#me asking myself who came up with that reminds me of that one photoshoot they did where they look like they got caught making out

[spn-lesbian]

tlsp music videos are just a whole different kind of universe

[newtthetranswriter]

A Trans Soulmate Au

Word count: 2070

Summary: being trans and not understanding it can make having a soulmate very difficult.

Paring: Takashi Mitsuya X Trans!Reader

Warnings: talk of Dysphoria, internalized transphobia, talk of transition, if i missed any please let me know.

A/n: Welcome this one has a bit of angst but it ends happily I promise. I just thought it would be cute if in a soulmate au where your soulmate's name was on your wrist what would happen if you were trans but your soulmate had your birth name on their wrist. So this came to be. This takes place when Mitsuya is twenty so that's the reader's age as well. I tried to write it so anyone can read it whether you’re ftm, mtf or nonbinary, or if you just want to see the inner workings of this trans person's brain. I also want to state this is a rough written interpretation of some of the things I felt before I knew what being Transgender was, it will not cover what everyone feels or what they would feel in this situation. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. Anyway requests are open, and remember to Hydrate or Diedrate. MINORS AND AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT

Key: D/n means different/dead name, it can be anything but what you like being called I guess.

    I’ve known who my soulmate is for the past three months but haven’t told him yet. You may be thinking, why wouldn’t you tell him if you know he’s your soulmate, is he not a great guy or something? But that couldn’t be farther from the truth, my soulmate is Takashi Mitsuya and he is the sweetest guy to ever live. The problem is me. I don’t feel comfortable with who I am and who people want me to be. I’ve always felt like I’ve been living a lie, masquerading as someone I'm not, and honestly I’m scared to tell people the truth. What’s the problem with admitting your soulmates then, is probably your next question. Well I don't want to see the constant reminder of someone that’s not me on my soulmate's wrist.

    In our lovely world we live in your soulmates first name is written on your wrist from the time you are born. On my wrist in clean lettering is Takashi and I cherish it, but ever since I started noticing my feelings about myself I’ve kept it hidden so my soulmate can’t figure it out, because they shouldn’t be burdened with someone who is broken like me. When I met Mitsuya I was conflicted at first. I knew he was my soulmate because I saw D/n written on his wrist in the same font as mine, and obviously his name matched my wrist. He was so kind that I considered just telling him we are soulmates and dealing with the discomfort of seeing my given name everyday for the rest of my life, but my disdain for who people told me to be won, and I’ve kept it secret since. Or so I thought.

    It was the weekend and there was nothing happening with Toman at the moment so I was hanging out with Mitsuya and Hakkai. We were just chatting, covering topics like what we want to do in the future and how no matter what Hakkai and I will be Mitsuya’s number one supporters when he starts his fashion line. It was just a chill hang out among friends.

    “Seriously Mitsuya, if you need a model for a photoshoot or runway I got your back promise. I mean what are friends for?” I said brushing a strand of hair out of my face, not realizing my bracelets had slid up my arm.

     “D/n’s right, we’ll help in whatever way you need us to Taka.” Hakkai chimed in. “Anyway, other than being a fashion designer, have you thought about looking for your soulmate yet?” He asked Mitsuya to keep attention on him. 

     When the topic of soulmates was brought up I subconsciously rested my hand on my wrist. Feeling my bracelets out of place I quickly shifted them back into position. Hoping that the one person didn’t see the mark and figure everything out. I quickly looked over to Mitsuya and from what I could tell he was still absorbed in his conversation with Hakkai. I sighed in relief before deciding it was probably time for me to go home.

     Standing up, I addressed my two friends. “Well it was nice talking with you guys but I should get going, I have some homework I still need to finish.” I quickly turned not catching the slight frown on Mitsuya’s face. Waving one final goodbye, I left Hakkai’s house and headed on my way.

     I had reached a park a few blocks between my house and the Shiba residence and decided to sit and clear my head. “That was way too close.” I said to myself as I sat on the swings.

     “What was ‘too close’ me almost finding out that you are my soulmate and having been hiding it for who knows how long?” Said the voice of the one person I didn’t want to face right now. “Come on D/n, when were you gonna tell me? Did you just not like that the universe chose me for you to be stuck with for the rest of your life? If that was the case why did you hang around me so much?” He started asking questions.

    Fighting back tears cause I knew where this conversation would go, I tried to argue. “You know that’s not true Takashi. Why would I hide it? I didn’t know, I didn’t want to assume anything.” I lied, trying to play it off as me not knowing for sure.

    He rolled his eyes at that. “Don’t lie about it. You constantly wear bracelets to cover it up, obviously you’re embraced to have my name on your skin. And don’t Takashi me, if you can’t admit we’re soulmates don’t call me that.” He said with a harsh tone he normally saves for assholes he has to beat up.

    “I swear I’m not embraced, it's just easier if you don’t have to deal with me as your soulmate.” I said finally taking the blame even if I knew he wouldn’t believe me.

    “Are you sure? Cause it seems like you’re just making excuses. What did I ever do to make you want to hide that we’re supposed to end up together? If it’s the fact I’m in toman then i’ll leave it, pass on the title of captain of the second division to Hakkai and retire.” He started to sound almost desperate. Like the fact I hid this was hurting him. “Just tell me what I need to do, for you to accept me.” At this point there were faint tears streaming down his face. 

    I froze, Mitsuya never cries, he didn’t even cry when Mana started school. It hurt to see him stand here and offer to leave his friends for me. He loved toman, maybe even more than he loved fashion design and sewing. I couldn’t just sit here and watch him beat himself up over something that was really all my fault, so I broke down completely. 

    “It’s not you Takashi. I love everything about you and I would never ask you to quit Toman, that’s like asking Takemichi to stop crying or asking Mikey to stop riding his bike. The problem was never with you, I hid the fact we are soulmates because I’m broken. I’ve always been broken. I don’t know how to explain it but I just feel like my body is wrong. Like I was born in the wrong one, like a mistake was made. Everytime I look in the mirror I hate what I see. I've tried everything from affirmations, to body positivity exercises but it’s all wrong. I hid the fact we are soulmates because I hate my name. It doesn’t fit, it’s wrong, I don’t know what is right but that there on your arm is not me.” I ranted out, expressing my feelings about myself for the first time out loud. “I could bear going through life hating a part of my soulmate that he can’t change, so I hid my mark and hoped that by some miracle you would find someone else that shared this name and had Takashi written across their wrist even though I know it’s impossible. I don’t want you to have to live with someone who hates themself.” Tears were streaming down my face and I didn't notice Mitsuya moving to hug me.

     “We’ll get through this together. I know your feelings are probably hard to understand and are confusing. I’m not going to pretend like I fully understand, but I will help you through it. We can look for a therapist to help you work through it and understand. We can try anything you want to make you feel more comfortable. If you truly hate the name on my wrist I’ll keep it covered so you don’t have to see it, and you can tell me what you want to be called. You get to pick what I call you so I know you’re comfortable with it.” He said resting his head on mine as silently cried into his chest. “And when you’re ready I will help you tell the gang and if anyone dares to make fun of you or disrespects you they’ll have to answer to me. We’re soulmates for a reason, and I’ll stick with you through everything.”

     I couldn’t help but smile as I pulled away from him only enough to look him in the eyes. “Thank you Takashi. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in the first place.” He just returned my smile, placing a kiss on my forehead. “As for what to call me, I’m not sure yet but I think for now you could just call me soulmate when talking to me. You can call me whatever you want to when talking with others though.” I said, earning a slight chuckle from the lavender haired man holding me.

    “You got it Soulmate, now take off your bracelet and give it to me.” I did as instructed revealing his name written neatly across my wrist. I watched as he smiled at his name before slipping the bracelet on his own wrist covering his own mark. “Now that that’s out of the way, what do you say to going out for some ice cream and maybe a movie?” He asked as he laced his fingers with mine.

    “Sounds fantastic.” I replied excited to start this new journey together.

Timeskip to a few months

     It was a relatively quiet day, I had just spent the morning cleaning up my room and getting ready to go out with Takashi for the day. He was supposed to be here around one and I was so excited to tell him some great news. You see, over the past couple months I found a therapist who helped me figure out that there is a name for my feelings and that’s gender dysphoria, and most people who experience it are Transgender. With the help of my therapist and the support of Takashi, I’ve started my transition. I’ve made some great strides in making peace with my feelings and presenting the way I see myself in my mind. The only thing I had been stuck on was a name. That’s the news I was ready to share with Takashi. I had finally chosen a name.

     Checking the clock, it was about 12 so I decided I should finish getting ready even though there was an hour before Takashi was supposed to get here. As I was picking out my shoes for the day I was interrupted by loud knocking on my front door. Checking the clock again to see it was only 12:15 I was confused, Takashi isn’t supposed to be here for another 45 minutes. Trying to push my concern aside I went to open the door. “Takashi, you're super early.” I said as I swung the door open, being greeted by a very frantic Takashi.

     “Thank god you opened the door, I have to show you something.” Before I could even respond he was pushing into my apartment not even bothering to take off his shoes. “I don’t know how or when this happened but when I was showering I noticed something strange on my wrist and when I looked at it, my mark had changed to this.” He said frantically moving the bracelet that normally covered his soulmark to reveal it had in fact changed.

      I couldn’t help but laugh, my laugh caused a look of shock to cross Takashi’s face. Before he could continue with his mini panic I decided to explain. “It’s ok Takashi. Everything is fine, in fact it’s amazing that your mark changed, it just proves we’re soulmates even more.” He looked confused at my statement. “I finally picked my name, it's Y/n” I said, clarifying what I was getting at.

     The look of confusion melted away into one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen on his face. “Oh my god. That’s fantastic Y/n. We have to celebrate.” He said immediately falling into using my new name. Hearing it come from him made me smile more than I already was.

     Having his support through everything has been a blessing, I’m glad my bracelet accidentally fell that day. If it hadn’t I would still be hating myself everyday, but instead I’m learning to love myself and showing everyone that no matter what society says you have to be you don’t have to listen.

[crazyblondelife]

Tea...With Hats - The Polly Singer Hat Tea in Lexington, Kentucky

I believe everything happens for a reason and opportunities come along when you are in a place of divine alignment with your true purpose. Our desires and dreams are gifts that will lead us to more than we could ever imagine if we follow them and listen to the whispers of the Universe.

This is a story of how I was led in such a roundabout way to an opportunity that I so enjoyed, but also one that stretched me and caused me to grow! Keep reading to learn the story about how I met Polly Singer and was invited to speak at her annual Hat Tea in Lexington Kentucky!

As some of you know, I was featured, along with my friend Lisa Richie of the American Academy of Etiquette, in Victoria Magazine back in January. It was a “pinch me” moment for both of us! After the article came out, we didn’t really know what to expect, but we most definitely broadened our reach as far as brands and followers knowing about us, and also, knowing what we are about! We talked about friendships, about following your passions and about living a beautiful life.

Lisa and I went to Birmingham, Alabama back in May of 2022 to do the photoshoot for the issue and fell in love with Birmingham and the people at Victoria. When we arrived back in Burlington, we knew we wanted to do something special to go along with the upcoming article, so we decided to do a YouTube video about tea etiquette. Lisa came to my house, we set a beautiful table and I interviewed her because she is a tea expert!

Afternoon tea is enjoying a resurgence and I think it’s because people are craving beauty and ritual in their lives and having afternoon tea provides both of those things. The ritual of brewing the tea, sitting and enjoying it with someone special or alone, is beautiful whether or not you have the time to set a proper tea table. It gives you time to pause and take a moment in your busy life to be present and do something for yourself and someone you enjoy spending time with.

When you put a piece of work, especially one that you’re very proud of out into the interweb, you never know who may see it. As luck would have it (or is it luck?), our tea video was noticed by Polly Singer, a millner in Lexington, Kentucky, who contacted me about collaborating in some way! After talking and tossing around ideas, it was decided that I would go to Lexington, Kentucky and be the guest speaker at her annual hat tea! Once again, the topic was living your best life as a woman…following your passions no matter your age.

At this point, I had never spoken in front of any kind of group, but tried to put any nervousness to the side because I knew this was a great opportunity for me!

I left for Lexington several weeks ago with my assistant Hannah! The plan was to interview Polly, see a little bit of Lexington and go to the tea!

We spent a lovely day with Polly in her home and that gave us a chance to get to know each other before the tea and talk about some of the topics we were planning to discuss!

The Hat Tea couldn’t have been any more beautiful! The people of Lexington are some of the most gracious and friendly people I’ve ever met and I had the time of my life meeting so many beautiful ladies!

I sat with five women I had never met before and enjoyed learning about their lives and about their fabulous hats! Right before dessert was served, Polly introduced me and I went up to sit with her and speak…I was a little nervous, but reminded myself that these women were so much like me and that my life and experiences had given me something important to speak about that could be valuable to the ladies listening! After that little pep talk, my nervousness vanished and I so enjoyed my speaking experience! I’ll have to say that I’m proud of myself for having the courage to speak in front of 100 ladies! After the tea was over, I had several ladies ask me questions and say that they enjoyed what I had to say! Sign me up for next time!

The tea was held at Fasig Tipton, which was a perfect place to display the hats and welcome 100+ women! I have loved hats for many years, and this event took that love to a whole new level! I have never seen so many beautiful hats…they were over the top! Lexington knows how to do hats and Polly Singer makes the best ones! One of my favorite things about this event was that everyone from young to old, took the time to dress up. Looking around the room and seeing beautiful women in their finest dresses and hats made me so happy and made me want to do more of this in my life! We have become such a casual society and while there is a time and a place for that, it’s also really nice to dress up.

When I look at these pictures, I wonder why we don’t wear hats every day?

Above are a few of Polly’s hats…be sure to visit her website if you’re interested in a hat for any occasion!

I met many mother/daughter duos and it made me wish my daughters could have been there with me but there is always next year!

We were served a five course tea and the beautiful and delicious food was provided by Ouita Michel who has seven restaurants in Lexington and is a James Beard award winning chef. I had the opportunity to eat at one of her restaurants while I was there and the food was amazing. Of course, I couldn’t resist buying her cookbook and I can’t wait to share some of her Southern recipes!

Polly Singer not only makes beautiful hats, she also has a line of teas and the cocktails we drank were made with her tea. Needless to say, they were creative and fabulous!

As you can probably tell from my description, every detail of this day was well thought out!

Since this day was a feast for the senses…I’ve included lots of pictures so you can get a feel for the experience! I will most definitely go back to the tea next year and hopefully my daughters will be able to attend with me! I would love for this event to become a tradition!

Baldy and I are attending a Derby Party on Saturday and I’m excited to wear my new Polly Singer hat…in fact, I think I’ll just wear this whole outfit again because I think this hat and my Lela Rose dress are perfect together!

As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed this post! Be sure to visit Polly’s website to see her beautiful hats and keep up with what she’s doing! I would love to see you all there next year!

Do you wear hats? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to know all about your hat experience!

Have a wonderful day and thanks so much for reading Crazy Blonde Life!

[sie-rui]

hi, just wanna say that your writings are so maganda and i love to read them! you are an amazing author. magaling ka 🥰 anywaysss, can i request mikey, draken, chifuyu with a model s/o or maybe a s/o who loves to join in pageants. thank you!!🥰🥰

❀ SMILE FOR ME | TOKYO REVENGERS 🤍 sano manjiro, ryuuguji ken, matsuno chifuyu 💿 female reader, second pov (you/your), fluff, established relationship, au - everyone lives / nobody dies, timeline: highschool, headcanon 📅 july 10, 2021 🔗 masterlist ,, version: 01, 02

they're pretty but their girlfriend is prettier. gorgeous, gorgeous girl who models and joins pageants.

. . . SANO MANJIRO

☆ Everyone secretly agreed that Mikey was good-looking and no one would be surprised if he gets a partner as pretty as him. But then you came into the picture and everyone was literally blown away because Mikey?? How the fuck??

☆ It’s not that you’re only pretty, you have this aura around you that makes everyone look at you even without saying anything. No one wants to admit it but it’s the same as how Mikey stands at the top of the shrine, everyone going silent at the sight of him, not only because he was the President, but because he’s Mikey.

☆ So they all thought that the two of you would cancel and clash with each other, seeing how similar your auras were.

☆ That did not happen.

☆ The next thing they knew, Mikey was trailing after you looking so close to a lovesick puppy.

"Looks like we know who’s the more charismatic one between the two of them."

☆ It was no surprise when they found out that you modelled and won in competitions.

☆ Once Mikey learned of this, he immediately asked when was your next shoot or your next pageant.

☆ He’s always there to support you !! Be it practices or the actual event.

☆ Attends beauty pageants with you. Sometimes to watch with you, sometimes to watch you. Shamelessly, he’ll say that the ones that have you walking on stage and flaunting are way better than when he’s watching unknown people.

☆ The two of you are that couple, the power couple that everyone is jealous of.

☆ Will bring you snacks and drinks during shoots.

"Y/n-san, your boyfriend is here again."

☆ Actually friendly with your coworkers and always happy to listen to stories about you since they knew you longer.

☆ Amazing at sensing out snakes and whispers to you who you should avoid if you want to continue living a peaceful career.

☆ Likes stealing you away during runway practices and everyone just sighs.

☆ At some point, they wanted to recruit him as well. But then realizes that he only ever listens to you and his friend, Draken, so he’d be too hard to control.

"Mikey, if I get fired, you better find me a new company.” "Nah, I like keeping you all for myself."

☆ Do not wear heels with him. This man is either going to pout or he’ll one-up you and wear heels as well.

☆ Problem with stalkers? Mikey’s like your personal bodyguard slash watchdog. No one’s going to pass by him, the guy’s not only pretty but he’s also a genius in martial arts that it’s almost unfair.

. . . RYUUGUJI KEN

☆ Draken would take care of you so well.

☆ He’ll remind you to eat and rest and to not stress yourself with your side job.

☆ This is in highschool and you can trust Draken to take notes for you and help you with homework whenever you have to miss classes for a competition or a photoshoot.

☆ Because of his height and sharp features, Draken’s been scouted as well before but came to conclusion that in this relationship, perhaps one celebrity is enough.

☆ He wants to provide for you and love you and he can’t do that if he’s busy with similar activities as you.

"What? Are you sure Ken? It’s really fine you know."

☆ Nope, he really isn’t interested.

☆ Goes shopping with you and even tries out different foundation on his hand while you’re looking around.

☆ Man looks so confused why people do it so he did it himself to try and get a feel for it.

"Ken, can we- What happened to your hand?"

☆ Notices immediately when you suddenly decide to not eat, not wanting to gain weight in case it would take pageant deals away from you.

☆ Would give you that one look that makes you spill what you’re thinking.

"Y/n everyone would love you no matter what your size is." "But..." "I don't want you getting sick, so eat here and eat a lot."

☆ You’ll notice him immediately on beauty pageants or runways because he either purposely stands out or he brought Mikey with him (simply because that guy will cause a riot when no one’s making sure that he isn’t) and said blond is making a fuss or catching attention from other people.

☆ Approaches you calmly after a show and smiles at you so softly, caressing your face and telling you that you were amazing.

☆ It’s amusing to see everyone just lose their spirits once they realize that you already have a boyfriend lo'.

"Damn, is that Y/n’s boyfriend? He’s handsome. Is he a model as well?" "I heard he rejected Y/n's company..."

☆ Only thing is that you can’t figure out if they’re disappointed that you have a boyfriend or if Draken has a girlfriend.

☆ Will carry you on his back when you’re tired sdkfjs

☆ Notices if you’re feet are hurting or if you’re uncomfortable with what you’re wearing or the attention you’re getting and he’ll always speak up about it.

☆ Ken holds your hand to show off that you’re already with him, raises an eyebrow to whoever approaches you with intentions, and it’s both the hottest and the cutest thing ever.

. . . MATSUNO CHIFUYU

☆ Chifuyu’s gaze just gravitates to you.

☆ It’s in the way you walk, how you carry yourself, how you gaze at everything… your whole presence in general. Chifuyu always ends up freezing up and just looking at you.

☆ There’s the perfect mix of elegance and confidence and it’s so wonderful to look at and Chifuyu feels like he’s falling in love all over again.

☆ And he’s not afraid to tell you so.

“Y/n, I love you." "I love you too, Fuyu, but that's like the 15th time you said it today. Is there something I should know of?" "Nah, I just love you so I wanted to say it again."

☆ Chifuyu just feels so touched whenever you let him pick your next outfit for a photoshoot. He knew that you would have better people instructing you or you can do it yourself but you always ask for his opinion and choices and it just makes him melt.

☆ It just speaks volumes of trust in both him and his tastes.

☆ Needless to say, he won’t disappoint and you would be coming in set looking like a mix of hot and cute and everyone is demanding to know who chose your outfit for the day because damn they’re amazing.

☆ If Chifuyu gets asked to join the company as well, you swore that wasn’t your fault and you definitely did not show any picture of him and talked about him for hours.

