#morning everyone time to get CRACKIN

[the-monkeies-girl]

Me when one of you sends me an ask and it says “HEAR ME OUT” as if I don’t already have the most unholy can of worms ready to explode for all our ape men:

[forlorn-crows]

CUTE MOUNTAIN BLURB FOR CROW ♡

It's cold this morning.

Raw and damp, fog still hanging in the pre-dawn air as Mountain takes his morning walk. He's headed to the greenhouse, technically, but he always takes the long way around. Through the rose garden, past the orchard, skirting the edge of the lake - it turns the five minute walk into a half hour journey, one that fills Mountain with joyous calm.

The sun is creating the horizon by the time he's done, the early spring sky painted in streaks of pink and orange. He ducks into the greenhouse just as the first birds begin to chirp, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it just inside the door.

"Good morning, everyone," he calls, flipping on the lights. It's a silly habit he supposes, but the plants are alive as anything else and it would be rude not to greet them in their own home.

Mountain tugs his apron over his head and ties it off as he wanders through the rows. He pulls his hair back into a loose bun at his nape, securing it with a tie he definitely hadn't stolen from Dew, making his way to the worktable at the back of the building. He grabs one of his gardening gloves - it's pruning day - and is hunting for the other when he hears the telltale squeak of the greenhouse door.

"Mount?" The earth ghoul smiles as Rain's still-sleepy voice cuts through the silence. "Are you here?"

"In the back," he calls, pulling out a pair of battered stools and dropping his glove. Rain rounds the corner a minute later, still in his pajama pants and bedhead. He's carrying a small canvas bag. The water ghoul gives him a lazy smile.

"Mornin'," he says through a yawn, setting his things on the table and wrapping his arms around Mountain's middle. He rests his head on the taller ghoul's chest and Mountain presses a kiss into his hair.

"Morning to you too, lilypad. What brings you here so early?" He wraps long arms around Rain's shoulders, listening to his soft purr. "Not that I ever mind your company, but even Dew isn't usually awake at this hour."

"Couldn't sleep," Rain murmurs, nuzzling into Mountain's apron. "I got up to make some tea." He unhooked himself from the taller ghoul, pressing a chaste kiss to Mountain's neck. Rain steps back to the table and gestures at the bag. "Saw you forgot your breakfast, so I thought I'd bring it."

Mountain blinks as he watches Rain unpack things - a small plastic container, a banana, some grapes in a baggie and a dented green thermos.

"I think I got everything," Rain says, folding up the bag and covering up another yawn. "The coffee is nice and hot still, three sugars like always." He shakes the container, letting its contents rattle around. "I dunno how you have enough energy to work off of a handful of granola and some fruit, honestly. I -"

Rain is cut off with an /oof/ as Mountain pulls him into a crushing hug, holding the water ghoul so tightly that Rain probably thinks he's going to get sucked right into his skin. Mountain can't help it, not with the way he's so overcome with affection.

"Raincloud," he says softly, "you didn't have to come all this way for that." Rain gets his arms around Mountain's waist and squeezes.

"I wanted to," he says, resting his chin on Mountain's chest so they can look at each other. "It's no big deal." The fact that Mountain feels like his chest is crackin gone suggests otherwise, but he doesn't mention it.

"I appreciate it very much," he says instead, kissing Rain's forehead to get another one of those sleepy smiles tugging at the water ghoul's lips. "Are you heading back?" Rain shrugs.

"I guess, yeah. I'll probably crash on the couch and try for a nap until Dew is up. We're on kitchen duty together anyway, so-"

"Stay," Mountain interjects. Rain tilts his head, quizzical. "If you want to, I mean." the earth ghoul clarifies. "I have a few blankets in storage. I can throw them down for you to rest on. It'll be warmer here than the common room, and you won't have to walk back in the cold. Only if you want to, you don't-"

"I'd like that," Rain says softly, eyes shining. "As long as you join me." Mountain huffs out a soft laugh.

"I can do that."

[delfiore]

when the hennessy’s strong, all i see is you

pairing: wanda maximoff x reader

synopsis: you play a dangerous game when you let your closest friend, wanda, into your bed.

word count: 5.1k

a/n: y’all alr knOw, it’s the friends with benefits trope. let’s get crackin 🤠

warning: implicit smut, heavy alcohol consumption

now playing:

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

You were an asshole, a shitty person, you knew that.

The last three relationships you were in spanned over weeks, two months max if you put in the extra effort. You loved to go to parties, drinking until you forget who you were. Usually, if you weren’t throwing up by the sidewalk, you’d find a pretty face to spend the night with and be able to forget about in the morning.

After all, all the Avenging didn’t leave much room for committed romancing, at least that’s what your excuse was. So you party, party, and party, until your teammates need you for a mission, then it was back to the nightclubs.

Your head was spinning, and the thumping of the bass didn’t help. You held on to the bar with your forearm for support, at this point to inebriated to stand upright. The bartender looked at you with pity, as he stopped you from grabbing anything with alcohol in it within your grasp, and placed a cup of water in front of you.

“Come on, man. Just gimme my shot, I got the money.” You told him, reaching for your back pocket.

“I know you got money, but I’m not selling you anymore.” He said, raising his eyebrows. “You’ve had enough.”

You groaned and sunk your head in defeat, placing it on your arm on the bar counter.

“Y/N!”

You lifted your head at someone calling your name. . .you think?

“Thank God, you’re here.” The bartender spoke in a taunting tone. “Please keep her away, she’s drinking up all my alcohol.”

“Hi, Wanda!” You yelled over the music with a lazy grin at your friend, who was looking at you with a puzzled frown.

“Jesus, Y/N, how much did you drink?” Wanda asked, placing your arm around her shoulder and guiding you through the tight-packed club towards the exit.

You felt much lighter as soon as you stepped outside, the chilly air of the night sobering you up as the breeze hit your face.

Wanda held her hand out and you could see her conjuring a red blast, but you stopped her.

“As much as I love watching you use your wiggly-woos, Wan, I don’t think I can do flying right now.”

You heard her giggling next to you. “Didn’t think so.”

The rest of the night blurred, with Wanda dragging you back to the Compound and helping you change before you crashed into your slumber.

It happened a few more times after that, as it has before. You would become shitfaced, and Wanda would always show up to bring your home. Each time, you would grow bolder and sit closer to her as she took off your shoes or your jacket, or your shirt. One time, you were so close to her, your legs grazed as you placed your head on her shoulder as she helped you out of your clothes. In your drunken stupor, you missed the way your body heat warmed her own cheeks as the close proximity between you became too much to bare for her.

But Wanda bore it for you, because she was your friend, and because she cared about you, as a friend.

Your amity with her started when you first joined the Avengers, your outspoken and exuberant disposition initially intimidated her. She found you preposterous for being able to capture everyone’s attention and befriending them despite joining so late, but she knew now that her hostility towards you was more secret admiration than actual contempt.

You were always the life of the party, as you were tonight at another one of those parties Stark threw at the Compound to celebrate a successful intel mission.

She sat in one of the couches, the first one she could see that people didn’t occupy, a beer in her hand. Her eyes were fixed on you in the middle of the dance floor, swaying your body without a care in the world. You were, after all, doing what you were best at and maybe it was the alcohol in her, but my God, did you look so good.

You turned around and your eyes met her, a mischievous grin playing on your lips when you realized she had been watching you. Suddenly, you were hovering over her and pulling the girl towards the dance floor.

“Come on, Wan. We’re literally at home! Just have some fun.” You said, giggling.

Wanda complied, smiling instinctively at the sight of you. The music pumped in her ears. She watched you with hesitant eyes, afraid her body would betray her having you this close in front of her. Soon, with your warm eyes and inviting smile she eventually found herself moving to the beat without straining her every muscle. The thought of making a wrong move began to float away as you pulled her closer, her back pressing again your chest.

“You smell nice.” You mumbled in her ear, and ran a hand down her arm.

Wanda felt the hairs on her neck stand up, as she turned to face you. She wrapped her arms around your neck and pulled you to her, until there was but a finger’s width between your lips. She liked the way you carried yourself, the way you were so confident, the way her stomach bubbled whenever you smiled at her.

It was a tragic realization that hit her, that she liked you so, so much.

“Take me to bed.” Wanda whispered. Your eyes grew dark before you grabbed her hand and ran to your room.

She thought she had you right there.

She thought the way you caressed her body, and the way you kissed her in all the places, meant what she felt for you, you felt the same.

Once she finished, she looked into your eyes before grabbing your face and kissing you deeply. You collapsed next to her, your bare chest heaving.

Beyond the door, the beat of the track dropped, it became faint thumps in Wanda’s ears. It might have just been her heart pumping at the glorious sight of you though.

She was wrong. So, so wrong.

When she opened her eyes again, the light had become blinding white, piercing through the window, and you were nowhere to be found.

When she stepped into the kitchen, she saw you cheerfully chatting with Bucky whilst hugging a bowl of cereal. You only gave her a greeting smile, one you would give Steve or Nat or anyone else. You never mentioned the night after that.

It happened again. She was restless, a certain antsy feeling kept her from closing her eyes. She thought about you, thinking back at every interaction she had with you, studying every look, every smile, every word. In every scenario she imagined, it always ended with you confessing your undying love for her and her getting together with you happily.

She sighed at her stupid imaginations. She just wanted you to need her the way she needed you.

Wanda wasn’t going to be able to sleep anytime soon anyway. She figured that much when she was tossing and turning when the clock struck 3. A glass of water might help calm her mind.

Just as she turned the corner of the hallway, she noticed a faint light coming from the kitchen. Someone was there, you were there.

“Can’t sleep too?” She said quietly, approaching you.

Your body jerked, as you looked at her, but there was a tiredness in your eyes, and a feeble slump in your shoulders, as she noticed the bottle of bourbon next to you on the counter. You were drinking again.

“Yeah.” You shook your head, laughing a little.

“Y/N.” Wanda sighed, touching your arm lightly. “You have to dial down on the alcohol.”

“I know. I know.” You shook your head, releasing a heavy breath. Your shoulders slumped even more as you turn to her, now confused and concerned as ever at your abnormal lack of energy.

“I just—“ You mumbled, sighing again, “mission today was shit, Wan. I just feel so shitty.”

“You could have talked to me.” She held your face in her hands.

“Didn’t want to bother you.” You mumbled.

“You never bother me.” Wanda furrowed her brows, softly caressing your face with her thumbs.

She wanted to know so bad what you were thinking, but she could never dare to cross your boundaries to get what she wanted. Instead, she held your gaze, studying the depths of your eyes, down the bridge of your nose, to the curved bows of your lips, then their pink hues.

That she loved the taste of them was an understatement. Once she had kissed you the other night, she never wanted to stop. Your cheeks were warm from the alcohol, but the way you held her in your hands sparked a fire in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to feel you again like the other night.

Suddenly, you had released her, and the ghost of your lips lingered on her.

“You sure?” You murmured, pressing your forehead to her cheek.

She wanted to feel you again, so she said yes. Once again, she built her hopes up, revering in your gentle caress and your lips like cherry wine. You brought her over the edge and she had never felt a more cathartic pleasure.

“Hey.” You turned to her laying next to you. “Do you think we can do this more often?”

She looked at you, your forehead glistening with beads of sweat. She knew she was treading a dangerous path, but having you for a few hours at night was better than having none of you at all. So she said yes.

Wanda should have known it was a bad idea. What you wanted was strictly sex, and knowing you, you weren’t going to veer into anything serious soon.

“We’re just having fun, Wanda, no need to pull in all that lovey-dovey stuff.” you would say, as you raised your arms over your head to put your shirt on. “Heavy baggage. We’re better off as friends.”

“Yeah.” Wanda breathed out. “Friends.”

As the door closed, she would lay back, bare skin wrapped around cotton bed sheets, and dipped her face into the pillow before letting the tears soak the case.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

She never mustered up the courage to tell you anything. She never told you how she really felt, and it sucked that she was such a chicken. It was even worse that she was on a three-week mission in Vietnam, so if there was anything left unsaid, she l’d still had to wait two-and-a-half more weeks until she’d be able to say it.

“Hey.” She smiled, waving at her phone.

“Hi.” You told her. “How’s Hanoi?”

“Warm. Food’s bomb though. You’d definitely like it here.”

“Yup. Anywhere with good food, I’m game.” You laughed. She saw your background shift before you collapsed onto the couch.

Wanda kept the smile on her face. “So what have you been up to?”

“Oh, you know, just the usual.” You sighed, and looked to the window. “Do some training, go out for a drink, help Tony in the lab, go out for another drink. . . I seem to drink a lot less with you around though.”

Her heart hammered in her chest. “Well, maybe you should keep me around more often then.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

Wanda looked down at her crossed arms on the table, feeling herself growing even more nervous at the next words that came.

“I miss you, Y/N.” She said quietly, not looking up at you yet. But when you did respond for a bit, she did and saw you also attempting to avoid her eyes.

“Uh, miss you too, Wan.”

A little more enthusiasm won’t kill anybody, she thought.

There was a distant voice in the background, but all Wanda could make out was: “Y/N, baby! Where are you?”

“Huh?!” You yelled back, looking off to the distance. “Listen, I gotta go, alright? Take lots of pictures for me.”

“Yeah.” Wanda attempted to pull the corner of her lips upwards.

“And be safe, okay? I’ll see you in a few weeks.” Before she could say anything, you had turned the call off.

She slumped her shoulders, and put her phone down. Whoever that was must have been another one of your hookups. She didn’t know what she expected from this, but it hurt so much seeing you with someone else, even if it was just for sex. . .or it could already be exclusive with this person, she had no idea.

“You gotta let her know soon.”

Wanda fumbled with her phone. “I know.”

“She’s going to ruin you.”

She let out an exasperated sigh, looking to the ceiling to stop the tears. “I know.”

She wished she had gotten a single room because all she wanted was to scream and cry and sob everything away, so as not to let her emotions cloud her judgment while she has to work tomorrow. When Steve mistakenly booked only two rooms amongst Natasha, Sam, Wanda, and himself, Nat volunteered to stay with her.

“Y/N’s known for this type of shit, Wanda. Have fun until she gets bored, then moves on to the next.” The redhead grabbed her wet hair with the towel in her hand. “You’ll only lose the longer you play.”

“I don’t know how to tell her.” Wanda said, eyes downcast. “I don’t know what to do.”

Natasha sat at the edge of the bed in front of her. She placed a tentative hand on Wanda’s. She’d rather be alone than soak in the pitiful eyes Natasha was giving her.

Three weeks went by, and she was touching down on New York in a few minutes. She looked out the window, watching the ground get closer and closer with fumbling fingers and shaking legs. She was eager to see you again, much more than she cared to admit.

“Excited to see your Princess again?” Sam teased in her ear as they exited the plane.

She gave him a crimson glare which made the man put his hands up and smirked.

Wanda looked for you right away, skipping her steps and craning her neck to look for you as soon as she set foot in the living area of the Compound.

Two hands covered her vision, and she couldn’t help the grin that slipped on her face.

“Guess who?”

“You do know I can read minds, right?” She said, putting your hands down and turning around to your smiling face. It felt so good to hug you, and to feel your body against hers that she almost forgot about the mysterious person you were with on the call the other week. For now though, she wanted to enjoy your company as much as she could.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

You pushed Wanda by the shoulders as her back hit the mattress rather roughly.

“Sorry.” You said, as you both giggled. Wanda shook her head before pulling you in to kiss you again. She hooked her legs around your waist pulling you close to her, earning a low moan from you.

She’d felt almost sinful from the noises you both made in each other’s embrace, both longing to kiss and touch, and feel. But she has waited long enough to have you, and despite Natasha talking her out of it, she needed to her fix of you, as she’s grown addicted.

“God, I missed you.” You whispered, trailing wet kisses along her neck.

Wanda sighed and sunk her fingers in your hair, letting out short, choked gasps.

It was the heat of the moment, Wanda thought to herself.

It was the way your hands held her, caressed her and pressed on her in all the right places.

It was the way mindless words of profanity tumbled out of your mouth, and your eyes shut tight as you neared your high.

It was the way your lips felt like fire drawing on her skin, leaving marks she knew would not fade until the day after.

It was because you made her feel everything that made her confess.

“I love you.” She said.

Silence. Too loud. Anxiety kicked in as the adrenaline began to wear off. She knew she shouldn’t have said it when you pulled back, your chest still rising and falling, but you looked so attractive. Your eyes glazed over and became distant as you looked back at her.

“No.” You said, quietly.

Wanda watched with furrowed brows as you reached for your clothes.

“No, you don’t.” You mumbled again.

“You don’t know that.” She whispered.

“But I do.” You turned to her, and raised your voice; you had never raised your voice to her like that. “You think us sleeping together means you love me. Trust me, Wan, you don’t wanna go down that path.”

“You don’t get to make that choice for me.” She sat up.

You let out a huffed laugh. “I do when it concerns me. There’s a reason why my relationships don’t last long. There’s a reason why nobody can. . .stand me for long. You won’t either.”

“That’s not true, I—“

“Look, Wanda. Nothing can happen between us, okay?! Trust me.”

“Did you think nothing can ever happen between us, when you kissed me for the first time?” Her eyes bore into yours.

You stared at back, just as fierce. You pressed your lips together and hissed. “Yes.

You and your abilities. You think you know people just because you can read minds, don’t you? Well, guess what, Wanda, you don’t know anything about me, and it’s better if you don’t.”

“You’re an asshole.” Her gaze softened, and her voice became barely a whisper.

A sullen expression painted across your face, as your jaw squared. You looked back at her after you finished putting your shirt on.

“I know.” You said, lowly, and walked through the door.

You tried your best to avoid seeing Wanda after that, from hiding in the labs with Tony, to training and running laps when Wanda wasn’t, to coming up with excuses to catch dinner late. Everyone noticed the sudden change in dynamics between you and Wanda, most of all Nat, as she gave you an earful the day after.

Steve didn’t seem to catch on though, and he paired you with Wanda during close combat training. You insisted on sitting out, but the stoic captain didn’t budge.

“You’re holding back.” Wanda said, throwing another punch at you.

“I’m not.” You caught her fist. “‘M fighting like I normally do.”

You were not. Your mind was occupied by other matters concerning her, and in your distraction, Wanda managed to throw you off balance and pin you down. Your back hit the mat with a thud.

“Why are you so stubborn?” She seethed.

You hooked your legs over hers, and used your hips to flip her over. “Why are you so insistent?”

“I just wanna know why. Why do you push me away?”

“You shouldn’t have gotten close to me in the first place.” You felt something lift you up, and slam you back down on the mat. Just as Wanda took her position over you, the red wisps in her hands faded.

“That’s a pathetic excuse, Y/N.”

“That’s my truth.”

“No!” She barked, letting go of you. “That’s pathetic. You’re pathetic! You think you’re the only one with issues. Guess what, Y/N, everybody here’s got scars! But the difference is we don’t go around playing with people’s feelings, Y/N!”

You returned her glare, and clenched your jaw. “I never asked you to love me.”

“You are unbelievable.” This earned a scoff from Wanda. “You know, there comes a point where your issues won’t excuse your behavior anymore. You’re just cruel.”

She excused herself and walked out of the gym.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

You were an asshole, a shitty person, and you knew that.

You made a mistake. You roped the one person you cared about into your antics, and now you hurt her. It’s a spiral that just keeps on going and going and it takes everyone you love down with it. The alcohol, the partying, it was all just a distraction from the nasty scar in your heart that kept you from opening it up to anyone else again.

You don’t remember how it started, just that being drunk was easier than being sober, because the pain was no longer clawing at you at every waking moment. Until you met Wanda.

She made everything bearable. She was the shoulder you could lean on, and let down your guard with. As much as the other Avengers welcomes you to the team, they didn’t understand being totally alone, afraid, and hurt, but Wanda did, maybe even more than you did. She always had your back, and cared for you, but you knew Wanda, times spent losing people has made her especially prone to affection. That was why she said she loves you, it must be. She didn’t actually love you. Nobody did, and those who claimed they did have all left you. In the end, you were alone.

The party was raging on, the dimmed room pierced with colorful light beams, people dancing to deafening music. It was your scene, and your natural inclination to partake, but tonight you felt only the alcohol could help you. No dancing would take place, there was nothing to celebrate.

Taking another swig at your beer, you released a heavy sigh, as you felt the aftertaste of the booze rising in your throat. Your head was beginning to spin, but the only thing you could think of was the beautiful brunette you wronged.

You didn’t quite notice the stranger coming to sit next to you. “What’s a beauty like you sitting here all alone for?”

You turned to see some blonde chick, staring at you under batted eyelids. You returned to your watch of the party and took another sip.

“Not interested.”

“Oh, come. Why don’t you let loose?” The girl stood up and walked into your line of sight. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it, cariña?” She whispered into your ear.

You let your instincts win and met her halfway when she smirked and lean into your lips. This was second nature to you, finding a stranger to relieve tension with and never see their faces again. Your hands traveled to the stranger’s hips and pulled her closer, except this time, it felt foreign, like you were committing a crime. Through hooded eyes, you watched the stranger pull you into a secluded area of the club, and connecting your lips almost as soon as she found a wall to push you up against.

“I can’t.” You pushed her back slightly, shaking your head.

Her wavy hair morphed back into blonde from brunette, and her eyes back to ocean instead of the soulful emerald you always particularly liked of Wanda. The girl gawked at you in confusion, probably because a girl like her has never had anyone refuse her before.

“No, no, I have to—“ You mumbled and a few seconds later, the girl was long forgotten. The fresh air sobered you up.

You reached to your back pocket for your phone and dialed Wanda, before remembering that you weren’t exactly on her good side at the moment.

The cab back home was painful, as you tried all your might not to empty all the contents in your stomach into the backseat of this guy’s car. It was quiet at the Compound when you got there, all the lights have gone out, and all the staff went home. You thought you might apologize to Wanda, despite your intoxication. Better than none.

You approached the hallway. Her door was ajar. You thought about what you might say; a simple apology wasn’t not nearly enough, and you needed to let her know that you did care about her and that you never intended to hurt her, but you were used to the no-strings-attached fiasco of it all that you blindly imposed it on everyone you associate yourself with. You knew now that it was a big mistake.

She had opened the door, and there she was. You should have known better to sneak up on a telepath, as she was looking at you expectantly.

“What do you want?”

There were no coherent words that came out of your mouth, the moment you saw her troubled green eyes. You blinked furiously, attempting to find the right words.

“Y/N, you’re drunk again.”

“I know.” You uttered. “I know, but I think I need to say this, even if I’m wasted. Better that than never. Can I come in?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She lowered her head, extending a hand as if to fence you from her sanctuary, one which she was so willing to let you in just days before.

“Okay,” you breathed, “okay, that’s fine. Um, listen, Wan, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for disregarding how you feel. I know I’m selfish, but it’s just— I— I never meant to hurt you. I was just so in over my head, a-and, I never thought about how you might feel.”

You glanced up at Wanda, waiting for her to speak. When she didn’t, you continued. “In my experience, whenever I thought I could trust someone, they leave me. I’m not proud of it, but you’ve always been so kind to me, a-and. . .I don’t know, old habits die hard. But I’m sorry, and if. . .if you still think being with me is a good idea, then meet me on the rooftop tomorrow night at 11, the spot where we usually go to? I’ll be waiting for you.”

She looked at you, bewildered. “I—“

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything right now.” You said softly. Looking into her eyes, you had sobered up, because all you wanted was to kiss her, but not because she made you feel good, but because you wanted to kiss her again the morning after, and then the next.

With that, you continued walking down the hallway and returned to your room.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

The wait to 11 o’ clock was excruciating. All day, you would see Wanda, but she gave no indication of whether or not she was going to accept your invitation or not. She would act as if nothing happened between you, speaking to you only when required to, while hosting animated conversations with others. It made you feel small, invisible, as if you didn’t matter, and it was taking you back to your past when those who you loved treated you like you didn’t matter. Wanda must have felt this way too when you left her after every night you spent with her.

You decided to go into the lab and help Tony with whatever he needed you to. Being in the lab always warped your sense of time and frankly, you needed to kill a few hours.

“So you and Wanda, huh?” Tony quirked an eyebrow at you as he typed into his hologram keyboard.

“What about me and Wanda?” You attempted to maintain a casual tone of voice.

“Trouble in paradise?”

“We’re not dating.”

“Oh, come on, Y/N. Everyone knows you two are doing it.” He grinned. “Heard what happened in the gym.”

You rolled your eyes. “Was it Nat?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He stated. “But get this, kid, listen to the guy that let the world get to his head. Don’t let your ego drive the people you love away. You know they deserve to be loved, so be that person that makes them happy. Or else you’ll just end up alone.”

“I don’t know if I’m good enough though, Tony,” you said, looking down at the detached arm of his newest suit, “to make her happy.”

“Then you’ll have to try, every day, to be better.” He spoke firmly. “Be better.”

Tony’s words echoed in your head. It would be a long way, but you would try, for your sake, and Wanda’s.

It was nearly 11 and you felt like your heart was going to jump out of your throat. You cleaned up the kitchen and turned off the lights. On your way, you passed Steve who gave you a friendly nod, which quickly contorted into a discombobulated look.

“What’s that smell?” He asked.

“What smell?” You called behind you.

You skipped your steps and stepped into the elevator. As soon as the New York skyline came into view, your heart began to pound rapidly, and you felt it beating in your palms against the straw basket you were holding.

You checked your watch, it was mere seconds until 11. Setting the basket down next to you, you stood by the railings, overlooking the marvelous view.

You waited, and it was excruciating.

“Hey.”

You turned around. She walked towards you slowly, with a small smile on her face. When she stopped in front of you, you swallowed thickly.

