#listening to big band swing and imagining them dancing to it

[spineless-lobster]

They are literally fred astaire and ginger rogers to me

[noisyquokka]

Lifetimes Before

PAIRING - Chan x GN!Reader

SYNOPSIS - Sometimes all your soul needs is a quiet night with your Lover, something that always feels familiar to you that you can't quite put a finger on.

WORDCOUNT - 2k

WARNINGS - Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, dancing with this man under the stars? sign me up!!

A/N - I've had this idea stuck in my head for a while now, so I thought I'd finally get it out. Giggled, kicked my feet, twirled my hair whilst writing this and now I wish I could dance with my girlfriend... Anyway Happy Chan day, everybody!!🥰🎉

The wood creaks beneath your weight as you descend the staircase, halting at the second-last step and leaning over the railing. You scan the open space in search of your Lover, ears perking at the melody floating about the first floor. Something far older than the two of you, with elements of blues, swing, big band. A man with the vocals of silk and lace, a warm embrace. Nat King Cole. It's a record you're familiar with, one you can imagine your grandparents listening to in their late 20s. It's something that fits a quiet Sunday evening, the spices from a homecooked meal wafting through the house as the family sits down to eat. Something that fits this quiet Sunday evening.

The chosen vinyl spins on the turntable, soundwaves moving you like nothing else can. You skip down the last few steps, turning towards the back patio with a furrowed brow. There's a faint glow shining through the door's glass, fighting its way through the sheer curtains hanging from them; a pathetic excuse for privacy. But you find the golden glow of a sunset too good to pass up most days, the rays bleeding through the hallway, running up the walls like untamed flames in a campfire.

Ah, that glow… one of crackling wood and all-encompassing heat.

A smile pulls at the corners of your lips, your slippers padding across the runner in the hall as you pull the door open. Chan's back is to you, tending to the fire in the freestanding pit. Daylight is fading, the tree tops along your property rimmed in the amber glow of late Summer. The northern breeze assaults the fabric on your person, greeting the bare skin beneath with a sweet kiss of chills. You step out anyway, patio bricks smooth underfoot, and clear your throat. The man's shoulders tense only for a moment, straightening up as he turns to you. That familiar look of affection adorns his face.

"So what's this, then?" You gesture to the fire, the buzzing stereo inside. It's romantic beyond measure, and even as you know the events that are about to unfold, you play coy. "You call me down here for what, exactly?"

"Leave the door open," He says, waving you over with a wag of his fingers. You oblige, unable to hold back your smile as you close in on the sight before you. The mess of curls atop his head move with him, his focus on nothing else but you as you cross the space from the entrance to the patio. The closer you get, the wider Chan's smile gets until you're greeted by those dimples, the fire light washing over the elusive divots as he turns back to the horizon awash in a blaze of vibrant hues. Orange, violet, yellowish-pink.

You stop behind him, feeling the warmth of the fire spill over the broadness of his shoulders. He chuckles when your arms slink around his waist, tightening as you rest your cheek at the space between his shoulder blades. You take a deep breath, closing your eyes. The patio door sways open further with the breeze, the sound of the stereo mingling with the crackles and pops of dry wood. It's almost like the sands in the hourglass stop out here, every single time. If only…

Chan's fingers slip under one of your hands, linking your fingers together to pull you around to his side. The song that's playing ends, and you recognize the next instantly. Those fingers squeeze around yours in a nonverbal question, and Chan follows up with a verbal one.

"May I?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"I'm just being a gentleman." He insists, pulling you closer with a gentle hand. His other hand settles at your waist, taking the lead in this three-step on this chilly evening. And you follow with no complaints, bringing your opposite hand up to rest on his shoulder. Nat King Cole begins his silken performance from inside.

Three little words,

Oh what I'd give for that wonderful phrase,

To hear those three little words,

That's all I'd live for the rest of my days,

His grip on you is firm but comfortable, there to keep you close even as he knows you're not going anywhere. The two of you ease into that familiar swing and sway, so used to being soul partners in this backyard oasis where the only wandering eyes are the wildlife that slinks through the shadows and the stars that have yet to make their appearance tonight. Moving together as one, sharing the same space as Chan pulls you in so your back is to his chest.

And what I feel in my heart,

They tell sincerely,

No other words can tell it half so clearly,

His voice rumbles in his chest, swaying you back and forth as he softly serenades you in his arms. You're smiling, lashes fluttering at such a serene and calming voice, the lyrics carrying you on wings of sound as you step in time with the music. And oh, does that voice hold nothing but the strongest affection for the one he's singing to. It erupts butterflies within your chest.

Chan unfurls you from his embrace, your fingers interlocking again as you step backward, shifting your weight to your left foot and coming back to center. It's hard not to smile, something so natural to the both of you - a waltz between two Lovers in firelight as your bodies flow like a river - when you've been here a number of times. The instrumentals fill the air between you both, floating out of the warmly lit home and into the night. 

Three little words,

Eight little letters,

Which simply mean I love you.

Chan's voice fills your ears again as he spins you around the patio, the chill creeping under your shirt. Even so, you feel nothing but warmth radiating from the man that's swinging you around like this is the most fun he's had in all his lifetimes. He pushes you away, shifting his left foot back before strong arms are pulling you back into him. Your laughter echoes through the trees, and you let your head fall back in bliss. You bite your lip as he presses a kiss to your chin.

"Am I doin' this right?" His breath is soft on your neck, arms slipping to the small of your back while yours find their resting place at his shoulders. You're much too close to properly dance, so Chan guides you into a slow and simple sway, shifting your weight from your left foot to your right.

"You're the dancer, Christopher," You reply, tilting your head to lock eyes with the man, "shouldn't you know?" A soft smile takes over your lips as you let your eyes linger on his in the warmth of the fire.

"I was referring to my execution," He gestures to the romantic setting he'd created with a smirk. "but from the look on your face, I'm guessing I've done alright."

You chuckle, blinking as your fingers find the hair at the nape of his neck. Your gaze flits around the backyard, seemingly judging the choices he'd made. The wind kicks up now, rustling the changing leaves that sway along their branches with you two below. The flames crackle with the intrusive whispers of air, embers glowing as they travel on the wind's current like fireflies. Your focus come back to those warm amber eyes, licking your lips.

"I'd say so." You murmur, leaning in to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Chan grins at that, lifting you with ease and twirling you around, the two of you moving in a smooth circle. You squeal at his movements, eyes wide for the slightest second as the pads of your fingers dig into his shoulders. But then you hear him giggle and you're being brought back down just enough that his lips can find yours. You hum contentedly into the kiss, lashes fluttering against your ever heating cheeks.

And what I feel in my heart,

They tell sincerely,

No other words can tell it half so clearly,

He sets you back to your feet and without missing a beat, you're back in step with little effort. Your body moves in time with Chan's and his with yours, each step blending into the next. The intuitive tells and the way you understand each other's bodies is an artform, with a level of cohesion that defies all logic. Like two halves of a whole, your souls intertwined in a way that's otherworldly. Attuned to the natural rhythm of one another, every step, every touch. It's something learned over lifetimes. It's an enchanting feeling; an experience you could live in for eternity if only you get to experience it with his soul in every single life beyond this one.

Three little words,

Eight little letters,

Which simply mean I love you,

He spins you away again, lyrics dancing on the tip of his tongue. The man's voice is like a soft, melodic lullaby, it's smooth and soothing tones washing over you. The breeze and the fire craft a tranquil and romantic atmosphere as you sway your hips with the music. The flames cast a glow across Chan's face, dancing over bare skin as he draws you back into him, foreheads bumping softly. He brings a hand up to cup your cheek, thumb brushing fervently at the warm skin. Time moves slowly in this moment, lasting an eternity as you breathe each other in. You could've sworn this song is only about two minutes long.

"Simply mean I love you."

He sings the last line softly, a wide grin taking over his face. You mirror that grin, unable to hold back as your heart beats heavy in your chest. Two pairs of eyes stare for a long moment, taking in every feature, every imperfection, everything. Nothing but a heart palpitating love in those gazes, melting into one another. There's love.

"I love you."

It's said at the same time, soft chuckles vibrating through warm chests. His breath lightly fans over your cheeks, the hand at your back coming to rest at your hip. He tilts your head up just enough, the softness of his lips meeting yours in another gentle kiss. You're still slightly swaying as the next song plays in the background, your senses tuned into him as you feel the chill on your skin, the scent of burning wood, the taste of Chan's lips on yours.

You dance until the fire begins to die, your bodies intertwined and foreheads resting against each other. Until the vinyl is finished playing, giving way to the chorus of night insects that still sing this close to the start of Autumn. The embers burn away, cooling into white ash as starlight takes over, the moon's soft luminescence illuminating the two of you. And even after all is quiet, you stay in Chan's arms, the warmth of his skin and his voice a gentle comfort.

You know you have work in the morning, but enveloped in your Lover's arms, you don't see yourself finding the willpower to rush back inside to go to bed. Not when everything feels as it should. Heartbeats in sync, two souls sharing such a profound connection that poets of old could only weave into the fabric of humanity's web with their weathered scribes.

You see their gazes now, in the twinkling of the stars above, beautiful and serene. A creation all their own. The scene brings a smile to their shimmering faces, that you know every inch of the man beside you. Every inch of his body, every movement, every sound. There is nothing that Chan does that you don't already know. Your love runs deeper than flesh and bone, deeper than the vastness of galaxies. It's a love that runs to the very essence of your two souls. A love that has lasted lifetimes before this one and will last for lifetimes after.

The hours pass, but you don't rush back inside to sleep. There is no hurry, no need. 

You are where you're supposed to be, in the arms of the man you love.

Psst!! If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read my work 💕 I appreciate you!

[timelyrmdoodle]

Perusing your Royal Margarine playlist because of course I am (rm enjoyer) and I'm REALLY invested in the musical vibes..... Could you talk about what made you put some of these songs in the playlist? You don't have to explain the decision-making process for the inclusion of Every song on there, just the ones you'd like to discuss :)

Also saw Cannibal Queen by Miniature Tigers on there and 1) YAYYY I LOVE THAT SONG AND BAND 2) I enjoy it for RM 😊 if you were willing to listen to another Miniature Tigers song (especially for RM), I would recommend Bullfighter Jacket

YESYES YES GGGGRGEHRGRGRHRG MY PLAYLIST IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME, HALF OF MY DISEASE COMES FROM THERE, IM SICK, IM SICK, OOOUUUGHH THIS MAN, IVE DEDICATED HOURS OF MY LIFE TO HIM

ahem

Most of the songs I have on there can fall into a few categories, there's a lot of stuff so let's see if I can list them out, uhhh...

Songs that reflect his mental state and the way the acts, why he does things, what he's actually thinking underneath, things like that. (Some examples of those I'd say are like, My ugly, Puppet loosely strung, Noel's lament, The view from halfway down, One big beautiful sound, and many others that I can't list or else we'll be here all day.) Most of those songs end up being from musicals, because musical songs are really meant for showing character and that works great for my purposes. Also they're quite jazzy and swing-y for lack of a better term, which I think it fits him pretty well!

Pining and breakup songs, because holy shit look at him. You cannot tell me this man hasn't had like, so many people that he pines for or had a crush on at some point. *Slaps trunk of car* this bad boy can fit so many unrequited crushes in him. RM to me is the kind of guy that gets crushes very easily and very fast, and the worst thing is they're pretty genuine! He's just, terrible at commitment and honestly uses romance to not have to think about the parts of his life that he doesn't want, so he puts all his self worth into romance specifically. I'm going to squish him.

Songs that just generally fit his vibes to me tbh? I have at least a few instrumentals in there, and they give me him thoughts so I put them in. It's fun to imagine him being stupid and goofy and dancing tango (I still wanna animate that someday)

Sad ass songs because yeah. These fit in the first category, but they also deserve their own category because there's just, too many of them. HE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT HIS EMOTIONS, BUT HE HAS SO MANY OF THEM. God please let him actually be genuine and open up God please.

Thirst trap songs I stole from some edits online. Next.

Sometimes shitpost songs that I think are funny and yet they still fit him, like blonde boyz and red flags. It's funny idk what to tell you. I don't have too many of those on there but I am accepting more because they make my day.

Songs that make me think of animatics and scenes!! These also go for a lot of musical songs, but also JHARIAH WHEN I CATCH YOU JHARIAH. Usually these make me sad!

Usually, a song will definitely fit these categories, but it's also very VERY common that I will just, grab a song and streeeecth it meaning wise so it can fit in his playlist because I already liked that song before and I like my blorbo being associated with one of my favorite songs. There are so many of those in there.

And I think that's it? I might've missed some category, but that's fine. I can also definitely go into specific detail about each and every song on that playlist if asked but I will not do that on this post because that would be SO MANY WORDS. Indulge me someday perhaps however, if you dare.

(And btw, I listened to that song!! I like it a lot!! It is in his playlist now :) stoopid pining man <3)

[trip-the-cal-fantastic]

Edelweiss

Dad!Jake Kiszka x F!OC (Mariah Carella)

MDNI!

Warnings: Swearing, use of pet-names (significant other and kids), cochlear implant, description of a dancer’s body, mention of an absent father, mention of grandparents passing, mention of a mother passing of cancer

Word Count ~ 2.7k

The crackle of one of the baby monitors on the nightstand made Jake stir. He propped himself up on his elbow, one eye still squinted closed as he tried to decipher which one of the kids was awake. Another cry caught his ear, his attention pulled to his four month old daughter’s monitor. He sat up with a quiet grunt, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and scrubbing his hands over his face.

Behind him, Mariah had slowly started to wake up. “Jay?” She rubbed her eyes and sat up, holding the blanket to her chest. “What’s going on?” 

“Tommie’s awake.” Jake stood from the bed, adjusting the waistband of his sweatpants and stretching his back. “Go back to sleep. I got her.”

Jake padded down the hall and passed Henry's room to Tommie's nursery. It was 4:30 in the morning, and the baby girl was awake. He quietly pushed the door open and made his way to the crib, leaning over the side to pick her up. "Do you have any idea what time it is, my sweet girl? Daddy was supposed to be sleeping, and so were you." 

Jake scooped the crying infant up, cradling her to his bare chest and kissing her dark tufts of hair. "My goodness, Tommie. You must be so hungry, doing all that screaming. You're lucky bubbie’s deaf and Momma’s a heavy sleeper, or else we’d both be in trouble." He took the baby out to the kitchen, trying to make her a bottle as quickly as he could, which proved to be pretty difficult with only one hand. 

Jake carried Tommie to the couch, rearranging the pillows and blankets to make a spot from them to curl up together. He tucked a pillow under his arm and positioned the baby in the crook of his elbow. He guided the bottle to her mouth, letting out a content sigh as her tiny cries turned into the sounds of suckling.

Jake yawned as Tommie ate, his eyelids becoming heavy. He stayed awake long enough for her to finish eating and to be burped. Jake had laughed when she did, the sound being so big for someone so tiny. 

He shifted Tommie to lay with her head on his chest, one hand resting on her back, the other behind his head. She started to fuss again, but he had a plan. "No tears, darling. Shh, shh shh. Daddy’s right here."

Jake began to sing a familiar melody, the vibration of his chest soothing his daughter. “Edelweiss, edelweiss. Every morning you greet me. Small and white, clean and bright. You look happy to meet me.” Jake smiled down at Tommie, running his thumb back and forth on her little back as her little eyes that mirrored his own fluttered shut again. He continued singing, his voice smooth and low in his chest. “Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow. Bloom and grow forever. Edelweiss, edelweiss. Bless my homeland forever. Edelweiss, edelweiss. Every morning you greet me.”

Little did he know, Mariah had quietly gotten out of bed and was standing in the kitchen, listening to Jake's soft voice drift through the house, her hand over her heart, and a single tear rolling down her cheek. She rounded the corner, stopping at the arm of the couch to admire Jake, being the best dad she could have ever imagined. "Oh, cara mio."

Jake turned his head, only slightly startled by Mariah, and smiled. “G’morning, sweetheart.” He took a moment, admiring her half-asleep state. Her jet-black hair had some leftover curl from the previous day, her curtain bangs parted in the middle and long enough to be tucked behind her ears. She wore a loose pair of silk pajama shorts and one of Jake’s shirts from when they were in highschool, the bottom of the shirt tucked into the band of her sports bra. 

Mariah had a dancer's body, which was to be expected, considering she had been dancing since she was 4 years old, and spent the better part of her days teaching kids, ranging from ages 2 to 17 at the Millenium Dance Complex. Every part of her is slim and toned with muscles, especially her legs and midsection. Her skin held a year-round olive hue, inherited from her mother’s Italian genes, much like the rest of her features. Her voice even carried the same Jersey Shore-sounding accent, and it drove Jake wild. Sometimes, with certain words, like water or car, they could hear a slight accent in Henry’s little voice.

Mariah’s mother, Francesca Carella, or Franny, as everyone knew her, grew up in Staten Island, and moved to Frakenmuth when Mariah was 3. They lived four houses up from the Kiszkas, and five houses down from the Wagners. Mariah’s grandparents also moved to Michigan, sharing a home with her and her mother. It was her Grandpa Michaelangelo, who just went by Mike, who had the thought for them to leave Staten Island, wanting to get Mariah away from her biological father. That man couldn’t have cared less about the fact that he had a daughter.  The only thing Mariah knew about her father was that he had a deaf sister, which is where Henry’s deafness came from. Mariah carried the recessive allele from her father’s gene pool, and apparently Jake carried it from somewhere in his own bloodline.

Franny’s mother, Rosa-Lynn, had basically raised Mariah while Franny worked. Both of Mariah’s grandparents had passed away when she was in high school, a few months apart from each other. Shortly after she and Jake moved to Nashville, Mariah’s mother fell terribly ill with pancreatic cancer. They tried every treatment the doctors had to offer, but her condition only worsened. A couple of months before Henry was born, Franny passed away with Mariah by her side in her home in Michigan.

