#next you're gonna tell me the distances are too goofy too?

[la-perfide-albion]

I won't defend wh40k (because really their timeline is fucked even when you consider that there are now super humans who regularly live for hundreds if not thousands of year, which should change the timescale, just not that much) but Dune does a really great job with its timescale.

There are numbers that are very much larger than what we consider reasonnable for human timescale, but the years passed absolutely dimmed the truth of those events. Very few prior events are actually referenced, and they are always vague and uncertain; we might know roughly what happened, but not how, or why, or who done it. You can see this after Leto's death-3000 years have passed and the events of the first books are basically forgotten by anyone who doesn't have access to Leto's memoirs. You could always make the argument that you don't need those big numbers, but at this point it's just preferring one arbitrary timescale to another.

Also it's quite disengenuous to pretend that our relation to history would stay constant through the ages; 10 000 years ago is very far from us, but what tells us that 10 000 in the future will be as far? We created so much information in the last century, more durable information too, is it really a fair assessment to say that as little of it will survive as the information from 10 000 years ago? Both of those franchise also introduce a technology plateau, which would flatten the timescale a lot too. So why should a franchise happening [x] years into the future have the exact same relation to our history than us?

starting an elite paramilitary black ops group who sneak into the homes of authors and cut one to three zeroes off any number of years given in a fantasy or sci-fi novel

[specialinterestshows]

Get the latest gossip on what’s happening with the Judgment Day in this latest chapter of my Rhea Ripley x lady!reader fic.

Warnings for this section: Brief discussion of sex toys

-

Absolute Smokeshow (Part 46 of ?): TJD (Telenovela Judgment Day)

Things felt a bit less tense after everyone agreed to be civil. Rhea spent most of the time after ordering watching the interactions between Finn and JD, while also keeping an eye on Damian. Seeing the way she cared for every member of her found family made you feel like you were falling even more deeply in love with her. You beamed at her before letting her tend to the more unpredictable members of the group, taking this time to chat with Dominik.

"So what do you think about this guy?" you ask him, subtly glancing in the direction of JD McDonagh.

"Honestly?" Dom asks, looking at the two Irish men, "I've never seen Finn this interested in someone. Well, except maybe-"

He was interrupted by Damian slamming his fist into the metal table, knocking over the condiments and menus while leaving a sizable dent. Standing up quickly, fuming, Damian grunted "Gonna take a walk" before storming off. Rhea stood up to take care of the mess, but JD insisted he had it. She thanked him, glanced at you - smiling when she saw that you were already giving her an understanding thumbs-up - and went after Damian.

"Ah, shit," Dominik sighed, "Thought I was being quiet enough..."

"I feel like there's something everyone else knows about this that I don't," you say, feeling a bit confused, "Care to help bring me up to speed?"

"Just don't tell Damian I told you," Dom whispers, making sure Finn and JD weren't listening before continuing, "Rhea and I think Damian has a thing for Finn. But Finn has never been... It's not that he's not supportive, he just gets weird about anyone thinking he might be into dudes. A little too weird about it, sabes?"

Nodding, you recall several people growing up who behaved similarly before coming out.

"Anyway, neither one of them wants to tell us anything so it's all been drama and guess work," Dominik says, sounding frustrated, "I'm not about to ignore my BiFi, though; I think there was something between them."

"Your what?" you laugh, making sure you heard right.

Dom lets slip a goofy grin, "BiFi! It's like gaydar, but it goes both ways."

It isn't long before you're doubled over laughing.

"What's so funny, you two?" Finn asks, looking a bit self-conscious. You try to compose yourself to respond, but Dominik beats you to it.

"Mami's been thinking of getting this new strap, right," he starts, holding out two hands and increasing the distance between them, making Finn's eyes go wide, "It's supposed to be extendable-"

"Nevermind!" Finn shouts, putting up one hand between him and Dominik, "None of my business!"

"Quick thinking," you whisper the compliment to Dom, noticing Rhea and Damian walking back up as you do, the latter looking significantly less upset. Crossing her arms, Rhea stops in front of the table, looking pointedly at Damian. He looks somewhat embarrassed and stands next to her for a moment before she elbows his ribs.

Wincing, Damian sighs before addressing the table, "I'm sorry, guys. I promise that won't happen again."

Looking satisfied, Rhea gave him a warm pat on the shoulder before the two sat back down at their seats. The moment she sat down between the two of you, Rhea let out a tired sigh and offered you and Dominik each a hand of hers, smiling when you both took them at the same time. It was only for a moment before the food arrived, but you and Dom had seen her radiate with happiness in the brief time both of you were holding her hand and smiled contentedly at each other.

[end part forty-six of ?]

Part 47: https://www.tumblr.com/specialinterestshows/729400662195093504/absolute-smokeshow-part-47-of-a-dish-best

-

Tag List (thank you!)

@cherryberryshine , @littlemiss-fanficlover , @elisewithak , @babybatlover , @girlofpink , @kagome2909 , @domlynch

[nightglider124]

This episode was an interesting one... Something was missing for me and idk what. It could be the zero dickkory which is actually fine in a way because I got it substituted with some Kory and Gar scenes which made me so frickin' happy.

It was also sweet that Dick was with one kid for the episode and Kory was with their other kid. I appreciated it.

But, let's bullet point my thoughts:

Sebastian is such a little bitch. Like are you evil or not, make up your mind, man. You're annoying af. However, I enjoyed May burning as gruesome as that may sound. She irritates the fuck outta me but I somehow also don't think she is gone? Idk, no one stays dead on this show so it's hard to call. It is funny that she calls out Sebastian for being a little bitch though hehehe.

Conner is... questionable. I just can't tell what tf he is doing. Like, I get he is trying to outsmart Sebastian but it's like bro why you think you gotta do it on your own, GOD. But, he wasn't as much of a douche this time round so I'm liking him more again XD. Though, when Dick was like 'Looks like the new CEO is on our side' I was like Dick, stfu you're gonna jinx shit and I still wouldn't be too sure in that either.

When Dick was all I have to make a long distance call, Idk why I thought he meant Jinx and I was like whut. Then after he mentioned dark magic, I was like ohhh. I'm assuming Constantine since black magic and British. XD Interesting that Constantine has been mentioned a few times now. I like it.

Guys... guys.... THE FUCKING KORY AND GAR SCENES WERE KILLING ME. I honestly love them. They are the best duo in the show, idgaf. They're both sunshine characters. (Unless Kory is on a bad day but overall.) They give me such life. Kory and Gar are my favourite characters as it is when it comes to Titans whether it be the show or the comics or the animated show like them two are just my absolute gems.

LMAO Kory punching Vic as soon as she walks in had me howling. I love how her kneejerk reaction is PUNCH to most situations. XD

I was sad that there was literally no dickkory in this episode considering we've now got two episodes left so Dick best be starting to lose his shit in the next one which I imagine will be more action packed. Also, I think that's actually more because I felt there was a lot for dick and kory in ep 8 and where there was an episode without them at all and then this week, that's likely why it feels more prominent but...

I didn't feel like this ep was very action packed like I know stuff happened and it wasn't filler but it felt weirdly slow for me? Idk if that makes sense. Idk. I don't feel the 'danger' aspect with this episode is all...

Anywho! It was so good to have Vic, Larry and Cliff in this episode! I wish there could have been more episodes to have like a whole episode just with them cos ugh, they're great. The tennis scene made me smile and it was a good vibe, despite them being trapped.

Vic's little heart eyes at Kory had me grinning like I wasn't imagining that shit, right? It was flirty and cute. This woman just attracts everyone to her. XD

Dick and Rachel's whole thing was... interesting? I guess? Idk, I got the point of it to separate Rachel from Sebastian but Idk. Dick was literally just running round the building with a not knife XD.

Also, it has to be said. The demon dude or whatever the came outta Rachel... lmao... he looked like something out of the original Evil Dead movies like he was a bit goofy, I couldn't help but giggle when I saw him XD.

I felt for poor Timmy with Bernard and I knew Bernard was gonna fucking download the game. I just knew it! Probs for research purposes obvs but I was still like god damn it man.

I think that's all the thoughts I had this week. The highlight through and through was Kory and Gar. I know a lot of people love the Dick and Rachel scenes but I think we've had so much of that in the earlier seasons whereas Kory and Gar scenes feel so far and in between. Maybe that's just me but I think they've defo shined the light on Dick and Rachel more in the past so it was good to see Gar and Kory actually talking and interacting. But again, it's likely me being bias. I've always preferred Gar and Kory moments to Dick and Rachels. Same as I prefer Kory and Rachel moments and Dick and Gar moments if anything because I don't think those other relationships got as much spotlight as they should have.

Lmao, oh when Vic made the your mom joke, I was like bitch his mother is right there XD. I mean, he has like 3 moms. Birth mom, Rita and Kory so yknow. XD

When Gar was like, "You know you can tell me anything." with his smiley face, my heART. I just really love their relationship. And now that little clip of him being like I think Kory is gonna sacrifice herself makes more sense cos of that conversation like Gar is obvs gonna catch onto it.

Overall this was a good episode imo but really it was the Kory and Gar moments that kept me invested, I won't lie. I will be clipping the moments together in a video like I did with episode 8 cos I need it.

Interesting to see next week's episode since its the penultimate one. Ima struggle so badly cos like I'm working a late shift so I'll have to fight to stay off of Tumblr or maybe I'll just give in and see spoilers. Idk. We'll see. XD

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #1103: Lunch Date With the Colonel (King of Fighters)

12:47 p.m. in the Streets of Southtown........

Shingo: (Takes a Deep Breath While Walking on the Sidewalk Next to K') Alright. (Pats on Both Sides of his Pants) I got my phone om my left pocket, my wallet on my right, house key.....(Turns to K') How do I look? Plain? Too causal?

K': You look decent to me.

Shingo: You sure? (Points Back) Cause I can go run back to my apartment and-

K': Kid, relax. You look fine and you and I both know your stamina is not good enough to run back and forth in long distance without tiring yourself out down the line.

Shingo: ('Sighs Heavily') I knoooow. I just want to make good enough impression on the colonial. I mean, you said yourself, right? That he's serious most of the time?

K': Yeah, in the battlefield. He seems like a chill guy to talk to whenever he's off duty.

Shingo: ('Sighs in Relief') Chill and calm. Okay.

K': Then again, I did seen him give that one guy the death glare for making eye contact at him for too long.

Shingo: (Eyes Begins to Widened in Fear) D-Death Glare?

K': And he doesn't seem like the type to have patience talking someone being nervous around him. Either that or he must've not been a fan of unprofessionalism.

Shingo: (Places his Hands on Both Sides of his Head) He is gonna crush me like a bug, I am SO screw!!

K': ('Sigh') Again, relax. Just stay clam, be yourself out there and everything will go smoothly from there....But just in case, tone down on your goofy side and try not to miss toss your drink on his face by mistake

Shingo: (Turns to K') Oh come on, I'm not that clumsy-

Shingo trips on a small rock and begins to fall forward until K' was ae to catch him in the neck of time by grabbing the back of his shirt collar at ease.

Shingo: ..........Point taken. (Stands Back Up on his Feet and Starts Tidying Up Himself) Thanks.

K': (Simply Nodded) Mmhm. (Takes a Look at the Café in Front of His Prospective) Is this the place you guys are supposed to be meeting at?

Shingo: (Nodded To K') Yep. Las Bistro. (Takes a Look at the Place as Well) Never been there before, I have heard that the food here is worth checking out.

????????: I recommend you try the Kidu-Kidu Karo meal. Sliced, cooked intestinal sausages that originated from Karo Land of North Sumatera.

The duo turns their attention to a man wearing a blue, turtle neck sweater and an eye patch, sitting on outdoor table before nodding at them.

??????: Gentlemen.

Shingo: (Eyes Widened at the Familiar Face) Coloniel Heidern!?

K': You got here as early as always

Heidern: Indeed I have. It would be rude of me not to meet my daughter's boyfriend on the appointed time. (Turns to Shingo) Shingo Yabuki isn't it? (Pulls Out his Hand to Shingo With a Soft Smile on his Face) It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person.

Shingo stares at Heidern's hand before he felt a gentle shoulder bump from K' Dash, silently telling him to accept the gesture.

Shingo: (Nervous Gives his Girlfriend's Father His Hand as He Shakes It With His) T-T-The pleasure is all mine, sir....

Heidern: (Frowns a Bit) You're shaking. Is everything okay?

Shingo: (Quickly Goves Heidern a Sheepish Smile Before Taking a Seat on his and Heidern's Table) I-I'm okay, sir. Just a tad bit nervous on meeting you is all.

Heidern: (Gives Shingo a Reassuring Smile) I understand how nerve-wracking first impressions can be at times, but I csn assure you that I won't bite. (Notices K' Trying to Sneak Off) Which reminds me.......K'Dash!

K': (Immediately Stops Walking by the Command as He Slowly Turns Back the Colonel) U-Uh...Yeah?

Heidern: (Glares at his White Haired Associate) What is this I hear about you using my name and profession as a fear tactic towards your friend here?

K': (Slouches his Arms Down in Defeat) Leona told you all about that, didn't she?

Heidern: Yes, she did. And let's just say I'm not too happy by your immature antics. We'll talk about this later. (Raises an Eyebrow) Unless you want to do so right now on our lunch meeting.

K': (Groans While Rolling his Eyes in Annoyance) No sir. I'd rather us talk later. (Finally Walks Away) Have fun on your lunch date or whatever.

Shingo: 'Kay! (Waves Goodbye to his Friend) See you later, K'!

Heidern: (Sighs While Slowly Shakes his Head) When will that boy ever learn? (Turns to Shingo) I apologize for my subordinate's rudeness and mistreatment towards you.

Shingo: It's okay, sir. He doesn't mean any real harm by it.

Heidern: Are you certain?

Shingo: (Happily Nodded) Mmhmm! I mean, sure, he can be a real pain in the neck sometimes, but he's still one of the coolest people I've ever had the pleasure of being friends with. He even went out of his way to walk with me here just help me calm my nerves.

Heidern: (Simply Nodded With a Small Smile on his Face) I see. That's good to hear. It's nice to see him putting the effort to open up amd make new friends rather than making potential enemies.

Shingo: Right? I always knew he's a big softie deep down, even when he tries hard not to be for some reason.

Heidern: You always tend to see the best in people, don't you Shingo?

Shingo: Mostly? (Starts Rubbing The Back of his Head Back and Forth) I mean, i wouldn't say I see best in literally EVERYONE I meet, but I try to give the select few that I know a benefit of doubt as best I can, you know

Heidern: And that's admirable in it of itself. I can see why Saisyu hold you in high regards.

Shingo: (Eyes Begins to Widened) Wait, you know Master Saisyu!?

Heidern: (Simply Nodded Once More) I do, yes. He would Invite me to his house to have tea with him and his wife, every time I visit Japan. As loud and prideful as he is, his company and wise-cracking jokes never fails to brighten up my day, especially the stressful ones.

Shingo: (Chuckles Lightly) Yeah, that's master for ya. Always finding some way to make anyone laugh. I miss him. And everyone else back in Japan really.

Heidern: Do.you wish to visit them one of these days?

Shingo: Definitely! (Crosses his Arms While Brainstorming) Granted, I would need to save up more of my money for plane tickets as well as plan out a perfect schedule for the visit, but I would love to back there and bring everyone I know with me. Rock, K', Kula, Ms. Mary, Terry if isn't too busy doing whatever, and Leona. I-If that's.....perfectly okay with you of course, sir....

Heidern: It's fine with me. I know she's capable of taking care of herself.

Shingo: (Happily Nodded) Exactly! And I'll do everything I can to male sure she has the best time ever.

Heidern: I'm sure you will. I honestly can't think of anywhere else Leona would rather be that to be with the young man who she gradually falls in love with, the one she vows to protect at all cost.

Shingo: She told you guys about? Y-You know, besides us dating or....whatever.....

Heidern: (Chuckles Lightly) How could she not? You're the one person she talks about the most, even when you two started out as friends. You've always managed to put a smile on her face, even more so than we ever could surprisingly enough.

Shingo: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Surprise) I......really made that much of an impact on her?

Heidern: (Simply Nodded Yet Again) I believe you do. And I sincerely wish the best for the both of you going forward.

Shingo: (Eyes Starts to Lit Up as He Quickly Gets Up From his Seat and Bows Rapidly at Heidern in Graditude) T-Thank you so much for your approval, sir! I am truly grateful!~

Heidern: (Smiles Sheepishly) Easy now, Shingo. There's no need for that. If anything, I should be thanking you for making my little girl the happiest she has ever been.

Shingo: It's no problem at all! (Finally Stops Bowing) And listen, I may not be as special or as strong as you or any of other subordinates in your army, but that won't stop me from doing my damndest to love and be there for your daughter no matter what!

?????: I'll always love and be there for you too~

Shingo gets startled before turning around to see his girlfriend, Leona, standing beside him with her hair down wearing a light blue sundress.