“Hi.” You said. “I’m glad you came.”

“Me too.”

“This is for you.” You picked up the basket and handed it to her. “I know you love sitcoms, especially Bewitched, so I made cookies. . .in the shape of Samantha in the intro.”

“Y/N, this—“, Wanda widened her eyes as she accepted the gift you spent the entire evening on.

“You hate it.”

“I don’t. It’s just—“ She let out an interrupted laugh. “I think it’s cute.”

“If ‘cute’ is code for ‘totally deformed and does not look like Samantha at all’, I’ll just take ‘cute’.”

Her laughter filled your ears. “How long did you spend making these?”

“Embarrassingly, too long.” You admitted sheepishly. “But I’d do anything for you.”

Wanda shifted her eyes to you, the smile lingering on her lips.

“I’m sorry, Wan—“

“Shh.” She held her index finger to your lips. “I know.”

You shifted on the balls of your feet. “Will you eat my cookies, then?”

She smiled and gave you a small nod. “Can I kiss you?”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise. “I was about to ask you.”

“I know. I can read your mind, remember?”

You smiled, and leaned into her. It has become too familiar, but this time, you moved your lips against her slowly and surely. You wanted to show her you needed her all the time, as much as she needed you. You were sure of it, Wanda made you want to be better, and you will be.

[jayeray-hq]

Br(Atsumu)

Hey everyone! This is the piece for @maizumis sfw brat collab! It's 100% sfw and if you enjoy it make sure to check out the Masterlist!

If you like this and want to see more of my writing for Atsumu check out my Character Masterlist!

Post Time Skip/Manga Ending Spoilers!

Warnings: None all Fluff

You watched amused as Atsumu slumped over the counter of his brother’s restaurant, arms pressed to his sides dejectedly and cheek smooshed against the hard surface. You couldn’t see his face from the angle you were at, but there was no doubt in your mind he had a pout on his face.

Osamu was standing behind the counter, clearly purposefully ignoring his brother’s sulking as he shaped onigiri in his hands, a thoroughly exasperated look on his face. His head lifted when he heard the bell overhead ring as you entered the shop, but a quick finger to your lips kept him from greeting you by name.

“Welcome to Onigiri Miya what can I get ya?” he chimed automatically, the usual bored drawl in his voice.

“How much for your twin?” you asked, your voice making Atsumu jerk a little in recognition, though he didn’t bother lifting his head, choosing instead to heave a sigh and pointedly ignore you, letting you know exactly what kind of mood your boyfriend was in.

“You can have that for free,” Osamu told you, face scrunched up in disgust, “In fact if yer haulin’ trash outta my restaurant I almost feel like I should be payin’ you instead.”

“Who you callin’ trash, ya scrub,” Atsumu sneered at his brother, finally raising his head to glare at his brother.

“Who else but you, ya trashy scrub!” Osamu retorted, not impressed in the slightest.

Luckily there was no one else in the restaurant at the moment to watch their antics, because while you found them entertaining you knew some found them more than a bit intimidating. Still you didn’t think either twin would be too happy if they actually started brawling in Osamu’s restaurant so you walked up behind your boyfriend, threading your fingers through his hair and gently tugging backwards until his head was resting against your chest.

He immediately quieted down a bit, though you could tell from the look on Osamu’s face that he was still glaring at his twin. Carefully you rested a hand on his shoulder and stroked your fingers through the soft golden waves, massaging his scalp in a way you knew he loved as you asked, “Rough day, Tsumu?”

He let out a huff, but didn’t bother to respond, clearly purposefully ignoring you, even if he didn’t actually pull away from your hands. You rolled your eyes at this childish behavior exchanging a look with Osamu.

“Don’t do that,” Atsumu hissed at the two of you.

“Do what?” Osamu demanded exasperated.

“Talk to each other like I ain’t sittin’ right here in front of ya,” your boyfriend retorted angrily.

“Ya really need to get yer ears cleaned out if ya thought we were talkin’ ya deaf scrub,” Osamu hissed, thoroughly fed up with your boyfriend who was clearly looking to pick a fight.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re ignoring me Tsumu?” you asked patiently, knowing that when he got in this kind of mood patience was the best way to deal with him. If you snapped back or got sarcastic it would only escalate the situation.

“It’s only fair,” he grumbled, still pointedly not looking at you, “Since you’ve been ignorin’ me all day.”

“Ignoring you?” you repeated completely and utterly baffled, “But weren’t you practicing with the rest of the Black Jackals today? And you know I was working too.”

“Ya didn’t let me kiss ya goodbye this mornin’ and ya ignored my texts all day,” Atsumu sulked, “I was startin’ to think ya weren’t even goin’ ta come fer our monthly dinner.”

“I was going to be late, and you were refusing to wake up,” you told your boyfriend reasonably, more amused than annoyed now that you knew what was bothering him, “But I still kissed you goodbye Tsumu and I even left a note for you.”

“Ya left a note?” he asked, voice perplexed though still sulky, “Where? I didn’t see it.”

“In the fridge on top of the bento I packed for you last night,” you told him puzzled that he hadn’t seen it, “Where I was sure you’d see it.”

“I forgot to bring my lunch,” he told you miserably, which definitely helped to explain his mood. Atsumu almost never ate if he didn’t bring his lunch with him insisting the food wasn’t good enough and didn’t match his diet plan. However, when he didn’t eat he tended to get hangry, which had no doubt contributed quite a bit to his foul mood.

“Sounds like a you problem,” Osamu jeered, clearly unimpressed. He of all people knew how nasty his brother could get when he didn’t eat. You gave him a look over his brother’s head again, trying to tell him not to rile him up again, and he raised his hands in surrender.

“Yer doin’ it again,” Atsumu whined, though he’d lost the slightly bitter edge from before.

“If you don’t like it, then maybe you should turn and look at me, so I can’t talk over your head anymore,” you pointed out mildly, feeling a bit like you were dealing with a sulking toddler, but willing to indulge him for now seeing as these kinds of moods were rare nowadays, something Ojirou had told you was clearly a long awaited sign of maturity from the former Inarizaki setter.

Your boyfriend huffed, but in the end swiveled his seat to look at you as you took the seat next to him. However you knew exactly what to do to coax him out of his bad mood. Gently you cupped his face in your palms and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, pulled back for a second, then pressed a longer lingering one to his willing mouth.

“There,” you assured him nuzzling your nose against his affectionately before pulling back, “The kiss goodbye I owed you from this morning, and a kiss to say I’m sorry.”

“Ya forgot to give me a kiss hello,” he pointed out, though you could see the corners of his lips pull upwards as you coaxed him out of his mood.

You grinned and leaned forward to press another kiss to his lips, enjoying the feel and the warmth of it as he cupped your face with one of his hands and held you close for a long moment both of you ignoring Osamu who was fake gagging in the background.

“But why didn’t ya text me?” Atsumu asked you when you parted again, his forehead resting on yours as he peered at you with anxious honey brown eyes, “I thought ya were mad at me.”

“My phone is dead,” you told him, with an affectionate huff, pulling it from your pocket and handing it over, “I must’ve forgotten to charge it last night.”

“Oh,” he told you, playing with the power button and refusing to meet your eyes clearly a little embarrassed at his overreaction, though he did quietly clarify, “So yer not mad?”

“I don’t think I have anything to be mad about,” you admitted, then teased, “Unless you’ve done something I should know about…?”

“No!” he protested immediately hands waving wildly in front of him as he declared his innocence looking entirely too alarmed, “I haven’t done anythin’ I swear!”

“I believe you,” you told him with an amused giggle, grabbing one of his flailing hands and interlacing your fingers together.

“Ya shouldn’t,” Osamu interjected with a huff, “If he hasn’t done somethin’ stupid recently I’ll eat my hat, and if he really hasn’t then he’s goin’ to be due fer it in the near future.”

“I’m not that bad,” Atsumu hissed at his twin, thoroughly offended.

“Ya are,” Osamu jeered, though it was more on the teasing end of things, “Otherwise ya wouldn’t have come in here and moped around, floppin’ all over my counter like an ugly fish and makin’ a nuisance of yerself because ya thought yer girl was mad at ya.”

“How can ya call me any sort of ugly when we have the same face!” Atsumu complained, exasperated. The argument was one you’d heard a thousand times now from both twins and somehow it never ceased to amuse you.

“It’s cuz I ain’t a whiney baby like you,” Osamu huffed.

“Princess, tell him I ain’t a whiney baby,” Atsumu whined, completely proving Osamu’s point and making you giggle helplessly as he pouted at you, informing you, “Yer my girlfriend, yer supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side,” you assured him, leaning forward to press a kiss to his pouting lips unable to help yourself, even as you told him, “But you are a bit of a brat Tsumu.”

“A what?” Atsumu asked, thrown by your use of English. He’d gotten better at speaking it a bit, picking up words here and there, though he did get thrown off sometimes when you threw out random words.

“A BrAtsumu?” Osamu repeated, his head cocked to the side in utter confusion.

You gaped at him for several seconds repeating the word over in your mind giggles beginning to spill from your mouth as both twins looked on with identical looks of confusion on their faces. The looks only made things worse and you began to howl with laughter, nearly falling out of your chair if not for Atsumu’s steadying hands.

“Brat – Tsumu, Bratsumu,” you managed to stutter out, wheezing as you tried to catch your breath, “It’s perfect, Osamu it’s perfect.”

“I don’t get it,” the onigiri chef informed you flatly, though you could see the corners of his lips curled upwards, amused at your amusement if nothing else.

“Brat means gaki,” you explained as you caught your breath, clutching Atsumu’s forearms for balance earning a snort of amusement from your boyfriend’s twin.

“Oy, oy, should ya really be callin’ yer boyfriend a brat,” Atsumu protested, though you could tell he wasn’t actually upset, just exasperated, “Especially when I just saved ya from either face plantin’ or crackin’ yer head open. What happens if I decide to drop ya huh?”

“Then I guess I’ll have to do this,” you told him lunging forward to wrap your arms around him instead to better brace yourself.

He caught you easily with a huff of amusement and cuddled you close pressing a tender kiss to your hair before he nuzzled his face into your neck with a warm chuckle as he asked, “So guess that means ya love me after all, even if ya are makin’ fun of me.”

“I always love you Tsumu,” you assured him affectionately, pulling back slightly so you could peer up into his eyes and hoping he could see how serious you were about this, “Even when you’re being a BrAtsumu.”

“Love ya too princess,” he told you fondly pressing a soft kiss to your hairline, “Gonna love ya fer ever, and m’sorry fer bein’ a pain today. Was just rough, cuz I thought ya were mad at me, an I woke up late, forgot my lunch, and didn’t do well in practice.”

“It’s okay Tsumu,” you assured him tenderly, “You weren’t that bad, though I’d appreciate if in the future you talked to me before getting angry.”

“I will,” he assured you nuzzling close.

You sighed in utter contentment, enjoying the feel of his arms, though you knew you probably shouldn’t stay too long. You were in public after all.

“Would the two of ya knock it off with the lovey dovey crap already, yer goin’ to scare away my customers,” sure enough, Osamu interrupted, though he looked more fond than annoyed, even if he was clearly giving it a go, “An where’s my apology huh? It was my counter ya were attemptin’ to merge with.”

“Thanks for putting up with us Osamu,” you told him sincerely, cutting in before your boyfriend could, meaning every word. The man really did put up with a lot at times and you really were grateful for it.

“Yeah well, the least I can do fer ya fer puttin’ up with my lump of a twin,” Osamu told you clearly a little embarrassed as he pulled off his cap and ruffled his hair, heaving a sigh, “Yer really good fer him ya know, too good if ya ask me, but thanks fer takin’ care of the scrub.”

“It’s my pleasure,” you told him honestly, “He may be a scrub, but he’s my scrub and I really do love him you know.”

“I know,” Osamu told you with a fond smile, “Of all people I’m glad it’s you that’s goin’ ta be my future sister-in-law.”

“Oy, what did I tell the two of ya about talkin’ like I ain’t here,” Atsumu protested, though there was a slightly wavering edge to his voice that told you he didn’t actually mind all that much, the pink flush on his cheeks letting you see how touched he was, even as he rushed to change the subject, “Besides we’re here fer food Samu so why aren’t ya feedin’ us?”

“Fine, fine,” Osamu told him, rolling his eyes and clearly deciding to concede just this once, “What do ya want ya big glutton.”

As the twins bickered a bit you couldn’t help but smile, enjoying the warmth of Atsumu’s arm around your waist and the way you could clearly see how both twins kept an eye on your comfort even as they argued, always sure to include you in the conversation and to let you know you were free to interject at any time.

Osamu had always made sure you felt like you were part of the family, and Atsumu, though he could be a brat at times, but he was your brat and he doted on you like nothing else. Looking at them you could almost see the future, with you solidly at Atsumu’s side coming to visit Osamu in his shop so you could all catch up together, hopefully someday with a spouse for Osamu too if he wanted one, and children that would argue the same way the twins did causing mayhem wherever they went.

It was a lovely dream for the future, one you hoped with all your heart would become reality, but for now you were content to simply enjoy the moment savoring every second of being loved by the biggest brat you knew.

Like this? Please feel free to drop in to my ask box and make requests! Just make sure to read the rules first!

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[h2bakugou]

Can I get some Baku boi fluff?

a/n: yess! i got my close friend into my hero yesterday and he’s crackin me up. we have a love for bakugou and it’s hilarious. we have a thing for blondes lmao. 

summary: on the long bus ride for class 1-a’s new field trip, you and bakugou decide to sit together.

key: (y/n) - your name / (f/n) - first name / (l/n) - last name / (e/c) - eye color / (h/c) - hair color / (y/q) - your quirk

warnings: swearing, fluff

wordcount: 1k

»»————-　★　————-««

»»————-　★　————-««

“Alright did everyone use the bathroom? The next stop isn’t for four hours so if you’ve got to go, go now.” Mr. Aizawa stood at the front of the bus, looking out at the rest of your classmates.

You’d just finished up in the restroom and jumped on the bus, excited to go on a trip. You were worried there would be another incident, but you had trust in the school, and you prayed it’d be a safe, non-villain involved stress-free trip.

But you assumed you had to get to the place before anything could happen.

You noticed a few open spots where you could sit, but you were having trouble. Did you sit with Kaminari? He could charge your phone but you didn’t want to use him as a human power bank.

Mineta was...occupied with other things.

You could sit with Momo, maybe she could make you a pillow. You shook your head, you just needed to sit with someone who wasn’t going to cause any trouble. 

But soon a few more of your classmates came and took seats, leaving one open beside Bakugou.

You took your chances and sat down beside him. Bakugou turned his head and looked at you.

“Why didn’t you come and sit with me to begin with, idiot?” Bakugou said quietly, his hand sneaking into yours.

“We’re still keeping this on the down-low, aren’t we?” You said softly, readjusting how you were sitting in your seat. 

You were sat toward the back of the bus, in a bench-like seat with no dividers in the middle. You figured you could stretch out and lay down and fit okay. 

“They’re gonna find out eventually.” Bakugou rested his head on his hand, looking out the window.

Eventually, everyone was on the bus and we began to move. You weren’t ready for the long ride, but you were happy to be able to ride with Bakugou.

The first hour or so you spent talking quietly to Bakugou, your hand intertwined with his. 

“It’s odd to see them sitting together.” Mina whispered to Asui. Asui nodded and nudged Deku who sat in front of them.

“Are Bakugou and (y/n) friends?” Mina asked. Deku turned and looked back at you and Bakugou. He felt a blush rise to his cheeks as he examined the two of you. 

“They’re holding hands.” Deku said quietly. Mina’s eyes widened and she squealed quietly.

“You don’t think they’re-”

“Dating?!” Mina said softly, a large grin on her face.

“They might be. Bakugou and (y/n) seem to hang out a lot.” Jirou added in, Momo nodded from beside her.

Bakugou grumbled and turned his head to look at the bus. He watched five heads quickly turn back around. He rolled his eyes and looked at you.

You had one earbud in and were watching a movie on your phone. It was getting dark outside already.

You were traveling overnight which was odd, but since it was a long trip, it made sense.

You were honestly getting pretty tired.

“Lay down idiot.” Bakugou wrapped his arm over your shoulder and pulled you into him.

“Someone’s gonna see.” You said quietly, rubbing your eye with your free hand. Bakugou groaned and watched as the lights on the bus dimmed down.

“Who cares. We’ve been together for a few months now.” Bakugou stated, turning and stretching out in the seat, having you lay in between his legs, your back resting against his chest.

“I guess. Besides, I don’t care if they find out, at least I’ll be sleeping comfy.” You turn your phone off and slip it into the pocket of the chair and close your eyes, resting on Bakugou.

He wrapped his arms around you, his thumbs rubbing the tops of your arms. You nuzzled into him. Bakugou pressed a kiss to the top of your head and closed his eyes.

He leaned against the wall of the bus.

He could feel the group of people staring at him. He opened one eye and caught Deku staring at him.

Bakugou sent a glare toward him and he immediately turned back around.

- - -

It had only been a few hours and you were beginning to get cold.

“Katsuki?” You mumbled quietly.

“Mhm?” Your boyfriend replied, opening an eye to look down at you.

“I’m cold.” You replied, snuggling back up into him, your head resting near his. Bakugou moved one of his arms and picked up his sweater from the bag he had brought with him on the bus.

“Here, put this on.” Bakugou handed you the sweater and you quickly slid it on, smiling at the faint scent of caramel and smoke. You cuddled back into Bakugou, a faint blush on your cheeks.

“You always look good in my clothes.” Bakugou mumbled. You lifted your head and looked at him.

He pressed his lips to yours and you could feel a thousand fireworks set off inside you. It wasn’t your first kiss with Bakugou, but every time you kissed, it felt better than the last.

This kiss was exactly that. Setting off new emotions inside of you, releasing any tension or stress you had, this kiss was magical.

It was heavenly. Bakugou was usually a rough kisser, but this kiss was gentle, and soft. Everything you needed in the moment.

“Did you get it?” Kaminari whispered. Mina nodded and looked at the photo on her phone screen.

“Send it!” Kaminari ushered Mina. Mina accidentally selected the group chat with everyone, including you and Bakugou.

A few phones went off, including Bakugou’s.

Bakugou pulled away and grabbed his phone. He opened the message and felt his cheeks burn red.

“Raccoon eyes!” Bakugou went to get up but you stopped him.

“It’s fine.” You said softly, pulling him back down. You pressed your lips to his for a short kiss.

“We’ll talk to them in the morning. Let’s get some sleep.” You said closing your eyes again. Bakugou nodded and glared at Mina and Kaminari before closing his eyes and trying to go back to sleep.

“I love you.” You said almost silently.

“I love you too.”

»»————-　★　————-««

masterlist

[therkalexander]

Wait you have ADHD and were able to write 3 novels. How?? I know it's different for everyone and that there are people who use it to fuel their creativity but I struggle a lot. I have all these ideas but they're scattered in my brain and I never put it down on paper. Also my attention is always taken up by the new shiny thing I come across, so I don't know how to discipline myself.

I… honestly have no idea. For all the time I’ve spent writing three books I’ve spent an equal amount of time fucking off, wasting time on social media, or becoming hyper fixated on something else. The rest was me being too overstimulated or exhausted OR BOTH AT ONCE to actually write.

My usual hours for writing pre-baby were from 10pm to 2am because that was the point at which, I guess, the distraction-prone parts of my brain were quiet enough to concentrate and the research and writing I did was actually helped along by my neurodiverse brain’s ability to dual process and connect information and words in ways I don’t think I would have otherwise been able to do.

After having a baby, it became impossible to sit down and write at midnight. By the time midnight rolled around I was completely exhausted. I wrote maybe two chapters of The Good Counselor in those first two years of being a mother.

I had to re-learn how to write in whatever time and space became available. Time in the morning? Check. Afternoon free? Check. Kid in bed? It’s 8 o’clock; better get crackin’.

Another very useful thing for me, even before the baby, was to plan. To have a roadmap. There are ‘planners’ and ‘pantsers’ in writerworld, and I am staunchly on hashtag Team Planner and the idea of flying by the seat of my pants through a story absolutely terrifies me.

And for me that planning means outsourcing my brain’s organization to plot synopses, chapter breakdowns, files full of references, SketchUp files of commonly referenced settings, etc., etc.

So when the new shiny thing inevitably DOES come across my field of vision, I can indulge in it and then go right back to where I was. It’s learned. And that learning took trial and error and time.

It’s one of those things where if you looked at my oftentimes overly meticulous digital organization you’d never guess I had ADHD. Then you’d see the piles of unfolded laundry on my floor and go ‘oh. That makes sense’.

[raphaellalacognizi]

so remember last july when i thought to myself, "haha, wouldn't it be cool if i made a mechsona?"

well, turns out a year of living with that thought in the back of your head will only get you 4,977 nearly 5,000 words of backstory and a spotify playlist, so, solid 7/10 experience

(okay look, Day 2 of the Mechtober prompts was the most coincidentally perfect overlap of "Mechsona" and "Blood," so I finally decided to stop being a coward and actually let people who aren't my classmates see this. ALSO, quick warnings for violence and death, if you're a bit squeamish about those sorts of things. So, with that said, the story itself...)

Introducing!

La Vie en Rouge

Dear Reader:

In this strange world, so bright and so bold

You may, somehow, find a Tale Yet Untold

You could read one now, if you so choose

This Tale- of the Blood-Red Dancing Shoes.

It had started like any other day. And not even an interesting kind of ���any other day,” like a Saturday, which always promises adventure, or a Thursday, which has a tendency towards mystery. No, this was a Tuesday kind of “any other day,” which merely meant inescapable boredom.

At the very least, that’s how it started.

However, as Adeline Troffea was leaving her house, she heard the trumpets that signaled Lord Vitus’ arrival. She groaned. A visit from Vitus- sorry, His Most Esteemed Lord Vitus, she snorted as she mentally corrected herself- never went well. He was a deeply unpleasant person to be around, as he looked like a spoiled child and acted twice as bad. Additionally, he was usually about two seconds away from screaming nonsensically at any townsfolk who bothered him, like some sort of Saturday-morning-cartoon villain. Sometimes Adeline was sure he must be doing it on purpose- his ridiculous moustache (twirled oh-so-carefully at the ends), his pale skin and delicate hands (that had clearly never done anything harder than gesture dramatically from the shade provided by his servants), the too-fine crowns and jewels and capes his draped himself in (who even needed more than one crown? Isn’t that too excessive, even for Vitus?)- he couldn’t be for real, right?

Reader, Lord Vitus would prove himself to be more real than Adeline could imagine before this story’s end. But we’ll get to that in time.

Hopefully, Adeline thought to herself, walking down the well-trodden path into town, I can be in and out of the market before Vitus takes a single dainty step out of his carriage. Fabien, her best friend (practically an older brother, really) as well as the town’s shoemaker, had promised her something special today- an early birthday present, he had called it the day before, as the birthday in question was “an entire week and a day away” and he didn’t know if his “poor, old heart” would hold out that long.

“Fabien, you’re barely 30!” she had protested, shaking her head.

“I know, Addie, I’m ancient!” he’d moaned, before adopting the affectation of what was probably supposed to sound like an old man, but instead sounded more like a wheezing duck. “I can feel my brittle bones crackin’. They ain’t what they used to be, I tell ya. You know, when I was just a boy, I had to walk to school every day? Uphill! In the snow!”

“Both ways!” Adeline joined in before they both dissolved into laughter.

So now, here she was, in front of Fabien’s shop, feet tapping on the ground in a sort of nervous excitement. Gingerly, she opened the door.

“Hello?” she called. The response came from somewhere in the back of the shop.

“Ah, Addie! What a surprise! What sort of thing-that-I-totally-don’t-know-about brings you here today?”

She rolled her eyes as she began to make her way through the shelves and around the cobbling stations to the back of the building. “You know, it’s a funny story actually, but my best friend- well, former best friend, I should say-” she was cut off by a sharp laugh as she turned the next corner and came face to face with Fabien, holding a beautiful red box.

“‘Former best friend?!’ Is that any way to treat someone who’s gotten you such a spectacular present?” he asked, schooling his face into an over exaggerated pout.

“It is if they’re going to be stupidabout it,” she replied, yanking the present from his hands with ease. Fabien made a wounded sound, and Adeline stuck her tongue out in response before opening the lid of the box.

Inside was the most beautiful pair of tap shoes Adeline had ever seen. The leather they were made of was white as freshly fallen snow, and the perfect balance between flexible and sturdy. She turned them over in her hand and gasped, brushing her finger over the engravings on the metal taps.

“Roses,” Fabien smiled softly, “because I know they’re your favorite.”

Overwhelmed, Adeline could only set the shoes aside for a moment and tackle Fabien in a hug. And for that one shining moment, everything was perfect.

“Oh, I simply must have these!” a haughty voice sang out behind Adeline, who jumped at the sudden noise. Standing there was none other than Lord Vitus himself, bedecked in his finest golden cape, and holding- oh no, absolutely not. Before she could even register her own movements, she yanked her shoes back.

“No, you simply mustn’t have these, actually,” she quipped in that same snooty tone, stuffing the shoes back in the box, before suddenly realizing what exactly she had done. Refusing the Lord? Taking things right out of his hands? Mocking him to his face? How could she possibly get out of this?

Clearly, there was only one answer.

She bolted.

She heard Vitus’ petulant cry of “After her!” ring out from behind, and then the heavy sound of soldiers’ footsteps, but she dared not look back. Instead, she ran harder, her mind racing almost as fast as her feet. There had to be someplace to hide. She turned a corner, onto a smaller side street. She couldn’t go home, it was too far away.She burst out onto another street before turning abruptly, one hand wrapping around a streetlamp to keep her momentum as she flew back where she’d just come from, the soldiers falling over themselves in their confused haste. But there were so many soldiers, and there was no way she could outrun them forever.