☆ Hey, at least if his future career doesn’t end well, he has something to fall back to!

☆ Compliments you here and there and everywhere.

☆ To be completely honest, he doesn’t really care much for makeup.

"Why? Y/n looks amazing with and without makeup."

☆ Seriously, words like that always fluster you even more than usual compliments—not that those compliments don’t shake you, they do.

☆ Chifuyu is amazing in advices, only it’s mostly about love. But he usually knows what to say to get you inspired and firing.

☆ Though ever since he appeared in your instagram post, his follower count skyrocketed as well that it caused you to doubletake.

☆ Couple photos with tons of mirror pictures.

"Chifuyu, why do you look prettier than me?"

☆ Attends your competitions or runways religiously that at this point your fans know him as well.

☆ Baseline is that you’re pretty but Chifuyu’s prettier.

[cherrycocaineee]

17. Min Yoongi - Aftercare

*Warning - mentions of sex, making out* *Slanted, bold words mean that it’s being spoken in Korean.*

*Min Yoongi’s p.o.v*

      The sweet smell of sex filtered out of the room once I cracked the window open, letting the cool air drift through the hot, sweaty room, emptying it out. Hadley’s tired form was covered by the thin sheet, her sweet, bright brown eyes drooping tiredly. Even though she was tired, she still made an effort to smile at me happily. Chuckling, I crawled back on top of the bed and moved over to her. She turned over to her back and watched as I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

 “Let’s get you taken care of,” I whispered against her fleshy, soft, pink lips.

 “You don’t have to, Yoongi,” she replied, “I’ll do it. You should rest.”

 But I ignored her, gently grabbing her shoulders and pulling her upright. The sheet she was using slipped a little, almost revealing her breast. I looked down at them, spotting the reddish, purple marks I had caused to form after assaulting her flesh with my mouth. Her cheeks started to turn a bit red as she caught me staring.

 “Yoongi,” she whined.

 I took the sheet off of her and pulled her into my arms; her naked form brushing against the cloth of my gray sweatpants. Her head pressed against my shoulder; the feeling of her brown, soft hair touching my skin caused me to shiver. I took her into the bathroom and placed her in the tub. The heat from the hot water mixed with the aroma of the bath bomb and bubbles I had added to it. Vanilla and coffee, the two smells that reminded me of Hadley the most, especially when I was away on tour. Kneeling beside the tub, I grabbed the wash cloth I had pulled out and dipped it in the water. Hadley sunk a little lower into the water, a relaxed breath puffing out as she closed her eyes. I could only smile, feeling absolute love and admiration for the girl sitting in front of me.

  I started dragging the cloth over her body and wiping away the sweat that was still clinging to her skin. My eyes watched her breast move up and down as she continued to breathe; her breath was getting heavier and I couldn’t tell if she was asleep or aroused from all of my touching. Not wanting to take the chance of her being asleep in the water, I reached over and shook her. Her eyes fluttered open.

 “Don’t fall asleep,” I hummed, “it’s dangerous.”

 “Yes sir,” she whispered, tiredly.

 I smiled again and continued to clean her up. Once all of her body was cleaned, I moved to washing her hair, pouring a cup of already soapy water over her head. A soft giggle left her lips as the water showered over her.

 “Yoongi,” she said, “come on, you don’t have to wash my hair too.”

 “Let me spoil you, doll,” I hummed in her ear, “I hardly get to do this being away for so long. And aftercare is important.”

 “Oh fine. But tomorrow, I’m taking care of you.”

 I only hummed in response, letting her go back to relaxing instead of talking. I wanted her to enjoy herself. After washing her hair and rinsing her off, I wrapped a towel around her frame and picked her back up, not caring if I got wet. Placing her on the bed, I went over to the dress and grabbed her brush and hair dryer. It wasn’t good for her to have wet hair.

While I blow dried and brushed her hair, I listened to her read from the book she grabbed off her nightstand. The book was called

“The Great Gatsby”

and it was one of her favorite books. Just hearing her voice when she read from the page made me happy. I stopped the hair dryer and leaned over her shoulder, staring at the book’s pages, unable to read them just yet. However, Hadley was teaching me every day how to read and pretty soon I would be able to read the book to her while she was falling asleep.

   Hadley’s brown eyes turned to look at me, her soft, puppy dog stare watching me curiously.

“Everything okay?” She inquired.

 “Yeah,” I whispered, “I’m just admiring the most beautiful girl in the room.”

 “You’re too kind.”

 I nestled my head into the crook of her neck, she turned back and continued to read a little longer while I rested. After a while, I finished drying and brushing her hair then started her skin care routine. Once again, she tried to tell me to let her do it but I ignored her. My baby deserved much more after sex so this was the least I could do for her. Hadley started laughing when I wiped her makeup off.

 “That tickles,” she laughed.

 All I could do was laugh with her. Hadley told me each step to her normal skin care routine while I did it. I was putting a clay mask on her when she climbed into my lap, wrapping her legs around my waist. When I first arrived, she had asked me if I had worked out because I was starting to get thicker and harder around my torso area. I cleaned my fingers off with a baby wipe just as Hadley reached over and grabbed the clay mask.

 “You do one too,” she said, taking a small amount in her hand and starting to put it on my face.

 I let her put the mask on and couldn’t stop myself from smiling. She was amazing. After putting the clay mask all over my face, she wiped her hands clean and set a timer, telling me that we had to leave it on for 10 minutes before taking it off. In the meantime, I watched Hadley go through her photos on Instagram; recently having posted some photos from her recent trip to the beach with a group of her friends. I enjoyed looking at the photos of her. Soon, she asked me to see the photos from my trip back home. So I showed her the ones I took, and some of the ones Jungkook and Hoseok took of me when I had my hands full.

  We were so content with what we were doing that the sound of Hadley’s alarm going off made us jump. She reached over and grabbed her phone, pressing the off button on her alarm. The two of us headed into the bathroom again and started rinsing off the clay mask that now felt like a sticky paste, ready to be taken off.

 Hadley used warm water to rub the clay off her face, her fingers moving in swift circles. I followed in her footsteps and did the same, watching her as she made sure to get every spot and carefully moving around her eyes and mouth so the clay didn’t touch there. Once all  the clay was gone, she dabbed her face gently with a soft towel, her name printed on it, then handed it to me so I could do the same. I started rubbing my face when she stopped me.

 “No silly,” she smiled, “dab, don’t rub.”

 Nodding my head, I started dabbing the water off my skin; her fingers still lingering against my skin as I did so. Our eyes locked. Setting the towel on the counter, I grabbed her hands and moved closer to her, my lips becoming incredibly close to hers.

 “I love you,” I said to her.

 “I love you too,” she said.

 My lips collided with hers, moving softly at first but then getting rougher with each passing second. Hadley’s arms wrapped around my neck as mine wrapped around her waist. I lifted her up, placing her bare ass on the counter top, our lips never disconnecting. Her small fingers tangled themselves into my hair as she moaned into my mouth. I slid my hands down to her thighs and squeezed, causing her to gasp leaving an opening for me to slip my tongue in. She moaned a bit louder when she felt my tongue exploring the inside of her wet cavern.

  Because of the lack of air, I had to pull away, panting and watching the small drip of drool pull from between us. My lustful eyes staring into her submissive eyes. Not a single word left our lips, but we were interrupted by the sound of my phone going off. Groaning, I removed my hands from her thighs and headed out of the bathroom to see who was interrupting my time with Hadley. Hadley followed soon after, grabbing one of her t-shirts from her drawer and throwing it on, not bothering to put on any panties, and climbed into bed.

I pressed the answer call, seeing that Jungkook was calling, and pushed the screen to my ear.

“Jungkook, why are you calling?”

I asked, stealing a quick glance at Hadley, hoping she wouldn’t fall asleep yet.

 “I was told to see when you’re coming home,”

he replied,

“we have a big photoshoot tomorrow, so no one wants you to be late.”

 “I’m not coming back home tonight. I’m spending the evening with Hadley.”

 It was almost silent on the other end as Jungkook was relaying my message to whoever wanted to know my whereabouts. A few moments passed and Jungkook came back to the phone.

 “Okay, just make sure that you’re here before noon. That’s when the photoshoot is.”

 “Alright. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Goodnight, tell the others goodnight too.”

 “Goodnight, hyung. Tell Hadley I said goodnight! Bring her to the photoshoot tomorrow if she can come.”

 I wasn’t able to get another word out because Jungkook hung up quickly. Sighing, I placed my phone on the dresser and turned to see Hadley laying in bed, her eyes closed. Smiling, I climbed under the covers with her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She looked up at me.  “Goodnight, Yoongi. Thank you for taking care of me.”  “Goodnight, my love. I’ll always take care of you.”  With that, the two of us fell asleep in each other's arms. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of us breathing and the wind drafting through the room, still ridding the air of our previous sexual encounter. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was able to sleep peacefully. Not worrying about the manager walking in and telling me to get up, or the others walking in to wake me up so I can fix something. I could just sleep with the girl I loved. And I couldn’t picture anything better.

[inkandpen22]

Permanent Chaos (4/?)

Pairing: MGK x Female!Reader

Word Count: 4k

Warnings: mild swearing, mentions of underage drinking 

Part Summary: Sam hosts a party and Y/N makes a not-so-great acquaintance of a certain rock star.

Masterlist

Sam’s house is filled with people. I know the majority of the partiers, the rest I can recognize from whatever field of entertainment they’re in. The music is blasting over the speakers and the voices fill the remaining space.

I search around for him. I manage to find him in the family room on the couch. He’s chatting with a group of people, including Penelope. I make my way over, shuffling between bodies. When I appear out from within the crowd, Sam gleams.

“You made it!”

“I did!” I giggle.

We hug and he introduces me to the girl beside him. “Y/N, this is Cara.”

As if I don't know who Cara Delevigne is, I may be busy but I don't live on Mars. I smile at her kindly. “Nice to meet you!”

“You too! I’m a huge fan of your work on TSL!” She gushes, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

The Seasons of Life is often shortened to TSL, just a side note.

Cara’s accent is so pretty! She’s already a model then she has to have a British accent as if she wasn’t perfect enough!

“Aw, thank you so much!”

Sam slips by me. “I’m going to go get us a drink!”

"Oh wait, Sam!"

“I know what to do!” He shouts back without stopping. I should know better. With how much time we spend together, he would know my order.

“That kid,” I sigh to Penelope and Cara.

The two giggle and we go on to talk about this and that. Fun enough, Cara leaves for Paris tomorrow for a fashion show. Must be exciting to travel so often and to wear the most amazing clothes. She’s quite funny. Her personality is so vibrant and warm. I can see us being good friends.

A loud voice echoes through the house and the three of us look toward the archway to see who it’s coming from. Bodies block the view so I turn my attention back to the girls. Penelope and I discuss the photoshoot in two days and Cara talks about her experiences with Vanity Fair.

“Hey, Cara!” A voice greets behind me.

I don't turn around, but I can feel their energy hovering over me. They shuffle to stand right beside me. I glance up, but can't recognize them.

Cara stands up to hug them. “Good to see you! How are you?” She keeps him in an embrace.

“Great, great!” The guy, who’s back is to me for some reason seems familiar. I can’t quite put my finger on it.

“You know Sam?” She questions as they part.

“Not really, I came with a few friends.”

I look over at Penelope for a hint as to who it could be. She shrugs and watches the two interact.

“Speaking of, have you seen him? I should say hi.” The man asks.

“He went to the kitchen to get a drink for him and Y/N.”

The man turns around and he peers down at me on the couch. I should’ve guessed it… MGK. The hair and a million tattoos should've been a dead giveaway. That bright blonde mess of a hairstyle.

“Colson, this is Y/N Voss,” Cara introduces us.

He glances down at me with a smile. “We’ve met actually,” he claims.

My head tilts, I can’t recall when we've met properly.

“Today after I performed on James’s show,” he describes, towering over me.

“Oh! Awesome!” Cara sits back down next to me.

All I can do is stare at Colson in confusion. “If you count glancing at one another from across the room once as meeting,” I reply a bit snarky.

He gives me a toothy grin and eases down onto the cushion ottoman right across from me. “It was more than one glance,” he argues.

“You would know, you’re the one that never looked away," I fire back.

Cara and Penelope exchange a glance, snicker, then leave the scene together. They offer their goodbye before giggling away. They're smart.

Colson seems to have not noticed or at least doesn’t care. He moves to take Cara's spot on the cushion next to me. “You would’ve had to been looking to have noticed that I never looked away.”

My head rolls back, with a mocking laugh. “Well aren’t you a genius!”

He rests his arm on the back of the couch behind me. “I like to think so.”

“One vodka tonic.” Sam interrupts, holding out my drink.

I take it bitterly. "Thanks."

“Sam huh?” Colson stands up and the two shake hands. “I’m Colson, nice to officially meet you, man!”

Sam treats him like an old friend which annoys the heck out of me. Colson so far has only shown his arrogance to me. “You too! Great seeing you today at the show. Your performance was amazing.”

“Thanks, your interview was hilarious!” Colson fakes charming better than some actors.

“You watched?” Sam asks.

“Yeah, I stuck around just off-camera. You two are great!”

Watching these two talk each other up is a bromance waiting to happen.

Sam gestures to me with his glass. “Y/N here is the real comedian. There’s never a dull moment with her."

“I'm sure.” Colson peers down at me with a bright smile. "We’ve only just met and she’s already sparked a debate with me.”

I narrow my eyes at Colson, what’s he trying to start?

Sam settles down on the ottoman where Colson was. “What about?” He is all for the conversation and is jumping headfirst into the tiff between us.

Colson smiles but I see the mischief in his eyes.

“It wasn’t a debate” I rise to my feet in front of the boys. “If you would excuse.” I step away from the couch a little irked.

“Oh come on now Baby, I’m only joking,” Colson calls not bothered.

“Oh no,” Sam laughs behind me. “Best not call her that or any pet names for that matter. She hates them!”

I don’t even acknowledge them on my walk out of the room. Cocky, annoying, ugh! It’s been maybe five minutes and he’s already managed to irritate me. Maybe all the things they write in the tabloids about him are true. A spoiled, arrogant, womanizing jerk. A piece of the worst parts of the industry. I'm going to go find the girls and stay far away from Colson Baker.

________________________________________

On the set of the Vanity Fair shoot, the atmosphere is lively and carefree. The theme is an 80’s vintage style and since it’s coming back the magazine is mixing old with the new. Sam and I are in an old-fashioned record store and it’s wicked! The walls are teal and remind me of an old Taco Bell. There are rows and rows of just vinyl records. My hair is teased in an 80’s rock band kind of hairstyle. 80s music has been playing on set all morning to set the mood. I'm living for it!

A lady approaches me with a huge light wash denim jacket.

“No way! I get to wear this!” I gush.

She helps me put it on and I’m dying from how awesome this shoot is.

I immediately go to Sam's trailer. “Sam! I’m rocking the denim on denim look!” I show off my high-waisted light wash denim shorts with a black bulky leather belt around my waist.

He laughs. “I appreciate the denim on denim but I have to say my favorite part is the old Bon Jovi T.”

The photographer, Adam, comes up with this brilliant idea for me to stand on the crates of records. Where the two rows in the middle of the store meet, there’s enough room for me to stand. Once I’m up there and I can find the balance in these red heels, they have Sam join me.

“Sam, grab her leg and look up at her as though you’re keeping an eye on her,” Adam instructs.

The camera flashes and between snaps, I change my facial features.

“Good! Good! Let’s get some shots from the counter!”

Sam helps me down from the crates and I hop down. We get a shot of me laying across the counter with a red sucker in my hand and Sam hovering over me. This shoot is incredibly fun and I can’t wait to see the finished product.

Sam and I change outfits and Adam asks if he can get a video for the website and YouTube channel. Of course, we said yes. It’ll be a montage of an interview of us individually and then of us just messing around throughout the store with 80’s music playing in the background. Adam has me sit on an 80’s style floral couch they set up in front of a backdrop in the back room. The whole setup is very comfortable and intimate. Only us, a few lights and a camera with the radio playing. Sam is in makeup and dress for the part of the video of us being candid.

“You can sit however you like!” Adam instructs, meaning I’m sitting too formal with my posture straight and legs crossed. “Act like we’re just hanging out or something.”

I adjust myself and crisscross my legs, slouching a bit.

“Much better!” he compliments, staring down at the camera. He hits up on a stool and positions his camera on the stand. “What’s it like to be on the cover of Vanity Fair?”

“The whole experience is unreal! I remember having a subscription to Teen Vogue growing up. My friends and I loved them!”

“Would you describe your style as modern or classic?”

“Classic for sure!” I gush.

Adam snickers. “What’s your favorite decade for fashion?”

I laugh and gesture down at my outfit. “The 80’s.”

“Does anyone from the 80’s inspire your style in particular?”

I tap the tips of my fingers together and hum. “That’s a toughy! I guess I would have to say Demi Moore for the hair. Specifically, her haircut from About Last Night… that’s where I got the style for my hair actually. Another big one would be Cindy Crawford, such a fashion icon!” I could talk about fashion all day and the icons idolize.

“Heels or sneakers?”

“Depends on the occasion. Sneakers for everyday things, I could never live without my trusty Converse. Yet, I would wear heels if I’m dressing it up a bit.”

"Are you more of a girly-girl or tomboy?”

“People who know me well would say I’m a girly-girl but I also don’t mind downplaying it from time to time. I’ve gotten better lately at relaxing and no being so “on” all the time.”

“Hair up or down?”

“Half up, half down,” I wiggle my eyebrows playfully looking into the camera.

Adam chuckles behind the camera. He changes topics. “You’re from South Carolina originally...”

My heart sinks a little at the mention of home, but I hide behind a smile. “That I am.”

“You haven’t been back in almost a year, do you miss it?”

I play with the ends of my hair, examining my lap. Avoiding the camera lens. I look at anywhere but there. “If I were to miss anything about South Carolina, it would be the gorgeous landscape and southern food."

“You have three siblings, correct?” Adam asks next.

“I do, an older brother and sister, then a younger brother.” I list.

“What do they think about the show and your career?”

I nod. “They support me but the distance is hard. As you said, we haven’t all been together in almost a year.”

“Do you have any plans to go visit home soon?”

I sigh, “sadly no, my work keeps me quite busy.”

The interview goes on and we discuss how my style has evolved since I was a teen starting out in the business. I’ll admit, the topics about home and family sucked. Work and personal life are two separate jobs, my worlds can’t collide. I never bring South Carolina into it.

______________________________________________

After the shoot, I received a call from Cara when we were finishing up the photoshoot. Last night, Cara, Penelope, and I had a blast! I completely forgot about the whole tiff with Colson once I reached them in the kitchen. Since then, we’ve been three peas in a pod. While we were talking on the phone, she invited Sam and me to dinner at The Ivy.

“A small gathering of friends,” she told me and asked for us to be there by seven.

Jump ahead to now and Sam is parallel parking the car. I hop out and wait on the sidewalk for Sam to walk around. Our hands' interlock and the paparazzi take notice of us when people on the sidewalk pull out their phones.

“Y/N! SAM! SAM! OVER HERE!”

“HOW’S FILMING GOING?”

“It’s good to be back on set!” I cover my eyes with my clutch.

“YOUR INTERVIEW WITH JAMES CORDEN WAS GREAT!”

“SOCIAL BLEW UP AFTER THE INTERVIEW!”

Sam asks for the guys to make a path so we can get through without issues. He releases my hand and presses his palm to my lower back protectively.

“WE’VE ALREADY SEEN Cara AND PENELOPE GO IN!”

“A FEW PEOPLE ACTUALLY!”

“ARE YOU ALL MEETING UP?”

“Maybe, maybe not!” I look into one of the video cameras and wink.

The guy behind it gets a hoot out of my expression.

Sam and I reach the restaurant and the men let us go in unbothered.

“WE’LL LEAVE YOU ALONE TO YOUR DINNER!”

“Thanks guys, see you later!” I wave to them and their cameras shoot rapidly.

The noise dies down when we go back further into the restaurant. Sam spots Cara in the back and guides me back there. Tables are lined up in a long row and the majority of the seats are filled.

Cara, cool as a cucumber pulls me into a hug. “Hey Y/N! So glad you two could come!” She sits Sam and me across from each other near the middle. She insisted that I sit by her so we could chat. We get to talking about the Vanity Fair shoot today then she’s pulled away when another guest arrives.

The waitress comes up behind me and requests my drink order.

“I’ll have a sweet tea please.”

“We only serve unsweetened.”

I hate it when they say that. “That’s fine, thank you!” Sam eyes me and I pout about having no sweet tea.

“You realize there’s sugar right here.” He slides me the packets of sugar.

“Yes but it’s not the same. There’s sweet tea at every restaurant where I’m from and I come here boom! Sweet tea is nonexistent!”

"What’s the drink that’s carbonated?” He’s asking to be annoying because the west coast and the midwest disagree on the name.

“Pop!” I glare at him.