Shingo: Leona-san? Is that really you?

Leona: (Smiles Sheepishly and a Tad Bit Brightly) In the flesh~ I apologize for not getting here sooner. Seirah insisted I find something more "formal" for our lunch date today. (Waves her Hair Back While Blushing and Looking Away a Bit) A-And I picked this dress, so......W-What do you think?~

Heidern: (Smiles Softly) It looks great on you, Leona.

Shingo: (Stares at Leona in Awe) Yeah......Amazing even~

Leona: (Slowly Starts Smiling Again) Thank you~ I think you look amazing too, Shingo-Kun~

Shingo: You think so? (Looks Down at the Dark Blue Buttoned Shirt and Black Pants He's Currently Wearing) It doesn't nearly look as noteworthy as you do.

Leona: Nonsense. Look wonderful. Handsome even~

Shingo: (Smiles Softly While Blushing and Gently Grab Hold of Both of Leona's Hands) And you're just as beautiful as you've always been~

Leona: (Giggles Softly) Oho you~

The couple begins to rub their noses on one another in an affectionate manner as Heidern begins to chuckle some more.

Heidern: Alright, you two. Save the romance after we order our meals. And be cautious with it as well. I'm afraid I'm far too young to have grandchildren.

Shingo/Leona: (Immediately Stop What They Were Doing and Turns to Heidern With Bright Red Blushes on Each of their Face) WHAAAAT!?

Leona: (Glares at Heidern) Father! We are NOT that careless!!

Heidern: (Smiles Sheepishly, Trying his Hardest Not to Let Out Yet Another Chuckle or Two) I know you're not, dear. Just wanted to make sure you two are responsible till the day you get married is all.

Leona: We are plenty responsible! And we're too young to think about our future wedding right now!!(Turns to her Flustered Boyfriend) Isn't that right, Shingo-kun?

Shingo: Careless.......Wedding......Grand.....chil.....de...rn....

Shingo begins to faint as he slouches himself down on his chair.

Leona: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock as She Let's out a Gasp) Oh no! Shingo-kun!!

Heidern: He fainted. (Grabs his Chin While Thinking) I think I might've went too far on the dad jokes there......

Leona: (Turns Back to Heidern) You think!? ('Sigh Heavily') Nevermind. Just go and ask a waiter for a glass of water for me to splash on Shingo's face while I keep him company. (Grabs One of her Unconscious' Boyfriend's Hand With One Hand While Using the Other to Fan his Face) Hurry!

Heidern: R-Right! (Quickly Gets Up From his Seat to Find the Nearest Waiter) U-Uh excuse me? Waiter? Waitress?

@thelexhex

@illyrilex

@tampire

@albion-93

@theweebmaster31

[amytheforgetmenot]

Chapter 3: Commit To the Bit

Commit To the Bit: A Danny Gonzalez tale sequel

Chapter 3: Shock announcement by side character at end *SCARY?!* 🫣

Sequel to Lost In the Rainforest: A Danny Gonzalez Tale

Overall story description: After being retuned home Danny Gonzalez works to find the rat that kidnapped him, and in the process discovers disturbing secrets about the workings of the government, and finds they may have had a hand in his abduction. What will he do after learning about their plans? Will he find Marcelle? Will he save all of his friends?

It had been a few days since Kurtis and Danny's conversation, and Danny had decided to stay in Kurtistown to contemplate what he was going to do next. He didn't want to be taken away again! And he feared that if he went home it would be easier for some people to track him down and take him! He didn't want to be without sparkling water! It's the only form of water he can consume and without it his throat and tongue would be dry forever! Danny shivered at the thought.

He had decided it best not to tell Amy about what happened. While he highly doubts Amy could be involved in such a thing, he is worried about someone overhearing his conversation. Danny kept getting more and more consumed by thoughts and anxieties he had about all of this Marcelle business when suddenly... MARCELLE!

Marcelle was RUNNING toward him at a high speed! "I'M GONNA GET YOU AND PUT YOU INTO MY VOLVO SUV!" Marcelle yelled. Danny was dismayed by this. He tried to run, but he was frozen, forced to watch Marcelle only run closer and closer toward him, when suddenly he saw another person was next to him... President MrBeast?

"YOU'RE TOO GOOFY FOR THE PUBLIC!" President MrBeast screamed. He was holding a butterfly catching net except it was the perfect size for a Danny! Danny then noticed a rat costume in his other hand.. "THIS IS FOR YOU!" He yelled, waving the costume around. Danny's eyes widened, more afraid than ever. "Danny." A familiar female voice spoke to him faintly. He looked around but couldn't find where the voice was coming from. Then suddenly in the distance he saw.. Drew? They put him in a rat costume,  he was tied up, and he was being pulled in a red wagon by.. Logan Paul!

Danny jolted awake. "I have been trying to wake you up for a few minutes now. Are you okay?" Amy asked. Danny looked around at his surroundings nervously, and found he was able to move again. "No! I just had the most horrible nightmare about Drew, Marcelle, Logan Paul, and the president." Danny cried. Amy seemed very concerned. "Why would you think that the president wants to kidnap you?" asked Amy. "Um... no reason. It was just a nightmare." Danny said nervously. 

"Is there something you want to talk about? Something you haven't told me?" Amy questioned. Danny felt confused. It wasn't like Amy to talk like this. "Well, you seem stressed... We should go somewhere to relax... We could see a movie. Varli's new film is out. I've heard it's the best Marvel movie since Endgame." Amy beamed. "Um, Okay." Danny said, "Let's see a movie I guess."

They got in her plane and flew to the movie theatre. Luckily it was a short flight, only about 30 seconds. Danny made sure to eat some Biscoff biscuits. He ate as much of that stuff as he could. It truly was the best plane snack!

"We should hurry! We don't want to miss it." Amy said as they walked into the movie theatre. Danny noticed despite it being 6 pm on a Friday no one was at the theatre. They got their popcorn and found their seats. He noticed that as the movie began, the showing they were attending was still completely empty except for them. He didn't know if it was the trailer for a scary movie that played before the movie started, or if it was the empty theatre or both, but Danny started to feel very unnerved.

He looked at Amy and thought about their interaction earlier. It had made him feel a little uncomfortable. What did she mean when she said "is there something you haven't told me." It's like she knew what Kurtis had told him. Now that he was thinking about it, how much did he really know about Amy? Because now she has him in an almost empty building, at night, in a dark room alone. How many people has he seen here besides the one employee that gave them popcorn? How easy would it be for her to kidnap him and bring him to Marcelle!? No! She saved him from the tropical rainforest. Why would she do that if she wasn't on his side? 

Then he thought more about their interactions that day, and what she said when he told her about his nightmare. Danny felt his heart sink. She had asked him why he thinks the president would want to kidnap him. He never mentioned anyone being kidnapped in his nightmare!!!

"I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back" Danny said. "Okay" Amy replied. He walked quickly out of the theatre and walked right passed the bathroom. He kept thinking more and more... Ever since she saved him she has stayed everywhere he had stayed, constantly wanting to hang out. She had been feeding him Biscoff.. What if she tainted it with ingredients that could weaken him? She is very powerful.. She said she was the owner of multiple companies, and she's rich so they must be big companies. What if she has some benefit in taking down those who are too goofy? What if people paid her to pretend to be his friend and gain his trust!

He decided to leave. He walked down the street away from the theatre trying to come up with a plan. He couldn't go home, it would be too easy to find him. He didn't have a ride either. How was he supposed to get out of town? He left his money by his seat!

"Danny?" Amy yelled leaving the movie theatre and starting to walk toward him. "I'm not Danny! I don't know what you're talking about." Danny said, putting on a British accent and deepening his voice. He hid his face. "I know it's you Danny. You're wearing the same clothes as you were before." She said.

"Why are you trying to ditch me? Did I do something that upset you?" Amy added, continuing to walk closer to him. Danny stopped replying. She eventually reached Danny, and walked in front of him and turned to face him to try and get his attention.

"Please don't kidnap me!" Danny blurted out looking very afraid. "Kidnap you? Why would I do that?" Amy looked bewildered. "I would never do anything to harm you. I thought we were friends... I thought you thought that too." She faltered. Danny looked up at her for the first time since leaving the building. She looked genuinely concerned and upset.

"It's just that thing you said earlier," Danny felt kind of silly now after hearing how genuinely worried she seemed, "You mentioned the president wanting to kidnap me in my dream when I never mentioned kidnapping..." Danny paused to think, "But, I guess you may have just assumed that because I mentioned Marcelle being there too." He looked at the ground feeling bad for villainizing her so quickly.

There was a short silence. "I should have told you sooner." Amy said quietly. "What are you talking about?" Danny questioned. "I know about the effort to try to decrease goofy levels." Amy declared, "I'm in the CTBG,"

"The Commit to The Bit Group, also known as the rebellion."

[muddyorbsblr]

man of the month outtake: open to sharing

Series Masterlist @mochie85's Masterlist See my full list of works here!

Summary: You try giving Loki his cardigan back at the end of the day

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 691

Warnings: none; this is pure fluff [let me know if i missed something!]

Things to be aware of: mutual pining; idiots in love

"Dayum, Tweety, you really got an eye for this, you know that? Is it bad that I wanna choose all of them?" Sam had taken over controlling the cursor on your setup and clicking on every shot that he was partial to. "Could you send me my shots? If it's not too much work. I wanna post some. Y'know, wassup Khloe?" 

You laughed at his antics, agreeing almost immediately to Airdrop him all his shots. "It'll probably even make good promotional content to let people know that a calendar's coming. But we're not there yet. Go nuts, Big Bird. Shoot your shot." 

"You're the best. And remember what I said about climbing that tree, lil birdy. I wasn't kidding." He gave you a quick once over, visibly appraising your outfit. "Someone should tell you this, and if Horns is gonna be too much of a chicken to do it, I will. You look damn fine in green." 

That made you remember real quick that you were still wearing Loki's cardigan. "Fuck shit, I should give this back," you muttered while putting his 'cream of the crop' favorite shot into the August page layout. "Also I probably shouldn't wear this color even if I do look 'damn fine' in it. This is Loki's green, and you know how he gets when people wear 'his' green." 

"Oh yeah, Thunder told us all about how 'wearing someone's colors' on Asgard was like this silent declaration of love." He looked like a lightbulb went off on his head. "You should definitely wear that green more often then." You rolled your eyes at him. "Wear it during his shoot. Maybe you'll have no need for tree climbing and he'll just do you on the set."

"Moving on," you pressed, placing the lettering for 'August' on the page layout as well. "How's this?" 

"You should consider this as a side hustle," he simply commented, punctuating his response with light applause.

"Well I just might, considering that I'm probably gonna lose my spot on this team after what happened this morning," you said, trying to mask your worry with a seemingly lighthearted chuckle. 

"If he tries, even as a joke, I'll kick his ass." He have your shoulder a reassuring squeeze before heading out of your studio with his arms outstretched and a big goofy grin on his face announcing, "It ain't me, y'all!" 

You triple checked your project files for the night, making sure that everything had been backed up to the cloud before shutting off the machine to head out back to your apartment. You could finally start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now that you were down to the last four shoots. 

By next week, you'd be sending off the calendar to the printing company and your part would be over. And now that your todo list for the project was steadily shrinking, you finally no longer felt the need to pass the night sleeping on the couch, or the bedroom set just so you could get some extra work done. 

Your heart started skipping beats like a DJ in a rave again when you locked up your studio and you caught sight of an all too familiar silhouette standing up from the couch as you stepped out the door. "Oh. Hey, Mischief. You're still here. Perfect," you stammered.

"It is?" You caught the corners of his mouth twitching, almost pulling up into a smile.

"Yep. I could return this to you now," you said as you made a motion to shrug off his cardigan, your heart lodging itself into your throat again when he crossed the distance between you and placed his hands over yours.

"You need not do that, darling." You were sure he could feel your pulse at your fingertips as he laced his fingers with yours. 

"I thought you had a thing about people wearing your colors," you breathed out, surprised you could even form words while he was holding you like this. 

He gave you a devastatingly charming smile as his gaze stayed fixed on yours. "I wouldn't mind sharing, especially when it becomes you so." 

A/N: Just a lil something that I wanted to put into the main chapter, but felt a bit too much like "filler", so I decided to turn it into an outtake/drabble instead.

Everything taglist: @lokisgoodgirl @lokischambermaid @imalovernotahater @mygfloki @lucylaufeyson3 @thomase1 @springdandelixn @fictive-sl0th @mochie85 @laliceee @xorpsbane @gigglingtigger @silverfire475 @cabingrlandrandomcrap @vickie5446 @salempoe @lokixryss @sinsandguilt @lokidbadguy @alexakeyloveloki @glitterylokislut @arch-venus25 @freefrommars @littlemortals @cakesandtom @girl-of-multi-fandoms @mischief2sarawr @thedistractedagglomeration @five-miles-over @goblingirlsarah @peaches1958 @huntress-artemiss @lilibet261 @iobsessoverfictionalmen @holymultiplefandomsbatman @lovingchoices14 @avoliax @devilsadvocactus @purplegrrl27 @lokiprompts @sititran @imherefortomhiddleston @ladyjames78 @stupidthoughtsinwriting @kikster606 @evelyn-kingsley @kats72 @ronnieissupermegafoxyawesomehot @creationsbyme @coldnique

[nejiverse]

CHANGE

Bonten! Kakucho Hitto

In which Y/n and Kakucho are reunited again from childhood. Fem! Reader

Approx. 1.8k words

Recommend listening after flashback

"KAKU you're crying again?!", Y/n whined to the 6 year old boy in front of her who was desperately trying to put a stop to his tears by wiping them away with his sleeve.

"I'm not! Something's in my eye and I can't get it out", he retorted as the girl in front of him folded her arms against her chest.

"Tell the truth Kaku", she threatened which made Kakucho sigh in defeat.

"There was a cat right here in this box yesterday but now it's gone", he showed her the cat food he was gonna feed the cat with a sulk on his face.

Y/n sweat dropped.

"That's not cat food idiot it's dog food", she said pointing to the bag in his hand. "See? D-O-G", she indicated the letters on the bag.

"Still, I was gonna keep it as a pet", he kept his head down and sniffled.

Seeing Kakucho distraught made her sad too. She tried to think of something to make him happy. She beamed at the idea that popped into her head.

"I promise when I grow up and finally become a model, i'll get you a new fluffy cat!", she said with a look of determination.

She noticed the ravenette's mood slightly change into one more joyous.

"But you're moving away. You won't be able to", he responded.

"Hmm", Y/n put her finger under her chin in thought before bringing two items from her pocket.

"Here", she smiled as she handed a silver plastic ring to the boy and kept the other golden one for herself.

"We'll make a promise with these rings since you always break your pinky promises", she pouted as Kaku gave her a goofy smile at her words.

"I'll come back when I grow up, but until then, quit being a crybaby!", she commanded.

"I promise i'll wait right here for you and stop calling me that!".

"But y'know Kaku", Y/n started. "These rings mean we have to get married", her words made a shiver drive down his spine. "I don't make the rules", she shrugged.

"Married? But I can't marry my best friend!", Kakucho was conflicted. Yes he loved Y/n but as his best friend.

"Tch, a crybaby and a wuss", she murmured earning a groan from Kaku which made her giggle slightly.

-Present-

Unfortunately Y/n did end up moving the next day but auspiciously, she did pursue her hopes in becoming a model. Now at age 26, she had decided to visit her home town.

Every step she took was accompanied by a crunch of the snow beneath her feet. It was the type of cold that would freeze the blood of those who didn't take care to dress warm.

Each breath she took out left a vapour of condensation roam in the air before disappearing again.

With her hands stuffed in the pockets of her beige trench coat, she scanned around the area and to her surprise, she was able to recognise every single intricate detail of her surroundings even though it had been twenty years. The only thing that was missing were the people. It was awfully quiet but she assumed that was because most people were at work at this hour and there was also the fact that it was baltic outside.

She smiled to herself when she came across the spot where her and Kakucho used to play. They eventually stopped talking after a few years not because they wanted to but because they had to move on with their lives.

Adjusting to adulthood was hard for Y/n and she so desperately tried to cling onto that string which kept them in contact but to her dismay, long distance relationships were never the same, whether friend or lover.

Y/n's attention was redirected to the sound of a cat purring. She turned her head to the side to see a small stray grey cat.

She smiled at the cat and crouched down to pet it.

It reminded her of Kakucho, reason being that he promised to wait for her and she promised to buy him a new cat.

She reached the conclusion long ago that he had forgotten about her and their promise.

The smile on her lips faded as she slowly ceased rubbing the cat.

Would she even see him again? And if she did what would she say?

"Y/n?...".

She heard her name being called out. Who could it have possibly been? She hadn't visited this placed for twenty years now.

She stood up and turned around.

In her mind, time stopped.

Before her was someone she never expected to see ever again.

She thought to herself: he'd matured so much. He wasn't the cute little boy she knew all those years ago but a handsome fully grown 26 year old man. His hair grew. It suited him so well.