She ducked into a dark alley for a moment, throwing herself behind a couple of barrels just as the men appeared at the mouth of the alley. She held her breath as they hurried past her, trying not to catch their attention with her heaving gasps. And this is why I’m a dancer, not a runner, she thought, half delirious on a cocktail of exhaustion and adrenaline. Could it have been minutes? Hours? All the streets had blended together long ago, and her muscles ached with exertion. Unintentionally, she closed her eyes, just for a moment.

A strong hand clamped down on her shoulder and Adeline’s blood turned to ice in her veins as her eyes shot open again. Her despairing cry was cut short as another hand covered her mouth. She shook her head wildly, terror taking over, before she caught the gaze of her captor.

Fabien.

Adeline felt her entire body sink back in relief with his appearance. Slowly and ever-so-softly, Fabien removed his hand from her mouth, making a shushing motion before Adeline could even open her mouth to ask what was going on. He carefully undid the buttons of his cloak, taking if off of himself and wrapping it around Adeline. It dangled loosely from her small frame, making her look even smaller. A disguise, she noted distantly, hiding in plain sight. Once he’d secured it around her shoulders, Fabien began to explain.

“Everyone’s pretty proud of you, you know, standing up to Vitus like that. I know you’ve always been a bit of a wildcard, but that was even better than expected. You should have seen his face when you ran, oh my-”

Adeline made a small noise of distress. She hadn’t been making a statement, she’d been making a mistake! It was all a big misunderstanding, and now she was going to be killed, or worse, and she hadn’t even had the chance to wear her beautiful birthday shoes, and-

Fabien shook her gently, murmuring comforts, and she took in a shuddering breath, focusing back on him.

“You’ve been brave enough today. Let me take a turn, okay?” he said softly, gesturing at the shoebox. Without waiting for a response, he grabbed it from her still shaking hands. In seconds, he had pried open the lid, taken the shoes out, and tucked them into the inside pockets of the cloak Adeline now wore, continuing to talk as he did so.

“The village has been giving Vitus the run-around all day, trying to keep him off your trail, and honestly, I’m not sure he’s noticed. That man is so far up his own ass that I genuinely think he can’t even comprehend the thought of people working against him.” Fabien smiled a bit as Adeline giggled weakly. “Just keep a low profile. We won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.”

For a moment, Adeline was so overcome with emotion that felt like her legs might give out underneath her. Instead, she threw herself forward and hugged him, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could.

“Thank you, so much. For everything.”

Fabien squeezed her in return.

“Nothing to thank me for, Addie.”

It was at this moment the sound of soldiers came rushing back, hurling them both back into reality. In a flash, Fabien pulled the cloak’s hood up, casting Adeline’s face in shadow. He gave her a little push towards the other end of the alley, nodding reassuringly. Adeline took a deep breath, steeling herself, before walking, confidently as she could, back out onto the crowded street.

There were soldiers everywhere, knocking on doors, stopping bystanders and asking them about Adeline’s whereabouts. A customer just coming out of the bakery- Monsieur LeClair, she noted- was having one such conversation… if one could call “a man taking obnoxiously large bites out of a muffin and then speaking with his mouth full, spraying bits of food directly into the soldiers’ faces” a conversation. As the soldiers hurriedly excused themselves, disgustedly wiping the muffin bits from their faces, Monsieur LeClair caught Adeline’s eye and winked. She smiled and bowed her head in return before scurrying off again. As she made her way to the town square, she passed at least a dozen or so variations on this conversation- townsfolk left and right making excuses, even outright lying to the soldiers, distracting them long enough for Adeline to slip away, towards the town square.

Vitus was exactly where she thought he would be- right in the middle of the town square, complaining loudly to anyone who would listen (and all those who wouldn’t). She leaned against the brick wall of the closest building, trying to make herself look as small and unassuming as possible. She bit her lip as she thought through possible escape scenarios, keeping Vitus in her peripheral vision, right up until-

“We found the shoemaker, Your Lordship, but no sign of the girl or the shoes.”

Adeline felt her heart stop as her head turned on autopilot. A crowd had gathered in the square, following three figures that Adeline loathed to recognize as Fabien and Lord Vitus’ men. One soldier shoved Fabien down roughly, while another threw the shoebox down with such force that it popped open, revealing its empty inside.

Vitus rolled his eyes at Fabien, looking bored out of his mind. “Where are they?” he sighed.

“Where are what, My Lord?” Fabien asked through gritted teeth.

At this, Vitus seemed to revert to an overgrown toddler.

“My shoes! They were so very pretty and I wanted them, but that little wretch stole them from me and ran off and I want them baaaack!”

Fabien, still on his knees, snorted.

Vitus blinked, clearly surprised. Suddenly, another laugh joined in, and another, and another, and in seconds the entire crowd was laughing at this grown man’s tantrum. Even Adeline found herself giggling, albeit shakily.

It was as though Vitus had only just now realized what kind of a predicament he was in. No one was going to give up the shoes, or the girl, and to make matters worse, they weren’t going to take him seriously either. He glanced nervously around the crowd for a moment before his lip curled and his nose scrunched up, as though he had just smelled something particularly unpleasant. Standing to his full height, he raised his voice.

“You have one week to hand over the shoes! If you do not, there will be, shall we say… severe consequences.” He turned around dramatically, which reignited the snickering, and quickly made his way back to his carriage processional.

As the carriages rattled away, Adeline was struck by an idea. It was a bad idea, she knew, and probably too risky, but she had already defied the odds once today, and with the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, she felt unstoppable. She nimbly climbed to the roof of the nearest building to pay her respects, so to speak, waving in the direction of Vitus’ window. She ripped off her hood dramatically, snorting when Vitus’ face contorted in rage. And as her heart sang with love for her town and her people, her feet were helpless to dance along for all the world to see. From her perch on the roof, she watched the other townsfolk join her in celebration, dancing in their own little ways. Madame Beaumont lifted her son Jean into the air, spinning him around as he giggled. Michel Rousseau was doing a little shoulder shimmy. Even Old Lady Coralie was dancing a little two-step. Adeline beamed at them all before turning toward Fabien. Several people were still gathered around him, making sure he wasn’t too hurt, and Adeline almost climbed right back down to join them. But, as though he could sense her worry, Fabien looked up suddenly at met her eyes. He smiled at her before winking conspiratorially. Relief flooded through her as she winked back- a sign that everything was going to be okay, and one she believed wholeheartedly.

Just before she climbed back down to go home, she chanced a glance back at Vitus’ carriage. For a second Vitus met her eye, his glare an ice cold promise of revenge. Adeline shivered under the threat, before gathering herself just enough to make a rude gesture back at him. The distressed shriek that followed was music to her ears.

That pompous man-child had it coming anyway, Adeline thought, and resolved to put the matter out of her mind. Of course, Reader, it wasn’t so simple as that, but let it not be said that she didn’t try her best to hide her misgivings from everyone, even herself.

After what was probably too many hugs goodbye, even for her, Adeline finally made her way back home with her new shoes. The moment she closed her door, she slumped against it and slid down to the floor, exhausted and terrified. Her eyes stung with unshed tears as she recalled the look in Vitus’ eyes as he took his leave. She was no fighter! She had no money, no strength, no prospects- no hope. How could she possibly try to stand up to the army Vitus would surely bring back with him? And she couldn’t- wouldn’t- put her people in danger like this, not after they’d already done so much for her. That’s it, she thought, rubbing her eyes, she would go right back to the village and work something out with everyone else, something to keep everyone safe and out of harm’s way before Vitus could return.

But as she opened her eyes again, her gaze fell upon the shoe box, lying on the floor beside her. The shoes themselves had tumbled out from her little outburst, and they almost seemed to be calling to her, begging her to at least try them on, to dance in them. And after so much trouble, how could she possibly refuse?

The shoes were a perfect fit- of course they were, they were literally made for her, she thought as she snickered a little under her breath. Watching herself carefully in the mirror, she raised her right foot ever so slightly before kicking it forward in a test shuffle. She smiled. The sound of metal against the waxed wood floor was perfection. Unable to help herself, she hummed a little tune, matching each note with another step- a cramp roll here, a paradiddle there, a set of triple time steps- she was in her element as she lost herself to the dance.

Dancing in the shoes filled her with such joy that she really could almost forget about the whole thing with Vitus. Adeline knew he wouldn’t take this lying down, and with his power and resources- she knew she had to be prepared. First thing in the morning, I promise I’ll figure out a plan, she reasoned. It’s not as though he could even attack tonight anyway.

So she danced and danced and danced, until the day finally caught up with her, and she quite abruptly fell asleep, not even bothering to take off her new shoes.

That night, Adeline had the strangest dream. She- no, the whole town, was dancing to song unlike any she’d heard before. It almost… hurt, in a way, to listen to, and yet she was sure it was the most beautiful melody she had ever heard. It felt as though it had wormed its way into her soul, her very existence, and intertwined itself so deeply that it might never leave. For a moment, Adeline felt fear, the likes of which she’d never known. She tried to wake herself up, to scream for to someone to help her, to do something, anything to stop this, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop-

And then Calm washed over her completely, every other thought and sensation lost to the ocean of the strange melody as it lulled her back to sleep.

When she opened her eyes the next morning, it was to find that the song had followed her into the waking world. She knew something was wrong, but as she tried to figure it out, every thought was just out of reach. She stumbled out of her room, towards the front door, but her limbs felt almost disconnected from her, almost as if they were being of their own. She slammed face-first into the door, and, for a split second, the ringing of her ears overpowered the music enough to. I need… help, right, that was it, I need help because of…

Because of……

The music, the music, the music- it consumed her every thought. Every step and every breath taken in time with that exquisite, unending song. Every note whispered sweet nothings in her ear, asking, pleading, begging her to join them and become beautiful too, until she was helpless to resist any longer. Until finally, she began to dance.

And dance, dear Reader, she did.

She found herself completely at the mercy of the music as it maneuvered her around like a marionette. She was only vaguely aware that she had somehow made it to the town square, and that several of her concerned neighbors were trying to talk to her, but nothing could break through the haze of the music.

As the day went on and on, passersby occasionally stopped to try to rouse her from her state, all to no avail. It seemed there was no way to reach her, and as night fell, they stopped trying. The light of the moons illuminated her as she danced, and were it not for the sound of the metal in her shoes they might have assumed her some dark spirit. Perhaps some still did. But the fact remains that all the townsfolk, save one, eventually found their way to sleep, secure in their ignorance of the events to come.

The next morning, as the suns rose over the horizon, the people of Strasbourg woke to the sight of not one, but two figures dancing in the square. By breakfast, it had been made a dozen. By lunch, it was nearly half the town. And by 8:46 pm, on the dot, all 398 residents of Strasbourg had found themselves unwilling victims of the dance.

Reader, there are many things I wish I could tell you.

I wish I could tell you that the dancing stopped just as strangely and suddenly as it began, and it became a scary story told for many generations. Or else, I wish I could tell you that the townsfolk found a way to weaponize their dancing and rose up against Lord Vitus, and discovered the cause of their dance- a machine of Vitus’ cruel creation, designed to transmit an almost imperceptible signal into the minds of those who heard it and drive them to madness. Picture it now, Reader: Vitus, stroking a gloved hand down the side of the machine as its whistles blew and the steam that rose from the spouts shrieked, the sound of his dastardly laughter barely audible over the chaos, until it was suddenly cut short by the doors to the hall as they opened with a BANG, and Vitus would finally come face to face with the consequences of his actions.

But more than all that, I wish I could tell you Adeline never remembered what happened as she danced. That for the seven days and seven nights that she danced in the town square, without food, without water, without rest, she was never aware of the fact that everyone she had ever known lay dead or dying at her feet.

None of these things are true, of course. The dance continued, the machine was not destroyed, and as the days passed Adeline slowly became more and more conscious. She watched, helpless, as all around her, her friends, her family, fell to the ground to dance no more. She yelled, screamed, pleaded to anyone who would listen, to anyone who could help- and the only response she got was the answering cries of her village, getting smaller and smaller.

By the sixth day of the village’s dance, there was only one other person still dancing beside her. It was Fabien, because of course it was Fabien- she didn’t know if this was supposed to be a blessing or a curse, though she was leaning heavily towards the latter. His steps had been slowing and his wheezing had increased exponentially in the past few hours, and Adeline knew what was coming, even if she couldn’t bear to say it aloud. Fabien, on the other hand, had no such qualms.

“I did warn you,” he rasped, after a coughing fit had nearly sent Adeline into a heart attack of her own, “That I wouldn’t make it to your birthday. My heart is just so-”

“God, shut up, please, for once in your life just shut up!” She screamed, her voice breaking. Her outburst seemed to shock him, and she turned away before she could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She took a shuddering breath before barreling on.

“Fabien, this is all my fault, I’m so sorry, I should have-” he made a sharp noise and she cut herself off, choking back a sob.

“Don’t you dare think, for even a moment, that this is your fault,” he whispered, sounding more serious than she had ever heard him. “We all made our own decisions, you and me and everyone else. This is not on you, even a little bit. It was my choice, and I would choose it in a million lifetimes, okay? I just-” Fabien dropped to his knees, gasping, legs shaking almost imperceptibly, and Adeline felt her heart shatter.

“Addie, I’m so sorry,” his every word sounding like it had been ripped from his throat, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t keep my promise.”

And with that, he, too, was gone, and Adeline’s last remaining hope had died with him.

Oh Reader, what could she do but cry? So she cried. She cried for Fabien, for Monsieur LeClair, for Madame Beaumont, for Michel Rousseau, for Old Lady Coralie, for every lost soul of Strasbourg, until only one remained- and only then did she cry for herself, dancing alone once more.

The tears still streamed down her face when Lord Vitus returned with only a small squadron the next day, a full week after Adeline’s dance had begun. Towering over them from atop his horse, Vitus called out to his men.

“Oh ho, what have we here? An entire village, destroyed by some sort of plague, it seems. What a tragic end… But look! It seems one still suffers. Let us put the poor thing out of its misery, shall we?”

The largest of their number stepped forward, an axe readied in his hands. An executioner, Adeline realized tiredly. He made his way towards her, gingerly maneuvering around the corpses littering the town square, and Adeline wished she still had the strength to huff out a laugh. To show respect for the dead, on the path to kill another? How utterly ridiculous! Without a sound, the executioner raised his axe above his head, and Adeline closed her eyes, prepared to meet her end.

“Wait!” Vitus’ whining cut through the air. “Bring her to me first! She has something of mine that I want back.”

The executioner shrugged, before lunging towards the unsuspecting Adeline and hefting her over his shoulder with a grunt. She struggled against him, as much as one can struggle with a body that refuses to stop dancing, but it made no difference- he was simply too strong. Within moments, she was set down before Lord Vitus.

“The shoes,” he demanded. “Hand them over.”

“Are you kidding me? All of this for some shoes?” Adeline whispered hoarsely. “Hundreds of people, an entire town, dead, because you couldn’t stand the thought of someone else wearing these stupid fucking shoes?”

Vitus sneered at her. “On the contrary- I’m killing you because of the ‘stupid fucking shoes,’ as you’ve so crassly called them. Everyone else was… shall we say, collateral damage.”

Adeline’s breath caught in her throat. Her village, her friends, her family- they weren’t even some kind of fucked-up punishment for her, to drive her mad with grief and guilt. They were just “collateral damage,” not even worth an afterthought in the mind of their murderer. Her rage boiled inside of her, and had Adeline been able, she would have killed the man herself just then.

“Oh no, look!” Vitus sounded so genuinely miserable that for a moment Adeline was taken aback. “You’ve gone and ruined them!”

She glanced down as Vitus gestured towards her shoes and saw it was indeed true. The once-pristine white was long gone; now the leather was completely stained through by her own blood.

Reader, do you know what she did then? Why, she did the only thing she could.

She laughed, Reader. She laughed for the first time in what felt like a lifetime, all her frustration and sorrow and fear and anger and fatigue welling up from within her as she faced this utterly ridiculous man. She laughed. And as Vitus’ disappointment turned to shock, then to an angry pout, she laughed even harder. Even the dance, for a moment, seemed to laugh with her, each shuffle taking on the tone of ha-ha, ha-ha.

Finally, Vitus had had enough. He struck her, clean across the face, and for a moment, the laughter ceased as she gasped in pain.

“You know, I think they look better this way,” she drawled after catching her breath. “The red really brings out my eyes.”

Lord Vitus, clearly having expected Adeline to fall to her knees and grovel for forgiveness (fat chance, she thought, even if I hadn’t been cursed), puffed up like a particularly unpleasant frog as he spluttered through some sort of retort. Even his stupid moustache seemed to puff up with him, Adeline noticed in tired amusement, as he finally settled on, “W-W-Well, I never!”

He turned away from her sharply and caught the eye of the executioner. Adeline’s stomach dropped as Vitus’ face returned to that arrogant smile. He looked back at her, malice gleaming in his eyes, and addressed her once more.

“I do soapologize, it seems that I have forgotten myself for a moment. I am, however, fully prepared to make it up to you. You see, I do, in fact, possess the antidote to your little ‘Dancing Plague,’ as it were, and I would be delighted to offer you the cure.”

Adeline couldn’t see it, but as she felt movement at her back, she knew what was about to happen. In one final act of defiance, she spat at Vitus, who squealed as he tried, and failed, to avoid it. He huffed once more as she laughed at him, before screeching his final command.

“A PERMANENT CURE!”

And with that, Adeline felt pain explode in her legs, near blinding in its intensity. For a moment, a scream overpowered the music, and it took a moment longer to realize the scream was her own. She blinked though unnoticed tears to look up -when had she fallen- at Vitus, but she couldn’t quite focus on him -or anything else. She felt so -tired sick- dizzy, and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and –die- rest. But the pain in her legs screamed for her attention, and as she dragged herself up, she realized why.

At its simplest, a cure is just a way to remove a problem. It doesn’t need to be as advanced as a vaccine, or as complicated as the witches’ remedies of old. In fact, Lord Vitus’ antidote was both exceedingly simple and remarkably effective.

The permanent cure for the Dancing Plague? Simply remove the problem.

Namely, the legs.

How strange, she thought, in that last moment of lucidity, as she stared at the legs- her legs- lying on the ground a few feet away. I almost expected them to keep dancing.

And with that, she fell, lifeless, to the ground.

But Reader- she did not die.

[baepop]

J’aime

You’re the newest hire at a local café and head barista Jeon Jungkook takes you under his wing.

Word Count: 16.2k

Pairing: You x Jungkook

Genre: Slight Fluff, Smut, Angst

A/N:  What’s next? maybe a Taehyung fic to quench my secret thirst?

Part 2 | Part 3

Working at J’aime Café had taught you a valuable lesson: Where there’s high risk, there’s high reward, and in the absence of said reward, there would be unbelievable loss too.

It all started when you finally got around to checking your voicemails one March afternoon and you realized the job you applied to months ago had finally reached out to you for an interview. Since you weren’t always the best at keeping track of these things, and noticing the voicemail was now a week old, you quickly paused your show and checked the time. Two o’ clock, still during business hours.

The phone rang twice before a courteous voice responded to your call. “J’aime Café, how can I help you?”

“Yes, hello! My name is Y/N and I applied for the barista position. The manager reached out to me for an interview last week. I was wondering if it was possible to come by sometime soon for an interview?” You held your breath and crossed your fingers, hoping they wouldn’t turn you away because you were so late on responding.

“Ahh, Y/N! Yes of course, can you come by this afternoon? If not, then we can do your interview maybe… Wednesday morning?”

“Today’s perfect! Thank you so much!” You couldn’t hide your excitement and gratitude but made a mental note to be more professional in person.

The manager chuckled at your glee and ended the phone call with a simple “See you soon.”

The café was only a 15-minute walk away, so you weren’t in a rush to get ready. You spent the next half hour or so trying to decide what to wear. Dress for the job you want, not for the job you have. That’s what you’d always heard growing up, but if that was actually the case, you’d be walking over there dressed in a cop uniform. You sighed and placed your hands on your hips. What was that other piece of advice about job interviews? Oh yeah, dress as if you already work there so they can better picture you as an employee. Since the coffee shop was small, you had only ever seen three people working there total including the manager and they always had on jeans and knitted sweaters or some variation of that, so you ultimately decided to trade your pencil skirt for black jeans and your heels for boots. You kept your pretty pink blouse on though. Good first impressions are always important. If there was anything that worried you in these situations, it was being forgettable.

You checked your ponytail for any fly away hairs then headed off towards the café. As you walked past the park near your house, you rehearsed your replies to general interview questions. So why do you want to work here? I have plenty of experience in customer service and feel I could bring great things to the table as an employee here. Do you have experience handling money? Yes, yes, I do. I have worked with countless POS systems as well so I’m sure I can learn yours very quickly.

You were so busy interrogating yourself that you didn’t notice or thank the person holding the door open for you once you arrived at the coffee shop. You stood in the lobby, searching for the manager. When you realized you were accidentally standing in line, you rushed to get out of the way. You clutched your handbag with clammy hands as you observed your surroundings anxiously. It’s just an interview, most likely informal, given the setting. You got this. Don’t sweat it.

You’d never realized how busy it could get here, seeing the huge line of customers that had accumulated. When you looked behind the bar, you realized there was only one employee back there. You didn’t want to bother him inquiring about the manager, since they were already so busy, so you found a stool to sit on and wait patiently.

As you watched the cashier ring customers up, you were impressed by his cheery disposition and professionalism despite having so many drinks lined up and no barista. Thankfully for you and the cashier, only about 2 minutes had passed by before two employees came out of the back room. They seemed to be in a heated discussion, but upon closer look, it was more playful than anything. The one with earrings and hand tattoos was tying on his apron while smirking and nodding at the older one holding a clip board. In an incredible show of annoyance, the barista walked away mid conversation and began making all the drinks that were backed up, making sure to slam the doors and cups obnoxiously. However, he was able to do so many things at once that it was no time at all before he cleared the crowd of people waiting on their orders.

You were in such awe at the barista’s sheer talent that you almost forgot why you were there in the first place. It wasn’t until the man with the clip board stood in the way of your eyesight that you realized you had a mission. As you stared up at the stranger, you had to think for a second what it was that he had just asked you.

“Are you Y/N by any chance?”

“Oh uh, yeah! Hi, are you the manager?” You wiped your hand on your thigh and went in for a handshake.

“Yes, I am,” he shook your hand firmly, “Thank you for coming in so soon. As you can see, we really need some new employees around here!” The manager, whom you presumed to be Mr. Kim noted on his nametag, raised his voice towards the end of his sentence so that the barista could hear from behind the bar. Seeing the guy with tattoos chuckle at his boss’ cheeky behavior had a calming effect on you.

The interview went extremely well, so well that it only lasted 10 minutes before you got a job offer. You accepted it right away of course, considering there was only $3.79 in your bank account, so you showed up to the coffee shop first thing in the morning the very next day.

You were excited and confident yet nervous. You had worked plenty of jobs to put you at ease with customer interaction, but never at a coffee shop. You didn’t know the first thing about making specialty drinks or brewing coffee for that matter. You’d simply always been a tea person.

The manager asked you to come in once the café opened, so you were there just as the cashier was unlocking the front door. He held it open for you just as you entered and offered you a dazzling smile.

“Hey, you’re the new hire, right? My name’s Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi! You’re going to be shadowing me today.”

“Yes, hi,” you weren’t sure why you were blushing, maybe because he already knew who you were, “um where can I put my stuff?”

“Oh, we have cubbies in the back office. Just find an empty one then come meet me out here when you’re ready. Oh, and grab an apron and a hat while you’re back there.” You hurried to do exactly as he said, determined to do a good job on your first day. Everyone seemed so capable and diligent, you didn’t want to come off as a newbie at all.

You noticed the cubbies immediately as you stepped into the back. You put your sweater and satchel in one of the cubes next to one that housed a leather jacket and an iPhone. Since you saw another cube filled, you wondered if the handsome barista would be working today too. You forced yourself not to think about that for now, you didn’t want to be distracted on your first day. Once you found the extra aprons and hats, you headed to the front of the shop where customers had already begun ordering. You rushed to the cashier’s side to observe him as he took orders and wrung them into the touch screen accordingly. The same scenario played out from the day before: Customers began crowding the end of the bar, checking their watches impatiently and wondering where the hell their drinks were. You began getting nervous, hoping no one would complain to you. You had no idea what to say to them.

As if sensing your anxiety, Hobi finished wringing up the last customer in line before turning to you and saying, “Don’t worry, he always does this. Why? No idea, but Jungkook’ll be in any second now to make these. He has to anyway, because neither of us have been trained on making drinks!” Hobi laughed and patted you on the back before turning towards the crowd of people that had just walked in. You laughed along nervously, checking the door for the boy with the tattoos.

Thankfully, thirty seconds later, the infamous barista barged in through the door and b-lined it to the back to grab an apron. “Oh, shit! Here’s my phone! I thought I lost it! Thank god!” Jungkook yelled at no one in particular and you giggled at the theatrics that could be heard from the entire shop. On his way to the bar, he eyed you briefly but didn’t say anything, choosing instead to greet the regulars.

“Ahh, there he is! The resident rockstar is gracing us with his presence! We’re finally gonna get some coffee everyone!” An older man with grey hair and a hoarse voice bellowed out. Jungkook laughed and high fived him over the counter.