“That’s right! Pop! Sounds like you’re saying pot every time.” He laughs at his own joke, finding himself humorous.

“It’s soda by the way," he corrects.

“Uh uh,” I refuse to change my ways, “it’s pop.”

The empty chair next to me slides back and when I glance up to see who’s doing it, an instant headache hits my brain.

Sam greets Colson warmly with a handshake. I shoot Sam another glare. He’s acting neutral but that shouldn’t be a choice in this case. He was my friend first!

Colson removes black Ray-Bans from his face and positions them on top of his head.

“Hello Y/N.” Colson sends me one of his charming grins so many teen girls swoon over.

“Hi,” I reply, not attempting to hide my disinterest. I curve my body away from him and towards Cara, legitly giving him the cold shoulder.

The dinner goes on without a hitch surprisingly, considering the circumstances. Penelope leans down over the back of my chair to say our goodbyes.

I turn around in my chair to face her. “See ya tomorrow.”

“See ya,” she rubs her hand up and down my arm.

She and I exchange kisses on the cheek. “Love you!” We say in unison as we part.

“Later Sam!” She wiggles her fingers at him in a wave.

Sam and I stick around a while longer since Cara and I have gotten into a deep conversation about our shared love for vintage things. A conversation about our collections of records alone went on for twenty minutes. I hadn't noticed that it was just four of us now. Sam and Colson have been talking most of the dinner.

A pair of hands rest on my shoulders and steal my attention away from Cara. “Y/N, you ready to go?” Sam asks.

“We’ll head out too!” Cara announces with her sights directed behind me.

I look over my shoulder and Colson is standing beside Sam. The four of us walking out together… how convenient.

I grab my clutch, sticking close to Sam to dodge Colson.

The four of us walk toward the front of the restaurant and right when we reach the steps leading outside, Cara announces that she forgot her purse.

“I’ll be right back!” She urges us to go on without her.

The cameras waited for us as I assumed they would. They’re capturing every minute of us waiting for Cara.

I place my hand on Sam’s shoulder, “would you go help her?”

“You sure?” His eyes flicker between me and Colson.

“I’ll be fine,” I assure him and he promises he’ll only be a second.

“Go to the car so you aren’t bothered,” he refers to the paparazzi.

“I’ll walk her,” Colson offers.

Sam gives him the go-ahead as he goes off to help in the search for the purse.

I’m left with the one guy I was avoiding. I grip the keys in my hand and walk down the brick steps to the sidewalk. I hear Colson behind me and stop to address him. “I can walk myself to the car.”

He raises his arms mocking a surrender. “I don’t doubt your ability to walk, just helping out.”

“I don’t need your help,” I scoff, starting to walk again.

“I never said you did,” Colson sassily replies.

*Click* *Click* *Click*

A man runs around me to get a photo of me straight on.

“Y/N! Y/N! WALKING IN WITH SAM AND LEAVING WITH MGK, ANY EXPLANATION?”

I pause for a moment, making eye contact with the man behind the camera. Is he honestly trying to start drama? What lies are he going to sell? I’m only going to the car because Sam requested. The only reason Colson is even near me is that he’s so freaking persistent.

I push back the aggravation and force my lips into a kind smile. I can’t have a single moment of weakness. I can’t give in to my emotions like others. “Sam is helping Cara with something inside. Colson was kind enough to walk me to the car.”

“HOW LONG HAVE YOU GUYS KNOWN EACH OTHER?”

I purposefully answer quickly so Colson doesn’t even have the chance to think of a response. “Not long, we met the other day backstage at The Late Late Show. We have a lot of the same friends and had no idea!” I peek over at Colson and he gives me a knowing look. I dismiss it and go on with my charade. I will not let this jerk mess with my career.

“ANY CHANCE OF HAVING COLSON GUEST STAR ON THE SHOW?”

“That would be great!” I lie my butt off, “having more friends on set would be fun!”

“COLSON, HOW’S YOUR NEW ALBUM COMING ALONG?!”

“We’re in the recording stage right now. Should be released sometime this summer," he answers.

“FOLLOWING UP WITH A TOUR?”

“Of course!” he chuckles.

I unlock the car and move around the guys to reach the door.

“WE’LL LET YOU GUYS GO ON. ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR NIGHT!” One of them departs.

“Thank you! You too!” I wave goodbye.

Some stick behind to get a few last pictures but for the most part, they all disburse. The ones remaining, however, keep their distance.

I yank on the handle of the door and Colson holds it for me. As if he's a gentleman. I begin to climb in, prepared to yank it shut in his face.

“Friends huh?” Colson chuckles.

I turn around abruptly and check around the general area of the sidewalk for any cameras. Seems the remainder of the guys have left. I shut the door and Colson removes his hand in a rush.

“No, not friends! I only said that to please the public," I huff.

“Ouch!” he acts offended, placing his hand on his heart. “I did find it interesting that you claimed we met backstage the other day so I was right!” He chuckles, believing he caught me.

“No, no, no, no!" I shut that thought down quickly. "The only reason I made that up was that it’s not good for my image if I admit I was at a party. People tend to assume that heavy drinking and drugs occur at parties. I can’t be associate with that scene!”

“Oh, so it’s alright to lie?” He crosses his arms and snickers, glancing down the street toward the restaurant.

I roll my eyes, of course, he doesn’t understand, why would he? “You don’t get it” I scoff, dismissing him. I turn and reach for the car handle again.

“So what if you were at a party? People drink, if some have a problem with that, that’s their problem. Oh! I forgot! You're America's Sweetheart! The perfect angel princess with a spotless record,” he mocks.

I slam the car door shut, having hit my limit. I keep my voice hush. “It’s not that simple! I'm not like you! I can't be caught partying! If the country, the world, sees the truth then my image is ruined! I've been doing this since I was a teenager! I worked way too hard for far too long to lose everything over a stupid mistake!”

Colson’s face falters from his usual carefree expression to one of seriousness.

“Found it! Let’s go!” Sam announces loudly to the whole block.

I toss him the keys and glance back to Colson who stands there in a stillness I have yet to see from me. His stare makes me want to hide. I feel as though I’m under a microscope being studied.

“Toodaloo Y/N! ‘Till next time my pals!” Cara strolls down the sidewalk.

It’s evident she’s had a couple of drinks. She sways further down the sidewalk and comes to a stop once she notices Colson isn’t following.

“Later Cara!” Sam shouts over the top of the car behind me.

Colson and I stare at each other I’m guessing for different reasons. He appears lost in thought and I’m desperately trying to figure out why. If I look away, I fear he’ll break to pieces or something.

Cara pauses. “Colson? You coming?”

He holds out for a moment but finally breaks eye contact with me. "Yeah."

When I’m no longer staring into those black works of art I regain my ability to move. I hurry into the car and Sam says his goodbyes again over the top of the car. I buckle my seatbelt when he climbs in. Watching strangers walk up and down the sidewalk, I’m perfectly aware of Sam starring me down.

He pulls onto the street. “Are we gonna talk about it or are we doing silence?”

I reach over and turn up the radio.

“Of course you make your own option.” Sam watches me, waiting for some sort of explanation.

We come in at the end of a song and the next one is oh too recognizable. The classic rock sound that is a part of all of Colson’s music plays through the car speakers. His vocals enter the soundwave and I groan loudly over the music before turning off the radio.

"No music then!" I snap.

__________________________________

Masterlist

Tags: @canyoubuymetoast @bri-3530 @asil1652 @andstilltryingtofindmyself @nadia2021 @olafsidehoe @mgkobsessed @fairywriting101 @ferrell-cat @naylanae-0308 @tonystarkswife10 @alexsa5 @brocksbabyyy @stormrider505 @magnificenthumancopangel @sarcasticfangirlus @lilramencup95beech @missyviolet123 @skeleton-gxr @glitterybearllamaflap @margaritaville20 @amoresix @thysagclub

[headheartbellarke]

Paper Rings | OWEN JOYNER

Requested by anon: “Owen request? A series of events that leads Owen to finally working up the courage to propose to his girlfriend?” PAIRING(s): Owen Joyner x fem!reader WARNING(s): some language, mentions of abuse, panic attack, anxiety, and fluff haha WORDS: 3.7k SUMMARY: Five times Owen almost asks his girlfriend to marry him, and one time he actually does.

0.

    Charlie looks around, feeling out of place amongst the big mirrors, bright lights, and the sparkling diamonds. When his best friend, Owen, told him that he wanted a ‘guys night’ (he’s still unsure as to why he wants to have one: they live together, it’s guys’ night every night – he was expecting bars, or clubs, or fancy restaurants; things they don’t get to do every night, because of work. But he definitely wasn’t expecting to be dragged into a jewellery store.

  “O, buddy, what are we doing here?”

  Owen shushes him, walking ahead to a counter. A woman with kind eyes greets him. “Mr. Joyner!”

  He smiles, familiarity pooling in his eyes.

  Charlie frowns. He didn’t expect Owen to be into jewellery – sure, he buys stuff for his sister and mother, but he always takes them with him.

  He thinks of Y/N, Owen’s girlfriend of about five years – there’s a possibility that he may be buying something for her, but it’s highly unlikely. Y/N has been pretty vocal about the fact that she hates diamonds, and who’s to blame her, really? Her father used to buy her mother a diamond necklace after every time he hit her or when he came home smelling of another woman’s perfume.

  Charlie exclaims, “Owen! I’m gonna die if you don’t tell me what’s going on!”

   “I know, I know.” He shushes him, again, and Charlie feels like a child, even though he’s older than the blonde boy. Owen turns to the woman in front of him, Miranda, as her name tag reads, and says, “I hope it’s ready.”

  She nods, excitedly. “Yes! I have it right here with me.”

  She disappears beneath the counter, and Charlie expects her to return with a big box, like a magician’s apprentice. But, instead, she emerges with a small, tiny box and he wonders –

  As realization dawns upon him, he feels a rush of euphoria. “Oh my god, are you –”

  Owen nods, his face aglow with anticipation, hope and adoration. “I – I walked into this store a couple of weeks ago, after I decided that I wanted to marry her, I mean, I’ve known it for a while, you know? I can’t see myself being with anyone but her for the rest of my life, and I want a family with her. She’s my soulmate, dude. And I – I think it’s the right time, too. She’s got that amazing job, and my career’s going great, so, yeah. I wanna marry her.”

  Charlie sniffs, feeling tears at the back of his eyes. “Bro.”

  His friend grins. “Bro.”

  Charlie pulls him into a hug, but Owen pushes him away, and they swat each other’s hands for a second before Owen whisper shouts, “Do you wanna see the ring or not?!”

  Charlie’s eyes widen and he nods. They turn to the woman in front of them, and she points to the box placed on the counter before them. “If you’re ready.”

  Owen nods, and Charlie feels amazed at the determination clouding his irises. He opens the box, and the Canadian boy gasps.

  Inside sits a simple platinum ring. Except at the middle, there’s a diamond shaped like a star. It’s so beautifully built, every edge looking like they’re fit to cut steel. And the entire ring – it’s so simple, yet beautiful, and Charlie knows why he picked it.  

  It’s a mirror of the way Owen sees Y/N – something gorgeous, something priceless, something elegant, yet something so simple to him, and something that will always makes sense, no matter what.

1.

    Owen inhales, staring at his reflection in the full body length mirror in front of him. He’s going to do it today – he is going to ask his best friend, his soulmate and the love of his life to marry him. He has planned it all – even Charlie went out with the rest of the cast tonight to give the twenty-three-year-olds some privacy. (Charlie, Y/N, and Owen live together in Vancouver, at least while shooting the fourth season of Julie and The Phantoms, so, as one can guess, it’s really difficult to get a moment alone – but since the both of them love Charlie so fucking much, they don’t really mind.)

  He straightens his tie and hears soft footsteps in the hallway outside his room. Y/N’s head pokes in, her face lit up like Christmas lights.

   “Don’t you look sharp!” She says, while walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his torso. Owen smiles, catching her eyes in the reflection. “Are the bad puns ever going to stop?”

  She gasps, dramatically, and exclaims, “You don’t gotta be so mean about it!”

  He shakes his head, and feels love swell in his chest for the woman behind him. “I love you so much, you know that, right?”

  A mischievous glint appears in her eyes. “I could use a reminder.”

  Owen grins, turning backwards and cups her face in his hands, about to kiss her, when a voice stops him.

  “I think I just broke the coffee machine!”

  Y/N’s eyes widen, and she yells, “You did what?!”

  Owen’s brows furrow. “Is that –”

  She casts him an apologetic glance. “Zoe, yeah. I forgot to tell you, but Cece had to go out last minute, so I offered to watch her for the evening!”

  Usually, Owen loves kids, especially Y/N’s cousins like Zoe, but right now, he feels like jumping off a cliff. She seems to sense that as she runs her hands down his arms, and says, “I’m sorry! I know you said that tonight was gonna be just us, but you love Zoe, don’t you? And it’s gonna be fun, I promise!”

  It’s not. Owen had booked a table at Y/N’s favorite restaurant in Vancouver, and he would have proposed midway through the dinner, when the musicians there would start to play ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift, and when they got to the bridge, he would have dropped to a knee.

  Ignoring the weight in his chest, he plasters a smile on his face. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m sorry, I just – it’s been a while since we’ve been alone, you know? With work and all. But I’m sure it’s gonna be great with Zoe, too!”

  She nods. “Thank you. We can go out alone next week when Charlie has that photoshoot with Madi!”

  He nods. “Absolutely.”

  The little black box stays hidden in the pocket of the beige coat in his closet that he never wears.

2.

    As Y/N smiles at him, Owen thinks that this is it. This is the moment he’s gonna ask her to marry him.

  As the light from the fire illuminates her face, he thinks about how perfect this weekend has been. After long days, and even longer nights of filming, they finally got a weekend off, and Charlie immediately booked a cabin in North Vancouver.

  And there’s no one better at planning trips than Charlie.

  Along with Owen, Y/N, and Charlie; Madison, Jadah, Jeremy and his wife, Carolynn, Savannah, Sacha, and Tori are here, too, everyone basking in the peace. Throughout the weekend, they’ve done anything and everything they can do in snow – from skiing, to making snow angels, and finally, as the shades of evening rolled on the last day of their trip, they are tired.

  After dinner, everyone wordlessly returned to their rooms, and Owen knows that they’re all fast asleep, right now – except Y/N, who is still as bubbly as champagne.

  When they returned to their room, Y/N quickly lit the fire – because no matter if it’s snowing or if it’s fifty degrees outside – she is always freezing.

  It’s the opposite in Owen’s case, though – he’s always warm, and that’s why Y/N wasted no time to settle in his lap.

  Owen quickly pats his pocket to check if the ring’s still there. It is, and it’s been there for the whole weekend. He’s been searching for opportunities, but they were always either with someone, or it wasn’t a good time.

  “O?” She asks, her voice soft.

  “Hmm?” He replies, threading his fingers through her hair.

  Her eyes brighten up, putting the fire in front of them to shame. “I’ve just had an idea.”

  “Later. First, I have something to ask you.” He says, his hand reaching into his pocket again.

  She smiles. “I know what you’re gonna ask.”

  Owen’s surprised. “You do?”

  She nods excitedly. “Yeah. Charlie told me!”

  He must have had a horrified look on his face because her eyes widen quickly. “Oh, he didn’t want to, believe me! But, now that I know, tell me, when are you gonna do it?”

  Owen stammers, suddenly feeling breathless in this room. The anxiety starts to pool in his stomach, along with an anger, directed towards Charlie. “I – I – I can’t believe he told you this…”

  She shrugs. “You know that he can’t hide anything from me. He’s like the brother I never asked for. Anyway, so he was showing me some of the designs, and I love you, but I don’t think you can handle a tooth piercing.”

  Owen’s brows furrow. “What?”

  “Like, totally no offence, but you passed out when the dentist came to do a routine check up on your teeth. I don’t wanna imagine what would happen if you got them pierced.”

  “What are talking about?!”

  “Charlie and your matching piercings, dummy! What else would I be talking about?” She looks at him as if he’s grown a third head.

  Owen’s lips part. “We are not getting matching piercings – I wasn’t gonna ask you that!”

  “Oh!” Her eyes widen. “What were you gonna ask, then?”

  He gulps, thinking to himself – this is it. This is it. This is it.

  “Do you wanna go home for New Year’s?”

  He mentally curses when that question comes out of his mouth, and even with Y/N’s bright smile, he starts to feel queasy inside, knowing that he still isn’t confident enough to actually ask her.

3.

    Owen wipes his sweaty palms on his jeans and stands up. “Y/N, I have to tell you something.”

  She nods, her eyes sweeping across the mostly empty LA beach. He brought her here today to finally ask her to marry him – his past attempts have been nothing short of disastrous.

  As he opens his mouth, he feels a pang in his heart, and his mind starts to race. All kinds of thoughts race through his mind, like – what if she says no? what if she hates him for ruining what they have? What if Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift becomes his most relatable song? What if she –

  Y/N stands up, and her hand finds that of Owen’s, a reassurance, and he knows that she can sense his anxiety. She doesn’t ask him to talk about it – she knows that he will, eventually, when he’s ready. For now, she shows him that she’s here for him, and somehow that is enough.

  As she brushes his hair, his mind starts to calm down, his erratic breathing slowing down and involuntarily matching the pace of her breathing. She whispers, softly, “You’re okay. You’re safe. Everything is okay. You’re okay. I love you. I love you –”

  She keeps repeating that, until it’s like a mantra in Owen’s head, turning the racing thoughts to mere background noise.

  He opens his eyes, and looks into hers, and finally feels calm. He exhales. “That… uh....”

  She nods, comfort flooding through her eyes. “I know, baby. But it’s okay. You’re safe now.”

  He shakes his head, taking his hand in hers. “I – I – I think that maybe you and I should, uh, get – um, matching tattoos. Yeah. That’s what I wanted to ask you.” He lies.

  She nods enthusiastically. “Yes! Of course. You don’t even have to ask – we’ve always talked about it, and I think that now is the perfect time! Do you wanna –”

  As Y/N talks about designs, he thinks that he’s a fucking coward.

4.

    As Owen laughs, he feels confident, for once. He knows that tonight he’ll be able to ask her to marry him, especially in front of all his family – he loves his family, and so does Y/N and vice versa. He remembers the first time he brought her home three months after they’d started dating. He remembers feeling absolutely euphoric about the fact that she fit right in with his family. That was also the day that she had told him, for the first time, that she loves him.

  He looks around the table, and watches Y/N talk animatedly to his mother. His parents think of her as their own daughter, especially after finding out about her rocky relationship with her father. Y/N’s mother sits next to Owen, and he loves how carefree she looks – her ex-husband, really, was an asshole.

  He takes the little box out of his pocket, and his cousin, Elias, gasps. “Is that an engagement ring?” He whispers, his face scrunching as if the sentence left a bad taste in his mouth.

  Owen nods. “Yes. Elias, I would appreciate it if you kept it down.”

  His cousin raises his hands. “Always, homie.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Right.”

  Elias looks around. “Hey, do you think that it’s a good idea to propose now?”

  “What do you mean?” Owen’s brows furrow.

  “I mean people do it in private for a reason. What if she says no and then you get embarrassed in front of your entire family and hers? It’s sympathetic looks for the rest of your life, bro. And your parents wouldn’t be able to talk to her, nor to her mom, ‘cause it’d be, ya know, friggin’ embarrassing. Everyone’s probably gonna hate you.”

  Owen’s eyes widen, and he toys with the truth in his cousin’s words. Elias shrugs, and takes a sip of his water. “But it’s up to you, dude.”

  Slowly, Owen slides the ring back into his pocket.

5.

    Owen looks around, checking if any distractions could be in this room. None. How could it, though? He’s standing in an empty classroom, in the middle of winter break. Nobody in their right minds would be here.

  Well, that would mean that Owen’s not in his right mind. To be really, really, really honest – he is kind of losing it. He has been trying to propose to Y/N for the past month, but every time – every god damn time, something comes up and ruins everything.

  So, he decided to break into his middle school. Well, ‘break into’ isn’t the right phrase – he asked the guard to give him the keys for the night, and even thanked him with a hundred dollar note. Unlike his girlfriend, he’s incapable of breaking rules.

  The guard thought that it was very romantic of him, but really, he’s just tired and wants to get married already. He taps his foot anxiously, and finally hears the door opening, signalling Y/N’s arrival.

  God, she looks absolutely adorable. Her nose is crimson from the cold, and she is bundled under what seems to be ten layers of clothing. She huffs, grinning when she notices him.

  “Are we here to make out? Because your house was much more comfortable and so, so warm.”

  Owen shakes his head. “Nope.”

  “Well, are you gonna murder me, O? Because, well, it’s certainly the perfect location.”

  “I have to tell you something.” He says, taking a step toward her. He looks around and sees that there is nothing that could possibly ruin this moment, and smiles brightly, preparing himself. Y/N’s eyes gleam with anticipation, as she nods for him to continue.

