#next time i should draw him on the other kind of scooter

[rdps01]

sweet ride

[steve0discusses]

S5 Ep 3: Apdnarg is Really Hard to Spell

 Yo guys, people are getting vaccinated, the sun is parting through the clouds, and I felt so nice that I even stopped listening to quite so many throwback 00′s BTS mashups (and yet I keep clicking on these dissonant catastrophes thinking “this time it’s got to be better. This time they’ll figure it out.” and like, no. Turns out you can’t match Brittany’s Toxic with BTS’ Black Swan. You can’t do that.)

This must be a sign that things are getting better. If anything, it means my personal tastes are improving. I mean I only clicked on like 3 “Dark Academia” Playlists where I could pretend I’m some sort of spooky witch in an abandoned library with a bad music player and basic taste in classical music (like can we ban Satie from Youtube for a little while?). Hell, I might even do a prompt update to this blog!

Yeah, you heard me, I’m actually going to stay ahead of the update schedule for Yugioh Abridged (maybe. I haven’t actually watched cuz of spoilers, I just noticed the thumbnail pop up on Youtube and was like “Damn it, they came out of hiatus??? I got hurry UP.”)

Anyway, speaking of the sky parting.

I’ll have you know my bro said this is actually more like a circumcision and it was one of the worst thing I have ever heard.

We get a chance to take in this lineup of confusing and varied character designs, and Joey. who is...still Joey.

The animators probably had to hold a strike in order for them to put Yugi in the audience, lets be real. There are TOO MANY PEOPLE in this shot and one is wearing a turban where you draw every single wrap. I hope those artists charged by the line.

Tea has a subplot where she’s just very frustrated with everyone she knows. They have been traveling together for like many weeks and got trapped in a foreign country so I get it. But at the same time, it’s kind of hard to picture Tea with female friends.

Because right now you got this 12 year old child, the other duelist who does not care about anything besides cards, and Kaiba’s 3 dragon cards that we’ve all collectively decided are female.

Hell it’s almost like the writers are asking themselves why Tea is here. Maybe they forgot. There’s no more ghosts to bus, no more people to knock out with her ass with random Olympic feats. Tea’s just sidelining.

(read more under the cut)

Mokuba is a itty bit bit taller this season, and so I guess that means he can legally climb on top of the cherry picker in order to give a riveting speech.

Really says a lot about Mokuba that he is so unphased about talking to, I dunno...an entire planet of people. Kind of a shame we never see this courage from Mokuba used for anything other than talking really, really big and giving everyone around him a really hard time.

Mokuba takes a moment to dunk on Yugi Muto, as is Kaiba tradition.

And then introduce the first pair of duelists, which obviously must be between the few people in this tournament that we actually know and care about.

Thankfully, in between last episode and this episode, Yugi has figured out who his own Grandpa is. This is a relief, because Yugi is such a mess, that I was fully convinced it would take over half a season for him to recognize it. I mean how long did it take him to figure out he shares a body with a ghost? Like half a season?

Instead Yugi recovered gracefully from not recognizing his grandpa, but it’s not like he bothered to tell anyone else, so the rest of our cast is just gonna be like “Is he my hairdresser? The guy who delivers my mail? Who is this guy who made absolutely no significant changes to his outfit or voice?”

Like sometimes this show goes full Spongebob silly kid’s show and you never know when to take it seriously or not. They might be sacrificing the entire cast next episode. I really don’t know. But for now their big concern is who is grandpa??? Like an innocent card version of “Are you my Mother?”

Faced with public speaking, Yugi decides to have a melt down.

We have seen him face monsters, we’ve seen him on TV dozens of times, he’s been in multiple competitions...but give a speech? Of course he can’t do that. The kid doesn’t attend enough school to know how to do that. Them’s learning skills.

And that was when a newly assembled wife-jet spliced through the sky like a souped up razer scooter and deposited 1 fully equipped Seto Kaiba in a Buzz Lightyear jetsuit.

THE RECOVERY.

Seto always watching over his Brother, ready to save this awkward party if it kills him (and it really should, that suit is held together by two seat-belts), making sure to get on that platform before Yugi starts going off about how he’s half an Ancient Egyptian. (Ah, life before social media. You could just be hella famous and also half a dead dude and people would just not know. I kinda miss the time before I knew literally everything about everyone.)

Please admire how close those flames are to setting Mokuba’s heavily hairsprayed mane completely alight. It would be an unforgettable spectacle.

These were absolutely just random ass jet packs that Gozaburo Kaiba made to kill hell tons of people, right? Like Seto found it in the family cabin, clutched to the heart of some crispy fried corpse and was like “neat! Mokuba! I found a cool toy!” and just plucked that thing out of that skeleton’s clutches and has been flying around for months?

Like this is Seto Kaiba’s Butter Glider, right?

Seriously what type of vehicle license do you need for one of these things? RIP My ‘Seto only has a scooter license’ headcanon.

Which I’m only even thinking about because I’ve had to try and make an appt with the DMV for days to get a freakin REAL ID. I went to sleep in 2019 and I could fly on a plane. I woke up in 2021 and it’s like “Want one last screw you?” and just...can 2020 please stop screwing me over? It’s March.

Anyway, the Jet is removed soon after, so no, this is not part of his new outfit. He goes right back to his Post-S4-Trauma-Normcore.

After wrestling this competition out of his brother’s hands and confusing everyone in the audience, Roland must have gotten the memo to cut the microphone before Seto got too excited and we were quickly ushered on to the next stage of the tournament.

One sec...the BTS Mashup playlist I just clicked on did a Black Swan X 7 rings mashup and it’s the worst thing my ears have ever heard.

Holy crap. I had to actually turn down my volume. Like...Ariana Grande already has music that has way too many overlapping singing parts on it--and then lets just stick a 52-person boy band on top? That’ll fix it. Yeah. Go ahead.

Wow. Even I had to change the song and you know how much I enjoy pop culture mistakes.

Spot the Mickey but like a million times easier because it’s a Massive Dick Shaped Dragon.

Yep. That’s my grocery shopping outfit. Except maybe not a lab coat and a duel disk. Wish I had a duel disk, that would make social distancing just a hell ton earlier. Just a “Yo, only one person in checkout, please” and then bap them on the head with a propelled discuss/hologram.

Anyway, Grocery shopping/Doctor man dueled the Purple Hair Boy, and considering that Purple Hair got screen time and shook Yugi’s hand once--I think that Doctor man doesn’t stand a freakin chance.

Good. I hate him.

Also, every time he breathes he’s gonna fog up his glasses. I have experience in this area. He can’t read his own cards in the same way I can’t read my phone if I’m in the refrigerated aisle.

So the way this tournament works, is everyone has to sit in the stadium to watch the show. Kinda like showing up to a football stadium just to watch a recorded TV monitor...but then again...that is how it feels to watch a football game at a football stadium when it’s live (at least with the tickets I usually get.)

And as we watch Grandpa waiting for his competitor, we find out that his competitor (Joey) is too busy eating snacks to give him the time of day.

Why do cartoon hot dogs always have lettuce? Is that seriously supposed to be relish? Or is there a place in the world where you put lettuce on your hot dog?

Sorry, bro has just informed of his favorite hot dog order, which is absolutely terrible so I will share it with you: a Five Guys hot dog with ketchup, mustard, pickle relish, onions, mushrooms, pickled peppers, and you guessed it--topped with freakin lettuce.

My own kin. How am I over 30 and just finding out that my baby brother thinks it’s normal to walk into a restaurant with normal god-fearing law-abiding people and order lettuce and mushrooms on a hot dog?

I have fully failed him.

The rest of this episode is watching both Joey Wheeler and Mokuba have a shared panic attack while Seto does freakin nothing.

Please remember that Seto has both a jetpack and a dragon wife plane and could have easily solved this problem. But nah.

Then again, Seto Kaiba has given this crew so MANY rides, that maybe he’s tired of being the Soccer Mom for the team?

Like they don’t actually say this episode, but Seto was the one in charge of like...this entire place, do you think he made the 2 for 1 special just to get Joey where it hurts the most? Or does it actually not take any subterfuge to screw Joey Wheeler because he’s just naturally this way?

Like Mokuba wasn’t there when Joey was told “stay right here, and then we will all go together to fight Dartz” and Joey was like “I’mma save Mai from herself although she told me not to!” and then he Hella Died. But, Mokuba did see the result, AKA, Joey’s dead body being carried on the back of Tristan. Maybe Mokuba never realized that Joey died because he went out of his way to be late?

Lets do a tally of every time I can recall with my dodgy memory that Joey was threatened to be DQ’d/pretty much was DQ’d either by his own fault or no fault of his own

-When he wasn’t allowed to go on the boat to Murder Island because he was a stupid nobody kid who did not have a dueling glove

-When he wasn’t actually supposed to be in Pegasus’ tourney and was, in fact, secretly using half of Yugi’s entrance ticket the entire time

-when Bandit Keith stole the ticket that Joey got from Yugi so then Joey had to borrow Mai’s ticket although she had just used it so it really shouldn't have counted. Because, really anyone could have just piggy backed off of each other’s ticket until the whole boat went through that castle.

-When his account was hacked to get entered into Kaiba’s tourney when Kaiba very clearly told him he could not apply solely because he was Joey Wheeler.

-When he was late to his sister’s eye surgery because he got mugged by Marik’s Rare Hunters, so she almost refused to do the surgery.

-When Joey got possessed by Marik, and as Marik, threatened to murder everyone else in the tournament including both of the Kaiba brother’s who’s tournament it was, and then chained himself to Yugi Muto to throw both of them to the bottom of the ocean.

-I think there was a point when he threatened to attack Kaiba in Kaiba’s own tourney while not possessed? Like several times?

-when he got struck by Lightning and almost did not stand up fast enough after being struck by lightning, which is apparently a type of DQ in Duel Monsters.

-When he tried to save Mai from getting hit by a fireball, but then Yugi did it instead, and then so many people were standing on the dueling platform that Kaiba couldn’t possibly DQ them all.

-When he entered the restricted area of the blimp in order to hassle Kaiba into landing the Blimp, which Kaiba did not do.

-When Marik killed Joey before Joey could press the “go” button on his duel disk to play the card that should have won Joey the match.

-When he was dueling a lawyer in a digital universe but then the dice was like...weighted? So Noah had to walk over and be like “The hell is this weighted dice? This is my perfect digital world? How did you even do that?” and then Joey won because the match was no longer legit.

-When Joey yelled at Noah too much and so Noah turned Joey to stone for being a rude ass spectator

-When Mai was like “Wheeler and Valon, listen closely: do NOT murder each other” and then Joey did a murder on Valon so she was like “I guess I have no choice, I was very clear” and killed Joey straight up.

-When Joey decided to block Seto’s fireballs while Joey Wheeler WAS a playing card, somehow disrespecting both Dartz and Seto Kaiba at the same time.

-When Joey was playing cards but then got absorbed into a giant Leviathan and basically couldn’t play anymore after that.

-There’s probably hell ton of S0 stuff I just haven’t seen yet.

-This episode

And Joey runs fast for a montage of wacky things that really have no business being in a theme park. Things like this:

(remember when Bakura almost died from a rock that ended up being a balloon? It comes full circle.)

The stuff that the Kaiba brother’s think is normal and fun.

Anyway Joey fights off a bunch of hologram snakes and bats and everyone is like “Should we tell him it’s just holograms???” And it’s like wow, guys, how many times have these ‘holograms’ straight up murdered Joey Wheeler and everyone else on this cast? Too many? Because I have a google doc with so many deaths on it. 7,805,844,048, to be exact.

Anyway, he gets there with five seconds to spare and Mokuba’s like “well at least you were still entertaining while we filmed you in front of a live audience being a total spaz for 15 minutes straight, so I’ll let you go.”

Grandpa and Joey start playing, Joey completely oblivious that this is just an older Muto, while Hawkins walks up awkwardly and is like “hey guys. I’m so sorry about this.”

(welcome to my font choices, for those new here, I have to make weird font color choices to make sure it’s legible for the colorblind and also for the non-colorblind. This one is not much contrast, so I may change it up in the future, but for now, this is Grandpa Muto’s new font. I apologize to every graphic designer reading this. Please don’t tell anyone who has ever hired me for graphic design about this blog.)

What’s funny about this exchange is that after they find out that Yugi’s Grandpa is Apdnarg (HOLY my brain cannot get around the spelling for that, and I will not change it in the caps. I cannot do a ‘pdn’ ever again), they don’t stand on his side of the field or anything. Hawkins is legit Solomon Muto’s only fan during this exchange and like...damn. Way not to back your Grandpa, Yugi.

Yugi immediately strides up to Mokuba to non-confrontation-ally inform him that he has stepped over a line and Mokuba is like “what are these things you say called ‘lines?’”

According to Mokuba, Solomon Muto begged him to be in the competition so he could relive his glory days (glory days making no sense here, because the game has only been released for the past 15 years, so glory days is like...the before times that can only be referring to disgraced archeologists and Pegasus ((who is, in his own way...a disgraced archeologist, too))) and Mokuba was like

“You trained Yugi Muto, right? Hey that’s good enough for me. This drama is gold. People will eat it up. Hell yes. Don’t be afraid to abduct him a little bit. Maybe trap a couple people in a digital hellscape for a little while? Now we go by Pegasus house rules here, so fire as many lasers as you want, but just make sure not to hit anyone in the face. Oh man, we are going to be swimming in cash. Love it, Muto Sr, love it.”

But I dunno, I feel like Grandpa won’t make it past next episode. It is Joey. We kinda need him to make it past Ep 4 of the arc. If Grandpa Muto becomes the new Joey Wheeler, that will be a weird transition for this show to make.

But that’s all for today, as always, here is the link to read these in chrono order becuase there’s SO MANY that you don’t need to read backwards--don’t do it--just use the chrono tag (and I don’t know if you can add compound tags, but I did separate the Season from the Episode, so if you write S4, it should only pop up stuff from S4. I didn't’ do that to seasons 1-3 though because I just...didn’t.)

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

And because I brought it up: here it is, the best BTS Mashup that I found on my deep dive. Like legit--this one isn’t a mess:

Most of other ones are horrible in a fascinating way. Like I’m not even a BTS fan, I think I sort of age out of that metric, I’m just bored and quarantined. And lets be real, we all appreciate a good bop when we hear it.

[mackeydoodledoo]

Hate to Love

(Gif not mine)

Pairing: Amelia Jones x Reader

Request: Can you do an Amelia Jones imagine where the reader is a reporter at Buzz Blast? Maybe the reader can be going head to head with Amelia for a story and they end up getting paired up for it? Thanks! 💜

Summary: You’ve worked at Buzz Blast for quite some time now. You’ve worked up your way at a quite fast pace. What you didn’t know is that you are in neck and neck with Amelia Jones, another Buzz Blast employee. The both of you constantly compete for trying to get the most reports in by the end of each shift. However, Jane has had enough of your quarrel with her. She purposely assigns one report for the both of you to do together. 

Warning(s): Angst, Fluff at the end

A/N: Thanks for reading my first request! I don’t normally do them but I do hope you all enjoy it!

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

As you clock yourself into buzz blast, you immediately beeline it to Jane's office to snag any reports before Amelia Jones could. However, as you knock on the door, you open it to see Amelia already sitting in one of her chairs. 

“Oh! y/n! Just in time, sit,” Jane smiles

You were already uneased with Amelia looking right at you with the look of ‘I hate you so much right now’ look. 

“Now ladies,” Jane starts, “The two of you have been doing an excellent job at filing report after report. We’re beginning to have less and less reports for our workers to do. As of right now I only have one report to give.”

“I’ll be happy to take the job Jane,” Amelia jumps the chance, “I’m sure I’ll get it done on time and-”

“Actually I’ll do it,” You jump your chance, “Whatever it is, I’m going to get it done Jane.”

Before you could even argue with Amelia if either of you should be worthy of the single report, Jane loudly clears her throat before you or Amelia could go at each others’.

“I’m assigning you both on this report,” Jane says, “If you thought I haven’t noticed your little quarrels with each other, the both of you are wrong. You two are my best reporters, I don’t want the either of you ruining it because of your little rivalry.”

You sigh as you sink into your seat. You knew Jane was right. But, you didn’t want to be bested in at such a simple job. At least simple in your eyes. 

“Okay then,” Amelia sighs

“Give us the run down,” You say

“Well,” Jane starts, “I’m assigning you two to go investigate the Pine Ridge Asylum-”

Before Jane could go over the synopsis of the report, both you and Amelia cheer. With the sudden realization that the two of you having a similar interest, you look at her. But, before you could even ask questions, the both of you continue listening to Jane.

“Apparently there have been recent reports of a ‘ghost’ wandering its halls, I need the two of you to go find out what kind of person this ‘ghost’ was while being a patient there,” Jane explains, “This doesn’t have to be due until the end of the week.”

Once the two of you exit Buzz Blast after listening to Jane give the run down, Amelia heads over to her scooter. However, you were heading to your vehicle as she was preparing to take off already.

“Amelia!” You call out, running up to her

You catch her in the nick of time before she sped off.

“What y/n?” She asks, “I’m going to get this report done.”

“Don’t you think it’d be better if we carpooled?” You ask, “I mean- we are doing this report together and-”

“With you? Not a chance,” She scoffs before taking off

You stand there for a couple of minutes before heading to your truck to take off to try and follow Amelia.

With no luck, you just decide to head there by yourself. You’ve done your shares of going to abandoned places alone. But, you didn’t want to go there alone. However, once you were driving through a winding road, you notice a familiar pink scooter. You pull over in front of the familiar pink scooter and hop out.

“Amelia?” You call out

“Y/n?” She looks up, almost relived, but the relief dropped not a second after, “What do you want?”

“More like, what do you want?” You ask, “Did your scooter break down?” 

“Well what does it look like to you captain obvious,” Amelia snarls, “I’m fine. I don’t need your sympathy or help.”

You knew trying to pry into Amelia further, you just turn your heel and begin walking back to your car. 

“Wait,” Amelia sighs, caving in, “Y/n... I might need some help.”

Once you get Amelia’s scooter tied down into your truck bed, she gets in the passenger side of your truck. You continue down to the Asylum. However, the drive being eerie silent.

“Thanks y/n,” Amelia sighs, breaking the silence between the two of you

“No need,” You reply, monotonous, “Told you we should have carpooled though.”

You take your key out of the ignition as you get out of your truck, with Amelia following suit. 

“Yeah yeah,” Amelia says, “But, you didn’t stop me.”

“You think I’m going to jump onto your scooter whilst you were driving away from me?” You ask, grabbing your backpack

She looks at you.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” You ask yourself, “Why the heck would I do that?!”

“Who knows,” Amelia says, getting a contraption out

“What do you have now?” You ask, groaning in frustration, “We aren’t here to catch a ghost...”

“I don’t know about you but I sure am,” Amelia giggles in triumph

“Well, I don’t know about you either, but I am not about to make a fool of myself and help you,” You sigh, walking into the asylum entrance

While you record through a thermal vision filter in your camera, you could easily hear Amelia make a whole talk show about how she’ll be catching a ghost on the adventure. But, out of respect, you don’t make any commentary to her video so she could get her report in. However, whilst you were recording, you’d write down how the experience made you feel, or any kind of interesting thing you found. The two of you stop in your tracks as you hear footsteps in the corridor in front of the both of you. The two of you quietly beeline it for the closest hiding spot. Although the space was tight, keeping the two of you closely packed together, you both managed to fit. The both of you still recording, you two hear a faint, low laugh. 

“Okay, here’s the plan,” Amelia whispers as best as she can, “You get out of here, I’ll go continue investigating.”

You catch Amelia’s wrist just before she could leave.

“Are you insane?” you whisper back, “I’ve had my shares of exploring places like this alone, don’t start that streak on yourself.”

“Are you scared that I might have a better report for this than you?” She asks

“No- forget the dang report right now Amelia,” You say, still holding onto her wrist, “I don’t want you getting hurt. You’ll never know who or what you’ll encounter in here.”

This was the first time Amelia saw the vulnerability in you. Although you two have been going at each others’ throats report after report, you were genuine about not wanting her to journey off alone. Especially in an asylum. 

“Okay... I’m sorry y/n,” Amelia sighs

Before you could tell her you were too, you could hear the laugh coming closer. You look over her shoulder and see something coming towards the both of you. 

“Amelia look out!” You call out to her before jumping at her

You wrap your arms around her midsection, pivoting your body so you’d have more of the impact than her. The mysterious object that was thrown at the both of you narrowly misses Amelia. Amelia stands as you try to regain your bearings, she kneels in front of you. She looks up and realizes that a sporix beast had thrown the mysterious projectile.

“Let me take care of this,” She says, before positioning your camera so that it was facing away from the direction where the sporix beast was spotted

You look up however, your vision was still blurry from the hit you took on your head.

“Link to Morphin’ Grid!” a muffled voice announces

The next time you gain your consciousness is when you see a trail of pink disappear. When your vision came to, you noticed Amelia on the ground, groaning in pain.

“Amelia?...” You call out to her breathlessly

You look over and see the sporix beast drawing its weapon. Unconsciously you move your legs and grab the closest thing that was durable enough. Just before the sporix beast could use its weapon on Amelia, you use said object and shield yourself and Amelia from the hit.

“Get out of here Amelia!” You shout, grunting

While you were holding the sporixs’ beast weapon back, she runs away with no hesitation. It kind of upset you that Amelia left you in the hands of a sporix beast. The monster lifts his weapon, but just as he lifts it he begins swinging at you. Luckily you dodge them. Someone’s gonna come... Hopefully. You duck down and leap forward, hitting the sporix beast in the arm, making him drop his weapon.

“My arm!” He screams, “Oh you’re going to get it now kid!”

As you jump back into the original spot you were just in, the sporix beast comes running at you instead. However, just before the sporix beast could reach you, you feel a pair of arms curl around your waist and your legs. The next thing you see is the monster stumbling backwards.

“Are you hurt?” The pink power ranger asks

“No,” You say, breathlessly

You look into the pink ranger’s visor, in awe. You’ve never had a power ranger save your life... Ever. Even if you did, you never expected it to be the pink ranger.

“Get out of here!” she says, letting you down

“Wait, where’s Amelia?” You ask 

“Don’t worry, she’s safe,” She says

You follow the pink ranger’s suggestion and run right out. You spot the supposed other rangers approaching you.

“Are you hurt at all?” the green ranger asks

“I’m fine,” you say, “But, the pink ranger is in there but I can’t find my friend, Amelia...”

“Just get yourself somewhere safe right now, we’ll find your friend!” The red ranger suggests

Not wanting to get yourself into more harms way, you follow what the red ranger says and walk back to your car. You contemplated on leaving or waiting for Amelia to show up. However, you contemplated too long as you hear a voice calling out to you. You look up and to your left; Amelia running over to you.

“Amelia?..” You ask, jumping out of your car, “A-Amelia!” 

You break out into a run and jump into her arms.

“Are you hurt?” She asks

“Am I hurt? Are YOU hurt?!” You ask, “You leave me to fend for myself against a sporix beast?!”

“Technically you said for me to get out so, I did,” Amelia teases, “But, you also risked your life to save me?”

“Yeah, well,” You blush, trying to find the right words to come out of your mouth, “You shut it.”

“Oh, you sure you don’t have a crush on me?” Amelia teases

“Shut. It.” You growl

“Awww you do,” Amelia continues teasing you, a smile curving around her cheeks

You just stare at her, contemplating whether you should kiss her or punch her. I wanna punch her for leaving me, but I also want to kiss her for... everything else. 

“Earth to y/n?” Amelia chuckles, snapping you back to reality

“Yeah?” You ask

She doesn’t respond back as she just stares at you. You notice how she stared at your lips then back into your eyes. Taking your chance, you step closer to her to put your lips on Amelia’s. Amelia stands there, in shock. However, she begins melting into the kiss.

“I wanted to be like you when I started working at Buzz Blast,” You confess, pulling away to breathe, “So I took report after report to get up to your speed. But, I didn’t think I’d be going neck to neck with THE Amelia Jones.”

“When I heard someone coming up the reporter ranks I was worried I was going to lose my streak of being the best reporter,” She confesses, “But, I guess in reality I was trying to impress you. Impress the rookie in other words.”

“Well,” You smile, “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

You give her one last kiss before she pulls away to speak.

“Shall we settle this over dinner?” She smiles, “On me, for saving my life.”

“If you say so,” You smile back

Amelia kisses your cheek before walking over to the passenger side of your car. If anything, you thought Amelia hated your guts. Turns out the both of you were trying to gain each other’s favor and attention.

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Rebel King

Dominic hid in the parklike green space that separated the Halls Norton and Amber from the rest of the campus, but he couldn’t stay here long. It was meant to emulate the green spaces of Cambridge where Students could escape the radiant heat and public works could be tastefully concealed by bushes. It was a popular place for art galleries and yoga sessions. It was one of the few places to hide and he could be easily surrounded here. He just needed a moment to catch his breath. Running up the stairs from the ceremony, fighting Tjark, and then fleeing here, all at breakneck speeds stressed even his stamina. This was only the first leg of his journey. He had to save strength. He took slow deep breaths, leaning on a massive oak tree and listened. He could hear distant shouting and the voices were growing louder. He’d shot several people and now was going to be his only chance of escape for a while. This little rest was enough and all he would be getting. It was time to move. He chose to direct himself perpendicular to the voices. With luck, they would run right past him. He kept himself low to the ground and broke into a jog.

His foot suddenly caught and something pulled hard at his shin. It was as though he were lassoed. The noose tightened hard around his ankle and he heard his pants tear. He tried to keep himself from falling but then his other foot was caught and he fell face first into the dirt. He groaned, the wind knocked out of him. Cutting pain burned into his lower legs.  The moonlight reflected off two invisible filaments stretched between two trees. How could she still be alive? Rage filled him. He had shot her pointblank in the chest! She should be dead, bleeding out on the floor of Amber Hall!

He looked up in fury at the woman who stepped out from behind a tree. Her long thin form was like a ninja. She moved in complete silence. He heard she trained in Japan with a family of covert operatives and it certainly showed. She knew he would be here and she just waited. He could see where the bullet had shredded the uniform right over where her heart should be. Sylke. He hated her. She never wanted to hurt him, only stop him or slow him down. She was effective with a monofilament weapon, long invisible threads that she kept hidden on her wrists. The strings themselves weren’t deadly but he had run into them and blood was soaking his socks. At the right tension, she could have severed his legs completely. Still, he climbed to his feet and staggered towards her.

“You can’t run.” She said softly. “So now you're going to fight me? Adrenaline is dulling the pain but those cuts are going to need stitches.”

Where were the other traps? If she had anticipated he would come here, then she had to have set more. He stopped and looked around for them but those ultrafine, ultra strong fibers were nearly impossible to see in the dark without the aid of rain or fog. Like spidersilk, you didn’t see them until they were right in front of you. 

She was looking at him with wide, concerned eyes. “You need to stop, Dominic. You can’t escape here.”

She didn’t have a weapon he could see, but that didn’t mean anything. She was adept at hand to hand combat. Now that she was closer, he could tell that she was wearing a protective vest so he couldn’t shoot her easily. He could try for a headshot but that might miss. Her reflexes were on par with his, lightning quick and without thought. He took a step back. He’d already triggered the trap behind him, so that area was safe.

“Dominic… please. You don’t even know where you are. You know you’re not on the island any more. But you’re not even in Europe. You’re in the United States,” she said, still not moving.

The United States? He fell asleep on the island monastery and woke up in a hotel, then he was told to get dressed and show up at this campus with other people his age. Everywhere he looked he saw luxury and yet he felt threatened. He didn’t know where he was or why he was here, only that the purpose was to slay dragons. This place was Cassell College and he’d been enrolled here for unclear reasons. All he could do was pay as close attention to his surroundings as possible with a view of escaping. He knew there was a train. He could follow the tracks out. Then he could find an embassy and hopefully sanctuary back to the Netherlands. 

She was still talking, but she was smart enough to keep her distance. He always attacked when people got close to him. If he could land a good hit, he could escape. He was still armed with that black alchemy sword. It was at his side and he had demonstrated that he could use it without getting corrupted by its power. “Do you think your father would leave you some place you could escape? The only reason you’re here now is because he couldn’t hold you any more.”

He looked up. A sturdy branch was right above him. It was a little far out of reach, but he could use the adjacent tree to jump off of and reach it.

“Dominic!” She lunged for him.

He jumped towards the adjacent tree, and pushed off from that trunk and hooked his hands around the branch, as nimble as a gymnast. He swung as far as he could, hoping to overshoot any more traps, and then hit the ground and rolled. He got up, hopping on his painfully wounded ankles and broke through the cover of the trees, leaving a trail of blood. He was limping badly and wouldn’t get very far at this rate. He still had his gun but he didn’t know how many bullets he had left.

He ran into an open courtyard. A large building was in front of him with a series of steps in front that lead to a bike rack. There were no lights on in the building, the windows were boarded up. It was open air, but no one was around.

Sylke followed him but didn’t try to touch him as he headed for a motorized scooter that was not secured to the rack. “You’re not listening. Our family is full of people with weak and useless genes. You’re the most powerful person we have in our family. That’s why you’ve been able to completely overpower everyone. But that’s not the case here. People here are your equal, and probably a few are above you. If you keep acting out like this… I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Dominic reached the scooter and leaned on it, no keys, no way to turn it on. His ankles were stinging him badly now and Sylke was being so annoying. She was no better than anyone else. She was part of the system that held him captive and she dared act like she cared about what happened to him? He swung the scooter at her head like a baseball bat and knocked her to the ground. He looked down at her coldly unmoved by her so-called concern. Until now, he wasn’t going to waste another bullet on her. But he’d switched past trying to escape now. He pulled his pistol and fired once. This time striking her in the head. She was still and a stain of red rolled past her temple. But she was still breathing, her skull didn’t break apart. Bullet fragments had shattered instead. The ammunition wasn’t lethal! He smashed the pistol to the ground and it broke apart. She had tricked him, even at the last!