“Jerry! You old bastard, still haven’t croaked in your sleep, I see! Vanilla latte with three shots coming right up!” Jungkook began making everyone’s drinks with the same ease as you witnessed the day before. His banter with the older man seemed incredibly inappropriate, but clearly it was okay since his customer replied with booming laughter.

“Nope, not yet son! Still healthy as an ox.”

“Not if you keep having all this caffeine. But it’s not like I’d stop you. I’d miss your wise crackin’ around here.” Jungkook handed him his latte and the older gentleman took a sip.

“Don’t you worry about that, son, even if I did croak, I’d still come back and haunt your ass for making me some god-awful drinks!” Him and Jungkook laughed heartily at his jabs, even gaining chuckles from a few customers as well as from Hobi. “Alright, I’m heading out. See you kids tomorrow morning.” The older man waved at everyone including you and sauntered out of the door.

As you watched Jungkook make the rest of the drinks that were lined up, you noticed he interacted with each and every customer. None of them were as acquainted with him as Jerry was, but they remembered each other’s names at the very least.

You noticed the kind of morning regulars at the cafe were more of the same than anything else. Many of them dawned suits and work uniforms, most likely residents from the area stopping in on their way to work in the neighboring metropolis.

After 9 o’ clock, business severely died down. It was only then that Hobi was able to give you a tour of the café and answer questions you already had.

“Have you ever made coffee before?” Hobi inquired while slapping the top of the brewing machine.

“Uhh…to be honest, no I haven’t,” You noticed Jungkook ‘tsk’ with a side smirk as he wiped down the counter, no doubt listening in on Hobi training you, “I’m more of a tea kind of person.”

The older guy smiled, “That’s okay, it’s pretty easy to learn.” His patience with you made you happy.

“This,” he pointed to the pots with handles, “is where you put the grounded coffee into, then you press the ‘brew’ button, and the coffee begins dripping into these containers that keep the coffee hot. Some people don’t like the fancy shmancy drinks that hot shot over here serves and prefer regular cups of coffee. If you’re on the cash register, then it’ll be your responsibility to serve the regular coffee.” You nodded along with everything he was saying but couldn’t help your small smile at his jab to Jungkook. He moved you two further down and pointed to a contraption you’d never seen before. “This is for ‘pour-over’ coffees. Some people order special coffee blends that we don’t brew in the machine, so whenever that happens you just come over here and put the grounded up coffee in this cone, get some hot water, slowly pour it over the grinds and watch it drip into their cup. Just make sure you don’t forget about it or it’ll overflow.” Hobi mimed all the actions out as he explained the process. It was endearing. You tried your best to retain all the information. After explaining where to find the coffee filters and the cup sleeves from, he decided to give you a break from the information overload. “Here,” Hobi handed you a rag and a bottle of Windex, “why don’t you wipe down the windows outside and then come back and we’ll pick up where we left off.”

You gladly took the cleaning supplies from his hands and went out to the small tables that lined the front of the shop. The entire front was made of glass, so you could still see Hobi and Jungkook from where you were. As you sprayed down the windows, you noticed Jungkook leaning over the bar resting his cheek on his palm and shamelessly staring at you. You swallowed and tried to focus on the task, pretending you didn’t notice him even though the blush on your face told a different story. What’s his freaking deal? Given his demeanor with the employees here and the customers, you wondered if he would start picking on you too, or if he was just straight up flirting. Either way, you didn’t have time for either since you desperately needed to keep this job. When you entered the shop again, you noticed Hobi left to use the bathroom, so you took the chance to make polite conversation with Jungkook.

He had been watching you the entire time that you came in, but still you tried not to acknowledge it and look busy, which was hard because you didn’t know enough to pull that off. You fiddled with the coffee filters before clearing your throat to speak.

“So…your name’s Jungkook, right? How long have you been working here?” You looked over at him innocently. He was leaning on the counter propped up on one elbow with a smile playing at his lips.

After a second, he replied, “Couple months.”

“Oh…but you seem really good at what you do. Did you catch on quickly?”

“Not my first coffee shop, babe.” Your heart skipped a beat at the pet name. Jungkook was eyeing you, probably waiting for your next question, but you weren’t sure what to say. Yep, definitely shameless flirting.

“That’s because he got canned from his last gig for showing up late every day.” Hobi’s voice came from behind you and startled you, but you were grateful for it since you had the perfect exit to this charged moment between you and the bad boy barista.

Jungkook chuckled and responded, “What can I say, your mom just can’t get enough of me in the morning.” Hobi chucked an empty cup at Jungkook’s head but the younger boy ducked down slightly and dodged it.

With laughter in his voice, Hobi turned to you. “Come on, Y/N, let’s get you away from this terrible influence.” He stopped at an odd machine with a large hole at the top and a simple lever. “Okay, so now let’s go over how to grind up coffee beans…”

Their banter and the overall atmosphere was infectious, and it had you smiling from ear to ear for no particular reason.

With thirty minutes left to the end of your shift, the café got busy again. When you checked the time, you realized schools in the area had already let students out which would logically explain all the uniformed teenagers in line ordering drinks full of whipped cream and fruit. This time, Hobi let you stay back and fetch any coffee orders that had come in, but hardly any of them wanted regular coffee. During the few times that Hobi handed you empty cups to be filled, you’d hold the lever that allowed coffee to trickle into cups then glance over towards the end of the bar. The scene that unfolded before your eyes had you smiling as if enjoying a private joke. It seemed Jungkook was a hit amongst the local teenage girls. As he handed out fruity drink after fruity drink, they all giggled and thanked him personally. One even took her phone out innocently, but you could tell she was recording him, probably for her Snapchat.

The cafe filled up with students who were in no rush to go home, changing the sleepy ambience of the shop into a rowdy, hip one. Once Hobi wrung up the last person in line, he turned to the barista and said, “Don’t catch a case out here Jungkook. These girls have their hopes up.”

The three of you laughed in unison, but Jungkook looked over at you with a look of offense on his face. “Y/N! Don’t laugh at his jokes! And here I thought you were cool.”

You couldn’t help but giggle like one of the girls on the other side of the counter. “I guess you judged me too quickly, huh.” Hobi gave you a fist bump and chimed in about how you were his new favorite.

As you untied your apron in the backroom, you recapped the day in your head. You were overall satisfied with your first day at your new job. The job seemed easy enough to do, your coworkers were cool, and the customers were more bearable than at some of the other jobs you worked in the past. Sure, there were people here and there that seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, intent on giving service workers a hard time for things out of their control, but other than that it was a great day. And it absolutely had nothing to do with the head barista flirting with you. Not a single thing.

A whole month had passed before you got your first action on the bar. You had been feeling nervous and hesitant about starting that part of your training, especially seeing the sheer volume of people that order drinks during rush times. You feared you’d only be in Jungkook’s way if you tried to help, so you settled for observing as much as you could. Hobi had been getting his feet wet in that area this past month, so when you learned enough of the register, he’d leave you alone and help Jungkook with backed up drink orders.

Jungkook had taken the time to train Hobi while it was slow, especially since the older boy had already learned everything he could about cashiering. You, on the other hand, were content with wringing up customers and cleaning up after them. However, on this one particular day, Hobi called out of work and Mr. Kim had stepped out to run some errands for the day, so it was just you and Jungkook working at the cafe. Jin had felt confident enough to leave the shop in yours and Jungkook’s hands, and although you were fully capable, you still wished he hadn’t left. If you were being honest with yourself, Jungkook made you nervous. Cute guys made you nervous, and the ones that were both cute and shameless made your hands clammy. He was always respectful with you though, and kept his distance when Hobi wasn’t around, which is why you still hadn’t established a close relationship with Jungkook like you had with Hobi. You knew the older guy’s last name, where he was studying at, what shows he was watching at the moment, what his favorite super villain was; but when it came to Jungkook, he was simply still a beautiful mystery.

After the morning rush, when the café emptied and there was nothing left for the two of you to busy yourselves with, you started to feel awkward again. You weren’t sure how to talk to someone like Jungkook, who was always so blunt and boisterous. You, on the other hand, were reserved and polite. You weren’t exactly shy, you just weren’t sure how to navigate a friendship with him, but you wanted to learn so that there wouldn’t be so much silence between you two. Not to mention, his shameless staring, which persisted just as it did from day one, confounded you. He never ever tried to make a move on you, almost as if he was waiting for you to say something to him. If you were being honest, the staring flustered you because it was coming from such an attractive confident person. You were definitely attracted to him too, but you’d never start anything romantic with a coworker. Those kinds of things always got too messy, especially with such a small staff.

As you wiped down the windows outside, your eyes automatically found Jungkook’s on the other side. You smirked and waved at him, acknowledging him for once. He flashed a crooked smile at you and nodded a ‘sup’ at you in return. You couldn’t get the stupid smirk off your face as you finished cleaning the windows, realizing you probably looked like a happy idiot from inside the shop. You thought about what to say to him when you’d have to go back inside, ultimately deciding on just coming out and asking him what his deal was. So, when you put away the cleaning materials and met Jungkook’s lingering eyes, you cleared your throat and asked the burning month-old question at the tip of your tongue.

“So…what’s with the staring?” You put your hand on your hip but then second guessed yourself and placed it on the counter. Jungkook watched your movements carefully and chuckled, observing your false bravado.

“Easy, you’re very beautiful.” Jungkook watched your eyes widen before continuing, “I can restrain myself though, if it makes you uncomfortable.”

You smiled and looked at anywhere but at his face. “Ah…well, that answers that. I was just asking, thought maybe I had something on my face.”

Jungkook laughed, “No, nothing like that. Is that why you don’t really talk to me, because I make you uncomfortable?” Jungkook kept his gaze directly on your burning face which made you feel like you were on the hot seat.

“What do you mean? I totally talk to you.” You crossed your arms, giving up on willing your blushing cheeks to cool off.

“Psh, not like you do with Hobi. You guys are like best friends now. I’m third wheeling it over here.” Jungkook mirrored your arms crossed over your chest. You giggled and rolled your eyes, playing along to his false offense.

“Well, I don’t know… Hobi’s easy to talk to I guess.”

“And I’m not?” It was evident that Jungkook took pleasure in grilling you with that teasing smile playing at his lips, but you refused to backtrack now.

You took a minute to think before responding, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but not exactly. You’re really…how should I put this…out there. And I’m more of an…in there…kind of person.” After a beat, you both laughed at how much you weren’t making sense, you with embarrassment and him at how cute you seemed when you were flustered.

“Well maybe if you got to know me you wouldn’t be so shy.” Jungkook challenged you with a wicked glint in his eye and a sexy side smirk.

“Point taken. So, tell me about yourself then, Mr. Third Wheel.” Jungkook laughed at his new nickname.

“What do you want to know, babe?” You rolled your tongue around on the inside of your cheek and tried to think of a good question for him while ignoring the thrill that his pet name for you inflicted.

“Umm, okay, are you a student anywhere?”

This time it was Jungkook’s turn to roll his eyes at you. “BORING. Seriously, that’s what you want to know about me? Let me guess, your next question is about my favorite color.” His teasing flustered you further, proving your point about how hard it’d be to have a conversation with him.

“Okay fine! Have you ever killed anyone?” You looked Jungkook in the eye in an attempt to intimidate him.

“If I told you the truth then I’d have to kill you too, and I don’t really feel like doing that, so, pass.” You smirked at each other until it turned into a stare down, conceding after a while and rolling your eyes at him. Just then, you noticed a customer making their way to the register and just like that, your brief albeit silly conversation with Jungkook was effectively over for the time being.

Once you two were done wringing and serving the random group of people that interrupted your conversation, Jungkook immediately turned back to you and asked a follow up question. “So, what about you? Have you ever killed anyone?”

You smiled and responded, “Oh, tons! My favorite victims happen to be flirtatious coffee shop baristas. You know any?”

Jungkook’s laugh was disarming. The more you talked the more at ease you felt with him. He was definitely charming, which is probably why he got along with strangers so easily, and probably why he could get away with coming in late all the time. What he lacked in professionalism and punctuality he more than made up for in expertise and people skills.

Before you knew it, 3 o’clock rolled around and tons of school kids flooded the café. You were able to wring everyone in a timely manner, so there was nothing left to do but watch Jungkook make drinks. You felt bad at how slammed he seemed, so you asked if he needed any help, secretly hoping he’d say no.

Jungkook smiled down at the drinks he was making and responded, “Sure, if you’re feeling up for it!” Why don’t you come over here and top these bad boys with whipped cream then hand them out.”

You immediately grew nervous but rushed over to help. There was a different kind of pressure when it came to making drinks, you quickly realized. Not only did you have to worry about making everyone’s orders correctly, you had to do it quickly with no mistakes since all the customers would crowd the bar and watch your every move. Your hands slightly shook as you took hold of the whipped cream dispensers. The café made their own, so it wasn’t the cans of cool whip you were expecting.

Jungkook noticed your confusion and answered your thoughts. “All you have to do is shake it a bit, hold it upside down and swirl it on top of the ice so that it makes a nice cone shape. Go on.”

You did as he instructed, but when you squeezed the handle, the trapped air inside of the tin released into the cup and sent an ice cube sliding across the counter. Your face was blazing with embarrassment, but Jungkook didn’t seem to think it was embarrassing it at all. Instead, he offered you some more help.

“Here, do it like this.” Jungkook stood close behind you and took hold of your hand that held the contraption. He squeezed your hand so you could get an idea of how firm to hold it, tilting your hand completely upside down, and helped your finger pull the trigger. Slowly and smoothly, cream circled the top of the drink nicely. With his head almost resting on your shoulder and his mouth so close to your ear, his instructions sent shivers down your spine. “You have to turn it all the way and ease up on the trigger or else you’ll make a mess.” You nodded tightly, pretending to understand what he said only because your brain wouldn’t stop obsessing at the way his chest felt pressed up against your back and his hands on yours.

Your fingers shook while fitting a lid on the drink. When you finally handed it out to the customer, you caught a dirty look from the girl who it belonged to. You figured she was one of Jungkook’s many admirers. The thought had you alight with humor. As you continued to top the drinks and hand them out, you realized how easy it was to work with Jungkook. The hard part was trying to keep your cool.

“Look at you go! It’s almost as if you’re an actual barista!” You chuckled at Jungkook’s comment as you handed out the last drink.

“Oh, didn’t you hear? I’m your replacement.” Jungkook looked at you for a moment without saying anything.

“What?”

“Shy my ass. You’ve got a mouth on you. I like it.”

“I never said I was shy.”

“Touché.”

Just then, Jin came in through the front door.

“Thanks for holding down the fort you two. Y/N you can go, you did a great job today.” Jin rounded the corner of the stand and you handed him your apron.

“Same time tomorrow?” You looked at your manager who was busy checking the sales on the register.

“Yep, see you in the morning!” Jin answered you absentmindedly so you took that as your queue to go, but not before saying something to Jungkook.

“Do you think you can manage the bar without me?” You asked him cheekily as you removed your hat.

He smiled at you with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know how I’ll go on, but I think I might just barely make it.”

And just like that, you headed home with butterflies in your stomach for the first time in ages.

Three months into working at the café, a new horror movie came out, and since Hobi knew you were a horror fan, he invited you to come see it with himself and Jungkook.

“If we go tomorrow night, the tickets are half off for students. You in?” Hobi was busying himself counting the change in the drawer while you contemplated going out with them. They didn’t want to go until late, so you’d definitely lose out on sleep, which you weren’t a fan of, but you didn’t want to turn down your first invitation out from your coworkers. You knew Hobi and Jungkook regularly hung out together outside of work, and it made you feel a tad left out whenever they talked about things you weren’t a part of.

You also couldn’t lie and say you weren’t excited to hang out with Jungkook off the clock. Over the last two months, you two had taken any and all chances to flirt when left alone but you both knew how to behave yourselves while in the presence of Hobi and Mr.Kim. It sort of became like a game of who could make the other blush the most. You couldn’t lie and say you weren’t enjoying Jungkook’s dirty looks, because what had started off as glances turned into full blown body checks, winks, lip biting and cheeky facial expressions. You also couldn’t lie and say that you didn’t take extra time in the mornings to get ready for work for this exact reason.

You knew it was probably a bad idea, what started developing between you and Jungkook over the last couple months. You wouldn’t accept responsibility for how it started, but you did acknowledge that your shameless entertaining his advances wasn’t innocent in the slightest. You knew this was a slippery slope to go down, but it made your harmless fling all the more exciting.

That’s why when you looked at Jungkook after Hobi’s invitation and caught his subtle wink at you, you accepted right away. You hadn’t been out in so long, especially not with the opposite gender.

You pondered what to wear when you weren’t busy tending to customers. If you tried too hard and dressed in the sexiest outfit you could find, you might seem desperate. You might also give Hobi the wrong idea. If you wore something casual that you might wear to the coffee shop, then it might be embarrassing if they show up dressed to the nine.

When the time finally came for your movie date with the boys, you settled on the best of both worlds. You let your hair down, which would be a nice change from the ponytails and buns you wore to work. You still kept your usual look of denim and a nice shirt, but you traded your comfy work shoes for heeled boots. Trying without trying. You decided against putting on a full face of makeup since you didn’t want your coworkers looking at you differently at work without it on. You called an uber once you were satisfied with your looks, feeling butterflies the entire way there. You weren’t just excited to see Jungkook either, your relationship with Hobi had evolved into genuine friendship outside of being coworkers, so you couldn’t wait to hang out with him either.

Once the car pulled into the movie theatre, you immediately noticed the boys waiting out front. They were dressed impeccably, and you instantly regretted changing outfits. Hobi was sporting sweats and a denim jacket with trendy sneakers and a beanie. The outfit was sporty but sexy at the same time, given it seemed he wasn’t wearing a shirt underneath the jacket.

Jungkook, on the other hand, was wearing something akin to what you pictured he might look like after hours. He was wearing the leather jacket you noticed was always in his work cubby paired with ripped blue jeans, a bucket hat, combat boots, and a plaid button up tied around his waist. You almost didn’t want to get out of the car, but you knew you’d keep getting charged for the ride if you didn’t, so you exited with a sigh and waved to get their attention. They were in the middle of a conversation, but it was Hobi who saw you first. He smiled and did a silly dance to show how happy he was to see you and it made you crack up.

“Why did I agree to go out with you?” You teased Hobi.

“Because you have nothing better to do anyway.” You feigned pain at his words, no doubt a minor habit you had picked up from Jungkook. When you turned towards Jungkook, you instantly noticed how he wasn’t laughing along with you guys. Probably in one of those moods again.

It happened very rarely, because Jungkook was always a cheery person, but once in a while he wouldn’t be in the mood to socialize and those were the most boring days at work.

When all three of you headed inside, Jungkook went ahead of you two so you gave Hobi an inquisitive look while pointing at your grumpy third wheel to which he responded with a shrug. You sighed, a gloomy mood setting in at the thought of not having as much fun as you thought you would.

You offered to hold seats for everyone while they waited in line at the concession stand. You wanted to give Jungkook time to get over his bad mood, and you also wanted to avoid craning your neck from getting stuck with bad seats. You busied yourself on your phone in the meantime, but you weren’t scrolling for long before you felt someone take a seat next to you.

Jungkook sat down with a large popcorn and tossed a few pieces in his mouth, “Hey work wife, I missed you.”

You smiled and put your phone away. “Oh yeah? How much did you miss me exactly?

Jungkook took hold of your hand that was resting on the arm rest in between you two. “This much.” He laced your fingers together and wiggled his eyebrows. You couldn’t help but laugh, since it all felt elementary. It brought you back to your first date ever when holding hands, and any skin ship for that matter, was a huge deal.

You wriggled your hand out of his grasp, since you weren’t comfortable flirting around Hobi. You didn’t want your friend to feel like a third wheel at all. “Seriously though, you okay? You seemed kind of down earlier.”

Jungkook looked embarrassed at your worrying. He shifted in his seat and, could it be, a light blush forming on his cheeks? He smiled to himself, looking down at his thighs, “What, are you worrying about me now?”

This time it was your turn to look at Jungkook and wonder how he could be so cute while being flustered. “Of course I do, can’t have my work husband being sad.” You pinched his cheek and Jungkook smiled his most dazzling smile yet. He swatted your hand but held onto it for a while, caressing your palm and turning your hand over in his as if never having ever held a hand before, then letting go. It was a tender moment unlike your usual flirtation with aim at getting a rise out of the other. It was so sweet yet fleeting that you spent the rest of the two-hour movie thinking about it. Jungkook glanced over at you many times during the movie, but you refused to look at him, fearing he might catch on at exactly how much he was having an effect on you. It was starting to feel all too real, and you couldn’t be your usual cool and playful self if what was going on between the two of you was aactually real. You’d never thought of Jungkook as a boyfriend, although you did think of him under the covers late at night. You willed the sinful thoughts out of your head for the next two hours, so you didn’t seem weird later when it was time to say goodbye.

It wasn’t hard to put it out of your mind eventually, especially when you saw how much of a weenie Hobi was when it came to horror movies. You keeled over with laughter at the sight of his pale face while exiting the theatre. “Why did you want to see this movie if you were going to be so afraid?” You spoke in between laughs.

“Because! I don’t know! I didn’t think it was going to be that scary! Besides, I wanted you to come and I know it’s your favorite, so…”

“Awwwww, Hobi! I’d have come even if it was a Disney movie.” You pinched your friend’s cheek and his answering crescent eyes of happiness had you giggling. You looked over at Jungkook, and it seemed his bad mood had returned, so you continued only speaking to Hobi. “Seriously, thanks for the invite. It was fun! We should do it again.”

But now, all three of you had reached the outside of the theater and the night had brought a chill with it that had all of you hugging your torsos. You hurried to pull out your phone and order an uber home, but Jungkook had other ideas.

“Put that away, you’re coming with us.” You looked up at the boy who was barely looking at you in the eye.

“You sure? I live close to the shop, are you going in that direction?”

Jungkook took hold of your arm and started walking to his car impatiently. “Okay, okay!” You looked back at Hobi who was observing everything from the back. As if knowing exactly what your look meant, he answered with a shrug yet again that said I have no idea why he’s acting this way.

You called shotgun once you got to the car and Hobi playfully kicked the back wheel of Jungkook’s car in theatrical anger. Once the three of you pulled off in the direction of Hobi’s house, you got into light conversation about the scariest parts of the movie and the faulty plot. Jungkook didn’t say a single word the entire time. He stared straight ahead at the road and kept both hands on the wheel. You glanced at him periodically, looking for reactions that might tip you off for the cause of his change in mood, but nothing made sense. By the time you said your goodbyes to Hobi through the window, you had given up on talking to Jungkook and settled for looking at the small-town scenery passing you by.

However, the longer you sat in silence, the more annoyed you became at the situation. You couldn’t help feeling like you did something wrong and you wanted answers, so you lowered the music playing on the radio and fully turned towards Jungkook. He looked at you sideways then kept his focus on the road. When you didn’t say anything, he offered a simple, “Yes?”

“Did I do something? Why are you being weird again?”

“I’m being weird?” Although Jungkook kept his serious demeanor, you could hear a smile in his voice, so you pressed further.

“Yes! You seem grumpy and It feels personal.”

After a thoughtful minute, Jungkook released the steering wheel with his right hand and took hold of your left hand.

“Sorry.” Jungkook offered a simple apology in a voice so small you weren’t sure if you actually heard it. He didn’t look at you again for the rest of the ride, but you were content with the silence and holding his hand in the darkness of his car. You welcomed the way your heartbeat quickened at the romantic contact, preferring this over his cold demeanor from earlier anyday.

It dawned on you after a while that you hadn’t told Jungkook your actual address. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Yes,” Jungkook looked over at you and smiled at your puzzled reaction. “Because I’m not taking you home, I hope you don’t mind.”

“…You’re kidnapping me?” You smiled at him, wondering what was going through his mind.

“Is that what you normally call dating?”

“Oh, so this is a date now?”

“Yeah, didn’t you get my rolled-up proposal sent through carrier pigeon?”

You giggled, feeling relieved that things were back to normal, and also excited at the turn of events. “What’s the plan then?”

After thinking for a moment, Jungkook simply replied, “I hope you like darts.”

He ended up taking you to a hole-in-the-wall bar in town. He explained that it was his absolute favorite place to go because of the ambience and the cheap beer prices. You were content for a few reasons. For one, not many people were here, so you didn’t have to worry about talking loudly. You also enjoyed places with good beers on draft, and this was one of those places. Lastly, Jungkook seemed to be at ease here, so it made hanging out, playing games and talking casually way more fun.

Although it felt just like any other day at the café with Jungkook, you were a little on edge now since your suspicions at the theatre seemed to be proving themselves true. Did Jungkook want to date you seriously? Or did he simply want to hang out a little extra? Since the flirtation had become so normal, you weren’t sure what to make of the situation. Neither of you were the mushy type, so you feared you wouldn’t really know what was going through his head unless you asked him directly, but you didn’t want to risk seeming clingy or making him feel weird. While playing pool, you decided where you would draw the line, for your own sanity. The smell of his body wash, the way his shirt clung to his chest, and the cocky look on his face after sinking balls on the table was making your head swim. You knew it was only a matter of time before the light touching, hugging, and hand holding evolved into something more intimate, so you resolved to not let things go further unless you outlined the parameters of your relationship with him in clear bold lines. You were the type of person to fall hard for someone you had a crush on, and you could already tell that Jungkook had the potential to devastate you. You needed to be careful.

Normally, you were so much better at pool, but you were so deep in your thoughts that you were missing every shot and not realizing it. Jungkook got down to his last ball before putting his stick down and making his way over to you. You watched him approach you, put his hands on your hips and lift you onto the table so you were seated and meeting him eye to eye. The gesture took you by surprise, and you weren’t sure how to react, so you held onto his arms and looked up at him questioningly. He settled his body in between your legs while his hands rested on your thighs.