Jake and Mariah honored their memory with the names of their kids. Henry Michael, named for Jimi Hendrix (Henry was the closest Mariah would let Jake get to naming their son Hendrix), Josh, and Michaelangelo Carella. Tommie Frances-Lynn, named for Jake, Sam, Franny, and Rosa-Lynn Carella. They used to joke about it being fate that their family names were so similar, thinking it meant that they were supposed to be together so they could carry down the names.

Jake’s eyes raked over her form in the low light pooling in from the kitchen. “How is it that you are so beautiful all the damn time?” He held his arm out for her, motioning for her to join him. Mariah moved to sit on the couch, curling herself into Jake's side and resting her head on his shoulder. She placed her hand over his where it rested on Tommie's back as Jake pressed a kiss to the top of her forehead, enjoying the moment of rare silence in their home.

And, just as soon as it started, that moment of silence was over. 

Having a deaf toddler in their ‘Terrible Twos’ and a four month old was not for the faint of heart. Henry’s crying rang out from his bedroom down the hall. Mariah sighed and rose from the couch, pressing a quick kiss to Jake's lips. "I swear it's like the Bat Signal.”

Jake chuckled and spoke in a loving tone. "Go be BatMom."

Mariah made her way to Henry's room, pushing the door open and turning his light on. Henry was standing in his crib, his dark blond hair tousled by sleep and red lines and creases on his face from his blankets. He squinted at the light and rubbed his face before looking up to Mariah with sleepy eyes.

Mariah moved to the dresser, grabbing Henry’s cochlear processor and holding it up for him to see. She pointed to Henry, then to the processor, and signed ‘want’, her eyebrows raised to show that she was asking a question. When they were at the house, Jake and Mariah gave Henry the option of wearing his processor or not, to which he usually opted for the latter. However, if they were going out where people would want or need to talk to him, Henry had to wear the hearing aid. 

Normally, it was a fight to get the boy to wear his cochlear first thing in the morning, but today he nodded without protest. Mariah stepped closer to the crib, attaching the magnet of the processor to the implant site behind Henry’s right ear and draping the speech processor over his ear. She watched the little green indicator light start to blink, meaning that the device was connected and Henry was receiving sound. “All good, bubbie?”

Henry blinked slowly and nodded, holding his arms out for Mariah to pick him up. She lifted him out of the crib, hugging him to her chest and planting kisses all over his face, eliciting sleepy, crackley giggles from the boy. Mariah smiled down at Henry, resting her forehead against his. “Good morning, little bear.”

Henry craned his neck, pressing an awkward toddler kiss to the corner of Mariah’s mouth. She giggled and scrunched her nose up. “Oh, that’s very sweet. Thank you, Henry.” She laid Henry on his changing table, putting him in a clean pull-up before carrying him out to the living room, where Jake and Tommie were still cuddled together on the couch. “Look who’s awake and put his processor on without a fight.” She sat next to Jake, the little boy curling up in her lap and laying his head against her shoulder, facing Jake.

Jake reached over and ran his hand through Henry’s hair, being mindful of the cochlear processor. He spoke to the boy, keeping his voice quiet enough to not wake Tommie, but loud enough that Henry could hear him. “Good morning, Henry. Did you sleep good, bear?” 

Henry nodded and pointed to his pajama shirt. “Di-tars.” Jake and Mariah were very proud of the little boy’s speech. He had come a long way in only one year of having the cochlear implant; from having no words or hearing at all, to being able to speak clearly in almost full sentences, hear more than 65% of what people were saying, and starting to use and understand sign language, which Jake and Mariah had taken upon themselves to learn and teach to Henry. 

Jake smiled and nodded. “I see that, baby boy. Those are guitars just like Daddy’s, huh? Who got you those p.j.s, Henry?”

“Unca Day.” Henry’s little voice was still scratchy from sleep. ‘Unca Day’ was how he said Uncle Danny. He leaned forward, reaching out with a little hand to rest it on Tommie’s back. “Sissy.” Henry looked up at Mariah with tired, brown eyes that matched hers perfectly; a soft amber color. That boy was identical to his father, but his eyes were definitely passed down from his Momma. “Sissy seeping?”

Mariah nodded, keeping her hand on Henry’s arm, just in case. Again, ‘Terrible Twos’. “That’s right, bubbie. Tommie is sleeping. We have to be very quiet so she doesn’t wake up and cry. We don’t want her to cry, do we?” 

Henry shook his head and pulled his hand back, instead using it to sign as he spoke. “No, no, no, no.” He turned in Mariah’s lap, crawling off of her and standing between her and Jake on the couch. “Dada, me hold you?”

Jake put one hand on Henry’s leg, holding him steady. “Hang on, bear.” He shifted Tommie gently into the crook of his arm and then carefully pulled Henry onto his lap. “Be careful, okay? Remember, sissy is little, so you have to be very gentle. Dada will hold you if you promise to sit still. Can you sit still for me, Henry?”

Henry nodded and snuggled into Jake’s side, his head resting on his chest and his knees just barely pressing into his dad’s ribcage. “Pomise, Dada.” Jake smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Henry’s head.

Mariah stood from the couch, patting Jake’s knee as she did. “You want coffee, baby?” Seeing him nod, she gave him a small smile and disappeared into the kitchen. She could hear Tommie start to coo and whine, but Jake was quick with his soothing. His voice filled the house again, the lyrics to Edelweiss flitting through the air. 

On the second round of the song, Mariah carried two mugs of coffee back to the living room, finding both Henry and Tommie asleep in Jake’s arms. Henry had lifted his hand and rested it on Jake’s throat, feeling the way his Adam’s apple moved as he sang. He had also pushed the magnet of his cochlear off of his implant site, letting it hang down from the wire of the processing unit that sat over his ear and relying solely on the vibrations of Jake’s voice.

Mariah smiled at her little family and set Jake’s cup on the end table next to him. She set her own mug next to his, moving to gently lift Tommie into her arms, shushing the baby and swaying side to side. 

This was a common routine in the morning, taking turns holding the kids so the other could drink their coffee or eat. However, Henry always ended up in Jake’s arms, a subtle reminder to Mariah that her boys were best friends and she would probably always be second place in the kid’s eyes. But, for now, Tommie was still very dependent on Mariah, so that made up for it, and was honestly easier on her. 

 Mariah sat in the recliner with the baby and grabbed her cup of coffee, taking a small sip and letting out a small hum as she used her foot to rock the chair back and forth. Jake followed suit, adjusting his hold on Henry and taking a drink of his own coffee. 

Henry stirred and shifted in his sleep, his little hand on Jake’s throat flexing, his grip subconsciously tightening on his windpipe. Jake’s breath hitched and he let out a choked cough followed by a watery-eyed laugh. “Jesus Christ.” He coughed and chuckled again, taking another drink of his coffee to soothe his throat. 

Mariah raised her eyebrows at Jake, giggling along with him. “You alright over there?”

Jake nodded and swallowed hard, rubbing his hand over Henry’s hair. “Yeah. Felt like bubbie grabbed my esophagus.”

Mariah laughed harder as Tommie cooed and grunted in her sleep, an unfortunate, familiar rumble coming from her lower half. Mariah looked down at the baby and let out a light-hearted groan that turned into a giggle. “Tommie Frances-Lynn. Good lord, darling. You feel better?”

Jake set his mug down, a look of pure shock and entertainment playing on his features as he glanced over to Mariah and the baby. “What was that?” He spoke through a fit of quiet laughter, his hand coming up to cover his mouth. 

“Your daughter just pooped.” Mariah looked down at Tommie again, seeing the tiny grin on her lips. “And, she’s smiling about it. You really are a Kiszka, huh baby girl?”

“Holy hell. That was her?” The shaking of Jake’s shoulders and chest woke Henry, who sat up with a small whine, his eyes still half closed. Jake ran his free hand over Henry’s head and reconnected his processor. “Sorry to wake you, bubbie. Tommie shit her pants. Bad.”

Mariah stifled her laughter behind her hand. “Jacob. Do not say that to him. He’s in that stage where he repeats everything.” She set her coffee cup down and stood with Tommie. “Shoo! You stink, Tommie. We should make Daddy change your butt, sissy bear.”

Jake’s brow furrowed in feigned offense as he laughed again. “Hey, woah. Why do I have to do it? I haven’t clocked in for diaper duty this morning.”

“Come on, Jay.” Mariah held Tommie out in front of her and smiled widely. “I already changed Henry this morning. This one’s all yours.”

Jake groaned and patted Henry’s leg. “Hop up, bear. Daddy has to…” He gestured to Tommie and scrunched his nose. “…Take care of that.” Henry climbed off of Jake, who stood and sighed, taking the baby from Mariah. “Come on, stinker. Let’s get you all fresh and clean.”

~

Taglist:

@tripthedharmadivine

[sudsyv2]

I have so many silly prompts and only one small brain that can’t remember all of them so I’m writing them down ><! (if you like any feel free to use them !)

I’ll probably be adding to this list daily 😽

MISC:

1. Ghost and soap who have reincarnated so many times but somehow still meet each other in their new lives.

2. Soap and ghost on a swing, just swinging and chatting

3. Duke ghost and butler soap or reverse! Either way one’s trying not get them in trouble and the other doesn’t give a fuck if something happens, they’d literally go to war with the entire country if anyone opposes to their relationship

4. Siren soap!!!!

5. Ghost and his inability to say no to Soap

6. Gamer ghost (sorry this is just so funny) and rich boy soap who’s got an embarrassing crush on him

7. Tattoo artist soap and biker ghost

8. Big werewolf ghost and his somehow more feral human boyfriend soap!

9. Soulmates, red strings the whole deal

10. Ghost getting called big guy by soap (and liking it)

11. STREAMER GHOAP AU THINK ABOUT IT, IT WOULD BE SO FUNNY

12. Finding out each others love language

13. Ghost is a rock collector he collects shiny rocks and when he finds one he really likes he shows soap

14. Painter soap

15. Soap doodling on ghosts arm

16. Soap learning to cook, just cause he’s bored

17. WRITE MORE OF THE PROMISE RING SHIT I GOTTA WRITE MORE OF IT

18. Ok so hear me out, a tiny creature (can be a baby monster thing or idk) imprints on both soap and ghost

19. Soap is good with kids

20. Photographer ghost but he doesn’t talk about it. Though one Christmas, soap got him an expensive camera and he was extremely happy about it

21. soap carry’s small bandaids with stickers on it all the time. You got a small cut? He’s got a hello kitty, Batman, any kind of bandaid you want he’s probably got

22. Tyrant ghost looking for a wife and then in comes knight soap looking to defeat tyrant ghost

23. Ghost has incredibly dumb theories and soap is the only one who listens to them

24. DINOSAURS!! THEY BOTH REALLY LIKE DINOSUARS AND THEY HAVE ARGUEMENTS ON THEIR FAVORITE DINOSAURS

25. Detective Ghost and an Arsonist on the run from the police Soap

26. Literal ghost! soap, like that bitch is haunting the base grounds, and lieutenant who goes by the name ghost

(Will add more)

FLUFF:

1. Soap looking at ghost with such a loving shine in his eyes, those damn puppy eyes staring at ghost like he had just given soap the world

2. Soap buying ghost flowers

3. Soap kissing all of ghosts scars

4. Them just laying together, cuddling, soap is rambling about something and ghost is listening intently sometimes even adding a “I see” in between to let soap know he’s listening

5. Soap would be the one to propose but wouldn’t be able to hide the fact he was going to propose, his excitement written all over his face

6. I know it’s probably not possible but imagine ghost being ticklish

7. Ghost, whenever they’re cuddling, likes to put his entire body weight on soap. And soap doesn’t even mind, playing with ghosts hair and rubbing his back.

8. Soap having to get on his tippy toes to kiss ghost and ghost leaning farther and farther back to see just how determined soap is to kiss him (very. Soap is very determined.)

9. Taking a shower together, nothing sexual happens it’s just them washing each other after a long day

10. SLOW DANCING, AND BOTH TAKE TURNS TAKING THE LEAD

11. Ghost kissing soaps hand

12. Ghost learning how to knit and knits soap a blanket that says “soap and ghost”

13. Bass guitarist ghost in a band who really wants to woo this super cute guy (soap ofc) that always shows up to their concerts, and gets his bandmates to help him write a song for said super cute guy (soap)

14. Soap can sing and sometimes ghost will just ask if soap can sing for him. When they’re both sleepy! And soap does, it’s usually always some type of silly lullaby. Works wonders for ghost though

15. Price telling ghost that his lover boy(soap) is here

16. Ghost gets a small scratch on his cheek and soap kisses it better, ghost not expecting the kiss is left frozen in place for a couple seconds while soap is just walking off cackling

17. The way they wake each other up. Ghost gently nudges soap awake but if he could stare at soaps sleeping face forever he would. Soap on the other hand, says ghosts name and kisses his face. Like a lot. But ghost is always up after the first kiss, he just likes to act asleep to get more kisses

18. Their first kiss. Not like their usual quick ones that leave them both wanting more, this one is soft and tender. Eerily gentle.

19. Soap seeing Ghosts genuine smile, it left him breathless as ghosts deep laugh ran through his entire body and made him shiver

20. Soaps and ghosts adopted cat son Phantom!!! Phantoms patterns on his face look like ghost so of course soap had to adopt him. Anyways cat dads ghoap

21. Aftercare (I’m the biggest slut for aftercare that shit is amazing)

(Will add more)

NSFW (there will be NO things like noncon or r/pe here unless it entails them finding a way to heal after it)

I don’t usually write smut so I’m sorry if these are bad 😭

1. Werewolf ghost goes into rut, human soap offers to help him through it

2. Power bottom soap who is extremely good at getting guys like ghost to be on their knees for him

3. Soap wearing lipstick and leaving big O lipstick stains on ghosts dick

4. Ghost in bed is extremely touchy, he needs to have soaps skin under his hands gloved or not.

5. Ghost pressing his hand on soaps stomach to feel the bump of his own cock in the other

6. Soap is under ghosts desk sucking him off

7. Soap cockwarming ghost while the other writes a report

8. Roleplay idk what they’re roleplaying just roleplay

9. Soap likes to moan loud to see how long it takes for ghost to push his head against a bed/wall just to shut him up

10. Soap loves it rough

11. Ghost lifting soap up to fuck him and soap is absolutely in shock and turned on

12. ghost is a big biter, soaps had to cover up way to many bites from him

13. Lmao monster fucker soap

14. Ghoap exploring their kinks!

15. My friend said virgin ghost and I was like ok sure, then he hit me with “experienced soap telling inexperienced ghost how he wants to be fucked” and I was like damn ok

16. Ghost is extremely weak to the way soap says his name, especially in bed. Hearing that breathless “Simon” mixed with soaps strained yeses and moans gets ghost hard (really fuckin hard lol)

(Will add more)

[daidi-dragan-glas]

The following fantastic list of advice comes courtesy of legendary jazz pianist THELONIUS MONK, a musical genius who died over 30 years ago this February 17, 1982. The list was transcribed by saxophonist STEVE LACY in 1960. Enjoy.

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

T.MONK'S ADVICE (1960)

JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT A DRUMMER, DOESN’T MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE TO KEEP TIME.

PAT YOUR FOOT & SING THE MELODY IN YOUR HEAD, WHEN YOU PLAY.

STOP PLAYING ALL THOSE WEIRD NOTES (THAT BULLSHIT), PLAY THE MELODY!

MAKE THE DRUMMER SOUND GOOD.

DISCRIMINATION IS IMPORTANT.

YOU’VE GOT TO DIG IT TO DIG IT, YOU DIG?

ALL REET!

ALWAYS KNOW... (MONK)

IT MUST BE ALWAYS NIGHT, OTHERWISE THEY WOULDN’T NEED THE LIGHTS.

LET’S LIFT THE BAND STAND!!

I WANT TO AVOID THE HECKLERS.

DON’T PLAY THE PIANO PART, I’M PLAYING THAT. DON’T LISTEN TO ME. I’M SUPPOSED TO BE ACCOMPANYING YOU!

THE INSIDE OF THE TUNE (THE BRIDGE) IS THE PART THAT MAKES THE OUTSIDE SOUND GOOD.

DON’T PLAY EVERYTHING (OR EVERY TIME); LET SOME THINGS GO BY. SOME MUSIC JUST IMAGINED. WHAT YOU DON’T PLAY CAN BE MORE IMPORTANT THAT WHAT YOU DO.

ALWAYS LEAVE THEM WANTING MORE.

A NOTE CAN BE SMALL AS A PIN OR AS BIG AS THE WORLD, IT DEPENDS ON YOUR IMAGINATION.

STAY IN SHAPE! SOMETIMES A MUSICIAN WAITS FOR A GIG, & WHEN IT COMES, HE’S OUT OF SHAPE & CAN’T MAKE IT.

WHEN YOU’RE SWINGING, SWING SOME MORE!

(WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR TONIGHT? SHARP AS POSSIBLE!)

DON’T SOUND ANYBODY FOR A GIG, JUST BE ON THE SCENE. THESE PIECES WERE WRITTEN SO AS TO HAVE SOMETHING TO PLAY, & TO GET CATS INTERESTED ENOUGH TO COME TO REHEARSAL.

YOU’VE GOT IT! IF YOU DON’T WANT TO PLAY, TELL A JOKE OR DANCE, BUT IN ANY CASE, YOU GOT IT! (TO A DRUMMER WHO DIDN’T WANT TO SOLO).

WHATEVER YOU THINK CAN’T BE DONE, SOMEBODY WILL COME ALONG & DO IT. A GENIUS IS THE ONE MOST LIKE HIMSELF.

THEY TRIED TO GET ME TO HATE WHITE PEOPLE, BUT SOMEONE WOULD ALWAYS COME ALONG & SPOIL IT.