If that was the way it was going to be, then he might as well just use his sword and slit her throat while she was down. He reached for the hilt of the sword to draw it and as soon as he gripped it it felt like holding on to a live wire! It’s power overcame him for a moment and he had to forcibly regain control of his body. He gasped for air for a second.

“Your Royal Highness!” A man was coming towards him, waving jovially.

This guy. Of course he’d be here. The most competent fighter he’d ever come in contact with, over six feet tall and just about as wide. And yet he was still wearing that Cassell Uniform. Was it custom made? Wouldn’t surprise him at all. The man was built like a tank. This living wall of muscles was smiling at him. “You really are something. Let’s go back. I’ll take a look at your legs.”

He hated this man more than he hated Sylke. Even if Dominic was uninjured, this guy was extremely hard to land hits on, and the hits he landed barely phased him. He suddenly regretted smashing the pistol. He could have used it against this guy.

“Look if you want to take it out on me, you know I can take it,” He said, opening his arms. “Go ahead.”

Why would he do that when he could just kill Sylke? He wasn’t going to get out of here anyway, one less guardian would give him a better chance later on. He took a step forward and drew the sword, as though taking him up on his offer, only to spin on the ball of his foot and strike downwards. 

The tip of the black blade clanged off another metal blade.  Dominic only had time to look up into a furious blue gaze before a fist cracked against his eye socket, blinding him and knocking him back. He tilted backwards and staggered, nearly falling down the hard concrete stairs.

“No way to treat a lady,” a voice snarled.

Dominic could only see stars but his body knew how to get his balance. He scrambled to back up, open some distance between him and this new attacker. He raised his arm up to block an attack he knew was coming but it hit hard enough to bruise the bone. 

“Royal Highness huh? What kind of monarch tries to kill their own subjects?” The frigid voice came again.

Still stunned, Dominic danced to one side and the air stirred next to his ear. And he caught the scent of tobacco and alcohol. His vision cleared. A blond haired man with icy blue eyes was fighting him completely shirtless and was still far too close for comfort. Dominic had lost the blade under the assault and was now completely unarmed. The best he could do was cross his arms to take the boneshattering blows that were coming at him. Even though this person looked to be his age, the force of his strikes reminded him of his false father’s silverwood cane.

The six-foot tall body builder came to his aid, grabbing the other man by the shoulder and pushing him away. “Enough! This doesn’t concern you.”

The shirtless man’s gaze was without temperature. “It concerns me when a man tries to kill an unconscious woman.”

“Sylke knows the risks.” The bodybuilder man held out his hand. “The name’s Gerrit! I’m a freshman. We’re from the Netherlands.”

The man’s eyes flicked between Gerrit and Dominic in angry confusion. Dominic figured that if he strayed too far from Gerrit, this man would attack him again and he was frankly, too worn out to fight or run any more. Taking up the sword took more out of him than he expected. 

The man finally relaxed and shook Gerrit’s hand. “Caesar Gattuso.”

“Gattuso! The famous family from Italy.” He chuckled jovially. “Don’t worry about us. We’re used to Dominic’s behavior. I can understand while you’re alarmed though.”

A sudden thunder of footsteps was coming closer and closer. Men with pistols surrounded Caesar and Dominic and Gerrit. “Hands in the air! The use of firearms and alchemy weapons are strictly forbidden! Hands in the air! Now!”

Dominic looked down at his bloody torn pant legs. He could practically feel his eye swelling shut. He was probably bruised up from his fall in the woods as well. He wasn’t getting out of here tonight. Just like little miss Sylke said. But now he was curious. She said these people were his equal and may even surpass him right? This was a place he couldn’t escape from, according to her. What would they even do to him? It couldn’t be worse than the terrible beatings he’d received at the monastery, could it? If they killed him, wouldn’t that be a sort of escape? And then that way, even his parents would be free from threat.

Gerrit raised his hands. “Please calm down, the young master is unarmed you see?”

The barrel of a gun was shoved into Gerrit’s face. “You shut up!”

Dominic turned away from the officers of the disciplinary committee. “Do your worst.”

For a moment, no one moved. The words weren’t said with any bravado or pride. They were soft but everyone heard them in the empty hall. The members of the disciplinary committee were suddenly wondering what their ‘worst’ was. He wasn’t holding up his hands. They had to do something. The leader cleared his throat and raised his gun again. “What is your Student number! If you don’t comply you will face demerits!”

“Hey!” A sharp female voice shouted. “What are you doing? It’s not midnight yet. So it’s still technically Freedom Day right?”

The loud clocktower on the campus suddenly started to toll. A red haired woman had approached the fray in nothing but her bathing suit. The disciplinary students' eyes went wide and filled with the sight of her voluptuous figure in full view. “Nothing he did was against the rules. Things got a little rough but everyone’s injuries are minor. Are you really that quick to go back to work?”

The crowd of Disciplinary committee members suddenly lowered their guns and scratched their heads, red in the face.

Nono approached him and hooked her arm in his. “Come on, the party is still rocking.”

“Freedom day?” Dominic had no idea what she was talking about. But apparently on Freedom Day it was okay to shoot people.

“How hard did you hit him?” The red haired woman looked into his eyes a little closer.

“To be frank, I was trying to knock him unconscious.” Caesar rotated his wrist. “His head was harder than I expected.” His smile had returned but his eyes were still filled with that cold fire. He left Dominic with Nono and went to check on Sylke.

“I can get you patched up in Amber Hall…” She whispered with a knowing grin. “You don’t want to be around these guys do you?”

Dominic’s heart suddenly lifted. This was the first time since his father’s stabbing his kidnapper that someone had actually offered to help him escape. They were just turning away from the scene when there was a loud clearing of the throat right next to him. The shadow of Gerrit blocked out the light of the overhead lamps and a heavy hand laid on his shoulder. “I think we’ll be taking care of him.”

“And you are?” Nono looked up at him with innocent eyes.

“Gerrit. We’re long time friends.” That heavy hand tightened on his shoulder. “Right?”

Nono looked him in the eyes. “Do you want to go with them? Say it. Yes or no.”

Gerrit suddenly spoke in Dutch. “You know what could happen if your father calls and you don’t answer. The people who raised you are alive because you cooperated.”

Dominic’s ears were ringing and a cold feeling spread down his spine. He let go of Nono. Gerrit beamed. “There’s a good lad!” he said gently. “We'll take care of his injuries!” 

He froze. Nono looked him right in the eyes with a fiery gaze. Gerrit coughed. “I’m sorry, we’ll join your party another time ya?”

Nono crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. “Ya. Sure you will.”

[zutaraangtastic]

imagine your polyship adopting a cat together and everyone fawns over the cat like they’re everyone’s child (bonus if the cat is Zuko's and named Your Honor.)

Coming back to these prompts after a little break (reminder that we are not accepting new prompts; we received these before July 1). Accidentally gave this cat fic a little plot, hope you enjoy! - Mod J

While waiting for the rest of his family and a picnic lunch to arrive in the garden, Zuko notices Izumi crouched in the dirt. Normally, she’d be sitting on the bench, reading in the shade—unlike Kya, who’s laughing wildly and kicking around in the fountain, thriving in the hot Fire Nation sun.

Zuko humors her, lets her splash him and treats her to some slow and easy firebending counter-moves that make her wobbly water whips sizzle into steam. It was refreshing and cooled him off at first, but it has gotten a little tedious to keep drying his robes every five minutes. He’s not dressed for play, just stealing an hour away from the day’s endless succession of formal meetings to spend some time with his lovers and their visiting children.

(His children, in some way—they’ll have to get all that out in the air sooner rather than later, before the oldest two figure it out on their own. His daughter is too smart for her own good, and Bumi is more observant than Katara or Aang realize.)

Izumi still hasn’t moved, so Zuko tells Kya to keep practicing, maintaining a watchful eye on her as he goes to find out what has Izumi’s attention.

He hears it before he sees it: a small, rumbling growl coming from a dark gap beneath the wooden walkway and the ground. Izumi stretches out a tentative hand, but on instinct Zuko pulls her back just as a set of teeth snap near her fingertips. She yelps in surprise, and his heart jumps into his throat with panic that she might be hurt. Her hands are shaky, but otherwise unscathed. Zuko breathes a sigh of relief.

Kya arrives at the site of the commotion, wielding a tenuous rope of water. She lashes it towards the gap and misses, splattering the walkway instead. Izumi jumps to her feet and wards Kya off before she can try again.

“No, don’t hurt it! Avatar Aang says to respect all life!”

“I know that, he’s my dad!”

Zuko spots Katara making her way across the garden to them, a welcome sight amid the chaos. While she sorts out the girls’ argument, he lowers his face close to the ground so he can peer into the hole, holding a small flame for light. A ferret-cat is coiled at the deepest end, its feline eyes gleaming at him before it turns its head away and resumes digging, presumably trying to tunnel its way out. It’s hard to tell, but it looks injured, half of its ear torn, its fur dark and wet in places.

It must have wandered into the garden after a fight. There haven’t been any ferret-cat families here in a long time—after how Azula terrorized them, Zuko wasn’t surprised when they disappeared. It’s hard to believe that that childhood, good and bad, is almost 30 years gone.

He’s spent much of his time as Fire Lord working to restore relationships between the nations. Restoring one with the local fauna shouldn’t be too great a task.

After she finishes explaining the animal crisis to Kya and Katara, Izumi turns to Zuko with imploring eyes. “Can we help it?”

Zuko smiles and squeezes her hands gently in his. “Of course,” he says, and looks to Katara. “Do you know where Aang is? Earthbending might be most useful here.”

Katara nods. “I was thinking the same thing. He just put Tenzin down for a nap, so he should be on his way.”

Just as she says it, Bumi appears around the corner. He sprints down the colonnade parallel to the garden, with his father chasing behind by air scooter. Judging by his casual poise, Aang isn’t really trying to win their race, unlike Bumi, who arrives sweaty and panting. He nearly trips over Kya, earning him a sharp look from Katara, which goes ignored as he turns and waits with his arms crossed. Aang leans forward to speed up in the last stretch only when he realizes he’s being watched.

Dissipating the air and landing lightly on his feet, he ruffles Bumi’s hair and says, “Looks like you’re just too fast for your old man!”

“Dad.” Bumi pulls a face and ducks out of Aang’s grasp. “I told you not to let me win!”

“If you didn’t think you were too old for air scooter rides now, both of us could’ve won.” Aang grins, arms akimbo, and flashes a quick wink at Zuko. “Problem-solving is my middle name, just ask your Uncle Fire Lord. At least he listens to me, most of the time.”

“We’ve got one for you, O Wise One,” Katara says, at the same time as Izumi glues herself to Aang’s pants leg and tugs him to see the ferret-cat, explaining how she found it.

Zuko moves out of the way, gesturing for Bumi to wait his turn. The boy still sulks, but less so when Zuko gets him to talk about his practice training with the palace guards. Getting all fired up about it again, he reenacts some of the kicks and stances he’s learned, and puffs his chest out when Zuko nods approvingly. He barely seems to notice Katara tailing him, attempting to smooth down his hair. Zuko catches her twinkling eyes over Bumi’s head. He fights a smile and tries to stay interested in Bumi’s rambling and cartwheeling.

It’s Kya who sends up the cry when the kitchen servants arrive with lunch. Aang waves for them to start without him, nudging Izumi to go join the others. Katara and Zuko shepherd the kids to their chosen picnic spot under the shade of a maple tree, while Aang sets about fashioning an earthen cage.

Bumi and Kya chow down eagerly, while Izumi only picks at her rice. She nods when Katara encourages her to eat, but she’s distracted, watching Aang. He sits in lotus on the walkway, waiting patiently.

“I thought he was going to earthbend it out,” she says, frowning.

“Maybe he doesn’t want to scare it,” Zuko suggests. “Don’t worry, he knows what he’s doing. If you really want to help, here.” He takes the top off a bowl of steamed meat buns and hands it to Izumi. “Food might coax it out. But you have to eat some of these too, okay? Don’t give them all to the ferret-cat.”

Izumi jumps to her feet, smiling brightly. Then she pauses and looks from the bowl to Zuko. “But Avatar Aang is vegetarian. Will I hurt his feelings?”

Katara exchanges a nearly saccharine look with Zuko, her eyes reflecting the melting of his own heart. “It’s okay, honey,” she says, patting Izumi’s hand. “He won’t mind. Uncle Sokka has practically made him immune to the smell of meat, I promise. And, you can tell him we’ve got vegetable buns for him once he rescues the ferret-cat.”

Izumi nods resolutely and hurries back down the little hill. She lays down a trail of buns leading into the makeshift cage, before sitting next to Aang, painstakingly copying his position. Zuko watches, almost overwhelmed with warmth, as Aang assuages Izumi’s hesitation, gesturing to the food for her to eat. 

Across the picnic blanket from him, Katara wipes Kya’s mouth clean and chides Bumi when he burps, before she releases them, warning that they’ll scare the ferret-cat if they play too loudly. They end up in the fountain where Kya was before, within sight but a safe distance away.

Katara scoots closer to Zuko, laying a hand over his, and he leans on the other as he twines their fingers together, low enough to stay hidden.

“Izumi’s really growing up, isn’t she?” she remarks.

Zuko groans. “Don’t say that, she’s only eight. I want her to stay this way forever.”

Katara laughs lightly. “You’ve done well with her,” she says, and she sounds almost wistful. 

He wonders if she daydreams as often as he does about a life where they could raise Izumi and the rest together full-time, where they could spend the whole day like this with Aang and their children. 

But judging by the sun, edging past its midday zenith, it’s almost time for him to get to his first afternoon meeting. He’s just starting to think he won’t get to see the ferret-cat rescue for himself when a furry white-and-brown head pokes out of the hole. Izumi gasps, and Aang grins at her with a finger to his lips. While the animal busies itself with digging for the meat, he slowly raises the layer of earth it’s on and slides it towards the cage. Zuko and Katara stand to get a better view, and Katara beckons for Bumi and Kya.

The ferret-cat seems to notice the trap at the last second, but Aang earthbends the door into place before it can do anything. Everyone ventures closer once it’s clear that the cage is secure. Katara kneels, drawing water from her satchel and bending it between the gaps in the sides of the box to surround the ferret-cat in a healing blue glow. Izumi speaks soothingly to it while it hisses and squirms.

Smiling, Zuko bends to kiss the top of her head. Then he catches Aang by the shoulder, squeezing gently and resisting the urge to drop a kiss there, too. Aang’s eyes are shining as he looks fondly from the children to Zuko. It’s easy to read the gentle pride in his posture—Zuko knows that for all the world-saving and spirit-negotiating and political crisis-averting Aang’s done, he takes the most satisfaction in the small, everyday kindnesses. He’s always had this soft spot for animals especially.

“I have to go,” Zuko says, “but you know where the physicians’ wing is. I’m sure someone there has some veterinary experience.”

Aang clasps Zuko’s forearm, hand slipping up his sleeve and thumb caressing the way back down to his wrist. “You’ll find us later?”

“Of course.” Zuko reluctantly disentangles his hand and looks over his shoulder to add, “Izumi, be good and listen to Uncle Aang and Aunt Katara, alright?”

He leaves the kids discussing names for their new pet, with Katara jokingly suggesting something to do with honor and Aang interjecting that they might need to wait a while before the ferret-cat is ready to be domesticated. Kya and Izumi get into another argument over it, while Bumi unwisely sticks his fingers in through the gaps.

Zuko pauses one last time at the edge of the garden to look at his family, and knows he’ll spend this meeting daydreaming.

[akinnie75]

Black & White

Pair: Yoongi x Reader

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Slight Angst, Slow Burn

Word Count: 24.7k

Summary: You finally confessed to Yoongi after he asked if you like him. His response is to give you a contract to sign. However, you soon realize that Yoongi manufactured your emotions and manipulated you to like him all for the sake of his senior project.

“(Y/N), can I have a word with you?” Yoongi calls out to you after class.

You can feel your heartbeat skyrocket the moment Yoongi said your name. You shot up from your seat, ears turning red just at the thought that Yoongi wants to talk to you. The other classmates don’t seem to care as much as you do, but right now, Yoongi is all that matters. And he needs you.

You haven’t been talking to Yoongi much. In fact, it’s only been recent that you met him. He decided to take the same art history course as you, despite being a sociology major, so you can only assume that he’s taking this to get rid of his general class requirements. Though the reason is vague, Yoongi has been talking to you since the first day of the semester, and as time went on, you couldn’t help but develop feelings for him.

You can’t quite put your finger on it, but there’s something about Yoongi that you really like. Perhaps it may be because of how fair his skin is, being as pale as the moon, or it could also be his smooth, slender hands that complements his lean body figure. But personality wise, it could be his intelligence that you find attractive. Every time he talks to you, he always sounds so smart, every statement he makes has facts to back it up. Everything about him is the opposite of you—he has everything that you’ve always wanted.

You follow Yoongi from behind, feeling too timid to raise your head up. All you can do is stare at your own feet as you follow Yoongi to wherever he’s taking you. The two of you are surrounded with sounds of a lively college campus—students scurrying to their next class on their bikes or scooters, professors with their briefcases, and even a few young parents taking their toddlers on a walk on campus. This is a perfect scenario to be in under the rising summer weather.

What could it be that Yoongi has called you for? Though you have gotten quite friendly in art history, you two have never spoken outside the classroom. Having to talk to you outside of class is making you nervous, curious to know what it is that Yoongi needs to discuss. Your optimism keeps telling you that today might be the day that Yoongi asks you out on a date. You can’t contain your squeal, excited for what’s to come. But at the same time, your pessimism is telling you to lower your hopes. If that does not turn out to be the truth, then you’ll just end up being hurt, so it’s better to avoid it. The fact that Yoongi didn’t give you a reason why he needs you is making you feel restless, both emotionally and mentally.

“Should we sit at the Blub?” Yoongi asks.

You were so lost in your own thoughts that Yoongi said a few words without you realizing. “S-sorry…what?”

“Shall we converse at the Blub? Though it’ll be slightly noisy due to a large number of students just finishing their lectures, it’ll take roughly fifteen minutes for the commotion to die down. That way, we can discuss what is necessary.”

You try to hold in your laughter. It’s cute hearing Yoongi say the name of your university’s canteen, Blub. Since your school’s mascot is a whale, the canteen is named after whale blubber, hence ‘Blub’. It’s a ridiculous name, but if it means hearing the oh-so-serious Yoongi say it with his static tone, then you don’t mind.

“Yea, we should.”

“Would you like to stop by Aroma to grab a cup of coffee while we’re in the process?”

You can’t help but like everything that comes out of his mouth. “Yea!”

------

The two of you are sitting just outside of the Blub, facing each other as the two of you are taking sips. You bought chamomile tea while Yoongi bought pure, black coffee. As much as you like chamomile, it’s still too bitter for you, so you drowned it in milk and sugar nearly to the point where you can’t even taste the tea itself.

You and Yoongi don’t exchange a single word. Perhaps it might be because Yoongi is waiting for more students to leave. He keeps checking his watch, and he’s serious about waiting for fifteen minutes to pass to begin the discussion. You like how he’s so meticulous about everything, especially time. But you, on the other hand, is beginning to feel impatient. It’s killing you to know what Yoongi wants to talk about.

You trace your sight from the table, drawing it upward slowly to spy on Yoongi’s chest. Despite it being just the beginning of summer, Yoongi is wearing a thin, gray cardigan that drapes down all the way to his knees with a black collar shirt, buttoned all the way up to the top. Whenever he checks his watch, you take this opportunity to look at his face. His head is well-structured, being in the shape more of a circle than an oval, but still perfect nonetheless. His hair is combed to be swayed to his left, and his glasses with only the top being black-framed, works well with his dark clothes. You think that anyone will look like a geek in this outfit, but for Yoongi, he makes it look unfathomably fashionable.

“Alright. Let’s begin.” Yoongi says out of the blue.

You dart down, cheeks turning red and praying that Yoongi didn’t catch you staring.

“I have a few questions that I would like to ask you, (Y/N).”

“Go ahead!”

“Has your emotional state changed since you met me?”

“Huh? …What?”

“Let me rephrase it for you: what did you initially think of me when I first introduced myself to you?”

You wonder if this is his ‘professional’ way of phrasing that he wants to know what you think of him. “Uhm…I thought you looked like a really cool, rich-looking kind of guy. Very serious.”

You immediately regret your words as you start realizing that describing him as ‘rich’ would make it sound as if you’re friends with him merely because you’re interested in men who have money. Though, you didn’t tell him you like him directly. In addition to that, calling him ‘serious’ might offend him because seriousness might be mistaken as bland.

“Wait! I mean, I don’t know if you’re rich, but you just kind of give off that vibe?” You shake your head. “I-I mean…you just look really…really…sophisticated? P-plus, I don’t mean serious in a bad way either. I like how you take every manner seriously!”

“Hmmm…is that so?”

You wish you can run away from this. How did you manage to spend an entire semester with him? The thought that Yoongi might ask you on a date is what is distracting you. If it were any other ordinary day, you’d talk to him as if you never knew that you had feelings for him.

Besides, you mentioning how you like his serious side is almost like a confession, and you wish you can rephrase that. Each time you speak, you’re humiliating yourself even more.

“Has that initial judgement of me changed?” Yoongi asks, sliding passed your embarrassing words.

“Huh? Oh…uhm…kind of? I mean, I still think you’re serious and stuff, but it isn’t like my thoughts of you changed…it’s more like…I’ve come to accept that that’s who you are as a person.”

“Then…that acceptance that you have of me, may I consider it as romantic?”

You feel your blood pressure shooting up. You desperately don’t want to misunderstand, but in modern terms, is Yoongi asking if you like him?? And if he is asking, is it alright for you to assume that he likes you in return? Since he brought up the topic, you might as well come clean. You’ve been hiding it for the entire semester, so you believe that you’re ready to admit everything.

“Well…yea. I do like you in that way. I did for a while now too.” Though you’ve rehearsed that dozens of time in your head, saying it aloud is absolutely embarrassing.

But then you immediately regret your words, the devil inside telling you that he may not feel the same for you. Maybe you made yourself obvious that it’s making him feel uncomfortable to be around you.

“Oh, but I’m not expecting you to like me in return! If anything, you can just ignore my confession. But if it’s too selfish to ask, can we still be friends?”

“No need to retract your words, (Y/N). Actually, this is quite splendid. This may end earlier than expected.”

Whenever Yoongi speaks, it’s always as if he’s royalty—not exactly aware of how commoners speak. But also, what does he mean? You can’t tell whether he’s accepting your confession or not. Whatever he’s thinking, you feel as though your chest is about to burst. This is the first time you admitted to the person you like that you have feelings for him. Although you told him to forget about it, you’re terrified that he’s going to reject you coldly.

Yoongi takes out a stack of paper from his schoolbag, sliding it across the table to you. “May you sign this?”

“What is it?”

“I believe I have it written on the first page. No need for me to explain. It would be kind of you if you sign it.”

You read the first paragraph. ‘Please read the following Terms and Conditions carefully before signing the following contract. By reading this, you are aware that you are responsible for any liabilities, and by breaking the rules, you can be fined or held accountable. This agreement is to ensure that you have given full permission to sign a contract with Min Yoongi in providing him aid in his research, and by…’

The reason you chose to be in an art major is so that you don’t have to read ever again. When you flip through the pages, you realize this is a hundred and thirty pages long. However, after reading a third of the first paragraph, you already have enough information to know that Yoongi probably needs your help in something, and you’re gladly help him. It does mention something about Yoongi’s research, and it makes sense since he’s a sociology major. He might be doing a social experiment and thought you’d be a perfect candidate.

You sign the papers, returning it to him.

“Thank you.” Yoongi says, without even giving you a smile.

“Uhm…I know you said that the information I need is on the first page but…what kind of research are you doing?”

“Hm? You signed it and you don’t even know what it’s about?” This is the first time Yoongi showed a change of expression, looking somewhat surprised. “No matter. I’ve come this far, so there’s no point in backing out now.”

What does he mean by that?

“When the time comes, I shall explain everything to you at once. As for now, I have an errand to run, so I will be seeing you next Tuesday for art history, (Y/N). Farewell.” And just like that Yoongi stands up and leaves.

You watch him walk off, tossing his empty coffee cup into the trash bin. You don’t know what just happened or what you just signed. Did he even acknowledge your confession in the first place? He just nodded his head to it as if it were any ordinary thing you say. You don’t have a good feeling about this, but if it means that it’s going to help with Yoongi’s research, it might not be so bad. After all, you do like Yoongi, and Yoongi’s not a suspicious person.

------

It’s disheartening to know that finals have just ended for your art history course, meaning that this is the last day you’ll ever see Yoongi. Summer break will come, and after three months, you and Yoongi will forget about each other and go separate ways, focusing on your own studies. You were expecting Yoongi to avoid you like the plague or ask you on a date after your confession, but Yoongi remained constant, talking to you only in class, then never talking to you outside.

It’s already been a week since you signed that strange contract, and it’s been bothering you that you might’ve signed up for something malicious. You keep trying to force yourself into thinking that Yoongi would never do you dirty, but there’s just that lingering thought in the back of your head that you’ll regret this in the future.

The semester has finally come to an end, and you’re now returning home from school. You sigh to yourself, glad that finals are over, though a majority of them had required you to paint or draw certain themes. It’s nice you’re doing what you’ve always wanted to do, but you dislike having to be graded on something you enjoy doing.

Your mind drifts off, wondering what Yoongi is doing right now. He must be at the campus library and conducting his research. You picture Yoongi sitting in front of his laptop, typing away with his slim fingers hitting each key without ever missing, occasionally take a break and sipping his black coffee. No matter what he does, he does it with so much care that you find it attractive.

By the time you finished thinking about your fantasies, you’ve reached your home and to your surprise, you see a moving truck parked at the front of it. Initially, you thought that it was the neighbors who just so happened to be blocking your driveway, but when you saw your mother conversing with one of the movers, you knew that something is going on. You pick up the pace, heading toward your mother first.

“(Y/N), what is the meaning of this?” It’s the first thing your mother asks you after returning home.

“You mean you don’t know what’s all this about either?” You ask with a look of shock in your eyes.

Your mother shakes her head. With neither of you saying another word after that, the mover she was just speaking to previous to your interruption stares at you. You nod your head, acknowledging him, then taking your mother by the arm and dragging her inside.

You were expecting the living room to be emptied out, but surprisingly, it’s still the same as it’s always been. At least you’d expected to have a few things packed, but it looks as if nothing has been touched.

“Mom, what’s going on?? Why are there movers?”

“I have no idea. They arrived just now, and they said that they’re looking for you. (Y/N), why didn’t you tell your father and me that you’re moving?? When did you decide such a thing?”

“Wait, I’m as clueless as you are too!”

Seeing as your mother does not have the answers to your questions, you look over her shoulder to see the mover that she spoke to, still standing by the door frame. You leave your mother for now, heading towards that man to get some sort of explanation.

“Hi there…I think there’s been a misunderstanding. No one here is moving.”

“But we received a call to help Miss…” the mover looks down at the clipboard to get the name. “…(Y/N). Is that you?”

“Yes, that’s me, but I didn’t call.”

“Oh, no, the caller was a male. I believe he left his information to pay us over the phone. His name is…”

------

“MIN YOONGI!” You shout from the entrance door.

The mover led you and your mother to the top of a mountain surrounded by greenery. The forest is so dense that it was nearly impossible to find the mini-mansion without his aid. Had you gone with just you and your mother, you may have never found it.

Inside the entrance hall stands Yoongi, talking to one of the movers when you suddenly burst into through the double doors, the sound of the doors slamming against the walls. While you march right for Yoongi, who doesn’t flinch at all at your demanding presence, your mother is in awe with how vast only the entrance hall is. It’s already larger than your entire first floor in your home. Everything is crystal clean.

The other mover who came with you tries to stop you, but you don’t bother. You’re not in the mood to confine yourself. Yoongi finally turns his head, not a single change in expression.

“Ah, (Y/N). You’ve just arrived on time. I was wondering when you’ll be making your appearance.”

When you get close enough to the point where your nose is inches away from him, you puff up your chest and point your finger at his chin. “Explain to me what’s going on!! Why did are you making people move my stuff here??”

“You should’ve read your contract.” Yoongi looks at his nails, blowing on them as if a speck of dust has fallen on them.

“Contract? Wha…?” Your mind trails off, thinking about that hundred and thirty-page stack he made you sign.

“Oh hello, you must be Min Yoongi!” Your mother finally returns from her fascinations and butts in between you and Yoongi. “I was wondering where I heard your name before, and I remember. My daughter talks about you all the time.”

You blush. “Mom!”

“She's always talking about you whenever she comes back from class. I can see what she means now.”

Yoongi flashes a professional smile. “I’m flattered.”

“How long have you two been dating?”

Your cheeks turn into a darker shade of red. “Mom! We’re not dating! We’re just classmates!”

Your mother glares at you, upset that you’re raising your voice next to Yoongi. She was just siding with you a second ago, and now she’s taken a complete 180.

“Oh? Then why are you moving in with him?”

