. "So wet already, this is really all mine?"

You cried a groan of frustration and gripped the sheets. "Please."

"Oh, don't cry baby." He pulled his fingers out and licked them clean. "I haven't even started yet."

"Then start." You rolled your eyes.

He grabbed your face gently. "Being rude?"

"Nuh uh." You pouted.

He kissed you gently before moving to remove his clothes. You stared at him slightly in shock at how perfect your lover was.

He smiled his big puppy smile. "Like what you see?"

You made a face and he pounced on you, the room becoming filled with you soft panting and whimpers as Seungmin lips attacked your neck. You gasped as sucked a bruise just under your ear.

"Can I put it in?" He breathed.

You nodded and he spread your legs, rubbing his tip against you. You bucked and he gripped your hips, holding you down. You started whining but he finally pushed into you.

He groaned against your neck. "So tight."

"Seungmin!" You whimpered.

"Shh." He pulled out slowly before moving in again, and again, before he set a steady rhythm, moving faster into you, panting softly.

You moaned and held onto him tightly, nails digging into his shoulders as he hit your g-spot, getting a high pitched moan from you.

He smiled and moved faster, hitting your g-spot over and over, until you were seeing stars.

"Seungmin!" You squealed, "I'm gonna-"

He kissed you hard, his cock bullying into you, and you came hard around him. He moaned and grunted as you pulsed around him, his thrusts growing sloppy, before he finally came hard, releasing in you. "So good, oh my god..." He slumped over you for a moment.

You whimpered as he pulled out, walking to your bathroom and returning a moment later with a cloth to clean you. After he cleaned you, he got into bed beside you and kissed you gently along the neck.

[pixiesfz]

Omg I love your recent Kerstin fic. Would you consider doing a part 2 where we actually see Kerstin get jealous due to Courtney? Maybe some smut?

yes, yes, yes yes yes.!

jealousy k.c

plot: you and courtney become friends after being ex's for so long and kerstin gets a little jelly about it.

warnings: smut, public, part 2 of teammates

You were healing.

With the help of Kerstin of course.

You didn’t realize until the recent international camp where Australia would vs Uzbekistan when Courtney walked in and instead of a feeling of heartbreak washing over you, you finally saw her as a normal teammate, a friend almost.

“Media duties!” Macca called out with a grin as she held her phone and the tiny microphone which had some of the girls groaning.

“Partner up!” Allanna yelled from behind her she yelled and you were at the food table putting spaghetti in your bowl, meaning that when you went back to your table everyone was partnered up except for Courtney whom you both made awkward eye contact with another and Kyra coughed to save you both from it.

“I could switch” she offered to you but you shrugged your shoulders “It should be fine” you smiled and made your way over to her “Hey,” she said softly “Hi” you smiled, excited that you were finally feeling like her teammate again and not her ex.

“Excited for the games coming up, going to your homeland soon” she pointed out and you smiled “I haven’t seen my family since the break so I’m pretty excited, I’m giving my mum about 10 seconds before she starts to cry” you laughed and she joined you.

After a few seconds Courtney turned towards you “This is nice” was all she said and you nodded “Yeah” you breathed out and the two tall girls from your team walked over to you both with whiteboards “You have been chosen” Macca said in a weird voice you could only hear in star wars and you tilted your head “sorry I don’t speak Chewbacca”.

“C'mon” Allanna sighed and grabbed your hand, walking a bit faster so you were out of earshot of the other two “Are you okay?” she asked and you nodded “I’m okay” You smiled “Yeah?” Allana asked with a smile “Yeah” you confirmed and hugged into her side where she left a chaff kiss on your head.

“You know I didn’t like the idea of Kerstin taking you after what happened at the World Cup but you and her are really good together, even on the field,” she said to you and you blushed “C'mon let's just do this interview”.

You and Courtney both sat down together in the media room as a camera guy cleaned the camera Mackenzie held a script behind it and Allana held the mic. “Why did we need to clean the camera?” Courtney asked “Raso and Ellie did a try not to laugh challenge” the guy piped up and you laughed at the idea “oh that is chaos”.

“So you’re just gonna do like a ‘who’s most likely to’ kind of thing yeah?” Kenzie asked and you nodded and the camera started rolling.

“All right, who’s most likely to forget a teammate's birthday?” she asked and you wrote down Kyra’s name and turned it around at the same time as Courtney as the room erupted in laughter “Y/n” Courtney nudged your shoulder “what” you turned to her as your faces were close.

“It’s only out of us two”

Mackenzie and Allanna’s laughter filled the room again as your eyes bulged “Sorry Kyra!”.

“Who did you write anyway?” you asked as you rubbed Kyra’s name out “Me, you were always good with dates” She shrugged, and you nodded with a smile.

“Most likely to end up on Broadway?”

You both turned around your whiteboards to reveal your name “Me” you smiled “Fun fact: before I went into footy full time, I was always in my school musicals and local ones”

“And was even good at them” Courtney chimed as she remembered going to them.

“Most likely to go on Love Island?”

You thought about it for a second and then wrote down Courtney’s name, not sure if she would take it offensively but when you turned it around she laughed and you saw your name on hers “What?” you asked “Pretty people do well on Love island” Courtney pointed out with laughter and the comment went straight over your head “no you would do well in all like the challenges they do, you and your partner would dominate” you pointed out as everyone in the room was now laughing.

You both waved to the camera still laughing at each other as the cameraman turned it off.

“Well, at least I didn’t get water all over me this time”.

That night after dinner you laid on your bed with the phone in hand where Kerstin was “So how was tonight?" she asked after having a conversation all about her first couple of days "Good we did some media shots and I was with Courtney" you explained

You were too busy explaining your story that you didn’t see Kerstin's eyes when you mentioned your ex-girlfriend. “I miss you,” she told you with a smirk “Babe it’s been a week” you laughed but her stare didn’t change “I miss you too” you admitted with a smile.

“You getting a tan up in Spain?” you teased, and the girl smiled “Actually I was thinking we could come up here next break” she admitted and your smile widened “I’d love that”.

When you both hung up the phone for the night you saw that the admin had posted the video of you and Courtney, but you paid no mind to it, knowing what had happened in real life.