"Kakucho...", Y/n uttered in bewilderment.

The ravenette mirrored the same expression.

He noticed that she had changed drastically. Her hair was longer and her body had matured. The slight pink tint on her nose and on the tips of her ears made her all the more attractive. She was beautiful and much different to the girl he knew twenty years ago.

Y/n felt her bottom lip tremble and tears bursted out of her eyes. She ran into him arms which took him aback.

"Kaku, I missed you so much", she cried into his chest as he looked down at her, furrowing his brows.

He missed her too.... but things have changed. Was it really ok for her to be associated with him anymore?

"Who's the crybaby now?", he voiced and she looked up at him with dilated black pupils.

He felt his heart skip a beat from the way she looked at him; with so much love, so much passion.

His eyes moved down towards her plump lips. He tried ever so hard to stop himself from kissing her right then and there.

He found his thumb running over her bottom lip which made her quietly gasp at the cold feeling.

It was as if Y/n had read his mind as she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

Her hands moved from his chest and around his neck as she tousled his hair between her fingers.

He found himself running his hands down her sides slowly--

He immediately pushed himself away from her.

What was he doing? He was affiliated with Bonten now. He couldn't drag her into it.

"I missed you too Y/n, but things changed and I think we should keep it that way.. we can't be together", he had a stern look on his face. He wanted her to see that he was serious. She should leave and pretend she never saw him today.

Her eyes widened and her shoulders began to shake. She looked at him in disbelief and shook her head.

"What are you talking about Kaku?! We made a promise, we even said we'd get married!", she whimpered as she repeatedly switched her gaze from his right eye to his left again and again in search of any emotion. That stern look was still on his face and it scared her.

"I can't marry my best friend".

These words made her walk closer to him instantly and hold his cheeks in her palms.

"You're lying to me, again! That's not the reason. There's something you're hiding from me", she was completely distressed and she felt her breathing speed up. She didn't want him to leave her.

"Look", she showed him her finger. "I still have it, the ring. You can even check my pictures online or in any magazine Kaku I never take it off, I love you so much", she cried out.

Kaku gritted his teeth and forcefully took the ring off her hand and did the same to his own. He threw the two rings deep into the snow.

Y/n gasped loudly and ran over to where he threw them, getting on her hands and knees and desperately searching for the rings.

"We shared a wonderful past and trust me I'll never forget those memories.... but our futures are meant to be separate", he said as he watched the woman look for the rings.

He noticed that she paused in her actions. "You kept the ring I gave you though, all this time. You knew we'd meet again", she said as she got up and walked over to him.

"What ever it is that you're hiding from me, let me help you. I promise I won't judge you for it because I love you", he was shocked at her words. After all this, he surely couldn't leave her, could he? The woman kissed him again and again. "I love you so fucking much".

"Stop this Y/n", Kakucho demanded as the woman stared at him with wide puffy eyes.

He grabbed her chin quite forcefully and stared right into her eyes, eyes that frightened her to the core. What did these twenty years do to him?

"Listen to me carefully 'cause i'm only saying this once", he uttered.

"I don't love you".

She felt her whole world collapse before her. Surely he was joking. Did her words really not have any effect on him? Or did he just not care?

"You don’t mean that Kakucho", she said in disbelief. She felt fresh tears building up in her eyes. "Do you know why I've remained single up to now? It's because of you! I loved you so much that every time I met someone new, I always found myself looking for your traits in them! My heart can't forget you, please just stay with me!", she pleaded.

Kakucho had no reaction to her tears and pleading. He still had that deadpan look on his face.

"Unrequited love...isn't love at all, Y/n", he gave it to her straight.

But there was a lie evident in his words. Their love wasn't unrequited at all. Kakucho knew he had feelings for Y/n, strong ones. He just didn't want her to get hurt. He'd never forgive himself.

He engulfed her in a hug and brought his lips close to her ear. "You're nothing to me. So now that i've cleared that up, i'm gonna leave and you're not to follow me or contact me. Or i'll kill you", he spat which made Y/n's eyes- if even possible- widen even more.

"Kaku..", she whispered.

He brought his lips below her ear on her neck and kissed it softly. She smelt so good.

"We were never meant to be".

End.

masterlist :)

A/N: my baby🥹

[sunflowershouto]

if they thought you liked the other twin (osamu, atsumu)

𝐚/𝐧: i was suddenly struck by inspo for the miya twins so here's this -leo

𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫���: pining fluff, friends to lovers, light angst with a happy ending

my haikyuu masterlist

𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐔

✰ Atsumu is so whipped for you.

✰ He enjoys the attention he gets for being a star player, and even the fangirls help to feed his ego sometimes, but he didn't care about any of them. Not like he cares about you.

✰ They don't really know him, so what's the point?

✰ You're different to him, though. You didn't care about the fans or the TV interviews, or any of the usual things that people noticed about him.

✰ You got to know him, and it made him want to get to know you back, and somewhere along the way, Atsumu fell in love.

✰ The only problem was Osamu.

✰ Well, maybe that wasn't the best way to put it. It wasn't like Osamu was doing anything wrong, but it was hard for Tsumu not to notice how much time you'd been spending with his brother.

✰ You'd come up to Osamu after practices and whisper something to him, and he'd nod, and Atsumu would have to watch as the two of you disappeared off somewhere that he wasn't invited.

✰ It killed him inside a little, since he'd always thought that he was closer to you than Samu was; if you had feelings for Osamu, then why hadn't you told him?

✰ He tried not to be a dick about it; he would whine a little whenever you and Osamu would disappear after practices, but what he was showing was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to how deeply he was hurting at the thought of you falling in love with his brother.

✰ It was after another practice, and there you were on the sidelines with that stupid freakin' beautiful smile that he loved so much. He was standing by Osamu as they packed their duffel bags back up, and he tried to ignore the pang in his chest as you jogged up, surely going to drag Samu away again.

"Atsumu!" you called. "Could we- Uh... Could we talk?"

That was a surprise.

He glanced to Osamu, who gave him a small nod before shouldering his bag and walking off the court without another glance. He couldn't even be nervous about whatever it was you wanted to talk about; he was just glad that he was finally the one that you were speaking to. "Sure thing, darlin'," he replied, picking up his bag and following you to a more private area.

"Okay, uh- Here goes: There's something I've been needing to tell you for a while, and-"

"Ah see..." Atsumu sighed, all of that hurt hitting him again like a ton of bricks. This was where you finally did it right? This was where you'd tell him that you and Osamu were together, this was where you'd finally rip his heart out.

"You... do?"

"Yeah." He tried not to sound bitter, but he found it seeping through anyway, a harshness weighing down on his inflection. "You and 'Samu are goin' out, right? Figured that out for m'self a while ago, darlin'. Ya don't gotta tell me."

"Wha-" You stared at him in bewilderment as the pieces click into place, and you realized what he'd been thinking all this time. You couldn't help it, and burst out into laughter, bringing a hand up to cover your mouth.

"What's so funny?" he asked, puffing his chest out slightly and crossing his arms. He'd spent so much effort trying his best not to lose his shit over the idea of you in love with Osamu, the least you could do was not laugh in his face.

"Atsumu, I am not dating your brother. In any way. I've never even thought about it. I asked you to talk because, well..."

"Oh. Oh m' God." And finally he got it.

"I really like you, y'know? And I was wondering if you'd want to go out sometime? Like, on a date? Osamu actually helped me make all the plans." You were far less nervous now, in part because of Atsumu's misunderstanding, but mostly because of the huge, goofy smile that spread across his face.

"So... I'm guessing you're on board?"

"Oh, sweetheart, you've got no idea," he chuckles, pulling you into a tight hug and kissing the top of your head. "Ya scared the hell outta me, y'know."

𝐎𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐔

✰ Osamu's feelings for you snuck up on him.

✰ He'd always been drawn to you, but he didn't think it was any different than anyone else. You were a cool person, and he liked that you saw him for him, and not as part of a matched set.

✰ He loves his brother, but can he be blamed for wanting some things to himself?

✰ He's not annoyed per-se when you start getting close with Atsumu—what he feels isn't harsh. It's more like a balloon deflating through a tiny outlet as he feels his importance to you slowly being overtaken by your friendship with Atsumu.

✰ He can't figure out why it bothers him so damn much when he sees you joking around with his twin, or even just cheering for him at matches.

✰ He doesn't place the feeling as jealousy until he's stuck at home, flicking through channels on TV until he lands on some crappy romance movie. He watches the two main characters play off of each other, and he can't help but realize that one of the leads reminds him of you.

✰ And then he pictures Atsumu across from you, and that awful feeling comes back to him, burning a hole in his chest.

✰ Strangely, it's not so bad once he knows what it is that he's feeling, because at least he can start to deal with it.

✰ Nonetheless, he's a little worried about you. Osamu can read his brother pretty well—well enough to know whether or not he has feelings for someone. Honestly, he'd never thought that Tsumu seemed interested in you.

✰ Valentine's day was tomorrow and Samu had been unfortunate enough to overhear a conversation between you and a friend.

"You're going to bring him chocolates?" Yua whispered to you, her eyes shining.

"Mhm! I think he'll really like them too! I'm gonna go home tonight and work on decorations for the box." You had no idea Osamu was listening, and if you did, you would have probably died on the spot.

"I think he'll say yes," she replied thoughtfully. "Some of the girls have been upset lately; they say that Miya-san really likes you."

Osamu wished in that moment that the earth beneath his feet would open up and swallow him whole. Had he been wrong? Did Atsumu feel the same way that you did? And worse, had a selfish part of him been hoping that you'd be rejected?

His jaw tightened and he turned away, careful not to draw your attention as he slipped off in the other direction.

He considered faking a cold the next day, but that was childish, wasn't it? He dragged himself out of bed and got to school, dreading lunch period, when he knew everything would finally come crashing down around him.

The bell rang for lunch, and he packed his things quickly, not wanting to be there to watch you confess to his brother.

Imagine his surprise when he felt a tug on his sleeve just as he reached the doorway, and turned to see you standing there in front of him.

"'Samu? Could we go somewhere a little more private?" you asked, tensing up slightly the way that you always did when you were nervous.

"Er... Yeah."

What? This wasn't at all what he'd thought would happen, and his head was swimming as he followed you to the library, staring at the brown paper bag that you clutched to your chest.

You ended up behind one of the taller shelves in the back, and Osamu's hands were twitching in his pockets as he stared down at you.

Time was moving agonizingly slowly as you opened the paper bag and withdrew a brightly colored, heart-shaped box.

OSAMU was written across the front in careful lettering, and the world stopped around him.

"Samu, I-"

"I'm in love with you," he breathed out, hands moving from his pockets as he stepped forward to place his hands on the sides of your face, closing the distance between the two of you in one fell swoop.

Before you could answer, his lips were on yours, and your heart was bursting.

He was grinning when he pulled away, eyes gleaming with adoration as he took in your smile.

"I love you too, you big dork. I... was not expecting this to go so smoothly," you admitted, reaching up a hand to brush back a lock of his hair.

He's beaming when he says, "Honey, you've got no clue just how long Ah've been wantin' to do that."

[songmingisthighs]

Hooked

introduction pt. i | pt. ii | pt. iii

ch. lxxv - two dobbermans in one

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??? × reader, ateez × reader

A freshman hookup rekindled into something new. With an incentive, of course. But what would happen if your 'relationship' led you somewhere you never thought would happen to you ?

As you, Hongjoong, and Yeosang stepped into the campus housing complex, you were immediately welcomed with the sound of what you could only assume as a stampede.

Before you could even tell neither Hongjoong nor Yeosang, you could see several men running towards you from the distance. Upfront, you could see Mingi and Wooyoung running as fast as they could whilst San, Seonghwa, and surprisingly Jongho followed behind. A little bit further back, you could see Yunho trying to catch up, obviously left behind by the rest.

You couldn't help but grin widely at the sight. You could feel the butterflies in your stomach as your heart swelled with love for them. Before neither Hongjoong nor Yeosang could do anything, you had taken off to meet the other boys halfway.

All of you, except for Hongjoong and Yeosang, crashed onto each other in a big hug. The first to wrap his arms around you was San which then followed by Seonghwa and Mingi, then Wooyoung and Jongho and finally Yunho.

"I'm so glad you're fine, baby," Seonghwa exhaled shakily, arms tightly wound around you protectively. You giggled at him and pulled away from them slightly, "You're dramatic, you know? I'm fine, perfectly fine even, they didn't find anything wrong with me," you grinned at them.

San took one of your hands in his, inspecting it thoroughly with a pout on his face, "are they 100% sure? You hit Sunhee pretty hard last night,"

You slipped your hand from his grasp to cup his face instead. You stared into his eyes before giving him a peck on his nose, "Yes, Sannie, they were 100% sure, I even got an x-ray just to be sure," you assured him.

Wooyoung suddenly pushed forward, pushing San away to take his spot. He had his hands on your waist and a deep pout on his face, "no fair, I want nose kissies too," he whined. The others groaned at his childish behaviour but you only giggle at his adorableness before complying. You leaned in to peck his nose but as you pulled away, he pulled you back in to kiss your lips.

The rest of the boys let out protests, pulling Wooyoung away from you and smacking his arm and scolding him. But Wooyoung only had a goofy grin on his face, looking far too satisfied.

You rolled your eyes at their childish antics, but a smirk remained on your face. As you walk off past them towards the frat.

Realizing this, the boys immediately caught up with you. Mingi and Yunho linked each arm around yours, making sure to not be too rough as you had just gotten back from the hospital. You kept reminding them that you were okay but they insisted that they won't take any chances.

Even as you walked in, the boys immediately rush forward before you to get things ready. Mingi and Yunho led you to the couch, Seonghwa and Jongho ran to the kitchen, telling you that they'll bring you tea. Somehow, San had ran up to your room and back with your blanket in his arms which he immediately draped over your lap while Wooyoung took your shoes off. Hongjoong and Yeosang however, sit idly by the side, snickering at how the others were running around like headless chickens.

You, however, were basking in their affection, feeling somehow special and very much loved by them.

"Are you okay, baby?"

"Are you comfortable?"

"Do you want me to lend you my hoodie?"

"Do you want me to help you change first?" "Woo, not the time,"

"Is this spot good enough for you?"

"Want me to move you to your bedroom?"

The questions they threw at you were neverending and relentless, bordering on nagging. But you didn't find them annoying at all. You answered each of them with a smile on your face, even reassuring them that all you need is for them to stay with you.

Seonghwa once again appeared in front of you, kneeling with a pout on his face, "are you sure you're fine? We can get you literally anything you need," he said, hands on your knees and thumb rubbing gently.

You put the cup of tea on the coffee table and put your hands on top his, your own thumb caressing the back of his hand softly, "I'm 110% sure I'm fine, hwa! What kind of confirmation do you need?" you giggled, finding his caring nature to be quite amusing at the moment.

"(Y/N)'s fine hyung, she's still bad at math! If she'd been in a worse condition, she'd suddenly be good at it," Jongho joked as he plopped down next to you, head on your shoulder as he playfully twined his arm around yours.

As you rolled your eyes at Jongho's teasing, Seonghwa smacked him on his leg, "Don't say that! She just got hurt!" he scolded the younger. Yeosang suddenly piped in from the other side, "Well, having your arm smack someone sure does hurt but I wouldn't say she is HURT hurt, they literally didn't find anything wrong other than her odd cardiac rhythm," he said casually.

Seonghwa's eyes almost bulged out when Yeosang mentioned your odd cardiac rhythm. You could almost see him visibly paled. You sent a glare to Yeosang for not being mindful of his wordings before cupping Seonghwa's face gently, "It wasn't anything serious, I told them it was because I drank coffee and I had quite an exciting night," you explained. But Seonghwa was still not relaxing. "I'm going to start limiting your caffeine intake, young lady, and I won't take no for an answer," he told you.

Before you could retort, San reappeared from the stairs. He skipped over to you and tug your arm, "I made you a bath, come on!" he said excitedly.

You let San tug you up and lead you to the 2nd floor. But then a set of footsteps followed behind you two.

"And where are you going?" Yunho called.

You looked to the side to find Wooyoung casually following you behind.

He blinked innocently before answering Yunho, "(Y/N)'s gonna take a bath," he stated simply.

"And why were you following behind?" Hongjoong asked, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Wooyoung shrugged nonchalantly, "She might need some help in there. Besides, I know a way or two to help her de-stress," he smirked, pumping his eyebrows suggestively.

The boys collectively booed him. Hands coming forth to pull him away from you. They all threw protests at him, to which he defended himself with equal ferocity.

You couldn't help but watch them. There was a sense of pride and comfort seeing all of you together like this. You all might be unconventional, a little bit crazy and bordering on madness. But you love them all to bits. Every single part of you felt nothing but care and adoration for them.