“I’m not—” you sigh. “Yoongi, can I talk to you privately?”

“Oh, you have to let me join too.” Your mother chimes. “You did bring me, after all.”

She initially came with you because she wanted to talk to the person who was involuntarily forcing you out of her house. But after seeing Yoongi and his extraordinary wealth, you already know that she only wants to come to talk to Yoongi and have him see how much of a ‘caring’ mother she is.

“No, Mom. Can you wait in the U-Haul? It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“Actually, why don’t you join us, Mrs. (L/N)? I’ll have tea ready for us to drink, and we’ll have our conversation altogether,” Yoongi turns to you, giving you a sly smile. “We shouldn’t be hiding anything from you whatsoever.”

Your mother giggles, blushing from his words. “What a fine man you are!”

You glare at him, but he merely brushes your annoyance off, only upsetting you more.

------

You reread the contract over and over again, regretting the fact that you didn’t read the contract in its entirety. In summary, you signed up to be Yoongi’s lab rat for research that he’s currently working on for his college thesis. As a graduating fourth year, it’s necessary that if he wants to continue on with his master’s degree and eventually his PhD, he needs to conduct research and prove a theory.

“…‘live under the same house as Mr. Min from June 1st to August 30th in order to get the most accurate results.’” You read aloud, your voice trailing off. “Yoongi…this is not ethical at all…”

“It is ethical. If it wasn’t, then the dean of our university wouldn’t have approved it.”

“But what I’m saying is…that it’s not right to force someone to fall in love with another person for science!” You exclaim.

That’s right. His theory is that two people of complete opposites will fall in love, regardless of social structure. When you flip through the pages, you understand why it’s so thick: he’s shared some of the results that he got from his other experiments. Yoongi went through the trouble of pairing people from 0% personality differences to 90% differences, the success rate increases as the personality gap between pairs become larger. He’s even done it for people of different sexualities: men and men, women and women, everything.

You see the profiles of each person he’s had, and he’s even written down their personality traits. It angers you just seeing how Yoongi has dwindled these humans down to just numbers that he can use to push forward with his career. However, what popped off the lid of your head is in the last paragraph, stating that Yoongi was looking for someone with a 100% difference…and you just so happened to fit that.

“Look at how fine the granite is…” Your mother mumbles to herself, completely not reading the atmosphere of the room.

“Mom, really?” You turn to her, ready to just explode on Yoongi.

“It was made with the finest of granite, Mrs. (L/N). My parents had one of the best architects build this villa from the bottom.”

Just hearing his voice is already enough for you to want to punch him.

“Unfortunately (Y/N), the final date to cancel the contract expired yesterday. You did not notify me of the cancellation, so I had no choice but to assume that you wanted to proceed with the experiment. However, I was concerned that you were going to have trouble making your way to the villa, so I hired the movers.”

“Wow, what a kind man. From what I understand from the contract…it’s guaranteed that my daughter will marry you, correct?” Your mother asks.

You wish your mother wasn’t in the kitchen. You’re just so ashamed that she doesn’t know when to keep her mouth closed.

“I apologize, Ma’am, as I cannot secure that promise. However, based on the results I’ve received from my previous experiments, I can guarantee that we’ll be in a long-term relationship. Or at least…for half a decade.”

That’s right. Yoongi’s contract said something about how people fall out of love after a few years because your dope-something becomes stale. It’s too science-y for you to understand.

“Then does that mean that since my daughter is living here starting today, I can come by as much as I want?”

“Yes. I will be providing the expenses for food, transportation, and sundries that (Y/N) will need for the summer.”

“Wait!” You finally cut them off of their conversation. “Both of you, don’t go around deciding everything for me! Yoongi, I don’t want to do this!”

“I already said it but let me say it again:  the date to opt out of the contract ended yesterday. After that, there will be an inconvenience fee if you choose to leave after that date.”

“How much is it?? I’ll pay for it all!!!”

“(Y/N), we’re not made out of money! Just commit to the contract!”

“I’ll pay for it on my own.”

Yoongi takes a paper towel and a pen from his pocket, calculating the fee that you’ll be paying. Once he’s done, he slides the napkin across the kitchen counter, and your jaw drops at the expense.

Your mother leans over to see the fee, and her eyes widen. “That’s more than our house.”

“I’m providing (Y/N) with everything with the highest of qualities—three months’ worth. That includes the price of the movers, the food, the villa, medical expenses, everything,” Yoongi leans over to you, glaring deep into your conflicted eyes. “I do accept loans.”

Loans. You let that ring in your ears for a while. You hate that word coming out of his mouth. The way he makes it sound, it sounds like you owe him, even though he’s the one who trapped you in this situation. Yes, it is your fault for not reading the whole contract, but it’s his fault for being slick about it and never telling you a single thing after that day.

“Just accept the offer, (Y/N)!” Your mother slaps you on the back, causing you to lose all the air from your lungs. “It’s a once in a lifetime chance to be spoiled like this.”

You rub where your mother slapped, feeling it sting into the shape of her hand. “Mom, don’t you understand where I’m getting at?”

“Your father would love to see this! Why don’t you think about us as well? We worked hard to raise you, so we should be rewarded.”

“Sorry Mom, but I’m not going to accept this offer!”

You’re clearly upset about this whole ordeal, being on the verge of tears. However, it isn’t because you didn’t read the contract, nor is it because Yoongi did all this without your permission.

Yoongi can sense the solemn mood you’re giving off. “Mrs. (L/N), may I please have a moment to talk to (Y/N)? I’ll have one of the movers show you to her bedroom and help set it up.”

“Oh, of course! I’d love to see how the rooms look like too! Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Before your mother gets up from her seat, she mumbles the words, ‘don’t turn it down’. She scurries off, closing the door behind her, leaving you two alone in the kitchen.

“…You planned this from the start, didn’t you?” You mutter in a low voice.

There was a section in the contract where it explained that in order to complete his research, he needed to find two people with a complete 100% difference in terms of ideology and personality. He went through the student roster and chose you. Yoongi even applied for the same art history class, purposely attracting you so you can help him reach his final result. Yoongi is so obsessed with his research that even he’s participating in it.

And that’s the part that you find disgusting; he made you fall in love with him for the sake of his research. It makes sense he was always so stoic whenever he was with you. He never liked you. He merely manipulated you to fall for him without letting you have a say in this. He controlled your feelings, knowing what you liked and didn’t like.

“If you want to relieve your stress, then go ahead. I know how much of an expressive person you are, so I’ll allow you to trash the kitchen just once.”

You hate how he said that with such familiarity. Of course, typically you would throw everything everywhere and punch something, but you don’t want to prove him right that you’re the type to do that. You don’t want to contribute to his cockiness by proving to him that you’re the opposite of him.

Your eyes are turning red and welling up with tears. You try to hide it, but Yoongi is no fool. He knew you were going to cry because just like he said—you’re the type of person who expresses their emotion through body language than through words.

However, to your surprise, Yoongi pats you on the head. You’re absolutely speechless, as you assumed that Yoongi was most likely a germaphobe because of how serious his OCD is, but he patted you on the head so naturally. His fingers comb through locks of your hair gently, and it’s soothing. Your heart throbs, with the two of you finally looking at each in the eyes properly.

“There was a research paper I read while doing work on my background notes. It said that typically people prefer to be comforted through physical contact. There’s a soothing effect to it, as humans are social beings and require the attention of others. But there are different levels of it. Since we’re on the bridge between acquaintance and friends, a pat on the head is the most conservative,” Yoongi states blatantly. “However, since you harbor romantic feelings for me, this must be enough for you, is that right?”

…You were crazy to believe that Yoongi was feeling sympathetic. You’re trying to remember what it was about him that made you like him so much. The person in front of you is a heartless, stone-cold person. You might even call him a sociopath.

You swipe his hand away, using your forearm to wipe away your tears. Since you were so rough with wiping your eyes that it’s red. You look at him with confidence, no longer appearing as a fragile woman.

“Well, you’re wrong about that! That petty pat on the head was nothing to me because I don’t like you!”

Neither of you exchange a single word for a few seconds.

“…Pardon?”

There’s that look of confusion, something you’ve been dying to see. This time, you’re not the one who’s confused, but him. You have the upper hand now.

“That’s right. I lied. I never liked you. It was because you asked me so suddenly that day that I didn’t want to make you feel bad!!”

Your reasoning is even more confusing. There is no logic behind it whatsoever.

“…You’re saying that when you said that you like me, it was just a lie?”

“Yes! I thought you were my friend, so I lied about liking you to save your pride! In fact, I would never like someone like you!”

“So, are you telling me that…”

Yoongi takes out his notebook from one of the kitchen drawers, almost as if he was already expecting you to say something like that. He flips through the pages until he finds the one that he needs.

“…The words you said to me two weeks ago, those words: ‘I do like you in that way’ bracket, ‘romantically’. ‘I did for a while now too’ is a lie? Shall I take your mother’s words as false too?”

He even recorded you saying that. You’re fuming with anger because he was prepared for you to defy him. However, you still stand by your words.

“Yea! That’s right! All lies!” You say with a booming voice, though now it’s becoming more difficult for you to keep up with your bluff.

“And you did not mind to tell me that you told me a false statement this entire time?”

You gulp. “Yea, and what of it? You wrote down notes about me, right? You knew I was going to be upset, so you didn’t bring up the contract until I had to say something.”

Yoongi smirks. “I’m impressed. Very well. Are you still going to abide by the contract?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I am,” you hated to admit that, but it’s true. “I don’t have the money to pay you back all that. Plus, I think my mom’s going to give me a beating if I refused. But don’t expect me to act lovey-dovey with you. As far as I know, you’re just another person who’s living with me.”

“Smart move. However, whether or not you’re telling me the truth, it seems as though it is partially my fault for misleading you, so it looks to be that I’ll have to retract my research a tad. My intentions of keeping the move a secret has damaged our relationship, but not enough to make you flee from the deal.”

It’s because you’re threatening me with debt, you thought to yourself.

“Then again, you’re probably thinking that it’s because of the financial conflict that I’ve brought up, correct?”

You jolt. You’re afraid that Yoongi might just be more than a sociology major and is actually a psychic.

“As far as I’ve gone with my research, it takes an average of three to six months for one to fall in love. I do have three months before our contract expires, so it will not be an issue to return to the pace I was before with my research.”

You dislike that confidence that he has. Does he really think he can make you fall for him again after disclosing that he’s only using you as a lab rat?  Though, you can’t deny that you lost all of your feelings for him in an instant. There’s still a part of you that’s attracted to him, but as far as you know, you’re more upset at him. Besides, someone as emotionless as him won’t be a romanticist in less than a day. These next three months will be a breeze.

------

“You actually made all this?” You ask.

It’s the morning, and the first thing you did was walk to the kitchen. You open the fridge, looking for a carton of milk. Once you find it, you chug it down, caring less if the milk trails down your chin and down your neck. However, you didn’t see Yoongi in the dining hall, setting up breakfast.

“Of course. Breakfast plays the most important factor of the day.”

It’s been like this for the past few days. You two barely see each other, though Yoongi does try to start a conversation, you would run away or lock yourself up in your room. That friendly relationship you two once had is nowhere to be seen. You no longer talk to him about your interests in art, worried that everything you say will be noted then be used for his science project.

You see that Yoongi is already dressed up, wearing a light purple, long-sleeved collar shirt and black slacks. He’s wearing his thick-framed glasses again, and his hair is kept well. Despite having to technically be a ‘couple’ in this large house, you have separates rooms, so you didn’t hear him get prepared. You two even have separate bathrooms for yourselves.

Unlike him, you just woke up, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a cute cat that says ‘stay pawsitive’, a poor attempt at a pun. Since it’s a size extra-large, it extends low enough that your shorts are invisible.

“I see you’ve adjusted well here already,” Yoongi comments while inspecting your sloppy attire from head to toe.

You blush slightly. “Well, since I’m going to be living here for the entire summer, might as well get used to it as soon as possible. Besides, aren’t you hot in that?”

“There’s an air conditioning ventilation installed in every room. If you’re feeling hot, then turn it on whenever you like,” Yoongi sits down in front of a plate of eggs and sausage. “Besides, I have no choice but to dress formally. I have a meeting to attend at 10.”

“A meeting?”

“I’m currently relaying my findings to my faculty. Since I’m initiating my final step in my research, I have to update them about it.”

You forgot that you’re nothing more than a test for him. All he talks about is his research, and you’re starting to get tired of that word. He never talked about it this much before, but then again, it was because he was still uncertain about you. You wonder if there are other words that can replace that word, ‘research’.

Still, you cannot deny that he looks very handsome in that attire. Every time you see him, he’s always dressed up professionally. He probably even goes to sleep with a suit on too. You snicker at the thought of that.

“What’s so comical?” He asks.

“Sorry, I was just thinking to myself.” Though, the fact that Yoongi said ‘comical’ instead of ‘funny’ is also hilarious in that of itself.

Despite being angry at him yesterday, it subdued after your mother left and you locked yourself in your new bedroom. You thought your anger will rise again if you saw him, but you’re surprised that you’re not. Though it might make sense because it isn’t easy to throw away months’ worth of feelings suddenly. But at this point, Yoongi will figure out that you lied about not liking him.

“Come, sit and eat.” Yoongi invites you.

“Eh…no, I’m okay.”

“Why not? Are you, by any chance, still upset at me?”

There’s no use in pretending that you’re not. “Who wouldn’t? Besides, that’s not entirely the reason. I normally don’t eat breakfast. I hate having to brush my teeth, eat, and then brush my teeth again.”

“Very well. I’ll have your food wrapped in plastic, and I’ll put it in the refrigerator for you. Though it’s better to eat it when it’s fresh, that is my only preference.”

Oh, that’s really nice of him, you thought. Even though he’s trying to force you to like him again, when you forget about that factor, Yoongi is considerate of others. However, you shake that thought out of your head, as that might be one of his methods to get you to like him.

“Thanks.”

Yoongi takes out a notepad and scribbles something down with a pen. You should’ve known that he’s writing down every move you make.

“What are you doing?”

“Keeping notes of your behavior.”

You crush the carton, but not enough for milk to spill.

“Though I don’t condone skipping breakfast, I won’t stop you. Well then, you’re free to do whatever you wish.”

You return the carton to the fridge, then return upstairs to your bedroom. While walking up the grand stairs, you look back at the dining room to see Yoongi eating by himself. There’s something sad about watching eating alone at that long, mahogany table, but you’re afraid that if you eat with him, then he’s going to say something to make you like him again. You shouldn’t like him because in the end, Yoongi will never return the feelings and you’ll end up being the one who’s hurt.

------

At the university, it’s nearly naked without its students occupying the walkways. There’s only a few of them only because of their summer courses. The weather is so scorching hot that from a distance, one could see the heatwaves. However, that does not deter Yoongi, as he’s too busy moving from one building to the next, his vanilla folders under his arm.

A man approaches him, wrapping his arm around him. “Hey, Yoongi! That was a flawless presentation! You really got the professors intrigued by your work.”

“Thank you for the compliment.” Yoongi clearly looks uncomfortable with how touchy the man is. “Hoseok, may you please move your arm from me? This is not the weather to be holding onto each other.”

Hoseok lets go of him. “Sorry. Anyway, I’m still shocked that you’re still going through with this theory on romance. Remember when everyone used to make fun of you for it, saying that it was something everyone already knew? I know I was one of them.”

“Yes, but just because everyone claims that it’s true doesn’t mean that there are actual facts supporting it. ‘Opposites attract’ is merely a phrase passed down that was never properly researched.”

“Hmm, yep, that’s what you always say. Judging by what you said in the conference, I’m assuming that the chick agreed to go along with it?”

“More or less.”

“Wow, either she’s really naïve, or you threatened her.”

“The latter.”

Hoseok laughs. “Oh shit! I knew no sane person would be willing to go through with this! I know you said that she was your perfect opposite, but honestly, I think everyone is the opposite of you.”

“Shall I take that as a compliment?”

“No. It’s not even an insult either. I’m just stating the truth. So, Mr. Romance, what are you going to do with your lady tonight?”

Yoongi looks through his vanilla folder and pulls out a sheet containing the schedule for today and the weeks that follow. “At 5:30 P.M., I reserved a spot at the high-end restaurant, then following that, we will be walking around the city and have trivial conversations. I plan that to be only an hour long, then we will head back to my villa.”

“Wow, so dull.”

“Is that not the typical date?”

“Well, that’s the problem. It’s just ‘typical’. You said that this chick is an art major, right? Maybe she likes a surprise.”

Yoongi sighs, getting rather annoyed by how Hoseok continues to call you ‘chick’. “I do not like surprises. And her name is (Y/N).”

“Oh, my bad. Anyway, you shouldn’t always be laying a schedule out. Knowing what’s ahead of you will only make your life boring.”

From the distance, a professor recognizes Hoseok and calls out to him.

“I’ll talk to you later. Make sure you take my advice.” He winks before walking off.

For as long as Yoongi has known Hoseok, Hoseok was always a chest filled with romance advice. Though, Yoongi rarely ever followed them because for one, Yoongi believes those are unconventional advice that doesn’t have enough evidence to support it, and two, no one has ever approached him and said that they were interested in dating him—but that isn’t a problem to Yoongi because he’s never been interested in someone either. There is no point in taking advice with no proof for someone who he is certain he’ll never commit to.

…He says that, but Yoongi remembers that day at the Blub. You confessed that you like him, and you have for a while. That really did take Yoongi by surprise, since you’re the first person to ever say that they like him romantically. However, just as he said before, he doesn’t like surprises. He doesn’t feel in control. Yoongi wants to predict every step he takes, including his approach to you, so it’s no wonder that Yoongi was caught off-guard again when you suddenly announce that you lied about liking him. You said that you actually hate him. He just can’t understand you, so that’s why tonight, he’s going to make sure to take note of everything you do.

------

“Call (Y/N),” Yoongi says aloud.

While driving up the mountain to his villa, he makes a voice command in his car. With his phone hooked up to the car through Bluetooth, it automatically dials your phone number. It rings for a few seconds before it goes to voicemail.

Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently not available right now. To leave voicemail, please wait after the beep.

Yoongi sighs as he cancels the voicemail. This is the fourth time he tried calling you. He assumes that you’re still upset, but it’s summer break, so you have no valid reason to ignore his calls. Yoongi tries again, only to be met with another voicemail.

“Mom, if you were me, you’d go insane too.” You say in a low voice.

“No I wouldn’t. I would lavish myself in everything that he gives me. You said that Mr. Min will give you anything you want, and you won’t be charged?”

You’re wandering alone in the mountains, kneeling down on the grass and picking the most colorful ones. While you do so, you’re talking to your mother by call, having your earphones plugged in and your phone in your jean pockets. You were doubtful whether it was possible to make phone calls in the mountains, but apparently, it is. Yoongi must be that rich to afford to build a cellular tower nearby.

“I mean, that’s what he said. And could you not call him ‘Mr. Min’? It sounds weird.”

“Oh? Are you guys already on first-name-terms? Then, can you ask Yoongi if he could buy me some new shoes? I’ve been eyeing these red heels, and I was wondering-”

“No, Mom, I’m not going to make him buy you shoes. Wouldn’t dad get upset if he found out that a man other than him bought you shoes?”

You can hear your mother sigh on the other side of the phone. “You finally got a man who’s actually interested in you, and a rich one at that, and you aren’t taking advantage of it while you still can.”

It hurts a little, hearing your mother mentioning the irony of Yoongi being ‘interested’ in you. “I’m just his test subject…remember? And I don’t like him!”

“Oh geez! You used to go on and on about how Yoongi was so handsome in every outfit he wore! You said that he is the reason why the English language is so charming! And the moment you got to be with him, you immediately back out and say that you don’t like him. Honey, this is why you’ve never dated before! They don’t like people who are indecisive.”

You can’t believe you said those words, and it’s making you turn as red as a tomato. When it comes to honesty, no one is as ruthless as your mother. But, you are partially lying to your mother. You don’t exactly hate Yoongi. It isn’t easy getting rid of months-long feelings after one declaration. It’s just that being holed up in that mansion of his, it just reminds you how you’re there to simply help Yoongi get a degree.

“(Y/N), if you really dislike him, using his money would be no problem, right? Use it all up until his bank account is dried up!”

“No! What kind of person do you think I am? Even if he’s the person I hate the most, I’m not going to take advantage of him.”

Suddenly, you feel your phone vibrate and your ringtone going off in your earphones. You check the caller, and it’s Yoongi again. This is the fifth time he’s calling you since you’ve ignored his previous four calls.

“What’s wrong, honey?”

“Nothing…Yoongi’s just calling me again.”

“Oh. Well, don’t stop me from interrupting your call. I have to make dinner soon anyway, so I’ll talk to you later. Bye, love you.”

“No, wai-”

And your mom hangs up, leaving you with your phone screen with Yoongi’s name on it, ringing until you pick up. You don’t want to pick up because you’re afraid that he’s upset at you for ignoring his calls, but you’ve ignored him enough, so you might as well take in all his anger.

You inhale sharply before picking up his call. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Unsurprisingly, Yoongi doesn’t sound all that concerned for you.

You look around. “Uhm…I actually don’t know. I’m by the villa though.”

You can hear Yoongi sigh out of frustration. “Alright, I can call for assistance if you’re lost.”

“I’m not lost. I just wanted to get some fresh air. I know my way back.”

You wonder if Yoongi thinks of you as someone who gets lost easily. While you’re not good when it comes to GPS or maps, just remembering certain settings helps you trail back.

“Did you not see the e-mail I sent? We have a reservation to attend. At this rate, we’re going to be five minutes late. Hurry back before it gets late.”

Of course you saw the e-mail, and of course you didn’t want to follow it. It’s just disappointing having to see Yoongi schedule out your dates with him like you’re some CEO with a tight schedule. You knew about the reservation at that fancy French place, but you didn’t feel like going.

“Okay, I’m coming.”

------

You return to the villa to find Yoongi in the entrance hall, tapping his foot while checking the time on his watch. While holding the flowers that you picked in your hands, you give him a timid wave, but he does not wave back. His arms are crossed, giving you the impression that he’s impatient.

“Hi…”

“If you were in the forest just now, take off your shoes and leave them out. I’ll have one of the maids pick them up and clean them.”

You purse your bottom lip up, a little upset that he didn’t even greet you back.

“What are you doing with that wildlife in your hands? Is that what you’ve been doing all this time? Picking flowers like a child?”

You’re offended when he compared you to a child.

Yoongi sighs, pinching his sinuses. “Whatever your reason is, put them away and get changed. We’re already running late for tonight’s dinner.”

Tell him, you tell yourself in your head. Tell him that you don’t want to go. “Actually…there’s something I want to do, so I…uhm…kind of…don’t want to…go.”

Yoongi raises an eyebrow. “What could be that ‘something’ you must do that you’re willing to miss our reservation for?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I can’t explain it.”

“Why not?”

You look troubled. “I just can’t.”

“Why is that? Cat got your tongue?”

“…No, it’s just…hard...to explain.”

Yoongi sighs again. “This is getting nowhere. It’s because you want to avoid me, is that correct? You’ve been avoiding me for the past few days because you’re clearly upset with me proceeding with my research without your conscious consent.”

You jolt. He’s somewhat right, but at the same time, he’s wrong. You don’t like how he talks as if he knows everything about you. It isn’t fair—it isn’t fair that he gets to think that he knows everything about you when you really know nothing about him.

Seemingly out of tone, Yoongi takes out his notepad and a ballpoint pen, scribbling something on a new page. You don’t need to ask him to know that he’s keeping record of your behavior—like spectating an animal.

“What are you writing this time?”

“‘(Y/N) lacks sufficiency in reaching her scheduled destination on time. Therefore, this qualifies her as one who does not prioritize punctuality.’ Though, you were always procrastinating when turning in your assignments for art history.”

That was a direct stab to the chest, almost as if Yoongi wrote it like that purposely to tick you off. This must be his way of getting back at you for being late. But the way he delivered his lines as if you’re nothing more than just a nuisance to him really hurts, and that made it the last straw. It’s laughable that you actually thought that there was quality in him, but you were blinded by his good looks. What a fool you are.

You take off your sneaker and throw it at Yoongi. Yoongi manages to deflect the shoe with his forearms, but smudges of dirt get on his white-collar shirt. “What the…?!”

“…Don’t ever talk to me again.”

You clench onto the stems of the flowers, marching right past him with your head down. You walk up the stairs as Yoongi calls after you, telling you to wait. However, instead of doing as he says, you continue to go off.

“(Y/N), if we can discuss it—”

“‘Discuss’? You mean interview me? And by the way! I was late because I didn’t want to see your face! I hate you!!” You pick up the pace and run to your bedroom.

Yoongi, once again, sighs for what seems like the millionth time. Yoongi is aware that he’s made a mistake, and he’s trying everything in his power to make it up, but you refuse to even give him a chance. However, when you made your second declaration that you hate him, that felt more serious.

------

You drop onto your bed after locking the door behind you, dropping the flowers on the floor. You scream in your pillow, wanting nothing more than to leave this wretched place. You want to cry to your mother, but you know that she’s going to try and convince you to deal with it. It’s only been a few days, and you already can’t stand him.

Followed by your screams is a knock on your door. “(Y/N), let’s talk.”

When you recognize Yoongi’s voice, you immediately told yourself not to open the door. You sit up, but you don’t move, waiting for Yoongi to leave.

You can hear Yoongi make an exasperated sigh. “Very well. We’ll talk like this. I’m aware that it’s my fault for dragging you into this without your knowledge, and I would like to apologize.”

Your eyes widen, surprised to hear him admitting his faults.

“I saw a graph that claims that men typically present their loved ones with flowers, so to mend our relationship, I’ll maintain the habit of gifting flowers. Though I despise flowers because of the pests that reside on plants, I’m willing to do that. That’s all I have to say.” Yoongi walks off.

For a minute, you were hopeful, but once again, he’s doing something because of some ‘data’ he saw on the internet. He probably thinks that dealing with your stubbornness is a bother to his research, so he’s doing whatever he can to move it forward.

You hold onto a pillow, pressing it gently on your chest. As much as you dislike him now, you do miss the old times when you talk to Yoongi, ignorant of his intentions. Those times feel so far away now. If you could, you would go back in time, then you would stop yourself from falling in love with Yoongi.

------

Just as he declared, Yoongi began leaving flowers. Every morning when you head to the kitchen for something to drink, the flowers are in a vase on the dinner table. Whenever the flowers began to fade, Yoongi will replace it with new ones. It took a while for you to realize that they’re the wildflowers that you picked by the side of the river. But you keep telling yourself that Yoongi would never go out of his way to get dirty for you; he’s just not that type of guy.

Despite getting you new flowers every week, you two still don’t talk. You already know that this is a ploy to get you to proceed with his work, so you won’t fall for it. You will remain as stubborn as Yoongi.

While you’re in Yoongi’s villa, Yoongi is at the university, just finishing a conference meeting with the professors to update them about his research. When he explained to his professors about the setback and needing more time to complete his findings, he was scolded for wasting their time. Outside in the halls, Yoongi is by the coffee machine, rubbing his sinuses, when Hoseok approaches him.

“That was the first time I’ve seen you get the professors upset! I guess your relationship with her isn’t working out?”

“She’s just playing stubborn. She will eventually have to talk to me, so I’m waiting for her to break.”

“That…sounds harsh.”

The coffee machine fills up Yoongi’s cup, and he takes it. Hoseok looks down to see a Band-Aid around Yoongi’s thumb.

“What happened to your hand?”

“I cut my hand on a tree bark.”

“And what were you doing with a tree bark??”

“It wasn’t about the bark. I was picking flowers near my villa for (Y/N). I notice that whenever she goes exploring, she always returns wildflowers.”

Hoseok smirks. “You’re actually doing something! That’s great! So…what did she say about them?”

“About what?”

“About the flowers, when you gave it to her.”

“I never handed them to her in person. I leave them on the dinner table.”

“What?!” Hoseok sighs. “I feel bad for (Y/N)…Why don’t you give it to her instead?”

Yoongi takes a sip of his coffee. “She doesn’t want to see me, so initiating a conversation will only add more fuel to the fire.”

“Then what? Wait for her to start talking? You can’t expect her to be the one who has to make the first moves. In a relationship, both parties have to make the move.”

Yoongi is uncertain about Hoseok’s claim, raising an eyebrow.

“You can trust my words. I’ve had a few relationships of my own.”

“Very well.”

“Alright,” Hoseok pats Yoongi on the shoulder. “I wish you the very best in your relationship.”

Hoseok walks in the opposite direction. Yoongi looks at his reflection in the coffee, thinking back when he normally spoke to you in art history. He tries to remember what it was like talking to you. You were always talking about your interests in art, always talking about it before and during class. You had that light in your eyes whenever you talked about art.

Initially, he listened to you because he needed data to see if you suffice as a candidate, but he steadily found himself absorbed into your talking. In fact, he rarely ever spoke to you, and all he wanted to do was listen to you. He became fascinated by your perspective in life, seeing things in more empathetic and complex ways. But, ever since the contract, you stopped talking about it; you won’t even bat an eye at him, and this makes Yoongi’s chest ache.

------

Despite it being the beginning of summer, it’s misty outside when you look out the window. The clouds must have risen to the mountain’s level. You never expected being at the top of the mountain would have a completely different weather than at the base.

You check the time on your phone, and it’s nearly evening. However, Yoongi hasn’t returned yet, which is unusual because he always comes back before sundown. He used to tell you where he was going, but ever since that argument, Yoongi kept his word and stopped talking to you—and that includes any information on where he goes. This is the distance you wanted, but there’s something nudging inside you, telling you that something’s not right.