Kerstin sat in her bed and watched it, her eyes traveling to Courtney when her arm grabbed you and swivelled you around and told you that you were playing the game wrong. Then it went to her staring at you for a reaction whenever she turned her whiteboard around.

“Pretty people do well on Love Island”

Kerstin's eyebrows shot up at the blonde girl's (her words to her girl) words, she tried not to but her finer swiped up to see all the comments that had already flooded the video.

‘did they get back together?”

↪ we don’t even know if they ever broke up.

↪ isn’t she dating Kerstin

↪ just a rumour, just friends I think

↪ y/n and Courtney is an Australian power couple

↪ Kerstin and y/n are slow launching

↪ how many girfriends does this woman have?

Kerstin shut off her phone and put it on her bedside table with a groan.

She trusts you with every bone in her body and she knows you would never ever cheat, especially with Courtney but right now all she wanted was to push the blonde Australian away so people would know you were hers.

And hers only.

Tony took you off after 60 minutes, scoring two goals and assisting Mary for hers, you had the win in for sure and you helped your team make your way into the Olympics, jumping in joy from the sidelines when Caitlin scored her hattrick.

The game finished 7-1 and the Matilda’s team were singing random songs in the change rooms to celebrate. “Congrats” Courtney said as you walked in “thanks for the assistance” you smiled as you thought back to the first goal of the match.

You were on the wing, free as your defender got slightly confused and ran onto Raso. Courtney caught your eye as she dribbled and kicked with her right foot from their square to you where you hit it from your chest back down to your foot, giving you a clear way for a boot, which you did and thankfully the ball went in.

You jumped around in excitement as the team jumped on you, Courtney as well who lent her hand out to pick you up.

You walked away back to your cubby as Courtney watched you.

Allanna picked you up as you walked over “Can’t believe Tony took you off right before you got a hattrick” she groaned “It’s fine, he told me he wanted me fit and healthy for the Melbourne game cause he’s keeping me on for the full 90” you smirked and she gasped and smiled “Chicken!” Caitlin cheered over and sat down next to you “Got good news for you”

“What may that be?”

“Viv and I figured out that we and the Netherlands are gonna be at the same airport at the same time!” she told you quickly and you jumped up “fuck yes!” you cheered, ecstatic that you get to see your girlfriend.

“Alrighty girls!” Tony walked in “pack your bags cause we’re leaving bright and early in the morning!”

You weren’t usually a morning person but the idea of you seeing Kerstin again had you waking everyone else up to be quick, you even bought mini a coffee as Harper may have kept her up.

“Thanks, darl” she complimented you with a thankful smile as you walked together, Harper deciding to jump into your arms as you all walked onto the bus.

“Want y/n” she turned to her mum who shrugged “Take her,” she told you with a smile as you and the little one both cheered.

“You are happy,” Harper told you as you both sat down and you smiled “I get to see Kerstin” You smiled and the girl put her mouth in an ‘o’ shape letting out a little sound “I like Kerstin She gave me lollies” she smiled as she remembered when you took Kerstin to a ‘Tillies’ night out.

“That did not make your mummies happy,” you told her as you remember Kerstin apologizing as she didn’t know that the lollies she gave her had so much sugar in them.

The two of you fell asleep on the bus till you were shaken awake by her mother “I can still hold her” you promised her as you all walked in, quickly going through security with the little one stuck on your shoulder.

She didn’t wake until we all put our bags down “Kerstin” she mumbled and pointed before you turned around and indeed saw your girlfriend in all orange walking towards you, a slight sense of dominance as she locked eyes with you.

“You ruined my surprise little one,” she told Harper before wrapping her arms around you, squeezing you tight before pulling back and looking at you holding a child. “I look like a mum don’t I” you laughed

“milf”

“Kerstin” you scolded and grabbed her arm ��C’mon let’s take her to her real mum” you smiled.

Although you loved the little girl, you just wanted to be with your girlfriend for the little time you had.

Dropping off Harper to Mini was easy but it was as you walked by your team members that Kerstin looked around for the blonde who was already watching you pass Mini the child, Kerstin didn’t like that.

“I have to go to the toilet come,” she told you, dragging you off.

You lightly scoffed “You need to learn how to control your bladder”.

You watched as Kerstin held you tight, turning from the regular girl's toilet last second to the disabled, throwing you in and quickly closing the doors behind her.

“Kerstin this is the-“ You were cut off by her lips on hers, moaning into her right away from the impact “Kirsten” you breathed out in between kisses, she simply shooshed you and travelled her lips down your neck, pushing you onto the sink “jump” she told you her hands grabbing your ass as you did and lowered you onto the bench top.

“we’re in public” you breathed out as she sucked onto your neck. She took her head away, looking at you with lust “I just want people to know what’s mine” she told you with a shrug as if it was the easiest thing to say in the world but you felt hot at the words, or maybe because it was the way her hands travelled up your legs as she said so.

“I am yours,” you told her and she crossed her head and tutted “Not everybody knows that,” she said and you thought back….Courtney.

“Are you jealous?” you ask as the woman's fingers played with your waistband “I don’t want anyone thinking they have a chance with you” She smiled and started pulling your shorts down, your underwear along with it, throwing it on the floor before her hands went under your thighs, pulling you towards her “so wet” she smiled, kissing up your legs.

“Did she ever make you this wet?”

You gasped at the words of your girlfriend, a new side that you had never seen of her, and you loved it.

“no” you mumbled as her kiss grew closer to where you needed her.

“Good girl”

Kerstin started slowly with a slow lick through your folds, moaning at the sight of her before she went in again, faster

“Oh fuck” you stuttered, your hand now tangled in her hair that she wore out, biting down on your lip to stop yourself from moaning.

But a buzzing sound interrupted your bliss.

Courtney.

“Answer it,” Kerstin told you before entering a finger into you.

“I-“ “Answer it or I won’t go any further” Kerstin looked into your eyes, silently telling you that she meant it.

“fuck” you cursed before pressing answer and lifting it to your ear as Kerstin eagerly watched you from underneath.

“hey” Courtney said on the phone “hi” you responded and Kersten started moving her finger slowly, you bit onto your free finger to stop yourself from any noise.