And now, after what had happened, the crazy shit you went through. You were sure that they love you as well. You were sure that no matter what happened, you all will always have each others' backs no matter what.

taglist :

@raysanshine @peachy-maia @xuxiable @90s-belladonna @theclawofaraven @sanraes @sungiehan @felix-kithes @nycol-ie @superstarw99 @skkrtnawrskkrt @viv-atiny @the7thcrow @stfu-xeena @laurademaury @multihoe-net @daisyhwa @scoupshushushu @whyisquill @bikiniholic @yunhorights @exfolitae @simplewonderland @verycooldog2 @perfectlysane24 @hannahdinse8 @tannie13 @aka-minhyuk-kun @phebeedee @em0yunho @marsophilia @donghyuckanti27 @se-onghwa @malewife-supremacy @hyunsukream @peachyho @taejichafe @alliecoady98 @rdiamondbts2727 @hakuna-matata-ya @ohmy-fandoms @ateezminonspace @stray-bi-kids @imaaroy @fashi0nablee @rindomo @violetwinters @nabihwa @linhyyboo12 @mirror-juliet @bestboiericsohn @hwahwaseong @kpop-khh-writer-trash

[drawing-way-outside-the-lines]

➖ Mature content, 18+ ➖ check the trigger tags each time ➖      

Chapter 3 - Trembling lips.

Evan: *In the following days I tried to take a bit of distance to Andy, but without things getting too awkward, living under the same roof and all. I tried to pretend I didn't notice when he casually brushed a hand over one of my hands, or when he rubbed his foot against mine under the dinner table. And I did my very best to pretend it wasn't a big deal when he cuddled up next to me on the couch to watch movies, although it was a big deal. I felt nervous, awkward, anxious. Worried he might kiss me again. The first kiss still lingering on my lips, and now a few days later, I would still from time to time reach up to touch my lips, as if I would check if the kiss was still there. The fact that he loved to cuddle up with me and watch movies just made everything worse. It was a thing I normally didn't find strange, he was my best friend, and I liked comforting him when he after a therapy session would come to me with puffy red and teary eyes, asking me if we could please watch a movie. He would cuddle up against me, wrapping my arms around him and tell me how this would make him feel safe. Sometimes he would cry in my arms till he fell asleep, while I pretended to watch the movie, sometimes we would have a movie marathon snuggling up with chips, beers and pizza. And I would enjoy having him close, cause that way I could keep an eye on him, and make sure he was safe. Andy has a suicidal past. He almost succeeded killing himself at least 3 times. So I'm always worried he might crash again, and we all might end up losing him for good. Now, when he snuggled up next to me, I would turn stiff in my whole body, and get lost in a sea of 'what if he kissed me again?'. And it was one of these awkward cuddle nights where he turned around and looked at me with a goofy grin on his face, my heart skipped a few beats if I have to be honest.*

Andy: Chuckled hoarse Evan… I don't bite. Relax. I'm not going to kiss you again until you ask me to.

Evan: *I froze. I had no idea what to say or what to do with myself, I just froze.*

Andy: *Shook his head* Listen, I don't want a stupid kiss to ruin our friendship. We have always been able to cuddle up like this, and now suddenly you are stiff as a board. It's not relaxing laying next to a log. Just pull yourself together man, it meant nothing as always. You're straight. Blah blah. He rolled his eyes and chuckled hoarser than before look, all I'm saying is I'm not gonna do it again, at least not until you ask me to…. cause you will. *He smiled cheekily and to my luck turned around and laid back down, just before my cheeks turned bright red. What did he mean? I scuffed to myself and laughed nervously at the fact that he now assumed I would want more. I mean really? I tried to knock his words out of my head, it was just Andy being crazy as always. Doing reckless things. The kiss didn't mean anything, and life would just go on as before. Right? I tried to follow the movie, but my mind kept drifting off, kept getting stuck on Andy's words… Andy's hoarse laughter… Andy's cheeky grin…. oh for fuck sake! Now you are touching your lips again!!!*

*The following days it got harder and harder, Andy seemed to have forgotten most of his words. He tried to find any occasion to flirt with me. Or to be more specific, he did all the flirting, I was busy trying to pretend I didn't notice or bury my head in a news paper when he made me blush. I don't even read news papers! He noticed, although I kept telling myself he didn't. And as a result he only flirted more. He also tried to find more ways to touch me. Like "accidentally" brushing my arm while reaching for something, or accidentally bumping into me in the hallway. A place I tried to avoid as much as possible anyway. In fact I tried to avoid as many dark corners on the ranch as possible, not only the hallway where it had all started. I tried to not be too much alone with him, it was hard, I also wanted to be there for my friend, help him through this difficult time in his life, but it also left me with questions I knew only he could answer. You see, Andy used to be straight. Or at least he thought he was. He was so deep in denial he used to fuck pretty much anyone with a vagina. Well that was until about 2 years ago, when he under a game of truth and dare, was dared to kiss a guy. According to Andy that guy woke something in him, and shortly after he involved himself in a homosexual relationship, and started a journey of discovering that he had always been gay. So of course now, I started wondering if this was all happening to me now? Was I going through the same as Andy did? Would I turn out to be gay as well? Don't get me wrong now, my best friend is GAY, and I love him dearly. I never took a single step away from him when he came out, so I'm surely not homophobic. I have friends of all sexualities, and it has never been a big deal to me. At all. I just experienced what Andy went through, and honestly, I don't know if I would have the same strength and courage. So naturally, I got scared. I decided not to think more about the kiss, and completely shut it out, pretend it never happened. But if I tell you not to think of the color blue, what would you think of? -Exactly! All I could think about was that kiss. His lips. His tongue. His taste. His hot breath. I started feeling more drawn to him, caught myself starring at him. I stopped avoiding him, and started wanting to spend more and more time with him. So I slowly let a few of my guards down, started cuddling more again, although it was still hard, but this time, it was hard to feel his naked chest against my palms. What was happening to me?*

*On the 22nd after a major freak out, about the exact same thing, Andy's naked chest against my sweaty palms. I decided I needed to unload my brain a bit, aka seeking help from my friend Daniel, my friend Daniel who carries strong medical marijuana due to his ADHD condition. Lucky me he was never shy on sharing. So after passing his room late evening on the 22nd of December, I crawled up in bed, put some dimmed music on, dimmed the light, laid back and started puffing the joint. When I was about half way, and already had enough, someone knocked my door. I didn't bother to answer, I actually assumed it would be Daniel, checking in to see if the joint was kicking in. But when the door silently got opened, Andy stepped in, lighting up in his face as he spotted the joint dangling from my lips.*

Andy: 'Hey man! I didn't know you were having a party up here, can I join?' *He jumped up in the bed before I could even get to squeeze out a single word and grabbed the joint from my lips* Nice! Did you get this from Daniel?

Evan: *I nodded and felt the joint buzz through my system, sending a big smirk to my face, which I couldn't dry off no matter how much I tried. Oh for fuck sake, I was laying there smiling like a kid in Disneyland! Making a complete fool of myself.*

Andy: *He kept smoking the join quite a while, before he turned his head to look at me, speaking in a lowered yet teasing voice.*Are we still pretending there isn't a huge elephant in the room?

Evan: *I felt my heart skip a beat.*

Andy: Sighed deeply then rolled over on his side, killed the joint in the ashtray on the night stand next to him, then turned to look at me look, I told you, I'm not gonna try anything again, unless you tell me to.

Evan:* I observed him, funny thing about Andy is that he doesn't even look gay. Hold on now, don't hate me, I know that's some pretty stereotypical nonsense to say, I know gays comes in all "shapes and sizes." I'm just... pointing out he isn't anything like the gays we grew up with on tv. You know, high pitched Madonna loving feminine guys… the ones that became a picture of how all gay men is. Stereotypes. As I said. I know gays comes in all the colors of the rainbow, and I respect all of them. It's just always very easy to offend people, so let me point out once and for all. I have nothing against anybody, as long as you are a kind and compassionate person. Point is, Andy is just a regular guy who loves working on his car, or fixing up his Harley, which he btw build from scratch. He is always more or less scruffy looking, either his electric blue mohawk is out of place, his jeans ripped or filled with oil stains, or his tshirt is wrinkled. His face is filled with piercings, he is very muscular without being over the top, think Channing Tatum… They actually even look a bit alike, he has a tattoo on the back of his right hand, his body is filled with scars he has gotten from different things, and he used to be the biggest "skirt chaser" I have ever known.*

Andy: What are you starring at? chuckled cheeky

Evan: *I snapped right out of it.*'Uhm… nothing… I was just thinking'

Andy: Smiled softly about what?

Evan: That you don't look gay?

Andy: Laughed loudly what? Tell me, how does a gay guy look?

Evan: I hit his arm gently and couldn't help myself from laughing as well You know what I mean, idiot!

Andy: Chuckled warmly and laid down on his back Yeah? So where are you going with this?

Evan: Chuckled softly I don't know? It was just an observation?

Andy: He kept quiet for a while, and just as I was about to say something to break the awkward silence he gently grabbed my hand, without moving the rest of his body And you have very soft hands…

Evan: Nothing came out of my mouth, besides a tiny little squeak

Andy: …. its just an observation. *He kept holding my hand, his hand was soft too. Warm. And although my body was screaming for me to jump out of that bed, something felt comforting about laying like this, with him.* Evan: *Now I'm a thinker, and I always spend way too much time stuck inside my own head, brooding, wondering and contemplating life. Some might say I over think, which is exactly what happened next, and as a result I once again freaked out. I felt dizzy, overwhelmed, lost, nervous. My legs once again felt like jelly, but not only my legs this time, in fact my whole body started feeling numb, well numb besides the buzzing feeling under my skin that seemed to only grow stronger and stronger. Even my lips started buzzing.*

Andy: Cleared his throat after a few minutes of silence are you okay?

Evan: *I turned my head and looked into his light green concerned eyes.*

Andy: Slowly let go of my hand I'm sorry, I'll stop.

Evan: *I turned my head to face the ceiling again, all I could think about was his eyes and lips. I tried closing my eyes, focusing on something else. The song I had been desperately trying to finish the past few weeks, world policy, dental check up, but nothing seemed to work, all I could think about was his eyes and lips. Was I gay? Was I having feelings for my best friend? Or was it just being stuck here at the ranch in the middle of nowhere, with no single women around? I had to admit I had been pretty horny for a while. Ending a relationship that had barely even started, had left me torn and irritated. I had thought that next time I found some one, it would be my time to settle down. All of these frustrations had lead into sexual frustration, so maybe that's all this was? Sexual frustration? I tasted the words a bit in my head, then it dawned on me again, how the kiss had made me weak in my knees, my legs had literally buckled under me. I had only tried something like that while being in love. Which was a rare thing for me. And never had I actually ended up on the floor. Man those lips were soft… so soft…. warm…. wet…. and the taste… the taste of Andy's lips…. Andy's lips….*

Andy: Cleared his throat Should I leave? I mean I'm far too stoned to walk, but… I could crawl? Chuckled cheekily

Evan: *I don't know what came over me? Maybe it was the fact that he worried, maybe it was his attempt at joking, maybe it was the thought of his lips, or the joint, or his damn sexy cheeky chuckle, but a huge wave of warmth rushed over me, and all I could whisper was* 'Kiss me….'

Andy: Was quiet a few seconds, a few seconds that felt like an eternity, then he slowly rolled over on his stomach, in a way so he ended up laying on top of me are you sure? I don't want things to get more complicated…

Evan: My lips was the only part of my body I could feel, they were buzzing so intensely it felt like they were sleeping. But they were wide awake, begging for his to meet them again. So I nodded my head

Andy: Smiled softly I need to hear you say it again, just to be sure you mean it he softly caressed my cheek with his right thumb

Evan: My heart was pounding so hard it was the only thing I could hear, it was echoing through my skull like a drum. I sank a lump in my throat and felt my lips quiver as the words came out, hoarse and hesitating please… kiss me?

Andy: He tilted his head and observed my face for a while, as if he was trying to read my doubt

Evan: I felt my cheeks blush and just as I felt I was going to explode from embarrassment, I saw him lower his head towards me.

Andy: His lips was as close as last time, I could feel his hot breath as he whispered try to relax this time, it will be better for you, I promise. I know what I'm doing Evan, and I know you wont regret it…

Evan: *I didn't hesitate, I knew he was right, I had already had a taste of what he had to offer me, so I closed my eyes and welcomed his lips as they reached mine. Soft, warm, wet, and oh so tasty. I instantly felt a strong rush in my stomach, I felt dizzy, nervous, but I also felt his mouth slowly opening. Thinking to myself, its now or never, I have to dive in. I knew I wouldn't have the courage to ask again. So as I felt his tongue poke mine, I slowly poked back. I heard him moan in satisfaction, I felt our tongues twirl around each others. And to my own surprise it sent another rush through my stomach. I wanted more. I moaned softly as he gently nibbled my bottom lip with his teeth, and as his kisses got more passionate so did mine. It felt good, so good, not awkward at all. I dug my fingers into his back as if I was trying to draw him closer, he got the gesture and wrapped his arms around my neck, kissing me deeper. And then I felt it again, the longing in his kisses, as if he had been waiting for a long time to be able to kiss me, but what surprised me was the longing I felt in my own kisses as I continued to kiss him back. I don't know how long time we were kissing, all I know is I lost myself completely in it. So when I suddenly felt something hard rub against my jeans, it took me a while to fully react.*

Evan: I pulled away from him fast Andy!… I…

Andy: Looked at me puzzled I thought you wa… he frowned a bit and looked down himself oh…

Evan: *I tried to slide myself out from under him without him noticing it… yeah right, I'm not exactly Houdini… and I'm almost the same size as Andy, so I really can't say I could be too stealth, had I only been half his size, but luck was never on my side.*

Andy: *Took a deep breath and rolled off me, quickly sitting up in bed, grabbing my cigarettes on the night stand and lit himself one, blowing out a big cloud of smoke* I'm sorry *he smiled at me apologizing as I tried to hide most of me under my blanket* Awkward boner huh? *He chuckled silently*

Evan: I started searching the room with my eyes for a place to simply disappear. Maybe I could hide in the closet? On a second thought though. I frowned at myself. Not funny Evan, not funny at all!

Andy: I didn't mean for that to happen, I hope you know that? I certainly didn't expect for anything to happen…. he took another drag from the cig, and suddenly looked sad, almost disappointed I'm sorry, I'm such a fuck up. I swear Ill leave you alone now. *He quickly got up, and walked towards the door with his head bowed, and once again, I don't know what came over me, maybe the guilt of making him feel so bad? As I observed him walk away he looked like a scolded puppy. The words just rushed out my mouth.*

Evan: Please stay!

Andy: He turned around slowly and looked at me even more puzzled than before.

Evan: Cleared my throat nervously I mean… we could watch a movie till we fall asleep?

Andy: He looked at me with flickering eyes, probably questioning if I had lost my mind

Evan: *I felt the awkward silence creep over the room, making me feel even more uncomfortable than the awkward boner had made me feel. Truthfully, I didn't want him to leave. So I padded my hand on the bed just next to me as a silent invite. Although I wanted him there, I couldn't get myself to say it out loud out of fear of sounding like a mouse.*

Andy: He smiled softly, shook his head and returned to the bed where he handed the rest of the cig to me. I observed him while he took off his shirt and pants, and thanked a God I don't believe, in when I saw he for once were wearing boxers, not that I had never seen him naked before, Andy used to be quite the party boy, and he has flashed the entire universe more times than anyone else has, but to be clear, I think it would have tipped me over, had he been naked under those jeans. As he turned to look at me, he pointed at the still standing awkward boner I'm sorry, I can't control it, so I understand if you kick me out at any point. But I promise you I wont try anything. I respect you.

Evan: *I believed him, no doubt. He had been through enough bad things when it came to sex, I knew he wouldn't try anything if he said he wouldn't, so I nodded.*

Andy: Smiled relieved What movie do you wanna watch?

Evan: I pulled my shoulders slightly I don't know… you pick.

Andy: He smiled like a little child. I learned several years ago, that he loves being the one to pick. *About 30 minutes later he was sound asleep, cuddled up in my arms. And I was stuck with a movie, which title I can't even remember, truth to be told, I didn't pay much attention, most of the movie I just kept caressing my lips, as if I was caressing his kisses. I didn't sleep most of the night, I just kept laying there, listening to his breath, suddenly afraid to move, afraid I would wake him up. He looked so peaceful. I had never seen him so peaceful before. All his worries had washed off his face, and I loved the glow he had on his cheeks. So I kept caressing my lips in the dark, listening to his soft breathing. Listening to his heartbeat.*

[jakesguitarstring]

slow mover || chapter one || s.f.k.

prologue || chapter one || chapter two || chapter three || chapter four

based off my sammy blurb in …bless the telephone. a little friends to lovers.

summary: growing up with sam was a dream, there was no one in the world who knew you better or you knew better. but the years apart have caused a distance too great and things have between you both has changed. when he tells you he’s coming home, can things go back to how they were or did you miss your shot together?

words: 2.8k

masterlist 

taglist: you're the best around! @ageofflowerpower @theweightofstardust @mywaysooon @bumblebeeswrite @franciskiszka @dazzlinghazeaboutyouu (please message me to be added 💕💕 )

warnings: underage drinking, drug mention, eventual smut (18+ minors DNI!)

five years ago

“I can’t believe you’re not coming to my graduation party,” Sam complained as you grabbed your books from your locker for your next class. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, especially when you looked over to see Sam pulling his 'sad puppy dog' face. It was the most annoying thing he did and that was saying something, considering all the things you found annoying about him. He was so goddamn endearing that it frustrated and annoyed you because each stupid face or goofy joke went straight to your heart and made you fall deeper in love with him.