[ijustlovefiction]

Cars/Planes Headcanons!!!!

MUSIC EDITION

CARS

Lightning - he would definitely listen to all the songs from the whole Cars Series like "Real Gone", "Life is Highway" or "Ride". Personally, I think he would be a fan of Imagine Dragons and The Score.

Mater - in my opinion, our lovely tow truck would listen to country songs, most often from Brad Paisley, possibly a few songs from musicals

Sally- Personally, I think she would be a huge ABBA fan. Just imagine her singing this band's songs as she works

Doc - I don't think our legendary Hudson Hornet would be addicted to music, but I know he wouldn't despise "Everybody Wants To Rule World" and "Nothing else matters" (he would despise today's music, saying that the 80's was the best)

Luigi -he could certainly be a fan of jazz and swing. I feel like this music brings back memories for him

Guido - in the case of a pit stop champion, I believe he would listen to some accapella. I don't know why, it just seems that way to me

Ramone- seems to be a guy who listens to rap/punk (I don't know what to call it) Something like "Gangsta's Paradise" or "Punk Tactics"

Flo - The Rolling Stones. She. is. Just. Big. Fangirl. Of. It.

Red-well, our sensitive guy could listen to lofi music, which always helps him to organize his thoughts and calm down

Fillmone -would be a fan of Michael Jackson. He would love his voice and his favorite song would be "Heal the World"

Sarge-I don't think he would have any fun with music. He would listen to whatever is playing in the background

Lizzie-like some hits from the 30s. She'd definitely mention Stanley on "It's been a long long time"

Mack- he would have a lot of fun listening to Skillet. Every time he goes somewhere, he'll vibe to one of these songs

Sheriff- he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he loves musical songs. Especially "From now on" from The Greatest Showman

Cruz - QUEEEEENN!!! SHE WOULD BE A HUGE FAN OF THIS BAND! I even have a vision of her excitedly sitting at the premiere of "Bohemian Rhapsody" (her favorite song is "Show must go on")

Finn: Did you think Mack was a big Skillet fan? Look at this agent. He would go to every concert because he thinks this band is badass. Just like Fall out Boy. He plays these songs EVERY TIME when he's on some mission (in one earphone of course) Sometimes he'll listen to "Warriors" by Imagine Dragons

Holley - I think she would like to listen to Katy Perry. It was her childhood idol and now her songs help Holley to cheer her up

Chick-probably would listen to typical rap

Strip - our king would be a fan of The Weekend. His favorite song would be "Pray for me"

Cal- Like his uncle, he would love The Weekend, but he wouldn't disdain Imagine Dragons

Bobby-would listen to Pitbull. I don't know, somehow I see him enjoying his music

Jackson - I think he would love Panic! At The Disco. He would most like "Let's kill tonight"

Francesco- he would be a fan of Kesha. I know it's weird but I just see him dancing to "Blow" or "Timber"

Prof Z - he would probably turn up a villain playlist on YouTube and enjoy it. He would also feel like a boss listening to "Crazy=genius" by Panic! At the Disco

Miles- Maneskin would be glad. Once for laughs, he sang "I Wanna Be Your Slave" to Prof

Sterling - That son of a bitch (I hate him, sorry) probably wouldn't like music :V

Tex - our favorite Dinoco owner would probably listen to jazz, which would calm him down and give him satisfaction, because he believes that "jazz is music for successful people"

Acer and Germ - these two are die-hard fans of Eminem. I imagine them driving to their "work" listening to one of his songs

PLANES

Dusty-When Doc said "Today younglish don't know anything about music" he certainly didn't mean our favorite plane. Ozzy Osbourne, Electric Light Orchestra, Guns N Roses, Queen, Metallica, Nirvana or even single tracks like "Let's Grove Tonight" are like a piece of cake for him. He has music from the 70s, 80s or 90s in his little finger. (also fandom songs for ex. "Build our Machine", "Get Out" or "Hero Forms")

Dottie- Personally, I think she would be a fan of Arcane songs. She often listens to them while she works, which gives her a really cool vibe (especially "Playground" or "Snakes")

Chug - a fan of the opening credits of various series or cartoons and more (and also fan of Disney/Dreamworks songs) For sure, while watching "Ninjago" or "Monkie Kid" together with Dusty, he would sing it out loud (I'm not surprised :V)

Skipper - Personally, I think Skip would love to hear songs from "Sweeney Todd" (Highly recommended)

Sparky-Weezer fan. Definitely

Mayday-I personally think he would listen to songs about courage and sacrifice for example

El Chu - romantic songs are for him the rhythm of his heartbeat. I guess I don't need to explain this 😅

Bulldog -anthem of Great Britain. Just kidding, he would probably listen to Avicii while still grieving over the death of that artist

Ishani-I think Ishani would be a Lady Gaga fan. She'd have no problem dancing to "Bad Romance" or "Americano"

Rip - our emo plane would probably be a huge fan of Slipknot. He really gives me the vibe of someone whose favorite song is "People=Sh!t" from this band

Rochelle - She's Swiftie. I JUST SEE IT as he listens and vibes to "Anti-hero", "Welcome to New York" or "ME!"

Ned and Zed - they even have the same taste xd. I think they would both enjoy listening to Halsey or Billie Ellish, sometimes even Melanie Martinez

Franz -our favorite German would not have a favorite genre. He would just listen to whatever he wanted

Echo-this fighter wouldn't mind listening to Twenty One Pilots. The song "Stressed Out" is his favourite

Bravo - his favorite artist would be Rob Zombie. "More human than human" always accompanies him on his patrol

Blade- Well, at first our favorite helicopter wasn't a big music fan, but when Dusty showed him the song "Gladiator" by Jann, he started listening to it addictively

Windlifter-dude seems to me to be the type of person who listens to action movie soundtracks (for example Avengers) It gives him strength and motivation to train and fight fire

Lil'Dipper - anime intros can sing like no other. She is such a big fan of Britney Spears and Blondie. She also won't despise K-Pop.

Maru- Our fireman mechanic would be a huge fan of AC/DC. He loves to listen to them while working and often asks Patch to put on one of these songs during the action (it was even in the movie :V) He would also love "You're the best" or "Eye of the tiger.

Dynamite- For sure her favorite song would be "Black Widow". She would also like to listen to punk rock like "I Am A Poser"

Pinecone -she would 100% listen to fantasy songs like "Willow Tree March" because it brings the world to life in her head (in headcanon, I think she's a sensitive person with a vivid imagination)

Blackout-N.I.R.V.A.N.A totally. I don't know, I have the impression that he would listen to this band since he was a child and would go to every concert if he could

Avalanche - as with Rip, he would listen to Slipknot. It helps him release his emotions

Drip-I personally think he would be a Bruno Mars fan. Imagine him in sunglasses, chilling to "The Lazy Song"

Cabbie-Fan Rag N Bone Man. He would love the vibe of these songs and would relax to them

Patch-The Runways would be the band she fell in love with after watching Guardians of the Galaxy (basically, she listens to all the songs in that movie)

Cad - in my opinion, he wouldn't listen to music except for the song "I'm Awesome"

Nick- He would feel great joy while listening to Metallica. Once Blade walked into his dressing room and saw him singing and jumping to "Master of Puppets"

Leadbottom - this old man would complain about today's music even more (and more annoyingly) than Doc. He'd think 50s music was the best

[muffant]

Okay okay okay okay Ive got this. First and for most we gunna ignore any music restrictions the gang get because of being merchandise and property. Can't have our mascot promoting a song we don't approve of no no! So this is all music they listen to in private.

Freddy: I think he listens to swing and pop. Stuff that is groovy! It's partially what his programming asks if him but also he adors a song you can dance too. A second type of music he listens to on less energized days are songs that work more like poems. His favorites being ones of complex alliteration, comparative lines, changes in mood from word choices. He loves sitting down and writing the lyrics down to analyze them. He's secretly used one or two lines in his own Faz-Bear approved songs.

Roxy: Indie and Alternative, you can't tell me this cool gal doesnt listen to the niches bands. She especially loves bands that she can play along side too, rocking out to her song of choice in her green room during the dead of night. She also can't stop herself from humming and ghost playing the songs in her down time. She's also fiercely protective of her music tastes, usually when asked she'll say she likes Rock, she just doesn't want anyone to say anything about the songs she loves, very sensitive to perceived criticism. It takes her forever to show her music to anyone.

Monty: anything and everything. So long as it's got a high energy beat. He usually gravitates towards Rock and Heavy Metal. Where he can really rock it on the bass (op note: I see Monty as a drummer more so than a bassist but I'm trying to keep in canon thinking), he absolutely loves when a song gets a proper bass solo, where he imagines himself shining through. Management does know he listens to this genre and allow him to play specific songs to keep up his bad boy persona. A genre he equally listens to is Country, he loves the twang of singers voices and the strums of aucustic guitars. He even asked for his own once (unfortunately denied), he loves listening to the more emotional country songs. This one management doesn't know.

Chica: She listens to *everything* she doesn't tie herself down to one type of music. She's listening to pop, to rock, to heavy metal, to folk, to rhythm and blues, to soul, to hip-hop, everything. She expresses her love of the music with dance, learning so many styles to properly get a feel for what she's listening too. From ballroom to breakdown she just loves music. She's tried to get the others to dance with her with varying degrees of success. To her music is so much more than something to listen to. It's emotions in the form of sound. An expression fo culture.

Sun: Hyper pop and breakcore (op note: mood) he prefers this music right into his audio receptors where the music can drown out all thoughts. He enjoys just laying out while the music ruines all processing power. When he can't sit and vegg out he instead dances in a spuratic way, mans has no pattern nor style, it's just feeling, just getting the energy OUT. He's also the type to put on music in his audio receptors while he works because listening to the (while cheerful) CONSTANT song of the theme song. It gets annoying when it isn't as energetic as he is.

Moon: Folk, Blues, Instrumental and on the occasion Screamo. He's the same as Sun and doesn't like it out loud, preferring it in his head. He loves slow energy songs you could sleep too, especially the kind with lyrics like a story. He loves to picture worlds and imagine them to those songs. The slowly music is just enough to keep him calm and happy, then on the flip side is the one or two (a lot more) Screamo songs that come on that blow up his ears. That's when he gets his energy out in a crazied energy. It's especially fun when he's on security, listening to soft blues and rnb when he detects someone. A big grin as he swaps it to a LOUD song and he gets to have a fun chase.

DJMM: Electric, Dubstep, Swing, and Rap. Generally he prefers to make his own music so when he does it's usually the first genres, how ever he loves listening to Rap, if he could sing he'd be just as fast or rhythmic as them. The best he's gotten at it is changing his eyes to the words and doing interactive sign rapping. He secretly knows everyone's favorite songs and preferences, how? Who knows.

What music genres do you think the Security Breach animatronics listen to? I like to think they all have a genre they adore. This extends to Sun, Moon, and DJMM. I want playlists of these robot fucks

[musewrangler]

I was thinking about this at work, and I must know:

If your Empire Reimagined characters were in the modern world, what would some of their favorite bands/artists/songs be? (My theory is, Piett would like Simon & Garfunkel, but that's just me)

First we need to establish that you are wonderful for thinking about this at work. ;D I love it.

And it is now your fault that I can't do anything else until I answer this hilarious plunge down the imagination. So. Cracks knuckles. Here we go:

Contrary to what you might think, it is Anakin who likes Simon and Garfunkle. They strike the right note of melancholy for him, without being too dark and angsty. He's trying not to allow outside stimuli to drag him to darkness again. Luke likes this too and Leia rolls her eyes at both of them and refuses to allow it to play in her house.

Han is a classic 80s band guy. U2, Bon Jovi, Journey, ACDC, Wham, Queen, Blondie---he loves it all. Leia likes some songs from some of these artists and they can be seen dancing together to these pieces. There was one legendary night at Sola and Firmus's place when they'd enjoyed a good dinner and good wine that Han and Leia did karaoke for 'Don't Stop Believin', belting it at the top of their lungs to the point that the neighbors commed to complain about noise, but Firmus let Luke talk to them and they came over and had wine and were fine about it. Even requested 'Hungry Like the Wolf'.

Veers also likes ACDC if only for 'Back in Black' as it reminds him of his tank divisions in the Middle East and the camraderie of his men who picked this song as their anthem. He doesn't mind most of Han's music---it hits the right notes literally, though he's not a big Hughie Lewis and the News fan in spite of Back to the Future.

While we're on Veers, he REALLY likes Queen, and the early 2000s hard rock. He also is a dork about the Beatles---something Firmus really loves to give him a hard time about----and Leia and he have trivia battles regularly about this as she likes them too. [Myra loved the Beatles, and so while Firmus likes to tease Max, he also has every single song on his playlist ready if requested.]

Luke is a Maroon Five, Plain White T's, Coldplay, Greenday, The Fray sort of guy, but if you want to see him air guitar [and he has and Han recorded it] watch him with the Black Eyed Peas. I know. No one called that, but it's awesome. He genuinely likes most of the other music his friends and family do, and Leia shares his love of Coldplay.

Piett is quite eclectic in taste. He and Veers can be found nodding their heads and looking very satisfied when CCR is playing, especially Fortunate Son. His favorites to tend toward the 70s rock, so the Eagles, The Dooby Brothers, Moody Blues, and Styx are favorites. However, Firmus LOVES good jazz and swing music. So he can equally be found playing Sinatra, Crosby, Bobby Darin, Big Fat Voodoo Daddy and Nat King Cole. He and Sola are really good dance partners by now and Leia loves capturing sweet moments in their kitchen when they're making dinner for the family and the Admiral takes Sola by the waist to spin her round the island impressively to the King of Swing.

He also loves great classical pieces like Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G major or Handel or Beethoven. This is good because his adopted son in all but name is a classical freak.

Scraps is KEEN. Matthew is all things classical and is an utter NERD about this. He knows ridiculous amounts and can name a piece after just the first five notes.

He also plays the cello himself and does so beautifully though none of them knew this until four years into knowing him.

Leia, as mentioned, loves Coldplay and some of the 80s bands Han does. She refuses to listen to music she has deemed 'boring and slow' [pointed look to Anakin and Luke] though she seems to enjoy Piett's jazz and it is rarely fast paced so.

Leia has a country streak though she is picky here as well. She adores Cash, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and ZZ Top. [There are pitched discussions over whether that last is properly country, but Han takes her side---shocker---mostly because he likes the song 'Well Dressed Man'] She has a hilarious affection for 'Ice Ice Baby' which many of her friends find strange since she doesn't like cold typically, but she will bop to this any time any where. Han tried putting it on during an argument once and she managed to carry on yelling for another minute before she broke.

It only worked once though.

Thank you @accidental-spice! This was really fun!

[rubysunnday]

Hi!! If this doesn't catch your eye, then feel free to delete this.

Could I please request a Bridgerton imagine where Eloise meets Reader and realises that R would be perfect for one of her brothers (you can decide which one)? Eloise then tries to matchmake them or even just introduce them to each other??

so, this is love

“No.”

“Oh, come on, Y/N/N.”

“Nope.”

“Please?”

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“Eloise, you can give me the sad eyes all you want, my answer is not going to change.”

“But if you just -”

“Eloise, I will burn you with this cigarette in a minute - stop it.”

Eloise slumped back against the tree and gave Y/N a glower that would rival Anthony. Y/N - who’d been friends with the Bridgerton’s for almost four years - ignored the glowering glare her friend was giving her and puffed on her cigarette.

“Are you coming to the ball tomorrow?” Eloise asked, dropping her glower. She reached over and snatched the cigarette out of Y/N’s hand.

“Yes, of course,” Y/N replied, frowning. “You know I am - no.”

“One dance.”

“No.”

“Just one.”

“No.”

Eloise practically growled. “Oh, come on, Y/N! You love Colin!”

“Yes, as a friend, El,” Y/N replied, scoffing. “Don’t you dare try and set me up with your brother.”

Eloise sighed but held her hands up in surrender. “Alright, I won’t. But you’ll still come tomorrow?”

“I don’t really have much choice,” Y/N muttered. “I promised your mother and Anthony.”

Eloise smirked. “She’s terrifying, isn’t she?”

“Put together with Anthony, I felt as if I was going to be executed if I didn’t say yes!” Y/N exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “He glowered at me, El. Glowered.”

“Ah, yes, Anthony Bridgerton’s infamous glower,” Eloise said, nodding. She handed the cigarette back to Y/N. “Now you have to come.”

Y/N let out a sarcastic laugh as she took the cigarette. “Very funny, El.”

“What’s funny?”

Y/N jumped and almost fell off the swing she was sitting on. “Jesus Christ, Benedict!” She exclaimed, putting a hand on her chest. 

“Sorry,” Benedict said, struggling not to smile. He sat down on the swing next to her and held his hand out for the cigarette. 

“Oh, we’re all just sharing now, are we?” Y/N muttered, handing the cigarette to him. 

“We were just talking about how Mother and Anthony managed to make Y/N agree to attend the ball tomorrow night,” Eloise said, picking at the grass around her.

“He glowered, she smiled,” Y/N muttered, shuddering either from the sudden gust of wind or the memory of being cornered in Anthony’s office.

Benedict laughed and choked on the smoke he accidentally inhaled. “Once they corner you, there's no escape, believe me, I know!”

Y/N groaned, slouching as much as she could in the swing. “I don’t want to go, though - no offence.”

“None taken,” Eloise called, shaking her head. “I don’t want to go either.”

Y/N groaned again and leant back on the swing, tilting her head back until her hair was touching the grass. She pushed herself back and forth with her feet as she contemplated her impending doom, half listening to the conversation Benedict and Eloise were having.

She’d never been one for balls - she was a introvert like Eloise - and preferred hiding in her house (or Bridgerton house which was quickly becoming a second home to her) reading a book. 

When she’d first entered society she’d been a wallflower. Y/N and Eloise had met at a ball and had bonded over the fact neither one wanted to be there. A few balls later and Y/N found herself dancing with Colin Bridgerton.

