#kitchen counter/table checked off ahaha

[breezypunk]

The kitchen table isn't just meant for setting plates. ;)

[churxstomk]

GUESS WHO WROTE A CRACK FIC

(said fic under the cut……. ssigh i am Not Proud but i had fun)

long, long day at work.

kip’s hair is ruffled up as she takes the safety goggles off her face. now to just… go to ling’s cafe, check in and check out, go home, take a nap. well, last time she checked on ling, he wasn’t exactly… um, sane. something about experimenting.

kip isn’t even sure she wants to remember.

she pushes the cafe door. her ears get immediately assaulted with the sound of grating metal on a table.

“JOHNSON! JOHNSON, NO!” ling screams, very, very loudly from the kitchen. “JOHNSON, MY BEST FRIEND!”

what the f- oh.

oh my god???

there’s the “do nothing” machine she gave ling with a machete taped onto the thing, a dead phosphor shrimp cut in half, and- and n wearing fully body armor as ling wails on the counter.

“OH, GOD WHY? HE HAD SUCH A LIFE AHEAD OF HIM,” ling sniffs.

“ah… ahaha,” n laughs awkwardly, “oh- hi kip! please ignore the kitchen counter.”

she does not heed the advice, and instead, looks towards the kitchen counter. she can only assume those are knife marks.

“the- i told you to be careful with the knifes!”

“ahaha, about that,” n seems to be trying to close up shop while ling is thrashing all over the place, “it wasn’t my fault, i swear.”

“then what the fuck-“ she gestures to the both of them, “happened here?”

“ling- ling may have messed around with the ‘do nothing’ machine-“

“i can see that, but- ling! what’s wrong with ling?!” she yells, exasperated.

at that, the cafe owner makes a string of growling and curse words.

“help me???”

“getting mauled was NOT on my yearly bingo!”

“BJFNDHISHDIHSISNUE THE EGGS. THE SHRIMP,” ling’s body topples over the counter as n tries to catch him. he locks eyes with kip.

“GRHRGRGR”

“AAAAA OH MY GOD,” kip scampers to the door, her goggles slipping off her head as she bursts out the cafe.

too close.

too. close.

kip does not look back until she’s going down in the elevator.

ring, ring.

“yeah, what’s up?” plight’s voice rings out from the other end of the call.

“it’s me, kip,” she chuckles lightly, “um, could i crash at your place for tonight?”

“uh, okay. any reason why?”

kip takes a deep breath.

“so um, lingwentferaltodayandialmostgotmauledinthecafeandi’mscaredhe’sgonnatshowupinmyclosetthankyouloveyoubye!”

[so um, ling went feral today and i almost got mauled in the cafe and i’m scared he’s gonna show up in my closet thank you love you bye!]

she hangs up abruptly before plight gets to say anything.

…

where are her goggles?

where are her goggles?

[id-amia]

Ok so I fell in love with your Mizuki bubble bath headcanons so could I request baking with them? As fluffy as you want to make it, and you can choose whether it's headcanons or a one shot! Don't worry about rushing this, I'd much rather it take a while and be high quality (and for you not to be stressed) than for it to be rushed and sub-par :))))

Also! Sorry that this ask is getting long but I just wanted to say I'm in love with the way you write, so thank you for publishing your work!

Baked Sweets, Sugary Love

“Somehow, my emotions kept making a fuss.”

Mizuki x reader baking together

characters: Akiyama Mizuki

note: thanks for requesting!! im actually terrible at baking but i love baked goods! it ended up way too long and is kinda late but i hope it’s alright! thank you for appreciating my writing omg aaahh i really love writing like this so i hope you can keep supporting me!!

Butter... sugar... eggs... flour... ah, was Mizuki supposed to bring the icing ingredients?

You put all the ingredients you have on the counter and checked your Nightcord chat logs.

Amia: That’s the recipe and the list of ingredients Amia: Since it’s at your house you can prepare the ingredients!! Amia: We can divide the price after [You]: Sure thing Amia: Nice :D Amia: Oh actually I can bring the icing stuff and the cutters Amia: I have a few ideas in mind hehe~