You shake your head. Yoongi is a grown man, so he doesn’t need someone to look after him. Besides, you’re supposed to be angry at him, not worried. If anything, Yoongi might’ve gone out with his colleagues to have a drink, so you have nothing to worry about.

But as the night grows darker, Yoongi still hasn’t returned. You sit in the front living room, biting your nails habitually while staring out the window. All the maids have left for the night, so you’re alone. You keep checking your phone in case Yoongi contacts you, only to be met with the agonizingly slow minute hand moving. This is unlike Yoongi to be out for this long, and you’re terrified that something really did happen.

As concerned as you are, your stubbornness is stopping you from calling him. You don’t want him to feel the glory of you giving in to temptation and being the first to call him. His expression doesn’t change much, but you know when Yoongi feels superior. After all, this could be a ploy to get you to talk to him.

But what if he got lost due to the mist? The fog is thick, so it wouldn’t be that hard to travel off track. Yoongi does admit that the path to this villa is difficult so that only increases the possibility that Yoongi got lost. Perhaps he got lost, then somewhere along the line, he got injured. That thought alone is enough to make you throw away all your grudges and call him.

Just as you were about to dial Yoongi’s number, you hear the sound of the front door unlocking, and you’re relieved to see Yoongi. When you two make eye contact, Yoongi freezes.

“(Y/N)? You’re usually in bed by now.”

You look down at his hands, holding the flowers that he always leaves on the table for you. Not only that, but his hands are covered in mud, and his black, formal shoes and ends of his slacks are too.

You blink profusely, wondering if he had actually spent all this time picking wildflowers for you. “Where were you?”

“I was picking flowers.”

“All this time?”

“Well, no. I stayed at the university to collect my thoughts. By the time I realized, the sun was already setting, and I still haven’t gotten you flowers.”

He wasn’t kidding when he said that he’ll keep his promise, and it makes you embarrassed that you took this lightly. You kept telling yourself that this is a trick to get you to talking to him again, but when he’s that committed, even going as far as going into the forest late into the night during a fog, it contradicts your first impression.

Yoongi approaches you, showing you the flowers he picked, all in various colors. “I may have misinterpreted the graph a bit—the one about the gifts. I realized that it isn’t the flowers itself that the receivers cherish, but the act of giving.”

He extends his dirty hands to you.

“Please excuse my mud-infested hands.”

You take the flowers, but you only stare at his hands. You notice that his thumb has a lump on it. You instinctively take his thumb and bring it close to your face for inspection. You rub it in between your thumb and index finger, getting a feel of what it is.

“Is this a Band-Aid?”

“It is.”

“How did you get injured?”

“I got my thumb caught on a branch while I was traveling to the spot where the flowers grow.”

Going as far as getting himself injured for you? The person who is standing in front of you isn’t Yoongi. The Yoongi you know is stoic and selfish, always looking as if he isn’t interested in talking to you—almost like he’s looking down on you. You appreciate his efforts, but something is tugging in you, telling you that this is partially for his research.

“Why are you doing all this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you really that desperate to get something out of me? Are your research papers that important to you?”

Yoongi remains silent for a few seconds. “…I would be lying if I said that it has nothing to do with that, but it does. But another reason is that I realized that my biggest mistake was looking at this from an outsider’s perspective.”

You finally feel like your relationship with Yoongi is going somewhere. You scan his clothing to see if Yoongi has a notepad or pen on him, but you don’t see them anywhere.

“I distanced myself by making you the only test subject, while I was the scientist. No amount of words can measure how apologetic I feel, so I made the assumption that flowers would suffice. However, that was yet another mistake on my part.”

“…I don’t get it. What are you hoping you’ll get out of this by leaving flowers for me?”

For the first time, you see Yoongi blush for the first time, his cheeks turning red. “…I want to talk like how we used to.”

Your eyes widen.

“Your worldview on life is so fascinating that I always found myself listening closely whenever you spoke. I find it difficult for me to cooperate with others, but with you, our conversations would flow naturally. So I thought to myself that if I were to choose a partner, I wanted it to be you,” Yoongi’s eyes glow with sincerity.

However, Yoongi steps away from you.

“But it was naïve of me to think that our relationship was a positive one. After all, you did say that you merely spoke to me and admitted that you liked me out of pity, so everything ended up being one-sided. Perhaps, we are too different.” Yoongi tries to curl his fingers but stops when he realizes that the mud has hardened.

This confession of his sounds too genuine for it to be another strategy to get you to go along with his plans. You realize that it’s also your fault for not reading the contract and misguiding your attentions toward Yoongi. You can’t forget that you’re the one who began this mess by selling your soul temporarily to something you didn’t even read. While Yoongi is trying to rewrite the mistakes he’s done, you’re too busy feeling entitled and whining about how ‘tragic’ your life is.

“I don’t think it’s possible for two people to be completely different. There has to be a middle ground,” You speak up. “For example, we both have some interests in art, right?”

Yoongi blinks profusely, almost not understanding what you’re saying. “It’s not that I find art itself to be fascinating. What makes it interesting is hearing you interpret everything.”

“But that technically still means that you like art because you listen to me ramble.”

“Hmm…your poetic words are art to me, so to some extent, we might possibly have the same interests.”

You stare blankly at his face, letting it sink in for a while that Yoongi had just complimented you. He considers your endless rants as works of art as well. Of all the time you’ve spent with him, he’s never once complimented you. Though you think his compliment is absolutely cringe-worthy and only said in every cheesy romance drama, you liked hearing it.

Suddenly, felt your heart skip a beat, cheeks burning furiously red. It’s that same feeling you felt when you first fell in love with Yoongi, and it’s coming back. You told yourself weeks ago that you wouldn’t fall for his words again, but it didn’t take long for you to break your rules. You realize that you’re just an idiot—you never stopped liking even after claiming that you hate him.

Meanwhile, Yoongi leans closer, curiously trying to get you to look at him. However, you keep avoiding eye contact, not wanting him to get a look at how hideous your bashful expression looks like.

“Have I angered you again?”

You shake your head. “No, something just got in my eye.”

“Let me see.”

Yoongi cups both of his hands over your cheeks, having forgotten about the cracked mud at the tip of his fingers. He raises your head instinctively, checking for whatever got stuck in your eyes as you claimed. He doesn’t find anything in your eyes, but rather, he sees how embarrassed you are.

Your red cheeks, your eyebrows creasing, and the way your eyes gleam from the reflection of the lights illuminating from the dimly-lit lamps. Yoongi remembers this expression of yours; you have worked up like this two months ago when you first learned about your feelings for him. But the first time he got to see it, it was from the corner of his peripheral.

Now that he has a better look of your face, there are details about you that he’s never noticed before—like how long your eyelashes are or that very small beauty mark on your right cheek. However, it’s your pink, soft lips that look oddly appealing to him, and he can’t stop staring.

“Yoongi, your muddy fingers are scratching me…” you break Yoongi from his trance.

Yoongi pulls his hands away from you, questioning what he was doing just now. He’s very cautious when it comes to touching others, but just then, he did it without thinking.

Having remembered how dirty he is, Yoongi turns around and walks off the opposite direction. “I will wash up. You head to bed, you must be exhausted.”

You gently stroke your cheeks where Yoongi laid his hands on. Your face won’t calm down, and it’s almost as if your heart is about to explode. Yoongi’s expression changed for the first time, and he looked surprised, which you thought that that was an expression that was impossible to be on Yoongi’s face. You couldn’t tell why, but this conversation feels like something changed between you and Yoongi, in a good way.

------

The next morning, you walk to the kitchen earlier than usual. You know Yoongi leaves early to go to the university, so you thought you’d see him off. After what happened last night, you thought you were being childish for avoiding Yoongi when you two should be talking things out like adults. You can’t forget that Yoongi is providing you with amenities, and having a horrible attitude is certainly not the way of expressing thanks.

Luckily, you were able to catch Yoongi before he started eating, making this the perfect time to sit down and have breakfast together. You enter the dining room, still in your pajamas, and Yoongi notices you from the corner of his eyes. He raises his head up, a bit stunned to see you.

“Am I too late?” You ask.

Yoongi didn’t know that you were talking about breakfast at first, so he shakes his head once he understands the question. “No, you’re just in time.”

You notice that Yoongi only has a plate for himself, but it makes sense because you never eat with him anyway. “Where do you put your plates again?”

“Allow me to get you one.”

“No,” you shake your head. “I can get it.”

Yoongi turns his direction to the kitchen, pointing at the cupboard above the sink. You thank him before grabbing a plate. You sit adjacent from him, staring at the Korean-style breakfast. You know Yoongi cooks, but you still can’t imagine him standing in front of a stove, especially wearing an apron.

“What made you decide to change your meal pattern? This is quite an unusual scene.”

You blush slightly. “Oh…I just had a change of heart.”

You just didn’t want to admit that you felt bad that he always ate alone. Though, it isn’t like you need to hide it when it doesn’t take long for Yoongi to decipher what you mean. He’s already aware of your habits enough to know what you want to say, which you don’t think is fair because you want to know what Yoongi is thinking too.

You did a lot of thinking last night, and your mother’s partially right; this isn’t an opportunity you should miss. Though you most definitely don’t agree with the part of using his money to your fullest advantage, this is still the same Yoongi you like. The only difference is that you know about this research now, so this is the closest you’ll ever get to be in a romantic relationship with him. It hurts knowing that your relationship will continue to be one-sided, but this is better than having him hate you.

For now, you’ll enjoy what you have and deal with the heartbreak later.

Despite you sabotaging the weekly schedules since day one, he still emails them to you. You saw that for Thursday, there’s a free slot in the evening after he returns from the university. Judging by how Yoongi always carries a planner with him, he must really dislike unplanned events, but it doesn’t hurt to try asking if he’s free.

“Hey, Yoongi…?”

“Yes?”

“Uhm...do you have time Thursday evening?”

Yoongi stares at you questioningly.

“I know I haven’t been going on our planned dates, and I thought that since relationships are supposed to be a team effort, you’d let me plan the first date.”

Yoongi raises an eyebrow.

“I promise I’ll follow the schedule after the first date. You did say that you wanted to talk to me again, right? I think this is a great opportunity to bond at least,” you scratch the back of your neck, avoiding eye contact. “Plus...I want to apologize to you about my behavior. I’ve reflected on what I’ve done in the past, and I want to take this opportunity to make it up.”

After contemplating for a while, Yoongi shrugs one shoulder, eating a small chunk of white rice before touching anything else. “Very well.”

You’re relieved that he agreed to it, or at least is going along with it in the meantime. Whenever you look at his face, you can’t tell what he’s thinking. You don’t even know if he’s thinking about what you just asked him or something else. Whatever he may be thinking, you hope that after this date you’ll learn more about him.

------

It’s been a while since you’ve been out of the mountains, so you’re not used to the summer heat. The mountains felt nice, having been protected by the trees’ shades and its high altitude. It gets so cold up there that you forgot that it’s summer. You came down with a light sweater and shorts cut mid-length, but you should’ve dressed less for this if you knew that it was going to be this hot.

You’re by the conference room, waiting for Yoongi’s meeting to end. You dislike having to go back to school because it’s summer break, and no student should ever be near a school until the fall term, so you don’t understand how Yoongi can keep going to school without looking exhausted. You’ve been here for ten minutes and you already can’t stand being here.

As if God just heard your prayers, Yoongi’s colleagues are walking out of the room. You stand straight, waiting for Yoongi to come out, but as the number of people dwindle down, you don’t see Yoongi coming out. Once a handful of people have left, you decide to peek your head inside the room to check if Yoongi is still there.

He’s talking to a man with gray hair and wrinkles, presumably his professor. Standing behind Yoongi is a man unfamiliar to you. They seem to be talking about something important, but you can’t really hear them that well.

Their conversation doesn’t last long since Yoongi’s professor shakes his hand before leaving the room. The professor walks past you, nodding your head to greet him and he does the same. After getting his bag, Yoongi and the other man head to the door when Yoongi sees you and stops.

“(Y/N)? What are you doing here?”

The eyes of the person next to Yoongi lights up when he hears your name. He turns to Yoongi for an explanation, but Yoongi ignores him.

“Since we’re going to be hanging out in the city, I thought it’d be a waste to make you drive up to pick me up then come back down.”

The man stands in between you and Yoongi, showing you the brightest smile you’ve ever seen. “Hi!! You must be (Y/N). I’m Hoseok, Yoongi’s very close colleague. He talks a lot about you.”

Hoseok forcibly takes you by the hands and shakes them. You’re a bit uncomfortable by how touchy he is, hoping that Yoongi does something about this.

“Then again, it isn’t like he talks about you because he wants to. You’re an important component to his research project after all.”

That was a direct stab to the chest. You can’t believe that he said it so frankly when this is your first meeting with him.

“Still, I hope he’s treating you well. Calling the police is an option if he does anything.”

“What?!”

Even after this short conversation, Hoseok is still holding your hand. He raises your hand up, looking at it as if inspecting. “Wow, you have really soft hands. I bet Yoongi holds it all the time.”

You blush intensely. It’s not everyday you get a compliment from another person—and from a guy nevertheless. Unfortunately, Hoseok is wrong about the part that Yoongi holds your hand. If anything, Yoongi hasn’t initiated physical contact since he patted your head, so it makes you feel a little disappointed.

“You know, I heard Yoongi saying once that something as simple as holding hands is enough to tug a person’s heart. Do you feel anything with me?” He winks.

Yoongi finally intervenes by pulling on the back of Hoseok’s shirt. Hoseok loses balance but was able to regain it.

“I have not enacted upon any illegal temptations since the start of our contract, so there is no need to bring up the police,” Yoongi’s tone sounded somewhat annoyed. “And touching her without her consent can be counted towards harassment, thus, holding you more accountable for criminal behavior.”

Hoseok smirks slyly while you stare at him with wide eyes. You didn’t think there would be someone out there who can tick Yoongi as easily as he can. Based on how open their conversation is, they may just be more than colleagues. You can’t imagine two completely different people getting along so well.

Yoongi looks down at you, catching you staring him Hoseok longer than you should. He can’t explain why, but it irks him when you look at him like that. Yoongi had no intention of ever showing your face in front of Hoseok because he knew how much of a social butterfly he is. That was an aspect that many girls grew quite fond of, and this may disrupt his research if you suddenly altered your attention to him.

When that thought popped up into his head, Yoongi felt this strange, aching sensation in his chest. He wonders if he ate something contrast to his usual diet, but he made sure that breakfast is always in his range of preferred food. Whatever it may be, he doesn’t like it.

“Standing here will only stall time. Shall we get going?”

“Right! Let’s go!”

“Bye! I hope to see you again soon, (Y/N)!”

Yoongi walks off first, and you follow him. You turn around and wave goodbye to Hoseok before catching up to Yoongi.

------

“If it was just going to be the theaters, then it wasn’t necessary to keep it a secret.”

You and Yoongi are standing in line to get tickets. The movie that you two will be seeing seems pretty well known locally, so the line is quite long.

“What movie will we be watching?”

“It’s a black and white film about a woman who falls in love with a man and tries gathering the courage to confess to him.

“I see.”

You were worried that Yoongi wasn’t going to be interested because black and white films have gone out of fashion, but it seems like he’s nonchalant about it. When you look around, the theater is surrounded with couples. They’re smiling and laughing, enjoying their time together. They’re resting their heads on their significant other’s shoulders, cuddling close to each other despite the humid summer air. They all look happy to be together.

But when you look at yourself and Yoongi, you two look nothing like them. You look down at Yoongi’s hand, wishing you can hold his hand like a real couple. Hoseok thought that Yoongi holds your hand, but he’s wrong. Nothing romantic has ever happened, and it hurts. No matter how much you wish for it, there’s still a gap between your hands.

Exactly what is your relationship? What does Yoongi think of you? You want to ask him, but you’re afraid of his answer. While you find it bothersome being lost in a sea of questions, hearing a response may be worst than that.

Though you did mention that it was romantic, black and white film, you forgot to mention that it’s also a horror movie. You said that the girl is obsessed with a man, but she’s a spirit haunting him and killing those who try to befriend him.

While you aren’t bothered by the gore being poured out of the ghost’s victims, Yoongi thinks otherwise. You thought he’d be okay with horror because he seems fine with anything. What you were not expecting was Yoongi holding onto your sleeve. Whenever the ghost pops up on the screen, Yoongi wouldn’t scream like the audience, but flinch faintly and instinctively hold onto the sleeve of your sweater, making sure not to hold onto your arm.

You think it’s pretty innocent that he clings onto your sleeve whenever he gets scared. It makes you feel like he can rely on you to protect him when he’s scared. Pointing it out to him would definitely make him not want to do it anymore, so you pretend as if you don’t feel his hand. As cute as this is, you wish that he would just hold your hand though.

------

The chauffeur parks in front of the villa, and you and Yoongi exit the car. He hasn’t said a word to you since the movie, so it makes you worry that you got him upset.

“Yoongi, are you mad at me?”

He takes off his glasses and sighs, pinching his sinuses. “I am not fond of surprises, and I’d prefer it if you told me the genre beforehand next time.”

You feel bad that you made Yoongi go through that, but there was a side to him that you never thought was there before. Before this, Yoongi behaved no differently than from a robot, so it’s nice to know that he can exhibit human emotions.

“Why did you choose such a monstrosity as our first date?” He asks as the two of you enter through the double doors.

“Because I was attracted by how it’s a black and white film.”

“Ah, you did mention what artstyle you’re studying once. It’s ‘black and white visual art’.”

You nod.

“I’m assuming that that horror film was in your field of study?”

“Well no, I’m just attracted by the color. It’s not common that you see something like a black and white film being massively distributed. It’s all about what the consumers want these days, and consumers say they want color. I wanted to see if this movie had artist value or just another Hollywood film.”

Yoongi takes off his coat while you take off your shoes.

“So? What conclusion did you come to?”

“I thought that the black and white filter was a cheap move to make the red color of the blood pop out more, but it turns out to be another reason too. Black is often used to resemble ‘evil’, so during the nighttime scenes when everything except for the actors are black, the shadows literally mean that there’s a monster lurking at every corner.”

Yoongi flinches after hearing that, thinking about the last words you just said. You put your shoes by the door so the maids can clean it tomorrow morning. When you try turning the lights on, the chandeliers don’t turn on.

“What? The electricity’s out?”

You turn on the flashlight on your phone and try turning on the other lights in the kitchen and living rooms, but nothing is working. You thought that since this is a extravagant mansion, something like a blackout wouldn’t happen.

“That’s strange. It was working just fine before I left,” you check the time on your phone then sigh. “It’s too late to call for an electrician, and I don’t want to bother anyone. Is that alright with you?”

Yoongi nods his head stiffly.

“Then I’m gonna head to sleep. Good night, Yoongi.”

“Wait.”

Before you could walk off to your bedroom, you stop after Yoongi called out to you. “Yea?”

“You...said that you’re going to sleep, yes?”

You nod.

“Then...accompany me to the bathroom.”

“...What?”

That question caught you off-guard. Where is this question coming from all of a sudden? You two rarely spoke to each other at night, so this is definitely new.

“I need to prepare myself for bed. If you like to kill two birds with one stone, bring your sundries and brush your teeth with me. We shall share the common bathroom.”

You feel your blood pressure shooting up. The thought of you two using the same restroom together to brush your teeth almost feels like what a real couple would do when they move in together. Your cheeks turn red, picturing you two standing together and brushing your teethes.

Obviously, you can’t turn this offer down. “Alright.”

------

You and Yoongi changed into your pajamas, and this is your first time seeing Yoongi not in his daytime clothes. Usually, you pick whatever comfortable clothes, but Yoongi prefers that his pants and shirt are the same color. He’s wearing a navy blue PJ set, and he’s not wearing his glasses.

He enters the bathroom while you light up the candles. The two of you don’t say a word while brushing your teeth, but you do make glances at Yoongi. Something odd that you notice is that Yoongi always makes sure that there’s space between you and him, but tonight the gap closed. You two are touching shoulders, and it makes your heart beat fast. But you wonder why it doesn’t bother him.

You were hoping for something romantic to happen, but to your disappointment, nothing did. Because Yoongi was practically glued onto you, you thought Yoongi would say or do something, but he didn’t. It’s disheartening that this potential romantic moment is cut short.

“Well then...good night.” You said before walking off.

“(Y/N).”

You got a little excited when he said your name. Maybe he was thinking the same and didn’t want to end the night prematurely. But speaking realistically, Yoongi would most likely want to get some information out of you to keep for record, so you shouldn’t have your expectations too high.

“Yea?”

“May you…” he trails off before sighing frustratingly. “Never mind. I was about to ask a childish question.”

This is the first time you heard him verbally doubt himself. It only makes you even more curious about what that question was for him to back out.

“What is it?”

“It was just a foolish question. Pay no attention.”

“It’s okay to tell me. There’s no such thing as a dumb question.”

Yoongi scratches the back of his neck, feeling self-conscious. “Would you...like to sleep in the same room with me tonight?”

Your eyes widen. You wish you could see his face under this dark environment to see if he’s blushing or not. But based on his shaky tone, it seems like it took all the courage in him to ask you that. For a second, you thought you heard the question wrong. It’s very out of character for Yoongi to ask that question; it’s no wonder he didn’t want to tell you. He’s been acting weird ever since the movie.

“Please forget it.”

“Are you, by chance, scared because of the movie?”

------

“Is it really that humorous that you have to keep snickering?”

You unfold the futon, curling your lips inward to stop your laughter from coming out. “I’m not laughing because of that.”

You turn your head to look at Yoongi, who’s getting comfortable on his futon. When he looks back at you, he doesn’t look amused by your answer.

“Okay, I lied. It’s just weird that you’re not scared of walking in the forest at night, but a scary movie makes you really paranoid.”

Once your futon has been set, you wiggle yourself in between the foamy mattress and your blanket. Surrounding you and Yoongi is scented candles as sources of light.

“It’s because the intention of a horror movie is to bring out a person’s worst fear, and I’m vulnerable to that. Do you not feel the same?”

“Not really. I just tell myself that it’s fake then I feel better.”

“Also, what is the reason for fixing ourselves mattresses in the living room? I find this to be unnecessary effort when we have our bedrooms.”

“I know, but it’s exciting sleeping in a new place, even if it’s just the room next door. Doesn’t it feel like we’re kids at a sleepover again?”

Yoongi pauses. “Hm. I wouldn’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

No wonder Yoongi doesn’t find this amusing. He isn’t familiar with the concept of a sleepover. After he asked you to sleep with him tonight, he was surprised when you agreed to it with the exception that he and you had to sleep in the living room. You don’t feel comfortable sleeping in his bedroom, and you don’t want Yoongi to be in your bedroom as he might want to scope out your belongings to add to his research.

“Well, then I’m glad that I’m here to experience your first time with you.” You chuckle.

“...This is the most you’ve laughed since I forced you into my contract. But it seemed as though something was bothering you the entire day.”

You didn’t think Yoongi caught on to your melancholy mood. Did you make it that obvious? Whether or not you made it obvious, it’s still embarrassing. You don’t want to talk about this because your reason for being upset is due to the fact that you wanted him to hold your hand. You find it ironic that despite being his temporary ‘romantic partner’, Hoseok has held your hand longer than he has.

Not wanting to linger with this topic, you desperately try to think of something else to talk about. “S-so...Hoseok seems like a nice person. I would’ve never expected you two to be friends.”

Yoongi doesn’t respond immediately, almost making you think that he fell asleep. “We are not friends, but colleagues who study the same field. He finds entertainment in pestering me.”

“Really? You two seem close though. I just think you’re really bad at talking to people and Hoseok has a lot of patience to deal with you.” You jester.

“...Why are you bringing him up so suddenly?” There’s a slight undertone of annoyance.

You feel like you brought up something you shouldn’t have. Did you say something to make him upset? All you did was ask an innocent question.

“...Have you developed an interest in him?”

“What?”

“You were bashful when he held your hand this afternoon. Could it be that you were downhearted all day was because you wanted to be with Hoseok?”

You feel your cheeks burning up. You have no idea where he’s getting all these assumptions from, but he’s absolutely wrong. Hoseok never came into your mind during the date, and while Hoseok looks more approachable than Yoongi, you would never go after him. You’re not a shallow person, jumping onto a different person.

Out of the blue, Yoongi removes the blanket and slides his futon next to yours.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

Yoongi sits with his legs crossed, reaching his hand out to you. “Give me your hand.”

“What?! Why?!”

“I don’t understand how Hoseok was able to make you react so differently when I cannot get a reaction out of you. Was it the style in which he held your hand?” Yoongi looks genuinely curious, rubbing his chin with his index finger.

Even under this dimly-lit surrounding, you can see Yoongi raising an eyebrow, staring at your hand. You want him to be joking around so it would be easier for you to turn him down, but you know he would never joke about this.

You give him your hand, and he delicately curls his fingers around your hand. You finally got what you wished for, but you didn’t want it to happen under this circumstance. Yoongi is too keen in finding an answer in something that doesn’t need one. He’s going overboard with this, but with the way he’s gently stroking his thumb over your knuckles is killing you. You would’ve never thought that by holding hands, it would make you this flustered.

“Did I read the articles incorrectly?” He mumbles to himself. “They said that once you pass the first stage, then your hormones would start behaving erratically even with the slightest physical contact. Why did it not work when I patted you on the head?”

No, you idiot. It did work, you thought to yourself. You feel like your entire body is about to explode because this is too much for you, and it’s unfair that Yoongi gets to be calm about this.

It disheartens Yoongi even more that while he does whatever he can to act as a proper mate, it took Hoseok zero effort to make you blush. He’s concerned that his theory on ‘opposite attraction’ is going to be disproven. His research brought him this far, and he doesn’t want it to fail when it’s with you. He made sure that you are perfect for him and vice versa, but he worries that he may have miscalculated.

“...Do you find this distasteful?” Yoongi asks in a defeated tone.

He feels as though he’s done nothing but make you dislike him more. Did he overestimate himself? He thought that he’d finally experience what it’s like to hold someone dear to him, yet it’s given him nothing but a sour taste, and it must be the same for you.

“No…” you whimper out. “...It’s nothing like that.”

Yoongi looks at you, and with what little light opacity to see, he sees your face entirely red. You’re so embarrassed at you’re covering your mouth with the palm of your hand and averting your eyes from him. It’s the same expression you had that night when he returned late with flowers, and he’s getting that same burning sensation in his chest again. Now he feels the temperature of his cheeks rising. At that time, he couldn’t comprehend what he was feeling, but now he may know what it is.

Yoongi releases your hand and clutches onto his chest. He sits up staring blankly at the wall shaded with a murky black. You blink profusely, confused with what’s going on.

“I think...I may be experiencing a heart burn.”

You spring up, pulling the blanket off of you. “Oh my god, are you okay?!”

You frantically look for your phone.

“Sh-should I call a doctor??”

He shakes his head. “A glass of water shall suffice.”

Yoongi tries getting up, but you stand up before him. “No, let me get it. Just rest.”

You jog to the kitchen to get him water, and Yoongi couldn’t get his eyes off of you. He is unsure whether it’s possible for someone his age to be showing signs of heartburn, but that is the only explanation he can make with what he’s feeling currently. But what he finds strange is that this only occurs with you around.

------

Yoongi yawns while sitting across from the paperwork he has to finish by tomorrow. His professors want him to write a research summary in case people come across his work and need more background information. He’s been trying to get it done since this morning, but he’s been lagging with his work. And that’s because you’re to blame.

Ever since that night in the living room, all he ever thinks about is you. Everything he sees reminds him of you, and while he doesn’t experience those mysterious heartburns anymore, his chest feels like it’s being squeezed. Whenever he thinks about you, there’s this lump in his throat and that sudden urge to just smile when you pop up in his head.

Yoongi’s aware that this is unnatural of him to be this way. He’s always stern when it comes to time, but he can’t focus on his work anymore. Last night was an unexplainable phenomenon—something Yoongi has never experienced before. But that was the least of his concerns.

He leans back, his eyes glaring at the cotton-filled ceiling as he heaves a weary sigh. He shouldn’t have been demanding and asked for your hand so suddenly, making it especially hypocritical of him when he criticized Hoseok holding your hand. Yoongi was unreasonably upset at Hoseok for something so menial. Pushing aside is rash emotions, what Yoongi said to him was harsh, and he should apologize to him soon.

From downstairs, Yoongi can hear you shouting. He stares at the halls, hearing a second and third voice. He thought it was strange to hear you speaking so vocally, since you speak in a polite tone when it comes to the maids. He decides to go downstairs and check the commotion.

“Oh my god…”

“See? I told you (Y/N)’s boyfriend is rich!”

“Mom! Can you stop calling him my boyfriend?!”

From the second floor, Yoongi sees you and your parents by the entrance. It looks as though you’re trying to kick them out, pushing them out the door. Unlike the first time he met your mother, she’s caked her face with makeup and is wearing a dark red fur coat matching with her bright red dress. Her father, balding at the head, is wearing casual clothes, a simple white collar shirt and slacks.

Your parents notice Yoongi, and your mother waves at him enthusiastically. Yoongi nods his head, acknowledging her sudden appearance. However, your father is the opposite, staring at him as if scanning him. You turn around, making eye contact with him, but you quickly put your head down out of embarrassment.

Yoongi walks down the stairs and your mother hurriedly runs to him, the clacking of her high heels echoing across the empty entrance halls. “Yoongi! Has my daughter been treating you nicely? She can be a demon sometimes.”