“I am coming to your graduation party.” You explained and slammed the locker shut. Without waiting for a reply or to see if he was following you, you started off toward your next class.

He quickly jogged up behind you to catch up. “No. You’re coming to the graduation party my mom is throwing me. Not my actual graduation party. Ya know, the one that will actually be fun.” He mimed opening a beer and chugging it.

“Underage drinking is not fun, Samuel.” He smiled at you, a smile that had been your favorite thing in the world since freshman year when you’d first met. On the first day of biology, you two had been partnered as lab partners. If first impressions were as important as everyone says they are, you and Sam would have never become friends. You instantly decided you didn’t like him, figuring he wouldn’t take anything seriously and you’d end up doing the bulk of the work. But you were wrong, well kinda. Sam didn’t take anything seriously, but he still worked hard, just in his own carefree laissez-faire way. You worked in tandem on projects and he made you laugh constantly. And you’d taken a science class together every year, somehow miraculously passing every single one. Even sophomore year chemistry where one of you, although neither one would admit it was them, accidentally blew up your final project.

“Don’t pretend to be green. I’ve totally seen you partake in less than legal substances.”

You shot him a look and he threw his head back with a laugh. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He ran a hand through his hair and you looked away to stop yourself from imagining what it would feel like to run your own fingers through his locks.

“Ah, you’re full of shit.” He threw his arm over your shoulder and caused you to lose your footing and stumble into his side. You pushed him away and walked faster, well aware that the bell was going to ring any second. “Won’t ya please come to my actual party? It’ll suck without you.”

“You won’t even notice I’m not there, Sam.”

“That is not true at all and you know it.” You stopped in front of your classroom and turned toward Sam.

“You’re gonna be late for class. It’s on the other side of the school.” You nodded toward the west wing of the school.

“What are they gonna do? Flunk me?”

“I can only hope so,” you joked and gave him a playful shove and headed into your classroom just as the bell rang. You took your seat next to Danny, somehow the two of you had almost an identical schedule for senior year. He gave you his signature soft smile. “Hey,” you greeted.

“What’s this about you not going to Sam’s grad party?” He asked, his smile widening.

“News sure travels fast.”

“It’s a small town.” He laughed. “But seriously, why aren’t you coming?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “I don’t really like parties.” Which was true, but especially parties with the Kiszka boys. To say they got rowdy was an understatement. They were already loud and obnoxious without the added imbibement of alcohol. But that wasn’t the real reason you didn’t want to go. Sam had told you two weeks ago that it wasn’t just a graduation party, it was also a goodbye party. The band was heading out on a summer tour as a way to try and get signed to a label and when they were going to be back in three months, you’d already be away at college. The party wasn’t a celebration for you, it was a signifier of change. High school was ending and your best friend was leaving and thinking about it too hard made your stomach hurt, so you just ignored it. If you pretended it wasn’t happening, you could live in blissful ignorance.

“Are you okay?” Danny whispered. You gave him a quick smile and turned your attention to the teacher. You were beyond proud of your best friend and his band, they were so incredibly talented and hard-working and absolutely deserved success, but that didn’t mean that you couldn’t dread the day that he left you behind. You swallowed roughly to avoid the tears that had been trying to fall for two weeks.

The night of Sam’s real graduation party, you looked at yourself in the mirror and took a deep breath. “The things I do for my best friend.” You muttered to yourself as you tried to calm your nerves. You would do anything for him, even facing the reality that he was actually leaving. You pulled up to the address Sam had sent you last night when you finally agreed to come to his party. When you walked in, the music was loud and drinks and joints were being passed around freely. Josh found you first, running up to you and pulling you into a tight hug that surprised you.

“Hey, Sammy’s friend!” You pulled away from Sam’s older brother. “How’s it going?”

“I’m good Josh. Have you seen Sam?” He vaguely gestured behind himself before he headed over to another group of people over by the music.

“Hey! Hey! No changing the playlist! It was carefully curated!” He yelled. As soon as Sam’s eyes landed on you, his entire face brightened and heat rushed to your cheeks.

“You actually came!” He practically screamed.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” His arms wrapped around you snuggly and you refused to pull away from this hug. He rocked the two of you back and forth for a few seconds before releasing you but left his hands gripping the sides of your arms.

“I know. I was just worried you wouldn’t make it.”

“Have I ever let you down before?” You half-joked. He tapped his lips with his pointer finger as he pretended to think.

“Well, there was that one time when…” he started.

“I can still leave Samuel.” You interrupted.

“I mean… No never! You’ve never let me down!” The two of you shared a smile before he slung one of his arms around your shoulder and started to drag you toward the table of drinks. “Let’s get you something to drink.” You held onto the plastic cup all night, taking small sips, but barely drinking. You figured someone had to be in control of their faculties tonight. You also wanted to completely remember tonight, remember every time you made Sam throw his head back in laughter, the way the lights shined down on the two of you, how it felt like the universe revolved around the bond between you, and how warm it felt to bask in the glow of his affection. It all felt wildly important as if this was a pivotal core memory, and if you forgot even a second of it, your world would collapse. Hours into the night you were sitting next to him on a worn-down leather couch, picking at some of the flaking leather.

“You’re gonna come to our shows right?” He asked you after he had spent the last thirty minutes explaining to some of his other friends about the band’s upcoming tour. You opened your mouth to respond, but Sam answered himself. “Of course you are!”

“Well, I don’t know Sam. I mean, I gotta get ready for college. I can’t just follow you around all summer.” You pulled away from him, at some point in the conversation he had pulled you close.

“What d’ya mean?” He asked, his brow furrowed and a slight pout forming at the corners of his mouth.

“She means she isn’t gonna be your groupie Sammy!” Someone else shouted and everyone laughed. Your face flushed and your stomach dropped. You fully pulled away from Sam and stood up.

“Wait, don’t do that. They were just joking!” He called after you, scrambling to get up from the couch. You spun around on your heels, deep hot anger furling harshly in your stomach.

“I didn’t find it fucking funny!” Everyone stopped talking and the party fell silent, except for the carefully curated playlist still playing in the background. If you weren’t filled with so much anger, you might have been embarrassed about creating a scene, but it didn’t even phase you. Your chest was too tight and your blood felt too hot. “It’s bullshit!”

The person who made the joke started to apologize, but you interrupted them, “shut the fuck up!”

“Come on, don't be like that.” Sam tried to calm you down.

“Don’t be like what Sam? What version of me do you want?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I hear what people say. That I’m this lost puppy that follows you around. Worships the ground you walk on. That you swooped in and saved me from being a friendless loser. Everyone thinks that my whole world revolves around you.”

“No one thinks that.” He replied softly. You scoffed. You were quiet, most people didn’t really notice you. People only ever seemed to talk directly to you if Sam was around or if they wanted to get Sam’s number from you. So you heard the whispers in the hallway. You knew that what you said was the absolute truth and, by the way, most people were avoiding making eye contact, they knew it too. You weren’t a loser, you knew that. You had friends, you could make friends. You just weren’t destined to be part of the quote-unquote “in crowd” of high school, not that you’d ever had any aspirations to be so, but you’d found yourself in the middle of it because of Sam. And everyone else knew you didn’t belong, everyone except Sam. Because Sam never saw it that way. Sam never thought he was popular, he talked to literally everyone in the school, it was just who he was, but that could never shield you from being self-aware.

“Whatever.” You sighed. “Have fun on tour.” You set the almost full plastic cup on a table and walked out. You could feel everyone’s eyes follow you as you left, but couldn’t bear to look up at any of them. The anger that threatened to boil over just moments ago had disappeared and been replaced with the sour feeling of shame and sadness. This was supposed to be a beautiful night full of lasting memories of your best friend and you’d ruined it. The warm air of an early Michigan summer filled your lungs as you stepped outside and wandered toward your car. You heard the familiar heavy and long stride of Sam behind you but ignored it. You just wanted him to leave, leave you behind, go chase his dreams and be a mega-superstar and completely forget you ever existed. It would be so much easier that way.

“Please don’t walk away.” He said, the sadness in his voice forced you to stop in your tracks. He sighed. “Do you really think all that?” He asked and you turned to look at him. In all of the years you’d known him, you had never seen his face so full of sadness. He looked dejected, like a little kid whose ice cream had fallen out of his cone before he’d even had a chance to taste it. You couldn’t look him in the eyes, so you focused on your shoes.

“I don’t have to think it. It’s what everyone else thinks, Sam.” You murmured.

“I don’t give a fuck about anyone else. I care about you. What do you think?” The Sam you knew was returning, the sadness in his voice was melting into his resonating conviction and passion. You were silent. He took a few steps toward you and started to reach for you, but then dropped his hands at his side. “You’re my best friend.” He let out a breathy laugh. “Can you please just look at me? I’m tryin’ to be all sentimental and shit.”

Your lips twisted into a poorly hidden smile as you finally looked up at him.

“Thank you.” He whispered. He coughed. “I really mean it, though. You know that, right? You’re like my favorite person in the world.”

“What about Danny?”

He shrugged. “Danny farts. He got demoted.” You laughed. “I know you’re gonna be busy this summer, so I’m clearly not expecting you to drop everything and follow me around. But if you can find the time to catch a show or two, you’d make me the happiest man alive.”

A stupid toothy grin spread across your face. You kinda hated that smile, but it always found a way to happen when you were around Sam. “I’ll see what I can manage.” His smile matched yours in brightness and intensity.

“Good.” He looked behind him toward the party where music and laughter were seeping out, your little outburst long forgotten. “I’m glad we’re done with high school. All that stupid bullshit is so fucking dumb.”

You nodded. “I know.”

A peaceful silence hung between you. “I’m gonna miss you.” He finally said.

“I won’t even notice you’re gone.” He laughed and you pretended that you didn’t see the faint wetness that seemed to be gathering in his eyes. You bit your lip to prevent the same tears in your own eyes from falling. Before you could stop yourself, you rushed into Sam and wrapped your arms around him. He let out a surprised breath, but then quickly enveloped you. A feather-light kiss that you almost missed graced the top of your head. You squeezed him tighter.

“Shit.” He said.

“What?” You pulled away and looked up at him with a worried expression.

“Nah, it's nothing. I think I’ve just got a like eyelash in my eye or something.” He sniffled.

“No fucking way! Is the Samuel Kiszka crying over me? Holy goddamn shit!” You screeched. “I gotta go back in and tell everyone!” You pulled away from him and made a start toward the house. He grasped onto your arm and pulled you back.

“Ha-ha. Very funny. You should be a stand-up comedian.”

“Can I be the band’s opening act?”

“Oh yeah, for sure. As soon as we’re no longer the opening act’s opening act.” The two of you shared a laugh and one more hug. “Come by the house tomorrow?”

“One last hang?” You asked and pulled away.

“Well, jeez. Not the last one. I’m just goin’ on tour. I’m not dying!”

“See ya tomorrow, Sam.” The two of you waved at each other as you headed toward your car and he went back to his party.

A week later you waved to each other again, but this time you stood next to Ronnie and their mom and he waved at you from the backseat of an over-packed van, taking your heart with him.

Present Day

Five years later you stared into the melting whipped cream on top of your hot chocolate. You hadn’t touched it and the cup would undoubtedly be sticky if you ever did pick it up, a mixture of cream and cocoa dripped down the sides. A plain black coffee sat opposite you, cooling down to room temperature from piping hot. You peaked at your phone sitting next to your mug. You only had another fifteen minutes left in your lunch break and Sam still wasn’t here. Which, you supposed, was to be expected. When he texted you yesterday that he was back in town and asked if you wanted to come by the house, you had declined, knowing full well that the house would be full of Kiszkas and most likely a few Wagners. It would be way too overwhelming, so you offered up the coffee shop you worked at instead. The coffee shop would be the public neutral ground you had decided you wanted. And it would force the reunion to be short, which was more important to you. It would be better to ease yourself in instead of diving headfirst. Ten more minutes left in your break and you sighed and started to grab your apron that was hanging off the back of the chair when the door swung open and cold wintery air rushed into the cozy shop. His eyes found yours practically instantaneously and his mouth widened into an exuberant smile. Your own smile formed slowly and not as bright, but it was there all the same.

Sam was home.

[miracleonice87]

Magic in the Hamptons

a Mat Barzal song fic

a/n: this one has been a long while coming. very loosely based on the song Magic in the Hamptons by Social House (woo, Pittsburgh!) feat. Lil Yachty. obviously I don’t own any of this music/lyrics. mostly based on Matt Martin and Sydney Esiason’s wedding, which totally doesn’t make sense timing-wise since I mention the TikTok dance to this song, but we’re rolling with it!

summary: Mat Barzal and his girlfriend travel to the Hamptons for the Esiason/Martin wedding, where their relationship takes a big step, too.

warnings: alcohol. swearing. brief mentions of sex. cheesy singing and dancing. cotton candy fluff.

______

The New York state wedding of the year had finally arrived.

Matt Martin and Sydney Esiason, Mat’s teammate and his fiancé — who were both your close friends — were tying the knot at last, and you, Mat, and the boys were Southampton-bound to ring in the occasion. Mat had rented out a house for a group of you — Jordan and Lauren, Anders and Grace, and Tito, who had chosen to fly solo in hopes of wheeling a single girl at the reception. Other Islanders, both current and former, were staying either in their own Hamptons summer homes or in places they, too, had rented for the weekend, all within a short distance of each other, so the next few days were about to be quite the affair.

You and Mat had flown in on a red eye from Vancouver, and you were grateful that you’d actually caught a few hours of shuteye on the plane, because Mat was now absolutely buzzing with excitement about seeing so many of his past and present teammates in the middle of the summer, not to mention celebrating Marty and Sydney, who had taken the two of you under their wing, affectionately calling you “Baby Matt and Baby Syd.”

On the way from the airport to the property, Mat had stopped at a market to stock up on the essentials — namely, cases of beer, bottles of wine, handles of liquor, and, of course, plenty of champagne. Mat heaved it all into the SUV, and minutes later, the two of you were pulling into the driveway of the sprawling Cape Cod-style abode where you would be staying, the first portion of the crew to arrive.

The two of you unpacked the car, Mat insisting on carrying the majority of the load, and staked your claim on the master suite, which was sure to be something Mat’s older, married captain chirped him about later in the weekend. The two of you walked through each room of the house, soaking in the summer cottage vibes, before making your way back to the kitchen to set up shop.

After Mat poured two flutes of champagne and proposed a toast to Marty and Syd, the two of you sipped the bubbly and discussed plans for the rest of the day, including Mat accompanying Marty to pick up the wedding bands from the jeweler in town. 

Soon, Mat found his way into the living room and spotted the stereo.

“Time to turn up, babe,” he announced, truly a frat boy at heart, pulling his phone from his pocket. When he finally finished fiddling with the Bluetooth sound system, Mat theatrically spun your way as you stocked the fridge with your enormous alcohol order. You smirked at him when you heard the first few beats of the song.

“C’mon,” Mat coaxed, nodding his head toward the open concept living room floor. “You gotta come dance with me to this song right now!”

You tipped your head back with a chuckle, shaking your head as you watched your clown of a boyfriend, who always made time to sing and dance because he loved the way you lit up when he did. As you left the grocery bags on the island and sauntered his way, he started to perform.

“Spot a little hottie when I flipped up the shades,” he began, giving you his best sexy eyes, making you snort and immediately cover your mouth with one hand. “Lookin' like a red ‘Rari sittin' in a driveway…” Mat continued, taking your hands and dancing around the room as you took turns feeding the lyrics to one another animatedly.

“Me and you should get a room right now,” you sang to him, pushing your chest up against his and watching his eyebrows quirk in that endearing way that made butterflies erupt within you. You toyed with his ever-present chain as you delivered the next lyric: “’Cause if it's gold, I'll throw it away, you're worth more than every single chain…”

With that, Mat spun you around, pulling you back into him and situating his lips right above your forehead as he said, “Best drink I take is when I sippin' you…”

Automatically, the two of you broke apart and launched into the TikTok dance for the chorus, mirroring each other as you tried to focus on each move without bursting into hysterics watching one other.

After you danced through the next verse, Mat pulled your back to his chest, hands gripping yours tightly as he said into a low voice into your ear, “…next trip I take is just me and you.” You turned your face toward him and smiled warmly, then both repeated the moves to the chorus that you’d learned together from the cool young kids on social media.