  “Y/N, I still remember the day that I met you. I remember the way you smiled at me even though I had spilled black coffee all over you and ruined your very pretty, white dress.”

  She laughs. “I was really mad at first, yeah. But the cutest boy in all of Oklahoma was in front of me, and well, you know that I was a goner.”

  He smiles fondly. “And the beautifulest girl in the world was in front of me.”

  “That’s not a word.”

  “I know. And then you laughed at my dumb jokes, and even agreed to go on a date with me.”

  “To compensate for that absolutely gorgeous dress.” She clarifies, a teasing smile on her face.

  He grins sheepishly. “And then somehow, somewhere we fell in love, and somehow, you became my other half, and somehow, I can’t imagine a world without you. I don’t want to. You are my best friend, and you are the one person around whom I can be completely myself and face no judgements.”

  “No, I do judge you. You’re a little questionable.”

  “And what would I do without your wicked sense of humour?”

  “Honestly? You’d be lost without me. I mean, you forget to even put your socks in the washing machine.”

  “You’re not supposed to wash them. They go on your feet. Obviously.”

  “That is disgusting, and you know it.”

  He laughs. “I wanna be with you for the rest of my life, and I… I… I want a family with you, you know? I know that we’ve never talked about this, and I don’t know how you would feel about one, but still, if you’re up for it, I’m too. But, if you don’t, that’s okay, too. More than okay.”

  For a moment, an unrecognizable expression crosses her face, and he wonders if he’s hurt her. But then the biggest smile blooms on her face.

  “We should have talked about this. But I would like a family with you, too. I mean, I’ve never really wanted one, and you know why. But, after seeing you and your family, I realized that a part of me does want it. I do want to have the home that I never got to have with you and I wanna do better. I know that you’ll be an amazing dad, and I wanna raise my kid the way that kids should be raised. And I want it with no one else but you.”

  Owen feels as if he’s on cloud nine, and he stares at her for a moment, wondering how lucky he is to find a girl like her. He says, “Y/N, I –”

  Before he can ask her the question, though, her ringtone cuts through the silence of the empty classroom. She whispers an apology and takes her phone out from her jeans pocket.

  She accepts the call and speaks into the phone. “Hey, Luka, what’s up? Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. Luka, slow down.”

  She exchanges a panicked look with Owen.

  Speaking of Owen, he’s losing it. Absolutely. He was so close. And for the first time, he had both confidence and hope. And something had to happen. He starts to feel annoyed at Luka, his sister, and then immediately feels bad about it, but then starts to feel annoyed again.

  “Oh no, you did what? Do you need me to come?”

  At Y/N’s last sentence, Owen bursts out. “Oh, for fuck’s sake!”

  Y/N raises her brows at him. He feels anger replacing all his emotions, anger towards the world, it’s timings, and mostly, towards himself.

  Sensing his rage, Y/N gives him a weird look. “What is wrong with you?” She whispers.

  “Everything. Everything is wrong!” He whispers back.

  He starts to feel breathless, and the familiar sensation of a panic attack starts to overcome him. He looks around, trying to focus on something, anything, when he spots the door.

  He looks at his girlfriend, and says, “I love you, but I’m gonna lose it.” With that, he walks by her, and out the doors, while she yells after him.

+1.

    It’s been twenty minutes since he last talked to Y/N, and he has lost all hope. He’s now sitting on a park bench a couple of minutes away from the school, and he is listing all the reasons why his life is absolutely shit.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  Owen looks up, and notices Y/N walking up to the bench, with a concerned look in her eyes.

  “I – I just… I’ve been trying to ask you something, Y/N, for the past month. And every time I try to do it, I’m either interrupted, or I’m not confident enough. And, today, there were no distractions, and I was finally feeling confident and hopeful and then my sister decides to ruin it – is she okay, by the way?”

  She nods and sits down beside him. “Yeah, she misplaced her dress for tonight.”

  He grits his teeth in annoyance. He loves her, but his sister has the worst timing.

  Y/N rests a hand on his, an odd look taking over her features. “You should know by now that the answer will always, and obviously be a yes.”

  Owen sharply turns towards her. “What?”

  A brilliant smile makes its way onto her face. “You are gonna propose, aren’t you?”

  A gasp involuntarily escapes him. “How’d you know?”

  “Well, you just said some pretty nice things about me. Also, I can see the outline of the ring box, and you keep checking your pocket for it every two minutes, even if you don’t realize it. You’re literally doing it right now.”

  In his defence, he wasn’t, or rather, isn’t consciously doing it. He slowly retracts his hand from his pocket and gives her a sheepish smile.

  She stands up. “Really, O, are you gonna do it or not –”

  “Yep, yep, yep.” He clears his throat and stands in front of her and drops to a knee. He takes the ring out, and flips open the box, and as the diamond’s reflected light dances across her face, Y/N gasps.

  “Oh my god, that’s gorgeous!”

  He grins. “I have great taste.”

  She smiles teasingly. “I know, baby.”

  “Will you ma–”

  “Yes! Yes, yes, yes!”

  “You didn’t even let me finish!”

  “Someone would’ve probably interrupted you and I couldn’t take the chance of you losing your shit again.”

  “You do have a point.”

  “I always do.”

  He slides the ring onto her finger, and she kneels in front of him to match their heights. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he wraps his around her waist, both desperate to be closer, closer, closer.

  “I love you so much.” He whispers into her hair, and she kisses his shoulder.

  “I love you. Forever.”

  She untangles herself from him, and as she kisses him, Owen realizes that he had no reason to be worried at all.

[MASTERLIST]

reblogs are always appreciated!! <3

[miraculouswolf99]

Grand Festival Showdown

The Miraculous gang as Pokemon trainers. All of them are the same, but their dreams have all been modified to include pokemon. Kagami, Kim, Alix, and Ivan are all battlers. Marinette, Adrien, Luka, Nino, Chloe, Nathaniel, and Lila all do contests. Juleka, Rose, and Mylene all do showcases. This all takes place in the Sinnoh Region.

Includes my favorite Lila Salt as well as Alya Salt.

My original characters are included in this story as well. Lyon being a champion grand coordinator, Vallia being a pokemon nurse in training, Apollo is a contest contestant, Mason being a gym leader, and Lena is a friend to the twins.

This is a long one, about 6000 words, so buckle up people.

*****

If there was one thing that Adrien loved, it was competing in pokemon contests. Since his father usually forced him to model for his fashion company, he appreciated the beauty that he saw in the pokemon that his father made matching outfits of for the photoshoots. And from watching the Pokemon League on television, he definitely also knew that they had power. So contests were the perfect blend of how he saw pokemon as the beautiful and powerful creatures that they were.

Not that his father even knew that he participated in them. Gabriel Agreste wanted his son to be a proper heir to Gabriel Pokemon Fashion. And that did not include anything involving contests, battles, or even showcases. He forced him to do all kinds of photoshoots, had him model with humans and pokemon alike, not to mention the fact that he would not have gotten his starter pokemon had he not sneaked out of the house. But he did it anyway, and his adorable Turtwig had managed to evolve into a Torterra.

But if there was one mistake that Gabriel made, it was letting him have lots of privacy. There may be cameras outside his bedroom door, but none inside of his room. That certainly helped when he had to sneak out to meet his friends, capture more pokemon, train his pokemon, or compete in a contest that was nearby. Plus, he also was able to sneak away to contests that were in the same town as a photoshoot that he was doing. He just had to lie and say that he was staying in his hotel room for a few hours. His life may have been mostly controlled, but that did not mean he was not sneaky when he was getting what he wanted.

Since contests were televised, he did have to keep his father from finding out. So he donned a disguise. He became Cat Noir, a mysterious pokemon contest prodigy that no one knew the real name of.

Only three people knew about his second life as Cat Noir. His best friend Kagami, who shared the same type of sheltered life as he did but she preferred battles to contests, and his other two friends Lyon and Marinette. Lyon is one half of a set of twins, his sister currently working under a Nurse Joy in order to become a pokemon doctor, and he was already a top coordinator back in his home region of Kalos. Marinette is a coordinator like him and also came from the Kalos region like Lyon, but she is usually shy and also has desires to become a pokemon fashion designer.

He had met Kagami during one of the social events they were both forced to attend by their parents. They got along great and both had the same desire to be free. If they were in the same town, which happened more often than one would think, they would often use each other as an excuse to sneak away for a gym battle, contest, or training with their pokemon. He met Lyon by chance when he had been training and his Turtwig almost hit the Top Coordinator with a razor leaf gone wild. Lucky for him that Lyon was a lot more down-to-earth than one would expect from a person with as much success as him while he was so young. Marinette, being a fellow coordinator, had been at a contest which she had lost to him. She had seen him take off his Cat Noir mask and recognized him from his father's magazines. She had been a great friend to him and understood why he used the mask.

There were few things that could actually make him smile so carefree other than contests. His constant photoshoots, dealing with stuck-up models, and his seemingly careless father did not make him smile that way. He hated modeling and even though he loved being all the pokemon that he modeled with, he wanted to see pokemon just as free as he wanted to be. He wanted to be famous for working hard like legendary trainers Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Steven Stone. Or coordinators like Fantina, Wallace, and Zoey.

But he was now was at the top pokemon contest of the Sinnoh region. The Grand Festival. He had earned his ribbons and now Cat Noir was at his first Grand Festival. What he looked forward to most of all was that he knew that Kagami was going to be in the audience, Lyon was a special guest, and that Marinette was also competing.

He did not like the idea that he might have to battle his friend at some point, but these things do tend to happen. Especially since he was also aware that other friends of his had also made it to the Grand Festival. They had all attended the same pokemon school before it was time for their journeys to begin. He knew his friends Luka, Nathaniel, and his childhood friend Chloe were also all competing.

So, he was just getting ready backstage before all of them would have their qualifying performances before the battle rounds started. He was in his Grand Festival outfit of a black suit with green details, a black and green coat with a cape-like back, shiny green dress shoes, "cat claw" gloves, his signature cat-eye mask, and fake black cat ears on his head.

"My, my, don't you look fancy," Adrien heard near him.

The model almost jumped out of his skin but calmed down when he saw that it was just Lyon. And from looking at him, he definitely saw why people called him the White Wolf.

Lyon was in an icy outfit that almost gave him the illusion of having his own ice powers. He had on a fancy white vest over a blue short-sleeve silk shirt. It matched the white pants that he wore with his shin-high blue boots. He also wore a white hooded cloak with snowflake designs all over it. On his lower arms were silver arm-band bracelets with snowflake and wolf designs on them. His midnight-black hair also had fake wolf ears in it.

"Oh, Lyon," Adrien let himself breathe again. "For a second, I thought my identity had been discovered."

"Well, you may need to get a little better at hiding when you change," Lyon chuckled. "If you win and become Top Coordinator, the press will be even more ruthless with trying to find out your identity."

"I deal with the press on a regular basis already, Lyon," Adrien reminded him.

"Yeah, but I can tell you from experience that when it comes to being a Top Coordinator, people pay more attention to us," Lyon said.

"Well, I can see why that would happen with you," Adrien not-so-subtly flirted with him.

"Careful, kitty," Lyon teased him. "Wouldn't want the wolf to eat the cat before his big performance."

Adrien chuckled, always having liked how they could always joke around with their chosen performer names of cat and wolf. There were so few people that he could act like himself around and he certainly enjoyed Lyon's company.

"So, you here as just a special guest or also as a surprise judge," Adrien asked him.

"My dear Cat Noir, now that would be telling," Lyon smirked as he teased the teen coordinator.

"Oh, thank Arceus that I found you," they both heard a female voice.

They both turned and saw Marinette running toward them. Lyon recognized her from pictures that Adrien had sent him and of course, Adrien would recognize his best friend even if she was decked out in her Grand Festival dress. Probably a dress of her own design as well.

She was in a beautiful dress that was in a ladybug design with a little pink mixed in. It was a knee-length dress that was mostly red with black spots all over it. Under it was a crinoline that was colored pink that helped her dress by more poofy. The sleeves of her dress were elegant bell sleeves that ended at her elbows and lower arms instead of her wrists. Her hair was also extended and placed into a long ponytail coming from the top of the back of her head with roses tied where the ponytail started. On her feet were red wedge-heel boots that went up to her knees.

"How you can run in those heels is beyond me," Lyon said.

"Especially given that one of the first things that you told me about yourself was that you are extremely clumsy," Adrien added.

"Well, I was running with a purpose," Marinette said.

"That purpose being to find one of us if what you had said means anything," Lyon says.

"It's about Adrien, or rather Cat Noir really," Marinette said.

"Oh, great," Adrien sighed, having expected the fame of his mysterious identity to cause some type of drama at the Grand Festival.

"Do you remember when I was telling you about that liar, Adrien," Marinette asked him.

"Yeah," Adrien nodded. "Lila is what you told me her name was. The girl that lies with every breath she takes and has an ego bigger than a Wailord."

"Well, she somehow got her five ribbons and is going around telling people that she knows who you are," Marinette tells her friend.

"What," Adrien's eyes widen.

"Not just that," Marinette continued. "She is also saying that she is dating you and you're apparently head over heels for her."

Adrien could not help but facepalm when he heard that.

"Here comes the headache that I did not know was going to happen," he groaned.

"Here's some aspirin," Marinette gave Adrien the medicine. "I thought that if the liar managed to get here, I would need some myself. I've already had three headaches because of her. And that is just today."

"Am I missing something," Lyon asked.

"Yes," Adrien said before popping the medicine into his mouth.

Marinette rolled her eyes as she took the liberty of explaining.

"Lila Rossi is a pathological liar that I ran into after I won my first two contests," she says. "At first, I had believed her tall tales until she said that she knew the designer for Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale."

"MDC," Lyon raised an eyebrow. "As such a private designer, I highly doubt that a random girl would know her. Especially if she is bragging about it to anyone that will listen to her."

Marinette nodded. "Exactly. So I then immediately knew that Lila was nothing but a liar. Especially since she said that MDC is a boy when anyone with common sense, and access to the internet, know that MDC's only given clue to who she is that she is a she."

"Yet, people actually believe her," Lyon put a hand on his hip.

"As I said, she is a pathological liar," Marinette says. "One that uses people's knowledge to make her lies sound realistic. Like how my friend Rose is friends with Prince Ali, and my boyfriend Luka is Jagged Stone's son, and even how Adrien is Cat Noir. Lila uses people's own experiences to give her lies credibility. Like a situation of 'if I can know celebrities then so can she."

"Weirdly enough, I can see how that makes sense," Adrien said.

"What can we do about her," Lyon asked. "Can we just have Adrien call her out as Cat Noir?"

"Since Adrien has to keep his identity a secret, she could just pull out another lie about him protecting her or that they got into a fight," Marinette said. "It's how she explained when MDC posted on social media that she had never met Lila before."

"This is gonna be a disaster, isn't it," Adrien guessed. "There is no way someone like how you describe Lila would go down without a fight."

"She may be lying, but won't she lie herself into a corner," Lyon asked. "Especially if 'Cat Noir' actually does enter a relationship."

"The problem is the damage that she can cause along the way," Marinette said.

"Trust me, I was on your train of thought as well until Marinette explained things more to me," Adrien said. "Lila is not just lying about herself, she is also lying about what she can do for others. Saying that she can put a good word in for people to get certain jobs, internships, or futures in careers that they want. When it actually comes time for them to her to fulfill those promises, a lot of people will be met with disappointment. Plus, with her promising these things, they will not apply to other jobs, colleges, or internships on their own. It would take a long time for them to recover from her lies."

"I see," Lyon understood what they meant. "Guess this just gives me more reasons to not come out in public more if I have to deal with people like her."

"She hasn't happened to make any lies about Lyon, has she," Adrien asked Marinette.

"Well, she apparently was trained in the art of contests by Lyon and was supposedly the muse that inspired him to chose his 'White Wolf' look," Marinette said.

"And... now I have a headache," Lyon pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Here you go," Marinette handed the top coordinator some aspirin.

"Thank you," he took it immediately.

Adrien had known Lyon for quite a while now. Lyon had come from a rich family just like he did. But while he had been almost forced to model, Lyon's parents let him choose his own path. He was known for being the youngest ever grand coordinator out there. But since he had met him, Adrien also knew that Lyon generally was very humble and kind, but was basically an ice prince to anyone that tries to use him for their own gain.

So if Lila was not in trouble before, she sure was going to be now that Lyon knew about her lying about him. And that was troubling enough without Lyon's twin sister, Vallia, hearing about this. She might have the nickname of the Flower Princess and might be trying to become a Pokemon doctor, but that did not mean she was not dangerous on the battlefield.

"If she is still telling lies, I am guessing that she still has her regular audience," Adrien looks at Marinette again.

She nodded sadly. "Alya is still her most loyal sheep and there are also a lot of other friends of ours that are under her spell as well."

Lyon looked at the two with a raised eyebrow, silently asking for more details.

"There are times where I can escape photoshoots even if I do not have a contest to sneak off to," Adrien explained. "I would meet up with Marinette as much as I could and she introduced me to a lot of her friends. I have especially gotten along well with Nino, Kim, Juleka, and Marinette's boyfriend Luka."

"And before Lila came along, my friend Alya was my best friend," Marinette said. "I went to our town pokémon school with them before we all started our journeys. But when Lila showed up with all of her tall tales and false promises, they follow her like sheep following their shepherd. Most of my old class is under her spell. Only Adrien, myself, Luka, Kim, Juleka, and our other friends Nathaniel, Marc, and Kagami know that she is nothing but a liar."

"Alya used to be a reporter hopeful," Adrien tells Lyon. "She ran a very popular blog about up-and-coming battlers and coordinators. But then Lila came along with her tales and now most of Alya's blog is about her. She basically takes Lila's words as gospel and attacks anyone that so much as even hints that they think that Lila is anything less than a perfect angel."

"Wow," Lyon gasped. "This girl sounds worse than an angry Darkrai, and you never want to run into one of those."

"Yeah, Lila is a piece of work," Adrien sighed. "She really needs to be silenced before her tales get someone into trouble."

"Yeah," Marinette said. "She has been saying how Jagged Stone wrote a song about her and that Clara Nightingale stole dance moves from her. Those types of lies can ruin their careers."

"Well, I have no secret identity," Lyon says. "She won't be able to lie her way out of me saying that I have no idea who she is."

"Just be careful how you explain how you heard about her lies," Adrien warned him. "Lila has been trying to turn people against Marinette because she knows about her lies. At a few past contests that I had won, I heard a few other coordinators insulting her all because of lies that Lila told about her."

Lyon looked disgusted by the behavior. Coordinators and battlers were both very large families. Yes, there were some bad seeds in each family, but this girl was something way beyond a bad seed. How can one person just be such a selfish liar that she is willing to ruin another person's life just because they did not believe their lies?

But before they could continue their conversation, an announcement was made over the backstage speakers. It was for the coordinators that were competing to get ready since the first round was going to be starting soon.

"Just do your best, you two," Lyon tells them. "And if that liar gives you any trouble, she won't be much of an issue for much longer."

With a "Whoosh" of his cloak, Lyon left to go down the hallway. He had his own business at the Grand Festival that he needed to take care of before he would be able to help his friends.

"He always did like to make dramatic exits," Adrien chuckled.

"I just hope we actually won't have to deal with Lila for much longer," Marinette says.

The two of them went the opposite way down the hall, to the locker room where the contestants have to stay when they are not on stage. Adrien went to the side and leaned against the wall to keep up his appearance of the mysterious and quiet Cat Noir. Looking around the room, he noticed some familiar faces. Like Marinette had gone to stand next to her boyfriend, and fellow coordinator, Luka. There was also her friend Nathaniel and his boyfriend Marc along with her former friend Nino, Alya's boyfriend. Adrien also noticed his childhood friend Chloe as well and, unfortunately, Lila.

Soon, on the screens, appeared Marian, the usual contest announcer for Sinnoh. And from the audience that was seen in the background, Adrien could make out Kagami in the crowd as well as Alya. He was surprised to see Kagami there, but it was a very welcome surprise.

"Welcome, everyone to the beautiful waterside town of Lake Valor for this year's Grand Festival," she announced into her mic, making the crowd cheer. "Sixty talented coordinators from all over the Sinnoh region have joined us here to perform and battle their way into becoming the newest Top Coordinator!"

"And that will be me," was muttered all around the locker room, from confident and cocky contestants.

"Over the next few days, these talents coordinators will perform and battle their way into being named the next Top Coordinator," Marian continued. "The first stage is the Performance Stage, where our contestants will show off the beauty of their pokémon and their moves in double performances. After this stage, we will boil down our contestants to the lucky thirty-two for the Battle Stage where they will fight in double battles to win the chance to be named Top Coordinator."

"We got this, Torterra," Adrien whispered to the Pokeball in his hand.

"And to help us, let me introduce our judges," Marian continued again. "First is the Chief of the Pokémon Activities Committee, our head judge, Mr.Contesta."

"I look forward to watching all these coordinators doing their very best," the judge said as the spotlight shined down on him.