“What are they planning, I wonder?”

~~~(this break is brought to you by miku)~~~

Ding dong!

“I’ll get it!”

You open the door to be greeted by a long-awaited cheerful smile.

“Yahoo~” Mizuki beams at you.

You smile back, “You’re awfully cheery today.”

“Ahaha, I mean I’ve been preparing a whole lot for today, you know!” Mizuki leaves their shoes at the entrance and you lead them to the kitchen.

“Should we get started? Ah, but you came a long way so you can rest first. We can get started whenever.” You tell them.

Mizuki shakes their head, “Thanks, but I’m good! I want to make them right away so we can eat them soon!”

“Hehe, sure then.”

You show them to the kitchen and bring out the things you need.

You look around, “Right, we need aprons.”

“No need, no need!” Mizuki brings out 2 cute pink aprons with little frills and ribbons and hands you one.

“These are so cute! Did you make them?” You put it on and adjust it.

“Ahaha, I sure did! Thanks! I worked really hard on them so I’m really really glad you liked them.” They smile.

After a few more compliments and pictures with the aprons you finally get to work.

“Do you think we need a bigger bowl?” you ask.

Mizuki checks the ingredients, “I guess it depends on how many we’re making. I think 20 or so would be enough? So... yeah, I think this big bowl is okay.”

They take out the flour and pour it in. “Is this enough? It says 2 and a fourth cups.”

“Maybe we should have measured first before pouring...” You giggle a little.

“Yeah, probably.” Mizuki chuckles guiltily. They measure the baking powder and salt and pour them as well.

“You wanna mix? I’ll measure the other ingredients while you do!” Mizuki asks. You nod and start whisking the bowl.

As you whisk your bowl you see Mizuki measuring and putting in ingredients into bowls. Sometimes you hear them go “Ah, it’s too much!” or “Whoops, it spilled a little!” which made you smile without realizing.

“So that’s it I think- Ah! Hey, it’s spilling out everywhere!” Mizuki looks to you and runs over.

You look down and realize that you’ve been mixing to hard and it flew everywhere without noticing.

“Ah, sorry. I guess I got distracted,” you apologize as they dust off the flour on your apron.

“Haha, what are you getting distracted for?” Mizuki cleans up the table for you and walks up to grab the hand mixer.

You blush a little as you realize how much you’ve been staring at Mizuki. “It’s nothing...”

Mizuki smirks but decides not to tease you.

They get a bowl with butter and sugar in it, “The next step is to cream the butter by mixing butter and sugar.”

“So we mix with the hand mixer?”

“Yeah, I think so! Do you know how to use it?”

“No...”

“Me neither! Let’s just try whatever!”

They turn on the mixer and let out a little yelp.

“It’s going everywhere!” you yell.

Mizuki tries to steady the mixer in the bowl.

“Ahaha! There’s butter on your face!” Mizuki laughs as you wipe your face begrudgingly.

“Alright, alright. The butter is creamed so let’s move on!” You give a sarcastic smile which Mizuki laughs at.

“Haha, so next is... vanilla and egg! We need to mix them with the butter.” Mizuki starts up the mixer again.

“And I shall be staying away,” You joke as you step back.

After a messy battle with the ingredients, Mizuki grins and turns off the mixer.

“And done! Now let’s put in the stuff in the other bowl.”

You go to and pour the contents of the other bowl and Mizuki turns on the mixer again.

“It’s slower now so it should be fine?” Mizuki smiles and hums.

Once the dough is mixed well, Mizuki brings out a rolling pin and a tray with parchment paper.

“Alright! So we need to flatten the dough now,”  Mizuki hands you the pin. “Do you wanna try?”

“Sure thing,” you take the dough out of the bowl and start rolling the pin back and forth. Once it’s evenly flattened, you both put it in the freezer to chill.

“I’ll go ahead and preheat the oven,” you say as Mizuki nods.

You have a few light conversations while waiting. When the oven is finished preheating, you head over and bring in the tray. Mizuki brings out the cutters they brought.

“Here we are! I picked out a lot of cute ones!” Mizuki smiles.

“These are so cute!” You pick out some to look at.

“Uh huh! These heart ones are really cute, but this little cat one is cute too! I also bought this one that looks like Miku! It’s adorable isn’t it?” Mizuki gushes about each cutter happily.

“Maybe we should try all of them? They’re all too cute! I can’t really decide which to use,” you suggest.

Mizuki smiles, “Alright then! Let’s use them all.”

You both take turns cutting the dough and soon you have more than 20 cookies.

“Let’s put them in! I can’t wait to eat them!” Mizuki get’s the tray excitedly.

“Ah, careful. Here, wear these gloves,” you hand your old baking gloves to them and they put the cookies into the oven.

“It takes around 12 minutes, so it won’t be that long,” Mizuki turns to their bag. “In the meantime...”

Mizuki takes out a bunch of piping bags and nozzle tips from their bag. “Tadah! These are all the stuff I bought for the icing! This one is a plain circular one, but this one can make a star shape! And there’s this one which apparently can make rose petals, and this one can make leaves!” They say as they lay them out.

You smile as you look at some of the nozzle tips. “Let’s also begin making the icing then!”

You both suggest and bicker about the colors of icing to make and end up making a whole pastel-like rainbow collection of them. Along the way you take out and cool the baked cookies as well.

“Ooh! We’re almost done, I’m so excited!” Mizuki jumps around.

You start putting in all the icing in bags and pick out some nozzles.

Once the cookies are chilled, you cut small holes in the bags and insert the nozzles.

Mizuki takes a Miku cookie and looks at the icing bags, “Do you think we should go with green or blue for Miku?”

“Of course blue! It’s Miku’s signature color after all,” you reply.

“Eh?” They exclaim. “But isn’t green also really good on her?”

“I guess, it is based on personal interpretation after all.”

Mizuki smiles, “Let’s just use both! We have 6 Mikus, so we can have 3 green ones and 3 blue ones!”

You laugh a little as you begin icing the cookies. Mizuki tried making a rose with the petal nozzle, but it kept melting. You made little stars on a heart and carefully drew whiskers and a face on a cat one.

After they’re all done, you put them in the fridge one last time.

“Let’s leave some for our friends! I think Kanade and Mafuyu would love the Miku ones. Ena would like this cat one!” Mizuki suggests. You nod and smile sweetly.

“Ah, this heart cookie is reserved though! It’s for someone very special!” Mizuki points at a pink and white heart cookie with little flowers.

You giggle, “You’re gonna say it’s me and be all cheesy aren’t you?”

Mizuki laughs, “Ehh, you’re ruining the moment! It’s not cheesy it’s romantic!”

You both laugh together until the cookies are done cooling.

They tasted amazing. Eating food made together had been so fun.

Maybe you’re the cheesy one.

[yurimochi]

Love your works💟❤️ I have a request with my boys from Heartslabyul. Since it’s almost my birthday, could you do Heartslabyul making a cake and giving a present to the reader on their birthday? Thank you 💖👏🏻

i'm sorry that this is so late! i wasn't sure if you wanted headcanons or an one-shot, so i made a one-shot, i hope that was okay! and happy belated birthday~ ♡

♡ happy birthday y/n! ♡ ♡ platonic and one-shot ♡ ♡ fem!reader ♡

everyone in heartslabyul and grim were in the tea garden, waiting for riddle's announcement as he finally arrived at the tea garden with trey. "everyone, the day has come." riddle started, as he looked around the tea garden, "most of the preparetions are done for the party this afternoon, we just need to double check everything and do a few more things." "i need a few people to help me in the kitchen too." trey said. "i'll help you!" deuce said, seriously. "we will help too!" a heartslabyul student said, as a few more sudents also volunteered. "good, then the rest will be staying here with me then." Riddle said, then he looked at ace and cater, "have you two got y/n's gift?" "not yet..." ace sighed, while sweatdropping, "it's hard to come up with a gift, you know?" "do you have any suggestions, riddle?" cater asked, curious. "nyaha! of course i know what y/n wants!" grim said, smiling, "she wants a can of tuna~" "alright, so get her anything but a can of tuna." riddle said, smirking, surprising grim. "hey!" grim said, slightly pissed. "alright, we'll get going then~" cater said, smiling, "bye bye ♪" "see ya!" ace said, also smiling, as the two left the tea garden. "alright everyone!” riddle said, getting everyone’s attention again, ”let’s start putting the plates, cutlery and glasses on the tables, understood?” ”yes, prefect riddle!” the heartslabyul student said, as everyone started doing what riddle told them to do.

ace and cater have been looking for almost 30 mins for a gift for y/n and are having a pretty hard time. "augh... why is it so hard to buy someone a gift..." ace sighed, while sweatdropping. "don't worry, ace~" cater said, smiling brightly, "we will find something!" then ace noticed a spray bottle and picked it up. "oh, how about this?" ace said, as he showed cater the spray bottle, making him confused. "a spray bottle?" cater asked, "why would she need that?" "so she can spray grim with water whenever he's doing something wrong!" ace answered, while smiling, "don't cats hate it when you spray water on them?" "i guess?" cater said, while sweatdropping, "but i think we should find something better though..." "alright~" ace said, as he kept carrying the spray bottle. "aren't you going to put it back?" cater asked, confused. "no, i'll give it to her as a joke!" ace said, smiling, making cater sigh. "alright... now let's find an actual gift." cater said, sweatdropping, as ace nodded and the two started looking for a gift for their friend.

"alright, all the food and desserts are finally done." trey said, as he wiped off the sweat on his forehead, "can you guys please carry the dishes to the tea garden?" "yes!" some heartslabyul students said, as they started to carry most of the food to the tea garden. "can you help them, deuce?" trey asked. "uhh, sure but... what if i drop it..." deuce answered, while sweatdropping. "don't worry, you won't drop it if you calm down and take it easy." trey said, smiling. "alright..." deuce said, as he picked up the dessert, he couldn't calm down at all and almost dropped it when he started walking forward, luckily trey managed to save the dessert and put it back to the kitchen counter, "ah, i'm so sorry! i almost dropped it..." "ahaha, it's alright." trey laughed, while sweatdropping, "i'll carry it when we go back to the tea garden, can you help me doing the dishes?" "sure!" deuce said, as he and trey started to clean the kitchen. when they were done, trey picked up the dessert and walked towards the tea garden with deuce.

grim was grumbling as he was painting the roses. "why am i painting these roses..." grim said, slightly pissed. "because it's fitting that we paint the roses in y/n's favorite color." riddle said, seriously. "i bet she doesn't care what color the roses are..." grim said, quietly and annoyed. "what did you say?" riddle asked, slightly pissed. "n-nothing...!" grim said, surprised, while sweatdropping, "i-i'll paint the roses in y/n's favorite color!" "good." riddle said, crossing his arms, as he kept a close eye on grim so that he doesn't slack off, while ordering the other students on their next tasks. "finally done..." grim sighed, as he finished painting the last rose bush. "everything looks good." riddle said, smiling, as he looked at the roses, "great job, grim." "ugh... i'm so tired..." grim yawned. "we all know you'll be fully awake the party starts..." riddle sighed, then he checked the time, "speaking of the party, it's almost time for it to start, grim can you go and get y/n?" "i was hoping to get some rest..." grim said, sadly, "but alright, the faster i get her here, the faster i'll get to eat food, nyahaha!" "..." riddle just watched grim run away, while sweatdropping.

y/n was following grim, who was running towards the heartslabyul dorm. "stop running, grim!" y/n said, sweatdropping, "why are you in such a hurry..." "can't tell ya!" grim said, smirking, "hurry up, hurry up!" "fine..." y/n sighed, as she started to run after grim, then the two arrived at heartslabyul. "let's go to the tea garden~" grim said, smiling, as he started to lead her to the tea garden. when they got there grim ran up to ace and deuce, while y/n just stood there, surprised, as she saw everyone in heartslabyul gathered the tea garden. "happy birthday y/n!" everyone said, happily. "wha—" y/n said, shocked, "a birthday party... for me?" "of course!" ace said, smiling. "after all the things you've done for us, you deserve it." riddle said, also smiling. "totally!" cater said, happily with a wink. "trey made all of your favorite foods and desserts too!" deuce said, smiling. "you and the other students helped with the food, deuce..." trey said, also smiling, while sweatdropping, "i can't take all the credit..." "you did the most work though." deuce said, sweatdropping, "i almost dropped one of the desserts..." "hahah, you almost dropped a dessert?!" ace laughed, "how lame!" "nyahah! i would love to see you drop it!" grim laughed. "you guys—" deuce was slightly pissed, but riddle cut the first years off. "don't start a fight now, you three." riddle said, seriously, then he smiled, "let's start this party!" "yeah!" everyone said, as the birthday party started.

y/n sitting at one of the tables with riddle, eating some tarts, then trey sat with them. "how are the tarts?" trey asked. "so good~!" y/n answered, smiling brightly. "they're amazing as usual, trey." riddle answered, smiling, "thank you for your hard work." "it's was nothing." trey said, smiling back, "just happy that everyone is enjoying themselves." "take a slice of tart and join our conversation!" y/n said, making trey laugh slightly. "alright, will do." trey said, as he took a slice of tart and joined their conversation. y/n was now talking with grim, as ace, deuce and cater walked up to the two. "heya, y/n~" cater said, smiling, "having fun?" "yeah!" y/n said, smiling back, "thank you all so much for this party!" "don't need to thank us." deuce said, smiling back. "oh yeah, we got you some gifts!" ace said, also smiling. "gifts?" y/n said, surprised. "we got you this cute and soft blanket~" cater said, as he gave her the blanket. "thank you! i love it!" y/n said, smiling. "how lame..." grim said, sadly, "it's not a can of tuna..." "it's y/n's birthday, not yours..." deuce sighed, while sweatdropping. "i also got you this!" ace said, smiling, as he gave her a spray bottle. "a spray bottle?" y/n asked, confused. "what is she going to use that for?" deuce asked, also confused. "so she can spray water on grim, of course!" ace answered, "whenever he's doing something dumb she can just spray him with water~" "what?!" grim yelled, slightly pissed, "why would she do that?!" "hahah, that's funny!" y/n laughed, "i'll make sure to use it!" "what!!" grim yelled, shocked, making ace, deuce and cater laugh. "thanks for the gifts, guys!" y/n said, smiling, "i love them!" "don't need to thank us~" cater said, smiling back.

it was now night time and the party was nearing its end. "now that the birthday party is ending." riddle said, getting everyone's attention, "let's wish the birthday girl another happy birthday on three! one, two, three..." "happy birthday y/n!!!" everyone cheered, with a bright smiles on their faces. "thank you all so much!" y/n smiling brightly back, "this birthday party was so much fun!!"

[t-lostinworlds]

So for the youtube thing if you want to you can do a calling him Daddy for 24 hours prank thing? Or maybe just write a small blurb, please? I have seen videos like these on youtube and honestly would find it hilarious if Tom was featured on it and where he doesn't have a daddy kink so he gets embarrassed. Just a little blurb will be okay too!

Ps. I love the YouTube Channel series! And your writing!!❤

Stay happy and stay safe!💫

TH’s YouTube Extras: Calling Him Daddy Prank

a/n: i’m sorry that this is a bit late again hun but gosh you’re too sweet, thank you lovely! you stay safe too hun ❤ this was written quickly too, was going to post this an hour ago but i fell asleep while proofreading so i’m sure there’s typos still ahaha. hope you enjoy!.

☰ youtube channel | recent video

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"I'll go sit first. Give it a few minutes so he won't get suspicious," Harry whispered, grin mischievous as he clicked record on the camera he had on hand before treading towards the dining area.

Pranks have never been your thing, well, aside from the simple jump scares. When it's something you have to plan out or have to act thoroughly in, then it's always a pass. But as you got lost in YouTube, you stumbled upon a video of a woman calling her man "daddy" to see his reaction. You thought it would be hilarious to do it with Tom, especially when you already know he doesn't like to be called that, at all.

You're purely doing this for the laughs, to see that cute blush of embarrassment—or that pointed grimace of annoyance—that coats his face whenever he hears the word.

"Morning, Harry," you hummed as you walked in minutes later with a fake yawn.

"Morning, Y/N."

Tom was sitting at the head of the table, eyes on his phone while he sipped on his morning tea. He gave you a brief glance and a tender smile before his eyes were back on his device, probably reading an important email that had him and his mind properly preoccupied. You stood behind your man once you reached him, leaning down to wrap your arms around his broad shoulders, giving him a light squeeze as you hummed,

"Good morning, daddy."

Tom choked on his tea.

You bit the insides of your cheeks to stop your laugh from escaping. He set the mug down with coughs to clear his throat, turning his head to gawk up at you with his brows deeply furrowed, skin already dusting pink. You only smiled innocently in return, placing a swift peck on his cheek before pulling away completely and disappearing to the kitchen, not giving him any chance to confront you about it.

Tom looked at his brother across the table with a frown set on his lips. "Did you hear what she just said?" he asked, to make sure if he heard you right or if his brain was playing games with him.

Harry tore his gaze from his phone, seeming clueless when he shook his head no.

"Hear what?"

***

You were now sitting in between Tom's legs, your back against his toned chest as you're both sprawled on the grass outside, all of you lounging under the afternoon sun.

"I need a snack," Tom announced, tapping your shoulder so he could stand up, dusting his sweatpants once he did so. "Want something love?"

You gave Harry a discreet glance, checking if he was recording before saying, "Just water, please daddy?"

Tuwaine and Harrison's eyes widened, Harry hurriedly shooting them a discreet look, silently telling them to stay quiet as he gestured towards the camera. The two boys got the drift real quick as they acted like they hadn't heard anything.

Tom visibly shivered, looking down at you with a scrunch of his nose as the crease between his brows deepened, skin turning red from the tips of his ears to the apple of his cheeks.

"Thank you, bubba." You beamed at him innocently, throwing in his favorite pet name to reel it back before he gets suspicious.

You looked too sweet and adorable that Tom could do nothing but roll his eyes. "No worries, darling," he sighed, head shaking as he retreated back inside the house to get you your water without another word.

***

Camera unnoticeably set up on the coffee table, you sat down on the living room couch and waited. As expected Tom came in soon after, never being able to be far from you for more than five minutes.

He sat himself closely beside you, a lazy smile on his lips as he wrapped his arms around your form. You were quick to catch on that he was in a mood, brown eyes slightly hooded, his touch hot as he gave your waist a squeeze. He was about to dip his head to litter your neck with kisses but with the camera right across you, it wasn't exactly ideal to allow it. So, you said the word you know would put him off.

"Daddy, no."

Tom physically cringed as he swiftly pulled away, arms falling limp with his face twisted in a proper grimace. "Stop that," he said firmly, voice laced with annoyance.

"Stop what?"

"You know exactly what," he growled lowly, raising a brow at you in pure warning.

"I don't think I do, Tom," you said naively, flashing him an adorable pout and a tilt of your head to match.

Tom was about to say something when Harrison suddenly walked in.

"Mate, can you help me with my table for a sec? It's wobbling and I can't figure out why."

"Yeah, sure," Tom muttered, narrowing his eyes at you before getting off the couch and following his best friend.

Once he was out of sight, you dropped on the couch with a hand over your mouth, unable to hold your laughs anymore as you shook your head in utter amusement. You sat back up with a loud sigh, shooting the camera a thumbs-up before reaching over and turning it off.

***

Harry had set up a GoPro in the kitchen when Tom suggested he was going to cook dinner tonight. You left him alone with his task for roughly about ten minutes, just to make sure his mind was clear from you calling him daddy for the past couple of times.

He was peeling some potatoes when you emerged in the kitchen, your hand landing on the small of his back as you rested your chin on his shoulder.

"What're you cooking daddy?"

Tom flinched, eyes screwing shut as he blew air out his nose, your cue to step away slightly.

"Okay, that's it," he hissed, dropping the metal peeler on the marble with a clang as he turned to face you fully, arms crossed over his chest with his hip resting on the edge of the kitchen island. "What are you doing?"

"What?" You furrowed your brows at him with a small frown, feign innocence crossing your features. Tom shook his head at you with a dark chuckle, tongue clicking against the roof of his mouth.

"Don't act all innocent on me now, Y/N," he scolded, and with the glow in his eyes—as if him calling you by your name isn't enough—you know he was getting annoyed. "You've been calling me that since this morning, even in front of the boys and I've had enough of it. You know how I don't like that word in that context."

You pursed your lip to stop your smile. "What word?" you asked.

"The D word," he grumbled, shooting you a sharp look.

When you said he didn't like it, you were truly serious about it. Tom being unable to say it himself just goes to prove that point.

You tilted your head at him, a teasing smile erupting on your lips as you purred, "Daddy?"

Tom ran a hand over his reddened face as he growled, "Y/N, I swear—"

You burst out in a hearty laugh, Tom's demeanor changing from annoyance to downright confusion.

"Say hi to the camera Tom," you giggled, pointing towards the corner where you can make out the red blinking light. Tom whipped his head around, eyes landing on the small black box, one he didn't notice given that he was a bit busy.

Tom's whole body slumped when he turned back to you, slowly leaning forward until he was able to wrap both his arms around your waist, forehead landing on your shoulder so he could hide his face.

"I hate you," he groaned dejectedly. "I knew it had to be some kind of prank since we've already talked about that word."

"I couldn’t resist. Your reaction is just priceless whenever you hear me call you that word," you teased, Tom pulling away with a pout.

Escaping his grasp gently, you went over to the GoPro, holding it up so both of you were in shot. "Ha, got him! Until next time guys!" You waved with a bright smile, Tom doing the same but with less energy and a roll of his eyes. You turned the camera off and placed it on the counter before walking back to your man.

"But you do know how I liked to be called, right sweetheart?" Tom hummed, eyes darker, voice lowering a few octaves as he wrapped his arms around your waist firmly, moving you back until you were trapped between him and the kitchen island.

"Yes, I do," you breathed out, hands resting on his shoulders as you felt your body tingle from head to toe. Your bottom lip got caught between your teeth when Tom raised a knowing brow at you.

"Yes, what?" he prodded with a husky growl, eyes holding yours with that certain intensity, a familiar glimmer, one that always makes you submit so easily.

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl."

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[marimagines]

Strawberry Cigarettes

Between - Fuckboy!Jimin X You Genre - Fluff, angst, and smut [in the future parts] Words - 25,743 [wow] Summary - After a long day, you get a phone call from your best friend who was drunk and sitting at the diner at the end of your street because of her issues. You didn't have a choice but to go and check up on her and drop her home where she's safe but, you didn't know there would be that new worker that had caught your eye. Your drunk friend's loud mouth and her words is what pushes you to actually talk to that guy even if you don't know who he really is. And that's the start of something. 

Linked to the story Love - A Dreadful Bond 

This story is a background of the Jimin character from the story Love - A Dreadful Bond.

A/N - Okayyy so this is my attempt to post after 2 years to get myself out of my writers block!! 2 Yearsss!! I had been writing this since 2018 ahaha and now i managed to complete part one.. whew. I sincerely apologize to those who had been waiting for my posts and writing.. hopefully i can achieve posting and writing more and getting out of this writers block.. Life is hard huhuhuh but we will all get through it.. Hope you all like this!!

This story was inspired from Strawberries & Cigarettes by Troye Sivan

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Part 1

You walk into your apartment and sigh out with the exhaustion from the long day of classes and never ending errands. Dropping your keys on the kitchen counter as you walk past it to reach your living room area where the couch looked unbelievably comfortable than before to plop yourself onto the soft and cozy seat. You groan out when your phone vibrates on the table and pick up to see the caller ID and frown at why she's calling now. "Hello?" "Heyyyyy," your best friend, Ailee, sings from the other line. She sounded drunk. "I'm alone-i-come here okay? I'm at you know where?" To others, she might've not made sense but to you, she was making perfect sense at why she was drunk and where she was at. "Come quick!" Her scream causes you to flinch and you pull away the phone when she ends the call. You knew where she was already so you get up while whining out loud even though no one could hear you and drag yourself out as quickly as you could. You were worried if she'd leave thinking that you're not coming since she had done that several times and ended up either in someone else's house, nothing under the worst case scenarios though, or she would end up in another bar or banging at your or your other friend's door. But during days like these, she would always end up at the cafe at the end of your street. It was like a cafe and a diner since their interior reminded you of those diners you see in movies, with their cushioned seats and tables in the middle of the soft seats. That area was separated by a half wall and on the other side were normal round tables and the accompanying chairs you'd find in any cafe. The place did serve things like sandwiches and sometimes they'd have special days when they would actually sell full meals but usually it’s just the basic cafe/diner menu. To you, it was a cafe so you were surprised when you realized that they had a refrigerator with beer and soju even though there weren't any in the beginning. Until you later found out that it was mostly for Ailee and it made you roll your eyes. She was a regular at that place since she lived near it too but on the other side of it, opposite from yours. You would find her there almost all the time for breakfast, lunch, sometimes dinner if she hadn't eaten anything throughout the day. You, on the other hand, weren't a regular but you were known there as Ailee's best friend and also as someone who is mostly there especially when your friends or friend is there. You were there maybe 3 times a week but Ailee was there almost 6 times a week. At first you had thought it was because Ailee might've had a crush on someone there but in reality it was mostly their food and their service. Even the workers there were friendly and to you and her, they were familiar and just like friends as well. You both knew almost all the workers, by name if not personally since there weren't many. The place is actually owned by a lady in her late 50s and she had her two sons, Kim Jongdae who was the older one and Kim Jongin, the younger one, working with her and two other employees. You were more close to Jongin since you had noticed how he possibly had a crush on Ailee and also because he was closer with Ailee too. He was caring and always there for your friend when you couldn't be and he was really nice overall. He is a really fun person to be around and you could trust him. Ailee had no clue since she was already attached to someone else even though that guy wasn't looking for a relationship. Ailee and her 'man', Young Do, were just friends with benefits; fuck buddies in your opinion and you knew it was affecting Ailee. Jongin knew too and you both always lectured her over the same issues every month at least. So when she called you right now, already drunk, you knew it must be about Young Do again.

You walk into the cafe and eyes widen at huge group sitting by the window, taking up almost all the seats in this side. You walk past that area to where you'd usually seat near the counter, on those softer seats. Ailee was there too, head hung low while her hand held up the little shot glass. A sigh leaves your lips once you take a seat opposite to her and stare at her state. You knock at the table to let her know of your presence since she was pretty oblivious to it. Her body jumps a little and she looks up with her half closed eyes, trying to focus on you. "Ya!" You hiss at her sudden scream and shush her. "Do you-you k-know," a hiccup stops her from speaking and she ends up smiling at you. She was really drunk at this point. "I called you hours ago! What took you so long?" "You called me 10 minutes ago," you answer her silently while watching her pour another drink for herself. "You know what?" She says before gulping down the drink in one go. "Me and Young Do had a f-fight." "Why am I not surprised?" You roll your eyes but look at her in shock when she throws a tissue at you. "Don't interrupt me!" She screams at you while moving her hand to cover your mouth. "I told him he can't take his anger on me," Ailee whines out mid-sentence and itches her head before sipping straight from the soju bottle in front of her. You look at the other 6 empty ones and shake your head in disappointment and frustration, and even worry inside at the fact that she might even doze off any minute. "He left! I told him to leave if he can't handle and that fuc-" "Can I get you something, ma'am?" Your attention diverts to the new voice that came from the figure who stood next to your table. You look up at the new face and your heart jumps at his beauty. He had deep, yet small and thin eyes somewhat like a slight dripping shape. His lips were full and really plump and perfectly proportional that you actually thought what it'd be like to kiss them for a millisecond. You look at his face for a while then clear your throat while looking away then back at him. "Umm, just water please," you smile at him and then watch him turn around but you could have swore you saw him smile or smirk. Were you too lost and obvious with studying his features? You shake your head to get yourself together but once you look up, your eyes follow his steps and you catch yourself staring at him. You could see the veins popping out on his arms where he had rolled up his sleeves of the white shirt. "Ya," you turn your attention back to Ailee and try not to look back at the boy who had caught your attention like no one had ever could. "What are you-" "You should end it with your Young Do, Ailee. Seriously. Look at you," you scold her and give her a disgusted look after. "That's what I've trying to tell her for months," you smile at the guy who took a seat next to Ailee. "How are you, Jongin oppa?" He smiles at you and turns to look at Ailee who was still drinking. "Aish, look at you," Jongin criticizes Ailee as he frowns at her state. "Get yourself together." "You guys are supposed to be consoling me! Not- don't yell at me!" Ailee screams out, making both of close your eyes and frown at the pitch of her tone. Jongin flicks her forehead causing Ailee to hiss at the stinging feeling. "You're the only one screaming here," you sarcastically comment and look back at the crowded table on the other side, hoping her screaming wasn't annoying them. A guy from the other table calls out for someone and Jongin taps at your table, letting you know he's leaving. "They're having a party tonight and Jongdae isn't here today so I got my friend to fill in for him instead. I'm sure you met him?" He quickly says and gets up to run to the table. You shake your head as you smile at how he called his older brother with his name only. Realizing Jongdae's absence, you sit up straight and look around to see how it was only the new guy and Jongin working and Jongin's mother was probably inside the kitchen preparing the food and drinks along with the another worker. Ailee curses out loud as her bottle finishes for the seventh time and she screams out for someone to come to your table. "Excuse meeee~" you stare at her and her state. She was never this kind of girl who would get drunk over a guy but this Young Do guy had played with her feelings. You were sure if she actually thinks about it, she doesn't really have feelings for him either. They just need each other for desires and needs; nothing more. You watch her and hope she'd get over this guy and not go back to him again. Your chest clenches when you see the cute guy walk towards your table with the water you had asked for and to serve another soju bottle for Ailee. "Sorry for bringing this in late," his voice was so sweet and melodic it made your heart melt. You whisper a small 'it's okay' to reassure him in case if he was nervous or worried for being late. "Ya, I miss him," Ailee speaks up as you turn to look at her and miss watching the guy walk back to wherever it is he goes to. "Shut up, Ailee. The first thing we're doing tomorrow is getting you over him." You give her a death glare when she scoffs at you. ~~ "Hyung, who's that?" Jimin asks his friend while leaning against the kitchen counter as he stares through the huge window-like opening in the wall, it made it easier for the chefs to put the order so the waiters outside don't have to keep coming into the kitchen. It separated the kitchen and the cafe outside the kitchen and right now, it was an easy way for him to look at the table as he leaned against the counter, his eyes stuck on the two girls sitting there. One of them was drunk and had been there for quite some time, finishing up bottle after bottle but Jimin's interest was on the girl who came later. The one who seemed more on the good girl list. His eyes and his curiosity were on you. "Hey, don't even think about it." Jongin warns Jimin with a stern tone and a gaze as he was busy putting plates of food on a tray to take to the only other table that was rather crowded. Jimin tilts his head to the side to get a better view of you and a smirk creeps onto his lips as the thoughts and ideas in his head run wild. He was definitely checking you out and he made sure to make it as obvious as he could, if only you'd look to his direction. Your friend yells out and that gives Jimin the cue to go to your table again. He grabs a bottle of water and soju before making his way towards your table. He smiles at both of you and puts the water in front of you. "Sorry for bringing this in late," he speaks softly and notices that innocent glow in your pure eyes. "It's okay," you answer almost immediately but in a low voice. It almost made his heart jump, almost. He smiles as he leans towards the friend and puts the soju in front of her already drunken state. Walking back, Jimin makes sure he does it slow in attempt to listen to your conversations. He walks around the counter and chooses to stay behind the counter instead of going back into the kitchen. Plus he had a better view of you from here. Since Jongin was serving the other table, all Jimin had to do was serve yours because Jongdae and the other two employees weren't here today. Jimin takes out his phone as he rests his elbows on the counter to lean forward a little. He could hear you and your friend talk from here so it was all good. From the words you were saying, he wrote down a mental note that you were probably smart. His favorite. His eyes kept moving in your direction as he tries to take glances of you every now and then, hoping you'd look. You were shy too, he noticed and it caused him to smile softly but he made it look like he was smiling at his phone when he noticed your friend looking at him. "Ya, he's cute." The friend starts speaking without looking away. Your eyes open wide and you look for a second at Jimin but look back at your friend while turning her head away. He could see that pink shade that was creeping on your cheeks right now. Cute. He thought to himself and licks his lower lip before biting it while holding a smile. "Ailee, stop. You're being so obvious," you mumble at her comment and hiss when she complains and give her a glare that Jimin picks up on too. You were either nervous or embarrassed. "He's checking you out," Ailee confirms way too loudly when she picks up on the continuous stares and it causes Jimin to look up at both of you and makes eye contact with you for a second or two. "Stop woman," you whisper while trying to take the bottle from her. "He probably has a girlfriend." Jimin tries to hide that smile that was threatening to come out and coughs out while looking away, trying to make it look like he didn't just hear what you said. His soft moment ends when Jongin walks over to him and motions him to go into the kitchen with his index finger in the air. Rolling his eyes, Jimin follows his best friend into the kitchen as he pushes the pale blue door open and stands with his arms crossed in front of his chest while looking at Jongin who seemed annoyed. "What is it?" He questions him so they don't waste time. "What do you think you're doing?" Jongin crosses his arms over his chest too and raises an eyebrow. Jimin frowns at the questions, trying to act oblivious to his friend's question. "Don't think I don’t know that look Jimin. They're my friends, not some girls you can have fun with," Jongin lectures and watches Jimin scoff. "Hyung, I didn't do anything." The younger denies with a smirk while raising his hands up in the air. "I'm just in awe at your pretty friends. That's all." "Don't even-you know what, stay here. Don't even go near that table." Jongin holds Jimin by the shoulders and turns him around to make him sit at the counter while his friend follows his order well and sits on the counter with a smug look. At least he could see you from here. Park Jimin was known as the fuckboy in his university grounds and he took pride in it. With his breathtaking looks to his sweet, angelic voice and his toned and well-built body, any girl he had tried to hit up with always ended up following him and doing whatever he'd ask them to do. He was also said to be the definition of 'looks can be deceiving' and a lot of people agreed to it. His brothers in the dormitory weren't against it nor were they supporting him in this since they had all fucked up once or twice. Jimin always had a thing for a challenge but sadly most girls were just too easy that he almost thought about giving up and settling on one girl only, but then again... almost. He wasn't happy with coming here to work for one of his close friend but upon seeing you, he actually had a change of mind. Also since the cafe wasn't crowded like usual he had all the time and space he needed to check you out all he wanted and maybe ask for your number later... You were arguing with your friend, who Jimin picked her name rather easily, Ailee and he figured what was probably the issue. It had him wondering how many girls actually ended up like this girl because of him. He stares at how you tried to take the bottle away from your drunk friend and whine at her when she doesn't comply. A little laugh leaves his lips when he finds it cute and interesting at how you still attempt even after failing. He quickly looks away when your head rises, searching for him or Jongin as your hand raises up. "Excuse me," you speak up while looking around for someone to walk up to your table. Jimin knew he had to go but he stared behind him to look at Jongin busy plating up the food for the other table. "Hyungnim~" he speaks up in a singing tone while smiling smugly. "Pretty table needs something." "Ya, can you go please? I'm kinda busy with this," Jongin asks without looking at him. "I don't know, should I?" Jimin plays with his hyung, knowing it would annoy him. A smirk curves on his lips when Jongin stops doing what he was doing and turns to gaze at Jimin. Bingo. "I mean, you said not to do anything, especially not go near that table. So I don't think I ca-" "Alright, fine. Go." He interrupts with a growl and an annoyed expression. "You're so fucking annoying and stubborn. Do whatever you want." "Okayyy~" he sings out, satisfied with the permission to have things his way. Jimin looks at you and notices you staring at him too. He smiles as he jumps off the counter and walks out the kitchen. ~~ You stare at how worse Ailee's condition was getting and she was speaking complete nonsense, even to you they made no sense right now. As you try to snatch the bottle away from her for the fifth time, she resists and her grip tightens each time and it scared you that she'd actually break the glass if she squeezes it more. Your head was somewhere else though, ever since Ailee pointed out that the cute waiter was checking you out, it made you want to look and confirm it but you were too shy to even look at him for more than a minute. You saw him follow Jongin into the other side of the kitchen and he didn't come back out even after Jongin kept taking trips in and out of the kitchen. You ponder if he'll always work here or if he was just a substitute for Jongdae. If he was a new employee, you wouldn't mind coming here everyday and being a new regular customer at this place. You get pulled out of your thoughts when Ailee whines as her glass drops on the table and spills the drink over it. You quickly put tissues over the fluid and try once again to take the bottle from her before she makes herself worse but she still fights back. Giving up, you sit up straight and look at the other table, the people almost left since only three were there so maybe Jongin could help you with this. Or the new guy. "Excuse me," you chant softly and look towards the opening that gave a view into the kitchen and saw the new guy sitting on the counter. He turns his head as he was conversing with someone, probably Jongin, and completely ignores you. You frown at the action, trying to get his attention again you try to speak up again but