“Called cause you’ve been gone for a bit and we have to board in like twenty minutes” she said through the line “Lani said you could be with Kerstin but I just wanted to make sure”

At Kerstins name being dropped you looked down to the girl who was pumping her fingers into you, entering a second finger that made you gasp.

“Are you okay?” Courtneys voice rang out

“yep” you answered quickly, maybe a bit too quickly.

“okay uhm I could find you”

At the words Kerstin sped up and you moaned out into your hand so it was muffled “That’s-“ you started but stopped “That’s okay I’m good, be there in five-ten! minutes” you said but the squeeze of Kerstin's hands on your ass told you that you were going to be a bit longer.

“oh okay, well tell me if anything changes” Courtney offered and you nodded your head frantically, trying so hard not to scream out your lover's name “Yep okay bye” you said quickly before smashing the decline bottom and placing the phone on the table.

You took your hands in Kirstens hair again as you finally were able to release “oh fuck yes Kerstin” you breathed out as she let you ride out your high. When done you pulled her up by the front of her top and kissed her, lips molding together as you could taste yourself on her lips.

“You are so jealous”.

[victoriadallonfan]

Rereading Ward, it’s very interesting how Victoria desperately wants to put on this facade of statuesque calm and implacable manner. Even without spelling it out, it feels like she subconsciously wants to be Brandish or Alexandria or Chevalier or arguably Scion: people who don’t break who don’t show any of their emotions and are steadfast about keeping to the job.

Except, that’s not true for them. Brandish, Alexandria, Chevalier, and Scion all break down at various points from the stress, all of them feel hampered by this facade more than anything, and it ruins nearly all but one of their lives.

And it’s especially not true for Victoria. She doesn’t like being this stiff upper lip person, despite her thinking it’s what she’s supposed to do.

Victoria is a passionate person: she likes making jokes and innuendos, she likes pulling pranks and having people pull pranks on her (in good fun), she likes being excited about nerdy shit and movies and music, she loves to hear people talk about their artistic passions, and she craves being able to help those who are dealing with traumas like herself.

She wants to be able to cry and love and hate.

And we see that it’s this side that compels her team to basically adopt her into their therapy group, it’s what helps Fume Hood find the confidence to stay a hero, it helps Ashley feel like she belongs and Kenzie like she can be loved. Rain feels like he actually has some on who will have his back, Sveta has a newfound sister, and the Capricorn twins feel she treats them with dignity and respect.

It even works on some of the villains she fights. Moose is basically her friend who can’t resist her passion for doing the right thing, Prancer finds her amusing but also identifies with her wanting something better than a life such as this, and when she’s trying to rescue the Old Man from the other villains - it’s her removing her mask and making herself more human, joking with them, that allows them to relent and play along.

Even in one of the darkest moments of the story, where Sidepiece is mocking Victoria for her rape, none of the other villains join in. Victoria is hurt, she’s offended, and she’s hating herself because of the comments said to her, but she notices the none of the villains think this is funny or seem comfortable with it. They don’t do anything about it, but it seems pretty clearly signaled that seeing this happen to someone who is visibly hurting is not something they agree with either.

And of course, her friendship and divorce with Tattletale, a person whom Victoria hated for her role in her wretching, but when they put aside the masks and bravado they find a commonality and love to people close to them.

And stranger still, they find themselves recognizing that they each sort of fill gap left by others in their lives, and grow to become deep friends even if it’s of the snarking kind. It’s Tattletale seeing Victoria broken by her power and Victoria seeing Tattletale broken from her trigger event that the first big steps to that friendship are made, and the deal is sealed when Tattletale confides in Victoria her own fears and vice versa.

Being this indomitable and implacable force of nature isn’t strength. It is arguably part of why the Simurgh was the final opponent and so terrifying. Human but not, a mere statue taking action with no care or concept of caring beyond The Mission.

Victoria being able to express her humanity and be vulnerable is what matters and what inspires people around her. And it’s very fitting that Chevalier, a person who, Victoria tried to emulate several times, realizes that maybe it’s time to follow what Victoria is doing and just… be human and vulnerable.

To rest and self care, and acknowledge that you need it.

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

More poguelandia fics!!! I can't find any pleaseee

Warning: implied smut

my taglists are here+you can requests hereat any time

—

In the movies, when a couple has sex on the beach, it's always spontaneous, romantic — a best-experience-ever kind of thing —, but in real life, it's a fucking nightmare. It’s lumpy and sticky and sand gets everywhere.

You had been stranded on Poguelandia for a few days and you and JJ could not go without sex for that long — especially JJ. That boy could not control his hormones. He had been fidgeting and wiggling as if he had ants in his pants all of yesterday and way more touchy than usual so you decided to take him to a private area while everyone was busy.

JJ laid his shirt on the sand to help with the sand, but you got caught in the moment and forgot about limited territory… You had to keep your hand on his mouth to prevent from alerting all of your friends of your current activities, unable to keep quiet, and bite his shoulder when you reached your high.

It wasn’t the most comfortable place to have sex, but you still finished with a mindblowing orgasm.

‘’How are you feeling?’’

‘’Fucking high,’’ JJ replied, looking up at the blue sky above you.

You laughed.

Right now, you would kill for a shower, feeling sticky and dirty. It was a massive luck that you had an IUD because the thought of getting pregnant on Poguelandia sounded terrifying. You did not want to live Brooke Shield’s character’s story in The Blue Lagoon.

After catching your breaths, you put your clothes back on and make yourself look as if nothing happened. You even brought a few coconuts in case they asked where you had been.

‘’I have sand in places I didn’t know you could get sand,’’ you whispered to JJ as you walked back to the campement, wrinkling your face at the uncomfortableness.

‘’Need help to get it out?’’ JJ asked with a shit-eating grin, nudging your shoulder.

—

OBX taglist: @moralina @eudximoniakr @toylewestinnyc @rottenstyx  @sweeterheartxamerica  @jordierama @viridwityy @izzy-laufeyson @kenzi-woycehoski @lilaconner @Katsukis1Wife  @hawkegfs @mommyruuetrue  @acornacreacure @snownjune

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17  @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @rosie-cameron

[ahmedfreepalestine]

Tales from the Heart of the Siege: We Are the Ones Who Remain"💔

A life of tragedy, exhaustion and death.😭

The bombs of death still rain down on us relentlessly. Homes are crushed, lives are extinguished, and the dream of living in peace fades away under a war of extermination that spares neither the young nor the old. In northern Gaza, the invasion continues to steal life from our hearts, and hunger drains what remains of our bodies, already exhausted by pain.