"Next is the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr.Sukiza," Marian introduced.

"Remarkable," the next judge used his catchphrase.

"And, of course, Nurse Joy," Marian announced. "She is a very special guest all the way from the Kanto region."

The spotlight shined down on the pokemon nurse.

"It's an honor to be here and to help judge these amazing contestants, I called my sisters from Pewter City and Cerulean City."

Two more Nurse Joy seemed to materialize from behind her.

"We're very happy to be here," they all said at once.

"And last, but definitely not the least, our guest judge," Marian announces, making the crowd and contestants curious as to who it might be. "He is the youngest ever Top Coordinator of three regions and has graced us with his presence from all the way in Kalos. He's known as the White Wolf, it's Lyon Garden!"

A fourth spotlight shined down and Lyon was presented, making the crowd erupt into cheers.

Adrien was both shocked and not shocked at the same time. He figured that Lyon was here for a reason, but he suspected that it was for a guest performance, not as a judge. But he did smirk as he saw Lila pale a little at the sight of one of the people that she lied about.

"Ladies and gentlemen, coordinators of all ages," Lyon says. "I hope to see plenty of creativity, skill, passion, and most of all, I want to see good sportsmanship. I wish you all the luck in the world, but I will still tell you the cold hard truth about everything you and your pokemon do."

Adrien chuckled under his breath. Lyon would always be Lyon, and that meant that the Ice Prince, which all of their friends called him, would come out every now and again.

"The performance stage will be divided into three separate stages," Marian announced as all three male judges went to a separate stage with one of the Nurse Joy's. "Blue, green, and red. And the performances will be happening simultaneously. Let's get this first round started!"

The crowd cheered. In the locker room, the three first contestants were called out for each of the stages.

Adrien certainly got the meaning of the three stages. It was an extra challenge to be able to do a proper performance when there were two others happening at the same time. It was all about being able to focus on what you were doing and not get overwhelmed.

As the performances started and coordinators showed off their skills, Adrien definitely saw a few that would be his main competition. Such as when Luka took his turn on the blue stage, he did a very enchanting performance with his Sunflora and ghost-type Oricoro. As Marinette has told him, Luka loves music and almost always includes sound in his performances. And as he heard the sound and saw the glowing musical notes of Luka's performance, he knew that boy was going to be a challenging opponent.

There was also Nathaniel and Marc. They worked on a pokemon comic book together, so both of their creative and artistic skills showed in their performances. And it was also an amazing sight to see how Nathaniel had a rare Phione that he paired with his Piplup for his performance was stunning aquatic moves. And Marc was definitely no slouch as he gave an incredible display of nature with his Meganium and Cherubi.

But that was to say that there were not some fails as well.

Sadly, this list of fails included Nino. Adrien might have once called him a friend, but that certainly stopped when the guy started believing Lila's lies about Marinette. And by how badly he failed his performance, Adrien had to guess that Nino had probably taken some of Lila's "advice" about what he should do. It certainly was not a good look to the green stage judges when his Buizel went flying back from a Will-O-Wisp from his Drifblim was too powerful for the combo he was trying to do.

When Marinette got her turn on the red stage, Adrien was proven right when he had guessed that she would do a flawless performance. It was an amazing combination of her icy Amaura with her beautiful Vivillon. Especially when she had beautiful glowing snowflakes falling all over the stage with a combination of icy wind and silver wind followed by a morning sun.

Plus, it was certainly nice to see Lila so angry over Marinette having done nothing wrong in her performance one bit.

But even Adrien had to admit that even though he hated Lila as a person, she did pretty well during her own performance. Sure, her combo moves were a little predictable with the pokemon that she chose, but they still worked out in the end for her. But Adrien had a feeling that like the liar that she was, she was probably just using combo moves that she has seen in the past and using them herself but with different pokemon so that it is not obvious that she is just a copycat.

Then, Cat Noir was called for the blue stage. Adrien took a deep breath as he went out toward the stage. He passed Marinette on his way and she gave him an encouraging hug. He knew that Lyon was the judge for the blue stage along with the main Nurse Joy guest judge from Kanto. But he knew that Lyon would not judge him any easier just because they were friends. If anything, he'd be judged harder since Lyon knows how hard he had trained for this.

"And next on the blue stage is the talk of the Grand Festival," he heard Marian announce. "A masked coordinator that has been taking the contest world by storm. The pokemon contest prodigy himself, Cat Noir."

There was loud cheering as he ran out there and pulled out his pokeballs.

"Torterra, Togekiss, claws out," he threw their pokeballs into the air with his signature catchphrase.

With the star sticker on both the pokeballs, both of the pokemon came out in a swirl of stars. Most would doubt using a pokemon as big and tough-looking as Torterra for the Performance Stage, but Adrien was not most people.

Togekiss lands gracefully on the tree of Torterra's shell. There was a reason why Togekiss were known as some of the most graceful pokemon in the world.

"Togekiss, sky attack. Torterra, leaf storm," Adrien commanded.

Togekiss shined with a white aura as it slowly floated into the air. But at the same time, Torterra's tree let out its storm of leaves and green wind. Since Togekiss was right on the tree, as it flew into the air, the storm swirled around it and followed it. The leaves and window giving off an incredible light that was a result of the combo of the light of the sky attack with the flow of the leaf storm. Togekiss then flew higher into the air.

"Safeguard," Adrien commanded.

Togekiss then unleashed the blue and sea green force field that the protection move grants. It caused the sky attack and the leaf storm to disperse in a gorgeous flash of light.

Lyon and Nurse Joy both looked impressed by how he so effortlessly made a beautiful start to his performance.

"Torterra, sunny day. Togekiss, aerial ace," Adrien commanded.

Torterra's tree glowed with sunlight as it then threw a ball of light into the air. It headed right toward Togekiss as it was surrounded by streams of white energy as it flew around to use its move. The sunny day move was hit by Togekiss, resulting in a bright flash of light.

And the crowd and judges and fellow contestants gasped as Togekiss emerged from the light. The aerial ace and sunny day had merged together and had created a stunning rainbow trail that followed it as it flew around the stage. It was one of the most stunning things ever seen in a contest in ages.

Togekiss then did an aerial twirl before landing right back on Torterra's tree and causing the rainbow trail to burst into rainbow-colored sparkles that fell all over the stage.

Adrien took a bow as his performance ended. The crowd and judges were all on their feet as they gave him a giant round of applause. Lyon caught his eye and gave him a look filled with pride and congratulations.

"I don't think I have ever seen a performance like that," Lyon says, doing his judging. "A true mastery of both the power of a Torterra and the elegance of a Togekiss. Truly the best performance I have seen in a long time."

"It was indeed incredible," Nurse Joy added her judging. "To combine two pokemon so different from each other and making them work in such harmony really is a breathtaking piece of art."

Adrien could not be prouder of himself as he returned Torterra and Togekiss to their pokeballs and then started to walk back to the locker room. He was about halfway there when Marinette basically tackled him with a hug.

"I have never seen anything like that," she practically yelled in excitement. "You're Torterra was so well-trained and Togekiss was beautiful. I will never know where you get your time to train performances like that, but that was so awesome."

Adrien chuckled at the enthusiasm of his friend.

"Thanks, Marinette," he said. "I loved your performance as well. Those snowflakes were such works of art and they were almost like fairies floating around the stage."

Marinette blushed at the compliment.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I knew that ice moves and flying-type moves are usually a good mix, so when you add in the light from the silver wind, it creates the snowflakes."

"I just know that I will see you in the finals," Adrien grinned at her. "I may not want to beat you, but I'm going to."

"In your dreams, kitty," Marinette giggled as she knew that it would be one hell of a showdown.

"Get your hands off of Lila's man, Mari-brat," a female voice was heard.

"And, here we go again," Marinette groaned.

Marinette turned around as Adrien looked at who was yelling. It seems that Alya was as much of Lila's attack Growlith now as she always seems to be since the liar showed up in their lives. And it looked like Lila was fake crying behind her while Nino was trying to comfort her.

"Uh... who are you," Adrien asked.

Now, Adrien had done some voice acting for a few movies that his dad wanted him to do. So, he was a pretty good actor. Adrien might know who Alya is, but Cat Noir has never met her before.

Alya looked at Adrien, smiling at him. But he could still see the rage in her eyes over something that Lila probably lied about. This was probably about the lies about him dating Lila with the liar probably also throwing in some other lies to make Marinette look even worse.

"Oh, I guess Lila never mentioned me," Alya said. "I'm Alya, your girlfriend's best friend."

"Uh... And who is..." Adrien tried to reveal Lila as a liar.

"Oh, don't worry about lying to protect her," Alya interrupted him, proving that they were right about how Lila would lie her way out of Cat Noir saying that he did not know her. "But I should warn you that this girl that you're talking to is nothing but a giant bully."

"Excuse me," Adrien had to stop himself from snapping at Marinette's former best friend.

"She is nothing but a bully, liar, and cheat," Alya glared at Marinette. "She is always bullying Lila and trying to steal her pokemon. She always calls Lila a liar when she is no such thing. Plus, she drugs all her pokemon to make sure her performances are good. Plus, she steals Lila's contest ideas. So, get your hands off of Lila's boyfriend, Mari-brat."

"You know, Luka used to tell me that you're heart song screamed that you were a bad friend," Marinette crossed her arms. "I did not believe him, but I will never doubt him ever again since you have ditched me for a liar."

"SEE," Alya yelled as she looked at Adrien and pointed at Marinette as if she had just been proven right. "She just called Lila a liar. She is a total bully."

"Well, she obviously is..." Adrien was interrupted again but by a different person this time.

"Hello, kitty," Lyon says as he approached the group.

"Wolfie," Adrien was immediately back in a good mood as he saw his friend.

"I have a reward for you for such an incredible performance," Lyon said.

Before Adrien could ask, he was suddenly kissed by Lyon. But the shock soon wore off as he melted into the kiss.

Marinette looked ready to burst in excitement as her ship has finally sailed. But she did now owe Luka a batch of his favorite caramel and chocolate scones since he had bet her that the two would get together at the Grand Festival while she thought it would happen after it. But she did not care.

Alya looked ready to burst in anger. Lila looked like she wanted to either cry more fake tears or just throw a monster tantrum. Nino just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF ARCEUS ARE YOU DOING," Alya screamed.

That made them break apart from the kiss. But Lyon just put his arm around Adrien's waist.

"I believe that I was kissing my boyfriend," Lyon said. "We've had to keep it secret because of the media, but we've been together a few months."

Adrien and Marinette both knew that he was lying, but they did not care. Besides, this was to both expose Lila and have an excuse to start dating.

"You've been cheating on your girlfriend for that long," Alya continued to scream.

Lila then chose to speak up, also choosing to fake cry.

"How could you do this to be, Noir," she cried to fake tears.

"Oh, so this is the girl that you were warning me about, Marinette," Adrien decided to join Lyon in his act. "The one that was going around and saying that I was dating her?"

"Yep, that's her," Marinette played along as well.

"Well, then," Adrien started, facing Alya. "As I was about to tell you, I do not have a girlfriend. I never have and I never will. As you can plainly see, I am gay and I have a wonderful boyfriend."

"Lila is not a liar," Alya continued to scream. "You're just a cheater that is trying to make her look bad."

"Wow, this girl is a piece of work," Lyon rolled his eyes.

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Alya yelled at Lyon. "She was the one that gave you the inspiration to be the White Wolf and you trained her to be a coordinator. How could you betray her like this?!?"

"Her? Inspire me? As if," Lyon gave Alya an icy glare. "This is the first day that I have ever met this girl. I became the White Wolf because my sister used to call me a wolf because of how loyal I am to my friends and family. They also all call me the Ice Prince, so White Wolf was born out of my two childhood nicknames."

"You need better friends since Marinette is most definitely is right," Adrien said. "This Lila girl is, most definitely, nothing but a liar."

"Let's go before our IQ gets any lower from being around a liar and her loyal sheep," Lyon held Adrien's hand as the three of them left. "And if someone is accusing you of drugging your pokemon, Marinette, I will lend you my family lawyers to sue that liar for slander."

Marinette wanted to laugh so hard as she saw the look of horror on Lila's face as they passed. She did start laughing once they were out of earshot.

"This is turning into the best day of my life," Marinette looked so happy.

"You're welcome," Lyon smirked.

"Won't you now get accused of favoritism when Lila will probably spread that you two are 'together' as revenge," Marinette asked Lyon.

"Everyone saw Adrien's performance, so I doubt that will happen," Lyon was confident.

"Okay," Marinette accepted that. "Also, it is about time you two got together. Adrien's had a crush on you forever."

"MARINETTE," Adrien yelled as he blushed.

All Marinette did in response was smirk and giggle.

[neonponders]

I have to be an adult today (whatever the hell that means) so this is short but I couldn’t help myself. Based on This Steve with This Billy post for the lovely @lovebillyhargrove 🌹 and @withoneheadlight 🌹

photographer!Steve and model!Billy - boyfriend shenanigans.

💋 💋 💋 💋 💋

Potentially Billy’s favorite thing about Steve - out of many characteristics - was how easily gob smacked he could be.

Billy knew what he looked like.

But still. Seeing Steve just kind of stare in wonder at him for a while never gets old.

He does it today, while Billy’s trying to pay attention to whatever his manager is saying. He can’t help but slide a smirk in Steve’s direction, though: the poor guy standing listlessly with one camera hanging around his neck, and another on a tall tripod next to him.

The manger notices and wraps up what he’s saying concisely. Billy understood his frustration. Billy and Steve working together had proven a 50/50 chance at making million dollar ad campaigns

Or

Just clumsy dates, really.

Billy had been Steve’s entrance into this business - a fact not lost on either of them since various managers and executives threatened reminded them of it whenever photoshoots fell through - but Billy’s second favorite thing about Steve was how he didn’t let that cause a rift between them. If anything, Steve asked for more jobs with Billy, even at the risk of being demoted to a photographer’s assistant or Billy’s personal assistant.

But it kept them together. It allowed Billy a reassurance on international flights that he’d have Steve available to climb into his first class seat whenever Billy’s fear of flying kicked in.

As much as the agencies loathed to admit it, Steve was like a walking insurance policy for one hot-headed Billy Hargrove. If a photographer said something wrong, treated the models rudely, or if he was merely having a bad day, Steve could step in, and Billy eye fucked his boyfriend for hours.

Other models requested Steve. Billy knew that was a big deal for his boyfriend and was proud of him. He could always find Steve on set, either by his brightly colored beanies, or the fluffy hair going without. That had helped Billy feel more at home in this business; he may have opened the door for Steve, but Steve furnished it with friends and loyal connections.

Today Steve yanked the head covering off, already hot under the lights. It was just Billy here, even though he raked a hand through his mane. Billy liked seeing the gleam on his hair. He also enjoyed Steve’s little self-esteem thing about needing his hair styled in the presence of models.

“Ready, pretty boy?”

Steve refocused and stepped behind the tripod. “Yeah. Whenever you are.”

Steve must’ve taken hundreds of photos just in the first half hour. He set it on a steady timer, and moved around the room, changing the lights to warm tones, and then less explosive on the brightness. Billy did his work, tilting himself appropriately to catch the fan’s breeze when Steve pointed it to blow his suit jacket open, or billow through his half-open, black dress shirt.

“Ten minute break,” Steve announced. He was good about breaks. Billy’s manager brought a chilled bottle of water and Steve went through the portfolio paperwork for the shoot. It wasn’t much of a break for him, as he moved the lights and furniture around, but Billy was ready for him.

He sat on the luxurious ottoman, already in his first stance when he peeked at the lack of camera noise. “Steve?”

His boyfriend stood with his shoulders a little contorted so he could examine something going on with the camera hanging from his neck. “Sorry. I...I need another minute.”

Billy relaxed as much as he could so the suit did not wrinkle or collapse in shape. Eventually, though, he noticed Steve crouching over one of his bags for his tools.

Oh boy.

Billy sauntered over, standing over him as he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Can you hold this?” Steve answered instead. He blindly held the camera up, and Billy accepted, along with the explanation, “The lens is uneven and one of the pieces is askew.”

Billy silently thanked him for not wielding fancy terms at him, but upon a closer look at the device, it certainly wasn’t correct. A thin, middle section between the lens and the camera tilted wonkily. He breathed with a small amount of awe, “How did that happen?”

“I don’t know. I think it got bumped during the drive,” Steve sighed, holding a tiny screw driver as he stood up.

“Come here,” Billy nodded toward the set, and Steve came to sit on the floor while using the ottoman as a table. He removed his jacket and wiped his forehead, glancing at the lights before Billy pestered, “What’s the matter?”

“I have to expose the sensor. With the shudder, it’s fine, but with too much light, we might be stuck with the tripod.”

“Can’t we turn off some lights?”

“I need to be able to see. Maybe you could, um, just hold your hands over it? Or hold that umbrella for me?”

Billy detached the umbrella from one of the unused lights and sat on the ottoman, with the umbrella situated on his thighs. As the camera became more exposed, he added his hands for extra shade. Eventually Steve surprised him with, “Are you okay?”

“Hm? I’m fine. We do this all the time.”

“Wasting a lot of time, though,” he exhaled nervously.

“We’re going to Sydney on Friday. That’s locked in, so don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t think blowing one shoot is justified by the promise of another,” Steve managed to giggle. Then he tilted his face up and just...gazed at him. “You look really good.”

Billy smirked softly. “I know.”

Steve’s eyes rolled. “Forgot who I was working with here.”

Billy laughed and saw in his periphery people moving around, other cameras working. This job always had multiple cameras. Hair and makeup stylists capturing their work from afar. His and Steve’s managers locking in behind the scenes shots for Instagram. Another perk of their success: the fanfare material behind the cameras built as much revenue as the actual scheduled photoshoots.

As Steve unscrewed something, Billy saw and heard the clatter of it falling back into place. “That’s good, right?”

Steve sighed a relieved smile up at him. Billy felt ticklish warmth in his chest. “Yeah, that’s good. The screws are probably bent, but I can get new ones before Friday. It’ll work for now.”

Steve put the damn thing back together while Billy returned the umbrella, and resumed his posture on the ottoman. A couple of people manifested around him to touch up his raiment and make sure his shirt was open to cleavage perfection.

“Steve, come here.”

The stylists retreated as his photographer trotted up -

Billy yanked him down for a kiss. And just as quickly pushed him back up to standing. “Go to work, my time is precious.”

“Don’t be a dipshit,” Steve remarked, and pointed the camera right at Billy’s face to make the lights flash in revenge.

Come Friday, Billy showed him something on his phone: the Instagram account his manager operated. Much to both of their amusement and chagrin - because a long day taking pictures was more grueling than most people realized - was a picture behind the magazine editor’s shoulder while he worked at his computer.

The caption read: Impromptu cover. Sometimes candid is better.

The image was Steve on the floor and Billy on the ottoman, the two of them gazing at each other mid-conversation in the set’s warm lighting.

Steve chewed his fruit and yogurt slowly, processing in the airport vip lounge. His hair was in glorious disarray, and Billy’s not much better underneath his ball cap.

“That’s the cover?”

“Seems so.”

“Your manager’s going to steal my job with a phone camera - why am I on the cover?”

“The theme was Warm Encounters,” Billy reminded. “It’s not a secret that we’re together.”

“I’m not styled or anything - ”

“Your hair looks good.”

“I’m wearing the t-shirt I got in Hong Kong. It says BURBUSSY.”

Billy laughed and closed the app. He pushed his leg to rest alongside Steve’s. “Good thing you were turned around. We don’t know if Burberry has a sense of humor.”

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

being honest i dont get jm using a award to say he misses tannie... we don’t know 90% of their lives but they are very close to the point of still sleeping together sometimes. and going deep if they were really a couple jm woudnt miss taes dog right? and even as friends he could visit it. unless its because of their schedule right... this kind of comment sometimes confuses me and haters will use it as “they arent close” lol. i just wanted to know your pov.

Judging by Admin 2's reaction, as well as some others in our asks, I have a feeling I was the only one with a more realistic expectation, or lack of expectations, as I waited for the BTS profiles to be posted. Based on last year's, I knew expecting something grand out of Tae, and especially Jimin, would just be me setting myself up for failure, which is what I think happened here.

But, let's discuss it.

I spent a solid couple of hours making an excel table last night that contains everything every member said about every member (sourcing 3 translators for maximum insight) to see if really what Jimin chose for Tae is so "bad" that suddenly people are sending us asks like this one, and another one I'll add later down the line. And the conclusion I've come to is that...what he gave to Tae, as well as Hobi and Seokjin, as awards are the only ones that have any actual emotional/personal connection to them.

With Namjoon and JK Jimin basically states the obvious--Namjoon is tall and JK has gained muscle mass, meaning nothing new or with a proper emotional connection was stated; to Yoongi he made the same request many other members have made, so a work connection, nothing inherently personal.