see him smile at you and jump off the counter. He strides towards you with an unreadable look on his face and gives you another smile once he reaches the table. He just raises an eyebrow in question and waits for you to speak. You clear your throat before speaking. If Ailee wasn't cooperating with you then you had no choice but to ask for help. "Can you please take these away?" You point at the bottles that were spread in front of your friend. He nods at you and walks over to the counter to grab a round tray. He starts with picking up the empty ones and it gets painfully quiet so you decide to ask something... stupid. "Umm," you start slowly and notice how he slows down his pace of working. "Did she... drink all of this?" You beat yourself up in your head for asking something so stupid and obvious but he smiles instead. "Yes," his eyes were still glued to the table as he reaches for the bottle next to Ailee. You notice how Ailee was eyeing him and that was probably making him uncomfortable. "Do I take all of them away?" He asks once he's done picking and cleaning up and stares at you with round, glossy eyes. You nod before speaking. "Yes, please. All of them." He reaches for the bottle that was in your friend's hand but she pulls her hand back and it causes them both to look at one another. You kick Ailee's leg under the table, causing her to let go of the bottle and rub her leg. You hand him the bottle quickly before she reaches for it again. You hand it to him as he whispers an apology to Ailee, threatening a smile to break through on your lips. "Where's Jongdae-oppa?" Ailee stutters out, finding it difficult to speak due to the intake of all the alcohol. Before he speaks, he leans back to stand up straight and gives a small smile. "Hyungnim couldn't make it so Jongin asked me to help out tonight." His voice was so smooth and soft. You wanted to hear him speak all the time if that's how he really sounds all the time. His aura was a mixture of good and bad. The rolled-up sleeves and the way his jaw clenches and that smirk with those wandering eyes that go up and down your body, studying as much as he could from it. "Can you please bring the bi-" you speak up but get cut off from Jongin when he talks behind the cute guy. "No need for that," he smiles at you while he stands next to the other guy. "It's on the house... or, I'll just make her pay tomorrow." You laugh at his words but stop as you notice the cute guy stare at you with a smile plastered to his face too. Clearing your throat, you brush your hair back, straightening them down smoothly before getting up slowly, hesitantly. "Well then, I guess I'll take her home before she snaps again. Are you done for tonight?" You look at Jongin, trying with all your willpower to not look at the other guy who was eyeing you shamelessly. Jongin nods before answering you and looks at the empty, messy table where the other group was having their feast. "I just need to clean up that table, take her out for now. I'll be out in a while." He adds quickly and pats his friend's back to get him back to work too. They both walk away from the table, leaving you staring at Ailee hopelessly. This will be hard. Every time she got wasted like this, it always turned into a hassle to get her to walk. Sighing, you tie your hair back and push your phone into your pocket before reaching for her upper arm as you lift her body up. She groans lowly while she tries to stand on her feet and moves with your help despite her body's refusal by turning her limp. You put her arm around the back of your neck and grab her by the waist as you squirm when she leans against your neck while making weird lewd noises. "Ailee, you gotta help me out here." You point out to her but of course she probably didn't even comprehend it properly as she runs her hand over your face sloppily. You move your head back as far as you could and let out an annoyed noise. "Do you need help?" The new worker comes up and suggests as he was fixing his rolled-up sleeve. He still had a soft smile on his face and it wasn't helping in calming your heart down. "Uhh... y-yeah," you stutter out as his eyes were glued onto yours. "Yes please. Thank you." You thank him quietly and he moves right away. He grabs her other arm gently and does the same as you, wrapping it around his nape and shoulder, keeping it there. He moves to grab her waist hesitantly but stops and smiles instead. "Let's go?" He says gently and gestures you to move first. The two of you walk slowly and reach the entrance but stop when Jongin calls you from behind. "Hey, take my keys. I'll take her home." He runs towards you three and pulls out the keys, jingling in his hand as he passes them to his friend while giving him a straight face. Once he leaves to go back to work, the other guy, you wished you knew his name, looks at you then outside. "It's raining outside," he notes as his eyes stay glued to the view outside. "I have an umbrella... wait." His tone was soft yet it seemed so demanding to you, making you bite your lips in nervousness. You watch him run back into the kitchen, coming back in a few seconds with a black umbrella in his hand. He gives you a small smile and it makes you ponder why was he even being so nice, having met you just half an hour ago. Maybe he was just being friendly and you were the one getting way too distracted in this situation. Opening the door of the restaurant, you notice it was raining lightly, not too light nor too heavy. He opens up his umbrella with his hands outside and puts it above his head and you two, while he helps you take Ailee to Jongin's car. You walk outside and suddenly realize that you didn't even bring a jacket to warm you up as the chilly air hits your skin through your hoodie. The awkward atmosphere was getting too much to ignore too as the three of you walk silently and slowly. You clear your throat before saying anything so your voice doesn't disappoint you by cracking or anything. "Thank you for this," you look at him with a smile as your head tilted to see him on the other side of Ailee. You notice he wasn't even under the shade the umbrella provided because you and Ailee had taken up the space mostly. A feeling of guilt builds up in you as you notice the white shirt sticking to his body as the raindrops land onto him. He must be cold too... "It's okay," that angelic voice. Your heart melts at how it was so soft yet so deep but in that perfect tone. "You don't know where Jongin hyung parked his car right?" You frown at the way he mentions Jongin. Was he younger? "Hyung?" You stop, making him stop and look at you with a light frown as confusion begins to show at his face. "You're younger than him?" You didn't want to sound that shocked but it was obvious you were. "Yeah. A year younger," he smiles widely, his eyes closing and making your heart jump and skip beats at how adorable he looked. "How old are you?" "I'm 22." "So I don't think I need to speak formally, do I?" He starts with a smug look and a raised eyebrow, making you giggle lightly. "Whatever makes you comfortable," you answer. Why was he so hot? You clear your throat and start walking again before things get awkward. Amidst your thoughts, you suddenly realize you don't even know his name but before you could even speak again, you're interrupted by him when he stops in front of the black car. "Here it is," he announces before opening the passenger door quickly hence keeping the umbrella up your heads to keep the two of you dry. As you help Ailee into the car, she suddenly looks up and smiles at you. You knew she'd do this... it's happened more than a dozen times so you knew she'd snap awake any moment. "Oh, (Y/N)." She blurts out as her hand caresses you face roughly. You pull away from the touch and help her with the seatbelt. "Stay still." You command lightly and smile at her when she raises her arms up in an attempt to "help" you with the belt. You pull her arms down once you’re done and slowly back away to straighten up. "Jongin oppa will be taking you home now okay?" "Oh," she points at the guy who was staring at her then you. "I don't remember Jongin being like..." you face palm yourself in embarrassment and push her hand away to stop her from pointing. You freeze when you hear him laugh out, his head thrown back and a huge smile on his lips. You couldn't help but smile at his cuteness. "I'm Jimin... Park Jimin." He looks at you as if answering your unasked question and you smile at him shyly. "(Y/N), and this is Ailee." Unintentionally, you bite your lip and push a hair strand behind your ear. It probably looked weird, you thought. "You're hot. Oh... She's single," your eyes widen at Ailee's bluntness and a shade of pink covers up your cheeks as you stare at her in shock and embarrassment then at Jimin, who was eyeing you with an unreadable look. "She's also a good kisser. Have you seen her lips?" "Okay, I think you should rest. Bye." You nervously interrupt her and close the door with her inside the car. You look over at Jimin and bite your lower lip again and your heart flutters when you notice his eyes on them. "Uh... sor-sorry about that," you chuckle out as the nerves kick in. "She just says whatever when she's like that. Don't mind her." "It's okay, I'll make sure to remember those two details about you," he remarks lowly as he walks closer to stand under the umbrella too. The sound of the raindrops hitting against the umbrella above the two of you gave you a very dramatic background audio, making you even more anxious. Especially after his last remark. You look down as you try to come up with something to say but sigh in relief when you hear Jongin from behind Jimin. "Hey, is she still passed out?" He asks breathlessly as he tries to cover himself up with his jacket. "No, she woke up now... be careful." You warn him and laugh when you see him shake his head and let out a defeated sigh. "Thanks... ah Jimin-ah, you have to stay and clean up the kitchen remember." You watch the two converse and frown at how Jimin had his jaw clenched at the order. "Yeah okay." He says in a low voice while he gestures you to start walking once Jongin gets in the car. "I was going to drop you home... it's not nice to just let a girl walk back alone like this." He says as his free hand sticks out from underneath the umbrella to feel the rain, that had calmed down a little from before. You blush at his words again and turn down his offer to walk you home as nicely as possible. The two of you walk back to the café with a small conversation about each other. He's in college too, not the same as yours though. A bummer, you think. He's a literature major, just like you; loves to draw and dance and sometimes party. You listen contently and so does he. Of course neither of you open up completely since the walk and the talk was small and basic. He lives in a dorm with six other guys who are apparently like his family, according to him. Cute. You wonder how he actually is without being all polite and nice since you two had just met. Too early to think that right? But you just wanted to know more and more about him the more you listen to his voice or see his beautiful smile. A pout appears on your lips when you see the familiar glass door of the cafe and come to realize this is where you two part ways and will probably not see each other again. You sigh lightly once he stands in front of you, leaning against the door behind him. "Well, I guess I better go then. It was nice talking to you and..." you pause for a while when you see him lick his lips before biting them lightly. Clearing your throat, you continue. "And, thank you for helping and for," you point at the black umbrella above your head. "For the shade." "No problem," he smiles sincerely as he straightens up his posture. "Here, take it home for now. You can't walk without an umbrella. I would walk you but I have work left," he says as his hand raises, his thumb sticking towards the cafe. Your insides crash against one another at his caring act and you reach up to hesitantly take the umbrella from his hand. Your fingers touch lightly and you quickly feel how warm and smooth they feel, making you what to hold onto them a while longer. You must be going crazy right now. "You can return it later when we meet." He adds when you don't speak. "Oh... So this isn't goodbye?" "Absolutely not. You have my umbrella. Of course I'll need it back..." you giggle at his sarcasm and shake your head. "And then we can start from there too." He smiles again, giving you another set of skipped heartbeats to deal with. "Thank you," you look down before walking back into the pathway. "Goodnight Park Jimin." You say before you start towards your home. "Goodnight, (Y/N)." He says from behind you. You continue taking small steps away from the store but pause when you hear him again. "Oh and..." you look behind you as he was leaning against the wooden pillar of the entrance. You raise your eyebrow when he doesn't say anything. "...I don't have a girlfriend." He smiles smugly when you realize what he was referring to. Your comment that you had made in there. Blood rushes to your cheeks at his comment as nervousness builds up and you bow down quickly before looking away in embarrassment. Your feet save you by starting the quick pace back towards your home as your ears pick up a small chuckle leave his lips and the opening of the door. You walk into your apartment and lock the door before walking into your bedroom. Plopping onto the bed, you stare at the ceiling and replay everything that had happened just a while ago. From going to Ailee to seeing Jimin and just checking him out to actually talking to him and now here you were. In your bed, with his umbrella still in your hand and with that promise to meet again soon. And... he's single. You blush as the last remark he made comes back to your head and you kick your legs up in the air as you squeal out. You felt embarrassed yes, but deep down that fast rhythm of your heart was trying to tell you something else. "You can't just fall for him. He's just a crush. Just. A. Crush." You lecture yourself once you sit up after your behavior and keep repeating the words. Shutting your eyes tightly, you sigh out before grabbing your phone to text Ailee. She needed to hear something and you were going to say it. Were you mad at her for the embarrassment and those words of her? Yes. Did it hurt you? No. But you wouldn't be feeling this or would have this umbrella in your hands if it wasn't for her. Scrolling down the chats, you spot her name right away and click on it, typing right away. You [9.50pm]: you're one lucky bitch. You smirk to yourself before setting your alarm for a new day tomorrow and hoping to not show to much appreciation to Ailee over this. You close your eyes and try to get yourself to sleep without having to think too much about Jimin. ~Jimin's point of view~ He was standing outside in the cold, breezy weather as his thumb scrolls through all the posts in the apps. He had tons of messages to check too but he chose to ignore those, just like always. He runs his hand through his hair as he looks up and around in hopes of finding a familiar car. When nothing happens in the quiet street, he sighs out in frustration. How long was he supposed to wait until his friends pick him up. He can't walk all the way to his dorm and he just didn't want to order a cab. A honk gets his attention away from a specific message that makes a smirk appear on his features, engaging his ego even higher than it already was. Unknown number [10.37pm]: I can't stop thinking about last night, Sunbae... can we meet again? "Aah~ I have to control these freshmen." He utters to himself as he walks towards the navy blue BMW, opening the backseat door. He's welcomed by his younger "brother" Jungkook and his older "brother" Hoseok. Fraternities... they just made him get used to calling all of his friends as brothers though he wouldn't admit so easily that he actually likes calling them that and how much they all mean to him. He sits inside quickly and lets out a lewd noise as the warmth of the heat hits his cold face. Jungkook was looking at him as his lower lip was hidden under his teeth. "I can explain why we're late," he starts off quickly as he changes the gear to drive. "It's okay, just drive. I'm tired," Jimin replies tiredly with his head tilted back and a smirk painted on his face. Hoseok and Jungkook share a frowned and confused look at the words coming out of the boy. He wasn't mad this time... Jimin would've been mad if it was any other day. Perhaps this wasn't a normal day. "Something good must've happened, seeing how you're not even mad and actually ... smiling like a creep." Hoseok adds as he shifts in his seat to turn to look behind at Jimin. "Ah hyung~ how can you say that? I don't always get mad," Jimin whines and earns a chuckle and scoff from the two guys in the front. "Did they pay you well?" Jungkook asks after a while when the three of them relax for a while. "Hmm," Jimin hums in response as his head nods slowly even though they probably aren't even looking at him. "They paid me well, there weren't many customers tonight... and I met someone." The two quickly look back in unison as Jimin chuckles. "Got your attention now, huh? Ya Jungkook, look in the front when you're driving." "Who's she?" Hoseok continues the conversation as they all relax into their seats again. "Her name's (Y/N), goes to Sonyei, is a literature major and she has a part time job at a clothing store." Jimin lists out all the details and information he gained earlier when the two of you had exchanged small talk while walking back to the cafe. "Well, I guess we'll have to deal with more screams and all that," the youngest comments, earning a few annoyed noises from Hoseok and Jimin as he sits there with a huge smile and a scrunched nose. "Oh my god, this little bastard here." Jimin says from behind and reaches forward to smack Jungkook's nape hard enough but also light enough. The rest of the ride back to the dorm was quiet since they were all tired from their day and work but Jimin's mind was going back to one thing. You. ~(Y/N)'s point of view~ The ringing of the alarm jolts you awake and you sit up in bed with a loud annoyed groan. Morning classes sucked and you were late. You quickly jump off the bed and run into the bathroom to get ready as quickly as you could and then choosing an outfit wouldn't be a problem. You can just put something simple. You ended up choosing a navy blue sweater with beige skinny jeans and grabbed a black long coat to end the look. Before running out the door, you stop to check if your lipstick was okay then you pull the door open and make a run for it before the bus leaves. Thankfully, you had gotten to class just a minute earlier and walk to your place with wobbly legs from running too much. You plop down on the chair with a loud sigh and raise your hand as a greeting for one of your friend, Kim Woosung. He smiles and waves back before eyeing you as you try to catch your breath. "Trying to run for a marathon?" He jokes as you smack his bicep lightly with an eye roll. You sit up straight once you notice his bottle of water was still almost full and grab it immediately. You needed water right now. "That's mine..." he says lowly as he watches you gulp down almost half the bottle and shakes his head. A sigh leaves his lips when he sees you smile at him. "That was refreshing," you add after he's done giving you "the looks". "I spat in it earlier," you roll your eyes and can't help but smile at his comment. "Makes it more refreshing." "You're disgusting," Woosung adds with a disgusted look after your comment. "Hmmm, so are you." You joke around before relaxing into the seat more after your breathing became stable. "Just finish the whole damn thing if you're stopping here," he moves the bottle towards your side of the desk and shakes his head when you giggle. Woosung was one of your close friends. The two of you met in ninth grade when he moved back in the country after leaving America. "A very, not a smart decision really", in his words. He spent two years being sad over leaving America, where he grew up, but slowly became better used to here starting from junior year. The two of you were friends from the beginning in ninth grade when he saw you reading a classic novel, Dr. Frankenstein. He criticized it and said it was in his least favorite list. "There are so many better ones. Why read this as a start?" "What's it to you? I like this!" You had argued back after being shocked at his words. "If i have to sit next to you for a whole year, at the very least bring a better book so that I can read too if I get bored." "Am I reading for your sake? Do you not have books of your own?" "What? Are you getting mad?" He scoffed at the way your tone had changed a note higher since you two had been quarreling over this for no apparent reason. "Yes. I am." "All I'm saying is get a better book so we can both-" "Do you have to read with me? Don't read, if you don't like the ones I'm reading," you lift the book up to cover his face and read again. That was in the second month of ninth grade. The two of you had just begun to talk like actual classmates and joked around too. He was really awkward in the beginning but with time the two of you settled down and tolerated each other to get along. Woosung became your best friend without the two of you even realizing. It just became so usual to have him around, in your house or room or out in the mall or clubs. People had even mistaken you for dating but you were quick to clear it out. "You could've played along," he had said back then too. Of course he was good looking. Soft features, thin lips, cute soft eyes and an adorable smile in your opinion. He was a great singer and was even in a band with three other guys. You had been to their gigs and busking events and you had to admit, he was pretty good. They were all pretty good. Did you ever feel something towards Woosung? Yes... obviously but you kept your mouth shut and those feelings faded away slowly or hid away. You had to be frank, he did get better looking since senior year high school. You're pulled out of your thoughts when you hear students in the classroom mumble all of a sudden and frown at everyone who was looking at their screen. That's when you realize the instructor didn't even come yet, it was almost 15 minutes by now. Woosung looks around and hums lightly before speaking, "Seems like class is canceled." You roll your eyes in annoyance at having to wake up early and run here to have the class canceled. "Oh, for fuc-" "Hey!" He smacks your lips for almost cursing in front of him like that. He was older than you by a year so yeah... you couldn’t always be so easy like that. Well. You could swear and all but he just liked to annoy you that way. "I woke up and ran all the way here to have this canceled..." you pout as the two of you get up to leave the classroom along with the other students. "Why'd you overslept? You don't usually do that." "Ailee and Young Do had a fight or something and she went to get wasted again," you complain as he opens the door for you, letting you go out first. "So I had to take care of that last night." Once you step outside and finish your sentence, you finally remember the events from last night. It was hectic and frenzy since you had woken up late but now that your mind was more relaxed, you remembered. Jimin. The umbrella. The last thing he said. You bite your lower lip as a habit and look ahead as you walk wherever your feet were taking you. How were you supposed to return the umbrella when you didn't even take his number. When he said you'll meet again, did he mean soon? You kind of missed him... stupid right? You had just met him last night yet you were here thinking about him and how his voice swayed its way into your heart. How warm his fingers felt even though it was for a second. You try to remind yourself to get it together and repeat the same words you did last night. "Just a crush. Just a cr-" "Goodmorning," you blink several times to get yourself back in reality when you hear Woosung's greeting. You look where he's looking at and spot Ailee taking a seat on the other side of the wooden picnic bench. You frown at her sullen expression... why was she so sad about now? You quickly stand up half way to reach towards her and smack her bicep, earning a whine from her. "You. Are. One. Lucky. Bitch." You point out while getting back on the seat. Woosung frowns at the two of you but doesn't bother or ask what's going on... at least not yet. "I messed up last night, didn't I?" She gives you an apologetic look and closes her eyes tightly as she rests her head into her palms and groans. "Jongin-oppa and I had a fight last night." She looks at you with a pout planted on her lips and then continues. "And now he's ignoring me." "Why did you fight?" "He was lecturing me the whole drive to my house and I flipped and he came after me and yelled. When I say fight. I mean a while fight with us yelling and screaming here (Y/N)!" She whines out loudly as she grabs your wrists and pulls your arm towards her. "Well he's not the only one that's mad at you," you pull away and give her an annoyed look. Does she not remember everything else? Why was she so focused on Jongin. She never acted this way so why was she... perhaps they actually feel the same way for each other? You knew Jongin liked Ailee but you didn't know whether she felt the same way towards him. Did she? You're pulled out of your pondering when she speaks again with a whiny tone. "Why are you mad?" You roll your eyes at her oblivion and list the things right away. "First, you need to fucking STOP this whole shit with Young Do." Woosung smacks you lightly when you curse and you're reminded that he was actually here. He had been so quiet that you actually forgot he was here. You scowl at him silently when he stares at you with wide eyes. He always had a habit of smacking you every time you used a swear word, it's not even because he was offended or anything. He just did it. "Fine, I'll stop okay?" You two look at Ailee in unison with shock written all over your faces. This was the first time she ever said this. "And what did you even mean by this text?" She pulls out her phones and then turns the screen towards you. It was your message from last night. "This is why I'm mad!" You jeer out. "Do you not even remember? Park Jimin? The guy who served our table last night," Ailee's face contorts as she tries to remember and then her eyes widen in an instant. "Oh shit," "Hey, don't curse around your Sunb-" "Oh SHIT," Ailee gasps out loud as her palm goes over to cover her open mouth. You give her an annoyed look and wait for her to apologize... to be honest, you weren't even THAT mad but you had the right to argue over her words that she had said in her drunken state. "I said something to him, didn't I?" "You exposed me!" You yell back and watch her try to remember again. "You were like 'oh she's single and a good kisser'..." you mimic her tone and look at her frown and then... she ends up laughing. She actually bursts out laughing and then you sit there and watch Woosung join in silently. "This isn't funny you guys." You whine out loud and drop your head on the wooden table. "I felt so embarrassed and flustered... I didn't even get his number," you finish off before sitting up with slump shoulders and a pout on your lips while you look back and forth at the two who were still laughing lightly. "Why are you laughing?" You direct the question to Woosung. "It's funny. I thought she did something but it's so small," he rubs your head, messing up your hair as he makes cooing noises. "Poor little (Y/N) got shy because some cute guy found out you're single and a good kisser." You smack his hand away and look at Ailee, who was smiling at you. "At least he didn't run right? If you said I'm lucky then something good must've happened," her eyebrow raises and she tilts her head in an attempt to try to read your expression. You clear your throat whilst trying to hide the smile that was forming on your lips. "He said that we'll meet again for sure." You say confidently but blush slowly as you remember the last thing he had said last night. You roll your eyes when Ailee lets out a long "ooooh~" ~Jimin's point of view~ He came back from his class and went straight into his room. He couldn't bear to deal with another being right now... Sleep. That's what he needed right now. As he walks through the hall of the dorm, he passes by Jungkook's room and hears a different voice from inside. His ears perk up to try to encode the new voice... a girl? Did Jungkook really have a girl in there? A teasing smirk comes onto his lips but he saves it for later. He was already tired from today's classes and he even bummed into one of his "ex". She wasn't an ex, just someone he had spent some time with for a while but then got bored as usual. But she had always tried to come back, making things awkward. Just like today. He shuts his door once he enters and plops into his bed while staring at the ceiling. Something was going on in his head that he managed to ignore the whole day until now. He frowns when he catches up on his thoughts and wonders why, of all the things, was he thinking of that... Of you. You two had only met for a few hours but why out of all the people, why did you pop into his head. He laid there and thought about what you were up to, what you could be wearing, or if you were thinking about him or not. He plays with his hair lightly then once he realizes he hadn't even taken your number, he groans and whispers to himself "You're a stupid ass Jimin-ah." Maybe Jongin might give him your number... it was a small possibility though. A knock on his door gets him out of his thoughts and he turns his head towards the door, telling them to come in. "Hey," it was Taehyung. He looked like he was in a hurry. "We- no. You got a problem. Miyeon is here." "Tell her I'm asleep." He sighs out as he looks back at the ceiling. "She's your girl, you deal with her dude. She won't listen to me." "Tae-" Jimin huffs out a breath as Taehyung closes the door without even listening to him. He gets up to put his backpack in its place and picks up the clothes that were laying around to put them in his wardrobe. If there was one thing he could care most about, he'd pick keeping his home or room neat and organized especially if someone was coming over. It has always been a habit of Jimin, to keep things tidy and in their place. As he did the same right now, he hears the door open and close again. "Oppa," Miyeon's voice echoes around the room and he hears her step towards him but still doesn't turn around. His back towards her direction as he went on with folding his shirt and his sweatpants that he found laying around. "Hi." She wraps her arms around his waist to embrace him in a back hug and rests her head on his back. Jimin drops his clothes and shoves them in before sighing out loud. He grabs her wrists to free himself from the hug and turns around to glare at her. "You have to stop coming here without telling me. I told you that before." She looks at him with a pout before speaking back. "I did message you... an hour ago." Miyeon frees herself from his hold to take a step back. "You don't seem happy to see me." Jimin looks her up and down, taking in her small body and her soft features. She had long hair that reached a little further down her shoulders. She had curled them today, it was pretty. Her plump lips were giving a tint of red today and it matched the light shade of red on her cheeks as she watched him study her like that. Her eyes, usually small and almond shaped, were now round since she felt small in front of him like that. Her outfit was cute today too, as usual. A white crop top that hugged her chest and torso tightly and a pastel pink skirt that stopped just above her knees. He looks back at her and notices that pout was still there on her lips. "I guess I'll go if you didn't want to see me." Disappointment in her tone, she turns around when Jimin doesn't budge and starts to walk towards the door until he speaks again. "Did you wear this outfit for me? It's pretty. You look pretty," he compliments as she turns and gives him a huge smile. "But it's cold outside, didn't you feel cold?" "Well, it was freezing but I wanted to show off my new outfit." She skips to the bed and sits on the edge while looking around at the room. "Don't worry, I'll help you warm up." Jimin walks towards his bed and leans down to attack her lips with his own. A moan leaves her lips right away and it causes Jimin to smirk into the kiss. He cages her body with his arms next to her sides and gently pushes her down and into the mattress. "Get in the middle of the bed and clothes off." He commands as he moves to take his own garments off. The sound of Jungkook yelling is what wakes Jimin up. He opens his eyes slowly to take in the lightened up room, it was already the next day. He must've been exhausted yesterday to have slept right after sex and waking up the next day... especially since he had slept around 7pm last night. His palm comes up to press his temple gently and turns his head to see Miyeon still sleeping there. He turns his body completely so that he was facing her, she always looked extra adorable when sleeping. Miyeon is in the same university as Jimin and they had met at a cafe Jimin goes for his regular coffee or lunch during the day. The food there was good and cheap and it could fill him up and keep him going for a few hours too. He first saw Miyeon when he was in his second year and she was still a freshmen. She looked lost and confused while trying to order in front and Jimin was running late so he suggested his favorite and offered to buy for her too. He didn't have any intentions back then but they had met again after 2 days and that's when they started talking and hanging out more. Miyeon's in the college of Drama, mostly acting and doing or writing plays. It's right across the building of the Literature college. They were just friends since Jimin was busy with a girl or another every time but he knew she had felt something with him too. Jimin resides in one of the famous dormitory in their university along with other guys and he was even the son of a rich family so people always knew who he was and his charming and beautiful looks always stole hearts. He didn't want to drag Miyeon into this but she knew what kind of a guy he is when she had kissed him at a party once he said he's not really "looking for any girl at the moment". It had started off with just a kiss then it turned into a makeout and before things got ahead, Jimin had warned her once more and got another kiss as a response. That was a year ago. Jimin still slept around or flirted here and there. It's not like Jimin and Miyeon were in an exclusive relationship. She had an idea but she never let it show nor had she said anything except for little to no arguments. She was just too nice and innocent for someone like Jimin. Did he ever feel bad for her? Sometimes. But maybe this was his taste. This is what he preferred. It's mean and not exactly a good thing to- He quickly shuts his eyes close to act like he was asleep once she moves as her body comes back to life. He hears her groan and feels her stretch out as her body moves towards his. She leans in and lightly pecks his nose before whispering a good morning to his "sleeping state". He feels his body stiffen at the way she acted. But with his hearing, he could tell she got up the bed and was putting on her clothes probably. Once she leaves the room, he opens his eyes and lets out a sigh. He's an asshole for doing this to her. An asshole for doing this to you too probably. ~(Y/N)'s point of view~ It was almost a week after you and Jimin had met and for some reason, you still wondered more and more about if he'll actually even come to meet again. Every night for the past 6 nights, you would stare at his umbrella that he had handed to you and ponder over him in general. Was he also thinking about you? Or did he forget about all that happened that night? It was around 9pm right now when your thoughts are disturbed with your phone chiming two times, alerting you with your new messages. You frown when there's an unknown number and there's Ailee's message as well. You drop your pen that was hovering over your notebook and grab your phone, opening the unknown messages first. Unknown number [9.17pm]: hey Ailee [9.17pm]: hey You look over at the messages then reply Ailee first with a usual "hi" though you opened the other message first. You [9.18pm]: hi? You send to the unknown sender but before they could even finish what they were saying, you jump as your phone rings abruptly. Ailee. "Hey," you ask with concern since she just seemed weird this way. "Hey, can you come to Jongin's cafe right now... please." She almost whispers, unusual coming from her. "Yeah, sure. Everything okay?" You say, already getting to grab your coat and a cap. "It's Young Do, he's been following me all day and he won't fucking stop... just come there okay? I'm almost there too." You hear the beep of the call ending and run out the door whilst trying to put on the coat in a sad failing attempt. The other number had messaged you but that was in the back of your mind by now since Ailee did sound concerned. Once you reach the cafe six minutes later, Jongin was already in alert and being cautious. You sit at your usual place and wait for Ailee and try to get your breath back while constantly staring at your phone. She needs to get here already, why wasn't she- "Hi," you look up in shock when you hear that voice again. It's Jimin. Why was he here? "Are you alright?" He takes the seat across from you with his eyes wide since that look of concern was too obvious on you. "Uh... Hi," you stutter out in a low voice as he leans towards the table, his arms resting on the table as his fingers intertwine. "Why are yo-" "Ya," you get interrupted as Jongin yells out all of a sudden and that's when you notice Ailee pacing towards you. She pushes Jimin into the bench even more and takes a seat beside him. You eye her worriedly but don't say anything since Jongin beats you to it. "What happened? Did he follow you here too?" "I don't know... oppa, just go back to work please. I don't want to bring attention because that would make him realize it." She whines out as she pushes him away from the table and you stare at the two of them back and forth, wondering how Jongin listened so well today. "What happened?" You ask her once Jongin leaves. "I told him we're done for real this time... that was two days ago," Ailee spurts out as she tries to keep her voice low. "And then I noticed it yesterday that he had been following me. I don't know what he wants but it's damn scary." You could tell how scared she was, it was obvious but it was readable when you see her hands shake. Ailee already had a stalker problem before and if Young Do is doing the same thing, especially after knowing about it... he's an asshole. You try to calm her down, forgetting about Jimin completely even though he was sitting right next to her. Apparently he was a good listener, judging from the way he sat still the whole time and didn't even budge. You listen to Ailee's story while offering her water, even though she had asked for a bottle of soju. It was six to seven minutes later that you four thought Young Do probably gave up but just as you were about to mention it, you see his figure in front of your table. "I need to talk to you," he starts even before introducing or greeting. Not that you wanted to hear anything from him. He sounded like he was demanding her rather than even ask her if she wants to. Reason one of why you despised Young Do. "I don't want to hear anything." Ailee retorts straightforwardly. Even though she was terrified, she still didn't show it completely in front of him. Or maybe because she felt safe with you and Jongin around. Young Do grabs her wrist with force and that causes you and Jimin to react right away. "Hey man, she said she doesn't to talk." Jimin says as he frees Ailee's wrist from his grip and gives Young Do a warning look. "Who's this? You're new sugar daddy?" Young Do snorts and chuckles but Jimin's remain unchanged. You see his jaw clench and the veins in his neck pop out. "Ya, did she seduce you too? She'll run away in the e-" "You really want to continue this here?" Jimin interrupts him with his voice sounding as cold as the wind outside that causes goosebumps and chills to rise up your body. Young Do clenches his fists even before Jimin does anything and you already hope for something to stop them. "What're you going to do? Huh?" Young Do challenges him as a smug look paints both of their faces. "Ailee, can you move please?" Jimin smiles at Ailee and you both know what'll happen if she does move and lets Jimin out. "Jimin-sshi, forget it..." you whisper as your hand grabs his arm. His eyes move away from Young Do and land onto where your hand fisted his sleeves, making you let go hesitantly. You see Young Do's figure stumble back and look up to see Jongin's hand push him aside. "This isn't a place to fight," Jongin steps between Ailee and Young Do, keeping his hand out to keep him at a distant. Young Do challenges Jongin as he smacks his hand away and walks too close to his face. You were starting to get anxious as a lot of attention was beginning to divert towards your group. You close your eyes for a second just to hope this ends well even though it didn't look like it would. "If you want to make a scene, take it outside." "You're the same guy who took her home last time... Aah, I definitely would love to take this outs-" "Stop it you guys," Ailee interrupts right away as she pushes the two of them to give her space to get out. She walks towards the entrance door after telling Young Do that she'll "talk". He follows her after giving the three of a glance and then leaves. "Stay with (Y/N). This bastard could have someone around too." Your eyes widen at his words and you and Jimin share the same confused and shocked look. As you both sit back properly, you keep on turning your heads towards where the other two had left to speak. You were already worried and anxious since Young Do could get a little too violent at times, regardless of who it is he's dealing with. Out of all the guys, Ailee had to choose him. You keep noticing how Jimin's eyes kept on looking towards you over and over again. As if you weren't nervous enough, seeing Jongin run out the door made your body turn cold. Your body reacts immediately even before your brain could comprehend anything and you jolt up and run towards the same direction as Jongin. You hear Jimin telling you to wait or slow down but you couldn't. This seemed way too serious at this point. After taking one turn into an alleyway, you freeze when you see Jongin yelling at Ailee, the two of them arguing and you're about to walk in between when you feel a tight grip on your wrist. "Don't... interfere," Jimin commands as he tries to catch his breath again. "You can't just let those two fight like-" You protest but a small "oh" leaves your mouth when you see Jongin and Ailee shut each other up by pressing their lips together. You and Jimin stand there for a few more seconds until you clear your throat and drag him out by his sleeves silently. The two of you walk back towards the cafe silently but then you give him a brief explanation. "Jongin always had a crush on Ailee. I guess she feels the same way, judging from what happened back there. Guess we should let them be for now," you look over to Jimin who was nodding in understanding at the detail-less explanation. The rest of the walk was beginning to get quiet but then you remembered something. "How did you know I was going to be in the cafe today?" "Ah, I texted you. I thought you came there because I asked you," you frown