“What’s up with you?” He looked into your eyes getting straight to the point.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re sucking right now. And you were talking big game earlier, which is something you don’t do unless you can walk the walk. So, what’s on your mind?”

“Here’s a little advice, if you’re taking a girl out on a date, you might not want to insult her pool skills.” You jutted your chin out at him in a petulant pout.

“Oh yeah? Or else what?”

“Or else you’ll probably never hear from her again.” You flicked his nose playfully.

“Well it’s a good thing I work with you then. There’s no avoiding me.”

Your smile faded. Although you were both joking and talking in hypotheticals, he was absolutely right. You were having fun, but you still weren’t sure if you wanted to risk starting something with a coworker that might end badly.

Jungkook noticed your change in demeanor and backed up a few inches. “Sorry, did that one hit too close to home?”

You laughed weekly while running your fingers through your hair nervously, “Yeah…”

Jungkook sighed and extended his hand to you so you could get down from the table. “It’s late and we have work tomorrow, let’s get you home.”

As Jungkook closed the tab out at the bar, you couldn’t help but feel like a total idiot. Here was this extremely sexy and extremely cool guy who was interested in you, and you shot any chance you might’ve had with him down due to fears of something that might never even occur anyway. You felt so stupid and mentally kicked yourself all the way back to the car.

When he didn’t take hold of your hand again during the car ride to your house, you began panicking, realizing your fling with Jungkook might’ve truly ended before even starting. That’s when you realized how whipped you were for him, and how much you’d rather take the risk with him than to have nothing with him at all. It took all your nerves and then some to try and turn the night around by the time you reached your house. You decided you’d kiss him if he consented, and if he wasn’t interested then you’d deal with it and hope the earth might swallow you whole.

Jungkook parked the car along your block and took the keys out of the ignition. Good sign. He turned to you and said nothing, the ball was in your court.

“So…thanks again for tonight. It was fun.“

“Yeah it was.”

When Jungkook didn’t offer anything else, you cleared your throat. “Um…sorry if I made you feel some type of way back there. I liked where things were going before I got all weird.”

Jungkook smirked and leaned his head back on his car seat, reveling in your struggle to convey something that was clearly embarrassing for you. “What do you mean where things were going?”

You blushed at the thought of saying the things that were actually running through your mind. “Yeah, you know, with you being so close to me.”

Without missing a beat, Jungkook placed his hand on your upper thigh and squeezed, looking at your eyes and then your lips. You looked at his veiny hands on you, then up at his face and decided to throw caution to the wind. You leaned into him and planted a soft kiss on his lips, to which he responded by knotting his hands in your hair and kissing you back deeply.

As your lips went to town on each other, you thanked the heavens above that the night wasn’t a lost cause after all. You relished in the kiss as long as you could and took in every detail as if it was your first kiss ever. His lips felt incredibly soft despite the passion he was putting into the make out session. He tasted like wheat beer and buttered popcorn, and you couldn’t get enough. It didn’t take long before your tongues were introduced into the equation. Even as the kiss ignited and the movements of your heads became more exaggerated, you still wanted more. It was almost as if you two had been holding back your lust for each other for so long and now the flood gates were open.

You reached for his head and took his bucket hat off, running your fingers through his slightly damp hair that smelled like Irish Spring. You tugged lightly on his strands, eliciting a groan from his unrelentless mouth on yours. You were both leaning towards the middle with your hands on each other, but it was a bit uncomfortable, so you took your seat belt off and climbed into his lap carefully. The moment excited him and took him by surprise at the same time. He disconnected your lips from each other briefly to look up at you and smile. You blushed, wondering if it was too much, but the negative thought left your head as fast as it entered when he held your head on both sides and brought you in for another kiss. You rested your hands on his chest and tugged on his shirt slightly.

Jungkook’s hands roamed your body with restraint. It was obvious he wanted to be a gentleman and not rush things, since his hands deliberately avoided your more intimate areas. You could tell he was hungry for more, so you appreciated his show of respect. As his hands rested on your waist, two of his fingers dipped under your top and dug in, creating dimples on your flesh. You’d have enjoyed that more if his hands weren’t so cold. You flinched at the contact, moaning into the kiss to show discomfort. His hands immediately retreated, but you two laughed at the comical moment.

You sighed and sat back on his lap, looping your hands around his neck. “I should get inside.”

Jungkook’s head fell back onto the seat with a thud, his hair bouncing along. “Yeah…I should get home too.”

You both sat in silence for a few seconds, neither of you wanting to move. After taking in his fucked out appearance, you grew satisfied with yourself and exited through the driver’s side. You closed the door, waved and then headed in. From your window, you watched Jungkook adjust his pants, start the car and drive off. The whole scene had you smiling to yourself, and you were floating on cloud nine until the moment you fell asleep.

You and Jungkook hadn’t been found out about until a month after your first kiss. You both still lived with your parents, so it was almost impossible to find alone time with each other that didn’t involve heavy petting in the backseat of his car. Needless to say, you were both extremely pent up, which is why when he invited you to come to the store extra early one day, you knew he was up to something.

“Jeon Jungkook? Coming in EARLY?! Something’s gone awry.” Jungkook rolled up his cleaning towel and whipped you with it for teasing him. You yelped at the stinging feeling on your bottom.

“Say you’ll come.”

“I don’t know Jungkook, what if Mr. Kim comes in early?”

“Don’t be so paranoid. Do you want to learn how to make fancy lattes or not?”

You rolled your eyes as you wiped down the counter, knowing he was full of it. “Fuck it, why not. What time exactly?”

“Hmmm…you need a lot of help, better make it 6:00am.” If it wasn’t for the fact that a customer had approached the register at that moment, you would’ve whipped him back for making fun of you.

Bright and early the next day, you and Jungkook met up at the front of the café as planned. Mr. Kim gave him a copy of the store keys for days where he would be too busy to open himself, and it seemed Jungkook was planning on making good use of it.

Normally you’d look like death coming into work this early but knowing who was waiting for you here in private put a spring in your step and a good mood that was unlike you in the morning. Jungkook was a morning person, so he was never afflicted with such issues.

As you watched Jungkook turn on the espresso machines and check the stock for all the necessary ingredients, it was only just now occurring to you that you’d have to make fancy drinks, which was intimidating because the shop’s regular customers were used to Jungkook’s expertise, flare and efficiency.

Jungkook lined up several cups along with clean pitchers and milk on the counter before turning to you with a quirked brow. “You ready?”

“Uh, yeah I guess,” you answered nervously.

Jungkook smiled warmly and patted your shoulder. With his other hand he tipped your chin forward and stared into the depths of your eyes. “You’ve got this. I believe in you, relax.” You melted just a tiny bit.

Turning your attention to the counter, he explained what the training consisted of. “Each of these cups is a different order. I’m going to show you step by step how to make each one, and then I’m going to time you on how fast you do them.” Lifting up one cup at a time, he explained, “These are the different ways someone can order an espresso drink here: a latte, a cappuccino, a flat white, a macchiato, and an americano.” Jungkook handed you an empty pitcher. “This is where you put milk for steaming. If you look inside, there are different measurement lines to fill the milk to depending on what size they order.”

You filled the pitcher with milk to the second line, nodding along. Suddenly, Jungkook stood behind and reached around you, holding your hand with the pitcher and taking hold of the other. He led your free hand over to the nozzle on the espresso machine and very carefully showed you how to steam the milk properly. You flinched at the piercing sound of the steam aerating the milk, causing Jungkook to chuckle softly behind you.

“Hey, don’t laugh at me, I’m new at this!” You pouted with false offense.

“Sorry sorry, you’re just so cute I can’t help it.” Your face beamed in the dim morning light streaming into the café. There was absolutely no denying that you were whipped for this man.

Jungkook led your free hand around the buttons on the machine, showing you how to queue espresso shots. You watched in wonderment as the thin streams of chalky brown liquid shot out and filled tiny shot glasses. The overpowering aroma of coffee quickly filled the air.

He had you prepare 3 pitchers of steamed milk, eventually letting go of you so you could do it on your own, much to your disappointment. “Let’s start with one of the easiest drinks to make, a latte. Pour the shot into the cup and the milk over top.” You did as he instructed, watching the milk turn light brown inside of the cup and eventually foam at the very top.

Jungkook inspected your drink then took a sip. “Not bad. Okay Ms. Fancy Pants, make me a macchiato this time.”

You hesitated with the shot in one hand and the milk in the other. You knew this particular drink was the reverse of a latte…or was it? You poured the hot milk into the cup and swirled the espresso over top. Looking at Jungkook for approval, you pursed your lips at his flat stare. He tsked, shook his head and leaned off the counter to get you a new cup.

“Macchiato means ‘through the middle’. Pour the shot directly through the center and don’t deviate.” You nodded wordlessly at his stern expression. As you remade the drink, you couldn’t find an explanation as to why you found him so sexy even when he was peeved.

“Okay, do you remember how to make the flat white?” You did, but you wanted him to touch you again, so you shook your head. Jungkook smiled and lead your hand holding the pitcher of milk to create the perfect flat white latte. You both held the pitcher close to the cup after pouring the espresso in first, then brought it up a few inches, then back down until a small while dot of milk formed at the center of the brown froth. Your hand felt electrically charged from the skin to skin contact, making it hard to focus on what you were doing.

“Now for the cappuccino, I’ll give you a few tries to get it right since it’s hard to nail down at first. Hold the steam above the milk for 9 seconds instead of 4 to create a lighter, foamier pitcher of milk.”

You followed his instructions and poured the shot along with the milk into the cup. Jungkook lifted the cup and instantly put it back down. “Not light enough. Again.”

Your eyebrows knotted in concentration as you began steaming a fresh cup of milk. You didn’t get the cappuccino down until the 5th pitcher of milk which slightly embarrassed you, but Jungkook was patient and tentative throughout the process. You felt gratitude at his willingness to train you so well.

“All that’s left is the americano, and that’s the easiest one of all. It’s simply shots and hot water to the top of the cup.”

“Psh, this is cake work.” You retorted cheekily, squeezing a lid onto the coffee cup and handing it to Jungkook for a taste.

“Oh yeah, hot shot?” Jungkook brought the cup to his mouth briefly and nodded in approval.

“Yeah! Where’s the real challenge? I want to make the cool drinks you do with the artwork at the top.” You decided to reward yourself with a little whipped cream for getting through the training smoothly.

Jungkook laughed heartily. “Ah, you’re a fan of my handiwork I see. Well unfortunately,” Jungkook grabbed you by the hips suddenly and sat you on top of the counter in between the espresso machines, ”That’s not something I can teach you in one day. It takes a lot of practice and patience.” Jungkook took your wrist in his hand and led your finger topped with whipped cream to his lips. Maintaining eye contact, he parted his mouth and sucked lightly on the tip of your finger, leading with his tongue. You inhaled sharply at the view; all things coffee related instantly fleeing your mind. You slid your finger out of his mouth slowly. He opened up as you ran your finger along his bottom lip. You’d never wanted a taste of whipped cream more in your life than you had at that very moment.

It seemed Jungkook was on the same page because it only took a split second before you two were all over each other. Your legs molded themselves around his midsection and your hands held his face to yours. Your heads moved together in rhythm while your lips ravaged each other. Tongue was immediately introduced, both of you having wanted to kiss each other again for so long. You couldn’t get enough, needing more and more every passing second. You wrapped your arms around his neck, smashing his body against yours as your tongues swirled together in harmonized motion. Jungkook’s hands greedily surveyed the lay of the land, first starting off on your thighs, then your mid back, and now the top of your ass. He squeezed and groped which only encouraged your need for him. You writhed against the kiss, rubbing your breasts against his chest. Jungkook pressed you into him then took you off the counter completely. You were vaguely aware of being transported as you bit and dragged out his lip. Jungkook let out a soft groan as he placed you on top of what you assumed to be Mr. Kim’s desk. Jungkook’s fingers ran up into your hair and tugged, forcing your head to the side and exposing your neck. He began trailing wet sloppy kisses down from your ear which had you shivering in excitement. You let out a low moan when he reached the base of your neck, letting him know it was a soft spot for you. You arched your back and pushed your chest in the air to which Jungkook responded by roughly groping your breasts through your button up shirt. You hissed through your teeth at the faint pleasure his movements brought you, but you still wanted more. You’d been eyeing him for months, and when you both finally took the next step, it felt like you were stuck there for far too long. If you were this addicted to his lips, there was no telling how addictive the rest of him could be, and you so badly wanted to find out.

Jungkook reattached his mouth to yours as his hands found the fleshy feel of your bra under your shirt. You moaned into his mouth, reveling in the miniscule pleasure it brought you. You reached your hands under Jungkook’s shirt, feeling his abs on the way down to his belt and pulled on it to bring him closer to you. You began unbuckling it impatiently, struggling to work the metal latch. It took Jungkook a second to respond, realizing things were moving along in full gear. He started unbuttoning your shirt with a quickness the likes of which you’d never seen before.

However, your shirt only made it just past your shoulders before you heard the familiar bell of the shop door opening. You and Jungkook froze as Hobi sauntered into the backroom. He was fully engrossed in his phone with his airpods in, but the quick movements of you and Jungkook getting redressed attracted his attention. His face morphed from surprise to sheer horror as he realized what was going on in Mr. Kim’s office in the early hours of the morning. Hobi yelped dramatically and threw his hands over his eyes, fleeing out of the office and out of the shop altogether.

Jungkook found his reaction amusing as he tucked his shirt into his pants. You, on the other hand, were so mortified and embarrassed that you couldn’t move. Your face was tomato red and you were paralyzed in horror.

Jungkook continued chuckling as he redid the buttons of your shirt. “I guess the training took longer than we thought, huh?”

You lowered your face into your hands. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Poor Hobi! He probably thinks we were in here fucking!”

“I mean…things were kind of heading in that direction…” You began beating Jungkook on the chest with your limp balled up fists which only made him laugh harder.

You didn’t feel shame about being sexually active, or being attracted to Jungkook, but rather being seen in a negative light for getting it on in an inappropriate place. Who knows what was going through Hobi’s mind at that moment? You had to do damage control, and quickly.

You hopped off the desk and exited the back room, immediately spotting your work buddy squatting on the other side of the glass. You approached him with caution, your face still blushing furiously. Hobi looked up at you with a straight face but busted out into laughter, at which point you began beating him too. You could hear Jungkook laughing harder at the spectacle going on outside, which only made your embarrassment find permanent footing.

For the rest of the day, Hobi would hand you cups with a smirk on his face and exchange meaningful glances with Jungkook here and there, reigniting your embarassment every time. You hated them so much for the rest of that entire week.

At the end of the workday on a Friday, weeks after your hookup with Jungkook in the office, you noticed a folded-up note placed on top of your belongings. You quirked your eyebrow at it then looked back out to the floor, but none of the boys were even looking in your direction. You opened it up and read Jungkook’s scrawl: Let’s chill at my house this weekend. My parents are away 😉.

Your heart instantly began beating furiously in your chest, and you quickly stuffed the receipt paper into your back pocket. You blushed as you gathered your things. The store was busy, so you weren’t able to say goodbye to Jungkook or Hobi as you exited the shop.

You contemplated what to text Jungkook when you got home. Of course, you wanted to go, but you were nervous about the entire thing. You were again reminded about how your fling was never supposed to get this far, despite your carelessness in the early morning all those weeks ago. After Hobi had caught you two in Mr.Kim’s office that day, you slowly began pulling away from Jungkook. It was so easy to get caught up in his cologne and the way his eye contact made you feel, so you needed to reign in your emotions and get a clear head before you rushed into something you couldn’t backtrack from. If you took that next step with him, there would be serious repercussions, and it seemed as though you two were headed in that direction, so you needed time to adjust. You were never able to muster up the courage to be frank with him about everything you’re feeling, so you felt as though you had no footing when it came to your relationship with him. Because of that, you weren’t sure if this meant you two would be officially dating or not, and you felt way too awkward to bring it up at this point, especially if this was all just fun and games in his head.

Your after-work routine had become second nature to you by now. As soon as your bedroom door closed behind you, the events went exactly as follows: Run the bath water as hot as possible, strip your work clothes into the laundry bin, light the vanilla candle that barely had any wax left in it, loosen the bun on your head, slowly and carefully submerge yourself in the steaming water without splashing any out of the tub.

As you laid on the porcelain, you closed your eyes and rested your head back onto the edge, contemplating Jungkook’s note. You wondered if Jungkook really hadn’t noticed you ignoring his advances this entire time. Maybe you weren’t being obvious enough? You sighed heavily and sank deeper into the tub, because that meant you would have to go over and explain why you couldn’t hook up with him despite having the perfect opportunity to do so, and you were not looking forward to that.

You remembered that Jungkook was off tomorrow, but you weren’t, and you were thankful for that. He might back you into a corner, and you needed to find the resolve somewhere inside of yourself to turn down this amazing boy. You texted him back a simple sentence: What’s your address?

Your morning Saturday shift went by way too quickly, not giving you enough time to settle your nerves. You tried to focus on work, but every once in a while, your mind would drift to what was to happen later that night. It didn’t help that there were barely any customers to keep you busy, so you were in your head the entire time. You’d never worked a Saturday before, so you didn’t know what to expect. Normally Jungkook would work Saturdays on his own. You idly wondered why today was any different.

Thankfully, Mr. Kim had opened the store with you and had tasks lined up to keep you at least a little busy. You quickly surmised that Saturdays at the coffee shop were dedicated to deep cleaning.

As you soaked the coffee pots in cleaning fluid and scrubbed the calcium buildup from the steaming nozzles, you practiced what you would say to Jungkook when he’d try to make a move. I don’t think we should keep doing this. No…that’s too serious, I don’t want to make things awkward. Listen, this is fun and all, and I appreciate you inviting me over, but I’ve given it some thought since our last hookup and I don’t want to have sex with you!

You blushed and chuckled at yourself for getting worked up at imaginary scenarios. It all felt quite silly considering you were putty in his hands anyway. Would you even have the resolve to refuse him? You knew a big part of you didn’t want to, but you knew if you didn’t then someone would end up getting hurt and you knew that person would most likely be you. You wouldn’t be able to forgive yourself if you had to quit this super convenient job because of relationship drama. You shook your head at the thought.

As soon as your shift at the café was done, Jungkook pulled up in his car out front and beeped the horn to get your attention. He didn’t tell you he’d be picking you up, so you were caught by surprise. It also warmed you a little that he went out of his way to get you when you could’ve easily driven to him. You smiled and waved at him as you approached the car. He leaned across and pushed the door open for you.

You had planned to go home and doll yourself up a little, but this scenario was probably for the best, although you couldn’t help the relief you felt at having decided to shave the night before. You beat back the unhelpful cheeky thoughts.

“Hey you.” Jungkook took off towards his house, whistling an upbeat tune.

“Hey! I didn’t know you were picking me up, thanks!” You buckled your seat belt and sat back, but then realized this scenario was not for the best, since you wouldn’t be able to drive yourself home if things got awkward at his house. You clenched and unclenched your hands in nervousness, but Jungkook grabbed it and brought it to his mouth, gently brushing his lips on your knuckles then holding onto it for the rest of the ride. The sweet gesture calmed your nerves.

Only 15 minutes had passed by before Jungkook was pulling into a driveway that lead to the back of a big beautiful house. As you exited the car, you could already hear loud barking coming from the back door. Jungkook headed inside first, holding an overly excited golden retriever back so you could enter. The dog barked excitedly then calmed down enough to sniff your shoes. His tail wagged with an intensity that you swore was creating a draft. You extended your hand uncertainty and the dog licked it eagerly.

You giggled as you petted the animal, “I didn’t know you had a dog!”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” Jungkook smiled and leaned on one of the counters in his kitchen as he watched you squat to rub the dog’s neck.

“Touché.” You took a break to look around. The back door had led into a giant kitchen adorned with stainless steal appliances. You whistled at how beautiful and grand it all was. “Nice house!”

“Thanks, my parents work hard.” Jungkook busied himself on the stove. It seemed he had prepared something for you two to eat. Your stomach rumbled at the smell of peppers and onions sizzling on a pan.

“Ah, so you don’t take after them I see.”

Jungkook chuckled at your jab, “Keep talking like that and you won’t get any of this delicious food I slaved over!”

“Oh, you slaved over this meal!? I gotta see what it is then” You giggled as you uncovered each pot sitting on the stove. Your mouth watered at the assortment of noodles, meats and vegetables that smelled amazingly. “I will say, I’m impressed. I guess making drinks isn’t your only forte.”

“Oh babe, you have no idea.” Jungkook smiled cheekily, enjoying his not so private joke as he grabbed two ceramic plates from the overhead cabinet. You swallowed thickly.

Jungkook served you a hearty plate and then did the same for himself. You waited for him to finish, unsure of where to sit and eat. He led you past a dining room, down a hallway and into a big living room with large sectionals that faced a mounted television on the wall. An episode of an anime played on the screen as Jungkook plopped himself on the far end of the couch and began digging in. You were happy at how normal this all felt, almost as if you had been coming here to hang out with him for years.

You took a seat on the couch an arm’s length away from him and began eating as you focused on the show. It was an episode of One Piece that you had already seen, but it still engrossed you enough to forget about being all alone with your crush.

After a while, you looked over at Jungkook who had been observing you for who knows how long.

“What?”

“You inhale your food, you know that?” He beamed his signature crooked smile at you, and you were too caught up in it to retort.

Instead, you rolled your eyes and took his empty plate and yours to the kitchen to wash, yelling over your shoulder, “I like to eat, OK?! Sue me!”

You didn’t hear Jungkook’s footsteps following you as you washed the plates in the sink. His arms snaked around your midsection and his chin rested on your shoulder which startled you enough to drop the plate you were scrubbing. Thankfully it didn’t break, so you kept doing the dishes as you willed your heart to stop drumming in your ears.

“Thanks, but you don’t have to do all that. You’re my guest.” Jungkook spoke softly next to your ear as he watched you rinse his plate.

“I don’t mind, you cooked after all. It was delicious by the way.” Your voice was small in the quiet of the kitchen.

After a while, Jungkook brought his hand up to your chest and rested it there. “Why are you so nervous? Your heart is beating really fast.”

You blushed and took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. Jungkook gently turned you around as soon as you put the plate on the dish rack. You looked up at him, but his eyes were focused on your mouth. He leaned into you, but instead of kissing you, he brushed his nose against the tip of yours.

“You have nothing to be nervous about. I just wanted to hang out with you. There’s no pressure here, OK?” You nodded at him, unable to meet his eyes but instead wishing he had kissed you. “Want a tour?” Jungkook smiled widely and it was infectious because you found yourself grinning back at him while nodding.

The curly haired brunette took you through each room of his spacious house. He led you around the first floor, explaining which family member was in each framed picture that lined the walls. You giggled at a cute picture of him as a baby hung just past the bathroom and you could swear Jungkook blushed just a little at your reaction. Once you had seen everything on the first floor, the boy took you by the hand and led you up the stairs. The second floor had 3 bedrooms in it and another bathroom. Taped up cardboard boxes lined the walls to which Jungkook apologized for. You rolled your eyes at him because his house was impeccable. If he thinks this is messy, I’m never taking him to my house.

The last room Jungkook showed you was his own. He waited at the entrance of it as you bounded past him and into the room. It heavily contrasted the other rooms you had seen since it was smaller in size and had dark blue painted walls instead of the usual ivory. Sports trophies and metals sat perched atop floating shelves along with manga books and video games. You took your time going through everything as he watched you carefully from afar. Once you reached his desk, you noticed his high-tech gaming setup complete with a back-support chair. You plopped on it and spun around. Reaching out to touch a button on the keyboard, it made a loud click noise. Mechanical keyboard.

You looked back at Jungkook. His expression was wary, having no idea what was going through your head as you studied the most personal things about him.

“Mechanical keyboard hooked up to a Corsair desktop with liquid coolant? Jungkook, you’re such a nerd!!” He let out the breath he was holding and laughed as he came in to sit on his bed.

“I won’t deny it.” Jungkook watched as you surfed his computer, checking what games he had downloaded. This setup cost a couple thousand dollars easily, so you took the opportunity to play a game of Overwatch while you could. Jungkook tisked after every time you died, but it was hard to focus on the game when he was sitting 2 feet away from you on a bed. You wondered if he was going to make a move on you or not. What if he doesn’t? You contemplated having the conversation with him anyway.

“Okay, get up. You just put my gamer tag to shame. I have to show you how a true master does it.” You giggled as he replaced you on the chair and instantly queued up for another game. You sat cross legged on the bed watching him play for a while. He was really good, you couldn’t deny it, but as your eyes took in the rest of his room, an alien feeling came over you. You gazed at the polaroids of a younger Jungkook smiling amongst his friends hanging along a large mirror, at his worn-out baseball glove that sat on top of his dresser, at the mess of clothes at the corner of the room that looked like he had changed outfits 6 times. Your heart was full in that moment, and you realized just how much you really liked Jungkook. You were so happy to be there with him, so content in his presence even as he was engrossed in his game. No, you more than liked him. And you knew this for months, but you didn’t want to admit it to yourself until now. You smiled down at your lap, realizing you were never going to have that conversation with him after all, there was no way you could part ways with someone that made you feel the way that he did, risk or no risk.