“No, she’s been a joy to have around.”

From the corner of his eye, he can see you blushing. He tries not to let his smile show seeing how innocent you reacted to his compliment.

“That’s good! Also, pardon for us intruding into your home.”

“It’s fine. I did give permission to come whenever you wish. Would you like some refreshments?”

“Actually,” your father finally opens his mouth. “We were planning to eat dinner with (Y/N). We just came to pick her up.”

“Is that so?”

Yoongi looks to you for answers, but you give him none. He can’t quite explain it, but when your father said that they’ll be taking you out he felt a bit disappointing. Though you don’t talk to him every minute, he feels comforted with the presence of having you around.

“Honey! Don’t be so rude!” Your mother slaps your father on the back.

Your father whimpers out an ‘ow’, and your mother nudges her head to Yoongi. There’s a strong indication that your mother wants to invite Yoongi, but she’s waiting for your father to say it. Though looking reluctant, your father lets out a heavy exhale.

“Would you like to come?”

Of course, Yoongi has no time to come. He has papers he needs to finish, and the deadline is tonight. But if it means getting to spend personal time with (Y/N) and her parents, he doesn’t mind. Yoongi knows that if he were to return to work, it would be meaningless because he’ll be only thinking about you.

“I’d love to come.”

------

“Of all places, why did you have to choose a barbecue place?!” Your mother blurts out.

Inside the Korean barbecue restaurant is filled with customers, and the loud chatters from people all at once is making it difficult for you hear each other. The four of you are seated at the table in the center, and there’s a grill in the middle. While Yoongi is familiar with the customs of cooking and eating grilled meat, this is the first time he’s actually seen it in person.

Your mother slumps her shoulders. “Great...I thought we were going to at a fancy place, that’s why I bought this dress in the first place! I’m gonna end up smelling like barbecue and my makeup is gonna be messy because of the sweat!”

“Quit your yapping and look at the menu.”

After a few minutes, a waitress comes over with their drinks, and they order their food. Most of the time, it’s your mother who’s talking, asking Yoongi questions while you and your father remain silent. Your mother doesn’t make it a secret that she’s very interested in him, but Yoongi’s surprised that your father doesn’t seem to care, allowing his wife to flirt with him.

“Again, Honey?? I told you to eat more! You never listen to me.” Your mother complains.

Your mother takes out the steak from the grill and cuts it with the scissors, putting the pieces in your father’s ricebowl. He keeps telling her to stop, but she insists that he eat until his stomach is about to explode. Your mother’s attention is no longer on Yoongi, but on your father.

“You see, this is why you’ve been getting light-headed. You don’t eat enough.”

“You should eat too. You’re getting too thin.” Your father puts some meat into her bowl as well.

“No, no, no. I’m trying to lose weight.”

Your parents continue their bickering, competing who can put the most meat in each other’s bowls. It’s getting to the point where they’re saving almost none for you and Yoongi. Not knowing how to intervene, you chuckle while telling your parents to stop.

Yoongi thinks that this is peculiar. He’s never seen two grown adults behave so childishly, but lovingly at the same time. His parents always had space between them, their food portions being equivalent so they don’t have to share. From the times he does remember eating with his parents, it was considered rude to speak in the loud tone that your parents are using right now. The kind of relationship that they’re showing is different from what he’s read in articles by professionals.

But when he looks at himself and you, you two are nothing like your parents. There’s that gap in between—no sharing, no casual speech. Yoongi talks to you like he’s talking to his professors. He always went on and on about his research, even showing off his evidence on the contract. But despite all that boasting, there’s no sign that you two are truly in love.

------

You, Yoongi, and your parents are standing by the front of the restaurant. Though your mother is always money-hungry, she makes sure that you’re doing well by asking if you’ve been eating and keeping track of your health. Yoongi watches from the distance, seeing how caring your mother is.

Your father stands next to Yoongi, putting his hand on his shoulder. “Looks like they finally left us alone.”

Yoongi turns his head, nodding.

“To be frank, I don’t like you,” your father states suddenly. “I didn’t even want to meet you, but my wife insisted that you’re a gentleman. And tonight confirmed that you’re nothing like what she said you are.”

Yoongi is thrown off guard, raising his eyebrows. “Mind I ask how?”

“You bind my daughter into a contract, manipulating her soft side for your own success. I don’t give a shit if you’re providing her now. When my wife showed me a copy of the contract, it guaranteed that your relationship might not last in five-to-six years. I don’t know what that means in scientific terms, but to me, it sounds like you’re not capable of taking care of my daughter.”

Yoongi is at a loss of words, never thinking of the long-term consequences of the contract.

“While you get the recognition of being some prize-worthy sociologist, my daughter will get nothing in return. A few years down the lane when you can’t satisfy my daughter anymore, you’ll drop her like a broken toy and devastate her. And because you selfishly take other people’s feelings so lightly, you won’t be affected by this. So if I were you, I’d stop this whole thing before you go and break my child’s heart. Otherwise, I’ll stop you myself.”

Yoongi felt the passion in his words; he knows that your father isn’t kidding with his words. While he did think about the near future, he wasn’t thinking about it on a personal level. He thought that when the time comes for the separation, moving on would be no issue. Pushing aside his work, if he were to ask himself how would he act if you were to leave him once everything’s over, he wouldn’t know.

“You don’t have to worry about anything, Mr. (L/N).”

Your father raises an eyebrow.

Yoongi looks at your father in the eyes, giving him a pained smile. “Your daughter is only helping me out of sympathy. She’ll be able to move on just fine.”

He doesn’t understand what Yoongi means by that, but before he can ask, you and your mother returns. “Honey!! Let’s go home, I reek of barbecue!!”

“Alright.”

Your parents stand side-by-side, holding hands and saying their farewells to you and Yoongi. Your mother tells you two to take care, but you insist that Yoongi’s driver take them back home. Your father says that they can always call a cab, and he wishes you a good night. After your parents head off, it just leaves you and Yoongi.

You let out a sigh. “Sorry my parents visited so suddenly. You were working, weren’t you?”

“I don’t mind.”

You lean a little closer to Yoongi’s face. “You okay? You don’t seem well.”

“I’m fine. Just thinking about the paperwork I have to finish tonight.”

“...If you say so.” You say skeptically.

Yoongi can see your parents walking in the distance, holding hands and laughing. There’s that affection that once again lacks in his relationship with you.

------

It’s been hours since you and Yoongi returned to his villa, but there’s still has been no progress in his papers. All he can think about his your father’s words. Whenever he tries to focus, he’s reminded of how he forced you into something you never consented to. Your temper during the early days are now making sense—you saw him as equal while he saw you as a specimen.

It’s three in the morning, and Yoongi is exhausted, but he has to finish this later in the morning. His eyes are becoming heavy, making it nearly impossible for him to stay up. He’s used to having a set curfew, so staying up is not possible for him.

“Yoongi?”

He raises his head up to see you standing by his door with a concerned expression.

“(Y/N), what are you doing still up?”

“I could ask you the same thing. I saw your light still on, so I came to check.”

“I still haven’t completed my work. You can go off to bed.”

“I can make you some coffee if it helps.”

“No, that’s not necessary.”

“Alright…”

“Actually…” He leans back, calling back to you. “Do you mind spending some time with me? I think...having another person here will prevent me from going insane.”

Yoongi is lying straight through his lips. The truth is that he just wants you to be with him, thinking that by having you in close range, he can finally focus. However, you give a surprised expression, and he immediately wants to retract his words. His request is very selfish, asking for you to stay up with him.

“Sure. Let me grab something to keep me busy.”

You speed off to your bedroom, then returning with a sketchbook, a pen, and a chair. You set yourself up facing Yoongi, measuring his face with your thumb and squinting with one eye open. You put your feet on the seat, curling your toes as you begin sketching Yoongi.

“I haven’t see you drawn in a while.”

“It’s because I don’t do it in front of you.”

You flip through the pages, and Yoongi was able to spot some familiar images, but he can’t make out what the drawings are. “...You mention that your area of study is black and white art, correct? Mind telling me what it is about the concept that intrigues you?”

You begin sketching, your eyes only on your paper. “...A lot of people say that color is what brings out an artist’s emotion on their work, but I think black and white can express the same amount. I started off thinking like that too, but then one day when I went to an art gallery and saw these two artworks that made me change my perspective.”

You look up from your paper to Yoongi, then back down.

“They’re both drawings of a black and white horse, stroking each other with their heads, one sketch of the white horse initiating the stroke, and the second with the black horse stroking the white one in response. There’s no bright colors that catches your attention, it’s not even trying to. But after staring at it for a while, I realized that the artist did it on purpose. The lack of individual colors complement the gentleness that the horses were evoking for one another”

Abruptly, you scribble all over your first draft, flipping to a new page and restarting. Yoongi can see a messy, smeared version of himself on your failed attempt.

“The dullness made it feel peaceful, like they were what only mattered to each other. So little diversity in color, yet it was so tender. Sometimes we forget that no matter how boring black and white is, black is the one that holds all color, and white reflects all. That’s why one day, I want to create a piece that can convey that kind of emotion.”

And you haven’t felt that way for anything else until you met Yoongi. His is skin so pale, but it made his black clothes stand out. He is the epitome of the two. Yoongi evoked this sort of feeling you had when you first saw the two pieces. He was peaceful, tranquil, just like the two horses.

You tried to solve what it is about both Yoongi and that art piece that made you so attractive to them, and after a long time, you figured that it they were something you wanted. Life is always busy trying to shove everything in your face, just like how the array of colors artists use to push it into your face when all you want to do is find one that shows itself for what it is. Once you started talking to Yoongi, you were attracted to how composed he is while embracing life’s spontaneous surprises. No matter the challenge, Yoongi can take it down with one swipe, and you admire that.

“Anyway, I wanna know more about you. What made you start this whole research project?”

“Nothing particularly special. I’ve always felt the need to dive deeper whenever a question is brought to my attention. I was in a relationship with a woman once, but I only agreed to it out of sheer curiosity. It didn’t take long for our relationship crumble.”

You can’t believe your ears. Yoongi? Dating? You feel bad for the girl, but you’re a little envious that you’re not the first woman in his life.

“She declared that she wanted our relationship to end, then I said, ‘go ahead’. I must’ve triggered something because she slapped me and told me that the reason why we couldn’t work out is because our goals were too different. I was career-driven and she wanted to settle down. But I’ve always heard the lore that opposite personalities attract, so I’m searching for an answer to see if I can prove that myth.”

Basically, this all started because it didn’t end well with his girlfriend, so this makes you curious about his ex-girlfriend. What was it about her that he said yes to? Did he treat her better than he does with you? Does he...still like her? You shouldn’t have asked because now you’re jealous that another person was able to fit somewhere in his heart.

While staring at your sketchbook defeatedly, Yoongi takes this chance to move closer to you, resting his hands on your knuckles, stopping you from continuing your work. He sees that you’re not done sketching yet, barely getting to his hair.

“It’s strange...when I was still in a relationship with what’s-her-face...I felt nothing. Each time we exchanged kisses or hugs, it was just hollow,” Yoongi looks down, interlocking his fingers with your fingers. “But something as pure as wrapping my hand around yours and seeing how your expression changes is enough to exhilarate me.”

Suddenly, Yoongi presses his head onto your chest, listening to your rapid heartbeat. You stutter with your words, but you’re too nervous to think clearly.

“Your heart rate has increased, and your face is red.”

“Y-you don’t have to point that out.”

“However, I was told that it’s healthy to feel this way. I guess it’s comforting to know that we’re both healthy then.”

He lets go of your hand and wraps his arms around your waist. This is the touchiest Yoongi has ever been, and it might be because his exhaustion is making him think irrationally. His mentality is losing it due to high levels of stress and lack of sleep.

“...Remember I said that a good way of soothing a person during a dire situation is through physical contact?”

“Yea.”

“I think...I finally understand what that means now,” Yoongi blinks, fixing his head position to be more comfortable. “...And I almost don’t want to let go. Please, let me stay like this for a while, until I feel better.”

You don’t know what to do, so you let him continue to hold onto you. Yoongi looked troubled all day and he kept brushing it off as something he can fix. But Yoongi is still human, and there’s so much he can do with his limited body. Yoongi’s left himself vulnerable, but it’s nice to know that this human side of him does exist.

“(Y/N)...”

“Yea?”

“The day when you came to see me at the campus, I was invited to my professor’s retirement party, and I want you to accompany me. I believe I’ve come to a conclusion to my theory, and I need you to be there.”

You’re shocked to hear that Yoongi has already come to an answer even though it’s not August yet. With the way he’s been behaving, you so desperately want to think that maybe, just maybe, Yoongi might feel the same for you as you do for him. But you can’t be naive like you did the first time. You’re nervous about his answer, but you can’t say no to him now when he wants you to come.

“I’ll come.”

------

The retirement party held at the theater hall in the city, and there are a number of middle-aged attendees here in formal attire. There’s only a few who look roughly your age, but the amount of elderly people is overpowering that it almost feels as though it’s only you and Yoongi who are the same age. You walk behind Yoongi, feeling intimidated by all these scholars who seem to have rich backgrounds.

“Wow, there’s a lot of people here.”

You were lucky that Yoongi had pre-ordered a dress for you, though it was strange how Yoongi knew your exact size. He also hired a makeup artist and hairdresser to tidy up your look. You were against putting on the amount of makeup that the makeup artist wanted to do, but you’re glad that she did because you would’ve stood out like a sore thumb with your mediocre looks. You’ve gotten used to Yoongi dressing formal, but it’s entirely different when you’re going to a party with him in his attire. He looks absolutely stunning the more you look at him.

“Of course. This is a retirement party for a locally-known sociologist. It wouldn’t make sense not to throw one as extravagant as this.”

As antisocial as he claims to be, he seems to have a lot of connections, though it might be because networking is key when pursuing any career. It makes you question yourself whether or not you should start looking for connections, especially knowing how hard it is finding a job with your major.

You sigh, thinking about how Yoongi’s career path is already set for him. You can just see it now: Yoongi doing research and going to parties like these all the time. If it means going to fancy parties like this frequently, then he might meet a lot of beautiful women. You feel jealous, seeing as there are so many pretty women here that could appeal to Yoongi’s taste. Even if you butter yourself up, you’re nothing compared to the competition here.

From the corner of his eye, he can sense the dejected mood coming from you. “Are you not enjoying yourself?”

“It’s not that! It’s just...everyone is dressed so nicely, especially the women.” You gaze at them with envy.

Yoongi stares at you momentarily before saying anything. “You yourself are gorgeous, so no need to put yourself down.”

You turn to him, a bit surprised by his sudden compliment. His back is facing you, but you can see that his ears are red with embarrassment. You smile, feeling a bit more confident in yourself.

“And you’re pretty good-looking too!”

Because you aren’t used to a formal party, your voice was too loud that it caught the attention of others. When all eyes are on you, you look down in shame, guilty that you’ve just embarrassed Yoongi. However, when you saw your head up, you see Yoongi covering his mouth and averting eye contact with you. From the corner of his mouth, you can see the tip of his lip curling up into a smile, but he’s trying to hide it from you.

“Let’s move further into the halls, shall we?”

You nod your head, and Yoongi leads the way.

There’s a staggering amount of people the deeper you and Yoongi go. Unlike before, people start to recognize Yoongi and approach him. They ask him how he’s doing, and Yoongi would reply with ‘doing well’. You’re standing behind him, but no one seems to care about you. You thought that you were here as Yoongi’s partner, but they’re more interested in what Yoongi has to say. You’re not even sure if they know that you’re with him.

“Yoongi, Professor Kim was just looking for you. He has a few people he wants to introduce to you privately.” A man says.

“Ah, very well. But, I brought someone with me that I would like to—”

“It’s okay, Yoongi. This is your professor’s party, and I don’t want to interrupt anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely. I’ll be hanging out at the food stand.”

You nudge him gently on the arm, encouraging him to leave. He nods his head, following the man while you head to the table of food. You feel really out of place here, but also disappointed that everyone here wants to talk to Yoongi and not you. This isn’t your field of work, but you thought at least people would be curious about your opinion about Yoongi’s research project.

To make yourself feel better, you go to the comforts of food and check out the assortment laid out in front of you. For it being only finger food, they look expensive. Crab stuffed in mushrooms, salami and crackers, cheese cubes with grapes. Some of these are odd combinations, but this might be what fancy people eat all the time. You try not to think about it too much and dig into the food.

While the pile on your plate gets taller, someone stops you from continuing by putting their hand on your shoulder. You turn around to see Hoseok in a classic black-and-white tuxedo. Your eyes light up, finally seeing someone who you’re somewhat familiar with.

“Nice meeting you again, (Y/N)!” Hoseok inspects you from head to toe. “Wow, you look beautiful tonight. I bet Yoongi picked out that dress because he knew you would look nice in it.”

“Thanks.” You give him a courteous smile.

Hoseok stands next to you, grabbing a plate and picking various foods that catches his eye. “Where’s Yoongi?”

“He’s talking to his professor.”

“Really? I was expecting him to stay close with you though.”

“What? No way. What makes you think that?”

You and Hoseok finish picking out your dinner and are now looking for drinks. You pick up a cup of fruit juice while Hoseok chooses red wine.

“You mean...you can’t tell?”

“Tell what?”

“...All this time? You didn’t notice anything about Yoongi?”

You try thinking back to all the times when Yoongi was acting unusual. “He did mention he was having a heart burn once.”

Hoseok scoffs but stops to hold in his laughter. You raise an eyebrow, confused about what Hoseok is laughing about. He continues to laugh regardless of how you feel.

“It’s alright. He makes it obvious enough that you’ll figure it out soon.”

You don’t have any idea what Hoseok’s talking about, but if he says that you’ll know soon enough, then you will. You two search for a place to sit together, which is surprising because you thought that since Hoseok is a chatty person, he would fit well with the people here, not stay with you.

“Are you alright with hanging out with me? I don’t hate it, but I’m just wondering.”

“I came here an hour before you guys, so I already met the people I had to meet. Besides, I’m really curious about Yoongi’s partner.” Hoseok smiles. “Tell me about yourself.”

You’re glad that there’s at least one person here who acknowledges that you exist in this grand hall. You look into the thick crowd and find Yoongi still talking to a few people. Since it looks like it’s going to be a while, you decide to kill some time by talking to Hoseok.

Thirty minutes has gone by since you started talking to Hoseok, and time flew by before you knew it. You talked about your time with Yoongi—about how you two were close classmates, but that went downhill when he forced you into his work. Even though Hoseok asked you to talk about yourself, you ended up mostly talking about Yoongi.

“Wow, I’m speechless by how different Yoongi is with you.”

“What do you mean? He treats me no different than how he treats everyone else.”

“Are you kidding me? He’ll only talk to people unless it benefits him, but other than that, he wants no business with people. I lost count how many times he told me to go away.”

You were hopeful momentarily, thinking that Yoongi may think of you as special, but then you quickly lose that confidence when you remember something. “But...Yoongi started talking to me because he knew I was his opposite right? He used me for his own benefit.”

“Yoongi would never go as far as going beyond his comfort zone for someone else. Trust me, I don’t  think he would chose you just because you are his opposite. Personally, I don’t think there exists a ‘perfect opposite’. No matter how different two things may be, there’s always that in between that brings them together. There must’ve been something about you that sparked Yoongi.”

You try to think about it, but nothing comes to mind. Even though Yoongi knows so much about you, you still can’t pinpoint every detail about Yoongi. What was it that made Yoongi chose you? If you like him because he was everything you wanted, then it must be the same for him.

“That’s the girl?” A woman mutters.

“Almost disappointing, I would say.” Another whispers.

Nearby stands two women, murmuring in each other’s ears while staring at you. They make it obvious that they’re talking about you, but you try to ignore them. You don’t like being talked about behind your back, but you don’t want to start a commotion. However, their voices catches Hoseok’s attention.

“I heard she’s an art student. Where is she going to go with a degree like that?”

“Yoongi did mention he was also checking for wealth status too.”

“Someone as handsome as Yoongi with a bright future lumped himself with her.”

“Do you think one of the qualifications include looks? Because she’s definitely the polar opposite compared to Yoongi.”

The two women snicker amongst themselves, continuing their snide comments. When you thought that you couldn’t be even more discouraged, you had to hear that. You weren’t particularly keen in your physical appearance, but it still hurts knowing that other people think you’re ugly. You didn’t think that judgemental wealthy people exist, but here they are.

But rather than letting it go, Hoseok stands up and approaches the two women. “Hey, you know it’s rude to talk about people behind their backs.”

You call out to Hoseok, not wanting this to blow over, but it’s too late since Hoseok is already talking to them.

“What? We weren’t saying anything about her. Mind your own business, please.”

You run after him, grabbing his arm to pull him away. “Hoseok...it’s okay.”

From a distance, Yoongi sees the argument ensuing between the women and Hoseok. Their argument isn’t loud enough to be eye-catching, but it is enough to garner Yoongi’s attention—and that’s because he sees you holding onto Hoseok’s arm. Yoongi doesn’t know why you’re holding his arm, but he wants to pull you away as soon as possible. He wants to move, but his professor is still talking.

“You wouldn’t like it if someone spoke about you this way, would you?”

“Can you please leave us alone? We didn’t do anything.”

“Hoseok, just forget about this!” You continue to tug at him, but he won’t budge.

“So what if we said that? It’s our opinion.”

Hoseok raises an eyebrow, but crosses his arms when he has an idea. “Alright then, if you’re gonna have your opinions, then I have mine. I think that (Y/N)’s definitely prettier than you two.”

You blush from that sudden compliment. The two women look offended as well, staring at each other with dropped jaws. Out of the blue, Hoseok wraps his arm around you, his hand cupping your arm, making you jolt.

“I think girls who cake their face with makeup all the time are trying to hide how ugly that they really are.” Hoseok points his finger guns at them.

The ladies put their hands to their chests, taking complete offense at Hoseok’s words. You’re a little bothered by how Hoseok is very touchy, though he was like that the first time you met him too. You try to wiggle your way out of Hoseok’s grip, but he’s not letting you.

But to your surprise, someone tugs you out of Hoseok’s grasp, and it’s Yoongi. He’s holding you tightly by the hand, glaring at both the women and Hoseok. Hoseok looks away, knowing that he’s in trouble for touching you again. The two other women become intimidated once Yoongi made his appearance, so they scurry off before he can scold them.

“Are these three fools bothering you, (Y/N)?”

“Wait, why are you lumping me with them?? I’m the one who was trying to defend (Y/N)!”

“It’s alright, Yoongi! Hoseok’s right, he was defending me, so you don’t need to worry.”

Yoongi looks at you for a few seconds, not saying a single world. You don’t know what he’s thinking, but you can read it on his face that he certainly isn’t happy.

“I’ve done what I needed here. Let’s return home.”

Yoongi, still holding your hand, drags you with him to the exit. You apologize and thank Hoseok for keeping you company, but Yoongi hearing you thank him only tightens the grip around your hand. Hoseok calls out for you to ‘be safe’. While you two step out, everyone stares at you.

------

You and Yoongi are waiting for his driver by the side of an isolated street. You keep sulking, embarrassed about how dramatic you two walked out of the halls. This isn’t some high school drama where it’s okay for the guy to be possessive over their things. You’re not a ‘thing’ for Yoongi to take away whenever he feels like it, and that upsets you.

“How long are you going to stay angry?” He asks with his arms crossed.

You don’t even want to look at him. You thought that by going with him to this party, then everything would be alright, but it turned out to be the opposite.

“You didn’t have to be rude to Hoseok. He was trying to stand up for me.”

“For what?”

“For…” you sigh, not wanting to talk about this, but knowing Yoongi, he would pester for more answers. “These two women were making fun of me, and he stepped in.”

You admit, you didn’t want Hoseok to start trouble, but it was irritating to see Yoongi get furious at Hoseok, not the women.

“And you let their words get to you?” The way he worded that question with his monotone voice is irritating you even more. It sounds like he doesn’t care. “And Hoseok was complimenting you too.”

“You heard?”

“I could tell by the way you get bashful around him.”

“It was just a compliment! He wasn’t doing anything bad!!”

You don’t know why you’re getting so angry over this, but in reality, you’re actually denying that you do know. You’re upset by how he dragged you out of the party as if he cares about you when you know he doesn’t. Each time he does something nice, you keep thinking about his research.

“At least for Hoseok, I know that his comments are genuine.”

Finally, Yoongi’s facial expression changes, but it’s not a look of amazement. Instead, he clearly looks hurt by your words, making you regret you said that.

“Is that...so…” He looks away, inserting his hands in his pockets.

“Wait no...that’s not what I mean—”

“Tell me...when I brought up my previous girlfriend being the main driving force for this research, were you jealous?”

You flinch, not expecting him to ask this question. You definitely got jealous when the subject of his ex-girlfriend sprung up, and it hurt that there was another girl in his life. But...you don’t know why he would ask this, making it hard for you to find the right answer.

“N-no! Why would I?” You lie hesitantly.

Yoongi’s eyes widen, but he looks down at his feet with a look of defeat. “That’s disappointing.”

You look at him, and his ears are completely red.

“Because I get jealous when you talk to Hoseok.”

“Wh-what?!”

“Hoseok is a charismatic, inviting gentleman, right? He knows what to say, and he doesn’t think twice when helping someone in need. That’s very unlike me.”

You don’t know where all of this is coming from. This is new hearing it from Yoongi, and you want to clear up the misunderstanding.

“I get jealous when I see you two together. Seeing you two interact pains me, but truth be told, you two look perfect for each other. And when I see us, I’m not capable of expression.”

“Wait, Yoongi, that’s not—”

“I brought you with me because I wanted to tell you something important: I’m terminating our contract.”

“What?!”

“I came to that answer after seeing your parents. The way they care for each other unconditionally, even when your mother flirted with me, is undeniable. Looking at them, anyone can tell that their love for each other will never fade. But...I can’t say that for us. All I’m capable of is getting you upset and hate me more than you already do.”

On the first day, you said that you never liked him. And since then, you’ve only said that you hate him. But you never felt that way; you were just upset at the time and said anything to relieve your anger.

“I didn’t mean what I said back then! I was just angry, and I really do…”

“I already know your answer. You don’t have to say it.”

“No, just listen to me! I really do like you!!”

Yoongi stares blankly before smiling. “That’s what I was afraid to hear. After all, you did say that you like me only out of pity.”

Right before you can finish your sentence, Yoongi’s car arrives, parking right in front of you two. You shut your mouth, not wanting his chauffeur to hear your conversation when he comes out from the driver’s side to open the door for you two. You enter the car first, but to your surprise, the door shuts behind you before Yoongi could enter.

“Do you remember her home address?” Yoongi asks the chauffeur.

“Yes, sir.”

The chauffeur returns to the driver’s seat, locking the doors before you can unlock it. You unlock the door, but the safety lock is on. You try opening the window, but that’s been put on safety lock too. Yoongi leans over the window while you slam your fists against it.

“What are you doing?!”

“I did say that our contract is over. I’ll have movers return your stuff tomorrow. You don’t have to be stressed because of me anymore.”

“No! Yoongi you idiot! Just listen to me!!”

But in that moment, the chauffeur drives off. You tell him to turn back, but he’s taking you back home because it’s Yoongi’s order. Yoongi watches as the car disappears in the distance. He knows that you’re going to hate him even more because of this, but this is what he wants. He wants you to hate him even more so you can forget about him and move on. Even if all he can do is make you upset, then the least he can do is stop making you miserable.

------

The movers are gathering all of your things and taking them out of the room. It’s been a few hours since the movers came, and now nearly all of your things are gone. The last time Yoongi was in your bedroom was when he was preparing it for you. Now, he’s in here for a final time, ordering the movers of where to put your belongings.

When the next morning arised, Yoongi woke up to an empty villa. He didn’t hear your voice, nor did he hear you coming down the stairs. He was fine with this silence before, but now with you gone, it feels strange for it to be quiet.

You didn’t try contacting him since last night, assuming that his sudden demand to return you home has angered you to the extent of ignoring you. Even though he’s the one who forced you out, he keeps checking his phone in case you’d call, but nothing has come of you. Each time he checks, he would curse himself for being an imbecile and assuming you would contact him.

“Sir, what would you like us to do with this book?” The one in charge of moving asks Yoongi.

He shows Yoongi your sketchbook.

“I can take it out of your hands for you.”

Yoongi takes the sketchbook, having seen it once when you brought it to his room. He flips through the pages and finds all the rough sketches you made during your time here. Most of them are of the flowers that he brought from the mountain, drawn in different shades of black ink. He now knows why you picked the flowers in the first place—you wanted to convert something colorful into black and white.

However, when Yoongi goes through the rest, he notices the drawings of him. They’re not finalized work of him, at most just his head. When did you start sketching him? He never caught you drawing him before. Perhaps he was always busy focusing on his work that he never really stopped to look at you. While you were always treating him like another person, he didn’t do the same for you.

Maybe had he looked up from his work, then he would’ve known what to say and do with you. Yoongi may know a lot of facts about you, he doesn’t really know you. If he wasn’t so focused on finishing this meaningless project, then he would’ve realized a long time ago that he likes you.

On the last page of your sketchbook is an unfinished drawing of him, and next to him is a vase of the flowers he used to give you. Yoongi looks outside through your bedroom window, looking over the U-hauls, over the trees, and at the field of flowers.

------

Yoongi makes it to the flower field, seeing that more has grown since his last entry. He sits down in the center of the field, gazing at the flowers that grow underneath the sun’s gentle light. He never took the time to realize how pretty these flowers are, but it’s unfortunate that he never learned the name of them.