It hadn’t taken much before she fell down a rabbit hole titled Big Crush on Colin Bridgerton. 

Not that she would ever admit it to anyone. Unfortunately, Eloise had found out and - after much badgering and nagging - Y/N had reluctantly admitted that she was right and ever since then, Eloise had been determined to set her up with her brother. 

Y/N had been avoiding Colin ever since Eloise had found out, not that she thought he’d noticed.

Y/N tilted back a bit further and yelped as she lost her balance and fell onto the grass. “Oh, right, that’s it, I’m not going,” she moaned, staring up at the tree and glowering at the inconvenience that had just occurred to her. 

Benedict snorted as he stood up and held out a hand to her. “Oh, stop complaining, Y/N/N, you’ll be fine. I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Y/N begrudgingly took Benedict’s hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet and pull a twig out her hair. “Yes, and then the entire ton can glare at me because I’m friends with the most eligible bachelors in London.”

Benedict smacked her on the back of the head and Y/N slapped his arm in retaliation.

“Children,” Eloise called - sounding scarily like Violet. “Y/N, you are coming whether you like it or not. In fact, I’m going to make Benedict come and get you at noon tomorrow so you can get ready here.”

“And so I don’t run away?” Y/N added, raising an eyebrow at Eloise.

“That too.”

Y/N muttered something that sounded suspiciously like she was cursing the entire Bridgerton name, but she nodded. “Fine. Benedict can come and get me.”

“I’m so glad I’m appreciated by you,” Benedict said sarcastically, putting an arm around her shoulders. “It’s such a refreshing change.”

She wasn’t hiding.

There just happened to be a significantly large potted plant in front of the chair she was sitting in. 

Y/N had to admit that she did look beautiful. The midnight blue dress sparkled in the dozens of candles dotted around the room and her hair had been pinned up with jewelled violet hair pins that Violet had leant her for the night.

That didn’t, however, change the fact that she didn’t want to be there and was trying her hardest to avoid Colin. 

Eloise, however, had had the opposite idea and had been glued to Colin’s side the entire night, trying to find Y/N and make her dance with her brother. 

“Is my Mother’s orange tree plant providing subtle enough cover, Y/N/N, or would you like a cheese plant as well?”

Y/N stuck her tongue out at Anthony. “I know you’re joking but I wouldn’t mind if it happened to appear next to the orange tree.”

Anthony chuckled and sat down next to her, offering her one of the glasses of lemonade he’d been holding. “You can’t hide behind a plant all evening.”

“I’m doing a pretty good job of it so far,” she retorted, sipping on the drink. “It is a very nice plant.”

“Why are you hiding?” Anthony asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Your sister is trying to set me up with Colin,” Y/N muttered, glowering at the plant as if it was Eloise’s face.

“Who? El?” “Yes, Eloise,” Y/N snapped. “Once that woman gets an idea she physically cannot let it go until she’s finished with it.”

Anthony laughed. “You’re hiding from Eloise?”

“She’s terrifying when she’s on a mission, Anthony,” Y/N replied, turning in her chair to look at her friend. “You’ve seen her with the whole Whistledown fiasco.”

“I was wondering why she’s been glued to Colin’s side or night,” Anthony mused.

Y/N groaned, dramatically throwing her head back against the wall. “I’m doomed, Anthony. Doomed.”

“Let it never be said you’re not dramatic,” Anthony muttered, sipping his drink. “Want to dance?”

“If I dance she might see me. I should hide behind foliage when possible.”

“She’s not a predator, Y/N. Besides, you promised me a dance,” Anthony said, standing up and holding his hand out.

“No,” Y/N grumbled, taking his hand and letting him drag her onto the floor, “she’s an apex predator.” 

Anthony rolled his eyes. “Yes, alright, she’s an apex predator. Now, I know you don’t like my family tonight but please try to avoid stepping on my toes, these shoes have just been polished.”

Y/N resisted the childish urge to stamp on Anthony’s foot, just to prove a point. 

The dance was a slightly energetic one - a far cry from a waltz, thankfully - and Y/N found that she was actually enjoying herself. Anthony spun her around the room and lifted her up into the air, watching her giggle with excitement with a triumphant smile.

The song slowly came to an end and they bowed to each other. Y/N giggled again and hugged Anthony.

“I enjoyed that, thank you,” Y/N said, almost beaming. “Oh, fuck.”

Anthony, forgetting that Y/N had spent too much time around them and probably knew more swear words than he did, gaped at her. “What?”

Y/N nodded behind him with fear in her eyes. “I’ve been snared.”

“Y/N! There you are!” Eloise called, barging through the crowd and dragging Colin behind her. Colin followed his sister with an amused smile. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“And I’ve been dancing with Anthony,” Y/N replied, trying to avoid looking at Colin. 

Eloise’s eyes narrowed at her for a second. “Colin has a question to ask you,” she said, pushing her brother forward.

Colin stepped forward and Y/N was forced to look at him. She titled her head up - no matter what height she seemed to be, he always seemed to be taller - and met his gaze. She struggled to ignore the butterflies in her stomach as he made eye contact with her and smiled.

“I was wondering if you would like to waltz with me?” Colin asked, gesturing to the band who were preparing for the next dance.

“Waltz?” Y/N asked, staring at him.

“You don’t need anyone’s permission, do you?” Colin asked, frowning. “I just assumed with you being an only child -”

“She has my permission to waltz, brother,” Anthony said, stepping forward and standing next to Y/N. “I am her chaperone after all.”

Y/N gave Anthony a glare of betrayal. “Yes, of course,” she said, turning back to Colin. “I’d be happy to dance with you.”

“Excellent,” Colin said, taking Y/N’s hand.

As he led her to the dance floor, Y/N glared at Anthony and Eloise, who she now realised had teamed up together. They both looked far too pleased with themselves and when they began to follow them onto the dance floor she realised she had no way out.

“Are you alright?” Colin asked, eyeing her with concern as Y/N sighed heavily. “I’ve hardly seen you all evening.”

“I’ve been outside,” Y/N lied, nodding to convince herself. “Away from... people.”

Colin chuckled, nodding with an air of understanding. “Yes, I understand.”

Colin moved his hand on to her waist and Y/N tried not to make the sharp intake of breath she took obvious. His hand rested on her waist and the small of her back, just below where the back of her dress ended and exposed her skin. His other hand grabbed hers and, despite the white, silk gloves she was wearing, she could feel the heat of his hands. 

“Y/N?” Colin asked softly.

Y/N’s eyes snapped to his and she was engulfed by the pure delight, love and enjoyment in them. The crinkled slightly as he smiled at her. 

“Yeah?”

“We have an audience,” Colin said, nodding to his left. 

Y/N followed his gaze and tried not to groan aloud when she noticed the entire Bridgerton family - minus Eloise and Anthony who’d annoyingly joined them on the dance floor - watching them.

“Oh, for -” Y/N cut herself off and sighed. “No, it’s fine,” she said, looking back at Colin. 

“Are you sure?” He asked.

The orchestra finished tuning and the first notes of the waltz began.

“Yes,” Y/N said, smiling a pure smile of joy for the first time that night. “It’s perfect.”

They began dancing around the room to the gentle melody of the waltz. 

“Have you been avoiding me?” Colin asked suddenly.

Y/N blinked in surprise as he spun her. “You noticed?”

She mentally cursed herself because that was not what she meant to say. 

“Of course I noticed, Y/N,” Colin said, frowning. “I go to talk to you and you’re not there. You’ve disappeared off with Hyacinth or Benedict.”

Y/N sighed, realising she wasn’t going to get away with lying. “Ok, fine. I have been avoiding you, Colin.”

Y/N cursed in her head as Colin spun her away to Anthony (she was beginning to suspect the two Bridgerton siblings had purposefully joined them in the dance to make it even harder to talk to him).

“Bad time,” she growled to Anthony.

“Eloise forced me too,” Anthony replied, unfazed by the anger that was directed at him. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Y/N asked, looking up at him.

“Of course, Y/N/N.” “Am I... suitable for Colin?” She asked, finally voicing her main concern and the reason she’d been avoiding him. “I know I'm not a perfect lady - and I have hardly any dowry and that my family is all but non-existent -”

“Y/N,” Anthony said softly, cutting her off. “You are more than enough for my brother. I don’t care about anything except the fact that you love him.”

Y/N opened her mouth to protest but Anthony cut her off before she could.

“I’ve seen the way you two look at each other, Y/N,” he said gently, twirling her. “You are practically a Bridgerton already, why not make it official?”

Y/N’s eyes widened but before she could question him, she was spun back to Colin. 

“So, we were talking about you avoiding me,” Colin said, a cheeky grin on his face.

Y/N let out a stuttered breath as Colin moved his hand up slightly, his fingers brushing over her bare back. 

“Colin... I...”

“I know,” Colin said gently, looking her in the eye.

Y/N faltered. “You know... what?”

“Why you’ve been avoiding me,” Colin elaborated. 

“Oh?” “Eloise told me.”

“Oh.”

Colin laughed. “You’re change of tone is so telling - you are rubbish at hiding your emotions.”

“Yeah, well I’m obviously not that bad,” Y/N muttered. “What did Eloise say, exactly?”

“That you like me and she’s been trying to set us up for the past few weeks,” Colin replied, twirling her around a few times. “Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”

Y/N shrugged slightly. “You’re a Bridgerton, Colin. You could have any woman in this room - the majority of whom are far more suitable than me, an orphan with hardly any dowry and a grandmother who doesn’t care -”

“But I want you, Y/N,” Colin said, moving his hand from her back to tilt her chin up.

Y/N allowed him to lift her head up and gazed into his eyes. “You... want me?”

“I did just say that, didn’t I?” Colin quipped, his eyes twinkling.

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Haha, very funny.” She paused. “But... you do want... me?”

“Of course I do!” Colin said, surprised that she was even doubting his affections. “Y/N, I’ve wanted you from the moment you walked into me and nearly fell down the stairs.”

Y/N let out a snort that she quickly disguised with a cough. “Thank you for saving me, by the way,” she replied, smiling. “That would have been interesting.”

“Especially since you almost took Benedict out with you,” Colin added.

Y/N laughed, throwing her head back. “Oh, god, don’t remind me!”

Colin moved his hands to her waist and lifted her into the air as the music reached its climax. He slowly lowered her back down, his hands staying on her waist, and Y/N felt the sudden urge to take him there and then.

“I love you, Y/N Y/L/N,” Colin said softly, his voice almost a whisper in her ear. “I love everything about you. I love your clumsiness, your eye for art, the way you sing... I love you.”

Y/N looked up at him. “I love you too, Colin.”

Colin smiled and stepped closer to her, his hands tightening on her waist. 

Someone bumped into Y/N and she fell forward into Colin - the man catching her and holding her up against him.

“Stupid heels,” Eloise cursed, wobbling and grabbing Anthony’s arm to steady herself. “Oh, hi! How was your dance?”

Y/N bit her lip and looked at Colin, struggling not to laugh. “Someday, Eloise,” she said, turning to look at her friend, “I’m going to be hanged for murdering you.”

Eloise took Y/N’s arm. “If you get caught I’ll be disappointed.”

“Who said I’d be caught?” Y/N questioned. “I just assumed your brothers would hang me themselves.”

The two women laughed as they walked off to the drinks table, chatting vividly about a subject women probably shouldn’t be talking about.

“I love her, brother,” Colin said, turning to look at Anthony.

Anthony chuckled and smiled, patting him on the back. “Yes, I noticed, Colin,”

[missmewts]

music//the evans

(seasons 1-7, luke cooper, peter maximoff, there will be more in part two!)

rating; pg

warnings; none???

basically some music artists and songs evan's roles might listen to. the gif isn't evan but gaga is iconic so don't complain

LUKE COOPER...the office, 2010

MGK. don't even argue. he's obsessed with machine gun kelly

but if someone asks, it's kanye west

he's never heard a single song of kanye's

his favorite radio station on sirius xm is the pulse

he really likes sunflower and best friend by rex orange county, but those are the only ones

he gets chills everytime ben platt's 'imagine' comes on. don't ask why.

TATE LANGDON...ahs: murder house, 2011

(toot>tate)

INSANE CLOWN POSSE

but specifically my axe or boogie-woogie-woo tho

MOTHER/MOTHER

he doesn't mention liking them tho cause it's sorta out of place with everything else he likes

nirvana obvi

probably stevie nicks/fleetwood mac

the doors

THE FOUNDATIONS

build me up buttercup, specifically

crosby stills nash & young

eAGLES TOO

he loves the classic vinyl and classic rewind stations on sirius xm

WILD THING BY TROGGS

bLACK BETTY BY RAMJAM

bargain by who ofc ofc

sorry i'm just like a nerd for classic rock

KIT WALKER...ahs: asylum, 2012

the drifters, of course

i count the tears and there goes my baby

AIN'T TOO PROUD TO BEG WHILE HE'S COOKING!!? i could write a whole fic of kit dancing in the kitchen while he makes cookies

sea of love by phil phillips KAKDJED

KIT IS SO PURE

I LOVE HIM

def brandy (you're a fine girl) by looking glass

PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER

LONELY TEARDROPS AAAAAAAH

listens to elvis and jackie wilson

loves the 50s on 50 station

KYLE SPENCER...ahs: coven, 2013

TOTO

he's totally an 80's nerd but he's lowkey about it

that one song from matilda where it's like mmm m mm mmm

WHITNEY HOUSTON

need you tonight. TOTALLY.

SWEET CHILD OF MINE BY GUNS N ROSES

maybe the occasional nirvana song, but he prefers 80s pop

speaking of-

80S JAPANESE POP

STAY WITH ME BY MIKI MATSUBARA AAAA

it's the only title he can pronounce so that's the only song he says he likes <3

he did try to learn the japanese in the song, but he gave up

JIMMY DARLING...ahs: freakshow, 2014

(a lot of inspiration came from "vintage playlist but youre a teenager in love" by rainbeary on youtube)

imagine kit

we all totally know he loves love songs but don't tell him that

LOLLIPOP BY THE CORDETTES

he loves the ronnetes

BE MY BABY

he totally just dances around his caravan, 'we make 'em turn their heads every place we go, so won't you please be my, be my baby!!'

whenever i think of jimmy, soul kitchen comes STRAIGHT to mind. he would totally fuck someone to that

THE ARCHIES

HEY LOVER BY DAUGHTERS OF EVE ASHFFFDTHAT'S SO SOFT I LOVE IT- IMAGINE HIM PLAYING THAT WHILE EVERYONE EATS LUNCH IN THE GRASS BEHIND THE TENT ON THEIR DAY OFF

TEENAGER IN LOVE BY DION & THE BELMONTS OFC

PETER MAXIMOFF...xmen, 2014-19

a sucker for classic rock

sweet dreams (are made of this) obvi

QUEEN AND THE BEATLES

LOVE OF MY LIFE AND HERE COMES THE SUN AHSJDKF THAT'S SO SOFT

billy joel!!!

i love rock n roll by joan jett and the black hearts

BAD REPUTATION

the joker by the steve miller band!!

REM!! REM REM REM

LOVES FOREIGNER

THE ROLLING STONES

START ME UP SPECIFICALLY

JAMES PATRICK MARCH...ahs: hotel, 2015

he loves swing and big band!!

moonlight serenade by glenn miller and his orchestra

IN THE MOOD BY GLENN MILLER

loves glenn miller

it's been a long, long time

yk, that song that we all cry to?

he totally dances around with elizabeth to that song, just singing along all quiet, 'kiss me once, then kiss me twice, then kiss me once again.'

star dust by artie shaw and his orchestra

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

CHEEK TO CHEEK

'darling, did you know, ella's voice, according to ancient studies, is utterly perfect?'

can you tell i adore james

RORY MONAHAN...ahs: roanoke, 2016

totally has one of those spotify radio things

he loves 2000s pop

NELLY FURTADO, BLACK EYED PEAS, BRITNEY SPEARS, YOU NAME IT

he loves yellow by coldplay, though

'pARTAY IN THA USAAAY'

lady marmalade is his ANTHEM

he lives for salt n peppa

SHOOP AND WHATTA MAN

KAI ANDERSON...ahs: cult, 2017

he says he likes death metal and shit but he's a sucker for softies

yellow by coldplay, bubly by colbie caillat, and home by phillip phillips are his top three

he loves mac demarco and girl in red

CAVETOWN

888 specifically, ugh he loves it

BOYS WILL BE BUGS AND LEMON BOY

KAI. IS. LEMON. BOY.

he loves how the guitar comes in nearing the end, like it gets more intense

DAYGLOW

HOT ROD AND CAN I CALL YOU TONIGHT

he relates to hot rod way too much

ALEC BENJAMIN

HERE COMES THE SUN

ugh kai is a softie

[writefightandflightclub]

Trial by Fire (Part 1/3) Santiago “Pope” Garcia x GN reader

Summary: You’re finally introducing your new boyfriend to The Boys. It must be intimidating for your guy because, hello? Not only are they literally lethal, as well as infeasibly handsome, but they’re hella protective of you to boot. They want the best for you so, naturally, they make your guy run the gauntlet the whole evening. Santiago, though? Well. Given that he is secretly in love with you? Let’s just say he doesn’t handle the situation very well at all.

Genre / tropes: angst, friends to lovers, love confession.

Author’s note: I wasn’t planning on writing this (in fact I’m writing the opposite, where “Santi has a new girlfriend and you don’t take it well” as a series, loosely based around the 7 deadly sins); but, in the meatime, I wrote this to get back into the swing of things after a lil break. It’s just a quick one, but there will be a second and final part, if you want it! Let me know!

Word count: somehow, 4.4k.

Warnings: language, angst, best friends arguing, Santi being an asshole.