Suddenly overcome with emotion, you looked back at Jungkook who was hunched over the screen, furiously clicking away at the keys on the keyboard. In one swift motion, you pulled your shirt over your head and threw it on the floor. You took your hair out of the bun it had been in and let your strands fall over your shoulders. Jungkook looked over his shoulder at you briefly but did a double-take, realizing you were suddenly sitting on his bed with no shirt on. His mouth fell open in shock, but he didn’t miss a beat, instantly standing up to turn off his desktop and joining you on the bed. He placed a knee on the mattress next to you and leaned over you, attaching his lips to yours. You leaned back until you were laying on the bed with Jungkook on top of you. He held his weight on his elbows, careful not to be overbearing, but you didn’t care about that. You wanted to feel him on you, so you wrapped your legs around his waist and brought him to you. His arms rested on either side of your head as his lips worked gently and tentatively on your mouth. Your arms were wrapped around his neck, but after a while your hands began roaming and exploring. Your fingers took turns entwining themselves in his shiny brown locks, then caressing his face as you made out. Eventually, they reached for the bottom of his shirt, but he was already ahead of you as he kneeled briefly to take it off then reattached himself to your lips right after.

Your fingers began kneading the muscles on his shoulders and his arms, feeling how taught they were. Your fingertips lightly slid down his chest and onto the flat expanse of his stomach. You felt his abs twitch as he smiled into the kiss, “Sorry, your hands are cold.”

You giggled an I’m sorry as he took hold of both of your hands in his and held them above your head on the bed, pinning you down. You wanted to keep touching him, so you writhed against his hold on you, pushing your chest into his. You could feel Jungkook’s boner where it lay stiffly on your thigh just past your sex. You circled your hips trying to get it to hit the spot that needed attention. Jungkook understood what you were after and began bucking his hips sensually into yours. You moaned into the kiss, feeling his clothed shaft press harshly against the apex of your thighs. Jungkook lifted his face away from yours, dragging your bottom lip out as he did. He held both of your hands with his right, freeing his left to begin groping your breasts. His hands worked their magic over the lacey fabric of your bra, your nipples hardening just under the material. When he didn’t unhook your bra, you sat up and did it yourself. You realized he was probably letting you take the wheel after what he had said in the kitchen, so you decided to do just that. You got up on your knees and pushed Jungkook onto the bed, mounting him and putting your hands on his chest.

A wild glint shown in his eyes, to which you smiled and bit your lip, returning to his face to continue making out. You began circling your hips, grinding your clit against his boner and earning some groans from the boy. You sat up so you could watch his face as you continued grinding on him. His hands came up to your hips and held onto them roughly with his head thrown back in pleasure.

Your hands found the rim of his pants and began tugging. Jungkook lifted his hips so you could pull them down. You slid his pants to his ankles and he kicked them off. Your mouth watered as you stared down at the view beneath you. Jungkook’s chest heaved as he regained his breath from making out nonstop. His tan abs dipped below the waistband of his black boxer briefs that stretched tautly over his muscular thighs. Jungkook sat up on his elbows, looking up at you expectantly. You looked back at him and maintained eye contact as you slowly slid your jeans off of your body. Jungkook bit his lip as he watched you undressed for him. His dick twitched in his boxers, begging for attention. You quickly obliged, squeezing his boner with your hand over his boxers. He hissed and laid back down, draping his arm over his eyes. You wondered if he was shy when it came to sex, and the thought had your heart bursting at the seams.

You leaned down and licked a stripe over his clothed shaft, earning a gasp from the boy. You drenched the fabric in your saliva as you stared intently at Jungkook who had sat back up to look at you in surprise. You curled your fingers over the waistband and watched him for approval. He lifted his hips with permission as you slid the material off of him. His boner sprang free, leaking and angry. You licked your lips, gently taking hold of it. You swept your hair to the side and tucked a few loose strands behind your ear as you leaned in to get close to his penis. You gave it a few lazy strokes as you gently kissed the tip. Again, you watched for his reaction, and he assured you he wanted this just as much as you did when he bucked his hips at your mouth’s proximity to his member. You smiled at how excited he seemed, licking another strip up his shaft and leaving a wet streak from bottom to top. Jungkook hissed again, wearing his bottom lip out with his teeth. Once your tongue reached the top, you took his head into your mouth, curling your lips over your teeth and letting it rest on your circling tongue. Inch by inch, you took him into you keeping your mouth tight around him. Jungkook gaped as your nose furrowed itself in his pubic hair. You came up slowly, sucked the top a bit then went down again. Jungkook laid back down, enveloped in absolute pleasure. His hands found themselves in your hair, eventually holding your head in place so he could buck into you. As Jungkook fucked your mouth, you couldn’t help the drool that spilled from your lips and dripped down his member, further lubricating him and creating sloppy wet sounds each time he entered and exited your mouth. Jungkook’s expression became focused and borderline angry with his eyebrows knit together in pure pleasure and concentration. You noted how deliciously vocal he was with his consistent moaning and groaning filling the air. You could feel yourself getting increasingly wet at the view and the sounds before you.

After a while, Jungkook slowed and then took himself out of your mouth. His penis was dripping wet and even more red than it was before. You wiped your mouth with your thumb as he stroked himself lazily. Jungkook tore his eyes away from you briefly to rummage through his nightstand for a condom. You busied yourself with getting rid of your underwear. Feeling your sex yearning for attention as he struggled to find a condom, you mounted his midsection again and sat directly on top of his penis. Slowly, you began moving your hips back and forth. You slid easily along his shaft with the lubrication of your spit that hadn’t dried yet. You moaned lightly, feeling some pleasure from your movements. Jungkook stilled as he felt your pussy getting so close to enveloping him. He held your hip with one hand and clutched the condom in the other. His eyebrows knit together as he hesitated before leading your hips back and forth once more. Your moans and his groans filled the room in unison. Your wetness coated his dick, further exciting him.

“Fuck Y/N. You’re such a bad influence.” Jungkook’s voice shook and you smiled, realizing how fucked out he was, but you were too, maybe even more. Jungkook watched you excitedly as you took hold of the base of his penis and line him up with your entrance. He tossed the condom to the side and helped guide his penis into you. You both moaned loudly as he slipped inside of you easily. You quivered at the feeling of being so full. When you tried to move, Jungkook held you in place and you realized he was trying not to bust right then and there. You smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, deciding to give him a break so he could calm down. You kissed him passionately as he cupped your face between his large veiny hands. After a while, his hands traveled down to your ass and squeezed them hard. You responded by tightening around him. He began easing himself in and out of you, holding your cheeks apart so he could eventually slam into you repeatedly. You moaned loudly into his mouth at the sudden pleasure that overtook you. Jungkook moved his head back to disconnect your lips and watch your face as you moaned. You sat up and began bouncing on his dick wildly. Jungkook moved his hands to your breasts when he noticed them bouncing with each rough hip thrust. You steadied yourself by placing your hands on his lower stomach and threw your head back in sheer pleasure.

You took the opportunity of Jungkook eventually taking a break to begin circling your hips with him inside. Surely enough, the head of his penis found your g spot and you began moaning carelessly again. He watched as you got yourself off on top of him, reveling in the view of you letting your inhibitions go. Jungkook watched you intently you got closer and closer to reaching your high. Your hips quickened in pace then suddenly stopped as your toes curled and your walls pulsed around him. You keeled over on top of him, feeling every inch of your skin breaking out in goosebumps. You laid your head in the crook of his neck, breathing heavily. Jungkook moved your hair out of the way then kissed your forehead. You chuckled out of breath before speaking, “Fuck, Jungkook.”

Swiftly and effortlessly, Jungkook flipped you so that he was now on top. Jungkook decided to give you a break as he focused his attention on your breasts. He pinched and pulled on your nipples, sending tiny shocks down to your sensitive core each time. He brought his tongue to one and began licking and sucking, then did the same to the other. You scratched his head idly, appreciating the way he took his time with you.

Jungkook began kissing upwards on your chest, all the way up to your mouth and kissed you intimately. The kiss was deep and slow, without tongue this time, and it took your breath away. You had to hold back a moan at how sweet the kiss was. You never wanted it to end, but when his hand traveled down towards your sex, you knew you were ready for more. Jungkook sat back and slapped your clit with his dick before easing himself inside of you once more. You were still slick from your orgasm and it had Jungkook closing his eyes in pleasure. You shivered and pulled Jungkook back onto you again to feel his warmth on you. Slowly yet steadily, he began moving in and out of you as he laid on top of you. His arms caged your head in as he began kissing you sweetly again. This time you did moan, and it seemed to egg Jungkook on, but he didn’t want to ruin the romanticism in that moment, so he continued his slow place and focused on your mouth. He slipped his tongue into your mouth and began circling around yours sloppily. You opened your mouth fully, willing to take anything and everything. It all felt so good and so surreal, you could feel yourself getting impossibly wetter, and you knew he could too with the way he began growling.

“Fuck, Y/N” You could only moan your answer as you both instantly felt the need to fuck hard. Jungkook lifted himself up just enough as he sped up and begin pounding into you roughly, holding your hips in place as he did. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he fucked the living soul out of you. Eventually, he sat back and held your legs wide open as his dick entered and exited you relentlessly. Your moans grew so loud, you were sure it could be heard from outside, but you didn’t care. You wanted him to keep fucking you forever, but your body had other plans. It didn’t take long for the familiar blooming in your lower stomach to begin making your toes curl again and your back arch. With his hair clinging to the sweat on his forehead and a look of concentration, Jungkook looked into your eyes while you stared back at him with your mouth agape. “You gonna come for me again?” Jungkook’s words were tight and stern which only made you moan more.

“Fuck, yes, yes, I-I am. Fuuuuck Jungkook!” Your second orgasm hit you like a ton of bricks. You stared up at the ceiling as the familiar warm feeling spread to your extremities.

“That’s it baby, c’mon.” Jungkook fucked you through your orgasm as your walls spasmed around him. As you lay on the bed exhausted and reeling, he quickly pulled out of you and pumped himself a few times, spurting cum all over your stomach. Jungkook groaned loudly as the ropes of hot white liquid shot out of him. You were too spent to look, instead feeling the burning sensation of each drop landing on your moist skin.

As he milked the last of his cum out of his dick, you looked at your stomach covered in white and laughed breathlessly. “Jesus Jungkook, empty your balls once in a while.”

“Shut the fuck up, I’ve been busy.” Jungkook laughed breathlessly along with you, running his fingers through his sweaty hair. He got up from the bed and returned with baby wipes. You cleaned yourself up and tossed the soiled wipes in a nearby trashcan.

Making space for him on the bed, Jungkook laid down next to you. Neither of you said anything for a while, choosing instead to look up at the ceiling as your breathing evened out. You began breaking out in goosebumps at the feeling of being naked without a blanket over you. As if on cue, Jungkook pulled the covers up over the both of you. You turned to the side in contentment. Jungkook spooned you and wrapped his arm around you, making it easy for the both of you to drift to sleep.

In the middle of the night, you woke him up for another round, but this time it was him who was giving you oral, and just as with all else, he was extremely generous.

Monday came and went without any sign of Jungkook at work. When you showed up on Tuesday morning and he was absent again, you pouted, wondering what was going on. After the morning rush, you decided to mention it to Hobi at the risk of sounding clingy.

You watched your friend wipe down the counters before clearing your throat. “It’s not like Jungkook to miss two days of work in a row. I wonder if he’s okay…”

Hobi stilled his hand on the rag and looked at you in confusion.

“…What?” You quirked an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was starting to look so surprised. It seemed like he was trying to find the right words with which to respond. “Spit it out Hobi! You’re worrying me.” You couldn’t help the bad feeling that fell over you as you watched Hoseok fully turn to you with a worried expression on his face.

“Y/N…didn’t Jungkook tell you?”

“…Tell me what? Ugh Hobi just say it!” You bit your lip anxiously. Hoseok rubbed his neck, mimicking your anxiety.

“Y/N…Jungkook’s last day was Friday. He moved to Connecticut with his family this past Sunday…” You stared at your friend in disbelief, waiting for the punchline that never came.

You chuckled nervously. “Hobi…what are you talking about? I was just with him and-“ The memory of all the boxes around his house flashed in your mind and made the rest of your sentence die in your throat.

Hobi looked at you with pity in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I know you two were close. I figured you already knew. I wonder why he didn’t say anything…” When you didn’t offer him a response, he resumed cleaning the counters and gave you a much needed moment to process everything.

You sagged against the register and stared into the backroom at Jungkook’s deserted cubby, unable to believe the sudden news. Why wouldn’t he say goodbye? Your first instinct was to feel betrayed and used. You opened yourself up to him and took the risk of falling, and he wasn’t going to be there to catch you after all. But you knew you couldn’t blame him entirely, since the ball had been in your court the entire time.

After a couple minutes of silence, a group of customers walked in, so you tore yourself away from the backroom and focused on them, willing your tears not to fall, and they didn’t, at least not until you got into the bathtub later that day. Turns out, you had been Jungkook’s replacement.

[patriciasage]

Dawn Patrol

Author: Patricia_Sage

Fandom: The Adventure Zone - Balance

Summary:

Magnus blushes and he looks at Taako with stars in his eyes. He looks at Taako the way Barry probably looks at Lup. And Barry realizes how fucking stupid he’s been.

[a Stolen Century story - Barry thinks Magnus is flirting with Lup. He's wrong.]

posted in full under the break but you can find me on A03!!

Barry Bluejeans has a crush on Lup the moment he sees her on his first day with the I.P.R.E., but he falls completely and permanently in love with her around Cycle 10.

He speaks the mongoose language with her and Taako like they’re a secret club, and her soft, mischievous smile makes his heart flutter. Barry and Lup combine their expertise of science and arcana, respectively, staying up late into the night drawing diagrams on the Starblaster’s wall. She tells him about her childhood, about how she views the world. She’s vulgar, bold, impulsive, but also incredibly soft and sweet. She remembers what he likes and doesn't like to eat. They play fetch together in Puppy Town and that’s the first time Barry imagines her as his wife. He tells his brain to slow the fuck down; they’ve only known each other for a decade.

When Taako dies for his first time in Cycle 12, Lup prefers to spend nights with Barry in his lab, curled up in his desk chair. Barry gladly provides his company and cozy blankets to her in solace, and she barely leaves his side that year. It’s nice to spend so much time with her, but it also hurts him to see her so sad and trying so hard to hide it. When Taako materializes next to her on the deck as they speed away from another consumed world, she hugs her twin for at least two full minutes, and Barry resolves to do his best to protect her…and protect her heart.

Barry thinks he might have a chance. After all, they are a crew of seven, and one of them is her brother. He figures that Lup might want him, even if it’s just for a night (and although he wants more with her, so much more, he would take anything she offers). But it seems he’s not the only one carrying a flame for Lup.

Magnus Burnsides is a huge, handsome, kind young man who has never half-assed anything in his life. So, when he begins to flirt with Lup it’s pretty obvious. He’s constantly showing off, doing ridiculous and dangerous things to impress her. He attempts to learn more about elf culture and magic, talking animatedly to Lup and Taako while they cook supper. He’s courteous, charming, and brave in ways that Barry could never mold himself.

Magnus also notices how Taako’s death affected his sister, and he seems to make the same resolution as Barry. From that day forward, Magnus always has Taako’s back, even going so far as to put himself in danger to protect the wizard. In Cycle 16, Taako is retrieving the Light of Creation and sets off a trap. Before Barry can even react, Magnus leaps forward and pushes the elf out of the way. Magnus is impaled by six spears. When the fighter appears on the Starblaster with his signature black eye months later, Taako punches him hard in the arm. “Don’t do that again, you big idiot!” There's a stone in Barry's stomach as Lup kisses Magnus on the cheek and quietly thanks him.

Compared to Magnus, Barry feels small and boring and incapable.

It’s not even possible to hate Magnus, though, because he’s so damn hospitable. Instead, Barry resigns himself to the fact that Lup will likely choose the fighter over him. He enjoys her company, tries to keep everyone out of trouble, and finds contentment in this seemingly endless time with his new family.

The Beach World on Cycle 21 is a welcome reprieve. They find the light very early and everyone just relaxes for once. Even Merle enjoys himself as he recovers in the med bay; the others visit him often and begrudgingly help him work on his book of poetry. Davenport practices self-care, Lucretia gets lost in her art, and Taako learns how to surf. But things aren’t too leisurely because Magnus decides he’s going to “train” them to be ready for surprise attacks.

Barry is sitting on the beach next to Lup one hot morning. She’s lying on her back on their beach blanket with a large, floppy hat covering her eyes. She’s resting her arms under her head, telling Barry about a festival her aunt took her to when she was a kid. Barry is trying very hard not to be completely distracted by the sight of her armpit hair, her stylish bathing suit, and her beautiful, brown skin shining in the sun. Barry, in contrast, is sitting under a huge umbrella, wearing a white T-shirt, jean shorts, and a thick layer of sunscreen.

Suddenly, a huge shadow covers the sun and a loud voice shouts, “Magnus!”

Barry yelps and drops his glass of lemonade on the blanket. Magnus sinks to his knees in the sand so he’s eye-to-eye with the scientist. “You gotta be ready, Bluejeans. Anywhere, anytime.” He smiles over Barry’s shoulder. “I didn’t get you at all, did I?”

Lup has lifted up her hat a little to look at them, but her relaxed position is unchanged, unbothered. She smirks, “You’re going to have to do better than that, Burnsides.”

Magnus winks. “Challenge accepted.” Barry feels like a jellyfish blob on the sand between them.

And then Magnus takes off his shirt.

It takes all of Barry’s self-control not to throw himself into the ocean and let himself drown. Magnus has these ridiculous broad shoulders, an even patch of hair across his chest, and his stomach protrudes over his waistband only slightly in that sexy way. His skin is browned and freckled from long days in the sun and his ridiculous biceps flex as he throws his shirt on the blanket next to them. Barry, in contrast, is a pale potato of a man.

He’s ready to get up and leave them to their flirting when Magnus speaks up. “Well, see ya later!”

Magnus hands Barry his now empty lemonade glass and then stands up, brushing sand off of his hairy legs. He sprints across the beach until he’s met with the resistance of the water, making a huge splash. “Hey! Taako!”

Caught up in conversation with Lup, Barry had forgotten about the wizard. Taako is sitting on his surfboard, floating on large but gentle waves about thirty feet away from shore. He’s retying his long blonde hair up into a messy bun. “Hey, big guy. What’s crackin?”

“Just doing some training, you know?”

“Yeah, you got Barry good.”

“How’s surfing today?”

“It’s going off. I’ve only been in the soup a few times but that was early in the morning. Dawn patrol, am I right?”

Magnus laughs. “Yeah, for sure.” Taako has been almost creating his own language at this point.

Beside Barry, Lup snorts. “What the fuck does that even mean?” she says. “Magnus shouldn’t encourage him like that but, eh, you know how he is with Taako.”

“How he –” Barry looks back over at the fighter and it’s like a crisp breath of air enters his lungs. Magnus has sat himself on the sand with his feet in the water. He rests his chin on his hand and watches Taako prepare to carve another wave. Magnus cheers when the wizard stands on the board and laughs when Taako falls into the water. Taako’s long hair is out of its bounds again, cascading over his bare, dark shoulders. As he climbs onto his surfboard, he flips Magnus off. Magnus blushes.

Magnus blushes and he looks at Taako with stars in his eyes. He looks at Taako the way Barry probably looks at Lup. And Barry realizes how fucking stupid he’s been.

Magnus hasn’t been flirting with Lup. Barry has only seen him flirt when they’re both with Lup and Lup is with Taako. And Barry was so immersed in his own insecurity that he didn’t stop to actually observe what was going on around him. Some scientist he is.

At the end of the day, Barry watches Magnus offer to carry Taako’s surfboard back to the cabin. Taako, forever dramatic, convinces Magnus to carry him back as well. It doesn’t take much convincing. Barry looks at Magnus’s pleased and flustered expression with Taako latched onto his back, complaining, and Barry internally ridicules himself for being so dense.

A few days later, Barry asks Taako to teach him to swim. They work on it every morning for a few weeks. It’s brutal in the beginning – Barry flounders whenever he tries to go horizontal and Taako has a tendency to point and laugh rather than help. But they both get better at it and soon they have an amicable and productive routine. Barry goes from indiscriminately splashing to a solid doggy paddle to an almost front crawl. And Taako claps and coos at him like a proud mother.

On the last day of their morning swimming lessons, Barry thanks him and gets up the courage to have an honest discussion. “There have been times where I haven’t been able to hang out with everybody because y’all go swimming and there are times where there’s people I, like, you know, want to hang out with and I just haven’t been able to do it and that’s not a good look and it makes me look like a big nerd and I um… It’s just that— I just, like— I don’t know. It’s… Never mind, it’s stupid. Thanks for teaching me how to swim.”

“Who are you afraid of looking silly in front of?” Taako asks. They’re both standing waist-deep in the water and Barry tries to make his anxiety dissolve. Taako’s approval means the absolute world in this situation.

“I look up to Lup a lot…” he admits.

And Taako is graciously chill. He places his hand on the scientists’ shoulder comfortingly and speaks with rare seriousness. “Barry, you’re locked in and this wave’s crashing all around you, my man, and I— I don’t begrudge you anything. You know, we’ve lost a lot, uh, and there’s a lot more we might lose...but the one thing we do have is the thing that people in love rarely ever have enough of – and it’s time.” This is a side to Taako that he doesn’t show often, someone genuine and wise and openly affectionate.

The wizard’s words echo in his head often – “You got all the time in the world, my man.”

Barry is feeling relieved and grateful as he walks from the beach that day with his sunhat on. Lup will tease him about his sunburn but it will be worth it to be able to swim with her. As he reaches the part of the beach where sand transforms into foliage, something stops him in his trek – the sight of a hulking figure sitting on a rock. It’s Magnus. “Is this another training thing?” Barry asks cautiously as he approaches.

Magnus doesn’t look up. He seems dejected. “No, it’s not. I’m just thinking.”

“Um,” Barry fidgets with the string on his swim trunks. “You alright? What’s going on?”

“I dunno, you tell me, Barry!” Magnus says, gesticulating with his large hands. “What’s going on with these morning swimming sessions?”

Magnus looks disappointed and self-conscious; a combination Barry is very familiar with. He has to remind himself to close his mouth.

Magnus Burnsides is jealous of Barry Bluejeans.

Barry begins to laugh. This just makes Magnus’s cheeks turn red and his eyebrows furrow even more. “Fine, okay, you don’t need to –”

“No, no,” Barry interrupts, approaching the fighter. He places his hand on Magnus’s huge bicep. “Magnus, I don’t know how to - … Okay. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I’m not worried. You’re a good guy. It’s fine. I just thought that maybe…” Magnus shakes his head, and his expression clears. “I asked him if he could teach me to surf and he said he was too busy teaching you to swim so I guess I was just disappointed because I really wanted to…learn how to surf.”

“Magnus. Taako doesn’t want to…swim with me. And I only asked Taako to teach me because I wanted to swim with Lup.” Magnus looks up at him with hopeful dark eyes. “I really want to swim with Lup. I think I want to swim with Lup for the rest of my life.” Barry chuckles. “For a long time, I thought you wanted to swim with Lup!”

Magnus lets out a startled laugh of his own. “No, I… I want to, uh, swim with Taako. But I’m not sure he wants to swim with me.”

“Well, he doesn’t want to swim with old Barry, that’s for sure.” Barry shrugs. “I can ask Lup, maybe? She’ll know.”

Magnus stands up from the rock. His shoulders are relaxed now. “No, it’s okay. I think he needs more time. I’ll ask him myself one day.”

The Beach World is a gift they didn’t know they needed. They grow closer as a family. Lucretia commemorates it through portraiture. Lup and Taako continue to be firecrackers, burning bright, loud, and dangerous. And Barry and Magnus continue to stare with stars in their eyes.

Merle, Lucretia, and Davenport make bets.

In Cycle 25, Merle wins.

[ominousunflower]

(toi)let me in

Written for the APS server’s first birthday! Thank y’all for creating such an amazing and fun space. 

Summary: One lesson Adrien Agreste should have learned by now: Never ask what are the odds when you have the luck of a black cat.

Rating: G Word count: 1767

Read on AO3

__________________________________________

Adrien Agreste is wide awake.

He’s been lying in Marinette’s loft bed for ten minutes now, one arm slung over Marinette and his chin tucked against her shoulder, sure that if he just waits, he’ll fall back asleep.

This isn’t the first time that he’s sneaked into her room as Chat Noir and slept beside her. In fact, ever since they found out each other’s identities two weeks ago and started dating, it’s fairly commonplace.

It is, however, the first time he’s woken up desperately having to go to the bathroom.

He doesn’t want to disturb her, and what’s more, he doesn’t really want to risk going downstairs. What if someone sees him? The chances are slim, but then, Adrien’s never had the best luck.

Adrien groans and squeezes his eyes shut, trying to ignore the ache in his bladder. It’s no use, though: despite the grogginess in his head, he can’t fall back asleep, and there’s no way he’s going to last until morning.

With a sigh, he eases the covers back and crawls out from under them. As he does, Marinette mumbles and rolls over to face him, her fingers tugging at his shirt sleeve.

“Where’re you going?” she asks, words slurred by sleep.

“Bathroom,” Adrien whispers. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be right back.”

He smooths back her bangs and kisses her forehead, then crawls to the foot of the bed and descends the ladder. Walking lightly so that the floor doesn’t creak, he crosses to the trapdoor and opens it ever-so-slightly.

Holding his breath, Adrien listens for the sound of voices or footsteps below.

Silence greets him. Satisfied, Adrien eases the door open and lowers his body through it.

He can get there and back in less than a minute. The chances that either one of Marinette’s parents will also decide to go to the bathroom in the forty-five seconds it takes Adrien to pee—well, the chances are so low, in fact, that they might as well be nonexistent.

And so, moving as silently as his superhero namesake, Adrien creeps downstairs toward the Dupain-Cheng bathroom.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Tom Dupain awakes with a need.