Thinking back at the party, his professors were shocked to hear when he announced that he was stopping his research. They saw potential in it, seeing as sociology is often undermined by other field works. Yoongi’s work would’ve put his university in the spotlight, but that wouldn’t have been fair to you. He thought long and hard about it, and that’s why he concluded that it’s better that he end it early to save what’s left of your summer break for you to enjoy.

But even so, Yoongi can’t help but miss you a little. He’s the one who pushed you away, but he can’t help but want to see you one more time. He didn’t want to admit it, but you mean a lot to him. It didn't register to him that ever since the first time he met you in that art history class, he really did want to develop some sort of relationship.

When the semester was ending, it saddened him that that may be the last time he’ll ever see you, which is why he thought you were a perfect candidate to be his partner—just so he can see you a little longer. Truth be told, Yoongi didn’t actually do any calculations to prove that you’re his opposite, he did it just on intuition, and that intuition was just him simply having a crush on you, but it’s too late for him to say all that now.

From a distance, Yoongi can hear the sound of something rustling through the bushes. Thinking that it’s an animal, he stays alert, keeping his ears keen on whatever’s hiding in the bushes. But he wasn’t anticipating you to jump out of the bushes. He loses his guard when he sees you out of breathe. You’ve changed out of the dress and into your casual clothes.

“(Y/N)?”

“Yoongi!”

With your goal being a few feet away from you, you gather what remains of your strength and try to move your right leg. However, your adrenaline has dissipated when you stopped to take a breath, and now you’re submerged in a wave of exhaustion. You don’t watch where you’re going, so you trip over a branch, landing face first.

Yoongi gets up and runs to your aid. He puts his hand on your shoulder, shaking you gently to make sure that you’re conscious. “(Y/N), are you okay?!”

You lift your head up to reveal your face drenched in sweat and strands of hair matted to your cheeks. “Why the hell are you here alone?! You really aren’t scared of the forest, are you?!”

“What are you talking about?! How did you get here?”

“I was gonna here sooner, but my dad wouldn’t let me see you. I had to sneak out and ride my bike here!”

“How in the…?” Yoongi sighs. “Never mind. Let’s hurry inside and have you treated.”

Right when Yoongi was about to get up, you grab him by the wrist to stop him. “No! We need to talk about this right now!”

“What?”

“I know that once we go inside, you’re going to kick me out again!”

You pull him down hard enough to where Yoongi loses his footing and lands on his bottom.

“Listen to me: I like you. I don’t pity you, and I’m not saying that because I feel bad, but because I really do like you.”

Yoongi is shocked to hear your sudden confession.

“I only said that I hated you because I was angry at you for taking my first confession lightly. I thought it wasn’t fair that I was the only one who was serious, especially since I liked you for a while. I didn’t think it would affect you this much...and I tried denying that it did because I thought that it was going to hurt me in return, just like the first time when I confessed to you.”

All the emotions that you held in finally fills over, letting your tears flow out of your eyes.

“But every day when I saw you, I just couldn’t bring myself to hate you. Learning the small things about you—your fear of horror movies, your passion for your work, your ability to commit to anything—I just ended up liking you even more.”

But in the midst of all the tears, you still muster a wide grin from ear to ear. You take him by the hand, intertwining your fingers with his and feeling his cold hands. You wrap your other hand around his hand, holding it close to your chest.

“Is it okay for me to assume that this time, you really do feel the same for me?”

Yoongi’s eyes widen after hearing your question. Your voice is muddled with doubt, that all your words may fall flat like the day he chained you to his contract. But your eyes glisten with hope, certain that this time, your second attempt at confessing is going to go somewhere after all this development.

Yoongi lets go of your hands so he can cup your cheeks. He leans over and kisses you softly on the lips, staying still for a few seconds before pulling back. You were caught off guard by his sudden kiss, staring at him with a shocked expression and unsure of how to react.

“I like you.”

Your face overheats, even the amount of makeup isn’t enough to hide how red you’ve become by his unforeseen confession. It takes a while for it to hit you that Yoongi has just kissed you—something that would only happen in your dreams. You’re at a loss for words, your bottom lip shaking as you search for anything to say.

“I’m an idiot...I was the one who ended our contract, but I was hoping that you’d still come back,” Yoongi smiles, no longer able to hide how delighted he is to see you again. “And I’m glad you did.”

He leans over and kisses you one more time, but this time, on the forehead. There was a vague taste of sweat on his lips when he got in contact with it, but it didn’t matter to him.

“...I was a fool to treat you this way. I wish I had never done this research in the first place...but if this research had never happened, then I would’ve never met you. In a way, I’m also glad that I did it,” Yoongi leans over and hugs you. “If it’s possible...I would like to form a normal, romantic relationship with you. I won’t record your habits, and you won’t have to be wary of me any longer.”

You can’t help but smile, wrapping your arms around him, finally having Yoong in your grasp. “Sure!”

------

Epilogue

Yoongi registered for art history because he thought that there would be no direct interaction with creating art, but he was wrong. For this class assignment, the students have to make their own work inspired by Picasso’s cubism. The professor provided canvases and paint for everyone, but Yoongi might need another one because he’s not satisfied with his. He thought that since everything should be shaped, it wouldn’t be too difficult. However, he was proven wrong. He doesn’t even know what he’s supposed to be painting either, since the professor said to let their imagination go wild. He doesn’t know why he’s even trying. The only reason why he’s here is to search for someone who can be his partner for his sociology project. It’s already been a few weeks, and he so far he’s had no luck.

“If you don’t use different colors, then your painting won’t come out right.”

“But I really wanted to try to do all in black…”

Yoongi turns his head to the professor talking to the student sitting next to him.

“You even painted your canvas all white when you didn’t have to. I told you to focus on the assignment.”

“Sorry.”

The professor walks off to help the other students. Yoongi leans over to get a look at the student’s work, and it doesn’t look half bad from his standpoint. Her painting is only black, but Yoongi can’t make out what she painted. And the professor is right—only her black and white paint jars have been used up but not the other colors. The student looks dejected, as if she’s already become attached to her work and is upset that the professor didn’t meet eye-to-eye with her.

“Excuse me…” She asks Yoongi.

Yoongi didn’t think she was talking to him until she kept staring at him for a while. He turns to her and raises an eyebrow.

“Can I borrow some of your black? I kinda used up all of mine…”

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you!”

She leans over to grab his black paint, and doing so makes her peek at his artwork. She stops what she’s doing and stares at it.

“Oh? What were you trying to make?”

“I...don’t know. Since I had nothing in mind, I went along with whatever I made.”

“Wow, that’s cool.”

To his surprise, she didn’t criticize him for his lack of experience. Clearly, based on his work, it looks nothing spectacular, and he’s just glad the professor hasn’t seen it yet.

“I’m the opposite. I have to have something in mind to make it. And what’s worst, I’m not good at painting.”

“Are you an art history major?”

She nods. “And you?”

“Sociology major.”

“Really?! What’s a sociology major doing here in an art history class? To get rid of general credits?”

“You can say that.”

She scoffs once, finding amusement in his answer. “What a weird way to answer that question, but I like it.”

She leans over and stretches her hand out for a handshake.

“My name is (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you.”

Yoongi takes you by the hand and shakes it. Your hand feels soft despite having paint smeared on it, and he finds it oddly soothing.

“Min Yoongi. And thank you for the compliment. I find your work interesting as well.”

You flinch, and he notices your cheeks turning slightly red.

“No way...Professor Sun said that it doesn’t convey our assignment that well...”

“But you’re an artist, and an artist shouldn’t be restricted to rules, right? Express yourself.”

He doesn’t know why you’re feeling bashful for a half-hearted compliment.

You lift your head up and chuckle slightly. “Thanks, and you should express yourself too. I wanna see more of your work some day.”

And ever since then, you’ve been talking to him. You would ask him about his day, then you would go on complaining about how you agree and disagree with your professors sometimes. You didn’t go overboard and pestered him every moment of the day, just mainly in class. But that time together in class felt short for Yoongi, and he wanted to get to know you more. Although he despises having menial conversations, he can’t help but become invested with your words. Whenever he’s with you...he would think about how he wouldn’t mind if you became his partner.

“(Y/N), did you ever figure out the name of these flowers?”

You and Yoongi are by the flower field, and you’re sketching Yoongi. He’s centered in the middle of the field, surrounded by an array of orange petals. While you did hear his question, you don’t look at him because of how focused you are in making the perfect sketch of him.

“No, why?”

“No matter how hard I try searching for their name, I can never find it. I’ve seen them so many times since my childhood, and yet I never found the name,” Yoongi reaches down and picks out one. “But I gave up.”

“That’s weird hearing that from you.”

“It’s because if I keep trying to find the answer, I won’t be able to stop and take the time to look at the beauty of it. Maybe that’s why I was so drawn to you.”

You blush, hiding your face behind the sketchpad to prevent him from seeing how embarrassed you are.

“I’ve always been told that finding an answer to the question is satisfying, but you opposed that, enjoying the experience rather than searching for the end. Even if I’ll never figure out what’ll happen to us in the end, I’m glad I get to enjoy this time with you right now.”

You crunch up, cringing at Yoongi’s words, but it always finds a way to make you flattered. “You really do like speaking in pretty words, b-but...I feel the same way too. A-anyways...I finished the drawing.”

He moves close to you, sitting next to you with no gap in the middle. Once he sees the drawing, he smiles, complimenting it. You’re not good with words, but your body expresses it all, and your face tells him that you’re also satisfied with the final result. Yoongi knows that, for once, you and him have something in common, and it’s the strong bond you two have grown since the first day.

Yoongi rests his head on your shoulder, mouthing the words, ‘I love you’.

[End]

A/N: I hope this fic is interesting to the readers ;-; Anyway, thank you for reading this! If you have anything to say, please don’t be afraid to message me or comment! :)

Masterlist

[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting To: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season 2 Episode 5)

Episode Title: Fun Gus Part 1

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or are able to handle spoilers.

1. Just like last episode, this particular one begins with a flashback and this time, it’s Kipo’s parents, Song and Lio Oak whom are climbing up a building with tree roots along its walls. The reach the top and they’re amazed by the view of Las Vistas and the different kinds of mutes living there. Song looks almost exactly like Kipo; Only less...pink. 

2. Song has figured out a way to reverse the effects of the mutation in the mutes. And we find out that Hugo aka Scarlemagne was one of the mutes she’s basing her research on! So that explains the supposed backstory between Lio and Scarlemagne we’ve detected in previous episodes. 

3. Also, the reason why they’re there in the surface world is to find out more information about the mutes and how to turn them back to normal. However, both Song and Lio don’t agree with their team’s plans and they decide to hide Song’s research findings from them, especially after discovering that Hugo is able to say her name. Now I’m really curious as to why Hugo ended up becoming so anti-human. I guess it’s due to him seeing how humans have been treating animals over the years or something. 

4. I just find their interactions to be absolutely precious. They’re also planning to stay on the surface for as long as they can.

5. We’re now back to the present and we see Super Dave carrying his friends over a couple of blocks without molting (I never knew this word till now). They notice that Dave has been able to prolong the very form he’s in, far longer than before. 

6. Kipo tells the group that they’re almost at her parents old burrow and she also can’t wait to possibly find out more things about her mom. I’m beginning to wonder if she really died from burrow pox or not? Anyways, Kipo pulls out the map given to her by Cappuccino and it looks like they need to pass through one last checkpoint, a cheese waterfall. 

7. They are suddenly interrupted by the water mute Mulholland (from last season), who came through a fire hydrant lol. He’s obviously not welcomed by them, especially after what he did to them before. 

8. At Scarlemagne’s Court, we see the representatives from the 4 pro-Scarlemagne mute groups including the Mod Frogs, Scooter Skunks, Humming Bomber and Newton Wolves entering his residence and being in awe of the place. He wants them to “sing” to him where they think the Mega Monkey might be. Kwat, the Mod Frog sings to him, revealing that it’s in Cactus Town. Because of that, she gets first dibs on a luxury home in the work-in-progress city of Aurum.

9. To my surprise, Scarlemagne reveals that he will be going on the hunt for the Mega Monkey. I gotta say; I do like a pro-active super-villain. We shift things over to the ever-mysterious cloaked individuals who are rushing over to find the Mega Monkey by following an ant trail (because monkeys eats ants?) before Scarlemagne can. But we do find out one of their names: Greta.

10. They spot Scarlemagne and his crew flying through the sky and carrying the mind-control collar for the monkey. So, they need to hurry. I’m starting to think that they’re just humans; I mean look at those eyes. 

11. Back to Mulholland; He reveals to them that he is now a travelling nomad or nomads and that Kipo is going to find what she’s looking for. He then leaves. That was certainly random. Anyways, they now seem to be near that cheese waterfall place because they finally arrive at the entrance of her parents burrow and there’s cheese everywhere. Correction. FUNGUS everywhere...eww and it moves too. Despite finding the burrow, they still need to find her parents’ apartment.

12.  Next, we see the three cloaked individuals riding on a giant dragonfly and tailing behind Scarlemagne and the Nobles. Can the show just tell us who these people are? I’m kinda tired of referring to them as the “cloaked individuals” lol. All of a sudden, a high-pitched sound appears out of nowhere, causing everyone to fall from the sky. It turns out to be the doing of the Umlaut snakes. Looks like these guys are going to take on Scarlemagne but they’re probably not going to beat him I think. 

13. Kipo discovers that her parents’ old burrow used to be inhabited by a group of scientists, including her parents of course. They then realize that the apartments are arranged in alphabetical order and they make their way over to the O side to find the Oak’s apartment. Oh and Dave is now in his elderly form after being scared by the fungus creature or whatever. And he is the only one who’s noticing that the orange fungus is moving. 

11:59

14. Because humans aren’t as sensitive to sound compared to mutes, Scarlemagne orders his human Nobles to destroy the snakes’ equipment. Scarlemagne orders his followers to attack and the scene cuts off. I’m actually worried about the snakes; I hope they are gonna be alright. 

15. The gang is inside the apartment and they’re going through some of their things like their bed, kitchenware and Kipo’s old baby clothes to which she is keeping one of them. Kipo then notices drawings of constellations on their ceiling and points out that the Leo constellation has an extra star, which is actually just a button that opens up a secret panel.

16. The panel reveals a book with the title, “Project Kipo”. She grabs it and starts browsing through it. To sum up what she read, it’s basically about combining Kipo’s DNA with the DNA of apex predators like the jaguar. Other apex predators include the falcon, monkey and Komodo dragon. So this explains in scientific detail why Kipo is their “hybrid-baby”. As a Biochemistry graduate, I find the incorporation of recombinant DNA technology in the story-lines of cartoons to be exciting.

17. Again, I like how Kipo isn’t upset at her parents in any capacity for pretty much making her their science experiment. I’d probably be angry but then again, I’m not Kipo lol. Meanwhile, Dave is freaking out because he saw a face on the wall and calls out for Benson to come over. But yet again, nothing happens when anybody but Dave (and Mandu) shows up to check it out.

18. As Kipo goes further into her reading, we get more flashbacks of Song and Lio in that same apartment. Pretty much this book is also Song’s journal/diary it seems. Song comes home to reveal that she’s pregnant with Kipo and Lio is overwhelmed with joy. Aww, this is sooo adorable. I’m getting chills. They are such goals. 

19. After reading the part about the pregnancy, Kipo obviously gets very emotional, in a good way. And she, Wolf and Benson get into a group hug. The love fest is short-lived, however, because Dave is still freaking out about the “ghosts”. Benson gets annoyed and shouts at him and tells him to molt into someone more fun. This hurts Dave’s feelings and he plus Mandu walk away. But suddenly, the fungus mute/creature shows up on the wall again with a face this time and it also has the voice of a toddler. It then grabs hold of both of them and drags them through the wall. That was way spooky. 

20. Whilst the snakes are fighting off Scarlemagne’s minions, the cloaked individuals are using this opportunity to grab the giant collar and take it away from Scarlemagne’s reach. The leader of the cloaked group heads inside the den where the Mega Monkey is sleeping. Now I’m thinking that these individuals are human beings because she said “for the future of humanity”. After thinking through it some more, I predict that they were Lio and Song’s old scientist colleagues. 

21. Why didn’t Kipo, Wolf or Benson hear what was going on outside the apartment?; They need to get their ears checked. Kipo is still focused on the book and she reads that her mom was making kimchi and peanut butter. As she’s opening the jar, she accidentally breaks the entire jar without any effort. She seems to have super-strength as a side effect and she grew fur on her arm earlier, revealing to all of us that she’s a Mega Jaguar too. Therefore, I’m pretty sure her mom’s not dead. But if that’s the case, why d id Lio lie to Kipo for all her life about her mom dying from an illness? 

22. After getting all excited by this discovery, the fungus mute steals the journal (which should be Kipo’s anchor) from her. And the episode ends here.

23. I absolutely loved this episode. I liked being able to see the past interactions between Lio and Song through Kipo reading Song’s journal. Stay tuned tomorrow for when I will be posting my review of episode 6. Thanks for reading everyone! Bye!

[hyperionshipping]

Party for two?

It’s 11:37 pm aka best time for me to post a fic. Do you remember that one sidequest where Claptrap has you deliver invites for his Sweet party? Yea well that was super sad and I am going to get everyone who didn’t go smh

---

Tricks had gotten the invite a few days prior. It boasted an amazing party with pizza included. Hosted at no other place than Sanctuary! And that was what Tricks had been fighting. The invitation sat on his table as he paced thinking aloud. "Could I just sneak in? No, last time I tried that I got my ass shot. I can't not show up, I'm not that mean. Is there a group going into Sanctuary soon? I could probably blend in?" he groaned, sitting on the chair in front of his table, "this is hopeless. It's not like a can just show up with the invite like 'oh hey! Just me, local gun-for-hire who just did another job for the person you're all trying to kill! Just want in for a few minutes to see my bot friend!' They'd kill me on sight." sighing, he rested his head on his arms. "It's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

Getting a ride was easy enough, he had a car. Stolen of course, but a car nonetheless. He'd walk to Sanctuary, and hide the car. Easy. Next, he'd don his disguise. An old outfit he used to wear; Goggles and a torn leather jacket with a hood. In the hood was a rig that he wore to hold iron horns up. Pouches holding ammo hung from his sides, while a gun was holstered to his right. Strapped to his back would be one of his treasured sniper rifle but he felt it might be easier to get in without too much. Just in case things got sticky, he'd hid a knife in his boot.

The walk to Sanctuary was peaceful enough. It'd been a while since he'd been. Last time he went Roland had bought him a drink and tried to get him to join the fight. He told him the same thing, "Is it worth it? Pandora's a hellhole but I got money an' food. A place I can call home. I won't join ya, that's final." He had stopped trying after that. But outside Sanctuary they had met once again. Roland was kind, as he always was, and regarded him as a friend. It was a quick reunion but he told Tricks the same thing. "If you ever find yourself in need, the Crimson Raiders will always take you in. You have a home with us." He was sure that the offer wasn't up now. Word spreads quick in regards to Jack.

That didn't matter now. All that mattered was even getting into Sanctuary. He could see it. He could also see the guard at the entrance. He kept his head high as he walked by the guard.

"Wait," they said, putting an arm out. "Who're you?"

"Devil of the trade," Tricks said, smiling. The guard looked him up and down. "But you can just call me Devil."

"Uh-huh. What's your business?"

"Here for a friend. Wanna see?" Tricks reached into his largest pocket, watching the guard tense. "I'm sure you've heard. His party’s gonna be epic." The guard took the invitation.

"He's celebrating his birthday? You must be the vault hunters' friend or somethin'. Who'd even go?" they waved him off, but Tricks heard them call in. 

"Wow, no trust." he mumbled. "should have just said I'm a friend of Moxxi or somethin'. Fuck! I coulda just said I want a drink. Ugh, whatever." he took the goggles off, propping them just under the hood, following Claptrap's instructions. 

"Knock knock?" Tricks called out, turning the ally. "Anybo-"

"Tricks! You made it!!" the robot yelled excitedly. "You're actually… the only one who showed up. But I bet the others will be here soon." Tricks smiled again, nodding. 

"Who'd you invite?" 

"Well! The vault hunters, Moxxi, Marcus, Scooter. You."

"One outta that is a good start." Claptrap wheeled by him, looking down both ways. 

"Maybe they got lost?" 

"Yea maybe buddy." Tricks frowned, looking at the pizza. "Hey, I saw you didn't lie about the pizza. Mind if I have a slice before everybody shows up?"

"No, dig in. Sorry, it’s kinda cold," Tricks tore a slice of pizza, and quickly ate it. 

“Claptrap, I don’t mind. Do you know when the last time I had pizza was? ‘Cause I don’t.” he watched Claptrap buzz around. 

“Music! I forgot the music, can you turn that on?” Tricks nodded, turning the radio on. Some tune played as he finished his second slice of pizza. He watched as Claptrap danced a little. 

“Claptrap, may I have the dance with the party boy?” he asked, trying to lift the robot’s feeling. 

“Yes!” Tricks tenderly held Claptrap’s little claws, dancing to the music. He laughed, twirling Claptrap. “Happy birthday,” he said letting go of the robot’s claws. 

Claptrap grabbed the noisemaker, blowing. It took a few seconds before he turned to Tricks, “Hey uh, can you blow into this? Maybe it’ll help the whole party…” Tricks grabbed it and blew into it a few times. The yay that Claptrap made wasn’t exactly exciting. 

“I’m sure they just misplaced your invitation, or something came up.” 

“Yea, maybe. Are you enjoying it at least?”

“Of course I am. You know I’m always down to party with you buddy. I’d sneak into Sanctuary anytime if it meant partying with you.” That seemed to make him happy again as he went towards the pizza. 

“Well, it looks like I bought way too much pizza. You can take some home if you like.” Tricks nodded, looking at the boxes. 

“Hey Claptrap?”

“Yes, Tricks?”

“Thanks for inviting me. You’re way better than any job I could be doing right now. If you ever get outta Sanctuary again, you oughta come visit.” he grabbed a box of pizza, and then another. 

“Will do. Maybe one of the vault hunters could come with me.”

“Ehh, maybe not. Better yet, if you ever wanna visit I could pick you up. Just make sure you get out of Sanctuary. Don’t know how long I can sneak in for.” 

“Secretive. I like it.” Tricks nodded.

“I’ll try!”

“Cya Claptrap. It was a good party.” he waved goodbye, leaving the robot.

“Goodbye, Tricks! Come back soon!” he smiled. 

As he got home, he tacked the invitation to his wall. It was with other things that he kept. Mostly photos of old friends, and new ones. Drawings he’d done or gotten, an old piece of fabric an old mercenary friend patched him with, things like that. He put the pizzas down on his table, “ya’know I don’t think I’m gonna finish all these.” he shook his head, shoving the boxes into the fridge. That was future Tricks’ problem.

[imissyoubutimisssparkling]

My thoughts on Folklore

The 1- this song is beautiful, it gives me an All Too Well and The Moment I Knew vibe. There is also a Me! reference “for never leaving well off alone.” Favourite line: “And if you wanted me, you really should have shown.”

Cardigan- another beautiful song, it really takes me into this fairytalish whimsical mood and it’s nostalgic. The music video gave me a Pandora’s box/Alice in wonderland feel, like they were both curious of what was on the other side of the door. In Pandora’s box she sees a box and wants to open it. She knows she shouldn’t but she is curious of what’s inside. When she does open the box, all these bad things start to happen. For, Alice she goes down a rabbit hole without even thinking what could be on the other end. The vocals are just breath taking. Favourite line: “When you are young, they assume you know nothing.”

The Last Great American Dynasty- I really love this one, it’s very fun and really takes you into a story of Rebekah, I just learned that it’s about Rebekah Harkness after listening I really wanted to learn more about her because she sounds very interesting. Favourite lines: “There goes the maddest woman this town has ever known” and “She had a marvellous time ruining everything.”

Exile- Taylor and Bon Iver are amazing together and should really consider collaborating more often! This song left me speechless, the lyrics are so heartbreaking, and the story that is being told is incredibly sad and you can tell that both characters are in pain after losing each other. Vocals are outstanding! Favourite line: “Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave you so many signs)”

My Tears Ricochet- Another incredible song from Folklore, Taylor really showed us how good of a songwriter she is. You can tell that whoever hurt her, really hurt her. Favourite line: “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace”

Mirrorball-Listening to this song it made me feel like I was dancing with the one I love under a disco ball like how you see it in the movies. It’s somehow captures how the light reflects off of a mirror ball I don’t know how she did that. Also the beginning of the song and a little bit throughout the song reminded me of the band The Cranberries especially the song Linger and Dreams. Favourite line: “hush, I know they said the end is near but I’m still on my tallest tiptoes.”

Seven- this song for me I think she is talking about a friend she grew up with that she still thinks about to this day, and possibly wonders how they are doing. it has a very nostalgic feel to it. Also, I just realized that Seven is track 7. Favourite line: “Love you to the moon and to saturn.”

August- the lyrics to this song are so well written, and really pulls you into the memories and stories that she is singing about. Also, i realized that track 8 is August which is the 8th month of the year. Favourite line: “You weren’t mine to lose.”

This Is Me Trying-love the lyrics and the vocals are amazing. I think this is Taylor talking about her mental health and how much everything has affected her. although she could be talking to her lover, I also think that she is talking to us, her fans. Maybe she is telling us why she took a break for 3 years, and maybe she wanted to come back sooner but she was scared that we wouldn’t want her back. And maybe she had a hard time figuring out what to say to us but despite all that she is at our doorway anyway because she wants to show us that she is trying to get past everything. Also she says that she is pouring her heart out to a stranger, maybe that stranger she is referring to is us. Favourite line: the whole song

Illicit Affairs-I love the secrecy of this song. I feel like this is her talking about how she had to keep Joe a secret from the world and how hard it was. She felt paranoid that people were going to find out about them so she had to hide him away like she was having an affair. Favourite line: “ For you, I would ruin myself a million little times.”

Invisible String-This song is very cute and loving and really expresses how much she loves her partner. She is also saying how she always knew that there was something that was drawing her to them. Taylor also references her own song very cleverly (“Bad was the blood of the song in the cab”= Bad Blood) she also references herself in the song (“she said I looked like an American Singer” = Taylor Swift) Favourite line: “One single thread of gold tied me to you.”

Mad Woman- this song gives me The Man/I Did Something Bad vibe. I absolutely love this song! I You can hear the anger in her voice, you can also hear the pain too. The second verse I think is directed to Kanye and Kim, you know women like hunting witches too and doing your dirtiest work for you and how everything they did brought them together. I feel like the the line “cause you took everything from me.” Is directed towards scooter braun taking her entire music discography from her. Favourite line: the whole song

Epiphany- out of all the songs on Folklore, I feel this one has the best vocals, Taylor you sound incredible! This song had me in tears, I feel that this is about the medical workers particularly nurses who are on the front lines. It shows a past view so nurses who worked during the war and risked their lives on the battlefield along side soldiers to help save their lives if they were injured and needed immediate medical help. It also shows a present view of nurses during this pandemic, again risking their lives to help save the countless people who are extemely sick from Covid. I feel this is personal to Taylor as well because of her mom so I’m sure Taylor has seen how hard the nurses work to help her mom feel better. Being a nurse myself, I just want to say thank you Taylor for showing your support it really means a lot. Favourite line: “only twenty minutes of sleep but you dream of some epiphany just one single glimpse of relief to make some sense of what you’ve seen.” I mostly work with the elderly so seeing them having dementia and literally losing everything that makes them, them is very hard to watch, so this line really hits the nail on the head. When I come home from work this is exactly what I do, I go to sleep and I don’t think of work at all, I put it out of my mind so I don’t stress about it because I have work the next day and I need to sleep.

Betty- I’m still trying to figure this one out, and it did take me some time to get into the song but I actually really like it. Maybe it’s about someone trying to make an apology to their lover because they hurt them when they were younger. He or she wants to make up to them somehow. Favourite line: “The worst thing I did was what I did to you.”

Peace-this song is beautiful, it kind of reminds me of delicate in a way cause she is asking her partner is it okay if my life is chaotic and not never peaceful because being with me is not always rainbows and sunshine. Favourite line: “would it be enough if I could never give you peace.”

Hoax-Another amazing song, lyrics are hauntingly beautiful. She is saying that her partners love is the only love she wants even though they really hurt her and even if she doesn’t believe it when they tell her that they love her. Favourite lines: “But what you did was just as dark, darling this was just as hard as when they pulled me apart.” And “Don’t want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do.”

Overall Folklore is an amazing album that still needs to be explored. I will be having it on repeat for the rest of my life. Well done @taylorswift 🤍🖤

[losingmymindtonight]

So like, Peter having a Razor scooter and then Tony wanting to be a part of the fun and getting one too.

“Aw.” Tony held up a pair of Iron Man pajamas, grinning as widely as if he’d found a rare treasure. “Cute, kid.”

“Hey.” Peter blushed, snatching them away from his mentor and carefully storing them in the box they’d dedicated for things to keep. “Don’t mock me.”

“Don’t worry, Pete. I’d never mock my biggest fan.”

They were standing in the Parker’s small storage compartment on the outskirts of the city, going through years worth of items that had piled up. Neither May nor Peter had been in it since Ben died, but now the facility was closing, which meant that they had to go through everything.

Which meant that they had to sort through dozens of bins weighed down with memories, marked by pieces of duct tape bearing Ben’s messy scrawl.