in confusion but then remember the unknown number and quickly pull out your phone to see the messages you had forgotten about. Unknown number [9.19pm]: it's me, Jimin. how are you? took your number from Jongin hyung. Unknown number [9.20pm]: I'm at the cafe ... I believe we were supposed to meet? You bite your lips at his text as you suddenly remember his remark about being single and it causes you to blush. You clear your throat after saving his number and shoving your phone back into your pocket. "I was so caught up with Ailee and all-" you blurt out, hoping it didn't make him feel insulted or hurt but he cuts you off. "Hey, it's okay. I understand." He smiles at you sweetly and it feels like deja vu as you two reach the cafe once again and he sighs. You look at him and smile softly while looking around. It was getting kind of late and you had to be home by now. "I'm not busy at the moment, I can walk you home." He suggests nicely and you were glad he offered but still try to refuse out of habit. "Ah, it's okay. I can wa-" "You don't have to refuse, I came to meet you so I'll get more time this way." You feel your face getting warm at his comment and thank him silently. "Let's go?" You nod shyly and gesture him to walk in the direction of your apartment. As the two of you walked towards your place, it got better and less awkward between you two as you exchanged random conversations about his classes and his friends that he lives with in the dorm and you told him how you had to show your parents that you'll be fine on your own and moved out the house so you'd be close to your university. And you also had given a brief explanation about the issue of Ailee and Young Do as well so that he could understand more of why today was this serious for you and Ailee. Once you reach your house, he smiles at you before speaking. "I'm glad we got to meet today," he starts off and you already feel sad thinking about when you're going to meet him next time. Maybe if he could stay a little longer... "Oh, your umbrella," you cut in before he says anything else and turn to walk into the house but stop to say something out of your comfort zone, without even thinking. "Uhh... would you, umm... like to come inside?" A smile appears onto his lips and he looks away shyly before following you inside. You tell him to take a seat on the couch while you walk into the kitchen area, voicing out whether he'd like coffee or tea. He refuses for both options and asks you not to do something like that. Typical first guests act. You smile at him and ask him what he'd like and the answer is as plain and cold as the water you hand him a while later to satisfy his request. You didn't know what to do as the nerves in you were starting to build up one by one until they stopped in your throat, making you want to throw up. Even though you and Jimin had gotten along on the way back, this scenario was still awkward as you watch him look around fondly. "Your place is cozy," he compliments after he's done with his inspections. "It shows that a literature major lives here." "Thank you?" You say confusingly, causing Jimin to chuckle. "It's good. My room is like that too, to be honest. You should visit someday." Your eyes widen at the next proposal. Is this how he is always? Before you even speak, he beats you to it. "I should really get going now, thank you for today." You stand up and watch him walk towards the door and then remember why you had actually invited him in the first place. "Ah, wait!" You exclaim out and run infto your bedroom as you grab the umbrella quickly. As you walk towards him and stretch out your arm to hand him his umbrella, he breathes out a silent laugh and it does nothing to calm your thumping heart. You clear your throat before speaking so your voice doesn't let you down by cracking. "Thank you again for this." "My pleasure," he smiles sweetly once again as his eyes almost close because of the smile. You bite the inside of your cheeks to hide the smile that was threatening to appear on your lips too. "I'll see you later then?" "Yeah, sure." ~~ After that night, texts from Jimin had become a daily thing in your life. From good morning and good night texts to talking about each other's days to very, very random topics. The two of you got closer and closer each day, and each of those days, your feelings grew too. You didn't tell anyone about how much you two had talked but you were sure Woosung and Ailee probably noticed since they'd end up sighing every time you smile at your phone. Every day that passed by, you'd find yourself waiting for his texts. And when he won't respond or text, it would affect your mood too much which was starting to scare you. It had been a month since Jimin had visited your place and since Ailee and Jongin's relationship too. You had met Jimin once after that time too but it was more of a coincidence than planned. The two of you were at a comic cafe to relax yourselves from the stress of the midterms and you couldn't find a better way to relax than read comics and so did he. Though you regretted wearing your old, oversized grey hoodie with your black leggings that day. You could've chosen a better outfit at least but he saw you that way and there wasn't anything you could do. You were sitting outside in your campus park with Ailee and Woosung again as you three silently stuffed your mouths with food after a long day. You were on your phone and so was Ailee while Woosung was busy with watching the scenery laid out in front of him of the green campus ground and the students scattered here and there. You were explaining something to a classmate about your project then once you were done, you place your phone on the wooden table. Jimin hadn't texted for almost two days now and you were really, really missing him at this point. The last text you had sent was two days ago too, a text saying: You [11.49pm]: you've seen me in okayish clothes and you've seen me in that traditional hoodie of mine... It was a conversation about how you'd dress in specific places. It was a random topic but it had started when Jimin reminded you how you looked tiny and like a small koala bear in the hoodie you were wearing at the comic cafe. Quite embarrassing if you ask, since that hoodie was really old and it looked like it too. You probably looked homeless... Your phone's vibration pulls you out of your train of thoughts and flashbacks and you pick it up immediately as a smile forms when you open the message. Jimin [10.17am]: and I'd love to see you dressed up too. You [10.18am]: and how is that possible? Jimin [10.18am]: since it's the end of the semester... wanna come to our party? You jump up when Woosung's voice rings in your ear, startling you completely as he makes a comment. "He's got skills..." You look at him confusingly as you try to calm down from the jump scare while Ailee was eyeing you both with even a more confused look. "Stop it," you smack his upper arm lightly as you push him aside to move back into your place and open up your phone again to reply. You [10.20am]: I mean... not a party person but sure? You bite your lower lip as you start to imagine all the little scenarios in your head. He invited you. You. To his party. You weren't exactly the party type of person but if it was someone inviting you, you wouldn't say no right away unless you didn't know the person well. But Jimin... well you kind of knew him and maybe this was one way to know him more. More about the people around him and how he is when he's not looking like the calm before a storm. You wanted to know and see what he's like when he's in a different atmosphere, when he's the one who's hosting and known by others. You wanted to go just because he was there. ~Jimin's point of view~ He sees your message a little while later after he leaves the bathroom and goes back into his room. The guys were planning a party before the finals started in a week and it was normal since they had always done that. Jimin [10.47am]: great. i'll pick you up at 8 then. He smiles to himself as he throws his phone on the bed before walking out to the hallway towards Jungkook's room. "Jungkookie~" he sings out sweetly whilst opening the bedroom door to see the younger one busy on his laptop. He didn't notice that Jimin was there until he saw the reflection on his laptop screen. "Hyung, you could've knocked." He complains as he removes his headsets. "As if you'll hear me if I did... anyways, who's going to be here tonight?" "Jin hyung has dinner with his family so he said he can't and also he said he'll be staying at his home tonight. Hoseok hyung said he'll see when he'll be done with the dance classes. The rest... you know... will be here." Once he's done listing the guys, Jimin nods then pats his shoulder and is about to walk out but stops when Jungkook speaks again. "You're acting weird..." "Sorry?" Jimin looks at his friend with an oblivious look but stops when the younger doesn't buy it. "Ah... the girl I met, (Y/N), i invited her too so I guess I'm nervous." Jungkook scoffs at the last word and shakes his head while he turns back to play his game. Jimin walks down the stairs to prepare something to eat since his stomach had been grumbling for a while now. While he spread the strawberry jam on the bread, his mind wandered to you. What will you wear tonight, how will you look after you actually put on effort in your looks. You already looked attractive and adorable in the casual thing and even in that horrible hoodie of yours. It still looked cute and made Jimin want to see you more and more in any way possible. Maybe inviting you to a party won't be a good idea since there will be people he knows and some don't get along with him. What if they pick fights while you're there? What if his ex... his actual ex is there? He didn't worry too much about the one night stands or the girls he kept around for a while, like the freshmen. But the two people he didn't want there tonight were: Miyeon and his ex. Miyeon wouldn't say much but after a day or two, she'll create a huge argument with him for no reason at all just because he "drank too much" or "flirted with another girl". And he really didn't want to ruin this for you. As for his ex, she was shameless. After all they had gone through, she always had the audacity to come back unexpectedly. Jimin had taken care of it a year ago but he still saw her around at times, saying things like "it's a coincidence" or she'd say "didn't think I'd see you here." Tonight, it was for you. If only, he just wanted to know you more at least then maybe he can take it slow later but tonight, he wants his attention to be for you only. Tonight, it's to start something new. He was about to go upstairs to text Miyeon to make sure she doesn't show up tonight but stops in his tracks when the doorbell rings and Yoongi walks into the kitchen after a while, followed by Miyeon. "I was going to text you just now," Jimin comments when she walks towards him silently. Yoongi didn't bother listening to the conversation as he silently got into making a snack and coffee for himself. "Were you going to invite me?" She asks, voice full of hope. "No, I was gonna tell you not to come." Jimin's words come out as rude as ever, making both Yoongi and Miyeon look at him in surprise but Yoongi knows not to butt in so he gets done with his task quickly and leaves the room before things get serious. He hated being there when people fight and ask for him to back them up... unless it's really needed then he'd step in. "Why? Aren't you guys having a party tonight? Why can't I be the-" "You know why," Jimin finishes up his juice and drops it into the sink before walking out the kitchen. He knew Miyeon was following him into the bedroom so he kept the door open as he walks in and sits on his chair to organize the papers on the desk. "Who are you meeting this time?" Miyeon asks. She knew by now what Jimin does when she's not present at these kind of parties. He would either bring a girl or target one in the place and take things to different levels. Though she usually wouldn't say much to him before, just a few days of ignoring or avoiding after a small argument but this was getting too much that she actually started to get hurt. "Jimin-" "Miyeon-ah," Jimin sighs out in frustration as he spins his chair to face her. "You know you're not supposed to ask me these things." "It's getting too mu-" "Stop. You know what we have between us isn't exclusive. You know that, I know that and maybe everyone around us do too. So stop." He warns her strictly as he gets up to look for one paper that apparently went missing. He didn't want to fight Miyeon, she was just a friend who knew what she put herself in and that's why he never wanted her involved but she still did and he had to make it clear. But to Jimin, it seems like she still can't accept it. He realizes that it probably came out too rudely so he breathes out in frustration again. "Look, i told you before any of this started and you said you can handle it. I would never do that to you but you said it was easy to handle it." "I know you told me not to Jimin but I'm starting to have actual feelings. I already did from long ago but I could control it before... not now," Miyeon confesses weakly as her eyes start to water a little. Jimin feared this. Ever since him and Miyeon started this, whatever this was, he feared this would happen. That she'll catch feelings and it'll be too late to go back. "I told you. Miyeon-ah, I told you. I fucking told you not to do this," his voice rises with each word and it makes her flinch a little. "What was I supposed to do, Jimin? You really think it's easy, do you? What was I supposed to do?" She whines and screams out this time, making the atmosphere even more serious as he runs a hand through his hair. "You should've left! You should've left with no feelings. I told you that you can leave if it gets too mu-" "I love you, Jimin!" This time it's Jimin who gets surprised and stares at her in disbelief. This isn't how it was supposed to be... this wasn't supposed to happen. He breathes out loudly as he runs his hand through his hair again, looking around at anything but her. He couldn't look at her because he knew what he did and that's why he never wanted Miyeon to be involved in these things. But things turned out this way and this was out of his hands. He couldn't see her this way. It was his fault but he had to ruin her more if he had to fix her, if he had to help her escape this. The silence was starting to creep in until Miyeon breaks it by speaking again. "You think I don't know what you go around doing? You think I don't care when I say I don't... or that it doesn't hurt me?" Jimin finally looks at her in the eye and decides to throw in his "discoveries". "Don't act so innocent. You think I don't know that you meet up with other guys... and girls? You think I don't know what you're up to? You're seriously getting unbearable day by day, you know that? Acting like this with me and then claiming this." Jimin scoffs at her expression but before he says anything else, she mutters out something so low that he demands her to repeat. "Say it again. Go on. Say-" "I do that to hide away my feelings towards you or stop whatever this pain is!" "Don't act like I never warned you or told you what THIS is! I made it clear before and you said you can do-" "Well, I can't do this anymore!" The two of them scream at each other back and forth until there's a knock on the door and they both look at the same direction as Yoongi walks in with a cold glare. "That's enough," he says with a calm but demanding tone that manages to shut both of them up. "You two need to relax and talk it out. Not scream out your lungs." As he says that, both the guys' eyes widen when Miyeon bursts out crying and drops on the bed. Jimin looks at her with a pitiful and broken look as tears threaten to leave his eyes too. He looks away and clears his throat to stop himself. It wasn't as easy since he could feel Yoongi's eyes boar holes in Jimin and his ears picking up the sniffles of Miyeon. He really didn't want this to happen. At least not to her. As much as he messed around, he never wanted Miyeon to get hurt since she actually meant something to him. She was someone who he had a soft spot for. She was always pure and innocent, she kind of understood him well and she always did her best when it came to Jimin. There was only one other person who had the same soft spot in his heart before Miyeon... his ex. The girl he hates with all his energy now. The girl he can't stand anymore. The girl who ruined him and he had done the same with her... it was a never ending cycle. Yoongi orders Jungkook, who was standing outside the room with Taehyung, to bring some water for Miyeon from downstairs. He runs down immediately while Taehyung looks at Jimin from behind Yoongi but before the younger could do anything, Yoongi walks in the room and closes the door as he orders Jimin to sit down too. The boy takes a seat at the chair by his desk as his eyes look over at Miyeon, who was done crying in front of them but she still looked like she wanted to cry more. Yoongi hands the tissue box to her and walks towards the door again but he doesn't leave, just leans against it before he sighs out and speaks. "Whatever this is, I have no right to be in this... but I interfered because it sounded like someone had to. This... thing between the two of you, if it was getting this hard. Why did you continue to ruin each other this way?" "Hyung," Jimin starts but stops when there's a knock on the door as Jungkook hands the water to Yoongi that he ordered earlier. "I told her from the start what this is and that she could leave." Jimin says, way more calm than before as he watches Yoongi hand the glass to her and walk back to where he stood. "And it's not my fault that I have these feelings." Miyeon complains after she takes a sip, her voice shaking. Yoongi shakes his head in disappointment and clicks his tongue before his last statement. "This whole situation is wrong. From the start till the end. Now you two decide what you want and do it properly and maturely, yeah? Without trying to make it sound like you want to rip each other's skin out." Jimin looks up at his hyung and then at Miyeon who stands up quickly as she grabs her stuff. "There's nothing to talk about." She adds as she walks towards the door and leaves. Yoongi gives Jimin a death glare before he leaves too while Jimin sighs out in exhaustion with his palms covering his face. After a few seconds, he feels someone walk in and he looks at the doorway to see Taehyung leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't look happy or proud either. "You've done it now. What makes you think this is a good idea?" "Tae~" Jimin groans as he walks to his bed to lay down for a while and think it through. He avoids looking at his best friend who was still staring but sighs and confronts him again. "I'll talk to her." "It's not that ... and i don't think she would want to listen." "I know, but I'll take care of it." As everyone leaves the room, Jimin finally stares at the ceiling as he lets his thoughts take over and lets his mind wander off to Miyeon and - you.

~(Y/N)'s point of view~ You were done with your makeup and the shower at least one hour later after coming home from your classes. Today was a more relaxed day since one class had gotten canceled so you came home after lunch with Woosung because Ailee had to leave to celebrate her one month anniversary with Jongin. You were really happy for the two... after all the feelings they kept inside and how frustrating it was getting seeing Jongin stare at her lovingly, all by himself, they finally opened up and took the opportunity. You had told her and Woosung about going to Jimin's party and they both had to make lewd jokes about it. As if he'd do anything. What if he wasn't even interested in you that way? You shake your head out of thoughts and get back to getting ready. It was already 7.40pm so that meant Jimin would be here any moment. You had chosen a plain navy blue dress that hugged your upper body nice and tight, showing your curves and the shape of your waist but was less tighter waist down stopping just a bit above your knees. You looked good but you weren't feeling good. Not being used to these type of parties, you didn't know whether you should stick to dresses or just jeans with shirts. You stare at your reflection once you’re done and ponder over what your final decision would be. Was this okay? Should you change it - maybe you should. But as you turn to rummage through your clothes, the ringing of your phone startles you and you freak out when you see Jimin's name on it. He must be downstairs already; you had no time to change or anything so you grab your phone and a small purse before running out the door towards the stairs that led you downstairs to the entrance of the apartment building. Before opening the door to step out, you freeze to take a deep breath and relax your nerves then proceed to open the door to be greeted by Jimin, busy on his phone. As he hears the door open, his head shoots up to look at you and you watch his eyes widen a little. Once you get closer to him, his eyes look you up and down as a smile rests on his lips, making you blush at how he was eyeing you. "Does this look okay?" You ask nervously as you flatten the cloth and smooth it out for no reason. He doesn't respond right away so you try again. "It's a bit overboard, right? I'll change it." As you turn around to run upstairs, Jimin stops you by grabbing your wrist and he smiles contently while shaking his head. "You look really pretty. You don't have to change this." Your heart starts to crash against your chest as your mind only focuses on one thing, his hand around your wrist. You'd do anything to keep it there at this point. He breaks your thoughts when he lets go and speaks. "Let's go then." You clear your throat and walk behind him, watching him open the car door for you while a smile is still painted on his lips. Such a gentleman, you think to yourself while whispering a thank you to him. Once you're on the way to his dorm, you share conversation together and as you get close to his university, Jimin starts to tell you things about tonight so you don't feel uncomfortable. "... and most of the people, we don't even know them well." He laughs at that then his eyebrows raise when he remembers something. "Speaking of that, I'll introduce you to two or three of my friends, so in case you get lost or don't find me just go to one of them. Don't trust anyone else other than them." His tone was calm but really dominating and you smile shyly while you look at him. "You think I don't know how these parties go?" Jimin turns his focus from the road to you then reverts at the road and chuckles when he sees your amused face. "I'm just saying... it's not your college and if you feel uncomfortable or anything then you'll have people you know." He explains softly and your heart melts at how caring he was being and how soothing his tone was, especially at this atmosphere. By the time you reach the dorm, you could see how many people were there already. It was 8.15pm when you arrived and for some reason you did feel uneasy. Jimin was right. You really didn't feel in the right place and it was making you nervous. You feel a hand rest on the small of your back and turn to look at Jimin offer you a sweet smile, making your heart jump and skip a few beats at the contact. He pushes you lightly to make you walk towards the house that had music booming from inside while you look at the few people outside the house and prepare yourself for the inside of this lively place. When Jimin opens up the door, the first thing your senses pick up is the smell of alcohol and the loud music. They really knew how to throw a party. The lights were dim and you saw the colored party lights put here and there. There was even a small Dj corner and a group of people already dancing, you walk past the kitchen and the atmosphere there was a little less crowded and chill as people went to get drinks or food. Overall, the place was crowded with people already and some were drunk already too. It was the typical university party but since you weren't used to these things, you were starting to feel even more uncomfortable. You notice how some girls were eyeing you, maybe because of the fact that they knew you weren't a student here. Or maybe it was Jimin and how he was close to you, pushing away people to give space to you that had people give you stares. You jump up in surprise when he leans towards your ear to say something over the loud environment. "Let's go out to the backyard first." He suggests as his hand grabs your wrist again and he leads the way, making a clear path for you along the way. You were grateful for him at this point. When you two reach the backyard, the energy here was a bit different from inside. Students were playing games like, beer pong or jumping into the pool or just drinking. A group of guys grab your attention when they yell out Jimin's name and he walks towards them. He smiles at them smugly when you reach them and you smile shyly while bowing a little. "Here she is, (Y/N)," Jimin sings out and the 4 boys smile at you sweetly and it doesn't help calm your heart whatsoever. He points at one boy one by one as he says their names. "Okay so this is... Jungkook, Jin hyung, Hoseok hyung, and Taehyung... these are my friends and if you need anything and I'm not around, just let them know okay?" You nod hesitantly and smile at them all again. "Yoongi hyung... where's he?" "He's being the Dj we never asked for since he doesn't approve of all the songs we picked." The boy named Taehyung speaks before taking a sip from his red cup. "Would you like to drink anything?" The Jin dude speaks and you forget how to speak for a minute. He was mesmerizing. The plump lips and those pretty, glistening eyes of his and his blonde hair dropped down and stopping right over his eyebrows. He was just too pretty. He chuckles at your state and shakes his head. "I know, you've never seen anyone this handsome, have you?" You frown at his words confusingly and watch the others laugh as one of them hits Jin lightly. "I'm here if you need anything... we all are." "Thank you," you finally speak up and listen to the others talk about random things. You didn't know Jimin was gone for a while until he came back with two red cups, handing one to you. "I don't know if you want to drink right away so I brought you coke." You feel soft as he says that and smile at him thankfully. The four guys made you relax after a bit more chatting and told you who was the oldest and youngest and also gave you a small brief of what each of them do and major in. It was mostly business but they still did other things that weren't business related. You also found out that Jimin and the rest of them were all super rich kids who were probably the heirs of their fathers or grandfathers' businesses. But the person who caught your attention the most was Hoseok, he was a dancer and also owned an academy that he worked hard for. He was really nice and made you feel nice and comfortable. Telling you stories about one of them or Jimin, making sure you didn't need anything or if you were feeling okay. Jimin kept going and coming every now and then since a lot of people would want to talk to him about their issues but thanks to Taehyung and Hoseok, you didn't feel uncomfortable. Around 10pm, everyone went to have fun in their ways or flirting around. Jimin was with you, leaning against a pillar as the two of you bucked along with the beat of the music lightly. You hadn't drank a lot of alcohol but you were worried if Jimin was starting to get drunk. Or maybe he was just having fun. You were watching Hoseok and Taehyung dancing together until you feel Jimin drag you into the pool of people and he starts to dance too, encouraging you to join him. If you hadn't had some of the drinks from before, you would never agree but the adrenaline in you was begging to be released so you let the music control you. You feel his hands grab your waist and control your movements to sync with his as he gazes at you with his dark eyes and a smug smirk on his lips. Your heart beats harder than it was already beating as you look at his plump, red lips and lick your own before leaning in towards him. He rests his forehead against yours but before any of you could move one more step up, he moves back when Taehyung drags him outside, leaving you to dance alone but eventually you walk into the kitchen to grab something to drink. It was rude to just leave like that but maybe they had a reason since you saw them from the kitchen's window outside on the backyard with serious looks on their face. You bite the inside of his cheek since it was still not right to just leave midway like this. Jimin basically ditched you in the party since you didn't see him after that until you walk through the hallway to see him drunk and flirting with some other girl. Their faces were really close and he had her trapped between him and the wall and she had a small smile on her lips that made you sick and jealous. He also looked like he was too drunk to make sense of anything. You contemplated whether you should go to him or not and you decided to walk away to find someone to hang out with. You spent the rest of the time with Taehyung and Hoseok and they also had you meet Yoongi too. He was pretty - just like all of them. He seemed mature and kind of intimidating with a look of pure disinterest, though he did look like he was having fun when he was controlling the music. You talked or just listened to them talk but your mind was elsewhere. The thought of Jimin with that girl was too much and you couldn't handle that. He invited you here to spend time together yet he left and found someone else to have fun around and that hurt you. You weren't going to wait for him to appear again. This wasn't right to you and sure you just met him and he must be well known here or maybe he had reasons but you weren't going to stay in this party and be sad when he doesn't come. It was almost midnight when you had decided to leave without a word. But once you walk out the house, a familiar voice speaks out, making you turn your head. "Leaving already?" It was Yoongi. He didn't seem drunk or anything. Did he not drink? He was leaning against the wall but pushes himself off it to walk towards you. "Uh... yeah. I'm tired." You reply nonchalantly but don't look at him. "I'll drop you home," Yoongi says and walks towards one of the parked cars outside the garage. "Aren't you drunk? It's illegal to drink and drive." You say that to try and turn down his offer but he wasn't taking no as an answer when he opens the door and sits in so you just sat in the car. You did need a ride home and Jimin said you could trust his friends. "I don't drink a lot and... I didn't drink tonight." He comments when you relax into the seat. The car ride was mostly silent after you had explained your address to Yoongi. He played music but kept the volume really low and kept his gaze on the road. Neither of you say anything but then Yoongi breaks the silence, making you turn your gaze and attention to him. "A right from here?" He asks for reassurance and you nod, whispering a yes. He hums lowly and clears his throat before continuing. "Umm... I apologize for how Jimin acted earlier. He usually doesn't get drunk that quickly." "It's okay," you say and try to continue but he speaks again. "No it's not okay. He shouldn't have done that but... if you're mad then I hope you forgive him. He had a fight with one of his friend in the morning today. She's a close friend and it got serious and she left without resolving so maybe..." Yoongi drifts off and lets his words fade away when he notices you staring at him. "Look. All I'm saying is that, he isn't always like this... he wasn't like this," he rephrases his words and tries to explain as you continue with your stare. You frown at his last sentence and start to ponder at what he really meant but instead of asking about that, you ask a stupid question. "Were they dating?" "What?" Yoongi's eyes widen and he looks at you before turning his focus back on the road. "The friend he fought with... were they dating?" "Uh... no... not that I know of. She's a close friend to all of us so I don't know," he states but you could have sworn you heard his voice shake. The rest of the ride was silent. You were too annoyed and kind of hurt to speak more. Yoongi had dropped you off and drove back to the party after saying that he'll let Jimin know. You only nodded to that then thanked him for the ride home and went inside. All of this, all of this makeup and the worry of the outfit turned out to be useless and for nothing. Of course you weren't looking for something drastic or different to happen but somewhere deep down you wished you did experience something more than just... this. It had been a week since the party. You hadn't met Jimin or talked to him as of that. He did message you the day after the party, apologizing for the most part and saying the same thing as Yoongi had said but then that was it. He disappeared. Again. You figured he likes doing that since he has done that more than once now. The good side of you always ended up with creating excuses for him... maybe he was busy, maybe he had some issues that were personal, maybe he was studying. It could be anything. But something in you always told you to be careful even though you had ignored that voice before. But for some reason, you wanted to meet Jimin, hang out with him, get to know him. You just missed him. And that moment the two of you had shared in the dance area that night, you kept going back to that memory even though it would get ruined by the image of him flirting with another girl. You were in finals week now. Tomorrow was your last exam so you had packed your bag to go to your parents house for a few days after your exam is done. You were currently at work, you requested your manager to let you work earlier so you have time to study later on and not stress over it. Standing behind the register was your task today... it was as boring as ever since not many people were coming in here at this time. You had at least 20 minutes left to go and you were getting exhausted but thankfully your shift was almost over. You were busy flipping pages on your notebook when you hear the shop door open up and a guy walks in with a little girl. You welcome them politely and watch them go through the displayed clothing items. The two were busy talking to your co-worker as she was helping them out with their process and you just stand there, waiting for them to come up with their things. The door opening gets your attention again and you look at the guy that walks in and your heart drops for some reason. He was wearing a black cap and a mask and the only colors you saw on him were the little ends of his pink hair sticking out from beneath his cap and his olive green jacket, other than that he was in full black. His head turns to your direction but then he looks away quickly and walks further into the store. Something in you starts to make you a little uncomfortable. You keep an eye on his figure as a precaution but your attention gets taken away when the first customers come up to the counter. You smile at the father and daughter and explain the process to them if they want to return or exchange after giving them the change. Your eyes skim over the store once they leave and you notice how that guy was staring at you too. The blood flow in you becomes rapid and you suddenly grab your phone without making it obvious... the situation just seemed suspicious. You try to act calm and normal when he approaches the counter and smile at him softly. "Welcome Sir, how can I help you?" You ask as you straighten up. When you see his eyes up close, he just seems familiar but you don't focus on that too much until he pulls down his mask. Your body turns cold right away when he smiles at you sweetly. He stands there with an apologetic look and a sweet smile at the same time. You put on your "tough" face and look away to fiddle with something else. "What is it Jimin?" You ask in a serious tone without looking up again. "I came here to apologize for how I behaved that day at the party. I shouldn't have ditched you or ignor-" "I am at work now Jimin. I can't talk about this here." You watch his expression change in a matter of seconds and it causes your heart to drop even deeper down. Of course you were mad at him and you were going to show it but... you were scared that he'll leave and disappear again if you act cold. "When do you get off work? I'll take you home." You stare at him blankly, disbelief written all over your face. He wasn't asking, he was stating it. You knew you had no time to refuse or argue so you tell him to wait somewhere outside, letting him know that you'll be done soon. Jimin was sitting at the bench near the store you work at. He was busy with his phone when you step outside and he doesn’t notice until you clear your throat to inform him of your presence. He shoves his phone into his pocket and smiles at you. "Did you eat anything? Let's go get something to eat," he suggests but you refuse him quickly. "No... Jimin, I have an exam tomorrow and I need to study for it." He stares at you for a few seconds before speaking. "I do too. But let's eat before I take you home, okay?" You just nod and follow him towards the food court since you knew you had no other options. The two of you ate together and Jimin even apologized a lot for what he had done the last time you had went to the party. From the information you gained by listening to his side was that the girl was someone he had known for a while and she thought he had some sort of feelings towards him. The other thing he had used to his defense was that he was very drunk that night due to some issues he wanted to forget. And that had you remember what that Yoongi guy had told you that night too so you stare at Jimin and nod at him before speaking. “Your friend Yoongi told me that you had a huge fight that day,” you say as you take a sip of your drink. “Yeah, she’s someone I really care about. And when we fought, she stormed out without really talking it out with me.” You were staring at him speak and get lost in your thoughts for bit. Trying to read his expression, you realize later that you were staring too much so you clear your throat and look down at your drink. You knew he was staring at you too but by the time you look back, his eyes were at his plate. “Did you guys make up now?” You ask to make things less awkward and he shakes his head no before continuing. “I texted her to tell her that I want to see her but she ignored it. Seenzoned me.” He chuckles it out and you notice how his smile actually disappeared after he looked down. He must be really sad about it. You stare at him for a bit trying to figure out why did that girl mean so much to him. Yoongi has given you a brief explanation of her being a close friend but you knew there might be something else. Jimin’s expression made it look like it had to be something more. You were about to ask something else but he beats you to it first. “Anyways, when is your final tomorrow?” “Ah... it’s at 10.30am.” He nods at your reply and continues. “So it’s a bit earlier than mine,” you frown at his statement and wait for him to continue. “I was thinking... maybe we can hang out together tomorrow?” Your body turns cold at his words for some reason and you stare at him for a bit, thinking if you wanted to be petty or just be straightforward. “I’m going to visit my parents tomorrow after I’m done...” You tell him and watch him nod in understanding, disappointment written on his face once again. The two of you eat in silence for a while but then Jimin starts conversations little by little and it gets less awkward for you and you forget about the last time you two had went out together. Once you were done, Jimin offers to take you home and you knew he wasn’t taking no as an answer. The car ride was as casual and relaxing as the meal you had with him. He was so different and nice today and you found yourself staring at him often. Everything about him seemed more welcoming this time, his energy and the attention he put on you, it all felt so nice and welcoming. Once you had reached your place, you didn’t get out the car immediately. The two of you stare ahead, neither of you saying anything for a while. You look at Jimin and your body turns cold when you catch him staring at you already. He doesn’t look away even when you catch him staring. The blood rushes to your cheeks quickly and you feel your face turn warm gradually. You clear your throat before speaking. “Umm... thank you for dropping me home, Jimin.” You thank him nicely as your hand tries to unlock the door, making an escape from his gaze. “No problem,” he smiles sweetly. You give him a smile back and turn your head afterwards to look for the darn door handle since your hazy mind wasn’t helping you. Your body freezes when you feel his hand wrap around your free wrist all of a sudden as he says your name in a low voice. You look at him with a confused face and a hint of surprise. “Yes?” You ask when he didn’t continue. “I was thinking... actually, I wanted to ask when you’re going to go to your parents tomorrow.” “Umm... maybe around 3pm I think. I didn’t pack yet so I’ll probably pack tomor-“ “I want to take you there.” Jimin interrupts you and it takes a while for you to comprehend what he had just said. When Jimin realizes the shocked expression on your face, he adds more to it, letting you know that you have a choice. “If that is okay with you.” “It’s okay with me but-“ you say almost suddenly, your mind noting the embarrassment you felt right when you said. Once that embarrassment grows, your words fade away and your eyes find comfort in how his hand was wrapped around your wrist. You fall silent. You didn’t know how long you two had stayed quiet for but it did feel long for you when Jimin finally asked. “But?” His face tilted a bit so he could see your face. When you look at him, your eyes meet for a long time and you could feel your heart beat faster and your pulse run faster too. “My parents... they wouldn’t really...” you were lost in his eyes by this point. The confused error mode you were in made him look at you in amusement as you tried to get words out. “It’d be really nice but it’s just... my parents...” “Well, isn’t it too early for parents to meet me?” You see his lips stretch into a small cheeky smile as your body and mind freeze at his words and you stare at him with wide eyes. He breaks into a small laugh once he realizes you were really shocked by his words. You didn’t comprehend his statement well since your mind was bringing up a lot of reasons and scenarios and possibilities. Jimin must’ve noticed the confusion so he smiled after a while and continued, “I’m just saying I’ll take you there... we don’t have to meet your parents if they won’t be okay with it.” He asks for your answer and you look at him for a while as your mind comes with a proper way. Your mouth opens to reply to him and a smile is dying to stretch your lips while you answer. The next day. You walk out the class after the exam hours are over, Woosung following you after with a exhausted sigh. He wraps his arm around your shoulder and you both share a tired smile. The two of you meet Ailee outside and she gives you guys pats on your backs with a huge smile. “You guys are donee~” she sings out while her hand keeps on smacking your shoulder. “Ugh... I think I got at least 10 questions wrong.” You stare at Woosung in surprise after he talks and while he looks in the distance, focusing on nothing. “Why?” He gives you a sarcastic expression as his eyebrow raises. “I don’t know... maybe I didn’t know it,” his tone was drowning