Mat tore up Lil Yachty’s rap verse as you danced in front of him, giggling.

“This is how I feel about you when I’m away…” Mat spoke before switching back to his rap persona, jokingly getting in your face, arms thrown behind him in a playful confrontation. “I'm tired of looking at your pictures, wanna be up in your face.”

You shook your head at his antics, laughing as he continued, spinning you around again and again with one hand like a ballerina. “I wanna dance with you, I wanna laugh, I wanna sing. Take you on the road, have you rockin' all my bling. Don't know if you're the one but if you are, you'll get a ring…”

Mat smirked at you as he said that particular word, throwing a flirtatious wink your way and causing your heart to flutter. You rolled your eyes and tried to play off how excited that statement coming from Mat’s lips made you, even if it was just a line in a goofy song.

Unbeknownst to you two, Tito had just stepped through the front door and lifted his sunglasses to rest atop his head when Mat delivered the final line with an amusing passion.

“And you look so classy, come through with that magic. You know that I'm ‘bout to smash it, it's true.” With that, Mat grabbed a generous handful of your asscheek and bit at your earlobe, your hands finding his face as you squealed, trying and failing to pry him away from you and stop his mischief.

“TMI,” you heard from the entryway, causing you to jump in Mat’s arms as he laughed at his friend’s statement, eyebrows high on his forehead. Tito walked over with a smirk, shaking his head, and Mat wrapped his arms around your waist tenderly.

“Oh, you two,” Tito teased, kissing your cheek and dapping up Mat as the three of you made your way to the kitchen for your second of what would prove to be many rounds of drinks that afternoon.

_____

Mat was content.

He sat beside you two days later in the breezy Southampton afternoon air, long arm wrapped easily around the back of your chair, fingers lightly caressing your shoulder as you listened to Matt and Sydney deliver their vows to one another. You’d been dabbing at the corners of your eyes with a handkerchief throughout the entire ceremony, Mat’s heart swelling at your evident love for Marty and Syd.

As you lifted the hankie once more to your face, Mat leaned in and delivered the most tender kiss to your temple, his eyes fluttering closed as he breathed in your scent and the pure sweetness of the moment. He felt you melt into his touch, your hand shifting from his thigh to grasp his hand tightly in your own, smoothing your thumb over his knuckles. That simplest of gestures intoxicated him, and despite the wedding going on before you, he couldn’t keep from telling you exactly what he was thinking.

“I love you,” he whispered into your ear, breath tickling your neck and sending goosebumps down your exposed arms. You hummed softly in appreciation, leaning further into his body, resting your head on his shoulder.

“I love you, Maty,” you whispered back, squeezing his hand.

As he looked down to your left hand, entwined with his as they lay in his lap, Mat smiled, thinking of the new addition that would soon adorn that one special finger.

And the best part?

You had no idea.

_____

You were feeling yourself.

It could be the alcohol, or the blue satin dress you donned that suited you so well, or the intense way Mat had been staring at you all night, or a combination of all three. You didn’t know for sure, but either way, you were feeling the best you had in a long time.

Which is why you didn’t hesitate to follow along when, as you stood next to Mat at the bar, his arm slung around your waist and hand resting teasingly just above your backside, Tito hustled up to you as London Bridge by Fergie began to flood the room and grabbed your hands, pulling you away from your boyfriend as he looked on with a pout.

“He,” Tito started, pointing at Mat, “can get you a drink. We,” he motioned between himself and you, “are gonna dance to this right now.”

You threw your head back in a laugh, tossing Mat a look that told him you were only slightly sorry, which quickly faded when you and Tito joined everyone on the dance floor. A crowd naturally circled around the two of you, a pair of the most fun-loving of the entire group, who often kept the others entertained at such events, along with Mat, who was currently enjoying just soaking it all in from afar.

Mat couldn’t keep his eyes off you as you mimicked Fergie’s drop-it-low moves from the now-vintage music video, watching how your hair — not to mention your perky butt and breasts — bounced each time you moved. What made him smile, though, wasn’t how gorgeous your body looked — it was the radiant glow on your face, in your eyes, as you goofed off with many of your closest friends. His closest friends. Though Mat loved you just as much on a rainy morning on the Island, wrapped in his sweats and makeup smeared across your face, these were the moments that made you shine the brightest, your love of life bubbling over onto everyone around you.

As Mat admired your magnetizing charm, Marty approached, playfully rubbing Mat’s shoulders like he was a prizefighter in a ring. Mat reached a hand up, which Marty firmly smacked and squeezed before settling his elbows back against the bar, watching his own love on the dance floor, only feet away from you as the two of you laughed together.

“She get suspicious at all the other day?” Marty inquired with a smirk, nodding gratefully at the bartender who knowingly poured another whisky for him and a fresh vodka cranberry for his bride, after setting down Mat’s beer and your rum ginger in front of him.

Mat couldn’t keep the smile off his face. “Surprisingly, no,” he answered, chuckling. “She really bought it when I told her that Syd asked me to go to the jeweler with you to make sure you got the right rings.”

Marty threw a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “Your girl really must have no faith in me. Syd thought it was hilarious, honestly. And she’s so excited she can barely take it.” Mat nodded. “So... when you gonna do it?” Marty asked, nudging an elbow into Mat’s abdomen.

Mat looked down to his shoes bashfully, a flush spreading from beneath the collar of his dress shirt up to his cheeks.

“Soon,” he said firmly. “I’ve already talked to her parents, and I know her sister can barely keep it together, ever since she helped me design the ring,” Mat added with a grin. “Think I wanna plan a little getaway for just the two of us here in the next couple weeks or so. Do it then.”

Marty backhanded Mat’s bicep and let out an excited “whoop!”

“That’s awesome, buddy,” he told Mat. “I didn’t know you were popping the question so soon!”

Mat turned his gaze to you once more as he and Marty made their way back to the dance floor, drinks for themselves and their favorite women in hand. He smiled at Marty before making his final comment on the topic for the evening.

“Would’ve asked her day one if I had the guts.” Marty nodded in understanding and sent a wink Mat’s way before kissing Sydney’s cheek and handing off her drink, Syd squealing her thanks.

Mat did the same, and you were in a fit of giggles as you hooked one arm around his neck and accepted the glass with your other hand, the last strains of the song fading into another. Suddenly, your brows shot up as you gasped dramatically.

“Hot shit!” you exclaimed along with Nelly over the speakers. Mat laughed loudly at you, kissing you before you turned around, grinding against him slightly — had he told you today that you were pure evil, he wondered — and began dancing to the tune.

And there, swaying along with you to Country Grammar, Mat knew that he had chosen the right girl to dance with, tonight and for the rest of his life.

[thicahgase7]

{21:46}

Tagging: @agust-june @pamebear @seunieshine @atinybang @aeoygi @jamiesenshi @griff-jin-dor004

Song: Me Necesita- CNCO & PRETTYMUCH

A/N: despite the gif and getting a lil handsy, nothing else happens so don't get ur hopes up😂 but I hope u guys enjoy☺ I had fun writing this

You quickly shot his best friend a text, letting him know that: yes, you got your boyfriend’s favorite food and yes, you guys were gonna hang out with him tomorrow. He had sent you a text earlier that your dedicated boyfriend hadn’t left the studio after group practice. You both contemplated on going together to drag his ass home but decided it was best for you to do it yourself.

So it wasn’t too surprising when you looked through the glass door, finding him swaying his hips into a quick-slow grind move before stopping, pausing the music to crouch down and hold his head in his hands. Your brows furrowed as you checked the time once more, he worked way too hard and you had a feeling that he hasn’t eaten anything since he’s been here.

“Aish!” You snapped your eyes back to see him kicking the air in frustration, staring at himself in the mirror wall for a second before resuming the song again and redoing the routine. You loved how determined he was but you really just wished the idiot would take a second to actually rest. With that thought, you opened the door, causing him to spin around in shock.

“Let me guess: you’ve been here since four, haven’t you?” He goes to stop the music, picking up his phone and throwing you a nervous smile when he sees the time.

“No-no…” Shaking your head, you strut over to where he is and place everything down, ignoring how he watches you in anticipation. You toss him a pointed look as you lean on the mirror wall, crossing your arms while he takes slow steps towards you.

“And have you eaten anything since then?” Again, he smiles shyly as he looks down, your feet facing each other with just a few inches apart. When he finally looks up, he’s grinning, probably to charm you out of being annoyed with him. But, yea, that’s not gonna work.

“Does a bag of chips count?” You sigh, hanging your head because, your boyfriend is such a dummy and you sometimes wonder how he functioned before you came along.

“Haaaa...... alright well, I brought food for us and we’re gonna eat now before it gets cold.” He sticks his lip out in a pout, his hands reaching out to rest of your forearms while he slouches a bit.

“No, but babeeee,” he whines, “let me work on my dance for a bit more? I almost have it!” He pulls back and claps his hands together, shooting you the sad puppy look. He knew it was your weakness and you could feel yourself rethink your decision. You mean, it would only be a few minutes, right? Wait, no, he needs to eat! You shake your head, turning around to avoid looking at his face anymore before you could change your mind.

“No, you haven’t eaten anything since you practiced with the others. That was five hours ago!” He groans, suddenly feeling his hands on your waist as he pulls you into him. He rests his head on your shoulder while you quickly glance at the mirror, seeing him pout at you.

“Fineeee, but I still wanna practice for a bit. Please?” Leaning into his body more while thinking... oo this stupid man. Suddenly, you think of an idea and grin, turning around to face him.

“Okay, I guess you don’t mind me going ahead to eat then? Practice as much as you want.” He doesn’t even try to hide his joy, picking you up and twirling you both around, giving you a quick peck on the lips when he lets go.

“You’re the best!” Rolling your eyes, you walk over to the food so you can open the containers. You can see his mouth hang open when you lift the flap to reveal the food. “Is that bulgogi?! And HUHHHH YOU DIDN’T!” You laugh at his excitement, showing him the other container. Oh he’s gonna love you, you just know it. “KIMBAP!” You just shake your head, the smile never leaving your face while he does a lil dance for the food. Quickly getting out the chopsticks, you hit his hand when he reaches for the food. He looks at you in mild hurt and confusion as you continue to smile at him.

“Ah ah ahhh, Yugi, you wanted to practice a bit more.” Glaring at you, he puffs up his face and you try not to laugh so you shove a piece of bulgogi in your mouth, not noticing how he watches with laser- eye focus. You moan at the taste of the meat, enjoying the flavors as he begins to cross his arms. Nothing is said for a few seconds as both of you to stare at each other: you with your mouth full and him with a glare that could prove that looks could kill. But unsurprisingly, he broke first.

“Babeeee,” he drops to the floor and crawls over to you, “come onnn.” You casually look over at him, making sure not to break your poker face but with him up close, you find yourself gonna break soon.

“Are you gonna eat now?” He nods, staring at the food hopefully. “Does that mean you’re not gonna practice and we can go home after this?” He scrunches up his face before sighing, hanging his head.

“You don’t play fair.” You hum, taking a piece of kimbap and showing him your chubby cheeks. Groaning, he lays down on the floor and sulks. Swallowing your food, you chuckle.

“So? What’s it gonna be? Better hurry, this food is banging.” With a huff, he sits up and snatches the kimbap you begone to pick up, shoving it in his mouth. He’s such a child sometimes but you love him anyways.

“Let’s just eat so we can go home...” You grin, handing him some chopsticks and moving the food closer between you and him. He shakes his head, confusing you on what he was gonna say. “But after you dance with me? Please?” You eye him up and down, judging to see how serious he was. He knew you didn��t like dancing, at least, not in public. But if he would go home after this, then what’s the harm, right?

“That’s it? Just one dance and you’ll come eat and go home?” He nods, placing both of your chopsticks down before getting up and sticking his hand out for you. You hated dancing in public but Yugyeom would always tell you how good you were at it, the others agreeing at the one time they all caught you vibing with a song. No one would see, right? You toss a glance at the door to make sure no one was there. Everybody would be too focused in their own dance rooms to come in and see you both dancing. Plus, you knew he wasn’t gonna budge from this. Might as well agree to this..

“I promise we’ll leave after we eat! I’ll even- hey- I'll even do the dishes for a week.” Ooo that did sound tempting. You absolutely HATED doing the dishes. Cooking? No problem. But dishes? Blech, disgusting. Placing your hand in his, he helps you up.

“Make it a week and a half and you got a deal.” You could see the spark in his eyes when as he nodded excitedly, turning over to the speakers and scrolling through his phone. Quickly looking down at your outfit, you were glad you choose some yoga pants and a crop top hoodie with a sports bra underneath. You almost feel like you planned this outfit on purpose for this but really, you just grabbed whatever clothes was near you at the time.

“Deal. I have the prefect song! And you can’t ask what it is!” You tilt your head to the side, resting a hand on your hip as you watch him still looking for the song. You couldn’t stop the smile from your lips when you saw the goofy grin on his face through the mirror.

“Can I at least know the artist?” He sighs exaggeratedly, glancing over to you and leaning back a lil to show how bothered he was from the question.

“Fine, if you must know: its from that band CNCO and PRETTYMUCH.” You raise an eyebrow.

“I know at least one of those artists.” He shushes you with one hand, looking back at his phone before letting out a yelp.

“Awesome, hear it is.” He tsks, glancing back between the spot next to you and the phone. “Ahh, I can probably make it, right? Wait- you know what?- whatever, let’s do this.” Fiddling with the phone a bit longer, he quickly puts it down and races over to you, almost tripping in the process.

“Jesus, Gyeomie, you’re gonna-“ He grabs your waist, standing behind you and shaking his head to silence you. You really wonder what song is gonna play at this point.

“It’s gonna start soon. Follow my lead.” Before you can question him, the music starts: a small voice saying something in the distance before the singers start:

PRETTYMUCH {4 beats}

Yugyeom starts to sway and you follow suit, his hands never leaving your waist as you both go along with the beat.

CNCO {2 beats}

You both sway for a second longer before he reaches for your hand and spins you around, making you face him and pulling you even closer to him. Your breathes mingle together while both of you look down, following the move of your legs.

Tu juego me sube y me baja como te conviene {8 beats}

You let your body slowly roll on his while letting him hold you up, his eyes never leaving your face as he stares in pure fascination. You step away from him, letting your fingers run along the skin of his arm as you clasped into his hand, posing before spinning back into him.

A mí se me nota que quiero lo mismo que quieres {7 beats}

When you spin back into him, he dips you low to the floor then snaps back up. Having your back facing him, you drag yourself down his body, your hands feeling the fabric slide while you finally reach to his stomach.

Yeah, you're looking so rude, looking at me (Yeah) {4 beats}

You continue to sway as you slowly get up, letting your ass grind up his leg and rest on his crotch. You hear him gasp as your movements and you can’t help but grin, the satisfaction of beating him at his own game. It’s short lived, however, when he suddenly puts his hands on top of your thighs, pushing you more into him and guiding your hips into his.

Baby, that rude girl thang, work, work it on me {5 beats}

His lips ghost over your neck while your hand lifts to run through his slightly sweaty hair. You could care less about the sweat at the moment. Right now, you just wanted to dance, to tease him with your moves. You kinda hated how much you were starting to get into it.

Cerquita en donde pueda oírte y hacer que te quedes (Yeah) {8 beats}

His hands swept up your torso, your skin on fire while he helped you slip out your hoodie, revealing your sports bra. Quickly facing him, you notice the passion in his eyes with the hint of something dangerous, making you to shiver in excitement. Okay, fuck wanting to mess with him, you just want him.

Oh me, oh my God {4 beats}

Placing your hand on his cheek, you hook your legs around his hips and swing your upper body around as he holds the small of your back, his fingers slightly digging into your skin.

I give my best, you deserve it {4 beats}

He shimmeys as you come back up, still holding you up and twirling you around before putting you down. He looks to you for permission, for what, you don’t know but nod anyways.

Oh me, oh my God {4 beats}

Walking away from you, he struts a few steps ahead and you watch as he goes off in his own lil world: his limbs moving to each beat with such fluidity that you stare in awe.

'Cause you got me countin' the ways {4 beats}

You’re so glad that he’s found his passion before meeting you because he really knows how to work his body and you honestly couldn’t imagine him doing anything else.

(Uno) She want that {2 beats}

He spins around to you, smirking as he takes a step towards you to the beat of the bass and reaching his hand out for you. But he suddenly drops to the ground.

(Dos) I give that {2 beats}

He pulls his iconic grind-on-me move and you laugh, him tearing it up with his hip grinding to the floor, his body moving around while continuing. God, the things he could do to you.

(Tres) She come back, me necesita {4 beats}

You were so tempted to stop and kiss him right now but you held back, not wanting to stop him as he’s really feeling the music. But as he hip thrusts up in the air, eyes beckoning to you, you quickly join him on the floor. Climbing over him, he grinds against you before you shake your head, giving him a quick peak on the lips and pulling both of you up. He laughs and yanks you into his arms.