Rating: T

The boys aren’t being as awful as you had anticipated, at least. For the most part, they’re actually being pretty friendly, and although they’ve transitioned into grilling Dean about every aspect of his life, they are at least listening intently and smiling at his answers. All except for one fucker, of course; and, naturally, surprising no-one, the fucker misbehaving is one (1) Santiago “Pope” Garcia. 

The group - the boys, yourself, and Dean- are huddled comfortably around the blazing warmth of the fire pit in Frankie’s yard. The dancing, oranged flames cut through the dark and cold of the crisp night, as you sit upwind of the smoke on scattered, mis-matched camp chairs.

Whilst the others are evidently enjoying the evening -faces painted with smiles, body language open and leaning-in to chat to Dean- that fucker Santi is leaning back in his chair, his jaw twitching in seeming aggravation, his arms folded, and his intense eyes needling your beau. In this dim light, with the firelight licking over the sharp planes of his face, he looks every bit like a trained killer about to leap out of the shadows and garotte someone. Well… a very petulant trained killer. His call sign should have been Mr. Grumpy Pants, you think idly.

What’s up with him this time?! you wonder.

He gets these moods sometimes. And, when it strikes him, he can be a little bit hostile - despite the fact he’s a puppy underneath it all. You had hoped that for once, maybe he would suck it up, and yet, your hopes had been in vain, it seems.

Every time Dean speaks, or touches you, or even laughs at another of the guys’ stories, Santi’s expression sinks further and further through layers of distaste; and, by this point, he’s eyeing Dean as though he’s a war criminal the squad have been sent to take-out. You half expect him to leap up and take down Frankie any second for fraternizing with “the enemy”, if you’re honest.

Truth be told, you’ve had just about enough of this. Your friend had better buck his ideas up, sharpish, or he’d be reminded very swiftly that you were Delta Force too.  

For now, trying to ignore the bastard, you look back at Dean, and the sight of him in animated conversation with your buddies causes at least some of your aggravation to fall away. Things have been going well between you and Dean, even if you do say so yourself. Originally from Michigan, he now worked as a lecturer at a nearby music school. He was also a banjo musician in a bluegrass / synth power-pop mash-up of a band, which (sort of) explained his retro-inspired mop of brown hair and his thick dark moustache - majestic enough to rival Frankie’s. True, he wasn’t your usual type, but he was honest, and sweet and kind... Plus, he’d never killed anyone with his bare hands, which was rather refreshing too, if you were honest.

Safe to say, so far, things were working out. So well, in fact, that you’d recently met his parents for the first time while they were in town. So well, in fact, that -after keeping him purposefully away from the boys for as long as you feasibly could- you’d now brought him to meet your family. That’s what this squad was to you, after all. Your family.

Remembering sporadic moments from the past few months together, you smile gently as you listen to Dean talk. You watch him seamlessly integrate some tailored conversation starters you’d fed him ahead of time, and you gently squeeze his thigh in an act of reassurance and appreciation. He is feeling the pressure, you can tell, although he is handling it well. To be fair, you think, who wouldn’t feel the pressure? You’d been nervous enough to meet his parents, but this? A bunch of Delta Force guys and an MMA champion? This squad was lethal; literally -you’ve lost track of your combined kill count, though Will probably hasn’t, you are sure.

Aside from that though, most of all, they are your family. You need them to like Dean and vice versa, and you know that isn’t necessarily a given. You are a tight-knit group, with little hope of outsiders grasping the full extent of your decade’s old in-jokes, or the intense camaraderie instilled by facing a hail of bullets together. Plus, as the baby of the group, they were protective as all hell of you.

It came from a good place, you knew: they wanted what was best for you. But, there was a reason you’d delayed this meeting... It’s not as though they were threatening or anything. They didn’t do the whole “if you hurt our buddy, I’ll kill you” thing, for example (at least, not while you were present – you couldn’t vouch for what happened when you were out of earshot).  However, after introducing a succession of boyfriends to them over the years, the squad had developed a well-rehearsed system for sizing-up your new squeeze. In the past, not all of your squeezes had made it through the gauntlet. It was a trial by fire, to be sure, and you were pleased that Dean has not yet been burned.

Of course, whilst the boys’ approval didn’t mean everything to you, you couldn’t deny it was important; perhaps especially this time, with this guy. And, out of all of the group, Santi’s approval meant the most to you. Always had. Probably because Santi meant the most to you, full stop. You simply couldn’t imagine having someone in your life that didn’t get on with your best friend. And, so, you are not overly thrilled at the reception Santi is giving Dean right now. The reception he had been giving him all evening, in fact. And the more you dwell on it, the more an anger bubbles forth from you. Even though you try to push it down, and focus on Dean, that fucker in the corner of your eye sends you.

“What’s wrong with you tonight, Garcia?” you blurt out, a little louder than intended, causing the amiable chat and giggles to stall, all eyes turning to you - then, in turn, following the direction of your fiery gaze over to Santi, who shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

Now, he leans forward. Looks back at you with a rare venom in his eyes. With a smug curl of his mouth, he dips to pick up his beer from the floor and takes a swig - buying himself some time. Trying to brush you off. Still, your gaze does not relent as he rests his elbows on his thighs, bridging his fingers together in the space between, thumbs sticking in the air.

Now, he engages, and he looks directly at Dean, his eyes sweeping dismissively over the entirety of his form. Now, he speaks, his voice filled with far more bitterness than the situation merits. “Nothing at all. I’m fucking peachy. So, Dean. You play the motherfuckin’ banjo?” he offers, and yet, it sounds far more like an accusation than a question.

What the fuck is up with him?

Wilting a little beneath Santi’s stare, as the ex-operative squints his eyes in his direction, Dean casts a helpless, sideward glance at you from his place in the circle, and yet, you are so stupefied by anger that you can do little to help.

“I think what my dear friend means to say -” Frankie dips in valiantly, smacking Santi pointedly on the thigh, likely hoping to smack some sense into him too “- is why don’t you tell us more about your music, Dean?”

Frankie’s eyes and smile are soft when he looks at you, surreptitiously exchanging a pointed look -what’s up with that pendejo?- and you are grateful that at least some of the evident tension is diffused when he picks up the slack in the conversation.

Santi and his mood swings be damned, and, feeling bolstered, Dean continues on.  

“Actually, it’s going pretty frickin’ well with the band. It’s a side-gig to my lecturing job, but we’re planning a tour during summer vacation. The States -east coast- and Western Europe for now. Maybe headlining a couple of small festivals, if that pans out, who knows.” Dean relates, humbly.

“That’s great, man,” Will chips in, helping Frankie get things back on track. “We’ll have to come down to a gig soon, hear you play.”

“Actually, we have something to tell you about the tour, don’t we, babe?” Dean says bashfully, and he looks at you expectantly, waiting for you to pick-up the thread. You’d talked about it before coming today, and it had seemed like a great idea at the time, but suddenly, now that the announcement is imminent, your mouth is dry - as if filled with cotton. Still, you force a smile, and you’re not sure why, but you look anywhere else but at Santi as your lips form the words. “Yeah – kinda big news, fellas. I’m going to join Dean on the Europe leg of the tour. I’ll be leaving you losers behind for a few months.”

Dean’s face cracks into a smile and he reaches for your hand, looking made-up at the prospect. Still, while you will yourself to be fully present in the moment, you find yourself focussed on looking anywhere but at Santi, sure that his stare must be boring into the side of your head. You hadn’t told him yet. Unfortunately, at Santi is where just about everyone else ends up looking, as the fucker abruptly pushes his camp chair back and stands, storming indoors before anyone can hope to fathom it.

You exchange glances with Frankie, Will, and Benny, with Benny thankfully stepping-in this time to distract Dean from the obvious, and asking him which stops you two will be making, and which sights you plan to see.

“Look, man, don’t mind that tool. Got any sightseeing plans?”

What is Santi’s problem? Why can’t he give Dean a chance? Yes, you’ve made some mistakes in the past- been hurt, and Santi had helped you pick up the pieces -every time- but you had a good feeling about Dean. A really good feeling. Can’t he see that too?

Frankie throws a concerned glance back towards the house and motions as if to stand, but you beat him to it, wanting to get to the bottom of this. “I’ll go,” you insist, motioning for Frankie to stay put, and with a quick promise to Dean that you’ll be back soon (and a silent plea to your boys to take care of him in your absence), you do just that, walk-jogging across the grass.

When you step inside to the kitchen, you find Santi stood, hunched over the counter, his palms clasping the surface tight enough that his knuckles pale, and his head hung low, his shoulders rising and falling as he takes in exaggerated breaths.

“Well?” you ask pointedly, with zero tolerance for his bullshit. “What’s going on with you? Wanna explain why you’re being an ass to my boyfriend?” you challenge to the back of him, and he instantly whips around at the sound of your voice. 

“I’m being an ass?” he asks indignantly, his eyebrows shooting towards the top of his head. 

“Yes. In a nutshell. Yes,” you hiss, any other interpretation feeling impossible. You fold your arms and purse your lips, making it plainly evident that you are waiting for some explanation. And, oh boy, it had better be good.

Instead of explaining though, Santi simply huffs out breath, gesturing angrily out of the window. “That guy, really? That’s the guy you’re gonna go all in for? Go to fucking Europe for?”

That guy, you mouth silently, completely stupefied for a moment. You’re not sure exactly what your so-called friend is insinuating, but you are clear that you don’t like it one bit.

“What is your fucking problem?” you ask, punctuating your words with motions of your hands, as if you are trying to strangle the air in-between you in lieu of his neck. “Dean’s a catch. He’s hot, he’s sweet, he’s a nice guy. He’s there for me. He takes care of me.”

“Like I don’t take care of you?!” Santi exclaims, his voice rising and abrasive; and then, immediately after the words tumble forth from his lips, he steps back imperceptibly, as if startled by his own outburst, his hand rasping over the stubble on his chin.

“What in the...? This isn’t about you, you ass!” you bite back, face scrunching up in confusion. Your fingers come to your temples as you grow increasingly lost-off and perplexed, and seemingly, your riposte only makes Santi double down on whatever the hell he is complaining about.

“Who’s the one who’s always been there for you, hmm? Who picks up the pieces every time you make yet another dumb shitty choice with another shitty guy?” he rambles, gesturing his hand towards you dismissively.

You step back from him this time, just a little, tears spiking instantaneously in your eyes at such an unnecessarily cruel blow. He’s right, in a sense: you had always relied on Santi to heal you, not to hurt you - and yet here he was dealing these painful, incoherent blows out of nowhere.

“Shit, Garcia. If it’s that much trouble to be there for me don’t bother next time,” you snap, your voice breaking as the swell of anger and hurt and adrenalin sends tears spilling over your cheeks. “Don’t worry though, I don’t think I’ll need you again. In fact, I have a feeling this guy might stick. So, maybe? Maybe you should think about the fact that the only shitty guy around here is you.” 

“You really think he’s good enough for you, hmm? He’s really who you want to end up with?”

You listen, aghast, as his tirade keeps coming. However, as Santi’s voice breaks with emotion part-way through his second question, you can’t explain it, but you feel an intolerable sadness in the pit of you. Even though you’re not sure what’s causing all this, what you’re barrelling toward, you want to thrust this sadness away from you. Push him away from you.  You want to push away the knot in your stomach for fear that if you tug at that thread, you might arrive at an answer to his question.

Exasperated, overwhelmed, you roughly paw tears from your cheeks, not knowing where all of these feelings are coming from, in either direction. “Fuck, I... I don’t understand what this is. I don’t get it!” you say, waving your hands, palms-up, through the air. “Is this some macho bullshit? Have I pissed you off somehow?”

At that, the wave of Santi’s anger crests and breaks; as you wonder if you annoyed him. Then, as suddenly as his anger came it is waning, his eyes pooling with rare tears now. With a huff of breath he tears off his damn cap, tossing it aside to run a hand through his grizzled hair. 

“No. No,” he backtracks a little, palms up in surrender. “You haven’t... I.... I just...” He pinches his lips in-between his teeth and looks up at the ceiling as his words trail off, perhaps trying to steady his voice before continuing. Or, perhaps he has nothing else to say to you. Perhaps he’s said enough.

You examine him. Still pissed as all hell, but worried now too, and ultimately, your love for your best friend slightly edging-out the anger. It’s rare that anything affects him like this, and you can’t help the sudden rush of concern.

Cresting too, you exhale a tightly held breath into the now silent, taut space between you, and your body sags - just a little. You chew over your words a moment, but when your voice comes back the volume is lower, your tone softer - and, although it cannot be considered friendly, by any stretch, it’s the best you can do right now.

“You know what,” you offer, generously, wrapping your arms around your own middle, stroking your forearms with your own fingertips. “I’m giving you a pass. You don’t even want to give Dean a chance? Then just leave, Santi. Just go. I’ll give the guys some bullshit excuse that doesn’t leave you looking like a total ass, because I’m not a dick to my friends. So just go, okay?” You pump your eyebrow at him indignantly and await a response, your manner stiff and unyielding.

Santi closes his eyes and knits his brow together, something like regret finally passing over his face and he shuffles guiltily from foot-to-foot.

You puff out air through your teeth and shake your head, as you observe this Delta Force hero; the bravest man you know in many ways, but still too cowardly to tell it like it is. To admit that he’s in the wrong. You are afraid to say that even as his gaze comes back to you, misty-eyed, you have little sympathy for his plight. You are sure it is of his own doing. You are almost as sure that he won’t open-up.

“You know,” you begin, breaking from your position and gathering up a fresh cooler of beers from the fridge, turned away from him as you speak. “I brought Dean to meet my family. Do you understand that? I didn’t have parents and siblings for him to meet. I have you guys. You’re my family.”

Still nothing. Nothing but silence greets you. Nothing but a pained expression on his face, his brows drown together and the artificial light of the kitchen highlighting the harsh planes of his face as you look over your shoulder at him, waiting for some reaction. Some admission of guilt. None comes. He simply slots his hands into his jean pockets, looking sheepish.

“So,” you continue, greeted with a brick wall, “fuck knows why you don’t want me to be happy, but I am. I’m happy with him. Thanks a ton for shitting all over that.”

You don’t even bother to look towards him this time, instead placing the last of the clinking, condensation-adorned bottles into the carrier, resigned to head back out without him, and without any apology.

“I’m sorry,” he finally says, and your head whips towards him in surprise.

He looks it - sorry. He looks apologetic. Deeply so. He looks sorry for this, for every way he’s ever slighted you, for every time he’s hurt you, even in ways and moments you never knew about. He looks sorry down to the pit of him, and it catches you off-guard when you see it freely offered there in his eyes.

Even so, this is a stubborn man. There’s an apology, but there’s no explanation. Nothing to explain his behaviour. So, even though it seems genuine, it also doesn’t seem like enough.

It doesn’t appease you, and yet, all you can bring yourself to do is sigh deeply.

You know Santi better than anyone, but there’s always been a part of him that has seemed out of reach, even to you. You’re not sure -never have been- whether to be scared or excited by those unknown parts of him. Not sure whether the impasse hints at buried secrets too dark and deep to bear, or whether it hints of a possibility of something more. Something deeper or something better you could have together, if only he would let you in. You don’t know, and you never have, but all you are sure of is that you have constantly teetered on the edge of that abyss, too much left unknown to know all of him, however much you may have wished to. He’s entitled to his secrets, of course, but you hate how they hurt him. 

With a little sympathy now, you examine his watery eyes, and when your voice comes back this time, it is softer and slower than you intended. More tired than you expected.

“You know, Dean wants to be with me. And he tells me so.” You casually dip down to pick-up the cooler handle, eyes still fixed on your best friend. “He might not be Delta Force… he might be a banjo player from Michigan… but even he’s brave enough for that.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Santi says, bristling all over again, his hand rasping angrily over his stubbled jaw, and yet, you decline him an explanation. Instead, keeping your own secrets now, holding back, you head towards the door, beers in hand.

Still, you turn back to him. You might be angry, but you still care for him -more than you could say. 

“If you figure out what’s up with you, let me know, and I’ll be there for you. Whatever you’ve got going on, you know that, right? But this? This isn’t okay, Garcia. You might think that I make dumb choices -you ass, by the way- but I’ve watched you hit self-destruct so many times instead of dealing with your feelings. Maybe you should look at your own life, huh, instead of shitting all over me for trying to be happy? Shit, at least I fucking try.”

His eyes shift from side to side in the room, the muscles in his jaw twitching, chin jutting forward, and his thumbs locked in his belt loops. He can’t quite bring himself to meet your gaze; at least not until you are disappearing through the threshold; until it’s almost too late. Why can’t he ever manage anything unless it’s too late?

“Wait!” he pleads, but you cut him off, before he can speak. Even though, truth be told, you’re not sure he would muster anything to say at all, even if you gave him a chance. He’s so used to holding back.

“No,” you say firmly. “Forget it, I’m done. I still love you- you’re my best friend. But, fuck, just go home, and get out of my sight, Santiago. I’m so pissed with you right now.”

And so, you turn away, and when his words finally do come, they are spoken to the back of your head. They are spoken without you ever seeing his lips move, and you wonder if he ever said them at all, or if this might be some cruel trick of the night. Some witching hour spell. That is, until you turn towards him and you see the words painted clearly on his face too.

“Fuck it. I’m in love with you.”

I’m in love with you.

Why can’t he ever manage anything unless it’s too late?

You’re not sure what reaction he was expecting, but you almost choke on the sudden lump in your throat. You feel a taste of bile rising-up into your mouth. An intense, resurgent anger fills you, which near makes the room spin, and makes your hands and your legs tremble.

Even if a hidden, unconscious part of you has been waiting, hoping for these words all these years, when they finally come all you can feel is... royally pissed off.

“Oh. No. No. No,” you repeat, words gradually increasing in volume, looking at Santi as if he has mortally wounded you, rather than offered that confession. “You do not get to do this to me.”