Peter had dreaded it, and the fact that he could see May dreading it too made him dread it even more.

A never-ending cycle of dread and repeat.

That was, until Tony broke it by offering to help.

Peter had nearly cried with relief when he’d offered that he and Peter could go through the items together. 

“You’ve got enough to worry about, May.” His mentor had offered with a charming grin. “The kid and I can handle it. It’ll be a fun boy’s activity. You’d like that, right Pete?”

And so far, he had liked it. They’d eaten greasy fast food while leaning against the outside of the storage shed, summer breeze tugging at their clothes. They’d taken a few breaks to play Uno on a stack of rib-height boxes. Tony had even brought a speaker, and they’d played loud 80s music while shifting through piles and piles of anything from school trophies to dishtowels.

Peter had dreaded these excursions at first. Had dreaded the concept of stumbling across thoughts he didn’t want to think. 

Now, though, he loved the trips. Loved the hours of comfortable banter that they threw lazily around the shed. Loved the sunshine, the music, the comfortable silence.

He could face the boxes crammed with ghosts, so long as Tony was standing at his side.

As if sensing the solemn direction of his thoughts, the man he’d just been thinking about poked him in the side with a yardstick. “Why do you have, uh,” he held up three more, a look of indignation on his face, “four yardsticks? Who needs four yardsticks?”

Peter laughed. “I think Ben got them free when an old Home Depot shut down.”

“That still doesn’t excuse it.” His mentor shifted a box, peeing into it. His face instantly lit up into a grin. “Jackpot.”

“What?” Peter’s head snapped up, suddenly on high alert. “What did you find?”

“Nothing.”

“Mister Stark.” He moved to yank the box away, but Tony pulled it back, grin only growing.

“Oh, kiddo. You were so cute with that bowl cut.” He tugged out a photo and held it up. “Ever thought of going back to that style?”

“Oh no. Is that a box of…?”

“Yep. Embarrassing childhood photos.” He shifted through a few more stacks, face softening from mischief to fondness. “You had braces? And glasses? Oh my god, you were adorable.”

“I’m actually begging you to stop.”

Tony continued as if Peter had never spoken. “There are tapes in here, too. This is the best day of my life.” He selected one, and glanced at the label. “Peter B. Parker. End of Year Performance. 2005.”

“I’ll do anything. I’ll wash one of your cars. I’ll play sick and get you out of one of those board meetings you hate. I’ll-”

“Peter B. Parker. First Soccer Tournament. 2006.” Somehow, his mentor’s smile got even bigger. “Peter B. Parker. Halloween: Iron Man. 2007.”

“Mister Staaaark.” He dragged out his mentor’s last name petulantly. “Please.”

Tony relented, setting the box aside. “I’ll spare you for now, kiddo. But don’t think we aren’t watching those later.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

He tossed a stuffed rabbit in his direction. “Yes, I do.”

Tony threw an old, peeling soccer ball back. “No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I-”

He stopped dead when he saw what Tony had just pulled out from where it had been wedged between a stack of bins and an old Science Fair poster board.

His mentor grinned. “A Razor scooter, huh? Wow, Pete. You never told me you were a cool kid.”

“Oh my god!” Peter lunged for the scooter, childlike excitement jumping in his chest. “I wondered where that went! Uncle Ben got it for me at a Police Auction.”

Tony smiled gently, understanding the weight of the reference as he passed the old toy over. “Wanna keep it, then?” He winked. “Maybe Spider-Man can re-brand himself as a scooter riding viglante. Leave the webslinging in the past. Now this is how you get around in style.”

Peter giggled, using the few feet of empty space around his feet to coast for a second. “It is pretty cool. More people should use them.”

“They should.” Tony crossed his arms, expression leaking with a kind of parental indulgence. “Know any tricks?”

His face fell a little as he pondered the question. “No. I-I never really rode it.”

“Why not?”

“Well, the best part was supposed to be scootering around with your friends, y’know?” Peter shrugged, trying to conceal the childish pang of rejection. “I didn’t, well, have friends. Not really.”

Tony frowned, hand clenching like he wanted to reach for Peter but had stopped the motion before it could begin. “What about Ned?”

“I didn’t meet Ned until Middle School, Mister Stark.”

“Well,” Tony said, taking the scooter from his hands and setting it beside the box of photos and tapes, “we’ll have to fix that, won’t we?”

A text popped up on Peter’s lockscreen early the next day.

TS: Meet me in the lab at 3:30. It’s important.

That afternoon, he’d rushed to the Tower in a flurry of excitement, possibilities jumping around in his head like heated popcorn kernels. Was it a mission? A new project with one of the suits?

The first thing he noticed when he ran into the lab was that it was empty.

Like, completely empty.

All the work tables had been taken somewhere. The only evidence of the old layout was the beaten up couch, still pressed in the corner of the room.

And sitting on the couch was Tony Stark himself, a lazy grin on his face as he watched Peter’s bemusement.

“Uh, Mister Stark?”

“Yes, Mister Parker?”

He took a few steps in his mentor’s direction, eyes still sweeping around the barren room. He hadn’t realized how big the space was before, with all the clutter. “What, uh, what did you do to your lab?”

Tony stood, then, and pulled two Razor scooters out from behind the couch. A brand new one, and Peter’s old one. “I made us a makeshift scooter arena.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. Tony Stark, on a Razor scooter? “You can’t be serious.”

“I never learned how to ride one either, Pete.” He shoved the worn handles into Peter’s hands. “So, we’ll learn together.”

“It’s not hard, Mister Stark.” He pushed off, and glided a few feet before stopping. “You just do it.”

Tony followed, purposefully bumping into Peter but snapping a protective arm out to steady him when he wobbled. “Yeah? Wanna race, then?”

I can’t believe that this is my life. 

Despite the thought, his face lit up with a playful grin. “Oh, you’re on.”

They ended up splayed out on the couch, sweaty and tired but still smiling like little kids. Peter’s hair was curling in a way that would have made him self-conscious just a year ago. Now, however, he just basked in the looks of obvious affection that Tony was shooting his way.

Tony threw a lazy arm over his shoulders. “Have fun, Pete?”

“Yeah.” He rolled his head so that he was looking up at his mentor’s face. “Thank you.”

A pause. Then, a voice filled with something quiet yet genuine. “You’re welcome, kid.”

They sat in a silence for a while, happy to just breathe and exist and be contented by each other’s presence.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Peter leaned forward and riffled around in his pockets before pulling out a folded piece of paper. “This is for you.”

“Oh?” Tony took it from his hand without a second thought. “You got me a present?”

“I didn’t really get it, exactly.” He shifted awkwardly as the man unfolded the paper. “You can throw it out, if you want.”

He studied the drawing even as Tony did. The childish lines, scrawled out in crayon. Iron Man, flying over a shoddy New York skyline. The message, letters big and blocky in the way only children could accomplish.

My favorite superhero is Iron Man. He is the best and bravest superhero. I love him.

Peter Parker 

His mentor blinked a few times, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Then, he tugged the teenager back into his side, ruffling his sweat-damp hair in the process.

“Throw it out?” His gaze flickered between the smeared crayon and Peter’s hopeful eyes. “There’s gotta be laws about defacing pieces of classic art, kid. And do I look like I’d survive in jail?”

[love-takes-work]

Steven Universe Podcast: Volume 2, Episode 5: Connie

In the second season of the Steven Universe Podcast, episode 5, released February 22, 2018, is about Connie! The official description:

We're spotlighting Steven Universe's best-friend, Connie, on the Steven Universe Podcast! Grace Rolek, who voices Connie, and Zach Callison, the voice of Steven, talk about their characters' friendship, and recent struggles on the series. And creator Rebecca Sugar and former EP Ian Jones-Quartey explain Connie's sword, her relationship with the Gems, and the yin & yang that dictate Connie and Steven's respective designs and personalities. Plus, Connie drops in to talk about school, Stevonnie, and her fabulous new haircut!

As per usual, the podcast is on the long side, so I'll open with bulleted highlights and include a more detailed narrative under the cut.

Highlights:

Connie has been planned as a character since the beginning; drawings of her are included in Rebecca's original sketchbook.

Connie is designed as a foil for Steven, with each of them possessing traits the other lacks so they can fit together smoothly.

Associating Rose's sword with Connie early on was a deliberate decision; they always wanted her to be the sword of the relationship, complement to Steven's shield.

The Gems treat Connie better than any other human and respect her as a member of the team.

The Gems talk to Connie's parents outside what we see on the show; they've been communicating with the Maheswarans a lot more since Connie decided to be upfront with them about her involvement with Steven.

The Cool Kids are partially based on Rebecca's college experiences when she joined a band. She was pseudonymously known as Rebecca Murder.

Lapis and Peridot making art in the barn was based on Rebecca's band member friends using a barn for their art.

Nanefua as Dewey's opponent was planned very early too. They always made sure to include her as a critical voice in the crowd when the town was gathering to react to his speeches.

The boardie character who's designed to look like Ian Jones-Quartey was originally going to be a pizza merchant named Everett, but they went from having a Pizza Man based on him to having a Pizza Family based on Ian's family. 

There was also a boardie named Baby originally, and some ideas associated with him got rolled into Fryman family characters, especially Ronaldo.

Ian Jones-Quartey says if you are a fan of Steven Universe and you haven't read the book Keep Beach City Weird, you're doing yourself a disservice.

Grace Rolek and Zach Callison both felt that the Connie/Steven angst from "Dewey Wins" to "Kevin Party" carried an authentic sense of what it's like to have relationship drama. Both invoked their own breakups which were reminiscent of some aspects of those interactions.

Grace and Zach are pleased to be past their "teenage angst" phase now that they're both twenty. They’re glad to have just regular angst now.

Grace thinks Connie cut her hair to help move past the need to define herself entirely through her relationship with Steven; she needed a change and some definition as her own person.

Grace, in character as Connie, says her favorite subject in school is science so she might study gems when she grows up, she'd love to go on another adventure with the Crystal Temps as long as she doesn't have to imitate Steven, and being in a Fusion is weird but awesome--and she'd be Stevonnie's left arm because she's left-handed.

Next week: Lapis!

The detailed summary, including Rebecca and Ian discussing Connie’s characteristics and character design; discussions of early boardie character concepts; Grace and Zach discussing Connie's relationship with Steven and recent developments; and fan questions answered in character . . .

Read it all below!

Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey:

McKenzie begins by presenting a discussion of Connie and the humans of Beach City, also known as the boardies. Ian opens with a complaint that the term "boardies" doesn't seem to be catching on with fans even though they've been termed that in the show. He doesn't know why some fans like to call them "townies."

McKenzie asks how early Connie was conceived for the show, and both guests say she has been part of the show since the beginning. When McKenzie asks whether Connie was always intended to eventually join Steven's battles as a participant, Ian says they had always intended a group of humans to have various relationships with the Gems--either on the outskirts as background characters, as interested parties, or as participants in their activities. These ideas for different characters were distilled into one in many cases, and Connie absorbed a bunch of their intentions for heavily involved human characters.

Rebecca says Connie's character design was intentionally a complement to Steven's, right down to their faces fitting together like puzzle pieces. Connie is reasonable and down to earth, while Steven is whimsical and magical, with both of them being attracted to what the other represents.

Together, Connie and Steven make the "ultimate person," which is why Stevonnie works so well as a wielder of the sword and shield. Associating Connie with the sword very early on was intentional; way back in "Lion 2: The Movie," Rose's sword's first appearance was deliberately done during a Connie episode so she could be there to help Steven use it against the Robot Shooty Thing.

McKenzie prompts Ian and Rebecca to discuss Connie's relationship with the other Gems besides Steven. Rebecca immediately brings up one of the first times all of them interact with her, in the beginning of "Lion 2: The Movie" when they warp in standing in cool poses. (That was a Jeff Liu drawing.) They really wanted to help Steven have a friend, enhancing his cool life to draw Connie in, even if they're not completely sure how to do that. Ian says they actually treat Connie better than they treat any other human. She's a full-on member of the team as Steven's best friend, fusion partner, and dedicated combatant, so she gets special treatment.

Rebecca comments that since Connie opened up to her parents about her role on the team, the Gems have actually been in more communication with Connie's parents about it, which we don't see onscreen because the perspective of the show is tied to Steven. Rebecca and Ian say it's implied pretty strongly in "Gem Hunt" that Pearl knows Connie's parents' rules. Ian thinks the conversations between Pearl and Priyanka would be "pretty boring." And Garnet, as shown in "Mindful Education," now respects Connie, Steven, and Stevonnie (each as their own person) in a more mature, "equal" way than she used to when it was more about just protecting them.

McKenzie brings up changes with the other boardies (naming Mayor Dewey and Lars and Sadie), asking Ian and Rebecca to comment on why they decided to introduce so many changes to their lives. Sadie was shown in "Sadie's Song" wanting to make changes in her life, and now in the latest episodes she's evolving to find out who she is without Lars to rely on. She thought no one really wanted to be friends with her, but although she had Lars around, she was discontent with who she was and thought nobody who was actually cool would accept her. 

The Cool Kids are said to genuinely like Lars. Sadie's experience in the band with them is based partially on Rebecca joining a band in college. They called her "Rebecca Murder." And after Rebecca left to work on her animation career, those band members began making art in a barn, inspiring what Peridot and Lapis did there.

Ian says Mayor Dewey's loss to Nanefua as mayor was planned early too; they always made sure to stick Nanefua into crowd scenes where Dewey was getting criticized. Rebecca reminds us that Nanefua is based on Ian's grandmother. 

And Ian brings up the voiceless character that's supposed to be him on the show--that he keeps getting prominently drawn in the crowd ever since he left the show. He was originally a pizza man they think was named Everett, but that idea blossomed into the Pizza family based largely on Ian's family members. 

They also discuss another character that didn't get used--a scooter-riding character named Baby who threw cans of soda at people. (??) They think he kind of thought of himself as an action hero but may have morphed into the Fryman family. (Ronaldo got some of his traits, as he's interested in the Gems.) The Keep Beach City Weird book comes up and Ian says you should read it if you're a fan of the show. (McKenzie admits that she hasn't read it. Author’s note: It’s great, I reviewed it.) They bring up the blog that the writers would use for extra-canon material, expertly timing posts to line up with the show's airing of related episodes. (Koala Princess was first mentioned on Ronaldo's blog and later was incorporated into the show.) McKenzie wishes she could know more about the concept characters like Baby.

Grace Rolek and Zach Callison:

In the wake of so many changes--Dewey stepping down, Sadie quitting the Big Donut, Lapis leaving--McKenzie prompts Grace to comment. Grace thinks there's a huge shift happening; unlike most cartoons where most elements stay the same, Beach City is moving on to a new era. (Zach starts singing a line from a Hamilton song: "The world will never be the same!") Zach thinks even though Steven and Connie have reconciled, there's still the unsolved murder mystery and there's no going back to the status quo. McKenzie thinks it's huge that Sadie left her job, considering the literal first scene of the show is Steven inside the Big Donut with her comforting him about Cookie Cats. (Grace also quotes Hamilton, saying "The world's turned upside down.")

When McKenzie asks Grace to discuss how she can bring authenticity to the story as it's changing, she says she's changed a lot herself from age 15 to age 20 on the show, so she's gotten life experience as the characters have and can relate more readily. She can pulled from her own experiences with, say, breakups, to filter those emotions into giving voice to Connie in her struggles with Steven. Zach comments that Grace was not there during his recording for "Kevin Party," and he remembers having a personal emotional reaction in response to the dialogue. (He later returns to this to express that it was where Kevin was giving Steven terrible advice; he had that happen to him too.) 

Grace says good writing really helps connection on a personal level; it automatically feels authentic. Grace adds that even though she's never fought Gem monsters or had a magical best friend, she still knows on some level what it's like to go through what Connie does in those moments because the writers build them on realistic emotional experiences.

McKenzie says she thinks Steven's emotional misfire at the beginning of "Dewey Wins" was very unlike him, and asks for the actors' comments on whether they think Steven was genuinely confused about Connie's reaction or whether he was suppressing something. Zach thinks Steven probably got it subconsciously, but was just confused about everything at the time. Grace thinks Connie just felt terrified about having faced the idea of not seeing Steven ever again and then when he returned he was so flippant about their pact, which she had invested so much into even if her ability to help might have been limited in that situation. 

Zach points out that anything bad that happened to him at age 14 was the end of the world. Zach and Grace joke about how nice it is to say "when I was a teenager" now that they're past that into their twenties. (Their birthdays are two weeks apart.) Grace says she just has normal angst now instead of teenage angst.

McKenzie brings up "Gemcation" and Steven's embarrassment to admit that he'd had a fight with Connie, worrying that they would side with her. What do Zach and Grace think of Steven's atypical reticence? Zach thinks Steven fears the Gems' reaction would be to be angry like Connie because he must deserve that treatment. When McKenzie suggests it would've been simpler to just leave and never come back to face it, Zach says that's the darkest timeline and jokes that Steven would join the Diamond Authority. This AU definitely exists.

The next subject is Connie's hair. Grace is asked to comment, and she remembers seeing it in the boards and asking about it, with Rebecca confirming that Connie had gone through a redesign. 

Grace says it's a common cliché to change your hair when you go through a relationship change, but there's truth in it. She thinks Connie's come so far from Season 1, from thinking she's going to die friendless to showing up at a cool party with a Lion and a new haircut, chatting with strangers. Grace thinks she may have changed her hair to help deal with moving forward, and although her relationship with Steven is very important to her, she needs to invest in her personal growth independently from having a magical best friend. Grace mentions feeling sort of bad for Kevin for the first time in that episode, despite his history of being unsympathetic. McKenzie thinks his past with having an ex he lost helped humanize him. They agree he deserves some sympathetic treatment but that he's still a jerk, and they joke about a redemption arc for him in which he'd have to sing and join the Crystal Gems.

Connie answers questions:

McKenzie: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Connie: Oh, I have no idea. Right now my favorite subject in school is science, so I'd love to do something with that, I think, learning and investigating the world is super interesting. Maybe I could study gems for a living.

McKenzie: Would you consider going on another adventure with the Crystal Temps?

Connie: I'd love to! I just hope they don't make me imitate Steven again. That was kind of weird. If we could just be our own people while doing an adventure, that'd be fun!

McKenzie: What's it like to be in a Fusion?

Connie: It's super weird but it's awesome. I mean, it's crazy, I get to share a mind with Steven.

McKenzie: Yeah?

Connie: Yeah, it's like, half of me is controlling half a brain and half a body, but at the same time it's just one person.

McKenzie: Is it like divided down the middle? Do you have like the right arm?

Connie: I guess. I mean, I'm left-handed, so it'd be the left arm.

McKenzie: Why did you cut your hair? Which by the way looks amazing.

Connie: Thank you! I think I just needed a change. I feel like, I'm growing up, and I've had this long hair for a real long time, and I wanted to assert a new side of my personality.

McKenzie: It's an image change, you gotta shake things up!

Connie: Exactly. I've had this long hair for a while now, and now this cute short hair, it's a cute chic new look.

McKenzie: What kind of podcast would you have if you had a podcast?

Connie: I would LOVE to have a podcast because I just love to talk about all sorts of things that interest me. It would be cool if Steven and I could get together and talk about all sorts of stuff. Maybe we could interview the Gems or interview people about--or I'd love to talk about all sorts of issues in the world today. I love to talk about the real stuff. Current events. And also pop culture, too, I think, books, television, movies, analyzing it all.

McKenzie: That sounds like an amazing podcast.

Connie: Thanks. I mean I certainly love talking to you on this one!

Next week: LAPIS!

[Archive of Steven Universe Podcast Summaries]

[fluidityandgiggles]

Sleep Is For The Weak - Chapter 8

Previous Chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 5, Last Chapter

Writing Masterlist - for previous chapters not otherwise linked, Read on AO3

Notes (I guess): I could not wait to post this. I know it’s only Wednesday but I couldn’t wait and I had to. I’m sorry... I’m sure the next chapter will bring us back to the regular schedule. This chapter is really weird, at least in my opinion (but it might just be that I read it again and again a million times over), but I’m really happy with it and... also not really. Some people in this chapter need to... I don’t want to say anything. It would only make things worse if I say anything.

Thanks to @broadwaytheanimatedseries for the original suggestion, to @whatwashernameagain for all her help and for being a sweet lil angel of a person, and to my little elves, @anony-phangirl, @asleepybisexual and @winglessnymph for dealing with my bullshit. A special one goes to Nicky this time, for being an adorable bean and reading this chapter ahead of time to help me figure things out. I am so grateful that I have this lovely group of people to help me and I can’t thank them enough.

Tag list (sort of): @bunny222, @ab-artist, @secretlyanxiouspersona, @your-username-is-unavailable, @virgilcrofters, @why-things-go-boom, @ilovemyspoopydad, @violetblossem, @prinxiety-an-chocolate

Trigger warning: period appropriate transphobia (the early 00s were not exactly trans-friendly). Especially in this chapter, and not necessarily period-appropriate, but... you have been warned.

—————

Wednesday, November 27th, 2002

Remy finally understood the point of existentialism and, more specifically, of the saying "Hell is other people".

He couldn't even take comfort in knowing how close India was. She didn't leave Boston for the holiday, and she wouldn't have anyway. Her family in North Carolina were horrible people and she told him that she hadn't seen any of them since she came to Harvard.

That meant that, for the next few days, he was stuck in Social Circle, Georgia. All alone. With no escape plan.

"Sarah, look, Remy's here!"

...and Leah.

She came down the road on her rollerblades, looking entirely too proud of herself, and their cousin Sarah on her trail. Sarah wasn't particularly bad, but Remy wasn't entirely comfortable around—

"A little bird told me you were going to be away this year."

"Gurl, you don't even want to know what happened."

"No I don't. I'm just glad you're here, Becca."

Becca. A cursed name. Yeah, maybe that's going a bit overboard, but… Remy wasn't called Becca since… well, Christmas of last year. But it's been a long time!

"I can rollerblade, right Remy?" Leah was holding onto his leg, almost dragging him down, and started taking her rollerblades off. "You saw me do it!"

"What are you doing?"

"I don't want Mom to see…"

"But you'll freeze!"

"But she won't be mad at me!"

"Becca, would you like to hear the holiday forecast?" Sarah tapped Remy on the shoulder as she said that. He didn't really, but… "Sunny. Way too sunny. With high chance of showers and a possible thunderstorm."

(Translated, it meant there will be fights. A lot of fights. And Remy was ready to deal with them, but… it didn't mean he wanted to hear it.)

"Wow, thanks for all the help, Sarah."

"No need to be rude, I'm just trying to prepare you. Everyone is coming. And some of us aren't as accepting of your ‘identity' as others."

That was incredibly true. Sadly. It took Linda no time at all to let everyone know that her daughter believes that she's a boy, and it took his grandmother no time to tell him that when she was younger, she had a very good friend who was born a boy, but lived as her true feminine self, and that she misses that friend so much because "there was no kinder or sweeter woman you'd ever meet, too bad we had to lose her to that wretched AIDS. We didn't have no cocktails or whatever back then, not like today. She died something like three years after you were born. You would've loved Celia."

It was going to be an insufferable holiday.

"Sarah, you're barely two years older than me. You don't—"

"I'm not mothering you. I'm just pointing out the facts."

Leah let go of Remy's leg, and instead grabbed onto his arm, the rollerblades in one hand. She was barefoot, she was cold, and he just wanted to hold her tight so she wouldn't freeze too much.

He was falling hard and fast for the sister he didn't want to meet a couple weeks ago, and he was struggling to understand what exactly happened.

"Sarah has a boyfriend now," Leah said happily as she led Remy (and his bag) to the house. "He's not very nice." She threw her rollerblades into a small shed near the door and quickly closed it.

"I'll bet."

"It's why she's being a bitch. I think. I don't know."

"It's how she's always been. Don't feel bad."

Leah decided to give him a house tour, and explained that nobody was there yet because everyone will come tomorrow and Stephen had a thing to do in Atlanta and Rachel had a play date. And Linda's house was… well, a house.

Remy was so used to the small and outrageously expensive apartment on West 106th, with the bad lighting and the closet-sized bedrooms, that the house seemed huge to him. The living room alone was - mismatched furniture aside - incredibly impressive. The floor-to-ceiling windows let in so much natural light that reflected off the shiny hardwood floors, the cream-colored walls and the needlessly large flat-screen TV, that Remy doubted they even needed the huge fucking chandelier (okay, maybe he was exaggerating a bit) that hung in the middle of the room. The walls were covered in crayon doodles and bright purple marks where the girls' heights were measured, and a few dark scratches. Obvious evidence that a certain scooter kept running into them.

Two black suede couches faced the brick fireplace (a fucking fireplace? Utterly pointless, much like a lot of things in this room), with dark blue and gray throwing pillows placed strategically on them. It looked incredibly comfortable. Between the couches and the fireplace was a small glass coffee table, "adorned" with misplaced toys and children's art supplies. A beautiful, blue-green glass vase full of white daffodils was right in the middle of the table. Leah proudly told him that she picked them herself.

Wooden bookcases covered the wall next to the entrance, and two light gray, plush armchairs, with the same dark blue and gray pillows, faced them. Remy was very familiar with those armchairs. They used to belong to his grandparents. He used to torture those chairs with Sarah when they were younger, draw on them with markers and put stickers all over the armrests. How his grandmother managed to remove the stickers was beyond him, but he knew for a fact that she put them through very intensive cleaning after every visit.

Two years ago they disappeared from their house in Red Bank, New Jersey. And nobody could explain to him why.

In the corner of the room, next to the bookcases, sat a sleek Steinway that Remy knew very well. It belonged to his grandfather. He wasn't even aware that it, too, made its way from New Jersey to Georgia.

(Nobody told Remy anything anymore, as it turned out. At least he could take comfort in knowing that Roger's piano was being put to good use.)

And that was just the living room. Remy didn't even want to think about the hallway.

"We moved here from Atlanta when I started going to school and my grandma and grandpa wanted me to go to where Dad went to school," Leah started rambling. "And I miss Atlanta. There's a lot more to do there, there's a lot more fun stuff to—"

"I know." The offended look on her face went away when Remy put his hand in her hair, to calm her down. "I live two blocks away from Broadway, I just need to take the subway and I'll be at Times Square, but I can't. I don't have the money for it and I don't want to take money from my dad."

"Isn't that annoying?"

"Leah, you're seven. Stop complaining about that kind of stuff," Sarah chided as she pushed past them, a glass of water in her hand, and went to sit down. "Just wait until you're in college."

"You mean, the place where everything is close by and rather affordable thanks to student discounts and the option of working on campus?"

"You're only a senior in high school, what do you know—"

"I go to Harvard, Sarah. It's been a couple months already."

"Oh… yeah. I'm sure you're doing great."

Yeah. Maybe this holiday he'll just stick to Leah.

——

"If there is a thing you should know about your mother," Edith Brigham told her grandchild in late 1992, "it's that she is too headstrong for her own good. It doesn't matter how much you try to change her mind, she'll never listen."

This was the reason Remy kept talking to his grandmother after the divorce. Why he kept visiting Edith and Roger after Linda left.

"Where's grandma and Roger?"

"They won't be coming this holiday, Rebecca. They're in Thailand."

Remy was absolutely not ready for this thanksgiving.

Stephen started a conversation with him about college while Linda was finishing things up in the kitchen that Wednesday. He asked him about his boyfriend, Remy did his best to avoid those particular questions ("is Ian playing any sports?" "She told me she was a cheerleader in high school, she wasn't allowed to do color guard"; Stephen choked on his beer when Remy said that), and things just seemed…

Overall, things seemed strangely calm.

Remy missed Edith and Roger.

"Who's she?" Linda asked from the kitchen.

"Never heard of her."

"Rebecca, please be serious."

"Remember when you met my best friend and she told you her name is Ian?" Linda made a choking sound. "Remember grandma's friend Celia?"

"That— you never even met her. You were too young. You don't even remember her. You are not the same as grandma's friend."

"I'm sure my best friend would love to hear that."

"So he's… he…"

"You can call her a she, you know."

"Grandma doesn't have a friend called Celia," Leah piped in from the corner, where she was sitting at the piano, trying to motivate herself to play it. Little Rachel was pressing all the keys, irritating Leah quite a bit.

"She died of a really bad disease before you were born," Linda said sharply. Something in her changed when talking to Leah.

"She was very nice," Remy added, trying to be softer than Linda. "Grandma says that she was a painter, and she spent a lot of time reading books, and that there was nobody sweeter than her. She died of AIDS."

"What's that?"

"Don't you—"

"Acquired immune deficiency syndrome." Leah hummed to herself as Remy said that. He could feel Linda glare at him. "You get it from contaminated blood or unsafe sex, and your immune system just doesn't work. I don't know a lot about it, so you should probably read about it—"

"Rebecca, she's seven years old!"

"She's a seven year old who knows that female hyenas have penises, Linda! She's old enough to know about AIDS."

"...you sound just like your grandmother."

"Thanks, I try to."

Leah just hummed again in understanding and left the piano in order to go painting. Rachel's key-pressing was getting too annoying for her. She said her hearing can't take it anymore.

Remy believed her.

"You can't just explain STDs to my child, Rebecca," Stephen hissed at him through gritted teeth, suddenly looking rather threatening.

"One of my professors said that if you can't explain it to a child, you don't truly understand it yourself."

"That's no excuse to—"

"Mom I have a headache can you tell Rachel to go away?"

"Deal with it. Rachel, sweetie, come here."

"Deal with it?" Linda just… shrugged. "Leah, come here, love. And bring my bag with you."