Please support and donate🙏🍉

Every morning, we wake to the sound of explosions, like a dreadful symphony that never leaves our ears. The fighter jets hover over our heads, casting shadows of death. We live each moment waiting for what comes next, not knowing if it will bring more death or another loss of dreams and loved ones. We write from the heart of destruction, we live in the embrace of rubble, our souls still awaiting salvation, but we stand firm.

Despite every attempt to displace us and break our spirits, we are still here. We are not refugees on our own land, and we will not leave this country no matter how hard the circumstances become. We have endured hunger, endured loss, and said painful goodbyes to our loved ones, and every day we continue to bid farewell to those we love. We are the ones who remain, clinging to this land as if it is part of our very souls.

They do not control our destiny, for the pain they intended to break us with has instead built our unyielding resilience. We do not merely live here as others do—we fight to survive every moment. We escape death every second because this land is all we have. It is our identity and the undeniable right that cannot be bargained away.

Today, northern Gaza stands proud, like a rock that refuses to break. They may believe that death will force us to leave, but they do not understand that we have chosen life on this land as our eternal path. We do not choose to flee; we have chosen to live here despite everything.

We are the ones who remain, and we are the ones who will continue. This land is our blood and soul, and no one will uproot us from it. We resist not only for survival but for dignity, for honor, and for our right to exist.

Please donate, help and highlight my campaign. That's very kind of you.🌸💔🇵🇸🔴🙏

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[buddiebeginz]

Hey guys I'm making this post because I wanted to let you know that one of our amazing Buddie artists @bucksketch is having some trouble and it'd be great if we could show them support. Their cat is sick and they need help paying the vet bills to take care of them. They didn't ask me to make this post but I came across their story on insta and wanted to make it. Both because I love their art and am thankful that they choose to share their gift with our fandom. But also because I lost my cat Kenzie a couple of years ago. I know how much it can affect you to lose your pets and how extravagant vet bills can get but that you'll pay anything you can just for more time with them. Please reblog this if you see it. Just sharing helps. But if you can donate on their ko-fi or buy something in their shop. Thanks - Justine

Here are the links for Maca (Jayhsketch)

Tumblr | Insta | Ko-fi | Twitter

[ewingstan]

Ward thoughts post battle-involving-throwing-people-at-mercenaries:

I think that thematically, Ward would be stronger if Sveta-as-Tress actually hurt someone with her tentacles without it being brushed aside as alright or necessary. We've had her almost hurt Victoria a few times, and accidentally harming a mercenary—but one who was actively shooting at a child, so it was fine. She should’ve hurt someone and have it not be fine by this point.

I recently got far enough into arc ten to reach Victoria accidentally break a man’s arm, purposefully throw a lot of non-capes at enemies, and use her costume spikes to try and stab at someone's neck while internally ranting about wanting them to carry scars and bruises. And I think all this works for expressing one of the big themes of her character: Victoria is unable to not get involved in situations. The same chapter has her telling Crystal that she can't see herself not getting involved in Numerous times its suggested that this trait, which we'd usually regard as heroic and which is being applied to one of the more archetypal "hero" characters wildbow's written, often leads to Victoria making situations worse. She's a blunt hammer, and oftentimes swinging a hammer at problems will just break things. Problems have escalated unnecessarily, people who shouldn’t be in the field are taking bullets, it works as a theme. It pairs with the setup of The City as a place desperately trying to remake the world as it was without really dealing with the problems inherent to the post-apocalypse. Victoria seems to have lost most of her faith in various institutions, but still single-mindedly works in their interest, acting according to the law over what she thinks is right, because its the only way she knows how to act and she can't not act.

And to a certain extent "keeps getting involved despite it being bad for them and others" is an aspect of all the members of Breakthrough: Tristan keeps trying to be a hero despite it previously having contributed massively to the Vera twin's crisis. Kenzie trying so hard to involve herself with others and help them routinely leads to her hurting them, and her drive to become a hero and earn the affection of those around her has led to her taking two bullets. Rain keeps trying to redeem himself, but he's only just broken out of a Christian Identity compound and probably isn't the first person you'd want to have power over people. Ashley needing to be a big deal led to her spiral as a failed warlord, and re-entering the field as an undercover agent led to her killing a dude.

Now take Sveta. She is a person in a relatively fragile shell who, if that shell is destroyed, is at risk of harming everyone around her. And she is routinely throwing herself in the situations most likely to destroy that shell, often with lots of civilians nearby. This is obviously a bad idea, but if you subscribe to my reading of Ward as having "throwing yourself into a situation in a way you're not equipped to help with is harmful" as a central theme, then it works. But it would work a lot better if she actually hurt someone she shouldn't have while hero-ing.

(thanks to @n0brainjustvibes for pointing out the similarities between Kenzie and Victoria).

[apocalypseornaw]

He does get jealous

You had resigned yourself to the fact that Dean simply didn't get jealous, that is until Garth being Garth hosts a get together for hunters and you run into one of your exes that you're still on good terms with.

Warnings: um cursing, mentions of sexual themes

So first and foremost you knew Dean loved you. There was not a sliver of a doubt in your mind to that man's devotion to you. You knew for a fact that he'd choose you over any other woman. Did that stop you from getting jealous? No.

No matter how hard you tried that little voice in your head would pop up rather it be on cases where witnesses would flirt a little too much or even just grabbing a bite to eat on the road where the waitress would let her eyes linger a little too hard on him.

Dean would always notice it of course. On cases he'd grab your arm to "pull you away and discuss the matter at hand" which normally consisted of a quick kiss and promises of what was to come later. Off of a hunt he'd have no qualms about pulling you into his lap in the middle of a diner to prove that he was taken no matter your blushing or Sam's groans of embarrassment.

The problem was he never got jealous. Ok yeah sometimes jealousy is a major red flag that you need to heed and run far away as fast as you can but a part of you started to wonder if maybe he just didn't register to be jealous over you?

You woke up and reached for Dean smiling to yourself when his hands met yours halfway pulling you into his arms. "Morning sweetheart" he mumbled, voice still heavy with sleep.