You see a hard swallow bob down his throat, a near-instant regret on his face, and your heart pounds in your chest as you reel with the implications of his words.

The coward. The fucking asshole. He waited until now? All the times things had gone to shit, and he waited until you were happy?

“All the times...” you accuse, your tone as bitter as the taste in your mouth, the metallic tang of blood as you feel a rushing in your ears. “All the fucking times. All the chances, Santi, and you do this now?” you continue, your finger sawing through the air, wagging accusations at him, even as your voice wavers, as your hands notceably tremble. “No. Fuck you, Garcia. Fuck you.”

You want to cry, or scream, but you are too angry. So angry, that it eclipses anything else which might come to light. So angry that you almost come full circle again, beginning to stabilise out at eerily calm.

Santi looks down at the floor, and exhales air, chuckling disbelievingly to himself, then lightly nodding his head, lips pressed tightly together. His feet shift agitatedly below him as he brings his endlessly familiar eyes back up to meet yours. This time when he looks at you, it hurts. You remember bullet wounds, and you swear that was nothing compared to this.

“That’s it? That’s all you’ve got to say to me, hmm? Fuck you, Garcia?”

“What the fuck were you expecting?” you say, launching your words before you realise the implications of them. Yes, you know fine well that your boyfriend is sitting outside, likely wondering where you have got to. But, if you had the wherewithall to have thought about it, you would know exactly what Santi was expecting, despite all of that. You would know that a part of him must be expecting, hoping, that when he told you, you might reciprocate. That you might love him back.

And, would that be so outside of the realms of possibility? Would it be so hard to imagine that the deep, magnetic, and unshakeable friendship you shared could be something else? Something more? That you could tip over the edge you had long been teetering on? Maybe it could, or maybe it could have, but right now, you can’t see past the flashbang he has just dropped over your life, and it is clouding your vision.

You were happy. You are happy. Fuck him for doing this now.

Why would you fall into the unknown for him, if you never knew whether he would catch you? If you never knew whether ruin or safety awaited you if you let yourself tip? He always held back.

What the fuck were you expecting?

Your words linger in the space between you, and in lieu of any other lifeline, realisation dawns on Santi’s face. Realisation that, although he jumped, you are not intending to catch him either. But how could you catch him, with your arms already full?

And, so, he slowly nods his head once again, his eyes beading with glassy tears and his hand grazing over his chin in a self-soothing gesture. Wordlessly, he sets his jaw and he abruptly replaces his baseball cap on his head, padding a few steps forward to stand opposite you, sucking all of the breath from your lungs. This time, when he looks at you, you see all of your past, but you still can’t see beyond that. The abyss still scares you too much.

Like this, facing each other down, eye-to-eye, the silence in the room grows sharp as a knife, refined to a point. So, when Santi abruptly turns to leave in a sharp, determined trajectory, without so much as looking at you, it is as if he has dragged the blade across your skin in an equally swift motion. As if he has left you open and bleeding-out, having delivered a mortal wound with the act of his exit. You’ve felt like this on the battelfield before, and in life, yet he was always there for you. Always there to patch you. To pick up the pieces.

Instead of screaming open-mouthed for help, this time, you simply watch him go, and now you are the wordless one, mustering nothing but a gasped inhale of breath before your vision blurs with tears - as you watch his hazy form disappear along the hall and out of your sight.

“Santi,” you call pathetically, your voice small and weak and teary, barely making it past your throat, and he doesn’t hear you. He doesn’t hear you but even if he had, you’re not sure anymore if he would have stopped.

When Santi slams the front door behind him, you shudder with it in its frame, your hand coming to your chest as if to hold your heart inside your opened-up ribs, and you close your eyes against the jarring sound, tears spilling down your cheeks, your face screwing-up into a shined, contorted grimace.

Entirely lost, now alone, you bizarrely wish for the room to be filled with anger again, instead of the intolerable sadness - which all too suddenly takes hold of you as your emotions crest and break. It is all you can do to stumble forward a few paces and hunch over the countertop, finding yourself in the exact position you had discovered Santi in. You stand, bracing yourself with your arms, fingers clutching the edge of the worktop, and your head slumped forward, tears freely spilling out of you as your chest heaves.

You wonder whether he’d held himself in this same position because he had felt an intolerable sadness too. An intolerable sadness at seeing you happy.

Suddenly you could understand it.

That fucker. Santiago “Pope” Garcia.

I’m in love with you.

I’m in love with you.

The words echo in your mind, but this time, if you’re honest, you’re not wholly sure if they’re his, or yours.

PART TWO IS HERE

[yeoandmoon]

thanks for listening! up next is this must be the place (naive melody) by talking heads! ( yunho x gn!reader )

fluff + a sprinkle of angst, you don’t see colour until you meet your soulmate!au, 99z are in a band, drummer!yunho, felix is here, mentioned woosan, wooyoung is annoying

NOTE: requested by anonymous! thank u! i love soulmate aus!!

You wonder what colour Felix’s eyes are.

It’s a question that passes your mind often.

He tells you they’re brown - but you wonder if they’re a warm brown that would melt you every time you saw them or if they’re a cool, deep brown that makes you want to crawl into his embrace and stay there forever.

You wonder about the freckles that dust his nose and cheeks; how much different they might be if you had the ability to see colour… How much different things would be if Felix Lee was your soulmate.

You’re aware of how inappropriate it is to be thinking about this while you’re sitting on a ratty couch in someone’s living room, nursing a cider and watching Felix dance with his soulmate but you can’t help but dwell on the ‘what ifs’ and the ‘in another lifes’. You wonder what you must have done in a past life to have fallen in love with your best friend and still be colourless.

Sipping your cider, you lean further back into the couch. You take your eyes off of Felix to glance around the party, which now seems to be in full swing. You imagine the lights and streamers that hang from the ceiling are colourful and bright, and you can see a band setting up on the tiny makeshift stage in the corner of the living room.

Of course Felix wanted to come here so badly, you think to yourself, Sunrise is playing.

Sunrise’s frontman, San, was helping Yeosang set his amp up, flicking a few buttons before nodding at the smaller man to play a chord. You sipped your cider again as you let your eyes wander to the other members of San’s band: Mingi, who was setting his bass and amp up, Wooyoung, whose keyboard was set up but was nowhere to be found, and finally there was the mystery fifth member. You had never met the new drummer, but Felix had told you about him.

He was big, to put it plainly. You could see how broad he was, even from where he sat cross-legged on the floor while fixing something on his drum-kit. You remembered Felix talking about how tall he was - maybe even taller than Mingi, which had caught your attention. He looked up, saying something you couldn’t make out to San and you were able to catch a glimpse of his face. His hair seemed to be dyed a light colour, although you could only see a cool, light grey tone, and his smile was warm, inviting and familiar. It nearly took your breath away.

Everything about the tall drummer seemed familiar to you, but you couldn’t place him. You finally ripped your eyes away from him to take another sip of your cider while the warm feeling grew in your chest. You could barely describe it - it was almost like a pull to the drummer.

“His name’s Yunho.” A voice said in your ear, laughing when you let out a gasp and jump.

You turned to glare at the offender, “Jung Wooyoung!” You scolded, watching the grinning man crawl over the back of the couch to sit next to you, a mango seltzer in his hand.

Wooyoung settled next to you, one of his arms making their way around your shoulder, “He’s insane. He can play guitar and bass too.” He tells you, “He came highly recommended by Joongie.”

Your cheeks were heating up as Wooyoung spoke, knowing you were caught staring at the drummer. You glanced back over to where the rest of the band was setting up and gasped again when you saw Yunho was looking at you.

The feeling in your chest grew warmer as you looked away, chugging what was left of your cider.

“Were San and I that annoying?” You heard Wooyoung gag next to you. 

You looked back over to him before following his gaze to Felix and his soulmate, who were giggling and dancing. You felt like you were intruding on a private moment, and you felt a pang of jealousy tear through the warm feeling that had grown in your chest.

You looked away quickly, squeezing your eyes shut.

“You were worse.” You finally tell Wooyoung after a beat, “You two were obnoxious.” You shift to look at your friend.

Wooyoung dramatically gasped, “I can’t believe you’d lie like that, Y/N!” He huffed, sipping his seltzer.

You rolled your eyes, a smile returning to your lips at Wooyoung’s antics. You appreciated having a friend like Wooyoung.

“What colour is his hair?” You ask Wooyoung, your voice softer than it had been.

Wooyoung tilts his head, “San’s? It’s a dark pur-”

“No. Yunho’s?”

Wooyoung gives you a knowing smile, his eyes glancing in the direction of his band again, “It’s pink.” He tells you, “It’s patchy, and I don’t know if he knows it’s pink. There’s some spots where it’s hot pink, and other spots where it’s almost white. It suits him.”

The warm feeling begins to grow again while you listen to Wooyoung’s description. You think you’d like the colour pink.

“Y’know, if you ever find it too much watching Felix, the offer to join San and I is still on the tab-”

You huffed, feeling your cheeks grow warm again as you stood, “In your dreams, Jung.” You took back every nice thought you’d had about Wooyoung in the last 5 minutes, “I’m going to get more alcohol.”

You began to walk towards the kitchen, ignoring Wooyoung’s calls to hurry behind you. You passed by the band finishing their set up, giving a quick smile to them when they greeted you. You kept your eyes off of the tall drummer.

The kitchen was also decked out in streamers and balloons, but the lighting wasn’t so harsh. It was quiet as most people had begun to make their way to the living room for Sunrise, leaving you to finally let out a sigh of relief. You needed the peace for just a moment.

You grabbed another cider from the collection of them on the kitchen island before closing your eyes and leaning back against the counter. You opened the cider, taking a sip as you listened to San’s muffled voice begin a soundcheck on the mics.

“Y/N, right?” You heard a voice say.

The warm feeling in your chest nearly exploded as you opened your eyes. The can in your hand dropped to the ground as you felt your mind explode while your vision became overwhelmed.

There was so much light and colour around you.

“Oh my god.” You whispered, finally being able to focus on the man in front of you.

All you saw was colour. You could see the colours and lights Wooyoung and Felix would describe to you in the decorations around the room. You could see the bright blue and purple in the shirt you were wearing. You could see the yellow of your Vans.

You knew you were crying. You felt the tears fall down your cheeks while you looked up at the man in front of you.

Yunho was even more breathtaking in person. His hair was multiple shades of pink (You decided you did liked pink.), and hung in his eyes. His worn flannel was orange and red, and his cheeks were a soft rosy colour that matched his hair.

“Hi.” He says, his voice softer.

“Hi.” You repeat back, looking up at him. The warmth from your chest had spread from your head to your toes.

Yunho had tears in his eyes as he drank the colours of your own appearance in.

Yunho’s eyes were brown. They were a deep, warm brown that reminded you of love and a hearth. You felt protected looking in his eyes.

You think you liked the colour brown too.

[klbwriting]

Unexpected Allies - Chapter 4

Fandom: Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone

Pairing: eventually will be Kaz/female!Reader, and that is really starting to happen

Warnings: I mean, Kaz Brekker is involved, someone is getting maimed

Summary:  The journey to town doesn't go as planned

Notes:  I’m trying my best to respect Kaz’s touch aversion while also working him into accepting someone, its a fine line to walk so I hope I’m doing alright, also Kaz can be soft in private we’re learning

They had spent the evening planning their next day, what supplies they needed, who would get what, and how they would get out of the town. Y/N knew trusting Jesper with anything extreme was a bad idea so she told him that his only job was to find them warm clothes for the trip, giving him just enough money to get them. Kaz was going to gather the food and water canteens while Y/N was getting the camping supplies. She had gotten the tents and blankets, lugging the bags with her through the town when she noticed that the Grisha presence in the town was increasing as the day went on. This was concerning. She walked the perimeter of the town monitoring where the Grisha were gathering and frowned. Damn, the only road north had Grisha guards checking every traveler who walked or rode out. She went to the woods around the town, her dismay growing. Grisha were everywhere. She headed to the meeting point near the stables, finding Kaz and Jesper already there. She waited out of sight, listening as Kaz reamed Jesper.

"You gambled the money and didn't get the clothes? Is that what you're telling me?" Kaz said, voice low, dangerous. She could see Jesper from her place, fidgeting, eyes looking anywhere but at Kaz.

"I won some, but then I lost it," he said. "Its alright, you have any money left? I'll go and win it all back, get us some nice warm coats." Kaz let out an annoyed grunt.

"No, I thought and bought some clothes on top of the food. Now, the other important thing, when we get our crew back, how are we getting out of that resistance?" he asked. Y/N thought this might happen. She knew he wasn't just going to join up out of desire to help others. Kaz Brekker didn't care about anyone but himself, she knew that really, dark eyes and a jawline that could cut glass had blinded her for a minute and now she felt foolish for mooning over him last night. She took a deep breath, making sure to calm her demeanor. No reason to let herself be blinded again, she had convinced the Darkling she loved him, should be easy to convince herself that she didn't have feelings for Kaz. After collecting herself she stepped into full view, making them halt their conversation.

"We have a problem," she said, approaching and handing off the bags she had bought for each of them. She explained about the Grisha presence as they stashed their supplies. "They are in the woods even, probably looking for you two, possibly me, I can't imagine the body is convincing them I'm dead anymore." Kaz pursed his lips and she used that moment to steel herself because the last thing she needed was to think about his lips. Not that he would allow them near her in the first place, she didn't need the visual in her mind. She turned and used the moment to check their surroundings. It was getting dark now and she knew soon the Grisha would establish some type of curfew.

"At the gambling hall I was at they had rooms to rent, we could stay there for the night, they were cheap? The place had a no Grisha policy and it was loud so I doubt anyone would notice us," Jesper offered. Y/N smiled and put a friendly arm around his shoulder.

"You're a genius Jes, pure genius," she said, motioning for him to lead the way. She didn't notice the look on Kaz's face, but Jesper had, and now he was a little afraid of sleeping in the same room as his boss.

 Kaz had instantly figured out that Y/N had heard the conversation he and Jesper were having at the stables, the icy look she gave him when she came out of hiding was enough for him to know that her infatuation with him might be over. He should have been overjoyed by that, it would save him trouble in the future, but he found that he was irritated by it. He looked out for himself and sometimes the Dregs, why did she think he would look out for her too? If she wanted to be moody then fine, but when she put her arm around Jesper and called him 'Jes' Kaz nearly walloped the Zemeni boy with his cane. Now they were stuck in a room together for the night and Jesper had abandoned them to get dinner brought up.

"You know he's an addict, he's gambling the food money right now," Kaz said after he washed his face and upper body in the basin. Y/N had gone behind a makeshift privacy wall she had created with a sheet and some rope to wash herself also. He only spoke to get his mind to focus on something besides the fact that her shirt was hanging on that rope line right now.

"I know that Kaz, I didn't give him much and I requested dinner be brought up to us at 9 bells when we rented the room, I just wanted at least one of you gone while I cleaned up. Saints know you weren't going to leave the room," she snapped. She had pulled on a new shirt, this one long enough that she could remove the pants she had been wearing for a little while. "Are you decent?" Kaz pulled a new shirt on, pulling down the sheet himself and tossing it onto Jesper's cot. He stood still, leaning on the wash table, cane leaning next to him, buttoning his shirt up slowly. Despite trying to avert her eyes Kaz caught Y/N glancing at him as he dressed. She met his eyes and he cocked his eyebrow at her. She scowled and folded her arms, a naked leg crossing over the other. Now he gawked for a moment. Their eyes met again and this time they both smirked. Damn.

"Are you going to finish dressing?" he asked, folding his arms now that his shirt was properly done up. She shook her head and stood up, showing that the shirt she wore went down to her knees.

"This is nearly the length of a proper night gown, and its hot in this room," she said, leaning across from him and folding her arms. They stared at each other for a long time, both trying to figure the other out. Kaz didn't know her thoughts which irked him. Most people were easy reads and in most cases Y/N was the same, but there was something underneath the shallow exterior she showed the world. Those big brown eyes held hidden depths that he couldn't quite capture, but he desperately wanted to explore them. He could tell himself that he just wanted to know his associate, make sure he knew all her secrets so he could use them when the time was right, but he knew that he truly wanted to know her secrets so that he could really know her, and he would take her secrets to the grave with him. He could see that she was once again, studying his body so he did the same to her. She was curvy, and looked soft in all the right places, and he imagined for a moment what it would be like to feel those soft places, his bare hands tracing those curves, exploring her hips, breasts, lips. He swallowed hard, shaking the thought from his mind, but noticing that the thought of Jordie took more time to arrive than it normally did when he thought about touching someone. Progress was being made, prison must have worked some magic on him. He had been forced to touch nearly everyone he came in contact with there and after awhile he had just braced himself all the time for the interaction. That was probably why he could brace himself now, without the thought occurring to him.

"Are they playing music now?" Kaz asked suddenly, hearing what sounded like a full band playing downstairs. Y/N perked up and smiled some.

"We used to dance to this song at the Little Palace before everything went to shit," she said. "Have you ever danced Kaz?" Kaz looked at her surprised.

"You think that I dance? Do I look like I dance?" he asked, not sure how anyone could think he would dance. Not only was his aversion to touch a problem but his knee wouldn't handle a dance well either. Y/N just laughed.

"You could do this dance, I'll show you," she offered. He stood still for a moment before he found himself standing. What was he doing? Why was he letting himself dance with her? He needed a strong drink and someone to torture, he was becoming soft. "Hold your cane level with the ground." Despite his mind telling him to just go to bed something else had him holding the cane how she asked.

"Now what? Do I swing it around, take out as many dancers as I can?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed and reluctant. Y/N just laughed, making his lip twitch up again.