So she did. Remy took an ibuprofen pill out of the bag and gave it to her. And Linda...

"You're drugging up my kid?"

"She told you she has a headache. I'm having cramps right now, so I have painkillers on me. Shocker? To you, probably. You're the one who taught me that the cramps are just another sign that my body so terribly wants to have children, and—"

"Spit that out, Leah. You don't need anything."

And with that, Remy gave up on trying to talk to Linda. (Leah did not spit out the pill.)

——

Sunday, December 1st, 2002

The rest of the holiday was just as awful. Leah got overwhelmed by everything, Remy kept fighting with his aunts, and the alcohol didn't help in the least. Everyone felt Edith and Roger's absence and it only made things that much worse.

He should've stayed in Boston.

When he called India after getting off the plane, she told him to take comfort in the fact that Christmas is only three weeks away. And, yeah, she was right. But it didn't make things any better…

For now, he decided, he should focus on other things. Midterms were starting very soon. Next Tuesday was Emile's birthday. His dad started working on a new production—

There was a knock on the door.

"I heard you had a horrible holiday," an adorable, heavily-accented, quiet voice said once Remy opened the door. He could hear the smile in it. "Nothing cuddles and cookies can't solve, right?"

Thin, pale hands pulled Remy in for a hug, and finally. Remy came home.

——

"Umm… Emile, babe, you're crushing my lungs."

"Oh, oops. Sorry."

"Want to watch Nightmare Before Christmas and do absolutely nothing else?"

"Sounds lovely. Let's do it."

[blue-means-stop]

Unsoupervised

FANDOM: Undertale AO3 LINK: Link CHAPTERS: 1/1 RATING: T WORD COUNT: 1506 words WARNINGS/TAGS: Food mention, awful vaguely sexual puns, a bunch of dorks being dorks, a whole lot of sass, and some light shit posting.

DESCRIPTION: I haven’t felt a desire to really write lately, however that didn’t stop me from harassing the discord chat I’m apart of, with really lousy ideas. Here’s one of them involving the Pap6. Twist belongs to itsladykit and Portugal belongs to sansy-fresh, both used with permission. I’m sorry.

---

Standing in the infamous pasta/Mexican/Asian/Random Non American Food aisle, Fell shifted his stance to achieve better judgment with a cocked hip. He stared at the absolutely awful selection of all of three pastas and tried to ignore the low key building ire. The local grocery store, a generic chain store at that, was severely lacking in a lot of everything. He should have turned around the moment he whiffed bleach and the faint aroma of rotten onions. Why were there two different elbow macaroni? Fell eyed one box than the other with a deliberate frown. They were physically the same thing, only one seemed to be an off brand, claiming to be better than name brand. The cartoony thumbs up did little to persuade him.

But elbow macaroni? He scoffed under his breath. What was he, some soccer mom with a taste for bland, tasteless macaroni salad with olives, trying to pass it off as some gourmet secret recipe at the last PTA meeting. We all know you got it off the back of a Kraft box, Helen.

He’d lost track of time, reasoning and the others, the wild pack of Papyri that had strong armed him in tagging along, only to scatter in separate directions the moment they stepped through the automatic doors. The droning, repetitive elevator music the store piped through speakers that could only have originated from the Stone Age had wiped away his ability to care.  Was that…? He tipped his skull to take in the piano rendition of a Whitesnake classic. Fell hummed. Maybe it was better if he cared even less.

Keeping one clawed hand on his cart to prevent it from rolling away (He always got stuck with the one with a shitty wheel), he eyed his three options for the seventh time and lofted a brow at the abrupt cut of music. There was a sharp, ear piercing shriek of feedback as some seventeen year old, stock boy probably named Steve, breathed heavily into the microphone before pulling it away to stop the shrieking of the damned.

“Will a Mr. Fell...” The awkward pause promised so much. “Hot Topic, please come to the front of the store. Your son is waiting for you. A Mr. Fell Hot Topic. Your son is waiting.”

The sudden return of music did nothing the quell the sudden loathing of taking any of his idiots with him on errands. With a rueful sigh that trailed off into a low sound of the undead, Fell shoved the box of pasta back on the shelf, straightened it, and stalked off with his click clacking cart.

It was Slim waiting for him, because of course it was. He stood leaning against the small freezers filled with bags of ice and looking unnecessarily smug. Fell contemplated walking out the store and leaving the others to whatever their fate decided. Instead he settled with catching Slim across the ankles with his slow, creaking, runaway cart.

Unbothered by the vicious attack, Slim leaned into him conspirator like, voice quiet as if he was about to impart some mildly decent wisdom. “i have to show you something.” His breath smelled like butterscotch and he nodded gravely before padding off, hands in his coat pockets that crinkled with penny candy wrappers.

“DO I EVEN HAVE A CHOICE?”

Fell knew he shouldn’t have followed, but he found himself abandoning his cart in favor of doing just that. He had no ties to it or the lone box of cereal and can of crushed tomatoes laying inside. If it was meant to be, they’d be there when he returned.

Slim led him past the gauntlet of empty checkout stands, finding only one open, no matter how many people were in line, to a group of people Fell had been actively ignoring. If there was anything he’d learned in his life, large group of humans meant trouble. Slim nodded to the group and Fell wasn’t sure what he was suppose to do. He nodded again, making a show of canting his head to the ground as if to make a point.

Before Fell could gripe at him to just tell him what he wanted, he spotted a familiar pair of orange sneakers on the floor and his soul skipped a beat. Shouldering his way through the group, magic crackling at the ends of his phalanges, not caring how close and how many they were before he stopped short.

Stretch laid sprawled on the ground, pointedly refusing to acknowledge he had one arm stuck inside a claw machine game, looking entirely nonplussed at the gathering crowd. Two workers stood next to him, keeping the curious onlookers back as one unsuccessfully tried to free him. Stretch didn’t seem to mind them, his attention directed toward Twist, who’d taken residence atop of the nearby pallet of stacked dog food.

“-i am one of the smartest monsters you will ever meet.” Stretch countered, Fell having missed the beginning of whatever irrational dispute the ashtray was trying to argue.

“Uh huh.” Twist tucked his legs under him, sitting cross legged. 

“i have a PhD!”

“‘Kay.” He rested his chin in his hands, hunched over with the softest grin.

“so i don’t need your attitude.”

Twist nodded, agreeing with ease. “So why is yer hand stuck, sweetheart.”

“becaUSE I WON THIS CUPIE DOLL FAIR AND SQUARE.”

Fell sighed painfully, scrunching his nasal bridge and couldn’t decide if he wanted to rub his temples to ease the sudden and completely unprovoked headache or fold his arms in utter disappointment. He tried for both.

“babe!” Stretched cried happily, leaning forward only to be stopped short by his predicament.

“Do you know this gentleman?” asked one of the workers, two seconds away from taking a crowbar to the machine.

Stretch beamed at him “…I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS MONSTER BEFORE IN MY LIFE.”

“rude.”

He wasn’t going to dignify that with a response, especially when Twist chuckled fondly at them both. “I EXPECTED YOU TO KEEP AN EYE ON HIM, TWISTED.”

Twist gave a light shrug, content to watch as Slim sidled up beside him, long enough to snap a picture and type out a message on his phone. He reflexively smiled without looking up as Twist settled an arm over his shoulders. His phone pinged as his message was sent and slipped it back into his pocket, offering a loose candy to the other who gave a light shake of his head.

“ARE YOU QUITE DONE?”

“no,” Stretch muttered, stubbornly, folding his one free arm across his chest.

Fell fought the urge to sigh again. “IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU, YOU’LL LET GO OF THAT RIDICULOUS TOY.”

“are you gunna spank me if I don’t?”

Could a monster dust of an actual annoyed induced soul attack? Did that kind of thing even exist? Fell pinched the bridge of his nasal bone. “YOU ARE KILLING ME,” he growled. “YOU ARE KILLING YOUR ONLY RIDE HOME.”

“Aww, sweetheart, it ain’t that bad,” Twist interjected.

“i clitterally don’t know what you’re talking about.” Stretched reclined back, tucking his arm behind his head to cushion it against the claw machine.

Fell stilled. “DID YOU… THAT’S A COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE PUN IN A PUBLIC SETTING! THERE’S LITERALLY NO BUILD UP TO IT.” He wasn’t sure if he was actually more bothered by the awful pun or zero reasoning behind it.

One of the workers, Bob by the nametag, cautiously raised the crow bar in his hand. “Do we still need to get him out?”

“snatchurally.”

“I WANT A DIVORCE.”

“we aren’t even married, felly.”

The slow, quiet hum of a motorized scooter denoted the arrival of Cash, sitting quite at ease as it crept forward, regardless of who’s toes were in the way. He stopped once he cleared the group of amused humans and glanced at everyone in turn, phone in hand and one eye silently judging over the mountain of cigarette cartons in his basket. Slowly without breaking eye contact, he backed up, scooter beeping before he drove on, heading for the front door in one very surreal moment.

“Sir, you can’t take that outside,” the other worker started after him, exasperated, “Sir. Sir!”

Fell was fairly certain this was what having a stroke felt like.

“Aaaand he’s gone,” Twist announced before sitting up straight. “Anyone see P?”

A sharp toot of a horn resounded from behind the closed sliding doors, momentarily becoming louder as the worker walked after Cash, ensuing a slow speed chase through the parking lot. The horn honked again, longer and impossibly louder, drawing the lingering curious to look.

Portugal leaned impatiently out the passenger side window of their vehicle, glaring back at the group. “Get a move on, fuckos. I ain’t got all day!”

Fell patted his pockets for his car keys, finding them mysteriously missing. “WHO THE HELL GAVE HIM MY KEYS?” At the chorus of shrugs, he refrained from dragging his hands down his face and marched toward the entryway. “PORTUGAL! GIVE- DON’T YOU FLIP ME OFF RUNT!”

[whatupwiththelists]

List Christmas Letter 2015

Hello Family & Friends,

If you’re reading this letter, congratulations! You’ve made our “B” group! Nice work! The people who made our “A” group have a much nicer letter in my opinion, but this one is OK too. If you’re curious as to how to qualify for the “A” group next year, it’s simple. We select a name and then ask Sophie to choose a number between 1 and 10. Jayden will answer for her which will make her upset so she’ll start to cry. Cadence will try to comfort her, and then some other stuff will happen. Then some more stuff and it usually ends up with everyone hitting daddy. At this point I’m grumpy so you’re in the “B” group, so deal with it.

Again, it’s been an eventful year and we are again in good health and spirits. Lucy is still working at Telus as part of the Koodo team and enjoying herself. She was working as a contractor, and was recently offered Full Time which apparently is pretty rare since most Telus workers are contractors. Working with a younger team is really good training for better understanding of words and slang that our kids will probably start using in a few years. She seems to be having fun which is great. Having her job for almost 2 years, she’s now the “steady” one.

I on the other hand, have a new job… again :) I left Sysomos in November to work for a start up company called VarageSale as a Product Manager. Same job, different place. They develop a product (website & app) similar to Kijiji or Craigslist that you can buy and sell items. Their advantage is that they focus on creating a sense of community and safety. Users need to be “accepted” into the community through an approval process and they have community administrators who monitor those communities. The office is still downtown. A little further commute than the Telus building, but it has it’s perks. We have a large metal bull, a pool table, ping pong table, lots of free food, beer fridge and some really amazing people that create a truly fantastic culture. I’m pretty happy to be a part of that.

On the side, I’m also developing a product in my spare time called Me in a Nutshell (meinanutshell.com is where it will live soon). The idea is that you hook up all of your social media accounts to it, move stuff around and choose colours etc to your liking. We’re looking to do a BETA launch early next year. If you’re interested in taking a look please let me know (I’d love to get more feedback).

What’s up with the kids you ask? Oh right… them…

Well, Sophie turned 3 this year and is still a little nutcase. She was terrible at 2 and SURPRISE! She’s still terrible and I still blame Lucy. She learned to push the pedals on her tricycle this past summer which made me really proud. She loves playing with her dolls and is very particular about what she wears. Sophie has also earned the title of champion grunter and generally making angry sounds when she’s grumpy (which is most mornings). These sounds are typically directed toward me, especially when I have any form of physical contact with her mother. Hugging Lucy = high severity grunt and usually a few bruises while she acts as a human crowbar to wedge us apart. If any of you are interested in a brand new, mostly natural form of birth control please come see me.

Cadence is our little gymnast. She’s constantly doing cartwheels or handstands and generally flipping one way or the other all over the house. A few months back she started in the competitive program, so she’s spending some more time in class. The only major drawback is that sometimes Lucy sees her doing something and thinks she should try. No Lucy, it’s really not a good idea. Cadence is our little superstar when it comes to school. She loves going to school, and is quite the girly girl. Hard to believe she’s turning 7 in a couple of days! She’s still very much into crafts and loves to draw just like mom and dad.

Jayden is doing really well. He’s doing much better at school this year and has made Lucy and I even more proud. He loves gym, music, math and science and it’s been really great seeing him come back with excellent test scores. Jayden has continued to take piano lessons. Lucy is still amazed at how quick he’s able to pick it up and hear the notes. He had his first recital this year, which he was pretty proud of. He played a few songs he’s learned and even one he made up himself. Jayden had a great summer riding his scooter and being a 9 year old boy (attacking anything and everything with anything and everything that remotely resembles a sword/knife/bow & arrow or pick axe).

Last year we got Jayden tested. As it turns out he has ADHD and a learning disability. We learned that he’s been working at a 30% level because of his disability, when his potential is in the mid 90s. This school year has been much better. Now that he’s diagnosed, the school is able to be a little more supportive and we are more equipped to better understand his needs. He’s a visual person and learns through seeing and doing. His struggles are focusing on a task that he doesn’t understand or relate to. He’s not so good with words, but better with numbers and shapes. Much like me.

Lucy and I are very blessed to have three truly amazing little Lists.

(that’s Sophie’s grunting face :)

We also got a new nanny this year. Cathy. She has been amazing. She actually helps out other families in the neighbourhood and is also the lunch monitor at the kid’s school. She picks up the kids at school, supervises homework and gets dinner ready for them. Since she’s come into our lives, the kids are now able to get back into their after school programs (karate and gymnastics) Cathy has been a real help with Jayden. We owe his great test scores to her. She’s extremely patient with the kids, and definitely helps us in many ways. Kids are usually fed, with their chores and homework done before we get home. Which relieves a lot of stress from us since Lucy and I are still both working downtown.

For Lucy and I, life still goes on. I managed to stay healthy this year but didn’t have as many personal bests this year as last. I might run a half marathon next year and I’ll probably bike a little more, but nothing too out of the ordinary. I find that between work, side work, and the kids, I don’t have a lot of time to do much else :) I’m not complaining tho! Ok, maybe just a little.

Lucy had a big year running. She signed up for her first 10K race in March through her work and had 2 months to train for it. Having never run a 5K before she was a little apprehensive, but she did it. After that she signed up for a 15K in June and then this fall she ran her first half marathon in San Francisco and did it in a great time (2’07”). I think her true motivation was the Tiffany necklace they got at the finish line. All in all a great running year for someone who tells me constantly that she hates running. I would point out the conflict to her, but I often fear for my own personal safety so prefer not to talk to her or look her directly in the eyes.

This summer we had new neighbours move in right next door who also have 3 kids around a similar age. SCORE! Jayden and Cadence can often be found hanging around with Ethan and Melody. The neighbour's house is also pretty extraordinarily large, so hide and go seek is amazing over there. A great addition to our already amazing street!

We attended one of our first Canada day street celebrations this year which was a lot of fun. They closed down our street and held a street party on Canada Day. Lots of food, fun and friends. We say this every year, but we are extremely fortunate to be living in a neighbourhood where we can feel safe about our kids running in and out of houses and up and down the streets. This is where I would normally talk about our great neighbours and friends but I don’t think I can top what we said last year. So instead, I will quote it.

It’s hard to believe that 8 9 years ago, we moved into this new town. We’ve made so many great friends. Some have come and gone, but we are always very thankful for the friends we’ve made here, and have come to love. Our neighbourhood, and neighbours are one of a kind. Always willing to lend a helping hand at the drop of a hat. The kind of people you’d want to surround your life with, and that you’d want to raise your family around. For this we are grateful.

…end quote.

It’s been another great year filled with love, laughs, excitement and new beginnings. I hope this letter has given you a little chuckle and filled you up with cheer.

much love & holiday wishes.

word.

The Lists

[17mounteens]

7 minutes in heaven (Wonwoo)

Request:

7 minutes in heaven with wonwoo? your series with the 95 line was so cute :') what they do in the cupboard is up to you since i know you guys will write it well either way :D

» aw thank you for enjoying the 95line 7 minutes in heaven scenarios :D I hope you like this one as well 💕

Ever since you started playing seven minutes in heaven at the party you were at, you had been nervous to the max. Everyone was so attractive that you knew you’d be a trainwreck no matter who you ended up in the closet with, and it was hardly made easier with each pair that came out of it, each one more disheveled than the previous.

“I didn’t know that much could happen in seven minutes,” Wonwoo, the guy on your left, said with a snicker, referring to the couple who had just come out of the closet: Jun was buckling his belt, and his partner was fixing their shirt and wiping their mouth.

“How?” you whispered in disbelief, only able to shake your head, rather not think about what exactly had gone down in the closet.

Wonwoo was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Seungkwan.

“Next up is Y/N and…” Seungkwan’s voice trailed off as he got another name from the big bag you had filled with paper slips with everyone’s names on them, and your heart picked up the speed at which it was beating as your cheeks heated up. Seungkwan chuckled when he got the other slip out. “...Wonwoo. Off you go.”

You and Wonwoo shared a surprised look, and before you were able to move, he grinned and motioned for you to get up. “You first.”

A moment later you entered the dark closet, with Wonwoo following suit, and jumped a little when the door was shut.

“Use your time wisely!”

“They’re so noisy,” Wonwoo laughed quietly, and you hummed in agreement, licking your lips nervously.

Out of all the attractive participants, of course you just had to get paired with the one you fancied the most.

Or well, the only one you fancied.

“So, what now?” you asked, a smile audible in your voice, and Wonwoo smiled back at you, although you couldn’t see it.

You could tell he wasn’t too close to you, and the shyness in his voice warmed your heart. “Close your eyes.”

“And then?” you giggled quietly, your eyes now shut, not that you would’ve been able to see much of anything even if they were open, and held your breath when you felt Wonwoo come close to you.

“Just wait,” he said, his voice low and gentle, and slowly placed his hands on your hips. You felt as though your heart had just jumped to your throat, and the way your breath hitched in your throat made Wonwoo chuckle. “Relax, Y/N.”

“How?” you asked, your tone reminiscent to the one with which you had earlier commented on Jun and his pair, and got a hum from Wonwoo.

“Deep breaths and all that, you know,” he whispered, his breath ghosting your face, and as you could feel his face draw closer to yours, your heart only beat faster in your chest, and you did your best to breathe steadily.

Wonwoo licked his lips, just as nervous himself, and you could feel his hands shake a little on your hips. He waited, slowly bringing his face even closer to yours, until his nose was brushing against yours and his forehead met yours. The contact made you snort quietly, with a nervous, wide smile on your face.

Wonwoo waited again, giving you enough time to pull away if you wanted to, and just as he was about to close the tiny distance left between your lips, you leaned in for a kiss instead, your hands making their way to his shoulders.

The kiss was everything you had dared to imagine and more - it was shy, tentative, and so, so gentle. His lips weren’t the softest, but felt incredibly nice on yours either way, and the way he kissed you had your toes curling. The way Wonwoo’s hands gradually held your hips more steadily only added to the feeling.

You could feel butterflies flying about in your stomach as Wonwoo’s lips moved against yours, and you found the courage inside of you to kiss him with just a bit more passion; after all, you had wanted to kiss him for a while already, so you might as well make the best out of it. 

Soon Wonwoo pulled back, smiling widely, and you could both hear and feel him let out a quiet chuckle.

“That didn’t turn out how I expected,” he noted, slowly moving his hands from your hips to your waist, and you clicked your tongue.

“Should I be offended?” you asked, a smile audible in your voice, and Wonwoo shook his head, which you could sense, too.

“No, I just kind of expected it to be… shorter and less mutual,” Wonwoo said, his cheeks warm and his heart beating steadily in his chest, although the pace was noticeably faster than usual.

Smiling widely, you got one of your hands to the back of his head, playing with his hair a little. “Oh, you were so wrong…”

And with that you pulled him in for another kiss. The first one had left you wanting more, and you noticed that the same happened with the second one. You had one kiss after another, most of them fairly innocent and sweet with both of your smiling into them, you playing with Wonwoo’s hair and him slowly moving his hands down to your ass, which was when it escalated.

During the last kiss you were backed against the empty wall in the closet, with Wonwoo so close to you that you could feel his chest heaving against you, and your tongues danced together as you, again, tried to get more, his hands the slightest bit distracting as he held your ass snugly.

One thing was certain: his kisses were intoxicating, and you wouldn’t settle for only getting the ones you got in the closet.

“You guys have half a minute!”

Hissing, Wonwoo pulled back from you, and you caught your breath while touching with his hair, sharing the disappointment at your time running out.

“So, are the rumors true?” you asked quietly, a hint of playfulness in your voice, and bit down on your lower lip while waiting for the reply.

“What rumors?” Wonwoo asked, his voice rising in pitch a little with the surprise.

“That you like me,” you stated bluntly, holding your breath when he went silent.

He let out a breath. “...Yeah, I like you.”

Unable to keep a smile off your face, you pulled him down for a playful, happy kiss that told him more than enough about how you felt about him, and it was then that the closet door was opened.

Seungkwan clicked his tongue and Mingyu joined him at the door, hollering encouragingly.

The younger male shook his head while grinning from ear to ear. “Unsurprising.”

You pulled back from Wonwoo and hid your face in his shoulder for a while, holding your laughter in, and he did the same while wrapping his arms around you.

“Let’s go, I think there’s another pair waiting to get in,” he said, his voice raspy yet gentle, and you nodded.

“Only if you go out with me.”

“Oh, then you might have to stay here,” Wonwoo deadpanned, but broke down into a laughter as soon as you lifted your face from his shoulder, giving him a genuinely shocked look. “I’m joking, of course I’ll go out with you.”

Quirking your eyebrow a little, you pulled away from him and began leading the way out of the closet. “I might have to reconsider the date.”

He laughed with a grin, and when you had returned to your earlier positions, he pulled you into a hug. “You want to go out with me too much to turn it down.”

“That’s what you think,” you sing-sang and hugged him back, grinning when you looked up to his eyes. “I’ve waited a long time, another few weeks wouldn’t hurt.”

“We’re still going out tomorrow night,” Wonwoo declared with a smile and gave you a peck on your lips.

Admin Scooter

[twistednuns]

May 2018

The scent of lilac blossoms, especially in the late evening on a walk through the neighbourhood. Still some light over the horizon, moon and stars visible.                                                                                               

Going hiking along the Isar with Lena. Seeing some kind of leopard snail, stealing lilac from behind a fence, riding my pastel-coloured bicycles. A jazz band playing in the beergarden. Eating a crêpe with Nutella. Talking. Walking. Even though my hip hurt.

That dude, Sebastian, who made a mock birthday invitation for me based on my favourites. I ended up with a Six Feet Under party - “Die 20er zu Grabe tragen”. With an all-you-can-eat ramen buffet and Bilderbuch as the live act.

Barcelona. It was so nice with our small group of students. The weather was ok-ish and all in all it felt pretty much like a normal vacation - thanks to Nicole’s good organisation and preparation. The best thing is that I’m going to get all the money back I advanced. Definitely gonna try and organise trips for next year, too!

Meeting José, a very handsome and funny guide at the Picasso museum. I transformed into a creepy stalker back at home and found him on FB, just to send him a message. You know, about the students thinking he was very nice and all. Ha. Alas, he has a girlfriend. But boy was he cute.

Meeting Carina from Montreal at the Barceloneta beach. I took care of her bag while she went in for a swim and afterwards we started talking. Before we said goodbye she made me draw an Angel Card out of a little cotton bag. It said Gratitude - apparently something I need to work on.

Watching the soap bubbles pop in the air. Lying at the beach instead of attending parent-teacher-conference.

Seeing the inside of Sagrada Familia for the first time. Those stained-glass windows are amazing. They create a very special mood of the light. Also, I found a small round window with my name on it.

That woman passionately kissing a man in a wheelchair in the middle of a Spanish airport. They were paying attention to nobody else, only seeing each other.

Discovering the natura store at the airport.

My new black suede handbag with pearls, sequins and embroidery. It looks like an abstract painting.

Charlotte Roche: Verlasst die Städte

Making tiny rainbows in the air with the garden hose.

How Do We Break the Stereotypes We’ve Created for Ourselves?

Drawing two protest signs for the Anti-PAG demonstration. Unfortuntately I had to explain the terms 1984 and Gilead to a whole lot of guys… geez, people should read more.

Manchego and Green Olive tortilla chips.

The last days with Effi Biest.

Grading English tests outside on the balcony.

My 30th birthday! Somehow I didn’t manage to throw a party and the Isar picnic is probably not gonna happen either but I still had a very special day. Nicole put balloons on my desk at school and gave me a lot of small presents which showed how much she listens to me (roasted corn, dark chocolate, a lemon - even the ‘art teacher necklace’ we saw at the Picasso gift shop in Barcelona; she made a student buy it without me noticing). Also, she made some students organise a scavenger hunt for me!! I got some chocolates from the kids, wore bright red lipstick and a new embroidered shirt dress. In the afternoon I sold my car. Finally. I didn’t get much but it’s gonna pay for my flight tickets in summer. Then I spent the evening with Manu - we had pizza and later shots at his place. Kind of a blind date but it was a good decision.

Being alone in a subway train.

Discovering the Beirut Beirut restaurant near Implerstraße. Sitting outside in the sunshine on a Friday afternoon, reading a book, enjoying Lebanese food and the beautiful surroundings.

Reading Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. I loved the technical knowledge it gave me about diving and the castaways. Lately I’m super interested in old war stories and everything connected to the ocean or faraway places.

Arriving at BluLagoon after spending a whole day on planes. Our villa was amazing. Don’t let me get started on the view and the fact that there were hardly any guests at the time.

Listening to music on our terrace, dancing in a weird way (more like 80’s aerobic class).

Diving. I found my passion. I liked David, the diving instructor, very much (always hot for teacher) and apparently I’ve got a “talent” for diving, too (I mean, at least I don’t panic and have no problem with breathing under water). It was so interesting to learn about the tide, the animals, everything, you know? My first dive in the ocean was magical. It’s like a whole other planet down there. I even saw a dolphin on my very first day. Turtles, puffer fish (my favourite), an octopus.

Pookie the (racist) dog! (He doesn’t bark at Westerners, only Indonesians)

A small hike to White Sand Beach.

Finding out that I actually do like tempeh.

Going to Nusa Lembongan/Ceningan was an excellent idea. Diving there was amazing and I felt very happy around Anang, Simone and Pascal. The islands are beautiful - the waves and the cliffs, breathtaking. I also learned to ride a scooter! Driving over Yellow Bridge between the two islands was priceless. Going on the swings during low tide, Paradise Beach, discovering a popular warung by accident. Having Australians open our Bintang Radlers for us. Collecting corals at Mushroom Beach. Taking the speed boat back to Bali. What an adventure.

Swimming in an infinity pool under the full moon in front of a jungle scenery. That’s Ubud. Watching the little squirrels jumping from tree to tree while having breakfast on the balcony. Being lucky enough to be there during Galungan, a very important Balinese holiday. There were pejors lining the streets and people in traditional clothes on their way to their families and village temples. We met a driver while we were looking for the waterfalls. He took us to the Tegalalang Rice Terrace and answered all of our questions about Balinese culture like official languages, rooster fights or the school system. At the organic farm we saw Luwaks and tried different kinds of coffee. After we had said goodbye we took the Ridge Walk back into Ubud. On our way we ate some vegan coconut ice-cream, met a kitty and of course we found a swing, too. Swings are everywhere in Bali. I loved the one between Nusa Ceningan and Lembongan. And the one at the rice terrace even though you had to pay for it. In the evening we walked through Monkey Forest right before closing time - the animals were pretty relaxed because they had just gotten their dinner - and witnessed a gorgeous red sunset on our way home.

Our scooter trip to the Elephant Cave temple (I got such a calm, spiritual feeling in that cave - it must be such an awe-struck experience to sit in there alone in complete darkness for prayer or meditation) and Bali Bird Park. Eating at a Muslim restaurant because all the others were closed for Galungan. Weird chocolate and green tea shaved ice. And all those birds. I fell in love with the Kakadus. Such lovely little fellas. It was crazy expensive (for Balinese standards) but definitely worth it.

Starting our first night in Canggu at Moana with a plate of delicious fish appetizers. A friendly hosts and a very helpful Australian neighbour who supplied me with band-aids and skin antibiotic. Hipster-watching at Crate (we went there twice because their breakfast is in fact spectacular). Surfer-watching at the beach. Bintangs at sunset. Marvelling at the waves. Swimming all the way back to the shore after drifting far out with the tide without noticing (all the practice in the pool paid off). Discovering Gelato Secrets on our scooter trip to Tanah Lot. Daring to use the infamous Canggu shortcut - it was way more scary on foot than with the scooter. Our Vinyasa Flow yoga class and the Balinese full body massage at The Chillhouse. Cheap warungs with delicious food. I could be sad now but in fact I’ve already got tickets to Australia and Indonesia for August so there’s something to look forward to!