You placed a kiss to his chest "Good morning. Don't forget we have to leave here around ten to make it to Garth's in time" you couldn't help but laugh lightly when he groaned "Why are we doing this again?"

You pulled away from him just enough to lean up slightly to look at his face. A steady sprinkling of stubble covered his jawline and although his eyes were closed you knew he was tracking your every movement "Because hunters are always going to exist and its our job to make sure the next poor saps that get yanked into this life have a better system. C'mon baby Jody, Donna and all the girls will be there. Eileen is meeting us there, Kenzie is coming with Alicia and Max. It'll be fun. A weekend with people in the life just getting to catch our breath and catch up with people we haven't seen in a while"

When his response was a simple "mhh" you raised an eyebrow before adding "Bobby would be proud of it" he opened one eye to look at you but his gaze immediately went to where the sheet had slipped down off your chest leaving your breasts peeking out "If you weren't so damn gorgeous and right about this I may argue about going" a smile slipped onto your face "I love you too Dean"

He glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the nightstand and you could practically see the wheels turning in his head "It's seven thirty" you nodded slowly "Yeah" he reached out to gently grab your chin "We don't have to leave until ten?" You nodded again, eyes never leaving his. "So we have time"

"For what?" You asked innocently enough despite knowing exactly where his mind was. One of his hands dipped underneath the sheet and you gasped when you felt his fingers tracing patterns on your inner thigh "We have time for me to show my girl how much I love her" you pretended to consider it until his fingers went higher demanding your full attention when the first digit slipped through your folds "Fuck Dean" you whispered before a grin split his face "Exactly my idea"

"A lot more people showed up then Garth figured would" you leaned up at Sam's words because you knew him well enough to recognize a laugh being buried. What was so funny?

You looked at the cars parked around and about. There was Jody's suv, Donna's truck and the twins' car. There were more vehicles you recognized but weren't quite as familiar with. You were about to question Sam when you followed his line of vision and spotted Sawyer's bronco parked next to Eileen's car.

Sawyer was one of your exes. A hunter as well and someone you'd still consider a friend. You hadn't seen him in a few years but you felt a bit of excitement at getting to catch up. "Oh I didn't know Saw would be here" you spoke with a grin as Dean pulled baby to a stop. You leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek "C'mon. Let's go socialize"

----------

Dean had recognized that damn bronco the moment he turned into the clearing reserved for parking next to the cabins. Sawyer Monroe. A pretty decent hunter if he had to be honest and the only guy you'd ever dated before him that you wouldn't knock out on sight.

Thinking about it he wasn't sure you'd ever mentioned exactly why you and Sawyer had split. Hell you'd known him and Sam for years meaning he knew how you'd once felt about Sawyer. You'd even talked to Bobby about the guy.

Seeing the grin on your face when you spotted his bronco made something pull in Dean's chest. He wasn't jealous, no you were with him. You were a woman that knew what you wanted and wouldn't accept anything else. Yet trailing behind you towards the crowd that was gathered around and about he couldn't help but keep his eyes out for your ex.

There were tents around and about, a few grills going and a set up with speakers and a dance floor area. It looked almost like a wedding set up with the cabins being avaliable for anyone who needed overnights. Or a reunion of sorts.

"Kenzie!" You spotted her, Alicia and Max so you headed that way feeling Dean's hand resting at your lower back while you made your way through the crowd. Sam had already split off with Eileen and Donna so it was up to you to get the elder Winchester to actually enjoy the gathering.

She turned at the sound of your voice "Y/N!" She pulled you into a hug shooting a wink at Dean "Heya Winchester. I see you've actually managed to keep this one. I'm impressed. If you hadn't acted when you did I would've asked her out" "Very funny" he laughed watching as you went from Kenzie to Alicia to Max hugging all three of them.

----------

"So how have you been?" Alicia asked glancing towards where Max and Dean had headed in search of drinks. "Good. Dean's amazing of course. I don't think I've ever loved someone like I love him"

Before she could respond you heard a voice behind you say "Oh ouch. That hurt" you'd know that voice anywhere. You spun around to see Sawyer standing not even a foot away. "Hello to you too Mr Monroe!"

He stopped right before he got to you "A hug ok?" You nodded and he scooped you up into a hug. Sawyer was around Dean's height with chestnut brown hair that curled at a certain length and hazel blue eyes.

He was a sweet guy and one of the few you'd dated and stayed on good terms with. It'd been one those situations where you both knew the relationship had hit its end. When he put you back down on the dirt you laughed "I see you're still a fucking giant oaf" he shrugged one shoulder "Why change now Darling? Now where's this fella who you love more than anyone cause I wanna know where I'm ranked in the book of Y/N"

You felt an arm slip around your waist and laughed as you leaned back against Dean's chest "Sawyer I'm sure you remember Dean. Dean you remember Sawyer" the two greeted each other with a quick handshake "One of Bobby's boys" Sawyer commented and Dean nodded "Yeah. We met a time or two while you and Y/N were dating"

Sawyer cut his eyes at you "Well she was just telling Alicia how much she loves you so I'm glad to see she's happy" "We both are" you glanced back at Dean but he simply smiled at you "Anyways..what's on the schedule for this thing? Garth was pretty vague"

---------

Ok so maybe a small nip of jealousy hit Dean when he looked over to see you in Sawyer's embrace. It was a simple hug, that was all. Just as you'd hugged everyone else. Did it bother him seeing Sawyer hold you? Yeah. But it was just the fact that he wasn't sure if Sawyer knew you two were together. He didn't want him to get the wrong idea about the hug. That was all it was.

When he walked up behind you and slipped an arm around your waist he felt his heart flip a bit when you leaned into his embrace and did a quick reintroduction between the two men.

When you steered the conversation towards Garth's plans he stayed quiet keeping an arm around you and watching how Sawyer looked at you as you cracked jokes with Alicia and Kenzie. No, he wasn't jealous at all.

You were enjoying yourself. The banter and familiarity of so many hunters in one place was something nearly intoxicating. Most of your lives were lived in solitude. Hunting was a lonely life and being able to wind down with friends, people you considered family also that actually understood that? It was a beautiful thing.