Now, compared to that--Seokjin teases him/them, which isn't new info, so Jimin asked him to stop or do it less, a valid request which I'm sure he also voiced to Seokjin outside of this FESTA profile and also shows a degree of personal connection; Hobi gets requested to not walk away after asking Jimin a question, which again shows a personal connection and that it's a reoccurring thing; and lastly Tae with Tannie.

Something I've noticed is that some ARMY, who are used to our western celebrities and draw conclusions about idols based on those parameters, forget that BTS are busy, like whatever you consider busy, take that and multiply it by ten. During his vlive with Hobi and Yoongi back in April, Tae said that they are much busier and their lives far more hectic than any of us realize. Taking that into account, and the fact that one of the members (I think it might have been Seokjin) mentioned they work at least ten hours a day for 360 days a year with practice, MV and CF filming, photoshoots, interviews, recording and working on music, meetings, and many other things we have no idea about, do you really think Yeontan lives with Tae full time? A dog needs to get walked and fed but if Tae is out of the house every day for at least ten hours, what would happen to Tannie? He'd just sit around at home alone all day which just isn't fair, so I'm sure Tannie lives with Tae's parents much the same way Micky lives with Hobi's parents and/or his sister, JKs dog lives with his family, Holly lives with Yoongi’s brother, Moni with Namjoon's, and years ago Seokjin had to give his sugar gliders to his parents because he was too busy to take care of them.

Based on that of that, I'm not sure how often Tae get's to see Tannie. Probably not all that often, to be honest. So, if Tannie's owner doesn't get to see him often, I'd assume Jimin gets to see him even less (if we work on the assumption that Tannie lives with Tae's parents and thus Tae could only really see him when visiting them or when they visit him, that means Jimin wouldn't be able to see Tannie just like that either, since that would be like intruding on family time, right?). And we know Jimin loves Tannie, so him using that award to say he misses him and is asking about him shows care and an emotional connection to Tannie. Do I think Jimin also asks Tae privately about Tannie? Absolutely. And still, while Jimin didn't give Tae the, I don't know, "hot body Award" like Yoongi did with Namjoon or the "person I love most in the world award" (which we should know by now would never happen, and if you expected something of that intensity level, than I'm sorry but you've set yourself up for disappointment from the start), he still drew a personal and emotional connection between himself and Tae, as well as the pet Tae loves dearly.

More below the cut:

Jimin could’ve asked about the other pets of the members, but he didn’t, he only ever really talked about Tannie, and here he does it again, so doesn’t that show that he has a bond with him, a closer one than the other members since they don’t/didn’t ask about him (except for Hobi that one time on weverse)?

Speaking of Hobi, am I the only one who finds it interesting and cute that he only drew little hearts for Jimin and Tae when writing down their awards?

Also, we have to remember that these profiles are for us, fan content (remember when Jimin asked Tae last year to post more pictures of Tannie on weverse because ARMY miss seeing him, so what if this is drawing a connection/parallel to that?), and not meant as the members “confessing” something to each other that they otherwise wouldn’t or don’t have the chance to do so. It’s not meant to be all that serious and instead just be fun and nice for us to read, show us a bit of their dynamic and that’s it, no world shattering revelations to be found, from any of them. Or do you really think Yoongi doesn’t like Jimin just because he told Jimin he’s trying too hard to be funny? It’s just part of their dynamic. Or that none of the members have anything else to say to JK besides commenting on his body/appearance? As for vmin, I’d like to remind us of this moment from their Friends subunit interview for FESTA 2020:

Whatever Jimin and Tae want to say to each other, they don’t need FESTA to do it, or us to be there as witnesses. Like Tae didn’t already say enough by telling us that 95z is love. Or Jimin by writing Friends.

From anon: because of you I came back da Namjin. I am a senior army and 2 years ago I left Namjin because I thought they broke up. You made me three Vmin but after what JK wrote about Jimin and after Jm himself about his chances I think that vmin are not together or Jimin withdrew. I think Jk would not dare to write about Jm that he has cute fingers etc if vmin were a relationship. it goes too far and confuses Jk too much. I don't want to say that J / k*ok is real because it certainly isn't !!!!

Now this is where I just sit and sigh heavily because it’s exactly what I expected and I will admit it irks me to no end. Let’s establish a little timeline:

Based on the FESTA Mission! BTS 4 Cuts Teaser that was posted earlier we can deduce that at least part of FESTA was already being prepared back in the first half of March, since on March 12th Jimin, Namjoon and Seokjin had their salad making vlive. Let’s suppose that everything FESTA related was prepared and written out by the members around that time as well. Sometime later BTS filmed YOU QUIZ followed by LET’S BTS and BTSxGame Caterers and everything else we’ve seen after that.

Or going a little further back to sometime in November 2020 while they were preparing for MMA 2020 and the Black Swan performance. We got the practice video today and if you pay attention to Jimin and Tae even there you notice that while Tae is waiting for his turn in the choreography, Jimin runs past him after his part is done (0:55) and they pat each other or do a “high five” or something along those lines as a way to cheer each other on. A very “we’re broken up” or “I will break up with him soon” thing to do, right? Or in min-January when Tae posted seven pictures out of which three were of just Jimin after an ARMY on weverse asked if anyone had any nice pictures they could use as wallpaper for their phone. Between all that I’m having a hard time honestly finding any moment where either of them seemed sad or “cold” toward the other the way you would be and feel if the person you love pulled away from you or broke up with you.

If you are still unconvinced and still think that is what Jimin tried to communicate to us, would Tae really have gone on national TV and said he likes Jimin the most? And would Jimin have agreed that he likes him a lot as well? Or looking at the making video of their Kloud Beer CF that was posted today as well, would Jimin really be looking and interacting with Tae this way if he decided to end things between them?

Also, going back a little, your mention of Jimin reflecting upon opportunities/chances now that it’s a new year. My question is based on what you made the judgment that this comment has to be about vmin and not about something entirely different in Jimin’s life, or maybe something connected to BTS as a whole? Just because of him asking Tae about Tannie? Jimin, as well as Tae and the other members, have entire lives outside of just their bonds with each other, entire careers, passion projects, families, friend groups, and that little bit of time they have to themselves, so immediately thinking Jimin’s comment must be related to his relationship/bond with Tae basically makes it seem like Jimin’s life is a romcom or a TV show in which the only thing that matters is if the main character will date or remain in a relationship with character B or not, but life isn’t like that.

Personally it reminded me of something Tae said during their Bring the Soul documentary about how BTS had the opportunities to go higher faster but they decided against them. Perhaps Jimin’s comment was about something like this as well, especially since we know Jimin is a very private person and very selective of the personal things he shares with us and the ones he doesn’t.

For the FESTA profile JK decided to give Jimin the “Cute Award” with the explanation that his “Face, height, fingers are cute” which, honestly, is just saying something that a) is true and b) has been said in millions of ways by every member across the last couple of years. I don’t see what the issue here is? During one of the episodes of BTSxGame Caterers Seokjin said that Jimin is very cute and that he has a small, beautiful face, so really he even added the word beautiful in there, which JK did not, so what really is the issue here? The fact its JK, right, that’s where the issue lies, to which I ask why? On this blog we’ve already established that there is (in our opinion and based on everything we’ve seen and heard) no romantic connection between JK and Jimin (nor Tae), not now and not in the past either, so why is him saying that Jimin is cute (which he is known for even by people outside of ARMY, or like James Cordon calling him his cute baby mochi) is an issue but Seokjin or any other member is not? Either we use the same measurements for everyone or we don’t compare or make such assumptions about any of them.

What I find curious, because this does make it seem like you, anon, are someone influenced by J*k*ok shippers and their opinions, see an issue in JK saying that about Jimin, and how that’s “proof” that Jimin and Tae can’t possibly be together, and yet you took no issue to Namjoon basically saying he wants to give Tae an award because he is so handsome he is above every list or Yoongi comparing him to Michelangelo's David, both of these being much more superlative and grand complements/awards than JK saying Jimin’s face, height and fingers are cute.

It’s funny how things that Jimin and Tae have said about and to each other that make their bond very clear (I want to live with my lovely Taehyungie forever or here is my love for you while handing Tae a bunch of red heart balloons or 95z is love, a statement I’m sure he wouldn’t post if that sentiment weren’t mutual) are all questioned or ignored, but something as basically trivial as a comment about Jimin being cute is turned into a major issue. The mental gymnastics is fascinating.

Lastly, going back to the first anon and their mention of how haters will use Jimin’s Award for Tae as “proof” that they “aren’t close anymore”--why do we care? Like Namjoon said in the Mic Drop lyrics Haters gon’ hate. They will say a lot of things about a lot of things and even make things up if they feel like it to push their agenda, so really, regardless of what Jimin would’ve said, or not said, they would’ve found a way to twist it and make it fit their narrative. Besides, what haters think has no actual effect or bearing on what Tae and Jimin have with each other, and neither does what other shippers claim. Haters and other shippers don’t control the narrative, BTS do, and everything Jimin and Tae have shown us in 2021, as well as the last eight years, shows me that their bond has only ever grown stronger and closer and more beautiful and awe inspiring, even while haters claimed they stopped being friends years ago, so why should you or I care what they think?

Like Yoongi once said in one of his vlives about how haters can write all they want, he won’t read it while they will get sued.

[ayeshathestyles]

How They Met (Part 1)

*Y/N's Point Of View*

Being an actress people think I have a super happening life. They probably think I am always out shopping for designer clothes and expensive jewelry or in a bar or posh restaurant with my elite friend circle or something like that. While yes, I do have some famous and rich friends and I sometimes do buy stuff for exorbitant rates, I also have days where I find myself alone in my house, feeling spiritless and bored as fuck. These days I am feeling lonely more than I normally do.

Today was one of those days. Everything around me was seeming so...mundane and colourless. I just came back from a photoshoot for some rubbish magazine I don't give a flying fuck about and now I was sat on my grey couch, that I had bought a few weeks ago, browsing through Netflix, desperately hoping to find some appealing movie that I hadn't already watched. The weather was equally depressing. The sky was grey and it was raining cats and dogs. Ugh...I wish I had a boyfriend. Somebody to hold hands with and cuddle. Somebody to give me company.

Now don't get me wrong, I have wonderful friends who love me to death and I feet the same about them. But having friends isn't the same as having a boyfriend. So here I am, simply daydreaming away while some lucky girl is having a little meet cute with her soulmate.

Way to go Y/N!

When I, after searching for approximately an hour, didn't find any movie to watch, I gave up and just stared out the window at the grey sky. Suddenly, my phone rang and I saw my close friend Jenny's name. I picked up and said a rather humdrum hello to her.

She said "Hey girl! What's up?" in an animated way.

"Nothing at all. Just getting bored to death." I replied

"Gosh, you're so overdramatic!" she said. "Anyway, I called you to remind you of my birthday party next week. If you don't come I'll kill you." she continued.

"Will there be any cute guys there?" I asked, still pretty uninterested expecting a vague or lame answer from her.

"Of course!" she squeaked in her high pitched voice.

"Wait, is Harry Styles going to be there? Can you set me up with him if he is" I gushed out and now feeling embarrassed of my eagerness. The thing is, Harry Styles was my school crush and though now I am not as obsessed with him like I used to be, I still kind of like him. It suddenly clicked to me that Jenny happens to be friends with Harry, though they aren't very close, they are close enough for me to ask.

"I haven't invited him, I didn't even think of him while making the guest list. Sorry honey." she said slowly and sorrily. Suddenly all of my eagerness turned back into listlessness.

Of course she didn't, what were you thinking? You don't even have a chance.

"It's fine. It was foolish to think I had a chance. Life can't be that nice to me, can she? Anyway, don't worry. It's ok. I didn't have a chance." I finished lamely to keep her from feeling bad, it wasn't her fault.

She sighed and then said "Wait, I think I can still invite him. Don't know if he'll end up coming but I can try." she said sweetly. Gosh, she is so nice, I thought to myself.

"No no. You don't need to do all this for me. I'll live without dating Harry Styles, don't worry girl." I joked.

"You have been so lonely lately and I know about your crush on him, this is the least I can do for you. You have always been there for me, and this is nothing,"

"You're too nice. I am really grateful." I said meaning every word of my sentence.

"Aww you're too cute."

I smiled

"Oh and can you please not tell him how I acted so eager and keen to meet him and forced you to invite him? Just tell him you want to set him up with me, that's it. Please?" I said in order to prevent myself from looking desperate in front of Harry Styles.

"First of all, you didn't force me and secondly, don't worry I won't tell him." she said

"Oh you're the best. I love you!"

She let out of a light chuckle and said "Love you too! Ok, I need to go now. Bye!"

"Bye." I said and cut the call.

I felt this sense of euphoria after the call. The slight possibility of me dating Harry Styles just made me feel in a way I can't describe using adjectives. I felt like an 8th grader when she finds out her crush may ask her out. I knew that he probably won't come since he lives in London and the party is in LA. Even I live in London though I grew up in India where I am originally from but I have to stay in LA and New York a lot for my movie shoots. Harry was much more older than I was but I didn't care. I am an adult free to do whatever and age is just a number.

I prayed to God hoping Harry was single and comes to the party and falls for me. Desperate, I know but I really felt alone and needed a guy. And I would be more than ecstatic if that guy was Harry Styles. He just seemed the best. It wasn't just his looks, he was so nice to people and so funny.

Life, be nice to me one more time.....please.

Masterlist | Part 2

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

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this. I am incredibly sorry for the lame finishing and making this part so uninteresting. This is my first time writing and I promise I'll get better with time and practice. The next part hopefully be much more interesting and our two protagonists will finally meet or will they? (Cheeky smirk) Guess only time will tell. Everyone, please reblog, follow and share this and help me expand my blog. And bear along with me. I promise the story will get better from here. Also, Harry and Y/N's age gap is 11 years, in this story he is 32 and Y/N who is a distinguished, acclaimed and renowned actress is 21. Don't judge, it's my imagination at the end of the day. And Ayesha is not my real name, it's my pseudonym. If you have any suggestions, questions, feedback, advice or concept please don't hesitate to send them. Thank you once again for reading this.

Lots of love!

[aeonghaseyo]

Your Trace, My Treasure

Summary: Marc and Nathaniel write and draw, respectively, on each others' notebooks because it's DEFINITELY a couple thing to do.

Word Count: 2105 AO3 link

Relationship/s: Nathaniel Kurtzberg/Marc Anciel Category: M/M Characters: Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel, Alix Kubdel (mentioned), Marinette Dupain-Cheng (mentioned), Juleka Couffaine (mentioned), Rose Lavillant (mentioned), Alya Cesaire (mentioned) Language used: English Author's Note: The creators of MLB really need to give the side characters screen time. The love square isn't the only romantic set of ships in the show and there are much more cute ships to write about. And so in my first time of writing a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic, it's about a ship that's entirely not part of the love square. This is my final workshop output from a creative writing class I enrolled in during the summer to get units in advance. Special thanks to my professor and two of my classmates for their feedback; I couldn't have made this work even more wonderful without their help. For the non-love-square ship and this being a successful workshop output thus far, I think I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back and more fanfic ideas to write. :)

Compared to the courtyard at Françoise Dupont High School where the lively chattering of students can be heard and the scrambling of footsteps were a staple, the art room was its own entire world of silence.

It was supposed to be a calming silence in that same art room where Marc and Nathaniel were to work on art-related endeavors of their own, but the former found this unwelcoming and rather deafening. It weighed down on his being that the atmosphere was unbearably awkward, much like he was most of the time even before he met Nathaniel and became his partner in creating comic books about Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their akumatized alter-egos who turned good and served as part of the superhero duo’s akuma-fighting team. Despite a remarkable development from being acquaintances, to newfound partners, and now to a bloomed romantic couple, Marc Anciel, as awkward as ever and still testing the waters on this newfound relationship, couldn’t shake this nagging feeling of inadequacy as someone’s significant other.

It just goes to show him that even though his romantic feelings for Nathaniel had been reciprocated at Day 0, it does not remove the remaining unease that Marc currently feels at Day 1. It was his first time in a relationship, and it was with the boy whose drawings he admired so much from the school paper. Simply put, it was too good to be true.

Unfortunately, the awkwardness Marc felt wasn’t masked enough, and Nathaniel immediately noticed from his place by the table beside his raven-haired beau. How could he not? It was very obvious, from the way Marc’s hand shakily distorted his usually refined, elegant script while writing the next chapter of their comic to the way his expression was contorted as if he was constipated. Nathaniel thought to himself that it was still an adorable sight, but clearly, something was up, and it wouldn’t do well to just ignore whatever troubled his beloved partner. Attempting to break the ice, the redhead cleared his throat, then spoke to call Marc’s attention.

“Marc.”

The novelist jolted in surprise at the utterance of his name. “Y-yes, Nathaniel?”

Leaning in for a better view of the page Marc was writing on, Nathaniel replied, “Your handwriting’s different.”

“W-wait, really?” blurted out Marc, quickly covering the page with his gloved hand. “I d-didn’t know you were p-particular with handwriting.”

Nathaniel placed a gentle, caring hand on his boyfriend’s with a smile aimed directly at him as he clarified himself, “It’s not that, Marc. I’ve seen it and it’s great. Right now, it just looks… wobbly. You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

Even if Nathaniel was a recluse in his own class, he could very well read into the emotions of people, but he doesn’t show it that often. As endearing as it was as a show of concern towards shy Marc, it was also overwhelming for the raven-haired novelist to have been the subject of such deep perception, even from the boy his heart palpitates for.

It was then that Marc’s fight or flight response reminded him in a split-second that he needed some sort of diversion for Nathaniel not to remind him of his own awkwardness.

“Isn’t it weird that our art teacher didn’t come here?” Marc rapidly questioned as he struggled not to look at the red-haired boy beside him. Despite this attempt to keep Nathaniel’s focus off of his disposition, glancing towards the door and not at Nathaniel did not help stop the blood from rushing to the novelist’s fair cheeks. His partner might be tired of this, of him, already, but that light chuckle of pure amusement coming from Nathaniel disproved that thought.

“Hey, hey, settle down Marc,” chided Nathaniel, “he might be running late. It’s okay for us to use the art room so long as it’s reserved around this time. Good thing that he reserved it at an earlier time than usual.”

With innocent green eyes, the raven-haired boy looked his boyfriend in the eye and asked, “H-he can do that?”

“Of course, he can. Let’s just wait for him, okay?” reassured Nathaniel, his left hand making its way on Marc’s right shoulder discreetly. “I’m sure my other classmates will arrive here shortly too.”

A shy smile emerged from Marc’s face as he replied, “Okay, Nath.”

Suddenly, a ringtone from the phone which was in Nathaniel’s pocket sounded audibly enough to catch both the boys’ attention. The redhead immediately fished out the device from his pocket and unlocked it, revealing three unread text messages from his close friend Alix.

Hey Nath! Something came up and I couldn’t swing by the art room. Love troubles again with Marinette. Juleka and Rose are also helping out with me so they can’t come.

I can’t believe that Marinette got invited personally by Adrien to his photoshoot but she can’t even give him her handmade gift or ask him out. Because she’s such a wuss, I got dragged here in the park by Rose because Mari needs all of her girl friends to push her towards Golden Boy Agreste YET AGAIN.

And apparently Alya alone couldn’t do it. Sorry! You’ll have Marc to keep you company anyway. Have fun! ;)

So much for those girls coming over to the art room. Nathaniel let out a sigh as he muttered, just enough for Marc to hear, “I stand corrected. The others aren’t coming.”

Catching on his partner’s crest-fallen demeanor and gazing at his face with sympathetic green orbs, Marc replied, “Guess it’s just the two of us for now.”

The next minutes were spent in silence again, with Marc continuing to finish a paragraph while Nathaniel sketched a bird’s eye view of the Eiffel tower as the background in one panel of the comic storyboard in his notebook. After several minutes elapsed, however, curiosity got the best of Marc, and so, with the tip of his pen lingering on the period of his last sentence, he kept on glancing at Nathaniel and the storyboarding he was working on. Besides the sheer focus that was evident in Nathaniel’s turquoise orbs, the shy novelist couldn’t help but notice the fine, steady strokes his beau’s hand were making with his fine-pointed mechanical pencil. So neat, so pristine. It’s amazing how he didn’t need an eraser to erase certain portions of his drawings over and over.

Marc had seen artist sketches himself of both people and objects, mostly done by his friend Marinette. As someone aspiring to become a fashion designer, she would be engrossed in sketching designs day by day, passion ignited by the sparks of inspiration she draws from around her. However, since Marinette’s sketches had obvious hints of disorder, as it normally is with crude artist sketches, it clearly contrasted with the otherwise structured sketches Nathaniel makes for his comic books. Marc, fully in awe, couldn’t help but take a break from his writing and stare at the red-haired illustrator’s creative process right next to him.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel, thanks to the strong, overbearing feeling of being watched, was getting overly conscious of his work. Keeping his composure to the best of his ability, he quickly turned to Marc and asked, “Do you need something Marc?”

Snapped out of his trance wide-eyed, Marc inwardly panicked. ‘Oh no, I must be staring at him too long! I hope I didn’t spook him too much.’