in sarcasm and you smack him to stop his sarcastic attitude. “Well I tried to help you in studying but you’re not even focusing much lately,” you say and watch him walk towards an empty picnic bench. You lightly push him from the back in annoyance and give him a frustrated look. “You’re still not focusing.” Ailee smiles at you and walks in sync with you towards the bench as well. You fish out your phone from your bag and look through the notifications you got, trying to see if that one message came or not. A tiny smile emerges on your lips as you read Jimin’s message that he sent an hour ago saying that he’s still up for it to take you to your parents home. You feel Ailee’s and Woosung’s eyes on you and it makes you look up with a straight face as you clear your throat. You could hear their taunts in your head already and before you could stop them, Woosung suddenly speaks. “What’s so fun on your phone,” he asks but you could tell from his tone that he wasn’t expecting an answer so you wait for him to continue. “Did you pack yet? I haven’t.” “Ah... no not completely,” you say casually. You had to tell him that Jimin was taking you to your parents place this time. You and Woosung lived in the same neighborhood during high school when you both still lived with your parents and your parents were close too. There were a lot of times when he was the one who’d taken you to your parents house whenever you wanted to visit after you moved out for university. You could tell he wasn’t in the best mood today so that was making you nervous. You knew he would feel frustrated after hearing it right now. “Actually...” you open your mouth to speak and see them both stare at you, anticipating your words. It was making you even more nervous and you start to stutter. “Wait,” Ailee interrupts you and looks at you and Woosung back and forth. “You two are going together? What about Jimin?” You look at her in disappointment for bringing this up like that. You told Ailee last night after you went home how Jimin offered to take you to your parents house but you didn’t tell her about Woosung agreeing to take you too. The look on his face was scary enough right now too and it made you ten times more nervous than you already were. You give Ailee a “how dare you” smile with disbelief written all over your face. “What about him?” He asks and you knew you had to say it now before he loses his patience. A tired Woosung was not meant to be messed around with. “The thing is,” you shift in your seat as you speak and move a little close to Woosung even though he was across the table. “He... ummm... he told me he’d take me... to my parents’ place.” You study his expressions, eyebrows frowning in confusion then his eyes shifting and his jaw clenching. He doesn’t say anything so you just ask something. “Are you mad?” “Yes. I am,” the tone of his voice was no joke either and it gave you chills down your spine and you could tell Ailee had felt it too. Before either of you could speak, he continues. “Why is he taking you and why did you even agree to him taking you there?” “Woosung, she likes him. That’s why.” You could tell Ailee was on defensive mode now too and you silently wished these two wouldn’t argue. “Okay. And? (Y/N), you just recently met the guy. Spent a couple days with him only and he even ghosted you a few times. How dumb can you be right now?” You were now annoyed too. Sure, Jimin has ignored you before and it hurt you but he was still responsible enough to own up to his mistake and make it better. “What does it have to do with anything, man?” You ask him in annoyance and frustration. “Look. I know we both agreed to going there together but this is one of the few chances I’ll get to meet Jimin. I don’t want to waste the-“ “You’re not wasting anything but yourself,” he interrupts you quickly. “Excuse me?” You scoff at Woosung’s words and you could tell he kind of regretted it too but that didn’t stop him. “Come on, the dude has fuckboy written all over him. You don’t see it?” “Yeah well you can’t just judge someone. Besides you haven’t even met the guy, you only saw pictures and heard stories,” you retaliate. “And those were enough for me to realize what kind of a dude he is,” Woosung makes his last point and stares at you with an upset expression. Almost as if he was disappointed in you. “You’re so blinded by his looks and his flirtatious manner. You don’t even see why he’s trying so hard.” “Oh wow. Thanks Mr. I Can Read Through People. I really needed to hear that,” you mock him sarcastically. He opens his mouth to argue back but just lets out a defeated sigh and looks away. “I can’t believe you. I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he gets up with a sulky expression and grabs his bag. “Reach home safely you two.” You and Ailee watch him walk away with disbelief painted onto your faces. You were confused to why he was even mad at you for this, it was understandable at some extent but then he was yelling at you for something you wanted to do. This wasn’t like Woosung at all. He words left a tightening feeling in your chest and a lump created in your throat. You were hurt. You give Ailee a confused look and she speaks up, “Don’t worry about it. Just go with Jimin. I’ll talk to Woosung,” she tries to calm you down since it was clear you were now worried and hurt. “You’re not even close to each other to talk about these things,” you leave a remark as you get up as well. “I have to go pack. I’ll see you after a couple days. Have a good break.” “You too,” Ailee smiles back at you and squeezes your hand as a gesture to let you know she’s here. You manage to smile back at her and walk away. By the time you showered, got ready, and packed up your bag, Jimin was out the minute you finished up with everything and pinged his message to your phone. You look back at your apartment to make sure you weren’t forgetting anything for the week that you’re going to spend with your parents. Your parents were usually very strict with you during your high school days and the first year of university. It was Ailee and Woosung that helped you in convincing your parents to let you move out since it was a big hassle to commute for 4 hours back and forth everyday. You couldn’t live with Ailee since her apartment building had no vacancies back then so you choose a place near her and as for Woosung, he lives really close to the campus and there was no way you were going to risk asking your parents if you and him live together, even thought he’s literally the only guy friend you have that your parents are okay with. You two did grow up together and are really close. Your mind reminded you of your argument with Woosung earlier, causing you to take out your phone from your pocket to see if he sent anything. He didn’t. You were very hurt and also worried as your parents might get suspicious to how you got there and using the bus was a big no no to them as well. You couldn’t lie either since your parents and his parents would make a mini gathering welcoming the two of you for the visit. You bite the inside of your cheek as you make your way out of your apartment to go to Jimin. You were happy to spend time with him but this whole Woosung issue was eating you up right now. Jimin looks beautiful, as usual, in his blue jeans and his black turtle neck, sleeves rolled up too. It made your heart jump for some reason and you think to yourself, “how can someone be this good looking in such simple attire?” You must’ve looked concerned since the minute you stand in front of him, his smile disappears and he tilts his head trying to study your expression. “What’s wrong?” He asks you, causing you to feel your blood rush inside you for some reason. You contemplate whether you want to tell him or not because at this very moment, you really needed a hug and Jimin looks welcoming - too welcoming actually. “Oh, umm...” you start off and almost tell him nothing but something in you tells you to be honest about it. “I had a fight with one of my best friend, Woosung. And he stormed off without saying anything.” “Oh. I’m sorry about that,” Jimin replies honestly and you can tell he’s worried about you more than Woosung or the fight. “Are you okay?” He asks as he steps closer to you and you shake your head lightly as you recall the argument. “I just want a hug right now.” You state your want and without thinking, Jimin wraps his arms around you body and pulls you into a hug. Your eyes widen as you were clearly shocked by the sudden contact but you can’t help but take in his warmth and his “manly” scent. He smells very comfortable for some reason somewhat a mix of eucalyptus and spearmint which makes you wraps your arms around his waist as you squish into his warmth and hold. You two stay like this for a minute or so and he pulls back with a smile and takes your mini suitcase with your stuff in it from your side to put it in the car as he opens the door for you. You thank him in a low voice and give him a small smile as you sit in the car and watch him walk over to his side of the car. He sits comfortably and runs his hand through his hair before sighing lightly and looking your way. You look at him too, waiting for him to say something. “You can talk to me about the argument if you want. If it makes you feel any better,” he tells you as he starts lowers the temperature of the air conditioner. You look down at your hands and think about it for a while. He might give you a bad reaction once he finds out why Woosung even stormed off and you were somehow worried. You bring up the courage to tell him but you make it quick and short and after you’re done telling him, you notice a different look on his face and you’re worried you pissed him off. You bite your lower lip as you wait for him to say something. A part of you wishes you hadn’t even agreed to him taking you to your parents house... what were you even thinking. He clears his throat and looks at you with a sweet smile once again and says. “Well, I don’t know what to say to be honest,” he says calmly. “I can understand why your friend would be mad but I’m also glad you made your own choice. And umm...” he pauses for a bit, taking your hand into his and looks at you. You stare at him too and your cheeks turn warm the minute a thought pops into your head. You even forget that he didn’t even finish his sentence. “I’m glad you chose me.” He says with his soft voice as he stares into your eyes. You could feel the blood rushing through your entire body and you could feel him coming close, or was it you leaning towards him. It was silent in the car for a bit and neither of you broke the eye contact until the sudden ringing of Jimin’s phone gives you a jump scare which you laugh it off. Jimin clears his throat and lets go of your hand, making you miss the warmth right away. He runs a hand through his hair and starts the car before answering his phone. He was talking to Taehyung and it sounded like he had to cancel something to be here and it made you feel a bit bad. Jimin tells you it’s nothing to worry about and that he can hang out with his friends any other time too after the call had ended. The car ride was actually really fun. The two of you got to know more about each other. Your hobbies and the friends you have and how many siblings he has. One brother. His friends were a lot but according to him, his circle is the one you had met back then at the party. You told him about Woosung and you talked about how Jongin became close to you and Ailee too. You also found out that Jimin had a very strict father but his mother seemed adorable. He talked about a huge fight that happened between some of his friends too which caused one of them to cut ties with most of them. He didn’t go into details but either way to you, it seemed like Jimin still cared for that Namjoon friend of his. You were all-ears to his stories and it was just natural how the two of you were talking so peacefully and it wasn’t awkward at all. The ride itself was peaceful and really fun. It was a great relaxing moment for you to spend time with Jimin with you two being alone for so long like this. By the time you reached the town, you started to worry how you will tell your parents you got here with Jimin. They might end up killing you for going out with a guy they don’t know anything about. And it won’t work lying that you came with Woosung since you didn’t know if he is still on the way or if he already is there. Your mums would probably have a gathering at night once they see you. You were wondering what to do when a chime comes from your phone, bringing you out of your thoughts. It was from Woosung. “Woosung said to meet him at a bus stop near my house so I think that’s where you should drop me,” you say to Jimin who had his ears perked and his eyebrows raised. He only nodded so you decided to guide him through the streets until you reach the bus stop. Woosung was already there when you reached. He was sitting with a kid and they were both smiling while the mother was on her phone. It somehow made your heart flutter and you ended up smiling too. You turn to thank Jimin and wish him a good vacation but he suddenly suggests that he will drop you both to your houses since it’s be better. You get out the car to greet Woosung who greets you back but his smile drops when he sees Jimin come out the car too. “Thank you for bringing her safely,” Woosung says out of the blue. “We’ll be heading our way now.” “I suggested to (Y/N) that I will drop you both to your homes. It’s across each other anyways.” Jimin says coldly and you already sense the tension between the two. When you saw how Woosung reacted earlier, it was clear that he didn’t like Jimin. But you never realized that Jimin doesn’t fancy your best friend either. Maybe it was because of what happened and that you told Jimin what Woosung said about him that might give Jimin the wrong idea. You were silently panicking inside, trying to figure out what to do now. The two of them were quiet and you felt it, the tension this silence was bringing. Before you could even say anything and before Woosung could reject the offer, Jimin smiles and tells him to get in as he grabs his backpack. Woosung takes it from Jimin’s hand and walks after you. You could tell he wasn’t happy about it but he didn’t argue either. He ends up suggesting that you sit in the back seat for now and you knew it wasn’t going to get you anywhere if you disagree right now so you silently obliged to his suggestion. You saw Jimin’s “fake” smile and the small frown his eyebrows were falling into but he didn’t say anything. The three of you buckle up and the car starts to move towards your street. Looking out, you end up remembering the memories you had here when you used to live here. The times you and Woosung would walk home from the bus stop and the shops you’d stop by at to get snacks. Those were some great times in your mind and you hoped they were great times in his mind too. He was a really special friend of yours and you didn’t want to think of life without him in it. Woosung’s voice brings you out of your memory lane and you look at the back of his head as he tries to converse with Jimin. “I didn’t think you’d be a guy with pink hair,” he jokes sarcastically and Jimin lets out a small snicker and chuckle before answering. “I just wanted to try something new,” he says softly while his eyes were on the road. Your heart flutters at his voice for some reason and you sit and stare at him in awe with how gentle he seems and how good he looks doing the most minimal things. “I see,” Woosung says, making you come out of your thoughts. “I have always wanted to dye my hair light red or burgundy red.” “Oh really? You should,” Jimin adds, “but I hope you choose well because not everyone can pull off colors like that.” And you could see the way Woosung scoffs and speaks. “Yeah, I know.” You didn’t understand whether they were genuinely having a conversation or were they subtly throwing shade at one another. Either way, you were being completely ignored even after you tell Jimin to take the upcoming turn which he misses. The two of them were just “talking” and the car passed the turn and you just sit and wait for them to stop. “Umm guys,” you say after they both become quiet. “Yeah?” They say in unison. “We passed the turn,” you tell them and Jimin lets out a small “oops” then Woosung asks why you didn’t mention before and you scoff at him. “You were sitting in the front!! You should’ve seen it tooo,” you complain. “Plus you two were so busy talking that when I did say it, I got ignored.” “My apologies,” Jimin says in his calm voice as he turns the car to take a u-turn. “I was so engrossed talking to my new friend.” He adds and you could tell the sarcasm in his tone. “Why, me too,” Woosung retaliates sarcastically with a smile that you just couldn’t figure out. You could tell the atmosphere wasn’t good and you sat and beat yourself up in your head for thinking it’d be a good idea for the three of you to be in one place. Especially on this specific day. You were relieved when Jimin stopped his car two houses away from your house since you didn’t have to worry about what will happen of these two spent two more minutes around each other. Woosung was getting the bags out and Jimin just stood there smiling at you while you smiled back at him. You thank Jimin for bringing you here safely and ask him what will he do now. “Well,” he says while looking around. “I saw a motel around here so I will stay the night there and drive back tomorrow.” “That’s good. I should text you the good places in the town then!” You exclaim rather excitedly and it causes Jimin to smile at you. The kind of smile that makes your stomach melt and your heart skip beats. The kind that gets you lost in those few seconds making it feel like a long time had passed. “Yes, thank you for dropping us,” Woosung interrupts and clears his throat. He lightly pushes you forward to keep you walking and reminds you where you were. He turns and thanks Jimin for bringing you safely too and you smile at how his nice side is always there no matter what. He starts to walk towards you but then turns around and says something to Jimin and they both nod. Unfortunately, you couldn’t hear the words that were exchanged that moment but they seemed less tense then so you guessed it’d be a good thing. Once Woosung comes up to you and gestures you to keep walking, you decide to ask him what it was that him and Jimin said but he just shook his head and said “nothing special”. The rest of the evening was pretty much the same as always when you and Woosung would visit your homes during break. His house was just on the opposite side of your house so his family would bring in food to your house or yours would go over to their house. Today, it was your family that were hosting. Dinner was good as always. Your father was a chef and his food and cooking were just delightful and homely. Everyone was talking and chatting about each other or asking you and Woosung of life in the city. You were relaxed when no one asked how you got here because had someone mentioned it, you knew you’d get nervous. Your parents never really approved of you meeting up with guys they didn’t know. Or any guy as a matter of fact. But Woosung had always been an exception. Sure in the first years of your friendship, there were many incidents that must’ve been hell for Woosung but with time, your parents just seemed much more relaxed when they knew he was around. After everyone had settled and eaten, everyone was busy with their own thing. Your parents’ were drinking wine and talking about God knows what and you decided to walk out to the back yard. You were actually thinking of Jimin and if he got to a hotel safely and if he ate or not. You were wondering about him when you hear the back door slide open and Woosung smiles as he joins you sitting on the porch. There was an awkward silence since you two hadn’t talked about what happened earlier at the university today. You still didn’t know why Woosung reacted the way he did. He seems like he’s feeling better right now but you really weren’t sure at this moment. This was the first time he snapped and reacted this way towards a guy who was talking to you. To be honest, you were quite taken back and confused by it but of course he has his reasons so you wait until he feels comfortable enough to tell you. Which by the looks of the vibes meant that he was going to say something, maybe he didn’t know how to start or what to say. “Is everything okay?” You ask, deciding to help him form words and start the conversation he so desperately wants to have. “Oh - uh - yeah,” Woosung stutters and clears his throat. “It’s just... I wanted to apologize about how I behaved earlier.” He wasn’t looking at you but at the grass and the wooden steps that you two were seated on. “Earlier as in?” You ask trying to clear out which earlier he meant. Did he mean the morning at your campus or when him and Jimin were sharing the sarcastic and unpleasant remarks back and forth? You wait for him to reply but he seems like he was really having a hard time getting his thoughts right. You had never seen Woosung this way before and it made you wonder if he really was alright or not. “Woosung?” You add, genuinely worried now with how he seemed. The puzzled and confused expression he had and the uneasy and uncertain look in his brown eyes was not something you were used to. Despite knowing each other for so long, this was the first time he seemed the way he seemed tonight. He looks at you and smiles softly before continuing. “The things I said earlier about Jimin and you back at uni,” he starts. “And also how I got mad at you.” “It’s okay,” you reply but he interrupts quickly. “No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have said the things I said. Yes that’s what my opinion still is but I’m sure you know how to handle your life and I shouldn’t have interfered with your life like that.” You frown at his words, not really knowing how to react or say to that. He still seems like he doesn’t fancy you being around Jimin and just couldn’t understand his quick judgment. Usually he would try to hang out and talk about it with you but why was he so annoyed at Jimin specifically, you had no idea. Woosung looks at you and smiles once again before saying. “I’m just worried about you.” And with that, he gets up and walks back into the house. You sit there bewildered with his energy and his words, wondering what was going on with him for him to behave this way. Yes he is awkward at many cases and he sometimes finds it hard to express how he feels and all. But this just overall seems like a whole different scenario to you. This wasn’t how you’d usually expect Woosung to act like. Was he still mad at you? Were you supposed to apologize to him too? You didn’t even know. A ping from your phone pulls you out of your thoughts and a smile forms on your face when you see Jimin’s name. He had texted to ask you if you ate and you two sent texts back and forth until it was time to sleep. By 11pm, your parents had already fallen into their sleep and you were still awake. Jimin texted you after a while suddenly and his text made you blush but also nervously excited. Jimin [11.15pm]: Can we meet now for a bit? You weren’t sure why he wanted to meet so suddenly but you sure didn’t mind at all. Your parents wouldn’t mind you leaving the house either since you would usually walk out the house or go for a walk whenever you visited so it wasn’t something abnormal. But you had to make sure they don’t know about Jimin and you had to make sure no one in the neighborhood or town would see you two together. There was a hiking track near your neighborhood and you decide that’s where you and Jimin could go. It would probably be empty... plus there was a spot you had which had the view of the town from there. You text Jimin back and ask him to stop next to the house he stopped at before while you go and put on some tights and a hoodie since it’d probably be breezy out. Your heart skips a beat when you see his reply that he had sent right away after you suggest where he should stop. Jimin [11.20pm]: already been waiting there *wink* How long had he been there? You smile sheepishly and tell him you’re walking towards there now. You spot his car and notice his eyes on you as there was a smile plastered on his face too. He sings out a sweet hello when you sit in the car and leans in for a hug. You were taken back by the hug but you hug back with just as much enthusiasm as he was hugging you. He smelled really nice too. His hug was cozy and warm and you could tell your heart will yearn for this comfort in the future too. Once the hug was broken, you see how he had his hair slicked back and wow did he look stunning. Your mind wished he’d kiss you and you instantly blush at the thought and look ahead, clearing your throat. He asks you where you should go and you suggest the “secret” place and he chuckles lightly at your choice of word and lets out an “oooh” teasingly. Looking in the back of the car, you notice he already had got some drinks and snacks as well which causes relief in your mind that you won’t have to go through the town and risk being seen with Jimin. Once you reach the spot, Jimin turns off the car and reaches back to grab the bag of snacks and drinks which makes you notice his features close up and the shape of his neck and jawline. Your mind was busy coming up with sinister thoughts that were too inappropriate for younger ones. Jimin smirks lightly and it causes you to blush and look away quickly. He probably knows what you were thinking about judging from his cocky smile. When the two of you close the car doors, you finally remember the peace this place brought you. The cool breeze and the distant noises of people or critters. The way the night wrapped the town and the way the stars shine. It always brought you a kind of peace you never found anywhere else. This specific spot right here held so many memories as well and it was a place to unwind and release all the thoughts or stress too. You just loved it here. You watch Jimin walk towards the edge of the cliff and he looks around in awe, his eyes sparkling at the sight and he breathes out a “wow”, barely a whisper but you could hear it. A smile forms at his reaction and you walk next to him putting your hands in your pocket and speak. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” You ask and he nods silently. “Very,” Jimin adds while his head turns to look up at the stars. “I see the Big Dipper from here too!” He suddenly exclaims excitedly, pointing towards the sky and you laugh out while agreeing with his excitement. “Wow, I like this secret spot of yours.” He adds after a while. The two of you were quiet at first when you decided to sit on a long flat rock. You shared snacks and you drank cola while Jimin was drinking a can of beer. He loved beer apparently. He said it helps him relax after a long day to set his mind loose and ease himself. Out of the blue, you just suddenly started talking about your memories here. Memories from highschool, the day you first met Woosung and how the two of you got close. Your memories together and your friends. You opened up about your parents and how they are strict and how you can’t really confide in them when you have a hard time in life. Jimin listened throughout the entire time. He actually sat there and genuinely listened. Only speaking when he felt like he needed to make remarks or he’d laugh at a memory that was funny or cute. Unknowingly, you two got closer to each other as the night grew deeper and cooler. Jimin was only 2 inches away and he was leaning on one of his stretched arm which was stationed behind you while you were feeling cozy close to him. You were so busy talking and enjoying the view and time that when you turn to look at Jimin while laughing at a memory, you notice how his eyes were on you. His eyes were studying your features and he seemed determined to achiever what his mind was telling him. Your smile slowly fades away as you make eye contact and then your eyes fall to his plump lips and you feel him getting close... or maybe you were getting close to him. Your mind and body completely alert and nervous about what was going to happen. Nervous about all the thoughts you had, all the wishes and hopes you had to interact with him. Your eyes close the second your lips graze against each other.

______________________________________________________

Hope you all liked this! Part 2 will be coming out too!!

Leave a comment or ask or feedback! I will appreciate it :)

[kyber-crystal]

Always Close By

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Words: ~3.1k hehe kinda long

Summary: In which even the mightiest of superheroes aren’t immune to sickness, and when Steve falls ill, you end up babysitting him. 

Warnings: none, just steve being a big baby ahaha 

Sleep had never really come easily to you. Your insomnia had been a consistent issue since before you first joined the Avengers, so days like these in which you mindlessly wandered around the compound downing two or three cups of coffee and eating granola bars weren't uncommon.

You hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night yet for some reason, weren't feeling drowsy like you usually did when you stayed up. This time Sam and Bucky were also awake with you, and the three of you switched between playing Mario Kart and Animal Crossing to kill time.

One by one the rest of the team began to wake up and you and Wanda decided to start preparing breakfast. After everyone had finished eating you'd noticed Steve still hadn't come out, and decided to go check up on him.

"Steve?" you knocked carefully on his bedroom door as to not disturb him. "It's time for breakfast."

You didn't get a proper reply but heard a light groan in response, deciding to go inside after several more attempts.

He was buried under his covers, forehead glistening with a cold sweat and his dirty-blonde hair disheveled. When he looked up to meet your gaze you noticed his cheeks were flushed a bright red from heat, and were immediately concerned at the sight.

"Hey," you said softly, carefully approaching him. "You okay?"

Steve just shivered and shook his head.

"What happened?"

"Don't know."

You brought a palm up to his forehead and were alarmed by how hot it felt, hissing at his feverishness as you pulled your hand back. "You're burning up."

"I'll be fine, don't worry," he chuckled, but his laugh turned into a coughing fit. "I'm, just, fine."

"You're coming down with a fever," you stated. "I thought you couldn't get sick."

"Apparently, I can," he coughed, "But it's just a simple flu. I'll be back to normal before you know it. We have our weekly sparring showdown tonight, right? I can't miss out on that."

Despite the calm tone in his voice, you still weren't convinced. The thermometer read a whopping 105.6 degrees and from what you knew, that meant you had to get medical help right away.

"No, you're not. Your body temperature is abnormally high. You're staying in bed," you ordered, then sighed. It was hard not to go soft at those puppy dog eyes, but you knew denying him from being able to do any strenuous physical activity was for the best.

"Can you please speak more quietly," Steve whispered, "I have a migraine."

"I'm sorry," you were quick to lower your voice, "hey...how did this even happen to you? Did you eat anything weird?"

"Food poisoning?"

"No, that can't be. We all ate takeout together for dinner last...shit, shawarma." Your eyes widened in realization. "Dammit, it is."

"Language," he said weakly.

"You're staying in bed for today, alright?" you gave him a stern look.

"I'm not completely disabled, I can stand. Just let me go get some breakfast and afterwards I'll come right back to bed."

"Fine."

You gripped his forearm to help him stand up and his arm immediately went around your waist. You weren't sure whether the heat radiating off him was from his fever or from the way he generally made you feel. Brushing the thought off, you helped him to the kitchen.

"Damn, Cap. What happened?" Sam raised a brow at his friend's appearance.

"I think Tony poisoned him," you shot the billionaire a death glare. "I knew something was up with that shawarma place."

"Then how come none of us are sick?" Tony questioned. "We all had the same thing."

"No, we didn't. Steve and I were the only ones who specifically ordered the chicken shawarma. You guys took kebabs."

"Then why aren't you sick?"

"I don't know."

Steve pulled up a chair to the kitchen island, immediately laying his head on the cool marble counter and closing his eyes.

"Hey, Cap, you think you can try and stomach this? You need to eat or your condition will get worse," Pepper urged as she pushed a plate of scrambled eggs and French toast towards the super-soldier. He pulled himself back up into a sitting position and took a bite out of his toast, but quickly set it down after a wave of nausea washed over his body and he bit back a gag.

He tried to stand up and stumbled, but you and Bruce were quick to catch him by his shoulders.

"Cap? Are you okay?" the scientist asked gently. "Steve."

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and grasping your waist tightly as he grew lightheaded, the world around him beginning to spin rapidly.

You lowered his head onto your lap as Wanda gave you a cold towel, and you pressed it to his sweaty forehead as you ran your other hand through his hair.

"We should get him back to his room, then I'll go get the treatments," Bruce explained as you tried to pull him back up, which was a lot harder than it seemed. "Then we'll figure it out from there."

"Jeez, how heavy are you," you said as you tried helping him to his feet. "I swear you're twice my weight..."

"172," he replied plainly.

"Feels a lot heavier than that. Thought you were at least 200 with all that broad muscle," you grunted as Bucky came forward to help you, and Steve slung his arms around both your shoulders.

Once you led him to his room, Steve lazily crawled back into bed and you pulled the covers over him. It didn't take long before he fell asleep, breathing steadier than before though it still sounded somewhat plugged.

“You sure you’re okay staying here with him?” Bucky raised an eyebrow at you. “If you’re tired too, I can step in if you want.”

“It’s fine, I can handle it. But thanks,” you yawned, waving him off. “Now go and...kick Sam’s ass in Mario Kart so I can face off against you later.”

“You got it,” he ruffled your hair before leaving the room. 

You pulled out your phone to check the time, and sighed. 9:17.

I know I had a workout video scheduled to be posted, guys, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to have it up today, you typed out a quick message to your Twitter. Steve’s sick and I’m having to take care of him. Hope you all understand <3

Almost immediately, the replies came flooding in. 

Awww we love a supportive teammate/gf

Couple goals uwu

Get better soon, Cap!

You smiled to yourself, setting your phone on Steve’s nightstand and running your hand through his hair again. He did look rather peaceful while asleep - and not to mention, flawless, with a face looking like it was sculpted by the Greek gods themselves. Times in which you saw him in a state like this were extremely rare, so you treasured every little moment you got. Between co-commanding missions with you, filing reports, and countless meetings with SHIELD officials (you let him doodle on your hand as he half-listened to the lectures), he was restless. 

You didn’t know when or how you fell asleep, but when you woke up streams of bright light were filtering in through the windows, the sun high in the sky. You groaned and pushed yourself out of bed, gently laying Steve’s head against his pillow before standing up and shuffling down the hall to the kitchen.

“What time is it?” you rubbed your eyes with your sweater’s sleeve. “How long was I out for?”

“1:45. You want lunch? You hardly ate in the morning,” Rhodey pushed a plate towards you. “You’ve been asleep for roughly four hours, Y/N.”

You pulled your phone out again - the weather outside was apparently a breezy 68 degrees. The fact that it wasn’t even hot outside, but Steve was sweating profusely, made you concerned. 

You let out a satisfied sigh as you bit into the sandwich (courtesy of Vision’s cooking), practically inhaling it in just a couple of bites. “Did any of you guys come down with symptoms...?”

“No, but you’ve been exposed so I’d advise that you take this,” Bruce handed you a small, blue pill. “It should keep you from catching Steve’s bug.”

You nodded and swallowed the pill down without even bothering to drink anything. “Alright.”

Just five minutes passed before your phone buzzed on the table. You were quick to answer, holding it up to your ear.

“Y/NNNN.”

“Steve? What do you need? Are you okay? When did you wake up?”

“A few minutes ago...I threw up and then went back to bed, but I couldn’t fall back asleep-”

“Oh, god. Hold on a second, I’ll be right there,” you promptly ended the call and got out of your seat, pushing the chair in before rushing down the hall to his room. 

The super-soldier was sitting up in bed when you arrived, sweat streaming down his forehead as he leaned against the headboard, cheeks flushed a bright red. “Y/N-”

“Hey hey hey, it’s okay, I’m here, what do you need? Water? Ice?”

“I feel horrible.”

You brought your hand up to his forehead again, and immediately jerked it away. “You’re still running a really high f...dammit, have you taken any medicine?”

“No...”

“Stay right here, I’ll go get some-”

“Don’t leave me,” he begged hoarsely as he reached out to grab your wrist. You felt a twinge in your chest at that damn pleading look in his eyes. “Please don’t leave me.”

You let out a sigh of defeat. “...I’ll have Bucky bring the medicine then, okay?”

“Mhmmm.”

It turned out, taking care of a sick super-soldier was a lot more difficult than it seemed. You initially thought that with the serum in his veins, that Steve couldn’t get sick - but for some reason it only amplified his symptoms. Damn that shawarma.

After alerting FRIDAY, Bucky appeared holding a glass of ice water in his metal hand and a small bottle of some medication in the other. 

“How ya feelin’, punk?” 

“Hey, jerk...” Steve said weakly, “Why is there two of you standing in front of me?”

“He’s getting worse, Y/N...” he looked genuinely worried, his gaze flickering between you and Steve. “...I gotta go now so I won’t get sick...but Y/N will take care of you. Got it?”

“Mhmm.”

As soon as Bucky left you popped open the bottle. “Hey. Drink this.”

“It smells disgusting,” Steve scrunched his nose up in distaste. 

“You need to  or you’ll only get worse. Now come on,” you urged. He turned his head away to avoid drinking the strong-smelling liquid. “Stop acting like such a big baby. For Odin’s sake, just drink it.”

“No.”

“Do you want to keep feeling like this?”

“No.”

“Then drink the medicine! It’s not that hard.”

“No.”

“Steven Grant Rogers,” you said sternly. “Drink. It. I’m not going to repeat myself again.”

Your sudden firm tone of voice took him by surprise. “Fiiiine.”

He took the bottle from your hands and tilted his head back, gulping it down within seconds. As soon as he finished he made a face. 

“There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“It was.”

You pulled your chair closer to his bedside, propping your hand on your chin as you observed him. “Still feeling nauseous?”

“Mhmmm.”

“If you throw up, you’re gonna have to take this all over again. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

“No..I don’t wike it.”

You chuckled lightly. “I know. It’s for your own good, you know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s wait for a bit, and if you’re feeling well enough, I can make some onion soup for you, okay? How does that sound?”

“Amazing. I love your soup. Why don’t you cook more often?”

“Just never really considered it,” you shrugged. 

Steve rubbed his eyes, subconsciously reaching over to grab your hand, his thumb gently brushing over your knuckles. You felt your breath hitch in your throat. He then lifted your hand up to his face and pressed your palm to his flushed cheek, leaning into your touch. 

You swallowed hard as you allowed yourself to stare again at his messy-haired, exhausted figure. Your chest ached. The things you were willing to do for him... god, you loved him so much...

“...Why are you staring?” he mumbled, glancing over to meet your worried eyes. “What’s that look on your face? Y/N...are you okay?”

You inhaled sharply. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

His brows furrowed together and he gave you a look that told you he didn’t believe what you said at all. “Sure you are.”

“I’m just worried about you.”

“You’re acting like these are my final moments and that I’m going to die soon. Stop worrying so much.”

“This is coming from the person who waited eight hours straight for me to undergo surgery after that Belarus case?”

“Uh huh.”

Several moments passed in silence before he spoke up again. “Thanks for taking care of me...I’m sorry for being a big baby. I didn’t want to burden you.”

“It’s alright,” you reassured him, “you’re not a burden at all.”

You ended up watching The Empire Strikes Back that afternoon, his head in your lap and you running your fingers through his soft hair. At one point in the movie he began to drift off, and you carefully slid yourself out of bed.

He stirred awake again, reaching for you. “Y/NNNN.”

“I’m gonna go make the soup for you. Rest up and if you’re feeling well enough, then shower and come out to the kitchen, okay?”

“Alright.”

“He doin’ better?” Rhodey raised an eyebrow at you. 

“Fever’s gone down a bit but the nausea’s still there,” you exhaled as you began grabbing the necessary ingredients, “hey, uh, Pietro, can you go down to the cellar and grab some white wine?”

The speedster nodded and in a flash, he had the bottle in his hands. “Here.”

“Thank you.”

“Where’s Cap right now?” Sam questioned.

You heard the water running and replied, “Taking a shower. He’s been sweating like the Amazon.”

With Pietro’s help and your additional powers, you finished up the soup that was supposed to take an hour in just twenty-five minutes. By the time you were setting the bowl along with some bread onto a plate, Steve was hobbling into the kitchen, hair wet and messy with a towel hung around his neck. The tight T-shirt he changed into showed off his toned figure, and you almost dropped your glass of water at the sight. 

His eyes immediately lit up upon seeing the food, and he leaned over to kiss your forehead. “I love you. You’re the best.”

“I know.” You winked and took a seat next to him. The team smirked at the flirty exchange.

Surprisingly enough, he had the entire thing finished under five minutes so that you had to give him a second serving, which he basically inhaled in two giant gulps. 

“You were hungry, huh.”

“After throwing up yesterday’s dinner, yeah.”

You shot Tony a pointed glare. “Thanks a lot, Stark.”

“I’m sorry!” he exclaimed, and held his phone up. “Look, I called them earlier while you were asleep and they gave us a full refund.”

“Fine. Apology accepted.”

Steve’s migraines started acting up again and you were forced to help him back into bed (with Bucky’s assistance, of course). After spending all day hovering over him, you fell asleep as well, a mere thirty seconds after he did.

...

When you came to the next morning, you felt an arm tighten around your waist and a sleepy groan coming from right next to you. You slowly opened your eyes and realized you were curled up against him with a hand resting against his chest, your legs intertwined together as he held you tightly to him. A breath of relief escaped your lips when his face no longer looked alarmingly pale and his cheeks weren’t bright red.