Dean was talking to Garth, Sam and a few other hunters while you mingled with Donna, Jody and the girls. "I see Sawyer is here" Jody teased with a laugh. "Yeah we saw each other already" you replied.

"Who's Sawyer?" Claire asked and before you could open your mouth Jody explained "Y/N's ex before Dean. Her only real serious ex before him"

Claire's eyes widened "Ohhhh I bet Dean is jealous as hell" you scoffed with a roll of your eyes "Dean Winchester? Jealous? I've been with him this long and have yet to see it" Donna and Jody exchanged a look "We didn't just step into relationship issues did we?"

You shook your head "No. Me and Dean are happy, really. It just seems like at times he's incapable of getting jealous so I feel like a crazy woman when it perks it's little slimey head up in me" "I bet he gets jealous and just hides it" Alex offered but you shook your head then shrugged "Next subject? Something that isn't my relationship insecurities?"

Chatting and catching up had given way to a spread of food being laid out, a damn near open bar setting up and music playing through the speakers sat around and about.

You were sitting next to Dean laughing at Claire who'd nearly dropped Kaia when she attempted to dip her. "Think you can do it better?" Claire teased so you cut your eyes at Dean who shrugged one shoulder "Go for it sweetheart"

You glanced, spotting Max near the bar so you whistled "Banes?" When he glanced up you motioned towards the girls "Wanna teach these young ones how it's done?" He raised an eyebrow as he walked towards you and Dean "Am I leading or are you?" "Claire thinks I can't dip someone" a broad grin split his face "Oh its on then Novak"

----------

Dean watched as you spun Max around the dance floor. Several people had stopped to watch probably just from the height difference between the two of you. This was something you and Max had long since perfected, you both would take turns leading. When it came time for you to dip Max despite the height difference you successfully dipped him, spun him out then the two of you switched leads.

This was why he hadn't really gotten too upset when you'd spoken with Sawyer early. He knew you were his, you were happy with him. He had no reason to get jealous, right?

He heard Donna call his name and was quickly pulled into a conversation with her, Isaiah and Jody. "So how's things going?" Donna asked glancing back towards the dance floor. Jody smirked at him "Ya know Garth already has this set up..would be perfect for a ceremony of any sorts" he knew she was teasing but he also knew he'd be lying to himself if he hadn't already thought about a future between the two of you. He loved you and for some reason unknown to him you loved him too. "Yeah it would be" he replied causing a laugh to slip out of Isaiah at the look on the two women's faces.

Somewhere along the line you'd lost Max to David who cited he wanted his boyfriend back. You pulled Kenzie onto the dance floor next laughing when she insisted on leading.

You spotted Sawyer at the edge of the crowd, nursing a beer. You spun around with Kenzie a few times until Alicia cut in and you were left partnerless.

"On the off chance I may have a Winchester gunning for me, care to dance?" You turned to look up at Sawyer and shrugged. Dean never got jealous, so chances were Saw would be safe. "Well cmon then Monroe. Let's see if you've lost any steps"

He hesitated before touching your waist so you grabbed his hands with a light laugh placing them where both Max and Kenzie had touched you. "See? No harm, no foul" the two of you started to dance and you found yourself humming along with the song. It was one Dean played a lot.

"So you and Dean...can't say I'm surprised" you raised your eyes to look at him "Why is that?" He shrugged moving your arm that was resting on his shoulder slightly "He always seemed smitten with you. No other hunter compared to you, he was always talking about ya even when we were together"

"So what was that about calling him one of Bobby's boys?" You asked with a grin "Could I really say oh yeah of course I know Dean Winchester. One of the best hunters that's ever walked. The one man who I knew the first moment I saw you around him that we'd never last in the long run" "oh come on now Saw. We were good together for a while. We just got to a point.." you trailed off and he leaned down just enough to be eye level with you "That we both knew we'd be better as friends?" You nodded "Yeah cause if we'd dragged it out we would've ended up hating each other"

He smiled "I have no hard feelings love. You're happy with him. That's all I've ever wanted for you. Plus I'm seeing someone, her names Genya. She lives in New Orleans. I think you'd like her. We been together about six months now"

"Why didn't she come?" You asked and he smiled "Her coven had a ceremony she was presiding over" you could feel how wide your smile was at that news "She's a witch? Oh I love her already" he laughed loudly, the sound echoing around the two of you "C'mon now Y/N, you've got Dean. You can't have my girl too"

The sound of Sawyer's laughter hit Dean's ears over the music and conversations around him. When he followed the sound with his eyes he felt a flame flickering to life in his chest.

Sawyer's hands on your waist, your hands on his shoulders. Your faces close, laughter falling from him and a broad smile lightening your features.

"What the hell?" He meant to think it, not to let any anger slip into his voice or posture but it was clear to anyone who knew him and considering he was still fairly close physically to both Jody and Donna needless to say those two knew him pretty damn well. No, not quite anger. He'd felt that plenty in his life and this wasn't it. No this was jealousy, no other word could come close to the reasoning behind the flush to his skin or the torrent of thoughts running through his mind.

----------

One minute you were swaying to the music with Sawyer and the next you felt two hands on your waist pulling you away from Saw and causing you to collide with a broad chest.

Your hands flew out to brace yourself and the moment they collided with the body under them your eyes flew up to meet the green eyes staring down at you. When had Dean stripped out of his flannel? Why was he glaring at Sawyer over your head and when had this t-shirt gotten so tight across him?

"Baby, everything ok?" The thought occurred to you that maybe something was wrong but the look in his eyes didn't scream something was up, no he was jealous. No. Dean didn't get jealous, or did he?

"Dean?" Sawyer tried and you could see the muscles clenching in Dean's jaw as his hands gripped your waist firmly. "I need to talk to Y/N for a minute..that good with you?" Sawyer cut his eyes at you and you almost missed the slight twitch upwards his lips did before he said "Of course" before saying "Good night darling. It was good seeing you. I'm leaving bright and early but I'll ring ya once I hit Louisiana"

You could feel the heat radiating off Dean when you turned to give Sawyer a hug "Don't be a stranger and drive safe" the moment you released Sawyer Dean was leading you off the dance floor with a hand on your lower back.

"So what's the problem?" You asked once the two of you had cleared the crowd. Some of the cabins were already taken but there was enough for everyone. You saw the impala so you started to walk towards it, hearing Dean huff slightly behind you.