Scrambling for a sensible response, the novelist stuttered out, “I-i want to write something in your notebook.”

Setting down his pencil while his turquoise eyes were still on Marc, Nathaniel blinked inquisitively. “Oh, why would you want to do that?”

“B-because,” the shy writer reasoned, “I want to write something to remind you of me. T-that is, if y-you don’t mind.”

The red-haired teen averted his gaze from his partner as he remarked, “You know I don’t let anyone write on my notebook, Marc.”

This response triggered the disappointment that Marc had anticipated from the moment that they started continuing to develop the rest of the comic book they were working on together. It was even more daunting for the timid writer that their art teacher and the rest of Nathaniel’s classmates who were usually in the art room with them did not show up at that moment, or even at all. Marinette would tell Nathaniel that it’s a great idea for his newfound love to leave special traces on his personal notebook while Rose, somehow finding this romantic, would gush at this gesture with Juleka mumbling to herself in response. But what would have been the cherry on top for Marc at the moment is that if Alix was there to egg on Nathaniel, pressuring him to give in and let his boyfriend write something in his notebook. At least the comic relief from Alix’s teasing would help alleviate the collective awkwardness the couple felt at that moment. God, if only it wasn’t just the two of them in the art room at that moment.

But alas, he was alone, helpless and daunted, and he was facing the dragon which was Nathaniel, or whatever Nathaniel thought of him at that moment.

However, all of the fears and doubts that plagued Marc left him when Nathaniel continued with a small, endearing smile on his face, “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”

The novelist beamed at his boyfriend, green eyes sparkling with delight. “R-really?”

“In one condition.”

Marc took and held in a quick breath. “Anything, Nath.”

The illustrator picked up his pencil once again and uttered, with an outstretched hand right by Marc’s notebook, “Let me draw in your notebook.”

It was at that moment when Marc could feel his heart flutter, accompanied by the butterflies in his stomach as he opened his own notebook to the very last page and laid it out right by his beau’s workspace.

“It would be my pleasure.”

In a span of 2 minutes while Nathaniel was drawing on the last page of his boyfriend’s notebook, Marc, fidgeting and tapping his pen softly on his chin, racked his brain for a simple yet memorable piece to write on the first page of the illustrator’s notebook, which was left empty out of personal preference by its owner. Hoping to obtain bit by bit of inspiration, he glanced at Nathaniel, then at the empty page, then at Nathaniel, and so on and so forth. This went on, albeit unnoticed by the redhead, until mere seconds after, he scribbled away on the page once he had gotten attuned with his creative writing flow.

After both of them finished leaving their traces on each other’s notebook pages, Nathaniel and Marc gave each other back their notebooks and instantly opened them to where they each left their special mark. Struck with awe, the novelist softly traced the outline of the drawing and his emerald eyes were drawn to Nathaniel’s signature which he left underneath the recently drawn portrait. A tinge of pink formed on Marc’s cheeks as he admired every stroke that constituted this drawing of him done by none other than the boy he once looked up to, now loved, and who loved him back.

“No one’s written me a poem before,” Nathaniel uttered as he perused every line written by Marc on that now extra special page in his notebook, eyes taking in every word written in that distinct elegant script that served as an epitome of beauty that the redhead beheld. One particular line at the end of the writing, however, caught him by surprise: the words ‘Je t’aime’ accompanied by Marc’s signature in that same fancy handwriting the illustrator adored dearly.

Having regained his composure, Marc turned to Nathaniel and asked, “Do you like the poem? I-i thought of it on the spot so it might not exactly be to your liking, but-”

“I love it,” interrupted the red-haired teen breathlessly, wrapping an arm around his significant other and squeezing his shoulder. “Really Marc, you make the most wonderful written pieces.”

An expression as bright as day graced Marc’s features as he replied, albeit with a bit of shyness in his voice, “Y-you really think so?”

Nathaniel threw any single hint of hesitation in his being out the window as he placed a tender, loving kiss on Marc’s forehead. “I do. We’re meant to be partnered together, after all.”

And just like that, the uncomfortable awkwardness that haunted Marc was instantly warded off, and in a flash, he enveloped Nathaniel in a tight, warm, loving embrace and leaned into him in newfound solace. The silence in the art room has never been this comforting as the couple relished in this seemingly endless embrace together.

[furikakyo]

a return to roots | 4

pairing: kita shinsuke x f!reader

summary: y/n is a rising star in the music industry, having almost everything you could have ever hoped for as a small-town country girl. now after releasing two triple platinum albums in consecutive years, you face the dreaded artist’s burnout… in order to recover, your manager suggests, you should return to your hometown in hyōgo for a long-deserved break. 

genre: socmed/smau, slice of life 

warnings/tags: timeskip!, mutual pining, slow burn? more like rekindling, slight canon divergence

masterpost 

If you were to be completely honest, you'd wanted to wear a dress you’d been allowed to keep after a photoshoot. However, it wasn't a good look for someone of your status to re-wear outfits, especially statement pieces. You couldn't remember who had designed it, but it had been mostly tulle and made you feel like a princess... all things that could not be used to describe what you were wearing now. For your dinner plans, you chose to wear a simple yet smart-looking bodycon dress, one that you were regretting as you stepped out of the car. You pulled at the hem from over the long coat you wore, conscious of the fact that there could potentially be paparazzi waiting to snap a photo of you from an unfortunate angle if you weren't paying close attention. Unlike American paparazzi, reporters here didn't flock at the entrances of exclusive clubs or restaurants, but it never hurt to be cautious.

"I won't need a ride home," you told Ichiro, who nodded stiffly and then shut the door of the car after you got out, “I can get a ride home."

You adjusted the sunglasses on the bridge of your nose, aware that you looked out of place in the nightlife, and then walked to the doors of the hotel. A concierge opened the door to greet you and Ichiro, who trailed behind, scanning the area. "Welcome, Miss. Your party called ahead and made us aware of the arrangements to be made. You can follow me to the elevator, where I will escort you to your destination."

"Thank you," you said coolly, then took after them. While in the elevator, the concierge spoke nervously, emphasizing how much of an honor it was for someone like you to visit their establishment. You smiled politely, silently willing the elevator to reach the right floor faster.

A restaurant specializing in molecular gastronomy, Kuroo had explained to you on the phone the night before. He'd sounded probably the most excited you'd ever heard him. You had looked it up yourself after the call had ended. It was on the 29th floor of a luxurious hotel, one that you had never been to yourself. Only eight people max were allowed to dine in, and the chef made all of the food in front of you, four courses.

You were dragged out of your thoughts when the elevator finally dinged and the concierge guided you to the glass doors of the restaurant, where Ichiro recognized the occupants and left you alone to be greeted by Kuroo, Lev, his sister Alisa, and, surprisingly, Kenma. You took off your sunglasses and slipped them into the pocket of your coat before that too was taken by a waitress, who calmly swept them away from you and into a closet, presumably.

"Hi, guys!" you gave a bright smile and then slipped into the empty seat in between Kenma and Alisa.

"We thought you might want to sit next to Alisa," Kenma explained quietly, tugging on the collar of his dress shirt.

You smiled again, settling into the chair. "Thanks," you nodded your head. "You look nice, too, Kenma! You're all dressed up!"

Kuroo leaned back to make eye contact with you, laughing. "He almost cancelled on dinner plans with us when he heard that he couldn't wear his sweatpants. He lives in sweatpants exclusively."

Kenma sighed, muttering under his breath, "Maybe I wouldn't if you didn't make a big deal about whenever I'm not." Only you heard his comment, since he was on the edge of the table, but you didn't have any time to reply because the head chef came out of the kitchen, accompanied by a couple of workers behind him, holding the ingredients.

One by one, each round of dishes came and went. Earlier, you'd been worried about wearing a bodycon dress because of the impending food baby you were sure to conceive, but with only dessert left, your stomach felt hardly filled with the sizes of the previous dishes. The process of making each one was mesmerizing to watch, and the flavor profile of each small bite was beyond anything you could have initially imagined when the plates were gently placed in front of you-

You watched the chef spoon generous amounts of black caviar onto the dish. Not dessert, you corrected yourself. Why did you assume to get a deconstructed piece of fried dough when they had called the dish "Donut"? You eyed the tweezers which carefully placed tiny, delicate flowers on top of the spread. A single waiter poured out flutes of champagne and then distributed them to you and your friends, the only noise in the room the fizzing of bubbles in your drink. In fact, the entire affair had been silent aside from the head chef, who explained each meal to your group.

Once the waiter and chef cleared the room, Lev was finally the brave soul to break the silence, who cleared his throat and then, turning to you, asked, "So Y/N, you're moving back home, huh? Is there anything to even do there?”

You knew Lev didn’t mean to say anything offensive, but it still stung a little. He was just blunt to a fault sometimes, you reminded yourself, instead giggling and sending some witty remark back at him which made everyone burst into laughter. You shivered a little, finished the last of your remaining champagne in one undignified gulp, then stared out at Tokyo's skyline, shining and glittering like stars. It was cold in the room, you decided. Ridiculously air-conditioned to the point where you would be glad when you got your coat back and could leave.

The rest of the get-together flew by, only spending a little longer in the restaurant before exiting into the lobby. Kuroo had agreed to drive you back to your apartment, since he'd taken his own car and hadn't drank a lot. Lev gave you a bear hug and told you he would miss you, and that he would try to visit if his modeling schedule worked out in favor of it, but he wasn't sure. Alisa also hugged you tightly, telling you to take care of yourself in the countryside, to which she wrinkled her nose at playfully. When it came to Kenma you refrained from a hug, knowing that he didn't like physical contact. He gave a small smile, appreciative. "I might visit sometime; we can play Animal Crossing."

Then, just like that, the three of them left, Lev and Alisa taking the same car and Kenma having a driver. Kuroo turned to you and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Ready to go?"

You nodded, following him to the front where a valet had already pulled Kuroo's car to the curb, waiting for the two of you. Once inside, you pressed your forehead to the cool window, your breath fogging up the glass. Kuroo made no comment, the only sound to be heard the traffic in the streets.

For what seemed like a few minutes later, you felt yourself being gently shaken awake. "Y/N?" Slowly, you roused, rubbing at your eyes sleepily. You froze, sitting up. Shit, you'd had mascara on.

"Y/N?"

You turned to see Kuroo looking slightly concerned, but you just waved your hand at him. "I'm awake now. Thanks for the ride."

He stared at you, opened his mouth, then shut it promptly, stopping you from opening the car door. You rarely saw him speechless or without something to say. "What's wrong?" You frowned, trying to think of what could be worrying him or making him act like this.

Kuroo shook his head then leaned back in his seat. He scratched the back of his head and looked down. "I'm not sure how to say it, so I'm just going to say it." Immediately you felt dread in the pit of your stomach. Oh, god. Did he have, like, a middle-school crush on her? Was he tongue-tied? You did not want to lose one of your closest guy friends; plus, if you weren't friends with him anymore then you couldn't really be friends with Kenma-

"I'm worried about you, Y/N. Just... take care of yourself in Hyōgo, alright? You're there for a reason; to take a break." He ran a hand through his hair again, nervously. "You know what I'm saying? So just take care of yourself. Don't eat junk food all the time, it's not good for you. Also don't stay indoors all the time, it's good to get outside. You need to synthesize vitamin D," Kuroo rambled, "it's good for your skin, too-"

Finally you broke your silence, smiling and laughing at him. "Aw, Kuroo, you nerrrd," you socked him on the arm, evoking an 'ow' from him. "You're so sweet, what the hell? And don't worry, I'll be fine! I'm great at taking care of myself!" You gave him a thumbs up. When he looked at you dubiously, you added on, "Kaa-san and Tou-san don't live too far from where we used to live, so I can go to them if I need to, too." After a pause, more giggles bubbled out. "I thought- I was really scared that you liked me," you cackled, going into hysterics when he made a face. "I know, I know- I just got worried because I didn't know what you were going to say."

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Uh, no, I don't like you. Not even platonically, after this," he grumbled, already getting into his theatrics. "I can't believe you're harassing me for caring. You're awful, Y/N!"

You opened your car door, still laughing. "Ok, ok, I'm awful, I'll admit it." You shut the door, and Kuroo rolled down the window.

"Whatever. Just make sure Osamu is driving safely. And text us when you get there. And," he levelled his gaze with yours, "do whatever you feel is best about Kita. Hopefully you take this break to sort through your feelings." Without giving you any time to retort something, Kuroo peeled off in his car, leaving you alone.

Quickly, you made your way into your apartment and finally took off your heels, leaving them near the entrance and sighing when you could walk flat-footed on the cool floor. Next you took off your coat and threw it on the couch, and instead of getting ready to sleep, jumped into your bed and face-planted into the pillows.

You fell asleep in less than five minutes.

You sent your Hyōgo address to Kenma and then flopped on your bed, accidentally banging your head on the headboard. “Fuck,” you hissed, clutching the back of your head. You sat there for a few moments, lamenting why you had to jump onto the bed and how the consequences of your action hurt so bad.

Then your stomach rumbled, begging to be filled, and you forgot everything you had been thinking about, making your way into the kitchen. You opened the fridge, peering in at the contents- or rather lack thereof. At least you didn’t have to worry about clearing your fridge by tonight, right?

Your stomach growled again as you shut the door, instead looking to the freezer. What did you have in there…? It slid open and you were glad to see that it wasn’t as empty as your fridge, rummaging through the frozen meals you had for a late-breakfast-early-lunch.

You pulled out a twelve pack of frozen gyoza and set it aside on the counter, pushing all of the other stuff back into the freezer. When you finally slid it shut again, you sighed in relief, and turned back to the food in question. You read the instructions on the back even though you were pretty sure it was easy to heat them up, and then turned the stove on. Pulling out a pot from your cabinet, you filled it with water and then set it on the stove, topping it with a lid to make the process faster.

Then you got to cleaning. Your apartment wasn’t all that messy since you didn’t spend a lot of time in it before going on hiatus, just a few stacks of paper filled with lyrics: some you’d tried working out, others hadn’t fit your two previous albums, but most you just didn’t like.

You checked on the pot of water to make sure it wasn’t boiling, and after seeing it wasn’t, you continued cleaning, moving into the kitchen once more. You scrubbed the plates and bowls you’d left in the sink for a couple days. Most of the stuff in the sink was silverware from eating takeout or having frozen meals, though.

When you heard and saw that the water was boiling, you added the gyoza and lowered the heat before going back to drying the dishes. By the time you were done with the task, your dumplings were ready, and so you turned off the stove and took the pot off. With a pair of chopsticks, you scooped up the gyoza and placed them onto a plate. You’d eat six and then leave the other half for dinner, you decided, putting them in a bento box for storage and then the fridge.

“Ah…” You sat down on the couch with your food and then turned on the TV, watching mindlessly and eating your gyoza one by one. After a couple of hours, you got up, washed and dried the dishes you’d just used, and then finally went to your room to pack.

Should you take all of your clothes with you? It’s not like you knew how long you were planning to stay in Hyōgo, so should you just pack everything, then? You opened up your closet all the way, clearing out the sections of your regular clothing and placing them on your bed. You turned back to your closet, now significantly emptier. All that was left were things you’d worn on tours or designer pieces you’d been allowed to keep. Most of them you could look at and remember the venues you’d worn them to; recall the quality of your performance and how big the crowd was. It would be pointless to take them with you, right? You couldn’t wear a custom Versace piece to the middle of nowhere.

You sighed and shut the closet door with a resounding thud, and then turned to face the monster pile of clothes you were going to try to fit into two large suitcases…

Ah shit, and you hadn’t even begun to think about shoes.

a/n: help the chapters keep getting longer even though i outline for this fic????? h o w

taglist (pm me to ask to be added): @papiibuprofen​, @duhsies, @succulentmom​​

some ~fun facts~ 

- lev and alisa are models, as in canon

-the food was served in test tubes and other scientist apparatuses LMAO (kuroo got really excited because he’s a chem nerd)

- i based the restaurant off of an actual one in japan but changed some things about it... so for legal reasons™️ all similarities are a coincidence 🧍‍♂️

- i hope y/n doesn’t sound whiny but i find molecular gastronomy to be super esoteric,,, reminds me of that bar scene in parks and rec lmao

- kenma tucks his sweatpants into his socks like the wrestlers at my old high school do... this is unfortunately also canon... 

- yaku couldn’t make it to the dinner event because he’s still in russia, playing volleyball there. he will be coming back to play for japan in the olympics!

- kuroo drives even though he drank a little... don’t do this

- kuroo is NOT interested in y/n romantically 

- i made two kita shirts with my friends during a haikyuu watch party we had… my favorite one got a little messed up and i’m sad 😃 edit: i fucking hate it here they got put in the dryer without my consent and now they’re both ruined ❤️

[celestialtitania]

my colours on you

Written for Day 9: Blanket of Marichat May. Can also read on AO3.

@marichatmay

Marinette let her head collapse onto her desk as soon as Mme. Bustier gave them the dismissal. She was utterly exhausted. The only thing Marinette wanted to do was take a nice long nap.

She turned her face towards Alya, feeling her best friend watching her in amusement. "Girl, you have got to start getting some more sleep. This cannot be healthy for you."

"You're one to talk," Marinette groused. "I know for a fact that you sleep no earlier than 2 am most nights, writing up new articles for the Ladyblog."

Alya flushed in response. "But I'm not the one dying, now am I?" came the expected retort.

"Only because you've got that," Marinette pushed herself upwards to nod at Alya's large thermos. She gave it a longing stare, knowing it was full of Alya's special cinnamon-blend coffee.

"No way. If you get caffeinated now you'll never get any sleep. It's a vicious cycle you know," Alya chided. Marinette sighed, laying back onto her desk and burying her head into her arms. "C'mon, let's get some fresh air."

"You do that. I'm gonna take a quick nap," Marinette yawned.

Alya frowned doubtfully. "I don't know, girl. You could catch a cold like that." Marinette blinked at her in confusion, so Alya tried her best to explain. "I don't know, something about cold weather lowering your immune system? And that you're more at risk when asleep?"

Marinette thought that over for a moment before digging into her backpack. She pulled out a small, round blanket bag while Alya goggled at her.

"Is that a blanket? You just carry around a blanket?"

"It's cozy," Marinette defended herself, pulling the blanket free from its bag. "At least now when you post my sleeping pics, I'll look stylish," she joked.

"Viewers of the #marinettechallenge thank you," Alya responded dryly. They shared a laugh over that as Marinette finished unfolding her blanket. It was dark black in colour with lime green piping. What made it interesting was the gigantic paw print stamped in the middle of the blanket.

"No way," Alya breathed out in awe. "Where'd you get that?" She demanded to know.

Marinette simply smirked at her. "Where do you think?"

"No. Way," Alya gushed.

"Well...I found the blanket at a thrift sale. But I added the paw print and piping myself," Marinette clarified, her modesty getting the best of her.

"That does not make you any less awesome. I can't imagine how long it must have taken," Alya looked utterly astonished, reaching out to run a hand over the blanket. Marinette graciously allowed her to stroke it before pulling it away.

"Ahem, nap time," she reminded her friend.

"Wait, hold on!" Alya cried. "I have to put this on my blog!"

"Your blog?" Marinette echoed. "Why?"

Alya stared at her in disbelief. "Girl, the blanket is clearly Chat Noir inspired. I have to show my viewers and also I think Chat Noir would be flattered to know about it."

Marinette thought it over. Alya wasn't wrong, her Kitty would be delighted to know he had a fan. The thought of him smiling in glee won her over. Marinette spread out the blanket as much as she could along their table, raising an eyebrow at Alya when she continued to watch her without reacting.

"Well? Aren't you gonna take the photo?"

Alya reacted faster than Marinette expected, whipping out her phone with a gigantic grin on her face. She began snapping pictures rapidly from all angles until she was satisfied.

"Thanks, Marinette!"

They turned towards the doorway as someone sprinted in. Adrien was panting, bent over with his hands on his knees. His cheeks were flushed and his hair was sticking up in different directions.

The sight of him was enough to make Marinette swoon.

"Made it just in time," he sighed, before giving them a smile. "Hey, guys. Did I miss anything important in morning classes? I had a photoshoot I couldn't get out of."

"Just this amazing blanket my girl made," Alya bragged. She waved her hands to demonstrate the blanket where it was laying on their desk.

Adrien's eyes took on an interested shine as he leaned in to examine it. "Wow, Marinette. This looks amazing. You're so awesome," he smiled at her. The brightness of his smile made Marinette's heart flutter and she had to grip tightly to the desk to make her tongue move.

"Yank tou! I mean thank you, Adrien!" She stammered. He gave her another blinding smile before slipping into his seat.

"Okay, I can die happy now," Marinette muttered to Alya, who simply chuckled. "Okay, but seriously," she pulled the blanket off the desk, draping it around herself. "It's nap time. Mme. Bustier will be back soon and I need some rest."