He had a feeling he shouldn’t have chugged that bottle of water before bed, but what’s done is done; now he is awake in the middle of the night and forced to deal with the consequences.

With a heavy sigh, he rolls out of bed and drags himself to the bedroom door. Sabine’s quiet snores fill the room, assuring him that at least he hasn’t woken her up.

He opens the door and steps outside, moving as quietly as his weight will allow—and that’s when he sees a figure standing outside the bathroom door, frozen with its hands raised in surrender.

The stranger is too tall to be Marinette, but too small to be an adult. Nonetheless, adrenaline courses through Tom’s veins, and he takes a threatening step forward. “Who are you?” he asks. He reaches toward the wall and taps the light switch, bathing the room in dim amber light.

The stranger doesn’t say anything, but Tom’s question is answered: because standing in front of him, hair sticking up, eyes wide, is his daughter’s classmate Adrien Agreste.

“Adrien Agreste?” Tom says.

Knowing the intruder’s identity does not make things any clearer. Why is a teen idol who lives several blocks away standing outside Tom Dupain’s bathroom at three in the morning? Is this a dream? And if so, why is Tom dreaming about his daughter’s crush breaking into their apartment in the middle of the night?

“I, um…” Adrien’s eyes flick toward the kitchen window, almost as if he’s considering that as an escape route. “Our toilet is broken.”

Tom stares at him, not sure he’s heard correctly. Maybe there’s too much wax in his ears again. “What did you say?”

“Our…toilet broke, so…I came here?”

As the parent of a fourteen year-old, Tom Dupain is well-acquainted with teenagers and their bizarre excuses. On a scale of one to ten, he ranks Adrien’s a three. While a broken toilet is not unheard of, there are too many holes in this story: how did Adrien get in, if their front door is locked and everyone is asleep? If Adrien lives in a mansion, shouldn’t his father be able to afford twenty-four-seven toilet fixing?

And the most unbelievable part of all, which is how Tom knows for a fact that Adrien is lying: there is no way the Agrestes only have one toilet in their house.

“How did your toilet break?” Tom asks, narrowing his eyes.

“Uh.” Adrien clears his throat. “Water…rabbits.”

“Water rabbits.”

“They’re not actually rabbits,” Adrien says. “They are bugs. That…eat metal. And toilets.”

Tom squints at him. Maybe this is a dream. Isn’t Adrien supposed to be at the top of his class? This excuse is so disappointing that Tom is tempted to call Adrien’s father, just to tell him that Adrien needs to work on his improvisation skills.

“Water not-rabbits ate your toilet, you say,” Tom says. “Do I look stupid to you, Adrien Agreste?”

“No!” Adrien says. “They just got in the pipes. And…” He grimaces. “Okay. I lied. I clogged the toilet.”

Ah. Tom was once a teenage boy who did not understand how to use toilet paper in moderation. He’ll give Adrien the benefit of the doubt, although two questions still remain. “And you only have one toilet in that big mansion of yours?”

“There’s something wrong with the tank in the downstairs one,” Adrien says, his voice steadier than before. “It overflows if you flush it, and we can’t get someone to look at it until tomorrow morning. There is another one in my father’s room, but I didn’t want to wake him up to tell him that I clogged the toilet. He’s gotten mad about smaller things.”

Tom’s stubborn parental streak rears its head, and he fights the urge to spontaneously adopt Adrien Agreste. He can’t do that, of course. After all, Marinette can’t date Adrien if Tom adopts him, and since Marichat doesn’t seem to be happening yet, he supposes Adrienette is the second-best option.

Of course, Tom knows Adrienette won’t last. Especially not if Adrien is the type of boy who breaks into people’s homes and attempts to surreptitiously uses their toilets.

Which brings Tom to his final question. “Why our toilet? And how did you get in?”

“Oh, um, well…” Adrien rubs the back of his neck. “I texted Marinette, and she was kind enough to let me in. And she didn’t see a need to wake you up, since she was sure you would say yes!” He smiles tightly, eyes wide. “Um. You would have said yes, right?”

“I would,” Tom says, leaning forward. Adrien cowers slightly, and it occurs to Tom that maybe his stature is a bit intimidating.

Good. Let all teenage boys (or girls) cower before him. Tom Dupain doesn’t need a shovel talk; his body will be the shovel talk.

“But where is she?” Tom asks. Adrien’s excuse is approaching an eight or nine on the scale, but some loose ends remain. “Why didn’t she wait down here with you? My daughter is responsible. She must have known this would look bad. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were…”

And then it hits Tom: it looks an awful lot like Marinette sneaked a boy into her room in the middle of the night.

OCCAM’S RAZOR, his mind booms.

Adrien flinches, and that’s all it takes for Tom’s Papa Senses to start tingling. “Adrien,” he says, his voice low. “Did my daughter—”

“No!” Adrien says. “No. Marinette would never do something like that. Neither would I! I—I’m not like that. I’ve never even seen Marinette’s room! Or, well, I have—but only once, when we practiced for that gaming tournament. Technically twice, since it was on TV that one time—”

“Where is she?” Tom repeats. He can practically feel his mustache trembling with suppressed fatherly rage.

“Oh! Right.” Adrien’s throat jumps as he swallows. “She just, uh, heard something skittering around upstairs, and thought it might be a mouse, so she went to—”

“There are mice in my bakery?” Tom bellows.

“No!” Adrien says. “Or, I mean, I don’t know. Maybe it was a squirrel!”

“That’s still a rodent!” Tom says. His concerns about Sabine’s sleep evaporate, and he turns to pound on their bedroom door. “Sabine! Wake up! There are rodents in our bakery!”

“Maybe there aren’t!” Adrien says. “It’s probably cockroaches—no, wait! Dust mites! I’m sure it’s just dust mites. I’m sure if you had enough of them they could make some noise—um, actually, could we continue this conversation after I’ve gone to the bathroom, please?”

And then a familiar figure appears at the bottom of the stairs, yawning as she tugs at one of her pigtails. “Adrien,” she says, “when are you coming back up? You’ve been gone for more…than…” She trails off, eyes widening as they focus on Tom.

Tom feels like his eyes are glowing red, and judging by the look on Adrien’s face, they very well might be. “You were upstairs, were you, Adrien? That’s strange. There’s not an entrance to our house upstairs.”

Adrien’s eyes dart to the bathroom door, then to Tom, then to Marinette—then, again, to the window for some reason. His hand creeps toward the bathroom door, fingers curled to clutch the knob.

“Don’t you dare,” Tom says.

Adrien pauses, hand lightly grasping the handle.

Tom glowers at him, a low growl building in his throat.

“Adrien,” Marinette squeaks. “Please don’t leave me to explain this by myse—”

“I’m sorry!” Adrien yelps. Fast as lightning, he wrenches the door open and ducks inside.

Tom lunges forward, hand grabbing the knob—but it’s too late. He hears the tell-tale click from the other side as Adrien locks himself in the bathroom, and the knob refuses to twist.

“You can’t hide in there forever!” Tom says.

“Tom,” Sabine’s voice says, from behind him. “What’s going on? Did I hear you say something about rodents?”

“Rodents?” Marinette echoes.

In a desperate display of strength, Tom twists harder at the knob, and harder—until it pops right off the door with a cracking noise.

“Oh my god,” Marinette says. “You sealed him in.”

“He did what?” Adrien’s voice cries.

“Enjoy our toilet, Adrien Agreste,” Tom says, with his most menacing voice. He raises the door knob like a sword. “Enjoy it, because this is the last time I let you near my toilet—or my daughter—ever again.”

[yikestripes]

Complete

A/N: @@richietrasshmouthtozier here you go!!! sorry it took so long to get up!

I ship you with: Richie Tozier!

request: Hi! Could you maybe ship me with an IT character? I'm 5'6, kinda wild brown hair, grey green eyes and pretty pale skin. I try to stay positive and love helping out my friends if they need me. I sometimes get like really dark days, but I really try getting better. I love music, and are a pretty big book and movie geek. I also have uhm like Body Dysmorphia so I don't really like my body and how look, which takes a lot of energy out of me. I days with rain and thunder, it's so calming.

You met at a very young age, and were drawn to one another immediately! As you grew up your mutual love for music and movies grew together, and you geeked out over different old movies and bands with him! You both have strong, caring personalities that make you work together perfectly. I hope you enjoy!!!

You grinned at Richie, who was doing a TERRIBLE impression of the British actor in the movie you were watching, just to make you laugh.

“Pip pip and tally ho my good fellows!” He was saying, hands on his hips in a proud manner. You were doing your best to contain your laughter so you wouldn’t encourage him too much, but you couldn’t keep it hidden and you burst out laughing.

Richie smiled genuinely as he sat back down beside you, and let a hand come to rest on your shoulder.

You’d been having a bit of an off-day at school, and Richie could tell the moment he walked up to your locker that morning.

“Hey Doll, what’s crackin’?” He asked, adorning his shit eating grin. You flashed a weak smile as you clicked your combo and grabbed random notebooks without really looking at what you were shoving into your bag. Richie frowned, and rested a hand on top of yours.

“Wait, what’s wrong?” He asked, his huge eyes blinking twice behind his glasses. You shook your head and shut your locker, not wanting to bother him with your problems.

You knew by lunch you would be able to talk yourself into a more positive headspace. You would feel better after you went to class, and had some other things that were more important to focus on. Everything would be okay in due time.

You pulled on your braid a little bit and offered Richie a small smile, your heart warming at the thought of him caring so much. You were having some extra problems that morning picking out clothes, disgusted by almost everything in your closet, and the way your hair decided to fall on your shoulders, wild and untamed. Braiding came easily to you, and tying it back provided a more secure feeling, so you donned a pair of french braids down the back of your head. Richie loved it when you let your brown locks go free, but he also was mesmerized by the braided patterns and how you always did it yourself.

“I’m okay, Rich. I’m just a little extra tired today,” You said, your grey-green eyes sparkling in the light. That made Richie’s breath catch slightly in his throat, who almost caught off guard by your beauty. Richie had been in love with you for as long as he’d known what love was, and every day he was amazed by you and your stunning pale skin and grey-green eyes. That boy had been with you through it all, from the first day your family moved to Derry, ever since you’d developed your body dysmorphia issues, and the dark days had begun, all the way until the present moment, where Richie was staring at you with his mouth slightly agape. As time progressed, he had become one of the most equipped to help you through your darker days, besides Bev, and he knew how to keep you positive and upbeat. He knew you were there for him, too, but he was always terrified to burden you with his familial issues and his hyperactivity, but you still were there for him, and he knew it. Especially when the problems with his parents started to progress and get worse, he never needed to ask for your help. You were always there for him without either of you ever having to say a word, and he was there in the same capacity for you, without question. 

Richie was completely oblivious, but you loved him as much as he loved you, but you had no plans to tell him since you were too terrified of ruining your friendship. You were extremely close, you had been friends since you were very young, around 3 or 4. You were next-door neighbors and you’d met the day you’d moved in, when Richie was sitting by himself in his yard, and you saw the opportunity to make a new friend. You’d been inseparable ever since. You went trick-or-treating together every year, went to the same schools, and befriended the same kids. Nothing came between you and Richie, and everyone knew it. During the encounter with IT during that godforsaken summer, Richie never let you out of his sight, and snuck into your bedroom for weeks after the fight at Neibolt. He had nightmares that you two were separated, and Pennywise had taunted you about your body issues, and then killed you off when Richie could do absolutely nothing about it; it really tore him up for a little while, until he crawled into your room, and felt better about being able to make sure he was there just in case something happened. You certainly weren’t complaining, he was your dreamy knight in giant red glasses, and you were his princess with the wild hair.

Richie looked slightly unsure at your answer, but didn’t want to pry any further.

“Alright, wanna hang out after school? We can watch movies and eat popcorn and stuff!” He said, a grin lighting up his face once again.

“Of course, that sounds great!” You carried on with your day, trying to ignore the thoughts that were gnawing at the back of your mind. You just had to hang on til the end of the day, then Richie would come home with you and everything would be okay.

You sat quietly with Richie’s arm wrapped around your shoulder, your head resting on his chest. You could feel his heart pounding, but disregarded it as the fear from the recent jumpscare that had rocked you both pretty hard just a few minutes ago.

In that moment, you could feel Richie wrap his arm around you a little tighter, and pull you a bit closer. You smiled to yourself and leaned into it, sighing in content.

The credits began rolling as you yawned, absolutely exhausted from the day’s struggle. It hadn’t been your worst day, by far, but it definitely took it out of you.

“Aw, is the princess tired?” Richie grinned as he retracted his arm.

“Yes.” You replied, stretching deep enough to earn a few cracks from your back.

“Well, it’s a good thing it’s the weekend, you can sleep in tomorrow!” Richie stood and offered you a hand, which you took gratefully. Your eyes sparkled again, and Richie just paused for a moment as the light made you look absolutely radiant.

“What?” You whispered, your faces so close that you could move an inch and be kissing him.

“N-nothing.” Richie whispered back, seeming to realize just how small the gap between you two was.

You both stood there for a minute, each internally debating whether or not to lean in and make the first move, but you both moved away at the same time as the moment was lost.

Richie picked up the bowl of popcorn and went to the kitchen to set it down, shaking his head at himself.

That was the perfect moment, dumbass! How the fuck could you fuck that up?! He thought to himself, frustrated with his apprehension.

“Uh, wanna go upstairs and listen to some music? I got some new CDs at the mall yesterday!” You grinned, trying to relieve some of the tension that was slowly dispersing.

“Yeah, that sounds great! What time is it?”

“It’s 8:30,” You said, glancing from the clock back to Richie. He looked out the window at his house, and the driveway was empty, causing him to frown.

“Hm,” He walked up the stairs and you followed behind, knowing exactly what the empty driveway had meant.

You’d been upstairs listening to music for about a half hour, talking about your days at school, what the other Loser’s were up to, and what you were doing the following day, whether it was the arcade or the quarry. There had been a lull in the conversation, enjoying Madonna’s room-filling voice in between.

“Did you wanna stay the night?” You asked, already knowing his answer. Richie nodded gratefully, and you went into your drawer to grab some clothes that you had stolen from Richie the last time you’d gone to his house.

He stared at them for a moment, head tilted, as if he were trying to identify where he’d seen them before. His eyes widened with realization about 30 seconds later.

“Are those mine?!” He asked, feigning anger. You giggled and threw them at him as he grinned.

“Whatever!” He flipped you off as he left the room to change, and you began unraveling your hair and changing yourself.

~timeskip~

The next day provided a booming thunderstorm, complete with rain and lightning, which meant no quarry. That was fine by you, you loved spending time in the arcade (almost as much as Richie!) and thunderstorms were one of your favorite things in the world. You weren’t quite sure what, but something about them just made you feel at ease. 

You heard rustling from the other side of the floor and glanced at Richie, who was stretching and rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning, sunshine!” You said, throwing the covers off of yourself to look out the window as a clap of thunder roared overhead. Richie shuddered at the loud noise and felt around the nightstand for his glasses, offering a weak smile.

“Morning,” He mumbled, still sleepy. His curls were all over the place, sticking up in every which direction, making you giggle. Richie instinctively reached up and started smoothing them down, but to no avail, which made you just laugh harder.

“Shut the fuck up, Princess.” Richie grumbled, standing up.

“Hm, no thanks.” You said, grinning. He mumbled curses under his breath as he exited to go to the bathroom and head downstairs while you decided what to wear for the day. Richie had to run over to his house to grab some fresh clothes, and you would meet at the arcade later in the day when the rest of the Losers typically convened.

You had a better time getting dressed that morning, hearing Richie’s words echo in your mind.

“N-nothing, you just look beautiful. You’re so beautiful, I know you don’t always think that, but you are. I know you are. I need you to know that you are.” He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, his brown eyes gleaming in the fading light.

“Richie…” You were breathless.

You smiled at the memory and continued getting ready to go. Later on, you heard a clicking noise, which meant Richie was playing Romeo again.

“Oh Shithead, Shithead! Wherefore art thou is my Shithead?” You threw the window open enough to call down to Rich, but not enough to get your bedroom soaked from the storm.

“Down here, Princess! Come down, the rain let up a bit, let’s go before it gets bad again!” Richie called from his covered porch.

You shut your window without a response and ran down to greet him, meeting in the middle, in the rain. It was a wet May in Derry, extraordinarily for the season, but it was welcomed by you nonetheless. It meant summer and freedom and warm weather were coming soon.

Richie stared at you in awe, as he so often did. The braids added some extra wave and body to your hair, giving you a bit of a new sort of look that Richie loved. He reached out and stroked a piece of your hair, intrigued by the texture before looking back up at your face and seeing a blush and a small smile cross your cheeks, making him smile too.

“You look really pr-pretty,” Richie muttered, almost afraid for you to hear.

“Thanks, Rich.” You felt your face redden deeper, suddenly becoming very aware of how close you two were standing again. This time, you wouldn’t chicken out.

You rested your hand on his hip, causing his smile to falter slightly, as if it surprised him, but he quickly recovered, and rested his hand on your face.

Everything happened at once, you pulling Richie closer by the hips and him grabbing your face and smashing his lips onto yours, and all that had gone unsaid for 12 years exploding into the atmosphere as you deepened the kiss.

Richie pulled away, breathing heavily, as if he’d ran around the block a few times.

“Wow,” He said breathlessly.” “Yeah.” You agreed, your hands still on his waist.

He smiled, leaned in, and did it all again. And again. And again.

When you both got sick a week later with a cold, you blamed it on Richie.

“What can I say? Kissing in the rain sounds romantic as FUCK until one of you ends up with a goddamn cold!” Richie bore his shit eating grin as you rolled your eyes.

“I’m not bringing your ass any soup.” 

Richie made a pouty face and started whining in protest immediately, which the other Loser’s shut down quickly.

“Shut up, Richie, it was your idea. It’s only fair!”

“Yeah, Rich, at least you got a girlfriend out of it.”

“Come on, Richie, you should bring her some soup!”

Richie shut his big mouth for once, but continued pouting for the rest of lunch.

[bluem0use]

It's about time I introduced you to the cast of The Crackin'-Up Studios. Don't worry. You'll be seeing them again, especially in the mini-comics!

**In order from top to bottom, left to right**

Billie Bob Willie-Nillie Black Sheep: The overall face of The Crackin'-Up Studios itself. She is the ring leader to the whole circus. The pilot to all the flight attendance. The manager to a corporate office. You get the whole idea. She's one poppin' fire-cracker (A.K.A. has a short temper) that's all for the business, but doesn't mind getting silly from time to time. On screen, she is the definition of unpredictable and crazy, fun and silly. She's a gun happy country gal that started off small and came out big with her talents for making people laugh. She worked hard to get her way to the top. And all of it has obviously paid off. If someone was to use words to describe her, it would be fun, loving, friendly, brave, courageous, generous, the list could go on and on. This gun-loving  little lady, no matter where she goes, always somehow seems to change people's lives. And for the better.

Poochie Pooh Poodle: Billie's partner-in-crime. Her bestest friend since her younger years. Her ride or die buddy. Poochie is the main co-star to the series, and a serious eye-candy to men. While Billie is featured as the funny, wacky, unpredictable, quirky character on-screen of the trio, Poochie is often featured as the sex-appeal. The sex symbol. The hot mama. She also models as a little side job whenever necessary. She's the sweetest sweetie-pie you will ever meet in your life. However, proceed with caution. When provoked, she's one sassy gal and won't hesitate to give you a mouthful (and probably a gun wound) if you mess with her, or her friends.

Wolfie Blackfang Wolf: What's the three musketeers without a male in the picture? Wolfie may not have known these two women as long as they've known each other, but their his closest family he's ever had since he left the orphanage. He is also the main co-star to the series, accompanied by being the musical genius of the three. Since a young boy, Wolfie has practiced music as not only his hobby, but his life. His alluring ability was able to trap the young black sheep and poodle in a trance on a fateful night in a club where he worked to try and make a living, thus landing him a job and a ticket to materialization through the ladies. From there, he has always acted as the stud of the three, protecting them whenever they needed an extra hand and also charming women with his attractive voice along the way.

Candy Bat: This "monster", this "usually nocturnal creature of the night", this "mysterious shadow" is nothing but a sweet treat in the eyes of many who travel far and wide to Nightwalk Bay to get a taste of his sweet treats at the local candy shop. At least, that's what Billie, Poochie, and Wolfie will tell ya. Famous for his line of business, Candy Bat is a harmless, humble candy man..err..bat that seeks nothing but to fill the mouths of the fortunate with a sweet after-taste. His delicious pastries, frozen desserts, and fizzy drinks aren't the only thing that appeals to the eyes of many. He's also a support character at The Crackin'-Up Studios during the day and a friendly (but hissy, due to his uncontrollable excited hisses whenever he meets someone new and/or is excited) candy shop-keeper at night.

Scratches: Whoa, watch out for that web! There's a BIG spider up there! And his name is none other than Scratches, yet another support cast character for The Crackin'-Up Studios. When in the presence of my six-armed friend, be cautious. Scratches loves the ladies and will go through extreme lengths to entangle you in his web, if he deems you a worthy enough mate. Don't worry fellas, he doesn't swing that way. Though..spider's gotta eat, right? What? Spiders only eat insects? Not this playful, flirtatious one. Note that this spider is dead, and has been ressurrected after a deal made by Ozzan (scroll down to reference Ozzan's bio). Therefore, Scratches likes human flesh too. Dont worry too much though. He's too busy chasing both Poochie and Billie around the studios, trying to declare his love for them. Though...something about a huge demon spider just..turns those two ladies off.

Honey Hyena: As the name implies, this hyena is sweet as honey! Raised on a bee farm, this little lady never expected to end up being a supporting cast character to The Crackin'-Up Studios. That was, until a little Black Sheep mozied on over and decided to offer her the position and the materialization process just like everyone else. She figured the nice lady would need the money boost besides "Milkin' bees all day long" - Billie. Honey loves bees. In fact, on her days off from woking at the studios, that's all she does! Is work, work, work at her long-descended family bee farm, making honey and selling it for some dough (money) as a side job. She is also the motherly figure to all the cartoon ladies on set and often tries to share her knowledge with them in hopes she can help guide them on the right path. I mean, not everyone is perfect, right?

Bon Isabell Bunny: Daughter of a long deceased magician (who was, ironically a white bunny), she has seeked to find more support by becoming a supporting cast character to the TV series. However, though, she wasn't looking to be a supporting character when offered the job by Billie Bob. Bon has a bit of a...strong hatred for Billie Bob. Bon saw how much love and respect the black sheep got, even from her "enemies". So, what does this tempered (its just as bad as Billie's, trust me), quick-to-anger, grumpy gal do? Well, it's like they say, "Kill the sheep, take her wool!". That is...if she could catch her first. Forever caught in this game of cat-and-mouse on screen and off screen, Bon decided to settle into this position for now. Hopefully one day, her magic tricks and traps can pay off and actually earn her a spot in the lead position.

Bon Iseah Bunny: Twin brother to the other Bon Bunny, this bunny seems the complete opposite of his sister. This magic bunny doesn't mind being a supporting cast character, and instead enjoys making others smile with her magic tricks and qurkiness. After all, its what his deceased magician father would have wanted. He admires Billie and everything that she does not only for everyone else, but herself. He just hopes with time, his sister can see that. For now, this calm bunny will just have to play as yin to his sister's yang (A.K.A., trying his best to calm her in her most stressed and ferocious moments).

Molly Cow: Before her rise to fame as another member of The Crackin'-Up Studios crew, Molly Cow, the half-pig half-cow offspring, could not keep a job to save her life! She was lazy, less focused, often slacking or ducking off, and/or giving up before she even set foot in the door! The funny thing is, she wouldn't care, and just go back to living with her parents. Seeing as though Molly's confident and care-free attitude was a necessity to bring on some laughs, all Billie had to do was offer a hand to the voluptuous, intriguing young woman and for some odd reason, this cartoon has managed to keep the job ever since. Side note, if you ask her what her "other" job would be whenever she brings it up, it would be shopping. She is ALL about the fashion!

Malachi (formerly known as "Michael Jamesking"): Yes, Malachi is actually an angel. AND, he is also a featuring asset to the team whenever needed. With the help of one of Veronica's potions (scroll down to reference Veronica's bio), he has the ability to shrink down to size on command. He also is a good line of defense if life-threatening danger ever be-falls the company, for even if he is a judgement angel, he is considered very powerful against a mortal (unless demon weapons are used against him). He is pure, friendly, and kind, however, you must not associate yourself with the presence of evil upon first meetings. He IS a jugement angel after all and will be quick to judge you and shame you for your choice of sin and avoid you like the plague while also be-littleing you. Ironically, the only exception to this treatment is Ozzan (his best friend in all universes) and Bendy (in the head-canon canon universe). Also note, Malachi was never always Malachi. Malachi was once Michael, a regular, normal, working business man who unfortunately got hit by a car on his morning rush to work.

Ozzan: Oh boy. This one's a bad one. If you thought Scratches (scroll up to reference Scratche's bio) was bad, wait until you get a load of this one! This foul-mouthed, ill-mannered, obnoxious, flirtatious pervert is somehow a necessity to The Crackin'-Up Studios. His crude sense of humor and anctics tend to get a good laugh out of adults more than oblivious children. He will flirt with anything, sleep with anything, hell even risk catching some sort of SEXUAL DISEASE for anything that has legs. This man lives, breathes, and embraces everything that is bad at every cost, every time. Its possibly why he was so close to Lucifer (the Devil) back when he was in Hell. Though, take caution. If you piss him off (which isn't really hard to do), he WILL tear you to bits and peices with his bare fists. Also, beware of tentacles and trendils ladies. He has them everywhere and can use them not only in battle, but also for...other things. So beware and..make sure your doors are locked.