No longer paying attention to the words of the song, you both just dance: making up moves that happen to fit the mood and beat of the bass. Your bodies intertwine and twist, hands roaming freely and hips swinging around. The thought of anyone seeing you guys wasn’t anywhere in your mind as you just focused on him: how his fingers ran across your skin, his breathe on your neck, the smile that never left his lips. He had to be thinking of the same thing as his moves would switch between gentle and rough but his eyes were the same: crinkled in mischievous joy, but joy nonetheless.

At some point though, he misjudged his step and tripped, bringing you down with him. Groaning once you landed on the floor, you tossed him a lazy glare as he grinned. You really couldn’t be too mad at him, he was just a dork so as you stared at each other, you guys couldn’t resist laughing.

“Gyeomie, you’re such a klutz.” He raises his eyebrow at you, still laughing.

“Says the one who spazzes out when they’re startled.” You roll your eyes, giggling while he rests his hand on your hip.

“Yea yea yea...” Sighing, you suddenly realize something. Lifting your head, you look at the speakers, Yugyeom following you with his eyes in confusion.

“What?” You point a finger up, tilting your head. The music playing was different, now it was some Chris Brown song.

“The song’s done.” He listens for a second and smiles.

“Yea, I guess you’re right. Wanna go for another round?” You tsk at him, getting up and picking up your hoodie he tossed aside.

“No, a deal’s a deal. Go eat now.” He sighs, pouting while rolling over to his stomach and crossing his arms.

“Hmph, fine. But can you feed me?” Dragging the food over, you laugh.

“Sure, but that just means I’m eating most of this and giving you bits.” Staring each other down, you refuse to be the one to lose the contest. Luckily for you, he breaks and sits up, sticking his hand out. Ah-ha, You: 2 Him: 0.

“Hand me the chopsticks.” Grinning, you give him the utensils and open up the food again. You sigh happily as you notice the bulgogi isn't cold.

“Yes, it’s still warm. Ugh, I'm so glad or else we would’ve had problems. I remember the last time I got this from that same restaurant, it was cold and boy, did I raise hell. Anyways, dig in Gyeomie. ” You pick up the kimpap and put it in your mouth. Looking up, you finally notice him just watching, the biggest smile on his dopey face. You smile in confusion as you try to swallow the food down. “What?” He grins, shaking his head.

“Nothing, I just love you” he says before mumbling to himself, “this would've been the best time to propose if only the jewelry shop didn’t mess up the ring size.” You choke at that last part, startling him as you start to cough. Panicking, he grabs a water bottle and hands it to you. “Here, drink!”

Grabbing the bottle, you rush to open it and down some water, hoping it would help wash down the food but your mind was somewhere else. You could feel your cheeks burning as you began to calm down, his hands rubbing your back. You give him a thumbs up to let him know you’re okay as you grab his arm.

“What did you say? Ring size?” His eyes widen before laughing nervously, looking away quickly and scratching at the back of his head.

“What? I didn’t say that!” You shake your head, squeezing his arm to make him look at you.

“Yugyeom, are you planning to propose to me?” His opens his mouth then closes it, gaping like a fish for a bit. Just as you were gonna ask again, he bolts up, grabbing his stuff and picks up the other food container. He doesn’t make eye contact the whole time.

“Ha-what?! N-no. Hey, you know what?! I think we should eat this at home. Come on!” Walking out the door, you’re stunned as you stare after him. He was gonna propose to you? He wants to marry you? You feel your heart swell at the thought of marrying him before suddenly realizing he dodged the question. Gathering the rest of the food and your belongings, you rush out the door. He’s not getting away that easy!

“YAH! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!”

[superredcorp]

SUPERCORP FANFIC

Kara didn't know how long she had been swooning and gushing over last evening. She was seated with crossed legs, next to her big sister on the couch and used wild hand gestures in her excitement.

"-and then she told me that she loves me, Alex! She loves me! Rao, I can't believe this really happened, it's amazing! I never dared imagining that she actually loves me!", Kara rambled happily.

Alex just watched her with an amused look, her chin resting on her hand as she sarcastically commented: "I'm so shocked."

"I know, right? I- Wait, what? You... you knew?", Kara asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Kara, you two have basically been eyefucking for years. Those looks you were throwing each other were way too intense to be platonic. I could basically feel the sexual tension between you two everytime you were within five feet of each other. The way you've always defended her and believed in her is just... wow. And now, you're like really touchy. Like too touchy for just best friends. And you've basically been living in Lena's appartement for weeks now. Plus-"

"Okay, okay, I get it.", Kara interrupted her, having blushed deeply and rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. She had never realised before that she had been that obvious with her feelings.

Alex chuckled and shook her head. "Alright. Now. Tell me, what happened after?"

Kara broke into a grin, falling back into an excited ramble as she told Alex how she had confessed her own feelings to Lena and how she had then asked her if she could kiss her. She continued to swoon about said kiss.

Her sister listened attentively, at one point feeling the need to interrupt her.

"Kara... Kara, sweetie, you're floating.", Alex said in an amused tone and with a raised eyebrow, before placing her hand on one of Kara's knees to press her back down onto the couch.

Kara just giggled a little. "Sorry. I can't help it."

As if to underline that statement, her body slowly lifted off the couch again, while she stared into nothingness with a dreamy look in her eyes and a big goofy grin on her face. Alex rolled her eyes with a chuckle as she pushed her little sister back down.

It took some minutes until Kara had snapped out of her dreamy state, smiling sheepishly.

"So, what are you gonna do now?", Alex asked. "Are you, like, official now?"

Kara's face fell and she frowned. "I- I guess so. Right? I mean we declared our love and we kissed. That... that should mean we're dating now? I think? Oh Rao, what if we're not?"

Alex laughed. "Relax, Kara. That's a very simple problem to solve. Just ask her. Or invite her on a date and then ask her."

"What if she says no to the date though?", Kara said wide-eyed, biting her lip.

"She won't. She already said she loves you. She already let you kiss her. If she did that, she won't decline a date, Kara, don't be ridiculous.", Alex reassured her. "You don't have to be scared of asking a girl on a date. You're fighting the greatest evils. You've literally almost died in a fight several times. You pulled all of that off, you're gonna do fine with this. You already had the balls to kiss her, so that's something."

Kara nodded slowly, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth. "You're right. I can do this. Piece of cake."

Alex chuckled. "Right. Go get the girl."

Kara grinned and nodded again, this time more enthusiastically. She jumped to her feet, changed into her suit to avoid being seen as a flying Kara Danvers and sped out of the appartement, right over to Lena's place.

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

Lena was sitting on her couch in the living room, going through her mails and text messages with the help of the software which read them out to her. Kara had installed it for her recently.

There were so many that it would probably take days to get through them. Since she hadn't been able to check them in weeks.

A soft smile spread across her face when she stumbled across the messages from Sam which she hadn't been able to read, or well listen to, before.

Suddenly though, she was startled to heard a loud thud from the balcony door. She frowned, standing up and making her way over to the door. After opening it with some small difficulties of finding the knob again, she frowned and asked quietly with hesitation: "Kara?"

And sure enough, she heard the blonde's nervous chuckle which she adored so much.

"Heh, sorry. I wanted to fly right in and thought the door would be open since it always had been the last few weeks.", Kara explained sheepishly, rubbing her neck. What an entrance. She felt incredibly guilty for actually being a little relieved that Lena hadn't been able to see that. Slamming against a glass door wasn't her greatest moment and had most definitely not looked very gracious or attractive.

Lena raised an eyebrow and a small smirk appeared on her face. "Well, it was getting rather cold in here, so I closed it. I didn't expect you to come over. At least not without telling me beforehand."

Kara grimaced. "I'm sorry. Am I bothering you? I can go and come back another time, I-"

"Not at all, Kara, I'm glad you're here. Come in.", she said softly, holding up her hand.

Kara smiled, relieved, and took Lena's hand as they made their way over to the couch.

"So, is there a special reason why you're here?", Lena asked.

"Uh, ahem, actually there is, yeah, I- uhm, I-", Kara stuttered.

She stopped abruptly when Lena placed her other hand over their already interwined ones and smiled a little. "Calm down, love, just tell me."

Kara felt like she just experienced a minor stroke when she realised that Lena had just called her "love". She swallowed hardly and chuckled nervously before continueing in a high pitched voice. "I want to ask you on a date."

A bright smile spread across Lena's lips and her cheeks seemed to become a little pink. "I would love that.", she replied quietly.

Kara exhaled and broke into a big goofy grin. "Great!"

"Where are we going? So I'll know what to wear.", Lena grinned.

"I know a really great restaurant. It's... it's rather small but their food is delicious. And I know my foods, so...", Kara trailed off, feeling herself falling into a ramble again and stopping herself before it got too embarrassing again.

"Alright.", Lena whispered.

Kara swallowed again. "Can I pick you up tomorrow at 7 p.m.?"

"Sounds lovely."

"Okay. Awesome. I- I'm looking forward to it.", Kara spoke, floundering in excitement.

"Me too.", Lena responded, the corners of her lips curled upwards.

They just sat there, smiling silently to themselves for a while, playing around with their fingers which were still interwined with each other.

"I guess, I should go then. You probably have things to do. And I kinda left Alex alone in my appartement to come here, so she's probably dying of boredom and anticipation.", Kara confessed.

Lena laughed. "We wouldn't want that to happen. Then you should get back to your sister."

Lena accompanied her to the door of the balcony.

As she stood in the doorframe, Kara fumbled with her cape and tried gathering up some more courage. "Can I... Can I, like, kiss you goodbye?"

"I wouldn't deny my girlfriend a request like that.", Lena chuckled.

"Girlfriend?", Kara squealed.

Lena seemed to pale. "I'm sorry, are you not comfortable with that? I-"

"No, no, no. I was hoping you'd say that! I was scared you might not want to... put a label on... us... yet. I didn't know if it really was official. If we really are official, you know? But-"

She was interrupted when Lena's hand glid up her arm to her face, only to close the distance of their lips and kiss her deeply.

Kara instantly melted into the kiss, her own hands raising up to cup the brunette's face.

When they pulled away, Kara smiled shyly. "Okay. Message received."

"Good.", Lena chuckled.

Kara bit her lip. "I guess I'll be going then."

Lena nodded slightly and Kara turned around to walk out to the balcony.

Before she could set off into the sky, Lena's voice let her turn back around.

"Kara?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Kara beamed. "I love you too."

Lena smiled.

Then Kara finally took off, not being able to help the cheerful shout for joy erupting from her throat as she spun around in the air, not knowing how else to deal with overwhelming amount of pure happiness rising inside her.

Not aware of the fact that Lena still stood in the doorway and listened carefully, listening her cheers which made her shake her head and chuckle softly. She couldn't comprehend how ever she got so lucky.

[elanska]

"you're just you" - Ibelin vs Latte

I'm a staunch Arwin x Latte supporter, and so often times I've been thinking about Arwin x Ibelin, just to see another POV angle of what could have been.

There are times when I read Arwin x Latte moments and I said to myself, he's supposedly to flirt with Ibelin instead and my heart starts to ache. and I determined to prove that Latte is a FAR SUPERIOR CHOICE (yes, I went on imaginary shipping war with myself. it's a fun activity)

Okay, so let's talk about original Ibelin x Arwin route. In original novel, Arwin is represented as pretty commoner mage boi who have been helping and protecting Ibelin with his magic from time to time in order to gain her affection. And THEN it turns out that this sweet mage boi is actually the most powerful mage. Lording over all the other mage (like, you know, the sweet boy next door is actually the powerful prince that can instantly solve your problem with bitch-of-a-rival! surprise!)

original novel!Arwin fall for Ibelin because of her beauty, kindness (she helps the poor boy in slums and have confrontation with the thugs who tried to steal it), and being different from all other girls(?maybe? this is usual setting for romance novel). anyway, she's superior from all other girls, so original novel!Arwin can't help but falling for her in every scenes. The Eirene dance ball where she dance gracefully, the Eirene street festival where Ibelin watch the ultimate bor....intelligent plays that set her different from other girls who just like shallow romantic/drama plot. The Eirene's Goddess selection where Ibelin show off her charm with her voice and beauty and make him falls harder for her.

As you can see from paragraphs above. Original novel!Arwin is BORING pretty much non-descript. just a human prop to show off Ibelin's charm as the female main character. There's practically not a difference from him, Kenneth, and Rondemio except the guys with different occupations (but all having powerfull status and extremely good looking) that fall in love with Ibelin who is perfect in everything. You can swap original novel!Arwin with other mage who hide his status as tower lord and pretend he's just a lowly friendly mage........and the story will not change much? since Ibelin is the focus here, we just need that non-descript (but still pretty) guy to fall in love with her and the plot will go on like usual (since Ibelin is the focus here, not him)

There's two critical line in Arwin's flag. 'you're just you' = somehow this mage invited Ibelin to visit his home, and Ibelin finds out that the nice, helpful mage is actually the lord of other mage. And that she's surprised, but Arwin is still Arwin. I will interpreted it as "you might be the magician's tower lord, but you're still the mage that kind to me")

And I'm promptly confused, because WHAT THE HELL that supposed to means? It's not like the tower lord title is something bad? unless if we're taken another interpretation that 'tower lord has awful reputation as crazy psychopath' and 'ta-da I'm /that/ notorious tower lord actually'. so that 'you're just you' line means = even though you're the rumoredly notorious tower lord, you're still my friend (well, he's still one of fish option at this point). And this is heartwarming to Arwin because he secretly thinks that no one will accepts him because he's notorious and everyone thinks he's a monster(?). So he questions this sweet, angelic goddess - if she also think he's a monster.

We're gonna pause a bit and explore Latte's route. As you all (y'all) aware, our favorite Arwin is a crazy bastard who enjoy entertainment more than anything and having ummm...an unique sense of humor, and apparently having no idea at all how to courting girls. Or maybe he do have /vague/ idea, but the line of somebody interesting-friend-goofy friend to hang around with-I kinda like this girl-I want her to like me back.......is so friggin’ blurry that we're not entirely sure when it ended in one category and began in another (and from what we read so far, neither were he)

oh by the way, this is same boi on Ibelin route's above. But instead in story where Ibelin's shining as female main characters surrounded by three generic cut-and-paste pretty powerful males, where his characterization fell into 'Arwin is selfish crazy (psychopath) bastard and powerful wizard's lord but *always* eating out Ibelin's hand' bracket, our murderous bunny get, like, "waitaminute. I *am* the selfish crazy (psychopath) bastard here, the *fuck** you telling me I should do again?" and proceed to wreck his bracket. Of course, bits and pieces of his original character still exist - like how he's a sweetheart when he's with the girl he likes. But instead "Hi I'm that notorious psychopath Arwin, but everytime my gal do something, I'll become devoted mob fanboy with swirly googly eyes meep meep at whatever she does" VS "Yea, I'm that notorious psychopath Arwin who likes A, B, C, and hates D, E, F. What's this? we encounter event D? well, with my characterization, I should go flying in rage, but but gal is here and it'll be /pitiful/ if she's crying, jeez. fine, I'll just let this slide (for you)"

(yes, it's cute to see him struggling like that)

sorry getting distracted there. the point is.....the point is....we like Arwin's characterization, we like how he's strongly struggling to stay consistent to his identity but also getting affected by his love for his gal (Latte) and bit changed for the better (hey, love makes you a better person). We like him as a male lead with distinctive personality instead love-interest!mob that exist solely to fanboy over Ibelin's time-to-shine-with-my-heroine-dokidoki-powaa events.

Which is why we strongly had question about the two critical lines-to-ensnare-his-heart.

"you're just you" = on Ibelin's route, Ibelin is a foreigner that came to Empire and therefore didn't know Arwin is 1. head of powerful faction; and 2. crazy selfish psychopath (since he's always nice when he's around her). She just shrugged and goes "hey you're nice to me. You're my friend" and Arwin goes *Doki* oh I totally fell for ya’.

Y'see, Arwin didn't have any reason to hide his position as the Lord of Magician's. And being magicians are pretty respectable. The /royal family/ even conduct business with them. Ibelin just never asks, and Arwin is not the type to flaunting his title around (power, sure, but not title). What about number two? From Latte's excerpts, Arwin never been anything but sweet and cute bunny when he's with Ibelin (her detractors meet grisly ends behind her back, like Iron Mentalle), like 'well I heard rumors, but it can't be that bad, you're very nice guy (to me all this time)" and Arwin goes *DOKI*. And I goes, hey bunny, you know it's not true, you know yourself not a nice guy, why do you fall just because a girl said you are *not* who you are?