"No, put your one hand on the end and put the cane behind your back, good, now the other hand sits next to your hip holding the cane again," she explained. He was now standing with his cane held behind his back, half of it sticking out at her. She approached and he inhaled sharply. "Don't worry, I won't touch you, just the cane. Normally we would have our arms behind each others' backs holding hands but this will work." She took hold of his cane the same way only facing the other direction. She started the dance by taking two slow steps forward, forcing Kaz to follow suit. They were a few inches apart and he watched her feet as she took a quick step this time. She let go of the cane and it dropped back to standing. He watched her and followed as she did a bow he did too, their eyes never losing contact as they danced. She stepped up to him and he moved to her, mere inches apart again. He could feel the energy from her body before she spun away, back to him. She looked back over her shoulder at him and for a moment he thought about how easy it would be to just touch her hair, brush it aside, feel the skin of her neck. His hand was starting to reach out, eyes still staring into hers when the door to the room flew open and Jesper rushed in.

"I won a chicken!" he proclaimed, holding up the roast bird high above his head. Kaz looked from Jesper, to the chicken held high above, then back to Y/N. She was shaking with laughter and before he could control himself Kaz let out a laugh, gripping the cane for support.

"I knew you could smile!" Y/N said triumphantly. This sobered up Kaz and his clamped his mouth closed, bringing back his sour demeanor. There was no way she was getting him to dance and laugh in one evening. He wouldn't allow it. Not in front of Jesper. Being soft around the girl you were falling for was one thing...

 Y/N could pinpoint the moment that Kaz's brain stopped working. He had just clammed up again, going from dancing and actually laughing, back to being the leader of the Dregs, the Bastard of the Barrel again. She wanted to be annoyed but she couldn't, not after Jesper had come acting like a chicken was the jackpot of the tables downstairs. He set it down on the end table, pulling the bird apart with his hands and sharing with them. They all ate in silence, enjoying a hot meal for the first time that day. It was dry and turned to dust once chewed but Y/N found herself enjoying it, helping herself to two servings as she listened to Jesper tell the story of his win.

They were just about to get into bed when someone shouted down the hall that the Grisha were there. Y/N dashed to get pants on, yanking on her shoes and then her vest and coat. She could hear Kaz and Jesper around her getting ready in the dark when they heard footsteps. They froze in place praying they would pass but instead the door was shoved open by a Squallor wind, sending Jesper down on his ass. Two Second Army Grisha entered the room, having seen Jesper and Kaz but not Y/N. As quiet as she could Y/N moved towards the door, hoping to get the drop on them, but she was not naturally stealthy. The two turned and stared shocked for just a moment. It was all Y/N needed she moved her hands and sent one Grisha flying with a gust of wind while her other hand clenched, bringing the Squallor down unconscious. Jesper was still getting to his feet, not noticing her abilities but she knew that Kaz had seen what she had done and judging by the look on his face he had already started to figure her out more than she hoped.

"Come on, we need to leave now," she said, grabbing her pack. She waited for the other two to grab their bags before entering the hall. She could see Kaz tense as they pushed through the thrall of people trying to get out, being pushed to the ground as soon as they got to the bottom floor. An Inferni stood guard at the door, trying to keep the crowd inside as the rowdy bunch tried to force their way out. In the melee Jesper drew his gun and shot first at the Inferni and then at the glass of a nearby window, breaking it. The Inferni screeched in pain, throwing a ball of fire randomly into the crowd, catching on the gambling tables on fire.

All hell broke loose.

The crowd started to stampede in all directions. Jesper took off out the window and ran off into the night while Kaz tried to follow. His cane was knocked out of his hands, moving away from him. Y/N threw herself into motion, a hand reaching out to draw the cane back to her, while also bracing herself over Kaz, coat spread open and forcing the crowd to go around her. She felt her muscles ache as she held firm, protecting Kaz the only way she could until he could get to his feet. He finally was able to compose himself enough to stand and hurry out the window. Y/N moved after him, giving him the cane and running towards the woods. Other Grisha was hurrying to the burning gambling hall and Y/N found herself praying to whatever Saint would listen to let them get into the woods.

They were almost there when a carriage stopped in front of them. Panic washed over Y/N for a moment before she saw Jesper in the drivers seat.

"Get in!" he shouted. Kaz threw open the door and dove in, his hand reaching out to yank Y/N in after him. They landed on the floor awkwardly, her on top of him, but she was able to keep herself held up on the seats, keeping her hands to herself so to speak. Kaz sat and then she did as Jesper drove the horses out of the town and into the night.

[sweetestjade]

Okay so I go throughout my everyday listening to music. I have playlists for EVERYTHING! And it got me wondering how would the boys react to an MC who constantly listens to music?

Lucifer

- I imagine Lucifer generally listens to classical music but I love the idea of him listening to jazz.

- Like big band/swing music

- Okay so for this scenario I imagine MC and Lucifer working on paperwork/school work together

- MC is loosing their mind cuz it’s so quiet and they put on a jazz playlist.

- Lucifer is shocked at first because he’s like what does this human know about jazz?! (✨yk just old people tings✨)

- But he starts to softly hum and tap his foot

- MC notices and queues up a few of their favorite songs and eventually starts to sing

- Lucifer loves the way MC sings along to their favorite songs but doesn’t wanna bring attention to it because he doesn’t want them to stop.

- As MC and him get closer he starts looking forward to their work/music sessions together.

- If MC catches him on a good day that doesn’t have a lot of work sometimes he’ll ask MC to dance 🥺❤️

Mammon

- Okay so I imagine Mammon really likes going on drives. The guy has a whole car in his room...you’re gonna tell me I’m wrong?

- ANYWAYS

- On these drives he likes to bring MC any chance he gets because it’s time with just them and no brothers to ruin it.

- MC really does enjoy these car rides because it reminds them of times in the human world when they would drive around with friends or family and just vibe.

- You best believe that because of this MC has a few car playlist full of vibey songs for any occasion.

- MC is the CEO of “can I have the AUX?”

- Mammon and MC feel like being in their feels? MC’s gotta playlist.

- Need a playlist to listen to while speeding down the highway pretending to be in Fast & Furious?

- You know that one song from Tokyo Drift is on that playlist 😌

- Mammon ADORES MC and their car playlists. Theres never a dull moment, even when they’re in their feels haha

- God(or Diavolo rather??) help you both if Lucifer finds out the amount of times you two have out run the police to Fuck Tha Police by N.W.A (listen i don’t know if there’s police in devildom but imagine it for the scenario 😤)

Leviathan

- Okay so if MC knew anything about tiktok they would have a playlist full of tiktok audios

- Especially the ones on anime TikTok - those are really *chef kiss*

- I imagine that Levi wants to ask MC if he can have a manga or CD back and he over hears her jamming to one of his favorite anime openings

- But the song ends before he gets to MC’s room and THE TikTok song comes on and MC starts singing.

- Is that Touch You from Yarichin Bitch Club?! No it couldn’t be...

- MC let’s out THE MOST PASSIONATE 🎤sawarasenai🥰kimi😸wa⛓shoujo👻na💅no?✨böKù🌸Wâ🧚ÿARiçHiñ🤴BįCChī😾ńO😩oSû🚣Dà🎉YO💦

- Levi gets SO red he feels like he’s gonna get a nosebleed or faint or some cliche anime reaction.

- He can’t bring himself to confront MC after hearing them sing. But he would be lying if he said he didn’t wanna join them lolol

- After that Levi will most definitely invite MC to his room for weekly karaoke or to karaoke bars in town

- Bonus points if MC knows the lyrics to his favorite anime openings/closings

Satan

- You can’t tell me that Satan isn’t punk rock as hell

- HAVE YOU HEARD THE MUSIC TRACK THE DEVS PLAY WHEN THE STAGE IS WRATH?!

- I feel like this is where Lucifer and Satan differ, because Satan was most definitely an angsty, rebellious “teen”

- While his attitude isn’t as bad as it used to be his music taste hasn’t left

- MC has the most PERFECT 90s/2000s emo playlist haha

- But if Satan wanted some of the old stuff rest assured they have some classic rock on there too

- I think Satan would invite MC to his room whenever he felt like pissing Lucifer off to blast rock music thats on MC’s playlist

- This honestly sounds SO OOC but I like to imagine when Satan is with MC he would let loose a little and start singing/dancing along

- And the feeling MC would get when they see Satan singing along to one of their favorite bands?!

- HUBBA HUBBA 🥵

- Satan knows this and lives for their flustered reaction

Asmodeus

- Okay I don’t know if y’all know who Spencer is on tiktok, but he does this thing where he will put on music to make him feel sexy and get all dressed up and just walk towards the camera in slo-mo.

- And do I think Asmo would do that??

- Yes absolutely 😂

- I think Asmo would have a shared playlist with MC called “brb doin hot girl shit”

- Ashnikko is DEFINITELY on this playlist

- But it is just songs that MC and him play when the two wanna feel confident, when you’re both getting ready to go clubbing/partying, or whatever hot people do that they might need music for

- But also I think MC would have a winding down playlist

- This one is played when you’re both doing skin care, or getting ready to take a bath, or just general self care

- This maybe a little OOC but I like to think Asmo would love to hear MC sing the calmer playlist because of how peaceful it makes him feel

- Imagine that after a night of partying and you’re both getting your makeup/party clothes off and putting on face masks and just winding down

- And MC is in the bathroom just gracefully signing while doing whatever self care task they’re doing

- Asmo overhears and just loving/longingly stares at MC from his vanity or wherever he is

- I just think Asmo would appreciate the gentle moments MC and him share along with the rowdy ones 🥺

Beelzebub

- Would LOVE IT that MC listens to so much music

- He’s always at the gym or practice and would love to listen to MC’s playlist when he’s apart from them

- I do think that if MC went to the gym with Beel you two would have a shared playlist called “Gainz😩💪😤” or something goofy like that

- It’s full of high energy songs, that match how hard you two go at the gym(at least how hard Beel goes lol)

- Image that he asked MC to make him a special playlist so that he can listen to it right before his games/matches to motivate him 🥺

- It would remind him to do well for not only for himself, his team, or his brothers, but his lovely MC who he doesn’t ever wanna disappoint

- On the other hand when the two of you cook/bake together and there is music playing I think it would be cute if Beel danced with MC in the kitchen

- MC is the only thing that helps with his hunger, right?

- So image you two are cooking dinner listening to la festin from ratatouille or something similar

- And outta no where he grabs MC from behind, spins them and starts dancing with them

- I’m not saying it’s any good, but he’s trying because he knows how much MC enjoys listening to music and wants to show his appreciation

Belphegor

- Last but not least! Sleepy boi 🥺

- MC has lullabies for daysss

- Or those white noise/rain/ambience sounds

- It’s just a playlist that helps the two of you sleep

- Not that belphie would have issue with that

- At first Belphie kinda shrugged it off and was like “whatever thanks I guess..”

- But on the inside was so soft because omg MC thought to do this for me?!🥺

- Like I said he doesn’t really need it but loves that MC thought these sounds or soft tunes will help him sleep better

- After a while I think he grows to actually need it though so MC has to send him the playlist when they aren’t together

- The playlist not only helps Belphie sleep but I think sometimes Beel would ask for it too as he’s so used to hearing it

- I think the twins favorite thing on the playlist is the rain noises and the random soft instrumental tracks of modern songs

[joongtreasure]

Hello Stranger  ||  Street racer!Hyunjin + Car mechanic!Hyunjin

Hyunjin street racing au + car mechanic au

Genre: Fluff Pairing/s: Hyunjin x Reader

Warning/s: illegal street racing, slight making out

Word count: 4.9k

I was listening to Hello Stranger while writing this

Jisung blankly stared at the last card on the discarded pile. The red color seemed to glare at him in return. Changbin, Felix, and Jeongin waited for his move, wishing for the suspense to be over. They followed Jisung’s gaze as he looked alternately between the discarded pile and the last card that he was holding.

Felix grumbled. “We don’t have all day.”

Jisung scoffed before putting his last card down, revealing a wild draw four card. “I win!” Jisung threw his fist in the air before breaking into a mini dance.

“That’s not how you win in Uno!” Felix retorted.

The four got into a heated discussion about the rules of Uno. It was a typical Saturday in Chris Bang’s Garage. While some of Chan’s friends work for him, others would just laze around on the second-floor lounge. Almost every day they would hang out there, which Chan didn’t mind.

A voice interrupted their petty banter. “Hey, this is a garage, not a living room,” Hyunjin called from the work area. He gave them a pointed look before referring to the customer at the cash register. The customer was waiting awkwardly by the counter to pay for the repairs he requested in Chan’s garage. Felix scrambled from the couch to attend to him.

Hyunjin shook his head before laying on the car creeper. He rolled himself under the car that he was tending earlier. It also became part of his job to reprimand Felix to focus on his work rather than getting distracted by their friends. Chan's business was booming and they need all the help that they can get.

For Hyunjin, the garage is basically his home. It all started when he kept losing in his first few races. He needed the money so their family could get by. When Chan found out, he offered Hyunjin to work for him in the garage. He even offered to train him to be a better racer. Hyunjin readily agreed. He poured great efforts in working efficiently for Chan. In the end, not only did he become one of the greatest racers in the streets, but he also became Chan's right-hand man in the garage. He loved what he was doing. Now, he couldn’t imagine a life not surrounded by engines and the like.

“Ya ya ya,” Changbin called out from the lounge area. “If a nerdy-looking girl comes looking for me, call for me, alright?” He said.

“Define nerdy-looking,” Hyunjin said.

“Wears glasses, band shirts or cartoon shirts, and sneakers,” Changbin said before plopping back to the couch, not waiting for the crew to reply.

You looked at the address your brother sent you, then at the place in front of you. Chris Bang's Garage—your brother wanted to meet you here. You got into the same university as your brother, and you couldn’t wait to see him and his friends. Unfortunately, your brother had a prior commitment today, so you opted to take the bus instead and agreed to meet him in his friend’s garage.

You entered the already-open commercial garage doors. You were greeted with the sight of different flashy-colored cars. Some were hoisted on car lifts while others were being fixed on the ground. What got your attention was the debate between two guys about Uno.

“Didn’t Uno have a point system in the first place?” A boy with white hair argued.

“No!” A guy who oddly reminded her of a squirrel said. “The first person to discard all of their cards wins the game.”

You giggled at the sight before turning to the nearest person to ask for your brother, which was someone under a broken car. You hesitated, unsure if you should disturb him in his work.

Hyunjin wanted to block out their noise. He was really considering hitting them with a wrench to shut up.  It wasn’t helping him concentrate on his work; the rest of the crew probably had the same thoughts. A pair of sneakers caught his attention. No one else seemed to notice someone standing by the entrance so he rolled out of the car to check who it was.

You were greeted by the sight of a blonde guy with a bandana. He was wearing a muscle tee that showcases his toned arms and work pants that had different tools in its pockets. His skin was glistening with sweat, probably from working in the garage. You suddenly became flustered as he was a sight to behold. He stared at you curiously.

Hyunjin was dumbstruck. The sunlight blinded him at first,  then his eyes focused on your figure staring down at him. You looked utterly beautiful, ethereal even. You were probably a customer, seeing as the description Changbin gave didn’t fit you.

Hyunjin stood up and wiped his hands with a clean rag, wanting to look presentable in front of you. He suddenly became conscious that he was covered in sweat. He licked his lips, suddenly feeling his whole mouth go dry. He felt like he was undeserving of your presence. Why? He doesn't know.

“Can I help you with something?” Hyunjin asked, mustering a smile.

“I’m looking for my brother…” You replied, still dazed at the handsome guy.

“Brother?” Hyunjin pondered. “Who’s your brother?”

As if to answer his question, a voice yelled from the lounge. “Y/N!”

Changbin came running down the stairs, almost slipping (being the clumsy friend that he is). “It’s been so long!” He greeted you with a bear hug, swinging you around.

“Oppa, we saw each other during Christmas break.” You laughed but returned the hug.

Everyone in the garage was probably thinking the same thing: Changbin’s your brother? Hyunjin’s gaze switched alternately between you and Changbin, noting the vast contrast of your qualities. Changbin is like a demon summoned to make their life miserable. On the other hand, you look like an angel from heaven. What the hell? He thought.

Hyunjin looked at the others if they had the same thoughts. His question was answered at the sight of Jisung, Felix, and Jeongin openly staring at you. After pulling themselves together, they came down all at once, eager to meet you. Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

It’s been two weeks since your arrival, and what an excruciating two weeks it has been for Hyunjin. He can’t seem to focus whenever you’re around. One time, you just passed by and he was distracted momentarily that he didn’t notice that he stepped on a car creeper. He ended up slipping, his back landing perfectly on the ground. You were instantly beside him, but he refused to accept any help from you, choosing to trudge away in pain. Another was when you simply said hi to him. He waved back at you, but somehow the tire that he was fixing got loose and landed on his foot. He spent the rest of that day limping. So, he did the most logical solution, he avoided you.

You noticed this, of course. You find Hyunjin interesting. When you first met, you had a really good feeling about him. You felt like you could be close to him, so you tried to initiate interactions with him. But, lately, you have noticed that he’s been avoiding you. You didn’t see him anymore whenever you visited the garage, or whenever Changbin’s friends were hanging out at your place. You figured he didn’t like you so you stopped trying.

You knew Changbin was street racing ever since high school. You were the only one he trusted in the family to keep his illegal activities secret. Though at first, you didn’t like it, you knew there was no stopping Changbin. So you simply supported him, coming to his races from time to time.

You were doing your homework in Chan’s lounge while the boys were preparing for a race. You were supposed to leave in a while, but you got curious as you watched the boys doing last-minute fixes on their cars. You have no knowledge on cars, but, for you, they look really cool.

Hyunjin went up to the lounge to rest for a bit. This day was extra tiring. Felix’s job of delivering car parts to customers was thrust upon him; the younger boy apparently took a day off. Then, he helped his friends prepare for the race tonight. He was eager to get a power nap before going to the venue. Of course, that was before he noticed you on the couch. He immediately froze. ‘Would you notice him if he left all of a sudden? The stairs would be noisy.’ He thought.