Steve woke up a few seconds later, giving you a sleepy smile as his grip around you tightened.

"Mornin', doll," he said in a husky voice that made you almost swoon. But then he too, realized what was going on and quickly snapped out of it. "What- oh my God, I’m sorry-”

“Are y’all fully dressed in there? Wanda made her famous French toast feast for breakfast so if you don’t get yo asses out here I’m eating your food!” Sam yelled as he pounded on the door. 

"Just a minute!” you shouted back in reply as you and Steve sprung apart, and swung your legs over the edge of the bed and grabbed a pair of clothes before heading to the bathroom to change. 

“What the hell, Y/N, you actually slept for sixteen consecutive hours? I’ve never seen you do that before?”

“Huh? What time is it?”

“8:07. And why are you wearing Steve’s shirt?”

“What do you mean? I’m not...” you trailed off on your sentence and looked down to see that you were in fact, wearing one of Steve’s shirts. “...Oh.”

“Did you two...”

“No!” 

“Cute,” you heard someone chuckle lowly from behind you and turned around to see a smirking Steve with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“So I see now that you’re okay, you’re acting all cocky again, hm?” you raised an eyebrow at the super-soldier. “Guess those meds finally wore off.”

He just chuckled in response and pulled him towards you, engulfing you in a tight, hug. 

“Let me go!” you squealed, squirming against his tight grip as the team watched in amusement. “I need to eat breakfast! Let me go!”

“Only if you say the words, sweetheart.”

“Let me go right this instant! I’m serious!” you began laughing uncontrollably. “Steve! Let me go!”

“Not until you say it.”

“Fine! I love you and you’re my favorite Avenger!” He released you from his arms and you brushed your shirt off. “There, happy?”

Steve laughed again, that same damn smirk on his face. “I didn’t know you could get flustered, Y/N.”

“I’m not flustered,” you muttered. 

“Your face is like a tomato!” Peter exclaimed. “You wouldn’t look like that if you weren’t. Mr. Stark, looks like I owe you twenty.”

“Peter, did you make a bet with Tony again?” You frowned. 

“Yep! We bet when we’d finally figure out you liked Cap and he bet within the next week, while I said three weeks.”

“Oh my god.”

[antwine69]

Beej X male reader who works in a funeral home 🥺😳

Holy moly this is such a cute concept 🥺🥺💞

Male!Reader

⚠️Warnings: Mentions of death, Beej being generally raunchy and kinda insentitive, mentions/of dead bodies, side-character death! ⚠️

----------

It had all started on an unusually cold day in Spring. You were in the Funeral Home, a morbid part-time job that you had to take just to get through the day. Though, it had its own "Dark Academia aesthetic" to it, so it wasn't a bad. Plus, you got more and more desensitized to death every day!

You waved goodbye to the family that had just come in here to arrange some things for their dead "Pop-Pop", as the kid they brought in had called him. Poor thing, it couldn't have been more than five years old. It probably didn't have much of a grasp of what had happened to "Pop-Pop". She didn't know he was dead, lying in the back, in a cold casket so they could bring him out in a car tomorrow, and stick him in the ground. You sat down in your swivel chair behind the counter, spinning slightly in it. The shop was quiet, nothing but the wind swooshing by outside and the constant ticking of the clock could be heard echoing through the establishment.

You sighed, deciding to go to the back to see if Margaret, your co-worker who was probably older than most of the bodies here, had left anything for you before she left. She usually did that, because she would always look at you and say "Young man! You need to get some meat on those bones! Let Nana Margie fix you up something!" You weren't even that thin. She was a delight, though. Her husband had passed away some time ago, and she came into this establishment crying, and came out with a job there. She was sort of everybody's grandmother. The thought that she might not have much time left made her so giving, you thought you might never meet a more generous person in your life.

You went into the employee kitchen, seeing a plate of cookies wrapped in plastic wrap, with a bright green sticky note on it.

"For you, Young Man! It's Friday! Enjoy yourself :)

-Nana

Ps. Could you check the rat trap in the back, my old knees don't seem to wanna listen when I wanna crouch down there! Thank you, darling <3"

You laughed a little, opening the plastic wrap and taking a cookie. You also pocketed the note, a tendency you had picked up after a while, so that one day you could make a scrap book for her. She deserved to know she was loved.

You took a bite of the cookie as you went to the back, or "The hall of Death" as you had so dearly nicknamed it. It was where you took the recently deads that were going to be transported to a grave the very next day. You nodded to them as you went along, jokingly addressing them by name. ``Mr. Gale. Mrs. Potts. Mr. Jones.`` You chuckled and crouched down once you got to the back of the room, checking the rat trap. No rats. Margaret's vision was the same, so you couldn't exactly blame her. ``Oh well, Margie, you can never be too sure.`` you said to yourself, giving a chuckle. You stood, about to turn around, when a little jingle sounded throughout the room. A chill ran down your spine as you realised what made the sound. There were bells tied to each of the dead person's feet. They were there to ensure that the dead people were actually dead, and jingled when the dead person moved. It was one of the sounds you would never want to hear in one of these establishments. Fuck.

You turned around, hearing a louder, almost insistent jingle. Mr. Liren in the middle of the room. You swallowed and carefully walked over, spotting a card on Mr. Liren's leg. The bell was jingling like crazy now, but the body wasn't moving. What the hell was going on? You carefully picked up the card, flipping it around. The backside was striped, and was clearly drawn very hastily in sharpie. The moment you stopped to examine the back, the room filled up with jingles. Every bell in the room gave off a symphony of disjointed jingles and some even fell off of the string. You flipped it back to the other side, seeing the text. A shabby drawing of what looked like a beetle, a glass of liquid, and an x3. ``Beetle... Water times three? What the fuck?`` the bells all crashed to the ground and seemingly jumped up and down on their own, jingling and clicking on the ground.

You scrambled your brain, fear getting to you. The water was coloured in. ``Beetle Soda?`` more aggressive jingling. ``fuck... Uh... Beetle.. Juice?`` the bells started jumping up and down rhythmically. 1,2,3. 1,2,3. You swallowed and took a breath. Whatever this was, it wanted you to say this phrase three times. What were you supposed to do? This couldn't just be some prank. It was way too... real. What would this entity do if you didn't oblige? You closed your eyes, clutching the card. ``Beetlejuice.... Beetlejuice.... Beetlejuice.`` The bells stopped. It was quiet. It seemed like the world had just froze. You opened your eyes, looking around. Nothing. Mabye this was a prank. ``What a load of bullsh-`` you were about to swear to yourself or go on a rant or something but it was cut short by the appearance of green smoke at your feet. Yikes.

Slowly, the blanket over Mr. Liren started rising. Somebody was there, and it wasn't Mr. Liren. The room was now almost hidden in thick, green smoke, and the blanket was floating about half a metre above Mr. Liren, clearly with a person under it. All you could do was stare and back up, backing into one of the other dead body tables, slipping on a bell and nearly falling. A cackle tore through the room and the sheet was thrown off and onto the floor in a flash of green light.

``Awe Yeah, Baby! The B-Man's back!`` a raspy voice shrieked, and the smoke parted as a man floated down toward you, grinning. ``Oh, Babes! You really do know how to keep a demon waiting! You're obedient, though, I like my men like that.`` he gave a wink, putting a finger under your chin, forcing you to meet his gaze. The demon was wearing a torn, old, black and white striped suit, his hair was an electric green and he looked as though, if he was standing, he'd be just a little taller than you. He must have noticed your confused and lightly flustered look, because he pulled back, letting his eyes rake over you very unsubtly.

``I see you're still confused... Don't worry, Sexy! I'll inform you!`` He yelled, snapping. A ghostly whistle was heard, and somewhere you could hear music that sounded like it should be best suited on a Haunted American Footbal Game. ``Ready! Alright! Let's rock! Hey! Don't look away! This demon's here to make your day! You need a friend? I'm here to help! I'm the B to the Double-E- J - F - Q - And Jesus, I cannot spell.`` he.... Was singing. To you. A weird demon guy was singing and dancing along to spooky Cheerleader music. As if on cue, Cheerleaders ran into the room, flailing their pompoms in your face. You coughed and pushed them away, their grinning faces sending you right back to high school. ``Hi! He's by your side! He-`` before they could do their weird cheer thing, you yelled. A yell you didn't think you had in you. ``Stop! Stop, please..`` the music dragged to a halt, and the cheerleaders looked at you, quite upset. You muttered a "sorry" and they walked off. The demon lowered himself to the floor, huffing.

``Can you please just tell me who you are? Without singing? Please?`` You asked, still trying to calm your nerves. The demon groaned, giving a toddler like stomp. ``Fine! You already said my name, you should know it! I'm a demon, and you summoned me, just like I wanted and now I'm tied to you and whatever.`` he replied, floating up and laying back in the air, crossing his legs and folding his arms behind his head. You already said his name? ``Wait... Beetlejuice! Your name is Beet-``

Beetlejuice audibly squeaked, rushing down and slamming a hand over your mouth. ``Don't say it! Ever! Bad things will happen!`` he yelled, keeping his hand on your mouth. He smelled like earth and rain that had just hit the warm summer pavement. There was also a distinct scent of dust and mold as he continued to invade your personal space. You frantically nodded and he slowly took his hand away.

``Wait, you're bound to me? What does that mean?`` you asked, moving away from him and picking up the Mr. Liren's sheet, gently putting it over him again. ``Well, it means only you can un-summon me! Duh. This is like, basic demon facts. Is this your first time working with a demon or something?`` he replied, a chuckle running through his voice. You shot him a glare, and he let out an "oh." floating down to the floor.

You sighed, looking at the time. It was closing time. ``We'll deal with this at home.`` you said, walking out of the back room, the striped demon shooting after you like an excited puppy. ``Oh man! You're takin' me home? At least take me on a date first! Ahaha!`` he said, laughing loudly. You just ignored him, turning off all the lights in the shop and putting on your jacket.

``C'mon demon, you have some explaining to do.``

----------

I couldn't help myself but write some headcannons, I just really love this concept a lot! Here they are!

•Beej loves that you work with the dead, and always asks you questions about dead people and is actually pretty vile to some of them

•You often have to tell him that he can't go around pretending to tickle dead people or try to "scare them awake".

•You have to tell him this way too often.

•He often greets people you can't see, and if actually remarkably respectful to them while you're around. He doesn't try to do anything as long as you glare at him, and he just bows slightly to the air and sometimes says things like "Follow the book" or "Draw a door."

•You like to think he's talking to the spirits of the dead people.

•One day you actually get confirmation on this, as, right after Margaret passes away, he comes to you and gives you some papers. His hair is streaked with blue and it's clear he's been crying. There are tear drop marks on the paper, but you can still see just fine what it is. In Beetlejuice's shabby handwriting, there is a recipe. "Nana Margie's cookies (For young men who need to grow)" and "Nana Margie's Chicken Soup (For young men who are sick)" You look at him and get nothing but a sniffle and a "She wanted you to have that. So she could help you grow." You've never hugged anybody so hard in your life. Those recipes are framed and hang in your kitchen. They're used more than you ever thought they would be.

•Slowly, you warm up to Beej. He's a gross, insensitive rat man. But he's your rat man.

Okay it's over now- I just thought this was really cute- So cute that I might make a part 2?? 👀👀

Mabye-

Alright! That's it for this time! Take care of yourself and remember to wash your hands! See y'all Spooky Cheerleaders in the Neitherworld! Peace out!

PS. Sorry for the horrid song lyrics, the regular ones didn't fit the situation, but I still wanted the gag there, so I had to improvise :')

[the-currian]

I am so excited and happy to present the debut writing project of me and my friends over at the A3! writers’ discord server! Since we’re all A3! content creators, it was probably inevitable that we do a collab ahaha. We’re here to bring you summer vacation vibes, courtesy of the Spring Troupe! My assigned member was Sakuya~ Please do check out the works of my fellow content creators and show them your support!!

My fellow writers this time around are @taruchinator​ @maidstars​ @seasidefallenangel​

Banner made by the lovely Yona!! @animaniachan​

- Jen

Summer Vacation with Sakuya

Sakuya wakes up to the hustle and bustle of the morning of a lively summer weekend. The past weeks of summer were quite the contrast to his previous summer memories. A sense of melancholy takes over him as his mind flashes back to the quiet houses he was shuffled around in his younger days, never quite feeling that he belonged or that he even deserved to partake in the summer festivities. Not that he wasn’t grateful to his relatives for taking him in his time of need, but he always felt like a stranger among his own family.

His thoughts are interrupted by Citron bursting through the door, calling him to the dining room for breakfast.

“Alright, just give me a minute!” Sakuya calls out.

“I will be going in front of you, then!” Citron replies, humming a lively tune as he exits the room.

As Sakuya gets ready to start the day, he grins, thankful for his days now filled with endless warmth and seemingly boundless energy he could bask in from the other members of Mankai.

When he gets to the dining room, Sakuya is surprised to see that all members of the Spring Troupe are present at the table – a rare sight since the Spring Troupe members are definitely not known to be the earliest risers in the company.

“Everyone, good morning!” Sakuya greets with a bright smile before sitting down next to Masumi.

“Oh, Sakuya! Good morning!” Omi replies, placing a plate full of piping hot food for Sakuya down in front of him. “Interesting to see that all of you are up and about together. Guess that covers Spring Troupe’s breakfast. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen cooking up the next batch.”

A chorus of “thank you” comes from the Spring Troupe, and Omi retreats back into the kitchen with a satisfied nod.

“Wow, everyone’s up so early!” Sakuya marvels, not used to having his fellow troupe mates altogether at one table. “What’s the occasion?”

“Nothing, really.” Tsuzuru says before taking a sip of his coffee. Sakuya catches a whiff of it and can tell that it’s strong and black, a potent scent he’s come to associate the tired college student with.

“Now that I think about it, it’s the last few weeks of summer vacation.” Izumi remarks, strolling into the room with a mug of coffee (which smells much sweeter than Tsuzuru’s) in hand. She greets the young men at the table then goes to lean against the kitchen counter. Masumi pouts at the empty seat next to him, but greets the director with his usual enthusiasm.

“Maybe that’s why you boys are up?” Izumi ponders. “It would be a shame to let the last days of the summer pass by quickly. You should all make the most of it.”

“We probably could if a certain yakuza wasn’t so stingy.” Itaru grumbles as he taps away at his phone.

“We can’t help the company’s circumstances.” Izumi chides. Taking in Itaru’s words, Izumi’s eyes close in thought. “But I guess it would be nice to have some recreational funds to use.”

“Actually, we don’t need to spend that much money to make good summer memories.” Tsuzuru cuts in, a gentle smile on his face. “There’s plenty of things we can do right here at the dorms. Growing up with a bunch of hyperactive younger siblings forces you to get creative with how to spend long summer days.”

Citron looks over in interest. “What kinds of things?”

“Paper boat races, fireworks, sprinklers, movie nights, ice cream making…” Tsuzuru rattles off, ticking off his fingers as if he has a memorized list of activities in his head. “The possibilities are endless, really.”

“Anything we do with the director would be a good summer memory for me.” Masumi asserts, earning a sigh from his roommate.

Citron clasps his hands in excitement. “Ooh! I would love to partake in the activities of summer one does in a household of Japan!”

“Hm. Well, if we’re at home with a stable internet connection, it wouldn’t hurt to participate in an activity or two.” Itaru reluctantly agrees.

Izumi turns her attention to the oddly quiet Sakuya. “And what about you, Sakuya? Any summer memories you want to bring to the company?”

At this, Sakuya goes still. “Ah, I – “

“Oh, that’s right.” Tsuzuru chimes in. “Since you’ve spent summer with different family members, I’m sure you have lots of unique summer traditions for us to try out.”

The occupants of the table all turn their attention to Sakuya, which has him breaking out into a cold sweat. “Well actually – “

“Please! Let Citron know all about the different traditions of the Sakuma summer!”

“I actually don’t have any good summer memories I can share. Sorry to disappoint you.” Sakuya admits with a sheepish laugh.

Masumi raises a skeptical eyebrow at his usually cheery schoolmate’s admission. “Hm?”

“Well, it’s just that since I moved from house to house so often, I never really made much of a connection to my relatives. Honestly, summer vacation would just pass by as a blur.”

The table goes silent as they take in their leader’s words, pensive looks on their faces. Sensing the change in atmosphere, Sakuya forces a grin. “But it’s fine – really! I was just glad that they would take me in. And now I can make summer memories with the company! Ah… that is, if you aren’t too busy with your own plans. Perhaps I’m getting too far ahead of myself…” he trails off, standing up from the table. “I’ll be going first, then. Thank you for the food.”

And just like that, Sakuya is out of the room.

The troupe members left behind stare at Sakuya’s vacant chair for a few seconds before Izumi speaks up.

“I’ll talk to Sakyo to see if we have some funds to spare. I’ll leave it up to all of you to come up with the Spring Troupe’s plans for the rest of the summer.” She says, levelling a commanding stare leaving no room for argument at each of the members before walking off to find Sakyo.

“We can’t let the director down.” Masumi immediately says once Izumi is out of the room, levelling his own stare at Itaru.

“Eh? Why are you looking at me…?” Itaru’s eyes narrow at the younger boy.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Masumi scoffs. “You’re the only working adult out of all of us.”

“Itaru! Pay for my summer activities, too!” Citron cheers, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “You can be my honey daddy!”

“Your what– “

“Okay, okay, that’s enough!” Tsuzuru intervenes, pointedly ignoring Citron’s turn of phrase. “Like I said before, we don’t need to shell out that much cash to make good summer memories.”

Their impromptu meeting is interrupted my several voices echoing from the hallway.

“Sounds like they’re coming in for the next batch of breakfast.” Tsuzuru sighs. “Itaru, do you think we could continue this in your room?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Eh? But– “

Suddenly, Itaru feels a chill down his spine. Turning around, he is met with the dark glower of Masumi. “Let us in your room. The director wouldn’t want us to ruin Sakuya’s summer.”

Not one to easily back down – especially not to a little brat – Itaru glowers back. Taking advantage of the distraction, Citron grabs Itaru’s phone and runs for his life towards Itaru’s room with Tsuzuru in tow. “Itaru, you must make with the haste if you want to catch me before your SP replenishes!”

Itaru stares at the now empty table in disbelief while Masumi silently trails after the two. The situation suddenly registers in Itaru’s mind, and he springs up from his seat. “Conniving little – give me back my phone!” he shouts, speed walking after his traitor troupe mates. By the time he reaches his room, the three of them are already sprawled about in various places in his room. Itaru sighs, accepting his fate.

“Mess anything up and you’re dead.”

The next day, Sakuya walks into the living room, ready to kick back and relax with a good TV program. However, he is once again met with a surprise as he walks in on the other members of Spring Troupe arguing as they arrange various stacks of paper throughout the living room. Upon closer inspection, Sakuya can see that the colorful paper strewn throughout the room are actually flyers.

“Um…” Sakuya warily approaches the group. “Did I miss the memo or something? Were we supposed to clean out the storage room today?”

At their leader’s arrival, the members halt their actions, not accounting for Sakuya’s sudden appearance as they fixed the materials for the day’s activity. Citron dutifully steps up as the unofficial moodmaker and bounds over to his roommate, slinging an arm around Sakuya’s shoulders.

“Sakuya! Sakyo said we could do what we would like with these flyers. Please, teach me how to make a boat and let us captain our ships against one another!”

Sakuya appears even more lost as Citron’s words. Mercifully, Itaru looks up from his mobile game long enough for him to convey Citron’s meaning.

“Sakyo bugged us about getting rid of these old flyers, and Citron decided he wanted to try the paper boat racing that Tsuzuru brought up yesterday.”

“Ah, I see…” Sakuya says, turning his attention back to Citron. “I’m sorry, but I actually don’t know how to fold a paper boat myself.”

Undeterred, Citron leads Sakuya over to the center of the several piles of paper and sits down, taking Sakuya down with him. “Tsuzuru will be teaching us! Now that we are all here, let us begin with the shipping!”

Tsuzuru sighs, shaking his head in resignation. “Alright, so after you choose your piece of paper you fold it like this…”

Several failed attempts and paper cuts later, the Spring Troupe went over to the park to race their paper boats by a stream. Tsuzuru, acting as referee, crouched by his makeshift finish line made of twigs while a determined Sakuya and Citron, and a less-than-thrilled Itaru and Masumi took their beginning places with their paper boats at the opposite end.

“Alright!” Tsuzuru shouts, raising a hand. “On your marks, get set… go!”

As the paper boats float down the stream, Tsuzuru watches his members with fond interest. Masumi, true to character, merely watches the ensuing chaos that is the antics of his members from the starting point. Sakuya excitedly follows his cherry blossom-print paper boat closely, eyes glowing with mirth. Citron has already ran over to the finish line, shouting encouragement at his own garish multicolored paper boat. Even Itaru has joined in on the fun, calmly keeping pace with his own boat but encouragingly saying things like, “We got this. Let’s go.”, which may or may not have to do with the fact that he decorated his paper boat with doodles of his best girls.

Finally, the paper boats near the end and it the winner honestly could be anyone, what with how close the boats are to one another. Just before any of the boats can cross the finish line, however, a shadow passes over the stream. The paper boats are suddenly gone, and the figure had already left with a rush of wind and the faint cry of “triangles!” in the distance.

As one, the Spring Troupe stares off into the distance where the figure disappeared, eyes wide in disbelief.

When they get back to the dorms, they find Misumi showing off his triangles of the day. His eyes shone brightly as he proudly showed off the “pretty triangle boats” he found, claiming they were some of the best finds he’s had in a while.

A few days after what is now dubbed as “the paper boat heist”, the Spring Troupe once again decided to try their luck at making new summer memories for Sakuya. The entire company was holding a barbeque, and Spring Troupe was in charge of desserts. This time it was Itaru who brought forward his own idea for a summer activity to introduce to their leader.

“Chili ice cream…?” Sakuya wonders aloud.

“Yep.” Itaru confirms. “My senpai recommended it to me and even gave me a recipe. The base for the ice cream can be used to make other flavors, though.”

“I wonder if I can make a curry flavored ice cream…” Izumi mumbles thoughtfully, much to Tsuzuru’s dismay.

“Please don’t.” he butts in, ignoring Izumi’s pout and Masumi’s glare. “Anyway, Omi already agreed to help us freeze the ice cream so most of our work is going to be making the ice cream flavors. Let’s try our best to make something he can actually make into ice cream.”

“Alright, alright.” Izumi acquiesces. “No experimental flavors. Now, have you all decided what to make?”

“I’m making vanilla.” Tsuzuru asserts, leaving no room for argument. “If all else fails, we’ll at least have a good base ice cream for the barbeque tonight.”

“I guess I’ll make the chili flavor that senpai recommended.” Itaru sighs.

Masumi immediately snatches the chocolate from the cupboards. “It’s not Valentine’s Day or White Day chocolate, but chocolate ice cream for the director will still convey my feelings for the director.”

“I would like to try the green matcha of Japan!” Citron cheers.

“I’d like to try making black sesame ice cream.” Sakuya says.

Izumi nods in satisfaction at the troupe’s quick answers. “Alright, that covers a good variety of flavors. I’ll be supervising along with Omi, so let’s do this properly!”

Despite a few mishaps, the ice cream is finished with time to spare before it’s time for the barbeque party to start.

“Sakuya, here! Try the chili ice cream! It’s not curry, but it certainly is spicy like curry!” Izumi beckons over the Spring Troupe leader over, holding a spoonful of the light pink ice cream. “Say aah~”

A bright blush appears on Sakuya’s face, and several members look on at the scene of their director feeding Sakuya ice cream with jealousy. A few feet away, Tsuzuru physically restrains Masumi from rushing over to the duo and ruining the moment.

“Director, feed me ice cream, too!” Masumi cries out petulantly. As if triggering a domino effect, several other members clamor for their director’s special attention as well.

Sakuya, oblivious to it all, happily eats the ice cream that Izumi feeds him. “It’s sweet, but still subtly spicy! Delicious!”

Later, after most of the food is gone, Taichi and Kazunari bring out some sprinklers.

“Only for an hour.” Sakyo warns. “We don’t want the water bill going too high.”

Several of the younger members of the troupe quickly shuck off their shirts and happily frolic amongst the water sprayed by the sprinklers.

“Hey, where’s the director?” Sakuya wonders aloud, catching the attention of some of the company members.

“Tachibana went to go change.” Sakyo says.

“The director in a swimsuit…” Masumi mumbles, a dazed look on his face.

Seeing the looks on some of the member’s faces, Sakyo’s mouth twists into a frown, giving each of them a sharp glare. “Get your heads out of the gutter. Disrespect our director and I’ll bash your heads in.”

The men go still at Sakyo’s threat, but quickly perk up once more when they hear Izumi calling out as she approaches.

“Everyone! I found some water guns in the storage room!” Izumi calls out cheerily.

The young men let out a collective sigh of disappointment at their director’s attire of a dark t-shirt and swim shorts.

Nevertheless, the company’s summer barbeque is a resounding success. For a while, things at the dorms quiet down and the remaining days of summer pass by all too quickly, eventually leading up to the last night of summer vacation. The Spring Troupe decides to keep it simple with a movie marathon night, taking advantage of the last day the students are allowed to sleep in before school starts once more.

Together, the troupe meticulously put up a huge pillow fort in the living room where they all settled in and made themselves comfortable. Izumi periodically checked in on them throughout the night and was amused to see that with every movie, the members all gradually became closer one another, gravitating towards Sakuya who was in the middle of the fort.

The last time Izumi checks in on them, all of the members are sound asleep. The sight of them cuddling so close to one another in their slumber brings a smile to her face, and her heart feels full at the close family that Sakuya had found. Sakuya was lying down in the middle of the pillow fort, his right half sprawled across Citron. Citron was clinging to Itaru’s left leg as Itaru slept propped up into a half-sitting position against the couch. On Sakuya’s left was Tsuzuru, who was using Sakuya’s torso as a pillow as Tsuzuru slept perpendicular to his leader. Directly behind his roommate, Masumi slept in a similar position to Itaru, except he drew his knees closer to himself and rested his head atop his folded arms.

Silently, Izumi tiptoes over to the pile of young men and snaps a photo of them on her phone. She goes over to turn off the TV and leaves the room once more, shutting the door with a soft click.

Sakuya wakes to the booming of (most likely Summer Troupe’s) fireworks. He tries to get up, but fails due to the weight he feels on his body. Craning his head, Sakuya sees that he and his troupe members have formed into a mess of entangled limbs. Channeling his inner courage to bring out his Spring Troupe leader persona, Sakuya takes a deep breath before yelling, “Everyone, wake up! Let’s see the fireworks together.”

A chorus of whines and groans fills the living room, no one really wanting to get up, but at their leader’s insistence members disentangle themselves from one another, not deigning to acknowledge their previous positions they maintained as they slept. Sakuya directs them over to the balcony, and as the rest of the Spring Troupe leans over the railing to look up at the fireworks, Sakuya can feel his heart swell with affection for his troupe members.

Noticing that Sakuya was hanging back by the door, Tsuzuru calls out to him. “Sakuya, get over here and watch the fireworks with us. This’ll be our last memory of the summer together.”

Sakuya can feel tears well up in his eyes as Tsuzuru, Citron, Masumi, and Itaru turn back to him, affectionate grins on their faces. Impulsively, he runs over to them and launches himself at them, pulling them all into a group hug.

“Thank you so much!” Sakuya wails, finally letting his tears stream down his face. “I’m so grateful to everyone. You’ve made this my best summer vacation yet.”

The group huddles closer to one another, either ruffling Sakuya’s hair in affection or patting him on the back. Unbeknownst to them, Izumi watches them from a slightly ajar door.

“Happy summer, Sakuya.” she whispers, watching the smiles of the Spring Troupe.

“Welcome home.”

[coconutknightshade]

A Very Tony Stark Move

A Very Tony Stark Move

By @coconutknightshade​ for the wonderful and excitable exciting @seek-rest​​!!

Rating: Gen Relationships: Peter Parker & Ben Parker ; Peter Parker/Michelle Jones ; Peter Parker & Tony Stark Characters: Peter Parker, Ben Parker, Michelle Jones, Tony Stark, Morgan Stark Word Count: 3,300

Summary: 

Peter's sixteen when Tony Stark busts into his room on a Saturday morning and convinces him he's going to be late for school. Now that Peter Parker is a grown-ass adult with a son of his own, he thinks it's time to start a family tradition.

A/N: Because we don’t have enough Dad!Peter and Seek-Rest’s influence reaches far and wide, ahaha! Also, shout out to @blondsak​​ for helping me hella fine tune it!! 

Read On AO3

"Why does your face look like that?"

Michelle's sitting at the kitchen table, books scattered everywhere as she works on her Ph.D. thesis - which very quickly became her second baby - when Peter strolls in and drops into the seat across from her. He's wearing slacks and his favorite blazer, but most importantly, he's wearing a grin lifted directly from the Cheshire cat. It doesn't take over a decade of having been together to recognize that her husband is very much up to something. The fact that he's dressed up as such on a Saturday night with nowhere to go is a dead giveaway.

"Because it's my face?" Peter doesn't even attempt to look offended, too distracted by whatever's bouncing around his head.

"Try again."

"I can't gaze upon my glorious wife without it being suspicious?" He's pulled one of her books closer to him and casually flips through the pages. The innocent act isn't fooling her.

"Not like that, you can't. And not when you're using phrases like gaze upon and glorious wife. What gives, Parker?"

Peter doesn't even bother with a parry; instead, his grin only widens as he looks up from the page he definitely is not reading. "I was just thinking-"

"Dangerous for everyone involved."

"- about something Tony pulled on me once," he continues, raising his voice an octave to speak over Michelle's drag. Peter pulls himself to his feet and crosses the kitchen to put on a cup of coffee that he definitely does not need at this time of night.

"In retrospect, it was brilliant. Damn, if I wasn't mad for days, though."

He grins again, staring at the clock like it's in on some little secret. Apparently, that's precisely the case, made evident in the way Peter bounces between the clock on the wall and that on the stove, messing with them both until they read roughly 6:30. Michelle leans back in her seat, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes at Peter.

"What are you going to do to my baby?"

Peter's expression darkens mischievously as he turns towards his wife. For a moment, he doesn't answer, turning instead to pull their son's favorite Iron Man mug from the cabinet and pour himself a cup of coffee. The pregnant pause that hangs between them is dramatic, and Michelle rolls her eyes. It's a very Tony Stark move.

"I'm going to wake him up for school." He doesn't elaborate, but his eyes flick back over to the clock on the wall that now reads 6:30. "And would you look at that- We're running late."

Michelle bursts out in surprised laughter. "You're going to what?"

Peter, vibrating with childlike excitement, nearly dances back over to the table before dropping into the chair and leaning forward like he's about to share a secret that he really shouldn't. "I'm going to wake Ben and tell him he's going to be late for school. Tony did it to me at sixteen-"

"You should be embarrassed that he succeeded."

"- now I'm going to pay it forward." He leans back, crossing his arms and failing to pull off a smug expression. He still looks like a child at Christmas.

"Except Ben is eight, not sixteen."

"Yeah, but with your genes, I give it another year before he sees through all my bullshit." Michelle shoots him a - successful - smug grin. Ben really does take after her, something Peter loves to feign offense over, but Michelle knows better.

She can see it in his eyes. Especially when Ben twists Tony's words against him to get what he wants. It's not so funny, however, when he tries to pull the same on Peter. Then it quickly becomes, "Michelle, come get your child before I give in to his demands!" To which the little shit always smirks - thanks Tony, for that lesson - with a triumphant, "I love to win."  

Michelle loves her boys.

"If you follow through with this, you're going to regret it. He's going to get you back somehow. And probably with Tony's help."

"Oh, I'm sure of it," Peter laughs. "But it will be endlessly worth it in the moment."

"Don't you think Ben will notice when you load him up into the car, and the clock doesn't match what you're telling him?" Their kid is eight, but he's wicked bright.

Peter smirks, taps his index finger to his temple, and says, "Your husband isn't as dumb as you think. I've already gone out and taken care of it."

"So," Michelle drags out. "That wasn't you carrying the trash out?"

"I think we both know the answer to that."

Michelle can only shake her head and smile openly at the chaos that is about to unfold. Peter pulls himself to his feet, buttons his blazer, and runs a hand down it to smooth out the non-existent wrinkles.

"Now, M'lady, I must bid you adieu. I have a son that's going to be late for school." He bows dramatically and takes off down the hall towards Ben's room. Michelle laughs, opening another book and dropping it over the already open one in front of her, when she hears Peter's mock-hurried, "Ben, get up! I overslept, and we're both going to suffer for it!"

---

Peter bursts into his eight-year-old son's room in a flurry, hurriedly crossing over to the chest of drawers and pulling out clothes left and right at random.

"Dad, what?" comes a sleepy voice from beneath the covers.

"Ben seriously, if you don't want to be late for school, you need to be up like five minutes ago." That seems to do the trick because Ben Parker, bless him, is an absolute nerd - "Stop calling him a nerd, Morgan"  - who loves school.

The kid trips over his own feet - because yeah, he's definitely got Peter's genes in him somewhere - and lands on the floor with a soft groan as he scrambles out of bed. Peter snorts in amusement, still needlessly pulling clothes from the drawer knowing full well picking them up and refolding them later will be worth it.

"Shit," Ben says, snatching off a shirt that's landed on his face before tearing out of his pajamas and hopping around on one foot as he tries to get his leg through a pair of jeans. The word has Peter's brows furrow in surprise as he whirls around, eyes narrowed at his oblivious son who is now fighting to get his shirt on.

"Benjamin Parker... Seriously?" When he's finally got his shirt all the way on - backward - he looks up at his father with wide eyes. The look on Peter's face makes him wince.

"Uncle Happy says it whenever he's annoyed!" It's a weak defense.

"So basically all the time," he mutters, now digging through the closet and tossing over a pair of sneakers.

Ben, catching with ease, slips them on and doesn't even bother checking if the laces are tight enough. He grins up at his Dad when he says, "Pretty much."

Peter fights not to match Ben's infectious smile and pushes him towards the door.

"Alright, monster, go brush your teeth and think about what you've done!" His voice is stern, but the fondness in his gaze gives him away. "It's almost seven, and if Daddy's late, he's going to be fired."

"What?" Ben's confusion is evident on his face, and Peter rolls his eyes, flicking his hands at the kid in a clear, shoo-ing motion.

"Just hurry!"

A clear example of Ben's lack of forethought has him spinning around and tripping over his shoelaces, flailing before hitting the ground. Before Peter can rush over to him, he's back on his feet with a hurried, "I'm okay!" thrown over his shoulder.

Okay, maybe Ben has more of Peter in him than he thought.

--

Ben comes racing into the kitchen like he's on fire, and Michelle looks up once more from her chaos on the kitchen table. He's not even bothered to take a brush to his thick curls and whew does it show. That on top of a backward shirt and pockets pulled out has her baby boy looking like a hot mess. She cuts her eyes over to Peter, who is sipping his coffee with a glint of deviousness in his eyes as he watches Ben scramble around, climbing up onto the counter so he can dig into one of the cabinets for a package of pop-tarts for the road.

Michelle clears her throat, and Peter pulls his eyes away from Ben as he now pulls whatever he can grab fastest out of the fridge and throws it in his lunchbox. When their eyes meet, Michelle raises her brows expectantly. Peter chuckles and defends with, "It's not like I'm actually letting him walk into school looking like that."

She opens her mouth for what will absolutely be a snarky retort but stops short when 50 pounds of hurried, flailing arms slams into her side with enough force that she has to grab the edge of the table to steady herself. Small arms wrap around her neck, and she's assaulted with minty fresh breath, and a whined, "Why didn't you wake me? I'm going to be late now!"

Peter, damn him, laughs as Ben manages to spin this whole debacle into somehow being her fault. He squeals when Michelle wraps one arm tight around his midsection, pulling him in for a hug, and not letting go as she digs her fingers into Ben's side - his Achilles heel, if you will.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Her voice exudes innocence as she relentlessly tickles her son. "Is this my fault?"

"No!" Ben gasps for breath, immediately taking back his slight against her as he scrambles to escape her clutches.

Now satisfied, she lets him go with a grin as devious as her now laughing husband. When Ben tries to back away, she grabs his wrist and pulls him in once more to press a loud kiss on his cheek, which he equally tries to escape. He is, as of late, too cool for that. Free once again, Ben scurries around the table before she can snatch him back up and grabs his backpack that's been haphazardly abandoned on one of the counters.

When he throws it over his shoulder, he turns to Peter with a huffed, "Let's go, Dad. Waiting on you. Like always."

Michelle nearly chokes at both his words and the offended expression Peter's now shooting his way. He turns towards Michelle with a look that very clearly says, can you believe this kid?  

"Rude," he mutters under his breath, dumping his coffee into the sink and dragging his messenger bag off the counter where it had also been haphazardly abandoned. Michelle picks up a book to hide her laughter as she watches two of the three most chaotic individuals she's ever met head for the door.

----

"The sun's not even up!" Ben says as they pull out of the parking garage. He's practically bouncing in his seat, borderline anxious at the prospect of being late for school, as they're already twenty minutes "behind schedule". Dad, he'd whined, racing off towards the car ahead of Peter when it was apparent the man wasn't going to literally run towards the vehicle. I haven't been tardy all year, and if I'm tardy today, I won't be eligible for the perfect attendance award!

Absently Peter wonders if he had been just as freaked out nearly a decade ago when Tony had rushed him out of bed with the same excuse.

He remembers being half-dazed as he skid into the kitchen in his socks, catching himself on the counter as his feet nearly slid out from under him. Pepper had been in pajamas which really should have been the one damning piece of evidence that Tony Stark was full of shit, but the two of them had been up until after midnight the night before - what should have been Exhibit B, your honor, of why Tony Stark was full of shit. The difference then being Tony had actually chosen to wake him at ass o'clock on a Saturday morning rather than after sunset like Peter was currently doing to Ben.