(and sorry guys, I don't think he'll goes 'since I've met ibelin, I will strive to change myself to became a nice docile mage that helpful to everyone. Time for myself undergoes self-change to became a better man to fit this angelic Ibelin *doki* or some pretty sappy like that). In fact, this kind of scenario got quickly debunked in Latte's route wherein Ibelin command Arwin to be nice person to Latte and Arwin goes, like, 8 to -10 in instant. in a sense, Ibelin just told him to KNEEL! and like Latte said, it's too big of a dream. You can probably request the lord of magicians to vaguely crouched down a bit to help you search for contact lens that just dropped to the ground /per se/ - and if he's feeling nice and (particularly) likes you, mighta done it, but you didn't outright *command* him. He might also done it *within* time, like +20 years into marriage and had been tolerating each other for old long times already, but definitely not for a pretty stranger that, like, only been acquaintance for a month (and like we told you in the essay-that-I-don't-know-when-it'll-be-finisheddd-I'm-experiencing-writer's-block; Arwin has issues of being in power. He's rebellious edgy fish, this fish #3)

Where was I? oh yeah. and that *doki* question 'do you also think I'm a monster?' What the. Since when it's an issue to you Arwin? If you don't want other people view you as monster, then act nice to other people, hey you. But to be fair to him, Arwin seems indifferent with other people. He's used to people gawking at his out-of-this-world beauty, and used to people keeping their distance since he's the lord of magician's tower. the only thing we witnessed to support his scary reputation is his brutal treatment to dangerous thugs, which while makes you 'isn't that a bit excessive, dude? just hand them over to nearest guard (which never shows up, oh well)' but not exactly *le gasp!* 'what a monster! *flail flail* horrible! horrible! they just want to mug you and you chop their head off? poor them!' (ummm, I'm not the greatest example of showing compassion, so yeah.....)

So, anyway, even though people generally fear Arwin and might be crossing the other street when they see him, they're not exactly goes into 'hide the women and children!' level. Basically, I don't see what's the fuss and why I must adhere to people who call you monster just because you offed the mugger that wants to mug you. they can fret 'you should be nicer' but I will not cry and wailing pitifully because I dun wanna be called a monsteeerrr so I will goes ’tis me! mug me all ye want so I can proven my niceness and be accepted by the society!!'. And if me, the normal vanilla mortal thinks that way, I honestly cannot think the lord of magician's tower with ego that stronger than mine (and absolute power to back that up) will think that way.

So Arwin getting concerned with society's perception of him, having identity crisis and afraid of Ibelin also thought of him that way? bullshit. He /might/ be worried about Ibelin not liking him since she's his love interest and it's normal if you want to be liked by the person you like too. but society? can bugger off themselves. and Arwin is always nice/not monsterly to Ibelin, so I don't know where that came from/what it supposed to be. angelic!Ibelin sees Arwin went brutal to defend her and goes *le gasp* you monster?! - won't exist anyway since she's nice angelic girl. It's weird.

So let's talk about Latte's route. Latte, as you know, is the empire's citizen whom house is only 3 days and 3 nights away from the magician tower where Arwin's reside, so she pretty much know about his reputation (incidentally, Latte's knowledge about the original novel seemingly contradicts Arwin 'real' personality. She often thinks him as monster pychopath (chopping bishot's head off, chopping her head off - all over nothing). Arwin doesn't take offense from this even though it's pretty much rude (then again he likes Latte, and he knows what's his reputation and know for the fact that he is, in fact, ruthless (tho not as severe as the monster that Latte's imagined)

Arwin never be anyone but himself in front of Latte. In fact, he acted his worst reputation  (= crazy psychopath bastard) right in front of her. Burning her hair tie to get her attention, free-falling force play, insist of calling her annoying nickname that she hate. He also acted his best in front of her (helping her cover for Cano, checking on her and fetching her ride home when she needs it most; actually asking for her /permission/ for a dance! - Arwin can *force* anyone dance with him with puppetry if needed to, but he can't make them enjoying it. And since he likes Latte, he wants her to enjoy her time with him, be it dance, or solving mystery together, or just casual banter. It’s a (BIG) shift from I’ll enjoy spending my time with her to I want *her* to enjoy her time with me too.

From what we see, enjoyment is big drive for Arwin. His friendship with Latte (which including her in 'won't kill because she's funny'’ friendlist started when he finds her amusing). He also making a big fuss upon the super boring play that Ibelin makes him attend - verbally lashing Latte for making him go through that (for 30 mins); he left Latte watching Ibelin's singing contest all on her own and told her to not including him next time for this boring shit.

SPOILER FROM NOVEL FOR AT LEAST +3-4 CHAPTERS AHEAD (where Latte will basically saying 'you're just you' and personal wild theories flinging)

so Arwin take Latte a tour on his abode. His house, his room, his personal perching spot. And Latte seems not really enjoy them. viewing the tower walls from outside? normal room, scary-since-it's-so-high loft space with lots of winds around-you-might-find-it-amusing-but-I-don't. He tried to make her comfortable - providing shield from the wind, providing fire so she's not cold, but it didn't change the fact that while he enjoy this place, Latte might not, and no matter what he do, he can't change it. It's like you‘re hardcore cosplayer frequently attending cons and your friend are 'I don't even understand' but then sighed and said 'yeah, you and your dumb shit, what else is new?' and help making your props/booking your ticket/etc anyway. That kind of old familiarity and acceptance and intimate feels of 'I'm so used with all your antics this doesn't baffle me'

As for Arwin, well, we had elaborating about he's not following society standards (if he is, he won't be crazy psychopath bastard that he is), so we're wagering he's using his own standard in relationship. And since we know he's definitely not doing boring/drab things just to please his significant other, the thought of Latte doing it for him ('I don't really like being here, but it's for you, so okay then') kind of touching. Probably. Uh we don't really understand romance. 

and don't even ask me about 'do you also think I'm a monster' thing, because that shit is weird as fuck.

[misssophiachase]

if you're still taking song prompts for klaroline, how about shawn mendes "if i can't have you"?

Yesssss anon, love this song!

Singer/Songwriter Klaus Mikaelson can’t stop thinking about his ex-girlfriend and childhood best friend Caroline Forbes. His behavior leads his frustrated manager to take drastic action.

If I Can’t Have You

I can’t write one song that’s not about you

“I don’t know who you are anymore.”

Her words still haunted him, even three months later. 

Klaus had returned home to Los Angeles ready to throw himself into writing and determined to try and block out all distractions. 

But then it started.  

It wasn’t a matter of not writing, in fact he’d penned a whole album within six weeks. Klaus thought it was good. It was probably the most honest writing he’d ever done. Unfortunately his manager and record label didn’t agree. They even had the audacity to call him obsessive like some crazed stalker.  

His insomnia was profound after that meeting. On one of those sleepless nights Klaus found himself in his expansive attic at 3am trawling through the numerous cardboard boxes – also known as his past - deciding that for some crazy reason revisiting his childhood would help kickstart the creative process. 

It did at first, the multitude of photos acting as the perfect narration of his high school journey. Kol making goofy faces, Elijah staring at him in the background with disdain, Katherine flashing her bloomers mid-cheer at Homecoming much to Rebekah’s shock and Bonnie lazily reading Ulysses under her favourite tree.  

Then he happened on the next picture. One he knew all too well. Caroline Forbes, his best friend and former girlfriend, dressed as a sexy nurse on Halloween and poking out her tongue. It had been her initial response when he’d asked her to give him mouth-to-mouth. Granted she did later, albeit after much persuasion. 

God he loved her, he probably always would. He decided this revisiting of memory lane was a very bad idea and not at all going to help his current predicament.

It was at that point as the sun began to peek above the horizon he knew exactly what he had to do. Purge her memory including wiping their most recent conversation from his mind and then maybe he could write. 

Easier said than done. 

3 months earlier… 

Can’t drink without thinkin’ about you

“Barman, another whiskey please?” He asked, shaking his glass for extra effect. He needed the liquid courage as everything was unfolding around him. Klaus had missed Boston and his family and best friends but having them come together all at once was slightly confronting. 

Probably his fault for deciding to attend this wedding last minute. His last album had just gone platinum and rather than basking in his success Klaus was already anxious about how he was going to top it.  

“Did you ever think our little Kol would get married?” Katherine’s arm was around his shoulder before he could process it completely. He still hated Katherine because she told Caroline he cried during ET when they were thirteen.

“No one ever thought he’d ever be mature enough to marry,” he joked. “But apparently Esther sent him off to Bonnie with care instructions.”

“Now those I would pay to see,” she teased. “You know seeing your brother married is almost as surprising as seeing his superstar big brother grace us with his presence.”

“It’s not like that Kat and you know it,” he replied gruffly.  “But you did marry Elijah and take his grumpy ass off my hands so I won’t hold it against you.”

She poked out her tongue before replying. “If I was truly an evil sister-in-law I’d tell you just how good Elijah is in bed with his….”

“Yuck, seriously Kat,” he growled, hoping the dozen or so whiskeys he’d consumed wouldn’t make a repeat appearance. “You truly are the devil incarnate.”  

“And just like that we’re back in high school again,” a soothing and familiar voice offered. “Stop playing with him Kitty Kat, he’s out of practice.”

“But it’s just so much fun,” she argued before sending him a knowing wink then gesturing in Caroline’s direction. So not obvious.

It was no secret that his siblings and most people in his hometown held out hope that the prom king and queen would live happily ever after. Unfortunately it wasn’t a realistic scenario, they’d grown apart not only in terms of distance.

“Always the diplomat, love,” he smiled, probably against his better judgment. He’d felt completely out of place but when she’d floated effortlessly down the aisle of the church in nude silk Klaus felt like he was home again. 

“Have you met your family?”

“Touché,” he chuckled, swirling the amber liquid in his glass and trying to ignore just how good she still smelled, a mixture of strawberries and freshly pouring rain. “If I get too drunk later, and forget to say, you truly are the perfect bridesmaid.”

“Why, because I know how to keep the peace between many competing egos? Your sister was especially difficult; anyone would think she was the bride.”

“Nothing ever changes around here,” he mused, not unfamiliar with his little sister’s antics. “No, it’s because you outshone them all, even the bride, just don’t tell Bonnie I said that.”

“So, I’m actually surprised you’re here. I was told you were too busy to come home for the wedding.” Klaus could sense the resentment in her voice.

“I moved a few things around.”

“Well, given it’s your own brother I’m glad you were able to be so flexible.”

“Wow, tell me what you really think, Caroline.”

“Fine, I will,” she offered, before taking a breath obviously about to give him a piece of her mind.

“It was a rhetorical statement,” he growled. “I don’t need a lecture, we’re not teenagers anymore.”

“Well, you could have fooled me,” she huffed. “I’m so proud of you and what you’re doing Klaus but coming back to visit your relatives shouldn’t be just an annual event.”

“I’m sure Esther, Kol, Elijah and Rebekah barely notice my absence, love.”

“You’d be surprised, Kol wasn’t his usual joking-self when he found out his big brother might not be at his wedding.”

“Well, I’m here now.”

“For how long for exactly?

“I, uh, leave tomorrow,” he faltered, his gaze now downcast his drink suddenly very interesting.

“Haven’t you just released your record? Surely they’d allow you some time off?”

“An artist’s work is never done.”

“Why don’t I believe you?” She asked, taking him by surprise and grazing his chin with her forefinger so his gaze returned to hers. Klaus suddenly felt dizzy and not just because of his alcohol consumption. “I really don’t know who you are anymore, Klaus.” 

“I’m still me, sweetheart,” he bit back defensively, completely puzzled and annoyed at the same time. The hardest thing he’d ever done was leave Caroline Forbes. 

“Well, how about staying and we can see if that’s true?” 

“I’d love to, I would, but I really need to get back.” He pulled back his stool and left, worried that her hopeful expression might tempt him to stay and actually force him to have a real adult conversation about his feelings. Klaus really wasn’t ready for that.

Is it too late to tell you that everything means nothing if I can’t have you?

“What is with you, mate?” His manager Enzo offered between songs in the recording studio. “When you went home I thought it would get you out of your funk.”

“Apparently not.”

“You are extremely talented Klaus and as your manager I’m here to support you even when you’re being a total wanker.”

“Wow, tell me what you really think. You’re like the male version of my sister, completely unapologetic and scathing.”

“Mmmm, not sure what I think about being compared to your sister but that’s why you hired me,” Enzo shot back. “You’ve only been able to write about one subject and while I don’t begrudge you a muse there needs to be some variety.”

“I’m trying, believe me,” he promised. 

“Not well enough,” he shot back, gesturing to the studio door and signalling a come here gesture with his fingers. 

“Excuse me?”

“I thought that bringing your biggest distraction here might help.”

“My biggest distraction,” Klaus murmured, his brain working quickly to work out just what he meant. “You didn’t?”

“Well, how was I supposed to lift the spell?”

“You realise having her here will work in the complete opposite way, St John,” Klaus mumbled thinking, not for the first time, his manager wasn’t the smartest person. 

“Calm down princess, she’s here to beat it out of you. Genius right?” 

“What the hell Enzo? She has a really sharp tongue and a mean right hook.”

“Perfect then,” He wasn’t sure what this was until she appeared behind the glass wall in the studio looking even more beautiful than Klaus remembered. “And by the way, it took a lot to get her here given she thinks you’re an arrogant ass. Her words, not mine.”

“I get it Enzo, you are the best manager ever,” he groaned sarcastically. “Any chance we can talk in private?”

They all seemed to scatter, mostly scared that shouting would ensue and Caroline’s famed right hook might be put to the test.  

“You are an arrogant ass,” she offered, propping her feet up on the desk and eyeing him through the glass. “I only say that because I worry about those poor fans of yours who should know better.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you, love.”

“So, why the writer’s block exactly?”

“Straight to the point I see.” 

“Well, some people have lives to save, Mikaelson,” she cocked her head slightly to the left, making Klaus lose all concentration momentarily.

“I’m fairly certain the night you decided to dress as a nurse for Halloween your future vocation was secured and given your caring nature it’s perfect,” he smiled knowingly. “Although I hope your outfit at Mass General isn’t as skimpy as the original version.”

“Why would that be so bad?” 

“I’m thinking about heart attacks for the most part but not gonna lie it also makes me extremely jealous. Call me a caveman but I always hoped that outfit was for my eyes only.” 

“And if it was?” She was now leaning closer towards the glass, her blue eyes seeking out his curiously. 

“I saw that picture the other day,” he replied huskily. “You were in that same costume poking your tongue out at the camera. I didn’t think I’d ever felt so happy.”

“Funny that, I felt the same way. I’ll never forget your fireman suit, even if you were scared of fire.”

“Kol thought it would be a good choice.”

“And that says it all,” she laughed. “So, what exactly am I here for, Mikaelson? What’s this distraction you can’t shake?” 

“Well, I have one huge stumbling block,” he admitted sheepishly. “It’s you.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t stop thinking or writing about you,” he admitted, his eyes finding hers through the glass and secretly hoping that telling the truth would somehow free him. 

She was silent for the most part obviously processing his confession and weighing up whether or not to shout or kick his ass. 

“My manager likes my songs but apparently pining after one person isn’t all that attractive to the general public,” he murmured. 

“You don’t act like that at all,” she answered, “in fact you can barely bring yourself to visit Boston because you’re just too busy for your family and…”

“You’re the reason.”

“I’m sorry?”

“No I’m sorry,” he reiterated. “I’ve always loved you Caroline, probably since Katherine told you I cried during ET at Lucien’s party in the seventh grade, which by the way I so didn’t.”

“Now I feel like I’ve really been transported back in time,” she murmured. 

“I was setting the scene,” he explained, moving closer and placing his hand on the glass just near her lips. “When you and I broke out those turkeys on old man Johnson’s farm prior to Thanksgiving because you decided being vegetarian was a great idea.”

“And it was.”

“For a day,” he grinned, “but I’m sure those turkeys we freed will always be thankful for your generosity.”

“You only liked it because we made out in the field afterwards.”

“Well, I am only human you know, love,” he joked, poking his tongue out through the glass. “But it was when you were named Queen at prom I honestly thought we’d be together forever.”

“But life had a way of intervening,” she murmured, her eyes dipping. “And I don’t regret that for a moment because I’m so proud of you Klaus…”

“But you just don’t know who I am anymore?” He recited, those words he knew so well that had killed him. 

“Well, yes. You didn’t want anything to do with Boston, with your friends and family, with me.”

“I didn’t want to come home because of you, Caroline,” he admitted. “It was idiotic but the thought of seeing you in general but also happy with someone else was enough to stay away. I guess my family were collateral damage which wasn’t fair either.”

“Wow, he finally comes clean,” she teased. “I don’t want to stroke your ego but now you’ve admitted your undying love I could certainly help this writer’s block.”

“How, exactly?” Klaus asked, cocking his left eyebrow. 

“How in the hell do I get in there?” She insisted, running her hands over the glass repeatedly. 

“I have a weird feeling my sadistic manager thinks it would be fun to keep us apart to further the creative process.”

“We can kill him right?”

“Oh yeah, but it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun either,” he smiled. “In fact I have this great melody I’d like you to hear.”

It was at that point Klaus Mikaelson’s track “If I Can’t Have You” made its way to the top of the charts and given all his success he took some much needed time off with his finance and family in Boston.