You noticed Hyunjin, frozen at the topmost step. He probably didn't want to see you, you thought, so you started packing your stuff. “I’m sorry, you can use the couch,” you offered. "I was about to leave."

“No,” he said. “You don’t have to leave.”

“Really?” You chuckled. “I thought you didn't like me.”

“No, I like you.” Hyunjin winced at his own words but explained further. “I mean, I don’t NOT like you. I'm just… I'm just not used to new people.” A big lie.

“Ahh, I get it.” You nodded understandingly.

Plucking up the courage, he walked towards the couch and sat hesitantly beside you. You both were silent for a moment, the only noise you hear are the conversations among the boys in the work area and their engines. “Are you gonna watch the race?” Hyunjin asked, breaking the silence.

“Nope, I still have to study. I might leave in a few minutes though.” You turned to him. “How about you? You racing tonight?”

“I'm not sure yet.” He replied.

Another moment of silence. It wasn’t awkward. You both were comfortably watching your friends work. Though, you took the chance to admit something to Hyunjin. “I really admire you, Hyunjin.” You said. “You seem to love everything about cars.”

“What’s there to admire?”

“Well, you always seem to have your own bubble whenever you work. You’re really good at what you do.” You said.

"It's not that big of a deal." He said, rubbing the nape of his neck stiffly.

"To you, maybe," you said. "But still, I admire you."

Thank god to Chan for forgetting to change the bulb in the lounge, because he was blushing as hell at your words. He was speechless, to be honest. He never had anyone straight up tell him that, especially from the girl that he likes.

You giggled. “Let me guess, you’re also not used to getting compliments.”

Hyunjin shrugged. “You got that one right.”

You laughed. “You’re cute.” You said before standing up and getting your bag. “I should go, it’s getting late.” “You got a ride?”

You shook your head. “I’m taking the bus.”

He stood up too. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“But aren’t you going to the race?” You asked.

Hyunjin scoffed. “Nevermind, they’re gonna win anyway. Besides, it’s been a long day. I want to rest early.”

“Okay then.” You both went downstairs, shouting a quick goodbye to everyone before following Hyunjin to his car. Unbeknownst to both of you, your friends were smiling among themselves. Changbin, on the other hand, had a scowl, not sure if he likes the idea of you with Hyunjin.

Hyunjin’s car was a black and white Mazda RX7. “Sweet ride,” you said, looking at his car from top to bottom. Hyunjin opened the passenger side for you. What a gentleman, you thought. You said your thanks before hopping in. When you both were buckled up, he drove out of the area.

Hyunjin sped up as he got into the highway. “Are you comfortable?” He asked.

“Yes, thank you.” You mumbled. “You know I always wanted to see you race.”

“You do?” He chuckled. “You’d be bored.” You asked why, to which he replied while smirking, “No one would stand a chance.”

“I have never pegged you to be arrogant, Hyunjin.” You laughed. “Now I really want to see you race.”

“I’m just stating facts.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure you are."

Hyunjin drove the car into the suburb on the hillside. There were perks of having Changbin as your brother: a home that has a great view of the city, an awesome circle of friends, and, the best one of all, him as your chauffeur in a cool car.

The hill was quiet. Only a few houses lived on this side of the city. The road was basically dead, so you thought of something that could be fun for both of you. "Is it difficult to race uphill?" You asked.

"No," Hyunjin smirked. "Why?"

"Oh nothing," you said, acting nonchalant. "I just feel like this car is too slow or something."

Hyunjin shook his head in amusement. "Are you sure about that?" He shifted the gear and the car accelerated gradually until your surroundings became blurry. You held on to your seatbelt, anticipating the rush. You were in awe as trees blurred past you. "This is so cool." You muttered.

Hyunjin shifted gears, going faster. Normally, he wouldn't put someone in danger like that, but the way you initiated the challenge made him think that you also liked the rush. He wasn't even sure if it was okay with Changbin, but he still continued as he saw you actually enjoying the ride.

Reaching a curve, Hyunjin drifted the car smoothly until the road became straight again. The road towards your home consisted of a few more curves. Plus, it was uphill. One wrong maneuver and you might take a tumble down the hill. You eyed Hyunjin. “You can do it, right?”

Hyunjin just smirked. He drifted the car again as you reached another curve. Your worry vanished as he managed to drift through a few more curves with precision. You looked at him. Despite his cocky attitude earlier, he looked carefree at the moment. You figured that he likes racing for the thrill; that he was in it for the ride and not for the money. It really showed right at this moment. Soon, you felt the car slowing down until Hyunjin parked his car in front of your house.

You grinned. "Well, that was fun."

"Really?" Hyunjin laughed. "Are you okay?"

“Are you kidding? I can't remember the last time I've felt so much thrill in my life."

"Not even when Changbin's driving?"

"Changbin would drive like a mom when I'm with him." You retorted. "He never drives like that with me. Like ever."

Hyunjin hung his head in disappointment. "He's gonna kill me then."

"Don't worry." You giggled. "It'll be our little secret."

Hyunjin smiled, looking at your elated expression. He would do anything to see you happy again. Seeing you like this made him warm inside. That night, he changed his mind about avoiding you.

Ever since that night, you and Hyunjin grew closer. Your bond was natural; always annoying each other, always challenging each other. You started hanging out in Chan's garage more often than usual; from catching up with him in the lounge to helping him work. You actually became familiar with the different tools that he used. He would do the heavy work while you just handed him whatever he needed.

The other guys find it amusing that you were hanging out with Hyunjin rather than your brother. Changbin was quite bitter, but, in a way, relieved. Seeing you bloom in college made him happy, proud even. But, he was nervous that you would start dating guys who probably don't deserve you. When he noticed that you and Hyunjin seemed to be fond of each other, he was relieved. He trusts Hyunjin. He wanted nothing more than seeing you both happy with each other.

That's why Changbin approached Hyunjin because he trusts him when it comes to you. He'll start his internship soon. From then on, he would be too busy to pick you up and drop you at school. He knew Hyunjin’s work schedule in the garage is flexible. He’s doing this because 1) he hoped that through this, you two would finally realize you both like each other, 2) he thought that it would be good for Hyunjin to get out of the garage from time to time, and 3) again, he trusts Hyunjin when it comes to you. 

"Hyunjin," he said, leaning against the car that Hyunjin was fixing. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Hyunjin rolled out of the car with a curious look. He stood up, cleaning his hand with a rag. "What's up?"

"As you know, I'll be starting my internship soon and I won't be around much to take care of Y/N," Changbin said. "I was hoping that you could drive her around to school."

"Sure," Hyunjin said without much thought.

"Well, that was easy." Changbin chuckled. "If I tell you to confess to her, would you?"

Hyunjin blushed, muttering 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

"Ya, you're so obvious." Changbin shook his head. "Just know that I'll come for you if something goes wrong, yeah?" He rubbed Hyunjin's hair teasingly before leaving the boy in a blushing mess.

Changbin told you about Hyunjin, and you were honestly happy with the setup. You would see Hyunjin more often now, even outside of the comforts of Chan's garage.

You just finished your last class for the day, and you were looking forward to seeing Hyunjin. You brushed your way past the hoard of students in the hallway. Arriving at your school's parking lot, you immediately spot Hyunjin. However, you frowned at the sight that greeted you.

Hyunjin was leaning against his car, looking annoyed as ever as a couple of students crowded him. A few guys were admiring his car while some girls were trying to make small talk with Hyunjin. Though he made it clear that he wasn't interested, they wouldn't leave him alone.

"I really like your car." One of them said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You must be really rich." Her posse giggled.

Hyunjin scoffed. 'Pretentious,' he thought. He ignored her despite her approaching figure; his sneakers more interesting than them.

The girl touched his arm and that’s when he finally had it. He moved away instantly. "Can you leave now while I'm being nice?"

You approached them, worried about Hyunjin. "Hey," you greeted.

Hyunjin visibly brightened when he saw you. He moved to the passenger side, opening the door for you to get in. You did so hesitantly, wary of the glaring eyes in front of you. Hyunjin got to his side and drove the car out of the school premises.

"How was school, princess?" He asked, smiling. His mood changed, you thought.

"It was okay, I guess." You said dryly.

Hyunjin frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

You shook your head. Maybe you were tired. Discouraged, maybe. You didn't know. You just didn't have the energy to talk at the moment.

Hyunjin was restless inside though. He couldn't stand the thought of you being down for some reason. But he respected your space, knowing you, you would eventually tell him if something's up. You both rode in silence as he drove you to your home.

Hyunjin parked in front of your driveway. He immediately got out of the car, moving to your side and opening the door for you. You chuckled. "You don't have to do this every time, Jinnie."

"I was just making sure you won't scratch my car." He scoffed.

"Right, of course, you are."

Hyunjin stared at you, and you feel yourself deflate under his intense gaze. "Did something happen at school?" He asked.

You didn't want to admit that what happened earlier bothered you. The thought of Hyunjin with another girl made your skin crawl. Your brain kept telling you to acknowledge your feelings towards Hyunjin, but you just can't, knowing he probably doesn't feel the same.  And, of course, you’re worried that you were already burdening Hyunjin. He looked uncomfortable at school earlier.

You shook your head. "How about you?" You asked. "I kinda saw what happened earlier."

Hyunjin groaned. “They were annoying."

“Aigoo~” You chuckled, pulling the headband and letting it go with a snap. "No one seemed to be good enough for you, Jinnie."

Hyunjin rubbed his forehead comfortingly. You. He thought. You'd be more than enough.

"It's getting late." You said, walking away from the car. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jinnie."

"See you, princess." He mumbled, leaning against his car as he watched your figure enter your home.

You stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the wave of skimpy and lavish clothing. You had just finished your classes when Hyunjin picked you up and told you that he was going to race tonight. You instantly agreed when he asked you if you wanted to come and watch. So, there you were, leaning against Hyunjin's car as he met one of the organizers of the race.

Changbin approached you with a playful glint. "Wah, it's been so long since I've seen you in the streets."

"Someone has to be the mature one if anyone of you decided to do something stupid." You teased. "Especially you."

"Especially you~" He mocked, which made you laugh. "But now, you did not only come for me, did you? You came to support Hyunjin."

You hit Changbin in the arm. "Ya, I support all of you."

"Sure you do."

Hyunjin came back after handing his pot money. Changbin man-hugged Hyunjin, wishing him luck before leaving you two alone. "You gonna wish me luck, princess?"

"I didn't know you needed luck." You giggled. "But, do be careful."

"Always am." Hyunjin smiled. He removed his jacket, leaving him in his usual tee that exposes his toned arms. You looked away, trying to hide the flustered look on your face. You were surprised when he draped it around your shoulders. "Wear it for me?"

"Why? You'd get cold." You said.

"Just wear it for me, princess."

You sighed before putting your arms inside the sleeves. "I'll be going now," he said. "Stay with Changbin and the others, yeah?"

You nodded, watching him hop into the driver's seat. You bit your lip when you thought of something that can potentially ruin your friendship with Hyunjin. Would it? You thought. Plucking up the courage, you tapped on Hyunjin's window. He rolled down his window, confused. "What's wrong, princess?"

You gestured for him to come closer. As he did so, you kissed him quickly on the cheek. He stared at you, surprised. A kiss could be platonic, right? You thought of things that could save your friendship. Hyunjin had other thoughts though. Before you could explain, he planted a quick kiss on your lips. This time, you were surprised. Hyunjin simply grinned. "I'll catch you later." He said before driving to the starting line.

You patted your cheeks, trying to shake off the giddy feeling. You weaved through the crowd until you found your friends and your brother near the starting line. You stayed with them until the race is over.

Hyunjin felt restless behind the wheel. He already felt the adrenaline kicking in as he waited for the flagger to start the race. Not only that, the other drivers taunted him earlier, saying they'd ask your friend—you—out after the race. That didn't just make him subtly claim you by making you wear his jacket, it also made him more determined to win the race. However, after the kiss, he already felt like a winner. You meant that romantically, right? Thinking about it excited him. Feeling giddy, he hit the steering wheel repeatedly in excitement.

The flagger raised his arms and the crowd hollered. "Drivers, are you ready?" He yelled. When the drivers gave him an affirmation, he swiped his arms down, signaling the cars to go. The cars zoomed instantly through the night.

You stood between Changbin and Jisung, nervous to the death. It's been so long since you came to events like this. It's like seeing Changbin race for the first time again.

Jisung was cheering Hyunjin's name beside you. Upon seeing your face, he softened. "Hey, relax. Hyunjin's good. One of the best in these streets."

"I know," You said. "I just can't help it."

Changbin chuckled. "You should date him after this."

You hit Changbin again for the second time that night. "Shut up."

"Aigoo, is my sister flustered? Aigoo." He teased.

Slap!

Changbin rubbed his arm in annoyance, finally feeling the burn after a series of your slaps that night.

The crowd went wild as the sound of engines returned. You all saw the cars speeding towards the finish line, Hyunjin's car and a different car leading the race. You all watched in suspense as the two cars alternately surpassed each other by mere inches.

"Oh, I can't look." You said, turning around.

Jisung pulled you. "Ya look!"

You saw Hyunjin's car overtake the other car in a burst, probably using his NOS. The crowd celebrated as Hyunjin sped past the finish line first. You jumped in excitement, hugging Changbin in a tight grip. The crowd surrounded Hyunjin as he went out of his car to receive his win. Your friends bombarded him with whoops and man hugs, while you and Changbin opt to just wait for him behind the buzzing crowd. Hyunjin searched the crowd for your face. You waved from the back, hoping he'd see you. When he did, he waved back, looking euphoric.

Changbin nudged you. "Just go to him." You nodded bashfully. "Don't stay out too late, okay?" He said before leaving, probably going to Chan's to celebrate.

The crowd was already dissipating when you approached him. You were almost at Hyunjin's when you were stopped by a guy you've never met before.

"Hey, I'm Kim." He said. "Have I seen you before? You look really familiar."

"Sorry I don't know you." You replied.

"Well, I think you're really cute. Can I ask for your number?"

"I'm not interested." You turned him down immediately. You sidestepped to get past him but he grabbed your wrist.

"I mean no harm, babe," Kim said. "I just want your number."

"I said no, okay?" You said, trying to pull away from him. "I'm not interested."

Kim was about to reply when a gentle hand touched the part where Kim's hand is gripping yours. It was Hyunjin. "She said no, Kim. Please remove your hand and let her go."

Kim did so but took a taunting step towards Hyunjin. "How about we race for it huh, Hyunjin? You were just lucky tonight."

"She's not a prize." Hyunjin glared. He placed his hand behind your back and ushered you to his car.

You looked at Hyunjin briefly. His mood definitely turned sour despite his win. You slipped your hand in his, hoping to lighten up the mood. "Hey, you dropped your crown, princess. Keep your chin up." You teased.

Hyunjin laughed then smiled at your hands, intertwining them. "Trust me, I'm more than happy tonight."

"Congrats, by the way." You said. “Although, you already knew you were gonna win.“

"Let's celebrate." He said.

"Sure, I think they're at Chan's right now."

He shook his head. "I want it to be just us."

You pondered. "What do you have in mind?"

"You pick, princess." He kissed your hand. "Anything, anywhere, I don't mind."

You blushed at the action. "How about dinner at my place?"

"Sounds great." He said, leading you to his car.

At your place, you cooked ramen. Though you offered to cook something else, Hyunjin wanted something easy and instant. He reasoned that he didn't want to bother you too much, but, actually, he just can't wait to spend more time with you. After eating, you both chose to watch a movie. Although a few minutes in, the movie was already forgotten as Hyunjin won't stop hugging you. You were basically on his lap and he kept nuzzling his nose on your neck.

"Hyunjin," you chuckled. "You're not watching the movie."

Hyunjin mumbled, "Let's just stay like this for a while."

"Okay, but can we clear something between us first?" You said. You grinned as his cute head peeked at you.

You slid off his lap and sat beside him. He faced you with an amused expression. "I just need to know... where our relationship is heading." You mustered.

Hyunjin smiled. "I really want to date you, Y/N. I want you to be my girlfriend." He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. Beautiful, he thought.

"Okay then." You said.

"Is that a yes?" Hyunjin came closer, gently touching your cheek, staring at your eyes. "You'd be my girlfriend?"

You nodded meekly and muttered a yes. He held your cheeks before kissing you repeatedly on the forehead. You giggled. Then, you both gazed into each other's eyes, briefly looking at each other's lips.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked gingerly.

To answer his question, you placed your hands on his shoulders and kissed him. He responded almost immediately, his hands resting on your waist and on your cheek. You sighed as your lips slowly molded against each other. You put your hand to the side of his face, momentarily brushing against the headband on his forehead.

You pulled away, giggling to yourself when Hyunjin tried to chase your lips. He rested his forehead against yours, staring intensely at your eyes. Feeling courageous, you pushed Hyunjin until his back was against the couch and you straddled him. He caressed your face, taking in every detail. "Beautiful," he muttered, leaning closer for another kiss.

You kissed again with much more fervor this time. Your bodies were firmly pressed against each other. His hands were clutching your waist, rubbing it up and down. You delicately traced his biceps until finally resting them against his chest. You felt one of his hands slide gently down to your thighs.

It would have been an interesting night if you didn't hear Changbin's car park in the driveway. You pulled away from each other, smiling. He tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. You giggled, doing the same thing to his hair.

The front door opened, revealing a sleepy Changbin. When he noticed your position, all traces of fatigue vanished. "Ya!" He yelped.

You didn't want to move, but Hyunjin gently placed you beside him, probably trying to get on your brother's good graces.

Changbin rubbed his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He shrugged. "Keep it PG when I'm here, okay?" He glared at Hyunjin, pointing his finger as if he's saying 'I'll be watching you' before disappearing to his room.

You and Hyunjin just laughed at each other before cuddling on the couch, finally paying attention to the movie.