"Wow, good observation, Ben. I can really see how you're top of the class. I know they taught you the sun comes up later during winter." Peter laughs when his son pushes at his arm. Before the eight-year-old can shoot off a retort that in all likelihood would have made his mother proud, The Imperial March plays through the vehicle speakers. Peter grins when he hits the button on the dash.

"Hey, Mr. Stark!" There's a tired sigh on the other end of the line as Peter defaults back to an old habit that took several years to break. "I've got Ben here with me."

Which is effectively code for watch the language.

"Hey, Benny!" Peter grins at the way his son scowls at the nickname Tony definitely calls him just to rile him up. "I feel it's my not-parental parental duty to ask what you're both doing out at-"

"Tell Dad he needs to pull it together and drive faster!" Ben flat out cuts Tony off, and Peter can't help the brief snort of amusement before processing his kid's words. A phrase he no doubts picked up from the terrifying blend that is both Tony and Pepper wrapped up nice and neat in the form of one snarky sixteen-year-old package.

"Tony, tell Ben the adults are talking and-"

"You're both children, and it shows." Peter huffs, mock offended. Before he can respond, he hears a muffled, "Pull it together, Peter!"  over the speakers, which absolutely confirms his suspicions that Ben is picking up habits from Morgan. He smirks childishly when Tony sighs dramatically and says, "Children. All of you. I'm surrounded by children."

"I guess now you know how Rhodey felt whenever he was stuck with the both of us."

Tony laughs, starts to speak again but is cut off once more when Ben groans loudly, sounding very much annoyed.

"Can we stop with the hah-hahs? If I'm late for school, I'm not talking to either one of you for a week!"

"Promise?" both Tony and Peter respond at the same time. There's a brief beat of silence before Tony follows it up with a confused, "Wait, what?"

Peter can practically feel his son rolling his eyes.

"Do you know what time it is, Tony? It's Ben's Gonna be Late for School o'clock." Peter swears up and down his son picked this flair for theatrics up from Tony, but Michelle always shoots him a knowing look that has Peter crossing his arms petulantly over his chest with a pre-emptively muttered, "I am not that dramatic." 

Another beat of silence that has Peter holding his breath, and he can almost hear the light bulb click for Tony before he howls with laughter and his face flickers to life on the dash-screen in front of Ben.

"Peter," he says, trying to hold back his laughter. "You didn't! Without letting me partake? Rude!"

Suddenly Morgan is there, pushing her Dad aside so she can see the two of them. When she spots Ben, her expression softens in the way it always does when she's around him.

"Ben, are they being mean to you?"

Tony hides his laughter, all too knowing, behind a hand, but the way his shoulders shake is a dead giveaway.

"Morgan," Ben whines. "Nobody cares that I'm going to be late for school." He's sunk down in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. There's another moment of silence and Peter resolutely keeps his eyes on the road.

"Oh, you two are just terrible!" Morgan shoves her Dad, pushing him nearly off the screen. "Ben, it's Saturday. And it's just after 7. At night. You aren't going to school."

Peter's already got his right shoulder lifted to his ear to brace for a blow that never comes. When he chances a quick glance over to his son, he can see the clear confusion on his face mere seconds before it softens into something more relaxed.

"My end of the year award for perfect attendance is safe," he says, placing a hand over his chest in relief and letting his eyes fall shut. At his words, Peter frowns.

"God, I love this kid," Tony laughs openly, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose as his grin widens.

"You're not mad?" Peter asks in confusion. How anticlimactic.  

"Oh no," Ben reassures. "I'm mad, but my teacher says patience comes to those who wait."

"I don't think-" Peter begins before his brain reroutes. "Wait, what does that mean?"

Morgan snorts. "You're all the height of lame. Except you, Ben." She winks before wandering off camera.

"I heard Mom tell her friend that you're a genius, but now I feel like she was lying." It's the only response he offers up, and now that they aren't in a "hurry", Peter presses a button on the dash. Once he feels the slight shift in the vehicle that indicates it has switched into self-drive mode, he takes his hands off the wheel. Peter leans over to flick the image on Ben's dash upwards so that Tony's holographic image broadcasts on the center of the windshield.

"Mom tells her friends that I'm a genius?" he preens, heart warming still all these years later under Michelle's praise.

"Yeah," Ben says, distracted. "She usually follows it up with, but he's still a dumbass."

Where Tony snorts in amusement, Peter's face falls. But honestly, she's not wrong. He turns towards his son and lightly flicks him on the side of the head.

"Stop swearing. What is wrong with you, Kid?"

Ben frowns as he rubs the side of his head like it hurts. Peter rolls his eyes because, once again- dramatic .

"I'm not a kid. I'm almost done with third grade."

Peter's eyes cut over to Tony, who looks equally amused.

"Hmm," Peter begins innocently. "Most not-kids I know don't trip over their shoelaces."

Ben turns towards him with a face of pure betrayal. "Dad, that was embarrassing!"

"Don't let him fool you, Ben. Your Dad is the CEO of embarrassing himself." Tony doesn't look away from Peter as he smirks.

Ben glances between the two, face screwed up in confusion when he says, "CE what?"

"Not important. What is important is that one time, when your Dad was about Morgan's age, he thought it would be a good idea to-"

"Anyways!" Peter cuts him off. "Look at the time! It's time for Ben to be asleep. He's got school in the morning."

"No, I don't!" Ben says, indignant. "I'm not falling for that again." He crosses his arms once more and refuses to look at his Dad.

"Don't worry, Ben. Morgan and I will help you get revenge." Tony's grinning deviously, and suddenly Peter knows how Michelle felt earlier when he'd walked in wearing that same expression. Except for this time, he knows he'll be the victim.

"I don't like this game," Peter scowls.

"Tough shit, Kid." He winces and looks over to Ben. "Don't tell your mom I said that."

Ben only grins, and Peter rolls his eyes.

"Anyways, as I was saying earlier- your Dad thought it would be a good idea to-"

"Okay! Thanks, love you, bye!" Peter interrupts, speaking so quickly it sounds like one long, single word before he cuts the feed.

"That was rude." Ben sounds too much like his mother for comfort.

"That was rude," Peter echoes back in a mocking voice, only cracking when Ben laughs. He leans over to reroute them back to their apartment but frowns when, in doing so, "Override Failed"  flashes onto the screen, followed immediately by FRIDAY's voice ringing through the vehicle.

"Initiating the Time Out Protocol."

The new route lights up on the dash, and where Peter groans half-heartedly, Ben gasps in excitement.

"Sleepover at Tony's!"

And honestly, how can he be the least bit put out when Ben is vibrating with such pure unadulterated delight? The kid has the whole family wrapped around his finger.

~fin~

[fruit-teeth]

Matters of Time and Fate (8)

/(AHAHA FINALLY!! So sorry for the delay!! I know you guys probably thought I forgot about this story but I didn’t! Anyway I’m gonna shut up now, please enjoy)

Sniper woke up early that morning, and the first thought in his mind was that he wanted to make coffee. He’d had a rough, feverish sleep the previous night, and he needed to cleanse his mind with a cup of black coffee. Just the way he liked it.

As Sniper went to the kitchen and began to prepare coffee in the pot, he internally praised himself for waking up early before everyone else. Now he could have his coffee and he could make his breakfast in peace and quiet, without anyone –

“Are you making coffee?”

Sniper startled, turning around to see Olivia standing there. He fumbled for a moment, trying to think of how to answer.

“Uh…yeah, I am,”

Olivia hopped up on the chair beside the kitchen counter, looking over his shoulder. “Make a cup for me! I like milk and sugar in mine,”

Sniper processed this for a moment, before he looked back at Olivia, confusion in his eyes. “What? You want coffee?”

Olivia looked at him like he’d just asked a stupid question. “Yeah? I like coffee! My nanny makes some for me every morning, with milk and sugar,”

Sniper scoffed. “Really? I mean…” he scratched the back of his head. “You’re only six, should you really be drinking coffee?”

Olivia pursed her lips together. “My daddy says I can have it! He says everyone drinks it,”

“Well,” Sniper cleared his throat. “Six-year-olds don’t drink it. You know what I drank when I was six?”

When Olivia shook her head, Sniper replied, “Milkshakes, I used to drink them every morning. They’re not really that healthy, but I can show you how to make some,”

“Milkshakes?” Olivia thought about it, and then shrugged. “Okay. Can we put chocolate in it?”

Sniper just grinned at her. “I like your thinking! We can put whatever we want in them. You like peanut butter?”

Olivia nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah!”

“All right, all right,” Sniper laughed, opening a cabinet and getting out a jar of peanut butter, as well as some cocoa powder. “Let’s get started – pass me the blender, yeah?”

Meanwhile, Engineer was sleeping peacefully on his air mattress when he was rudely awoken by the loud whirring of a blender in the kitchen. He startled, stumbling to his feet in the direction of the noise.

“What in Sam Hill is all that racket!?” he snapped, hovering in the doorway.

Sniper looked up from where he was pulsing the blender. “Sorry, mate! We’re making milkshakes, blender’s real loud…”

Olivia stared at the mixture of peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, cocoa, and banana through the clear plastic of the blender. “Press the button again! It still looks lumpy…”

Sniper pressed the button, and the violent whirring struck right back up. Engineer flinched at the sound. “Gosh darn it! I should make a blender that’s real quiet – I probably could!”

The whirring died down again, and Olivia checked the milkshake again, frowning. “Still lumpy!”

Before Sniper could mash the button again, Engineer shooed him away from the blender. “Hey, y’know what? There’s some stuff we still need from the store, how about we take a little shopping trip and I can buy some more parts to build a quiet blender? Then you can put whatever you want in there without wakin’ the whole house,”

Sniper huffed. “Look, the milkshakes aren’t done! Gotta blend ‘em somehow,”

Engineer grabbed a wooden spoon and handed it to Sniper. “Use this! Do it the old fashioned way,”

Sniper rolled his eyes, but he took the spoon and poured the mixture into a bowl. He then stirred around a bit before it appeared edible, and then he poured it into two separate glasses. “Here ya go,”

Olivia took one of the glasses, eyeing it suspiciously before taking a sip. Sniper sat down at the table with his own glass, watching her. “Thoughts?”

Olivia thought for a moment, before nodding. “Good! It’s good,”

As she sat down and started to drink the rest of it, Engineer began cleaning out the blender, when a thought struck him. “Hey, Olivia – would you wanna go to the store with us? You can look around, it might be good to spend some time outside,”

“The store?” Olivia asked, blinking. Her father never took her shopping, they always had someone around who would just pick up groceries and other necessities for them. “To do what? Buy things?”

“Well, yeah,” Sniper shrugged. “That’s what the store is for. You could even look at some toys too, if you want,”

“Toys…” Olivia had never owned any toys. Her father always dismissed them as ‘childish’, and she’d done the same. But, she realized, he wasn’t around, now…

“Okay, I’ll go,” she agreed, and then reached for her glass of milkshake again. “But right after I finish this,”

Sniper just chuckled. “Yeah, of course…”

Upon waking, Scout could hear the sound of Engineer’s truck starting up from the driveway. Confused, he got out of bed and went downstairs, watching as Sniper got his shoes on by the door.

“Hey!” Scout barked, leaning over the railing of the stairs. “Where you guys goin’?”

Sniper glanced up from his shoes. “Oh, we’re gonna go to the shopping center. We just gotta pick up a couple things,”

Scout hopped down the stairs, fixing his hair and grabbing an apple from a bowl of fruit on the counter to eat. “Can I go? I’ve been dyin’ to get some extra clothes and stuff!”

“Sure, if you want,” Sniper shrugged. “How fast can you get ready?”

“So fast!” Scout took another big bite of the apple, turning on his heel to head upstairs. “I’ll be dressed before you know it – I’m a master at gettin’ ready quick!”

True to his word, Scout was in his day clothes within just a few minutes. He sprayed on his cologne and bounced back downstairs, only to see Olivia standing by the door.

Scout flinched, as he was still a bit wary around the girl. “…hi? Um, whatcha doing, kid?”

Olivia looked away, and Sniper clarified, “She’s coming with us, we’re gonna get her out of the house for a bit,”

“Wha…!?” Scout opened his mouth to argue, but when he saw Olivia staring back at him again, he thought better of himself. “Okay, fine…” he sighed. “Is Engie outside in the car?”

“Yep,” Sniper opened the door, ushering Olivia and Scout out of the house. “Let’s not keep him waiting,”

As soon as everyone was in the vehicle, Engineer started it up and began to head down the dirt path leading to the road. The sun was shining bright overhead, casting the sky in a brilliant blue.

Olivia watched as the hills rolled by through the windows of the truck. She’d never seen anything like it until now, and she thought it was very beautiful. The way the sun reflected off of the wheat in the fields and the grass looked like something out of a story book to her, and it made her feel something she had never felt before, some kind of longing deep within her soul…

Engineer switched the radio on to a country station, and Scout huffed. “Aw, come on! Seriously, Engie?”

“Hey, it ain’t my fault you don’t have taste,” Engineer replied simply.

Olivia tilted her head, listening to the music. “What’s this?”

“Country music,” Sniper answered. “Have you never heard country music before?”

“No,” Olivia shrugged. “It sounds like those weird movies my daddy used to watch,”

Scout’s brow furrowed. “What movies?”

Olivia searched for how to describe it. “Movies about these men with big hats and guns…cowboy movies! They’re called cowboys, I forgot,”

“Old westerns?” Engineer sounded surprised as he turned a corner, heading down into the town. “Your dad liked old westerns, Olivia?”

Olivia nodded. “Yeah, he watched them a lot while he did his work. I watched them only sometimes,” she remembered walking in during a scene where a sheriff was pointing his gun at a burglar, and how her father had paused his paperwork to point to the screen.

“Do you see that, Olivia?” he had asked. “We call that a ‘negotiation’,”

“But there’s a gun,” Olivia had pointed out. “And they aren’t really talking…”

“This is a last resort negotiation,” Gray went on to explain. “They actually are very good at getting what you want, you might find out,”

Olivia blinked, coming back to the present as she heard Scout talking again. “Huh!” he remarked. “Never took him for the type to watch those kinda movies, always thought he was more of…” Scout trailed off, glancing at Olivia and recalling what had happened the last time he made a snide remark about her father. “…never-mind.”

Olivia folded her arms back up and looked out the window, getting quiet again. The whole truck went silent aside from the music playing on the radio before Scout decided to at least try and make conversation.

“So, uh…” he cleared his throat, getting Olivia’s attention. “What are you hoping to find at the store, kid?”

Olivia just shrugged. “I don’t know,”

“You don’t know?” Scout asked, surprised. “Damn, whenever I went to the store as a kid, I always had a list of stuff I wanted to buy with my allowance. You can’t think of anything?”

“No,” Olivia shook her head. “I’ve never been shopping before,”

Scout’s eyes widened in alarm at that. “Never!? Damn, kid, what have you been doing your whole life? You know what? Here’s what we’re gonna do – I’m gonna show you what to do while at a store! I’m a pro, you’re gonna thank me later,”

“Don’t teach her anything stupid,” Sniper warned. “We don’t wanna get her in trouble,”

Scout waved him off. “Aw, come on! It’s gonna be fun, I promise,”

They finally arrived at the shopping plaza, a place Olivia had never seen before. As Engineer parked, Olivia stepped out and looked up at the buildings with awe. “Wow! There’s so many stores!”

“I know, right?” Scout got out after her, before turning to look at Engie. “Where to first, hardhat?

Engineer pulled out a list, checking it. “Well, let’s see…we need parts for the new blender, some extra snacks, and then whatever else we think we might need,”

Sniper pointed out a hardware store nearby. “How about there first? That looks like it’d have blender parts,”

As they walked in, Engineer turned to Olivia and Scout. “We’re gonna look at some parts, you two look around. Scout?” his tone changed to one more serious. “Keep her outta trouble, okay? I mean it,”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Scout waved him off, before gesturing for Olivia to follow him. “C’mon, kid! Let’s have an adventure,”

Olivia trailed after him, curious over what ‘adventure’ this store could have to offer. They wandered around a bit, before Scout paused. “Ooh, okay! Take a look!”

“What?” Olivia looked to where he was pointing, and she gasped a little. Sitting several feet away were a line of model bathrooms, complete with their own bathtubs and showers. “What is that? Are those real bathrooms?”

“Nope!” Scout grinned, approaching one and running his hand over the sink. “They’re models – if you wanna buy a bathroom, or make one, or whatever, these are models you can follow, pretty much,”

“Oh!” Olivia approached it, fascinated, leaning over to look in the tub. She turned the levers, but no water came out. “There’s no water!”

“Yeah, it ain’t hooked up,” Scout explained, checking the cabinets. “Aw, sweet! Someone left something in here!” he fished it out, only to make a face. “Ugh, never-mind. It’s someone’s stupid pamphlet thing from…the ‘Sculptor’s Clayground’? Huh,”

Olivia wandered over to another model, seeing a beautiful clawfoot tub. All of the sudden, she had the urge to climb into it, and without thinking about it she clambered inside sat down.

Scout noticed, and he laughed, leaning in to look. “There ya go! I wonder if you could hide in here…you’re small enough, ain’t ya?”

Olivia made herself as small as possible, but she suddenly laughed, imagining surprising someone like this by hiding in the tub. She’d never considered doing something like that before, but it felt very exciting somehow.

Before Scout could see if she could fit in another model tub, a voice from several feet away barked, “Hey! What are you doing!?”

Olivia sat up in time to see a woman in an employee’s uniform walking up to them, and Scout immediately became defensive. “Hey, hey, we’re just playin’ around, lady!”

“I’ll say,” the woman sighed, gesturing for Scout and Olivia to leave. “This isn’t a playground. Please just take your daughter and move along,”

Olivia paused, looking to Scout in confusion. “Daughter?”

Scout’s eyes widened, and he suddenly appeared offended, scooping Olivia up and setting her down. “I am not her dad!” he exclaimed, before taking Olivia’s hand and briskly leading her away from the models, leaving the employee very confused.

[finn-nelson-for-the-win]

The Good Life: Chapter 17

Hello, my lovelies! I’ve been pretty absent on this blog/on social media/in life in general recently, but I hope y’all don’t mind me popping back in here to post the latest update to this story that I definitely am still working on and definitely have not given up on ahaha...anyhoo, here’s about 2300 words of absolute fluff. I hope you enjoy!

Need to get caught up? The Good Life: Ch1, Ch2, Ch3, Ch4 , Ch5, Ch6, Ch7, Ch8 , Ch9 , Ch10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16

If you want to be added (or  removed) from the tags list for this story, just feel free to let me know!

@pink-royaute @believethaticanandiwill @milllott @likeashootingstarfades @i-dream-of-emus @eveerez @saintsisterwriter @loolea

The Good Life: Chapter 17

Rae and Henry stepped out of the lift in Rae’s apartment building and walked together through the parking lot towards where Henry’s truck was parked.

“Thank you for coming over on such short notice today. I really appreciate it!”

“It’s no trouble, really. I had fun!”

Rae looked over her shoulder and noticed a familiar car driving up and parking a few spaces down from Henry’s truck.

Finn turned off his car and took the keys out of the ignition before stepping out of the car. When he looked up and saw Rae and Henry standing a short distance away, he smiled politely in response to Henry’s waved greeting.

“Well, I’m meeting my mum for tea later today and I have a long drive ahead of me, so I should probably get going now,” Henry replied as he gave Rae a quick kiss on the cheek and climbed into his truck.

“Say ‘hi’ to your mum for me. I’ll talk to ya later, yeah?” Rae replied just before waving goodbye to Henry as he drove out of the parking lot.

“Hiya, Finn!” Rae called out as she walked towards where he stood beside his car as he slung the strap of his bag across his shoulders.

“Hey, Rae. How are you?”

“Doing well, I suppose. How was work today?” Rae asked as the pair walked together towards the lift to get up to their shared apartment.

“Well, I got called in to work at five in the morning on a Saturday. I didn’t want to be a work today, obviously, but it was alright I suppose.” He added with a shrug as they stepped into the lift and pressed the shiny metal button to take them up to the fifth floor of the building.

“I have a surprise for you!” Rae said excitedly after a few silent moments passed between them.

“A what—A surprise? What for?” Finn guffawed.

“Yeah, a surprise! I don’t wanna spoil it for you, so you’ll just have to wait and see,” Rae replied with a smirk.

“Uh, alright…”

Rae sped up to walk slightly in front of Finn and as soon as they reached the door to their apartment, she stopped and turned on her heels to face Finn.

“Now before I let you inside, close your eyes and don’t open them until I ask you to. Please!”

“Alright,” Finn huffed quietly before doing as he was told.

Rae turned back around and unlocked the door, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure that Finn’s eyes were still closed, before pushing the door open.

“I’m gonna lead you into the apartment now, but remember, no peeking!” Rae sing-songed as she grabbed one of Finn’s hands to guide him into the apartment.

After closing the door behind them, Rae continued to lead Finn by the hand into their living room before stopping and letting go of his hand.

“Okay! You can open your eyes now!” Rae said with poorly contained excitement clear in her voice.

Finn opened his eyes slowly and allowed them to adjust before actually noticing in the surprise Rae had for him.

“Surprise!” Rae cheered when Finn had not said anything or showed any reaction for a few seconds.

“Rae…Is this really a—” Finn gasped as he approached the tall tree positioned in one corner of the room.

“A massive Christmas tree?” Rae added, finishing Finn’s question for him, “Why, yes. Yes, it is.”

Finn stood in front of the Christmas tree that was lush and quite a bit taller than he was, admiring the tree while Rae continued talking.

“This why I asked Henry to come over earlier today. I needed his truck to drive the tree across town and to help me carry the tree into the apartment and get it all set up.”

“It was nice of him to help. But, why?” Finn asked as he gestured silently towards the tree.

“I know that Christmas time is always a bit tough for you because it was your Nan’s favorite time of year and this is your first Christmas living away from your Da, but I thought that we could at least make it feel a bit more like Christmas in here. If you want to of course.”

“Rae...I don’t even know what to say…” Finn muttered.

“Well, you could say that you love it and don’t think this was a shit surprise to come home to after a long day at work,” Rae replied with an uneasy chuckle.

“Rae, I love it. It’s perfect, really. Thank you,” Finn replied with a smile as he pulled Rae into a tight hug.

“I’m just glad that you like it.” Rae added with a smile, “What do you say we turn on some Christmas music, light the fireplace, and decorate the tree to start making this place feel a bit more festive, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll put on the music if you wanna get the fire going,” Finn said as he went to his bedroom to get his collection of holiday music records.

When Finn walked back into the living room and turned on the record player they had set up on one side of the room, Rae had already got the fireplace started and was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the tree beginning to sort through the chaotic mess of Christmas decorations that she had saved from previous years in which she had decorated.

When Finn got the record started and a man’s voice began streaming from the speakers, he joined Rae on the floor and helped her sort through the various boxes.

“What record did you decide on?”

“Uh, it’s Bing Crosby.” Finn mumbled, “His Christmas record was my Nan’s favorite thing to listen to every year.”

Rae smiled at Finn and hummed gently as she kept sorting.

“It’s sort of crazy…”

“What is?”

“The smell of the Christmas tree...it reminds me so much of how my Nan’s house smelled every December when we’d spend Christmas together as a family. My Da always thought using real trees were too much hassle and too messy, so he just had an artificial tree that we’d decorate every year, but it’s not the same. This is the first time I’ve decorated a real Christmas tree since the year before Nan…” Finn trailed off with a sad smile. “It’s nice.”

“Well, I’m glad that you like it,” Rae replied as she passed Finn a knotted string of lights for him to untangle.

The pair continued to decorate the Christmas tree and scatter the various remaining decorations around their apartment to make it feel more festive until Rae set aside a nearly empty box of decorations that she had been working her way through.

“I bet you’re starving, huh?” Rae asked as she glanced down at and set aside her mug of tea had had grown cold while they decorated, “I can go ahead and start cooking something for us.”

“I think we’ve decorated enough for now. I’ll help you cook!”

“You don’t have to do that, Finn. Just relax and I’ll let you know when the food is ready.”

“Don’t worry about it. I want to help,” Finn replied as he reached forward and brushed his fingers through the hair covering Rae’s right ear.

Finn chuckled lightly at the look of surprise on Rae’s face before holding up something shiny.

“You had some tinsel stuck in your hair, but I got it for ya!”

Finn let Rae lead the way towards the kitchen and stood beside the counter as he waited for Rae to decide what she wanted to cook.

“How does pasta sound? I haven’t had Italian food in a while and it’s pretty quick and easy to make,” Rae asked as she looked through the fridge to find all the ingredients they may need.

“Sounds great! I’ll get a pot of water started for the pasta,” Finn replied as he stepped around Rae to get the large pot off the shelf.

When the pasta was boiling and Rae put the simple marinara sauce she made on the stove to simmer, the two got started on preparing a salad and garlic bread to eat along with their meal.

“So...you and Henry, huh?” Finn began awkwardly as he rinsed the greens for the salad before adding them to a large bowl, “How’s that, uh, going?”

“You’re really asking me about how my relationship with Henry is going?” Rae asked with a small laugh as she mixed together a basic vinaigrette for the salad.

Finn kept alternating between prepping the fresh vegetables and adding them to the salad bowl, waiting for Rae to speak.

“Uh, it’s going well. I think we get along well. I like spending time with him,” Rae shrugged.

“Do you love him?” Finn asked as he began to toss together the salad.

“I, uh--I dunno,” Rae paused briefly while grabbing two plates from the cabinet and turning to face the stove while serving each of them some pasta.

Finn pulled the garlic bread from the oven and followed shortly behind Rae as she put their plates on the table before Rae spoke again.

“No, I guess not. We’re just having fun together, for now at least. We like being around each other, but I wouldn’t call it love.”

“I see,” Finn replied, allowing the topic to be dropped.

“Go ahead and sit down, I’ll grab the salad and something to drink,” Rae said as she waved off his attempt to keep helping her.

When Rae walked back to the table carrying the large bowl of salad in one hand and a bottle of wine and two glasses in the other, Finn smiled and set aside his cell phone to help pour their glasses of wine.

“You seem quite interested in your phone tonight,” Rae commented before taking another bite of her pasta after Finn checked his phone for the umpteenth time.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I suppose,” Finn replied with a chuckle.

“Who are you texting? Or who’s texting you that has you all flustered like this?”

“I’m not flustered! I’m just—I’m texting a friend, well, an acquaintance really…”

“What’s her name?”

“I never said it was a girl!”

“Ya didn’t have to. You’re my best mate, Finnley, I can recognize that look you get when you’re flustered or talking to a girl you like pretty well by now. So who is she?”

“Uh, she’s a client. I was able to help her out last week and she said that she wanted to buy me coffee as thanks.”

“Oh? You really do take ‘good customer service’ to a new level at your job, huh?” Rae joked.

“Trust me, I tried to make sure she knew that she didn’t owe me coffee or anything and that I was just doing my job, but she was persistent. We got coffee a couple days later and have been texting off and on since then.”

“Huh, I see,” Rae said as she took a sip of her wine, “You should take her out on a proper date. If you like her and want to see her again, that is.”

“You think so? I guess it was kinda nice to go on a date, even if it was a bit of an informal date. Maybe I will ask her out for dinner or something…” Finn trailed off as he reached for his phone.

“So, do you have any plans for Christmas in a few weeks?” Rae asked when the conversation had lulled.

“Uh, my work gave us the whole week of Christmas off of work, so I’ll have a bit of a break to enjoy my holiday. I’m meeting my Da for dinner the weekend before Christmas to celebrate early, since he is going on a ‘lads ski trip’ with some of his old mates from Uni, but on Christmas Day I don’t have any plans that I know of. What about you?”

“My office gets really busy around the holidays so I’m back at work the day after Christmas, but they are throwing a massive company Christmas party the Friday prior to Christmas, so that should be fun. My mum and sister are going back to Tunisia with Karim for two weeks, so I’ll just spend Christmas here, most likely.” Rae added with a small smile.

“Maybe we could spend Christmas together?” Finn suggested, “We could just have a relaxed night in, or something, but at least we’d be keeping each other company and celebrating a little bit, right?”

“Yeah, that sounds really nice, actually. I’d like that!”

When they had both finished eating, Finn helped Rae wash and put away the dishes they used to make it faster.

When they were done, Rae grabbed the opened bottle of wine and divided the last of it between both of their glasses and handed Finn his glass before walking over to the couch.

The pair assumed their usual couch positions with Rae lightly resting her feet across Finn’s lap.

“This is nice,” Rae muttered as she sipped her wine, idly watching the fireplace burning while the old Christmas records continued playing in the background.

“It really is nice. I, uh, wasn’t sure what to expect from this Christmas because everything has changed, but this,” Finn said as he gestured around the room at the decorations they had spent hours putting up, “this makes things feel a bit more like how Christmas should feel.”

“I’m so glad. It was the least I could do, really. Plus I love the way that all these decorations bring new life to our apartment!”

“I agree. I also think that Nan would have loved it,” Finn mused with a gentle smile.

“I know that she would have,” Rae added as she settled further into the couch to get comfortable as she continued sipping her glass of wine.

A/N: Wow, it’s been a minute since I posted, or even wrote anything tbh. Life has been particularly difficult as of lately and just trying to make it from on day to the next and be a human being has proven difficult enough, so I just haven’t been able to write as much as I would have liked.

I can’t say for sure when things will get back on track or when the next chapter will be coming, but I mapped out where I want the next few chapter of this story to go in terms of the plot, so that’s a start at least, right? Until next time: Stay Awesome, my friends! :)

[hisgirlwonder]

Wicked Games - Part Two

Length: 3.5K words Warning: Adultery I guess? Synopsis: Every lawyer is given a case they would rather not work on and you’re no exception to this. Someone you know all too well ends up being your latest client, how will you cope under the pressure? You’re the best of the best in the world of law but you are, after all, only human. Notes: Thanks for your patience!! Here is the eagerly awaited/requested part two. First part is here. Hope you enjoy! (also hope this isn’t too rubbish ahaha the first one is pretty smutty but I have a couple of ideas for this storyline)

“Where the fuck is he?” you exclaim out loud. Duncan is half an hour late this morning and you were less than impressed. It was one thing to have to deal with a man who had a penchant for acting like a teenager but it’s another thing entirely when you’re painfully attracted to this person in the worst way possible.

Part of you wished he wouldn’t come back and you could ignore his existence forever but, unfortunately, you don’t have a chance. The door opens and speak of the Devil. You complain about the punctuality and hoped he could see you were pissed off by his inability to take anything seriously. He tries to pull some kind of cute shit by pouting like a five-year-old and he puts the carry tray of drinks he’s holding down. He takes one of the cups out of the tray, ignoring what you said, and slides it over to you.

“Mocha, soy milk, no sugar.”

It’s amazing he actually remembered what you liked since he seemed to use less than 30% if of his brain while in your office. You push the cup over to one side to show him you’re not playing. You question him, “Are we going to have a repeat performance of yesterday?”

“Depends,” he taunts, tonguing the back of his teeth with his tongue.

“On what?”

“On if you’ll go out to dinner with me.”

“God, are you for real?”

“Maybe you can touch me and then you’ll see how real I am.”

“Everything is a joke to you, isn’t it?”

The need for coffee is too strong and you give in, sipping on the warm beverage, brows furrowed because Duncan knew the way to get to you. Between mouthfuls, you ask if he’s aware of what exactly he’s being charged with but it’s as if he hasn’t got a care in the world when he’s giving more attention to his phone and tells you that’s why he has you.

You put up a fight that he has you because nobody else wanted the case. Why would anyone want to deal with him? He was blatantly guilty. He begins laughing at what you just said and you suddenly felt very self-conscious.

“Wow, that’s the best thing I’ve heard so far today. I paid for you. You’re mine.”

The word mine rolled off the tongue far too easily and left you feeling disgusted. He continues to provoke you, pressing about whether or not you’ll go, and you don’t hold back in shooting him dirty looks. It’s obvious he’s pleased with himself and confirms that he’ll pick you around 7pm. You’re unimpressed, to say the least.

**

The end of the day couldn’t come fast enough because today had been pointless once again except this time it was worse. You knew exactly why you were appointed as his lawyer and it left a bad taste in your mouth. Your colleagues didn’t even try to offer the case to anyone else like they usually do; they just left it to you because that idiot paid them.

You lock the office door and decide to call Michael on the way to your car. It went to voicemail and you knew he must have been still busy at work. You leave a message explaining how you need to miss dinner but you’ll fill him in when you get home.

You’re unable to escape Duncan because you get to the car and see him standing there. He needed your address for tonight but you’d hoped he wasn’t serious about the proposition. You walk around him, unlock the car and throw your bag into the car before sitting down and putting the keys in the ignition. “Yeah, you’re right. It must have slipped my mind while you were insinuating I’m your own prostitute.”

You try to pull the door shut but Duncan has it firmly inside his hand, holding it open, leaving you with no chance to escape. He attempts to be slick and comment on how he figured you’d enjoy two friends catching up over dinner but he just made you feel greasy. You snap back, informing him the two of you aren’t friends in the same tone you’d call out someone’s bullshit in court. Usually, this makes the person receiving it crawl back into their own hole but not Duncan; you pushed him and he pulled you closer to him, snarling about how you were so much more.

This seemed like a battle you couldn’t win nor would Duncan leave unless you did as he said so you held out his phone and put your address in. You hand it back but it wasn’t without great effort on your own part – you wanted to smash it out of sheer frustration. He looks over the details, calculating in his head how far exactly you are from him and his mouth form into a smirk. It felt like he was rubbing salt into the wound over the small victory.

“I’ll see you at seven. Wear something you know I’d like.”

**

“Mikey?” you yell out as you’re taking off your jacket and slipping out of your heels. No reply. You remembered Michael had already mentioned he’d be working late as you’re walking to the kitchen to find a snack to sate the growing hunger you were feeling. After searching the cupboards, you can’t find anything that interests you so you sit down at the counter and take a peach from the fruit bowl.

Your phone is vibrating on the kitchen counter and you hit answer, putting him on speaker phone. Michael wanted to check in to make sure you were okay. You give him a brief explanation and Michael defuses the stress by reminding you that you were in charge. His exact words were put on a pretty dress and play along with him.

When you explain that Duncan rubs you the wrong way, of course, he suggests that maybe you can get him to rub you the right way. You painfully tell him you’d try to enjoy yourself but no promises. The two of you said your goodbyes and you hang up the call. It takes only a moment for what Michael said to sink in and you rush to the bedroom because you knew exactly what you were going to wear.

**

Once you’re ready and waiting in the living room, anxiety strikes hard and you took a moment out to try and breathe in oxygen before answering the door.

Duncan stood before you looking annoyingly handsome and grins when he sees you. He wastes no time in complimenting how good you look and butterflies are whirring around inside your gut. You won’t show him the effect he has and instead brushing the hair away from your face, asking if you can go already. He holds the remote above his shoulder, pointing it back to his car but refusing to take his eyes off you. He hits one of the buttons on his remote and his car makes a noise. “Sure we can.”

After you’ve locked the outside door you walk over to him waiting at the car, holding a door open. You dip down to get into the car and joke about how you didn’t know he was a gentleman. Duncan reminds you that there’s a lot you don’t know and he shuts the door then walks around to his side of the car.

He’s sitting down next to you and you become surprised at the details emerging that you hadn’t noticed before. His hands are straightening up the mirror and you can’t seem to look away. Duncan smirks because he can feel you on him and comments, “I know you’re busy looking at me but can you please put on your belt.”

Your cheeks become flushed and expose the embarrassment you were feeling because he was right; you were stuck eyeing this being before you that you didn’t recognise. The Duncan you knew was chauvinistic and pigheaded and refused to help anyone besides himself. This Duncan held doors open for you and who knew what else the night would bring.

He puts a hand on the back of your chair and turns to look out the back window while he reverses down the driveway. You come to terms with the fact it wasn’t lawyer and client but two adults going out for dinner and you felt nervous but luckily the conversation flows easily between the two of you.

The topic of you being dolled up for another man comes up and you explain to him that Michael suggested you spend time together. Duncan laughs because he finds it somewhat unbelievable and you make up an excuse that Michael thinks the two of you need to get along since you’ll be working side by side on the case. A reminder of the Duncan you know pops out when he comments about how well the two you get along in his head.

You cross your arms in annoyance and huff at him. “Why do you have to be like this, Duncan? Aren’t you worried about how people are going to perceive you?”

“Not particularly. I haven’t found anyone worth my time.”

Hearing those words stung and it was almost as if you wanted to be the one worth this time.

**

With the car parked and locked, Duncan brings you down a street full of restaurants you’re familiar with and you stop outside one in particular that has a waiting list for reservations. You pull at his jacket and tell him he’s not making an idiot out of you. After all, trying to get in there at the last minute was foolish. You’re dumbfounded for a moment when your brain puts two and two together and come to the conclusion he planned this in advance. He’s standing by the front door waiting for you and grinning like an idiot at the look upon your face. You shoot him a frown as you walk past. “I can’t believe you, Duncan Shepherd.”

The memories come flooding back as soon as you get inside because this was the place you two met. You’re waiting in the entrance for someone to come over and it wasn’t long before one does - his name badge says Marco and it seems as if he and Duncan are friends of some kind the way they greet each other. You weren’t surprised because Duncan was well-known by many, many people and a lot of them would bend over backwards for him.