Veronica Bat: Born "Daddy's Little Monster", Veronica is the daughter of Candy Bat and Valentine Naxxremis (formerly Bat)(She will be referenced in the next ref). For most of her life, she has lived with her mother and embraced her witch-hood, which usually ends up with the little gloom and doom bookworm getting bullied for being a "half-breed". However, her luck gets turned around when she meets Billie Bob (like a lot of these people's do) who helps instill in her to be happy to be herself and to screw what everyone else says..and to also get back at them at all costs. She looks up to Billie and Poochie as her "Aunties", though, has trouble getting along with her father. She was raised to believe she had left her and her mother and never really loved them. Which, is obviously not true, but, she has a hard time believing that. Once welcomed to the cast, Veronica is a huge hit with the goth little teen girls who aspire to be like her: beautiful and mysterious. Let's just hope she gets he powers under control first, for she struggles with that a great deal on screen for comical effect and off screen.

Patricia Greene Pig: (A/N: She probably has had the MOST change out of all of them, so beware) Patricia is Delloris's (scroll down for Delloris's bio) bestest friend since childhood. Snobby, rude, sassy, class. All of these combined makes her perfect for scenes where she's the girl that thinks she's too good for the male trying to win her heart. Likes are, their only trying to "woo" it for her money. Oh, did I mention she's very wealthy? Her and Delloris aren't friends for nothing. You have to have some sort of status when it comes to getting in goods with the mayor's one and only daughter. Also note that Patricia is an EXTREME germo-phobe and will pelt you down with germ-x if you've so much as TOUCHED an un-sanitized door knob.

Hank Kat: Hank Kat has been an aspired musician since he was a little boy. He has really known the struggles of what it's like to be broke from both of his poor parents. So, as a way to raise some money, he went out on the streets and played his father's old rusty trumphet for some pocket change. Crowds were so awed at his talent, before long, Hank was hitting the clubs to try and win over some cash to take care of his parents once he became of age. Similar to Wolfie, Poochie had just so happened to stumble upon him. Though they didn't exactly see eye-to-eye due to species war, they were able to put their differences aside the night they had spent together, dancing the night away. As they danced, Poochie would listen to this party-goer's story and become sympathetic for the poor fellow. Thus, she figured his wallet could be fed a little more and thus offered for him to be a support character on the team. With his toe-tappin', feed stompin', hand wavin; jams that he can play on trombone, trumphet, pretty much just about any instrument he could blow into, he would become not only a major asset to the supporting cast, but also the music, both at his day job at the studios and his night job in the clubs.

Puncho: This "unstoppable brick wall" can take a punch and also pack it. After all, they don't call him "Puncho" for nothing! Though he's not much of fan favorite unless it comes to his famous boxing episodes, Puncho is a well-served supporting cast in the crew. He's often seen alongside his partner, Scraps Skunk (scroll down for Scrap's bio), no matter what the situation. He has a temper just like Billie, girl Bon, and Ozzan, however, instead of unleashing it by yelling at coworkers and throwing large objects (Billie), chasing someone down the hall with a chainsaw (Girl Bon), or spewing a bunch of curse words that's enough to make a sailor blush (Ozzan), he lets out his steam in the ring. He is the undefeated champion (if you don't count his and Billie's first brawl in one of her posters) within the boxing ring and anyone who dare wants to challenge him in taking his belt, well. Better be prepared for the pain. Bring a lot of ice.

Scraps Skunk: A timid, shy soul who is pure and good at working the ring as a referee. He plays fair though, he always will support his bestest friend, Puncho no matter what. His often scared, frightened, shaky attitude is welcomed on screen whenever needed. He was often bullied through his childhood and unlike those who have toughed up from it, he only seemed to soften. Hell, even Billie has chewed him out for his overly push-over nature. Though, she gives up. For nothing can change this poor man's soft heart and kind ways.

Wallis Moose: What else to say about this guy besides him obviously being a horrible detective? After his first appearance as one in one of Billie's episodes, Wallis fell in love with the idea of being one and even off screen, tries to solve "mysteries" wherever he is needed. However, he always slips up short and makes himself to be a fool. How did he even earn a spot on the team? Well, to put it simple, Wallis is a stone cold, hard drunk. He drinks and drinks and drinks, and when he's hiccuping and stumbling all over the place, Billie couldn't help but find it amusing the first time they met. After all, the first night they met, they both danced drunkinly through the streets of Nightwalk Bay, where they somehow met. As kooky as it sounds, it actually happened. Believe me.

Chico Georgina Chick: This once poor broken flapper was able to leave her broken past of having to prostitute herself on the streets and go some nights starving behind. Coincidentally, Chico was given another opportunity at a better life by Hank Kat (scroll up for Hank's bio), who happened to run into her at one of the clubs and show her a much better life than what she was living by offering her a position at the studios and materialization through the machine. Now a re-born, classy lady, this former flapper...heh...well, let's be honest. Girl loves to party and dance like there's none tomorrow, is ready to bring all the club's joy and bump to the table on screen. Hank is often seen by her side, playing away on his trumphet while she dances on top of a table. Nothing too promiscuous or provocitive. Want to keep the adult's attention but not as much. She's known as the party girl out of the group and also knows a thing or two about fashion. Also, keep her as FAR away from Molly (scroll up for Molly's bio) as possible..they fight a lot.

Delloris Acorn: Delloris is the beloved daughter of the mayor of Toon City, within the alternate world where cartoons "live". Her mother died giving childbirth and though she never knew her mother. She was always expected to act lady-like and proper, is why she carries herself that way. Though, the day Billie met Delloris and her father and was allowed to spend the day with her, Billie turned her upside down and all around. To the point Delloris came home, dress cut into a tank-top, short short overalls, knee-high socks, messy hair, and busted shoes. Billie's excuse was they were pig wrestling (no pun intended Patricia). Her father was awfully upset and almost demanded Billie to be arrested, however, Billie's sly deal to offer Delloris a spot at the studios was the only thing that saved her from some jail time. Now, while away from her rich and perfect life as the mayor's "little princess", she's allowed to get down and dirty. Especially on screen where down and dirty are necessary for some laughs.

Mad Mouse (also known as "Maddison K Mouse"): Why is this mouse so quiet and mysterious? Why does he never speak or even take off his goggles? Wait, is this mouse even a "he" at all? Well, yes and no. To put a long story short, back in these days and times of the early 1900s, women weren't taken seriously. Even toon women. Born a genius, the only way to get people to notice her freakishly large brain talent is to disguise herself as a man and as to go as "Mad Mouse" instead of "Maddison Mouse". However, her little secret couldn't be kept that long, for an incident in her labs caused her to lose part of her disguise and have to come clean to Billie, Poochie, and Wolfie. It was through them who helped her realize that, no matter who you are, your voice deserved to be heard no matter what. From that point on, this support cast member decided to cease wearing the disguse and be her actual self. Though, I wouldn't mess with this quiet little genius. She's a little...mad (crazy), as the legends and cartoons portray her as.

[the-canary]

Save The Day - B.B (5/10)

Summary: Chasing phantom thieves, saving pretty gals from falling, getting a cool drink with his best pal – it’s just a normal day for Detective James Barnes. However, what if all that falling he seems to be doing is connected to the thief he’s chasing and the gal he’s got his eye on?

A/N: This is for @barnesrogersvstheworld ‘s 3k writing challenge.

Feedback is always appreciated.

There is a wild laugh -- hysterical, free laughter followed by quick kisses on the places where her dress ends and her skin begins.

But, Queen is a professional and knows what she has to do to get what she needs, what she wants out of laugh even though she might hate it. It has been drilled into her through beatings, threats, and general fear as a child, but this isn’t about where she had been once.

It is about what she needs in the long, but sometimes it’s too much even for her as she draws a deep breath in and thinks of blond hair with a crafty smile.

Pop! Pop!

The man drops as green eyes turn to meet furious brown ones.

Queen isn’t sure if she should be angry or grateful at the sight of Peggy Carter in front of her.

———–

It’s strange, this whole about going out on a date. It wasn’t that you had never been on one before, but it certainly has been a long time and after getting ditched or simple becoming the fourth wheel due to your friends getting most of the attention.

Detective Barnes had been a rare sort of person that grabbed your attention and it was a mutual thing because he had been coming back for some time now -- and that was the scary thing about the whole thing.

“What would Natasha say?” you mutter to yourself as you look at yourself and the dress and sweater combo that you had picked for yourself since you were simply going out for dinner, but Natasha has always been the more extravagant one of the three you.

The color looks fine, but maybe….

You frown at the thought of what Natasha would say before going back and rethinking the whole thing.

Sharon. You should think like Sharon about this whole thing.

If you thought about this anymore, you were going to realize that you were bad at this sort of thing.

———–

Bucky Barnes used to be good at this sort of thing, but time and circumstance had rusted his dating skills. It wasn’t like he didn’t get any offers, but everyone had heard of his legendary fall in the train during the last battle against HYDRA. Any normal human being would have died, but James had stopped being that after he had been captured by Zola, though he didn’t like thinking about that aspect of things.

He wasn’t the same person that had left for the war all those years ago, but the stories exacerbated him where he was nothing but a wise-crackin’ dancing charmer that could have whole group of girls on their knees. He could barely stand being a large group of people before everything started to suffocate him, but it was even harder to pretend that he was the same before from almost a decade ago.

Bucky really hoped that--

“Detective Barnes, you’re here early,” blue eyes look up to see that she is already standing there with a lovely dress and her hair pinned slightly back. He had seen her in a dress before and even her nurse outfit, but this was completely different -- this was for him and him alone.

“Yeah,” he admits shyly before handing her the small bouquet in his hands, “So, are you.”

She pouts just a little at tease since she had been waiting longer than she would admit to see him at the doorsteps of her apartment. She lets it slide instead as she takes two steps down to meet him: “So, where are you talking me tonight, Decte--?”

“Bucky,” he stops her as she looks at him in confusion for a second, “Bucky is just fine for tonight.”

She pauses for a moment before smiling, “All right, Bucky.”

He won’t say how his heart skips a beat at the sound of his nickname at the tip of her tongue.

War isn’t the greatest thing to talk about, but at this point as a shared life experience for nearly everyone he knew -- it was the easiest thing to bring. So, he asked you what you did when you were nursing back in France and then London, all the carnage wasn’t easy to forget but everyone grew from it in some way. In others, it made for some really good stories to look back on.

“--So the soldier comes out screaming and butt naked as who I think is his commanding officer bellows his name,” you laugh, reminiscing as to how people could find love even with the world going to hell in a hand basket, “Poor gal got sent to another hospital, but somehow they made it work. I ‘eard they got married last summer.”

Bucky takes a bite out of his meal with a laugh, “That sure is something.”

“And what about you?” she can’t help but ask with a curious stare, as Bucky pauses, “Any wartime love story?”

No, Steve and Pegs had a great love story --something that the movies and books would write about for decades to come-- Bucky frowns at the thought and she might have caught it since the smile seemed to vanish from her face at the same time as well.

Bucky Barnes didn’t have a great story, in any sort of way. He was sure of it.

“Not really,” he shrugs as he feels a hand over his left which causes him to freeze for just a second. Blue eyes look from his food to meet her glimmering one, a soft smile on her face like she might understand where he is coming from.

War and life in general leaves a lot of unfinished stories.

“--But, I’m working on it,” Bucky lets out an embarrassed laugh as she nods at his answer.

———–

There is no dancing tonight since Bucky has to get up early the next morning --he’s waiting for Peggy to come back from Los Angeles-- and you don’t have the best set of dancing feet. So the night comes to a softer end than any other date that James Buchanan Barnes had in his youth and he is all right with that, as he smiles with you holding onto his right elbow, while asking whatever question came to mind as you got to know each other better.

“So, what's the one thing you haven’t done in New York yet?” Bucky asks, already forming a plan in his head, as he watches you tilt your head for a moment to think.

“I haven’t gone to some museums,” you admit, it almost reminds him of a younger Steve, before you add on, “But I would really like to see a talkie in Midtown.”

“Then, how about this Saturday?” Bucky asks with a grin as you stare at him with wide eyes before smiles.

“Are you asking me on ‘nother date, Detective?” you gasp out in teasing shock, as you leaning a bit closer into him and give him that smile that riles something that he hasn’t felt in years, “So soon?”

“Maybe I just like seein’ ya,” Bucky grins as the two of you stop in front of your apartment building.

“I’ll have to check my schedule,” you state as Bucky nods, understanding how hard it could get a day off with your type of work. He nods, as you let go of his elbow, “But I had a good time.”

Blue eyes sparkle at your admission, as you take a step but not before you kiss him softly on the cheek. There’s a dumbstruck look on his face as you pull away.

“Goodnight, Bucky.”

“Goodnight, doll.”

One last glance and he’s walking down the street and back to his own apartment as you head up the stairs, though while he’s going over the events of the night...you’re panicking over the injured body in your room.

[yshai-tia]

Character Interview: Y’shai Tia

► Name ➔  “Y’shai Tia, nice to meet’cha.”

► Are you single ➔ “Yep.”

► Are you happy ➔  “Aye, sure, why not? I’d say I’m pree’ chuffed.”

► Are you angry? ➔   “Naw, I’m good.”

► Are your parents still married ➔  “Married? Like bondin’, right? That’s a city slicker thing, so naw.”

NINE FACTS

► Birth Place ➔ “Raincatcher Gully, out in Eastern La Noscea. Wouldn’ encourage ya to go findin’ exactly wherebouts... family ain’t exactly wild ‘bout company.”

► Hair Color ➔  “Black.”

► Eye Color ➔ “Blue on th’ left, green on th’ right, a common combo among Seekers, y’know?”

► Birthday ➔  “First Umbral moon, on the... twenty-eighth day. Early born in the year, Ma used to say I was an eager kit right from birth.”

► Mood ➔  “Still chuffed, mate.”

► Gender ➔  “A lad, las’ time I checked.”

► Summer or winter ➔ “Summer.. was always warm where I grew up, yeah? The cold is a helluva nasty thing, I’ve come to learn.”

► Morning or afternoon ➔ “Mm.. the morn’. Got more daylight to burn aheada ya.”

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love ➔ “Wif what?” cue head-tilt.

► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔ “Hells, that’s a lot to feel all at once, ain’t it? Interest at sight, sure-- curiosity at sight, aye, a deep, simmerin’ curiosity you can’t ignore.”

► Who ended your last relationship ➔ “Huh, not much time on me hands since leaving home t’ forge such things, ask me again some other time, yeah?”

► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔  “Cor, I sure as hells hope not, that’d been right awful of me.”

► Are you afraid of commitments ➔ “... Hum. No? But-- am lil’ scared maybe ‘bout being held back, y’know. Being controlled. If it’s a worthy cause though.. I give it my all. Always. Jaguar’s promise.”

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔ “Hugged..? I don’ think-- oh! Few days back I helped Joye out wif some chores, she hugged me when she thanked me, that count, right?”

► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔ “If I do they’re damn good at keepin’ secrets-- c’mon lemme enjoy the admiration a little!”

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔ “Dunno. Hard to say, like to think I bounce back pree’ quick from most things, so all’s bene.”

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust ➔ “Call me a sinner but why not both? Do I gotta choose?”

► Lemonade or iced tea ➔ “Lemonade. La Noscea shores grow some crackin’ fruit.”

► Cats or Dogs ➔ “Bet’cha get a real kick askin’ Miqo’te this, don’tcha? Both are cute buggers, don’t make me choose.”

► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔ “Hmm, s’good to have people you can trust good an’ proper.”

► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔ “How ‘bout... a wild night out that turns into a romantic night in that has us snoozin’ away the day, if ya catch my meanin’.”

► Day or night ➔ “If ya asked me some moons ago I’d’ve said day in a heartbeat. But. Night’s gotta lot of fun waitin’ to happen if ya give it a chance.”

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out ➔ “Cor, more times than I can count.” A wide, bashful grin spreads across his features then, lost in nostalgia. “Firs’ time was when I was just a kit; took some of my littermates out of Jaguar territory, told’m we were goin’ on an adventure, heh. No one got hurt or nothin’ but Y’mijoh Nunh gave us such a dressin’ down, gods, I can still hear his voice ringin’ in me ears. Feels like a lifetime ago and yesterday all the same.”

► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔ “No way, we Miqo’te have crackin’ balance, y’know? Tails ain’t just for show-- no those damn stairs in Ishgard don’ count, those things are bloody ice-covered death traps.”

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔ “... Aye. Who hasn’t?”

► Wanted to disappear ➔ “In a way, I kinda did when I left, but. Wasn’ out of want for disappearin’ none, no, just felt like.. the right thing to do, y’know? If anythin’ now I’d like th’ opposite, to be noticed for what I can do. Earn my keep in this life and all that.”

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes ➔ “’Nother hard choice, damn. Not fair-- y’know that look when folk smile, really smile, they get a whole toothy grin that splits their cheeky face that they can’t hide for the life of’em? Th’ sort that reaches their eyes an’ makes’em light up all a sparkle? That’s tops.”

► Shorter or Taller ➔ “Shorter’s cute. Too many of those tall as fuck Elezen an’ Au Ra blokes who tote ‘round their height, usin’ it to be all aggressive over ye. Right assholes the lot of’em-- no I ain’t jealous, I ain’t pouting!”

► Intelligence or Attraction ➔  “Figure if yer attracted to someone there’s somethin’ you’ll find intelligent ‘bout them; book learnin’, street smarts, good wif their hands. One in the same prolly.”

► Hook-up or Relationship ➔ “Hm. Both have their merits, aye? Though I guess... ain’t there somethin’ nice ‘bout the thought of wakin’ up next to a ‘nother warm body? Someone who fancied ya ‘nuff to stick around. Shit, thas’ corny to say, ainnit?”

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along ➔  “Back when I was still around, aye, mostly. Love me Ma to death, and Y’mijoh was a good Nunh-- stern, but real fatherly like to just ‘bout everyone, no matter if he was yer sire or not. Sure there were some who.. who didn’t like me an’ my Ma all that much, for real stupid reasons if ye ask me, but. For the most part.. was good. Miss’em.”

► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔ “Naw, why be so glum? Ups and downs, topsy-turvy like any other life really. Been out an’ about long ‘nuff now to have heard other folks’ stories, we all got our triumphs an’ trials.”

► Have you ever ran away from home ➔ “Guess I sorta did, huh? Puttin’ it that way sounds so kittish though...”

► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔ “From what? A house? A job? A bar? Nay, well.. maybe almost on that las’ one.”

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔ “Naw, I ain’t ‘fraid to butt heads when it comes to conflicts, sometimes a good scrap is good for a friendship y’know?”

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends ➔ “Pree’ good I s’ppose.”

► Who is your best friend ➔ “Hrmm.. guess don’ really got one proper since leavin’ home--oh! How ‘bout my ‘bo? Omelette sticks by me no matter where I drag th’ poor yellow sod, thas’ best friend standard to me.”

► Who knows everything about you ➔ “No one I hope, not even me, where’s th’ fun in knowin’ all me secrets? Though Omelette might be comin’ pretty close what with how often he listens to me ramble... how good is a Chocobo’s memory?”

Tagged by: @placesyoucallhome​ (thank ya muchly!)

Tagging: ​ @warriorof-sun-light​, @amahrigold​, @trahja-tia​, @silvertail-ffxiv​, @miqojak​, @lady-vagrant​, @lightdevoid​, @nijah-wolff-ffxiv​, @natali-tia​, @toe-ab​

[medea10]

Medea’s Top 10 Saddest Moments in Anime

[thorne93]

Inexplicable Fate (Part 21)

Prompt: When a blinding pain overtakes you at work, what will be in store for your life when you run into the Winchesters and learn Lucifer’s son is about to be born?

Warning: Language, pain, angst, violence, fighting (verbal and physical)…fear of insanity??

Word Count: 974

Notes: This is for @roxyspearing gif challenge. It’s a Jack x Readerfic (so Season 12 and 13 spoilers) Long, slow burn, (a little slow paced at first).

Feedback always appreciated. Feel free to send a message, ask, or leave a comment! :D

Beta’d by the ever fabulous @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Forever Tags: @capsmuscles @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @missinstantgratification @thejemersoninferno @rda1989 @munlis @thefridgeismybestie @bubblyanarocks3 @random-fluffy-pink-unicorn @hardcollectionworldtrash @igiveupicantthinkofausername@kaliforniacoastalteens @feelmyroarrrr @kaeling @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo

IF Tags: @iamafishandigosplish @myfamilysincarolina @ilovemyangelforever @kazuha159 @bisexualdolphinthings @mysteriouslydeliciouswerewolf @justiceiswater @millard-our-savior @polkadottedpillowcase  @hunter-demigod-timelord @octo-cow52 @damnedangel98 @bad-moose @weirdoblogger69

Dean Winchester: @akshi8278 @mogaruke

Sam Winchester: @mogaruke @lenawiinchester

Castiel: @lenawiinchester

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11  Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20

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

Nearly three weeks had flown by since your first date. Everything was heaven for you. The first thing you did when you woke up was rush to Jack’s room and jump on his bed, showering him with kisses, love, and affection. The two of you would cuddle for a few minutes before getting up to start the day.

You hadn’t gone on any more dates, but you didn’t care. You didn’t need them. You had Jack, and dates would feel like a formality that needed to be filled. The two of you couldn’t be happier, as it seemed.

Sam had finally found a dreamwalker, after hours of research. The five of you were planning to meet him very soon, in order to get Mary. But you decided it was time to push hardcore on the research for what you were, how you came to be. So this morning, the two of you would show the rest of your family what happens when you two touch. You’d been so cautious about touching in front of them, not wanting them to freak out. But now, between you two dating, and hoping it might provide some insight, once they gathered in the kitchen for breakfast, you two showed them.

“Okay, we wanted to show you something,” you said when the three men sat at the table in the kitchen, finishing their food, Jack by your side. “We found this out back when we were in Florida,” you explained. They gave you a curious look but you just turned to face Jack, putting your hands up and touching, the same effect happening as it always did: golden light, euphoric feelings, the light flowing down your arms, and when you released, a small orb of light.

“What the hell’s that?” Dean asked when he stood up, walking to the light.

“We aren’t sure. We were hoping one of you might have an idea,” you said.

Sam stared at it, stammering, “I--Uh---I---No, I have no idea what that is. Cas?”

Castiel eyed the object, getting up and coming closer to it before it fizzled out. “It’s a star. On a microscopic level, and clearly not as hot, but it is a star.”

“We’re..making stars...with our hands?” you asked incredulously.

“It would appear so,” Cas said, still thinking.

After a moment, you looked over to Sam and asked, “Have you found anything about my roots? About what I might be?”

“Nothing...I’ve read and researched everything about nephilim, there's nothing about a twin being born or a counterpart or anything.”

You frowned, thinking, searching every crevice of your mind. “You searched...everything?”

“Yeah, why?”

“What about that guy that was a prophet or something?”

“Kevin?” Dean asked. “He’s--”

“I know,” you said, cutting him off so he wouldn’t have to say the hurtful fact of his friend being gone. “Not Kevin...The other one. The one that got Dean killed and tried to kill Cas?”

“Metatron?” Castiel asked.

“Yeah! I wanted to say Megatron...Wrong thing,” you mused.

“He was the scribe of God, not a prophet,” Sam corrected.

“Even better. Do you still have his stuff?” you asked.

With a frown, Sam said, “Yeah. Why?”

You inquired, “Wouldn’t God’s secretary have something written down about nephilims? Maybe?”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Sam admitted, his eyes drifting to a far off spot.

“Well let’s get crackin’,” Dean said. “Gotta figure out why we got two for the price of one.”

With that, all of you moved all of Metatron’s stuff from the basement storage to the library, digging through notebooks, tablets, scrolls. Often needing Cas to translate the enochian. Every now and again, you found something small about nephilims, but it was simply a description of the power they hold and what should be done if they’re born. Hours and hours of digging, and nothing. You had even went and made lunch, and now you were about to make dinner when Sam seemed to locate something that sounded promising.

“Hey guys,” he started, lifting up the ancient parchment, “listen to this. Two nephilims shall be born under the moon of the year two-thousand-seventeen.” You and Jack looked at each other, questions filling your eyes. “The first nephilim shall be born two decades before the second, the lineage tracing back to Michael conceiving with a human--”

“Impossible,” Castiel argued, marching over to where Sam sat at the table to read over his shoulder. “Michael never bred with humans. Even if he did, we would’ve felt it,” he stated sternly.

“Keep reading,” Dean instructed, partially ignoring what Cas said.

Sam continued, picking back up where he left off, “The lineage tracing back to Michael conceiving with a human, whose powers will lay dormant, until the presence of the rightful nephilim is felt.” He swallowed, looking up at you. In fact, everyone’s eyes flashed to you for a moment before going back to Sam. You felt as if your head started to spin, the more he read, the harder it was for you to breathe.

After a second, he kept reading, “One shall bear the fruit of my angel Lucifer, the other shall bear the fruit of my angel Michael. Through procreation, the descendant of Michael and the direct child of Lucifer will repopulate my endangered fierce warriors. Together, they will conceive angels, to fulfill the need of Heaven. Lucifer's son shall be known as Jack Kline; his mate, Michael's distant daughter shall be known as Y/F/N.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to you. Sam gazed at you in bewilderment, Cas had curiosity burning in his eyes, Dean’s green orbs were indecipherable. Jack had a look of hope on his face.

But you? You couldn’t breathe. Air wouldn’t make its way into your lungs. Choking on the air around you, you were staring back at your new family in profound bewilderment.