You made it to the impala and turned to face Dean. "Baby, do you remember your words?" He was silent but moved closer to you, he laid a hand on either side of your shoulders his palms flattening on the roof of the car and effectively trapping you between it and his own body.

"What's wrong with me?" He asked finally, leaning down close enough you could smell the scent of his cologne mingling with the whiskey he'd drank. You nodded slowly knowing he could smell the same brand of whiskey on your own breath from shared kiss and you stealing his drink earlier in the night. "Yeah, you pulled me off the dance floor and lead me out here into the dark. Now what are you planning to do to me Winchester?"

He scoffed, a smirk slipping onto his face "You get jealous if a waitress calls me handsome or if a witness asks to be interviewed by me yet you're asking what's wrong and what I plan to do?" You could feel your heart flip and heat rush into your lower stomach at his words. Oh, he was jealous

"Is it because I was dancing with Sawyer?" He didn't respond,instead he stepped even closer moving his lips to your neck to barely let them brush over the sensitive skin there.

"Is it because another man had their hands on me?" You asked when his hands went from the roof to your hips pulling you close enough the heat from his body had every inch of you feeling like it was on fire "Can we pick a cabin, head in and talk?" He finally spoke before connecting his lips to your neck sucking the skin right over your pulse, no doubt leaving a mark it his wake but you could've cared less considering it took every ounce of self control you had to not let out the moan trying to escape your lips.

You knew you were pushing it but also wanted to relish in the moment of finally catching Dean jealous. "Or do you only get jealous when you know it's someone who's had me under them? Someone who knows what I taste like?" You swallowed hard before leaning up to place a kiss to Dean's neck, feeling his pulse under your lips.

"Someone who knows what I sound like?" You whispered into his ear and couldn't help but feel your heart skip when his demeanor changed. You could feel the hard steel of the impala under your back when he pushed you backwards just slightly but considering he'd also chosen that moment to kiss you like a drowning man coming up for air you lost any sort of sense or control you'd had.

He moved from your lips to your jaw then down your neck. He went from kissing to biting the areas he knew would make you go weak. "I would rather do this in a cabin but you know I hold nothing against fucking you in baby" you let out a breathy moan when he hit a certain spot "Wait...stop for a second"

You knew that's all you needed to say. He froze in his tracks but for a split second you saw the uncertainty in his eyes. That small flash of self loathing that you always found buried under any sort of jealous streak. You'd never noticed it before on him. "Tell me why you're acting like this"

He took a deep breath letting his fingers slip under your shirt to tease at the waist of your jeans slightly. He wasn't trying to unsnap them or even reach under them, more so it seemed like he was trying to remind himself you were in his arms. "Sawyer knows you. He's a decent guy, you were happy with him. He knows what you look like under these jeans that I love on you, he knows what it feels like for your nails to cut into his shoulders when you're hitting that peak.." he groaned letting his head fall over onto your shoulder "I'm not some jealous, controlling asshole but I'll be damned if that didn't do something to me"

"You're jealous?" You whispered and he finally raised his eyes to meet yours again. "Yes sweetheart I'm jealous as hell. Rather you see it or not I get jealous a lot. Now please for the love of everything can I either climb into the impala with you or find a cabin and remind myself I'm the only one who gets to touch you, taste you, feel you. I just need to feel you clinging onto me, moaning my damn name and maybe just maybe I can fuck you good enough you won't get jealous as often either. I love you more than I ever knew possible but right now? I want to fuck you until neither of us can even remember another man or woman's name"

You swallowed hard at his confession, feeling your body react to the promise in his words. "In that case let's find a cabin"

@globetrotter28

[maddie7writes]

A LITTLE TOO MUCH STYLES CHARM

content : plot around a threesome

summary : harry and y/n walk in on their son, his girlfriend, and someone they’ve never met

elliot styles was every bit the heartthrob his dad was. the oldest and only boy out of his sisters, however they were all happily tucked in and asleep by midnight. his dad and mom were at a friends concert, and shouldn’t be back for another three to four hours.

so he slipped open his window and climbed down his balcony to help his girlfriend of two years, and a girl they met on a family vacation in bali two months ago into the massive estate. unaware of the camera outside every one of the kids balcony’s.

he was a seventeen year old boy, and his girlfriend had even suggested it. she wanted to experience both sides, and elliot was more then willing to give his love whatever she wanted. plus, he wasn’t letting this opportunity go.

everybody had been tested, both girls were on a pill, an nda had been signed, and condoms were on standby.

sooner then later clothes were torn off, and his california king size bed was being utilized.

—

“we’re getting old.” y/n sighed as harry carried her heels and she wore his socks into their house, which was oddly quiet. usually when the two went out, elliot would have a group of friends, or his girlfriend kenzie over. or athena would be in the kitchen using the home sound system. or at least a party going on in the backyard. harry and y/n shared a look, both clearly confused.

“are our kids as well?” harry narrowed his eyebrows. faintly- as they walked up the stairs, a chase atlantic played from down the hall along with a blue led light on. “he needs to turn on a light of he’s gonna be on his console.” y/n sighed. “let’s just leave him, i’m tired.” harry really didn’t want to open that door. especially when he heard a soft giggle, followed by a moan.

“are they hooking up?” y/n asked. “probably, but he knows to be safe.” harry said, y/n went to agree before they heard a different name then usual. “fuck angelina.” no doubly there son, and harry immediately dropped y/n’s heels and began to make a beeline for the door. when it swung open y/n immediately yelped when she both kenzie and whoever angelina was making out, with her son in the background.

“who the hell-.” harry began and shut up, both the girls jumped, kenzie grabbed the throw blanket to cover herself, ‘angelina’s’ eyes got really wide. “dad! what the hell!” elliot said, grabbing his boxers and kenzie. “get her- them dressed. and get her out of my house, i’ll call the car for kenzie.” harry’s voice dropped an octave as he directed them and began to shut the door, y/n scoffed and pushed past harry. “is she tested? harry fucking move she probably didn’t sign an nda. this is so disrespectful to kenzie, elliot. i thought i raised you better.” she shook her head.