You walk behind, passing the tables of other people dining, until you get to the end of the room and there’s a door. Marco holds it open and Duncan follows through with you a few paces behind. The room behind the door appears to be lit with mood lighting and also candles on the table. You gingerly walk over and you’re unaware of how you were meant to feel because this whole act resembled something Michael would do for you; the complete opposite of anything you knew about Duncan.

Just as you’re about to ask him a question, it’s as if Duncan reads your mind when he advises you he invited you because you work too hard and it’s a thank you for helping him. You think he’s sorely mistaken. “Helping you? I don’t know what you think has gone on but we’ve gotten nowhere with your case because you keep distracting me from it.”

You pick up your menu and attempt to read it but the names were in Italian so you had no idea what you were getting. One dish, in particular, took your appeal – something that sounded very familiar like you’d eaten it before. You didn’t dare ask Duncan what the name of it was. He peers over the menu he’s holding to look at you and shoots a truth your way that you were trying to ignore. “I’m sure that’s not the only thing you’re distracted with.”

He folds the menu in his hand and puts it on the table. You hide behind your own to hide the fact you were blushing again at his words.

It was clear Duncan wasn’t good at admitting his feelings but he did it for you anyway. “Y/N, you just remind me of a better time in my life.”

When the heat dissipates from your cheeks, you bring the menu down and place it on the table beside you as well. “Oh right, one where you’re not breaking the law?”

“Something like that.”

He hid it well but that wasn’t at all what he meant.

**

Marco returns with some kind of wine on ice and you thought to yourself that Duncan had pulled out all the stops. You weren’t much of an aficionado when it came to anything alcoholic like that because you preferred spirits but you could appreciate it all the same. He pours two glasses and asks if the two of you are ready to order to which you say yes. You open up your menu again and point to the fifth meal under what you presume is the dinner. Marco makes a mental note and takes the menus before leaving.

You were somewhat confused why Duncan didn’t order anything but you weren’t surprised if he’d already picked what he was going to eat when he’d called the restaurant. Your eyes catch Duncan taking a sip of his drink and you begin to salivate when you imagine the liquid hitting his tongue and travelling down his throat; giving life to his tastebuds the way other things would.

He puts the glass down and moves to lean on his elbow, resting his chin in the L shape of bent fingers, biting at his lips before telling you how incredible you looked. You tried to deflect the comments and remain cool all the while your cheeks were burning as you blushed; hopefully unnoticeable under the makeup you were wearing.

Duncan calls you out and tells you to stop being feisty so you can enjoy the evening. You sink back into your chair a little. He was right you were worked up and he’d obviously gone to an effort to organise the evening but how could you not be when every time you were around him he was a complete fool?

While waiting for the food to arrive, the reminiscing about the past begins and the conversation varies in topics such as how you got into law, about your marriage, and why Duncan hasn’t settled down. It was fair to say that there was definitely more than meets the eye when it came to him but you were still hesitant to believe he could be anything other than a jackass you’d met all those years ago.

Apparently, you’d both gotten lost in the conversation because the food arrives. Marco places yours down then Duncan’s and they exchange a nod before Marco says to enjoy your meal and leaves. Duncan sees you both ordered the same thing and wastes no time in commenting how you have good taste; both a compliment and a playful tease. You take the cutlery in your hands and begin cutting into the chicken breast on your plate – as you’d expect, cooked to perfection and the heavenly aroma fills your nostrils as you’re cutting into it.

You take a mouthful and begin to chew. It’s so delicious. You’ve almost forgotten how amazing fine dining is because the last meal you ate was just some sushi from the corner shop near work. Duncan’s watching you closely, practically salivating himself as he stares at your lips. “It’s good, isn’t it?”  He wasn’t talking about the food.

Unable to say anything, your eyes roll in enjoyment and you make a gesture with your hand to tell him how good exactly you thought it was. Duncan being the man that he was and unable to miss a chance to provoke you admits he’s always wondered what you looked like doing that but you refuse to let him have his moment and continue eating. When he realises you won’t budge he picks up his knife and fork to follow suit. The two of you stay quiet, enjoying your meal, and only taking breaks to sip at your drinks from time to time.

*

You place the cutlery down on your plate, almost gobsmacked at how good it was.

“I’d ask you if you enjoyed that but I could see by the look on your face that you did.”

He wasn’t completely wrong but he also wasn’t completely right because Seeing Duncan before you eating things did something to you. Before you could give it a second thought, you could hear your phone vibrating. You dive into your bag and pull it out; looking phone to see that its Michael – his name makes you smile and you reply back about how you’ll be home soon.

Duncan interrupts you and brings you back to the present moment, asking if it was your husband. You tease him, telling him that Michael said he’ll send out a search party followed by a retraction of your comment admitting he actually said he hoped you were having a nice time. It was blatant to see that you were doing just that and that the icy layer towards Duncan had melted a little. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol going to your head but you took it regardless because was nice not to feel so tense around him.

Duncan holds out his glass. “To you winning my case and us getting better acquainted.”

You had a sneaking suspicion the latter part was going to happen in more ways than just dinner in a private room but after tonight that didn’t bother you. You two clink glasses in a celebration for unknowingly what’s to come. For the first time, being under his gaze didn’t make your skin crawl. You gave him free reign to soak up every inch of you and cheekily relished in it.

“I just want to say thanks for inviting me. Which way is the ladies?”

“The door over to my left will lead you into a hallway then just follow the signs.”

*

After relieving yourself and washing your hands, you’re standing in the bathroom and looking at yourself in the mirror. You knew you looked nice and knew exactly why Duncan said what he said but it was still a foreign feeling to have another man besides Michael eyeing up your body.

You flatten out the dress you were wearing and tidied up your hair before walking out of the bathroom into the hallway and on your way back to Duncan - Duncan wasn’t at the table though because he was waiting outside the bathroom.

“You really shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. I almost walked into you.”

Duncan would usually have a smart ass remark prepared but not this time. This time he says nothing. All you feel is a hand caressing at one of your cheeks which sends shivers trailing down your spine and goosebumps pricking at your skin. He thumbs over the supple skin of your cheek and his want is searing on you through his blues.

Before you can think what to do next, he’s already a step ahead and swoops in to meet your lips with his. It feels strangely familiar as you two kiss and you try to hold back but he senses it; grabbing a fist full of hair and tugging at your locks to tell you it’s okay. You become weak under the strength of your own arousal and desire for him and a moan escapes out of your mouth into his. He breaks the kiss momentarily to smile because he knows he has you right where he wants you; in his grasp, under his thumb. Duncan collects himself and the kiss resumes with growing intensity.

You lose yourself in the passion but as quickly as the kiss started it’s gone. He pulls away and leaves you in a bind, wanting more. He’s holding your face between a thumb and fingers while playfully clucking his tongue at you reeling in the exposing of your attraction.

“My oh my. We are a naughty girl, aren’t we?”

Taglist: @avesatanormalpeoplescareme @sensitivethot @sacredlangdon @sammythankyou @taintedaffairs @langdonsdemon @wroteclassicaly @queencocoakimmie @1-800-bitchcraft @violett124 @moltenskeleton // Also adding in: @apocalyptvc @prettybabylana

[donttellpeterparker]

You’re A Loser

Summary: Peter had no idea you existed... till now. Who knew that just with one little text to the wrong number your whole world was about to change.

Requested: No

Word Count: 1k

Warning(s)?: Popular!Peter, Loser!Reader

PROMPT LIST

masterlist (x) requests (x)

——————————————————

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

You’re A Loser

You could hear the quite echoing sounds of the tv from the living room as you passed it and walked into the adjoining kitchen. You reached in for some Milo before closing the pantry door shut behind you, popping the box in your mouth as you grabbed the bottle of milk and a bowl.

''Good morning sweetie, how did you sleep?'' You heard your mother ask from the dining room table sitting parallel to your dad, Mark.

''Dreamed my socks ate my feet again'' You responded casually, popping the stuff down onto the table with a slight thud.

''Dreams are the bright creatures of poems and legends, who sport on earth in the night season and melt away in the first beam of light'' Your dad recited causing you to smile.

''Dickens. Too obvious'' You responded with a small laugh causing both your parents to smile at you adoringly.

You went back to concentrating on your milo when you accidentally let go of the milk carton and spilled most of it's remaining contents onto the floor.

''Oh, freezer'' yes, that was your equivalent to swearing.

"Bye honey" Your heard your mother say sweetly to your father before pecking his cheek. She soon made her way over to you as he replies with the same back to her.

"Wait!" Your mother pulls your attention away from the half wipes up spilt milk on the ground up to her. You smiled.

"You have toothpaste on your face" she walks over to you and licks the pad of her thumb before dragging it across your cheek, smearing away the toothpaste.

"No mum, stop" you tried pulling away annoyed. She huffs and gives up. You quickly walk away to rinse out the chuck.

"Won't you sell more books if you have the one teenager who doesn't obsess over her looks?" You say with a cheeky smile over your shoulder.

"I'll pretend I don't hear the insult" she replies smoothly, finishing off her coffee.

"Wait I have a seminar and I want to run my new mantra by you, okay?" You nodded your head stiffly and stopped what yo were doing to listen.

"Find love, l-o-v-e, L, leave your insecurities in the bathroom mirror. O, open yourself up to rejection."

"That's beautiful" you enthuse.

*-*-*-*-*

The bell rang in the distance as you headed your way to home room with your best friend Zack.

"O, is for "open yourself up to rejection". V, just slit my vein before I die of, E, embarrassment" he laughed beside you at its absurdity as well.

"Did you tell her that?" Zack joked beside you, already knowing the answer.

"Of course not, I couldn't do that to her, she works so hard on these mantras I just... can't bring myself to say it" you confessed, stopping in front of the schools billboard. You reached inside your one shouldered bag to grab a piece of paper.

"Damn I wish my family was like yours" you softly chuckled at this while attaching your piece of paper to the board.

"What is that?" Zack asks from behind you, pointing towards the board with an almost amused glance. You roll your eyes once you saw his expression and lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"I need to save for my car, tutoring sessions will help me out a lot" your honesty to you best friend almost stung you a little.

"So your just going to leave your number up for the whole school to see?" He had a point, but looking back at the board you knew it was the right thing to do.

"Come on, we'll be late"

*-*-*-*-*

You had arrived home and quickly unpacked your school things from your bag, grabbing a banana off the counter before making your way into your bedroom. You fell back onto your bed and sighed in contentment, feeling much more relaxed instantly. A few assignments required your immediate attention (which weren't due for another three weeks, you checked). Instead you plugged in your speaker to your phone and blasted some music, enjoying the piece and quiet before your parents soon arrive home from work.

Ding!

You rolled over, rubbing your eyes groggily as you look over to your bedside clock. It read 11:25 how the hell did you sleep for almost three hours?

You yawned quietly before sitting up, wiping away the sleep from your eyes. The screen of your phone lit up catching your curiosity. With a steady hand you leaned over the bed to get it, flopping back once the phone was safely in your hands. You brought your knees up to your chest as you unlocked your phone, going into your messages.

Unknown number Hi

You stared at the screen in confusion, not often did you receive texts, little own from people you didn't know.

You Who is this?

Maybe it was someone who saw your flyer up at school? You waited a few moments but nothing came through. You turned the screen off and pulled it down beside you, deciding to reach for a book on the bedside table to continue to read.

Ding!

You saved your spot in your book before reaching for the phone, unlocking it instantly to see a new message.

Your eyes had almost fallen out of your head once you saw a photo pop up.

It couldn't be.

"Is this a test?" You asked yourself, looking up and around your room ha,f expecting a camera crew to come out to film you going 'you've just being pranked you loser!'

It took you a few moments before you came up with a reply, taking your time to write it down into your phone. A new text had popped up.

Photo Link

Unknown number How are you?

How am I? You were freaking out, you almost wanted to faint. How did the number one hottest guy in school have your phone and number and b, decided to text you? This was too crazy for words.

Peter flipping Parker you never fail to impress me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: may be the start of a new series? ;) and yes, this is definitely going to be a spin-off of the new Netflix original movie Sierra Burgess Is A Loser😂

I tried to make a fake text message and it didn’t work with the photo so I had to do the old trick and do an actual text making a friend help me out ahaha

[uhbright]

Dilaudid~Ch2;Again//Spencer Reid

Chapter 2/5

Tw; Drugs, Addiction

Click here for chapter 1 !

Click here for chapter 3 ! (NOT YET RELEASED)

Quick Note: After this chapter, the next 3 will be more planned and structured, but this one was just my train of thought, so it’s messy and definitely not my best work. But i’d get excited for the next chapters if i were you ahaha…

Also, I’m not great with my drug knowledge aha so i don’t really know how they work all that much. I’m just going off of what I’ve read and seen in movies and TV, thanks for understanding.

Lastly, my italics always get screwed up, so my apologies if that annoys you as much as it does me.

Word Count:~2k

Synopsis; After Prentiss’ apparent “death” (season 6/7), Reid turns back to Dilaudid in order to get away from the pain of losing a friend that was practically family. It sounds lame but I think it’s good ahaha!

Reid slowly walked into the empty jet.

“We’ll see you when we get back to Quantico.” Hotch’s face softened, “Try to get some rest.”

Spencer shook his head in annoyance and sat down in his usual seat. When Hotch closed the door and left Spencer to stare at the empty seats around him, he threaded a hand through his hair. How could’ve he let this happen? He knew it was a mistake to take the vile with him on the case.

Reid stood and started pacing around the jet. He soon found himself laughing at the absurdity of everything going on. He knew it was just from the drugs, but it felt good to be laughing again after everything that had happened to him so recently.

Spencer popped his hand into his pocket to grab the vile, for comfort he supposed, but it wasn’t there. He’d left it in his brief case, which he soon realized he left in the police station.

Panic flooded his body. There was no reason anyone would go through it, but then again, that was out of his control. He sat down in one of the cushy leather seats and rubbed a hand against his forehead. Everything had been done in such a rush, there was no time for his foggy mind to even think about grabbing his bag.

Reid took a sharp gasp of air before tears that he had been holding back for days came flooding out of him. Ever since he had made the decision to take the dilaudid out of his cabinet, he had made the decision to stop grieving the death of his close friend, which only made him feel worse. In this moment, Spencer knew there was no going back to life before Dilaudid, because without it he had never felt so alone, so trapped in his own mind, so unable to escape the confinements of pain and sorrow.

Spencer stayed in the same position, head balanced in hands, for the rest of the plane ride, allowing himself to grieve, hoping it would make the pain go away. But alas, when he was dropped back off at his house, puffy eyes, head throbbing from the crying and the earliest stages of withdrawal, he felt even worse than before.

In his apartment, the second vile still remained in his living room cabinet. In a fog, Reid absentmindedly crossed to the wooden shelves and went through the motions that had helped him through his pain on numerous occasions. Carefully, he filled his syringe with only slightly more limpid liquid than the first few times, as a sort of experiment to see how much of the drug his body could take before he completely lost lucidity.

He couldn’t tell if it had been only minutes since he’d returned home, or hours, or days, when a knock on the door yanked him from his heavy daze, and returned his mind to the limp body sprawled across his couch.

“Spence…?” JJ’s voice cautiously drifted through Reid’s closed door.

Spencer rubbed his eyes, then threw his arms back across the couch.

JJ knocked again, and waited for a few seconds before continuing. “We finished the case. The UnSub was named Mark Wernden, if you’re listening. I’ve got your briefcase with me.” Another pause. “I’ll just leave it out here for you.”

Reid rolled himself so he faced the back of his couch, away from his slightly cracked blinds that were letting in too much sun for his aching head and eyes.

When he could look away from the couch’s fabric without squinting, Reid sluggishly pulled himself away and dragged himself towards the kitchen. Despite the world seeming drowsy and surreal, he knew he hadn’t consumed anything since his coffee the morning he left on the jet, which, according to the digital clock shining on his microwave, was well over 36 hours ago.

Sitting down to a meal of over cooked french fries, Reid’s home phone rang. He tried to rush to the phone, stumbling excessively along the way.

Out of breath, Reid mumbled a “Hello?”

“Oh, oh thank goodness…” Garcia sang from the other end, “we’ve been calling for hours! Derek just left to check on you- your cell phone kept going to voicemail and JJ said you didn’t answer your door…”

“Wait… Derek’s coming here?” He managed to get out.

“Yes! Yes, we were worried… are you alright?”

“My phone’s just dead.” Reid said, getting agitated while trying to clean up his apartment and appearance before Derek arrived.

“I’m sorry we- we just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Well, I am,” Reid audibly winced as he banged his hip against a counter top.

“What happened?” “Nothing Garcia!” He yelled and slammed the phone onto the table, then continued to stumble around the house, and into the bathroom to wash his face.

Reid vigorously scrubbed his cheeks, forehead and eyes, periodically looking up at himself in the mirror to track if any progress was being made. Certainly his eyes seemed more alive than before, the switching of freezing to scalding water bringing him more and more into his own body. The puffiness around his eyes decreased as well. He pulled a comb haphazardly through his hair just as he heard the front door unlock.

“Kid?” Morgan called from the other room, and Reid dashed out from his bedroom, much steadier than before. “Oh thank God,” Morgan sighed in relief.

Spencer stood in the middle of the floor, not entirely sure what to do. Getting some food in his stomach, moving around and just splashing himself with water had definitely helped him regain some clarity, but everything was still fuzzy and slow moving.

“You feeling alright?” Derek started approaching the young man, who took a few steps back into the doorway.

“Fine.” Reid decided to say and gave a half-smile.

“Alright,” Derek skeptically furrowed his brow and gave the kid a once over, “Hotch has still got lots of case files on his desk. You gonna be up for the next one?”

“Sure thing.” Reid nodded and slowly crossed to the door, being careful to keep his balance. “See you, then. Thanks for stopping by.” He opened the door, ushering Derek out.

“Of course, and, hey, if you need to talk.” Derek gestured towards himself, and Reid gave him a curt nod as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Spencer looked around his apartment for his phone, which was jammed in his crumpled up pants on the bedroom floor. Normally, Spencer realized, that would have bothered him- having clothes and blankets and empty french fry tuperwears strewn about his apartment- but now, he couldn’t bring himself to pick anything up off the floor. He was drained and he couldn’t tell why. He felt empty and alone, despite having just been checked on by two people that cared about him. Still, he crossed to his living room cabinets and popped out the vile and syringe.

Placing them on his kitchen counter, he pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket and plugged it in, knowing it was the only way to keep his team members at bay.

Reid looked down at the items he had just placed on the wooden surface, knowing, now that he was practically sober and had a moment to think, that he should be more careful.

He did have friends, and he was worrying them. He had a job that he loved, even if it could be trying at times, and take one of his best friends away from him.

Reid pushed his hair out of his face, contemplating his options. As his phone turned on, it being erratically dinging and buzzing, informing him of his 58 missed calls and voicemails from Garcia, along with text messages from the rest of the team, asking where his head was at and if he was feeling alright. He sighed deeply, leaning against the island in the middle of his kitchen, facing the clear liquid accompanied by the needle. Subconsciously, his finger tapped against the side of the counter, and his palms began sweating. He rubbed them together, and noticed that his shirt was sticking to his back and there were beads of water forming on his forehead.

Of course he knew he would be going through withdrawal, he just didn’t expect so soon. But, considering the dosage and frequency of his use, it made sense.

Reid shivered and allowed himself to get into bed, constantly switching from tightly wrapping himself in the comforter to throwing it off in discomfort.

Tossing and turning, Reid slipped in and out of sleep, running to the bathroom when a wave of nausea hit him. When he found himself hunched over the toilet at 3am, his phone rang in the kitchen.

Wiping his mouth, Reid walked as quickly as he could to the phone, getting to it just as Garcia was leaving a voicemail. Reid pulled himself up onto the island to listen to a bit of the voicemail before answering.

“Hey there… I heard you were really okay… happy to hear that. We have a case. It’s a big one- that’s why I’ve possibly awoken you at three in the morning uhm. There’s someone on a spree. He’s killed 4 woman in the past 4 hours. Hotch is trying to get everyone in the briefing room in lik-”

“Hey, Garcia” Reid breathed into the phone. His stomach ached more than it ever had in his life.

“Oh- hi! You sound so tired, I’m sorry for calling, I should’ve let-”

“Garcia, when do you need me in?” He croaked, moving the phone away from his mouth so he could take a few deep breaths.

“He wants everyone in an hour, seeing as it is really early and everyone’ll need time to get ready of course-”

“Alright, see you soon.” Reid hang up his cell phone and ran a hand through his damp, messy hair. He slowly worked his way into the shower and let the cold water run along his body, easing the sporadic waves of heat washing over him. He brushed his teeth, combed his hair and finally put on a new button up shirt and pants.

Back into the kitchen again, Reid was still shaking and nauseous and he knew there was only one way he was going to be even remotely functionable for this case. He crossed to the kitchen counter holding the Dilaudid and took a deep breath. This is necessary, he told himself, it’s the only way you’ll be able to go to work, to help catch the unSub.

Reid once again folded his sleeve above his elbow and knotted his designated tie just under the sleeve cuff. With another deep breath, his shaky hands filled the syringe and made their way to his arm.

He set back down the bottle and empty syringe on his coffee table, undid the tie and unfolded his sleeve. He hoisted his briefcase over his shoulder and began making his way to the door when he stopped, hand on door knob. His heart was racing, he was out of breath, and the nausea came back a thousand times worse than before. Reid sped back over to his couch and grabbed the vile and syringe, trying to remember how much of the transparent liquid he had drawn into the needle.

Reid had meant to halve what he had taken before, but he couldn’t recall if he had actually done that. He had been doing it so quickly, as it seemed like a second nature to him now, but had he done the right amount?

Spencer buried his head and his hands, squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remember, but he couldn’t. The world was slowing again around him, and he was out before his head hit the couch.

Gah, this is sloppy but it’s been too long since I’ve posted anything so here it is anyways. I hope you enjoyed despite the 0 planning and my mind just taking me where it did. Lemme know if you maybe want to get tagged in new installments of this piece? I also ALWAYS love feedback- constructive criticism or just let me know what you thought. Thanks so much for reading and also for expressing your support of this series- it really means so much!

-reid (literally)

[soujun-arts]

Case 4 : Cupcake Madness

Reginald’s 4th Case ! English isn’t my first language so bear with me.

You can read the previous cases @ /~SilverBaron

Neovia, 15:30

I'm laying in my bed, staring at the roof of my room. I've been stuck in there for 3 long and boring days already and it doesn't look like it will be over anytime soon... My name is Reginald Acorn, I'm 20, a grey gelert and I'm currently fighting a cold. I'm a detective working for the police force of Neovia. Three days ago, the boss and I had to hide in front of the abandoned asylum to catch all sorts of thieves, including the most annoying one you can think of. And by the looks of it, thieves aren't the only things I caught that night ... But, the good news is, we were able to recover a stolen locket and give it back to Vincent Von Verzweiflung. The look on his face when he saw the "treasure" inside was well worth this nasty cold. I'm getting all emotional just by thinking of it !

It reminds me of how I miss Mama ... When I was young and sick, she would make me the most delicious of cocoa with some marshmallow floating in it. It was delicious and helped distract me from whatever sickness I was suffering under at that time...

A loud knock on my door makes me go back to reality. The doors opens to reveal an enormous darigan skeith, engulfed in tightly fitted trench-coat. A hat is deeply screwed on his head, letting only small tufts of grey hair around the sides of his head show.

_"Oh good, you're still alive kid !" he says, laughing loudly and slapping his stomach.

_"My wife made this soup for you. It's extra spicy but it should help free your stuffed nose." he grumbles as he lays down the bright red tureen on my table.

This tall and heavy Skeith is my boss, "Big Skeith". His name is actually Marcus Worsley but everyone calls him Big Skeith at the station so being the new guy, I just went with the flow. He's a bit rude, has a very loud mouth but I assure you that you could never hope for a better chief of police. He also kind of became a father figure for me since I've never met my own father... I respect him a whole lot ! _"Oh, almost forgot, I also got you this, kid." he says as he puts down a small green bottle on my night-stand. "Should help fight the cold, at least, that's what the pharmacist told me. And if it doesn't work, I can always arrest him!" Big cackles at his own joke like it was the funniest thing he ever said. I smile, not because of the joke, but because I'm genuinely happy he's there for me.

_"Okay, I must leave now, I have a job to do yaknow. I'll stop by later tomorrow to check on you kiddo, so sleep well and eat like there's no tomorrow. See ya !" he yells as he storms out of my flat. Big's appearances are always something.

I taste Big's wife's soup and it's absolutely delicious. No wonder he keeps on praising her cooking everyday ! I'll have to ask him to thank her for me, when he comes back to check on me. It really is spicy though, I thought, fighting the tears coming in my eyes. I glance at the medicine bottle ... I've always hated medicine and mama had to trick me with cookies every single time to get me to take them. The bottle is really pretty and the liquid is bubbling inside. The eagerness to go back to my cases is stronger than my disgust for medicines. I drink a spoonful of it and promptly go back to sleep.

Neovia, 7:15 am

I let out a big yawn and stretch while still laying in bed. The pharmacist kept his promises as I really feel fresh and ready to tackle whatever challenge comes my way ! The only weird thing is that I don't feel hungry at all, and if you know me, you know I always crave a huge breakfast. Thinking nothing more of it, I jump in the shower and let the warm water drench my fur. I wash my grey hair that is a bit sticky for some reason, plus it really needs a trim, they're getting way too long...

Once I've dried myself, I dress with my usual work attire and feel tremendous joy at the thought of finally being able to get back to work. I step outside and let the freezing air fill my lungs. Yes, to another awesome day of investigation !

Neovia, 8:00am

_"Oh hey kid, you're back !" shouts Big as I enter the police station. "Guess that potion and the soup worked well uh ?" _"Yes, they did ! Thank you for taking care of me boss ! And please thank your wife for me, she really is a talented cook !

_"Ahaha, I know, right !! Well, since you're up and ready, how about you join Lenny. He's going to investigate a theft and break-in at the Crumpet Monger.

_"Sure boss ! I'll be going !"

I've never had the occasion to work with Lenny before. Lenny is, well, a Lenny. He's a weird mix of faerie and grey colours and looks always completely depressed. Maybe it's the fact that he is bald that makes him so upset ? He's very nonchalant and walks as fast as snail. He also speaks in a monotonous voice and I always feel like sleeping when I hear him talk.

Neovia, 9:00am

Finally, I can see the Crumpet Monger ! The shop is actually only 20 mins away by foot from the station but Lenny being so slow, it almost took us a WHOLE hour to get there. And since I'm still the newbie, I can't say anything. The Crumpet Monger shop is relatively small but it sells the best baked goods in all Neovia ! A cupcake is drawn right over the porch roof, and just underneath, an elegant door that opens upon a world of delicious treats ! As we get closer, I can see that the door was fractured but the frontage is thankfully intact. Lenny pushes the door and a bell rings inside. We were standing in the entrance when a mountain of hair came rushing out of the kitchen like a storm. Underneath all that hair, a meerca.

_"Oh so yer finally here ! Thank goodness ! As yer can see, we were robbed last night. All ther cakes, scones, pies, tarts and everything in between, gone !" she shrieks, visibly upset.

_"I see." ponders Lenny, completely out of it. _"Did they steal anything else, like the cash register ?" I asked, ready to do my job.

_"Well, yer see, no they didn't. They only stole and ate whatever we had in there.

But ... shouldn't the shop be empty of pastries during the night since you make fresh ones everyday ?" I say, pointing at a small sign saying so by the counter.

_"Oh yer, we do ! In these kind of jobs, we work at lot at night. My main baker was working tonight, made a whole storm of pastries yer see to set the shop for ther morning. He then left for a short while to see our supplier as per usual yer see. It was during that short time ther shop was ransacked." she lets her arm fall flat on her sides. "We lost a lot of money tonight yer see...

_"I'm very sorry Mrs Crumpet. We will do our best to wrap up things quickly so you can re-open again. Would it be possible to talk with your main baker ?"  I glance at Lenny as I speak, hoping he would step in to take the reigns but he was busy dozing off with a bubble popping out of his beak. Charming.

_"Sure yer can darling ! Aaron please come yer !" she shouts.

Coming out of the kitchen, wiping his hands covered in flour on a towel, a young Maraquan Gelert. He's of average height, has a long and weird tail with a, what, fin on it ? He is purple and his hair, which kinda look like algae, is greenish. He wears a big cooking hat on his head and a fancy looking uniform with a star on it. Around his neck, a red neckerchief.

He holds out his hand and I shake it amicably, this guy seems to be really friendly.

_"Hello, name's Reginald Acorn and here's my colleague Lenny Dot. We're here to investigate and we'd like to hear what you have to say please.

_"Thanks for coming, both of you. My name is Aaron Watson, I'm the main baker here. I think you won't have much trouble finding the culprit.

Really ? How so ?" my ears rising up in surprise.

_"Look at this, they left their prints all over the display cases. Should be easy enough to find, no ?

I get closer to the case and indeed, Aaron was telling the truth, you could see distinct prints all over it. I glance at the few leftover cupcakes there, suddenly feeling hungry.

_"Hmm yes, this is all very importance evidence...

_"Hey Regie, I hope you're talking about the prints and not the cupcakes" cackles Lenny, suddenly awake.

_"Of course I am !" I yell angry he found me out. "Dust for the prints instead of dozing off, that'd be helpful" I say, still sulking.

Alright, alright, let the pro do his job baby." he shouts proudly while holding a weird pose, showing off.

_"I really hope you catch that thief, but in all those short years I've worked here, it's really the first time this happens.." adds Aaron, rubbing his chin with his hand, still in disbelief.

_"No offence here, but you seem really chill for someone who had all his hard work eaten without being paid for...

_"Oh, that's because he took out his anger on yer poor innocent dough sweetheart" giggles Mrs Crumpet.

_"Boss, please !"

_"Okay I'm done dusting the prints and taking pictures here" says Lenny, striking another weird pose. "We will have the results tomorrow or so, so you can get cleaning your fantastic shop my beautiful darling." he adds, kissing Mrs Crumpet hand in a what I assume was supposed to be a gentlemen like gesture.

_"Oh, Oh, my, my, what a charming gentleman you are Mr Dot !" says Mrs Crumpet, blushing.

_"Urhg, disgusting." whispers Aaron while laughing slightly. "Then, I'll get back to work, thank you for coming."

Neovia 13:30

I'm sitting at my desk, eating my sandwich. It took us forever to get back here, as Lenny took his sweet, sweet time. Sometimes I really wonder how come this guy still had a job considering how slow he is in everything he does, but Big told me that he's the best when it comes to little details and all the other stuff we tend to overlook. He's currently studying the prints we found and comparing them to the files we have. Whenever someone decides to move in Neovia, they're obligated to give their prints as well, I'm not really sure why, but I guess after being a cursed town for years, they prefer to use some caution. I had to do it too when I filed all the paperwork in the City Hall. I swallow the last bite of my meal when Lenny comes rushing out from the lab and sprint right into the boss's office. How weird it is to see someone as slow as a snail go as fast as a cybunny ... I guess he did find something. Not two minutes later, Big yells for me to come to his office right now. Why do I feel like I'm not gonna like this ?

_"Kid, we have a match for the prints you guys found." says Big, dropping the file on his desk. He turns around to face the window, turning his back to Lenny and I. "The culprit is a Gelert.

_"Oh, really ? Is it that annoyingly annoying jewel thief ? Though, I wonder why he would steal cupcakes..." I say, rubbing my cheek.

_"No, praise Fyora, this guy is innocent for once. Though, I wish it was him right about now...

Knowing how Big despises that thief, I feel the anxiety rushing through my body.

_"That thief never leaves any prints behind, that's why we have so much trouble identifying him... Reginald, don't you have anything you want to say to me ?" he says calmly, turning back to face me again.

_"No.. I don't understand, I haven't done anything wrong..

_"Kid, the prints are yours. Your prints are all over the display cases of the Crumpet Monger shop. Lenny even found some grey hairs that belong to you on the scene, hair that were covered in frosting. You are the cupcake thief." he looks at me, visibly disappointed.

_"But ... I haven't left my flat yesterday.." I cry, upset I could tarnish my reputation this way. "I ate the soup you brought me, took the medicine as well and went to bed. I swear I didn't do anything wrong..."  I state, still sobbing. Disappointing Big is one of the last things I want to do...

_"Look Kid, I know you, I know you're not a thief nor a liar. There has to be an explication, and we will find it." he says, putting his clawy hand on my shoulder. "Oh and wipe your nose, I don't want any snot on my desk!" he adds, smiling snarkily. "Let's go on a walk, I think you need some fresh hair. Thanks Lenny for your work, you can go back in the lab work on whatever you have left to do."

Neovia 14:00

_"Okay, let's go to the pharmacy and see what the guy has to say. I don't feel like you're lying like I said, but how come every evidence found incriminates you..." he grumbles as we walk in the main street.

_"I don't know, I'm really lost here... I don't remember a thing, but I do recall not feeling hungry this morning and my hair being sticky when I woke up." I follow him, looking at my shoes, still feeling shameful.

_"We're here." he says as he pushes the door open.

_"Oh hey it's you !" points a young Zafara with his head full of blond and spiky hair. "How is it doing man ?

_"I'm not your man, kid.

_"Yeah, yeah, what can I do for ya ?

_"I want "ya" to tell me more about this medicine I got from you yesterday. Are there any side effects I should have been told about when you gave it to me ?" asks Big, pushing his finger into the zafara's coat.

_"It was groovy eh man ?!" he says, still pointing his fingers at us. "I think I'm gonna slap some sense into this idiot, if you know what I mean." whispers Big in my ear.

Oh, Oh...

_"Stop being such a moron Arnold !" yells a middle-aged Kacheek, hitting his head with a stack of paper. "Ugh, I swear to Fyora, you're really an idiot. Please excuse my employee sirs. What can I do for you ?

Big Skeith, after a glance at my pathetic face, decides to explain the situation to the Kacheek himself. She closes her eyes as she listens to him. _"Uh, Uh, I see. I do have an explanation for you, I believe. Did you wife happen to add some clawmatoes in her soup ?

_"Yes, it's one of her favourite things to put in there. Why ? Is there an issue with it ?

_"As stupid as it sounds, yes actually. I do not know the full details, but they contain some enzymes or something that react quite badly with the cold medicine your friend here took. They can induce sleepwalking tendencies and cravings when mixed together. Since the poor guy doesn't remember a thing, I believe that's what happen. What were the odds though ?

_"I see, thank you Ma'am ! Please keep slapping some sense into your apprentice.

_"I will good sir, have a nice day, sorry for the trouble !

Neovia 14:30

_"Wait for me here, I won't be long kid." says Big gently slapping my shoulder as he opens the door of the Crumpet Monger shop.

I'm leaning against the façade, still unsure about what's going to happen. Am I going to got to jail ? How are Mrs Crumpet and Mr Watson going to react ? They seem really nice to me and I really don't want them to hate me. As I'm wondering what's going to happen, I hear the bell and the door opens. It's Aaron.

_"Rough day, eh ?" he says as he leans against the shop next to me.

_"Yeah, pretty much. I assume you know everything." I whisper, still full of shame.

_"Yes, I do."

The sharp answer makes me shiver, but I didn't feel any anger in it. _"Look, as upset as I am, we know it's not your fault. Your boss said he was going to pay for the damaged door.

_"Really ? But what about the cupcakes, I mean, I ate all your stock...

_"You sure did!" he cries in laughter. "I can't believe you ate all that without feeling sick, you have some strong stomach kid !

_"Hey, don't call me kid, you're barely older than I am !" I manage to utter as I start to laugh with him.

_"Now that's better ! We have agreed on something with your boss. We're not gonna ruin a promising career, so hear me out. When you're not working your usual job, you'll come and work part time with us, that includes cleaning, deliveries, tasting my new recipes and other little things. That's how you're going to pay your debt to us. Does that sound fair to you ?" he grins.

_"You bet, thank you so much !" I say sobbing, finally relieved from the tension in my shoulders.

Neovia 21:30

I lay down my pen on my desk. I desperately needed to write a letter to mama to tell her everything. After that chat with Aaron, we came back inside the shop were Mrs Crumpet gave me a delicious crêpe to cheer me up. We ended up having a good laugh over this unlikely story and I'm going to start working part time with them tomorrow. I'm really eager to make it up to them. Once again, Big Skeith was there for me, and I can't thank him enough. He talked food with Mrs Crumpet during what felt like an eternity but it was a peaceful moment. As for Aaron, despite him being rightfully angry for his destroyed goods, he opened up to me and showed me how passionate he is about his job. I felt like we were the same on that point. I really wish I can become his friend because I really enjoyed his company. I better go to bed now, I have quite a doozy of a day tomorrow !