Alya didn't say another word, but as Marinette drifted off to sleep, she thought she had seen Adrien turning around to look at her.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Chat Noir leaped through the rooftops, trying to avoid going to Marinette's place. He didn't know how to explain it but the sight of her, wrapped in his colours with a paw print stamped over her back?

It had awoken some urge within him, he hadn't even known he had had. He was lucky that Marinette had fallen asleep so quickly, otherwise, she would have never let him live it down. Not that he had gotten lucky with Alya.

He was still lost in his thoughts about how cute Marinette had looked while asleep, he didn't even notice when he landed on her balcony.

Chat gave his surroundings a startled glance and was about to turn back around when Marinette poked her head outside.

"Chat Noir?" She asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

He blinked at her, his brain whirring furiously trying to come up with an excuse. "Oh! I...um saw the Ladyblog! That was one amazing blanket you made there, Marinette." He said, hoping desperately that Alya had in fact, uploaded the pics onto the Ladyblog.

Marinette's face softened as she invited him inside. Something inside him said he shouldn't but Chat couldn't resist. He followed her in and sat on her chaise, reminding himself to act as though he hadn't seen the blanket in person before.

Marinette carried out the blanket and deposited it in his arms. "Here, take a good look at it."

He couldn't tell the softness through his gloves, but the workmanship on the blanket was exquisite. "This is incredible, Marinette. You're amazing."

She flushed pink at his words but gave him a beatific smile. "Thank you for making it in my honor," he added. He put the blanket on the chaise before taking one of her hands in his and kneeling before her.

"Princess, this lowly tomcat thanks you for caring so deeply about him. I...this is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." He blinked up at her gratefully, only to see Marinette's smile fall.

"Oh, Kitty. You deserve the world," she told him, making his smile broaden.

"You're a true friend, Marinette. I'm lucky to have you." He gave her a hand a soft kiss, before straightening. Her lips parted and cheeks flushed, she looked absolutely stunning. Tucking away a loose strand of her hair, he leaned in just close enough for her breath to hitch, before pulling away.

"I should get going, Princess," he said instead, turning to leave. As she stammered out a goodbye, Chat allowed himself a smirk. He was planning on taking things slowly, to ensure he would win his Princess's heart.

Seeing her just now had helped him realize something and he was nothing if not a persistent kitty.

[newcaptainofsquad9]

I Can’t Handle You Being Back~Chou Tzuyu x black! fem! reader {3}

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Pairing: Tzuyu x reader

 Summary: A few weeks have passed and you’re already set to make your debut with Twice during their comeback for Cry For Me and I Can’t Stop Me. Things with Tzuyu haven’t gotten better, and it’s about to get worse when the company forces you both to do a live together with the other foreign members. Can you and Tzuyu get through it?

Genre: Angst, Idol-Verse, Romance, Slow Burn, Hurt and Comfort, Best Friends to Lovers

Warnings: None, just a lot of tension and awkwardness between y/n and Tzuyu. ya know your usual angst

Word Count: 2, 750

Writer’s Note: Ok, so this chapter gets a bit juicy and there’s going to be a bit of jealously, along with a hint of romance, but that’s all I’m gonna say. Hope ya’ll enjoy it and please comment! I want to hear your thoughts and feedback. This took me like a month to write it, I’m not sure how I feel about it so :/ yeah.

 Onces, Netizens and the overall Kpop community in general were lit a blaze with the reveal of Twice’s new member: me. Of course now being in a whirlwind of what is Twice’s schedule, I didn’t have time or the energy to read comments, dms or messages that I’ve gotten from them (thank God). Jihyo was also a factor in keeping me on my toes during long dance practice days, even though she wasn’t as hard on me as she was with the others. They weren’t too hard on me either, usually laughing at my mistakes and helping me if I missed my timing or not. The pressure was on: not only from the Korea public and Kpop community as a whole but because of Tzuyu as well. Her eyes would always be on me, then they roll as she waited for me to fix whatever I did. Even during my photoshoots for the album or promotional media, she’s got her eye on me. We haven’t even talked much since she blew up at me weeks prior. I’m not sure how to fix this really. 

I decided now to ignore her, which is easier said than done, due to how close we are during performances. (She literally rests her head against my shoulder during Cry For Me, damn you JYPE!) Right now we’re back stage at Music Bank, awaiting for our rehearsals for our I Can’t Stop Me stage and she’s seated directly to my right, all that’s keeping her from me is my phone, along with Jeongyeon seated between us.       

“Y/N, check out this meme,” Jeongyeon said as she practically shoved her phone in my face.

I chuckled lowly; Jeongyeon nudged me. 

“That’s the only reaction I get?” she whined. “You always laugh at Chaeyoung’s.” 

“Well that’s because she doesn’t use ancient memes,” I said. “The cereal guy is like five years old!”

“So, are you calling me old Y/N!” Jeongyeon said. “That’s disrespectful to your Unnie.”

She nudged my shoulder a few times with a sly grin and furrowed brows. 

“No,” I groaned. “Your taste in memes are old.” 

“Who’s old?” Nayeon said as she squished herself between me and Jeongyeon. “You better not be talking about me Jeong.”

“You said it not me,” Jeongyeon said with a snicker.  

Nayeon didn’t waste any time in smacking her arm, making her laughter rise while I get up to avoid their playful conflict.

“How about you both make out already,” I teased. 

The words make both idols separate with the quickness; their faces red as they sit up straighter.

“W-Whatever Y/N,” Nayeon said. “I should be telling you and Tzuyu doing that since all you both can do is eye each other.”

Now I’m the one recoiling, Jeongyeon did the same as Tzuyu’s attention is on Nayeon with a stare. Jeongyeon nudged Nayeon and pushed her back onto her feet. 

“Everything was fine until you came along,” Jeongyeon whined. “Also, your make-up’s smudged a bit.”

Nayeon’s hands fled to her face, shock over took it in a matter of seconds. 

“Look at your face!” Jeongyeon said as she erupted into another round of heated giggles. I smiled to entertain her, but stop immediately as Nayeon throws us a deadpanned look this time.

“You’re still a grandma,” Nayeon said as she walked away from the couch and towards Mina, Jihyo, and Momo, who held Boo in her arms. 

“Ya! If I’m a grandma then what does that make you!” Jeongyeon yelled back. “Great grandma!” 

I shook my head and returned back to my phone, my finger itching to open up Instagram yet I’m restrained by soft hands. Tzuyu’s next to me, close but not as close as Jeongyeon was. Her face in taunt, but not in the anger she aimed at Nayeon; this look is of warning. 

“Don’t,” she said. “Didn’t Jihyo unnie say not to.”

“I-I just wanted to message someone back,” I said. “You hardly talk to me, why are you doing this now?”

Tzuyu rolled her eyes. 

“I just don’t want you in a mood where you can’t focus,” Tzuyu said. “You mess up so easily.”

“Wow, thanks for reminding me,” I said. “I just have to check something with someone.”

Tzuyu pulled her hand away from my wrist, yet she doesn’t return to the other end of the couch. 

“Who?” she said. 

I side eye her for a moment while I open Instagram; my direct messages are 100 +, forcing my pulse to pound in my ears. The second I tap the arrow that brings up the messages, the swarm hits me:

How come out of all the Sixteen contestants, they bring back the worst one.

You won’t be a real Twice member. This has got to be a PR stunt from all the “cultural appropriation” allegations.

K-Pop isn’t for you, go back to America.

Who told you K-Pop was for you, you black bitch.

The negative messages began to build, and build, out-weighting the small clump of positives ones that came through. My hand tightened around my phone as anger and fear boiled up inside me: angry at myself for taking on this opportunity and fearful because of the hate. I expected this so, why am I feeling this way?

“Y/N?” Tzuyu said as she nudged her shoulder against my own. “Momo Unnie!” 

Momo’s head whipped around to the couch, Boo sniffing every where from his position in her arms. Tzuyu’s voice also got the attention of Jihyo, Nayeon, and Jeongyeon as well. They flocked over to us immediately. 

“Y/N, are you all right?” Jihyo asked as she knelt down in front of me. 

I broke from the trance that the hate comments pinned me in and glanced up at the concerned faces of my bandmates, including Tzuyu this time. Her eyes cut to Momo, as Boo continued to wiggle in her arms. 

“Unnie! Could she hold Boo, please?” Tzuyu whined. 

Momo blinked at Tzuyu but did so anyway and placed the wiggly dog in my arms. 

“Whoa, there,” I said as Boo sniffed down my brown blazer. “Hey there, Boo right? God you’re such a good boy aren’t you? Yeah?” 

Boo sunk down in my lap licking my fingers as I pet him with my other hand. Nayeon was right, Boo really is a great stress reliever. Any dog is, gosh it’s been so long since I’ve petted or actually owned a dog. 

“Are you ok now, Y/N?” Momo asked. “Boo really likes you, he could barely stop moving when Sana first held him.” 

“Are you nervous about the performance?” Mina said as she walked to stand behind the couch with Sana, Chaeyoung, and Dahyun behind her. 

“Yeah, being up there with you guys is extremely nerve wracking,” I said. “And I read a few of the comments online.”

“Y/N,” Jihyo groaned. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“I know, know but the public’s perception means a lot, right?” I said. “The Knets are already giving me a headache.”

Mina frowned and placed her hands on my shoulders, then gently squeezed. 

“You’ve been practicing so hard with us,” Sana said. “You’ll do amazing!” 

I nodded, still taken a back by the comments but Boo’s yipping and the encouraging words from my band-mates eased my worries (even if it’s just for a little bit).  

“All right girls!” a manager said as he stormed into the room along with my own manager, Miyoung who signals me towards her. “You’re going on in five!” 

I rise, Boo whined as I did and Nayeon held her arms out to take him. 

“Aww, Boo, Y/N will be back soon. OK?” she cooed. 

I handed him to her before stepping over to a free corner of the room with Miyoung. 

She gave me a tiny grin as she rubbed my arm, giving me a once over. 

“You all right? It seemed like the girls were consoling you over there,” she said. 

“I’m getting there,” I admitted. “I’ve been practicing choreography for weeks and I just saw--”

I paused at Miyoung’s face; it contorted in concern then exasperation. 

“You read the comments, didn’t you?” she asked. 

I glanced down and nodded. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t trying to let it get in the way of the comeback.”

“Hey, no Y/N,” Miyoung said. “You don’t deserve any of that. JYPE’s even taking the legal action against a lot of the comments, surprisingly.” 

I blinked at her words.

“He’s actually keeping his word,” I said. 

Miyoung nodded. 

“And you’ve got a V Live to do after the performance once you return to the dorms,” she explained. “A welcoming type thing with the other foreign members.”

I hesitated at the word foreign, that means being close to Tzuyu. It also means being close to Tzuyu on camera. 

“Is that all right?” Miyoung asked. 

“Y-Yeah, I just don’t know how this would go.”

Miyoung brought me a bit closer as she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. 

“Well you’ve got Twice in your corner,” she said. “And if anything or any one of them bother you, even another manager, come to me. Brittany insisted I keep an eye on you.” 

I deadpan while my mind wondered back to how Brittany was ready to fight JYP in his own office if things grew awry. 

“Y/N, c’mon!”

I turned toward the door to see everyone geared up and ready to perform, eyes steady waiting for me; Tzuyu even with a tiny grin on her face. 

“Go on,” Miyoung said. “Have fun, don’t think too much of it.”

***

I messed up the shoulder move; I know I did and the playback remained in my mind throughout the drive back to the dorm and as we all settle into our rooms. 

“Y/N it’s OK,” Jeongyeon groaned as she slumped against her bed. “You were off by a nanosecond. The only person who noticed was you.”

“Exactly! The Netizens will tear me apart even more when they notice and--”

“And that’s not important right now,” Mina said as she entered Jeongyeon, Momo and I’s room with Sana on her arm. 

“V Live time!” Sana sung. 

“Good,” Jeongyeon  said. “Keep Ms. Worry away for a while. Mina let me play your switch while you guys are live.”

Mina shrugged. 

“Sure, but you’re going to have to get it from Chaeyoung,” she explained. “She’s playing it in my room.” 

“Ugh, you and your girlfriend,” Jeongyeon said as she rose from the bed. 

I perked up at the term.

“Girlfriend? You guys are dating?”

Mina nodded. 

“Of course we can’t be official,” she said. 

“I know,” I said. “Things aren’t as liberal here as they are in America. I-I can’t believe those ship videos were right.”

Mina blushed a bit. 

“That’s the only fan discourse Chae and I keep up with mostly.”

“You kept up with ships Y/N?” Sana asked. 

“N-No! I was just curious that’s all! Anyway, let’s go get this live over with.”

Sana giggled as she led Mina and I to her room where Momo and Tzuyu sat in pajamas, holding stuffed animals tightly. 

“Y/N! Don’t worry about the performance, you did amazing!” Momo reassured. 

“Let’s hope the Netizens agree with you,” I groaned and plopped down beside Momo  and Tzuyu on the floor. 

“I thought you were supposed to stop worrying about the Netizens,” Tzuyu said. “It almost got in the way today.” 

I turn toward Tzuyu and crossed my arms. 

“So you noticed my screw up too?” I said. 

Tzuyu rolled her eyes. 

“Almost is the key word,” she groaned before she reached up from the bed next to us and grabbed a few stuffed animals. “Now which stuffed animal do you want?”

I blinked at the choices Tzuyu presented: a purple flamingo with oval shaped eyes or a pink alpaca with a square shaped eyes and a rather odd expression. 

“I’ll take the flamingo,” I said. 

Tzuyu handed it off as Sana gasped. 

“He suits you Y/N,” she said. “Two cuties and wow, I didn’t know you hung out with Sooyoung Y/N!”

“Who?” Tzuyu asked. 

“Joy!” Sana squealed 

“Sana what are you talking about?” I asked as she leapt on the bed and showed the phone to us. 

We both peered down at the picture in front of us; I remember this one (sort of) from a few years back when I co-wrote a few tracks for Red Velvet and hung out a bit with Sooyoung, we were at a beach some where in LA. I’m sure her fans didn’t pay it much mind but since I’m an idol now along with her, I’m not sure how anymore. 

“Look, lot’s of fans speculate you’re both dating now!” Sana said. “So, is it true?” 

I’m the one rolling my eyes this time, Sana tossed a flirty grin my way and wiggled her eyebrows. 

“No Sana, why are you being so ridiculous right now.” 

“Come on Y/N,” Momo said as she nudged me against the shoulder. “Sooyoung is pretty hot. You sure you didn’t--”

“Unnie, don’t,” Tzuyu warned. “Y/N said she didn’t so we should just leave it at that.”  

“Tzuyu’s right, we should start the V--”

Mina was cut off by Miyoung and a few other managers step into the room. 

“Sorry we’re late!” Miyoung said. “We brought snacks!”

Momo’s eyes grew large. She nearly snatched the plastic bag from Miyoung, pulling out a large bag of BBQ Lays before passing the bag to me. I reached in and pulled out a green tea flavored Kit Kat (it’s been a minute since I’ve had one). 

“Thank you, uh are you sure we can eat this on camera?” I said.

“Yes Y/N,” Sana said through a giggle. “Gone are our Sixteen days, plus this is our chill V-Live time, fans love to see us just kicking back and having fun.” 

“Everyone huddle in!” Miyoung instructed. “Make sure you’re close so the viewers can see!”

Momo squeezed herself closer, and to my surprise Tzuyu did the same; she hasn’t been this close since Cry For Me dance practice, her perfume is too strong. It made me a bit light headed, or is it just the feeling of her close again? Probably both. 

“Here Y/N,” one male manager said as he handed a phone off to me. “Hold this so you guys can keep up with the comments .”

Miyoung rested her phone up on a stand before looking to us. 

“You guys ready?” 

Everyone nodded, all but me. 

“Y/N?” Mina asked as she slipped a hand on my shoulder. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I said and put on my best smile. 

“That’s all we can ask for,” Miyoung said. “Now, we’re live!”

The moment she pressed record, everyone around me perked up to flash their own smiles. 

“Hi Onces! We just wanted to hang out with you guys and welcome our new member to you officially, Y/N!” they said in unison. 

I waved and smiled enough to reveal teeth. 

“Hi Onces! I’m glad to be here!” 

My eyes couldn’t help but flock down to the phone in my hand, even with the other four members reading it as well. There’s a part of me that told me not to, but I had to stop thinking like that. I’m a member of Twice too, no matter what they think or say.

The oncoming comments read:

Hi Y/N!!!

So pretty!!

Hi from Brazil!!

Why is she here? Why couldn’t Nayeon take her place?

She doesn’t belong in Korea with the beauty of Twice.

Do you guys name your stuffed animals?

My heart hammered and thumped painfully hard in my ears; instead of stare blankly I chew on my Kit Kat in silence. 

“Well I haven’t named this one yet,” Sana explained. 

“Manager-unnie!” Mina called, waving to Miyoung. “We can report this comment here!”

“I got it,” Tzuyu said as she took the phone from my hands. 

I watched her through a mouthful of chocolate as her brows stay focused; she turned back to the camera with determination as she handed the phone over to Mina. 

“Y/N belongs here,” Tzuyu declared to the camera. “And if you don’t want to watch her with us you can leave.” 

I almost choked at her words; I heard that correctly, right? I was dreaming, right? Tzuyu must have picked up on my stress and looped her arm around my own; she didn’t pay it much attention to it as she fell into more easy going questions with Momo, Mina and Sana. I did as well, soon enough.    

[d-nghy-ck]

tag game: the interview. 

tagged by: @neonun-au | @jaemxxi | @magicalara MWAH! 

tagging (I am not sure who has done this so if you have already, ily have a wonderful day): @hchan | @hotdogct | @hyuckdove | @hyuckles-chuckles​ | @infnteen | @jungwooisms | @kopikokun​ | @m88n​ | @nctsworld | @neocitycafe | @sunflowerforhaechan | @taeyongs-star-earring | @zhongriot | and anyone else!! would love to hear from ya 

1. Why did you choose your url?

I wanted something simple and sleek, and I have Donghyuck tunnel vision. It came easily :) 

2. Any side blogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them?

I will only talk about one two at the moment: 

@hy-ck , my new gif blog! 

And by extension, check out the new network! For visual content creators and those who are fans of visual content alike: @haechannet

I’ll just stop while I’m ahead hahaha I have 14 blogs that contain content :’) 

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

Since 2009? It’s been a WHILE. 

4. Do you have a queue tag? 

Nope! Can’t be arsed. 

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I was bored on the metro and had to express somewhere just how much the Coming Home MV made me want comforting, warm Hyuck hugs ahaha. Also, the “Up to You” collab by NCT Dream/Pretty Much got my brain revving. 

6. Why did you choose your icon / pfp? 

BOOM HYUCK HOT.... SO HOT god oh my god

I’m.... hhhhhhh I... ggggghhhh 

[ credit ] <-- seriously, do yourself a favor and visit. I go to this blog like monthly to remind myself that I’m alive. 

7. Why did you choose your header?

SEASON’S GREETINGS HYUCK HOT 

BLACK TURTLENECK HYUCK HOT

I also revisit the footage of this photoshoot monthly to remind myself that blood pumps through my veins. I got my hands on the HD footage of it and I just...... [holds hands to the sky] I think it’s my favorite content of anything ever. 

GOODDDD nothing will ever top it 

8. What's your post with the most notes?

[ Silk ] has 1.3k+ right now! You h0rny fuqers 

9. How many mutuals do you have?

I define mutuals as people I talk to privately and know by name, not necessarily including people I follow who follow back. We have to talk first! That being said, I talk on and off with maybe 20 friends here! I’m so sorry if I haven’t gotten to your DMs recently, life has been a lot and my brain is pudding and I am the perfect example of an introvert these days

10. How many followers do you have?

On this blog, about 1,800 ...!!!

11. How many people do you follow?

77 ... and half of them are old archives, so honestly my dash experience is so refined. Sweet bliss. Any friends I don’t follow, I prefer to check manually! My dash is just super geared towards visual content / NCT updates rather than writing these days. 

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

Oh definitely, usually during comebacks at some point I have a mental breakdown over how badly I wanna kiss someone all over HAHAHA. I know From Home was a particularly rough time for me in that regard sjhfgasd 

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

All the time, but honestly, I’m never really on it, it’s just something I do with my hands while I’m multitasking while chatting with people on discord, giffing, cooking, etc.! Just pick up where I left off, scroll a little, laugh at something, realize I’m burning my stir fry, set it down, repeat. 

14. Do you like tag games?

I love being tagged so that I can read what my friends are up to! These days it takes me forever to do them, though ^^’

15. Do you like ask games?

I love talking, if I have the energy for it in the moment! I prompt one once per season, maybe, haha. But I LOOOVE participating when my friends have them!! 

16. Which of your mutuals do you think is Tumblr famous?

Tumblr fame doesn’t mean anything (and can be rather debilitating tbh), but I can guarantee my closest mutuals are incredibly quality people and I love them so much, regardless of how many clicks they get. 

17. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

Obviously ;)