“it was my idea mrs.styles i’m so sorry-.” kenzie began to apologize, y/n shook her head. “no darling you don’t have to apologize, please just go ahead and clean yourself and get ready okay? do you need a place to sleep tonight?” she asked. kenzie shook her head and y/n went to go talk to her in elliot’s bathroom.

harry shook his head and began to walk away before elliot got his boxers on and went to get his dad. “dad- i got an nda for her and she was tested.”

“was it really kenzie’s idea.” it wasn’t a question, harry’s tone was demanding and practically terrifying. elliot had never heard it before, at least not to him. “yes, she wanted to see what it was like with a girl. i wanted to make her happy and i wasn’t exactly opposed to it.”

“you didn’t pressure her at all into agreeing?” harry’s eyebrow raised. elliot shook his head, “she was nervous to tell me because she didn’t want to pressure me.” he said softly, harry sighed. “does she have a ride?” he asked. “said she she got herself, kenz was gonna spend the night and angelina was going to leave right after.” he explained. harry bit his bottom lip.

“i did this shit to, when i first started out. i wasn’t upset you were doing it, i was upset but mainly worried about how kenzie felt. as long as you’re being safe, then i don’t care about your sex life. but kenzie has to be the priority as long as you to are together.” harry lectured. “i love her, she always comes first. she knows that.” elliot said, like his dad, he loved and loved hard. y/n came out into the hallway with kenzie.

“anaglina must’ve crawled out your window. did she get tested? was there an nda?” kenzie was in pajamas, with a greatful look on her face. “yes and yes. we were being safe.” elliot said, kenzie joined his side and grabbed his hand. “i’m so sorry, i didn’t realize how much has to go into this. and i didn’t mean to cause any problems mr and mrs styles.” she looked between harry and y/n. harry shook his head, “don’t worry about it, we were worried about you.” he said.

“if elliot ever does wrong by you, let us know.” y/n winked with a smirk, kenzie blushed and laughed. “go back to bed, and sleep in it.” harry added the last part. “don’t worry, you all have killed any mood there was.” elliot sighed before guiding kenzie by the small of her back and into his room.

“any chance we have a mood tonight?”

“tired, harry. your son just cock blocked you.”

[the-desilittle-bird]

Hi can i request a tom hiddleston x desi actress reader where she is pregnant and already has kids who hav hindi names which r ver cute and she craves indian food in the middle of interviews and shoots

AN - back again and I have plenty of requests and if anyone wants to request something then please feel free to send me them.

Thank you and Enjoy your reading!

Crazy Cravings

Tom Hiddleston x Desi!Reader

Summary: You are an actress but before that, you are pregnant…

Tag list: @shopping, @bbgmonsay, @lastwandastan, @eudximoniakr, @saraelizabeth26, @girlnred, @hc-geralt-23, @omgsuperstarg, @strangesthirdeye, @clea-strange-is-the-way, @lana, @kenzi-woycehoski, @nyx2021, @all-things-fandomstuck, @newt-scamander-is-hot-af, @moon-light1415, @candypurplebutterfly, @littlesatanicassholebitch, @nats-whore, @lady-athanasia, @chaotic-fangirl-blog, @thatgirlthatreadswattpad, @hyacinthus007, @shine101

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff

“How are you feeling, meri jaan?” she heard the soothing voice of her husband before she felt his hand over her protruding belly. A giggle left her throat as he placed a kiss on her cheek, chuckling softly against her skin. “I feel better now,” she replies with a grin.

Tom hums, wrinkling his eyebrows as he settles down next to her on the leather couch as everyone around them worked hard to get the place ready for the interview which would start any moment now.

As actors, Tom and (Y/N) could never take a day off, especially when they were in the center of the show. And in times like this, with the lady pregnant, Tom found himself worrying more and more about her; constantly asking whether she was fine or not, if she needed something or not.

No wonder her cousins and mother started teasing him by calling him a “mother”.

“Hello, Tom and (Y/N),” greeted the lady who was supposed to take their interview. The pair smiled brightly, greeting the lady back whose name they learnt to be Bianca.

“Are we ready?” The director asked, earning a couple of nods from the crew and thumbs up from the guests. “Well then. Lights. Camera and Action.”

And then began the interview.

The beginning was always the same; introductions, their achievements, a few questions about their current show. But after that came the personal part, one that rendered the actor a bit uncomfortable as he tried to keep his life to himself.

“So, you two have a daughter together and another little Hiddleston is on the way,” the interviewer states with a smile, making the couple glance at each other with smile as (Y/N) placed a hand over her overgrown bump. “Yes.”

“And your daughter’s name is Kavya, isn’t it?” Bianca queries, struggling with the pronunciation for a while before Tom helps her. “Yes. We decided on an Indian name because they just sound so… soothing. Like hot chocolate in winters,” Tom gushed, his face reddening up as he glanced at his wife.

“Awww… that’s sweet. (Y/N), how is the pregnancy going for you?”

“Honestly, everything is fine except for the cravings,” she whined, making the Loki actor burst into a fit of laughter as he remembered the many nights when he woke up to finding his wife cooking some Indian dish or digging deep into the kitchen cabinets to find Maggi.

“What do you crave?” Bianca asks, her eyes gleaming with happiness as she watched her favourite Hollywood couple share a glance before laughing. Once the laughter dies down, Tom replies, “it can be the weirdest thing. One second she wants to have Jalebi and the next she wants to find some Namkeen.”

“I am the mix of sweet and savoury,” she argues instantly, making him smile as he nodded, leaning in to place a kiss on her temple, “meri khatti-meethi.”

(Y/N) merely gave him a side eye before returning her focus to their interviewer who had started her next question. “Correct me if I am wrong, but you were pregnant when you were about to finish shooting for this show, right?”

The couple nodded, prompting Bianca to continue, “did you crave anything on the set?” Before the misses could answer, Tom lets out a dramatic sigh before answering, “one fine morning, she comes to my trailer, donning her costume, and literally commands me ‘I want to have fish curry made by my mother, so talk to her, take the recipe and cook it.’ And leaves before I could nod. I was so bewildered and like what should I do.”

Everyone around them laughed loudly except for (Y/N) who glared daggers at her husband before leaning in to whisper softly into his ear.

“I want to eat Samosa.”

“Haye Bhagwaan!”